Once is More Than Enough

Chapter 1

       Alhaitham had been busy all day, staying at the Akademiya with his face buried in a book. It wasn't until late at night that he finally returned home. As usual, Kaveh was still awake, the light in his room seeping through the cracks of the door. He walks past Kaveh's room as he heads to him when he hears faint coughing and frowns. Kaveh had been coughing a lot for the past few months and it has only been getting worse. He had asked Kaveh about it and told him to get it checked out but all he said was, "I did. It's none of your business anyways." To which Alhaitham replied back with, "I believe it is my business when you are coughing and spreading germs everywhere in my house. I don't want to get sick as well." Kaveh had only rolled his eyes before widening them and rushing to the washroom. Not surprisingly, Alhaitham heard another coughing fit. 

Alhaitham had felt that maybe it was something serious and had gone to Tighnari without Kaveh's knowledge. Unfortunately, all he could tell Tighnari was that Kaveh was coughing and it seemed to be getting worse. Tighnari wasn't able to diagnose it properly without examining the patient as coughing is a common symptom but when Alhaitham brought it up to Kaveh, he had gotten mad and persistently said that it was nothing serious and that he was getting better. Which was an obvious lie. But Alhaitham had let it go, annoyed.

Now he knew that he should have been more persistent. As Alhaitham woke up today and was getting ready to leave, he heard a thump and saw Kaveh unconscious in the living room. Surrounding him were blood and flower petals. At a further glance, he realized the petals belonged to a Kalpalata Lotus. To say that Alhaitham was confused and worried was an understatement. He quickly lifts Kaveh and heads towards his bedroom. He was about to put him on the bed when he realized that Kaveh's shirt was soaked with blood and that if he didn't change, the blood would probably be dried by the time he woke up, making it harder to wash off. And it would get the bed dirty. He was pretty sure Kaveh wouldn't want to change his bed sheets and he sure as hell wasn't going to do it. 

That left one option. Alhaitham stalks towards Kaveh's wardrobe and picks out a similar-looking shirt. He quickly removes the foiled shirt and was about to put on the clean one when he stopped. Alhaitham furrowed his brows. Kaveh has always eaten well and been well-built so what was this? Kaveh had clearly lost a lot of weight and muscle. After all, without a shirt on, it was quite obvious but now that Alhaitham thinks about it, he hasn't gotten a clear look at Kaveh for months. He was always holed up in his room, working, or at a bar and sometimes doesn't come home until the morning. Alhaitham continues to stare at Kaveh's frail body, looking for any other changes that he had missed. 

It's only when Kaveh shifts does Alhaitham realizes how awkward it would look if Kaveh were to wake up shirtless with Alhaitham staring at him. He quickly slipped the extra shirt on and goes to wash the dirtied one. Then he cleans the blood off the living room floor and is about to throw the flower away but thinks better of it. The bloodied Kalpalata Lotus was one of the biggest and most vibrant ones he had seen before and maybe this would be enough for Tighnari to figure out what was wrong. Kaveh still had not woken so Alhaitham decided to quickly cook some pita pockets for both of them. After all, they had both not eaten breakfast yet and it was already almost time for lunch.

Alhaitham had just finished cooking and was about to check on Kaveh again when he heard the door open and sees Kaveh walking towards him. He stops at the entrance to the kitchen. "You're awake," Alhaitham commented. He then pointed at the food he had just finished making. "Eat."

Alhaitham raised an eyebrow in question when Kaveh didn't move. 

Kaveh opened his mouth, "What happened." It was more of a demand than a question.

"That's what I should be asking you. I found you lying on the floor with blood and flower petals everywhere. I think I deserve an explanation. It was a pain to clean up."

Alhaitham wasn't sure Kaveh was going to answer as they both stayed silent, staring at each other. He knew it was something important but Kaveh had been quite touchy about it and wasn't willing to share anything.

"Could... Could you come with me to the Sabzeruz Festival tomorrow...?"

Alhaitham furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"Just... Please." Kaveh stared at the ground. " I'll tell you everything...after."

Alhaitham crossed his arms. What did the Sabzeruz Festival have to do with anything? "That useless festival? What does that have anything to do with what we're talking about? Plus, I have work. I'm already missing out on a bunch because of the mess you made."

In an instant, Kaveh went from a frail-looking stranger back to his usual self. "Useless? What would you know about it?" He took a deep breath. "Nevermind, I shouldn't have asked you. Forget it."

Kaveh started to turn around when Alhaitham stopped him. "Wait. Eat first."

"I'm not hungry."

"Eat. And... I'll think about it."

"No. Nevermind. I don't want to go anymore. I'm going back to my room."

Kaveh quickly scurried to his room, leaving Alhaithaim perplexed at his actions. It almost felt as if Kaveh was trying to avoid him. Was the sickness contagious? No. If it was, he definitely would have told me or moved out. What isn't he telling me? Is it terminal...? That would explain why he isn't telling me, the coughing worsening, and the blood. But... No. There must be something else. Terminal disease? That's impossible.

Right..?

Right.

He's fine.

"He's fine. Let's just eat. The food's getting cold."

.

.

.

.

ANDDDDD... THAT'S A WRAP FOR CHAPTER 1!!!! hehe >:)

Angst. yum.

I have most of it planned out but any suggestions/ideas that yall want me to add?