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After their encounter at the Dawn Winery, Albedo and Diluc had exchanged some letters and files of information. Diluc's face would heat up whenever he would think of the sketches Albedo sent him that featured Diluc as the focus, or the detailed list of what gifts Diluc seemed to be most receptive to. Albedo clearly cared about Diluc to put so much time and effort into wanting to know him and be his friend despite Diluc's cold disposition—and this flattered Diluc greatly—his tempature flaring from even a simple flirt he had heard times before from countless others. It was all so new and wonderful with Albedo, because he cared so much.
However, to Diluc's disappointment, Albedo hadn't been near the Dawn Winery or Angel's Share after their encounter—instead spending his time in his lab in Dragonspine. Diluc could be considered selfish for the slight irritation he felt from lacking physical interaction with Albedo—but letters could only travel so fast, and Diluc could only be sated for so long before he needed more. Diluc just wanted to watch Albedo work on his projects and experiments—perhaps even just listen to the alchemist ramble on or stare as he fiddled with stuff—Diluc wouldn't mind. So, in Diluc's most recent letter, he made this known; "I was wondering if I could visit you in Dragonspine? I've always wondered what you do up there." And Albedo responded quickly, with an answer that brought a smile to Diluc's face; "Of course 'Luc, but stay safe during your trip. I'll have a lot of supplies for when you get to my lab, but you should still be thoroughly prepared."
Diluc drafted a letter to respond, wanted to send it, but decided to bring it to Albedo himself. It would be a pleasant suprise in his opinion—he could already imagine the slight shift in expression from Albedo—perhaps the slight parting of his lips and widening of his eyes before he smiled so sweetly. The letter went in a special hidden pocket in his bag, which would be accompanied by supplies. Diluc triple checked he had everything he needed, informed the maid's of his departure, and then set off for the icy mountain.
It wasn't a long walk to the border between the green pastures of Mondstadt and the snow bitten wilds of Dragonspine, and it wasn't hard to follow the instructions Albedo had given to Diluc to go to his lab. The cold was a bit irritating, but Diluc's pyro vision made it little issue. What was most annoying, was the enemies on the mountain. The hillichurls weren't difficult, but the cryo samachurls and archers were almost enough to give Diluc a headache. The whopperflowers had moves that were difficult to dodge, and their sporadic appearances made Diluc grip his greatsword tighter. He was used to fighting and dodging around attacks but with a slightly heavier weight on his back and something to look forward to—his irritatance just kept increasing. What was most irritating was the Fatui. The damn Fatuus.
Diluc hated the Fatui, far more than the Knights of Favonious—to the point he'd team up with the Knights if it meant driving away the Fatui permanently. The Knights were misguided in a sense—they were mostly good people, but most of them were working too hard and getting too little—a waste of their efforts. The Fatui were roughly the opposite—they put in minimum effort, just enough to get what they wanted and seize and take and control. The Fatui were greedy, cold, uncaring, and they followed the will of The Tsarista to their final breath.
Diluc's hands heated up, his greatsword sparking to life with the flames of anger—the wish to rid these monsters from being anywhere near Albedo—the possibility that they could harm him, or worse, was not something Diluc wanted to think of—his pyro vision only flaring up further at the horrid thought. He was only a couple minutes away from Albedo's camp, and Diluc knew he wouldn't be able to get there without alerting the Fatui of his presence—not that he cared much, he'd eradicate the Fatui either way, he could not risk anything happening to Albedo.
Dilic backed away as an anemo boxer charged up his punch behind him, drawing the flames from Diluc's greatsword into his punch while attempting to pull in Diluc with his anemo delusion. The boxer attempted to punch Diluc, but it didn't land. Diluc merely dodged to the side—moving behind the anemo boxer as he recovered from his hit not landing. Diluc swung his sword—once, twice, thrice—finally hearing the Fatui member drop into the snow with a thud. Diluc sighed, scanning to make sure no other Fatuus would ambush him as he continued towards Albedo's camp—he could not take any risks, he especially didn't want to lead the Fatuus towards Albedo.
Thankfully, Diluc had already dealt with the pyro gunner and the electro ambusher. The camp held nothing of value, not even a shred of information—and the faintest imprint of a chest told Diluc that Aether had ransacked this place before him. Diluc let himself relax, or at least attempt to—putting his greatsword away as he was awash with nerves. Truly, Diluc had nothing to be afraid of, it was more so something akin to overwhelming excitement that made his nerves fire up as he approached Albedo's camp.
Albedo was hovered over an alchemy table, concentrating on various vials and things and books. Diluc stood in the snow, staring at Albedo uncaring of the wind that nipped at him. The way Albedo narrowed his eyes while focusing, the subtle quirks of his mouth when he seemed to think of something, even the way his hands so delicately handled everything. Albedo was perfection in Diluc's eyes—truly so wonderful and handsome and amazing and everything that was good in all of Teyvat could not rival him. Diluc didn't even notice the wind or snow anymore, the flushing of his face and fluttering of his heart overpowering any sort of cold weather.
Albedo finally glanced up, his eyes locking with Diluc's before his expression subtly shifted—just as Diluc had imagined. Diluc finally snapped out of his trance at this, a warm smile on his face as he took the final steps into Albedo's camp. "'Luc you could catch a cold from standing out there you know." Concern seeped through Albedo's voice as Diluc shrugged off his bags, "I have a pyro vision, I'll be fine. Plus," Diluc's face flushed, "you looked really attractive when you were focused like that." Diluc kneeled down towards his bag, fiddling with it both to distract himself from his embarrassment and also to grab the letter he wished to give Albedo.
When he fished the letter out, he got up and turned towards Albedo, holding out his letter—only to be greeted with Albedo holding his sketchbook in return. They exchanged, and Diluc hummed in curiousity as he flipped through the pages. His face flushed quite intensely as he saw that every single page was a drawing that involved him. Some drawings featured only him, some included Albedo, one had him and Kaeya, one had him and Klee, another had all four. Diluc flipped further through the sketchbook, savouring the attention to detail and realism that Albedo had when drawing so many scenes and poses despite having never lived through them.
Albedo hummed contently, and Diluc looked up to find Albedo staring at him. "Do you like my drawings?" "Of course I do, they're so detailed and lively, you're really good at this 'Bedo." Albedo smiled softly, walking towards Diluc to give him a kiss on the cheek before hugging him—something that Diluc tried his very best to reciprocate. "I quite liked your letter—very well written and very informative. My favourite part was when you rambled about how flustered I make you and how you've become distracted at work over me." Albedo chuckled lightly, which had Diluc practically melting. "So, since you've make the trip here, we should really take advantage of the time we have together, don't you agree, 'Luc?" Diluc nodded, already euphoric from Albedo's love and attention. Albedo smiled ever so sweetly, capturing Diluc in a loving kiss.