Chapter Text
Alhaitham had never so much as considered the possibility of a relationship until a Vahumana scholar looked him in the eyes and told him she was enamored.
Placing his soundproof earpieces on, Alhaitham took a glance at his music player. Scrolling through the list, he saw song after song, letting the titles flit past his eyes as he absentmindedly searched for a favorite.
♫ Love in the air - (2:00)
♫ Come back to me - (2:35)
♫ My light, my darkness - (3:30)
He paused, thumb hovering over the phone screen. How strange, that nearly every vocalist thought to settle on love as a topic. Even stranger was how pleasing he found said songs, even if he lacked the capability to relate. Were relationships really so common, so heartwrenching and awe-inspiring, that Sumeru’s poets were as entangled with them as its scholars were with their studies?
Well. What did it matter? Love was not something that Alhaitham cared for, neither positively nor negatively. If it hadn’t been for her, the thought would have never even crossed his mind.
♫ Now playing: Ocean-Eyed Lover - (3:23)
She’s got eyes like the ocean, hands like the sea…
“...Eyes like the ocean, huh?”
Immediately after speaking, he fell quiet. The girl from yesterday came to mind, with her deep eyes and her voice, softer than the morning tides. It was objective that her features were fair, but what did that matter to him? He had never stopped to perceive another in such a way.
Did she perceive him in such a way?
With a sigh, Alhaitham leaned against his fist, turning his pensive eyes to the library window. As raindrops pelted the floor-to-ceiling glass, he focused on the natural phenomena, praying his mind would cease to run amok.
What constitutes ‘love’ anyway?
He pressed his eyes closed. For the first time in a long time, the Haravatat scholar was thoroughly stumped.
“That Alhaitham is just incorrigible! He’s got a handsome face, but his personality is anything but!”
“Yeah! Don’t feel bad that he rejected you, Sister! He’s a weirdo anyway!”
Your face burned with shame. Holding your study materials close to your chest, you awkwardly smiled at your dorm sisters as they tried to cheer you up. Staring rather pointedly towards your toes, you shook your head.
“He’s a little blunt, that’s for sure…but he’s really not a bad guy. I mean, if it weren’t for him, I might have dropped out of the Akademiya.” You smiled fondly. “He gave me the confidence to continue pursuing my dreams. I’ll never forget that.”
The girls around you fell quiet, and you didn’t have to look to know that they were debating one another with their eyes. That’s how it always was in the Vahumana dorm—roommates were like sisters to one another, and they treated each other as such. Even if you weren’t from the same home, they made you feel just as beloved as your family from Aaru Village would. Unlike most of the scholars from the other houses, Vahumanas were keen to respect each other’s emotions.
You felt a hand on your shoulder. Your senior was beaming from ear to ear.
“You’re a good girl, Sister. I’m sure if he takes some time to consider it, even that Alhaitham would come to see how amazing you are.” She gave you an encouraging squeeze. “Don’t lose heart, okay?”
“Of course.” You smiled back. “Thank you, all of you. I promise I’ll be okay, so don’t feel like you have to hover anymore.”
“Ha, if you say so! I’m still keeping an eye on that Haravatat boy, though!”
“Calm down, Sister Ria. You’ll only stress her out…”
You couldn’t help but giggle. The girls you lived with sure were something—even if your heart were to be splintered into a million pieces, you had no doubt in the back of your mind that your sisters would always be there to help pick up the parts.
This was just your luck. After successfully avoiding Alhaitham for a solid week, it was as though the archons themselves wanted to remind you of your ultimate mortality.
“And the last pair of partners shall be…the representatives from Vahumana and Haravatat.”
“…So,” you started quietly, “how do you want to split things up?”
When Alhaitham’s sharp eyes turned onto yours, you felt your heart pound. Swallowing thickly, you prayed to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata that he couldn’t see the crimson color presenting itself like fire on your cheeks.
If he did see, he certainly didn’t comment. Flippantly glancing off to the side, Alhaitham shrugged his shoulders.
“To be honest, I really hate groupwork. If it were anyone other than you, I’d tell you to forget about it and let me handle everything.” He looked back at you, his face as stoic as ever. “I doubt you’d be very happy with that.”
“Of course I wouldn’t…” you pursed your lips into a frown. “You really shouldn’t do that, Alhaitham. It’s not fair that someone should take partial credit for something that was solely your work.”
Oddly, Alhaitham didn’t answer. Even though he was staring straight at you, it was almost as though he hadn’t heard you at all. Or maybe, he was just ignoring you.
You wouldn’t be surprised. But it was making your skin tickle and your stomach churn when he silently stared you down like that.
“Um,” you said quietly, “maybe we should both put our own research into topics to compare? For example, I could research Sumeru’s port-areas while you research land commerce?”
A second passed by. Then another. Alhaitham still wasn’t saying anything.
Your hands curled up into fists atop your legs. Furrowing your eyebrows, you unsurely asked, “Alhaitham?”
He folded his arms over his chest, letting his eyes fall shut. Surprisingly, he said, “That sounds fine.”
So he had heard you. What in the world was going on in that mind of his while he left you so utterly hanging?
“…Okay then.” You placed your notebooks on the desk surface, lining up a series of blue, black, and pink gel pens. “I’ll get started. There’s no rush, but if you want to compare notes at any time, you’ll be able to find me here for the next few hours.”
“There’s no need for that. I’ll be staying here as well.”
You blinked.
“You…want to research together?”
“Not necessarily. I don’t think I’ll start yet anyhow.”
“Then…why stay here?”
He crossed one leg over the other, procuring a book from seemingly nowhere. Flipping it open with a deft flick of his wrist, Alhaitham’s eyes were already engrossed in the text before him before his lips moved to answer.
“You’re awfully quiet when you study. It’s the perfect environment for reading.”
It took a moment for his words to settle on you, and when they did, you were as confused as ever. From what you knew of Alhaitham, his understanding of social cues and conventions was lacking, to say the least. But for him to be this blatant, to not seem nearly as awkward as you felt—your image of him as an aloof genius was truly cemented. Trying not to let your nerves overwhelm you, you instead took refuge in pinching the ballpoint pen in your grip.
Your eyes flicked to Alhaitham’s text, curious as to what mathematical theory or incomplete construction he was divulging in this time. It was only supposed to be a glance, but the title you saw was so shocking that you had to gawk.
“Hm?”
When you heard Alhaitham’s questioning voice, you quickly snapped your focus back to your materials. Shaking your head, you hurriedly said, “It’s nothing! Um…would you mind watching my stuff while I check the archives?”
You stood before he could answer, scurrying off towards the back of the library. Heart pounding in your ears, you only had one question on your mind.
Since when did Haravatat Darshan Member Alhaitham read romance novels?
Alhaitham had little interest in getting to know others. He hated small talk, despised the “getting-to-know-you” phase. It was strange, then, that he was the one to propose such a thing.
“I’ll have a glass of Padisarah wine. What about you, Vahumana?”
“Ah…just a tonic water will do.”
You smiled at the waiter, nodding your head palatably as he departed to fill your order. Alhaitham’s focus was zoned in on you—the way your lips quirked up, how your features softened your face, how you grinned with both your mouth and your eyes. This was the kind of woman that most men would call pretty, wouldn’t they?
For some reason, he was discomforted by the thought.
“…So you don’t drink?”
He surprised himself by asking. If the jump of your shoulders was any indicator, you were taken aback too.
“Oh, it’s nothing like that.” Your face was quick to turn red, much like it had many times earlier that afternoon. “It’s just, well. This is a bit embarrassing, but I’m not very good at holding my liquor.”
The way you turned your head and batted your eyelashes…there was a word for that wasn’t there? It was buried deep within the novel he had been digesting earlier—the term demure.
“What about you?” you asked suddenly. “I’m surprised that someone like you comes to a place like this, to be honest. Do you…like taverns?”
“It’s not the establishment itself that I care about, but the product and the environment. I have no qualms with a lively area when I have the ability to tune it all out.” He gestured to his earphones. “I like the Padisarah wine this place serves. If you change your mind about drinking, you really should try some.”
Your smile changed then. It was wider. It softened your eyes.
“It’s rare to hear you speak so favorably about something. If you like it this much, then maybe I’ll have to give it a sip or two.”
Why were you so bright all of a sudden? Alhaitham couldn’t fathom a reason, but he couldn’t say he didn’t like it.
“Here you are, sir and ma’am. Enjoy!”
The server placed a gold chalice of red wine before Alhaitham and a green-tinted glass of tonic water before his beaming company. Alhaitham gave a polite nod, you murmured your thanks, and when the server left, he watched as you nursed the glass between your palms. Your fingers were smaller than his, slender, your fingernails painted with a clear, glossy sheen.
He had never noticed how much care you put into your appearance, all the way down to your fingernails. The details were small, yet so integral to who you were, that Alhaitham wasn’t sure how he was just now realizing it.
“Ah,” he said with the airiness of revelation. “You’re pretty.”
Your smile froze on your face. Staring at him with eyes blown wide, red seeped into your face until you were brighter than the wine in his cup. Turning a distressed-looking face down to the table, you sputtered, “Uh, excuse me? I don’t think I heard you right…”
“I said ‘you’re pretty’,” he repeated. “That means, I like the way you look.”
“Um, I know, but—...I don’t—...where is this coming from all of a sudden…?” You nervously drummed your round-edged nails against the glass. Plink-plink-plink. Plink-plink-plink. “You’re not drunk already, are you…?”
“No. I’m perfectly sober.” Alhaitham leaned against his fist, watching you curiously. “I was wondering why I can’t stop staring at you recently, and I think I’ve finally come to a logical conclusion. It’s because you’re attractive to me.”
“Alhaitham, that’s…” You frowned. “That’s a little mean of you.”
He blinked. “Mean?”
“You rejected me, remember? And then you call me pretty…?” You frowned harder. “I don’t understand it.”
“I was merely stating a fact. You are pretty, but that doesn’t have any bearing on what I said to you before. I had never thought about dating, or really you as a woman. I’m simply sharing my observations now that I am.”
“You’re embarrassing me. And getting my hopes so, incredibly high.” You closed your eyes, looking woeful. “Don’t you think that’s a bit cruel?”
“…I can’t say I understand.”
“I can’t believe someone like you exists.” You were smiling again, your brows arched. “Or that I’m so ridiculously into said someone.”
Alhaitham lifted the cup to his lips, imbibing the bittersweet, floral wine. For some reason, your words laid heavy in his mind, affecting him somatically as well, judging by the tingle in his ears. His heart thumped at his ribs like he had been tramping through the desert, like he was on the precipice of a genius solution to a complex equation.
This feeling was foreign. A little disconcerting. Mildly pleasant.
He pushed his cup across the table. You stared after him blankly.
“I thought you said you wanted to try a sip.”
Your red face turned redder.
He had initiated it because he was curious, but now he was truly in the thick of it.
“Alhaitham, I—mm. I have to—mm. Finish this—mm.”
For the third time, his lips pressed into yours, lingering only for a moment before pulling away. It was a foreign sensation, that of your soft lips that tasted like henna berry and felt smoother than any wine, but a sensation that he was apt to indulge in nonetheless. His thumb stroked across your soft chin, keeping your face tilted up towards his as he observed you.
“You’re cute.”
Your jaw dropped, but any words you might have been pondering were restrained within your larynx. Alhaitham felt that familiar thrum in his chest again, and without missing a beat, bent down to kiss you again.
Your hand rose to his chest, your warm palm flattening out against his beating heart. Your ginger touch sent tingles down his spine, a delicate frisson into his ears. His somatic response was fact: clearly, he quite liked being touched by you. Possibly, he even enjoyed touching you in turn.
“Alhaitham,” you whispered, staring down at his lips, the assignment no longer on the forefront of your tongue. With a gentle stroke of your hand across his chest, you said, “Once more.”
A brief laugh. He didn’t think it possible, but under his palms, you smoldered.
“Yeah,” he murmured. “I think I like the results you give me.”
Before you could question it, he pressed your mouths together once more.