Chapter Text
“It’s time to wake up, my little Akademiya rat.”
A gasp was torn from your lips as you were startled awake. Your limbs flew into action, scrambling to push yourself up from your bed and escape, only for them to be caught by restraints.
The last thing you remembered, you were resting comfortably in bed. Now, you were ripped from your subconscious state by the very voice that haunted you constantly. You found your limbs and even your neck restrained, body rendered entirely frozen as your eyes snapped open to see the familiar dark, buzzing, glowing laboratory.
All you needed was a glimpse of that seafoam green hair to know that The Doctor had caught you again. His white coat with shiny silver buckles was completely untouched, as if you had never killed him and cut yourself free with that very metal badge only months earlier.
Or… if you remembered correctly, there were two of them… or was there?
“You’ll never be able to escape me. You should know that better than anyone else.”
The Doctor stepped closer, and you could see the texture of his skin, the way his nose came to a sharp point, the fine edges of his slightly upturned lips. You could hear the faint hum that came from within his body… his robotic body.
Oh yeah.
They were all just mechanical robots.
Il Dottore wasn’t a person, he was an amalgamation of knowledge and technology. He was an abomination birthed from the strongest thirst for knowledge.
No matter how many of Dottore you would kill, you knew he could always come back with another unnatural mechanical body.
You opened your mouth to scream, but nothing came out.
“It’s futile, little rat.”
The Doctor stepped closer to the table where you were strapped down, an eerie grin growing across his face that showed his sharp teeth.
“Nobody is coming to save you, not even that boy you keep calling out for. All those muscles didn’t help him much.”
Your breath was starting to get caught in your throat as you struggled, cries of refusal, pain, and anguish unable to escape from your throat.
Il Dottore reached up to his mask and removed it from his face. For the first time, you could see the dark circles under his glowing red eyes, the odd expression his eyebrows formed as he stared down at you like nothing but an animal. An object. An experiment.
“There’s so many things to do… where to start? Your body? Your mind?”
You wanted to say no, to scream at him, to beg him to let you go. You opened your mouth to scream, but no sound could be heard.
Your face twisted in terror, mouth opened soundlessly, the image of Dottore’s lab grew blurry as the horrific green-glow of innocuous knowledge capsules began to encroach the edges of your vision.
‘No, no, no, no…’ the word repeated over and over in your head.
However, as the green intensified, hues of white and gold began to blend in.
“Don’t be scared.” A small, child-like voice filled the room. “This is only a dream.”
The image of the laboratory in front of you seemed to dissolve into a glimmering dust as you found yourself laying in a field of soft grass, looking up at a purple-hued sky covered by the glowing branches and leaves of an enormous tree.
You opened your mouth, and finally words could come out.
“N-nahida?” You questioned, looking up at the small Archon who hovered above you.
”I made a deal with the Doctor. He has destroyed all his segments, and will never return to Sumeru. However, even after the Doctor is gone and divine knowledge no longer exists in this world, your trauma remains.” Nahida spoke softly.
“I remember now.” You nodded. “You’ve told me this before. You tell me this every night...”
Nahida’s face remained placid as she silently nodded.
“We don’t have to sit here and talk each time I have a nightmare.” You shook your head.
“An important part of moving on is processing what happened, and understanding it.” Nahida spoke as she drifted towards you, settling down in the grass beside your head. “You don’t have to suffer alone. There is so much promise within you. I know who you are inside, and what you’re capable of. I’ll spend as many nights as it takes for you to heal.”
You looked up at the sky above you, the anxiety and terror slowly dissipating from your rattled body.
“Thank you.”
~~~
It felt like weeks had passed by when the sound of your front door slamming shut finally roused you from your sleep and you found yourself in the bedroom of your small Sumeru City apartment.
The dream you were having slipped through your fingers as you tried to grasp onto the faint slivers of memory. However, it was no use; you never remembered your dreams these days.
“Y/N,” A familiar voice called from your entryway. “I brought you some food. There’s padisarah pudding as well, but make sure you eat something nutritious first.”
“Thank you, Nilou.” Your voice was quiet and heavy with sleep, barely audible from the other room.
“Oh, there’s some leftovers in the fridge that are expired. I’ll throw those away.” Nilou added.
You didn’t have to hear the heavy thud that came from the kitchen trash can to know Nilou was throwing out untouched food. In the past few weeks, you had been able to eat very little. You didn’t remember the last time you were able to stomach a full meal.
“You have an appointment with Zakariya this afternoon, and Kaveh is coming by to take you. Make sure to eat something beforehand, you know how sensitive Kaveh is when he finds out someone hasn’t been fed.” Nilou added. She didn’t dare to enter your bedroom, merely talking from the kitchen.
You heard rummaging sounds coming from your kitchen as Nilou put fresh food in the fridge and discarded old food, wilted vegetables, and spoiled milk.
You laid in bed for a moment, staring at the faded paint on your ceiling. Every day was like this; waking up exhausted, confined to your small apartment for ‘rest’, and regular doctors’ appointments where Zakariya seemed to just grow more and more apathetic about your chances of recovery.
A strange thought bubbled up in the back of your mind; after a moment, you realized it wasn’t just a thought – it was a memory.
~~~
‘Nahida, I just want to be myself again. I just want to feel good again.’ You sighed, fingers twirling the blades of the grass that you laid in.
‘You have the ability to do just that.’ Nahida responded, ‘It’s just about waiting until you’re ready to.’
‘For decades, I’ve wanted to be the best scholar in the world.’ You murmured. ‘I wanted to learn the most, to discover the most. I wanted to become a Sage. That’s why I gave up dancing, that’s why I graduated from the Akademiya, that’s why I became an Archivist but never stopped taking Adventurers’ guild commissions. I lived and breathed knowledge, and loved it.’
Nahida merely sat there and listened.
‘I want to feel that way again.’ You murmured, staring up into the glittering purple sky. ‘But I feel so frozen, so powerless.’
You looked to your side, staring into Nahida’s clover green eyes; she had a look on her face that told you she completely understood everything.
‘From my centuries of knowledge, I’ve learned that humanity’s greatest feats are forged in their weakest moments.’
You stared up at the familiar purple sky above Irminsul, Nahida’s words turning over in your head.
For a while, the two of you were silent. You weren’t sure how much time had passed; you weren’t even sure if time was linear in this space, but you didn’t pay much mind to that. What had your full focus was Nahida’s statement.
’humanity’s greatest feats are forged in their weakest moments.’
‘You’ll be waking up soon.’ Nahida spoke up, ‘you have a visitor coming, and so do I.’
Nahida began to rise in the air as she smiled down at you.
‘Maybe you’ll meet my understudy soon,’ She spoke, her voice fading.
~~~
You slowly sat up in bed, limbs aching, the sentence reeling over and over in your mind.
’humanity’s greatest feats are forged in their weakest moments’
The green divine knowledge capsule.
The dead bodies of Dottore.
The dull green glow of a Dendro Vision buried in the dirt.
“Alright, all done.” Nilou’s voice called from the kitchen.
You blinked, the first resolution you’d had in weeks finally condensing from your scattered thoughts.
If you were going to continue along this path, you would be waiting for a slow and miserable death as your health continued to decline. You needed to change this. There was so much that you wanted to do, so much that you had yet to achieve.
You heard the front door to your apartment swing open as Nilou called up the stairs, her voice having a strange twinge to it that you weren’t used to. “I need to get going, but I’ll come by tomorrow. I love you.”
”N-nilou, wait!” You exclaimed, scrambling to get out of bed. However, you overestimated your abilities, knees knocking together as soon as your weight was on the ground. You lost your balance immediately, clambering onto the floor with a heavy thud that shook the structure of your old apartment.
”Y/N!” You heard Nilou shout, her footsteps pattering across the living room as she rushed into your bedroom.
You were already pushing yourself up from the ground as Nilou swung your door open, aquamarine eyes framed with a terrified expression. She rushed to bend down, helping you stand back up and sit back down on the bed.
”Are you hurt?” She questioned.
”I-I’m fine.” You responded, looking up to notice the way Nilou’s worried stare lingered at the neckline of your pajamas. You knew the discoloration from the serum’s effects were only getting worse. A hand instinctively rose to your neck, fingers curling around the hem of your pajamas.
Nilou remained silent, an odd sort of expression lingering on her face, pinching her lips together slightly, the corners of her mouth forming a fine line.
”Could you fetch something for me?” You asked.
”Of course, what is it?” Nilou asked. Your eyes shifted across the room, landing on the surface of one of your dressers. Along with messy stacks of books and odd trinkets sat a small box with an intricate clasp. It was the sort of box that held jewelry.
It was the ring box Alhaitham had given you.
You were finally ready to find a cure.
~~~
“I don’t understand why I need to come by the Sanctuary of Surasthana so early in the morning.” The voice of a young man echoed through the chamber, his pale blue eyes peeking out from under the brim of a wide hat in order to scan across the space. They came to fixate on Nahida, who was sitting on a small couch not far across the room.
“So I can accompany you to your first day of school, of course.” Nahida smiled. Because she was so small, she had to slide off the edge of the couch to stand up.
”Wh- you’re not my mother. Why would I need to be accompanied to the Akademiya, of all places? I’ve been there plenty of times before.”
“I think it’ll be nice to go together.” Nahida responded sweetly, “Now come along. Let’s get breakfast first.”
”So now you’re making a huge event out of a regular day at school?”
”Every day is worth celebrating, don’t you think?” Nahida smiled, passing by the young man as she left the chamber. “I have a reservation at Puspa for 7am.”
~~~
Nilou watched you, confused, as your fingers fiddled with the clasp of the ring box she had fetched for you. When you finally got it open, however, she was surprised to see an expression of wrath quickly form across your face.
“That BASTARD!”
You snapped the box shut and grit your teeth, blood boiling as you threw the ring box across the room and startled Nilou in the process. The small container clattered across the floor, hitting the wall which knocked the lid open in the process.
It was empty.
”Was there something that was supposed to be in the box?” Nilou asked softly, looking back up at you to see you seething as you sat on the edge of the bed.
”It… It’s hard to explain.” You responded. “There was supposed to be something in there. It was something extremely important that Alhaitham gave me a couple of weeks ago. I just- I wasn’t ready for it yet.”
Nilou’s eyes widened as she put the pieces together in her mind.
”You and Alhaitham…” She murmured, trailing off.
You, on the other hand, weren’t paying attention to what Nilou was saying. You knew you had left the sample of Dottore’s serum in the box when you put it on your dresser — which meant that at some point in the last 3 weeks, Alhaitham must have come and taken it back.
You didn’t care if he was trying to find you a cure. You didn’t care if he took it merely out of spite. What you cared about was the fact that he took the one thing you needed in order to take back control of your life right now.
“I can only assume he took it back.” You muttered, fighting the tears of desperation that threatened to well up in your eyes. “Why take back something he has no use for?! Why not just leave it with me.”
“Oh, Y/N,” Nilou responded, moving one hand to rest on top of yours.
However, you weren’t going to let yourself get overwhelmed here.
”Nilou, what is Alhaitham doing today?” You questioned.
”I believe he’s at his home, perhaps with Tighnari and Kaveh?” Nilou responded.
”Okay.” You nodded, slowly pushing yourself off the edge of the bed. Nilou seemed startled for a minute, her arms raising, prepared to catch you in case you fell again. However, your feet planted firmly on the ground as you began to slowly walk towards where the box fell on the ground.
”W-wait, what are you doing?” Nilou questioned as you used one hand to lean against the wall while you bent down to pick up the box.
“I’m sick, not helpless. I’m going to go talk to Alhaitham.” You responded.
”B-but you’re in no shape to walk across the city! Zakariya has instructed you to rest!” Nilou interjected.
”I can walk fine, it’ll just be slow.” You replied.
“Let me walk you.” Nilou responded.
“Didn’t you need to be somewhere right now?”
”The theatre team can rehearse without me.” Nilou shook her head. “Let me fetch you some clothes and your shoes.”
~~~
You pushed aside the feeling of dizziness as you rounded the corner to Alhaitham’s apartment, fingers gripping Nilou’s arm tightly as you relied on her for support. You didn’t realize how exhausting the walk could be, your lungs aching from the exertion.
You had half a mind to apologize to Nilou for leaning on her so heavily. The two of you got stares from passerby’s, likely partly due to walking such an odd way, and partly due to your choice of floor length dress and unusually high collar in the scorching summer heat.
As you made it up the front steps of Alhaitham’s house, you noticed that the front door to his house was brand new, obviously having been replaced after you had shattered its glass over a month ago. The stained glass was beautiful and intricate, and you knew it must have cost a fortune. As you reached the door you raised your hand in a fist.
However this time, most likely to Alhaitham’s relief, you weren’t going to break it.
You turned your fist to rap on the wooden part of the door in a respectful knock — not too loud and not too quiet. You knew that Alhaitham always kept the front door locked; that was why Kaveh always ended up locked out whenever he would lose his key.
After a couple moments, the door swung open, but instead of seeing Alhaitham you came face-to-face with the fluffy white hair and crimson eyes of the General Mahamatra. However, he was dressed in regular clothing, missing his signature Jackal headdress and staff.
”Mahamatra Cyno?” You questioned, confused.
”Wait, Nilou? Y/N? What are you two doing here?” Cyno blurted out.
The last person he expected to find at Alhaitham’s door was you, wearing a floor length dress with a high collar in the peak of summer, leaning on Nilou for support while you held a furious expression on your face. You were supposed to be on a doctor-sanctioned bed rest. While Cyno was reeling with confusion, you pushed up against Nilou and lifted yourself onto your tip-toes to look over Cyno’s shoulder and search for Alhaitham in the living area.
The layout of the room looked different before — the luxurious couches had been pushed against the bookshelves, making space for a large table at the center of the room. Papers, tools, and strange test tubes littered the surface of the table. Three people sat around it, and within a split-second you recognized Tighnari, Kaveh, and Alhaitham.
“You know you should be resting right now, it’s not good to be walking-“
”that’s what I told her.” Nilou responded. “But if you knew her like I do, You’d know there’s no stopping her when she’s determined.”
”You bastard.” You cut Nilou off with a grumble, letting go of the redhead and pushing past the general to step into Alhaitham’s house.
Your legs shook as you walked, but the skirt of your dress thankfully hid it. Nilou followed closely behind you, giving apologetic glances to Kaveh and Tighnari.
As you neared, Alhaitham’s turquoise eyes glanced up from whatever he was reading, and as they made contact with you he jumped up from his seat with surprise.
”Y/N, why are-“ He couldn’t finish his sentence as you slammed the ring box onto the table, rattling all of the objects that rested on the wooden surface.
”Alhaitham.” Your voice was so low, it was nearly a growl. You leaned against the table, hoping to give your tired legs a rest. ”Tell me why this has been sitting empty on my dresser.”
The room fell entirely silent.
For half a beat, nobody dared respond to you. Even Tighnari and Cyno froze in place, mouths open with shock.
“I-I’m sorry, Y/N!” Kaveh stammered. “I took it, but only because I wanted to help-“
”Help? Don’t you realize how that would make me feel?”
“Woah, woah.” Tighnari cut in. “Why don’t we all calm down. You should sit down, Y/N, and you can talk about this with Alhaitham.”
Cyno was already pulling an extra chair towards the table for you to sit in.
”Oh, no. I won’t be long, if I can just get that sample of The Doctor’s serum back.”
”What?” Tighnari muttered, confused.
”There wasn’t a ring in there?” Nilou questioned. She was baffled.
”No, Alhaitham used it to store a sample of the serum the Doctor used on me. He gave it to me, then took it without permission.”
Tighnari and Cyno were both left bewildered — at first it seemed like Alhaitham had taken your engagement ring back. Then, it sounded like Alhaitham had given you the sample of Dottore’s serum inside of that box. But neither of them understood why Alhaitham would give you such a morbid substance inside a traditional wedding ring box. It seemed like a dark and twisted joke, or at the very least wildly inappropriate gesture.
“As much as I’d like to return the sample to you, we can’t.” Alhaitham responded, arms crossed over his chest as his eyes scanned over you.
”Excuse me, what?” Your face began to twist with anger as Alhaitham stepped towards you.
“We ended up using all of it in order to develop a cure. But the good news is we’re almost done, we just-“
A fierce slap echoed through the room as Alhaitham’s sentence abruptly fell short.
A silence fell thickly over the group, broken only by a short sentence oozing thinly veiled rage.
”How dare you.”
Alhaitham stared at you with wide eyes, a red mark blooming across his cheek.
”What makes you think you could just have Kaveh take it back from me? What makes you think I needed someone to cure me… What made you think I even wanted to be cured?”
The others remained silent as you continued.
”How long have you been working on this? Was it all four of you? Did you all take breaks from your jobs for this? I can’t imagine a full antidote could be developed in just a couple weeks. I just…”
You glanced around the table, the messy papers and rows of test tubes and beakers, the four men who stood around you silently.
”Why would you do this for me?” Your voice grew smaller.
As if Nilou were reading your mind, she walked up behind you. You felt her hand slip around your waist, hugging you against her in order to support your weight. Although you were furious, you silently thanked her for such a thoughtful gesture.
“Y/N, you should just focus on resting.” Tighnari walked closer to you. He would never mention this, but it had looked like you might’ve fallen over at any moment, and he was sure Nilou stepped in because she could tell. “We just want you to get better, and we can talk about all of this later.”
“A-alright.”
You had to admit, you really were tired.
”Here, let’s sit down.” Nilou lowered you into the chair that Cyno had pulled over for you.
“Would the two of you like some tea?” Tighnari asked.
”That would be great, thank you.” Nilou nodded.
On the other side of the table, Kaveh gave Alhaitham a sharp glance, tilting his head towards the study. Alhaitham nodded, following the blonde into the other room.
Once they were out of your earshot, Kaveh raised one hand to his Akasha terminal, glancing over to Alhaitham.
”I’m calling Zakariya. She seems to be far worse than the last time I took her for a checkup, there has to be more the doctors can do for her.” The blonde stated plainly.
Alhaitham slid into one of his upholstered chairs, leaning back as he raked his fingers through his hair.
”She looks bad, Kaveh.” Alhaitham muttered.
”I know.” Kaveh responded frankly, “But you also look worse for wear. When was the last time you got a full night of sleep? Hell, when was the last time you shaved? That stubble looks awful on you.”
”I’m fine, I slept yesterday.”
“You need to rest more, you’ve been putting in more work towards creating the antidote than the rest of us combined.” Kaveh answered, concerned. Typically, if Kaveh insulted Alhaitham in such a way, the scribe would snap back with a similar retort. To have him brush off such an insult worried Kaveh.
“I’ll rest when she’s cured.” Alhaitham responded flatly.
Kaveh knew better than to continue to argue with Alhaitham; there was no convincing him otherwise. Alhaitham waited and listened as Kaveh had a brief conversation over the Akasha terminal. When the blonde finally hung up, he turned back towards Alhaitham.
“Can you take her back home? Zakariya said he could do a house visit in a couple hours.”
Alhaitham nodded silently, standing back up from the chair before following the blonde back into his living room where you and Nilou were sitting with Tighnari and Cyno.
”The two of you should head back home.” Kaveh announced. “Zakariya said he could do a house visit this afternoon.”
The blonde was surprised to see you provide little resistance. He noticed the four of you held cups of tea, but yours was almost completely untouched while the rest had drank a decent amount.
“That’s a good idea, thank you Kaveh.” You nodded, turning to your red-haired friend. “I’m sorry for wasting so much of your time, Nilou.”
“Nonsense.” Nilou replied sweetly, “I always have time for you.”
You gave the redhead a weak smile, placing your cup down on the table before preparing to stand up. You were so tired after everything that you had done today, but you weren’t about to complain.
However, before you could push yourself onto your feet, you found yourself swept out of the chair and into a pair of strong arms.
”Ah-“ You yelped, glancing up to realize Alhaitham was the one who picked you up. You were immediately irritated. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I have little faith that you’d be able to make it back to your house on your own, and I wouldn’t make Nilou carry you.”
”I…” Your sentence trailed off. Heat flared in your face as you glanced around the room. Alhaitham was right — you didn’t have the energy to fight him on this topic, let alone walk all the way back home, even with Nilou’s support.
Thus, you found yourself being carried through the streets of Sumeru City. You had little energy left in you to care about what the people around you were seeing. Alhaitham carried you gently, allowing your head to rest on his shoulder comfortably. The heat that radiated from his chest made your body relax, the smell of his shampoo felt familiar and soothing, and the sway of his step gradually lulled you into a sound sleep.
Alhaitham had barely made it a couple of streets from his house when he glanced down to find you fast asleep, your chest rising and falling with deep breaths, a serene expression on your pale face. Although he knew he was only taking you to your house, a part of him wished he could hold you like this for longer. He missed feeling your skin against his. Your weight in his arms. He wanted to be closer to you, to feel you, to smell you, to taste you…
However, there was a part of him that ached as he saw the twists of black veins that crept up from your collar. Your complexion had far less color than it used to, the curves of your face growing more and more gaunt as time passed. There were dark circles under your eyes that only grew worse, despite strictly resting for the past several weeks.
Alhaitham knew, deep down, that he had to find the cure before it was too late.
Nilou withdrew your house key from a pocket, unlocking your front door and climbing the stairs to your apartment once again. Alhaitham followed, walking up the narrow stairwell sideways to make sure you wouldn’t accidentally touch or hit the walls.
He carried you through your small apartment, tucking you back into your bed in the far corner of your cluttered bedroom. Although Alhaitham considered clutter burdensome and worthless, a part of him found it charming the way you seemed to keep everything you possibly could. It was the exact opposite of his own home.
Alhaitham stepped out of the room and closed the door quietly, turning to Nilou who stood in the kitchen.
”If you need to return to work, I can stay for a bit just in case she wakes up-“
One of Alhaitham’s hands flew to the wall as his knees buckled, barely catching himself before he could fall on the ground.
”Are you alright?” Nilou asked worriedly, rushing across the room.
“Just a little tired.” Alhaitham responded. “I’ll be fine after some rest.”
“Why don’t you sit down and have something to eat?” Nilou asked. “I brought plenty of food over earlier today.”
It was as if Nilou already knew that Alhaitham hadn’t been eating enough while working on the antidote.
”I- yeah,” Alhaitham nodded. “That sounds alright.”
He moved to sit down at your kitchen table, watching as Nilou prepared one of the meals she had brought over that morning. Despite this being your kitchen, and you being asleep in the other room, Nilou walked around it as if it were her own. She grabbed a plate of food and spun around the edge of the table to place it along with some silverware in front of him.
Alhaitham didn’t even say thank you — he dug in, realizing just how hungry he was.
As he ate, Alhaitham felt his mind trailing off. He thought maybe, someday, he could walk around in your house like Nilou did. He thought perhaps he could finally spend enough time with you to grow close.
This was all wishful thinking, however. He knew that if his antidote to Dottore’s serum didn’t work, you wouldn’t have much time left.
A hurt grew deeply inside him at that thought. He couldn’t let himself linger on that possibility. He knew that if he put enough time into it, enough effort, he could find a cure.
Alhaitham cleaned his plate while lost in thought, Nilou watching him from across the kitchen with wonder. She knew he was an odd man, but she saw small similarities between you and him. The more time she spent around Alhaitham, the more she began to realize that there was no doubt — the two of you were infatuated with each other.
You hid your condition from Alhaitham because you wanted to seem strong, independent, put together… However, Nilou could tell it was also because you didn’t want to burden Alhaitham. He was always so protective of you, and Nilou knew you were aware of this. Alhaitham was wearing himself thin trying to find a cure to Dottore’s serum. He wanted so badly for you to recover, that he was forgoing meals and rest in order to spend more time working on a solution.
Nilou’s intuition was right; Alhaitham was nearly falling asleep into his food, eating it in a sort of daze.
Alhaitham’s mind wandered as he thought of his Akademiya days. He still remembered the moment where you caught his eye as clear as day. He never believed in love at first sight, but if he wasn’t as strictly logical, he would have believed it after meeting you. The way you sat in the lecture theater, furiously scribbling notes down on your parchment as you tried to keep up with Salazar’s teachings, completely oblivious to the people around you. He remembered when he finally built up the courage to talk to you. You seemed to be preening in your seat after one of the first exams in that class, your face cheerful in a crowd of solemnity and despair.
Alhaitham had tried to play it cool when he first spoke up. He wanted to sound interested, but not too interested.
’I take it you did well?’
Your smug attitude seemed to suit you, but when you found out he had done better than you in the class, the flustered look on your face unlocked something between the two of you that neither of you could understand.
From that moment onward, he seemed to always anger or irritate you no matter what he said, but Alhaitham didn’t mind. If that was what it took to get you to talk to him, then he was fine with that.
Alhaitham was snapped out of his train of thought as glass clinked onto wood. A small dish of Padisarah Pudding was placed in front of him. He blinked, looking up to see Nilou gaze down at him approvingly.
”You finished all your food, so I thought you might want dessert.” She spoke softly.
Alhaitham looked down at the chilled glass that was already growing foggy in the warm kitchen air, a spoon tucked into the soft purple pudding, inviting him to indulge in a sweet dessert.
”Thank you.” He muttered, picking up the spoon. This was his first time trying Nilou’s pudding.
As soon as he placed the spoon in his mouth, he understood why this was your favorite dessert. Nilou’s recipe was lighter, smoother, with a tang of lemon that the standard ones lacked.
A smile spread across the redhead’s face as she watched Alhaitham’s eyes widen with surprise.
”This is… delicious.”
”Thank you.” She smiled, settling into the chair across from him.
Alhaitham had another spoonful. And another. Maybe it was the fatigue, or the recent lack of a proper diet, but he was engrossed by the dessert.
”You’re in love, aren’t you?”
Alhaitham nearly choked on the pudding.
“The dessert is good, thank you.” Alhaitham replied awkwardly.
”With Y/N, I mean.” Nilou clarified.
Alhaitham paused, staring into her cerulean eyes.
“I…” He trailed off for a moment, before steeling his resolve. “I am.”
Nilou let out a small laugh.
”That was a rhetorical question.” She smiled. “It’s pretty obvious to all of us.”
Alhaitham felt an unfamiliar heat rise in his face.
”It… Is?”
“It’s alright, I can understand why you would be.” Nilou continued. “She is an amazing person.”
Alhaitham merely nodded, and the conversation fell quiet. It seemed like there was a mutual understanding between him and Nilou that needed no further elaboration.
Alhaitham had nearly cleaned the entire parfait glass by the time he was finished with the padisarah pudding. Nilou seemed to be preening in her seat, reveling in the fact that he enjoyed her recipe almost as much as you did.
Just as she was thinking about you, she heard the bedroom door creak open.
Alhaitham seemed to jump in place, his attention immediately drawn to you.
”You should lay back down some more.” Alhaitham stood up from the table and made his way towards you. “I’m sure you’re still tired.”
”Speaking of tired,” You gave a weak smile, your voice groggy. “You look like you’ve been through it. I thought you might suit facial hair, but it seems like I was very wrong.”
”I’ll be fine after some rest.” Alhaitham scoffed, his ego slightly bruised after your comment.
You paused for a moment, looking him up and down.
”You can rest here, if you don’t mind sharing a small bed.”
Alhaitham hesitated to respond. He glanced over at Nilou, who gave him a knowing nod. He didn’t have to read her mind to tell that look was saying ‘it’s okay, you should go with her’.
“…Alright. Just let me wash up first.”
Although you found the scholar nearly impossible to read, this time you could tell Alhaitham was exhausted. He left his cloak on your cluttered desk and quietly followed you to your bed, pausing for a moment. When you mentioned a small bed, Alhaitham expected it to still be a suitable size — after all, his own bed could likely fit four people comfortably, and he assumed most adults his age preferred to have extra room when they slept. Instead, your bed was barely larger than the cots students slept on in the Akademiya dormitories.
“Will we both fit?” He questioned, and you nodded as you grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards you.
“If we sleep close, it’ll be fine.”
You watched Alhaitham slip under the covers after you. He seemed to move carefully, as if he were worried he might hurt you. As he laid down on his side and rested his head on the pillow, you could see his shoulders relax, his body releasing tension he likely didn’t know he had.
As Alhatiahm’s turquoise eyes looked back up, you slid further under the covers and moved toward him, fingers brushing along the front of his chest as you settled down beside him.
”I’m sorry I took the serum.” Alhaitham murmured, his voice soft and low. Your eyes moved to meet his gaze, scanning over the dark circles under his eyes and the shadow of stubble on his chin. Although it had faded significantly, there was still a red mark on his cheek from where you had slapped him earlier that day. You raised a hand up to his face, fingertips brushing gingerly over the mark.
“No, I’m sorry for my reaction.” You murmured quietly, finally beginning to understand what Alhaitham had been doing while you spent your days alone in your home, slowly withering away. “You just wanted to help me, and you thought I wouldn’t be able to do it myself.”
”No.” Alhaitham responded flatly, making you pause for a second.
“It’s because I love you.” Your eyes widened for a moment at his words. “I love you and I won’t let you die.”
“I…” You trailed off for a second before collecting yourself.
”First of all,” You began. “I’m not about to die. Especially if you let me help out with the antidote, there’s no way the two of us could lose to Dottore. Second of all, I loved you first.”
”Why is this suddenly a competition?” Alhaitham responded.
“It’s not, I’m just stating a fact.” You responded.
”Well, you’re wrong.” Alhaitham spoke bluntly. “I fell in love with you before the day we met.”
Alhaitham’s response was so absurd, you snorted.
”There’s no way you did back then. You were so rude, and for no reason!”
“I wasn’t rude.” Alhaitham responded.
“Yes, as a matter of fact you were! From the first day we met I assumed you held some strange sort of disdain for me-“
Your sentence fell short as the realization dawned on you.
Alhaitham acted like that towards everyone he cared about. Even to this day, he was still absurdly blunt and always spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, seeming to reserve no sensibility whatsoever for others.
“Alhaitham…” You murmured, your gaze shifting to meet his.
”Do you understand now? How I feel for you? What I’d do for you?”
”I… understand.”
His face moved closer to yours, and your eyes fluttered shut as your lips met. Alhaitham’s lips were soft, but chapped. As the kiss depended, however, a familiar flavor met your tongue that made you part from it prematurely.
“Is that… Nilou’s Padisarah Pudding?” You muttered, surprised.
“Yes.” Alhaitham responded, “I understand now. If that was how all of my puddings tasted, it would certainly be my favorite dish.”
You let out the softest laugh, leaning back in to capture his lips with yours once again.
~~~
Alhaitham wouldn’t admit it, but he woke the next day feeling like he just had the best sleep of his life. He didn’t think it could be possible to sleep so well in such a small, creaky and stiff bed.
~~~
In the coming days, you began to help out with the development of your cure. The scholars brought their research into your small apartment, upending the entire home with equipment, books, and papers. With the combination of five of the brightest individuals in all of Sumeru, you were able to come up with an antidote, a treatment route, and auxiliary tests to see how effective the treatment would be.
Your tiny bedroom was now cluttered with medical equipment, extra tables and chairs, and four of your good friends. Cyno, Tighnari, Alhaitham and Kaveh had worked tirelessly on the simple greenish fluid that hung from an IV stand, and were hovering above you as you were about to try the first dose.
“Here, let me do it.” You gestured towards Kaveh, who hesitantly pushed the cart of medical equipment towards your bed.
You reached over to the cart, grabbing the gauze and iodine to sterilize the innner elbow of one arm. You reached for the needle with the IV connector, carefully unwrapping it and positioning it at your vein, but something stopped you.
Images flashed in your mind of Dottore’s Laboratory. Looking down at yourself, seeing tubes of black connected to your arms.
You didn’t realize you were shaking until Tighnari grabbed the needle from you.
”Here, close your eyes. I’ll do it.” His typically matter-of-fact tone was much softer this time, a soft grip holding your arm still before you could feel the familiar little pinch of a needle. By the time you opened your eyes, Tighnari was already taping up the IV line. You knew that as a Forest Ranger Tighnari was very used to this procedure, likely treating countless lost or injured travelers who came through Ghandara Ville, but you never expected him to be so quick.
Tighnari took your heart rate and blood pressure once again, and after a couple of minutes, everyone began to leave except for Alhaitham.
It was still early in the morning, and you knew the rest had work to do. You smiled and thanked each person as you said goodbye, knowing how much they had sacrificed in order to create this antidote for you. Tighnari hadn’t been back to Ghandara Ville in over a month, and despite what he said about having a promising understudy, you knew the people there needed him. Cyno was the General Mahamatra, and Kaveh had a never-ending pile of commissions he needed to complete.
“Don’t you have to go back to the House of Daena?” You spoke up, looking at the only person left in the room.
”We’ve decided to take turns monitoring your condition while you’re receiving your first couple doses.” Alhaitham answered frankly. “Also, as Grand Sage, you don’t really have anyone telling you when to work… but there’s a never-ending workload. It’ll still be there tomorrow.”
“That sounds like the exact opposite kind of job you’d like.” You snorted a little. “Is the reason why you tried so hard to cure me so I could take it over for you?”
“No, it’s because-“
”That was a joke, Alhaitham.” You smiled, shaking your head. “I just thought I’d lighten the mood a little. Y’know, considering how this is a massive gamble.”
You raised your arm with the IV line in it, giving Alhaitham a bittersweet smile.
”It’s not.” Alhaitham replied bluntly. “It works.”
”Huh? How do you know that for sure?” You questioned, confused.
”I tested it on myself.” Alhaitham replied, beginning to roll down the hem of his glove to reveal his inner elbow.
”But that only makes sure the antidote isn’t toxic or anything, it doesn’t mean it’ll-”
”No, I took Dottore’s serum and reversed its effects with the antidote.”
Your eyes went wide as you saw spider-like gray veins that wound up Alhaitham’s arm. They were faded, but undoubtedly were once the same as the ones you currently had all over your body.
”No!” You exclaimed, scrambling to jump up from the bed.
”Calm down.” Alhaitham lunged forward, trying to keep you still as you scrambled across the bed towards him.
You could feel a tighness in your chest, a lightheadedness that made you dizzy. You couldn’t stop the memories from Dottore’s lab from coming through clearer, more detailed. The glow of red that seeped out from under his mask. The pointy, yellowish teeth of his grin. The muted green shade of his hair. You were remembering details of images you never knew you had seen. The mere mention of Alhaitham taking the serum, the simple sight of his discolored skin, and all of these memories flooded into your mind, sweeping away everything that was currently happening around you.
“Hey. HEY!”
You felt a firm hand on your jaw, bringing your head up to face Alhaitham. For a moment, you knelt there at the edge of your bed, staring up at his calming turquoise eyes. They reminded you where you were.
Your apartment, Sumeru City.
Dottore was dead.
He wasn’t coming back.
After a long pause, you began to feel embarrassed. Alhaitham continued to silently hold you still, staring right back into your own eyes. You didn’t break the stare, despite being unable to imagine how someone could willingly subject themself to what you went through. Thus, you felt the need to open your mouth and speak up again.
“How dare you do this to yourself!” You shouted.
”Don’t worry, I didn’t give myself much. We don’t know how effective the antidote will be for someone with prolonged exposure, but we were able to figure out a good dose per body weight and frequency of-“
”Shut up!” You exclaimed, your blood boiling. “You realize you could have just done all of that to me, right?”
“I had this conversation with the others. It’s because your body is weakened. Why would we risk giving you something that could easily kill you? Testing it on a healthy person is much safer.”
You narrowed your eyes, hating the fact that from a strictly logical standpoint, Alhaitham was right.
”It’s the principle, Alhaitham.” You shook your head, sitting back down on the bed. “Giving yourself that serum… no matter how little, it’s incredibly dangerous. How do you know this was the same formulation I was given? How do you know it’s not the same one that killed all those other people?”
”It was a risk I was willing to take.” He responded.
“Why do you even care?” You scoffed.
“I can go into great detail, and I will.” Alhaitham responded frankly. “Firstly, it’s taken me years and I’m still unable to find the words to tell you how much I-“
”A-alright! Fine!” You scoffed, trying to hide the fiersome blush that crept across your cheeks. You turned around, plopping yourself back on the bed. “Go find a book to read, or something.”
Alhaitham paused for a moment, before stepping back to lean on the closest wall and pull a book out of his cloak.
You couldn’t believe he actually took out a book to read.
Scoffing, you reached an arm over to your nightstand and slapped a hand over a book that you were currently partway through to pick it up and flip back to where you left off. You didn’t exactly mean what you had said, but if Alhaitham was going to follow through and actually start reading a book, you thought you might as well catch up on some literature as well.
The two of you fell into a comfortable silence, Alhaitham’s eyes glancing up from the pages of his book to stare at the slight redness of your face, the tiniest hints of a smile beginning to grow across his lips.
~~~
T H R E E M O N T H S L A T E R
“Alright, time’s up. Pack up your things.”
Alhaitham glanced up from his desk to see you walk into his office proudly, shoulders straight, looking almost exactly the way he remembered. The smug look on your face, the color of your cheeks, it was like you had been ripped straight out of his memories and placed in front of him.
”I mean, if you like this office space, I’m sure I can pull some strings to let you keep it when you go back to being a Scribe.”
”What do you mean?” Alhaitham questioned.
”I’m all better, time for me to take over being Grand Sage.” You waved one hand in a nonchalant gesture as you spoke.
“No, you aren’t. It’s only been three months.” Alhaitham responded frankly.
”You don’t understand. I feel completely fine, and I’m totally capable of performing the duties of Grand Sage.”
”No.” Alhaitham responded, standing up from his desk and crossing his arms.
”Come on, Alhaitham. I’m three months behind on my rent!” You groaned. “I need this job way more than you do.”
”What do you mean?” He questioned. “I’ve been paying your rent.”
”WHAT?!” Your jaw dropped open, instantly flustered by his plain statement. You thought it was odd that you never received a late notice for your rent, and now you realized why.
“You can continue recovering, I’m fine with this mildly irritating job.” Alhaitham responded.
”I’m trying to tell you I’m fully recovered.” You narrowed your eyes at Alhaitham. “Are you asking for proof or something?”
”No, I’m asking you to- what are you doing?”
Alhaitham’s eyes widened as he watched your hands pull at the sash of your dress, unwrapping the front and revealing perfectly healed skin. However, you continued, slipping the fabric over your shoulders and catch at your elbows, revealing your bare chest.
”Is this not proof enough?” You spoke, walking around to his side of the desk before doing a little turn on your toes.
You couldn’t hide the smirk that grew across your lips as Alhaitham’s eyes shamelessly raked down your body. After a moment, he blinked, a frown forming across his face.
”Put that back on.” Alhaitham responded flatly. “You could catch a cold.”
“Are you kidding me?” You scoffed, pouting as you pulled your dress back over your shoulders and re-tied your sash. “Are you denying me this position because you’ve changed your mind and decided you like being Grand Sage after all?”
”No-“
”Of course a man would like a position of authority. I’m sure you love bossing around the pretty assistants and making them scurry around doing small tasks for you.”
Alhaitham’s mouth fell open. There were certainly layers to what you were accusing him of, and he didn’t know how to even approach the subject.
“No, that’s absolutely not true. You almost died, you need more time to recover-“
”Do you want me to show you myself again? I’m fine.”
“I won’t say no.” Alhaitham responded, eyes shamelessly lingering on your dress.
”You’re deplorable.” You scowled. “Just give me the job.”
”No.” Alhaitham responded bluntly.
”Excuse me?” You scoffed, shocked. “This is like arguing with a toddler! How much time do you think needs to pass before I can resume working?”
“A year seems enough.” Alhaitham responded. “Although I don’t mind continuing to pay your rent for longer.”
“A year?! I would die of boredom!” You exclaimed. “What do you think I’d do all day? I’d finish all the books in the house of Deana in only a couple of months, and then what? Go insane? Take up embroidery? Start making pottery? Join the Eremites?”
“You couldn’t read fast enough to finish the books in the House of Deana in a lifetime.”
”Do you think I’m stupid? I was already halfway through when I graduated from the Akademiya.” You shook your head. “Unless, despite having the easy job of scribe, you haven’t already read that much.”
“I prefer to actually enjoy my books, not scan them like a Perpetual Mechanical Array.”
“Hah.” You scoffed. “That’s just another way of calling yourself a slow reader. Are you sure you’re capable enough to continue being Acting Grand Sage? It sounds like at that reading speed, you’d be quite inefficient.”
“You might find that reading slower helps with comprehension, not like you care much about that.” Alhaitham replied sharply. “Besides, what do you know about being Grand Sage?”
“I know that you hate it.” You shrugged. “Unless you were just sending me desperate letters begging me to apply for fun, or maybe you changed your mind? I guess I could always go back to being an Archivist instead.”
“Why would you go back to that menial job when you should be resting.”
Your eyes widened at Alhaitham’s comment.
Did he really think your old job was menial?
Sure, the remuneration was underwhelming for what your job entailed, but to consider it unskilled and lacking in prestige was insulting.
“I’ll show you.” Muttering under your breath, you gripped at the sash that tied your dress together.
“Huh?” Alhaitham replied, confused. “Show me wh-“
Before he could finish his question, you swiped your hand out, vines seeming to emerge from your fingertips that wound around Alhaitham’s body in an instant. Some wrapped around his legs, others crept their way up his torso and around his neck.
“What are you- your vision!” Alhaitham exclaimed, eyes drawn to the faint green glow at your waist. Attached to your dress was your Dendro vision.
“Regardless of your opinion on my old job, I am clearly superior to you in every way. Not only academically and socially, but in terms of elemental power as well.” You stepped closer to the restrained Alhaitham, gloating as he stared down at you. “In a mere three months I’ve mastered how to wield my vision.”
“I doubt it.” Alhaitham replied, his eyes glowing green for a moment before he flicked his wrist out. “Shatter.”
Green mirror-like shards materialized around Alhaitham, slicing away at the vines until their manifestation faded back into elemental power. As soon as Alhaitham was free, his hands gripped your waist, swiping you off your feet as he pinned you onto his desk. Beneath you laid piles of paperwork that were now entirely messy and disorganized, and above you hovered a slightly smug and moderately irritated Alhaitham.
“In terms of physical strength, however, I will always be far stronger than you.”
“Hm.” You narrowed your eyes for a moment, moving to use your vision again, only for Alhaitham to grab your wrists and pin them down on the desk above your head.
“A vision isn’t going to help you now.” He replied sardonically.
“You tell me that I’m not well enough to work a job, then moments later you handle me this roughly?” Scoffing, you gave Alhaitham a devious smirk.
Almost instantly, the grip on your wrists loosened.
“I- I didn’t mean to, are you hurt?” Alhaitham questioned nervously, his teal eyes scanning over your body.
“Idiot.”
With the flick of a finger, you summoned your vines again, entangling Alhaitham entirely.
“You- ah!” Alhaitham gasped, caught entirely off guard.
“When are you gonna learn I’m fine now?” You laughed deviously.
“I’m serious though, you should rest.” Alhaitham replied, his voice strained as your elemental powers restrained him tightly. He tried to move, to activate his own power, but he found his vision no longer attached to him.
“I don’t think you’ll be needing this.” You hummed, tauntingly dangling Alhiatham’s vision in front of his face.
“You…” Alhaitham muttered, both angered and surprised beyond measure. “I am so unbelievably irritated right now.”
“Looks like you’re something else right now, too.” You replied, hooking your fingertips around Alhaitham’s waistband and tugging downwards. He let out a grunt as his entirely hard cock sprung free.
“You’re evil.” Alhaitham muttered shakily as you ran a finger down his length.
~~~
Kaveh waited patiently — or at least, as patiently as he could — outside Alhaitham’s office in the house of Daena. When you told him you were ready to ask Alhaitham for your job back, Kaveh had begged you to let him accompany you; the blonde wasn’t exactly sure what had happened between the two of you in the past couple of months, but it had been several weeks since you last saw Alhaitham.
While the acting Grand Sage frequently asked him how you were doing, so did the others who knew about Dottore’s serum and the antidote. Kaveh wasn’t sure whether Alhaitham had made up with you fully after everything, and was worried your request for his job would devolve into a fight.
Kaveh paced across the floor, too preoccupied to be productive on any of his new design projects.
Kaveh jumped at the sound of a muffled shout coming from inside the office. He couldn’t hear exactly what it was through the thick wooden doors.
Next, there was a loud crash that came from the other side of the door. Kaveh’s heart began to race as he walked towards the office.
There was another loud crash, and the sound of glass shattering. He broke into a run, bursting through the doors.
“My hair!”
“Shut up, you like it.”
Kaveh’s jaw dropped open at what he saw.
He assumed correctly that the two of you had gotten into a violent fight, but the last thing he expected was to see something like this.
Alhaitham was just standing at his desk — or at least, that’s what it appeared at first glance. After a moment Kaveh realized he was restrained by glowing vines, his clothes holding on by scraps, and you standing behind him with a devilish grin. One of your hands gripped his member tightly while the other had its fingers tangled in Alhaitham’s hair. After a moment you yanked his head backwards at an uncomfortable angle, forcing a groan from his lips.
“Could you shut the door, Kaveh?” You asked casually, as if you weren’t holding the man in front of you in one of the most erotic positions Kaveh had ever seen.
It took a moment for the blonde to regain his wits and shut the door. Thankfully, he was the only one in the atrium, so nobody else was around to see what was going on in that office.
“Oh my god.” Kaveh muttered, staring at the flustered and breathless Alhaitham. “Oh my god.”
“Kaveh, why are you he-“ Alhaitham’s sentence fell short as you ran your hand up his length, squeezing it at the tip. “agh, stop it, Y/N!”
“I-“ Kaveh stammered, “I thought you two were fighting, I mean, it sounded like you two were, but I should have known it wasn’t because last time it sounded like-“
“Kaveh.” You cut off the blonde. “Would you wanna join?”
“Hahah…” he laughed awkwardly, glancing down at the tent he was starting to form in his pants. “I think you can clearly see the answer is yes.”
Kaveh walked around the desk, noticing that your dress was loosely tied around your waist, the front no longer fully wrapped around your body. He could see that you weren’t wearing anything underneath.
The blonde slipped one hand around your waist, using the other to tilt your head up to capture your lips with his. You moaned into the kiss, your lips moving against each other wetly, causing you to let go of Alhaitham in order to hook your arms around Kaveh’s neck.
Both of his arms slipped around your waist, hands slipping lower until they came to just under your buttocks. Kaveh lifted you into his arms, your legs wrapping around his waist without any further direction.
Alhaitham didn’t have enough slack in the vines to turn around and see what was going on. All he could hear were the wet noises of Kaveh’s lips working against yours.
“Shame I can’t see any of this.” Alhaitham stated flatly, causing you and Kaveh to break from the kiss.
“Well, why don’t we show you?” You suggested.
“We certainly can.” Kaveh nodded. He brought you around Alhaitham to sit on the edge of his desk facing him. The blonde used one hand to carefully push you backwards until you were laying on your back. Then, he lifted your legs into the air.
“Wow, you’re already quite aroused.” Kaveh laughed softly, running one finger along your slick folds.
“I mean, I was literally playing with Alhaitham like a toy. And the both of you definitely are, too.”
“You don’t have to make excuses for yourself, you know.” Kaveh replied, beginning to run his fingers in circles over your clit. “It’s okay to feel good.”
“W-woah, I’m really sensitive. You should slow down-“
“It’s okay to just enjoy the feeling.” Kaveh cut you off, pressing into your clit slightly harder.
“Mmh, Kaveh…” you gazed up at alhaitham, who stared down at you with a fierce blush on his cheeks. “You’re gonna make me cum too fast-“
“If you want me to stop, just tell me.” The blonde spoke softly.
“N-no, keep going… I’m so close…” you sighed, no longer caring if you’d be finishing in just a couple of seconds.
“You’re so beautiful.” Kaveh murmured, continuing the thrum of his finger on your sensitive bud.
“Hahh- I’m gonna-“ you let out a shaky sigh, eyes rolling back in your head as the blonde pushed you over the edge. You came so easily to him, your walls throbbing around nothing, entirely displayed in front of both Kaveh and Alhaitham. The last time you did this in front of both of them, it was under the effects of a powerful aphrodisiac, and there was no sense of embarrassment or shame like there was right now. You were pushed to climax by nothing but a single finger.
“I… I…” you stammered, moving one arm to drape over your reddening face.
“It’s okay, don’t be shy.” Kaveh hummed, pressing one finger into your folds, his finger sinking in with almost no resistance. He followed it with another, feeling your walls tighten around him with the residual pleasure from your orgasm, before withdrawing them to wipe your arousal onto Alhaitham’s throbbing and leaking cock.
The blonde spread your slick up his length, mixing it in with the bead of precum that had gathered at his tip.
“Hah, Kaveh, you’re driving me insane.” Alhaitham groaned. You glanced up to see that he seemed out of breath, his face bright red, but his eyes were alert as they stared down at you. It was obvious Alhaitham wanted you badly, but with him restrained like that, he could do nothing about it — not even touch himself.
“Well, he’s gonna be driving you insane for a little longer.” You grinned deviously, sitting up and reaching forward to stick your hand down the front of Kaveh’s pants. You withdrew your hand after a moment, bringing Kaveh’s erection with you. “I want more than just fingers inside me.”
“A- are you sure?” Kaveh questioned, his heart racing as you guided him towards your entrance. “I don’t have a condom-“
“I don’t care.” You replied. “I want Alhaitham to watch you fuck me.”
“I- fuck…” Kaveh murmured, planting his hands on either side of the table as you laid back down, this time diagonally across the desk to give Alhaitham a better view.
“Here,” you lifted up one leg, putting yourself entirely on display. You turned to face Alhaitham, whose eyes were fixated on your exposed pussy. “Watch us.”
Kaveh slowly pressed his tip into your folds, your entrance taking him easily as he effortlessly sank into you.
“You’re so wet….” Kaveh murmured, pulling his hips back slowly. He pushed into you again, beginning to build a gentle rhythm. His cock began to stir your insides, each thrust reaching deep into you, making wet noises that echoed against the office walls and tickled something deep within Alhaitham.
It was one thing to watch you be fucked by someone else, but it was another thing to be unable to join in or even touch himself. He wanted so badly to just be able to stroke his throbbing cock to soothe the fact that he couldn’t fuck the both of you in this moment.
Kaveh treated you so gently, so kindly, focusing purely on your pleasure and comfort. He made sure not to rock you against the desk too hard lest it hurt your back. He stared down at your barely covered body with half lidded ruby eyes, the vibrant red barely visible through his thick blonde lashes. It was a loving stare, a kind stare. Everything about Kaveh was so beautiful and gentle, a stark opposite to Alhaitham. He always gripped you tightly, prepared for you to swat him away. Alhaitham wanted you so terribly that he fucked you with a hunger for your body unlike anything else.
And so, Alhaitham stared down at you ravenously. He wished he were that cock inside of you, making you blush and squirm, forcing moans and sighs from your lips.
Alhaitham strained against the vines, but they only gripped him tighter. It was like they were alive — the more he struggled, the tighter they squeezed him.
“Kaveh- fuck, I’m gonna-“
Alhaitham was snapped out of his daze as he watched you arch your back, eyes rolling upwards. Kaveh’s thrusts slowed, his cock pumping in and out of you slowly.
“You’re squeezing me Y/N, you’ll make me finish too-“
“Finish inside me.” You panted, wrapping your legs around Kaveh’s waist and pulling his hips towards you.
“Oh god, I shouldn’t- you’re making me-“ with a shaky sigh, Kaveh planted his hands on either side of the desk, his arms quivering as he unloaded inside you.
It took a moment for you to recover as you continued to orgasm around Kaveh’s cock that was buried deeply inside you. Once he finally caught his breath, he slowly withdrew from you, revealing the thick sheen of white that coated his length.
“I- I’m so sorry.” Kaveh murmured, staring down at your pussy. “I made a mess.”
“Fuck.” Alhaitham muttered, staring at the stream of arousal that oozed from your entrance.
“I think you should make a mess inside of Alhaitham too.” You commented bluntly, making Kaveh’s face turn deep red.
“I- uh-“ the mere idea of fucking Alhaitham like this had Kaveh entirely hard again. “Would you mind, Alhaitham?”
“Please… you can-“ Alhaitham stammered, panting. “You can do anything to me. Just let me- let me touch myself.”
“Hm.” You interjected. “Would you let me touch you instead of yourself?”
“Yes! Yes, just touch me.” Alhaitham replied immediately. “Hurt me, tease me. Anything is better than this.”
“Oh?” You smirked. With the flick of a wrist, the vines around shifted, forcing him to stand with his legs further apart and bend down over you. The vines pushed him forward, and you shifted your body until his cock was pressing into your entrance.
“Fuck!” Alhaitham exclaimed, “you feel so- hahhh, mmh,” he struggled against the vines, trying to break free, desperate to take control and fuck you with everything he had. Instead, he was forced to slowly enter your hot and wet cavern, his cock slipping in easily thanks to both your and Kaveh’s climaxes. “Please, Y/N, just let me move,”
“Is this height good for you, Kaveh?” You cut Alhaitham off, and that was when he felt Kaveh grip one of his cheeks.
“Yes, it’s perfect. Thank you.” Kaveh replied.
That was when Alhaitham felt something warm and slippery slide along his ass and press gently into his tight hole.
“Fuck- please, Kaveh, I- I don’t know if I-“
Alhaitham let out a shaky sigh as Kaveh pressed in harder, slowly breaching his hot and sensitive hole.
“Is this considered revenge for breaking my nose?” Kaveh spoke softly yet teasingly, taking care to settle his hips against Alhaitham’s ass slowly.
“Mmh- hah, I-“ Alhaitham panted. “I don’t know if- revenge should feel this good…” Alhaitham squeezed his eyes shut for a second. You could see the way his eyes lost focus as he became overwhelmed by pleasure. He would blink hard every now and then, trying to focus his vision. The image of Alhaitham reduced to such a blushing, squirming mess was something you never knew you needed to see.
“Jesus, Alhaitham.” Kaveh muttered. “You’re- tight.”
“It’s- been a while. I’m not used to- mmh-” Alhaitham’s reply devolved into whimpers as Kaveh withdrew from him slowly, leaving only the tip of his cock inside his ass.
“I knew you two had a thing back when you were students, but was it usually this way around?” You asked, pointing your finger to gesture between the two men, your question surprisingly nonchalant.
“Ahm, only sometimes…” Kaveh replied. “It was an… odd… situation.”
“F-fuck.” Alhaitham muttered, feeling Kaveh sink back into him.
You reached up, brushing the bangs away from Alhaitham’s half-lidded eyes. He gazed back down at you, a ferocious blush turning his cheeks and the tips of his ears bright red.
“Can you handle this?” You asked, noting the way his body trembled under the tight hold of your elemental vines.
“Of course.” Alhaitham muttered, his voice shaky. “Just f-fuck me already, Kaveh.”
As much as Kaveh wanted to break into a rapid pace, to let loose and chase another orgasm, he began to move with a painfully slow rhythm. He knew this kind of sex required patience and care, lest he hurt Alhaitham unnecessarily.
“Please…” Alhaitham groaned, feeling Kaveh press deep into his gut.
“Just- tell me if it hurts. Ok?” Kaveh replied, his voice sounding soft but also nervous.
“I will.” Alhaitham replied.
Kaveh began to pick up his pace, the momentum of his thrusts starting to shake Alhaitham’s body as well. With each snap of his hips, Kaveh pushed Alhaitham into you, making Alhaitham’s cock stir your insides deeply.
“Mmh… hahh…” Alhaitham groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as his brows drew upward. You could tell he was trying not to make much sound.
“You can make as much noise as you want, you know.” You hummed, looking up at Alhaitham’s flustered face. “Nobody else is gonna hear you.”
Winding your fingers into his hair, you pulled his head back. Alhaitham let out a whimper as you pulled, the column of his throat bobbing.
“You two- ahhnn-” Alhaitham’s deep voice came through more like a moan than anything else.
At that sound, Kaveh began to pick up the pace, the snapping of his hips beginning to make wet sounds from the mixture of arousal, sweat, and climax.
“Mmh! Haaaahhhh-“ Alhaitham’s mouth fell open, his body struggling to handle such stimulation.
You reached up one hand, running your thumb along his lips, wiping away the drool that began to spill from his mouth.
“You feel- so good…” Kaveh stammered between thrusts, growing out of breath from the exertion. He couldn’t help himself from going this fast; looking down at the way Alhaitham took him so easily, his ass squeezing Kaveh’s dick with each thrust. Kaveh was growing close to a second climax; he could only imagine what Alhaitham was feeling. A part of him wished he could see Alhaitham’s face, to see what he was doing to the scribe, to be able to kiss his soft lips during such dirty sex.
You loosened your grip on Alhaitham’s hair, holding his face up by his forehead instead so you could see the lewd and aroused look in his half-lidded eyes. His vision was unfocused, face bright red, his mouth hanging open as he rapidly approached his own orgasm.
“Mmh, hahhh-“ Alhaitham tried to form words, but he simply couldn’t. To be fucked so well by Kaveh while also having his own member stuck deep inside you.
He felt his climax growing deep inside his gut, building from the inside out against his will, unable to do anything to stop it. He had no clue it could feel so good to have all control relinquished to the two people he trusted most.
“I- I-” Alhaitham gasped, tears welling up in his eyes as the pleasure clouded his already dizzy mind. He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the tears to roll down his face and fall onto you as he was shaken by the rhythm of Kaveh’s hips against him.
Looking up at Alhaitham’s lewd, fucked-out expression, you couldn’t help the heat that surged in your stomach.
“You feel so nice inside me.” You hummed.
“I- I’m close.” Kaveh panted. “Alhaitham, am I alright to-”
The blonde’s sentence fell short as he realized Alhaitham currently wasn’t capable of forming words.
“Mmh- haah- ahhn!” Alhaitham moaned, his eyes rolling back in his head as he came, hard. You could feel the way his cock twitched furiously as he spilled his seed deep inside.
“Hahh Alhaitham, you’re squeezing me, I’m- god, I’m gonna-” Kaveh withdrew from Alhaitham quickly as he tumbled over his second climax, barely being able to pull out before ropes of thick white cum sprayed from his member.
When the movement stopped, you inched your way up the desk, crawling away from Alhaitham until his dick slipped from your slimy entrance. Cum dribbled from his tip, falling onto the papers below and completely ruining them. You leaned yourself up on your elbows, looking over Alhaitham’s shoulder to see his back painted in white.
“That was… so hot.” You muttered.
“Hot, but exhausting.” Kaveh replied, leaning heavily on the edge of the desk.
“What about you, Alhaitham?” You asked, turning to see his head hanging limply.
“Mmh…” He muttered, unable to form an intelligible response.
You resisted the desire to preen as you loosened the grip of the vines on him. Your elemental power was surprisingly still quite strong after maintaining it for so long, but you assumed that was just your talent. Although you didn’t finish from this experience, having Alhaitham end up the one so fucked-out that he was barely conscious was satisfying in an entirely new way.
“Let’s get you to the couch.” You murmured, waving your hand to control the vines and move his heavy body across the room.
It was odd being the one with greater strength; physically, Alhaitham could overpower you with little effort. With your vision, it was the other way around – so long as you made sure Alhaitham couldn’t use his own elemental power.
As you laid Alhaitham down, you let your vines dissipate, revealing bright red marks across his thick arms and chest. You ran your finger along them, feeling bad for a moment. They were certainly worse than the marks he had left on you once upon a time. However, you wouldn’t mind if he did that to you again. You lifted the bangs from his sweaty forehead, brushing them to the side as you stared at Alhaitham’s serene face. His chest rose and fell steadily. He was truly handsome to you like this – his hooked nose, his long eyelashes resting on his cheeks, his soft lips that weren’t pulled into a mild frown for once. You missed being intimate like this. You missed feeling his skin against yours, smelling his expensive shampoo mixed his sweat.
“Let me get a change of clothes for Alhaitham – and some water.” Kaveh spoke up, buckling his pants before tucking his messy hair back behind his ears.
“Oh- yeah.” You replied, shaking the lewd thoughts from your head. “Let me look around, actually. I’m fairly sure he keeps spare clothes here.”
~~~
S I X M O N T H S L A T E R
You stood at the edge of the courtyard, staring over the railing at the setting sun in the distance. From this vantage point midway up the Divine Tree, you could look down and see the estuary that flowed through all of Sumeru and into the ocean. To the east, you could clearly see the jutting rocks of the chasm that were twinged orange from the dried grass that covered them.
“You’re not one for sightseeing.” Alhaitham’s mildly irritating voice came from beside you.
“I’m just thinking.” You replied flatly.
“You’re the Grand Sage. Aren’t you supposed to be particularly efficient at thinking?”
You scoffed.
“I’m not thinking about work.” You shook your head. “I was just…” your sentence trailed off as you stared to the east. “I think I’m finally ready.”
“Ready for what?” Alhaitham questioned, confused. He thought you had already accomplished everything that you could possibly want to prepare for.
“Ready to go back to the Chasm.”
~~~
O N E M O N T H L A T E R
Nilou walked along the wide, well-lit path of the house of Daena. It was late at night, but the lanterns kept the atriums so bright that the light from its windows could be seen across Sumeru City. She knocked on the door to the large office, glancing for a moment at the placard nailed to its dense surface.
‘Office of Acting Grand Sage Kaveh’
Pushing the door open slightly, Nilou peered in.
“Uhm, how are you doing?” the redhead asked softly.
“Ahhh, this paperwork is endless!” Kaveh groaned, leaning back in his chair. “How the hell does anyone deal with this?!”
“It does seem like a lot.” Nilou replied.
“Oh- Nilou!” Kaveh sat forward, straightening his shoulders. “Sorry, I didn’t realize it was you.”
“It’s quite late, you know. You should probably relax for the rest of the night.”
“Ah- it is?!” Kaveh’s eyes widened with surprise. “It’s crazy how much time passes when you have a million things to do in a day. How the hell does Y/N like doing this?!”
“We all can agree she’s quite baffling.” Nilou smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m sure her expedition won’t be long. She set off with Alhaitham, after all.”
“She better not take much longer.” Kaveh groaned, leaning forward until he slumped over his desk.
“Anyway, I came here to ask if you wanted to get your mind off of things.” Nilou spoke sweetly. “How does dinner at Puspua sound?”
“That- that would actually be great.” Kaveh sat back upright, giving the redhead a smile.
~~~
The chasm was dark and damp. It made your clothes cling to your skin, made you sweat too quickly even when it was cold. The ground you knelt on was damp and cold, the wetness threatening to turn your knees numb. However, not even the stale air, lack of light, or rancid humidity could stop you from your heated discussion.
“This is clearly a Liyuean fungus. The chasm is a part of Liyue.” You explained curtly.
“Fungi are clearly Sumerian life forms. Their origins are in Sumeru.” Alhaitham answered in his typical blunt and matter-of-fact tone.
“That’s only as we know so far.” you replied, shaking your head.
“It’d be unscientific to make assumptions that are based on speculation rather than current knowledge.” Alhaitham explained.
“Ugh Alhaitham, why don’t you just let us come to some sort of compromise and call this a fungus native to the Chasm specifically?”
“There’s no way of knowing that.” Alhaitham continued to stand firm.
“Alhaitham! I am so sick and tired of you!” Groaning, you slammed your notebook shut and threw it onto the ground. Turning to face the silver-haired scribe, you grabbed his collar and pulled his face towards yours until your lips met.
After a half-beat, Alhaitham’s hands came up to hold your waist, deepening the kiss briefly before pulling away.
“I don’t think you are.” Alhaitham replied smugly.
“I- ugh.” You sighed, “I just don’t get why you won’t just agree with me.”
“I have a long list of logical reasons why the fungus would be from a Sumerian genus.” Alhaitham replied.
“And none of them matter because there’s infinite reasons why it might not be!”
~~~
T H E E N D.
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“Agh, I’m sweating buckets.” Tighnari complained, trudging through the thick foliage of the Sumeru Forest near Apam. “Are you sure this is the place, Cyno?”
“This is where Alhaitham said it was.” The Mahamatra replied calmly. He seemed entirely immune to the dense and humid forest, and it made Tighnari wonder if Cyno could deal just fine in any extreme environment.
The two continued their march through the dense woods, Tighnari feeling more and more hopeless the further they marched.
“There’s a clearing up ahead.” Cyno announced.
“Ah-” Tighnari looked up, spotting it through the trees. “Right as I was giving up hope. It really felt like finding a needle in a haystack.”
There was a clear patch of dirt, full of scuff marks. On the other side was a cliff face where a heavy vault-like door stuck out of, like there might be some sort of bunker in the hillside. Tighnari glanced around, examining the surroundings before entering the clearing. Surprisingly, instead of footprints belonging to native species, Tighnari noticed human handprints and footprints in the dirt. It looked like someone recently had a scuffle here. Either it happened recently, or in the months since Alhaitham explained what happened here, no other life forms had passed through.
“Odd.” Cyno commented.
“Hm?” Tighnari asked.
“There’s strong elemental energy coming from this clearing, but nothing from that door.”
“Strong elemental energy, is it strong enough to scare off animals and stop grass from growing? That’d explain the odd clearing.”
“I think so.” Cyno replied, beginning to walk across the clearing and towards the door. He gripped the metal handle, his biceps and forearms flexing as he wrenched it open with an ear-piercing screech.
“What the hell?” Tighnari muttered.
“This doesn’t… make sense.” Cyno replied, bewildered.
A door should mean there’s something on the other side. It wouldn’t make sense to build a door that led to nothing. In some sort of baffling twist of fate, the door had opened up to reveal a wall of dirt.
~~~