"you may now kiss the bride."
albedo and y/n froze, their eyes were wide as they stared against each other. everybody who was watching them felt the tension and the undeniable silence between the two; hovering over the booth with stillness as if it was their first time to know that real couples kiss during their wedding.
"just kidding!" the priest remarked, saving their faces. the crowd booed with disappointment, y/n sighed. "that's too nsfw considering we're at the campus! anyway, long live to the new married couple!"
y/n felt the need to step down from the booth, realizing that the ceremony had finally ended. "these are your marriage certificates, for the final touch we need your signatures over here." the booth coordinator pointed at the blank space.
venti marched towards them, wearing a cheeky smile that didn't fail to annoy y/n. she wanted to scream at him but stopped herself. she just really wanted to get over this.
she took the pen and signed the paper in silence — not noticing the surprised stares of her friends — who would've thought? this was probably the first time that she did something without opposing or protesting.
tartaglia chuckled, "let's celebrate the —!"
hu tao nudged his arm. "let's eat at the newly opened restaurant after this!"
y/n breathed tiredly. as much as she wanted to go home, eating with her brother on the same table was suffocating and awkward — she didn't want to ruin this day anymore.
"i left my phone in the room, i'll go get it."
venti nodded, "sure. we'll wait for you here."
she didn't dare to look at albedo anymore nor did she have the courage to know if he signed the paper or he just left it blank with her signature there alone and miserable.
y/n walked fastly, she swore she could hear whispers from other people but the world doesn't revolve around her so she didn't overthink about it.
the room was already closed, it was clean and empty but the paintings were still displayed on the wall. the deep-yellow radiance of the late afternoon sun invaded the room, the rays touching the desks and the paintings gracefully.
thankfully the room was not locked, she opened the door and went straight to her desk that was neatly placed on the side of the room, leaving the middle and front part empty; this was where their little cafe was placed earlier.
y/n looked under her desk, sighing in relief after spotting her phone still there. she grabbed it, ready to storm outside.
as soon as she turned around, she spotted albedo on the door — inside the room, locking the door in silence.
y/n stilled, heartbeat starting to pound excessively against her chest. "what are you doing?"
"i left something here."
"you locked the door."
"i left something here." albedo repeated, not leaving his place. y/n sighed and walked towards him.
"okay, let me go out then."
but he didn't.
"albedo." y/n exclaimed, strongly and weakly. her legs moved on their own when he finally took a step forward, she moved backwards with her trembling knees.
"you're confusing me, y/n." albedo remarked, the golden rays of the sun hitting his figure, he was glowing.
she looked away, "i don't know what you're talking about."
"you kissed me." he answered, the pain in his voice visible. "you kissed me and told me it was nothing."
"because it was really nothing!"
"you were shaking!" albedo gave in, causing her to flinch with how strongly he remarked it. in spite of his glowing beauty, he looked fragile, weak, and confused.
"you were shaking when you did that. you were also shaking during the ceremony — you looked so nervous but you looked so vividly present that i felt everything in every nerve."
"a-albedo, stop this..." she responded weakly, eventually giving up when she felt the back of her legs hitting a desk. "this isn't right..."
there was approximately two meter distance between the two of them, they both stopped, they both felt weak and real against each other's presence. the stillness of the room, their pacing heart beats, the pain in his face, and the denial in her presence — all were too overwhelming to take but albedo refused to give up.
"i've waited too long for this." he stepped closer.
"n-no. stop—stop coming any closer, i can't——"
"i've always loved you." albedo, after crushing, liking, and eventually loving her during the past years, finally confessed from the depths of his heart. his voice was weak, it sounded like a whisper but he exclaimed it so strongly that it echoed over the empty room — so strong that she felt his emotions in every part of her system, and so strong that it caused her to fumble.
their eyes remained staring against each other and there she could see how sincere he was — that in spite of every complicated thing she did — he still took the risk to confess.
never did she imagine this day would come.
hu tao was right, he liked her. no, he said, he loved her.
love is deeper — more serious and more intense. something that shouldn't be said if you really don't mean it, something that brought both joy and sadness to people — a kind of confession made by the queens and kings with commitment and dedication and sincerity — something that you cannot just abolish or destroy once it was already built.
something she never thought albedo would tell her.
"s-since when?" she trembled.
"since forever, y/n."
another hit in her gut caused her lips to part, her already quickened heart seemed to beat louder that she could feel it in her throat — his presence was so much bigger than before — so vivid and so present that she wanted to give in.
since forever. does that mean during those times she was acting mean to him, he was secretly in love with her? if so, how did his feelings remain the same with all those painful words she threw without hesitation towards him? how, for goodness' sake, did he even fall for her in the first place?
like he knew what she was thinking, albedo opened his mouth — and every word that left his lips were surreal.
"do you remember in middle school? you were always the top of the class. you were so beautiful and smart that it didn't take long for me to crush over you," he chuckled, reminiscing over the past. "i really wanted to talk to you, to be your friend but i didn't know how — you were incredibly out of my league."
"so, i decided to work harder, to study harder. in that way, you could notice or even acknowledge my presence." albedo continued. "but the plan of being your friend vanished in an instant when you confronted me — that's why i decided to be your rival instead."
"i admired you when you stood up against that sexist teacher, i admired you for being the most eloquent person i've ever met, i admired you for being a hard-worker — and my admiration turned into something incredible and deeper as years passed."
every word that left his mouth – each of them was sincere and his eyes glistened like the morning sun as he told her everything, like each moment they had spent was a gift and magical. something he'd always expect every morning and reminisce about at night.
"i was...i was planning to confess to you next year – at our graduation to be exact. i just didn't expect..." albedo ran a hand through his hair, he sounded frustrated but relieved at the same time. "i didn't expect to confess a lot earlier – you drive me insane, y/n, you really do."
she was completely frozen at her spot, she couldn't move an inch. her throat went dry and her whole system didn't know what to do.
when she glanced at up him again, the afternoon rays were still hovering over him, giving him the complete glow of both end and beginning. he offered an apologetic smile like he just messed up everything and y/n wasn't sure why she felt mad at that because there was nothing to be sorry about.
there was nothing to be sorry about when she felt the same.
oh, she loved him.
probably more than he'd imagined. this strong feeling of attachment already conquered her whole-being and now, the person whom she has this feeling for was confessing the same, remarking the same love that she had never imagined would be given back.
she already messed up this day so why should she care about the consequence of what she's about to do next?
"i–" albedo's word was cut short when she stepped forward; she was shaking, hell very much nervous that her heart was already in her throat but she couldn't care less. this was her most awaited opportunity and she will gladly take the risk even if it means showing him how much she loved him.
y/n tip-toed, wrapped her arms around his shoulder and then finally pulled him into a kiss.
a kiss that awakened thousands of butterflies through her stomach, a kiss that made the afternoon rays glowed brighter than they could ever be, a kiss that made her the warmest and liveliest person on that day — it was truly, a kiss to remember, with the way how albedo was taken aback yet at the same time his hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer, deeper until she could feel how warm, soft, and tasty his lips were — until she couldn't think of anything but him.
only him.
only albedo.
&&& im sorry if the update is late i got dengue and uti then the doctor said my bp is also low, i think i died for a while but im good now !! here's an update :DDDD