"I brought groceries."

He sets a bag down on the one empty spot of your desk. Without waiting for an invitation, Thoma starts clearing a path to the small kitchen area. The sound of running water, the clatter of pots and the rustle of bags can be heard.

Thoma glances over his shoulder, a small, encouraging smile brightens his face.

"YN," he says, "just relax, okay? I've got this."

The rhythmic chopping of vegetables begins, a steady sound. The air slowly fills with the scent of garlic and hot oil, then the earthy fragrance of onions. You watch him move around your tiny space, his body seemingly familiar and steady. He doesn't ask you what's wrong, and doesn't tell you to get up.

Thoma hums softly to himself as he stirs the contents of the pot. He's making something with rice as well, at least, you assumed. He glances at you again, his green eyes warm.

"The food will be ready in twenty," Thoma says. "Plenty of time!"

After setting the rice to simmer, he doesn't pause. You don't get to ask him what he's doing, but Thoma goes from the kitchenette to your bedroom. You should realize this became his routine by now.

His eyes scan the clutter as he starts with the floor, picking up a discarded sweater. He gently shakes it out, folds it and places it on the corner of your unmade bed. Next, he gathers the empty bags of junk food and instant noodle cups into a trash bag. You watch him from the bed, sitting up from your wrinkled comforter. Thoma straightens the school books on your nightstand, aligning them neatly with a focused gaze. Finding a stray sock under your desk, he adds it to a growing pile of laundry. He doesn't sigh loudly or comment on the state of things. He just works to help you out. This rhythmic sound of his cleaning mix with the bubbling from the pot. It creates a strange, comforting sound.

"You don't have to do all that," you murmur.

Thoma pauses, dirty laundry in his hands, he looks at you.

"I know," he says simply. He places the clothes in their pile. "But I want to."

As he continued to talk, Thoma returns to the small trash bag, tying it off.

"It's easier to breathe in a clean space. And you deserve it, YN."

He speaks like it's a fact. Like your worth isn't tied to your ability to get out of bed.

He carries the bag out to the hall of your apartment. When he returns, he goes to the stove, giving the pot a stir. The rich smell of food grows stronger.

Afraid to speak up, you ask in a weak voice, "what are you making?"

A small, genuine smile touches his lips.

"Nikujaga," he says, lifting the lid to let the steam float out. "It's a comfort food, I guess. Mom's recipe. The potatoes are just starting to get soft."

He dips the spoon in once more, blows on it carefully, and brings it over to you. The warm spoon hovers near your lips. He holds it out, offering it to you.

"You should taste it, make sure it's right."

The gesture feels so intimate, so caring. You lean forward, movement feeling heavy. Your lips part, the warm spoon meets them. The flavor envelops on your mouth, savory. A quiet, involuntary sound escapes you, something between a sigh and a hum. It's the first real food you've had in days.

Thoma's smile widens, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Good?" he asks softly, pulling the spoon back while you give a short nod.

Venti helping you drink water! — 599 wc

It was nearing 2pm when you woke up, with Venti already standing outside your room. You hadn't had the proper amount of sleep and definitely didn't have enough energy to continue your day, not with your lack of dinner, nor any type of food. As you are now, you barely even had the motivation to take a sip of water. Your irritatingly dry throat was the only thing you could think about, that was until you heard a soft knock on your door. There was only one person it could be, you thought.

"YN, are you up yet?" Venti said in a voice of concern. You start to wonder why he's still here.

From the way he spoke, you could tell his face was pressed up against the door as much as possible.

"Can I come in? I have something for you!"

His voice shook softly as it turned into something more upbeat. Oh, that must be why he's never left. Venti cares for you, of course. He'd never stop caring. Not once, not ever. It's about time you finally realize this. With shaky hands you lifted your body up, careful to not use the last of your stanmia with this small movement.

In a meek voice, you spoke, "come in."

The door opened, seemingly in a rush, as Venti looked at your back side sitting heavily on the bed. While he walked closer, he looked around your room, noticing the slight mess it had. He put a note in his mind that he would help you clean it after you regained the energy. For now though, Venti focused on bringing back that life in you.

Venti plopped down next to you ontop the mess of blankets your bed held. In his hand was a bottle of water and a small meal, maybe crackers? You couldn't tell from the container it was in. Venti gave you a smile as he tried handing you the water, urging you to take a sip. When you didn't even look at him, nor the drink, worry washed over his eyes.

"Come on, YN!" Venti said in a whiny yet cheerful voice. "Drink up!"

He pushed the open bottle closer to your lips as he held your shoulder, however, he quickly stopped when the water dripped down your chin. You barely moved. In a slight panic, Venti took bottle away from your mouth and held your face while he attempted to dry it.

"Ah," he sighed to himself, "what are you doing?"

At his reaction, you looked at him and started to get a little teary eyed. Venti looked back with a weakly attempted smile, but he soon titled his head away to think.

His face quickly lit up with a seemingly bright idea, but he didn't answer your confused look. Venti took a short sip from the bottle and cupped your face to look at his own. He carefully held the water in his mouth, hoping that he would not swallow it, as he leaned in to kiss you. It was anything but fast. With his tongue, he gently pried upon your mouth. The water he once held rushed into your mouth.

Yet, even when the water was all gone, Venti stayed in the kiss for a while. His loving eyes were closed, but yours weren't. They looked at anything and everywhere besides his face.

When he pulled away, your mouth was left open for a while. Maybe in shock, you yourself weren't too sure, but from Venti's raised eyebrow and smug look, you could tell the heat in your face wasn't normal.

Albedo doing school work with you! — 564 wc

Laying in your bed, you weren't able to recall the last time you went to school. You had emails from teachers reminding you about school work, some friends had texted you, but you couldn't bring yourself to respond to either of them. You were definitely in for a heap of missing work once you got back.

As you sat up to get yourself breakfast, at 5pm, you were able to make out a hard knocking sound from the door. Inhaling a nervous breath, you peaked around the corner to see who it was. You felt your shoulders relax when you saw Albedo, your friend since middle school! You changed your focus back to the door and unlocked it, allowing him to escape from the cold winter weather outside.

"Tutoring lasted longer than usual," Albedo explained as he continued onward. "Ms. Alice gave me work for you before I had left the building."

With his call out, you noticed the inch thick folder in his hand, along with a thinner one, decorated in red stickers.

"Oh, Mr. Lawrence had stuff for you too," Albedo added as he gestured to the more dense folder in his hands.

He stepped further inside your house, lightly placing both folders on the island in your kitchen. You watched him as he did. Albedo looked around, noticing how empty the house was, before looking back at you.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Freezing in place, you gave him a worried glance.

"Nevermind." Albedo ignored his own words as he glanced away from you. "Since it's a lot of work, it's best to get started with it now."

You groaned, causing Albedo to focus his attention back on you.

"It's not ideal, I know," he answered your distressed look.

Narrowing your eyes at him, you hadn't listened to a word he said. He sighed. Albedo knew it would be like this.

"You don't want to do it?"

You crossed your arms as you shook your head, confirming his suspicions. Even so, he ignored your slight protests while he carried your pile of missing work to your room.

"Then I'll help."

He allowed himself into your bedroom as he placed the folders onto the messy, wooden desk. You followed him, watching how he pulled out a worksheet from the bigger folder. On it you read your name and date, from almost a whole month ago. Albedo spoke up, explaining the assignment while he sat it down on the desk, ready to work.

As you went through assignments, you noticed that you finished a weeks worth of missing work! However, it's clear you were at your limit, rubbing your eyes while you fumbled in to write answers. Albedo noticed, as always.

"You look exhausted," he claimed with a light laugh in his voice. "I'll finish the rest. Mr. Lawrence's work is on the harder side."

Upon hearing his gentle voice, you could feel your head get heavy as your vision blurred, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Albedo sighed, writing in the numbers on your review sheet himself. It wasn't directed towards you, no. Not at all. It was for the teacher who had given you all this homework, especially when they already knew your situation. He looked next to him at your tired form, head resting against his shoulder, eyes gently closed.

He could watch you all day, if only you'd let him.

NOTES › this was meant 2 b posted on lyneys bday (but hell b in part 2 cs i haven’t even started his LMAO).. n then it was gonna b a valentines thing…. but now it’s spring break, so 😭😭 i remember when i 1st started i was determined 2 post something every 5 days exactly n when i went off the schedule a little, i lowk panicked.. 😮 (and somehow, thomas part is longer than venti and albedos…. idk how! but that’s y he’s 1st in line!)

You roll your eyes as you get back to work. Your eyes move to skim over your slides, fixing some gramatical errors and adding something new, when Albedo speaks up once again.

"Your delivery for this paragraph," he says with a slight smile, not making eye contact, "is very controlled."

You glance up towards him, calmly amused, "is that meant to be a sort of criticism now?"

"Just an observation."

You smile at him, more confident in your work, "people usually like it when it's written down like that."

"They do," he agrees, "but control can create distance."

You lean back in your chair, crossing your arms. 

"Is that your professional opinion?"

"It is."

"That's why people don't talk to you unless they have to," you laugh lightly before continuing, "right. Let me guess, is it too stiff?"

Albedo didn't laugh with you. Instead, he watches you the way he does when something doesn't seem to add up.

"Is that how you see it?"

The question catches you off guard. You shrug before speaking up yet again, "seems to be a theme. Apparently I'm not great at anything that requires… spontaneity?"

Albedo waits for you to continue as he closes his laptop halfway. You really don't like that he doesn't fill the silence right now. You uncross your leg awkwardly.

"...Social stuff," you add, still casual, "physical stuff, I guess?"

His gaze sharpens, "such as?"

You seemingly hesitated, but Albedo notices. Yet, the words slip out more casually than they should.

"Kissing," you sigh, like it doesn't matter. It does, to you at least. Or to those who.. experienced it.

You expected him to dismiss it. To seemingly move on like nothing was said. That wasn't the case. Albedo finally closed his laptop fully, after making sure his work saved. 

"Who told you this?"

When you glance up, his attention is fully on you now. You weren’t expecting that. The confidence you walked in with feels like it's slowly disappearing.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

You shift in your seat, "just someone who's honest I guess."

"That shouldn't be an adequate measure of credibility."

You let out a small laugh, "you're turning this into an evaluation."

"Because you're deflecting."

Your smile falters, "I'm not."

"You are," Albedo says calmly, "you introduced the topic lightly, then avoided elaboration. It's the definition of deflection."

Your fingers tighten around your notebook. You straighten your posture as your smile fades when noticing he hasn't yet broken eye contact.

"...So what?" you say, "I'm not perfect. Shocking."

"That's not what concerns me."

You look at him again, "then what does?"

"That you seem to believe the criticism is accurate."

"...They didn't say much else," you admit, "just that I overthink. That I'm stiff."

Albedo nods once, thoughtful. 

"That would interfere with your responsiveness."

You laugh, but it sounds muffled this time, "are you seriously analyzing me right now?"

"Yes."

"You always do this?"

"When something doesn't align with the observed data I've collected."

You feel a light heat creep up your neck.

"And what data is that?"

"That you're attentive. Clearly, not incapable of learning something so simple."

You don't even know what to say to that.

"So," he continues, tone even, "either the feedback was poorly delivered, or the context was flawed."

Your throat feels dry, "and how would you know?"

He holds your gaze.

"Because technique can be corrected."

You blink. 

"You're saying—"

"I'm saying," Albedo interrupts gently, "that the issue is likely tension, as an emotional or mental strain, not skill."

Your confidence finally cracks.

"...You say that like you're so sure."

"I am."

Your voice is quieter now, "based on what?"

A pause of silence floats above.

"Experience," he says.

Your heart stumbles. 

"You're very calm about this."

"Kissing is not inherently emotional," he replies, "but you're treating it as though it is."

Your sweaty palms rest flat on the table now. You didn't realize they were shaking until they stop.

"...And so what if I am?"

"That's fine. It may just mean you're thinking emotionally instead of responding emotionally."

Albedo lets out a slight chuckle as he leans forward to you.

"Which is something I can help with."

You search his face for teasing. There's none. Just sincerity, and seemingly something softer beneath it.

"...This is strictly educational," you say.

"Of course." 

Albedo stands, glancing around before nodding toward a secluded aisle between shelves. 

"Privacy will reduce distractions."

It isn't a question. You follow before you can talk yourself out of it. This is absurd. You should stop. 

When he turns to face you, he’s closer than you expected. Between the shelves, the already quiet library feels smaller. He pauses, watching for tension, adjusting his distance when your shoulders lift.

"First," Albedo says quietly, "relax. You're holding too much tension in your shoulders."

"You're impossible," you huff. 

"And yet," he murmurs, "you're still here."

He leans in slowly, slow enough that you could pull away. A hand near your waist,  just hovering instead of fully landing.

"Don't think," he says softly, "just respond."

And yet, you've now become painfully aware of how much you're thinking.

Albedo doesn't rush. His mouth stays close to yours, barely touching at first, like he's waiting for your heart to settle. When it doesn't, he adjusts instead, giving you something easier to follow. 

Every time you stiffen, he eases back. Every time you lean in, he meets you there.

You start to mirror him.

Your shoulders drop. Your hands, which had been clenched uselessly at your sides, loosen up. You stop trying to think and  predict what he'll do next and simply react when he does it. 

When he finally pulls back, it's almost reluctant. You're left leaning forward, lips parted, chasing the space he leaves behind. 

"...Oh," you breathe. 

Albedo's hand finally settles at your waist, light but anchoring. Albedo watches you carefully. He doesn't step away after the first kiss.

"You're thinking again," he says quietly.

Heat creeps into your cheeks. You try to steady your breathing.

"I'm not—"

"Don't lie," he interrupts gently, "I can feel it."

His thumb brushes your wrist, light, grounding. 

"I'll let you retry it."

Before you can respond, he leans in again.

The second kiss is different.

Albedo closes the distance without hesitation this time, mouth fitting to yours with practiced ease. You respond instinctively, but seemingly too quickly, and he pulls back just enough to correct you.

"Slower," he murmurs against your lips, "follow me."

He kisses you again immediately, giving you no time to overthink his gentle instructions. His pace is deliberate, guiding you into it. 

You adjust without realizing it.

"There," he says softly, "that's better."

The approval sends a small jolt through you.

You try again, more careful this time. He hums quietly in response. He stays close, correcting with touch instead of words now, guiding you with subtle shifts you won't have to think about. 

The kiss continues on, slow and measured. When Albedo finally pulls back, his forehead rests lightly against yours.

"You see?" he says, "you're not incapable."

Your voice comes out softer than you expect, "...you make it easy."

His eyes soften at that.

"That," Albedo replies, "is the point."

Your confidence utterly deteriorated now.

notes , this was meant 2 b like… academic rivals but…. then i had a small thought 4 likeeee? teaching how 2 kiss n also .. the idea of nerd albedo who could lowk get it on .. iykwim 😛 ok sry! tho the academic rivalry is clearly. 1 sided! i think albedo wants that cookie…

SYNOPSIS › After the popular idol of Skyward Sonnet, YN, falls into a hiatus after a dating scandal, many of her fans are worried and some feel betrayed. However, none of them are as worried as the head on her online fan club, Venti himself. Going out of his way to cheer her up, he ends up finding his pictures flooded over the internet. "YNs cute fangirl syndrome affects her the most.." In which, YN finds his efforts cute, but? Fangirl? He's no girl!

TAGLIST › @thingforxiao, @devosin , @flos-lunae , @jiminscarmex , @rinatheowl67 , comment/send an ask if u want!!

NOTES › ummmm 😛😛 this was meant 2 b longer, but i feel like chapter 6 will… have smt important! idk! mayb! stay tuned!