Work Text:
Tighnari was tidying up the hut as he usually did right before bed when he heard an unexpected knock on the doorway frame. Collei looked to him, unaware that they were getting visitors this late. Apparently, he was too.
It was late, like, really late. Nothing major was going on the next day, so Tighnari had let Collei to stay up with him while he got work done. That's why this unexpected visit was… slightly unsettling.
Amir hadn’t contacted him about any meeting, nor had Cyno. He would’ve heard if anything was wrong in the lower Village as well.
As Tighnari walked to the covering leaves, Collei scrunched on her bed, ready to toss Tighnari his bow from behind it if need be.
“Hello?” He asked as he pulled the leaves aside.
To his surprise, he saw his friend Kaveh standing there, shivering in the cold.
“Hey, Tighnari… could I come in?” He asked, his voice shaking along with the rest of him.
“Of course, of course.” He said as he welcomed his friend inside, “Collei, could you fetch Kaveh a blanket from the cabinet?”
The girl rushed over, seeing the man's state, and got him one of their fluffiest blankets.
“Here!” Collei smiled, giving the blanket to him as he sat on the floor next to the bed.
“Thank you Collei, I ap-preciate it…” He mumbled, taking the blanket from her and wrapping himself with it.
“Of course!” Collei smiled, to which he smiled back.
“Come now Kaveh, you can sit on the bed, Collei will be heading back to her hut now for bed.” Tighnari said, to which Collei looked back at him.
“Aw, I can’t stay here? Kaveh never visits!” Collei countered.
“Kaveh would likely want to talk about some things with me, and it's well past your bedtime, alright? He’s staying the night anyway. I’m not letting him walk all the way back to Sumeru City this late, in this kind of temperature.” Tighnari explained.
“Ah, no, I don’t want to be in your way-” Kaveh began to protest.
Tighnari just seemed to give him a… soft but meaningful look. As if to say “No arguing. This is final.”
“Would you like me to walk you there?” Tighnari asked Collei as she gathered her things.
“Sure, I don’t know how well I’ll be able to see since it's this late…” Collei said, laughing lightly.
“Alright, I’ll be right back, Kaveh.” Tighnari said, right before disappearing along the pathways to the other huts.
Kaveh carefully moved himself onto the bed and heated his hands with his warm breath. He honestly hadn’t realized he was that cold. Not till his fingertips and toes started to go numb.
Soon enough, Tighnari was back and went to sit at his desk.
“Alright, Kaveh? Are you still awake?” He asked, turning to the man lying in his bed.
Kaveh nodded and sat up. He had gotten a lot warmer now and was no longer shivering.
“Mhm…”
“Great. Would you be able to tell me why you were out there? Or more so why you left Sumeru City to come here?” Tighnari inquired.
“Right… I-it wasn’t… I mean it was bad but…” The blond shook his head in frustration.
“It was Alhaitham.” He said with a bit more disgust added to his voice when he said his roommate's name.
Tighnari knew a bit about the squabbles between the two. Usually, it would end with Kaveh venting his frustrations but… nothing like walking all the way to Gandharva Ville just to talk.
“I was working a bit later and realized only when I got to the house that I had forgotten my keys. How I managed to do something so incomprehensibly idiotic, I don’t know. When I got there, it was already well past the time Alhaitham gets home, so I knew he would be there! Unless you all scheduled a surprise meet-up at Lambads and forgot to tell me or something. Anyway, I tried knocking on the door and the window to his room, but there was nothing. No response. And I wasn’t about to start yelling at the top of my lungs to get him to let me in! And while this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, the circumstances were certainly different. I could have just opted to sleep behind the house, or on a bench somewhere, but I probably would have froze to death by morning! So, I knew that walking could keep someone warm, so I did that. I started walking and by the time I stopped… I was here.”
Kaveh explained in heavy detail, unable to stop till the end. By that time, he was breathless and tired.
“I’m sorry… I got carried away.” He muttered, wiping his hand over his face as if to stop himself from getting tired.
Tighnari was silent for a moment before clearing his throat.
“You mean… this isn’t the first time you’ve been locked out of the house by Alhaitham?” He asked, his tone was low and serious.
“Well- yes, but the other times it was sort of my fault. I work late a lot and I guess I can’t always expect him to remember. But even then, the main reason I work late is to pay the rent that he charges me! Architectural design isn't easy. It takes ages to please my clients and work in ways that they are okay with. I can spend weeks editing and re-doing designs just to get a mediocre response. I pour my heart and soul into my work! Sure, maybe I do just care too much or think too much about all of it. But still, at least I have passion! I don’t feel like Alhaitham has anything that he cares about! I just wish for one day that he could try doing my job! See how far he gets!”
Again, the man had started to vent, and could not stop. Tighnari couldn’t even find a way to blame him, even if he wanted to. Clearly, these had been thoughts and feelings that he had kept down for a while. He went through the same thing with Collei.
“Ugh- It doesn’t matter this much- He owns the house, not me. Of course, he charges rent…” Kaveh muttered.
If that was what was truly important, then Tighnari must have been getting caught on the wrong things.
“Kaveh.” Tighnari said, catching his friend's attention, “You think that since you get caught up in your own work, that it makes it your fault if he doesn’t let you in?” Tighnari asked.
Kaveh looked a little confused at first, then nervous as if he had given the incorrect answer on a test.
“Yes?” He said with uncertainty.
Tighnari closed his eyes, let out a sigh, then looked back at his friend. (Who, by now, looked sad.)
“Alhaitham shouldn’t be locking you out. Period. If this has happened more than once, you two should come up with a system that works. Like leaving your key under a rug or in a pot. And that isn’t just on you. If Alhaitham really isn’t bringing up anything the morning after locking you out, that means he knows what he did. He’s avoiding it. Both of you should take responsibility for handling the situation. Not one or the other.” Tighnari told him.
“I guess you’re right…” Kaveh said.
“Nonetheless, you shouldn’t blame yourself for getting locked out. Your work clearly demands a lot of your attention. It can be easy to forget simple things or even important ones. You forgetting your keys isn’t ‘incomprehensibly idiotic’, it's just something you do.” Tighnari continued to comfort his friend.
“Right… you’re right. I’ll talk to Alhaitham tomorrow afternoon… if I can get off work by then…” Kaveh thought out loud.
“Kaveh, why don’t you just take a break tomorrow? I understand that you have deadlines, but I can try to help with any extra work. Collei would likely be interested as well. While architecture isn’t the field she wants to go into, she does look up to you. It would be a nice bonding experience and she could definitely learn some things.” Tighnari smiled.
Kaveh smiled back, “She's a good kid, Tighnari.” He told him.
“Yeah, she is pretty great.” Tighnari chuckled.
Kaveh smiled but it disappeared rather quickly, replaced with an empty-minded stare.
“Is there more?” Tighnari asked.
That startled Kaveh a bit.
“What?” Kaveh asked.
“Collei went through a bout where she felt like she couldn’t really tell me things. She got that same look in her eyes when she had something she wanted to say, or just had a lot on her mind.”
“Well… I guess? I just… I can’t handle Alhaitham… every single conversation I have with him just turns into an argument! Or he says something snarky- or just- ugh- I don’t know! He just always knows how to make me mad and it truly is infuriating! Like- when I was talking to him in the library about what happened after most of the Sages were gone! I’d ask him a simple question and he would dodge it or give me an offhand answer! Or when he brought the Traveler over for the first time then made me entertain them, knowing good and well that I don’t like unknown people in the home, especially when they could just go around telling people that I live with him! If I could move out into my own place, I would! I would love to be out of his home! See how he would like it if he had to clean and tidy his own home for once!”
Tighnari listened as his friend vented, making sure to give him the space that he needed.
“Kaveh, what if you just stay in Gandharva Ville for a bit? You can have your break from both your work and Alhaitham. And, when you go to set some rules, how about I come with you? For support, and make sure you say everything you want to.” Tighnari offered.
“That… that sounds good… thank you.” Kaveh nodded.
“Great. Now, you’re going to get some sleep. You can be back on your way to Sumeru whenever you want.” Tighnari told Kaveh.
“Thank you, I appreciate it. I really do.”
So, with that ending note, Kaveh fell asleep to the sound of Tighnari’s writing. He often wondered what started his bad luck. Was it losing his dad? Was it when his mother moved away and remarried? Or was it when he first met his current roommate in the library? He could never be sure. What he was sure of was the fact that he would do his best to not let his bad luck dictate his life anymore.