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To Albedo, Aether was the ideal traveling companion. Most other people he found tiresome to deal with after a while, but the traveler was the exception. An adventurer in the truest sense, Aether proved himself to be resilient, resourceful, and inquisitive. When they ventured out on expeditions together, Dragonspine revealed its long-kept secrets, opening up like an ornate puzzle box in the hands of a curious child.
That day in particular, he and Aether set up camp beside a frozen lake. There were some partially submerged ruins beneath the water’s surface and Albedo was convinced that if they could just locate the mechanism to drain the lake, they could uncover secrets and treasures untouched by time and Treasure Hoarders’ greed.
Unfortunately, although they located the mechanism among the ruins by the shore, its inner workings had thus far managed to thwart both Albedo’s cleverness and Aether’s persistence. The sun was going down on the mountain, and sensing that their patience was wearing thin, Albedo suggested they stop for the day and return to camp. Aether was only too happy to comply with his suggestion.
But when they returned to the campsite, a nasty surprise awaited them.
The Fatui had taken control of their camp.
An array of masked faces turned towards them the moment they stepped into view. The soldiers had broken into the supplies Albedo and Aether stashed there, their food and personal items carelessly ransacked. A knot formed in Albedo’s gut as he saw pages of his research notes and sketches strewn about. He’d made some candid drawings of Aether that he’d have rather kept to himself.
As soon as the Fatui caught sight of them, they seized their weapons and advanced on Albedo and Aether with murderous intent. There were four of them: Geochanter, Electrohammer, Cryogunner, and a deadly Pyro Agent. Albedo and Aether were outnumbered, caught off-guard. But they weren’t outplayed, not yet.
Aether leapt into action first. Lightning blitzed along the length of his sword as he lunged towards the Pyro Agent, rightly identifying him as their biggest threat. The Electrohammer Vanguard moved to assist his comrade, confident his shield would repel the traveler’s Electro attacks. Albedo felt himself wearing a small smile; the Fatui would soon learn the hard way about the traveler’s ability to wield multiple elements.
That left two for Albedo: the Geochanter and Cryogunner. He began his assault by blooming a Solar Isotoma beneath his own feet. Rising up on the flower elevator, he surveyed the battlefield below and the Fatui closing in, calculating his next move. He could dispose of the Geochanter quickly enough on his own. That left the Cryogunner, strapped within his protective yet bulky combat suit. Albedo still didn’t have a plan to deal with him, but he needed to act fast.
Brandishing his white-steel blade, he plunged down from above onto the Geochanter before the Fatuus could get a shield up. His sword impacted with an explosion of golden light, finding a weakness in his armor. The weight of his plunge forced the blade inside, thrusting all the way to the hilt. With a gurgle, the Geochanter collapsed. Albedo withdrew his sword from his limp body. No blood. Were these Fatui even human…?
He didn’t have time to dwell on this question, as the Cryogunner charged at him with the intent to avenge his fallen comrade. The heavy weapon he carried began venting out clouds of deadly frost, transforming the battlefield into a hazardous arena. Albedo quickly realized his escape options were limited. He knew from experience that stepping inside of the mist clouds would supercool his body to the point of immobility, at which point he’d be completely at his foe’s mercy.
Through the mist, the soldier advanced. Albedo took an involuntary step backwards in the direction of the icy lake shore. He cast his eyes over one shoulder and did some quick calculations. An escape lay at his back, across the partially frozen lake. But could the ice sheet support his weight? He didn’t have time to test his hypothesis. His options were running out.
Albedo took a step backwards onto the lake. The ice creaked beneath his weight, yet held. Perhaps, he thought, this could work after all.
Then the Cryogunner charged at him, and Albedo realized two things very quickly:
One, that the Fatui didn’t care so much about their own self-preservation as long as it served the broader mission.
And two, that while his risk was calculated, his math could have perhaps benefited from some more peer review.
With a mighty leap, the Cryogunner came crashing down onto the ice where Albedo was standing seconds before. The ice sheet ruptured beneath both their weight, and Albedo’s world became a blur of white snow, dark water, and cold, and cold, and cold.
As the waters of the frozen lake closed over his head, he opened his eyes below the rippling surface. The frigid mountain water was clear as crystal. The Cryogunner likewise had crashed through the ice beside him, surrounded in a cloud of bubbles. His heavy armor weighed him down to the bottom, and he curiously seemed to make no attempt to resist or swim to the surface. The solitary eye on his mask glowed in the darkness, flickering as water infiltrated the technology of his combat suit. Albedo watched with shock and fascination as the legionnaire sank down to the shadowy depths.
Then the glowing eye on his mask flared to life, and the Fatuus surged forward, grabbing Albedo’s ankle to drag him down alongside him. Albedo let out a glub of surprise, air escaping from his lungs and bubbling up to the surface. With the Cryogunner’s added weight, the two of them were dragged down towards the submerged ruins that lay deep below.
Albedo kicked hastily with his free leg at the hand grasping him, and managed to make contact. The Cryogunner’s fingers loosened around him, slack and numb due to the frigid temperatures of the water. At last, the Legionnaire’s glowing eye flickered off for good, and his body fell away from Albedo, sinking down and out of sight.
Albedo was left alone, floating at the bottom of the lake. Outside the chaos of the fight, the deep waters were strangely peaceful. Albedo’s artificial nature afforded him many advantages: among them, an increased resistance to extreme temperatures. He didn’t technically need to breathe air, either. But he hadn’t tried prolonged submersion in freezing temperatures before. He couldn’t know for sure how long his body would withstand such conditions. Therefore, the wisest thing would be to resurface as soon as possible.
But before resurfacing, curiosity captured his interest once again. He was surrounded by a submerged ruin, apparently a near-exact mirror of the same ruins on the surface. In fact, he recognized a room that appeared identical to the one with the mechanism that had stumped them during their expedition that day. Perhaps their failure to solve the puzzle from before was not due to a shortage of cleverness, after all, but rather an inability to see the complete picture.
He swam over towards the mechanism, which was surrounded by glowing runes in the ancient language. Recalling his studies, Albedo could read them. The runes said, “Sluice Gate Key #2.”
Albedo seized hold of the lever and pulled with all his might. After a moment, a mechanical clunk echoed throughout the water of the lake, followed by a dull roar. The water pressure changed, suddenly flowing against him. He gripped tight to the handle as the current increased, pulling him back and threatening to sweep him away completely. His ears were filled with roaring water, his vision blurred by cascades of bubbles, his skin marked with tiny slicing shards of ice that swept past. He closed his eyes and braced himself against the rushing water.
Light poured in where darkness once was, shining down on the ruins which were submerged under the ice for centuries. Albedo’s head broke the surface as the water drained past him. He let out a gasp, drinking frigid air in. Though he had no true need, his body seemed to crave it. How very like a human, indeed.
Then, the shivering. From the base of his spine to his arms and shoulders and fingertips, he began to tremble uncontrollably. He raised his gloved hands up to his face to stare at them in perplexity as they quivered before his eyes.
How peculiar, he thought to himself. I’ve never seen this sort of reaction before.
He didn’t know how long he stood there before a shout broke through like shattering ice. “Albedo!!”
Suddenly Aether was at his side. Albedo hadn’t noticed his approach. The Traveler was looking him all over, concern all across his face. “I heard the sound of rushing water, and then the lake level dropped all of a sudden, and—Gods, did you fall in? Are you all right?”
Albedo tried to open his mouth to reassure Aether of his safety. But his lips were surprisingly unresponsive. All he managed was, “Mmm f-f-f-f—”
“You’re turning blue,” Aether said with deepening concern. “Come on, let’s get you warmed up. Can you walk?”
Albedo managed a stiff nod. Aether reached out to support him, throwing one of Albedo’s arms over his shoulders and placing his own arm beneath Albedo’s shoulder blades. Feeling Aether’s skin against his own was like touching a hot plate. Albedo nearly flinched from the contact. At the same time, he felt a craving for more. Aether burned like a brazier. Albedo felt the sudden, overwhelming urge to curl into him, like a cat before a fire.
“Okay, easy, easy,” Aether’s voice murmured into his ear. Albedo realized he was clinging to him more tightly than he’d intended. But he didn’t feel inclined to let go, either. “Let’s... let’s get you back to camp, all right?”
Stiffly, they maneuvered across the bottom of the now-emptied lake, feet splashing in the shallow puddles that remained. His muscles were uncompromising; in the extreme cold, they’d stiffened up. Albedo thought he saw the bodies of the Cryogunner legionnaire and the other Fatui lying motionless on the icy ground. But the cold eclipsed all else, even his ever-present curiosity. It took all his concentration to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
An uncountable length of time passed before they finally arrived at their camp beside the frosty shore. By that time, Albedo’s window of focus had narrowed to just the sound of Aether’s voice, offering gentle encouragement and reassurances, and the warmth of his body against Albedo’s.
He felt himself guided to sit on something soft. But then the warmth started to pull away, and a momentary panic rose up inside him. He clung desperately to the warmth in order to keep it by his side. “D-don’t go.”
“Whoa, hey,” Aether’s voice is a rumble beside his ear. “Easy, now. I’m just going to restart the fire so we can warm up, okay? I’m not going anywhere.”
Albedo slackened his grip, and the warmth slipped away. Cold took its place almost immediately, and the shivering returned as if with a vengeance. Albedo curled in on himself, breath misting over trembling fingers, missing the feeling of Aether by his side.
Eventually he heard the sound of flint on steel, the smell of burning tinder, and the faint glimmer of warmth from the fire pit. But all that paled in comparison to Aether’s warmth as the traveler returned to Albedo’s side. His body moved of its own accord, trying to cleave to him, but Aether held him at arm’s length.
“We have to, um, get you out of these wet clothes,” Aether said, not making eye contact. “Can you do that yourself, or...?”
Albedo tried his best to comply with the suggestion. But his numb fingers slipped even while unbuckling the armored sash he wore across his shoulder. It would take an unreasonably long time for him to undress himself like this.
Fortunately, Aether seemed to detect his struggle. Warm, sure hands joined Albedo’s cold and fumbling ones. They unbuckled the sash, easing it off his shoulders. Then his gloves, which Aether had to basically peel off of him. The warmth of Aether’s bare hands took their place, cupping Albedo’s numb fingers between his palms and rubbing briskly to agitate them with heat. Albedo, slightly delirious, found himself sinking into the sensation of warmth and contact. It had been a long time since he touched another person this much, after all.
Albedo’s sodden jacket came next; heavy with water, it clung stubbornly to Albedo’s body. With Aether’s help however, it wasn’t much trouble to remove. Then came his boots, which were far more complicated to deal with. Aether prompted him to lean back, while the traveler tugged on his boot in the opposite direction. With an unpleasant wet sound, his stockinged legs were finally freed. Aether tipped the boots over outside the tent, spilling frigid water out.
That just left Albedo’s shirt, shorts, and undergarments. As gung-ho as Aether was about helping him undress up until this point, he became suddenly shy. “Um... i-it’s probably best if we remove these, too... er...”
Albedo gazed down at his dark blue shirt, which clung to his form. Ah, now he understood. Undressed like this, with clothes soaked through, what remained was rather... revealing.
“Are you... uncomfortable?” Albedo asked him slowly.
“N-no! Well, I mean, compared with how you must feel in those wet clothes, I’m totally fine,” Aether said, his words tumbling out all in a rush. A high flush resided in his cheeks. “Just, y-you can handle the rest of it, yeah? I’ll fetch you a change of clothing from my supplies. I’m sure the Fatui didn’t ruin everything.”
Albedo gave him a perplexed look. “Very well,” he said slowly. “I believe I can undress myself the rest of the way.”
Aether scampered out of the tent, leaving Albedo to take care of the rest of the clothes. His hands, newly warmed between the traveler’s palms, had a much easier time discarding the rest of the sopping clothes from his body. Though a part of him still craved the warm touch of the traveler, he wasn’t so sure it was due to the hypothermia any more.
Aether returned just as Albedo removed the last of his undergarments, laying them to dry by the fire. “I-I brought you some dry clothes,” came his voice from outside the door. “They should probably fit... we’re around the same size, so...”
“Thank you,” Albedo told him. Noticing Aether’s continued discomfort with his nudity, he added, “You can leave them just inside the entrance.”
A fresh bundle of clothes were shoved under the flap of the tent. Albedo reached for them and began dressing himself in an expedited manner. They were unmistakably Aether’s clothes: baggy breeches, thick woolen socks, a partial tunic with the midriff exposed. Though the color scheme was not precisely Albedo’s personal style, there was no denying that Aether’s size did indeed fit him perfectly.
A rustle of fabric indicated Aether’s presence outside the entrance to the tent again. “Hey,” his voice called softly, muffled through fabric. “Are you good?”
“Yes,” Albedo told him, and Aether’s golden-haired head appeared through the tent flap, followed by the rest of him. This time, he carried in his arms a thick animal-skin blanket, as well as a cooking pot with a lid on it. His eyes fell on Albedo, freshly re-dressed, and rested there for a bit before pointedly looking away, a flush rising in his cheeks.
Albedo noticed his unusual behavior. “Is something the matter?”
“N-no, it’s just...” Aether glanced quickly at him and away again. “Those clothes... fit you r-really well. That’s all.”
Unbidden, Albedo recalled a light novel he’d read, based on Lisa’s recommendation that he familiarize himself some more with human relationships. In that story, the protagonist made a habit of stealing clothes from the target of her romantic interest as a form of flirting. Though the circumstances were different, there could be no helping his mind from forming the connection between that story and the situation he finds himself in now. His pulse sped up, the flow of blood increasing just beneath the skin on his face.
“Hey, look at that,” Aether says, oblivious to Albedo’s inner turmoil. “You’re finally getting some color back. That’s a good sign.” He held out the bundled pelt he was carrying under one arm. “Here, wrap yourself in this, it’s nice and warm. I’ll make us something hot to eat.”
Albedo accepted the offered blanket, wrapping it around his shoulders so that he looked as fluffy as a Frostarm Lawachurl. He shuffled as close to the fire as he could without being in the range of thrown sparks. A short distance away, Aether was setting up the cooking pot over the flame. As Albedo watched, he removed several ingredients—meat, radishes, tomatoes—and added them to the cooking pot along with some fresh water and spices.
As Aether busied himself by the cooking pot, Albedo, though newly dry and swathed in a thick blanket beside the fire, began to shiver again. It was as though, in returning to himself, his body was determined to make him newly aware of all the ways in which it hungered for warmth, for touch, for—
Aether looked up from the cooking pot to see Albedo shivering. “Oh... you’re still cold...”
Albedo tried to hide his trembling to no avail. Something about Aether’s attention made him nervous; particularly as the traveler’s gaze softened with something like sympathy. He gave the pot one final stir and placed the lid over it as it bubbled above the fire. Then he moved himself closer to Albedo, until he was right by his side.
“Hey,” Aether said quietly. “Got room for one more under that blanket?”
And then, as though moved by some strange force beyond Albedo’s comprehension, Aether slid in right beside him beneath the soft pelt. The line of his body against Albedo’s felt like laying across hot coals. It nearly hurt but Albedo craved it; he found himself involuntarily leaning into it.
“Sorry,” Albedo breathed, hyper-aware of his indiscretion even as he curled in closer to Aether’s warmth.
Aether laughed softly. “Why are you apologizing?”
“I’m—” Albedo fell short on words. What was he sorry for? For failing to anticipate his enemy’s actions and falling into the icy river? For overestimating his body’s ability to handle the cold?
No, if he was honest with himself, the reason he apologized was none of those things. The truth of it dwelt inside: a strange, flickering feeling inside his rib cage that he could not contain within words. That tiny cinder grew to a flame under Aether’s touch, speeding up Albedo’s heartbeat, flushing warmth out from inside his chest to his fingertips and the star-shaped mark on his neck.
If the traveler knew all that he meant to Albedo, how would he react? Would he flinch away from his touch? Or would he smile that kind, painful smile and tell Albedo that he’s flattered, but he doesn’t feel the same? Or would he not mind? Would he permit Albedo to nest into him further, burrowing deeper towards the node of bright warmth that dwells within his chest, his heart? Albedo didn’t know which possibility scared him more.
He realized Aether was still waiting for him to explain. He opted for a simpler answer. “I’m sorry for burdening you.”
“You’re not a burden, Albedo,” Aether told him, snuggling in closer, sliding a hand around Albedo’s waist. He practically flinched at the contact as Aether drew the two of them in together. The cool gust of the traveler’s breath ghosted over the exposed midriff of Albedo’s borrowed tunic.
Albedo curled in on himself. “My Master would have scolded me for being so careless.”
Aether frowned. “No offense, Albedo, but… I don’t know if your master was a very good person.”
Albedo tamped down the indignation that rose up inside him on Rhinedottir’s behalf. She’d have wanted him to consider things logically, after all. And perhaps Aether was right: if caring and kindness were the markers of a ‘good person,’ then Albedo’s master was indeed in short supply of such virtues.
“Perhaps you are correct,” Albedo said. “But nevertheless, she made me what I am.” In a more literal sense than most.
“I guess I can’t fault her for that.” Aether’s wiry muscles shifted against Albedo’s side. “Still… there’s nothing wrong with letting other people help you sometimes. I know you like to work alone, just… it doesn’t mean you’re weak, relying on others.”
Albedo considered his words. How very like the Traveler, he thought. Aether was always going around helping others out, and was well-liked for it. Compared with Albedo, whose work was solitary and largely self-serving, who often separated himself from people to conduct obscure research on a remote and deadly mountain…
“You’ve gone quiet,” Aether noticed. “Is everything okay…?”
“It’s fine. I was just thinking about what you said.” Albedo felt the heat of him against his back.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I guess what I really mean is… I’m just glad you’re okay.” Aether leant his head against Albedo’s shoulder; he stiffened at the contact at first, then relaxed. “I was really worried, you know,” Aether says, the vibrations of his voice traveling through the cage of Albedo’s chest.
“…You were?”
“Yeah—I called your name again and again, but you couldn’t hear me and I couldn’t see you. For a second I thought...” Aether swallowed. “I thought that might be the last time I’d ever get to see you...”
Albedo turned this new information over in his mind. Aether had been afraid for his sake? He’d never even considered that possibility...
“S-so, you can imagine my relief when the water all drained out and you were standing there,” Aether stammered. “I don’t know what I’d have done otherwise, if you were gone and I’d never told you...”
“What?”
Aether shifted beside him. “...Uh, I should check on the goulash. Make sure it isn’t burning.”
“Never told me what, Aether?” Albedo asked, but the traveler had already slipped away from him to tend to the stew over the fire. He sampled it with the ladle.
“Mmm, yeah, I think this is ready,” the traveler said, as though pretending he hadn’t heard Albedo’s last question. He spooned helpings into two bowls and passed one to Albedo. “This should warm you right up! I put Jueyun chilis in it to give it a spicy kick.”
Together, they shared their meals beside the fire. The warm, hearty stew worked like a panacea on the last of the chill that lingered within Albedo’s bones. In time his body grew heavy with the weight of a good meal and exhaustion from that day’s efforts.
Yet when it came time to lay out their bedrolls and go to rest, Albedo had a hard time getting comfortable. Sleep evaded him, and each time his body grew still, he felt as though the pin-prick needles of frost were forming a thin layer of rime over his skin.
His tossing and turning alerted Aether, in his own bed a few paces away. He propped himself up on one elbow. “Is everything all right?”
Albedo opened his mouth to say that yes, he was fine. But that would be a lie. He felt the specter of the ice’s teeth on him, even as he lay there wrapped in furs and blankets by the fireside. He shivered instead.
“Well then—” Blankets and furs fell off Aether’s body as he got up from his bedroll. He wasn’t going to... was he? Albedo remained still as a statue as Aether made his way over towards him. It took all his willpower not to flinch away from him as he settled in at Albedo’s back. The warmth returned, scorching a line from Albedo’s shoulder blades to his tailbone. An arm slipped around his waist. Aether’s breath stirred the soft hairs in back of his neck. “How’s this? Better?”
Immediately the shivering was gone as though it was never there. Warmth suffused Albedo’s being, bringing with it the sweetness of sleep.
“...Yes,” Albedo breathed, sinking into that warmth, and was asleep before another thought could trouble the stillness of his mind.
*
The fire had burnt out completely by the time the morning sun filtered through the fabric of their tent. Yet Albedo hardly felt its absence as he stirred to wakefulness. He’d slept the entire night, soundly and without dreaming. It wasn’t hard to understand why.
By his side, the soft sound of Aether’s breathing was the only noise in the quiet morning. Albedo turned to face him, careful not to rouse him in the process. Dawn light edged his features, catching golden in the tips of his messy hair. His braid was loose, spilling strands across the floor like looping gold chains. He looked so peaceful, so vulnerable like this. But Albedo knew the other sides to him, too: the fierce fighter, defender of nations; the unknowable being from another world, effortlessly human yet not. Everything about him was fascinating. Albedo could make a study of Aether for centuries without fully comprehending all the different aspects of him.
“Mnnhh,” Aether made a soft sound. His arm reached out towards the empty space where Albedo had slept. Finding nothing, he grumbled some more, curling in on himself. Golden eyes flickered open in a moment of confusion.
“Good morning, Aether,” Albedo said into the narrow space between them.
“Mnnhh, morn’g,” murmured Aether, stirring from his slumber. He sat up from their shared bed, stretching wiry arms above his head and yawning widely. Albedo allowed himself a momentary indulgence, admiring how the sunlight pooled across the olive skin of Aether’s bare midriff as he arched his back.
When his eyes returned to Albedo’s, they were alight with a strange energy. All traces of sleepiness had vanished from his face. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” Albedo told him honestly. “I realize I didn’t say this yesterday, but—thank you. I don’t know what would have happened to me if you hadn’t been there after I fell through the ice.”
Aether brushed off his praise with a flap of his wrist. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing! Really… I’m just glad you’re okay.”
A warmth bloomed inside Albedo at Aether’s words. But there was a lingering question that Albedo hadn’t had the presence of mind to dwell on last night. In the new light of the morning, he felt the need to ask it now.
“Last night,” Albedo said, “You said you wanted to tell me something. What was it?”
“Oh, that—” Aether immediately flushed down to his collarbone. “It’s really nothing… just, well…” His eyes flickered upwards to meet Albedo’s and then down to the floor. “I guess I might as well tell you. I like you, Albedo.”
Heat thrilled inside Albedo’s bloodstream like fizzy wine. It flooded his veins and rose to the surface of his skin, making his pulse beat double-time. He presently found it difficult to speak, but managed to get out, “You mean…?”
“I-it’s a little embarrassing,” Aether admitted, running fingers through his golden hair as he sorted it in its braid again. “I just, I figured since we don’t know the next time we’ll be in a life-or-death situation, I might as well tell you now. It’s alright if you don’t feel the same. I just had to get it off my—”
He was interrupted by Albedo catching his hand. His words trailed off to stare, open-mouthed, as Albedo unfolded his palm and ran a warm thumb over the life-line there.
“I think,” Albedo said softly, hand in sleep-warm hand, feeling Aether’s sword-callouses, “I would not be adverse to exploring what that means… so long as it’s with you.”
Aether gave a nervous laugh, smiling tremulously as Albedo proceeded to examine his wrist, then his face, running fingers along the line of his chin. He gave a soft gasp when Albedo pressed a thumb against his lower lip.
Then Albedo drew back. “But there is much we have to do today,” he said. “Those ruins we uncovered—we should seize the opportunity to explore them now, before anybody else does.”
“O-oh,” Aether stuttered out. He looked slightly disappointed. “Y-yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“And afterwards,” Albedo said, eyes alight. “You and I can explore the meaning of what you just said. Preferably someplace warm and comfortable, where no one will disturb us.”
Aether visibly swallowed. Those golden eyes seemed to contain the entire world as they gazed up at him.
Albedo wore a cunning smile. Warmth nested deep within his chest and made its home there.
“So, let’s both be careful on our next adventure, hmm?”