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Kaeya feels like he’s on cloud nine.
Actually, he’s quite sure that everyone who’s passed by him knows that he’s on cloud nine. The usual scheming smirk that lies on his lips was formed into a genuine smile for the whole day, and his thoughts had been quite all over the place—it’s a surprise how he hasn’t run into anything yet despite all the day-dreaming he’s done.
The knight doesn’t hide the fact that he’s happy, but he does, however, hide the reason why. Amber guessed that it had something to do with his next day off, perhaps he planned a relaxing day at Starfell Lake, or maybe even Springvale. Lisa claimed that Diluc was being nice and offered him a few bottles of his finest wine (he could only wish it were true). Jean didn’t say anything, but she did tell Kaeya to focus while she spoke about several Hilichurl camps scattered around... somewhere.
She was right, he wasn’t focusing.
But he pays it no mind and continues up the steps to the Knights of Favonius’ headquarters, the building illuminated under the glow of the full moon, signaling another day seized and his usual cue to his 'secret meeting' for the night.
Even as he enters the area, he quickly bids the other knights a ‘good evening’ and makes a beeline to the basement. He walks down the dark hallway, his sole source of light being some lanterns scattered about. If he hadn’t been here before, he would surely not be walking around so leisurely.
The sounds of his footsteps grow quiet as he gets closer to a closed door, a big ‘Do Not Enter’ sign on display. Kaeya, of course, ignores the warning and steps in anyway. If Albedo didn't want to be disturbed, then it’d have an ‘Experiment In Progress’ sign up instead. Cautiously, he opens the door, hoping that any creaking from it wouldn’t surprise the alchemist inside.
As expected, the blond is the only one present. Sucrose is possibly out to grab extra materials and such for their next experiment, so the knight is a little relieved. It’s not as if he dislikes her, but her mentor said to keep things ‘on the low’ for now, and who was Kaeya to disagree? Despite being a man of attention, he often finds himself enjoying the attention of the younger man on him, and only him.
He closes the door and tip-toes around the room. Albedo is doing the thing where he’s sitting close to the edge of his chair as he examines his experiments—something the knight finds endearing. The blond’s eyes don’t tear away from it even as he grabs different items from different places on his table, hands moving on their own.
Kaeya sits on a chair, not too close from the other to be noticed while also not too far to be able to not see what he’s doing. For the most part the knight is here, he sits in silence as he watches Albedo work. Sometimes he doesn’t notice an hour or two later, and while sometimes he does, he ignores the older one's presence because he’s close to a result.
“No, this isn’t right.” the alchemist suddenly said, probably directed to himself. His face falls into slight confusion as he examines his papers repeatedly. He clicked his tongue, “It’s supposed to be cold...” he muttered. Kaeya watches as Albedo lifts his head, body stiffening for a moment—then his shoulders relax, the slightest hint of a smile growing on his lips.
The blond shook his head, tucking a few strands of loose hair behind his ear. “No, focus.”
The other smiled, absolutely captivated by Albedo’s appearance. ‘Archons, I want to kiss him.’
Ocean blue eyes are staring back at him in the next second.
The knight stares back, perhaps a little longer than usual. “Did I say that out loud?” he asked, his face suddenly feeling warmer. The blond looks away, avoiding Kaeya’s gaze entirely now that he’s processed the situation. “Ah, yes...” he replied. Silence fills the room; Kaeya being too embarrassed from what he just did and Albedo speaking to himself in his head. The alchemist’s thoughts are suddenly nowhere to be found, as he’s instead focused on the sound of boots growing closer and closer towards him.
“Hi.” the taller of the two greeted, voice low and somewhat shy.
“Hello.” Albedo greets back, sounding a little embarrassed himself. “You could’ve knocked, I don’t mind.”
“Sorry, you’re just so adorable when you’re concentrating.” Kaeya said. The other pauses his experiment, putting away some things safely before turning his attention. “Well, you had momentarily... distracted me.” the alchemist stated.
The knight raises an eyebrow, “Oh? And how so?” he grinned, curiosity in his tone.
“You suddenly came to mind while I was experimenting—which doesn’t happen much but lately it has, possibly because we’re...” the other stopped, eyes casted to the ground.
Kaeya hummed. “Because we’re what, Albedo?” he teased, tenderly putting a hand on Albedo’s cheek. The blond stiffens at the touch, but quickly grows accustomed to it.
“Now that we’re ‘together’.”
The taller man chuckles. “Don’t worry, I’ve been thinking about you all day as well.”
The two make eye contact again, and the knight is immediately lost in Albedo’s eyes. Rarely has he ever gotten this close, but for the few times where he does, he treasures every single one of them. He’s seen them dipped in the warm colors of the sunset, sparkling from passion, and whenever Albedo is deeply analyzing something—but he adores the look in his eyes now, where they’re soft and so special, like it’s only reserved for him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he hears Albedo ask.
“Because you’re beautiful.” Kaeya replied in a heartbeat, as if he’s rehearsed it countless times in his head.
The alchemist’s cheeks turn to a gentle red. “Archons, please don’t do that, you idiot.” he tries to slap Kaeya’s hand away from his face, but instead it ends up with them holding hands.
Albedo sees Kaeya visibly beam at the gesture. “Aww, you wanted us to hold hands? Why didn’t you say so~” he sing-songs, then slowly guides Albedo’s hand around his. Their fingers intertwine; Kaeya’s grip is firm, whilst the blond’s is rather relaxed. The knight burns the moment into his head; the warmth of Albedo’s hand on his cold one, their difference in size, how it suddenly feels like he’s found a hand to never let go of.
“For someone who likes to speak, you become rather quiet whenever we’re alone.”
Kaeya blinked, he was lost in thought again. “What do you mean?”
“You’re always...thinking.”
“As if you don’t do much of that yourself, my dear alchemist.”
The other frowns. “I know, but that’s a habit of mine.” he lets go of Kaeya’s hand, then begins fiddling with his fingers instead. “I’m not used to voicing my thoughts to someone.”
Kaeya comes to a decision that he dislikes the loss of Albedo’s warm hands, but as much as he wants to regain said warmth, he remains patient for now. “Neither am I. How long do you think I’ve been secretly complimenting you in my head?” he said. Albedo sighed, the kind of sigh that tells Kaeya he wants to know, but doesn’t know if he should.
“You’re an idiot.” the blond settled with instead. The knight smiled as he gently took Albedo’s hand again, planting a kiss on it. “Perhaps, but I’m your idiot.”
Albedo rolls his eyes. “Archons, I’ve fallen for an idiot.”
“So you do like me.”
At that, the alchemist smiles. "If my declaration the other day wasn't clear enough to you," he brings his free hand towards Kaeya's cheek, caressing it in a way that makes the knight's heart threaten to burst. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind me endlessly repeating it, correct?" he said softly with a smile.
The other’s heart skips a beat at those words. When was the last time he’d been held like this? He’s so used to holding other people instead that he’s forgotten the feeling of being somewhat cared for. He can see that Albedo wants to spoil Kaeya just as much as he wants to spoil him back. How can something like this feel so foreign to him, when he’s been in this situation countless times—
“What do you think, Kaeya?”
“Hmm?”
The alchemist frowns once more. “You weren’t listening, were you?”
“Forgive me, but in my defense, your voice is really soothing.” the knight gently squeezes Albedo’s hand in his. “What were you saying?”
“Well, Klee saw the braids you did for me the other day. She asked if you could do it for her as well.”
“But you braid your hair all the time?” Kaeya mentioned, his fingers unconsciously twirling around Albedo’s loose bangs. The alchemist smiled at the touch, “She could somehow tell, but I think it’s because a certain someone had tucked in a flower in-between the back of my hair.” he stated.
The knight gave an innocent smile. “Hmm, wonder who that could be? I would love to see our lovely chief alchemist walking around with a poker face and a flower in his hair.” he joked, the image of that day still as clear as day to him.
Albedo cleared his throat—how does Kaeya always make him feel so... light? “So you wouldn’t mind doing it for her, correct?” he asked.
“Any request from you is a request I will happily fulfill.” the knight replied, but there was a hint of a twist in his voice. The alchemist furrows his eyebrows, choosing to indulge in the other’s little play. “And you wouldn’t want anything in return?”
Kaeya considers (or at least attempts to look like he is), making Albedo feel uneasy. What if it’s something he can’t do? He likes Kaeya, that’s certain, but he isn’t sure if he could catch up to Kaeya’s pace. What if he grows tired of him, of waiting for him? He couldn’t think of it, doesn’t want to think of it—
“Well, if you're offering, then how about a hug?"
The room becomes quiet; Albedo looks at the other in confusion and disbelief.
"Pardon?"
Kaeya lets out a laugh at the response. "Archons, you're so lovely." the knight sighed, then placed a kiss on the younger one’s forehead. The smile on his face had given a sense of comfort and assurance to Albedo, and another feeling that he still has yet to properly convey.
"It's alright, I know this is still new for you. Just getting away with holding your hand is more than enough for me." the taller man said as he puts on a playful smirk. The alchemist is still in disbelief, but he doesn't say anything—it's nothing worth worrying over anyway.
Kaeya, however, has seen Albedo's limited expressions to somewhat understand what he's currently thinking. "I'll be ready whenever you are, and I'd wait as long as I'll need to."
The alchemist was dumbfounded—how was he supposed to even reply to that? How could someone like the Cavalry Captain before him be willing to wait so long for such trivial feelings to be reciprocated by him? It doesn't make sense, and probably never will.
But there is no rhyme nor reason to love; Albedo has a vague understanding of why.
Rather than saying another word, the alchemist slowly raised the palm of his hand. Kaeya reached down to rest his chin on it as if he was waiting for the opportunity to present itself. Albedo then leaned into the other, planting a soft kiss on the corner of Kaeya’s lips.
“I think your waiting deserves at least this much, Sir Kaeya.” he whispered, voice as gentle as the midnight breeze.
The knight's eye flew open, pupils looking like they'd blown in a way that made Albedo smile with triumph. "That's not fair, I wasn't ready!" the former whined, holding the other by his shoulders and shaking him vigorously. Albedo chuckled at the other's sudden flustered face. "What? It seemed fair to me."
"You kissed me! That's almost like attempted murder." Kaeya held a hand over his chest, letting out a sigh of 'relief'. The blond rolled his eyes as he shook his head at Kaeya's over-exaggeration—was the knight always this relaxed around him?
Albedo hummed. "Well, feel free to return it if you're unsatisfied."
As if he was overcome by his vision, Kaeya froze in place; hands hanging mid-air with his eye fixated on Albedo. After a long sign of no reply, the younger one cleared his throat. "I apologize, that just... I wasn't thinking—"
"Since when was my dearest Albedo so smooth?"
"What?"
The table screeched as the alchemist felt his weight shift towards it, the high-pitched sound ringing in his ears making him slightly dizzy. He looked up and was greeted by the sight of a very determined-looking cavalry knight. With hands clinging onto the other's shoulders, Albedo had only a few seconds to realize that he was trapped under Kaeya's arms.
"Kaeya?" the blond mumbled, the wall suddenly looking most interesting than it ever has since his first time experimenting here. "Kaeya, your silence is unsettling me."
"Can I really kiss you?"
"What?" Albedo turns his attention back to him—has his gaze always been this captivating? No, that's not the point right now. "I-I mean yes, that's what I suggested, is it not?" he replied, the room suddenly getting warmer the longer time went by.
Kaeya smiled at the alchemist's reddening face. "The problem is, if I were to kiss you, I don't think I could stop." he whispered, staring straight into his eyes. As the knight slowly leans in, the other’s grip on him tightens, quickly closing his eyes as he braces himself for another wave of unknown feelings.
Albedo felt like his breath was stolen the moment their lips met, soft and tender movements overwhelming him by the next second. His whole being fell weak, fingers growing numb and stomach filled with butterflies as the alchemist yearned for more. Kaeya combs through his hair with slender fingers, then gently brings him closer, slowly but surely rendering the blond absolutely helpless.
Soon enough, the knight reluctantly pulls away from the kiss to give them a moment; Albedo absentmindedly chases after the sudden loss, looking up at Kaeya with want. A warm shade of rosy red dusts over the alchemist’s cheeks, in contrast to the ataraxy shade of blue eyes that studied him intently.
"You stopped." the blond muttered.
"I wouldn't want to damage your equipment now, would I?" Kaeya replied, prompting Albedo to realize that they were still in his lab that anyone could enter at any given moment. He nudges out of the knight's warm embrace and sits back properly onto his chair. "You're right. Forgive me, perhaps I got a little... carried away."
Kaeya merely chuckles, then brings a hand to the other's hair, delicately brushing and patting it down in an attempt to tidy it. "I don't mind, but kissing you was far more addicting than I thought it'd be." he said.
"You... thought about kissing me?" Albedo hesitantly asked.
"Since the moment I fell for you, my dear alchemist."
The blond clicks his tongue, hiding away his face out of embarrassment. Kaeya gives a cheeky grin, "You're gonna have to get used to that whenever we're together." he stated.
Albedo hums, gentle eyes looking at the knight with a feeling of certainty. "Perhaps I will," he notes, because despite his insecurities and hesitations, Kaeya makes him willing to try. "I don't think we plan on letting each other go anytime soon."