Work Text:
Life in Sumeru over the years had been fairly good, if Kaveh thought so himself. Their small family had seemingly got exceptionally close throughout the years as well, despite Veritas spending most of it at the Akademiya, somehow excelling in nearly every subject the institution offered. He’d just recently gotten his eighth highest degree from the institution, which had earned him the title of the ‘Light of the Akademiya’, which was just like them, if Kaveh was being honest with himself. Still, neither he or Alhaitham had been particularly happy about sending him there in the first place and even though they were happy with all their son’s achievements and new title, they still felt iffy on the situation as a whole. But, still, life had been good.
As life would have it, Kaveh’s mother had died recently as well, and he still felt conflicted on the whole ordeal. She had never been particularly available since his father died anyways. Veritas had barely met her either and as a result, hadn’t exactly been too upset that she died, despite having carved her headstone himself. Kaveh smiled as this thought crossed his mind. Veritas had cultivated his talent from a very early age and now was making his own income via commissions. At first, Alhaitham and him had been apprehensive, his annoying roommate stating that he didn’t want Veritas to become like Kaveh. That he couldn’t bare to see their son being taken advantage of. Kaveh had been more concerned about who exactly he’d been receiving these commissions from.
He still didn’t exactly understand what Alhaitham had meant by that, but at the thought of him actually caring about his wellbeing, Kaveh had smiled. The years that had passed since Veritas had come into their lives, had made one thing very clear, the tension that arrived when someone pointed out how much he looked like the two of them, had never gone away. Even Cyno and Tighnari had pointed it out. But still life was good.
Kaveh sat behind his architecture board. He was scrutinizing the current drawing before him, even if his sight was in the beginning of starting to fail him. The lines were also slightly more wobbly as well, but not enough that it would exactly hinder the project itself. He tried to remember what the client wanted, was it a pool? There were easier methods to do such a request nowadays, dig a hole and build it up with bricks, so that could work. But, would they instead want a garden? He sketched out the ideas lightly on the board. Hm, would the client exactly like that? He sat staring at the board for a while, hardly noticing his surroundings.
“Dad, I have finished the commission,” said Veritas, announcing his presence in the room. ‘Dad’ sounded contradictory for him but Kaveh already knew he used ‘Father’ for Alhaitham. He turned to face his son, and Veritas blinked. “What are you doing?” Veritas walked over and crouched besides the board. “You’ve drawn the pool too high, it’s floating here by the tree.” Veritas took the feather. “This needs to be more at a 78° angle, this at a 12°.” He looked at Kaveh. “I really suggest you invest in glasses, you evidently are beginning to struggle to see. It’d help you with all your own commissions from now on.” Kaveh watched him looked back at the drawing. “You have to account for depth for the pool as well. What else did they suggest? Hm, let me visualize what you have here.” Kaveh chuckled to himself, to think he’d been willing to get rid of his son entirely when he first encountered him in the passageway in the Bazaar.
“What was your commission on?” Kaveh asked as he watched Veritas’ Vision start to glow. Strangely, however, instead of what would be a marble representation of what Kaveh had just drawn, Veritas’ Vision started making the form of a head. Confusion clouded Veritas’ face as both Kaveh and him stared at the bust now on the floor. “Mehrak does a better job than you at making visual representations,” Kaveh found himself saying. “It wouldn’t suddenly make a bust out of nowhere.”
“I was… distracted,” Veritas said, coughing into his hand, and focusing back on the visualization of what Kaveh had drawn. “I apologize, I’ll try again.” Kaveh blinked, he hadn’t expected that reaction. He looked back at his son and Veritas almost seemed flustered. Why was Veritas flustered? It’s just a simple bust of a faceless person, right? This time, Veritas made the correct representation of the drawing. “There. Hm, let’s see here. Okay, so the pool isn’t in the air anymore, the garden is on the correct level.” Veritas’ ‘mistake’ had phased out of existence by this point but Kaveh was still left baffled, but he just shook it off, it was probably nothing.
“What was the commission you had to work on?” He asked simply and Veritas looked up at him.
“It was that damned gambler again.” Kaveh’s mood immediately shifted again. The gambler. The former Fatui member. What did he want from Veritas this time? Why did Veritas keep accepting commissions from him? For all he knew, he could be buying to sell. He could be exploiting Veritas right under their noses, and they’d have no idea. Veritas seemed to pick up on his father’s change in mood. “I do not know why, he follows me around and I can’t get rid of him. This time he handed me a fairly destroyed picture and asked me to make him a bust of this woman. He… seemed almost upset. Do not ask me why, but it seemed genuine.” Something in his son’s voice changed then, annoyance to an almost hurt? “I don’t know why I even accepted it, maybe I just got fed up about him.”
“Be careful, we don’t know if he has ulterior motives or not,” Kaveh said and Veritas rolled his eyes.
“I know that already. I’m not willingly interacting with that damn gambler, he just always somehow shows up.” Ah yes, here was the spark that his roommate had mentioned Veritas inheriting from him. The short-tempered streak. Probably the only thing remotely resembling Kaveh in any way aside from his smarts. Veritas had somehow inherited both of their smarts, and Alhaitham’s build. Kaveh sometimes still sketched Alhaitham sometimes, even in his older age, he still kept up with those muscles and that neutral expression. “When are you and Father going to talk about what happened anyways?” Veritas asked out of the blue.
“What?” Kaveh blinked. Veritas sighed.
“Never mind. Anyway, I came in initially to ask if you could help me move the commission, it’s quite heavy and I can’t do it myself. I may have the strength I do, but I’m also one person, also, Father isn’t at the house at the moment either.” Kaveh nodded in response and they walked into Veritas’ workshop.
The workshop was a mess, dusty residue and chunks of stone and marble littered every surface and the floor. Various pieces in various stages of work were placed everywhere. “I apologize for the mess, I haven’t had the opportunity to clean up just yet,” his son commented as the two walked through the workshop, an extension of his and Alhaitham’s home, designed by Kaveh himself. He looked over at the various works in progress and came to a startling realization.
All of them depicted the same subject.
They were too unfinished to really figure out who the subject was, but all of them appeared to have the same features. Features that matched a certain gambler… but, Kaveh didn’t want to assume. Instead, his eyes once again found Veritas standing beside a very ornately done bust of the requested subject, making sure every detail was correct. The fact that a bust request for that particular gambler, deserved this much detail worried him. But he didn’t voice this. “So you need me to help you?” He asked, as Veritas started moving the bust. “Might I ask why you seem to be focusing on a singular subject?” He asked as he helped Veritas carry the bust out.
“I’ve had a stroke of inspiration recently,” Veritas said simply, though he looked a little red. Kaveh frowned. If the busts looked like that certain gambler and this was Veritas’ reaction… “I honestly don’t know why but, I have.” Kaveh remained quiet as they left the workshop. “He should be waiting for us on the outskirts of the City,” Veritas stated and they headed off. It wasn’t long before Kaveh’s eyes were assaulted with a burst of brown, blue, teal, gold and green, as the gambler revealed himself.
“Wow, Doctor~” he purred as they approached him. “I didn’t realize it’d be so heavy, that’d you’d have to bring someone with you.” Veritas noticeably narrowed his eyes.
“May I remind you, Aventurine, it was you who requested such a big bust in the first place,” Veritas retorted, and Kaveh almost smiled. It almost felt like him and Alhaitham all those years ago. “Here’s the bust of your sister you requested. How you’re going to manage to carry that, I have no idea.”
“I like your huge busts,” Aventurine shrugged, and Kaveh witnessed Veritas’ face go very red. “In fact, I want a huge bust of you~ next. Would you be willing to do it?” Veritas scoffed.
“What could you possibly want with a bust of my form?” Aventurine grabbed Veritas by his sash. Subconsciously, Kaveh reached out to protect his son. “Where do you even keep all of these things that I make you, gambler?”
“I want a bust of you to-“ Aventurine seemed to notice Kaveh glaring at him, so he merely patted Veritas on the chest, causing him to go more red, and moved away. “Never mind. I don’t think the ‘Light of Kshahrewar’ is particularly happy with me at the moment.” Veritas looked over at Kaveh.
“So, you’ve heard of me?” Kaveh asked simply and Aventurine smiled and almost bowed. From next to him, Veritas rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Who hasn’t heard of the architect behind the Palace of Alcarzarzaray?” Kaveh flinched. He hadn’t heard that name in years, the name of the very building that got him into the whole mess in the first place. Aventurine smirked. “I know of you, mainly from other sources though. I mainly know you as the ‘mother’ of this handsome young doctor here,” he smiled. “The ‘Light of the Akademiya’ himself, hm?”
“Please don’t refer to me as that, gambler,” Veritas groaned, noticeably blushing, though he was glaring at him. Aventurine’s gaze grew knowing. Kaveh watched them quietly, worried as he watched the two of them. “Titles are needless follies anyways. You hardly hear my father being referred to as the Light of Kshahrewar nowadays, do you? You don’t hear me refer to you as the former Jester, now do you? Anyways, me and my father should be on our way. Do you have my payment?” Aventurine produced a bag of Mora from seemingly nowhere, however, Kaveh noticed a cool breeze blow for a few seconds. “Thank you, do you need any help moving it-“
“Nope. I’ve got it.” The bust next to Aventurine suddenly lifted into the air and hovered there as if it was as light as a feather. Kaveh blinked, of course.
Anemo
He hadn’t noticed a Vision on the shorter man, but for all he knew, it could’ve been hidden under that eccentric coat he wore. Aventurine then waved at the two of them and left, the bust floating beside him. “Heh,” Veritas snickered suddenly and Kaveh turned to look at him. “Of course he’d pull that, what was I thinking? Of course he’d use his Vision, he doesn’t have the strength to carry it otherwise.” Something flashed in Veritas’ eyes at that point, and he watched Aventurine’s retreating form.
Worryingly, Kaveh recognized the emotion immediately as worry, worry resulting from care. Aventurine had seemed a little thin, but who knows what the gambler does? He looked back at Veritas, surprised to see an amused smile on his face as opposed to the stone face he’d inherited from Alhaitham. He decided to confront him about it as they walked back to their house. “Veri, do you like that gambler?” Veritas blinked.
“What are you on about? If you’re asking whether or not I have a fondness for that damned gambler, you’d be sorely mistaken. That notion is particularly preposterous as well, as he is annoying to no end. You said yourself, I should be careful around him, so why would I have a fondness for him, hm?” He left the conversation at that and the walk back to the house was quiet. Once back at their house, Veritas disappeared into his workshop. Kaveh walked into the living room to find Alhaitham reading a book. He smiled at the sight.
Such a typical sight for his ‘Haitham.
Well not, his Haitham, but over the years, though they’d never said anything to each other, there was something unspoken between them. Maybe they were too scared to talk about it really, maybe they didn’t need to talk about it, it was just sort of unconsciously accepted. Kaveh walked over and sat beside Alhaitham on the couch and then Alhaitham finally noticed he was there. “I was wondering where you and Veritas got to,” he commented, putting down his book and attempted wrapping his arm around Kaveh who accepted the gesture. “Was I not important on your little adventure?” He teased. Kaveh glared at him.
“You weren’t even here,” he replied in response. “And because of that, Veritas asked me to go with him.” Alhaitham smirked.
“Where could you two possibly have gone together? Not to map out yet another clients house plan?” Kaveh sat up.
“Is that all I am to you? I am hurt Haitham!”
“You used the nickname again.”
“Oh fuck off,” Kaveh huffed. “What I was going to say is that we met that gambler that always follows him around. You know the one, who likes dressing like a peacock?” Alhaitham nodded. “That gambler worries me. How do we know he’s not just exploiting him? He keeps getting commissioned by him, what if he’s doing it on purpose?”
“What was it this time?” Alhaitham asked simply, gazing at him.
“He commissioned a bust of his sister, as far as I know, I didn’t know he had a sister. And the previous few were of a mother, and then a father. Veritas did all of them! And now he wants a bust of Veritas himself!” Alhaitham looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Our son has a repeat customer, I wonder why.” Kaveh short-circuited.
“This is not funny! He could be being exploited and you’re joking about it? What are you fucking on about?” Alhaitham didn’t respond, he simply started looking for a book in the table.
“I’m well aware he could be being exploited but, I also recognize the signs for what this repeat customer could mean.” He found the book he was looking for. “Veritas is also completing every request this customer has for him. And the customer has repeatedly commissioned Veritas’ work.” Kaveh just seemed more confused.
“What?”
“Has Veritas being acting strange of late?” Alhaitham asked instead of answering Kaveh’s question and was now paging through the book he found. It was a poetry book of some nature. Kaveh was thoroughly confused with this whole conversation. Alhaitham was looking at him weirdly.
“Well, I can only tell you what I know from this afternoon. When he tried to visualize what I’d drawn for my client, he visualized someone else entirely. When we brought that bust down to Aventurine, the gambler started flirting-“ Alhaitham’s gaze grew knowing “-and Veritas was extremely flustered by this? And this worried me, because it’s that gambler and…” Kaveh sighed. “And all of his sculptures have been of a singular subject.” Alhaitham smiled and chuckled.
“I know what that’s like,” his voice sounded nostalgic. Kaveh was confused by this.
“What?”
“How are you so perceptive when it comes to seeing others’ feelings flourish…” Alhaitham said cryptically. “Kaveh, for all your smarts, you’re clueless when it comes to whether someone likes you.” He gave him a look. Kaveh was still horrendously confused but what Alhaitham said had irked him immensely.
“I am perceptive! And why’d you even bring that up anyways? Don’t derail the conversation with philosophies,” he retorted, and yet Alhaitham only smiled shaking his head softly. “What are we going to do about Veritas’ feelings for that gambler?” He asked. Alhaitham smiled.
“We don’t do anything. That’s for Veritas to figure out. Plus, I don’t think he’s being exploited, I think, unlike someone else I knew, not sure how they’re faring now, I think… Veritas’ feelings are reciprocated.”