Chapter Text
“Really, Master Jean, it’s not a big deal…”
“Nonsense,” Jean waved off your protests as she gently pushed you to the doors. “An injury like that should be taken seriously. Take a few days of rest, everyone in the Knights know how hard you work.”
“It’s really nothing, Jean,” you sigh, forgoing formalities as you quickly begin to realize that this is an uphill battle. Still, you let out one last protest that sounds weak even to your own ears, “It’s just a sprain, my wrist will heal soon…”
Jean opens the door and gestures for you to step outside, you follow with no protests and soon the warm rays of the mid-morning sun greets your skin. You turn to Jean and open your mouth for a final argument against her decision to have you take a few days off of work, but the look the Acting Grandmaster sends you quickly shuts you up.
“And what did the deaconess have to say about your sprain?” You wince at her largely unnecessary question, she already knew what Barbara had to say regarding your injury.
“That I shouldn’t put too much pressure on my wrist for the next few days…” you mumble dejectedly, already knowing you’ve lost this battle.
Jean smiles understandingly at you. “I know it’s hard for you, and it might feel like you’re abandoning your duties by taking a break, but your well-being matters more than work.”
You sigh, accepting defeat, and instead of arguing any further, you send her a teasing smile for her statement. “Speaking from experience?”
She smiles fondly, shaking her head in good humor before urging you to step further outside the headquarters. You comply easily.
“Don’t forget that the purpose of this break is to rest,” Jean reminds you.
“Of course, you’ve been reminding me of that since this morning.”
“I mean it,” she frowns sternly at you, and you smile nervously. Had she realized what you’d been planning to do later? “I know you’ve seen the notice about the training camp that the Adventurer’s guild is holding in Dragonspine today.”
You laugh nervously. “Yes, I’ve seen it. I mean, who hasn’t?”
The Acting Grandmaster raises a brow. “I trust that you won’t do something strenuous in the next few days, like going up dragonspine?”
You deflate. “Yes, Jean.”
She smiles at you. “Good. I’m sure Albedo won’t mind if we send a few knights to inform him of your condition instead of going there yourself.”
How did she—?
Shaking your head, you send her a mock glare as you acknowledge that there’s really no getting past her senses. But her words worried you.
“There’s no need to send knights up to Dragonspine just for that,” you argue.
“I’m not going to let you go there by yourself.”
“I know, I know,” you reassure her. “I don’t plan on going there anymore, I’m just asking you to not send knights there on my behalf.”
“Won’t you wish to inform Albedo of your condition?”
“My condition is a sprained wrist that will heal in a few days,” you say drily. “It’s really no big deal, Jean. He’s probably busy up there, I wouldn’t want to interrupt him just for something this minor.”
“Don’t put yourself down like that. I know as well as everyone in the Knights that Albedo would want to know if you’ve been hurt or not,” she scolds.
“Yes, but I don’t want him to worry.” You look at her pleadingly. “Please, Jean, there’s really no need to send knights up there. Besides, you know how dangerous Dragonspine is.”
Jean sighs in defeat. “Alright, but promise me that you will truly rest while your wrist heals.”
You give her a bright smile. “I swear it.”
She gives you one final smile before ushering you away, mumbling about having paperwork to do before giving you her goodbyes and walking down the halls to her office.
“Don’t forget to take a break too, Master Jean!” you call out to her retreating back.
You shut the large doors behind you, breathing in the fresh morning air. Raising your left hand, you examine the stiff bandages wrapping around your wrist and glare ruefully at the appendage. Of all the times to get injured…
It had been an oversight on your part. A stupid mistake, really. Even now you curse yourself for being so inattentive that you had missed the mitachurl running in your direction until it was almost too late. You’d had to settle for raising your claymore with a single hand to block the oncoming strike.
Barbara told you that you were lucky it only caused a minor sprain. If you’d been any less adept at wielding your claymore, you would have been looking at a broken wrist and more than just a few days off from work.
Regardless of whether you’d been lucky or not, you still sighed in disappointment as you remember that you’ll have to spend the next few days by yourself. You longed to see Albedo, it had been a week since you last saw him. Timaeus told you this morning that he’d been by the alchemy table earlier but left just before you could catch him.
You had planned on making the journey to his camp on Dragonspine, but with Jean knowing of this, there was no chance you’d be able to go through with it now. It didn’t feel right to send a few knights up the dangerous path in Dragonspine just to inform Albedo of your small injury, and you wouldn’t want to interrupt him from his work. You knew how much his research mattered to him, and you didn’t want to be a hindrance by making him travel all the way to Mondstadt just to keep you company.
You were content to wait for him, as you’ve always done.
The door to your shared apartment is surprisingly unlocked, and you narrow your eyes in suspicion. No one was supposed to be at home, and you were sure you left it locked when you went to the Knights’ headquarters this morning. Albedo should be in Dragonspine and Klee was in solitary confinement.
Pushing open the door, you hover your good hand above the vision hanging by your chest. You may not be able to wield your claymore, but you were more than able to restrain any housebreaker with just your hydro vision if it came down to it.
Although it seemed there was no need for your caution. As soon as you enter your apartment, a familiar figure comes to greet you.
“Albedo?”
Albedo turns at the sound of his name, a soft smile lighting up his features when your eyes meet. The sight sends your heart aflutter, and the tension in your body dissipates, your good hand releasing its hold on your vision. He stands up from his seat on the couch, discarding an object he’d been tinkering with to take quick strides towards you.
Warmth engulfs you as Albedo wraps his arms around you. You let out a small squeak at the unexpected show of affection, cheeks heating up when you feel his breath against the juncture of your neck. Despite the suddenness of his embrace, you eagerly reciprocate it, hands snaking behind his back and fingers clutching the cloth of his coat.
You hide a smile in his shoulder and take in a deep breath, the scent of cecilias and freshly fallen snow comforting you in its familiarity.
But there’s still a question niggling at the back of your head, and however much you’d rather spend the rest of the morning in the comfort of his arms, you’re confused why Albedo is at home.
“Albedo,” you call softly, slowly pulling away from the warm embrace. “I didn’t know you’d be home. Timaeus said you left Mondstadt this morning for Dragonspine.”
Albedo lazily traces small patterns on your arm with his thumb, looking at you with an emotion you can’t place as he listens to your earlier words. “Ah, yes. I was planning on going to Dragonspine, but after an… incident, you could say, I decided that I would much rather spend my time here with you.”
Your heart skips a beat after he finishes explaining, and as if he knows the reaction his words elicited, he sends you a sly smile. The sight of it stuns you, having never seen such an expression on his features before, and a part of you wonders what brought this behavior on.
You shiver when you feel his hand trailing down your arm almost teasingly, coming to a stop at your bandaged wrist. Albedo lifts the appendage with his hands, eyes never leaving yours, and brings it to his lips, trailing up, up, until his lips reach your fingers, leaving a lingering kiss at each of your fingertips and sending heat pooling down your stomach.
Half-lidded eyes never stray from your face, watching each miniscule change in your features.
This is when your brain finally starts acting rationally. Now is not the time! It’s the middle of the day, we shouldn’t—!
All of your thoughts go straight out the window when Albedo opens his mouth and closes his lips around your finger. His warm, wet tongue circles around your finger, and you wouldn’t have been able to stop the choked off gasp that escapes your lips even if you wanted to.
You see his lips quirk up in amusement at the sound, his eyes holding a glint within that you’re too distracted to notice.
Slowly, he pulls his lips from your finger, leaving a trail of saliva that has your heart pounding at the sight.
He presses one last lingering kiss to your injured wrist before placing his hand on the back of your neck and captures your mouth with his. His other hand toys at the hem of your shirt, gloved fingers leaving teasing touches at the bare skin of your waist.
Albedo nips at the bottom of your lip before pulling away, an out of place smirk on his normally neutral face as he whispers against your lips, his breath fanning the infinitesimal space between you, “Shall we take this somewhere else?”
Unable to form any words, you simply nod your head, still feeling faint whiplash at his unexpected behavior.
He doesn’t say anything more as he pulls to your shared bedroom.
Neither of you come out until late afternoon.
“Albedo?”
He hums.
You trace your fingers over his neck, feeling the muscles beneath your fingertips tense. With a deep breath, you ready yourself to ask the question that’s been plaguing your mind since this morning.
With a hint of trepidation, you ask, “Where is your birthmark?”
He doesn’t say anything for a while, remaining quiet long enough that you look up from his oddly bare neck to gaze at him worriedly. He catches your worried look and gives you a small smile. You feel him tracing small circles on your bare flesh using his thumb, the sensation sending a shiver down your spine and you unconsciously close your eyes to savor the feeling.
You miss the satisfied look that briefly crosses his face. When you open your eyes again, his expression is back to a more neutral look, though there’s a faint quirk visible at the corner of his lips.
“It was a sign of imperfection.” His eyes stay focused on you, unusually intense, as if waiting for your reaction. You continue to stare with curiosity, your face open and devoid of judgment. He blinks, and the softness in his eyes return. “I simply removed it.”
You nod in understanding, but there is a creeping feeling in your chest that you desperately push away. Albedo wouldn’t lie about this, you reason.
Then, to distract you from your troubling thoughts, you send a teasing smile his way. “Well, I suppose if you can create a chair from just drawing…”
He blinks at you. “It is much more complex than that.”
He opens his mouth to say more, but you quickly put a finger to his lips, lest you be caught in another lecture where the only words you’ll manage to understand are none. And even though you stopped what was about to be a speech on the intricacies of alchemy, you feel something in you calm at the innocuous act, because rambling on about alchemy and using words you couldn’t hope to understand is something that Albedo is often prone to do in your presence.
You laugh softly at his wide-eyed look of surprise at being interrupted. Almost sensually, you trail your thumb across his bottom lip before removing your hand altogether. “As I was saying, if you could do that, then I guess removing a birthmark wouldn’t be so difficult.”
A breath escapes you, still caressing the place where the golden mark used to be, feeling the tendons in his neck relax. A sense of disappointment fills you. You had liked the golden diamond on his neck, loved to trail your lips over it and listen to the breathy exhales that escaped him as you did so.
“Still, you didn’t have to do that.” You meet his eyes, hoping to convey your sincerity in the words that are about to leave your lips. “You’re already perfect.”
You lean in and close your eyes, pressing a soft kiss to his neck. You don’t see the conflicted look that passes through his features, only noticing the way his hands tighten on your hips when your lips brush against his skin. With a content smile, you pull away.
He watches you, taking in the crinkle in your eyes and the soft flush in your cheeks from the afterglow of your recent activities. He hadn’t thought much of you, back when he had only been able to catch glimpses of you in the dreary landscape of Dragonspine, back when he hadn’t realized the effect you would have on him. But now, looking at you laying on his chest and idly tracing small patterns on his skin, he realizes that he had been blind this whole time.
Sunlight slips through the curtains, highlighting the contours of your naked body and accentuating your features with each ray of light. In this moment, you have never looked more angelic to his eyes, radiant and beautiful. And with a twinge of anger and bitter jealousy, he wonders if this is the sight his brother is blessed with every time he is with you.
Possessiveness floods his being, and he unconsciously grips you harder. The thought of leaving bruises on your skin, marks made by him and not his brother, leaves a dark satisfied feeling in his chest. He had been careful with you, mindful not to leave any traces of himself upon your flesh. It sickened him, having to resist the urge to truly make you his.
He had come to Mondstadt this morning out of impulsive curiosity. He hadn’t planned on staying long enough to speak with you, let alone do what he has done in the past few hours. Now that he’s gotten a taste of his brother’s life, he doesn’t think he could ever go back to the bleak cold of Dragonspine—and he won’t.
He has grown tired of biding his time.
He crashes his lips against yours, swallowing your brief exclamation of surprise and drinking in the taste of you. He ceases his self imposed restraint, lets go of the shackles that held him back from loving you in the way he truly wanted.
He had decided, when he first awoke and realized the depth of the betrayal of his creator, that he would do everything in his power to take what he had been deprived of. He hadn’t understood what was so special about you, then. What made his golden, perfect brother stray from his beloved research to spend his time idling with you? A rare smile adorning the immaculate creation’s lips as he, the abandoned experiment, watched the two of you trek the landscape of Dragonspine.
Now, looking at you, flushed with want and panting below him, his heart stutters within the confines of his chest, and he realizes that he has never wanted anything more in his entire artificial life.
Yes, he thinks, muffling your whimpers against his mouth as he takes you once more, I will take you from him as well.
This time, he is rougher, leaving marks across your collarbones and digging his fingers hard upon your thighs. Albedo has never treated you with anything other than gentle hands and sweet caresses, passionate but ever so careful not to cause you harm. Methodical hands that trailed over your flesh, knowing your body more than yourself, always leaving you satisfied yet wanting for more.
Albedo has never been such a stark contrast of himself until now.
But you ignore it as he finishes inside you, holding you close afterwards and pressing featherlight kisses on the forming bruises on your skin, murmuring praises and affections that leaves you breathless and high in the affection he so freely gives you. The way he says your name makes you feel as if you’re falling in love all over again.
So, despite his cryptic words and unusual smiles, despite the discrepancy of his actions, you welcome his harsh grasps and bruising touches and ignore the part of your brain that screams that something is wrong.
Because when he kisses you, telling you he loves you in between each break for air, you can do nothing but love him in return.