Finding The Real You - Kaebedo

Chapter XXII - Trust.

Kaeya poured a glass for each of them, taking extra care in not pouring Albedo as much as he did for himself.

"Cheers?"

Kaeya held up his glass, waiting for Albedo to do the same. Albedo's brain seemed to be loading while trying to figure out what to do, but as expected, he copied Kaeya.

"Cheers."

Kaeya clinked his glass together with Albedo's, then took a sip. He let himself relish in the taste of it, savouring every last drop of the sip. Albedo just gulped it all down, and ended up coughing before he could finish, resulting in what remained in his mouth to be sprayed all over the table.

Kaeya threw his hands up and jumped away from the table, quickly glancing around for something to clean up the mess before laying his eyes on one of the kitchen towels.

Albedo suddenly realised what he was doing and attempted to apologise through his prolonged coughing fit, until he gave up after not even getting a simple 'sorry' out.

By now Kaeya was already cleaning up the mess while Albedo was still unable to suppress his coughing. He could feel a small portion of the drink going up his nose and he regretted his decision to ever consume any of the cocktail.

"Why must we drink for this?"

Albedo covered his mouth with his forearm in embarrassment, his question seemed to be an attempt at concealing his shame but he was also somewhat curious too.

"Why not? Is there ever a situation where wine is inappropriate?"

"Yes Kaeya."

"Well I'm sure we can enjoy some wine while we discuss these situations?"

Albedo sighed in annoyance, but it was hard to not give in to the urge to drink more.

"I.. Suppose it wouldn't be an issue."

Albedo changed his position, resting his head on his right palm. He was starting to feel tired already, and he just wanted to get it over with, no matter how important it was.

"I mean we could do it later of course, after you've healed?"

Albedo stared at the wooden table, wondering if Kaeya just wanted to open up or if the information was actually important. He would've welcomed both, but he wasn't sure how to act if Kaeya was just opening up. Should he comfort him? Only listen to it? Address the situations? It was obvious that his past wasn't the best, but that only made more decisions for Albedo.

"Sorry."

Kaeya was rightfully confused at this response, what did Albedo have to be sorry about? Almost dying?

"What do you mean? You've done nothing wrong?"

He tried to say it like a statement, but it came out like a question. Was he questioning whether Albedo did something wrong or not? But if it was an apology towards him, then Albedo had nothing to apologise about.

Albedo moved his arm once again and rested his head in his arms, he couldn't be bothered to speak. He was so lively just a minute ago, why was he so lethargic now?

"Alright, alright I get the point. Do you want me to take you to bed then?"

Albedo mumbled a response that was probably along the lines of just 'Yes.', Before standing up and sluggishly attempting to walk to his bedroom.

Once Albedo stood up Kaeya practically shot up and rushed to his side, catching him before he could stumble and fall.

"How about you just let me carry you? Walking surely can't be safe in your condition."

With a small grunt, Kaeya picked up Albedo, scooping him off his legs. Every time this happened Albedo would be left stunned at Kaeya's physical capability. Sure he was a knight and all and he had to go through intensive training, but for someone who did seemingly nothing all day... Albedo was well and truly impressed.

"I can walk, and I believe that it is best I try to return to my former lifestyle. I am not human, I shouldn't be treated as such. My wounds heal quicker, and my imjuries won't have as much of an effect on me than it would on humans."

Kaeya shushed Albedo and laid him on his bed but still kept him over the covers. Albedo's hair fell over his face, but still managed to frame it and not block any of the beautiful features on his face.

"Alright then, is there anything else you need?"

Kaeya was trying to be nice, as if he didn't just listen to a short lecture on why he shouldn't be nice.

"For you to stop treating me like I'm fragile."

"Point taken." Kaeya paused for a little while, wondering whether this was an acceptable request or not. "Do I at least get to stay? It's not like you're getting out of bed on your own."

Albedo groaned at that, trying to figure out what he should answer with. A simple 'Sure.' would be okay, but what if it's viewed as him being annoyed?

"You may do as you please."

That was enough for Kaeya to start mentally celebrating.

He disappeared, and in a single second reappeared except this time with a chair he had dragged out from the kitchen. He was happy, Albedo was happy, aside from their current situation, everything was going well.

"Would now be a bad time to ask for the story?"

The sentence was unexpected, but Kaeya was happy to oblige.

"Are you going to treat my past as a bedtime story? How audacious."

He ended his sentence with a huff for comedic effect. Was it for comedic effect? He couldn't be bothered to figure out riddles at that moment.

"Maybe, maybe not."

Albedo spoke with a slight chuckle, Kaeya's life seemed to improve then and there. What did he do to deserve Albedo? Making his life better in one simple laugh..

"Okay but were you actually tired, or were you just bored of sitting in a chair?"

Albedo rolled from his side onto his back, clearly thinking about the question.

"Maybe both, maybe none, I just find this more enjoyable." Albedo then rolled back to face Kaeya and used his arm as a pillow for his head. "Now, storytime?"

Kaeya smiled, and he let it creep into his voice. How could something so scarring be turned into a simple bedtime story? He wasn't sure how to make the transition, but he'd do something about it for Albedo.

They talked until evening, somehow laughing over the sad parts. Neither of them knew where this was going until Kaeya announced the end of his story and Albedo decided to sleep.

Once Albedo went quiet and his breaths became more relaxed Kaeya realised how lonely he'd be without him. He scooted his chair closer to Albedo's side, and he rested his head on his arms, like Albedo had done that morning. His arms rested on the bed, close to Albedo's abdomen but still not touching.

Kaeya reflected on that day, before joining Albedo in sleep.

:)

Sorry for my disappearance, this chapter also could've been released yesterday but I was struggling with it. The reason it wasn't released yesterday was because I didn't write much in the morning and I was quite tired since I fixed my time schedule, and it would just be satisfying to update on the update schedule instead of a day early or five days late. Lately, I've found it hard to stay focused while writing but I think I found a fix to that, so have a nice day then. :)

Word count - 1164