· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·
PAST
You open your eyes, letting them adjust to the dim lighting. As you take in your surroundings, a sense of confusion fills you. You up sit up in the bed and let last night's events flood your mind. As you scan the room for any glimpse of your friend, your eyes widen in realization.
'If I fell asleep in Alhaitham's bed, where is he?'
You swing your legs over the edge of the bed, letting your feet touch the hardwood floor. Hastily, you try to rearrange the sheets. Once they look somewhat neat, you tiptoe out of the room.
Like his room, the rest of the house is dim. The only source of light is from the living room window, which welcomes sunlight into the house. The light illuminates a sleeping figure on the couch. Though his back was turned to you, the unmistakable mop of silver hair made it easy to guess who it was. A smile spreads across your face like butter as your legs carry you down the stairs.
Before you were even near the couch, Alhaitham began to stir, turning towards you with half-lidded eyes. His action made you freeze in place. Not knowing what else to do, you offered your friend an awkward smile and a wave.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah." Alhaitham yawns. He sat up and patted the empty space next to him.
"Come here," he says. Wordlessly, you comply, sitting next to your viridian-eyed friend. He adjusts the blanket so it lays on your lap. You take a glance at him in the early morning sunlight.
His hair was bathed in a warm orange glow, which brought out his orange pupils. The gentle light softened his sharp features. For a moment, it was like you were five years old again, seeing him for the very first time. Of course, that was a long time ago and things are vastly different now.
In a few months, Alhaitham will be graduating and off to college. Just like Kaveh, he'll be up to his elbows in work from his professors and may barely have any free time. You'll only get to see him, Kaveh, Tighnari, and Cyno during school breaks.
At the same time, you'll be starting your last year of high school with Collei and Nilou. The three of you will have to start thinking about life beyond graduation. With your friends already attending Teyvat University, that decision wasn't hard, but you knew the upcoming school year wouldn't feel the same without your entire friend group.
'Time does fly, huh?'
Alhaitham turns his head, catching your stare. "What?" he asks.
"It's nothing." You look away from him with a sigh.
"If something's on your mind, you should say it."
"Well," you start, "I've been thinking about the next few months."
"What about it?"
"It's gonna be so different without you here," you sigh. "Sure, I'll have Collei and Nilou, but it's still going to be different. I've known you way longer than I've known them.
"I know you like the back of my hand. We can always tell when the other isn't feeling well or having a bad day without having to say a word. I always come to you when I'm having problems, and you do the same. We've told each other everything, and I really enjoy spending time with you. I assume you do too, otherwise you wouldn't have kept me around this long," you joke.
"But what I'm trying to say is it's going to be hard walking by your house everyday after school knowing that you're not there, Alhaitham. You're going to be in a totally different part of Teyvat while I'll be here. I'm going to miss you so much next fall," you say. "That's been on my mind for the past few days now."
The emotional part of Alhaitham wanted to wrap his arms around you and hug you just for the sake of holding you. He wanted to tell you everything he's kept from you, feelings he's harbored and hidden from you for years. It would be easy to get them off his chest now, before everything waiting for him beyond high school makes itself known.
But he didn't.
After all, long distance relationships hardly ever work out. Instead, he sighs.
"I'll miss you so much too, Y/N, more than you'll ever know, but please don't talk like I'm going away forever when I'm sitting right next to you. I don't leave for a few more months.
"Even when I'm not physically here, I'll always be there for you. When I'm in college, I'll be a text or a call away. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, if it's you, I'll drop everything to answer it and, if need be, I'll take the first flight back to Sumeru if you say the word."
"You promise?" you say as you hold out your pinkie finger to him. A faint smile ghosts his lips at your action.
"I promise," he says as he wraps his pinkie around yours.
"Thank you," you whisper.
"No, thank you."
"Why are you thanking me?" you ask. "I didn't do anything."
"I'm thanking you for skipping prom with me," he says. A gentle laugh escapes your lips and graces his eardrums. Just that sound alone was enough to brighten the smile to his face.
"Of course," you reply. "I'm always here for you, too, whether it's to help you through a tough time, skip prom, and everything else in between."
· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·
PRESENT
"How I've missed the sight of Sumeru at night," Tighnari chirps as the five of you leave the airport. Currently, you were all walking towards the parking lot – you, Kaveh, and Alhaitham were riding home together, whereas Tighnari and Cyno were going somewhere else.
"What's the plan for the break?" your brother asks. "I know we mentioned meeting up, but we never agreed on a date."
"Why don't we do it after the holidays but before the start of the semester," you suggest. "That way, we can rest and recharge a bit." Cyno nods in agreement.
"Sounds good to me."
The five of you continue to talk until Alhaitham spots a familiar car in the lot. "There's our ride," he says to Tighnari and Cyno.
"Well, we'll text about winter break plans later," Kaveh suggests. After exchanging goodbyes and a few hugs, Tighnari and Cyno go in a different direction, while the three of you go to Alhaitham's mom's car.
Excitedly, the woman exits the car, practically running to her son. Once she was close enough, she threw her arms around him. "I missed you!" she exclaims. Alhaitham let's go of his suitcase handle to return her actions.
"I missed you, too, Mom." After a moment, she detangled herself from her son and turned towards you.
"And Y/N! It's so nice to see you again." She pulls you into a hug too. "Thanks for taking care of him," she whispers into your ear.
"I think it's the other way around," you laugh. She separates herself from you with a smile before greeting your brother in a similar fashion.
"Now," Alhaitham's mom says after hugging everyone. "Put your things in the trunk, and we'll be on our way. I'm gonna warm up the car." The three of you load your suitcases and bags into the back of the car before getting in. Alhaitham claimed in the front seat, next to his mom, while you and Kaveh sit in the back.
The ride home was filled with lots of casual conversation and catching up on what happened the past few months. "Hey," you say to Alhaitham's mom. "Did my dad ever collect the money from your bet?"
"He did."
"Bet?" your brother questions. "What bet?"
"When Alhaitham and I told our parents we were dating, Dad got all excited and said he won a bet they made. Now he has an extra $500." Your brother's ruby eyes widened.
"What!? You mean to tell me I could've made money on this too."
"What do you mean by that?" Alhaitham asks. Though he remained in his seat, you could almost picture him furrowing his brows at your brother's words.
"Well," Kaveh says sheepishly. "During move-in day, Ayato suggested we should bet when you two would get together and like the amazing big brother that I am, I didn't bet. Now I'm regretting my decisions because I could've had some pocket change." You rolled your eyes at the blonde's words.
"Listen, I was only asking about the bet because I want to ask for some of it since they bet at mine and Alhaitham's expense. If you and Ayato did that, I'd also ask for money from you, too."
"I guess it's good that I didn't then."
After a while, you feel the car drive up the familiar street. A wave of nostalgia crashed over you as you saw the barren trees. It didn't feel like you were gone for that long, yet you felt like a different person coming home. You now had a semester of college under your belt. The past four months have allowed you to grow closer to your major and the friends you've made. 'Maybe Alhaitham's right. It will get easier leaving and coming home.'
"We're here!" Alhaitham's mom beams as she pulls into your parents' driveway. Excitedly, you exit the car and unload your things. Kaveh and Alhaitham follow in suit, except Alhaitham leaves his belongings in the car. Once you had your things, the man takes your free hand in his.
"You ready?" he asks.
"Yeah," you smile. "I'm ready." With that, the two of you walk through your front door, hand in hand. Your parents, who were sitting on the couch, looked up when they heard the door open.
"Y/N!" your mom exclaims. She quickly left her seat and your dad follows. The two of them wrap their arms around your figure. In the process, you let go of Alhaitham's hand so you could hug your parents.
"I missed you guys," you say softly. Your dad pulls away from the hug first with a grin.
"Welcome home, kiddo." Your mom detangles herself from you.
"We can't wait to hear all about your first semester."
"I'll tell you all about it," you laugh.
Your brother walks through the door with his belongings in hand. "I'm home!" he calls. Your mom runs up to him, too, welcoming him. Your dad, though, stayed in his place. His eyes flickered over to the person next to you.
"Ahh, I can finally give you 'The Talk'," he smirks.
"Dad!" you groan. "We just got home!" He ignores you and chose to keep his gaze fixed on Alhaitham.
"I'm not that shocked my daughter decided to trust you with her heart, but since you're no stranger to our family, I've decided to be generous and keep this short. I know every little embarrassing thing that's happened to you growing up, Alhaitham," your dad pauses to take in the shock painted on Alhaitham's face.
"Yep. Everything." He lowers his voice. "Your mom is best friends with my wife. Those two talk every single day, and afterwards I get to hear about what happened. If you hurt her, I won't hesitate to tell people about The Incident. I'm sure you know what I'm referring to." Alhaitham only sighs.
"I've waited for this opportunity for years. Hurting Y/N is the last thing I want to do to her," the silver-haired man confidently replies. He breaks away from your father's gaze to reach from your hand, giving it three gentle squeezes. "I'm not going to throw away my chance so easily." Your dad's smug smirk was quickly replaced with a grin.
"Alright," he says before leaving to welcome Kaveh.
"Sorry about that," you laugh sheepishly. "I didn't think he'd go that far."
"It's okay," he replies. "I understand he just wants to make sure you're happy, and I do too. I know I've said it before, but if I ever do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, please let me know, and I'll stop." You offer Alhaitham a gentle smile.
"You haven't done anything like that, but the same goes for you too. If I ever do anything you don't like, let me know." He only nods at your words.
"Come on! We're gonna have dinner really soon! Oh, and Alhaitham," your mom calls. "Get your things out of the car. Everyone's staying over tonight." Confused expressions settled on your, Alhaitham's, and Kaveh's features.
"They're all staying over tonight?" Kaveh asks.
"Yeah, we are," Alhaitham's mom nods. "We figured you're all really tired from travelling, so we'll just spend the night here. I'm sleeping on the couch."
"I'll stay with my mom," the viridian-eyed man states. His mom presses her lips into a thin line.
"Honey, I don't think there's enough room on the couch," she says, shooting your mom a cheeky grin. Your mom, who caught on quickly, nodded at her friend.
"Y/N, do you mind sharing your room with Alhaitham for the night?" your mom asks you. A vibrant red hue stains your cheeks.
"Uh, I don't mind," you squeak.
"Open the door a bit," your dad mumbles, earning a glare from your mom.
"Why don't we all bring our things up to our rooms and we'll have dinner, yeah?" Kaveh suggests. Before the parents could respond, the three of you were off.
· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·
The moonlight spills into your room through the window, illuminating your and Alhaitham's figures. You two were facing each other with your hair splayed over the pillowcase and his limbs were intertwined with yours.
You were fast asleep while Alhaitham was wide awake.
Though he was tired, his mind was restless. On nights like this, he learned it was better to let his thoughts wander, rather than force himself to sleep. Alhaitham would usually settle on reading a book until drowsiness caught up to him.
His half-lidded eyes flickered to you, causing his lips to curve upwards. With your eyes closed and the moonlight highlighting your features, Alhaitham noticed how much softer your expression seemed when you were asleep – almost like you were a child again. The man pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead before repositioning himself to stare at the ceiling.
'I've been so lucky to have her in my life for this long, but I'm even luckier now. I don't know which Archon let any of this happen, but I'm thankful.'
After a while, he felt you starting to stir. Groggily, you rubbed your eyes, eyelids fluttering open. The first thing you saw was emerald green.
"Haitham," you whisper. "Why are you still awake?"
"I couldn't sleep," he says back. As you look at the man in your bed, you tried to blink the drowsiness away so you could see him clearly.
The moonlight makes it seem as if Alhaitham was glowing. The messy locks that frame his face were more silver than gray, and his features appeared to be sharper. The light darkened his emerald irises. A soft 'wow' escapes your lips.
"What?" Alhaitham asks.
"You look so handsome," you yawn. An unmistakable rush of red painted Alhaitham's face as he looks at you in surprise. After overcoming his shock, he gives you a gentle smile.
"Come here," he instructs. You scoot closer to the man and nuzzle into his chest. The earthy scent from his t-shirt fills your nose.
"You're my best friend, you know that?" you think aloud. You feel vibrations on his chest as he lets out a chuckle. Alhaitham plants a kiss on the top of your head.
"You're mine too."
With a sleepy smile, you glance up at him, (E/C) meeting emerald. His eyes reflected the admiration in yours. If you were a little more conscious, you would've tried to tattoo this moment in the back of your mind.
"Hey, Haitham."
"Hm?"
"Please try to get some sleep," you mumble. "I don't want you to be all grumpy tomorrow morning because you're tired."
"I'll try," he whispers. With that, you closed your eyes and fall back asleep. Alhaitham's gaze lingers on you for a little longer, letting a faint smile dance on his lips.
'Every moment like this is worth way more than six years of waiting.'
· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·
I've had this chapter's ending scene in my drafts for over a month haha
It's so hard to believe there's only five more chapters until the end. Thanks for sticking with me and for 14K+ reads so far! This book is my firstborn child thank you so much for every read, comment, and vote! You all mean the world to me! <3 <3