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Ah yes, Kaeya, the cavalry captain of the knights of Favonius. Easy to admire, and also easy to hate. He had quite a flirty personality and sometimes came off as overbearing. His sexuality was flexible too, as he had been known to flirt with men and women in the same mannerism. Albedo never had the intention to pay him any mind. It wasn't that Albedo hated him per se; it was just that the two were opposites, and their personalities clashed.
Albedo was more kept to his work and was highly talented and intelligent. He was on the asocial side as well, definitely introverted. His special interest was none other than alchemy - something he had been pursuing since he was young. He shared this deep passion with his partner, Sucrose. The two of them got along together well, but Sucrose was a much more self-conscious person, and sometimes Albedo unintentionally came off as quite bitter to her. Kaeya, on the other hand... was a long story. He was simply known for being a tart. An extrovert, one would say. He was quite chatty and always teased people. Albedo hadn't spoken to him too often, but the two did work in the same facility, so that chance wasn't inevitable.
But recently, things were changing. Kaeya seemed to be taking interest in talking to Albedo, but deep down, Albedo knew that his intentions were probably much more different considering his character. And he didn't want anything sexual with the captain whatsoever. On the contrary side, he was not bad to talk to.
"Wow, so you really can do anything. I knew you were smart, but I didn't know your art skills were extravagant as well. Your paintings go above and beyond. Do you only have art as a hobby, or do you take it as seriously as you do alchemy?" the blue-haired male asks, leaning over Albedo's work table to get a closer eye on his work.
"Art is only a hobby to me. I draw whenever the atmosphere is right."
"Wow.. you're really something."
Albedo knew he couldn't believe what he meant. This was probably something he would say to anybody, knowing who he was. Not that he really cared. He got compliments all the time from much more meaningful people such as Klee. She always seemed so proud of her older brother, no matter what he did.
But as days passed, Kaeya kept showing up to his workplace and even swing by his labs. Sucrose was still very anxious about starting a conversation with him, so Albedo would often times politely ask him to leave. Kaeya would apologize and tell him to say hi to Klee for him and give him a brief nod or wave before exiting the property. It was genuinely a sweet gesture and it was sort of calming how he'd hang out with Klee or offer to help with experiments (even though he knew nothing of the expertise) if it were necessary. They say a small gesture can go a long way.
Often times Albedo would spot Kaeya at the tavern. Albedo didn't drink himself, but they had alternative non-alcoholic beverages that he quite enjoyed. They served soft drinks and fruit juice alike. He found it quite enjoyable to sit alone at a table and treat himself to something with a good taste. Whenever Albedo saw Kaeya there, the most interaction given was a small wave or a nod of acknowledgment, as Kaeya was usually only there to talk with Diluc, although in retrospect the two of them never seemed to get along, not even in the slightest.
Days soon skated by and Kaeya's appearances fluctuated. He might turn up constantly for a week and suddenly vanish. This made Albedo feel kind of funny.
But one day.
"Albedo! Albedo!" The voice of Klee rang throughout the air and several knocks on the door echoed out. The noise interrupted Albedo's work, but thankfully it was Klee so he didn't mind too much.
He walked to the door and opened it, smiling brightly at Klee's presence. But something was off.
Kaeya was standing next to her. What was up with this guy?
"Klee, hello. And.. nice to see you too, Kaeya."
Kaeya nodded and Klee clapped her hands together a few times.
"Kaeya was going to go take Klee to a park today and she wanted to know if big brother Albedo would want to come too! It would be really fun and Dodoco thinks so too!" she exclaims cheerfully.
Despite the tension between Kaeya and Albedo being off, there was no way he was able to turn her down, so he hesitantly agreed to tag along, perhaps even just for the hell of it at this rate.
The three arrived at the park and Klee instantly went to go play with the other kids roaming around. Albedo and Kaeya sat on a bench next to each other. It was extremely awkward.
"Was having me come your idea?" Albedo asks.
"Honestly, it was not. Since Klee had been in confinement for a while she was anxious and really wanted to go outside, and it's known that she loves you a lot so she brought you up. I know we aren't like, friends or anything, but I would like to be closer with you as well since I care a lot about Klee as well. Also, I obviously didn't want to tell her no."
"I understand."
"Well what do you say we hang out some time properly?"
"That's fine."
"Are there any go-to places you have in mind that you wouldn't mind meeting up at?"
"Dragonspine."
"..Seriously?"
—————
And so they were, sitting at Dragonspine, chilling (literally) at Albedo's campsite. Kaeya looked like he could freeze to death at any given moment. His fault for having his entire chest exposed.
"How are you not cold?" he asks timidly.
"I'm used to bitter weather."
"You're so odd. Can you light a fire?"
"No."
Kaeya scrunches up his face and gives Albedo a death stare. Albedo snorts in reply and lights up a fire regardless. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep Kaeya from being too cold.
"So why do you like it here so much anyway? I mean it kind of seems like such an unlikeable place with the terrible weather, all of the big yeti-looking monsters swarming around, and how lonely and eerie it is... are you just one of those people who is fascinated by weird things?"
"I suppose so. I think it's a rather comforting atmosphere. There's so much scenery to sketch or even paint, and I enjoy the fact that it's lonely so I'm not bothered by people when I'm working."
"That's directed towards me isn't it?"
"Don't take it the wrong way but kind of, yeah."
The two spent hours chatting and laughing. Albedo showed Kaeya that he could conjure his drawings with alchemy and Kaeya was in awe of it. Kaeya had turned out to be a much more complex person than he had originally thought. He thought his only intention was to just toy with him, but now that the two had become closer it seemed his wanting to bond was in fact genuine.
Right now, Albedo was lying in the snow, his legs and arms spread to make a snow angel. Kaeya was still, on the other hand, freezing his ass off.
"It's still super cold."
"That's about how Dragonspine works, Kaeya."
"Oh wait, sit up for a second."
Confused, Albedo sits up and looks over at Kaeya.
Kaeya slowly leans in and places his gloved hand on Albedo's jawline. His thumb runs over Albedo's cheek a few times as he looks around his face. Naturally, the physical contact startled Albedo a bit so he grew a bit flushed. He had never really been touched by anybody or made contact with anybody else for that matter. Occasionally, Klee would hug him, but she had seemed to pick up on the fact that it bothered Albedo so she started avoiding it more.
Albedo just blinked slowly and gazed at Kaeya.
"You just had a chunk of snow on your face is all. Did you think I was going to kiss you or something?" he says with a happy laugh.
Albedo said nothing and only pursed his lips. No, he had not thought that but it was still kind of awkward for him nonetheless.
"Sorry sorry. You look kind of cute when you're embarrassed."
"You have to stop," Albedo says, spinning around to face away from Kaeya.
"Don't you think it's probably about time we start heading back home?"
"Perhaps."
—————
And the two of them went back to Mondstat. The sky had fallen dark and many big clouds were gathered around as if it was going to rain soon. Kaeya asked Albedo if he would walk to his house with him, and the blond hesitantly agreed.
"Here we are."
Even for someone like Kaeya, his house was surprisingly big and accommodating. The paint seemed brand new and there were flower pots all around the sides and even sitting on the window sills. Albedo found it quite impressive.
"I really had fun with you today, Albedo. We should definitely hang out more."
"Alright."
And they did.
The two had somehow become friends. Even this was still hard for Albedo to admit.
Albedo still kind of thought of Kaeya as lowly but soon began to enjoy his company. Albedo found that Kaeya was also rather close with Klee and the two seemed to have a really good friendship. He'd tell Albedo if he ever needed help with Klee that he wouldn't mind helping and always made sure that he was never too stressed out. He would also often stop by his lab to check up on him and ask if he was doing okay. Despite never needing help with his experiments, Kaeya would always ask Albedo if he needed assistance. Regardless of what he would say, Kaeya continued to turn up and nag at him. Albedo found this quite amusing. Although Albedo wasn't the best at socializing, he found himself having a need to talk to Kaeya or wanting to tell him about his new experiment or an art project that he started. And if he did, Kaeya would patiently listen with a look of interest.
Kaeya was surprised at how Albedo was much more of a different person than he had thought. At the surface, Albedo seemed quiet, reserved, and unwilling to befriend anybody. But if you were to dig in deeper, he found out there was so much to admire. His features were breathtaking and he had a big heart. He truly loved Klee and always responded to her with love and positivity. His talents also seemed to go beyond that of any regular human. His passion was alchemy and Kaeya always found himself fascinated by the fact that he knew what could react with what and how he could create certain things. To him, it just seemed like fairy magic. However, he was pretty certain that Albedo still thought of him as just a flirt and somebody he was just annoyed by. As a child, Kaeya really knew no different than to just embrace his good looks and charms because it would matter one day, since people told him that he would have to find 'a lovely woman' to marry. He raised himself thinking that if he were just overly kind to people, he would be irresistible. This led him to exploit himself in order for people to like him. But he didn't feel the need to put on that facade for Albedo.
This day was also the day Albedo was born nineteen years ago, and he decided to make him something pretty. However, Kaeya lacked talent so he knitted him a comfortable sweater and bought him a gold chain from the store. He attached a lock to the chain and put some cryo shards in it for good luck and protection.
Later that day, he delivered everything to Albedo personally, a bit flustered that he wouldn't like it.
But for the first time, he saw Albedo's genuine smile. It was the most beautiful sight. His cheeks were rosy and his teeth showed a bit.
"Kaeya, you and Klee were the only people who remembered. Not even Sucrose. And these are so pretty... thank you so much," Albedo said, instantly slipping the sweater on and rejoicing at how soft and comfortable it was.
Kaeya could feel his face go red. "Can I hug you?"
He was aware Albedo didn't like physical contact, but he had wanted to hold him for so long.
"Oh, yeah."
Kaeya rested his chin on Albedo's head, gently snuggling him closer and wrapping his arms around him. Albedo slowly hugged him back, gently closing his eyes and resting his cheek on Kaeya's bare chest.
Albedo sighed. "I've never hugged anybody besides Klee."
"That's crazy... don't you ever feel lonely?"
"Maybe. But I've got you now, right?"
"...Of course."
Albedo slowly pulls away, looking up at Kaeya.
"You're so pretty," Kaeya whispers.
"You probably say that to everyone, though."
"I don't. I know you've heard some things about me but I really just can't find myself thinking about them the way I think about you. You're so odd... that you're just so amazing. I saw your sketchbook sitting out once and I know it was intrusive of me, but I flipped through it a little bit and saw the drawings of me and they were really cute. I know you've told me you sometimes feel like you're too harsh or not deserving of friends, but I've seen how you talk to Klee and everything about you is so unique."
Albedo's eyes widen in shock and his cheeks flush. This causes him to pull away from Kaeya nervously. "You saw those..?"
"Yeah."
"I'm... sorry..."
Poor Albedo seems embarrassed as he gently scratches his head.
"I thought they were really cute."
Albedo stands still and looks towards the ground.
Kaeya slowly grabs Albedo's hands, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of them.
Albedo could feel a tight clench in his chest and his heartbeat beginning to quicken rapidly. It was a painful but warm feeling. It was like a rose blooming in his body, opening itself to a gorgeous sight while still prickling him with its thorns. And he didn't want to let it go.
This was all new to him. Perhaps he'd do more research on it later.
"Your hands are so soft," Kaeya points out.
"Can't say the same about yours," Albedo says with a soft chuckle.
Kaeya felt fuzzy. He wondered if Albedo's lips were as soft as his hands. He quickly shook away the thought.
Kaeya jumped as he heard the doorknob to Albedo's lab turn. Albedo slowly let go of Kaeya's hands and watched as the door opened to Sucrose.
"Ah- um... sorry to interrupt your conversation... Mister Albedo, the cup of your chemicals is starting to foam up and overflow," Sucrose says, her hands behind her back and her face red with embarrassment.
"Shit," Albedo mutters under his breath, hurriedly walking into his lab.
Kaeya decided it was best to wait outside.
Albedo grabbed a damp, cold cloth and placed it over the vial making sure it wasn't cold enough to crack the glass but cold enough to stop it from boiling over. He put on gloves and cleaned up the rest that had spilled.
"Such a shame this spilled; all of it was really needed."
"I'm sorry for not noticing earlier; I was checking my things," Sucrose apologizes.
"Don't worry Sucrose. It's my fault; I got carried away with Kaeya."
Sucrose's face turns bright red.
"Not like that... jeez."
"Sorry..."
"I'm just gonna go ahead and add some salt...
The chemicals stopped foaming and slowly started to settle. Albedo quickly removed the covering and set it aside.
"Alright, let me know if anything else happens. I'll be right back," he says to Sucrose as he exits the lab.
He finds Kaeya still waiting for him.
"Sorry about that.."
"It's alright."
"Are you just going to leave now?"
"Not if you want me to stay."
Albedo feels his heartbeat increase again. He wanted to stay with Kaeya.
"Well, where do you want to go?" Albedo asks.
"What about the tree in Windrise?"
—————
The breeze was gentle and many birds were singing. The big branches and leaves ensured shade for the two males and were also just a comfortable space in general. Kaeya placed a hand on Albedo's and removed his gloves.
Albedo looked up at Kaeya with confusion. Saying nothing, Kaeya held his hand and interlocked their fingers. Both of their hearts were jumping with excitement. But Albedo was the more oblivious of the two. Kaeya had long known of his feelings for Albedo.
Kaeya shifted over and smiled at Albedo. "I like you so much."