Chapter Text
Albedo opened the door to the Knights of Favonius’ library. His hand was curled around a book that Lisa had recommended to him. It was an adventure book and Albedo had liked it well enough, but he had some qualms with its ending. He wanted to ask the librarian for her explanation of it.
“Well hello, Albedo,” Lisa greeted as he stepped inside the library. She had a few books in her arms and was putting some away on a shelf. “I’m glad to see you return the book so early. What do you think of it?”
He placed the book on Lisa’s desk. “It was fairly good, but I just don’t understand the ending,” he began. “Everyone made decisions that were extremely illogical. It seems as if they put no thought into their actions. The resolution could’ve been drastically different and improved if they had just thought things through.”
Lisa frowned as she walked over to her desk and sat on top of it, putting down the books in her arms. “Well, that’s because they didn’t. The ending was fueled by the characters’ emotions. They acted in a way their hearts told them to, without much rational thought. They did what felt right.” She rested her head on her hand. “You know how that feels, right?”
Albedo’s face scrunched up in contemplation. Growing up, he had always thought through his decisions rationally, carefully weighing each solution in his mind. After all, making logical decisions was an essential part of his research as an alchemist. This was also constantly reinforced by his master, Rhinedottir, who stressed the importance of making the correct choice. He would never think with his emotions, as it was illogical. And it wasn’t as if he had many people to think about. With all the time he spent on alchemy growing up, he never had a chance to interact with others at his age. He had never socialized, his arrival in Mondstadt was the first time he’d been obligated to interact with a variety of different people. Sure, he’d gotten better with his social skills ever since, but he still couldn’t fathom such a way of decision-making.
Maybe he didn’t understand because he wasn’t human. But that wasn’t an excuse to not at least try. His master had left him with a task to uncover the unknown, and understanding human behavior was included in that. Despite how much he didn’t care about socializing, he felt as if it was necessary, at least for Rhinedottir, to understand the humans in the world around him.
“By the look on your face, I’m guessing you don’t know how that feels,” Lisa sighed. She stood up from her desk with Albedo’s returned book in her hand, walking to a bookshelf behind the two. “You need to get your head out of your work more. It can do horrible things to your brain,” she said with her back facing him, a slight melancholy in her voice.
Albedo turned to look out the window beside him. That would be a hard thing to do. Not because he was addicted to his work, but because his nature put him at a disadvantage. How would he be able to understand human emotions if he wasn’t even a human in the first place? Obviously, he wouldn’t be able to ask Lisa for help. He couldn’t risk letting anyone know about his non-existent humanity. But she was one of the smartest people he knew, so who could he ask?
With a long exhale, the alchemist walked to the exit of the library. “I’ll consider your advice, Lisa. Thank you.” He waited to see her wave goodbye to leave the library. As he walked back to his workshop, he pondered over Lisa’s words again. At this point, it became less about understanding that book’s ending and more about overcoming the unknown. The book was just a gateway into a new area for Albedo to research. But to truly understand, he’d have to do his best to observe how others acted, as asking directly was out of the question. But who would he observe exactly? He couldn’t ask Sucrose, because for as much as she was a great alchemist, she was just as horrible with people as Albedo was, only beating him out by a bit because she was actually human. Klee was also off the list. If he were to try and observe her interactions, it would nine times out of ten end in a disaster that he’d have to clean up. He could also try Jean, but he didn’t want to disturb her already busy schedule with his personal research. So who could he observe?
Lost in thought, Albedo rounded the corner and crashed into a soft wall. He stumbled back a few steps, clutching his head in a dull pain.
“Ah, I’m so sorry, Albedo. Are you alright?” a voice asked with concern. He felt someone’s hand gingerly touch his shoulder.
Albedo opened his eyes and blinked a bit to unblur his vision. He realized that he had not, in fact, collided with a wall, but with the Knights’ Cavalry Captain. “Yes, I’m fine. Sorry about that, I should watch where I’m going,” he apologized. Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization. Of course! The perfect person to observe was Kaeya! The man not only had enough free time to help Albedo (if how many times he visited the bar was a good measure), but he was also extremely familiar with emotions. Albedo knew the Captain had many flings with men and women alike, so surely he knew how to handle feelings. “Ah, wait. I just remembered,” he reached out a hand to keep Kaeya from leaving. “I have a request for you.”
Kaeya’s face brightened with interest and he removed his hand from Albedo’s shoulder to dramatically put a hand over his heart. “Oh, the Chief Alchemist wants something from me? And here I was thinking you thought you were better than everyone else with how much time you spend cooped up in your lab alone.”
Albedo ignored the remark and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. “You go to Angel’s Share regularly, correct? I would like to accompany you the next time you go.”
The other man’s eye widened in disbelief for a split second before his face returned to its usual smugness. “A date, huh? I assume you’ve heard the rumors, but I’m not as easy as you may think I am. Why should I let you come? What do I gain from this?”
Albedo thought for a second before responding. “I’ll pay for whatever you order. And I also heard that Diluc will be at the tavern tomorrow.” He smiled when he saw a look of evil excitement appear on Kaeya’s face. “Also, it’s not a date,” he quickly clarified. “You’re welcome to bring anyone else along.” The more people he got to see Kaeya interact with, the better.
Kaeya brought a hand to his chin in thought before responding. “Sounds like a plan, then. I’ll see you tomorrow night,” Kaeya said with a wink before briskly walking off. Albedo looked back at the man’s retreating figure with a sigh. He prayed to Barbatos that this would be worth it.