Journey | Albedo's Descent Book 3

Chapter 30: Drinking

"Kaeya is going to be upset when he wakes up."
Albedo sighed from where he sat in front of the fire, which he had stoked as much as he could. He nodded, "I know..."
Rosaria heaved a sigh as she made her way over, "here. I've got something to warm you up." She set out a wine bottle and a few travel glasses, "I was hoping to save this for a special occasion... but I think this is more important."
Albedo stared at her in disbelief as she poured two glasses.
"What?" She barked.
"I didn't think I was more important to you th-than your wine..."
Rosaria scoffed, "people are more valuable than any drink, Albedo. You should know this."
"Oh. Well, I only meant that-"
"Shut up and drink." She forced the cup into his hands.
Albedo stared down at it.
"You have dranken alcohol before, right? Wait- Are you underage?" She sent the most anger-filled glare at Kaeya Albedo had ever seen.
"I'm not underage," Albedo quickly said, "I'm quite old actually... My appearance is just young..."
"What? So you won't get old and wrinkled? Lucky!" She took a sip.
Albedo chuckled, "but... I've only had alcohol a few times... and I don't remember particularly enjoying it. I'm... more of a dessert person." He tentatively took a drink.
"Well, then you'll be glad to hear this is a sweet one," she smiled a little bit.
Albedo did think the flavor was better than what he remembered from previous situations.
"How do you manage to always sneak out of bed without waking him?" Rosaria asked. "Isn't he the 'sleep with one eye open' kind of person?"
Albedo nodded, "he is... but I guess I've learned a few tricks."
"Dang, you had to adapt to survive," she chuckled.
Albedo smiled, "yeah... He's probably going to wake up soon. It's never very long before he notices his arms are empty. It's like he has to be holding me to sleep or something," he took another drink with a small chuckle.
Rosaria looked into the fire with a slight smile, "he probably does... He hasn't had the candles... everyone needs some form of comfort to sleep..."
Albedo asked quietly, "do you have trouble sleeping, too?..."
Rosaria nodded, "when you were raised like I was, you trained yourself to wake up at the slightest of sounds."
Albedo looked down into his cup, "how much do I have to drink?"
"Enough to make you warm," Rosaria filled his cup again.
Albedo pursed his lips.
"What? Do you get drunk easy?"
Albedo paused, "that's just it... I don't know. I've never had more than a glassfull..."
Rosaria smirked, "I guess we'll find out. I wonder what kind of drunk you are."
"Huh?"
"Well, Kaeya is all crazy for a few hours and then just, all of a sudden, is very sad. I typically just feel like I'm in a daze. And Venti... well, I'm sure you can imagine."
Albedo smiled, "I just hope I don't do anything stupid..."
Rosaria shrugged, "with your temperament, I wouldn't think so, but who knows?" She took a large drink before refilling her glass, "cheers."
Albedo touched the edge of his cup with hers, "cheers." He smiled as they both drank.
Soon after, Kaeya did wake up. He was upset that they were having a party without him, but also said he didn't want to drink.
"Hm? Why not?" Rosaria asked, her eyes pretty heavy already, "coz you wanna see what Albedo's like when-"
"Rosaria, I think you've had enough..." Kaeya took her cup away, "why are you drinking anyways?"
"She said it would keep me warm," Albedo drummed his fingers on his cup, "which is true... I am warmer."
Kaeya rolled his eyes, "okay, back to bed, please."
Rosaria grumbled as she sealed the bottle, which was now almost empty, and crawled back into bed.
Kaeya looked Albedo up and down, "are you alright?"
Albedo nodded tiredly, "mhm... why?..."
"I just didn't think you liked to drink," Kaeya said.
Albedo nodded, "I don't... but it put Rosaria in a good mood, so I wasn't about to protest."
Kaeya chuckled, "that makes sense."
Albedo quickly drank what was left in his cup, "Rosaria told me that you get loud when you're drink."
"Is... that all she told you?" Kaeya asked worriedly.
"Is there something else I should know?" Albedo asked.
Kaeya paused, "not... necessarily... I'm just surprised she didn't want to tease me..."
"Well, she also said that you get sad, too... but that's understandable. I don't feel the most emotionally stable right now, either..."
Kaeya spoke quietly as he put everything off to the side, "she teases me about how touchy I am when I'm... sad like that..."
Albedo stared at him for a moment. "You just want to be held."
"Hm? No, holding you is my job," Kaeya chuckled, ignoring the realization he just had.
Albedo shook his head, "everyone deserves to be comforted..." He scooted backwards to lean against the bed frame, then he held his arms out to Kaeya.
"I told you that isn't..." Kaeya looked away as he felt his face get warm. He really hoped Albedo wouldn't remember this in the morning...
Albedo opened and closed his hands, beckoning Kaeya over.
Kaeya reluctantly shuffled over and sat next to him, "besides, I'm bigger, so-"
Albedo shushed him, putting his arms around Kaeya, "I don't ever get to pay you back for all you do for me..."
Kaeya leaned his head on Albedo's shoulder, "I really..."
"Shh," Albedo raked his fingers through Kaeya's hair, "I know... and I promise I'll be fine. You won't loose me, Kaeya. Once I complete the puzzle the being will be released into the next life... Or, that's my working theory right now. It doesn't have a definite form, so that makes me think it can't remember what it used to be..."
Kaeya chuckled, "even while drunk you're being philosophical."
"I wouldn't say I'm drunk... I still feel pretty... sort of light headed..."
Kaeya rolled his eyes, "mhm. That's not a good thing."
"I mean... what's the word?... Clear. Clear headed... That's how I feel..." Albedo nodded to himself.
Kaeya blew air out his nose, "alright. You've warmed up. Back to bed."
Albedo sighed heavily, "I don't want to get up..."
"We aren't even a centimeter away," he knocked on the bed frame.
Albedo groaned quietly, "but I don't want to get up..."
"Then I guess I'll just have to pick you up," Kaeya stood.
Albedo frowned, "but it's my turn to hold you right now..."
"Your turn is over," Kaeya chuckled as he lifted Albedo into his arms and laid him down in bed, "first thing tomorrow, we're all bathing."
"But you like the wine smell..." Albedo couldn't keep his eyes open.
"I do. Just... Rosaria tends to sweat a lot when she drinks."
Rosaria grumbled loudly, but no one could understand what she said.
Kaeya giggled quietly as he climbed into bed, "goodnight, Albedo."
Albedo gently grabbed onto Kaeya's arm, "goodnight..."

Albedo woke up late in the morning, even Rosaria was awake, albeit not very much. She was leaning on the wall in a dazed state.
Kaeya chuckled as he handed her a cup, "come on, drink up."
"But it tastes so bad..." she stuck her tongue out.
"Do you want to sober up or not?" He forced it into her hands.
Albedo just watched. He dreaded the idea of drinking that if even Rosaria didn't like it...
Kaeya turned around and smiled as he walked over to Albedo, "morning,"
Albedo sighed heavily, mumbling his reply.
Kaeya sat down beside him, "come on, I need you to get sober, too."
"But I wasn't even that drunk..." Albedo reasoned quietly.
Kaeya gave him a playful smile, "do you even remember what happened last night?"
Albedo's eyes went wide, fear forming in his stomach, "I didn't do anything stupid, did I...?"
Kaeya laughed, "nothing stupid! You only said what was on your mind."
That didn't help explain at all. Albedo sat up, letting the blankets fall off of him, "then why did you say it like that...?"
Kaeya rolled his eyes, "I just wanted to see how you would react."
Rosaria scoffed from her place, "just admit you wanted to make him blush."
"I did not," Kaeya folded his arms.
Albedo swung his legs over the edge, carefully speaking, "what did you give Rosaria?..."
"Don't worry," Kaeya chuckled, "it's not as bad as she says. It's just mint, fizzy water, and coffee."
"That doesn't sound good..."
"It's not supposed to," Kaeya smiled as he pulled Albedo up to stand with him.
After Albedo drank an awful cup of Kaeya's concoction, Kaeya ushered everyone out to take ice baths because "Rosaria smelled awful and Albedo hadn't bathed since the accident so he didn't smell that good, either".
Rosaria was grumbling to herself all the way there and all throughout her bath. It seemed it would be a while before she was completely sober...
Albedo, on the other hand, seemed to be recovering quiet well. Although, he looked like he was constantly about to fall asleep. But maybe that wasn't just because of the alcohol.
"Are you sure there isn't anything I can do?" Kaeya asked.
Albedo shook his head, "there's nothing. I'm sure once I give back its other half it'll take this back."
Kaeya was surprised by how sure he sounded, "but..."
"Don't worry," Albedo smiled, or, tried his best to smile. He was still feeling a bit drowsy, "I know what to do."
There was a quiet voice far off in the distance that Albedo swore he heard say, "you know what you need to do."
Kaeya looked at him for a long moment, "okay... I believe you."
"Thank you," Albedo squeezed his hand before going to take his own bath.
Kaeya hated to let Albedo out of his sight and had been thinking about this moment all night. He was still so torn about it. He wanted to make sure Albedo was safe, but... his presence in this situation may be unwelcome.
Albedo seemed to notice his hesitation in letting go, "what is it?"
"It's..." Kaeya looked around for an excuse that wasn't the truth.
"Oh," Albedo dropped his eyes, "Uhm..." He nervously ran his fingers together, feeling the texture of his gloves, "This is a problem, isn't it...?"
"Well, it's not like you can just skip this..." Kaeya said quietly. Then he added hurriedly, "but- but I don't want to go with you if-"
"I- I think it would be okay," Albedo said quickly.
"Oh my archons! Just go bathe! It's freezing out here and I want to go back!!!" Rosaria placed her hands firmly on their backs and pushed them towards the small lake.
It would be an understatement to say their boots dug into the ground in an attempt to avoid this.
It wasn't like they hadn't been mostly undressed around each other before... this was just... different...
Needless to say, it was a rather awkward time for them both. Albedo's lips were pursed so hard in tension that he felt like they were going to bruise. Kaeya just couldn't relax or focus on anything. His eyes kept wandering towards Albedo so he couldn't exactly keep an eye out for any threats.
And there was one singular thought they both shared with blushing faces, "why is he so sparkly?!"