Cold Sun

by Kaliesto

When Kaveh is kidnapped while meeting a client in the desert, Alhaitham, Tighnari and Cyno work to find him and bring him home. Read their relationship how ever you want! :)

Whether or not they are directly linked, or the characters know each other, I think of my stories as all having happened within the same little world! In my stories. I frequently mention things that have happened in others I have written, but most of them should be able to be read stand alone without issues.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone enjoys it!

~xxxxxxxxxx~

Chapter 1

Other than being in the desert, Kaveh wasn't sure where he was or where he was being taken, the sack they had pulled over his head didn't let any light in and not nearly enough air. By this point he was wheezing badly, nearly hyperventilating, but any movements that were considered to be "struggling" by his captors resulted in another bruised rib, a harsh, solid jab from a weapon and a laugh at his pain. He knew there were tear streaks that had cut through the sand, sweat, grime and blood on his face. Struggling included anything from stumbling to a harsh cough, or even just trying to speak and Kaveh's ribs were beyond sore at this point.

He had been commissioned for a job that was located in the desert and was supposed to meet the client on site. It had been a long day before he even got to the meeting place and so much had already gone wrong. He'd lost his water when one of the giant scorpions attacked him and he fell down a dune, crushing both of his canteens and sending his provisions flying into the sand, nowhere to be found and lightly twisting his ankle. Kaveh being true to himself, didn't let these things stop him. He wouldn't let down a client. He wasn't far, so he'd decided to limp the rest of the way there and ask for their help instead of wandering back into the desert without food and water.

His clients were already there, looking nervous. He'd apologized and explained why he was a little late, just to be hit over the head. That was the last thing he remembered before he woke up to darkness and the feeling of being dragged by his arms, which were tied behind his back and sand catching in his shoes. It took him some time to get his bearings, but he could hear his clients speaking.

"We got him to come, now when do we get paid?!" The clients had demanded.

So much for that job. What a bunch of jerks.

"When we are paid for him, we'll give you your share."

"What? How do we know we can trust you?"

"You don't."

That was the last thing he heard before the unmistakable sound of a sword being drawn and a terrible gurgling sound that died away after a moment. At that point he found a bit of adrenaline and got his feet under him. The people dragging him were caught off guard and he fell backwards, straight into something solid. That something solid wrapped its arms around his throat and held him in place.

"Oh no, little architect, you won't be going anywhere."

He could hear the nasty grin that must have accompanied that statement.

"Let us show you what happens if you try to escape. We just want to make sure you know, you can decide how much you want to take."

The blow to his chest had bent him double, trying to desperately suck in a breath, only to be dragged to his feet and hit again. Lesson learned. From that point he didn't try to escape a single time, unfortunately it seemed this made his captors bored and they took to hitting him for no reason at all.

Now, he wasn't sure how long they had been walking, he knew it must have been hours and he could tell they had been in the open sun for a while, he could feel his skin burning. He was becoming more disoriented by the minute, dizzy and nauseous with a splitting headache to top it off. The heat inside the sack over his head was stifling and trying to pull his eyelids down.

Kaveh didn't want to talk, he knew it would probably result in being hit again, but he desperately needed a drink and to stop for a moment or he would collapse soon.

"P-please-" The word came out as a sad noise and started a coughing fit, fueled by his overly dry throat and the dust finding its way into his mouth from the sack. He fell forward, unable to catch himself with his hands being tied behind his back. Before he could even think about trying to somehow stand back up he was hit across the back and being yelled at.

Kaveh couldn't move anymore. It was taking every bit of concentration he had to not vomit, but at this point he could barely remember why. He felt himself being dragged to a standing position, but his feet wouldn't support him and he let himself hang limp, unmoving. His brain registered angry voices speaking to each other, but his ears might as well have been filled with cotton. He closed his eyes, begging whatever Archon could hear to just knock him out or let him die, he'd take either.

He never got to thank whichever Archon was listening.

Kaveh woke slowly, or was it that his body was awake, but his brain was refusing? He was aware that he was cold and shivering, laying on a hard surface. His body hurt and every single twitch set those nerve endings on edge, letting him know that his body wasn't well.

It was dark and the air was thick, difficult to breathe in, leaving him to take labored, shallow breaths that pulled at his ribs and chest each time. His mouth was so dry that he briefly wondered if he had been eating sand.

Sand? He remembered something about sand -his body jolted with the memory and he distantly felt the chains that cuffed his wrists, they burned. He'd been meeting a client and they had betrayed him, that's how he'd ended up here.

He felt the tears welling, dripping down the corners of his eyes, precious moisture that he didn't have to waste, but he couldn't stop them. This was too much to handle in his current state, it was just all too much.

He heard movement nearby only moments before he was grabbed by his arms and roughly pulled forward into a sitting position and just as suddenly the dusty sack was roughly pulled from his head and he yelped when it took some of his hair with it.

He immediately brought his hands up to shield his eyes from the blinding light. He was sitting in the sun, chained to a post, that much he could tell, but his eyes hadn't adjusted enough to see anything else. His stomach quickly rebelled and he tried to twist to his side to avoid vomiting on himself. He didn't make it in time.

No sooner was he done gagging than he was grabbed roughly by the hair and held in place. He tried to open his eyes, but they still refused and stayed firmly shut instead. He heard a click, a sound he knew to be a shutter closing and reopening. Were they taking photos of him? Why would they do that? He didn't even understand why he was still alive, Eremites didn't usually take prisoners. Especially not someone so obviously from Sumeru City.

The sack was shoved back over his head and just like that Kaveh was plunged back into darkness. They made sure to roughly shove him backwards before they left him. He didn't bother trying to move, they would probably hit him and his body wasn't up for it anyway. He laid there, a shivering mess.

"No, no. It's ok," his mind whispered, "You had this coming anyway. You deserve this."

The arguments Kaveh had with himself were always far worse than anything he and Alhaitham would fight about. It was hard to come up with counter-arguments against your own mind. He hid this from everyone he knew, they didn't need to know how pathetic he was, that he couldn't even deny the things his mind said about himself, try as he might.

"You're worthless."

I'll keep working, I'll prove I'm not worthless.

"You can't even get out of your own way, stopping to help everyone you see."

Other people need help too.

"But you don't deserve help."

I… I do deserve help, every human deserves help.

"Alhaitham would rather you die here. It would be more convenient for him."

Maybe it would, but he'll save me. He's a good person.

"You wear on those around you. You hurt them by existing."

I don't want to bother them… I don't want to hurt them.

"You should give up."

…

I should.

"No one is going to miss you."

Chapter 2

It's not something you'd likely hear Alhaitham admit, but the house was too quiet when Kaveh wasn't around. His roommate was larger than life and loud. Now, loud wasn't something he cared for, normally. He wore noise canceling headphones for a reason, he didn't care much for listening to the random chit chat of others and he didn't like loud noises. Both overloaded his senses and not only overwhelmed him at times, but also hurt his ears and head.

Lumine's floating fairy companion, for example, was loud with a high pitched voice, but he found her intriguing and even enjoyed both Paimon and Lumine's company on occasion. The same went with Cyno, Tighnari and Collei. He dealt with this by excusing himself for a few minutes to calm his nerves and head. Kaveh's noise was different. The banging and humming to himself while he worked or even when he was drunk and walked into walls or spoke overly loud, Alhaitham found that these noises made their house sound like a home. Before Kaveh had moved in, Alhaitham hadn't even realized he was lonely.

Today Alhaitham was nervous. He couldn't stop the goosebumps popping up across his arms and the uneasy feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach. Kaveh had gone to meet a client yesterday and had been expected back by mid evening. When he hadn't returned, Alhaitham had forced himself to sit and wait for two whole hours before his concern got the better of him and he'd left in search of the architect. He'd figured the worst that could happen is that he'd arrive back at home and Kaveh would be back, waiting to rant about how ridiculous this job was. He'd searched the bar, all of the restaurants and the Academia, he'd even gone to Gandharva Ville to see if he'd visited Tighnari for some reason. No one had seen him.

Tighnari was on him in an instant when Alhaitham had shown more emotion at that than he meant to. He had to reassure the botanist that he hadn't been hit by another mind-altering plant potion and explained that Kaveh hadn't returned home when he was supposed to and Tighnari had pointed out the obvious.

"He probably just got held up by his meeting, he never tells anyone that they are inconveniencing him." Tighnari suggested, "Or… maybe he's having issues with depression again?"

He stared at his friend for a moment, "I'm going home." He said with gritted teeth and walked away without another word. He ignored Tighnari when he called after him to wait so he could tag along. Alhaitham was fine with their friend following him home, he knew Tighnari cared about Kaveh too, but he'd have to keep up on his own.

Alhaitham had already considered these things. While it was possible that his client had held him up, he doubted it would have been for so long and he had already searched his mind for the usual symptoms his eccentric roommate would show when he was spiraling. Kaveh had been doing well recently and Alhaitham wasn't convinced depression was the issue here.

When they arrived at Alhaitham's house, it was still completely quiet, nothing had been moved. There were no white shoes by the door, no lion keychain hanging on the rack and Kaveh's bedroom door was left open, the room dark.

Alhaitham stood unmoving in the entryway, thinking through all of the scenarios. He didn't even notice when Tighnari had escorted him to the divan, sat him down and went off to make some tea.

He didn't move for hours, watching the door, waiting for the crazy blonde to step through. Tighnari had fallen asleep next to him and was curled up against the arm rest. Alhaitham was done waiting. He went to Kaveh's room and searched the desk for the Information about the meeting place, which was easy to find thanks to how neat his roommate kept things, grabbed some water and food and headed for the door.

Alhaitham hadn't even made it out of Kaveh's room before there was a knock on the front door and he made a short dash for it, hoping that Kaveh would be on the other side after having lost his key. Instead, it was a different familiar face.

"Mehrak…" He stepped past Kaveh's toolbox, looking for its owner. Mehrak beeped loudly at him.

Tighnari peeked out the door, "Where is Kaveh?" He asked.

Mehrak made a sad face and a matching beep. Looking closer, Alhaitham could see scratches across the surface and its handle was bent. It turned around so the scribe could see it's back, there was an envelope stuck to it, his own name written across it in handwriting he didn't recognize.

He stepped back inside the house, looking around one last time before shutting the door. Mehrak certainly hadn't knocked by himself, someone was watching them. He opened the envelope and pulled out a message stuck to a photo.

Grand Sage-

If you want to see your

boyfriend alive again

you'll bring 50 million

mora to the meeting

location on the back.

Tomorrow, noon.

NO MATRA.

"Boyfriend…?" Tighnari trailed off.

He pulled the note off the picture. He could hear Tighnari gasp, but it sounded so distant. Kaveh's blonde hair was pulled back by a fist-full of someone unknown, eyes squeezed shut and dry, cracked lips were drawn in a grimace of pain. Dried and fresh blood was coming from a gash just above his hairline and there were lines where tears had made tracks down his filthy face.

Angry didn't even begin to describe how Alhaitham felt looking at this picture. He didn't register that Tighnari had been pulling on his arm until the picture was taken from his shaking hand. When he started for the door his friend stepped in front of him.

"Move."

"I won't, not until we take a moment to figure out how to do this the right way. If we just run in, Kaveh could be put in even more danger." Tighnari tried to calm the scribe with his own shaky voice.

"You saw what shape he's already in and who knows how long ago that picture was taken. We need to get to him yesterday." Alhaitham reasoned back.

"We need Cyno and we don't even know where they are keeping Kaveh." Tighnari said gently.

"They'll kill Kaveh and we don't have time to make a plan." He turned to the toolbox hovering behind him, "Mehrak, were you able to store the location they brought you from?"

Mehrak beeped, Alhaitham assumed it meant yes.

"Was Kaveh there?"

Another beep. He doubted that the meeting location was the same place they were keeping Kaveh and there was no way he was willing to wait until tomorrow. They needed to act now.

Tighnari paused, "If Cyno hides, he and I might be able to come from behind while you distract them. We'll take them down together." He pleaded.

"... You can't go, Tighnari, the desert will make you sick." Alhaitham wasn't about to let Tighnari harm himself and Kaveh would never forgive him if he did. "You can get ready at Aaru Village, he'll need your help when I bring him back."

Alhaitham watched the botanists' internal struggle before finally giving his own nod in agreement, "Ok, I'll take Cyno." He rushed into his room and grabbed a bag, "They'll be watching me. I need you to go to him, ask him to trail me and take out any company. I'll be leaving in forty minutes."

When the Valuka Shuna turned to leave, Alhaitham grabbed his shoulder.

"Tighnari, be careful that you're not followed."

"See you in Aaru." With a nod Tighnari was out the door.

Alhaitham turned to Mehrak and opened the bag, "You'll have to ride in here for now, I'll let you out when it's safe." He tried to reassure Kaveh's helper.

Kaveh swore that it couldn't feel emotions, but Alhaitham had observed it enough to know that the small box had taken after its creator. Mehrak beeped sadly once more and let the scribe put it into the bag.

He filled several canteens and started to grab the throw blanket from the couch, but stopped. Though Alhaitham had been the one to buy it, it was Kaveh's favorite blanket to use when he worked on his sketches in the living room. He went and grabbed a spare blanket from the closet instead, then watched the minutes tick by. He needed to give Tighnari time to tell Cyno and to let the General have time to prepare as well.

Chapter 3

Tighnari had never seen Alhaitham show outward anger before, he had to admit it was a little scary.

He knew Kaveh was the scribe's best friend. In fact, it was obvious to everyone except Kaveh, as far as he could tell. Between Alhaitham and Cyno, Tighnari almost felt bad for the scum holding Kaveh prisoner. Almost. He wished he could go with them and give these dirt bags a piece of his mind, but more so, he wished he could go to help Kaveh. He'd be waiting for them at Aaru Village with an area prepared for treatment.

He could only go by the picture for now, but Kaveh didn't look good. He was pale, he'd likely need stitches and was definitely dehydrated, but he couldn't see the rest of his friend to try and assess anything else about the situation. He'd just have to try his best to be prepared. He knew he could rely on Candace to help and he was thankful for that.

He'd been keeping an ear out for anyone following him and had heard nothing. He also took a winding path to Cyno's home. Once there, he sat next to a tree and observed his surroundings, watching for anyone out of place. He didn't have much time to spare, he could only give it a couple of minutes before he approached the General's door.

When he knocked, it didn't take long for the door to swing open with Cyno looking surprised to see him and let him in.

Tighnari already knew what Cyno was about to ask and cut him off, "It's Kaveh, someone has taken him. They're trying to ransom him! What kind of people even do something like that?!"

Cyno put a hand on his shoulder to calm him, "Slow down. You said that someone has taken Kaveh, do you have any clues as to who might have done so?"

"No! Alhaitham came to me last night because Kaveh hadn't returned home and he had a feeling something was wrong. I came back with him to make sure everything was ok, but Kaveh still never showed up." He ran his hands over his face, "This morning there was a knock at the door and Kaveh's toolbox was there with this taped to it."

He held out the note and picture for Cyno to take. The general looked over the picture carefully, taking in every scratch that his friend had been inflicted with, then read the note and sighed deeply. Tighnari knew that sigh meant that someone was going to pay.

"Alhaitham is not going to the location given," Tighnari said, "He's using Kaveh's toolbox to guide him from where it was brought from. We think it's likely that the place he's currently being held is not where they said to go."

Cyno nodded in agreement. "It's not likely. I believe if they receive what they want they would likely kill both of them, as well."

"Alhaitham has a plan, you need to follow him to the desert and stop anyone from following him." He looked his friend in the eye, "They can't see you with him, we can't risk it."

"I understand." He said as he grabbed his polearm, "Did Alhaitham tell you when he would be leaving the city?"

"He should be leaving in about five minutes. I'll be waiting at Aaru Village." Tighnari hugged Cyno before he left, "Bring him home…"

With a nod, Cyno was gone.

Tighnari knew there weren't two better people in Sumeru to help their friend. Kaveh could be loud, he could be blind and he sometimes drank too much, but he was the kindest person Tighnari had ever met. He didn't deserve to be hurt.

He gathered himself for a moment, locked the door and walked to the back of the house. There was a window that overlooked the edge of the platform the house was on and a potted tree on the corner, hiding the window from view. He climbed out, closed it behind himself and turned to the edge. He plotted the best handholds and footholds to take and climbed down. It was probably fine to leave through the front door, but on the chance that he was being followed, he didn't want to be seen leaving.

Before he traveled to Aaru, he needed to gather some bandages, disinfectant and medications. He already knew which market stands had what he needed and made quick work of purchasing the items, shoving them into a backpack.

As a Valuka Shuna, Tighnari could be fast and agile when he needed to be. He'd be to Aaru in no time.

They would be ready.

Chapter 4

Cold. Pain. Thirst. Nausea.

All of these things made themselves known as soon as Kaveh had been slapped awake. The bag wasn't over his head anymore, the sun shone brightly through his eyelids. It was blinding and disorienting, but he kept trying to pry them open with no success.

A hit to his side this time, sharp and hard. He didn't even have the energy to moan with the wave of pain that made its way though his body. He wasn't responding enough for whoever was trying to get his attention, so he was finally dragged to a seated position by his hair and a muffled voice demanded something. His mind was too shut down to understand.

He finally got his eyes open a slit, the light made him want to vomit. The man talking to him had a terrible smile on his face, so many missing teeth. Kaveh didn't care when his body started to tip to one side and his eyes tried to close again. Another slap across his cheek did nothing to help.

The man was loud now, angry. Kaveh didn't even register what the shiny pointed object in the mean man's hand was as it sliced across his ribs. This time his body registered the fire shooting across his side and he let out a pained sob. He caught some of the words the man was yelling at him.

Boyfriend, loads of mora, pretty face -that one came with the disgusting smile again.

He didn't understand, did this man want to be his boyfriend? He still wasn't responding enough for this lunatic and he felt his arm being cut into agonizingly slowly. He thought he heard a dry, quiet scream, on some level he knew it was himself doing the screaming, but he couldn't care.

He was suddenly pulled up again and lips smashed themselves against his, trying to force his mouth open so hard it stung and he tasted blood. He gagged hard, it earned him a punch this time and he couldn't catch himself as his head hit the ground, dazing him further. He only opened his eyes long enough to see the man's leg pull back and swiftly make its way towards him. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, as each kick landed in an already bruised spot and at least one found the gash in his side. There was nothing left in his stomach to come up and he dry heaved painfully. He didn't know how long had passed, but there was laughter before the bag was shoved back over his head.

Kaveh was confused by what was going on around him, but at this point he couldn't even try to grasp what his situation might be.

He was tired.

Chapter 5

Cyno trailed Alhaitham, staying out of sight. By Caravan Ribat, he had taken out two people who had been following the scribe, ensuring they wouldn't be causing any problems for them when they found Kaveh. When he was certain Alhaitham wasn't being followed anymore, he gave the single and his friend pulled Kaveh's toolbox out of the bag he'd stored it in.

There was always a chance that the people who took Kaveh had moved from where Mehrak knew them to be last, but it was a chance they'd have to take. Even if they had, Cyno could still track them. It would just take a little longer and he doubted they had that kind of luxury. Judging by the photo, Kaveh had not only been beaten and was probably worse off than they could tell, but Cyno knew the signs of dehydration all too well. There was a good chance that Kaveh hadn't been given water at any point.

Thinking about it flared the anger his training had taught him to stamp down. Normally, he'd be doing this alone, but he knew the scribe too well to think that Alhaitham wouldn't involve himself when it came to Kaveh. These people had made his normally stoic friend quite angry, a feat he hadn't been sure was possible. Cyno had considered for a moment that he might actually be there to stop Alhaitham from killing these people, if need be, but he knew the man would do everything within his power to ensure Kaveh wouldn't be harmed further.

He watched as the toolbox got its bearings and began to move, Alhaitham following behind. He'd shadow the scribe until they reached their destination, then find the best way to get to Kaveh while Alhaitham acted as their distraction.

The corner of his mouth turned up at the thought of Alhaitham using his "feeble scholar" routine. You wouldn't think that people would fall for it, then again you wouldn't think that someone would be stupid enough to try and ransom someone they thought was the Acting Grand Sage's significant other.

He'd had no time to conduct any searches and had no idea who they were dealing with. In the desert, Eremites was the usual guess, but it could be treasure hoarders, Fatui or some random group.

They could do nothing but wait and see.

Chapter 6

It had been several hours since Alhaitham brought out Mehrak and started following it. He trusted Kaveh's engineering, but his anxiety was overwhelming and it was difficult to be patient right now. His only other choice was to show up at the area the exchange was supposed to take place tomorrow, so it wasn't really a choice after all. He wasn't waiting another day to get Kaveh back, leaving him with people who obviously didn't care if the architect was still alive by then wasn't an option.

Alhaitham let out a low growl, drawing Mehrak's attention. The toolbox beeped at him in a questioning manner.

"I'm fine, just angry about what they've done to Kaveh." He was talking to a robot, he could never let the blonde know about this.

Mehrak beeped sadly before letting out an entire series of beeps, as if explaining something. Alhaitham couldn't help but smile to himself. This creation of Kaveh's had nearly as much personality as the architect himself, though he wasn't surprised, everything Kaveh created had something of his personality in it. Alhaitham had always felt that was what made his architectural designs so beautiful.

Mehrak beeped again and moved in front of Alhaitham to stop him from walking, quietly beeped twice more and turned to its left. It was indicating a small valley between rock formations, that must be the destination. He approached it slowly before getting down and crawling forward to peek around the rock. Good thing stealthiness was in the job description for becoming a scribe.

The area on the other side was fairly open with a couple of light tents, meant for nothing more than keeping out of the sun, an Eremite under one of them. There was a campfire in the center with a man cooking, Alhaitham recognized his clothes as those of a treasure hoarder. On the far side of the camp was a wooden post with another treasure hoarder kicking at something on the ground. A gust of wind brushed past and something red and gold flicked up from the ground for a moment.

He would know that cloak anywhere and it took every bit of his willpower to not jump up and run to his friend. That's where they were holding Kaveh, out in the sun with nothing around to even cast shade, kicking him while he couldn't even try to defend himself. Alhaitham realized he was growling again when Mehrak gently tapped his arm instead of beeping, realizing the need for stealth.

A deep breath. Assuming Cyno had been able to take care of any followers and patrols, there were only three scumbags to deal with. He gave the General Mahamatra a couple of extra minutes to make his way around to the side of the camp Kaveh was on before stepping into the open, Mehrak following behind.

Normally treasure hoarders and Eremites alike would attack on sight, instead these three drew their weapons and stood at guard. They knew who he was and hadn't been expecting their target to walk right into their camp.

"How did you find us?!" One demanded.

"Well," Alhaitham began in his normal, flat tone, "You failed to take into account that something seemingly as simple as a box might be able to lead someone to you. However, not everything in this world works off the same simplicity your mind allows you."

"What?"

He'd already confused these men? That didn't take much.

"I'm assuming you know who I am, as you've deemed fit to make monetary demands of me, so here stands before you the Acting Grand Sage, a feeble scholar of the academia. "He said as he pulled the pack off his back and held it out for them to see, "I'll meet your demands and you will set my friend free."

He'd dealt with treasure hoarders before, it was easy to bring their greed to the top of their priorities and it often took precedence over all common sense.

"Toss the bag to me." The lead hoarder put out his hand.

He could see Cyno quietly pop up behind the hoarder guarding their prisoner, inches away from the man without him being any the wiser. He gave Alhaitham a nod before smacking the man across the head with his spear and a knee to the face as the hoarder went down. He had already moved on to the Eremite as Alhaitham dashed at the other treasure hoarder, porting to him in the blink of an eye. As he saw a flash of purple in his peripheral vision, he pulled in the energy for a strong attack, sending beams of dendro in every direction, catching the Eremite and hoarder together in the attack. Cyno lunged right between them and released a strong wave of electro, leaving them twitching on the ground until the energy disbursed.

Alhaitham ran over to Kaveh and knelt beside him, nearly afraid to touch him. His shirt had been torn and where his skin was exposed was burned and blistering badly and there was a gash up his side. His gloves had been removed and there was another long slice on his left arm, from just above his wrist to just below his elbow, this one was deeper. Where his hands were chained together the sun had made the iron so hot that it was cooking his skin. His entire body was shaking and he was wheezing from inside the filthy sack over his head.

He carefully pulled the rough material from Kaveh's head. His face was covered in dirt and even more blood than they had seen in the photo, some of it had even dried in his bangs, causing them to stick to his forehead. His left jaw was a deep purple, from his cheek bone to his mouth and his already dry and peeling lips had been split on the bottom and his entire face was flushed red. Mehrak beeped in alarm from behind him.

Cyno had brought over Alhaitham's bag and found the key for the chains, pulling them off as gently as he could. The moment he was free, Alhaitham scooped up his friend and rushed to the closest shade. It wasn't far, it would have been easy for them to hold Kaveh there instead. It made the scribe's stomach churn to know that everything they had done to Kaveh was just to inflict extra suffering.

He wouldn't have survived until tomorrow, when the exchange was supposed to take place. Alhaitham sucked in a sharp breath, he might not survive now.

The moment he set him down in the shade, Alhaitham reached out and touched the architect's face gently, it was burning hot, as he'd expected, but also dry.

"He's not sweating…" He said as Cyno handed him water and knelt on Kaveh's other side.

"Heatstroke. We need to take this off, it'll help him cool down." Cyno said, pulling at Kaveh's shirt and cloak. "It won't do much, but we don't have many choices."

The skin beneath the material was nearly as burnt as the exposed skin and there were large, dark bruises scattered across his torso, leading down onto his back. Both of the gashes were swollen and angry looking with sand making its way into them.

Cyno slid his arm Under Kaveh's back and sat him up slightly and Alhaitham slowly poured a small amount of the water over Kaveh's neck, shoulders and chest before he brought the bottle to Kaveh's lips and tried to get him to drink, but he didn't stir.

"Kaveh, I need you to wake up so you can drink something." He didn't care who heard the desperation in his voice, Alhaitham knew Cyno would be just as concerned.

He grabbed the bag he had brought, pulled out the blanket he had used to make it look full and cut two strips off the clean material. He set one aside and soaked the other piece of cloth with water and laid it on Kaveh's head before he wet down the other strip and brought it to Kaveh's mouth, dabbing it on his lips and squeezing a few drops out.

"Come on, Kaveh. Now is not a good time to be stubborn." He said as he wet the cloth again and brought it back to the unresponsive blonde. "Tighnari is worried about you. He wants to check up on you… he thinks you've been drinking too much wine."

Not all of that was a lie, Tighnari really was worried and if it got the normally noisy architect to drink, it was worth any lies he might come up with. Kaveh was shaking so badly that Alhaitham almost missed it when he moved his head slightly. He poured more water over the cloth on Kaveh's head and brought the bottle to his lips again. Kaveh's eyelids flickered and he opened his mouth slightly to accept the drink, but it wasn't long before he was unresponsive again.

Alhaitham shook his head, "We've got to get moving. He needs help."

Cyno nodded, "The sun will set soon. It'll be better for Kaveh to be out of the sun. The chill of the night air should also help him." He said as he shoved the blanket and Kaveh's cloak and shirt, along with some extra water he'd taken from the kidnappers, into Alhaitham's bag.

Alhaitham secured the bag across his back and picked up Kaveh's limp form. Carrying him on his back would likely be more comfortable for both of them, but Alhaitham needed to keep a close eye on the blonde.

"You go ahead. I have to take them back, to face justice. I'll see you soon."

Chapter 7

Alhaitham set a much faster pace than he had been able to while following Mehrak, he had left Kaveh's toolbox with Cyno. He tried to keep to the shadows as much as he could, as long as it didn't slow him down. Thankfully, the sun was nearly behind the mountains now. It felt like Kaveh's skin was going to burn holes into his clothes and set them both on fire.

He was furious.

Kaveh often came upon hard times as a result of his kindness. He'd help any living creature that needed it, even at the cost of his own health. It had frequently made Alhaitham angry to watch his friend constantly put everyone else before his own basic needs at times and it wasn't unusual for Kaveh to fall into depression after these things happened. The scribe considered this to be self harm and was a large reason he didn't agree with Kaveh's ideals, but he knew he'd never change the blonde's mind about his actions.

This situation was different, it wasn't Kaveh's fault in any way. He'd been hurt for simply living with Alhaitham. He hadn't wanted the position of Grand Sage and he had already planned on stepping down as soon as possible. It wasn't soon enough. Alhaitham had no doubt that the grandeur of the position's income was what had appealed to these wretched people.

He looked down at Kaveh and quickly came to a halt when he saw the slivers of crimson eyes.

"Kaveh, can you hear me?" He asked as he set down his friend and grabbed some water. "Can you drink?"

There was no response, Kaveh just stared at Alhaitham blankly.

He pulled Kaveh into a sitting position and brought the water to his lips, "Here, water. You need to drink, Kaveh."

At first, he didn't think Kaveh would be able to take any in, then he finally opened his mouth and took a sip, and another, then another. It wasn't much, but Alhaitham still couldn't help but feel some relief. He wet his own hand and put it against Kaveh's forehead and cheeks. Kaveh flinched at the hand in his vision.

"It's ok, you're safe, Kaveh."

He kept quietly reassuring as he tried to cool the blonde's skin.

"It's Alhaitham"

"I've got you."

"You're safe."

"They won't hurt you anymore."

For once in his life, he didn't know what to say. He wasn't as sure of himself, he wasn't sure of the right course of action, he wasn't sure what he would do if Kaveh didn't survive this. He spent so much time avoiding others, intentionally making himself unavailable to most people, putting on his noise canceling headphones and ignoring the world around him. Kaveh was one of the very, very few people he enjoyed having a conversation with. Although his favorite way to do so was to rile the architect up, he had always held high respect for Kaveh's intelligence and abilities.

Kaveh had closed his eyes again, Alhaitham picked him back up and took up the fast pace again.

"H-Haith…" A quiet, raspy voice said.

"Kaveh?" He was surprised, but he pushed on.

"Sun is… cold…" He whispered, eyes still closed.

It wasn't a surprise that Kaveh would be cold with the burns, overheating and likely a fever setting in from infection. He found himself at a loss for words again. How much should he tell his friend? How much would he understand right now? Would Kaveh panic if he told him?

"You're a little overheated." He tried.

Kaveh didn't respond, he was unconscious again.

"We're almost there Kaveh, hold on."

He didn't pray to Archons, but he was willing to try it at this point.

'Nahida, if you are listening, please watch over Kaveh. He needs your calm and strength. Please.'

"Please…"

He wasn't sure what their Archon could do to help, but even if it was just to soothe Kaveh from his pain, he'd take it.

The sun had long since gone over the horizon and the air was cooling quickly, but it didn't seem to be helping the heat radiating from Kaveh. The architect's teeth were chattering.

They were nearly to Aaru now and Tighnari would be waiting for them, he could help. The Forest Watcher knew what he was doing. Alhaitham had needed to stop twice more, once to help Kaveh stop choking on vomit and once to get both of them some much needed water.

He knew he was risking a lot by pushing himself and losing so much fluid from the excretion, but he hadn't been dehydrated beforehand and Kaveh needed help. Normally he'd aggravate the architect by saying something like "It was a calculated risk.". He wished that would work right now. Watching Kaveh's indignant face while he himself looked on without expression, just to make Kaveh even more exasperated. For Alhaitham, it was more entertaining than reading.

With the translation bot, Polly as Kaveh had named it, it had helped him communicate with Kaveh better when his friend was having a hard time. While Alhaitham frequently annoyed Kaveh intentionally, there were times that Kaveh needed emotional support and that was something Alhaitham wasn't good at expressing, not in ways other people understood. Out of anyone, Kaveh would be the most likely to understand what he meant, but when the blonde was in distress, logical thought often went right out the window and Alhaitham could never say what he wanted in the right way. He was thankful to Faruzan for making the little robot.

Now though, he didn't think Kaveh had understood much that Alhaitham had said to him since they had found him. Even in a conscious state, Kaveh was unresponsive. When he lived alone, Alhaitham hadn't realized he needed the comfort of Kaveh's talking, rambling and arguing. Then, the scribe had let him move in and it was like a piece of a puzzle he didn't even know was missing just tumbled into place. He had someone who wasn't intimidated by him and someone who was intelligent enough to understand him. He had a friend.

He needed that comfort now.

He glanced down at Kaveh and readjusted his grip. Kaveh's eyes were open, just a glimmer of crimson from under heavy eyelashes staring into nothing. He hadn't said anything, the only noise he made was a light wheezing. They were so close, Alhaitham didn't stop.

"Kaveh, can you hear me? We're almost there. Tighnari is waiting for you." He panted, "Can you talk to me?"

There was only silence as the tunnel entrance to Aaru came into view, torches lit along the path. The monsters that tended to take up residence here had been cleared out. He rounded the corner to the statue and Candace was waiting to take them to Tighnari. As Alhaitham came close he didn't slow down and she moved just ahead for him to follow, right up the village steps and into her home.

Tighnari was waiting next to a bed and had a few water basins with wet cloth soaking in them next to him.

"Put him on the bed," Tighnari ordered the second Alhaitham entered, "Take off the rest of his clothes."

He started laying the wet cloth across Kaveh's already bare chest, arms and tucked some into his armpits, tutting at the gashes. Alhaitham pulled off Kaveh's shoes and pants with shaking hands and only made it a couple of steps before his wobbly legs collapsed under him, his muscles cramping and burning. His own exhaustion had caught up to him, but he wasn't done. He reached for the closest basin and began to cover Kaveh's legs. Tighnari turned his appraising gaze on him and gave him a disapproving look, but didn't stop him from helping.

Volunteers from the village kept up with refilling the basins with fresh, cool water. After a short time, Alhaitham's arms had given up and were cramping along with his legs. He hadn't been able to move from where his legs had given out and he couldn't work through the pain anymore.

He had closed his eyes for a moment when someone nudged him. Tighnari pulled him up enough to sit on the end of the bed and handed him some water.

"You need to take care of yourself, too. It won't do Kaveh any good for you to make yourself ill." He scolded as he pulled off Alhaitham's shoes. "Stretching and massaging the muscles should help with the cramps. Rehydrating your body should help as well, so drink up!"

It took a moment for Alhaitham to realize that Tighnari was waiting for permission and nodded. With how cramped the muscles were, this didn't provide much immediate relief, just a different kind of pain. No matter, he knew it would get better. When he finished his water, the cup was refilled and handed back to him.

He watched in somewhat of a daze while Tighnari moved back and forth between replacing the wet cloth on Kaveh and helping to ease his muscles. Another friend, not as close as Kaveh, but someone he could rely on, someone who was kind and capable. With Tighnari came Cyno and Collei. When had so many people snuck into his life? It started with one, Kaveh. He was outgoing and enjoyed having others around. He'd brought these people into Alhaitham's life and invaded his space, but he found he didn't mind all that much for these particular people. They all made up their little oddball family.

Tighnari had helped Alhaitham to sit against the headboard on Kaveh's other side and he watched as Tighnari pulled off some of the wet cloth and felt Kaveh's head, then his pulse. His long ears had laid down and his frown grew deeper.

"He's not cooling off?" Alhaitham asked. He already knew the answer, he could still feel the excessive heat radiating from the blonde.

Tighnari shook his head, "Not enough, but there's not a lot more we can do. Our only option right now is to keep trying our best to cool him and wait." He said, growling in frustration. "I've got to get those wounds cleaned out better and get the swelling down. They're definitely infected, that's not helping us any."

Kaveh hadn't responded to anything they had done to this point, but as Tighnari began to clean the gash on his arm, Kaveh groaned and tried his best to move away. He didn't get far, he was hardly able to move, but it was enough to prevent Tighnari from doing what needed to be done.

Alhaitham reached out and took Kaveh's hand in his, leaned over until he was laying right next to Kaveh's ear and began speaking to him, soft calming words. Or he hoped they were, he was horrible at this. While Kaveh's pained moans didn't stop, it had helped to keep him from moving enough for Tighnari to get to work.

Tighnari nodded to him before he moved to the long cut in Kaveh's side. It had less dirt embedded in the wound, but it looked just as swollen and angry as his arm had. Kaveh wasn't going to be happy about the scars. Who would be? A constant reminder of something terrible.

Tighnari had finished, but Alhaitham kept whispering until Kaveh's small moans and whimpers had abated. He stayed there, not having the energy to move. Even with the dampness surrounding Kaveh, he was comfortable enough anyway.

Feeling sleep tugging at him, he closed his eyes.

Chapter 8

"Alhaitham… help me…"

"Kaveh?"

"I need help!"

"Where are you? Kaveh, I can't see you."

Alhaitham wandered through the desert aimlessly. He couldn't tell where his friend's voice was coming from.

"Please help me Haitham, I'm lost."

Alhaitham raced in the direction he thought the voice came from only to have it come from a different direction next.

"I'm not there, Haitham, I'm somewhere else.

He checked every crevice, nook and cranny he could find, Kaveh telling him no every single time. A piercing scream filled the air and Alhaitham darted towards it, it had to be Kaveh.

He rounded a large rock and there was the architect. He was laying on the ground, with skin so burnt it was turning black at the edges and flames were making their way to his center, like a burning piece of paper.

"No, no, NO! Kaveh!"

He tried to turn Kaveh over in the sand to extinguish the flame consuming him, but he was too heavy. No matter how hard Alhaitham tried, he couldn't turn the man.

"You're too late, Alhaitham. Why didn't you help me sooner?"

"I'm… I'm trying!"

"Well not hard enough. Obviously you don't care enough. You don't like me living with you anyway. This must be a blessing for you."

What?

"That's not true! I care, I wouldn't have offered to let you live with me if I didn't. I care, Kaveh!"

The blonde laughed.

"Well, it's too late now. I'll be going."

"No! Don't go, Kaveh!"

His own words echoed in his head.

"Please don't go!"

So loud, he grabbed his ears.

"Don't leave me alone… Kaveh…No…"

His body shook as he fell to his knees at Kaveh's side.

"No!..."

He shook harder as tears began to fall.

"NO!" He yelled as he sat up right, his head nearly colliding with Tighnari's, who had been bent over him.

"It looked like you were having a nightmare, you were yelling…" Tighnari started, "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry…"

Alhaitham rubbed his hands over his wet face and turned to look at Kaveh, right beside him and not on fire. He couldn't help but wonder if he had been yelling the same things as in his dream.

"How long was I asleep?" He asked quietly.

Tighnari shook his head, "Not long, an hour at most."

Well that certainly explained not feeling the slightest bit rested.

"How is Kaveh?" He couldn't tell if he looked any better than he had before, but it seemed like he was shaking less.

Tighnari sighed, he looked tired. "His temperature has come down slightly, but it's not nearly enough. These wounds are causing part of the problem. I've put some salve on them that is meant to fight infection, it's the best I can do for now." He walked back to Kaveh's side and began replacing the cloth again, "I was able to assess his other injuries. He's got several bruised ribs, the burns on his wrists will leave scarring and it looks like he took a pretty hard knock to the head, he's bruised from head to toe, but I believe there are no other serious injuries." He said, ears laying flat across his head.

There was something Tighnari didn't want to say. Alhaitham watched him for a moment before lightly grabbing one of the forest watcher's hands.

"Something else is wrong, just tell me." He said quietly, waiting for Tighnari to look at him.

Tighnari's eyes went wide, "No, no! There's nothing else with Kaveh, we're doing what we can and we're going to make sure he comes back from this." He paused and swallowed hard, "It's just…"

Alhaitham let go of Tighnari's hand and waited, but he didn't have a lot of patience right now. When it seemed like his friend wasn't going to speak again, he started to talk, only to be cut off.

"I know it's not the same as Kaveh for you, but you wouldn't be alone." Tighnari blurted. He sighed and ran a hand over one of his ears for comfort, "We think of you as family, Alhaitham. Me, Collei, even Cyno -we'll never let you be alone."

Alhaitham stared in shock for a moment, that solved his curiosity about his dream being audible.

He never made expectations of people. He didn't expect anyone to care about him, regardless of how he felt towards them. He didn't expect anyone to help him. He didn't expect anyone to want to be around someone who came off cold, as he knew he did, but here was Tighnari, letting him know they did care for him.

He swallowed hard past the lump in his throat, "Well, that sounds more like a threat…"

"It is." Cyno's voice joined the conversation, "Tired-Nari is right, you're stuck with us."

Tighnari groaned and Alhaitham blinked at the General.

"Get it? Because Tighnari is his name, but he's tired, so-"

"We get it, thank you!" The botanist cut him off.

"He's right, you should rest." Alhaitham said and continued, cutting off Tighnari's next protest, "When Kaveh wakes, he'll need you."

Alhaitham slowly turned towards the edge of the bed and stood, bracing himself on the wall. He couldn't recall his body ever being so sore, but Kaveh being here and alive made it worth it and he'd do it again in a heartbeat. He hobbled along the wall a little to let Cyno escort the grumbling Tighnari past him and onto the spot Alhaitham had just vacated. Alhaitham made his way to the chair.

"You better wake me if anything happens!" Tighnari exclaimed as he curled up on the bed.

"Of course." Alhaitham and Cyno said in unison.

Cyno sat on the bed by Tighnari's feet and they waited in comfortable silence, until they were sure the Valuka Shuna was asleep. Despite the attempt at joking, Cyno looked drained.

"How long ago did you get here?" Alhaitham asked in a hushed tone.

Cyno didn't look up from playing with his card deck, "Not long."

He knew Cyno was waiting for the next question, "And the prisoners?"

"Candace has them locked away and well guarded. I'll be taking them to Sumeru City in a few hours, at first light," He growled, "To face justice for their actions."

Alhaitham's jaw clenched, teeth grinding together. He'd wanted to kill them for what they'd done, his restraint only came from the fact he knew Kaveh wouldn't want that. "There's nothing that's a good enough punishment for beating, starving and dehydrating an innocent person and intentionally leaving them in full sun to be cooked alive while they lie unconscious." He seethed.

Cyno nodded, "I do agree and the law will be upheld. I will see to it that they are punished to an extreme degree."

Alhaitham knew that whatever happened, it would be the best they could do to receive justice. He looked at Kaveh. His trembling had slowed somewhat, but his skin still burned. Blisters and peeling skin covered any part of him that had been fully exposed to the sun and while the skin that had been under material lacked those things, it was nearly as red as the rest. The knife wounds had been wrapped, as well as his wrists and Tighnari had been careful to avoid the bandages with the water.

He took the cloth from Kaveh's head, his frown deepening at the warmth of the damp material. He couldn't stop the sudden rise of panic in his chest, his breath catching. Cyno had stopped shuffling his cards, but said nothing. With shaking hands he pulled a cooler cloth from a basin, wrung it out and folded it neatly to set on Kaveh's head.

This wasn't fair.

"I prefer it when you're yelling at me, or even when you are drunk. This is too quiet and still for you." He sat on the side of the bed and took Kaveh's burning hot hand, hoping it would wake him. Instead, the blond's arms and legs began to twitch. "Kaveh?…"

Tighnari was up on his knees in an instant, "Seizure, turn him on his side, towards me."

Though Alhaitham knew it must have only been moments, it felt like it took hours for Kaveh to stop twitching. Tighnari spoke to the blonde quietly the entire time.

Tighnari huffed before taking a couple of calming breaths, "This isn't working, it's not enough and we can't submerge him because bacteria and dirt could make the lacerations much worse." He shook his head, "I'm not sure what else we can try. He's not in any condition to be moved more than he already has been."

Alhaitham closed his eyes to think, pulling Kaveh's hand back between both of his. He could hear Tighnari and Cyno voicing their thoughts and drowned it out. They needed a way to surround him with more cool water, but not submerge. Why was thinking so difficult right now? He knew this should be an easy solution for any of them to come up with, but they were all worn past their limits and nerves frayed beyond the capacity that their minds could currently handle.

He felt like his mind was floating in a swamp of weeds, being pulled down. His eyes snapped open, that was it!

"Floating." He said, drawing the others attention, "I know we don't want him to actually be in water deep enough to float, but maybe if we had an area to lay him on his back with a small amount water surrounding him, but not enough to submerge him, do you think that would help?"

Tighnari slowly nodded his head as he followed Alhaitham's line of thought, "Yes, that might work. It's worth a try at the very least."

Before Alhaitham could stand, Cyno was on his feet and headed for the door, "I'll ask Candace." He said as he disappeared through the opening.

Alhaitham sat staring at Kaveh as Tighnari checked the architect over. He had read so much in his lifetime, so many different types of books, but he never had much of an interest in medical knowledge and hadn't bothered to read more than a handful of basic books pertaining to the subject. He wasn't used to being uncertain of things, but he knew nothing about recovery from such events as heat stroke or seizures. He would make sure to remedy that lack of knowledge soon.

Tighnari, though, had taken several advanced medical courses and knew what he was doing. Yet another reason Alhaitham was thankful to know him.

"How are your muscles?" Tighnari had climbed off the bed and turned his attention to the scribe.

Alhaitham tried to bite back the pained sound as Tighnari felt the muscles over the backs of his legs before moving on to his arms. "Sore, but fine." He answered shortly.

"Hmm, right." The Valuka Shuna hummed sarcastically, "You ran a marathon through the desert while carrying a completely limp, full grown man, so of course your muscles are fine."

"Exactly."

Tighnari felt his pulse before he pulled back, satisfied enough with Alhaitham's condition and turned to tend to Kaveh once more. "You're lucky, it could have been worse after pushing yourself that hard, "He said quietly, " But I'm glad you got here when you did. I don't think Kaveh… would have made it."

Alhaitham could only nod, his voice would have betrayed him. How dull would a world without Kaveh be. Even when they hadn't seen each other for years, he still heard about Kaveh and his projects. It was difficult to escape hearing about the Light of Kshahrewar, not that Alhaitham had even tried to. Even after their fight he never had an interest in having Kaveh out of his life, but Kaveh had been very angry, rightfully so, and Alhaitham never wanted to push him.

When he caught wind of Kaveh's issues, he couldn't stand the thought of the architect not having a place to be safe and fed and do the work he loved so much. It took a few days to find him, sitting miserably out in the rain in something like a depressed trance. Regardless of what Kaveh may sometimes think, Alhaitham had no interest in seeing him suffer.

"What will recovery be like for him?" He asked, hesitant. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know right now, but he needed to know.

"Well," Tighnari started, "It's different for everyone and Kaveh is resilient, but he'll likely need help."

"Of course. I'm not going anywhere." Alhaitham nodded. "I'll do whatever he needs."

Kaveh was so stupidly selfless, yet didn't take care of himself. Alhaitham would watch Kaveh give all he had to others over and over, then give some more and some of these people were only there to take. That didn't stop the blonde. "Everyone deserves help, Alhaitham.", he'd say, but become angry when Alhaitham would point out that he didn't treat himself like he deserved help. Blaming himself for his father's death for over two decades now, feeling undeserving of help. He had been a young child with no control over the situation and a child should have never held that kind of guilt.

Tighnari gave a soft smile, "I know you will. He is already overheated and the fever from infection is making bringing his temperature down nearly impossible, so his body is basically a raging inferno that's fighting with itself right now." Tighnari looked at Alhaitham before continuing, "He will probably have issues with his body regulating his temperature for a few weeks and will be weak, as hard as it will be, we'll need to get him to take it easy for at least a week or two. He may also have problems with confusion, coordination, or he might even be irritable. Sometimes the effects like to hang around for a bit." His ears flattened to his head again, "Because of being exposed to the heat for so long before anyone was even able to get to him… it could cause permanent damage to his organs, but we won't really know that until tests can be done."

That was a lot of information, but Alhaitham was having trouble getting past the last bit. Permanent organ damage. What would that mean for Kaveh?

As if Tighnari could read his mind, he laid a hand on Alhaitham's arm, "I know it's hard, but we have to try not to get ahead of ourselves. We need to deal with the right now and do whatever we can to prevent the situation from worsening."

Cyno rounded the corner, "We've got something set up, we can move him." He said as he came up beside the bed.

"I've got him." Alhaitham stood, giving his muscles a quick stretch before sliding his arms under Kaveh's upper back and behind his knees.

Cyno led them to the bathroom, the tub had been removed and there had already been a seam in the stone floor that stood taller, acting as a barrier. The area was just the right length and width for Kaveh to lay flat and had been filled with a couple inches of cold water and more pieces of clean cloth had been set aside for them. Tighnari held Kaveh's arms to where the bandages wouldn't get wet and Alhaitham laid him down carefully.

They dampened the clean cloths and arranged them across Kaveh's body again and the blonde suddenly let out a sound that was somewhere between a moan and whimper. Alhaitham took his hand again and squeezed it gently.

"Kaveh?"

There was no response.

"Kaveh, Tighnari is here. He wanted to say hello to you." He tried.

Not even a twitch.

"Did you know Cyno is here, Kaveh? He wants to tell you some jokes." Alhaitham didn't see Cyno's raised eyebrow.

The moan was so quiet it would have been easy to miss. Alhaitham couldn't help the tiny smile pulling at his lips and ignored the wet feeling in the corners of his eyes. Unfortunately, Cyno's hearing was apparently nearly as good as Tighnari's.

"I always knew he liked my jokes." He said with pride, crossing his arms.

"He said nothing of the sort!" Tighnari rolled his eyes.

Before their argument could pick up, Alhaitham began to talk to Kaveh quietly as he dumped handfuls of water on the cloth to keep cooling it. His friends had gone quiet. He knew that Tighnari and Cyno had never seen him this way, but he never cared all that much about what others thought of him. Part of the problem, he supposed, but he had no need to socialize with everyone he met. For Kaveh, socializing might as well be breathing. It was natural to him and people genuinely liked him and his larger than life personality. Why wouldn't they?

"Tighnari really would like it if you said hi."

He continued to whisper as the others stayed silent.

"And I'll save you if Cyno's jokes get out of hand."

"Mehrak saved you, you know. Your brilliant little invention took us right to you."

Kaveh's lips twitched and his eyelids fluttered.

"Come on, Kaveh. Can you open your eyes?"

Tighnari checked his temperature again, he looked happier, "It's finally coming down!"

"Did you hear that Kaveh? You're doing good, keep fighting."

After a short while of Alhaitham whispering encouragement to Kaveh, the blonde finally managed to open his eyes a little. He didn't say anything or make any other movements, Alhaitham just kept talking to him and that's where Kaveh seemed to focus somewhat.

After a few minutes, Kaveh squeezed Alhaitham's hand, as if he had just figured out it was there and murmured something that couldn't be made out.

"We couldn't hear you, Kaveh." Alhaitham tried squeezing the architect's hand again.

It took a minute, but Kaveh finally responded with a quiet "Swim?"

"You aren't swimming, you are in a bath, cooling off." He said back.

"...Cold."

"Yes, it needs to be cold, you were too warm and this will help you."

Kaveh closed his eyes and didn't speak for several minutes after that, they thought he had fallen back asleep. Tighnari and Cyno disappeared to change the covers on the bed in hopes that Kaveh would be able to return to it soon.

Alhaitham had become lost in his tired thoughts, staring blankly at Kaveh when he felt a squeeze on his hand again.

"Haitham."

"Yes, Kaveh?"

"Coffee."

Why coffee? "I don't think you should have coffee right now…"

The prone man was silent for a moment before saying "Silver… you are moon."

Many years ago, not long after they had met, Kaveh had said something to Alhaitham about how his hair was moonlight that fell from the sky. Alhaitham had then pointed out to Kaveh that by that reasoning, then his golden hair was sunlight. When Kaveh had smiled at that, it was one of the brightest he had ever seen, even to this day. It was fitting that he later became the Light of Kshahrewar, Alhaitham thought.

"Then you must be the sun." He said back.

Kaveh only let out a small noise in response and a moment later his hand relaxed in Alhaitham's grip. He really was asleep this time.

Tighnari had come back and quietly knelt beside Alhaitham. He checked Kaveh's temperature once more and it was quickly followed by a sigh of relief.

"He could still spike a fever from the infection, but I think he's finally cooled off from… his 'stay' in the desert. Hopefully we'll be able to keep things under better control." He readied some towels, "Lets get him out of here."

They worked together to get Kaveh out of the water and dried off and to the freshly made bed. The blonde responded more to having the creams rubbed over his wounds as they were redressed. They all knew this wasn't quite over, but their relief at just these small responses was indescribable.

Chapter 9

With Kaveh doing better and resting, and the extra guards having arrived from Sumeru, it was time for Cyno to lead the prisoners back to the city. He was and wasn't looking forward to this at the same time.

He was going to personally see to it that these criminals made it to Sumeru City and faced their punishment. He would make sure that every little truth of their crime was known, kidnapping, assault and battery, extortion, attempted murder, and once he was able to speak with Kaveh he was certain the list would grow.

Cyno stepped into the small tower the prisoners had been held in and stared at them until they were trembling, letting them know that if they were to try anything it would be the last thing they do. One at a time, he cuffed their hands behind their backs and led them to the waiting escort. They were surrounded on each side by the guards and marched them to Sumeru as they cowered under his gaze.

Once they arrived in Sumeru and were secure in their cell, he again looked at each in turn before finally addressing them.

"Every breath you take, "He stepped in front of the next, "And every move you make," He said, before stepping in front of the last, "I'll be watching you." He growled before he turned and left without another word.

As much as he wanted to return to his friend's side, it was time to get answers. Alhaitham had given him a piece of paper that had the names of Kaveh's clients and the meeting place. That would be his first stop.

It turned out that the area Kaveh would have met them was nothing more than a cliff overlooking the desert. He doubted the clients had meant for it to be used at all. He didn't find much other than sand, but he did find a short trail of footprints with drag marks in the middle that had been undisturbed. They led in the same direction of the site that Kaveh had been held.

He followed where the trail was obvious and kept up in the same direction where the prints had been blown away. Eventually, he came across a huddle of red vultures pecking away at something. They flew away when he made his presence known, revealing two human bodies. The animals had ravaged them, but he still had to conduct his search.

He managed to find identification for each of them and was now positive that they were the people Kaveh was supposed to be meeting. He was also able to assess the cause of death, their throats were cut. A brutal murder, a charge he would be adding to the list. They were unbound, but had been with the group of kidnappers.

Kaveh's kidnapping had likely started with these two. He couldn't take the bodies with him, someone would have to be sent back for them. He continued to follow the trail to the camp where they had taken Kaveh.

Under the shade of the tents there were some cushions and extra water. Comfort from the scorching sun, something they had denied their captive. Kaveh's earrings had been taken and put into a small chest, along with his gloves, neckpiece, belt, feather and Vision. Cyno picked up the box and checked the rest of the camp, gathering any other information he needed and headed for Aaru Village.

He would need to make note of the taken belongings, but he wouldn't keep Kaveh's Vision from him any longer. He had heard about the Vision Hunt Decree and about how hollow the people who had their Visions taken were after the loss.

He could make good time in the desert when he was alone, plus he could take shortcuts. It didn't take him nearly as long to arrive back at Aaru as it had previously. As soon as he arrived he sent a note with a messenger describing the location of the bodies and what was needed to retrieve them and stepped in to see how Kaveh was doing.

The architect's fever had spiked and Tighnari had decided on another short bath to help it come down, not wanting a repeat of before. Alhaitham quietly spoke to Kaveh to calm him from splashing around.

Tighnari leaned against the wall next to Cyno. "It's not quite as high as before and he's even recovered a small amount of strength, but it's still high enough to concern me." He looked over at Cyno and smiled, "He spoke a little earlier. He said he dreamed you were telling jokes."

The corner of Cyno's mouth turned up at that. Kaveh loved his jokes. Out of all his friends, he was the most likely to laugh at them. He wasn't surprised that the architect had good taste.

"Now don't get all full of yourself. He didn't say it wasn't a nightmare!" Tighnari laughed before turning to face him fully, "You conducted your investigation?" He asked.

Cyno nodded.

"What did you find?" His ears laid back on his head.

"I'm adding some charges, based on my findings and I found this." He held out the small chest. "It's Kaveh's belongings. I have to document each item, but I'll do that before I leave and he can have them back." He pulled out the Vision and handed it to Tighnari, "He should have this back now, though."

Tighnari clutched the Vision and knelt beside the makeshift tub, Cyno standing right behind him, "Kaveh, Cyno found something for you." He said as he held out the glowing object.

It was not as bright as it should have been, but it was a little brighter than it had been when Cyno first found it. He watched the blonde open his eyes a crack and look at the Vision. Tighnari took Kaveh's hand and waited until the shaking fingers clenched around his missing piece before laying Kaveh's arm gently back across his torso.

"T-Thank you…" He murmured.

Cyno nodded and smiled at his friend, "Of course."

He stayed a bit longer, helping them get Kaveh back to bed and comfortable. He spoke with Tighnari a little more about what he had found and documented the items from the chest. Alhaitham had been nearly unresponsive to anyone but Kaveh, focused on his every need and Cyno had no intention of bothering him. There would be time to talk later, as much as the scribe ever did, anyway.

It was time for Cyno to head back to Sumeru and put together his findings and reports and make sure there were no more leads. Before he was out the door, Alhaitham had stopped him.

"Cyno, wait." He said, "Thank you for everything."

It was rather out of character for the Acting Grand Sage, but it wasn't the first time since this had begun that Cyno had noticed the change in behavior and he'd be lying if he said he didn't understand it. "Of course. Kaveh is not only the victim of a terrible crime, but also my friend."

Alhaitham gave a small nod and held out Kaveh's toolbox, Mehrak. "It may have recorded useful information. All you have to do is ask it." He said before he disappeared back into Kaveh's room.

He looked at Mehrak and it simply looked back.

"You'll come with me back to Sumeru." He wasn't sure why he felt the need to give a toolbox an explanation.

*Beep!*

Chapter 10

Kaveh was asleep, but he was restless. Bad dreams and fever keeping him from regaining the energy he needed to heal. Alhaitham laid on the bed next to him and took his hand again. He had discovered that doing this seemed to help comfort the blonde somewhat and if Alhaitham were being honest with himself, it offered him some solace as well.

The architect was doing much better, compared to before, but he had a ways to go before they could even safely move him back to the city. He was far too weak right now and they didn't dare do something that could worsen his condition. They needed to get him past this fever, but it was being as stubborn as the blonde himself could be.

It was like trying to traverse rolling hills without the proper energy. Just when you thought you were done with the hills, there was another waiting just beyond. Kaveh usually had an endless supply of energy, but this left him with nothing. His body was exhausted and trying to heal too many things at once.

In the few times he had awoken completely, he spoke to Alhaitham and had even responded to direct questions a few times, his mind a little less muddled. Tighnari had been happy with the improvement and said he'd likely make more sense as his fever came down. Alhaitham didn't like the word "likely", it was a word of uncertainty and he liked fact. He knew it wasn't in Tighnari control and he certainly didn't blame him, he was trying his best, but it was still difficult not to be frustrated.

When Cyno had returned, he was glad to hear that he'd had some strong findings and was relieved to see the architect's Vision. The Mahamatra had nearly made it out the door before Alhaitham remembered to give him Mehrak. He hadn't had the opportunity to ask the robot, but he wouldn't be surprised if it could provide some sort of useful information.

Alhaitham was beyond exhausted at this point. He knew if Kaveh were conscious enough, he'd let everyone know that Alhaitham didn't do "lack of sleep". It was the truth. He didn't like how it made him feel, so usually, he simply made sure he slept enough. It was one of the advantages of having a cushy job like a scribe. As Acting Grand Sage, he had started having to spend more hours at work and subsequently had less time to read and sleep, but more importantly, less time to fake ignore Kaveh or pick fights with him.

He was sure Kaveh hated him, but he had also been quick to complain that Alhaitham was spending less time at home, coming home too late for dinner and not having time with their friends.

Kaveh shifted next to him, moaning and mumbling something inaudible. Alhaitham looked over at his friend and noticed tears slowly falling from Kaveh's still closed eyes. Probably a bad dream.

"Kaveh," He whispered, "It's ok, you're safe. No one here will hurt you."

Kaveh sobbed quietly.

"I'll make sure of it." He said, wiping at his sleeping friend's tears and gently laying his hand on the bed to where it was still touching Kaveh's cheek.

"You don't need to worry anymore. You. Are. Safe."

He'd keep saying this for as long as it took.

Three seconds from now or three years from now, he'd keep repeating it and he'd make sure it was true.

Kaveh's sobs faded as he fell back into a deeper sleep and Alhaitham could feel his own eyelids drooping and let them close.

He still kept talking.

Chapter 11

Kaveh was sore all over, but right now, the headache was making sure it had all of his attention. With his ribs and other injuries, they at least stayed somewhat subdued as long as he didn't move. His head, though, it was relentless.

He had been becoming more and more aware, able to realize he wasn't with his kidnappers anymore. Waking to Alhaitham sleeping next to him and holding his hand had been a shock, though he wouldn't say that he minded. He already knew for a fact that the scribe was not nearly as cold and distant as he pretended to be. Still, this was a new level that Kaveh hadn't expected to see.

Tighnari had greeted him when he woke and said that he had been running a high fever for a few days, but it had started to come down drastically now and if it continued, they would be moving him to the city. He hadn't thought to ask where they were currently, but he thought it was Aaru, judging by the interior design.

Tighnari had also hesitantly asked him what he remembered about what had happened, he knew information was needed to properly put these people away. While it was spotty and some of it was a little confusing, he remembered far more than he wanted to. Things like being beaten multiple times, and having someone try to force themselves on him. It was something of a blur, but it was there. It was in his dreams, it was in his thoughts, it was burned into his mind. He felt like he was suffocating.

He couldn't stop nor hide the tears that started to fall when his friend had asked him, the look of terror that must have been plastered on his face. It startled Alhaitham awake and he immediately wrapped his arms around Kaveh, whispering comforting words to him, making him feel safe.

Kaveh was embarrassed, but his reaction wasn't something that he could control. He cried until he couldn't open his eyes any longer, until his body wouldn't stop shaking, until the air made him too cold to stand being awake.

He let sleep pull him away, floating over the clouds and far away from his memories.

Chapter 12

Kaveh had made great strides in healing over the last two weeks. Alhaitham had not left his friend's side. He was surprised when the blonde didn't respond with annoyance, but instead stuck close. He had even asked Alhaitham to stay when Cyno came to talk to him.

Kaveh shook as he did his best to relay everything he remembered and Alhaitham sat beside him, jaw clenched as he learned the details for the first time. Not that his own reactions to everything could be considered calm, but when Kaveh spoke about the man kissing him, there was an audible growl. He hadn't meant for it to come out, it just escaped.

Cyno looked at him and gave him an understanding nod, Kaveh squeezed his hand. He felt a pang of guilt at being comforted and took a deep breath.

Beyond that kiss, Kaveh didn't remember anything until after his fever had come down. Cyno showed himself out not long after, leaving Alhaitham and Kaveh sitting on the divan. Alhaitham could see Kaveh trying to calm himself, trying not to cry, trying not to be overwhelmed by the emotions that flooded him every time those memories resurfaced.

Truthfully, Alhaitham felt helpless and worthless when it came to comforting Kaveh. Being able to do nothing more than give him a shoulder to cry into and if he wanted, someone to talk to. He had no idea what else to do.

The way he sometimes went on about leaving people to their own fates, it would often anger Kaveh. He believed in helping instead. What Alhaitham had never admitted out loud is that this had been his own way of coming to terms with his parent's deaths. Parents that he never even had the chance to know, lost to an accident. Lost to their fate and lost to him.

This didn't mean that he thought they deserved to die, just that he knew it was out of their hands. Now, with this mess, he didn't think for an instant that Kaveh deserved any of this. Why did life throw one misfortune after another at the architect? He wasn't sure that could ever be answered. Kaveh tended to tempt fate and often lost, but always felt it was worth it as long as it helped someone. Trying to repent for the undeserved guilt of his father's death, willing to give his life so that someone else might go on.

None of that is what had happened here. Just greedy humans hurting innocent people.

Kaveh shifted a little as he began to calm, his body gradually shaking less.

"I'm- I'm sorry, Haitham. I'm so sorry."

Alhaitham brows knit together, "For what?"

Kaveh didn't answer at first, his sobs finding their way back, "I've m-made a-a mess of everyt-thing again.."

"In what way?" He pulled Kaveh from his shoulder and pulled his chin up to look him in the eyes, "Nothing that happened, not a single bit of it was your fault. You are a victim, Kaveh. You were given NO say in what happened to you." He pulled his friend back into a hug, "Please, stop blaming yourself."

After a moment he felt a small nod on his shoulder. Alhaitham knew how hard it was for Kaveh not to blame himself for things that were out of his control, but he was going to do everything within his power to make sure Kaveh didn't go down that road.

Epilogue

It had been three months since Kaveh had been kidnapped and he had mostly healed. He still had panic attacks and felt a little less energetic than before, but he was getting there.

He had done a couple of small, local jobs during his recovery. Alhaitham didn't seem to like it, but Tighnari had said as long as he took things easy, he should be fine. He had been right. Kaveh was careful not to wear himself down, avoiding staying up all hours of the night and having extra meetings with clients.

He had stuck to people he already knew only, still leary of people he didn't know, but it had happened. He knew it would eventually.

He had been contacted about a job that was not only from someone new, but the construction would take place in the desert. Despite his every instinct telling him to say no, he had agreed to a meeting anyway.

Cyno had worked hard to root out anyone who had any involvement in his kidnapping and they had all been to trial and locked away, but that hadn't locked away the fear, trauma and nightmares that Alhaitham helped him deal with on a nightly basis. Waking up a sobbing mess wasn't how he wanted Alhaitham to see him. He'd been a little worried that the scribe would make fun of him for it, but he'd been nothing but supportive. He could still surprise Kaveh sometimes.

That's why he didn't tell Alhaitham until he was about to leave, worried about what the scribe's reaction might be. Alhaitham had simply said "Ok." and disappeared into his room. The man had been very protective of him since the incident and while Kaveh had appreciated it, he knew it couldn't last forever. So, it was best to just move on.

Except that he was now staring at the front door, feet rooted to the floor, unwilling to move. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to slow his breathing as panic began to boil up inside of him. His fists were clenched at his sides and his body was beginning to shake.

He couldn't do this. Why in Celestia had he thought he could do this? It was too soon and he wasn't strong enough, not brave enough. What if it was someone else who would hurt him?

Just as he was about to turn and run to his room, hands wrapped themselves around one of his fists. He opened his eyes, looking straight into teal and gold ones staring back at him.

Then the moon smiled at him.

It was so unexpected, but like magic, the panic started to melt away.

"I'm coming with you." He said as he stepped to Kaveh's side.

"A-are you sure? You don't have to…" That wasn't true, Kaveh needed him.

Alhaitham simply nodded, slinging the bag of supplies over his shoulder.

The sun smiled back.

He could do this.