~Padisarah petals~ a Haikaveh hanahaki au story

Worsening sickness - part 5(I think)

The grey haired man proceeded to find a quite place where he can sit and read his book,but when he found it his peace was soon disturbed...

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As the grey haired man was peacefully reading his book he heard a very familiar voice. There,in front of him stood the General Mahamatra himself,arms crossed, looking at Al Haitham.

"What are you doing here?" Cyno asked as he raised an eyebrow. "I'm reading?What kind of dumb question is that? are you blind or something?" Al Haitham rolled his eyes as he looked down on the book he was reading. "Are you on your period or something? What's up with you ? Seriously I was just asking what are you doing in the dessert. Aren't you the acting grand sage? Don't you need to be at the Akademiya right now?"

"I'm taking a day off. Not that it's your concern what I'm doing." Al Haitham said irritated to the short male in front of him.

"Yeah no I'm not buying this you hate coming into the dessert so something's off,also you have a little something at the corner of your mouth.." Cyno said pointing at the right corner of Al Haitham's mouth. The tall man wiped it with his finger and noticed it was some blood "huh..guess I didn't wipe my mouth property after my last coughing fit" Al Haitham thought to himself as he stared at the bit of blood on his thumb.

"Did you get into a fight or something? What's up with the blood?"Cyno asked in a curious tone(c.ai is making me lose my mind imma start writing like it) "I guess you could say that. I've encountered some..hilichurls..On the way here." Al Haitham responded with a lie,a pretty believable one if Cyno wouldn't have known him this good. "Yeah as if.I know your fighting skills Al Haitham..You wouldn't get hit so easily." He said in a serious tone.

"It's none of your business okay?! Don't act like we're friends or something" Alhaitham said as he went back to reading his book, completely ignoring Cyno and his questions completely.

Meanwhile with Kaveh

The young blonde man was sitting in the living room of the house he was sharing with the one he was in love with,whom luckily wasn't home at the moment and probably wouldn't be for a while.Kaveh didn't have any work to do so he decided to do some research on hanahaki,so he headed to the House of Deana.

After arriving there,he went to the biology section,where he could find books about plants, diseases etc.

He read and read,searched through all the books but he couldn't find anything useful so he decided to just go and take a nice walk around the city to calm his mind.

As he was walking he noticed a familiar figure waving to him.It was the Traveler and Paimon!

As soon as Kaveh noticed he went to them.

"Good to see you Traveler!"

"Look it's Kaveh!" Paimon pointed out, getting the traveler's attention "Good to see you Kaveh!"

"Mhm yes..it's..been a while"

"Kaveh are you feeling alright? You look even more pale..Ha is the disease getting worse?!" Paimon said worryingly.

Kaveh flinched at Paimon's words, fingers twitching as he tightened his grip on the strap of his satchel. "I'm fine," he said quickly, too quickly. "Just... tired, that's all. You know how the workload can get at the Akademiya."

The Traveler's expression remained unreadable, but the concern in their eyes was unmistakable. Paimon, on the other hand, puffed up in frustration. "Kaveh, come on! You can't just keep saying you're fine when you clearly look like you're about to collapse!"

Kaveh let out a forced chuckle, though it did nothing to hide the tightness in his chest. "I appreciate the concern, but I really am fine. I was just at the House of Daena doing some research, and I guess I lost track of time."

"You mean you were looking for a cure again," the Traveler said gently.

His breath hitched, but he quickly masked it with a scoff. "So what if I was?" He turned his head away, pretending to focus on the passing crowd. "It's not like I have much of a choice, do I?"

Before either of them could respond, a sharp pain bloomed in his chest, sudden and suffocating. His breath caught, and then-

Hack

His body lurched forward as a violent cough tore through him. He barely had time to raise his sleeve before the familiar, bitter taste filled his mouth.

Paimon gasped softly, floating towards Kaveh anxiously. The Traveler took a step closer, already reaching into their bag for a handkerchief.

Kaveh lowered his arm slowly, staring down at the fresh crimson staining the fabric-petals of padisarahs sticking to the sleeve of his coat like a cruel reminder.

Paimon's voice was small but firm. "Kaveh... this is getting worse."

He swallowed hard, willing away the burning in his throat. "I know." His voice was quiet, resigned. "But there's nothing I can do about it."

"You can do something about it!" Paimon huffed, floating closer. "You know what the cure is!"

Kaveh clenched his jaw. He knew. Of course he knew. The solution was simple-confess, let go of the feelings suffocating him, and be free.

But could he?

Could he really look him in the eyes and admit something so pathetic? Could he risk the disgust, the rejection, the inevitable loss of what little connection they already had?

No.

He forced a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "That's not an option, Paimon." He turned away, tucking the soiled sleeve close to his chest as if that would somehow make the truth disappear. "I should go home. I'll be fine."

The Traveler placed a hand on his shoulder, grounding yet gentle. "You don't have to go through this alone."

For a fleeting moment, Kaveh wished he could believe that. But as long as his love remained unspoken, as long as his heart continued to betray him-

He would always be alone.

With a quiet nod, he pulled away and walked off, leaving the worried duo behind.

And in his wake, the wind carried the scent of padisarahs.

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Helou guys long time no see! I'm finally back with a chapter, tho my writing style did change a lot and it might be a but different midway chapter..anyways should I rewrite the previous chapters????