Chapter Text
The afternoon shift was quiet as Albedo was shelving books. Just the normal routine, some new releases that came in needing to be displayed. He was grateful for how quiet it was. It was the main reason he took this job.
Sucrose sat behind the counter quietly while awaiting her shift to start. She felt obligated to come and spend time with Albedo during his work hours.
“Are you by chance stocking ‘Dawn of the hour’?” Sucrose asked from the desk, looking over. “I’ve been meaning to get my hands on a copy.”
Albedo hummed and began looking through the pile. Sure enough, the book was there. “Yes. I can put it in your purchase stock if you’d like.”
The girl nodded and Albedo moved to put it under one of the counters. The owners allowed for employees to have a ‘purchase’ pile. Books they could save for themselves for when they’re ready to buy them.
He grabbed the copy of ‘Battery Water’ he’d been intending to buy. Luckily, he brought cash to this shift and could afford it now. He brought it to the counter where Sucrose was and placed it down.
“I’ll buy this after my shift. Leaving it here for the time being.”
Sucrose nodded, grabbing the book and reading it’s summary. “A science love story? Never took you for the type Albedo.”
Albedo hummed as he continued shelving books. “I’m not the romance type, no. I heard the science draws in this story were incredible. So I decided to read it.”
The bell at the entrance rang throughout the store. At first, the blonde ignored it. He figured it was just another girl with a softer aura coming to look around. That’s normally the customers they got here.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sucrose stand up quite quickly. He then decided to move to check the entrance. He immediately made eye contact with a guy out of breath once he did.
“Sir? Are you alright?!” She asked as Albedo moved towards the commotion.
The new man looked out of the window before turning back to the two. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just needed to run from some people.”
“You’re bleeding in a couple places. Are you sure you’re okay?”
His hand goes up to his face, getting blood on his fingers. The guy is bleeding from his eyebrow, as well as his arm and leg. He wasn’t in the best shape to say the least.
Albedo took a moment to study what the guy looked like. He was gorgeous. The blonde couldn’t deny that. His hair was a beautiful shade of blue, one that not many people could pull off. His skin was tanned and one of his eyes was covered.
What stood out was the amount of jewelry he wore. There were earrings, rings, and a couple of other piercings he could never be brave enough to try and get.
He couldn’t help but be curious at the guy’s mysterious aura. He seemed like the type to have many secrets.
Wait- why was he thinking like this about a stranger?! Albedo shakes his head, pulling himself out of the trance he put himself under.
“Guess I didn’t notice.” The man laughs it off. “Do you guys have medical supplies?”
“We do, come with me.” Albedo speaks, moving to the back room.
‘Does he not know me..?’
The room in question was mainly used for breaks, despite the amount of books everywhere. None of the employees minded. So it was kept rather than making a whole new room for a break or two a day.
Albedo led the new man into the room. “You can sit on the chair right there.” He spoke, opening the medical cabinet to grab supplies.
The injured man did as instructed and waited patiently. Soon enough, Albedo kneeled in front of him with everything needed.
He quickly pushed up his glasses before preparing the bottle of alcohol on a towel. “This is going to sting. Try not to make too much noise.”
“Ah..” The blue-haired man gasped, but suppressed any scream of pain. “Name’s Kaeya Alberich, by the way.”
Albedo was a little caught off guard at the sudden introduction. “Interesting.. it suits you.”
‘Maybe he doesn’t recall right away.’
“Well considering how you were staring at me earlier, I figured you’d like to know.”
At first, the blonde gasped, his face going red. But he regained his composure. Albedo reached for a bandage, wrapping it around the knee.
“My apologies.. I got lost in thought.” He excused himself.
Kaeya looked down at Albedo, watching as he fixed him up perfectly. There was silence for a little while. Albedo wasn’t one for casual conversation most of the time. “You really know your stuff..”
The blonde hums along, moving to begin caring for his face. He stops for a moment. “Excuse me.. this will sting.” He spoke, going straight for the treatment after.
This time around, Kaeya doesn’t even flinch at the contact. He simply takes a look around the room. He never saw the appeal of bookstores in his life. It’s just full of knowledge he could find on the internet.
What was the point? Maybe to get entertainment, but Kaeya preferred EBooks. Who still even buys physical copies nowadays?
“Uhm..? Mr. Alberich, I finished-”
Kaeya snapped out of his thoughts, seeing Albedo putting away the supplies. He raised an eyebrow. “You can call me Kaeya. I promise it’s shorter.”
Albedo lets out a sigh. “With all due respect Mr. Alberich, I don’t think you and I will cross paths again.” He said, putting the medical kit back into it’s cabinet.
Wait, what was that supposed to mean? The blue-haired man couldn’t help but question the bookseller’s words.
“What does that imply?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Just before Albedo could leave, the question was fired. He lets out another sigh, motioning for the taller male to come out to the front. “You don’t seem to be the type to absorb this type of media. I assume you read the news or scroll through social media.” The blonde spoke confidently, moving back to where he was before the incident. “This was just a coincidence. I can’t expect you to come back here.”
A part of Kaeya was offended at the words. Was he really that easy to read? But then again, his life was more than public to lots of people. Maybe that’s where he got his information. Yet, even with this deduction, Albedo didn’t seem to be the type to focus on that kind of stuff.
“Do you.. know who I am?”
Albedo turns to Kaeya, a confused expression shown. “Should I know you?”
‘He doesn’t.’
His conclusion was correct. Kaeya wasn’t the only one that was easy to read.
“Hmm. For your information, I was searching for this bookstore beforehand.”
Lies. Kaeya was lying. But he couldn’t seem to shake the way someone was able to size him up by just spending five minutes with him.
“Really?” Albedo asks, almost shocked. Yet his tone dripped with sarcasm. “Well I must be mistaken. Is there anything you were looking for today, Mr. Alberich?”
The bookseller knew he was lying. A part of him could easily tell. Yet.. there was potential for a fun game at hand. Who knows how far this guy would go to try and prove Albedo wrong.
Kaeya knew he needed to play it off. He looked around for a moment, then made eye contact with the book sitting on the cashier counter. He could see the title from there. Lucky him.
“I was looking for a copy of Battery Water.” The blue-haired man spoke, turning back to Albedo quickly. “Do you guys have that?”
Albedo was caught off guard at first. But he quickly regained his composure, playing it off. He probably saw his copy of the book sitting right by them.
A part of the blonde felt that this man wouldn’t return. He would probably buy the book, leave it to collect dust, and never give this store a second thought. But he wanted to humour him.
What’s a little fun every now and then?
Albedo pointed to the counter before turning back to his original task. “There’s a copy on the counter. Sucrose can complete the transaction.”
On cue, Sucrose looked up and waved him over, already scanning the book. Kaeya took a final glance at Albedo. He wanted to say something, but what? What was he even thinking at this point? Why did he feel the need to prove himself to a complete stranger?
“Do you have any..” Kaeya looked at the bookshelves around them. “Other recommendations?”
Albedo raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Who was this guy? But nevertheless of who he was, he moved to look at the newly in stock books. He took a moment before pulling out a novel.
It was a psychological horror story about a girl in a mental institution. She thinks she is getting proper treatment, but it turns out the institution was abandoned years ago and it was all in her head. One of Albedo’s favourite reads.
“I believe you’d enjoy this.” Albedo spoke, handing the book to the blue-haired man.
As Kaeya took the book, their hands brushed against one another. Albedo’s eyes went wide for a moment, a foreign feeling invading his body. What the hell was this?
Kaeya felt warm and soft hands under his rough ones. Looking down, he sees their hands making contact, Albedo’s sleeve covering most of his hands though. He quickly took the book, clearing his throat after.
He paid for the books, leaving the store shortly after. The blonde watched as he left, letting out a short, annoyed breath.
“I hate guys like that.”
Albedo finally realized the man bought his copy of his book. He sighed in greater annoyance, continuing the task at hand until his shift ended.
———————————————-
Kaeya called his driver shortly after leaving. He didn’t want to deal with the photo shoot after being chased by the paparazzi. Hopefully his manager would understand.
Once he got back to his place, he immediately slouched on the couch. On the table in front of him were the books he just recently purchased. He couldn’t be bothered to read them right now. He hadn’t realized how tired he was.
“KAEYA ALBERICH!”
Kaeya startled awake, falling from the couch with a groan. The front door swung open, revealing Kaeya’s crazy manager.
“Hello to you too Jean..” Kaeya muttered. “Have you ever heard of knocking?”
Jean rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her. “I wouldn’t need to if you didn’t completely skip your shoot! The company is pissed!”
Sitting up, Kaeya rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t care less about the company. He was sure there were other companies that were dying to have a shot with him.
“We’ll find another one! For your information, I was being chased by paparazzi.”
That’s when Jean noticed his patched up face. She gasped, moving to check it out. “Oh my god? Alberich, you need to be careful! Companies don’t want a ruined face.”
Once Kaeya managed to push Jean off of him, he assured her he was completely okay. The blonde girl noticed the new books on his table, but didn’t say anything. Though she did find it strange. Out of all the years she’d known him, he was never one for physical reading.
“You have a meeting tomorrow at 11, then a shoot shortly after. After that, the day is pretty much yours!” She smiled at her client, shaking her head. “Just please don’t get roughed up again.”
Kaeya rolled his eyes. “It was a one time thing. Not my fault!” A small playful smile played on his lips.
Shortly after, Jean left to attend to one of her other clients. In all the time the two had worked together, Kaeya found Jean to be an amazing manager. She was always well organized. He always worried that she was overworking herself, but luckily Jean’s girlfriend ensured she didn’t.
Kaeya envied Jean’s relationship. He had hung out with the two on multiple occasions. They were soulmates, and Kaeya could easily tell. He wanted that in life. He wanted to find someone who knew him for him. Not some fan that dated him for fame.
His mind drifted back to the blonde in the bookstore. The small feeling he got when their hands touched. It was so.. addictive.
“I didn’t even get his name!”