Work Text:
Klee is very good at following guides and writing lists. Thanks to the super-duper-helpful list Kaeya had written for her, Klee had decided to make lists of everything she knows. It’s most helpful when it comes to people—there are so many people in Mondstadt, and so many Knights of Favonius, and—yes, lists.
So there are things she knows about Albedo better than anyone else in the whooole world:
- Albedo always greets her with a smile!
- He loves the bunny dance (he sometimes dances too!)
- When he hugs her, he’s warm! (Klee’s warmer!)
- He never ever ever loses his patience with her!
- Albedo makes things appear out of thin air!
- If he’s too busy to play, he says so! While still being nice!
There are many more, but these are most of the Albedo principles that she knows. Albedo’s one of her favorite people in the whole of Teyvat, and they’ve been together for sooo long. He’s her brother, so she knows him better than anyone.
Whoever stands in front of her right now is not Albedo.
He looks and sounds like him, but Klee knows—she knows this isn’t her brother, but why? He doesn’t seem like he wants to hurt Klee… did Albedo create a clone of himself out of thin air? She tilts her head at Not-Albedo, who’s staring at her with wide eyes that are absolutely not like Albedo’s.
“Is there something wrong, Klee?” he asks, and everything’s so wrong! When Albedo asks her if something is wrong, he kneels down! He always looks at Klee in the eyes!
“You’re wrong!” she exclaims, clutching her bag closer. “I-I’ll blow you up!”
“I see…” he answers, like he’s not threatened by Klee—that’s so, so wrong! Albedo always plays along! “I’m not trying to hurt you, Klee. It’s me. Will you not hug me?”
“No!” and the hurt that flashes on his face feels so—it’s an expression so very foreign that Klee doesn’t hesitate to run off.
That’s not Albedo.
What happened to Albedo?
Where did he go?
She spots the Traveler later, and Klee wastes no time to leap herself at them.
“Honorary Knight!” she cries, and the Traveler stops shortly. “Klee needs help! Klee needs back-up!”
“Klee! Slow down,” Paimon says, floating worriedly around her. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Besides her, the Traveler kneels down to hear Klee out, eyes already determined. Klee sobs out, “Someone swapped Albedo! He’s not Albedo! I need to find my brother!”
“I think I know what you mean,” the Traveler answers her. “He seemed off to you?”
Klee shakes her head, adamant. He didn’t seem off. He isn’t Albedo. “He’s—he’s a fake! You have to help Klee find Albedo!”
“He might be in Dragonspine,” Paimon adds helpfully, “He usually spends time there! Are you sure you want to climb the mountain, Klee?”
“Klee’s strong!” she assures them, nodding vigorously. “My brother needs my help!”
The Traveler nods, holding out their hand. “We’ll go back to Dragonspine, then.”
She ends up being great help to the Traveler, warming them right up with small scale bombs, but her stomach can’t stop turning. What if Albedo was hurt? What if someone had taken Albedo…?! Worse, what if no one else noticed he was different?! She’d lose her brother forever! It couldn’t be—Albedo’s indestructible, isn’t he? Klee’s seen him stand too close to bombs and not get hurt. Albedo’s the strongest alchemist in the world, he couldn’t get hurt, could he?
As she glides across the bridge near her brother’s camps, she can feel tears forming on the corner of her eyes.
She runs all the way up, and she finds a familiar silhouette standing in front of a canvas. That had to be the real him! If it was the fake one again, she’ll blow him up!
“Albedo!” she yells. He turns around, and recognition shows up in his eyes as he starts smiling—that’s Albedo! Klee just knows it’s Albedo! She runs as fast as her legs allow her and leaps at Albedo. “It’s you! Albedo, where were you?
“I have been right here, painting,” Albedo answers, hugging her back. He’s the right temperature, so of course it’s Albedo! He puts her down, and he kneels in front of her. “What’s wrong? Why are you so upset?”
The Traveler arrives behind her, so Albedo looks up. “The Traveler and Paimon? I didn’t expect so many visitors today.”
“T-there’s a bad guy,” Klee starts. “He—he looks just like you, but he’s so wrong… He tried to hug Klee! A-and he didn’t even react to the bunny dance!”
Albedo puts a hand on his chin, thinking, then extends it to hold Klee’s hand. “There must be something seriously wrong with him if he did not like the bunny dance. Isn’t that right, Klee?”
“Mhm-hmm!” she hugs him again, just for good measure. “Don’t get out of Klee’s sight, okay?!”
He smiles at her. “I’m not going anywhere without you. But could you let me have some words with the Traveler? You can play around here, if you wish. But I need to have a talk with them.”
Klee nods. “Grown-up stuff, Klee knows.”
He pats her hat, and though he told her to play around, Klee keeps an eye on her brother the entire time. He looks entirely serious as he talks to the Traveler, but it’s so relieving to see him again. She tries to reconcile his calm and peaceful face with the look of hurt she saw on the fake Albedo, and her stomach turns again. Nobody’s allowed to impersonate Albedo again, never ever again. Klee’s not leaving his side until they take care of that bad guy!
After a while, when he’s done with his conversation with the Traveler, Albedo comes back to her. “We have to track down whoever talked to you earlier,” he says, seriously. “Klee, do you want to come with us?”
She’s up before Albedo even finishes his sentence. “I’ll blow him up! Nobody messes with Klee’s brother!”
Albedo laughs a little. “Very well. Stay close to me. Although, you can tell us apart, so I trust you won’t ever get confused.”
“Yup! No one knows Albedo better than Klee! I'm an Albedo-detector!”
He relaxes ever-so-slightly, like Klee took away most of his worries. A second later, his expression is a serious one as the Traveler arrives, and so Klee’s most interesting adventure begins: she gets to hang out with Amber, Eula, and even Bennett! But despite the interesting people, she can’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that someone is impersonating her brother.
And even worse, that only she noticed he was different. Sucrose didn’t notice, Timaeus didn’t notice either—what if Klee hadn’t been around today? What if the Traveler hadn’t been around, either? Who would’ve noticed Albedo disappeared?
She clutches Albedo’s hand tighter. He looks down at her and squeezes back, smiling, but continuing to lead everyone down the mountain.
And then Albedo falls after Bennett.
Klee’s not stupid. She’s young, but she’s not stupid! Whoever reappears in front of her is not Albedo, she knows for a fact. Just like the first time, there’s something odd about him—it’s not her precious brother. He doesn’t have the same inviting aura Albedo has. Klee doesn’t feel safe with him. As she’s about to shriek, she feels the Traveler’s hand land on her shoulder.
“I know that’s not Albedo,” they say, low enough that they won’t be heard by the rest of the group. “But let’s play along until Albedo returns. We need to know what this impostor wants. Can you do that, Klee?”
Klee nods. If the Traveler was aware too, then that eased her up. Not-Albedo comes to stand next to her, and it takes everything in her power to not grab a bomb and blow him up.
“Klee, it’s good to see you,” he says, and Klee wants to punch him! That’s not how Albedo talks! He smiles at her, but his eyes are so empty! The Albedo she knows is so full of life, always. “Stay close to me. Big brothers protect sisters, right?”
Klee only nods, and there it is again. The dejected expression covers not-Albedo’s features. Why does he look so hurt every time Klee rejects him?! He’s not Albedo! What does he care?
She huffs and puffs and continues walking. Hopefully, Albedo would be back soon, so this horrible guy could disappear once and for all.
After the battle is done, where Klee helped out the most she could with all her bombs, Albedo quietly comes next to her. The rest of the group is walking up ahead, but Klee’s been a little… slow to walk. Albedo asks, “Are you okay, Klee?”
Klee blinks away her tears. “I know that wasn’t Albedo…” she begins, shutting her eyes tightly as the image of Albedo stabbing his impostor resurfaces. “...but it looked a lot like you.”
Albedo smiles gently at her, although she can still feel him worried about her.
“I am fine, Klee,” he holds her hands to prove a point. “The creature we defeated was not me—I would never get injured like that.”
“‘Cause you’re strong and smart,” Klee says, but her voice is still wobbly. She throws her arms around Albedo, who picks her up and carries her. “I love you, Albedo! I’m so glad you’re okay! You worried me back then when you fell, and here, too!”
“I love you too,” he says, moving her so he’s carrying her with one arm. Slowly, they begin to make their way down. “Did he say anything to you, when you were coming with him?”
“No,” she answers truthfully. “But I think he… wanted Klee to be his friend.”
“Oh? Why do you think that?”
“He always looked sad when I was mean to him,” she explains. Albedo nods, so she continues, “So I think Mr. Impostor wanted a friend. He’d never be my friend! I already got an Albedo for me!”
Albedo laughs. “I believe that’s why he wanted to befriend you, Klee.”
Klee tilts her head. “I don’t get it.”
“Being loved by you—being your family… that certainly is a privilege anyone would want, especially Mr. Impostor,” he explains. “Thank you for always seeing the real me.”
She grins from ear to ear.
“Of course! You’re my big brother! Klee would know you in any form you take, ‘cause you’re Albedo!”
Albedo nods, smiling a little, and they continue to make their way down the mountain.