"Happy birthday, Sucrose!"

The smile she gave in return was shy and nervous every time, even if she was genuinely thankful for all the birthday wishes. As much as Sucrose enjoyed the date, it meant receiving more attention than usual, and that wasn't something she liked, exactly. If she had to be honest, she'd rather spend the day in the lab, making progress on her samples and experiments, which was why she wanted to get there as soon as possible.

Peace and quiet, not to mention being able to spend the day with Albedo. She sighed at the thought of him; if she was lucky, he wouldn't be in Dragonspine today, and that would be the perfect birthday gift. Knowing him, he wouldn't do anything big for her birthday, and she didn't mind, not at all! His company would be more than enough. With that in mind, she opened the door to the lab expecting a normal day of work.

Instead, she was surprised to see Albedo, Timaeus, and Klee sitting down at one of the lab tables, on it a small amount of snacks, snacks that she immediately recognized were her favorites. The three heads turned to look at her and three pairs of eyes lit up. The table, the snacks, the people… Had they…?

"Big Sister Sucrose, happy birthday!" exclaimed Klee, already running in her direction.

They had.

It turned out the three had arranged a small thing to celebrate her birthday, knowing she wouldn't have liked something too flashy or big, or with too many people, hence why it was only them. Sucrose was obviously surprised, but she loved the gesture, not to mention the snacks were delicious. Sure, she had plans for work, but even she could take a break on her birthday.

(Timaeus and Klee insisted, but ultimately it was Albedo who convinced her.)

"And Noelle also greeted me, though briefly. It seemed she was busy," Sucrose was telling them about how her day had been going so far, while they ate and drank.

"Is that really a surprise? Noelle is always busy, the poor girl needs a break," Timaeus commented with a sigh, as Klee nodded in agreement. Albedo, on his side, only chuckled and focused on Sucrose, a small yet smug smile on his face.

"Reminds me of another girl I know." Sucrose blushed slightly and popped a sweet flower candy in her mouth so she wouldn't have to answer, and looked away. It was embarrassing how he had no trouble making her flustered, and it only made her crush all the more obvious. Did he know? Oh, he was a genius, he certainly knew. Albedo saw her red cheeks and almost chuckled again, that precious smile of his softening before disappearing completely once he saw the time.

"Oh, I have to go pick up the cake," he announced suddenly, standing up. Sucrose almost choked on her candy, until she properly swallowed and spoke up, standing up as well with her hands clasped together near her chest.

"Cake? Mister Albedo, y-you didn't have to-" she tried, but Albedo cut her off by raising his hand. Once she was silent, he dropped his hand. "Nonsense. I wanted to and besides, it's just a small cake, nothing too big. Honestly, Sucrose, don't worry about it." She pouted, but sighed anyways, complying. Albedo was about to start making his way to the door, when Timaeus stopped him.

"I can go for the cake," he offered, standing up. "I'm sure Sara won't have a problem with me picking it up." Albedo couldn't even protest, as Timaeus was already leaving the lab, so he sat down in defeat. Much to the two alchemists' surprise, Klee went after Timaeus; Sucrose missed the mischievous look Klee gave her big brother before leaving.

"Byeee," she sang happily and closed the door.

And now, Sucrose and Albedo were left alone, along with a terribly uncomfortable silence.

"Um…" Sucrose cleared her throat, drawing her mentor's attention to her. "Than-... Thank you for doing this for me, sir. I… I appreciate it greatly. If it had been something bigger, with the other knights, I would've been thankful, obviously! But it-... it wouldn't have been comfortable. Parties aren't my area of expertise, as you probably guessed. I don't… really… enjoy them. If anything, the one aspect of parties I like is slow dances. The music during those is very calming," she left it at that, realizing she was rambling. When she looked up, she noticed Albedo had become interested in her last words.

"You like the music during those, but what about slow dancing itself? Do you enjoy it?" he asked. Sucrose hummed in thought, placing her index finger on her chin.

"I… I suppose I would like to dance. I've… I've never…" she trailed off without finishing her sentence. "But I suppose I would like it, if it ever happened."

Albedo didn't know what he was doing, his body and mouth were moving on their own; he offered her his hand and with his characteristic stoic expression, asked her, "Would you like to dance with me, then?"

He had never seen her that flustered before, with her ears twitching and even darkening a little, along with the blush he knew perfectly by that point. It took Sucrose a few seconds to calm down and be able to speak.

"But… But we have no music," she pointed out despite shyly taking his hand, and he couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't a no, but of course Sucrose of all people would point that out. It was true, though, they had no music, but that would be no problem, not for Albedo, anyway.

"Not to worry," he said as he led her to the center of the room, a more spacious place for them to dance. He wouldn't admit to it, but he was slightly nervous; he thought she wouldn't accept his offer and turn it down as politely as possible. It was a pleasant surprise, nonetheless. "We'll just have to improvise a little."

"I-I d-don't… I don't s-sing," she stammered due to Albedo placing his hand on her waist, and moving hers so she could place it on his shoulder. It was a proximity they had never shared before, not like that, not outside of work, and it made him even more aware of it.

"That's alright. Follow my lead," he nodded towards their feet and Sucrose obediently looked down, and easily imitated the steps he was making, slow and small, it wasn't hard at all. She learned fast, even if it wasn't related to alchemy, and Albedo couldn't be more proud.

"I see the crystal raindrops fall," he began singing softly and the way Sucrose's head shot up to gape at him almost made him stop out of surprise, but he continued anyways, just giving her a shrug in return.

"And the beauty of it all, is when the sun comes shining through," Albedo continued the song and he didn't fail to notice how her ears were raised slightly, definitely more so than usual, as if not used to the sound and wanting to register it properly.

It was obvious she wanted to keep her eyes on him, but she kept constantly looking down, and knowing Sucrose, Albedo guessed it was so she didn't mess up the steps. Giving her hand a reassuring, gentle squeeze, he got her to stop and made those beautiful amber eyes stay in him.

She took a deep breath and much to Albedo's pleasure, she relaxed and allowed herself to have confidence for once.

"To make those rainbows in my mind," came the next verse and he decided to try something; he let go of her waist and moved their intertwined hands so she would do an underarm turn. Based on her confused frown, she didn't understand at first, but it didn't take her long.

"When I think of you sometime." She did her turn and giggled once she ended it, their arms extended and hands still holding tightly to each other. The blush hadn't left her cheeks yet, but it made the sight of her all the more beautiful, because Albedo could take comfort in the fact that she was dancing, giggling, because of him.

"And I wanna spend some time with you," one would be able to hear his smile in his singing as he tugged on her hand gently to pull her back, and in the process let go just so he loosely embraced her waist with both arms. Her blush deepened and her ears flattened against her head again—out of shyness, most likely—but she got the hint and snaked her arms around his neck, reigning the rhythm of the song.

"Just the two of us." Albedo got lost in her eyes and the way they seemed to carry a certain type of admiration different from mentor and mentee. He wondered if Sucrose could see that in his own eyes, if his feelings managed to make themselves known that way.

"We can make it if we try, just the two of us." Their moves were automatic and it was almost as if the lab around them dissipated into nothing, leaving them alone. No responsibilities, no experiments, no formulas, just them and their unspoken words that seeped through their actions without the other realizing.

"Just the two of us…" Albedo finished, trailing off and almost murmuring the last part. The song was finished, but neither stopped moving and their feet continued to dance and swing their bodies, the melody embedded in their minds. Another silence settled, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Still, Sucrose broke it.

"Mister Albedo, I… I'm speechless. Your voice it's… it's magnificent. I had no idea you could sing! That was amazing!"

Sucrose wondered how many people knew that Albedo could sing. Was she the only one? If so… was she allowed to feel special? Because she felt very special at that moment and she had no shame in it. Not to mention he did it on her birthday, for her, and the song itself, the lyrics… Oh, Archons, it felt like a dream.

"Thank you, I have many hidden talents," he replied jokingly, even if he maintained his neutral expression. Even if he was joking though, Sucrose wouldn't be surprised if he excelled at other things as well. Albedo was unbelievably talented and her curiosity wanted to know more.

"Like… Like what else? Could you-… Could you perhaps show me?" she asked innocently, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly. Albedo blinked and she hoped he would consider her request.

He made her feel at ease, a peace that she had a hard time achieving anywhere else, including being alone. Recently, her thoughts had been plagued with his eyes, his voice and just… him, in general. Sucrose was smart enough to realize she had developed feelings for him, and that scared her at first.

Romantic feelings for her mentor, the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius of all people, risked the professional yet also somewhat intimate relationship they had built. Most of their interactions were work related, yes, but it wasn't a rare occurrence to see them eating together at Good Hunter or taking strolls along with Klee.

Sucrose didn't want to lose that, but being the hopeful girl she was, she allowed her mind to wander off and it reached the point of her not being able to deny that she had, indeed, a crush on Albedo. As long as he didn't find out, she had nothing to be scared of, right?

Her train of thought was cut short when she felt Albedo's gloved hand on her cheek, and she blinked to focus her eyes on him. Without noticing, they had stopped moving, they weren't dancing anymore, but Albedo hadn't let go of her.

"I suppose there is…" he trailed off and his voice was low, a murmur meant only for her ears. Sucrose wasn't understanding what was going on until Albedo began to lean in.

Her heart beats were clear as day in her ears, and she felt dizzy from all the blood that was rushing to her cheeks and face. Was he… Was he going to kiss her?! How- How does one kiss? She was supposed to close her eyes, right? His eyes were half lidded but they weren't closed. Maybe she wasn't supposed to close them just yet. Did she have to stay put and wait for him or meet him halfway? At what distance was she supposed to purse her lips?

He brought his other hand up and now he was cupping both of her cheeks, taking an agonizingly slow time to close the gap between them. Was he waiting for her to lean in as well? Alright, alright, she could do that.

And she did.

Their breaths began to mingle together, her heart was about to jump right out of her chest and their lips were mere inches away from meeting as one of his hands went through her hair. Sucrose could already feel his warmth, his kiss, ghosting over her skin. Her lips parted and finally—

"BIG BROTHER ALBEDO, THE CAKE IS SO PRETTY! LOOK!" Klee yelled happily as she entered the place, bursting through the door loudly, with Timaeus right behind her.

Sucrose shrieked out of surprise and stepped away from her mentor, covering her face in embarrassment and nearly crying into her hands. Albedo was in a fairly similar state, looking away and covering his mouth with one hand, though his blush was clear in his cheeks and even his ears.

"Did we… Did we interrupt something?" Timaeus asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Albedo took a deep breath before dropping his hand.

"No," he answered simply, but his tone was an obvious, 'Yes.' Klee blinked at the two Vision bearers and cocked her head to the side before asking,

"Were Big Sister Sucrose and Big Brother Albedo doing no-no stuff? Is that why she's red?" she asked innocently, pointing her finger at Sucrose, who had managed to calm down, somewhat.

Klee's comment made her want to be eaten alive by the earth.

"K-Klee." Sucrose had never heard Albedo stammer before. It was new, and kind of cute; she liked it. "What if we just let Sucrose make her birthday wish, yes?"

"Mmmkay!"

The cake was small, but the decoration was breathtaking, in Sucrose's eyes, at the very least. The frosting was a shade of light minty green and the details were white, a couple of dots cascading down to the simple pattern right at the base, and on top there were pompom-like flowers.

Klee was right, the cake was really pretty.

As they got a candle out and lit it up, Sucrose kept stealing glances at Albedo, who was doing the same thing despite being busy with the cake.

They almost kissed! Not only that, but it had been him who had initiated it! Did that mean he liked her, too? Did he have feelings for her? Why else would he do such a thing, then?

She glanced at him for the nth time and caught him glancing in her direction as well. Immediately, they both looked away, with Sucrose having to fan her face; too much blushing in one day would surely make her faint at some point.

"Yay, it's ready! Sucrose, make a wish!" Klee announced and excitedly pushed the cake in her direction, with one candle lit up on top of it. Sucrose gave herself a few seconds to calm down and focus on the cake. A wish, a wish…

Once she had it, she blew on the fire and the other three clapped briefly. As Timaeus cut a portion for Klee, Albedo graced Sucrose's hand with his own to gain her attention.

"Happy birthday," he said once she had her eyes on him, giving her the tiniest of smiles. Sucrose blinked and smiled in return, a smile that, this time, wasn't nervous, it was genuine and happy.