Chapter Text
Alhaitham has been missing for almost a month now.
The coffee mug that was on his bedside stand remained untouched, coated with a layer of dust. The books on the kitchen table haven't been touched either. Alhaitham had told Kaveh they’d be put away when he came home from work. Kaveh had nagged him about it, telling him if they weren’t put away, Kaveh would start shelving them in whatever order he felt like it. He knew Alhaitham had a very particular way of organizing his books. It was by genre, then by author, and then by publishing date. Same with the mugs. The handles all had to be slanted 45 degrees to the right, facing outward.
He wondered if Alhaitham would ever return home to put them away. He wondered if Alhaitham would come home and put away the coat he left on the couch, or the wooden carving he bought from a vendor, left also on the kitchen counter with the tag still on. Kaveh refused to be the one to put his things away. Because Kaveh’s job wasn’t to clean up after him!
It wasn’t unusual for the scribe to disappear for a few days, whether for work or for personal reasons. But he still should’ve left a note. Now Kaveh was left wondering where he was, where he went. It was extremely rude to leave on no notice.
The Mahamatra had started an investigation as per Kaveh’s request. But at the end of the day, if there were no signs of foul play or violence, an adult has the right to disappear. And Alhaitham was the type of adult to disappear and not cause any alarm.
At least, that’s what most people thought. Kaveh sat at the kitchen table. There were extra takeout bags in the cryo-box, as Kaveh had been taking home the leftovers every night, assuming Alhaitham would be home. It’s been a week, and the house was quiet enough to hear the tiny whirring of Mehrak’s gears.
She floats over, offering Kaveh a pen for the work he was doing. She’s been doing that more recently. Just trying to bring over tools and random objects, hoping to give Kaveh what he needs, not knowing that it was a whole person.
“It’s okay, I don’t need it.” Kaveh mumbles. The eraser shavings fall to the floor. He stares at the sketch before him and traces a finger on the figure on the page. It was a simple pencil sketch of the missing man. His gray hair curtained over one side of his face, framing his jawline. Kaveh took a teal colored pencil and filled in the eyes and bits of his hair. It resembled him perfectly. Anyone who had eyes and knew the scribe would recognize the image of him. He could use this as a missing poster.
There came a sudden knock on the door, and Kaveh’s body jolted up. He glanced at the door. Who could it be at this hour?
“Hello?” Kaveh called out. It was then that he realized how fast his heart was racing.
“Kaveh. Let me in.”
That voice. It can’t be. After all this time? But Kaveh could recognize that voice anywhere, even muffled through a wooden door in the middle of the night. He stood up immediately, papers and pencils flying to the floor. The sketch of Alhaitham floated facedown onto the rug.
He reached the door and paused. The back of his hair stood straight up, and he shivered. It didn’t feel right. An eerie feeling crept up his spine and up his scalp. His fist clenched, and he loosened it again to reach for the handle. But then he paused.
“Who is it?” Kaveh said quietly, barely a whisper.
Yet the other heard him anyway. “You know who it is.”
“Alhaitham?” Kaveh didn’t know why he felt so unsure. He knew Alhaitham’s voice. He had been waiting for this. Had dreamt of the other man coming back just like this.
“Have you forgotten my voice, or are you just drunk again?” There was that infuriating teasing voice of his. Most of the doubt vanished from Kaveh’s mind when he heard that voice.
Kaveh opened the door, throwing it back with a bang. His breath hitched at the sight before him. Moonlight cast down onto the porch, illuminating only the man before him. The rest of the surroundings were drowned in darkness.
It truly was Alhaitham. His gray hair shone almost silvery in the moonlight. His dark green coat wrapped around his body like a cloak. Maybe it was the darkness of the night, but Alhaitham’s skin looked ashen, almost gray in a way a corpse would look. And the spark of amber in his teal eyes was unusually dull. In fact, his eyes weren’t teal anymore. Kaveh caught a glimpse of them under the moonlight. They were a deep blood red. Gone were those light green eyes that reminded Kaveh so much of the forest. Even the teal colorings in Alhaitham’s hair had turned a matching crimson.
Something felt wrong.
Alhaitham had always told Kaveh that intuition without logic was useless. But Kaveh didn’t need anyone to tell him something was wrong. Every part of his body screamed at him to run, to hide. As if he was being hunted. But what was hunting him?
Kaveh’s eyes narrowed further onto Alhaitham. And at the blood on his fingertips. He then noticed the keychain hanging from Alhaitham’s belt, still untouched.
Kaveh’s eyes narrow suspiciously at the key.
“…Why do you need me to let you in if you have the key?” Kaveh’s eyes narrow suspiciously.
“I wanted to feel welcome. I haven't been home in a while.” Alhaitham’s voice was soft, like how it was after he woke up. How Kaveh missed those mornings. He fought the strongest urge to cross the door frame and take his hand to pull him inside their home. But he listened to his survival instincts.
“Where were you?” He continued questioning.
“I clearly ran into some trouble. This isn’t the warm welcome I usually get, Kaveh.”
“Yeah, you usually don’t disappear on me for two weeks and then come back at midnight with blood on your hands.”
“I’ll explain once I’m inside. Let me in-“
“Why must I invite you into your own home?”
“I need permission to come in.”
“Why?”
Alhaitham looked like he was going to answer when he suddenly winced and doubled over. His hand shot out to hold himself against the wall, and his cloak fell down to the ground in a crumpled heap.
The man let out a low whine of pain that made Kaveh freeze in place. A deep gash stretched across his torso. It was a fresh wound, and the blood wasn’t clotting, just steadily flowing down. Dark blood soaked through the black fabric, glistening red.
Kaveh’s heart almost stopped, and he held his breath. Alhaitham was hurt. His junior was standing before him outside the house, bleeding out. Something tore in Kaveh’s heart, and he just couldn’t bear it anymore. Whatever regard for safety went out the door the moment he saw the flicker of pain cross Alhaitham’s face. If he was hurt, then…he needed Kaveh.
Faded memories entered Kaveh’s mind through a flashback in the past. A younger Alhaitham in the Akademiya stood before him with a black eye and bloody nose.
“When you’re hurt, you come to me!” Kaveh had been looking for Alhaitham for the whole day before finally finding him in an alleyway tending to his own wounds.
“Why?” Alhaitham had asked.
Kaveh looked at his junior like he was being ridiculous (he was). “It’s my job as an upperclassman to look out for you!”
Despite being hurt, Alhaitham still rolled his eyes at Kaveh, “You and your many jobs.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Kaveh snapped.
~
Now, when he glanced at Alhaitham, his eyes softened. Something else replaced his instinctual fear, and it was pushed back by a need to care and to take the younger man in his arms. His face softened. “Oh, Haitham,” Kaveh whispered. “Come in. Let me take care of you.”
The moment the invitation left his mouth, Alhaitham’s head snapped up. Their eyes locked, and in a movement faster than Kaveh could process, Alhaitham flashed across the door frame. Kaveh barely blinked when he realized he had crashed into the living room wall behind him.
Alhaitham was on top of him now, his face pressed against Kaveh’s neck. He felt his skin puncture and break. He cried out before he felt the pain. The pain was sharp and stabbing. His legs kicked out from beneath Alhaitham. Kaveh pushed back as hard as he could, but nothing budged. His roommate’s body was as solid as pure stone and just as cold.
Something warm trickled down his neck and into his shirt. Alhaitham latched onto him with what felt like a mouth full of knives. It wasn’t just one bite. It was a deep stabbing motion and a rip that Kaveh feared was tearing soft tissue.
“Al..Haitham,” He managed to gasp. His body writhed against Alhaitham in an attempt to escape.
It hurts! It hurts. It-
“You’re hurting me.” Kaveh’s voice was barely a cry, more like a whimper.
At that, Kaveh heard a gasp from Alhaitham. He was released. Alhaitham lifted his head up, revealing the blood that dribbled down his chin. The red in his irises flickered in and out as it was replaced by teal.
Both of them were breathing hard as they stared at one another. Kaveh saw the exact moment guilt befell upon Alhaitham’s face. The scribe’s eyes scrunched shut almost as if in disbelief, and he pushed himself off of Kaveh.
“Kaveh…no..I’m sorry.” Alhaitham whispers.
Kaveh could only lie there as he felt the dull throb in the wound on his neck. His hand lifted and pressed against it, feeling hot blood seep through his fingers. The pain was becoming a distant numbness. Yet he couldn’t get up. When he looked up, Alhaitham looked blurry. Alhaitham…he was finally home, and that’s all that mattered.
Alhaitham stood up. Kaveh reached for him weakly to no avail. Alhaitham was leaving him again. Left him here on the floor bleeding. This must be what dying felt like.
In a minute, Alhaitham was back and had pressed something against Kaveh’s neck. He applied pressure hard enough to cause Kaveh to groan out loud, “Stop it, Haitham.”
“I could if you want to continue bleeding on the rug.”
No, not their antique hand-knotted rug!
“Not my rug,” Kaveh let out a sob. Alhaitham shook his head, but he loosened his grip on the gauze to place his arms under Kaveh. He lifted him as if he weighed nothing. Kaveh felt his face press against Alhaitham’s chest and shivered. The other man was still cold; it was an unusual icy cold that could only be described as corpse-like. Perhaps it was due to illness or blood loss. Kaveh suddenly felt a dizziness hit him.
“Y-your wound…aren’t you hurt?” Kaveh whispered. Alhaitham had carried him into his own bed and laid him into it. He winced as the pressure of the gauze came back. But his blood was slowing and clotting already. His only worry was for Alhaitham. He couldn’t get the image of Alhaitham bleeding out in the night.
“It healed. I just…needed human blood.” Alhaitham wouldn’t meet Kaveh’s eyes now. He quietly took out a roll of bandages from a first aid kit. He wrapped it around Kaveh’s neck gently. His fingers brushed against skin. Kaveh shivered. They were freezing.
None of that dissipated any of Kaveh’s worries. He didn’t even register what Alhaitham said about needing blood. He sat up shakily despite the dizziness and shook his head, “No…no, that doesn’t make sense. Let me see your wound.”
“Kaveh, you’re the one who’s hurt.” But Alhaitham hesitantly lifted the black fabric of his tank top to show Kaveh his torso. Dried blood covered his stomach, already turning brown. They weren’t clotting. It didn’t need to. There was no open wound, and he wasn’t bleeding. Only old faded scars curled around his front and back. Kaveh sighed a breath of relief. That made no sense. Was he imagining it all? Kaveh pressed a palm against Alhaitham’s abdomen and ignored the way the other’s breath hitched. Firm, lean muscle pressed back against his hand. Where he expected warmth, Kaveh only felt a frigid cold.
The sight of Alhaitham’s vision caught his eye. The green dendro glow of it was gone and replaced by a dull gray. A wave of grief crashed into Kaveh’s chest. A dull vision meant death. Alhaitham dead. Did he never return alive? Tears pricked at Kaveh’s eyes.
“What happened to you?” Kaveh whispered. His hands moved up to Alhaitham’s chest and then to cup his junior’s face in his hands. Alhaitham leaned into his hands almost like a cat seeking affection. Everywhere he touched was cold. Kaveh wanted to wrap his body around the younger man until both of them warmed. Instead, he helped Alhaitham strip off his blood-soaked tank top and grabbed a towel to wipe him down.
Alhaitham took Kaveh’s hand, stopping him in the moment. “Are you okay?”
Kaveh took a deep breath before letting loose everything he felt. “You were gone for a month, and the first thing you do when you see me is attack me! Do I look okay to you?”
“…no.” Alhaitham simply states.
A minute of silence passes between them as their emotions set in.
“Apologies for biting you.” Alhaitham did look like he was sorry. He pulled away and stared down at Kaveh’s hand.
Kaveh sighed. He touched his neck gingerly and winced. Archons, that really hurt. “I won’t turn into a…vampire right?” Contrary to popular belief, he can’t stay angry at Alhaitham for long. Especially when he was like.
Alhaitham shakes his head. “No, but I could have killed you.”
“I knew you wouldn’t have.” The second Kaveh had said he was hurt, Alhaitham had stopped. Maybe it was naivety, but Kaveh truly believed Alhaitham wouldn’t have gone any further.
“That’s dangerous to think. But not surprising, knowing you.”
“What do you mean by that?!”
“You trust too easily.” Alhaitham reminds, not for the first time. “It didn’t take much convincing for you to invite a monster into your home.”
Kaveh wanted to protest. “This is your house too, remember?”
“It is. So next time you see someone bleeding out on the porch, think twice before you let them in.” Alhaitham stands up, not letting Kaveh reply.
Kaveh is left there alone with his thoughts. Alhaitham heads to the bathroom, and a moment later, there is the sound of water filling a tub. Kaveh feels the spot next to him, his hand feeling for the warmth of the blankets. But there was nothing but cold sheets, as if Alhaitham was never here. Kaveh didn’t think he could leave anyone bleeding out on the front porch outside. Not when it was Alhaitham.
He fell back down onto the bed with a sigh and stared up at the ceiling. He placed a hand over his chest. That fear deep in his chest still hasn’t left. But the feeling of waiting for someone to come home was finally gone. Even if he didn’t come back like how Kaveh expected, it was still him. He rolled over to close his eyes.
He didn’t remember if he fell asleep. He only felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and he sensed a dark presence looming over him. Again, that feeling of being hunted and chased. He turned, rubbing his eyes from sleep.
Alhaitham stood, watching and silent. His eyes were red, staring down intently. The blood had been washed off, but a lingering scent of metallic remained. A towel wrapped around just his midsection so that his torso was bare.
“Don’t sneak up like that,” Kaveh snapped, trying to ignore the way his cheeks warmed. “Either lay down or quit staring at me like a creep.”
The bed sank from the added weight, and Kaveh felt Alhaitham’s hand brush against his under the sheets. Already, the warmth of the shower was wearing off, and his fingers were growing cold and stiff. Kaveh laid his palm over Alhaitham’s, as if he could keep him warm like this. Kaveh shivered against Alhaitham’s body.
“Why don’t you go back to your own bed?” Kaveh grumbled, closing his eyes again. Now that Alhaitham was home again, Kaveh could sleep without guilt.
“I could find no warmth on my own,” came Alhaitham’s voice from the other side of the bed.
It was almost like Alhaitham was a corpse. Kaveh’s hands clenched into a fist as he demanded. “Tell me what happened to you.”
Kaveh was the type to spill everything that went on during the day as soon as he arrived home. But for Alhaitham, he offered no information unless you asked. Oftentimes, you had to ask twice before he told anything.
“As you know, I went out to the ruins for research.” Alhaitham starts. “It was on the first night that I realized I was being followed…Hunted is the better word.”