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It is kindness that moves the world. When you love, you give kindness. When you are loved, you receive kindness. And in the smallest of ways, the heart is moved. Our universe expands.
But for an ‘unkind’ man like Alhaitham, the universe has always remained unchanging.
Or so he has come to believe.
Arms crossed, Cyno stands outside of Lambad’s much to Alhaitham’s dismay. He refuses to return inside. Tighnari’s no help either. The only hint he has given Alhaitham is that Cyno walked out and the reason is something the couple has to talk about.
“Cyno, I’ve been busy with work this week. We had to rush some documents to make it in time for the bi-monthly matra inspection. So let’s just go back inside, please.”
“No, I refuse. Now, tell me. Why do you let him spread rumors about you?”
“Who?” Alhaitham’s confusion is very brief. There are plenty of people who speak ill of him. But considering the crowd they are with today, it can only be one person that got Cyno all frustrated.
“Kaveh. Who else?”
“It’s just a difference in principles, Cyno. Some of those rumors are true anyway.” Alhaitham places his hands on the other’s shoulders in a poor attempt to have him relax. He manages to get Cyno to put his arms down though he knows the real battle has yet to start.
“Still, he’s demeaning you. That’s never right.” Cyno turns his head to avoid Alhaitham’s eyes.
The palms caressing his shoulders are warm to the touch. He knows if he looks at Alhaitham now, he might just end up agreeing with him and letting this go. Cyno seriously considers it. Maybe, he is making a mountain out of a molehill but before he can be swayed by his partner’s firm hands, he hears an excuse that irks him to his very core.
“I can take it, so it’s fine.”
“Then what about me?” He snaps at Alhaitham’s skewed logic. Cyno pulls on the yoke of his shirt, ruby eyes stuck on turquoise and amber ones. “Isak? Dehya? Candace? Nilou? Have you ever thought about how we would take it when we hear people talk about you this way? How I feel hearing people speak paltry falsehoods about the person I cherish?”
Alhaitham’s at a loss for words, unable to form a coherent rebuttal. He has never viewed himself in a kind light and neither has he tried to. He has always been a man who acted on his own impulses and desires first, and others second– a self-sufficient and independent person bound by rationality alone.
That is the man he has always seen in the mirror .
Still, he cannot find it in him to counteract Cyno’s statement.
“Why have you gone all quiet? Silence is meant to reveal the truth, not obscure it. I’ve experienced it firsthand, Alhaitham. Your kindness.”
Reflected in Cyno’s eyes , Alhaitham sees himself.
He still sees that same independent, self-sufficient man, but he also sees something else— a kindhearted person. His heart swells with admiration that he finds himself undeserving of.
“You’re being too generous with me.”
“You think I’m not being rational about this?!” Cyno’s tone rises as his grip on Alhaitham tightens.
“That is not what I said.”
“Did you not reassure me when you figured I was being tracked by Azar? Or advised me to be kinder to the people of Aaru village for Candace’s sake? Or reserved a stable and well-paying job at the Akademiya for Dehya? Or put yourself in danger to save Isak’s grandfather? Rahman even tried to take you hostage but you still forgave him and put your trust in him. How can I sit still when I’ve seen how kind you are? And when I fell in love with you because of your kindness?”
Cyno continues to list every single good deed he has done at outstanding speed. His words burn with passion that overwhelms him. Still, his words are also spoken with reason that Alhaitham can easily rationalize. He knows that even if he never responds to what he’s heard, rumors have a way of getting to you. It breaks you apart piece by piece until you start agreeing that perhaps they are right.
That perhaps, you really are a monster.
And yet, Cyno was here telling him otherwise. Doubts linger Alhaitham’s mind but there is one truth he cannot continue to deny. His ceaseless silence tells him it is finally time to speak up.
Cyno loves him and sees kindness he himself has failed to see.
Cyno is the sole and irrefutable proof that what Alhaitham has thought of himself is not true.
And maybe, just maybe, that is enough proof for him.
“I yield. You are right. Silence and the truth are meant to complement each other. I won’t sit still the next time it happens.”
“And neither will I.”
“You’re truly too kind to me, General Mahamatra.”
“If not me, who else? You are my person after all, Grand Scribe.”
Indeed, love and kindness go hand in hand, the same way Alhaitham’s hand fits perfectly in Cyno’s.
When Alhaitham found love, kindness followed. When Alhaitham showed kindness, love was given in return. And in the littlest of ways, he has moved more hearts than he could have ever imagined. And his universe, too, has begun to expand.
“Let’s go back inside. If he berates you, we’re filing a complaint for unjust vexation.”
“Wait-! That’s no—”
“—Not what?”
Alhaitham sighs. He thinks about the mountains of paperwork needed to file a formal complaint when he could just enjoy his day nestled in Cyno’s arms.
Perhaps, paperwork goes hand in hand with love and kindness as well.