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"...hell were you thinking?" Albedo's voice never sounded like that.
"Heh- Had to…make it convincing. Didn't I?" To be fair, Kaeya's voice sounded odd in his own ears, too.
"That was rhetorical. No talking, it will only exacerbate things." Albedo held the erstwhile Khaenri'ahan king in his arms, needing him quiet to focus his Geo powers in such a minute and delicate way.
The crystalization tingled, Kaeya's ribs and lung felt the intensely familiar sensation of a shield, on a small scale, stopping blood and air from going places they shouldn't. 'I'm an alchemist, not a doctor,' was a familiar saying between them. He wasn't sure if he'd heard the words or the memory of them as he sunk below the icy surface of unconsciousness.
Some time later, he swore he heard Albedo again, bubbling up close to waking only to fall back under. Was that the Forest Watcher he spoke with?
~
The newly crowned King of Khaenri'ah descended the steps from his throne slowly, the deliberate clicking of his low heeled boots echoing through the open chamber. Meeting with the envoy from Mondstadt to begin talks was going to be a long process. Of course they sent their Chief Alchemist; Chief of the investigation team. Of course they sent the one man who would pain him the most to let see this roleplay. For his part, Albedo kept the betrayal off his face.
Kaeya wished he had time or the means to explain. To detail his plan to collapse Mondstadt's impending doom before it even left the gates. All that King Alberich had wanted was to ruin this damnable nation in a way that even the gods had failed to do.
What he didn't want was the whizzing arrow tip speeding towards them to hit the love of his life, even if he'd forgone any chance of reconciliation with the monster he was now perceived as. All he could really do was leap.
What was worth saving of this world without that light, even if he couldn't hold it?
~
"Kaeya?" Bright eyed Collei had heard him stir, just barely. "Don't move. I'll get Master Tighnari. He and Mr. Albedo are just in the next room." Blinking, Kaeya tried to focus his gaze on something nearby. It wasn't the wall of the fallen castle, nor one of the wooden buildings in the rainforest. This was…Albedo's lab? They smuggled him back into Mondstadt?
"How…?" Kaeya's voice was raspy, a mixture of thirst and disuse making his velvety tone more like sandpaper.
"We will get to how later. Without moving too much, is there any pain?" It was the fox he'd met briefly in Sumeru, and shifting his head just enough let Kaeya see the mess of blonde hair approaching from just behind those ears.
"Physically? No. I could use some wine, though."
"Witty as ever, I see. No wine today, but I will get something for you to drink. Albedo's ingenious use of crystalized shielding seems to have been highly effective. Collei? Come help me with Kaeya's medicine." Tighnari gave a significant look that even in his rough shape, the cavalry captain couldn't miss.
And so they were left alone, just Kaeya and Albedo.
"I didn't have time to explain-" "Why couldn't you have-" They spoke at the same time after a pronounced silence, and all the same clipped off into silence again.
"You go first," Albedo said as he drew the lone chair closer to sit bedside. "I believe there's more to your story than mine."
Suddenly, Kaeya couldn't meet that intense gaze. "I've always worked alone. Accounting for anyone else makes the equation more…difficult."
Albedo paused, one heartbeat - slower than a human's - before he lay a hand over Kaeya's. "I thought you of all people knew I could keep secrets. That you no longer had to keep me in the dark."
Squeezing his eyes shut might have helped keep sparkling sapphire and gold from leaking tears, at least a moment longer.
How long until they reached Mondstadt's shores? How long did the two of them have together, in relative peace?
None of that was as urgent as the squeeze on his hand. So, Kaeya spilled everything to the one he trusted most. In hushed, scratchy tones, he laid out the now seemingly useless plan.
"I see…" Albedo was thinking, outwardly hardly as weighed upon as the one still clutching his hand. "What if we used my secret…on them? If I were the one to...lose control. Destroy Mondstadt. Destroy everything? And none could stop me?"
Fear, skepticism and finally awe all took their turns on Kaeya's expression. He no longer had anything to hide from Albedo. "You really are a genius. Kiss me." He was kidding, but the words made Albedo fluster all the same. A knock - bearing medicine - broke the moment, but not how hard they held onto one another.