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"over here, y/n," he called you over, your footsteps heavy as you ran over to albedo. holding his clipboard and his pen, he pointed at the broken ruin guard, your hands ready to write. "he's missing his hand, which means he took severe damage to his forearm. missing the joint, the ruin guard is unable to move. it's also missing it's core, which causes it to not work. do you understand?"
"...not a word but i'll pretend i do, sir!" you giggled, writing it down. albedo's small smile faded into thin air, the boy sighing frustratingly as he rubbed his temples. "...sorry, albedo, it's just━"
"no problem, y/n," his gentle smile rekindled, his orbs looking at you shyly. "give me a minute, alright? stay here and enjoy the view."
"okay," you whispered, handing him his clipboard. even the soft brush of your fingers together caused albedo to hesitate, taking the pen quickly as he turned away. giving him time to get himself together, albedo walked up further the path, leaving you on your own. "hmph, wonder what his deal is."
you tied back your hair, heading closer to the edge. you smiled down at the passing snow, seeing all the ice and snowy rock. the scenery was all too new to you, considering that liyue had trees, hills, and more trees, you absolutely adored the snow.
well, other than the fact it was dead cold, you liked it. albedo lent you his coat often, possibly because he was vulnerable and used to this scary cold weather. so, kneeling down, you see a dove, one as white as snow. you smiled at it, placing out your cautious hand towards it.
its dark orbs met yours, causing you to giggle. it made a cute sound, jumping into your palm as you stood up. "aren't you just the cutest dove?" you remarked, petting its head as you shivered. "you remind me of albedo."
"it does?" you heard, causing you to flinch. turning around with the dove still in your hand, albedo tilted his head, chuckling softly at your startle. "apologies, i didn't mean to startle you."
"it's alright━and it does, look at its eyes," you pointed at the dove, albedo walking closer as you both leaned towards the dove. of course, the bird loved the attention, looking between you both as you and albedo shared a soft laugh. "although you both don't share the same eye color, you guys have wide eyes━maybe from all the shock you go through."
his eyes crinkled softly, chuckling as he turned your way. doing the same, you're both caught by surprise as your face is just inches away from his, the dove watching closely before making a soft sound━
and flying south.
"oh..."
"er..."
you pressed your lips back into a thin line, leaning away from him. "...sorry."
"no, no, it's alright━my fault for getting too close, heh," he said quietly, soon turning away. his mind was in shambles, his hand clutching his blue shirt. what was wrong with him these days?
you stared at his back, smiling gently as you close your hand into a fist. "you...never struck me as the silent type, kreideprinz."
he instantly turned your way to the structure of his nickname, causing you to cross your arms. "where...did you learn that nickname?"
"sucrose told me that everyone in mondstadt calls you that," you explained, shrugging. "am i...not allowed to, kreideprinz?"
you struck his heart right on the dot, his heart pumping miles a minute. "oh, well, of course, you are, it's just━"
"it's just...?" you recited. he was nervous under your stare for the first time. he'd never been like this before, why were you any different? "just say the name, sir, and i won't call you it anymore."
"actually, y/n..." he trailed off, gulping. your name was like silk on his tongue, soft. he loved your name more than anyone had cherished his. yours was a soft summer, a season he wanted to see more often━but on this mountain, it was impossible to see much heat. "i'd prefer...if you call me that more often."
"oh?" you were intrigued, brushing back your hair as you skipped over to albedo. jumping closer to him, he widened his eyes, blushing. "do i strike you familiar, kreideprinz? do i make your heart flutter?"
you surely did.
"i━"
"mr. albedo! y/n! where━oh?" sucrose gasped, seeing you two close. you both widened your eyes, stepping five feet away from each other. she giggled, crossing her arms. "did i...walk in on something?"
"no!" you both synchronized, taking a good look at each other before turning away with red splayed across both of your faces.
sucrose giggled, making fun of you guys. "anyway, i have our subject's missing chao's core. when the time comes, we can put it in."
"ah, alright..." albedo nodded, crossing his arms. "then...shall we head back to camp?"
nodding slowly, you felt a bit happy. were you getting closer to the mountain genius?
