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It wasn't often that Albedo dreamt, though it wasn't completely unheard of, especially nowadays. He supposed it was due the fact that he was blessed enough to see one of the Wonders of Teyvat day in and day out; a certain unmistakable beauty named Kaeya Alberich. A man just as intrapersonally intricate as he was tall, dark and handsome; Albedo had never met anyone as charismatic and secretive as the Cavalry Captain and he not only piqued Albedo's killer curiosity, but had filled his recent days in the lab or on the field with more joy.
Albedo's dreams didn't come often, no. However, when they did, they were often crudely vivid and quite terrifying if he was to be honest. He'd never experienced such graphic nightmares before and he was afraid of what it all meant or foreshadowed. Albedo sat up and tried to focus his eyes in the dark of the room, dimly lit by the uncovered window. He managed to make out his own fingers, counting each one silently to help steady his breathing as he had seen Sucrose do a few times before.
"Albedo?" Kaeya called quietly, stirring awake only to catch his boyfriend sitting up in bed.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Albedo apologizes, still staring down at his hands in an attempt to ground himself.
"Albedo, dear. What's wrong?" Kaeya calls again sternly this time, but full of concern.
"I just had an unpleasant dream, is all. Nothing to worry about." He had truly meant those words, but as he smiled softly at his lover, something within Kaeya's worried eyes told Albedo that those words didn't land.
"Starlight, you're crying."
"I'm crying?" Albedo sounds almost disbelieving and has to touch his own face, his hand recoiling when it meets hot tears as he confirms Kaeya's observation. "You're.. right." He hesitates. He couldn't tell if it was just mental fatigue from working so much or if he was still dreaming- there was no way he would be reduced to tears from a simple nightmare, would he? Yet, here he sat with an indescribable heaviness in his chest, akin to a stomach ache but far worse, something Albedo hadn't quite felt till now. So what was it?
"How strange I-" Albedo's voice cracks and, for a moment, everything seemed surreal; the thick emotion in his voice was incredibly foreign even to himself, let alone Kaeya who watched him with shallow breath, "I'm not human- I'm not supposed to do this."
His shoulders shuddered as he gasped ever so slightly, but it was enough for Kaeya to reach over and pull Albedo close in a tight embrace. The alchemist had expressed his discomfort when it came to physical affection from others, but Kaeya was able to pick up on small nuances in Albedo's body language to know that however uncertain Albedo may feel about social relations, he was at least comfortable enough around Kaeya to grow used to his affectionate nature.
"Why are you holding me?" He asked, trying to assert some sort of control over his emotions and current situation, but his voice gave away everything, "I told you I'm-"
Kaeya cut him off, shaking his head. "You're not fine, starlight. I already know you aren't," He chuckles humorlessly and it conveys a sound of understanding, "You're allowed to cry, Albedo." He coos gently.
Albedo wasn't sure what cord snapped inside of him but as soon as he heard Kaeya's words, he began to cry and gasp uncontrollably.
Not for the first time, Kaeya was hyper aware of Albedo's heartbeat thumping rapidly in tandem with Kaeya's own wild pulse. The Captain could admit he was blindsided by his boyfriend's sudden display of emotions, but somewhere inside himself he knew this was bound to happen one day. It wasn't that Albedo was expressionless and brief in conversations by nature, but rather the teachings of his late Master rooted deep in the core of his subconscious that made him so cliff-faced most days and- well, Kaeya supposed he could somewhat relate.
"Kaeya I- dreamt you were missing.. and I couldn't find you." His confession came out muffled against Kaeya's bare chest and Albedo sat up once again, searching his lover's indigo eyes with his own frantic, star-adorned gaze like he needed another tangible sign that Kaeya was really there in front of him.
"I upturned all of Teyvat looking for you, I laid Mondstadt to ruin for you an-and and I lost all control of myself, I couldn't stop even though I just knew you were gone." His chest heaved up and down while he tried to steady his breathing.
"It's alright, starlight. It was only a dream." Kaeya comforted, rubbing Albedo's back.
"I know it was only a dream, but.." Albedo shook his head, averting his gaze out the window. "What scares me most is that it'll happen one day." He whispers.
"Albedo-"
"I'm not human, Kaeya. You know this. I can't physically age like you do, I can't get sick, I can't get any taller or bigger, I can't grow like you do. One day, I'll be here a-and you won't be here beside me anymore. One day I'll wake up and you won't, Kaeya!"
Kaeya startles at Albedo's sudden volume, but as quick as the anger came, it melted into frustrated sobs once again. Kaeya sighs sadly, sitting up to pull Albedo close once more and rests his chin on his soft, platinum hair.
"Albedo, I'm right here. I'm right here, right now and I'm not leaving you anytime soon or ever, understand?" Albedo continues to hiccup softly into Kaeya's chest. "I don't know where you get that not-so-bright idea that you aren't just as much of a person as everyone else."
Kaeya pulls back a bit to gaze at his lover, ephemerally gorgeous even in the midst of crying. "You don't think these tears you're crying are for show, do you? Each one is a sign of emotion, of turmoil and uncertainty, a sign of life." He explains, wiping away Albedo's tears, iridescent in the weak glow of the setting moon.
"Don't go thinking you're the only one afraid of the future. Trust me, you aren't the only one out there who's too afraid to love and to lose that which you hold dear; resigning yourself to watch things live in hopes to prepare yourself for when those children no longer run around with reckless abandon, the taverns no longer ring out with rambunctious laughter, when the bustling streets of a city once full of passion become desolate, empty."
"I can't tell if you're really doing your best to comfort me or if you're deliberately trying to make things worse." Albedo teases with a sniff and chuckles in spite of himself.
"Your wound me, dear. I'm only speaking from this caring heart of mine." Kaeya feigns offense in a lighthearted tone.
"I was being truthful, though. Life, death, love, birth, and especially the unknown; everyone is afraid of what they can't control, whether it's something within themselves or within others. We all face this fear and we all end up crying because of it from time to time, as well. This such fear is..." Kaeya sighs, wrapping an arm around the blond man's waist and draping a blanket over the both of them.
"Simply human nature."
Albedo nearly snorted. "A surprisingly simple revelation." He commented, resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, much to Kaeya's delight.
The two set their gazes on the dawning sun blossoming over Mondstadt.