𝐀𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 | Genshin Impact

ᴀɴ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛꜰᴜʟ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀɴᴏᴏɴ

THIRTY

THE WORK SEEMED never-ending for the alchemist Albedo. With a schedule always filled to the very gaps that'd exist had he not needed them to be occupied.

He currently stood behind the the workbench of his laboratory, the room opposite to the archives where he could focus the entirety of his attention on his experiment rather than who'd walk in randomly—as had happened plenty of times before he requested to relocate elsewhere with solitude.

Sometimes when he'd pass by the archives, and the door was left slightly cracked open, he could hear (Y/n) tap a pen repeatedly against the desk from inside.

His mind couldn't help but wander to the reasons why she'd be so nervous. Or, it could be that whatever sat at the back of her mind nagged at her persistently.

Because he couldn't get her out of his head, he opted to go straight to the source herself.

Albedo let the papers in hand slip onto his desk as he rounded the corner. He kept his chin up, his eyes fixed to the door across from his. The only sounds that echoed in the hallway as he crossed were his shoes. And even then, he was being as quiet as he could be.

The alchemist pressed a hand against the door, widening the narrow space for his figure to slip through. He then descended the small steps further inside, his gaze focused ahead.

The scenery before him touched him heart first, though he didn't even notice.

There was (Y/n), with her head resting in the palm of her hand. Her hair was pulled back into a loose updo, different from the usual way she let it be. The (h/c) lashes framing her eyes obscured her pupils as she glanced down boringly at the papers in front of her, skimming them with an exhaustion that was obvious from where he stood.

And there it was. In her other hand, she tapped the pen repeatedly against the edge.

He pressed further in a quiet manner, his teal eyes fixed onto her figure. It seemed she hadn't noticed him, for he had already reached her by the time she glanced over at him.

"Albedo," There went that smile that always greeted him alongside the sound of his name. "Is there something you're looking for?"

The man peered down at her. "I was wondering if you're okay, actually," He said.

(Y/n) blinked her eyes a few times as she straightened her posture. "Why wouldn't I be?" She asked him.

Albedo glanced towards the pen in her hand. "It's a thing you always do," He provided no context.

She raised a brow.

The alchemist gestured towards the pen with nothing but the look on his face. "You tap it when you're getting frustrated," He explained.

(Y/n)'s attention turned to her hand, twisting her wrist to get a better look at the pen. "I'm sorry about that," She said. "I didn't know I was being so loud."

Shaking his head as a way to tell her she needn't apologize, Albedo then glanced down at the loose pages sprawled over her desk. "Are these..." He began.

"From Hertha," (Y/n) answered before he could finish. "Records of commissions, logged entries. I need to organize these things." She sighed. Then, she looked up at him. "You really came all the way here just to check on my well-being, Albedo?"

Days his life felt like a blank canvas, when he couldn't fill it with vermilion, was a lingering absence. He recently read somewhere by chance thousands of thoughts fill the head in a day. But only those that strike a chord are brought forth. And before the ink of his pen reached the page, this one single thought persisted.