Chapter Text
“Albedo?”
“Huh?” The alchemist snapped out of his daze, shifting his attention from the scattered papers on his desk to the man sitting opposite from him.
Kaeya chuckled, a motion that made his lips gently turn up at the corners and ignited a playful gleam in his eye. “Were you listening to me at all? I went out of my way to come find you, hoping for a friendly chat and a break from work, yet here you are, continuing to stress yourself out despite my best efforts,” Kaeya teased.
Albedo responded with a quiet sigh. As much as Kaeya’s jokes irritated him sometimes, he was right- Albedo had hardly given himself a single moment of rest recently. And he did feel a little embarrassed at having ignored Kaeya. “I- I must have gotten lost in thought, I apologize,” Albedo finally replied, pushing away the faint blush creeping toward his cheeks. “You were saying?”
“I was just talking about how things have felt strange today. I haven’t heard of any new threats or seen anything suspicious, but practically everybody is on edge. I can’t figure out if I’ve missed something important or if I’m just the only one having a decent day.”
“Could be either of those things.”
“So you’re not having a decent day? Not even now that I’m here?”
“You’re not exactly helping by talking about how stressful the atmosphere is today,” Albedo answered more coldly than he intended.
Kaeya fell silent. Albedo regretted his words; the sudden tension in the room certainly didn’t improve his mood. He looked away awkwardly and began to sort the papers in front of him just to do something with his hands. He was doing himself a favor as well- they were almost as disorganized as his thoughts. Almost.
His thoughts…they were a racing mess of painful self-awareness and struggles to interpret Kaeya’s actions. He had been taking time out of his own day to talk to Albedo and ask about his research, but Albedo wasn’t certain why exactly. Albedo personally found his alchemy work to be interesting, of course, but he had just as much trouble explaining his work as others did understanding it. Yet Kaeya was always curious, listening patiently and asking questions. Honestly, it made Albedo feel appreciated.
But he couldn’t help but wonder if Kaeya was really interested in alchemy or just in him. The two had become close over the past couple months; Kaeya had seemed to develop a sudden desire to befriend him, and Albedo was always receptive to good company. He certainly enjoyed Kaeya’s company more than anyone else’s, and he had even gotten used to Kaeya’s tendency to show affection toward those he likes, despite Albedo not having much physical contact for most of his life. And now, he had gentle touches on his shoulder, friendly taps on his wrist, sometimes even a comforting hand on his upper back after a stressful day…was it too ridiculous to want more?
“Is anything in particular bothering you?” Kaeya asked after a long pause, snapping Albedo back into reality. His voice was quieter, his tone more sincere.
Blushing from his own thoughts, Albedo bit the inside of his lip in frustration and reached into a desk drawer to reveal a smooth red stone that fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. Its color was deep like a fresh rose, and even darker red lines patterned its surface, branching and narrowing like veins. It reflected the room’s golden lights, which added another layer to its faint natural glow. It was a familiar yet foreign sight; it carried an aura of mystery, of a truth shrouded in darkness.
“What is it?” Kaeya asked, his eye watching the reflections of light as Albedo turned the stone in his hand.
“That’s the thing, I don’t know. It certainly seems like a relatively ordinary object, especially compared to others I’ve come across in my studies, but I’ve never actually seen anything like this. And by that, I mean I can’t understand its…energy. Or how it can be used,” Albedo explained.
The stone did emanate a steady, pulsing energy, but it was unlike that of the elements. Elemental energy felt natural, predictable, like an established part of this world- but this energy was foreign, almost ominous.
“I can feel it,” Kaeya commented. He reached out to touch it, placing two fingers on its center and brushing Albedo’s hand in the process. Involuntarily, Albedo tensed, putting more strain on his already sore shoulders.
Kaeya didn’t seem to notice, fixated instead on the enigma between them. “Any chance this is what’s making today seem so stressful for everyone?” he asked. He looked up into Albedo’s eyes without moving his hand away.
“I-It’s possible,” Albedo replied as calmly as he could through the almost debilitating tension in his muscles. “But then why would you be ‘the only one having a decent day’?”
Kaeya retracted his hand and hesitated as though trying to find an explanation. Eventually he settled on “I can’t be sure,” a response that made Albedo scoff but smile warmly at Kaeya as he did. He couldn’t help it- he was just so lovable in a way Albedo couldn’t explain, which was debatably a more stunning crisis than the red stone.
Kaeya laughed at his reaction, reaching toward Albedo again and letting his hand linger on Albedo’s wrist for a moment. Only a second or two later, he pulled away, grazing his fingers over Albedo’s soft skin in the process and just barely touching his hand again. Albedo felt more heat rush to his face and broke eye contact with Kaeya to stare again at the stone.
“In any case,” Kaeya continued, “why don’t you take a break? Clearing your head will help you function better.”
This gave Albedo the perfect opportunity to play along with Kaeya’s sense of humor. “You don’t think I’m functioning well enough already?” he complained, conveying fake hurt through his voice.
“Hey- all I said was- that it’s healthy to take a break- just passing on my own wisdom,” Kaeya retorted in between short laughs. He took a deeper breath and gave Albedo an affectionate smile as he stood up. “Come with me.”
“Okay,” Albedo agreed, returning the red stone to its drawer and standing up to join Kaeya. He allowed Kaeya to lead him as he closed the door to his office behind him.