Chapter Text
As they were walking, Albedo suddenly stopped.
"This is my laboratory. It's closer, and I wouldn't want to make you walk further. Now, could you take a seat? I'll prepare my drawing supplies."
The room was medium sized, the furniture was mostly wooden. It was illuminated by a lamp on small wooden table. It's light was warm, giving the room a cozy feeling. There were cupboards filled with what looked like...alchemy equipment?
Maybe Albedo's an alchemist, and just does art as a hobby, then.
There was a table in the middle of the room, with more alchemy equipment and papers, containing notes with neat handwriting.
But, what Kaeya's gaze lingered on, was a drawing hung on the wall.
But it wasn't a sofisticated sketch made by an artist so proud of their work they decided to hang it on their wall.
No, it was a drawing made with colored pencils that was definetely drawn by a child.
There were three people in it.
A tall woman with long blond hair and a red witch hat, a shorter person with shoulder lengh blond hair and teal eyes, which he assumed to be Albedo, and in the middle, a little blond girl in red clothing, holding a bunny toy and smiling brightly.
Could they be his family? He thought it was pretty cute.
Albedo gestured for him to sit on a chair, while he placed an easel infront of him, along with a few paint brushes and more material.
And a few moments later, he began to paint.
His strokes were swift. The sound of the brush moving across the canvas in the silence of the night was calming.
Well, it would have been, if he wasn't so nervous.
He was painted by renowned artists hired by his father multiple times, and he never felt this way.
Maybe it was Albedo's eyes, that would often leave the canvas and focus on him.
Those teal eyes, scrutinizing every one of his features, from his lips, to his nose, to his cheekbones, defined jawline, and finally, his eyes.
Their eyes met, and time stopped, just like when they first met. But this time, they weren't as cold as before. This time, his eyes were focused, with a hint of curiosity and interest.
Yeah. It was definetely because of his eyes.
Kaeya didn't know how much time has passed, but eventually, Albedo took his eyes off the canvas again, but this time to speak to him.
"Alright, I'm done now. I thank you for your time."
Already? Kaeya didn't really feel like leaving, but from the looks of it, it was getting quite late.
What if they never met again after this? He had to find a reason to meet again.
"Can I see it? I've been sitting for a while, afterall."
Kaeya smiled, but it was kind of forced. He didn't want to leave yet.
"Of course. Here, have a look."
Kaeya stood up for his chair and stood beside Albedo.
And holy shit, it was good.
Even though he was still in disguise, he could recognize himself very well. It looked exactly like him. Hell, this painting might look better then him.
"Wow. You're really gifted, Albedo. It looks amazing."
"That's because you were such a good subject. You didn't move around much, so that made it easier for me."
"Ahaha, I see." Kaeya laughed. But this one wasn't forced. He left comfortable here.
"I wouldn't want to hold up more of your time, Kaeya. Thank you again. Can you get home by yourself?"
"Wait! Uhm.." he should really come up with something. But he doesn't have time to think.
"Do you want to meet up again sometime? We could go out to eat or take a walk in the city..or anything else you'd like to do, really..."
Damn it. He could have phrased it better. Usually, Kaeya was smooth with his pickup lines. What the hell was that?
Luckily, Albedo didn't look like he wanted to get up and run in the opposite direction.
Instead, he laughed. But he wasn't mocking him.
It was a soft laugh.
"Sure, I'd like that."
Kaeya wanted to jump up and down repeatedly with his arms in the air while cheering. But if he did that, then Albedo might really run away.
"Alright, does friday sound good? We could meet up in the center of the city at noon and decide what to do from there?"
"Alright, sounds good. I'll see you there." Albedo accepted.
***
Kaeya walked home feeling giddy. He wasn't sure why he was so happy to hang out with his new acquaintance.
Was that really what Albedo was to him? The word didn't correspond with what he felt.
But he wouldn't call them friends. It's been a week since they met.
But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that he's going to see him again.