A Wish Granted (AlbedoxReader)

overwhelmed

A week had passed since Albedo returned to the mountain. The longer he stayed the emptier he felt inside. He loved his time alone but the whole time she'd been on Teyvat he only wished to be with her. These whole days were spent painting empty sceneries. He got no sleep, he only napped. A good night sleep might do him well, he thought.

Today is the day he returns home. He felt guilty, he promised Cecilia she could join him on the mountain someday. Regardless, he gathered the things he needed and started his descent.

The morning sun had risen and in Mondstadt, Cecilia had a rough morning. She hadn't slept well which greatly affected her mood. She lost focus making breakfast, resulting in very burnt pancakes.

"That's it!" She exclaimed after running into the door. "I'm putting my training to use!"

She marched into the Knights' headquarters to find Kaeya. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down. She spoke, not loudly but with plenty of force.

"Take me to a hilichurl camp!" Kaeya's eyes grew wide, surprised by her sudden actions. "I've trained with Amber plenty! I want to try taking out a small camp!"

Kaeya smiled, "are you sure you're ready?"

"Yes! And you can't help even if I ask for help! Unless I start to die or something."

He laughed in response, "alright, I know of a small one not too far from here."

The walk was short but it felt so long. Something told her that this wasn't a good idea. But she just got so impulsive when she got frustrated like this. She couldn't help herself.

Upon arriving to their destination they stood at a distance. The hilichurls had not yet noticed them. Cecilia clenched her fists and filled her cheeks with air. I can do this, she repeated countless times in her own head. I'm ready for this, she thought. Before Kaeya (and her own conscience) could say anything she rushed into battle.

Kaeya watched her, amused. Never once did he think this girl would be willing to do such a thing. Considering how much she relied on Albedo to keep her safe. Or perhaps she just doesn't think, he laughed at that.

"Are you brainless, my love? Or truly a brave girl."

The battle went on as Kaeya silently watched. It was only a handful of hilichurls, she was doing well. She proudly beamed at Kaeya once the final hilichurl fell. She held her weapon and took on a proud stance. Just as she moved to leave, an alarm went off.

The reinforcements had arrived. Including two mitachurls and another, slightly larger, handful of hilichurls. Far more than her small hands could hold. Before Kaeya could run to her side she shouted, "no! Remember what I said? I've got this!"

This girl really was brainless.

Still, Kaeya resisted every instinct he had to help her. She was doing this to prove she could handle herself. She'd already been hit plenty of times in the previous battle. Would she be able to take anymore injuries?

"Cecilia!" He warned her of every hit that would come. She was surrounded by those brutal mitachurls. Kaeya bit his lip and huffed. She can't do this.

He stepped forward to help but instead there was a bright yellow light.

The same light from her first experience in this world.

"Burst forth!"

Within seconds the camp was emptied and the mitachurls had fallen. Cecilia fell to her knees and only blankly stared, having not yet processed what had happened.

Albedo turned to her and gave her a tight hug.

"Ow! Albedo, let go!"

He did just that and his face of concern turned into one of mild annoyance.

"What were you thinking? They could have killed you!"

"But you came to my rescue, didn't you? Just like you promised."

Kaeya ran as quickly as he could to reach her, "are you alright?"

Albedo quickly became rather angry, but chose to stay silent. Instead the pair rushed to bring Cecilia back to Mondstadt. Naturally, Barbara became rather frantic trying to get her healed.

As Cecilia laid in bed in a hospital-esc room, the boys stayed by her side. Cecilia only laughed and said she was fine. How was it that minor pain made her so dramatic but she stayed so calm during a much more dire injury?

As Kaeya replayed what had happened he wondered: was she really blowing off steam or testing Albedo's promise?

The room was silent for a few awkward moments. Suddenly, Albedo broke the silence.

"You didn't answer my question before. What were you thinking? What did you expect to happen? You're not strong enough for that yet!" He shouted, worryingly.

"I just wanted to test out my training, that's all."

He sighed before turning to Kaeya, "and what were you thinking? You're supposed to be her lover and you'd let her put herself in harm's way? Don't you know how helpless she is?"

Kaeya's eyes widened, this outburst from Albedo was something new. His voice wasn't as calm as it normally was. He was shouting. He was angry- livid. This, also made Kaeya rather angry as well.

"Helpless? How little do you think of her? I saw the way she fought and she fought wonderfully. I didn't help because she begged me not to!"

"That's no excuse! Don't you see the state she's in? Regardless of what she asks of you she needed help! If I hadn't gotten there in time she could have been in a much more dire state! Or, Barbatos forbid, even dead!"

The arguing went back and forth, becoming louder and louder. Cecilia only stared at them wide-eyed. Too shocked to even say anything. Even Barbara and the other nuns came rushing in to see what all the commotion was. It wasn't normal of Kaeya, but it wasn't terribly out of place. On the other hand.... Albedo has never been this emotional over something.

Cecilia became overwhelmed with all the shouting, there were too many people in the room, too many voices overlapping. She began to shed tears, purely from all the stress it was causing.

"Stop it! I want everyone to leave! Stop arguing! I can't take it anymore."