Lonely | Albedo X Reader

7

Y/N's POV

"Good afternoon, Y/N," he greets me. "Do you feel better from yesterday?" Beside him is the reception table where Kathyrene stands all day.

I nod, "Yeah, I'm ready to go back to Dragonspine."

"Actually, there's no need to go there for the time being," Albedo admits to my relief. "I figured that I can conduct a few experiments in my workshop in Mondstadt. In order to complete our research there though, I will have to train your physical ability."

Oh. "Ahahahaaaa, I—I see," I manage out, not wanting to share my slight discomfort. "Ah, let's just head to your lab first and then we can discuss this later, maybe?"

He leads the way, "Alright, follow me." We head towards the Knights of Favonious building and walk inside the most important place in Mondstadt. I take a look around since I've never been here before. On the outside, this place is grand, but indoors the atmosphere somehow develops an even more grand, but intimidating feeling from the reflective floor, the cool air, the guards, and the empty, yet massive room. That was a poor description, but what I'm trying to say is that this place is definitely not for me.

We reach a door and he unlocks it with a key. Walking in, the entire room is filled with a bunch of messes and disorganized piles of alchemical materials left around. They nearly seem to be piling on top of one another. Although, those piles are the minority and there are plenty of tables that are completely organized, neat, and clean. He gestures a seat to me and I sit on the chair while he walks over to a equipment closet and opens it up. Grabbing a couple of items, he seems to be whipping up a potion.

"Done, this will be the first experiment of the day. Well, cheers," he dUMPS IT DOWN HIS THROAT—

"A-Albedo!" I dash over and grab his arm in an attempt to force him not to drink it, but I'm too late. The potion's contents are already gone. "Ha—haha—you, I, what did you put in there!?" I can't, why did you DO THAT. You're not supposed to ever, y'know, DRINK YOUR SCIENCE.

"Oh right, this is a precaution," he calmly replies, lightly pulling out of my grip, and cleans the tube in the sink. "This potion is supposed to test a person's elemental flow and it seems that it works as expected on me."

I sigh and sit back at my seat, all tensed, as instructed earlier. "I—you're the knowledgable one in alchemy here, so I just need to trust you," I justify more for myself before asking, "it's not going to have any severe side effects on you, right?"

Albedo shakes his head and closes the faucet before drying his ungloved hands with a nearby towel. "Most likely not since it had no serious effect on my body," he puts his gloves back on. "Anyways, I'm glad to hear that you've decided to trust me because I would like for you to take the same potion that I had before."

"Where I'm from, drinking your experiments is considered a death sentence in science unless it's absolutely certain that I will not die," I blink several times at him, unable to fathom what goes on in his mind. The world differences are extremely evident, this isn't about trust, just basic safety measures.

He sighs and takes a deep breath. "I assure you, you will not die, and I am living proof of my claim," Albedo takes a seat beside me. "However, I am prepared to wait for you to feel comfortable enough to take the potion."

I put a hand on the back of my neck. "You're—really accommodating and patient that I'm getting some doubts if I'm being overly cautious," I look at him, trying to find something to assure myself of my claims. Yeah, no, I still think that I'm the delusional one.

Albedo goes into a thinking position with his index finger curved beneath his mouth, "It's like I told you, I take care of a child every there and then and I suppose that caring for a child has led to these characteristics." Haaaa...I feel bad for doubting him.

"I—I guess that I don't have much of a choice since you're paying me, so I'll drink it," I give in. He's part of the Knights of Favonious, if I were to get sick, injured, or killed then someone would probably figure it out from the commission records since I was last with him. He hands me the potion and I look at him with my lips pressed before chugging it down. Oh, hey, it tastes kinda like fruit—and my stomach is on fire!

"How do you feel, Y/N? Any symptoms?"

"Yes like my insides are burning," my arms wrap around my stomach, it doesn't hurt that bad, but I never get "stomach burns".

He smiles, "As expected from my potion. All you will feel is an initial burn and that is all luckily."

My body relaxes at last. "Whew, that's a major relief," he takes the bottle from me and places it on a table near the equipment.

"Now that it's clear there's no difference with your elemental powers and flow, we should instead work on your fitness," he reminds me of the "preparation for Dragonspine". Oh, wait, that reminds me. I pull out my purple crystal vision, it has a black string attached, from under my jacket. Holding it out to him, I blurt out, "Wait, please let me explain what this is first." He nods in silence, looking at the ball.

"Well, vision users have these visions given to them by the archons. I don't have one technically, so it's been difficult for me to speak about my powers to anyone like my non-vision-wielding-family. Last night, I was finally able to pay for a custom made crystal ball that was similar to a real vision. That's the context, but for what I want to ask you," I rapidly explain with my hands gesturing and flailing about. "Uh—this, this must be super novice and embarrassing, but um—where do I put this on me...?"

He blinks several times out of what appears to be shock. A soft laugh escapes his lips before he finally chuckles and smiles at my dumb question. Oh my god, why is he laughing, I feel even dumber now even though I know that he'll have a kind response. That's just the sort of person he is generally, he's very kind. "It doesn't matter where a vision user puts their vision actually, so you are free to wear it as you please," Albedo regains control of his laughter and composure.

"Oooooh, now my indecisiveness is kicking in," I bring the purple crystal close to my chest out of embarrassment. Ah, my mind's got an idea for once! "Actually, I have a suggestion, would you maybe like to choose where it goes on me?"

"Me?" He points at himself and I quickly nod. "I don't necessarily mind whatsoever, but I can't guarantee fashion success." Albedo takes the replica and glances around my body. It feels slightly weird to have him look at me, but I did ask for him to choose. Standing in front of me, he attaches a long string to my vision's hook before tying it around my neck. Day two, I feel blessed to see this "eye candy"—I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I JUST USED THAT TERM, THE INTERNAL EMBARRASSMENT IS REAL. His eyes are super pretty though, they remind me of the stars? No no, not the stars. There's this stand near the reception, I don't exactly remember what it was though.

"There, do you like it as a necklace?" He takes a step back.

I gently hold the replica and give him a thumbs up. "Yeah, it's great! Thank you so much for it, I'll keep it this way," I stand up from the chair. "Onto the exercise training?"

"Yes, let's get going."