[Alhaitham x Kaveh: One Shots(?)] Through The Torn Pages And Crumbled Buildings

Scribe, Forget Me.

Summary:
Life erodes, fading into the Afterlife's hold, never to be heard from again. That Kaveh knows, but he couldn't bear the thought of leaving the grieving man alone, forever trapped in perpetual regret.

It is best that Alhaitham forgets him.

The Dendro Archon accepts the architect's request, but with a small change.

⚠️ Warning:
Mentions of violence, Character death. Proceed with caution.

—————

Kaveh remembered when he was stabbed. He remembered how the eremite's cold blade went through his skin and pierced through his heart. All he could do was to scream, to cry, to hope for his Scribe. It had been hours since the team he was working with found him smudged in blood. He didn't make it out alive. That was his first regret.

The second was when the news reached the ears of Alhaitham. Forced to bury his lover, the stoic face dropped, melting into tears after a decade of holding them back. Not even the most stoic can resist pain.

The last was when Kaveh realized he had lied to Alhaitham.

"You'll be fine, right? There has been a steep increase of eremite activity in the desert recently. Don't do anything idiotic." Kaveh rolled his eyes at the statement.

"I won't! I've already done this many times before! The project isn't even that far away. Stop being so against it."

Alhaitham scoffed, clearly unconvinced. "Worrying about you does not mean I am against your decisions. Are you still sure you're going? If you've forgotten, I'm the Akademiya's Scribe. I earn more than enough Mora for the both of us."

"Don't you dare start comparing our salaries! Yes, I'll be fine. How many times do I have to say it?"

"Until I am sure of your survival rate."

"Archons damn you, Haitham!"

Kaveh, no, Kaveh's soul now roamed the plains of mortality. They couldn't hear him, couldn't see him, couldn't communicate to him.

Many couldn't hear him calling out for Alhaitham, completely deaf to the ghost who yearned for the mortal, who too, was deaf.

They couldn't see him walking beside the Scribe, trying to get his attention, nor did the Scribe see him as he walked to the Akademiya's entrance with slumped shoulders and a tired expression. The Scribe held nothing but the familiar turquoise feather Kaveh always wore. An eternal reminder of his brutal end.

They couldn't talk to him. They couldn't tell him if Alhaitham was alright. They couldn't tell him if Alhaitham was taking care of himself. They couldn't tell him anything, except for Alhaitham. Kaveh could hear the muttering coming from the Scribe's mostly pursed lips as he fainted from exhaustion on his office table. Kaveh could hear his name repeat again and again through those lips. Each repeat was coated in desperation, in fear, in tears. Kaveh couldn't bear to see him so vulnerable.

It pained him to hear, to speak, to see. So, he left the Akademiya, promising to return once he has cleared his head.

Stepping out into the ever busy streets of Sumeru, he spotted a child-like figure in the middle of the road, alone. He walked forward. Maybe they were a lost kid looking for their parents. Even if he was just a mere ghost, he couldn't just stand and watch. A sudden turn of the child's head terrified him. Her eyes were green like Dendro, her hair white as a cloud. She smiled at him, waving.