Chapter Text
A single calla lily sat in its vase upon the windowsill. Bathed in silver moonlight, the little flower almost seemed to glow with an otherworldly light. Albedo lay nestled in his blankets and could do nothing but stare at his windblume. His windblume. The one Kaeya had given him. He sighed. Actually, technically , the flower had belonged to him before Kaeya tucked it behind his ear. In their haste, the bouquet it had come from was left behind.
That being said, Kaeya had spent some time looking for a flower he seemed worthy of being a windblume. And out of the bunch, he had picked that one. The one that now sat on Albedo’s windowsill.
He pulled the blankets over his head and huffed. Truly, what had he been thinking? What possessed him to proposition Kaeya like that?
And why had Kaeya agreed?
“Relationships are confusing,” he muttered to himself as he further smothered his face into the soft throw.
Nothing he had said in Angel’s Share had been a lie. This was a unique opportunity, one that he was very interested in. Even if there were days he couldn’t stand Kaeya, he still enjoyed his company. He was curious about him.
Thinking back, he’d seen relationships form for far less compelling reasons. Maybe this really was a good thing.
Albedo turned so his back was facing the window. Archons, he was going to be tired in the morning. Kaeya had kept him out much later than he’d originally planned. So much for a full night’s sleep. He had things to get done tomorrow, like visit the library and continue with his study. And Klee…he had plans with Klee…
When Albedo opened his eyes, he immediately knew he had overslept. As usual, the first stretch of the morning revealed random aches and pains all throughout his shoulders and spine. Was this normal for humans his age? Wait, scratch that.
He took a moment to massage the muscles, but it had little effect. Did his master create him this way? Or did he actually need to fix his posture?
A cup of hot chocolate and two slices of cinnamon sugar toast later, Albedo was on his way to the library. Headquarters was unusually quiet, with most knights either out celebrating or on patrol. Grandmaster Varka was probably somewhere in the building, but Albedo wasn’t interested in seeking him out.
He nodded a greeting to Wyratt and entered the library. There was a sort of calm that could only be found in a place filled with paper knowledge. It was comfortable. Peaceful. A place where time passed differently. It smelled like the teas that Lisa loved, savory-sweet with hints of spice.
“Hello cutie, what brings you to the library on a day like today?”
And speaking of Lisa, there she was, sitting at her desk with an overly large book laid out in front of her. In her hands, a perfect little cup of tea.
“Research,” he answered vaguely.
“Research,” she repeated, a lazy smile on her face.
There was a moment of silence before Albedo sighed and gave in.
“I…” he paused, not sure how to explain, “...I may have asked Kaeya out yesterday?”
Lisa froze, her eyes widening. Then she laughed.
“Okay,” she set her cup down, “and?”
“And?”
“What did he say?”
Albedo fiddled with his sketchbook, “He agreed.”
“Well then, I guess congratulations are in order?” she teased. “Never took either of you as the romantic type.”
“About that, it’s a bit…complicated.”
Lisa offered him tea and snacks as he explained how this whole thing came about. All the feelings he had towards the whole thing seemed to spill out. It felt like he was talking too much, but it just needed to be said. She listened attentively, and when he finished, it took a moment for her to reply.
“So, from what I understand, you and Kaeya have entered into a queerplatonic relationship,” she said.
“There’s a name for it?” Albedo asked, quickly scribbling the term down.
“Yes, committed intimate relationships that don’t stem from a romantic or sexual origin fall under the term queerplatonic,” Lisa explained and looked at him thoughtfully. “And, while I can’t say for certain, from your description of how you experience romance—your lack of romantic attraction—you might be aromantic.”
“Aromantic…huh,” he wrote that down as well. “Where did you learn all of this?”
“I spent a lot of time at the Sumeru Akademiya,” Lisa shrugged. “Some people I knew were involved in what the Akademiya considers ‘niche’ areas of study. Sexuality and related topics aren’t the most popular, but I ended up listening to them talk about their research fairly often. Participated in some surveys, too.”
Lisa seemed to recall something and began rummaging through her office space.
“I might actually have some of their work here somewhere…aha!”
She pulled out a few books from an old wooden box. They were covered in a fine layer of dust, but were otherwise in good condition. She handed them over to Albedo, who sifted through them.
“I think there are a few other titles around here that might be useful to you, I’ll be right back.”
By the time Albedo was getting ready to leave, he had acquired an armful of books. Some of them didn’t appear to be research oriented, and the wink that Lisa sent his way when handing them over instilled a sense of caution in him. She did one last check and nodded, deeming the collection adequate.
“Don’t forget to return or renew these by the twenty-one day mark,” she said in a singsong voice. “If you do, I’ll have to exact punishment.”
He could feel the air spark with electro at those words.
“I won’t forget,” he replied. Before he turned to leave, he rifled through his sketchbook, tearing out a page and handing it over, “Here.”
Upon seeing what was on the paper, Lisa smiled softly, a bit of color rising in her cheeks.
“We were wondering what you were doing yesterday,” her voice was wistful. “Thank you, it’s lovely. I’ll show Jean when she returns.”
Albedo nodded and made his way out of the library. As he was walking back towards his lab, he heard the doors open up behind him and paused in his step.
“I forgot to mention!” Lisa called out. “Klee and Kaeya left the city early this morning. I’m not sure where they were off to, but they were being sneaky about it.”
“I see, thanks,” Albedo called back. “I’m sure he’ll keep her out of trouble. Probably.”
Klee is out with Kaeya? Albedo was slightly concerned. Not for Klee, but for Kaeya. They had parted ways late into the night, and while Albedo slept in, it was only in comparison to his usual early waking time. Just how much sleep did Kaeya get? It couldn’t have been enough.
He had promised to take Klee out to experience the festival, but during the first day she accidentally set some of the decorations on fire. As such, she had been confined to her room until now. Perhaps she couldn’t wait for him to wake, even though it was still plenty early?
No matter, she would turn up before long.
Albedo pushed through the door to his lab, careful to open it slowly in case there was something in the doorway. As much as he would love to keep the space clean, it never seemed to stay that way. One way or another, the lab would always end up looking like a storm had run through.
On her side of the room, Sucrose was watering her newest batch of sweet flowers. Her side of the room was always a bit less disorganized, though that only meant that things were cluttered in an organized fashion. Hearing his arrival, she stopped what she was doing and rushed over to see if he needed help.
“Good morning, Mr. Albedo!” she chirped.
He smiled, “Good morning, Sucrose.”
Noticing the large quantity of books in his arms, she quickly cleared off a space on the nearest desk. He set them down and rolled his shoulders, still attempting to loosen them.
“Are you working on a new experiment?” Sucrose asked as she looked over the books.
“Not exactly,” he replied, “it’s a continuation of my study into romance and human relationships.”
When he watched her go scarlet at the title of one of them, he quickly added–
“Lisa compiled these for me, so I’m not completely sure of all the contents.”
“O–oh, that makes sense,” she stammered out and stepped away slightly, as if the books would harm her somehow.
“Well, I’m going to do a bit of reading before I head out again,” Albedo said as he got settled. “Is there anything you need my assistance with before I start?”
Sucrose quickly shook her head, “Nope, I’m all good. Just setting up to cross-pollinate the second generation of my extra-sweet sweet flowers.”
“Excellent, I look forward to seeing the results.”
She smiled and went back to her flowers. Albedo reached over and brought the table lamp closer as he began to scan through the books. Terminology he’d never heard of filled his vision, and he decided to start with what Lisa had already explained to him. Just from a preliminary glance—when it came to the human experience of sex, romance, and gender—there was far more variation that he’d ever thought.
He frowned, briefly wondering why it had never crossed his mind before. It made sense that there would be a great level of diversity within any given population. His Master had never covered these topics with him. It had always been Khemia, day in and day out. That or pulling samples from the leylines, following the roots of the petrified trees, exploring ancient domains, and history lessons about the Greater Teyvat.
She had created him to be as close to a human as she could get, and yet there was so much about human society that he never learned about. Intrinsic things that could only be taught by interactions with others.
Show me the truth and the meaning of this world.
Albedo had pondered over this every day, and he was still no closer to an answer than he had been when he first received his final assignment. His lack of progress led him to this conclusion: he needed to fill in the gaps in his knowledge.
He knew what he knew. If he could not find an answer through his current knowledge, then he simply needed to seek out more knowledge. More experiences. Things he had never thought of. Things he couldn’t dream of. Things he had never seen before.
If it could get him closer to an answer, he would gladly accept any new knowledge laid out before him.
Time passed quickly. He took notes on everything he learned. A great amount of them were definitions. The other part was self-reflection. The book he had chosen first was a compilation of anonymous authors, each detailing their experiences as people who fell under the ‘asexual’ and ‘aromantic’ umbrellas.
Albedo never expected to see his own thoughts and experiences detailed out in someone else’s words. It was as if these people reached into his mind and poured all of his thoughts onto the page. He was surprised by the sudden understanding that washed over him, like scattered puzzle pieces that had finally been pieced together.
He wondered if Kaeya was the same.
The book also covered the queerplatonic relationship that Lisa had mentioned. Some of the entries talked about them. It did seem to fit what he was thinking his and Kaeya’s relationship would be like. There were several key points that they needed to discuss if this was what they wanted. Kaeya seemed interested in the idea, but Albedo didn’t want to assume.
A relationship that walked the lines between platonic and romantic. Something outside of the little boxes that he was convinced existed. Relationships were, for lack of a better word, troublesome. But he enjoyed Kaeya’s company.
Kaeya was an enigma. The way he presented himself to the public eye was like a shell. Not necessarily a lie, but not the truth either. He was intelligent, charismatic, and perhaps a bit eccentric. He was also shy, lonely, and had a soft spot for the people important to him.
But there was more. Albedo knew there was more to him. He’d seen glimpses of it during late nights and early mornings. He’d seen it in Kaeya’s eye the previous night. Albedo was drawn to the things he didn’t know, and as much as he already knew about the Cavalry Captain, there was so much more he knew nothing about. Perhaps he would never know.
He closed the book and leaned his back against the chair. It was getting close to noon now. Albedo took a deep breath. Compared to the previous night, he was feeling a lot more confident that this thing he had with Kaeya was a good idea. At the very least, it would satisfy his curiosity.
Looking around, he realized that Sucrose was no longer in the room. He hadn’t even noticed her leave. When he stood to organize the books, he saw a plate with a neatly wrapped sandwich that had been left for him. He smiled.
Albedo wandered the streets, sandwich in hand. The city’s energy was even more excited than the day before. Almost everyone he came across had flowers tucked somewhere on their person. He absentmindedly reached up for his own before remembering that he’d left it at home.
That evening they would have the Windblume Ceremony, which explained the increased hype. He had a pretty good idea of who had been chosen as the star, despite no official announcement having been made. Jean had outdone herself in the past year. The arrest of Inspector Eroch had not been the end of their troubles. The Fatui still maintained a vice grip on the Knights. But the newly dubbed Master of Knights had dealt with them in orderly fashion.
Though, Albedo got the feeling that Jean had not been acting alone. The schemes she had taken part in to lure out their enemies had Kaeya written all over them.
He observed the people around him as he walked towards mid city. By this point in the festival, many people had already given and received their windblumes. All types of relationships had changed in this short period of time. Friendships solidified, families reunited, past regrets aired, new and old love blossomed. Albedo felt that the overall trend was that relationships improved amongst the people.
As he was noting these observations down he found himself at the Goth Grand Hotel. It seemed that they were adding a few more decorations to the hotel’s exterior for the last day. Several large windwheel aster wreaths were laid out on a tarp, being handed up one by one. The person standing on the ladder was attempting to hang them up, but she was over extending herself.
“You sure you’ve got it, Mila?” one of the others asked.
“It’s fine! Just keep handing them up!” the girl on the ladder, Mila, responded. “There’s only a few left anyways.”
They stepped away from the ladder to fetch the next wreath, no longer supporting the base. An unexpected gust of wind caught Mila off guard as she was trying to fix the placement of a wreath.
Albedo rushed over the second he noticed the danger she was in. With a yelp, she tumbled off the ladder. Her eyes were screwed shut, bracing herself for impact. Instead of hard stone, however, she landed in strong arms. Blinking her eyes open, she looked up to see teal eyes framed in pale blond hair. The person who had caught her had delicate features, a beautiful figure who could almost be mistaken for a sculpture carved by a most loving hand.
“Are you alright?” Albedo asked, slightly concerned over her silence as she just stared at him.
She nodded her head, “Uh huh.”
He set her down. Mila looked at him curiously. She noticed that they were about the same height, she might’ve been slightly taller even.
“Y–you’re surprisingly strong,” she stuttered.
“Oh, thank you?” he replied.
“Mila!” her helper rushed over. “Thank Barbatos, I was worried there for a moment.”
Albedo stepped back to make way for them as they looked her over. After confirming that Mila had not been injured, they turned to him.
“Thank you,” they said. Seeming to recognize him, they asked, “You’re Albedo, right? Captain of the Investigation team?”
He nodded. Mila appeared starstruck.
“A knight…” she whispered. She stood abruptly, a blush on her face.
“Thank you!” she nearly shouted, fiddling with the hem of her dress. She reached up and removed one of the flowers in her hair, presenting it to Albedo, “Please, accept this as a token of my appreciation.”
Albedo’s eyes flicked between the windwheel aster in her hand and her expression. He remained silent for a moment, trying to decide what to do. It was just a flower, but he felt conflicted about accepting it. Technically, it didn’t have to mean anything, but…
“It was no problem” he said finally, waving her off, “you don’t have to–”
Unexpectedly, Mila’s helper started laughing.
“Aw, come on Mila,” they teased, “didn’t you hear? Captain Kaeya already laid claim to him.”
Albedo raised an eyebrow. Who did what now? Albedo had been the one who had initiated. Besides, ‘laid claim’? The phrasing used felt like the equivalent of being engulfed by hydro slimes. He shuddered.
“Wait, really?” Mila pouted.
“Yeah, last night at Angel’s Share. Everyone’s talking about it.”
Feeling decidedly uncomfortable, Albedo slipped away while they weren’t paying attention. He made a beeline for headquarters. Maybe it was just the conversation getting to him, but it felt as if countless eyes were watching him. He quickened his steps.
The doors to headquarters nearly burst open. Albedo hadn’t meant to open them so harshly, but the relief he felt as he stepped inside the building dispelled any embarrassment he may have felt otherwise.
“Big brother Albedo!”
A little body hurled itself at him and he caught her.
“Hello Klee!” he laughed softly, the stifling feeling he had washing away at the presence of the little spark.
“You seemed to be in quite the hurry,” Kaeya noted as he walked up to them, “everything alright?”
Albedo locked eyes with him, hesitating for just a moment before saying, “I’ll tell you in a bit.”
He set Klee down and knelt to be at her eye level, “So, where have you two been all day? Lisa told me you snuck out early this morning.”
Klee’s eyes lit up at his words. She turned to Kaeya, making little grabby motions with her hands.
“Kaeya, Kaeya, the thing!”
It was at this point that Albedo noticed that Kaeya had been holding a hand behind his back the whole time. The taller knight winked (or blinked?) at him, revealing a large bouquet of freshly picked flowers. All kinds of flowers.
Kaeya handed it to Klee, who turned and presented it to Albedo. He reached out and received it, marveling at all the flowers they had collected. It must’ve taken them hours.
There were windwheel asters, dandelions, sweet flowers, lamp grass, calla lilies, and even cecilias. They must’ve started earlier than he’d thought.
“I wanted to surprise you!” Klee chirped.
“Thank you,” Albedo’s voice was nearly a whisper, “you must’ve worked very hard to get all of these.”
“We sure did!” Klee giggled. “Luckily Kaeya knew the best places to find them.”
Albedo looked up at Kaeya, who gave him an unexpectedly shy smile in return. He stood up and gently patted Klee’s head with his free hand.
“Why don’t we put these in some water, then head to the ceremony?” Kaeya offered. “It should be starting soon.”
“Yes, yes! I want to go see the ceremony!” Klee said, practically bouncing with excitement.
They made a quick stop at Albedo’s quarters. Using Khemia, he created a vase big enough to hold the flowers, placing it on the dining table. Before leaving, he found Kaeya standing at his bedroom door, staring at the calla lily sitting in his windowsill.
“Come on slowpokes!” Klee shouted, running up the stairs. “We’re going to miss it!”
“Slow down, Klee,” Albedo called as she continued ahead. “You’ll trip if you’re not careful.”
She waited for them at the top, waving frantically to get them to speed up. Kaeya shook his head and chuckled lightly.
“Always so full of energy, our little spark.”
“Mn.”
“Everything alright?” Kaeya said, keeping his voice low so only Albedo could hear him.
Albedo hummed.
“There’s nothing wrong , necessarily…” he started.
“But?”
“...But, I don’t know. I ran into a little situation in town earlier and it just felt strange.”
Albedo explained the incident with Mila, as well as what he and Lisa had talked about in the library and his own findings. Kaeya nodded along, appearing particularly interested when he brought up the concept of a queerplatonic relationship.
“I think I understand what you mean,” he replied after Albedo had finished, “that feeling of discomfort.”
Albedo nodded, “It’s not that I dislike the idea of people knowing about… us. Just, I don’t know how to explain to them what ‘queerplatonic’ is. I don’t even want to have to explain it. It’s none of their business anyways.”
“I agree,” Kaeya said. “If you want, I could do something about it.”
He shook his head, “I don’t think we need to do anything. It’s just uncomfortable, that's all.”
Kaeya watched him for a moment, as if trying to be sure that Albedo truly didn’t want him to work some magic. Albedo smiled at him and let out a breath.
“Really, it’s alright,” he assured him. “Let’s just enjoy the festival for now. Like you said yesterday; enjoy the festival now, figure this out later. We have time.”
“Alright,” Kaeya agreed.
As they came up to the Statue of Barbatos, they were met with a huge crowd of people. The cheers from the crowd hit Albedo like a wave and he barely hid his grimace. At the base of the statue, Grand Master Varka stood preparing for the ceremony. Jean, unsurprisingly, was standing beside him. It was nearly time.
“Kaeya, I can’t see anything!” Klee nearly had to shout to be heard. She grabbed at his shirt. “Can I be on your shoulders?”
Kaeya smiled at her and knelt down. She clambered up to sit on his shoulders and let out a squeal of delight when he stood upright. They walked as close as they could get to the statue, a few people parting to let them get a better view.
“Well, Mr. Genius Alchemist,” Kaeya gently hip checked him to get his attention. He leaned down a bit so he didn’t have to shout over the crowd, “What do you think Jean will choose as her windblume?”
Albedo didn’t even have to think, “Dandelion.”
“You sound confident.”
“Kaeya, it’s Jean .”
He laughed and nodded in agreement, “Very true.”
Sure enough, after Varka gave his speech and acknowledgements to Jean, their Windblume Star, she approached the statue with a dandelion in hand. Kneeling before the statue of their god, she spoke a few words, honored to have been chosen for this role and hoping that Barbatos would accept her windblume.
The breeze picked up the moment she presented the dandelion. The windwheel asters spun as countless dandelions seeds were blown into the city. They shimmered with anemo, like thousands of stars falling slowly to the ground. Before they could fall too far, however, the wind swirled them high into the sky, spreading them in each of the cardinal directions. The people cheered at the spectacle.
Albedo felt a hand gently knock against his. He looked down to see Kaeya’s hand, a silent question. He hesitated only for a moment before taking the hand in his own. Albedo’s hands ran cold, but as a cryo user, so did Kaeya’s.
He didn’t need to look to know that there was a smile on Kaeya’s face. Without realizing it, a smile had also appeared on his own. Albedo closed his eyes and lifted his face towards the sky. That lingering breeze seemed to caress his face, gentle like a parent proud of their child.
There were many things he did not understand. Perhaps, he never would. But, right now, he knew the cold palm of the person standing at his side. Kaeya gave his hand a gentle squeeze, as if to check in with him.
Good? He seemed to ask.
Albedo returned the squeeze.
Good.