Work Text:
Everything was pale. The ground, the sky, even the trail your feet left was pale. You were an adventurer, like your father before you. But your father’s travels were exclusive to him. Your father was unwilling to share them, for reasons unbeknownst even to you. It was around the afternoon and it was summer, but surely Dragonspine did not know of such a thing.
It was cold, sheer cold.
Though the view was from a height, you could not see any of Mondstadt and Liyue from the fog that blurred everything else. The mountain felt like a prison, a cold prison with nothing but gloom and desolation.
You step out of the cave, taking more of the cold in. But it never scared you. You have visited this place too many times to fear the possible hypothermia. The place was dangerous. But it was beautiful.
“My love, please step inside or you’ll get too cold.”
You feel a warm piece of fabric envelope you. It was Albedo, covering you with a warm blanket, and you can see the worry in his glimmering eyes.
“I don’t want you getting too cold.”
He leads you back further into the cave where it’s warmer. He stops to feel your hands that have become too numb from the low temperature.
“Your hands…wait a moment, I will craft you a potion. It shan’t take too long.”
The potion would be useless for you. You knew this, and all those years of journeying this place would prove it. You knew your body’s limits and how much cold it could tolerate. But today, you took it a step further. Not because you wanted to test yourself, or merely feel the embrace of the cold, but because you didn’t feel it. You were warm, even if your body expressed otherwise. You were warm because he was there.
Albedo was your warmth.
Just as he was about to begin crafting the potion, you held his hands. You held his face in your hands, and that was all you ever needed. You smile, indulging in his gaze. The blood starts rushing to your face, and you feel better; even more when you feel his lips brush your forehead. He understood.
Though timid, the pale alchemist kept you burning. He kept you alive. You knew it was a brand-new day waking up to his face, hair tousled. It was all you ever wanted. The way he would trace his hands from your fingertips, and up, to the back of your neck. It was all you ever wanted.
“This fire within me that I share with you, will never burn out as long as you are with me, and I with you.”
His words softly made their way to you.
“I know I am not one for many interactions, and that I am not great with words. But know that my love for you is stronger than the fire you feel when we are together.” He adds, leading your hand to his heart while he was at it. “I cannot bear to lose you,”
“I burn for you,”
“So please, never dare to go out without a care for the cold again.”
You should apologize for making him worry, but it was exactly that which made your heart flutter. “I’m sorry.” You truly were. “I’ll be even more careful next time. Please don’t be cross with me.”
“You can never make me mad.” He slowly looses his grip from you to return to the masterpiece he was making. His passion for discovery and art made you fall in love with him. The glow of his fascinated eyes radiates to you. “Will you help me decide which color would be best for this?”
You walk closer to get a clearer of view of what he was painting. It was an angle of the Frostbearing Tree, where you first met.
“I don’t think I would be of much help.” You tell him. Colors, canvasses, and the arts were never your realm. You would rather refine your sword.
“I want to see the world through your eyes.”
And again, you melt in his words. You meet his gaze and it felt like an immense weight fell off your shoulders. You took time to choose the better shade for his work.
“I think this crimson shade is nice. Like fire, but muted.”
Just like him.