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Kaeya had a strange roommate.
He definitely wouldn’t call him a bad roommate though. He let Kaeya use his car, he cleaned up after himself almost always, and he was completely quiet. He was Albedo Kreideprinz, and Kaeya had roomed with him for about 6 months now, and they’d run into no complications while living together so far.
But that was the problem. No complications, no leaving his room when Kaeya’s home, and no noise. At all.
Kaeya had wondered if Albedo was going through a bit of a crisis, albeit a long one, and that was the reason he holed up in his room so much. He wouldn’t talk about it, even when Kaeya texted his concerns to him as not to intrude on his personal space, but it was the theory Kaeya most believed when it came to his strange behaviour. Sometimes Kaeya would have to double check that Albedo was eating, so he made extra portions every time he cooked, and went on ‘night walks’ to allow Albedo the personal space to eat in the kitchen. The plate was washed and dried when he returned, and Kaeya was happy for that, but he couldn’t help but feel that Albedo needed more emotional support than a meal.
He'd call out to Albedo to let him know if he was leaving. He’d text him emojis, puns, riddles and even pick up lines when he was feeling bored enough, but Albedo never responded with a reply that made Kaeya feel easy. Albedo felt as if he was made of glass. And Kaeya didn’t want to feel that way.
One day he was playing on his phone on the couch, waiting for his pizza order to arrive before there was a knocking on the door. He got up, stomach growling, and fished the money out of the small pocket of his jeans as he approached the front. It clicked as it opened.
“Surprise!”
It was not the pizza delivery person. Instead it was a woman, shorter than him with long, blonde hair and a little girl at her side like an accessory, gripping her hand tight as she looked up at him. Her face turned from pleasure to confusion, as it became obvious that he wasn’t the person she wanted to surprise.
“Oh” she mouthed, turning to her phone, “do I have the right address?”
“Who are you looking for?”
Kaeya knew his neighbours, so at the very least he could point them in the direction of the house that the woman was looking for, although he’s not sure if old, retired people would appreciate being surprised.
“Sorry, I’m looking for Albedo Kreideprinz?” She asked, and Kaeya did his best not to do a double take. Were these people Albedo’s family?
“Oh. He’s my roommate”
He didn’t say anything funny, at least he didn’t think he did, but the woman began laughing, the child by her side confused at the sound just as much as he was. She had a lot of mirth to her, so if she truly was Albedo’s family Kaeya wonders why Albedo wasn’t nearly as expressive.
“I’m Alice, sorry about all of this” She finally introduced. She held out her arm, “And this is my daughter Klee! Say hello Klee”
“Hi Mister…?” The girl began, but stopped, realising she didn’t know his name. Her face scrunched up, and Kaeya put a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m Kaeya Alberich. Nice to meet you too, come inside, I’ll show you where Albedo is”
Kaeya had never felt self-conscious of his choice of decoration before, but showing Alice and Klee inside, he found himself embarrassed at the polaroids of his friends that hung on the walls, embarrassed at his shabby carpet and TV that still had a K-drama on. Alice seemed amused, if the smirk on her lips was anything to go by, while Klee’s eyes were open with childish curiosity.
“How did you end up living here?” Alice asked politely, allowing Klee to go off and play with Kaeya’s lego set (he was glad it was getting some use).
“A co-worker of mine told me Albedo was looking for someone to room with” Kaeya said nonchalantly. “It’s close to my work, so it’s convenient”
“What do you work as?”
“I work for Favonius Magazine. I’m an editor” He said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Alice’s eyes widened, she definitely recognised the name, but Kaeya’s attention was instead taken by the slight creak of a door. It opened slow, and if Kaeya diverted his eyes and looked away again, he was certain the door would shut and Albedo wouldn’t be seen for the next year. Kaeya barely remembers what he looks like from when he first gave the house tour when he decided to rent, doesn’t remember how tall or short he is, what is eye colour is or any physically defining feature, but then out he comes, and all the memories flood back to him.
He's hot, is his first thought. How could he forget this crucial fact about his roommate??
“Alice?”
He looked, for the lack of the better word, stunned to see her. His body froze entirely, and Kaeya was almost sure that he would’ve darted back in there if his feet decided to cooperate, his hands shook, his lip trembled. But that all didn’t matter to Alice, because she made her way across the living room to wrap her arms around Albedo’s sides the second she saw him, hugging like a mother who hadn’t seen their kid in years. That much was probably true. Although Kaeya reckoned they didn’t look alike enough to be mother and son.
Klee saw her mother had moved from the armchair, and got herself up too and dashed to Albedo’s side. Since she wasn’t tall enough to hug him, she just placed her hands on both Alice’s and Albedo’s back, and leaned into them on the tips of her toes.
“I thought you left this place” Alice said, letting go and letting Albedo breathe, which he seemed to need urgently. Klee kept her hand on him.
“I-“ he started, “I couldn’t, not after…”
Kaeya felt extremely out of place standing in the living room still, instead of the hallway the rest where gathered at. Albedo looked to him, and Kaeya wondered if he’d get yelled at for violating their ‘no guest’ policy, but Albedo granted him a small smile. Kaeya felt butterflies in his stomach, hitting so hard it felt like they were drilling a hole through his torso.
“Let me make some tea, we have so much to talk about and I’m not letting you avoid me again” Alice said to Albedo, it would’ve sounded threatening if she didn’t just hug him so maternally. “And you too, Kaeya”
Alice led them to their kitchen, and after Kaeya briefly showed Alice where everything was, they sat in the dining room with steaming tea mugs, Albedo taking the most cautious sips ever. It was weird now, to connect the voice to the face of Albedo, but Kaeya was just happy Alice had reached out to him again and he could see him in person rather than behind a door.
Albedo was so handsome. Kaeya watched Albedo’s Adam’s apple bob as he drank. He screwed his eyes shut, mentally reprimanding himself, cursing himself for viewing Albedo in this manner. He registered the star tattoo on his neck, yellow and beautiful and defining, and a glance at Alice showed she had the exact same mark.
“Have you seen Rhinedettor at all since I’ve been gone?” Alice asked Albedo, Kaeya knowing nothing about this Rhinedettor person. Albedo shook his head.
“Thank goodness” she sighed, “You know I was worried she would come back for you. If I hadn’t known you any better, I would’ve thought she’d convinced you to go with her”
“Nonsense” He dismissed with a sad turn of the lip. “She hasn’t seen me since Durin passed”
“Keep it like that” She glared at him warningly, and he giggled, “I’m happy you two are friends” Alice gestured to Kaeya, turning to him “I thought Albedo would become a shut in once-“
“No, no need to overshare”
“Why?” Alice was confused. “He is your friend, right?”
There was a silence between the pair. Kaeya felt just as awkward as Albedo must’ve.
“Kaeya, you know what happened right? Albedo told you about Sucrose’s death?”
“Who’s Sucrose?”
Albedo’s face had become entirely pale at the mention of the name, while Alice was perplexed at Kaeya’s unawareness of this person he’d never met. Alice must think of Kaeya and Albedo as much closer roommates than what they really were, which was more like two people who roamed different areas of a house. Albedo hadn’t told Kaeya about Sucrose. He’d also not said anything about an Alice, a Klee, or a Rhinedettor.
But Kaeya wasn’t mad. If this was about Sucrose’s death, then maybe this was the reason behind Albedo’s inability to do much for the past half year. Alice looked at him gently, placed her tea down on the table and kept her eyes on his.
“Sucrose was Albedo’s best friend. He hadn’t been able to connect with anyone in so long, and so I was so happy he was finally getting out of his shell and being close to her, but then the inevitable happened and Sucrose died. It was a car crash”
Kaeya could see Albedo’s hands had become fists, angrily tightened on top of his thighs. He wasn’t looking up anymore, but downward, and his eyes told him he was spacing out a bit. It must be rough. Especially when someone goes so early.
“I’m so sorry” he told Albedo. Albedo’s expression didn’t really change, but he nodded regardless.
“But I’m happy you’ve reached out to Kaeya” Alice said anyway, “people like us can’t just stay alone forever. It hurts, it will always hurt, but-“
“It’s inevitable”
“Huh?” Kaeya said, confused.
“Like you said, it’s inevitable” he reaffirmed. “People die. What’s the point of even reaching out, if the pain of loss is so great”
Alice’s face practically melted, and she reached out to Albedo’s hands, taking them away from the mug and into her own. She caressed them, and Albedo leaned his head into her shoulder, hiding his face from view. Kaeya would’ve never guessed Albedo was so receptive to touch and comfort, and was beyond thankful that Alice was here to talk it out.
She scooted back into her seat, “People don’t realise what a curse immortality is. It’s okay. I will always be here for you”.
“What?”
A few seconds passed, before Albedo and Alice turned to look at Kaeya together, one confused and the other mortified. Immortality? What does Alice mean by that? It’s certainly a strange figure of speech if that’s what Alice was going for, but he had a feeling he was out of the loop yet again. Albedo’s mouth hung open, as if he was going to say something, but then he promptly shut it and began walking back to his room.
“Albedo- come back” Alice reached for him, unsuccessfully, as he slipped past her arm and made it to his bedroom with no trouble. Alice looked at Kaeya wordless and he shrugged, Albedo was back to the same person Kaeya had known for months, and gotten used to.
“Is he always like that?”
“Yes” he said automatically. Alice gave a huge sigh.
She decided to let Albedo have some time to himself, since she understood the abrupt visit is probably not the best for Albedo’s sanity, and so they had made their way to the TV room. Klee had made a great tower with Kaeya’s lego (he doesn’t think he’ll have the time to deconstruct it honestly) and Alice cooed at the red and blue checker pattern she was so excited of.
Kaeya put on a TV show for Klee to watch and she was instantly entertained again, while Alice and Kaeya had their own time to talk.
“Albedo doesn’t share much with you does he” she muttered, and Kaeya found it hard to disagree. “It’s not personal, don’t worry. I’m sure it’s just his way of grieving”
“I suppose” he said, “I don’t hold it against him, I could tell he was struggling when he told me nothing. Also, sorry to change the topic, but what did you mean about immortality?”
Alice pursed her lip as if she was contemplating something, and Kaeya could see the gears turning in her head until finally she let the excitement of telling secrets override her.
“Albedo and I”, she grinned, “we’ve lived for centuries. Same as Rhindettor, who was his old master, but these days I’d rather believe that bitch is dead. Albedo had never really been social, and so what he’d experienced 6 months ago was probably his first experience of what the death of a close friend feels like. I don’t envy him”
“So you can’t die? What if I stabbed you, would you bleed?”
“Both Albedo and I can be killed, so yes, I would” Alice chucked, entertaining him, “although we don’t really get sick or old, you know? It’s all thanks to this” she pointed at the star on her neck, “couldn’t live without it. Literally”
“Also, I suspect the reason Albedo keeps you so far from him is because he’s scared of loss again. Please, keep an eye on him” she urged. Kaeya found himself promising he’d do everything he can.
Eventually it got late, and Alice decided she had tormented Albedo enough today. She thanked Kaeya for letting her in, and said she’d be back soon, since Albedo would probably need more encouragement than a single visit to get back to his usual self. Kaeya told Alice how grateful he was when she was making her way out, Klee yawning at the late hour.
“Anytime” She gave him a goodbye hug, and her number just in case.
The next morning Kaeya had gotten up early, since he forgot to turn off his alarm that was set to ring way too early and found that his brain wouldn’t let him go back to sleep. He made a quick breakfast and walked over carpet floors to the TV room, planning to binge a K-drama until he was required to go to work later, but instead he saw Albedo sitting on the couch. He froze, not sure how to react to Albedo huddled under soft blankets in the early morning light, but when Albefo had surprised him by not leaving, Kaeya decided to not leave too.