Work Text:
the rustling of papers, the sound of keys being snatched, and hurried steps making their way around the small apartment.
albedo really didn't want to be late to their first day at work.
after searching for their phone and finding it already secure in their back pocket, albedo crouched down to give their cat, klee, a goodbye pat on the head and quietly closed the door behind themselves.
deciding against getting their bike out, albedo started walking to the cafe not too far from the college campus.
the sun shining through the vibrant leaves of every tree they came across, some people walking their dogs, kids skipping around while laughing cheekily.
the gentle wind played with albedo's ashy locks, leaving them to close their eyes, taking a deep breath.
a sudden wetness in their shoe made them reopen them to look at the floor below. a small sigh, they had stepped into a puddle.
it must have rained at night, albedo thought to themselves.
yes, it was a beautiful afternoon indeed.
a pity they had to work instead of sketching at the park.
before albedo realized it, they had already arrived in front of their new work place. it did look quite nice and cozy, they had to admit.
they stepped inside with a deep breath, accompanied by the gentle jingle of the bell, making a few of the people inside turn their heads towards them.
tightening their grip on the tote back hanging from their left shoulder, albedo made their way towards the back room where their boss, miss jean, had told them to meet her a few days ago.
when they arrived, there was.. no one?
how odd, albedo slightly furrowed their brows.
just when they were about to take their phone out to pass some time until their new boss arrived, the door opened.
though it was not the blond head of miss jean that revealed itself, but a dark blue one.
the person seemed to notice albedo's presence immediately, looking up from the door handle to give a slight nod accompanied by a friendly smile.
"hey there, you must be our new coworker", the stranger looked at a name tag in their hand, "albedo, i believe?"
they nodded, standing a little stiffer. "yes, that's correct."
"ah, sorry for the little surprise. miss jean can not arrive in time today due to some complications, and i was notified that i would be your guide for the next few days. i hope that is fine?",
the blue haired person chuckled a little in the middle of their explanation, moving towards albedo to give them the name tag with a warm smile.
albedo took the small clip-on with a grateful smile, holding it gently.
" i understand, that is totally okay with me. thank you", albedo read the name tag on the chest in front of them, "kaeya."
"you're very welcome, albedo. now, are you ready to begin?" albedo nodded at that timidly.
"since it's your first time working at a cafe, you'll just be taking and serving our customers' orders for now. if you have any questions or problems, i'll always be available at the front desk." kaeya explained calmly, smiling at albedo with his hands situated on his hips.
"that's.. reassuring to know. thanks" albedo could feel their cheeks heating up, looking down at the name tag in their hands.
kaeya grinned at that and started walking towards a cupboard, getting a black apron out of it. he quickly scanned it for any unwanted stains and not seeing any, tossed it towards albedo.
"well then, shall we get started, 'bedo?"
everything was going well, until they had to take the order of an exceptionally grumpy man. even kaeya gave albedo a worried glance when the customer exclaimed rather loudly that he needed someone to take his order, but albedo just gave him a quick smile before walking towards the table.
and gods, was this man hard to talk to.
after successfully taking the order -just a latte- albedo told kaeya the order, watching him make the latte as if he was made for it.
a little moment later the order was ready to be served to the angry customer, who was impatiently awaiting it's arrival.
"hey, should i go for you?", kaeya asked, eyeing the middle aged man with worry.
albedo chuckled slightly, "there's no need. i can handle it."
they regretted these words as soon as they put down the order though, as the man told them to wait while he took a tiny sip of his coffee.
"this is NOT what i wanted. are you new??!", the man's shouting was attracting way too much attention.
albedo gave a hesitant nod.
"NO WONDER. this tastes absolutely disgusting. can't you do anything right!? i wanted a BLACK coffee, young girl."
oh?
now that stung. that hurt a lot.
albedo could do nothing but stand there frozen as the man poured the coffee all over the apron and their clothes, soaking them wet. and oh how it burned.
kaeya immediately came running towards albedo as they mumbled an apology and quickly walked off towards the break room, completely ignoring kaeya.
they hurriedly shut the door behind themselves, getting out of the burning hot apron as fast as they could.
a shaky sigh left albedo's quivering lips.
their sweater was soaked and burning against the delicate skin of their stomach. but that was the least of their problems in that moment.
albedo sat down on one of the chairs, quietly staring at the white wall.
albedo had thought they looked androgynous enough.
albedo had thought the binder around their chest was enough, the gender non confirming choice of clothing was enough, that all that voice training was actually worth it.
but it seemed people still saw them as the gender they were assigned at birth, and that realization was absolutely crushing albedo, making their heart sink.
albedo couldn't help their eyes watering as they tried to hold back from crying like a tall child.
this was the worst day ever.
just as a sob threatened to leave their mouth the door was thrown open, revealing a very worried kaeya.
he looked rather angry, too. albedo could only hope that anger wasn't directed at them, as they quickly averted their teary eyes.
kaeya's frown deepened at that, making his way towards albedo with careful steps.
"hey.. are you okay?", he asked quietly after coming closer.
albedo could do nothing but sniffle, as their body still shook.
the young man sighed softly, "dumb question, sorry. let's get you out of those soaked clothes first, okay? i can lend you a spare shirt, and then we can talk if you want."
albedo couldn't be more grateful as they nodded once again, watching kaeya get a clean shirt out of his bag and handing it to them with the softest smile.
"i'm going to go check how the others handled that weirdo. you stay here and change, 'kay 'bedo?", and giving them a gentle pat on the shoulder, he was gone.
finally alone again, albedo pulled their brown sweater over their head and let it fall to the floor. quickly they checked what state their binder was in, a sigh of relief leaving them as albedo saw that only a tiny part of it had gotten wet.
they took the black shirt kaeya had given them, humming contently at the softness of the fabric.
just as they were done changing a knock could be heard, and with their sound of approval kaeya entered the room.
he gave albedo one of his signature smiles again, and without a word signalled for them to follow him.
the blonde followed kaeya like a chick it's mother, when he suddenly came to a stop behind the counter, almost causing albedo to bump into his back.
it was the last few minutes before they would close the cafe, and not a single person was there except for the two coworkers.
"so tell me blondie, do you like sweet stuff?"
a little caught off guard by the sudden question, albedo nodded slowly.
"perrrfect!! you take a seat here", kaeya took a hold of their shoulders to move them towards one of the chairs in front of the counter,
albedo following a little awkwardly, "while i do my thing and work my magic. no peeking allowed!"
with these last words kaeya turned his back to albedo and started making a drink, or that's what the "blondie" guessed it was.
for the next few minutes it was mostly quiet, except for the occasional clinking of glass and soft humming emitting from the man.
albedo wondered if this was even allowed after closing hours.
"and voilà!", kaeya turned to albedo, a pink drink in hand, "my speciality - an extra sweet strawberry milkshake, consisting of the freshest strawberries found in mondstadt, topped off with extra cream and a cherry on top."
now this almost had albedo salivating. they had a major sweet tooth and absolutely adored strawberries.
kaeya couldn't help but chuckle heartily at their reaction, albedo's eyes glistening with stars as they reached for the drink in his hands.
one sip of the pink sweetness and albedo could swear they were hearing angels sing and the sacred gates of heaven opening for them.
"thank you.. so much, kaeya. this tastes really, really good", they mumbled a little, still a bit flustered at the generous act of the young man smiling at them.
" you're welcome, albe", kaeya chuckled a little, then suddenly switching to a more serious face, "what that man said a while ago seems to have really messed with you. was it just the yelling that caused you to be so upset or something else, too?"
this caught them a little off guard, anxiety starting to make it's way up their spine.
albedo could just tell him. they could tell him about their preffered pronouns and how they're non binary.
but what if he doesn't like them anymore after that?? what if he stops talking to them, except for telling them how delusional they are. how being non binary is not a real thing.
..
no, kaeya would never. not after showing his unconditional kindness, not after all he'd done for albedo.
they felt a little stupid for second guessing him.
taking their prolonged silence as a cue to keep talking, kaeya spoke up again.
"albedo, hey. i think i have an idea of what made you react this way, and i want you to know that i get how you feel, okay? you don't have to be scared, you can tell me anything."
kaeya moved his hand to tuck a blond strand behind albedo's ear, the gentle gesture and words making their heart race and cheeks bloom with roses.
"it was the last thing he said, right? he called you a girl. you didn't seem to like that at all."
startled, albedo shot their head up to look at kaeya.
"how did you know? you.. you're not upset about that fact, are you?" there was a slight quiver to their voice.
"no, no, not at all! i am totally okay with what you identify as, 'bedo. no need to be scared."
seeing as albedo's shoulders were still very stiff and their eyes were still shiny with unshed tears, kaeya moved around the counter towards them.
"hey.. come here."
within a second albedo was engulfed in a warm hug. though still a little surprised by the sudden closeness, they let themselves relax into his arms shortly after.
albedo's arms wrapped around his torso while kaeya's hand started combing through their ash blond locks, the two just stood there like that.
albedo didn't know how long they had hugged, but at some point salty tears started to uncontrollably spill from their eyes, wetting kaeya's shirt.
a few more long moments passed like this, with kaeya making them rock from left to right. it felt strangely comforting and albedo didn't want it to ever end.
after sensing albedo's sobs coming to a stop, kaeya spoke again.
"albedo. you should probably know that i, too, am trans. you don't have to be scared, 'kay?"
this made albedo look up from his chest, teal eyes blown wide.
"you..! that's.. quite the surprise", albedo tripped over their words uncharacteristically.
kaeya couldn't help but burst a laugh at that, hugging albedo a little closer to his chest.
"you're so cute, you know that? but yeah, i definitely pass more than i did a few years ago. so, coming back to you, albe. what are your preffered pronouns hmm?"
albedo couldn't help their face flushing again at the praise, heart thumping so loudly they were afraid the other would hear.
"i like they/them the most", they answered, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
kaeya nodded at that with a warm smile, slightly stepping away from the embrace to softly run his thumb over albedo's drying tears.
"that's nice. thanks for telling me, dove."
at hearing the affectionate nickname, albedo could barely keep their legs from turning to jelly like a teenager with a silly crush.
instead they opted for burrying their face back into kaeya's chest, a pityfull attempt at hiding the blush that didn't seem to leave when they were near him.
the blue haired man just chuckled at that, running his fingers through their hair once again.
kaeya hoped that the two of them would get to share more moments like these in the future, and so did albedo.
and of course, this wish would come true. no matter what.
-fin-