Archive of Our Own

Of all things, it had to be the flaming flower stamens.

Albedo had painstakingly packed up as many alchemical reagents as possible before he had made his latest trek up the mountain. His makeshift laboratory tucked into the little mountain alcove was stocked with monster parts, all kinds of herbs and pickings from foliage, and a shocking amount of raw meat.

The meat was probably the problem. Evidently, one Sucrose’s food donation boxes had gotten mixed into his reagent collection, either by himself or Timaeus. The boar bones she needed for her latest research had created a bit of a food excess in the research wing of the Ordo, and she had quickly arranged for donations to be given every 3 days. How his timid assistant had killed so many boars was a mystery to Albedo, but he couldn’t help but wonder if the occasional disappearance of a certain red-capped child from headquarters had anything to do with Mondstadt’s rapidly depleting boar population.

In any case, the annoying boar meat had somehow made its way up the mountain with him. And his most important alchemical reagent was either boxed up in his laboratory or had been donated to an unsuspecting Mondstadtian.

At times like this, he wished his master had been less skilled. His clay skin had been so thoroughly imbued with life that the bitter cold of Dragonspine was easily felt, even if his sense for temperature was somewhat delayed. The fire of his bunsen burner and unused cooking pot were, thankfully, enough to keep him warm for the time being, but material collection would be an issue. He couldn’t make warming bottles without his flaming flower stamens, and without warming bottles, he was effectively bound to his campsite and any warming devices he managed to find. He’d have to stick to the trodden paths, and would likely encounter way more Fatui and hilichurl camps than he preferred.

The nearest box full of meat was so provoking to him that he almost felt anger.

After allowing one expletive to leave his mouth and tugging on his bangs a bit, he set to work opening all of the crates and taking inventory.

Thankfully, only one box of meat had made it into his party, and he hadn’t forgotten any of his other important supply boxes. It was, of course, most unfortunate that he’d left behind the most important box of them all.

Two hours later, he had sorted through each box and created a log of all of his materials. To his chagrin, no fire flower stamens could be found tucked under any hilichurl masks or the numerous bundles of mint he had picked on his way up the mountain. The region to the southwest of Dragonspine certainly had a few flaming flowers, but there was no timely way for Albedo to get those. He had well over 200 stamens perfectly preserved in his office back at the ordo, ready to be alchemized into little warming trinkets.

And yet Albedo, halfway up an unforgiving mountain, was shivering around his little bunsen burner with absolutely no warming bottles in sight.

Neither of his pupils would be making the trek up the mountain any time soon; Timaeus and Sucrose had arranged a schedule for taking time off and monitoring the shop. Besides, Albedo had no way of contacting them to ask them to bring him his flaming flower pieces.

He sighed and tugged at his bangs a bit more. What to do. What to do.

He stared into the fire flickering at his lab table, then considered the trek back down the mountain.

He’d have to glide across the broken bridge again, fight off hordes of monsters, and try to stay near fire braziers and warming devices t—

Warming devices.

If there was anything on the mountain that mystified Albedo, it was these remnants of a previous civilization. The automation, the appearance of the magic within, all of it was unfamiliar to Albedo. On his way up, he had absentmindedly noted that he needed to investigate them further; perhaps this was the perfect opportunity. He recalled one which was down by the water in the northeast. There were a handful of scarlet quartz ores around as well. He’d be able to stay warm in case the warming device turned off or was deactivated during his research. Best of all, he might be able to figure out how to create one for himself and install it in his makeshift laboratory.

With these things in mind and with his body warm with his quiet determination, he set off down the path, then used his glider to work his way towards the water’s edge.

He was only in the air for a few seconds, though, when he heard a muffled roar. Looking down through the fog, he could see a large white blot moving around rapidly.

After a moment of staring, he realized it was a lawachurl.

Then he realized that the smaller speck running around was a person. One person fighting a lawachurl in its natural territory.

Albedo sighed. He was a researcher first and foremost. His geo vision was occasionally used for defense when he wanted to research in dangerous areas or when he needed to reach something on a high shelf. He preferred not to fight.

He plunged downwards anyway, sword at the ready.

His sword smacked the lawachurl before he rolled into the snow next to the other person.

“Am I dying, or has an angel fallen from Celestia?”

Great. Kaeya.

Albedo didn’t have time to retort back before the lawachurl let out a horrible growl and charged at them. Kaeya, thankfully, wasn’t too badly injured and he tackled Albedo out of the monster’s path.

Albedo shoved him away unceremoniously and stood up quickly, sword at the ready and a geo construct budding near the lawachurl.

From that point on, the two ducked, dodged, and created elemental shields around themselves until the lawachurl was finally defeated.

Kaeya immediately collapsed into a heap on the ground, shivering.

Albedo approached him calmly and began to examine his fallen companion. Kaeya’s signature asymmetrical outfit was soaked, and the huge tuft of fur across his right shoulder looked like a drowned cat. Albedo examined his face, and saw that his lips were losing color.

“H-have you heard of k-kameras?”

Albedo raised an eyebrow as he sat back on his heels.

“From Fontaine?”

“If you have one, y-y-you can just t-take a pic-picture of me.”

Albedo sighed.

“And why would I want that?”

Kaeya valiantly tried his best at a flirty smile, as if he wasn’t dying from the sheer cold of the environment.

“You’re s-staring at me.”

“I believe, Sir Kaeya, you might be dying right now. I was merely examining you; however, if you would prefer that I take the time to procure a kamera, I’m sure I can take a nice picture of your corpse. That is, of course, if I can find it.”

“Wow,” Kaeya said with a lilt. “You’re c-colder than the w-w-weather, Mr. Chief Alchemist. P-perhaps you c-could help me, and then we c-can t-talk more about my good looks?”

Albedo hummed his assent, throwing Kaeya’s arm over his shoulder and grunting at the weight of the lanky cavalry captain. Albedo had not been created as a particularly tall homunculus, and Kaeya was bent awkwardly as he tried to walk.

Thankfully, the lawachurl had not been far from Albedo’s camp, so there wasn’t a long distance to travel. Albedo moved as quickly as he could; even if he couldn’t feel the cold very well, he knew his body probably wasn’t in great shape either.

He felt something warm on the hand that was around Kaeya’s waist; a quick glance revealed that his glove was soaked in what was presumably Kaeya’s blood. Evidently, the lawachurl had gotten in a hit before Albedo had arrived. He recalled how Kaeya had tackled him at the outset of the fight to protect from the lawachurl’s raging path, and he felt a sting of something akin to guilt.

How foolish, to tackle someone when he already had an injury as severe as this. I suppose I owe him a bandage.

(Albedo would have given him a bandage anyway).

There was a gash across Kaeya’s right abdomen, and blood had completely seeped through his white shirt and fused fabric to skin. Melted snow that had evidently trapped itself in the corset and belts around his waist, further plastering his shirt to his body. Kaeya’s hands shook slightly as he removed his belts and undid the leather band from around his waist, gasping out a sigh of relief as the heavy items were removed from his exhausted body.

Albedo had passively known that Kaeya was well-proportioned, but seeing him without his innumerable layers was a visual treat for Albedo’s artistic nature. Even without his cropped coat and fur, Kaeya had broad shoulders and a defined collarbone. Well-defined pectoral muscles peeked out the top of his low-cut white shirt. The removal of the corset-like band around his waist revealed a waist that was probably the same size as Albedo’s own, despite Kaeya’s larger stature. His long legs, made to look even longer due to the combination of dark pants and dark boots, draped elegantly across the snow-covered ground.

As Kaeya’s white, lowermost shirt was finally revealed, Albedo could even appreciate the large bloodstain blossoming across his right side. There was a kind of poetic beauty in the elegant body of the man reclining in the snow, a look of pain on his face and a burst of crimson on his side. It looked like a painting of a tragedy; he looked like a painting of some dead lover in Monstadtian mythology. Albedo wondered what he would look like with some red flowers in his left hand, left arm draped across his forehead in pain. Would that balance out the composition? Or perhaps the flowers should be in the right hand…

“Mr. Chief Alchemist, I do hate to be a bother, but could I request some help with this shirt?” Kaeya’s teeth were gritted; Albedo couldn’t tell if he was annoyed, freezing, or in terrible pain. It was the least composed he had ever seen the man, and he felt a bit guilty for indulging his artistic side at the expense of the other.

“I apologize.” Albedo arrived at Kaeya’s side and knelt, examining the torn and bloodstained shirt. “I was somewhat distracted.”

“I know I said we could—ah, ouch—discuss my good looks at another time, but I must say now really—ah—really isn’t it.”

“I had no such intention Sir Kaeya. Now, I warn you, this will likely hurt. Some of the blood has already dried.”

“So no change at all then. Go for it.”

Albedo pulled the bloody cotton away from Kaeya’s torso. Kaeya, at the same time, clenched his jaw and let out a low growl, as if trying to control his reaction to what was evidently a very painful sensation.

Once Albedo had disconnected the shirt from the wound, it was an easier process to remove the article altogether so he could examine the cut.

Straddling Kaeya’s sprawling legs, he grabbed the hem and, with a little grunt, forced the article over Kaeya’s head and off of him entirely. Albedo moved to toss the shirt onto a nearby shelf, but the artist in him paused. If he had thought that the bloodsoaked shirt was pretty against the snow, Kaeya’s bare, bloodstained torso was something else entirely.

Albedo noticed that his shoulders, pectorals, and collarbones were, artistically speaking, just about as close to perfection as he’d ever seen on a human.

Kaeya’s head had lolled back against the cave wall, recovering from the pain and processing the relief of having his shirt removed. He sighed loudly, and Albedo wracked his brain for the proper word to describe the sound. Obscene came the closest. Albedo, straddling Kaeya’s waist as he was, could closely see the heaving of Kaeya’s chest, his pectorals and abdominals expanding and contracting with each heavy breath.

Albedo almost went to reach for his sketchbook, before he remembered that he had left it on his desk.

While he comforted himself by acknowledging that no drawing could capture the movement of Kaeya’s chest or the sounds he made, Albedo failed to realize that his muse, still pinned underneath him, had cracked open his uncovered eye and had taken on a rather devilish expression.

“I understand now why you’re an alchemist and not a nurse, Sir Albedo. You seem to prefer to study me than to help me.” Albedo wasn’t particularly flustered, but he was suddenly reminded of his position hovering over Kaeya’s lap and quickly extracted himself to sit facing Kaeya instead. “Well, if I do die from this infected cut, I’ll console myself knowing that the handsome chief alchemist was so captivated by my charms that he couldn’t even save my life.”

Albedo then realized that the only reason he had been so captivated by Kaeya was because his mouth had been shut. Like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head, Albedo’s clarity returned and the artist in his mind retreated.

“I apologize again, Sir Kaeya. However, I would ask you to refrain from insinuating anything untowards about my intentions.”

Albedo quickly found a disinfectant among his supply boxes and placed water on the fire to boil. He approached with a dampened towel in hand as Kaeya questioned:

“And what are your intentions, Sir Alchemist?”

“Namely to disinfect the cut on your abdomen, and then to find a sustainable means of keeping warm.”

True to his words, Albedo drew close to Kaeya and began to dab lightly at the wound. At the first touch, Kaeya hissed a bit, then he closed his eye.

Kaeya’s lopsided smirk subsided into something somewhat softer.

“I suppose I shouldn’t tease my savior. If you need to use this” he gestured to the wound, “for any—ouch—anatomical research or the like, please feel free.”

Albedo hummed in a noncommittal way.

“I thank you for your offer, but I’ve already done quite extensive research on lacerations such as this. Just a few weeks ago I partnered with Miss Barbara to document the healing process of a similar injury on Huffman.”

“Oh?” Kaeya’s starry eye twinkled with interest. “And how did that go?”

Albedo continued to dab at his wound as he spoke, noting that it wasn’t too deep.

“The healing process was easy when aided by Barbara’s powers. Huffman experienced mild discomfort due to the rapid pace of regeneration, but otherwise had a full recovery due to her aid. I assume you are interested due to the similarity of your injuries?”

Kaeya glanced down at his own injury before speaking.

“That does interest me. But I also wonder how it felt to spend all that time with Monstadt’s fourth most eligible bachelor. Were you not flustered?”

Chalk can’t blush. I can’t fluster.

Albedo couldn’t say that, so instead he sighed and applied slightly more pressure than necessary to the wound. He relished Kaeya’s little yelp before responding.

“I was unaware that there was an official ranking of eligible bachelors in Mondstadt.” He dipped the towel into the now-hot water and began to clean away the antiseptic. “In any case, I was merely doing my job as Mondstadt’s head researcher. Barbara’s powers are truly fascinating, and my attention was drawn by the healing process, rather than the patient.”

“Oh?”

The wound looked much better, now that most of the blood had been cleared away. Albedo realized that he would not even need to provide stitches.

“Sir Kaeya, I did not realize you take such interest in Huffman.”

“Attractive people are universally interesting, are they not?”

Albedo left his side briefly to rummage through some of his parcels.

“From an artistic perspective, I suppose.”

“Not from a personal perspective?”

Albedo glanced at Kaeya who, despite the large wound and lack of clothing in freezing temperatures, looked completely at ease, reclining against the stone wall and Albedo’s unmade tent, still bagged in a burlap sack.

They made eye contact, then Albedo returned to his search.

“Do you mean romantically?”

Kaeya chuckled lightly.

“Romantically. Sexually. Or just thinking they’re nice to look at.”

Albedo found the concoction he was looking for: a special ointment he had created with the help of Barbara.

“No one is universally appealing in those ways. I’ve found that attraction and aesthetic preferences are largely subjective.”

Back at Kaeya’s side, he began to dab the ointment onto the wound.

“So you think Huffman is unattractive?” Without looking, he could hear the smile in Kaeya’s voice.

“I am not so blind.” The wound truly looked a lot better. “I once spent several hours sketching Huffman’s face when he agreed to model for me. Suffice to say, I would not waste my time creating unattractive art.”

Kaeya’s eye took on a somewhat sharper look, zeroing in on something Albedo couldn’t determine. Albedo decided to pay him no mind, and began to cut gauze and prepare adhesive.

“So you do have preferences.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Albedo’s scissors snip, snip, snipped at the gauze to fill the still silence. Then he looked up abruptly. “Sir Kaeya, my interest in Huffman is purely aesthetic. If you’re interested in him, please do not mind me.”

Kaeya covered Albedo’s hand with his own, stilling it over his now-covered wound.

“Perhaps you should be a nurse. I can hardly feel the pain.”

Albedo nodded, not really caring enough to move his hand.

Kaeya chuckled. “I’m more partial to the third most eligible bachelor in Mondstadt, myself.”

“I’m not sure who that is.” Albedo stood up and brushed the snow off his pants. A little late, he noticed that his hands were a bit shaky. “However, I have finished my first goal of dressing your wounds. Now all that remains is to find a sustainable source of warmth.”

Albedo had noticed that Kaeya was beginning to tremble from the cold. His tent would be helpful for keeping Kaeya warm, but it was bundled underneath him.

“Sir Kaeya, are you well enough to move to the side?”

Albedo drew near to him again, dropping down to his knees in the snow.

“You’re on top of the tent. Getting out of the wind will help with the chill.”

Albedo barely noticed the glimmer in Kaeya’s eye before he was roughly pulled forward over Kaeya. He lost his balance a bit and just barely managed to catch himself, his hands planted in the snow near Kaeya’s arms and his knees either side of Kaeya’s hips.

“Do you think body heat would be sufficient instead? I’d hate to move.”

Albedo was not human.

He did not blush, or process temperature well, or feel flustered.

This situation, however, was rather shocking to him. He considered scrambling off of Kaeya, but it seemed undignified.

Was Kaeya… perhaps—?

Laughter rang out.

“I never expected such a reaction from you!”

“That line was rather tacky. I was unsure how to respond.”

“You injure me.”

“Then I suppose it’s good that I’m an alchemist, rather than a nurse.”

Albedo pushed himself up and off Kaeya, not without noting that his skin was almost entirely without blemish.

“An alchemist, indeed. And yet, you forgot a key alchemical ingredient.”

Albedo snapped his attention back to Kaeya, who was fumbling with one of the utility bags from one of the many belts that lay in the snow next to him.

“I was here to investigate a missing person, but cute Miss Sucrose asked me for a special favor.” He dumped the bag into Albedo’s hand. Inside were multiple fire flower stamens, the special kind Sucrose had propagated to retain heat for longer periods of time. He stared blankly. “It seems she saw these in your office and grew worried about you. In any case, these should suffice for generating warmth, no?”

Albedo could imagine his dear apprentice fretting over his health at the base of the mountain, and thanked the archons for her foresight in sending the flowers along with an exploring team rather than making the trek by herself.

“Thank you.” He paused, then smiled a bit at Kaeya. “This is just what I was missing.”

Kaeya was silent for once, just staring at him with an odd sort of expression.

Then, “well it is a tragedy we won’t be using our bodies to stay warm. However,” as if he hadn’t been injured before, Kaeya stood up gracefully and began to brush snow off of his pants and arms, “I believe we’ll be much warmer this way.”

Kaeya picked up the burlap bag and emptied its contents, laying out the parts of the tent expertly. It was a standard issue tent for the knights, so he had likely set up that same tent more than Albedo.

“Please don’t strain yourself. I’d hate to have to give you stitches, and I’m not confident in my ability to do a good job.”

Kaeya’s laugh was soft and genuine.

“Noted, noted. I’ll finish setting up this tent, if you would be so kind as to create a warming bottle or two.”

The work thus divided, the camp was fully set up within 30 minutes.

---------------

“Please lay on the bed roll.”

“Oh, but I couldn’t. This is yours.”

“I was not injured today.”

“Well. If you insist.”

Kaeya climbed into the tent and lounged across the lumpy bed roll.

Albedo turned to leave, but Kaeya’s voice stopped him. “No, no, don’t leave. We’ll simply have to share.”

I don’t need much sleep.

I’m not affected by the cold the way humans like you are.

Albedo couldn’t exactly say those things.

“Won’t it be warmer if we’re both in the tent?”

Albedo nodded upward at the warming bottle hanging from the ceiling of the tent and emitting a soft red light.

“Is that not warm enough for you?”

Kaeya tucked his legs into himself and sat upright, patting the bed roll.

“We’ll both be warmer in here. I can’t let my savior and my favorite nurse freeze.”

Albedo sighed, then grabbed his sketchbook and crawled into the tent next to Kaeya. His research expedition had gone completely sideways from his intentions, but he had a hard time saying no to the cavalry captain. He wondered if it had anything to do with the odd shape of Kaeya’s pupils, which revealed his non-Mondstadtian lineage.

In any case, he had enjoyed some artistic inspiration during the day, and he would use this time to draw and keep Kaeya silent.

As if that were possible.

Kaeya leaned back out of his upright position and returned to his lazy sprawl, his legs now encroaching on Albedo’s space. In other circumstances, Albedo might have felt something akin to annoyance.

However, from an artistic perspective he could not deny the rare opportunity before him. He eagerly began to sketch.

“You said earlier that you once spent a long time on a portrait of Huffman.”

Kaeya had been silent for a long time, his eyes closed. Albedo had almost forgotten he could speak and was a bit startled at the sound. He recovered and returned to drawing the shirtless man sprawled out at his feet.

“Indeed, I did.”

“Is the drawing in that sketchbook, Sir Artist?”

“No, it is in my portfolio back in my office at the Ordo.”

“Mmhm.” Kaeya stretched and Albedo watched the taut muscles of his abdomen move. “Was he shirtless too?”

Albedo sighed. “You said you weren’t interested in Huffman, and yet you ask such questions. No, he was not shirtless the first time I drew him. That was a formal portrait. He was shirtless the second time because his wound was being treated. And what of your favorite third eligible bachelor? Perhaps I’ve drawn him as well.”

Kaeya smiled a bit, his eye closing once more. “Somehow, I doubt it.”

“I couldn’t give you a portrait without the individual’s consent anyways.”

“You didn’t ask permission to draw me.”

“I apologize. Again, I have no ill intentions.”

Albedo wasn’t sure if Kaeya blinked or winked. “I would welcome your ill intentions, Eligible Bachelor #3.”

Albedo stared.

“I am… eligible?”

He seemed to have grown better at alchemy. The warming bottle seemed to grow stronger every minute.

“You doubt your own charm? You’re quite popular, you know. According to the general public, you are very eligible.”

Albedo trained his eyes on the sketchbook, not even daring to check that he was capturing Kaeya’s pose properly.

“I’m afraid I have no experience with such things. I have no estimation as to whether or not I’m attractive. It’s inconsequential to my research.”

“Are you not curious?”

Kaeya shifted out of his pose, sitting upright and leaning forward out of interest in the turn of conversation.

“Curious about what?”

“The things we discussed earlier. Sex, romance, attraction.”

Albedo scoffed quietly. “Of course I’m curious. Lust, in particular, has a strong effect on the body.” His pencil continued to scratch away, even though Kaeya’s pose was now completely different from the original. “However, I try to limit human experiments as they can be somewhat inhumane. The people of Mondstadt are rather hesitant to disclose their sexual proclivities, and I’m afraid I lack the tact to design an organic experiment.”

Kaeya mused and hummed.

Albedo kept drawing.

“And what if you were the subject?”

Albedo responded carefully. “I am not someone to be swept away by emotion. While my lucidity would be useful for my research, I can’t say that I am an accurate representative specimen.”

“And outside of research?”

Albedo looked up.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you ever consider feeling pleasure for the sake of pleasure?”

Kaeya’s eye was truly sparkling now. Darkness had set in outside of the tent and the red glow of the warming bottle was the primary light source. Albedo set his sketch pad down.

“Art is pleasurable to me.”

“So drawing me has been pleasurable? I’m flattered.”

Albedo sighed again. “I merely mean that I take pleasure in witnessing beautiful things.”

There was a beat of silence while they both processed what Albedo had said.

“Well.” Kaeya cleared his throat. “Well, if art gives you aesthetic pleasure, what of physical pleasure?”

Albedo had… experimented… on himself before, but the act rarely elicited the response he had heard about from others.

“I cannot say that I ever experience physical pleasure.”

Kaeya leaned forward, grabbing the sketchbook and opening it to his portrait.

“Is that not a worthy experiment? Determining whether you’re capable of physical pleasure?”

Kaeya’s eyes were still on the book. Albedo felt tempted to leave the tent.

“I… would not be opposed to such a line of research. I have, however, undertaken it before with little success.”

Kaeya’s voice was deep when he responded.

“Did you conduct this research alone?”

“I did.”

“Did you have any visual stimuli?”

“Ah, that. No, I did not.”

“Perhaps that could be the direction of your next line of research.”

Albedo nodded slowly. It wasn’t a bad thought. His homuncular nature was a mystery even to himself; he was capable of feeling stimuli, but was much less sensitive than other humans. Perhaps pleasure was a sensation he was capable of feeling.

“Please hand me my sketchbook, Sir Kaeya.”

It was handed over silently.

Albedo glanced down at the image of the reclining knight on the page. Even with limited time and low light, he had done a good job. He was satisfied looking at it. But was it pleasurable?

“You came to this mountain to conduct research, no?”

“...indeed I did.”

“I’ve gotten in your way. Perhaps I could make it up to you by aiding in this line of your research, Sir Alchemist?”

Surely, he doesn’t mean…

“And how would you aid me?”

Kaeya straightened up. “By providing a visual stimulus, of course. Or a physical stimulus, if you like. And a rare one at that: Mondstadt’s second most eligible bachelor.”

Albedo mulled it over. Objectively speaking, Kaeya was nearly the perfectly attractive human. Albedo did derive artistic pleasure from observing him. At that moment, Albedo could not think of a more ideal research partner. He wondered, vaguely, who the first most eligible bachelor was, but decided to ask about it another time.

“We should outline the experiment before agreeing to anything, Sir Kaeya.”

Kaeya clapped his hands together. “Of course we should!”

“What are the parameters of success?”

“Whether or not you can feel physical pleasure, no?”

“...indeed. Will we only use visual stimuli? Physical stimuli? A combination of the two?”

Kaeya laughed softly, pushing the sketchbook out of Albedo’s hand and setting it near the opening of the tent.

“You are the researcher, Mr. Alchemist. However, as this is a preliminary test, it would make sense to use as many stimuli as possible, I believe. Specifics can be further researched at a later time, can they not?”

Albedo nodded. It was a good plan. If anything worked, he could write it down and do more thorough research at a later time.

“Well, Mr. Alchemist, should we begin now?”

Albedo’s eyes raked over Kaeya’s entire body, sitting so close to him in the tent.

He sighed.

“One last thing.”

“I’m listening.”

“If, at any point, you are no longer comfortable in aiding me with this experiment, please say so at once. I am not so inhumane as to force you beyond your levels of comfort.”

“Your consideration is appreciated, Sir Albedo, but I might suggest that my tolerance is much higher than yours.”

Suddenly Albedo couldn’t bear to be in the tent any longer. Thankfully, he had an excuse: one of the concoctions in one of his boxes would certainly be useful.

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

He moved out of the tent quickly and began to search through one of the wooden crates pushed up against a bookshelf. Out of the tent, the wind bit at him and he soon began to feel discomfort at the tips of his ears. He found the mixture quickly, though, and returned to the tent.

Kaeya was still sitting upright, his skin shining in the red light of the warming bottle.

Albedo felt the urge to resist meeting his eye.

“May I ask what is in that bottle?”

“Ah, it’s a personal lubricant we sell at the shop. I figured it would be better to have it on hand than not.”

Kaeya’s breathing seemed a bit shallow as he nodded.

He regained his composure quickly, though.

“Well then, for your research, of course, shall we begin with some visual stimuli?”

“That seems acceptable.”

“Come closer, then.”

Albedo did. He examined the lean muscles of Kaeya’s abdomen, the defined muscles marred only by the bandage on his right side.

“Don’t do anything to disturb your injury.”

Albedo’s face was so near to Kaeya’s chest. His eyes were drawn to the defined pectoral muscles next, and the pert nipples. They were a deep and rosy color, deeper than a valberry. Albedo reached out as if to touch his chest.

“Ah-ah, Mr. Alchemist. I thought we were limited to visual stimuli first?”

“Indeed. Indeed.”

Albedo moved absently, his mind taking in the image before him.

A bit of sweat was beginning to pool in Kaeya’s collarbone, which sloped into his rounded shoulder muscles.

Veins snaked their way down his toned arms, ending in big hands with well-maintained fingernails and more defined veins.

Kaeya’s knuckles were reddened from the cold and snow.

Albedo moved a bit closer, once again almost seating himself in Kaeya’s lap. He could hear Kaeya’s unsteady breathing, the rise and fall of his chest that was so close to his own.

Albedo’s eyes moved to Kaeya’s neck. It was long and graceful, and Kaeya almost imperceptibly moved it to one side, allowing Albedo to appreciate the smooth expanse of skin.

The neck curved into a delicate ear and a defined jaw, a prominent nose, and—

“I’m not sure you’re getting the results you’d hoped.”

Albedo didn’t realize he was holding his breath, but it came out with a soft gasp as his eyes met Kaeya’s.

“I do seem to be having something of a physiological reaction, but no, not at the level I had hoped.”

“Well, your visual stimuli are not yet exhausted. Would you back up for a moment?”

Albedo obediently retreated to one corner of the tent, giving more room to Kaeya who began to unbutton his pants.

Chalk cannot blush.

Albedo was impressed with how well he had made that warming bottle. It truly was very warm in the tent.

Kaeya could not stand up in the tent, and had to slowly shimmy his legs out of his pants. Albedo watched, trance-like, as inch after inch of the skin on Kaeya’s thighs was revealed, only obscured by a pair of black briefs. Within a minute, Kaeya’s boots and pants were discarded at the foot of the tent, and Albedo was able to behold his body in nearly all of its glory in the crimson light of the warming bottle.

Kaeya was tall and slim, but he was, evidently, still worthy of being called a knight. His thighs were as defined as the muscles of his abdomen. His ankles were slim, and Albedo found himself rather enchanted by the slope of the muscles of the calf into the tendons and ankle.

Kaeya, to his credit, did not seem at all uncomfortable with their imbalanced state of dress. He adjusted his weight to lean back on his elbows, legs sprawling out before him as Albedo crawled between them to better appreciate the sight.

There was silence in the tent as Albedo’s eyes methodically examined every inch of his newly exposed legs, occasionally flickering back to his collarbone then back down.

For a brief moment, Albedo’s eyes drifted to the area still obscured by Kaeya’s undergarments. Kaeya shifted, almost imperceptibly, and Albedo snapped back to attention, forcing his eyes to focus instead on one of Kaeya’s knees.

“A question, Sir Alchemist.”

Upon hearing an absent hmmm?, Kaeya continued.

“How long shall we spend on the visual part of the experiment?”

Albedo mulled over his words.

“Indeed, I should be paying closer attention to my own state as well.”

Silence.

Kaeya’s voice had a tinge of laughter to it when he responded after a few seconds.

“And what is your current state?”

“Hmmm.” Albedo glanced downward briefly, then placed a hand to his forehead. “I cannot say I detect any outward symptoms of arousal, nor can I say that I am not pleased at the sight before me.”

“Results inconclusive?”

“Hmmm.”

“Another question, then. Would you feel the way you currently do if you were, for example, viewing a nice landscape?”

Albedo was silent for a moment.

“I believe my physiological response now is stronger than it would have been had I seen a nice landscape. However, I prefer portraiture to landscapes, so the results may still be inconclusive.”

“I’ll comfort myself in knowing that I’m more attractive than rocks and trees, at least.”

“I have heard that the giant tree in the Niantianmen region of Liyue is quite lovely. You might lose to that tree, in particular.”

Kaeya sighed and sat upright, his face becoming dangerously close to Albedo, who was still perched between his legs.

Albedo didn’t even flinch.

“At this point, Sir Kaeya, I suppose we should ask whether it would be more beneficial to proceed to physical stimuli, or for you to remove more articles of clothing.”

Kaeya chuckled. “I’m not sure my pride can handle much more of your indifference. In any case, I hope you don’t mean removing my eyepatch.”

Albedo tilted his head. “I assure you, Sir Kaeya, I am not indifferent to your current appearance. I have never been more tempted to grab my sketchbook. I am only restraining myself for the purpose of this experiment.” As if to prove his point, he glanced toward his sketchbook with a look of longing. “And I should add that your level of comfort with this experiment is of crucial importance. If you do not want your eyepatch removed, it will not be removed.”

“Well, thank you for that. Let me know if you feel the same way about my appearance after you see the tree in Niantianmen.”

There was a teasing grin on Kaeya’s face.

“If you so wish. In any case—” Albedo shifted to move backward, and his hand grazed across the front of Kaeya’s briefs. Immediately, Albedo fell back, hands moving behind him to avoid more of such contact. “—Ah, I apologize. Shall we move on to physical stimuli?”

There was an unreadable expression on Kaeya’s face.

“I believe, Sir Alchemist, that this experiment may yield great results.”

“How so?”

“Would your reaction just now qualify as a physiological reaction?”

Albedo paused, his eyes wide. “I suppose it did feel as if my body moved on its own.”

“Would it be more pleasurable to touch or to be touched, Sir Alchemist?”

“Oh. I hadn’t considered that.” Albedo held his chin as he thought. “For now… for now I will only touch you.”

Kaeya grinned and reclined back onto his elbows, exposing the long planes of his body to Albedo once again.

“You may do as you please. And, if you wish, everything but the eyepatch can be removed.”

Albedo almost added that everything, in this case, was simply his undergarments and the tie in his hair, but something made him refrain.

With no other prelude, Albedo traced his gloved finger across Kaeya’s collarbone. Kaeya’s entire body trembled at his cold touch.

Albedo hesitated.

“Are you certain this is okay?”

Kaeya’s eye was closed.

“It’s more than okay.”

“Even with gloves, my hands are probably cold.”

“I have a cryo vision, Albedo. I’m used to the cold.”

Albedo wanted to point out that he had omitted the Sir title they should both use as high-ranking officers, but again he kept his mouth shut.

“Then…”

Albedo rested his hand on the divet between Kaeya’s neck and right shoulder. The skin was smooth, as if Kaeya wasn’t regularly engaged in active combat. Albedo drew in closer, and he could see a large but faint scar on his shoulder. He traced the line of the scar, gloved fingers ghosting over the skin until the scar curved around Kaeya’s shoulder and he could no longer see it. Kaeya’s eye was still closed.

Albedo hummed a bit.

“Perhaps I should… remove my gloves.”

“It certainly may enhance the physical sensation.”

“Sir Kaeya, I warn you again that my skin runs very cold.”

“And I remind you again that I am used to the cold.”

Without another word, Albedo removed his right glove, then his left glove, and threw them into the corner of the tent.

His hands now bare, he returned to the scar on Kaeya’s shoulder and began to retrace. This time, a shiver visibly went down Kaeya’s spine.

“You certainly were not lying about cold hands.”

“Your skin is colder than I expected as well, Sir Kaeya.”

“Perhaps we can warm each other up.”

Albedo brought his hands up to his mouth, exhaling hard in an attempt to warm them slightly. Kaeya chuckled at the almost child-like display, before Albedo returned to his examination and Kaeya’s eye shut once more.

Albedo’s index finger traced a prominent vein in Kaeya’s arm down to his hands. He held Kaeya’s left hand between his, thumbs tracing the prominent veins on the back of Kaeya’s hands.

His eyes lingered on the bandage on Kaeya’s abdomen, and his hands soon followed the path of his eyes, testing that the adhesive was still functional.

Besides a slight hiss when Albedo pressed the sensitive area too hard, Kaeya remained silent, his eye closed and his head thrown back.

Albedo’s hands then began to trace the lines of Kaeya’s abdomen, his fingers running along the grooves between the prominent muscles. His hand grazed across Kaeya’s navel and continued downward to the smooth expanse of skin below.

Before he could process what had happened, Albedo found both of his wrists enveloped by Kaeya’s right hand, stopping his progress downward.

Kaeya’s voice, though lilting as usual, was shadowed by something dark and deep as he spoke.

“Sir Alchemist, it is your pleasure we seek to achieve through these experiments. If you proceed, your test subject will be in agony.”

Albedo’s eyes widened. “Sir Kaeya, if you are uncomfortable, I apologize.” He backed up a bit. “Thank you for telling me. However, there is no reason that you should not also feel pleasure.”

Kaeya sat up, knees bent awkwardly in the crowded tent as Albedo backed up against the entrance of the tent to give him space. He buried his head in his arms.

“Damn it.”

For the first time, he heard Albedo’s voice shake.

“W-What’s wrong? Would you like to stop the experiment?”

Kaeya’s eye peeked out above his arm, piercing Albedo with his focused gaze.

“Albedo, can I touch you?”

“As part of the experiment?”

“Of course.”

“Then, by all means.”

Kaeya grabbed Albedo’s arm and fell backwards, effectively pinning himself underneath the alchemist. Albedo was stunned by the quick change in position, but the sight underneath him soon called his attention. Against the ivory bedroll, Kaeya’s dark hair fanned out around his face. His single visible eye twinkled with mischief. As an artist, Albedo could not ignore the proportions of Kaeya’s face: the elegant slope of the eyebrow, the large, light eyes, the defined nose and jaw... Albedo also noticed, more than before, that Kaeya smelled good.

Kaeya broke the silence.

“May I kiss you?”

“Yes.” Albedo continued to stare. “And moving forward, please consider all forms of kissing included in the category of ‘touch,’ as it is a physical stimuli.”

Albedo’s voice had lost its earlier tremor, and his eyes were fully focused.

Kaeya laughed a little.

“So damn unsexy.”

He tugged Albedo downward, caging him in with his arms and feverishly pressing their lips together.

Albedo’s hands calmly rested on Kaeya’s chest, as Kaeya’s own hands put downward pressure on Albedo’s back. Finally, Albedo succumbed to the pressure and rested his entire weight on Kaeya’s body, his legs draped between Kaeya’s own.

Soon enough, Albedo felt Kaeya’s tongue pressing against his lips, and opened his mouth to allow access, although he did not entirely understand why Kaeya would want his tongue in someone else’s mouth. He kept his own tongue still, but focused on the odd sensation of such a deep kiss.

Soon, Albedo was gasping into Kaeya’s mouth, and their lips separated with a pop. Kaeya watched with glee as Albedo recovered, his chest heaving with exertion and lack of breath. Albedo rested his weight on his elbows, his head hovering over Kaeya.

Kaeya reached up and brushed a wayward strand of hair out of Albedo’s face.

“Your face is flushing, Sir Alchemist.”

“Impossible.”

“Shall we find a mirror?”

Albedo shifted to allow himself to hold a hand to one cheek.

“Indeed, my face does feel warm. It could be due to a lack of breath, however it certainly is a physiological response.”

Kaeya’s sly grin had returned.

“Have you been kissed before, Albedo?”

“I have not.” His chest was still heaving

“And would you describe your current state as ‘aroused’?

“I couldn’t say.”

“Then I suppose we should continue.”

Like lightning, Albedo was flipped onto his back and Kaeya was over him. How did he move so fast? Albedo filed that question away for further research at a later time.

Kaeya’s hands worked their way under Albedo’s shirt, pressing into the lean muscle and massaging lightly as his lips made contact with Albedo’s jaw.

Albedo closed his eyes and allowed himself to focus on the stimuli, trying not to become too distracted by Kaeya’s hot breath against the left side of his face.

Kaeya kissed Albedo on the lips once more before pulling back to afford him a better view of Albedo’s torso.

He chuckled as he tugged at the large buckle across Albedo’s chest.

“So many layers, and all so complex! Is there a practical reason?”

“I often need extra pockets, so layers are necessary. My options are also limited to that which is offered. In any case, I have no particular attachment to the decorative aspects of my clothing.”

Kaeya had undone the large gold buckle and his hands grazed Albedo’s neck. He thumbed absently at the gold Khaenri’ahn star on Albedo’s neck before running his hands over Albedo’s vision. The slight glow cast a golden light on Kaeya’s hand as he found the clasp underneath and undid it, revealing more of the pale expanse of Albedo’s neck and collarbone.

Kaeya buried his face in the place where Albedo’s vision had previously rested, kissing his neck wetly and moving downward.

“Ah!”

Kaeya stopped and rested his forehead on Albedo’s shoulder, before glancing upward. Albedo had a dazed look in his eyes, and his head was slightly turned to the right, exposing even more of his neck to Kaeya.

Kaeya’s eye landed, once more, on the star pattern on his neck. He hummed deeply as he pressed a gentle kiss to the mark, and was once again rewarded with a soft ah from the alchemist.

“Oh esteemed researcher, it appears you’re sensitive here?”

Kaeya began to suck at a spot just to the left of the star.

“I—oh!— I cannot deny that.”

“You’ll have to record that in your research notes.”

“I’ll try not to forget.”

Kaeya’s hands returned to the task of unclasping Albedo’s shirt as his mouth continued to create constellations to match the star on his neck. Albedo’s eyes were closed and his face was still warm.

With the final hidden eyelet undone, Kaeya pushed himself back off of Albedo to admire his work.

Albedo’s light hair was a halo around his face, sprawled out on the bedroll as he was. The light flush had not faded, and when he opened his eyes to question why Kaeya had stopped touching him, his gaze was cloudy and half-lidded.

His shirt and coat were not fully removed, but Kaeya had opened them to expose the skin underneath. It was flawless. Albedo had no beauty marks, no freckles, no scars. Just porcelain skin over lightly defined muscles. His chest expanded and contracted with heavy breaths, and Kaeya could hear the little sounds escaping his mouth.

“Albedo, no tree in the world could compare to the sight before me right now.”

Kaeya pushed Albedo’s shirt open even further, revealing pale pink nipples.

“Perhaps, ah—“ Albedo’s voice broke as Kaeya fastened his mouth over one. “Perhaps we can visit Niantianmen together. You may find my appearance less satisfying then.”

Kaeya sighed, and the exhaled air was cold on Albedo’s sensitive chest. His hand shot up to gingerly rub the swollen nub.

Kaeya met his eyes and his smile was as dangerous as ever.

“Is that a date?”

Albedo frowned up at him. “I don’t particularly care.”

Soft laughter filled the tent.

“Well, it’d be a waste of time, anyways.” His hands moved to Albedo’s other nipple as he buried his face into Albedo’s neck.

“I don’t think even the tree at Niantianmen would look better than you right now.”

His mouth replaced his hands, and Albedo’s back arched up off of the bedroll.

“Sir Kaeya—! That’s painful.”

Kaeya pulled back, his mouth glistening a bit.

“Do you talk to all of your… partners this way?”

“Sexual partners?”

“Yes.”

“Would you be jealous if I said yes?”

Albedo pondered for a moment.

“I suppose not. I was merely curious.”

“Then I won’t respond.” Kaeya’s hand grazed over the other swollen nipple, and Albedo jumped again. Albedo was once again reminded that Kaeya’s company was always much more pleasant when he was silent.

“This place seems a bit sensitive. Perhaps I should move on?”

Albedo nodded without a word.

Kaeya backed up, still between Albedo’s legs, and moved to his boots.

“Let’s get these off, shall we?”

It took a while to remove Albedo’s boots, as high and tight as they were. After a bit of struggling, Kaeya managed to pop one off, and then the other, before throwing them out of the tent altogether.

“You really…”

Albedo gave him a questioning look, and was shocked to see a dark look on his face.

“Take your jacket and shirt off, please, Sir Alchemist.”

Albedo wordlessly discarded the long-since opened articles, reclining back as Kaeya sat between his knees.

“Lay down.”

He did.

Kaeya seemed a bit out of breath, and Albedo absently wondered if something was wrong with him.

“Are these… tights?”

Albedo rubbed at a tender spot on his neck. “They’re stockings. They help with the cold.”

“L-let’s get these off first.”

At the uncharacteristic voice crack, Albedo examined Kaeya a bit closer. His face didn’t appear flushed but—

Before Albedo could fully process the rather noticeable physiological reaction between Kaeya’s legs, Kaeya unbuttoned his shorts and tugged them down roughly. They, too, joined the pile of clothes at the foot of the tent.

“...”

Kaeya didn’t say a word. Albedo stared up at him.

“May I remove these as well?”

Albedo nodded.

Kaeya’s head dipped, almost with reverence, to the area around the waistband of Albedo’s stockings. He kissed the area just under the navel, and this time, Albedo flinched so hard one leg kicked out.

“That was certainly a reaction.” Kaeya mouthed against the soft skin of Albedo’s stomach.

Albedo could hardly speak beyond a choked, “Continue.”

And Kaeya did.

Kaeya kissed Albedo’s hipbone, then in the soft dip in his skin right next to it. His lips rested on the waistband, and he slipped it down with his teeth, just a bit, to allow him to press his lips to the previously hidden skin. He hooked a finger into the waistband, and tugged the tights down.

Albedo let out a small sound in the back of his throat and threw an arm over his eyes as he felt the bitingly cold air reach skin that he always kept covered.

Albedo felt Kaeya’s weight disappear.

“Ah, my apologies.” It sounded like Kaeya was near the opening of the tent, far from Albedo’s naked body. “I figured you’d wear something underneath. I would have asked permission before…” he trailed off, in an uncharacteristic, awkward way.

Albedo’s hands moved to cover his own eyes. He felt completely unwilling to meet Kaeya’s at that moment. He couldn’t recall a time that anyone else had seen him completely undressed. But…

“There is no need to apologize, Sir Kaeya. While sudden, such a thing wasn’t entirely… unexpected. For a situation such as this. Or, rather, for an experiment such as this.”

He wasn’t really sure why, but he wanted the heat of Kaeya’s body back. Perhaps the warming bottle was running out of strength.

“Sir Alchemist, would you like to proceed?”

Without hesitation, Albedo nodded his affirmative.

“Let me ask you this, then.” Kaeya, clad only in his black undergarments, crawled to Albedo’s right side, rather than returning to his spot between his legs. When he spoke, his voice was a whisper near Albedo’s ear. “Has this been pleasurable, so far?”

Albedo uncovered his eyes and turned to the side, meeting Kaeya’s single uncovered eye. He noticed that it was trained on him, never glancing down toward his nakedness, and he felt a rush of gratitude.

“I felt regretful when you moved so quickly earlier.”

Kaeya stared.

“I think… I think I was experiencing sexual pleasure. And your absence was felt. That stimulus appeared to be successful.”

“Albedo.”

Kaeya looked serious.

“I think dropping the scientific talk would heighten both of our pleasure.”

“Is this not an experiment?”

Kaeya propped himself up and gazed down at Albedo.

“It is. But we’re measuring the pleasure of the test subject, so we should do all we can to create a more organic situation, no?”

“Perhaps the researcher should not be the test subject.”

“The researcher can reflect afterwards. The test subject should just enjoy.” Kaeya’s head dipped down near Albedo’s. “I’ll ask again, Sir Alchemist—no, Albedo—may I kiss you? May I proceed?”

Albedo nodded.

“And do you consent to being touched in a sexual manner?”

“Yes. And I would ask that of you, as well. Do you consent to being touched, Sir Kaeya?”

In response, Kaeya crashed his lips down on Albedo’s.

Despite the fast start, it was a deep, languid kiss. Kaeya shifted positions, returning to his space between Albedo’s legs and carefully lowering himself downward. Albedo gasped into Kaeya’s mouth at the unfamiliar sensation in his lower body, the feeling of someone pressed against his nakedness, of something stiff digging into the hipbone that had been kissed just minutes before.

Albedo’s hands scrambled for something to touch, settling first on Kaeya’s chest, then moving around to Kaeya’s back and beginning to scratch lightly, synchronizing to the subtle movements of Kaeya’s hips. Kaeya’s lips then moved to his neck, planting a wet kiss there before proceeding downwards.

There was a stirring low in Albedo’s stomach. It wasn’t a feeling he had never felt before, but it was exceedingly rare. As he became aware of his own aroused state, the tent seemed to become like an oven, suffocating him, making him feel as though the air itself was cooking. Kaeya’s icy touch kept him grounded, though; he never thought he’d be seeking out the cold in Dragonspine and yet there he was, pressed up against the cavalry captain, hot and bothered and seeking cold relief.

“This,” Kaeya murmured into the skin just under Albedo’s navel, “Is certainly a physiological reaction.” He rubbed Albedo’s thigh, and Albedo’s hips bucked upward, pushing his throbbing erection against Kaeya’s leg.

Albedo’s whole body shuddered. “You said we should forget the scientific talk.”

“You’re right.” A wicked eye met Albedo’s. “I think our mouths will be busy anyways.”

True to his word, Kaeya shifted backwards, then hoisted up Albedo’s leg. He began by kissing just inside of his knee, then began a hot trail of kisses upward. Kaeya’s hands were cold, but his mouth was hot. Albedo’s head was swirling, overwhelmed with new and unfamiliar stimuli. Kaeya slowed down as he reached the sensitive skin of Albedo’s inner thigh, making each kiss linger and burn.

Albedo felt Kaeya’s teeth latch down slowly on the skin, and then Kaeya’s tongue began to swirl circles. Through his haze, Albedo realized that his neck and thighs would be blue and purple for a while, but he couldn’t find the energy or willpower to stop Kaeya’s greedy tongue.

Kaeya turned his head to lavish attention on Albedo’s other thigh, and as he turned, his hot breath landed on Albedo’s erect member. A groan so deep and unfamiliar left his mouth, and he wasn’t even entirely sure if it was him who had made the noise. He wasn’t sure where to look, so he chose to throw his head back and close his eyes.

Kaeya smiled into the soft flesh of his thigh, and whispered, “So eager.”

“S-sir Kaeya, p-please…”

Kaeya’s tongue swirled at the junction of his thigh.

“Does it feel good, Albedo?”

“It does.”

“Wonderful.”

Kaeya’s hand encircled him. Stars lit up behind Albedo’s eyes and his back arched up off the bedroll once again, slamming his tender thigh back up to Kaeya’s waiting mouth. His eyes opened and he studied the blue head resting against his leg. Never in his life had he been touched so intimately. Never in his life had he experienced pleasure so condensed, so instantaneous.

Kaeya’s hands were a little dry and rough from the cold air as they began to move. Pleasure soon gave way to a heady frustration, and Albedo writhed as Kaeya ministered to his thigh and his cock at the same time.

Then Kaeya’s hand and mouth switched places and Albedo’s vision blurred.

“Ah!”

Kaeya’s mouth closed over him as his calloused hands rubbed circles into Albedo’s thighs. Warmth filled his core, and it was as if his arms and legs were completely numb and the only thoughts he could form were hot and wet. Kaeya’s tongue lapped against a thick vein, and Albedo spoke on instinct.

“K-Kaeya wait!”

Albedo was practically frantic. Kaeya obediently paused his ministrations. The heat in the tent had built to a point where he felt like the air itself was crackling; like something in him was about to burst. His hands snapped onto Kaeya’s shoulders, their eyes met, and Albedo was struck by the sight before him. Kaeya hadn’t removed his mouth yet, and his shoulders were heaving with the heavy breaths coming in and out of his nose. His visible eye was unblinking and unreadable, staring at Albedo in a way that Albedo could neither quantify nor qualify. Then Kaeya began to move backward, releasing Albedo from his mouth, moving slowly as if Albedo were a timid animal.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Albedo finally recognized the emotion in Kaeya’s eyes: it was a mixture of lust, desperation, and uncertainty. Perhaps even fear.

He pulled his knees up to his chest, crossing his ankles to hide his erection.

“Just a bit… overwhelmed.”

Kaeya pulled back farther. “I apologize.”

Desperation flared hot within Albedo at the sight of Kaeya retreating.

“Please, don’t apologize!”

He grabbed Kaeya’s wrist.

“I just felt overwhelmed. Too hot. But maybe…”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe I could try the same for you.”

“If you’re certain.”

“I am.”

Albedo wasn’t entirely sure where this confidence came from, but he and Kaeya were switching places and Kaeya was finally removing his undergarments and sweet gods of Celestia it’s HUGE.

Kaeya chuckled as Albedo once again settled himself between his legs, eyes unabashedly examining his erect member.

“This is certainly… larger than average, if my anatomy books are to be believed.”

“That’s encouraging to hear. Are you sure you’re okay with this, though?”

“If you will consent to it, I’m eager to try.”

Kaeya nodded, and Albedo began. He followed the same path down Kaeya’s body as Kaeya had followed on his, lavishing attention on the cavalry captain’s neck and making sure not to leave any marks where they would be seen in his eternally-opened shirt (“I don’t mind some visible marks, Albedo, it’s a conversation starter.”). His mouth trailed downward, until his nose grazed past Kaeya’s navel and he could feel Kaeya, warm and exposed, poking into his stomach. He paused, kissing in an absent minded way at Kaeya’s hipbone just as he himself had experienced.

He felt Kaeya’s fingers thread into his hair, stopping him.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Albedo looked up into Kaeya’s exposed eye.

“This is about your pleasure Albedo. If you aren’t comfortable with it, there’s no point in forcing yourself. We can stop at any time.”

Albedo murmured into Kaeya’s skin.

“Hm?”

“I said, ‘I want to.’ Now if you have no further concerns, I’ll begin.” Kaeya let go of his hair, nodding with consent. Albedo’s core was burning hot again, and as he moved his body downward and fully settled between Kaeya’s legs, he worried about how long he could last before that feeling overcame him once more.

“I’ll begin.”

He immediately closed his mouth over Kaeya, rolling his tongue over the head and savoring the little grunt the captain made.

He continued for a bit, before Kaeya whispered, “your hands… at the base, please.”

Albedo recognized that there was no way he’d be able to fit Kaeya’s entire length in his mouth, and readily added his hands to the business, touch feather-light and tentative as he flattened his tongue against the large vein on the underside.

“Ah! You can -- oh!” Kaeya’s hands returned to Albedo’s hair, catching on a braid as he arched his back up off the bed roll. “Archons above, that was good. You can be a little rougher with the hands, just… no teeth.”

Albedo began to stroke more earnestly, trying his best to bob his head further down the shaft. As he continued, he could feel Kaeya’s grip in his hair tightening. The developing pain in his jaw subsided a bit, as did the rush of blood between his legs, as his every nerve seemed to light up with the gentle scratching of Kaeya’s nails against his scalp, the pressure on his roots from his braids being tugged ever so softly. Albedo was almost dizzy, when Kaeya’s hands moved to his shoulders.

“I’m going to-- I’m going to cum.”

Albedo pulled back a bit, said “Go ahead,” then put Kaeya back into his mouth.

“Are you going to-- ah fuck.”

Warmth flooded Albedo’s mouth as Kaeya’s pleasure peaked. Once he was finished, Albedo carefully raised his head, mouth still full of the warm liquid as he sat back straddling one of Kaeya’s legs.

Kaeya looked at him, and the nervous twinkle had returned.

“Ah, I’m sorry. You can spit or-- oh.”

Albedo swallowed thickly. It was a little salty, but not as repugnant as he had assumed it would be. I’ll make a note of that later, he thought to himself.

He was broken out of his thoughts by light laughter from Kaeya.”Are you certain you haven’t done this before, Albedo? That was the best I’ve had in a while.”

“I merely copied your technique, but thank you.”

Kaeya moved to sit up, and Albedo moved off of his leg, instead crawling between both legs. Cupping Albedo’s chin gently, Kaeya drew him in for a light kiss, then rested his head on Albedo’s shoulder.

“Now, what’s this?”

A cold hand enveloped Albedo’s still-erect member.

“I fear I’m the only one feeling pleasure today.”

Albedo nosed into the divot between Kaeya’s neck and shoulder, then said, “Let me assure you, I have felt quite a lot of pleasure today.”

“This looks painful.”

“It...is.”

“Shall we try another stimulus?”

Within a minute, the lubricant had been procured and Albedo was sprawled atop Kaeya’s chest.

“Tell me if it hurts.”

A cold finger entered Albedo, and he felt himself whither a bit. It was uncomfortable. It was a foreign sensation. Kaeya’s finger was long and icy and Albedo felt vulnerable for nearly the first time in his life. His moan was muffled against Kaeya’s collarbone as a second finger pushed in.

“Let the noise out, Albedo, it helps.” Albedo groaned again as Kaeya’s fingers began to do scissor-like movements in earnest. The stretch was uncomfortable, but Albedo thanked his foresight in bringing samples of his various creations up the mountain; without the lubricant, this would have been excruciating.

With a huff, Kaeya flipped him onto his back, switching their positions; then, his fingers resumed their activity, still icy cold but less painful. Albedo could feel that foreign stretch and it started to feel a little good. A third finger was added and Albedo’s nails scratched at Kaeya’s back.

“Let me know if it’s too much, Albedo.” Kaeya curled his fingers, and light burst in Albedo’s eyes, similar to the bursting solar isotomas he created in combat. His back arched up violently, and Kaeya muffled his cry with a kiss.

Their lips made an obscene, wet pop as they separated, and Albedo asked breathlessly, “was that the prostate?”

“This?”

Kaeya curled his fingers again and Albedo cried out.

“Yes, Mr. Researcher, I believe that’s your prostate.”

Albedo added that to his mental notes. Kaeya’s fingers began to move quicker, and Albedo attached his lips to Kaeya’s neck: it smelled nice there and he hoped it would muffle some of his moans as his prostate received more attention.

He began to grind his hips upward into Kaeya’s leg. Pressure was building in his abdomen again, and even though the stimuli were overwhelming, he found himself desperate to feel more.

Kaeya pulled his fingers out of Albedo. From his position, propped up on his elbows, looking down at Albedo with beads of sweat on his face, Albedo thought Kaeya was truly the best visual stimulus in existence.

“Albedo.”

His name was a raspy whisper, but Kaeya met his eyes with sobriety.

“Shall we take this one step further?”

Albedo nodded, feeling exposed and uncomfortable without Kaeya’s fingers inside him.

“I need to hear it from you.” Kaeya lowered down, almost imperceptibly, and he was hovering just inches above Albedo’s face. “I have protection. Now, would you like me to fuck you, Albedo?”

For once, Albedo didn’t even think before responding with a hearty “yes.”

He was somewhat curious about why the cavalry captain would carry protection with him up a snowy mountain. But he, too, had brought lubricant despite having no sexual intentions for his research trip.

All of his reflections fled his mind as Kaeya sat back on his haunches, rifling through the pile of clothes to find one of his pockets and procuring a condom.

Quite virile. Albedo noted internally. It’s only been a few minutes and he’s almost fully erect once more.

He wasn’t impressed from a scientific perspective alone. From an artistic perspective, the Kaeya before him was almost otherworldly. Bathed in the dying red light of their high-powered warming bottle, Kaeya’s naked body glistened with sweat as he began to pump himself, bringing himself back to full mast.

He had a very pretty cock. It was long, and symmetrical, and the head was a pretty pink color. It was also big. And Albedo suddenly realized that that big, pretty thing would soon be inside of him, and his assuredness seemed to leave him.

Kaeya spoke, and Albedo did his best to push aside his trepidation.

“You need to promise me that you’ll tell me what you need.”

“I will.”

“We can stop at any time. If it’s painful or if you think the experiment won’t be a success, please say so.”

Albedo sat up too. “Sir Kaeya.” He grabbed Kaeya’s hand as he spoke. “This experiment has already been a success. All I ask is that you move slowly, as you seem above the average size.”

His hand was pulled to Kaeya’s lips, a featherlight kissed pressed against the pale skin. “Be selfish with me.”

“Mmm. Get started then.”

Albedo fell backwards, and Kaeya regarded him for a moment before shaking his head and opening the condom package with his teeth and rolling it over his length. The tightness in Albedo’s core had reached the point of pain, and he realized just how aroused he truly was. Objectively speaking, he should feel gross. He was sweaty, stretched out, and he knew there was lubricant inside of him. But he could only focus on Kaeya, the picture of sex and virility; Kaeya, whose sweat caused his skin to visibly glisten, even in the faded lights, whose fingers were so long, who was once again pumping at his cock to prepare himself. And he was preparing himself for Albedo.

Finally, Kaeya was ready. He climbed over Albedo then lined himself up at his entrance.

“Are you ready?”

Albedo almost rolled his eyes. He could feel the tip pressing against his waiting hole.

“I’m ready, Kaeya.”

“Just say ‘stop’ and I’ll stop okay? Don’t force yourself if it's painful.”

“I understand.”

“Okay.”

Kaeya slowly pushed inside, and for the first time that night, Albedo well and truly shouted.

Kaeya’s hips halted.

Through his haze of pain and disorientation, Albedo cried out, “No! Keep moving.”

Sweat dripped down off of Kaeya’s face onto Albedo as he slowly burrowed himself further. Albedo positively keened, the stretch unfamiliar and made all the more severe by the sheer size of Kaeya. A more lucid Albedo would have been thanking himself for bringing lubricant. As it was, Albedo couldn’t string two words together, even mentally, beyond “oh fuck.”

Finally, Kaeya was fully inside Albedo, and he rested his hips to allow Albedo to adjust. He brushed a loose strand of hair out of Albedo’s eyes.

“You look so pretty like this, Albedo.”

The alchemist reached up and stroked Kaeya’s cheek, thumb lingering near his starry eye.

“May I undo your hair?”

“Now? My dick is ins-”

Albedo found the hair tie in Kaeya’s silky blue locks and tugged it out, pleased to find there was little resistance. Kaeya’s hair tumbled over his shoulders like water, tickling at Albedo’s cheeks. Albedo wondered vaguely how many people had seen the captain like this: naked, dripping with sweat, hair flowing down, with a look in his eye Albedo couldn’t fully place.

“Kaeya, you’re very attractive.”

“Can you let your hair down as well?”

The hair tie had been digging into the back of Albedo’s head anyways, so he quickly obliged, lifting himself up (very carefully, as there was still a very large something inside of him) and pulling his hair out of their braids. His back hit the bedroll once more, and Kaeya buried his face into his neck.

“So goddamn beautiful, Albedo.” His hands were in his hair. “You wouldn’t believe—”a wet kiss”—how long I’ve wanted this. How long I’ve wanted you.”

The straining in Albedo’s own member was getting painful again.

“Then perhaps you should move.”

Kaeya obliged, and Albedo’s hearty moans quickly filled the tent.

The stretch wasn’t entirely comfortable, but the combination of visual and physical stimuli was enough to distract Albedo from the slight pain. Kaeya began slowly, pulling himself out then pushing back in, pace increasing as Albedo adjusted to the stretch. After a few minutes, Albedo had completely adjusted, and his moans softened. The ache in his member didn’t disperse.

“Faster, please, Kaeya.”

A bruising kiss captured his breath as Kaeya’s hips began to move faster. The sound of skin on skin, almost obscene in the tranquility of Dragonspine, filled the tent and mingled with their grunts and moans.

Albedo soon learned that Kaeya’s mouth was as incessant as his hips. It was almost dizzying.

A kiss pressed into the star on his neck.

A whispered, “you’re so good.”

A bite on his ear.

“So good for me.”

A kiss that swallowed Albedo’s moan.

“I want to make you feel incredible.”

A kiss on the jaw.

“Because I’ve wanted you…”

Albedo could feel every inch of Kaeya inside him as his hips moved faster and faster.

“...for so long.”

Then Kaeya’s hand wrapped around him and began to move. It was so much all at once: pressure on the head, pressure inside, warmth around.

He could feel his insides coiling up, ready to burst.

“Kaeya, I’m—ah—I’m so close.”

Kaeya placed their foreheads together, and the pace of his hand and hips never ceased, made possible by their size difference.

“Let go, Albedo. Come for me.”

Like that, stars burst in Albedo’s eyes as he spilled over Kaeya’s hand and his own stomach. His nails scraped against Kaeya’s back as the unfamiliar sensation of extreme pleasure washed over him, and it felt like every inch of his body needed to curl, to move, to writhe all at once.

“So pretty like this…” Kaeya’s voice was broken. “I’m so close, Albedo, I’m almost there.”

Albedo was practically limp from the severity of his orgasm, but he wanted Kaeya to cum again. He pulled Kaeya down into a kiss, whispering against his lips, “It’s okay.”

Finally, Kaeya’s hips snapped one, two, three more times before he buried himself deep within Albedo, his shoulders shaking from the force of his second orgasm that night.

The only sound in the tent was their heavy breathing as they gulped in the frigid air. All eyes were closed as exhaustion crashed over them in a wave. After catching his breath, Kaeya pulled out, tied the condom, and threw it somewhere outside the tent. Then he crashed down next to Albedo on the bedroll.

Albedo unthinkingly snuggled into his side, wrinkling his nose as he moved and became conscious of the sticky substance on his chest. Kaeya didn’t say anything either, just wrapped his arms around Albedo and held him close, pulling a blanket over them both.

Albedo wasn’t entirely certain how long the silence lasted. His head was resting against Kaeya’s chest, and he could hear the breathing even out, the heartbeat returning to its regular state. There, with his head on Kaeya’s chest, Albedo recognized that something inside of him felt different. His conversation with Kaeya earlier had been a spark, and their activities of the past hour had blown the spark into an inferno within him. Even in the frosty air of Dragonspine, he felt like he was burning alive, not with lust or pleasure, but with something else entirely.

Perhaps he didn’t give his master enough credit. He was certainly capable of feeling. He was capable of feeling strongly. If he really was a chalk being, the severity of his emotions and capability for pleasure were a testament to his master’s skill in khemia. He wasn’t entirely certain it was even possible for a homunculus to emote as strongly as he had in the past few hours.

What am I?

It was a question he hadn’t asked himself in a long time, but as he felt Kaeya’s heart beating against his cheek, the decades-old worry raised its head once more.

How had any of that been possible? Was his master a genius? Was he actually made of chalk, as he had always assumed? What did it mean for his future?

A finger between his brows instantly quelled those thoughts.

“Your brow is so furrowed.” Kaeya’s voice rumbled in his chest as he spoke, and Albedo wondered if he was hearing his voice or feeling his voice. “I’ve never seen you look this worried. What’s wrong?”

Albedo thought over his words carefully.

“This experiment…” He sighed, then moved even closer to Kaeya, wrapping their legs together. “This experiment has raised more questions than it answered. I need to think carefully about how to proceed.”

Kaeya’s breathing was a bit shallow when he asked, “Proceed? With more experiments?”

Albedo bit his lip.

“That too. But just in general.”

Kaeya’s arms tightened around Albedo, and he was now almost fully on top of Kaeya once more. Somehow, it didn’t feel sexual, even if they were both naked and the evidence of their tryst was written across their abdomens. Though they both ran a bit cold, it felt warm.

Kaeya’s voice was a whisper when he spoke again.

“Did you feel pleasure today?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think you would like to feel it again?”

Albedo could smell the remnants of Kaeya’s cologne. He wondered how he would face the captain again in the future, now that he had felt him, smelled him, tasted him.

“I would.”

“Well then,” Kaeya pressed a kiss to the crown of Albedo’s head, “just know you always have a willing research partner. And count this as a success: even if you’re confused about something, it’s better to ponder what’s real than to be certain about what’s false.”

Albedo had spent the past years of his life pursuing the uncertain: not merely his own nature, but the meaning of life itself.

And he realized that even if his experiment with Kaeya had resulted in more uncertainties than before, he somehow felt that he had moved one step closer to the answer to both quandaries.

And with Kaeya’s heart beating against his cheek, and their legs twined together, Albedo decided that uncertainty wasn’t such a bad thing.

There was a laugh in Kaeya’s voice as he spoke.

“Well, Sir Alchemist, perhaps you can also take this opportunity to sketch a nude portrait of Mondstadt’s second most eligible bachelor. You could keep it for yourself, or sell it for a good price.”

Albedo was certain that he still preferred a silent Kaeya.