Alhaitham X Kaveh - Love and Logic

1. Tears Of Lions

Alhaitham, The Scribe, contemplated the possibility that his lightweight roommate might have lost his way. The sky was clear that night as he read one of the journals he inherited from his mother. Some of the notes contained tacky motivational quotes, which were intended to give him hope and a sense of support, but in all of those years, he showed more interest in her research, knowing he could gain much more from it. He was just about finished when something crashed against the front door. The loud noise was followed by a few curses and mumbling, confirming his previous conclusion as well as letting him know how many people he could expect to barge into his house. He carefully put away the journal and walked to the front door, but instead of opening it, he leaned against the wall and waited for the "great architects" next move.

"Can you, PLEASE, tell me where your keys are?" Cyno grumbled as Kaveh started giggling to himself. Cyno swore he would never buy him another drink as he heard the footsteps behind the door of Alhaitham's house. He thought about dumping the man and letting his roommate deal with it, but knowing the Scribe a bit better now, he would just leave him passed out outside. As he was planning to kick the door down, Kaveh finally stopped giggling and moved away from the general, leaning against the front door. "It's a lion", he smiled, looking up at the starry sky. Cyno stared at him, knowing the lion constellation could not be seen that night, he stayed silent. Kaveh was impossible to talk to when he was drunk, and right now he was beyond wasted. Understanding his silence as doubt, the drunk man smiled and added: "The key, there is a lion keychain." Cyno silently nodded as he was lost in how that was funny or helpful in the current situation. He raised his hand, but before he could knock, Kaveh stopped him, his eyes pleading him to ...what?
The young architect smiled again, trying to keep his balance as he proceeded to explain: "He made a key, especially for me. Well, not made he he... He got it made. For the keychain. But he keeps taking it for some reason." His voice then got quieter as he whispered something in what he thought was the general's ear, before leaning back on the door and closing his eyes. Cyno stood there, with a confused expression on his face, trying to comprehend what Kaveh just told him, but before he could say anything, the doors opened and Kaveh fell in front of Alhaitham's feet, making him curse from the pain in his head. Cyno smiled. Maybe he will learn not to drink so much. He nodded goodbye to the scribe before leaving for home, promising himself to make Tighnari the drunksitter next time the young architect decides to empty the bar.

Alhaitham nudged Kaveh to get up before he would pass out, but the blonde man just grabbed his foot and tried to cuddle with it.
"Haitham, you're sooo funny... and green... he he, dendro boy.."
The scribe just stared as Kaveh kept chuckling to himself and tightening his grip. As he tried to free his foot, Kaveh suddenly rose, yelling: "Lions CAN'T DRINK " Alhaitham's patience was gone as he lifted Kaveh and threw him over his shoulder. Luckily he was light, lighter than Alhaitham recalled from the last time he had to carry his drunk ass to bed. He kicked the door open and entered the dark room. Kaveh kept the room clean and orderly but what caught Alhaithams attention, were the sketches of what looked like him, scattered across the floor and bed. He laid the blonde man on his bed, intending to leave as fast as he could when he felt a tug on his hand. He turned to face Kaveh's hazy eyes, begging for him to stay. After a few moments of silence, he whispered: "Please, I can't tonight." His voice broke as tears started to fall from his cheeks. Alhaitham felt lost. He knew there was no way for him to help his roommate and yet he was being asked to stay. "I can't..." he started to speak when Kaveh let go of him and chuckled. "Right, no one can. I am sorry we are not all as rational as you, oh the great Scribe. Some of us dare have emotions and feel them." Alhaitham knew what caused the sudden hostility, but at that point, he had no more patience for this man. He turned around and left for his room, angry that he even bothered to stay up to let him in.

Kaveh woke up feeling like his head was about to crack open. The sun, illuminating his room, felt like little daggers in his eyes and he groaned as he finally got out of bed. He knew that he exaggerated the night before, drinking most of his pay cheque away, but when he tried to remember how he got home, his mind was blank. He took off his clothes and threw them in the basket, too hungover to actually wash them. Luckily he planned to spend the next two days inside, working on some commissions and cleaning his temporary home. On the dresser he saw a golden glimmer, wondering if he managed to take off his earrings before falling in bed. As he approached it he realised it was the lion keychain and a fragment of the previous night hit him.
Alhaitham carried him to bed. Kaveh hid his face in his hands, hoping to stop the memories from flooding back. He has to stop drinking. That probably won't happen though. He has to start drinking less. Fortunately, his roommate was still at work, saving him the shame of confrontation. He put on some loose black pants he was used to wearing at home and grabbed the laundry basket on his out. The house was quiet, although Alhaitham would never make any noise. Kaveh scoffed. But if I sneeze, the world will collapse and he might lose his time to brood. Leaving the basket on the coffee table, he WALKED to the kitchen, cursing himself, alcohol, and the consequential headache. He really needs to start drinking less or at least stop losing his keys.

Alhaitham had just about enough of his position as the Acting Grand Sage. The two scholars in front of him were the perfect example of why he would never want to keep the position.
"I have every right to demand a punishment and compensation for the pain and suffering I had to endure while working on YOUR PROJECT "
"Pain and suffering? You blew up months of hard work and research due to your incompetence."
Alhaitham could not care less about the argument. While the first scholar was in fact incompetent, the second one proved to disregard the safety of his researchers on a daily basis. In the name of progress. He smirked. If he hadn't been away, a project like this would have been rejected and the imbeciles in front of him thrown out. Luckily for them, he was away long enough for them to slip through the many cracks Akademiya had before the fall of the previous Grand Sage. He sighed, tired before he even began to deal with the problem.
"Acting Grand Master, please, you have to do something."
"As far as I can tell, none of you have the proof of the other's incompetence or negligence. I on the other hand have. Now, which one of you would like to go first? "
The researcher's and the student's faces grew pale after hearing his words. Alhaitham sighed. The sound of the moving elevator announced the new arrivals. He watched as the matra arrested the scholars, their accusations being recited by the general himself. As his subordinates took away the accused, the general waited for the elevator to descend before turning to face him. Alhaitham rose an eyebrow.
"Do you need any more assistance, general?"
Cyno smiled before sitting, maybe lying down is more appropriate on one of the two available chairs.
"How is Kaveh?"
Alhaitham rolled his eyes at the mention of his roommate. When he wasn't drunk, he was what the scribe could only describe as a brat. Not one day has passed since he moved in that they didn't argue. He was used to the peace that he used to share with his grandmother. She would have adored the architect though. The woman had a soft spot for emotionally fragile people, which she described as spirited.
"... drunk last night. I wonder if he will be able to join us tonight."
He looked up at the general and groaned. TCG night of course. They met once a week to play and socialise, the latter annoying him more. Kaveh would always get drunk and he had to carry him home while listening to all the injustices that happened to him that day.
"...my new deck. Been waiting all week for this."
Cyno seemed pleased with himself. As the general, he was professional and intimidating, but for the people that knew him as a friend, he was quite the opposite. He stood up and started walking towards the elevator. Before it started to descend again he turned around and said: "See you tonight. I CARD wait."
And he was gone. Alhaitham let his head fall on the table. How does he keep finding the worst jokes in all Teyvat?"

His roommate was sleeping on the couch when Alhaitham returned from work. He needs to put in his resignation, this job required too much socialisation for his taste. The house was clean, the trash was taken out and dinner was waiting for him. The one thing he had to admit, Kaveh was a much better cook than him. They could be using the same recipe, yet the blonde man's dishes always contained that extra ingredient that made them delicious. He let his roommate sleep as he ate his meal, planning his strategy for Cynos new "secret" deck.
"Please ..." Kaveh's voice was so quiet, at first he could not even hear it. After putting the empty bowl in the sink he approached the sleeping man. He was about to say his name, when Kaveh screamed and jumped up, making Alhaithams ears ring.
"Kaveh! Calm down. You're safe."
Kaveh looked up at him, his eyes were, wait was he crying?
"Kaveh..."
The blonde man stood up and pushed him out of his way while yelling: "You can't just creep up to a person like that. What if my heart gave out?"
Alhaitham smirked and answered: "If you read more books, you would know you're too young for that to be a real possibility."
Kaveh groaned. He could hear him muttering to himself while he was putting on a fresh set of clothes and after a minute he came back fuming, his eyes throwing daggers in Alhaithams direction.
"You owe me drinks for scaring me. I need something to calm me down."
"Because if anything it calms you down."
"No, but it does make you bearable and you are my main source of stress."
Alhaitham wanted to retort when he saw Kaveh was still shaking and he was still pale. The dream he had must have really frightened him. Kaveh took his silence as a win and walked out the front door with a smile on his face while Alhaitham followed with a concerned look in his eyes.

I don't know if I am any good at writing fanfic, but I just love their dynamics and wanted to write something with these two. I relate to both of them in various ways, so a lot of things will probably come out of my life. I don't know if I will write any smut yet, it is my first time writing something like this so be gentle I guess. I might also include more Cyno and Tighnari moments as well because I love Cyno's jokes. XD

Art: https://at.tumblr.com/torva-artist/z61pb5i84hgr