Mortal Chains (Albedo x Aether)

Ch. 6 He loves me?

Aether could feel him and Albedo exchanging breaths, the alchemist must not have realized how close they had gotten. That, or he wanted this. Aether leaned forward, intent on kissing Albedo, but Albedo leaned back. The traveler simply assumed the other man was nervous, so he pressed forward again and pressed a gentle kiss to Albedo's lips. Albedo gasped and pushed Aether away from him roughly, his body already missing the loss. The feel of Aether pressed up against him. His warm, soft lips pressed oh so gently against Albedo's lips. The alchemist shook his head to rid it of those thoughts.

"What are you doing!?" He exclaimed in panic. Aether's smile slipped from his face and was replaced with a worried frown.

"I-I just thought-" He started to explain, but Albedo quickly cut him off.

"I'm dating Sucrose, I thought you knew..." Albedo explained, his eyebrows furrowed, this was bad. Aether went silent, he just stared at Albedo for a moment before he adjusted his crop top and cleared his throat.

"Excuse me," Aether muttered in embarrassment as he turned around, his braid whipped to the side. Aether began walking away. Albedo could only stand frozen while he watched his best friend walk away in shame. His mind was quickly filled with questions.

What should I do? Should I go after him? Does he need a moment alone? Should I tell Sucrose? I'm sure she'd want to know.

He felt bad for Aether, and the kiss wasn't horrible or anything, but Albedo was with Sucrose. He wouldn't leave her for something so simple, or not so simple. He frowned.

Aether is still my friend though, so then what should I do? Did this ruin our friendship?  He continued to fill his head with questions until he saw Sucrose walk in through the gates of Mondstadt. He jogged towards her, my dark boots slapping loudly against the hard brick ground.

"Sucrose! You're back, how was your journey?" Albedo grinned, his worries from before wiped clean when gifted with the sight of his beautiful girlfriend. Just looking at her could make him happy. What right did Aether have to ruin that?

"It was fine. I found out that there's a lot more we can do with alchemy than what we thought before." She explained in her soft, kind voice. Albedo thought he might love Aether, his voice, his looks, his kindness, but at the moment he couldn't lose Sucrose like this, not when they had a sure relationship. She had always been there for him.

They walked aimlessly through Mondstadt, discussing Sucrose's journey. Sucrose had out a journal, she wrote as she talked to Albedo about what she discovered. The other citizens that walked past the two could tell they were a happy couple. If only Aether knew about Albedo and Sucrose's relationship beforehand. If only Aether wasn't so bitter about it. If only Albedo wasn't so bitter about genuinely liking the kiss. If only Albedo didn't secretly wish for another one, a soft press of lips, and maybe even more.

* * *

It was dark out, Sucrose had gone home, and Albedo sat in my laboratory. Now that Sucrose was gone, she couldn't distract him from what happened at lunch. Albedo could remember it all, exactly what happened and the way Aether looked so crestfallen when he was pushed away. He looked so distraught, surprise and hurt shimmered in his eyes.

He leaned back against the closest wall and slid down slowly. His white coat kept him warm as he sat there, unsure of what to do next.

"He loves me?"

AN: Pain