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Tucked away in the outskirts of Sumeru City, there was a small cafe saw the same customers coming and going. They were mainly students of the Akademiya finding a quiet-ish place to be that isn’t the House of Daena. The library wasn’t the worst place to be, but sometimes it was densely packed of students and researchers. So much for being the biggest library in Teyvat. The amount of people it took to make the House of Daena to just seem full was absurd. What was even more absurd was how so many people decided to go to the library at once. Surely someone regulated the library’s capacity.
During his early days in the Akademiya, Kaveh was exploring the outskirts of Sumeu City. Not for any architecture-related reasons, he was just bored. That’s when he found a small house-looking building. It wasn’t similar to any of the architecture he’d seen anywhere in Sumeru. The style was closer in aesthetic to Mondstadt homes, except for the colour of it. The building was brown-ish and green, close to the colours of the tree Sumeru City was built upon. It blended well with the surroundings.
Upon closer inspection, Kaveh saw a sign posted on the door.
Cafe
Open 24/7
Kaveh figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. He had some mora to spare on coffee.
The door was obviously old, it took some effort to open. Inside, it really was a cafe. The interior was nice, a couple paintings were on the walls, and there was a buttload of tables and chairs. But there wasn’t anyone else besides Kaveh and the owner inside. He ordered a coffee and sat down. The overall atmosphere was calm, perfect for students and researchers to take a breather that isn’t the House of Daena.
From then on, Kaveh was a regular at the cafe. He told other people at the Akademiya about the place. The cafe became the ultimate hangout and study spot. It wasn’t too popular, so there usually was somewhere to sit.
———
A new academic year in the Akademiya meant stress, papers, and more stress. Of all the things Kaveh could choose to pursue, he went with architecture. He’d always liked architecture, but archons, studying to be an architect was nothing like he thought it’d be. If his mother was here with him, then just maybe, he’d have an easier time in the Akademiya.
To escape the chaos and stress of the Akademiya, Kaveh knew just to place to go. The cafe was always welcoming people. It kept the same comforting atmosphere as when he had first discovered it. There was one table he always sat at. It was on the upper level, right by the stairs.
With a cup of coffee on the edge of the table, Kaveh slumped over said table. So far, this was pretty much a typical unwind day.
But one thing weighed heavy on his mind.
Expeditions to the desert with other students took a much higher toll on him than he’d like to admit. The hot sun scorched just about everything in its path and there wasn't any readily available shade to hide in. Sand always got everywhere by the end of the trip. It was in hair, clothes, shoes, and socks. Everyone ended up tired and sunburnt to hell.
So why was Kaveh in charge of planning the next trip out to the desert? The heat was one thing, but surely he'd been there enough times for field research.
This wasn't going to be a day to unwind, not by a long shot. Kaveh had to draft out a plan and hope that when the group actually got to the desert, they'd stick to it. Out of every time he'd gone, only once was the plan followed. Kaveh hated that. He could just not go but then those stinky dumb idiot students might probably never get back to the Sumeru Rainforest.
There was no obligation for him to go, yet he ‘volunteered’ to plan the expedition.
As Kaveh was slumped over the table, someone else emerged from the stairs. He assumed the cafe owner was just checking up on him or seeing if he needed a refill on his coffee.
Kaveh mumbled, “I don’t need more coffee, uncle,” before he even looked at who was there.
He lifted his head from the table. The person at the top of the stairs was not the cafe owner. Kaveh wasn’t sure he recognized this person. But they looked vaguely familiar. They were dressed like a student. Maybe he had seen them in the House of Daena, they did seem like the type to linger there. The person sat down at the table farthest from Kaveh. That’s when he realised that he had been staring at and analyzing this person for way too long to be normal. He dropped his head back to the table, feeling a little embarrassed.
The embarrassment eventually subsided, but it left an impression in Kaveh’s mind.
Now back to that desert thing.
Kaveh pulled out a notebook and a pen. The notebook was a little worn, obvious from how warped the papers were. Rips were taped up, the entire spine was sewn back together more than a baker’s dozen times, and it was still somehow usable. Each page had something on it. Drawings and other doodles decorated the paper. Though Kaveh wouldn’t ever admit it, he improved a lot in architectural designs and blueprints.
From the other side of the room, Alhaitham watched Kaveh. There wasn’t much to do at the cafe other than enjoy a cup of coffee or something monotonous like studying—which Alhaitham could totally do but he didn’t. Usually, Alhaitham sat in the cafe and engrossed himself in a novel, but not this time. He took it upon himself to do a bit of people watching.
By people, it was really just Kaveh. He heard about him in passing and figured it wouldn’t hurt to learn a little more about him.
In Kaveh’s corner, he was messily scribbling words into his notebook. Every now and then, he scratched out a word or two. The plan was pretty solid, some sections of it were accompanied with semi-detailed drawings. It was a sort of back up for the plan, in case anyone else reading it wasn’t fluent in chicken scratch.
Of course, no one but him would read this draft. The official plan would be on a loose sheet of paper and safely kept with the leader of the group. Hopefully it wasn’t Kaveh, so he could just hand over the plan and go home. If he became the leader, then he’d be damned. That desert was not seeing him any time soon. Not tomorrow, not next week, and nevermind next year. The Denro Archon herself would have to drag him out to that sandy hell. Though, he doubted that she would even bother to do that.
Would Lesser Lord Kusanali even know who Kaveh was? He was just a random Akademiya student after all. Or maybe she wanted to know every child of Sumeru.
Whatever. Kaveh just needed to clean up the plan and hand it over. From there, he would either go to the desert or do everything to avoid it.
In his peripheral, Kaveh saw that same person from earlier watching or staring at him.
“Do you need something?” he asked.
Alhaitham shook his head. “No. Just curious about what you’re so focused on.” He got up and moved towards Kaveh’s table, taking it upon himself to sit across from Kaveh. “You seem… Lonely. For a lack of better words,” he remarked.
Kaveh groaned a little. He didn’t mean to now that he had company, but he didn’t really need it. He was fine alone. “Did you really have to come over here? Was your loneliness too much to handle over there?”
Kaveh exhaled. ‘That was a little mean,’ he thought.
“Sorry. I didn’t think I’d sound that mean. Who are you?”
“Alhaitham, student of the Akademiya, if that much wasn’t obvious.” Alhaitham eyed the notebook. He wasn’t very discreet about it, but he wasn’t trying to be.
Kaveh nodded. “I’m Kaveh, also a student of the Akademiya,” he said, while pointing to his clothes.
Alhaitham, he did hear that name before. It was in the House of Daena, he was looking for a book in the shelves. Kaveh overheard a conversation nearby. A few students were bothering the heck out of Alhaitham, asking—begging—him to do something. Kaveh hadn’t a clue in the world what they needed Alhaitham for, but it really wasn’t his problem.
Now, Alhaitham is Kaveh’s problem. They’re at the same table, sat across from each other.
Kaveh came to this cafe to relax and do nothing but drink coffee. Instead, he was making plans and had to actually talk to someone. Both things weren’t the end of the world, but it was the end of his world. At least he had his coffee. The caffeine could do all the heavy lifting—keeping Kaveh at least half alive during the day—until Alhaitham left.
“Plans to the desert?” Alhaithem asked. He pointed to the open notebook.
Kaveh looked at the notebook and nodded. He mumbled, “Yes. They asked me to plan out the entire trip to the desert. I’m going to give them this and leave them to it. There is no way in Teyvat they’ll bring me along this time.”
Before he knew it, Kaveh was slumped over the table. His hand bumped into his coffee cup, spilling some of the coffee onto it.
Alhaitham slid Kaveh’s notebook towards himself. He skimmed through the pages, as if to commit everything to memory. He found two previous drafts of desert plans, both unfinished. Maybe Kaveh started them and then forgot or he just restarted when he felt like it wasn’t going in the right direction.
Alhaitham said, “How many times have you made these plans? It’s in here a couple times.”
Kaveh glanced at Alhaitham. When he realized that his notebook was on the other side of the table, he immediately took it back. “Haven’t you heard of not snooping through people’s stuff? And yes, for the record, I have made these plans before. But it was a while ago,” he said. Kaveh knew that he didn’t actually answer the question, but it wasn’t really his problem.
“I would suggest to just make a good copy now and hand it over to whoever is going.”
Kaveh looked at Alhaitham as if he just suggested to bring an abyssal catastrophe all of Teyvat. He said, “I can’t just do that! Do you know how much effort it takes to make a good plan? There is no way I’m giving them this… this mess. I have another week or so to work on this. It’ll be better by then.”
Alhaitham shrugged and said, “So be it. But don’t come complaining when it’s not perfect.”
Kaveh didn’t have any words to express his slowly emerging rage. Who did this Alhaitham dude think Kaveh is? They barely even knew each other.
Kaveh put his notebook in his bag and stuffed his pen in his pocket. He drank the rest of his coffee before getting up to leave. It wasn’t the most pleasant coffee drinking experience. It had long gone cold and it was more bitter than usual. Kaveh picked up the cup and went to put it where dirty cups belong.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Alhaitham leaving the cafe. Kaveh’s anger completely went away. He realised that he actually liked being around Alhaitham. A fuzzy and warm feeling emerged in Kaveh’s chest. He felt eager for the next time he would see Alhaitham again.
They could bump into each other anywhere. Since they both study at the Akademiya, their next encounter would probably be in the House of Daena. Where exactly would be up to fate to decide.
But for now, Kaveh was left to his thoughts. What was so special about him that someone else went up and actually wanted to talk? Sure, it was a short interaction, but did Alhaitham have a grander motive? Or was he just acting on impulse?
Kaveh wanted to ask these questions the next time he sees Alhaitham.
Though Alhaitham already left, that fuzzy warmth in Kaveh’s chest still hadn’t. Lucky for him, cafe wasn’t particularly full that day. No one got to see him blushing slightly.
Well… the aranara did, but they don’t share secrets with anyone.