Finding The Real You - Kaebedo

Chapter I - A Visit From The Cavalry Captain

"Well hello there, Chief Alchemist. What do you happen to be doing now?"

"Waiting for you, dear Cavalry Captain."

Is the answer Kaeya fantasized about. But instead of an Albedo waiting patiently for him, he was met with an "Experiment in progress" sign and an Albedo that was purely focused on his work.

He spoke the line that he'd repeatedly rehearsed in his mind, but instead of the sweet answer he was hoping for, he was met with a cold tone, hinting annoyance.

"Kaeya, you are interrupting my work. What do you need me for?"

"Is it wrong of me to just check up on our Chief Alchemist every once in a while?"

Albedo hummed in thought, carefully forming his next sentence.

"I suppose not, but this seems out of character for you. Coming all the way up here just to check up on me seems a little unnecessary."

Kaeya sighed in defeat, finding nothing to say to this before Albedo started speaking again.

"So, do you have any ulterior motives? I still can't seem to find why you'd come up here out of the blue with no reason, only to stare at me.." Albedo's voice seemed to falter at the end of the sentence, probably still a little confused with Kaeya.

Kaeya seemed to find his confidence again as he spoke in a louder tone than what he expected, he even seemed a little excited, but he quickly realized and covered it up after clearing his throat.

"So, what if I really did just want to watch you work? Would that be a problem?"

Albedo glanced in his direction, managing to miss his gaze. His eyes first lit up with surprise, followed by embarrassment at the fact that Kaeya heard his comment.

Albedo murmured a reply that Kaeya couldn't quite hear, but he wasn't being kicked out yet so he made himself comfortable on the floor, ignoring the chair that was placed a little in front of him. He leaned against the wall, earning another look from Albedo, this time confused. Kaeya seemed to read his mind, quickly replying.

"I'm comfortable on the ground, thanks. You're the one working, you should take the chair."

Albedo ignored everything he said, looking around his table for something. Everything was a mess, but he knew his way around it perfectly. His hand glided around the table almost perfectly, stopping only to pick up a piece of charcoal and bring it to his other hand where he was already holding a sketchbook. Kaeya watched him draw, wondering why he'd just decide to draw all of a sudden. But his thoughts were interrupted by Albedo placing his charcoal down and speaking a line that sounded practiced and familiar, even though Kaeya also didn't remember ever hearing it.

The drawing turned to gold on the paper, shining brilliantly. The particles fleeted into Albedo's hand, swirling in a spherical shape. This time a bright blue flashed across the room, but only for a moment, and there stood a wooden chair.

Once Albedo finished the chair he went back to his work as if he hadn't just completed some miracle. Kaeya watched in awe of his skills, almost completely forgetting about the chair too. Albedo's every breath was magical to him. The way his hair falls on his face but still remains neat..

He came back to his senses after Albedo gave him a questioning look because he was staring at him and hadn't moved to the chair yet. He scurried to the chair, trying to get Albedo's gaze off him. It felt so wrong, but he enjoyed it. It was like he wanted to be noticed but it was too much of a blessing to be acknowledged.

He inspected the chair, just to get his mind off things. As much as he liked thinking about Albedo, he couldn't let his mind wander in front of the man.

The chair was made out of wood, there was nothing indicating that it was artificial or fake at all. It was basic, but polished. It was made of pine wood, in the style of a Pine Dining Chair. It looked exactly like the other one there, and the ones sitting outside Good Hunter.

After he was satisfied with his findings he sat in the chair, awkwardly staring at Albedo. He took notice of this fact and asked about it.

"Is anything wrong?"

"Oh- I was just thinking, like you say, I'm not doing any work while being here. So would you like to explain what you're doing so that I'm learning instead of working?" He tried to say this in his regular tone, starting off weak with it and slowly building it up.

Albedo nodded, and he begun to speak in great detail about what he was doing. Before he continued on with his experiments, he explained what he had done before Kaeya had arrived, and why he did what he had done. It was quite informative to Kaeya, even though this was just second nature to Albedo.

Night soon fell upon them, cutting their time together short. Kaeya tried to bargain his way into staying a little longer, but he was kicked out by Albedo so he could "go sleep", as if that would be what he'd be doing anyway. After moping for a while, he started the long walk back to Mondstadt.

:)

A/N:

This is my first book, I hope you like it. If I made any mistakes feel free to correct me in the comments and I hope you enjoyed. :)

Word count: 895