Work Text:
Albedo never really got sick. Not really. What he considered to be ‘sick’ was when his brain functions seemed to slow down and he could no longer think well enough to get any research done. This usually only happened if he was awake longer than 4-5 days, and his solution was either a two hour nap or a potion that he made specifically for this problem. Right now, he didn’t want to take a nap. He was at a point in his research where he didn’t want to stop. Unfortunately, it seemed he had run out of the potion and he could not remember the ingredients off the top of his head. He had also somehow misplaced the book he had written the recipe in.
‘This is just my luck, isn’t it? Today of all days I have no choice but to take a nap. I can’t sleep right now. I have work to get done.’ He thought, pacing back and forth in his lab in the Knights’ headquarters. ‘What do I do?’
“My, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Chief Alchemist look so anxious. What’s on your mind, Albedo?” The alchemist almost jumped. He had been so lost in thought on how to deal with this situation that he hadn’t even heard the door of the lab open. Now, Kaeya was standing right behind him.
‘Just don’t turn around.’ Whenever Albedo got ‘sick,’ he had realized his eyes gave him away. As long as he didn’t look at Kaeya, his boyfriend wouldn’t know he wasn’t feeling well. “I’m fine. I’ve just run out of a potion I needed today.”
“What potion did you need? Could you possibly have left some on Dragonspine?” Kaeya stepped closer to him and Albedo tensed, glancing nervously over his shoulder.
“I’m not sure, but a trip to Dragonspine would put me even more behind in my work. I have stuff to do today and I need that potion to do it.” Albedo explained.
“Albedo.” Kaeya stepped around him and stopped, leaning down to look at his eyes. “Are you feeling alright?”
“I’m fine, Kaeya.” Albedo answered, but he was hesitant. Judging from the look on Kaeya’s face, the Cavalry Captain did not believe him.
“You’re going home. Come on.” He stood up straight and gently nudged Albedo toward the door.
“Kaeya, I have work I need to get done. I can’t go home.” Albedo grumbled, trying to step around him and go back to his desk. Kaeya just grabbed his arm and pulled Albedo up against his chest.
“You can go back to work tomorrow.” Kaeya said. “You’re going home.”
“Kaeya…” Albedo sighed. “Fine. I’ll go home.” He wasn’t getting out of this. Kaeya was nothing if not determined to make sure Albedo got enough sleep and ate regularly. He’d pick Albedo up and carry him back to his apartment if he had to.
“Come on. I’ll make you some lunch and then we can just lay in bed until you fall asleep, okay?” Kaeya smiled at him and laced his fingers with Albedo’s, leading the alchemist out of the headquarters and back toward his apartment nearby. Once they set foot in his apartment and the door was shut behind him, Kaeya was helping him take his coat off and hang it up. The Cavalry Captain also hung his cloak up before taking his boots off. Albedo took his own boots off and set them next to Kaeya’s. “What do you want for dinner?”
“Hm… how about some chicken and mushroom skewers? Something simple. I’m not feeling super hungry right now.” Albedo admitted.
“Alright. I’ll go make them. You go rest on the couch.” Kaeya said, turning and heading into the kitchen. Albedo just nodded and headed to the living room, sitting down on the couch and grabbing the sketchbook he had left on the coffee table. He opened it to the last sketch he had been working on, which was of the mixed bouquet of calla lilies and cecilias that Kaeya had brought him a couple days ago. He looked back at the bouquet and went back to shading in some finer details, listening to the sound of Kaeya cooking.
It isn’t long before Kaeya is walking into the living room with a couple plates, each with three chicken and mushroom skewers on them. He hands one plate to Albedo, who sets his sketchbook and pencil down on the coffee table to take it from him. “How long has it been since you last slept, Albedo?”
“Hm… I’d say it’s getting close to six days. I’ve lasted longer than I normally do.” Albedo admitted.
“Albedo.” Kaeya’s voice sounded stern. “You should be getting at least a couple hours of sleep every night.”
“I have work to get done, Kaeya. I don’t have time to sleep every night.” Albedo explained calmly. They had talked about this before, on multiple occasions. Albedo always had the same answer, which ended in Kaeya sighing and shaking his head in defeat, a worried look on his face.
“I worry about you.” Kaeya muttered. “I wish you would take better care of yourself. I know you put a lot of effort into your work, but you could end up collapsing if you aren’t careful.”
“Kaeya, I’ve told you this before. I’m not even an actual human. I don’t have to worry about collapsing from exhaustion like most. It just seems to… slow my brain functions.” Albedo explained.
“And if it were to slow your brain functions so much they stop? What do you think would happen then, Chief Alchemist?” Kaeya raised an eyebrow at him.
“That’s never happened before.” Albedo said, frowning at him.
“I don’t want it to happen. Please, take better care of yourself, Albedo.” And with that, Kaeya took a bite of his food, signaling that he had nothing left to say on the matter. The two fell into a comfortable silence, focusing instead on eating their lunch.
It didn’t take long for the two to finish their food, and then they headed to bed, Albedo yawning as he walked down the short hall that leads to his bedroom. The alchemist is the first to crawl into bed, flopping down and sighing. Kaeya crawls into bed after him and pulls him up against his chest, pulling the blankets over both of them.
“I didn’t realize I was so tired.” Albedo mumbled quietly.
“Go to sleep then, silly alchemist. You need your rest.” Kaeya kissed the top of Albedo’s head. “I’ll still be here when you wake up. Don’t worry.” Albedo sighed as he fell asleep to the feeling of his lover rubbing his back gently.
~~~
As Kaeya had said, he was still there when Albedo woke up again. He was asleep now, and Albedo took this time to admire his face without the risk of Kaeya teasing him for it. When Kaeya was asleep, he looked so peaceful. Albedo reached up and carefully traced his finger tip along the shell of Kaeya’s ear, and then his jaw. He was surprised he had managed to get with someone who looked so stunning. Albedo wasn’t usually someone who cared about looks, but he didn’t really feel he compared to Kaeya in that department. Kaeya always complimented him, but he wasn’t sure if that was just because that’s what lovers were supposed to do for each other or if he actually meant any of the compliments he said.
“Well, good morning.” Kaeya said, and Albedo did jump this time, staring at his boyfriend with wide eyes.
“Um, sorry.” He mumbled, pulling his hand away from where he had continued tracing the details of Kaeya’s face.
“It’s alright, love. I don’t mind you admiring me. I think it’s cute.” Kaeya admitted, chuckling. Albedo felt his face heat up with a blush.
It was then that Albedo realized Kaeya still had his eyepatch on. He reached over and tugged it off, frowning. “I told you to stop sleeping with your eyepatch on, Kaeya. It won’t help your quality of sleep.”
“You’re one to talk. You won’t sleep at all if you’ve got some experiment your too interested in.” Kaeya pointed out.
“I have to get it done as fast as possible.” Albedo mumbled, looking away.
Kaeya reached over and set his hand against Albedo’s cheek, rubbing just under the alchemist’s eye with his thumb and turning his head so that Albedo was forced to look him in the eye. “I’m serious, Albedo. Please stop trying to stay awake for weeks and weeks just because of your work.” He said slowly. There was no teasing tone to his voice. He was being as serious as he ever could have been at this moment.
“I mean… I’ve never tried to stay awake for weeks. Only a few days.” Albedo mumbled.
“That’s still not good. You do realize that, right? Any normal human would not be able to do something like that. Just because you aren’t like most normal humans doesn’t mean you should subject yourself to that kind of treatment.” Kaeya said.
“I… guess you’re right.” Albedo sighed before snuggling up against Kaeya. “I don’t want to get up, yet. Let’s just stay here for a while longer, alright?”
“I’ll stay here for as long as you want me to, love. Don’t worry.” Kaeya answered. They fell into a comfortable silence after that, basking in each other’s presence and letting the rest of the world fade around them. Kaeya had started rubbing Albedo’s back and the alchemist already felt like he was falling asleep again. As he closed his eyes, he felt Kaeya place a kiss on his forehead. “You should get more sleep, Albedo. You need it.”
“I’m not sure I should sleep all day, Kaeya.” Albedo mumbled.
“It’s okay if you sleep for one day. It won’t hurt anything.” Kaeya said. “Your work will still be waiting for you when you get back.”
“Hm… okay. I’ll sleep some more, then.” Albedo mumbled and he closed his eyes again, burying his face in the crook of Kaeya’s neck. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep again.
~~~
Albedo woke again a few hours later and yawned. He felt more awake now, and he felt like if he tried to get back to his research, he wouldn’t have any problems. ‘I should get back to work.’ He thought. Kaeya was still laying next to him, his arms wrapped firmly around Albedo’s waist. ‘I’ll have to wake Kaeya up if I want to leave, though… I’ll stay here for a little longer.’
It wasn’t long before Kaeya was awake again, looking at Albedo and smiling. “How did you sleep, Chief Alchemist? Are you feeling better now?”
“I feel much better. I need to get back to work, though. I can’t stay here for long.” Albedo said.
Kaeya frowned. “At least let me make you breakfast before you go off to work. I’ll make you some pancakes. Or would you rather have some hash browns?”
“I’ll come make some pancakes with you.” Albedo said as he started to sit up. Kaeya’s smile returned and he sat up as well, yawning and rubbing his face. He got out of bed and Albedo followed him as he walked to the kitchen.
The two started on the pancakes, and despite not talking much, the two were perfectly content. They enjoyed cooking together. It was one of their favorite ways to spend time together. That was part of the reason why Kaeya tried so hard to convince Albedo to sleep for at least a couple hours every night. He was also trying to convince Albedo to go home so they could cook dinner together, something they rarely did if Albedo was caught up in an experiment.
The pancakes didn’t take long to make and after they were done cooking, they sat down on the couch to eat together. Once again, they stayed silent, but the silence was never uncomfortable. Albedo was leaning into Kaeya’s side while he ate, smiling to himself. He loved these domestic moments with Kaeya. It wasn’t long before the Cavalry Captain finished his pancakes, but Albedo was still eating his. Kaeya simply leaned forward and set his plate on the coffee table before wrapping his arm around Albedo and setting his head on top of the alchemist’s head.
“I love you, Albedo.” He mumbled, kissing the top of his head.
“I love you, too, Kaeya.” Albedo answered, smiling as he took another bite of his pancakes. “What are you going to do today?”
“Hm. I think I'll spend some time around Good Hunter before I go to Angel’s Share. I’ve been hearing about some suspicious activity that could be related to the Abyss Order near Starsnatch. I want to gather some more information if I can, so I’m going to try to find some adventurers who might have wandered out that way.” Kaeya answered.
“Are you going to deal with this problem on your own? You could always give Diluc the information you’ve gathered so far.” Albedo suggested.
“I think it would be better if I took care of it myself. Maybe you could come help me?” Kaeya looked at him. Albedo finished his pancakes and set his plate next to Kaeya’s.
“I’ll consider it. It depends on how busy I am.” Albedo answered. “Stop by whenever you plan to head to Starsnatch. I think an in-person investigation of what’s happening might be useful. I can accompany you for that. Not today, though.”
“Alright. I’ll go gather more information today then. Let me clean up these dishes and then we can get going, alright?” Kaeya stood up and Albedo immediately missed his warmth. He disregarded his desire to have Kaeya sit back down and snuggle with him more and got up to help clean up their mess. He really did wish they could stay like this forever.