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It was the same routine as every year. Kalim would insist that they go all out, roping anyone who was nearby into the celebration. It wasn’t a party for him , not really--it was a party for Kalim. And, like every year, he was the one overseeing his own dinner. For the most part he didn’t mind it. It meant he could eat whatever he wanted to prepare for his birthday. However, it also meant that he had to cook far more than he cared for because of the sheer amount of guests the head of Scarabia always invited. Jamil sighed, stirring the pot as he glanced towards the other Scarabia students assisting in the kitchen.
“You plate these. I need to check on the decorations.” He stated as another member of the dorm hurried towards him. If there was one thing he was grateful for, it was that he had come to have a small amount of trust for those who worked under him in the kitchen. It allowed him room to focus on things other than whatever dishes were closest to him. Though, he did usually still check their food for poison before they were brought out. As a “taste test”. He wasn’t going to let his guard down that easily.
He opened the door to the dining hall, sneaking in quietly as he noticed the guests already beginning to arrive. Pressing his lips tightly together, he glanced at the various decorations. He could hear the elephant outside. The boy pinched the bridge of his nose, mentally cursing Kalim for choosing animals again . He didn’t know how many times it had to get out of hand for him to learn that without the proper training and magic, it usually wasn’t a good idea to bring animals that could kill you to a party. At least it wasn’t another parade. It better not be a parade .
Hands covered his eyes from behind and a badly disguised voice rang from behind. “Guess who!”
“Kalim.”
The younger of the two lowered his hands and spun around Jamil, a pout on his face. “You’re good at this game!”
It wasn’t hard to begin with . It wasn’t as if anyone else dared to play that game with him. “Are the guests here?”
“Yep! They’re out doing elephant rides~”
“Elephant rides?” The long haired boy sighed, shaking his head slightly. It was always too much.
“Of course!” He beamed, obviously proud of himself for his excessive gesture. “We can ride one together after dinner! It’ll be fun.”
Jamil forced a smile on his lips. “Alright.” And as soon as it had appeared, the smile was gone. “I’ll alert the students in the kitchen to start gathering the guests in a few minutes. You should go entertain them in the meantime.”
He watched Kalim’s expression change slightly to a pout, though it had only lasted a second himself. In truth, he understood that the white haired boy was only trying to make him happy and had likely come looking for him to spend time with him. He just never seemed to quite grasp the fact that Jamil didn’t want all this. He would have been happy to spend time alone in his room--maybe even to just get a day off from doting on the boy and his outlandish party ideas. Jamil forced the smile on his lips once more, raising a hand to pat the top of Kalim’s head. “You’ll have plenty of time to talk to me during dinner.”
This did energize him a bit more. “Alright! And don’t forget to get changed!” He beamed, already walking back in the direction to the din of guests chatting outside. “This will be the best party yet!”
Doubtful . Letting out an exasperated sigh, he turned and began walking to his room, where an inevitably gaudy outfit from the Asim family would be laid out for him. It, combined with Kalim’s seat at the head of the table, made him stand out like a sore thumb. Jamil rubbed at his eyes, taking note of the beautifully woven red fabric laid on his bed. A part of him wondered what it would be like if he just...chopped it up, as he had done with Vil. His fingers ran over the intricate beading, quietly cursing the generations of his family working for Kalim’s. Despite this, he still did as he was bid and put on the flashy clothes before returning to the kitchen to tend to his duties.
He eyed the serving dishes, tasting each one of them. With this many guests, it wasn’t likely that the meal would be poisoned, but it truly would be a disaster if someone managed to kill Kalim on his birthday. It certainly wouldn’t look good for him, that’s for sure. “Alright everyone. Let’s set the table.” In truth, ‘table’ was an understatement. As like most of the head of Scarabia’s parties, it had certainly become bigger than it should have and the dining hall could easily house three times the size of the dorm and it would likely be filled, if not packed in to make more people fit in.
The timing was perfect. No one could say that Jamil couldn’t read Kalim, even when they weren’t near each other. Judging by just the sound of the amount of people outside and the vague sense he had about parts of the party he hadn’t had a say in, he could easily guess just how long it would take the white haired boy to wrangle the people inside. As he normally did, he slid to the side of the door to wait for everyone else to take their seat. However, it was a routine that him and Kalim did every year. The younger of the two grabbed his hands, a wide grin on his face as he pulled Jamil towards where he normally sat at the head of the table.
“For the birthday boy~!” He practically sang. This part of his usual birthday routine was something he pretended to forget every year. It was a sign of him knowing his place. He could never assume that he was allowed to switch spots with Kalim. Dinner was always his least favorite part. As much as he had assured the boy settling beside him that they would talk during dinner, he was usually far too busy socializing with everyone else. Jamil’s birthday parties were such a joke that he was merely a prop for the other’s amusement.
And, like every year, he was right. Grey hues watched as the head of Scarabia floated around the table to talk to different guests, make sure they were enjoying their food, going so far as to actually feed them himself if he felt so inclined. Jamil took a long sip of his drink, wondering just how long this farce had to last. No one was there for him. He just wanted to clean up and go back to his room. Though, he wouldn’t be surprised if Kalim insisted he stay in his room. It seemed like it happened more often than not. That, or he’d be awoken in the middle of the night to him sneaking in Jamil’s bed.
Kalim stood at the edge of the table closest to the kitchens, directly opposite Jamil as he clapped with a large grin on his face. He towered over the others sitting on cushions, demanding attention that he knew was likely going to be directed at him. “And now, for my first gift of the night~” He beamed, motioning towards the doors of the kitchen before bounding back over towards the long haired boy at the other end.
Two Scarabia students came out of the kitchen with a huge cake so horribly lopsided that even Jamil couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. Icing was sliding off from being put on while the cake was too hot, it was some awful shade of grey. Everything about it screamed unappetizing.
“Did you make that?” Jamil asked, genuinely curious.
“Of course I did! I learned just for you!”
The amused smile on Jamil’s lips was that of genuine amusement. He hadn’t expected Kalim to actually do anything that would require any more work than preparing for something he wanted. “I’ll help you next time.” And I’ll make Trey help us .
The head of Scarabia smiled, leaning over slightly and to grab one of Jamil’s hands between both of his and give a gentle squeeze. “I’m looking forward to it!” He pulled his hands back, grabbing something he had hidden away under the table. “But I got you this, too.”
Grey eyes glanced towards the crowd of people already cutting into the cake. He was thankful they weren’t paying attention--he didn’t want them feeling like they had to give him presents as well. The vice head already hated the fact that Kalim insisted. He grabbed the rectangular package, intricately wrapped by someone he was sure wasn’t the boy beside him. Carefully, so as not to rip the beautifully printed paper, he slowly unwrapped the book.
It was an old, brown book with gold foil printed into it. With how well it was preserved, he was certain it came from the Asim’s own estate. He raised a brow towards the white haired boy who was smiling at him, hoping for some praise like a lovesick puppy. He fingered the cover open, checking to see the edition. Yep. First .
“You know I can’t take this.”
“Huh?” Kalim’s brows furrowed, a genuine look of confusion washing over him.
“I’m not taking a book from your family’s personal collection.”
“No, no, no! It’s okay! I asked! It sounded like something you’d like.” He smiled, “And besides, we’ve got so many books. What’s one missing?”
Jamil mulled it over once more, turning the book over in his hands. He gently ran his fingers over the imprints of the book, still unsure if he could accept such a gift.
“Do you not like it?”
“That’s not it.” Jamil sighed. “It’s just a very generous gift.”
“Well, of course it is!” He grinned. “I like making you smile on your birthday!” The vice head could count on one hand how many times he had genuinely smiled on his birthday since he could remember--the cake being the fourth. Still, he offered the other a false one, the same false one that Kalim could never look past, and it satiated his need for praise.
The uproar of dinner ending was the perfect time to escape. Grey eyes darted among the people--especially each of the Scarabia students--before he grabbed the book and snuck into the dormitory halls, searching for quiet. Normally, he didn’t ditch his own parties. He wasn’t normally as rude as that. His fingers grazed over the foiling of the book once more, however, curiosity taking over him. A part of him mostly just wanted to know what kind of books Kalim thought he would like. Honestly, he tried so hard to blend in, he wondered if it was going to put him to sleep.
Jamil didn’t go to his room. He preferred the open air of the head of Scarabia’s dorm, but especially when it came to reading. The warm early fall air wafted over him as soon as he stepped through the doors. It had been a long, hot summer at home and Scarabia mirrored it perfectly. He wasn’t complaining, not really . Overall, he preferred the heat over anything else. But if there was something he had learned about Night Raven College that he actually enjoyed, it was reading on a rainy day in the library. The boy perched cross legged on the ledge of the open windows, allowing himself to lean back on the corner of one of the stone arches before cracking open the book Kalim had given him.
He hadn’t even made it twenty pages when he heard the slight creak of the door open. To be honest, he was surprised to see that the younger of the two had come looking for him himself. “Are you not coming back?” His voice was quiet, causing Jamil’s brows to furrow slightly. He held up his gift to the other.
“I thought I’d get a start on it. You were right, I’m already liking it.” It was alright.
Kalim shut the door behind him and moved to sit on the ledge with him. “I’m glad.” He left out a relieved sigh. “I always have a hard time picking out your gifts.”
“I’ve told you you don’t need to get me anything.”
“But I want to!” Kalim pouted. “You’re always doing so much for me, I wish there was something I could do.”
The long haired boy forced another smile. “You do enough for me.” It seemed even Kalim could see through that lie. “Don’t worry, you should go back to the party.”
A small smile formed on the white haired boy’s face and he kicked his feet a couple times against the ledge beneath him. “Screw the party.”
Jamil raised a brow. “Excuse me?”
“I said screw the party. I’ll sit with you while you read.” It seemed he was just full of surprises today. Grey eyes watched as the other moved to mirror him, taking note of how the moonlight shone on his skin. Jamil watched him for a long while, though the other boy did nothing other than bounce his knees slightly and watch the sands on the horizon. It truly was a strange moment.
Hesitantly, he opened his book, but he didn’t get very far before an idea crept into his mind. “Kalim?”
“Hm?”
“Can you use your magic for me?”
The dorm leader furrowed his brows, but straightened a leg so he could get access to the magical pen in his pocket.
“Can you make it rain…?”
Kalim glanced outside the window. “I can’t make it actually rain.” He stated, “I can do a good area, though. Is that okay?”
Jamil nodded, and with a flick of his wrist and the familiar words of the other’s unique magic, the sound of rain began to patter against the walkways below them. The other boy didn’t go back to his spot across from him, though. Instead, Kalim moved to lay across Jamil’s lap, wrapping his arms around the older boy’s waist.
He really didn’t mind these physical affections that much. They were easy enough to reciprocate and the dorm leader never really seemed to either notice or care that he never initiated it. His fingers ran through short white hair and the rest of his attention turned to the book in front of him.
Honestly, he was amazed that Kalim lasted as long as he did. About forty minutes after the rain had started, the water suddenly stopped, leaving the smell of the first rain and the steady breathing of the boy in his lap to fill his senses. After a few moments, Jamil gently patted the sleeping boy’s back. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
He whined slightly, but Kalim stumbled towards his bed and began lazily throwing off his clothes and tossing them into a chair. Jamil followed, though he was far more careful with the clothes he had borrowed. He folded the delicate fabric carefully and set it on one of the tables in the room, still clinging onto the book.
When he crawled into bed, the younger boy almost immediately clung to his hips once more as Jamil adjusted to begin reading once more. The lamp was dimmed to its lowest setting--something that Jamil had thought of himself so he wouldn’t ever disturb the other, and he continued his reading. It was better than he had initially gave Kalim credit for, and combined with the smell of dust after rain, the other’s slow breathing, and the gentle murmur of a party being ignored, he had to admit: it was worth a fifth smile.