Chapter Text
The familiar bell above the door rung, signaling that someone had walked in.
The man at the counter was finishing an order, not bothering to look away from what he was doing to yell over his shoulder, "just a second!"
The aforementioned man set the finished drink on a different counter, shouting the name of the person who ordered it. He then made his way to the register to take the order of whoever walked in, clicking a few things on the digital screen before looking at the man who had walked in.
Kaeya immediately noticed three things:
The first thing Kaeya noticed was how he had to look down to see the man who had just walked in. The second thing he noticed were his bright teal eyes thay complimented his ashy blonde hair beautifully. They seemed far too big for a face as small as his, but strangely enough it worked for him. The third thing Kaeya noticed was that he'd never seen this man before.
Kaeya realized he was staring when the stranger shifted uncomfortably, and immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, I guess I zoned out for a minute. When can I get for you?"
The mysterious man thought for a minute, shifting his weight on his feet as he did so, "Can I get just a normal sized black coffee?"
The fourth thing Kaeya noticed? The man had a thick accent that was obviously from somewhere far beyond Mondstadt.
Kaeya pressed the order into the computer, looking back at the stranger, "For here or to go?"
"For here."
Kaeya nodded once, "Your total is $2.70, what's a name for the order?"
"Albedo," The man- who Kaeya now knew was Albedo- replied, pulling his wallet out to pay for the drink.
Kaeya took the cash and watched Albedo put the 30 cents he got in change in the tip jar before he walked away to go sit at a table. Kaeya watched him pull a computer and a book that seemed too big even for himself to carry around from his bag.
He had to stop himself from staring to make his drink, writing his name on the cup he grabbed. He went to work making his drink, watching his coworker finally come in.
"Well finally," Kaeya breathed out a sigh of relief, pouring the black coffee into the cup, "my shift ended 30 minutes ago- where the hell were you?"
"Had a rough night, I'll tell you details later," The ginger answered, tying his apron around himself, "I can finish that order if you want me to."
"I'm done with it, so don't worry about it," Kaeya replied, taking his apron off and hanging it up, "You could, however, tell me if you know who that blonde over there is."
Kaeya and Childe had been friends for years before they worked together, and Childe always seemed to know every detail about everyone. He was a year above Kaeya, and majored in engineering.
"Albedo? He recently transferred here, he's a medical major in his second year- so my year," Childe explained, "why, you like him?"
"No!" Kaeya almost shouted, placing the lid on the cup, "I've just never seen him before."
"Yeah, he's pretty closed off so nobody really knows much about him, but there are rumors that his accent's Khaenri'ahn," Childe heard the bell to the cafe ring, and turned to greet and take the order of whoever walked in, "We'll talk more later?"
"Yeah," Kaeya placed the coffee on the counter, shouting the name on the cup, "Albedo!"
The mentioned man got up, grabbed his coffee from the counter, and sat back down without a word. Childe sure wasn't wrong about him being closed off.
Kaeya wasted no time in following Albedo back to where he was sitting, sitting across from him.
Childe glanced over, sighing and mentally wishing Kaeya luck.
"So..Childe says you're a new transfer?" Kaeya asked, leaning his head onto his palm and setting his elbow on the table.
Albedo looked away from his computer and blinked at Kaeya a few times as if in shock- and maybe he was, nobody ever willingly sat with him.
"Yes, I transferred a week ago to live with my.. younger sister- I'm a second year medical major," Albedo seemed to hesitate a bit, but Kaeya didn't bring it up, "why do you ask?"
"I was just curious, since I've never seen you around before," Kaeya explained, watching the gears in Albedo's head turn as his facial expressions changed while he thought.
Albedo hummed, figuring he may as well entertain the man in front of him, "well, you know I major in medicine, what's your major?"
"I major in education, specifically elementary," Kaeya explains, "my name's Kaeya, by the way."
"Interesting..." Albedo thought for a moment before checking the time on his phone and panicking, rushing get his stuff packed, "shit- I have to pick my sister up from school," once Albedo finished packing he looked at Kaeya, "I'll see you around, then?"
Kaeya stared for a moment, temporarily awestruck by the blond looking at him, but quickly cleared his throat to avoid awkward staring, "yeah, I'll see you around," Kaeya looked down and thought for a minute before bringing his head back up and starting to ask, "Hey, wait could I-"
But it was too late, Alhedo was already leaving the cafe, the door firmly closing behind him.
'Fuck', Kaeya thought to himself as he stared at where Albedo was sitting mere minutes ago, 'I think I just met the man of my dreams and I didn't even get his number.'
And with that, Kaeya slammed his head onto the table and pretended not to hear Childe's barely concealed giggles from the counter.