Work Text:
Chapter One
“ No .”
Even though Alhaitham hated talking to people, he didn’t normally growl at them. Today, however, he was overwhelmed, and overstimulated. Loud voices, smelly perfumes, and foods, people messing up paperwork, or bringing more stacks of it in, complaining about things that others should have been more responsible with. It had been an agonizingly difficult day, and the hours refused to tick by at anything faster than a slug’s pace. A very, very slow slug.
People wouldn’t leave him alone. One would think he was the Acting Grand Sage again. It was a constant stream of people flowing through his office, and not a single person had a good reason. There was nothing special going on, no events, or festivals. People just seemed to get the sudden impression that he was in the mood to talk.
Then, as if all the socialization wasn’t enough to drain him, a professor had an incident. Hundreds of papers, and documents got mixed together, and most of them soaked by a broken lab aquarium. Instead of taking care of the problem themselves, cleaning up their own mess, apparently they thought “Who better to fix this than the Scribe?”.
They should have kept that thought in the abyss they got it from, and come up with a better solution. Alhaitham spent hours separating drenched papers, and hanging them to dry, all so he could sort them — all by himself — as they did.
These people’s carelessness angered him for a multitude of reasons, and this time, he let them know every single one of those reasons. It was quite a scene, the quiet Scribe of the Akademiya yelling? That couldn’t be! People came to find out, and word got around that Alhaitham had indeed yelled.
Unfortunately, that caused a larger influx of people barging their way into his office. At this point, the stabbing pain in his head, and the shimmering aura around everything were the terrible tell-tale signs that he was doomed. They were unpleasant indicators of the migraine that was to come.
Even with his office door closed, and the lights turned off, people still came, opening the door to the overly bright halls, letting in the dreaded light. When he tried to be rid of them by not responding, they came closer, behind his desk. Because Alhaitham still didn’t respond, they thought it was a good idea to pull his headphones off.
That most certainly got a response out of him. His movement of reaching to take them back startled them, and backwards they fell, headphones still in hand. Though the sudden movement brought on agonizing pain, and dizziness, he caught the scholar’s hand before they fell. The last thing he needed was to have blood all over his floor.
However, instead of a mess of blood to clean up, it was shattered headphone pieces. Right after Alhaitham vomited from the excessive movement, narrowly missing the person responsible, who quickly ran from his office, he slowly, and carefully picked up every piece he could find. How was he going to get home with a headache like this, and no soundproofing?
Just the thought of that had him anxious, and his stomach churning again. He had been trying to wait it out, but he wasn’t going to make it, which always happened. If people were going to come in as they please every few minutes , he’d be better off to brave the sunlight, and go home.
That was another mistake. Even with the canopy, the light was piercing. Alhaitham could hardly see a thing. There was also the sound. It was everywhere, loud, too much, and more people talking to him . Loud. Loud. Loud .
He tried to just walk by, the same as if he’d been wearing his headphones, but in the end, he’d snapped at someone who wouldn’t get out of his way, and leave him alone. Alhaitham knew he certainly must not look like he felt well, but not a single one of these people asked about that. They didn’t care, pestering him to answer their questions about random reports that were probably still sitting on his desk, or hanging to dry.
“Leave me alone. ”
Alhaitham growled it, and kept walking, not looking back at their shocked face. When he finally reached his home, he let his head rest on the cool surface of the door. Holding himself up while he blindly felt for his keys.
Being inside was not much better than being outside, being able to hear the bustle of the busy street outside. He already had oversensitive hearing, but the migraine, and no headphones on top of it, it was still too much. However, he noticed it was far too quiet for Kaveh to be home. Alhaitham frowned at that, Kaveh was what he needed . He’d take care of him, he could fix the headphones with his beautiful eyes closed.
Alhaitham only made it the two steps to the coat rack before he sank to the floor. He was done, it was too much, and he was definitely going to be sick again. He laid against the wall, and closed his eyes. He could fight, and win most battles, he could take the pain of being cut, and beaten, but he couldn’t take this .
~xxxxxxxxxx~
Kaveh was running late, and he was supposed to be cooking dinner. During his last client meeting, as he was drowning out the senseless suggestions, he realized they didn’t have even half the ingredients at home that he would need to make the planned meal.
So, after he was freed from his meeting, he rushed to the market. Well, unfortunately, everyone loved to stop and talk to the Light of Kshahrewar. All Kaveh could do was try to keep the banter to a minimum, and excuse himself. He wanted to go home, and he just didn’t feel right. He couldn’t place what it was, but it was there.
Fortunately, Alhaitham wouldn’t be home to pick at him for his social status, he hoped he’d be able to start dinner quickly enough to make up for how late he was starting. It took some fiddling with his keys, and the heavy bags to get inside the door. He kicked it closed behind himself, and headed straight for the kitchen to ditch the groceries. It wasn’t until he came back through to drop off his shoes, and cloak, that he noticed Alhaitham, scrunched up into the corner by the shoes, head down, and ears covered.
“Haitham? What’s…”
Alhaitham let out a quiet groan at the sound of Kaveh’s voice, and tightened the hold on his ears, while his breathing picked up. As he moved closer, he noticed more details, like the puddle close by, and the pieces of Alhaitham’s headphones in a pile by his hip.
Kaveh lowered his tone to a whisper, “What happened, Alhaitham?”
“…”
“Let me help you up, okay?” Kaveh tried, and received the smallest shake of Alhaitham’s head.
“… m-migraine”
The words, quiet as they were, were followed by another pained noise. Alhaitham’s migraine attacks, on the occasions he had them, were debilitating, but he’d usually have his headphones to use until he found a dark, quiet place. The scribe’s hearing was so sensitive that it was an absolute must.
“Okay…” Kaveh said slowly.
He ran through his options. Carrying Alhaitham was out. He’d done that once, all that muscle was just too heavy. He couldn’t let him just stay in a corner. The only option was to get cooperation.
“Hey, you’d be more comfortable in bed, right? It’s just a little walking, I’ll help you, then you can rest.”
Alhaitham didn’t answer, so Kaveh decided to take it as a yes. He pulled aside the pile of headphone pieces, and hooked one arm under one of Alhaitham’s. Thankfully, Alhaitham did help get himself up, but not without having to lean against the wall to catch his breath. It seemed the change in pressure didn’t do him any favors.
It was always disturbing to see Alhaitham in such a non-functional state. He wasn’t normally someone who depended on others for help, preferring to do things his own way, on his own time. There were… exceptions when it came to wanting to do something with someone else, that someone else being only Kaveh. However, that was nothing like needing help to get to your own bed because you couldn’t see, let go of your ears, or stand. Alhaitham was a mess.
Once Kaveh was able to stabilize Alhaitham, and help him walk without having to open his eyes, it didn’t take long to get to their room. He helped him sit carefully, and lay down, again, the change in pressure was difficult for him.
Kaveh made sure the windows were closed tight, and the curtains drawn, along with the blackout curtains that were used for occasions like this. With the lack of noise, and light, Kaveh could hear Alhaitham’s breathing relax slightly.
He pulled Alhaitham’s shoes off, and unclasped his cloak, which very much so needed to be cleaned. They would take care of the rest of his clothes later. Kaveh sat on the edge of the bed, and gently ran his fingers through silver bangs. They were soaked with sweat, not one of Alhaitham’s usual migraine symptoms, but one nonetheless. As usual, Alhaitham relaxed into the touch.
“I’m going to make some tea. I’ll be right back,” he whispered.
To his surprise, Alhaitham made a small noise, before he mumbled something. Kaveh couldn’t hear it, but it wasn’t difficult to figure out when the scribe was suddenly gagging over the side of the bed.
Luckily, it seemed that he didn’t have much left in his stomach. Another thing he didn’t expect was Alhaitham letting out a small sob at the spike of pain the vomiting must have caused. Kaveh quickly grabbed a bucket, and set it next to the bed.
He rummaged through the medicine cabinet, and pulled most of the things out. There was no pain medication, let alone the type Alhaitham specifically used for migraines.
“Ugh… I could have picked some up at the market!” he muttered to himself.
Kaveh could hear gagging again. Assuming he could get some into him, the tea should help with the nausea, and while it would help with a very small amount for the pain, it wouldn’t be nearly enough, from the sound of it.
It would have to do until Kaveh could get his hands on some other supplies. When he made it back to their room, Alhaitham had curled himself into the blankets, trying to find warmth as he shivered. Again, this set his usual migraines apart from this one. They made him shaky, but he didn’t usually shiver.
If Alhaitham had managed to fall asleep, he wouldn’t wake him. Kaveh cleaned up the floor, climbed onto the bed, and slowly ran his fingers through soft silver strands. His skin was too warm.
“Are you sick, too?…” he mumbled, putting his hand all the way across Alhaitham’s forehead.
It could be nothing, just a reaction to his body fighting everything that was going on. He hadn’t heard Alhaitham so much as sniffle, cough, or sneeze. Even in sleep, Kaveh could see the way Alhaitham’s eyes squeezed shut, and the frown. Every few minutes he would move, and make small sounds. Still, even like this, asleep, and with his hair pulled back Alhaitham looked so young. A little unfair if you were to ask Kaveh.
With a sigh, he tried to figure out his next move, what would help Alhaitham the most. He wondered if he should go to the market, and leave the sleeping man in peace, but considering said sleeping man could barely move without vomiting, leaving was not an option.
They’d sent messages with the poor guard that was stationed nearby far too many times in the past, and though they never said anything negative about this, it was surely frustrating. Kaveh decided to wait. It was completely possible that Alhaitham would be feeling better when he woke up.
~xxxxxxxxxx~
Waking up to the sound of someone being sick was never up there on things Kaveh ever hoped happened to him. Especially when it was someone who should be feeling better by that point in time.
Kaveh glanced at the clock, it was nearly midnight. Alhaitham had been sleeping since mid-afternoon, and obviously, he was still feeling awful. He had woken up after napping for a couple of hours, and Kaveh had been able to get some tea, water, and soup into him.
Alhaitham hadn’t been particularly keen on the idea of eating anything, but he hadn’t been up for anything else, either. He went to the bathroom, Kaveh tried to talk him into a shower, or even a bath, and offered to help.
He only got a sound that must have meant no, as Alhaitham just started stumbling back towards bed instead. Kaveh had at least gotten him to sit up long enough to take the sweaty clothes off, and wipe him down with a damp cloth. When Kaveh got the scribe to eat something, he tried to lay back down after every other bite, and didn’t get through very much.
It turned out that it didn’t matter anyway, and that it was more than enough. It came right back up. Alhaitham’s stomach muscles, and diaphragm must have been in knots by that point. Kaveh was also worried about dehydration.
When Alhaitham fell asleep again, Kaveh had decided he would run down the street to Lambad’s, ask him to get a message to Tighnari, and beg for whatever pain medication he may have. He was so very thankful for the tavern owner.
He doubted Alhaitham would be able to keep down any worthwhile amount of medicine, but his headache wasn’t getting better, they had to try something. Kaveh had run back home as quickly as he could. People stared at him as he ran by, and he could care later what they were thinking.
When he made it home, with it only having been a few minutes, Alhaitham hadn’t moved a bit, and Kaveh was relieved. He’d been picturing all sorts of horrible things happening in the short time he’d been gone.
Alhaitham waking up, and not finding Kaveh there, or that he’d try to get out of bed, and fall, hitting his head on the way down. The worries only got worse from there. What if Alhaitham got sick, and couldn’t stop, or stopped breathing .
Kaveh had refreshed the water, and tea on the end stand, made sure some medicine was available, and fell back to sleep next to Alhaitham. That was a little over an hour prior, and now it seemed they were to start the entire cycle over again.
Amidst Alhaitham’s gags was a knock at the door. Kaveh hurried over, unlocked, nearly threw open the door, put a finger to his lips to signal quiet, and was back to Alhaitham before Tighnari or Cyno could get a word out.
Alhaitham was still close to the side of the bed, but had one ear pressed against the mattress, and the other mostly covered with a very shaky hand. He was beyond pale at this point, and grimacing in pain.
Kaveh turned to Tighnari, who was already taking in what he saw, “He said it’s a migraine, but that’s the only thing he’s said since I’ve been home. There are some symptoms that he doesn’t usually have issues with, and he’d usually be feeling better by now.”
Tighnari nodded as he got closer to his friend, “How long has it been?”
He spoke so quietly that Kaveh could almost miss what he’d said, but it still made Alhaitham flinch.
“I don’t know. He was already here when I got home this afternoon, about two thirty. He hadn’t even made it past the coat rack.”
“ He passed out? ”
Kaveh shook his head, “No, no. He was sitting on the floor next to it. He’d gotten sick, but, while I can’t be sure, I don’t think he’d passed out.”
Tighnari dug around in his pack, “Do you have any ginger or chamomile tea?”
“Chamomile tea is what I gave him earlier, but it didn’t stay down.”
“Okay,” he held a packet out for Cyno, “Could you brew some ginger tea, and add this?”
With a nod, Cyno was off to the kitchen. The two of them were over often enough to know where everything was, and that could be such a blessing.
“Alhaitham, we need to change these sheets, hm? You’ve sweated through them, that can’t be comfortable,” Tighnari whispered, and Alhaitham groaned.
Kaveh grabbed several sheets from the closet, and handed them to Tighnari, then pulled back the blankets. He had stripped Alhaitham down to his underwear earlier, and was embarrassed the moment he realized that.
“I’m so sorry-”
“Kaveh, I’ve helped them clean him up at the hospital when he couldn’t do it himself. It’s okay,” Tighnari said, waving it off, “We’ve got to get him up, there’s not a lot of choice here anyway. Go get a warm bath going, I’ll get him up and walking.”
It took some time to talk Alhaitham into getting in the bath. He was being quite stubborn, not that Kaveh really blamed him. Eventually, he got the scribe to sit, and let him clean his hair. Tighnari said that massaging his scalp could help, so that was what Kaveh did.
Though he looked pained when Kaveh was doing this, when he helped Alhaitham lay back with a towel behind his head, he seemed more relaxed than he had since Kaveh’s initial return home. Alhaitham was asleep again almost instantly, and Kaveh hated the thought that he’d have to wake him again when Tighnari had finished fixing the bed.
When their friend came back into the room, he sat on the floor next to Kaveh, and felt Alhaitham’s head again. Tighnari looked like he was thinking, then shook his head.
“Kaveh, was he feeling unwell before this?”
“He wasn’t,” Kaveh shook his head, “I’d wondered the same, and if he was just hiding it from me, probably to get out of going to the doctors, but he hasn’t been sick, I’m sure of it.”
Tighnari nodded, “How about work, how has that been for him?”
Now that was an entirely different story, “Well, in the past week he’s mentioned several times that people are simply stopping in to talk to him. You know how much he appreciates other people’s company. Oh, god …” he gripped Tighnari’s cheeks with both hands, “Tighnari, what if there was some horrible accident that he didn’t tell me about?!”
Kaveh’s breath picked up. There had been way too many incidents where Alhaitham had been injured at work, and not said anything. He’d become notorious for it at the Akademiya. This could be anything, a virus, the side effect of some weird potion, Alhaitham could have been zapped by some weird thing .
“ Kaveh , calm down,” Tighnari said with squished cheeks, gently prying Kaveh’s hands off, “I’ll ask Cyno, but I don’t think it’s anything like that. I know Alhaitham has issues with severe migraine attacks, I think this is just a very bad one.”
“But he’s so sick…”
“Everything I’ve seen, and what you described, I’m guessing this has been coming all week. I think he’s stressed, and for someone with migraines, that’s just going to magnify his already severe issues. We’re going to keep a close eye on him, and I’ll still ask Cyno about anything at the Akademiya, but I think this will pass, and he’ll be fine.”
Kaveh looked at Alhaitham, his hair was nearly dry, sticking in every direction, as it always did. Had he really been hiding his stress? While he could read Alhaitham better than the average person, even he wasn’t able to see past the carefully blank face if Alhaitham really didn’t want him to.
“The water is cooling, let’s get him back to bed, Tighnari said, unfolding a towel.
Kaveh put the back of his hand to Alhaitham’s cheek, “Hey, sleepyhead, you need to wake up.”
Alhaitham leaned into the touch, and groaned. Kaveh was surprised when he made an attempt to open his eyes, but it didn’t last long.
“I’m going to help you up, we need to get you out of the chilly water,” Kaveh said.
He got his arms under Alhaitham’s, and started to awkwardly pull him up. To his credit, the scribe did try to help, but the pressure of the movement was obviously painful for him. Alhaitham swayed once he was on his feet, and out of the tub, but Kaveh was able to support him, despite the man’s muscles weighing far too much . At least he could walk. Tighnari was able to get a towel around him, and they slowly got the stumbling Alhaitham back to the room.
Cyno was sitting at the bottom of the bed, shuffling his Invokation deck. While this was something he did all the time, Kaveh had noticed that this also seemed to be a nervous habit the General had when his friends were sick.
“How’s he doing?” Cyno asked.
“Terrible, if I had to guess,” Tighnari replied, helping Alhaitham sit gently.
They had tried to keep everything as smooth as possible, no jostling, or sudden movements, anything that might make the pain in his head flare up, but Alhaitham looked like he was about to be sick again. He sat on the edge of the bed, shivering, his upper body swaying ever so slightly.
Kaveh draped a blanket over his shoulders, “Can you stay sitting up for a few minutes? It won’t be for too long, okay?”
“…”
Tighnari held up a cup, “Cyno made you some tea, it’ll help your stomach.”
In the dim light, Kaveh could see Alhaitham’s eyes open to little slits, and look at the mug, then swallowed hard. He looked at the nearby bucket, then slowly reached out a hand to take the drink. Kaveh thought the liquid might splash completely out of the cup before it reached Alhaitham’s lips, but Tighnari held onto the mug.
He couldn’t believe how terrible this headache had been for him. Kaveh’s mothering instincts were kicking in, he wanted to cuddle Alhaitham, and keep him close and safe. He was also grateful for their friends, and Tighnari’s abilities and patience.
“There, little sips, you don’t have to go too fast,” Tighnari whispered.
It didn’t seem like Alhaitham even had it in him to be annoyed. The longer he sat upright, the harsher his breathing became, and his head drooped. After just a few minutes, he was completely sagging. Kaveh climbed up onto the bed, and helped Alhaitham lay down.
He was already sweating again, and he looked more, and more pale. Having him sit upright, and getting him to drink, Kaveh had gotten his hopes up that he was starting to feel better, but that wasn’t the case, after all.
Kaveh gently rubbed his fingers over Alhaitham’s scalp, and waited for his breathing to even out a bit.
“Are you guys hungry? I can cook something for us…”
Tighnari shook his head, “We’re fine. We had just finished eating when your message came. Lambad delivered it himself. I think you gave him a bit of a scare with how worried you were.”
Kaveh laughed, “I’ll have to be sure to have Alhaitham give him a bigger tip the next time we’re there. I really was – am – worried. I’ve never seen him this bad with his migraines before.”
Tighnari turned to Cyno, “We were wondering if you had heard anything about any incidents at the Akademiya. Experiments blowing up, near fatal electrocutions… toxic potions?”
Cyno shook his head, “It’s been a very quiet week, actually, and I now check daily because I have a friend who constantly refuses to seek medical attention.”
The Valuka Shuna chuckled, “Interesting, so do I. Let’s give him some time, and see how he feels in the morning. If he’s not feeling better by then, I’ll throw him over my shoulder, and carry him there myself.”
“Huh, that might actually be entertaining to watch,” Kaveh laughed quietly.
Tighnari glanced at Cyno. The General stood, and left without a word, patting Kaveh on the shoulder on the way past.
“I know this is Alhaitham we’re talking about, but has he ever talked to a doctor about this issue?”
“Hah. Like you said, this is Alhaitham. It is possible his grandmother would have made him go. I believe it’s been a problem since he was young. He does use the teas, and medication you recommended, but he’s out of that. I wish I had realized…”
Tighnari nodded, and sighed, “Well, try to get him to go, hm?”
“Oh, I will. He’s not going to get away with not going.”
Kaveh sat against the headboard, still running his fingers through silver locks. He felt his eyes drooping. He’d taken a nap before, he shouldn’t be as tired as he felt, but it had been a very long day. Kaveh supposed it was catching up to him.
“Go ahead and rest,” Tighnari said, sitting in the armchair in the corner of the room, “I’ll be right here if I’m needed.”
That was all the reassurance Kaveh needed.
~xxxxxxxxxx~
Some time later, Kaveh had been woken up to eat. It turned out that Cyno had left to get some takeout from Puspa Café. This included some broth for Alhaitham, who promptly vomited at the smell. The man had nothing in his stomach, and really needed to rehydrate. A lack of fluids would only make things worse for him.
They did get him to sip some water before he fell asleep again. Kaveh knew better than to even hope he was feeling better. It was easy to see that he wasn’t. It was early morning before Cyno, and Tighnari fell asleep. One on the couch, and one in the chair in the room.
Kaveh woke to movement. While the blackout curtains were doing their job, a small amount of bright light showed around the edges. He looked at the clock, it was nearly noon. In the corner, Tighnari was still fast asleep, and Cyno was nowhere to be seen. Kaveh wasn’t sure if he was still sleeping, or had left for his duties.
More movement next to him caught his attention again, and arms wrapped around his waist. Alhaitham’s eyes were barely open. Considering how much more light there was in the room than there had been the evening before, when he couldn’t open them without getting sick, this was a huge improvement.
“Hey,” Alhaitham whispered.
His throat sounded raw, and he still looked pale, but he was talking . Kaveh moved the scribe’s bangs slightly, and felt his forehead. It felt normal, rather than the slightly too warm it had been, and while his skin was mildly clammy, he wasn’t sweating anymore.
“How do you feel?”
Alhaitham didn’t answer straight away, instead choosing to stare at Kaveh with that weird dreamy look he got sometimes. Eventually, he closed his eyes again, and pulled Kaveh closer.
“… Getting better.”
“ Good . Do you think you could drink some water?”
Again, it took a minute for Alhaitham to answer, but he nodded yes, and worked on sitting up. Kaveh got an arm under him, and helped.
“Take it easy. Your muscles are weak from being sick, and dehydration,” a voice from the corner said.
As quiet as they had been, it still roused Tighnari from sleep. He slowly got up, and checked on Alhaitham.
“You’re looking better,” he said, relief lacing the statement. “Alhaitham, have you ever had a migraine this bad before?”
Alhaitham sighed, “Once.”
Kaveh sat up straighter, “What? When ?”
“… After our friendship ended. It lasted well over a day, nearly two, and took another to recover enough to return to class.”
“That’s… why I didn’t see you for a while after?”
Alhaitham gave a small nod, and guilt flooded the blonde.
He’d been so angry at Alhaitham after their fight, but he was also sure the silver-haired man wouldn’t want to see him. Kaveh had assumed that he hadn’t seen Alhaitham around because he was completely avoiding him, and wanted nothing to do with him. Now, after all this time, he learned that it was because Alhaitham was ill.
“It was stress induced, right?” Tighnari asked.
Alhaitham only nodded.
“Haitham, I’m so sorry. I-I… I didn’t know-”
Alhaitham shook his head, and took Kaveh’s hands in his own, “There was no way you could have, and it wasn’t your fault. Don’t go back to the past, Kaveh. There’s nothing there for us.”
He was right, of course , but not thinking about the what-ifs was easier said than done. Kaveh had done it a million times, thought about the could-have-been’s, and all the time they lost. He’d been too hot-headed, and arrogant to go back to Alhaitham, to make amends. It had cost him.
Alhaitham’s hand landed on his cheek gently, “I can see you thinking, Kaveh. Whatever time we lost, we’ll spend every day making up for it. We can’t change what happened then.”
Kaveh watched as Alhaitham’s eyes squeezed shut again, and his jaw clenched as he sunk back down into the bed.
“Hold on,” Tighnari said, grabbing the cup of water from the bed stand, “Try to drink some before you go back to sleep.”
Alhaitham did his best, but he wasn’t happy about it. Apparently he was still queasy, but he kept the drink down. Then he was asleep.
“I’ll get some broth, and tea ready for when he wakes again,” the Valuka Shuna said.
Kaveh laid back down, snuggled up to Alhaitham, and closed his eyes. He listened to the steady rise, and fall of Alhaitham’s breathing. He’d have to fix the man’s headphones. Kaveh wasn’t sure what had happened to them, but they were unusable as they were. That alone must have been stressful. How many other things had already been adding up throughout the week?
He was glad that Alhaitham was starting to feel better, but he was going to get an earful when this was over. There was no way he was going to get away with telling Kaveh to take care of himself, and not get stressed out, and then do the same thing himself.