The Chalk Prince (Kaebedo)

Chapter IX: Albedo

Kaeya woke up to someone jumping on him. They pushed on his chest and grumbled. A finger poked at his cheek before something knocked on his head.

The captain groaned and tried pushing the person off of him, but they wouldn't budge, hooking their legs around his torso and making a noise of annoyance.

"Okay, okay, I'm up..." Kaeya yawned as they tried to pry open one of his eyes. He opened them to only find the blond boy sitting on top of him, looking down with an irritated expression.

"Good morning to you too..." The bluenette said sarcastically and sat up to stretch.

He picked the boy up and sat him back down on the bed before getting up and opening the curtains, letting the morning sun shine through.

This amazed the boy, who crawled to the edge of the bed slowly to stare out of the window.

Kaeya picked him up once more and brought him closer. The blond rested his hands against the glass and pressed his face as close as he could to it while still being able to see the city.

His hands created fog and the boy inspected it with amazement and curiosity. Kaeya stood and watched in awe, before pulling him away from the window and bringing him into the bathroom, which was attached to the side of the bedroom.

The boy tucked himself back into the captain's chest, closing his eyes slightly, basking in the warmth Kaeya radiated.

"Let's wash your hair, shall we?" The bluenette said and placed the boy on the counter. He swung his legs lightly as Kaeya brushed a hand through the boy's knotty hair.

It was long and almost matted from years of being in the dirty cage. The captain didn't know if he could brush through it. He might need to cut some of it off.

Taking a brush out of a drawer, he brought it up to the boy's head. He straightened his back and paused his swinging legs, breathing slowing as he eyes the brush.

Tears strung to the corner of his eyes and he felt as if he wasn't breathing. He didn't even need to breath in the first place, but his throat closed up and he got uncomfortable. His heart pounded in his false chest.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kaeya asked gently and put the brush down.

The boy couldn't tell him. He would get mad and hurt him. Just like his mother and the man had.

He just shook his head. He didn't even know what he was scared of. The thing Kaeya had held up made him nervous.

"It won't hurt you, I promise. Look." The captain picked up the brush again and combed his hair with it. He smiled at the boy who watched him. "See? It doesn't hurt."

He reached out and took the brush from the bluenette, inspecting it before brushing Kaeya's hair just like he had done seconds prior.

The boy pulled it away again to look at the wooden bristles, lightly running his finger over them.

He gave it back to Kaeya with a nod. "Can I brush your hair now?" The boy nodded again, but closed his eyes when the brush was brought to his hair again.

Kaeya worked expertly on the knots, knowing how Klee had cried her eyes out when Alice was brushing her hair when she was younger.

He eventually hit bigger knots though, and decided to leave them to cut them out later.

Once the boy's hair was... Close to being fully brushed out, Kaeya brought out scissors from the same drawer the brush was in.

He took a breath and showed them to the boy. He gasped and tried shuffling back. "I know, I know. They look scary." Kaeya placed them a bit away to hug the boy and calm him down.

"They won't hurt you. I would never hurt you on purpose, okay? You've been though a lot and I know you're scared, but you need to be brave for me." Kaeya ran a hand through the boy's hair, still thick with grease and filthy with dirt.

He felt the boy nod against his chest, hands clutching his night clothes.

Kaeya pulled away after some time and grabbed the scissors again. The blond boy flinched but stayed put, grabbing his pants and balling his fists. He squeezed his eyes shut.

The captain snipped the edges of the blond hair, cutting out the knots and trimmed the splitting ends.

The boy slowly peaked an eye open when he heard the satisfying noises the scissors made when Kaeya cut the hair. It wasn't hurting him, so it must be safe?

He watched the hair fall onto the counter and floor in awe. His mother had never cut his hair before.

Kaeya finished quickly and put down the scissors. "I think we should wash your hair." He said , voicing his thoughts. He turned around to the bath and started the water, spinning the temperature dial to hot.

As the bath filled, Kaeya talked to the boy who either nodded or shook his head to the questions. The captain and the boy shared quiet conversations and mindless laughter.

Kaeya began to undress the blond, not wanting the night clothes to get wet, asking for permission to do so first of course.

Once the boy was stripped of all his clothing, Kaeya tried not to stare at the too-many scares that littered his body. They ranged from big to small, with one giant one on his side. He could tell the boy was getting uncomfortable as he started to squirm and fidget, looking curiously at the captain and then looking down at himself to see what was wrong.

Kaeya blinked and then smiled. He picked the boy up and brought him over to the tub now full of warm water.

The blond clung to him once he realized they were walking towards the bath. "It's okay. It's nice. Nothing will hurt you." Kaeya said sincerely. He let the boy wiggle out of his grasp, only holding him under the arms so he didn't collapse.

He dipped his foot in the water before pulling it out quickly and looking at Kaeya for guidance.

"Yeah, just like that. It's okay, I'm here." He whispered. The boy looked down to the water and dipped a toe in before stepping in fully.

He eventually sat down after a lot of coaxing from Kaeya. The blond pulled his knees up to his chest and put his chin on them.

In silence, Kaeya leaned over the side of the tube with a soap-filled wash cloth and started running it over the boy's back. He sighed and leaned into the captain's side.

Kaeya washed him softly, scrubbing his hair and rinsing it. He was surprised to find that the boy's hair was actually more vibrant that it was before, now that all the dirt was out.

The captain dried him off with a fluffy towel, wrapping it around his wet hair once his body was dry and dressed.

"Prince." The boy said suddenly and pointed to the book Kaeya had read to him the night before.

"Not right now. We need to meet some people." Kaeya said as he dressed himself, slightly surprised at the demand.

"Prince!"

Kaeya gave him a look before saying no again.

"Prince!"

And then Kaeya thought of something.

A name.

"Albedo." He accidentally said out loud. The boy cocked his head at the word. "You need a name." Kaeya explained. "It's Khaenri'an for 'Prince'"

"Al... Beedo...?"

"No no, Al-be-do, Albedo."

The boy just smiled at him. "Albedo!" He said.

-

HI GUYS!! Omg this is so late but I hope this was wholesome enough lmao. I had trouble with homework and tests BUT ITS FINALLY DONE!!

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