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Kaveh's hands were fairly big.
"Ah, Haitham! Are you heading out?"
The Scribe nodded and took his cape from the hook, fixing the straps.
"Wait!"
Kaveh quickly approached him. He was holding a mop, his hair messily arranged in a bun.
"Here."
He moved a strand of grey hair away from the other's face. A kiss on the cheek and he was already off, mop in hand.
"Don't be late for dinner! Or you're washing the dishes."
Alhaitham looked down and smiled softly.
"Sure."
There was a certain fondness in his tone.
Kaveh's hands were always warm, regardless of the season.
"Sorry, I'm late."
Cyno moved closer to Tighnari, letting Alhaitham take a seat between him and Kaveh.
The architect scoffed.
"Yes, you are! I bet you started reading and lost track of time."
"I would've thought you'd learned a thing or two about the risks of gambling, senior Kaveh.", came the Scribe's answer as he sat down.
Kaveh clicked his tongue.
"Asshole..."
He pushed a cup of wine towards the other.
"Well," said Tighnari, "you say that, but you did order his wine for him, didn't you?"
Kaveh almost spit his drink.
"He sure did", Cyno spoke up, sharing a mischievous look with the forest ranger.
"He was all 'Aw, Haitham will surely be tired, I'll order for him so he can relax as soon as he arrives.'"
He batted his eyelashes twice, for good measure.
Kaveh stood up in an istant, slamming his hands on the table and making the chair fall.
He started sputtering a resemblance of a poorly thought of excuse, his face a deep shade of red.
Alhaitham sipped his wine, witnessing the whole scene in silence.
Then, he pulled at Kaveh's sleeve, took his hand and gently kissed it.
Kaveh sat down and didn't talk for a good ten minutes.
Kaveh's hands were full of little scars.
"Haithaaaam...", he sobbed, "It hurts!"
"Stay still. I need to bandage your finger."
Kaveh sobbed quietly, sniffling and rubbing his wet cheeks with his other hand.
Alhaitham sighed.
"Seriously, Kaveh, you need to be more careful with the materials you work with. This time it was the hammer, but between nails and splinters you'll someday end up permanently injured."
Kaveh's sobbing intensified.
"I- I know... Thank you...for always patching me up."
"You will do the laundry for a week for this."
Now it was Kaveh's turn to sigh.
"Aah, yes. Fair enough..."
Kaveh's hands were strong and calloused, capable of holding a claymore.
"Can't you stay a little longer? I want to cuddle more...", Kaveh whined, trying to get his lover to come back in bed.
"No, I can't. I have to work-"
" 'Unlike someone else', yes, I know."
Alhaitham looked at the architect as he rolled in bed, covering himself with as many blankets as possible.
"I wasn't going to say that", he said.
He buttoned up his trousers.
"What?", Kaveh sounded positively dumbfounded.
"You have worked hard recently, I know that. Now, rest."
The architect gave him a slow blink. A second one.
Then he jumped out of the bed and attached himself to the other's back like a piece of tape.
"You're so cute, Haitham! So cute!"
The Scribe pushed him away.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks. Now I have to go."
He made a move to exit the room, but stopped at the door.
"Kaveh", he called out, still facing the corridor.
"Hm?"
"Don't clean my room today. There's stuff in there I still have to take a look at."
"Sure, no problem."
When he left, he seemed relieved.
Kaveh's hands were capable of the gentlest touches.
"I petted a cat today", he proudly announced.
Alhaitham didn't even lift his gaze from the book on his lap.
"So?"
"It was the softest thing I've ever touched! You had to be there, it was asking for pets so nicely!"
Alhaitham hummed and Kaveh sat down next to him. The sofa softly creaked.
"Is this your way of trying to tell me you want to adopt a pet, Kaveh?"
The architect turned towards him with wide eyes.
"No! I wasn't- Wait. Are you...not opposing it?"
The Scribe shrugged.
"As long as you take care of its primary needs and you both don't impede my routine, then yes, I suppose I'm fine with it."
That time, Kaveh sang happily for the whole evening.
Kaveh's hands were always steady and precise.
"Haitham."
"Hm?"
"What is that glowing thing in your desk's drawer?"
Alhaitham's book snapped close.
"I recall telling you not to make a mess in my room, did I not?"
Kaveh feigned offence.
"I didn't 'make a mess'! I just cleaned a little and saw a red glow coming from the drawer's keyhole."
The Scribe stayed silent for a few moments.
"...I understand."
"Wait, you didn't answer my question and-"
"Come here." he patted the sofa next to him.
"Cuddles."
Kaveh's doubts were quickly forgotten.
Kaveh's hands were capable of quick movements.
"General Cyno!"
The soldier came running. He was out of breath.
"General Cyno, it's terrible!"
Cyno frowned.
"What happened?"
"The Scribe-!"
Kaveh's hands never trembled.
"Cyno!"
Tighnari's voice sent him out of his trance.
"Cyno, what happened?!"
The sound of rain muffled his panicked words. A lightning and then thunder boomed.
Cyno didn't dare looking at the other in the eyes.
"It's...", he struggled to find the right words, suddenly overwhelmed by an unbearable load of emotions.
"It's a tragedy, Nari..."
Tighnari's eyes watered.
"Where is he now?"
Kaveh's hands were trembling uncontrollably.
"Cyno...", he whispered.
"Cyno... Tighnari... What- What happened?"
Kaveh's whole body was shaking. Sitting on a bench before his house- his and Alhaitham's.
A spiralling bridge mercifully sheltered them form the rain.
The sky was grey, heavy with clouds and sorrow.
"Kaveh," Tighnari started, tried to.
His eyes were red and watery.
"You really don't remember?"
Kaveh looked down, looked at his violently trembling hands.
Then raised his head and met Cyno's eyes.
"... What should I remember?"
No-one answered.
Kaveh's hands were scratching and squeezing, as hard as they could.
"Where is Alhaitham?"
Silence.
"Cyno... Tighnari, where is Alhaitham?"
Kaveh's voice was beginning to tremble.
His distress visible in his every single action.
"Tell me!"
Tighnari winced.
"TELL ME!"
The wind started picking up, changing the rain's direction.
They were soaking wet.
Cyno spoke up.
"He's dead, Kaveh."
Kaveh's hands were hitting nonstop, like a beast.
The world became silent in an istant, a short, simple instant. The blink of an eye. The time it took to register the information.
The it all came falling down.
"... Dead?"
"Kaveh-"
"Ha... Hahaha!"
Kaveh laughed and laughed and laughed, holding his stomach. Falling apart.
"Cyno, this is your best joke, let me tell you! There's no way that insufferable, stubborn Haitham could die! There's just-"
The way Cyno and Tighnari looked at him was dreadful.
"-no way..."
No-one spoke.
"H-how... When... Who?", Kaveh couldn't control his voice anymore.
He grabbed Cyno's vest.
"I was with him- We were organising the books I- I've been there for the whole time, so who- ..."
Tighnari's lips quivered.
Kaveh's hands were holding a kitchen knife.
"It's better if you don't see the corpse."
Cyno's voice was but a whisper.
"The Matra are taking care of everything in the house."
Kaveh couldn't speak.
He couldn't even think.
He felt dizzy. Nauseated.
"You won't undergo any trial."
Tighnari's soft spoken words cut through the mist of his blurry thoughts.
"W-why?"
Cyno took an envelope out of his bag.
"Because they found this next to you."
Kaveh's hands were soaked in blood.
Between his fingers, a knowledge capsule, glowing bright red.
Kaveh's hands were stained forever and his eyes, closed, were shedding tears.