Archive of Our Own

It’s a very special day today.

Today Mondstadt High School is holding a school festival!

Kaeya’s class was going to hold a musical, but he decided to pass this year. Musicals are fun and all, but he would much rather spend this year with Albedo.

And so he decided to only make the decoration for it. When he finished setting everything up, he had all day for his friend.

He heard his friend’s class is doing a maid cafe, and he didn’t want to miss that.

Kaeya snickered to himself, he looked forward to how embarrassed Albedo would be to wear a maid outfit.

Oh, how embarrassed he would be, immediately trying to hide when Kaeya would enter their classroom. And then hide his red face in his hands, being all shy… That would be so adorable~!

And so he said bye to his classmates, before speed-walking over to Albedo’s classroom, heart beating excitingly in his chest.

Ohhh, a maid dress will totally suit him! Kaeya thought about whether a short dress or a long dress would suit him better. Longer seems nicer though.

Upon arrival, Kaeya saw Mona talking to Sucrose at the entrance door of their classroom, both of them with a maid dress on already. Both of the dresses were a bit on the shorter side and both suited their frame.

Mona was smiling as she was talking, before letting out a small ‘oh’ when she turned her head to see Kaeya walking up to them. She must’ve noticed by the way Sucrose looked at him.

“Heyyy, what’s up, ladies?” Kaeya grinned, the excitement boiling in his stomach. He quickly took a peek inside their classroom to see if his friend is there, but there wasn’t any Albedo in sight. He turned his face to the girls.

“Good timing, Kaeya!” Mona extended her hands out to Kaeya, reaching out to his hands and taking them into hers. Kaeya raised a brow as he wondered what was going on. “We really, and I mean really need your help!”

What exactly would they need? As much as Kaeya would love to help them, he decided today is reserved for spending time with his friend!

“I’m sorry but-“

“Anything, we would do anything! Please!” Mona gripped his hands harder as she clenched her eyes shut, pressing her lips onto each other. 

Sucrose came to join her as she put her puppy eyes on, a sight so hard to resist.

Anything, huh...

“Hmm.” Kaeya hummed. Interesting offer, though he has to hear what it's about first. “Let’s hear it.”

Mona let out a small sigh of relief as she opened her eyes, relief in them as well.

“It seems like Venti is sick today, and we need more male servers. Now Albedo-“ 

Kaeya almost stopped listening when he heard his name. So this means Albedo is really in there after all? Ohhh~ So exciting!!

Still, he decided to continue to listen. It’s probably important.

“-is our only male server. Please, Kaeya! You’re our only hope!”

The girls were desperate it seems. Well, working in the same cafe as Albedo doesn’t sound so bad...

“Can I really ask for anything?”

Like a photoshoot with Albedo? Being served by Albedo? Maybe… getting a kiss on the cheek by Albedo?

Both girls nodded quickly.

Kaeya placed his hand on his chest as he felt his heart beating so loudly, feeling his face heating up. He’s glad his blush can’t show up on his dark skin.

He’s way too excited.

“Can it involve Albedo?”

“Yes, I’m sure he won’t mind whatever you want from him. Please??” Sucrose added to the begging, making Kaeya grin even harder.

“Deal.”

-

Kaeya was sitting on a chair, having his eyes closed as Sucrose applied make-up to his face.

They decided to stick with some mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss.

There was a special place in the classroom covered in curtains where the maids will do their make-up and wear their dresses.

When she finished, he turned to see Albedo looking at himself in a mirror after opening his eyes, braiding his hair. His back was turned to him, so he didn’t see Kaeya yet.

And he moved his eyes downwards, looking at the maid dress Albedo is wearing. He can’t wait until he turns around and notices Kaeya, and how embarrassed he would be. Would he try to hide? 

When Albedo finished and leaned closer to the mirror, he turned his head to look at himself from every angle. Then, he turned to Mona who was holding the menus.

“Did you find a new maid yet?” 

Kaeya snickered to himself, to which Sucrose gave a confused look.

“Yep! He’s sitting there!”

Albedo slowly turned his head to where Mona pointed, revealing to be Kaeya in a maid dress, waving at him as he smiled with his eyes closed.

“Hi there, Albedo! Looking nice!” Kaeya grinned. He opened his eyes again and looked at him from head to toe. Albedo turned to him so he could observe him fully.

Kaeya’s heart beat loudly as he waited for the other's reaction.

What he didn’t expect is for Albedo to put his hand on his side, looking at him the same way he would look when they were hanging out together. All natural.

Plus, he seems to be totally rocking the maid outfit, like it was made for him and him only.

Kaeya’s grin slowly faltered, instead, he widened his eyes a little since he looked so beautiful. Like a true maid.

Okay. That was just unfair! Why does he… look so beautiful like that?

“Hi, Kaeya. Thank you.” That was all Albedo said with a small nod before he turned and walked away, like the fact Kaeya was also wearing a maid dress didn’t bother him much.

Kaeya was speechless. He had to take a moment to collect himself. Was that all there is to his reaction? Nothing more…?

He heard Mona laugh in the background, making him snap out of it. Sucrose giggled once too before they both quieted down when they saw him pout.

"No reaction at all. Very Albedo-like…" Sucrose shrugged. "Don't take it personally."

"Oh. I know how he is. I'm not that bothered." Though Kaeya chuckled, he was still so surprised to see how beautiful the boy is.

Goddamnit. The fact that he has a crush on him doesn't help either.

Kaeya stood up from his seat, rubbing his hands on the front of the dress to flatten it out.

Well... if he doesn't have much of a reaction, he will make sure he gets one soon!

“Well then, I’m off!” He told the girls, walking over to the curtains.

He pushed the curtains out of the way before stepping out of the area, looking around where his crush was. Then he closed the curtain, taking in a deep breath to gather courage.

He saw him laying a table cloth onto the desks they set up, holding onto the ends of the cloth as he threw the rest in the air so he could lay it on top. It landed on the desk safely.

"Setting up the tables?" Kaeya asked as he approached Albedo, putting a hand on his shoulder with a grin.

Albedo stared a moment longer at the tablecloth, smoothing it out with his hands before he looked over his shoulder to Kaeya with a blank face. Still no reaction it seems.

"Yes." Albedo gave a small nod with it. "Want to help?"

"Of course!" Kaeya smiled with his eye at him. Scoring brownie points~ "Anything you may need me for, let me know. My entire day is meant for you after all!"

Albedo was quiet as he still looked at Kaeya like he was inspecting him. He turned to him, and Kaeya felt a nice feeling of excitement wash over himself when he noticed he was checking him out. 

He removed the hand off his shoulder, instead, he placed both his hands on his sides.

"Looks good on me, doesn't it?" Kaeya 'winked'. He hoped that by now Albedo would notice it was a wink instead of just blinking a little longer. He straightened his back to look even cooler.

Albedo let out a small hum, bringing his thumb and pointer fingers to his chin in thought. "It does. Though it needs more elegance. I'm wearing sneakers as well, but I think we both need different shoes."

Kaeyas mind got stuck at 'it does'. Albedo… likes how it looks on him.

He quickly brought his hand to his chest, feeling his heartbeat which was banging like crazy. Albedo… likes how it looks.

Albedo… likes him-

He quickly shook that thought from his head, noticing he stared a little too long at the other and should be helping him out.

"A-... Allow me!" Kaeya said as he walked over to where the tablecloths lay on top of each other. He grabbed one, before walking over to the next desk.

He put the tablecloth onto it the same way Albedo did, gaining him a few claps from the other.

He looked at Albedo with joy, expecting some more praise. Albedo was still blank-faced, but if he had more emotion he was sure he would smile back at him.

"Impressive, impressive. Good job Kaeya." Albedo seemed to have noticed what the other wanted.

And the both of them continued to do the tables after, then collected the menus to put on the table from Mona.

Through it all, Kaeya noticed how Albedo seemed to act more… nervous?

Despite the man being unreadable, he could feel there was something wrong.

"Are you doing okay?" He laid another menu on the table, looking at Albedo meanwhile. "I can take over the job if you want."

"Oh, I'm just thinking about how to deal with customers."

Dealing with customers huh…

“I’m… a little nervous.” Albedo admitted. Though it’s not visible on his blank face, Kaeya knew him long enough to see how he’s fiddling with his hands. “I mean. I’ve never done this before and…”

“It’s okay! Albedo, how about we just practice, hm?” Kaeya grinned.

“Practice?”

“I’ll be your customer!”

Kaeya walked over to the table, sitting down on a chair as he looked up at Albedo with a twinkling eye.

Albedo just stood there, blinking a few times before there was confidence in his eyes, ready to take on this customer.

Kaeya thinks Albedo may mess up a little because he is nervous, like he would stutter or he would fiddle with his hands a little too much. That would be cute to see, so he looked forward when he approached the table and awaited his reaction.

Albedo was quiet, staring at Kaeya with the same blank look on his face. And it stayed quiet for a minute, the two of them just awkwardly staring at each other.

“Albedo! You got to greet me, otherwise you may scare the customer off!” Kaeya chuckled after a second longer of just being stared at.

“Right.”

Albedo straightened his back, put his fist before his mouth as he cleared his throat, before bringing both his arms behind his back.

And the way he looked at Kaeya made him look like a professional, like he had been doing it for years.

Kaeya’s mouth fell open a bit, but he quickly closed his mouth when Albedo began talking. But what was on his face made him want to open his mouth again, because…

“Welcome sir, how can I help you?” With the cutest smile he’s ever seen. Albedo is not someone who smiles often, not because he’s not happy or anything, he just doesn’t have much facial expression. His eyes lighted up with his smile as well, like he was genuinely smiling at him.

Kaeya was the one staring at the moment, mouth falling open again without noticing. It was only when he saw Albedo’s smile falter that he snapped out of it.

“O-Oh-!” Kaeya quickly averted his eyes, before turning his head with it to look for the menu. “I’m-… just looking for the menu!”

Albedo’s smile still went through his head as he felt his entire face heat up. Albedo is just so cute and also so cool! Aghhh! Now he’s the nervous one!

“The menu is right here.” Albedo removed an arm off his back to reach out for the menu, grabbing it up and gently laying it in Kaeya’s open hand when he held it out.

Kaeya tried to pretend he was feeling as he normally would, opening the menu and looking at it with a small hum.

“Hmm… I’ll have omurice, please.” He looked up from his menu to Albedo with a small smile, the other was still smiling as before. God, he’s way too cool like this, his arm having joined the other on his back again.

“Coming right up!” Wow, it seems like the blank Albedo fully faded and he became more expressive. Though Kaeya knew he was trying his best to be more expressive and this is not really what he feels probably. But it’s so adorable that he just wants to stand up from his seat and hug him tightly. “Please wait while we make it ready.”

Kaeya gave a nod, and Albedo left after making a slight bow.

Now he was left at the table to process all the cute and cool facial expressions Albedo had. He wanted to almost squeal at how happy he felt seeing a new side of him but decided not to before the others would hear. That would be embarrassing.

Albedo returned not too long later with the omurice in one hand and a bottle of ketchup in the other. Still with that adorable smile that made Kaeya’s heart beat a little louder in his chest. Not to mention the way his dress sways as he walks, and the bits of white tights peeking underneath it with black shoes.

Even if he’s wearing sneakers, it still suits him somehow. Anything suits him-

Kaeya tried to shake the thought from his head. He shouldn’t be acting like a high school girl in love, even though he’s the male version of that-

“Here you go sir,” Albedo set down the plate, making Kaeya look back up at him instead of his shoes. “Would you like me to draw on it, or do you prefer to do it by yourself?”

If Albedo would draw... Would he be all shy and nervous while trying to keep his shaky hand still? He is an amazing artist, but Kaeya felt butterflies in his stomach thinking about how nervous he would be to draw on his food.

Maybe… he has a crush on Kaeya as well, making him even more nervous? Awww, that would be so adorable!

“Oh, please draw on it for me, will you?” Kaeya winked, though it looked more like blinking a bit longer than he would usually do because of his eyepatch.

Meanwhile the boys were talking, Mona and Sucrose went out of the curtains. They were fully ready and were going to set up the decorations.

“Okay.” Albedo tilted the ketchup sauce over the omurice, beginning to draw on it.

Kaeya chuckled a little when he thought about how the other would draw a face, an eyestring, and then the eyepatch. Well, that’s how he usually draws him.

What he didn’t expect is for Albedo to draw a heart, coloring it in as he drizzled the sauce over it.

Kaeya could feel his heartbeat skyrocketing.

A heart? A heart?! 

He put his hand onto his chest over his heart, clenching it into the fabric as he closed his eyes tightly. That is simply too cute!!!

“Ahhh! Albedo, you’re the cutest, did you know that?” He opened his eyes after he took a deep breath to collect himself more. Then looked at Albedo with eyes that almost looked like hearts.

“I would say I’m pretty cute, even cuter in this dress.” Albedo smiled as he tilted the sauce to stop, having finished the heart.

“You’re supposed to blush and say thank you to that!”

“I am blushing.” Though it wasn’t clear to see on his face, there was faint redness to see on his cheeks. “Uhm… thank you, Kaeya.” He swayed a bit on his feet at that.

As fast the smile came on his face, as fast was it gone. Kaeya figured he can’t keep up the act of having more expressions on his face forever. 

“Is that all? Would you like a drink maybe?”

Kaeya looked over at the menu once again, letting out a small hum.

“Melon soda, please. With vanilla ice cream in it.”

“I’ll get it for you.” And Albedo tried to smile again. How adorable.

Kaeya should tell him how good Albedo is after they’re done with their little roleplay. Because he is truly getting the maid cafe experience with a cute waiter.

“Please excuse me then.” Albedo bowed, before turning on his heel and disappearing behind the curtains in their classroom.

Kaeya now had some time to come by. He took a few deep breaths but got startled when there was a thud.

Albedo came back right away, quiet like a mouse, and had set down the glass along with the can so he could refill it.

Kaeya just stared with wide eyes at him, but Albedo didn’t get the hint of how hard the other’s heart was beating.

“Have a nice meal.” Still with that incredibly adorable smile. “And…”

Albedo came to stand closer to him, bending down so he could whisper in his ear.

“Meet me behind the curtains when you’re done.”

Of course, Kaeya’s face heated up instantly. Albedo was so close and… if he would touch his face, he would feel how hot it is… 

He’s way too close! Ahhh!

Then Albedo pulled back, he even dared to add a wink to get more of a reaction from him. Gosh, this man will be the death of him!

“Will do, kind sir.” Kaeya thought he should tease him back. But how?

Ah! Maybe this will work.

Albedo wanted to turn around, but Kaeya quickly extended his hand and tugged lightly at his dress.

“Don’t leave yet! I have something for you!” He said when Albedo turned back to face him.

Kaeya let go, instead, he stuck his hand in his pocket and got his wallet out. Then handed him three 1 dollar bills. 

Then Kaeya lifted his eyepatch, showing him he was winking with that eye.

“Oh. Thank you.” Albedo’s voice was monotone, but he could see how happy he was by the small sparkle in his eye. “Then, please excuse me and enjoy your meal once again.”

Then Albedo speed-walked away, back to behind the curtain. Is he running away from shyness? How cute~

Kaeya sighed dreamily as he put his elbow onto the table and then put his chin on it, staring in the direction Albedo walked in.

Then he began eating, scooping some of the food up in his spoon and then bringing it to his mouth. He let out a pleased noise at how delicious it was. If he was a real customer he would’ve given it a high rating.

After finishing his omurice and enjoying his melon soda, he stood up and went behind the curtains. Albedo was resting against a wall, Sucrose fixing his make-up. She turned when she heard his footsteps.

“And? How did I do?” With the same sparkle as before in Albedo’s eyes.

“Pretty good! You need to relax a little more, but aside from that, you haven’t scared me off!”

“What do you mean, ‘scare you off’?” He pouted.

“I know how you are Albedo. In freshman year you were so scary I couldn’t approach you! It was only when you joined the drama club that we got close.”

Albedo blinked a few times, then shrugged.

“What’s my score?”

“10/10 for good food. 9/10 for the decoration and 100/10 for a cute waiter.”

“Ohhh~ Seems like someone is flirting~” Came Mona’s voice from behind the cooking plate, whistling over her shoulder at them.

“Thank you Kaeya.”

“Not even a reaction…” Sucrose noted, seeing no change in Albedo’s expression at the compliment at all.

Though she failed to notice the small tug of his lips in the corners wanting to tug into a smirk.

Only Kaeya, who had known him the longest, noticed it.

-

It was now time for them to attract some customers. It was still pretty early in the morning, so they decided to walk around the school with a sign that said ‘Maid Cafe in classroom 3-B!’ for the people who were already there.

Albedo walked confidently with the sign while meanwhile, Kaeya trailed behind him, face so hot due to embarrassment.

He knew for sure Childe, his friend from elementary school, would be coming to their school. And he would surely make fun of him.

Speak of the devil, there he is chatting with Diluc. God, now Diluc has to see him like this too!

“Hi!”

Oh my god, now Albedo is talking to them as well. Kaeya sighed as they approached them.

Albedo took a moment to take a small breath in, trying to put a smile on his face. He has been trying his best to be expressive today, Kaeya is really proud of him.

They stopped in front of them.

“We have a maid cafe in classroom 3-B, we would love it if you would come to visit.” He looked at them real sweet like he was trying to convince them. Then put his free hand onto his side. “We have delicious dishes and nice service!”

Both Childe and Diluc looked at Albedo before they turned to Kaeya and burst out in laughter.

“Ahaha!” Childe laughed. Albedo frowned and pouted at that. “Sorry, I’m not laughing because of your offer. It’s just, Kaeya looks stupid in that outfit.”

“I think I look just fine.” Kaeya pouted as well, putting his hands on his sides. Albedo looked at Kaeya and just smiled.

“I think so too. Housewife Kaeya.” Albedo‘s face was back to being blank, making Childe laugh even harder and Diluc calm down.

“Wha-?! Childe! You’re a housewife yourself, you have no right to laugh at me!” Kaeya raised his voice a little, closing his eyes and shaking his head after he was done. “You know, next time I will be the one forcing you into a maid dress. Then I will laugh at you instead!”

“Ahaha! It looks amazing on you dude though!” Childe tried to flatter Kaeya.

“You called me stupid before…”

“That’s because I wasn’t used to it.” Childe reached a hand out to his face, wiping the tears out of them since he laughed so hard he teared up. “Last time I saw you in costume was last year at the play. You’re not joining this year?”

“Nope, I wanted to spend time with this little man here!” Kaeya grinned, extending an arm around Albedo’s shoulders when he came to stand closer to him. “My entire day is for you, Albedo~”

Albedo just looked at Kaeya with the same blank face, still unfazed. 

“Cool.” That was what he said, adding a thumbs up to it as well.

Kaeya chuckled at it, rubbing his hand onto his shoulder a few times before letting go.

“About our service... I got to try out being a customer myself. Plus we have a cute waiter~” He turned his attention to the others.

“Oh, who, who?” Childe seemed to have taken an interest.

“Childe. I think he’s talking about Albedo…” Diluc sighed.

“Oh.”

“Come on guys... We have some girls in our team as well.” Kaeya pouted. Well, Diluc was right though. He was talking about Albedo.

Though by the way Albedo glanced up at him with curious eyes, he was sure he picked up on what he meant. Or not. He is unreadable after all.

“Well, I’m very curious. Let’s go now!” Childe offered, and Diluc nodded along.

“It’s just a little further. Kaeya and I will continue to gather customers. We look forward to seeing you in the cafe.”

And with that, both groups went on their way.

-

When the two of them returned, they watched as Childe and Diluc sat at a table, chatting up with Mona. Sucrose must be the one cooking right now.

“Are you enjoying the maid experience?” Kaeya grinned as he leaned onto Childe’s shoulder with his elbow.

Childe was quiet as Mona kept talking to Diluc. How odd. He likes to chat.

“Mona!” Sucrose called out from behind the curtains, and the other let out a small ‘ah.’

“Guess the food is ready. As much as I love to chat with you two, I need to go get your food now!” Mona excused herself, leaving the other 4 alone. “I’ll be right back!”

And with that, Mona left with a small wave. Childe and Kaeya waved after her, while the other 2 stayed quiet.

When Mona was behind the curtain, Childe spoke up. 

“You weren’t kidding about the waiter being nice looking. I wonder if she’s single?”

Kaeya just laughed at that, but Albedo got to him before he did. “Oh. I’m pretty sure she’s not.”

“Oh, well. That’s unfortunate.” Childe sighed small before a smile came onto his face. "I'm happy for her."

“She’s dating the girl who’s standing behind the stove.” Kaeya chuckled.

“Ohhh~ I wonder what she looks like then.” Childe looked over his shoulder at the curtains, Diluc seemed to have some interest as well.

“Let me get her to bring you the food. It’s good practice for her to speak to the customers as well. She is a little shy.” Kaeya offered. Everyone nodded to that. “Alright, off I go then.”

He left, leaving the other 3 alone now. Both Childe and Diluc looked at Albedo before they looked at each other. So this is Kaeya’s crush, huh…

Kaeya went behind the curtains, later coming out with an arm around a small green-haired girl. She was holding their food and drinks on a tray.

“This is Sucrose!” Kaeya introduced her as she set the tray down on their table and started to put the plates and glasses in their place.

“H-Hey, I heard you guys requested for me?” She tried to smile, but it was clear to see she was nervous by her shaky hands.

“Yes, was just curious about who the other staff was. I already met Kaeya, this boy, and the maid named Mona.”

“Ehm… Well, as you heard I’m Sucrose. It’s my pleasure.” She bowed when she placed everything down, before picking up the tray again. “Please excuse me then.”

“Hey, come on, it wouldn’t hurt to chat a little more. Of course, if you want.”

“Ah, yes, I would like to.” Sucrose seemed to smile genuinely. “I heard from Kaeya you’re his childhood friend and the other must be…”

“I’m Kaeya’s brother, Diluc.”

Kaeya rubbed a hand over her shoulder before he let her go. Sucrose grabbed a chair from the other table and joined the two boys.

Kaeya turned to Albedo.

“While it’s still calm. Why don’t we sneak out, hm? The girls can handle a few customers alone.”

Albedo looked to be in thought but gave a small nod. Kaeya felt something against his hand, and when he looked down Albedo was gently brushing his hand against his.

“O-Oh…” Kaeya opened his hand, letting the other hold it. “Sure. We can hold hands…”

He bit his lip softly to bite his smile back. Don’t smile dumbly Kaeya! You will look stupid.

Yet he couldn’t help but let his smile show as Albedo walked to the door, the both of them waving at Sucrose before they were out the door.

"I heard you wanted something in exchange for working here?" 

"Ah. Yes. But I'm happy enough we have some time to ourselves now." Kaeya smiled, his eye smiling along.

"That won't do." They walked around the corner to under the stairs. Kaeya could only blink in surprise. "What would you like?'

Albedo had clenched his hand tighter in his, staring up at him with a blank expression.

A-Ah… what should Kaeya say? His mind began to short-circuit.

"Ah… Ehm…" He averted his eyes, then turned his head away. Seeing him look at him with those sweet eyes made his mind even blanker. "I can't decide."

"Can I decide then?"

Kaeya nodded. 

"Okay." And that was the only warning before Albedo took a step forward, went on his toes, and laid a kiss on his cheek.

Kaeya let out a small gasp but kept still until he felt Albedo pull back. He hopes his hand didn't turn clammy, because his heart is pounding in his head with what just happened. 

Wait… Wait one second. Do friends kiss each other on the cheek, or… or…

Kaeya could only stare at the wall behind Albedo until he felt the others' lips tremble a bit and then disconnect. When Kaeya moved his eyes to him, he was slowly lowering himself again.

But what surprised Kaeya, was the look on his face. No, it wasn’t the blank face he usually wears, it wasn’t his customer-friendly smile…

"Let's go then?" Albedo turned to his side to walk away from the stairs, tugging at his hand to ask him to come along. "We have so many things to see."

Kaeya nodded, not being able to get any words out of how flustered he was.

Albedo… 

Albedo was smiling. The best smile he had seen so far.

His teeth showing slightly, his eyes smiling to the point you can see crow feet. And especially how those eyes looked at him, his pupils a bit wider.

Kaeya thinks he will never forget that smile again.