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kumeko · 6 months

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A/N: For the @albetherzine! I have too much fun writing Paimon sometimes.

…

In hindsight, Aether should have expected this. The realtor had been really vague when he’d asked about his roommate. The woman leaving had squeezed his shoulder in what had seemed like a reassuring manner but was now clearly pity. Even Paimon had told him the house was sketchy.

A fact she refused to let up, even now as she rattled off on the phone. “Paimon told you so! No one rents a house for that price.”

“I know, I know.” Aether sighed as he leaned against the hallway wall. “But it is a really nice house. And affordable.”

In his defense, it was an amazing place. There were three bedrooms upstairs and one in the basement, meaning the whole house was only filled with four roommates instead of the usual five to six. There were two fridges. His roommates consisted of Sucrose, a shy scientist, and Timaeus, a nerdy mechanic. When he needed to study, the house was quiet and seemingly empty.

“That’s how they trapped you.” He could almost hear Paimon roll her eyes. “You should have asked Lumine for help.”

“I didn’t want to bother her.” Aether rubbed his neck sheepishly, thinking of his twin sister. For the first time since they were born, they were in different places, in universities that were a plane’s flight away. The independence was thrilling. It was also terrifying.

“You’re just asking for help, that wouldn’t bother her! And then you wouldn’t have ended up in a place like that,” Paimon huffed. She stamped indignantly, the sound loud enough for him to hear. Sometimes he worried about her—she had never been able to control her temper and he could just picture her failing interviews because she didn’t know when to keep her mouth shut. “Is he still down there?”

Aether glanced at the foreboding basement door in front of him. It hadn’t budged an inch. The white paint was cracked and peeling in places, revealing the brown wood underneath. In an otherwise modern house, it looked entirely out of place, like a horror scene in a field of flowers. “I think so.”

“You think so?” Paimon asked skeptically, tapping her foot.

As though to answer her question, a loud bang punctuated the air. Aether winced, wondering just what happened downstairs. “I know so.”

The only problem with this house was his mysterious third roommate, Albedo. Aether could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen the guy. Every time, the upper-year chemist had been wearing goggles, his blond hair flowing over the frames like a lion’s mane. Loud bangs and odd smells informed everyone else when Albedo was home.

Sucrose had said it was fine, but Aether wasn’t certain. Just how healthy could it be, locking yourself up in a basement with foul-smelling chemicals for hours on end? He couldn’t remember his science classes that well, but couldn’t Albedo accidentally make a poisonous gas? What if he was slowly killing them all?

And just what was he trying to do?

Once, just once, Aether had seen Albedo without his trademark lab coat. Aether had been studying and glanced out his window to find Albedo in the backyard. Paintbrush in hand, the senior had stared at a blank canvas, as though visualizing his painting. By the time Aether had scrambled down the stairs, Albedo was gone.

Part of him wondered if he could have seen Albedo’s eyes if he’d gotten down fast enough.

“This sounds sketchy,” Paimon grumbled. “I still think you should leave.”

“It’s—” Aether’s eyes widened as black smoke poured out the cracks around the door. “Fire!”

“Fire!” Paimon shouted. “Should I—”

He didn’t say anything before hanging up, shoving the phone in his pocket as he yanked open the door. Luckily, the doorknob wasn’t hot yet. Black smoke poured into the hallway. Albedo was still down there. Aether didn’t think twice before dashing down the stairs.

The smoke was even thicker downstairs. There was a small window, barely visible, and he ran to open it. As the smoke escaped, Aether pivoted on his heel. It was easier to see the small laboratory now. Vials lined the counters, various machines beeped as they ran automatically. Aether coughed in his sleeve as he searched for his roommate.

“Albedo?” he called out. There wasn’t a response. The silence unnerved him. He stepped forward. “Albedo?”

His foot bumped into something and he looked down to find his roommate lying face down.

“Albedo!” Before Aether could check him, he noticed a small fire on the counter. It burned on a pan, trapping it for the most part, but he wasn’t going to take any risks. He sprang forward, patting it with his hand instinctively before recoiling from the heat.

“Extinguisher, water…” He mumbled his eyes darted around the room before landing on the former. In two steps, he picked it up. In another, the fire was gone. Aether sighed, relieved. “Great.”

There was a soft moan. Aether looked down just as Albedo slowly opened his eyes. He’d almost forgotten. Quickly, Aether knelt next to him, helping the older man get up. “Are you okay?”

Albedo coughed, looking dazed. Lazily, he scanned the room, as if not certain of where he was. It couldn’t be good for him to be here. The air still smelled of smoke and burned plastic.

“Here, follow me.” Gently, Aether took Albedo’s arm and guided him up the stairs. Past the wooden door, with its flaking paint. Past the narrow hallway, covered in darkness. Past the patio doors, until they were outside in the cool, fresh breeze. “Take deep breaths.”

Albedo breathed in through his nose, shaking his head slightly as though waking himself up. His voice was smoother, deeper than Aether expected. “We’re outside.”

“Yeah.” Aether watched him worriedly, inspecting him for injuries. Fortunately, he appeared unscathed.

He looked at his hands, then the house. “Huh. Didn’t go as planned. I added too much phosphate.”

Aether frowned. “You started a fire. You could have killed us.”

“No, we would have been fine.” Albedo pulled off his goggles, yanking them past his golden hair. He rubbed the soot off with his shirt. “The fire wouldn’t have left the pan.”

He kept talking, but Aether couldn’t hear. Instead, he stared, transfixed by the tropical blue of Albedo’s eyes, the way his hair framed his face, softening his impassive expression. It had been hard to tell before but his roommate was hot.

Aether flushed. Maybe the fire had spread to him somehow. Clearing his throat, he pushed all irrelevant thoughts from his head and focused on the issue at hand. Their house could have burned down. This madman constantly did experiments, ones that probably could endanger them. Who knew what could happen next time? What if Aether hadn’t been around today?

It was time he stopped this nonsense. Squaring his shoulders, Aether interrupted, “That isn’t the point.”

“Then what is?” Albedo absentmindedly dusted off his clothes, creating small black clouds of soot. He glanced up at Aether and frowned. “You’re…?”

Aether stiffened, mildly offended. Sure, they hadn’t interacted much, but he’d expected Albedo to at least know who he was. “Your roommate. Aether. We’ve met.”

“Oh.” Albedo rubbed his chin, his brow pinched as he tried to remember. “Right.” He held out a hand. “Albedo.”

Somehow, Aether had a feeling Albedo didn’t remember. Or care. That the next time they’d met, they’d have this same question all over again. Reluctantly, he took Albedo’s hand and shook it. The senior’s fingers were calloused, as though this wasn’t the first time he’d nearly burned or hurt himself for the sake of his tests. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah.” Albedo extracted his hand and turned around. “I’ll see you later.”

“Wait!” Aether gripped his shoulder, forcing him to stay. “Like I was saying, the point is safety. You can’t do that again if it’s unsafe.”

Albedo scoffed, crossing his arms. If before he had appeared unfocused, now he was determined. “I have safety precautions.”

“They’re not good enough.” Aether gestured at the house, then down at the basement window at the side. Black puffs of smoke still seeped into the air. “You still ended up out here! That fire still happened!”

“Oh.” Finally taking this seriously, Albedo strolled over to the window and crouched. He swatted at the smoke once, dissipating it. Peering through the window, he studied his lab before nodding. “Fair point. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Aether rubbed his ears, not sure if he’d heard right. “Next time?”

“Experiments can’t run themselves.” Albedo stood up. He slipped his goggles over his neck like a necklace. “I’ll figure something out.”

“You almost—there was a fire and you’re thinking next time?” Aether paled. He had no idea what Sucrose and Timaeus saw in this man. They had claimed he was a genius. Maybe he was, but he certainly was a danger. Maybe he was a genius at putting them in danger.

He could almost hear Paimon now, laughing at the news. Told you the house was bad news.

Gritting his teeth, he ground his heel on the grass. There was still something he could do. This wasn’t over yet. Aether squared his shoulders and asked, no, demanded, “You’ll show me the safety measures before you start.”

Albedo stared at him. His expression was impossible to read. It was like looking at a blank slate, a white sheet, a piece of granite. Part of Aether wondered what it would take to make his roommate smile. Then, finally, after the silence was unbearable, Albedo nodded. “An assistant would make things easier.”

That wasn’t the response he’d expected. Aether blinked before pointing at himself. “An assistant? Me?”

Albedo didn’t seem to hear, already lost in thought as he mused over the new development. “A second person to run experiments with…this could work out. Should I increase the quantity of trials or scope? A live test subject would also be handy.”

“A live test subject?” Aether’s jaw dropped. Just what sort of experiments was Albedo running that needed human experimentation? At this rate, it wouldn’t just be the house that got destroyed. “Wait, I didn’t even agree to this! I just wanted to check your measures, not help you.”

It was too late. His enigmatic roommate was already heading back into the house, making his way back down to the basement. Clearly, he hadn’t learned anything from the fire.

Clearly, Aether had no choice if he wanted the house in one piece. He sighed.

“The rent is cheap. The location is good. The other roommates are nice.” Aether ticked off each point on his finger, to remind himself of just why he didn’t pack up and leave. “I can’t find another place right now. It’s quiet when I study. I already paid this month’s rent.”

Paimon had been entirely right about this place.

It had been entirely too good to be true.

“She’s never going to let this go,” Aether grumbled as he headed inside.

Still, there was something to look forward to. He’d be working with Albedo. Maybe he’d get to see those bright blue eyes again. Aether couldn’t deny the small jolt that went through him at the thought.

All he had to do was survive whatever Albedo tossed at him. That couldn’t be that hard, right?

#albether #albedo #genshin impact #aether #albedo x aether #fanfic #paimon is a lot of fun to write #even if i do not always love hearing her voice XD #but she's just so easy to shove all the normal reactions into #aether has so many nice banners and pics to chose from #so i had fun with this header

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