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‘I need to borrow your bird.’
Diluc gave him a look as if he’d just proposed they do the Macarena in the middle of the town square.
‘I beg your pardon?’
Kaeya sighed. He’d expected this kind of reaction.
The thing that had brought him to his brother’s winery today wasn’t just a leisurely visit. As much as he would have liked it to be, this was a matter of grave importance.
That is to say, he was feeling somewhat lonely.
‘I need to borrow your bird.’ he repeated. ‘I need to send a letter to Albedo on Dragonspine.’
At that, the other’s eyes softened ever so slightly. Albedo had been the very reason the two of them weren’t at each other’s throat every given opportunity anymore, so even the usually stoic Diluc had developed a certain soft spot for the alchemist.
‘Why don’t you just visit him?’
Kaeya hesitated for a moment before answering. ‘Dragonspine is his retreat when social obligations become too much to handle. It’s his safe space. I don’t want to intrude, unless he explicitly invites me.’
‘That’s…surprisingly thoughtful of you.’ Diluc replied softly.
‘Hey, I can be thoughtful when I want to be.’
At that, Diluc sighed. ‘Okay, alright.’ he finally gave in. ‘You can borrow Ocello. Just make sure she returns home safely, alright?’
Kaeya grinned. ‘I wouldn’t dare let anything bad happen to your favourite bird.’
A quick whistle from Diluc caused said bird to fly into the office with just a few seconds, though upon spotting Kaeya she opted to land on his shoulder rather than Diluc’s outstretched hand.
‘She’s always liked you more than me.’ the man stated, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
Kaeya was too busy entangling the bird’s claws from his hair. The poor thing had been a little too enthusiastic in greeting him, and now she was suffering the consequences.
‘It’s your own fault for giving her too much freedom~’ he teased back once he’d managed to safely get her out. ‘If you want her affection, you should keep her closer.’
Diluc shook his head, and gestured towards the door. ‘She can have as much freedom as she pleases. Now hurry up and go before I change my mind.’
‘You wouldn’t be so cruel.’
‘To Albedo? No. To you? Maybe.’
Kaeya grinned. ‘Alright alright, I get the hint.’ he hummed while walking towards the door. ‘Thank you though.’
A few seconds passed, before Diluc eventually replied.
‘You’re welcome, Kaeya.’
Dear Albedo,
………hi :)
Kaeya groaned as he crumpled up the paper and put his pen back down. This was absolutely no use. Aside from the occasional business letter or report to Jean, he wasn’t exactly profound at writing fancy love letters. Flirtatious as he may be, his skill with words was limited to his mouth.
Or perhaps it was just because the recipient for this particular letter was his boyfriend? He’d never had any trouble threatening convincing his informants to give him information, even when urging them through a letter.
Definitely Albedo’s fault then.
Kaeya banged his head against the table out of frustration.
He wanted to do this right. Why was that so hard? Just a simple “I love you, I miss you, please come down soon.” should suffice.
And yet, putting the words on paper proved to be a rather big challenge.
Even bigger than his ego, he mused, and that was saying something.
The waiting bird sitting next to his desk chirped impatiently, and with a sigh, Kaeya picked up his pen again.
Kaeya was not a patient man.
It had been exactly four days since he’d sent the letter to Dragonspine; more than enough time for Albedo to read the letter, and with a bit of luck, send a response.
As Kaeya was draped over his favourite armchair, he contemplated what this lack of reply meant.
One, that Albedo was too busy with his research, which sucked, because Kaeya liked to think he was more important than research, but was also kind of understandable considering the alchemist’s tendency to focus on things that interested him a little too much sometimes.
Two, that Kaeya had pushed Albedo’s boundaries, and sending him a letter had only made him feel pressured. Which would suck even more, because that was the complete opposite of what he’d intended, and he’d never forgive himself if he’d made Albedo uncomfortable.
Three, that his letter had been so bad Albedo had refused to answer out of spite.
Or four, that something bad had happened, and Albedo was in genuine danger.
In which case Kaeya wouldn’t stop until he’d torn apart that entire godforsaken mountain.
With a groan, he put his head in his hands. He couldn’t deal with this suspense.
He needed to know if Albedo was okay or not. If they were okay or not.
How the hell was he supposed to just function when his boyfriend might be—
A tap on his window pulled Kaeya from his thoughts.
‘Ocello!’ he exclaimed, practically jumping up from his chair. He was lucky the damn thing didn’t fall over.
With quick steps, he made his way over to the window, opening it to let the messenger bird in. If Kaeya didn’t know any better, he’d almost think she was giving him a judgemental look.
He reached for the tube attached to her leg, but rather than being helpful, she pecked him.
‘Ouch!’ he huffed, rubbing his hand. ‘I thought you liked me!’
Ocello ruffled her feathers, and opened her beak as if mocking him.
That’s when he realized his mistake.
‘Of course, you want a treat first. How awful of me.’ Kaeya hummed, before walking to the kitchen and grabbing a piece of dried meat. Upon returning, she took it gratefully.
‘There you go…can I have my letter now?’
Ocello stuck out her leg obediently, almost as if she’d understood him.
‘Cheeky bird…’ he hummed, finally opening the tube to find a neatly folded piece of paper inside.
Kaeya liked to think he unfolded the paper with utmost precision and steadiness, though the slight tremble in his hands would suggest otherwise.
If in the next few minutes his heart didn’t implode from how fast it was beating, he would consider himself lucky.
Ocello looked at him curiously, sometimes ruffling her feathers or giving a small chirp.
‘It’s…a drawing.’ Kaeya whispered, eyes never leaving the paper. ‘Of me.’
He was almost tempted to show Ocello said drawing, before remembering she was a goddamn bird and she would most likely tear into the paper upon having it dangled in front of her. So instead, Kaeya put it down on the table to admire it some more.
Albedo had sent Kaeya a drawing of him. Several, in fact. Some of them looked like sketches, while others looked more detailed. Much more than the silly three-line drawing he’d made all that time ago, either way.
Kaeya’s cheeks flushed. When had Albedo taken the time to memorise his face so well?
‘I can’t believe he just-…that’s-…’
Kaeya was a flirt. A shameless fanatic when it came to the art of smooth-talking and getting what he wanted.
When he was the recipient of equally flirtatious behaviour, he could easily keep his cool, breaking hearts whenever he deemed fit.
Albedo was the exception, and the man seemed to damn well know it too.
Kaeya’s face had turned as red as his brother’s hair, unable to pull his eyes away from Albedo’s drawings of him.
He’d been thinking of him too, huh?
There was a little scribble on the back of the paper, Kaeya noticed when inspecting it further. Albedo had never been one to show affection through words, but the written sentence still made Kaeya’s heart swell.
“I’ll see you soon, dear Kaeya.”
Dear.
Someone would have to come and clean the puddle of melted Kaeya from the floor, otherwise he’d never be able to get up again.
With a soft smile, Kaeya clutched the paper in his hands a little tighter.
Despite the distance between them, he felt loved.
It would seem that much like Kaeya himself, Albedo wasn’t much of a patient person either.
Kaeya had expected him to be on Dragonspine for at least another week, finishing whatever experiment he’d busied himself with this time. He’d expected the alchemist to be absorbed in his studies, and maybe, perhaps, if he was lucky, be spared a thought in the process.
He hadn’t expected Albedo to walk into his office two mere days after receiving the drawings, boots still dripping wet from the melted snow, and light bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep.
The satisfied little smile on his face made up for his mess of a state though.
That, and the fact he’d seemingly come here straight away, not even bothering to go home and rest first.
Had he missed him that much?
‘Albedo.’ Kaeya stated, a little dumbfounded. ‘You’re back.’
Albedo nodded, walking closer to where Kaeya was sitting behind his desk. ‘I am.’
There were many things Kaeya wanted to say. Things that he could have put in his letter, now that he thought about it.
Like the way Albedo’s eyes shimmered so prettily in the light, or how his hair looked so soft that Kaeya had a hard time stopping himself from running a hand through it. Maybe even how he looked so extremely huggable, and that he wanted to scoop the alchemist into his arms and not let go for the next coming days.
And yet, the words escaped him.
Kaeya was a smooth talker and a flirt. He wasn’t good at explaining genuine, heartfelt emotions. That didn’t mean he didn’t feel them. (Far from it, in fact), it just meant he hoped Albedo understood.
‘I liked your drawings.’ he said. ‘Have you been thinking of me~?’
‘I have.’ Albedo admitted, completely unbothered. ‘Though looking at you now, it would seem I have a lot more observing to do before I can perfect my future drawings of you. They didn’t quite capture your loveliness.’
Kaeya’s cheeks flushed, and he sank down into his chair a little further in hopes of disappearing through it.
‘I see.’ he hummed, trying to sound unbothered, and failing miserably. ‘Well then. Stare at me all you like, hm?’
Albedo almost seemed to grin at that, moving closer so he could lean over the desk. ‘I think I will.’
Kaeya chuckled in an attempt to hide the fact his heart was in fact, yet again, beating like a maniac.
Filthy traitor.
‘I’ve missed you.’ Kaeya whispered, looking up to meet the other’s gaze.
‘So you mentioned in your letter.’ Albedo hummed, seemingly amused.
‘Yeah well-…’ Kaeya started. ‘Using your own words against you, looking at you now it would seem my words did not compare to the real thing. I’ve missed you, more than I could say.’
‘So then show me instead?’
Kaeya smiled at that, leaning in for a soft kiss Albedo seemed all too willing to reciprocate. When he felt the gentle press of the alchemist’s hand on his chin, he practically melted.
‘Welcome home.’ Kaeya hummed when they parted.
Albedo pecked his lips once more, before stepping back. ‘You should take the day off.’
‘Oh? For what occasion?’
‘Mhh…I want to draw you. Admire you. Dragonspine is nice, but the view…doesn’t compare.’
Kaeya grinned. ‘Very well then.’ he mused, before putting away any stray papers still lying in front of him. ‘But you’re going to have to tell Jean, or she’ll probably kill me for slacking off.’
‘We can’t have that.’ Albedo replied. ‘Live specimens are much more suitable for research.’
‘Am I just a test subject then?’ Kaeya teased. ‘I’m hurt, you’re so cruel.’
‘No, I’d be cruel if I made you write a letter to Jean. With beautiful phrases such as, what was it again, “my heart longs for you like a hilichurl longs for—…’
‘You really are cruel!’ Kaeya exclaimed, cheeks flushing even worse than before. He couldn’t help but laugh though, getting up to leave as he did. ‘I still love you though.’
‘I love you too.’ Albedo hummed, walking after him. ‘Now come on, I want to draw you.’
‘And kiss me?’
‘If you behave.’
That was a reasonable compromise, Kaeya mused, holding onto Albedo’s hand as they made their way through headquarters.
Neither of them may have been very profound at writing letters, but so long as they got the message across, Kaeya didn’t think he minded.