Journey | Albedo's Descent Book 3

Chapter 10: GREAT NEWS! CUTE SOCKS!!

Albedo awoke with a start. He looked over at the clock.
9:00 AM
He loosed a sigh of relief. He felt surprisingly good now that he had stopped panicking over the time. He had plenty of time to pack what he needed, which wasn't all that much because he had plenty back at his camp.
That left a good amount of time to talk with Lisa again. And to find Kaeya and hopefully talk with him, too...
Albedo got up and got to work. He packed up a few sets of spare clothes, some preserved foods, fresh water, etc. etc.
Then he thought it a good idea to shower before he left for a few days. So, he did that, too.
He was almost fully dressed and was in the middle of braiding his hair when he heard a knock at the door.
Honestly, at this point, there was no telling who it would be. It seemed everyone always needed him for something these days. He was thankful to leave for a bit to have some time to himself. He didn't enjoy being stretched thin by everyone's requests.
His respect for Jean grew. How did she do it? Albedo would have disappeared off of the face of Teyvat is he had her job.
Albedo quickly finished off the braid and opened the door. He looked up to see the Cavalry Captain.
Kaeya smiled, "good morning, my prince." He took albedo's face and kissed his forehead.
Albedo was caught completely off guard, "ahm, morning..."
Kaeya chuckled, "you seem a little scatterbrained this morning."
Albedo ran his fingers through his hair and began braiding the other side, "I've finished packing and just need to finish getting ready."
"It's only around 11:00?" Kaeya followed him in and closed the door.
"I wanted to talk to Lisa about our experiment before I go. And I need to let Klee know I'm leaving. And I wanted to make sure I had some time for you as well."
"How considerate," Kaeya's smile widened.
Albedo's eyes slowly gazed up at Kaeya's face, "you look oddly happy..."
"Hm? Is it odd for me to happy?" Kaeya's face got a bit pink, "I'm only smiling because I'm looking at something beautiful."
Albedo averted his eyes as he tied his braids back. That was something he hadn't gotten used to; Kaeya's compliments.
Kaeya laughed, "don't even try to deny it. You'll never convince me otherwise."
Albedo looked down at the floor as he lowered his arms, "I've already given up on trying..."
"Good," Kaeya pat him on the head "it's about time you learn to just except it."
Albedo mumbled, "are you being like this because I'm leaving?"
"If I wasn't so worried about making you uncomfortable, I'd do it all the time." Kaeya sighed dramatically, "but, alas, you just cannot handle my love at its fullest!"
Albedo giggled, "I'm pretty tough, I'll have you know. I might even be stronger than you."
Kaeya raised his brows, "now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever seen you fight."
Albedo smiled to himself as he sat down and started pulling his socks on, "it's nothing special. I do what I need to."
Kaeya stared at him, "Albedo..."
"M? Yes?" He looked up, some stray hairs falling over his eyes.
Kaeya seemed rather shocked, "I didn't know you wore thigh-high's..."
Albedo gave him a confused look, "why is that so surprising?"
"Ah, well, it's just-" Kaeya abruptly looked away as his cheeks grew pink, "I always assumed you just wore leggings or something..."
He added quietly, "and most men don't typically wear them..."
Albedo tilted his head to the side, "oh... Well I do switch between wearing tights, socks, and thin pants under my shorts. While here in Mondstadt I normally just wear thin tights because it's not so cold." He rolled up his shorts so he could pull his socks up all the way.
Kaeya was very focused on a painting hung on the wall, "that makes sense..." His voice wavered as he spoke.
"Kaeya?"
"What is it?" He asked quickly, obviously getting more tense.
"Why are you so... nervous?" Albedo stood up and slipped on his boots.
Kaeya cleared his throat quietly, "I'm not nervous."
Albedo rolled his eyes, "and I thought I was bad at communicating."
Kaeya whipped around, "I just don't know how to respond, okay?!" He seemed to be having some sort of crisis. Kaeya's face was completely flushed and he was especially exasperated.
Albedo laughed, "about what? They're just socks?"
"Yeah, but- That's so cute, Albedo!" Kaeya looked like he was melting.
Albedo was taken aback for the second time this morning, "cute?"
Kaeya nodded vigorously, "I didn't think that you, handsome and liked-by-all Albedo would wear such girly clothes in secret!"
"But, it isn't a secret-"
"Name one person you've told other than me," he folded his arms.
Albedo closed his mouth. Did that make it secret?
"Anyways, you said you needed to talk with Lisa? Good. Cool. Okay." Kaeya tuned on his heels and walked briskly to the door, "if you'll excuse me, I have a pillow to be screaming into."
Albedo blinked as the door closed.
Then he fell backwards onto his bed, overtaken by a fit of uncontrollable laughter. He'd never seen Kaeya react like that to anything! He was so overwhelmed and embarrassed! That had to be a once in a lifetime moment!
Albedo sighed with a smile as he stared up at his ceiling. Things weren't so bad. He spun his ring around his finger, hoping for his day to remain just a good.