Alhaitham X Kaveh - Love and Logic

8. Questioning everything

Trigger Warning: Bodily harm

When Alhaitham joined the table, Kaveh laughed as Dehya shook her head in embarrassment. She signaled the waiter and he brought them another bottle of wine and a glass for Alhaitham. Have they already drank a bottle? Kaveh noticed him lightly shaking his head and laughed: "Great, Haitham can be the judge. He likes doing that."
The Scribe crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, waiting for him to go on. He furrowed his brow as he heard him giggle and saw Dehya looking away embarrassed. When the blonde finally managed to calm down, he took a sip of his wine and explained: "My new best friend and I were debating on the roles people take in a certain activity. We agree that Traveler is probably a top and our opinions differ when it comes to Tighnari, since she hasn't met him yet. Oh she has to meet him, we should all go out one night!"
Alhaitham failed to see what part of this debate required his opinion, so he stayed quiet waiting for Kaveh to continue. But the blonde suddenly widened his eyes and turned to Dehya.
"You haven't told them yet, have you?"
Dehya rolled her eyes and shook her head again." It's not that simple."
Kaveh laughed: "Everything can be complicated if you try hard enough." Suddenly his expression changed, his body tensed and Mehrak flew to his hand.
"Kaveh?" Alhaitham said. The blonde looked at him startled, as if he forgot he was there for a moment. He let out a nervous chuckle and explained: "Thought I saw an old friend." He turned back to Dehya and asked her about her claymore. They debated their techniques and seemed to forget they wanted Alhaitham to judge something or someone. Alhaitham paid the bartender as he was making rounds, getting groans of disapproval from the other two.
Dehya bought another bottle for their table, getting a cheer from Kaveh.
"Oh relax Alhaitham, it's just a rescue mission. And the ruins are abandoned anyway." The architect shook his head as he poured himself another glass.
Dehya's ears twitched as she asked about the ruins and Alhaitham grabbed Kaveh's leg, making the blonde look at him.
"What did you mean by that?"
His red eyes widened at his harsh tone, but a second later he shoved his hand away.
"The ruins we are going to tomorrow. They have been researched before, there are books about them. What's the point of you reading the whole library if you don't remember anything?!" He practically yelled the last part, making some of the guests look their way. Mehrak, who was already back in Alhaitham's lap, suddenly levitated to his master with an upset expression. Kaveh took his cup and lifted it to his face but then he blocked it with his other hand. Alhaitham could see the three men observing them and listening in on their conversation. Dehya noticed them too and cleared her throat. No one would try anything as long as they were in the safety of Aaru village.
Kaveh suddenly stood up and left the tavern with Mehrak in hand. What is this idiot doing? Alhaitham thought but kept drinking his wine. He knew the men were still watching so he scoffed: "Another temper tantrum. It is like talking to a child."
Dehya seemed worried, but she remained in her seat. As he predicted, the three men decided to call it a night after seeing their reaction to Kaveh storming out. Alhaitham felt his chest tense as they left, and he started counting. After 30 seconds he stood up and ran outside, hoping it was enough time. The cold night air hit his cheeks as he listened to the sounds of a fight. Suddenly, one of the men attacked from the shadow, charging at him with his sword. Alhaitham expected him, raising his sword to block him. What he didn't expect was Kaveh's claymore to swing at his attacker, cutting clean through his fingers. The man screamed in pain and began to walk away, only to be stopped by Alhaitham, kicking him in the back. He saw Candace approach, carrying the other two men. They were badly beaten up and unconscious. Dehya whistled as she saw them stating: "You didn't have to beat them up that much, Candace."
The tall warrior laid down the bodies, before replying:" I didn't."
Alhaitham widened his eyes when he realised what that meant. He saw Kaveh walk up to Candace, his eyes full of hatred as he looked upon the still-wailing man. Mehrak was still in his hand, but the claymore vanished. Alhaitham crossed his arms, trying to seem unbothered as he asked: "Was the finger amputation necessary?"
Kaveh answered, his eyes still focused on the man: "Your reflexes are too slow."
Alhaitham scoffed: "I was about to block him."
Kaveh shrugged as he replied: "I guess next time I should just let him kill you then."
Alhaitham felt his blood boil. Kaveh he knew would never use such drastic measures, especially if there were better ways. Before he could retort, Candace got their attention: "Let go somewhere less in the open, he needs a healer and we need to talk."
At that moment Alhaitham realised the blood on Kaveh's shirt wasn't from the attackers. He saw the blonde shake his head, claiming it was nothing, but he still followed Candace to a small house next to the tavern. Dehya stayed behind, taking care of the unconscious men and bandaging the fingerless hand. When the doors closed Candace ordered them to sit down. They both refused. Candace's jaw tensed as she crossed her arms.
"I knew you looked familiar."
Kaveh shook his head: "I have never seen you before."
Candace nodded: "No, this is the first time we met. But it wasn't the first time you saw those men. I watched as they followed you. They wanted you dead."
Alhaitham frowned as Kaveh smiled at the guardian: "What exactly are you accusing me of Candace?"
She relaxed: "I am not accusing you of anything. Not yet. But if you are to be a part of this mission, I would like to be able to trust you."
Kaveh rolled his eyes: "It's a simple rescue mission because some scholars were too ambitious for their good."
Candace shifted her look to the Scribe. Kaveh followed her gaze and cursed: "Oh Archons, are you fucking kidding me?"
Alhaitham narrowed his eyes at Candace before beginning to explain: "I did not..."
Kaveh interrupted: "Don't you dare say you did not need to disclose all the information. You wanted me here and you couldn't even bother to tell me why? You even put up a charade with the Traveler for it?"
Alhaitham stayed silent, expecting more yelling. A part of him was relieved seeing Kaveh emotional again. His eyes seemed to be full of fire and his lips shook as he proceeded to yell at him: "Of course, you lied to them too. Tell me Haitham, how did you intend to hide whatever you are planning to do when we get to the ruins?"
"I would probably just put a bottle of wine in front of you and you would forget I was even there," Alhaitham snarled. He intended to tell him their objective when they were alone, but at this moment he just felt like he wants to strangle him.
Kaveh gasped and started to curse as Candace raised her voice: "We don't have time for this. Kaveh, Alhaitham vouched for you, but we still need to know your connection to these men and why they were after you."
The blonde sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Fine. I knew them before I got to the Akademiya. They tried to extort a friend of mine. She was too old to fight them and I was too weak to take them head on. So I built traps for them..." Kaveh shook as he turned away and continued: " But that only made things worse. In the end, we fled and before I knew it, we were separated. I ended up in Sumeru city and she, well I only saw her years later. I thought... I thought she was dead. But I never saw any of these men again, I believed they just found someone else to bully and torture after we were gone. Until today."
After Kaveh stopped talking, silence fell upon the trio. Alhaitham looked at Candace, who nodded and left the house. Kaveh began to shake and Alhaitham stepped closer, not knowing what to do. Then he felt Kaveh punch him in the chest as he cried: "You're such an asshole."
Alhaitham grabbed him by the wrist, attempting to explain but Kaveh refused to listen. He kept trying to punch him, repeating insults as he cried. The blonde seemed out of it like something possessed him. Alhaitham let go of his wrist only to put his arms around him and hugged him tightly while repeating his name. He hasn't seen him snap like this before. He yelled at him all the time, but this wasn't just anger. It was pain. Slowly, Kaveh started to calm down, burying his face in his chest.
"It's ok. Just breathe Kaveh."
They stood in silence, Kaveh quietly sobbing and Alhaitham whispering his name as he caressed his back. After a few minutes, Kaveh mumbled something. Alhaitham put his chin on the blonde's head.
"I'll assume that is another insult."
Kaveh tried to wiggle out of his arms but the Scribe didn't let go. After struggling for a bit he stopped, groaning into his chest.
"Can you please let me go?"
Alhaitham replied: "I can."
"HAITHAM!" Kaveh growled, making the other man chuckle and let him go.
The blonde took a step back and glared at him, crossing his arms. He tried to be intimidating but his puffy eyes and shaky voice made it hard to take him seriously.
"So?"
Alhaitham turned around and sat down on the couch, crossing his arms and replying: "So?"
Blonde rolled his eyes: "Are you really that arrogant? I understand why Candace would doubt me, we just met. But you? Why make me come all this way in the first place if you don't even trust me?"
Alhaitham shook his head: "This isn't about me not trusting you and if you listened to Candace, you would know that I do. The reason you're here is because you don't trust me enough to tell me what is going on and I refuse to leave you in danger just because of that."
Kaveh widened his eyes in surprise: "What danger? What are you even talking about? I was planning to stay in Sumeru city, working on some proposals." He neared as he was speaking, one step closer...
"So you made me come here because you decided I was in some grave danger?"
Alhaitham looked up at his crimson eyes. His voice was monotone as he stated: "You are in danger. A man tried to stab you and those three wanted you dead."
Kaveh scoffed, turning around when Alhaitham grabbed him by the waist and pulled him in his lap. The architect gasped and shouted his name before exclaiming: "What do you think you're doing?"
Alhaitham nuzzled into his neck, sending a tingling sensation down his spine. Kaveh huffed, trying to ignore the blush that was spreading through his cheeks. Slowly his body relaxed a bit, which Alhaitham took as a sign to answer: "It's a hug. And just because you're too stubborn to admit you need help, it doesn't mean I will just stand by and let you get killed." His last words were barely a whisper and Kaveh felt him tighten his hug.
He is scared he realised. He turned around, putting his arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly. Alhaitham heard him mumble into his neck: "Why can't you just say you're worried about me like normal people do? And you call me irrational!"
Alhaitham smiled. His roommate was back to his angry passionate self. Telling him he is an idiot. He pulled away for a bit to examine the new wound on Kaveh's shoulder. The blonde tried to stop him, saying it was just a scratch. Alhaitham grabbed his wrists and told him to stop moving. As he moved closer he heard Kaveh hold in his breath. He smirked, looking up at him: "What's wrong? Am I that breathtaking?"
Kaveh rolled his eyes as he smiled: "Yes, you're soo arrogant, it makes my lungs give up on their one job." Alhaitham suddenly grabbed his chin pulling him closer. Kaveh gazed into his eyes, his body trembling. He was so close, a centimeter more and...
The knock on the door made Kaveh jump off. Alhaitham groaned and walked to the door, his sword appearing in his hand. Someone knocked again, this time harder. He could hear the person's muffled words on the other side.
"Don't tell me they are..."
The door opened, stopping Dehya from continuing her sentence. She looked at Kaveh who already had Mehrak in his hand, letting go when their eyes met. The brunette chuckled and pushed him aside stepping in to pull Kaveh into a hug.
"Um, Dehya, did the wine finally hit?" Kaveh inquired, but still hugged her back. She moved away just to hit him in the shoulder.
"Ow, hey! What was that for?"
"Lily."
Kaveh took a step back, his face suddenly pale. His hands rose as he frantically shook his head: "No, I didn't..."
Dehya rolled her eyes: "Stop. You're the guy that helped her and Terra."
Kaveh shook his head even more: "Stop, just stop."
Dehya cocked her head in confusion, looking at Alhaitham for an explanation. He stayed quiet, his eyes fixed on the blonde. His red eyes were full of fear, he was looking at the mercenary like she was a ghost.
"Kaveh."
He chuckled, the sound made Alhaitham tense up. He waved his hand as he answered: "I am fine. I just ... I don't want to talk about that."
They stood in silence for a few seconds. Dehya nodded and turned to the Scribe: "The Traveler is here. They were attacked during their trip here, but they weren't injured."
Alhaitham nodded, taking a minute to think. He asked Dehya to wait with Kaveh while he consulted the Traveler. The blonde objected, but he left before he heard the rest of the insults.
If the Traveler was attacked...
"The cub is all grown up."
Alhaitham turned to the source of the voice, the man that attacked him in front of the tavern. He was laughing, cradling his injured arm. His eyes were red, just like Kaveh's but while the blondes were full of passion, his were cold and precise. They made eye contact and the man calmed down, taunting him with his smile. Something in his tone made Alhaitham's blood boil, but he remained calm. The man laughed again: "Oh boy, such rage in those teal eyes of yours. Don't tell me you care about the stupid whore."
Alhaitham teleported right in front of him, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him. The man kept laughing. He could hear someone shouting his name, and a flash of blonde hair appeared in the corner of his eyes.
Kaveh ...
"Alhaitham, you are killing him! Stop!" The Traveler tried to open his hands. The man was on the verge of passing out, his lips turning blue and his skin becoming a purple shade. He let go of him, his body hitting the floor with a loud thump. Traveler pulled him away, trying to get an explanation. But before they could say anything, the man on the floor began to laugh again, although mostly he just coughed. When he calmed down he lifted his head, his red eyes meeting the Scribes as he spat: "Tell me, Acting Grand Sage, how did that brat manage to catch someone as educated and civilised as you?"
Traveler shot him a questioning look but remained silent. The man muttered: "Well it doesn't matter anymore, does it?"
Before Alhaitham could speak a loud explosion caught all of their attention. The villagers ran out of their houses and Candace shouted. Alhaitham's ears were ringing, he tried to make out what she was saying. He finally managed to focus long enough to realise where the explosion occurred. The blood in his veins froze.
No, Kaveh.
He ran towards the remains of the house where he left his roommate and the mercenary. The roof was gone, and so was the first floor and most of the ground one. No one could have survived that.

Hope you enjoy this. I am sorry for the slow updates, I wanted to post this two days ago but I forgot. 😅