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It was already sunny outside by the time Kaveh woke up. Being the middle of summer in Sumeru, it wasn't unusual for him to wake up to the sun shining through his curtain. Resisting the urge to fall back asleep, he sat up with a yawn, glancing at the clock on his wall. It read 9:25 am, a little later than he would usually wake up but not enough to throw him off. He stood up, opened the curtains and reached over to his desk for something to tie his hair back with. Once it was up in a temporary ponytail, he left his room and headed down the hallway to the bathroom.
As he was walking, he noticed the lack of a certain someone. It used to be common for Alhaitham to be out of the house by the time Kaveh woke up, but recently he had been around to eat breakfast with his housemate most days. Kaveh couldn't figure out why. Although he would never tell Alhaitham this, he did appreciate the company. Whilst he was thinking about his absent roommate, he noticed a note on the table. It read: ‘Gone to get bread, we were out. Be back soon.’
Kaveh chuckled at the bluntness of the note, Alhaitham not even bothering to sign it nor address it to Kaveh. There was nobody else in their home though, Kaveh thought to himself, it made sense. The blond hummed as he continued down the hallway. Alhaitham never would have bothered to tell Kaveh if he was going somewhere a few months ago, he would have just gone. There were some days when neither of them were home at the same time, so they didn’t even have a chance to talk. The communication was nice, Kaveh smiled.
By the time Kaveh was ready for the day, Alhaitham was still nowhere to be seen. Kaveh shook his head softly, rolling his eyes, figuring his roommate must have gotten distracted with something. Kaveh ran his hand along his braid as he decided what to do. He could make and eat breakfast alone, wait for Alhaitham to get home (which at this point could take hours), or go to the market himself to find the younger man. He went to look in their kitchen for food, opening various doors.
“Guess we’re out of more than just bread..” He muttered. Kaveh closed the doors again, deciding to go out and find Alhaitham at the market. Hopefully, at the market, or he would have to ask around. He walked down toward the street. Sun shining, almost harshly, down on him now. He lifted his hand to shelter his eyes so that he could look for Alhaitham easier as he reached the rows of stalls.
Kaveh walked along, peering at the foods stacked in various boxes and crates. He was about to turn the corner to continue his search for Alhaitham when something caught his eye. There were various necklaces glinting where they were hanging on one stall, Kaveh felt himself drawn to them. His gaze lingered on a gold chain with a green gemstone. The vendor walked closer to him from where they had been in previous conversation with another customer.
“Hello, do you like this?” They asked, smiling brightly at him.
“It is quite beautiful.” Kaveh replied, returning their smile kindly.
“Indeed! I imported it from Fontaine.”
“Oh really? My mother lives there, it's a beautiful nation.”
“It really is, I was born there.”
“Do you live in Sumeru now?”
“Yes, but I travel all over to sell jewelry.”
“Inspiring, how much would it be for this?” Kaveh placed his hand underneath the necklace to look at it more closely.
“1,500 mora.” The vendor replied, playing with her hair. Kaveh hesitated, before pulling out his wallet.
“Here.” He handed the money to her.
“Thank you.” She smiled, taking the money and returning behind the stall.
“Have a good day sir!”
“You too.” Kaveh nodded before continuing down the street.
As he passed more and more market stalls, weaving in and out of copious amounts of people, he spotted Alhaitham near the edge of the vendors. He began to raise his arm to wave to his roommate and get his attention, but as he got closer realised the man was in the middle of conversation with someone else that the blonde didn't recognise. Likely another traveller from another nation, he guessed based upon the clothing.
He busied himself looking for food after glancing at the lack of bags in Alhaitham’s hands. Whilst he was asking a woman about bread he heard his name being said by his roommate. Figuring that the man must have spotted him, he turned around to reply. As he did so, he saw that his roommate was still deep in conversation and not even facing Kaveh’s direction. The blonde shook his head and returned to his own discussion. After a few minutes, he heard his name again. Once more turning around only to be met with a view of Alhaitham’s back in the near distance.
Kaveh muttered to himself as he turned back to thank the merchant with a bright smile. As he continued to buy food for the two of them, he heard his name at least four more times during Alhaitham’s conversation with this other man. However, Kaveh was always unable to make out what his roommate was actually saying about him. After he had gathered a few bags of food, he decided it was time to go over to Alhaitham. He walked up behind his roommate, tapping his arm firmly. Alhaitham turned around quickly, gaze softening when he saw who had approached him.
“Ah, Kaveh. Hi.”
“Yes, hello Alhaitham. What happened to shopping?” The blonde gestured to the emptiness of the others arms.
“Sorry, I had to talk to this traveler. He was asking about Tighnari.”
“You were talking about Tighnari??” Kaveh said, bewilderedly. Alhaitham looked confused briefly before clearing his expression.
“Yes? Why is that so strange?”
“It's strange because I could've sworn I heard my name multiple times before I came over here.” He said accusingly, crossing his arms as much as he could whilst carrying food.
The traveler who Alhaitham had been conversing with laughed quietly, Kaveh raised an eyebrow at him.
“What?” He asked.
“Erm, nothing.” The traveler responded, before turning back to Alhaitham.
“I think I’ll take my leave now, thank you for talking with me about.. Tighnari.” He smiled brightly, before walking away. Kaveh narrowed his eyes.
“That was weird. Anyway, I am absolutely certain that you were talking about me. What did I do this time?” Alhaitham was silent, then he reached out his hand.
“Nothing… Let's just go home, give me a bag.”