#(not putting this in the aebedo/albether tags because this really isn't about that)

[starry-briar]

A fic idea I’ve had rotating in my head for a while:

I headcanon Sucrose as aro/ace. While she doesn’t particularly struggle with this aspect of herself, her lack of interest in sex and romance contributes to the alienation she feels around her peers. She genuinely does not understand how most people find that more interesting than, say, skeletal anatomy or the chemical composition of sweet flower nectar. She just eventually learns to take it as a given that they do.

Enter Albedo. Sucrose struggles to make friends in general, and Albedo has the added awkwardness of being both her mentor and a higher ranking member of the Knights. But slowly, during the breaks in their lessons and other work, they get to talking about their lives.

Eventually the topic of romance comes up. Albedo largely disdainful of the subject: it can make for some interesting drama and character motivation in the novels he reads, but the appeal of it in real life is completely lost on him.

Sucrose is ecstatic. She thought she was the only one who felt that way, but it turns out there is at least one other person like her! They spend some time bonding over this shared difference before moving on to talk about alchemy, biology, and other such things that, to the both of them, are far more interesting than romance could ever be.

A while later, Aether shows up.

And Sucrose realizes that Albedo isn’t like her after all.

She actually notices before Albedo himself does. She sees the excitement on his face when talking to Aether, the droop in his shoulders when Aether leaves, the pages upon pages of sketches of Aether in his notebook. When asked what the thinks the source of his fascination with Aether is, he says it’s scientific curiosity, but Sucrose is dubious.

She knows it’s silly to feel betrayed but...part of her does anyway. They had just started to become good friends; what will happen to their friendship if Albedo gets a partner? Will it continue on the same as before, or will he redirect his attention and let their friendship fall away?

Thankfully, even once Albedo and Aether do figure their feelings out and get together, Albedo continues to put effort into his friendship with Sucrose -- more so than he used to, in fact. Sucrose attributes this to Aether drawing him out of his shell. (She’s not entirely wrong, but there is a bit more to the story than that; see my previous post about Cinnabar Spindle.) At some point, Albedo mentions that, while Aether follows along admirably for a lay person, it’s refreshing to talk to someone who is both knowledgeable and passionate about alchemy.

--

When Sucrose meets Collei during the Windblume festival, their friendship feels radically different than Sucrose’s other friendships. It’s more emotionally open, intense, intimate. She considers whether she can feel romantic love after all, but somehow that doesn’t seem...right.

Collei also doesn’t know what to make of it. Partially it’s that she’s still recovering from getting turned down by Amber, her childhood crush who apparently views her as a little sister (even though, at least for the purposes of this fic, they’re only a year or two apart in age). She wonders if she will feel differently once the pain from that subsides.

Collei brings up the subject of kissing, once. She doesn’t really want to do it, but she is curious how it would feel. She also figures the scientifically-minded Sucrose would appreciate a chance to conduct to gather data to better understand her own feelings. The visceral horror Sucrose feels is data enough, though, and they both breathe a sigh of relief that kissing is officially off the table.

But holding hands is nice, and they spend Collei’s last night in Mondstadt cuddling together.