𝐀𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 | Genshin Impact

ᴀʟᴍᴏꜱᴛ

FORTY FIVE

ALBEDO REACHED WITH a gloved hand across the spines of books in his shelf. His fingertip glossed over the titles, eyeing each one with precision. When he found what he was looking for, he created a gap between two books, placing the one he held in his other hand inside the empty space.

He'd been at it all morning. His schedule was so tightly packed, this was the only chance he'd get to clean up a bit.

The book slid in place, leaving room for another. So Albedo glanced over towards the stack of books nearby, his hand taking careful hold of the one on top. He then moved his arm over to the shelf, raising it higher to place it in the gap.

"Albedo!" A voice quietly called out from behind.

But before he even had the slightest chance to glance over his shoulder, the book in his hand was swindled with ease.

Albedo's gaze immediately darted towards the person.

"(Y/n)," He was surprised to see her.

The woman hummed absentmindedly as she flipped through the pages. "Sucrose was looking for you earlier," She said. (Y/n) then proceeded to shut the book close with one hand, her eyes glanced towards him. "Shouldn't you be downstairs?"

The alchemist shook his head. "Not before getting the chance to tidy up my office," He said. "I'd been putting it off for a while now, unfortunately."

(Y/n) handed the book back to him. "Fair enough," Was all she said.

As Albedo took hold of it, it was by chance (Y/n)'s eyes had crossed the gap between his collar. Just above the vision pinned to his shirt was a mark. It was diamond-shaped, nearly invisible to the naked eye by similar tone to his skin, but only a bit paler and gold.

He noticed, and so he asked, "Is there something on my face?"

Her eyes flickered upward. "Sorry, no. I was just looking at..."

Albedo didn't bother glancing his head down. It wasn't as if he'd be able to see it anyways. "...this?" He pointed towards the seal that sat just above his collar bone.

(Y/n) stared respectfully. "...Yeah. I've never noticed," She admitted. "What is that?"

A hand of his found its way towards his neck. He pressed his fingertips gently against his skin, against the 'flawed' mark. "...I am a synthetic human being," He said as though it were the most normal thing. "A human forged by human hand."

"Consider this a birthmark. As well as what separates me from everyone else..." He parted his fingers for her to see. "This seal is what binds me to my artificial origins, and proof of my imperfection as a human."

(Y/n) took a step closer towards him, eyeing every corner of his face. She then raised a hand close to his cheek. "...Can I?" Her voice was small.

Albedo stared. But he nodded regardless.

"You may find it hard to believe," He said as she gently placed her palm against his lower jaw. "And for that, I do not fault you. But I do not want to deceive you either..." He stopped talking when her hand was directly below his chin.

(Y/n)'s pupils darted from his skin towards his eyes, instantly meeting his gaze. "I believe you..." She whispered.

Her hand then retreated back to her side. "But, drastically speaking, you're no different than I am," She said. "So how could you ever deceive me?"

Albedo averted his gaze. "As I said..." He began. "I was created by artificial means. Nothing like you or anyone else, for that matter."

"I get what you're saying," (Y/n) began. "But even so, you could never mislead me, Albedo." For merely being different, she meant.

The alchemist, intrigued, stared at her.

(Y/n) then looked over at his endless rows of books on the wall. "Since we're together right now..." She began. "Do you still want to go get dessert later? We didn't get to yesterday, I'm sorry."

Albedo came back to his senses. "Of course," He said. "But, there's no need to apologize. Our schedules turned quite hectic without warning..."

"Leave it up to Hertha to find a pile of papers she forgot to turn in," (Y/n) laughed. She then sighed, a satisfied one. "Alright then. I'll go now, and I'll be sure to tell Sucrose you'll come down soon."

And when she had left the room, the alchemist became rather stiff. A bit scared, even.

He now sat at his desk, using his fingertips to drag his sketchbook closer and part it open to an empty slot. His pencil hovered over the page with some hesitancy before finally pressing the tip lightly against it.

"Almost" felt like the right word. He felt as though he were almost on the verge of experiencing something new.

With his hand, he'd twirled locks of her (h/c) hair into strokes cascading over one shoulder. It was a rough sketch, without any crystal detail to form a face. And when he'd gotten every slight shadow in its place, Albedo sat back and stared down at it.

He'd drawn her once before, but this time, it felt a bit different.

Albedo recalled telling her to not be afraid of darker values when drawing, but now he was the one who was too scared to darken all the right the places. The reason being was that the sketch was light, and if anyone were to look at it, only he'd would be able to say who the muse was. If he were to do any more, he was admittedly afraid it'd be a bit too noticeable.

But if he were also to continue—adding in shades of her eyes, her shoulders and gentle hands—would that mean he was cementing this visage of her in his head?

He stared and stared, as if the sketch cultivated from his hands would give him an answer, until a sudden realization dawned upon him.

Albedo presumed these things happened gradually without being aware of it, right up until the alarming moment its veil is lifted. He felt it necessary to take the time to conclude that you don't feel this way for just having a friend talk to you. A sense of higher happiness not possible with merely anyone else, he supposed.

The alchemist then rested his elbows against the desk, simultaneously resting his face in the palm of his hands. The room became silent, and all he could hear amidst the empty space was the sound of his own heart beating.

FORTY FIVE