Chapter Text
Kaveh’s key was missing.
It was the second time this week, and he knew exactly where the offender had taken it.
He groaned, committing to the misery of climbing the stairs to the Akademiya lest he get locked out this evening once again. It could be much worse, he supposed. Alhaitham’s house could be farther away.
Kaveh trudged up the walkway, breath heaving with every step forward. Despite making this walk multiple times a week, he was still sorely out of shape. If Alhaitham was here, he would have ignorantly blamed it on Kaveh’s overuse of his briefcase for every little thing. Having heard it all before, Kaveh would have snapped back in his usual manner, “Her name is Mehrak, you ass.”
Everything about the man, from his constantly level-headed demeanor to his insufferably knowing smirk, pissed Kaveh off in more ways than he could count on both hands—and feet. He made a mental note to invest in extra appendages should the opportunity ever present itself.
This morning must have been a calculated effort no Alhaitham’s part to throw Kaveh off his game. The worst part was how easily he could imagine it: walking into the Acting Grand Sage’s office to demand back his keys, only to be visually assaulted by striking two-toned eyes and the upturned corners of what are, admittedly, very nice lips. Kaveh wanted to wipe that smug look right off Alhaitham’s face, and he had a whole list of ways to do it.
Number 31, Kaveh recorded mentally, hit Alhaitham over the head with Mehrak. If he’s concussed, then he can’t stare at me with the same three puzzling expressions. Despite every previous attempt he had made to mess with Alhaitham, he always brushed off every attempt with a flat, unimpressed stare and went back to reading his book. Kaveh’s expression then turned thoughtful as he considered another factor. He’d need to carefully pick when to strike, or else he could risk damaging Alhaitham’s earpieces. Not only because the Grand Sage needs to be able to actually hear, but more importantly: Kaveh was the one who created them. He would never risk damaging his own creation; it's like killing Mehrak’s brother!
Kaveh’s annoyance with needing to trudge all the way up to the Akademiya quickly became evident to nearly everyone in the surrounding area as he yanked open the entryway with far more force than necessary. The heavy door clanged against the wall, echoing across the vaulted ceilings.
Every head whipped around to look at him like a colony of desert weasels from Aaru Village. He swore under his breath, standing in place long enough to make it awkward as the door slowly swung closed behind him. He shuffled towards Alhaitham’s office, biting the inside of his cheek in embarrassment as he was thoroughly judged by both students and faculty alike.
He let out a sigh of relief as soon as the doors to the House of Daena shut behind him. However, the silent atmosphere felt far more oppressive than the mildly chaotic hustle and bustle of the central Akademiya.
No wonder Alhaitham loved to study here back when he was still a student—if he could have even been considered such with how abysmal his attendance record was known to be. Kaveh had tried tagging along multiple times, but it had usually ended up with him being kicked out. He couldn’t handle the agonizing silence the same way Alhaitham did; his incessant pen tapping and leg bouncing to an extent that could cause a seismic event were his most standout offenses when he later asked his silver haired junior why Kaveh was no longer allowed to accompany him.
Kaveh soundly cursed Alhaitham's name for the umpteenth time that morning after he almost walked straight into an Akademiya officer standing guard in front of the lift.
"What business do you have with the Acting Grand Sage?" the officer asked.
Kaveh stumbled over his words after coming to an abrupt halt, "I'm here on personal business."
"What kind of personal business, exactly?" the guard asked slowly, lifting a single eyebrow.
Kaveh scoffed. "The point of personal business is that it’s—you know—personal. He let the answer hang in the air for a moment, and when it was made clear by the still lifted eyebrow that the woman wasn’t going to buy it, he exasperatedly waved a hand.
“But if you must know, then I'm here on behalf of a Kshahrewar project that was recently denied funding."
The guard nervously shifted her feet. “I don’t know that I could allow you entrance for something small like that. Do you have an appointment?”
“No.” Kaveh gritted his teeth, fumbling around for the first object he could find on his person that might help his case. “But I will assure you that it is not a matter to be taken lightly. Aha!” he exclaimed, whipping out something from his back pocket.
“The matter is sunscreen?”
Kaveh cringed internally, but he was too far in now to back out. The guard’s expression grew increasingly confused as he began gesticulating wildly, somehow even louder than before.
“Yes! You see, sunscreen! It’s been getting hotter in Sumeru recently since it’s the end of spring—though it is always miserably hot in Sumeru, and Haitham knows this—” Kaveh cut himself off, took a deep breath, and pulled himself back on track. “The Acting Grand Sage needs to put sunscreen on or else he’s going to become ugly and wrinkly. Imagine how terrible that would be! You know, because objectively he isn’t unattractive, and he is quite brilliant, but it’s not like he has much else going for himself in terms of being head of an entire nation if he loses his pretty privilege! And gods forbid his personality will have to make up the difference–”
“I’m confused as to how this applies to me,” the guard spoke slowly, cutting off Kaveh’s externalized train of thought.
“I’m just doing my duty as a Sumeru citizen. You don’t want the Acting Grand Sage to get wrinkles, do you? What do you think that would say about our nation?”
The young woman stared at Kaveh with a bewildered expression for several long moments before a familiar guard entered the House of Daena. Kaveh felt the drawn out silence settle uncomfortably into his bones as the more man meandered towards his post, clearly not able to sense the direness of the situation.
After greeting his junior, he turned towards Kaveh. “And how may I be of assistance?”
“I’m here to see Hai—the Acting Grand Sage,” he repeated, sounding entirely assertive and not at all desperate.
“Of course you are. Go on in.”
“Thank you,” he huffed indignantly, turning to head towards the lift entrance.
He barely caught the next words exchanged over the steady hum of the platform as the mechanisms inside whirred to life and it began its descent. The younger guard muttered to the other, “You didn’t warn me that the Acting Grand Sage married a lunatic.”
Kaveh whipped back around, nostrils flaring. He would show them a real lunatic. Him and Alhaitham weren’t married, for Archons sake. What had given anyone that impression? Kaveh definitely didn’t care about him that way, and he could name at least forty-four reasons as to why by simply pulling up another mental list. He paused to consider a version of Alhaitham with sun wrinkles, and now he could list at least forty-five reasons why he is absolutely, undeniably, not into Alhaitham. Maybe before investing in extra limbs, he should purchase himself a journal.
The screeching of gears drew to a halt, sparing the guards from Kaveh giving them a piece of his mind. He turned away with a dramatic sigh, waving them off as he stepped onto the lift platform.
Why did everyone assume him and Alhaitham were together? Kaveh wanted to throw Alhaitham off King Deshret’s mausoleum on a good day.
He shifted impatiently on his feet. Just hurry up already so I can get my key and skedaddle, Kaveh thought, groaning in frustration.
The lift grinded to a halt an eternity and a half later, the gears screeching from years of consistent use. Kaveh winced, but he filed away a mental note to modify Alhaitham’s earpieces to account for higher pitches, such as the lift screeching. Dealing with that sound every time someone entered or exited his office must have taken a toll on Alhaitham’s mental state, no matter how temporary his position was. That must be the reason Alhaitham was so cranky in the evenings returning from work, Kaveh reasoned. Afterall, Alhaitham turning off his earpieces for every bothersome sound wasn’t realistic, despite that being Alhaitham's go-to every time Kaveh got on his nerves. Supposedly, seeing Kaveh's frustrated expression when his world went silent was rewarding enough to balance out the time it took for the earpieces to recalibrate after turning back on.
Kaveh sighed. Maybe he should cut Alhaitham some slack. He was under a lot of pressure as the Acting Grand Sage, afterall.
At the sound of the lift settling into place, Alhaitham looked up from his position behind the Grand Sage desk. There were mountains of paperwork surrounding him, but his exhaustion was still clearly evident from his slumped posture and tired gaze.
Kaveh’s eyes widened in alarm at the sight of Alhaitham’s messy desk. He had never known Alhaitham to be anything less than pristine when it came to his working environment. There was no way Kaveh could take out his full rage on Alhaitham now. It would be like attacking an opponent with their back turned—his pride simply wouldn’t allow it.
As if predicting Kaveh’s movements, Alhaitham had already gestured for the guards to make themselves scarce before Kaveh started stalking towards Alhaitham.
He set a document down on the desk, looking up at Kaveh with barely concealed exasperation. Kaveh had to refrain from slamming his hands on the desk, as he knew that wouldn’t help Alhaitham’s inevitable headache.
Alhaitham gave Kaveh an expectant look as if to say, Well, what do you want?
Kaveh huffed. “And here I was thinking I had a bad morning.”
Alhaitham returned to his paperwork, fingers briefly flitting over his earpieces as to threaten Kaveh with turning them off if he didn’t hurry up and get to the point. “Fortunately for me, you just made mine worse.”
“You—!” Kaveh took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain level headed. Alhaitham’s exhaustion was evident, especially from this close proximity. “I came here because you took my key this morning, but at the sight of you, it looks like you need more help than me right now.”
Alhaitham gave no sign that he heard Kaveh, continuing to sort through the documents spread across the engraved mahogany.
Kaveh bit back sharp words, instead attempting to convince Alhaitham once more. “You’ll do more harm than good if you’re trying to be the Acting Grand Sage while in this condition.”
“I’m not trying to be the Acting Grand Sage. I am the Acting Grand Sage,” Alhaitham finally retorted. “And if I leave my position unfulfilled, all the duties that have been piling up on my desk will be handed off to someone far less competent.”
“Yeah right! You’ve never cared about the well-being of Sumeru, much less the position of Acting Grand Sage. You’re only in it for the paycheck!”
Alhaitham finally looked up from his papers, leveling an impressive glare at Kaveh. “If you must know, I did not want to use up my paid leave for something so miniscule.”
Kaveh huffed. “I’d hardly call being worn to the bone a miniscule reason.”
“Well I would.” Alhaitham turned his gaze downward. “If you’ll excuse me, I still have six hours and three minutes left in my workday to get through.”
“I don’t understand why you’re so stubborn about this!” Kaveh fumed. “If you’d just take care of yourself for once in your life, then maybe you’d be less cranky at me!”
“My supposed crankiness is no one’s fault but your own.”
“Take the day off and rest for once in your life! You’ve accrued plenty of paid leave in your time at the Akademiya, and they can operate fine without you for one day. It’s admirable how hard you work, and your tenacity is astounding, but you need to take a fucking break!”
With each sentence, Kaveh’s voice rose in volume. Finally, Alhaitham’s hand slid up and flicked the switch on the side of his earpieces, effectively silencing any input.
Kaveh immediately launched into sign language. “You’ve told me it hurts you when I overwork myself for a design. Haven’t you ever considered that maybe it goes both ways?”
Alhaitham closed his eyes.
Kaveh groaned in frustration, switching back to speaking aloud, talking mostly to himself at this point. “It’s like when you force me to go to bed when I’m up too late working on a project—”
Alhaitham’s eyes slid open. “So you admit that you stay up too late?”
Kaveh jolted. “You—! You didn’t even turn your earpieces off!”
“Very perceptive Senior,” Alhaitham hummed. His gaze turned more serious. “Why do you care? You usually wave me off when you’re ‘in the zone.’”
“I can’t work while worrying about you!”
A smile quirked at the corners of Alhaitham’s lips. “You like me.”
Kaveh threw his hands up, an offended expression forming on his face. “Absolutely not! Fine. Work yourself to death. See if I care. Just give me my key.”
Alhaitham wordlessly placed Kaveh’s key into his outstretched hand. Kaveh turned heel, leaving Alhaitham sitting alone at his Acting Grand Sage desk.
Right before Kaveh pressed the button to call for the lift, Alhaitham called out, “Kaveh.”
Kaveh slowly turned to look over his shoulder. “Alhaitham.”
“If you promise to come to bed without arguing next time you’re up late overworking yourself on a project, then I’ll take the rest of the day off.”
Kaveh’s mind only half-registered the first part, but he jumped at the chance. “Finally you listen to reason.”
“‘Reason’ and ‘you’ are not two words I’d place together in the same sentence.”
“What are you waiting for? Let’s go home.”
Alhaitham sighed, as if he was committing himself to a full day of being fussed over by Kaveh and allowed himself to be led out of the Acting Grand Sage office.
His voice was barely audible over the sound of the lift. “I’m surprised you didn’t bring your emotional support mechanism, considering it does everything for you.”
Kaveh’s voice rang out, “Her name is Mehrak, you ass!”