Work Text:
The land of wind and freedom had brought many firsts to Albedo.
The small, easygoing city of Mondstadt had been where the Chief Alchemist learned to live on his own, independent of his master; it had been where he’d gained a little sister and grew to care for her with love. It had been where he’d become a master himself, called a genius in both alchemy and art, and with every passing day Albedo found himself growing more and more accustomed to its warmth.
He supposed, in a way, Mondstadt could be considered his home. But comforting as that was, this train of thought was also dangerous. Albedo had always imagined that the moment he was reunited with his master – if, no, when that moment came – he would simply pack up his things and leave.
He would gather his notes, prepare Sucrose in taking over his duties, toss a few belongings in a satchel. Goodbye, Klee, he’d say. Thank you, Aunt Alice. To the Knights of Favonius, it was an honour. Then he would walk through those gates, down that cobblestone path, and never look back again. Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye.
No matter how attached he had become to Mondstadt and the people who lived there, his loyalty to his master would always come first. Wherever Rhinedottir went, Albedo would follow, provided she permitted him to, and that was something that would never ever change.
… or so he had initially thought, of course. But Albedo’s existence was quite literally an experiment, and every experiment needed variables – his just happened to come in the form of a bright golden star with a smile that could melt even chalk.
His first love.
“Albedo, what are you doing?”
The alchemist turned around at the sound of a curious voice, a small smile gracing his lips. He would recognise that voice, those footsteps, that warmth he felt anywhere.
“Aether,” he greeted gently, twirling his paintbrush in his hand. “Why, I’m painting, of course.”
The traveler squinted, furrowing his eyebrows. “Well, yes, I can see that–” he gestured to the easel and canvas Albedo had in front of him, as well as the palette he held – “but I mean, what are you painting? There’s, um, nothing here. No scenery, no nothing.”
Albedo shook his head. “That’s not true. You’re here,” he said matter-of-factly. “And you’re more fascinating than any scenery.”
Aether rolled his eyes, grinning. “Y-You know that’s not what I meant. What were you painting before I got here?”
The Chalk Prince raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Hm. What do you see in front of you?”
Aether blinked. He glanced over in the direction Albedo was facing. Far as the eye could see, there was nothing but snow and trees and even more snow. “Literally nothing,” the traveler answered. “And it doesn’t look like you’re painting a landscape.” He stared at the canvas Albedo had been working on. It had been white to begin with, but Albedo had brushed on even more white paint in haphazard strokes and dots, with no indication that he’d been paying attention to the surrounding trees or scenery in the slightest.
Aether laughed, wrapping his arms around the shorter man. “Could it be… Were you just bored or something, Albedo? Too much white paint? Or are you just running out of things to paint in Dragonspine?”
This earned him a light exhale of mirth from the artist. “No, my sunshine,” Albedo leaned up to press a gentle kiss on Aether’s cheek, “I was painting the snow as it fell.”
“As it… fell?” Aether repeated.
Albedo nodded. “Yes.”
Aether nuzzled into his lover’s neck, not quite understanding. “I don’t really get it,” he admitted. “I mean, usually, you’d paint the trees or the path or footsteps or something to contrast with the snow, wouldn’t you? It’s just… white. From afar, I couldn’t even see the paint. It’s as if nothing was on the canvas.” He paused. “A-Ah, I’m sorry if I sound rude! I don’t mean to be offensive, love. Maybe I just don’t understand, I-I’m not very artistic, or–”
“It’s alright, silly. Don’t apologise,” Albedo leaned into the traveler’s touch. “It’s rather hard to explain, and if I’m being honest, perhaps… Perhaps I was just a little bored. After all, I was waiting for hours for a certain someone to get here, after all…”
“Hey, don’t tease me…” Aether pouted, tightening his hold on the mischievous man he was so enamored with. “I’m sorry, okay? The last commission ran longer than expected, and besides, it’s not my fault my boyfriend likes to set our meeting spots in random places around a cold, harsh, unforgiving mountain…Oh, woe is me!”
Albedo swatted him playfully with his paintbrush, snickering when Aether jumped back to avoid getting white paint on him. “Oh, my sincerest apologies, dear traveler,” he teased. “So you can defeat dragons, save nations, wield multiple elements… But Archons forbid you traverse a mountain you’re so very familiar with once or twice a week to meet the humble man who loves you most.”
Aether’s cheeks turned bright red. “I-I… Look, it’s cold, okay?” He huffed, hugging Albedo from behind once more. “And I still want to hear about your, um, snow painting. Surely you wouldn’t just waste resources, right? That’s not something you’d do, so there must be a reason. What’s on your mind?”
Albedo hummed. His eyes fluttered shut, and he let himself bask in the warmth of his lover’s embrace amidst the unforgiving cold of Dragonspine.
“Well, my love,” he began softly, gently brushing his paintbrush against the canvas once more, “you said you couldn’t see what I was painting from afar, right?”
Aether nodded. His soft, golden hair tickled Albedo’s neck as he did. “It’s impossible. It’s just white on white, amidst more white.”
Albedo smiled. “... but does that mean the canvas was empty, and that I hadn’t painted anything?”
The golden boy raised an eyebrow. “Where are you going with this?”
The alchemist painted another stroke, his eyes following a snowflake as it drifted to the ground. “What I mean, Aether, is that sometimes, even if you can’t see something… It doesn’t mean it’s not there. No matter how you try to deny it, no matter if it doesn’t feel real, or if you think it shouldn’t exist…” He smiled at Aether. “It’s still there, love. And maybe, just maybe, it always has been.”
Aether’s gaze softened. “...Taken out of context, that could be incredibly scary, Albedo. This sounds like a horror story.” When the alchemist nudged him playfully, he burst out laughing, reaching down to lovingly squeeze Albedo’s hand. “Alright, alright. I’m sorry, starlight. But really, what’s on your mind? What brought all this on?”
Albedo took a deep, slow breath. “Well,” he started, “I guess… I was just thinking.”
“A dangerous thing.”
“Aether.”
“Sorry.”
“As I was saying. I was thinking about… Well, about Dragonspine. About Mondstadt. About how this nation, and the people I met there, have become my home, and how…” He glanced down at the larger, calloused hands that held his own. “... how terrifying it will be to someday lose them.”
Aether’s eyes widened. “Albedo…”
“I love you, Aether. And I love Mondstadt.” The alchemist’s gaze suddenly seemed so far away. “I’d never thought it would be possible for me to… To care so much. For the longest time, my life revolved around my master, alchemy, and nothing more. But now…”
Albedo’s eyes squeezed shut, before they fluttered open again. “Now, every day is new and wonderful. I lose myself not just in alchemy, but in art, and teaching; there are people I consider family, people I want to protect. There’s…” He cupped Aether’s cheek, his eyes now focused on his sweetheart’s, determined and clear. “...someone I love, someone I want to be with forever.”
Albedo swallowed. “It's all because of you, Aether. Just like these dots of snow on this lonely, white canvas, my feelings were once invisible. No matter how they burned, I could never hope to see them – well, in truth, I never even tried. And even when things happened right in front of my eyes…”
His voice grew quiet. “What I’m trying to say, Aether… is that I didn’t notice how much I’d changed until you came into my life, my love, and suddenly my snow-white world was full of colour.”
Aether’s eyes widened.
Albedo glanced at his canvas once more, then sighed. “You and Mondstadt have given me so many firsts. So many precious, precious firsts. And I’d never realised– I-I’d never thought about it till now, but…” This time, when he exhaled, his words were shaky. “But I am so… so, so scared to lose all this.”
With that, Aether tackled Albedo in a tight, protective hug, sending them both crashing into the snow. Albedo’s painting materials followed suit.
“A-Aether?! My love, what are you–”
“Albedo, I love you,” Aether breathed, his eyes heavy with emotion. “I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you so damn much.”
The Chalk Prince’s eyes widened, surprised by how tightly, yet gently, his lover was holding him. “I-I love you too, my sunshine,” he whispered.
“You won’t lose me. You won’t lose the Knights, or Klee, or anyone in Mondtstadt. I don’t… I don’t know why you think you will, but Albedo, even if one day… Whether you pack up and follow your master again or if I leave this world with my sister, you won’t ever lose me, you won’t lose any of this, you can always come back, y-you...” Aether’s words were strong and firm and true, but his grip on Albedo was weakening. The alchemist watched him with quiet affection.
“I know,” Albedo whispered, reaching up to cup the golden boy’s cheek. “I know.”
Aether sniffled. He buried his face in the crook of Albedo’s neck, ignoring the cold of the snow beneath them. “Your firsts won’t be taken away from you. Even if things change, Mondstadt will always still be the place where you first got a little sister, where we first met, where–” Tears were streaming down his cheek now. Albedo brushed them gently away with his gloved hands.
“My love, don’t cry,” the alchemist said softly. “I hadn’t intended for this to be sad. Forgive me, my darling.”
Aether shook his head, shakily lifting himself off Albedo and helping him sit up. “N-No, it’s okay, I just…” He cleared his throat, wanting to appear strong despite the streaks of tears still painting the canvas of his face. “I wanted you to know that the place and people you call home will always be there for you. You’ll keep having great first experiences in your life, and you’re gonna keep being more and more amazing, and… And, well…”
Albedo smiled. He took Aether’s hands and intertwined his fingers with his own. “Oh, my love…” He sighed. “Would you like to know a secret, Aether?”
“What is it?”
“I’ve come to understand,” Albedo mused, “that while it’s wonderful to have ‘first times’, it’s also important to have, well, ‘next’ times.”
Aether sniffled once more. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, my love, that while I know where our first kiss was, and how it went, and how you accidentally bit my lip because you were too excited…” he nuzzled Aether’s nose lovingly, “What I also want to know is: when will our next kiss be? When can I see you next? And even when many things change and the world and its laws crumble around us, when will be the next time I get to hold your hand?”
Aether’s golden eyes were glossy. “I…”
Albedo gently pressed their foreheads together. “... Don’t you think that’s important, too?”
The traveler’s lip curled up. He giggled, hurriedly wiping his tears away. “Y-Yeah,” he agreed. “Hey, Albedo?”
“Yes, sunshine?”
“I was your first love, right?”
Albedo nodded. He slowly stood up, patting his shorts to get rid of any snow. “Of course you were. As far as romantic endeavours are concerned, you are my first everything, Aether. My first love, my first kiss, my first se–”
Aether cleared his throat, embarrassed. “R-Right,” he nodded, cheeks flushed. “Well, I also want to be your last.”
Albedo tilted his head. “My… last?”
“Yeah. I want to be your first, your last… And your only love, Albedo,” Aether smiled bashfully. “I’d like to be with you forever. Even if one day the paths of our journeys no longer align, I’ll defy them. I’ll do whatever it takes to find you, and then I’ll keep coming to see you again and again and again until they do. I’ll do whatever it takes to stay by your side.” He glanced up at Albedo with hopeful eyes. “... Can I? Can I be selfish and ask for that?”
Albedo’s gaze softened. He was so in love with this man, he thought, as he gently stroked his hair. He wondered if he had done something exceptional at some point to have been given the chance to meet Aether, to know him, and to be so dearly loved by him.
“...Be as selfish as you want,” Albedo murmured lovingly. “Thank you for hearing me out, Aether. Now, come on, my love. I’ll pack up my art supplies, and then we can head back to my camp and start our date.”
His heart was warm as the traveler squeezed his hand in approval and gave him that award-winning smile he adored so much.
“I love you, Aether,” Albedo said.
The sunshine boy beamed. “I love you too!”
Albedo blushed.
Chalk didn’t melt, but Albedo was certain Aether was going to be the death of him.