A Tinker's Job

Chapter 5

cyno narrowed his eyes, "then i guess i'm not leaving."

"cyno, you're missing your chance," al haitham said sharply. "if you don't leave now-"

"people have probably already saw us coming inside together. it'd make no difference."

"cyno."

"al haitham, you need to stop keeping secrets," cyno said sternly. "if you don't keep communication open with me, then you're only weaving distrust."

"it's a personal matter," al haitham corrected him.

cyno narrowed his eyes, wary of the scribe before he looked at you. "{name}, if he does anything-"

"i won't do anything," al haitham defended himself.

"-you know where to find me," cyno finished, as if al haitham never interrupted. "i'll be off now. i'll come back tomorrow. there's something i need."

you nodded, flashing him a smile. "have a safe trip back and a good rest."

he tilted his headwear down, then he opened the backdoor and was gone. you could swear you saw him glare at al haitham before you left, making you look at him to see he was wearing an unbothered expression.

"{name}, i do have a question for you."

"what is it?"

"do you truly enjoy the work that you do for the akademia?"

you looked at your robot that was staring at you from the table, tilting its head in confusion. after giving it a small pat – and it scurried away to rest on your couch and tinker with some gears you gave it – you looked at the scribe. "it's what i'm good at, and if i wouldn't be accepted anywhere else if i were to try and pursue it outside of the akademia."

"if it were accepted all throughout sumeru, would you be in the akademia?"

"i can't exactly answer that. in a way, my life wouldn't be the way it was without azar's help."

"last time i checked, you got an internship in fontaine from your own efforts."

"that's true," you said with a small smile, remembering the thrill and excitement when you got a letter from fontaine's engineers stating that they were impressed with the developments of the akasha that you had done for the akademia. "those were good times."

you turned to the table, grabbed the akasha terminal that al haitham gave you and began to take it apart with some tools you grabbed from your bag. said male walked around the side, sitting in front of where you were tinkering, watching your nimble hands take apart the terminal with ease.

"so, what made you turn your back on the akademia that gave you so much?"

"i have a deep respect for lesser lord kusanali," you said. "she hasn't been given a chance to even celebrate her birthday openly, let alone rule sumeru. it's her own right to do so, not the sages."

"if we let her free and she says no to engineering, would you change your mind?"

"i wouldn't," you said, a determined look on your face. "and besides, who says that she won't need any help? i'd be glad to be of service to her rather than azar."

"you say his name with such detestment," al haitham laughed.

"i could say the same for you scribe."

"i'm glad you decided to help us," he said gratefully to you. "you mean a lot to me."

"how so," you asked.

"i wouldn't have the chance to save our god if it weren't for you."

"then i'm glad you feel that way," you said.

"actually, do you mind if i stay over today?"

"stay overnight? why," you asked, then remembered. "is kaveh back from his trip?"

"no he's not," al haitham yawned and stretched, muscles under his shirt straining against the fabric. "i'm just too tired to sneak back home. and maybe he is home."

you laughed, "alright. do you want me to make you anything?"

"i'll be fine, i just need some rest."

"you already know where the guest room is," you pointed with your head, gesturing to the hallway that led to where the rooms were.

"i'll wait for you to go to sleep first," he pulled out a book.

"what? why? and how do you manage to have physical books on you at all times?"

"i have my ways," he smirked, beginning to open the page. "but, i want to make sure you get some sleep. sometimes your tinkering self gets too engrossed in your work and you don't sleep."

"you caught me," you laughed. "don't worry, i'll go to sleep in a bit. just have to finish it."

as you worked on the akasha terminal modifications, al haitham read his book but looked up once in a while. he subconsciously traced your face, starting from how your eyelashes looked so long as you stared down at the terminal, following the curve of your nose down to your lips. then, as if to break him out of his spell, he broke his trance and looked down at his book, searching for where he left off. a small annoyance-laced groan left his lips as he restarted the page.

"you okay," you asked him.

"i'm okay," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose and his eyes squeezed tightly. "i just lost my place, that's all."

"relatable."

you both focused on your own duties in silence for another hour, however al haitham just couldn't stop staring at you. it was annoying him, making him question why he was losing focus on a book. kaveh wasn't anywhere in sight to annoy him, so why couldn't he read? he slammed the book, standing up and walking to the guest bedroom. "i'll be off now, good night."

"night," you said after him. "jeez, who put a stick up his butt?"

you saw your robot powering off for the night on the couch, beginning to sleep soundly. after a long sigh, you looked down and powered on the akasha terminal. it was disconnected from the system, armed with a new addition that could sense large concentrations of dendro energy. you placed a ball of dendro energy that tighnari had given you, activating it before putting on the akasha terminal to check. it worked perfectly, making you sigh happily.

"i knew it'd work," you cheered. "time to head to bed."

you looked at {robot name}, walking over and taking it up in your arms, carrying it to your bedroom. "man you've gotten heavy, maybe i should replace some gears," you muttered aloud.

al haitham didn't sleep, in fact he had his hand on the door, breathing heavily due to the fact that he almost got caught spying on you. his other hand was wrapped around his mouth, trying to muffle the breaths he took, heart pounding so fast from the adrenaline and the thrill. he was confused, why was he spying on you? why was he afraid to get caught? and why did he smile when he saw you celebrate?

the next morning, you walked to the laboratory with your handbag, expecting to be greeted with scaramouche's insatiable complaints about how he needed more power. instead, you were greeted with him leaning on the table yet again.

"good morning my lord," you greeted scaramouche. "can i help you?"

"i thought about what you said last night."

"about what?"

"how the akademia could potentially be using me," he side-eyed you warily. "do you... do you know something that i don't about them?"