Teyvat Characters x Reader

Albedo | Not so Human (Hurt/Comfort)

A/N: This one-shot is based on my theory. So please, take this as an AU of some sorts.
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This was supposed to be another normal walk through Dragonspine, just like always.
This was supposed to be boring refilling emergency boxes, just like always.
So what are Fatuis doing here?
You quickly dodge another attack and make a run for it.
"You can't run! Well.. You can try."
You try to run faster, tears welling up in your eyes.
You're just an Adventurer without a Vision, there's no way you could beat them.
You hear him getting closer and closer.
You expect a punch to your back every second now, when you suddenly step on something.

Before you can react, the thing under you starts levitating.
It doesn't take you long to understand what's happening and you can feel relief washing over you.
Seeing the genius alchemist makes your heart beat faster every time, but this time you had a feeling your heart is beating at the speed of light.
Albedo glances your way to make sure you're safe, then continue dodging the Skirmisher's attack.

You watch them fight, not daring to do anything. Trying to help would only mean giving Albedo disadvantage, and you don't want to risk such possibility.

The fight is near the end, the Skirmisher clearly being close to passing out, when suddenly-
"Albedo, watch out!" You scream, but it was too late.
The Skirmisher punches Albedo in the face with such a force it makes him fall over.
You clasp your hands over your mouth. The punch was surely strong enough to knock him out, maybe even to-
No, you refuse to think of such possibility.

The opponent gets up, slowly making his way to Albedo.
"That's what you get, trying to fight with-"
To your relief, your blonde savior gets up too.
"Gah!" The Skirmisher screams, making a step back, "What the hell-!"
Before he can even finish the sentence, Albedo makes the last strike.

You feel yourself getting back on the ground and you quickly make your way to him.
"Albedo, are you oka-"
But Albedo stops you with a raised hand, turning his face away from you.
"Don't worry, I'm alright, but you should rather go. There still can be more of them."
"There's no way I'm leaving you here!" You argue, still trying to get closer to him.

"I said I'm fine! Now go back to your camp." You've never heard him raise his voice before. You decide to stop, grabbing his hand.
"I've seen how strong the punch was. You could have severe head trauma for all we know, let me just look at it, please-"
"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine?" He says, finally looking at you.

You can't help but look at him in a shock.
You have hard time even processing what you're seeing.
His left cheek is missing few pieces, but there is no blood.
Why is there no blood?
The only thing around it is some kind of dust. Dust, that looks exactly like-
"Chalk?" You whisper, still paralyzed by the sight.
"...As I said, I'm alright. This isn't the first time something like this happened to me. Chalk as a material isn't much strong, after all."
Suddenly, everything makes sense.
His title, 'Kreideprinz', his talks about him not being like the others.
Still, you can't believe it.

"But now, please go back to your camp."
You feel him slowly untangle your hands, which makes you wake up from your trance.
"No."

"Why?" He asks you, his voice filled with nothing but sadness, "Why don't you leave already?"

"Even she left. Even the one who gave me life left me."
You see something glistening in his eyes.
Are those tears?
"She left me without a single word. I'm not a human, after all. So why?"
You wish you've never had to hear his voice crack like this,
"Why do you even bother staying?"

You can only stare at him, your heart shattering into pieces.
"I still don't understand you," You admit, your hand cupping his unharmed cheek, "but I want to. I want to understand you more, because I love you, Albedo."

"W..hat?" His voice cracks yet again.

"I love you more than anything. I don't care if you're not a human. I fell in love with you not because I thought you're human, but because You are, well, You." You pull him into a hug, not being able to keep your tears in any longer.

Some time passes before he returns the hug, holding onto you as if you should disappear at any given moment. You can feel his tears falling on your shoulder.
"Please, don't leave me."

"Never."
You promise, tightening the hug, letting him cry as freely as he needs.

You stay like this for some time, until Albedo starts to calm down.
When you two finally break the hug, you give him a warm smile.
"Now, let's go back. I still need to get myself together."
"Literally." You add, to which you can hear him chuckle.

                   ×<•--------•>×

"I think I owe you better explanation, don't I." He states, after both of you get back to his cave.
You want to remind him he doesn't need to say anything if he doesn't want to, but before you can even open your mouth, he continues.

"My master is one of the best alchemists to ever live. It's no surprise someone of her greatness would get bored of reviving dead branches and try to create life from nothing. If you think about it, you could say she's my mother, theoretically. You and Sucrose are the only ones who know the truth. Not even Klee knows." He sighs, rummaging through drawers of his desk, "Ah, there it is."

"How do you exactly... uhm, fix your.. uh, injuries?" You ask, trying not to sound ignorant, but failing miserably. Albedo only turns to look at you, a soft smile dancing on his lips.

"It's quite easy. I just need some limestone, with which I fill in the cracks, like this." He explains, placing small bits of said mineral on his cheek, "And soon enough, it'll attach itself."
When he looks back at you, you softly gasp.
The only thing reminding you of earlier incident were the grey lines and spots in places of the cracks.
"It takes some time for it to change the color, so I usually use make-up to mask it."

"Don't." You stop him, grabbing him by his hand yet again, "It looks better like this." You smile at him.
Suddenly, he pulls you closer and his lips meet yours.
When your lips finally part, Albedo hugs you again.
"Thank you. For everything."