Work Text:
Let no one mislead you on what it’s like to work at one of Sumeru’s prestigious workplaces, the Akademiya. Securing employment as a member of the Mahamata? Like racing uphill, in a monsoon, against dozens of hungry rishboland tigers (fellow graduates) who all would happily sink their claws into your face to take your place.
Actually being an employee on staff?
…Surprisingly mundane.
Especially if you, like Panah, are fortunate enough to work for the former Acting Grand Sage, now reinstated Grand Scribe: Alhaitham.
Now no one would dare claim that the Grand Scribe is a particularly warm boss. He’s notoriously elusive, impatient with incompetence, arrives and leaves exactly on the clock, and requires a 24-hour notice before any meeting invitation. But he’s also very clear about his expectations for his staff and holds true to his word. Best of all, there’s little pressure to work overtime when your very own boss leaves as soon as the clock strikes five.
So being a glorified assistant for Alhaitham is not all bad, though not particularly glamorous. Panah’s usual day-to-day routine is monotony broken up by breaks of every work-appropriate variety: coffee, smoke, water closet, gossip…
So. Many. Gossip breaks.
Is that surprising to hear? Even before entering the Akademiya, scholars are meant to be curious and ask questions. Then the rigors of coursework instill in most students the benefits of collaboration in seeking answers. Graduation only reinforces these habits, as every researcher is made subject to the cutthroat world of grant proposals and sponsorship applications. The result is an Akademiya rumor mill that runs like a well-oiled machine.
So on an otherwise ordinary Thursday, people noticed immediately that there was something different about Alhaitham. The taciturn Grand Scribe shows up to the Akademiya right on time, wearing his usual custom headphones on to discourage chit-chat, and heads towards his office.
No one was paying attention at first. Maybe there had been a bit of interest after he had resigned from being Grand Sage and returned to his old position… but the tedium of the Scribe’s ordinary work routines had set in fully.
Who would pay attention to what Alhaitham was up to? Even the most determined of nosy snoops could find little to talk about in Alhaitham’s conduct. His habit of disappearing during office hours would have been noteworthy if it was not actually a return to his normal behavior before he helped free Devi Kusanali. And whenever he was found, he was inevitably reading some obscure book or records…
Suffice it to say, that fateful morning, the most interesting event at the office was Secretary Pravat showing off Kamera photos from his daughter's recital. While the photographs were being passed along the desks, Grand Scribe Alhaitham swept through the halls without drawing much notice.
One of the braver reception clerks chirps out a “Good morning!” as he passes.
Without missing a step, Alhaitham nods in response and continues on to his office. The door swings shut behind him.
And chaos descends.
The clerk who had been recognised, Iman, turns to the rest of the staff.
“Did… did he just greet me?”
Maryam, sitting across the aisle, confirms that yes, indeed, Grand Scribe Alhaitham nodded at Iman.
Which was something he had never done in all the weeks of faithful greetings Iman had issued ever since starting on the job. Iman had not been deterred by the lack of response— those noise-cancelling headphones of Alhaitham’s were always turned on in the office.
“This means… I was noticed!” Iman giggles.
Panah feels a headache coming on. Time to cut this nonsense off before people go too far. They are appointed officials in positions of public trust! How would it reflect on the Akademiya if it was common knowledge that the Mahamata staff could be distracted by a simple nod?!
After delivering a stern reminder to go back to work, Panah turns back to his own duties. First off, review and finalise the Grand Scribe’s schedule, then drop off a copy to the Grand Scribe’s desk.
Alhaitham is usually brooding over a cup of coffee and always dismisses Panah quickly when he comes to deliver the meeting roster. Panah never takes the brusqueness personally— not everyone can be a morning person like Panah.
But today, Alhaitham nods and says, “Oh, is that the schedule? Let’s take a look.”
…Panah is suddenly struck with sympathy for Iman’s unprofessional behavior earlier. Alhaitham’s whole demeanor is entirely different than just the day before. Apparently now he’s giving out acknowledgements like they’re candy!
Panah lingers in case the Grand Scribe wants him to do something else, which means he gets a front-seat view to how Alhaitham is carefully looking over the schedule, with what might be the slightest of smiles on his normally impassive face… Almost like he's looking forward to the day to come.
This time Alhaitham doesn’t have to dismiss Panah. Panah decides to grant the man some privacy and leaves the Grand Scribe’s office in a hurry, feeling distinctly like he just witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event.
A little dazed, he elects to take a short break and wander around the Akademiya campus to collect his thoughts.
You have to understand, Panah has never seen Alhaitham so content. Focused, dedicated, competent? Absolutely.
His attitude is why Panah respects Alhaitham so greatly. Rumors say that Alhaitham had to be strong-armed into the Grand Sage’s office by the combined pressure of the two remaining sages, the General Mahamatra, and the Dendro Archon. Regardless, he took his job responsibilities very seriously. Panah supported the (Acting) Grand Sage every step of the way, from maintaining essential government functions, overhauling corrupt administrative procedures, transitioning power back to Devi Kusanali, and holding a very contested election for the current Grand Sage. When Alhaitham finally resigned and returned to his old role as Akademiya Scribe, Panah took a slight demotion to follow him there.
Panah thinks he is perhaps one of people most qualified to judge what is or is not normal for Alhaitham. And before today, he could confidently say that Alhaitham is never excited to be at work.
…But Panah is respectful enough to not intrude on his boss’s privacy. Alhaitham’s improved mood is enough; Panah needn’t know the why behind it. He’s dawdled long enough with all this thinking anyways.
When he returns to his desk, Maryam is sitting in his chair. Iman is standing right behind her. A confrontation it is, then. No doubt there are more than a few nosy gossips pretending to work at their desks around him as well.
“Did you meet with the Grand Scribe already?”
Panah nods, not sure where Maryam is going with this line of questioning. She looks around to make sure that everyone is listening as she announces, “Did you see him smile, too?”
Panah nods weakly as Iman all-but-shouts, “What? He smiles? I want to see!”
Maryam crows triumphantly at Panah’s confirmation. Some of the onlookers decide to join in on the conversation:
“You know, I think he's been in his office all morning… I actually wasted time looking for him because I assumed he wasn't in his office,” says Saarika, assistant to the Spantamad Sage.
“Right, as soon as he’s finished with his coffee, gone! I never check there first,” Iman replies.
“But he was there! And when I asked him to provide an immediate response, he didn't tell me to file my petition in his inbox and wait for a response in 1-2 business days. No offense to you, Panah, but I couldn’t wait that long.”
Panah smiles weakly. Ever since the Akasha Terminal shutdown, Alhaitham implemented a rigorous inbox-outbox system to handle the sheer volume of paperwork in an efficient and impartial manner. But not everyone is pleased by the idea of waiting, even if their concern isn’t truly the highest priority. Saarika has complained many times of being unfairly reprimanded by the Spantamad Sage for delays caused by Akademiya Scribe’s standard operating procedure. But the entire point of the system is strict adherence, so she should have been told to wait anyways.
Saarika continues, “I told him that my sage wanted his review and approval as fast as possible, or else I’d be in trouble, and he must have been feeling nice today… Because he took my petition, looked it over, and gave me a list of requested revisions to send back to my sage. I can't believe it!”
Panah is in agreement. He would like to get back to work, however, but Maryam is still taking up his desk chair! Panah pointedly takes hold of the correspondence on his desk and looks through the papers while his coworkers chitter-chatter.
“Iman, out of the way,” he demands. “I need to access that drawer behind you. And get back to work! You two have been occupying my desk so long that couriers delivered letters for you here!”
Iman opens up the letter right then. Panah wants to groan about safeguarding document access security, especially when Iman says out loud, “Ooh, looks like the Matra wants authorisation to access the Archives. Guess it’s my turn to visit the Akademiya Scribe!”
Maryam finally gets out of Panah’s desk chair. “Yeah, he’ll hate that. Good luck! Maybe you’ll see him smile before you destroy his good mood with the Matra’s request.”
Sometimes Panah thinks that his boss has the right idea with noise-cancelling headphones in the office. He does his best to ignore his garrulous coworkers, but he can’t help but overhear continued reports of the Grand Scribe’s apparent good mood all the way through noon.
Normally no one thinks much of what the Scribe does during lunch hour. He never takes it with anyone from the office, instead disappearing somewhere in his usual elusive manner. Given how difficult he is to find sometimes, no one is willing to give up their personal break just to discover where exactly Alhaitham goes during lunch.
But today, on this strange day of all days, Alhaitham can be found walking up and down the hallways of the House of Daena.
“Is the Scribe pacing? Like in anticipation? What’s he so excited about?”
Panah shushes them. The Akademiya is still a workplace! Decorum has to be followed!
“Yeesh, Panah. It’s a quarter until we get off for lunch, relax a little…”
Technically, there are a full 15 minutes of productive paid labor that they all owe their employers… But Panah forgets this reprimand, too, when a visitor arrives at the Akademiya in the ten odd minutes before lunch hour officially begins.
Now, the man's identity is unmistakable, and his reputation? Also unquestionable. Rumors about the Light of the Kshahrewar began spreading years ago, when he was just some prodigy architecture student with an impressive citation rate on his papers... Nevermind that he wasn't even on the research track! (Panah isn’t jealous, of course)
Even after graduation, the architect showed his face around the Akademiya often enough on official business. He was even invited to teach an architecture elective for a semester, and Panah hears that the Campus Registrar still gets requests for a repeat session.
Recently, however, whenever Kaveh appears at the Akademiya, a loud and public dispute with the Scribe is sure to follow. Their spirited arguments didn't change in pitch, volume, nor frequency after Alhaitham was promoted to (Acting) Grand Sage.
Their debates are legendary. But still, much more commonplace than the unique sight of Alhaitham smiling. Which means…
Panah steps in front of Kaveh.
Officially, Panah is the Mahamata liaison for the Office of the Grand Scribe, which means he keeps track of the Scribe’s schedule, processes the less-important paperwork, and does supporting research for the Scribe upon request.
Unofficially, Panah is the last barrier in fending off unwanted visitors who would serve as distractions for the very busy man that is Alhaitham.
And Panah takes his duties very seriously.
The architect Kaveh looks to be in good spirits. Nothing unusual there. The man is always well-groomed and dressed to the nines. And he's often seen in a genial mood, up until he encounters Alhaitham.
Upon noticing Panah’s presence, Kaveh waves and tries to sidestep him to go towards Alhaitham’s office. Normally, Panah would remind himself to mind his own business, but this time he has to say something. The entire office has been distracted this morning, and for good reason: his boss is visibly happy for the first time in his memory of employment!
Absolutely nothing and no one can be allowed to jeopardise this rare occasion.
So Panah clears his throat and steps in front of Kaveh again, blocking the way towards the Scribe’s office.
Kaveh pauses. "...Is something wrong? You usually let me right on through if Alhaitham's not busy. It’s lunchtime though…"
Panah doesn't know how to answer him. His objection to the architect's entry isn't meant to be offensive, but it certainly is personal. Better give the news to Kaveh straight:
"Scribe Alhaitham has been in an extraordinarily good mood all morning. Please, whatever argument you have today, save it for another day.”
Kaveh blinks. "Huh?"
"You two are always arguing! I've watched you both pick the pettiest of fights with no regards to everyone else working here. If I allow you access to the Grand Scribe, I know for certain that there will be yet another workplace distraction, and I don’t want to disturb the Scribe’s good mood with unnecessary bickering!"
Kaveh’s cheeks flush in irritation. Panah grows more concerned at the blow-up fight that's sure to ensue.
"We— we don't fight that much!"
Panah gives him a look. Kaveh's blush only grows.
"...And I’m not actually here to argue. Panah, I assure you, you have no reason to block me from seeing Alhaitham now. We have lunch plans!"
Panah sighs wearily. Aside from how he can’t seem to help himself from being a public nuisance when fighting the Grand Scribe, Master Architect Kaveh comes off as a generally affable person, the sort of accomplished individual Panah holds in high esteem. His name is always on the donor list at charitable fundraisers, the design studio behind new schools and libraries, the much-asked-for elective on the course catalog. But Panah has to be loyal to his actual colleagues. The Scribe's rare good mood absolutely cannot be spoiled by unnecessary arguments—
"You're late," Alhaitham's voice says from behind Kaveh.
Both of them jump. Panah’s poor heart needs a moment to recover from his startlement, but Kaveh immediately rolls his eyes and turns to face Alhaitham.
"I was not late! If you’re judging my timeliness by the clock in your office, I know it runs a few minutes early to throw off visitors who fail to carry their own timepiece…"
“You can see for yourself; I did not come from the direction of my office. And the perception of time is a relative experience. You are late because I was expecting you earlier, and I had to wait."
"You can't turn this around on me for having unreasonable expectations! I left the house right on time, and here I am, right when we agreed!"
Under some duress, Panah is willing to admit that their bickering can be entertaining, albeit unbecoming for the workplace. But he can't let himself be cast aside as an uninvolved bystander.
Look, the Scribe is still smiling! There's a chance to salvage this situation! Panah has to act quickly to maintain a peaceful and tranquil work environment.
They're slipping right into that familiar cadence of an argument, right in front of Panah… except their voices aren't raised. Actually, they're leaning towards each other as they speak.
It’s like, to them, Panah isn't even there. Mind you, he is literally standing an arm’s reach away! But now he steps out of the way, freeing up the hallway so that others may pass. He feels oddly like an extra now, but at least along the wall, he has a better vantage point.
Kaveh stays where he is, hands on his hips. He looks rather offended, all worked up as is normal for when he and Alhaitham get into verbal disputes.
But Alhaitham moves closer. Panah has never seen them actually resort to fisticuffs, even during the loudest and most fierce arguments, but their debates do get quite intense at times. He’s worried. Should he intervene? He can’t let his boss beat up a visitor in the workplace!
What happens next happens very fast:
Alhaitham steps forward, puts his hand on the back of Kaveh's head, and pulls him in for a kiss.
…?!
Panah doesn't know how to process this series of events.
Someone exclaims loudly behind him, “What?! Didn’t they hate each other?”
Someone else wolf-whistles.
Oh, the hallway wasn’t deserted after all. Apparently everyone, including Panah, had elected to stick around to watch the proceedings instead of passing through.
Kaveh pushes the scribe off, face very red indeed. "Not in public!" he scolded, looking at Panah and the other scholars, who were not bothering to hide that they were looking right back.
"Why not?" Alhaitham says, taking hold of Kaveh's hands. It’s clear that no one else even registers in his attention.
Kaveh, though he doesn’t pull his hands out of the Scribe’s grasp, surveys their surroundings and visibly cringes at the sight of a gathering crowd. "This is your workplace! And a public space! And–"
"My office then?"
"Yes! That's where we would have been if someone didn't get so impatient and make up excuses about me being late."
"I wanted to see you earlier."
Kaveh huffs, a familiar sound to Panah from their previous public disagreements. This time the sigh sounds less irritated, more fond.
They walk unimpeded to the Scribe's Office. The door closes behind them.
Panah recovers from his state of shock & turns to the other witnesses there.
"Did you..?"
"Yep." Maryam is forgiven for being an incorrigible gossip and a chair-thief earlier by validating Panah’s lived experience now.
"They're...?"
"What else can it be?”
"Is that why...?"
"Without a doubt!”
Panah makes it back to his desk and sits there a while to process what he just saw. Which is how he doesn’t notice Iman looking through the printed Grand Scribe’s schedule until his shoulder is tapped to get his attention.
"Hey, I just overheard the Scribe arguing with the Light of the Kshahrewar about taking the rest of the day off. Sounds like he lost, so he’s actually coming back after lunch. But I don’t know… Wouldn’t it be nice to call off the Scribe’s afternoon meetings? None of these look that important. I bet I can get these ones rescheduled.”
Panah considers the suggestion. By no means is this officially sanctioned Akademiya policy. But, well, the source of the Grand Scribe’s smile has been found. Perhaps exceptions can be made…
“Fine, send me the new meeting times. I’ll prepare a new schedule.”
Kaveh comes home to a lovely surprise indeed: flowers in a vase, the house tidier than when they left it in the morning, a home-cooked dinner on the table… Best of all? That hideous figurine that he’s been telling Alhaitham to put elsewhere for ages is nowhere to be seen!
He absorbs all of these observations while taking off his shoes in the parlor and changing into house clothes, and then Kaveh goes to let Alhaitham know exactly how much he appreciates the domestic labor he put into their home.
(...Okay, maybe he gets a tad carried away with showing his “appreciation,” but Alhaitham’s chosen dinner spread is all foods that don’t need to be reheated! That forethought of his is yet another personal quality that Kaveh can certainly get behind, at least in this particular situation)
In other words, Kaveh is quite thoroughly distracted for the next several hours, until it’s night time, and Alhaitham’s already turned off his bedside lamp. Now Kaveh is the only one awake in their bed. He is trying very hard to stay still to avoid disturbing Alhaitham’s slumber, but his mind is certainly twisting and turning in his stead.
Alhaitham was home earlier than usual from work. He explained his unusual free time as the result of his meeting schedule being cleared out for the afternoon. At the time, Kaveh didn’t question this stroke of good luck too deeply (He had much more interesting things to consider in the moment)... But now he can’t sleep, so:
Does Alhaitham suddenly having all his meetings cancelled, right after he and Kaveh had made that big scene of themselves in the office, mean that his coworkers thought they were being unprofessional?
Now, Kaveh absolutely hates when Alhaitham tries to tell him how to manage his own career, so he won’t do the same to Alhaitham. But… in Kaveh’s line of work, an unexpectedly empty schedule is a very bad sign. Especially when not of one’s own volition.
And he’s been to the Akademiya to see Alhaitham plenty of times, even before they started dating! Kaveh usually gets friendly nods from the clerks at reception! (Although, come to think of it, the greetings he received today were rather cursory…) And of course, Panah tried to prevent him entirely from seeing Alhaitham. He’s never been outright stopped by Panah, not unless Alhaitham was currently in an urgent meeting that could not be disrupted.
The local conclusion is that Alhaitham’s coworkers disapprove of their relationship.
He knows exactly what Alhaitham will say, that he doesn’t care about nor need his colleagues’ approval. But Kaveh does care! Alhaitham may not be concerned, but if his workplace is unwelcoming because of Kaveh, that certainly will affect how Alhaitham is treated at his job!
Alhaitham turns over and mumbles, “You’re thinking too loud.” As if Kaveh can control the volume of his non-verbal thinking! But Alhaitham throws an arm over Kaveh’s chest, and he finally manages to fall asleep under that comforting weight.
His last thought before the twilight oblivion of sleep takes him is a firm resolution to not stop by Alhaitham's office during work hours to avoid antagonising Alhaitham’s coworkers. They’ll see plenty of each other at home anyways…
Slowly, things return to normal. Alhaitham resumes his bad attitude. He disappears for long periods. Iman claims to have a broken heart after every attempt at a morning salutation goes ignored. Panah considers this business as usual.
The only change from before is that the Light of the Kshahrewar suddenly makes himself scarce at the Akademiya.
Everyone knows he’s still in the capital. Between his high-profile contract for an urban renovation project and his many appearances alongside Alhaitham in public, Kaveh can be found everywhere in Sumeru City other than at the Akademiya.
And most importantly: Alhaitham can be spotted smiling occasionally on these domestic errands with Kaveh.
The rumor mill comes to the conclusion that the Akademiya Scribe’s temporary stint as Mr. Congeniality must have been the result of Kaveh’s visit at lunchtime. Now that Kaveh is avoiding the Akademiya entirely, Alhaitham’s smiles on work premises are unlikely to make a reappearance anytime soon.
Like Panah said: business as usual. But the problem is that they all had the brief experience of seeing a happy Scribe. How can they ever return to the old days, when they know it could be better?
People want Kaveh back.
Panah, as the Mahamata Liason to the Scribe and the person who works closest to Alhaitham, is voted to be the person who asks the Scribe when his boyfriend is coming to visit again.
(…He's not allowed to say no. There were many, many appeals to workplace productivity and professional standards. There were also many threats…)
Panah finds Alhaitham in the records room, of all places. If he were to look at his schedule print-out, he would know that he’s supposed to be at a meeting right now… But Panah forgoes the reminder this time. At least the records room is a private place to have a delicate discussion.
"People have been discussing when we'll see Mr. Kaveh again,” Panah starts.
"I wasn't aware that he was missing. Has there been a commission posted at the Adventurer's Guild, or perhaps the Corps of Thirty? The Light of the Kshahrewar’s disappearance may even be important enough to escalate to the Matra’s attention."
Panah gulps and reminds himself that he can’t falter here. Not unless he wants to be hassled forever by the rest of the Mahamata administrative staff.
"We all thought it'd be nice for him to come by more! He used to stop by all the time, remember?"
Alhaitham sighs. "I am well aware. Is there a point to this nostalgia?"
Panah hates peer pressure. So, so much.
"You should invite him sometime! Meet him for lunch here, perhaps.”
“Should I? I’m told he felt his reception last time to be distinctly unfriendly."
…So this was probably Panah's fault. He absolutely cannot tell this to the busybody gossips waiting at his desk. In his defense, he had no idea that Alhaitham and Kaveh were dating.
They were famously at odds on every public message board and academic journal of note. And at the Akademiya, they had been fighting for months, sometimes shouting loud enough that no one else could work or think straight for all the clamor. More than once, Kaveh stormed away in self-righteous fury. How was Panah supposed to know that those fierce clashes were actually the build up to an entirely different kind of discourse?
No one suspected! Why must Panah be the scapegoat, thrown in front of a very displeased Scribe to try to alleviate his bad mood…
You know what? He didn’t volunteer for this. So he has no compunctions about making the solution to Alhaitham’s discontent a problem for everyone else.
"What if it was a 'Bring Your Partner to Work' day? The PR team said they wanted to give the Akademiya a more family-friendly reputation…"
The Public Relations team most certainly did not say such a thing. The overarching Human Resources department actually recently complained about being short-staffed with no time to administer new employee retention initiatives.
…Such are the consequences of sending Panah to talk to an unhappy Scribe.
"The most direct way to improve the Skademiya's image would be to reform workplace leave policy," Alhaitham points out. “And to revise the employment procedures.”
These decisions are way over Panah’s paygrade, which is why he should never have been sent in the first place to talk to the Scribe. "What if I get you a meeting with the head of HR?"
"As tempting as another meeting is, I can arrange one myself. That's a lot of extra work to put on me, Panah."
Think, Panah, think. What else can he add to sweeten the deal?
"I can rearrange your meeting schedule so you have zero recurring Monday meetings…?"
At this offer, Alhaitham nods, distinctly less friendly than that extraordinary Thursday morning where he had practically skipped into work.
But Panah walks away feeling as if he fought a snow leopard and came to a draw with all of his limbs still attached. Now to face the gossip-hungry rishoboland tigers waiting at his desk…
In all likelihood, Kaveh was informed before. Equally as likely, he was distracted with some task or another and didn’t actually register what he was being told. His surprise is thus very genuine when Alhaitham reminds him to check that Mehrak has enough pens. In Alhaitham’s objective opinion, the Mahamata supply closet had a woefully inadequate selection of writing tools and could not be relied upon.
"Wait, why do I care how bad the pens are at your workplace? Bring your own if you’re going to be picky! I’m not planning on going there—”
Still, Kaveh multi-tasks by shoving a few extra pencils into his pockets while following Alhaitham through the house to demand a better explanation. The clarification he gets sounds more like a prank than real, unfortunately:
“The Akademiya is requiring my attendance for a 'Bring Your Family to Work' Day? What kind of event is that?"
"I've been told personally by the head of HR that the Akademiya is prioritising work-life balance."
Kaveh considers this new information while going to get his cloak since apparently he is leaving the house today.
“Oh, is that why you've been coming home early on Mondays?"
"Mm hmm. The scholars at the Akademiya have also told me that they're expecting to see you there.”
"They're expecting me—” Kaveh pauses in adjusting his cloak to look at Alhaitham. “...It's not a problem? That we’re together?"
Alhaitham steps forward to smooth out Kaveh’s cloak to lay neatly across his shoulders. "Not at all. Your presence is very much requested at the very first occurrence of ‘Family Day.’ Highly anticipated, even.”
“Isn’t this kind of weird…” Kaveh grumbles. “I've been there countless times.”
“But never as my family, no.”
Alhaitham’s hands are still placed on his shoulders. Kaveh leans into his hold, reaching up to wrap his arms around Alhaitham’s back and pull him in closer.
His voice lowers as he teases, “Haithoomi, why do you sound so smug, hmm? Is being known as my partner so satisfactory?”
“You should know better than to fish for obvious compliments. There isn’t a scholar in the Akademiya who isn’t aware that I’m yours, to’borni.”
Kaveh feels the words resonate through Alhaitham’s chest as he responds, and he squeezes tighter. Good, that they know. Good that they approve. Because he’s not leaving Alhaitham no matter what they think.
“Alright,” Kaveh decides, dropping the embrace and shoving Alhaitham away. “We should be going soon then. Mehrak, what time is it?”
The moment his attention is drawn away, Alhaitham takes possession of his hand and holds it up to press kisses up his arm.
“You…! Stop distracting me, we're going to be late! This is your workplace, you know.”
“Not a problem, I have plenty of paid family leave.”
“Haithoomi, that's for emergencies! Like when someone's sick, or you're got a new baby at home.”
“Hmm, I wouldn't be opposed…”
Kaveh is much too fond of this ridiculous man. What a shame that he never grew out of the desire to indulge his favorite junior, for what else explains why he doesn’t immediately refuse Alhaitham’s suggestion?
“…Let's discuss that later.”
They show up half an hour late, holding hands. The Grand Scribe is smiling.