Chapter Text
No matter the month, no matter the season, no matter the happenings of the sky
Every night, after the sun had settled and the sky had darkened, the moon would appear. The moon would appear, and would continue to rise to the highest point of the night sky, its surroundings adorned by pockets of stars.
And once every month, it would appear in its full form.
And on that singular night, it would shine brightly, illuminating every corner of the sky, allowing the stars decorating the scene to sparkle more than usual.
But the light was never its own.
But rather the sun’s.
For the moon would always attention from the sun, in order to shine
***
Alhaitham lay on the hospital bed, head pounding and tired eyes locking onto a screen that was currently showcasing computerised images of his brain.
The lightning in the room was dimmed, flickering slightly. An abnormal circumstance for any other patient, but incredibly normal, vital for him.
Kaveh was there too, seated in the chair beside him, one hand grasping his own, their fingers tightly laced together, his carmine eyes hovering worriedly over the same screen.
It had been nearing a year since Alhaitham had first experienced an epileptic seizure. Almost a year since he had first started having these checkups every few months, to ensure he wasn’t at risk of having another.
He moved his eyes across the screen, slowly taking in every detail.
The good thing about MRI scans, is that you didn’t necessarily need to see colour to be able to deduce the story they told.
Alhaitham had always struggled to recognise human faces, yet he was skilled when it came to pattern recognition. And while not the exact same as the brain imagery he was shown those months prior, it was similar enough, void of any unusual dark lines, which would indicate something serious.
He sighed quietly before closing his eyes in relief, having deduced his predicament long before Kaveh or seemingly even the doctor had.
“All looks good.” The doctor concluded after a while, before turning to look at him. “How are your eyes?”
A question without a specific answer. For the longest time, Alhaitham had never been able to picture seeing the world in more shades than black, white and grey.
And then Kaveh had gifted him glasses… that allowed him to see the world in a dimension that he hadn’t imagined ever existed.
He doesn’t use the glasses too often. For him, Seeing color was like being given an extra limb; fascinating to use and study, but wholly unnecessary and a pain to incorporate into his daily life.
He had lived nearly 3 decades with his remaining 4 senses. Why change something that worked fine?
Still, it was perplexing to think that the bedsheets he lay on were not a light shade of grey, but most likely similar color to that of the sky. That the desk in the room was probably the same color as the trunks of the trees.
“Adaptive.” The answer he settled on.
The doctor nodded in understanding, before pointing towards the ceiling. “Is the light bothering you?”
Summer had always been Alhaitham’s least favourite season. Living in Sumeru didn’t help. His eyes could see in perfect darkness, but in accordance to one of Newton’s laws, that also meant that his eyes did not have a strong shield towards light. Or rather, the sun.
“No.”
“Be sure to let me know if it does in the future. We’ll look into thickening your lenses.”
“So everything is alright then?” Kaveh enquired, tone shaky, clearly still unsure despite the doctor’s reassurance.
“…For now, it is.” And that was that, the implication that things would likely change in the future was not lost on either of them.
The appointment quickly wrapped up after that, the pair gathering their stuff and leaving the room. As soon as Alhaitham entered the brightly lit hallway of the hospital, he placed on his tinted glasses.
Alhaitham often thought about the events of that day. How he woke up in a hospital bed, head bandaged and glasses shattered, with almost no recollection of what had taken place.
But he really thought about it, what had really haunted him had never been the seizure itself.
…Rather, it had been the stairs. All one shade, more akin to a slide than being made up of actual steps. The way his eyes couldn’t pinpoint where one step ended and the other began, the realisation that if he took just one wrong step—
….If Kaveh hadn’t been there that day—
“Cmon, let’s take the lift.” He feels Kaveh squeeze his hand, the sensation bringing him back to reality.
He allowed the blonde to pull him in that direction. On the way there, they pass the stairs.
The very same stairs from before.
Alhaitham inhales sharply, and Kaveh subsequently squeezed his hand once more, his pace quickening immediately.
When they reach the lift, it’s thankfully working, and Alhaitham immediately feels the anticipation of dread leave his body. There’s no queue, so once the door opens they both enter, Kaveh pressing the ground button.
They travel down in silence. Alhaitham feels a weight lift from his shoulders, and something being placed upon his ears, belatedly realising that in the midst of everything, he had forgotten to put his headphones on.
He looks at the blonde, wordlessly thanking him. Kaveh smiles in return.
And suddenly, everything doesn’t feel so bad anymore.
***
Whilst most children had been afraid of ghosts and the dark, Alhaitham was afraid of stairs.
He had never believed in ghosts, and he could see surprisingly well in the dark, even in pitch black.
But stairs for him had always been at best, an anomaly— something that he forgot even existed.
His grandmother had always taught him to rely on his other senses.
“When one sense is struggling, the others will compensate. So you will adapt.” She would often say, her tone patient, but knowing.
Because of her, he didn’t need to look at a fruit to know if it was ripe, for the way it felt and its scent gave it away.
Even before looking at the sky to determine whether it was heavy or not, he would know whenever rain was due to come, because the air would always feel different.
She had taught him many things, but they had both pointedly avoided stairs, albeit for different reasons. Her mind had always been sharp, but her age meant that using stairs was difficult.
Their house was a bungalow, without a single step in sight. Safe for the ladder, which neither of them used either.
“Do I have to adapt to using stairs?” He had asked her once. It was a few weeks until he was due to start school, having been homeschooled for the first decade of his life.
Her answer had surprised him.
“My child, a fish will never be expected to live on land. Lifts and elevators are a common thing in most buildings. But know this: if you want to learn, I will support you. If you’d rather not, I will speak to the school and see that you have permission to use the lift.”
“Okay. Thank you, grandmother.”
And while Alhaitham couldn’t say he felt excited about the prospect of having to go to school, there were now less nerves involved.
Years later, and she had been right. These days, almost all buildings were equipped with an elevator or a lift, often both.
But as a wise person once said, technology is great, until it stops working.
That night on those stairs showed him just that.
Alhaitham knew he’d eventually have to face it. Most began to learn how to use stairs whilst they were still crawling. He was over 2 decades behind.
***
His decision was solidified on a random Tuesday night, when he entered Kaveh’s study.
The blonde was fast asleep on his chair, blueprints scattered upon his desk. Alhaitham couldn’t help but smile. Old habits die hard.
His eyes continued to scan the scene, eventually settling on a slightly crumpled piece of paper with scribbled notes upon it, noticeably a different color from the rest.
Being careful to not wake Kaveh, Alhaitham gently picked up the paper, reading the contents. The room was near pitch black, but the small pocket of light provided from the ajar door allowed him to read the contents with ease.
Things to do in Liyue
Visit Chenyu Vale - So much to do!! The buildings, the architecture, the beautiful sights and rich history. I also want to see the Jadestone Turtles in person.
Try out all the food - Apparently not as spicy compared to Sumeru cuisine
Take lots of pictures (With Alhaitham)
Drag Alhaitham to the Lantern Festival
Ah. Of course. For their upcoming anniversary of their relationship (finally ending their painfully & pathetic years long mutual pining of each other) they had decided to celebrate by spending a fortnight in Liyue.
The next thing on this list however:
Visit the Jade Chamber
A dream of mine but…No access to a lift. A shame, but maybe next time.
Alhaitham sighed.
He gently picked Kaveh up, carrying him bridal style to their shared bedroom, carefully placing him on their bed before joining him, wrapping them both in the warmth of the duvet.
A year ago, this room had been simply his. But recently, Kaveh’s stuff had slowly began to immigrate, until it could no longer be classed as just Alhaitham’s room, but rather theirs, the remaining room now a spare.
Yet another thing he had had to adapt to. But he wasn’t complaining.
***
The very next day, Alhaitham brought it up whilst they were having breakfast.
“So you’re not planning on visiting the Jade Chamber?”
Kaveh nearly dropped his fork. “How did you—“
Alhaitham smirked. “Perhaps you shouldn’t make a habit of falling asleep on your desk. There’s a perfectly good bed, you know.”
Kaveh groaned. “Ugh. Whatever. Anyway, it’s not a big deal. There’s plenty of other things to do in Liyue.”
Alhaitham raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been wanting to visit for ages.”
“I know but… I want to visit the Jade Chamber with you.” Kaveh admitted. “And since there’s no lifts accessible, I’d rather not risk it.”
“We’re visiting together.” Alhaitham declared. “Because I am going to learn how to use stairs.”
This time, Kaveh indeed dropped his fork. “W—What? Alhaitham, are you… are you sure?”
“Oh? Is it just me, or does Sumeru’s most esteemed architect sound unusually pessimistic right now?”
“You know it’s not that.” Kaveh said, fiddling with his nails. A telltale sign that he was feeling nervous. “It’s just… I don’t want you putting yourself at risk for my sake. After last time…” He stared straight at him, carmine eyes burning into teal ones.
“I think, that day, seeing you in that hospital bed, I was reminded that you’re not invincible. And when I saw you cry on those stairs, I was reminded that you are human.”
Alhaitham suddenly remembers then, how tightly he had held onto Kaveh that night upon the stairs. How he had started crying at one point, the situation overwhelming in a way that he couldn’t begin to fathom.
Alhaitham had never been one to cry. Not even when his grandmother passed, not even when his friendship with Kaveh had been severed.
…No wonder Kaveh had been worried.
“I’m not doing this entirely for you.” Alhaitham eventually responded, partially to alleviate Kaveh of any guilt he knew the man was currently facing.
But also because:
“I can’t run away from this forever. We both know this.”
What if a fire or flood took place and he couldn’t escape, because his only option were stairs? What if Kaveh was stranded and Alhaitham couldn’t help him because he couldn’t reach him because there were stairs in the way—
A fish was not expected to live on land, but some species could, had adapted to do so. It was hard, but not impossible.
“Kaveh, listen. There was a time where I didn’t believe I’d ever see color. You promised to show me, and a decade later, you stayed true to that. It still greatly confuses me but I am grateful for it. If I can adapt to color, an aspect my eyes were never supposed to see, I can adapt to using stairs.”
Kaveh was quiet for a moment, taking it all in.
“Only you would think of color being confusing.” Kaveh laughed, his eyes still glossy, but a fond smile on his face. “Alright. If you want to learn, I’ll be here to support you.”