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yostresswritinggirl · 3 years

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Hello!! Congrats on 600 followers!! For the fifty requests, may I suggest something like the reader and Albedo babysitting Klee for a day and shenanigans ensue? Hope you're having a nice day and an even better week!

Klee and Albedo are my happy pills. And since I'm having trouble causing pain, this entered my mind and hhhh- thank you so much, anon! Funnily enough, I thought of something better and kinda flipped the request so have this!

Back to Earth

Hanging out with Klee and Albedo, fun times ensue! (masterlist)

Dragonspine is a place rarely visited by the likes of you for various, obvious reasons.

Yet despite its dangerous perils, Albedo is its most frequent visitor. Out of everyone in Mondstadt and probably the whole of Teyvat, his stay there is longer than anyone has been. Maybe that's one of the reasons why you don't like Dragonspine that much.

"(Y/N), Albedo is looking far again..." You hum in contemplation as you tilt your head.

The snow had always brought Albedo into a state of dissociation, and he'll have this distant look in his eyes that always worry you and Klee. Even if he's quick to dismiss or hide this part of him, and even if you and Klee are gullible at times, it was such rare moments where you two are just aware.

"He looks kinda sad..." You hum before patting Klee's head, who looks up from under her hat in front of you. And when you meet her eyes, she beams so warmly you couldn't help but smile back.

"Let's cheer him up, shall we?"

The Kreideprinz heaves out a heavy sigh after inhaling deeply, the lack of condensation makes him crease his eyebrows in growing frustration as the heavy feeling in his chest gnaws even deeper.

Breathe, Albedo reminds himself. But it wasn't enough to fight off the obvious guilt at the back of his head at another dead-end. This expedition should have yielded more results to help his research on the meaning of-

A pressure around his waist and chain of his coat forces him to snap his eyelids open, looking down to see the two sunshines in his life leaning over and under his arms to look up at him with such wide, bright smiles. His indifference turns into a soft smile before bringing you both into a hug.

"Hello there, you two. What are you doing here?"

"Everyone else from your team already descended from the mountain, you took a while."

"So we came up to fetch you!"

He offers a guilty chuckle paired with an apology for the delay and soon enough, you three were on your way back down the mountain. But with you babysitting Klee today, it's only normal that some detours are made here and there. Thankfully, that girl has a pyro vision.

You took Albedo's outstretched hand as he pulls you up to the rock formation that Klee suddenly wanted to climb. The cold seemed to pick up at this elevation and you were thankful for the coat Albedo owns that he leant you, it was a blessing that he never gets cold.

"Moment of birth!"

The solid ground beneath you rises as you three stood on the solar isotoma. Higher! Exclaimed Klee as Albedo picks her up and on to his shoulder, the view now equal as your party watches the misty fog of Dragonspine break away as if on will, to show the distant expanse of where Mondstadt lies miles away.

"Wow," a hand finds its way into yours as you leaned farther, engraving the display into your mind as much as you can in great detail. But your peace was interrupted when a red ball suddenly flies past you, plummeting down the scale of the rock formation for a good five seconds.

Before a distant explosion catches your ears.

The pregnant, frozen pause ends as you and Albedo turn to Klee who was still in Albedo's arms. But the spark knight doesn't meet your eyes. No, no, she was looking far below where the explosion sizzles.

"I think I saw some of those floaty bad guys from before down below!"

Ah. Poor Abyss Mage.

Somehow Klee's idea of a goodbye is unorthodox to the norm of society depending on the setting. Perhaps you expected the cool climate to reduce her 1000% energy to at least 500%, but as you duck down from another flying dodoco, you feel like the climate here was more of a disadvantage for you.

"Why is Klee mining so aggressively?!" You turned your head to the enabler, who had just covered his ears after another explosion.

"When it is done for the sake of others, Klee's enthusiasm skyrockets from the normal level," Albedo dodges a huge crystal chunk that almost nicked his shoulder. "Klee is also an avid miner of rocks."

"Klee- KLEE, THERE'S A HOLE IN THE MOUNTAIN, YOU CAN STOP NOW!"

"Big brother wants the crystal rocks, he's getting the crystal rocks!"

By some great divine blessing, all three of you somehow made it out alive with actual workable chunks to spare. The problem was that the explosions attracted lawachurls, boars, mages and even treasure hoarders to the chaos. Even if it was such an uneven fight, your combined efforts seem to have earned you victory.

Your arms wrapped tightly around the curled up bomber, backpack discarded on the grass as she readies herself for a scheduled rest after the exhausting mischief she had caused, "Sweetie, you're banned from Dragonspine..."

"But, (Y/N)... the crystals..." Albedo looks over his clipboard sketch after picking up the drowsy conversation.

"Let them live in peace..." You watched the little knight yawn as it makes you copy the same action subconsciously, eyes drooping as you leaned on each other. By the time Albedo had finished the outline of his sketch, you two had already fallen into an impromptu siesta.

The Chief Alchemist exerts a sigh of relief before going back to sketching your slumber. Even after the reminder of his weeks long effort for an empty research, you and Klee bombarding (literally) his melancholy somehow made his disarrayed thoughts clearer and assembled.

In a world of loose ends and tragedies, this lone Alchemist found himself two rays of the brightest sunlight.

Putting away the finished sketch, Albedo plants a kiss on yours and Klee's temples. He wears his purest smile audienced by none at the sight, and he muses with pure clarity in his voice,

"Maybe this is the meaning of life."

Ahah cute shit after that rage I just felt uwu

@albaedhoe @xiaophilia @heisenwurst @childe-simp-exe @moaa @dandelion-dreams @witchsungie @lehra @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @lilydewi22 @yellowflowre @director-boo-tao @nonniechan @creation-magician @hanniejji @gojos-baby @just-some-stars @volleybloop @tartuu

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #Albedo #Albedo x reader #Klee #gender neutral #exile.flower #exile.goblet #sojourner special #fluff

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ficdirectory · 7 years

Text

Blink (An AU Fosters family fic) Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Pearl’s trying to listen to Char’s story about her awful boss, when Gracie starts barking.

“Hey! Pipe down!” Char reprimands the dog comically. “I’m in the middle of a story here.”

“Sorry, I don’t know what her problem is. I’m gonna walk her in, like, ten minutes. Gracie. Manners.”

Grace yips and continues to whine, obviously not satisfied with the idea of waiting.

“I’m really sorry. She’s not usually like this. Let me see what’s up, and I’ll call you back tonight.”

Getting up and walking to the sliding glass door where Gracie is pacing, Pearl glances out. Sees Jesus from next door, standing out in Frank’s yard.

“That’s Jesus. You are not supposed to whine,” Pearl reprimands. But as the minutes tick by and Jesus doesn’t move, and Gracie doesn’t calm down, Pearl gets more concerned. She steps out and calls to him.

“Jesus,” she tries. Gracie circles Pearl’s legs.

He doesn’t give any indication that he can hear her - hasn’t moved. He’s standing absolutely still. Gracie’s been whining for several minutes now. Has Jesus been out there the whole time?

“It’s cold out,” she tries, because these California kids clearly don’t know the first thing about dressing for Minnesota winters. “Jesus?” she tries again. “You should go in.”

But he doesn’t turn. Doesn’t respond at all. And Pearl’s worry is on overdrive. “Gracie. That is Jesus. Go see Jesus, girl,” she instructs.

Gracie takes off, bounding through the snow and skidding to a stop beside him. She licks his hand. (His bare hand in this brutal cold - he seems to have lost a glove.) Then she snags his coat sleeve with her teeth and starts leading him back to Pearl.

“Jesus?” Pearl calls again, wanting her message to get in. “You should go in.”

He blinks at her like he’s coming out of a daze. “I...can’t.”

“All right. Come inside.”

Gracie leads Jesus by the sleeve until he’s safely indoors. Then, she lets him go, and returns to Pearl’s side. Her old self again.

“Are you okay?” Pearl asks. She gets busy giving him her heated blanket to wrap around himself and making him a cup of instant hot cocoa. (She’s a hot cocoa snob. Prefers the good stuff you stir slowly on the stove, but Jesus needs warmth as soon as possible. So instant will have to do.)

“I’m...not, actually…”

He speaks slowly. It’s not at all how he sounded this morning.

The hot cocoa seems to bring him around. Even holding it in his hands makes the life come back to his eyes.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. You have a hard time with cold?” she guesses.

“I have a hard time with a lot of things...” he admits, sipping the drink. “...psychologically.” He pauses. Meets her gaze. She knows the look. He’s waiting for the judgment.

He won’t find it here. Not with her. “Listen. Do you need something? Can I call someone for you?”

“Actually...would you mind if I called someone? I need to touch base with my therapist. I got an appointment later and never officially canceled before my family decided to come up here for the week. I’d call myself, but I don’t have service.”

“Yeah, of course,” Pearl answers, offering her phone.

She half-listens as Gracie stays close to her. The picture of perfect behavior now that Jesus is inside with her.

“Yeah. Hi, Dr. H, this is Jesus Foster. I’m not going to make it in today, because we’re in Minnesota. But I wondered if I could touch base with you another way…” He glances around and his eyes fall on Pearl’s computer. He raises his eyebrows at her. “Maybe Skype?”

Pearl nods. He can use whatever he needs. Like she’s gonna stop a kid from talking to his therapist.

“Yeah 3:00 still works,” he’s saying. “Okay. Yeah. Bye.”

“Everything okay?” she asks, nervous but trying not to show it.

“How’d your dog know to do that thing with me?” Jesus asks, skirting her question with one of his own.

“She’s a service dog,” Pearl explains as Gracie nips and distracts until Pearl’s hand tremors pass. “Do you need to tell your parents you’re here?”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Jesus reassures.

“How old are you?” Pearl checks.

“Sixteen.”

That makes sense. Most sixteen year olds aren’t reporting back to their parents every two seconds.

“How is it living next door to Grandpa?” he wonders.

“Fine. Keeps to himself.”

“Yeah,” Jesus nods.

It’s officially awkward. Especially as Jesus seems to have no plans to go back next door for at least an hour.

Jesus can’t stop looking at the cool purple curtain in the corner of the cabin and wondering what could be behind it. The outside of her cabin is seriously ugly, but inside there are pops of color where he doesn’t expect them, comfortable furniture, and an open floor plan, so he can pretty much see everything at once. No surprises. All one level. It’s so warm in here. So homey. And the hot chocolate’s so good.

Pearl’s quiet. Honest. She wears her clothes like she’s hiding. Her tan cardigan is long. A black beanie hat covers all her hair. Fingerless black knit gloves obscure her hands. It isn’t until she starts shedding layers that he really gets a good look at her. Part of it is how much clothing she’s got on, and part of it is that he’s finally with it enough to really see her. Seeing her take off all her layers makes him feel like she trusts him in some kind of deep way. He can’t say why, it’s just what he feels.

She reminds him a bit of Mama, but younger. Maybe late 20s or early 30s. She’s thin with dark hair and brown eyes, but where Mama’s eyes shine with a kind of calm certainty, Pearl’s are guarded. Her mouth has worry lines around it. She’s watchful - hasn’t taken her eyes off him since he walked in - but it doesn’t make him feel exposed. Instead, he gets the feeling that by being here, he might be exposing her. He doesn’t want her to feel that way, and he also knows he needs to be able to feel safe. To breathe. And being here has allowed him to do that. Jesus doesn’t know what it feels like to hide because you want to. He only knows what it feels like to hide because you have to.

...But maybe it’s not a choice for Pearl either.

He instinctively doesn’t ask what she needs a service dog for. Jesus caught her tremor, even if he didn’t mention it. All of a sudden, he feels beyond tired. “Do you mind if I crash for a few minutes? Didn’t get much sleep. There are, like, a million people in my family, and it’s been hard to feel...like...okay...since we got here.”

“Yeah, go ahead. Want me to wake you in an hour?”

“I’ll be up, but my thing isn’t til 5:00 actually. Sorry. I should have mentioned it. 3:00 California time.”

“Oh,” Pearl nods.

Jesus can tell she’s not thrilled about his dropping by like this, but she did send her dog to get him. He tries not to worry about it and stretches out on the couch.

The last thing Pearl expects is to have Frank’s grandson over for several hours on a whim. She doesn’t like company. Doesn’t like teenagers. Least of all teenage boys. But she had seen the look in his eyes when Gracie led him inside. How dissociated he looked. She knew that feeling - without him even specifying psychological reasons.

It’s for that reason that she lets him stay. She sees herself in him. Knows that sometimes you just need someone to be there. So, while she’s not about to let her guard down or let Jesus out of her sight for more than a few seconds, Pearl’s okay to do some more knitting. To keep talking to Char via Facebook, updating her on the strange turn of events.

At 4:00, she makes herself a frozen TV dinner. Jesus doesn’t stir. At ten to 5:00, she prompts Gracie to go see Jesus, and she sits two inches from his face until he wakes up and groggily smiles at her.

“Hey, you,” he greets. Pearl’s impressed that, ever since she specified Gracie was a service dog, Jesus has not tried to touch her.

“What’s her name?”

“Grace,” Pearl says. “I didn’t want to wake you. I mean, you seem to need the sleep, but it’s ten to five. Just in case you had to do anything to get ready for your appointment.”

“Oh, whoa, yeah. Thanks. Is it cool if I use your bathroom?”

She tells him where it is and tries to think about what she can do while he’s occupied on her laptop. A therapeutic hour is 50 minutes. Gracie needs a walk, and Pearl could probably put some headphones on and swing or something while he’s busy the rest of the time. She’ll see how comfortable she is with letting Jesus stay in her cabin alone.

He comes back, and Pearl’s turned her laptop on. Logged herself off of Skype.

“Here. I’ll be around here. Probably just listening to music or something. I won’t listen in,” she promises.

“Is this really okay?” he asks, seeming nervous again.

“It’s really something you need, right?” she asks.

Jesus nods.

“Then it’s really okay.”

Just before 5 PM, Pearl disappears behind the awesome purple curtain with headphones on. He signs onto Skype and sees Dr. Holly Hitchens is signed on, too.

He hits the button for video call and waits.

“Jesus. It’s nice to see you. Though it’s not the way I thought we’d meet this week,” she says with a smile.

“No, me neither,” he answers.

She leads him through getting grounded and focused and then asks where he’d like to start.

“I’m not sure. This trip is harder than I expected it to be. It was, like, really sudden?”

“I see. Where are you right now?”

“My grandpa’s cabin in Minnesota. Well, actually, his neighbor’s cabin right now.”

“Can you share with me one thing that’s difficult?”

It takes no time for one thing to snowball into 25, and for Jesus to get lost in his head. He hears Dr. H. calling his name, though, and focuses in on her.

“I got stuck outside...like...mentally stuck. But I couldn’t move. Not sure how long I was out there for. The neighbor’s dog came and got me, and this is as safe as I’ve felt since we were packing to leave.”

“How long are you scheduled to be there?” she asks, making notes.

“Through Sunday.”

“And when did you arrive?”

“Last night about dinnertime.”

“All right. So, it sounds like you feel overwhelmed. Like you may need some coping strategies to get you through the time there.”

“Yeah.”

They talk through some. He says he brought his backpack with extra snacks, his blanket and headphones, but they made him get rid of his water in the airport. And he wasn’t allowed to take the glitter Frankie gave him for Christmas.

“Is it possible to get another water bottle to carry with you while you’re there?”

“I guess… Moms did say if I need something, tell them.”

“Good. I want you to make a note somewhere you’ll see it, to remind yourself to ask them about that.”

Jesus grabs a pen off the desk and scribbles Water on his hand.

“What else would you like to talk about?” Dr. H. asks.

“I’m having a hard time feeling safe…” he admits.

“You mentioned you feel your safest now. Is this neighbor’s cabin somewhere they’d consent to you stopping in if you needed to take breaks?”

“I’m not sure. Pearl?” he calls, but he doesn’t see her.

Gracie trots over and sticks her head through the fiber optic curtain. Pearl pokes her head out. “What’d you need, Jesus?” she says coming out and taking her headphones off.

“This is my therapist, Dr. Holly Hitchens,” Jesus introduces.

“Pearl West,” she says back shortly.

“I was wondering if I like needed a break from stuff next door, if I could come by here… It wouldn’t be this big of a thing, usually. Just...I need somewhere to feel safe? ‘Cause I don’t really next door?”

Jesus can see how Pearl purses her lips, but then she nods. “If you need to, yes.”

The session is over soon after that, and Jesus feels like there was barely any time to discuss all of the millions of triggers he’s come up against since Moms decided to take this trip. But at least Pearl said he could come back. And Dr. H. asked him to call and check in if he needed to.

Jesus checks the time on his phone - the only feature that works here with no service.

“Dude, it’s almost 6:00? I gotta go…” he says, casting nervous looks outside.

It might as well be midnight for how dark it is.

“I can walk with you,” Pearl offers, even though she looks uneasy at the thought herself.

“Are you sure? I mean, you don’t have to if you’re not comfortable…”

This makes Pearl smile just for a second. “Yeah, I do. Look. I have a light on my hat.” (She turns it on, temporarily blinding him.) And this.” She takes a small container out of her coat pocket.

“What is that?” Jesus asks, curious.

“Mace. Don’t worry. I’ll look out for you. And Gracie will be here, too.”

They walk outside, and it’s eerily dark, cold and still. The crunching of the snow under their feet is the only sound.

Jesus swallows. “Do you ever get scared?”

Silence for so long Jesus doesn’t expect Pearl will answer. Then, she says, “I’m scared all the time.”

“Sometimes, I fake it too well, and my family believes I’m okay. Otherwise they kinda can make me feel like I’m overreacting…” he hedges, and then asks: “Same?”

“Yeah. Same,” she says with so much feeling that Jesus can’t begin to name them all.

“Earlier when I was out here alone, I got stuck ‘cause it felt like I needed so much help, but I couldn’t get it. I felt like that a lot, you know, before in my life. I feel like I’m the only one who needs help like this, but it’s not obvious to people, you know?”

“It was obvious to me.” Pearl says, her voice calm. Even.

“Because you get it.”

“Yeah,” she says, slowing down as they approach the front of Frank’s cabin. “Because I get it.”

And before he has time to say anything, Pearl knocks hard on the door, and disappears into the night before anyone answers it.

In the seconds before the door is pulled open, it occurs to Jesus just what she did for him. Not only did she walk him home even though it scared her, she remembered that he didn’t feel like he could go home, and knocked to make sure his family knew he was out here.

He’s pretty sure the last thing Pearl wants to be is a role model for anyone, but she’s become one for him, in no time at all.

#fic: blink #fosters fic

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