Work Text:
Sucrose couldn’t believe it. News of a large-scale building project in Sumeru quickly made its way to Mondstadt. A building project meant laying foundation, and laying foundation meant digging up the ground.
And digging up the ground meant freshly overturned soil just begging for Sucrose to dig through for bones. They wouldn’t be just any bones, either. This was a prime chance for her to excavate native Sumeru bones. Before this, the furthest she had been in her life was a bit into Liyue. Never had she traveled as far west as Sumeru before, as she had no convincing reason to leave the comfort of her laboratory. Now, she had a reason, and that reason was to add some new, exotic specimens to her collection.
It's even better that the project was set to be completed in the middle of a lush area full of vibrant green foliage. Sucrose would be able to blend in perfectly and strike when the time was right.
This plan of hers seemed to be working so far, surprisingly. From amongst the bushes, Sucrose watched intensely to try and catch the perfect moment for her to strike the excavation area. While she was waiting, however, she couldn’t help but pluck a few samples of plants for herself. Sucrose had to contain herself though, as her tote could only carry so many plants in addition to whatever bones she may come across.
The workers were concentrated on digging on the opposite end of the plot where Sucrose was taking cover, so she seized the opportunity to make her move.
While remaining low as she made her way through the grass, she had but a single goal in mind, and that was to find as many deceased critters as she possibly could. With nothing but a small spade and magnifying glass, she picked the most inconspicuous corner out of the two on her side and started excavating.
Sucrose initially hoped that she would be able to find at least a few skeletal remains to make it worth her time. After all, Sumeru's wildlife was incredibly diverse, and there was no doubt that at least a few small lizards or mammals would’ve met their fate in this vicinity.
And boy, did she get more than what she bargained for. The freshly overturned layer alone was filled with more than enough curiosities for her to take back to Mondstadt. Weird rocks, strange bugs, bird feathers, and everything in between turned up. It was too hard to resist the temptation, so Sucrose gave in and stashed a few of these odds and ends away for herself.
Digging down a bit deeper exposed her to her actual goal; a treasure trove of bones. It was merely a sporadic distribution of bird bones and small mammals, but Sucrose felt as if she struck gold nonetheless.
She was so absorbed in her findings that she had complete disregard to what she considered a crucial part of her plan: stealth.
A vibrant green fox girl rolling around in the dirt isn’t exactly hard to miss, especially for those who have an eye for beauty.
"And who might you be?" a voice asked.
Sucrose jumped out of her skin. He was right behind her, wasn’t he? She didn’t plan this far ahead to plot out an excuse for her presence.
Sucrose slowly and nervously turned around, feeling her entire body trembling out of utter fear.
"S-s-sorry...." she spat out.
She expected to be greeted by a burly construction worker. The sight she beheld was in fact, the exact opposite of what she was anticipating. A blonde man was looking down at her with a smile, rather than a menacing scowl like she envisioned in her mind. He looked more like a bird of paradise than anything else. Intriguing, she thought, despite the fear circulating in her head.
"Ah, but I was merely asking you for your name, not an apology of any sorts," he said.
Sucrose didn’t feel as threatened as she should. Which, in turn, somehow made her more nervous.
"I’m uhh...uh..."
The blonde, flamboyant bird-like man crouched to be closer to her level. He didn’t seem like he had the intention to intimidate her, but Sucrose’s ears still remained flattened out of panic.
"I’m Kaveh," the man said. "I hold no grudge, as I merely wish to become acquainted with you."
"S-Sucrose. My name’s Sucrose." she finally managed to say.
"A sweet name, for a sweet girl," Kaveh said with a wink. "Now tell me, what brings you out here of all places? You don’t don the attire of a usual Sumeru resident."
Why was this man being so gentle? It didn’t help that he was awfully gorgeous as well.
"I heard that some major architectural project was taking place, and I wanted to dig through the soil while it was fresh and loose. I-I can leave if you want..."
"What are you looking for, precisely?"
"Bones. But I got distracted. So now I have bones and a bunch of random plants. I can still leave if that’s too weird for you."
"Not at all! It is quite charming to have run into such a lovely young lady with a fascination for nature. In fact, I can tell my crew to set aside everything and anything curious just for you."
"Huh? You’d do that? For someone you just met?"
Sucrose's heart was no longer racing out of fear of punishment, but out of extreme awkwardness. Her ears relaxed back and she felt her face begin to heat up. Which obviously wasn’t a good sign. And she couldn’t control her reaction, no matter how hard she tried to calm herself down. Lovely.
"I suppose you’re unfamiliar with Sumeru's ideologies? Here, we value academic studies over everything else. Usually," he said, crossing his arms.
"What do you mean usually?" Sucrose asked, tilting her head and perking one of her ears up.
"Some people lack the heart to carry out their research in such a fashion, treating it more like a chore instad of pouring their heart into it,” he said, grumbling. "You, on the other hand, are clearly passionate. It’s not often you see people willing to take their nose out of a book and get up close and personal with their studies."
"Ah...uhm...thank you?"
"Think of it merely as a gift from me to foster the growth of knowledge," he said. Kaveh turned his back and began walking off, but not before giving Sucrose yet another wink.
She was strangely fascinated by this man. Probably for all of the wrong reasons but, nevertheless. A single meeting wasn’t enough for her, and Sucrose was unable to observe him from afar. She had no choice but to resort to her only option.
"Wait, Mr. Kaveh, sir! Are...are you free this evening?"
Kaveh stopped to look back at her.
"After today’s project wraps up, yes. Why may you be asking?"
"I... would like to get to know you better. Observe you, I guess?"
"Observe? You most certainly are a curious one,” Kaveh said with a laugh. “I shall show you around town later today, if that suits you well. Consider it a date."
A date? Did Sucrose accidentally score with someone out of pure awkwardness and curiosity?
Somehow, she was okay with this outcome.