Chapter Text
Cheer and laughter graced the usually empty streets of Mondsadt, powdery snow descended from the skies, as if the Celestians themselves were blessing the civilians of their normally solemn city.
Kaeya couldn’t help but feel a sense of fulfillment from seeing the excited children’s grins at their laboured parents attempting to haul large pine trees through the doors of their houses, or groups of businessmen finally coming back to their city for large cups of beer, or couples stumbling sharing kisses after stumbling under mistletoes.
Oh, yes, couples.
Him and Albedo were not a couple, though everyone seemed to assume otherwise. Kaeya couldn’t blame them. They did everything together, they even worked next to each other. Kaeya owning a quaint little flower shop that sat in the corner of their street, and Albedo owning a, slightly menacing, tattoo parlor.
How come they were not a couple?
Well, it was because Kaeya was too much of a coward to ask the guy out. Apparently, it was obvious to everyone except Albedo, which didn’t help the situation one bit.
So, there Kaeya was, spending his Christmas Eve, shuffling through Favonius street which was infamously known to be one of the busiest streets in Mondsadt, trying to get to the coffee shop Rosaria and him agreed on meeting at.
“Rosa!” He raised his arm in a greeting, waving at Rosaria who stood in front of the shop, examining her nails.
A grin in Kaeya’s direction, “Hey. How’ve you been?” She asked, holding the door open with one hand, and gesturing for him to come in with the other. Kaeya gladly followed her in, nodding at Barbara who stood at the counter, an oversized Santa hat sat untidily on her head.
“Hi Kaeya! Merry Christmas, how may we serve you?” Barbara asked, a smile gracing her features. She was familiar with him, since he and Jean were close, in terms of businesses and relationships.
Kaeya grinned right back at her, “You’re getting so old, Barbara! Last time I came here, I swear, you were like…” He held out his hand horizontally, slowly bringing it up to his underboob, “Here!”
Barbara rolled her eyes, playfully. She reached for a notebook that rested on the counter, “I’m gonna assume that’s the usual?”
“You know me so well, Miss. Barbara,” He teased, in mock-sadness, his hand pressed against his chest.
“Come on,” Rosaria made her way over to one of the isolated tables in the corner, heels loudly clacking on the wooden floors. Once they’d both settled, Rosaria looked at him straight in the eyes, a glare clear on her face, “I don’t give a fuck if it’s Christmas or not, when are you gonna ask out your blondie?”
Kaeya sighed, he knew that this was what Rosaria wanted when she’d texted him out of nowhere at two in the morning, he knew she wanted to get under his skin; finally get him to ask out the love of his life, “That’s the thing, Rosa… I can’t”
A load groan from Rosaria, she rubbed her eye in annoyance, “Why the hell not? Think of it like this: you’ve been helplessly pining after this weirdo blonde for months, and you know that if you don’t ask him out, you might end up never getting over him. If he rejects you, you’ll get over it. Just please. I’d rather serve obnoxious cishet white ladies that think they own the place over listen to your stupid rants about how pretty his hair is.”
He felt a lump in his throat, everything that Rosaria said was true, he couldn’t have kept running away from Albedo and ignoring the butterflies, which felt more like birds raging around his stomach whenever he spoke to him. He needed to do this.
“You’re right. How should I confess?”
.
“I’ve got this. I’ve got this.” Kaeya murmured to himself — actually, no. He did not. He did not have it. But, it was fine. He had a plan, yes, yes he had a plan.
What was he kidding, he did not have any plan. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and reached for the doorhandle to Albedo’s tattoo parlor…
…Only to be greeted by his younger sister, “Mister Kaeya!”
“Klee!” He grinned, spreading his arms out and engulfing her in a hug, “How are you, little Klee? Merry Christmas! Oh, here.” Kaeya pulled a miniature dodoco made out of paper from his pocket, “A bookmark.”
He didn’t miss the way Klee’s eyes basically sparkled from the way they widened, “Wow! Thanks so much, Mister Kaeya!” She gently took it from his grasp, like it was so fragile that it would break if she touched it in a weird way. Suddenly, her expression morphed from child-like glee to solemness.
“Klee forgot to get Mister Kaeya a gift for today! Oh no…” She held her hand back out to him, the bookmark practically giving him puppy eyes too, “Mister Albedo said it’s rude to take people’s things if you don’t have an… addycat thing to give back to them!”
Kaeya couldn’t help but laugh, patting her head, “Do you mean ‘adequate’? Anyways, don’t worry. I’m a big kid, I don’t need gifts!” He flexed his biceps, which, not for him to brag, were very impressive.
Klee laughed with him, “Thank you so much Mister Kaeya! Do you want to come in? Me and Miss Sucrose just finished putting—” Klee gasped, covering her mouth with her gloved hands, “Sorry! She said I can’t tell anyone about it…”
Oh? That was quite intriguing to Kaeya. He’d have to ask Albedo later.
If Albedo would even want to talk to him after he ruined everything between them…
Wait! No! Kaeya was ordered to think happy thoughts! To manifest! Albedo was attracted to him, it was a given. Yeah. To - otally.
“Mister Kaeya? Are you okay?” Klee asked, a worried look on her face.
Kaeya snapped out of his thoughts, “Yes! Yes… of course I am… um, do you know where your older brother is?”
Klee smiled and nodded, “Yep! He’s just in the shop. I’m gonna find Mister Diluc, Albedo wanted me to give him something…”
That sent Kaeya spiralling into an abyss of thoughts. Diluc? Why him? His own brother… was Albedo just using Kaeya to get closer to him— Wait! No. He needed to think happy thoughts.
Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts.
Klee had already walked off before Kaeya could ask him what Albedo wanted to give Diluc. It didn’t matter, though.
No. It did not matter, there was no way Albedo could’ve…
…He should’ve gotten going.
So he did. He waltzed into that tattoo parlor like he owned the place. “Albedo!”
Albedo was sitting on one of the reclining chairs that customers sat in, he was reading a paperback version of, ‘Fox in the Dandelion Sea’, likely recommended from Lisa herself. A santa hat rested atop his head, discarded wrapping paper sitting on the floor next to him.
His head whipped around in a way that looked painful when he heard Kaeya’s voice, “Kaeya! Merry Christmas!”
He stood up and rushed towards Kaeya, giving him an awkward hug, the tension between them felt so thick Kaeya was sure he could cut it with a knife. “Merry Christmas, ‘Bedo.” Kaeya murmured into his hair. Actually, into his hat.
“I got you gift” Albedo said once they parted.
Okay. This was it, “Me too, of course,” He winked.
Albedo sighed, a fond smile at the corners of his lips, he grabbed Kaeya’s arm, pulling him towards the center of the room. He reached into a hidden drawer and pulled out a slightly dusty sketchbook, handing it to Kaeya.
“Hm? A sketchbook? Albedo, I’m happy with any gift you give me, but I can’t draw.”
Albedo simply just smiled wryly at him, “Open it, idiot.”
Slowly, Kaeya flipped back the cover and there on the first page sat a sketch of Kaeya himself. He was sitting at the counter of his flower shop, visible eye bags rested under his eyes, a coffee cup in his hands.
He flipped to the next page. A sketch of Kaeya crouching down and speaking to Klee, a look of wonder on both of their eyes, he held a pot of cecilias in his hand, showing them off to the little girl.
Then the next, another sketch, then another, and another. The sketchbook was thick, probably around fifty pages, and in every one of them, there was a sketch of Kaeya. He felt those butterflies— no, those birds rampage around his stomach again.
“Albedo I…” He looked over to Albedo, who was not looking at Kaeya, but was staring at the ceiling with a very bewildered expression. “What’s wrong? What’s on the…” His voice trailed off when he noticed the bunch of holly wrapped with a red ribbon.
There was a mistletoe.
Albedo’s cheeks, no, his entire face turned a rather worrisome shade of red— but Kaeya couldn’t help but care. Albedo had led him under a mistletoe.
Did that mean Albedo wanted to kiss him.
“You placed a mistletoe here?”
Albedo violently shook his head, “I’m going to assume this is what Sucrose and Klee were up to while I was on the phone with a client…” He buried his face in his hands.
“Oh, hey, don’t worry Albedo… we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.” Kaeya said, this would be Kaeya’s way of checking if Albedo was attracted to him, yes, then the rejection wouldn’t be too bad.
Albedo shook his head again, “No, no, I want to, I just…”
“Wait… you want to?” Kaeya asked, having to make sure he hadn’t dreamed it.
Albedo looked away and nodded. “If you want to.”
Kaeya knew that because of his complexion, he couldn’t really blush, but he felt his cheeks heat up anyways, he felt all the blood in his body rush to his head, actually.
“I’d love to.” Kaeya decided, he rested his left hand on Albedo’s cheek, snaking his right around his waist, “May I?”
“Yes.”
Perhaps getting over your coward-ness wasn’t so bad after all.