After the school day ended, Albedo speedily walked home.
Alice, his mother, called prior to warn Albedo that she'd be leaving Klee alone for ten minutes before Albedo got home, she had an unexpected work meeting to attend, so she left the responsibility of Klee to Albedo. Obviously, after what had happened earlier, Kaeya was still on Albedo's mind, and it had him thinking if Klee would like Kaeya.
What if Albedo invited Kaeya over? When they got closer, perhaps. Albedo brushed his thoughts aside as he unlocked the front door, walking into a bouncing Klee, "Big brother Albedo!" She giggled, twirling around to wrap her arms around his legs, she was still quite small for her age.
"Hello, Klee." Albedo took the opportunity to fix Klee's pigtails, "Are you hungry?"
She finally let go, stepping back, "Hmmm... Mom made food already, but can I have apple sauce? Pleaaaase?"
Albedo giggled and sighed, leaving Klee to run to the couch, he took the jar of apple sauce from the fridge. With some struggle, he opened the lid, leaving the sauce to sit for a bit.
That was until Albedo heard a notification from his phone. That was odd, he didn't have any social media and the only people who had his number were family and Sucrose, and she didn't get home yet nor ever text him.
Albedo reached for his phone, clicking the screen to see a message from a number he hadn't saved.
'hey! :)'
Albedo stared at the message in confusion, slowly typing out a hesitant reply.
'Hi? Who's this?'
A few replies came soon after.
'formal over text, too? its kaeya'
'i got your number from sucrose'
Albedo's eyebrows furrowed, Sucrose never gave his number away, Albedo could only guess that Kaeya must've hit on Sucrose to get this information out of her, he sighed and put his phone back into his pocket.
Albedo reached up, taking a plastic bowl and then digging in the drawer for a spoon of the same material, he knew he couldn't make Klee wait any longer. He put some of the apple sauce in a bowl, walking over to hand it over.
"Yaaay! Thank you!" Klee gratefully accepted, leaving Albedo with his thoughts once again.
Ding
Was that him again?
Albedo involuntarily checked, noticing it was in fact a message from Kaeya, again.
'no reply?'
He bit his lip and typed back.
'How did you convince Sucrose?'
...
'i just asked, do you really think i pulled something weird?'
'I suppose not.'
Albedo nearly put his phone away again, although Kaeya seemed insanely persistent to hold the conversation, Albedo thought that, at least.
'wanna hang out sometime?'
...What? Albedo thought he was joking at first, he wondered if Kaeya would just stand him up, he was well known and had all these friends, yet he was asking to hang out with Albedo? He gave it a thought, he might as well see what Kaeya's personality is all about, he only really knew him for his looks.
'Okay.'
'are you free tomorrow? we can go and get coffee at 12, perhaps go to the local?'
Albedo glanced toward the calendar, tomorrow was Saturday. He could definitely do that, and Alice would be very happy to see him finally out with friends that weren't Sucrose for once. Looking back at his phone, he smiled to himself.
'Sure.'
He put the device away - just in time, too. Klee was now staring at him expectedly, wanting him to change the channel as the cartoons she had been watching had finished. Albedo hadn't even noticed that she'd been watching anything, he was so distracted.
He picked up the remote and turned on a different kids' show, also cleaning up the bowl from Klee's view. It was then that Alice came back.
Albedo turned to look at her in slight surprise, "I was expecting you to come back later, did something happen?"
"The client had eaten something bad the day before, supposedly. He had to leave the meeting earlier than anticipated," She sighed. "You were okay with Klee, right?"
Albedo nodded, "Of course I was, also, could I go and get some coffee with a friend tomorrow?" He tended to ask Alice for permission for these things, it was out of habit from when he was younger.
Alice laughed, "Albedo, you know you don't need to ask for my permission. Just let me know and go, is this with Sucrose?" She leaned against the living room doorway, watching Klee every now and then.
"No, it's a new friend." He received a surprised look, "His name is Kaeya."
"Kaeya?" She gasped, "As in the Ragnvindr boy? He's quite a find."
"A find?" Albedo raised an eyebrow, he knew all about the past of Kaeya's family and the importance of his last name, but he hadn't expected his own mother to be in on the action as well.
Alice smiled, "His family is filthy rich, he goes to your school?" She asked, Albedo humming in agreement, "I would've expected him to go somewhere expensive and fancy... Have you met Diluc?"
"No, I've heard his name but I think he keeps to himself a lot more. Kaeya is the one with the confidence."
Alice sighed, "Diluc used to be so cheery, it's a shame Crepus passed."
The conversation ended suddenly, Albedo walking over to give her a quick hug before heading upstairs.
--------
Albedo had slept in, as he usually does on weekends, although he was up and running just after the clock hit eleven in the morning. He didn't want to be late, Albedo had the amazing skill of either being ten minutes early or exactly on time.
He stared at himself in the mirror as he combed his hair and chose out an outfit, he wondered what Kaeya would wear. Perhaps something close to his usual flashy outfits? Would he wear a tight shirt like he usually does that shows off the curves of his waist? Albedo often wondered if Kaeya wore a corset, or if he was naturally shaped like that.
Albedo put on a collared blouse, tying a tie and finishing it off with a pale sweater on top. He also added some simple black jeans underneath, he had always been told his fashion taste was decent, and so Albedo thought he might as well put effort today, considering all of these clothes he had.
Albedo didn't eat breakfast, he never did, he was out the door as soon as the time struck ten to twelve. Alice watched him walk away from the window, smiling with Klee in her arms.
The local cafe was nicely decorated, it had an arch of white flowers around the doorway, the sign glowing. Albedo walked in, the ring of the bell making a blue eye meet his immediately. Kaeya grinned at him, waving him over to the table he chose.
Albedo was surprised that Kaeya hadn't brought any of his other friends for comedic relief, Albedo thought of himself as very boring to talk to, considering not a lot of people hung around him. "Albedo, I'm glad you came."
The blond sat down opposite Kaeya in the booth, being met with a vase of those same white flowers that decorated the rest of the cafe. "Thank you for inviting me."
"Of course, I figured that I might as well get to know you properly." His fingers tapped on the wooden table, "I like your outfit."
Albedo quickly scanned Kaeya's own outfit at that comment, Kaeya wore a v-neck blue jumper although his jewelry made the outfit stand out, and so did the slight peek of a collar from under the blue. Albedo couldn't see the rest, but he smiled anyway. "Thank you, I like yours too."
Kaeya giggled before the waitress trotted over, she politely handed them menus and left, Kaeya spoke up after giving the woman a charming grin, "What are you thinking about getting?"
Albedo hadn't even made a single thought yet, feeling rushed, he made a random choice, "Um, coffee?" He immediately felt like slapping himself.
Kaeya laughed, looking into his eyes before looking down at his menu. "I figured, any specific type you'd like?"
"Um... I like sweet things..." Kaeya mentally noted that, "Maybe something with caramel in it?"
"Ah, so you like candy and those sorts of things?"
Albedo hummed, "I go to the bakery and get their meringues pretty often, however the walk is long and the weather has been a lot warmer lately."
"Tell me about it," Kaeya chuckled. "I melt on my bed after a long day out."
This made Albedo crack a smile, something that Kaeya would pretty much pay to see constantly, did Albedo wear lip balm, or were his lips naturally that pink? "What are you going to order?"
"Hmm, I'll get just a regular coffee I think, and I assume you'd want the caramel latte?" With a nod, Kaeya took their menus and placed them to the side. He ordered as soon as he caught sight of the waitress. "So, what have you been doing recently?"
"Homework... And sketching. What about you?" Albedo wasn't willing to disclose what he had been drawing exactly, of course it was all of Kaeya, even if he tried to tell himself to stop. Albedo was actually pretty into alchemy and science, although he wasn't willing to tell anyone unless they asked, considering he'd ramble on for a while.
"Is that all?" Kaeya tilted his head, "I'm a good listener if you'd want to talk about a certain interest."
Could he read minds?
"I'd bore you, it's okay."
He frowned, "No, no. I'm willing. I asked you to hang out to get to know you, did I not?"
Albedo bit his lip nervously. "Okay... I like alchemy and science," He began, "Oh, and do you know about the constellations?"
"The things Mona always talks about?"
"Yeah. I draw them from memory," Albedo raised his sleeve to show his entire hand, "I drew this one yesterday, apparently, it hasn't wiped off yet."
Kaeya started in fascination before taking Albedo's hand into his own, his eyes carefully inspected each small detail, Kaeya found it so impressive how many details Albedo could fit into one shape. "This is so cool, do you think you'd want to have a future with this? You're insanely talented."
"I don't know what I want to do with my future yet... Thank you, by the way." Albedo was about to stop talking entirely, until:
"What about the alchemy and science?"
He felt his face warm up at the fact that Kaeya sounded genuinely interested, others would usually never ask or show any interest at all. "I'm still learning about alchemy so I don't have a lot to say about that... I'm a bit more into biology."
The silence encouraged him.
"Marine biology, as well. I'd want to go out for a weekend one day to do a trial test of marine biology if that's a thing. Wildlife really captures my interest, I draw it a lot, it's my favorite thing to paint." Albedo only just noticed that Kaeya still hadn't dropped his hand, his cold fingers felt safe in such a warm embrace, so he didn't mention it.
"I tend to draw things I find pretty."
"My rings are pretty?" Kaeya teased.
"Your hands are pretty..." Albedo mumbled under his breath, Kaeya smiled to himself and ushered Albedo to keep talking - but before he could, their drinks were placed in front of them.
Albedo carefully slid his drink towards him, quietly blowing on the liquid and watching as it rippled with his breath, he could feel the heat mirroring back to him.
Kaeya took a sip of his drink fairly quickly, "Albedo, the drink isn't that hot, it's okay to sip."
Albedo wasn't sure if he should trust him on that or not, although he took the risk and realized that Kaeya was in fact correct. The caramel flavor immediately swirled on his tongue and even the foam of the drink was incredibly sweet. "Do you like it?" He hadn't even noticed that Kaeya was watching him.
"Yeah, how's yours?"
Kaeya partially ignored his question, suggesting a more physical answer. "Would you like to try it?"
Albedo hesitantly nodded, the mug was lifted to his lips, still in Kaeya's grip, he perfectly poured the liquid into Albedo's mouth as soon as his lips touched it, Albedo's face powdered a light pink, and he swallowed some before Kaeya tilted the mug back up - retreating.
Why did that feel so intimate?
"Do you like it?" He asked.
Albedo didn't know if Kaeya was referring to the drink or how he was served, although it was a "Yes," to both.
The flavor was fairly strong compared to Albedo's drink, even if it was just a regular. It wasn't something that Albedo would order personally, however, he'd drink it if he was given it. Kaeya smiled as he sat back, placing his coffee back onto the table in a swift move.
The air went silent, Albedo sipped on his own coffee slowly as the taste of sugary caramel relieved his taste buds again.
Kaeya looked lost in thought, his smile long gone off his face, Albedo felt himself sweat slightly, flinching when a glass from the other end of the cafe dropped and shattered. It seemed to scare Kaeya too, as their eyes met once again.
"Are you free again tomorrow?" Kaeya asked.
Albedo's eyebrows went up in shock for a second before dropping, no one apart from Sucrose had asked him to hang out again. "I think... I'll check my calendar when I get home and send you a message."
"You still use an actual calendar?" Kaeya grinned, "You're so old-fashioned and formal, it's cute."
Albedo nearly spat out his drink.
"Ah, um. I do use a calendar, it's easier for me... I don't use my phone much."
"You should use it more, I like talking to you."
Albedo's stomach twisted and turned, what was Kaeya doing to him?! He had the idea that Kaeya most likely did this with everyone he knew, so Albedo tried his best to not let it bother him.
He wasn't even sure where he got the idea that Kaeya was flirty, he just assumed that about everyone who was attractive.
Kaeya took the last sip of his coffee, and so did Albedo. Kaeya spoke up before the blond could, "I'm paying."
"What? No."
"I invited you out, it's only fair." Kaeya waved the waitress over. "Invite me out after tomorrow and you can pay if you're so insistent." He giggled, implying that he knew Albedo wasn't that confident to ask.
"Okay..."
-----
After that, Kaeya walked him home, secretly memorizing the path to surprise Albedo tomorrow. Kaeya was willing to take Albedo to another place, maybe for a walk, although Albedo claimed to have homework to do.
They waved bye to each other before Kaeya left, Albedo entered the house to a Klee with lots of questions.