Elements of Love II Albedo x Sucrose

One Bed?

After such a long day, Sucrose was quite glad to reach Wangshu Inn on time. She hoped the reservation the Feiyun Commerce Guild had made still held, even though they were a day late. 

Sucrose had spent the walk attempting to push Albedo out of her mind, and avoid thinking about just nothing, Albedo's own words. Instead, she had gazed upon the beautiful autumn trees with such lush flora, one she would definitely want to experiment upon later. She had taken a few leaves off the trees and preserved them in an air-tight container, saving them for later.

"Name of the reservation?" the lady at the desk asked. Sucrose adjusted her glasses and looked closer, reading her name tag as Verr Goldet. The owner of the inn, Sucrose suspected.

"Uh, Albedo and Sucrose, courtesy of the Feiyun Commerce Guild." Albedo said, shifting his bag to the other shoulder. 

Verr Goldet flipped through her registration pages, and then sucked in air through her teeth. Sucrose understood the news she was about to deliver was not good. 

"I sincerely apologize, but, well, see the thing is, you were supposed to arrive yesterday to claim your reservation." Verr Goldet explained. "So we had to give your room to someone else, as part of our 16 hour reservation policy."

"Are there any more available rooms?" Sucrose asked. 

"Surely we can take two of those." Albedo added, flashing a smile at Sucrose. She turned away to hide her blush, staring down at the ground in embarrassment. 

"Well, that's the problem, Mr. Albedo. There's only one room left." Verr Goldet said, looking between the two nervously.

"Is it a double?" Albedo asked, a slight frown on his face. Sucrose's stomach fluttered at the thought of sharing a room with Albedo, sleeping close to him.

No, stop it, she scolded herself. Albedo said that that night at the Dawn Winery was just nothing, remember?

"Ah, well. It's a single room with one bed, and I'm afraid it isn't our largest." Verr Goldet scanned her registration papers frantically, searching for another available room, but Sucrose knew there probably wasn't one. 

"See, what with the outpour and migration of tourists coming to Liyue, people leaving Liyue, especially after the attack on Liyue Harbor by Osial, we've been busier than ever. Wangshu Inn is the main control in this traffic flow, so people have been flocking here to rest after their travels."

Verr Goldet sounded almost proud, but weary at the same time. She picked up a pencil, poised to write in their stay.

Albedo looked at Sucrose, his face unreadable. What was Sucrose supposed to say? It wasn't like there was anywhere else they could stay, short of camping out in the rain.

"If Mr. Albedo is fine with the arrangements, I'm sure I will be too." Sucrose spoke up, her eyes meeting Albedo's briefly. The eye contact send a jolt of electricity towards her heart, making Sucrose feel more awake than ever.

"We'll take the room, then." Albedo said decisively, a small smile on his face. Verr Goldet handed them the key, and gave them instructions to climb the stairs to the very top of the inn.

It'll be alright, Sucrose consoled herself. Hopefully, the bed will be big enough that I can avoid touching Mr. Albedo.

---

The bed was nowhere near big enough. 

After eating dinner at the small restaurant just downstairs of the check-in desk, Albedo and Sucrose had returned upstair, both slightly nervous in anticipation of what they knew was to come next.