Chapter Text
The weather in Dragonspine had always been the same, so when the moonbeam appeared on a clear night it was quite a sight to behold.
The mountaintop cecilias glowed softly in Aether's arms as he hefted the large bouquet they had gathered. He could barely see through them. "Is this enough?"
"My apologies--almost. Dragonspine only yields a clear night once every year," Albedo responded absentmindedly, a few metres in front. Aether watched as he kneeled down to examine a small, incandescent clump growing by his boots. "Dawn will break soon, so we should make haste."
They stood at the edge of a serene summit. Even if the world had long been slumbering below them, tucked in thick, fireside blankets while the night grew more frigid, Aether could forget the cold for a second and appreciate it. Nothing with such beauty could be permanent, and if it was, it was never without a catch. Otherwise they wouldn't be so special, and they wouldn't be spending this time together while Paimon snored at the Favonius headquarters with Klee. It was almost a win-win.
"The fact that we waited until the witching hour to pick these must mean they're really important to your work."
"It's true that these cecilias are hard to synthetically emulate with the apparatus available to us," Albedo said slowly. When he turned around, there was a small garland in his hands. "But what makes you think sharing this time with you is not equally as precious?"
Aether shifted the flowers so they hid his smile. His cheeks were beginning to regain feeling again. The reclusive alchemist was notorious for his solitude, and where others would keep their distance Aether had learned to be more acutely aware of the small things: the angle Albedo tilted his head down when focused, the way he fingered the Vision on his collar when lost in thought, earlier today when he thought Aether was asleep on his shoulder and shifted slightly so his neck wasn't uncomfortable. Being geared to detect subtleties meant that teasing moments like these, although not unwelcome, hit like a truck.
"I didn't say that," he replied breathlessly.
Albedo moved closer and carefully adjusted the flower crown among Aether's messy hair. They were close enough for Aether to see the silver tint dancing in his irises. Now that it was there, their colour became even more ambiguous. Near the centre they were a light shade of periwinkle blue, but near the edges they became a tourmaline green. Aether gazed intently, trying to identify where the lines blurred. It was easy to lose himself in the curiosity. Was it the proximity, the fact that they were alone in a luminescent sea of flowers, or that he hadn't seen Albedo in weeks?
A fortnight ago, armed with nothing but rapidly thinning bravery, Aether made his way to the Office of the Chief Alchemist with a half-baked confession sitting atop his tongue - only to be told that Albedo had left to partake in a research trip...for the better part of a month.
He didn't mope for long. Surprise had come in a neat letter written in lazy cursive which detailed dates, living arrangements and a request for assistance. It was unsigned, but the sender's identity was clear. The next day Aether began preparing for the hike up Dragonspine, leaving a begrudged Paimon in Klee's care. Maybe Klee was in Paimon's care. Regardless, she wouldn't mind doing anything for Big Brother Albedo, she had promised with a hint of small giggle. She must have known something he didn't.
Small snowflakes began to trickle into the cracks between petals. Wordlessly, Albedo shook off his coat and draped it around Aether before he could protest.
"Not a word," he chided while he fastened the front in a way that left Aether's arms unhindered. Aether closed his mouth indignantly. "Midnight excursions like these are very common." Aether swore he heard a hiss when it touched his bare skin. He could have melted in the coat's snug folds. Albedo wasn't cold at all. Not his exterior, not his gaze (when one had the gall to meet it), not his treatment of those around him. People were quick to judge the Kreideprinz as they were quick to fabricate the uncertain, just as Dragonspine's reputation warded away adventurers before they had a chance to see her beauty.
Aether felt Albedo brush off the last snowflakes and reached out to tug his arm before they could separate. It was a manoeuvre indeed, but the flowers stayed snug against his chest.
"You're not exactly toasty warm, are you," he said pointedly.
"...I'm used to it."
"Well, I'm not," Aether replied. Albedo lifted his eyebrows, looking away, but left his hand limp in Aether's hold. "But somehow your pockets are warm, so let's not waste the heat."
"We'll...be inefficient," Albedo answered with no real volume, and Aether knew he had won. Triumphantly, he leaped to Albedo's side and pulled him along to the next cluster of cecilias.
"Always next year!"
Silently, hesitantly, Albedo let himself be dragged onwards. Aether felt their hands interlace, and a small squeeze he might have imagined. As the sun sleepily drew nearer to the surface, Aether spent the companionable silence listening to the unrushed snowfall, distant cries of soaring eagles and the occasional padding of furry feet. When the summit was alight with reds and pinks and the unpicked flowers stopped emitting light, Aether noticed that Albedo's eyes were less of a clear-cut separation than they had ever been, dashed in strange combinations of sky, snow, and gold.
The eyes flickered south to meet his and Aether felt a concerned brush of a thumb over his knuckles. He shook his head with a reassuring grin. It was a mystery how anyone could think Albedo icy or expressionless, when underneath the surface there was so much more to look forward to.