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You see, when spies are this far into their career and too far to back out, there comes a time when one has to admit there is no turning back and returning to their old life of peace. Most agents have that violent realisation a year into their line of work, and most of them leave, in fear of never finding some place to settle down to live their lives. Many agents have come and gone because of this realisation.
Alhaitham didn’t mind, but he wasn’t tied down to any agency that could command him to begin with.
In the time he’d been working alone with a dedicated small force of just the three of them, Alhaitham had always been fine being alone. Sure, death was always the imminent danger, but did that really scare him anymore? Years and years of trying to prove himself, and yet, it never seemed enough. He knew even if he stopped now, the enemies that he’s made in the many years of his work would only find him and ruin that peace.
So, he kept running. Hidden, a ghost.
And all that was left was a trail of fire, with nobody to trace it to.
⚔
It’s late at night when he receives a courier package from a trusted ally containing a laptop with the message about a mission. In this unknown safehouse in the middle of nowhere, nobody would really think twice to bang on the door. Just as he needed, to open the encrypted message, sent from a trusted source from within the akademiya.
“Alhaitham, should this message reach you, don’t say I didn’t warn you - the akademiya, they’re up to something. I’ve been looking through mountains of documents, and each of them is more concerning than the next. Something about the creation of a weapon - no, something of unknown power. It shouldn’t be a cause for concern if it was just regular intelligence, but something about it makes me shiver and wonder if there is something more to it. I requested an audit prior to me sending this letter, only for the request to be rejected without consideration. This is not the akademiya I know.
So I dug the archives and the files, and what I found was borderline concerning and haunting. You will not believe this, but Tighnari believes it to be a being that can be brainwashed to kill - the body is innocent, but a code triggers them, a sleeper agent, if you will. You and I know this will not end well - we’ve discussed this, we were always against such technology. The first meeting for the serum is underway in just less than under a week in the desert, between an akademiya staff and a broker. If this ever were to see daylight, sumeru will fall - and then the rest of teyvat.
It’s your choice to take the mission, and I am unable to force it on you. But this information packet is all that you need, including a harddrive of all the archives. Once you go through them, Tighnari and I will track you down and make sure you have access to all weapons you should require in your arsenal. I cannot guarantee that this will be as smooth as I hope for it to be, but only you can find a way out of this while you’re out there. Tighnari is at your assistance in the safehouse in the desert, and Collei is stationed in Ghandarva Ville.
Remember to destroy this message and its contents once you finish it.”
Alhaitham spent the next couple of hours looking through the rather damning evidence right in front of him - and as soon as he was done, he picked up the laptop and smashed it right to the floor - destroying the hard drive and all of its contents.
He got to his feet and walked over to the cabinet, taking out a case. In it, a gun, and some concealed weapons that he could hide away safely. Just as he needed.
A map laid out in front of him on the cork board, lined with red string, gave him an idea of how long it would take to get to the desert. By afternoon the next day, he would have to leave.
So he did - quietly, like a ghost, with no traces left behind. Just a trail of fire.
⚔
The first time Alhaitham feels somewhat different while on a mission is when he meets someone he knows is definitely the enemy, and yet, he couldn’t quite help but wonder if there was another layer to the situation he couldn’t quite see yet. It was not like him to get distracted, but Alhaitham was very much tied up against a chair in a locked cell. There was no way for him to even run, so he sat and accepted his fate.
The someone in question guards his cell - watches his every move, like a hawk waiting for its prey. Alhaitham watches him pace up and down, with the key to the lock dangling from his belt loops. He wonders what this man is doing here. With looks like his, he shouldn’t be working in a dingy cell with little to no ventilation. Hardly a place for such beauty.
Another man comes by to the cell and looks in, turning to the blonde. He speaks in deshret script.
How long has he been awake?
About an hour ago.
I’ll go ahead with the questioning now.
Go ahead. I can’t stop you, anyway.
The blonde hands over the key to the other man, and Alhaitham watches as the bulky man steps into the cell. Mistake number one - never assume your enemy can’t speak the same language. Alhaitham was well versed in many tongues, twenty to be exact.
Mistake number two, the blonde beauty shouldn’t be here.
Alhaitham watches as the other man prepares for the questioning, his back turned to Alhaitham, and the blonde now looks at him, revealing what he assumes to be a duplicate copy of the key to the cuffs. Wait, why was his enemy helping him? Weren’t they supposed to be on the opposite ends? Alhaitham is confused, but the blonde leaves him zero space to be confused as his supposed teammate hides the key away and returns to his professional self.
“Whatever the boss wants with you, it beats me.” The other man now says, turning around and grabbing at Alhaitham’s jaw to look up at him. “Given the chance, I would have killed you the first chance I got. But yet, I am at the mercy of my employer. So you’re rather lucky, really.”
Alhaitham tries to shift his face out of the man’s hands and almost spits at the other. “Nikolaos. Declared dead in Fontaine, you shouldn’t be alive.” He raises a brow, then turns to look at the blonde. “Went off the radar and died in what was assumed to be a bombing.”
Smack. Alhaitham winces at the pain in his jaw, but doesn’t grimace. Just another bruise he’ll collect.
He was more interested in the fact that the blonde was supposedly helping him. He’ll have to find out what exactly the blonde’s motives were later. For now, he listens to the brief conversation in deshret while morning the ache in his jaw. Ah, sweet sweet pain. How he lives for this.
If you kill him now, Azar’s not going to be pleased with you.
To hell with Azar. This guy’s been a pain in our ass with regards to the government. This guy’s a piece of work, let me beat him up a little. He’ll be dead if we go through your route of questioning.
You really want to go against Azar? Not very clever about it, are you? Are you scared the bot will take your place instead?
Why not shut your damn mouth and let the real man do the job?
Asshole. Alhaitham looks up at Nikolaos and grins. Nikolaos, for the most part, is confused at why Alhaitham is smiling so brightly and can only look back at him. “Why don’t you let the blonde come deal with me?”
“He’s too tame to do it. Look at him, so thin and frail. One punch would set him back years.” Nikolaos spits, laughing now. Behind him, he can see the blonde pulling his arm back as he reaches for the keys, swiping it into his own hands, and calling out to his colleague.
“You know, you forget that the enemy could understand us.” The blonde reminded, and when Nikolaos turns back to look at his supposed colleague, Alhaitham takes the chance to get to his feet and land a kick, fair and square on Nikolaos.
After that, all Alhaitham remembers is a fight, bruising, and the blonde telling Alhaitham to run as far as he can now, and that he himself can’t leave. No reasons, no explanations.
All that’s left of them is a trail of fire in the wake of Alhaitham’s escape.
⚔
They meet again in Fontaine.
Alhaitham finds himself walking through a train station, waiting for someone in particular to show up.
In the last couple of weeks, Alhaitham has been working around the clock to find the evidence he needs. With zero help from anyone and now complete absolute silence from Cyno since he couldn’t frequently send out information and risk himself being found out, all Alhaitham could go off was what little Cyno had already given him on the weekly basis and through his own network. Tighnari snuck some information from what he could remember during his time working in the akademiya, but even Tighnari was facing a dry desert. The project of the sentient being was far too high in the ranks that nobody below the sages ever knew about this.
So now that Alhaitham found his way to Fontaine to find that particular blonde to show, he knew this would be his routine - go to the outskirts, meet his supposed boss, and then stay there for a day to wipe his traces for his boss before coming back to the city.
So, Alhaitham waited patiently.
Eventually, the blonde would walk through the train station like clockwork, and yet, despite the routine, it seemed the blonde wasn’t surprised to see Alhaitham there - like he had fully expected this day to come. Yet, Alhaitham can’t disagree. Like Kaveh had joined him in a high speed car chase, Alhaitham is reminded that this is by far the most complicated mission he’s had to take - too many lives, too many witnesses. This will land him in trouble if he does not tie up the loose ends.
They sit at the train station across from each other in an intimate two seater, facing each other.
“Quite the fighter, aren’t you?” Alhaitham compliments in a non-sarcastic manner, his eyes now focused on Kaveh’s ruby orbs. They are mesmerising - enough to make him pull closer like an opposite magnet, but he controls and stays still.
Kaveh smiles in return, then takes a heavy sigh. “Look, I know I betrayed you back in Sumeru-”
“No offence taken. I’m not mad about it, you were just doing what you had to.” Alhaitham shakes his head, having already mostly forgotten about what Kaveh had put the rest of his team through. Sure, Cyno would have to report back to work with a sprained ankle (“I’ll just tell them I sprained it while helping Collei with something.”) and Tighnari will have his head on the table for even roping Cyno into arguably the most dangerous mission to date, Alhaitham has already elected to forget most of it.
Except the eyes, of course. And the sweet name.
They pause for a second in silence, taking in the chimes and the heavy atmosphere.
“Who exactly do you work for?” Alhaitham questions, determined to finally get to the bottom of this.
“Azar, my government, your government, myself, who knows? Aren’t they all the same by now? You of all people should know this better than anyone.” Kaveh bites his lip, which Alhaitham knows he’s thinking carefully in case Alhaitham sells him out (which he has zero intention to). “They end up being the same, betraying the people they claim to care about. They only think that we’re all on the same side because it’s a false sense of security, but nothing could be further from the truth.”
Alhaitham can’t deny that at all - the number of times he’s personally been thrown under the bus with the government, how many times has he taken the blame for them in the eyes of the other governments who sow their disdain onto him for something he was only trying to stitch with a thread and needle? And how many more times will Alhaitham find himself in a safehouse, waking up in cold sweat, thinking about what the past could’ve been if life had just given both of them a fighting chance?
How many times could Alhaitham get away with trying until it catches up to him?
Just how long more till the fire combusts to a forest fire?
Alhaitham doesn’t say anything though - just looks at Kaveh’s ruby orbs, focused on the man. In the crowd, the silence settles. The two of them, against the world, unlikely allies, and let alone friends.
“Your government didn’t bring you in despite you going to them with the information Azar needed to complete the system they’re working on. Why’s that? ” Alhaitham comments now, deciding not to waste more time.
Kaveh shrugs. “Because they have no reason to until I fulfil their request in killing my handler within Azar’s control, and that I destroy the creation. Meaning, the sages meet their end on this project, or I never leave for good.”
What kind of life is this? Living undercover, hidden in fear knowing one day his cover might be blown? Used by the enemy for personal gains against his own friends? Alhaitham’s gut wrenches gently at the thought of it.
“You’re just stuck there then.”
The blonde only smiles, sadness now on his features as his lifeless eyes stay focused on Alhaitham. “Like I said, they don’t care if you live or die. All they care about is making sure this creation never meets the sun. Many agents have died on this mission, and yet nothing will stop them.”
Alhaitham contemplates all they know now - Kaveh wasn’t his enemy, to put it lightly, but exposing Kaveh’s identity would be putting him in a spot that would threaten his position and safety, as well as the Sumeru government. With that creation, they were facing a potential even higher power at their hands. Not only that, but the Sumeru-Fontaine government’s relationship and diplomacy were on the line with this, too. Alhaitham took a deep breath and sighed at this.
“Then what happens now?” Alhaitham asks seriously.
“You have options. In the case you decide that I should be the one getting arrested by your government, then I will be the living proof of an existence where Azar is planning a coup d'état within the Sumeru government. But of course, in doing so, considering you are on their wanted list, they will doubt you, and in the process harm your insider information.” Kaveh explains, and it’s a terrible option - not to mention with Collei having just recovered from her long time chronic condition, all the more she would need to have Cyno and Tighnari around. Placing Cyno in a position where he could not defend himself would just be a jerk move.
Kaveh grimaces a little as he mentions a few more options. “The grimmest one is that Azar gets what he wants, and he throws over the government, the creation sees the light of day. We fail this mission, and we forever will remain on the run. Your friends will remain in a position where Sumeru is doomed to fall into tyranny.”
Not entirely impossible, but the option is still dark and terrifying. Azar is a known criminal in not one but all six of the cardinal sins, and having a man like that at the helm of the government is a terrifying reality for the future of Sumeru.
“And your last option?”
“Run away with me.”
What? “What about the rest of what we’re fighting for?”
“Leave it and forget about all of that - there will always be cases like this to fight, more people like Azar who will always want their hand at the throne. We have done so much for the people without them knowing, we live in the shadows, and we don’t have a life that we can live by our own names.” Kaveh grins a bit while he sits forward, leaning his arms against the table with excited ruby orbs that could, frankly, take over his heart. “We have been thrown away by our governments, Alhaitham. You and I both know that they will keep doing so to completely disavow any knowledge of our existence, so we might as well just run, you know?”
Alhaitham doesn’t respond, not for a moment.
He thinks about the past, about the fire he’s left behind, about the trails of sparks that are just about enough to ignite a catastrophic fire. Running away would mean a new start, but with a past as dark as his, can he really just throw it all behind and pretend none of it ever happened? Surely, he didn’t deserve this chance again with someone like Kaveh, did he?
“Alhaitham, why didn’t you tell me about your career?”
“I did it to protect you.”
“Protect me? You show up every other week, injured, bloodied, bruised till I can’t even make sense of who you are! You pretended to be something you’re not, and what am I to you?”
The conversation loops, again and again in his head, and then it’s met with the silent whisper he can only ever remember as the last time he would hold him in his arms again. Be free, ‘Haitham.
And the fire keeps going, going, gone.
⚔
The fight is over. They can breathe, and Azar is no longer their enemy.
For once, Alhaitham breathes, and his lungs don’t suffocate with smoke from a fire.
He cleans up his hands and his face, and watches Kaveh from in the mirror. He watches as Kaveh flips through fake passports and the car that Alhaitham’s team has prepared for him to leave before he can be caught at the scene. He loads a gun with a round of bullets, and tucks it into the back of his pants, hidden by his coat.
It’s been a long few months. He sees it in the way Kaveh’s shoulders sag, now, and he looks tired. Alhaitham feels worn out, now that the adrenaline dulls, and all he can think about is how much Kaveh looks older than he has in their previous meetings. He throws away the towel to rid its evidence and pulls on a clean shirt, before going over to where Kaveh stands, staring blankly ahead.
“You’re free now.” He smiles faintly as Kaveh turns around to meet his gaze, “Where will you go from here?” He asks, semi-curious, but at the same time, a partial invitation for him to come along. He knows Kaveh catches onto the intention of his words when he sees Kaveh hesitate to answer for just a moment.
Kaveh finally speaks after a moment of clarity between them both. “I can’t really be sure. I’ve done what I could to help you. What you do with Azar is up to you to decide.”
“And so is your fate.” Alhaitham responds without waiting, which makes Kaveh laugh now.
“I wish that was how the world works, but we both know better than to hope.”
Hope will never be their strategy, not by a long shot. But sometimes, hope keeps them going. At least, it’s kept him going on his longest, worst nights. He wonders if Kaveh feels the same about the definition of hope.
It’s strange. Six odd months ago, Alhaitham would never know the name of the blonde that helped him escape, only to throw himself back into the line of danger. And now, standing across each other, his heart aches for Kaveh to come along with him so they could actually run away together and never be found again.Yet, he knows the world will never be. It’s too good to be true, the world will never stop to wait and give them a chance and just be them.
He listens to the wind blow outside and watches Kaveh’s eyes. He looks harsher, scratched around the edges than he has ever remembered. He is still beautiful, however.
As Alhaitham is about to say goodbye to Kaveh, the blonde pulls him in for a long hug. He knows Tighnari and Cyno are behind him, waiting for Alhaitham to get in so they can surrender Azar to the Sumeru government, but Alhaitham lets himself float in the hug for just a minute.
“Remember what I said.” He whispers, his voice soft with a gentle tremble. Alhaitham closes his eyes as he holds Kaveh close by the waist, gripping so gently like Kaveh hadn’t been responsible in killing her former undercover colleague that evening, like he hadn’t been the one who helped Alhaitham escape, and like he hadn’t just proven to be the only agent who has been on par with Alhaitham in terms of combat skill. He holds Kaveh like delicate glass, as if he will break.
Kaveh does not break.
When they pull away to lock gazes, Kaveh smiles and brushes his hand to the back of Alhaitham’s nape where the fine hairs are, caressing it for a moment. “You’ll know how to find me somewhere.” Kaveh promises, and pulls his hand away to get into his car.
“Goodbye, Alhaitham.”
Alhaitham does not bid goodbye.
This time, he wonders if he’ll be left to chase Kaveh’s fire instead.
And he breathes, breathes, breathes until all he knows is a catastrophic fire.
Yet, he lets himself burn in all of it.