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When she woke up next to her sleeping mentor in his room, on his bed, stark naked underneath the covers... Sucrose knew she was in trouble.
It was morning, so early in the morning and she was starting to remember the bits and pieces of what happened.
Angel's Share. Drinks. She wasn't drunk but she felt dizzy. Then Albedo carried her back to the HQ to her room because she couldn't even walk.
Then a kiss, a kiss that felt forbidden. But then it turned into another and another and-
That was how she ended up here.
Sucrose suppressed the embarrassing squeal that threatened to escape from her mouth as she quickly sat up, careful not to wake him and slipped out of the bed to find her clothes.
They were scattered all over the room which peaked her embarrassment even more whilst she scurried to pick them up to get herself dressed. Adjusting her hat one final time, she grabbed her shoes and held them against her chest. Quietly opening the door, Sucrose sent a glance back at her mentor, inwardly and profusely apologising to him as she made a beeline out.
Her room wasn't too far, just a hall away. She needed to get there quickly so she wouldn't get caught leaving his room-
"My, now what do we have here?"
Sucrose squeaked and collided with someone's chest, prompting her glasses to fall. Just as she attempted to pick them up, the person in front of her already did and put them back on for her. The alchemist's vision came back and she was met with a familiar grin... Belonging to a familiar someone.
"M-Master Kaeya!" Sucrose yelped, clutching her shoes tighter against her chest, "I-I apologise-"
Kaeya held up his hand, his smile never leaving his face. "No need, you aren't at all in trouble," he said. However, she was unable to miss the mischief that glazed over his eye for a second, "Though by the look of things, our Harmless Sweetie might have been up to something scandalous."
She flinched, losing the grip on her shoes and stared at him with wide eyes. "W-What?!" Sucrose tried to stay calm, but her heart was already beating so rapidly. "I-I..." She then gulped, "N-Nothing happened, S-Sir..."
"Oh? Nothing, you say?" Kaeya pressed his index finger to his chin and leaned closer, "Then can you explain the bite mark that's become very apparent on your neck?"
Sucrose's hand instantly flew up to her neck, feeling the slight dig in her skin as her entire face turned into multiple shades of red.
...Oh no.
"Not to mention that you were running from the direction that Albedo's room is located," The captain pointed out as he leaned away with a satisfied smirk, "How convenient."
Horrified that he caught on so quickly, Sucrose buried her face into her hands and formed a gap between her fingers to look at him. "Please... Don't tell anybody."
Kaeya only laughed, patting her on the head. "I don't plan to at all. Judging by how you're acting, I'm only guessing that this was an unplanned event from both parties, yes?"
Sucrose could only nod meekly, wanting to hide under a table- anywhere, so she could escape any kind of interrogation related to the matter. "I... Don't even think he sees me that way..."
The snort that he let out caught her attention, making her become more frantic and embarrassed. "W-What? What is it?"
"It seems that you still have much to learn," Kaeya recovered in a breath and began walking away, "Have a pleasant day, Sucrose."
Sucrose blinked after him, processing his words until it was quiet again.
However, she shook her head and picked up her shoes from the floor. It still didn't diminish the fact that she was in bed with her own mentor.
Letting out a shaky sigh, she continued her walk back to her room, hoping that in the next few hours, she was still Albedo's assistant.
The walk to the lab was slow. Sucrose deliberately took her time in getting there. She helped out Timaeus at the alchemy stand when he requested her assistance, she had breakfast at Good Hunter for once as she always tended to skip the meal in favour of tackling her research findings first. She even found herself in the library, reading and borrowing a few books that would be helpful in conducting some of her experiments.
Her heart rate sped up when she was near the front door of the lab room. Everything that happened sank in and Sucrose took a deep breath, swallowing a large gulp before pushing open the door.
"Sucrose!"
The first thing she saw when she entered was Klee, who was sitting on one of the desks, her legs dangling down the table happily as she was surrounded by coloured pencils and sheets of drawings.
"Klee?" Sucrose closed the door behind her before she smiled at the younger girl, "W-What are you doing here?"
"I was playing with Big Brother Albedo but then he said he had to go to Dragonspine!" Klee explained and continued to scribble on her drawing, "I think he should be back soon, he left a while ago."
"Ah," Sucrose let out and decided to sit next to her, "What are you drawing there?"
"Klee's drawing a bunch of Jumpy Dumpty's exploding all around the Dawn Winery!"
"W-What?!" The alchemist choked before looking at the drawing closely, "...W-Why are you drawing that?"
"Diona suggested Klee to," Klee stopped drawing and blinked innocently, her face then falling, "Is... Is that bad?"
Sucrose heard about Diona's distaste for Master Diluc's business, mainly because of her father and his alcohol. She wasn't sure if the girl hated Master Diluc himself, but she didn't seem very fond of him either. Klee thought he was a bit odd too.
"Th-The drawing's lovely," Sucrose assured her but then gently placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, "But please promise me you won't actually throw explosions in the winery."
Klee laughed. "Klee won't! Klee just wanted to make Diona happy, that's all!"
"R-Right..."
Sometime later, they were greeted by a surprise visit from Diluc, the man being told that he was to pick up Klee. At first, Klee hid behind Sucrose and requested Master Jean instead. Diluc somewhat begrudgingly explained that he was to look after Klee today as Jean was unable to because of the load of paperwork she had to finish.
After some reassurance from Sucrose, Klee reluctantly walked over to him, her small mitted hand taking hold of his outstretched hand.
"See you later, Sucrose! You're the best!" Klee beamed, making the alchemist blush.
Diluc noticed the drawing Klee had in her other hand and had a questioning look, but still politely bid Sucrose farewell as they left the lab.
Once she was alone, Sucrose began cleaning up Klee's things, safely putting away her drawings into a binder. A certain drawing caught her eye though as she picked it up curiously.
It was a drawing of her and Albedo holding hands.
Albedo x Sucrose! They're the best!
It could've been seen as platonic, of course.
However, once again, the events of last night came rushing to her mind, thus making it impossible to see the drawing as so.
The heat dawned on her cheeks again as she continued to stare at the drawing. It was so innocent and she didn't want to Klee's hard work away because of her indecent thoughts.
A-Ah... I need to stop!
"Paimon's hungry, can we go eat now?"
"You're always hungry."
Sucrose had been so immersed in her thinking that she hadn't heard the door opening. She looked to see the Traveler and Paimon letting themselves in the room.
Lumine greeted her with a smile. "Hey Sucrose. Are you feeling better now?
"Oh yeah, Albedo said you were sick! That's why he asked us to accompany him to Dragonspine again," Paimon explained.
"...I-I'm sorry?" Sucrose said, bewildered, "He told you that I was sick? B-But I'm not..."
"Hmm," Paimon floated over to her, hand underneath her chin in examination, "Well, Paimon sees that you're really red, so you must be! Are you pushing yourself again, Sucrose?"
"N-No! I haven't started on anything today actually..." She said, rubbing her arm before looking back at Lumine, "H-How are you finding the sword, Traveler?"
"Not so bad, I've gotten used to it," Lumine put it simply, stretching her arms, "Your mentor wanted to test my skills with it."
"Yup, you should've seen it! Albedo really knows how to fight!"
Sucrose was surprised. "You guys fought?"
"And she lost!" Paimon said with a smug smile and folded her arms, "Paimon had a front-row seat!"
"You're so close to becoming actual emergency food right now..." Lumine muttered under her breath and sighed, "Yeah, it looks like I still need to train a bit more."
"Ah great, you're here," Albedo's voice sounded, causing Sucrose to immediately still as she watched him walk in with his clipboard in hand, writing something down with his feathered pen, "Thank you for the session, Traveler. It seems that we may need to investigate the sword further to-"
When he finally looked up, his teal eyes immediately fell onto Sucrose and for a moment, everything went dead silent.
Sucrose held her breath, thankful that she was in front of her work desk so that she could lean all her weight back against it, as she felt her legs almost giving up the strength to stand.
Albedo held his gaze on her until he realised the... severity of the situation. He cleared his throat and she could see the tint of red dusting on his cheeks. She thought he was going to say something but he didn't, the notes on his clipboard suddenly becoming more interesting.
"Uh..."
Paimon's voice broke in the silence and Sucrose saw that she and Lumine were looking back and forth between them, bewildered.
"S-Sorry!" Sucrose apologised and adjusted her glasses, averting her attention away completely from her mentor, "W-Was there anything you needed?"
"Well," Lumine looked like she wanted to question what was happening between the two but shook her head, her hand reaching into her pouch to pull out some sweet flowers, "We stumbled upon a lot of these when we were coming back, so we thought it might save you the hassle this week."
"Oh!" Sucrose took them gratefully, taking in the sweet scent of them, "Th-Thank you so much, Traveler! You certainly didn't have to go out of your way, b-but I appreciate it!"
"It's no problem," Lumine smiled, sparing a quick glance at Albedo and then back at her, her tone full of implication, "We'll be going now... Leave you two alone for a bit."
Before Sucrose could say anything, Lumine and Paimon shuffled themselves out of the laboratory. Sucrose quickly turned around and frantically put the sweet flowers away, her hands clenching at the table after she did so.
Taking a deep breath, despite the pit of nervousness that formed inside of her stomach, Sucrose faced her mentor and-
"I'm sorry."
They both said.
She yelped, looking at Albedo with surprise as she clasped her hand against her chest. "W-What?"
"I-" Albedo faltered, something that was a rare occurrence. At length, he let out a sigh and put down his clipboard before standing in front of her, "I should've left a note saying that I'd be out for the morning. I apologise for that."
Oh.
Sucrose ignored the disappointment she felt and quickly shook her head. "It's... It's fine, Mister Albedo!" She frantically shook her hands in front of him and looked down, "I-I had arrived a little later than intended so..." Swallowing down the lump in her throat, Sucrose just smiled up at him, "I'm sorry for not sorting out your documents yet, I'll do that-"
"Sucrose."
Sucrose immediately closed her mouth shut, sensing the thick tension her mentor's voice held. "Y-Yes, Sir?"
She saw his lips thinning into a slight frown and his eyes were... anything but pleased.
"I would rather you drop the formalities," Albedo said at length, though his voice was still polite and gentle as ever, "...I think we've already crossed over that line."
Panic settled inside of her at first, but noticing that Albedo's face had stayed calm with no signs of her job being at a loss, Sucrose still felt her legs giving out as she slumped down onto the stool. Her hands clenched themselves against her legs before she covered her face with them. "I didn't mean to run off like that," Sucrose finally said, stammering at her words, "I-I was in shock..."
"...So you don't remember what happened?"
She flinched at the hurt that seeped in his tone and snapped her head up at him. "O-Of course I do! I-" Sucrose felt her breathing starting to quicken and her eyes becoming watery, "I-I just didn't- I was scared... th-that our relationship as colleagues would be ruined..." Her ears drooped down, "I didn't want that to happen..."
Another moment of silence passed between them. Sucrose averted her gaze away from him once more, rubbing at her arm for comfort as she closed her eyes.
Albedo sighed then, making her look up at him. He grabbed a stool and sat opposite her, their knees touching. Despite being known for his aloof attitude towards many things that didn't interest or faze him, this was the first time Sucrose had seen him so... intense.
However, that intensity faded in an instant, and it was replaced by a small smile, a smile that Sucrose felt was different from any other one he had ever given her.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" He simply asked, eyes trailing down at her body to look for any discomfort.
Sucrose blinked at him, realising the heavy implication in his question as she ducked her head down and then gingerly lifted it back up, face blooming completely red. "J-Just a little discomfort in... i-in between my legs..."
She wanted to hide somewhere and never come out.
"I see..." Albedo had his left fist resting on his chin, the pink tint returning on his cheeks as he cleared his throat, "Would you like me to make something for it to subside?"
"A-Ah, no... It's fine!" Sucrose waved her hands as she quickly stood up, "I can walk just fine!"
However, just as she said there was an imbalance in her footing. A whimper let loose from her mouth, to which she flew a hand against it. She sat back down sheepishly. "A-Actually, I already have something that can ease-"
Albedo wasn't looking at her anymore. Instead, his gaze was fixated somewhere else and Sucrose aligned his eyes with her own, her hand subconsciously lifting up until she realised she was touching her neck.
Th-The mark! She forgot to cover it up!
She swallowed, hard. It felt like she couldn't breathe and the wave of embarrassment took over her once more.
"M-Mister Albedo..." Sucrose stayed strong, not wanting to choke on her already forming tears, "I-"
"Did you enjoy it?"
His question caught her off guard and he was looking at her again, almost prying an answer out of her with his eyes like he needed to know.
And Sucrose, she... she didn't know what to say without feeling ashamed.
Because she did, she did enjoy it. She did enjoy the kissing, the touching, their panting mixing in with each other's- all of it.
Was it wrong to admit that? She didn't want to think so...
"Yes," Sucrose finally yelped out, hands flying to cover her flushed face so she could only see him through the tiny gap of her fingers, "I-I did..."
When she peeked for her mentor's reaction, his eyes widened briefly before they went back to his normal gentle gaze. However, Sucrose felt something was different and when she wanted to think on it some more, Albedo had already leaned in closer to her.
He gently pried her hands from her face, his eyes glazing over momentarily and Sucrose was reminded of that same look from last night.
His lips rested on hers and almost immediately, Sucrose squeezed her eyes shut, the tears that prickled underneath her eyes finally falling down to her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him back.
Albedo's hands moved down to her hips until they reached underneath her legs. She squeaked, their kiss momentarily breaking as he lifted her up onto his lap. He lunged at her lips again, his arms circling around her waist so that their chest were squeezing against each other's. Sucrose barely managed to quieten down her moan, stifling her shy sounds into her mentor's mouth as the kiss gradually became more and more heated.
His hands moved again, gripping her tights in a notion to pull them down. The friction between their clothes seemed to have been aggravating him, she could tell, and she couldn't help but feel the same, suddenly squeezing her thighs against his hips in an attempt to subdue her sounds.
They pulled away, catching their breaths and panting. Whatever she wanted to say next was whisked away into another set of kisses. Albedo pecked at her neck, leaving feverish but soft kisses on her skin. Sucrose panted even harder, resting her chin on his shoulder, overwhelmed by the warmth that was roaring inside of her body.
"Mister Albedo..." She whispered into his ear, "P-Please listen."
"Drop the 'Mister' and I will."
Sucrose squeaked again, squeezing his shoulders when she felt him kiss the bite mark. "Please listen... A-Albedo."
Albedo pulled away and looked at her, a slight unmistakable smirk showcasing on his lips. "Yes, Sucrose?"
She took a deep breath, hands gently gripping onto his shoulders again for comfort. Nibbling on her bottom lip, Sucrose fumbled with her next words. "You make me happy and I-" She paused, hunching her shoulders to partially hide her horrific reddened cheeks, "I-I want... I-I want to be with you!" Realising how that sounded, the alchemist backtracked her words in panic, "I didn't mean to sound so desperate! I'm sorry! Y-You must think that I-" She stopped again, her mouth quivering at her rambling, "...N-No, never mind."
He laughed, making her ears perk up before he commanded quietly, "Take a deep breath for me, Sucrose."
Sucrose blinked at him but did what she was told. She inhaled and then exhaled slowly.
"Good," Albedo smiled and brought her hand into his, lifting it up to his lips so he could leave a few kisses in between her knuckles but still maintain eye contact with her, "And I believe I've already given the answer to your request."
For a second, she was even more confused. It was until she saw his gaze fixed on something, she realised he was staring at her neck again. Sucrose lifted her free hand and felt her finger cross a new dent against her skin. "M-Mis- Albedo!" Her face heated up straight away, "Y-You-!"
"Sorry," He huffed out another laugh again, "I initially did not mean to but... I became selfish."
Sucrose buried her face into his chest, a whine following after. She wasn't upset about it, no. She was just overwhelmed that he really did feel the same way about her.
The anxiety she felt was no more and she was... happy. So happy.
She sent him a timid smile, wrapping her arms around his neck as she boldly connected their lips together into another kiss.
"Why, hello my naughty alchemists!"
The door busted open. The two alchemists jumped, pulling away quickly and turned to see Kaeya standing there in all his trouble and glory. He had his hands on his hips, smirking at them gleefully.
Sucrose tried to scramble herself out of Albedo's lap but only managed to make the situation worse. She fell backwards and Albedo leaned forward to catch her, however, because she had her arms around his neck in panic, they both fell onto the floor with Albedo crashing on top of her.
"I know you two must be excited for another round, but the Acting Grand Master has called for a meeting in about fifteen minutes," Kaeya teased, bursting out a laugh as he started to make his way out, "Don't get too rowdy now."
When the sound of the door clicked closed, Sucrose hid her face in her hands, blushing madly as she looked up at Albedo and whispered, "Please lock the door next time..."
Albedo closed his eyes, the colour of his face equally matching hers. "N-Noted..."