Against The Cold ~ Alberose

Chapter 11

Oh, Lord Barbatos, Sucrose could get used to this -- waking up every morning in Albedo's arms, their legs tangled together, normal identities and roles forgotten.. Albedo's face pressed between her shoulder blades, seeking comfort and warmth in her, and his arm draping loosely around Sucrose's waist, gently holding her against him.

Her hair was a knotty mess, and Sucrose knew she needed to brush it before it got too out of hand. She made a move to sit up, but Albedo's arm tightened further around her.

"No, wait," he mumbled, settling his face in the crook between her shoulder and neck. "Can you stay here just for a little while longer, please?"

Sucrose felt her face flush and turn bright red before sighing. "I have work to do, you know. I-I'm, um, expecting Barbara any moment now," Sucrose said lamely. She was lying through her teeth, and she grimaced at how pitiful it sounded.

"No, you aren't," Albedo protested, tugging her even closer. "We can just stay here. Timaeus is bound to be asleep until noon."

Sucrose let out a sharp breath, suddenly aware of what exactly she and Albedo were doing. She was hyperfocused on every spot they touched, an odd feeling spreading around her body. No, this isn't . . . this can't be right, she fretted. This isn't . . . I can't be doing this, especially with Albedo. Archons, what am I doing?

Sucrose instantly sat up. "I'm sorry, Mister Albedo, I shouldn't be here." She anxiously tied her hair back and propped her glasses up on her nose. "This isn't-"

"Sucrose, what do you mean?" Albedo said, cutting her off. "Why shouldn't you be here?"

"I . . . I can't answer that," Sucrose admitted, turning away from him.

"Well, why not?"

Sucrose clenched her fists and stood up. "Because I don't know! I don't know, alright? I can't . . ." -- her voice died down to no more than a whisper -- "Lord of Wind, I shouldn't . . . what the hell am I doing with myself?"

"Wait, Sucrose!" Albedo cried, standing up and grabbing her wrist. "Please don't leave yet!"

Aggravated, Sucrose clenched her teeth. "You said that last night! Archons, Albedo, I can never refuse you! This is bad. T-This is really, really bad. I can't keep abandoning my work to stay with you, however much I might want to!"

"W-What?" Albedo asked, taking a step closer to Sucrose.

She offered a small huff. "I said no, I must go and get . . . experiments . . . and stuff . . . done." However, Sucrose felt rooted to the spot and she made no move to leave. She was captured in Albedo's questioning blue gaze, his eyes full of a swirl of emotions that Sucrose couldn't tell what he was feeling.

"No, no, I mean after that. You want to stay with me?" Albedo mumbled, his face red.

Sucrose's eyes widened. "W-What do you mean? I never said such a thing!" Her voice came out as more of a squeak, her words being lost and completely ignored by Albedo. Her heart thumped in her chest so loudly that Sucrose feared it would pop out of her chest -- although she knew that to be scientifically impossible.

"Sucrose, I . . . I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable," Albedo began slowly, picking out his words as delicately as though he were picking flowers. "But . . . ."

Sucrose raised a single eyebrow. "What?"

Albedo was silent. His mouth moved, but no words came out.

"But what?" Sucrose asked again, growing impatient with Albedo's persistent silence and starting to pull away.

Before she could move any further Albedo parted his lips again, but this time it wasn't to talk, to give voice to his emotion, to explain to Sucrose the complicated web of twisted feelings he was crushed by whenever he was around her.