Archive of Our Own ^beta

You are of chalk, but you are not just an ordinary creation.

I am a star, yet I look no different than an ordinary human.

If my appearance sparked your existence, gave reason to it, sparked her creativity, gave purpose to her, then were I, to you and her, a creation from another world that could be replicate by anyone?

Kiss me, you who were born from this dreary planet so unlike mine, so that I can feel joy, like I wasn’t so simple, so ‘nothing’. Touch me with your cold, gloved smooth hand that is burning on my skin against the harsh snow, hold me the way you hold your precious relationships and purposes in life by your entire being, which no one has ever done to me. Love me, teach me what this is, how unique you are, how similar you are, so that I can feel that I am more special to you than others in this vast continent.

…

From the first moment they met, a weird sense of familiarity bloomed in Aether’s red, rosy heart.

The way his ashen blonde hair was tied behind in a messy attempt to keep it neat in place that oddly felt so much like him trying to braid his golden, sunlit locks. The cold, dim hues of his turquoise eyes sparked warmth from embers within. The way his body looks so fit, so well-made, a slim build but not at all weak that feels smooth to the touch through his gloves, that which his fingers only want to linger on. All were different, yet beautifully so.

And how different their personalities are. Aether has never been so confident, so calm and collected in his whole life. He was too expressive for that, and it’s a weakness he could be exploited from. He, on the other hand, is like a secret tale written by a famous author, yet the work itself was never disclosed to the public. Instead, he only lets people know bits, and just bits of the entire story, making others think and guess and decide whatever it can be. Aether is no exception outside the long line of readers trying to decipher him, perhaps the only thing that makes him special is that he has deciphered the most out of Albedo himself.

Every time he looks at that star-shaped mark, he takes in a breath, secretly marvels at the way Albedo can be so alike and so unique in all the worlds he has ever stepped on.

It was painful, somehow, knowing you are in love with a far more superior reflection of yourself.