╰┈➤ ❝ Relentlessness is one of the most defining traits of humanity. To persevere even in the face of adversity. To thrive in even the harshest environments and succeed despite the failures of the past and against the expectations of others. To suff...
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The exiled scholar hardly believed most of the village keepers remembered how they had crossed the boundaries of science in their previous lives. Stripped of their identity, as well as the ability to think straight, he wondered if they even could be bothered to care about their punishment by the Akademiya. He, however, was different. Many would have argued he too was insane. That he had gone mad. However, unlike the village keepers of Aaru Village; he was perfectly aware of his surroundings, of everything he had done and was still doing. Their reaction to his progress in science had been anything but desirable. He was offended.
But most of the time, he had no time to waste on these thoughts. Convinced, that letting him loose on a peaceful village would only bring the Akademiya more trouble, they had simply tossed him to the desert outside of Caravan Ribat to fend for himself. Why they hadn't killed him then and there was still a mystery to him.
The desert was harsh. Survival was almost impossible for someone who had no idea where they were headed and no resources to bring with them. That's why he had found himself wandering through the endless wasteland of sand with no water in sight after just a couple of days. His knowledge of science proved to be useless without the proper resources to apply it to. The scholar fell over, the ruthless sun in the sky blinding him as his eyelids fluttered shut. Sand was caught in his teal hair. If he wouldn't die of thirst, the sun would surely burn him alive. Or at least that was what it had felt like at the time.
And then there was you. You were like an angel; a savior sent from Celestia, completely unaware that he was a man who could never be saved. He greedily swallowed the water you poured into his dry mouth, only half-aware of what was happening. Your voice was ringing in his ears but it was the kindest sound he had heard in an eternity. "Did they just leave you out here? Come on, let's get you home."
Was he dead?
No. When he awoke he was in Aaru Village, safely resting in your quarters. He almost let out a chuckle at how you seemed to pity him. As far as you were concerned, he was just like the other mad scholars, exiled after coming in contact with forbidden knowledge and hardly lucid. Over the course of just a couple of days he learnt about your name, how you lived and the people you knew. As much as he cringed at the idea, playing along with the mad scholar act was, for now, the best option for him. The Akademiya exiling someone completely conscious to the desert was rare and mostly unheard of, since most cases didn't survive for very long. It would raise a lot of unwanted questions.
And so he put up with your countless antics. You provided him with food, clothing and a place to stay and would always talk to him, claiming that talking to the mad scholars might help them a little and make sure that they don't feel alone. Baseless theories, he mused. Yet, he found himself giving the idea an amused smile when you weren't looking.
Basic care turned into you spending more time with him. You took him to see the stars at night, explaining the constellations to him even though he knew them all by heart and never responded anyway. You'd take him to see the street musicians at the village during sunsets and told him about your life. It's not like he could tell your secrets to anyone. Or at least you thought so. He saw no point in doing it either.
On most days, he was bored. So he might as well listen to what you had to say. But with time, he found himself more and more infatuated with you. Sure, you didn't know who he was or what he had done and you were simply giving him hospitality, but never had anyone treated him with such kindness and gentleness. Of course it was all based on a lie but he found himself craving your attention and care. He missed you when you were gone to do your work, your absence made his days seem dull. At the time he had convinced himself that it was simply because he had nothing else to do. In his heart, he knew this wasn't true.
When you thought he was sick and had put your hand on his forehead to check for his temperature, then cupping his cheeks gently to look into his eyes; your touch was a burning sensation to him, yet he wished you would never let go of him.
Something about your presence made him feel more human. Made him feel like for the first time in his life there was a place he belonged and it was by your side. All of his interactions with others had been based on either research or trying to hide his true self from them. Trying to keep his little world from escalating and falling apart, for if he allowed for mistakes it would inevitably lead to ruin. It would lead to him being exiled from his village and from the Akademiya. But it had also led him to you.
You, who was unaware of the monster he truly was, who had welcomed him into your home. You, who treated him as a friend without asking for anything in return. It was too cruel to both you and himself to keep up the illusion.
What he didn't expect was the chuckle you let out when he revealed to you that he was in fact not a mad scholar. "Yeah, I've known for a while now", you smirked at him, "I came home from work to pick up something I had forgotten and I saw you picking out a book from my shelf, reading the titles aloud and starting to read in one of them. I knew then you were fully aware of everything around you. But I gotta say, you're pretty starved for affection, aren't you?"
You remembered how he had leaned into your touch when you held his face in your hands and now you were teasing him about it. But all was forgiven when your hands reached for his face again, your fingertips gently caressing his cheek. "So...would you finally like to tell me your name?"
"Zandik. My name is Zandik."
A couple of centuries had passed since then. The Doctor smiled to himself, reminiscing about those times. You really had caught on pretty early and seen right through him.
"What's got you smiling like that? Successful experiment?", you entered his lab, pulling him into your arms before placing a soft kiss to your lover's lips. He wrapped his arms around you, kissing back tenderly. "I just remembered how we met", he told you between kisses, grateful for the love you had given him. You still looked at him with the same adoring expression you had back then. You still loved him, despite everything he represented.
"I love you", you whispered against his lips before closing the distance between the two of you again, kissing him passionately. His lips tasted like the strawberries you had one of the segments bring to his lab earlier, to ensure that he was eating something.
"I love you too, my dearest. I feel like I don't tell you enough....but I would give you the world", with you he was so uncharacteristically gentle and caring that most of his assistants wouldn't believe their eyes if they were to see the Doctor hold you like this, "I will. I'll give you the entirety of Teyvat."
He sealed his promise with a deep kiss, pouring all his love for you into it. "You're all I need", you squeezed his hand, running your thumb over his wedding ring.
