𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙁𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 | 𝘈𝘭𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘮

03

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A/N: I'm avoiding homework right now, so I edited another chapter! Enjoy!

-daizie

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Alhaitham sat in his office, rereading documents. If anyone were to barge into the Scribe's office, he'd seem like he was very busy. A contrast to his racing mind, that was currently looking for a distraction. With a sigh, the man puts down the document.

It was your research paper, the one your parents started and you finished. He remembered the day you presented it to the sages. How could he forget? He was in the room, watching you nervously present your and your parents' findings. During that presentation, he no longer saw you as his Haravatat junior. In his verdant eyes, you were a bright scholar who overcame a hard loss in the pursuit of knowledge.

The silver-haired man abruptly left his office and took a walk around the library. Mentally, he's beating himself up for giving into his impulsive behavior. He's never like this, so why this sudden change? As he meandered through the library, something, someone rather, caught his eye. A soft 'wow' escaped his lips.

There you were in the library, reaching for a book from a nearby shelf, donning your Akademiya robes. The dark green robes fell just below your knees with white accents and gold detailing. Around your waist was a matching golden, braided belt from which your Anemo Vision hung. The Haravatat Darshan emblem was present on your cap. The Scribe tried to tattoo this image of you into his brain.

"You still have your robes?" he asks, alerting you of his presence.

"Of course I do, Scribe Alhaitham." The man clenched his jaw when he heard you use his title.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, Scribe Alhaitham," you say, turning to the man, clutching a book. "My mom was supposed to have a book published before she died, but it wasn't until after I left Mondstadt. I wanted to read it."

"Don't you have a copy at your house?" the silver-haired male questioned.

"I do," you reply. "But I enjoy the atmosphere here. The library in Mondstadt could never match the Akademiya's." He hums in response. You were turned to walk away, but before you could, Alhaitham's voice stopped you.

"I wasn't done talking with you, Y/N."

You turn around to face your senior. "What else would you like to say?"

"I would like to talk to you in my office," he says sternly.

"No thank you."

Alhaitham crosses his arms. "It wasn't a question."

With that, he turned on his heels and went to his office. Begrudgingly, you followed behind him. He held the door to his office open for you and closed it behind him. Alhaitham noticed your discomfort immediately, and gestured towards a chair. Not knowing what else to do, you sat down. He followed, but on the other side of the desk.

Every urge in your body wanted you to scream at the silver-haired man in front of you then leave his office, but your rational side knew you couldn't do that. After all, he was your senior and despite not being on the best terms, you knew you had to be civil with him.

"What would you like to talk about?" you ask, breaking the silence.

"Firstly, I wanted to apologize for my actions last night. I wasn't aware that you were back in Sumeru, let alone visiting my house," he says. Your (E/C) orbs look at his viridescent eyes, looking for a sign of insincerity, after finding none, you give him a small smile.

"No need to apologize. Kaveh mentioned he had a mean roommate and I wanted to meet him myself. It was rather rude of me to insist that he bring me to your house," you sigh.

"Tch, and you believed him?"

You rolled your eyes at Alhaitham. "I just wanted to see for myself. You of all people should know that Kaveh can be a bit dramatic at times," you laugh, eliciting a chuckle from the man across from you.

"How long are you going to be in Sumeru?" he asks, changing the topic.

"Two weeks."

"That's it?" he questioned. You nod in response.

"Believe me, I'd stay longer if I could, but I have duties in Mondstadt."

Your gray-haired companion crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. He rests his left foot atop his right knee. "What do you mean by 'duties in Mondstadt'?" he asked, curiosity piqued.

"Tell you what, why don't we meet up after your work hours and we can catch up, Scribe," you propose, emphasizing his title. "After all, you are technically still working right now." The man nods his head.

"Alright, but where do I meet you?"

"Did I not make it clear that I wanted to read at the library today?" you ask in a teasing tone. You get up from the chair. "I'll be here." Before he could respond, you left his office.

'Stupid! Why did I do that?' you think to yourself as you walk away. You really had nowhere to take Alhaitham, except your parents' house. You sat down at the nearest chair and tried to calm your storm of thoughts through reading.

Since you were both Haravatat scholars, you and Alhaitham would often challenge each other's points of view. Your arguments with him would often escalate quickly, but in some of his final years as a scholar, you two were forced to work on several research projects together. Because of this, you two put aside your disputes for the sake of the research, allowing tolerance, and the saplings of friendship, to grow between you two.

In his final year at the Akademiya, you expressed excitement about his graduation and how you planned to graduate a year earlier than expected. Alhaitham did nothing but encourage you with your goal. As his friend, you attended his graduation, cheering him on for his accomplishments. The last thing you expected was for Alhaitham to join the Akademiya's faculty as the Scribe immediately after graduation.

Initially, you were elated for him because he seemed satisfied with his position and newfound power. You were praying to the Archons that since your friend was the Scribe, he'd help you get your research projects approved, which would be a big advantage in what was to be your last year at the Akademiya. Alhaitham, though, had other plans.

Each research project and proposal you sent to the sages were immediately rejected by Alhaitham. When you asked for an explanation, he would not give one. Because of this, you couldn't graduate early. You repeated your final year at the Akademiya, hoping to spite the Scribe as much as you could.

When your parents died months before your graduation, your world imploded. The two people you looked up to and cared for the most were ripped away from you.

A part of you blamed yourself for what happened. If you had graduated a year earlier, like you planned, then maybe you could have gone on that research expedition with them and somehow prevented the incident. Another part of you wondered if their fate would also be yours, considering how badly you wanted to follow in their footsteps. The only way to stray from that path was to leave the Akademiya. So, that's exactly what you did.

A month after graduating, you left Sumeru. You left your home for the nation of freedom, Mondstadt, in search of just that – freedom. The freedom and thrill of not knowing what will happen tomorrow, freedom from the pressure you faced from the Akademiya, and freedom to choose what happens next.

You sigh, breaking yourself from your thoughts. 'I have to share my last bottle of Diluc's wine with him, don't I?'