Book of One-Sh!ts

[Alhaitham x Kaveh] Two Types of Genius

It was raining the day he got kicked out; told to get a 'real job' and pursue 'true knowledge.' The tree he had been sitting under had long since decided to stop shielding him from the rain. A bit like his mother, in a sense, who promised always to believe in and support him. But, now he had to 'grow up' and 'face reality.' 

Kaveh closed his eyes and let the rain fall. With nowhere to go and no people to commission him... he was stuck living on the streets without a steady income. "That degree isn't even useful as an umbrella..." he muttered, letting his tears wash away with the rain. 

"Kaveh," a familiar voice and a sudden sensation of droplets lost. Kaveh opened his eyes. He didn't have the energy to cringe at who was speaking. "It's raining." 

"Mm...yes, it's raining," Kaveh replied. Alhaitham's eyes wandered over him, putting the pieces together. He had a small bag containing everything he owned and his clothes looked well worn. He hadn't been able to buy new ones, wash the ones he was wearing, or even wash himself. The lack of rebuttal was especially strange. No roll of the eyes or witty comeback to Alhaitham's statement of the obvious weather conditions. 

"I like peace and quiet," Alhaitham stated. 

Kaveh blinked, droplets of water still stuck to his eyelashes fell down his face like tears. 

"Things must also be where they are supposed to be. I have a system," Alhaitham continued. 

Kaveh's eyebrows furrowed, confused. 

Alhaitham stood up and turned around. "I'm but a feeble scholar so do get a job. I lack in the funds to support two people," he started walking. 

"What are you saying, Alhaitham?" Kaveh didn't move. 

"I'm not going to pick you up off the ground," Alhaitham replied. "Use your own legs to walk. But, if you'll be needing a place to stay, I have a spare room." 

"Are you being serious right now?" Kaveh hugged his bag. Alhaitham didn't reply, as if to say, 'when have I ever been anything but serious?'

...

"Thanks for, uhm, letting me stay here," Kaveh stood in the doorway, dripping water all over the floor. He didn't want to take another step forward. Alhaitham remained silent and left, returning with a towel and throwing it over Kaveh's head. 

"This is temporary," Alhaitham reminded.

"Right, yeah, I'll find work..." Kaveh nodded, head still buried in the towel. He fell to his knees, curling up into a ball still hugging his bag tightly. "I made a mistake. I should've done what they said, shouldn't I? It was stupid to try and dream in Sumeru," his voice cracked, "everyone knows the people of Sumeru don't dream..." 

Alhaitham left, leaving Kaveh alone as if to confirm his doubts. He sobbed, still hugging his bag. Footsteps returned, which confused him, and his tears stopped from the brief shock. Alhaitham rubbed Kaveh's face with the towel still hanging off of his head. He threw it back, in a bridal veil motion, and held up a piece of paper. 

"What is that?" Kaveh sniffled. 

"Can't you tell?" Alhaitham gestured to it. 

"...no?" 

"It's a house," Alhaitham pointed, as if it were obvious. 

"What?" Kaveh stared. "That's a square with a triangle on top." 

"It's a house," Alhaitham repeated. 

Kaveh dug through his bag to get a pen. He snatched the piece of paper and put it on the ground. "If you're going to draw a house, couldn't you at least put in a few more squares and rectangles? A chimney, window, door, something more identifiable?" 

"There are two types of genius, Kaveh" Alhaitham reached out and pet Kaveh's head one time. His hand rested on his golden hair awkwardly, not doing anything else. "Those who play with numbers and those who play with craft. What you do manages to combine two very different and complex fields of art and math." 

Kaveh paused, looking up at Alhaitham. "Are you trying to comfort me right now?" 

Alhaitham pulled his hand back and crossed his arms. He nodded his head toward the paper. "It's plain as day that you are still very passionate about what you do so it's a bit early to say whether or not school was a mistake." He turned and walked away, opening the door to his room and closing it behind him. 

Kaveh stared at the stupid house drawing. Droplets of water had already messed up the paper. He smoothed out the drawing, trying to dry it off. His eyes watering again. 

"I didn't think the one person who still believed in me was going to be the one that I thought hated me the most." 

...

Kaveh had knocked on the outside of Alhaitham's room for quite a while now. He felt bad opening it but knew the likely situation was that he was playing some sort of music, or canceling out noise, so he opened the door. Surprised to see a huge selection of bunched up paper thrown every which way on the floor. He saw Alhaitham grumbling to himself, ripping off another piece from his notebook, and tossing it behind him. He bit his thumbnail, eyebrows furrowing together. 

Kaveh quietly walked over, glancing over his shoulder to see what he was doing. A very complicated math problem, it seemed. He lightly tapped on Alhaitham's shoulder to get his attention. He jumped, spinning around in his chair. 

"Do you need something?" He pretended as if he hadn't gotten startled. 

"Are you having fun?" Kaveh smiled. 

"What?" 

"Well, aren't you the type of genius that plays with numbers?" Kaveh snickered. The crease between Alhaitham's brows got bigger. Kaveh poked it. "I wanted to let you know that I'll be out of your hair soon. I've got a couple of jobs lined up and if I save my money right, I'll get into a new place just fine." 

"Oh," Alhaitham nodded, understanding. 

"But, before I leave, there is something I'd like to tell you, is that alright?" 

Alhaitham nodded again in a gesture of 'go ahead.'  

Kaveh grabbed the sides of Alhaitham's face and brought his lips to his. He smiled again, waving and walked out of the room. Alhaitham blinked, confused, and went back to his puzzle. A few moments passed and his brain caught up with his body. He twirled around and stood up, but as to whether or not he chased Kaveh down and told him to stay... or whether or not he tossed aside the notion and their paths never crossed again... that's up for you to decide.