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Alhaitham made his way through the hallway, his gaze never lingering but taking every sight in. The classrooms, polished floors, colorful mural newspapers and bulletins that encouraged students to join a sports team or club. All of it was familiar except for every new face he was encountering.
Having been homeschooled for most of his life, it was to be expected. However, there was no longing for what could have been. After all, it was Alhaitham himself who'd requested such an education method. His grandmother had been nothing but supportive, teaching him every letter in the alphabet, to read and write ever since he was very little and telling him about his parents' custom to read bedtime stories and even some of their research books to him every night.
These books had become precious to him and so his fondness for learning began. It only took a day in public school for him to decide he'd rather learn at his own pace, with the freedom to ponder over topics or take on a new challenge.
It was after his grandmother's passing that Alhaitham began attending high school. He had always been a quiet child and now even more so, as it felt like a bigger void had been left in his heart. The elegant handwriting expressing his grandmother's last wish for him was all he had left. That, his books and the beautiful memories.
And now at last, he was reaching another milestone in his life. College should be easy enough, he decided after reading through the program and finding he had knowledge of most if not all subjects.
What he could never have seen coming was a door suddenly bursting open and someone running out just to collide against him. Or more like whoever wasn't looking where they were going bounced back from the impact and fell on their butt with a small yelp.
"Tighnari!" As the fallen young man, who was most likely Tighnari, groaned and rubbed at their forehead, Alhaitham looked up to see a student rushing over and stopping at the door. They had medium length hair of a striking white color, which looked soft enough to almost tempt him to reach out and touch, a surprised look on their face and... the most captivating scarlet eyes that met his own. Hm, that wasn't it. Those eyes were like the sunset, relentless and as fierce as they were kind.
He did not know why all of that came to mind the moment their eyes met.
Finally recovering, Tighnari stood up and began dusting his baggy pants. "Ah, my apologies, this isn't like me." He raised his head and offered a smile to the taller young man. Who didn't return it. Alhaitham looked back at him and replied in a calm, beautiful voice.
"It's fine." It was clearly an accident and no one got seriously hurt. With that, they watched him leave, probably as he looked for his own classroom.
Time passed between classes, events, homework and projects. The season changed from the warm summer days to a windy autumn, bringing with it a slightly cooler weather and the falling leaves after changing colors.
Alhaitham remained the same, focused on his studies and on keeping up with his mentors' teachings. He was also top of the class and the rest of the students were so curious about how he did it without much visible effort. Did he just stay up till unholy hours to absorb all the knowledge from the books? While he did look a little tired, that only made him feel more relatable and so human to them, so it didn't seem likely. Still, no one dared to really go for it and ask, even the bravest souls stopped in their tracks when that sharp gaze focused on them for too long and they ended up changing the topic.
Nothing ever deviated from Alhaitham's schedule. And that was comforting. His classmates were kind and that's all he really needed. Sometimes, he'd stay for a little longer to work on an assignment at the campus library, and that's where it happened again.
There were almost never any students in this part of the school after class. But the next thing he knew was that something moved in his peripheral vision and, a little surprised, looked over while his hand came up to his right earpiece.
The new visitor at the library was looking at Alhaitham, intently as though he wanted to say something. Instead, he opted to sit first, not quite in front of him though, but in the next seat over. He seemed a bit hesitant. "Mind if I sit here?"
It was the very same student who caught his eye on his first day at college, with snow-colored hair and a shorter stature. His voice was pleasantly soft while the tone was polite. There was a purple scarf around his neck and a book had already been opened and placed on the table.
Alhaitham bowed his head and the other relaxed in his chair. After a pause during which they simply stared at each other, they turned their attention to the book before them and did nothing else.
Initially, Alhaitham had planned on reading all the theory today before writing his take on it once he was back home but... On second thought, there was a comfortable sense of familiarity. Here and now with that young man sitting at the same table. But how could that be? He stopped thinking, immersing himself in the lecture, in those antique passages written in forgotten tongues.
Eventually, he reached for his backpack and took out a notebook and pen. A few minutes went by as his hand moved along the page, more words appearing as he conveyed his thoughts on the ancient texts.
Until that voice spoke again. "Huh, you've got quite a beautiful handwriting..." The freshman looked up and sure enough, found the pretty student leaning towards him, his red eyes on his notebook. And when they met his own, he smiled softly and Alhaitham's heart jumped in his chest. What was going on? He'd certainly cut his bangs since the last time and now he could see his right eye.
"Thank you..." It was a comment he got often back in high school, but no one had ever affected him this much by mentioning it. Then, he blurted out the question which had been burning in the back of his mind. "What's your name?" It surprised even himself, who couldn't remember ever asking for a curious student's name.
The boy before him seemed to recover and only smiled more sweetly, if possible. Then, he noticed the dangling golden earring he was wearing, in the shape of an... inverted eye? "I'm Cyno, sophomore year and law school aspirant." He sounded proud about it and admiration filled Alhaitham's gaze. So, Cyno was a year older and had already decided the course of his career.
"I see." He felt like prey as the other kept staring at him, as if studying him instead of his book. Alhaitham could almost count every soft, snowy eyelash. "I hear there's a lot of reading involved," he said without really thinking.
He felt the tips of his ears warming up. What was he doing? But Cyno simply chuckled softly, pleased with the attention he'd finally gotten. "Sure, you're one to talk, linguistics student Alhaitham." Oh, he already knew his name. Distantly, he realized he was gripping his pen with more force than was necessary. He could swear he'd seen him somewhere before... Even before his first college day.
And then it hit him. The picture professor Cyrus had accidentally knocked over on his desk during their talk at his office... There was no mistaking it, but he'd thought...
"Is professor Cyrus...?" To his surprise, Cyno's expression became shocked and then a light blush appeared on his face. No way, he was cute.
"Did he mention me or did he... On his desk..."
"Yes."
Cyno sighed heavily, defeated as he admitted. "Yes, he's my dad and it wouldn't be the first time he's' accidentally' shown that picture to my friends." A pause. "But we've never met before." Had it been a genuine accident this time?
"A-anyway, it's getting late, so I'll get going now." He'd stood and collected his things, stuffing them in his bag before looking back and smiling once more. "It was nice, I hope we meet again."
That night, Alhaitham dreamt of the desert. Endless sand dunes and a tranquil oasis. A blazing sun which was pleasant on his skin and a pair of ruby red eyes...
It took ten more days for Cyno to come and find him in the library again.
But this time, Alhaitham had learnt a little more about him. Who his friends were and where he liked to hang out during lunch time. He also knew that rice pudding was his favorite and that he preferred the color purple for his accessories and key clothing items. His backpack had a golden pyramid keychain. He liked to wear black nail polish. And his laughter was the most beautiful sound, only second to the way he'd said his name that day...
This time, Alhaitham looked up and couldn't help the spark of hope in his heart, only fueled by Cyno's smile.
"Hey," he greeted him. And Alhaitham smiled back.