Work Text:
It was a normal day for Kaveh; he was called to a client's house to discuss something along the lines of "You need support beams in basic structures". Currently, he was very upset because the client threatened to cut their contract if he hadn't done as instructed. He rolled his eyes, trying to figure out how to convince them to allow basic safety and proper building. He glanced at a group of Treasure Hoarders, mentally cursing himself and glancing around to see if there was a way around it without being seen.
Thankfully, there was. Behind some flowering bushes, he could duck down to not be seen. It's not like he was weak, he just didn't want the trouble, nor to come home and have Alhaitham ridicule him for getting into unnecessary quarrels. He decided that maybe he could just stop at the tavern if he had time, not like he had to be home at any specific time. He ducked down by the bushes, getting past them with ease. He stood up, dusting himself off when he deemed himself far away enough to not get caught. His hands brushed over his pockets when--
".. Damnit."
... He had lost his keys.
He turned around, and just his luck, they were at the very start of where he just came from. He could find them easily when he wasn't drunk out of his mind because of the keychain (one of the dozen he bought) reflected in the harsh sun. He let out an exasperated sigh and shifted his way back over to his keys to get them, standing up straight to stretch when he hit the back of his head on a tree branch.
"OW!" He said from reflex, momentarily forgetting the Treasure Hoarders were there to begin with. He covered his mouth before turning around to see one of them. The man was like the rest of the group, tall and well-built. Kaveh, on the other hand, was 5'11, weighed around 140 pounds, and happened to leave his claymore at the house to not seem too threatening to a client. He inched away before feeling his hair get grabbed, he couldn't exactly comprehend what happened because it happened so fast.
"Oh, look at this!" The Treasure Hoarder laughed. "Such a pretty face, I might just have to keep you."
Kaveh's eyes went wide. He shoved the man back, this couldn't be happening. There were thousands of things he could've done, he could've used hand-to-hand combat, he could've screamed to alert people, he could've ran. But he was frozen. Why was he frozen? Why couldn't he move?
.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
Alhaitham sat in the living room, the fire crackling as he read a book. He sipped some of his tea, loving the quietness.
Wait
Why was it so quiet? Kaveh would normally ridicule him for leaving his books everywhere or getting the wrong scent of dish soap because he was sensitive to certain smells (which Alhaitham doubted because he always made him get his favorite scent), or at least be around the house cleaning up. But why wasn't he doing anything? It's not like he was required to do anything, but it was safe to say the lack of Kaveh's soft humming was uncanny.
Alhaitham tapped his foot a few times, debating if he should go to check on Kaveh. He was likely at the tavern, he was a drunkard.
That's where Kevah was.
Kaveh was at the tavern
Kaveh was safe.
It took Alhaitham a few moments to realize his grip on the book he was reading greatly tightened, causing the page to wrinkle. He let out a sigh and got up, deciding to look for the blonde. If he was drunk, he wanted to make sure he got home safe. But he didn't care about Kaveh, not like that. It would just be a pain if he didn't come home, Alhaitham always enjoyed Kaveh's cooking. He loved the smell that lingered in Kaveh's shirts, how whenever he was on the couch with Alhaitham, rambling on about some client, the scent would wave around like a warm--
No. Go find Kaveh.
.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
Alhaitham walked for a while, around 30 minutes. Where was Kaveh? He checked the alleyways and the tavern, he checked with Cyno to see if he or Tighnari had let him crash at their house, but they didn't know where Kaveh had gone, either. Alhaitham let out a frustrated sigh as he walked down a path, taking note of the bushes with flowers. He gave a soft smile as he saw one, Kaveh would've pointed and begged Alhaitham to pick them so he could put something by the window. He reached out to touch one before hearing a soft groan.
And then a stifled whimper.
That voice was too familiar.
He rushed through the bushes, some thorns slashing his clothing. And there Kaveh lay, curled up, trying his best to cover his face. His clothing had deep crimson splotches, some greater than others. His clothing had some tears where slashes ran across his porcelain skin, they looked like they'd scar. It seemed apparent that he was jumped. Alhaitham bolted to his side, carefully lifting him. The blonde let out a cry as he was lifted, his body hot with pain. He had a bloody nose and a split lip, the same ones that would pout whenever Alhaitham refused to brush his hair.
His neck had marks around it, too. Hand marks from being choked.
Alhaitham gently pulled Kaveh close to his chest,
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.." Alhaitham rested his head on Kaveh's shoulder, "I should've gotten here sooner. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Why was Alhaitham apologizing? He didn't care, this was just a slight inconvenience to him. So why did he want to scream?
He felt a hand brush his back, tracing over the shirt. The architect had awoken just enough to be somewhat conscious, which was quite pleasant. Of course, he couldn't form coherent words, let alone sentences. But he tried to apologize. Kaveh tried to apologize.
"Shh. Shh, no. Don't apologize. Please, don't apologize."
Alhaitham picked Kaveh up, his hand resting supportively against his back when suddenly another whine. He quickly settled Kaveh back on the ground, softly apologizing. He glanced at his hand to see blood. It wasn't unnatural given the current situation, but it was cause for concern. He needed to see how bad it was. Alhaitham, as softly as he could, lifted Kaveh.
His blood began to boil.
Carved into Kaveh's back;
'Property of The Grand Sage.'
This was just to piss Alhaitham off. And it worked. He let out a frustrated sigh before lifting Kaveh, much more carefully than before, to take him home.
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Kaveh awoke to the feeling of warm water around him. He glanced around, not yet awake enough to lift his head. He was in the bathtub, bubbles covering the view of his body. He didn't know if he wanted to know how he looked. He glanced beside himself to see Alhaitham, seemingly deep in focus, cleaning the wounds on his arm. He softly smiled at him, ".. I hope this won't add to my debt."
Alhaitham jumped, his eyes scanning Kaveh's face for a few seconds. ".. No, no. It won't." He glanced away from Kaveh, "I would've waited until you woke up, but you were asleep for around 6 hours." The man hesitated as he spoke. He avoided eye contact with Kaveh and focused on cleaning the wounds.
"Mm.. You didn't have to do this."
"Yes, I did."
"I'm not a child."
"You're right," Alhaitham finally looked at Kaveh, "But you're hurt. And I will not let you do this yourself, you might pass out again."
Kaveh scanned his details before sighing and glancing away. "I know. I just don't want this to be.. I-I.." He softly exhaled, "You.. W-We.." He couldn't form any words. His voice broke and he began sobbing. He couldn't help it, he didn't mean to.
"Hey. Hey hey.." Alhaitham softly shushed him, pulling Kaveh's head to his chest. He didn't care if his shirt got wet, nor did he care when Kaveh's wet hair caused dripping down the floors (which normally he would nag him about). "Shh. You're okay, I'm not mad at you."
"Y-You're.. Not?.."
"No, Kaveh. I could never be mad at you for this. It's not your fault."
The only thing Kaveh could do was nod.
"Look at me," Alhaitham placed his hand on the blonde's cheek, his amber eyes looking like the sun as the light reflected off them. "You didn't ask for this to happen. I'm not mad at you." Kaveh nodded again. The only thing he could do was try to stop crying, which he was failing.
.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
As Kaveh slept, Alhaitham couldn't take his eyes off the words carved on his back. It looked like it would scar, it made him furious.
So why did he like the words being there?