Discovery | Albedo's Descent Book 1

Chapter 10: Goodnight

"Really, when are you going to tell him?" Lisa was accosting him with questions again.
Kaeya sighed, "he's smart, he'll figure it out..."
Lisa facepalmed, "do you even believe yourself right now?"
"... not really..."
Lisa sighed heavily, "then what do you plan to do?"
"I'll... figure it out..." Kaeya avoided looking at her, "I don't normally have to think about it. Most people already like me."
Lisa rolled her eyes.
Kaeya folded his arms, then realized he needed his hands for sorting. "Uh, I guess I'll just... well, the more I do things with him, the more comfortable I am with it, so I guess I'll just work my way up to telling him how I feel..."
Lisa sighed through her nose, "you're such a slacker."
Kaeya elbowed her in the arm softly, "not any more than you are,"
Lisa giggled, "true."
Albedo looked up from his books, "what are you two laughing about?"
"Nothing to be worried about," Lisa chuckled.
Albedo shrugged, "alright."
The others were actually a bit surprised at how he just let it go.
Lisa gave Kaeya a somewhat concerned look, "... I think you broke Albedo."
"What?! What did I do?!"
"I'm not broken," Albedo spoke up, but didn't look at them, "I'm not a machine..."
"It's a figure of speech," Lisa explained. "I was just saying that... you're acting a bit different, so I accused Kaeya."
"What does he have to do with-"
"He was the last person to touch you. I cant see that part of the room super well, so I don't know what he did to you-"
Kaeya squeezed her arm rather harshly to get her to stop. She yanked her arm away, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Oh..." Albedo said slowly, "he didn't do anything harmful, if that's what you wanted to know..."
"Oh, I know that," Lisa smiled, "Kaeya would be crying right now if he had hurt you!"
Kaeya folded his arms, pretending no one else was there.
Albedo paused, "can he cry?"
"What?" Lisa asked in confusion.
Kaeya opened his eyes again, his arms coming undone.
"I mean... I've never seen him cry..."
Lisa chuckled, "be glad. He's a really ugly crier."
"Am not!"
Lisa laughed, "I'm only kidding. He probably couldn't be ugly if he really tried to."
Albedo nodded, "I guess that makes sense... but I don't think he would cry simply because I got hurt. People normally cry for themselves..."
"Well, if it was his fault that you were hurt and he felt bad for it, that'd be a reason to cry."
Albedo brought his hand to his chin, his eyes shifting to gaze on Kaeya, "would you?"
"... maybe."
"Come on, you totally would," Lisa elbowed him, "you're such a crybaby!"
"I am not!" His face grew red again.
"Oh," Albedo hadn't meant to say it out loud.
They both looked over at the alchemist.
"Uh, it's nothing," Albedo went back to organizing.
Lisa eyes sparked, "oh, I can tell it wasn't nothing~ What were you thinking~ Did it have to do with Kaeya~"
Kaeya wasn't sure what would be worse: Albedo thinking about him or Albedo not thinking about him.
Albedo nodded slowly, "yes..." He felt a little embarrassed, but didn't show it.
Lisa squealed, "oooh! What was it?! Was it about how Kaeya is so incredibly handsome~ Or maybe it was about how attractive you find his window~"
Kaeya had the urge to smack his hands over his face. He hated when Lisa did that.
Albedo hesitated, "no..." He seemed a little confused, actually, "no, it was that... earlier, I asked him why he was always so red when I'm around. But I think I understand now. Every time you would tease him, he'd get red as well. So it must be from embarrassment."
Kaeya felt even more embarrassed now that he had been called out.
"So, do I make you... uncomfortable...?" Albedo asked. He sounded worried.
"No," Kaeya shook his head, "not at all... I just..." he looked to Lisa for help.
"He probably feels embarrassed around you because he thinks you're really pretty." Lisa smirked.
Of course she was no help. Kaeya should have known better by now. He sighed in defeat.
"Oh... I was about to point out that I was wrong because... if I made him uncomfortable, he probably wouldn't touch me as much..."
Lisa nodded, "mhm~ he does touch you an awful lot, doesn't he~"
"Not much more than you. But that is probably because he's more comfortable touching men. I can understand that..."
Lisa eyes widened, "Albedo, you're..."
"Women can be quite... intimidating..." he was trying not to be rude with his wording.
Lisa was slightly upset, but it wasn't because of what he said. It was because of what he didn't say. And here she was so sure Albedo was about to say that he liked men as well. She sighed quietly.
Kaeya stared at Albedo, "so you... don't mind when I'm touching you...?"
"Not particularly," Albedo shrugged, "I don't really care for it, but I'm not going to stop you." He resumed organizing, only to find he held the last book from the pile.
Lisa smiled, "well, I'm certainly glad that you are okay with Kaeya *communicating* with you."
Kaeya grew more red and Albedo laughed a little bit. "I think life would be more boring without the Cavalry Captain around."
Kaeya couldn't catch a break, could he? He felt like hiding behind one of the many bookshelves.
Lisa giggled at his predicament, "yes, I would have to agree. Kaeya is quite entertaining."
Kaeya just really wished they would all stop talking.
Albedo stood up to move on to the next pile. He asked, "Miss Lisa, what time is it?"
She closed her eyes for a moment, "almost one thirty."
He smiled, though it seemed somewhat sad, "then I'm sorry, but I have to go. I had... made a promise..."
Lisa shook her head with a smile, "no problem. I was about to suggest we wrap up for tonight, anyways."