Work Text:
Sucrose stares at herself in the mirror, fussing with a single tuft of hair that won’t stay in place. Usually, she wouldn’t spare half a thought on her hair, but… Something unusual had occurred yesterday.
Now, against all her better judgment, she’s preparing for a date with Kaeya Alberich. It’s nothing against Kaeya, certainly—he may have a penchant for teasing Sucrose more than she appreciates sometimes, but he’s genuinely kind and capable, not to mention that he’s so pretty—it’s more… well, it’s a fight against her own self, she supposes.
She’d hardly managed to hold it together yesterday when Kaeya had asked her to go out with him—in fact, she’d only managed to keep it together until she made it home and collapsed backward against her front door, holding her reddened face in her hands.
How she expects to get through a whole night with him is beyond her. She tugs again at the tuft of hair, a little harder this time, and then winces. Maybe she should have said no. Maybe she should call it off, blaming it on sickness. She could take a swig of any one of the (edible, though not perfected) vials in her lab to make it convincing.
Still, she doesn’t. Namely, because she wants this, so badly. Kaeya has always fascinated her, if mostly from afar because of her own fear of embarrassment, but lately, he’s felt more within reach. They’ve had lunches with Albedo, gone on patrols together, and even played some Genius Invokation TCG at the Cat’s Tail. And, despite Sucrose’s tendency to make everything awkward by rambling on or not knowing what to say, Kaeya seems not to mind.
Kaeya, on the contrary, has such a natural charm and grace, and everyone is aware of that fact. It seems improbable, if not impossible, that Kaeya would have any interest in Sucrose when there are so many people out there with eyes for him, and yet… And yet they have a date scheduled for fifteen minutes from now.
Sucrose wets her hand underneath the faucet and tries again to smooth her hair. She won’t kid herself into thinking Kaeya wants anything serious from this—in fact, she thinks, it’s most likely that he has become aware of Sucrose’s feelings and wants to humor her or turn her down, not in a cruel way, by any means, but not motivated by any romantic feelings of his own.
Yes, this makes the most sense. Yes, if she thinks like this, perhaps she can make it through the night without melting into a puddle of embarrassment. If she is expecting Kaeya to turn her down, then it won’t be as bad when it actually happens, right?
She sighs, finally leaving the unruly piece of hair alone.
They had decided to meet by the fountain, so Sucrose slips on her shoes and heads out the door, trying to ignore the hammering of her heartbeat in her chest.
Kaeya is already there waiting for her when she arrives. He faces the opposite way, idly flipping a coin in one hand and catching it as it falls.
Sucrose bites at the inside of her cheek, steeling herself with a deep breath. “Am I late?” she asks as she approaches, tapping Kaeya on the shoulder.
Kaeya laughs, turning to face her. “Not in the slightest,” he answers, his smile taking Sucrose’s breath away. Then, she notices a rather large basket sitting at Kaeya’s feet, which had before been obscured by the fountain.
Her eyes light up. “Are we going on a picnic?” she asks excitedly, her hands clasping together behind her back.
Kaeya nods, “If that sounds good to you,” he says, leaning down to pick up the basket. “There’s a spot I’ve been meaning to show you.”
Sucrose’s throat closes up at his words, so she nods vigorously. I’ve been meaning to show you, repeats over and over in her head.
As they head out of Mondstadt’s gates, the sun is just beginning to set, casting a pretty glow across the landscape. It is perhaps a bit late for a picnic, but Sucrose had forgotten to eat since lunchtime (as is pretty much customary for her, especially if she’s in her lab).
It strikes her that Kaeya probably knows this and planned accordingly. She turns her head away from him in a poor attempt to hide her reddened cheeks.
“How has today treated you?” Kaeya inquires, swinging the basket as they walk.
“Well,” Sucrose answers, “I spent most of the day in my lab, as usual. Though I did discover something interesting today: one of my modified sweet flower test samples sprouted far before the control group, when I hadn’t intended to modify the germination process of the plants at all, and—” she cuts herself off suddenly, “Sorry, that’s probably not very interesting to you.”
“Nonsense,” Kaeya waves his free hand, “You care about it, so I want to hear it.”
Sucrose blinks. “A-Ah…” She swallows thickly. “And how has your day been, Captain Kaeya?”
“Just Kaeya,” Kaeya says with a slight grin, knowing as well as Albedo does that correcting Sucrose in this manner is a futile effort. “I was on a boring patrol near Springvale. Routine clearing of monster camps, and that. I was mostly looking forward to now.”
How Kaeya can just say things like that without flinching or babbling, Sucrose will never pretend to understand.
“Here, this way,” Kaeya says suddenly, taking Sucrose by the wrist and gently pulling her off the well-trodden path. They head a little ways into the woods before they reach a clearing, where Kaeya lets go of Sucrose and sets down the basket. Her wrist feels warm where it’d been held.
Sucrose looks around the clearing. It is… strikingly normal.
Kaeya busies himself with taking a blanket out of the basket and laying it in the grass, humming a tune to himself as he does so. He smooths his hands over the blanket to rid it of creases and wrinkles before he plants himself on one side, patting the space next to him, beckoning Sucrose to sit.
She does so, though she wonders back on his earlier words about wanting to show her this place. Apparently, and much to her horror, her confusion must show on her face, because Kaeya says, “It doesn’t seem like much, I know.”
“No, it’s—it’s great, I’m sorry!” Sucrose chokes out, flustered.
Kaeya chuckles, “No, really. We just have to wait.”
Sucrose tilts her head curiously, but Kaeya puts a finger up to his lips. “Just wait,” he says.
And so they do. As the sun sets over the trees above them, Kaeya takes food out of the basket: some packaged meat and cheese, likely from Good Hunter, and an abundance of sweets.
“I wasn’t sure which is your favorite, so I got a little bit of everything,” Kaeya admits, and Sucrose has to stop herself from physically swooning. He’s just so sweet. She allows herself a glimmer of hope, for just a moment, that perhaps he feels something for her, too.
But she quashes it in fear of being disappointed, taking some of the meat and cheese to sate her growling stomach.
“You really didn’t have to do all this for me,” she says, holding a hand over her mouth in case there’s anything in her teeth.
“It’s no trouble,” Kaeya responds, taking a bite of a rather cute-looking cupcake. He swipes some stray frosting off of his lips with his thumb and then licks it off, and Sucrose feels her heart beating in her throat.
“I—um, I brought you something, too,” she says, mostly to distract herself. “I’ve been studying various flowers and I thought this one might, uh, might suit you…” She digs around in her bag until she finds a large test tube that holds a dark blue calla lily. She uncorks the tube and takes the flower out, holding it between them.
Kaeya leans a little forward, his mouth ajar. “Wow, I’ve never seen one this color before.”
“With the correct soil conditions, calla lilies can be a lot of different colors,” Sucrose says. In an unexpected burst of confidence, she leans towards Kaeya, slotting the flower behind his ear. His hair is soft against the back of her hand, which lingers near his face.
She clears her throat as she leans back, feeling shy again. “S-Sorry…”
Kaeya tilts his head. “Sorry for what?”
“I… don’t know.”
He laughs, so sweet. “Sucrose, please don’t misunderstand, but you can relax around me, you know?”
She blinks at him. “I can’t,” she says plainly.
Kaeya stops smiling, then, concern visible in his furrowed brow. “Why not?”
Sucrose hesitates. What can she say? That she’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop? Certainly, all of this is too good to be true. Sucrose doesn’t think she’s below good things, of course she doesn’t, but for Kaeya (sweet, unattainable, mysterious Kaeya) to feel romantically towards her… it’s just impossible for her to believe. The variables don’t add up in her head.
“Sucrose, tell me what you’re thinking,” Kaeya says gently.
“Um… Sorry. I just…” she trails off, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to say this. Are you turning me down?”
Confusion spreads across Kaeya’s face. “What? Have I done something to imply that?”
Sucrose makes a disgruntled noise, burying her face in her hands, mortified. “Well, no, I just… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Kaeya says immediately. “But let me make this clear: I asked you out tonight because I wanted to spend time with you.”
Sucrose peeks out from her hands. Kaeya reaches out to take her wrist, pulling her hands away from her face. “There, let me see you,” he says, smiling again, close-lipped.
Sucrose stares at him, her head spinning.
“Ah, it’s just about time,” he says, letting go of her wrist and leaning back on his hands. Above them, the stars start to peer out through the darkened sky. And then Sucrose sees it—a blip of light in the surrounding trees, and then another. Blinking so gently.
“Fireflies,” she whispers, eyes widening as more and more fireflies begin to blink in the night.
“They must hatch around here,” Kaeya says, looking at Sucrose as she watches the insects in awe.
“There are so many,” Sucrose says, eyes flickering between the lights that flash in and out amongst the trees. A few of the insects fly closer to the picnic blanket, and Sucrose outstretches her arms to catch one in cupped hands.
She smiles as peeks in at the bug glowing in her hands. “I should bring some back with me,” she says suddenly, taking the test tube from earlier and placing the bug inside.
Kaeya watches with an amused smile, then, as Sucrose hunts the fireflies with singular concentration. Once she’s satisfied with her haul, she returns to the picnic blanket, tucking the test tube in her bag.
She almost apologizes, but bites her tongue for a moment and then says, “Thanks for bringing me here.”
Kaeya nods, “I’m just glad you like it.”
For a while, they just watch the fireflies in comfortable silence, snacking on the sweets. Then, Sucrose steels herself and says, “About earlier… I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, or anything, by saying I couldn’t relax around you. It’s not you, I just… I really wanted to spend this time with you.” She pauses, struggling for words, but Kaeya waits patiently. “Usually, when I really want something, I have to prepare myself for the possibility that it’ll slip through my fingers, and… I guess I didn’t allow myself to hope, or…”
“What do you want so badly, Sucrose?”
His eye is trained on her, his lips slightly parted.
“I think it’s obvious,” she murmurs.
“I want to hear you say it,” Kaeya responds, and Sucrose blushes deeper. He leans forward, tucking that damned stray piece of hair behind her ear. Suddenly, she’s thankful for it, for bringing Kaeya closer to her.
She closes the gap between them, her hands coming to rest on Kaeya’s shoulders, the tips of their noses touching. “You,” she says, swallowing the lump in her throat. “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” Kaeya responds, his voice so soft. “Sucrose, may I kiss you?”
Sucrose doesn’t respond verbally—instead, she takes Kaeya’s lips in her own, her stomach doing flips. Kaeya’s hands find their place on Sucrose’s waist, sending shivers up her spine. His lips are malleable and soft, his breath warm. The kiss deepens as Kaeya opens his mouth against hers, and he tastes sweet like frosting. Then his hands are slotting in her hair, brushing against her ears—she sighs breathily into his mouth.
When their lips part, their hands stay put, just holding each other among the fireflies.
“You know,” Kaeya says, voice low, “I had my doubts, too. That you felt any certain way towards me.”
Sucrose is taken aback, and it shows in the way she stares back at Kaeya.
He laughs a little. “You’re so smart, I’d expect you to want some answers before you allowed yourself any feelings.”
Sucrose laughs, now, softly. “There’s plenty to be curious about, yes,” she says, “But you’re much more than your secrets.” It’s true, Kaeya defies definition. Sucrose knows that by now. “You’re compassionate and capable, and you obviously care so much about the people around you. About Mondstadt.” She thinks, how could she not allow herself feelings for him? They would be inevitable either way.
“That’s… really nice to hear,” Kaeya says, and he blushes this time. Sucrose revels in the sight.
“It’s true,” Sucrose responds firmly.
Kaeya kisses her again, languid and sweet—oh-so-sweet.