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They’d been fighting over Alhaitham’s distance as of late.
It'd been a bad week. For one thing, Kaveh was worried that Alhaitham was cheating on him. Alhaitham had been missing for hours, drafting up one letter after the other that ended up being crumpled and then burnt in the fireplace. On top of all of that, his clients had been rude, and cruel, and one of them had disparaged his skills with a remark about how much better his parents had been and what a shame he was to the family name. So, he could see what triggered the reaction, what drove him into lashing out.
Excuses, really. They hadn’t even gotten into a shouting match this time, it was that serious. Shouting meant high emotions, but never bad ones. They weren’t as bad as the confessions boards liked to claim. Half the time, Kaveh just forgot to control his volume and got excited about something, and Alhaitham unconsciously matched it. A few times they’d been shouting over bees just because Kaveh had been so ecstatic about seeing a really fat bumblebee in their garden.
This fight had been different. This had been Kaveh and Alhaitham staring at one another from across the dining room table as Alhaitham showed up far too late into the night. He’d claimed he’d just come back from the Akademiya, but the cast to his face was all wrong. So, Kaveh had just laid out his worries plain and simple: Alhaitham was gone too much, he wanted to at least know why or what was happening, he was concerned. Alhaitham hadn’t explained everything, and everything welled up too much at that point, and Kaveh lashed out and demanded to know if Alhaitham was having an affair.
Again, excuses. The both of them went to bed angry. Actually, Kaveh went to bed angry. He didn’t think Alhaitham had slept at all.
He would apologize as soon as soon as the commission was done.
If he’d had the chance, he would have apologized at breakfast, or on the way to the commission. But Lumine and Paimon had woken them up by hammering on their door, and they’d been so panicked that Alhaitham and Kaveh just had to help. It wasn’t even truly morning. Some of the stars were still out. The sky was a velvety dark blue, like the Mondstadt Cavalry Captain’s hair but more vibrant.
There were some thieves. Not Eremites, just regular thieves who weren’t associated with any particular group. When Lumine and Kaeya had run in to fight them, Kaveh had noticed Alhaitham stagger once. He’d glanced at him, worried. Alhaitham returned a nod and smiled, their message to say he was okay. Kaveh nodded back, and then he ran into the fight, too.
He should have forced Alhaitham to stay out of it.
He should have noticed that Alhaitham hadn’t slept well, that he was staggering in a way that meant he wasn’t going to fight properly.
He shouldn’t have started that stupid fight the day before in the first place.
Hindsight, he supposed, cradling Alhaitham’s head in his lap. Kaeya was standing nearby, slashing at thieves with his sword when they got too close or throwing blades of ice to attack the further ones. Behind him, somewhere, Kaveh could hear Lumine fighting one of the bigger thieves. Paimon was squealing and trying to distract them or something.
And Alhaitham was staring up at Kaveh like he had hung the stars and planets in the sky for him, blood trickling from a cut above his eye. “Stay with me, Haith. Please.” He whispered, brushing strands of silvery hair from his boyfriend’s face. “Please. I haven’t apologized yet.”
“You don’t…need to.” Alhaitham grimaced, sucking in a pained breath. “You were…right. I’ve been—”
He cut off, teeth gritting. One of his hands flew to his side, where the injury lay. It wasn’t the worst he’d taken by any means. Still, he’d thrown Kaveh out of the way of the blow. An injury that would have struck Kaveh in the side of the ribs took out Alhaitham’s flank. From the amount of blood, he was pretty sure the wound hit something vital.
“I’ve been distant.” Alhaitham choked out. “That wasn’t fair to you.”
“And I shouldn’t have fought you over it. That’s on me, and I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you.” Kaveh replied.
Next to him, Kaeya dropped to his knees. “I think I can freeze this, at least for a little while.” He said, gesturing to the injury. “It’s what I do when I’m badly hurt.”
“We need to have a talk about that!” Lumine shouted from where she was blocking sword slashes like they were nothing. Only the Traveler would act like a swordfight with potentially lethal consequences was a walk in the park. Glancing at Kaeya, Kaveh nodded once.
Before the Cavalry Captain could touch his side, though, Alhaitham wheezed out, “Wait.” He fumbled for his pocket, grabbing something. “In case—I don’t make it.”
“You’re going to be fine, Alhaitham.” Kaveh said, trying to push Alhaitham’s hand away when he held out something to him. Determined, Alhaitham grabbed his hand and wrapped his fingers around the damned thing anyways.
“I know. But—” He cracked his version of a smile, lips bloody. “—just in case. Wanted to—ask Faranak. Don't think I’ll get the chance now.”
“What?” Kaveh asked. Glancing at Kaeya, Alhaitham nodded. Kaeya pressed his hand to Alhaitham’s side, fingers meeting the blood and Cryo flaring to life. A sharp grunt left Alhaitham. Then, he was out.
For a second, Kaveh thought he was dead. Kaeya checked his pulse. Then, he dragged Alhaitham away, lifted him in his arms, and said, “I’ll take him to Bimarstan. Lumine, handle Kaveh when you’re done with that!” He vanished into the trees. Kaveh stared after him.
Eventually, finally, he dragged his gaze down to what Alhaitham had given him. Like whatever he was holding might break if he held it too tightly, he unfurled his fingers. Something struck him in the chest. A sob left him, shoulders shaking.
Clutching the box to his chest, he stared after Kaeya and Alhaitham helplessly.
+
The waiting room was the worst place in Sumeru.
He’d been here before. Usually with his mother. It used to be for him, when he got sick every six months or so. Then, after his father died, it was for her—for the disordered eating, for the exhaustion, for everything that Kaveh knew was wrong with her. Because she wasn’t who she was. Then, after he graduated, Alhaitham had had to drag Kaveh here several times because his awful immune system did not take kindly to being effectively homeless for some time. He still got sick incredibly easily. Anytime something passed through Sumeru, he caught it.
And now, he was here, again—only this time he wasn’t the patient, he was the one waiting, and he hated it.
He was holding the ring box in his bloodied hands—and he knew it was a ring box, he recognized the mark on the box. It was a local jeweler. He didn’t open it. He couldn’t open it. Not with blood on his hands. Not with Alhaitham’s blood on his hands, painting his fingers and palms. He wasn’t going to be able to work with red paint for weeks. Not until Alhaitham was okay.
Actually, no. Kaveh wasn’t going to leave the house until Alhaitham was okay. He didn’t want him to go anywhere that he shouldn’t. If he left Alhaitham alone at the house, the man was going to try to work. “Not a workaholic” Kaveh’s—
“Sir?” Someone walked up to him. Raising his head, Kaveh met the gaze of a very short woman. Not Nahida. What he wouldn’t give for it to be Nahida, because she could help Alhaitham. She could do something. But this wasn’t Nahida, this was one of the Bimarstan nurses. “Sir?”
Kaveh shook himself. “I’m sorry. Yes?”
“You are…Acting Grand Sage Alhaitham’s emergency contact, yes?”
“I’m his boyfriend.” Kaveh confirmed. There was a softness that overtook her dark brown eyes, black hair tied back in a bun.
“I’m sorry.” His heart dropped. Panicked, he stared at her. “No, sorry. Let me rephrase. Acting Grand Scribe Alhaitham is alive. Unfortunately, despite your being his emergency contact, you’re not allowed to see him yet.”
“Can you tell me anything about how he’s doing?” The woman glanced around. Under normal circumstances, with any other nurse, he had a feeling he would have been turned away. He wouldn’t have learned anything. He might have even been kicked out.
Instead, this woman leaned in, meeting his gaze in a conspiratorial way. “I can’t tell you much. He’s alright, he made it through surgery. He’s not woken up yet, but that’s not a shock.”
“He’s always pretty easy to affect with anesthetic.” With a smile, Kaveh explained, “Once he had to get surgery for a slice on his arm. He stressed out the doctors so much, poor things, because he kept trying to stand up and prove he was fine. You might need to warn them about that, though.”
“I’ll make sure to do that.” The nurse replied, smiling. “The wound was pretty deep, but it didn’t hit anything important. He’ll probably be discharged in a day or two.”
“Thank you.” Swallowing, Kaveh paused. “Can you take me to his room? Just so…so I can wait outside for him?”
“Of course. Let’s get those hands of yours washed first, alright?” Kaveh nodded. Gently, she pulled him upright.
The whole time, he kept the box close to his chest.
+
Alhaitham was shaky as Kaveh helped him into the house.
The shaking was probably because he had refused to wear the cloak offered by the Bimarstan, and the clothes that Kaveh had managed to grab were summer clothes. Sure, they were fine for most days, but Sumeru got chilly at night, and it was currently winter. The refusal made sense, though. Alhaitham didn’t like owing people. He liked the Bimarstan as much as Kaveh did, too. So, he refused the cloak.
One arm around Alhaitham’s middle, the other hand holding Alhaitham’s arm over his shoulders, Kaveh murmured, “Watch the steps. One, two. Last one.”
“I know my stairs.” Alhaitham said. There wasn’t any heat in his tone. Besides, as he stepped up, he had to retake his step. His grip on Kaveh’s hand tightened. The box sat heavy in Kaveh’s pocket.
Kaveh pressed Alhaitham’s hand tighter to his shorter before letting go of him to unlock the door. It’d been three days since Alhaitham had first been checked in and the following surgery. “As soon as we’ve got you inside, you’re going to wear one of the sweaters my mother sent us. Understand?”
Sighing, Alhaitham asked, “Is there any point in asking you not to?”
“Nope. You’re cold. You lost a liter and a half of blood. I don’t care how many transfusions you’ve had since your surgery. You’re cold, and that’s my job to fix.” Kaveh helped him over to the couch, settling him down and then returning to the door before throwing open the nearby closet. “What color do you want? Red or dark green?”
“Red.” Kaveh pulled out his sweater (there was one red sweater, and it was his. Both he and Alhaitham knew this). Then, he walked over to Alhaitham.
“Arms up.” He ordered. Sighing, like this was the worst thing that had happened to him in the past week, Alhaitham obeyed. Kaveh fixed his hair where it got messed up by the sweater, adjusted the collar, and touched his cheek and then his forehead. “I don’t think you have a fever. Do you want anything to eat? It’s late, but it might help settle your stomach.”
“Isn’t it a bad idea to eat late at night? Keeps you up or something like that?”
“See, I can understand where people are coming from with that, but sometimes it’s a good idea to have carbs.” Kaveh mused. When he pushed himself up, Alhaitham grabbed his hand. There wasn’t any force to it. His fingers were so cold.
“Stay?” He asked.
Nodding, Kaveh settled down beside him. Alhaitham dragged him into a hug, burying his face in Kaveh’s chest. Kaveh rubbed between his shoulders, pulling them back so they could lie down and give Alhaitham’s side a break. Slowly, he drew his fingers through Alhaitham’s hair.
“I’m sorry. For yelling at you. I don’t know if you remember it, but I—I wanted to say it again, anyways.” He explained, massaging a spot where Alhaitham’s headphones sometimes made sore. After a second, he kissed the top of his head. Alhaitham pulled one section of his headphones off, laying his head over Kaveh’s heart.
“I know. I remember.” Alhaitham sucked in a slow breath, clinging tighter to Kaveh’s shirt. His fingers left the fabric. Gently, fingertips cold, he started to trace patterns in Kaveh’s sternum. “I forgive you. I’m sorry for being distant.”
“I understand why you were.” Kaveh replied. “Though I understand if you want to rethink your position on...everything.”
Alhaitham huffed. “No chance. One argument does not a relationship make. Or break.” Grabbing onto Kaveh’s shirt, he added, “I’d kneel to ask you officially, but I don’t think I could do that right now. I am fairly certain I would fall over.”
“You don’t need to kneel.” Kaveh said, fighting back the little flicker of hope building up in his chest. Against him, Alhaitham moved, pushed himself up, and then grabbed the sides of Kaveh’s face. He didn’t kiss him, though. “Hmm? What’s this about?”
“Kaveh, marry me.” Blinking, Kaveh stared at him. The ring in his pocket sat heavy against his chest. In front of him, Alhaitham was waiting for an answer. He started to look more and more nervous as he did. Wait. Right. I need to talk.
“I—yes!” Grabbing Alhaitham’s face, Kaveh dragged him into a kiss.
(They found a letter from Lumine the next day, promising she and Kaeya would keep their relationship a secret—and that Paimon was going to keep her blabbermouth under control.)