Work Text:
“Hey.”
Albedo looked up from his work to see an unfamiliar blue haired man looking down at him. An eyepatch covered his right eye, intriguing Albedo, and his hair was swept to the side. He wore a black shirt with the top few buttons undone and sleeves rolled up.
“Do I know you?” Albedo questioned.
“Kaeya Alberich.”
Albedo had heard the name being mentioned before but he’d never actually met Kaeya before. Everyone knew the Ragnvindr’s adopted child, they were a very well known and respected family in Mondstadt so them adopting a child out of the blue came as a shock to everyone, especially since they already had an heir.
“Albedo Kreideprinz. Do you need something?”
“Your number.” Kaeya smiled. Albedo stared blankly in return, they hadn’t spoken at all before and if he hadn't heard rumors of Kaeya's flirty demeanor, he might've assumed that it was for a project of sorts. Still, Albedo didn’t give out his number to anyone who asked.
“Why?”
“I’m interested in you.”
“...” Albedo waited for Kaeya to expand on his answer and give him a valid reason.
The reason never came. Kaeya just smiled at Albedo, patiently waiting for an answer from the blonde. “...No. You can’t have my number.”
“Shame.” Kaeya walked away toward the bookshelves in the library. Albedo ignored him, instead going back to doing his work. It was a research project with Tighnari about the local mushrooms that required for him to note down any useful information that the library books provided.
Tighnari, Cyno, and Collei were students in the Sumeru Academia who were visiting Mondstadt for week. Tighnari had a workshop while Cyno and Collei had planned to spend the week exploring with Amber and Sucrose.
-
“Did you get his number?”
“No.” Kaeya rolled his eyes at Rosaria’s question, knowing she watched him fail from behind the shelf.
“What was that about everyone finding your charm irresistible? It’s probably because you look like a fucking freak.”
“You look like you diy-ed a fucking habit.”
Rosaria rolled her eyes at Kaeya’s comment, ignoring it. It was her turn to mock the bluenette for not being able to get the genius’s number. Everyone knew Albedo, even though he'd never bothered with the whole partying and friendgroup part of college, but with the number of awards he’d win, he was hard to miss.
-
Albedo and Collei were collecting Cecilias. It was the last day of their visit and Collei wanted a few flowers to keep in Sumeru. Amber had come with them before but had to go somewhere so only Albedo and Collei were left.
“Albedo? I have enough now! Wanna head down? Tighnari and Cyno should be waiting for us.” Collei smiled at Albedo and showed him the flowers that she’d just collected.
“Actually, I’ll stay here for longer. Do you need my help to get down the cliff?”
“Oh! I’ll be fine on my own. I guess, I’ll see you next time then..” Collei gave Albedo a quick hug before getting ready to leave. She didn’t want to miss her flight to Sumeru.
“I’ll visit Sumeru soon. Goodbye, Collei.” Albedo smiled at Collei.
“Bye Albedo!!” Collei waved at him and ran down the cliff. Albedo watched her and when she was out of sight he sat down.
It was almost sunset and it was supposed to be a very clear night today. Mona had told Albedo about Astrology before and he wanted to see what she was talking about. He rested on the grass and watched the night cover the sky with a blanket of stars.
-
When Albedo finished looking at the stars it was already late. He’d also accidentally dozed off at one point so it was slightly his fault for staying even when he was tired. Taxis weren’t running at two in the morning but thankfully it was a Sunday-morning so he could sleep in. It was around a fifty minute walk to his house and after his nap he felt like he could walk until his house.
Albedo climbed down the cliff carefully, it was dark and his phone was dead so he couldn’t use its flash.
Once he made it down to the road he began walking, he was walking slightly in the middle but he doubted anyone would be speeding down the road during this time. He walked slowly, during the night more animals were awake and if he were quiet enough then he may get to see one of them sitting on the road.
Albedo was more interested in physics and chemistry rather than biology but after listening to Tighnari speak about animals with so much interest, he was also intrigued.
About ten minutes into his walk he heard a car speeding behind him, he quickly ran to the side of the road to let the car pass and was surprised when the car stopped next to him. Albedo’s jaw dropped when he saw it was none other than Kaeya Alberich in the car. His face was flushed and his eyes were slightly puffy. If anything, he wasn’t in the condition to be driving.
“Did I hit you? A-Are you dead?” Kaeya got out of his car to grab Albedo’s wrists to check for a pulse. His eyes started tearing up as he searched for life in Albedo’s body. Albedo didn’t respond to his strange behaviour and continued to watch the man’s actions carefully. “You’re not dead! That’s… fabulous.” Kaeya moved his hand to ruffle Albedo’s hair. With the headlights of Kaeya’s car, Albedo could see much more clearly. Even on a clear night the moonlight wasn’t enough to illuminate everything.
Kaeya’s hair was messy. His shirt was untucked and only one of the buttons was actually fastened. He was also only wearing one earring but Albedo doubted this was unusual.
“Are you… drunk?”
“I may have drank a bit. Just a little, little, tiny amount..” Kaeya hiccupped.
Not only was Kaeya driving in the middle of nowhere at two in the morning, the man was drunk driving. Albedo wouldn’t have cared much but Kaeya was actually swaying. The only reason he didn’t ram into Albedo was because the blond had moved away first. It was honestly a wonder how Kaeya was standing right now, Albedo guessed his head was pounding.
“I’ll drive you.” Albedo didn’t have his own car, he didn’t feel the need because public transport was fine. But he got a licence in case he ever needed to drive Alice’s car.
“Drive me? You already drive me crazy.” Kaeya smirked lightly. Even when intoxicated you couldn’t rid him of his flirtatious personality.
“I’m going to drive you home.” Albedo shoved Kaeya into the passenger seat and shut the door, walking back to the driver's seat and settling in. Kaeya’s legs were much longer than his so he needed to move the seat forward to be able to drive.
Kaeya didnt’t protest and slowly shut his eyes instead.
Albedo wordlessly began driving, Kaeya’s car was auto so Albedo didn’t have any difficulties with it. After they got off the hill Kaeya seemed to suddenly wake up from his nap, staring at Albedo.
“What are you doing in my car?” It’s was like the nap had sobered him up.
“Driving you home.”
“Why?”
“You’re drunk.”
“Oh, that explains a it.”
“You almost hit me.”
“Really?” Kaeya leaned back, he kinda remembered it. Rosaria, Venti and him had driven to Liyue and drank wine together. After Rosaria had disappeared somewhere and Venti had run off with his emo boyfriend, Kaeya decided to leave and had somehow ended up in the passenger seat of his own car with Albedo driving him home. “Where are we?”
“Starsnatch Cliff.”
“Starsnatch Cli- Fuck. How did I get here..?” The question was more directed to himself so Albedo didn’t bother answering. The blond planned to drive to the Winery and walk the rest of the way home, they were only about twenty minutes away from the winery now.
“Where are we going?” Kaeya leaned back in his seat and held a hand to his forehead. His head hurt and he felt so thirsty.
“The winery.”
“Oh, I-I don’t live there anymore.” Albedo pulled over and looked at Kaeya.
“Where do you live then?”
“Okay- maybe I could drop you off then go home on my own,” Kaeya moved to pat Albedo’s head but when he moved he felt the sudden urge to throw up. “That way-” He stopped mid sentence to get out of the car to vomit. Luckily they were still in the woods.
When he got back in, Albedo was looking at him. “Do you really think you can drive?”
“Yeah?”
“You won’t remember any of this when you wake up, just tell me where to go.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to.”
“Well I’m not letting you drive.”
“It’s my car.” Kaeya glared at Albedo. He didn’t understand why the blond wouldn’t let him have his way, it was more convenient for everyone too. “I’m not telling you where I-” Kaeya couldn’t finish his sentence before getting out of the car to throw up again.
When he got back in he still wouldn’t back down. Albedo sighed, why was Kaeya being so difficult? “Fine.” He started driving forward.
“W-Where are you going?”
“My house.”
“Why?”
“You won’t tell me where yours is.”
“Fine, I’ll just drive back to mine after we go to yours.” Kaeya sighed. His head was still pounding and he felt sick and tipsy.
“No, you can’t drive.”
“Well then how am I supposed to get home?”
“Just sleep at mine, I have a guest room.” Albedo suggested. Albedo didn’t really care if Kaeya stayed over, as long as he wasn’t a bother.
“...” Kaeya didn’t say anything and sat in silence for the rest of the journey.
-
“This.”
Albedo looked over to Kaeya. He was standing in front of a shelf and staring at something on it. Albedo’s house was small, he didn’t exactly have a living room because it was just alchemy equipment and shelves there. There were two bedrooms: one was for Klee in case she ever needed to stay over, and the other was his. Both bedrooms were plain, Albedo didn’t care to decorate his house much. There was a small kitchen and a dining table with a plant on it.
“A Calla Lily. They grow near ponds or lakes.”
“It’s so pretty… How did you grow it indoors?”
“Ah, there are special soils you can use. And if you give it enough water and nutrients it will bloom like it should in the wild. You should also make sure that the soil remains damp, Calla Lilies require a lot of water to live.”
“Hm. Could I have one?”
“You want a flower? I doubt it’s your style.” Albedo was confused. Kaeya walked into his house, then stared at his shelf before asking him for a flower. Was he okay?
“Yeah. It’s pretty, and I think I could take care of it.”
“We’ll see in the morning, this is the guest room.” Albedo pointed Kaeya to the guestroom. It had a huge plushie(Klee’s) which Kaeya seemed to find amusing.
-
Kaeya woke up with a really bad headache, dry throat and in an unknown room. He had a few memories of last night which included Albedo being in his car… and…
That was all he remembered. He walked out the room, he needed water. And coffee. He walked out and saw Albedo in the kitchen, making breakfast. Albedo handed him a plate of toast and coffee and the two ate silently before Kaeya thanked Albedo.
He was about to leave when Albedo handed him a bag. “What’s this?”
“Resources.”
“...For?”
“Your flower.” Kaeya had absolutely no idea what Albedo was talking about but accepted the bag anyway and left. Drunk him probably said something stupid last night.
-
A week later Kaeya opened the bag Albedo gave him. Rosaria had come over and started snooping through his things for fun, she’d become very curious about who gave Kaeya a bag filled with things you needed to grow a flower. They weren’t ordinary gardening tools, it was mainly all chemicals and seeds though.
Kaeya kicked Rosaria out after he’d had enough of her teasing and looked at the seed packet, there was a pretty flower on it that he’d seen before near the pond at the winery, some kind of Lily. Kaeya got the pot out of the bag and dumped soil into it and threw a few seeds into it. He drenched it in water and decided that it would be enough for the flower to bloom.
-
“Albedo.”
“Kaeya?”
“Your flower. It’s broken or something, why the fuck hasn’t it grown it’s been there for like two weeks.” Kaeya showed Albedo the plant pot which had no flower on it. Albedo could see the seeds sitting on top of it and the water the soil was drenched in. “Seeeeeee??!”
“You came to my house on a rainy Tuesday night, a week before exams, to ask me why a flower hasn’t bloomed?”
“You’ll pass your shit without studying anyway.” Kaeya shrugged it off and shook his pot softly to try and bring Albedo’s attention back to the flower.
“I’ll pass. And you?”
“It doesn’t matter. But this flower does and it’s not fucking okay right now because it’s just not fucking working-”
“Okay, I get it. Come in, I’ll help you.” Albedo moved aside from his door to allow Kaeya inside. Kaeya placed his pot on Albedo’s desk and sat on the dining table chair that was beside Albedo’s desk. “You haven’t planted it properly.”
It wouldn’t take a genius to know that Kaeya had fucked up.
Albedo demonstrated how to plant it, showing Kaeya how you need to mix the soil with the nutrients and bury the seed. How seedlings don’t need as much water so drenching it is much too extra. Kaeya listened to Albedo’s explanation intently, his attention sometimes drifted off to one of the many things on Albedo’s shelf but he redirected himself as soon as possible.
After Albedo’s explanation, Kaeya realised how much he’d fucked the flower up and even if he did manage to get the seed to sprout he probably would’ve killed it. Calla Lilies weren’t house plants so they needed to be taken care of properly, his plan was to give it water every now and then and pray that it stayed alive.
Kaeya left Albedo’s house quite late, he’d asked Albedo more questions about other plants and the chemicals in the room and Albedo had answered all of them for him. He felt much wiser.
-
Kaeya passed his exam. Albedo excelled , like always. Rosaria, Jean and Kaeya were sitting at the back of the hall. Albedo was on stage, receiving more awards for more shit he did.
“It’s her.”
Kaeya and Jean both turned to Rosaria who had already darted off after speaking. She followed after a girl who’d just walked out, Kaeya didn’t get a good glimpse of the girl but didn’t really care. He probably might’ve ran after her to get a glimpse of the girl to annoy Rosaria but he needed to speak to someone later.
After the awards ceremony Kaeya searched for Albedo, he needed help.
His flower had failed again , he forgot to water it once and the next day the poor thing was already wilting. He tried to make up for it by adding more water but that seemed to mess it up even more. The plant died when he’d wanted to water it the next day and before he’d gotten to see it bloom.
It’s okay. His new personal best for keeping a plant alive: a week and four days.
“Albedo!” Albedo turned to see Kaeya and smiled at him. “I’ve been looking for you for like a few days now.”
“Apologies, I was very busy the past few days. How’s your plant?”
“Um- It died.”
“...Shame. Do you know why?”
“Yeah, I fucked up the watering schedule. Do you have any more seeds, this time I won’t mess it up.”
“I have them in my apartment. We can go there right now, if you’re free?” Kaeya nodded at Albedo’s suggestion, following him outside the school.
“Yeah, I could drive us there?”
“That would be nice. I don’t have a car.” Albedo and Kaeya walked toward the car park where Kaeya’s car was.
“But you can drive?”
“Just in case I need to drive my aunt’s car.” Both of them got into the car. Kaeya had been to Albedo’s apartment thrice, once when he was drunk, next was when he first messed up, and the last was a few days ago when Albedo hadn’t been home. It was safe to say Kaeya knew the way to it.
-
Albedo looked through his drawer of seeds to find the Calla Lily seeds while Kaeya went through the kitchen. Albedo had nothing worth eating or drinking- nevermind. Kaeya found a bottle of unopened wine, quite old too.
“You drink?”
Albedo looked up and saw Kaeya holding a bottle of wine. “Not usually. My aunt gave it to me, told me I needed to have some fun. Have some if you want, she’ll be pleased to find it open when she comes here next time.” Kaeya smiled before opening the bottle and pouring it into a glass. If it were his bottle he’d probably just drink straight out of it, but he was a kind guest. Albedo didn’t have any wine glasses so he got a random glass and poured some into it.
“Your aunt has good taste.”
Albedo smiled at Kaeya’s comment. He found the seeds and handed them over to Kaeya. “You’re welcome to stay here longer if you wish, I have no research to do right now.”
“Drink with me then.” Kaeya held out the bottle to Albedo. “Come on, your aunt will be proud of you for having some fun.”
Albedo sighed before getting a glass and letting Kaeya pour some in for him. He took a sip and cringed at the taste, he hated the weird bitterness of it and the way it made you feel. Alcohol was unhealthy too, it would damage your liver. Albedo didn’t see the point. “This is disgusting.”
“Haahah.. I used to hate it too.” Kaeya laughed at the way Albedo seemed physically repulsed by it. “But it’s… nice? Sometimes.”
Albedo took another sip, it didn’t seem as bitter this time. “Oh yea, could I have your number?”
“Oh?” Kaeya smirked at the question. “Now who’s asking for whose number?”
“I- It’s to help you with your plant in case you can’t find me or-”
“I’m kidding..” Kaeya smiled and took Albedo’s phone to add his number onto it. “Do you not have social media?”
“I have twitter. I was asked to get it for communication but I don’t use it much.”
“Seems like you.” Kaeya didn’t bother following himself on twitter, Albedo wouldn’t use it anyway. It was a professional account too.
-
“Mr Albedo? Who’s ‘hot flower guy’?” Sucrose looked up at Albedo. She’d forgotten her phone so she used Albedo’s to take a picture of her experiment and when she was finding her contact she was surprised to find a new contact. Albedo rarely gave out his phone number so he had very few contacts.
“What?”
“In your contacts.”
“My contacts-?” Albedo leaned over to look at his phone screen. “Ah. It must be Kaeya.”
“Kaeya Alberich?”
“Yes, I’m helping him grow flowers. I asked him for his number a few days ago and he added himself onto my phone.”
Sucrose looked pleased. “...Kaeya Alberich is interested in you.”
“What?”
“Amber says he only ever talks to people he finds interesting more than once.”
“Well he does need help with his flower.”
“Mr Albedo-” Sucrose decides to drop it, Albedo would probably argue against it anyway. She sends herself the picture and continues her writing.
-
“I have his number now, bitch.”
Rosaria looked up from her game to see Kaeya flaunting his phone at her. “Whose number?’
“Albedo’s.”
“The genius?”
“Yeah, the cute one who’s always in the library.”
Cute? Rosaria smirked. “Cute? Didn’t know you were into blonds.”
“I- He’s just interesting.”
Rosaria snorted at Kaeya’s defence. It had been a while since Kaeya called someone cute or interesting . “Oh? Alberich has a crush on a little cute and interesting genius.”
“Fuck you. I’m leaving.”
“To go see Albedo?” Kaeya ignored Rosaria’s comment and just flipped her off instead which made Rosaria laugh.
-
Albedo had gotten used to Kaeya lounging on his couch, listening to music. The blue haired man would come over to Albedo’s apartment whenever he was bored, just to raid Albedo’s(empty) kitchen or do nothing at all.
The blond was mixing together a new substance to add to the plant soil. Kaeya still hadn’t managed to make the Calla Lily bloom so Albedo decided to give him new nutrients. Kaeya said that he always accurately measured the water and always watered it at the right times but Albedo knew it wasn’t true. Instead of nagging Kaeya for not taking care of the flower properly he decided to make a new kind of fertiliser for Kaeya’s plant so that it wouldn’t require a lot of attention. It was new for him too, his formulas were usually light and easy because he’d pay very close attention to his plants.
“Here, if you add this to the soil it should help the flower.” Albedo put the mixture in a bag and handed it to Kaeya.
“Oh, thank you. It’ll bloom this time.” Kaeya accepted the bag and sat up on Albedo’s couch. “Let’s have dinner together.”
“Sure. Could I invite Amber too?”
“No- I mean as-”
“...?”
“Nevermind, I’m sure Jean would love to come too.” Kaeya sighed and leaned back against the couch. Another time.
Their dinner plan had ended up spreading a lot.
Instead of just the four people they originally planned there were now over ten people, sitting on a very long table made up of small tables pushed together. The tables were lined with bottles of alcohol and a very large spread of dishes. The group had opted to order a bunch of dishes and have a potluck.
Kaeya and Aledo were sitting next to each other on the bench with Lisa opposite Kaeya who seemed to be having a conversation that required all their attention. Albedo was sitting next to Amber who was telling him about her day: the unlucky kid in the year below them had a burning book thrown on them by Eula. Eula told the teacher she’d get her vengeance(for god knows what) then set her book on fire and tossed it out the window. Unfortunately for Bennett, the book landed on him so he had burns on his arm now. Eula wanted to come to dinner but when she found out what happened to the kid she ditched the dinner plans to go take care of him.
“Sorry I’m late!” Barbara walked in and took a seat next to Jean, opposite Amber. “Hey Amber! How are you?”
Amber and Barbara began having their own conversation and luckily for Albedo, Kaeya and Lisa had also finished theirs.
“Have you had the skewers? They’re really good.” Kaeya pointed at the skewers.
Albedo shook his head. “I’m not a big fan of meat. I actually don’t eat out often.”
“Really? Why not?”
“I just prefer the environment of my home.” Albedo took a bite of his mint jelly and relaxed. “This is good.” He held up a spoon so that he could take another bite before Kaeya swept in and ate it off his spoon.
“It is.” Kaeya smirked. Albedo glared at him before getting another bite to eat.
“Oh yeah, I’m going to Sumeru next week. It’s for three days, but my event only lasts one. Would you- like to come along?”
Kaeya looked at Albedo. The blond just invited him to a three day trip to Sumeru? “And what did I do to receive this invitation, Mr Alchemist?”
“I figured you might want to come along, you don’t seem too busy with anything in particular.” Kaeya laughed at that. He didn’t bother with school, he already knew he wanted to work for the knights of Favonius. As long as he passed he didn’t see the issue.
“Sure, I’ll come along.” Albedo smiled at Kaeya’s answer.
“I’ll text you the details then. Pass me the mint jelly, it’s really good.”
“Try the wine, it’s also really good.”
“I’ll pass.”
-
“I saw you and Kaeya getting all cosy together at the restaurant. Something going on~?” Lisa came to sit with Albedo in the library. She was the librarian’s assistant so she’d help out and join Albedo whenever she was free.
“We’re friends, of course.”
“Okay then, cutie~ I heard you’re going to Sumeru next week from Cyno.” Lisa had been an exchange student in Sumeru for a year. She said she didn’t like the Academia’s way of teaching and chose to come back to Mondstadt even after the offers she received. She’d still kept in contact with a few people in Sumeru though.
“I am. It’s for Tighnari’s conference, I’ll be gone for three days.”
“That’s nice, sweetie. It’s been a few months since they’ve visited, huh?”
“Yeah, it has. Do you know what I should bring from Mondstadt as a gift?”
“You could bring Collei a book of Mondstadt recipes. She’d be glad to have new recipes to try out, I could give you a book if you’d like?”
“That’s perfect.”
“...Albedo?”
“Yes?” Albedo looked up at Lisa, she suddenly seemed so curious.
“Is anyone going with you to Sumeru? It’s quite a long while away?”
“Kaeya is.”
Lisa smirked at that, the answer satisfied her. “That’s great. I’ll see you later, cutie~”
-
“The exchange student is having a party, wanna go?” Rosaria was sitting on the desk inside the classroom. The teacher was late so everyone was just chatting amongst themselves.
“Which one? The Snezhnayan one? Signora or something right?”
“Yeah. It’s next week at the huge house on the-”
“I can’t next week.” Kaeya was lying down on his desk, spinning his pen in his hand.
“Oh?”
“Sumeru with Albedo.”
“Already on your honeymoon?” Rosaria smirked as Kaeya buried his head in his hands after Rosaria’s comment.
“No- it’s just for an event and he invited me to go along with him..”
Rosaria sighed. “Invite me to the wedding loverboy.”
Before Kaeya could respond the teacher walked in and Rosaria jumped off the desk to return to her seat. Kaeya shot her a glare and was met with a smirk in return.
-
Sumeru was beautiful. It was so green and huge. Their food was also really good, Kaeya had taken a liking to their pita pockets.
Kaeya and Albedo were in the grand bazaar right now. It was the second day of their visit and the day of Tighnari’s reading thingy. Kaeya didn’t exactly know what it was. Their first day was spent travelling mostly and adjusting to the time difference. Both of them were wearing formal clothing and searching for Albedo’s friends. Once Albedo spotted Cyno he dragged Kaeya’s wrist toward where he was standing.
“Albedo!” Collei spotted him first and waved at him. “Oh, and Kaeya too!”
“Hey, Collei.”
“You two know each other?” Albedo looked back and forth between the two. He didn’t think Kaeya knew anyone in Sumeru, it would make introductions easier though.
“Yeap! Lisa introduced us.” Collei smiled at both of them. “Come on, let’s go to our seats. It’s starting soon.” Collei guided them to their seats where Cyno and Tighnari were standing. They greeted each other and Albedo introduced them. Tighnari left to go and start his speech because the event was starting while the four of them took their seats and watched.
-
The event was a success. Tighnari’s discovery was well received and after all the thanking and everything, the five of them headed to Lambad’s Tavern for dinner. Collei said she loved the shawarma wrap there and convinced everyone that it would be the best place to eat. They were thankful they got there before rush hour, they were quickly given a table and the menus.
“I already know I’m getting the shawarma wrap!” Collei declared and put the menu away. Cyno and Tighnari also knew what they were getting.
“Minty bean soup.”
“Lambad fish roll.”
The server noted down all their orders and left. “Congratulations, Tighnari.”
“Thank you, Albedo. It went quite well, didn’t it?” Tighnari smiled.
“It did go well. Thank archons, I'm not a physicist.” Cyno stated which earned him a sigh from Tighnari and a groan from Collei.
“Oh?” Kaeya was intrigued. “What do you mean?”
“Because biologists and physicists have no chemistry.” Cyno smiled at his own joke. Tighnari and Collei didn’t even bother acknowledging it.
“That was quite good.” Albedo smiled at Cyno. He quite liked Cyno’s jokes.
“Thank you.” The server handed them all their food and drinks. They each began eating their specific meals which all of them enjoyed.
“The food here is so good!”
“It is. The food in Sumeru is really nice.”
“Oh, speaking of food.. Collei, this is for you. It’s from Lisa.” Albedo handed Collei the book Lisa gave him. It was full of traditional Mondstadt recipes for Collei to try out.
Collei brightened up after reading the title. Lisa was always spot-on when giving gifts. “Tell her I said thank you! I can’t wait to try these out..” She opened the book and began flipping through the pages, excluding herself from their conversations so that she could go through all the recipes written inside.
-
Albedo was glad he stuck with a non-alcoholic drink. Him and Collei were trying to talk sense into the other three who were now drunk. Cyno was slightly less tipsy than the other two and was kind-of helping Albedo and Collei.
“Ugh. We need to get them back… Do you know where your hotel is, Albedo?” Collei looked at Albedo. She dumped a pile of mora on the table before Albedo could and was now trying to get Tighnari and Cyno up. “I can drag these two back to their apartment.”
“Don’t worry, I know where to find it. I’ll see you tomorrow, Collei.” Albedo grabbed Kaeya’s arm and waved goodbye to Collei and started walking away. Collei waved back before finally managing to pick Tighnari up and drag him in the opposite direction.
“Kaeya… please walk. You’re taller and heavier than me.” Kaeya mumbled something before straightening himself out slightly to help Albedo. Kaeya was an alcoholic, everyone knew that. Albedo knew it too well, the only reason he and Kaeya were friends was because Kaeya was drunk driving. Kaeya had also shown up to his house slightly tipsy a few times and he’d finished Albedo’s bottle of wine in one night. Albedo didn’t care for his wine, he was more worried about Kaeya’s health which is why he’d tried getting Kaeya to drink cranberry juice before.
The blond managed to drag them back to their hotel with some effort. He’d gotten a few looks but he’d ignored them.
“Kaeya? I need your hotel room key..” Albedo tried to wake Kaeya up but he just received a groan instead. He sighed, the rooms were big enough for two people anyway. When Kaeya woke, he could return to his own room. Kaeya was dumped onto the bed while Albedo went to the bathroom to change clothes.
When Albedo came back to the room he saw Kaeya sitting up on his bed, with his head down and one hand over his bare eye that was usually covered by his eyepatch.
“Kaeya?”
“Albedoooo. It’s youuuu…” Kaeya looked up and gave Albedo a lopsided smile.
“It is me..”
“I… I really like you, Albedo.. You’re so cute and smart… I know I’m not your type but- ...I need to go back to my room. It’s so late, bye bye Albedo..” Kaeya patted Albedo’s head before stumbling out the door and into the next room. Leaving the blond standing after his confession.
-
The rest of Sumeru was a blur, Albedo was too busy thinking about Kaeya’s words to really pay attention to all their sightseeing locations. Kaeya had asked the blond multiple times if he was feeling alright, but Albedo always told him he was fine. No one had ever confessed to Albedo before and he didn’t know how to handle the situation.
He was back in Mondstadt now and was sitting in the library. He didn’t feel like staying home even with his travel exhaustion.
“Hey cutie.” Lisa walked up to Albedo. “How was Sumeru?”
“It was great. Everything went well. But Lisa, I need- I need advice.”
“Oh? What’s the matter?”
“I…” Albedo looked away from Lisa to hide his expression. “I think I should stop being friends with Kaeya.”
Lisa raised an eyebrow curiously. “Why?”
“When he was drunk, he confessed his feelings to me. And I think that it would be mean of me to keep-”
“You want to end your friendship?”
“No…” Albedo sighed.
“Then don’t.”
“But-”
“Albedo, you want Kaeya in your life, don’t you?” Lisa asked. Albedo nodded at that, he was fond of the bluenette. “Do you want to be with him for the rest of your life?” Albedo nodded again, slowly realising what Lisa was telling him.
“Wait- Do I…?”
“Have feelings for Kaeya Alberich?” Lisa smirked when she saw Albedo’s eyes widen slightly.
“Thank you Lisa- I need to go..” Albedo hurriedly left the library, getting his phone to call Kaeya.
-
Kaeya knocked on Albedo’s door and it was opened instantly by Albedo who welcomed him in. He was confused when Albedo called him and told him to come over instantly. As much as he didn’t mind, he still wanted to know why the blond was randomly calling him in the middle of the day without a reason. Albedo didn’t look hurt or injured in any way which just confused Kaeya even more.
“Hi.”
“Hey.” Kaeya replied casually. Albedo was acting weird.
“I-”
“Is something wrong-?”
“No. It’s just…” Albedo really didn’t think about how to word it out. “Let’s have dinner together.”
“Sure. Today.. Or?” Of course Kaeya had to be oblivious now.
“No- I mean let’s have dinner together.”
“Together?” Kaeya was starting to understand what Albedo was implying.
“Together.”
“...” Kaeya didn’t respond and stared at Albedo instead. “Are you feeling well?”
“Kaeya-” Albedo cut himself off by kissing Kaeya softly. He needed to tip-toe slightly but it was still comfortable for him to peck Kaeya’s lips softly. When he moved away he saw Kaeya’s widened eyes and the man bring a hand to his lips before pulling Albedo in for another kiss. This one was deeper, Kaeya wrapped his hand around Albedo’s waist and bent down slightly. He could feel himself smiling.
“So… about dinner?” Kaeya had yet to answer Albedo.
“I’d be a fool to reject you.”