Chapter Text
Alhaitham couldn’t figure out why he didn’t always say no when his ‘friends’ asked him to dinner. It always ended this way, and each and every time, he was utterly miserable by the end of the night. The feeling of the hot, musty air enveloping him, the inescapable scent of sweat and alcohol. He just couldn’t figure out how the others found this kind of thing enjoyable in the slightest. To be fair to Tighnari, he doesn’t seem to be having any fun either; he has his hands clasped tightly over his ears, and his face is flushed bright pink, standing out starkly against his dark hair. Alhaitham isn’t sure whether the blush was due to the sweltering humidity, the amount of wine he’d downed, or possibly Cyno dancing half-naked a few feet away.
Cyno’s chest is glistening with sweat, and his hair is tangled in his face. He didn’t think that the general had actually had that much to drink, but however much he’d drank, it seemed to have gone right to his head. Tomorrow, there will undoubtedly be rumors-a-plenty about the General Mahamatra’s drinking habits and public decorum. Not that Cyno would care about any of that noise, he subconsciously tucks himself deeper into the corner of the booth, trying to to hide himself away from any prying eyes with ill intentions. He’d dealt with enough gossiping about himself over the past few months to last a lifetime.
His eyes drift over to the blonde ponytail over by the bar. Kaveh had tied his hair up high tonight, and it looked good, so good that every time he watched it flick back and forth, he had to fight the urge to tug it like he was some feral cat or a toddler with their first crush. Kaveh has been up by the bar for a while now, probably rambling on about something architectural or whining about how intolerable Alhaitham is to live with. If sober Kaveh ever found out about the much he talks about their living arrangement while drunk, he’d probably have an aneurism. At this point, half of Sumeru probably knew about their cohabitation, and the only one still actively trying to keep the secret was Kaveh, although he was doing a piss poor job of that. The architect throws his head back in a nebulous laugh, and the corner of Alhaitham’s mouth twitches upwards a little.
“What are you smiling about?” Tighnari groaned, and Alhaitham quickly schooled his facial expression, trying to look as indifferent as possible.
“No idea what you’re on about.” He took another sip of his wine as Tighnari rolled his eyes in response. He glances back over to the bar, but Kaveh isn’t there anymore. His chest tightens a little but quickly relaxes as he spots Cyno dragging him onto the dance floor, Kaveh’s taller form draped over his back, his head tucked into the general’s neck. A foreign feeling creeps over him as he watches the pair of them begin twisting around each other, their hands tightly grasped together as they share the moment, soft smiles on their faces.
“Right, well, I can’t just sit here and watch this,” Tighnari grumbles, clambering to his feet and marching off before Alhaitham has the time to respond. Cyno sees him coming and is quick to reach out for him to join them. Alhaitham watches as Cyno takes him by the hand and pulls him into his chest. Tighnari’s cheeks darken, and he closes his eyes as Cyno whispers something in his ear that makes him squirm. Kaveh looks completely unbothered, giggling and backing away, unphased by being ousted. The blonde spins around alone for a while, just watching his friends get uncomfortably intimate right in the middle of the tavern. Then he turns his head, and his vermillion eyes lock onto his. Alhaitham freezes, his lips parting but nothing coming out as he watches Kaveh wink at him and yell something indiscernible before turning away and heading back to the bar. Kaveh’s cape swishes behind him as he waves to get Lambad’s attention. So he’s getting another drink then; Alhaitham would probably be able to get a good workout, carrying him home later.
He’s so transfixed on Kaveh that he doesn’t notice the man sliding in next to him until his heavy hand grips his lapel and yanks him aggressively. It takes all his might not to draw his blade instinctively as the crawling feeling of a stranger in his space clouds his thoughts.
“You.” The man’s stale breath hits his face, and Alhaitham squirms away. He tries to push him back and get out of the booth, but the man takes him by surprise and slams him back into the wall. Alhaitham’s head smacks into the wood, and the impact leaves him reeling.
He’s so shocked by the action that he doesn’t have the wherewithal to hold back a gasp as he clamps his eyes shut. His head spins violently, leaving him sluggish and dizzy. The stranger laughs nastily as he leans in close to his face.
“You look better like this.” He snorts, moving his hands from his lapels to his collar and leaning in close.
“Do I know you?” Alhaitham asks slowly, squinting as he tries to place the man in front of him. He vaguely feels something hot dripping down his nose and over his lips. It feels vile, and he desperately wants to reach up and wipe it away, but the man has him firmly pinned, and he’s too woozy to writhe out of his grasp.
“Why would you Acting Grand Sage?” The man says, his voice gravelly, anger seeping into his tone. Alhaitham can’t figure out why someone he doesn’t even know could be so angry at him. Plenty of people don’t like him; he rejects plenty of proposals on a daily basis, but to physically attack him in public over that is just irrational. If this man was a member of the Akademiya, he could be heavily sanctioned or even be kicked over an incident like this.
“I’m not the Sage anymore.” He bites out, instantly regretting opening his mouth as a foul metallic taste assaults his tastebuds. He thrashes desperately to try and unseat the man and grab his drink to wash the blood out of his mouth, but the man must have at least a hundred pounds on him, which really is saying something. Maybe if he hadn’t felt so nauseous, he could have thrown him off, but every move he makes sends him reeling.
“My mistake, then, Scribe.” The man scoffs, smiling down condescendingly. His teeth look too big for his face, and Alhaitham finds himself transfixed on them as the man leans in even closer. His breath is hot against his cheeks, and the putrid scent of his mouth is almost unbearable.
The man’s mocking tone sets Alhaitham’s hair on end, and he fumbles his words as he tries to piece together a response. There’s so much to focus on and process that he can’t even calm down enough to take a steady breath. He tries to glance past the man to see if he can spot one of his friends behind him, but as soon as his eyes drift, the man yanks hard on his collar, jerking his neck to the side. His head pounds with renewed vigor as he clamps his eyes and mouth shut, trying to ride out the waves of pain and nausea.
“God, you’re such a freak. Why would the Dendro Archon choose someone like you, and then you have the audacity to refuse her?” His voice rises like a crescendo, and his anger stabs right into Alhaitham’s chest, making him stiffen. He could usually argue back logically and stand his ground or physically overpower his opponent if it devolved into fighting, but he felt so sick, and everything was too loud. All he can do is keep his eyes pressed shut. The man laughs again, his grasp tightening as he spits at him. “There’s something not right with your head.”
“Please, just get off me.” Alhaitham whimpers, his voice sounding weak even to his own ears. The man laughs, and Alhaitham feels himself growing desperate, praying to Kusanali that someone, anyone, would just get this man off of him.
“The way you look is so deceptive you must trick so many women.” He snarls, his voice getting lower as his eyes darken. One of the man’s hands drags down his chest, broken nails raking over his skin-tight shirt. He has a depraved, disgusted look on his face as he feels around Alhaitham’s stomach. His hand starts to venture even lower as he starts to talk again. “They crawl into your bed, thinking you’re all brooding, but really, you are just a stupid––.”
The man is wrenched away, jarring Alhaitham’s neck again as he’s violently pulled off his collar. Alhaitham sees blonde, and then a familiar pair of rage-filled red eyes meet his, only now they look much more frenzied than he’d ever seen them before. Kaveh looks alight with righteous fury as he violently throws the man to the ground and doesn’t hesitate for a second before nailing him right between the legs with a kick hard enough to crack stone.
It’s then that Tighnari dodges past them both, showing shocking dexterity for someone who’d drank a lot earlier in the evening as he slides into the booth. Slowing down as he gets close to Alhaitham, he raises his hands in a placating gesture.
“Are you alright?” The forest watcher asks softly, his demeanor managing to stay calm even amidst the chaos. Alhaitham nods, and Tighnari sighs as he tries to get a closer look at his forehead without touching him. Tighnari’s face scrunches a little, and he turns back to get his bearings. “We need to get you out of here so I can get that looked at properly.”
Alhaitham shakes his head before murmuring, “Kaveh,” his gaze drifts back to the blonde, who is just screaming now at the man curled up on the floor.
“Don’t worry about Kaveh. Cyno’s got his back.” Tighnari reassures gently, but Alhaitham shakes his head.
“Not leaving without Kaveh.”
Tighnari groans, and Alhaitham feels slightly guilty for being a bad patient, but he can’t leave without Kaveh. If he goes, nobody will be there to make sure he gets home safe and doesn’t pass out in a padisarah patch or worse. Tighnari pulls away from him and gets to his feet.
“You two need to get your shit sorted already. Sit tight for a second, and try to keep your head still.” He hops out of the booth and strides over. “Kaveh!” He yells, grabbing the end of his cape and tugging him close to say something Alhaitham can’t hear. Kaveh looks over to him quickly and looks torn as his eyes dart back to the man on the floor. Cyno pushes them both away and gestures over to the door. Tighnari is quick to drag Kaveh away back over to where Alhaitham is sitting. “Cyno’s got it from here. Kaveh, you need to sober up and help me get Alhaitham out of here.”
“Fine,” Kaveh growls, glaring at the people who had slowly started to swarm the table, making them back off as he marched past them. His eyes soften a bit as he sees Alhaitham, and he reaches out with a smile. “Let’s go.”
Alhaitham feels sluggish as he takes Kaveh’s hand and lets him pull him to his feet. He stumbles and crashes into Kaveh’s bony shoulder, subconsciously burying his face in his neck as everything seems to get louder before going completely silent. Everything goes by in a blur as he vaguely registers being half-dragged, half-carried out of Lambad’s into the cool night air outside. Someone pulls him into a seat and reaches out to caress his cheek, and suddenly, the world is filled with noise once more.
“Alhaitham,” Kaveh says softly, and he opens his eyes slowly, blinking at the brightness of the street lamps overhead. Kaveh smiles at him again, and Alhaitham realizes that he still has a hand on his cheek, belatedly realizing that Kaveh had his fingers on the on-off switch of his noise-canceling earpieces. Alhaitham pulls back as Kaveh nudges him, getting close and looking pointedly at his hairline.
“The cut looks surface level. You should be able to clean and dress it at home,” Tighnari whispers, half to himself, as he tries to focus and cut through the din that the liquor had left in his system. “You’ve probably got a concussion, but Bimarstan probably won’t do anything other than put an icepack on it and send you home with over-the-counter pain relief. You have been drinking, though, but not enough to warrant any extra precautions, I’d wager.”
“I-I don’t feel as bad now. I think the noise was making everything worse.” Alhaitham cuts in, his voice quiet as he looks between Kaveh and Tighnari, shifting back a bit as he realizes how close they’d gotten.
“How did that guy even get one up on you?” Tighnari asks, his brow creasing a bit as Alhaitham pointedly looks away.
“I was distracted. I didn’t expect him to actually physically attack me, and after that, I was too dazed to shove him off.”
Kaveh sighs and then reaches out to take his hand, tugging him to his feet. He holds him steady as he gives him another once over before turning away to Tighnari.
“We should get going. I want to get home before the Mahamatra drags that ugly bastard out here. If I see him, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from kicking him again.” Kaveh says bitterly as he pulls Alhaitham’s arm over his shoulder. “We’ll see you later.” He nods to Tighnari, who gives them both a look like he isn’t sure letting them both head off on their own is the wisest idea.
“Be safe, both of you. I’ll get Cyno to check in on you tomorrow.” He sighs and turns to walk back into Lambad’s before he can think better of it. “Don’t start fighting or throw up on the way back!”
“Archon’s he’s such a nag these days. Parenting has really taken a toll on him.” Kaveh mutters as he starts to stumble forward. He lets Alhaitham lean on him as they walk back to the house, and the Scribe surprises himself by finding it to be a nice change of pace. They walk back through the sparse crowds of people, and whenever anyone begins to stare, Kaveh levels them with a look that makes them quickly avert their eyes. The walk to their house goes by quickly, and Kaveh doesn’t say anything until they reach the front door and he starts rooting around for his keys to no avail.
“Alhaitham.” He scolds softly, looking up at him, not showing any of the usual annoyance that typically accompanies situations like this. Alhaitham reaches back into his pocket, his fingers quickly closing around the tell-tale lion keychain. He pulls it out and hands the key over to Kaveh without a word.
“You’re the worst.” Kaveh chuckles as he opens the door, and the pair of them trip in over the threshold, barely managing to stay on their feet. As soon as Alhaitham sees his couch, he manages to pull away from Kaveh and fumbles his way over to crash down into its plush, luxurious surface. Kaveh is right behind him, flopping haphazardly over his legs with a groan. “I’m going to be so hungover tomorrow.”
“Hmm,” Alhaitham sighs in response, too exhausted to listen any longer.
“You’ve got to wash your face,” Kaveh whines, shaking Alhaitham’s knee like a bratty child. Alhaitham kicks weakly at his side in a botched attempt to knock him off the sofa, and Kaveh limply smacks his leg in response. “You’re covered in blood, and you need an ice pack and whatever else Tighnari was on about.”
“I know.” He mutters back, his voice low as exhaustion starts to blur his senses.
“Then get up already.” Kaveh huffs, glaring pointedly at the back of Alhaitham’s head.
“In a minute.”
Alhaitham’s breathing deepens, and Kaveh feels his muscles relax under him as he buries his head deeper into the couch cushions. The blonde rolls his eyes dramatically as he pushes himself up to his feet with a groan and walks off towards the kitchen.
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As he teeters on the brink of sleep, Alhaitham feels someone gently lift his head into their lap and tentatively begin wiping his forehead with a cold towel while they brush the hair out of his face. It’s the most tender thing anyone has done for him in years. The hands pause for a moment, and then soft lips are pressing into his cheek, accompanied by the familiar smell of wine and cardamom.
Kaveh.
Alhaitham pushes into his touch, and Kaveh's soothing hands slowly lull him into a dreamless sleep.
It’s a selfish thought, but he hopes that in the morning, they won’t pretend none of this happened. He hopes that when he wakes up, Kaveh will still have his fingers tangled in his hair. That would be nice.