Chapter Text
Jamil is Jamil. That's just a fact Kalim knows like he knows the sky is blue, coconut juice is refreshing or which poison tastes the worst. Jamil is Jamil and it never came to his mind to call him something different.
Yet now, he's peeking at the inside of the 2-C classroom, his eyes darting between the small crowd near his friend and Jamil himself. He's at the edge of it, looking at something on his phone while others talk, but he raises his gaze from his screen once in a while to laugh or say something that doesn't reach Kalim's ears. It's a normal sight in a school – Kalim thinks so at least, though he doesn't have much experience with this – even if it's not a scene he'd expected to see Jamil in.
In front of him, Jamil doesn't open his mouth wide to laugh at small jokes; instead, he rolls his eyes, tells him to stop being stupid or just ignores him. Perhaps it's a given when it seems he feels forced to listen to Kalim talk. Kalim is torn between wanting to stay there for a little longer to see more of this Jamil he doesn't know and is fascinated by, or turning away so he doesn't have to watch him anymore. Jamil is Jamil, someone he's known all his life, but the only time he's seen Jamil make this face was a long time ago, when they were too young to know how to appropriately behave.
Of course, he chooses to keep looking at Jamil, as discreetly as possible, unaware of the students passing by him in the hallway and wondering why the dorm leader of Scarabia is spying on their classmates. There's still this strange feeling stinging his heart, like he's been left behind by his friend, but the pain is dulled by the satisfaction brought about by knowing Jamil is enjoying himself. Even if Kalim is here, he still can live his student life to the fullest – that's a great thing, Kalim thinks. If he tries harder, stops relying too much on Jamil and moves forward, maybe he too can be admitted into this little circle of friends.
He doesn't hear what they're saying really, but a few words reach his ears. Most don't stay there, immediately vanishing in the warm afternoon air as soon as he understands them, but one stands out.
Viper.
Kalim tilts his head to the left. Calling Jamil by his last name? That's unusual. A few students do this, but most people who know him settle on his first name pretty quickly. But when he glances at Jamil, he doesn't seem displeased by that. Does he like it then? Closing his eyes to remember if Jamil has ever said anything about being against getting called “Viper”, Kalim grimaces – the only thing that comes to his mind is him getting scolded for saying Jamil's name too much. Then, shall Kalim use his last name instead?
Silently, he mouths off the familiar name he associates more with Jamil's parents than with his friend himself. He rolls it on his tongue, trying to see if it sounds right, but he comes to a stop after only a minute of this. Of course, he knows Jamil is really Jamil Viper, but he can't get used to saying it. It's surely something that comes with practice, he decides, just as Jamil steps out of the classroom, a frown etched on his face.
“You could have said you were here,” he complains as he walks away without waiting for Kalim.
“I didn't want to interrupt when you were having fun! How did you know I was here?”
“I saw you.”
“I hid myself!”
“That was obvious.”
“I should have expected that from you, Ja–”
Kalim bites his tongue before he can call out his friend's name and he does it so abruptly he actually hurts himself. With tears in his eyes, he crouches in the hallway.
That was close!
He remembered almost too late that he was supposed to try saying Jamil's last name instead. Rubbing his eyes, he stands up, almost knocking out Jamil as he does so – his friend, who had apparently come over to see what was happening, dodges this easily. Jamil brings his hands to Kalim's face, cupping his cheeks and leaning in so he look at him better, wiping away the tears welling at the corner of his eyes with his thumbs.
“What were you trying to do? No, wait. I don't want to know. Are you alright at least?"
“I'm fine! Thank you,” Kalim says before adding a very enthusiastic, “Viper!”
There's a beat of silence during which Jamil's eyes open wide before he presses his lips into a thin line, eyebrows furrowed and a storm brewing in his onyx eyes. If the Jamil from a few moments before was a complete stranger, this Jamil is one he knows well and that expression of his has almost always been directed toward Kalim.
Ah, I messed up again.
“Don't call me that.”
His hands keep Kalim's face in place as Jamil stares at him straight in the eye, not hiding his displeasure.
“Sorry.”
Jamil only releases him after the apology and, with a sigh, he turns away, his long hair swaying in the wind. He stays silent as Kalim gets closer so they can walk side to side, still looking annoyed.
“Hey, why can't I call you that?”
His voice laced with annoyance and something else Kalim can’t place, Jamil replies. “Want me to call you 'Asim'?”
Kalim's pace falters. It's his name. All the teachers call him that and some students do too. There's nothing wrong with it – he's proud of his family, of its history, of his father, of his siblings – and it's part of himself… But hearing it come out of Jamil's mouth sounds wrong. When Jamil says it, with that cold intonation of his, it's as if his name were a barrier between his friend and himself. He's no longer Kalim who's also the leader of Scarabia, he's the Al-Asim heir and Jamil his servant. The distance that already exists between them and that Kalim tries to lessen a little each day grows until Jamil becomes unreachable.
Kalim shakes his head, trying to chase these thoughts away, but they creep in the back of his head as he smiles at his friend. “No! I like you calling me 'Kalim' better!”
Jamil, who's been watching him intently to hear his answer, doesn't sigh. That's unusual. Any other time, he'd let out a big sigh and tell Kalim to think before saying something. Yet now he stays silent, eyes fixed on Kalim. Is there something on his face? For a second, Kalim thinks about asking Jamil about it when, finally, his friend opens his mouth.
“You're just Kalim to me.”
In truth, it almost sounds dismissive. Jamil doesn't even look like he's taking his words seriously, more like he's only throwing them out to see Kalim's reaction. But warmth blooms deep in Kalim's chest and he lets out a small laugh. His body is lighter all of a sudden.
"You're only Jamil to me too! Nothing else!”
“Don't say it like that,” Jamil groans, but his lips curve up ever so slightly.
Right. Jamil is Jamil, not just any member of the Viper family born to serve Kalim. He's stubborn, a little mean, and he likes to mock Kalim a little too much, but Kalim loves him all the same. And perhaps that’s why calling him by any other name feels so out of place.
“Jamil!”
“What?”
“Nothing! I just wanted to say your name.”
“Kalim, just because I said… Forget it. You’re only allowed to call me that, understood?”
“Got it, Jamil!”
“Shut up, Kalim.”