Chapter Text
The cool December breeze blew across Mondstadt, indicating that the year was towards its end. Glistening snowflakes descended from the sky as the people in the city continued with their usual affairs while a certain mint-haired alchemist stared at the scenery in awe. While the scenery was a usual sight for Mondstadters at this time of the year, Sucrose took the opportunity to observe the phenomenon, thinking that the observation could benefit her research somehow or possibly give her a breakthrough.
At the moment, she was assisting her co-worker, Timaeus, at the alchemy stand by the town square. She had put her previous experiments aside for a while because of the notice that Timaeus needed her assistance with his own research.
Perhaps because of her comment a few days prior that their mentor, Albedo, might have found his current research topic… boring?
Nevertheless, Sucrose was happy to be of help to her fellow alchemist by imparting her knowledge. Plus, they were expecting the arrival of their mentor from his week-long expedition in Dragonspine. As his assistant, she wanted to be there to welcome him back.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed a familiar figure with ash blonde hair, calm eyes with an anemo hue, and the whole aura of a refined gentleman, approaching them. It was none other than the person they were expecting, Albedo, also known as the Kreideprinz and the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius.
Sucrose turned to him with a bright smile and an enthusiastic wave.
"Mister Albedo! Welcome back!"
He returned his assistant's greeting with a small smile and wave.
"Sucrose, Timaeus, how have things been going while I wasn't around? Any updates about each of your research or experiments?"
Timaeus gave Sucrose a knowing glance with a worried expression. The female alchemist furrowed her eyebrows and nodded her head in response. Both of them turned to Albedo with serious looks on their faces and Timaeus began speaking.
"Well, Sir… I have something to consult with you…"
He presented his notes to the Chief Alchemist and began discussing his research. The three formed a huddle beside the alchemy table to talk about it further.
Unbeknownst to them, a certain golden-haired traveler clad in white with a floating companion was heading in their direction.
"Albedo! Oh look, Sucrose and Timaeus are here too!” a high-pitched voice called out.
The three alchemists turned their attention to the owner of the voice, Paimon, with the traveler closely following behind, who waved at them with a smile.
“Ah, Traveler and Paimon, what brings you two here?” Albedo greeted them as he walked away from the huddle and moved near the pair.
"Paimon here just wouldn't shut up about that juicer thing that she wants to learn how to make so she can have an infinite supply of juice," Lumine began speaking and pointed to her companion with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.
"Hey! What's with that look on your face?! It's just a simple request!," Paimon yelled to her companion while stomping her feet in the air.
"So we wanted to ask you about it. We've asked Sucrose a few days ago about it but she said she didn't have ample knowledge about the subject so she directed us to you," the female traveler continued.
The mentioned bespectacled alchemist nodded in agreement. "I'm sure you can help them with this matter, Mister Albedo!," Sucrose added.
Albedo let out a light chuckle. "If Sucrose says so, I'm certain that I can be of help to the both of you. I wouldn't want to disappoint my lovely assistant here," he glanced at her with a smile.
"I certainly didn't mean it that way, Mister Albedo! I just thought your insights could help them!," The harmless sweetie frantically shook her head and waved her hands before him as an increasingly visible redness surrounded her cheeks.
"It's alright, Sucrose. I was just kidding. Still, thank you for recommending me," he patted her shoulder with a small grin.
That small gesture made her want to melt on the spot. Somehow, his words made her giddy and she felt happy to be recognized by him.
"Now, what were you saying, Lumine? A juicer to make an infinite supply of juice? Well, it certainly is beyond my capabilities as an alchemist but I have a similar, if not better, idea that applies the same principles," Albedo returned to the topic as he faced the Traveler and Paimon again.
"Great! Can we talk over there by the fountain? There's something I'd like to discuss with you afterwards," Lumine replied to him while pointing to a spot that was near to the alchemy stand but far enough that any prying ears wouldn't overhear their conversation.
Albedo nodded and turned to Sucrose once again before leaving. "I'll have to leave you again for a moment, Sucrose. Please look out for the store and for Timaeus if he has any questions."
"Okay, Mister Albedo! You can count on me!"
The chalk prince muttered a quick thank you and followed the Traveler and her companion, who was gleefully repeating the words "infinite juice" in a singsong voice, to the agreed conversation spot.
With Timaeus scribbling notes off at the side after his consultation with Albedo earlier, Sucrose found herself unoccupied with no tasks to do. To keep herself busy, she took out her clipboard with attached pieces of paper and began scribbling notes of her own regarding any ideas for her experiments, while stealing a few glances here and there at the Traveler and her mentor speaking with each other.
She honestly didn't mean to be nosy yet she became curious as to why Lumine asked to speak with Albedo in private. Several possible reasons popped into the young alchemist's mind yet before she could enumerate them in her head, her eyes widened at the sight before her as she glanced at the pair.
Lumine was leaning towards a fazed and blushing Albedo with a smug smile on her face and her index finger pressed to his chest. Sucrose felt her stomach flip and found herself staring at them because it was such a rare sight for her to see her mentor with an expression like that.
Realizing what she was doing, she froze and quickly looked away before they could even catch her staring at them.
'Ah, how rude of me to stare like that! I'm in no position to do so, it's none of my business…'
Although it truly was none of her business, the harmless sweetie somehow felt an ache in her chest after seeing their closeness. While they were still near in physical distance, she felt like that distance had grown significantly bigger in her mind.
She frowned at the development of her thoughts and tried to shake them off by continuing to scribble down notes that now made no sense because of the distraction she turned her focus to.
Some moments later, the pair and the floating companion began walking back to the alchemy shop, signifying that the conversation had ended. As they approached closer, the ache in Sucrose’s chest didn’t seem to go away. Instead, it grew stronger in front of their presence.
Hugging her arms in a desperate need for comfort from her messy and unfamiliar thoughts, she avoided their gazes and looked off to the side.
“We’re back!,” Paimon announced and took a quick look at Sucrose.
“Sucrose, are you okay? You don’t look too well, did you eat breakfast today?”
“I’m fine, Paimon! Of course, I made sure to eat this morning. It’s nothing to worry about! I’m just thinking of some… things,” the mint-haired alchemist replied as she took a quick glance towards Lumine and her mentor and shot Paimon a small smile.
“Hmm, are you sure?,” the little floating child gave Sucrose a quizzical look. “Albedo! Your assistant seems unwell, have you been treating her right?!”
“For once, I agree with Paimon on this matter. Well, Mister Kreideprinz, answer the question. Have you been treating our dear harmless sweetie right?,” Lumine crossed her arms and gave Albedo a smug smile.
A blush crept up to the mentioned sweetie’s cheeks and she glanced at her mentor who looked like he was at a loss for words… and is that a blush forming on his cheeks too?
Albedo cleared his throat before speaking. “Why of course, I have been treating her right. I do not recall any situations where I have treated her harshly.”
“Not quite the answer I was expecting but okay,” Lumine gave them both a smile and faced Albedo. “Just be sure to remember what I told you earlier. Of course, it’s when the right time comes and that’s for you to decide.”
"Yes, Traveler. No worries, I'll work on your request as soon as possible so Paimon can have her infinite supply of juice," the Kreideprinz replied.
The golden-haired traveler shot him a deadpan look. The genius alchemist chuckled in response.
"I'm kidding. I understand what you mean, Lumine. I'll be sure to keep it in mind."
"Great! Don't you disappoint me now, genius Chief Alchemist. I don't expect you to be an expert in those sorts of things but if you try, I'm sure you can manage."
Lumine quickly glanced at Sucrose and gave Albedo a knowing wink with a smile.
Sucrose hugged her arms tighter as she felt awkward in her position. It was as if she was not supposed to be there because of the vague conversation topic that the traveler and her mentor only seemed to understand between themselves.
"Anyways," Lumine spoke again. "We'll have to take our leave now. Duty calls at Inazuma, we have another commission to accomplish."
"I wish you both safe travels. It was nice to have you back around at least for some moments," Albedo bid them farewell with a small smile.
"Thanks, and save some of that sweet talk for that moment I was talking about. Take care, Albedo. You too, Sucrose and Timaeus!"
The traveler and her companion waved them their goodbyes and began walking away from the city to head to their next destination. Just like that, the three alchemists were left alone in the shop together.
“Huh. It looks like it’s going to rain,” Albedo noted, staring at the sky.
Timaeus was still busy with his notes so the chief alchemist turned to Sucrose to see that she was still hugging herself while keeping her head low to look at the ground.
"I know this has already been asked earlier but… Are you alright, Sucrose?," He asked, leaning towards her with an outreached hand.
The mentioned assistant took a step back from him and lifted her head to meet his eyes full of concern. "Yes, Mister Albedo. I'm fine. It's really nothing to worry about. I just remembered… my experiments. Yes, my experiments! Please excuse me, Mister Albedo, I have to tend to my sweet flowers again at the lab."
Before Albedo could even say anything back, Sucrose began walking away from the shop with her head kept on the ground. She lied. She wasn't feeling well at all… but she didn't seem to be physically ill. She just needed an escape from the growing discomfort in her mentor's presence. As for an explanation, she had none. She didn't understand why she was feeling this way.
Small steps grew into bigger ones as she began running with her eyes pointed to the ground when she was no longer in the sight of the two left at the alchemy store. Everything in her surroundings looked like a blur, not because of the running or her bad eyesight, but because of the hot tears that suddenly began pouring from her eyes. As if on cue, a heavy downpour of raindrops fell onto the cobblestone streets of Monstadt.
Sucrose laughed weakly. How ironic, the sky was weeping with her.
The pitter-patter of the rain was enough to mask her tears away from any onlookers… yet who would even consider looking at her? She was an unwanted creature, not totally human, but the people of Mondstadt probably only chose to tolerate her because of how she was able to become part of the Knights of Favonius.
Soon, she arrived at her destination: the Knights of Favonius headquarters. Luckily for her, nobody was around to see her dash through the hallway and up the stairs to her shared laboratory with her mentor while she had red and puffy eyes from all the crying.