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“I thought you were meeting someone for a project.”
Kaeya shrugs his jacket on, smoothing out the creases, turning sideways to check the state of his ponytail in the mirror. He spots Diluc in the reflection, glassed perched on the edge of his nose and looking at him from the sofa.
“I am.”
Diluc resumes his e-book with a raised brow. “Do I dare ask why you’re so dressed up?” He mutters something under his breath about fashion that Kaeya doesn’t quite catch.
“Well, since you’re dying to know, dear Diluc.” Kaeya can’t help the excitement that creeps up in his voice like a lovesick school girl meeting her crush. “I’m seeing Albedo today.”
“Ah. That explains why you haven’t stopped smiling like an idiot all morning.”
And honestly, who could blame him? Celestia seemed to be on his side that fateful day when the professor announced that they had to find a partner for their project.
Kaeya, who was busy texting Jean in the back of the seminar hall (she was panicking about birthday gift shopping for her girlfriend) didn’t really have anyone around him to casually ask until the love of his life slipped into the seat beside him, slightly out of breath and hair messier than usual. His cheeks were red, a few beads of sweat on his forehead. He must’ve been running.
“Oh Archons, I can’t believe I’m late. Did I miss anything important?”
Kaeya sent a silent thanks to whichever god was listening. After weeks of admiring the intelligent blonde from across the room and tossing flirty comments at him whenever they saw each other around campus, he finally had the opportunity of a lifetime sitting in his palms.
“As a matter of fact, you did. Would you so kindly grant me the honor of being your project partner?”
Diluc's voice pulls him out of his musings. “Teyvat to Kaeya? Your phone is buzzing.”
Kaeya blinks, brain still fuzzy after remembering how adorable Albedo looked that day. He was usually so composed, so stoic. The unkempt braids and slightly lopsided sweater vest were an endearing surprise that lingered in Kaeya’s mind whenever he thought about him now.
He glances down at his screen, heart leaping at the caller ID: albedo <3
“Aw, he’s calling me!” He turns his phone to Diluc, who stares at it, thoroughly unimpressed. “I wonder if he’s nervous~”
“You are such a loser—”
“Good morning Albedo,” Kaeya answers cheerfully, “Excited to see me?”
On the other end of the line, he hears someone panting slightly. It takes a few seconds before Albedo’s (usually) gentle voice answers with a panicked tone. “Kaeya? Oh, hi. Yep, um… about our project meeting…”
There’s a distant crash and a shout, and Kaeya starts to worry. He vaguely hears a woman talking to Albedo, saying something about the next few months .
“‘Bedo? Everything alright over there?”
“Hm? Ah, right. Some urgent business came up for my mother, so I’ve been really busy this morning. Would it be alright for you to come over to my apartment instead of meeting at the library? Apologies for the last minute notice.”
He speaks like a professor writing an email, but Archons does Kaeya love it.
“An invitation to your house?” That gets a reaction from Diluc, who glances his way for a brief moment. “If it’s more convenient for you, sure.”
Albedo sighs in relief. “Thank you so much. I’ll text you the details. Are you a fan of pizza, perhaps?”
Kaeya grins. “Pizza sounds delicious. See you soon, dear project partner~”
As he hangs up, Diluc shakes his head. “Let me guess. You have a lunch date with Albedo at his hous–”
“I have a lunch date with Albedo at his house!”
If you asked Kaeya what he thought Albedo’s apartment would look like, he’d probably picture a page in an interior design catalogue. Neatly matched furniture with a quirky piece here and there for character, lots of books, art supplies neatly tucked away in the corner.
He most definitely did not expect doodles on the walls, papers on literally every surface of his living room, toys on the kitchen floor, and a bra on the bookshelf. Albedo had let him in with a flurry of apologies, almost sounding like his friend Sucrose, except he had a tiny blonde girl clinging to his leg.
“It’s usually not this messy, I promise.” He grabs the bra and tosses it into the laundry basket in the hallway, completely unfazed. “My mom just got a call and she has to go overseas so I had to help pack her stuff and book tickets. This is my sister Klee, by the way. Klee, say hi to Kaeya.”
The little girl in red stares up at Kaeya with an almost unnerving seriousness. “Are you a pirate?”
“Klee, that’s not how you greet people.”
“Sorry! I like your eyepatch, mister.” Kaeya laughs. This child is certainly not like Albedo at all.
A beautiful woman comes out of one of the rooms, bearing an uncanny resemblance to her daughter. She has sunglasses on her head and a couple of bright red suitcases in front of her, looking as though she’s on her way to a vacation destination, not an important business trip. This is Albedo’s… mother?
“Okay! All set to go.” Klee runs over to her for a hug, and they exchange a few quiet words. Kaeya suddenly gets nervous. This is Albedo’s mom. He has to make a good first impression or he’ll regret it for the rest of his life.
“Alice,” Albedo says, checking his watch, “You’re going to miss your flight if you don’t hurry.” It surprises Kaeya that he calls his mother so casually, but she doesn’t seem to mind it at all.
“Alrighty, don’t worry too much. You’ll get wrinkles early.” It’s only now that she looks over and notices Kaeya standing in the living room. “Why, hello there! I didn’t realise we had a visitor.”
He clears his throat, ready to charm her socks off. “A pleasure to meet you, ma’am. I’m Kaeya.”
“So formal!” She giggles. “Just call me Alice, dear. He’s very handsome, isn’t he?” The last part is directed at Albedo, who instantly turns the loveliest shade of silk flower pink when Alice shoots him a wink.
Albedo groans and starts to guide her to the front door. “ Goodbye , Alice. Have a safe flight.”
“Bye Mommy!” Klee yells, waving her stuffed animal in the air.
“Seeya later, my lovelies!”
And with that goodbye, the house is quiet. Albedo heaves the deepest sigh Kaeya’s ever heard from him and quietly moves to tidy the house. Klee copies him, plucking her toys from the kitchen floor and moving them all to one corner. Kaeya doesn’t really know where anything goes so he settles for collecting the assorted papers into one pile.
Albedo gives him a grateful smile as he takes the papers from Kaeya, and Kaeya pretends like his chest isn’t about to explode from the brief touch of their fingers. He watches as Albedo tucks a strand of hair behind his ear and wonders how he’d react if Kaeya did that.
Once everything’s tidied up, Albedo slumps down on the sofa. He looks absolutely exhausted. “Do you mind if I… rest? Just for a bit. I’ve been up since four.”
“Take all the time you need. I’ll be here all day.”
Albedo relaxes, grabbing a pillow and hugging it to his chest. Kaeya’s never seen him look so unguarded before, like a cat curling up in its favourite place. Klee seems to be used to this, however, grabbing the TV remote and turning it on. She makes herself comfortable on the floor and looks up at Kaeya expectantly.
“Do you wanna watch TV with me and Dodoco, Mister Kaeya?”
Kaeya takes a seat beside her. “You can call me Kaeya-gege if you want. Who is Dodoco…?”
She places the stuffed animal she was holding earlier in front of him. It resembles a sort of rabbit, but without the limbs. “This is Dodoco! He’s my best friend.”
Kaeya pats its head gently and smiles when Klee beams. Her smile is so bright, like a ray of sunshine. “Hello, Dodoco.”
"Dodoco says that you have to be quiet while Albedo-gege naps."
"Okay. I will."
Klee eyes him for a moment before turning her attention back to the television. He glances back to check on Albedo, and indeed he seems to be asleep. Before he can snap a quick picture, however, Klee tugs on his sleeve.
"Are you Albedo-gege's friend?" she asks.
Kaeya considers her question. They've talked a fair bit in class, sure, and Albedo seems to be relatively comfortable with him (at least, he's never actively avoided Kaeya like he's done for certain people – Timaeus, was it?). But friends? This was probably their first time hanging out without any of their friends around. Potential lovers, Kaeya would like to say, but he's definitely getting ahead of himself.
"I think we're friends, yes."
Klee looks satisfied with that answer. "Okay!"
They chat in hushed voices and watch cartoons for the next fifteen minutes until Albedo stirs, rubbing his eyes blearily. Kaeya watches, entranced. He's angelic, almost, framed by the morning sun.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty."
Albedo stretches his arms, twisting his back and wincing as it cracks. "Ugh… I hope Klee isn't bothering you too much."
Kaeya chuckles. "It's alright. Klee was just about to show me her Barbie dolls."
"This is the mermaid one!" Klee says, taking a doll out of a box. "She swims super fast and can wrestle sharks."
“She's very pretty." Kaeya comments, and Klee nods in agreement. "Do you have a favourite Barbie?”
Klee taps her chin, thinking long and hard about his question. “Hmm, I like all of them. But I think Albedo-gege is the best Barbie!”
Kaeya smiles. “Oh, really?”
“Albedo-gege is just like Barbie,” Klee confidently claims, tiny hands on her hips. “He’s blond, smart, and can do everything! Just like Barbie.”
Albedo chuckles fondly. "I can't do everything , Klee."
“Yes you can! You can clean, and cook, and paint, and you take care of Klee… That’s why you’re always Barbie who defeats the evil hilichurls with your magic powers!”
Kaeya raises an eyebrow. “I somehow don’t recall this Barbie movie.”
Albedo sighs. “She likes to sprinkle her own ideas when we play.” Kaeya observes a light blush on his pale skin, probably embarrassment from Klee’s little revelation of them playing Barbie together, but Kaeya’s melting inside at the mere picture of it. He just knows they have Disney sing-along movie marathons too.
Klee suddenly gasps, hands flying to her mouth. She has stars in her eyes when she says “Kaeya-gege can play with us today!”
The idea of it is tempting for sure, but Albedo answers before Kaeya can even speak. “Klee, Kaeya and I have a project to work on. That’s why he came here, remember?”
She frowns, clearly unsatisfied with that response. “Boooooooo~”
“Hey now,” Kaeya grins. There’s no way he’s going to pass up a free Albedo Barbie show. “We have all afternoon to work. How about we play for a bit, and then Klee can watch cartoons later?”
Klee runs over to Albedo and hugs his legs, looking up at him with her big, big eyes, and Kaeya can already see his resolve crumbling. “Please, gege? Promise I’ll be quiet when you’re working.”
Kaeya sneakily reaches out to Albedo’s hands and holds them between his own. He puts on his own puppy dog eye, the one that even Young Diluc could never get angry at, and bats his eyelashes up at Albedo.
“C’mon, Albedo-gege .”
Albedo turns his head away, trying to hide his adorably flustered expression. After a moment of lip biting and internal conflict, he caves. “...Fine. Only for a while.”
“Yay!” Klee cheers, and Kaeya gives her a high-five. He just knows that Klee is going to be his next partner in crime.
“Do you want to be fairies again today, Klee?”
“Hmm, I wanna be the dancing princesses.” She stands on her tiptoes and wobbles around the living room with arms raised above her head like a ballerina. Albedo stands up and Kaeya watches, amused, as he takes his phone out and plays a song that sounds like it’s from a Barbie soundtrack. Albedo and Klee each bend their legs in a practiced curtsy. They must do this often.
It turns out that their ‘dancing’ is just Albedo holding Klee’s hands as she wiggles and jumps to the music. This continues for the whole duration of the song and Kaeya, so distracted by the shy smile on Albedo's face, completely forgets to snap a photo of it.
Klee looks over at him. “Kaeya-gege, you needa dance too!” She looks up at Albedo. “Can you guys do that dance together?”
Albedo tilts his head. “Which dance?”
“You know, the one where Princess Genevieve dances with Derek…” Klee looks shy, almost. “I’m too small to dance it with you but Kaeya-gege is tall! He can be your prince!”
Prince?
Kaeya makes direct eye contact with Albedo and he feels his cheeks burn. Fuck. He’s down bad for this man. “I mean,” he swallows the nervous lump in his throat and holds his hand out to Albedo. “Anything for Klee, I suppose?”
Albedo stares at him, contemplating, looking a bit hesitant. But after a few excruciating moments, he nods and steps forward to accept his offer.
“Dancing may be the one thing I’m not very confident in,” he chuckles, taking Kaeya's hand in his right. A thousand butterflies take flight in Kaeya’s stomach as Albedo puts his other hand on his shoulder and looks up at him with those beautiful teal eyes and a small smile. “Lead the way, my prince.”
Shit.
Kaeya’s knees are not strong enough for this.
“O-Okay.” Klee squeals happily when she presses play on Albedo’s phone and music begins to fill the living room. Kaeya instinctively rolls his shoulders back and stands straighter, forcing his nerves away as he places his hand on Albedo’s back. He’s not going to half-ass this dance just because a child is asking for it.
Albedo seems to know the basics, following Kaeya’s movements to the best of his ability. It’s endearing how his eyebrows furrow in concentration, eyes focused on his feet, softly counting “one, two, three” under his breath to keep in time with the song. He steps on Kaeya’s toes a few times but it doesn’t hurt. Or maybe it does, a bit, but Kaeya’s too enamoured with every sheepish giggle that escapes Albedo’s mouth to care.
“You’re surprisingly light on your feet,” Albedo comments halfway through the song, still not looking at Kaeya.
“I didn’t realise I looked the clumsy type.”
Albedo’s ears flush and he snaps his head up. “My apologies. I merely meant–”
“I’m kidding, darling.” The nickname draws out another pretty shade of red on Albedo’s cheeks that makes Kaeya’s heart soar to Celestia. “I went to dance classes when I was younger, believe it or not.” Crepus had sent him and Diluc to more extra-curricular activities than he could count. Most of them were boring, but dancing was fun for him.
“Ah. That explains why your posture is so–”
“Albedo-gege! Do a twirl!” Klee interrupts, waving Dodoco wildly.
“Oh, um. I’ll try…?” Without warning, Albedo raises their clasped hands above his head and attempts a spin, wavering slightly to the side. Kaeya catches his waist before he trips, pulling their bodies closer together.
“Careful.”
Kaeya didn’t expect Albedo to be so quick to blush, but he loves it. He’s vaguely aware that he’s also probably flushed red like a tomato, but it doesn’t matter. Not when Albedo looks so beautiful like this. He doesn’t even realise that the music is still going until Albedo clears his throat and straightens himself. Unable to meet Kaeya's gaze, he settles on staring at his chest for the remainder of the song.
Once they're done, Albedo takes a step back, bowing politely. “Thank you for the dance, Kaeya.”
Kaeya returns the bow. He tries not to think about how empty his hands feel in the absence of warmth. “My pleasure, your highness.”
“That was so COOOOL!” Klee screams, running up to them. “I wanna learn how to dance like that, Kaeya-gege!”
Albedo ruffles her hair. “Maybe when you’re a bit older, Klee.”
Klee crosses her arms with a pout. “Hmph. You just wanna be the only one who dances with Kaeya-gege.”
The look on Albedo’s face is absolutely priceless as he sputters for a response. He grabs Kaeya’s arm and shoves him towards the hallway before he can make a comment. “Klee. We're gonna be working. Call us when the pizza arrives, thanks.”
Klee salutes him. “Yessir!”
Albedo is quiet as they reach his room, but Kaeya can see the embarrassment lingering on the tips of his ears. Kaeya’s own heart is beating rapidly, but he can’t resist this opportunity. He slides in front of Albedo and leans on his door frame.
“Bringing me into your room on the first date?” His voice drops low, teasingly playful as he twirls a few strands of Albedo’s hair around his finger. “Why Albedo, I didn’t know you were so forward.”
Albedo doesn’t bat an eyelash, turning the doorknob and ducking under Kaeya’s arm. It excites him, the way Albedo pushes and pulls. How his feathers are so easy to ruffle yet somehow he manages to remain calm when faced with Kaeya's blatant attempts at flirting.
“...as if I’d take you to an ugly dump on our first date.”
Kaeya almost gives himself whiplash from turning his neck so fast.
He heard that correctly, right?
“W-What?”
It’s Albedo’s turn to offer a smile, though not nearly as cheeky as Kaeya’s. This one is soft and sincere, complimented by a sparkle of mirth in his eyes. His cheeks are still a pink hue, but he’s clearly pleased at catching Kaeya off-guard.
“Do you like Liyuean cuisine? I know a place.”