"unstoppable, my ass."
y/n couldn't believe it but she just found herself walking one-step ahead with albedo — they were on their way to the restaurant owned by beidou's sister. it was near the district so people around them swarmed like an ocean. he was despicably annoying and loud, he kept bringing out topics from middle school and all.
"us working together is really not to your liking?"
"no, and please shut up." she frowned at him, crossing her arms across her chest as they hurried to walk. "it's hot in here, i cannot wait to finally eat and finish this shit."
"to finally eat and finish this shit, huh? something never changes."
she took a deep breath, "you're implying what?"
and before she knew it, albedo was already walking beside her. too comfortable to even point it out — acting too oblivious that he didn't make it seemed so obvious, and his polite smile caught her off-guard that's why she chose to ignore it but the frown on her face didn't vanish — it remained there and grew more obvious whenever he strikes a conversation. it was working but she was annoyed.
"that, food over me?" he questioned, confused. both of them realized how wrong that sounded, y/n saw how the tip of his ears turned red and how he avoided her gaze.
she cleared her throat, "at least you knew. you're the least of my concern."
"that's so cruel of you."
"am i being cruel to you? thought we both hate each other?"
"it was one-sided." he faced her, and it was like her normal response to also stop walking and wait for his another remark. it was stupid but she heard him. "i don't hate you." he said, almost whispering — it went away with the cool breeze of wind but y/n heard and felt it, the sincerity and the sadness both mixing together like the withering atmosphere building up.
it was suffocating to say – what did he mean by 'one-sided' — did he make a fool out of her? she rolled her eyes and walked away, whenever albedo tried to catch on to her, she would try to walk faster and the blonde eventually gave up and stayed behind her back.
"if you do not hate me, then what?" the words came out from her mouth naturally.
silence. no, their surroundings were loud and busy. loud chatters, murmurs, stressed remarks, the horns of vehicles, and the music from downtown — it was supposed to be distracting but their eyes remained connected; one was filled with determination to know, and one was filled with uneasiness — stuck between if he should tell her the truth or remain quiet.
she turned her back again, for the nth time, like it was nothing. "forget it."
the rest of the walk remained in silence. they were welcomed by the enthusiastic sister of beidou who resembled her a lot, except for the eye-patch of course, and her hair was painted pink. beidou mentioned that her sister was in her mid-30s and yet she looked the same age as them. she was pretty and funny — and the food — oh the food looked tasty and welcoming; from the warm soup made from crabs or mushroom, the seafood cooked in different ways and so appealing to look at, the dessert that she mentioned 'tasty food from different countries i've always wanted to cook' and the place was beyond amazing. the staff, the food, beidou's sister – they were all welcoming.
"thank you for coming here, dear. beidou mentioned the both of you — my, you both look dreamy." she remarked as they took the seats — unfortunately facing each other.
"ah, the food looks amazing." albedo cheekly muttered.
beidou's sister chuckled, "do you know how to eat and peel seafood?"
"yes," albedo nodded "my sister likes to go on adventures, especially in the ocean, we like to catch fish and crabs. i must say, i am kind of good at eating seafood."
y/n was watching both of them talk in silence, her hands on her lap, back straightened as she waited for the owner to finally turn to her and talk but her next remark caught her off-guard.
"that's great! be a good boy and make sure to help your girlfriend peel them, alright?"
she choked on her saliva and started coughing, she could feel her cheeks turning red, and as she struggled to breathe; albedo was holding a glass of water and offered it to her. she had no choice but to accept it, and as their hands slightly touched, she managed to look at him. though he looked flushed judging from the redness of his ears, he remained calm and unfazed.
she put the glass down, "uhm i'm afraid you got it wrong...we're not dating!" y/n defended, followed by an awkward laugh.
"really?" beidou's sister asked, slightly confused. "i think beidou has mentioned about her friends being lovers or did i hear that wrong?"
she choked again but to manage to come back to life. "no... that's not us. we — we're not dating or anything.." she let out another awkward laugh, asking albedo for help in silence. "i, you know — that's probably not us, yes.."
"we're not dating yet." albedo said, breaking the thick-ice forming around them.
she just stared wide-eyed, her mouth parted, and her heartbeat stopped. it felt like her world was crumbling and her 'intelligence' cannot do anything about it. it was like her fate telling her to accept the problem and swallow it — with no complaints at all. she fell into a deep humiliation when beidou's sister laughed and told the staff about what he said, mentioning something about 'young love' or something.
his bright eyes were glistening with joy and amusement, his grin didn't falter — he was picking at her — no, more like he was proud that he was able to say and spat something like that without even stuttering.
"yet is the magic word." beidou's sister shook her head, amused. "remember kids, take it easy. you have all the time in this world. oh my, i'm rooting for the both of you. take care of each other, yes?"
with that, she left both of them in silence. y/n felt like it was deja vu, beidou also did the same earlier — do these two sisters have a habit of storming off leaving nothing but awkwardness to the remaining people? she sighed, picking up her chopsticks, and started eating without saying anything — too taken aback and tired to complain. her mind was wandering in utter-darkness where millions of questions were flying and mixing up together, leaving her in daze.
"what do you mean by that?" she finally had the courage to ask.
"by what?"
oh dear, he was acting oblivious! she could feel her cheeks turning red – no! it doesn't have anything to do with stupid butterflies that any hopeless romantics made up! it was anger, annoyance, and everything red that unfortunately ended with a tight-smile.
"forget it." she mumbled, "just take my notes, alright? i do not have time to play or chat with you. rest assured, everything here is true."
albedo stared at her for a while, "what's your plan after this? will you leave as soon as possible?"
"of course. is there a reason for me to stay longer?" she tilted her head.
he smiled in response, "me."
again, she was taken aback. the way her heart sank after that was annoying, her organs, all of them were acting funny and she hated that! "stop fucking around with me. you're really annoying."
"no, no, i have something to tell you."
"what? just say it."
"i —"
"what? i have a vision of what you're about to tell me and i'm telling you to stop immediately or i'll leave you here." she threatened, stabbing the dessert hardly.
he stared and chuckled, "what? what do you think i'm about to say?"
"is acting oblivious and stupid really your forte?"
"i don't get it. I'm curious about what do you think i'm about to tell."
"sit and think about your action earlier," she spat "i'm certain that you will tell me that you like me and expect me to fuck up big time."
his eyes squinted, there was a twinkle of mischief on them. he pressed his lips together, it looked like he was about to burst laughing then he raised his hand, waving them continuously with an amused smile on his lips. "what? y/n, i — i don't like you.." he laughed, but there was bitterness in it. "why are you thinking about things like that?"
she stiffened, dumb-founded before she turned her hea away. "albedo, i swear to god, you're fucking with me!"
"no, am not!" he defended, still amused. his cheeky grin grew wider when he noticed the faint tint of red visible on her face, it was not just on her cheeks, but all over her. she was red, embarrassed and all. "i was about to tell you that you will be my topic in this week's feature writing assignment."
she finally had the courage to look at him. clearing her throat, she leaned forward, her hand on her cheeks. their eyes met, and it was her cue to fire back. "hey albedo, isn't that the same thing?"
then, it was his turn to be flustered.