Archive of Our Own ^beta

The sky was dyed a mix of warm orange and pink as the sun began setting, giving way to the night. The late evening bustle of the crew could be heard amongst the sound of the waves gently lapping against the harbour. 

The sun was warm against his back as Kaeya let his feet carry him with practised ease away from the Crux, all while doing his best to go unnoticed by any of his crewmates. After making sure no one was following him, he docked out of sight into the forest and down towards the side path he had memorised. It was a path that had become all too familiar to him whenever The Crux docked at the harbour. The treacherous path leading down the cliffs and towards the water didn’t deter or hinder Kaeya in the slightest, even with the loose rock and steep way down the trail.

After all, it wouldn't do for him to let his new friend wait. 

And finally, Kaeya arrived at his destination. His feet came to a stop as he arrived at a small rocky beach, the cliffs encasing it and hiding it out of sight from everyone else who could be wandering around nearby. The only reason he even knew of the hidden beach was due to how he had nearly slipped down the cliff and cracked his own skull open after having caught sight of a familiar glittering gold in the water.

Kaeya turned at the sound of the water's surface breaking, a smile breaking out on his face as a head of blonde hair emerged.

This wasn’t how it had meant to go.

Kaeya had joined the group of Liyuean merchants on their ship. Sure, the position may not have been well-paid, but at least he would have a job along with a roof over his head and guaranteed meals. And what other choice did he have? It wasn’t like returning to Mondstadt was an option anymore. 

It was meant to be a simple job. Work as a cabin boy, help with the chores and cleaning up around the ship as the crew chased down a treasure located near Guyun Stone Forest. A treacherous place to navigate at best, said to be haunted by monsters from the depths, yet the captain and the others following his command had boasted how easy a job it would be.

Oh, how proud they had been. Oh, how arrogant they had been. But that hadn’t been his business, he just had to do his job. So, like a fool, Kaeya had continued to keep his head down and thoughts to himself when he should’ve started looking for a way out. Now he could only curse himself for his choices. 

The storm had come over them so suddenly and fast, unlike anything any of them had ever seen.

The night was dark as ink, stormy black clouds drowning out the moon and every star in the sky. Lightning danced across it like cracks meant to split the heavens apart, as if the Archon of eternity herself had swam out from the depths and wrung out her wrath upon them. And true, one could almost believe that to be as the explosive sound of thunder followed closely behind each strike, deafening like a cannon shot and shaking one down to the very marrow of their bones. 

There was neither a hint nor sight of land, no one was coming to help them in this land of the unforgiving sea, where only the most resilient may dream of surviving. The storm grew further out of control, raging like an unstoppable tornado. Cries echoed out in the stormy night. Shouts from the ship so shrill and loud in an attempt to be heard over the raging wind and sea, the storm drowning them all out as it attempted to drag the ship down with it to its watery grave. 

The waves crashed into Kaeya like a ton of bricks, each blow heavier than the last, intent on dragging him below despite his best effort to keep afloat. Eager to drag him deep below the murky waters to Davy Jones’ Locker where he would never be seen again.

The plank in his grip was torn out of his hand as a huge wave barreled into him. A pain erupted at the side of his head. Kaeya sputtered as he was dragged below the ocean’s surface. The salty water stung his lungs and dug into his flesh like icy knives, sinking its grip into him even deeper. 

Kaeya flailed his limbs around, a poor attempt at trying to swim to the surface. Each time he made even a little progress, he was dragged back under by the raging currents. He sank and kept sinking. 

Was this how he died?

Cold and alone as he sank to the bottom of the ocean, his life slowly and painfully leaving Kaeya as he drowned. A useless death, in obscurity, where he will soon forever be forgotten. 

He was helpless and could only watch as his breath slowly left him in a flurry of bubbles. His limbs were heavy as lead. 

But then, just as his consciousness started to fade, a golden shape appeared in the corner of his vision. Kaeya blinked as he fought to keep his attention despite his 

losing fight against the ocean. The golden shape shimmered in the waters like glittering stars. Kaeya belatedly realised the blurry shape was oddly human-shaped. Had someone else fallen overboard? He didn’t remember anyone who looked like that on the ship.  

Black spots started to take over his vision. His lungs screamed for air, and he rapidly lost the strength to fight against the current. With the last of his strength, Kaeya managed to lift his arm and outstretched his hand towards the golden shape. The only other thing to be seen in these dark waters. 

The last thing Kaeya saw was the golden star as the shape moved closer, its blurry shape coming more into focus. And then… darkness. 

By some miracle, or more likely some ridiculous curse, that day wasn’t Kaeya’s last breath. 

He didn’t know how, but he wasn’t dead. It felt like he was floating on a cloud. His skin felt clammy and his whole body hurt, like a dirty rag being wrung out. Walking the fine border between the stabbing pain consciousness and the blissful unawareness of unconsciousness.

His eyelids were too heavy to lift, but he could feel the presence of others lingering around him. The faint sound of glasses clinking together and hushed whispers talking fervently amongst themselves.

“ It’s a miracle he’s alive. ”

“ Only survivor- ”

“ His fever is too high- we need to clean out the infection in the wounds. ”

“ Will he make it? ”

“ We will have to make sure he does. Captain Beidou’s orders-”

Blackout. 

The waters were pitch black like ink. The salty water surrounding him, casting everything into the forgotten. 

Where only the dead quiet could be heard, neither the sound of the waves or the gulls screaming ahead. It was so quiet. Oh, so dead. 

And yet, here in this place where one was meant to drown a miserable death, he found his soul set free instead. 

A single golden star at his side, casting its light and warmth upon him. Dancing to a rhythm of its own, bobbing up and down to the beat of a heart. 

A childlike glee that he hadn’t felt in ages filled his chest, arms outstretched, he could only answer in kind.

Where were they meant to go? He knew not. 

They danced. In a world of their own, isolated from everything else in the ocean’s embrace. The star spun him around, and giggles filled his ears as he rejoiced. 

The golden star spun him around and around in circles. And as he came to his last turn, the light at his side had gone. The smile on his face died, panic seizing him as he looked around wildly to find what had once been at his side. 

But it was only he, it was only him here amongst the murky black waves. Suffocating. All alone till he would meet an end.

Kaeya’s eyes flew open, met with not the pitch black waters but instead a wooden ceiling. His muscles seized, ready to bolt. He would have likely fallen straight out of the bed he lay upon if he wasn’t dead exhausted. Kaya took several deep breaths to calm his racing heart back into a normal rhythm.  

His eye studied the grooves in the ceiling as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. He was lying on a plush bed, the scent of herbs and medicine strongly wafting through the room. Judging by the gentle rocking of the room, Kaeya was onboard a ship. It seemed someone had saved him from joining Davy Jones' locker. 

The memories of black waters and golden stars sat fresh in his mind. A dream. So in the end, that had only been a dream. 

Kaeya took several wheezy, deep breaths. 

Only when orange started to bleed through the night’s darkness and lit up the room through the porthole did Kaeya manage to fall back asleep, the flickering image of a golden star swimming through the ocean fresh in his mind.

Several days passed. At least Kaeya was pretty sure days had passed at this point, as he fell in and out of consciousness. 

He could feel gentle hands tend to him. Could feel as they gently wiped the sweat from his forehead, tended to his injuries, fed him bitter medicine that made him gag and held a bin under his head when he expelled the contents of his stomach. 

It was slow progress, but he had finally become lucid enough to stay awake for more than five minutes. 

A part of him felt a warm gratitude that these people had saved his life, that they showed such care in making his recovery a successful one. The other part of him was terrified over what they would demand in exchange. 

But it seemed Kaeya didn’t need to be left in suspense for long. 

Yinxing, a name he’d learned while she tended his injuries, came in one morning, checking him over as usual. After declaring that his recovery was going well, she announced that their captain would like to talk with him. 

Kaeya gave a stiff nod in reply.

Yinxing gave him a kind smile before leaving the infirmary.

After a moment that was shorter than it felt, the door opened again. Kaeya’s body tensed as Yinxing walked in again, a brown haired woman walking behind her who could only be the captain in question. 

The tall brunette walked closer, each step exuding confidence as her piercing gaze practically drilled a hole into him. 

“So you’re the straggler I've been hearing non-stop about this past week,” she said. “I’m Beidou, Captain of The Crux and its crew. I believe you’ve already had the opportunity to get  acquainted with our doctor, Yinxing.”

Kaeya swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Yes. She has my gratitude. After all, it's thanks to her I’ve made such a speedy recovery. I am not sure how I could possibly repay you.”

Beidou’s smile soured, her brows pinching together in a frown. Had Kaeya messed up already? “What do you mean?” she asked. 

“Well, you went out of your way, using both your resources and time to keep me alive. I don’t- all my belongings got lost along with the rest of the ship that sank during the storm, i don’t have a way to repay you or your crew.” 

The brunette stared at him for a long, silent moment, her red eyes piercing into his soul. And then the tension was promptly broken by the sounds of wheezing laughter. 

Kaeya watched, befuddled, as the captain doubled over, clutching her stomach in a humorous fit. Yinxing, who was present, just looked a mix of unaffected and equally amused as she watched their captain’s reaction. 

“Oh man-” wheezed Captain Beidou in gaspy breaths as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Haven’t laughed that hard in ages. Quite the cynical one, aren’t you?”

Kaeya, either due to the shock of the sudden laughter, or the fact that the fever was still cooking his brain alive (or perhaps a combination of both), could only stare back in baffled silence. He didn't know what to answer to that. 

The captain clapped a hand against his back, nearly knocking him off the bed in the process. “There’s no need for you to worry about anything of that sort,” said Beidou. 

Kaeya gave her a doubtful look. “Just like that?”

The brunette huffed in amusement, "I didn't save your life expecting something in return. What you do from here on out is up to you,” she explained. “But, even if I said that, I have a feeling that isn’t enough for you.”

Kaeya stayed silent at that. She wasn’t wrong in that assessment after all. 

“So how about this? When you’ve recovered, you can help out where you’re able to until you figure out what you will do from here on out, then we’ll call the favour repaid. It doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that. So what do you say?”

“I-” Kaeya felt the hesitation sitting up in his chest. He still couldn’t quite grasp why these people were so fine with going this much out of their way for him.

But then again, what choice did he have? He had nowhere to go, no mora and no belongings to his name.

His fists clenched the blanket tightly as he steeled himself. “Alright,” he said hoarsely. 

Beidou’s face lit up, “We have an agreement then! For now, make sure you get plenty of rest. We can discuss more when you’re all recovered.” And just like that, she turned on her heel and left, the doctor following closely behind her with a bow of her head.

Kaeya sighed, suddenly exhausted. He leaned back against the headboard, his eyes closing as he fell back into a restless sleep.

Humans and mermaids weren’t to interact, much less speak with each other. It was the golden rule of the sea: stay away from the humans lest you end up taken away, never to be seen again. The blonde could understand it from a survival perspective — mermaids dying at the hands of humans weren’t exactly unheard of. 

Yet, Albedo couldn’t help the curiosity burning through him. 

Why did these creatures look so similar to mermaids? How did their tails work? Why did they insist on travelling across the waters in large wooden structures despite the homes they had built on land? How did those weird tools that produced sound and would be sung along to work? Why were they so obsessed with gold?

He just couldn’t help but ponder, couldn’t help the questions swimming around in his head, couldn’t help but want to know . 

But Albedo had been content with doing that from a distance. Whether it was watching them swim across the ocean on their large wooden structures, whatever they would leave and drop into the ocean, or the trinkets he was able to collect from what sank to the bottom and put into his cave filled with human trinkets.

But Albedo had been content with doing that from a distance. To simply watch them from behind rocky cliffs and stones protruding up from the ocean. To collect whatever they either dropped or left behind. To explore the ruins or the ships that had sunk down to the bottom of the ocean, the lingering ghostly touch of the humans and their influence loomed heavily over them like a never-fading shadow. 

Albedo wasn’t sure he did what he did. Sympathy? Pity? Curiosity? A mixture of all three things? 

He didn’t have the answer. It was as if something had possessed his body and forced him to be a spectator as he swam forward to help the drowning creature. Carefully, as if handling a fragile seashell that could break at the slightest touch of his claws, Albedo hauled him to the surface and clung and fought to make sure his head was kept above water against the storm. Albedo had dragged the human across a wide hunk of wood torn from the ship, his tail thrashing against the raging current as he fought to make sure the human stayed on the makeshift raft.

Time blurred as he fought against the storm to make sure they both didn’t tumble over. But then, finally, the wind slowly died out, and the sunrays finally broke through the black clouds. Albedo let out a sigh of relief. 

The blonde stared down at the human, the sudden realisation of what he had just done slamming into him. What had he just done? Why? And more importantly, what in the seven seas was he supposed to do with it now? 

Albedo lowered himself onto the plank. Hesitantly, he reached out before brushing the blue hair back from where it was plastered against its face. A piece of strange-looking cloth covered its right eye, the brown skin had an unusual grey twinge to it and its face was pinched in pain, the blood was dripping down from the side of its head, likely the source. 

Albedo jumped back as the human began coughing, the force of it rattling his whole body and nearly tipping them both over into the ocean again. Albedo leaned forward when its coughing fit had stopped, the fins on the side of his head twitching at the sound the human made every time it exhaled and inhaled the air. It was wheezy and quiet, but at least the human was breathing. 

Albedo found a newfound resolve form. Right. He had been the one to save the human, so the least he could do was make sure that the human didn’t kick the bucket and recovered. 

Carefully, he dragged the blue-haired human up further so he was fully lying on the wood. Taking care that he wouldn’t flip over the makeshift raft and throw the human back into the ocean, Albedo climbed down and back into the ocean, and then he began pushing the wood. 

For several miles, Albedo kept pushing and pushing, a cramp forming in his tail, before he finally found what he searched for. A lone ship drifting along in the day’s light. His earfins twitched as the sound of humans talking and shouting drifted out from onboard the vessel.

The blonde glanced down at the human, who along the journey had started to shiver and grow an ashen colour. While Albedo didn’t know much about humans, even he could recognise signs of the sickness. This was the best chance he was going to get to save it. Albedo had to be quick if he wanted to both catch the ship’s attention and make sure to keep himself from their sight. 

Albedo got as low into the waters as he could and began swimming closer with the make-shift raft and human in tow, attempting to hurry while also trying to make it seem like it was the waves drifting the wood along. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest as the words and shouts of the humans onboard became clearer the closer he got. Once had gotten close enough, he pushed the raft forward and dove underwater, only to emerge some distance away from the ship.

An alarmed shout rang out through the air, and soon a light was cast on where the human was drifting along atop the wood. 

Albedo stayed low and hidden in the water’s surface, watching with rapt attention as the people on the ship hauled the unconscious human onboard. 

The mermaid had done all he could do. And yet the image of the human’s deadly pale face twisted in pain was branded in his mind. 

Albedo had no idea how the other humans would treat the one he had saved, even if the fact that they had dragged it onboard was a good one, it didn’t mean they would care to make sure he recovered properly. Albedo had already interfered where he shouldn’t have. Just to make sure he really did recover. Surely that much would be allowed? Hopefully, his family back home wouldn’t grow too worried, it wasn’t actually anything new that the blonde sneaked off for a few days only to return again. 

Albedo gulped before diving under the waters and started to swim after the ship.

Kaeya was fortunate that his recovery had been a smooth one— was fortunate that the people onboard The Crux really were as kind towards him as they were. 

As soon as he’d gotten the okay from Doctor Yinxing to be up and about, he dove straight into work aboard the ship. Whether it was scrubbing the deck, helping with inventory, plundering and digging up treasure, or putting his silver tongue to work, Kaeya did all that he could. 

Yet, he couldn’t help the unease crawling up his spine, despite how he had somehow seamlessly managed to integrate himself into the crew. 

It was as if something was watching him. He just didn’t know who . 

Unbeknownst to him, Kaeya would receive his answer of exactly what not soon from that. 

It had been around three weeks since he got onboard The Crux, one week since he decided to officially join the crew as a member. 

They had just managed to chase away several smugglers and fishermen who were caught illegally fishing for pearls around their territory. Cleaning up the mess of their operation left over the next few days and weeks would be a pain with the amount of torn fishing nets and gear they would have to recover. But for now, they were given leave to do whatever they wished, so Kaeya had taken it upon himself to explore Guyun Stone Forest. It was where they almost always docked during nighttime, so familiarising himself with the area wouldn’t be a bad idea. 

And it was amidst his exploration of the island when it happened. 

The distant sound of something thrashing in the water caught his attention. Curiosity getting the better of him, he followed the sound. At first, he thought it might have been a dolphin getting stuck in a net and washed ashore. It wouldn't have been the first they had come across after their recent skirmish. 

But when Kaeya broke through the foliage and stumbled upon the rocky beach, he was met with something completely different to his expectations. 

A man with his lower half that of a fish was thrashing amongst the shallow waters of the beach. A mop of messy pale blonde hair fell over pale skin, patches of golden colored scales spread across his torso down to where the tail began. A mermaid, he thought those creatures were only that of myths made up by drunkards too wobbly to board their own ships. Kaeya stared wide-eyed as he observed how the tail practically glittered as the sun reflected off of its scales. 

Before Kaeya was even aware of what he was doing, he had stepped forward, his foot skirting along the shore and kicking a few rocks, clattering away. The mermaid (merman?) froze at the sound, his head instantly whipping around to stare wide-eyed back at Kaeya with his brightly teal colored eyes.

It was then that Kaeya spotted the source of the mermaid’s struggle. A fishing net was tightly wrung around its tail and had gotten stuck on some of the bigger and sharper rocks littering the beach. That explained the desperate thrashing, thought Kaeya. 

Kaeya walked closer. The mermaid tensed and then hissed at him as he approached, the fins on the side of his head pinned downwards. Kaeya couldn’t help but think he looked like an angry cat. 

He held up his hands as he slowed his advance, trying not to spook the creature even further. “Now, now, there’s no need to be so cautious. I’ve no intention of hurting you. I just wish to help.” 

Meanwhile, Albedo’s panic rose inside him. He had slipped up. Gotten careless. He had gotten too used to being a shadow in the humans’ presence that he forgot to be cautious of them. And now here he was, discovered by a human as he was trapped and unable to escape back into the sea. The blonde glared at him as the human ignored his warning to stay away and continued to approach him. The mermaid’s body was completely tense as those bright teal eyes watched his every move. 

Kaeya came to a stop at the edge of the shore, only a few steps away from where the other was stuck. For reasons which Kaeya wasn’t entirely sure of himself, he didn’t want to make the mermaid upset. He also really didn’t fancy getting his remaining eye scratched out of his skull if the other decided to attack him instead. 

The closer proximity also allowed him to get a better look at the situation. The net was tightly bound around the mermaid’s tail, the rope digging into the flesh and even rubbing some of the scales off. The net seemed to have gotten caught on the rocks and had been tightly wound around them, properly due to the mermaids thrashing to get free, some bobbles and hooks also seemed to have gotten caught in-between and on the rocks as well. Kaeya glanced between the net wrapped around the rock and then where they were coiled around the mermaid’s tail. He couldn’t help the slight wince appearing on his face as he looked at how tightly bound around the tail the net and ropes really were. That was definitely going to leave some nasty rope burns. But luckily the mer person didn’t appear injured aside from that. 

Kaeya lifted his gaze to meet the blonde’s who was staring at him with scrutiny. Carefully and slowly, he stepped into the shallow waters and came closer. The mermaid flinched but neither attacked nor hissed at him again, so Kaeya deemed it safe enough to walk up further. 

“I only wish to help,” he explained as he stepped closer. 

He kept his movements slow to ensure the other could keep an eye on him. Kaeya reached into his coat’s pocket and pulled out a knife. Kaeya could feel his eyes practically drilling holes into his back, but Kaeya ignored them and him in favour of sawing away at where the ropes and net had gotten caught on the rocks. 

“Quite the unfortunate situation you’ve managed to get yourself into, I would say. I’m sure you must be quite vexed at this whole situation,” Kaeya prattled on, the endless stream of words falling from his lips. “

The last final part finally snapped over, the ropes and net tightly coiled around the mermaid’s tail, finally loosening and falling away. Kaeya quickly picked them up and threw them onto the shore before the waves could carry them back into the ocean. “Best get those out of the way, would be quite tragic if some other poor creature got stuck in those.” 

Much to his surprise, the mermaid didn’t immediately swim away. Instead, he kept looking up at him. 

It was then that Kaeya noticed the golden star on the mermaid’s throat. Kaeya tensed, his eyes widening as he stared at that golden star. His miraculous survival from nearly drowning, the dreams that felt so surreal and yet so real that his brain refused to let go of them, and several of the missing dots began connecting in Kaeya’s head. 

“Say- Don’t I know you?” asked Kaeya cautiously as he inspected the mermaid from head to tail. Something fluttered in his chest. Had he really been the one to save Kaeya?

The mermaid only tilted his head in response. 

The bluenette sighed with a forced smile, a flare of disappointment settling in his chest as he turned his head away to watch the edge of where the beach became forest. He wasn’t sure how he would go about explaining the whole situation if someone stumbled in.  “Or perhaps you really don’t understand any of wha-?” 

"You're noisy,” said a monotone voice, interrupting him. 

Kaeya clicked his jaw shut, slowly, almost comically, and he turned to stare at the mermaid with wide eyes. “...What?”

“You talk a lot,” the mermaid explained, mistaking his astonishment for confusion. 

Kaeya blinked. The words ‘You can talk?’ almost slipped past his lips.  

“Ah- eh, sorry?” It was the only thing Kaeya could manage to respond with as he slowly lowered himself to sit atop one of the rocks. Despite his actions a moment ago, the comment still slipped out, "I'm just surprised something like you exists, much less that you’re able to understand me.” 

The mermaid’s brows pinched together as he stared at him with narrowed eyes. Before Kaeya’s brain could register what happened, the golden tail had slammed down into the water, drenching Kaeya immediately in the cold seawater. 

“Hey!”

“I’d argue that it was deserved for that comment,” the blonde answered.

Okay, fair considering how he worded that, but still.

The immature thing would be to splash the mermaid in return. But unlike the overgrown fish, Kaeya had manners, so he settled for sticking his tongue out at the blonde. 

The mermaid’s frown deepened before he imitated the expression at Kaeya and then dove underwater, ensuring that he splashed him again with his tail as he swam into the ocean.

Kaeya sputtered again as the cold water hit him. He stared where the mermaid had disappeared and couldn’t help the sharp burst of laughter that left him, both astonished and amused over what had just happened. The image of the blonde’s scrunched-up face as he stuck his tongue out at him stuck in his mind as he descended into a fit of baffled giggles. 

Something warm bloomed in his chest, and he couldn’t help the vague hope that he would meet the mermaid again. 

It was only two days later that Kaeya returned to the beach in hopes of meeting the mermaid again. He was never one to leave a favour or debt unrepaid. And considering that the other had saved his life and went through the trouble of getting him to safety as well, there was no way Kaeya wasn’t at least going to try. And if the blonde was nice to look at as well, then that was no one’s business but his own. 

And it would seem Lady Luck was shining down on him for once, cause when he returned to stand at the shore, it didn’t take long before a mop of blonde hair appeared up from the waters. 

Kaeya crouched down, a smile on his face. “Why hello again. I was hoping to run into you again.” 

The other blinked at him, his brows furrowing slightly. “Why?” 

“Last time we parted ways quite suddenly, no? I didn’t even get the name of my saviour,“ Kaeya said. “You are the one who saved me from drowning, were you not?” 

“And what of it?”

“Well, I can't just let a deed like that go unreturned, can I?”

The blonde frowned, his nose scrunching up. Kaeya couldn’t help but think it was adorable. “It’s not like I saved you to get something in return.”

Kaeya waved his hand dismissively, “Aw, don’t be like that, we’re talking about you having saved my life here after all. Surely there’s something I can do to repay you?”

A sigh. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“Nope,” responded Kaeya, popping the ‘p’ sound with a smirk. 

The blonde pondered silently for a moment as he swam in a circle a few times, glancing between him and the endless horizon of the ocean, before he came to a stop and swam back to float in front of Kaeya again. “Alright, since you seem so insistent, then.”

“Oh?” Kaeya sat up straighter, his lavender eye practically sparkling. “So there is something after all, then?”

Kaeya almost let out a yelp as the mermaid grabbed a hold of his heel and lifted his leg while dragging himself on shore, which resulted in Kaeya falling backwards. Kaeya watched in stunned bafflement as the mermaid dragged his foot into his lap, gently turning it this way and that as he inspected the limb and his other hand poked at his leg.

Kaeya could only stare before his brows pinched together, “...This is what you want?”

The poking and prodding halted as the mermaid lifted his head to stare at him. “You made it seem like you were alright with anything I asked in return.” A frown appeared on the blonde’s face, “unless you don’t-”

“That’s not it. It’s alright, I'm fine with it,” interrupted Kaeya. “You can look, as long as you don’t try and eat my leg,“ he said in an attempt to lighten the mood. 

“You needn’t worry. Humans don’t really taste that good anyway,” the mermaid assured him as he went back to inspect the workings of how a human leg worked and seemed to be held together.

Kaeya found himself anything but at those words as he stared up at the sky in horror.  

Neither of them spoke. Kaeya eventually relaxed again, basking in the sun and finding amusement in how the mermaid’s eyes practically sparkled with a childlike curiosity as he fiddled with his leg, even pulling his boot off at some point to inspect that instead as well. Clawed fingers tapping against the sole of the shoe and even digging down into it with his hand as if to check for any hidden treasures. 

Eventually, the mermaid lowered the boot to sit in his lap instead. Kaeya dragged himself up to sit with a grunt. “Satisfied?”

The blonde hummed, content.

Kaeya smiled, “Well, I'm glad I could help sate your curiosity, dear.” 

“Albedo.”

Kaeya blinked, “What?”

Teal eyes glanced at him before lowering to stare down at the boot in his grasp with a huff, as if Kaeya was being a difficult child. “My name. You were whining about not knowing it earlier.”

Kaeya pouted. “I wasn’t whining, “ he defended himself. “Is it not natural to want to know the name of the one who saved me?” 

"... I suppose,” admitted the mer- Albedo. "And you?”

“Me?” 

“Your name,” explained the blonde and then added as an afterthought. “Is it not natural to want to know the name of the one I rescued?” 

Kaeya barked out a laugh as his own words were flung back at him. He liked this creature. “Can’t argue against that.”

Kaeya reached out his hand to the mermaid. Hesitantly, the other lifted his own hand to take hold of Kaeya’s hand. Kaeya couldn’t help the smile taking over his face as he shook the mermaid’s hand. 

“Kaeya Alberich at your service. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Albedo.” 

Teal eyes lifted their gaze from where their hands connected to meet the lavender eye’s gaze, a soft and small smile spreading across the blonde’s face. 

And so that was how their meetings went over the next few weeks. They would meet at the secluded beach, talking about whatever either of them felt like. Well, mostly it was Kaeya doing the talking, but Albedo hardly seemed to mind, judging by his relaxed demeanour as he lay beside Kaeya and listened to him with rapt attention. There were a few times when they would miss each other. Other times, when Kaeya had to be aboard The Crux on the ocean on an expedition that met in the middle of the night when Kaeya had the night watch, him leaned on the railing and the mermaid carefully seated on it beside him as they talked through the night, with only the moon and stars to hear them. 

It was one such meeting at the secluded beach when something strange happened. 

Kaeya arrived at the beach, across the shore to where Albedo was already seated. But as he approached, he couldn’t help but slow his steps as he got closer to the mermaid. The way his shoulders were hunched and the way his body seemed tense, not to mention the way the mermaid’s gaze seemed to flicker between him, the ocean and looking at the beach beneath him. 

“You alright?” asked Kaeya as he got closer. 

The blonde nodded stiffly, “I- yeah. I’m fine. Don't worry.”

Kaeya could tell he very much wasn’t, but if the other didn’t want to tell him, he wasn’t going to try and pry. “If you say so.”

Instead, Kaeya talked, retelling of the business he and the crew had conducted in Liyue Harbor. He told him how Captain Beidou had managed to drink a whole group of merchants from Snezhnaya under the table the night before, earning the crew a hefty sum of mora from people who had been placing bets of who would fold first. And just as he was about to run out of things to say, the blonde spoke up.

“I- uh, have something from you,” said Albedo. 

Kaeya fell silent and cast him a curious look. 

Albedo didn’t meet his eye and instead dug under his own tail. Kaeya’s eye widened as the blonde pulled out a seashell that had previously been hidden behind the fins and tail. Albedo carefully took a hold of it with both hands before holding it out for him. Kaeya glanced between the shell and the blonde’s face, meanwhile Albedo refused to meet his eye, instead locking his gaze onto the shell in his hands.

Kaeya hesitated for a moment before gently taking it from the other’s hands.  

The seashell was a type of conch, big enough that one had to use both hands to hold it properly. The sunlight glittered off the beautiful cream and pearlescent colouring that adorned it. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and Kaeya felt at a loss for what to say. 

Kaeya gently cradled the shell in his hands like a piece of treasure. He looked between the shell and Albedo, a rare, vulnerable smile taking place on his face, “My, my, for me?”

The mermaid stared at him for a moment before giving a soft hum, “You indulged me last time.”

“Ah, so a return for the last time, eh?” He glanced down at the shell in his hands. “You really didn’t have to, It wasn’t much trouble. Besides, I did it to repay you in the first place.”

“Still, I-” Albedo cleared his throat. “I still wanted to get this gift for you. You- you have been good company to me. At this point, it only seemed right to give it to you,” explained the mermaid as red colored his cheeks. 

The lavender eye widened as his gaze shifted to stare at the mermaid watching him with rapt attention. “No, no, that's not the case at all,” hurried Kaeya to reassure him. He glanced back down at the shell, the look on his face melting into something even softer. 

“So you accept?” Asked the blonde, hope and nervousness creeping into his voice. 

Kaeya giggled. A small voice in the back of his head said he was missing something, but he paid it no mind. “Yeah, you needn’t worry, the shell is lovely, I accept it,” and then added in a quieter voice. “Thank you, Bedo.” 

The uniqueness of the shell had captured Kaeya’s attention so much that he failed to notice how Albedo’s face had flushed several shades redder.