A/N: For those of you who follow me and know I'm very behind in some of my stories, this one is already written. I just need to have it looked over (by myself, so mistakes will still show up because I know me).
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Chapter 1: One Drink too Many
Albedo didn't want to say he didn't currently want to be where he was. Right now, if he were left to his own accords, they would be to have Klee for the day while she was currently in the city itself and prone to unmentionable acts that the child somehow procured out of the most mundane means. The creativity was impressive and would have been acclaimed if the girl put it towards something other than nuclear-style conflagrations. Albeit for him to say he'd rather have the day off to himself while she was able to traverse the town while his back was turned for the merest of seconds and set off the apocalypse.
So, while he wasn't fond of his current location, there was not much that could get him to switch his role with that of Jean's, who was in his place while he was in hers.
The Knights of Favonious were not something he was all too familiar with aside from some basic formalities of names and faces that he learned when he first arrived. A few he had gotten to know rather well, Lisa included among those, when he was forced into repeated contact with her in order to get his research to move forward. Others were nothing more than chatter mouths of the most mundane nature, leaving him unsure what to do in such a social situation as well as bored.
They were having a meeting of sorts, those of the Knights that were left inside the city. Normally Jean would have and run such a gathering. What had left the woman to take on the role of watching Klee while she sent him in her place with a few notes on what to be sure of had him wondering just how far the child had gone to get her under such strict supervision for the time being. Had this encounter been able to be rescheduled, he was sure that Jean would have done so. With every Knight from every corner of Mondstadt being in attendance, he could see how such a rescheduling would be hard on all those involved- not, of course, also including himself. Due to this fact he was forced into new clothing when his was deemed unacceptable after many days of experimenting on his own and very little time to care about things such as bathing. At least the coat wasn't too big. The Knights very rarely had much in his size.
Why, of all places, they were having this meeting at one of the local bars was even more of a mystery.
Many of the Knights present, while waiting on whatever it was Jean now wanted him acting out in her place, had started drinking this or that. He doubted, with how a few of them were acting, it was anything short of alcoholic.
Albedo himself was passed a drink of some sort that had a piece of pineapple hanging off of the rim. He spoke up to try and have them send it back but that blue-haired Knight took hold of his hand when he put it in the air and leaned far too close to him for Albedo to think was normal. It wasn't as if it made him uncomfortable or anything, it was just a new occurrence.
"Listen," the man spoke in his ear, not so much a whisper as a normal conversation held in close proximity. "You're never around us. A lot of the Knights here only know your name in passing or because it's brought up when topics about alchemy or acclaim are mentioned. It's just one drink, and it's a mixed one at that. Relax a little. You've been looking over those cards in front of you for a while now. Jean told me she's having you run this meeting and I've hardly ever seen you socialize. I'll help, but only if you loosen up a bit yourself. You have a job to do here."
Albedo was hardly embarrassed or anything to speak in front of so many. While he had issues with tact and social faux pas, embarrassment was never something that came to him. It was also as if he possessed none of the traits that allowed it to exist, and yet he had a pride of his own that spoke otherwise.
"You are Kaeya, are you not? Jean wrote several things here that I am simply unsure how I would go about addressing. Mention of you is also stated." He pointed at one of the cards that had this man's name on it. "She wants it seen that you log all your actions while on the job, as you have not been doing so. There are several others as well who are stated by name. I do not think calling them out in front of everyone is what the acting grand-master wants, but I also do not know how they would take my criticisms on behaviors I have no grounds to call them on."
"Ah, so that's how it is." Kaeya reached over and grabbed the cards from in front of him, slipping them somewhere in his coat that Albedo was guessing was not a pocket with the way it was designed. Without warning the man reaffirmed his grip on his wrist and pulled him to his feet. Being of a much shorter stature, there was nothing Albedo could do about it.
"Don't forget this." Once standing he was released, Kaeya retrieving the drink and forcing it against his chest, leaving him no recourse other than to take it. "Drink this first, then I'll show you what Jean wanted you to do."
The glass was cold against his skin, the feel of his gloves no longer there as a reassurance in this new situation. Though hardly a fool, Albedo didn't know much what the Knights did or how they acted. He knew precious few, and those few only in situations that deemed certain behaviors mandatory. Perhaps meeting at a bar made drinking mandatory.
Taking a sip and wincing a bit at the sour taste, he eyed Kaeya warily. "I did notice that most here have a drink, if not a few. It does not taste as bad as some of the potions I've tried, but it is not the most pleasant thing to drink if only to do so socially." He tipped his head slightly. "After this glass though, you'll explain better what I am to do so that I can be out of here?"
"Of course of course. What kind of person do you think I am? I wouldn't go back on my word once I gave it." Kaeya went over and grabbed a drink for himself that was sitting at one of the other tables, the occupant and likely owner giving him a glare but not daring to speak up against the man. That spoke volumes and Albedo relented, downing what was in his glass. If he was going to be forced to drink it, he was going to taste it as little as possible.
"There, that should suffice. Now, wh-"
The drink Kaeya had already taken a sip of was shoved at him while the man quickly exchanged it with the empty glass before either could fall and while Albedo had enough time to change his grasp. "Drink that one too and walk with me. This one's sweet if you don't like the sour."
Sighing loud enough for the man to hear, Albedo held onto the new drink. He'd find some place to stow it or sip at it so he would not be forced a third. If he still had something in the glass it would not be easy to replace.
"Everyone, meet Albedo." Kaeya unceremoniously shoved him before the largest group of Knights near the back tables, where there was the most room to sit. "To those of you that don't know him, no need to feel shy about anything. He doesn't bite." There was a hand placed on his head. "And for those of you that do know him, I repeat again, he doesn't bite. He's going to be taking Jean's place today and speaking with us, trying to get everything sorted out. Of course, not wanting to make any trouble for the acting grand master, we'll all cooperate fully. That is, however, only once he gets to know us of course. It's hardly as if Jean has had time to speak with us so pull up a chair, buy him a drink, and let's all speak our minds here on our job and just what it is that we all feel about the goings on. Albedo is open for all your complaints." And with that the captain went over to one of the chairs, sat down, and patted the area next to him. "Of course, that's starting with me."
Albedo was starting to wonder if acting out punishment on whatever Klee had done had not been the better choice.
Sitting across from the man with a long, held out breath, Albedo put his hand calmly on the table. "I do suppose that's a good way of getting to know those I need to speak with, personally tell them any issues that Jean had written down to address, as well as see both sides of the story so I am not simply just speaking at them. That will, however, take a great deal of time I do not believe everyone here is willing to spend on me."
"Give us more credit than that. Like I said, there's a lot of people who are a bit intimidated by you and what you've done. We don't know you, never see you. Even I have only the barest clue of what kind of person you are, and I see you far more than most, and even that isn't much." The man smirked and rested his chin on his hand, staring at him with the strangest colored eye. Albedo narrowed his vision a bit but Kaeya seemed to notice, closing his eye as he smirked. "So, where to begin…"
"I hardly kno-"
"We've been getting a lot of complaints by those wandering around the edges of the country that there are a lot of slims in the area. Those in the more central part are still sending worrying news about hilichurls far too close to the city. On top of which I think that I work too hard. There's barely enough time in the day to get myself meals and run basic errands for myself. With the Knights run as thin as we are, I suggest that we do something about it. While recruiting as aggressively as the Adventurers' guild is inadvisable, looking among its members for promising talent while many are still gone seems like a decent enough suggestion. There is also the issue of the waterfront. While there's a fair deal of clean water found there, any collection of it is being blocked by ice slims. Repeatedly ridding ourselves of them seems a tireless task, as something keeps bringing them back again and again. I have idea who we could send on the task of getting rid of them for good, but that's not in my wheelhouse nor do I especially care about those creatures. The…"
And just like that Kaeya went on and on and on about every little thing the man seemed to think up. Albedo sat there, listening at first, making notes to himself since he no longer had any physical copies and was not willing to risk his drawing paper if he could simply keep track of all those listed problems. After over half an hour of the barrage, and nothing seeming to stop the man, he was losing far more of the information than he wanted. This was why he always kept something to take notes with. He had a decent memory, but it was hard to hold onto facts that bored him and there was now a list of them spewed out at him, and with very little reference to one another to keep any kind of timeline of.
It was hurting, sitting as still as he was and trying his best to not close his eyes or think on other things. All he had before him was the glass from earlier, which he drank mostly for the fact that he had had nothing before this meeting and he was thirsty. It didn't taste nearly as bad as the first one, though it's blue color reminded him far more of something he'd concoct in the lab than the lemonade coloring and fragrance of the other.
Excusing himself briefly, Kaeya walked around the room, getting information from the others about certain things that the captain had been worried about that he was now bringing to Albedo's attention and who, in turn, was trying to retain as much about as he could. Fighting on admitting that he was not up to the task of keeping track of all of this, he was handed another drink from another Knight who looked at him apologetically. The color was very similar to that of the blue one, with something red added to give this one a hint of purple.
"Sorry about the captain. He gets like this sometimes. We've all seen him mess with Jean now and then, to show her she's taking on more then she should. I'm not really sure why he's doing it to you."
That left him curious. "He's messing with me in what way?"
The Knight blinked at him a few times, muttering partial words before walking off. "Ah, never mind… I guess."
It took a while, Kaeya making his rounds while Albedo sat at the table and rested, taking a bit of this new drink and finding it tasted of cherries and a sweetness he could only place to a flower. By the time he returned, most of the drink was gone and Albedo was finding it hard not to fall asleep with disinterest. He did his best to hide this fact when Kaeya sat and started speaking once more.
That speaking only lasted a few seconds before he stopped. "Albedo, forgive me for intruding, but do you always do that?"
Curious. "Do what?"
"Feign interest like that. You seemed relaxed and fairly open before I started talking."
"I have a job to do that someone else has trusted me with. While I do not understand its importance, Jean does. I'm doing my best to follow her orders and whatever actions she'd like me to take so that I do not fail."
Keaye's gaze narrowed slightly, something Albedo wouldn't normally have caught if he had not been staring at him. "You're an alchemist. I'm sure you fail all the time. That's why you work out of the city, isn't it? So if something goes wrong it doesn't, say, burn the place down?"
"I work both inside and outside of the city. My preferences for being out of it lie with the fact that I'm far more able to focus on my work there whereas here," he waved his hand at those around him. "There are distractions."
"You don't work all the time though, do you?"
"No, not all the time. I do find pleasure in drawing but as I typically draw things that are of a more unusual nature, they typically involve research of some kind. I have been asked by more than a few people to draw things while I am in the city, and I try my best to live up to what they expect."
There seemed to be some silent conversation that the captain was having with himself while his one visual eye looked him over, seeming to see right through him as if his skin were gelatinous and his wants and desires were visible before that gaze. He'd never felt so vulnerable before and he found himself putting a hand up and across his chest to rest on his shoulder, as some kind of safeguard. "What is the matter?"
"You. Everything about you is to please others. Everything about you is expectation. When you're not by yourself, which I can see you need now, you're doing nothing but obligating yourself to the task or person and forgetting completely about yourself, aren't you?" It was a question, and a probing one, that normally someone would expect an answer to. The way that Kaeya spoke though, it sounded more like a statement.
"I do not understand your question. When I need someone from someone else, I expect them to listen to me. When someone needs something of me, I would prefer to repay in kind."
"Someone from someone else? What are you, trading people?"
Albedo had to blink a few times, thinking back on what he said. "If I need something from someone else. Did I speak incorrectly?"
"You did." There was that smirk from earlier. It had far too many meanings to it that Albedo couldn't seem to figure out. "It's not as if that doesn't happen from time to time though. So, were you having fun while I was gone? It looks like I'm not the only one worried about you and trying to get you to loosen up." his hand waved briefly at the glass now off to the side. "For someone who doesn't drink, that's three. One of which you did not nurse as one would expect. Are you feeling alright?"
That was a thought that barely ever occurred to him. If he were cold, he was cold. If he did not feel well, he did not feel well. He did his best to ignore his body when it was not in the best of conditions, so it took him a bit to realize that his stomach was unsettled.
"A bit ill. I'm sure the drinks had something to do with that. I haven't eaten today yet."
Kaeya coughed into his hand. "You eat like a bird as it is whenever we have meetings and you hardly look as if you could keep much down if you tried. Three drinks… I was going to encourage you to drink more, you still look really nervous, but cutting you off seems the better response. Jean would get angry at both of us if you were to get sick or drunk."
"I believed that to be your intention from the start. I hadn't been going to allow it… but allowing it and having you take my place as Jean's consort in this matter seems the better solution." it was a strange thing to do when he was not with Alice, Klee, or his master, but Albedo found himself smiling. "The best of plans turned on the planner is rather satisfying. I believe I will have another. The room is hot, simply not yet spinning. It should be spinning from the accounts I have heard of others."
The captain had the most astonished look on his face before he started laughing. It was a sound that Albedo usually didn't hear. It wasn't childish in the least, not coming from someone past their teens, but it was real and honest humor that he oftentimes was never privy to. Being around others was hard for him, and when he was around them it was hardly for jovial reasons.
"Did you seriously plan on just letting me get you drunk?"
"I'm not there yet, but yes, after thinking some on it. I have never been drunk before and I have only heard stories about the experience. I am old enough to partake and you seem a reasonably reliable person to not simply leave me face down in the fountain down the way."
Kaeya laughed some more before resting his arm back on the table, meeting his eyes with a calm, collected expression. "You never know. I just might for having you use me like that. Telling me will only have Jean blaming you for all this when it goes bad."
"It will be your word against mine. Normally I would think she would take yours but I know more about you that you seem to think." Albedo stood, the room moving a bit out of focus as he did, which had him smiling and looking down at Kaeya before going over to the bar. "Who is she going to believe in this case, me, an upstanding worker who had done nothing to bother anyone, or you, the Knight's renowned trouble maker and drinker?"
Walking over to the bar, he sat at one of the stools there with a more restrained smile as he did his best to act as sober as he mentally felt, ordering whatever it was the bartender was willing to serve him. He received a glass of what he was told most of those there were drinking before taking a sip. It burned down his throat unpleasantly but left his insides feeling enjoyably warm and an aftertaste of coconut on his lips.
"Albedo, seriously." Kaeya took a seat beside him. "This isn't getting you to open up nor is it messing with Jean. You don't seem like you want to drink. I promised I'd help you if you drank that second one, and I will. You need to stop though. Not to be mean but you're not exactly a big person. If you get really sick from this… I don't know who to take you to."
"Ah, yes. It's not as if Alice is here and Klee is far younger than I am. I suppose Sucrose is a possibility but she's not as responsible as I believe you would want someone to be to watch an alchemist in a state of mind that's not his own." Albedo blinked, tiredly, but everything felt a little funny since that third drink. "I suppose I should stop, but a part of me would not like to. I have never felt quite so at ease around people. Is this how you feel all the time? How you can flit around the others here as if everyone knows you intimately though I'm sure none do? That would be rather nice, and a decent enough side effect of the bad taste to make it worth it." He picked up his glass, swirling it a little and watching some graze his fingers as he mistakenly moved it too much. That made him frown. "What is the meaning of this world? Of our actions? Of everything we do? I can't seem to figure it out. I know that all our feelings mean to only others what we are… feeling? As a whole we are quite unaware of those things around us. We are as unafraid of the dark as only those who tread in the light can be. There is evil and there is good, but in the end there is nothing we can prove that would outlast this mortal lifespan. So what is the point of this world, of any of it? It's all so confusing."
There was a pause. Those around were chattering quietly, seeming to have gone about their own businesses now that Kaeya had him to himself. They had no worry or need to speak but their conversations never stayed with him long before they were gone like smoke from heated water – no trace of the substance left in his mind.
"I'm not sure you should be asking me that question. We all have different answers. That's one you'll need to reason out for yourself, I suppose. I do also think it's time you were put somewhere to relax. You're tense and I can't tell if you're tipsy or dead-ass drunk right now."
"Neither. I mean… I am far more open and feeling far more than I am used to. I can tell that simply from thinking that I would ever get an answer from you of all people on that question. I might not be thinking straight to have asked."
As warm as he felt, as tired, as out of it and happy… there was a sudden chill in the air. It made the hair on his right arm stand up and a pain carried through his nerves. He stared at Kaeya who had not moved, had simply been looking at him through the conversation and now had lost his ever prominent smile. "As I said, we all have different answers to that question. Simply because I can not give you one you would deem the right one does not mean I don't have an answer."
"Then what is it? I can only guess at my own if I have reference, something to base it off of. All the answers I receive from those I ask in passing are varied, many, and almost all have to do with somehow love meaning more than anything."
Kaeya looked like he wanted to speak a few times, the words half formed on his lips before he let out a breath and stared at him hard. "And who are you to say they may be wrong on that fact? While love and it's accouterments, aftereffects, and bonds are far stronger than most other emotional feelings, I can understand how in your mind they don't match up to iron, steel, or gold. That does not mean they have not in the past and now been more powerful than a great weapon. It's not always about how powerful love is, weapons can take out the world if love plays no active role, but humanity has a lot of say in this world. Humanity bases it's beliefs and actions on love. With those facts, and trying to understand the world and why it is, you have to understand what makes up this world and what makes it the way it is now."
As the words were spoken they seemed to make sense to him but Albedo couldn't hold onto the meaning. He couldn't feel what it was he felt when he heard the captain speak the words, but there was something there that got to him, made sense, clicked with something he was familiar with before vanishing.
"I can understand the idea and concept of love as a force of it's own, even if not a force of nature in the way that nature works as a physical being. I've seen a great many people swayed by love. The world changes, different people rise to power, but love is not always there. As you said, love does not always matter. The meaning of this world then has to be beyond humans, beyond what we're seeing now. There has to be something there with the truth, an explanation. I simply can't see it." Albedo went to pick up his glass by the lip, taking an awkward drink of it from the side before failing to place it on the bar correctly and hearing it shatter across the floor.
Woken up more by the noise than anything recently, Albedo went to his knees to try and pick up some of the pieces. One of the large ones got him immediately and he held his hand to himself, grunting lightly and wishing again he had his gloves on – though far more so now than he had been wishing so earlier…
Kaeya was beside him, a few pieces in his hand. "Don't worry about it, they'll clean it up. How is-"
"Don't touch me!" The words that came out of his mouth were startling and louder than he had meant, but the fear was very real. He reached out with his good hand, trying to stop the captain from touching any more of the glass. "Stop." The last word, at least, was spoken just above normal volume.
There was a heavy, solid hand on his shoulder that couldn't have been Kaeya's. He was still in front of him. "I can clean that up. I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Now."
Steady, cutting, and demanding. The words got to him and Albedo turned, both of their eyes widening in surprise when they met.
"Albedo? What are-"
"I'm fine. I'm fine." Albedo turned back, trying to brush the glass away from the others, now with little regard if he cut himself again. "If you could give me a bin or something to place these in, I'd appreciate it." The man was young to be telling him to leave, but it was hard to judge ages. Not many in Mondstat though did not know of the wine owner, Diluc. He had to have guessed that the man owned a bar but he had never met him in person and had even less reason to think he wasn't simply a distributor.
"I said I can take care of it." The hand was back on his shoulder and firm as it pushed him away with little difficulty. Albedo felt his eyes widen, only briefly relaxing when he noticed Diluc had gloves. Kaeya, on the other hand, while he wore a pair, they did nothing to protect his fingertips.
Which was the part that had Albedo scared.
"Please, you don't understand. Just let me clean it up." Even not fully standing, Albedo had trouble keeping the world where it should be. He hadn't considered possible consequences as much as he should when he had let himself test out this little experiment.
While he did not understand how, somehow the other two were speaking or communicating around him. His blinks were slow so it was possible that they were mouthing words to one another. He caught none of it before Kaeya was behind him, both hands on his upper arms and pulling him away. Albedo did his best to reach out but his uninjured hand had his blood across it when he stretched out. He looked down briefly to see it was stained into his shirt rather badly. How deep had that glass gone?
"Clean him up. I'll get the floor." Diluc was already handing over a rag and bin from behind the counter, picking up the glass and putting it inside, never even having to dirty his gloves to do so. The extra layer of protection was going to help.
Far quieter than when he had first spoken, Albedo felt his breath and words escaping. "Be careful. Don't touch my blood. It'll taint you."
That statement froze both those around him, the others still talking as if nothing had just happened, as if Albedo weren't bleeding out a curse all around them. None of them knew, or could know, what he did.
Diluc finished cleaning, keeping the bin to himself instead of handing it back. He laid the rag across the ground, covering most of the blood, though the rag itself was badly stained. He spoke quietly when he was close enough. "What are you talking about?"
"I can't…" What could he do or say? There were more reasons than one that he was not around others. He had never believed, being in a field where injuries were limited and, at worse, could be self treated, that he'd be in this type of situation. "Kaeya, you'll want to let go of me."
"Trust me, I want to. You're bleeding all over the place though, and you need to keep pressure there to stop it from getting worse. If I let you go you're likely to run into everything and everyone in this place before making it out. Where are we going?"
If Albedo was being asked the question, he had no answer. Anywhere outside, anywhere at all around that wasn't around others, would be fine by him.
"Kaeya, can you get him to my place? Don't bring him inside though, keep him on the outskirts."
"Why do I have to do it? Why don't you?"
"Because I have to clean this up, make sure any trace is gone, and get these … people back to where they came from. I'll talk to Jean myself later. This is important."
Kaeya let out a breath but nodded. "Fine, but he's not my responsibility if something happens."
"Shut up"
Both of the others froze, Albedo still not all that focused as he looked at the winemaker in front of him. The words that came out of his throat were angry but his own in a way.
Not his own in so many others.
There was an echo there that had never been there before, a deepness behind his own tone that would be heard even by the deaf. It seemed to ring through his bones, let alone what the others must feel hearing it.
A shock ran through him, Albedo keeping his injured hand pushed hard against his chest while his other went to his face, trying to keep back the rush of emotion through the haze of the drinks. "I'm sorry."
Diluc moved, hard and fast, a hand slamming against his head and grabbing onto some of his untamed hair. His voice was harsh and tense with worry. "What. The Hell. Was that."
Albedo had no other choice but to look at him, his hand offering him no protection to escape the world, turn in on himself and control his emotions. There were reasons he felt the way he did, was taught to feel the way he did, but the drink left all those walls nothing but a circus tent without any posts to hold it up.
It wasn't anger that rushed through him, no demonic nature or burning fuel that ignited inside his heart. It was fear. It was cold, dark, freezing fear that ran through his blood and his chest. It hurt, badly. The fear wasn't for himself, it never had been, but it was there nonetheless and far stronger than any emotion he had ever felt before.
Clutching his hair at the same time Diluc did, wincing against the new pain and emotions, he felt his blood continue to leak from where it had been exposed. It shouldn't go against his will anymore than blood from any creature would but it felt as if it did. It's cold unwillingness to stop escaping his body only fed the fear. Perhaps that was the drink too.
That calmed him down enough he was able to open his eyes. The world was dizzily colorful and bright and painful- Diluc's red hair the most obvious feature to his failing eyes. "I'll tell you after. Just get me out of here, please. And don't touch my blood."
"That'd be fine if you weren't bleeding out a small pond here." Kaeya shifted his hold before letting out a breath, his hand on his one arm growing painfully tight. All of a sudden there was a light blue cloth pressed to his palm, just above his wrist. As it was held in place he felt the pressure do it's work, but not before staining the material.
"Kae-"
"Shut up already. Do you want to get everyone's attention? I had to stop the bleeding and you're barely conscious of what you're doing. You'll end up getting blood everywhere. I've got it." The captain's hand was already getting wet where it was holding his own. In seconds Albedo was in the air and being lifted into his arms. "Diluc, clean it up. Let Jean know. I'll be waiting by the south side of the vineyards. Forget the others for now."
There was no response as Albedo felt the world shift in different flavors of color and textures, temperatures and speeds. He rested his head lightly against what had to be Kaeya's shoulder, wondering just what it was he was going to do now. What could he do? Everything still tasted of fruits and sugars as it was. If he had his equipment, maybe…
"Lab… Kaeya, you have to take me to my lab."
"What lab? Where?"
"The one in the mountains. All my equipment is still up there. We have time but… I don't know how much. This only happened once before. Keep calm. Don't let fear or anger get the best of you."
If Kaeya had heard him, he wouldn't have let on. There was simply more movement and sensory effects to last him a lifetime before blissful blackness overtook him.