start over / kaebedo

4

A/N: tysm for those who enjoy this book so far and sorry for this chapter being late, this week has been a blur tbh, also short chap kinda 

The next morning, Kaeya hadn't received a text on whether Albedo was free or not. He decided he'd walk down to the bakery, and get something sweet for Albedo, a nice surprise.

With a small bag of meringues, the colors similar to those in Albedo's eyes, Kaeya did the walk from his house to the blonds. The walk might be long, but it certainly didn't feel long; he was pumped to see Albedo again, he really was excited to get closer to Albedo.

He raised his hand to knock on the door, the wood slightly hurting his knuckles as he knocked. The door didn't take long to open, Kaeya saw a blonde, but not the one he was expecting. She was small, a small bundle of red with a grin of a child.

"Ah, now who might you be?" Kaeya leaned down to her level, careful to not dirty his knees or crease his shoes.

She twirled around slightly, "My name's Klee! What's your name?" 

"Kaeya. I'm one of Albedo's friends, is he here?"

Klee nodded enthusiastically, running inside to find her big brother. Kaeya took this time to get back on his feet and appreciate the wall inside the house that was painted with flowers and leaves, the colors bloomed and Kaeya could only assume that Albedo had painted that. The paint strokes were similar to his pencil strokes.

He didn't get too much of a look before a familiar figure approached him, a notebook in his hand. "Hey, Albedo." Kaeya smiled.

"Kaeya, what are you doing here?" Albedo noticed the paper bag in Kaeya's grasp, which was quickly moved closer to him. He hesitantly accepted the gift.

"I didn't get a text from you yesterday clarifying if you were free or not, so I thought I'd drop by and give you a sweet something to start your day." Kaeya leaned against the doorway slightly, "So, you free?"

Albedo blinked in surprise, his fingers moving to open the bag and take a peek, he saw meringues of all shades of blue - he thought he recognized the colors from somewhere but couldn't pinpoint where. "Thank you..." He glanced back up at Kaeya, "You didn't have to."

He knew he had a lot of chemistry studying to do, they both literally had a chemistry exam the next day with about twenty units to cover. Didn't Kaeya have to study as well? "I'm free under one condition."

"Yeah?"

"We go to the library and study together. We have an exam tomorrow." Kaeya bit his lip at that, he definitely had forgotten, he nodded nether the less.

"Of course, whatever you'd like. We can go now if you'd want."

"That would be great," And with that, Kaeya put a hand out. Albedo stared at it in confusion before Kaeya giggled and manually grabbed his hand - checking for any signs of disapproval, which he did not find as he intertwined their fingers. "Oh, um. Let's go then," He sheepishly spat out before closing the door awkwardly with his spare hand that still had the notebook in and walking with Kaeya towards the library.

The walk there was just a few turns on the street, Albedo was blessed to live near the library, much to Kaeya's disappointment as he'd want to share this embrace for longer.

Albedo began thinking to himself again, something he'd grown incredibly used to as he'd block out everyone else during it. What were Kaeya's intentions with this? Was he just messing Albedo or was he looking for a genuine relationship? Albedo frowned, assuming he was being played.

The walk was silent and short, they got there within no time. 

Albedo's mouth dried when he entered and saw Kaeya's friends at one of the library tables. He assumed Kaeya would immediately drop his hand, act as if nothing was going on... Was anything happening between them? Albedo nearly spiraled into his headspace of thoughts although he was knocked out of it by Kaeya simply walking ahead, not dropping his hand for even a second.

Albedo was slightly dragged behind, and he could feel eyes on him. He didn't even need to look before he knew it was Kaeya's group, Albedo was expecting to be invited to their table to be ridiculed or laughed at.

However, Kaeya just waved at them before walking past, surprisingly taking Albedo to a different table. Their hands finally took a part as they sat down.

"Did you even bring your own notebook?" Albedo asked.

Kaeya giggled, "No... I wasn't expecting a study... Hangout." He chose his words carefully, "I can just read over the textbooks, though. I already did some studying last night."

"You did?" Albedo wasn't expecting that for some reason.

"Yeah? You don't think I'm a brainless idiot, do you?"

The blond let a smile slip, "Of course not."

Kaeya let out a dramatic gasp, "You do!" He pouted, "How mean of you..."

"You know I don't feel that way about you." Albedo kept his smile for once, putting his notebook down on the table before flipping through the pages to find where he left off, he'd have to find a chemistry book somewhere in this library as well.

"How do you feel about me then, Albedo?" Kaeya slyly grinned, leaning forward.

Albedo's book antics came to a pause. "Um... You're... Funny and kind?" He didn't know what to say. Kaeya laughed quietly.

"Is that all?"

"We should get to studying..." Albedo broke the thread, Kaeya smiling to himself before relaxing back into his chair again. "I'll find a chemistry book, wait here."

And with that, Albedo promptly left to search the library shelves. Kaeya took a sneaky look at the other boy's notes, his eyebrows raising at how fancy Albedo wrote, it was like a word font that people would use for titles and to mimic the handwriting they wanted. Kaeya thought about if Albedo had perhaps practiced that handwriting, trying his best to perfect it and maybe show it off? Kaeya wouldn't mind receiving a letter of some sort from him, he just needed that as a souvenir. 

Kaeya looked up in time to see Albedo walking back with a few different books, he dropped them on the table and took his seat again. "I found these, I made sure to pick one that is mainly for reading for you." Albedo pushed said book towards his friend, "I could also send you a picture of my notes when I get home, if you'd want them for reference."

Kaeya smiled at his consideration, although he then frowned at the offer. "I don't want to seem like the guy who uses you for notes, I appreciate it but no thank you," His fingers skimmed the cover of the book, "Besides, searching for a specific book for me is more than enough, thank you."

Albedo turned his head away, "That's very thoughtful of you, and you're welcome."

They spent the next hour in comfortable silence with a few occasional words exchanged, Albedo wrote and wrote, Kaeya read and read. Even when Kaeya had finished his book, he still acted to be reading to steal glances from the blond.

He thought the other's concentrating expression was cute. His eyebrows slightly furrowed, his bottom lip being occasionally bit on, and his eyes were fixated on the sentences and paragraphs labeling the diagrams in the book. Albedo finally closed his books after another ten minutes had zoomed past. "Are you done reading?"

"Yes." Kaeya breathed out when aqua eyes met his, it wasn't the first time although, after an hour of no eye contact with the person next to him, it shocked Kaeya to his core. "Can I treat you to a coffee? Same place as yesterday?"

Albedo immediately had flashbacks to how Kaeya had shared his drink with him, the taste and Kaeya's warmth swarming his head again. He nodded, "Can I pay this time?"

"Absolutely not."

Albedo frowned, "Why? You paid last time."

Kaeya stood up, "I said if you want to pay, you have to invite me to the place. I offered you coffee, so I pay."

"But-"

Kaeya's hand slid onto Albedo's, which was still on the table. "I'm paying." 

"...Okay."