Chapter Text
[PART 2]
Albedo was a creature of habit. Despite having only recently risen from his ‘deathbed’, he was adamant about getting back to work as soon as possible. Despite Sucrose and Barbara’s protests, he simply ignored them and stayed in his laboratory.
Of course, Sucrose was just as stubborn when she wanted to be, and had taken to forcing him to take breaks, eat, and even go to bed early. The first day he had tried to dismiss her on this, she firmly stated that if he didn’t, she’d call Jean and make her put him on bed rest. After that, Albedo deduced that the easiest thing to do was listen to his unusually stubborn assistant.
At least she’d been working while he was ill. She’d done quite well, so now Albedo could focus on more interesting aspects of the project.
He glanced at the clock on one of the many tables in his laboratory. Just past midnight. He sighed, closing his notebook. If he didn’t leave now, Sucrose or Jean would come and chide him. Besides, he was feeling a little fatigued. He blew out the candles on the desk, making sure the crafting table was covered, and that the potion station was safe. He left, walking slowly up the stairs. He still wasn’t at the strength to be able to walk or move around as he pleased. Even drawing his sword took effort; he didn’t even want to think about using elemental power. He may have been stubborn, but he didn’t feel like dying yet. There was still a lot left to do.
He rummaged in his pocket for his key, when he noticed something in front of his door. Frowning, he knelt to pick it up. It didn’t seem dangerous, and on further inspection, it was a small black box lined with a golden ribbon. He manoeuvred his key, his sketchbook, and the box in such a way that he could open his door before dropping everything onto his bed. Usually, he’d put up his coat, change, put his hair down. He had to remember to take the medicine Barbara had given him too, but now he was more focused on the strange box.
He carefully pulled the ribbon off, then opened the box.
Two small slices of….apple pie, he deduced by the smell. It was still warm and smelled absolutely divine. He didn’t realise his mouth was watering until he blinked a few times, snapping out of his daze. He checked the box, under the food, on the side, under the box for a note, anything. Nothing.
It obviously wasn’t Klee or Sucrose, or they’d tell him in some way, right? Albedo set the box down on his bedside table again. Maybe just a gift for getting better. He didn’t feel like going into an extensive analysis and investigation about apple pie at this hour.
For the next two days though, he started to think that he should at least ask someone about it. Considering how he came to his chambers every night to see a gift on his doormat for three consecutive days.
The second day he received a bouquet of wildflowers. The third, a box of delicately twisted and colourful candy. All things that he enjoyed. But the problem was….he didn’t tell anyone about these things. Not many people knew he liked sweet things, or wildflowers or even apple pie.
What is going on?
The fourth day after his recovery, he asked Sucrose about it. The green-haired girl looked curious, then concerned. “Are you saying….you ate the food?”
“Yes, I did,” Albedo replied, trying to look nonchalant as he flipped through his notebooks. “Don’t worry, I would know if they were dangerous.”
Sucrose sighed. “Perhaps it’s just a well-wisher. You could ask for someone to keep watch if you want to know who they are.”
Albedo considered that. But if this person was going so far as to contain their anonymity, perhaps it was best to not scare them off. Besides….he wanted to see what they’d do for a few more days.
That night’s gift was rather interesting. A brand new sketchbook. Albedo flipped through every page, desperately trying to find a clue, an invisible message, anything , but to no avail. He wondered what type of person this may be.
*
The next day, Albedo finally had a moment to spare for a little break. Or rather, Sucrose all but shoved him out of his own lab to go outside and get some fresh air. He obliged, mainly because he knew Sucrose would call Huffman or Jean to drag him out if he didn’t, and he wasn’t in the mood to be treated like a child. Also, he missed Klee. As he walked down to the ground floor, he noticed the Acting Grand Master’s office door ajar and peeked inside to check what was going on.
Jean was standing there, looking tired, along with Amber, Klee, and Lisa, who seemed to be the first to notice Albedo standing in the doorway. She smiled at him, beckoning him inside.
“Good morning,” he said, as all eyes snapped to him.
“Albedo!” Klee yelled, running over to launch herself at him. “Are you done with your experiments? Can we go play now?”
Jean sighed, rubbing her fingers on her temples. “Albedo, good to see you looking well. Were you leaving?”
“Yes, Sucrose kicked me out,” he replied, idly fixing Klee’s hat.
Amber saluted to Jean. “I’ll take Lumine and go check it out. Be back by dusk!” she said as she ran out.
Albedo stared after her. “Where is she going?”
“There have been some new hilichurl camps near Springvale, as well as Wolvendom,” Jean explained, leaning against her desk. “Please be safe if you’re leaving the city.”
“Noted,” Albedo said, before looking down at Klee pulling at his coat. “What is it, Klee?”
“Aren’t we going out?”
Albedo sighed. “Of course. But we’re not fighting anything, alright?”
Klee giggled. “Yay!”
Albedo followed Klee out of the city, half-listening as she chatted about her recent adventures and treasures. She was just telling him about her trip to Wolvendom to visit Razor when they came across a patch of assorted flowers, growing wild and in thickets.
Klee squealed. “So many! Let’s pick them!” Albedo could hardly protest and soon he found himself sitting under one of the nearby trees, dutifully holding Klee’s flowers while she made a flower crown. “Lisa showed me how to make these!” she chirped. “Hers are much prettier though….” she added thoughtfully as she twisted the stalks at the end to finish the circlet. He had rarely seen her do anything with such delicacy.
Albedo gently took the flower crown from her hands and placed it carefully on his head. “I think it looks great, Klee.”
Klee giggled. “We should take these flowers back! I can make them for everyone; especially Kaeya.”
“That’s a good idea, Klee,” he said as he stood up.
Klee jumped on the balls of her feet. “He’d look pretty in it, don’t you think?”
“Uh….who?”
“Kaeya, of course!” Klee replied as they kept walking down the dirt road. “He’d look like a real prince, too. Just like you!”
“Ah.” Albedo’s mind drifted to the tall, blue-haired man. He envisioned him in a flower crown. Eyes sparkling, hair pulled into a simple ponytail. A mischievous grin on his face. Perhaps Klee could get matching flowers….
He was so lost in this odd train of thought that the only thing that could shake him out of it was the silence around them. No birds chirping, no noise from Springvale.
Wait. Springvale?
His eyes widened as he realized they had walked right into the village, and there wasn’t a single person outside. What was it Jean had said?
Next to him, Klee gasped, stopping in her tracks. “Albedo! There are hilichurls over there!”
His combat instincts kicked in, as he summoned his sword. How had he not realized they had drifted so near a dangerous area?
“Klee, stay here. Don’t move!”
“No!” Klee pulled him back, dragging him to hide behind a few barrels. “Look,” she whispered.
Albedo finally had a view of the hilichurls, who were, for lack of better words, being tossed around by a certain blue-haired man.
He was quick to notice that there wasn’t any backup. Kaeya fought like a maniac, his movements precise and refined, and he could practically feel Kaeya’s elemental power pulsing away, freezing hapless hilichurls, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter.
Albedo was transfixed on the scene before him. Somehow it hadn’t occurred to him how incredibly powerful the Cavalry Captain was, nor had he expected to be so distracted by him in such a serious situation.
But Kaeya was tiring out. It was clear in his gritted teeth, his sluggishness as three mitachurls came hurtling towards him. He couldn’t do this on his own.
“Klee, don’t move from here, alright?” Albedo said, jumping over the barrels and sprinting over before she could protest.
It felt oddly invigorating to fight after so long. His dormant elemental power flowed through him in waves as he slashed through the oncoming horde, focusing purely on the three surrounding Kaeya. The Cavalry Captain was holding his ground, surprisingly. Albedo cut a clear path through to him, thus incurring the attention of two of the mitachurls. Kaeya made confused eye contact with him for a moment before his eyes widened. He seemed to be wanting to say something, but before he could, the third mitachurl made his move, and he had only a split second to get out of the way. Albedo couldn’t see if he was alright, but as one of the monsters disintegrated, the second seemed to become more enraged.
Kaeya suddenly appeared at his shoulder, cursing unintelligibly under his breath, dragging him away, and they ran. Why they were running, Albedo had no idea, until he heard a large BOOM! And then a few pained grunts and yells from the mitachurls. He only had time to look behind him and register a small red flash running away in the opposite direction before the world exploded before him in a blast of colours that made his eyes burn and his ears ring, tossing him and Kaeya forward.
Once the dust subsided and Albedo realized that they were still alive, he had time to register what was happening.
First of all, he was currently semi-lying on top of Kaeya. Second, Kaeya had his arms around him. Third, despite being sweaty and dusty, Kaeya smelled nice and….familiar.
He hurriedly stood up, hoping the blue-haired man couldn’t see his ears burning.
They stood in awkward silence for a few moments before—
“Well,” Kaeya said blithely, breaking the silence. “I do believe I owe you and Klee a big thank you for saving me.”
Klee?
Oh, right. The explosion. Albedo scanned for the sight of his young troublemaker until he caught sight of a white feather poking out from behind the barrels. He sighed, jogging over to the barrels, and peering down at where the budding little pyromaniac was crouched. She looked up at him, worried.
“Are you alright, Klee?”
She nodded, before smiling carefully. “That was fun!”
Albedo considered asking Barbara if there was any treatment for those who were prone to heart attacks at a young age. He had a feeling he’d need it soon. “Yes, very fun. Come out; it’s safe now, thanks to you.”
He noticed Kaeya was talking to a man with a bow slung over his back, surrounded by a few other villagers. The people of Springvale seemed to be coming out of their houses now, looking relatively relieved.
Kaeya noticed Albedo and Klee standing there, and walked over.
He patted Klee’s head fondly. “I suppose I may have pushed myself a little too far back there. Pity, I nearly beat my last score by three monsters.”
“Is that why you’ve been gone so much, Captain?” Albedo inquired, realizing far too late the implication of what he had said. “I don’t see you in the city much anymore.”
Kaeya raised an eyebrow. “Astute observation, my dear alchemist.” His tone was warm and soft, unlike the way, Albedo had conversed with him before.
Kaeya cocked his head to the side, his hand drifting to Albedo’s hair. “Is that….a flower crown?”
Albedo flushed as Klee giggled beside them. “Yeah! Isn’t it so cute, Kaeya? I’ll make you one too!”
Kaeya laughed, letting his hand drop. “I doubt I'd look as ethereal as Albedo in it, though.”
Albedo felt dizzy. Where have I heard that before?
“W-well, we should be going back,” he spluttered, taking Klee’s hand. “Captain Kaeya, will you be returning with us?”
Kaeya flinched, stepping back. His expression changed to one Albedo felt was more familiar, yet distant. “Ah, no. I'll stay here for now, and help the villagers clean up. Goodnight!”
He walked away, and Albedo watched as his frame disappeared into the village, feeling the same sense of confusion and curiosity he had felt the past week.
That night, there was a single wildflower on his doorstep.
*
The next morning he did his usual routine. He got up early, stretched, and braided his hair back. He donned his coat and made his way down to the laboratory and got back to work. Sucrose arrived half an hour later, with two breakfast buns and two flasks of fresh juice. He worked and worked until it was nighttime, and even Sucrose couldn’t get him out of the laboratory before midnight.
He wanted to disregard it. He wanted to stop thinking about him. For once in his life, he wanted to not be curious about something. And yet every time he let his mind wander for even a second, he was thinking of that damned Cavalry Captain and his stupid pretty face and stupid sparkly eyes and stupidly broad shoulders and stupid mesmerizing smile and—
Woah. he hadn’t even realized how hard he was closing his eyes until he opened them to see splotches floating in his vision. Moreover, he suddenly noticed that his hand was stinging. Maybe because of the glass vial.
Cursing under his breath, he realized he’d been clenching his fist so hard, he’d shattered the empty vial in his hand and was now sporting a lovely red gash on his hand that was bleeding rather profusely all over his desk and over the glass shards of the unfortunate vial.
He managed to clean up the glass and blood with one hand (with a lot of effort) and decided that maybe staying in his laboratory wasn’t the smartest idea in his current state. He was self-aware like that.
He groggily made his way up the stairs, trying to ignore the searing pain in his hand as he clenched it to stop the blood and came into view of his doorway—
A box!
Completely forgetting his bleeding hand, he ran to his door. He picked the box up before going inside and slamming the door shut. With some difficulty, he opened the box to find a small, light, satchel, unadorned and plain. As usual, he checked the box for notes, rather half-heartedly, until his finger caught on something wedged into the very corner of the box. He pulled it out, carefully opening it. Inside, in a neat, clear script, was written, for your headaches .
He was beginning to think his secret admirer was a mind reader.
Upon further inspection, he deduced it was a satchel of herbs and medicinal flowers made for helping with headaches. Whether by inhaling their scent or by adding them to water in the same way as tea leaves, he decided both were doable feats.
As he bandaged his hand carefully, he stared at the note on his lap, racking his brain to see if he could remember anyone’s handwriting that was like that; to no avail. His supposedly genius brain was failing him these days.
He decided to keep the satchel on his bedside table and try using it for consumption in the morning. Maybe the fumes would help his addled brain get back on track. As he lay in his bed in the darkness, his mind drifted once more, much to his dismay, to Kaeya Alberich.
He remembered the day he’d met the blue-haired young man. He was still rather new to Mondstadt and had no interest in colluding with the people. Alice was still in the city and Klee was just a cheeky little ankle-biter.
The Grand Master of the Knights had very kindly offered him a job as an alchemist for the Knights of Favonius, and Albedo was intrigued enough to take it. He was alone back then, not even Sucrose was around. He was bringing boxes of supplies from the gate of Headquarters to his new laboratory on the fifth floor, and it was tiring and irritating. But he was grateful for the mindless repetitive work because it meant he could let his mind wander.
That was, until he came down, sweating profusely, to find a young blue-haired man in an eyepatch with a mischievous grin on his face, inspecting Albedo’s boxes.
“Can I help you?”
The man looked up, and Albedo felt his piercing gaze rove all over him. “You must be the newcomer.” He stretched his hand out to Albedo, which Albedo accepted in his own very briefly. The man's eyes (or eye, in this case) was quite pretty. He wondered if he could commit it to memory for a sketch. “I’m Kaeya. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”
Albedo pondered about where he’d heard that name before. “Ah, the new Cavalry Captain. I’m honoured.”
Kaeya waved a hand nonchalantly. “I’m sure you’ll be surpassing me soon enough. What are these boxes for, by the way?”
“Oh, just supplies for the laboratory—” he couldn’t finish until Kaeya was picking up three boxes in one go and marching off to the Knights building. “Wait— what are you doing?”
Kaeya turned back for a brief moment, eyebrows raised. “Helping, of course. And you!” he yelled over at one of the knights on guard near them. “You’re not just going to stand idly by while this young gentleman toils away like this, are you?” the knight, startled, rushed over, apologising profusely and picked up a few boxes as well. Albedo stood there for a second, contemplating what to do. He wasn’t exactly a foreigner to overenthusiastic people trying to help or nose in his business but this felt….very different.
Grabbing one of the last boxes, he ran after them, only to encounter Kaeya at the stairwell. “How did you get down so fast?”
Kaeya laughed. “It wasn’t that hard. Besides—” he took the box from Albedo’s hands, their hands touching briefly as he did. “You’re far too beautiful to be expected to do all this yourself.” Laughing at the look on Albedo’s face, he turned and disappeared up the stairs again.
Since then Albedo had come to realize that Kaeya was just like that. He wasn’t exactly special for having Kaeya flirt with him. He had tried to keep a civil and friendly relationship with him, but as the weeks turned into months and the months into years, he realized that Kaeya had more depth than he had credited him for. And Klee adored him, so there was that. He was certainly aggravating sometimes, and it became quite hard to avoid him when he became Captain of the Investigation Team and Chief Alchemist, but even the little flirty comments or the slightest prolonged eye contact made Albedo feel very much like he was floating. And he wasn’t sure if he liked that.
*
The next day, he felt groggy and terrible. This was becoming oddly commonplace for him, which was concerning. The pain in his hand had subsided mostly, but it felt prickly. He cleaned the wound and changed the bandages, realizing that after quite a while, he hadn’t woken up with a headache. The herbs seemed to work.
He glanced at the chair next to his desk as he pulled his boots on and for some reason had an odd image of Kaeya sitting there flash through his mind. He shook himself slightly. He really needed to get a grip.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being subconsciously obtuse. Surely there had to be a reason for all this, he rationalized as he power-walked out of the building. It was quite early in the morning, the shops and stalls hadn’t quite opened yet, and a few sleepy knights saluted him as he passed. The warmth of the sunlight on his skin and the cool weather helped un-cloud his brain and allowed him to forget about the pain in his hand for a few moments.
He knew Kaeya lived near the Knight’s headquarters, but he didn’t know where. He was probably still asleep but Albedo had never quite cared for formalities in this regard and he certainly wasn’t going to start caring now.
He arrived in front of the block of houses he had often seen the Captain emerging from. He had no idea which one it was though. Frustrated, he considered kicking at every door until they opened. He decided against it; he didn’t have the energy so early in the morning.
“Mr Albedo?” he looked to the side, to find a young knight staring at him inquisitively. “Good morning, sir. Were you looking for Captain Kaeya?”
“I— yes?” he replied.
The knight nodded. “He is at the city gate; preparing for an expedition. You’d better hurry if you want to catch him before he leaves.”
Albedo barely heard the second sentence, his ears were ringing as he nodded and raced off to the gate. No doubt he’d left behind a very confused knight, but he didn’t care at that point.
As he came into view of the gate, passing the flower stall, he came into view of Kaeya, who was chatting with the traveller about something.
Upon further inspection, the blue-haired man had a bag slung over his shoulder. Lumine was checking their supplies as Amber fussed over her, and Paimon was floating beside them, spinning in the air, looking bored. She noticed Albedo first and waved him over. “Good morning, Albedo! What are you doing here?”
Albedo shrugged slightly. “Just going on a walk. Where are you all off to?”
“Our dear traveller has allowed me to join her party for a quick expedition near Bishui Plains,” Kaeya explained, his tone light. He looked far more alert than the others; Amber looked worried and unsteady, and Lumine’s face was pinched with exhaustion. Kaeya, on the other hand, looked perfectly put together, as usual, silky hair pulled into a ponytail, bangs swept carelessly over his eyepatch, eyes bright and serious.
Lumine sighed. “We should get going then.”
“When will you be back?” Albedo asked, much to his chagrin.
“A week or two, maybe!” Paimon chirped. “Hopefully before that, though. Wouldn’t want to be stuck down there so long.” she caught the look on Albedo’s face. “Don’t worry, it’s not a dangerous quest! We’ll be fine.”
“Please do be safe, then,” Albedo said, trying not to look at Kaeya (and actively failing).
Kaeya gave him an appraising look. “No need to be so concerned, Albedo. Rest assured, I’ll bring our dear traveller back in one piece.”
“You’d better come back in one piece too,” he blurted out, before immediately regretting it. Kaeya was still looking at him like that and he had no idea why, but he didn’t like how it made him feel. “Otherwise Klee will be very sad.”
Kaeya laughed softly, looking away. “Of course. Goodbye, then.” With that, he began detaching Amber from Lumine, as the outrider seemed determined to come with them.
And if Albedo felt a little pang of jealousy as he watched the two (three? Did Paimon even count?) leave the city, or if he dwelt on the lingering eye contact Kaeya had held with him before saying goodbye, that was for him to push to the back of his mind and ignore into oblivion.
Days passed. Two, three, then four. Albedo threw himself back into his work, and no one dared to stop him this time. He felt manic and jittery every time he wasn’t thinking of a new experiment or variation. He made three trips to Dragonspine in that time, not even for alchemy, but just to gather components, and piss off a few hilichurl groups for the hell of it.
Klee came by every morning without fail, and that was the only portion of his day that he didn’t change. They’d have breakfast together before she’d run off to play or make more bombs, or both, and Albedo would get to work. Jean and Sucrose tried many times to make him take a break, even Lisa came by at one point to invite him to the tavern, which he declined.
He was also jittery and worried because the gifts had stopped arriving. Whoever it was must have stopped. After all, he was fine now. No reason for them to continue this odd game. He tried to put it out of his mind, but the question of who this person was kept eating at him. It occupied his mind more than once while he was determined to not think about it, which irritated him to no end.
A week passed, and Albedo was working, as usual, alone in his laboratory. Sucrose had gone to get them dinner, and he was so incredibly focused that he didn’t realize someone was at the door until the person knocked about five times. Thinking that it was odd for Sucrose to do that, Albedo swung the door open, to come face to face with a young blonde girl in a white dress. Ah, the deaconess of the Church of Favonius, Barbara. “Good evening, Miss Barbara. Uh...can I help you?” He asked.
“Good evening, Mr Albedo!” she chirped. “I brought you a refill on your medicine. Did you finish the last one?” she asked, holding out a box to him.
“Ah, right.” He took the box. “And yes, I did finish it, thank you very much. I’m sorry to have troubled you to come all the way here.”
“It’s alright!” she assured him. “Oh, I almost forgot! Did the herbs for headaches help?”
He stared at her. “The….what?”
“The herbs,” she replied, looking at him in confusion. “Did you use them?”
“Wait, you sent those?” Albedo’s mind went into overdrive as he remembered the boxes on his doorstep. Why would Barbara send him gifts like that?
“Well, no, I didn't send it, I just gave it to—” she stopped, slapping a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.
“To who, Barbara?” Albedo asked, blood pounding in his ears; he was close, so close—.
“I— no one! I can’t tell you, I’m sorry! I’m— I’m leaving now!” she turned and ran away before he could ask her anything else.
He watched her disappear, transfixed and stuck in his doorway. He stepped back inside, tossing the box onto a table before sitting down.
Who could Barbara be talking about?
As he stared off into space, lost in thought, the door swung open, and Sucrose stepped in, holding two parcels of food. “Was that Barbara, Mr Albedo?”
“Yes, she came to bring me my medicine,” he replied absently, staring out the window. If anyone knew something….he looked at Sucrose who was setting the parcels down.
“Timaeus has asked for my help managing the store tomorrow, is that alright?” she asked, going back to her desk.
“Yes, of course.”
Sucrose would know. And if he pressed hard enough, she would tell him….right? She wouldn’t have any reason to hide things from her.
“Sucrose.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I’ve found that I don't have many memories of the time when I was sick. I was wondering if you could tell me about anything that might have happened during that time that I don’t recall?”
Sucrose looked confused. “You’re experiencing memory loss? Since when? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I, er….didn't think it would last this long. Please do answer the question though.”
Sucrose cocked her head to the side. “Well, not much happened. The first few days you kept fading in and out, but it wasn’t so serious until after quite a while so we decided that we’d take you to a healer permanently. Lumine came by a lot, and so did Master Jean. Barbara and I would come to see you every day, and of course, Captain Kaeya was always there—”
“ What? ”
Sucrose stared at him. “Captain Kaeya. He stayed with you for the first week, taking care of you.”
No. no no no no no no no no no no—
“Mr Albedo!” Sucrose cried as he collapsed onto his chair.
“Sucrose,” he whispered. “What do you mean he was always there?”
“Do you— do you not remember?” Sucrose stared at him incredulously. “He was there every night, every day. He refused to leave your side.”
Albedo’s ears were ringing. He didn’t know what was going on but he didn’t like it. His mind was racing, he felt shaky and he couldn’t think clearly. “How….how did I not remember? Why didn’t he tell me?”
Sucrose was still staring at him. “Are you telling me you don’t remember anything he did? At all? Not a single thing?”
“I— no.”
“You don’t remember him bringing you food? Or how you wouldn’t let go of his hand? Of how he’d sit there in that Archon-forsaken chair day and night as you slept? You’ve forgotten how he cared for you at every moment until Master Jean forced him to take you to the infirmary? Or how he visited you there as well?”
“No!”
He had rarely ever seen Sucrose angry. Scratch that, he had never seen Sucrose angry. She sighed, pressing the tips of her fingers to her forehead. She was muttering under her breath, and all Albedo could catch was that it was a string of inappropriate words he had never expected for Sucrose to know, much less say out loud. “After all your rants and complaints about him, after everything you have ever told me about him, after every morning staring out the window at him as he gives morning briefings, and every time you saw him after that, how, sir, did it not occur to you that he had a greater hand to play in your recovery? ” she asked him in a strained voice.
Albedo did not answer, because she was right. Now that he thought about it, everything made so much more sense. Everything fell into place. Of course, it was Kaeya. Of fucking course.
“So the gifts….that was him too, I suppose,” he said faintly.
Oh, Archons . He had been so dismissive. He hadn’t even thanked him. It hadn’t even occurred to him that the answer was right there in front of him, clad in an eyepatch and a familiar smirk.
He was such an idiot. And now it had been weeks and Kaeya was probably over all of it already and he couldn’t fix this because he was an oblivious moron and—
“Not to mention,” Sucrose continued loudly, “the sketches. The flowers. The way you’ve filled up—” she gestured to the notebooks on his desk, “—about ten of these with pictures of him.”
“Sucrose—”
“ And he came to see you when you got better!”
“Sucrose, I understand—”
“No you don’t!” she cried, looking like she was on the verge of tears. “Why wouldn’t you tell someone you couldn’t remember? We could have helped you! I—” she covered her mouth with her hand, and Albedo noticed that her shoulders were shaking.
“Sucrose? Why are you crying?”
“B-because I failed you,” she said, bursting into tears. “I was helpless the whole time you were sick and I didn’t manage to progress much with the experiments, and I should have been more mindful of your health and I could have helped with your memory loss and—”
“Sucrose, that’s enough,” Albedo said firmly, his brotherly instincts kicking in as he rushed to her side. “You did everything you could, and I am so grateful for it. My condition is my fault and my burden to bear. I couldn’t have asked you to take on this pressure as well.”
She looked up at him before dissolving into another fit of tears. “I’m sorry f-for yelling at y-you.”
“I deserved it,” he replied, gingerly patting her head. “I don’t say this often, but thank you, Sucrose. It’s hard to find good friends in life, and I'm glad I found you.”
“W-we’re friends?” she asked tentatively.
“I should certainly hope so, otherwise my total friend count is down to one and a half,” he said, handing her a handkerchief. “And I’m not that good at friendships, but as far as I know, if your friend is being an idiot, it’s your job to make sure they get their head on straight. So thank you.”
She nodded slowly. He knew she hadn’t had the best of luck with friends in the past, but he was determined now more than ever, to make sure that never happened to his loved ones again.
*
Albedo spent the entire night racking his brain, dredging it to remember every last bit of his time in sickness as he could. He spent a full hour cross-legged on the floor, meditating, waiting for the many shades of blue to settle and the blurriness to disappear.
He had once heard his mentor give him a long lecture about how much Visions helped their owners with everyday life, with things like better stamina, a sharper mind, better memory.
He hadn’t particularly tried to use Geo power since the battle at Springvale, finding that it had worn him out entirely. Now, he tried summoning the slightest bit of elemental power, grasping for a thread, just for a moment. Using his elemental power after so long felt like swimming after a long time. He was a little rusty, but the mechanics remained the same, the routine remained the same. He could feel the power surging through him, and reigned it back the slightest bit.
Just from that, his mind cleared, the blurriness in some of them cleared. Flashes became more than flashes, they turned to seconds, focused, not foggy.
Jean and Barbara leaning over to look at him in concern. Klee’s deft hands braiding his hair. Kaeya is in the chair. Kaeya, next to him in bed as he slept, cocooned in the Cavalry Captain’s warmth. The memories flooded back; tinted gold in his mind’s eye. Kaeya, carrying him out of the lab. Kaeya, fine-tuned and focused, everything around him still blurry.
Albedo snapped out of his mediation when the elemental power got too much to bear and he felt himself getting slightly light-headed. He leaned against the side of his bed, panting slightly.
Well, fuck. He still had some things to make right apparently.
*
The next morning, the Traveller arrived, a pile of books in their hands. “Traveller, you’re back! What’s all this?” Albedo asked.
“Ella Musk has given me some reading material. Do you mind if I take your office to study? Everywhere else is too rowdy,” Lumine replied, pointedly ignoring Paimon yawning beside her.
“Of course. I was just on my way to breakfast with Klee. Would you like to join?”
The traveller shook her head. “I’m good. I’ve had enough of Kaeya’s pancakes to last a lifetime, thanks.”
Albedo started, staring at her. “What?”
“Kaeya’s pancakes,” Paimon said, rolling her eyes. “He puts too much sugar.”
“He’s back, then?” Albedo asked, hand trembling. Lumine glanced down at his hands, then at his face again.” “...Yes? We came back together.”
“Klee was just going in when we were leaving,” Paimon chirped. “I guess she really missed Kaeya.”
“Right. Well, I’d better get going then. Good luck traveller, and let me know if you need anything.” he half-bowed before power-walking (read: running) out. The sunlight hit him square in the face, making him wince. Archons, why did it have to be so sunny all the damn time? He let his eyes adjust to the light before taking off down the stairs. As far as he knew, Kaeya lived quite close to the Headquarters. Where the fuck that was, he had no idea. He decided to go around checking doors for names and after having done that for 20 minutes and garnering some odd looks he realized he’d been going in circles.
“Mr Albedo? Are you lost?” a voice came from behind him, making him jump. He whirled around to come face to face with the Outrider, Amber.
“Uh, no, not at all.” Amber raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay, I am a little lost. How’d you know?”
Amber giggled. “I’ve been watching you go around for a while now. Who are you looking for?”
“Klee. Apparently, she’s gone to Kaeya’s house?”
“Ahh, of course.” The smile she had on her face was unnerving, like she knew something. “Over that way, the third blue door from the right. Has a lantern at the front.”
“Ah….thank you, Outrider.”
She saluted him. “No problem! Good luck!”
He didn’t have the chance to ask for what before she sprinted away. He steeled his nerves as he walked. He was just checking in on his little sister, as any good older brother would, right? Nothing suspicious. No need to bother with fruitless chit-chat. He was going to be calm and rational and polite as always.
The door swung open milliseconds after he knocked, and there stood the handsome Captain Kaeya, his tunic carelessly unbuttoned to his mid-chest (which was incredibly distracting) with his sleeves rolled up, tousled messy hair in a ponytail and what seemed to be flour coating his fingers. His usual eyepatch had been replaced with a white patch which seemed to make him look softer than usual. “Mr Albedo! How kind of you to join us on this lovely morning.”
Albedo, unfortunately, was at that moment lost in the sparkling periwinkle of the Captain’s eyes. He wondered idly how he’d managed to forget them so soon.
“Mr Albedo? Are you alright?” Kaeya asked, waving a hand in front of Albedo’s face. Albedo startled, shaking himself out of his reverie. “My apologies. Good morning, Captain, I was just wondering if Klee was here?”
Kaeya nodded before stepping aside to let him in. “Right through there. You’re just in time, the pancakes are nearly done.”
It took a moment for Albedo to realize that he was inviting him inside. We’re going inside Kaeya’s house , his mind told him frantically. We are not at all equipped for this!!!
Albedo told his mind to kindly be quiet as he walked in. Kaeya’s house was nice, cozy. It had a feeling of a house with many people even though as far as he knew, only Kaeya lived there. There was the smell of fresh coffee and pancakes from the kitchen off to the side, the living area was warm and a peek into another hallway gave way to what seemed to be a library on the other side of the house. Near the couch was a bag, a pair of muddy shoes and two blankets haphazardly folded on the arm.
“The traveller and Paimon were here earlier,” Kaeya explained from behind him. “They like to stay over sometimes.”
I want to stay over here sometime, Albedo thought idly.
He noticed a red hat on the counter to the kitchen as he walked in, and sure enough, Klee was sitting there, happily helping herself to a stack of pancakes. She looked up as they walked in, and exclaimed, “Albedo, you’re here! Did you come for pancakes too?”
“Uh….yes?” Albedo answered, sitting down opposite her.
“Klee, let me help you with those,” Kaeya said as he gently took the knife and fork from her hands to cut her pancakes. The alchemist caught himself staring at how well-toned the captain’s arms were, how easily he cut the stack. And he’s so good with Klee….
“Mr Albedo, would you like blueberries or chocolate for your pancakes?” Kaeya asked, rolling up his sleeves to his elbows. Albedo blushed furiously, as he studied the rather fine craftsmanship of the table. “A-Albedo is fine, Captain. And I’ll take blueberries if it's not too much trouble.”
“Coming right up,” Kaeya said, drifting away to busy himself at the stove. Albedo looked up to Klee grinning at him. “What?”
Klee giggled, before stage whispering, “you were staring soooo much!”
Albedo felt his cheeks burn even more. Great. Now his baby sister was making fun of him. Couldn’t a man pine from afar in peace?
“Do the traveller and Paimon stay over often, then?” Albedo asked. Kaeya laughed. “Yes, they do. They already have their own little mobile home, but I think Lumine prefers to be around people. Besides,” Kaeya smiled as he turned around with a stack of pancakes in his hands. “This house is far too big for just me, wouldn’t you say?”
“Right.” Albedo watched Kaeya divide the pancakes onto both their plates. “You really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble, Captain.”
Kaeya waved a fork dismissively. “It would be most unbecoming if I didn’t, wouldn’t it? Klee, leave your plate here.” Klee nodded, hopping down from the chair and nearly taking it with her. “There’s ice cream in the upper cabinet, by the way,” Kaeya called after her.
Albedo watched Klee move around the kitchen as though she was familiar with it. So she really did come here a lot….
“Have you always been good with kids, then?” he asked, wondering idly if he should help Klee reach the cabinet or let her figure it out on her own. He decided on the latter.
Kaeya laughed. “Not at all, actually. I think Klee and I just clicked early on. Alice and I were quite close too.” he sighed wistfully. “Not a word from her then?”
Albedo shrugged. “Miss Alice is flighty. She sends a letter every few weeks, though. She seems to be somewhere cold, from her last letter.”
“Classic Alice, then,” Kaeya replied. “You’re doing quite a good job of taking care of Klee in her absence, though.” It felt like praise. Praise Albedo didn’t feel particularly worthy of.
“You’ve all done so much that I can hardly take credit for that.” Klee had managed to reach the ice cream. “Especially you.”
Kaeya smiled softly, leaning back in his chair. “I suppose it has been a group effort. But you’re still the team captain.”
“A group effort to raise one child. I wonder what would’ve happened if she had a twin.”
Kaeya mock-shuddered. “Please. I’m growing grey hairs just thinking about it.”
Albedo laughed, standing to take Klee’s empty plate on his. “And yet you’re still just as handsome, Captain. Truly nothing can stop you.” Kaeya flushed ever so slightly, and Albedo hurriedly went to place the plates in the sink. The least I can do is clean up.
Klee had helped herself to a bowl of ice cream and was now hopping around the living room, ice cream held precariously in one hand and her stuffed toy in the other. Kaeya had somehow appeared right behind him. “You really shouldn’t be washing up in my house. I feel like a terrible host.”
“Too bad,” Albedo replied, taking Kaeya’s plate from his hands before he could protest. “Besides, it’s the least I can do.” he couldn’t see Kaeya’s face, but he could tell that the insufferably pretty bastard was smiling. “Still so stubborn.”
“And forever will be,” Albedo replied, staring intently at the plates so as not to look behind him, where Kaeya was standing less than a foot away, leaning on the counter. “At the very least, I'm here to thank you.”
“Thank me? For what?” Kaeya’s voice was quiet. Too quiet.
“For taking care of me during my sickness. I have since been informed that you were there through most of it,” Albedo explained, placing one plate on the rack before grabbing the next one. “And to apologize for not saying this sooner. I was only told a few days ago, and I was apparently suffering from some sort of short-term memory loss so I just...blanked on everything that happened.”
Kaeya was quiet as ever, and Albedo turned for a moment to see his face deep in thought. “You….you don’t remember?”
“Well, it’s still a little blurry,” Albedo replied. “But I remember you being there, night and day until they took me away. Flashes of other stuff too. I suppose it’ll take time to fully remember everything.”
“Other stuff? Like what?” Kaeya asked, his tone urgent now.
“Like….I don’t know. A song? I remember Klee came to visit once and cried a lot. You refusing to leave that stupid chair the entire damn time.” Albedo said nervously. Kaeya was a little too quiet for his liking. “Is something wrong?”
“....no, not at all. Besides, I was just helping out.”
“Whatever you may think you did, you were still my knight in shining armour,” Albedo replied firmly. “And I don’t want to keep giving excuses.” he turned, holding the stack of plates. “So thank you, and I’m sorry.” he handed Kaeya the plates. “Now dry those.”
Kaeya laughed, looking slightly dumbfounded. “Yes, sir.” Albedo turned to see where Klee had gone, only to find that she was staring at them from behind the couches. She giggled quietly, then placed her index finger to her mouth in a shushing motion before running down the hallway to another part of the house, leaving him alone with Kaeya.
“I think Klee just went to ransack your house,” Albedo informed Kaeya as he cocked his head to the side.
Kaeya laughed, setting the last plate in the cabinet above the stove. “She’s more than welcome to, most of my loved possessions are on the second floor anyway.”
Kaeya turned around and suddenly Albedo was acutely aware of how little space there was in the area between the stove and the counter, mainly because of how close Kaeya was to him. Like, really close. Very close. Very very close. So close that Albedo found himself once again momentarily lost in the Cavalry Captain’s eyes. For fuck’s sake, people shouldn’t be allowed to be so fucking pretty, his mind complained.
“Like something you see, dear Alchemist?” Kaeya asked his voice nearly a whisper. They were less than a foot apart now, and Kaeya’s arm was next to Albedo’s as the unfairly pretty blue-haired motherfucker leaned on the counter behind Albedo.
Albedo could barely breathe. He wondered if Kaeya’s mind was going as fast as his was if he was even on the same wavelength as Albedo at the moment. Archons, please let him be on the same wavelength as Albedo. Please. If Barbatos was real and listening, he would owe Albedo a fuckton if they weren’t on the same wavelength.
Kaeya seemed to be wavering, but every passing moment it seemed they were getting closer and Albedo felt the world around him, including the immaculately crafted table, falling, blurring around him. Almost free-falling. And Kaeya seemed to be the only thing in focus, the only thing tethering him.
One smile. One crooked smile, one raised brow in challenge, and Albedo would be a goner. This was unfamiliar to him, completely foreign territory. He wasn’t one to get close to others, especially not like this. By that sense, Kaeya seemed to at least know what he was doing a little more than Albedo did.
The space was closing. They were barely a breath apart, the kitchen was pin-drop silent as opposed to how it had been mere minutes ago.
Knock, knock, knock.
Knock, knock, knock.
Urgent knocks at the door made them jump apart, and Kaeya nearly hit his head on the cupboard behind him.
They shared a look for a brief moment before the knocking started again, and Kaeya ran off to open it, growling under his breath ever so slightly. Albedo sagged against the counter, the cool material under his hands helping him centre himself. The world stopped spinning. He patted down his coat, fixed his gloves as he shook himself out of the reverie Kaeya had placed him in (fucker. Pretty fucker, but still. fucker).
He heard a monotone, serious voice from the doorway, and they were only getting closer. Fuck. fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
Sometimes he was very eloquent. He ran to the chair where he’d placed his bag, noting that Klee had reappeared from wherever she had disappeared to and was now running to stand with Kaeya at the door. Perfect opportunity to grab her and skedaddle the fuck out of there. Rounding the corner, Albedo saw that the visitor happened to be none other than Master Diluc, and they were making their way inside, Klee trailing in front of them.
Diluc noticed him, stopping in his tracks. “Ah. I wasn't aware you had company, Captain.”
“I was just leaving, actually.” Albedo beckoned Klee, who dutifully skipped over to take his hand. “Thank you for the lovely breakfast, Captain. That’s another thing to repay you for, I suppose.”
Kaeya regarded him for a moment, his expression unreadable; before falling back into his usual cordial smile. “I’ll add it to your tab, then.”
Albedo nodded, bowing slightly to Diluc before walking past them to the door. Klee stopped to give Kaeya a quick hug, before running out the door ahead of him. Albedo swung the door behind him, but not before hearing something like a small hit, and Kaeya exclaiming in pain (“Ow! What was that for?”) and Diluc saying, “You still haven’t told him, have you? Idiot.”
Albedo didn’t hear Kaeya’s response. He had a firecracker of a child to run after, and he’d already lost her.
*
At long last, the day was over. Klee was now safely in her room at Headquarters, having played enough to tire herself out for the day, and the Traveller and Sucrose were still in the lab, so he opted to give them some space. Besides, he needed to clear his head.
As he wandered out towards the Mondstadt gates, he managed to crash into someone near the Cat’s Tail. he immediately began apologizing, before looking up. “Ah, Master Diluc. Uh….sorry for bumping into you.”
Diluc nodded slowly. “No matter. Are you doing better now, Mr Albedo?”
“Oh, yes! Thank you for your concern,” Albedo replied, feeling just as awkward as Diluc looked at that moment. He realized Master Diluc wasn’t good at small talk. At least now they had something in common.
“Right, well. That’s certainly good.” The silence sat between them for a moment, and Albedo was just about to say his goodbyes and keep walking when Diluc said, “about Kaeya.”
Albedo blinked, knowing full well the history between the two of them. Archons, was he about to get lectured? “Uh, I assure you, I didn’t mean to —”
“He’s terrible at speaking his feelings, despite how much he acts like he can,” Diluc continued, crossing his arms. “Just….give him a chance, okay? I’d hate to find him at my tavern for another night whining. It’s driving away business.” had he and Master Diluc been closer, Albedo might have noted the slight affection in the man’s tone out loud. Thank Barbatos, he was not, so he didn’t and simply nodded slowly in understanding. (he had hardly understood that. But was Diluc going to know that? Absolutely the fuck not).
Diluc nodded back, before walking past him. The exchange left Albedo asking more questions than before, but he decided to quell those for later; now he just wanted a quiet stroll to himself. The sun was on the verge of setting and the sky was a myriad of colours. He had no idea where the hell he was going, but soon found that he had subconsciously veered his path towards Windrise. The area was peaceful and quiet as ever. A respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. Of course, any place outside Mondstadt felt quiet and peaceful outside the city, but Windrise in particular….it felt far more calming. Like the power of the Archon of Freedom flowed with more concentration here.
Besides, this had been the first place Alice had taken him when he’d first arrived. She stood at the Statue, something then quite foreign to him, and bowed her head in reverence. She seemed to say a short prayer, and even though he hadn’t particularly cared for the Archons then, her break from a usual flighty and unpredictable character to someone so calm and still felt jarring yet reassuring as well. From there she turned around and held her hand out, guiding him to touch the statue. “You’re one of us now, Albedo. Welcome to Mondstadt.”
Maybe he’d never had a mother. He certainly didn’t remember if he did. But at that moment, he felt like he had for once understood what motherly affection was, even for a moment.
Neither he nor Alice had spoken about that day after that, nor did he think they would. It didn’t feel like they needed to.
So yes, Windrise held a different meaning for him. As the statue came into view, however, Albedo noticed that he wasn’t going to be alone there. A seemingly tall figure was kneeling on one knee before the statue, sword drawn. Their blue hair was stark against the greenery around them, and Albedo would recognize this person anywhere.
“Captain Kaeya?” he asked, approaching the kneeling man from behind him. “Are you alright, are you hurt?”
Kaeya jumped to his feet, alert, and Albedo found himself at the rather sharp end of Kaeya’s sword. And not in a fun way.
Kaeya blinked, before lowering his arm immediately. “A little closer and I may have hurt you.”
“Good thing you didn’t then,” Albedo replied, smiling nervously. “Are you alright?”
Kaeya sighed. “What is ‘alright’?”
Albedo considered that for a moment. “Are you at peace? Are you injured? Do you have anything on your mind? Etcetera, etcetera.”
“Ah,” Kaeya said, poking the ground with his sword. “Then I suppose, no, yes, and yes. You?”
“It seems we are in a similar situation.”
Kaeya chuckled. “Two not-alright people, whatever shall they do?”
Albedo cocked his head to the side. “What’s in your hand?”
Kaeya blinked looking down at his left hand. “Ah.” he held out the folded parchment. Albedo took it, opening it gingerly and realizing what it was immediately.
“Wh—why do you have this?!” he spluttered. Three lines, one for the face, one for the eyepatch, one for the string.
Kaeya chuckled again. “I cannot reveal my secrets.”
Albedo rolled his eyes as he returned it to Kaeya. “Klee?”
Kaeya shrugged. “Maybe. Are you sure you’re not dodging the question?”
Albedo gave himself a good shake and stepped closer. “Your brother seemed concerned about you.”
“Oh? Nice to know he does care,” Kaeya answered lightly. “Did he send you?”
“He seemed to think you need to be more vocal with your feelings,” Albedo informed him. “So, uh….no, he didn’t send me. I’m terrible at that.”
“True enough.” Kaeya sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Complicated business.”
Albedo nodded, but he wanted to scream. He had been seconds away from kissing this stupid man in the kitchen a few hours ago, and now they were doing fucking small talk. Archons, he really was hopeless.
“I suppose I should tell you….channelling my elemental power helped me remember easier.” Kaeya looked up, interested. “Oh?”
“Yeah,” Albedo said, fidgeting with his gloves. “It’s helped me connect some dots.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” Albedo was now looking directly at his gloves instead of Kaeya’s face. The trimming needed mending. “I didn’t give you nearly enough credit for everything you did for me.”
Kaeya hummed non-commitantly. “You don’t need to.”
“Yes, I do,” Albedo replied sharply. “I have amends to make.”
“Really?” Kaeya asked. “And what does that entail, Mr Albedo?”
Albedo finally looked up and there it fucking was. A crooked smile, brow raised in challenge.
Had he been in the mindset to keep a cooler head, he might have dealt with it more rationally and calmly. Alas, the day had been long and irritating and confusing, and Kaeya looked far too beautiful in the rays of the setting sun, and Albedo was a weak man.
“Barbatos, you’re fucking stupid,” he muttered before marching up to the irritating man and grabbing his face. (Thank the Archons that the height difference wasn’t that bad. Otherwise, it would have been embarrassing.)
At first, it was only Albedo holding Kaeya as they kissed, but after a few moments, Kaeya’s arms slipped around his waist, pulling them closer together, and the small, rational voice in Albedo’s voice reminded him that they were currently making out in front of a statue of a god. What the fuck, man.
He rationalized that Barbatos was the god of Freedom, therefore he should be fine with two idiots freely being in love in front of his statue. His mind was quickly silenced by the fact that Kaeya was still kissing him, and he clearly had far more experience than Albedo, as he immediately took the lead.
Kissing, Albedo noted, was like dancing. Albedo didn’t particularly like dancing, but he could definitely come around to liking this.
At long last, after what seemed like aeons and yet also mere seconds, they broke apart, Kaeya’s arms still around Albedo. They were out of breath, and Albedo was fairly sure that he was floating. Or at least levitating. Kaeya’s head was resting on his shoulder, and suddenly he started shaking.
“W-what’s wrong?” Albedo asked, alarmed. Kaeya looked up at him, and Albedo realized he was laughing. “Why are you laughing?”
“The nerve you have, my dear alchemist,” Kaeya whispered, the rasp in his voice sending shivers down Albedo’s spine. “To call me a fool. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for the fact that all this time I thought you were uninterested, we could have been doing this way before now.”
“Right, well,” Albedo rolled his eyes, trying to turn his flushed face away. “As I said, I have amends to make.”
Kaeya laughed. “Well if this is your way of making amends, by all means, continue.”
“On one condition.”
“Oh?”
Albedo traced his finger along Kaeya’s jawline gently. “Call me Albedo.”
Kaeya sighed. “Albedo, light of my life, supreme idiot whom I hold far too close to my heart, dearest alchemist, would you please continue making those amends you were talking about?”
Albedo softly pressed a kiss to Kaeya’s lips. Despite being a cryo user, Kaeya was warm, warmer than Albedo. And his lips were just as warm, and soft, and wonderful and….
Get a grip.
Once again, he told his mind to kindly fuck off.
When they walked back to Mondstadt together, they walked in comfortable silence. Albedo felt slightly dazed. By the time they entered the city, the sun had fully set, and the city was in full swing for the taverns. As it was a cool night, many were out around the square, and cheers and music could be heard. They stopped at the fountain, and Albedo noted that there were certainly a lot of people around them.
Kaeya turned to him, and took his hand, gently pressing a kiss to the back. “Goodnight, Albedo. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Albedo forgot about the people around them. “Of course, Captain.”
Kaeya held up the folded parchment of the drawing in his hands. “Permission to keep this?”
The alchemist rolled his eyes. “I could just draw you better, you know. No need to keep a silly sketch.”
“Nonsense, this has significance,” Kaeya pocketed the parchment. He pressed a light kiss to Albedo’s forehead, giving him a quick smile before sauntering off. Albedo noticed the dumbfounded stares he was getting. For once, it felt nice to be gawked at.
“Well, looks like he finally did it,” came Lumine’s voice from behind him. She was standing there with her arms crossed, Paimon floating next to her, looking smug as ever.
“Good evening, traveller, Paimon,” Albedo greeted blithely. “Lovely night, isn’t it?”
Lumine snorted. “The two of you better not get insufferable.”
“Perhaps it is time for someone to rival you and Outrider Amber,” Albedo mused. Lumine lightly punched his arm. “You’d never win.”
Albedo smiled. “We’ll see about that.”
Albedo did see Kaeya the next day. And the day after that. And the day after. As well as the day after that. And they did end up getting those flower crowns, at Klee’s insistence. Kaeya had adamantly refused to take down the framed sketch Albedo had made of him from his living room wall, despite Albedo making him a far nicer sketch of the Cavalry Captain, drawn in the colours of the setting sun as he had seen him that day. Albedo decided to keep it framed in his own room.
(He would still often find little gifts on his doorstep— bouquets, a book, treats from Good Hunter. Only this time, he knew on which doorstep to leave his own gifts. After all, two could play this game.)