Work Text:
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
Three Steady knocks on the door.
Kaveh looked up from the letter he was writing, making notes of the structural changes needed to the design a client had requested. He didn't get up immediately, looking through the draft he would be sending with the letter. While beautiful, what the man wanted from Kaveh was unrealistic. Kaveh was on his third draft of the letter, hoping to keep the client by carefully letting him down easily and doing what he could to keep the bulk of his ideas within the build.
Three knocks.
Again.
“You impatient man, you have a key!” Kaveh groaned, stretching his back before making a few steps to the door.
“Honestly, Alhaitham, you know I don't want to deal with yo—” The words trailed off when Kaveh locked eyes with four members of the Matra at his door, none that he recognized.
Holding the door, Kaveh asked, “Can I help you?”
An older man stepped closer, signaling to two of the Matra to step aside, “ May we come in?”
“What business do you have here?”
“Please, we'd rather speak to you privately.”
No answer then.
Kaveh took a moment to take in the matras in front of him. Cyno had always advised him to be cautious of any Matra or Akademya officials after the fall of the sages. The older Matra member had some sort of package in his arms, and none of them seemed to be armed. The package was long, almost the length of a sword.
So their weapons are concealed? Maybe.
Two of the other men also had bundles in their arms, wrapped in tan cloth, so there was no way to say what it was. Their faces were blank, no emotion to be read at all. Clearly well-trained members.
Something's up. Kaveh thought, deciding if he was going to close the door on them.
A breath and then.
Curiosity won.
“Come in.” Kaveh let go of the door, stepping into his home with only half of the Men following him in. Two of the men waited outside, turning away to keep watch. Kaveh felt goosebumps forming at the way he suddenly felt boxed in.
Keeping distance from the men in his house, Kaveh stepped to the other side of the coffee table, noticing that the cloth packages were placed on the table without a word. The longer package was held out for Kaveh to accept from the older man. Quietly, Kaveh reached out, pulling the parchment paper away from.. the Light of Foliar. Alhaitham’s signature blade. It had been recently cleaned, the blade mostly smooth, aside from dents in the blade that hadn’t been repaired. Kaveh felt his hands begin to shake.
“What is the meaning of this?” Kaveh held the sword close to himself, taking a step back, needing more space away from the Matra in his home.
“When did you last see the Acting Grand Sage Alahitham?”
“When did I last see..?” Kaveh started to repeat the question, his heart rate going up. This didn’t sound good. Kaveh felt himself start to shake, fearing the worst for his roommate, feeling his face heat up, the panic making his eyes burn. There are only so many reasons they’d be asking Kaveh a question like that.
Something happened to Alhaitham.
With a shaking voice, Kaveh muttered, “We live together. I saw him last night, and this morning..”
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
Alhaitham and Kaveh had a late night that turned from a debate to a full-blown fight. Stumbling back home from Lambads, the two men started talking about the cardinal sins of the Akademiya and how close one could get to one before it’s considered a chargeable offense.
The five sins are the following:
- Interfering with human evolution 4. Tampering with life and death
- Delving beyond the universe 5. Investigating the origin of words
- Revering gods without acts of devotion 6. Attempting the forbidden & fearing none.
Then, when they got home, the conversation switched from a hypothetical to a realistic example when Alhaitham mentioned Mehrek, and just how close the toolbox was to breaking the Akademiya rules. Kaveh’s defenses went up the second his beloved companion was mentioned. Mehrek was shockingly similar to Karkata, the mech that Tighnari looked after since the passing of his creator, Abattouy. The machine was hidden due to a risk of breaking Akademia rules, revolving around interfering with human evolution by creating artificial, free-thinking ‘life’.
While things were getting better for the two men since nearing the two year mark of living together, they were scholars at heart who were still prone to picking fights with the other, and Alhaitham after a few drinks was in the mood to get under Kaveh’s skin, and found the perfect opportunity realizing they had never discussed the similarities of the two machines created by Akademiya scholars.
Kaveh argued that Mehrek obeys a simple code and was not independent by any means, so he was exempt from that rule, and his creation was innocent from any further prying.
Alhaitham ruled that Mehrek's response time and consistently changing responses would lead one to believe that the briefcase had independent thought. Alhaitham suggested that he should have a look at the programming, just to see for himself.
That's when the fight started.
Normally, Alhaitham's scholarly curiosity was allowed, if not welcomed by the architect, his difference in opinion was refreshing to Kaveh, even if he would never admit it to the other man. But this was taking it a step too far. Mehrek was precious to Kaveh and he would be damned to have Alhaitham hold his moral standing as an engineer against him, just like he holds his finances against him.
When Alhaitham called Mehrek, and Kaveh heard the chirping from the briefcase coming down the hallway, he saw red.
Alhaitham paid it no mind when Kaveh physically got in his way when he reached for Mehrek, but he couldn’t ignore the sudden sting to his cheek when Kaveh swung his hand back, slapping Alhaitham.
“How dare you, Alhaitham!” Kaveh was inches from the taller man, hands clenched in fists held in front of him as he screamed at the other man, a mix of booze and anger causing his explosive response.
“Why do you take pleasure in torturing me? You don't have to be cruel to prove a point! You know how much Mehrek means to me, and you're trying to use him against me, and for what? You know I'm not creating artificial life.” Alhaitham felt his shirt being pulled, two fists coiled in the fabric, shaking with anger. Alhaitham slowly lifted a hand to his warm cheek, feeling it throb from the force of the slap. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, seeing how worked up Kaveh was.
The man was literally shaking.
“I put up with you enough, don't make me paranoid that you suspect me of going against the Akademiya when we both know how you have collected and used forbidden knowledge capsules. You’re a hypocrite, Alhaitham. I have done nothing wrong, and I put up with enough of your nonsense, and I'm not dealing with this tonight.”
Kaveh shoved at Alhaitham, stumbling to his room.
Alhaihtam stood by himself, wanting nothing more than to follow Kaveh. While he wanted to work up the other man, he didn’t mean to overstep and hurt him. He was a hypocrite, grilling Kaveh about his morals, when he himself was loose with what rules he chose to obey. Especially with his high-ranking position, he had access to more forbidden manuscripts than he was able to read through.
Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll make it up to him tomorrow.”
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
The morning after was tense. While Kaveh was used to late nights and early mornings, Alhaitham was not. The smell of coffee was slowly bringing him back to life, but he wasn’t willing to break the silence yet, with how his head was throbbing. He would need to keep his noise-cancelling headphones on the highest setting just to make it through the day.
I should fix things, Alhaitham thought, looking at his roommate, who was barely awake, head cradled in his hand, coffee in his other hand. Neither man was willing to make breakfast, though while Alhaitham didn’t due to morning exhaustion, he knew Kaveh refused because he was still furious from last night. Alhaitham turned his nose up at the sweet smell of Kaveh's coffee.
“Well, I'm off.” Alhaitham was the first to break the silence. Kaveh glared at him over the lip of his coffee, taking a sip before closing his eyes again, trying to ignore the other man.
Setting his cup aside to be cleaned, Alhaitham pulled the rest of his outerwear on, pausing after wrapping his cloth belts and clipping them to fit his waist snugly. Looking around, he spotted his cloak draped over the back of Kaveh’s seat. He must have tossed the cloak down when they came in last night and never brought it to his room, or the hook by the door.
“Could you pass me my cloak?” Kaveh groaned, reaching behind him, not even opening his eyes as he balled up the fabric. Once he had the heavy cloth balled up in his arms, Kaveh glared at Alhaitham when he chucked it at the standing man, satisfied with how it wrapped around his head.
Kaveh chuckled.
“Real mature, senior Kaveh,” pulling the cloak off his head and wrapping it over one shoulder, balancing the collar on his other side. Not breaking his silence, Kaveh got up and set his mug with Alhaithams, refusing to clean it. He turned towards the study, determined to fix up a new draft to present to his client later in the day, just past lunchtime. He had to get to work early to get it finished in time.
A hand stopped Kaveh, gently holding his forearm.
“Don’t make dinner tonight. I’ll treat you today.” Words spoken softly, not an apology, but the beginning of one. Kaveh sighed, but didn’t turn back.
“Fine. Don’t come home late.” Alhaitham let go of Kaveh and watched him walk away.
“I’ll see you later then.” Alhaitham took his leave, carefully untangling his keys from Kaveh before leaving. He made a mental note to pick up some fresh Biryani and perhaps some soup to go with it, just to butter up Kaveh more.
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
“I see. You had no other contact with the Acting Grand Sage since this morning, then?”
“Yes, I last saw him this morning. It’s almost lunchtime, that was only a few hours ago.” Kaveh was careful with his words, knowing that he had to be clear with the Matra despite how his heart was beating out of his chest. He had no idea why they were here, he didn’t know why Alhaitham's blade was being returned to him.
“How many hours ago would you say that was?”
“What?”
“How many hours ago—” Kaveh cut off the other man, “Am I being interrogated?”
“Would you like to have a seat?”
“No, I'd rather stand.”
There was a pause, the younger Matra looking at the older man. Kaveh stood there, realizing that he had never gotten any proper introductions from either. They could tell he was wary of their presence.
“No, Sir, we are not interrogating you. We just have a few questions to get a timeline on when your roommate left your home to the point of.. His murder.”
Murder.
The air left Kaveh all at once.
His .. Murder.
Alhaitham was murdered?
That can’t be.
That doesn’t make any sense.
That’s impossible.
“Sir, are you alright?” Gentle hands led Kaveh to the divan, helping Kaveh down gently after he had to steady himself, the sword dropping from his hands. Kaveh let the stranger help him down, his mind racing.
Alhaitham said he’d buy dinner tonight.
Now he won’t be coming home.
Kaveh heard the two men speaking to each other, but it was a buzz to his mind. The words had no meaning, they were just noise. It got under his skin, he just wanted them to stop.
Just be quiet .
Kaveh gasped.
Is this how Alhaihtam feels?
Feeling a firm hand on his back grounded Kaveh, the cushion dipping beside him as the older man took a seat next to him, his hand continuing soothing circles on Kaveh’s back. Kaveh didn’t even realize he had started to cry. His voice was so soft, the man had to lean in to hear Kaveh speak with shaking words, “Where is Cyno? Why isn't he here? Why are you questioning me?”
Gently, the man offered Kaveh a handkerchief, his eyes kind but pained with the news he had to deliver. “My name is Anas, my partner here is Kareem. The General sent us to deliver the news of the Acting Grand Sage’s passing.”
“Oh gods,” Kaveh's voice wobbled into sobs, never finishing his sentence while his shoulders shook, breaths turning into gasps that he couldn't keep up with. He pressed the cloth Anas had given to him to his face, feeling it get warm with wet tears. His sobs turned into desperate gasps, panic setting in.
How could this happen?
Who did this?
“Fuck,” Kaveh cried out. His entire body shook, he felt like he was suffocating, “What — do you know about his..” taking a deep breath, Kaveh's voice shook, “his...”
Kaveh couldn’t even finish the words, feeling the steady hand on his back grounding him while he felt like he was breaking apart at the seams.
“Breathe, son. Can you do that for me?”
“No!!” Kaveh screamed out, his voice babbling after the word. He was hysterical. Kaveh shook his head, knowing he should try to calm down, but he just couldn’t. His wet gasps are getting worse, “I can't - please, I can't. Al-haith..”
“Take it slow, you're going to suffocate.”
Kaveh was getting dizzy, he couldn't get enough air in, and his mind was going a mile a minute. He felt new hands on his shoulders, pushing him back until he could see the face of the younger Matra, Kareem. He had tears in his eyes and was very steady with his words, “Breathe with me, sir.”
Kaveh tried and failed to breathe in time with the younger man. His eyes were so green, like a forest. More similar to Tighnari’s than Alhaitham's, which helped. After the third try, he managed to match a breath with the man. The hand left his back, Anas softly announcing that he was going to get Kaveh a cup of water. Hearing running water, Kaveh felt his panic pick up once again, seeing the cleaned mug that Alhaitham used that morning.
Kaveh cradled the cup with both hands, feeling tears dripping off his chin. His nose was running, he knew that he looked like a mess. Putting the cup down without taking a sip, he buried his face in his hands once again. He managed to get words out, “What happened?”
“Classified.”
Kaveh jerked his face to the man, “Tell me!” He demanded.
“If I could, I would tell you. Due to the sensitive matter of his death, we can not give any details until we have a suspect in his case.”
Kaveh’s lip wobbled, hating the words that came out next,” Can I.. can I see him?”
He needed to see the other man with his own eyes.
Kareem looked at Anas, hesitation clear on his face. With a nod, he was given permission to speak, “We cannot allow you to see his body. The General Mahamatra and our Archon will be processing what’s left of him to check for elemental signatures. We have brought you his personal details found at the scene, we have kept some items for further investigation.”
Kaveh sniffled. So anything not covered in his blood is being returned to me.
Oh gods, it sounds like he was ripped to shreds.
What happened to you, Alhaitham?
He reached forward, unraveling the cloth bundle on the table, revealing the books Alhaitham had been working through. The other bundle contained nothing but his cloak, clearly torn off of the man, the fabric dirty and frayed where it was sliced through. He pulled the cloak to his chest, sobs overtaking his body once again.
Anas stood up, looking at him.
“We will come back later to speak with you when you’ve calmed down. In the meantime, we have matters to attend to. Please understand that while you are not a suspect, you will be on house arrest until we have cleared your involvement due to living with the Grand Sage and having access to his schedule. We cannot guarantee that we will be back today, however, we will do what we can not to keep you on lockdown for too long Sir.”
“Acting Grand Sage,” Kaveh corrected without thinking.
The two Matras shared a look.
“Is there anyone we can send for to keep you company, Kaveh? The General gave us instructions to allow you to request a companion during this hard time.” Anas asked, reaching down for the mug of water to pass to Kaveh, pleased with the sobbing man finally taking a sip of water.
Mumbling into the mug, Kaveh spoke, “Tighnari. He’s a Forest Ranger in Gardharva Ville.”
“Understood. Try to breathe, son. We’ll send him over to keep you company, provided he agrees to the house arrest as well.”
The two men took their leave, words being shared with the two guards at his door before the door closed again. The home was filled with silence, and it felt like the walls were closing in on Kaveh.
Grief was something he was familiar with.
Kaveh knew that he’d be ok.
But right now?
His whole world just collapsed.
Bringing Alhaitham’s cloak close to his face, Kaveh took in the man's scent, his body trembling now that he could break down in the privacy of his own home. Kaveh made his way towards the younger man’s room and collapsed on the man's bed, choking on his sobs, his mind reeling from the last time he got to see the other man. The things he said. The things he should have said if he had known his time was limited with the other man.
The things he’ll never get the chance to say.
The man died, thinking that Kaveh could barely stand him.
“I put up with you enough, don't make me paranoid that you suspect me of going against the Akademiya when we both know how you have collected and used forbidden knowledge capsules. You’re a hypocrite, Alhaitham. I have done nothing wrong, and I put up with enough of your nonsense, and I'm not dealing with this tonight.”
A whine left Kaveh, Kaveh screaming into the bundle of his roommate's sheets and cloak. This was all he had left of him. This is all he’ll ever get.
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
Had Alhaitham not been late coming into the Akademia, he would have saved his assistant a lot of grief. Instead, Alhaitham stumbled upon his assistant, Paneh, fighting for his life in the office of the Grand Sage.
The man was held down against the desk, paperwork scattered everywhere.
Before the elevator closed its doors Alhaitham darted into action,summoning his sword and swinging down for a fatal blow that had been blocked by the armor lining the forearm of the masked woman. She quickly turned after blocking the attack, attempting a slash at Alhaitham’s neck with a small knife, the blade getting stuck in the thick fabric of his cape.
Alhaitham tore the fabric off himself, swinging his blade back down, missing the woman by a hair, and sinking his blade into the wooden desk. Paneh managed to get away from the desk, darting for the elevator.
“HELP!!” The man frantically hit the call button, checking behind himself to see if the woman followed him. He looked terrified, waving at Alhaitham to follow him.
Alhaitham parried an attack from a clawed hand, feeling himself pushed back by the force. Eyes darting to Paneh was enough time for a blade to sink into Alhaitham's shoulder. He gasped as the blade twisted in the wound, rendering his arm useless for this fight. His nerves flared, his whole arm feeling like it was on fire.
With no strength in his arm, Alhaitham released his blade, sending out a light mirror teleport, re-appearing at the other side of the desk, blade still firmly stuck in his shoulder.
“Go without me - get the Matra!” Alhaitham called out, holding his bleeding shoulder, feeling how much blood he was already losing. The woman was clearly a skilled fighter, and smart too, knowing exactly how important it was to disarm Alhaitham as soon as possible.
She jumped the desk, slamming Alhaiatham into the bookcase, aiming her claws for his head, before she was kicked off of him by the man desperately trying to create some space between himself and his assailant. Using his one good arm, Alhaitham pushed himself away from the bookcase, seeing how she wanted to corner him. He stumbled away, eyes darting around the room, trying to find a way to get away.
The elevator doors closed and Alhaihtam knew that he had less than four minutes until help was on its way. He just needed to stall until then. He knew logically that he wasn’t going to win this fight, not with how distracted his mind was, foggy from the lack of sleep the night before.
Darting towards the window in the hope of outrunning the woman, his legs were swept out from under him. Landing hard on his back, pain radiated from the wound on his shoulder. He seized in pain, not having a moment to spare, having to roll to his front, throwing out a dendro mirror shard to teleport to his feet a few feet away.
There was blood everywhere he went, not having a moment to stop the bleeding from his shoulder. Red coating the desk, books and floor of his once cozy office. In a desperate attempt, Alhaitham decided to put his skills as a haravat scholar to use.
If he could get her to talk, maybe it would slow down her attacks.
“Who sent you?” Alhaitham demanded, summoning his spare blade, a short sword he typically dual wielded. The weight felt wrong in his right hand, typically he wielded this blade on his left.
There was no expression that he could read from the woman, her mask covering too much skin, and she chuckled, her voice deep. She pulled a short sword from her back, wielding it in her clawed hand.
So she’s right-handed then .
“I’m sure a man of your status has plenty of enemies.”
“Not too many I haven’t dealt with yet,”
“Arrogant aren’t you?” She stalked towards Alhaitham, slowly like a riftland tiger.
“Not as Arrogant as whoever your boss is, thinking taking me out will serve their ideals,”
The two were circling each other, blades held down by their hips, waiting for the other to move first.
“It’s cute you think stalling me will help you.”
“Oh, it isn’t for my benefit.”
“You still think you have a chance to beat me?”
“I do,”
Just then the mirror shards that Alhaitham had been subtle with his placement came to life, pulling Alhaitham around the room, his blade at the ready to strike the woman, blood making the floor slick with every strike. Dizzy with the final strike, Alhaitham fell to his knees, heaving when nausea hit him suddenly.
It’s the blood loss.
Catching his breath, there was nothing he could do when a blade was thrown his way from the bleeding woman, sinking in deep to his ribcage. Gasping with the impact, alhaitham threw his sword in turn, satisfied with it sinking in off-center, striking the heart.
It was a risk, both bodies falling to the floor. Blood spilling out hot and rich in color.
Wrapping his hand around the sword, trying to stop the bleeding from his sternum, Alhaitham tried to steady his breath, feeling sick once again. Hearing laughing, he turned his attention to the other person in the room.
“You should have run when you had the chance.”
“I could say the same to you. You only have a few minutes left. Should I assume you’re not going to talk?”
“I refuse to rat out my brothers-in-arms. They’ll continue where I left off.” She panted, laying her head down, letting the end come, her breaths getting fainter on each pass. She was surrounded by a pool of her own blood, something Alhaitham assumed was the case for himself as well.
By the time her breaths stopped, Alhaitham’s body was becoming numb. His hand felt slick where he still tried to keep pressure on where he was stabbed. Alhaitham couldn’t help but think about Kaveh, seeing all the red spilled onto the floor.
He closed his eyes, knowing that help was on the way, and everything went black.
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
When he came to, Alhaitham found himself freshly bandaged, being watched over by his archon. She was swinging back and forth, speaking to someone else in the room. His head was throbbing, so instead of checking, he only asked, “Who are you speaking to, Nahida?”
Flowered green eyes met Alhaitham's, the Archon smiling sweetly at him.
“Cyno found you when your Aide ran for help. Your office is on lockdown currently, and only Cyno is allowed access right now because of his personal relationship with the deceased. Notice has been sent out through the Akademiya that the Acting Grand Sage has been assassinated.”
“Excuse me?” Alhaitham tried to sit up, groaning in pain when he realized he couldn’t move much with his injuries. Lying on his back, he turned his head to Cyno, who looked rough. His helmet was removed, lying beside him, hair mused and eyes looking haunted.
Over the years, he had gotten closer to the man, and he could tell this situation spooked the General to the core. It was rare to see Cyno so deeply affected by a case.
“I’m alright. I’m alive, Cyno,” Alhaitham reassured the man.
“I know. But if Panah didn’t run for help, you would have bled out. You had a clear morning with no appointments.”
The words did something weird to Alhaitham's chest. His heart skipped a beat, and he let out a sigh. Cyno was right; his schedule for that day was clear.
“How long ago was that?”
“Yesterday. Right now it’s past sunset. You spent most of the day resting from your injuries. Nahida did what she could to aid in healing, but you're going to be feeling out of it for a few days.” Cyno ran his hands through his hair, swiping it away from his face. He continued, “You lost a lot of blood, Alhaitham, and we couldn’t risk a blood transfer since we’re keeping you alive private.”
“Publicly, I’m dead. What’s the point of that?”
There was nothing Alhaitham could do about this plan, so he might as well know what the plan was since he had been publicly pronounced dead.
No walking that back.
“Tomorrow morning, I'll be leading you to a safe house. Somewhere, no one would be able to find you. Nahida will be checking in with you mentally to ensure you’re safe while we look into who sent out an assassin after you. This is the second attempt since Siraj a few months back. We need to know if these are related, or based on public unrest aimed towards you.”
Alhaitham sighed.
“I’m doing what I can to quell the unrest. We need sages who are specialists in their Darshans, that’s the largest issue.”
Nahida's eyes looked sad, “I know you’re doing your best. I still firmly believe you’re the best choice we have as Acting Grand Sage, and I will let you know when I have found suitable replacements so you’ll be able to step down.”
“Right now, I'm considered dead, so who’s going to step in now?”
Nahida looked sheepish, her small arms coming up to her chest, holding over her heart.
“That’ll be me until we find out more about your assassin,”
“Assassins. She said her brother-in-arms would come after me. I don’t think they were hired, I believe someone related to the woman who came after me is behind this.” Alhaitham recalled the last words of the woman who had attacked him. “I didn’t get a good look at her, her face was covered. Did you recognize her?”
Nahida sighed. “She had passed by the time I got there. I can’t read a mind that has no activity, so I couldn’t get a read on her.”
Despite the circumstances, the Archon was sad over the loss of life. “She comes from the desert, but this is based on her appearance.”
“She isn’t anyone I’ve ever spotted,” Cyno chimed in.
“So we have no leads then, and that’s why you’re sending me away,”
“Correct. If she hadn’t been such a skilled assassin, we wouldn’t, but you’re not someone who’s easy to take down, and when I came into your office.. I was shocked you survived. You weren’t moving, lying in a pool of blood, and your face had lost all color. At least, it lost what color it had.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it, you think I need to be out in the sun more.” Alhaitham laughed at the subtle drag from his friend. Alhaitham managed to roll onto his side, and the pain in his shoulder and abdomen was manageable on this side. Reaching for the duffle bag at the foot of his bed, he noticed an anti-hydro potion, as well as food rations, towels, blankets, as well as a handful of books. Raising a brow at Cyno, Alhaitham spoke, “This isn’t enough books, but it’ll do. None of these are the ones I was reading through.”
Cyno zipped up the bag, keeping the potion on hand to pour over the bag. Clearly, he and Alhaitham were going for a swim soon. Looking away, Cyno spoke, “I couldn't return the books you were reading through, it would be too suspicious.”
“Are my reading habits suspicious?”
“Yes. Only two people know that you survived, and your Aide might not be the only person who knew what you were reading. We can’t be too careful.” Alhaitham groaned.
“So I can only leave with what I have on my person and the bag you have packed for me?”
“Correct.”
“Where did the books go?”
Looking around, Alhaitham tried to locate his cape since he was currently shirtless and he wasn’t about to travel in just his pants. Cyno passed him a black cloak, one modified with fake ears atop the hood. “Where is my cloak?”
“It’s with your books. I sent your personal items to Kaveh before the public was notified about your passing.”
Ice flooded Alhaitham's veins.
Kaveh.
He had been expecting Alhaitham to bring him home dinner, Alhaitham was going to try to make up with the other man after their fight. Instead..
“You didn’t tell him I'm ok?”
“ I didn’t tell him anything. I sent the matra to him to take a statement and deliver what wasn’t considered evidence to your home. We need to be careful. Right now, he’s considered a suspect and is on house arrest. It’s the easiest way to keep an eye on him in case your assailant tries to go for those close to you. We don’t know what they know about you.”
Stomach twisting, Alhaitham sighed in defeat. This was Cyno’s specialty. While Alhaitham wouldn’t personally leave his roommate in the dark, it made sense to do so. To pull this off, he had to leave the impression on everyone that he had died.
Knowing it was the right choice didn’t help the guilt that came over Alhaitham in waves. Kaveh didn’t deserve this. He’s already lost so much.
“You know this is going to destroy him,” Alhaitham stated.
“He’s had Tighnari with him for days.”
“Does Tighnari know that I'm alive?”
“Only two people know. Nahida and myself.”
“You didn’t even tell your partner?”
Cyno scratched his neck, clearly not liking this line of questioning, “Tighnari will understand.”
“Understanding and being ok with something are two different things, Cyno.”
For a long moment, Alhaitham could tell that Cyno wasn’t going to respond to him. Alhaitham quietly asked, breaking the ice, “How long will I be in hiding?”
“You know I can’t answer that. We don’t know how long it will take to track these guys down.”
His head was starting to hurt again, and Alhaitham closed his eyes, needing more rest. His body felt so heavy. The quiet was soothing, “Take care of Kaveh for me, Cyno. I need to know that he’s going to be ok.”
“I will.” Cyno fussed with the sheets, making sure Alhaitham was laid down comfortably. Nahida watched on, silent, her eyes looking through Alhaitham. He was sure his thoughts weren’t just his to hear at that moment.
“I can tell you’re fading fast. Rest, I’ll wake you when we have decided where it’s safe for you to hide.”
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
It had been over a week since the news broke about the murder of the Acting Grand Sage, and three days since Kaveh was cleared from his house arrest, though he was aware of how much matra still lurked near his house.
Tighnari had taken extended leave from the forest rangers to temporarily move in with Kaveh to make sure his friend had some company, and today was the first time Kaveh felt up to leave the house outside of brief visits to the market to get comfort foods. Tighnari could only watch with sad eyes when Kaveh posted his proposal of a debate on the message boards, needing something to keep his mind active now that he no longer had a debate partner at home.
While he and Tighnari were both celebrated scholars in their own rights, they never debated each other, each man preferring to share their own knowledge on a specific topic instead. After posting his opening letter, Kaveh was led to a coffee shop by Tighnari, the two men silently sitting, hands warmed by the fresh brew surrounded by the dull murmur of the people around them.
Kaveh felt like he was being watched. It made his skin crawl.
He probably was being watched. Since Alahitham’s passing, he’s been treated like a widow; suddenly, anyone who ever met the two men was offering Kaveh their condolences. A mix of scholars and vendors he’s never met told him how often Alhaitham would bring him up. He seemed to constantly be on the other man’s mind.
When he was presented Alhaitham’s will and testament, he learned just how much the man had set aside for him, leaving all of his accounts and estate to Kaveh only.
Kaveh couldn’t even enjoy his sudden financial freedom since it came at the cost of one of his closest friends.
He felt guilty accepting the money, but the thought of how angry Alhaitham would be at him for refusing his will stopped Kaveh from rejecting the accounts being transferred to his name.
The first day, Kaveh had thoughts of paying off his debts in one fell swoop, but the idea of Dori finding out he suddenly came into money.. It was safer not to raise suspicion. He wasn’t due to make a payment to her for another two weeks. With his own finances he would be barely able to make it, but with Alhaitham’s.. He’ll be able to make a full payment for the first time in the last month.
“How can people go about their days like nothing happened?” Kaveh whispered, the feeling of the day being no different than any other day washing over him. He had suspended all commissions while he grieved, and he had gotten the final letter back that morning, his client dropping him to work with another architect.
He was a Haravat Scholar looking for a library expansion. That specific commission, he had asked Alhaitham for his input on the direction of the expansion, and Kaveh had asked for the notes to be returned to him, wanting to cherish the last of Alhaitham’s writings on the margins of his draft. The client compiled, keeping the first draft only, returning the second and third drafts to Kaveh.
Tighnari took a sip of his coffee, enjoying the strong roast before speaking, “It was like this when the sages fell originally, though you were still in the desert on your job, so you didn’t experience how strange this was the first time. Something major happened, yes, but the people.. They still have to live their lives. You can’t judge them for that. They didn’t know Alhaitham like we did.”
“Live their lives..” Kaveh stared at his reflection in the dark drink, blinking when Tighnari reached over to pour milk into his coffee. Alhaitham preferred his coffee black, but Kaveh always liked it with milk and sugar. A spoonful of sugar followed, Kaveh watching Tighnari prep his coffee for him. He felt like such a baby.
Meeting Tighnari’s eyes, Kaveh could tell his friend felt like he was walking on eggshells.
Kaveh closed his eyes and drank his coffee, appreciative of Tighnari making it sweet for him. Earlier in the week, Kaveh had been making his coffee black, doing what he could to feel close to Alhaitham, even if he couldn’t stand the drink like that.
The whole week was a series of moments like this. The two friends try to lift the other’s spirit with little success. Some things hurt no matter what, and you just have to live through the pain, day by day. Kaveh knew he’d be alright, and Tighnari knew this too. They’ve both dealt with death, but never has it hit this close to home outside of Kaveh’s father when the man was still young, years before he met Tighnari.
He saw how the death of a loved one destroyed his mother. Kaveh didn’t want to end up like her. He wanted to keep Alhaitham with him in spirit, but he would not lose himself in the process. He took another sip of his sweet coffee.
Take it day by day.
Tighnhari looked up.
“Ah, can I help you?” Tighnari asked, eyes landing on a member of the matra who was only a few feet away, looking like he wanted to approach the two men. He quietly passed a letter to Tighnari. Before taking his leave, he put his hand on Kaveh’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
And like that, he was gone.
Kaveh watched silently while Tighnari unfolded the letter. His eyebrows pinched. Cyno has been hard at work tracking down Alhaitham’s killer, and neither man had seen the man since Alhaitham died. It was like losing them both at once, even if Cyno’s correspondence reassured Tighnari that he was still around.
The letter was folded, and Tighnari put his head in his hand, rubbing at his temple.
Bad news then.
Without being prompted, Tighnari spoke, “Cyno is still out there, tracking down the group who was after Alhaitham. He has a lead, but that’s the most he can say. He offers his condolences again and is asking how you’re doing.”
“I think I’d like to go home,” Kaveh reached into his belt, pulling out mora for his coffee. Tighnari reached into his satchel to pay for his drink and follow his friend out. Kaveh put his hand up, stopping Tighnari from getting up, “I think I'd like to be alone. I appreciate you being with me, but I just want a little time by myself.”
Kaveh passed his key to Tighnari, keeping Alhaitham’s silver key for himself. Tighnari swapped the keys, giving Kaveh a look when the man reached for the silver key again. Kaveh nodded to his friend, seeing how badly Tighnari didn’t want him to cling to every reminder of Alhaitham. It wasn’t healthy, he needed to do what he could to not lose himself.
“I’ll see you later tonight.” Tighnari leaned back in his seat, using his tail as a cushion. Tighnari would make a trip to Gandarva Ville to check on Collei and update her, and then right back to Kaveh.
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
A month and a half marked when Kaveh first saw Cyno since Alhaitham's passing.
He just wished it were under better circumstances. Kaveh had been corresponding with scholars on the message boards, and he had stopped by late at night to post his response, finding that he couldn’t sleep. So far, there had been a handful of arrests in the case of the Grand Sage’s murder, and the names had just been posted publicly, and it was keeping Kaveh up. He couldn’t sleep even if it was believed that the mastermind behind Alhaitham’s murder was caught.
It just didn’t feel real.
Somehow, it didn’t give Kaveh the closure he thought it would.
None of the names looked familiar to Kaveh. To him, these seemed to be nameless scholars, who had trained under an Erimite group, taking on their appearance to avoid suspicion. The running theory was that Alhaitham was targeted due to a foiled embezzlement case that had happened over six months ago.
Something that Kaveh hadn’t heard about until now.
Alhaitham had a right to his privacy, but knowing that the arrest was tied to a case Kaveh had never heard about, it hurt.
One of the suspects who was arrested was Nael, a scholar who was ten years out of the Akademiya and seemed to be living a good life, owning a small home outside of Sumeru city, comfortable and private.
Alhaitham had rejected his proposal for funding for his studies due to a lack of evidence that the study being relevant to his field of study.
Nael was furious, storming into the Grand Sage’s office, with a demand to bring the rejected fund request to court, claiming Darshan Discrimination, which was quickly dismissed when it was discovered they were from Haravatat, just like the Acting Grand Sage. The court case gave Alhaitham the push to further investigate what the funds would be used for, and found a history of this same document being approved multiple times by the previous Grand Sage, and no history of the funds being allocated towards the travel and housing they claimed to need for their studies. There were also no submissions of the results of the study, proving that it was a farce to get money from the Akademiya.
After a full audit, Alhaitham had the Matra issue a warrant for the man’s arrest, but the Matra could not locate him. It had been an ongoing investigation that had been placed on the back burner, proving that he had a friend in the Akademiya. His accomplice had yet to be discovered, something that Kaveh had been told by Tighnari, who had insider information that Cyno had given him in code in his most recent letter.
Approaching the message board in the dark, Kaveh could see a silhouette standing there.
He didn’t think anything of it until the man ripped one of the pages down.
Kaveh picked up his pace, voice rising, “What are you doing?”
The man stopped, his cloak concealing his features. When Kaveh got closer, the man turned and pulled his hood down, revealing a waterfall of white hair.
Cyno.
“What the hell Cyno?” Cyno looked to the page he tore down, then looked back at Kaveh. Kaveh doubled down, furious with the other man, “Those are publicly posted, they aren’t meant to leave the board unless the original writer removes it.”
“What makes you so sure I'm not the original?”
“Cyno, I started that debate, and I'd appreciate it if you would not remove my work.”
Kaveh had always been taller than Cyno, but with a single look, Kaveh felt like he was three inches tall, even if he knew he was right in this argument. There was etiquette to the public message boards, something that Kaveh knew well from years ago, arguing with Alhaitham on his stances he posted, even when the two weren’t on speaking terms. Kaveh had been corresponding with a mystery writer, and it had been days since he was able to check if he had gotten a response.
Cyno folded the document, sliding it into his pocket.
Kaveh felt like he was going to cry, a common feeling for him still. He constantly felt on edge. Soft words left the man, “Please, Cyno. Put it back.”
Kaveh’s tone had no bite to it. Kaveh had been doing better with the support of Tighnari, but with the removal of his debate, Kaveh had such a sense of loss. Whoever had been debating him sounded so close to Alhaitham. If not for the handwriting, Kaveh would have thought the man was still there.
Cyno reached out to Kaveh, his hand resting on Kaveh’s arm.
He sighed, “Sometimes I remove documents so I can read them on my own time, and I put them back with my response. I promise I'll have it back by morning. Yours caught my eye, is all.”
“You’ve been replying to me?”
“I have. I was practicing concealing my handwriting, so I'm not surprised you didn’t know it was me. I know this is part of your grieving process, and I've been enjoying the debate.”
“We could have a debate night if you’d like?” Kaveh looked so hopeful, and Cyno hated the way he had to shut him down.
“I’d rather do it through the message boards. I’m not.. I’m not him, I don’t have a silver tongue for debates, I’m not tongue-tied, but sometimes I'm tongue-dried.” Kaveh groaned at the pun the man snuck in.
“I missed you, Cyno.” Kaveh reached for his friend, pulling him in for a hug. Cyno held Kaveh close, the two friends silently enjoying the moment together after weeks apart.
Cyno couldn’t stop the guilt of knowing he caused Kaveh so much grief.
“What has you out so late?”
“Couldn’t sleep.” Kaveh sighed, pulling away from Cyno.
“Do you visit his grave?”
“I’d live there if I could. Tighnari told me it isn’t healthy to count the days since he’s been gone, but.. It’s hard. I really miss him. I wish I could be with him.”
Alarm rang through Cyno, red eyes meeting red eyes. “Kaveh..”
“No, please. That’s not what I meant. I just. I’m still adjusting. It helps me accept that he’s gone. That’s been the hardest part, having to tell myself that all of this is real. I’d do anything to see Alhaitham again, but I know I never will.”
Cyno felt ice course through his veins.
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
After hours of wandering the wild, Cyno was sure he had found the spot. It was familiar, and somehow not, Cyno feeling like he’s only been here in a dream, despite knowing that wasn’t the case. His body had made this journey multiple times, though his mind was taken over by Nahida every time except for now. She typically guided Cyno so that she would be able to send real-time updates on the investigation into Alhaitham’s murder.
Checking his tracks carefully, Cyno ducked into a divot between two rocks, his bare feet feeling around for the entrance. He felt the water, and once his foot sank in, he knew this was the spot.
Carefully, Cyno lowered himself into the water, the tight entrance slightly larger than him. It was claustrophobic sinking into the cool water up to his chest before he had to use his arms to push himself lower, taking a deep breath before the water covered his face, relying on his senses as he sank into the water, pushing against the walls of the cave to lower himself down, feeling for when the walls give way for an open area to swim. It was pitch black down here.
The relief when the walls gave way to an opening was instant, Cyno opening his eyes, checking for the marked glowing stones. As soon as he spotted them, he quickly swam towards the opening, his lungs straining with the effort to hold his breath. Typically, he would use the aid of an anemo potion since he struggled with breath control, but this was a sudden visit, one that he didn’t have time to prepare for.
With a gasp, Cyno surfaced, brushing his hair back, looking around for the man he knew would be there. Longing on a makeshift cot, the man sat up, barely concealing a grimace, arm resting on his stomach. The cave was overtaken by the loud sounds of Cyno catching his breath, coughing out the water he had inhaled before surfacing.
“You pick this spot and somehow still look like a wet dog, General,” the voice echoed off the walls. Cyno glared at the other man, crawling onto land and sitting by the fire that had a pot of stew cooking over it.
“I picked this spot because no one would find you here, Alhaitham,” Cyno grumbled, reaching for a towel Alhaitham offered. Looking over at the soup, Cyno questioned Alhaitham, “Soup? It’s the middle of the night?”
“You seem to have forgotten I've been living in a cave, underwater. I have no concept of day cycles right now.” Sitting up slowly, Alhaitham cradled his still-healing wounds. His injuries had closed up nicely, with no sign of infection, though they were still so tender. If not for the dark circles under his eyes and old bandages still wrapped around his midsection, the man looked well adjusted since being sent into hiding.
Alhaitham passed a bowl of soup to Cyno before serving himself.
“What brings you here, if it’s truly the middle of the night?”
“I wanted to get this to you as soon as possible,” Cyno pulled out a slip of paper, one that had been drenched in anti-hydro potion again and again.
The message board response from Kaveh.
“The Matra believe we are looking for just two more accomplices, and once we’ve got them, we are going to make an example of your assassins. We have to stop people from feeling inspired by their crimes and coming after you. “
“It’s hard being so well-liked,” Alhaitham grumbled, making Cyno smirk at his words.
“I’m sure that’s what it is.”
Quietly, a document was passed to Alhaitham, eager hands grabbing the paper, all conversation stopping while he read through Kaveh’s response. Alhaitham found that nothing was more interesting to him than reading the other man's words. Alhaitham wished that he was allowed to write back properly. Instead, he passed the document to Cyno who wrote down his response in a careful script.
The fire was burning low by the time Alhaitham was done reciting his response to Kaveh. Cyno put his pen down, standing up to take the soup bowls to the water to rinse them out, placing the cleaned bowls near the fire to dry. Adding a few logs to the low flames, Cyno used his electro to set a spark to the added wood.
“How much longer will I need to stay here?” Alhaitham reached for the response from Kaveh, eyes spilling over the man's words again. The larger man looked so fragile.
“I can’t say.”
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
Three months after the death of Alhaitham, the day finally came.
Cyno’s grip tightened in the man's hair, making the man gasp, his neck and shoulders sore from the force of his fall landing on his upper body when he was tackled by Cyno after leaping from a pathway and down a hill. The last man had been caught at long last.
While Cyno had been hunting down two accomplices he found another lead to the case, more embezzlement and fraud sending him all the way to Fontaine to hunt down a group of men who had been plotting alongside Nael, and had been funneling the funds overseas to the hydro nation to place bets on trials, almost tripling the amount the group had stolen from Akademiya funds since Nael’s arrest. They had cleaned out his accounts the day the Matra had found their leader, and Cyno had the Matra tracing the withdrawal, taking statements until they had a clear idea of what the man looked like who had the sum of Nael’s accounts.
Being out of his jurisdiction, Cyno had been waiting for the Gardes to come and collect this criminal and take Cyno’s statement.
He had worked outside of Sumeru before, and he was more than familiar with the laws of the land. While Cyno would have loved to bring the man to justice himself, he knew that the man's fate was all but sealed, especially with the honorable Monsieur Neuvilette in charge of his sentencing once he was brought in.
When he saw blue uniforms in the distance, Cyno couldn’t help but smile. He and Nahida had planned Alhaitham’s return, and he was ready to bring the man back.
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
Three months, six days after the death of Alhaitham, Cyno slid a silver key into the lock of Kaveh’s house, carefully ushering in a cloaked individual into the seating area. Locking the door, Cyno then set to draw the curtains shut, noticing how quiet the home was currently.
He half expected Kaveh to be up, knowing that the man had picked up his commissions once again, still in mourning but doing so much better. The cloaked figure went to the kitchen, grinding beans to make himself the first proper cup of coffee he’d had in months.
Quietly, Cyno walked down the hallway, taking a peek into Kaveh’s room before realizing the man wasn’t in there. Backtracking, he opened the door to Alhaitham’s room, finding Kaveh curled up in the sheets, multiple notepads and sketches surrounding the bed, and lined up on the nightstand. He had been deep in the creative process for a design that he had been working on months ago. It looked to be the second-to-final draft, the lines clean and sure, the notes no longer being suggestions, but a list of materials and the estimated cost to build. Kaveh was always sure to include a list of alternative materials that could cut costs, with the best match being listed on the blueprint itself.
Picking up the documents, Cyno placed them on Alhaitham’s desk, clearing the walkway before sitting on the bed, carefully shaking Kaveh to wake him.
“Mn.. huum?” Kaveh didn’t open his eyes, slowly coming awake.
“Kaveh, wake up. I need to speak to you.” The words were spoken softly by Cyno, the smell of coffee starting to reach the room, helping Kaveh come out of sleep. He pushed himself up, before flopping down into the bed, rubbing his face in the pillow, groaning.
“Please, I know it’s late. I’ll get you some coffee, meet me on the divan. Five minutes, Kaveh.”
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu,” Kaveh rolled onto his back, putting his hands over his eyes, doing what he could to block out the light. If Cyno was waking him up from the dead of sleep, it had to be important. Kaveh could smell the coffee, sure that Tighnari was hard at work making him a cup, keeping it sweet and milky.
A few minutes later, Kaveh came out, seeing only Cyno sitting with two cups of coffee on the table. Reaching for his cup, Kaveh let it warm his hands. Looking around at the closed curtains, Kaveh asked, “Where’s Tighnari?”
“Probably at home.”
“Um”
“There is someone else here.”
“Who? What’s going on?” Kaveh looked towards the hallways, not seeing anyone there, meaning they were either in one of the rooms or the kitchen. Being woken up so suddenly made Kaveh cranky, not caring for whatever game Cyno was playing. Cyno sat down next to Kaveh, slowly moving the coffee from his hands and onto the table. He took both of Kaveh’s hands firmly, looking into his eyes. Kaveh squinted at him.
“Kaveh, you have to understand that this was necessary, and that we didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Kaveh jerked his hands away from Cyno, getting up suddenly, “What’s going on? You’re freaking me out Cyno.” Kaveh took a few steps away from Cyno, wanting to keep some space between himself and the other man.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I just. I’m trying to make this easier, I think you should sit down.”
Kaveh backed up, feeling his stomach drop. He felt like he was in danger. Cyno’s eyes darted behind Kaveh and the blond man whipped around, scared out of his skin, and screaming when he saw a man in a cloak standing behind him, the only part of him he could see was a hand holding a cup of coffee.
Kaveh screamed, startling the other man, making him drop the cup of coffee, the mug shattering on the floor.
It was Alhaitham’s mug.
Kaveh collapsed to the floor, taking the hot pieces of broken clay into his hands, cradling the remnants of the broken mug to his chest. The cloaked figure took a knee, pulling his hood down, pulling Kaveh’s face up to face him.
Kaveh felt his breath catch, dropping the broken pieces of the mug, his coffee-covered hands framing Alhaitham’s face. No words came out, Kaveh couldn’t find it in himself to speak. Alhaitham’s warm hands moved up and down Kaveh’s arms, caressing the man.
Kaveh burst into tears, pulling Alhaitham close, his arm wrapping tightly around the other man, gripping his shoulder, his other hand tangled in roughly cut hair. His breaths got faster, choked sobs wracking through Kaveh while Alhaitham held him, the two men letting their knees get soaked in the still warm coffee on the floor. Alhaitham repeated again and again, “It’s ok, Kaveh it’s ok I'm here. I’m really here.”
Gripping Alhaitham tighter, the two men stayed on the floor, the months of grief hitting Kaveh all at once. Cyno sat down on the floor, trying to soothe Kaveh with words.
By the time Kaveh had calmed down, his grief quickly turned to anger. When Kaveh’s body stopped shaking from his tears, Alhaitham braced himself.
He was shoved back by Kaveh, anger lining Kaveh’s beautiful features.
What Alhaitham didn’t expect was for Kaveh’s anger to face Cyno first.
“YOU KNEW. How could you lie to me? You knew he was alive, and you let me go through months of believing he died. How could you?” Tears streamed down Kaveh’s face while he screamed at Cyno, the man taking the abuse without a word.
His poker face did nothing to betray the guilt that Cyno felt over the whole plan.
Kaveh wanted to hit Cyno. He raised a hand to slap the other man, but was stopped by Alhaitham, who took him by the wrist, holding him firmly. Kaveh turned to Alhaitham, “Let go, Alh..” The words dissolved in Kaveh’s mouth, still coming to terms with the other man being in front of him once again. He thought he’d never see the younger man ever again. His mouth wobbled, eyes filling with tears again just by the sight of the other man.
Alhaitham took both of Kaveh’s hands in his, his thumb moving across Kaveh’s hands softly. Looking down at their linked hands, he spoke, “Cyno kept me alive. I was hurt badly, and with the amount of men after my life, I wouldn’t have made it if he hadn’t sent me into hiding. I didn’t like the plan, but it was necessary.”
Looking lost, Kaveh looked to Cyno, then back to Alhaitham.
“Who else knew you were alive?” Kaveh asked, looking remorseful for his outburst.
“Myself, Nahida,” Cyno spoke.
Kaveh pulled his hand from Alhaitham’s, reaching for Cyno’s hand. With a squeeze, he spoke to his friend, “Thank you, Cyno.”
With that, the mood for the night lightened, and the three men spent time catching up on what the next steps of the plan would be. While Alhaitham was back in the city, he would essentially be on house arrest in his own home, just for a few weeks more while Cyno made the punishment of those plotting against the acting grand sage would be public, a warning against anyone else who would attempt a coup against the man hand-picked by the archon.
Alhaitham detailed to Kaveh how Nahida had kept the Akademiya running smoothly, the Archon linking to Alhaitham’s mind to take in his opinion and wisdom when reading through proposals. Kaveh was surprised that Alhaitham was still required to work while he was in hiding, and the man groaned when listing out the amount of times he’d be deep in sleep when Nahida would bring his mind to hers, keeping him active the whole night while she took his opinion on the work that she had done during the day.
The Archon, despite being the ruler of the land, had too much compassion for her people, which led her to be a bad choice to work as Grand Sage. Alhaitham had learned a lot about why the girl had kept him in the position, despite his reluctance to do the work.
“So this means you’ll continue on as Acting Grand Sage when you’re brought back?” Kaveh asked later that night, his whole body stretched out on the divan, head placed in Alhaitham’s lap while the other man ran his fingers through blonde hair.
“Unfortunately,” Alhaitham replied, detailing how his salary had been going into a separate account that Nahida managed, making sure that he still got the mora he was owed, especially for the amount of overtime he worked, being essentially on-call for three months straight.
At the mention of money, Kaveh got shy, telling Alhaitham that he had been using the money left to him, only withdrawing from the gifted funds for rent and bi-weekly payments to Dori. He had cut down significantly on his drinking habits, not wanting to waste Alhaitham’s money by drinking it away.
The late night turned to morning, Cyno taking his leave to get some rest in his own home. He would be sending for Tighnari in the morning, so that his love could see with his own eyes that Alhaitham was alive and well. Kaveh waved to the other man before heading to Alhaitham’s room for the night. Realizing that he probably should sleep in his bed, Kaveh turned away before a hand reached out for him. Kaveh looked at Alhaitham, seeing how exhausted the man looked after staying up all night.
Kaveh looked at where the other man held him.
Alhaitham looked sheepish, his cheeks warm, “If you’d like. I’d like for you to join me tonight.”
Without a word, Kaveh followed Alhaitham into his room, lying beside the other man. Within minutes, Alhaitham was out, finally getting to rest in a soft, warm bed after months with a blanket and fire to keep him warm on the stone floor of a cave. Kaveh traced the man’s features, still in disbelief that he had, quite literally, come back from the dead. Kaveh moved closer to Alhaitham, butterflies in his stomach, the way the other man curled into him.
In the morning, Kaveh had so much he wanted to say to the other man.
Words that he thought he would never get the chance to say.
For the first time in three months, Kaveh went to bed, looking forward to waking up the next morning.
Because when he wakes up, Alhaitham will be there.
‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.‧₊˚𖤣 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉˚.
