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Sucrose was always very precise in all of her dealings. Even the smallest question she had was generally accompanied by a sheaf of carefully annotated notes containing further ponderings and theories. Most of her questions concerned the observable world.
What happened when she applied a tincture of Anemo slime condensate to a windwheel aster? Would a radish grow faster when exposed to a surplus of Dendro energy? Could lightning rocks have a practical application to brighten the light provided by lamp grass? These questions had logical answers, and even though they may take a while for her to reach a conclusion, there was always a complete answer to be found.
But when it came to emotions, well...that was something else entirely. Something entirely illogical.
Sucrose remembered precisely when she became aware that her relationship to Albedo, her longtime instructor and friend, had changed. She was fussing over a new strain of mint with long stems that had gotten tangled together in the pot, trying to gently untangle them without breaking the stems, when she knocked over a beaker on a burner nearby. The hot liquid inside spilled over her hand, burning hot.
Hearing her cry of pain, Albedo had jumped from his seat and rushed over, peeling off her glove and helping her over to the sink to rinse it off. He applied a salve to it next to cool and treat the burn, brushing off her stumbling apologies for ruining his experiment with his calm, even voice. It was not the first time Albedo had helped her after some minor accident in the lab. But this time, his touch made her heart flutter and beat rapidly in her chest. It was a...confusing feeling.
After that, it became harder and harder for her to concentrate in the lab as they worked together. Any sight of Albedo sent her thoughts spiraling out of control, and if he brushed against her in the lab, she became paralyzed. Sucrose hoped he didn’t notice how she accidentally clipped her sweet flowers too short after he praised her work. She wondered if he thought she was cute.
Sucrose knew that she was falling in love with Albedo. She wasn't blind to emotions. But that didn't mean she knew how to deal with them. And he seemed totally unaware of how she felt.
So as she laid in bed one night, pressing her pillow to her face and trying to calm her heart as she remembered how Albedo had complimented her latest experiment, Sucrose devised a plan to win him over in the only way she knew how: a series of practical tests.
Any experiment requires appropriate research and supplementary material. So before she began, Sucrose decided that she had to read some romance novels. As she checked out a stack of them from the library, Lisa arched an eyebrow. “Is this a new interest of yours?” she questioned, and Sucrose, unable to bear the attention, stammered an apology and fled from the library, back to the lab, where she hid among the stacks and pretended to be re-organizing the books when Albedo questioned her sudden focus. Sucrose found the books stacked outside her door later along with a short apology note from Lisa.
As she read them, Sucrose found that she did not have much in common with the heroines of romance novels, who were always courageous, willing to do anything for love, and, of course, beautiful. They were not generally shy, stuttering girls. Sucrose sighed as she looked herself over in the mirror. Maybe she should get a haircut?
Well, at the end of the day, novels were novels. This was to be a practical experiment. There was no reason she couldn’t take a few tricks from those books and apply them to a real world test.
At first, Sucrose started small. She'd sit a little closer to Albedo as they worked side by side. When she passed him a pencil or a book, she’d brush her hand against his. She fluttered her eyelashes a little when she bid him good morning. She even borrowed some of Jean’s makeup to give her cheeks a little bit of a sweet pink tint, which was totally unnecessary, for she couldn’t stop herself from blushing at the sight of him. Albedo just frowned, laying the back of his hand against her forehead. “Are you quite well? You look as though you have a fever,” he remarked.
But Sucrose wouldn't give up until she had the answer to her question: will Albedo love me? She carefully noted the results of each test in a thick notebook, color-coded them, and hid the notebook beneath her bed.
Still, she couldn’t deny that she was getting nowhere. No experiment had ever caused her this much trouble. Frustrated, Sucrose decided one day that she was just going to have to ask for help. And that was how she ended up knocking on Noelle’s door one day. Noelle had lots of suitors, Sucrose thought, and people thought she was cute. Surely she knew something about love.
"I'm sorry to be a bother, but can I ask your advice about l-love?" Sucrose choked out, when the door opened. Noelle clapped her hands together.
"Oh, I would love to! Come in, come in," she ushered, seeing Sucrose’s obvious discomfort. Meekly, Sucrose followed her inside, and sat at Noelle's gesturing as she closed the door. Noelle’s apartment was comfortable and spotless, with roses decorating seemingly every possible surface. The maid-knight was soon bustling around, preparing tea as Sucrose spoke, the words pouring out uncontrollably before she could stop them.
“You are in love with Albedo?” Noelle asked, and Sucrose hung her head. But at Noelle’s delighted explanation, she blinked in surprise. Noelle was grinning from ear to ear. “I just knew you two had something special. I’m so excited for you! But...hmm...he’s not the easiest person to read, is he.” She poured Sucrose a cup of tea into a dainty little cup painted with pink and yellow roses.
Sucrose looked down at her face reflected on the surface of the tea, inhaling the richly floral scent. "What would you do if you were him?” she asked Noelle, who glanced at her bookshelf, which contained many of the same titles Sucrose had read.
“Well, if it were me, I’d love a gift. Especially a handmade one, that you can’t buy in the stores. They feel much more sincere to me,” Noelle answered, after several minutes of judicious thought.
That seemed like a good idea, Sucrose thought. The characters in novels were always giving each other gifts. But almost immediately, she let out a frustrated and disappointed sigh. “I wonder what you would give a person like Albedo, though.”
"You like to grow flowers, right? Why not make him a bouquet? I've got lots of pretty ribbons you could use to tie them together. Oh!" Noelle then clapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. "It's even Windblume soon! You could confess to him then. Oh, how romantic…" Noelle's voice trailed off dreamily, as she pressed her hands together. Seeing that Noelle was now lost in a daydream, Sucrose thanked her for the tea and advice and took her leave.
The next stop was to the library. Lisa was the picture of languid grace, and was always receiving gifts from anonymous admirers. Plus, she spoke in a way that even made Sucrose feel as though they were just a little too intimate. Someone like her must know how to spark romance.
At this time of day, the library was mostly empty. Lisa was sitting at one of the tables, slowly turning the pages of a book and yawning. She glanced over as the door swung shut behind Sucrose, echoing loudly.
"Well, hello there, sweetie. Can I help you find something?" she asked. Sucrose knew every corner of the library, so her question was not about books. Thankfully, Sucrose caught on, looking just a tad relieved.
"U-um, well, Lisa, you know a lot about love, right?" Sucrose asked nervously, and Lisa chuckled.
"I know a thing or two." She patted the chair next to her at the table. "Come, tell Miss Lisa what's wrong."
Once Sucrose had finished relaying the story of her crush - growing redder and redder with each word - Lisa tapped her chin, looking up at the ceiling.
"Albedo is a man wrapped up in his own thoughts, so no wonder he hasn't noticed your feelings before now. No, he'll need something grand to shake him into reality. The idea of flowers at Windblume is nice, but it's not uncommon for students to give flowers to their teachers then."
Sucrose’s ears drooped, disappointed. It had seemed like a solid gift idea, and better yet, a simple one. "Should I try something else?"
"Well, it is still Windblume, and it's tradition. A tradition even someone as woefully emotionally inept as Albedo is aware of. You just need to dress it up a little, make it obvious that this isn’t just a thank you gift.” Lisa thought a little bit more, a sly smile crossing her face. “I know. How about giving them to him at Starsnatch Cliff? It's wonderfully romantic, with all the cecilias there. Plus, I’ve heard that they’re his favorite flower." She winked at Sucrose, who blinked in surprise.
“How did you know his favorite flower?” she asked, and Lisa waved her hand.
“Oh, I know a lot about the people here. Now, why don’t you run along? I am thinking a midday nap is in order. Or maybe you can take one with me?” There it was again - Lisa’s uncanny ability to make everything sound so fraught. Sucrose quickly stood and thanked her before leaving.
Sucrose had one final visit to make, and that was to Mona. As far as she knew, Mona wasn’t the target of secret admirers or a hopeless romantic. But she was a friend of Albedo’s, and occasionally came to chat with him about theories. Maybe she’d have an idea of how to confess. Assuming that she had probably skipped lunch in favor of paying for some other manner of magical frippery, Sucrose purchased a small pack of sandwiches from Good Hunter before heading to Mona’s house.
Once she rapped on the door, Sucrose heard a panicked voice yell, “Coming!” followed by a series of scrambling footsteps for the door. It swung open, revealing Mona, who was adjusting her pointed hat and taking a deep breath with her eyes closed. “Ahem. It is I, astrologist Mona Megistus, an- oh, it’s just you, Sucrose.” She stopped her grand speech, visibly deflating when she saw her visitor. “What is it?”
Sucrose followed her inside to the cramped house, once again nervously relaying her feelings for Albedo. She set the sandwiches on Mona’s table, who attempted to maintain an air of regality although her eyes lingered on the food. Then, to Sucrose’s chagrin, Mona giggled.
"Sucrose, you are overthinking this. Just tell him how you feel honestly and directly. He may be distracted by theories most of the time, but even he can understand ‘I love you.’”
“That doesn’t seem like enough,” Sucrose replied, twisting her fingers together.
“Well, I don’t suppose it would hurt to dress it up a little. If you really want to make it special, why not bring him something to eat, too? He mentioned there’s a new café he wants to try.”
Now, that seemed like a good plan. Albedo really enjoyed desserts. Sucrose thanked Mona and left, feeling elated, like she finally understood.
She had an excellent plan. A bouquet and a sweet treat at Starsnatch Cliff on Windblume, a time traditionally reserved for vows of love. There was no way her experiment could fail. Well, there was one way. Her steps faltered. She still had to convince him to go.
That night, as they were wrapping up the day's work, Sucrose approached Albedo. Her hands were trembling. "Um…"
"What is it, Sucrose?" Albedo asked. He was re-shelving the books they had used that day, perched on the top of the small ladder they used to reach the higher shelves, both of them being short. He held out his hand, keeping his eyes trained on the spot he was in, and Sucrose passed him the next one as she spoke.
"Well...I know this is a lot of me to ask, but I was wondering if we could attend the Windblume Festival together next weekend...”
"The Windblume Festival? Hm.” Albedo stepped back down to the ground, dusting his gloves off. “This is rather surprising for you. I thought you didn’t like crowds.”
Sucrose could feel herself turning red again. She was surely going to give herself away at this rate, and then all of her careful preparations would go to waste. “U-um, well, no, I d-don’t.” She swallowed, trying to steady her nerves. “B-but there’s not going to be any work to do that day, since Jean won’t let us, and you were always telling me I should try to relax more. And- and I think you need a break too!” She was talking too fast again, and she stared hard at the floor. She’d completely messed it up, all of her practiced words and reasons to convince him to go. She waited for him to say no.
“Oh, I understand. Well, Sucrose, I would love to go with you.”
The following week was nerve wracking for Sucrose. She spent much of her time lost in daydreams, barely making any progress on her work. Any time Albedo addressed her by name, she squeaked and dropped whatever she was holding. Once work had concluded for the day she’d rush home, puzzling over what sweet she’d bring. She selected a batch of her most colorful flowers to trim for the bouquet, and fetched the ribbons from Noelle. She even trimmed her hair a bit, allowing her catlike ears to be a bit more visible since Albedo had one day, unabashedly, pronounced them cute. And Mona even loaned her a pretty dress. Sucrose thought was lucky to have so much support in her pursuit of love.
When the day came, Sucrose was up before dawn. She’d barely gotten a wink of sleep due to nerves. She made herself breakfast and a cup of coffee, but the smell of the sausages turned her stomach when she began to eat, and so she gave up on that, opting for an apple instead. Then, she tried to do a little reading to calm herself, but that proved impossible. She decided to just go ahead and get ready for the day.
The dress Mona had given her was knee-length and made from a dark blue fabric, with lacy white straps over the shoulders and a gathered, ruffled skirt. Tiny dandelions floated across the fabric. Another wide ribbon of lace wrapped around her waist, tied into a bow at the back. Sucrose didn’t have many shoes, but she had an acceptable pair of tan sandals she rarely wore. Her hair was the hardest part, but in the end, she decided to tie it into a loose bun at the base of her head. She even opted to wear the cat-ear spectacles she had made months ago but never had the courage to wear around others.
Next was the bouquet. She carefully cut the chosen flowers, trimming their leaves cautiously. Everything had to be perfect, since Albedo himself was perfect. A fluffy bundle of ivory cecilias, interspersed with sprays of brilliant blue lamp grass and pure white dandelions. A few scarlet windwheel asters hung above these, turning lazily in the light breeze from her open window. Sucrose carefully arranged them, before tying them together with a braid of gold ribbon.
By the time everything was ready, it was lunchtime. Sucrose could hear the crowds outside, the sound of music and carefree chatter as the festival moved into full swing. She had agreed to meet Albedo just outside the city right after lunch. So far, everything was proceeding as planned.
She stopped at the café Mona had mentioned first. There were a lot of choices, and Sucrose felt overwhelmed. But finally, she opted on a lemon flavored cupcake, topped with creamy icing and a delicate sugar dandelion. The café packaged it for her, and topped the box with a jaunty yellow bow.
Sucrose carefully placed both of the gifts in the bag that hung across her body, carefully arranging them so that the flowers wouldn’t get crushed. She didn’t want Albedo to see them until they had arrived at Starsnatch Cliff, where she’d claimed she wanted to try the gliding game as an excuse to get him there.
She sat on the low wall at the far end of the bridge, and waited for Albedo. As she waited, she kicked her feet back and forth lightly, feeling the breeze pluck joyfully at her hair. Despite the butterflies, she felt light and airy, as if she could take flight at any moment. As people passed back and forth before her, some holding hands, she imagined herself among their number soon. Everything was going so very perfectly.
Or at least, it had been.
An hour passed. Then another. And soon, another. Sucrose had gotten up from her spot on the bridge at this point, and was walking back and forth. The feeling of lightness had fled, and she tried to ignore the curious gazes on her, wondering why she was still here. Had Albedo forgotten? Sometimes he could get absorbed in an experiment, and completely neglect whatever he’d planned for the day. Then again, Jean had said she was taking away everyone’s keys to the lab to force them to at least try to relax for the day. For once, Sucrose had surrendered hers without protest.
Or maybe something had happened to him? Maybe he’d fallen down the stairs and broken his leg, or something else? She dismissed that out of hand, though. If that had happened someone would have at least come to bring her to the infirmary.
Maybe he’d decided he didn’t want to come after all…
Sucrose turned her gaze to the sky. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in delicate oranges and purples. She sighed, her ears drooping. If he wasn’t here by now, he wasn’t coming. She turned and began to walk back into the city, feeling tears pricking at her eyes and a hot misery in her stomach. At least she could eat the cupcake.
“Sucrose!” a voice called behind her. Albedo’s voice.
Turning around, Sucrose saw him running up the road that led to Springvale, a look of panic on his face. Once he reached her, he doubled over with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
“I’m so sorry- I had to run an errand, and the road was blocked on the way back. By the time I was able to help get everything sorted it was so late. Can you forgive me?” He looked up at Sucrose, then straightened up, catching his breath again.
As Albedo explained the reason for his delay, Sucrose’s lip quivered, and the tears that had been threatening to fall spilled over. “I thought you weren’t going to come at all! I waited for hours!” she exclaimed, turning away from him in embarrassment. She rubbed at her eyes furiously. It wasn’t as though this was his fault. Why was she crying so hard?
When Albedo touched her shoulder, she flinched. But he merely held out a handkerchief, eyes full of guilt. Sucrose took it from him, burying her face in the soft fabric. Stupid Albedo, she thought to herself. Worrying me so much.
Once Sucrose had more or less composed herself, she let out a long sigh, looking back up at the sky again. Albedo followed her gaze upwards. “You know, it isn’t too late for us to enjoy some time together,” he said softly, and Sucrose nodded with a sniffle.
Albedo took her hand in his, and she jumped. Albedo snatched his hand away in response. Sucrose realized he was also blushing. Why is he the embarrassed one? She wondered. Then, cautiously, Sucrose offered her hand back to him, and he took it, entwining their fingers together and leading her along the road to Starsnatch Cliff.
By the time they had arrived, the sunset had deepened to dusk, and the stars were beginning to come out for their nightly dance. Fireflies floated, winking lazily above the long grasses. They took a seat next to each other at the cliff’s edge, looking back towards Mondstadt, their home, glowing warmly in the night. There was a cool breeze blowing.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to try the gliding challenge,” Albedo remarked, disappointed. “It seems I’ve really made quite the mess of things.”
Sucrose shook her head. “U-um, actually, I just wanted to come here with you. I didn’t really want to do the challenge. I just couldn’t think of...another reason to bring you here…” she trailed off, catching Albedo’s confused expression. Starting to panic again, she opened her bag, producing the bouquet and practically throwing at him. “Um, this is for you!”
Startled once again by his normally mild-mannered assistant’s erratic behavior, Albedo looked down at the bouquet in his hands. A glowing smile crossed his face. “Sucrose, they’re beautiful. And it looks like they are more colorful than usual. Did you use that new tincture you were testing on them?” he asked, feeling the petals of one of the cecilias between his fingers.
“You noticed?” Sucrose hadn’t mentioned the tincture to Albedo, for it was one of many variations she was working on to alter the colors of flowers. She hadn’t thought it worth his input at such an early stage.
Albedo nodded. “I notice everything you do.” Sucrose, hearing this, was even more flustered, and she hid her face in her hands as she calmed herself. He laid the bouquet in his lap, looking back towards the city. “Flowers at Windblume. I never thought to be the recipient,” he mused.
Then, his voice turned sheepish. “Um, the errand I had to run…” he reached into the small pack he carried, producing a package wrapped in bright red paper and tied with a silk cord. “I had to go all the way to Stone Gate to fetch it, or else it wasn’t going to arrive on time.”
Puzzled, Sucrose ran a finger over the paper. Pulling the cord free and unwrapping it, she gasped. The package contained a small box filled with tissue paper. Nestled in among it was a pin in the shape of a bundle of glaze lilies. She lifted it up, admiring how it shone even in the pale moonlight.
“It’s made from silk flowers, so it won’t fade,” Albedo told her. Gently plucking it from her hands, he pinned it to the front of her dress. “I should have mentioned this earlier, but...you do look beautiful, Sucrose,” he admitted.
As color bloomed across her cheeks once more, Sucrose could feel tears welling up in her eyes again. She was so happy. But she dabbed them away quickly, not wanting him to think she didn’t love this unexpected gift. She’d dreamed about him giving her flowers in return, but didn’t think it would happen. “Thank you, Albedo...I’ll treasure it.”
A stiff wind blew past, and she shivered again in the cold. Catching sight of this, Albedo quickly apologized, shrugging off his jacket and draping it around her shoulders. “Is that better?”
“Yes, it is,” Sucrose replied, pulling the jacket tight around herself. It was softer than she expected.
Looking relieved, Albedo settled back into his seat. “You know, you just called me ‘Albedo.’ Not ‘master.’”
Sucrose flinched once again. “I-I’m sorry! I won’t make that mistake again!”
As she stammered, Albedo shook his head. “Please, no. I prefer it that way. I’ve been trying to get you to call me Albedo for a long time now.” He looked away from her, as if nervous to meet her gaze, turning his focus towards the city. Sucrose, meanwhile, couldn’t look anywhere else. The wind ruffled his fluffy hair in the moonlight and he seemed to positively glow with light. The more she watched him, the more she felt as though she was falling.
Desperately in need of a distraction lest she fall for real, Sucrose burst out with a trembling voice, “I got something else for you, too.”
“Oh, no, you shouldn’t have-” Albedo started, but she’d already thrust the pastry box at him in much the same way she had the flowers.
“It’s a lemon cupcake,” Sucrose continued. Albedo opened the box, smiling again.
“It’s even from that new cafe I wanted to try. Thank you, Sucrose. Why don’t we share it?” Despite her protests, he broke off a bit of the cupcake, and held it out to her. Relenting, Sucrose allowed him to pop it into her mouth.
It was delicious, the tart lemon flavor softened by the sugar and cream. The icing dissolved in her mouth, leaving the memory of sweetness. Albedo brushed his thumb across her lips, wiping away a stray bit of icing. His hand traveled, resting over her cheek. With his other hand, Albedo pushed aside a stray lock of hair that the wind had blown free. Sucrose’s heart thumped so loudly in her chest she was certain he could hear it. Then, Albedo placed a tiny, soft kiss on her lips.
Sucrose couldn’t stop the little gasp of surprise she made, and Albedo, hearing that, quickly drew away. “I’m sorry, that was overly presumptuous of me,” he apologized, stumbling over his words and turning bright red. Sucrose instead shook her head, her eyes wide.
“I, um, I...liked that, actually…” Sucrose spoke in such a quiet whisper she wondered if he’d even heard her. She stared hard down at the ground, wishing it would swallow her whole. Then, Albedo laid his hand on top of her head. Her ears flicked up momentarily, and she looked into his eyes, shimmering with light.
“Then, may I?” he asked, cupping her face in his hands. She gave him a tiny nod, and he leaned in, placing a soft kiss to her lips. Sucrose shivered, but not from the cold. She liked this. A lot. And when he pulled away from her, she instead leaned in, chasing him, demanding another kiss. Albedo laughed quietly, acquiescing.
Once they broke apart, Sucrose cautiously leaned against him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Albedo laid his hand on her head once more, stroking his fingers through her hair and tracing along the tender fur on the outside of her ear. It was an unfamiliar feeling, to have someone touching her ears, but she found it was very soothing, and she closed her eyes, relaxing bit by bit.
“All’s well that ends well, I suppose,” he said with a sigh after several long moments spent in comfortable silence. “I’ll have to thank Lisa for her help.”
“Thank Lisa?” Sucrose asked in confusion. Albedo glanced down at her, embarrassed once again, then cleared his throat, picking at his shirt collar.
“Well, I, um, after you said you wanted to take me to Windblume, I realized it was finally my chance to tell you how I felt. I’ve been wanting to for a long time. But I wasn’t sure how to say it...she suggested getting you flowers for Windblume, but I thought since you grow flowers all day, it wouldn’t do to give you any from Mondstadt, so I specially ordered that.”
So Albedo had loved her too, then, for a long time. As a wave of relief washed over her, Sucrose felt a giggle well up, and she couldn’t stop it. At Albedo’s questioning gaze, she said, “Um, well, I asked Lisa for help, too. She suggested I bring you here, so that you would know the flowers were a romantic gesture.”
Albedo was mystified. “Is that so? Hm. That does explain why she said she should start charging for romantic advice.”
Sucrose nodded with another small laugh, then settled back against Albedo, who resumed stroking her hair. He sighed happily as they watched the windmills turn in the distance.
“Happy Windblume, Sucrose.”