Chapter Text
There he is again. The guy with a feather in his hair.
Alhaitham really tries to be a polite stranger and ignore the man, but he is finding it hard to pretend he doesn't notice him. No one could fault him for that, the feather guy was like a red spot on a gray screen. He demanded attention by merely existing. Red hair clips sat on a clatter on long messy blond. Red hoodie and eyes, green feather and backpack. Even the way he is sitting is out of place if one were to call half laying on your booth in a cafe 'sitting'.
The feather guy pours a generous amount of something, presumably alcohol, out of a small bottle in to his mug and sips it with glee. Alhaitham is certainly judging him now. It's 6 am. He needn't to say more. So he goes back to reading his book.
There's a blur of red and blond in the gray world around him. A red spot in the corner of his eyes, blond locks touching his nose, the sound of earrings clinging in the wind... How did he know they were earrings in the first place?
There he is again.
They had both taken the same bus that day. He's sitting on a few sits across of him, searching for something in his backpack. Strangely enough, it seems Alhaitham wasn't very successful at ignoring the man (which is a first for him) since he's also starting to give small glances. Well, now he can only hope the man wouldn't come over or start a conversation__ he's already coming over, nevermind.
"Hi." He says, standing on his knees on the cushion in front of Alhaitham.
"Pardon?"
"I said hi." He smiles.
"Hello..." He says after a beat.
"Where's your next stop?" Alhaitham raises an eyebrow. "You look very... Familiar." The blond man tilts his head to aside.
"The akademiya." He finally responses.
"For real? Me too." Something seem to shine in his facial expression, "What a coincident! How come I've never seen you there? Are you a new student?"
"I teach there."
"Wow." He looks genuinely impressed. "You must be new because I'm sure I'd remember a professor like you."
Alhaitham is tempted to pull his headphones back. "Do I know you?" He asks instead because he's curious now.
"Oh, sorry." The man straightens his back and pulls a hand before Alhaitam. "I'm Kaveh. I graduated from Kshahrewar darshan."
He eyes the hand stretch Infront of him. "Alhaitham." He shakes hands with Kaveh and slowly retreats his hand. He was flooded with the impulsive need to pull the blond man towards him for some reasons.
"I could tell you were a Kshahrewar scholar." He says out of nowhere, surprising even himself.
"Excuse me?" Kaveh's bright expression halters.
Is it too late to pull his headsets up and pretend he can't see a very vibrant Kaveh before him? "Don't take it the wrong way. I was simply suggesting that your attire looks of those in that darshan." He says as he goes back to the book he initially had plans on reading.
"And what darshan are you dressed up accordingly?" He could feel the eye_roll in Kaveh's words.
"Haravatat."
"Figures."
"Now, being judgmental isn't a good look."
"As if you weren't just checking me out just to judge me on some stereotypes." With each word, Kaveh was starting to sound more annoyed.
"But it was true, wasn't it?"
"And you didn't deny that you were checking me out either!" Kaveh points out, leaning closer on the cushion's back.
Good point but Alhaitham refuses to let that fact distract him from his point. "Doesn't all Kshahrewar students like to constantly talk about how art and beauty are to be appreciated and experienced?"
"You_!" He looks up just in time to see the tinniest bit of red spot on Kaveh's face. Good thing the sunlight was doing it's job perfectly in favor of Alhaitham. "That's_ stop trying to flirt your way out of this."
Alhaitham knows he isn't fooling anyone by pretending he's not amused right now.
"What do you teach?" kaveh folds his arms on the back of cushion and rests his chin top of it.
"Ancient runes studies."
"Oh cool. So how many of my juniors are taking your break time?" Kaveh asks with a hint of pride in his voice.
"That would be non."
"What?" Kaveh raises his head up, "You're telling me no one thought about doing research on ancient architecture in Sumeru?"
"Precisely."
The blond pauses for a second. "They're probably struggling with getting any funds."
"I doubt it. That is a profitable subject for the Akademiya if done properly. Especially if correlated with ancient language of the old civilization."
"Then surely a few scholars must've submitted this project."
"Your optimism about your juniors is... Something." Alhaitham starts.
"What_?"
"_However," he crosses his arms against his chest, "I'd hate to break it to you that Kshahrewar hasn't had a genius since Pir Kavikavus in years."
"Excuse you!" Kaveh's brows furrows, "You're talking to the light of Kshahrewar Mister."
Alhaitham raises a single eyebrow in question.
"Are you serious? Ever seen the palace of Alcazarzaray? That's my blood, sweat and tears!"
He shrugs. "Doesn't ring a bell."
"You_!" Kaveh visibly grits his teeth in frustration. "Well clearly you haven't done your homework."
"Are you suggesting you're a genius?" Alhaitham challenges him.
"I... " Kaveh looks aside and glances back at Alhaitham. He must have caught something in his expression because he raises his chin a bit and says, "Maybe."
"Well why haven't you submitted this project yourself? Hm?"
"Oh screw_." Kaveh cuts himself half way to pout and narrow his eyes at the man before him. That only makes Alhaitham grin more.
"What's wrong with you?" Kaveh continues, "First you judge my appearance now you're dismissing my passion and work."
"I wasn't trying to. I merely stated that I haven't heard of such work_."
"Then take your judgemental attitude somewhere else! You know nothing about me!" Kaveh raises his voice a little.
"I don't. You came to talk to me." Alhaitham points out.
"I was trying to be nice and have a conversation!" He says and shrinks in to his seat out of Alhaitham's sight.
He opens his mouth to respond but no words come out of it. It really was a strange situation. It's not everyday you encounter a rare case like this guy, Kaveh. He somehow felt like he wanted to continue arguing but it felt too odd. So he simply returns to his book.
Not even two minutes later, he feels Kaveh silently sliding in the sit next to him. He eyes the blond from the corner of his eyes. Kaveh plays with zipper of his bag.
"Sorry I yelled at you." Kaveh starts, sounding apologetic as well, "That palace is really important to me and I worked really hard on it. I shouldn't have excepted everyone to know about it like it's king Deshret's tomb or something." He chuckles to himself.
Alhaitham's whole attention is on him now.
"Let's start over." He hold his hand before Alhaitham, "Hi, I'm Kaveh. I'm an architect and I may or may not end up becoming your college in the Akademiya."
This time Alhaitham shakes his hand without hesitation. "Nice to make your aquantance. I'm Alhaitham."
Kaveh's smile reaches his eyes. "Alright.. Alhaitham." Kaveh says his name like he's rolling it on his tongue, "Be prepared to be swamped by Kshahrewar students because I'm planning to kick start that project we just discussed."
"I don't answer to any scholars outside of my working hour."
"Well I'll come bothering you myself on their behalf."
"I always wear my soundproof headphones after classes are over. So if you said hello to me in the Akademiya and I ignored you, don't be offended."
"What.." Kaveh huffs in disbelief and playfully hits shoulder. "Hey! That's rude."
"Don't say I didn't warn you." He shrugs.
Kaveh brings up the book that's been sitting on his lap and turns out he's also started reading the same book recently. He certainly has a lot to say about it. Surprisingly, Alhaitham equally contributes to the discussion and before they knew it, they had to part ways in the Akademiya.
Kaveh got the job.
"It's a temporary thing till I can get back on my feet and accept better commissions and clients."
That's what Kaveh said when they met in the house of Daena, the Akademiya's public library. That isn't something Alhaitham would approve of, however, he admires him for having the courage to follow his passion no matter the difficulties.
Another thing he learns about Kaveh is that the blond didn't live very far from his place, so one occasion of offering to give him a lift, became a habit for them. They'd meet in the house of Daena, talk for a bit and have Alhaitham driving them both to their homes.
Sometimes he wonders if meeting Kaveh was all in his head. He's fairly sure that Kaveh is the only stranger who actively tried to make friends with him. It isn't as if Alhaitham is lacking friends or aquantances. It's just something new to him.
Ever since he was a kid, Alhaitham mostly preferred to keep to himself about the subjects he liked to read, because in his perspective not many people were intelligent enough to keep up with his questions and analysis, (maybe with the exception of his grandmother) at least no one that he knew of. Sure the few friends he made in the Akademiya were all among the brightest minds of their darshans but not all were willing to put up with the discussion or hold his interest for long.
Kaveh felt like a fresh air in his life that he had never realized he needed until he was there. Their conversation was more like a back and forth between different perspectives and logics, but not even once did Alhaitham get bored or felt the need to ignore and go back to his solitude. Kaveh felt like a missing piece of puzzle in his life that was finally there to give him a better look of the whole picture. He felt familiar like a comfortable spot.
Kaveh likes to drink.
That is one of the first observations he had of Kaveh. Alhaitham is the kind of person to always mind his own business and mostly doesn't care enough about what other people do unless it directly effects him. But somehow, Kaveh's love for alcohol didn't sit well with him. So when they went out drinking at Lambad's tavern and Kaveh only drank to his limits, Alhaitham felt a strange kind of relief.
He's gotten used to these peculiar feelings that he can't put a name on them around Kaveh. It became another habit for them. On weekends, they'd either go for a small meal at Puspa cafe, drinking at Lambad's or play cards together.
"Do you like to write as much as you like to read?" Kaveh asks.
Alhaitham puts down his book. "I have a routine. I wake up, go to work, read and go back to sleep. My life's quite boring I don't have anything to write about."
"Does that make you sad? Or anxious?" Kaveh puts his elbow on the table and rests his head on his head. Alhaitham stares at him with confusion. "I mean I'm always anxious thinking I'm not living my life to the fullest, you know." Kaveh continues, "Taking advantage of every possibility, making sure I'm not wasting one second of the little time I have."
Alhaitham nods his head. "Have you always been like this?"
Kaveh chuckles, "Oh, no. For the longest I've been roped down by my past to the point that everything I did was to satisfy a part of me in the past that still felt guilty and couldn't move on." Kaveh's eyes stare through Alhaitham. He had a distant look in his eyes.
"What changed?"
Kaveh shrugs. "I don't know. I can't wrap my head around it. It's like, that part is missing from my brain. One day it just happened and it felt so natural, like it's been there for a while." Ruby eyes turn to gaze at light turquoise eyes. "Does that make sense?"
Alhaitham takes his glass and holds it just to occupy his hand and doesn't answer immediately. So kaveh takes it as his clue to continue. "I used to blame myself for everything. I thought since I'm there and I can do something about it, I shouldn't ignore it. It'll be my fault if anything were to happen." He takes a sip of his drink. Alhaitham patiently waits for him. "I still do. I mean, I still think if there's something I can do to prevent something bad from happening, I should give it my all. You can disagree as much as you want, it won't change mind." Alhaitham takes a sip from his own drink and swallows his opinion.
"Now though, I think... I think I'm learning to love myself..." He laughs and moves his hand in idl dismiss. "It sounds ridiculous, really. I just woke up one day and thought to myself, I only have one life, I gotta live in the moment and make the most of if! But I also need to pay the bills, so." He gives Alhaitham a genuine smile. "And I don't want to live in debt anymore. That might've been the biggest wake up call."
Alhaitham listens intensely to his words. Kaveh is sincerely pouring his heart out to him, but not completely, not yet. Alhaitham sees right through him and asks. "How has realizing your ideals gone for you?"
Kaveh doesn't say anything. He keeps staring at Alhaitham. The grey haired man locks eyes with him as well. Both searching for something but failing to put a name on what they've found.
"Alhaitham." Kaveh says his name in a small voice.
"Kaveh." He responds softly.
"Pick a random page from your book and read the first thing that catches your attention." Kaveh finally says.
Alhaitham raises an eyebrow at that strange request but opens his book to do as he was asked. Kaveh leans forward to catch what he's about to read.
"Nothing that happens is ever forgotten, even if you can't remember it." Alhaitham reads the line and glances at Kaveh beside him. He doesn't comment on their proximity because he rather keep it that way.
The architect opens his mouth to say something, but seem to hold back in the last second. He returns Alhaitham's gaze with adoration in his eyes. "I'm going to marry you one day. I know."
That made Alhaitham's lip to perk up. "Really now?"
Kaveh nods, brushes the longer strands of grey hair behind his ears. Then he leans his head on Alhaitham's shoulder, feeling Alhaitham's chest vibrating with gentle laughter. The younger man warps an arm around Kaveh to pull him closer. Kaveh, smiling to himself, shifts to fit more comfortably in his embrace.
Kaveh's reactions are always entertaining.
Alhaitham knows the exact words to use to aggravate the blond and watch him take the bait. He doesn't remember when he started to enjoy annoying people with facts and knowledge, but Kaveh sure became his favorite victim since he's the one that brought out this side of him.
He is enjoying Kaveh's company more than he could ever imagine. As a matter of fact, he can't remember a single person, other than family, that he would put down his books to listen to. This sense of familiarity should alarm him, but the more he debates this matter in his head, the more he feels he's right where he belongs.
"Do you want to see the palace of Alcazarzaray?" Kaveh asked out of nowhere.
Alhaitham looks up from the paper he was going through.
"I mean, if you're interested, I could, I don't know," Kaveh turns to look at him, a look of expectant on his face, "take you to see it."
He checks his phone for any early or extra classes he had to attend and he found non. "Alright. When do I pick you up?" He locks his phone and asks.
Kaveh's eyes momentarily widens at how forward things have turned out. "Uh.. how about tonight?"
Alhaitham knows his schedule including any extra classes he needs to attend by memory so he nods and says. "Works for me."
"Great." Kaveh tries to hide his smile in his coffee mug. "I'll pack a picnic for us. It has to be a night picnic, they're different."
"Alright." He says and takes Kaveh's hand in his and holds them under the desk. Kaveh squeezes his hand back and starts caressing it with his thumb.
They both go back to their work with their lips slightly perked up.
"What do you think?" Kaveh asks with glee.
Behind him, there was palace of Alcazarzaray standing tall and majestic. Truly an exceptional balance of both art and intelligence. Honestly, Kaveh should be bragging more about his accomplishments. Yes, Alhaitham might have done his search on Kaveh's creations. The bridge on port Ormos is a place he visits frequently, but knowing the genius behind that architect put a different perspective on his mind.
He takes his eyes off the palace and stare at Kaveh. Ruby eyes sparkle with anticipation, Kaveh is beautiful, Alhaitham had long taken note of that. Before him, there is Kaveh standing tall and majestic. Truly an exceptional balance of beauty and cleverness.
He is still waiting for a response, so Alhaitham replies. "Quite remarkable."
Kaveh looks slightly taken a back. "Really?" He turns his back toward Alhaitham to take in the palace, like he himself couldn't believe the wonder of his work.
Alhaitham steps closer to stand beside him. "You sound surprised. Were you perhaps expecting something like 'adequate'?"
Kaveh laughs at that. "Yeah. Kinda."
"What is it that you like to say a lot? Oh, you wound me, Mr. Architect."
He see the playful jab at his shoulder coming and let it hit him. The blond rolls his eyes. "Mocking me Infront of my masterpiece? That's not ethical and that's not professional."
Kaveh can't hide his excitement if his life depended on it. Alhaitham smiles at him, cups the side of his face, stroking the soft skin with his thumb. Kaveh's own hand joins the hand caressing his cheek and returns the gesture. For someone who is notorious for having a sharp tongue, Alhaitham somehow fell at shortage when it came to putting words in his feelings about Kaveh. But he knows, he knows it deep in his heart that this time, he would regret it forever if he didn't talk.
"Kaveh, I'm just so happy right now." Alhaitham speaks softly, eyes moving between two red gems to fully memorize them.
"Alhaitham I'm..." Kaveh turns fully towards him and puts his arms around him. "I'm happy, too. I've never felt like this before. I'm exactly where I want to be."
Alhaitham brushes blond strands aside, Kaveh meets him half way and soft lips touch. Kaveh's hands come up around his shoulder to pull him closer. Lips move together as if they're familiar with each other. He angles his head to kiss Kaveh deeper, feeling all the blood rush through his ears, hands getting tangled in long locks, on warm cheeks and everywhere he couldn't touch with his lips. He feels Kaveh shaking in his arms and pulls back to look at him.
"What are you laughing at?" He asks amusedly.
Kaveh bites his lips and shakes his head. He looks up and locks his arms around Alhaitham's neck. "I think I might be in love with you."
Alhaitham is certain this time, if he were to die right then and right there, he'd die happy. He traces the smile on the architect's lips with his finger.
"Kaveh..."
Kaveh tilts his head to look at him with curiousity, still smiling brightly at him. "Yes?"
"Come and live with me."
Kaveh laughs at him. "Alhaitham, you bull. Maybe don't demand it? And I might consider it then."
Alhaitham holds his face between his hands and kisses him again. When he pulls back, he says in a tender voice between their lips. "Kaveh, will you move in with me, please?"
Kaveh's smile widens. "Yes."
He squeezes his car's wheel as he drives in the dead of the night. His hands don't stop trembling no matter how hard he clutches the wheel. He blinks rapidly to stop the tears from blurring his vision. His breathing is out of control and he he's pretty sure he'd go on a full panic mode is he doesn't get there as fast as possible.
"How did it come to this?" He thinks to himself. "How could you do this to me?"
Earlier that day. Cyno shows him the email he had received.
Kaveh has had Alhaitham erased from his memory. Please do not mention their relationship to him again.
Thank you.
Bubu Clinic
So this is not a joke?"
"I assure you. It is not, Mr. Alhaitham." The doctor, Baizhu is his name, says.
"I've never heard anything like this before." He is still not convinced.
"Look, our files are confidential so I can't show you evidence. But suffice to say that Mr. kaveh wasn't happy and wanted to move on. We provide that possibility."
"Kaveh wasn't happy and wanted to move on. What the hell is this?"