Work Text:
The muted rumbling of thunder echoes in the background as Kaeya quietly sets the last of the newly cleaned dishes on the countertop drying rack. Rinsing his hands one last time, he shuts off the faucet and grabs the dish towel from his shoulder. As he dries his hands, his fingers come across the small embroidered Dodocos along the hem, and he smiles. It was a housewarming gift Klee had painstakingly embroidered herself, with the help of her teacher Jean, and has been tenderly cared for ever since she so proudly presented it to Kaeya when he moved in.
As Kaeya hangs the towel back up, he looks towards the sofa, just past the kitchen island. The living room is dimly lit, save for the occasional flash of lightning, accompanied by another bout of thunder. At first Kaeya thought Albedo was asleep, but as he approaches them Kaeya can see them flipping through pages of their book.
“You’re not tired?” Kaeya presses a kiss against their head, and Albedo closes their book one handed, the other held hostage by Klee sleeping by their side. Albedo shakes their head.
“It’s not too late.” Albedo rubs their thumb against the small hands clasping their fingers and smiles. “I’m glad she finally fell asleep though. She got so excited when the thunder started.”
Kaeya chuckles as he sits against the arm of the sofa, leaning over Albedo to ruffle Klee’s hair. “She’s just like you.” Kaeya says. Albedo raises an eyebrow, and he continues. “You both get excited over weird things. Most people are scared of thunder and spiders.”
“I don’t get excited over spiders.” Albedo sighs, leaning their head back and looking Kaeya in the eye. “It was just an article about new color variations that were observed in small popu–” Kaeya cuts them off with a quick kiss.
“Yes, you told me earlier, looking awfully excited.” Kaeya grins as Albedo’s eyebrows furrow, and presses another kiss on their forehead. “It was cute.”
Kaeya watches as the exasperation fades from his partner’s face. As their conversation dies out, the sound of rain against the balcony grows, drowning out the quiet sound of Klee breathing.
“I think it’s time to get her to bed.” Albedo straightens up, nearly clunking their forehead against Kaeya’s. They carefully extract their hand from Klee’s grip and stand, stretching their arms out with a quiet grunt. Gathering Klee in their arms, Albedo carefully lifts her.
“Can you grab Dodoco for me?” Albedo knows the teary-eyed and snot-nosed consequences of his sister not being able to find her beloved stuffed friend when she wakes up.
When walking past the TV and into the short hallway, the door to Klee’s room is obvious, the brightly colored sign hanging from the door, decorated with drawings of Dodoco and her favorite clovers. She decorated the signs for all the bedrooms, but a lot of effort was put into her best friend. Seeing her cherish Dodoco always makes Kaeya smile, every once in a while a little bitterly, though Klee is never at fault. But as he watches Albedo tuck her in, all he feels is a warmth in his heart as she talks in her sleep.
“Brother Bedo… Lookit Dodoco…” Kaeya watches Albedo sit down at the edge of Klee’s bed, ruffling her hair as she mumbles. “A big jet pack…” Kaeya can’t help but let loose a laugh at her sleep talking before he comes over to tuck Dodoco in next to her.
“You really are similar.” He smothers the rest of his chuckles as Albedo stands, arms crossed. “You both say weird things in your sleep.”
“I don’t recall ever falling asleep before you.” They whisper crossly. “And I can’t imagine any of it being weird or nonsensical.” Kaeya follows Albedo out, closing the door quietly behind them.
“Well, even I wake up in the middle of the night.” Kaeya shrugs, leaning against the wall. Albedo looks down.
“You can always wake me up if you can’t sleep.”
“And miss you talking about your experiments in your sleep? Never.” Albedo’s shocked expression brings a smile back to Kaeya’s face. Even through the darkness Kaeya can see Albedo’s cheeks redden slightly.
“ Please wake me up next time.” Albedo huffs and turns around, entering the room they share. Kaeya can feel his face relax as he follows, pulling Albedo close to him, pressing a kiss against their temple.
“But maybe you’ll say you love me in your sleep.” He can’t help but squeeze Albedo, feeling them in his arms is always so reassuring and warm. He can feel Albedo pat his arm gently.
“Don’t I say it enough while I’m awake?” They lean their head back into Kaeya.
“I always want to hear it more.” Kaeya nuzzles his face against Albedo’s hair, gently rocking them from side to side.
“Kaeya, can you let go for a second?” As much as he never wants to let go of them, Kaeya loosens his grip as he feels Albedo pull away. But just as he begins to apologize, Kaeya feels arms around his neck, pulling him lower as Albedo plants a kiss against his eyepatch, then his nose, and finally his lips. Kaeya can feel himself melt against Albedo, the light kisses warming his heart enough to make him want to cry.
“I love you, Albedo.” Kaeya whispers, his voice cracking. The arms around his neck tighten, pulling Kaeya’s face into the crook of Albedo’s neck.
“I love you too, Kaeya.” Albedo murmurs, letting one of their hands run through Kaeya’s hair. “I’ll say it as many times as you need me to.”
Kaeya manages to choke out a laugh. “If I ask you to say it all I want, it’d be the only thing you say.”
“And that’s fine. You deserve it.” Albedo’s hand has moved down to the base of Kaeya’s neck, the other joining it to gently massage out the knots in his muscles.
“Cut it out.” Kaeya pulls himself back, giving Albedo a kiss on their forehead. “I’m really gonna cry at this rate.”
“I don’t mind.” But Albedo still releases their grip on Kaeya’s shoulders.
“ I do mind.” Kaeya grumbles, squatting a bit to grab Albedo’s waist.
They grunt as Kaeya lifts them, Kaeya grinning as he watches Albedo raise an eyebrow. Hefting them up a bit higher, Kaeya walks to their bed, careful to not knock Albedo against the dresser, before tossing them down on the covers. Kaeya follows them down, wrapping his arms around Albedo and resting his head against their chest. Their heartbeat is slow and steady and their breathing even; it’s enough to put him to sleep. Kaeya can feel Albedo resting a hand against the back of his head, their thumb drawing circles in his hair.
Kaeya lets his eye drift close, dozing off to the rhythmic motion. “I love you, Bedo.”
“I love you too. Good night.”