Nat did her best to avoid Albedo over the next few days, something that Albedo immediately picked up on. He didn’t, however, think it was something he did as Nat was avoiding most people. The day after Nat saw Albedo at Good Hunter, she had ditched Kaeya for breakfast, something Kaeya asked Albedo about when he saw him later that day.

“Nat didn’t show up? That’s highly unlike her, is she well?” Albedo questioned, leaving Kaeya surprised. Kaeya had assumed that Nat was with Albedo the night before, but now realized she must have never talked with him like she planned.

“No, she had mentioned she was going to see you when she left Angel’s Share. I know she’s around, Jean told me she left on a commission not too long ago.” Kaeya responded.

“Meet with me? I didn’t see Nat last night after we got back from Liyue. I went to her room later, but she didn’t answer, I had assumed she was out with you.” The knights looked at each other, dumbfounded, and decided to keep one another informed.

Lucky for Nat, there were lots of commissions and tasks that needed to get done that week, allowing her to stay separate from everyone. Kaeya knew she was okay when she filed her paperwork each night, but he was still worried, even after Otto reported that she was hanging out at Star Snatch after hours and Lisa said she was taking out books. He made sure to keep an eye on her from afar, Diluc’s warnings echoing in the back of his head.

Nat took commission after commission: escorting civilians, fighting hilitrolls, and gathering ore. Finally, Albedo was able to catch her when she arrived back to report to Master Varka.

“Nat!” He exclaimed, causing a flush to form on her face, “Hey how are you?” Albedo asked as he ran to catch up to her. He was on his way back from Dragonspine when he ran into her right outside of Mondstadt.

“I’m fine, I just came back from Springvale, delivering some supplies from our Liyue expedition. I’m heading back to report to Varka” She smiled, hoping that would be it.

“What are you doing after? Would you like to meet at Angel’s Share for a drink?” He asked, innocently. He had missed Nat the last few days and craved her company, while Nat stirred with anxiety at the idea.

“Uh, sure. How’s an hour?” She quickly gave in, Albedo agreeing to the time. She walked back to headquarters, reported to Varka and went to wash up before heading to Angel’s Share. While she was nervous she had also missed Albedo, Nat just wasn’t sure how to bring up seeing him at Good Hunter or how to tell him about her feelings. When she walked in Albedo had grabbed them a corner table and had a first round for them both on the table.

After some small talk about work, Klee, Albedo’s most recent experiment, and a few rounds of drinks, Albedo could tell that something was still wrong with Nat. She wasn’t being her usual self, and he needed to know why.

“Is everything okay Nat? You don’t seem like yourself tonight.” Albedo asked, reaching his hand across the table to take Nat’s, but she quickly put her hands in her lap. Albedo was hurt by her action, and looked to Nat with confusion. Nat fidgeted in her chair, before blurting out her thoughts.

“Albedo, what are we?” She asked, Albedo tilted his head in response, confusion on his face. Nat continued, “Because I like you, in a more than friends type of way and I thought you felt the same way, but after seeing you the other night I’m not sure.” Nat could feel her face turn red, and a tear well in her face. The bar was starting to get loud, and Albedo got up to sit next to Nat on the bench on her side of the table. Nat scooted over, worried to make eye contact with him.

“What happened the other night?” Albedo asked softly.

“I saw you at Good Hunter with another lady… You even touched her face and you both were laughing and smiling…” Nat explained, refreshing Albedo’s memory.

“Oh Nat, I am so sorry I didn’t tell you in advance, Lisa asked me to meet with Anna after I helped her in the alchemy lab.” Nat looked at Albedo, confused. He continued, “Anna’s brother, Anthony, is desperately trying to find a cure for Anna’s ailment. She is sick, and Lisa wanted my opinion on if a specialist was needed to check her out. I took her temperature, she coughed quite a lot, and I tried laughing to keep her calm, but she most certainly needs a doctor. Lisa is going to write to Sumeru to send one over.” Albedo concluded, realizing he may have over explained in his worry. Truth be told he loved Nat, and the idea that he had hurt her was killing him.

“So Anna is just a sick woman Lisa asked you to see?” Nat double checked, starting to feel stupid for making an assumption of someone she trusted so much.

“Precisely, I am so sorry if I upset you Nat. I never want to hurt you like that, in fact I had assumed we were an item myself, so I must apologize for making an assumption about our relationship.”

“You thought we were dating?” Nat questioned, turning to face him. This time, it was Albedo that flushed.

“Well, yes, but I don’t know much about relationships. I know I love you, I enjoy your company more than most, and I have felt very lonely without you around the last few days,” Albedo finished as he took Nat’s hand in his own. He continued, “What makes a relationship official?” He questioned.

“According to my sources,” Nat nervously giggled, “being in a relationship includes going on dates that are not work related, hand holding, and maybe even a kiss.” Nat looked up at him, realizing he had said he loved her. “Wait. You said you love me?” Nat questioned.

“Of course I do,” Albedo responded, putting a hand on Nat’s cheek, pulling her in for a kiss. They looked at each other, and Nat smiled.

“I love you too.” She giggled, leaning her head on his shoulder. They sat there for a while, enjoying the moment, watching patrons come and go, when Kaeya approached their table, sitting across from them.

“I see Nat has come out of hiding, I’ve missed seeing you. Perhaps you’ll join me on my expedition tomorrow? He asked. Nat agreed, excited to go back to normal life, just as eager to tell Kaeya everything. Little did she know that Kaeya had been watching the entire encounter from the upstairs balcony. He was happy for his sister and the alchemist, it was about damn time too.

Nat and Kaeya went on their expedition the next day, traveling to Wolvendom to investigate reports of an unusual hilitroll sighting. Nat apologized for being absent the last few days, explaining what happened when she left Angel’s Share earlier in the week.

“Please make sure to chat with me in the future Nat, I’m sure we could’ve figured it out together,” Kaeya looked at Nat, feeling responsible for her, his younger sister. He continued, “I care a lot about you. I know in Snezhnaya you were often on your own to handle your problems, but you have family here now.” He looked to Nat who smiled and thanked him, but he knew her mind was stuck on Diluc, and he wasn’t wrong. If the first person she met in Mondstadt, who invited her to the city of freedom, could leave, why couldn’t anyone else?

Over the next few months Nat and Albedo continued to explore their new relationship, while Nat tried her best to become more open about her emotions.

Before they knew it, Nat’s 18th birthday was happening. Kaeya and Albedo, with the help of Klee, decided to have a surprise picnic with her at Windrise to celebrate. Kaeya and Klee were in charge of setting up, while Albedo was in charge of getting Nat there. Unfortunately for Albedo, he could not get Nat to stop sparring. They had been in the garden behind the knights headquarters for over two hours, sweat pouring off of both their foreheads.

“Nat,” Albedo huffed as she practiced her burst, slamming her sword into the ground, creating a small burst of geo shards that went flying, one nicking Albedo in the face, “Please can we stop sparring for today?” He asked. Nat stopped, looking at Albedo as a drop of blood started to pool on his face, getting larger and larger. While it wasn’t a large wound, it caused a wave of emotions to erupt inside Nat.

“Albedo,” Nat started, dropping her sword as she walked toward him to wipe away the blood on his face, “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you…” She trailed off, choking back tears. Albedo put a hand on her cheek, forcing her to look at him.

“Nat, it’s just a small scratch, I will be fine. But are you okay?” He looked at Nat as tears started to fall from her eyes.

“I’m so sorry Albedo… I can never control my vision when my emotions get the best of me and now you’re hurt and it’s my fault..” Nat trailed off, as Albedo led them to a bench in the garden to sit down.

“Truly Nat, I’m fine, it’s just a surface wound, something we’re both used to,” he smiled, taking hold of her hand, “But please tell me what’s wrong. Today is a day to gather with joy and celebrate one of the most important people in Teyvat. What has you down?” Albedo knew something was off from the moment he saw Nat for their sparring session, but her vision backfire was concerning to him, he hadn’t see that happen since the early days of her vision training.

“I guess I thought Diluc would come back for today… That sounds very selfish, I know, since he didn’t come home for Kaeya’s or Jean’s but I guess I just hoped that he would come by or send a letter or give some sort of sign that he was alive… And now I’ve hurt you and I don’t want to hurt the people I love, but I feel destined to just keep hurting people.” Nat buried her face into Albedo’s shoulder as he embraced her.

“Nat, you haven’t hurt anyone my dear. You are full of love and give it out to the world.” Albedo comforted Nat, who pulled away to look at Albedo.

“I hurt my parents when I left Snez, I killed Ajax, and I couldn’t stop Diluc from leaving, which hurt so many people.”

“Like you?” Albedo looked at Nat and continued, “Stop forgetting about yourself in these situations. You were hurt, but still were there for Kaeya. Let us be there for you in these times.” Nat nodded her head in understanding, and went back in for another hug.

“Thank you Albedo.” She responded, as Albedo kissed the top of her head.

“Let’s get washed up, I believe there is quite a surprise in store for you today.” After washing up and changing, and a very detailed inspection of Albedo’s cut, the two made their way to Windrise. As they got closer, Albedo covered Nat’s eyes with a blindfold, taking it off when Klee and Kaeya were ready to yell surprise. Nat was in awe of the picnic which was fully decorated with balloons and cake, Klee ran up to Nat with a gift.

“Miss Nat, I made this for you!” She exclaimed, handing Nat a box. Nat looked to Albedo for reassurance it wasn’t a bomb before opening it. Inside was a drawing of Klee and Nat standing by the tree together along with a keychain of a very small Dodoco. “I wrote to my mom and asked her to make you a Dodoco! That way Klee and Dodoco are always with you!” Klee giggled as she hugged Nat. Kaeya handed Nat a glass of Dandelion Wine, and the party ensued – eating cake, smashing cake onto each other, and of course one fish blasting.