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When Kaveh returns to their table after going to the bar, Alhaitham has taxed his food, already halfway through the shawarma wrap he had ordered. Sure, Kaveh had gotten a little distracted talking at the bar, but there was no need to steal his food.
An indignant squawk leaves him, and Alhaitham raises his head, smiling smugly as he bites into it again. Cyno and Tighnari sit next to him, their expressions a little pitying.
“You bastard! I was gone for like ten minutes!” Kaveh snapped, and Alhaitham shrugged lazily in response, biting into it again.
“I ordered you another one. Calm down,” Alhaitham responds once he’s finished chewing, and then moves his gaze back to the card game in front of them. Tighnari and Cyno are playing intensely, and Cyno is for once, losing. His brows are furrowed underneath his snowy white hair, jackal hood lowered, and Tighnari’s tail is swishing jovially behind him. Kaveh rolls his eyes, and sits next to Alhaitham regardless, leaning over to take a swig of Alhaitham’s wine as revenge. Alhaitham doesn’t react, and just continues eating Kaveh’s food as they watch the game in front of them.
It was an easy night, laidback. Just cards and drinking in the tavern, like they usually did. Alhaitham stealing Kaveh’s food was, sadly, not an irregular occurrence. It usually only came after Alhaitham had had a long day and they’d gone to the tavern straight away, so he hadn’t had time to eat. Kaveh, deep down, didn’t really mind. He still shot a dirty glare Alhaitham’s way regardless, when his replacement food was placed in front of him and Kaveh could finally satiate his growling stomach. Kaveh sips at his own wine, relaxing into the chair as he digs into his food. Cyno is losing badly, and he’s mumbling curses underneath his breath as he does.
By the time Kaveh has finished his food, Alhaitham is on his second glass of wine, and Cyno has lost spectacularly. Tighnari is entirely too pleased with himself about it, smugly smiling as he drinks his cider.
“Damn you. Alhaitham, play me. I need to feel good about myself now,” Cyno grumbles, and Alhaitham rolls his eyes, but pulls his Casket of Tomes from his bag. It’s no secret that despite the Scribe’s incredibly strategizing ability, for some reason, he was god awful at Genius Invokation TCG. It was incredibly amusing to watch.
He pulls out his cards, and then Kaveh watches as Alhaitham pauses for a second, blinking quickly. Like trying to focus his eyesight. He had only had two glasses, hadn’t he? Surely Alhaitham wasn’t already feeling the alcohol. He was not a lightweight like Kaveh was.
Alhaitham finishes blinking, and continues pulling out his cards, laying them out in front. They eagerly roll the dice, and begin.
Kaveh watches the entire time, and there’s a growing feeling in his stomach that Alhaitham might actually be drunk, the longer they play. He’s doing terribly, which isn’t that surprising, but he keeps making mistakes that he usually would never, and Kaveh does not miss the way he stares longer at the cards, as if he’s having trouble reading them.
“Are you okay? Are you drunk?” Kaveh leans over and whispers in Alhaitham’s ear, out of earshot of Cyno and Tighnari. Alhaitham turns to look at him, and there’s a faint flush to his cheeks. His pupils are blown out, and the feeling in Kaveh’s stomach grows more anxious.
“I’ve… only had two drinks,” Alhaitham responds, but there’s a weird edge to his voice. Not quite a slur, but not as eloquent as usually. Kaveh frowns, and his anxiety spikes. Alhaitham could not be drunk off two drinks, but he is acting funny. “I’m fine. I just didn’t… eat much today,” Alhaitham waves off his concerns, and Kaveh’s frown deepens, but he doesn’t push the issue.
As if to prove that he’s fine, Alhaitham flags down the waiter, and orders both him and Kaveh another round. Kaveh would protest if it didn’t mean that Alhaitham was paying for his wine.
The night proceeds, and Alhaitham only seems to get worse. It gets to the point where, after losing horribly quickly to Cyno, both him and Tighnari shoot Alhaitham concerned, yet amused looks, as he stares blankly down at his cards, as if in a stupor. They’re four drinks deep, but Kaveh has stopped himself at two. Something tells him he should be relatively sober. Alhaitham should only just be reaching tipsy stages now, even if he hadn’t eaten much that day.
There was no reason for his cheeks to be so flushed, for his eyes to be so dilated, and his speech to be beginning to slur.
“Maybe we should cut this off here, hm? Why don’t you two head home?” Tighnari suddenly suggests, and Kaveh looks at him. There’s an amused glint to his eyes, as he flicks his gaze to Alhaitham. He’s agonizingly slowly putting away his cards, as if he has to think heavily on each movement.
“Sure. I’m pretty beat anyways. Haitham, come on, let’s go home,” Kaveh agrees, and turns to look back at the Scribe. Alhaitham blinks dazedly back up at him, and he looks entirely too disoriented. That feeling that had been growing in Kaveh’s stomach sours, and he purses his lips. Alhaitham just nods in response, and they both begin to stand. Kaveh stands without issue.
Alhaitham does not. He rises slowly, with great effort. And then, the second he steps away from the table that he’d been using for support, everything goes wrong.
Kaveh hears the noise before he really registers what’s happened, even though he was staring at Alhaitham the entire time. One moment, Alhaitham is standing, swaying drunkenly on his feet. And the next, there is a loud thump, a shocked cry, and Kaveh is no longer looking at Alhaitham.
Chairs screech backwards as Tighnari and Cyno rapidly stand, and Kaveh feels frozen. His gaze drops down, slowly, fearfully.
Alhaitham is sprawled on the floor, and he’s pathetically attempting to lift himself, but his arms are shaking so much that it looks like he can’t even support his own body weight. Kaveh moves forward, body propelled by an unknown force, a thick and cloying fear, as he bolts to Alhaitham’s side, grasping his shoulder quickly to pull him up.
“Haitham! What the fuck-” Kaveh yelps, and Alhaitham is staring at the ground between his hands. His breathing is coming out in these little soft wheezes that sound entirely wrong and not drunk.
“I don’t-” Alhaitham slurs, and then his body is sagging again. Kaveh quickly catches him, holding him up, and his skin is burning. Tighnari and Cyno immediately come to their sides, squatting down next to the pair. The tavern goes quiet around them. “I’m not… I can’t-” Alhaitham says again, voice dripping with disorientation, and he shifts against Kaveh. A shiver runs through his body.
“Nari, what the hell has happened to him?” Kaveh snaps at the Ranger, who is peering closer at Alhaitham, brow furrowed and ears pinned back. “He can’t be drunk! Not this badly!” Tighnari doesn’t respond for a moment, as he looks into Alhaitham’s eyes, pressing the back of his palm to his forehead.
“Was he sick prior to tonight?” Tighnari asks, and Kaveh thinks back to the last few days.
Alhaitham had been perfectly fine, really. He’d been annoyed about some commotion at work, some researcher causing a fuss and annoying him, but he’d been perfectly healthy. This sudden illness had come on far too quickly, far too suddenly, and Kaveh feels he might already know the answer to what has happened, but he prays it is not what he thinks.
“No, he’s been fine-”
“I’m going to be sick,” Alhaitham murmurs suddenly, and then pitches forward. Tighnari scrambles away from him, as Alhaitham lands to prop himself on his hands, kneeling on all fours basically. He’s shaking all over, biceps trembling, and Kaveh wraps an arm around his waist to keep him steady. The rough gagging comes a moment later, Alhaitham’s entire spine convulsing with it, rippling underneath Kaveh’s arm as he lurches forward, retching loudly and disgustingly over the floor. The acrid scent of bile and the sweet smell of undigested wine floods Kaveh’s nose, and he flinches back, before using his other hand to sweep Alhaitham’s hair back from his forehead.
He’s never seen Alhaitham get this sick. Ever. Especially not this quickly.
Alhaitham’s entire body vibrates underneath Kaveh with each bout of vomiting, entire body pulled taut and shaking with the effort of it. His fever has spiked, already, so quickly. Kaveh is filled with a terrible and suffocating dread.
“Nari-”
“I think- fuck, I think he’s been poisoned. I just- I don’t know what or how,” Tighnari admits, and then there is a new and vile scent, one that Kaveh hates, invading his nostril, metallic and acrid. He looks back down, and Alhaitham is vomiting blood up, splashes of crimson now staining the floor. Alarm shoots through him violently, and he tightens his grip on Alhaitham’s waist. “Shit. You drank some of his wine right? But you’re fine? It- It must’ve been the food,” Tighnari rapidly tries to think, and Cyno is already standing up and racing into the kitchen of the tavern. His voice is booming, and terrifying, as he rounds up every single server and chef in the tavern.
Alhaitham finally stops throwing up, and just shivers there, eyes half-open, sweat coating him, blood and bile dripping from his lips. His eyes are glazed over, and he lets out a low moaning noise, pinching Kaveh’s heart. Reaching up, Kaveh snags some napkins from the table, and drags Alhaitham into his chest, shuffling them away from the pool of bodily fluids on the floor. He presses the napkins to Alhaitham’s mouth, choking out some kind of soothing whisper as he wipes it, letting Alhaitham curl up against him.
He feels so small, tucked against Kaveh’s chest like this. Shivering and feverish, half-delirious.
“Kaveh, I- I don’t…” Alhaitham croaks, voice terribly hoarse, and Kaveh shushes him, running his fingers through sweaty silver strands. Alhaitham lets out another low moan, and his arms slowly move to curl around his stomach, squeezing it. “Hurts,” he murmurs now, and Kaveh feels sick with dread and concern.
Tighnari stares at them, expression pinched tight, and then there’s a clamor of commotion from the kitchen, and Tighnari’s ears perk up. Kaveh twists his head to see, but he doesn’t move from where he’s holding Alhaitham against the floor. Tighnari scrambles up, running to where Cyno’s voice booms, leaving Kaveh and Alhaitham alone.
Kaveh’s heart races in his chest, loud and painful against his ribs, as he tries to contain the tremble in his hands as he strokes through Alhaitham’s hair.
“Haitham, stay with me okay?” Kaveh whispers, his voice strangled as he holds the man closer to him. Alhaitham doesn’t respond, and his breath sounds more uneven now, short and fast rasps. It frightens Kaveh to his core. Tentatively, he shifts his fingers to Alhaitham’s neck, where his pulse is, and his heart damn near stops at how fast Alhaitham’s heart is beating.
He doesn’t know how long he waits, curled on the floor with Alhaitham in his arms. Kaveh has never felt so afraid in his life. Eventually, the voices start to peter down, and Tighnari is returning, looking wild-eyed and fearful. It makes Kaveh’s stomach drop out from underneath him. In the background, Kaveh can see Cyno leading someone away, polearm pointed into their spine, hand clamped tightly around their wrists.
At least they caught them.
“Okay. There’s good and bad news,” Tighnari starts with, and Kaveh snaps his gaze up to him. “Good news is, the culprit is apprehended, and we managed to get a vial of the poison off him. Bad news is, he didn’t have an antidote, and it’s a synthesized poison, so we… We have to test it before we can procure an antidote. Which means we need to get him to Birmarstan right now before his symptoms decline any further.”
“What do you mean they could decline-”
It seems Alhaitham can answer that himself.
There’s an odd, wrecked gurgling noise from his throat, and his entire body goes slack in Kaveh’s arms. Kaveh yelps, looking down at him, and oh, he wishes he hadn’t. He wishes he had never had to see this, never had to hold Alhaitham through this, just so that Alhaitham never had to suffer through this. His eyes roll back until only the whites of his eyes show, and his jaw tightens so hard Kaveh is half-scared Alhaitham might break his teeth, and then his entire body is jerking wildly, limbs shaking and convulsing violently in Kaveh’s arms. White foamy spit bubbles out of the corner of Alhaitham’s mouth, dripping down his chin, and Kaveh feels terror grip his throat so hard that he can’t breathe as he scrambles to try to hold Alhaitham still.
“Don’t hold him! He’ll break his arms if you try to stop it, lie him down, lie him down-” Tighnari yells suddenly, ripping Kaveh’s hands off him. A wounded noise slips out of Kaveh’s throat, but he moves away, letting Tighnari fuss over Alhaitham’s seizing body. “Fuck. Fuck, we need to get him to Birmarstan right now. Fuck.”
Tighnari rolls Alhaitham on his side, and Kaveh can’t see his face now, and he’s kind of glad, because just hearing the pained groaning that leaves him is enough to make tears build in his eyes and slip down his cheeks. Tighnari crouches over Alhaitham, hand splayed on his back, and he’s saying something low and soft to the Scribe. His tail is completely puffed out and bristled behind him though, lashing from side to side in agitation.
Eventually, Alhaitham stops, after maybe a minute, and his breathing now is noisy and wet. It rattles Kaveh to his very core, as he sits, frozen behind Tighnari and Alhaitham. Unable to do anything.
“I’ve already sent for a cart, come on, let's get him up and out. There’s no time to panic, Kaveh, we have to move now.”
–
Getting to Birmarstan is a blur in Kaveh’s mind. He vaguely remembers helping Tighnari carry Alhaitham outside, his arms slung over their shoulders as they drag him out, body completely limp and drenched in sweat. His eyes are still half-open and glazed over, but he’s basically completely unresponsive to both Kaveh and Tighnari speaking to him.
He has another seizure lying on the bottom of the cart, and Kaveh shamefully cries into his hands, overwhelmed and afraid, as Tighnari takes care of Alhaitham on the way there. The second they get to Birmarstan, the doctors and nurses swarm them, whisking Alhaitham away on a stretcher. Kaveh is not allowed to follow. Tighnari does, and he gives Kaveh a long and pitiful look as he disappears behind the doors of the hospital.
Kaveh stays. He collapses down into a chair, pressing his face into his shaking hands, breath hitching with sobs.
And he stays there, for hours.
The sun rises through the windows before Tighnari comes out. He has bags under his eyes, and he looks shaken, but he gives Kaveh a small and sad smile as he comes up to him.
“He’ll be okay. They have him stabilized for now, and they’re working on an antidote. They’re working on trying to flush it out in the meantime. You can come see him,” He says, and leans down to squeeze Kaveh’s hands in his smaller ones. Kaveh swallows thickly, swallows the tears still clogging his throat down, and he nods. Tighnari’s expression turns tight for a second, and he looks away. “There’s something else though. The culprit… he said… he said his target was you, not Alhaitham.”
Kaveh’s stomach drops, and he feels like throwing up.
No. No. No.
“What?” Kaveh chokes out, voice shaking. Guilt, his companion of so many years, wells up inside him, inside his throat, suffocating him in its iron grip. I’m the reason Alhaitham got poisoned?
“Not… like that. It isn’t your fault. They wanted to poison you because they knew it would make Alhaitham be out of the office. It was some researcher who was being road-blocked by Alhaitham. They knew by targeting you, they could distract Alhaitham. They hadn’t intended to actually poison him,” Tighnari explains, and some of the crushing guilt abates. He breathes out, shakily, and tugs his hands out of Tighnari’s to cover his face back up.
“Okay. Okay, that’s-” Kaveh doesn’t know what that is. He doesn’t know what to make of this entire situation at all. “I’m… I’m going to go see him. Go- go home, Tighnari,” Kaveh chokes out, and he can sense Tighnari hover for a moment, before sighing, and slipping away.
Kaveh stands once he’s gone, and walks through the doors. He talks to a nurse, who guides him to Alhaitham’s room. His fingers feel numb, his hands feel numb, his entire body feels numb, as he slips into the room, and he feels his heart break.
Alhaitham is laid down on the bed, and there are tubes fed into him. He’s asleep, although it does not appear very peaceful judging from the crease in his brow and the erratic rise and fall of his chest, and the deathly pale color to his skin. Kaveh feels as though it is his heart, torn from his chest and laid bare in front of him in the hospital bed, and his fingers and legs tremble as he stumbles forward to the chair next to Alhaitham’s bed, dragging it closer so Kaveh can collapse down into it.
Shakily, he reaches forward to grasp at Alhaitham’s hand, and swallows the thick lump in his throat down.
He can’t forget the image of Alhaitham collapsing to the floor in front of Kaveh. He can’t forget the image of Alhaitham, slurring his words, dazed and confused. He can’t forget the image of Alhaitham vomiting blood onto the hardwood floors of Lambad’s Tavern. He can’t forget the image of Alhaitham, convulsing and foaming at the mouth, cradled against Kaveh’s chest. He can’t forget Alhaitham has been poisoned. He can’t forget Alhaitham, Alhaitham. Alhaitham.
Kaveh presses his head down into the mattress, and bites his lip as he swallows the sob that wants to rip out of him.
It should’ve been me.
He knows, Kaveh knows that really, they were still targeting Alhaitham in the end. But Kaveh can’t help but feel like he should still be the one, wrapped up in a hospital bed, rather than Alhaitham.
There’s a slight squeeze to Kaveh’s hand, and Kaveh inhales sharply, lifting his head to look up at Alhaitham. His teal eyes are barely open, and he looks very much out of it, as he stares down at Kaveh, but he still squeezes Kaveh’s hand.
“Kaveh,” Alhaitham mumbles, voice still a slur, but marginally better. There is a bead of sweat running down his temple, and Kaveh instinctively leans forward to wipe it away. Alhaitham tips his head into Kaveh’s hand immediately, and sighs out, the noise raspy and wet. “‘S okay.” His voice is barely above a whisper, and Kaveh feels his tears slip down his cheek.
Of course stupid Alhaitham is still trying to comfort Kaveh whilst he’s been fucking poisoned in Kaveh’s place. Of course he fucking is. God, Kaveh-
Kaveh could’ve lost Alhaitham, could still lose him if they don’t get an antidote, and that’s what scares him the most. A life without Alhaitham. He cannot imagine, cannot bear to think of it, an existence like that. What would become of him?
Kaveh grits his teeth against the sob that wrestles its way out of his throat, and Alhaitham’s brow pinches more. He squeezes Kaveh’s hand a little tighter, albeit still weak.
“Don’ cry,” Alhaitham slurs, and Kaveh sobs more, burying his head into the mattress again. Alhaitham pulls his hand away, and places it in Kaveh’s hair, patting the blond strands weakly.
They stay like that, until the both of them fall back asleep.
—
True to their abilities, the Amurta students at Birmarstan have an antidote ready by the next day. Alhaitham’s condition has not worsened, thankfully, but he certainly isn’t any better. His breathing is still frighteningly erratic and weak, he still has a raging fever, and he still slurs all his words.
Still, he is awake and aware as they inject him full of the antidote, teal eyes hazy as they watch the needle plunge into his skin. Kaveh is there, next to him, still gripping his hand.
After a few hours of having the antidote, Alhaitham seems to have perked up enough that they let the two of them go home, since Alhaitham has become irritable and snappy. He’s always hated hospitals, and hated people fussing over him. He can barely manage to walk though, but his vitals have improved enough that the Birmarstan doctors give him clearance to recover at home, as Kaveh tentatively helps Alhaitham home. They catch a cart, Alhaitham leaning against Kaveh for support, dozing off the entire time. Kaveh listens to his breathing, the way it stutters out of him, the rasp to it, and he hates the way it makes his heart clench.
When they get home, Kaveh helps Alhaitham stumble inside, arm around his waist with Alhaitham’s over his shoulder, and he gently lets Alhaitham down on the divan, a grumbling thank you his response as Alhaitham sinks into it, throwing an arm over his eyes and exhaling weakly.
“Do you need anything? Water? Food?” Kaveh asks, hovering beside him awkwardly. Alhaitham moves his arm, and stares blearily up at Kaveh.
“Blanket. Cold,” he responds with, voice ragged and worn, and Kaveh nods, scurrying away to grab the warmest blanket he can find in the house. When he returns, Alhaitham has turned on his side, curled up a little into himself, one arm wrapped around his stomach. It must still hurt, Kaveh realizes, and he winces in sympathy as he drapes the blanket over Alhaitham. Alhaitham mumbles another thank you, tugging it over his shoulders and closing his eyes.
He looks so small, curled like that on their couch, and Kaveh is reminded tragically of the fact that Alhaitham is his junior.
It should’ve been me poisoned.
“Call me if you need anything, okay?” Kaveh says, and Alhaitham hums lowly in response, already drifting off to sleep again. That’s fine. The more he sleeps the better, the faster he can recover. Kaveh himself hasn’t slept much at all, and now that Alhaitham is safe at home he feels the weariness catch up to him as he drags himself to his bedroom.
He leaves the door open, as he crawls into his bed, just in case.
–
Kaveh wakes to the noise of retching. Loud and painful.
It has him startling out of sleep, sitting up quickly and stumbling out of bed even when his head spins from how fast he went. It’s dark now, the moon shining through the windows, and Kaveh can barely see into the living room.
Alhaitham is no longer on the couch, and Kaveh panics for a split second, until he spots him, and his heart twists painfully in pity. He’s hunched over on the floor, one of the waste bins cradled between his hands as he vomits violently into it, entire body lurching with each one. In between bouts of vomiting, Kaveh can hear how wet and ragged his breathing is, noisy and desperate. The doctors had warned them that as the poison left his system, things like this would happen. It didn’t make it any easier to witness though, as Kaveh went and got a glass of water, before coming to Alhaitham’s side, placing his hand on Alhaitham’s convulsing spine.
He’s sweaty and feverish still, shivering underneath Kaveh’s touch. Kaveh doesn’t say anything, as Alhaitham empties his stomach, handsome face screwed up in pain. It isn’t until Alhaitham is done vomiting, left to just cough and gasp wetly, that Kaveh moves. He takes the bin, pushing it away from them for the meantime, before returning his hands to Alhaitham, letting him fall against Kaveh’s chest. Kaveh wordlessly presses the glass of water into his hands, and Alhaitham shakily grips it, drinking it greedily before placing the glass onto the floor. He sags against Kaveh, still shivering, and sniffs loudly.
“‘M sorry for waking you,” Alhaitham croaks, and Kaveh clicks his tongue in disapproval, moving one of his hands to brush through Alhaitham’s hair gently.
“Don’t you dare apologize,” Kaveh scolds softly, and Alhaitham just says, turning his face to hide it against Kaveh’s chest. He looks and feels so vulnerable at this moment, tucked into Kaveh on the floor of their living room. “Do you want to go to your bedroom?” Kaveh asks, after a few minutes of Alhaitham just pressed against him, and Alhaitham nods, small and barely noticeable.
Slowly, Kaveh peels himself away from Alhaitham, to help him stand, holding his waist tightly as they stagger towards Alhaitham’s bedroom. He helps Alhaitham lay down, and fusses over his pillows and blankets to make sure that he’s as comfortable as possible. Alhaitham, shockingly, lets him, too tired to really bother arguing.
Something about that unsettles Kaveh further.
“Okay, I’ll be in my room. Call if you need me, okay?” Kaveh says, voice wavering just slightly, once he’s made sure Alhaitham is as comfortable as possible. Alhaitham looks lazily up at him, as Kaveh turns to leave. It’s only when Kaveh is at the door that Alhaitham speaks.
“Stay. Stay here.” His voice is still hoarse, edged with exhaustion. There’s still the slightest slur to it, one that would go unnoticed if they weren’t so intimately familiar with Alhaitham’s voice as Kaveh is.
Kaveh pauses, and his heart stutters in his chest. Slowly, he turns, and Alhaitham is staring at him with those intense teal eyes. They’re bright in the dark of the night.
Kaveh has never been able to say no to Alhaitham, not really.
So he comes back, crawls into the bed beside Alhaitham, tucking himself underneath the blankets. He can feel Alhaitham’s fever, still burning, from the distance between them. He lays there, next to Alhaitham, frozen with indecision, until Alhaitham rolls over, and makes a low grumbling noise as he wraps his arm around Kaveh’s waist, tugging him closer to press his face into Kaveh’s side.
When they wake in the morning, the antidote will have done it’s job, and Alhaitham will no longer be so ill, but for the time being, Kaveh lets himself curl around Alhaitham just a little bit. To shield him from whatever may come for them both.