Chapter Text
As usual, the young woman had already woken up, ready for another day of classes. Without wasting much time, she changed into her school uniform and packed her books into her backpack. Once she had everything she needed, she ran downstairs and stopped right at the front door, where she found herself meeting those blue eyes she liked so much. A playful smile immediately spread across her face.
“I can't believe you actually kept your promise and made breakfast,” said the golden-haired girl as she approached the young man, who was carrying two cups of tea in his hands.
“How could you think that of me?” Tartaglia replied, setting the cups down on the table and proudly showing her what he had prepared. “Yesterday, when I lost at Monopoly, I said I was going to make breakfast, didn't I? Besides, not to brag, but I actually did a pretty good job today.”
Lumine simply laughed softly at his words and sat down at the table, watching as he carefully mirrored her actions and took a seat as well.
“Making toast and some mysteriously colored juice doesn't make you the world's greatest chef,” the blue-eyed girl remarked while taking a bite of her toast.
“That’s what you say, but you always end up drinking my mysterious juice anyway, don't you?” he laughed, taking a sip from his own glass.
“That’s because I need proper nutrition before going to class,” she shot back, glaring slightly at the young man sitting across from her. “I don't want to faint like you do. The gym teacher told me you used to pass out all the time during his classes.”
“That was because he had absolutely no mercy on me. Once I told him I participated in underground fights, he started testing my limits every chance he got,” Tartaglia replied, a hint of irritation slipping into his voice as he carefully avoided meeting Lumine’s gaze.
That small detail did not escape Lumine's notice. Not only had Tartaglia been avoiding eye contact, but his cheeks were also slightly flushed. Deciding not to tease him any further, she simply focused on finishing her breakfast in silence.
It didn't take long.
Once she was done, she stood up from the table and looked at him.
“By the way, Tartaglia, I'll be coming home a little late today. I'm going to karaoke with my friends. So if I don't answer my phone, that's probably why.”
“Sure, I understand,” he replied, wiping the corner of his lips with a napkin. “Just be careful, okay? And if you need anything, call me,” he added before standing up as well and carrying the dishes to the sink. “I think I'll be home late too. Some of my university classmates invited me to a small gathering, so I might be delayed. Either way, I'll leave some money on the table in case you want to order dinner.”
“You know you don't have to keep doing that, right? You're my older brother, but I can take care of myself too,” Lumine said with a gentle smile.
“That's exactly why I have to keep looking after you,” he replied, returning her smile. “Mom and Dad specifically asked me to take care of you while they're away on their business trip.”
“Fine. Fine. Whatever you say,” the young woman sighed in defeat.
She already knew how this conversation went.
They had had it countless times before.
And every single time, she lost.
Without another word, she grabbed her backpack and hurried out of the house. She didn't want to be late for class.
Luckily, the day passed smoothly. She focused on her studies, and before she knew it, classes were over and she was on her way to a newly opened shopping mall with her friends.
However, just as she was about to board the train, she received a call from her mother.
Apparently, the fire alarm at their house had gone off, and she wanted Lumine to check on it.
Annoyed, Lumine reluctantly agreed and headed home much earlier than expected.
Just as Tartaglia had said that morning, he wasn't there.
At the same time, she discovered that the alarm had simply malfunctioned.
After turning it off, she sighed in frustration. She had lost her chance to have fun with her friends for nothing.
Defeated, she retreated to her room and threw herself onto her bed.
“What a pain. I was finally going to karaoke, and I even did my makeup so nicely,” the golden-haired girl complained while staring at the ceiling.
Then, before she could continue grumbling, an idea suddenly came to mind.
She immediately jumped off her bed and hurried toward her brother's room.
Even though Tartaglia had told her many times not to enter it, doing so anyway was strangely entertaining.
“Let's see... I remember he bought a new video game... somewhere around here...” Lumine muttered while wandering around the room.
The place looked more like an architectural exhibit than an actual bedroom.
“I can understand not wanting to change the wall color, but... the floor too? It's so boring someone could easily think a seventy-year-old man lives here,” she complained.
Then she noticed a small notebook sticking out from among the other books.
Her curiosity was instantly piqued.
Without hesitation, she picked up the faded green notebook and opened it.
Dozens of letters spilled out.
Some remained inside their envelopes, while others consisted of endless pages filled with tightly packed words.
Unable to resist, Lumine began picking them up one by one.
She quickly noticed that every letter followed the same format.
They all ended with the phrase:
“Always yours, Tartaglia.”
It wasn't difficult for her to understand that they were intended for someone special.
Still, it felt strange.
Tartaglia had never shown any interest in pursuing a romantic relationship.
“Well... if I don't check them, they might contain something embarrassing, so really, I'm helping him,” she reasoned, attempting to justify her actions before opening the first letter.
The first one was romantic.
It was filled with little heart doodles.
At first, Lumine wasn't concerned and continued reading.
However, after a few minutes, she began regretting her decision.
As she kept reading, the letter evolved from sweet and timid romance into passionate romantic devotion, eventually ending in highly descriptive erotic love.
Lumine's face turned bright red.
But what caused her blush to disappear instantly was a single line near the end.
The sentence struck her so deeply that she didn't even notice when the bedroom door opened.
“Lumine...”
A familiar male voice spoke.
She immediately looked up.
“Those letters... I can explain... I... well...”
“You wrote these letters?” the blonde girl asked, staring at him. “You wrote every single one of them? From beginning to end?”
“Yes. I did... but—”
Before Tartaglia could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him.
Startled, he looked down.
A small figure was hugging him tightly, refusing to lift her face from his chest.
He still couldn't quite understand what was happening.
“Idiot...” the young woman murmured, her face partially hidden against him. “Why didn't you tell me you wrote all of these letters for your character?”
“My character?” Tartaglia repeated, wrapping his arms around her lightly, confusion written all over his face.
“Yes, Tartaglia,” Lumine replied honestly as she lifted her gaze and met her brother's eyes. “These letters were so beautiful and written with so much love for someone... I can only imagine how painful it must have been to write them.”
Her voice trembled slightly with sadness.
“I knew you were writing a book, but... why didn't you tell me the main character suffered so much because of love?” she asked, looking at him with mild annoyance.
“Well, I suppose I didn't want to spoil the surprise for my biggest fan,” he replied with a soft laugh and an easy smile.
That smile alone was enough to make Lumine smile as well.
Before she realized it, she had gently pulled away from the embrace.
“Even if it was supposed to be a surprise, you should at least write more romance,” she said, much calmer now. “I read some of it, and there's definitely way too much suspense and drama in those letters. Don't think that just because you're my brother I won't give you one star in the reviews section.”
Her words caught him completely off guard.
A laugh escaped him before he answered.
“Alright, alright. Whatever you say. I'll try to be more romantic when writing my book. But in exchange, I want to order pizza for dinner, okay?”
Lumine simply rolled her eyes in mock annoyance before finally nodding.
She placed the small notebook back on the desk and ran downstairs.
After all, she had already decided exactly what kind of pizza they were going to order.