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It was rare for Alhaitham to get sick, even Kaveh could count on one hand the few times he’d seen Alhaitham catch a cold or the flu. It wasn’t as if Alhaitham was impervious to such things but more so that he truthfully took great care of himself.
Which was something that Alhaitham never failed to point out whenever Kaveh would come down with something and was asking Alhaitham how he wasn’t sick as well in his usual huffy tone.
Alhaitham was someone who always followed a routine to the best of his ability as well, always going to work at a set time and getting off work at a set time. And if anyone tried to bother him during his off time with a work-related matter, they were frequently ignored.
So Kaveh couldn’t help but be rather surprised when he hears the front door open, it was only 11 am usually around this time Alhaitham would be in his office meticulously going over paperwork and looking over funding proposals.
“Haitham,” Kaveh said with a slight scowl looking up from his spot on the sofa as Alhaitham walked into the living room. “You’re home early.”
Alhaitham paused when Kaveh spoke, his head feels as if it’s filled with cotton, his thoughts a hazy jumble.
It’s warm, disgustingly so and while Sumeru’s weather could be quite humid, the combination of shade and gentle breezes kept it from becoming more unbearable especially if you were someone who’d grown up here as Alhaitham had.
This heat he was experiencing now though felt as if he were being baked from the inside out, being smothered by his own clothing.
Alhaitham takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to soothe the wave of dizziness that washed over him and the slight queasiness that stirred in his gut.
He feels familiar slender yet calloused fingers on his arm holding it in a firm but gentle grip, and he takes a deep shuddering breath in before opening his eyes.
Kaveh is standing in front of him with wide eyes full of concern and a deep scowl on his face. “Haitham? Are you alright,” he asked as he stared up at the younger man.
When Alhaitham hadn’t answered him and had instead simply closed his eyes, swaying slightly in place, Kaveh had gotten up and walked over to him, worry beginning to stir in his chest.
Now that he stood in front of him though, Kaveh could tell that something was off. For one Alhaitham felt rather warm; it was strange due to the fact that Alhaitham was someone who often ran slightly cooler than most.
The second thing was Alhaitham’s eyes, the younger man had incredibly striking eyes to the point that when he turned his typical critical gaze on someone it was almost as if he pinned them in place.
At the moment though his eyes were glassy, giving him an almost dazed and confused, unaware, look. And while it did soften his features a bit, reminding Kaveh of their younger days, he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t unusual.
A slight scowl tugged at Alhaitham’s lips as he narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Kaveh. “I…what did you say,” he murmured, not processing Kaveh’s words.
That had clearly been the wrong thing to say because that scowl on Kaveh’s face turned into a deep frown. He continued to stare at Alhaitham for a moment, then eventually he spoke.
“Here, hold still for a moment,” Kaveh murmured as he reached up and Alhaitham can’t help but freeze when Kaveh gently cups his face with both hands.
Against his far too hot skin, Kaveh’s hands feel slightly cool and Alhaitham’s eyes flutter closed for a moment with a soft sigh as he unconsciously leaned into his touch.
Although he opens his eyes when he feels Kaveh gently guiding him to bend down a bit, Alhaitham’s eyes widen a bit in surprise when Kaveh leans closer pressing his forehead to Alhaitham’s.
The faint familiar yet soft scent of padisarahs wafts into his nose which he registers as the shampoo Kaveh frequently used, and for a moment he can’t help but simply stare at him.
Hazy teal eyes tracing along, pale soft skin, glancing into beautiful carmine eyes before flicking down further to Kaveh’s lips. Alhaitham knew they were as soft as they looked but that didn’t stop the question from surfacing in his foggy jumbled thoughts.
“There we go, it’s not fair that you’re taller than me,” Kaveh huffed softly, although there’s no anger or irritation in his voice and it takes Alhaitham a moment to register that he’s trying to lighten the mode.
Kaveh frowned as he drew back after a moment, his eyes wide and concern written on every inch of his face. “You’re burning up Haitham,” Kaveh practically exclaimed and Alhaitham isn’t able to stop the grimace that flashes across his face when the loud noise makes his head throb violently.
Whenever Alhaitham got sick he tended to become more sensitive to noise than usual, something that was incredibly irritating.
Taking a shuddering breath in Alhaitham nodded slightly as he looked at Kaveh. “…I’m aware. It’s why I returned home so early,” Alhaitham murmured softly, his voice lacking its usual matter-of-fact tone.
Kaveh bites his lip for a moment as he stares at Alhaitham, pure concern on his face and eventually Kaveh sighed softly, steadying Alhaitham when he swayed slightly.
He glanced back at the design he’d been working on before instantly making his decision on what to do.
Between the two of them, it was definitely Kaveh who got sick the most, whether it was due to overworking himself, not getting enough sleep, or even just a regular bout of the flu he picked up from somewhere.
However, it is due to being sick as often as he was that he knew exactly how to tend to Alhaitham at this moment.
Kaveh steadies Alhaitham when the other man groans, swaying dangerously.
“Honestly, you should’ve had Cyno or someone come get me instead of walking home like this,” Kaveh sighed as he bit his lip, his eyes roving over the younger man.
He can hear a faint rasp lingering on each breath Alhaitham takes, which has him more than a little worried.
“Come on, let’s get you in bed Haitham,” Kaveh told him as he grabbed Alhaitham’s hand and began leading him to his room.
Seeing Alhaitham so compliant was beyond strange, to say the least, even when they were younger he’d had a habit of being irritatingly stubborn when he chose to be, something Kaveh had hoped he’d outgrow.
So the fact that Alhaitham was so quiet, willingly letting Kaveh lead him around meant that his fever had to be fairly high. And Kaveh makes a note to grab the thermometer to check it after Alhaitham was in bed.
Alhaitham is quiet, feeling as if he’s floating slightly as he trudged after Kaveh, trying to get his jumbled hazy thoughts into order. A slight grimace tugged at his lips when a dull cramp twisted through his gut sending a brief wave of queasiness rolling over him.
It is only when Kaveh has brought Alhaitham into his bedroom that the younger man finally speaks, clearing his throat slightly in an effort to get rid of that irritating tickling flaring to life in the back it.
“I can take it from here,” Alhaitham murmured as he pulled his hand from Kaveh’s grasp, a scowl on his face.
Kaveh immediately turns to him, rolling his eyes. “Nonsense Haitham, besides you looked ready to faint in the living room,” Kaveh pointed out, he is slightly surprised that Alhaitham had spoken up considering he seemed incredibly out of it.
Alhaitham sighed softly, muffling a harsh cough into his hand briefly when the tickle at the back of his throat flared to life, becoming near unbearable in an instant.
“I’m well aware of my current state, Kaveh. However, the last thing either of us need is you getting sick as well,” as Alhaitham speaks he moves from Kaveh’s side and halfway walks, halfway staggers his way over the bed.
He can feel Kaveh’s eyes staring at him as he flops down on the edge of the bed with a soft sigh, he’s willing to bet if he looked up Kaveh would be wearing that usual pout on his face.
“It doesn’t matter if I get sick Haitham, after all, weren’t you the one who said that I get sick so much it may as well be part of my monthly schedule,” Kaveh huffed, a hand on his hip as he watched Alhaitham remove his shoes.
He scowled, telling himself that he should’ve known that he would be a difficult patient, after all, Alhaitham was well, Alhaitham.
Alhaitham scowled as he sat back up after removing his shoes, his eyes turning to Kaveh. Either he’d moved too quickly when sitting up or the fever was taking its toll further, because the room seemed to swirl before his eyes.
Kaveh’s figure distorting and wavering even as the older man quickly approached him, calloused hands dotted by the occasional scar grabbed his shoulders.
“Haitham,” he heard Kaveh exclaim, the architect’s voice coated with a distinct mix of panic and anxiety. “What’s wrong?”
In the next moment, he feels Kaveh’s hand fluttering over his body never stopping in one place too long, and Alhaitham can’t help the faint thought swirling in his mind that the feeling of Kaveh’s familiar hands on his body feels nice.
It takes Alhaitham a moment to force open his eyes halfway, the room swirling and tilting before his eyes doing the nausea that was roiling in his gut no favors.
A groan drifted from his lips as he looked at Kaveh who was leaning over him and it takes him a moment to realize that Kaveh had laid him back across the bed. Worry was clear in Kaveh’s eyes and on his face.
A shuddering breath left Haitham’s mouth, as he opened his mouth to speak his words heavily slurred, “Dizzy…”
Kaveh said nothing as he stared at Alhaitham for a few moments eventually however he sighed. “It doesn’t matter if I get sick, just let me take care of you for now.”
After Kaveh speaks he finds himself glancing away as Alhaitham simply stares up at him, and Kaveh can’t help but think that despite him being sick, his gaze is no less intense.
“Well…? Say something Haitham,” Kaveh huffed after another moment of silence, especially when he believed he saw a familiar faint glint in the younger man’s eyes.
Instead of speaking, however, Alhaitham gives what sounds like a small faint amused snort, the noise causing a familiar tickle to flare to life in the back of his throat.
He turned his head away from Kaveh as he coughed harshly behind his hand, the action has a sharp ache crackling to life in his lungs and darting across his chest in quick bursts.
Kaveh rolled his eyes as he carefully maneuvered Alhaitham the rest of the way into bed while he was preoccupied with the coughing fit.
A soft huff leaves Kaveh’s lips, “Honestly, see if I ever pour my heart out to you again.”
As the fit gradually tapered off Alhaitham can’t help but lay there gasping for air. Nausea boiled in the pit of his stomach, washing over him in waves.
But worse of all, was the way his chest seemed to crackle and wheeze with each rasping breath, leaving him feeling as if he were breathing through a straw.
Alhaitham is silent for a moments as he massages his chest with one hand trying to ease the ache there, unshed tears glistening in his eyes.
His body felt as if it were trying to destroy him, his stomach churning violently like a bubbling whirlpool, waves of dizzying nausea rolling over him as the throbbing ache in his head seemed as if it were draining his energy.
This was to say nothing of the fever raging through his body leaving him feeling as though he were burning from the inside out.
He feels a familiar calloused hand on his forehead and Alhaitham cracks his eyes open slightly.
He cleared his throat as he looked up at Kaveh, a faint yet slightly amused smile tugging at his lips. “As for…your earlier question. The answer is, very well, but you’ll only have yourself to blame if you get sick.”
Kaveh rolled his eyes but said nothing, even though Alhaitham’s mind is unusually fuzzy and hazy around the edges he can’t help but notice that Kaveh has a rather serious yet focused expression on his face.
Carmine eyes looked at him from beneath pale lashes as Kaveh scowled slightly. “If your fever gets any higher I need to have someone from the Bimarstan come take a look at you,” Kaveh mumbled to himself as he drew back.
Alhaitham can’t help but stare at Kaveh silently though as it was rather rare that he got to see such a serious expression on Kaveh’s face. Typically Alhaitham had only seen this type of serious expression on Kaveh’s face when the other was evaluating his artwork.
His eyes rove over Alhaitham for a moment, his gaze soft but critical nonetheless the less, carrying a sense of familiarity and Alhaitham has a thought floating to the forefront of his hazy mind that he wants Kaveh to look at him like that more often.
It seemed like Alhaitham had a pretty bad case of the flu, not a surprise considering Sumeru’s flu season was nearing closer and closer. Tighnari had even given Kaveh a few things earlier that week since he knew that the other was prone to getting sick.
Kaveh sighed softly, biting his lip as he glanced at Alhaitham for a moment but finds himself glancing away when he sees that hazy turquoise stare peering up at him with half-lidded eyes.
The fact that Alhaitham seems a bit more lucid than he was when he came back home does nothing to ease the worry writhing in Kaveh’s chest.
“I’ll get you some of the medicine Tighnari gave me, see if I can get your fever down,” as Kaveh speaks he pulls the blankets over Alhaitham’s slightly shivering form.
His movements are nearly automatic, as if done many times before. “I’ll need to fix you something to eat since it’s not a good idea to take the medicine on an empty stomach. Do you still feel sick?”
Alhaitham scowled his eyes already closed, exhaustion and the fever threatening to drag him down into sleep. He can feel Kaveh’s hands on him removing the more cumbersome pieces of his clothes bit by bit.
He wants to tell Kaveh that his stomach feels anything but empty at the moment, cramp after cramp rippling along its bloated surface causing waves of sickening nausea to crash over him.
Instead of speaking, however, Alhaitham merely buries his face into his pillow, his eyes still closed and his brow furrowed as a rather loud queasy sounding burp rumbled from his lips.
Kaveh can’t help but jump slightly at the sudden noise, his eyes widening for a moment before he crossed his arms with a soft sigh, his nose wrinkling slightly in disgust. “I’ll take that as a yes then, as a Haravatat graduate I’d figured you’d use your words but that works too. Wait, here I’ll be back soon,” Kaveh told him to which Alhaitham merely gave a soft grunt in reply.
Kaveh says nothing as his fingers grab hold of Alhaitham’s headphones, his touch gentle as he removes them, setting them in their usual spot on the nightstand.
Alhaitham says nothing, his eyes closed and an arm curled tightly around his churning stomach. Exhaustion is weighing down his entire body, an ache having settled in his joints despite him doing nothing but laying in bed and shivering at the moment.
Faintly he can hear the familiar quiet shuffling as Kaveh moves around the room, typically when at home with Alhaitham not making noise wasn’t exactly on the list of things that Kaveh found important.
While he carried himself with plenty of grace, Kaveh was someone who always made noise, talking to himself, humming under his breath, just small little noises that made Kaveh, Kaveh.
At the moment though it’s quiet, not unpleasant of course but still a little strange for Alhaitham.
“I’ll be back soon with some food and medicine, Haitham,” Kaveh said after he placed a small trash can by the bed.
While he hoped Alhaitham wouldn’t need it, with how much his stomach was bothering him it was best to be cautious.
By the time Kaveh leaves the room, Alhaitham has drifted off to sleep.
~~~
Alhaitham isn’t sure how long he sleeps for honestly, it could’ve been for a few hours or only a few moments either way it doesn’t feel like enough.
Especially when Kaveh gently shakes him awake making his stomach roiling and sloshing violently as a dizzying wave of nausea slammed into him.
He thinks Kaveh is saying something, his tired jumbled mind, and pounding head only letting him catch small snippets.
And Alhaitham has the passing thought that he should’ve locked his door.
With his eyes still squeezed shut, Alhaitham reached out lightly smacking Kaveh’s hand off of his shoulder. “Don’t do that…” he mumbled, not bothering to muffle the burp that left his mouth.
Kaveh freezes in surprise for a moment before wincing slightly, “Right, sorry.”
Alhaitham merely curls in on himself, his arm wrapping around his stomach as he gives a soft grunt in response. He swallows thickly when his stomach lurches slightly.
Kaveh sighed as he glanced at the food he’d brought alongside the cup of medicine and the glass of water. It was nothing special honestly, just something he figured that Alhaitham could handle easily considering his stomach was upset.
Kaveh moved carefully as he sat down on the edge of the bed, and gently rested a hand on Alhaitham’s shoulder. “You need to sit up Haitham, the food and medicine are ready.”
This time Alhaitham does open his eyes halfway, he looks up at Kaveh for a few moments, his eyes narrowed and a slight scowl on his face. Looking as if he were deciding if he should just roll over and go back to sleep or if he should sit up.
Eventually, though, Alhaitham sighed sniffling softly as he carefully sat up his back leaning heavily against the bed frame, the scowl still on his lips.
“It’s nothing particularly special, just some sliced fruit, I know how you are about soup so I figured this was best,” Kaveh explained as he reached for the bowl and fork on the nightstand.
As he speaks he glanced at Alhaitham noting that somehow after his nap the younger man looked even worse.
His face was incredibly pale and clammy, loose strands of silver hair stuck to his forehead, a feverish blush coating his cheeks. He seemed almost dazed, no doubt very drowsy, and each breath he took had a lingering rasp to it at the end.
Alhaitham’s gaze turned towards the bowl in Kaveh’s hands and for a few moments before he spoke. “Right…give me the trash can you put by the bed,” he grumbled, his normally smooth voice is hoarse, more hushed than usual.
At his words, Kaveh pauses his eyes wide. “Do you feel like you’re gonna-“
Alhaitham shakes his head, cutting him off, although he stops when he feels as though the action sends his brain rattling around his skull. “No. But considering my stomach is upset, it’s best to have it on hand in case the food won’t stay down.”
Setting the food aside, Kaveh quickly grabs the trash can, handing it off to Alhaitham before he hands him the bowl of fruit with the fork.
“Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if walking home made you worse than you would’ve been if you had just had someone get me,” Kaveh huffed, crossing his arms.
Alhaitham says nothing in response although he rolls his eyes slightly, his attention fully on the food in front of him as his stomach swirls. He takes a deep shuddering breath in before he begins slowly eating.
He can feel Kaveh’s gaze on him despite the fact that he was talking about whatever came across his mind as usual. Seemingly trying to lighten the mood, even so, Alhaitham would need to be blind not to feel the concern practically radiating off of Kaveh.
Not to mention that Kaveh had a habit of rambling almost frantically like this when something was bothering him.
Alhaitham pauses, his eyes squeezing shut when his stomach lurches violently, a dull cramp twisting through it.
He swallows thickly, his grip tightening on the fork in his hand his stomach feels almost as if it's an overactive bubbling cauldron at the moment.
Kaveh watches Alhaitham for a few moments as the other man sits there, doing his best to keep his stomach under control and Kaveh can’t help but cringe in sympathy when it seems to make a loud almost violent sickly gurgling noise.
“Here, hold still,” Kaveh eventually murmured as he tentatively rested a careful hand on Alhaitham’s stomach, his hand slipping beneath the sheer fabric that had been straining against the clearly bloated organ.
Kaveh isn’t surprised when he finds Alhaitham’s stomach practically writhing like a ball of snakes beneath his hand, especially considering how much it seemed to be bothering him. Slowly he begins to rub his stomach, his hand slowly yet carefully moving across the expanse of Alhaitham’s stomach.
He feels Alhaitham’s stomach lurch slightly beneath his hand, heaving up and down and he watches as Alhaitham’s body tensed up slightly.
“Kaveh…” Alhaitham mumbled shakily as he opened one eye, although he closed it once more, squeezing his eyes shut when a particularly horrible cramp leaves him feeling as if someone was squeezing his stomach in a vice grip.
He unconsciously curled in on himself, his hands trembling as he gripped the bowl and the spoon as if he were trying to shatter it.
“Hopefully this is just a bad case of the flu,” Kaveh said more to himself than to Alhaitham. His hand leaves Alhaitham’s stomach, instead going to the bowl in his hands. After Kaveh takes the bowl from him he hands him the cup of lukewarm medicine.
“Here, this is supposed to help with your fever and the nausea,” he explained as Alhaitham opened his eyes slightly, if possible he looked even more exhausted than earlier.
Taking a deep breath and coughing harshly for a moment when the action had that familiar tickle flaring to life in the back of his throat, the tickle seems to spread further down his throat, almost crawling into his lungs.
The fit leaves Alhaitham massaging his chest and sniffling as he stares down at the medicine with slightly glassy eyes. “This is infuriating,” he grumbles to which Kaveh can’t help the soft snort he gives at his words.
“Of course it is, there’s a reason people don’t want to get sick, remember. Doesn’t matter how much paid time off they get,” Kaveh chuckled.
“I’m well aware of that Kaveh,” Alhaitham huffed as he carefully sipped the medicine.
He does his best to ignore the disgusting bitter taste that rolled over his tongue with each sip. Truthfully Alhaitham can only hope that the medicine does its job, after all, he’d rather not spend most of his time awake clinging to a trash can.
“This tastes like dirt,” he mutters as he sips at the medicine, a slight expression of distaste on his features.
Kaveh can’t help the soft snort that leaves his mouth, a slight smile tugging at his lips. “Of course they do, they were grown in the ground. Then again dendro vision or not Amurta was never your strong suit, even back then.”
The unamused huff Alhaitham gives has a chuckle slipping from his lips.
He hands the empty cup back to Kaveh after a few moments when he finishes the medicine. A wave of exhaustion and drowsiness washing over him afterwards.
“Here hold still for a minute Haitham,” Kaveh said as he reached out resting his palm on Alhaitham’s forehead. Biting his lip when the younger man leans into his touch with his eyes closed.
Alhaitham’s fever was still pretty high, heat nearly radiating off of him without Kaveh even needing to touch him. But it hadn’t seem to have risen at all, which was good, or as good as it could be.
Taking the trash can from him, Kaveh guided Alhaitham to lay down once more knowing from the few times he’d been sick in the past that he tended to do little else besides sleep. Often growing incredibly drowsy wanting to do little else besides simply sleeping.
Another thing Kaveh knew was that Alhaitham could grow rather clingy when sick, often clinging to Kaveh like an octopus if he were close to him on the sofa or bed. Although Kaveh would be lying if he didn’t find it strangely cute in its own way.
So it’s no surprise when Kaveh begins to draw back that Alhaitham begins to fidget slightly.
“Shh, it’s okay,” Kaveh whispered as his hand went to Alhaitham’s hair, his fingers gently stroking through the soft strands.
He knew that those rare times when Alhaitham wasn’t feeling well that having his hair stroked would help calm him down, something that Alhaitham had once told Kaveh when they were younger that his grandmother occasionally did.
His eyes move a bit lower to the green gemstone on Alhaitham’s chest, a strange thing honestly that Alhaitham had no clue how it got there nor any memory of it. Although after knowing him as long as he had Kaveh was no longer surprised by it.
When they had been students at the Akademiya, Alhaitham had kept it rather hidden with Kaveh only seeing it on the rare occasion. It had been a small secret of sorts between them, even after all this time Kaveh still remembers the soft yet startled gasp Alhaitham had gave when Kaveh’s fingers first brushed over the gem for the first time.
As the thought surfaces in his mind Kaveh finds his fingers dipping lower to where the gemstone sat, his thumb gently stroking it absentmindedly.
A soft warm smile crawls across his lips when Alhaitham seems to completely relax beneath Kaveh’s touch.
Although a slight grimace still twists at Alhaitham’s features, his hand coming to rest on his stomach which seemed to be bothering him even in his sleep.
“You’ll be okay,” Kaveh murmured softly when a soft whimper drifted from Alhaitham’s mouth, his thumb still stroking the gem on his chest.
His hand moves once more, nudging Alhaitham’s own out of the way as he lays a hand on his stomach when it makes a loud, harsh gurgling noise that draws another whimper from Alhaitham’s lips.
The sound only making the writhing feeling of concern in Kaveh’s chest grow. This definitely hadn’t been something that just suddenly came on, Alhaitham had to have been feeling off for the past few days.
And now that Kaveh looked back he did notice things he’d missed these past few days here and there.
As he sits there on the edge of the bed, tending to Alhaitham Kaveh can feel guilt welling up in his chest.
“You’ll be okay,” he whispered, as if to reassure both Alhaitham and himself.“You’ll be okay.”
~~~
It is sometime later, closer to evening when Kaveh gently knocks on Alhaitham’s door before entering.
He’d been checking on Alhaitham every hour or so as he worked on the sofa. At a certain point, he’d considered grabbing one of the chairs and sitting by his bedside, but Kaveh also knows that he was more likely to interrupt Alhaitham’s sleep doing that.
This time when he enters the room, he can hear Alhaitham’s very soft groans and whimpers drifting from the bed and he scowls.
“Haitham,” Kaveh murmured, his voice low, barely audible as he carefully approached the bed.
Kaveh’s eyes widen in surprise at what he sees, Alhaitham is curled up tightly into a ball, shivering despite the blankets draped over him.
His arms are wrapped tightly around his stomach, a grimace twisting at his features. Kaveh could hear the thick, harsh gurgling noise coming from Alhaitham’s stomach sound as if the organ was practically snarling.
Alhaitham’s breathing was ragged, a worrying rasp on the tail end. But what had Kaveh really concerned was the fact that when he moved closer he could see what looked like tears clinging to Alhaitham’s lashes.
And for a moment Kaveh freezes his eyes wide. That had to be sweat right? Kaveh could count on the three times, well four now, that he’d seen Alhaitham crying in any form.
And even then it was a hard feat to accomplish, where Kaveh would and could tear up with ease Alhaitham on the flip side stone walled his emotions. It was something that seemed as commonplace knowledge as the sky being blue.
For a moment or two Kaveh can only stare, worry and concern whirling in his chest before he eventually moved when another whimper slipped from between Alhaitham’s lips.
“Haitham,” Kaveh called as he reached out and cupped Alhaitham’s cheek, his eyes widening at the sheer heat rolling off of him to the point that it practically stung his hand.
Biting his lip Kaveh looked towards the door. Alhaitham’s fever had clearly spiked, rather dangerously, which had a ball of ice-cold fear weighing down Kaveh’s chest.
He needed to send for someone from the bimarstan before Kaveh could draw back; however, his world suddenly flipped as he was pulled into bed.
Strong arms wrapped around his body as a heavy, far too hot weight pressed heavily against the side of his body clinging to him and holding him in place.
Kaveh can’t help the startled noise he makes, “Alhaitham!“
“Don’t go.”
The words are said softly, in a practically heartbreaking pleading tone and Kaveh freezes for a moment before shifting slightly as much as he was allowed, wide eyes looking down at Alhaitham as they searched the younger man’s face.
That soft pleading tone comes again and Kaveh can help the ache in his chest that it causes.
“Please…don’t go…” Alhaitham rasped his arms tightening around Kaveh till his head was resting snugly against Kaveh’s chest. He was panting harshly, sounding as if he were on the verge of hyperventilating each breath rattling and wheezing as it left his mouth.
Kaveh shifted slightly, his hand reaching down to brush across the gemstone on Alhaitham’s heaving chest, which seemed to be emitting a faint pulsing green glow at the moment.
It was something Kaveh had seen before but it never failed to surprise him, especially the way gently pulsed in time with Alhaitham’s heartbeat at times like this. At the moment its light was flickering almost frantically, a sure sign that his heart was racing due to whatever fever-induced night terror that had him in his hold.
Kaveh gently shushed him, his thumb stroking the gem as he attempted to provide any comfort he could.
Alhaitham’s body shakes with a harsh, almost violent cough, his body shuddering as his arms tighten slightly around Kaveh, making the other man wince slightly at the pressure.
“Feeble scholar my ass,” Kaveh couldn’t help but huff under his breath.
Another harsh wet cough shook Alhaitham’s body which did nothing to help the cold fear worming itself through Kaveh’s body at the way the noise rattled heavily in Alhaitham’s chest.
He looked down at Alhaitham before his gaze moved to the door. He had to get free of Alhaitham’s grip if he wanted to leave and get help.
Kaveh wriggled in Alhaitham’s arms for a moment but quickly realized it was a futile effort. So instead he brought a hand to Alhaitham’s face, he was about to shout directly into his ear, hoping that with Alhaitham’s sensitive hearing, it would wake him up when Alhaitham’s eyes suddenly shot wide open.
Harsh panting breaths fell from his lips, his eyes wide and glassy as they darted around for a moment and Kaveh could see the fear in those teal eyes, the claws of the night terror still holding Alhaitham in its grip.
It was such a strange and abnormal sight to see Alhaitham so startled, so afraid like this that if it had merely been him acting, providing Kaveh with an interesting pose for a piece of artwork then Kaveh wouldn’t have been able to resist capturing it in a sketchbook.
At the moment though all he could feel was concern causing his chest to ache. His hand trembling as he cupped Alhaitham’s cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb. “Haitham? Hayi? Look at me, it’s okay,” Kaveh told him as he looked down at Alhaitham.
Alhaitham’s body suddenly tensed, shuddering as an empty retch tore from his lips interrupting his ragged breathing.
Kaveh had no time to move nor react as another violent retch shook Alhaitham’s body, the noise gurgling in his throat before a large gush of mostly watery, slightly viscous vomit sprayed from his open mouth and nose.
The soup-like slurry gushed over Kaveh’s chest in a violent surge similar to a faucet, the mess coating it in an instant and Kaveh can’t help the shriek of alarm and disgust that leaves his mouth at the warm slimy sensation of vomit soaking into his clothes and touching his skin.
A gurgling wet burp that seems to come from the very depths of Alhaitham’s gut, sends another surge of yellowish pale vomit spraying from his mouth, the mess pouring onto Kaveh’s chest and sloshing off onto the blankets.
Kaveh grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes closed as he takes slow careful breaths in through his mouth, he could feel his own stomach beginning to churn at this point and it wouldn’t do him nor Alhaitham any good if he started puking as well.
Kaveh had admittedly always been rather squeamish, when it came to other people vomiting. So it was no surprise that the fact that he was literally being vomited on had him bringing a hand to his mouth as a few gags built in the back of his throat.
He could feel the disgustingly hot vomit rabidly cooling in patches, sticking to his skin. The soupy mixture glistening and sloshing with the slightest movement leaving slimy trails as it ran down onto the bed.
He couldn’t help but feel bad at the fact that he couldn’t comfort Alhaitham, guilt over the fact causing his chest to tighten slightly.
Alhaitham brings up one smaller gush of vomit onto the blankets, before he all but collapses and would’ve landed face down in the mess if not for Kaveh holding his trembling body up.
Threads of drool and bile drip lazily from Alhaitham’s lips in thin yet viscous threads, his eyes were halfway open but clearly out of it.
Swallowing hard when he tastes bile bubbling at the back of his own throat for a moment, Kaveh glances at the enormous mess coating them both, well…mostly him, the sheets, and even the splatters on the floor.
He looks down at Alhaitham noting that the younger man’s grip on him had loosened thankfully.
And a sigh leaves his lips, one part because of relief and the other part because he can feel a headache coming on.
“Lord Kusanali give me strength,” he murmured to himself.
~~~
A soft yet familiar voice reaches Alhaitham’s ears, bits and pieces of conversation drifting through the thick fog of sleep blanketing his mind.
As he lays there though on the edge of wakefulness, he slowly becomes aware of more things of which he takes the time to take stock of.
For one his head is killing him, to the point that he feels as if he got kicked in the head by a wild stumper beast.
Two, it’s warm to the point that Alhaitham almost feels as if he’s slowly melting and he can’t help but be reminded of Sumeru’s occasional yet harsh heatwaves.
Three, he feels rather nauseous yet not enough to vomit, his stomach churning slightly.
Four, his chest is aching and his lungs feel heavy as if each breath were a fight to draw in enough air.
And finally, he can smell the scent of bitter herbs and the stinging scent of antiseptic stinging his nose.
That combined with the fact that the softness he’s laying on is a bed that is a little firmer than his own or Kaveh’s gives Alhaitham a good idea of where he is before he even opens his eyes.
So seeing the familiar ceiling of the Bimarstan merely has him blinking slowly, the light stings his eyes for a moment and he squeezes them shut briefly, counting as he waits for them to adjust.
He doesn’t have to turn his head to know who sits at his bedside, hearing the familiar soft scratching of pencil on paper and familiar curses, a mingling mix of frustration, worry, exasperation and fear coating the voice.
“…should’ve called me. Didn’t even say anything! I swear, walking home with double pneumonia and the flu, if he hadn’t nearly choked on his own mucus I’d strangle him myself!”
“Are you going to at least show me your sketch of me, before you attempt to murder me,” Alhaitham said with a soft, weak snort of amusement.
His voice sounds unfamiliar to his own ears truthfully, carrying a strong rasp to it and weighed heavy with exhaustion. The same exhaustion still lining his body like lead.
Kaveh jumps in the chair he has seated at Alhaitham’s bedside, the pencil flying from his hand and to the floor alongside his sketchbook.
For a moment it’s silent as carmine eyes stare at him as wide as saucers. And as Alhaitham’s eyes roved over Kaveh’s he can’t help but notice that Kaveh looked exhausted as well.
Despite being someone who meticulously worried about how others saw him and taking a lot of pride in his own appearance, often resulting in him looking much like a preened dusk bird, Kaveh was rather dressed down at the moment.
While he wore his everyday clothing however his earrings were missing, as was his cape. His hair which was usually carefully styled with red hair clips and a braid had been pulled into a simple high ponytail which served only to keep his hair out of his face as he sketched.
That truthfully told Alhaitham more than the worry and concern coating Kaveh’s face.
It wasn’t long before that concern was replaced with anger and a glare. “Be quiet you! This isn’t anything to make light of. A fever of 103 bordering on 104, barely able to breathe and so out of it you were hallucinating,” the words coming out practically snarled as Kaveh picked up his pen and sketchbook.
His movements are quick but also rough, his rage making him move with more force than necessary.
Kaveh shook his head, clicking his tongue. “Not to mention the cleaning I’ve had to do, getting vomit out of my clothes, the sheets, and the carpet. I was this close to simply throwing the entire bed and carpet away and building a new one myself!”
As Kaveh’s ranting begins to die down into huffing and cursing, his hands begin shaking as he attempts to draw once more only to stop when the trembling of his hands makes it impossible. A moment later as his red eyes begin to glisten with tears Kaveh predictably rests his face in his hands hiding it.
That’s when Alhaitham reaches out, knowing it was best, in this case, to allow Kaveh to get his rage out first, and gently rests a hand on his head.
It’s silent save for Kaveh’s muffled sobs as Alhaitham quietly cards his fingers through his hair.
While Alhaitham wants to bring up the fact that Kaveh shouldn’t be here lest he winds up horribly sick as well, he knows that now isn’t the time to bring it up in the slightest.
Instead, he merely continues to stroke Kaveh’s hair, a slight warm smile tugging at his lips when the older man leans into his touch.
He doesn’t complain when Kaveh eventually leans forward and lays his head in his lap, burrowing his face into his stomach. “I’m not…hurting you am I,” Kaveh eventually asked, his voice no higher than a whisper.
Alhaitham shook his head slightly, with a soft hum his hand still moving through Kaveh’s hair. The soft strands spilling over his fingers.
A few more beats of silence fill the room before eventually, Kaveh speaks once more, exhaustion layering every inch of his voice as his tears slowly began to taper off. “You…you really scared me Hayi….”
Another soft hum leaves Alhaitham’s mouth, this time it’s one of confirmation. And although he doesn’t say it, it’s the way his other hand gently grabs Kaveh’s, lacing their fingers together and giving his hand a soft squeeze, it’s that tenderness that lets Kaveh know he’s sorry.