ALBEDO "the way i loved you"

chapter thirty-three

"do you think that in five years, she will still call you a bitch?"

"i hope so," y/n replied cheekly earning a giggle from hu tao. lumine snorted in response, her hands on her hips as she stared at her friends with annoyance. "lumi's mad."

"well, please help me out." lumine requested with sarcasm, struggling to pull the suitcase out under her bed. "the bottle is inside."

when she received no response from the two, she huffed in annoyance once again. "hey tartaglia! stop playing and help me out!"

like a golden retriever, tartaglia dropped the controller and ran towards lumine. "how can i help?" he asked gently, softly, and everything in between.

"pull this out," she ordered and he obeyed.

"woah, look at this bottle." lumine mumbled, wiping the huge dusted bottle with cork with a cloth – admiring the intricate flowers painted on it as well as the green-ish color of the vintage bottle probably from the generation of her great-great grandmother.

"'bedo, stop playing now. we'll start writing in a while."

"noted, love." the blonde replied but he was still focused on the game, y/n scrunched her nose before walking towards the table where numerous papers and items were scattered.

once the team was completed, they all gathered around the table. excitement was in their eyes as well as the anticipation to finally do the time-capsule activity that venti had been requesting years ago.

"let's start!"

a letter for her future self.

y/n then wrote,

ten years from now, i hope i've become an environmental scientist like what i had always dreamed about.

is my relationship with my brother not awkward anymore?

has mother's bakery become more popular?

have i fulfilled my dream?

did i finish college with flying colors?

am i able to live on my own?

did my friends achieve their dreams?

finally, am i still dating albedo? is he still the love of my life? if so, did we make it?

after putting some items like their school ID for this school year as well as coins and newspapers from this year, and many other more. the group buried the bottle behind lumine's house and promised one another — even if in the next ten years they're not on good terms — all of them will open the bottle, read it aloud, and then answer all the questions written by themselves ten years ago.

"y/n, albedo, lumine, and tartaglia will go in sumeru for college." venti mumbled, "hu tao will go back to liyue while i'll be staying here in monstadt." the sadness in his voice was visible yet he covered it with a smile.

"i can't believe we're already talking about college — it feels like yesterday we're just talking about starting high school," hu tao mumbled.

the group sat across lumine's garden, star-gazing while talking about their future plans.

one more year.

one more year and they will all part ways.

"i was dead nervous about starting high school back then!" lumine laughed, reminiscing how much she loathed going to school during her first year. "thought my life was dreadful 'til i met you guys."

"isn't it hilarious? time really flies fast." venti remarked. "i wanna be a teenager forever."

"ten years from now, i hope all of us will be able to fulfill our dreams." tartaglia, surprisingly, stated sincerely.

the soft breeze of the night wind swirled across the garden, once again reminding them of reality. y/n stared at her friends as they talked, her eyes softened when she spotted hope and passion burning within their faces.

"oh look, it's a shooting star! make a wish, guys!" y/n exclaimed excitedly.

she closed her eyes, smiling in between as she whispered her wish through the wind.

i hope that ten years from now, we'll all still be friends.

albedo glanced at her — peace and y/n do really mix well.

may you be with me in every milestone of my life like you've promised.

"guys..." venti trailed off. "walking at the beach at night is amazing, isn't it?"

hu tao's eyes sparkled. "ooooh! i like that!"

"you wanna go?" albedo whispered to y/n softly.

"yes," his girlfriend answered.

"let's go y'all, what are you waiting for?!"

and the group strolled through the road until they reached the beach with chips and drinks in their hands. it was peaceful to say the least, the white sand felt so soft, and the sound of the waves were luling them to stare at the beauty of the ocean with the full moon watching above them.

"it's cold!" hu tao rolled her eyes, flopping next to venti onto the sand. she opened the canned soda, drinking every bit of it before completely resting on the sand.

albedo opened the chips for y/n. "here you go, princess."

"thanks," she smiled at him. "your birthday is coming. will i finally meet aunt alice?"

"yes, she's been waiting to meet you."

"do you think she'll like me?"

he looked at her, "she will love you."

"how about klee? do you think she'll be happy if she heard that i've become your girlfriend?"

"oh klee," albedo chuckled as he remembered how much klee pestered him on making y/n his girlfriend. "she'll be the happiest person."

hu tao overheard the conversation and snickered. "you guys," she said, pertaining to the couple as well as lumine and tartaglia. "why do you have to date each other..."

venti laughed, "it'll be awkward if they broke up and we had a reunion!"

"oh surely!" hu tao agreed loudly, "i can already imagine the tension and the hatred coming back from the dead!" she stole a glance at y/n and albedo.

"hey!" y/n yelled, cheeks were red.

"that's absurd, hu tao." albedo shook his head, "i'll never break up with y/n."

hu tao laughed. "we'll see, we'll see. i hope your love is as strong as her hatred before!"

"hu tao, i swear to god!" y/n tried to stand up but stopped when she felt albedo's hand on her wrist. "i'll get you sometime!"

"love you more!"

y/n looked at albedo, "you're not going to leave me, right?"

"of course. so please, don't overthink about it too much."

"i trust you." she smiled softly as she hugged him, earning a chuckle from her girlfriend.

but promises are meant to be broken.