Ob(li)vious

1. Rain

Rain pours down with never ending fervour, and Alhaitham is stranded at the Akademiya, hoping to wait it out despite knowing that his patience is futile. It's the rainy season, and once the sky opens up, it sometimes feels like it won't close for months.

He stands by the entrance, weighing his options. Students and graduates alike open umbrellas, walking past him as they shield themselves from the heavy rain.

"Aahh, it's really coming down, isn't it?" A light voice chimes next to Alhaitham, causing him to turn his head. A young woman stands next to him, politely smiling and attempting to make small talk. He groans internally, not interested in talking about the weather when he's probably stuck there indefinitely.

"You've also forgotten your umbrella, I see." She continues, attempting to break the awkward silence.

Alhaitham comes to terms with the fact that he'll either have to stand here all night listening to the girl or get drenched. As his resolve to stay dry wanes, he notices a bright red umbrella in the distance.

"You'd think you'd be smart enough to bring an umbrella during the rainy season!" From underneath, a familiar voice shouts. The red umbrella runs over, revealing a flushed and out of breath Kaveh.

"What are you doing here?" Alhaitham asks. The girl who was trying to talk to him frowned slightly, he is in fact capable of answering, and he simply ignored her.

"Being a nice and considerate person and bringing you an umbrella?" Kaveh presents Alhaitham with an umbrella of his own, beaming like a puppy and waiting to be praised.

The Scribe grabs the umbrella and hands it to the girl, who takes it in surprise.

"Oh, thank you!" She says in surprise.

Alhaitham nods politely; he never intended to be rude to the girl. He takes the red umbrella from Kaveh's hands and walks away with it. The architect takes a moment to process what is going on before realising his means of staying dry has been stolen.

He's about to yell at Alhaitham, who's already walked away, when the light voice chimes again. "You're such a thoughtful boyfriend!"

When Kaveh looks at the girl, his face contorts into a disgusted expression.

"Boyfriend!?" He exclaims, venom on his tongue.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I assume wrong?"

"Kaveh, are you coming?" Alhaitham calls him, wondering what the hold up is. Kaveh quickly forgets to respond to the girl, already distracted by and running after his junior.

Kaveh joins Alhaitham under the umbrella, and almost instinctively, the Scribe moves and turns the umbrella to ensure Kaveh is completely covered.

The girl watches as the Scribe's shoulder rapidly becomes soaked, while the blond next to him enthusiastically talks to him with animated gestures. She seems a little stumped at the entire situation, but then giggles.

"I suppose it's just a matter of time." She hums.