Chapter 1
Notes:
My biggest enemy is Ao3 summary's word limit.
Chapter Text
Kaveh sucked in a breath as he prepared himself for the discussion about to come. The fact that Alhaitham finally had enough shame to wear something other than lingerie, albeit he only added a loose sweater that's showing off his collarbones to his getup, was helping.
Kaveh slapped and then gripped his knees, catching Alhaitham's attention, "Alright!" Kaveh opened his mouth but closed it again to suck in another breath as a wave of headache visited him, "you don't like chit chat and I don't really want to have this discussion, so let's just get straight into it."
"That would be a great idea if only you didn't spend so long staring at the thin air," Alhaitham commented.
Kaveh ignored Alhaitham, "First off, let me clarify this, are you really going to marry Zandik whom you've only gotten acquainted with for less than two months?"
Alhaitham's wings twitched in annoyance as he leaned back to his couch, "Mind your word, Kaveh. Wording your sentence like that made it sound like you disagreed with my decision. Which is very presumptuous of you since not even Lord Kusanali is allowed to have a say in my relationship."
"Hey," Kaveh pointed at Alhaitham warningly, "don't change the subject. Let's get this done quickly."
Alhaitham blatantly rolled his eyes, "Then I think I have the right to remain silent and not answer any of your interrogations."
Kaveh froze on his couch. Then he slumped back and pressed both of his palms to his face before letting out a loud groan.
If Alhaitham said that, then the chance was, even if he did say something, it would be very cryptic and Kaveh needed to decipher it himself, "You must love Zandik that much, huh. Say, did he put something in you?" Kaveh said from behind his palms.
"I wouldn't say that I love him," Kaveh peeked from under his palms because what, "and yes, he did put something in me," Kaveh put his hands away to look concernedly at Alhaitham, "his di-" Kaveh threw a pillow at Alhaitham's face.
"Answer seriously!" Kaveh yelled with a flushed face.
"I answered you very seriously," Alhaitham said with a straight face yet his wings twitched in amusement, "although perhaps, 'his seeds' would answer your question more precisely."
Kaveh could only block his ears with his hands as he no longer had any projectile to throw at Alhaitham.
"You're getting out of topic and I don't really need to know that information," Kaveh dispiritedly muttered but he made sure Alhaitham could still hear his voice clearly, "and what do you mean by 'I wouldn't say that I love him'? You're going to live in a foreign country with absolutely zero connection, and you're telling me that you don't even love your soon to be husband?" Kaveh gestured his hands around to show his bewilderment, "I mean, that sounds like you're being blackmailed, y'know."
Alhaitham crossed his arms and leaned back, smugness oozing from his being, "I recall that you were very determined to know about my relationship the first time you met Zandik. Why the behavioral change?"
Kaveh showed Alhaitham his clenched fist, "Stop," he dryly said, "you know I didn't want to know it back then," Kaveh leaned back frustratedly to his couch, "just tell me you actually love Zandik enough to leave Sumeru."
Alhaitham raised his eyebrows, "I said that I wouldn't consider myself in love with Zandik. Lord Kusanali ordered you to have this conversation with me, didn't she? Perhaps 'to make sure that I genuinely want to go with Zandik'?" Kaveh's frozen reaction told Alhaitham all he needed to know, "in that case, by telling me to simply say that 'I love Zandik' would mean that this interrogation is not genuine," Alhaitham tilted his head and lazily waved his hand, "besides, saying that I love him would be incorrect."
There was a blinding headache that pulsed pain all over Kaveh's body, Kaveh leaned back to his couch and tilted his head up to stare at the ceiling, "... So until the end you still make everything hard for me…"
Alhaitham blinked in surprise, "What is it now?"
Kaveh laughed bitterly and then that laughter turned into sobbing, causing Alhaitham to puff his wings in confusion and surprise, "Be serious with me just this once, please," Kaveh choked out between his sobs, "this might be the last time we see each other. Which is good because you're an insufferable asshole, but also not good because you're all I have left that I can call a family."
Alhaitham froze, his wings twitching behind him from nerves, "Kaveh… I…" Alhaitham starts hesitantly, "all I can say is that I am emotionally attached to Zandik and so is he. But emotional attachment doesn't always mean love."
Kaveh straight out had a breakdown at that. Because Alhaitham was still an asshole to the very end. Because Alhaitham's insistence on saying that he's not in love with Zandik meant that his decision is genuine. Because Kaveh most likely wouldn't see Alhaitham again. Because Alhaitham is betting his life in a marriage with the most despicable Avian in Teyvat.
Alhaitham and Dottore are lying on their side. It's their past routines, silently lying close to each other, but it feels like it has been ages since they last did it.
Alhaitham stares at their loosely intertwined hands while Dottore observes Alhaitham. Never in Dottore's life did he ever think he would be married one day. The fact that his bride was sent off willingly by a bridal carriage was an addition to his bewilderment to the situation.
Dottore got legally married as per the tradition of his hometown, the hometown he was exiled from. Absolutely hilarious.
Alhaitham silently tightens the holds of their hands, snapping Dottore from his musings.
Dottore uses his thumb to gently rub the back of Alhaitham's hand, "Say," he starts, "are you in the mood to mate?"
Alhaitham glances up to look at Dottore's face who is pointedly staring at their intertwined hands, "Why do you ask? Actually, why is it that you find you need to ask me first?"
Dottore is still avoiding Alhaitham's eyes, he stubbornly squints at their hands, "You… were afraid of me," it's hard for Dottore to spit out what he wants to say, he puts the blame on Omega Build, "you might even still don't trust me. Why was it that you willingly came along? Why went so far to announce it to your group of friends to show them that you're willing?"
Alhaitham drags himself up so that he can let their noses rub together, causing Dottore to finally look at him but Alhaitham has his eyes closed, "You are correct," Alhaitham whispers, "but I trust that you're intelligent enough to realize that you like me best when I'm able to hold a conversation with you," Dottore stares wide eyed at Alhaitham, "and I trust that you'll hold your words and protect me. Telling them was necessary to make sure that they won't go recklessly searching for me. Possibly causing several troubles, decreasing their work quality, and in the worst case scenario causing several diplomatic insults that will lead to war."
Dottore is tense as he observes Alhaitham's calm expression. Alhaitham said all that as if it's an entirely separate case from him.
It's beautiful.
Dottore barks a laugh. He unclasp Alhaitham's hair decorations along with his green veil and throw them away carelessly. Then he tucks Alhaitham's head under his chin.
Alhaitham nuzzles into his neck and lets out a chittering sound. Dottore stops his laugh in order to send back a rattling sound.
"So," Dottore trails off as he leaves featherlight caresses along Alhaitham's body, "let's mate?"
Alhaitham snorts, "Zandik-"
"Doctor," Dottore cuts Alhaitham off.
Alhaitham hums, "Doctor, we are on a boat, in the middle of an ocean. How could you think of mating at this kind of place?"
"Why, I'm merely concerned for your well being," Dottore slides his finger between Alhaitham's ass, nudging his hole, "I recall that you said this place here missed me so much it almost drive you to my level of insanity," he keeps teasing said place.
Alhaitham lets out a hum that morphs into a chirp when Dottore gently rakes his nail around his hole, "Fair enough, but do you even have a lubricant in this ship?"
Dottore freezes for a moment before he uses his free hand to grab Alhaitham's jaw to face him.
Alhaitham finally opens his eyes and Dottore's lips split into a grin as they make eye contact, "No, but… I have my tongue."
Alhaitham's face has no reaction, but his wings flutter behind him and his hole clenches around nothing, still he raises another question, "Is this room even soundproof?"
Dottore retracts his hand under Alhaitham's clothes to rolls himself up and loom over Alhaitham, "No," Dottore answers in a sing song, then he leans down so that their lips almost touching, "who cares if anyone hears. I'm their superior," he lowly whispers to Alhaitham's lips.
Alhaitham lets out an amused exhale, "Why are you such a menace?" and yet he's the one who initiates the kiss.
It doesn't matter which part of the boat you are at. There's no escape from hearing the dying Avian noises coming from their Lord Harbinger's room.
Of course, none of the Fatui dares to stop their superior. Even if the noises are coming from The Doctor's mate, i.e. the new Sumeru diplomat, even a mere reminder will be considered as speaking out of turn. No one dares to interfere since it's The Doctor, death will always be a better outcome than receiving his ire.
"Captain," the chief cook of their boat calls, "it's almost time to prepare dinner."
The captain looks up from his desk and raises his eyebrows at the chief cook, "Well, go on then. Since when do you need to inform me first before carrying out your duties?"
The chief cook stands restlessly, "Sir, shouldn't the Lord Harbinger be informed?"
The captain, taken aback, puts down his pen and straight up looks at the chief cook weirdly, "Do you have a death wish?"
The chief cook's face looks very appalled, "No, Sir," he rubs the sweat clinging to his eyebrows, "but it has been hours since His Lordship locked himself in his room along with his mate, and while His Lordship doesn't need food and water as much as the rest of us do, perhaps his mate need them," the chief cook looks out the window to stares to the horizon when a shrill squeal travels to the room, "especially because of their activities."
The captain massages his temple, "Are you even hearing yourself? What makes you think that Lord Harbinger would want to give his 'guest' food and water if he's currently torturing his 'guest'?"
The chief cook freezes, then his shoulders slump in disbelief, "Captain, Sir. With all due respect, anyone who stays around his Lordship's room will realize in under 5 minutes that His Lordship is not torturing his mate."
The captain looks at the chief cook questioningly. The chief cook answers by simply gesturing at the general direction of the Harbinger's room.
Alhaitham grips the pillow pressed under his face as the force of Dottore's thrusts keep pushing him to the headboard. He screeches a squeal as Dottore bites down the back of his neck and a hand harshly slaps his ass.
Dottore grabs Alhaitham's waist to stop him from being shoved further, "I see that you really like this position," Dottore whispers to Alhaitham's ear before he pulls Alhaitham by the waist to meet his thrusts and hitting Alhaitham's bundle of nerves head on.
Alhaitham's wings spasm from the feeling and he can only let out another strangled squeal among his many moans and whimpers.
It's almost too much. Alhaitham pants from the overwhelming pleasure as he lets Dottore do as he wishes.
Oh, Alhaitham's eyes roll up, but he wants more.
The captain's eyes slowly lose their focus as he stares at the thin air. The blood in his blood vessels are in a state of uncertainty as they can't decide whether to drain from his face, from shame that he didn't realize the situation sooner, or to rush to his face, because of the pair's shamefulness. Then again, for someone who's the third in command only after The Jester and her Highness, the captain supposes that this kind of thing is very tame.
In the end, the blood decides to rush to the captain's face and he awkwardly clears his throat, "Well… in that case, then who dares to interrupt Lord Harbinger's business?" The captain vaguely waves his hand, "just prepare a couple of hearty portions and leave it in front of his Lordship's room."
"Understood," the chief cook leaves the room with a salute.
The captain awkwardly sits in his office alone. He can hear a loud caw from The Harbinger's room now. Truly, ignorance is bliss.
It's not rare to be in the throne room.
Tartaglia looks around, his brown with specks of white wings subconsciously pressed tightly to his back to guard against the cool air.
But it's rare for so many Harbingers to be called into the throne room at the same time.
Pulcinella subtly pinches Childe's thigh to remind him of his manner. Childe covers his chin with his scarf to hide his pained grimace.
The Harbingers are busy lots, they're spread across Teyvat to fulfill their majesty's wishes.
Pantalone's lips twitch in amusement at the two's antics, but it barely shows in his ever smiling face. He calmly rearranges his black wings before continuing to wait for Her Majesty's announcement. He has an inkling as to what it is.
This is the first audience where all Harbingers are called after The Fair Lady's death.
Three of the Harbingers silently stand still in a row before the way to the throne.
The door to the throne room opens and a petite yet powerful figure walks in, bringing with her the bitter frigid air.
All the Harbingers bow their heads as The Tsaritsa makes her way to the throne, "Raise your heads," she orders once she's seated on her throne.
The Tsaritsa casts her cold gaze on her Harbingers as The Jester silently steps to stand beside the throne.
"Today, Her Majesty has gathered you in this room to hear an announcement," The Jester says, his voice reverberates in the icy room, "Il Dottore will arrive in Snezhnaya tomorrow, bringing with him the electro gnosis that has been taken by The Balladeer and the dendro gnosis from the Dendro Archon," he pauses, "and along with those, his mate," the room falls silent.
Childe chokes on air and he tries with all his might to not cough. But what in the world, he thought it was a joke.
"But his mate is from Sumeru, The Akademiya, and they are not on our side. He is one of the new Sumerian diplomats that will be sent to stay here. In other words, they are neutral and we have the obligation to welcome them as the second's Harbinger mate. But they have an obligation to report what they see here to the Dendro Archon so carefully keep your distance."
"Your Majesty," Arlecchino speaks up after the long silence, "pardon me for questioning your decision but-" she clamps her mouth shut when The Tsaritsa raises his hand.
"I'm aware of your concern, my Knave," her voice is just like that of billowing wind during a blizzard, "but The Doctor himself will keep his mate in check and what's left of our duty is to welcome them."
Arlecchino subtly frowns, "Will you have an audience with them, Your Majesty?"
"Of course not," The Tsaritsa answers, "as usual, The Rooster will be the one to greet the diplomat. I don't have to personally greet them, so rest assured," seeing as no one else opens their mouths, The Tsaritsa waves her hand, "dismissed."
The Harbingers, except for The Jester, bow before orderly walking out of the throne room.
Childe soullessly walks beside Pulcinella.
Pulcinella glances at Childe before letting out an exhale, "What's it, Childe?"
"Dottore, he…" Childe sucks in a shaky inhale, "he really is mated to someone now?" Childe laughs hysterically, "it must be a lie."
Pulcinella blindly pats Childe's thigh in reassurance, "Oh, don't worry about it, Childe. It's probably a contract marriage."
Childe lets out another burst of hysterical laugh, "Yeah, you're right," and then he freezes before running off.
"Where are you going?" Pulcinella yells after Childe.
"To the port! Dottore's mate will have a terrible life for being married to him so the least I can do is to give them a warm welcome!"
Chapter Text
"You are aware that I can clean myself, right?" Alhaitham brushes his wet hair back.
Dottore hums as he looks through the cabinet to search for washing products.
After mating for many rounds and sleeping to his heart's content, Dottore is in a state where his enhanced body feels light, even a little restless. He had ordered someone to prepare a tub for him to clean up. Then, when it was Alhaitham's turn to clean himself, he fell down due to shaky legs while holding his hip. The expression on Alhaitham's face was simply astounding.
All in all, Dottore is in a good mood.
Dottore sits on a stool beside the tub, his wings relaxes as he reaches for Alhaitham's leg, "I thought so, but I can't take any bet. It would be far too embarrassing if you are injured due to such a thing. We are near Snezhnaya. If you can't stand on your own two feet, people will start talking bad about me," Alhaitham's wings twitch in annoyance, causing some water to overflow and Dottore tuts, "you're making a mess."
Alhaitham's lips twitch into an adorable scowl, "You sure are fond of contradicting yourself. I've read your Eleazar research. You didn't even try to hide the fact that you didn't see your patients as human. Why bother with rumors, now?"
Dottore folds the sleeves of his clean shirt up, "Each person has different standards. You are aware of that, right?" He taps the gem inlaid on Alhaitham's chest.
Dottore freezes and Alhaitham flinches backward so hard that a quarter of the water splashes down the tub, wetting the floor of the room. Dottore blinks, trying to process what he had seen. Then he notices that Alhaitham is keeping his distance from him with his wings puffed defensively.
Dottore's lips twitch from displeasure but he takes a deep breath to calm his emotion, "I must say that it was a very curious incident, though not really worthy of my time," Dottore props his elbow on the side of the tub and leans on it, noticing how Alhaitham tenses more, he lets out a sigh, "relax. I only needed your feathers to run a few tests. I don't need any sample from you anymore since I have made a breakthrough in my solution. So what if you have a private knowledge capsule, separate from The Irminsul, that stores the knowledge you've learnt? It's not of my interest and I don't think I can develop anything out of it," Alhaitham's eyes widen with fear, instead.
Seeing as his attempt to calm Alhaitham down by stating that he understands what he is trying to hide rather caused more panic, Dottore averts his eyes to look at the mess on the floor and lets out a tsk, "You're making more mess," he uncaps a bottle of soap, "enough of that. The water will get cold soon. Turn around so that I can rub your back."
Alhaitham is still keeping his guard up against Dottore. Dottore's wings subconsciously puff up in displeasure, causing Alhaitham to flinch.
At that, Dottore relaxes his wings with a sigh, "Please," he mumbles, "turn around. You've been soaked for too long. I need to treat your wounds soon," Dottore lets out a small begging caw for good measure.
Alhaitham's wings twitch at Dottore's tone. Hesitantly, he shows his back to Dottore. He tenses when Dottore's hand starts to gently apply soap on his back. It takes time until Dottore is almost done cleaning Alhaitham before Alhaitham finally starts to relax.
Dottore's arms suddenly circle Alhaitham's upper body and pull him back.
Alhaitham lets out a startled squawk and he starts to struggle, sploshing soapy water to Dottore's clean shirt. Dottore simply tightens his hold.
"I adore you," Dottore whispers to Alhaitham's neck causing Alhaitham to freeze, "you are very dear to me," Dottore's head drops to lay on Alhaitham's nape, "I've told you these in my letter. I no longer need you as a sample. I don't need you to be my sample anymore," Dottore tightens his hold, "we are mated for life. The least thing you can do for me is to pretend that you no longer fear me."
Alhaitham subconsciously lets out a shaky squeal and Dottore, in turn, lets out a sorrowful caw that he soon strangles.
Finally, Alhaitham fully relaxes into Dottore's hold. He tilts his head back to lean on Dottore's shoulder. They stay in silence like that for so long until Dottore can feel Alhaitham's temperature goes down.
Dottore releases his hold and stands up, "Alright, enough with the emotional crisis. Get up. I need to treat your wounds," then he walks away to get a towel.
Alhaitham stands up. Soapy water flows down his body and wings. Alhaitham is itching to flick the water off his wings but refrains from doing so.
Dottore comes back presenting a dry towel to Alhaitham while he himself is soaking wet.
Alhaitham can feel his wings twitch from guilt.
When Dottore makes a move to wrap him in the towel, Alhaitham lets himself fall into it.
Dottore lets out a startled caw. His wings flap around in panic as his hands hold Alhaitham.
"These kinds of wounds are manageable without treatment," Alhaitham mutters to Dottore's throat, stunning Dottore, "you don't have to treat them," then he lets out a weak chirp.
Dottore's wings twitch as he tries to process Alhaitham's words, "as long as you don't say the wounds are harmless, I will continue to treat them."
Dottore can feel Alhaitham's mouth curves up, "I thought you said that healing is not your forte, Doctor?" Alhaitham teases.
Dottore scoffs before he gently presses a kiss on Alhaitham's forehead, "I am not going to do this half bakedly."
Alhaitham huffs out an amused exhale and starts letting out chittering sounds that causes Dottore's wings to perk up.
A polite knock on the door surprises them enough to flinch.
"Lord Harbinger," the captain's voice calls out from behind the door, "I'm here to inform you that we will soon arrive in Snezhnayan waters," then they hear his footsteps fading away.
Dottore irritatedly digs his chin on Alhaitham's head before lifting him out of the tub. Alhaitham's wings flap around in surprise, flinging drops of water around the room. Good.
"Let's dress you up for The Everwinter, shall we?"
Alhaitham simply hums and leans on Dottore.
"Oh, and how dare you comment on my double standard, Mister whore. Your uniform really isn't befitting of an honorable Akademiya personnel, you know."
The anchor is dropped into the water and ropes are tied to the dock. That simple little boat looks very out of place among other huge ships that are docked surrounding it. The crews are itching to jump onto the land, but it simply won't be acceptable to land before their superior.
Row of envoys from Zapolyarny Palace and the Diplomatic Office wait for the newest addition to The Land of Everwinter. And that's where Childe is currently waiting. He stands among the Palace's welcoming envoys. Silently standing unmoving with gifts in his arms even if icicles have started to form on his body.
The air is very tense. Of course, it is. Two Harbingers meeting outside of Zapolyarny Palace only means trouble. The envoys nervously shuffle around on their feet as they continue to wait for the newly mated pair to come out. The smile pasted on the Lord Harbinger's face only adds to their anxiety.
"Take off your earpiece," Dottore orders, "you can't wear something made out of metal here."
Alhaitham takes it off for a moment before putting it back on almost immediately with a hiss.
"What's wrong?" Dottore asks, his wings puffed up in concern, "too noisy?" He hurriedly walks away before Alhaitham can even confirm, "wait here. I'll find a substitute."
Then off Dottore goes to furiously go through the pile of clothings he had ordered his underlings to fetch.
Dottore blindly throws a shirt towards Alhaitham, "Wear that!" he orders without looking before throwing a pants, a hat, a jacket, a scarf, and a fur coat.
Finally, Dottore triumphantly pulls out an earmuff from the pile. He walks to his desk, ignoring Alhaitham who's buried under a pile of clothings. Dottore takes out a small knife to carve an opening into the earmuff. Then he adds in some noise canceling materials and glues the opening shut.
With a satisfied grin, Dottore turns around to present it to Alhaitham. That grin drops when he finds Alhaitham hasn't put on everything he told him to wear.
Dottore exasperatedly stomps his way towards Alhaitham, "Why haven't you finished dressing?"
Alhaitham crosses his arms with his wings raised high, "I am dressed, Doctor. I'm not going to wear all of those."
"Dressed?" Dottore's wings and arms are raised in exasperation, "in what way are you dressed? You aren't even buttoning your shirt properly," he seethes as he looks at Alhaitham's perked from the cold nipples wrapped under the same material as Alhaitham's skin tight Scribe uniform.
Alhaitham smugly raises his eyebrows, "Dressed enough for the occasion. Except if my assumption was wrong and Snezhnaya is a far more conservative country than I originally thought," Alhaitham crosses his arms tighter, smushing his pecs together, "and my eyes are up here, darling."
Dottore looks up to Alhaitham's amused face and snarls, "It's below 0 degree outside. You're going to catch hypothermia the moment you step outside."
Alhaitham hums, "Well, in that case," for some reason, instead of buttoning up his shirt, Alhaitham takes off his pants, exposing his stocking clad legs and the silver leg bracelet entwined around one of them, and simply wears the fur coat Dottore had thrown at him then spreads his hands and wings, "how about this?"
Dottore's eye spasms from annoyance, "Why did you take off your pants?" well at least Alhaitham is wearing the coat now, "why are you so hellbent on being dressed scantily?"
Alhaitham doesn't bother to hide his laugh at that, "Why are you so persistent in dressing me up to the nine?" Alhaitham leans forward to lowly whisper to Dottore's lips, "don't tell me you want to keep me for yourself."
Dottore has grown tired of being exasperated, he simply buttons a few more of Alhaitham's shirt up and ties the fur coat snugly, "Fine. It seems that you deliberately want to challenge your adaptability as a Sumerian Avian in a harsh climate such as Snezhnaya. We will see if you can survive today without getting a frostbite."
Alhaitham folds his arms behind his back, perfectly content with Dottore tidying up his appearance, "I can say the same about you, Doctor. You really have the gall to say that when you yourself are dressed like that?"
Dottore's wings twitch behind him from annoyance, "I am from Snezhnaya," he glares at Alhaitham's smug face, "my body, specifically my immunity, is accustomed to the cold climate so my official fur coat is enough."
Alhaitham amusedly tilts his head, "Oh, but, you spent almost two months in Sumeru. Your immunity might have been slightly altered."
Dottore crosses his arms as he continues to glare at Alhaitham, "A mere two months is not enough to alter anything."
Alhaitham peers up from under his eyelashes, lips quirked up in such a way that Dottore wants to bite it bloody, "Oh, but doesn't it only take 21 days?"
Dottore grabs Alhaitham's jaw in frustration, "You know as much as I do that that's the time needed to form a "habit"."
Alhaitham's eyes are bright with laughter as he places his hand on Dottore's chest and leans closer to Dottore's face, "Indeed," Alhaitham whispers to Dottore's mouth, their lips slightly brushing against each other.
Then Alhaitham dislodges his face from Dottore's hand and walks away, "Come now, it won't be good if we stay here for far too long."
Dottore stares expressionlessly at Alhaitham's retreating back, the fur coat is a good fit on his body, "Wait, Get back here and take off your earpiece!"
"Ah," Alhaitham stops and turns around.
Standing back in front of Dottore, Alhaitham starts to take off his earpiece. Without needing to be told, Dottore readily situates the modified earmuff so that it can be immediately worn the moment Alhaitham takes off his earpiece.
"Is it good enough?" Dottore asks as Alhaitham blinks thoughtfully the moment the earmuff is snug on his head.
Alhaitham hums, he tilts his head to several directions and then taps the earmuff, "It will suffice for the moment," then Alhaitham quickly places a hat Dottore had thrown at him earlier on Dottore's head, "wear that, will you? Just in case. We don't want your prized brain to get damaged from the cold, don't we?"
Dottore blinks, stupefied, and lets out a confused caw that makes Alhaitham rub their noses together with an amused chirp.
"Come, now," Alhaitham murmurs, "we should head out."
"Lord Harbinger, please you can't-"
Childe cheerfully laughs as he climbs the ladder to the ship with one hand and his other hand carries his gifts, "Oh, I can. Don't worry," actually he can't.
Intruding on another's Harbinger place without prior notice is hardly acceptable and can be seen as an insult. His action might cause a rift between his underlings and The Doctor's underlings. But it'll be fine. The Doctor will probably tell his underlings to focus their energy on their duties rather than humoring on the 'unnecessary'.
Childe steadily jumps onto the deck, sending smiles towards the politely hostile crews.
"What sends you here?" The Doctor's voice sends the crew tense, "it better be a good enough reason for you to blatantly trespass into my place."
Childe sends Dottore a bright smile that doesn't match his dead eyes, "Of course, comrade. What better reason for me to visit other than congratulating you on your marriage," the crew simultaneously flinches, as if they can't wrap their head around that fact yet, Childe resonates the feeling.
Speaking of… Childe averts his focus from The Doctor and finally notices the Avian standing with his arm circling The Doctor's own arm staring calmly at him. Childe freezes.
Look, when Childe decided he should give Dottore's mate a warm welcome, it's because he thought said mate must be in a very pitiful condition. Not said mate to be in such a great condition that his skin practically glows like snow under the rare sunlight that manages to break through the gray clouds of Snezhnaya.
"Why, thank you. If I recall, you often said to me that there's no way I would find a mate before you," Childe can hear The Doctor say, but his mind is unable to process as he's too busy staring up and down The Doctor's mate.
Childe must say that the Avian is downright gorgeous. White shirt left unbuttoned exposing his well defined collarbones and boobas that are wrapped under a skin tight fabric, leaving nothing to the imagination. Childe subtly gulps when he notices that the Avian's nipples are perked from the cold. The fur coat the Avian is currently wearing hides everything else except for the strong thighs clad in stockings and heeled boots. Childe doesn't know for sure whether those are all the Avian is wearing, but it still takes courage to dress up like that in Snezhnaya. Either The Doctor's mate is not entirely from Sumeru or the Avian is strong enough to withstand the weather like it's nothing.
Childe catches himself together when he notices the Avian's jewelries. They scream "mated" to everyone that can see. Especially the single earring made of, most likely Dottore's, feather that's swaying gently from Snezhnayan's cold air.
Childe's eyebrows slightly furrow.
What is this? Would Dottore give something so sentimental to someone he mated with because of a contract? Don't tell him Dottore gifted that to deceive his mate that he genuinely loves him?
Childe's lips twitch in a grimace. He hates smart people.
Childe's stare is very obvious. It doesn't escape the mated pair in the slightest.
Dottore's body grows tense as his wings twitch and his hands slowly clenched into fists. His smile is everpresence but under his mask, his eyes are alight with anger.
Noticing Dottore's ever growing agitation, Alhaitham opens his mouth, "Can I help you?"
It takes some time before Childe snaps his head to look at Alhaitham in the eyes, Childe clears his throat and says nothing for quite a while, then, "Fight me," he declares.
Alhaitham blinks, his wings twitch behind him due to his confusion, "Excuse me?"
Childe bites his lips, regretting that he blurted that out of anything he could have said, still, "Fight me," he repeats.
Alhaitham frowns in confusion at the turn of events. His hand subconsciously squeezes Dottore's arm, snapping Dottore from his inner anger.
"No," Dottore resolutely says as he brings Alhaitham under his wing, "go bother Capitano," he adds as he starts dragging Alhaitham away.
"Hey, come now. That came out wrong but here, I br-" Dottore doesn't listen to Childe and straight up lifts Alhaitham into his arms and jumps down from the boat.
The landing is anything but graceful, and Dottore's hat falls off, but at least they land standing.
Alhaitham glances at Dottore from the corner of his eyes as Dottore drags him past an envoy and straight to a carriage, "You are not very good at flying," Alhaitham hesitantly comments.
Dottore ignores him, "I know that everyone here has their own reason to meet my mate," Dottore addresses the envoy without stopping nor looking back, "leave! He will not be taking any visits to get some rest and he will only start his job as a diplomat next week."
Although agitated, Dottore lets Alhaitham to get into the carriage by himself, "To my institute," he orders the coachman before getting in himself.
"A Harbinger most likely to be The Doctor has just arrived at the port, Sir."
"Very good, and is it true that he's bringing with him a mate?"
"It seems so, Sir."
"I see. Poor little thing."
"What should I do, Sir?"
"Nothing. Go back for now. We shouldn't act hasty."
Notes:
Wanderer main, convince me to pull for him.
Chapter Text
The air inside the carriage is uncomfortable as Dottore, who is sitting across from Alhaitham, resolutely looks out the window. For the first time, Alhaitham is bothered by the stifling air.
Alhaitham is the first to break the silence, "was that your coworker?"
Dottore frowns and grits his teeth as his hand clenches the armrest, still not looking at Alhaitham.
Alhaitham leans back to his chair. Wings unconsciously drooping from the uncomfortable air.
"Lusting over a married or mated person is hardly the worst thing someone with the status of a Harbinger would do," Dottore coldly says before finally facing Alhaitham.
So you were jealous, "... I see," Alhaitham responds.
"No," Dottore denies, surprising both of them, "no, you don't see it," he seethes.
Alhaitham is taken aback by the raw emotions swirling within Dottore's eyes, he sits up straighter, "Well, care to explain it to me?"
Dottore's face contorts in contempt, and Alhaitham dares to think that his eyes are misted, before he wears his mask to hide his expression.
Alhaitham is hesitant before he scoots to the edge of his seat, closer to Dottore's seat, and lets out a concerned squeal.
Dottore ignores Alhaitham again by looking out the window. His only reactions are the twitch of his wings and the grits of his teeth.
Alhaitham lets out another squeal. Dottore doesn't even react this time and Alhaitham takes that as a defeat. He is about to scoot away, giving more room for Dottore, when Dottore suddenly slides down from his seat and kneels in front of Alhaitham.
Alhaitham lets out a surprised squawk and tries to get Dottore up but Dottore catches his wrists and presses them together under his cold mask.
"First off, I want to apologize," Dottore mutters, voice steady, but his wings are drooping low, "these kinds of things shouldn't concern you at all. I won't tell you anything about the Harbingers again," he lets go of one of Alhaitham's wrists to take out a velvet box, "secondly, I almost forgot," Dottore lets Alhaitham's wrist go to open the box and present the content to Alhaitham.
Alhaitham stares at the bracelet stored inside. The design is simple yet the gilded carvings are exquisite, there's a cryo symbol subtly carved among the carvings. In the middle of it all, a substance is stored within. Cryo energy lazily swims around.
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows, "Don't you think that you've given me too many mating gifts? The gift I gave you is barely worth anything now," Alhaitham already knows what it is.
Dottore, who can sense Alhaitham's feigned ignorance, gently drops his forehead on Alhaitham's hand and huffs a mirthless laugh, "You know it's not that," Dottore's wings continue to droop until they almost cover the entire floor of the carriage, "trust me that some parts of me are wishing that it's merely another gift."
Alhaitham brings his free hand to pet Dottore's head, causing Dottore to let out a small purr, "What is it then?" he gently inquires.
Dottore sucks in a deep breath, "A cryo shackle. It's dedicated to those that are close to someone with a high rank within Zapolyarny Palace but have not yet taken an oath of loyalty," Dottore props his chin on Alhaitham's hand and although Alhaitham still can't see the entirety of Dottore's face, at least he can see the tight line of Dottore's lips, "it's a cryo bomb."
Alhaitham subtly flinches but no more than that, he glances at the bracelet, "What's the trigger?" Alhaitham grimly asks.
"Stepping into prohibited areas. That includes confidential places and stepping out of Snezhnayan territories. It won't come off once activated unless Her Majesty does it herself or the wearer dies," Dottore presses his forehead to Alhaitham's knee, having gotten tired of seeing Alhaitham's grim yet unconcerned expression, "it's the only condition The Tsaritsa has given in accordance to her approval of your stay."
"Then put it on me," Alhaitham says without the slightest hint of hesitation.
Dottore snaps his head to gape at Alhaitham.
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows, "What's with that expression? Surely you don't think I'm stupid enough to accidentally trigger it?"
Dottore's mouth is opening and closing yet no word comes out.
He's worried, the creases between Alhaitham's eyebrows soften, "Then I'll put it on myself," he says as he takes out the bracelet from its box.
Dottore lets out a startled squawk, "Careful, you minx. I told you it's a bomb."
What Dottore called "The Institute" is a factory complex erected faraway from the citadel. It's far from the prying eyes of the citizens and absolutely packed with Fatui soldiers. Supposedly there's a railway connecting The Institute to the heart of Zapolyarny Palace, but for now Dottore will take Alhaitham to his place by carriage.
"So I won't be meeting Her Majesty?" Alhaitham asks from Dottore's lap as he presses his face to Dottore's chest while letting out chittering sounds.
"No. Her Majesty won't personally greet a mere diplomat. That will be The Rooster's job," Dottore holds Alhaitham closer by pressing his back, "although you sound quite happy about it, I must say."
"I am," Alhaitham mumbles as he nuzzles Dottore's chest.
Dottore snorts and envelopes their body with his wings, "I have guessed so but don't say that so bluntly next time. Many people will take that as an insult to Her Majesty."
Alhaitham lazily hums, "And you don't take it as an insult?"
Dottore tucks Alhaitham's head under his chin, "Why should I?"
"Such loyalty you have," Alhaitham comments.
"I'll respect her when it's due but in the end my relationship with Snezhnaya and its Archon is simply that of mutual benefits. Besides, my origin was from Sumeru."
"Again, such loyalty you have," Alhaitham teases.
Dottore lets out an indignant squawk before banging the door of the carriage twice, signaling for it to stop.
Dottore opens the carriage door and steps out, "Well, since you seem to be in a cheerful mood, why don't we walk the rest of the way?"
Alhaitham who was rudely swiped off from the warm embrace crosses his arms as he glares at Dottore, his wings twitching behind him, "That's quite petty of you, don't you think?"
Dottore raises his arms in a harmless gesture, "What do you mean?" he innocently questions.
Alhaitham squints at Dottore, "Get back in, Doctor."
Dottore composedly folds his arms behind his back with a smug smile on his face and wings twitching in amusement, "No," he reaches his hand out to Alhaitham, "come. Unlike in Sumeru City, there's no rule against flying here."
Alhaitham falters at that. Well, now he's curious. Alhaitham takes Dottore's hand and steps out of the carriage using Dottore's hand to steady himself.
Alhaitham gently kisses the side of Dottore's mouth once he safely stands on his own two feet, "How very chivalrous of you, my kind Doctor."
The corners of Dottore's mouth twitch from humor, "I'm not going to change my mind just because you're acting demurely," yet his wings happily make small flaps.
Alhaitham crosses his arms as the corner of his lips slightly quirks up, "Wasn't my intention in the first place, darling."
Dottore huffs a laugh, "Continue on and bring the luggages to my residence," he orders the coachman.
"Residence?" Alhaitham inquires once the carriage starts to move, "huh, sometimes I forget that you're rich."
Dottore's wings puff up in indignation, he grabs Alhaitham's hand and starts walking to their destination, "Seeing as providing for you is my job, I have all the right to be offended at your confession," he fully takes advantage of the length of his legs to drag Alhaitham, he curses Alhaitham's fit body that's allowing Alhaitham to easily catch up to him, "what did you imagine to be our house then?"
Alhaitham lets out an amused hum, "My apologies for my insensitive comment then," he looks around the desolate field of snow, "anyway, why are we walking to your place? Forgive me if I'm wrong but I was so sure that you were inviting me to take a flight together."
Dottore absolutely notices that Alhaitham is not answering his second question, he simply lets go of Alhaitham's hand to arrogantly fold his arms behind his back, "For a falcon breed Avian, you're very reckless. Shouldn't you know any better that in flight, there are a lot of variables that need to be taken into account to avoid accidents while on air," Dottore twists his neck to sneer at Alhaitham but Alhaitham is no longer at his side.
A simple look at the sky results in one of the most magnificent sights Dottore has ever seen.
It's almost enviable how Alhaitham can make such complicated maneuvers seem effortless. Dottore's wings do twitch in envy when Alhaitham makes a show of doing three barrel rolls in a row before landing very gracefully in front of him. It was a very gorgeous performance, a very far cry from a brief glide Dottore did back then.
Alhaitham looks up to Dottore with such bright eyes that Dottore feels his breath hitch, "So you were saying?" Alhaitham says next, erasing all of Dottore's awe in a simple twinge of annoyance.
Dottore feels like slapping Alhaitham's happiness, but Alhaitham's flushed from the cold appearance softens his ire, "How was the cold air?"
"Cold?" Alhaitham tilts his head, "I feel fine."
Dottore scoffs and takes Alhaitham's hand before continuing walking, he subtly rubs Alhaitham's hand with his thumb to slightly warm it, "In any case, it's dangerous to fly at this hour. Sometimes there will be a dangerously cold wind current."
Alhaitham cuddles up to Dottore's side and Dottore admonishes himself for readily blanketing Alhaitham with his wing.
"Then why did you invite me to take a flight?" Alhaitham asks.
"I never invited you to take a flight," Dottore replies far too quickly, "it's your fault for falling for such cheap bait," he mutters.
Alhaitham glances at Dottore, "So you really decided that it's a good idea to walk the rest of the way?"
"What's wrong with that? I might not really have the time to accompany you on a walk in the future. I'm most busy in Snezhnaya."
Alhaitham hums, "I would question your taste for taking me on a walk in such an unlivable desolate snowfield, but I guess this area has its own allure," then they fall into a comfortable silence as they continue to walk.
"Definitely not because you didn't take into account that you can't fly well," Alhaitham comments under his breath.
A small strangled squawk manages to slip past Dottore's lips. Hopefully Alhaitham doesn't hear it.
Dottore can hear Alhaitham softly snickering beside him.
Oh, of course he heard.
The Residence is located in the middle of The Institute, to go there they can either walk or ride the transport vehicle Sandrone gave Dottore in exchange for some condensed source of powers. Dottore chose the transport vehicle. Loathing himself for thinking so, Alhaitham was correct. The desolate areas around The Institute really aren't a good pick for a walk.
He can give Alhaitham a tour around The Institute but there are some areas that can trigger the cryo shackle and Alhaitham doesn't need to know what happens here.
Besides, Alhaitham's hand is very cold.
There are two seats inside the transport vehicle, but Dottore doesn't even let Alhaitham to approach the other seat. Instead he immediately pulls Alhaitham towards his lap.
Dottore cusps both of Alhaitham's hands and tsks, "Your hands are very cold. You need to change your gloves to something with more insulation," he blows warm breath to Alhaitham's hands as he gently rubs them.
Alhaitham is stunned silent for a moment before he lets out an amused huff and leans forward, "Warm me up then," he murmurs to Dottore's temple as his wings slowly hides them from the eyes of the soldiers.
Unlike the carriage they used earlier, the transport vehicle they're using is much more open since its purpose is mainly for sightseeing.
"No," Dottore grabs Alhaitham's hair and presses his head to his shoulder, "as I said before Her Majesty won't greet you, but The Rooster will," Dottore props his chin on Alhaitham's shoulder, "right now he must be waiting for our arrival. Don't you want to keep yourself looking presentable?" but Dottore uses his wings to cocoon their bodies, "this is all I can do for you right now."
Alhaitham hums and nuzzles his nose to the side of Dottore's neck, "Thank you for your grace."
Dottore can feel several soldiers are watching them. He slightly flexes his wings and they immediately cast their eyes away from them. What a pity, he needs new samples to test just how good his solution's effects are now after the breakthrough.
Alexei has worked hard.
Each Harbinger has their own criterion for their favorite servant. Some are a tad humane while the others are downright inhumane. The second Harbinger, his Lord Il Dottore or more commonly known as The Doctor, has seized the crown for being the most unpredictable Harbinger ever.
Alexei has worked very hard.
He understands that His Lord isn't unpredictable. That's just how he is. If his reserve on samples is low then he will simply get it himself. His Lordship doesn't exactly punish his subjects, he simply says that it's a punishment for insubordination to humor himself. Ironically, not a lot of people seem to notice this.
To put it simply, you need to be smart if you want to survive as an underlings under The Doctor. Act accordingly before His Lordship even needs to give an order but don't be presumptuous. Stay out of his sight whenever possible but always very politely reminds him if he is falling behind his schedule. When he is angry, stay calm. Running away in fear or panicking will only cause him to notice you.
Alexei likes to think that he has done a good job. The Rooster and The Regrator have a tacit understanding that being The Doctor's underling is a life-risk occupation so the salary is raised exponentially the longer you serve, and here he has scored as The Doctor's servant-not-quite-right-hand-man.
Alexei fears for his life everyday but the paycheck is worth it.
Although his position can't be said to be the most prestigious in His Lordship's land, it's the most influential position anyone, other than The Doctor himself, can land.
He has been working in The Residence long enough that His Lordship had disclosed some information that otherwise won't be known, two years ago. Such as his segments. Thus, Alexei's work since two years ago includes but not limited to cleaning the Prime segment's private lab in the dungeon, listing Omega Build segment's schedule for the day, preparing a wide assortment of chocolate pastries for the Alpha Build segment should he be in terrible mood, and keeping an eye on the Sigma Build segment to prevent him from making a mess of blood and internal organs.
Alexei has worked very very hard.
Not even a week has passed. That day was a very rare day in which the Alpha and Sigma segments of His Lordship managed to be in The Residence at the same time. That day was also when they suddenly passed away. There's no outside interference so it can't be an assassination.
Alexei can be considered as smart. He quickly disposed of the maid who found the crime scene and stored the segments' body, along with the Omega Build segment he silently retrieved after disposing of eyewitnesses, into the mortuary in the dungeon. That would do until the Prime segment returns, there has been no announcement of His Lordship's death so he is most likely still alive.
Alexei has worked very very hard but what should he do now!?
Being a servant in The Doctor's Residence has a highly unconventional kind of chore. Disposing of some no-name maids or intruders is alright but Alexei is wholly unprepared for His Lordship to suddenly bring home a wif-mate?
By the name of The Tsaritsa, Alexei has no idea what to expect.
"How long will it take for The Doctor to arrive?" Lord Pulcinella says, snapping Alexei from his inner monologue.
Alexei smiles politely, "Words have just come that His Lordship is already on a transport vehicle to get here. Would you like more tea, Lord Harbinger?"
Pulcinella waves his hand in dismissal, "No need."
Alexei respectfully bows and walks to stand near the wall and resumes brainstorming.
The main door opens and soon the long awaited couple walks in, hand in hand.
"Ahhh," Pulcinella places down his cup of tea and stands up to greet the couple, "you two are here. Great great."
Dottore is calm and composed but his hand holds Alhaitham's own tighter the closer Pulcinella is to them.
Pulcinella stands a few steps in front of the couple, "You must be The Doctor's mate and one of the new diplomats," he reaches out his hand towards Alhaitham for a shake, "Mr. Alhaitham, then. If your paper proves to be truthful."
Alhaitham carefully observes the unassuming old man before him. Judging from the information he has just disclosed, this old man must be The Rooster Dottore has mentioned.
Alhaitham takes the hand, ignoring his mate's grip on his other hand, and gives him a politely firm handshake, "The information is correct."
Pulcinella flashes a light smile, "Well, a pleasure to be your acquaintance. Although the circumstances are a little odd, I hope you'll enjoy your stay in Snezhnaya as a diplomat as well as a Harbinger's mate," he then averts his attention to Dottore, "sadly we can't continue this pleasant exchange any further since I have a few things to discuss with The Doctor."
They stand still in a tense silence and Alexei didn't even realize that His Lordship wasn't smiling ever since he came in until his usual confident and arrogant smirk spreads on his masked face.
"Of course," Dottore lets go of Alhaitham's hand and sits down before pouring himself a tea, "leave us."
Alexei's breath hitches when his mind finally processes the situation, he moves to stop his Lord from pouring his own tea, "My Lord-"
"Alexei," The Rooster calls, "be a dear and entertain Lady Alhaitham while we discuss the boring bits?"
Alexei feels a shudder run down his spine when he senses His Lordship's glare, "Of course, Lord Pulcinella," he gestures the stairs and bows respectfully, "Right this way, My Lady."
Alhaitham's wings twitch at the unexpected title and he almost makes a face. Still, he complies with the servant's request.
Chapter Text
Alexei didn't know what to expect of His Lordship's mate.
Now after finally meeting His Ladyship in person…, he still doesn't know what to expect.
"This way, please," Alexei steals a glance at His Ladyship and quickly averts his eyes again.
You can't really tell whether His Ladyship is trying to cover his entire body or to flaunt them. Although a little indecent and a little bit impractical for Snezhnayan's weather, his choice of wardrobe brings out all his good points. But again, His Ladyship didn't try to take off his fur coat once since he's inside so perhaps his clothing is too indecent.
"Alexei, wasn't it?" Alhaitham suddenly pipes up, surprising Alexei.
"Yes, My Lady," Alexei's lips subtly twitch in nerves.
Alhaitham stops walking, "How long has it been since my mate resided here?"
Alexei immediately stops walking to take a look at Alhaitham and immediately casts his eyes down.
Alexei expected a look of scorn, disgust, or disapproval and even fear because, well, His Lordship is quite… eccentric.
Alexei didn't expect in the slightest that His Ladyship would look at the human prosthesis hanging on the wall as if they're paintings with mild interest.
Wait, His Ladyship asked a question, "As far as I know, His Lordship has always lived in this Residence, My Lady."
Alhaitham hums and takes another step towards their prior direction, Alexei quickly takes the cue and resumes leading him, "Quite a curious choice of decorations," Alhaitham comments as he glances around the corridor.
Right, he's supposed to entertain him, "Would you like to have a tour, My Lady?" Alexei politely asks.
Alhaitham falls silent, seemingly considering something, "How long does it usually take for my mate to finish his meeting with other Harbingers?"
"Ah," Alexei sheepishly exclaims, "my apologies, My Lady. I couldn't say for sure since the meetings' duration could be very inconsistent."
"Then I might as well take the tour. I'll live here for the unforeseeable future, afterall."
"It seems that you actually cherish your mate very much," Pulcinella amusedly comments.
Dottore places his cup down with a loud clack, "What do you want to discuss about? I've sent the gnosis to the Zapolyarny Palace so whatever it is that you want to discuss, be quick. I'll be busy due to my absence for the past five months."
Pulcinella laughs, "You seem to be in a bad mood."
Dottore stands up from his coach to open a wine compartment. He takes out a bottle of firewater and shakes it towards The Rooster. Pulcinella declines the offer with a wave of his hand and Dottore simply shrugs before uncorking the bottle with his teeth.
Dottore takes a gulp directly from the bottle. Then another. Then another until the bottle is almost empty.
When it is clear to Pulcinella that Dottore won't stop, he takes a decorated sacks filled with gift boxes from under the table and places it on the table, "Childe came to me earlier today to whine out about how rude you were for leaving him in the dust without even glancing at the congratulatory gifts he prepared for you."
Dottore slams the empty bottle on the counter and takes out another bottle, "I told him to go bother Capitano."
Pulcinella snorts, "Anyway, here are the congratulatory gifts that were sent to you through me. It seems to me that they're really curious about your mate."
Dottore's wings twitch once, "Yes, thank you. I'll make sure to immediately throw them into the purgatory."
"That would be very rude of you. Can you hold your drink for a moment? I'll start talking about the important matters now."
"I wouldn't be drinking in the first place if you had started with that," yet Dottore walks back to the couch, bottle of firewater in hand.
"Alright, Alright, my bad," Pulcinella disinterestedly waves his hand, "but The Tsaritsa sensed the presence of your segments were snuffed out. What happened?"
Dottore leans back to relax and idly swirl the firewater inside the bottle, "The Dendro Archon was willing to give her gnosis as long as I destroyed my segments. I must say that it's a good exchange since I get the gnoses without jeopardizing much of our diplomatic relationship with Sumeru."
The Rooster absentmindedly taps his fingers together, "And thanks to that we can still continue to trade spices without any change in trade taxes. But were you aware, Dottore, that while Lady Alhaitham is here as a diplomat, The Dendro Archon personally adds a paragraph to your mate's profile," Dottore resumes his drinking, but Pulcinella is aware that he's listening intently, "'Diplomat Alhaitham is a branch from my tree. Even if a bird snaps it off and brings it to its nest, in the end it's still a part of me.'."
Dottore chokes on his drink. He coughs out the alcohol that inserts the wrong pipe and starts to laugh between his coughs.
Oh, the alcohol burns, "That's a threat," Dottore says matter of fact in between his coughing.
Pulcinella solemnly nods, "Indeed it is."
Dottore calms down with his last cough, "What's Her Majesty's decision?"
"Are you familiar with contract marriage to forge peace between nations, Doctor?" Pulcinella asks rhetorically, "The Dendro Archon treats your bond as such, which means that Lady Alhaitham will receive special treatment even if his status here is a mere diplomat," Pulcinella takes a sip of his tea, "the statement is very clear. Treat him wrongly and Snezhnaya will be blacklisted," Pulcinella places his cup back down and stretches his joints with a satisfied sigh, "I was originally wanting to warn you to treat Lady Alhaitham with care since I thought you are mated with him for your own personal gain," Pulcinella flashes Dottore an old man grin, "but it seems to me you would do just that even without me asking."
Dottore silently stares at Pulcinella from under his mask, "How long will you keep calling him 'Lady'?"
Pulcinella genuinely laughs at that. He laughs, loud and unrestrained but still with the mannerism of a gentleman.
Pulcinella waves his hands in amusement, "Oh it certainly is an unorthodox title. But the Supreme Court won't allow a foreigner like him to be called 'Lord' just because he essentially married a Harbinger," he stands up from his couch and walks to the front door, "that's all, I trust that you'll be fine."
Dottore watches Pulcinella walk away from his couch.
"Ah," Pulcinella stops, "I almost forgot but Her Majesty is curious what will be your next course of action."
Dottore takes a swing from his bottle, "The loss of the segments will indeed cause a major setback in my productivity. For the moment, I'll try to seek replacements. Perhaps I'll even rebuild my segments," he tilts his head back to thoughtfully stare at the ceiling, alcohol warmly thrumming in his veins and his wings have started to lazily relax to the couch, "Say, what do you think about making my mate my personal lab assistant?"
Pulcinella falls silent, taken aback by The Doctor's question, "... Are you sure you want to let him into your 'experiments'?"
Dottore crosses his arms and legs before offendedly looks at The Rooster, "Of course, not. Even if he was a capable member of The Akademiya, he isn't capable enough to take part in my experiments," Dottore's head bobs a little, "not because he's too idiotic. His talents simply lie somewhere else," he adds.
"I see that that question might simply be a drunken inquiry," Pulcinella opens the door to go out, "ask yourself the same question once you're more sober," he closes the door behind him.
Dottore stares at the door for a moment before he huffs and places his bottle away. He takes his intricate coat off. Then he slides his cravat and unbuttons two buttons of his shirt.
The alcohol doesn't cloud his mind at all. He often starts acting a little drunk when he doesn't want to talk with people.
Dottore sprawls his arms on the couch.
Indeed, it will be quite annoying to catch up with his work without his segments. Alhaitham might be able to help him but he needs to find a good bribe. Of course he won't let him help in his 'experiments'. It's just that some nobles in the Supreme Court actually have the audacity to think that he has the time to invent something for the betterment of the infrastructures.
Look, even Dottore himself finds it ironic that he's called The Doctor. What kind of stupid swines are there in the Supreme Court that they actually think he will synthesize a cure to a pandemic should they ever occur again. Not that he can't. He can, but it's a complete waste of his time. Snezhnaya doesn't fall short on scientists, such menial tasks can be handed to them while he figures out how to better humans altogether.
Dottore's wings twitch in annoyance and he almost cries out an Avian noise.
Speaking of, where has his mate wander to…
"And lastly, I proudly present to you, My Lady, His Lordship very own observatorium," Alexei grandly introduces before stepping back and giving His Ladyship more room.
To be completely honest, His Lordship commanded for this observatorium to be built some time ago. His Lordship practically lived here for a few months before finally leaving with a very scary grin. Alexei can guess that whatever His Lordship was up to has fruited splendidly. The thing is, the observatorium then is left deserted. There was a lot of fancy astrology equipment here before, but The Fair Lady once saw this place and requested it be turned into a dance hall.
Speaking as a servant who was often ordered to hold noble parties before he started working under The Doctor, Alexei will humbly admit that this kind of dance hall is definitely going to make a lot of noble houses in the citadel jealous. Unfortunately, parties were also rarely held since His Lordship was, well…, His Lordship.
Alhaitham takes his time to observe the place. Kaveh will either be frothing in the mouth or crying on the floor if he can see this place for himself. Alexei said that this place is an observatorium, but it lacks the necessary equipment and is left with a very spacious floor. Alhaitham supposes that this place is no longer an observatory.
Alhaitham cranes his neck up to observe the only equipment left in the room. It's made of metal, most likely bronze, and looks far too ornate. Few components for it to work accurately are missing. So it has been turned into a decoration then.
Alhaitham looks around with newfound amusement, his wings slightly flare as if they're his sensory receptors. Then he looks up to observe the stars.
Alexei feels like he has come to understand His Ladyship slightly. Normally guests would be very uncomfortable the moment they step inside the main corridor, but His Ladyship simply takes in everything calmly. Even his eyes rarely stray from the unique decorations, analytically observing each of them instead.
Perhaps, His Lordship and His Ladyship are birds of the same feather.
But there's no apathical calculation in His Ladyship's eyes, so much unlike His Lordship. His eyes are actually glistening with curiosity and tame wonderment. It almost makes His Ladyship, in his well defined muscled body and strong wings, look like a small bird jumping around his cage, curious about the wonder of the world.
Alexei presses the back of his palm to his mouth to hide the quirk of his lips, it would be inappropriate if His Ladyship notices. Alexei thinks that he has come to understand His Lordship's choice for taking His Ladyship as his mate a little bit.
"There you are," His Lordship's voice suddenly booms and Alexei's soul almost leaves his body, he didn't even hear the sound of the door opening, "since you're here, I would assume that you've just taken a tour."
Dottore walks inside, approaching Alhaitham. His wings lazily drags the floor as he walks with certain self satisfaction.
Alhaitham folds his wings composedly behind him once Dottore is close, his eyes linger on Dottore's bared neck due to his unbuttoned shirt and Dottore's wings puff in pride, "Your assumption is correct and I must say," Alhaitham leans into Dottore's personal space, "you really excel in the providing department," he slowly drawls.
Alexei senses that the air has become very dense with sexual tension very quickly and opts to swiftly yet quietly excuse himself from the place.
"You scared your servant," Alhaitham whispers to Dottore's lips.
Dottore brings his face closer so that Alhaitham's nose touches his mask, "Pretty sure he was scared of your shamelessness."
Alhaitham circles his arms on Dottore's neck and brings him closer for a kiss, but Dottore tilts his head up and stops Alhaitham by holding his hips, "Eager as always, I see."
Alhaitham amusedly hums, "When the basic necessities are fulfilled, what's left to do is to continue the bloodline. Am I wrong, Doctor?"
Dottore snorts, "Act more civilized, will you? There should be more humaneness in you than a bird," he brings Alhaitham closer by pressing his back and tucks his head under his chin, "besides, what nonsense are you spouting? You can't conceive."
Alhaitham gently sucks on Dottore's adam apple, "I figured that it might excite you."
Dottore scoffs as he absentmindedly kneads Alhaitham's hips, "I would never be turned on by sheer Idiocracy."
Dottore can feel Alhaitham's lips bloom into a smile, "Your wings say otherwise," Alhaitham murmurs to his throat before gently scratching the muscles between Dottore's wings through his clothes.
Dottore grunts and his wings, which were raised and puffed in excitement before, flutter from the touch. He tsks and grabs Alhaitham's hips before taking a step back.
Alhaitham is surprised from the unexpected movement that he clenches Dottore's shoulders by the shirt to stay upright.
Dottore doesn't care about Alhaitham's current predicament. He absentmindedly steps back further, and continues to drag Alhaitham with him, with a rhythm only known to him.
Alhaitham finally has had enough and digs his heel on Dottore's foot.
Dottore finally stops with a pained hiss.
"It's the second time already, Doctor. You should have known more manners and been more clear when you want to invite me to a dance," Alhaitham says as he playfully nips along Dottore's jaw, heel still digging on Dottore's foot.
Alhaitham continues to do so. Dottore annoyedly flaps his wings and lifts Alhaitham up by the waist.
Alhaitham huffs amusedly and easily circles his arms around Dottore's neck to keep his balance.
Alhaitham's wings are subconsciously spread behind him and he fondly stares at Dottore's masked face as Dottore lazily twirls around the observatorium.
Alhaitham hugs Dottore's head and props his chin on Dottore's head, "You're drunk," he mutters.
Dottore chuckles, "No, I'm not."
"Yes. Yes you do," Alhaitham digs his chin on Dottore's crown, "and the alcohol I can smell from you is as bad as your disinfectant."
Dottore lets Alhaitham to stand on his own feet and rubs their cheeks together with a purr, "The Snezhnayan's firewater is a lifeline for the locals. You're being too harsh," Dottore slightly sways their body around.
Alhaitham lets Dottore lead the steps as he pleases, "Well, at least you agree that your disinfectant smells horrible."
"That's the smell of a very potent disinfectant," Dottore snorts, "and the alcohols used in drinks and disinfectant are different. Perhaps the problem is with your nose," he leans his whole weight on Alhaitham, "or I might be just that talented."
Alhaitham laughs at that, and he continues to laugh until his shoulders shake and wings subconsciously puff from amusement.
"What? What are you laughing so hard for?" Dottore leans back to take a look at his mate, "are you finally insane?" then he has the gall to ask that with a tone full of hope.
"My apologies," Alhaitham says in between his laughs, "you're so intoxicated right now that it's funny."
Dottore caws and flaps his wings in indignation, "I am NOT drunk, Lady Alhaitham."
Alhaitham immediately stops laughing the moment he hears the title and it's Dottore's turn to grin, "Do you like that title?"
Alhaitham scowls, "I will be referred to as that a lot, won't I?"
"Yes," Dottore chirps, "unless someone wants to be beheaded."
Alhaitham hums, his wings shuffle disgruntledly, "Can't say that I like it."
Dottore leads Alhaitham to continue their dance, "Oh, why? Most people would start jumping around in joy that they managed to gain such prestige without hardly doing anything."
Alhaitham stretches his hand to the left and Dottore takes it, "It's precisely because of that prestige. Titles come with duties and I'm not too keen on serving such duties in a foreign land. Actually, how is any of this going to work?" Their steps are very harmonious this time as they slow dance all over the observatorium, "and what did you mean by 'hardly doing anything'? Accompanying you is a whole different kind of hassle."
Dottore snorts, "You chose to go with me. If there's no sacrifice then it's hardly noble."
Alhaitham sends Dottore a look then he simply rolls his eyes as it's no use arguing with an intoxicated person, "Am I going to sleep in the same bed with you?" he asks instead.
Dottore abruptly stops and Alhaitham crashes into his chest, "Why, of course. Where else did you expect you are going to sleep?"
Alhaitham clenches Dottore's shirt with both of his hands, "On your nest?"
Dottore stiffens, right, he forgets about it, "Indeed, why?"
Alhaitham slightly tilts his head up to peer up into Dottore's mask-covered eyes with a small devilish smirk, "I want to sully your nest," he purrs.
The underside layer of Dottore's wings shivers from the way Alhaitham's eyes are dark from lust, he grins, "Already adapting to your position as the Lady of this Residence, I see."
Notes:
I'm going to pull for Wanderer and then renamed him 'Adopted'.
Chapter Text
"You were lying to me."
Dottore who is undressing himself throws a glance at Alhaitham who's lying on his bed face down on a pillow and ass raised up, "Pardon?"
Alhaitham rubs his nose around the pillow, "Your scent is barely here. Is this really your nest?"
Dottore simply stares at Alhaitham's fully clothed disgraceful pose for a moment before resuming to undress with a flick of his wings, "This is the master bedroom, so indeed this room is mine. As for the scent, perhaps the fact that I was away for quite a long time has something to do with it," Dottore's fingers linger on the zipper of his pants, "You were so insistent that I was drunk so why are you lying there? Shouldn't you start undressing?" he finally unzips it.
Alhaitham's hum is muffled by the pillow and his wings bonelessly splay on the bed, "You don't want to undress me?"
Dottore's foot gets caught on his pants and he needs to jump as his wings flail around to keep his balance, "Shouldn't the sober be the one undressing the drunk?"
"Noooooo," Alhaitham playfully drawls, "how could I be so shameless so as to undress My Lord's clothing on our first night?"
Dottore turns around to squint down at Alhaitham in all his nude except for his harness glory.
Alhaitham's eyes are crescent shaped as they send Dottore a mirthful glance while he lets out that specific cheerful chirp.
Dottore grits his teeth and whips Alhaitham's ass with his pants, which causes Alhaitham to let out a surprised squeal, "Stop acting like a virgin maiden, you whore."
Alhaitham laughs and Dottore whips him again on his thigh. Alhaitham lets out a high pitched moan as his wings flutter.
Dottore walks away to open his wardrobe, causing Alhaitham to let out a disappointed wail, "Is that it?" he almost whines as his wings dejectedly slump on the bed.
Dottore tsks as he rummages around his wardrobe, "Oh, shut it and wait patiently, or you can do me a favor and start to undress."
Alhaitham gets up from the bed with a sigh. He unties his fur coat and lets it slide down his shoulder to the floor as he approaches Dottore.
"What's taking you so long?" Alhaitham murmurs to the back of Dottore's neck as his hand reaches for Dottore's dick.
Dottore lets out a soft hiss when Alhaitham starts to leave feathery caresses along his dick, "Go back to the bed and wait patiently," he growls.
Alhaitham nips the base of Dottore's neck enough to draw a few droplets of blood, kitten-licks them, and does as Dottore ordered.
Dottore finally finds what he's searching under the pile of his cravats. He takes out a riding crop and a tie he never wore from his wardrobe before turning around. Dottore tests the stiffness of his whip as he walks to his bed.
Alhaitham is sitting at the edge of the bed with his legs crossed and leaning back on his arms for balance. The side of his white shirt rides up to expose his well defined hip still littered with hand-shaped bruises. The twinkles of his jewelries are the same as the twinkles in his eyes when he notices the object his mate is holding.
"Wanting to go rough tonight?" Alhaitham purrs and his wings flutter in excitement.
Dottore snorts, "We are always rough-" his toes accidentally stub Alhaitham's unpacked luggage and he tries with all his might to not let out a pained caw.
"Are you alright?" Alhaitham asks with a tone full of amusement.
Dottore grits his teeth and flaps his wings once, "You're not undressing properly. Don't blame me if your 'clothes' turn into rags. Now turn around, face down, and bring your wrists together."
Alhaitham silently does as told. He places a pillow under his chin before propping his weight on his elbows and knees with his wrists brought together. Soon the bed dips and a hand reaches for his wrists.
Alhaitham squeals a moan when his head is yanked back by his stray hair, Dottore tsks, "I can't see."
Alhaitham wails then plops down on the pillow and stretches his arms more.
Dottore bites the back of Alhaitham's neck as he blindly binds Alhaitham's wrists with his tie, "Finally feeling obedient?" he licks the drops of blood caused from his bite.
Alhaitham lets out a low hum as Dottore slips his hand under his shirt and starts to slowly caress his body, "Perhaps the disinfectant you drank was so potent that I become slightly drunk merely from the scent."
Dottore snorts and moves his arm lightning fast to whip Alhaitham's ass. Alhaitham screeches a wail at the first taste of blinding pain. Dottore harshly rips Alhaitham's top as he continues to whip Alhaitham's ass. He strikes each cheek in turn, exerting more force on each strike. Alhaitham's underwear starts to tear and Dottore moves his target to Alhaitham's stocking clad thigh, which easily tears at the first hit.
Dottore gently caresses the bleeding wound exposed from the tear on Alhaitham's underwear as he continues to whip every surface of Alhaitham's legs reachable by his riding crop, "Shouldn't you also start learning some manners yourself?" he sighs mournfully, "or was it intentional? You seem to enjoy this very much," Dottore harshly whips the muscle between Alhaitham's wings.
Alhaitham jumps and convulses violently as if he's being electrocuted. The wail he's screaming is enough to revive the dead. Alhaitham's drooling mouth subconsciously bites the pillow to muffle his moans and his wings are frantically twitching.
Dottore leans back to observe his work. He grins when he notices that Alhaitham's underwear is wet and slightly dripping from precum.
"Look at you," Dottore takes a deep breath, smelling his mate's blood and arousal in the air as he languidly pumps his hard dick to slightly relieve himself, "do you want more?"
Alhaitham slightly squirms, "... Hings…" he whines unintelligibly.
Dottore smugly tilts his head, "What is it? Pronounce your words more clearly."
Alhaitham spits out the pillow from his mouth, "... My wings…," Alhaitham spreads his wings submissively to Dottore, "... hit them…"
Dottore freezes, "No."
Alhaitham lets out a whiny wail, "Why not…?"
"No," Dottore firmly repeats before he unties the string of Alhaitham's underwear and gently takes it off, "I get that you have an excellent regenerative ability, but an Avian's wings is a completely different matter than a mere human cells. I'm not going to risk injuring it."
Alhaitham lets out another whiny wail and his wings start to flap impatiently so Dottore silences Alhaitham by plunging his tongue deep into Alhaitham's hole.
Alhaitham chirps as Dottore starts to twist his tongue around. Then Alhaitham outwardly sings an arrangement of Avian noises when Dottore starts to suck his hole and massages the ring with his tongue.
Alhaitham dazedly huffs into his pillow as he continues to chirp at the slippery feeling in his ass. It's pleasant, but compared to the sharp strikes of his mate's whips, it feels so subtle that Alhaitham doesn't really feel any impression.
Alhaitham doesn't even realize that he subconsciously lets out a whine when that slippery feeling is gone. But he shrieks a squeal and his wings tremble when a thick rod is rammed into his hole. The stings from his hole being breached so roughly and from the whipping wounds on his ass rubbing with his mate's crotch slightly clears Alhaitham's mind.
Dottore yanks Alhaitham's head back by his stray hair, "Wake up, Lady Alhaitham… your Lord has yet to pump you full of his seed," he playfully drawls as he grinds his dick deep in Alhaitham's hole.
Alhaitham mewls at the feeling of his inside being stirred, "Ravish me then, My Lord."
Dottore lets go of Alhaitham's hair and grabs his waist, "You deserve punishment for talking to your Lord like that," he bends down over Alhaitham's body, dark wings spread in triumph, and trails small bites along the bruises from his whip, "but you're liking your punishment too much for it to be called such."
Alhaitham dazedly hums, "Fuck me then."
Dottore stops his little ministration on Alhaitham's back and leans away, "Are you… seriously drunk?"
"No."
For a moment nothing happens until Alhaitham's starts grinding his ass back, "What are you waiting for?"
Dottore calculatingly stares at Alhaitham as he mindlessly taps his fingers on Alhaitham's hips, "Alright, as you wish," he harshly grabs Alhaitham's hips, pulls out, and roughly slams back in.
Alhaitham's eyes roll up and his wings flutter, "More…," he begs.
Dottore lets out a sigh before bracing Alhaitham's body so that he can take his thrusts more easily, "That manner of yours."
Dottore nonchalantly thrusts his hip. The pace is not fast but the force of each thrust is enough to make a loud clapping sound and left Alhaitham's ass red.
Alhaitham's cock twitches from the feeling of a hard object ramming into him and every sting of pain on his ass, but it only drips more precum to the bed. Alhaitham wants to cum, yet the pleasure from his ass is not enough. So he lifts his ass higher on his knees, slightly bends his wings into a V, and glances back to send Dottore a pitiful begging look.
Dottore raises his eyebrows as he stares down at Alhaitham, his thrusts purposefully brush Alhaitham's prostate which turns that pitiful look lewd, "What is it?" Dottore grunts as he continues to thrust and brush Alhaitham's prostate at the sedate pace.
Alhaitham moans and chirps from the slight hint of pleasure that it's quite hard for him to utter a word, "Ah~ uhm~ stohp~ teashing~ me~"
Dottore hums, "I'm not teasing you. This pace is already too much on a normal Avian," Dottore leans down and bites Alhaitham's shoulder hard, Alhaitham squeals as his blood flows and his cock drips more precum, "if this is a teasing for you then I'm afraid that you've become so degenerate that anyone else other than me would die just from fucking you," Dottore lowly whispers to Alhaitham's ear before plunging his tongue into it.
Alhaitham lets out a high pitched squeal and his wings twitch, "More~"
"Did you even listen to what I said?" Dottore says as he nibbles Alhaitham's earlobe.
"Don't care~ My Lord is~ the only one~ who will~ continue to fuck me~"
Dottore freezes then he leans back to take a look at Alhaitham. Alhaitham lets out a loud wail when Dottore stops and starts to indignantly flap his wings.
Dottore continues to silently observe Alhaitham before finally grabbing a lot of Alhaitham's hair and yanks his upper body up. He places Alhaitham's bound wrists on the headboard.
Alhaitham's body shivers and unsteadily wobbles at the sudden change of position. He sends a questioning wail to Dottore.
Dottore shush him as he reassuringly rubs his hip, "Shh, stay upright," that's all his warning before he whips the side of Alhaitham's ass and adopts a harsh pace.
Alhaitham screams a wail at the sudden pain and pleasure. His wings frantically flap, throwing his unsteady body off balance. Dottore steadies him by half hugging his chest. Then he gently sucks around the plumage under the back of Alhaitham's neck and whips again the place he had struck.
Alhaitham squeals loudly and his wings flutter as his cock finally shoots its first load of cum. Alhaitham moans when Dottore rams his hole more vigorously. His legs are trembling when Dottore starts to play with his nipple.
Alhaitham screams when Dottore bites the muscle around the base of his wings as he whips him again.
It doesn't matter that Alhaitham has cummed recently. It doesn't matter whether he is hard again or not. What matters is that his mate has released his seed deep inside him with another strike of his riding crop.
Alhaitham keens and starts letting out chittering sounds as warmth starts to spread inside him.
Dottore sucks on Alhaitham's neck as they enjoy the afterglow.
Alhaitham moans a low wail and soon they resume their activity.
The first night in their nest is still long afterall.
Alhaitham wakes up to a weird cool feeling all over his body and a weirder sight of a fully clothed and masked Dottore bandaging his legs.
Dottore's mouth are downturned in concentration as he meticulously bandages Alhaitham's legs, "Are you satisfied, now that you've sullied my nest just like what you wanted?" he grumbles.
Alhaitham lets out a snort, "This can't even be called your nest."
"You're correct…. This is our nest now," Dottore declares without looking at Alhaitham but his wings are flusteredly puffed behind him.
Alhaitham feels a tickle in his chest and he leans forward to pepper kisses on Dottore's face, "Who taught you to say such things early in the morning?"
Dottore tsks and pushes Alhaitham's head away, "can't you see that I'm busy?" yet his neck is crawling with red.
Alhaitham huffs a fond exhale, "Why's it that you're always playing hard to get whenever I want to have a go and always wanting to fuck me when I least expect it?" he leans back and lazily stretches his arms and wings, "we are so compatible that I often forget we might actually have some breeding habit differences due to our breed."
Dottore silently throws Alhaitham a glance before quietly tying the bandage, "Such a trivial matter doesn't need that much thought. Besides, you seem to find it acceptable," he swiftly packs up his kit and stands up.
"Are you done?" Alhaitham experimentally twists his ankle to test the bandaging, it's not too tight and flexible enough for him to move around, "the sun hasn't come up yet. Won't you come back to bed?" Alhaitham tilts his head as he looks at Dottore with his wings spread welcomely, "it's very cozy."
Dottore's wings twitch in annoyance once, Dottore frowns and walks towards the door, "I've been in that bed for far too long, it's time for me to resume my experiment. You can laze around here all you want since your work as a diplomat starts in five more days. Besides, the sun here comes out later than in Sumeru."
Dottore leaves the room, closing the door behind him, leaving Alhaitham alone.
Alhaitham starts to observe the master bedroom. He hadn't had the chance to do so last night. The room is far more spacious for two Avians, the decorations are practical but still showcasing the master's wealth if not detached from the master's personality, there's a corner dedicated for reading section and a balcony. This place is so spacious that Alhaitham starts to wonder how Dottore could accidentally stub his toe last night.
Alhaitham wants to laze around and basks in the feeling of having thoroughly mated, but…
He glances at his pile of luggages and the bookshelves near the balcony that's filled with books in Snezhnayan.
He needs to start adapting to his surroundings.
The door to the room slams open, startling Alhaitham enough to flinch. Dottore stands by the door, his chest visibly heaves and his wings ruffled.
Alhaitham blinks at him, "Doct-"
"What are you going to wear?" Alhaitham looks at him in slight confusion and Dottore glances at Alhaitham's luggages and his fur coat still left near the bed, "do you even packed clothes for this kind of weather? And no, that single fur coat isn't enough."
Alhaitham's wings twitch behind him as he sends Dottore a blink.
Dottore aggressively tousles his hair before stomping his way towards Alhaitham.
This is dangerous.
Dottore doesn't know what's happening, that's why this is dangerous.
Normally he would notice someone having an interesting attribute. Then he would do anything he could to study the attribute and satisfy his curiosities. Most of the time, he would gain total ownership of the sample, buying the sample from their current owner or exchanging them with other things. Power seemed to be the popular theme.
Dottore props his jaw on his palm and looks at Alhaitham.
Alhaitham is naked, but the bandages around his legs and hips are essentially his pants, as Alexei makes quick work of measuring his body sizes. Alexei is practically breathing down Alhaitham's neck as he measures the length between Alhaitham's wings.
Dottore ruffles his wings and lets out an annoyed sigh which causes Alexei to speed up his work with a flinch and Alhaitham to raise his eyebrows at him through the full body mirror in front of him.
Dottore was about to go to his dungeon and resume his experiment when he remembered that Alhaitham absolutely has no practical clothing to survive in Snezhnaya. It is an educated guess, Sumeru doesn't experience winter. So he had had enough of worrying that Alhaitham would die of something so stupid as hypothermia and ordered his servant to take Alhaitham's measurements.
Which is exactly the root of the danger. He actually finds himself worrying over such a trivial matter such as survivability. If a creature is cold then it's a basic instinct to search for warmth. Alhaitham is more than intelligent enough to do that. He knows it. So why?
Alexei needs to measure Alhaitham's chest so he nudges Alhaitham's arms, with as little skin contact as possible, to make some room.
Dottore doesn't like that. His mouth curves down into a scowl without him noticing.
Alexei is already feeling very uncomfortable for needing to take the measurements of his naked Ladyship. The bandages scream wounds, something very closely associated with His Lordship, but the marks and bruises along His Ladyship's certain places are telling another story. Alexei knows not to ask questions, curiosity kills the cat and he doesn't want to know. He also knows that His Lordship wants him to finish taking the measurements quickly, the glare His Lordship directs at him is very telling.
Alexei's hands slightly tremble as he takes His Ladyship's chest measurements. The tape accidentally brushes His Ladyship's puffed nipples, causing him to flinch and his wings twitch.
Dottore lets out a growl and for the first time in all his career as The Doctor's servant Alexei finds himself losing his quick thought.
Alexei freezes and Dottore hates the situation enough that he stands up from his chair, wings start to spread menacingly.
"Is it done?" Alhaitham's unbothered voice stops Dottore from taking a step and snaps Alexei from his daze.
Alexei subconsciously tilts his head up to assess the situation, then he realizes his mistake of looking at His Ladyship eye on eye and immediately averts his eyes down with a flinch, "Yes, my Lady," he quickly retrieves himself from Alhaitham's personal space to jot down numbers, "I'll immediately go to the best tailor in the citadel and places the order. The clothes will most likely be done today in the afternoon. In the meantime, I ask that my Lady stay in the master bedroom. I'll ask for the maids to light up the fireplace as well as send meals for my Lady."
Alhaitham neatly folds his wings behind his back, "Thank you."
Alexei respectfully bows his head. He needs to tread carefully. He knows very well that His Lordship's temper has never been easy to quell. And he's correct. Dottore is pretty much ready to jump at Alexei and tears him apart.
But before Dottore manages to do so, the door opens, "Dottore, what's the occasion? It's rare for you to spend such a long time in the dressing room-"
Pantalone shamelessly stands by the door, quickly assessing the people in the room and immediately focuses his attention at the sight of the stranger.
Pantalone unabashedly spreads his wings and smiles flirtatiously, "Oh, my~" he purrs.
Alhaitham is not usually shy about flaunting his body, but this stranger is looking at him in such a way that makes him feel uncomfortable. He hesitantly starts to unfold his wings to cover his body as much as he can.
Pantalone laughs in a low voice, "Oh, no need to be shy. You're gorgeous, don't worry," Alhaitham slightly squirms uncomfortably and Pantalone laughs again.
Dottore, whose temper has ignited past the point of rage, screeches a caw and angrily flaps his wings.
Pantalone cheekily sends a smile towards Alhaitham then Dottore before stepping back and closing the door.
Dottore is having none of that. He has had enough of everything. So he yanks the door open, ripping it from one of its hinges, and screams a caw at Pantalone who's still standing behind the door and currently looking so surprised. Then he aggressively whirls around and screams a caw at Alexei who is praying for his life. Then he is about to scream at Alhaitham before re-questioning his decision and instead grabs Alhaitham into an embrace and shields his body with his wings.
Alhaitham lets out a surprised squeal but Dottore ignores him in order to shoulder past Pantalone and knocks him off the way. Dottore drags Alhaitham as he practically runs to their room.
Alexei finds himself still alive. He thanks The Tsaritsa when he finds that His Lordship is no longer in the same room. He is so ready to go to the citadel, away from all the near death experiences.
"Alexei," he hears The Regrator calls and almost curses, "can you help me fix my shoulder? I think it got dislocated when Dottore collided with me."
Alexei wants to cry, "Of course, Lord Harbinger."
Notes:
When posting this, realization hits me.
Alhaitham character's development is him being more and more sexually honest around Dottore.Also, the reason why I can't figure out Alhaitham's clothes i-gane is definitely because it's supposed to be ripped to open it.
Chapter Text
This is a psychological warfare, Dottore is finally enlightened when he finds himself cuddling Alhaitham in their nest and shielding him with his wings as he repeatedly murmurs panicked caws.
It was such a careless mistake. Dottore realizes far too late that Alhaitham is a very wild occurrence and he literally knows nothing for this kind of situation.
Dottore presses Alhaitham's face harder to his chest. Alhaitham lets out a chittering sounds to calm Dottore but for the first time, it has no effect in calming him.
Dottore always has total ownership of his subjects. They can't betray him unless they want to be sentenced. There's no such thing as trust and loyalty but his subjects are completely dependent on him and rely on his favor. They're powerless against him so they pose no danger to him.
They're completely different cases than Alhaitham. Alhaitham had come with him willingly, giving Dottore no chance to forcefully drag him into submission. He also has a place to return to and a backing. Dottore's only leverage on Alhaitham is his status as his lifelong mate. But Alhaitham also has that status on him so Dottore is clueless and worried.
It can be said that they have equal standings.
Dottore knows nothing about such a relationship.
Dottore feels a tap on his cheek, "Have you calmed down?" Alhaitham asks him.
Dottore didn't even realize that he had stopped cawing in panic and it's frankly scary enough that he caws again in thrice the panic.
Alhaitham becomes limp and allows himself to be cuddled, "Alright, take your time," he indulgently whispers.
Dottore senses mockery in that. He tries to strangle his Avian noises but all it does is making him choke on his breath and sends him hiccupping.
Alhaitham drags himself up so that he can see Dottore's face before gently taking off his mask. Dottore is still hiccupping, and the force of the hiccups jolt his body, paired with how he's staring at Alhaitham with wide and watery eyes, Alhaitham finds that his mate is quite pitiful.
Alhaitham gently nuzzles the trail of plumage on Dottore's forehead, "Control your breath, Doctor. It's no use panicking," he murmurs.
Dottore snorts. He accidentally does it as he hiccups, causing him to choke on air. Dottore starts to calm his breath, scowling as he does. It takes a while, but then he's calmed.
They silently stare into each other's eyes, staring at their own reflection.
Alhaitham caresses his thumb over Dottore's cheekbone, "Are you alright now?"
"No," Dottore says in a tired voice, "but it's enough for now."
Someone knocks on their door.
"Dottore," The Regrator calls out from beyond the door, "I apologize for my rude behavior. Have you wrangled your possessive instinct under control, yet? I need to discuss important matters with you."
Dottore's eyes are full of contempt and he simply slumps on the bed, feeling tired.
Alhaitham rubs their noses together and lets out chittering sounds, "Can you go? It sounds important. I'll be here if you need me."
Dottore actually pouts and Alhaitham can't process it fast enough that he misses it completely. Dottore quickly nips the tip of Alhaitham's nose before taking his mask and standing up.
The door is unlocked with a click and soon opens. Pantalone, who's waiting behind it with an amused smile opens his mouth to leave a comment but Dottore simply grabs his jaw and drags him away from the room.
"What do you want?"
Pantalone flashes Dottore a smile before walking off to prepare a pot of tea, "Don't you think that you should have given me some drink first?"
Dottore annoyedly taps his fingers on his desk and his wings bristle, "I'm pretty sure that you only serve tea for guests."
Pantalone purrs out a caw, "Now, is that in any way how you would treat your business partner?"
Dottore's eyes squint beneath his mask, "What do you want?" he repeats.
Pantalone hums and flicks his wings in annoyance, "This is why I prefer to talk with Omega Build."
The pot of tea is done and Pantalone brings it to the desk. He sits down across Dottore and pours a cup for himself.
Pantalone takes his time to savor the taste before pointing his finger at Dottore's face, "The Rooster had told the rest of the Harbingers about your segments. First off, I want to thank you for deciding to destroy your segments near the time of your return. Due to that the manufacturing of our wares won't be halted for far too long. Second off, I want you to rebuild Omega Build. He's my real business partner and I will provide funds to rebuild him as well as the rest of the segments," Pantalone crosses his legs and spreads his dark wings relaxedly.
Dottore leans back in his seat, "What a generous deal. Completely unlike you," Dottore tilts his head and his mask glints dangerously, "what do you want?"
Pantalone places his cup down and intertwined his fingers together, "It's the investment I'm willing to pay to make sure that you rebuild your segments, especially Omega Build, as soon as possible. Your segments have a lot of roles in the Harbingers. It's in Her Majesty's best interest as well as mine that you quickly regain your best talents."
Dottore ponders Pantalone's words before slowly tilting his head, "You sound very sure of Her Majesty's will. I take it then that you carry with you the edict?"
Pantalone flashes his trademark smile, "Correct," he takes out an envelope with The Tsaritsa's insignia slipped between his fingers and places it on the desk, "read it yourself. In the meantime, I will take a walk."
Dottore wants to yell at Pantalone, but he's already gone.
Dottore doesn't like the sound of that. His wings bristle in discomfort at the thought of another Avian with a breed almost similar to his breed having the freedom to walk around and interact as he pleases with his mate. But the edict in his hand needs immediate attention so he grits his teeth and roughly rips the envelope open.
Alhaitham likes the reading section in the master bedroom. It's peaceful, cozy, and naturally bright. The bookshelves are also filled with varied types of books. Although from the lack of wrinkles, Alhaitham is going to assume that they're just put there as decorations and Dottore has never read them.
Alhaitham finds an unfamiliar phrase on his read. He writes it down in his notes, opens the dictionary, and writes its meaning besides it before continuing his reading.
Judging from his progress, he will be able to talk basic Snezhnayan by today. As expected, the semiotics of Snezhnayan are almost similar to those of other languages around the south of Teyvat. It will not be difficult at all learning to read. Although perhaps, he will have some troubles with phonations.
Perhaps he will have to ask his Doctor to teach him.
Alhaitham pauses his reading and lowers his book as his mind starts to work.
Dottore is also not from Snezhnaya. Will he be trustworthy enough to teach him the language?
There's a knock on the glass door that leads to the balcony.
Alhaitham raises his head from his thoughts to take a look and freezes.
The stranger from earlier is standing outside on the balcony. He sees that Alhaitham is finally noticing him, so he flashes him a charming smile and waves.
Alhaitham stares at the stranger warily before he slowly lowers his head back down and continues to read.
Pantalone is speechless. It's very cold outside for your information.
The corner of Pantalone's mouth twitches from irritation as he knocks the glass door louder.
Alhaitham slightly peers up from his book to take a look at Pantalone.
Pantalone will find the behavior very cute if only the cold air isn't biting his cheeks.
Alhaitham warily blinks and does nothing else.
Pantalone's wings twitch in extreme annoyance and he starts to exaggeratedly mouth, "Please, open this door and have a chat with me."
Alhaitham simply stares at Pantalone, then he continues to read.
'The wench,' Pantalone seethes and he's about to force his way inside when a voice stops him.
"Anything you break, I will charge you 10 times," Dottore who's leaning on the balcony railing says, "I know you won't find anything in that room expensive even if it's multiplied by 100, but that's my room and I hope you're aware of what you're about to do."
Pantalone's wings rearrange themselves, "My apologies. My temper got the better of me."
Dottore snorts and steps forward to open the balcony with his keys. He gets in and locks Pantalone outside. Pantalone stares at Dottore in disbelief and Dottore simply mouths, 'I'll follow through with Her Majesty's will' before showing a crude gesture at him and drawing the curtain closed.
It takes the time for snow to pile on Pantalone's shoulders for him to finally process the situation. He indignantly screams out a squawk but there's no response from beyond the curtain.
Pantalone goes back in defeat.
Dottore stands awkwardly near the peacefully reading Alhaitham. His wings can't stay still as he really wants to give a comment but Alhaitham doesn't seem to find the prior event that interesting. So Dottore can only let the matter go with a droop of his wings and take a look at what Alhaitham is working on.
"You've made quite a progress," Dottore offhandedly comments.
Alhaitham simply lets out a hum without looking away from his book so Dottore sits down on the well cushioned chair across from Alhaitham in annoyance.
They fall into a comfortable silence for 8 minutes before Dottore feels bored and asks, "Want to mate?"
Alhaitham's wings twitch from mixed emotions then he raises his head to squint at Dottore, "Doctor, your mood swing is, frankly, worrying," then he continues to read his book, "and I would prefer that I finish reading this book today then evaluate how far I've come to understand Snezhnayan," then Alhaitham adds as an afterthought, "besides, I'm all bandaged."
Dottore hums as he takes out his kit and unpacks it, "Yes. I should check on your wounds now."
Alhaitham glances at Dottore from the corner of his eyes as his wings twitch in annoyance when Dottore approaches him. Dottore caresses Alhaitham's thigh before spreading his legs to make room for himself and kneels before Alhaitham.
Seeing as Dottore won't leave him alone, Alhaitham tries to ignore him and continues his read. His attempt quickly proves to be useless as Dottore starts to suggestively caresses his inner thighs. Alhaitham tries to close his thighs but Dottore keeps them apart with his hands.
Alhaitham tsks, "It hasn't been long since the bandages were put on. Why's it that you want to take them off now?"
Dottore finally decides to get on with it and prepares his scissors, "You confirmed yourself that the treatments I provide for your wounds are superficial and unnecessary. By now the wounds should have already been healed or at the very least free from the risk of infection," Dottore takes off his mask to send Alhaitham a smug grin, "Am I correct?"
Alhaitham cuts their eye contacts by raising his book.
Dottore huffs a laugh and starts to unravel the bandages. He carefully pulls the bandages off since the medicine he applied to Alhaitham's wounds sticks the bandages to Alhaitham's skin. Dottore licks his lower lip when he sees the usual milky and soft thigh.
Dottore raises Alhaitham's thigh so that he can inspect the whipping wounds he made last night. Rows of diagonal thin bruises greet him. Dottore gently rubs his thumb over the wounds, slightly pinching Alhaitham's thigh there and there to check them.
The wounds are healing very nicely. As expected of Alhaitham's regenerative ability but the bruises are still very apparent. It seems that the medicine is not very potent. He will have to retry with another formula later.
Dottore props Alhaitham's thigh on his shoulder before going for the other. He makes a quick work of unraveling the bandages yet still careful so as to not accidentally hurts Alhaitham.
Dottore frowns at the sight that greets him. He takes Alhaitham's leg that's propped on his shoulder by the knee and raises it, pressing Alhaitham's thighs together to compare them.
It was not merely Dottore's imagination. The wounds on the other leg are more healed than on the first. Very curious. In cases of creatures having fast regenerative ability, usually the regeneration takes priority to areas closer either to the heart or the brain.
Dottore observes the bruises on the other leg. There's a slight gradient on the bruises but the ends of the bruises are essentially healed.
The bruises heal diagonally. It's normal for a wound to start mending itself from the lightest part of the injury, but a vertical bruise proves that Alhaitham's healing is prioritized from the 'edge' of his body.
Dottore leans forward to take a closer look as he spreads Alhaitham's legs.
The bruises on the inner thigh of the first leg haven't healed yet, but the bruises on the outer thigh of the other leg have slightly healed. Perhaps it's not the 'edge' but specifically this side? But why?
"What are you doing?" Alhaitham asks, snapping Dottore from his observation.
Dottore finally realizes the situation he's in. He glances at Alhaitham's cock near his face and playfully blows a hot breath at it.
Alhaitham lets out a small chirp and annoyedly places his book away, "Doctor, do I need to remind you that you were supposed to take off my bandages?"
Dottore silently peers up from down there and Alhaitham doesn't know why, but Dottore looks so smug.
Dottore suddenly yanks Alhaitham's legs to him and hooks Alhaitham's knees on his shoulders before quickly plunging his tongue into Alhaitham's hole.
Alhaitham lets out a surprised squeal and his thighs subconsciously clamps Dottore's head.
Alhaitham keens at the slippery feeling, "This is unprofessional," he comments breathlessly.
Dottore amusedly hums and takes his tongue out, causing Alhaitham to subconsciously let out a whine, "I never said that I specifically only wanted to take off your bandages," Dottore flattens his tongue over Alhaitham's hole and licks it before biting Alhaitham's inner thigh hard, "and you didn't refuse to mate," he says as he languidly licks Alhaitham's flowing blood.
Alhaitham squeals at the pain and his thighs tremble around Dottore's head.
Alhaitham gasp as Dottore continues to tease his lower body parts. They are still tender from last night so Dottore's little ministrations feel very intense.
Dottore abruptly stands up with Alhaitham's knees still hooked on his shoulders. Alhaitham lets out a surprised wail at the sudden change of his position. He stares wide-eyed at Dottore who's grinning down at him.
Alhaitham's face starts to contort and flush in anger. He angrily flaps his wings and screeches annoyed wails.
Dottore smirks before jostling Alhaitham's body by the legs. Alhaitham's noises abruptly stop because he needs to clench the armchair to brace himself from falling from the chair.
"Your core strength is commendable," Dottore amusedly comments, "tell me, is it because of your defined muscles or your breed? Or perhaps both?"
Alhaitham is about to throw another tantrum but Dottore clenches his knees warningly so Alhaitham simply glares at Dottore, "Let me go, Doctor. I need to finish my reading."
Dottore slides his hand along Alhaitham's thigh, "I don't think I will, and I never said that you can't continue to read," he leers down at Alhaitham as he pinches Alhaitham's hip, "that is, if you can focus."
Alhaitham huffs irritatedly and rearranges his hold on the armchair, "Fine, but I hope you are not going to fuck me in this position because unlike tying you down to bed for hours, this position is obviously going to break my neck."
Dottore's mouth puckers into a farce of a thoughtful expression. Then he lets Alhaitham's legs to slide from his shoulders and circle his hips before taking two small steps back, causing Alhaitham's upper body to lay on the chair while the rest is hovering on air, relying on Dottore to keep its balance.
"Better?" Dottore mockingly asks.
Alhaitham's eyebrow twitches from annoyance and he takes his book to resolutely continue reading.
Dottore's wings flare in triumph. He experimentally inserts his fingers into Alhaitham's hole then twists them around to test the tightness.
"It seems that even though the swell of your hole is already healed, the ring still retains its softness after last night's endeavor," Dottore comments but Alhaitham's only response is a twitch of his wings as he continues to read.
Dottore's lips spread into a sinister grin as he unzips his pants and slides it down just enough to let his dick out.
Alhaitham's tongue lolls out as the force of Dottore's dick bottoming into him slides his body up the chair, but he quickly forces his mind to focus on his book and bites his lips to not make any noise once Dottore starts to move.
Dottore will admit that Alhaitham looks so cute trying to stay focused on his book even if his eyes and wings flutter everytime Dottore rams into his prostate.
Dottore trails his gaze all over Alhaitham's naked as the day he was born body. Oh wait, Alhaitham is wearing the earring he gave him.
Dottore's wings puff in pride and he rams into Alhaitham more vigorously, causing Alhaitham's eyes to slightly rolls up before Alhaitham blinks the pleasure away and squints down at his book.
Dottore noticed that, he grins down at Alhaitham and rearranges Alhaitham's thighs around his hips, "Have I ever told you that you look so sexy in your lingerie?" he purrs in Snezhnayan.
Alhaitham's breath hitches and his hole clenches so tight around Dottore's cock that Dottore hisses. Alhaitham stares blankly at the scribbles of words on his book as his cock continues to shoot rope of cum, wetting his chest and the book.
Dottore stares dumbfounded at the sullied book, then he starts to wheeze, "How adorable," Dottore resumes fucking Alhaitham, "should have guessed that a Haravatat graduate like you would have a thing over accents," Dottore fucks Alhaitham harder and Alhaitham's legs start to tremble, "look, you even dirty the book you seem to like so much."
Alhaitham's tongue lolls out as his eyes rolls up, "t-too much~" Alhaitham subconsciously pants in Snezhnayan.
Dottore spreads his wings and fucks Alhaitham harder, a sadistic grin everpresence on his face, "You seemed to have progressed much on writing part, but I bet you hadn't made any progress in pronunciation part. So let me help you," Dottore leans forward and braces his arms on the chair, fucking Alhaitham deeper and causing Alhaitham to starts wailing with every thrust, "there's no better way to learn other languages than learning it firsthand from someone who can already speak it well. So let me teach you like this. Can you understand me?"
Alhaitham frantically nods his head as loud squeals continue to flow from his drooling mouth, "S-shlow down, phlease~" Dottore fucks him harder, causing Alhaitham to wail, "w-why~"
Dottore tuts, "You're supposed to speak in Snezhnayan, my dear," Dottore starts to flap his wings to ease his movements, "you will need to be punished because of this mistake."
Alhaitham's heels dig on Dottore's back and his hands claw the chair when Dottore's pace somehow grows harsher, "Mercy~" Alhaitham begs, panting the only word he knows as he doesn't have enough vocabulary yet.
Dottore hums as he harshly grabs Alhaitham's hips and throws a grin at him before pulling his body to meet his thrusts, Alhaitham sputters his wail and gasps while Dottore amusedly observes him, " You should be more clear with your words, my dear. My student can't be this ineloquent in expressing his thoughts."
Notes:
I'm very grateful of the comment section.
This work is still early but there are a lot of encouraging comments already. Where did y'all supportive people come from?
And then I remembered that I'm comparing this fic to my second fic. All in all, thank you very much for supporting me. Currently hoping to pull for Blade on honkai star rail. Wish me luck. I strive to collect every husbandos there.
Chapter 7
Notes:
Posting this chapter a bit earlier since right now I'm having such intense headache I might get another stroke. Just in case I won't be able to tomorrow.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"You might want to stop now," Dottore clenches the sheet underneath him when Alhaitham instead rides his cock harder.
Perhaps Dottore should have considered more when Alhaitham said that they might have different breeding schedules.
Dottore had had his fill fucking Alhaitham on the chair. When he noticed that Alhaitham had been reduced into a chittering and pleasured mess, Dottore decided to help him move to the bed. The thing was when Dottore had laid Alhaitham down and was about to pull away, Alhaitham suddenly grabbed his arms and pinned him to the bed.
It had been a long time since Dottore last saw Alhaitham's sadistic expression. He thought he won't be seeing it again, especially after he had just fucked him stupid. The course of events had proved him wrong.
Dottore almost let out a whimper when Alhaitham aligned his cock with his hole and started to insert it.
Dottore can't remember, but perhaps he had actually let out a series of whiny caws, begging Alhaitham to stop, when several rounds later Alhaitham was still slamming his ass to his crotch. The overstimulation was getting too much.
Dottore stares blankly at Alhaitham's mounds above him, jiggling from his movements. The stimulation from his cock is still pleasurable but he has started to grow tired, thus he can barely react to it except for letting out breathy caws whenever Alhaitham slams his ass to his pelvis.
Dottore has no idea since when, but Alhaitham is leaning forward and holding his hands as he continues to fuck himself hard on his cock, wings strongly flapping behind him to ease his movements. It's an emotionally sentimental move that's also a far cry from the way Alhaitham is basically using him as if he's merely a toy of pleasure.
Dottore would be pissed if he could, but he feels too tired and would rather ignore Alhaitham's hypocrisy in order to save some energy. Judging from how Alhaitham hasn't started singing random Avian noises, if the past events are any indication, Alhaitham is still a long way from being satisfied.
Dottore lets out a choked whiny caw when he releases another load into Alhaitham. Alhaitham holds Dottore's hands tighter as he grinds his ass down, savoring how the hot liquid wets his inside more.
Alhaitham's wings happily flutter as he purrs out chittering sounds when he glances at the mess that's his husband, "Shouldn't you talk to me in Snezhnayan, teacher?" Alhaitham leans down to lick the side of Dottore's mouth from his cum as he starts to roll his hips.
Dottore hisses when his spent dick has the audacity to get hard, "The lesson is over," he pants when Alhaitham starts moving again without waiting for his dick to be on full mast, "I have something important to tell you. You need to stop," Alhaitham doesn't heed his words and simply starts to nibble on Dottore's earlobe, "please," Dottore chokes out as a last effort.
Alhaitham's entire body stops moving before he leans back to sit straight on Dottore's cock, hands placed on Dottore's abdomen for support.
Dottore stares into Alhaitham's eyes, his chest heaving as if he had just run around The Akademiya. It's enough that Dottore begged, he won't stoop to Alhaitham's level and beg. But quite a while has passed and Alhaitham is still staring at him, unmoving.
The staring has become so eerie that Dottore starts to fear something, he doesn't know what but it fills his chest with chilly water.
When Alhaitham's mouth starts to split into a grin and his eyes glint with sadistic lust, Dottore finally associates the fear, "Wai-"
Alhaitham moves his ass, somehow far more energetic than before, "Now, if you really have something important to tell me, you would have told me before fucking me on the chair."
The overstimulation is definitely too much now. Dottore is having a hard time breathing and subconsciously arches his back and bare his throat. His trembling legs start to kick out to vent the stimulation somewhere.
Dottore clenches the sheet until it rips, "I do have something important to tell you," he outwardly screams out.
Alhaitham leans back and pins Dottore's legs down with his hands, "Then you can tell me later," Alhaitham moans and his eyes roll back when the new position allows him to hit his bundle of pleasure easily, "after 5 more rounds," he licks the drool slipping past his lips.
Dottore lets out a panicked squawk, "Are you insane? 2!"
Alhaitham's moan gets cut off from the laughter slipping out, "It's very cute that you're trying to bargain, Doctor," Alhaitham throws his head back to sing out a squeal as he cums without stopping his pace, "and the fact that you didn't outrightly request that we stop after this round means that you still want it."
"I was trying to be considerate!" Dottore snarls but soon his eyes roll up because he follows Alhaitham's step and cums into the sweltering heat of Alhaitham's hole.
Alhaitham's wings flutter triumphantly and he lets out chittering sounds at the feeling, he observes the trembling Dottore beneath him whose eyes are dazed and unfocused, "You don't seem to be in a state of announcing something important right now," Alhaitham starts to roll his hips again, noticing with amusement that Dottore lays unmoving yet his dick still continue to harden inside his hole.
Alhaitham leans down and supports his weight on his elbows, caging Dottore's head into a hug. He trails soothing kisses along Dottore's temple as he starts to move his hips again.
"Rest, my darling. I'll take care of myself," he purrs to the unconscious Avian.
Dottore wakes up to the sound of dripping water before noticing that he's naked in a bathtub filled with warm water. A simple glance to his left reveals Alhaitham who's shamelessly fingering himself on a toilet bowl to let out the cum inside him.
Dottore tries to lift his legs but they won't budge. He disgruntledly leans back to the tub and tries to relax.
"How long was I unconscious?" Dottore asks when he feels his eyes are very tired.
Alhaitham hums from the shower, "3 hours, approximately."
Dottore lets out a tired sigh as he closes his eyes and slides down the tub so that the water submerges him to his neck.
Dottore snaps his eyes open when he feels a shadow looms over him. He immediately sits up, ignoring the screams of his muscles, and his wings spread defensively when he notices that Alhaitham is standing beside the tub.
Alhaitham expressionlessly raises his eyebrows but the corner of his lips is twitching from amusement, "Scoot over, I want to join you."
Dottore squints his eyes but slowly he gives Alhaitham some room. Alhaitham gingerly steps into the bathtub and leans towards Dottore. Dottore tenses but he refrains himself from freaking out because his behavior right now is already very humiliating.
Alhaitham leans his weight on Dottore's side and nuzzles his cheek on Dottore's nape, "Why are you scared?" he says in a low voice.
Dottore's wings twitch and he grabs Alhaitham's hair before tucking Alhaitham's head under his chin, "Nonsense," he growls.
Alhaitham lets out an amused huff but doesn't say anything else and simply listens to Dottore's heartbeat, "What did you want to tell me?"
Dottore irritatedly digs his chin on Alhaitham's head and holds him closer, "Shut up. I need to rest more."
Alhaitham lets out chittering sounds, causing Dottore to visibly relax and his wings droop sleepily.
Alhaitham slightly shifts his body to press his face to Dottore's chest, "Rest then, my darling. I'll take care of you," he gently murmurs.
Dottore unamusedly stares up at Alhaitham who's currently only clothed in his fur coat. The clothes should have been finished yesterday but since they were busy, his servant must have stored them in the coat room.
Alhaitham spoons some food Alexei had left for them and points it at Dottore who's using his laps as a pillow as he lays on bed, "Say 'aah~'," Alhaitham expressionlessly says.
Dottore makes a face and Alhaitham hides his grin by inserting the spoon into his own mouth. Dottore glares at Alhaitham and Alhaitham needs to cover his mouth with the back of his hand to avoid laughing out loud.
"I don't need to eat," Dottore growls.
"Sure, you don't," Alhaitham mutters as he points the spoon which is refilled with food again at Dottore.
Dottore closes his eyes and lets out a long suffering sigh, "I mean it, Alhaitham," he opens his eyes again, they twitch when he sees Alhaitham inserting the spoon into his own mouth again, "I don't need to eat food that often... From how you reacted back when you found the record of my Eleazar research, I assume that you actually have no clue of who I really am."
Alhaitham is staring at Dottore but his hand is still inserting food to his mouth. Dottore's fingers twitch, he would get up to straddle Alhaitham and pinch his jaw to make sure he pays attention to his words but he can't even get up.
Whatever, "You know who I am, but only that. You don't know anything else."
Alhaitham is still staring at Dottore as his hand blindly spoons more food, "That's a good thing for you, no?" he continues to eat.
Dottore ignores Alhaitham, "Which is why you are an idiot for accepting to be my mate. Now though, you can't be completely blissed by ignorance anymore since you need to be informed of this and I can't possibly hide this."
Alhaitham finally places his plate on the nightstand and sits straighter, "How big of a confidential information is it?"
"Only The Tsaritsa, the Harbingers, and a select few of servants know."
Alhaitham's eyebrows start to furrow in thoughts, "And I'm absolutely in the need to know?"
Dottore crosses his arms, he ignores how his muscles are screaming, "It can't be helped. There's a balance I need to keep and sooner or later you'll realize it yourself. I figured that it's better to inform you beforehand to avoid unnecessary complications."
Alhaitham takes a napkin to wipe his mouth, "Go on."
"First," Dottore starts, "Did you find it weird that I managed to send my last message to that female Avian myself?" he starts to play with the feathers of Alhaitham's wing, "'How come I was still in Sumeru?','Did the traveler see wrong?','Was it a feint?'. Have you thought of these questions?" Dottore makes eye contact with Alhaitham.
"Yes," Alhaitham maintains their stare, "and it's relevant to what you're about to inform me because?"
Dottore grins, "Why don't you take a guess?"
Alhaitham's wings ruffle in annoyance, "If it's really important, you should just tell me now to avoid any misconception."
Dottore snorts and smugly smirks at Alhaitham, "Being afraid of making a mistake is not a good trait for a scholar, but you're correct in that regard so I will tell you," Dottore tries to sit up but his muscles are still not listening to him and simply spasm instead, Dottore becomes slack on the bed with a grimace "I have been conducting experiment for a long time and along with that, observing this world. Unfortunately, the current world lacks a certain dimension, that of time. So I created segments from different ages of my life," Dottore pauses to take in Alhaitham's reaction.
It takes time for Alhaitham to comprehend the information but when he does, suddenly Dottore's behavior during the early days of their mating exile becomes clear, "I see. Then was it your segment that accompanied me during our mating exile before you switched back with him?"
Dottore silently stares at Alhaitham for a while before he grins in satisfaction, "Correct," he purrs, "I think it's time for you to officially meet them."
Alhaitham hums in thought, "What will they think of me? As your mate I mean, what will be my relationship with them?"
"Since my segments are essentially still me, then you're also their mate. They won't harm you if that's what you're concerned about," I won't let them harm you, we have a contract with The Dendro Archon, "any more questions?"
Alhaitham snorts before he starts to play with Dottore's hair, "You have a lifetime to explain more of it. But tell me, Doctor, how good are they in bed?"
Dottore barks a laugh that morphs into pained caws when his abdominal muscles spasm, "Whore," he hisses at the amused Alhaitham as he presses his hand to his abdomen in pain.
The snow is thick here, but it matters not to the trained soldiers.
"Lit it up," The Knave orders and so they do.
They dump oil on the bodies and throw a torch to it. The fire rises up, ignoring the frosts. Soon the smell of cooked meat wafts around the area.
A shackled woman starts to screech. She struggles to run to the fire but the shackles and the Fatuus holding it stay strong. The woman falls down with a sob and wails her sorrow.
Arlecchino observes it all from the corner of her eyes.
"You didn't bring Childe," Pulcinella comments as he approaches The Knave.
Arlecchino takes out a handkerchief from her coat and wipes the blood on her sword, "This is an important mission that needs absolute solemnity. I have no energy to waste babysitting a child."
Pulcinella stops beside Arlecchino but soon notices the pile of burning bodies. He takes a few steps back so that the pile is out of his periphery.
Pulcinella takes out his own handkerchief and uses it to block the smell of roasted meat, "Why indeed. It's precisely due to that reason I requested that you bring him with you. It's finally time that he learns the solemnity of his duty."
Arlecchino blows a breath and watches as the mist formed from the cold flies up, "I have no intention to neglect the mission Her Majesty has given to me to supervise him. Besides, isn't it enough that he blindly charges into battles like a little beast?"
Pulcinella lets out some polite chuckles, "It would do no harm if he learns a little bit of the gravity of the situations. He is not slow in the head by any mean, but I fear that he still has no clue about the extent of his duties."
"Lead the prisoners to the carriage!" Arlecchino yells her order and the soldiers immediately drag the wailing woman along with dozen other shackled people alike towards a carriage.
They shove them inside one by one. Ignoring their cries and hitting those who struggle. The lock is placed and the carriage full of prisoners slightly sways as its passengers jostle each other in the packed room.
"I shall repeat it, Pulcinella. I have no time to be wasted on babysitting a child," Arlecchino walks away from her spot to her own carriage, The Rooster follows close beside her, "the rumors about a rebellion group to dethrone Her Majesty are widely spread. These people along with the Lord of this land are all under suspicion of the crime. This matter can not be left onto the hand of a child and needs to be taken care of swiftly."
"Surely you're more than capable of taking care of it. You can even think of Childe as your errand boy for the time being. It's just a few noble families that think they can overthrow an Archon through the unified power of mere mortals."
A flash of pure energy zips by and with a boom, all carriages are blown. The Harbingers are in a safe distance, their casualties are merely a few edges of singed coats. The prisoners and the Fatuus guarding them are different matter.
"Oh, well. Perhaps I was taking it too lightly…?" Pulcinella hesitantly jokes.
Arlecchino grits her teeth and starts to yell her orders, she turns around to directly face The Rooster, "Just send Tartaglia to Capitano," She says before swiftly walking to the burning prisoners' carriage.
"Finally you look like a noble person," Dottore comments from his chair at Alhaitham, who's trying out his new outfits.
Alhaitham hums as he buttons his sleeves. To be honest, his new outfits are simple dress shirts of different colors and several pairs of dress pants. He wonders why it needed to be made by the most famous tailor in the citadel.
"The fabric feels expensive," Alhaitham comments.
Dottore snorts, "Because it is," he takes out a small bag from under his chair and throws it at Alhaitham, "there, I'm sure you'll like that."
Alhaitham catches the bag and takes a peek.
Alhaitham snorts when several sets of lacy lingeries greet him, "Oh, Doctor. Don't tell me that you ordered Alexei to get these. Poor man has seen more than he's paid for," Alhaitham starts to rummage around the bag, his wings fluttering from giddiness as he checks the contents.
Dottore's wings twitch, so his servant's name is Alexei? "Would you believe me if I say those are gifts from my coworkers?"
"Your coworkers knows you well then," Alhaitham remarks, causing Dottore to bark a laugh that soon gets choked when Alhaitham pulls something out from the bag.
"There's a note attached to it," Alhaitham comments, " 'Nipple clamps. Since you're a sadist then I'm sure that you'll find this interesting.' " he reads aloud.
Alhaitham's eyes glint, "Well, Doctor, since your coworkers have been so considerate, how about we give it a try?"
Alhaitham sends a glance at Dottore's chair but he's gone.
Dottore walks past his underground lab and straight to the mortuary. His wings slightly shudder from the cold temperature of the room but he shrugs it off in order to inspect the condition of his segments' body parts.
The Dendro Archon had ordered to destroy his segments, and so he did. She never specifically told him how he would destroy them.
The Segments are perfected divine puppets planted with his consciousness from different stages of his life. He had destroyed the core which binds his consciousness to the bodies. Essentially, the Segments were destroyed, and The Dendro Archon knows that he can always rebuild them.
It certainly will take a lot of time and resources to rebuild everything from scratch but since his servant was being useful, he can simply replants his consciousness after tuning the bodies.
Now, the priority is obviously Omega Build since his job is to supervise a lot of important matters and Pantalone requested that he rebuild him as soon as possible. So he's going to rebuild Sigma Build first.
Any information that has entered the brain can not be erased. It can be forgotten but it never goes missing.
Dottore isn't going to rebuild Sigma Build first not because of the state of the consciousnesses. It's because Sigma Build has the physical body of an 18 year old, some parts of his body deteriorate sooner than other segments'. So it's wise that he rebuilds his segments from the youngest.
It's coincidental that Dottore needs to make sure that Sigma Build's last words have nothing to do with Alhaitham.
Notes:
So I got Yanqing instead.
Chapter 8
Notes:
Hello, my readers.
As you can see I'm still alive. I'm sorry if my note from the last chapter causes you worry but I'm fine, now.I'm not going to have a hiatus and will continue to upload as scheduled. Rest assured, though. I'm taking care of myself well. As I said, I'm on term break and writing this fic is some kind of brain exercise for me to keep my vocabularies firm.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Alhaitham has spent the majority of his time in the master bedroom ever since he arrived. Since Dottore has been too busy to bother him since yesterday, perhaps it's time for him to broaden the range of his ability.
There's a library at The Residence. It's located in a separate building from the main house. The building can be seen from the observatorium and Alhaitham saw it when he was comparing the stars seen from Snezhnaya to what he remembers seeing in Sumeru.
Alhaitham takes a deep breath and his eyes flutter from the familiar scent when he steps into the library, his wings subconsciously sag. The shelves are arranged to circle the room, leaving the middle of the room an open area with a single circular couch and a lot of pillows. Alhaitham immediately steps closer to the closest shelf.
Alhaitham hums random Avian noises as he browses through the titles.
It seems that there's no obvious way in which the books are systemized.
Alhaitham finds himself already standing at the other end of the shelf so he lightly flaps his wings to float back to the beginning of the shelf.
Perhaps the books are arranged alphabetically in Snezhnayan. Perhaps they're arranged in colors. Perhaps they're arranged according to their heights. Perhaps they're arranged according to the contents. Perhaps they're simply put together in a haste as long as they're not scattered all over the place.
Alhaitham stops in front of a well used biology book full of wrinkles.
Oh, interesting. Unlike the books in the master bedroom, it seems that the books here were used.
Alhaitham's curiosity is piqued, but reading a biology book at his current level of understanding in Snezhnayan won't really fruit anything. So since he will be working as a diplomat soon, he takes a book about the political structure in Snezhnaya.
With the book in hand, Alhaitham lightly flaps his wings and glides toward the cushion.
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows at the couch full of pillows. He wasn't so sure before but now seeing it closely, it definitely resembles a nest. Alhaitham circles the couch in silent ponder before warily lowering his body to sit on it.
The cushion slowly gives away under Alhaitham's weight. Alhaitham waits with trepidation for the moment he can finally rearrange his body to sit more comfortably, but the cushion continues to give away. It continues until Alhaitham's sitting form can no longer be called sitting. It's very comfortable, but also very awkward. He can't sit dignifiedly on this kind of couch.
Alhaitham flaps his wings and wiggles around to better his position. It's no use.
Oh well.
Alhaitham takes off the boots his mate gave him and brings his feet onto the couch.
Frankly, Alexei wants nothing to do with His Lordship's experiments. But since His Lordship has gone to the mortuary and spent quite a long time in the underground lab, Alexei can infer that perhaps His Lordship will revive his segments. Alexei has no idea which segment His Lordship will revive first. Perhaps all of them at the same time but since His Ladyship is present, Alexei thinks that His Lordship will revive them one by one so as to not overwhelm His Ladyship. But Alexei hopes that it will be the Omega Build first.
Alexei will admit that he has a favorite.
All segments are all terrible, don't get him wrong, but Omega Build is the most reasonable and prior to this Omega Build was in charge of The Residence's finance. It will do good if someone immediately manages it back. The Lady of the house normally should be the one in charge, but perhaps His Lordship doesn't trust him that much.
Alexei opens the door to Sigma Build's private library, dragging along some cleaning instruments with him, and freezes.
Speaks of the devil.
…
His Ladyship doesn't seem to have noticed his presence, it will be fine if Alexei goes back later like nothing has happened right?
Alhaitham slightly squints at his reading material, "Alexei, can you fetch me some newspapers or anything similar?" he says in Snezhnayan and frowns when he makes slight mispronunciation.
Alexei is surprised to say the least, should he respond with Snezhnayan or common tongue? "Right away, My Lady."
Alhaitham's eyebrows furrow in thought as he ponders the way Alexei pronounced his phonations.
"Here they are, My Lady," Alexei places down stacks of magazines and newspapers, "His Lordship doesn't read newspapers or things alike but Lord Pantalone always makes sure that our Residence is sent one."
Alhaitham puts away his book and starts to browse through them, "Thank you."
Alexei takes that as his cue. He respectfully bows before returning to his cleaning instruments and starts cleaning as quietly as possible. His Ladyship might seem humane, but he's still married to His Lordship. Alexei won't bet his life and disturb His Ladyship's peace during his research.
It felt like jumping through time.
Sigma Build keels over and starts to cough phosphoric liquid all over the floor. As he continues to wheeze and cough, he slowly recognizes the floor beneath him and then the biting air.
Sigma Build is still coughing, but the corner of his lips slightly quirks up. Oh, he knew Prime would rebuild The Segments again.
Sigma Build finally takes a deep breath to steady his breathing.
It felt like a dream, he daresay. But if it was a dream, he wouldn't remember everything that happened before so vividly. That 'death' was like jumping through time. Just like when spending time deluding over reality and then suddenly the time has passed.
Sigma Build licks his lips and grimaces when he tastes bitter bile.
Whatever. Prime will regret his foolish decision.
Sigma Build begins to cackle.
"It's great that you seem happy to be present in this plane again," Prime Dottore who has been silently observing ever since Sigma Build started breathing again suddenly comments.
Sigma Build squawks loudly in surprise. His wings flinch, flicking liquid akin to what he just coughed up all over the place. A few droplets of it fall on Prime's coat. It doesn't matter if Sigma Build is out for revenge, he still subconsciously cowers slightly to the floor when Prime glances down at his dirtied coat.
Prime merely sniffs unbothered, he throws a set of clothes towards Sigma Build, "Everything is working perfectly. I'm sure you can take care of yourself now. Go dress up, you have to get acquainted with someone."
Sigma Build starts to button his clothes but he glances at Prime to search for information through his expression. But Prime is looking back at him with a grim expression. Sigma Build flinches and immediately casts his head down.
Prime silently approaches Sigma Build and squats down in front of the cowering Sigma Build, his wings ominously spread behind him to indicates how grave his mood is, "You seem to be a little curious, so I'll tell you this," Prime says in a low voice, "you are going to get acquainted with Alhaitham," Sigma Build's wings slightly perk up but he still keeps his head down as he nimbly buttons his clothes, "be nice with him, won't you?"
Sigma Build, with his head still looking down, starts to wear his pants in panic.
"Won't you?" Prime repeats which causes Sigma Build to flinch.
"Yes, Prime," Sigma Build says, voice trembling and void of emotions.
"Good," Prime grabs Sigma Build's jaw and forces him to make eye contact with him, "we are a being of superior intelligence," he whispers, "be angry if you want since you're from the stage of life where emotions are still unstable… but if you let that anger mess with our mate, then I will have to disassemble your body," then Prime lets Sigma Build's jaw go.
Sigma Build has done dressing up, what is left is to wear his mask to cover his scarred face, "Why let me see him then? We both know the possibility that I'll get revenge is high, so why let me see him in the first place?" Sigma Build braves himself to look up.
Prime scoffs as he stands up and wears his mask, "I was debated that the peaceful nature of the Segments' cooperation is being kept due to the fact that each of us has equal authority to access what other segments have," Prime folds his wings neatly behind him and starts to walk towards the exit, "surely you won't change your mind now," he stops to glance back from above his shoulder, "oh, and he's currently in your private archive."
Prime closes the door behind him, completely missing the way Sigma Build's wings are perking up in curiosity.
With Prime gone, Sigma Build immediately jumps to stand up and dust his clothes. He carefully puts his mask on, slightly grumbling when it presses the trail of plumage on his forehead down and uncomfortably clings to the back of his ears. But it's on now so it's fine.
Sigma Build stretches his wings, grimacing in disgust when his matted from fluid feathers pull his skin. Damn, he should have at least taken a shower first. Oh, well…
Sigma Build shrugs and ties his bowtie and starts to walk towards the exit.
Sigma Build's lips pucker in thoughts.
Meeting Alhaitham, huh? Hm… does he need to bring a flower? Or will shinies suffice?
Sigma Build stops once he reaches the ground level. He looks outside through the window while tapping his chin.
But Alhaitham is his mate and he can infer from Omega Build's romance books that bringing flowers and whatnot is something lovers do. Being mated is more than being lovers. He needs to bring something more, especially since it's their first meeting. Alhaitham sounded fun from Omega Build's memory. Sigma Build wants to get close to him.
Sigma Build puffs his chest and wings as he smugly looks outside. His proud demeanor immediately wilts.
Damn, this place looks deader than he remembered. How is he supposed to find anything worth giving?
Sigma Build's wings twitch up and he begins to cackle.
Oh, he has an idea!
"Oh, the political state of Snezhnaya is messier than I expected. I thought since The Tsaritsa is the supreme ruler, there won't be any room for something like power struggle or any kind of rebellion," Alhaitham comments, he is half sitting-half lying down on the couch, completely accepting his fate and forgetting about being graceful.
Alexei bursts out laughing as he dusts the books, "That's quite the blunt comment, My Lady. Please don't speak so carelessly like that in the future, especially in that terrible Snezhnayan of yours. But yes, many foreigners would assume that, while in truth we do have that kind of power struggle. Perhaps it's simply human nature to vie for power. While the position in the Supreme Court can't be said to be the same as that of The Tsaritsa and the Harbingers, it still holds a lot of power towards the common people."
Alhaitham hums, "You're correct," he flips the newspaper to a new section, "though I must say, the newspaper is revealing much more information than I expected."
Alexei is done dusting the books and has started to mop the shelves, he glances at what His Ladyship is reading, "Perhaps that's because My Lady is reading the paper from Snezhnayan's own paper. The Steambird won't have the authority to delve information deeper since their wares are sold across nations. Her Majesty, The Tsaritsa, is generally more open about such matters. I believe it's because Her Majesty leaves the problems of his citizens to the hands of his citizens."
Alhaitham makes a sound of acknowledgment, "That's a very different way of ruling. But leaving the matters freely to the common people who might not have the knowledge to do the right thing is like asking for chaos."
Alexei is about to answer. It has been a long time since he has the opportunity to talk to someone sane and critical like His Ladyship. Unfortunately, a voice joins their conversation.
"Now, the common people of Snezhnaya aren't that stupid. Well, they're stupid. But the difference won't be too far from the common people of Sumeru. You're just a little bit spoiled for always being surrounded by intelligent people," Sigma Build loudly comments as he slams the door open.
Alhaitham observes the Avian rudely coming in, while still sitting disgracefully on the couch.
The mask with Fatui logo at least confirms that the Avian is associated with the Fatui. That light blue hair and black corvid wings… Doctor? He wears a different style of outfits and seems to be shorter than Alhaitham. Perhaps, the younger segment.
Alhaitham subconsciously tilts his head and his wings slightly spread in curiosity.
The masked youth who has his arms behind him grins widely, the mask covers half of his mouth but the uncovered side showcases his razor sharp teeth that's far wilder than Doctor's teeth. He then abruptly runs towards Alhaitham, falling on his knees and skids to a stop in front of the couch. The youth's grin becomes impossibly wider when he makes eye contact with Alhaitham whose eyes are wide in surprise.
Sigma Build stretches his arms forward, proudly presenting the present he had hidden behind his back, "For you…," he sings-songs, "Prime said that I need to get acquainted with you and I know that you're my mate. So I bring you this!"
Alhaitham stares at the fresh heart still dripping blood to the floor then at the very smug looking youth, "Why are you giving that to me?"
Sigma Build nonchalantly shrugs but his wings are drooping, "I'm giving you a heart. It means 'love', right?"
Alhaitham places his newspaper down and crosses his arms, "Oh, and whose heart was that?"
Sigma Build blinks, "Uh, someone…," then he starts to scowl, "you don't like it."
Alhaitham lightly nods, "You're correct."
Sigma Build's shoulders and wings sag down in disappointment, "I thought so to be honest," then he throws the heart at Alexei, who despite being startled catches it perfectly, and wipes his bloody hands on the carpet, "Alexei, throw that somewhere!"
Alexei immediately does as ordered and walks as fast yet as composedly as possible towards the door when he sees from the corner of his eyes that His Lordship the Sigma Build has jumped on the couch and pins down His Ladyship.
The door clicks shut and the room falls silent with only Alhaitham and Sigma Build silently staring into each other's eyes.
"What do you want to do now?" Alhaitham finally asks when the silence has stretched for far too long, "I thought 'Prime' told you to get acquainted with me."
Sigma Build continues to stare at Alhaitham for a moment before he grins, "Yep," he cheerfully caws, "and I figured since you don't like the gift I prepared then I can just stuff you with my dick. I've seen from Omega Build and Prime's perspective before how much you like our dicks."
Alhaitham's eyes glint with amusement and he gets up and pins Sigma Build down, switching their positions far too easily that Sigma Build squawks, "You look and act like a chick. How old are you to be speaking of sexual intercourse so casually?" Alhaitham amusedly inquires.
Sigma Build's jaws go slack, then he starts to caw and struggle in indignation, "Old enough, duh!"
Alhaitham snorts, "Oh, really? How old exactly?"
Sigma Build caws angrily at Alhaitham's tone, "18!" he screams, "I'm 18, so stop making fun of me. My dick is big!"
Alhaitham's shoulders tremble as he leans back and snickers, "Alright. Suppose that I believe you, don't you think that you should introduce yourself first? Or do I need to call everyone 'Doctor'?"
Sigma Build sits up in a criss cross with face contorted in a grimace, "No," his wings flick behind him, "well, actually yes. The segments all have doctorates, but that's not a name."
Alhaitham leans back on his arms, "Well, how should I refer to any of you then?"
Sigma Build stares at the way Alhaitham's shirt is riding up to show his belly button before he snaps from his thoughts with a grin, "Oh, you meant a nickname?" his wings excitedly flare behind him.
Alhaitham amusedly tilts his head, "Well, you can say that but I want to know how you refer to other segments first."
Sigma Build sways his body forward and backward, "Well, the one who has accompanied you before is called 'Prime' but it seems you call him Doctor these days," then he stops swaying to grandly places his palm on his chest with his wings spread wide behind him, "but I am Sigma Build, the youngest segment of The Doctor and you may call me Zazan."
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows, "And why that name specifically?"
Sigma Build crosses his arms with a smug smile, "Oh, I just want to hear you call me that."
Alhaitham also crosses his arms, "And what will you do if I don't call you that?"
Sigma Build's smug smile morphs into a scowl, "You will. Otherwise why would you ask how you should refer to me."
Alhaitham scoots to the edge of the couch and stands up, "Fair enough."
"Where are you going? I thought we were going to have sex," Zazan asks.
Alhaitham snorts as he bends down to search for more books, "I have to start working soon. I have a lot of things to study to adapt well," Alhaitham takes a book about Snezhnayan's relationships with other nations and sits back down on the couch, "besides I'm not going to have sex with a minor."
Zazan's wings bristle in anger, "I'm not a minor," he yells.
Alhaitham calmly opens the book to the first page but the corner of his lips is lifted, "Do you have any experience then?"
Zazan's anger is immediately dampened, "Uh, no…" he mutters, "but I bring lubricant," he immediately says as he takes out a vial of viscous liquid.
Alhaitham continues to read his book, "Then I must say that I don't have the time to have sex with an inexperienced virgin."
Zazan screeches an enraged caw before zipping his pants down.
Oh, he's going to show him.
Notes:
I got Wanderer. Renamed him to 'Adopted' since he came home at 85 pity.
Chapter 9
Notes:
I cringed a lot writing this chapter.
Chapter Text
Alexei curses his luck.
He actually prefers to curse His Lordship but he still has some sense of self-preservation.
Alexei carefully pushes the trolley of food towards Sigma Build segment's private archive. He will have to cross the yard fast so that the food won't get cold. To be perfectly honest, the servants of The Residence are no longer adept at preparing a presentable meal. His Lordship doesn't need meals and generally doesn't have any guests, the presence of His Ladyship has changed the routines, so Alexei has spent so much time and effort to prepare this meal. It would be a shame if it's ruined by nature before His Ladyship has the chance to get a taste.
Alexei stops in front of the door to the archive. He knows he shouldn't hesitate to come in but the archive is very quiet. It's so quiet it's suspicious. His Lordship the Sigma Build is generally very noisy since he likes to talk to himself, and His Lordship the Prime likes to make His Ladyship very noisy these past few days. The silence is so jarring that it's uncanny.
Have they left the archive? Or are they still inside? But surely if they're so quiet inside then it means that they're most likely having a very serious discussion right now… should Alexei bother them?
… Alexei quite likes His Ladyship. He is a good talking partner and most likely the kindest person he has met in years, working for a Harbinger isn't a line of work with kind people, but Alexei has been in life-threatening situations far more than the years he has worked for The Doctor ever since His Ladyship stepped into The Residence.
Well. The meal is losing warmth fast and Alexei would rather have to gamble his life rather than needing to redo the whole meal, ordering the maids to prepare the ingredients is far more vexing than needing to wash the carpet off blood.
Alexei takes a deep breath as he raises his knuckle, betting his life on His Ladyship's tendency to be very reasonable, and politely knocks on the door twice.
Silence.
But Alexei knows His Lordships like to ignore his surroundings during an experiment and just because no one is answering his knocks, doesn't mean that no one is inside, "Excuse me, My Lord. This is Alexei. It's already time for lunch and I am here to deliver the meals."
Zazan pokes the reading Alhaitham's cheek, "Hey, he's bringing food. Are you hungry?"
Alhaitham who's sitting on Zazan's lap looks up from his book and relaxes back to lean on Zazan, "Oh, so I get my meals delivered to me? How convenient."
Zazan whose face is squished under Alhaitham's wings starts to laugh in pride, "Oh, it's far more convenient," Zazan caresses Alhaitham's side and thrusts up into Alhaitham's ass, "didn't Omega Build tell you that you will live the rest of your life without needing to lift a finger here?"
Alhaitham hums in pleasure and leans forward to escape from Zazan's wandering hands but Zazan immediately grabs his hips and pulls him, impaling Alhaitham back to his hard dick and causing Alhaitham to softly chirp, "Don't go away now," Zazan reaches for the pillows and places them to cover their connected body parts, "Alexei won't notice a thing," he caresses Alhaitham's slightly flushed cheek, "you are doing good so far and still looking as pretty as before. If you tidy yourself up first, you are going to make him wait outside for too long and the food will get cold but most of all, I'm not letting you leave my boner for the world to see."
Alhaitham huffs an amused breath and looks down to judge how much the pillows are covering their body parts.
Alhaitham almost snorts at the pathetic excuse of a cover. The pillows can barely cover his taboo parts, not to mention Zazan's bare legs. The bulge in his stomach is very obvious to add.
Alhaitham looks around to search for something that will work better as a cover. His eyes land on his fur coat on the floor next to their discarded pants.
The food is no longer hot, but at least it's still warm enough to be served.
Alexei clearly heard noises coming from the archive but there has yet to be any confirmation to let him in. Should he knock again?
Alexei was about to knock again but His Ladyship's voice stopped him, "Come in."
Alexei swiftly checks the appearance of the trolley before opening the door and pushing it in.
Alexei finds that His Ladyship is still sitting on the couch and leaning back on his arm as his other hand holds a book for him to read, lower body covered by his fur coat and His Lordship the Sigma Build is nowhere to be seen, "Pardon my inquiry, My Lady, but where has His Lordship gone to?" Alexei asks as he stops the trolley in front of His Ladyship and starts to uncover the food.
"Here!" Zazan cheerfully chimes in with his hand raised above Alhaitham's shoulder, causing Alexei to jump from the surprise and almost knocking the utensils off the trolley.
Alexei wants to jump away, not liking the fact that he is far too close to His Lordship, "My Lord," Alexei greets in a slightly trembling voice, "my apologies for not noticing you sooner. May I ask why you are there?"
Zazan's cackles sounds like crowing noises as he kneads Alhaitham's sides, "Doing stuff."
Alexei freezes for a slight second before hastening in arranging the trolley. That answer sounds like an innuendo.
Alhaitham sighs and flexes his wings, stuffing Zazan's face with his feather and effectively shutting him up, "Please don't mind him."
Alexei's lips tighten into a polite smile but his eyes are still strained on the trolley, "Understood," Alexei doesn't want to accidentally see something that hints on something .
Alexei is done rearranging the trolley, "Please, enjoy your meal, My Lady."
His Lordship the Sigma Build's grinning face pops up from above His Ladyship's shoulder, "Oooooooh, he's going to enjoy his meal alright," His Lordship purrs as he rubs His Ladyship's abdomen.
Alexei resolutely looks at the trolley and Zazan caws mirthfully.
Alhaitham pinches the bridge of his nose, "You may leave, Alexei."
Alexei is so grateful for His Ladyship. He bows and immediately runs from the archive, not forgetting to close the door behind him.
Zazan laughs hysterically before hugging Alhaitham's torso and starts humping up.
Alhaitham grunts when Zazan's dick brushes his prostate. But he grabs the hands hugging his torso and pries them off before standing up.
Zazan hisses and dramatically moans in pain when his cock meets the cold air, "Hey! Why are you leaving me?" he complains.
Alhaitham, with his lower body naked and slick from lubricant, points at the trolley, "The food is getting cold."
Zazan caws angrily, "You think food is more important? Oh, come on. I want to cum inside. What if you throw up when I rearrange your guts?"
Alhaitham slightly bends down to investigate the food, teasing Zazan with the sight of his winking flushed hole, "In that case I'll suck you off later."
Zazan's wings bristle, "I said I want to cum inside!"
Alhaitham takes a spoon to sample the food and hums around the spoon at the taste, "Down my throat is still inside."
"You- ugh," Zazan growls in anger before taking a pillow and throwing it at the trolley, causing it to fall down and scattering the food on it.
Zazan puffs his chest and wings in pride as he crosses his arms, "Well, now you can't eat," he smugly caws, "Oh, unless of course you want to eat them off the floor like a dog," noticing how Alhaitham is silently staring down at the food with his wings drooping, Zazan purrs with a wide grin, "a bitch."
Zazan is hoping to get any reactions out of it but Alhaitham simply stands unmoving, still fixated on the fallen food. Alhaitham continues to stand in silence for so long, so long that for some reason Zazan feels like he is slowly getting suffocated by the tension. The feathers of Alhaitham's wings even start to bristle.
Zazan awkwardly barks a laugh and he starts to jerk his still hard cock, "Well, luckily for you I have something that can fill your stomach until it's time for dinner," Zazan ignores the way Alhaitham's wings are twitching sends a cold shiver down his spine, "I hope you like cream."
Alhaitham flicks his wings once before neatly folding them and turning around to face Zazan who's currently teasing the glans of his cock, "Zazan-" Alhaitham calls out causing Zazan to burst out laughing.
Zazan continues to laugh as he harshly pumps his dick, pulling the skin of it and slathering it with precum that oozes from its tip, "Pfft, you actually call me thahat."
Alhaitham, who is somehow already in front of the couch, pushes Zazan to the couch and pins him down by the neck.
Zazan squawks in surprise and his nails subconsciously elongate to attack Alhaitham.
Alhaitham swiftly removes his hand from Zazan's neck and easily catches both of Zazan's hands before pinning them above Zazan's head. Alhaitham pins them with one hand while his other hand unties Zazan's bowtie and uses it to tie them together.
Alhaitham leans back and tilts his head to coldly observe his prey.
Zazan's eyes are wide from behind his mask as he looks at Alhaitham, flabbergasted. Then his lips contort into a snarl and he starts to kick around.
Alhaitham's eyebrows furrow in annoyance and he easily catches both of Zazan's calves and subdue him.
Helpless, Zazan can only glare at Alhaitham, "Unhand me, whore."
Alhaitham raises his eyebrow and silently pins Zazan's calves forward, bending him in half and causing him to squawk in pain, "Hey! I'm not as flexible as you!"
Alhaitham hums and crawls up the couch. He lifts Zazan's lower body by the calves and nudges a pillow under his hips. Alhaitham, still restraining Zazan's calves, then sits on top of Zazan's thighs, their erect dicks close to each other.
Zazan grunts as Alhaitham's weight further folds his body, "That's a shame," Alhaitham drawls in a low voice as he reaches for Zazan's cock, "stretching is good for your joints."
Zazan flinches violently under Alhaitham weight when Alhaitham peels back the skin of his cock and uses his nail to tease his oozing tip, "What are you doing?" he pants breathlessly.
Alhaitham spreads his wings, casting a shadow over Zazan, and a chill goes down Zazan's spine when their eyes meet, "Sampling my meal," Alhaitham licks his slicked from Zazan's precum nail and sucks on the finger before humming, "It appears that my meal is still young."
It takes some time before the words register but when it does, Zazan starts to struggle violently, the nerve, "Meal? YOUNG? How dare you! Do you know who I am?"
Alhaitham easily subdued Zazan back down by pressing more of his weight on Zazan's thighs, "Ah, it seems that my meal is quite an arrogant brat," Alhaitham brings Zazan's calf to his lips and gives it a long slow lick, flashing his prey the glint of his canine, "Not exactly my choice of meal but it will do," Alhaitham purrs as he darkly smirks at the prey beneath him.
[Now you fucked up,] Prime suddenly comments from the link, snapping Sigma Build from his daze.
[Prime, what?] Sigma Build asks to the link in panic.
It's rare for Prime to curse and he's in a very scary territory. Unfortunately, the link falls silent as abruptly as it turned on.
Zazan flinches back to the present from the painful sting on his calf. He looks to search for the cause of the pain and his breath hitches.
Alhaitham's eyes are closed as he slowly licks over the broken skin, painting his lips deep red and it's such a nice contrast that Zazan's cock starts to leak.
Alhaitham's eyes flutter open and their eyes meet. Zazan unconsciously lets out a soft awed caw causing Alhaitham's eyes to glitter with amusement.
Zazan's eyes shine in return, his wings flapping excitedly beneath him and his cock twitches, "You're beautiful," he blurts out.
Alhaitham blinks, taken aback, "... Why the sudden change of mood?" he hesitantly asks.
Zazan tilts his head, as if by doing so he can get a new perspective, staring unblinkingly at Alhaitham with shine in his eyes, "Because you're beautiful," Zazan's bounded hands stretch towards Alhaitham and fall back down as he can't reach him due to his position, he dejectedly whines a caw, "so so beautiful."
Alhaitham confusedly stares at the youth beneath him. Then he rolls his eyes, his mate and his mood swings.
Alhaitham's hand reaches for Zazan's cock before starting to jerk it off, he hums when he finds out that the precum is enough to slick the entirety of the cock. Zazan dazedly whines as his cock twitches a lot in Alhaitham's hold, as if he's about to cum.
Alhaitham lets go of Zazan's dick, ignoring his whine, and licks his palm, he hums as he continues to sensually lick his palm clean, "Indeed, you're still young," Alhaitham purrs as his dark from lust eyes observe his prey, "I have a feeling that you have a lot of seed stored up," Alhaitham sucks on three of his fingers and gives Zazan a half lidded stares, "I wanto thasit in my mouth," he pulls his fingers off, creating strings of saliva, "oh, but what should I do? You want to cum inside, right?"
Zazan caws excitedly, "Yes yes, I want to," then he caws even more excitedly that he sounds like barking, "oooh, you're getting even prettierrr."
Alhaitham bites his lower lip to hold back his amusement, "You do? Would you beg for it then?"
"Please, pleaseeeee. I beg you. Please let me fuck into your hole and fill you full of my cum," Zazan straight up yells that to Alhaitham's face, "please, I want to see your face scrunch up in pleasure and get even prettierrrr."
Alhaitham huffs a laugh and positions himself better on Zazan's thighs before aligning his hole to Zazan's cock, "Very well," he purrs a soft squeal as the dick slides in very easily.
Zazan's eyes tightly shut close from the velvety feeling of Alhaitham's hole. Then he lays unmoving, as if he's passed out. Alhaitham watches in curiosity as red starts to crawl up Zazan's neck and to his face and ears.
Zazan still has his eyes scrunched shut, "Unhand me," he hisses out with lips trembling from shame.
Alhaitham's eye twitches from nerves, at least the mood swing from this segment of his mate is sort of amusing.
Alhaitham spreads his legs to gain better position for movements, "I don't think I will," Alhaitham holds onto Zazan's calves and starts bouncing.
Zazan's face scrunches from anger and pleasure under his mask, his eyes finally open a fraction to send Alhaitham a glare, "Why won't you?" he spits out through clenched teeth, adamant on not letting out any sound of pleasure.
Oh, but Zazan is but a virgin and Alhaitham is a first grade whore.
The corners of Alhaitham's mouth quirk up in a sadistic smirk and Alhaitham tightens his hole and gives a slight roll of his hip to his bounces.
Zazan is helpless against the squeaky caw that slips past his gritted teeth. The sound excites Alhaitham enough for his wings to flutter and with giddiness, Alhaitham hugs Zazan's calves together and bounces harder. After that, it seems like Zazan is no longer able to even try holding back his voice. He squeaks out loud every time Alhaitham bottoms on his cock and his eyes gradually lose their intelligent shine, even starting to get misted.
Alhaitham huffs an amused laugh at the adorable sight beneath him, "Hey, Zazan," he softly calls out, voice almost unhearable among the harsh clapping sounds he creates but Zazan still hears him.
Zazan's eyes slowly center on Alhaitham, tears clinging to his eyelashes, "Ww-what…?" he asks with great effort and a fragile voice.
Alhaitham's cock twitches, "Do you like our position?"
A strangled caw slips past Zazan's lips when Alhaitham's hand reaches back to lightly massage his balls. Zazan blinks the tears from his eyes and sucks in a shaky breath before starting to assess their position.
Zazan pulls on his bounded hands as he looks up from between his legs to the beautiful Avian bouncing on his cock, "No," he grunts when Alhaitham puts all his weight on him, further folding his body, "Can this even be called a position?" Zazan squawks when Alhaitham slightly pulls on his balls, his legs flex and tremble.
Alhaitham lets go of Zazan's balls, "Why, of course," Alhaitham buries Zazan's dick deep inside him and stops for a moment to savor the way it's twitching inside him, "do you remember the position I was put through where I had my body folded in half and whichever one of you mounted me for many rounds?" Alhaitham assumes an agonizingly slow pace, "Zazan, my darling sweetheart, that position is called a mating press and this position," Alhaitham emphasizes his words by slamming down hard, "is called a reverse mating press."
Alhaitham barely gives Zazan time to process the information before adopting a fast pace.
Zazan's eyes roll up and he uncontrollably caws every time Alhaitham's body slams down, "Wa-hait! Whait! I don like this posithion, I want to fuck intho you!"
How adorable, Alhaitham's lips twitch into a grin, "I know, but Zazan, are you aware of how much your cock is twitching inside me? Or how much your legs are trembling? I severely doubt that you'll be able to take the lead."
Zazan lets out a loud whiny caw, "Phleaseee, I whant to take the lead."
Alhaitham huffs a laugh and instead takes a faster pace as he himself is close, "But I don't want to stop now. I'm really hungry and I want to get that cream now. What should I do then?"
Zazan clenches the sheet above his head, he's very close to the edge, "Shurely you won't refhuse more than wan serving."
"Oh?" Alhaitham half moans-half mocks and starts to aim at his prostate, "you're being very generous. Are you sure you will be able to? First time is usually very intense."
"Yhesss!" Zazan yells out with lolled tongue, "Yhes, I will be able to. Phlease, phlease let me."
"Alright," Alhaitham brings Zazan's calf to his mouth, "You should cum first, though," then he bites down and starts to lick the sweet liquid iron.
Zazan screams from the pain from both the bite and his climax. He violently squirms and his legs are trembling as they kick the air. Drops of tear slide down the side of his face as his eyes roll up.
Alhaitham serenely licks the wound he made with his eyes closed. He purrs and his eyelashes flutter at the feeling of hot cum shooting inside. Alhaitham buries the cumming dick deeper and lets out a low moan. As expected, the cum is very… creamy.
Alhaitham is hesitant to stand up and let the cum flow out, but he hasn't cum yet so he slowly slides off of the dick and scoots back. Without anyone supporting them, Zazan's legs fall down.
Alhaitham watches in amusement at the sight of Zazan splaying deliriously with his dick still towering rock hard. Sometimes he wonders how his mate's dick stays hard even if he is unconscious. But that's not important right now.
Alhaitham crawls up Zazan's body to untie his hands but finds out that the bowtie has long been ripped.
Alhaitham breaths a laugh and trails butterfly kisses along Zazan's forehead, "Hey… are you still awake? Do you still want to fuck my hole?"
Zazan's eyes slowly focus on Alhaitham's face but he can only stare at Alhaitham and catch his breath.
Alhaitham pinches Zazan's cheek before turning around and laying stomach down, presenting his hole which oozes white creamy substance to Zazan.
Alhaitham can feel Zazan's eyes on him, he lets out a soft calling wail, "Zazan… my mate… my husband…" Alhaitham gently shakes his hip in invitation and he can hear Zazan sucks in a breath, "come here…."
Alhaitham's wings are spread in such a way that Zazan can only see Alhaitham's raised behind. Which is good because Alhaitham's whole face is flushed from shame.
Alhaitham reaches for a pillow and buries his face on it.
That was embarrassing. Alhaitham figured that since Zazan is still a juvenile, perhaps he can encourage him through juvenile seduction. Judging by how there's now a trembling hand on his ass and a dick kissing his rim, it can be said that he succeeds.
Alhaitham moans to the pillow when he can feel Zazan thrusts in, shoving some of the cum back inside.
But, Archons, it was still shameful.
Alhaitham made sure Zazan fulfilled his words. He doesn't mind if he has to clean them both and carry the unconscious youth to the main building after that. What Alhaitham minds is the way Doctor is staring at him judgingly when he tucks in Zazan on their nest.
"What is it?" Alhaitham snaps, cheeks slightly flushed and wings ruffled, somehow he feels like he knows the reason for that stare.
Doctor continues to silently stare at Alhaitham before he turns around and takes out his Fatui fur coat from the cupboard.
Alhaitham lets out an indignant wail.
Doctor is still not saying anything as he wears his fur coat, but Alhaitham can see his shoulders trembling, "You know, the subconscious of every Segments are linked to each other, therefore if we so wished we could comprehend and even see the situation other Segments are in," Doctor wears his mask, covering half of his face but it's useless as his expression is clear as day when he turns around to look at Alhaitham, "Why did you never act like that when we mate?"
Doctor easily leans sideway to avoid getting hit by a pillow Alhaitham throws at him. His grin is wide as he lets out a silent laughter at Alhaitham's red face.
Alhaitham crosses his arms, grits his teeth, and resolutely looks everywhere except at Doctor, "Because it won't work and will be a useless act."
Doctor snorts and tilts his head, "Says who? It would at least amuse me."
Alhaitham scowls and brings his wings up to cocoon himself, covering his body from Doctor's gaze, "I am not into humiliation."
"That's a shame, it would be hilarious," Doctor says, voice sounding so close to him that Alhaitham tightens his wings around him.
Doctor laughs and caresses Alhaitham's wings, "Come on, open up. Let me see your face once more before I need to take my leave."
Alhaitham is very tempted to continue to sulk even if the act is very childish. But Doctor says he has to leave. So Alhaitham disgruntledly brought down his wings.
"There you are," Doctor coos once he is able to see Alhaitham's flushed face, he brings his thumb to gently caress Alhaitham's cheekbone, "I'll have to go to the Palace. I have a business with other Harbingers," Doctor leans in to rubs his jaw to Alhaitham's head, "Sigma Build will accompany you in the meantime."
Chapter 10
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Prime Dottore steps into the inner Palace, finally free from the snow and wind. He shakes his wings to rid of the snow clinging to his feathers, uncaring of where it lands.
"Hey, you should have done that outside. You're making more work for the servants," come the Abyss tainted brat's comment.
Dottore simply flicks his wings and walks towards his destination. He ignores that brat yelling his name in annoyance and rows of servants bowing on the side.
Childe tsks. He irritatedly flaps his wings a few times, causing some plumes to fall off, before running to catch up with Dottore.
Noticing how the brat is following him, Dottore's wings flick once in annoyance, "Why are you here? I have no business with you."
"Oh, come on," Childe runs a few more steps to walk beside The Doctor, "all of you keep pushing me off to each other as if I am a child needing a babysitter," Childe makes a face, "don't comment on that."
Dottore scoffs, "If you really find the need to be in the presence of another Harbinger, why don't you be with The Rooster?"
Childe subconsciously spreads his wings in vexation before quickly folding them back before they can hit any historical decorations then he groans, "Ugh, again with that," Childe exhales a loud exasperated breath, "Pulcinella said something along the line of me needing to start learning professional attitude. He said it will be good if I can observe the way other Harbingers are doing their job and then improve what I lack. But then you all refused and 'advised' that I go bother Capitano."
Dottore stops in front of the elevator to the underground area and presses a button to call for it, "Indeed," he sneers, "go bother Capitano."
The door opens and Dottore enters. Before Dottore could press the button to close the door, Childe quickly steps inside.
Childe triumphantly barks a laugh, "Which is exactly what I'm doing," he smugly rearranges his wings through the glass reflection on the elevator's walls, "I have heard that the reason for your visit this time is to meet with Sir Capitano since you need his help in reviving one of your 'segments'."
Dottore lets out a mocking laugh, "Why it seems that you finally have it in you to search for intels… alas it's not good enough since you must be unaware that Sandrone will also be present."
Oh, it's so hilarious the way Childe's smug behavior wilts in an instant.
Childe awkwardly looks down at his feet and hums, "Is it too late to stop the elevator?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. I want to get this done quickly and return to my own place where I can start to prepare my next move."
Childe immediately looks up with a snap of his fingers, "Oh, is it because of your mate? Well damn, can't blame you for that," Childe pauses slightly when he senses murderous intent before grinning, finally I found your button.
Childe throws his head back to drawl an annoying wail, "Your mate is such a hottie. Say, is he good in bed? Oh, I bet he is. With those strong legs he probably can ride your dick as if he's riding a horse."
Childe waits with a grin in excited anticipation for when The Doctor will lash out on him. But he doesn't. Instead Dottore simply disinterestedly flicks his wings and comes out of the elevator once the door opens.
Childe scowls in disappointment before he hastily follows Dottore.
"How are the investigations going, Arlecchino?" Columbina asks as she pours them both a cup of hot tea.
Arlecchino sighs as she massages the bridge of his nose before taking a long sip from the cup, "The explosion erased all traces and information from the rumor mills is downright useless."
"Sugar?" Columbina serenely offers to Arlecchino, who refuses with a wave, "Interesting. I heard that you've searched high and low for every information related to the rebels but it turns out you have not yet found any lead?"
Arlecchino scoffs, "I don't know where you hear that, but what I've done can barely be called 'searching high and low'."
Columbina stirs her tea before taking a sip herself, "Many would argue. Especially since you breached into many nobles' land to search for their trails. I'm sure the reason the Supreme Court hasn't said anything yet is because you have done your investigation in secret so far."
Arlecchino places his cup down, "Of course. That's precisely why I am collaborating with Pulcinella. Those pesky nobles are too stuck up on their high pedestal," then she places her elbow on the armchair and props her head on her knuckle, "if I don't get any information soon, I'm afraid that Her Majesty herself will personally ask me to stop. I have investigated the majority of the nobles and yet nothing has come up. One of the conclusions I've come to think of is that perhaps the rebel is coming from the common people."
Columbina hums, "But for common people to plan for everything so meticulously to the point where they leave not a single clue is highly unlikely, isn't it?"
Arlecchino pours herself another cup of tea, "Yes. Another conclusion of the most annoying possibility is that one of the Harbinger is a traitor."
Columbina raises her palm to cover her mouth as she lets out an oddly cheerful gasp, "Careful now, Arlecchino. The Harbingers' relationship is as strained as it is."
"I know," Arlecchino grunts, "but that conclusion is more likely," she slightly leans back toward the chair, "the trigger for the explosion is something I've never seen. There's no way the common people can manufacture it. I'll have to consult with Dottore," Arlecchino sips her tea to ease the crease on her forehead, "something like that trigger shouldn't be able to be produced in a small lab. Yet somehow I can't find any trace as to where it was manufactured. What the Doctor might have to say will be crucial to my investigation."
Columbina gently chuckles, "Are you trying to say that you need his help or that you're suspicious of him?"
Arlecchino scoffs, "Both."
"I see. What will be your next action then?"
Arlecchino adds a spoonful of honey to her tea and stirs it, her eyebrows furrow in thoughts, "For the time being I'll ask for the assistance of one of his Segments."
"Oh?" Columbina sounds genuinely surprised, "which segment may I ask?"
Arlecchino glances up at Columbina, "You'll know soon enough."
Childe stands awkwardly beside the Great Sir Capitano. His brown with white freckled wings twitch from nerves behind him. He starts to sway on his heel as the silence between them continues to stretch. Below them Childe can see Dottore and Sandrone are having a discussion as Dottore swiftly steps around the intricate cables snaking around the huge device storing a… corpse(?) of… Dottore?
Childe furrows his eyebrows in confusion and he's sure that his mouth is slightly gaping. He knows that Dottore is messed up, but can't he at least treat his segments better? What's with those scars? And is he low on budget or what, why is the corpse only has one eyeball?
Dottore turns on the device and the corpse starts to jolt inside. He and Sandrone watch as the deadly gray skin of the corpse starts to regain better complexion. Deeming how things are sufficient, Dottore twists his neck to the observation dais and waves Capitano to come down.
Capitano slightly nods before walking out without a word. Childe, being left alone, looks around to search for a better place. Finding none, he opts to catch up with Sir Capitano and follow him down.
Sandrone steps back to give them more room with a light smile on her face but Childe swears he can feel her glare on him.
Dottore swiftly presses the buttons on the control panel of the device, "Alpha Build should have the memory prior to his 'death' but just in case that he chooses to attack, subdue him," Dottore commands without looking back, "on a normal condition, I can do it myself but his vessel is too fragile to handle my attack as well as immune to any drug."
Dottore presses the last button and steps away, "Unlike the other segments, Alpha Build's vessel is more prone to withering since his cells work harder to get on par with his duties."
Childe has no idea what's going on but the room suddenly falls silent and even he can no longer feel Sandrone's glare. So although he has no clue what's going on, he dutifully also falls silent. The Doctor mentioned 'subdue' which means 'combat', perhaps he will have the chance to show his abilities to Sir Capitano.
The device continues to thrumm with energy and soon the corpse starts to move. It starts with a few twitching of its wings before something within its hole of an eye lights up dimly and the other eye flutters to peer into its surroundings.
The clouded eye briefly lands on the people surrounding it before it stops on Dottore, Alpha Build's lips slightly stretch into a grin, emphasizing the wound on its upper lip, "Prime," he croons with a scratchy voice, "I knew you would rebuild us again but I didn't expect that it would be this soon. What is it, can't live by yourself now?"
Prime tilts his head, "Quite an interesting reaction. I had expected that you would start attacking everything on sight to vent out your anger."
Alpha Build laughs, it sounds like the creaking of unoiled hinges and a dying crow, "Oh, I'm angry alright, but it's useless to vent out my anger at this moment and on you," he snaps his neck sideways and groans when the bones crackle loudly, "Keep in mind though, that unlike Sigma Build I don't fear to be disassembled," Alpha Build licks his front teeth to wet them, "it won't be the worse thing you had done to me."
Prime snorts, "And you told me all that despite knowing your condition. What will you do if I decide to shut you down for good?"
Alpha Build lolls his head to the side and looks down at Prime, "You won't," he purrs, "the duties you've delegated to me can only be done by me or yourself," Alpha Build moves around within his device to slightly moves his stiff muscles, "but you are way too accustomed with having us as the extension of your hands."
Prime hums, "Such calm consideration doesn't suit you. What are you scheming?"
Alpha Build bangs his head backward and barks a laugh, "I am also a Segment. What, did you think I am unable to think clearly due to the stage of my mind?" he purses his lips and hums, "well, don't you worry about it too much. I am simply deciding that letting out my anger on you is a waste of time and energy. I have another target in mind that surely will prove to be more… fruitful."
Prime rearranges his wings, "And what, or who, this target might be?"
Alpha Build tilts his head down to stare into Prime's eyes and flashes him a toothy grin, if he could, he would raise his wings, "He is in Snezhnaya, isn't he? …That whore."
Sleep feels like being buried under cottons. It's fluffy, warm, and slightly suffocating. Why is he asleep? Segments don't need to sleep. Wait, no, seriously, why is he asleep?
Zazan's eyes snap open and his hand immediately reaches to yank back the head bobbing and sucking on his climaxing cock.
Finding that the head won't budge no matter how hard he yanks it and instead becoming more insistent, Zazan screams, "Stop! STOP STOP, PLEASE STOP YOU'RE SUCKING MY SOUL OUT!" Zazan clamps his trembling legs around Alhaitham's head to stop him.
Zazan who's heaving to catch his breath makes eye contact with Alhaitham whose head is bottomed to his crotch, "What's wrong with you?" he wheezes.
Alhaitham blinks up at Zazan and suddenly there's a twinkle in his eyes.
Zazan's eyebrows furrow in deep confusion as Alhaitham's lips slowly quirk up.
Before Zazan can voice out his confusion, Alhaitham hums deep in his throat. Zazan screeches a long pained caw as he throws his head back and cums again.
Too much. It's too much. Zazan's legs grow slack as his whole body twitches and convulses.
The feeling of Alhaitham's gulping throat massaging his cock while his tongue is lapping at the underside of his cock coupled with the hard sucking is definitely too much.
Zazan lets out a long moan as his cock continues to splurt come down Alhaitham's throat and his legs unconsciously stretch out. Zazan's hands are clenching on Alhaitham's hair for support when Alhaitham starts to massage his balls as if to make sure that he lets it all out.
Didn't Prime experience this for hours before?
Finally the agonizing round of climaxing stops and with one last gulp, Alhaitham lets go of Zazan's cock with a 'pop'.
Sensing that his dick is free from the wicked mouth, Zazan immediately scrambles backward as far as he can from Alhaitham. He lets out a squawk when he falls off the edge of the bed.
"Incredible," Alhaitham wistfully murmurs as he licks his upper lips and starts to wipe the stray drops of cum with his thumb into his mouth, "very thick. Didn't expect it, especially after yesterday's performance. Is it because you're young?" he lustfully sucks on his fingers, "I thought that only your personality and thoughts are from a younger age. I assumed that your body would be the same age as your subconscious but your dick is the same size as Doctor's. On the other hand, you also seem to be as fertile as juvenile Avians."
Zazan grabs the bedsheet as he hauls himself up to glare at Alhaitham from the edge of the bed, "You barbaric sex fiend," he hisses while pointing at Alhaitham, "can't you be more dignified and focus on other parts of my body to be established as the control variable?"
Alhaitham hums and pulls out his fingers, which pulls out several strings of saliva along with it, from his mouth, "It's the most noticeable part of the Segments. Your physique is clearly shorter-" Zazan lets out an indignant squawk which Alhaitham ignores, "and smaller than Doctor but your dick is of the same size. Pardon me for finding it to be very curious."
Zazan makes a face and his wings ruffle behind him, "I'm prideful but not narcissistic. Why would I spend so much time meticulously planning the size of each Segments' dick?"
"Oh?" Alhaitham slightly crawls on all four toward Zazan's place on the floor, "so it wasn't because you're especially gifted down there? Care to tell me what your actual size was?"
Zazan puffs his wings while letting out warning caws, "No and don't come closer! I'm not horny at all."
Alhaitham lets out an amused hum as he continues to crawl toward Zazan, then he steps on the floor and walks past him, "Good. I don't have the time anyway," Alhaitham waves his wings teasingly at Zazan before closing the bathroom's door.
Zazan stares at the bed for some time before he swishes around to glare at the bathroom's door and caws in anger.
Zazan has managed to put his pants and shirt on while Alhaitham is in the bathroom. He's now grumpily sitting on the couch in the reading section which wasn't there before. Judging from the way Alhaitham's smell lingers on it, he can guess that Prime built this specifically for Alhaitham.
Zazan makes a face.
What a disgraceful simp.
Zazan crosses his arms in annoyance. He would prefer doing something else like doing a surgery or trying to fix a ruin guard and then letting it loose on unsuspecting people. But the damned Prime of a simp has delegated the duty of accompanying Alhaitham while he was away to him. It isn't like Alhaitham would simply perish if left alone for a day like a potted plant.
The bathroom door opens and Alhaitham comes out. Steams surrounding his body and water dripping from his wings, slightly leaving a trail on the floor.
Zazan tsks and glares at Alhaitham, "Dry yourself properly!"
Alhaitham who was about to drop his towel in front of the cupboard to change into a new set of clothes glances at Zazan before the corners of his lips slightly quirk up.
"What's with that express-" Zazan screams an enraged caw as Alhaitham ruffles his wings, flinging drops of water everywhere.
"Grossssssss!" Zazan aggressively snarls, "Stop!"
Alhaitham huffs and laughs as he folds his wings and drops the towel.
Zazan stares, mesmerized.
Shiny things attract young corvids. Shiny things simply seduce their curious nature. And Alhaitham is so shiny.
Perhaps it's the nature of Alhaitham's pale skin that instead of being paper-like, it glows with a luster like a pearl.
Zazan unconsciously lets out a soft wistful caw, causing Alhaitham to look at him.
Zazan's wings perk up when their eyes meet, finally he understands Prime and Omega Build's obsession toward Alhaitham's eyes. They're very pretty.
Alhaitham raises his eyebrow at the youth who dazedly stares at him with shine in his eyes. He rolls his eyes and returns to pick suitable clothes. Doctor bought him too many. Living as an aristocrat is troublesome.
Zazan mournfully caws when they no longer make eye contact and Alhaitham pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh before approaching the couch while still naked.
Seeing the pretty shiny beauty approaching him, Zazan spreads his wings and arms welcomely with a grin.
Alhaitham pinches Zazan's chin and slightly shakes his face, "What's wrong with you? Didn't you tell me to not come closer? What's the purpose of making such noises then?" he places his palm beside Zazan's head and leans on it, "making sounds like a lonely young chick… are you trying to provoke my maternal instinct?" Alhaitham lowly whispers.
Zazan happily caws and uses his hands to smush Alhaitham's face.
Alhaitham is unamused, "Do you want to have another go?"
The shine in Zazan's eyes vanishes with a blink and Zazan squawks in panic as he tries to scramble away, "No-nononononononono, NO. Don't you dare. Go away and dress up."
Alhaitham stands straight, placing his knuckle on his cocked hip as he stares at the youth trying to scramble away, leaving a mess of feathers which fall off from his frantic movements. With a flick of his wings, Alhaitham turns away and sashays towards the cupboard.
Notes:
Dottore's color is blue.
Alhaitham's color is green.
Together, they're anti-colorblind couple.This is a joke. Please don't be offended.
Chapter 11
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"It seems that my help is not needed here. I'll take my leave now," Capitano says and immediately leaves the observation dais without waiting for any confirmation.
Childe looks at Sir Capitano's retreating back and then to Dottore whose head is tilted down in thoughts. What should he do now? He doesn't really want to be with Sir Capitano alone but Sandrone is glaring at him and Dottore seems to be busy.
Oh, well.
Childe swiftly runs to catch up with Capitano.
Sandrone lets out a sigh of anger and amusement, "Well, what will you do now, Doctor?"
Prime Dottore doesn't immediately answer. In fact, he's silent for a long while. Sandrone waits with a smile that tightens by the second.
Then Dottore's wings twitch, "Doesn't matter for now. The end goal is to make sure that Alpha Build is rebuilt," Dottore turns around to walk down but almost immediately stops, he tilts his head up as if he's just reminded of something, "... Oh wait, that's not quite right."
Dottore walks back towards the window and looks down at the device with a scowl, "Alpha Build has hinted himself as a threat against Alhaitham. That complicates things."
Sandrone tilts her head down and softly chuckles, "How protective of you, Doctor… but you're right. Although I find it hilarious that you're trying to keep your mate from being harmed by yourself, Her Majesty made it very clear that you need to give your mate the best treatment so as to not give any more reason for Sumeru to shut the trade," Sandrone walks toward her puppet and it leans down to let her sit on its arm, "I think you've landed yourself in quite the predicament."
"And I think you need to leave," Dottore spreads his wings back and lightly flaps them to vent off some building up stress, "I have a lot of things to be taken care of."
"Oh, I'm sure of that," Sandrone mutters under her breath but she doesn't bother to lower her voice, "Very well, I'll take my leave now since I've seen what I wanted to see. Good day, Doctor."
"Why are you dressing up?" Zazan asks as he glances at Alhaitham who's tying his fur coat snugly on his body.
Alhaitham takes out his boots from under the bed, "Why not?" he slowly wears them, making sure that they're worn properly, he doesn't want to have snow seeping in and wetting his feet, "it's not like we are doing anything that requires me to be nude or anything."
Zazan squints, "Just so you know, taking off clothes during sex is optional," then he kicks his leg onto the chair, "and that doesn't really answer my question."
Alhaitham is done wearing his boots. He leans back on his arms and looks at Zazan with a half-lidded stare as his wings hang low.
"Your point is moot since we are not, in any way, having sex right now," Alhaitham's lips twitch in amusement from the way Zazan's face contorts in annoyance, "but since you're that curious. Then I can say that it's because I have a place to be."
Zazan's shoulders tense as he warily stares at Alhaitham, "Where?" he asks in a small and hurt voice.
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows and tilts his head at Zazan's demeanor but otherwise ignores it, "Then I guess I need to remind you that I'm not in Snezhnaya because I ran away from my nation," Alhaitham stands up and stretches his wings, "I'm going to visit the Diplomatic Office."
Zazan abruptly stands up, his wings flare behind him as if he's about to lunge at Alhaitham but he seems to catch himself by gripping the armchair, "... Why would you go there?" noticing that Alhaitham is staring at him weirdly, Zazan slowly sits back down, "... you still have two more days to rest…," he trails off as his wings dejectedly droop.
Alhaitham shrugs and searches for a bag to store some important items, "Scouting the area," he finds the bag of gifts Doctor gave him in the drawer under the bed and dumps the contents off, "I'm not only new to the Office but also new to the area in general, I want to get a grasp of the surrounding areas first."
Zazan brings his legs up the chair and hugs his knees, his wings unconsciously covering himself, "I'm sure that someone from the Diplomatic Office will give you a tour later. You're not a simple diplomat after all. You're a mate of a Harbinger."
Alhaitham hums as he stores his notebook filled with Snezhnayan cheat notes into the bag, "While I'm thankful for the special treatments, I can't simply depend my life on that," Alhaitham stills for a moment before shrugging with a twitch of his wings, "don't take that wrongly. There is no fault in being prepared if something bad happens."
Alhaitham slightly jumps from surprise when Zazan suddenly grabs his shoulder and twists him to look face to face, "What kind of bad things?" Zazan asks with unblinking eyes as his wings slightly flare and puff behind him.
Alhaitham stares at the youth whose head reaches his nose, "I don't know. As I said before, it's a precaution. I prefer if nothing bad happens but I also can't help it if something bad happens in the future," Zazan is still staring at him unblinkingly, unconvinced.
Alhaitham sighs and his wings droop from exasperation, he observes the traces of anxiety on Zazan's scarred face before flicking his wings, "Well, since you seem to be restless, why don't you accompany me? It won't be a bad idea to have someone more well versed in the local language."
Zazan's face immediately scrunches up into a scowl and he swiftly glides to get his coat from the cupboard with a flick of his wings, "Of course, duh," he wears the coat at a record speed then runs to the bed to wear his mask, "Prime told me to keep an eye on you while he is away. It's not like I can leave you even if I want to," he runs back to the cabinet to take out a black cloak before hastily wearing it and stands proudly in front of Alhaitham with his hands resting on his hips, "Now let's go."
Zazan moves to run towards the door but Alhaitham catches him and pulls him back by the collar. He lets out a strangled squawk when his collar chokes him. He was about to protest but soon tenses up instead when Alhaitham leans into his personal space to gently pull his clothes.
Alhaitham swipes Zazan's cloak aside and starts to unbutton his coat, causing Zazan to let out a loud caw of protest before starting to try to get away from Alhaitham, "Underhanded tactic! Can't believe I fell for that!" Alhaitham grabs on Zazan's arm so that he can't run away and Zazan screeches loudly, "UNHAND ME, YOU SEX FIEND!"
Alhaitham's wings twitch from the noises as his jaw grits in annoyance, he harshly grabs Zazan's jaws in vexation, "Stop that," he lowly growls and Zazan immediately stops, "your clothes are skewed and I'm merely trying to fix them. Besides, don't you think that it's embarrassing how you keep insisting that you don't want to have sex but that's always the first thing your mind thinks of the moment I'm close to you?"
Zazan makes a face and is about to snarl at Alhaitham before he changes his mind and let Alhaitham tidy up his clothes.
Alhaitham lightly and mockingly pats Zazan's chest, "There. Now promise me that you'll be a good boy during our little trip."
Oh, fuck it. Zazan snarls at Alhaitham and his wings are flapping in anger. His tantrum is short-lived as Alhaitham simply spreads his wings wide, casting a shadow over them, and coldly gives him a stare down.
No fair. The age difference between Alhaitham and Zazan's vessel can't be that big but why's Alhaitham's physique much more imposing?
Zazan hesitantly folds his wings back, "... Yes…" he meekly mutters, then he adds because Alhaitham is still giving him a stare down, "... I promise I will be a gg-ood 'oy…."
Alhaitham squints at Zazan before he pats his head, "Good. Now tell me if you have access to the transport vehicle in The Institute," Alhaitham asks as he walks past Zazan and out of the master bedroom.
Zazan immediately catches up with him with a spring in his steps, already forgetting their earlier interaction, "Oh, don't worry about that. The transport vehicles are public transportation here but as the Lord I have a private one and I know how to operate it. What's important now is whether you're carrying Mora and whether your noise canceling earmuffs work well."
Alhaitham hums as he trails his fingers along the seams of the earmuffs that are already falling apart, "I do have some Mora with me and finding a better noise cancellation is the other objective for today."
Zazan snorts, "You are not going to find anything like that there."
"Oh, I know," they walk out of The Residence's main door and Alhaitham immediately latches his hands on Zazan's elbow, causing Zazan to tense, "I plan to merely search for the materials to modify my old earpiece. Surely metal is still used here even if it may cause frostbite."
Zazan awkwardly walks with Alhaitham holding to his elbow and pressed to his side, but he doesn't push Alhaitham away, "Yep…," then he halts for a second before continuing his walk when he thinks of something, "... Were you the one who made your earpiece?"
"Of course," they arrive at the transport vehicle and Zazan opens the door before holding his hand out to help Alhaitham get inside, Alhaitham sends a smirk down at Zazan who's still outside of the vehicle and is about to follow in, "where else am I supposed to get such thing?" he asks in a patronizing tone.
Zazan scowls and lightly slaps Alhaitham's side, "Make way."
Alhaitham huffs an amused exhale and walks toward the seat, letting his wing caress Zazan's jaw.
Zazan inadvertently lets out a purr at the hint of contact before he shakes his head and stomps his way toward the control panel.
As it turns out, even in Snezhnaya Avians are still an object of attraction.
"Hey, look at that Avian…," a male human nudges at his male Avian friend while gesturing at Alhaitham.
"Woah, a falcon breed. Hard to find one these days. Damn… look at those majestic wings. Falcon breeds really do be enviable," The male Avian whispers back to his friend.
"That's what you're focusing on? Why am I friends with you again?" the male human says to his friend exasperatedly.
"...What? Well, the fabric of his clothes look very comfortable."
Alhaitham feels his eyebrows slightly twitch, they're not even trying to lower their voice. Alhaitham can see some people glance at those two disapprovingly so he can guess that those two are the deviants of society. Good. At least that means Zazan is not making that weird with a hint of murderous expressions without a reason.
"That falcon breed Avian is mated, friend," the male Avian loudly hisses to his friend.
"So what?" the male human hisses back, "it's not like his mate is around." Alhaitham glances at Zazan whose mouth looks like it's about to rip from how wide he is smiling, "Who knows if he might want to taste the locals."
"Friend I'm warning you, don't-" unfortunately, the male human doesn't heed his words.
The corner of Alhaitham's lips twitches up as he glances at Zazan without stopping from walking toward his destination, "What will you do, my darling?" he lowly whispers to Zazan.
Zazan gnashes his teeth at Alhaitham with a growl.
"Hey! Hot wing man!" Oh, the male human actually tries to approach him.
His common tongue is honestly so terrible that Alhaitham can't help but flick his wings in amusement.
"Yes! Yes, you," the male human yells without having a care of his surroundings, causing Zazan to stop walking and his wings bristle, "no! Not the short one. The hot one."
Alright, Alhaitham has to bite his lips to refrain from laughing at that. He stops walking and Zazan glares from the corner of his eye before also stopping.
The male human smiles as he runs over, ignoring the shorty, "Excuse me, hot item. Have free time?"
Alhaitham stares at the male human, who looks young, probably in his twenties, before he silently averts his eyes to the cloaked shorty beside him.
The light smile on the male human tightens when he sees the hot Avian intimately nudges the shorty. It seems that they're good friends, he should've at least try to be nicer with the short-
The male's unkind thoughts are immediately halted the moment he sees the mask with the Fatui insignia when the cloaked figure turns around, the male starts to stutter an apology before running back past his Avian friend.
"What's wrong, friend? Got cold feet and embarrassed yourself back there?" the Avian mocks as he runs to catch up with his friend.
"That cloaked sh- Avian is a Fatui," the male human hisses.
"What?!" The Avian squawks, "what have you done, you idiot friend. I'm cutting ties with you if the Fatuus knock on my door later."
Alhaitham observes them running away as if by disappearing from their sight faster, they will not get in trouble. He glances at Zazan whose eyes are lit from anger as they glare at the retreating figures.
Alhaitham pokes Zazan's exposed cheek, "What are you planning?"
Zazan swats Alhaitham's hand away before turning around to resume their walk, "It doesn't matter," he spat out.
Alhaitham also resumes his walk beside Zazan, "I guess, it doesn't."
Zazan observes Alhaitham's expression from the corner of his eyes and his wings are slightly perking up in curiosity, "Don't you have more to say to me?"
They make eye contact through the corner of their eyes, "I don't think so. Like what?"
Zazan snorts, "Oh, I don't know. Something along the lines of not wasting my energy on useless waste of space or begging me to promise not to end their pathetic life?"
Alhaitham disinterestedly flicks his wings and holds Zazan's elbow, "What you'll do to them is frankly none of my business."
Zazan unconsciously rubs his head to Alhaitham's jaw as he lets out mirthful caws, bringing their body closer, "I love you," his body immediately tenses up when he realizes what he had just said, "that was an expression," he quickly adds.
Alhaitham closes his eyes and lets out an amused sigh, "I know."
They walk in awkward silence until Zazan flicks his wings, "Anyway, that wouldn't happen if only you wore the pendant I gifted you," he kicks a snow mound on their path and almost falls on his ass if Alhaitham isn't holding his elbow, "not a word," he hisses with hints of red crawling on his neck.
"Oh?" The glitters of amusement in Alhaitham's eyes are giving Zazan mixed feelings, "I was sure that such jewelry would attract more unwanted attention. So I didn't wear it."
Zazan grumpily pulls Alhaitham closer by the waist when they pass a group of staring people, "On the contrary. Expensive jewelries scream 'nobles' and these people prefer to castrate themselves rather than getting tangled with the nobility."
"I see," Alhaitham rearranges his wing so that it doesn't press awkwardly with Zazan's, "Oh, we should be close now."
"Finally," Zazan disgruntledly mutters under his breath.
Alhaitham slightly nudges Zazan's side with his, "You really need to exercise more."
"How beautiful. As expected from a mate of a high ranking Harbinger," a male Avian comments to no one as he continues to observe the throngs of people walking from behind a curtain on a balcony.
"Lucky him," A woman chimes in as she approaches the balcony window while holding a bottle of firewater, "to be gorgeous enough to seduce a Harbinger and even my own Lord."
The male Avian snorts, "Please don't say that. You made it sound like I'm lusting over a mated Avian."
The woman takes a swing from the bottle before teasingly winking at the Avian, "He won't be for long if we stay true to our plan."
The Avian smiles exasperatedly, "Please don't say that either," he says with a sigh.
The woman makes a face of mocking concern, "Awww, does my poor Lord feel guilty of his plan on depriving an Avian of his mate?"
The Avian's lips tighten, "Stop that."
The woman immediately straightens her back, "My apologies."
The Avian glances at his comrade before he lets out a harsh sigh, "I don't pity the Fatuus and I won't pity them any time soon," he leans back on his chair to absentmindedly observe the sight down there, "but that Avian is not a Fatui. Perhaps he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. He doesn't deserve to be separated from his mate like that."
"With all due respect, my Lord," the woman starts, "that Avian looks pretty content with having the Harbinger as his mate."
The Avian massages his temple as he lets out a groan, "That might be because of the bond. It's a complicated little thing. Able to give a delusion of love."
"In that case you can become that Avian's mate at a later date."
The Avian lets out a strangled squawk as his wings are subconsciously spread when he stares disbelievingly at the woman, "What? What do you mean by that?"
The woman flashes him a knowing smile, "Oh, you know this better than me, my Lord. Avians mate for life but when their partner's die, they will find a new one. Why don't you become his new mate?"
The Avian's wings are twitching behind him, "... I… I can't do that," he hesitantly denies.
The woman snorts before taking another swing from her bottle, "Oh, of course you can. Don't lie. I know you want to. Besides, are you really going to let that Avian wastes his life alone?" the woman slowly walks behind the Avian, her hand slowly trails the backrest the Avian is sitting on as she sinfully lists, "gorgeous appearance and I heard he was a high rank personnel in her former affiliation with The Akademiya of Sumeru. Man must have a high intellect," the woman sits down on the chair beside the Avian, "and to top it off, he's the same breed as you," she sing-songs as she props her jaw on her palm and playfully stares at the Avian, "you two looks very good together."
The Avian glances down to the street, catching the sight of Alhaitham disappearing into the Diplomatic Office, before he gulps.
Notes:
Alhaitham is both mean and indulgent toward Zazan because Zazan's stage of mind is a few years younger than him.
Chapter 12
Notes:
Since some of you were asking about the male Avian and the woman in the last chapter, for now all I will say is that they're not in-game characters.
Chapter Text
"Alright, Zazan," Alhaitham calls under his breath as they walk the stairs to the Diplomatic Office's entrance, "technically I'm not yet a diplomat and therefore, as a civilian, I can only access the receptionist. But we are going to go past that."
Zazan stops walking to stare at the back of Alhaitham's head and lets himself be dragged by the hand, "What?"
Alhaitham slightly tilts his head back, "I'm sure you heard me well," Alhaitham stops a few steps from the entrance, perhaps he should explain it to Zazan a little.
Alhaitham pulls Zazan to stand by his side before he whispers to him while keeping his eyes on the entrance door, "I want to see their archive when they are unprepared."
Zazan stares at Alhaitham, his mouth slightly gapes and twitches from amusement, "You haven't even been here for a week," Zazan excitedly whispers back, "and you already planned to do something like this," he wheezes, "if anyone catches you, you'll taint my name. To think that you made me promise to be a good boy."
Alhaitham closes his eyes for a moment before resumes walking to the entrance when he sees that the guards have started to notice them, "Indeed, I made you promise to be a good boy," he pushes the entrance door open, "and you'll be. To me, that is."
Zazan snorts and bites his lower lip to stifle his laughter, "Oh, this sounds fun. Prime is going to be so mad when he hears this," Zazan matches his stride with Alhaitham while in thought, "on a second thought, he probably won't. Indulgent simp."
They confidently walk past the receptionist and straight to the huge double doors under the stairs leading to the second floor. Zazan lets himself be dragged by Alhaitham, he probably knows where to go. If someone catches them, he can always blame Alhaitham anyway.
"But damn," Zazan grabs Alhaitham's ass and squeezes it once the double door closes behind them, "no wonder you were called a lunatic."
Alhaitham exhales an amused breath through his nose, Zazan made himself looks like he's interested in the prospect of fucking a lunatic, "I didn't know you investigated me."
"I didn't," Zazan bites his tongue in concentration as he brings his finger to rub between Alhaitham's ass, "Omega Build did."
Alhaitham hums as his wings slightly flutter behind him. Then he slaps the back of Zazan's head with his wing when they pass a corner, dislodging Zazan's hand from his behind.
"Aw," Zazan dryly exclaims, "what was that for?"
They stop in front of a door with an "Archive" sign. Alhaitham corners Zazan to the wall and places his hands beside Zazan's head, caging him.
Alhaitham leans in to lowly whispers to Zazan's ear, "Be a good boy for me, and I will reward you later."
Zazan subconsciously tries to merge with the wall to lean away from the sudden breach of his personal space. He sucks in a breath to calm himself but instead smelling Alhaitham's scent.
Alhaitham smells weird.
Alhaitham smells of scriptures and inks from a secret library, he smells exciting, but most of all, Alhaitham has a hint of his smell, most likely because they're sleeping in the same bed last night.
Something is tickling inside Zazan's chest. For the record, Zazan hates being tickled.
Being a segment of the juvenile stage is irritating. Zazan already has a weird fixation on shinies and warm sunlight, he doesn't really want to be like Alpha Build who is full of hormones and chooses to vent it by being sassy.
But since Alhaitham is here, he doesn't have to vent the hormones the same way Alpha Build does, right?
Zazan's lips tremble as he whispers back to Alhaitham, "What kind of reward?"
Alhaitham suggestively licks Zazan's earlobe, causing Zazan to hitch his breath, "Anything you want," he murmurs to his ear, causing Zazan's ear to become red at the sensation.
Zazan gulps, "No take back?" Alhaitham hums in confirmation, "... fine, what do you want me to do?"
Alhaitham caresses Zazan's eyebrow with his lips, "Good boy," he murmurs before he grabs Zazan's wrist and pulls him inside the archive.
It was during the three days where Alhaitham was separated from Zandik.
Kaveh had reported what Alhaitham had said to him to Lord Kusanali word for word and, as Alhaitham had expected, Lord Kusanali decided to have an audience with him.
It was quite an experience. Lord Kusanali pulled his consciousness while he was asleep and they had a meeting within a dream. Most likely to make sure that his physical body is still in his house, therefore he's not breaching the separation agreement.
Alhaitham had stared down the void of the Sanctuary of Surasthana. He waited for when Lord Kusanali would start the talk. During that time, he had wondered what would happen if he were to fly down there. What secret did the void hold?
"I'm sorry for making you wait," came the voice that Alhaitham had only heard during the feast.
"It's fine. Though since you're here now, I would like to get straight to the point. I believe we have a lot to discuss," Alhaitham had bluntly said, he won't tell anyone but he's salty that he got separated from his mate at a good moment.
The Dendro Archon blinked her huge eyes at him before she giggled, "You're just the same as what your coworkers had said."
The base of Alhaitham's wings twitched, "I have no comment."
Nahida's eyes shaped into a crescent as she continued to giggle, "I'm pretty sure you have. You just don't want to say it so that the chance for you to get what you want rises."
Alhaitham couldn't help it, he crossed his arms as his wings twitched from nerves.
With one last giggle, Nahida coughed into her fist, "Very well. Regarding what you had said to your roommate, I hope you are well aware of what might happen if you choose to leave Sumeru."
Alhaitham secretly gritted his teeth. He refrained his wings from poofing up in irritation. Lord Kusanali meant well.
"Of course," Alhaitham rearranged his wings to fold neatly on his back, "moving to live in another nation is not a small matter."
"I see…" Nahida looked down in ponder before she looked back up at Alhaitham, "then I suppose I don't have anything more to say… I wish you a happy marriage, Alhaitham. But remember, if the going ever gets rough in Snezhnaya, you're always welcomed in Sumeru."
Now this wasn't what Alhaitham had expected.
Lord Kusanali turned around, about to leave, so Alhaitham opened his mouth, "But I have something to say to you."
Nahida turned back around and flinched back when she found Alhaitham was kneeling in front of her.
"First of all, I thank you for your approval," Alhaitham maintained eye contact with Nahida, "Secondly, please keep an eye on the Fatui after I'm gone. The Doctor will protect me in Snezhnaya but that doesn't mean that he's on Sumeru's side now. On the contrary, the Fatui might instead extort Sumeru of its resources through this marriage."
"Of course," Nahida confirmed, "I won't ever let down my guard around them."
Alhaitham searched Nahida's eyes for a moment before he nodded, "I'll do my job as a Sumerian diplomat. I'll smoke out the traitor among the Diplomatic Office," Alhaitham paused slightly, "but I won't go past that," they went into a staring contest.
Nahida was quiet for a long while, "That's understandable. I am already thankful that you volunteered to comb our diplomats in Snezhnaya. There's absolutely no need for you to jeopardize your relationship with your… mate."
Alhaitham spread his wings down and was about to bow before Lord Kusanali but she stopped him, "Alhaitham, please don't do this again."
The corruption in the system seems to run deeper than Alhaitham thought. Corruption, money laundering, and smuggling appear to be common occurrences. At least the new diplomats are reliable.
… Oh wait, most of the new diplomats that just came are tied to either the old diplomats, businesses from either Snezhnaya or Sumeru, or the diplomats that passed the screening.
Alhaitham massages his temple with a hiss as he closes the ledger, places it back to its spot, and takes out a new one.
Nevermind.
It's normal to work at the same place with a family member, but something on this scale hints at nepotism.
Honestly Alhaitham doesn't care how his co-workers gain their positions, but he swears if they're incompetent, he will send a letter straight to Lord Kusanali.
"Hey," Zazan whispers-yells him, "you said you'll do anything I want right?"
"Yes, Zazan. Now quiet down, I have to read this."
"What if I say I want to fuck you here?"
"No."
"Oh, come on. It will be thrilling."
"No."
"Tsk."
"Why are we here?" Zazan asks as they browse through the shelves in a fabric shop.
Alhaitham rubs the pelts on the shelves between his fingers one by one, testing the materials, "One objective is done. Now onto the next one."
Zazan looks around the area, going as far as standing on his tiptoes to look over the shelves.
They're in the backroom where the stash is stored, most likely to keep the pelts and fabrics from being damaged by nature. Zazan can spy some heads with messy hair, probably women from the way it looks delicate, and some heads covered by the hats the employee uses.
This place is more boring than The Rooster's Avian etiquette class.
And the lamp is too bright, is the owner of this store a mothman or something?
"Excuse me, gentlemen…," a woman with a sniffling child in tow and a toddler in her arms passes through.
"... Why are we here?" Zazan repeats.
Alhaitham sighs,"I told you I want to modify my earpiece."
"Yes, so why are we here?" Zazan whines frustratedly as his arms and wings slowly flail around, careful to not knock something off, "why are we in a damn clothing district and not in the machinery?"
Alhaitham observes Zazan from the corner of his eyes before sighing again, "Why would I go to the machinery district? There's nothing wrong with my earpiece except that it's made from metal. Which means I only need to add some thick fabric to it so that the metal won't make direct contact to my ears and cause frostbite."
Zazan makes a face at Alhaitham as if he had just insulted his dick, "You can add a built-in heater!" he argues in a low voice, "adding pelt, such a disgusting half-assed effort," he comments angrily.
Alhaitham rearranges his wings behind his back, "Zazan…" he pulls Zazan to his side when he notices that several people are starting to peek at them from over the shelves, "do I need to remind you that my earpiece's main function is noise canceling?"
Zazan opens his mouth, then freezes, and then closes it with a click, "... Right."
Alhaitham huffs a breath before continuing to observe the pelts and moving to the next shelf as nothing suits his taste yet.
"But it isn't impossible to build a noiseless heater."
Alhaitham stops for a moment to flex his wings before irritatedly turning around to face Zazan, slightly leaning down so that they're face to face, "Now, why would I want to do that?" Alhaitham slowly says.
Noticing Alhaitham's irritation, Zazan starts to sway on his heels and fiddles with his fingers behind his back, "... I don't know… because it will be very cool?"
Alhaitham's eyebrows twitch from nerves. He straightens his back and silently turns around to check the pelts on the shelf.
Zazan pouts. He can just go, y'know. Spending his time doing something way more fun, but noooooo, Prime ordered him to accompany Alhaitham at all times.
Zazan lets out an exaggerated long-suffering sigh before he forces himself to tail Alhaitham. He makes his state of dissatisfaction very loud by constantly moving around as he stands beside Alhaitham.
The whore's lips are quirked up into a smirk.
Bitch.
"Are you done?" Zazan grumpily asks as they walk through the snowy streets toward the underground station.
Alhaitham whose hand carries a little bag of pelt, Zazan really wanted to slap Alhaitham when he knew that they spent so long there for such little purchase, sidles up to him and holds his elbow, "Yes," Alhaitham leans to Zazan in order to avoid bumping into another passerby, "you sound tired," he comments right into Zazan's ear.
Zazan gnashes his teeth annoyedly, "Why, yes. Because someone decided to spend hours picking a pelt only to end up buying the first pelt he saw," Zazan seethes through his teeth, "but it's fine now since apparently we are done and we can go home."
Alhaitham hums, "Oh? then I take it that you won't be happy to accompany me to scout the area?"
Zazan abruptly stops before snapping his head to face Alhaitham so fast that Alhaitham is sure he can hear cracking of bone.
Zazan's wings are flared in anger as he growls an angry caw in front of Alhaitham's face, "Yes."
Alhaitham observes the pair of crimson irises lit with a hysterical amount of anger close to his face, "... Not even to get some pastries to bring home?"
Zazan's face twitches when he hears the word 'home', but thankfully his mask hides his face, "Alexei can prepare any pastries you want."
Alhaitham hums before he starts to pull Zazan to the direction of the underground station, "Well, what a pity, but you're right," they pass the streets at the suitable pace to run away from the cold, the Fatui soldiers standing guard at the entrance of the station can already be seen in the distance, "you seriously need to figure out how to better your stamina, though," Alhaitham comments out loud once they're in the range of hearing of the Fatui soldiers.
Zazan is instantly provoked. He yanks his arm from Alhaitham's hold and slaps his ass, hard . So hard that Alhaitham lets out a surprised squeal and some Fatui soldiers flinch from the noise.
"E.nough," Zazan angrily hisses before he grabs Alhaitham's hair and drags him to the transport vehicles.
Operating the transport vehicle is not tricky at all since it goes through a private route, there's no need to think about the possibility of crashing into another vehicle, so Zazan simply arranges the vehicle to move at appropriate speed before leaving the control panel and sits across from Alhaitham's seat.
One difference between his days in Snezhnaya from his student days in Sumeru that Dottore has learned is that in Snezhnaya people fear his mood. So the younger segments of Dottore tend to show their mood loudly.
Zazan's poofed up wings twitch from time to time behind him as he crosses his arms and refuses to look at Alhaitham. There's a scowl on his face that gets worse the longer Alhaitham simply stares at Zazan.
Then Alhaitham lets out a sigh, "Do you want an apology?"
Zazan barks a mocking laugh, "Hah, if you need a confirmation first then forget it," Zazan's lips aggressively twitches as he mumbles under his breath, "purposefully embarrassing your mate in front of his underlings. Disrespectful bitch."
"What should I do for you to accept my apology then?" Alhaitham crosses his arms.
"I said forget it," Zazan snaps before he slides down his seat into an improper sitting position.
Alhaitham glances at Zazan's spread legs, "Would you like me to suck your dick?"
Zazan immediately closes his legs while screaming out a warning caws, "No! Leave my dick alone, you whore!"
Alhaitham snorts, "You were far more honest when asl-" his amusement is cut short when his modified earmuff suddenly falls apart.
Alhaitham's face is calm and controlled as he curls into himself while pressing his hands to his ears. His wings frantically twitch behind him as if he's in a lot of pain.
Zazan still refuses to look at Alhaitham, but the way Alhaitham suddenly cuts his word mid sentence causes him to grow curious.
Alhaitham's jaws are tense as he presses his hands as hard as he can to his ears. Unfortunately, the vehicle slightly jostles on the rail, likely bumping a stone or something, and causing the whole vehicle to rattle.
Alhaitham subconsciously closes his eyes as he bites his lower lip and curls smaller. He lets out a small pained squeal and, fortunately, Zazan hears it.
That squeal which is only above a whisper manages to snap Zazan out of his asshole-ish curiosity and urges him to hesitantly lean forward and reach his hands to place them on top of Alhaitham's hands.
Alhaitham's wings are still slightly twitching when he opens his eyes and makes eye contact with Zazan. He stares at Zazan with light surprise.
"What?" Zazan snaps.
"What are you doing?" Alhaitham hesitantly asks.
"What does it look like to you?" Zazan hisses, his mask barely able to hide his fluster.
Alhaitham blinks, "... I am, frankly, unsure."
Zazan tsks before throwing his face away from Alhaitham's stare, yet he doesn't try to take his hands at all, "It seems that you're experiencing sensory overload. So I'm helping you to tone down the noises."
Alhaitham's eyebrows furrow slightly in confusion, "You… Do you consider placing your hands above mine as toning down the noises?"
Zazan's mouth twitches and red starts to crawl up his cheeks, "It seems to me that it's working, though. Ever heard of selective hearing?"
Alhaitham softly chuckles, causing Zazan to look at him and his wings to perk up in curiosity, "I'm sure that's not how selective hearing works, but it appears that it's working," he lightly smiles at Zazan, "somehow."
Zazan scoffs, and his wings flick, "Obviously. I bet right now you only see me in your world."
Alhaitham softly laughs breathlessly as he stares into Zazan's eyes, "It seems so."
Zazan inwardly curses when the way Alhaitham is looking at him is stuffing his chest full of warmth.
Chapter Text
For convenience purposes, Zazan had moved to sit on the side of Alhaitham's seat. Now Alhaitham's slightly bigger body is leaning to Zazan's shoulder as Zazan mindlessly presses his hands on Alhaitham's ears and stares into nothing.
The silence is very comfortable. Zazan didn't know silence can be anything other than boring. The sound of Alhaitham's steady breath next to his ear lulls Zazan into a sleepy haze.
The transport vehicle rattles slightly as it stops at its destination.
"Hey," Zazan softly calls in which Alhaitham responds with a hum, "we have arrived."
"It seems so," Alhaitham softly mumbles but he doesn't move in the slightest.
Zazan can't blame him, he also feels too lazy to move, "We should head inside."
Alhaitham nuzzles closer to Zazan's neck, "Why?"
Zazan rubs the side of his head to Alhaitham's own, embracing him tighter, "Hmmm… well...," Zazan trails off, "oh, right. You haven't eaten yet. It's dinner time soon."
Alhaitham stills for a moment before pulling back from the embrace with a sigh and flexes his wings, hands still pressed to block his ears, "You're right, but I have to modify my earpiece first."
Zazan's shoulders sag when the warmth from the embrace dissipates, "Sure, you won't take that long I believe, and Alexei will bring the meals to our room anyway."
Alhaitham leans back and raises his eyebrow at Zazan, "I trust that you know better than to leave the food to waste this time?"
Zazan scowls and simply flicks his bristling wings, he has grown immune to Alhaitham's annoying remark, Alpha Build was worse, "Yes, yes. How are your ears? Can you head inside alone or do you need help?"
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows at Zazan's change of treatments toward him, "Of course."
"Great," Zazan exclaims as he jumps to his feet and starts to stretch his limbs and wings.
Zazan silently stretches his palm toward Alhaitham, asking for his hand.
Alhaitham blinks at the palm, "Zazan, my hands are full."
Alhaitham can see the corner of Zazan's lips uncovered by his mask stretches into a tight line before Zazan swiftly turns around and tensely fast-walking toward the door.
Alhaitham's lips are quirked up from amusement, but he will be generous enough to not mention it.
"The food is here," Zazan announces as he opens the door and lets Alexei push the trolley in before immediately retreating.
Alhaitham's only response is a flick of his wings as he continues to squint at the mess of pelts, thread and needle, and his earpiece. His brows are furrowed in concentration as he meticulously pierces the pelt with the needle and slowly attaches the pelt into his earpiece.
The base of Alhaitham's wings twitch when he hears a pair of footsteps coming closer, "What are you doing?" Zazan asks as he peeks from above Alhaitham's shoulder.
Alhaitham lightly huffs a breath through his nose as he continues to sew, "Quiet, please. I need to concentrate."
Oh, just for that Zazan will do the exact opposite. Normally. Right now he's too curious as to why Alhaitham needs to concentrate when all he does is a little sewing.
Zazan takes a look at Alhaitham's work. It has almost been an hour since Alhaitham has started and he has only made a quarter of progress, on one part.
Zazan glances at Alhaitham's scrunched from concentration face then unimpressedly stares at the earpiece, "You're terrible at sewing," he comments, stating the obvious and causing Alhaitham's eye to twitch from nerves, "Say, the food is starting to get cold so if it's a simple sew, I can sew it for you."
Alhaitham stills before he looks at Zazan through the corner of his eyes, "Really?"
Zazan nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders, "If you want, that is."
Alhaitham slightly twists his body to give Zazan a better look, "I didn't know you can sew," Alhaitham skeptically says.
Zazan's wings tense up indignantly as he scowls, "You are looking down on me, aren't you," he irritatedly flaps his wings a few times, causing some feathers to fly off, "the best tailor in the world is the body of living beings, it's astounding how it is capable of sewing together each cells ranging from building up the smallest organisms to the most complicated structure of a human. Unfortunately, as astounding as it is, the cells take far too long to mend a gaping wound that the subject will most likely die from blood loss. So in order to prevent a loss of a possibly important sample, sewing the wound close is necessary to help the cells mend itself.
I've done more surgery than anyone else in Teyvat, except Prime. Granted, sewing fabrics is different than sewing body parts but I'm sure I can do better than your 'attempt'. So yes, I can sew. Now go eat your food and think of how you'll thank me later."
Alhaitham silently stares at Zazan.
Zazan lets out an annoyed caw, "Well, what are you waiting for?"
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows before slowly putting down his earpiece and the sewing instruments. He slowly stands up to stretch his wings before approaching the food trolley.
It doesn't matter if Zazan ruins the pelt, Alhaitham still has some spare pelts. Besides, as far as Alhaitham has known Dottore, Dottore never bluffs about his abilities…. Except for cooking.
Alhaitham uncovers the food and hums in appreciation at the arrangements of food that greet him. He's not one to care much about food presentation but he won't complain, especially since the food looks delicious.
"Am I going to eat by myself again?" Alhaitham asks without looking back.
"Yes, eat whatever you want," Zazan replies, "except for the cake, that's mine."
Alhaitham glances at the jarring red frosted cake before shrugging and starting to eat the main course.
Alhaitham doesn't know if the food is native to Snezhnaya or not, nobles tend to have a different menu than common people, but what's clear is that the spices are artfully mixed and the meat is juicy and tender. Compliment for the chef. Whoever they are, they have managed to cook this well.
Alhaitham hums as he savors the meal before letting out a content sigh.
He's getting spoiled a lot, isn't he? Perhaps he should borrow the kitchen some times. It will be annoying if he forgets how to cook.
"Done!" Zazan exclaims loudly, lightly startling Alhaitham, before he runs to present the earpiece to Alhaitham.
Alhaitham places his cutlery down. He hums as he sends a gesture towards Zazan to wait before drinking some water and wipes his mouth with a napkin.
Alhaitham takes the earpiece from the smugly grinning Zazan before inspecting the newly sewed seams, "This is very nicely done. You're very good at this," Alhaitham comments and Zazan absolutely preens in pride, "thank you," Alhaitham says.
Zazan wrangles his prideful attitude and fails but he doesn't pay it anymore mind, "Is that it? A mere 'thank you'?"
Alhaitham tries putting the earpiece on, "Well…" the earpiece fits comfortably on his ears, it's almost as if there's no modification at all, Zazan really did a good job here, "do you have any requests?"
Zazan snorts as he walks toward the chair opposite of Alhaitham and reaches for his cake, "What's the difference between that and my reward for being a good boy then?"
Alhaitham takes his earpiece off and gently puts it on the trolley. It makes a light tapping sound that slightly echoes within the room that suddenly falls quiet and charged with a mounting sexual tension.
"True," Alhaitham purrs and sends Zazan a half-lidded stare, "do you have a suggestion by any chance?"
Zazan scoffs as he shoves a forkful of cake into his mouth but his wings are twitching nervously, "You shouldn't let the other party decide on how you will show your gratitude. It hints at you being stingy and you can't refuse their request unless you want to lose face."
Alhaitham makes a show of slowly crossing his legs, he lightly bites the tip of his tongue when he notices Zazan trying to discreetly undress him with his eyes, "I have faith that as my mate you won't extort me through this simple request."
Zazan's face scrunches and he swallows the cake that he had been munching on for who knows how long, "Fine," he spits out before falling into a silent ponder, "you promised me to do whatever I want as a reward, right?" Zazan looks up to catch Alhaitham nodding his head slightly, "and on top of that, you offered me to make a request…" Zazan's head tilts back down to eat more cake as he stares at his feet in thoughtful silence.
Zazan places his plateful of cake on the trolley and takes off his mask before giving his undivided attention to Alhaitham, "I want you tied on the bed, on your back," Zazan decisively declares, Alhaitham opens his mouth but Zazan cuts him off, "I'm not done yet. You're tied but even if the ropes break, you're not allowed to move. I want you to wear something sexy, preferably the getup you used during the mating exile for Omega Build. I'm going to tie your hands to the headboard then I'll tie your ankles to your thighs. Since you can't move, I'll absolutely be in charge of everything and I'll do whatever I want to you just like you promised," Zazan lists off one by one then he glares at Alhaitham who was about to say something, "and as for my request, I want you to teach me how to fuck you."
The base of Alhaitham's wings twitch as he blinks at Zazan, "What?"
Zazan throws his face away with a scowl, red painting his ears, "You heard me well," he grumbles.
Alhaitham blinks again and unconsciously tilts his head, "Now… how am I supposed to teach you if I'm not allowed to move?"
Zazan flicks his wings, "Instruct me. I want hand-on experiences of trials and errors," Zazan points his fork at Alhaitham's direction, "it'll definitely hurt if I make an error, by the way. So you better instruct me well. Though, I'm sure you won't mind. I know you welcome a little bit of pain."
Alhaitham searches Zazan's face for a moment before he lets out a defeated amused exhale. He stands up from his chair to start rummaging inside his cupboard.
"You really make this hard for me, huh?" Alhaitham mutters to himself, "actually," he calls out to Zazan, "can I ask you not to rip my clothes?"
"Nope," Zazan chimes with a fork inside his mouth, emphasizing the word with a pop, "on the contrary, I plan to absolutely ruin it."
Alhaitham's wings shudders slightly from anticipation, "Then, can I trust that you know how much my body can handle?"
Zazan pauses slightly, "I'm not going to kill you during the session," then he says under his breath, "intentionally."
Alhaitham can hear the last part very clearly, mind you. He simply rolls his eyes and closes the cupboard door using his hip then walks to the bathroom.
"... Should I use Alpha Build's mating gift? The prospect of it sounds hot, but I might not be able to use it later…" Alhaitham hears Zazan mutter to himself.
"It's inside the drawer under the bed if you decide that you need it," Alhaitham says before closing the bathroom door.
Alhaitham emerges from the bathroom later than anticipated. Preparing his hole didn't take that long, but it took some time to put on the harnesses. For the record, it wasn't because Alhaitham has gained weight but more because Alhaitham forgets how to put them on. Someone has taken the manual. Probably Doctor.
Zazan lets out a loud wolf whistle at the sight of Alhaitham, who is surrounded by steam rising from his slightly flushed after a hot bath skin and with some leftover droplets of water dripping down the curves of his muscles. Zazan grins as his mind starts to map out the trails of bites he's going to leave on that slutty fuckable body.
"Come here," Zazan pats the bed he's sitting on, "I'll tie you up."
"Right away?" Alhaitham teasingly asks, "it appears that someone is eager to learn," he purrs as he notices the half-hard tent on Zazan's crotch.
Zazan follows Alhaitham's line of sight before nonchalantly shrugging and zipping his pants down, "As your senior, I think it's very noble of me for giving an example of studious spirit to my junior."
Alhaitham takes his time to approach the bed, "Technically, I am your senior since you never graduated in the first place," Alhaitham crawls up Zazan's lap and straddles him before inserting his finger into Zazan's mouth without asking, tracing the sharp teeth, "such sharp teeth, I wonder if they're natural," Alhaitham whispers lowly.
Zazan lightly bites down, slightly breaking the skin of Alhaitham's finger and Alhaitham hisses softly but he doesn't retract his finger, "It has been so long since I can be considered 'natural', so who knows," Zazan slowly licks the little bit of liquid iron lazily oozing from Alhaitham's finger, "besides, what does it matter to you? For all I know you won't mind fucking yourself with a stick," Zazan leans away to get Alhaitham's finger out of his mouth, "now get into position. I am, in fact, very eager to learn."
"I see…" Alhaitham crawls down from Zazan's lap and positions himself in the middle of the bed.
Alhaitham stretches his arms to the headboard and bends his legs by the knees. He spreads his thighs wide, shamelessly presenting his prepped and slicked hole for Zazan to see.
Zazan's eyes immediately light up in giddiness as he grins and starts to crawl up the bed to tie Alhaitham. He takes the end of the leather rope around Alhaitham's wrist and loops it around the holes in the headboard frame before tying it around Alhaitham's other wrist.
Alhaitham patiently lets Zazan tie his wrists, "Don't tie the leather too tightly. It's inevitable to move slightly during an intercourse-"
"And that accidental movements can cause sprains or the like depending on the way you're tied," Zazan continues Alhaitham's words before he adjusts the leather rope just enough for Alhaitham's arms to stay up.
Alhaitham glances at Zazan's serious expression and his lips twitch up in amusement, "Correct. Though I must say, it's very rude to cut someone off mid sentence like that."
Zazan dismissively hums as he ties the knot around Alhaitham's wrist, "Adapt to it quickly. Most of the time, I'm far ruder than this," then he takes out a pair of big pink ribbons the same color as his bowtie from his coat and uses it to tie Alhaitham's legs.
Alhaitham is flabbergasted. In the end though, he simply noiselessly laughs.
Zazan can sense Alhaitham's amusement as he finishes the knots on Alhaitham's thigh. Not feeling in the mood to banter about this, Zazan simply bites Alhaitham's stocking covered shin.
Alhaitham lets out a pained squawk and his bitten leg flexes in reflex, ripping the ribbon.
Zazan immediately releases his bite, "Hey!" he yells in complaint.
Alhaitham lets out a sharp angry wail at that, silencing Zazan, "Don't blame me. You don't simply bite your partner bloody out of the blue," Alhaitham exhales harshly through his nose, "I'm sure you won't appreciate it if I scrape your dick with my teeth without prior pleasant stimulation."
Zazan's wings droop as he accepts the scolding, he doesn't really like making a mistake. Especially since it costs him a ribbon. He doesn't have a spare.
Zazan lets out a sigh, well now the view is going to be imperfect, "So in other words, I should give you foreplay first?"
Alhaitham looks down at Zazan haughtily, still a little bit pissed from the bite, "Yes. I'm surprised that you know that word. Perhaps you already have the knowledge but no practical experience?"
Zazan stands up from the bed with an annoyed flick of his wings, "More or less," he takes his clothes off completely along the way before coming back to the bed with his plate of cake.
Alhaitham's mind clicks when he sees the plate, "The bed will become dirty," Alhaitham comments.
Zazan snorts as he positions Alhaitham's legs to give room for him, "Duh."
Alhaitham rolls his eyes, "I meant the cake. Unless you are willing to clean it after this, we won't have any place to sleep."
Zazan stills for a moment before dismissively waving his free hand while the other placing the plate of cake besides Alhaitham's head, "Eh, don't worry about it. Alexei can clean it anytime," Zazan's lips are pursed in concentration as he lather his fingers with the frosting, "you catch on fast," he comments.
Alhaitham hums, "Of course. I'm sure the reason you asked me to teach you in the first place is because I'm experienced."
Zazan snickers before flicking Alhaitham's nipple, causing Alhaitham to softly mewls, with his lathered fingers, "Whore," he sings-songs.
Zazan gently rubs a circle on that nipple, lathering every inch of it with frosting. His attention is completely focused on the delicious looking nipple but he can hear Alhaitham's breathing slowly goes heavier. Zazan bites his lower lip in concentration before he gathers Alhaitham's tiddies as much as he can into his hands and harshly squeezes them, causing Alhaitham to softly squeal.
"Y'know, I always wonder why your chest is so big," Zazan says, voice rough from arousal, "can they lactate or something? Do you secretly have mammary glands"
Alhaitham grunts, louder this time, at the continuous rough handling on his chest, "Don't be ridiculous, Zazan," Alhaitham starts to squirm around as Zazan starts to tease his nipples with his thumb while continuously massaging his pecs.
"Oh, I am being ridiculous?" Zazan pinches Alhaitham's areola and pulls hard, causing Alhaitham to let out a high pitched squeal, Zazan grins at the light bruise starting to form around the perked nipple, "for all we know you might secretly have mammary glands in that mommy milkers of yours."
Alhaitham almost immediately stills and makes a face at Zazan. The needy air around him is gone, replaced by a mixture of disgust and exasperation. But Alhaitham's dick hasn't gone soft at all.
Zazan's grin is wide as he leans forward to clean the frosting off Alhaitham's chest with his mouth.
Oh, Zazan gets it now why Prime and Omega Build like to play stupid around Alhaitham. This is hilarious.
Zazan gives the frosting covered nipple a hard lick before biting the area above it bloody. The air exuding from Alhaitham switches back to horny and Zazan happily licks the rest of the frosting along with the blood. He doesn't stop once the frosting is all gone though, instead he continues to play with Alhaitham's chest. Squeezing the mounds and littering bloody bites, big and small, along them, reaping squeals and small moans from Alhaitham.
Zazan silently giggles with Alhaitham's nipple between his teeth. This is so very hilarious. Bullying Alhaitham is fun.
Zazan glances up to look at Alhaitham's face with his nipple between his grinning teeth. Alhaitham senses the stare and returns the look.
Zazan's lips stretch wider, "Mommy~" he croons.
Alhaitham makes that face again and Zazan's shoulders tremble from holding back a laugh before he sucks the nipple hard. Alhaitham throws his head back with a long moan at the sensation, subconsciously thrusting his chest out more.
Zazan lets out a cackle, "So how's this for a foreplay?"
Alhaitham hums, "Not bad."
Zazan leans back and smugly leers down at Alhaitham, "Really? Just 'not bad'?"
"That depends," Alhaitham rearranges his tied up arms to be as comfortable as he can, "would you mind if I compare you to the sessions I have had with your older segments before?"
Zazan's smug expression wilts into a bitter one, he flaps his wings a few times to vent the annoyance, "Whatever, just tell me."
The corner of Alhaitham's lips slightly twitches, "Well as I said before, it's not bad," Zazan glares at him so he amusedly adds, "foreplay is not only about a straight forward stimulation, Zazan. It's more of a stage where you plant expectations of what will happen in your partner's mind."
Chapter 14
Notes:
This chapter is where the names are starting to get very confusing.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Now insert it," Alhaitham instructs as he spreads his thighs as wide as he can, "if you want to insert it in one go, my hole can handle it. I've given it enough preparation. Though I won't recommend it."
Zazan pumps his lubricated dick a few times before he lines it to Alhaitham's hole, "That's not a good instruction."
Alhaitham chuckles and his jaw goes slack for a moment when the glans of Zazan's dick goes past the rim of his hole, "I'm giving you a choice Zazan," Alhaitham hums at the feeling of Zazan's dick slowly sliding into him, "I don't want you to develop a habit of going by the book."
Zazan's eyebrows are furrowed in concentration as he holds himself back from immediately fucking Alhaitham, "And then what? Do I just repeatedly ram into your hole?"
Alhaitham unconsciously clenches his hole, causing Zazan's knees to buckle, "Zazan, my darling sweetheart, I am tied up. Just do whatever you want to me. I'll tell you to stop if something is not right."
Zazan stills in exasperation and looks at Alhaitham whose eyes are dark with lustful anticipation, Zazan flicks his wings before grabbing the leather belt around Alhaitham's waist, "Should've guessed that you only care about being fucked stupid," he mutters under his breath before slamming the rest of the dick in.
Alhaitham's eyes roll up as he lets out a loud moan, "Of course there are many ways to pleasure me. But as I said before, don't go by the book," Alhaitham lets out a chirp to encourage Zazan when he starts moving, "I am currently at your complete mercy, Zazan," Alhaitham's wings flutter under him when Zazan's dick keeps brushing with his bundle of pleasure, "besides, I'm sure that you know the male anatomy enough to figure out the way to fuck me."
Zazan dryly laughs, "Haha, this is just like those cooking and drawing classes. I feel scammed," but true to Alhaitham's words, Zazan angles his next thrust and easily hits Alhaitham's prostate, "you're annoying," Zazan mutters, "damn, you're even more annoying than me."
Alhaitham can't move, but he can still clench his hole. So that's what he does. He purposefully clenches his hole whenever Zazan pulls out and relaxes his hole when Zazan rams inside. It takes some time to get used to, but when Alhaitham matches Zazan's movements, he's almost in the state of losing himself in the haze of pleasure.
Zazan, on the other hand, is being very loud as he fucks into him. His hands are trembling as he grabs Alhaitham's knees more to steady himself rather than keeping them wide apart. His tongue is lolling out as he wheezes a hot breath and along with that a bunch of curses and Avian noises. His wings are flapping disorderly behind him as he fruitlessly uses them to help with his movements.
Alhaitham bites his lower lip and lets out a satisfied sigh.
Such a helpless chick. How endearing.
"Zazan-OH!" Alhaitham exclaims as Zazan suddenly surges forward to suck on his nipple without stopping his pace, "oh… oh~ my darling sweetheart~"
Zazan spits the nipple out, "Stop calling me that," he growls.
Alhaitham slightly grins, "Why not?~ that's an endearment, and you're very endearing to me~"
Zazan leans back to glare at Alhaitham's face, deep red painting his cheeks and ears, "Just shut up," he snaps, "so damn annoying," he mutters under his breath.
Alhaitham lolls his tongue out as he sings out a squeal when Zazan rams harder to vent off his annoyance, "I shall tell you then, that it's pretty much my charm."
Zazan barks a laugh, "Hah! No one is going to fall for that charm of yours."
"Oh~ but there are many people falling for it, my darling," Alhaitham's toes curl on the sheet when Zazan's elongated nails start to scratch along his thighs, ripping his stockings easily and creating shallow lines of wounds, "as a matter of fact, you're one of those people," Zazan's hip stutters and Alhaitham's grin stretches wider, "it provokes people- mphh, yes like that- enough that they want to 'teach me' something," Alhaitham lolls his tongue out from the pleasure he experiences, but to Zazan it looks like it's mocking him, "as you've known, I like it rough. So it's a win for me."
Zazan can't say anything to that. From what Alhaitham had told him, then the only way to get back at him is by not fucking him. That's not an option for him at the moment.
Zazan grumbles to himself under his breath before he rearranges his hands on Alhaitham's legs and folds him in half.
Alhaitham lets out a crisp moan at the slight change in position, "Ah, you remember this position~ it's preferable that you thrust hard and deep while using this position- ohh~" Alhaitham moans when Zazan does as instructed, hehe, such an obedient lover.
Due to the change in position, Zazan can flap his wings to ease his movements more effectively. Thus, he now have the spare energy to observe Alhaitham under him.
Ah yes, the lewd face checks out. Can't believe this is my senior.
Zazan continues to trail Alhaitham's body with his lustful eyes. Alhaitham's dick is lazily oozing precum from the tip, Zazan flicks the head out of spite, causing Alhaitham to let out a squeal as his whole body twitches in surprise. Alhaitham's tiddies are red from flush, blood and frosting, and they jiggle from the force of his thrusts. Zazan is proud of it. Red suits Alhaitham's skin enticingly. Then goosebumps appear along Zazan's shoulders from absolute arousal he experiences when he notices the bulge moving inside Alhaitham.
Zazan gulps to wet his dry throat, "Hey," he calls out to Alhaitham who's almost gone to the haze of pleasure, "I know you prefer that I cum inside but just in case, would you prefer that I cum outside?"
Alhaitham takes some time to blinks his glazed eyes, "You're correct. I prefer it to be inside," Alhaitham slightly pokes his tongue at Zazan, "I like the feeling of hot wetness spreading inside. Now come here, give me a kiss."
Zazan grits his teeth at being ordered around but otherwise he complies and leans forward.
"Hey, won't it get tiring to clean all those cum from your inside? I'm sure it takes some time."
"Ah, ah~ I think it's worth it in exchange for the feeling of euphoria I experience at being filled, Zazan~"
"Whore. Won't it waste too much time though?"
"Why~ if I don't have the time, I can simply plug it all inside me and clean it later when I have the time, darling~"
"I- I… Alright, you're more whorish than I anticipated but, by the name of my underling who got turned into a mechanical puppet for insubordination, that's hot."
"Y'know, Prime, you kept degrading Omega Build by saying that his brain has become rotten, but in all honesty I think you're just the same as him," Alpha Build comments as they walk through the yard of The Residence.
Prime simply grunts and yanks the leash around Alpha Build's neck forward as he walks faster.
Alpha Build grunts in return and grumbles when he can't match their steps immediately, "See," he says once he is able to walk beside Prime, "now what makes you think that a leash and a muzzle will be able to keep me under control?"
Prime opens the door to The Residence, he forcefully takes off the robe from Alpha Build and then his own before throwing them to Alexei who emerges from around the corner and manages to catch them in his arms, "Anything that can limit your mobility is helpful enough."
Alpha Build pulls on the leash, testing the strength of the material, "In what way is this feeble leash going to limit my mobility, pray tell?"
Prime snorts as they walk up the stairs, "And here you are, thinking that you can simply break the leash," he drawls condescendingly.
Alpha Build squints at the object between his fingers for some time before he notices elemental energy oozing from it.
Alpha Build snorts before he descends into an uncontrollable laugh, "You fucking spent a god remains to create this?" it's quite hard for him to match their steps after that so he lets Prime drag him by the leash, "pffffttttts, what are you even planning to use this leash for? It can't be that you made this specifically to keep me in check."
Prime simply rearranges his wings in silence as he continues to drag Alpha Build by the leash.
Alpha Build scrutinies Prime's back for a moment before he grins, "Ah, I see. It is, indeed, specifically made for me," he purrs, "all in hope of keeping that whore safe."
Prime stops in front of the door to the master bedroom. Alpha Build smugly waits for Prime to say anything, but that smug air slowly melts into confusion when he notices that Prime's lips are twitching from holding back a laugh.
"What? What is it?" Alpha Build snaps when the silence stretches for far too long.
Prime snorts and finally settles with a wide amused grin on his face, "You're correct. It's for Alhaitham, but I assure you it's not for what you imagine," Prime reaches for the doorknob and turns it, "he likes getting bitten, you know. It's for a precaution so that he doesn't willingly die from blood loss because he enjoys the bite."
Alpha Build makes a face, "What a freak."
"Which is perfect," Prime pushes the door open.
The smells of blood and sex hit them both like a sumpter beast that their faces immediately scrunch up at the same time. There's no sound coming from the room, though. Suspicious.
Prime warily steps inside the room. Alpha Build is forced to come along due to the leash, even though he doesn't really want to get inside, and closes the door behind him.
"You've come back," Alhaitham greets Prime as his hands absentmindedly plays with Sigma Build's hair who's passed out on top of him.
Prime slightly stretches his neck to have a look at Sigma Build's condition before he snorts, "How many rounds before he passed out?" he asks as he lets go of Alpha Build's leash to go to his desk.
"3 rounds," Alhaitham answers with amusement.
Prime's head swishes back to look at Alhaitham, "3?!" he repeats indignantly before calming himself, "3?" he repeats in a more civilized tone before pointing at Sigma Build in disgust, "you let him rest after a mere 3 rounds? Well, you sure are coddling him."
Alhaitham huffs an amused laugh as he gently shifts Sigma Build's body to the bed, "Oh, don't be too mad. He's just a chick."
"If he is just 'a chick' then why are you fucking him?" Alpha Build who was forgotten for a moment quips.
Alhaitham averts his full attention to the stranger. Well, it's certain that he's one of his mate's segments, judging from the mask and wings, but for the time being he's a stranger.
There's a little puddle of melted snow forming from water dripping down the stranger's clothes. He has his arms crossed as he raises his eyebrows at Alhaitham, completely unbothered by the leash and muzzle he's wearing.
Alhaitham sits up on the bed with a hum, "And what should I call you?"
Alpha Build blinks his eye before glancing at Prime, checking his expression.
Alpha Build grins in response to Prime's warning glare directed at him before he takes a step towards the bed and leans forward so that he sees eye to eye with Alhaitham, "Since you whore is living rent free in my place, why don't you call me Lord Doctor, hmm?"
Alhaitham stares at 'Lord Doctor' with mixed feelings.
There's a clapping sound that averts Alhaitham's attention to Prime whose hands are pressed to his face in embarrassment and exasperation. That hand slightly takes off his mask to send Alhaitham a glare.
A grin blooms on Alpha Build's lips as he watches the silent exchange between them.
Alhaitham huffs an amused exhale, "I didn't know you had a phase, Doctor," Alpha Build's grin drops.
"It is not a phase," Prime glares before he indignantly flaps his wings and waves Alhaitham away as he returns to his desk, "forget it."
With Prime busy with other things, Alhaitham's attention is back on Alpha Build, "Are you sure you want me to call you that?"
Alpha Build shows off his teeth with an angry grin, "Of course, what is it? Too prideful to call the person you leech off of with respect?"
Alhaitham doesn't say anything.
He looks back at Prime who's pointedly writing on his desk but judging from the way his wings are twitching, he probably can sense Alhaitham's stare. So Alhaitham continues to stare until Prime starts to feel uncomfortable.
"Stop bothering me," Prime hisses at Alhaitham, "go clean yourself. You reek of sexual secretions."
Alhaitham averts his attention back at Alpha Build, "Well then, Lord Doctor," Alhaitham breathily calls Alpha Build, causing Prime to let out a strangled squawk, before he unabashedly spreads his legs, "Doctor seems to be busy, so can you please join me here?"
Alpha Build tenses, taken aback by Alhaitham's shamelessness and boldness. He stares at the white liquid lazily oozing from Alhaitham's hole before he observes Alhaitham's expression. Half-lidded bright with want eyes stare back at him and Alpha Build crumbles into a heap of laughter.
"S-"
Prime harshly yanks Alpha Build away from Alhaitham by the leash, "He can't," he tells Alhaitham, "his vessel still needs some more tweaks before he can take anything strenuous."
Alpha Build scoffs mockingly, "Right..."
Doctor ignores him in order to point at Sigma Build, "If you're still not sated yet then go back to fucking Sigma Build. Coddling him like that won't be worth anything."
Alhaitham huffs before he shoves 3 fingers into his hole to occupy it in the meantime. 3 rounds worth of cum slowly streams out from between his fingers and Alhaitham revels under the undivided attention of his mates as he stretches his free hand to poke Zazan's cheek. No reaction.
"Don't you pity him, Doctor," Alhaitham purrs as his fingers fuck his hole, "he seems to be very tired.
Prime scoffs, "Then continue to coddle him like that," he returns to his desk, dragging Alpha Build, who's still staring fixatedly at Alhaitham's hole, with him.
"Or…" Alpha Build crows as he lets himself be dragged away, "you can fuck yourself with my mating gift."
Alhaitham's fingers still before his eyes light up in understanding, "Ah, of course."
Alhaitham takes out his fingers from his hole, causing him to let out a whiny squeal that unbeknownst to him causes his mates' wings to shiver with want, before crawling on all four across the bed to reach the drawer under the bed. Fully intentionally showing off his used and slightly swollen hole to his mates.
Alhaitham rummages around the drawer to look for the phallic object. Taking his time as he does so and slightly sways his hip from time to time to tease his mates.
Alhaitham starts to gather saliva inside his mouth once he finds what he's looking for. He starts by licking the tip of the object before he inserts it into his mouth. He keeps pushing it into his mouth, ignoring how sometimes he chokes on it, until it's wholly inside.
Alpha Build lets out a soft whistle at Alhaitham's performance and Prime slaps him with his wings for his crude behavior.
Alhaitham lustfully huffs a breath through his nose and his wings flutter behind him from the feeling of fullness in his mouth and throat. His back arches when he moves the phallic object in and out his mouth. His mouth makes obscene slurping sounds as he tries to suck on the object.
Seeing as he can't concentrate on anything else other than the show, Prime lets out a sigh before he approaches Alhaitham to take away the phallic object from his hand.
Alhaitham lets out a wail when Prime completely takes out the object from his mouth.
"Oh, save it," Prime says before pinning Alhaitham to the bed by the back and roughly pushing the phallic object into his hole.
Alhaitham moans a high pitched squeal as he eagerly raises his ass.
Prime immediately fucks Alhaitham with the object without waiting for him to adjust. Alhaitham moans and squeals from the pleasure as his wings twitch and his thighs tremble. Then Prime slaps Alhaitham's ass with his gloved hand so hard that it makes a sound akin to a lamp exploding, causing Alhaitham to cry out a loud wail.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, SOMEONE IS TRYING TO SLEEP HERE," Zazan swiftly turns around from his sleep to smack Alhaitham's head.
Alhaitham easily catches Zazan's hand, and then the temperature in the room drops, at least to Zazan it does, "... You… are awake…" Alhaitham slowly says.
Zazan can immediately feel the predatory intent in Alhaitham's voice so he tries to pull his hand, "No," he denies in a meek voice.
Prime stands up and pats his hands as he softly snickers to himself, "Well, have fun you two," he mocks as he leads Alpha Build out of the room.
Sigma Build frantically tries to get his hand away from Alhaitham but it won't budge, "PRIME YOU BASTARDGHFRH-mmphibh mph~," Sigma Build's last word is muffled by both Alhaitham's lips and the door of the master bedroom.
Prime lets out a smug exhale before without a word dragging Alpha Build by the leash to his underground lab.
Alpha Build limps as he tries to not be choked by the leash and Prime's smile stretches into a grin.
Ah, yes. As he had expected. Alpha Build talked big about venting his frustrations on Alhaitham but he has long guessed that it would turn out like this. Unlike the other Segments, Alpha Build is heavily influenced by his hormones.
"For the record, you are only allowed to will it away," Prime says, rubbing salt to the wound, "don't dirty my lab."
Alpha Build's answer is a disgruntled grunt.
Notes:
I'm tired of using Twitter, or X now, will probably change my second domain to Tumblr.
I'm excited for Fontaine, but will probably try saving up my primos for future Alhaitham's cons or copium on playable Dottore. What about y'all?
Chapter 15
Notes:
I've been listening to a lot of dramatic violin musics while writing the draft for the future chapters, I want to warn you to brace yourself but there's a chance that the future chapters won't even faze you. In any case, it's still a long time ahead so just take your time.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The sun went down a long time ago. Everyone is already tired and ready to go to sleep except for Alhaitham who has dragged a half alive Zazan to the bathroom to have sex in the bathtub and Alexei whose selective comprehension ability to block possible trauma from trying to process knowledge has reached a new level as he dutifully cleans the master bedroom.
Obviously, the red marks on the bed sheet is the frosting from the cake His Lordship the Sigma Build requested to be made and the white substance is whipped cream.
Alexei hears His Ladyship's high pitched squeal of relief echoes from the bathroom and the delusion he has built for his own sanity wavers dangerously.
Alexei cleans the room faster.
"Well damn, he's loud," Alpha Build comments as he lies on the metal operating table, naked as the day he was made.
Prime disinterestedly hums, "It's good that he's expressive."
Alpha Build sarcastically scoffs, "Right…" he takes off his mask, showing his scarred face littered with rough patches of stitches, "what's taking you so long?"
"Patience. Unless you prefer to brave the pain," Prime says as he fiddles with a needle.
Alpha Build stretches his arms up as if he's lying on a hammock under the sunshine and not on an operating table under artificial light, "Whatever…" he scratches the itch around his stitched upper lip, "taking off some threads and internal checkup won't be the worst pain I've experienced."
Prime puts away the needle with an indifferent flick of his wings and flashes a cold smile towards Alpha Build, "Very well. I'll make sure you won't even dare to regret this decision," Prime starts to nimbly strap Alpha Build down to the table.
"Yes, yes. I know…" Alpha Build boredly drawls, "just get this done quickly."
Alexei can't fucking sleep.
His ears can pick up His Ladyship's needy noises and on the other end he can also hear His Lordship the Alpha Build's infamous hysterical laughter of agony reverberating from the dungeon.
Yet Alexei closes his eyes despite it all.
The paycheck is worth it.
The paycheck is always worth it.
There's nothing several bottles of firewater can't fix.
The woman with cor lapis earrings sits behind her office desk in the Diplomatic Office as she quickly reads her paperwork. Her hand flits over the paper from time to time to add her signature.
A crisp knock falls on the door, " Come in," the woman says without looking up from her work.
Another woman in light blue fur coat opens the door a fraction, enough for her to peek into the room, before she opens the door wide and sashays into the room after closing the door behind her, "Well, you sure are diligent, Ma'am Irina," she comments before sitting on the empty couch without being prompted.
Irina finally places down her paper and looks up, "Miss Galina," she greets before glancing at the clock on her table, "What brings you here to my office at this hour?"
"Oh, come on," Galina waves her calloused hands at Irina, "don't be so tense with me."
Irina places her pen down, "With all due respect, Miss Galina. My relationship with your faction is strictly professional and in no way warrant anything less than formal."
Galina intertwines her fingers and props his head on it while sending Irina a sweet smile, "Sure, sweetie. Whatever helps you sleep at night. Although I'm sure that our last night's endeavor helps you sleep better than any anesthesia," she purrs.
Irina's eyebrow twitches and she sighs, "Just state your business, please. As you can see I'm busy."
"Awh, so cold," Galina playfully whines, "but I won't dare hold back a tired worker from having their 'sweet' rest," Irina stares, unimpressed, at her and Galina grins, "there's a new batch of diplomats for the Sumerian department isn't it?"
Irina finally places down her pen before folding her hands and giving Galina all her attention, "Did my Lord send you here?"
Galina places her hands on the armrest as she relaxes into the couch, "Yeap," she cheerfully confirms before her demeanor turns serious as she crosses her legs, "Words have been floating around that one of the diplomats is The Doctor's mate."
Irina stares at Galina in surprise for a moment before her eyes cast down in thoughts, "And are these words credible?"
"Surprisingly, yes," Galina shrugs, "our intel stated that one of the new diplomats was previously someone with a high position in Sumeru. To suddenly abandon his position and move to Snezhnaya as a mere diplomat, surely it is odd even to you," she starts tapping her finger on the armrest to an unrecognizable tune, "adding the fact that The Doctor had left Snezhnaya for around 6 months to do Archon knows what in Sumeru."
Irina's eyebrows furrow in thoughts, "But why? Why would an Avian mated to someone of a very high ranking even feel the need to work at all? At the Diplomatic Office of all places."
Galina cheerfully shoots Irina a finger gun, "Eexactly!" she cheers, "and that's what my Lord wants you to find out. As long as no one unconcerned finds out about our group, you're free to do anything to find out," Galina jumps to her feet and skips her way towards the door, "well, I'm sure you've grown familiar with this song and dance so I'll leave it in your hands. See ya, sweetie~"
Sleep is still a weird occasion for Sigma Build. As the youngest segment, and being under twenties, his vessel has the most energy compared to other segments. Although on the other hand, he is also the segment who sleeps the most. Mostly because his mental aptitude is not as developed as the older segments to handle continuous usage.
But still, it's weird that he sleeps for two days in a row.
Hold on, these musings feel strangely familiar.
Zazan springs up into a sitting position with a deafening panicked caw.
Alhaitham who is doing his morning stretching routines lets out a startled squawk and ungracefully falls down on his face while pressing his hands to his ears to stop the ringing in his ears.
Zazan is still disoriented from waking up so abruptly only to find out that there's no imminent threat to his dick like he had expected. His bleary eyes scan the room he's in before he notices a twitching pair of wings on the floor.
"Whu- aaaarrrrrrrghhhhh," unfortunately for Zazan, his adrenaline has ran out and the pain from continuous strenuous activities his body had been put through last night rears its head with the might of a charging Andrius.
Zazan plops down on the bed like a stranded fish. He continues to caw in pain as his muscles spasm painfully. He claws the air in vain to vent off the pain somewhere else.
Alhaitham is still suffering from the ringing in his ears. The continuous loud noises from Zazan doesn't help at all. Alhaitham subconsciously shields his body with his quivering wings to try to block the noises.
That's how Prime finds them that morning.
Prime looks at the quivering bundle of feathers on the floor before he looks at the hysterical Sigma Build.
Prime's mind works fast as he quickly calculates the source of the problem, "Shut up," he orders as he flings a mostly unconscious Alpha Build at Sigma Build.
Sigma Build lets out one last yell when Alpha Build's body slams his tortured body but otherwise he stops screaming and suffers in silence.
Prime closes the door to the bedroom as he glances at his mate before kneeling down beside him and takes off his mask, "Hey," Prime taps Alhaitham's wings, "Are you alright?" Alhaitham still has his wings up to shield himself so Prime adds in a low voice, "don't you just want to rip Sigma Build's vocal cord out? If you want to, you can just tell me. Truthfully I've long gotten tired of his boisterous nature."
Alhaitham's wings ruffle before parting, showing Alhaitham's unamused expression directed at Prime.
Prime flashes Alhaitham a humorless grin before standing up with a twitch of his wings, he really has gotten tired of hearing Sigma Build. Prime offers his hand to help Alhaitham up and Alhaitham takes it.
With Alhaitham standing on his own two feet, Prime has no other thing to worry about except for why Alhaitham was on the floor in the first place so he asks, "What happened?"
Alhaitham rubs his nose to Prime's jaw with a soft squeal as a thank, which Prime returns with a coo, before he gives the bed a look, "I have no idea. But judging from Zazan's state, he's most likely experiencing the same pain you experienced after our second session."
Prime's wings flare in pride and his lips stretch into a crooked smile as he smugly looks down at Sigma Build who can't even twist his neck, "Seems like it."
Alhaitham huffs a laugh and rolls his eyes at the apparent smugness radiating from his mate. He takes his earpiece from his nightstand, just in case, before approaching the bed.
"What happened to him?" Alhaitham's nose slightly scrunches up in disgust from the overwhelming smell of disinfectant wafting from 'Lord Doctor'.
Prime glances from above his shoulder, "Oh, don't mind him," he says as he approaches the reading section, "Alpha Build just got his body tuned. He'll be fine when he wakes up."
Alhaitham's face contorts in distaste as he leans down to rearrange Lord Doctor's body so that his wings are not folded painfully under his own weight. He ignores Zazan whose whole body tenses the moment he's near.
A scent of formalin hits Alhaitham's nose and it takes all Alhaitham's might to not gag, "Nevermind," Alhaitham mutters before he slings one of Alpha Build's arms over his shoulder and drags him to the bathroom, "Doctor, can you please bring Zazan here to take a bath?"
Prime looks up from his reading to look at Sigma Build who is slowly turning his head to send Prime a look.
Alhaitham's head pops out from the bathroom, "Doctor?"
Prime stares at Sigma Build and Sigma Build shakes his head as frantically as he can.
Prime stands up from the couch with a faint smile on his lips as he approaches the bed, "Coming."
Sigma Build ignores the screams of his muscles in order to face the imminent threat that's the Prime segment of his life approaching him in lazy steps.
It's a miracle that Sigma Build is able to flare his wings defensively, "Prime, I swear if you touch me-" he growls but his threat gets cut off by his own panicked Avian noise when Prime completely ignores his warning and grabs his wrist.
Sigma Build flails every part of his body, ignoring the protests of his muscles, all in order to flee his trauma from being in the bathroom with Alhaitham. Sigma Build's struggle results in a bunch of his feathers flying off, causing Prime to let his wrist go out of annoyance, not without nicking his wrist bloody.
Sigma Build immediately lowers his body to the bed like a feral beast ready to attack Prime the moment he makes a move. Sharp teeth gnashed and wings flared imposingly behind him.
Prime stares at Sigma Build's form for a moment before he grabs his ankle and drags him to the bathroom.
Sigma Build struggles by clawing every surface he can get his hands on and screaming caws. Prime doesn't care. It doesn't matter. Alhaitham has already worn his noise canceling earpiece after all.
Alhaitham who's gently washing Alpha Build's hair glances at them when they enter the bathroom, he raises his eyebrows at them, "Why's Zazan bleeding?"
Prime stops in the middle of the bathroom, he stands there and silently stares back at Alhaitham with lifeless eyes, "Because he was being 'a chick'."
Sigma Build lets out an indignant caw at that and then a small pained caw as his adrenaline has yet again left him to face the consequences of his actions.
Prime lets go of Sigma Build's ankle, quite sure that this mess of spasming muscles won't be able to run away, and approaches Alhaitham who has been fiddling with Alpha Build's mask, "You might not want to take it off."
"On the contrary, since I want to completely clean him," Alhaitham emphasizes his point by scooting away to give Prime some room so that he can take the mask off, "please take it off for me and then put Zazan in the tub so that he can let his muscles relax."
Prime stares into Alhaitham's eyes for a long while and Alhaitham stares back, then Prime huffs, "Alright, as you wish."
Prime takes the mask off with ease. Then he leaves the aftermath to Alhaitham in order to wrangle Sigma Build who has exceeded his expectation by crawling to the door of the bathroom back.
Alhaitham's breath hitches and he freezes when he sees the scarred face. Without a doubt, it's still his mate's face. Yet the scarrings almost completely erase his mate's characteristics.
Alhaitham brings his thumb to gently brush the trail of plumage on Lord Doctor's face which is almost entirely gone. Alhaitham inhales a shaky breath, feeling somber all of a sudden.
Alhaitham slightly jumps from the surprise when Prime drops Sigma Build in the tub, spraying water everywhere, and shoves his head into the water.
Alhaitham gently lies Lord Doctor on a dry towel before turning around to face Zazan who's sitting in the bathtub with his wings flared defensively.
Alhaitham lets out a sigh before flicking his wings which are damp because of Zazan and Doctor's earlier scuffle.
Alhaitham stares again at Zazan who's glaring dagger at him before deciding to give up and send Doctor, who's on another level of wet and disgruntled than him, a look, "Hold him, please."
Prime grunts before he sits down beside the bathtub and holds Sigma Build in a real chokehold that will make sure Sigma Build won't struggle or make loud noises, "Go on," he prompts Alhaitham.
"Thank you," Alhaitham says before he makes quick work of easing Zazan's muscle knots, which is very slow since you can't really rush things like these.
"Go faster," Doctor commands, "he can handle a little bit of pain. Stop coddling him."
Alhaitham huffs an amused exhale as he rolls his eyes, he's still on that.
Alhaitham massages Zazan's body harder and faster, kneading the knots into submission, ignoring Zazan's strangled caws of pain.
When the grueling hour of massaging ends, Zazan is able to move freely again, and he takes that as a chance to immediately bolt out of the master bedroom.
Alhaitham glances at the gaping door with his eyebrows raised as he lies Lord Doctor on the bed, wings rearranging themselves in amusement. He was about to close the door but Doctor beat him to it.
They silently stare into each other as Alhaitham's hand blindly reaches for a small dry towel, "I didn't know you were very endearing when you were young, Doctor."
Doctor makes a face as if he has just been hit, but a faint red is crawling on his cheeks, "Silence."
Alhaitham amusedly hums, promising nothing, before he finally glances to where he put the towel he's searching for. He takes the towel and starts to dry Lord Doctor's hair.
"Finally, some peace and quiet," Lord Doctor mumbles.
Alhaitham finishes drying Lord Doctor's hair and gently brushes his hair back, "I apologize for the disturbance. You can blame your younger segment for that."
Lord Doctor weakly snorts, ignoring the goosebumps that surge from Alhaitham's gentle touch, "How noble of you, throwing someone under like that."
"I'm sure that you prefer the truth," Alhaitham whispers amusedly, "now go back to rest. I think you still need some more of it."
Lord Doctor closes his eyes with a grunt.
When Alhaitham turns around, Doctor is definitely not sulking.
Well, Alhaitham is sure what he's doing is sulking but Doctor will vehemently denies it so it's better to say that he's not sulking.
"Doctor," Alhaitham softly calls as he approaches Doctor who is changing out of his wet clothes with his back on him, "shouldn't you at least shower first?"
Doctor's wings twitch once, "No, I'm busy. I have to go soon."
Alhaitham lightly rakes his nails on the muscles between Doctor's wings, causing Doctor to tense his shoulders and wings, "Now, I'm sure you have the time to at least have a quick shower," Alhaitham lowly murmurs to Doctor's neck.
Doctor turns around with a flick of his wings to take a look at Alhaitham. He stares at Alhaitham's collarbones and his chest under the see-through wet shirt.
"And what about you?" Doctor whispers back, "you might catch an illness if you don't take a bath soon."
Alhaitham shrugs his wings welcomely, "We can have one together."
"Great…" Lord Doctor sleepily drawls, "Just make sure don't be too loud, someone is trying to catch a sleep here."
Alhaitham doesn't averts his attention away from Doctor but he hears what Lord Doctor says clearly judging from the way his wings rearrange themselves and his eyes light up with mirth.
Doctor… he… he can never say no to those eyes.
Doctor silently walks back to the bathroom, followed closely by Alhaitham.
Alhaitham sits in the middle of the pool inside the bathroom he has only seen just now. His eyes are closed from how much he enjoys the gentle drizzle of warm water falling from showers atop the pool. Alhaitham opens his eyes a fraction when he feels Doctor sitting down beside him.
"I didn't expect you will enjoy this so much," Doctor offhandedly comments but even if his wings are wet, Alhaitham can see they're preening in pride.
Alhaitham softly chuckles, causing Doctor's wings to preen more, before he leans to Doctor's side, "I also didn't expect that it will be this comfortable."
Doctor hums, lips twitching from holding back a smug smile. He circles his arm around Alhaitham's waist, bringing him closer before he lets out a soft coo.
Alhaitham almost immediately tilts his head up and softly squeals back.
Doctor breathlessly chuckles before he presses their foreheads together and starts leading an Avian song with a rattle.
The door to the master bedroom opens a fraction and Sigma Build's head peek inside.
Alpha Build lazily groans, "Why can't you flee for a longer period?"
Sigma Build quickly steps into the room and closes the door behind him, "Shut up. I forgot my clothes."
"Iiiiii diiiiiiii oooooooooot."
Notes:
The urge to write Alpha Build says, "Ba~ka," is strong.
Chapter Text
The pool is in the bathroom, hidden behind the full body mirror. Alhaitham and Doctor are still there.
The showers are continuously drizzling them with warm water and Alhaitham relaxes his body to lean to the edge of the pool. Dottore takes his time preening Alhaitham's wings as Alhaitham softly hums an Avian song in appreciation.
Doctor sticks his hand into the underside layer of Alhaitham's wings and gently scratches there, causing Alhaitham to let out a crisp chirp and arches his back as his wings flutter from the feeling.
"Speaking off…" Doctor trails off as his other hand reaches to tease other sensitive spots of Alhaitham's wings, "doesn't your work start tomorrow?"
Alhaitham scratches the edge of the pool in a halfhearted attempt to get away from Doctor's teasing hands, "Y-yesh…" a squeak is punched out of Alhaitham's lips when Doctor starts kneading the base of his wings.
Doctor's eyes are squinted in amusement as he observes the way Alhaitham's body twitches from his little ministrations, he leans down to brush his lips on the trail of plumage at the back of Alhaitham's neck, "Why is it that you always have such a big reaction from a simple preening? Is it because you're a falcon breed that uses your wings often, or because it is simply your sweet spot, hmm?" he lowly purrs till he can feel his own voice rumble deep in his chest.
Alhaitham wiggles his body around to dislodge Doctor's hands but it's no use, he lets out a loud wail when Doctor starts mouthing the back of his neck, "Th- that's because you're not supposed to preen wings this intense -ack," Doctor starts to kneads the muscles between his wings and Alhaitham scratches the edge of the pool in vain, "sh- shlow down."
Doctor hums, "I don't think I should," he starts pressing the ridges of Alhaitham's spine, "I know you like it intense," he whispers into Alhaitham's ear before pressing Alhaitham's tailbone, causing Alhaitham to throw his head back with a squeal as his body twitches violently.
Doctor retracts his hands and leans to the edge of the pool with his arms relaxedly spread, smugly observing the twitching and chittering mess that's Alhaitham.
It takes a long while for Alhaitham to recover. Doctor is fine with that. He continues to observe Alhaitham's attempts at calming himself, enjoying every time he fails to do so.
Once Alhaitham is calmed, he petulantly flicks his wings, splashing water at Doctor's face, "Yes, my work starts tomorrow. If what I know proves to be correct then it starts at 11 in the morning and ends at 3 in the afternoon."
Doctor stills at the information. Then he tilts his head up with his eyes closed to think.
11 to 3… that's only 4 hours of work. Pulcinella really goes all out to give Alhaitham special treatments, huh?
Still…
Doctor scoots over to Alhaitham's side and leans at the edge of the pool beside him, "You are my mate, you know," Doctor starts his argument with a general fact, "and I am the second Harbinger of Her Majesty, The Tsaritsa," he stares unblinkingly into Alhaitham's eyes, trying to emphasize his point, "You don't have to work at all. Just stay here. I will provide for everything you want."
'As much as I prefer to do that, I can't bear to live blindly in a foreign nation,' is what Alhaitham wants to say, but then, again, he notices the worry on his mate's face, and so, again, he softens his choice of words to spare his mate's feelings, "I can't. Just like this cryo shackle," Alhaitham raises his wrist to bring the shackle into view, "which the Cryo Archon gave as the condition of my stay here," he pointedly maintains eye contact with Doctor, "my work as a diplomat is Lord Kusanali's condition for my leave."
Doctor stays silent, but it's clear that he doesn't accept it yet.
Doctor silently reaches for Alhaitham's wrist and gently caresses it with his thumb. He stares emptily at the shackle.
Thinking back, his worry about this shackle was wholly unnecessary. He even had forgotten about it completely if not for Alhaitham bringing it up.
"Fine…" Doctor acquiesced, "but you need to have a guard with you at all times."
Alhaitham exhales slowly before pressing his forehead to Doctor's, "Doctor… that's a little excessive, don't you think? You're worrying too much. It's only 4 hours a day for 5 days a week. I'll be back before you even realize that I'm gone."
Doctor huffs a hollow laugh, "First of all, I'm not being excessive. You're my mate, again I'm telling you I'm the second Harbinger of The Tsaritsa, and judging from the envoys that had come to welcome you, it's publicly known. I think it's simply common sense to provide security for someone close to an influential figure," Alhaitham peeks his eyes open to peer at Doctor and Doctor stares back as he continues, "secondly, how dare you even suggest that I won't notice you're not around me. Are you insulting me? Just so you know, we are almost together 24/7. If I don't notice you're gone then surely my awareness of my surroundings is lacking."
Alhaitham can see Doctor's points and he can't refute them at all, he hates it, he slightly scowls, "I know how to protect myself, Doctor. I am a vision holder."
Doctor scowls, "Dendro vision? In Snezhnaya? Do you really think it will help much? I'm telling you, if there's one thing Snezhnayan's criminals are best at, it's at planned group-mugging."
Alhaitham frowns, "Now you're just being over the top."
Doctor leans away from Alhaitham to send him a vexed look, "Whatever you're going to say, I won't change my mind. Someone will accompany you to guard you. End of the discussion," then he stands up and harshly flaps his wings a few times to get rid of some of the water clinging to them before walking out of the pool to the towel rack.
Alhaitham stares at Doctor's back as he walks away, leaving him. Alhaitham supposes that Doctor's worry is not completely baseless so he was the one being quite unreasonable. Still, Doctor needs to learn to stop being needlessly worried. Alhaitham is not a chick, he can take care of himself.
Alhaitham stares at Doctor who's roughly drying himself with a towel, still keeping his back to him, and sighs, "Fine…" he calls out causing Doctor's wings to perk up, for the time being he will play along since his mate appears to be easily distressed over him, "now won't you come back? It's your turn to be preened."
Doctor walks away with a flick of his wings, "Sadly, as I've told you, I'm busy. So I'll have to refuse that."
Prime gets out of the bathroom right in time to see Sigma Build trying to jump out from the window. Although he seems to have changed his mind when he notices that it's him.
"Oh, it's just you," Sigma Build mutters before letting out a shaky breath.
Prime ignores his antics with a flick of his wings and he goes for his clean set of clothes he left hanging on the wardrobe's knob.
"Alpha Build," Prime calls as he wears his pants, but there's no answer.
Prime waits some more as he wears his harness over his shirt but there's still no answer so he repeats, "Alpha Build," there's still no answer so Prime turns around to face the bed, "it's no use pretending. I know you're awake so listen to me."
Alpha Build groans as he stretches on the bed before brushing his bang off his face, "Tsk, can't even fucking rest in here…" he grumbles, "what?"
Prime meticulously wears his gloves, "I'm changing your duty into accompanying Alhaitham to his work."
Alpha Build immediately snaps his head up to send Prime an incredulous look, "What?!" he barks a caw, "you're ordering me to babysit him?"
Prime tilts his head and looks down at Alpha Build, then he lets out a hum, "No, you're just going to keep an eye on him. I'm sure he can take care of himself but he needs to have someone he can immediately reach out to in case of emergency."
Alpha Build pushes himself into a sitting position, sending Prime a more disgruntled look, "That's not any better in the slightest. It's worse actually."
Prime turns around to wear his cravat, "That's no excuse. You will have to keep an eye on him until Omega Build is rebuilt."
Alpha Build leans on the headboard with a huff as he crosses his arms, "And how long will that take?"
Prime checks his appearance in the mirror before shrugging his intricate coat on, "It won't take long. In fact, I'm going to start soon after discussing a few things with The Regrator."
Alpha Build huffs with a scowl, "Fine."
Sigma Build watches the exchange between them with a grin. Suck it, Alpha Build. It's your turn to suffer now.
Sigma Build watches Prime and Doctor talks so fixatedly that he forgets Alhaitham might come out anytime soon, "If there's going to be another segment joining, I suggest that you get another bed," Alhaitham suddenly says, surprising Sigma Build enough to jump and screams a caw.
Alhaitham swiftly reaches out and pinches Sigma Build's cheek so hard that Sigma Build stops screaming and instead whines a pained caw, "And Zazan, please stop overreacting," Alhaitham brings Sigma Build closer by the cheek before hissing to his face, "it's starting to get annoying."
Prime snorts as Sigma Build wordlessly nods his head and holds Alhaitham's wrist, begging him to let go.
Alhaitham lets Sigma Build go with a huff before approaching Prime, "As I was saying, we need another bed in here."
Prime folds his hands behind his back and looks up and down at Alhaitham's naked body, "I assure you, the bedroom isn't usually this crowded. We don't need to sleep every night so having only one bed should be fine."
"It's not that," Alhaitham stops close in front of Prime, close enough that their breath mingles with each other, "Just in case some of your segments need to rest while the other wants to sate their more primal instinct," Alhaitham whispers to Prime's lips.
Prime's lips stretch into a grin and he lightly slaps Alhaitham's ass, "Whore."
Alpha Build sucks in a sharp breath when he sees Alhaitham's ass jiggles from the light slap. His rising irritation slowly changes into rising hormonal induced thoughts.
Sigma Build watches it all with an amused grin.
"I'll leave it to you, Sigma Build," Prime suddenly orders and Sigma Build's amusement is gone in an instant, "Go with any of the servants. You better not kill them before you get what you're supposed to look for."
Sigma Build grunts an affirmative caw.
Prime's attention is back on Alhaitham, he brushes some of his hair back behind his ear, "I might not be able to meet you in 1 to 3 days so I'll say it now. You better wear something that can guard you against the cold."
Alhaitham huffs an amused exhale and rubs their noses together, "I will. Stop worrying over everything. I'll be fine."
Prime only hears Alhaitham's first sentence, he leans away to wear his mask, "Alpha Build will be the one to accompany you to your work. Don't stray out of his sight," he tells Alhaitham before leaving the master bedroom.
With Prime gone, Sigma Build is back to feeling a little bit threatened by Alhaitham's presence. He ever so slightly slides to Alpha Build's side, disliking the fact that he's on the bed, power in number and all.
Alhaitham turns around and Sigma Build tenses, "So, 'Alpha Build'," Alhaitham calls out as he slowly approaches the bed, causing Alpha Build to slightly look up at his face before his eye are back to being fixated on his naked body.
Seeing as Alhaitham's attention is not on him, Sigma Build slowly retreats to a safe distance at the reading section.
Alhaitham bends his body by the waist and leans forward to Alpha Build's personal space, "say, should I really call you 'Lord Doctor' or would you prefer to be called something else?"
Alpha Build doesn't hear Alhaitham. His adam's apple bobs up and down as his eye can't stray from Alhaitham's mounds which are enticingly sagging from gravity.
Alhaitham's lips stretch into a smirk and his eyes glint with mirth, he taps Alpha Build's nose, "Hey."
Alpha Build blinks and looks up, staring straight into a pretty pair of turquoise eyes staring straight at him and he's lost for words again.
Alhaitham watches in amusement as red starts to crawl from Alpha Build's neck to his face at a visible speed. Perhaps he should stop teasing him, he has just cleaned himself after all.
Alhaitham crawls onto the bed and straddles Alpha Build, the body beneath him tenses immediately and Alhaitham is pleasantly surprised at how robust the body feels, Alhaitham circles his arms around Alpha Build's neck and pokes his cheek, "Hey, I'm asking you a question. Do you really want me to call you 'Lord Doctor' in public?"
Alpha Build closes his gaping mouth since who knows when with a click and begins to think. Yes, now that he can think more about it, it will be quite embarrassing if Alhaitham calls him that in public.
"Just call me 'Alpha Build'," Alpha Build mutters.
Alhaitham leans forward to prop his chin on Alpha Build's head, he secretly smirks when he hears Alpha Build's breath hitches, "Oh? No nickname?"
"I'm not saying that," Alpha Build scoffs and holds Alhaitham's waist to push him off of him but his hands stay there instead when he feels just how soft Alhaitham's skin is, "I- I don't know what you should call me by yet," he stutters.
Wow, Alpha Build looks so obviously horny it's kinda embarrassing to look at. Sigma Build will take his leave now. Shopping a bed with a stupid servant is much more preferable than witnessing this any further.
Alhaitham softly chuckles and he watches as Alpha Build's wings which were mostly unmoving previously twitch up, "Very well then, Alpha Build," Alhaitham purposefully purrs his name, "do you want to fuck me?"
Alpha Build sucks in a breath and immediately shoves Alhaitham off. Alhaitham stares in surprise at Alpha Build whose whole body is red from both embarrassment and anger, "Shut up, you whore," he hisses, "quickly go wear something and meet me at the indoor arena. Prime told me to keep an eye on you so let me see just how well you fare in a fight so that I can judge if you can handle some of your own problems."
And then Alpha Build throws the blanket off of him and wears his clothes, "You can use your vision, by the way. Although I don't think it can help you best me at all," he says aloud without looking back before closing the door behind him.
Alhaitham blinks at the door before he stands up to wear some clothes.
A sparring won't hurt. His morning stretches were disrupted anyway.
Prime Dottore unamusedly stares at Pantalone who smiles at him with a hint of anger, "Well?" he prompts.
Pantalone sucks in a breath to quell a little bit of his anger, it's fine, he's not mad anymore, this is why he only partners with Omega Build in the first place, "Well, why don't you start explaining why you didn't start by rebuilding Omega Build? I'm sure that I specifically asked for him to be rebuilt first and even Her Majesty requested that you rebuild the segments by the order of duties."
Dottore sniffs, "I know what I am doing better than anyone else. In the end my goal is to rebuild them all. If I had started from Omega Build, Sigma Build's vessel would have perished and Alpha Build's body would be slightly more broken than it already is."
The blood vein on Pantalone's forehead is popping out as he pinches the bridge of his nose, "Do you have any idea how much Mora I'm losing because of Omega Build's absence."
Dottore rearranges his wings out of boredom, "It was only for a few days. Surely you can handle things by yourself for at most 3 more days."
Pantalone's wings bristle behind him before they calm down as fast as the outburst, "Fine!" he leans back to his chair while nursing his headache, "fine I'll rearrange things to be done."
Dottore taps the desk separating them, "One more thing," he adds.
"What is it?" Pantalone snaps.
"Alhaitham, my mate, will start working in the Diplomatic Office tomorrow. I know you're eager to get to know him but I warn you if you bother him too much when you make a visit to the Diplomatic Office, I'll cut our partnership," Dottore points at Pantalone, "don't harass him."
Pantalone grits his teeth with an angry smile, so he's still on that? He was just joking by Mora, "Understood," he appeases Dottore in the end.
Dottore flicks his wings, seemingly disinterested but inside he's very satisfied, "Good. Now fill me in on what I've been missing for the past 5 months," his fingers absentmindedly taps the armrest, "what is with this rebellion I've been hearing about?"
Pantalone slowly sighs to let go of his annoyance, "Ah, so you do read the paper."
Dottore arrogantly hums, not confirming anything, "Well? Get on with it."
Pantalone rolls his eyes, "Truthfully, it's as much as stated in the paper. The leader for this round of rebellion is quite capable since Arlecchino has yet to find a whiff. As a matter of fact, didn't she request to borrow Alpha Build?"
Ah, yes. So this time the common people are going all out? All the more reason to rebuild Omega Build soon, after that he can delegate the duty of keeping an eye on Alhaitham to Omega Build while Alpha Build resumes to his original duties.
"She did. But Alpha Build is needed somewhere else," Dottore easily shrugs.
Pantalone raises his eyebrows, "Really? With that bad temper of his, I wonder what he's needed for."
Alpha Build's shirt is off, he knows he doesn't need to take it off to take on Alhaitham but he needs to start his training routines and the shirt is getting in the way. So he summons his claymore and starts swinging it the same way he has been doing it for a year or so.
Alpha Build can hear someone step into the arena. It's probably Alhaitham. He ignores his arrival in order to finish his routine.
Then Alpha Build starts feeling a hot gaze tracing his body and he clenches the hilt of his claymore tighter than necessary as he does an upward slash followed by a quick and brutal spinning downward slash that sends the lamp high above rattling.
Alpha Build finally can't take it anymore when he hears the sound of an appraisal purr.
Alpha Build swish around to point angrily at Alhaitham, red faced, "CAN YOU STOP BEING HORNY FOR A SECOND?!" he screeches.
Chapter Text
Alhaitham lets out a grunt when the force of Alpha Build's claymore pushes him back. He uses his wings to hover a few centimeters above ground to mitigate the force before steadying his stance.
Now, Alhaitham had expected Alpha Build would surely be able to hold his ground since he was the one who initiated this sparring session. As it turns out, Alpha Build is much more capable than he had expected.
"Not good enough~" Alpha Build sings-songs, smug and condescending, and Alhaitham knows for sure that he's sneering underneath his mask, "I've seen the way you dressed from Prime and Omega Build's perspective, y'know… honestly it's hard to believe that you had a hand in dethroning the sages. If I didn't know better, I would have assumed that you were merely an entertainment they rented to vent off the stress of planning a rebellion."
Alhaitham paces his breath, making sure he doesn't rise to Alpha Build's bait.
Alpha Build tilts his head with a grin before rotating his claymore with one hand, "Come at me again. Use your vision this time," he orders and Alhaitham delivers.
Alhaitham lightning fast uses his vision to flash forward in a rush of dendro energy and immediately does a tilted downward slash at Alpha Build.
Alpha Build, although a little bit surprised, easily blocks the attack using the hilt of his claymore. He's about to mock Alhaitham because of his easy to read surprise attack but he bites down his comment when Alhaitham summons another sword.
Alhaitham pushes Alpha Build's claymore with his main sword and without hesitation stabs with his secondary.
Alpha Build huffs a laugh as he dodges Alhaitham's second sword and takes a step back, "Now that's more like it," he grins.
Before Alpha Build can backs away too far, Alhaitham grips the hilt of his swords tighter to prepare for a consecutive slashing attack.
Alpha Build heaves a breath as he uses the guard of his claymore to deflect the attacks.
Alpha Build grins, "Oh, someone is determined~" he steps back to avoid a diagonal slash formed by Alhaitham following closely after the prior attacks.
Then, Alpha Build feels a prick as he senses quite a big range of dendro energy condensing over him. He instinctually raises his claymore up and positions it as a shield. Right in time as dozens of dendro blades descend on him.
Alhaitham doesn't stop attacking, instead he surges forward to slash at Alpha Build again.
Alpha Build grits his teeth before he meets Alhaitham's blade with a heavy slash, knowing full well that his advantage is in heavier hits.
Alhaitham lets out a tsk as Alpha Build's counter attack throws him out rhythm. He glides a few steps back to recover.
"Better," Alpha Build arrogantly comments as he lets the tip of his claymore rest on the floor, "but still not enough~" he taunts, "perhaps if you try a little harder then… who knows? Maybe you will be able to impress me?"
Alhaitham takes a deep breath, "Perhaps you're right," he says with an exhale.
Alpha Build immediately feels the familiar prick and his hollow eye quickly maps just how big the area is this time.
… It's quite large.
HAHAHAHA, IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE LARGE!
Alpha Build sprints as fast as he can to Alhaitham as he laughs like a maniac. Above him, dendro energy has started to condense and formed an area of effect.
"Very good!" Alpha Build croons and his voice cracks from excitement as his claymore meets again with Alhaitham's sword.
Alhaitham digs his heel to the ground so that he won't lose momentum.
"But~" Alpha Build sings-songs again as he raises his claymore high, all the while Alhaitham's burst of dendro energies are flashing behind him, "You missed."
Alpha Build brings his claymore down and Alhaitham has to block the blow with both of his swords.
Alpha Build grins wide when he hears Alhaitham's grunt of effort. Too fixated on it, he realizes the condensing dendro power above him a little bit too late.
Alpha Build jumps back to avoid the rain of dendro blades but this time Alhaitham lunges at him to attack. Faced with attacks from two directions, both of which are impossible to dodge completely, Alpha Build chooses to sacrifice protection from the dendro blades and face Alhaitham head on.
They both exchange attacks under the onslaught of the rain sword. Although Alpha Build notices with excitement, the dendro blades don't affect Alhaitham at all, contrary to his predicament.
The dendro blades rain on him, shallowly slicing his body and fraying his mask. He had expected that Alhaitham would adjust his dendro power to not be too harmful so he had opted to face Alhaitham head on.
Alhaitham's movements are flowing beautifully as he attacks Alpha Build without mercy, spinning from time to time to either dodge Alpha Build's attacks or to build up momentum.
Alpha Build enjoys his time there. Especially once the rain swords end and not a long time after a spinning blade manifests before the destructive power dwindles into a simple dendro slash. To top it all, Alhaitham is still attacking him.
The tip of Alhaitham's sword presses against Alpha Build's throat and they both pause with heaving breath.
"Is it good enough, then?" Alhaitham asks between his panting breath.
Alpha Build mockingly hums, "I don't know~ considering I can easily lop your leg off clean," his eye flickers down to his claymore which is situated next to Alhaitham's thigh.
Alhaitham's eyebrows furrow and he scowls slightly, "I'm pretty sure I have the advantage here seeing as I can easily pierce your neck."
Alpha Build tilts his head with a teasing grin, causing his damaged mask to crumble and show Alhaitham his full expression, "Now, what makes you think I would die from a simple impale through my throat?"
Alhaitham is slightly surprised at the implication that he freezes for a moment. It's enough of an opening for Alpha Build.
Alpha Build uses the filler of his claymore to hit Alhaitham's thigh, throwing Alhaitham off balance. Alhaitham falls to his knees in a flurry of flapping wings and soon he's pinned to the floor by the neck.
Alpha Build sits on Alhaitham's chest, causing Alhaitham to grunt, as he continues to pin Alhaitham down, "You're crafty, I admit," Alpha Build stabs his claymore to the ground next to Alhaitham's head, "but it's still not enough."
Alpha Build leans to his claymore as he amusedly stares down, half-lidded, at Alhaitham with his clouded eye, "Poor you, you must have been very strong back in Sumeru, but here in Snezhnaya where there's almost to nothing can react to Dendro, you're simply not strong enough."
Alpha Build tightens his hand around Alhaitham's neck, causing Alhaitham to gasp and scratch at his hand, "Worst of all, you don't seem to realize it yet," he lets go of Alhaitham's neck and watches in amusement as Alhaitham greedily sucks deep breaths.
Alpha Build absentmindedly taps the hilt of his claymore, "What is it with you? Dressing so scantily wherever you go and making Prime –us– worry all the time," he mutters, "did your Archon ask you to do this? Making us so fixated on you that we won't be able to realize our plan?"
Alpha Build brushes Alhaitham's hair away from his face, deceptively affectionate. Alhaitham can only stare back at the mismatched pair of clouded and hollow eyes staring at him, having nothing to say to his earlier accusations.
Alpha Build lets out a snort as he continues to caress Alhaitham's face, "Such pretty face…" his thumb brushes Alhaitham's eyebrow, "such pretty eyes…" then his thumb trails down to Alhaitham's lips, pressing down on them and slightly parting them, "such plump lips…"
Alhaitham silently stares back at the eye which slowly darkens with lust as it continues to leer at him.
Then Alpha Build blinks and the lust is gone, "Anyway…" he stands up from Alhaitham's chest, "I think you can hold your own ground against some mugging groups. Nothing to write home about, I'm afraid."
And then Alpha Build steps out of the arena. leaving a confused and tired Alhaitham alone on the ground.
Pantalone hasn't ever seen something such as a revival process. Well, technically it's not revival but rebuilding of Dottore's segment but who knows the difference?
All in all, Pantalone has high expectations.
He kind of expected a scenario where Omega Build will go berserk post-revival and Pantalone, as his friend, will have to bring him back to his senses. He may or may not have prepared a speech for his friend to sober up by reminding him that he needs to be mentally stable in order to meet (and fuck) his wife.
Against all his expectations, Pantalone is left disappointed. He doesn't know, it seems to be the theme of his acquaintance with The Doctor lately.
Prime Dottore said since the vessel is no longer fresh, he needs to rebuild Omega Build and Alpha Build using Zapolyarny Palace's secret laboratory since the leyline is more concentrated there. So there they are, two Avians and a corpse.
The laboratory is tackier and gloomier than Pantalone remembers, not that he visits the place often, but there were definitely no blood stains on the ceiling before.
Pantalone can't be put responsible for having high expectations, though. Prime Dottore was the one who said that he needs to help him convince Omega Build. Then again, Prime Dottore also didn't really specify what he is supposed to do so it's his own fault for letting his expectations wander.
The device is thrumming with energy as Omega Build slowly regains heartbeat. His eyes slowly flutter open, scanning the room and the people inside before stopping on Prime.
Omega Build clears his throat before he spits phosphoric liquid to the floor, "Where's he?" he asks, eyes not leaving Prime.
Prime sniffs before jotting down a few sentences on his note, "As expected…" he mutters under his breath.
"Prime, don't play with me," Omega Build spits out more of that phosphoric liquid, Pantalone is so taken aback by his lack of manners that he fails to say anything, "Where's he? I know he's here."
Pantalone blinks and composes himself with a twitch of his wings, "Friend, I know death must not have been easy, but you're back alive now. There's no need to waste your time for revenge. There are many wonderful things in this world that you can spend your time on. For instance, I had my hand on a very good romance book not long ago," then his voice lowered into a scandalous whisper, "it's very explicit."
"Not now, Pantalone," Omega Build says without looking at him before getting off from the device.
Omega Build immediately falls down with a splat as his whole body is unresponsive due to disuse. Pantalone makes a face of disgust when Omega Build doesn't seem to care and simply wriggles his body and drags himself on the floor to where Prime is, leaving a trail of phosphoric liquid.
Prime glances down at his segment with his eyebrow raised condescendingly, "I suggest that you don't push your vessel too much so close after being rebuilt," Prime places his note down on a desk to regard Omega Build who's already in front of him, "recovering will become a little harder otherwise."
Omega Build doesn't care, he grips Prime's leg as he tilts his head up to glare at him, "Shut up. I don't care. Just tell me where he is," he growls frustratedly before he starts shaking Prime's leg, "WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS MY BELOVED SCRUNKLY? THE LONE STAR THAT SHINES LIGHT IN MY OTHERWISE LONELY LIFE?" Omega Build yells his demand.
Pantalone…. He… he is stunned speechless. What in the world is within his friend's body?
Pantalone looks at Prime, wondering if he has been scammed.
Sensing Pantalone's stare, Prime returns the look, ignoring Omega Build who's still yelling his demands and shaking his leg like a lunatic, "Don't look at me like that. You were the one who poisoned him with crappy romance books," Prime points down at Omega Build, "the meeting with Alhaitham reduced him into this."
Pantalone can't say anything to that. He glances down at Omega Build, then at Prime, then back down at Omega Build. Pantalone opens his mouth, about to say something to Prime, but Prime is already kneeling down to grab Omega Build's mouth to make him stop yelling. Pantalone can see Prime's wings are slightly sagging either from exasperation or embarrassment, or both.
For a moment Prime simply stares at Omega Build's glaring eyes from underneath his mask, "You're correct. He's here, in Snezhnaya," Omega Build's wings immediately perk up and his eyes light up, but Prime grips his mouth harder, "But… you won't be meeting him before you finish catching up with your duties."
Omega Build freezes, then he tilts his head back to dislodge Prime's hand from his mouth to send him a disapproving look, "Fuck no," Omega Build hisses, "I was gone for almost a month, that's a lot of catching up to do."
Despite being weirded out by the situation, Pantalone lets out a sigh of relief. Yes, this is precisely why he partners with Omega Build. He knows the gravity of the situation.
"Too bad. It's non-negotiable," Prime hisses back.
Omega Build snarls, "What if I don't want to? What then?"
Prime tilts his head up to look down at Omega Build, "Oh? That's too bad. Poor Alhaitham. Being promised that he will be provided for everything he could have possibly wanted but ended up being deceived by the one who promised to him," Prime lets out a long-drawn sigh, "but I suppose it's his own fault for believing in sweet nothing. Perhaps I should inform him in advance so that he can prepare for the cruel life ahead as a lowly diplomat? As opposed to his job back before he decided to leave Sumeru for his mate."
Pantalone isn't even ashamed to admit that whatever this is is much more interesting than any romance books or plays he knows. He silently watches what his friend will say to his older segment's manipulation.
Omega Build lets out a loud squawk and his wings bristle indignantly, "You won't dare," he growls.
[I don't know about Prime, but I definitely dare to,] Alpha Build amusedly pipes up from the link which were just reconnected the moment Omega Build started breathing, [Should I tell him now? He's beside me.]
Omega Build squawks as he flaps his wings and scrambles to sit up, [NO! NO NO NO NONONO, DON'T,] he screeches to the link, [fine! Fine, I will do my job but don't you dare say bad things about me to Alhaitham.]
[Oh, neat. The link is back on,] Sigma Build joins the conversation, [right on time. Why the fuck there are so many variations of bed? Which am I supposed to get? I can't find anything similar to what we already have.]
[Why are you getting a bed, Sigma Build?] Omega Build curiously asks, already forgetting his earlier hysteria.
[Someone insatiable decided that having one bed is not enough even if our current bed is enough to accommodate 5 of us at the same time. Something about using one for resting and the other to fuck,] Sigma Build annoyedly explains.
Oh, ohhhhhh… Omega Build presses his palm to his mouth to suppress a giddy squeal that might slip out, [Sigma Build, can you please take my suggestion?]
Sigma Build lets out a half groan-half sigh to the link, [Alright, I'll bite. What kind of bed do you want me to get?]
Omega Build sits straighter, body vibrating from giddiness as he starts to list to the link, [Alright, first off, the material needs to be soft so that Alhaitham's skin won't become irritated, you can just visit a popular bed store for a guaranteed quality, but what I want you to get is a bed from a shop in the entertainment district. It's not a shop but more of a warehouse so the quality of the bed varies and you have to check the quality yourself. Find someone named Yakov and tell him to show you the finest bed he has in possession. He will definitely try to swindle you, by the way, so make sure you don't kill him because he's one of my lackeys that's actually useful. Finally, I want you to get a bed with…]
Pantalone feels like he has seen something he shouldn't have. It's incredible. Did his friend just get threatened of being tattled to his wife?
Pantalone smirks as he looks at his friend who's blissfully unaware and vibrating with excitement on the floor.
Pantalone can use that to his advantage. One day. One day…
"Well, that settles it," Prime says, snapping Pantalone from his evil thoughts.
"Oh, really?" Pantalone pointedly glances at Omega Build who has melted to lie on his side on the floor while muttering curses under his breath and giggling, "are you trying to scam me by any chance?"
Prime shrugs but his wings are sagging from the heavy weight of reality as he walks toward the exit, "That is what Omega Build has been reduced to," Prime opens the door and steps outside without looking back, "I'll leave him to you."
Pantalone awkwardly stands before he glances at Omega Build who's wiggling on the floor as he giggles without reason. Carefully, he steps closer to him and squats down.
"Hey," Pantalone warily pokes Omega Build's shoulder and flinches when Omega Build snaps his head back to look at him, "what are you going to do now?"
Omega Build blinks slowly before his eyes light up in understanding, he immediately jumps to his feet, "Right! Alright!" he sings-songs, "my gorgeous mate is waiting for me-"
[No he's not,] Alpha Build remarks, [he doesn't even know you have been rebuilt.]
"-so it's best that I start soon."
Omega Build whirls around to point at Pantalone's face, "First, I'm going to clean myself and then work hard. My goal is to finish catching up in 5 days and then you, my friend, will help me browse every corner of Snezhnaya's shops to pick gifts for my dearest scrunkly."
Pantalone's lips twitch up in amusement.
Gifts, huh? Straight up plural. Oh Mora, his friend is so whipped.
Chapter 18
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
One thing Alhaitham has learned about Alpha Build is that he's just like a landmine. Peaceful most of the time, but the moment he acts, it's like an explosion has been triggered. Talking very loudly, angrily, and sharply. Moving swiftly, strongly, and without mercy. After that, he's back to quiet, as if nothing happened.
Alpha Build is also surprisingly cuddly.
They're both in the transport vehicle, straight to citadel where the Diplomatic Office is at. Alhaitham is cornered to the edge of his seat as Alpha Build leans his whole weight on him without care, the side of Alpha Build's head is perched on Alhaitham's shoulder, most likely taking a peek at the book Alhaitham is reading.
Alhaitham can't say that he likes the feeling of metal armrest digging to his side, but the circumstance is much more preferable than having Zazan with him. As long as Alhaitham doesn't initiate anything, Alpha Build won't start anything, although Alhaitham isn't sure if Alpha Build will react even if he does initiate anything.
"This book is crappy," Alpha Build mumbles a comment from Alhaitham's shoulder, maybe Alhaitham spoke too soon, "that cover, though… is it one of Prime's mating gifts?" Alpha Build asks.
Alhaitham hums, "Yes. I haven't had the time to read it before since I need to adapt to Snezhnayan's culture, but now that I have some time, I can start reading it."
Alpha Build absentmindedly makes a sound of understanding, "Hoh… this is a romance book, isn't it?" he asks as he still has his head laid on Alhaitham's shoulder, "do you even like the genre?"
"Not at all," Alhaitham answers as he continues to read.
Alpha Build's head slightly moves so that he is able to look at Alhaitham's face, "Then why are you reading it?"
Alhaitham hums, "They say not to judge a book by its cover. Since there's no cover anyone can judge this book by in the first place, then I think I should give it the benefit of the doubt and judge it after I complete reading it."
Alpha Build lets out a dry hum before averting his eyes back to the book, "Well, Omega Build was probably the one who slipped this in. It's a good thing that at least he didn't pick something crude."
Alhaitham's only answer is a noncommittal hum and then they continue to read together in silence.
[Wait, why are you not wearing a robe?] Sigma Build asks from the link once Alpha Build and Alhaitham almost reach the Diplomatic Office.
[Because why should I?] Alpha Build asks back, [I'm in Snezhnaya. There's no need to hide my identity. What? As if these stupid people would think I'm a Harbinger. At most they're just going to assume that I'm a high ranking Fatui and immediately steer clear.]
Sigma Build answers back by simply grumbling to the link.
There's a weird air around Alpha Build, Alhaitham notices. It feels as if Alpha Build doesn't want to interact in any way with him with the way he's silent and ignoring him most of the time, but he also never strays far from him. In fact, their elbows are always brushing as they walk to the Diplomatic Office. Alhaitham wonders if Alpha Build is here simply because Doctor ordered Alpha Build to keep an eye on him and in truth Alpha Build doesn't even want to be with him.
Alhaitham didn't take it against Alpha Build when he suddenly left him in the training room. He at least had some manners by not leaving him when he's already hard. Still, the air around them was so perfect to escalate into a mating session that Alhaitham wouldn't mind having to clean himself again after. So why did Alpha Build stop?
Alpha Build takes out a pocket watch from his coat and clicks it open, "11 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon, right?" Alpha Build asks when they take the first step of the stairs, "right on time."
Alhaitham stops walking and Alpha Build, in turns, also stops to turn around and look inquiringly at Alhaitham, "What is it?"
Alhaitham stares at Alpha Build's face for a moment, staring at the mask almost similar to Zazan's if not for the lensed mechanism covering his hollow eye.
Alhaitham can't find warmth in that face. Alpha Build is looking at him without the expression reserved for a lifelong mate –happiness, fondness, etc. It feels uncanny to Alhaitham. It doesn't sit right with him.
"What is it?" Alpha Build impatiently repeats, cold.
Alhaitham can't force Alpha Build to like him, though. He has expected that even if the Segments are essentially one person, there's bound to be a difference in personality.
Alhaitham can't be too greedy, "Yes, it will be 11 to 3. Since today is my first day, I will be spending my time in the building to get adjusted," he won't force Alpha Build to be with him, "you can leave if you want. It's merely 4 hours, maybe less if they choose to give me some slack, I'm sure I can take care of myself," but he won't force him to leave either.
Alpha Build frowns beneath his mask, why the sudden…
[WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?] Omega Build screeches from the link and it took a lot for Alpha Build to not flinch from surprise.
"I told you, you're not good enough to survive alone in Snezhnaya's streets," Alpha Build says before responding to the link, [I didn't do anything to him.]
[Oh, is that so? Then why are his wings drooping? CAN'T YOU SEE THAT HE IS SAD?] Omega Build angrily points out.
"I'm only going to be inside today so I assure you that I'll be fine," Alhaitham argues back and Alpha Build finally notices how dispirited he sounds.
[See,] Omega Build aggressively points out and Alpha Build can hear Sigma Build cackling from the link, the little shit is probably enjoying this.
Alpha Build rearranges his wings due to the uncomfortable situation he's suddenly in and shifts his weight to one leg, "Complacency is the source of all mistakes. You might think that you will be fine if left alone for 4 hours in a building filled with people. That's how most influential people think. Coincidentally, that's also how the majority of them got themselves killed," then he pauses before adding, "that's how they were all killed, actually."
Alhaitham amusedly rearranges his wings, it has started to get him wondering how Alpha Build is able to appear both unconcerned and paranoid at the same time.
Alhaitham huffs an amused exhale, "Now, I assure you that my luck isn't that bad-"
Alpha Build doesn't bother to continue the useless argument, he grabs Alhaitham's hand and drags him to the main doors, "And I assure you, this has nothing to do with luck," Alpha Build's grip on Alhaitham's hand is strong but not hurting Alhaitham in the slightest, secure.
Alpha Build opens the door and continues to drag Alhaitham by the hand to the receptionist without looking back, "Prime ordered me to keep an eye on you and I will," then he grumbles under his breath, "besides, if I do take my leave, what do you think am I supposed to do? My duty at this moment is making sure that you're safe. Only that. It isn't like I can do something else so might as well babysit my mate," perhaps to vent his annoyance and Alhaitham hears that.
Alhaitham hears that despite his earpiece.
Alhaitham's wings regain their usual position and the creases between his eyebrows soften. Oh, how could he forget, his mate is very terrible at managing his moods.
They stop in front of the receptionist and the woman manning the desk looks up, "Good morning, how may I help you?" she asks with a customer service smile.
Alpha Build doesn't answer. He's just standing there in silence.
Alpha Build doesn't say anything.
The silence has started to stretch awkward and the receptionist's eyes turn to Alhaitham to ask for help for a moment before returning back to Alpha Build.
Then she seems to just notice how much Alpha Build's appearance screams Fatui.
Her demeanor turns nervous as she slightly leans away from her desk, trying to give some berth from Alpha Build, "I'm very sorry, Mister, but the Fatui is currently prohibited from entering Sumerian faction due to internal problems so I suggest that you come back some other day or try to contact the Snezhnayan faction instead."
Alpha Build is still silent, but now his eye is squinting at the receptionist and Alhaitham can see his wings are puffing up slightly.
[Alpha Build,] Omega Build calls out from the link, [I know that you only spit poison from your mouth but can you please not make things hard for our mate?]
[This woman is suspicious,] Alpha Build says instead.
Sigma Build snorts, [Oh, really? In what way?]
[She glanced at Alhaitham before suddenly telling me to leave after realizing that I am a Fatui,] Alpha Build explains, [there are chances that she was telling the truth, but there's also a chance of her saying that to separate me from Alhaitham. The information paper sent to Diplomatic Office should also contains Alhaitham's picture. She might have recognized Alhaitham from that glance and is planning to do something unsavory.]
Omega Build hums to the link, [... Your point might prove to be correct…]
Sigma Build groans, [Oh, really? Are you two for real?] he annoyedly questions, [I expected this kind of behavior from Prime or Omega Build. Why are you suddenly becoming a simp too, Alpha Build? Am I actually the only one who is not down horrendous for that sex fiend?
[Hey,] Omega Build warns, [watch your mouth, Sigma Build. You should be grateful that Alhaitham coddles you so much.]
[Oh, is that jealousy I sense, Omega Build?] Sigma Build mocks.
[Prime,] Alpha Build calls out, ignoring the two's petty banters.
[That's a possibility but we can't draw any conclusion yet for now. I will try to find any information from Arlecchino. In the meantime, keep a tight watch on Alhaitham and don't cause unnecessary trouble.]
Alpha Build grunts to the link as a confirmation.
Things are not going remarkably well for his first day, but Alhaitham hadn't heard of his office being closed off for Fatui before now. The 'due to internal problems' is also very suspicious. It signals that Sumeru's political landscape is currently shaky and in turn might cause some possible international scale trade cooperation to be invalid.
Very interesting. It feels like the receptionist has that explanation rehearsed. Alhaitham wonders who has given the order, and if that person needs to be taken down.
Alpha Build's hand which holds Alhaitham's twitches and Alhaitham emerges from his thoughts.
Alpha Build is still silently staring at the poor receptionist and the receptionist is growing more and more timid by the second.
Perhaps Alhaitham should smooth things up first…
Before Alhaitham can open his mouth there's a sound of clacking heels nearing them.
"Good morning, everyone. What seems to be the problem here?" that voice asks aloud, causing Alhaitham and Alpha Build to turn around to get a look at the person.
The woman behind the desk stands up, "Good morning, ma'am Irina," she greets, then stops to string her words because truthfully nothing has happened besides her telling the Fatui to take his leave, "... I… was just explaining to these gentlemen that the Sumerian faction is currently not accepting guests from the Fatui."
"I see," the woman, Irina, says as an acknowledgement before she stands straighter to appear more assertive.
Irina takes a better look at both Alpha Build and Alhaitham, taking some time to identify Alpha Build's mask before stopping for a long while to identify Alhaitham.
[Prime, it seems that this woman recognizes Alhaitham already and that thoughtful look on her face is extremely suspicious. In the case that she tries to separate us, I'll explain why I am here.]
[Wait,] Prime orders, [directly tell her why you're here.]
Alpha Build frowns under her mask, [Are you serious? From Pantalone's Intel, there's a possibility that the rebel group already has connections within the Diplomatic Office.]
[Wait, what rebel group?] Sigma Build asks which then is easily ignored.
[... Yes,] Prime says after a slight hesitation, [since you're keeping a close eye on Alhaitham anyway, might as well use this as an opportunity to figure out which side she's on.]
[Alright, fine,] Alpha Build relents, [as Alhaitham had said, it's his first day. There shouldn't be anything particularly big coming for him that I can't handle myself. Unless, he lied and in actuality he has very terrible luck.]
"Diplomat Alhaitham, correct?" Irina asks, as if she isn't already sure of it, but it snaps Alpha Build to the present.
Alhaitham glances at Alpha Build from the corner of his eyes, catching him carefully adjusting his demeanor into a collected one that leaves no impression, before he looks back at the woman in front of him, "Correct," Alhaitham says with a slight nod.
Irina waits for some time before finally noticing that Alhaitham has nothing more to say, she flashes them a tight smile and says, "Good to hear that you're finally here to join the Sumerian faction. My name is Irina, you may call me ma'am Irina. I'm the current head of the Snezhnayan faction," Irina holds her hand out for a handshake and Alhaitham takes it despite Alpha Build's hand clenching his other hand in warning, Irina shakes their hands once before retreating it behind her back, "sadly, I won't be seeing you that often since my office is at the other building. It's such a good coincidence that I meet you when I have to visit Sumerian faction's PR division. Especially with that enviable working hours of yours," and then she starts to walk away without a farewell, "dear, Tsaritsa. Being mated to a Harbinger sure has its perks," Irina leaves a comment under her breath and the receptionist lady gasps.
Alhaitham can see that Alpha Build is glaring at Irina's back and his wings are posed tense so he grips back Alpha Build's hand in a silent reassurance.
[I don't like her,] Alpha Build speaks his mind to the link.
[By all means, Alpha Build,] Sigma Build responds, [when are you not disliking anyone?]
"Oh, Archon. I'm terribly sorry, gentlemen," the receptionist lady exclaims aloud in panic, snapping Alhaitham and Alpha Build's attention back to her.
The woman flinches back when all the attention is on her, but she manages to stutter out her explanation, "I'm terribly sorry for my misunderstanding. I thought you two were from the Fatui, but it turns out you're Diplomat Alhaitham," her eyes flicker to Alhaitham for a moment before they goes back down, "the head of Sumerian faction has left word for me that you might arrive today with a guard due to your status and said that you can bring in a Fatui with you for your protection," she starts rummaging the drawers on her desk, resolutely trying to not make any eye contact with them, "here's the key to your office," she places a silver key on the desk, "your office is at the third floor at the end of the corridor. You should find the briefing for your tasks in your inbox. I hope you'll enjoy working here, Diplomat Alhaitham," she ends, without looking up at their faces at all.
Alhaitham hums, perhaps Zazan was correct about the common people not wanting to mingle with nobles, "Thank you. You as well," he walks away and pulls Alpha Build by the hand since his feet are rooted to the ground.
[Why do you think she lied?] Alpha Build asks.
[I…,] Omega Build trails off, [alright, I can't do this anymore. I'm not mentally capable of being paranoid at all times like you and Prime, but I have a hypothesis that you might not like.]
Alpha Build grunts, [Go on.]
[I know that this might sound very complacent but perhaps she was merely checking Alhaitham out?] Omega Build points out, unsure of how Alpha Build will react, [I mean, our mate is very appealing to the eyes, isn't he?]
Alpha Build suddenly stops, yanking Alhaitham back. Alhaitham glances back to check what's wrong and his wings slightly unfold from wariness when he notices the murderous intent on Alpha Build's face.
[I'm going to neutralize her,] Alpha Build declares.
[What?] Omega Build squawks, [no, don't. You can't. Not on Alhaitham's first day at work.]
[Go on, I approve,] Sigma Build says.
[Don't encourage him!] Omega Build yells in panic, [Prime, help me here.]
Prime doesn't respond.
[Primee?!]
Alpha Build hears that specific cheerful chirp Alhaitham sometimes makes to greet Prime and looks up. He finds Alhaitham is leaning into his personal space with a concerned expression. Their faces are close enough to be considered as PDA.
Alpha Build flinches back to put some distance between their faces, light flush coating his neck and cheeks that's, thankfully, covered by his mask and collar, "What?" he spits out through gritted teeth.
Alhaitham straightens his back, "That should be my question," he says as his hand moves to pet Alpha Build's hair.
Alpha Build slaps that hand away, ignoring Omega Build's indignant yelling from the link, "Stop that. These people know that you're married to a Harbinger. If you keep showing such affectionate gestures, they might assume two things. One, you're cheating, or, two, I'm a Harbinger."
Alhaitham blinks at Alpha Build before slowly and pointedly looks down at their intertwined hands.
Alpha Build's face flushes harder and his wings bristle from embarrassment before he forcefully yanks his hand back, "Not a word," he hisses.
Sigma Build barks a laugh, [Embarrassing much?]
Omega Build softly snickers, [Ah, yes. Now you know firsthand how it feels to be around Alhaitham,] he takes in an exaggerated breath of relief, [revenge feels so good.]
Alhaitham's wings rearrange themselves as his eyes light up and the corners of his lips slightly quirk up. Alpha Build can't find himself angry anymore. Weird.
"Alright," Alhaitham softly says before turning around to resume walking to his office.
Alpha Build's wings subconsciously sag down when he can no longer see those glittering eyes. Then he annoyedly flaps his wings to recover his demeanor before running a few steps to walk alongside Alhaitham.
Notes:
I'll be back in uni soon so I might need to change my update schedule.
Chapter 19
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Of course, The Doctor has his own personal office within Zapolyarny Palace just like the rest of the Harbingers do. And just like the rest of the Harbingers, he rarely uses them.
Prime Dottore taps his finger on his dustless desk. It has been 5 months since he last came here personally and around a month and a half since any of his segments could've visited this place.
Dottore coldly snorts as he observes the laboratory tools and official papers stacked neatly on cabinets, also dust free.
Disgusting.
Well, he left for quite a long while so of course someone would have barged in uninvited. But he also knows for sure that even if he only left for less than a week, someone would have barged in anyway.
Ill-mannered barbarians.
Although that's also precisely why he and his segments only use this office as a resting place of some sort.
The huge door of his office that showcases the majesty of Zapolyarny Palace opens behind him without any knock or request. Without the need to look at the visitor, Dottore can already guess who it is, judging from how aggressive the door clicks open and close.
Dottore idly stirs his cup of tea as he stares down at the expanse of snow covered training ground through the huge window of his office, watching Tartaglia stumbles on snow mound and falls down on his face, "You come faster than I expected, is your progress that bad that you decided to find me as soon as possible the moment I requested to discuss this round of rebel group?"
Arlecchino doesn't deign him any response, she simply pulls a chair and sits down on the nearest chair to the window and joins Dottore watching Tartaglia cursing as he stands up and flicks snow from his wings, "Don't flatter yourself. Even if there's no progress on my task, what makes you think discussing things with you will prove to be worthwhile?"
Dottore hums as he watches Tartaglia finally realizing that Capitano has been watching him for quite a while, still stirring his tea without any intention to drink it, "I take it then that you won't need Alpha Build's cooperation?"
Arlecchino's hands clenched into fists, "Don't play with me, Doctor. I want this to be over as swiftly as possible."
Dottore finally stops stirring his tea to intertwine his fingers together, he can't see Tartaglia's expression but he can see his wings puffing up as he freezes and stares at Capitano, "Common wish of every working people," he comments as he watches Tartaglia tries to run away in shame only to stumble on the same snow mound and falls back down, Dottore absentmindedly taps his finger, "Sadly, Alpha Build is currently occupied with his own duty."
Arlecchino lets out a tsk as her eyes squint down in annoyance, then she's silent for a while, "What do you want?"
Dottore lets out a cold amused hum, "It seems that you already understand the manner of requesting assistance. I'm glad. But sadly…" he pauses to finally take a sip of his long cold cup of tea, "it's not a matter of price. Alpha Build is indeed occupied with other duties and I can't relocate him to assist you at the moment."
Arlecchino grits her teeth in vexation before slightly relaxing back to her chair, "Then don't waste my time and state what you want to discuss with me. Surely you have your own reason for requesting my presence today."
"Correct," Dottore places his cup down with a click, "Alpha Build is occupied with his duty and the length of it will depend on how fast he can judge the situation on his part thoroughly."
Arlecchino squints at Dottore when he doesn't continue talking, "Meaning, you're coercing me to assist you or else Alpha Build won't assist me."
Dottore's lips stretch into an arrogant sneer for a flash, "That's a rude way to describe it since you were asking for the price of my assistance," Dottore glances down to look at Tartaglia who's trying to bury himself under the snow as Arlecchino lets out an annoyed exhale beside him, "but you're right. Consider this as the down payment for Alpha Build's assistance. Then we will see if you've paid enough for the price of borrowing Alpha Build during the busiest time of my return."
Arlecchino crosses her hands in dissatisfaction, "Elaborate," she demands.
"Oh, don't sound too displeased," Dottore absentmindedly traces the rim of his cup, "I assure you that what Alpha Build is currently doing is still related to your current task."
Arlecchino raises her eyebrow as she glances at Dottore from the corner of her eyes, "Then why not let him directly assist me?"
Dottore snorts condescendingly, "Because of something called order of priority," he grins when he catches Arlecchino's glare through the faint reflection of his window and he slightly flicks his wing, "in any case, Alpha Build's current duty is related to your current task but it's only a side quest to assure that his main duty is done well."
Arlecchino averts her eyes to the table as her eyebrows furrow in thoughts, "His duty is your mate, isn't it?" she says after pondering for quite some time.
Despite being seen through, Dottore leans back to his chair with a satisfied grin, "As expected of The Knave of The Tsaritsa. Sharp," he taps his foot to the floor rhythmically, "indeed. Alpha Build's current duty is my mate. Alhaitham, just in case you haven't heard his name yet."
Arlecchino scoffs, "Although I have no interest whatsoever in your mate, indeed. I haven't heard his name yet. But what does that matter? As I said, tell me what you want."
Dottore easily shrugs his shoulders, "If you insist," he crosses his legs as his wings rearrange themselves, "as you've probably known, Alhaitham is working as a diplomat. The Diplomatic Office is working under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court even if we often borrow their name to smooth our 'businesses'.
First, I want to know how much your task has progressed. Do you at least have any idea just how far the rebel group's influence is?"
Arlecchino's lips hesitantly part, "No hard evidence, but the likelihood of the rebel group already having an influence in the Diplomatic Office is high," she slightly twists her neck to send Dottore a glare, daring him to mock her, "everything is still vague, except that this round has quite advanced weapons that can't be tracked the source from. That's precisely why I requested Alpha Build's assistance."
Dottore scoffs, "What's the point of me giving you assistance then? You can't even tell me what I want to know."
Arlecchino uncrosses her arms in agitated manner and huffs, "First, why don't we make this a joint effort instead? Second, information is hardly all I can offer. Third, are you asking this because you are worried about your mate? He's working in the Diplomatic Office, you know. It's a civilian ground. No wave of rebels dare to spill blood there."
Dottore props his chin on his knuckle, "Thirdly, how I treat what's mine is none of your business. Secondly, information is the only thing you're worth offering. Firstly, elaborate."
Arlecchino rolls her eyes with another huff, "Indeed, it's quite difficult to investigate the Diplomatic Office because of the Supreme Court. So I suggest that we start a joint effort. Right now the Diplomatic Office is my blind spot, what with the Sumerian's faction closing their doors on Fatui. But since you've sent Alpha Build to guard your mate there, he has more access than what I have. He can investigate the inside of the Office while I situate troops near it to provide backup, just in case."
Dottore glances at Arlecchino and ponders for a while.
[I say raise the price,] Sigma Build comments.
Prime snorts to the link, [Indeed. I'm sure that you don't need a backup, right, Alpha Build?]
Alpha Build is silent for a moment, [At this moment, yes. Later, I don't know. It isn't even an hour yet and the list of suspicious people is still expanding.]
Sigma Build scoffs, [Surely you can handle to guard one person. Alhaitham isn't even someone politically controversial.]
[But it's about Alhaitham,] Omega Build pipes up and Sigma Build groans, [it's about our mate. It's always better to be safe than sorry if it's for him.]
The link falls silent and Sigma Build knows that his point has lost.
Dottore taps the floor with his foot once, "And how will your troops assist Alpha Build?"
Arlecchino huffs a pleased exhale, knowing that she has won, "For efficiency, that's something that I will strategize directly with Alpha Build. For now let's realize our joint effort in the form of information exchange…"
Alhaitham opens his mailbox to search for his list of duties for today while Alpha Build goes further into his office.
Alhaitham doesn't know where Alpha Build has wandered to, but he can hear him whistling a bit farther in, "A lowly diplomat, huh?" Alhaitham hears Alpha Build's sarcastic comment which he easily ignores in order to scrutinize an extremely thin file in his mailbox.
Alhaitham opens the file with a frown and takes another look at the mailbox to make sure that he has gotten everything out.
As expected, the mailbox is already empty. That means the file in his hand is the list of his duties for today.
Alhaitham opens the file and reads the contents, finding the Sumerian head faction's words of welcome, a letter of apology for not being able to greet him in person, and a very short summary of duties he will have to do starting tomorrow.
…
Alhaitham closes the file and his eyes before sucking in a deep breath.
He's merely a new transfer. His new position as a diplomat is a mere desk job of archiving diplomatic affairs –not much different from being a scribe and he thanks Lord Kusanali for this. His position will also allow him to oversee the events that have happened or may happen. It's a perfect job for him, especially since he doesn't need to interact much with his co-workers. And to top it all, he already has a private office.
Alhaitham slightly clenches the file in his hand to stop his hand from trembling.
Book learning alone is not enough to cultivate intelligence. Predicting something and experiencing it firsthand is, of course, very different.
Alhaitham opens his eyes to stare blankly at his mailbox while letting out a shaky breath.
So this is what nepotism is.
… It's a lot to take in.
"Are you done there?" Alpha Build calls out to Alhaitham, snapping Alhaitham from his inner turmoil, "or are you still silently worshiping us for the connections we provided for you by default? If so, take as long as you want. No one is going to raise a fuss whether you do your 'job' here or not."
Alhaitham pinches the bridge of his nose with a long sigh but the corner of his lips are raised.
Alhaitham decided to continue working for The Akademiya, albeit now in a completely different line of work, so that he won't be totally dependent on Dottore. Alhaitham doesn't mind the coddling from his mate. It's endearing in many ways.
The show of this level of nepotism, though? It's troublesome. There's absolutely no way Alhaitham can salvage his reputation now. His co-workers will all have some sort of envy toward him for this kind of special treatment and boycotting him.
It will be very hard for Alhaitham to make amends and prove that he's a capable person. But fortunately, he doesn't have to prove anything.
Alhaitham is here for two reasons. The first is to become Lord Kusanali's eyes and filter the diplomats. The second is to live with his mate.
Alhaitham really has nothing to prove so why should he bother? Might as well just savor the aristocratic lifestyle of going to work for the sake of entertainment. Trying to make himself look good won't fruit in anything but the spotlight and suspicions.
He can manage gleaning information from the documented affairs and if Sigma Build's words are credible that people here don't want to have contact with the nobles then his co-workers won't unnecessarily find trouble with him.
Alhaitham might start fluttering his wings in joy but then thinks that it will be too silly so he simply flicks them and enters deeper into his new office.
Alhaitham finds Alpha Build lounging on one of the very plush couches that are in no way should be present in a newcomer's office, he has both of his feet raised up on the low table in front of the couches not caring about manners in the slightest. Alhaitham ignores him with a fond roll of his eyes as he looks around the place.
With one glance, Alhaitham can already tell that this place is bigger than his old office in The Akademiya. Everything is neat, or 'empty', and dust free. The place currently holds expensive looking furniture, there's even a vase of flowers near the window beside his desk.
Alhaitham snorts when he finds a glass shelf filled with many bottles of expensive liquors from foreign nations. Overall, this place can't be called an office. What with the lack of paperwork. The only indication that this place is an office is a wooden desk with Alhaitham's plate name on it.
Alhaitham taps his fingers on the desk once before sitting down on the leather chair behind it. Only after sitting down that Alhaitham realizes that Alpha Build is haughtily observing him with a toothy grin.
The base of Alhaitham's wings twitch once before he smooths his expression, he opens his mouth to inquire but then decides to thank him instead, in a way, "In your honest opinion, can you call this place an office?" Alhaitham asks Alpha Build.
Alpha Build's eyes squints and his grin widens for a flash before he nonchalantly shrugs, "I don't know. I don't really care. What does it matter anyway?"
Alhaitham leans back to his very comfortable chair, "Well, there's a reason why a place is only reserved for one thing," he pointedly glances at the liquor showcase, "a place reserved for work should only be filled with work related stuff to avoid getting distracted and wasting work-time. Who put that liquor shelf here, anyway? Although the desk, couches, and table are more expensive than usual, they are still pretty normal to be found in an office. A liquor shelf, on the other hand… I doubt the Diplomatic Office was the one who put it there."
Alpha Build raises both his hands in mock surrender, "Astute observation. You're right, Omega Build was the one who put it there."
[Hey!] Omega Build exclaims a complaint from the link, [why did you tell him? I was going to give him a surprise,] he laments.
[Hush, shut it. Go back to your work since you have decided on a very ambitious goal,] Alpha Build swats him away.
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows, new segment? "Omega Build?" Alhaitham inquires, "now that's already four of you. Just how many segments are there?"
Alpha Build's arms fall down on the couch and splay disgracefully, "Just four. Currently."
"Oh?" Alhaitham places his hands on top of each other and frowns in thoughts, 4, "I can take you all."
Alpha Build barks a laugh, "Sure," he says, "sureeeee…."
Alhaitham rearranges his wings in amusement, "If I recall correctly, Doctor said that the consciousnesses of the Segments are linked in some way so that they can communicate with each other even if they're not at the same place. So can you please ask 'Omega Build' why is he putting a liquor shelf here?"
Alpha Build wants to refuse just to be petty, but sadly Omega Build told him almost immediately, [first off, because in Snezhnaya liquors are vital to keep body warmth. Second, in my experience working in a closed space for quite a long time can be stressful-]
[He only works 4 hours a day tho,] Sigma Build comments.
Omega Build continues without care, [-and third, it's for when we visit him. To lighten up the mood and so that we can enjoy some time together.]
Alpha Build rubs his temple which is throbbing from hearing Omega Build's long explanation, he looks at Alhaitham dead in the eyes and flatly says, "He wants to have office sex."
[THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID AT ALLLLLLL!] Omega Build screeches from the link and Alhaitham's taken aback and wide eyed expression is enough to soothe Alpha Build's throbbing head with amusement.
[Nahhhhhh,] Sigma Build playfully refutes, [even if you said it in a roundabout way, pretty sure that's your third reason.]
Omega Build makes indignant noises before he sighs, [At least don't say it so bluntly. Learn some finesse, for Prime sake,] he defeatedly grumbles to the link.
Sigma Build and Alpha Build simply laughs at his misery.
Alhaitham blinks a few times before he shakes his head with a sigh, "I see," he says before he starts unbuttoning his shirt.
"Hey hey!," Alpha Build exclaims in alarm, "I said Omega Build is the one who wants to have office sex. Not me."
[Oh, shut it.] Omega Build remarks, [you dirtied my good image in his Alhaitham's mind. The least you can do is give me a good show.]
Alpha Build inwardly squawks angrily to the link, [I'm on duty!]
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows as he stands up. He makes eye contact with Alpha Build as he peels his shirt off his body, revealing his old skin tight shirt underneath.
Alhaitham folds his shirt and places it beside the flower vase near the window, "And I didn't indicate in any way that we are going to have sex."
Alhaitham walks back to his desk to take out a calligraphy set from his back.
[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, that's my gifttttttt,] Omega Build gushes to the link which irks Alpha Build to no end.
"What are you doing?" Alpha Build asks Alhaitham.
Alhaitham dexterously grinds the ink stone and prepares the paper to write on, "The head faction said that my duty starts tomorrow. Today I would like to check if my written Snezhnayan is up to standard then maybe I'll go check the archive later."
Alpha Build squints at Alhaitham sceptically, "And you need to take off your shirt because?"
Alhaitham has started writing so he doesn't look up as he answers, "Although I'm not clumsy, a loose shirt like that might knock the inkpot or smear wet ink on my paper so it's best that I take it off."
Alpha Build scans Alhaitham's appearance. A skin tight black shirt that leaves nothing to the imagination and a long glove that covers his dominant hand from his wrist to his upper arm. Familiar outfit. The same outfit Alhaitham wears as a scribe except that he doesn't wear the glove on his left hand since the cryo shackle is there.
Alpha Build snorts amusedly, "Alright," perhaps he was not simply dressing like that to attract customers.
Notes:
So like, I have this idea living rent free in my head.
Y'know the fanon that Alhaitham is King Deshret's reincarnation and Kaveh as Goddess of Flower's reincarnation?
So like, imagine a fic about them but Zandik is the embodiment of the forbidden knowledge.
Ucfhduxyjinfyh, I feel that it's such a scrumptious base plot but I can't write something like this. So I'm just writing it on my author's note cuz its eating me alive.
Chapter 20
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Alhaitham and Alpha Build are doing their own things inside the office. They don't talk to each other but they don't ignore each other either. Just a peaceful comfortable silence.
Alpha Build dislikes it. Dislike how different this situation feels compared to his usual routines. This moment of peace is unsettling.
Alpha Build silently glances up from fiddling with his claymore to take a look at Alhaitham.
Alhaitham is still diligently writing in Snezhnayan. His eyebrows are furrowed in concentration as he writes down one word after another, writing with straight back and steady hand, leaving his wrist to do the rest of the job as it twists fluidly to accentuate the curves of the words he's writing. The picture perfect pose for calligraphy writing.
Alpha Build tilts his head up to look at the ceiling and softly snorts to himself. This is why he hates peaceful moments like this. Nothing begs his attention, causing him to grow lax and losing his attention to details. To 'important' details.
How idle. Annoying.
Alpha Build looks back at Alhaitham, his fingers drumming on his claymore, and then nothing else.
They're back to doing their own things, just this time, Alpha Build is staring at both Alhaitham and nothing.
Alhaitham is either too focused on his practice that he doesn't notice Alpha Build's stare or he's ignoring him.
Annoying, but, truthfully, Alpha Build will do the same if he's in his place right now.
After a long while, Alhaitham slightly flicks his wing once before letting out a soft questioning squeal with his whole attention still fixated on his practice.
Alpha Build snorts before he tilts his head back up with a dismissive caw.
This situation is annoying. It reminds Alpha Build of the days when he used to have exam weeks in Akademiya.
Alpha Build caresses the hilt of his claymore as he lets his eyelid droop and savor the peace.
But he can adapt to it. It isn't as if he's being abruptly transferred to a sub-zero climate and left alone with the expectation of being able to defend himself in a foreign land.
Alpha Build lets out a long breath as he lets his posture relax to a shrimp posture, keeping an eye on the fluctuation in the leyline to make sure he notices if there's anyone or anything approaching their location.
Alpha Build hears a short soft chittering from Alhaitham. That chittering noise feels just like what Omega Build described it as, 'therapeutic'.
"I'm not going to sleep," Alpha Build lazily mumbles back as an answer, a little bit too late.
And Alpha Build doesn't fall asleep. He simply lets his mind rest and slows his breath, his clouded eye open a fraction to keep notice of his surroundings. Just like that, Alpha Build goes into stand-by.
Omega Build is busy.
His tired bloodshot eyes scan yet another ledger among many more that still need to be taken care of from under his mask.
Omega Build blinks once. A tear rolls from his eyes and clings to his chin as a scream for help, begging their owner to notice how dry they are.
Omega Build doesn't acknowledge it in the slightest.
The door to his office opens and comes Pantalone who blinks at Omega Build's presence, as if Omega Build wasn't here for the past 2 days, "You're still here," Pantalone awkwardly comments as he steps inside to take the ledgers Alpha Build has read and given his signature, wings slightly shuffling from unease, "I would comment that The Second Harbinger sure lives up to his name by being able to handle 40 hours of working on accounting nonstop, bodily and mentally."
Omega Build doesn't answer, he continues to read the ledger currently in front of him. His whole person sits unmoving, his breathing movements barely noticeable, and the only proof of him being alive is the slow movements of his eyeballs tracing the lines in the ledger one by one.
Pantalone stands there, waiting for Omega Build's response with a stack of ledgers in his hands, seeing that Omega Build doesn't plan to say anything, he clears his throat, "But, friend, I can clearly see how weary your physique and mental are. I don't think that this is healthy even for you."
Omega Build doesn't care. He continues to read the ledger as if Pantalone doesn't exist.
Pantalone's wings ruffle in annoyance and he leaves the room without another word, closing the door behind him with a loud bang.
Omega Build takes a deep breath before slowly exhaling it. Still persistently working on the numbers.
He needs to come home as soon as possible, to see him, to see Alhaitham. He needs to make sure that his plan truly works, for him and for Alhaitham.
Sigma Build boredly observes the servants moving the bed he just bought into the room. He's sitting on one of the couches in the reading section with his arms crossed haughtily.
[Y'know, Alhaitham suggested that we get another bed so that one can be used for exercise while the other is used for resting,] Sigma Build comments to the link, [We barely used the room before he moved in. It would take such a shitty day for the old bed to not suffice. Now that we really get another bed, just where the fuck am I supposed to place it? If it's in the same room then what difference will that make?]
Sigma Build waits for some time, but there's no response at all from the link. He bristles his wings from annoyance causing one of the servants' hold on the bed to slip due to surprise. The bed falls down with a bang right in the middle of the master bedroom.
The bed is fine, it's just that the collision from the leg of the bed leaves a mark on the floor.
The room falls into a deathly silence as the servants collectively suck in a sharp breath and wait in horror as His Lordship stills with his wings slightly spread. As if he's frozen in surprise.
Then His Lordship suddenly tilts his head with a sharp grin.
The servant whose hand slipped quickly drops to his knees with a tremble to beg for mercy, but before he can even cusp his hands together, His Lordship has already choked him by the neck and dragged him away.
"The rest of you quickly tidy up the bed," Sigma Build says from the door with the servant in his hand, not daring to even struggle, "Alexei, supervise them. If someone makes a mistake, quickly send them to have an audience with me."
Alexei tenses before bowing low and says in a trembling voice, "Understood, My Lord."
With that taken care of, Sigma Build cheerfully skips toward Prime's underground lab.
Finally, something exciting.
Some feathers fall off Prime Dottore's wings as they frantically flap to cushion his landing.
Try as he might, he still lands far too disgracefully than he likes, even if he's still landing on his two legs. Dottore quickly rearranges his foothold on the snow and recovers his demeanor before acting as if nothing happened. It's a very good thing that he comes to check the place alone.
Dottore roughly scans the crime area with one look before humming to himself. Then he takes a step forward.
The snow crunches under his feet as he circles around the remnants of The Knave's prisoners carriage. Soots are mixed with the snow but he can't find any human remains, perhaps Arlecchino has taken them, or perhaps the fire that day is hot enough to cremate them.
Dottore kneels down near the biggest lump of soot on the snow before he takes out a pair of one-time-use surgical gloves and a sample tube. He methodically wears the gloves before starting to dig.
It hasn't been long since the incident and the weather was more controlled the last few days despite being located in a valley so the snow hasn't managed to pile up too thick.
A pile of wet black soot greets Dottore under the pile of snow. Dottore takes a little sample of it and rubs it between his fingers. The soot is clumpy, meaning it has been left alone here to ferment under the snow for quite some time after its creation.
Dottore scans the area one more time, more careful this time.
There doesn't seem to be any trace of activity in the area. Except for the place he landed on, the snow around is as smooth as calm water. As far as Dottore knows, it hasn't been snowing here for some time.
Well, isn't that just curious?
Dottore takes his time to fill his test tube full of soot, going as far as taking out more test tubes from his coat to get more samples of the soot. Dottore will run a little test later to see if there's only carbon here and no other substances. Who knows, maybe he will even find something about the fire that burnt that day.
Still. Is the rebel group this round really from the common people? Usually the common people are much more sentimental than what's good. To leave their comrades' remains untouched is unlike them. On the other hand, if the rebel group is from nobility, they won't leave the remains untouched either. Too afraid there would be at least one person left that will spill something incriminating about them.
Dottore stores the test tubes and clinically disposes of his gloves. Then he stands up and lightly stretches his wings. But before he takes off, he seems to change his mind.
Now that he's here, might as well take a better look.
Dottore retraces his footprints back to where he landed. After that, he carefully takes one step after another to circle the perimeter.
The location of the incident is in a valley. There might not be human activities around here because Arlecchino has ordered for the crime scene to be left alone. But animal activities are of different matters. There's no way animals will completely steer clear from the area just because Arlecchino ordered this place to be left untouched. There should be a reason as to why not even animal activity is present. A reason that's on the scale that's higher than a mortal. Something a little bit ominous.
Dottore halts his step and retracts his foot back when he feels the snow beneath it comes under strangely. He kneels down before slowly and carefully digs the snow he was about to step on.
A cryogranum greets him, and judging from the runes written with pyro energy surrounding it, it seems to have been tempered.
Dottore snorts and his lips stretch into a crooked smirk. No wonder Arlecchino specifically asked for Alpha Build's assistance.
If what she recounted to him was correct, then she probably thinks that the explosion was triggered because of elemental energy. And she's right, in some ways. He will have to check the cryogranum more to see if it has new property post-tempering, but this tempered cryogranum most likely is the cause of the explosion.
If that's the case, then Arlecchino is on the right track by requesting Alpha Build's assistance. He can easily see the traces of elemental energy and tracks it down. But to immediately resort to the easiest solution is a source of complacency.
Well.
Dottore buries the cryogranum back under the snow after copying the runes on a sheet of paper, going as far as gently patting the snow so that the surface is even.
If it's an easy route that Arlecchino seeks then that's what he will give her. In the end, things are not straying too far from her initial thoughts.
He will keep this cryogranum matter to himself.
When Alpha Build's eye fully reconnects into focus, he's already lying on his side. There's a hand gently massaging and scratching his scalp and a lap under his head, acting as a pillow. Alpha Build takes a look at the only desk right in the room. Alhaitham is gone, leaving the desk empty except for his bag.
"I thought you said you were not going to sleep?" Alhaitham comments as he delightfully massages the back of Alpha Build's ear.
The pressure behind his ear is very pleasant. Pleasant enough that Alpha Build feels a rumble deep in his chest that might turn into a purr if he doesn't regulate his emotions quick enough.
Alpha Build lazily curls his body into a ball, his cheek squished on Alhaitham's lap. Alhaitham doesn't stop massaging the back of Alpha Build's ear and Alpha Build doesn't try to shy away from his touches. He simply lies bonelessly on the couch, clouded eye looking dull but his mind racing.
Alpha Build mocked Sigma Build's behaviors around Alhaitham once before. He asked him if he dislike Alhaitham so much then why didn't he just refuse it and run away, instead of hovering in and out of Alhaitham's reach.
Sigma Build had looked at him with a dry expression of distaste and told him to fuck off. He also said something along the line of trying to distance himself from Alhaitham is the epitome of resistance is futile.
Alpha Build moves his hand to lay in his periphery, right on top of Alhaitham's knee.
Right now, Alpha Build understands what Sigma Build means very well.
As the segment with vanguard duty, Alpha Build's vessel is modified to the extreme in order to come out from every fight as a winner and detect every possible battle that might occur very well before it happens.
And yet he's lying on his side now. Dozing off and curling around his mate as said mate is treating him as if he's some sort of an old sleepy cat. He was clearly in a sitting position before and yet Alhaitham had managed to lie him down without alerting him.
…
The implication is clearer than a diamond.
"There should be 75 minutes more before you can clock off. If you want to go to the archive then you should have just woken me up," Alpha Build says without moving with a voice heavy with laziness and sleepiness.
The bond of a lifelong mate is the same as what humans call a marriage bond. Except that it's not just a mere concept. It's an immediate mandate.
To be together always. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death.
That is the solemn bond of being lifelong mates. A heavy shackle that binds two Avians for life. A union of two entities to become one.
Alhaitham hums after a long while, hands still absentmindedly scratching his mate's scalp, "I changed my mind. It's still my first day, there's no rush for me to immediately work hard."
Alpha Build snorts, "Ha," then he twists his body so that Alhaitham won't be able to see his expression before saying after some time, "hey… can I trust you?" he asks, and the hand scratching his scalp stills.
Alhaitham stares at the lifeform lying on his lap. He can't see his mate's expression and his mate's body doesn't even indicate any expression, but he can feel some form of self-deprecating tone from that question. As if his mate already knows what his answer will be.
Alhaitham seems to notice that he has stopped moving his hand before continuing his earlier movements, except that this time his movements are more absentminded.
Alhaitham is aware. His mate is far from normal. Alhaitham is taking a risky gamble by accepting to go to Snezhnaya, but by accepting it, he can erase the much worse risks. So he accepted, fully keeping in mind to thread carefully.
By all means, he doesn't dream of changing his mate. Making some compromises and initiating a lot of healthy communications are the most he can do.
In Alhaitham's mind, a little bit of trust issue is something far tamer than what he imagined to be his first hurdle.
Still…
"That kind of question, I doubt the answer to that will be able to soothe your mind in any way," Alhaitham answers in a way, neither answering nor deflecting.
Alpha Build snorts again and his wings limply twitch as if they're about to blanket his own body, Alhaitham's answer brings him comfort for some reason, "You're right. The truth is that I don't trust you and whether you said you're trustworthy or not, I will still not trust you."
And then they fall silent, but Alpha Build is still accepting Alhaitham's scratches on his scalp.
After a long while, Alpha Build suddenly turns around to hug Alhaitham's torso and curls toward him, "I don't trust you but at least I can understand you, and that's good enough," he mumbles to Alhaitham's torso, "who told you to stop? Continue," he orders Alhaitham.
With a fond roll of his eyes, Alhaitham sighs and does as ordered.
This time, Alpha Build lets himself let out broken purrs. He doesn't care if it sounds ugly or annoying. Blame Prime for that.
Notes:
Alpha Build is surprisingly human.
Chapter 21
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Alpha Build's question acts like a switch to the way he treats Alhaitham. Suddenly, he is not only cuddly but also clingy.
Alhaitham doesn't take any note of the time when he continues to spoil Alpha Build with affections, but Alpha Build does.
When it's time for Alhaitham to clock off, Alpha Build immediately stands up and stretches his limbs and wings in a trained manner, "Let's go."
Alhaitham blinks, his wings slightly spread from being taken aback at the sudden shift in the mood, "Right away?"
Alpha Build places his hands on his hips and tilts his head as he raises his eyebrow at Alhaitham, "You said you will only be in your office for today? Did you lie?"
Alhaitham refrains himself from rolling his eyes and with a twitch of his wings, he stands up from the couch, "No," he quickly redresses himself and walks to the door, "let's go then."
Alpha Build steps into Alhaitham's way, blocking his path and Alhaitham looks at Alpha Build inquiringly.
Alpha Build's wings start to twitch in unease as he seems to have a hard time looking for something to say, "... If you have some place in mind, I won't mind accompanying you there…" he mutters with a low voice but Alhaitham catches it well.
It's Alhaitham's turn to raise his eyebrows at him, "No, I don't have somewhere else to be. It's fine if we return immediately."
Alpha Build's mouth opens but he hesitates and instead tilts his head down to stare at his feet, wings pressed tightly to his back, "Not necessarily places you need to be," his clouded eye peers up to peek at Alhaitham's face, "...if you have any place you want to visit…"
Oh? Alhaitham blinks in light surprise. Well, now this is the most abrupt mood swing his mate has shown so far.
Alhaitham lightly nudges Alpha Build away from his path by the shoulder, "Thank you for offering, but no. I don't have a place I want to visit at the moment. Let's just go home and have a rest," but Alpha Build doesn't budge.
Alpha Build catches Alhaitham's hand by the wrist and looks up, "I'm not Sigma Build," he says, "I'm not tired yet and I doubt you're that tired since you were only practicing your writings."
Alhaitham tilts his head to fully regard Alpha Build's expression with a light frown, "It has nothing to do with Zazan," Alhaitham takes his hand from Alpha Build's clutch and walks past him, "come now, let's go home."
Alpha Build immediately catches Alhaitham's wrist again, pulling Alhaitham to a stop, "Don't go too far," Alpha Build says with a slight fluctuation in his voice, then he strangles his voice slightly to not sound weird, "this time of the year the sun comes out later and goes down faster. Right now it should be almost dark outside," his wings sag and his demeanor wilts as he looks back down at his feet, seemingly losing his confidence fast, "you might get targeted…. Let's walk side by side."
Alhaitham twists his neck to look back, finding an Avian who might die soon from shyness and anxiety, he sighs and rubs his cheek to Alpha Build's temple with a short reassuring chittering noise to calm him down, "Alright," Alhaitham softly acquiesces, "start walking then."
Alpha Build tenses back in indignation from being treated that way but he keeps his silence and instead drags Alhaitham out of the office.
Alhaitham lets himself be dragged with a slight fond smile.
"You're going home, just like that?"
"Well, what else am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know either. What if your superior comes to your office to check on you?"
"I don't see the relevance in that. If they decide to visit my office when I'm supposed to be off work and I'm not in position then that's not my fault."
"Heh, alright, I can't find any fault in that logic."
The walk back to the underground station is uneventful, except for Alpha Build being overcautious over everyone who walks too close to them and bristling his wings at them that Alhaitham needs to drag him away to avoid inducing unnecessary troubles, everything is going smoothly.
Alhaitham is already seated on his usual spot while Alpha Build is inputting the necessary commands to the control panel. When that is done, Alpha Build walks toward the seats as the transport vehicle starts to move. Then he silently stands while staring at the empty portion of Alhaitham's seat.
Alhaitham who's resuming to read the book he read this morning senses Alpha Build's presence and decides to finally open his mouth after the long stretch of silence, "Can I hE-"
Without waiting for Alhaitham to finish his question, Alpha Build has already leaped to lie stomach down with his face pressed to Alhaitham's torso on the seat.
Alpha Build hugs Alhaitham's torso as he nuzzles his face there, "Continue," he mumbles an order.
Alhaitham whose body is tense from slight surprise slowly rearranges his wings and relaxes his body, really now?
Although Alhaitham is slightly confused, he acquiesces again and starts to gently scratch Alpha Build's scalp. Idly wondering if this is how it feels to have a pet rishboland tiger as Alpha Build starts letting out satisfied purrs.
Alpha Build and Alhaitham arrive at The Residence and are greeted by Alexei that immediately leads them to the dining hall to have their dinner served.
There are only two of them in the dining hall, Zazan is nowhere to be seen and Doctor hasn't come back yet, and although there are two servings of dinner, Alhaitham is the only one eating. Alpha Build is just mindlessly playing with the food on his plate while staring at the eating Alhaitham nonstop that it's enough to make Alhaitham feel a little bit self-conscious.
Alpha Build continues his behavior until the dessert is served. Only then, does he slightly avert his attention away from Alhaitham to spoon the sweet into his mouth. However, the moment his dessert is gone, Alpha Build resumes staring unblinkingly at Alhaitham with the spoon in his mouth, his teeth slightly gnawing on the spoon.
Alhaitham feels weirded out and a little bit wronged. What did he do to deserve that stare? It's almost as if Alpha Build wants to eat him or something.
… Oh.
Ohhh-oh, bad thoughts.
Now Alhaitham's knees feel weak despite him sitting down on a chair.
After dinner, Alhaitham, by extension also Alpha Build, immediately retreats to the master bedroom to have a rest.
Alhaitham freezes the moment the door is opened.
"What? What is it?" Alpha Build asks from behind Alhaitham before he stands on his toes to take a look inside from above Alhaitham's shoulder and also freezes.
What…- what?
[Sigma Build, what the hell?] Alpha Build hisses to the link in embarrassment, [do you not have any shame?]
Sigma Build cackles to the link, [I take it that you've seen the new bed?] he rhetorically asks with mirth, [don't look at me, look at Omega Build.]
[You're welcome,] Omega Build pipes up, his voice has a tired hint but exhilaration still can be sensed in it, [you can be the first to try it with Alhaitham if you want, Alpha Build.]
Alpha Build's face immediately heats up without mercy and he stands back down to his feet properly to at least slightly shield his eye from the eye-hurting scene using Alhaitham's back.
Alpha Build is 25 years old. Sigma Build is 18 while Omega Build is 30. How the fuck their personalities can differ this much. They're not even a different person.
The new bed is huge. It's even bigger than their old bed that the purpose of it is so obvious at first glance. The frame of the bed is metal and the bed has a ceiling from which a curtain of dark blue sheer fabric hangs. Right now the curtain is open, showing off the wide expanse of the bed covered in a very comfortable-looking aquamarine bedcover.
From Alpha Build's earlier brief look, he could easily identify shackles and other forms of restraints artistically hanging from the headboard, ceiling, and 4 corners of the bed. That's not the most embarrassing part, though. No. No, it's the pillows. The wide assortment of small plush pillows of rectangular, circle, and even heart shapes.
That bed is the absolute incarnation of a love nest.
[Damn,] Sigma Build disgruntledly comments, [I was the one who helped you pick the bed and you don't even give me the honor of having the first try.]
Alpha Build feels a little bit dizzy from shame. He wants to crawl into a ditch and die there, never to be found.
[Oh? Judging from your prior reactions in every mating instance you've had with Alhaitham, I gathered that you're not really interested in mating,] Omega Build explains, [forgive me then if my assumption is wrong.]
[Perhaps. But even so, isn't it just an etiquette to save the first try for me regardless of how I feel about it?] Sigma Build argues.
[Well, in that case then just have a three-way,] Omega Build suggests with mild amusement.
Alpha Build forcefully tunes himself out of the link. He refuses to hear any of that nonsense any longer.
Alhaitham blows a shaky exhale through his nose, then his shoulders tremble from holding back a laughter. He refrains from outwardly laughing just to give his mate a little bit of face since Alpha Build himself doesn't seem to be priorly aware of the bed. Unfortunately, it's getting harder to hold back his laugh that he needs to press his palm to his mouth.
Alpha Build stares blankly at the back in front of him. The person might try to hold back his laugh but it's very obvious that he's laughing from the way Alhaitham's shoulders are trembling and how his wings are twitching from amusement.
Forget about never to be found. Alpha Build chooses to straight up dive into the purgatory and burn to ash, ceases to exist.
Sigma Build cheerfully skips out of the corner, blood coating his gloved hands and the edges of his coat, some are even splashed on his face, "Move~" he happily sing-songs as he languidly approaches Alpha Build and Alhaitham with springy steps, "this genius needs to jot down some notes."
Alpha Build glances at him from the corner of his eye, he doesn't even have the energy to deign him any response.
Alhaitham instinctually steps back to allow the person in but he frowns when he notices Zazan's appearance.
Alhaitham yanks Zazan back by the collar, "I'm not going to ask where you've been or what you've been doing. What I am going to ask you is why you didn't properly clean yourself beforehand."
Zazan freezes in his step, seemingly trying to take in the fact that someone dares to stop him. After the situation clicks in, Zazan immediately reaches his hand back to pry Alhaitham's hand off of his collar.
Finding that the hand's hold on his collar won't budge, Zazan caws angrily, "Let me go," he snarls as he struggles with his wings flapping behind him.
Alhaitham stands firm, "I'm not letting you anywhere near our nest in the state you're in, Zazan."
Zazan growls, "They're only blood. It's fine, the servants can clean them up," he tries to reason.
Alhaitham's lips stretch into a tight line from annoyance, "Do you even know how hard it's to clean blood? Have you ever cleaned them yourself? Because if so then that's good since from today onward I'm not letting anyone else except us clean the nest."
Zazan fully faces Alhaitham and sends him a look of disbelief, [This is outrageous,] he vents to the link, [who does he think he is, ordering me around like that?]
[I don't know, Sigma Build,] Omega Build says, [maybe you should simply go ahead and clean yourself.]
Zazan snorts, [Oh, of course you are agreeing with him,] he mocks, [Prime, are you really going to let him do as he pleases?]
[He's just asking you to clean yourself before entering the nest. Just do as he says,] come Prime's answer.
[I- Really?] Zazan yells to the link, [you're going to continue letting him order me around like this?]
[Yes.]
[Yes.]
[Yes.]
Come the collective answers from each segment that Zazan can't help but to send Alpha Build a look of disgust from his betrayal.
Alpha Build returns the look with a bored expression before he sighs to the link, [In case you haven't realized it yet, Sigma Build. Taking care of the nest is also a part of providing.]
Zazan makes a face, knowing full well that at the moment he's the one in the wrong but is still indignant about it. He makes a spitting sound to the link.
"Fine," Zazan relents, "now let me go," he orders again as he continues his struggle.
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows, "Am I supposed to believe your words just like that?"
Zazan snaps his head back to snarl at Alhaitham, wings bristling and angrily flaring behind him, "What am I supposed to do then? The bathroom is inside."
Alhaitham supposes that that's true, but when he looks down, there's a trail of bloody footprints that leads to where Zazan currently stands.
"You're right," Alhaitham says before he decisively picks Zazan up and carries him on his shoulder to the bathroom.
Zazan lets out a surprised squawk from being suddenly carried like a sack of ransom. Then he defeatedly lets Alhaitham does as he pleases, already feeling too tired from the annoyance mounting up.
Alpha Build stares at the fresh bloody footprints then at Alhaitham and Sigma Build who disappear into the bathroom before letting out a snort as he also steps in and closes the door behind him.
Alpha Build hasn't even stepped close enough to observe the new bed before Alhaitham's head immediately re-emerges from the bathroom, "The same applies to you," he says to Alpha Build while watching Alpha Build's every move, "get in here. Clean up first."
Now finding himself being given the same treatment, Alpha Build can understand Sigma Build's feeling. He's about to raise up a fuss much like Sigma Build earlier but before he can do so, Sigma Build is already appearing at the bathroom door and trying to slip past Alhaitham. Unfortunately for him, Alhaitham easily catches him by the collar and wrangles him back to the bathroom, sending a warning glare at Alpha Build before he does so.
Alpha Build silently stands on his spot. His face scrunches up in a scowl, wanting to disobey but feels it's unnecessary yet also hesitant to obey.
[It's better for you to just do as he said,] Come Prime's unnecessary input.
Alpha Build's face scrunches up in extreme displeasure but in the end he simply grunts to the link before walking to the bathroom.
… Alpha Build doesn't regret coming to the bathroom.
[What are you looking at?] Sigma Build snarls at Alpha Build from the link as he is restrained by Alhaitham under the shower, fully clothed.
Water from the shower head spraying down from above his head, washing off the blood on Zazan's face along with the stream of water and making his clothes, hair, and feathers stick unflatteringly to his body.
"Just spray him with cold water. That will immediately put him in his best behavior," Alpha Build unkindly informs.
Sigma Build immediately lets out an enraged caw in response and Alhaitham sets the water into the coldest. Alpha Build watches on in amusement as Sigma Build crumples onto the floor, shivering from cold and losing all his fierceness.
Alhaitham observes Zazan with a mild surprise at how effective the cold water is, he looks at the state of his mate trembling like a wet kitten and feels a little bit of guilt, "Please use the bathtub to clean yourself," he tells Alpha Build as he adjusts the water to be warm.
It's very amusing to watch Alhaitham kneel down in front of Sigma Build to try and coax him to get cleaned, but it's not that amusing so Alpha Build quickly undresses and gets into the bathtub. His fingers linger on his mask, wondering whether or not to take it off. He glances at Alhaitham and snorts when he sees him leaning forward with his hand stretches toward Sigma Build who's sitting huddled into a ball and pressing himself to a corner to stay away from Alhaitham, wings curling around him defensively.
Seeing that Alhaitham's attention is not on him, Alpha Build takes off his mask and carefully places it away from any water.
On Zazan's end, Alhaitham has gotten tired of trying to coax him so he simply takes the shower head and sprays Zazan's head with warm water.
Zazan is glaring at Alhaitham, his whole body is shivering and his teeth clattering. His wings are shielding his body so tightly that only his head is peeking.
Alhaitham softly clicks his tongue, "Loose your wings so that the water will seep in more easily. You'll lose the cold faster that way."
Zazan scowls but he can't trust his clattering mouth to throw an impressive remark at Alhaitham so he simply folds his wings back and lets the warm water seep into his clothes.
The warm water on Zazan's body feels very pleasant that he lets out a purr, but the cold is still persistently clinging to him so Zazan lets himself fall forward to lean on Alhaitham's body.
Alhaitham slightly flinches from the cold contact but otherwise he places a hand on Zazan's shoulder to steady him, "What are you doing?" Alhaitham asks as he turns off the water.
"Stealing your warmth," Zazan said and it would have been cute if not for his fingers wandering along the curves of Alhaitham's body before stopping at the buttons of his wet shirt and unbuttons them.
Alhaitham lets out a sigh and tries to escape from Zazan's touch by leaning back, "You're supposed to take a shower, Zazan."
But Zazan lets his whole weight lies on Alhaitham, causing Alhaitham to fall on his ass, "Oh, don't worry. I intend to," then he latches his mouth on Alhaitham's nipple, reaping a breathy gasp from Alhaitham, "but I want to try something fun," he says while nibbling on Alhaitham's nipple, "so let's have another class, eh?"
Zazan meant it when he said he was trying to steal Alhaitham's warmth. The front part of Alhaitham's body which made contact with Zazan's is cold, that includes his nipples. On the contrary, Zazan's mouth is hot. So hot that the sensation catches Alhaitham off guard.
Still, "No," Alhaitham says as he tries to push Zazan off of him, in response to that, Zazan swirls his tongue on Alhaitham's nipple which causes Alhaitham to arch his back with a gasp, "not now," Alhaitham stubbornly denies even if his knees are weak from want.
[I thought you don't like fucking him?] Alpha Build asks Sigma Build from the link, [he's going to wring your soul through your dick again.]
Zazan glances at Alpha Build who's lounging inside the bathtub, already clean from filth, [the circumstance is different now. Since you're here, as Omega Build has suggested, we can have a three-way and bully him into submission.]
Alpha Build raises his eyebrows at Sigma Build, [Just admit that you're addicted to sex now,] irritation flashes across Sigma Build's expression but Alpha Build continues before he can even says anything, [and who said I agree to fuck him?]
Zazan squints his eyes at Alpha Build in suspicion, [That reminds me, you were so obviously horny for Alhaitham before and yet you have yet to fuck him. What is it?]
Alpha Build coldly tilts his head, [What if there's nothing? What if I am simply not interested in fucking him?]
Zazan's eyes crescent as he bites around Alhaitham's nipple, causing Alhaitham to squirm with a squeal, [Ha, hilarious. The most sexually pent up segment is not interested in fucking a willing mate,] Zazan mocks without mercy before he becomes thoughtful as he kitten licks Alhaitham's nipple who has long been perked up, [it's because you're afraid of being dependent on sex to stabilize your hormone and thoughts, isn't it?]
Alpha Build's wings twitch, rippling the water inside the tub but before he can refute, Sigma Build continues [If it's because of something stupid like that, don't worry. Alhaitham won't take advantage of that. He's better than that,] Sigma Build slowly explains and Alpha Build blinks in surprise at his compliment, [actually, he's probably going to tease you about it so he's not that good,] he adds.
Zazan's continuous stimulation on Alhaitham's nipple is finally enough to make Alhaitham's arms grow weak and Zazan takes that as his chance for a rare show of strength and situations Alhaitham's body so that his back is leaning on him.
Zazan throws a grin at Alpha Build who's tensing with wary inside the bathtub before he lightly taps Alhaitham's cheek, "Hey hey, Alhaitham," he sings-songs, "do you see the ugly Avian in the bathtub?" Zazan asks as his hand wanders down to unzip Alhaitham's pants.
Alhaitham slowly focuses his eyes to look ahead and sees Alpha Build's unmasked face, Alhaitham finally has the time to think before he frowns in confusion.
But before Alhaitham can ask anything, Zazan suddenly rips Alhaitham's pants off, causing Alhaitham to let out a surprised wail and Alpha Build to flinch.
Zazan throws the remnants of Alhaitham's pants behind him without care and spreads Alhaitham's legs by the knees, "I know you love getting bred," he says to Alhaitham's ear and Alpha Build's wings tense from Sigma Build's blunt choice of words, "so here's a special occasion for you…" Zazan trails off as his hand moves to jerk Alhaitham's cock and Alhaitham lets out a squeal, "I thought it will be a good idea, since we have the rare opportunity to be in The Residence at the same time, that we both fuck you," Alhaitham lets out a gasp when Zazan's thumb harshly rubs the tip of his dick, "Yes, yes. Two big dicks, violating your body and stuffing you full of seeds," Alhaitham lets out a shaky squeal as his hand reaches back to grab Zazan's shoulder, "but unfortunately, Alpha Build here doesn't seem interested in fucking you."
Zazan brings his other hand to trail his finger along the rim of Alhaitham's hole as his other hand continues to jerk him, then he slowly inserts his finger. The hole is still soft. Of course, it is. The day when this whore is not being fucked is rarer than when he is.
Zazan immediately adds two more fingers and starts spreading them, causing Alhaitham to mewl and weakly grabs Zazan's arm and squeezes his shoulder.
Zazan checks on Alpha Build's expression and grins smugly when he finds him staring fixatedly on Alhaitham's lewdly spread lower half, "Luckily for you, it seems to be possible to sway him," he murmurs to Alhaitham's ear before nibbling on it, "perhaps if you show him a good performance, he will change his mind."
Alhaitham simply throws his head back to lean on Zazan's shoulder, knowing what to say but feels embarrassed to straight up admit it.
"Oh, what was it again?" Zazan asks as he stops jerking Alhaitham's dick.
He ignores Alhaitham's whine to recite, "'foreplay is not only about a straight forward stimulation, Zazan. It's more of a stage where you plant expectations of what will happen in your partner's mind', right?"
Zazan trails the fingers of his free hand to slip between Alhaitham's parted lips, "So how's this for a foreplay?" Zazan asks before mercilessly plunging his fingers into Alhaitham's hole and mouth as deep as he can and starts finger-fucking them, ignoring the way Alhaitham chokes and the tears sliding down Alhaitham's cheeks.
Notes:
I'm very happy that there are people who like this fic.
I am especially happy that some people are starting to ship them (I kinda planned this muehehehe).
I have one question, though. Would you mind if this fic has almost 2 hundred thousands (possibly more, if I haven't gotten tired of writing this theme) words?
Chapter 22
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It's only when Alpha Build's breathing becomes heavy and his whole body turns red with arousal does Zazan stop giving Alhaitham foreplay.
He immediately withdraws his fingers, uncaring of Alhaitham who whines a squeal at the loss of stimulation.
Zazan stands up and pats nonexistent dust from his knee and walks into the shower, "Welp, now that the foreplay is done it is time for me to get cleaned up just like what you wanted. In the meantime, go get acquainted with Alpha Build's dick or something."
Now that he's no longer enslaved by pleasure, Alhaitham quickly recovers and is back to being able to think clearly in no time, he sighs, "How nice of you. If only you were that obedient from the beginning. Look, you rubbed off the blood on your body to me."
Zazan stops right in front of the shower's entrance and turns back around before he crosses his arms and looks down at Alhaitham in annoyance, "Serves you right for spraying me with cold water," he turns around and get into the shower with a flick of his wings, "anyway, it's not like you can use the shower with those shaky legs of yours so I'm going to use the shower now. Good luck," and just like that, Zazan closes the shower door and turns the water on, obstructing his image with condensation.
Alhaitham lets out another sigh before he pinches the bridge of his nose. He takes a look at his hard cock before trying to stand up. Sure enough, his knees are too weak for him to stand up. All he can do right now is support his body on all four.
"Want me to turn on the water for you?" Alpha Build asks, he was so silent that Alhaitham almost forgets about him.
Alhaitham tilts his head up to look at Alpha Build, who flinches when their eyes meet, and gives him a light smile, "That would be helpful," Alpha Build immediately averts his eyes from Alhaitham's, seemingly apprehensive about making direct eye contact, Alhaitham wonders if it has something to do with his scarred face, "can you also twist them this way? I don't think I would be able to move there."
"Sure," Alpha Build says and he twists the neck of the faucet to Alhaitham's way without even looking to check if the angle is right, "...want me to hand soap and shampoo as well?" Alpha Build offers.
How considerate. Alhaitham wonders why Zazan can't be like this.
"Yes please," Alhaitham takes the offer and he vows to himself to address Alpha Build's hesitation on making direct eye contact with him, at least without the mask on, "wait a moment, though."
First, Alhaitham cusps his hands in front of him to gather some water and splashes them to his face, letting the excessive water flow down and wet his body. He does this several times, and notices everytime Alpha Build peeks at him.
Alhaitham cusps another handful of water and splashes them on his hair as he brushes it back, angling his head to tilt up so that the water will flow back. He catches Alpha Build snapping his face away from him, as if he's afraid of being caught looking.
Alhaitham lightly bites his lower lip. This shy game of stealing glances is quite foreign to him if not cute.
"The shampoo, please. Just a squeeze is enough," he requests and wonders how Alpha Build will react since he will have to look at Alhaitham to properly give him the shampoo.
Alpha Build turns to face him with a bottle of shampoo in hand, "Hand," he orders.
Alhaitham bends his legs back by the knees as he sits on the bathroom floor and leans forward to stretch a hand for Alpha Build to squeeze the shampoo on, placing his other hand between his legs for balance, fully intentional in striking a pose for Alpha Build.
Alpha Build is indifferent as he squeezes the shampoo on Alhaitham's hand, "Thank you," and Alhaitham thanks him despite feeling slightly disappointed.
Now, Alhaitham won't push it if it doesn't work. Right now his objective is to wash himself so he adds a little bit of water to the shampoo and rubs it to his hair. That kind of thing is not his style, anyway.
Alhaitham methodically washes his hair before washing the foam off with water. He brushes his hair back again before extending his hand towards Alpha Build, "Soap, please."
Alpha Build does as asked without much fuss.
Now, Alhaitham knows that his mate likes to observe, but none of them has quite as obvious a stare as Alpha Build. Alhaitham wonders how Alpha Build manages to do that, but he can't take a look. If he does that then it's obvious they're going to make eye contact.
Alpha Build's stare leaves a burning trail all over his body and Alhaitham needs to suppress a shudder. This feeling of being closely observed like a prey is quite novel to him. As a falcon breed Avian, Alhaitham is at the top of the food chain, therefore no one has been able to instill such sensation in him before. It's quite exciting.
So Alhaitham purposefully rubs the curves of his body slower and exerts slightly more power in them, causing his muscles to be slightly squeezed under his palm.
The intensity of Alpha Build's stare increases when Alhaitham starts rubbing his chest. This time Alhaitham takes it slower, not because he's trying to be sensual but because they're quite sensitive after Zazan's treatments toward them.
It's when Alhaitham starts rubbing his inner thigh that he loses his own demeanor. All this time his dick is still hard and the touches on his inner thigh cause his thighs to tremble and his dick to twitch. With a gasp, Alhaitham leans forward on his arms as he braces himself, waiting for the sensation to pass on as his wings flutter behind him.
"Can't you at least rub it off, first?" Alpha Build asks, finally can't handle feigning himself.
Alhaitham softly moans with amusement, "Rub it off? What difference could that possibly make?" he rhetorically asks, "an Avian's arousal is not that easy to quell. If it's that easy then The Akademiya won't make it mandatory for juvenile Avians to have a scheduled mating."
Hah, weak new generations, Alpha Build coldly snorts as he crosses his arms, "So you're going to let it stay like that?" he asks as he looks down at Alhaitham.
Alhaitham finally looks at Alpha Build, this time Alpha Build doesn't avoid the eye contact and Alhaitham takes note that it's probably because he's too busy mocking him to feel shy, "Of course. What difference will it make if I jerk off myself now? It won't change anything except making me want to have more and more until someone assists me."
Alpha Build freezes, his wings slightly spread in stunned silence. Oooh, no wonder.
"What about you then?" Alhaitham asks as his hands squeeze his pecs together, foam lazily drifting between them, "your gaze was hardly subtle. I know you want to touch me and it's likely that you're already hard down there," Alhaitham spreads his wings behind him welcomely, "why not have a head start since Zazan sure is taking his time in the shower?"
Alpha Build uncrosses his arms and looks away, his adam's apple bobs from nervousness at being caught, "I would rather wait," he refuses, his wings shift anxiously behind him.
"That's a shame, but you'll have to touch me regardless since I need help in washing my back. Zazan pressed himself to me quite insistently. I'm sure he has left quite an amount of filth back there," Alhaitham says and without waiting for Alpha Build's say in it, he turns around and scoots his back closer to the bathtub.
Alpha Build's wings are slightly raised in indignation at Alhaitham's one sided decision. But when a back covered in a layer of bloody filth greets him, he swallows back his words.
Alpha Build squeezes another drop of soap to his hand before rubbing his hands together to create foam and starts to rub Alhaitham's back.
Alpha Build reaches his hands out to Alhaitham's back very slowly, almost hesitant. When his hands finally make contact with Alhaitham's back, he stills, as if expecting Alhaitham to immediately jump away from his reach. But Alhaitham's only reaction is a twitch at the base of his wings and him leaning more to his hands.
Feeling a little stupid for his own unnecessary apprehension, Alpha Build starts rubbing the filth off Alhaitham's shoulders. Feeling his heart slightly races and his face heating up when Alhaitham starts letting out chittering noises from his mediocre massage.
"Are you really going to let me fuck you?" Alpha Build asks when the silence is becoming both too comfortable and uncomfortable.
"Why of course," Alhaitham answers simply while still softly letting out his chittering noises at the back of his throat, "my lifelong mate wants to have a mating session. What's the purpose of being mated if I refuse then?"
Alhaitham's answer sounds genuine, but Alpha Build is still uneasy, careful if Alhaitham is simply saying that to curry favorability, "Really?" he asks, "you're willing to mate with someone with a face like mine?"
Alhaitham's chittering sounds stops for a fraction before it continues as if nothing happened, but when Alpha Build thought about it later, it's because Alhaitham is trying to hold back a snort, "What does your face matter, Alpha Build? I'm not that superficial," Alhaitham places his arms back to lean on them, "besides, there are 3 of you and soon to be 4. I'm afraid I will become insane soon if I keep seeing your face everyday," he slightly spreads his wings to relax, "just because there are slight differences in each Segments' face, it doesn't mean that they're different."
Alpha Build snorts before he resumes rubbing Alhaitham's back clean, "Ha, I wonder if you will still be able to say that if I told you I have an erectile dysfunction."
Alhaitham stills and this time he really stops chittering, causing the bathroom to fall into strange silence that's only filled with the sounds of streaming water, then he tilts his head up with a flick of his wings, "Well. That would explain your choice of mating gift."
Alpha Build squeezes a chunk of muscles on Alhaitham's back in annoyance as a retaliation and Alhaitham lets out an exclaim that's more of a laugh than anything else.
"But I do mean it," Alhaitham tells Alpha Build as Alpha Build rinses his body from foam using water, he tilts his head back to lay on the bathtub's edge, "for me, the fact that you're my mate is enough."
Alpha Build freezes. He freezes for a long time before he starts to softly let out a hoarse cackle and hugs Alhaitham's neck from behind.
Alhaitham lets Alpha Build hug him without much opposition and lets them stay like that for as long as he wants even if his skin has started to wrinkle. Aggressiveness, hesitation, and then distance. It seems that Alpha Build felt afraid of being rejected by him, which makes sense because being rejected by your own mate is very horrible. It's a good thing that Alpha Build rips off the band-aid quickly though. Alhaitham honestly won't know what to do if it's going to become a long-lasting condition.
"Just so you know, I don't actually have erectile dysfunction," Alpha Build says to Alhaitham's ear as an afterthought and Alhaitham snorts.
Zazan is still doing who knows what in the shower, and Alpha Build and Alhaitham have gotten tired of waiting. So after drying their hair and wings, they left the bathroom without telling Zazan.
Alhaitham walks out of the bathroom, wholly naked and without care, and stroll towards the new bed and sits on the plush bedcover which feels very comfortable on his bare ass.
Alpha Build who's, for some reason, insisting on tying a towel around his hips to cover his genital, which is completely useless since his hard dick is making a very obvious tent but Alhaitham supposes it's both hilarious and enticing in a way, stops a few feet away from the bed with his wings ruffled in disgust before he seems to just try not to think too much about it and walks closer to Alhaitham.
Alpha Build stands to a stop in front of Alhaitham, unsure of what to do next.
Alhaitham seems to understand Alpha Build's thought and reaches out a hand towards the mount in the towel.
Alpha Build slaps Alhaitham's hand away. Alhaitham stares wide-eyed at Alpha Build and Alpha Build stares back with the same sentiment. He doesn't even know why he overreacted like that but what's certain is that his whole body is tense and his wings are flared defensively.
An awkward caw slips past Alpha Build's lips and he immediately clears his throat, "I think we should wait for Sigma Build."
Alhaitham observes Alpha Build for a moment, "No need," he says before he scoots to the middle of the bed to give Alpha Build more room to get on the bed, "I already have an inkling that you won't have much expertise in this area much like Zazan. But just like Zazan, I can teach you what I know," Alhaitham spreads his wings welcomely and gestures for Alpha Build to lie down on the bed, "that is, if you want to."
Alpha Build stares at Alhaitham's face with hesitation, then at the bed, then at the assortment of pillows that are enough to cause his wings to shudder in disgust from a single glance before he closes his eyes and gingerly sits on the bed, facing Alhaitham.
Alhaitham's lips are curled up in a small smile that's enough to cause Alpha Build's body to heat up, "Very good," Alhaitham softly purrs as he moves to crawl on all four over Alpha Build.
Alpha Build instinctively leans back to keep Alhaitham away from his personal space and Alhaitham takes that to his advantage since apparently his goal is to push Alpha Build to lie down on the bed.
Alpha Build tensely stares up at Alhaitham who's slightly squinting down at him in a mixture of mirth and fondness, when Alhaitham leans down to plant a kiss on his lips, Alpha Build twists his neck away to avoid the kiss, "Can you- can you teach me slower? I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed."
Alhaitham leans back with a huff, he pinches Alpha Build's chin to stop him from avoiding his lips again, "Now, I know that first time is going to be a lot of everything, but you don't have to do anything if you want to. You can just lie there and take it," he leans down to attempt another kiss, "so let me take good care of you," Alhaitham purrs.
But Alhaitham stops the descent of his lips on Alpha Build's lips just enough so that their lips are brushing and their breath mingling with each other, "On a second thought, I think you're right," Alhaitham says as he leans back up.
Alpha Build closes his mouth with a click and gulps at the way Alhaitham is hungrily looking down at him.
"Very well then," Alhaitham places the tip of his index and middle finger on Alpha Build's torso and uses them to mimic a walking man, his wings twitch in amusement at the way the muscles beneath them ripple and tense under the light touch, "let's take it slower," Alhaitham purrs as he lets the palm of his hand leaves featherlight caresses along Alpha Build's well defined abs.
Alhaitham lies his head down on Alpha Build's abdomen, ignoring the way Alpha Build tenses up under him, and peers up at him from under his eyelashes, "You have a very strong body," Alhaitham murmurs to Alpha Build's skin before he starts mouthing and licking the slope of Alpha Build's muscles.
Alpha Build doesn't know what to say. He's not in the age where he can say anything to Alhaitham without feeling embarrassed afterwards like Sigma Build, or confidently taking every compliment for granted like Prime. So he doesn't say anything and Alhaitham is fine with that. The silence is a welcome change believe it or not.
Alhaitham has left a glistening trail of saliva along Alpha Build's abdomen and he is on his way to Alpha Build's crotch. Alpha Build's legs tense up to stop Alhaitham if he decides to take off his towel anytime soon, but Alhaitham doesn't. Instead, he catches Alpha Build off guard by crawling up to sit on Alpha Build's abdomen.
Alpha Build looks up, finding Alhaitham staring down at him with a light smile as if he's waiting for him to say something.
"What?" Alpha Build asks after a long moment of silence.
Alhaitham lets out a chuckle and slightly spreads his wings as his knuckle raps on Alpha Build's chest, "Can you guess why I'm sitting on you?"
Alpha Build makes a face, "Why does anyone do anything?"
Alhaitham tilts his head with a faint smirk and flaps his wings once, "you're too focused on your dick. It's as if you're trying as hard as you can to stop it from reacting to my touches, which is a little bit insulting and counterproductive to what we are trying to do here. So I'm hiding it from your sight."
Alpha Build scowls, "It's part of my body. Just because you're not letting me look at it, doesn't mean that I immediately lose all control over it."
"Perhaps," Alhaitham retorts as he blindly slips the dick that's so hard now it curves into him between his ass cheeks and rubs it, causing Alpha Build to hiss, "but in any case, you seem to have some degree of aversion towards sexual intimacy. So what I will do to you is tempt you so much that you will want to take out your dick by yourself."
Alpha Build stares at Alhaitham with a light surprise before he snorts, "And what will you do if you fail to tempt me?"
Alhaitham stares down at Alpha Build, face void of any emotions before his lips ever so slowly stretch and he leans down to whisper at Alpha Build's lips and rubs his shoulders, "Don't overestimate yourself, darling. You might not like it if things don't go as you thought it would."
Notes:
You expected a threesome, but it was me, emotional baggage.
Sike.
-Sigma Build, probably.
On another note, there's an anime I really liked called Mononoke and I just found out that a movie about it will air on 2024.
Kusuriuri, you butterfly man.
Chapter 23
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Alpha Build feels like he's being challenged. Against his better judgment, he silently accepts the challenge. His resolution must have been apparent on his face since there's a thin sheen of smugness radiating from Alhaitham's face as he leans back to tower over him.
Alhaitham trails a finger along Alpha Build's nose bridge before tilting his head, "Well, then…" Alhaitham swings his leg to the floor and stands up, "let me prepare some necessary props before we start."
Alhaitham leaves Alpha Build to open one of the drawers under the old bed.
Alpha Build stiffly stares at the gaudy bed-ceiling above him, unsure of what to do. Alhaitham said he's only taking some props so perhaps he should just wait.
Out of curiosity, Alpha Build glances down at his crotch and shit. As Alhaitham had said, his dick is really hard enough that it curves up, lifting his towel up in a very obvious tent. Even under his towel it can be seen twitching from time to time.
It is, in all honesty, far too embarrassing. Alpha Build glares at it as if by doing so it'll calm down slightly. His dick does tower in stillness now but it's still curved up as if it's defying Alpha Build's will.
Alpha Build hears Alhaitham snort right beside him, "What are you doing?" Alhaitham asks with a tone full of amusement.
Alpha Build snaps his head to look at Alhaitham and his dick twitches under his towel when he hears Alhaitham's voice, as if greeting Alhaitham.
Alpha Build flushes hot from his head to his pelvis, "Nothing," he mumbles embarrassedly.
Alhaitham lets out a hum as he languidly takes a step after step to circle around the bed, his wing stroking the sheer curtains as he walks. He stops at the opposite side of the bed from Alpha Build and crawls up.
"Why are you sitting so far away?" Alpha Build asks, because Alhaitham is indeed sitting a half wingspan away from where he lies down.
"Well…" Alhaitham slightly trails off as he snaps open a tube of lubricant and coats his fingers with a generous amount of it, Alpha Build seems to be very pent up if the state of his dick indicates anything, it would be wise to be safe than sorry, "you're lying down too close to the edge. I have a feeling that if I don't encourage you to move here we might spend the entire time there," after deeming the lubricant on his fingers is warm enough, Alhaitham shamelessly spreads his legs wide to show off his hole to Alpha Build, "such a wide bed, it would be a shame if we only use a small portion of it."
Alhaitham trails the tip of his finger around his rim, tickling it and causing it to twitch, before he slowly inserts his finger.
Alhaitham lets out a shaky sigh and restrains himself from thrusting his hip onto his finger, "If you don't feel like moving, then that's fine. I'm not opposed to giving you a show, but you'll have to make do with only fingers performance since I forgot to get your mating gift," Alhaitham crooks his finger inside as he twists it before adding in three more fingers, "on the other hand, if you choose to get over here, I can teach you how to prepare my hole," Alhaitham throws his head back with a shaky exhale, 4-fingers is a bit too much yet not good enough, "among other things," he purrs a promise as his fingers make a lot of loud squelching sounds down there.
Alpha Build observes very fixatedly at Alhaitham that he doesn't realize the wet patch steadily forming bigger and bigger on his towel. Too busy staring unblinkingly at the aborted movements of Alhaitham's hips, at the slow movements of his fingers coaxing his hole to soften, at the way Alhaitham's head is thrown back in bliss, the tip of his tongue peeking out as he hisses breathy moans, and yet his eyebrows are furrowed as if he's frustrated that something is not enough.
Alpha Build's cock twitches under his towel as if agreeing with his observation and pointing out that it is what Alhaitham lacks.
Alpha Build gulps down the saliva pooling in his mouth, about to flow out of his mouth. He sits up with a sigh and starts crawling on his knees towards Alhaitham.
Sensing Alpha Build approaching, Alhaitham peeks his eye open with a faint crooked smirk, "Welcome to my little show, My Lord," he teases, but Alpha Build doesn't react as he's too busy looking at Alhaitham's hole, his tongue peeks out from time to time to lick his lips as if Alhaitham is a particularly delicious looking food.
Alhaitham can hear Alpha Build's very heavy breathing, as if he's beyond aroused.
Alhaitham feels his wings shudder and flutter behind him from eagerness as he bites his lower lip to suppress some of his excitement, then he takes out two of his fingers, leaving only his index and middle finger spreading his hole open, "You can put your finger in if you want," he offers and Alpha Build flinches before he looks at him, wide-eyed, as if he doesn't realize he has been watching on, "only one finger, though. For now."
Alpha Build is frozen silent, staring at Alhaitham in disbelief. Alhaitham doesn't say anything more. He silently offers his open hole to Alpha Build with a light encouraging smile on his lips.
Alpha Build's mouth is opening and closing as he slowly moves his finger to Alhaitham's hole. Alpha Build warily inserts half of his index finger into Alhaitham's hole and sucks in a sharp breath. It's wet, and warm, and tight, and feels like it will feel very good if he sticks his dick inside.
Meanwhile, Alhaitham throws his head back and softly moans a squeal. Sure enough, even if it's only a shallow thrust of a finger, as long as it's a foreign object, it will feel different.
Alhaitham leans forward with a small breathy moan to press his forehead on Alpha Build's nape, Alpha Build lets out a small throaty caw as his free hand moves to steady Alhaitham by the waist, "Yes, that's it. Very good," Alhaitham praises Alpha Build straight into his ear, his free hand moves to hold the arm steadying him for a purchase, "You can insert it deeper if you want."
Alpha Build's adam's apple bobs up and down as his clouded eye frantically flits right and left, trying to search for some form of clarity. He sucks a deep breath to calm down but accidentally sucking in a lungful of Alhaitham's scent instead and his wings ruffle up in agitation as he loses every semblance of clarity in his mind.
But Alpha Build still has some self control. He slowly slides his finger deeper into Alhaitham's hole, parting the tight wall.
Alhaitham lets out a pleased purr, "Very good," he moves his fingers which were used to part his hole to join Alpha Build's finger inside, "has your finger knuckle-deep already?"
Alpha Build doesn't recognize the question at first, too busy scrutinizing the feeling of Alhaitham's hole, before he understands the question with a twitch of his wings, "I have."
Alhaitham presses his mouth to the side of Alpha Build's neck, "Good," he murmurs before pulling out his fingers completely, "then I'll leave it to you to do the rest."
Alpha Build owlishly blinks before he twists his neck to look at Alhaitham with an astonished grunt.
Alhaitham softly chuckles as he brings his arms to circle around Alpha Build's neck, "What's wrong?" Alhaitham asks as he mouths along Alpha Build's neck, "my hole is already well stretched because of Zazan. I'm simply asking you to explore on your own," before Alpha Build can say anything, Alhaitham already pulls himself away from Alpha Build to lie stomach down on the middle of the bed, "or perhaps, do you need better access?" he asks as his hands spread his ass cheeks for Alpha Build.
Alpha Build sucks in a sharp breath as he watches, mesmerized, at Alhaitham's wet and flushed hole, ready to be railed. His cock twitches violently under his towel and Alpha Build almost lets out a whiny caw from how achingly hard his cock is.
Alhaitham doesn't need to have a look at Alpha Build to know that he's at his limit. The smell of arousal in the air is already too intense. So intense, in fact, that it also influents Alhaitham's own arousal.
Alhaitham bites the pillow under him for a moment to calm down, "If you want to you can stick your dick in. As I've told you, it's well-prepared enough."
Alhaitham feels a hand grabbing on his ankle before he's suddenly flipped to lay on his back.
Alhaitham lets out a surprised squawk before he stares wide-eyed at Alpha Build who's towering over him from between his legs with a pissed off expression.
Alpha Build lets go of Alhaitham's ankle, "You're right, I want to stick it in," he says as he presses Alhaitham's knees to Alhaitham's shoulders, "I'm not spiteful enough to lie about it, but it's uncalled for that you have to tease me like that."
Although still feeling a little bit surprised, Alhaitham takes the initiative to hold his legs to his shoulders for Alpha Build, "Do as you wish then," he says.
Alpha Build lets out a harsh sigh with a scowl as he glares at Alhaitham, "You might change your mind once you see my dick, though."
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows at Alpha Build, "Has your dick become mutated and has a chance to spread incurable diseases?" he asks and Alpha Build makes a face, but before Alpha Build can refute, Alhaitham already continues, "if not then it's not a problem. Just insert it."
Alpha Build ruffles his hair in frustration before he rolls his eye and takes off his towel in one go. He hears Alhaitham let out a gasp and he is both dejected and smug.
Alhaitham stares transfixed at Alpha Build's cock, "It's ugly," he comments.
Alhaitham is not ashamed in the slightest for using the Segments' cock as a control variable. For the lack of a better word, compared to Doctor's or Zazan's cock, Alpha Build's cock is indeed ugly. Its color is dark, the head is flared angrily, and twitching blood veins cover it. The cock has some sort of overbearing aura as it continuously stands tall. When Alhaitham looks slightly down, he notices a pair of balls sagging heavily.
Alhaitham licks his lower lip as he gulps and subconsciously tilts his head, all the while sending a wanting look at Alpha Build's dick.
Alpha Build is getting mixed signals from Alhaitham's words and demeanors. He said his cock is ugly but why does he look so needy? Is Alpha Build supposed to back off or not?
"Hey," Alhaitham calls out, a little bit impatient, "do you want to insert it or not?"
Alhaitham's question answers Alpha Build's musings but he's not yet sure. At the same time, he has a feeling that if he tries to confirm again, he might lose his chance. So Alpha Build aligns the tip of his cock to Alhaitham's hole and slowly pushes in.
Alhaitham throws his head back as he savors the feeling of Alpha Build's dick slowly widening the rim of his hole and splitting his below.
On the other hand, Alpha Build is in a very tough battle. The feeling of Alhaitham's hole around his cock is far more astounding than he had imagined. It feels so good that he wants to immediately slams it all in and mindlessly fuck into the hole. But he can't do that. If he does that, he might break Alhaitham's back. Literally.
When Alpha Build finally bottoms in, he's out of breath and his eyebrows are wet from sweat while Alhaitham has lost the ability to hold back his legs, letting them hooked on Alpha Build's shoulders. Alhaitham's hands are clenching the pillow under his head while his eyes are flickering between clarity and drowning in pleasure.
Alhaitham thinks that the sensation inside him is slightly different. So full, but Alpha Build's cock is steadily convulsing deep inside him, thrumming along Alpha Build's heartbeat.
Alhaitham squeezes Alpha Build's head between his legs before whining, "Don't you want to move?"
Alpha Build leans forward, pinning Alhaitham's legs under his weight. He continues to lean forward until his head drops on top of Alhaitham's collarbone, the slight difference in angle changes the position of Alpha Build's dick inside Alhaitham and causes Alhaitham to let out a squeal.
Alpha Build lays unmoving on Alhaitham's chest. His chest heaving as he struggles to keep a clear mind amidst the sensation around his dick and Alhaitham's smell.
"Go on…" Alhaitham whines as he clenches his hole and it's pathetic how that slight provocation is enough to snap the last thread of Alpha Build's control.
Among the Segments, Alpha Build is the one with vanguard duty. The base strength of his vessel is way better than Sigma Build and slightly better than Omega Build despite him being younger. It's necessary for him to control his strength lest he slips in too much strength and accidentally breaks things.
But Alhaitham has tempted him, so don't blame him if he is going too far.
Alpha Build opens his mouth wide and bites down around the gem on Alhaitham's chest, hard enough to feel the bone, as he starts thrusting in and out of Alhaitham.
Alhaitham wails.
Zazan comes out of the bathroom after spending so much time inside the shower trying to clean off the blood that had dried under his nails. He ignores the shaking new bed along with the couple noisily fucking on top of it in order to tiredly lie down on the old bed.
Zazan tries to drift off to rest, yet try as he might, the ruckus of sex from the new bed not far away from him is keeping him awake.
Zazan grumpily rolls to his side and props the side of his head on his knuckle to see the show.
Alpha Build is pressing Alhaitham's legs to Alhaitham's shoulders as he continues to thrust into him like a piston. Each thrust is harsh and deep, maintaining the same rhythm of clapping sounds made from their joined hips.
Alpha Build's expression is dark, his mouth is gaping in an eternal snarl and slobbering like a beast as he wantonly licks the blood oozing out of the many wounds on Alhaitham's chest.
Alhaitham is a mess. His eyes are rolled up and his arms uselessly stretch upward to find purchase on the headboard. Countless moans, wails, squeals; along with comments such as, 'so rough', 'more', 'harder', and then 'too much', 'please, wait', 'stop' spills from his mouth just like the waterfall of saliva flowing from Alhaitham's mouth.
Zazan grins in approval. Yes, as expected, it's very satisfying to watch Alhaitham being put into his place.
Zazan feels his dick twitches and he looks down with a frown.
[Well, I've suspected it. But it seems that I'm into voyeurism,] Zazan comments to the link as he starts jerking his cock while watching the couple senselessly fucking.
[Sigma Build,] Omega Build calls from the link, exasperated, [First, why would you tell us that? Second, Yes. Yes, we are all into voyeurism. Now shut up or better yet, find a better angle.]
Zazan's lips curl up in disgust, [Pervert.]
When Alhaitham's consciousness returns to him, he doesn't immediately open his eyes, prefering to feign sleep as his mind recalls back to the events leading up to his sleep. There's a dull ache all over Alhaitham's chest and his lower half feels satisfyingly numb.
Slowly the last night's events trickle back to the front of his mind. He remembers slowly coaxing Alpha Build to not feel shy and asked him to fuck him. Which was what happened after that.
Alhaitham can't remember clearly what had happened after Alpha Build inserted his dick, but he can vaguely remember being wrecked and pinned all over the bed's surface.
Very good. It seems that Alpha Build had used the bed well. He also wrecked him so well that he passed out first. Alpha Build had satiated him well enough that Alhaitham feels lazy enough to sleep all day.
Alhaitham feels the bed dips and he finally opens his eyes.
Zazan is dipping his fingers into a bowl of ointment. His lips are pursed in concentration as he scrutinizes the content, going as far as sniffing it.
Alhaitham feels his eyebrow twitches, "What-" he chokes on his own spit as his throat scratches unpleasantly, "what are you doing?"
Zazan observes Alhaitham with a satisfied air around him before he nods cheerfully, "Prime ordered me to take care of your injuries," he casually examines the wounds on Alhaitham's body, "Alpha Build did you good," he comments, then he scratches the scabs of blood around the gem on Alhaitham's chest, "he did you very well," he corrects himself.
Alhaitham lets out a sigh and slightly rolls his eyes before he raises his eyebrows at Zazan, "Why are you the one treating my wounds? Where's Alpha Build?"
Zazan raises his eyebrows at Alhaitham as he mindlessly pours the ointment straight on Alhaitham's chest, "Why are you looking for him? Are you attached to him now because he fucked you?"
Alhaitham hums, neither agreeing nor denying, "I'm just surprised that you would want to treat my injuries, that's all."
Zazan hums as he meticulously covers the wounds on Alhaitham's chest with the ointment, "Alpha Build is not in a state where he can treat you. I'm sure you've realized by now his aversion towards sex? Well, Prime ordered Alpha Build to guard you. On the other hand, he's pent up and on the verge of going berserk. Fucking you to vent off his hormones is a way out but if he does so then there's a chance that he's going to break you. There's a conflict of interest there and so Alpha Build is currently locking himself up in the bathroom to ease his internal struggle."
Alhaitham's eyes glint, "So he could still go on if he wanted to?" he asks, "last night is not enough to vent off all his hormones?"
Zazan humorlessly snorts, "Of course. Don't hold yourself too highly, Alpha Build has been in a state where his hormones are building up and are stockpiling for hundreds of years. A night with you, no matter how good mating with a willing mate is, simply won't…" Zazan trails off when he finally notices the bright glints on Alhaitham's eyes and he slaps Alhaitham's shoulder in vexation, "can you stop?! You're already in this state and you're still looking to get fucked?" Zazan screams at Alhaitham, his wings ruffled behind him in annoyance.
Alhaitham opens his mouth, then bites down on his lip before opening it again, "I need to think of a solution to Alpha Build's condition, Zazan. That's my duty as a mate."
Zazan smacks Alhaitham's head this time, "My ass," he yells with an angry caw before he heaves a sigh and resumes on treating Alhaitham's wounds.
Alhaitham stares at Zazan's furrowed expression for a while, "Are you jealous that I am dividing my attention on Alpha Build?"
Zazan makes a face at Alhaitham but the tips of his ears are red, "Nonsense," he growls, "I just hate it that you're mindlessly chasing after pleasure like a fool, completely forgetting that you have to go to work today."
Alhaitham remembers, actually, "if that's the case then surely you won't mind it if I say that your foreplay has 95% score but unfortunately your overall score is 30% due to poor performance. I was expecting to get filled from both ends, you know," Zazan gapes in disbelief at Alhaitham and his wings flare angrily behind him, Alhaitham continues, "and as for why I'm asking for Alpha Build's whereabout, it's because the feeling of being left alone in the next morning after my body was so roughly used is just unpleasant."
In response to that, Zazan simply makes a face at Alhaitham for his hypocrisy.
Notes:
Am I the only one thinking that I've accidentally foreshadowed that Alpha Build's dick is sentient?
Chapter 24
Notes:
So, I need to change my update schedule. I hope y'all don't mind. From today onward I'm updating on every dates divisible by 5.
Unfortunately, that's just for now. If I become busier then I might update once a week.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Doing paperworks, no matter for what purpose, will always be boring.
Pantalone lightly massages his temple as he adds his signature of approval on yet another ledger. There's a quite prominent eye bag under his eyes. He fully blames Omega Build Dottore for it.
But seeing how much profit he has gained highlighted at the bottom of the page will always make Pantalone feel that his perseverance is worth it.
Unfortunately, right now he's working on paperworks that was put behind schedule because of Dottore's absence, so there's only a deficit.
Pantalone puts his pen down and palms his face with a groan.
The deficit is not as big as he had expected but it's still a deficit and his heart aches for the lost money.
Pantalone slips his fingers under his glasses and massages the side of his nose bridge, his eyes staring blearily at nothing.
It's not good. The deficit is, truthfully, insignificant, but if he's forced to see one deficit report after another, he's going to be as insane as Dottore.
Pantalone leans back on his chair and props his chin on his thumb, staring petulantly at his paperworks.
He is not allowed to act rash otherwise the insignificant deficit might turn into a bigger problem.
Pantalone puts all the blame on Dottore. If only Dottore is not working overtime to finish catching up with his tasks then Pantalone won't need to try matching up their steps and also works overtime to finish his part of the job. Dottore is not even touching the romance books he left at his office as a distraction.
Actually, there's no need for Pantalone to work as hard as Dottore. There's no rush since his business is not even near to bankruptcy. It's just that since Dottore has done his part of the job then the paperworks will be sent to Pantalone's office for the second approval. So the paperwork is sedimenting in Pantalone's office.
Pantalone feels peer-pressured, damnit.
The door to Pantalone's office opens. Speaks of the accursed Devil.
"Panty-"
"Don't call me that."
"Pantalooney-"
"No."
Dottore lets out a sigh and raises his hands, which carries 5 ledgers, in a mock surrender, "Alright then, Pantalone," he says as he steps in and closes the door behind him.
Pantalone sends his friend the stink eye when he puts down the ledgers on his desk as he pleases and sits down on the chair in front of him without being excused, "What do you want? I thought you're supposed to be busy?"
Dottore's lips stretch into an apologetic smile but who knows what's his real expression under his mask, Pantalone knows that this segment of Dottore is a master of micro expressions, "I'm done with the business tasks," Dottore informs.
Pantalone blinks and his wings would've been perking up in surprise if only he's not tired, "You do?"
Dottore's own wings are sagging tiredly behind him and only manage to twitch up to indicate his cheerful mood, "Yes."
"That's great," Pantalone says, because it's indeed great that he is not left too far behind, "you finished 2 days earlier."
Dottore grins unashamedly, "That's because I'm leaving the rest one and a half day to review taxations," he drops the information mercilessly, "and the last half a day to freshen up, won't want to look depressive when Alhaitham sees me."
Pantalone snaps his head up to look incredulously at Dottore, "You're insane."
Dottore expressionlessly stretches the corners of his mouth as an answer. Pantalone was about to berate him for his insensibility but then he realizes his friend mentioned his mate and can only close his mouth. Pantalone feels his whole body along with his wings crumble in defeat, Prime Dottore's voice telling him that it's his fault for introducing Omega Build to romance books echoes on and on in his ears.
Pantalone listlessly waves his hand, "Alright. Whatever. Do as you wish."
Dottore tilts his head sideways, he has the gall to put on an amused smile, "You don't have to catch up with my workload, you know," Dottore stretches his wings back with a soft groan and sounds of popping joints can be heard, "then again, you probably dislike the fact that the reason why you are not going to regain profit faster is because the required documents are waiting for your approval. Please don't forget that you need to accompany me picking up gifts for Alhaitham, though."
Pantalone blows a sigh through his nose and puts his hands on top of each other atop his desk. Then he returns Dottore's smile with a hollow smile.
What a considerate reminder, "Get out."
The sound of dripping water is a constant within the otherwise silent bathroom.
It echoes 'drip drip' particularly loud in Alpha Build's ears and he counts the noise silently while trying to match his heartbeat to the sound.
Alpha Build blankly stares at his outstretched palm submerged in the bathtub he's in.
For the first time in a very long time, Alpha Build can think calmly.
Alpha Build relaxes into the bathtub more and more until he's submerged under the water. He stares up from under the water, the artificial light of the bathroom glares down at him. The sound of dripping water can no longer be heard, but now his ears can pick up the soft dings from unidentified sources that travel with vibration. The sound is very calming.
For the first time in a very long time, the pain subsides.
[Alpha Build,] Sigma Build calls out from the link, [if you're done having an emo episode then come out and help Alhaitham wash up.]
Alpha Build startles under the water and he immediately sits up to hack a lungful of water, [I'm not supposed to be near him, am I not?] He asks mid-coughing.
[Yeesh, you,] Sigma Build mockingly berates, [I was originally not on Alhaitham's side but now that you said that, I kinda understand what Alhaitham meant,] Sigma Build stops to clears his throat and then lowers the pitch of his voice a few octave, [Get out and take responsibility.]
[Sigma Build,] Alpha Build growls, [stop joking around.]
[Oh, I'm joking around, alright. But that's no excuse for you to not come out,] Sigma Build annoyingly argues, [you're supposed to accompany him to his work in 2 more hours anyway. So get out and help him wash up.]
[He's going to work today?] Alpha Build asks, incredulous, [can he even stand up?]
[Ha,] Alpha Build coldly snorts, [you're underestimating the whore,] he deadpans before sharing the diagnosis, [he's fine. Not even a single bone fracture and his wounds are healing at the speed visible to the naked eyes even as we speak. The only negative effect on him is that his lower half feels numb from 'leftover sensations'. His words, not mine.]
[If his lower half feels numb then why not take a day off altogether? That's half of a working human body,] Alpha Build tries to reason.
[Nah, no,] Sigma Build brutally refuses, [take care of your responsibility. If you're not going to come out then I'm going to bring Alhaitham in regardless of your predicament.]
Alpha Build scrambles to put on clothes.
The door to the bathroom clicks open and Alpha Build throws himself bodily to the door, slamming it closed. There's a muffled caw of agony from behind the door, but Alpha Build ignores it in order to put his legs through his pants.
On the other side of the door, Zazan is keeling down, clutching his fingers which were almost cut off by the door, incessantly screeching a long caw in pain while Alhaitham, whose lower body is still numb, gasps at the loss of support and falls forward to lean on the door. Alhaitham's hips are aching and his thighs are shivering and burning from the aftermath of being fucked for hours, accidentally makes him recall the events. Alhaitham's knees are weak and he can't help but softly squeal as his wings make a jerkish flap to steady himself when Alhaitham subconsciously twitches his hips upward.
Alpha Build feels the door is being pushed behind him and growls, "Don't you know how to wait?" He roughly tucks his shirt into his pants and yanks the door open.
Alhaitham falls forward with a frightened squeal and a flurry of flapping wings. Alpha Build catches him perfectly despite being startled and staggers back a few steps from the sudden weights. Alhaitham instinctually clenches Alpha Build's shoulders for balance and Alpha Build tenses up when he realizes that the one pressed flush to him is Alhaitham.
Alpha Build glances at Sigma Build who's keeling on the floor and clutching his fingers, "Sigma Build," he tries to catch his attention, "take Alhaitham off of me for a sec," he says in a strangled voice, as if afraid of catching Alhaitham's attention.
Sigma Build, who's tearily nursing his injured fingers, glances at Alpha Build before he manually arranges his injured fingers with his other hand, ignoring the pain, to stick out only his middle finger and shows it to Alpha Build, "Fuck you," then he leaves without looking back.
Alpha Build tenses in the silence until Alhaitham huffs a breath that's too raspy and too breathy for Alpha Build's liking, "There you are. I almost had a thought that you've left me without a word," Alhaitham murmurs straight to Alpha Build's ear, sending waves of warmth to pool in Alpha Build's stomach without his permission.
Alpha Build silently clears his throat and carefully rearranges his hold to steady Alhaitham better, his wings pressing tightly to his back showing his true emotion, "Are you sure you want to go to work today? It isn't like you need to and you won't be able to protect yourself if the need raises."
"Yes," Alhaitham climbs Alpha Build's body to stand up straighter, his thighs pleasantly trembling all the while, "today is only my second day, technically my first day, it's a bad work ethic if I don't show up," Alhaitham stops with his chest pressed flush to Alpha Build's face and his head resting atop Alpha Build's, "and I'm sure you are more than capable of protecting me," Alhaitham purrs as he lightly scratches the side of Alpha Build's neck, right on top of the carotid artery, and causing the underside layer of Alpha Build's wings shiver.
Alpha Build grits his teeth and shortens his breathing so that he won't accidentally inhaling too much of Alhaitham's scent, forcing his mind and body to calm down, "Alright, then," he mutters before he sweeps Alhaitham up into a bridal carry, ignoring Alhaitham's startled squawk, "lets just go ahead and get you prepared."
Alhaitham is a little bit uncomfortable.
Both because of the way Alpha Build is hugging his torso while splaying like a statue on his lap, unmoving without even a twitch of his wings, he doesn't even care that Alhaitham is propping the book he's reading on top of his head, and because of Alpha Build's extremely dazed state.
When Alhaitham no longer able to even read the book, he lets out a sigh but he doesn't take his eyes of his book, "Do you hate m-" Alhaitham doesn't finish his words because it's a quite inaccurate inquiry judging from their position, Alhaitham re-words his sentence, "do you hate giving me aftercare?"
Alpha Build neither answers nor moves for a very long time that Alhaitham suspects he has fallen asleep, then he finally sluggishly answers, "... I don't hate you… I don't hate giving you aftercare either."
Alhaitham nonchalantly responds with a hum, "Then why are you sulking?"
Alpha Build's wings twitch before he scrambles to push his upper body up to give Alhaitham a look, his wings flaring indignantly behind him, "I'm not sulking."
Alhaitham tilts his head, "Then why are you so quiet? Not that I mind it if you are actually the quiet one among the Segments, but you were quite eccentric the first time we met. This behavioral change of yours is making me worried, that's all."
Alpha Build's expression turns bored and he lies back down on Alhaitham's lap with a lazy flick of his wings, smushing his face to Alhaitham's strong yet comfortable and warm thigh, "I'm just thinking."
Alhaitham would have left it at that.
But he looks at his book now laying lonely on the vehicle's floor that was thrown from his hand because Alpha Build's head bumped it and which he can't reach because he can't move due to Alpha Build, so he comments the unnecessary, "Post nut clarity usually doesn't last this long, you know."
Alpha Build swiftly rolls to his back, ignoring the way his wings are pinned painfully to the seat, to make a face at Alhaitham. He ignores the faint sounds of Sigma Build trying to stifle his laughs coming from the link. Alpha Build continues to make a face at Alhaitham without saying anything.
Because Alpha Build doesn't say anything, Alhaitham chooses to feign ignorance in order to rearrange Alpha Build's wings with a frown.
Alpha Build's lets his wings be rearranged just so that when Alhaitham is done, he won't have any other excuse to ignore his look. Although in all honesty, he doesn't really know what he's waiting for.
But when Alhaitham is done, Alhaitham only glances slightly at Alpha Build before fiddling with the device connected to his earpiece.
The corner of Alpha Build's mouth twitches and he spitefully yanks the cord connecting the earpiece to the device.
Alhaitham looks at Alpha Build's offending hand annoyedly, almost offended, and stares at Alpha Build with furrowed eyebrows.
Alhaitham still doesn't say anything and Alpha Build, only now, has just realized that he doesn't even know what he wants from Alhaitham. Alpha Build lets the cord in his hand go with a lips pursed sullenly and an apology hanging precariously on his teeth.
"Lazing around after you got to fuck someone…" Alhaitham mutters under his breath as he reconnects his cord without turning the device on, "now that's a very not charming quality."
Alpha Build lets out a strangled squawk that catches in his throat but they both hear it regardless, then, feeling that his image has already scattered anyway, Alpha Build hesitantly mumbles, "...I'm sorry…" then he slowly sits up from Alhaitham's lap to sit properly, his eye refusing to make eye contact with Alhaitham even though he already wears his mask.
Alpha Build's lips tremble from anxiety as he makes a series of random hand gestures, hoping to convey what he wants to say since his tongue fails to articulate his words for him.
Alhaitham observes Alpha Build for a while, feeling that this sight is very familiar. The difference is that Alpha Build's breathing is getting faster by the second, a sign of an oncoming anxiety attack.
Alhaitham grabs Alpha Build's hands, cusping them together to gently massage them in reassurance, before gently pulling Alpha Build to lean closer to him.
Alpha Build does give in to lean forward slightly, but soon his breath hitches and he tries to pull away.
Alhaitham holds his hands still. He lets out some chittering noises to calm Alpha Build and to stall for some time.
Alhaitham is not well experienced in this matter. Though he knows one thing for sure, he needs to guide Alpha Build's mind to focus on something else. Which is the problem since Alhaitham has an inkling it's him that makes Alpha Build anxious. He will have to think of how he should calm Alpha Build into accepting his presence.
Alhaitham holds Alpha Build's hands in one hand, thankfully Alpha Build is no longer trying to get away as he's too busy heaving wheezy breaths, before pulling his glove off with his teeth. Alhaitham moves Alpha Build's hands into his now ungloved one.
Then Alpha Build is the one taking the initiative to hold on Alhaitham's hand, clenching on it and desperately chasing the warmth to stabilize his now cold and clammy hands.
Alhaitham quickly pulls off the glove of his other hand before cusping Alpha Build's hands. They're extremely cold. Alhaitham should have told him to wear something warmer, Alpha Build is not even wearing a glove, Alhaitham thought that his mate knows better so he didn't say anything.
Alhaitham observes Alpha Build's condition. He hasn't gotten better yet, still wheezing quick breaths, eye wide and unseeing, and cold sweat wets his face.
Alhaitham has an idea on how to calm Alpha Build, but he isn't sure if it will help Alpha Build in the long run. Still, this is no time for experiment.
Alhaitham blows warm breaths to Alpha Build's hands, much like Doctor did on his first day in Snezhnaya, before he gently whispers with a steady constant chittering noises at the back of his throat, "I heard from Zazan that you were pent up for hundreds of years," Alhaitham starts.
Alhaitham doesn't know exactly how his mate's Segments work. According to the common patterns, then the one who's supposed to be having hormonal problems is Zazan. Strangely enough, Alpha Build who's on the verge of turning into an adult Avian shows the signs instead. This is a deviation of habits. But Alhaitham won't ask more. It's not something he should know.
Alpha Build lets out a strangled squawk and tries to pull away again but he's now too weak.
Alhaitham presses their foreheads together. Alpha Build lets out a pathetic caw of surprise but he no longer struggles, gradually calming down his breath instead.
Alhaitham closes his eyes before he whispers to Alpha Build, voice just enough to be heard by him, "It was painful, wasn't it? Enduring those days by yourself. I assume you didn't even try to find a partner, seeing as you suggested that I jerk off by myself yesterday," Alhaitham rubs the tips of their noses together, "I don't know what was your reason, but one certain thing is that it wasn't healthy."
Alpha Build lets out a snort and Alhaitham presses a gentle kiss to his forehead. Alpha Build feels a goosebumps rising on the back of his neck from Alhaitham's gentleness but says nothing.
"I mean it, Alpha Build," Alhaitham pulls Alpha Build into an embrace and cocoon their bodies with his wings, then he says to Alpha Build's ear, "my parents were humans," Alpha Build tenses up in surprise but continues to hold his silence, listening intently, so Alhaitham continues, "but my grandparents from both sides were both falcon breed Avian and a human couple. The Avian lineage skipped a generation, my parents, but my parents still had the heritage genes and thus I was born an Avian. Though, there are probably some forms of mutation in my DNA because of it," Alpha Build is no longer anxious, he's listening to what Alhaitham says intently, mind whirring to think what he's trying to convey.
Alhaitham supposes that it's a great time to tell the story, so he continues, "The sage of Amurta said that my deviating mating schedule is the result of this. It was as if somehow my genes were aware that they weren't dominant enough to produce offspring that they adjust my Avian instinct to urge me to mate more frequently," Alhaitham lets one of his hand go from holding Alpha Build's hands to start scratching Alpha Build's scalp, "the pleasure of mating is borderline dangerous. Especially if, for some reason, having a monthly forced mating season instead of annually. It was enough to drive me insane. But luckily, or perhaps unluckily, my partners at the time were the ones who became insane first. They became delusional because of the sessions, thinking that I was the one they wanted to be lifelong mates with," Alhaitham stops for a moment to check Alpha Build's condition, he's silent with his forehead pressed to Alhaitham's throat, "after that I forced myself to endure the pain and stopped having any mating session. So I know how it feels to not mate when your instinct is telling you to," Alhaitham leans back to cusp Alpha Build's cheeks and lifts his head so that they make eye contact, "but I have a lifelong mate now. So it's fine. Especially since I intend to use every advantage provided by being mated for life," Alhaitham gently caresses Alpha Build's cheekbones with his thumb and presses their foreheads back together but he keeps his eyes open to look into Alpha Build's eyes, trying to understand what he's thinking, "and what about you? Will you use your assets or simply let it go to waste, all in order to keep up your painful routines?"
Alpha Build silently stares at Alhaitham for a long time, mouth slightly gapes, before he blinks and takes a deep breath to calm himself more, "... Can I trust you?" he asks as he unblinkingly stares at Alhaitham.
The light in Alhaitham's eyes moves as he tries to figure out what Alpha Build is specifically asking, then, "I didn't lie. Actually, my condition is recorded in Amurta's sage's archive. I know you still have some Fatui soldiers left back in Sumeru. You can search the record and see for yourself," Alhaitham stares deeply into Alpha Build's eye before he continues, "and if what you're asking is whether you can trust that I won't take advantage of you… again, that's not something I can answer."
Alhaitham stands up before bending down to pick up his dropped book, then with his back turned on Alpha Build, he says, "We are a lifelong mate, though. We might be a different entity but in the end we are a pair, almost technically one being, I won't purposefully do something that is detrimental for us."
Alpha Build watches Alhaitham's back as he stands in front of the exit, waiting for the vehicle to stop. A little bit taken aback, Alpha Build looks through the windows and finds that they almost arrive.
The vehicle smoothly stops and the door starts to open. Alpha Build jumps from the seat and runs towards Alhaitham who's about to come out. He catches Alhaitham's wrist, stopping Alhaitham.
Alhaitham turns around, surprise paints his expression and his wings are slightly unfolded. Alpha Build stares at Alhaitham for a while before he realizes that his mental state is far too unstable for his work.
Alpha Build's wings and shoulders gradually relax the longer he tries to calm down, then he pulls Alhaitham deeper into the vehicle, "... You forgot your gloves," he mutters before he carefully helps Alhaitham put on the gloves, covering Alhaitham's artist glove on his right hand and the cryo shackle on his left hand.
After the gloves are worn, Alpha Build doesn't let go. He holds Alhaitham's hands in his, gently rubbing the warm hands under his thumb as his mind tries to find what he should address first.
In the end, though, Alpha Build doesn't dare say anything, his lips hesitantly part, "Assassination attempts are most likely to occur right after the target comes out of their ride. It's the moment where they loosen their guard the most…. Next time, bear in mind to never come out of the vehicle first. Let me go first and check the area and only come out after I told you that it's safe," then he falls silent for a moment before he leans forward to rest his forehead on Alhaitham's shoulder.
Alpha Build lets out a soft sigh, "... you're not allowed to get hurt. I know it is not your fault if someone is trying to harm you, might be simply some sort of unlucky event, but still, I'm not letting you get hurt," Alpha Build leans back, his eyes alight with fierce emotions, then he roughly pinches Alhaitham's jaw, "you're mine, therefore I'm not going to let any harm falls on you," Alpha Build slightly shakes Alhaitham's head by the chin as he snarls, "so follow my instructions well. Do you understand?"
Alhaitham stares wide-eyed at Alpha Build, slightly dumbfounded at the sudden change of his mood. Then the confusion in his eyes is gone, replaced with fondness. Although his mate's mood swings are annoying sometimes, it's his mate's characteristics, and it seems that it has always been his way of pulling himself together.
"Why are you smiling? Is there something funny?" Alpha Build growls, a faint layer of flush dusting his cheekbones, "answer me, do you understand?"
Alhaitham leans to the hand pinching his jaw with a light helpless yet very fond smile, "Understood."
Alpha Build's wings bristle at Alhaitham's body language, he pushes Alhaitham away from the way and stomps his way outside, "Good. Now wait here until I allow you to come out."
Notes:
Alpha Build is such a wreck. How can Alhaitham not like him?
Chapter 25
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The door gently clicks open, a farce of composure for the silly high-pitched call that comes after as the door clicks back closed behind Galina, "Ma'am Irina~" Galina sing-songs as she twirls her way to sit on the guest couch without being excused.
Irina has grown immune to Galina's behaviors, she continues to do her paperwork without batting an eye, "Miss Galina," she dryly responds out of courtesy.
Galina pouts, "Such a lukewarm welcome. What have I done that warrants me to receive this kind of treatment?"
Irina doesn't even look up, "You visited me almost everyday for the last few days. I think anyone would have grown bored of your visit just like me," she pauses for a moment, "perhaps it's a sign for you to stop your visit. Besides, what are you doing coming here in broad daylight? What if anyone catches you coming to my office? Is the Lord even aware of your visit?"
Galina cheerfully shoots a finger gun at Irina, though there's a trace of annoyance in her eyes, "Of course, my Lord knows. It was he who ordered me to relay your mission…. Anyway, has your target come? Have you talked with him?" then she crosses her arms with a huff as if she's just reminded of something very annoying, "there's a change of plan. Some of our backings from the nobility demanded that we pay The Harbingers back equal to what they have lost. They demanded that we avenge the life of loved ones lost from The Knave's purging or they will stop giving us backing," Galina leans backward to her seat with a frustrated groan, "which is something very hard to do since The Harbingers don't exactly have something they hold that dearly."
Irina's eyebrows furrow and she finally places her pen down to look seriously at Galina, "What is the Lord's decision?"
Galina glances petulantly at Irina with a pout apparent on her lips, "One of the nobles suggested that we assassinate The Doctor's mate. Apparently they have past grievances with The Doctor, and it was not only that noble. A lot of other nobles then jumped in on the idea, saying that The Doctor needs to taste his karmic retribution," Galina childishly kicks on the floor, "the lord, of course, agreed. He said that even if The Doctor's mate is a civilian, it's inevitable that some civilians become casualties. So he ordered for an assassination to be held," she sucks in a sharp breath, "which is a very not good thing! The Lord admitted that the target is beautiful. If The Doctor is dead then the Lord can take him as his mate. They will look soooooo good together! But noooo. Nooo, our stuffy good Lord of the rebel group is dedicated to bring progress to our rebellion."
Irina chooses to ignore Galina's rant, she focuses on the important part only, "When will the assassination attempt be held? Since you're informing me of this, I assume that there's something for me to do, right?"
Galina sniffs, "Yeah, and it's today," Irina chokes on her own spit but Galina doesn't even care, "it seems that our Lord is itching for progress. Damn him. His dick is big-" Irina chokes again, "and he's good in bed. I'm sure that he can woo the target once his current bond is severed. Now that he is determined to lose the chance of finally finding a good partner, I hope he spends the rest of his life alone," Galina grumbles on and on, "well anyway, as you can see the notice is very short but don't worry, our planning is very thorough. Now tell me about the target. Is he working alone?"
Irina coughs a few times to her knuckle, "He's not," she says after she's done coughing, "he has a Fatui guarding him at all times. They seem to be very close."
Galina's lips curl in disappointment and distaste, "I see… ugh, for someone being mated to a highly influential figure going out with only a guard, is he stupid? Well, now I can see why our Lord only showed interest in his look," Galina stands up from her seat and walks off, "well, no matter. Since the target seems to be an easy pick, that's all we need to know."
"Wait!" Irina yells, startled at Irina's abrupt retreat, "he has a vision."
Galina stops. Well, if the target has a vision then it's not too far fetched for going out with only a guard. Perhaps the target's quality can still be redeemed.
Galina turns around, face full of curiosity and her eyes shine with hope, "Is it pyro?"
"No," Irina slowly shakes her head, "it's dendro."
The light in Galina's eyes disappears, "Oh," then she walks away.
Irina stares at the closed door of his office. She has a bad premonition and can't help but feel that they're being too careless.
Alhaitham tries to ignore people's stares as he quickly walks to the Diplomatic Office. He might be late if he doesn't hurry.
Alpha Build follows closely behind Alhaitham. He lightly jogs to match the pace of his slightly shorter legs with Alhaitham's pace. All the way to the Diplomatic Office, he keeps a very close eye on everyone that passes them. Prime's information exchange with Arlecchino replaying at the back of his mind.
"We couldn't find the source of the explosion on that day nor the trigger for it. But judging from how big the fire raged and how fast it claimed my prisoners, I would assume that the explosive was imported from Natlan," Arlecchino said.
"Well, since I wasn't present at the time and have yet to visit the place, I'll have to assume you're right," Prime Dottore said as he taps his finger on the table, "the explosives from Natlan are typically powerful since they contain natural pyro energy and the volcanoes are rich with minerals. Naturally, you would have known all this so let us simply go straight to discuss what implies an explosive from Natlan being used in Snezhnaya."
The rest of Teyvat might see Snezhnaya as a military nation. But even if that's true, an explosive powerful enough to incinerate bodies of living human beings circulating freely is highly unlikely. They have all the right to regard the Diplomatic Office with suspicion.
Arlecchino huffed a humorless laugh, "I still find it very hard to believe that you agreed to cooperate with me, and it's all because your mate happens to be working in the Diplomatic Office. Meaning, you are actually willing to humble yourself for the sake of someone other than you."
Dottore's finger stopped tapping, "I thought you said you wanted to do this quickly? If you no longer want to, then you may leave. I have better things to do."
Arlecchino crossed her arms, "The Diplomatic Office records every trade happening with foreign nations, that also includes the smugglings, as laughable as it is," Arlecchino absentmindedly blowed her hair out of her face, "the Diplomatic Office is aware that smuggling is inevitable in this nation and all they can do is to record the bribes from allowing these smugglings."
Dottore pursed his lips, "And I assume that there's no such thing as explosives written in the records?"
"No."
Dottore hummed, "What about minerals?"
Arlecchino glanced at Dottore from the corner of her eyes, "Are you suggesting that the rebel group might have built the explosive themselves?"
Dottore shrugged, "It's one of the most likely possibilities."
Arlecchino squinted her eyes at Dottore "And what other possibilities have you thought of so far?"
Dottore returned Arlecchino's squinted eyes with an arrogant smile, "The first is the easy route, they smuggled the explosive using their connections within The Diplomatic Office.
The second possibility is that they might have bought the necessary ingredients, legally or illegally, and then built the explosive themselves. If that's the case, then this round of rebel group is quite troublesome since this means that they have some sort of a professional in their group. There's also a possibility that they started buying the ingredients a long time ago and thus, the purchase is quite hard to be traced back," Dottore stopped for a moment to fix Arlecchino a stare, "The third possibility is that they have connections within the military."
Arlecchino's hands clenched into a fist, "I see," she says as she takes Dottore's stare head on, "but what if it's all three of them?"
Dottore smiled mirthfully, "Then you've got your job doubled up tenfold…"
….
Alpha Build catches the sight of Arlecchino's underlings, some are dressed as civilians and the rest dressed as low rank Fatui, at the places he had discussed with Arlecchino via Prime.
Prime's visit to the place of explosion proved to be useful as the ashes he found indeed resulted in containing the typical Natlan's explosives residues.
Faced with so many possibilities and almost to none certainty, all they can do is to be prepared.
Alpha Build runs a few steps to catch Alhaitham's hand, "Why are you in such a hurry that you almost leave your guard behind?"
Alhaitham doesn't stop and instead pulls Alpha Build's hand to walk faster, thankfully Alpha Build is unlike Zazan and is able to match their steps effortlessly, "I'm almost late. My work starts at 11, Alpha Build. Do you realize how disgraceful it is to somehow still manage to be late to work with that working time?"
Alpha Build wants to laugh, but he does understand the sentiment so he doesn't laugh and instead lightly jogs in front of Alhaitham, "Then at least make sure to be behind me."
Alhaitham rolls his eyes, "Fine," they almost arrive anyway.
Alhaitham walks up the flight of stairs towards his office at a fast speed. Alpha Build is a few steps behind him, desperately trying to be faster than Alhaitham without outwardly running.
At the top of the stairs, Alhaitham stops. His wings rearranging themselves for a moment before he calmly continues to walk. Alpha Build catches up in no time and sees the source of Alhaitham's slight hesitation.
There's a man standing in front of Alhaitham's office, even though he has a warm smile on his face, it doesn't reach his eyes. The man's eyes are filled with distaste, strong enough to be considered as hatred, when he sees Alhaitham. The emotion behind those eyes doubles when the man notices Alpha Build following behind Alhaitham, eyes seemingly lingering on the Fatui symbol on Alpha Build's mask.
[Alright,] Alpha Build annoyedly exclaims to the link, [the fact that he's not unlucky enough to be attacked by anyone on his first day has been proven true, but I swear his ability to accumulate bad intentions is topnotch.]
Sigma Build snickers to the link, [Pfft, good luck,] he mockingly wishes.
When they're close enough to the man, the man's eyes twitch and the emotions behind them are carefully concealed, the man widens his smile, "Diplomat Alhaitham, correct?"
Alhaitham stops neither too far nor too close in front of the man, he also notices the man's true feelings, "Correct," Alhaitham confirms with a small nod.
The man's smile widens again till his eyes become squinted, "Aah, your picture did you dirty. You're even more gorgeous in person," the man amicably compliments.
Omega Build groans in disgust from the link, [Alright, I know Alhaitham is gorgeous but fuck off you slimy man. He's taken,] he grumbles to the link.
Alpha Build who's present doesn't say anything and simply glares at the man with barely concealed murderous intent.
The man, seemingly notices that his compliment is not well accepted, clears his throat before extending his hand forward in a handshake, "Good morning. I'm Abgal, the head of Sumerian faction," Alhaitham doesn't hesitate to give him a firm handshake even if he actually doesn't want to, causing the man to smile in a self-satisfied manner before continuing, "yesterday I failed to welcome you into our ranks. I must say that I'm very happy to hear that a graduate from The Akademiya is willing to work as a diplomat in a foreign nation."
Abgal retracks his hand to fold it behind his back while disdainfully muttering under his breath, "Archon knows why the respectable scholars of The Akademiya would be willing to venture outside of their haven to search for profit."
Alhaitham, whose ears are still working far too well even if he's using his earpiece, and Alpha Build, whose five senses are upgraded to an apex stage, can hear what he says very clearly. They don't react whatsoever even if they're the so-called scholars Abgal mentioned.
Alhaitham slightly tilts his head down to mull over some of his words. It's clear that Abgal doesn't like his status. Whether there are other reasons for his dislike, Alhaitham won't bother to find out.
"I'm here to work as a diplomat, that's all," Alhaitham finally says, "is there anything you want to inform me?"
"Ah, yes," Abgal glances above Alhaitham's shoulder at Alpha Build in a moment of apparent distaste, "usually we would have a little gathering after work when we have new diplomats to tighten the relationship between coworkers…. But since your situation is a bit…," Abgal tilts his head up to frown down at Alhaitham, "special, being mated to a Harbinger and all, I've decided to welcome you in person, alone."
Abgal claps once, "And now that that's done, please do your job as an archivist well. It seems like an unimportant job, but I assure you it's quite vital for keeping the whole Sumerian faction running," Abgal spreads his hand toward a direction across from Alhaitham's office, "my office is on the fifth floor, in that direction. Feel free if you have anything to discuss…. Should there be any," then he turns around and leaves, from the beginning to end never directly addressing Alpha Build.
Alhaitham stands in silence, watching Abgal's back disappearing into a corner. Alpha Build doesn't like that, so he smacks Alhaitham's ass.
Alhaitham slightly jumps and his wings spread from the surprise. The smack was quite hard and so the sound made was quite loud.
Alhaitham twists his neck to glare at Alpha Build, "What's your problem?"
Alpha Build looks away as he bites his lips to refrain from laughing, "I thought you were in a hurry?" he teasingly asks, "get inside then. Do your work."
Alhaitham slightly rolls his eyes with a sigh before taking out the key and opens the door of his office. Alpha Build follows inside, carrying a bag that Alhaitham has only noticed just now.
Alpha Build, on the other hand, is busy discussing in the link. He goes straight to sit on Alhaitham's guest couch and crosses his arms with a frown, head tilted down in thoughts.
Seeing as his mate is probably busy with his own thing, Alhaitham opts to go to his desk and starts reviewing the paperwork that is now mounting high on his desk.
… He better starts soon.
[Prime,] Alpha Build calls, [what if the rebel's reach is not within the Snezhnayan faction but within Sumerian faction instead, or maybe both?]
Prime doesn't immediately answer, nothing comes from the link for a while until Prime finally lets out a tsk, [It is about that head of Sumerian faction, isn't it?] he rhetorically asks, [I'd say that he's too openly hostile with Alhaitham. Entirely not subtle at all, much unlike the rebel's works so far. But you're right, there's a possibility that the rebels have moles in either factions or both…. There's also a possibility that that head faction is simply harboring ill will toward Alhaitham.]
[Well, aren't you two very invested in this round of rebel groups,] Sigma Build comments to the link, [but while we are on this topic, do any of you know why Alhaitham insists on working as a diplomat? I mean, I get it that he probably wants to have a stable position of his own, but what did he mean by working as a diplomat as the condition for the Dendro Archon to let him go to Sumeru?]
The link falls silent as the Segments, except for Omega Build who's currently too focused on working on taxes, dive into their own musings.
Alpha Build frowns as he glances up to take a look at Alhaitham. Alhaitham is already seated behind his desk, opening paper files before reading them and then stacking them up into their own categories. Alpha Build grimaces.
Office job, how boring and tedious. How can someone he's mated with like that kind of job?
Anyway, it was Alhaitham himself who offered to the Dendro Archon to be relocated to Snezhnaya as a diplomat. And the Dendro Archon agreed to it.
… Could there be a change in their agreement? The Dendro Archon could have changed her conditions without telling Alhaitham, but for Alhaitham to readily agree to it, that's highly unlikely. Now, Dottore won't think of themselves so highly that Alhaitham will relay the grievance to him, but according to Alhaitham's personality, he won't obediently do as people say, even if it's his Archon, so easily. There should be some form of deal.
… Speaking of…
Alpha Build's eye glints, [The Dendro Archon is able to reach out with her subconscious isn't she?]
Prime coldly hums to the link, [...Indeed… so that's how it is.]
Sigma Build lets out a groan, [So he's a mole? Or should I say a honeypot?]
[Indeed, for him to leave his established status behind to simply live with us is quite far-fetched,] Prime throws his opinion in, [I'd say that keeping him around as our mate in exchange for keeping an eye on him while giving some occasional information is a good deal.]
Sigma Build snorts, [You only said that because you're already wrapped around his fingers,] then he sighs, [but you're right, it's a shame to cut contact with him now so let's just do that.]
But Alpha Build has a different opinion.
"Alhaitham," Alpha Build calls out while looking straight at the face of said person, when their eyes meet, Alpha Build asks, "can I trust you?"
Alhaitham blinks and his eyebrows slightly furrow. Why this question again?
[Alpha Build,] Sigma Build calls from the link in a not-so-surprised tone, [come now, don't be like Prime. I know you like him but don't fool yourself or worse, make a fool of yourself.]
Alpha Build doesn't heed Sigma Build's words, he elaborates instead, "What's your deal with the Dendro Archon?" Alpha Build doesn't care. He will even admit that he's desperate.
Alhaitham maintains their eye contact for some time until finally his eyes light up in understanding. He then neatly puts down his files and makes sure to pin them under something so that they won't accidentally fly away.
Alhaitham silently stands up from his chair to sit beside Alpha Build, "I originally planned to tell you this after all the Segments are here so that there's no need for repetition," Alhaitham stares unblinkingly at Alpha Build and Alpha Build does the same, "Doctor said that there's a connection between each segments, so can you please get their attentions? I have something important to say."
[Omega Build,] Alpha Build calls since he's sure that Prime and Sigma Build are still present, [tune in.]
Omega Build hums in affirmation, [Yes. I'm present.]
Alpha Build crosses his arms as he looks at Alhaitham before giving Alhaitham an upward nod, "Go on."
Alhaitham observes Alpha Build's expression for a moment, it's the same expression as when they first stepped into the Diplomatic Office, before he opens his mouth, "As you might probably have guessed, the deal I have with Lord Kusanali is related to my work here," Alpha Build doesn't react, so Alhaitham continues, "to put it simply, my job is stemming from your appearance in Sumeru. You're exiled and yet you managed to be in Sumeru for months. Of course, former Grand Sage Azar and the other sages most likely covered for you. But still, that doesn't explain how you could enter Sumeru City in the first place.
Now, The Akademiya's reach is far but it can't cover the entire city. Therefore, the Diplomatic Office has a high chance of colluding with the Fatui.
The Diplomatic Office in Sumeru is not difficult to investigate, but the Diplomatic Office in Snezhnaya is a different matter. And that's my job. To investigate the Sumerian diplomats based in Snezhnaya and marking out the traitors."
Alpha Build lets out a cynical laugh, they are still keeping their eye contact, "You said it all so casually. Don't you fear that I might imprison you for this?"
Alhaitham lets out a laugh as he stands up and re-approach his desk, it's the loudest laugh any Segment has heard, unfortunately it's a hollow laugh, "You've asked me twice now, whether you can trust me or not. But Dottore," Alpha Build involuntarily flinches, it's the first time Alhaitham refers to him that way, "what's your answer if I ask you the same?" Alhaitham sits down behind his desk, staring straight into Alpha Build's soul, "can I trust you?"
Alpha Build freezes, he can't answer for a very long time so Alhaitham resumes working on his paperwork, "We are both highly cautious people, Dottore. For us to trust each other is nigh impossible," Alhaitham says without looking up from his paperwork, "but indeed, trust is a very important factor in a relationship, therefore I am willing to be the person who takes the first step," Alhaitham stacks the file he has done reading away and takes another file, "my duty is to mark the traitors in this Diplomatic Office. I don't intend to bother the Fatui or become a spy."
"...but I won't go past that,"
Notes:
My conversation with my irl friend that doesn't ship dottotham but is supportive of my ship.
Me: showing off my draft's word count.
My friend: holy shit, how could it goes on that long (for context, 30k words is already considered long for her)
Me: most likely because there are 5 people in this relationship.
My friend: really? Who are the pairings?
Me (and I shit you not the exhilaration that went through my body when I sent this was astronomical): Dottore Dottore Dottore Dottore Alhaitham.
Chapter 26
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
[Good job,] Sigma Build says.
[Look at what you've done,] Omega Build says at the same time.
Prime doesn't comment.
Alpha Build is still frozen in place.
Alpha Build is still frozen even after a long time that Sigma Build can't help but say something, [I meant it, y'know. If Alpha Build didn't ask bluntly like that then we are just going to continue doubting and assuming until we are drowning under our suspicions… I'm not saying that we can trust him. It's just that Alhaitham has a point.]
Omega Build lets out a groan of annoyance, [You, indeed, have a point, but don't get me wrong, that was not, in any way, a good way to approach such a matter. This is why I'm the one with public relationship duties.]
[Well, you weren't there, weren't you?] Sigma Build argues, feeling indignant on Alpha Build's stead.
[Are you blaming me?] Omega Build asks incredulously, [are you really trying to be unreasonable by trying to pin the blame on the fact that I wasn't the one handling it?]
[What else?] Sigma Build asks back, [aren't you the venerable Segment with public relationship duties?]
Omega Build indignantly caws to the link, [Oh, I don't know? Why didn't Alpha Build consult first? This is the sole reason why the link is established, you know-]
After that, Alpha Build can no longer hear anything coming from the link, his mind subconsciously tunes out the link so as to not overwhelm him.
Alpha Build's wings shiver. He feels cold again. And alone.
Alpha Build looks up to look at Alhaitham, a regretful expression is on his face unbeknownst to him. Alpha Build doesn't know what to do. He can only focus on the fact that he's very alone and cold, and there's a slight itch at the base of his throat.
Alpha Build's field of interest is on weaponizations, therefore his duties specialized on such things, that way, Alpha Build might have forgotten such a thing as emotional intelligence. But working on his field ever since his creation, Alpha Build's instinct is trustworthy. He knows it is trustworthy, and he trusts his instinct. So Alpha Build doesn't think anymore.
Alpha Build snaps out of his musings. He's taken aback at finding that Alhaitham's workload has decreased by a significant amount and that the light has gone to the west.
But it doesn't matter. There's a more pressing matter, since he prefers to reconcile with Alhaitham before they go home. So Alpha Build follows his instinct and lets out a broken wistful caw.
Alpha Build flinches at hearing his own Avian noise, it sounded extremely terrible.
Alhaitham's wings tense up behind him but otherwise there's no other reaction.
Alpha Build is crestfallen, but he soon shakes away the feeling to try again, trying to sound more apologetic this time.
Alhaitham ignores Alpha Build.
And Alpha Build keeps trying. Becoming a little bit more dejected each time he tries and fails.
…
Alhaitham has somehow done his mountain of paperwork in 4 hours and Alpha Build has grown more desperate.
Alpha Build lets out another caw. It's barely heard, his throat has long gone dry and he can even taste a hint of iron. Yet Alhaitham is still ignoring him.
Alhaitham is done with his paperwork and he tidies them up before somehow managing to store them all into his desk locker.
Alpha Build senses an opportunity, so he immediately clears his throat and says, "Aren't those supposed to be stored in the archive room? You're storing them in there because you can't bring them to the archive yet, right? I can help you."
Alhaitham ignores Alpha Build and locks the locker shut before wordlessly picking his bag and walks away.
Alpha Build lets out a broken panicked caw as he scrambles to catch up, "Where are you going?" Alpha Build asks as he blocks Alhaitham from opening the door, his voice raised from panic, "I told you you can't come out first, it's dangerous."
Alhaitham simply stares at him with cold eyes. Alhaitham's wings flick as he tilts his head towards the door, silently telling Alpha Build to quickly come out first.
Alpha Build's lips tremble from an intense feeling in his chest. He wants to yell and hit Alhaitham for treating him like that, but he doesn't. Instead he tells him to wait before he quickly runs to the couch to take his bag and swiftly goes out of the office. More than anything, Alpha Build wants Alhaitham to no longer be angry.
Outside, Alpha Build finds that the corridor is all empty. He doesn't know whether to be suspicious or to simply think that it's because other workers are still in their own office. Only when he finally registers the muted noises from behind the walls, does he feel more relaxed. Alpha Build scans the area one more time before deeming it safe.
"You can go outside," Alpha Build says with a voice just loud enough for Alhaitham to hear from inside his office.
Alhaitham steps out of his room and stands in front of Alpha Build. Alpha Build's wings tense up, anticipating if Alhaitham is finally going to say something.
But Alhaitham sees that Alpha Build has no intention to lead the way, so he walks to the direction of the stairs first, leaving Alpha Build who lets out a broken strangled sad caw and immediately catches up with him.
It's when they're outside of the Diplomatic Office that Alpha Build feels colder than ever.
Usually Alhaitham would've sidled up to him and his body would inevitably heats up. But now…
Alpha Build glances at Alhaitham, finding him about to walk to the direction of the underground station. In panic, Alpha Build grabs Alhaitham's hand and drags him to the opposite direction.
"Since you've officially started working, let's celebrate it. I'll take you to visit a place before we head back home," Alpha Build says, he manages to keep his voice from trembling but he doesn't dare look back.
Alhaitham's hand is warm in Alpha Build's hold, but Alhaitham doesn't hold his hand back and Alpha Build, for some reason, finds it very upsetting.
Truthfully, Alpha Build doesn't know the citadel well. He doesn't go here often, and when he does that's because he's visiting the Zapolyarny Palace. But Alpha Build has heard of a place that Alhaitham might be interested in, so he purposefully makes eye contact with Arlecchino's underlings, hinting at them to follow.
Alpha Build finally stops in front of a huge lavish building. The entrance is an exquisite double door that's as tall as twice Alhaitham's height. There's a faint orchestral song coming from the building.
Alpha Build sucks in a deep breath before braving himself to turn around and face Alhaitham, "We are here," he spreads his hand which is not occupied with holding Alhaitham's hand toward the building, "welcome to the most famous Aviary in Snezhnaya," Alhaitham still doesn't say anything but there's a subtle curiosity in his eyes and it encourages Alpha Build enough to continue, "unlike in Sumeru, Avians in Snezhnaya are more well accepted since we have a superior body and mind than humans. It's common to find Avians in noble or rich houses. That's why this Aviary was built.
Avians are, in the end, just humans with a little bit of birdbrain. The rich humans built theater as their source of entertainment and the rich Avians built this Aviary.
It's hard for an Avian to fight back their natural longing to fly, but unfortunately Snezhnaya's weather is far too harsh. The birds are doing fine because they're just birds, but Avians are birds with human traits. Let alone the lack of a tail for balance, few would even dare to brave the cold high up in the sky," Alpha Build has finally realized that he has just given a long speech, so he embarrassedly tilts his head down and asks, secretly hoping that Alhaitham will be interested enough to quell his anger, "would you like to go inside and have a flight with me?"
Alhaitham can't quite tamp down his wings which are twitching from excitement. Thankfully, Alpha Build doesn't see it, too busy staring at his feet.
Alhaitham takes another look at the building, noticing that not only the building seems spacious, it's also towering high. Although comparing nature to it is insulting, flying there won't be too bad.
The base of Alhaitham's wings twitch, as if agreeing.
Well, his wings have decided for him, so why not?
"Am I just going to fly alone again this time?" Alhaitham asks and Alpha Build snaps his head up.
Alpha Build's eye is wide and hopeful, "No," he says far too excitedly so he clears his throat and calms down, "I will fly with you if you want. Though I won't say that I'll be able to fly beautifully."
Alhaitham's heart skips a beat from excitement, but he manages his expression well. Flying with his mate is something that he has been waiting for.
"Let's get in then or we might come home too late into the night," Alhaitham decides while hinting that he won't be there for a short time.
Alpha Build doesn't realize it, but he grins happily at that, he turns around and drags Alhaitham to the entrance, almost running excitedly, "Let's go to the bathroom, I need to do something first."
This time Alhaitham slightly holds Alpha Build's hand back and Alpha Build's happy grin widens.
Alhaitham waits in front of the cubicle Alpha Build has disappeared into. He looks around out of boredom in the meantime. Even the toilets are lavishly decorated. Alhaitham can't help but find it redundant, but that's kind of the point, isn't it?
The cubicle's door opens and Alhaitham stops his wandering mind in order to look at Alpha Build but he immediately looks away again with a hand pressed to his face, to stop from laughing out loud.
"What?"
Alhaitham coughs into his hand once, "nothing," he says before he takes another look and ends up looking away again with the corners of his mouth twitching up.
Alpha Build squints his eyes at Alhaitham from underneath his mask before realizing that Alhaitham probably can't see it so he annoyedly flicks his wings and takes Alhaitham's hand before dragging him outside.
The Segments are essentially one person so it isn't too weird if they wear other Segment's clothing. But for Alhaitham who had personally gotten acquainted with each of them and knows some of their most obvious differences, Alpha Build wearing Doctor's outfit is just very out of place.
For example, Doctor is slightly taller than him while Alpha Build's head only reaches his eyes, slightly taller than Zazan. His muscles are also thicker than Doctor. Yet the outfit fits perfectly as if it's tailored specifically for him. The thought that each Segment has a Doctor's outfit specifically tailored for them so that they can act in public as if there's only one of them is both adorable and hilarious.
Alpha Build's wings twitch, "If you find something funny, why don't you share it with me?" he says without looking back.
Alhaitham has to bite his lower lip to not laugh. Alpha Build even slightly changes his manners of speech.
Now this wasn't what Alhaitham had expected.
He's standing on a platform. One step ahead of him is where the platform ends, connected to it is a floor of light blue tinted glass. Alhaitham can see quite a crowd of Avians dressed in fancy clothes forming their own groups as they fly around.
Compared to the space beneath him, the place he's currently at is empty except for him.
"Lord Harbinger, I must say that we feel quite honored to receive you as our guest in this Aviary," Alhaitham hears the sound of a bootlicker coming closer to him alongside 2 pairs of steps, "we'll do my best to make tonight the best experience for you and your mate. So please, if you wish for anything, just tell the security at the door."
"You're telling me that you're going to use your defensive manpower as a servant? If we're going to receive service from such people then why should I ask your people and not simply order the guards I brought along with me?" Alpha Build who's charading as The Doctor drawls, and Alhaitham presses his palm to his mouth because try as Alpha Build might to act like Doctor, he still can't get rid of his snark, "leave us alone, if you know better."
The bootlicker stammers a 'yes' and soon a sound of flustered steps fades away.
Alhaitham senses Alpha Build's presence stops beside him, "If I didn't know better, I would assume that you're afraid of height from the way you keep staring down like that," Alpha Build comments, his tone is softer unlike the tone he used to deal with the bootlicker.
Alhaitham hums and he can feel Alpha Build's eyes on him, full of expectations, "Is that tempered glass?" Alhaitham asks, referring to the glass floor.
"Supposedly," Alpha Build says before he immediately kneels down and raps his knuckle on it, "it is."
The corner of Alhaitham's mouth twitches up at his antic and Alpha Build's wings perk up.
Alhaitham lets Alpha Build have it, he has tried hard to make up, "Mind to lead the way?" Alhaitham asks as he swipes his hand forward.
Alpha Build grins happily and jumps to his feet, "Sure."
Alpha Build spreads his wings wide and stretches it before flapping them a few times to warm up. Then he takes a moment to take off his coat before he starts flapping his wings to hover a few inches above ground. The wind created from his movements are strong enough to ruffle Alhaitham's hair and Alhaitham needs to hold his hair back so that his eyes aren't covered.
With a strong flap, Alpha Build flies above the glass floor, hovering slightly above than Alhaitham's and just stays there, unsure of what to do next.
Among all the Segments, Alpha Build is the best in regards to flying. He can fly the fastest and hold his balance on-air before and after complicated maneuvers. If it's flying on a battlefield or dangerous terrains, he would've known how to show off. But on a completely empty wide area of the Aviary, where everything looks lavish and the Avians dance elegantly, Alpha Build is out of his depth. He doesn't even know how to dance.
After a long bout of silently hovering, Alpha looks straight at Alhaitham who's tilting his head inquiringly at him, "I'm sorry. I don't know how to proceed."
Alhaitham's wings flick back in surprise, then his eyes light up in amusement that fades into an understanding.
Of course. The so-called Prime Segment of his mate can't even do a simple glide down well, it's already a pleasant surprise that Alpha Build can fly remarkably firm.
Alhaitham had warmed up his wings earlier when his mate was off to reserve the floor, so he simply takes his fur coat off before he starts flapping his wings and flies to Alpha Build's height.
Alpha Build instinctively tenses up a little when Alhaitham approaches him. Alhaitham is getting too close, it's dangerous for Avians to fly this close to each other, the gusts of wind created by the other can easily offset their balance, and yet Alhaitham is still getting closer.
Alhaitham flashes Alpha Build a gentle smile, it's a very open smile that slightly shows his teeth, and Alpha Build's breath slows because of the sight that he subconsciously starts to relax.
Alhaitham stretches his hand forward to fleetingly slide across Alpha Build's chest as he slowly flies around him, silently coaxing Alpha Build to loose up and joins his dance, "Allow me, then."
Alhaitham flares his wings so that they would catch more air. Flying indoors is different from flying outside, there's no wind helping them up, Alhaitham almost feels sorry for Snezhnayan Avians. The sensation of flying with the winds is completely different from flying indoors, so he needs to exert more strength to his wings. But he's also aware that two-person aerial dance requires a more subtle flying technique so that his partner won't be thrown off balance, thus Alhaitham gently flaps his wings to slowly fly higher.
Alhaitham glances down at Alpha Build and finds him harshly flapping his wings to catch up, Alhaitham feels himself softens, "Flare your feathers more, you should be able to fly more easily than me since the feather formations of your wings are more suited for this kind of flight."
Alpha Build stops trying to get more altitude to adjust his wings like Alhaitham had instructed and Alhaitham waits for him, his lips subconsciously stretched into a fond smile.
Alpha Build finally manages to fly better. Interesting, he didn't know there's more technique to flying.
Alpha Build looks up at Alhaitham in wonderment and he finds Alhaitham softly smiling at him with his wings majestically flapping elegantly and the artificial lights from all over the building are softly shining down on him, coloring him in a waterfall of soft lights. Alpha Build's heart races up and his face ever so slowly heats up. He flies up to Alhaitham, his movements a bit jerkish, wanting to quickly get closer yet also hesitant to approach.
Alhaitham softly chuckles once Alpha Build stops next to him, tense and awkward at all times, "Ease up," Alhaitham says as he slowly flies a circle around Alpha Build.
Alpha Build really wants to, but he can't relax for the life of him, "What next?"
Alhaitham stretches his palm to Alpha Build with a subtle smile on his lips, "Are you feeling daring enough to try flying hand in hand?"
Alpha Build's lips tighten, indignant at being questioned like that yet he knows that flying hand in hand is more complicated than it seems.
Alhaitham tilts his head to the side, "I'll fly slowly if I have to," he softly adds.
Alpha Build scowls from under his mask and takes Alhaitham's hand, "Fine," he spits.
Alhaitham laughs warmly, the sound of it tickles Alpha Build's eardrums, before he gently pulls Alpha Build forward.
Alhaitham pulls Alpha Build to fly around the room, visiting every empty area of it, and Alpha Build stares at Alhaitham, mesmerized at the way the soft lights are falling on him.
Alpha Build finds that Alhaitham is quite experienced at this, granted, right now he's just pulling him around the room but this is not as easy as people think, he wonders if he had done it before and although he dislikes the prospect of Alhaitham flying with other Avians before, he can't help but ask, "Have you ever flown like this with someone else?"
Alhaitham glances back at Alpha Build, "No," Alhaitham leads them to a stop right in the middle of the room, "truthfully, I don't even fly often. I grew up with my only relative, my grandmother, who was a human. I never get the chance to fly often because I didn't have anyone to supervise me and my grandmother would worry. Later, when I became an adult, Sumeru City banned flying inside the city and I needed to take a trip outside to take a flight. It was quite bothersome so I didn't do it often."
Alhaitham turns around to face Alpha Build, "Now, promise me to just relax," he says before he holds both of Alpha Build's hands.
Alpha Build holds back Alhaitham's hands in a silent confirmation and he almost regrets it when Alhaitham wordlessly dives backward while pulling Alpha Build.
Alpha Build is terrified even if he doesn't scream, he is about to spread his wings but Alhaitham stops him by pulling him into a hug, "It's fine. Just fold your wings," Alhaitham whispers before he spreads his wings and spins around mid-air with Alpha Build in his arms, using the velocity to upright their positions.
Alhaitham spreads his wings wide and flaps them to stationary hover in the air.
Alpha Build immediately spreads his own wings and flaps them before angrily pushing himself away from Alhaitham, "Couldn't you at least warn me first?" He hisses but his anger soon evaporates when he sees Alhaitham's face.
Alhaitham's face is flushed from happiness as he smiles so wide that his eyes are closed because of it, "My apologies," he breathlessly says, not sounding apologetic at all, "I had a feeling that you wouldn't agree."
And Alpha Build, indeed, wouldn't. That's still not an excuse, though. But Alpha Build will let it pass for now in order to address something more important, namely his racing heart.
Alpha Build reaches out with both of his hands to clumsily cusp Alhaitham's cheeks, Alhaitham opens his eyes and look at him in surprise, "I think I love you," Alpha Build says very straightforwardly, causing Alhaitham to make a small surprised and confused noise but his face is flushed from something else, so Alpha Build continues, "but I feel like even if right now it's only a guess, I'll only become more in love with you later. So I'm confessing it now."
Alhaitham blinks at Alpha Build. Then his eyes flit around, looking everywhere except at him, as his hands slowly reach up to rest atop Alpha Build's hands cusping on his cheeks and red spreads deeper and wider on his face. Alpha Build observes the changes with interest until Alhaitham finally settles at looking down, his long eyelashes shyly drooping.
"Aren't you going to reciprocate?" Alpha Build asks.
Alhaitham snorts yet he still doesn't dare to look up, "Love is such an illogical feeling. Are you sure it's wise for you to easily admit it to me?"
"It doesn't matter," Alpha Build boldly claims before he says with a shrug, "if I love you then I love you. Besides, since you left your nation to live with us, I think it's safe for me to think that you love me back," then Alpha Build happily grins wide when a realization hits him, "oh, that also means that I can trust you."
Alhaitham finally looks up to send Alpha Build a glare but the force behind it is so weak that Alpha Build simply laughs and caresses Alhaitham's cheeks with his thumb, "I've decided that I can trust you. What about you?" Alpha Build asks.
Alhaitham's lips twitch in slight annoyance but in the end he can only huff a breath. He releases one of his hands to slightly tilt up Alpha Build's mask and slowly leans in.
Alhaitham hears the sound of glass breaking and a projectile splitting the air toward his position at fast speed. He reflexively yanks Alpha Build and him to move out of the way, but it's too late.
Alhaitham doesn't hear his own screech of wail as one of his wings madly flaps around in order to stay on air. He can't hear Alpha Build yelling his name or another sound of glass breaking. He can only feel the burning pain on his wings and the smell of gunpowder.
Notes:
This is their first confession after hundred thousand of words. Technically, can I add "slowburn" in the tag?
Random fun fact:
I'm a university student majoring in English.
My best friend is studying to be an architect.
On Saturday, I'm going to adopt one of her kitten.
She's an orange cat which is just lovely.
Chapter 27
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Alpha Build was too distracted by Alhaitham to notice the glint of a weapon in the distance. But to say that would mean that he's blaming Alhaitham for being too distracting, which won't happen ever. The fault lies on him for letting his guard down.
End of discussion. Which is good because Alhaitham is still falling headfirst, straight to the glass floor. Judging from the way Alhaitham can't control his wings and is screeching a wail of pain all the while, the pain is probably blinding his mind to think clearly.
Thankfully, Arlecchino's underlings are useful and instead of waiting for his order, they immediately search for the culprit. Alpha Build can only leave catching the culprit on their hands, he has a far more pressing matter.
"Alhaitham!" Alpha Build yells out, hoping to snap Alhaitham out of his pain induced panic and causes Alhaitham to calm down enough so that he would gain enough clarity to slow his fall, as he makes a dive to catch him.
Alhaitham doesn't even react to his voice. He keeps falling down with only one of his wings able to move, causing him to uncontrollably spin mid-air as he continues to fall.
The reinforced glass floor is too close to Alhaitham and Alpha Build is still too far away.
Alpha Build won't make it.
That is, if Alpha Build himself insists on a smooth landing.
Of course, Alpha Build doesn't care about such a thing.
Alpha Build flaps his wings strongly one last time before he folds them tightly to his back. His posture is stiff and his mass distributions are compressed into one point of weight. This kind of dive is impossible for crows, the bones of their wings are not strong enough to cushion the landing and their feathers aren't big enough. But by doing this, Alpha Build can catch up with Alhaitham.
Alpha Build manages to grab a hold of Alhaitham's shoulder and Alhaitham is still not able to register his presence, still wailing in pain.
There's no time left, they are only a few inches away from making an impact to the floor.
There's no time to think, so Alpha Build doesn't. He quickly presses Alhaitham's head to his chest and holds him closer by the waist before he cocoons them with his wings.
Alpha Build hears a 'crick' from inside his head as white washes over his vision from the impact to the floor. The floor cracks and immediately breaks upon impact. Although the floor slows their descent, they're still falling at a deadly speed.
They were on the highest floor, who knows how many more floors they will have to crash through until they stop.
Alpha Build knows that Alhaitham is not yet safe, so he ignores the warmth trickling down –or up?– his head and the aches on his wings. He simply grits his teeth and presses Alhaitham closer to brace for more impacts.
Meanwhile, the Avians on the lower floors were already frightened from the initial sound of crashing glass. They have already evacuated themselves to stand on the platform, no longer in the clear view for targeting. And what they get for that, is a very clear view of one of The Harbinger of Her Majesty falling through one glass floor after another. Straight to the lowest floor.
…
When Alpha Build senses that they're no longer falling, his vision is blank with darkness and his ears are temporarily deaf. Then the pain hits him first, causing colorful light spots to fill the black of his vision, then his ears become both oversensitive and muddled as he can hear the murmurs of people from far away and yet he can't decipher what they're saying.
Alpha Build is paralyzed from pain. His breath is ragged and blood is slowly filling his lungs.
He needs rest… he wants to.
Then Alpha Build's ears somehow pick up pained whimpers from the weight atop his chest. His eye snaps open, alert. He ignores the way the lights are piercing his eye painfully in order to sit up.
Alpha Build struggles so much in order to do the simple action, he coughs out blood while doing so and thankfully he manages to not spray Alhaitham with it.
In his hands, Alhaitham is unconscious but breathing, blood is flowing from his injured wings and his lustrous skin quickly turns pale by the second.
Alpha Build immediately slings Alhaitham's arm over his shoulder and tries to stand up, wobbling so much as he does so. He needs to stop Alhaitham's bleeding soon or he might die.
"Oh, Archon," the bootlicker from earlier exclaims with panic as he runs toward them, causing Alpha Build to flare his wings defensively, "Lord Harbinger, you need to lay down and get a treatment. Please leave your mate with us and we will call for med-"
"STAY AWAY!" Alpha Build roars, causing blood to overflow from his mouth and sending some drops of it flying, he glares, unfocused, at the general direction of the bootlicker, thankfully his mask covered it, "call The Knave and inform her that if her underlings don't catch the perpetrator, I will not help her in her operation."
And just like that, Alpha Build drags both his feet and Alhaitham to get out of the building. The sea of watching people scrambles in panic as they part to give way for The Harbinger. Alpha Build ignores them.
The cold air outside hits Alpha Build harder than the glass floor. He has forgotten their coats, and yet he still feels warm. The tips of Alpha Build's fingers chill at the implication and he limps to the underground station faster.
Alpha Build isn't even close to the end of the entertainment district when Alhaitham's head lolls on his shoulder. That's when he realizes that Alhaitham's body temperature has dropped.
In panic, Alpha Build ignores the pain in his whole body to move Alhaitham so that he can carry him. Alpha Build then spreads his wings, ignoring the glass shards wedged deeply into them, and flies.
Alpha Build can't fly higher than a few inches off the road, his legs drag on the snowy streets more often than not, and the speed of his flight is only slightly faster than walking. But it's still faster and so Alpha Build continues to fly even if the glass shards on his wings keep digging deeper into the muscles of his wings.
The Fatuus guarding the underground station are shocked when they see their superior pitifully coming towards them, but they don't dare coming closer when they see the emotions hidden under their superior's strained lips.
Alpha Build ignores them, but he finally doesn't have enough strength to fly so he lands on his feet and continues back to dragging.
Alpha Build, as quickly as he can, sits Alhaitham down on the vehicle's floor with his back leaning on the seat before he quickly limps to the control panel to input the instructions.
Alpha Build needs to place his palms down on the control panel to brace himself as he takes a deep breath. This time, his vision swims and his hands are shaking so violently that he needs to retry inputting the instructions a few more times before he succeeds.
The vehicle lunges forward and Alpha Build grabs a pole to steady himself. He had instructed for the vehicle to move at its highest speed, fully aware that he won't last long here.
Alpha Build's hands latch on every surface he can find to help him weakly drag himself back to Alhaitham's side. Alpha Build drops down to sit beside Alhaitham on the floor then, finally out of energy. Another batch of blood spurts out from Alpha Build's mouth and it lands on Alhaitham's hand.
Despite being out of energy, Alpha Build frowns and he uses the remaining of his energy to try wiping that blood. What meets Alpha Build's fingers are a cold hand and a very weak heartbeat.
Alpha Build's lips tremble. There's no warm clothes around and even if there is, he can no longer move. Helpless, Alpha Build can only pull Alhaitham into a hug, hoping that the remaining of his body warmth will be enough to keep Alhaitham warm until the vehicle arrives at The Institute.
Alpha Build starts breathing through his mouth, gasping for air that somehow keeps escaping his lungs. Desperately holding his sentience steady even if the pain in his head keep agonizing him.
[Sigma Build,] in the end, Alpha Build weakly calls to the link, his mind can't register the flurry of the Segments' noises reverberating in it, [please, take over and save him.]
After that, Alpha Build no longer has the energy to tune into the link and he drops his head on Alhaitham's shoulder. Slowly, his eye falls shut and the light within his hollow eye vanishes.
That night, Alpha Build shuts down for the second time.
The dearest Lord of the rebel army slams the door to his room open with a loud bang. He agitatedly paces around his room as his wings angrily spasm before he notices that his door is still opened and he angrily slams it shut.
Samuil presses his back to the door and heavily leans into it. His eyes are bloodshot and glazed with fury and tears as he glares at the empty air of his room, but he's seeing something different. A scene of a dying Avian.
Saying that Samuil is angry is an understatement. He's beyond angry. Angry at Galina, at the nobles who demanded for the assassination attempt, at The Doctor….
Samuil was accompanying his normal friends to the Aviary, secretly wanting to relax himself from his duties and take a flight. He almost lost his composure when he saw that beautiful Avian being dragged by another Avian into the Aviary. Out of curiosity, Samuil excused himself to the bathroom to confirm their identity.
He was proven to be correct. But the problem is that the beautiful Avian isn't alone, he was accompanied by The Doctor himself.
Samuil had panicked, he could sense the muzzle of Galina's weapon lighting up with pyro energy. The assassination attempt must be halted, they're in public and if The Doctor's mate is harmed here, who knows what would The Doctor do to vent his anger.
Samuil contacted Galina, telling her to stop the operation. But Galina had gone crazy by saying that it's too late to stop now since some of their noble backings were on their way to witness the attempt since it was going to be done in the Aviary.
The thread of sanity within Samuil's head almost snapped at that. What did they mean by 'witness'? Were they going to treat the assassination as a form of entertainment? There were a lot of innocent civilians here that might get hurt because of this attempt, be it because of The Doctor's inevitable wrath or because of the panic caused by the assassination itself.
Samuil's mind very conveniently forgot that the beautiful Avian is a mere civilian himself and the order to assassinate him had come from him.
Samuil saw one of his noble backers visiting the second topmost floor and he decided to try to change his mind. It was, of course, a futile attempt. He spent far too long trying to persuade the Avian that he didn't hear the sound of Galina's weapon.
What caught back his attention first is the wail of agony that made his scalp go numb, perhaps it's because he's also a falcon breed Avian that he understands well the meaning behind that wail. Before something came crashing from the upper level accompanied by the screams from Avians around him.
Samuil had a good guess of what that thing was, and yet his morbid curiosity won. He idiotically slips past the Avians in the second topmost floor and runs downstairs.
Now, being the Lord of the rebel group, Samuil had seen his own share of gore whether it was in the battlefield or in his own home. It was also very hard for him to give down the order to massacre his comrades until there were no remains in order to keep their operation going.
Samuil keels down as he dry-heaves onto the floor.
Samuil is angry at Galina, at the nobles, at The Doctor, and a little bit at that beautiful Avian. But most of all, he's angry at himself.
Samuil is angry at himself for being so weak, for being so weak that he needed to fear losing some of his backers and ended up needing to harm a civilian for it.
The bloody scene of that beautiful Avian laying limply on the floor, blood flowing from his wounded wing and his other wing snapped at an odd angle, not even the protection from The Doctor's own body was enough to shield him from harm, revisits Samuil's mind as vivid as a drop of blood on pure white snow. Hot tears stream out from both of Samuil's eyes as he presses his palm to his mouth to muffle his horrified wail.
Samuil had stupidly thought that the beautiful Avian was forced into a relationship with The Doctor. He had stupidly used this assumption as a reason to justify the assassination attempt, seeing it as a way to free the Avian from the delusion of being mated. Now that the truth of the matter is clear… Samuil feels downright horrible.
The beautiful Avian and The Doctor are mated purely out of love. It's clear from the way the beautiful Avian had subconsciously stayed close to The Doctor even when he was delirious. The Doctor seems to love him back too. The fact that The Doctor sacrificed his own body to protect his mate is enough, let alone for him to fight back Death by standing up and carrying his mate away to a safe place.
Samuil lies down on the floor and curls up into a ball, finally feeling tired.
Samuil feels utterly horrible for trying to separate two mated Avians. He also abhors himself for lusting over the beautiful Avian.
…
He damns himself for sympathizing with The Doctor.
In order to achieve their goal, it's inevitable that some civilians become sacrifices for the greater good. But try as Samuil might, he is far too compassionate than his own good. Therefore, it's better for him to put a blind eye to the thought of him needing to kill every Fatui, who certainly has their own family.
But now the impact of his action on others is very clear and Samuil can't deny it.
Separating two mated Avians is the biggest crime any Avian can do.
Samuil can't handle this kind of thing.
He's just a regular Avian….
Alexei is scared.
It's nighttime and His Ladyship hasn't come back.
He's also worried for his own life since for some reason His Lordship the Sigma Build is throwing tantrums at the guest hall, smashing things and angrily yelling at himself. Furthermore, Alexei is not allowed to –can't– leave. His Lordship specifically asked for him for assistance and if he leaves, it will be far too obvious. So Alexei can only wait in fear until His Lordship tells him what to do.
The tell tale sounds of the transport vehicle coming is heard and His Lordship doesn't even wait until it stops before he madly dashes to it.
Alexei has no choice but to follow close.
His Lordship roughly slides the door of the transport vehicle open before he dives straight inside, unfazed by the thick stench of blood while Alexei's vision sways just from a mere whiff.
His Lordship's rageful caw snaps Alexei into focus and he immediately steps into the transport vehicle. His steps falter when he sees the tragic condition of His Ladyship but before he can look any longer, His Lordship the Sigma Build has thrown a body at him.
"STORE HIM IN THE MORTUARY!" Sigma Build roars his order at Alexei as his hands are busy searching Alhaitham's heartbeat, [Prime! He is losing too much blood. I need to treat him in the underground lab!] he panickedly screeches to the link.
[Don't bring him there!] Prime yells back almost immediately, his voice sounds as panicked as Sigma Build, [the cryo shackle will be triggered. Just bring him to the master bedroom, lie him down and treat his wounds as best as you can. I'm on my way.]
[Understood,] Sigma Build confirms before he yells at Alexei, "AND BRING MY FULL SET OF EQUIPMENT TO THE MASTER BEDROOM!"
Sigma Build doesn't bother to listen to Alexei's answer, he carefully yet swiftly rearranges Alhaitham's skewed earpiece before he slings Alhaitham's bigger body over his shoulder and runs to the master bedroom while trying to not jostle Alhaitham as much as he can.
Due to Alhaitham's new position, his wound is now lower than his heart and blood quickly wets Sigma Build's back and dirties the floor. Unfortunately, Sigma Build has no other way to carry him. So he can only grit his teeth and run faster.
Notes:
F-
Fall damage...
Chapter 28
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Pantalone opens the door to Omega Build Dottore's office but he doesn't immediately come in, just standing there and trying to read his business partner's mood.
Dottore's wings flick once but he doesn't look up in order to continue writing, "What do you want, Panty?"
Pantalone's face scrunches up in distaste at the nickname but he lets it slide past with a sigh as he finally decides to walk in, "I'm not sure yet. I will decide what I want to do after I am done gauging your mood."
Dottore's lips twitch up with a snort as he finally folds the paper he was writing on and stuffs it into an envelope, "And what have you decided on, pray tell?"
Pantalone stares at Dottore's masked face for some time, "I… am still unsure… but it ranges from a book reading session to probably planning an assassination."
Dottore holds down the envelope under his hands before he finally looks at Pantalone, a smile pasted on his face, "Well, both of us know that observation is not your value in our partnership."
Although Pantalone rolls his eyes in exasperation, he returns the smile, "It won't hurt to admit that I am sort of guessed right, you know."
Dottore wags a finger, "That might be the case, except that you're incorrect," then he hands the envelope to Pantalone.
Pantalone stares at the envelope for a while before he grows pale, "Is this a resignation letter? What have I done? I- wait, no. I know. I've heard about your mate, you can just take a break –paid leave even, I'll allow it– take a month, or so. Don't be hasty."
Dottore's smile from earlier doesn't waver, "This is a letter for explaining Alhaitham's absence that I need your help to deliver to the Diplomatic Office," his smile still doesn't waver even when Pantalone looks at him in annoyance and disbelief, "but I'll take your offer. Thank you," now Pantalone's wings are puffing up in anger and Dottore almost cracks up.
Pantalone rudely snatches the envelope and shoves it into his coat, "Why are you even writing a letter for that? The incident is even written on the local paper, everyone knows about it."
Dottore tilts his head with a shrug, "Just in case," then he props his chin on his knuckle, "Alhaitham takes his job seriously, you know. He has already received a very heavy special treatment, if he takes a month-long sick leave just after his first day, it won't even matter that his wounds are real," Dottore's elbow annoyedly digs on his desk until it groans, "I'm sure that this is what he would've done. So I shall take the matter into my own hands, seeing as right now Alhaitham is not in the right condition to do so.".
Pantalone's smile drops and he tries to glean something by looking at Dottore. Dottore's outer appearance is, of course, flawless. Pantalone was the one who taught him how to look charming and to keep it that way at all costs, it helps bring in customers. But if anyone would've come closer, they would surely realize the anger overflowing from his person that's enough to suffocate lesser men.
Pantalone slightly cracks his neck to the side to mask off his awkwardness before he flashes Dottore a tight smile that hopefully comes off as grim, "I am very sorry to hear about your mate."
Dottore's anger is slightly reigned in, he tilts his head amusedly to one side, "Really? And how many times have you said that to businessmen you've extorted?"
Pantalone rearranges his wings annoyedly with a huff, "I'm very sorry to hear about your mate, friend."
Dottore tilts his head the other way as his lips stretch humorlessly, "Better."
Pantalone raises his arms in exasperation as he rolls his eyes before he squints his eyes curiously at his friend, "I have a guess that your mate is probably working as a diplomat as a way to build his own status in Snezhnaya," he raises his index finger when Dottore looks at him, signaling him to wait until he finishes, "which is remarkable in it's own way… Still, he's an important person now for being mated with you, and working outside of the canopy of your wings poses danger both to him and to you, also me by proxy. So what I'm trying to suggest to you is, what if your mate works for us instead?"
Dottore silently stares at Pantalone for some time before he snorts and raises his hand to cover his laugh, causing Pantalone to rearrange his wings so that it won't ruffle up in annoyance, "I'm serious," he says as he points at Dottore's face with his whole hand, said hand then claps Pantalone's other hand by its back to accentuate his points, "it'll be beneficial to both you and your mate. Your mate can become your secretary, while you, well, you can have your mate at all time," Pantalone sends Dottore a meaningful look, "this office is all yours… if you get what I mean."
Dottore observes Pantalone's face with an amicable smile for some time before he leans back and places his arms on the armrest, wings slightly flexing behind him, "You want to watch," he guesses and Pantalone amusedly opens his mouth but Dottore cuts him off, "I'm not interested in that."
Pantalone snorts, "Now, I know you can lie better than that, you dirty man."
Dottore leans forward, his amicable smile somehow appears eerie under the light coming in from the window, "You've got me wrong, Panty," Dottore says in a low voice and he watches as Pantalone's wings start to ruffle in hackle, "I'm not interested in letting you see my mate in that kind of predicament," Dottore's lips stretch wider along with the increasing alarm in Pantalone's eyes, "you're my business partner. Under some circumstances, you might even be considered as my friend. But even if you're my best friend, what you were implying was simply out of line, don't you think?"
Pantalone warily watches Dottore's demeanor, but Dottore is unmoving. Still with that wide stretched smile pasted on his lips.
Now, Pantalone is aware that he doesn't have fighting strength. He might come off stronger than average humans because he's an Avian. But that's it. Dottore is an even stronger Avian than him, not counting the modification he has done on himself.
Pantalone fake-coughs into his fist, "I apologize if I have offended you, but I meant it. Your mate will be way safer working as your secretary. I'm sure that his previous occupation as a scribe won't differ too much from being a secretary," Pantalone immediately raises his hand to correct himself, "wait, no. I think it won't be much different. I mean, I never went to The Akademiya."
Dottore is still silently observing Pantalone, and Pantalone waits with bated breath and slightly unfolded wings.
Dottore finally relaxes back into his chair with a flick of his wings and Pantalone secretly lets out a breath of relief, "Now that just further proves why you won't succeed without me," Pantalone simply stretches his lips tight at that, to refrain from saying anything, Dottore takes out a pocket watch from his coat and flips it open, "anyway, I'm just going to explain it quick since we should start heading out soon. We are a Harbinger, our business is branded under the Fatui's insignia. Alhaitham won't ever work for us. Period," Dottore stands up from his chair and immediately walks to the door, gesturing to Pantalone to follow, "now let's go, I want to search for that ore."
Alhaitham feels like he's swimming in a dark sea of cotton. There's some sort of weight burdening his whole body and sluggishness in his mind. Although his eyes are heavy, Alhaitham is sure that they're opened at least a fraction. Yet he can only see black.
Then Alhaitham registers the voice(s?) of his mate(s?). Alhaitham can't identify the words coming from his mate's mouth, but his mate sounds very agitated. That's when Alhaitham realizes that the reason why he can't see anything is because he's laying face down on their nest.
Alhaitham's head feels very heavy, as if he's heavily drugged, but he forces himself to lift his head. He can barely move it, only managing to twist his head sideways. Fortunately, it's enough.
From the vanity mirror in their room, Alhaitham can see his masked mates, Zazan and Doctor, arguing with each other. It's quite a surreal sight. The oldest Segment is very composed as he talks, hands folded neatly behind his back and all, but Alhaitham can sense that he's itching to take action. On the other hand, the youngest Segment is on the other end of the spectrum of calm. Zazan's wings are agitatedly spread, fully ruffled, as he paces around Doctor. He's very expressive both in verbal and body language.
Alhaitham sees Doctor let out a sigh before he calmly says something and Zazan immediately swishes around to repeatedly slap Doctor's shoulder, looking so visibly offended that Alhaitham finds it funny. Doctor lets out another sigh as he takes Zazan's assault, lolling his head slightly to the side and looking so done.
Alhaitham snorts and it lightly jostles his body. The blissful haze of cotton that enveloped him earlier immediately parts as a piercing pain strikes from his wings. Alhaitham can't recognize where the raspy pained wail is coming from, and neither does he see Zazan immediately rush to his side with Doctor in tow.
A hand gently rearranges Alhaitham's head to the earlier position before Alhaitham feels a cold sensation trickling down his arm along with the haze of cotton coming back. The hand on his head is now reassuringly scratching his scalp, the raspy wail from earlier is gone.
Alhaitham feels himself being pulled back into the dark sea of cotton. He complies without much opposition.
"I hope you remember that the deal is our continuous support in exchange for the death of The Doctor's mate, Lord Samuil."
".... Of course-"
"And yet we only saw that Avian was merely wounded on the wings."
".... The Doctor's mate fell through 4 layers of floors, there could possibly be some unseen internal injuries that will be fatal to his health."
"Are you saying that you're relying on these possible internal injuries to finish your failed task, Lord Samuil?"
".... No-"
"Because, frankly, it's not enough."
"...."
"Listen here, my Lord. What you're trying to do is not a joke. You've gone the furthest compared to any prior rebel groups but in accordance with that the punishments will also be far more severe if you fail."
"With all due respect, Sir. What's the use of planning a rebellion if I fear getting punished for it-"
"Good for you. But I'm not getting myself and my family killed for supporting an unreliable coup."
"Now! No need to get heated up, here. I see that you are second-guessing our capabilities due to the failed assassination attempt, but that's not my Lord's fault. It's entirely on me for underestimating how hard it is to get a clear shot at a flying object. So if you would be so kind, please give me a second chance. I'll make sure that he dies this time."
"... Very well, Miss Galina. I see that you know your responsibility well. Lord Samuil must be very grateful for having you at his side."
"You're just too kind, Sir."
The circumstances are far less than ideal, but Omega Build will take anything as long as he can see Alhaitham.
Alhaitham drifts into awareness on the nest, hugging a pillow close to his face. He isn't really sure if the reason why he simply wants to go back to sleep is because of the traces of drugs in his system or because he's feeling too cozy here.
In the end, Alhaitham chooses to hug the pillow tighter and burrows himself deeper into the coziness. That's when he senses a pair of eyes on him.
Alhaitham doesn't tense up, too lazy to do so. Instead, he tries to recall the reason why he needs to be drugged as much as he can.
…
….
Anyway, Alhaitham feels that this gaze is familiar, "Omega Build, I presume," he calls out, voice raspy and scratchy.
There's a few seconds of silence before a sound of footsteps can be heard running to Alhaitham's side.
Omega Build takes off his mask and places it at the nightstand before he takes a deep breath to calm himself down. It's their second meeting, he needs to act cool. Well, it feels more like their first meeting after his death than their second meeting so Omega Build expected a lot to happen. He especially hoped for a lot of heartfelt kisses that followed with a serenade of love confessions.
Omega Build's wings sag from his disappointment.
"I will assume your silence means that I'm correct, then," Alhaitham says, snapping Omega Build from his own reverie.
Omega Build observes his mate's condition. Both of Alhaitham's wings are bandaged. One is bandaged and patched up in several places, because of the initial injury that was actually intended to pierce his heart and shards of glasses embedded into it. While the other is sealed with a modified crutch pinned under the bandages, the bone has snapped and several fissures grow from it due to the impact when he fell, making sure that it won't accidentally move.
Omega Build finds his hands are clenched tightly into fists without him noticing, they're trembling. He tries to unclench them as he sucks in a deep breath but they immediately clench back. Omega Build bites his lower lip and tilts his head up, resigned.
After a while, Omega Build feels his breathing grow in pace and he methodically calms himself down. Both ice cold and searing hot feelings are pooling inside his chest. Such a novel sensation.
"Am I getting the silent treatment? If so, I'm not sure why I'm getting such treatment but I will take it without a fuss in exchange that you at least tell me about Alpha Build's condition," Alhaitham's voice is raspy from disuse and it reminds Omega Build of when he was still unconscious.
Omega Build feels his eyes heat up. He sucks in another breath and keeps it inside for a while before huffing it out. Then he kneels down beside the bed, hands holding the bed to support himself.
The Segments are angry but Omega Build doesn't come to see Alhaitham just to be angry. He will be angry and planning the ultimate demise of a lowly creature when he's not around Alhaitham. Right now, he's here to stay by his mate's side.
"Zandik," Omega Build whispers, afraid of scaring Alhaitham if his anger is leaking through his facade, "please just call me Zandik."
Alhaitham twists his neck to have a look at his mate, "Zandik?" he reconfirms with a raised eyebrow.
Zandik forces a grin to appear on his lips, "Yes. I'm quite sure no one has taken the name. But do enlighten me if I'm wrong."
Alhaitham is silent for a moment, he can see Zandik's real thought, "Come closer," he softly asks.
Zandik's wings twitch in confusion but he compliantly rearranges his hands on the bed before leaning his face forward, closer to Alhaitham's face.
Alhaitham presses a few centimeters forward, rubbing his cheek to Zandik's, "Zandik then," he sluggishly tries to burrow his face deeper but the leftover drugs are weighing his body down.
Zandik stops Alhaitham by hugging his upper body, "Hey, don't move too much," he gently reprimands as he leans more onto the bed and nuzzling into Alhaitham so that Alhaitham doesn't have to, "you might disturb the recovery of your wings."
Alhaitham tenses in Zandik's hold.
Zandik curses himself inwardly, "Don't worry. Your injuries are an easy fix to us, especially by adding in your natural self-healing ability. It's just that it's better to be safe than sorry so it's better for you to not move too much for a guaranteed recovery. Besides…" Zandik trails off with a grimace, he's rambling isn't he? So much for trying to be reassuring.
Zandik awkwardly clears his throat, "...Besides…, Alpha Build is… dead…" Alhaitham tenses up in alarm in his hold, the base muscles of his wings tensing for a twitch, and Zandik is very grateful that the link is deactivated due to the lack of Alpha Build's subconscious, "which I was trying to say as a reason for you to calm down but now I see that it has the opposite effect and so please, pleaseeee, calm down," Alhaitham is, of course, not calming down, Zandik flaps his wings anxiously a few times before he explains, "alright, this is how it goes. In human terms, Alpha Build is dead. In human terms. As a segment, he can be rebuilt. So it can be said that he will come back to life."
Alhaitham is still tense in Zandik's hold for a long while. Then he gradually calms down after a few long exhales.
Zandik inwardly lets out a sigh of relief.
"What's the state of my wings, then?" Alhaitham asks and Zandik inwardly screeches panicked caws.
Notes:
Sometimes I try drawing them. But drawing wings is such a hassle since I have yet to know how to simplify them.
I'm also terrible at coloring since I haven't memorized values to my muscle memory yet.Also, the kitty is so sweet. She's so clingy. I named her Cyanide because she is so toxic at night for always hijacking my bed.
But she loves belly rubs so all is forgiven.
Chapter 29
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
A week after the incident, three things had happened.
- Alhaitham has recovered enough that he's finally allowed to sit and walk around.
- Alhaitham still has yet to see Alpha Build.
- The master bedroom has gone through a heavy redecoration.
Firstly, Alhaitham still can't wrap his head around the fact that of all Segments, Zazan is the one in charge of nursing him back to health, something about him being in charge of fixing things. Having Zazan nannying him at the time is a lifetime-worth of teasing material.
Secondly, Zandik says that rebuilding a Segment depends on Doctor's decision. Come to think of it, he hasn't seen Doctor once ever since he left. Well, there was that time when he was slightly awake, but he won't count that.
Thirdly, Alhaitham must admit, Zandik is impressive. The master bedroom that was previously sparse with some corners awkwardly filled with too much things, leaving the rest of the room empty, is now artfully filled in with new furniture. Keep in mind that Zandik did all the redecoration when Alhaitham was asleep. Alhaitham is a light sleeper so the fact that Zandik managed to rearrange the old furniture and bring in the new ones without waking him up is very impressive. That, or he was drugged during the process.
Still, very impressive. During that week, Alhaitham woke up in a bedroom that was just slightly different to what he remembered that he started to wonder if he had developed dementia.
There's a light knock on the door before it opens just wide enough for Zandik to stick his masked head in and take a peek. When Zandik's eyes meet Alhaitham who's very clearly awake, he freezes for a moment before his lips spread into a small grin.
"Hi?" Zandik sheepishly greets from behind the door.
The corner of Alhaitham's lips twitch up as he amusedly tilts his head, "Are you always so polite when you are trying to get into your room?"
Although Zandik is wearing his mask, Alhaitham can tell that he's averting his eyes away from Alhaitham for a moment, "This… isn't only my room."
Alhaitham senses a hint of expectancy in Zandik's shyness, though he doesn't know for what, "Neither is this my room, then," he can't help but tease.
Zandik straightens his posture and is probably sending Alhaitham a look.
In return, Alhaitham sends Zandik a small sweet smile that he knows always makes his mate soften, "As Doctor said and I quote, 'this is our nest,' so there's no need for you to act this way," a flash of understanding visits Alhaitham's mind, "just come in directly next time."
"Will do," Zandik concedes as he nudges the door open, revealing huge bags he's carrying on each hand, "I was just checking if you were asleep. Don't want to accidentally wake a patient up and disturb his rest."
Alhaitham doesn't know if he should laugh. He glances around the master bedroom, looking at the now fully furnished room that Zandik has even spent an effort to make even their love nest doesn't look out of place, then at the bags his mate gently puts down beside the bed.
Alhaitham sends Zandik an amused look.
Zandik can't quite refrain his lips from twitching, and his wings are even less inconspicuous, as he takes off his mask, "What?" he asks before placing down his mask on the nightstand.
Alhaitham lets out an amused exhale through his nose before he looks at the bags, "You bragged about your paycheck as a Harbinger before but at this point I'm starting to get concerned."
Zandik deflates with a pout before he sits down on the bed beside Alhaitham, "I didn't buy that. Those are 'get well soon' gifts from your coworkers."
Alhaitham sends Zandik another look.
Zandik looks away, trying to feign innocence and ignoring Alhaitham's look.
"You can lie better than that," Alhaitham says before he huffs a laugh when Zandik slumps backward to lean on the headboard in defeat, "because there's no way any of you will let me use a gift from anyone else," he continues.
Zandik giggles as he slides down the headboard to lie sprawled on the bed, "Guilty as charged~"
Alhaitham twists his waist so that he can take a look at Zandik. Zandik cheekily grins at Alhaitham, not feeling guilty in the slightest, but his whole body immediately tenses up when Alhaitham lies down on his chest before he sits his head prettily on top of his crossed wrists, eyes peering up at Zandik from under his eyelashes, glittering with tease.
Alhaitham stays like that without saying anything and Zandik can only maintain his grin which has turned stiff as he waits for Alhaitham's next move.
A long time has passed but Alhaitham still says nothing. Zandik's smile is getting more strained as he waits anxiously. He can see Alhaitham's lips oh so slowly stretch into a small devilish yet humorless smirk.
A drop of sweat trails down Zandik's forehead when Alhaitham slowly blinks, "You…" Alhaitham trails off to build up tension, "were the one who left me without saying anything, weren't you?"
Zandik lets out a squawk at the, honestly spot on, accusation. Alhaitham is now looking at him in disappointment, that may or may not simply Alhaitham's sickly appearance and he's just overthinking things. For the first time, Zandik misses the link. If it's connected, then at least he can blame his younger segments for his lapse of judgment.
Alhaitham becomes listless on top of Zandik, "You won't even deign me an answer?" Alhaitham asks, his tone is sad.
Zandik knows very well that Alhaitham is teasing him. Alhaitham is absolutely 100% totally teasing him…. But what if Alhaitham is not teasing him? What if he's actually sad that he left him without bidding farewell? Zandik won't forgive himself if that's true.
"Sorry….?" Zandik hesitantly trails off, he really misses the link right now.
At least Sigma Build's mocking and the palpable feeling of being judged by Prime will stop Zandik from second-guessing himself.
Alhaitham buries his lower face behind his folded hands and casts his eyes down, "Why the hesitation? You're not actually sorry, are you?"
Zandik shoves down the strangled squawk about to spill before sucking in a sharp breath. It's not fair. He didn't actually want to leave. He left because of Prime's order so why is he the one dealing with this?
Zandik hesitates for a moment before he brushes Alhaitham's bangs back, "I'm sorry…- no. No. I am sorry," the pair of turquoise eyes stares at him, it's more beautiful that the last time he saw it, then Zandik remembers the first thing on his to-do list once he meets Alhaitham so he sucks in a deep breath to steady his emotions, "have you been well?" Zandik asks as he leaves featherlight caresses on Alhaitham's hair.
Alhaitham blinks, surprised at how emotional Zandik is, before he pushes himself off Zandik's body, Zandik can totally see the mirthful glints in Alhaitham's eyes as he pushes away by the way, "On other circumstances, I would have said that I'm fine. But keeping in mind the state of my wings, I must say that I'm not too well," Alhaitham answers as he pointedly looks away from Zandik and stares at the neatly arranged shelf that is pleasant to look at even though Alhaitham doesn't have OCD.
Zandik can't see Alhaitham's expression, he doesn't know that Alhaitham is looking away to hide his amusement, and he can't glean anything from his body language so Zandik assumes the worst. His eyes inevitably glance down at the bandaged wings of his dearest scrunkly and the icy-hot feeling returns to his chest.
Right now, Sigma Build is busy nursing Alhaitham back to health, along with taking over the development of salve that helps Alhaitham's regeneration ability from Prime's hands, while Prime is busy trying to rebuild Alpha Build, the Segments have no interest in Snezhnaya's political state but the attack on Alhaitham makes it personal. Normally, Alpha Build wouldn't have been rebuilt as a punishment for his failure, but right now the situation begs for an exception. To put it simply, all Segments have their own things to do, although undoubtedly, each of them are planning a counterattack on their free time.
Except for Omega Build. There's no change in his duty. His duty is still to take care of the financial matters, leaving him otherwise free to do what he wants. If he wants to, he could be the one to plan out and stage the counterattack. He can go the extra mile to make sure whoever hurt Alhaitham wishes for death.
…but that would mean that he needs to leave his mate injured and alone…
Zandik feels his eyes heat up again, his lips are trembling, and he wants to lash out at someone, but there's only Alhaitham here so he can only bottle down the feelings.
Zandik sits up before he leans forward, careful to not touch Alhaitham's wings, to press his forehead on Alhaitham's shoulder. He feels Alhaitham tilting his head back to press his head against him reassuringly and he huffs out a shaky breath. Zandik is pathetic, isn't he? He most likely is. He's here to accompany his mate but here he is, being the one comforted instead.
Alhaitham is so used to his mates' callous personalities. He was expecting that Zandik is the same, but Zandik proves to be an outlier by being significantly different from the rest of the Segments in the way that he is emotional, perhaps far too emotional. Alhaitham will keep in mind to not tease Zandik like this again.
"Zandik?" Alhaitham calls after a long bout of silence and Zandik answers with a humm, "you've gone overboard with our nest, don't you think?"
Zandik instantly cheers up like the earlier somber mood is just a joke, his wings excitedly perk up, "Nonsense!" he accidentally exclaims out of excitement right next to Alhaitham's ear, he apologizes when Alhaitham slightly flinches away, "sorry. But no. I'm not going overboard at all."
Alhaitham huffs an amused exhale at Zandik's sudden chipper tone before he looks around the room, lavishly decorated but still leaves the room totally operational, truly impressive, "You do know that falcon will even take a slope of gravels for a nest, right?"
Zandik grins in pride, his wings preen at Alhaitham's implied approval, as his hands circle around Alhaitham's waist to hold him closer, still careful of Alhaitham's injured wings, "And you do know that crow only uses a nest once, right?"
Alhaitham immediately twists his neck to look at Zandik. His mouth is slightly gaping at Zandik's implication but what meets his sight is Zandik's very excited and expectant expression. Alhaitham raises his eyebrows at Zandik but Zandik simply nods his head repeatedly so Alhaitham can only huff in amusement and leans forward to press his face to Zandik's throat.
"It's impressive," Alhaitham chuckles when Zandik lets out a purr of satisfaction before hugging him closer, Alhaitham then nuzzles Zandik's throat with a soft chittering sounds at the back of his throat, "my mate sure is going all out in the providing department."
Zandik digs his chin on Alhaitham's crown, "Your mate is very amazing and he will do anything to provide for anything you would ever want."
Alhaitham's lips twitch in amusement before one of his hands holds the back of Zandik's neck while the other is rubbing a little circle on Zandik's chest, "Well, if I want to have a child, would my mate be willing to breed one into me?"
Zandik suddenly freezes into stone. He freezes for a long time, causing Alhaitham to start feeling concerned.
Alhaitham moves to lean away to check on Zandik's expression, right in time with Zandik pushing him back before holding his shoulders at arm's length, "Unfortunately…" Zandik trails off with a tight smile, "you are injured and your mate is very concerned and thinks it would be unwise to mate in your condition," then he scrambles to stand up and reach out for his mask.
Zandik's mask is instantly on and he's suddenly already at the door, "Rest well, I'll come again later," he says before the door clicks closed.
Alhaitham stares at the door, blinking in confusion. The gradually diminishing warmth on his side and the bags beside his bed is the only proof that Zandik was here.
Alhaitham blinks again before he lies back down on the bed.
"He wants to have a child!" Omega Build reports as he paces around the underground lab, almost frothing in the mouth, "we haven't been mated for that long and he already wants one!" he flails his hands around to show just how panicked he is, almost knocking the test tubes Sigma Build is working on, "don't get me wrong, I feel very honored that he wants to have one with me but this is literally only the second time we have met!"
Omega Build's wing knocks the stack of files on the desk Sigma Build is working on and the stack almost crumbles if not for Omega Build hugging it together.
Sigma Build unamusedly glares at Omega Build, "You just won't leave me alone, are you?"
Omega Build's lips stretch thin from hysteria, "No," the intensity of Sigma Build's glare doubles and Omega Build sends him a glare of his own to emphasize just how serious he is, "look. This is important. Alhaitham. Wants. To. Have. A. Child."
Sigma Build slams both of his hands on the desk out of frustration, he gnaws on his lower lip as he doubles the intensity of his glare at Omega Build again before growling word for word, "He. Only. Said. That. Because. You. Are. A. Feeble. Minded. Simp. With. A. Breeding. Kink."
Omega Build lets out a squawk, his wings flaring defensively behind him. He opens his mouth to deny but he clicks his mouth back shut. They're essentially one person, denial is futile.
Sigma Build blinks very slowly at Omega Build, looking so done, "I decided to take your advice once for that bed and now you decide that it's okay to discuss your simping agenda with me?" he clasps his hands together in a fist before propping his forehead on them, "total regret," Sigma Build mumbles.
Omega Build coughs into his fist, feeling utterly embarrassed right now, "I originally wanted to rant at Prime but he's at Zapolyarny Palace…. If this fact will somehow make you feel better."
Sigma Build sends Omega Build the stink eyes, "Somewhat," he deadpans before he turns around to observe his test tubes, "so… is Prime really going to rebuild Alpha Build?"
Omega Build is stunned for a second, surprised at the sudden change in topic, but he thinks that it's a much better topic to talk about than the prospect of having a child, Omega Build is simply not ready to have a little brat constantly cockblocking him, so he goes along with the conversation, "He is."
Sigma Build's face scrunches up in distaste, "His failure resulted in his own 'death', Prime shouldn't waste resources on rebuilding him."
Omega Build shrugs at his younger Segment apathetic comments, "A lot of consideration was put into the decision. Losing Alpha Build at this time will weaken our stronghold."
Sigma Build rolls his eyes with a tsk, "I know, I know. I also heard the discussion."
Omega Build falls silent as he stares at Sigma Build, observing him noting down the reactions within the test tubes, before he freezes and then grins, "You are jealous…" Omega Build purrs out his finding.
Sigma Build immediately twists his neck to look at Omega Build weirdly, the content of the test tube in his hold almost spills, "What?" he snaps, tired at Omega Build's nonsense.
Omega Build observes Sigma Build again for a moment more before his grin widens, "Oh, you heard me well… You are jealous that the first Segment Alhaitham asked about is Alpha Build who sacrificed his sentience to protect Alhaitham and not you who nursed him."
Sigma Build glares at Omega Build for some more before his wings sag down tiredly, "Get out. Stop bothering me, I have things to do," Sigma Build's wings bristle indignantly when Omega Build smugly smirks down at him, "why don't you plan out how you will counterattack the one who targeted Alhaitham instead of being a cowardly simp here?"
Omega Build's smirk freezes before it gradually fades, "You're right," he walks toward the exit, "good talk, Sigma Build."
Notes:
Okay so, right now I'm familiarizing myself with Photoshop CS6 (I have no idea how the features work but the brushes suit me very well). Right now I'm trying to draw Alhaitham from chapter 26 (I'm going to call it Moment Before Disaster), then after that, if I have the time, I might draw a little comic about chapter 26 but from Alhaitham's perspective.
Hopefully I will have the time because literature review really takes time and brainpower.Also like, is it weird that I find drawing Alhaitham smiling is weirder than drawing him with lewd expressions?
Then again, I've started to find the smell of my cat's food tasty.
Chapter 30
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Alhaitham misses Alpha Build.
Particularly because he's the best silent company. Unlike Zazan, who's so loud even when he's only breathing, or Zandik, who's mostly keeping to himself but thinks very loudly.
Alhaitham lets out a long exhale as he flips his book to a new page. Zandik stiffens beneath him, unfortunately not the kind of stiffness he would prefer. Thankfully he's just awkward and not having a panic attack like Alpha Build. Sure enough, soon Zandik relaxes again and Alhaitham regains his cushion back.
Unfortunately, his cushion decides to speak up, "Uh, how long am I supposed to stay like this?"
Alhaitham lets out a soft tsk, "A cushion shouldn't have the ability to talk," he says before he slightly squirms on Zandik's lap, fully intentional on teasing Zandik's flaccid dick through their clothes, causing Zandik to circle his waist in an attempt to make him stay still, "neither should a cushion be able to grab my body."
Zandik stills before he bites his inner cheeks, "Are you… angry at me?" he asks before he slowly removes his hands from Alhaitham who's sitting on his lap, careful to not touch Alhaitham's wings which are only lightly bandaged now.
Alhaitham slumps sideway to Zandik's chest, pinning the top of Zandik's head under his chin, "What gives you the idea?" Alhaitham asks as he continues to read his book.
"Uhm…" Zandik awkwardly trails off as he tries to think of how he can make himself comfortable in this position, "I'm merely guessing," Zandik says to buy some time so that he can calm himself.
Due to the weight of Alhaitham's head, Zandik's head is forced to bow, causing the tip of his nose to press between Alhaitham's collarbones. His face is so close to being planted between the mounds of Alhaitham's chest and if he wants to, he can just stick out his tongue to taste the gem on Alhaitham's chest. His mate also smells divine.
Zandik feels a movement around him and he glances to take a look.
Alhaitham's wing are slowly blanketing them.
Zandik startles and forcefully pushes Alhaitham away at an arm's length, "Don't move your wings! You should let them rest!" Zandik says with a panicked caw.
Alhaitham frowns as he dislodges Zandik's hands from his shoulders, "They're fine. I don't feel any pain."
Zandik immediately holds Alhaitham's upper arms, forcing Alhaitham to look at him, "Look," he starts, voice clearly trembling, "I really want to make love with you," Alhaitham looks at him weirdly, "I really do. But your wings were injured pretty badly… you almost died," Zandik's eyes start to water, causing Alhaitham to flinch in surprise, "you almost died from blood loss, solely from the wounds on your wings," Zandik doesn't even care if right now ugly fat tears are streaming down his cheeks, "it's good that you live and apparently you can move your wings now. But when you arrived you didn't even have a heartbeat. Sigma Build managed to perform a heart resuscitation and you were in a critical state for 36 hours. The wounds on your wings closed off too quickly before Sigma Build had the time to rearrange your bones, so he needed to cut you open several times to make sure that your wings wouldn't become deformed but you kept losing blood. We almost had to amputate your wings to minimize the blood loss since it started to feel like keeping them was no longer worth the sacrifice," Zandik feels Alhaitham shivers under his hands so he pulls him closer into a hug, "but you looked so happy when you had a flight with Alpha Build, and you said you didn't get to fly often. Your wings mean a lot to you. We didn't dare to take them away from you."
Alhaitham is frozen stiff, he blankly stares at Zandik's chest, mind still reeling from the information dump. He knows that he almost died, Zandik's worry to the point of tears only make the experience all the clearer to him.
Alhaitham shakily exhales a breath he doesn't realize he has been holding. His hands shakily take place on Zandik's chest before he gently pushes himself away from Zandik's hug.
"I know your self-healing ability is outstanding, but please let your wings rest for a few more days just to be sure," Zandik quickly says as tears are still streaming from his eyes, and yet he frees Alhaitham from his hug.
Alhaitham stares at Zandik's face, staring straight into Zandik's teary eyes and observing the differences on his face.
If Alhaitham has to compare, Zandik's face is most similar to Doctor. The difference lies in that Zandik's hair is shorter and brushed neatly.
Alhaitham gently cusps Zandik's cheek with his hand and Zandik sniffles, the way he does that is eerily reminiscent to Doctor's face when his business partner visited them that Alhaitham almost smiles in amusement, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Zandik tenses up and freezes, more tears are pooling up in his eyes again, then he holds Alhaitham's wrist, "Promise me you won't leave me?"
Alhaitham blinks, taken aback, "I won't."
Zandik holds Alhaitham's wrist tighter as he presses his cheek to Alhaitham's hand, "Promise me."
Alhaitham silently stares at Zandik. This solidifies his suspicion. His mate, doesn't matter which version, is afraid that he will leave them, which is odd since they're mated. It isn't like Alhaitham can leave. …. Is it because of their odd circumstances?
Alhaitham brings his other hand to also cusp Zandik's cheek, "I promise I won't leave you," he whispers softly.
Zandik stares into Alhaitham's eyes, trying to gauge how true his promise is, before he greedily grabs Alhaitham's other wrist, "We failed to protect you," as if confessing his sins, a new wave of tears stream down Zandik's cheek, "we failed to provide security. We are a horrible mate," Zandik continues with effort between his sobbing.
Alhaitham stares at Zandik, wide eyed, unsure of how to proceed. Technically, yes, his mate has failed to fulfill the protection part of the deal, but that doesn't mean Alhaitham can simply go away and find a better mate because of it. Lifelong bonds don't work like that but why does his mate think he can go away as he pleases? And not only Zandik, every version of his mate has shown the same line of thought.
In the end, Alhaitham smushes Zandik's cheeks with his hands till his face looks ugly, "Yes, you did," he says because he knows that his mate won't think otherwise, but he takes a special note to address his suspicion later.
Zandik closes his eyes, causing more tears to overflow, and Alhaitham finally decides to comfort him. He presses a kiss at the corner of Zandik's eye, erasing the tear stain.
Zandik starts to calm down.
When Alhaitham starts to pull away, Zandik lets out a whiny caw.
Alhaitham presses another gentle kiss at the corner of the other eye, he kisses longer this time.
Alhaitham has not tried to pull away yet Zandik already lets out another whiny caw.
Alhaitham feels the corner of his mouth twitch up. Alright then, seems like his mate needs a little coddling. Showering him with kisses is not particularly hard.
Now that Alhaitham has the luxury to read all the books he wants all day, since Zazan and Zandik are colluding to make sure that he's on bedrest, he finally finishes reading the books Doctor gave him as his mating gift.
Alhaitham closes the book and stores it inside the drawer under the bed. His wings, now free from bandages and only slightly stiff with some bald spots that will regrow later, are slightly spread behind him to balance himself as he leans down to store the book among the rest of his mating gifts.
When Alhaitham stands up, his eyes catch the frostphore ore Zandik has gifted him sitting on the nightstand. Zandik gave him quite a big raw chunk of it. There's a sunbeam coming from the window which falls straight on it and the ore is now a glittering turquoise color. At night, when there's no longer sunlight, the ore will glow a dim crimson-orange-ish color but if a moonbeam shines on it, there will be a fight of colors –green, turquoise, and crimson– within the ore. It was quite a spectacle.
All lights in the master bedroom were turned off.
Zandik was kneeling down in front of the bed, presenting the ore which was the epitome of equilibrium to Alhaitham with both hands, grinning so wide and happy as if giving Alhaitham gifts is the greatest joy in his life.
Alhaitham stared, entranced, not at the ore but at his mate's face which was painted under the multicolor glow from the ore. His breathing was faint, as if he was afraid that the moment would shatter if he breathed too loudly.
His mate is handsome, Alhaitham knows that. But seeing that face smiling wide at him, because of him, …. Alhaitham didn't know how to respond.
Zandik saw that Alhaitham's face slowly became flushed and he preens, not knowing that it's not because of his gift, "Do you like it?" Zandik asked, it wouldn't hurt to get some verbal approvals.
Alhaitham stared at Zandik, seeing the long eyelashes adorning his mate's lit with happiness eyes that are the characteristics of Sumerian, before sensing that his face felt hot.
Alhaitham blew an exhale through his mouth to try calming down his heating face but it barely did anything.
He crossed his arms, slightly flustered, "I'm already yours. There's no need to keep trying to court me with gifts."
Zandik chuckled without a hint of disappointment, "I know," he said before placing the ore on the nightstand, "but back when we had our mating exile, I said I'll get you one."
Zandik sat down beside Alhaitham, who grew a bit more flustered from how close they are, to stare at the ore on the nightstand, "I also know from your answer that you don't really like it," Alhaitham snapped his head to look at Zandik and Zandik charmingly grinned at him when their eyes met, causing Alhaitham's face to flush more, "I was also pretty sure that you have no use for it but I still bought it anyway since it's very pretty," Zandik reached out to caress Alhaitham's exquisitely dusted with flush cheek, inwardly becoming more delighted when the saturation of the flush increased, "almost as gorgeous as my dearest scr- moonlight."
Alhaitham blinked at the slip up and he was about to ask about it if Zandik didn't cusp both of his cheeks and smushed them until he was unable to open his mouth.
"My dearest moonlight," Zandik repeated with his everpresence happy smile, his wings which were folded tightly to his back were the only sign of his nerve.
Alhaitham snorts when he remembers what happened. Then he lightly pats his cheeks when he realizes that they're heating up again.
Alhaitham bites his lower lip as he contemplatively stares at one of the pillows.
Alhaitham takes the pillow before pressing his face to it and softly squeals into it. He feels that it's not enough so he presses his face harder to the pillow and wails.
Two light knocks on the door send Alhaitham scrambling to recover his calm.
Alhaitham's wings are slightly ruffled from trepidation as he sits on the bed with straight back, afraid of looking at the door.
"My Lady, this is Alexei. Is it too much trouble if you see me now?"
Alhaitham subconsciously lets out a sigh of relief. Then he braves himself to look back and sure enough, the door is still closed.
Alhaitham palms his face and relaxes into it.
Not this again. What even is the purpose of this? They're already mated, there's no need for him to act like someone who has just gained a lover.
There's another pair of knockings on the door, softer and more hesitant this time, "My Lady, this is urgent," Alexei whispers from behind the door.
Alhaitham huffs a breath as he pats his cheeks again before he hardens his resolve to get up from the bed and open the door.
Alexei immediately bows his head when the door opens, "My Lady," he greets politely.
Alhaitham opens the door wider so that he can see the corridor better, he can hear noises from afar, "What is it?"
Alexei hunches his shoulders up as he opens his mouth but he closes his mouth again to rethink his decision before he seemingly gives up and says, "This is unbecoming of someone of my status to ask this, but please, please, My Lady. Help me," Alexei starts to fiddle with his fingers, "His Lordship the Omega Build is destroying the kitchen, please talk to him," Alexei says through his clenched teeth, sounding very pained.
Alhaitham blinks, slightly confused, but judging from Alexei's demeanor, he can guess that it's somewhat urgent, "Lead the way," he says and Alexei immediately thanks him before turning around.
They walk through a long hallway, passing through several rooms that have 'enter at your own risk' sign at the door.
They turn at a corner and Alexei slows down as he walks through this particular corridor. Alhaitham can hear the noises from earlier clearer, accompanied by indescribable smells that causes both Alexei and Alhaitham to hesitate to move forward.
Alhaitham doesn't feel like going yet, and neither does Alexei, so he asks, "Where are the other servants?"
Alexei flinches and almost subconsciously looks at Alhaitham but he manages to catch himself and respectfully bows his head, "They're currently managing their duties outside of The Residence."
Although Alhaitham hasn't been able to explore this place fully due to the fear of accidentally triggering the cryo shackle, he is sure that The Residence is big. There should be a lot of servants taking care of it to keep its appearance. Strangely, Alhaitham has never seen any servant other than Alexei.
A small explosion goes off from the room Alhaitham supposes is the kitchen.
Alexei flinches from the sound and takes a step towards the kitchen but in the end he simply stares mournfully at the direction of the kitchen, shoulders sagging dejectedly as if he is already willing to let it go.
Alhaitham can sympathize with him, but he still doesn't want to deal with whatever Zandik has done there so he asks, "Do the servants mostly work outside of The Residence?"
For a moment Alexei is still staring blankly at the kitchen before he finally registers the question, "Yes, My Lady. His Lordship dislikes others crawling all over his resting place so mostly the servants are working in other parts of The Institute, cleaning the places or preparing meals in the cafeteria. The only time the servants are in the Residence is before dawn when it's time for cleaning."
Alhaitham lets out a humm, right in time as something crashes in the kitchen.
Alhaitham notices Alexei grimacing in despair so he finally decides to address the problem and walks to the kitchen. He can hear Alexei's steps hurrying after him.
Alhaitham flinches and subconsciously closes his eyes when he sees the scene inside the kitchen. He can hear Alexei letting out a strangled sound of despair in his throat.
Zandik also hears the noise Alexei makes so he turns around to look. He flinches when he finds Alhaitham standing next to the door with his eyes closed and a frown, causing the glass bowl he's holding to slip from his hands to crash onto the floor and shatter.
From behind his mask, Zandik stares at the shattered bowl on the floor that's now mixed with the dessert he had tried to make for hours, his hands clench and unclench nervously beside him, before he chuckles and says to Alhaitham, "Uh, fancy meeting you here…?" then his wings twitch when he realizes something, "wait. No. Why are you here? You're supposed to be on bedrest," he sternly asks as he walks across the mess on the floor to Alhaitham, his boots making crisp sounds with every step.
Alhaitham hums before he opens his eyes again. He immediately rubs the bridge of his nose when he sees the somewhat familiar scene of the kitchen and sighs.
Zandik stops a few steps from Alhaitham. His wings are lightly spread from wariness at Alhaitham's apparent disappointment.
"What are you doing, Zandik?" Alhaitham asks as he finally puts his hand down to fully look at Zandik.
Zandik flinches from the look on Alhaitham's face and his wings twitch twice, "I… was trying to make a dessert…" he hesitantly says.
"A dessert?" Alhaitham rhetorically asks and Zandik slightly cowers back from his tone, "don't you mean a mess? Because that's all I'm seeing."
Zandik looks around the kitchen, lips spreading in a grimace at the mess he's seeing, before he looks back at Alhaitham and offers him a sheepish smile.
Alhaitham simply raises his eyebrows, unamused.
Zandik wilts under Alhaitham's stare and he looks down, wings shuffling behind him in unease.
Alhaitham sighs before he reaches out his hand to Zandik, "Come here," he orders.
Zandik takes Alhaitham's hand and Alhaitham immediately pulls him out of the kitchen, back to the master bedroom, leaving Alexei behind.
Alexei stares at the desolated mess of the kitchen, feeling defeated. He looks around, finding that he's alone, before he drops to the floor and starts punching the floor in frustration.
Notes:
It has begun.
The dottotham is going to explore the illogical and uncharted area of marriage.
I warn that Alhaitham will be smiling a lot in the latter chapter.
On a completely different note, my new hobby is to bother my cat when she sleeps in the afternoon. It's payback for waking me up at 2 AM. Curiously, she didn't wake me up again in the next morning.
Chapter 31
Notes:
If I'm being honest, the sole reason I write this fic is because I think that Tumblr post about the worst villain will absolutely treat their loved one best suits them so much.
I tried to write something dd-ish but I gave up. It's just not my forte lmao. A shame, I think I have a good theme.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Alpha Build blankly stares at the dark ceiling atop him.
He continues to stare, ignoring everything else. Not paying attention to Prime's voice asking for his attention, and neither at the needle Sigma Build is using to stitch his face back together.
Every segment is equipped with their own 'humanity'. Well, as humane as 'Dottore' can be. But the most humane thing they have is fear of death. Alpha Build is no exception.
Death is quite a big event. Enough for him to have a lasting impression.
When his sentience was exchanged for the Dendro gnosis, Alpha Build was relieved that he no longer had to carry on his duties. Other than that, he also held contempt at Prime, a little bit furious at him for doing as he pleased. Those two feelings were almost enough to push the nagging fear of death to the bottom of Alpha Build's stomach.
Alpha Build continues to be unresponsive, still staring blankly, even when Sigma Build is pulling the skin of his face as he pleases.
But when he lost his sentience that night, the fear of death had never been truer.
He had feared that he would fail to protect his mate, to protect Alhaitham.
He feared that if he died, Alhaitham would follow soon after.
A stream of electro suddenly courses through Alpha Build's whole body. His body convulses and jumps against the table, the only thing holding him down is a strap of leather across his chest. Yet strangely, Alpha Build can't feel himself coming into focus.
Perhaps…
Perhaps he's not ready to hear about Alhaitham, yet.
Unfortunately, Prime's face appears in Alpha Build's periphery. While his body is still convulsing from the current and is seemingly reacting to the pain, Alpha Build's eye still holds some sort of blankness as he observes Prime's face.
Alpha Build notes that Prime's appearance is less dignified than usual. His hair is more unkempt than ever and there's a dark portion of skin under his eyes.
Prime haughtily squints down at him, "Although you appear to be unresponsive, I'm sure that you're awake," he says before he turns off the stream of electro.
Alpha Build's head lolls to the side once his body calms down. His breathing is ragged and slowly the pain trickles into his consciousness once the numbness that seeps into his brain parts. Slowly, his eye rolls to look at Prime.
Prime simply looks down at Alpha Build for a moment before his demeanor starts to crumble. He leans back to another operating table and slumps down, closing his tired eyes and massaging them with a sigh.
"Alhaitham is fine," Prime says, voice a tad bit less assertive than usual and that's when Sigma Build who comes along because he is bored realizes that there's another reason as to why Prime insisted to rebuild Alpha Build this early, before he places both his hands to support himself to keep his dignity, "he is well, and is currently stressing himself out by teaching Omega Build how to cook."
Alpha Build's only response is a slow blink of his eye.
Prime sucks in a breath before hardening his appearance, "I'm sure you know that you aren't supposed to be rebuilt after your failure as your punishment," then he wears his mask to cover his upper face but both Sigma Build and Alpha Build notices that his eyes are slightly misted, "I've decided to rebuild you with your memory intact due to three reasons. 1) because that assassination attempt indicates that Alhaitham is on their hit list, 2) because Alhaitham is worried about you and he will be very sad if he knows that you're gone," hearing that, Alpha Build's eye finally clears up while Sigma Build is rolling his eyes, "and 3) think of it as a reward."
Prime turns around to a wastafel and starts washing his face with cold water, "Sigma Build, finish the rest. Repair Alpha Build's appearance as best as you can," he orders Sigma Build as he brushes his hair with his fingers, trying to better his appearance.
Sigma Build shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, trying hard to not comment about Prime getting soft, "Oh, I can do better than that," Sigma Build brags, "with… the right resources, I can turn Alpha Build to be less ugly."
Prime hums as he cracks his neck and stretches his wings before walking off to wear his coat, "Then you do that. I'll go talk with Arlecchino."
Sigma Build frowns, "I hope you're seeing her to make her pay."
Prime stops in his tracks before he turns around to look at Sigma Build, then he nods knowingly after a moment, "You think that everything is but a waste of resources," Sigma Build simply shrugs with a nod so Prime flicks his wings and continues, "would you prefer that we forget about Alhaitham's assailant then?"
Sigma Build bristles his wings, "Don't assume shits about what I said," he seethes, "what use is doing any of these? Why not just hit them where it hurts?"
"I agree with Sigma Build," Alpha Build's scratchy voice pipes up.
"Thank you," Sigma Build says while slightly glancing at Alpha Build's location.
Prime folds his arms behind his back with a sigh, "I see that both of you are eager for revenge. But keeping in mind that since the assailant is most likely a part of the rebel group, it's a matter of the military. Adding to that, the fact that the assassination attempt was done on a civilian ground, even the Supreme Court has moved their eyes on the matter," then he tiredly shrugs his shoulders, "I'm not saying that our hands are tied. It's just that it will be hard for us to detangle our hands from this mess once we take part, so I wish to not participate as much as possible."
Sigma Build falls silent and Alpha Build no longer says anything. Seeing that there's no more thing to say, Prime turns around to leave.
"Prime," Alpha Build calls out in his broken voice, stopping Prime in his tracks again, "you said that the third reason is because it's a reward. I failed, what are you rewarding me for?"
Prime doesn't turn around, "... You didn't know this, but Alhaitham had never smiled wider than when he was having a flight with you," Prime can sense that Alpha Build is still waiting for more answers so he continues, "Alhaitham was happy that time, and he has been happier in general now. For some reason, your little impromptu date and your blunt confession has turned Alhaitham to be more open," Prime opens the exit door, "that in itself is worth the resources spent and will be spent to fix you," he closes the door behind him.
Alpha Build is speechless and the laboratory is silent for a long time until Sigma Build opens his mouth, "So… was it worth it?"
Alpha Build glances at Sigma Build, and although Sigma Build is wearing his mask, he can sense that his expression is sour, "What?"
Sigma Build waves his hand dismissively, "Ah, nothing much. Y'know, like, going against your base instinct for survival."
Alpha Build's eyebrows twitch from annoyance, "I was carrying out my duty."
"Nu-uh," Sigma Build wags his finger, "don't play that with me. I know that instinct for survival is wired at a higher priority for you than carrying out orders."
…
Alpha Build can't deny that.
Sigma Build snorts before he doubles over from cackling, then he supports himself on the table where his tools are laid, "Amazing," Sigma Build calmly comments once his laughter subsides, still leaning on the table and thoughtfully looks into the distance, "confessing your love to him before sacrificing your own life to save his life…. Heh, pretty sure Omega Build has at least one romance book with this kind of plot."
Alpha Build growls, "What are you trying to say?"
Sigma Build turns around to sit on the table and smugly looks down at Alpha Build, "Eh… just appraising your achievement," then he looks away while slightly biting his lower lip in thought, "you left quite an impact on Alhaitham, y'know. You were the first thing Alhaitham asked about even though that was the first time he saw Omega Build."
Sigma Build glances at Alpha Build with a grin, checking his expression. Alpha Build's eye is wide as he stares at Sigma Build, trying to process what he just heard. Then a light flush starts coating Alpha Build's cheekbones and Sigma Build grimaces from how ugly Alpha Build looks.
He really has his work cut out for him.
Alhaitham and Zandik are sitting on the couch in the reading section of the master bedroom, huddled together.
Alhaitham's wings are healthy now. They no longer have bald spots on them and they're no longer stiff. If Alhaitham wants to, he can go back to soar the sky. Unfortunately, his worrywart of a mate is still insisting that he lets his wings rest. Alhaitham supposes that him being allowed out of bed is already too much for Zandik.
On the other hand, Zandik, who is holding one of his crude romance books, can't focus on his reading at all. The controversial dirty lines on the page simply have less allure than his mate whom he can do all kinds of things with right beside him. But he's still recovering from injuries, so Zandik needs to hold back.
… the hole around his phallus is loose, but the heat surrounding his love organ wraps it in some sort of coziness that's hard to describe. The hole twitches and the walls rub his phallus enticingly, urging it to explore deeper…
Zandik purses his lips in disappointment. The vague writing style is surprisingly interesting. Under normal circumstances, it would have caused Zandik to read faster in excitement, but Zandik can't help but think that the facts are wrong.
Alhaitham's hole is always tight even after several hours of fucking, all hail falcon breed's genetics, and his inside is by no means 'cozy'. It's hot. Swelteringly so that anyone can't help but want to ram inside and make it hotter by adding cum. Also, Alhaitham is not that prudent, if he wants to step up the pace then he would have asked for it loud and clear.
Oh… but this book isn't about Alhaitham, is it?
Zandik loudly closes the book before slamming his forehead to it, catching Alhaitham's attention.
"What's wrong?" Alhaitham asks.
Zandik snaps his head to look at Alhaitham and with a stiff smile he answers, "Nothing."
Alhaitham squints his eyes in suspicion before he continues back to read his book.
Zandik secretly lets out a sigh of relief but soon he curses himself when his eyes catch what Alhaitham is wearing and are unwilling to look away.
Alhaitham is wearing a 'loose' white dress shirt that's loose everywhere else except for his chest that he needs to unbutton three of his upper buttons, and yet the shirt is still able to bring Alhaitham's mounds together to form a cleavage. But the problem doesn't end at that. Because three of the buttons are unbuttoned, almost all of Alhaitham's collar bones are showing and not only that but also the lingerie he is wearing today.
Zandik closes his eyes for a second, not knowing whether he should be lamenting or praising Alhaitham for using lewd lingeries everyday as if it's simply his underwear.
But then again, calling it lingerie might be a bit of a stretch. Zandik knows which one the lingerie Alhaitham is wearing. It's a set of a simple white bra and panties of an almost sheer fabric. Then again, there's not even a single lace on the model, so Alhaitham might have thought that it's just a simple underwear.
But still, it's not a typical man's underwear, why would Alhaitham wear it?
Zandik opens his eyes again and is surprised to the point he almost throws his book at Alhaitham's face when he sees that Alhaitham is now staring at him with a knowing smile.
Zandik's wings are ruffled as he averts his eyes and awkwardly clears his throat, "What is it? Is there any problem?"
Alhaitham amusedly tilts his head trying to make eye contact with Zandik, "I feel that this situation is very familiar," Alhaitham turns and swings his leg onto the couch so that he can see his mate better, while Zandik pointedly avoids eye contact, "but I won't tease you again. I'll just be blunt and ask if it's already the time when you're able to breed a child into me."
Zandik's wings tense up and he snaps his head to look at Alhaitham. He immediately cowers when Alhaitham looks at him with triumphant smile and sultry eyes. Denials about to fly from his mouth quickly crawls back down into his throat to hide.
Zandik folds his lips and looks down. Big mistake.
If worn properly, Alhaitham's shirt is only covering half of his thighs. Now that his leg is up to kneel on the couch, the shirt rides up to prove that what Zandik has assumed as a black leggings is actually a pair of black stockings that reach Alhaitham's upper thighs.
Zandik's eyes grow lifeless as he forcefully makes himself see past everything. The change is so abrupt that Alhaitham leans back in worry.
[Omega Build,] Sigma Build calls from the link, [you horny bastard. Fine. Since you've been holding back for more than two weeks now, it's with happiness I inform you that by now Alhaitham has recovered enough for him to receive a railing.]
Zandik's eyes grow lively again and he suddenly grabs Alhaitham's shoulders, causing Alhaitham to let out a surprised chirp. Then he silently stares into Alhaitham's eyes, which are wide from confusion.
[Just don't lay him on his back. Try not to put him under too much strain. That means you're not allowed to use props,] Sigma Build adds.
Alhaitham's wings are slightly spread defensively when a dark smile slowly blooms on Zandik's lips. Zandik slowly pins Alhaitham's back to the armrest and looms over him, Alhaitham can only stare wide eyed at Zandik in a mixture of confusion and bewilderment.
"Apparently, yes, indeed," Zandik purrs with a charming toothy smile as he stares down in amusement at Alhaitham who's starting to squirm around.
Zandik leans down to murmur at the sensitive part of Alhaitham's neck, "Yes, you're ready to be bred full of my children."
Zandik's smile turns into a devilish smirk when he feels a shiver from Alhaitham under him and hears the soft wistful squeal he lets out.
Zandik is already at peace with the fact that Alhaitham wants to have a child. He figures that a child surely will tie them together. That way, Alhaitham will stay with him. Forever.
[Oi! Did you not hear me? I said don't put stress on his back,] Sigma Build irritatedly reminds from the link.
Notes:
I have nothing to say this time but do tell me if y'all doing great.
If you are reading this,
You are an amazing person and it's a fact. If you think you're not then that's just it. Your thought.
Chapter 32
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Zandik pulls away from Alhaitham with a gratified smile on his face, "Let's move to our love nest, shall we?" Zandik asks amusedly as he reaches a hand out for Alhaitham to take.
Alhaitham blinks before he takes Zandik's hand and Zandik pulls Alhaitham up to his feet before escorting him to their love nest.
Zandik lets Alhaitham's hand go and gestures for him to get on the bed, "Go ahead and lie down on your stomach," he gently orders Alhaitham as he approaches their nest to take out some necessary props, "Oh, and put a pillow under your waist," he adds when he starts rummaging through the drawer under their nest to find what he's looking for.
Alhaitham stares at Zandik for a second, a little bit confused at the change in his characteristics. But then again, Zandik was also like this during their mating exile. And another thing Alhaitham has learned from the exile is that Zandik is a great mating partner.
Alhaitham's wings flutter from excitement. Then he starts circling the bed before making himself comfortable on it.
Meanwhile, Zandik is taking his sweet time picking what kind of props he wants to use. Any form of restraint is a no, whipping is also a no…
Zandik brushes away Alpha Build's mating gift and puts away the sex chest before simply taking out some bottle of lubrication with him and closes the drawer.
It's a little bit disappointing, but it seems that he will have to go vanilla this time. A shame, really.
Zandik stops in his tracks for a moment when he sees Alhaitham obediently waiting for him on the bed, ass raised with a pillow propping his lower half up and his lower face pressed to another pillow. Alhaitham's eyes are focused on his every move and are full of want. There's a light flush of anticipation dusting his cheeks.
Zandik resumes his tracks with a newfound confidence.
Well, no matter. As disappointing as it is, he has a mate to please.
Zandik presses his knee on the bed to climb up. His lips twitch in amusement when he sees Alhaitham trying to have a look at him from above his shoulder. That's when an idea pops in Zandik's mind.
Zandik pushes on Alhaitham's upper back so that Alhaitham is laying down properly before he crawls over him. Zandik hovers over Alhaitham, his chest is brushing with Alhaitham's back as he lets his clothed half-erect dick nestle between Alhaitham's ass cheeks which are only covered by the strings of his panties.
Zandik presses his lips at the back of Alhaitham's neck, right below Alhaitham's trail of plumes. Noting with satisfaction the way Alhaitham tense up beneath him. Zandik can't help the way his lips quirk up from excitement.
" Alhaitham, my moonlight, " Zandik murmurs in Snezhnayan as he mouths his way to Alhaitham's trail of plumes, the way Alhaitham immediately gasps a squeal and arches his back towards him is causing his pants to feel tighter, " do you mind being blindfolded for tonight? "
Alhaitham doesn't answer. He only lets out a purr as he bonelessly plops down on the bed and grinds his ass to Zandik's crotch.
With a newfound giddiness, Zandik leaves Alhaitham's neck to reach his ear, " I'm waiting for your answer, dear, " he says in a low voice that causes his chest to rumble as he shallowly thrusts his hip to meet Alhaitham's movements.
Alhaitham still doesn't answer, and from his place next to Alhaitham's ear, Zandik can see Alhaitham's dazed and flushed expression, as if he's already drunk from his voice. When Alhaitham does answer, he only manages to let out a distracted humm that makes Zandik want to bite his cheek from sheer adorableness.
Fortunately, Zandik doesn't bite. At least, not yet. Instead he starts sucking on Alhaitham's earlobe and licks the back of his ear.
Alhaitham lets out a whiny squeal and changes from grinding his ass to insistently pressing it back to Zandik's hardness.
Zandik whispers into Alhaitham's ear, "I know you like it intense. Unfortunately, I can't play rough with you just yet. But by being blindfolded, you will feel every sensation far more intense," Zandik teasingly blows into Alhaitham's ear, causing Alhaitham to hunch his shoulders with a chirp, "don't you want it, Alhaitham?"
Alhaitham spoiledly lets out a whiny squeal and nuzzles into the pillow he's hugging, still unanswering.
Perhaps Alhaitham wants to hear him more.
Zandik lets out a low chuckle before he starts letting his hands wander. If it's what Alhaitham wants, then he has no reason to not give it to him.
Zandik lets his hands slowly slide across Alhaitham's shoulders and stops at the mounds of Alhaitham's chest, "My dearest moonlight," Zandik purrs out the nickname right next to Alhaitham's ear, inwardly gushing at the cute absentminded humm Alhaitham lets out, "I thought you want my child?" Zandik playfully asks as he squeezes Alhaitham's mounds and pinches his nipples.
Alhaitham flinches before he starts letting out chittering sounds while silently spreading his thighs and pressing his ass harder to Zandik's crotch.
Zandik huffs in amusement. Seems like Alhaitham is getting too comfortable.
That won't do. He had been holding back for a long time already. They can have these cozy snuggles any other time. Right now, Zandik wants to pound his whore of a mate into the mattress.
Zandik stops his treatments on Alhaitham's chest and slides his hands away to unbutton Alhaitham's shirt while caressing Alhaitham's neck with his lips, then Zandik hums, "You know, my field of interest is in psychology. I especially like to observe people, Avians and humans, and then try to read their mental state," the shirt is fully unbuttoned now and Zandik pinches Alhaitham's side, relishing in the way Alhaitham sluggishly twitches from the little pain, "in fact, I must say that I'm good at it."
Zandik slightly pulls away to reposition himself better atop Alhaitham before he starts rearranging Alhaitham's wings to spread. Alhaitham's wings twitch under his initial touch before they grow putty and boneless, allowing him to arrange them as he pleases.
"The quite obvious thing I've managed to read from you…" Zandik trails off as he stacks more pillows under Alhaitham's hips before massaging the base of Alhaitham's wings, causing Alhaitham to purr and squirm under his touches, "...is that you like mating press position."
Zandik stops teasing Alhaitham's wings. He stretches his body to cage Alhaitham's head between his elbows before he plops his whole weight down on Alhaitham.
Alhaitham lets out a muffled, because his head is pinned to the pillow under Zandik's chin, grunt from both the surprise and the sudden weight.
The surprise seems to snap him from his drunken state, though, "Zandik," Alhaitham calls out, sounding a little bit disgruntled, "what are you doing?"
Zandik chuckles from above Alhaitham's head, a little smug smile adorning his lips, "It's a shame but you're not yet allowed to stress your back, therefore I can't put you in a mating press," Zandik explains with amusement and Alhaitham only answers with a grunt.
Zandik lifts himself up slightly, his wings spreading to keep his balance, his lips caressing Alhaitham's ear, "but… thankfully there's other kind of mating press," Zandik suddenly yanks Alhaitham's hips higher while pinning Alhaitham's upper body to the bed with his chest, causing Alhaitham to gasp and Zandik notes with amusement the way Alhaitham's ears turn red, "seems like you've understood the position you're in," Zandik whispers with a chuckle before he starts nibbling at the back of Alhaitham's neck, "The Avian mating press…" Zandik trails off to leave a bite mark around the trail of plumage at Alhaitham's neck and licks the wound, "in fact, I'm quite sure that you like this version more than the human mating press."
Alhaitham's breathing grows heavier and he flexes his wings to spread them wider as he resumes grinding back to Zandik's clothed dick, causing Zandik to realize that it's now at full mast in his pants and that it's quite painful.
Zandik's lips stretch into a grimace as his hand hurries to unzip his pants. The sound of the zipper is particularly loud inside the master bedroom and Alhaitham's wings flutter. Thankfully, Zandik notices it when he tries to free his dick.
Seems like Alhaitham is also wanting but his Snezhnayan is kind of hypnotizing him.
Well, in that case then Zandik should ask his question again, " I apologize. I do want to do all sorts of things with you but you're not yet in your prime health. Can you tell me if you trust me enough to blindfold you?"
Alhaitham doesn't answer for a long time, then he hisses an exhale, sounding a little bit annoyed that Zandik's wings can't help but droop, "Yes, Zandik. I trust you to blindfold me."
Zandik beams even though Alhaitham can't see it and hurriedly takes off his cravat.
When he ties his cravat to blindfold Alhaitham, he can't help but ask, "Does my Snezhnayan not turn you on?"
Zandik asks and then he grows sheepish when his question causes Alhaitham to laugh.
"I'm sorry," Alhaitham apologizes between soft chuckles, "but when you talked in Snezhnayan, you didn't sound as… sexy? …as Doctor."
Zandik feels embarrassed and he laughs to mask it, "I see," he shyly mutters as he ties the knot of the blindfold.
Alhaitham can sense Zandik's sadness from his tone, so he hums, "I didn't say that I dislike it. You actually sounded like a doting lover and it's honestly the kind of voice that I don't mind listening to all day long."
Zandik stares at Alhaitham in surprise, his wings perking up in newfound joy, "Really? Even though you prefer silence?"
Alhaitham lets out a huff of amusement, "Strangely, yes."
Zandik beams again. He really wants to turn Alhaitham to his back and kisses him till he is on the verge of passing out but he can't do that so he moves to take off Alhaitham's panties instead.
Zandik sucks in a sharp breath when he sits back on his heels and finally has a good look at Alhaitham's nether region.
Alhaitham's dick is already hard, straining under the small fabric that absolutely hides nothing. His hole is teasingly covered by the loose string of his panties. If Zandik wants to, he can just brush the string aside and fuck Alhaitham without needing to take off the panties.
Meanwhile, Alhaitham is slowly getting impatient. He can still feel Zandik's stare on his ass and vaguely sense his presence. Alhaitham knows that Zandik likes to take things slow but at this point he's just teasing him.
Alhaitham is about to voice his complaint when suddenly a pair of hands start leaving featherlight caresses along the curve of his ass and Alhaitham gasps.
Zandik watches, entranced, as goosebumps appear on Alhaitham's legs from the simple caress. The corner of his lips twitches when a wave of heat streams into his dick at Alhaitham's reaction.
Delightful. Fascinating! His mate has such a sensitive body.
A drop of precum drips from the tip of Zandik's cock as he decisively rips Alhaitham's panties off. He then ignores Alhaitham's affronted wail in order to dive in to eat Alhaitham's ass.
Alhaitham lets out a loud squeal from surprise as he does a full body twitch when Zandik starts jabbing his tongue into his hole without a prompt.
Zandik shoves his tongue as deep as he can, moving it a lot inside to reap sweet noises from Alhaitham. Saliva trickles down from his mouth onto Alhaitham and it creates a stream down to Alhaitham's cock.
Alhaitham hugs his pillow tighter as his cock twitches because the saliva trailing down on it feels ticklish. Zandik is now sucking on his hole hard and Alhaitham chokes out a wail as he squirms away from Zandik's mouth, trying to escape.
Zandik hums in annoyance before he half-hugs Alhaitham's thighs, stopping him from escaping.
Alhaitham wails and struggles when his escape attempt fails and Zandik starts tickling his rim with two fingers. Those fingers start by rubbing his ever increasingly sensitive rim before they join Zandik's tongue inside his hole and stretching it downward.
Alhaitham can feel his rim slowly becoming soft but it's almost unbearable how hot his rim feels and the movements of Zandik's tongue are sending jolts of electro into his gut.
"Zandik," Alhaitham whines his mate's name before keening when Zandik answers by humming into his hole, "stop-" he starts to whine but he cuts himself off to sucks in a breath and rearranges his shaky thighs to support his lower body better, "no… not enough. Don't stop, but also stop teasing me… wait, no… ah-" Alhaitham moans in disappointment when the tongue inside his hole is gone.
When Zandik pulls away, his lower jaw is wet from saliva and he's softly chuckling at how adorable Alhaitham is.
Zandik stares at the still tight hole twitching around his fingers before he takes note at Alhaitham's dripping cock.
Alhaitham's wings flutter when he feels the coldness of lubricant dripping on his hole. He groans when the excess lubricant drips down to his cock.
On one hand, Alhaitham wants to feel his mate's cock deep inside him. On the other hand, Alhaitham is aware that the preparation on his hole is not enough. It has been quite some time since his hole was used, it needs some thorough preparations before it can handle his mate's length.
Alhaitham can't see with his eyes, so he can only wait in dreaded excitement of what Zandik will do to him next.
Alhaitham's back arches and he lets out a loud wail when Zandik's fingers which were previously slowly working his hole open suddenly plunge deep to massage his prostate. Then Alhaitham plops back down on the bed with a punched out keen when a hand starts milking his cock.
"I apologize but your hole needs more preparation for what is about to come," Zandik says and Alhaitham can sense hints of teasing in his voice, "now spread your legs wider so that I can pleasure your cock better," he suddenly orders in Snezhnayan, causing Alhaitham to whimper out a pathetic squeal and spread his legs shakily.
"Good boy," Zandik purrs out a praise and the underside layer of his wings shiver at the way Alhaitham's hole and cock reacts to it.
Once Zandik is done prepping Alhaitham, Alhaitham is a twitching mess ready to be railed. His hole is winking at Zandik, inviting him to come in, his cock is already wet from cumming twice, and his thighs are twitching from time to time, struggling to keep his lower body up.
Zandik licks his lips as he judges Alhaitham's readiness one more time.
Alhaitham's wings are splaying droopily on the bed, still spread just like how Zandik arranged them, and that's when Zandik knows that he probably has taken too much sweet time.
Zandik slaps Alhaitham's ass to alert him up, causing Alhaitham to jump from surprise, before excessively pouring lubricant down Alhaitham's hole again.
Alhaitham doesn't say anything but judging from the way his legs are becoming steady and his wings are perking up in attention, Zandik can guess that he's waiting.
Zandik slathers the leftover lubricant on his hands to his cock and aligns his dick to Alhaitham's hole.
Zandik hisses when his dick slides in so easily until he bottoms while Alhaitham lets out a moan that breaks into a squeal when he cums again.
Zandik grins apologetically at himself. Perhaps he had teased Alhaitham too much.
"Zandik~" Alhaitham moans his name while shaking his hips, urging him to continue.
Well, it's a good thing that Alhaitham seems to still be willing to continue, "I apologize for keeping you waiting, dear," Zandik purrs as he rolls his hip to stir Alhaitham's inside, "your inside feels nostalgic to me," he reasons and Zandik almost immediately regrets having said that.
There's a telltale rustle coming from the link that indicates a Segment is about to say something. So Zandik immediately starts pounding into Alhaitham. Drowning whatever is said in the link with pleasure and Alhaitham's sweet noises.
The next day, Zandik wakes up sensing pleasure between his legs.
It seems like his mate is still insatiable.
Oh well, Zandik still has two weeks off, so he lets Alhaitham ride him to his heart's content.
Alhaitham sweetly gasps for breath next to Zandik's ear with a full body shudder as yet another wave of cum wets his inside. Then he drops his forehead to Zandik's shoulder, finally feeling tired after hours of riding.
Alhaitham gasps for breath a few more times before he finally slumps his whole weight on Zandik.
Zandik himself is only half-awake as he sits with his back leaning on the headboard.
His mate's stamina sure is amazing. He barely did anything and yet he's also feeling fatigued.
Alhaitham has grown boneless on top of Zandik's lap, and is slowly sliding off of him, so Zandik grabs Alhaitham's waist to stop him from falling.
Zandik sluggishly nuzzles Alhaitham's cheek, "Hey," he gently calls Alhaitham awake, "don't fall asleep, yet. Your inside needs to get cleaned."
Alhaitham groans grumpily and blindly pushes Zandik's face away from his face.
Zandik chuckles in understanding before he makes a move to slip Alhaitham off of his dick, but Alhaitham immediately circles his legs around Zandik's waist with a tired yet angry hiss.
Zandik immediately lets Alhaitham go before raising his hands in surrender, a helpless smile adorning his lips.
In the end, Zandik simply lies down on his side, bringing Alhaitham along with him, and falls asleep with the evidence of their love making apparent on their person.
Notes:
Rejoice, Alhaitham!
Your mate who likes to spoil you the most has arrived.
Chapter 33
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Columbina hands a cup of steaming hot tea with extra sugar and honey to Arlecchino with a sweet smile, "Here's your tea…" before she pours one for herself.
Seeing as Arlecchino doesn't even thank her for the tea, Columbina simply stirs her own tea and decides to start the conversation herself, "It's a wonder how Dottore hasn't hunted you down for an answer, you know."
Arlecchino, who was about to sip her tea, immediately places the cup down with a groan, "Don't bring that up. It's true that he hasn't met me personally yet but he has been lounging in my shadow since that incident as if he's planning to assassinate me."
Columbina softly chuckles, not even sorry, "It's to be expected, no? His mate almost died, didn't he? In all honesty, the fact that Dottore hasn't come to find you yet is more mind-boggling to me than the fact that you couldn't find any trace of the assailant."
Arlecchino grits her teeth and throws her face away from Columbina to look through the window. Her frown deepens when he catches the sight of Pulcinella walking with his brat in tow from the southern gate to the throne room. She grits her teeth when she sees that Capitano is also approaching the throne room from the eastern gate.
Noticing Arlecchino's agitation, Columbina also takes a look through the window and almost immediately notices the three other Harbingers outside.
Columbina's lips stretch into a gentle yet ominous smile, she hums in amusement, "Oh my, The Palace has been full of Harbingers lately. It seems that Her Majesty will hold another meeting. To think that there will be a second meeting concerning Dottore's mate, Lady Alhaitham sure is loved," then she hums before continuing to speak her minds, her tone a bit softer from thinking, "but then again, since Lady Alhaitham is the Second Harbinger's mate, even The Supreme Court is taking the matter seriously. More importantly since the assassination attempt occurred on a civil ground, targeting a diplomat to boot.
Unlike us, The Supreme Court maintains their power through the support of the common people so right now they must be very busy," Columbina claps her hands once when another thought hits her, "oh, wait. Lady Alhaitham is also the key to our trades with Sumeru, right?" Columbina giggles in excitement before she clears her throat and calms down, "ah, I can see now why Lady Alhaitham is so important."
Columbina leans to the window and slightly stretches her head to have a better look outside, "Then I suppose that they're going to have a meeting to discuss about the rebel," she lets out a delighted exclaim, "considering that you failed to catch the assailant, it will be a miracle if they let you in in the meeting other than for sharing information," Columbina lets out a cheerful humm before she finally take a sip of her tea, "I hope they do let you in, though. The fact that the assailant managed to escape from someone with your skill means that they're capable."
Arlecchino massages her face and is about to snap at Columbina but she stops herself when she feels a presence behind the door.
"Show yourself!" Arlecchino orders and her face grows darker when the door clicks open and reveals Dottore.
Columbina presses her palm to her mouth to hide her excitement while Arlecchino grows tenser by the second the longer Dottore doesn't say anything.
"Why are you here?" Arlecchino finally snaps.
For a while, Dottore simply tilts his head and folds his arms behind his back, continuing his silence. Then, he silently walks inside with a flick of his wings.
Dottore slides back one of the empty chairs at the table Arlecchino and Columbina are sitting at, deliberately slow as if he's deep in thoughts but Arlecchino can sense his burning stare.
Dottore sits down. Columbina silently offers him a cup of tea and he silently refuses with a wave of his hand, his full attention on Arlecchino whose face continues to grow darker from annoyance.
Arlecchino grits her teeth, finally fed up, before she says, "Speak your business, Dottore. You're not invited to this table."
Dottore silently stares at Arlecchino for a while longer before he tilts his head as a cold and empty smile blooms on his face, "Pardon me, then," his wings ruffle up in a brief fluctuation of emotion before they return their calm, "I would love to not barge in, but you keep hiding away from me."
Arlecchino lets out a soft growl that she fails to hold back, "Watch your words," she hisses, "and why don't you start talking about your business for coming here instead of spouting nonsense."
Dottore crosses his arms and leans back to his chair, "Actually, I think you deserve a little bit more insults for your mistreatments towards me."
Arlecchino grips the handle of her cup so hard that there's a cracking sound, causing Columbina to let out a soft sound of protest, "Again, I warn you. Watch your mouth," the cup shatters and tea spills onto the table, causing Columbina to silently lament, "what possible misconducts have I done to you?" she says through gritted teeth.
Dottore slightly pushes his chair back to avoid the spilled tea, "You said you will assist me in protecting my mate, but not only did your men fail to assist Alpha Build, your men also let the culprit away," his wings agitatedly ruffle as he lets out a sigh, "and I waited for two weeks for you to inform me yourself of what had traversed and yet not even once you tried to contact me."
Arlecchino is very annoyed, but she keeps her silent.
Dottore sighs again, "Thus, I've decided to cut off our joint cooperation. it truly is a pity. Especially since Her Majesty and The Supreme Court will find someone to put the blame on."
Arlecchino is glaring at Dottore now, face red from sheer anger but she still keeps her silence.
That glare means nothing to Dottore, he continues without care, "I'm sure that soon there will be a meeting at the throne room to discuss this matter," Dottore rearranges his wings and sends Arlecchino another cold smile, "I'll try to not make Her Majesty punish you to the point where you can't go to Fontaine for your mission," Dottore tilts his head again, "after all, I'm not that cruel, am I?"
Arlecchino moves, about to punch the smile out of Dottore's face, but one of her children appears at the door, "'Father'," she pauses when she notices the other Harbingers present and swallows back her words before walking closer to whisper directly to Arlecchino's ear, forcing Arlecchino to calm down, "Her Majesty is looking for you."
Arlecchino gives her a small nod and dismisses her with a wave. Once the child is gone, she sends her glare at Dottore again, but Dottore is already standing up from his chair.
"Well then, shall we?" Dottore mutters to no one, but it jabs at Arlecchino's side where it hurts, before he walks out without looking back.
The Harbingers are a group of dangerous people Pierro had recruited that work together out of an aligning interest.
In The Regrator's words and Arlecchino quote, 'The relationship between each Harbingers is strictly business'.
Just like the rest of the Harbingers, Arlecchino has her own goal to achieve, and she will be damned if a measly rebel group fails her plan before it can even start.
. . .
"...ndik… Zandik, wake up!"
Zandik doesn't know what the time is, but he wakes up to the sound of Alhaitham's urgent whisper.
Zandik lets out a lazy groan to signal Alhaitham that he's awake but he still keeps his eyes closed.
Alhaitham shakes Zandik's shoulder, "Wake up!"
Zandik finally cracks his eyes open. A very beautiful sight of a naked Alhaitham still seated on his dick with obvious marks of love-making, looking all embarrassed, greets his eyes and Zandik looks on blankly, wondering if he's still asleep.
Alhaitham squeaks in surprise when the dick inside him twitches to life and he subconsciously clenches his hole.
Zandik hisses at the tight sensation. He glances at the window to see that it's already morning.
It's unknown how much time they had spent in bed but Zandik won't turn down an opportunity to have morning sex with his beloved scrunkly.
Zandik sends Alhaitham a drowsy smile, "Good morning, Moonlight," he greets and watches in amusement as Alhaitham visibly shudders from hearing his morning voice, "do you want to have another session? You can just go ahead without waking me up first, you know."
Alhaitham shudders and arches his back when the dick inside him hardens, but with great effort, Alhaitham recovers his bearings, "No-" his words get swallowed back when he feels that the cock inside him is now rubbing at his prostate, Alhaitham places his hands on Zandik's chest to support himself, "Nno… that's not it-" his words get cut off again because of a squeal he lets out when Zandik starts thrusting his hips up.
Zandik chuckles, "Oh, don't be shy… I don't mind you treating me like a toy for a while longer," Zandik lays his hands on Alhaitham's waist, "it's also in my best interest as well as yours, isn't it?"
Alhaitham's whole body twitches as he sputters, "S-shtop," he lets out a wail once Zandik's cock starts grinding his prostate, "Zandik, stoph!"
Alhaitham keens one last time before he hardens his resolve and flicks his wings then yanks Zandik's bangs with both of his hands, "I said stop!"
Zandik immediately stops in order to let out pained caws, "aw, aw-aw. Alright alright, I'm stopping," Alhaitham doesn't let go of his bangs so he grabs both of Alhaitham's wrists as a silent plea, "I'm sorry-I'm sorryyyyyyyyy. What's it?"
Alhaitham yanks Zandik's bangs again out of frustration, reaping a whiny caw from Zandik, and he would have continued to do so if there wasn't another more important thing, "help me go to the bathroom," Alhaitham mutters, his face heating up from embarrassment.
Zandik blinks, confused, "What?" he asks then realization hits him and his wings ruffle in pride, "are your legs too shaky?"
Alhaitham flaps his wings a few times from embarrassment and annoyance, "Shut up. Just help me," then his face deliciously grows a few shades redder, "I… need to pee…" he mutters under his breath.
Zandik stares at Alhaitham, blank eyed.
Alhaitham lets out a squawk and yanks Zandik's bangs hard, "Why are you getting bigger!" he screeches.
Zandik laughs, ignoring the pain from his scalp, and hooks his hands under Alhaitham's knees and just stands up, "Alright, alright. I apologize."
Alhaitham finally lets go of Zandik's bangs in order to circle his hands around Zandik's neck. Zandik smiles at Alhaitham, oddly cheerful, and Alhaitham glares at him, daring him to say anything. Thankfully, Zandik knows better.
"There you go…" Zandik says as he carefully puts Alhaitham down on his feet, hands holding Alhaitham's waist just in case.
Alhaitham waits for a long while but Zandik doesn't let go of his waist, "I can stand by myself," he grits through his clenched teeth.
Zandik looks at Alhaitham, wide-eyed in feigned concern, "Can you? I don't want you to slip here."
The base of Alhaitham's wings twitch, "So what? Are you just going to hold me and stare at me?"
Zandik tilts his head, feigning innocence, "What's wrong with that? I've had my tongue in your ass before, haven't I?"
Alhaitham simply glares silently at Zandik.
Zandik will admit, Alhaitham actually looks so ravishable with that angry glare and red face, it causes Zandik to want to bully him until he grows putty and obedient under him. But Zandik doesn't want to push it too far, so he smiles in understanding and slowly lets go of Alhaitham's waist.
Alhaitham's knees shake and buckle the moment Zandik lets go, but he immediately supports himself on the toilet, flaring his wings warningly at Zandik who's about to touch him again.
Zandik raises his hands in surrender and steps back. Then he watches, his lips are not curving up but he's very amused.
Alhaitham can sense Zandik's eyes on him. But he can't do anything about it since he's already at his limit, so he simply arranges his wings to cover his body as much as he can.
Zandik feels a little bit disappointed, but he still watches with full interest as Alhaitham's face becomes redder till the red spreads to his chest. Then, Zandik swears, the sound of trickling water has never sounded so scandalous before.
Inwardly, Zandik is grinning and cackling like a mad man.
[Omega Build,] Alpha Build calls from the link for the first time ever since being rebuilt for the second time, [you are a mean bastard,] he comments.
[Oh, shut up and just recuperate well. Let me have my fun,] Zandik responds to the link as he silently stalks a circle around Alhaitham.
Alhaitham huffs out in relief once the mortifying event ends but his relief gets cut off as he scrambles to find purchase on the toilet when fingers are suddenly shoved inside his hole.
"Zandik!" Alhaitham yells and then he lets out a squeal when the fingers go deeper into his abused hole, "what are you doing?!" Alhaitham manages to ask between his Avian noises.
"Helping clean up my cum," Zandik answers shamelessly.
Alhaitham's hole is slightly swollen, probably because his healing ability is already at work because otherwise it would have been injured, and most likely very sensitive judging from how red the rim is. Zandik observes with dark eyes as his fingers spread the walls, causing the thick cum, which was lazily oozing out, to stream out in large quantities like a squeezed cream pie.
The sight is truly wonderful. Zandik is getting the urge to latch his mouth to that hole and sucks the cream dry.
[Can you stop?] Sigma Build asks, [so fucking gross.]
Omega Build doesn't answer because suddenly Alhaitham's knees buckle and his ass is now pressed to Zandik's face.
Zandik is in Celestia.
At the lab in Zapolyarny Palace, Sigma Build makes a disgusted face at Omega Build's behavior. He's very grateful for being able to express his emotion unlike Alpha Build, who needs to keep his facial muscles still, or Prime, who's in a meeting with other Harbingers.
Sigma Build lightly injects a serum to Alpha Build's face, "it's a simple Avian Biology, but if they continue fucking like that, Alhaitham will probably starts having mating seasons again," he comments.
Alpha Build slowly rolls his 'eyes' to focus on Sigma Build, [How come?] he asks through the link.
Sigma Build's face scrunches up, "Which part of 'simple Avian biology' do you not understand?"
Alpha Build simply stares at Sigma Build.
Sigma Build lets out a dramatic groan as he starts to nimbly stitch Alpha Build's face, "Avians have pheromones that they subconsciously waft off when they mate. Kinda like cats and dogs but not as intense that we can actually smell it," he starts to explain, "wait, no. You can probably smell his scent," Sigma Build adds in an afterthought, "so anyway, the pheromones are subconsciously produced by our body and it can affect production of some hormones," Sigma Build pauses for a moment and purses his lips in thoughts, "actually, nevermind. Sometimes I forget that Alhaitham is a male Avian and our pheromones probably won't affect him the way it would female Avian. But, I will wager that his body will take the pleasure for granted, causing him to have some sort of withdrawal."
Alpha Build's face is flat, he can't move his muscles yet, but his 'eyes' are dim in thoughts, [He mentioned that the Amurta's sage claimed that he has some sort of mutation in his genes. His insatiable sex drive proves it…] Alpha Build adds his thoughts from the link, [but y'know, I've never seen someone's body as dysfunctional as Alhaitham's. It's as if his instinct and body are incompatible. Why would his instinct urge him to mate more when it would be useless since Alhaitham is unable to conceive?]
Sigma Build hums thoughtfully, "True. Perhaps Alhaitham's instinct is actually telling him to breed a female Avian but he, for some reason, ends up being the one getting bred instead," Zandik stops stitching for a moment to lean back and laughs but then his mind suddenly recalls back to every instances when Alhaitham get fucked and suddenly he doesn't feel like laughing anymore, "now that I think more about it, that's highly unlikely since if there's a mistake then his body would have realized it sooner."
[Well, it's because he can get pregnant, obviously,] Omega Build joins in the discussion.
Alpha Build's eyebrows almost twitch at the ridiculous claim but then he figures that maybe something had happened when he was still unbuilt, [He is?]
Sigma Build lets out a harsh sigh that borders a groan, "No, he is not," he snaps, "Omega Build is just having an enlightenment about his breeding kink. Also, don't move!"
[... What?] Alpha Build hesitantly asks, not sure if he wants to know in the first place.
Sigma Build finishes the stitches with gusto before he turns around to find a place he could sit on, "That nasty pervert came to me a few days ago to rant about Alhaitham wanting to have a child, which was Alhaitham's way of seducing Omega Build by the way, saying that he's not ready or whatever and now look at him, ready to father hundreds of Alhaitham's chicks."
The surgery on his face might be done, but Alpha Build is still not allowed to move a muscle. So he simply keeps quiet. The kind of quiet that lets people know that he's judging them.
Then both Alpha Build and Sigma Build flinch when they see from Omega Build's perspective what he's doing to Alhaitham in the shower.
[Omega Build,] Sigma Build calls, full on grimacing from disgust, [I wish that Alhaitham will be afraid of you and starts avoiding you later after he knows just how much of a pervert you are.]
Notes:
Midterm is stressing. If y'all having exam week(s) right now, good luck and stay strong.
The hard time will end sooner or later.Also, didn't realize this fic hit 100k words last update.
... I'm seriously questioning where I will take this story to.
Chapter 34
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Alhaitham stretches his legs with a moan at the back of his throat.
Zandik stops lazily mouthing the sensitive part of Alhaitham's neck in order to stretch his lips into a dopey smile, "Someone is having the time of their life, it seems," he teases as he continues to lazily thrust into the delicious heat of Alhaitham's hole.
Alhaitham pulls on Zandik's hair, silently asking him to bring his head up. His movement is slow and lazy, spoiled.
Snezhnaya is always snowing, hence why It's called The Everwinter, so it's always cold. But in this room, particularly in this bed, under Zandik, Alhaitham feels so warm and comfortable that his vision sometimes swims.
Their mouths lock in a kiss that turns into a tongue war, until Alhaitham's fang grazes Zandik's tongue and it bleeds. In turn, Zandik nips Alhaitham's tongue, it also bleeds, and their blood mixes in their mouth. Alhaitham arches his back with a moan at the sweet taste of iron while Zandik greedily shoves his tongue deeper into Alhaitham's mouth, searching for more of that sweet concoction.
When Alhaitham starts clawing at his back, Zandik pulls back. His tongue is sticking out, a rope of saliva with hints of red trickling back down into Alhaitham's mouth, which is opened to gasp for air.
Zandik looks down at the beautiful sight under him and his lips spread in a satisfied lustful grin.
Alhaitham's face is 'dirty'. His hair is messy, his bang is skewed in every direction, showing off his forehead. Trails of a mixture of saliva and blood flow from his mouth. Red spreads on his cheeks and the corner of his eyes from pleasure as new tears continuously drip from his eyes every time he blinks, renewing his tear tracks.
Alhaitham looks wrecked, Zandik is proud of it. But he's more proud at the little quirk at the corners of Alhaitham's mouth.
Alhaitham looks so blissfully fucked that Zandik feels his dick twitches, causing Alhaitham to mewl, making him realize that he has stopped his hip's movements.
Alhaitham claws on Zandik's back with a wail when Zandik suddenly starts moving again, then he circles his legs around Zandik's hips to bring him closer and makes a small bite on Zandik's shoulder, "Ah~ ahhh, Oh, this ish peak hedonism," Alhaitham comments, sounded as if he's in the brink of drunkenness.
Zandik chuckles before he holds Alhaitham's knees and spreads them wide. He needs to bite down his tongue to tamp down his excitement from how easy and how wide he can spread them, though perhaps he shouldn't be surprised at all since Alhaitham loves mating press of all things. Zandik is certain that Alhaitham can easily do a split, Prime damnit, he can probably do a >180° split.
Zandik changes his pace midway, slamming so hard into Alhaitham that Alhaitham grunts a moan, "Well, I'm certain that you're enjoying this," he hooks Alhaitham's knee to his shoulder while keeping the other spread wide, causing him to easily reach the deepest part of Alhaitham's hole, "so it's a very good thing that you've fully recovered," Alhaitham clenches his pillow and yanks his own hair to ground himself from pleasure, "we should try this again when we're drunk," Zandik slams in hard one more time before stopping deep inside.
Alhaitham keens and he subconsciously lets go of the pillow so that he can bite his hand to muffle the noise, "Hah~ we've had too much sex these last few days don't you think?" he asks once he can calm down enough.
Zandik chuckles as he caresses Alhaitham's inner thighs, sensing the strong muscles twitch under the soft skin, "If the other Segments are here right now, they would have pinned you down and take turns in violating you further," Zandik rearranges his legs to brace himself better before he darkly whispers to Alhaitham, " perhaps, after what you've done to them, they want revenge, " then he quickly pulls out and rams into Alhaitham's ass.
Alhaitham jolts and he lets out a squeal of surprise from the sudden harsh pace. His hands clench the sheet for purchase but when he finds himself still sliding to the headboard, Alhaitham moves one of his hands to hold Zandik's shoulder. New tears stream from Alhaitham's eyes, both from the pleasure and the sting on his skin from how harsh Zandik is fucking him.
"Zh- Zhandik~ shlow down!" Alhaitham lets out a high pitched squeal, "not so intense, phlease!"
" Oh, but why? " Zandik murmurs in a low voice, " don't you love it intense?"
Alhaitham can't answer, he can only moan.
And then, for some reason, Alhaitham starts to giggle.
Although Zandik is surprised, he doesn't stop and instead pounds his wife with renewed vigor.
Oh, how Zandik always loves it when Alhaitham sings.
Alexei stares at his raised knuckle, right about to knock on the door of the master bedroom, with dead eyes.
Another series of loud Avian noises come from behind the door, followed by muffled Snezhnayan whispers from His Lordship.
Alexei expressionlessly blinks. He woodenly looks at the food trolley behind him before he looks back at the door to the master bedroom.
His Ladyship is now squealing out loud repetitive short squeals while His Lordship is shamelessly yelling out Snezhnayan's dirty words.
Alexei lets his arm fall down limply beside him before he turns around and pushes the food trolley away.
Rather than food, he should've brought cleaning supplies instead.
Alexei had overheard when His Ladyship declared that he would no longer let anyone else clean the master bedroom.
He had been very happy.
Unfortunately that was a lie.
Don't get Alexei wrong, cleaning the master bedroom is, of course, his duty as a servant, even if he needs to clean the bed post a love-making session. But never has Alexei imagined that his masters are such sex demons.
They make love almost everyday, multiple times a day. Moreover, the amount of human secretion filths left on the mattress and the bed cover is inhumane, Alexei is sure that it's also un-Aviane.
The old bed is enough of a hassle. The new bed, with its curtains and pillows, is a straight up nightmare.
Thankfully, at this rate his paycheck is still worth it.
Alexei's step falters when he sees His Ladyship in the never-used sewing room.
He's so startled that he doesn't realize he has been disrespectfully staring at His Ladyship for a while now. That's, until His Ladyship greets him by the name and a nod. Only then does Alexei flinch and avert his eyes down.
Alhaitham silently stares at Alexei for a moment before he looks back down at his book. It has started to grate him how jumpy Alexei is around him despite him doing nothing, but then again, that's just how a servant is trained to be around their master.
Alhaitham lets out a sigh without looking up from his book when he senses that Alexei is still unmoving, "Don't you have a reason to be here?" he asks, which finally snaps Alexei from his trance.
Alexei fakes a cough into his fist, "Of course, My Lady. I- I apologize if I bothered you."
Alhaitham lets out a dismissive humm and Alexei takes that as a permission to immediately start cleaning the room.
Alexei cleans the room in a trained manner, although a little bit faster than usual, wanting to be done as soon as possible.
Alexei no longer knows how to act around His Ladyship. It feels like it has been such a long time since they last talked.
Moreover, the state of His Ladyship that night…
…
Alexei won't be surprised if His Ladyship has changed. Especially since His Lordship was the one who treated him.
And even if His Ladyship hasn't changed, Alexei fears that His Lordship has.
Alexei pauses his movements when he notices that some threads and needles are missing.
Inwardly, Alexei tsks. Did a servant become stupid enough to steal again?
Alexei flinches when His Ladyship lets out a hiss of pain. He turns around to take a look, finding the missing threads and needles, and the magnificent sight of His Ladyship's wound healing at a fast speed.
Alexei has heard that falcon-breed Avians possess high regeneration ability. This is the first time Alexei has the honor to witness it firsthand.
Alhaitham lets out a tsk as he lightly flicks his wrist around to get rid of the leftover numbness, snapping Alexei from his amazement.
Alexei hesitates for a moment before he finally braves himself to ask, "Are you alright, My Lady?" he asks, because even if there's a chance that His Lordship is now vowing to not let anyone interact with His Ladyship in order to keep him safe, if His Ladyship is injured near his presence, it's a more absolute possibility that His Lordship will punish him.
Alhaitham tilts his head up slightly to look at Alexei before he looks back down at the big needle he's holding, "No, I'm fine."
Alexei then watches in confusion as His Ladyship starts circling a thread around the needle instead of inserting it through the needle's hole.
"Uhm…" Alexei hesitates again, but when His Ladyship continues to be so clueless that it's hard to watch, Alexei finally speaks up, "May I know what My Lady is trying to do? Perhaps I could help."
His Ladyship's eyes flick up to look at him before they look back down to the needle, "No, I will be fine," he says, but when the thread is yet again slipping from his needle and crumble into a sad heap on the table, His Ladyship finally leans back in frustration.
His Ladyship then looks at Alexei, almost glaring, and Alexei immediately averts his eyes down, "Do you, perhaps, know how to knit?" His Ladyship asks, his voice a little bit hesitant, likely from embarrassment.
Now that's not what Alexei expected at all, "I do… My Lady,"Alexei confirms before he snaps his head down to look at the needles in His Ladyship's hands with newfound understanding, "is My Lady perhaps trying to knit?"
His Ladyship fiddles with his needles for a moment while looking thoughtfully at the pile of threads, "Yes."
His Ladyship is not looking at him, so Alexei takes that as his chance to spread his lips in a helpless and amused smile, then he wipes that smile off his face, "With all due respect, My Lady. That's not a knitting needle. That's a bed needle."
His Ladyship freezes in stunned silence, staring at the needle in his hands, before he snaps his head up to look at Alexei with hints of surprise in his eyes. Then His Ladyship looks back down at his needle. His confusion is apparent, especially when His Ladyship seemingly tilts his head subconsciously.
Alexei holds back his laughter. He has survived this long under The Doctor's regiment, it would be a shame if he dies now because he can't hold back his laughter.
Alexei bites his tongue hard as his last attempt to make sure that he won't laugh, "If My Lady doesn't mind, I can give My Lady a few pointers?"
"... Yes," His Ladyship absentmindedly answers, still looking confusedly at his needle, "that will be great."
Alexei claps his hands once, "Great," then he gets two pairs of actual knitting needles along with some wools from one of the lockers.
Alexei then situates a chair right across from His Ladyship before he sits down and puts down the items on the table, "First of all, may I ask what My Lady is trying to knit?" he asks.
At first Alexei is still looking down respectfully, but when His Ladyship stays silent for some time, Alexei can't help but raise his head in curiosity.
Their eyes meet, but before Alexei can flinch and look back down, His Ladyship has flinched first and looked away. There's a lovely flush dusting His Ladyship's cheeks.
His Ladyship softly coughs to his knuckle, and for a moment the flush on his cheeks intensifies before it simmers down, then His Ladyship looks straight at Alexei with some kind of determination, "I planned to knit some gloves…" His Ladyship trails off and his determination seems to fade as His Ladyship soon looks away, "...but it looks like I don't possess the skill required."
Alexei gapes for a moment, hesitating, before he chooses the safer bet, "Is My Lady intending to give the gloves to His Lordship?"
His Ladyship clears his throat once, "Yes."
Oh. Oh, that's so not in character with His Ladyship that it's cute.
Still, "Why don't My Lady order some and give it to His Lordship? I'm sure His Lordship will still appreciate it even if it's not made by My Lady himself."
His Ladyship lets out a scoff, but Alexei immediately notices that it's not directed at him and it also sounds extremely fond, "Without a doubt that if he really intends to wear one, he would have bought one himself. And yet I never saw him wear something that's even remotely warm and comfortable…" His Ladyship's lips twitch up and his eyes are distant, full of reminiscence, and then His Ladyship sighs, "such a hypocrite. Always telling me to wear warm clothes," His Ladyship mutters under his breath before he seems to snap himself out of it, "I'm certain that he will wear something that I made so I need to knit it myself. Besides," His Ladyship places down a book and opens it to a certain page, "I want to make him something with Sumerian motives."
Alexei blinks at the squarical motives in the book before he looks curiously at His Ladyship, "Why Sumerian motives precisely?"
Alexei thought that His Ladyship couldn't get more lovely, but the way His Ladyship's lips are slightly blooming into a loveful smile proves him wrong, "Because we are Sumerian," His Ladyship looks down at the book as his fingers slowly trail along the patterns, smile still not leaving his lips, "there is a chance that he will hate it, but I prefer to try to make him something that will remind him of his birthplace first."
Alexei stares at His Ladyship for a long while, dumbfounded at the changes. The first time they met, His Ladyship wasn't this much of a happy and sentimental person. Then Alexei's eyes widen when his mind finally clicks.
Ah, they're still in the honeymoon period.
Alexei watches as His Ladyship's eyes grow distant again. A small fond smile never leaving his lips as his fingers absentmindedly caresses the single black earring adorning his ear.
But now His Ladyship is in love with His Lordship.
It's very unfortunate, but Alexei will wish for His Ladyship's long happiness.
"Such a thoughtful intent, My Lady. Please allow me to help you, then."
"Why are you here? Your paid-leave still has a week left," Pantalone snaps at the approaching Omega Build Dottore.
Dottore's lips twitch up into a playful smile, "Why are you here, then?"
Pantalone glares at Dottore who takes the seat across from him, "Because you invited me," he hisses in almost annoyance as his wings ruffle behind him.
Dottore's wings perk up high in smugness, "And you chose to come," Pantalone is now fully showing his annoyance to him and Dottore snorts.
Pantalone flicks his wings to get rid of the ruffle before he pins Dottore with another glare, "Enough of this. Why did you ask to meet?"
Dottore raises his hands in mock surrender, "Well, if only we met at a more private place then I would have showed off the scratches my mate left on my back," Pantalone makes a face, but his perked wings show his true opinion, "but since we are meeting here, let me discuss a favor with you."
Pantalone's eyes glint in greedy light and his annoyance is immediately blown away at the prospect of a deal, "Please, elaborate."
Dottore's lips twitch up into a smirk before he wipes it off and gets serious, "The Diplomatic Office's Book of Bribery. Can you get it? Don't worry, I only intend to borrow it."
Pantalone's wings rearrange themselves to fold neatly behind him, masking his surprise, "Now, that's not what I expected. I thought you were about to ask to be introduced to a sex toy supplier or something," Pantalone tries to joke but when he sees that Dottore is still keeping up his serious business smile, he returns to being serious, Pantalone lowers his voice, "now, friend, you know that the Diplomatic Office is under the jurisdiction of The Supreme Court. Those people don't allow Fatui to meddle with their business, let alone let one touch their Book of Blackmails."
Dottore interlaces his fingers together and leans forward before saying in a voice that matches Pantalone's, "Yes. But that means that someone, particularly a non-Fatui, can be bribed to get the Book, isn't it?" Dottore's expression is impossible to read, hidden under his mask, and slowly Pantalone is getting more alarmed, "I know you have one. That's how you are able to keep track of your business enemies."
Pantalone clears his throat and kicks Dottore's shin under the table, "Quiet down," he hisses before he realizes his mistake when Dottore simply smiles in triumph, "wipe that smile off. I'm not going to lend you my informant. Do you even have the slightest idea how grave your request is?"
Dottore tilts his head with a smile, "Of course, I do. That's why it's called a favor."
Pantalone's lips almost twitch up into a snarl but before he does so, he immediately leans back with a business smile pasted on his lips, "Then I'm afraid that this is not a favor I can do. I don't trust anyone with my private informant," Pantalone can see Dottore's fists clench up in displeasure, "but since you're my friend, I'll tell you this. There's a copy of the Book of Blackmails at each faction in the Diplomatic Office, stored in the archive, and I heard that your wife is one of the people in charge of the archive."
Dottore's wings flex from anger but before the smile on his face can morph into something else, Pantalone already stands up from his chair and leaves without another word, leaving Dottore alone on the vacant restaurant floor.
Dottore leans back to his seat as he starts to absentmindedly taps the table in thoughts, [I hate to propose this, but-]
[NO!] Alpha Build immediately cuts him off, [don't you even dare say it.]
[And you think I feel fine about what I'm about to propose?] Omega Build retorts, distressed, [just hear me out first.]
[You're weighing The Regrator's suggestion, aren't you?] Prime asks, his tone betrays nothing.
Omega Build outwardly lets out a sigh and slightly slumps on the table, [Yes, Prime. I do. But please, listen to me first. This might turn out to be the best decision.]
No one says anything in the link.
Omega Build takes his chance, [As The Regrator has suggested, perhaps we should propose a deal to Alhaitham…] Omega Build trails off, trying to gauge other Segments' reactions.
[Omega Build,] Sigma Build calls from the link, [stop fucking explaining in segments. You're not talking to a potential victim you can scam, for fuck sake.]
Outwardly, Omega Build straightens his back with a grimace, "Right…" he mutters to himself under his breath, [We can ask him to copy the Book of Bribery or, better yet, let one of us into the archive. Then in exchange for his assistance we can give him the list of the traitors in the Sumerian Diplomatic Office.]
Again, the link is filled with silence and slowly Omega Build's chest is filled with ice.
[You fucking simp,] Sigma Build curses in the link and Omega Build flinches, [do you even hear yourself? First of all, we need to get, at least, one other Harbinger's approval before we are allowed to leak that information. Secondly, hey, we need you to help us get the information needed to avenge you and in exchange we will do your mission for you. And lastly,] Sigma Build stops to suck in a breath and Omega Build's wings ruffle in trepidation, [by giving this proposal, you're going to mix Alhaitham into Fatui's affair.]
Omega Build freezes in stunned silence at the last part.
[I agree with Omega Build,] Alpha Build chimes in, surprising even Omega Build himself.
Sigma Build scoffs, [I'm not surprised that you do,] he mocks, [Prime, speak up.]
But before Prime can say anything, Alpha Build speaks up again, [No, listen. Alhaitham is only working in the Diplomatic Office because of the deal with The Dendro Archon. By giving Alhaitham the information, he would no longer need to work there anymore, it'll solve the root of the problem.]
The link falls silent again, not even Sigma Build can refute that.
Then Prime finally speaks up, [We promised Alhaitham a secure nest but The Dendro Archon prevents us from doing so because of the deal she made with our mate,] Prime pauses for a moment, waiting if anyone will disagree, bu no one says anything, [well, it seems that for the first time in a very long time we are all agree on one thing.]
[Yeah yeah, you're right,] Sigma Build agrees but with annoyance, [anyway, I propose that Alpha Build be the one to propose the deal to Alhaitham.]
Alpha Build lets out an angry strangled squawk but before he can say anything, Prime refutes, [No. I'll do it-]
[Wait, really?] Omega Build cuts Prime off.
[Yes,] Prime confirms, cold, [I'll also be the one to accompany him to the archive. Now go back to your work.]
[Uhm,] Omega Build chimes, [who's going to stay with Alhaitham then?]
Sigma Build groans, [Ugh, he's in The Residence, isn't he? He will be fine.]
[I will,] Prime swiftly cuts off the argument that's about to blow up, [and it's also time that Alpha Build returns.]
Notes:
Looking at my draft's mind map, this fic should end soon. No promise, though, some parts in the mind map can really expand quite big.
[Edit]: Nevermind. It's still long. I forgot I'm never good at making a detailed mind map.
Chapter 35
Notes:
I update every 5 days. As it turns out, arranging an alarm for every days divisible by 5 is hard. Why did I think it was a good idea?
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Lord Samuil is in his private nest, busy with planning.
His eyebrows are furrowed in concentration as he thinks of ways to covertly gain more leverage in Snezhnaya. Thing that's significant enough for his progress, but unnoticeable enough to not be noticed by The Knave.
So far, his plan to slowly amass followers has gone very well. He has made a significant effort to help the common people in the less developed areas, making a significant effort to convince them of a better future.
But Lord Samuil has made a mistake.
If only those nobles didn't press him to assassinate the beautiful Avian, he wouldn't have garnered the attention of the force of the Harbingers.
The Knave is already hard to avoid. Now, added with what his Palace insider had said –The Captain and The Young Master are now posted in the Palace– it's safe to assume that the rebel group can no longer maintain their method.
The Captain is usually posted at the sea border with Natlan. For him to be staying at the Palace, The Tsaritsa must have ordered so. On the same hand, The Young Master is The Tsaritsa's vanguard. His station is at the front line.
Three combat powers of The Tsaritsa being in one place at this time, their mission is very obvious.
Lord Samuil lets out a weary chuckle as he massages the bridge of his nose.
Three of the Harbingers' fire powers, cooperating to stop him. Lord Samuil doesn't know if he should feel honored or afraid.
An image of a pair of bloody and snapped wings flashes in Lord Samuil's mind and he flinches. Gone is his earlier little bit of amusement.
Three of those Harbingers are dangerous, but The Doctor is the most dangerous. There's not much known about The Doctor except that sometimes he collaborates with The Puppeteer in developing weapons. To put it simply, The Doctor is a wild variable.
The Doctor could be digging around right now, searching for traces that could lead him to him… or he could be doing nothing.
One of his informants had said that The Doctor is different from other Harbingers, but no one knows why and Lord Samuil hates this uncertainty very much.
Lord Samuil closes his eyes and lets out a tired sigh.
Well, there's no use in trying to guess. It's better that he starts planning. After all, he has a hell he will have to go through.
Who would've guessed that the beautiful Avian is a very valuable political piece?
Alhaitham can never get enough of doing nothing.
The day he will finally get enough of it was but a little piece of imagination from his student days.
Surprisingly, Alhaitham is pissed that his imagination has come true and, for some reason, right now he feels restless that he has nothing to do.
Alhaitham flips the pages of the book in his hands open but from the first page to the end, nothing catches his attention. He snaps the book close and lightly throws it at the coffee table before he kicks his legs up on the couch.
Alhaitham annoyedly stares at the bookshelf that he has read through. Earlier, Alexei went out to buy more threads for him to knit so now he can only occupy himself by reading, but he didn't realize that he had done reading the whole shelf. Now he has nothing to read and none of his mates are around.
Alhaitham stretches his arms up and spreads his wings wide.
What's wrong with him? He isn't usually being this clingy or needing any entertainment.
But that's the case, isn't it? He has always been working and doing something that he considers as resting, mostly reading, in between. That's his schedule. And now that he doesn't have any work to do and he also doesn't have anything to read, he's bored.
….
He has been around his mate, precisely Zazan, too much.
Alhaitham flaps his wings and stands up in one go. Then he starts slowly walking around in the master bedroom.
What's wrong with him? Why's he so restless? Could it be that he feels lonely? No. Falcon breed isn't a social type and prefers solitude. It can't be that he feels lonely.
Wait.
Alhaitham skips –he can't help it– to his mate's desk and search for a calendar.
Alhaitham analyzes the calendar for a moment before he closes his eyes with a sigh.
…Of course. His breed's mating season is near.
…. Alhaitham should tell his mate. But how should he say it? His mate is a Harbinger, he's bound to be busy. Would he really spare 3-5 days to take care of him? Omega Build doesn't seem that he would mind and yet he's leaving him alone right now, different from the rest of his mates.
Alhaitham flinches and his wings shudder when he involuntarily recalls back to when he had spent his breed's mating seasons alone.
Alhaitham meant it when he said it was painful. No drug nor anything can soften the pain. It was a direct attack to the brain. Rooted from Avian's instinct to reproduce.
Alhaitham lets out a harsh exhale and walks around the room a few more times, his wings are slightly unfolded this time, showing how restless he is.
He needs to calm down somehow.
Alhaitham's eyes land on the balcony and he walks the rest of the way there before unlocking the door.
Cold wind immediately blows into the room the moment Alhaitham opens the door.
Alhaitham's wings slightly flutter from the temperature difference and he immediately steps out and closes the door behind him.
Even after Alhaitham has closed the door, the wind is still strong. It caresses him, ruffling his hair and feathers.
Alhaitham feels himself gradually becoming less restless and he lets out a soft sigh.
Snezhnaya is such a quiet nation. Ever since he first stepped into this land, as long as he's not in the citadel, everything is so quiet and peaceful. Mostly because the billowing winds will eat any other noises.
Alhaitham steps closer to the railing before he closes his eyes. Slowly, his hands reach the railing and hold it before he leans into it. Then he spreads his wings wide, letting the wind ruffles his feathers more.
Alhaitham is not wearing his earpiece, and yet even after he lets his hearing reach wide, he can't hear any noise pollution. Just the sound of the wind and little critters.
How amusing. Snezhnaya is known for being a loveless and unmerciful land but why does Alhaitham feel very at home here?
Everything feels just right. The amount of noises, the ambience, and even the temperature.
Alhaitham wonders if it's because there's a chance that somehow he has the genes of a tundra falcon, or perhaps this is just one of The Tsaritsa's spell.
Alhaitham's ears pick up the sounds of footsteps on snow approaching The Residence from somewhere below him and he opens his eyes to take a look.
Immediately, his earlier restlessness returns with a vengeance and without even having the time to think things through, Alhaitham jumps from the balcony.
Prime Dottore silently walks through the courtyard. He's deeply thinking of how he should introduce the proposal to Alhaitham. A few steps behind him, Alpha Build Dottore is walking at a more sedate pace, almost seeming as if he doesn't want to go. He's not sure how Alhaitham will react to him, Sigma Build has changed his appearance so much.
Halfway through the courtyard, Alpha Build senses a sudden movement towards them. Yet strangely he doesn't really feel alerted. He feels like simply looking up to check what it is is enough.
But when Alpha Build looks up and sees Alhaitham jumps from the balcony and glides straight towards them, his heart almost malfunctions.
"Prime!" Alpha Build squawks at the same time as Alhaitham lets out a squeal.
Prime looks up, his wings spread in alertness, and he has just enough time to spread his arms to catch Alhaitham.
Prime grunts when they collide and staggers back. Alpha Build immediately steps forward to support Prime's back when he sees that Prime doesn't stop staggering.
When Prime senses that he has gained enough balance, he lets out an angry caw and hisses at Alhaitham, "What are you doing? Do you have any idea what could have happened had I not recognized you?"
Prime wants to scold Alhaitham more. Oh, he really wants to. But when Alhaitham lifts his head and smiles so happily at him, a lump forms in his throat.
It's simply a small smile, but it's such a genuine and happy one.
[He's alive he's alive he's alive he's alive he's alive…]
[He's happy he's happy he's happy he's happy he's happy he's happy…]
Then Alhaitham leans closer to Prime's face and starts rubbing the tip of his nose to Prime's mask. All the while letting out those specific cheerful chirps.
E-chup e-chup
[E-chup…? Oh, it's the noise a falcon makes when it's greeting their mate.
….
Alhaitham still considers me his mate?]
Prime opens his mouth to say something, anything, but nothing can come out and his lips start to tremble. In the end, Prime can only press their forehead together and let out a soft forlorn caw.
Alhaitham lets out a soft squeal in response and hugs Prime's neck tighter. Then he slightly stands on his tiptoes to kiss the side of Prime's lips.
The kiss snaps Prime enough from his own thoughts to lean away just enough to send Alhaitham a look.
Prime is about to scold Alhaitham again but even if right now Alhaitham is no longer smiling as wide as before, there are still traces of happiness on his face and it softens Prime's ire again.
In the end, Prime can only quip at him, "Well, aren't you happy?"
Alhaitham blinks, and it erases the traces from his face, as if he has caught himself back. Red slowly dusts his cheeks and Alhaitham hides by pressing his face to the crook of Prime's neck.
Oh, so now you're embarrassed? Very well. He will be graceful enough to not comment and simply digs his chin on Alhaitham's crown.
"Zandik's cheerful temperament is very infectious," Alhaitham mumbles.
"Oh, I'm sure he is," Prime drawls and his lips twitch into a smirk when Alhaitham presses his face harder to his neck.
"Well, whatever the reason is, I see that right now you're so happy that you even forget to wear shoes," Alpha Build who was forgotten for a moment suddenly comments.
Immediately, Alhaitham pulls away from Prime's embrace, to see who the speaker is, at the same time as Prime pushing him away, to see if Alhaitham really forgets to wear shoes outside.
Alhaitham really forgets to wear any shoes and Prime really wants to smack his head and drags him inside but he doesn't do it because right now Alhaitham's attention is no longer at him but at Alpha Build.
Alhaitham silently stares at the person wearing Alpha Build's mask. Some part of him is chirping happily, saying that it must be Alpha Build. But this Alpha Build feels wrong. Something is different, and it's not just the absence of the scars on his face which are supposed to be peeking from under his mask nor the fact that he has two eyes now.
Meanwhile, Alpha Build is dying inside. His appearance has changed so much. What if Alhaitham rejects him because of it?
Alpha Build didn't really want the modification, but Sigma Build had insisted. He said that he needs to get the modification because after the incident, his looks went from 'looking like a half-decayed corpse' into 'someone that got mangled by rats in their sleep'. But now Alhaitham has been staring at him for so long that Alpha Build starts to think that perhaps he shouldn't have trusted Sigma Build.
Alpha Build lets out a tsk, a coverup for his real emotion, "At this rate we are going to get hypothermia if you keep staring like that-"
His own words get cut off by his own strangled caw when Alhaitham suddenly lunges at him.
Alpha Build staggers back but thankfully he can regain his balance quickly by holding Alhaitham's waist, "What's wrong with you?" he growls annoyedly in a facade but his facade evaporates the moment Alhaitham starts rubbing his cheek to his temple while letting out soft sad squeals.
Alpha Build freezes for a moment, then his face grows red and he tries to pull away but Alhaitham tightens his arms around Alpha Build's neck instead, locking Alpha Build in a hug.
Unwilling to admit defeat, Alpha Build hooks an arm under Alhaitham's knees and lifts him up in a bridal carry, causing Alhaitham to let out a startled squawk and lean back, his wings are slightly unfolded to balance himself, "Yes yes, you're feeling very happy and sentimental right now, but let's do that inside," Alpha Build drawls boredly as he walks to the main entrance of The Residence, walking past Prime who's taking off his official fur coat.
Alhaitham silently observes Alpha Build's face up close, not knowing that his gaze is killing Alpha Build from nervousness.
That rude and blunt speech pattern and that uncaring expression yet such attentive care every time he touches him…
… this is Alpha Build.
Alhaitham feels his eyes heating up but thankfully a warm fur coat is suddenly being placed on his head, covering his upper body in leftover warmth.
"You never listened to me whenever I told you to wear something warm outside," Doctor says as he walks beside Alpha Build, "I thought that it was fine since everyone has one thing that they are so stupidly stubborn about. But this one is a new low for you," Doctor scolds while he keeps looking ahead, afraid that if he sees Alhaitham, he will forget what he wants to say again.
Alhaitham's lips twitch and he silently leans back, so stupidly off-balance on Alpha Build's arm but thankfully Alpha Build is strong enough to keep him up, to lay his head on Doctor's shoulder.
Both Doctor and Alpha Build pauses their steps to make sure that Alhaitham won't fall.
Doctor clicks his tongue when Alhaitham keeps leaning on his shoulder but then he simply supports the back of Alhaitham's head with his other hand to make sure that Alhaitham won't slide.
"Is this some kind of trust game?" Alpha Build asks when he and Doctor resumes their steps, "because you're putting on quite a high stake since if you fall you will fall head first and probably give yourself a concussion."
Alhaitham doesn't answer, so Alpha Build glances to see his expression. Only to find Alhaitham smiling down at him, looking both so smug and triumphant that Alpha Build's lips almost tick into a snarl.
Alpha Build lets out a harsh sigh when they finally cross the threshold, "What were you doing anyway? Trying to test your legs against frostbite? Because even if you're proud of your regeneration ability, the aftermath of frostbite is this abyss-like itch that if you're too weak to resist will result in very nasty lacerations," Alhaitham is still unanswering, a quick glance from Alpha Build shows that he's still supporting the same expression.
Alpha Build's lips stretch into a snarl and his wings ruffle in vexation. Alright then, be like that.
No servant greets them to put their coat away so Doctor takes off his coat from Alhaitham, aggressively pushing on Alhaitham's head as he does so as a way to vent his earlier desire to smack Alhaitham's head, causing Alhaitham to let out an affronted wail.
Alpha Build lets out a snort but he soon tenses up when Prime goes away without saying anything, leaving him alone with Alhaitham.
Alpha Build doesn't say anything and he keeps himself still so as to not catch Alhaitham's attention, and yet he finds Alhaitham is silently staring at him.
Alhaitham keeps staring on and on and Alpha Build can sense his amusement mounting up along with his own discomfort.
Alpha Build finally can't take it anymore, he clenches his eyes shut as red colors his whole face, "Well, can't you at least get down to your own feet?!" he growls.
Alhaitham softly snorts and rubs his cheek to Alpha Build's temple one more time before he amusedly says, "Put me down then."
Alpha Build lets out an annoyed exhale before he does so. Although, despite his apparent annoyance, he does so so very gently that Alhaitham quietly giggles to himself.
Alpha Build flicks his wings and glares at Alhaitham from under his mask, his face still red, "Why in the world are you so cheerful? What did Omega Build do to you?"
[Excuse me?] Omega Build immediately responds from the link, [I'm sorry, I wasn't really paying attention earlier but why do I sense that you're accusing me of doing something to my beloved scrunkly.]
Alpha Build inwardly rolls his eyes before he reiterates his question, "What happened to you that you're acting so cheery?"
Alhaitham is silently staring at Alpha Build again with that expression. Alpha Build's lips twitch from extreme annoyance but before he can lash out, Alhaitham has circled his arms around his neck again in a tight hug.
"Am I not allowed to?" Alhaitham asks, his voice is so heavy that Alpha Build doesn't even want to snark, "after I was told that my mate is dead and yet here he is? Standing before me and even able to carry me around?"
Alpha Build can't see Alhaitham's face but just from listening to his voice alone, his heartbeat already accelerates.
Alpha Build's finger twitches, his arms are itching to hug Alhaitham back, but Alpha Build refrains and instead asks, "Wait, who told you I'm dead?" Alpha Build then makes a face, he already reaches the answer without Alhaitham telling him, "It was Omega Build, wasn't it? That stupid pervert," he mumbles under his breath, right below Alhaitham's ear and Alhaitham softly laughs before tightening his hug.
Alpha Build only hesitates for a moment longer before he slowly circles his arms around Alhaitham in a loose embrace.
"Actually, I believe the fact that my breed's mating season is near is also a factor," Alhaitham adds.
Alpha Build freezes.
There are sounds from a pair of footsteps running to the foyer and not long after, Prime appears.
"What?" Prime caws.
Notes:
Can you see that Alhaitham has grown very spoiled?
Chapter 36
Notes:
Y'know, there's this one song that always plays in my head without my permission whenever I was writing the fluff part of this fic. You might probably have heard it, the one that went, "I just wanna get high with my lover..."
So like, I got curious and googled it and apparently the song is called Moonlight by Kali Uchis, and I was like, "Oh, this is fate."
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hands….
Hands on his body… caressing his skin and preening his feathers….
Oh, Alhaitham misses having at least 2 partners.
"So you finally decided to tell me the time of your mating season?" Prime asks as he nimbly brushes the feathers of Alhaitham's left wing aside to check for the wounds.
Alhaitham doesn't answer so Prime looks up, only to find Alhaitham practically melting to the bed while letting out chittering noises louder than the motor of Snezhnaya's cargo ship.
Alpha Build isn't helping.
"Sigma Build has done a commendable job," Alpha Build reports as he lightly massages the muscles of Alhaitham's right wing, causing Alhaitham to lightly twitch with a squeal, "I don't find any abnormality in the way the muscles are healed, and Alhaitham doesn't seem to be in pain," he says before he massages the muscles from the scapula to the tip, causing Alhaitham to keen as his back arches before he slumps bonelessly on the bed and, somehow, lets out louder chittering sounds.
Alpha Build snorts as he grins down at Alhaitham in fascination, "It's safe to say that he's healthy," then he sends an amused look at Prime, "I will even say that he's more than healthy."
Prime unamusedly stares back at Alpha Build. Finding that Alpha Build is still looking at him with amusement, Prime blinks unimpressedly at him before he looks at Alhaitham, who's now hugging as many pillows as he can and nuzzles into them, then looks back again at Alpha Build.
"Very well," Prime says before he quickly stands up and leaves the room.
Alpha Build stares in bewilderment at the door Prime just closed, [Prime?] he asks from the link, just to make sure.
[I have some things to do,] Prime answers, [in the meantime, keep Alhaitham company. I'm sure he has many things to say to the person who confessed to him and then died.]
Sigma Build's cackling can be heard from the link, [Hohoh, emotional drama starring Alpha Build. This ought to be entertaining.]
Alpha Build outwardly flinches, [Pri-]
Prime cuts him off, [While you're at it, go ask Alhaitham if he has any specific necessity for his mating season.]
Alpha Build grimaces in real time.
Alpha Build is too busy in the link to the point he doesn't realize Alhaitham is already sitting up.
A hand grabs Alpha Build's collar and with a strangled squawk, Alpha Build is pulled onto the bed.
Alpha Build lets out a muffled grunt when his face is pressed to something soft. Judging from how intense he can smell Alhaitham's scent, Alpha Build can guess that Alhaitham is pressing his head to his chest.
… it's pretty comfortable.
Omega Build snorts from the link, [it sure is 'pretty comfortable',] he mocks.
Alpha Build tsks to the link, [Why are you watching? Sigma Build I can understand, but don't you have work to do?]
[I do, but I can spare some awareness to witness this,] Omega Build banters, [ever heard of something called 'payback', Alpha Build?]
Alpha Build grunts to the link and tunes out of it.
Alpha Build doesn't try to escape from Alhaitham's embrace.
Like this, he can feel Alhaitham's warmth, smell his scent, and hear his heartbeat. A complete contrast to that night where he could only feel coldness seeping into his being –physically and mentally– smell the scent of blood, and desperately try to maintain Alhaitham's heartbeat.
The underside layer of Alpha Build's wings shiver.
Trauma? That's new. Especially since it's not about him.
Alpha Build feels Alhaitham hug him closer and hears him start chittering.
This feels nice… so nice that Alpha Build starts to feel sleepy, "I don't remember us being this cuddly," Alpha Build comments.
Alhaitham stops chittering to let out a humm, "How weird. Especially since I clearly recall remarkably well of you clinging to my torso and ordering me to pet your hair."
Alpha Build can hear snickerings coming from the link as he tenses slightly, "That doesn't count."
With a chuckle, Alhaitham squirms his way down the bed so that he can see Alpha Build face to face.
Alhaitham rubs their cheeks together, "Then we can start being cuddly from this point onward," Alhaitham says and he sounds so spoiled even if Alpha Build doesn't see his face.
Alpha Build makes a face. For Prime sake, what did Omega Build feed him?
[He-]
Alpha Build forcibly tunes himself out of Omega Build's connection, "Why?" Alpha Build grunts the question, "why do you want to be cuddly with me of all Segments?"
Alhaitham slightly pushes himself away from Alpha Build to have a look, causing Alpha Build's wings to immediately perk up in attention as they make eye contact.
Alhaitham drops his face on the bed, his cheek slightly squashed under the weight of his own head, "Why not?" Alhaitham offhandedly mumbles the question, causing Alpha Build's face to scrunch up in annoyance and twinkles of amusement to light Alhaitham's eyes, "birds are generally cuddly," Alhaitham continues.
"You weren't this cuddly with Sigma Build," Alpha Build argues.
Alhaitham lazily stretches his wings without getting up before he folds his wings neatly behind him, "I was unable to since he kept overreacting every time I touched him," Alhaitham explains, "but the next time I see him, I'll cuddle him. I'll force him if I have to."
[Well, that's it, folks,] Sigma Build announces in the link, [consent doesn't matter in this relationship.]
Alpha Build lets out a snort and doesn't say anything for some time until he realizes that right now he's basically forced into a cuddle.
Alpha Build pushes Alhaitham away from him with a scowl, "I don't enjoy cuddling."
Alhaitham catches Alpha Build's wrist to stop him from getting away and sends Alpha Build a dry look, then Alhaitham simply rolls his eyes and pulls Alpha Build closer again, "Then I guess I'll have to force you."
Finding himself being pressed to Alhaitham's chest again, Alpha Build immediately struggles and kicks out, trying to free himself from Alhaitham's cuddling.
Alhaitham growls in annoyance when Alpha Build keeps struggling so he rolls his body onto Alpha Build, pinning him under his weight.
Alpha Build growls before he stops struggling, defeated. Thankfully he can finally fully tune himself out of the link now. Though Alpha Build wonders, how come Alhaitham is able to keep him down. Alhaitham shouldn't even be able to hold a candle against him if he uses his strength.
Oh, wait. Emphasize on the "if". He's subconsciously not exerting any strength in order to not accidentally hurts Alhaitham.
Alpha Build lets out a long groan of annoyance, "Why me?" he slightly whines.
Alhaitham snorts in triumph and his wings are perked happily, "Again, why not?" he repeats.
Alpha Build becomes so suspiciously silent under him that Alhaitham is suddenly reminded of Alpha Build's self esteem. That's when Alhaitham realizes that Alpha Build's question holds more weight than just a whine.
Alpha Build continues to be quiet so Alhaitham starts scratching the back of his ears and playing with his hair, "Can't I cuddle with the man I love?"
Alpha Build jumps under Alhaitham, enough to jostle Alhaitham's body with the force, causing Alhaitham to let out a surprised wail, before he pushes Alhaitham to his side so that he can clearly see his face, "W- what?" Alpha Build asks, stuttering and voice cracking.
"You love me?" Alpha Build asks again, sounding so very confused, "oh, you meant you love 'Dottore'. You should be more clear on that. Next time, say that to the 'Dottore' that you really love instead of saying that to me and hoping that the 'Dottore' you really love hears it from the link," he scolds.
Alhaitham's lips slightly purse into a scowl and he lightly claps Alpha Build's cheek, snapping Alpha Build from his rambling to look at Alhaitham with wide eyes, "I love 'Dottore'," Alhaitham slowly says, making sure that Alpha Build really gets what he is saying, "I love Doctor, I love Zandik, I love Zazan," he declares one by one, not knowing that with every confession he said, each mentioned Segment stops whatever they're doing to clutch their chest, "and, of course, I love my Waqa," Alhaitham declares lastly, still with the same voice but with a softer tone as he gently caresses Alpha Build's cheek under his thumb.
Alpha Build stares unseeing at Alhaitham for a moment before suddenly his face flushes red, unfortunately he's not wearing his mask so Alhaitham can see it, "What?!" Alpha Build caws, "who is that?" he asks again, confused but mostly panicked, "wait. Me?" Alpha Build stares incredulously at Alhaitham, "me? I'm 'your Waqa'?"
Alhaitham smiles at Alpha Build, a smile wide enough to squint his eyes, "Yes."
Alpha Build gapes at Alhaitham for a while longer, flustered and flabbergasted, before he averts his eyes away, "Who are you to give me name as you please?" he barks but his face is still flushed whole.
Alhaitham chuckles before he leans forward to press the tips of their noses together, "I'm your mate," Alhaitham says, like it answers everything.
And annoyingly, it does.
Alpha Build's eyes clench shut because his face is scrunched up into a snarl of embarrassment, "Who gave you the permission to name me? And why 'Waqa' of all things?"
Alhaitham presses a kiss at the tip of Alpha Build's nose before he leans back, "I decided to take the matter into my own hands. One named himself after a meditative discipline when he's the epitome of 'can't stay still' while another one literally named himself 'heretic'. I think it's a safe bet for me to help you pick a name," Alhaitham explains and Alpha Build feels embarrassed on the behalf of his other Segments, "as for why it's 'Waqa'... you protected me, didn't you?" Alhaitham asks as he stares straight at Alpha Build with eyes Alpha Build is unable to decipher but it suffocates his chest.
For a long time, Alpha Build can only stare back to those eyes, his mouth opening and closing, unsure, "I didn't," Alpha Build answers at least, his voice is barely above a whisper as if he's confessing a sin, "I failed to protect you. You were hurt."
Alhaitham observes Alpha Build's crestfallen expression for a moment before he pinches Alpha Build's cheek, causing Alpha Build to let out a pained squawk and his face to scrunch up.
"You didn't fail," Alhaitham says as he caresses the area he just pinched under his thumb, "I'm still here, am I not?"
Alpha Build stills. He stares wide-eyed at Alhaitham and they silently observe each other. Then Alpha Build holds Alhaitham's wrist, searching for the heartbeat, and it's there. It's really there. Alhaitham's heartbeat. Clear and fast.
Alhaitham sees Alpha Build's eyes start to mist as he holds his wrist tighter, but never enough to hurt, "Hence, 'Waqa'," Alhaitham gently whispers, "unless you prefer something like 'Lord Protector'?"
Alpha Build sends Alhaitham a glare but his eyes are still misted so it doesn't have much impact, "'Waqa' is fine," he growls.
Alhaitham snorts and sends Alpha Build a sweet smile before he leans closer to continue their cuddle.
Lately, Alhaitham has taken a liking to the balcony.
Snezhnaya doesn't have much sunlight, but the weather is still pleasant nonetheless.
Alhaitham lightly taps the spoon he used to stir his cup of tea on the edge of the glass, causing drops of tea to fall back down to the cup.
The teas here are very delicious. Alexei is very good at brewing them. They're delicious enough that Alhaitham doesn't miss coffee so much.
When Alhaitham takes a tentative sip of his hot cup of tea, a cold wind blows at him, caressing his hair and wings. Alhaitham's wings flutter. The wind is cold, but since the tea is hot, he feels very comfortable.
Alhaitham can hear the balcony door click open but he doesn't turn around since he is sure that it's his mate, most likely Doctor since he's the only one who bothers to announce his presence.
Alhaitham's tranquility is cut short with a startled wail when a thick blanket falls on his head, covering his face.
Alhaitham blindly places his cup, which thankfully doesn't spill, down on the table before he struggles to take off the blanket.
When Alhaitham manages to take off the blanket and gather it in his arms, Doctor is already seated across from him. Alhaitham can't gather anything from his face since he's wearing his mask but from the way his wings are slightly flared, Alhaitham can guess that he's amused.
Doctor slightly tilts his head up to look at Alhaitham and stops in his tracks, as if he has just realized that Alhaitham is looking at him, then he tilts his head to the side, "What seems to be the problem?"
Alhaitham sends Doctor the stink eye, "Rude."
Doctor tilts his head to the other side, as if saying that he doesn't understand but his facade is cracked by a little upturn of his lips, "It's ruder to accuse someone of being rude, you know," he says as he pours himself a cup of tea.
Alhaitham scoffs, causing Doctor's lips to fully bloom into a smile, but he then simply lets out a sigh and does what Doctor wants by covering his shoulders with the blanket.
Doctor flashes Alhaitham a satisfied smile, "Good," he purrs and Alhaitham rolls his eyes, causing Doctor to let out a tut, "don't be like that now. Stop going out with clothes inappropriate for the weather. Hypothermia is considered a deadly ailment because the victims are rarely aware that they're going to die," he chides before he takes a sip from his cup.
Alhaitham's eyebrows twitch as he dryly looks at Doctor. He looks at the hypocritical fool that's not even wearing his coat and having his neck bare due to a half unbuttoned shirt.
Doctor seems to catch the meaning of Alhaitham's look so he puts his cup down with a scowl, "I'm different."
Alhaitham looks at Doctor for a moment longer before he stands up with a sigh.
"I said I'm different," Doctor says, almost as if defending himself, when he sees Alhaitham standing up.
"Whether that's true or false," Alhaitham mutters under his breath, Doctor can barely hear his voice under the sounds of the wind, "I don't intend to find out," Alhaitham says as he drags his chair next to Doctor's seat.
Doctor watches on as Alhaitham takes his own cup of tea before sitting down next to him, his wings raised warily. But when Alhaitham takes off the blanket from his shoulders and leans to his side, everything clicks.
Doctor lets Alhaitham nestle snugly under his wing before he blankets him with his wing. Then Alhaitham spreads the blankets over their laps before he picks up his cup of tea again.
Alhaitham lets out a humm as he sips his tea, subconsciously snuggling deeper to Doctor's side, "You're warm," he comments before he holds his cup with both hands, trying to warm his hands and ended up holding his cup awkwardly since the cup is not that big.
For a moment, Doctor simply stares frozen at Alhaitham before he seems to snap himself out of it and lets out a haughty snort, "Of course. I told you, I'm different," Doctor says before he reaches for Alhaitham's left hand.
Alhaitham rolls his eyes again at the remark but he immediately looks at Doctor when he takes his left hand away from his cup.
Doctor is not looking at him. He appears to be nonchalant as he sips his tea but Alhaitham can see the faint red dusting his cheek under his mask.
Doctor is not looking at him and he also doesn't say anything but he silently holds Alhaitham's hand warm and gently brushes Alhaitham's hand under his thumb.
Alhaitham's lips twitch and his eyes light up in understanding. He lets out an amused huff before he places down his cup and intertwines their fingers then covers their hands with his right hand.
The cold wind blows at them but this time Alhaitham doesn't feel the refreshing cold in the slightest, the warmth from their body is enough to ward against the cold. Even so, Alhaitham still tries to burrow himself deeper to Doctor's side, greedily searching for more warmth.
Doctor huffs an amused huff before he tilts his head to the side, laying it atop Alhaitham's head, then he savors the warmth for a moment before he finally says, "I thought you no longer experience mating season."
Alhaitham doesn't answer for a while, then he lets out a lazy humm, "What gives you the idea?"
Doctor silently rubs his cheek on Alhaitham's head for a moment, his eyes looking far into the horizon, "We have different breeds, so it warrants some research. I looked into your breed's mating period long ago, just to make sure that at least a version of me will be around. When I noticed that the period had almost ended, I thought…" Doctor trails off but Alhaitham doesn't speak up yet, he lets him take his time, then Alhaitham hears Doctor gulps, "...I thought you didn't want to spend your mating season with me."
The base of Alhaitham's wings twitch and he lets out a sigh, "Doctor…" Alhaitham trails off, he almost chides his mate but then he changes his mind with another sigh, Alhaitham leans his whole weight on Doctor's side, "first of all, I didn't really think of my mating season because thinking about it too much will only make it more painful later since I didn't exactly have a partner to spend it with. Secondly, do you mind telling me why each and every of your Segments thinks that one day I'll leave and never come back?"
Doctor's body tenses up but he doesn't say anything for a long time. His breathing is very faint, as if he's trying to make himself invisible.
Alhaitham rubs his cheek on Doctor's upper arm, "Doctor, we are mated for life. I might regret admitting this to you but you really need the reminder. I can't leave you even if I want to."
Doctor is still tense and quiet for a while, then he lets out a sad coo before he says, "When it comes to the matters of being mated for life, you're as naive as Alpha Build," he says with a sigh.
Alhaitham is frustrated. That doesn't answer much and he really wants to smack some sense into his mate. Then Alhaitham realizes that his mate is probably not ready yet to admit an insecurity of his. So Alhaitham simply silently presses a kiss to the side of Doctor's mouth.
"Then… even if I can leave, I'll always choose to stay," Alhaitham says, his declaration doesn't sound like a promise, it sounds like it's the truth and Doctor's heart stutters, "I'll stay. Because you're a good mate, Dottore."
Doctor's shoulders tense up and he needs to put down his cup because his hand is trembling too much. Alhaitham sees it so he reaches out for his hand.
Doctor's wings are slightly ruffled and his breathing pattern is a mess, so he gulps a breath once and paces his breath to calm down, "Will Alpha Build and I suffice?" Doctor asks as a way to avert attention away from himself.
Alhaitham squeezes Doctor's hands once, "It ought to. Don't worry too much about it. It's just a mating season."
Notes:
Fun fact about the Segments' nicknames.
I actually have a reason in naming them.Zazan: or Zazen is a certain yoga pose. Though, Sigma Build didn't actually choose that name because of the meaning. It's literally just [(Za)Zan]dik. But Alhaitham thought that surely, surely, his mate didn't simply made it up and it must have a meaning.
Waqa: when it comes to Sumerian names in my fic, I googled a list of them and just pick them at random or choose them if I see that the meanings fit. The latter is the case for Alpha Build. Funny thing is, I first googled some Sumerian name that means 'protector' but I mostly only got the names of deities. I don't think it fits so I searched further and found Waqa. Then, later on I tried to Google it again but I couldn't find that website anymore and if I googled what 'Waqa' means, it literally translates into 'to fall' and I think that it's hilariously ironic so what the hell, why not.
Zandik: I googled it. Apparently it literally means 'heretic' in Persian(?). I had an epiphany because like, this guy went to the Akademiya with this name. He's seriously not subtle at all (On the other hand though, you can't really accuse someone is a heretic because his name is a heretic. But in Sumeru where titles seem to be very important, it's kinda weird that he chose such a name, or maybe he has always been self aware and actually taken pride in it). So the reason why Omega Build chose to be called this is basically because he acknowledges himself as a heretic in that he worships Alhaitham because he's a simp like that.
Doctor: I think it's pretty obvious.
Chapter 37
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"'Don't worry too much about it. It's just a mating season'," Doctor mocks under his breath as he preps Alhaitham's hole with his fingers, which is unnecessary since it's still soft courtesy of Omega Build, "then why did I catch you almost spearing yourself dry on Alpha Build?" he asks in annoyance with a rough twist of his fingers.
Alhaitham lets out a squeal and his legs twitch, almost to clamp shut but Doctor grabs his thigh and forces his leg to spread. Then Alhaitham lets out a chuckle that turns into a squeaky wail when Doctor harshly massages his prostate in retaliation. Alhaitham squirms and pulls on his hands, which are unfortunately being restrained quite strongly by Waqa.
Alhaitham lets out a gasp when Waqa's mating gift is slowly inserted into him, probably as a punishment, then he moans and struggles to meet the mating gift when Doctor starts to slide it in and out. Unfortunately, Waqa's hold is firm and Alhaitham lets out a whine in annoyance.
From the corner of his periphery, Alhaitham sees a slight movement. It's Waqa's big ugly cock. Already hard and twitching with some glistening trails of precum along its length.
Alhaitham rubs his cheek to the cock.
Waqa hisses from the contact of his cock with Alhaitham's soft cheek. His cock twitches and produces more precum.
Seeing the cock teasing his periphery is looking more delicious, Alhaitham lets out a distracted humm and twists his neck, hoping to lick it. Unfortunately, Waqa notices his intent and moves out of Alhaitham's reach while still pinning Alhaitham down.
Alhaitham makes a noise of protest that wavers when Doctor starts slipping a finger into his hole alongside Waqa's mating gift.
Prime hums to the link, [This is going to take a while. Let him have it for now,] he orders Alpha Build.
Alpha Build snaps his head up to look at Prime. He looks at him hard and long, trying to figure out why the prepping will take more time when it's clear that the hole is ready. Then it clicks and Alpha Build looks at Prime incredulously.
[Prime…] Alpha Build hesitantly calls from the link, unsure of how to ask this, [why are we going for double penetration? I'm pretty sure that when Alhaitham said two of us ought to suffice he means that we are taking him in turns or at most we fuck his mouth and hole at once.]
Waqa tries to be serious but unfortunately when his attention is away, Alhaitham has somehow escaped his hold and is now kissing the length of his cock.
Alhaitham rolls to his stomach before he mouths the cock's side for a moment while letting out noises of content at the back of his throat as Doctor slips in another finger to his hole, "Such a big…" Alhaitham trails off as he touches the cock with his tongue, "...ugly…" his tongue presses on a particularly prominent twitching vein of the cock, "...cock," he murmurs to its skin as he starts mouthing along the pulsating length to its dripping head.
Waqa hisses when Alhaitham reaches the head of his cock and starts teasing it. But he doesn't try to shy away again and instead clench the sheet to slightly ground himself.
Alpha Build glares at Prime, whose expression is far too serious for someone who's currently sexually touching someone, [Answer me Prime,] he growls to the link, more because Alhaitham is now sucking on the tip of his cock, [and don't tell me that you plan to propose the deal when Alhaitham is not in his right mind.]
Prime finally return Alpha Build's look with a glare of his own as he roughly insert the third finger into Alhaitham's hole, which causes Alhaitham to moan into Alpha Build's cock that in turn causes Alpha Build to shudder, [Of course I don't plan to do that,] Prime answers, ignoring Alpha Build who has lost his heat and is now desperately trying to refrain himself from face-fucking Alhaitham, who now has half of Alpha Build's cock in his mouth, by clenching Alhaitham's hair.
Alpha Build forces himself to focus enough to glare suspiciously at Prime, although his hips are making small aborted jerks towards Alhaitham's mouth who, in all honesty, looks more than happy to be used, [What's your reason then?]
Prime sniffs before he looks down at Alhaitham's hole then starts wiggling his fingers and pulls the object in and out, [For someone whose breed uses sexual activities as a way to bond. Sometimes Alhaitham seems to show fluctuated sexual drive akin to that during mating season,] Prime bites Alhaitham's ass, ignoring the squeak Alhaitham lets out and then Alpha Build's groan, [I'm unsure if it's simply his sexual drive or other thing at play. But a pattern I've noticed is that his fluctuated sex drive won't appear after a particularly intense fuck. We are going to double penetrate him, to see if this theory is correct,] Prime licks the blood off of Alhaitham's ass and exchanges a look at Alpha Build.
Alpha Build looks back at Prime, though his eyes are unfocused as he has given in and fucks Alhaitham's mouth gently, [... I understand. But before I agree, tell me why you want to control his sex drive now of all time.]
Prime hums to the link as he pulls out his fingers and the object, leaving Alhaitham's hole twitching and gaping wide, [After this…] Prime trails off as he uncaps a bottle of lubricant and pours it straight to Alhaitham's gaping hole, causing Alhaitham to groan and Alpha Build's hips to stutter, [...things are going to get very serious,] Alpha Build stills, his cock deep in Alhaitham's mouth, and look at Prime with clarity in his eyes, [I'm trying to control it now in hope that Alhaitham's sex drive will not pose as a distraction later when things are getting dangerous.]
Alpha Build stops to look at Prime for a moment before he doubles over with a hiss because Alhaitham lets out a whine around his dick and has started sucking, Alpha Build gasps, [Fine. I agree.]
Prime lets out a snort before he frees his cock from his pants, [Well, insert your dick first then,] he orders as he pumps his own cock with leftover lubricant.
Alpha Build grunts to the link before he looks down at Alhaitham, wondering how he should get him to let go of his dick. In the end, he just gives up and simply opts to roughly wrangle Alhaitham's jaw and slips out.
Alhaitham lets out loud noises of protest that are soon silenced with a whimper when Doctor spanks his ass.
" Stop making a fuss. We are getting to the main course, " Doctor says in Snezhnayan and he watches in amusement as Alhaitham's wings immediately lumps down obediently, who knows if it's because of the accent or the promise.
Either way it sends his cock to twitch so Prime leans forward to whisper near Alhaitham's ear, " Here's what will happen, dear. We are going to make a mess of your inside at the same time, " then he slowly slides his hands under Alhaitham's arms and pulls him up, Alhaitham doesn't even twitch, he's just limply letting Prime moves his body like a doll, " will that be too much for you?"
And a doll he is, a particularly sexy and titillating doll, when he simply lolls his head back, baring his neck to Waqa, to lean on Doctor, "Ravish me then, My Lord," Alhaitham agrees.
Whether intentional or not, Alhaitham's answers sends Waqa's heart to race.
To calm down a little, Waqa pinches Alhaitham's jaw and tilts his head to look at him, "Are you sure? You might come out broken after this. Either physically or mentally," he threatens, but his hand has already slipped under Alhaitham's knee and spread his leg.
Alhaitham stares at Waqa for a moment before he tilts his head to the side with a barely there smile, then he makes a show of slowly licking his lips, "Break me, My Lord."
The underside layer of Alpha Build's wings shiver and he covertly exchanges a glance at Prime, silently asking if Alhaitham is serious.
Prime catches the eye contact for a second before he opts to suck on the back of Alhaitham's neck, causing Alhaitham to purr, [Unfortunately, yes. Yes, he's serious.]
Waqa's wings twitch once in unease before he simply flicks his wings as he chooses to not think too much about it. He lets go of Alhaitham's jaw and spreads Alhaitham's other leg wide.
Waqa can sense Alhaitham's breath slows in anticipation when he lines his dick to his gaping dripping with lubricant hole.
Waqa chomps down on Alhaitham's clavicle with a growl, causing Alhaitham to moan a squeal, as he ever so slowly slides his dick in.
His cock is bottommed and Waqa immediately shudders. It feels so weird. Granted that he has only once fucked this hole but he fucked it for a long period of time. One thing that he knows is that it's supposed to be tight, not as loose as this.
[Prime,] Alpha Build calls from the link as he experimentally rolls his hips and inevitably shudders at the feeling of Alhaitham's wall loosely wrapping his cock, [what did you do? It's too loose, don't you think?]
Prime hums before he lets go of Alhaitham's arms, which immediately circle around Alpha Build's neck, [If you want Alhaitham to bleed during the process, then you can do that next time,] Alpha Build simply response with a growl around his bite on Alhaitham's clavicle as he keeps rolling his hips, hoping to gain more stimulations from the loose hole, so Prime continues, [and stop rolling your hips. At this rate you're going to waste all that lubricant.]
Alpha Build lets out a rough exhale through his nose as he bites Alhaitham's bone tighter, causing Alhaitham to squeal in pain and scratch Alpha Build's back, before he grips Alhaitham's waist and stops deep inside Alhaitham.
Alhaitham feels like he's floating. He doesn't know what Doctor did to his hole but Waqa's big ugly dick feels different from what he remembers. Alhaitham feels full, but he can't locate exactly where the dick is –even if Waqa is staying still, or perhaps that's why.
Alhaitham squirms, hoping to feel the dick but unfortunately, Waqa immediately tightens his hold on his waist and stops Alhaitham.
Alhaitham slumps forward to drop his head on Waqa's nape with a whine. Finding that Waqa is still staying still, Alhaitham frustratedly scratches Waqa's back but he almost immediately stills when he senses Doctor breaths close to his ear.
" One more to go, " Doctor lowly purrs next to Alhaitham's ear before he nips Alhaitham's earlobe, " don't move too much or you might rip something. "
Doctor watches in amusement as Alhaitham's wings tense up before fluttering slightly.
Doctor lets the tip of his cock kisses Alhaitham's hole and stills, teasing Alhaitham as he leaves a trail of bites along his neck, " On a second thought, are you sure you really want it, dear? " he asks as his hands slide along Alhaitham's side to his cock.
Alhaitham groans a wail before he bites Waqa's nape and flaps his ruffled wings as a way to show his frustration. Waqa flinches from the bite but he keeps silent, silently learning.
Doctor's lips spread into a grin and he hums as he licks the blood he drew and massages Alhaitham's inner thighs, which are held by Waqa, " Come now, my dear. We are of different breeds. I'm afraid I don't know your Avian noises well, " Doctor suddenly grabs Alhaitham's cock and roughly jerks it, causing Alhaitham to let go of his bite on Waqa's nape with a gasp, " please do clarify again, with your words, whether you truly want it or not, " Doctor says as he massages only the head of Alhaitham's dick.
Alhaitham can't answer. His mouth is too occupied with moans and squeals, and Waqa watches it all with avid interest.
Waqa watches as Alhaitham gets louder and starts to twitch violently. He watches as Alhaitham's wings flap frantically and his hips start making aborted movements. He watches as Alhaitham arches his back and his face becomes lewd as his wings spread in triumph, only to get his orgasm blocked by a thumb placed meanly on the tip of his dick.
Alhaitham lets out a whiny wail as his arms tremblingly hold around Waqa's neck, snapping Waqa out of his trance.
Waqa slightly twists his neck to look at Doctor's face, a trace of respect coats his expression.
Doctor's lips are quirked in a satisfied smile as he languidly jerks Alhaitham's cock, pushing Alhaitham into oversensitivity and causing his whole body to twitch and tremble, " So? Do you change your mind, my dear? " Doctor asks with a tone that suggests that he already knows the answer before he tilts Alhaitham's chin and brings his face for a kiss.
Waqa watches as Alhaitham returns the kiss with an open mouth. Oh, so submissive and pliant that Alpha Build can't help but look at Prime with reverence.
Alhaitham lets Doctor plunder his mouth. After a while, he starts to whine into the kiss, letting out whimpers that are muffled by Doctor's tongue. After some time of Alhaitham's useless whining, Doctor finally retreats from the kiss with a raised eyebrow directed at Alhaitham.
Alhaitham's mouth opens, but nothing comes out as he can only flap his ruffled wings in indignation.
Seeing as Doctor doesn't change his expression, still keeping the tip of his dick kissing his hole, Alhaitham lets out one last whine before he lets one hand go to squeeze Doctor's bicep, "Do it…" he whines as he tries again to squirm and gets stopped easily by Waqa, "please, do it… mate me…"
Doctor presses his grinning lips under Alhaitham's ear and purrs, "let's then. "
Then, with the bravery only someone insane able to muster, Doctor slams his dick to the hilt. Alhaitham lets out a loud wail from the surprise, while Waqa jolts from the friction . Doctor doesn't care and he might be cackling like a lunatic inside as he fucks Alhaitham hard, almost frantic.
[I said we are going to test the theory, Alpha Build,] Doctor says to the frozen Alpha Build as he pinches and pulls Alhaitham's nipples, causing Alhaitham to immediately cum with a screeching squeal, [so we shall mate him as intense as we can… or as Alhaitham said, 'break him'.]
Waqa didn't quite catch what Doctor said at first but his subconscious registers an order and so he unconsciously braces himself on his knees. When his brain finally registers it, Waqa copies Doctor's treatments to Alhaitham.
Alhaitham chokes. His eyes roll up and his tongue lolls out as his mouth is opened from letting out neverending noises of pleasure.
Alhaitham's body was already sensitive to begin with, the rough use of it is just too much.
Alhaitham likes it~
Alhaitham's hand reaches back to pull on Doctor's hair while his other hand grabs Waqa's jaw and pulls him for a kiss.
Waqa doesn't explore, he invades. He shoves his tongue deep inside Alhaitham's mouth, letting his tongue to go straight to Alhaitham's throat until Alhaitham chokes. Alhaitham lets out a muffled moan during the kiss.
Their rhythm is a mess. Doctor's pace is fast but Waqa's is even faster. Sometimes their cock will hit the deepest part of him at the same time and Alhaitham swears he can feel their dick in his throat.
Chaos.
That's the state of Alhaitham's inside.
Alhaitham lets out a muffled startled chirp when Doctor bites the back of his neck, causing him to cum the second time. Doctor doesn't let go of his bite, his teeth digging deep in some sort of claiming bite. Meanwhile, Waqa is still persistently invading his mouth with his tongue.
Alhaitham lets out one last whine before he falls into a daze. His mind finally disconnects from reality as he fully lets his body follow its instinct to mate.
His mates are so rough… they will really break him~
The link is not only a communication line to the Segments, but it also acts like a database, their absolute brain. Just like when you read a book from a library but after you're done reading it you don't really remember what you've read. Doesn't mean that the information you've read is gone, though. It's just buried within your subconscious, waiting to be brought up to the surface. That's how the link –or the Subconscious– works. It stores the Segments' knowledge in a shared main subconscious that any Segment can access if they so wish but if they don't then they don't know anything about said knowledge.
The Segments work on their own field of interest. Alpha Build's, in particular, field of interest is weaponizations. He won't know, ever, what 'blissfully fucked' even is.
That kind of thing is Omega Build's field of interest.
But Alpha Build supposes that Alhaitham has a way to make him learn something new because he's so very sure that right now his mate's state is the epitome of 'blissfully fucked'.
"Start getting productive," Prime orders and it snaps Alpha Build from his observation.
Alpha Build does as ordered and walks to the bathroom to get cleaning supplies for a start.
4 days have passed. Alhaitham now requires some… deep cleaning.
Notes:
Not if you remember this but that time when I said I planned to draw a short comic about chapter 26 but from Alhaitham's perspective? Forget about it.
I'm sorrrrrryyyyyy, I do want to draw it but my art block is kicking in and now I no longer want to do it.Fun fact about Avians' mating season:
It's different from forced ruts or heats, and definitely different from the concepts of mating period in abo verse.
It's basically just a period of time where their instinct is telling the Avians to breed. So it's really painful if Avians don't mate but it's kinda like mental pain.
Like, 'haha, you're alone. Should have found a mate quicker, you lazy ass. You'll die alone tomorrow.'
Chapter 38
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Sigma Build Dottore grandly opens the Residence's entrance door for himself. He scans the foyer for some time and finds that no one is welcoming him, so he closes the door behind him and calmly walks in.
[Yeesh, I swear this house doesn't appreciate intellectual talents,] Sigma Build quietly mutters to the link as he walks to the direction of the master bedroom.
[Your presence is unexpected, Sigma Build,] Prime says as both an answer and a comment, [what are you doing here?]
Sigma Build's face scrunches up in annoyance as he stops in his tracks, finally realizing that he's unknowingly trying to check on Alhaitham.
Sigma Build haughtily sniffs to the link as he turns around to go to the direction of the underground lab, [Well, alright then. Since it seems that you don't welcome my presence, I'll take my leave.]
[No,] Alpha Build chimes to deny, [come here. I'll take my leave.]
Sigma Build stops in his tracks again and puts his hands on his hips, [Why?] he asks, so full of suspicions, [I'm not in the mood to fuck Alhaitham and I'm pretty sure that he is in love with your 'big ugly cock' so it's better that you continue to be there,] he says but he doesn't resume his steps yet, [are you trying to shirk off your responsibility again? Because if I go there and I find Alhaitham is still untreated after you fucked him again, I'll be pissed.]
Omega Build snickers to the link, [Oh, Alhaitham won't have guessed, ever, that the real tsundere here is Sigma Build,] he comments, ['Prime ordered me to treat your injuries.' Yeah, right. Prime didn't even need to tell you and you had already decided to pause your experiment. Willingly, might I add.]
Sigma Build chews his lower lip in annoyance before he resumes his walk, [Bring your nerdy nonsense somewhere else,] he spits.
[Come here, Alhaitham is looking for you,] Prime suddenly informs.
Sigma Build immediately stops again and swishes around to look at the direction of their nest, his wings perking up in anticipation, [He is?] Sigma Build asks, wholly failing to cover the excitement in his voice.
[No,] Prime unmercifully answers and it sends Sigma Build into an outrage, [but it proves what needs to be known,] he says and it immediately sends Omega Build into a laughing fit.
Sigma Build flares his wings angrily and turns again to the underground lab, [Well, whatever! So this is the thank I get for finishing the salve's recipe for Alhaitham?] Sigma Build angrily caws to the link, [Fuck you! Fuck all of you! Go fuck Alhaitham!]
Alpha Build coughs to the link to catch their attention, [Alright. You still need to get here, Sigma Build.]
Sigma Build walks faster to the underground lab, [Why should I?] he growls.
[Have a chat with him,] Alpha Build suggests and Sigma Build stops in front of the stairs leading underground from befuddlement, [what you said was right. Alhaitham is a good mate,] Alpha Build continues.
Sigma Build's wings flick from vexation, [I never said that,] he growls angrily.
Alpha Build scoffs to the link, [Well, then pardon me for misinterpreting your opinion. But I meant what I said.]
Sigma Build purses his lips under his mask as he silently ponders and stares at the stairs, [Actually, why are you insisting that I talk to him?]
Alpha Build hums, [Mostly because I personally think that you need to tell him what you've done to him in order to keep him alive,] he answers, [but the other reason is because Prime and I need to leave soon and Alhaitham has yet to recover and isn't officially out of mating season yet. So can't you, like, take care of him?]
Sigma Build makes a face, [So you really are trying to shirk off your responsibility again.]
[Yes,] Alpha Build shamelessly admits, [but you really need to tell him.]
Sigma Build snorts to the link, [Why does he need to know? He doesn't concern himself with our experiments. For all I know he will only get repulsed,] he pauses for a moment before he lets out an angry caw to the link, [wait a minute, are you trying to make Alhaitham hate me?!]
Alpha Build sighs, [No,] then he groans, [I get why you would think that but it's purely because I want to protect Alhaitham's trust. Telling him ourselves now is better than him finding out any other way,] Alpha Build pauses slightly and no other Segment says anything, [I admit that I am naive when it comes to how I treat Alhaitham and I admit that I have no idea whether I am doing the wrong thing or not. But I'm clear that maintaining trust is vital, especially since Alhaitham has initiated the first step,] Alpha Build pauses again, longer this time, [so help me here?]
For a moment Sigma Build is stunned and for a longer while he fails to say anything. Alpha Build was hesitating when he requested his help. That's not how any Segments work. They work with calculation and do anything with confidence in their calculation. For him to hesitate like that, Alpha Build must have been really unsure.
[If I may,] Omega Build breaks the silence, [yes. Maintaining trust is important so this is worth a try.]
Sigma Build scoffs, [And what if it'll only send all crumbling down?]
[In any case, at least it will only be temporary since we can rebuild everything back,] Omega Build answers easily.
Sigma Build lets out a cynical snort, [Oh, so easy for you to say that,] he says before he stares emptily at the stairs, [If it all comes crumbling down won't it only affect me?]
[It won't matter, won't it?] Prime asks, [you don't like Alhaitham that much.]
Even if that's true, Sigma Build can still refuse or at least get something out of it. And Sigma Build has a lot to say.
Yet in the end, he keeps his silence and walks to the direction of the foyer, intending to visit his personal archive first.
[Fine fine,] Sigma Build annoyedly agrees to the link, but outwardly his wings are sagging dispiritedly and his eyes are haunted, [let me just take some things to avoid boredom.]
In the bathroom, Doctor needs to lightly bite his lower lip so that his amusement is not shown. His youngest Segment sure is a mess.
A hand reaches up and pinches Doctor's cheek.
Doctor lets out a grunt and looks down to send Alhaitham an annoyed look.
Alhaitham sends him a small smile and Doctor isn't proud that he immediately forgives him, "Who did you just bully?" Alhaitham asks as he rolls his body to lean his crossed arms over the bathtub's edge.
Doctor flicks water from his hand to Alhaitham's face, who flinches from it, "What makes you think so?"
Alhaitham lowers his wings beside him, letting water climb his feathers, "Just a guess. You don't exactly be happy often and the last time I saw you this happy was when you scared Alexei," noting Doctor's empty look, Alhaitham adds, "your servant."
Doctor's eyes light up as his wing flicks, causing Alhaitham to quietly snort, "Well, aren't you two close," Doctor sneers.
Noting Doctor's slight aggression, Alhaitham rolls his eyes with a sigh before he reaches his hands to pinch both of Doctor's cheeks apart, causing Doctor to furrow his eyebrows in discomfort, "Stop being so jealous. I'm yours," Alhaitham's lips twitch in amusement when Doctor's wings twitch up in happiness, "Alexei is a great company. Especially when he's the only company I have other than you, and don't change the subject."
Doctor softly clicks his tongue, "It's nothing you should get concerned about-"
"So you bullied yourself?" Alhaitham asks, cutting Doctor off.
Doctor glares at Alhaitham before he takes a water spray and hoses Alhaitham's face. Alhaitham sputters and tries to shield himself with his wings.
Doctor reaches for the soap as he continues to spray Alhaitham, "Again, that's nothing you need to get concerned about. Now get here and let me clean you up. I have something important to tell you."
Under the barrage of water, Alhaitham is, of course, unable to say anything.
Alhaitham is still unable to walk, he can crawl actually but why do that when he has a mate around? So, being a good mate that Doctor is, the Lord Harbinger hooks an arm under His Ladyship's legs and carries him out of the bathroom.
His Ladyship gracefully lets himself be carried, circling an arm behind the Lord Harbinger's neck to keep his balance. Droplets of water drip down from his yet to dry wings and slide down the delicious milky white expanses of his skin.
"Can't we just burn this ugly bed?" Waqa asks the moment they get out of the bathroom.
Alhaitham is about to disagree, but when he sees that the love nest is practically in tatters and so filthy from their secretions, he closes his mouth with a click.
Doctor looks at the love nest, once, and his wings shiver in disgust, "At this point, directly throwing it out and buying a new one will be much more effective than trying to salvage it."
Alpha Build hangs his head with a relieved sigh and his wings sag, "Exactly."
[NO!] Omega Build yells from the link, causing Doctor and Waqa to almost flinch, [don't you dare, I haven't had the chance to use the restraints!]
[Well,] Sigma Build boredly drawls, [I haven't even had the time to use it. And I was the one who purchased it.]
Doctor exchanges a look with Waqa for a second before he sighs, "Let's just order Alexei to clean it."
Alhaitham looks at Doctor in surprise, "Doctor, are you punishing Alexei because I'm having an acquaintance with him?"
Doctor glances at Alhaitham with raised eyebrows before he simply sends him a dry look, "You're imagining things," he says before he walks to the cupboard to get Alhaitham dressed.
No, it's not because Doctor is punishing the servant. It's because that's the only servant's name he knows.
Alhaitham watches as the golden liquid of champagne fills his flute glass. A cold wind blows at them, causing the elegant drop of champagne to waver and a few drops of it to spill over Alhaitham's glass.
Doctor tsks and he positions his body to protect the bottle against the wind in order to fill the glass some more. Unfortunately, another cold wind blows at them from another direction and the champagne is blown again.
Alhaitham secretly bites his lower lip in order to not laugh as Doctor stops pouring the champagne and flicks his ruffled wings in vexation.
They're having dinner on the balcony. Alhaitham would've thought that they're having a date, but since Doctor said that he has something important to tell him, he is probably trying to bribe his cooperation.
Doctor sits down on his seat and makes a move of directly drinking the champagne straight from the bottle before he seems to think better of it and pours it into a nearby flute glass, "Are you comfortable? Do you feel cold?" Doctor asks, paying full attention to pouring the champagne.
Alhaitham, in all his glory of being clothed and buried under several quilts and cushions, sends Doctor, who's frustratedly shielding the champagne with his hand from the wind, a dry look.
Seeing that Doctor is still fixated in pouring his champagne that Alhaitham can even read his frustrated expression under his mask, Alhaitham simply lets out a sigh and rearranges the quilts to cover his body better with a flick of his wings, "I'm fine seeing as you've taken a great length in making sure that I won't get cold," Alhaitham lightly swirls his champagne before taking a sip of the expensive wine, "now what might be so important that you have to bribe me like this? Under any other circumstances, I would've thought that you're trying to seduce me but seeing as my mating season has just passed, it's quite unlikely that you already want to do it again," then Alhaitham places his glass on the table with a soft click before he places his elbow on the table and leans on his palm, "although… if it's because your own mating season is near, then I won't mind," he purrs as he sends Doctor a sultry gaze.
Doctor matches Alhaitham's sultry gaze with an unimpressed look. For a long while they stay like that before Doctor sighs and drinks his wine, his wings drooping in helplessness.
"You dare offer your body like that when you can't even walk on your own legs?" Doctor asks, he has gotten used to Alhaitham's sluttiness but it's still exhausting at times.
Alhaitham flicks his wings with an amused huff, "I can take it," then he sneaks his foot under the table to nudge Doctor's shin, "you know what you're doing. I'm sure you're capable of being gentle."
Doctor observes Alhaitham's face for a while before he leans back to his seat in defeat, so the hypothesis is wrong, "Alright, as you wish. Let us start discussing the important thing, then," Alhaitham simply lets out a humm as he continues to play footsies so Doctor drags his chair back, out of Alhaitham's reach, "and I didn't have the chance to tell you this, but our mating season happens at the same time."
Alhaitham looks at Doctor, wide-eyed and shocked.
Doctor casually leans sideways with a snort, "What's with that look? Crows and falcons themselves have the same mating season period," then he intertwines his fingers thoughtfully, "although, for us to have our personal mating season to happen at the same time is indeed interesting."
Before Alhaitham can comment further, he hears the door to the master bedroom open and Alexei's voice. Then he hears Waqa's voice ordering Alexei to clean the love nest. Although Alhaitham can't see Alexei, he can imagine his face.
With one last amused huff, Alhaitham stops playing footsies and crosses his legs, "Indeed, but we have a lifetime to figure it out so please, tell me what's so important that you choose to take a romantic dinner approach?"
Doctor lightly purses his lips with a humm, "Are you sure you don't want to drink some more for now?"
Alhaitham snorts as he tilts his head, "Do you want me to be drunk when discussing something important?"
Doctor thoughtfully tilts his head up before he simply shrugs his wings, "Fair enough," then he leans on the table with his chin propped on his knuckle, "though… don't say that I didn't warn you."
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows, "Well, now my interest is piqued."
Doctor snorts, "Soon, you won't."
"If you say so," Alhaitham says before he waves his hand as a gesture for Doctor to go on.
Doctor stares at Alhaitham for a moment, his mouth silently mutters to himself in thoughts and it slowly causes Alhaitham to feel a little uneasy.
"... How long are you going to be a diplomat?" Doctor finally asks after a long while.
Alhaitham blinks, but before he can answer, Doctor has already elaborated, "You said that becoming a diplomat is your deal with the Dendro Archon so that you're allowed to go with me to Snezhnaya. And by which, your mission is to find out every traitor within the Diplomatic Office," Doctor pauses for some time to let Alhaitham process his words, "what will you become or do after that, then?" he asks, "once you've stripped the Office from traitors, will you continue on to become a diplomat?" Doctor casts his sight away with a weary grin, "or will you… return to Sumeru?"
Alhaitham stares at Doctor in a stunned silence. Now it all makes sense.
"Well…" Alhaitham trails off before he averts his eyes to his glass of champagne and swirls it, "what happens later will be completely circumstantial. I'm not sure either," Alhaitham vaguely answers and Doctor finds it both heartbreaking and hilarious, so Alhaitham is only us-
"But," Alhaitham chimes, causing Doctor to stop his thoughts, "if we are talking about what I plan to do… then I want to adopt a child."
For a moment, Doctor simply stares at Alhaitham, unregistering. Then he leans back to his chair, back straight and wings ruffled in surprise, with a strangled caw.
Alhaitham is still staring at his glass of champagne, eyes refusing to look elsewhere, "You are far from normal, Dottore. Therefore our united life will also be far from normal," Alhaitham takes a little sip of his champagne, "yet the abnormality is not because of a toxic relationship. Thankfully, we manage to live together just fine. The conflicts in our relationship are mostly due to external reasons and the rare internal reasons are because we don't know each other well enough and we struggle to step forward together," Alhaitham pauses to let go of a long sigh, "which is weird since most mated Avians know their mate better than they know themselves. But even if we are struggling, so far we've done good."
For a long time, Doctor stares at Alhaitham in surprise before he raises a hand, asking for a timeout, "Why are you telling me these? I only asked what you will become after your mission is done?"
Alhaitham snorts before his eyes are finally looking at Doctor. He notices that contrary to what Doctor said, Doctor's wings are raised happily.
Alhaitham's eyes glitter with fond amusement, "I told you I want to adopt a child."
Doctor lets out an exasperated caw, "And how are those two connected?"
Alhaitham snorts before he softly laughs to the back of his hand, "Because one thing I'm most certain is that you won't agree with it," Alhaitham explains.
Doctor stares… then, "How are these connected with each other?"
Alhaitham laughs one more time before he clears his throat and looks at the setting sun, "I told you… once… that accompanying you is a whole different kind of hassle…" Alhaitham trails off, checking if Doctor will throw his opinion in, but he doesn't so Alhaitham continues, "and as I said before, we don't know each other well," he says while fiddling his fingers, looking back at the sunset, "falcon is a bird that's dedicated to their family. That's why I took in my roommate. That's also why I protected an orphan desert Avian."
Then Alhaitham stops talking.
Doctor is still staring at Alhaitham, wondering how everything Alhaitham said within the last 10 minutes are connected with each other.
Time passed, until the sun was fully set and Alhaitham took the liberty to light up a candle, in silence.
Doctor's wings finally twitch and he is the first to break the silence, "How…" Doctor waves his hand around in a rare show of confusion, "what are you trying to say? What's going on?"
Alhaitham breaks into laughter. His laugh is loud, clear, and… warm?
"I meant what I said. It was neither a riddle nor a mind game. I'm telling you about myself," Alhaitham's lips twitch when he notes that Doctor's wings are spread in wariness and he is trying to inch himself away, "it was my answer to your question."
Doctor is still looking at Alhaitham. Then he snaps his head to a tilt with a very confused caw.
Seeing that his mate still doesn't understand, Alhaitham can't help but laugh once more, "To put it simply. Once my mission is completed, I want to resign and live a quiet and peaceful life with my mate," Alhaitham tries to hide his expression behind his glass but it's no use, Doctor can see his –dare he say– loveful smile and hopeful gaze directed at him, "perhaps even build a family…" Alhaitham shyly whispers but that soft whisper sends Doctor's heart racing.
Family? What even is his naive definition of it? Why does his mate love to force him to do something outside of his area of expertise?
Doctor opens his mouth but there's only a choked cawing noise coming out so he clears his throat before trying again, "You said that falcons are dedicated to their family, and to prove it you told me that you had taken in two adoptees," Doctor's racing heart is now so close to a cardiac arrest so he needs to suck in a breath and calm himself first, "then why the fuck did you agree to come with me?" he can't help but let a curse out.
Alhaitham stares at Doctor, wide-eyed, but before he can answer, Doctor has continued, "You could have found any female Avian and you would have had a family that's better than whatever we have by now! So why did you come with me? Is it because you're such a slut that can't live without a dick up your ass or what? Even if it's that then you can still find a female Avian who's willing to peg you!" Doctor slams the table, "SO WHY DID YOU COME WITH ME?! Is it because your archon ordered you to use me? Or are you perhaps hoping that I'll experiment on your body so that you have a womb that's able to conceive-"
[Hello-hello, old man Prime,] Zazan calls from the link, stopping Doctor's outburst and halting him from saying anything further, [you cynical pessimistic dead inside being who's incapable of understanding sympathy, you're about to say something that will absolutely scare Alhaitham. But honestly, if you want to continue then just go ahead. Just keep in mind that you once almost cried when Alhaitham was afraid of you.]
Doctor's pupils constrict and he finally gets a good look at Alhaitham. Alhaitham is still where he was, but the genuine emotions on his face are gone, replaced with a carefully constructed mask of calmness, and his wings are slightly spread, ready to take off at any time.
Doctor takes deep breaths, trying to calm down, before he sits down, he isn't even aware when he has stood up, "Why…?"
Notes:
The baby talk failed, mission aborted.
Oh, when the ship is gay but the plot isn't all rainbow~
Chapter 39
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
[Nice calling, Sigma Build,] Zandik praises.
[Thank you, thank you. Just preventing something stupid and troublesome from happening,] Zazan not so humbly accepts the praise.
Waqa snorts, [Your outburst had a nice timing, Prime. That servant has gone to take out the sheets so unless someone was particularly listening, as far as rumor is concerned, no one heard anything,] he informs, ever so helpful, [by the way, Alhaitham looks calm. I don't think he will be scared.]
[Yeahhhhh, no,] Zandik drawls, oh so smug and arrogant, [come now, Alpha Build. Even without a deeper understanding in body language and psychology, you should have known that overreacting to someone who is trying to open themselves to you is a hard no.]
Waqa is quiet for a moment, a little bit indignant, [I'm sure that Alhaitham won't take it to heart,] he argues, perhaps to make himself feel better of countless times he had insulted Alhaitham.
Zandik tuts in the link, [I'm 100% sure that what Prime did will leave a mark, especially since he lashed out when Alhaitham was trying to open himself. Anyway, Prime, if you want to mend things, then I suggest that you at least let Alhaitham explain himself before jumping to doubts and assumptions.]
Doctor takes steadying breaths, "...Why…?"
For a long while, Alhaitham says nothing. Then his finger twitches and he puts down his glass with a soft sigh.
Doctor searches for Alhaitham's eyes, but Alhaitham refuses to make eye contact, "Why don't we put that aside for now-"
Zazan hums in the link, [Oh, Alhaitham is definitely bothered by Prime's outburst,] he unhelpfully comments.
"-don't you have something very important to tell me?"
Doctor gulps but his throat still feels dry. He tries to reach for Alhaitham's hand on the table but Alhaitham swiftly takes it out of his reach, causing Doctor to end up holding empty air.
Alhaitham places his hand on the table, carefully out of Doctor's reach, "Let's discuss this any other time," Alhaitham says, far too distant for Doctor's liking, "what did you want to tell me?"
Doctor's hand clenches empty air before he retracts it.
Doctor tries to gulp down the lump in his throat, "I…" he trails off, unsure, "you want to…" he trails off again, "I'm sure that-" Doctor cuts himself off with an aggressive flick of his wings when he keeps failing to formulate a sentence.
In the end, Doctor wrings his hands with a deep sigh before he says, "I have an offer regarding your mission," it's simple and blunt but it causes Alhaitham to finally willing to look at him, "I want an access to the Sumerian faction Diplomatic Office's archive. In exchange, I will disclose names of our insiders."
On a better day, the offer is suspicious. Right now though, it's simply too good to be true. The way Alhaitham is looking at him with suspicions is so predictable that it's almost funny.
He can't blame Alhaitham but at the same time, Doctor is unwilling to accept it.
"Your assailant is most likely a member of a rebellion group," Doctor discloses more information, "I'm sure that you're not interested in our internal politics so I'll only tell you what's crucial. The rebel group possesses equipment that are both advanced and foreign to Snezhnaya. Believe it or not, there's a book kept in the Diplomatic Office that's used to keep a log of smugglings. I wish to see it. That way, hopefully it will help pointing out the rebel group's whereabouts."
To Dottore, personally, this deal is hugely beneficial to Alhaitham while Alhaitham will probably see the deal as a fair exchange, but Doctor will elaborate on something more personal just to make sure, "Since the beginning, I dislike the idea of you working at the Diplomatic Office. What were you thinking? Were you trying to make the whole Fatui target you?" Doctor pauses to take a shaky breath, "you wish for a peaceful life more than anything. It's a miracle that you chose to come with me but at the same time, I'm always under this sense of foreboding that one day you'll realize that you've made the wrong decision and leave me," Doctor's lips tremble as he gulps a lump in his throat, then he gestures widely with his hands, "these… all of these… they're no longer a simple foolish play," he slumps to his backseat, head tilting up to look at the aurora with dead eyes, "the Segments' sense of self aren't so developed. Please… believe it when Alpha Build said that he loves you that also means that 'I' love you. Different segments from different stages of life simply have different ways to express it."
They fall silent again but this time Doctor doesn't react much, already resigned.
"Honestly, Doctor. The moment I approached you with that proposal, I was already forfeiting any chance for a peaceful life," Alhaitham breaks the silence.
Doctor snaps his head to look at Alhaitham, finding that although his body language is still guarded, at least his smile has returned.
Doctor stiffly returns Alhaitham's smile but he still keeps his distance, afraid of startling his mate.
Alhaitham's smile becomes a little bit more genuine but before he can say anything, the balcony door is opened.
"Alright, you two. That was painful to watch," Zazan boisterously announces before he walks to Doctor's seat and smacks his arm, [Move. Imma take over from here since you've cleaned after yourself enough.]
Doctor sends Zazan a glare through his mask but in the end he relents and stands up, "I'll come back in three days to receive your answer," he said to Alhaitham before he makes a move to leave.
"There's no need," Alhaitham says, which stops Doctor in his tracks, "I accept your deal."
Doctor turns around, "Really?"
Alhaitham's lips twitch from amusement, "Yes. What's wrong with it? You offered me a good deal. Besides, whatever the circumstance is, an early retirement is always welcomed," Alhaitham maintains eye contact with Doctor before he says, "although perhaps, rather than adopting a child, we can start by getting to know each other better, first."
Doctor stares unmoving at Alhaitham before slowly his lips spread-
"Not a friendly reminder, but you are supposed to have a meeting with the investigation group," Zazan loudly says, breaking the, honestly, sappy and frustrating atmosphere, "go along now, Alhaitham has yet to have dinner."
Doctor sends a glare at Zazan again before he looks back at Alhaitham, "Then I'll see you in three days to discuss the plan," then he leaves with a flick of his wings.
The balcony falls into another silence.
Alhaitham stares at Zazan. Zazan simply raises his eyebrows at Alhaitham before he reaches for the forgotten bottle of champagne and pours it into an empty glass.
Unfortunately, a cold wind blows at them again and the wine is completely blown away without even a single drop of it falling into the glass.
Zazan expressionlessly watches the puddle of wine spilt on the floor.
The sound of muffled laughter snaps Zazan from his mourning with a flick of his wings.
He carelessly throws the, now, empty bottle behind him and levels Alhaitham with a dry look, "It isn't that funny."
Alhaitham laughs once more before he coughs and sends Zazan a humorous smile, "To me, it is."
They go into a staring contest for some time until Zazan snarls at Alhaitham, "It isn't!" then he kicks his feet up onto the table, "stop being such a bully and start eating your dinner."
Alhaitham lets out an amused humm, "A bully, huh?" then he regards his dinner that has a layer of frost on it and hums again before sliding his plate away, "I feel touched at Doctor's effort in preparing this dinner date."
Zazan waits for Alhaitham to continue but he doesn't, so he cackles, "You haven't even tasted the food. What an empty gratitude."
Alhaitham amusedly tilts his head to the side, his single black earring makes a soft 'clink', "Alas, the Snezhnaya's weather is simply unsuitable for outdoor activities," he says, a little bit grander than his usual speech.
Zazan's head is tilted as he observes Alhaitham in a mild surprise, then he grins before he takes his feet off the table and squats on his seat, "Ohoh? What might have happened to M'lady that he is generous enough to jest with me today?"
Alhaitham snorts again before he waves dismissively at Zazan, "Alright, I can't continue," he gives up before he takes another sip of his champagne.
Zazan triumphantly grins, "Giving up, already?" then he notices that Alhaitham's cheeks are slightly flushed, meaning that he's probably a little bit tipsy.
Zazan leans over the table separating them and snatches the glass from Alhaitham's hand. Then, ignoring Alhaitham's noise of protest and avoiding his reaching hands, Zazan drinks the wine in one go.
Zazan hums to himself as he hands the empty glass back to Alhaitham, who then pouts at it, [Alright, what was your plan, Prime. That wasn't champagne but fancy firewater,] Zazan makes himself comfortable on his seat again before he frowns, [and don't tell me you mistook it. What were you planning to do to him after he's drunk-]
Zazan's connection to the link immediately halts when he's suddenly pinned to his seat by Alhaitham.
Alhaitham is now kneeling on the table, towering high over Zazan. He uses one hand to support his balance by placing it on Zazan's backseat while the other pinches Zazan's jaw and tilts it to look at him.
"How… rude…" Alhaitham tipsily says, voice barely above a mumble, "that was mine… and I no longer have any dinner to fill my stomach tonight."
Zazan makes a dismissal noise that's slightly altered because his cheeks are squished between Alhaitham's fingers, "It's bad to dwrink awcohwol with phen empty stomach."
For a moment, Alhaitham stares at Zazan with clouded eyes, probably not understanding what he just said, before he seems to get it and pouts again.
Zazan's eyebrows twitch from annoyance. He really wants to bite those lips.
Then Alhaitham's gaze trails down from Zazan's face and goes down and down until it stops on Zazan's crotch.
Zazan's flight or fight instinct is instantly triggered. He immediately crosses his legs and smacks Alhaitham's hand holding his jaw away.
"No!" Zazan yells his refusal, unwilling to experience that feeling again.
Alhaitham petulantly pulls on the tip of Zazan's collar, "Why noooot?"
Zazan hisses a warning caw as he smack Alhaitham's hand away again, "Because I don't want to. Don't I get a say in it?"
Alhaitham demurely caresses Zazan's shoulder, "Pleaseee?" he whines, "please be generous to me tonight, husband…"
Zazan's cheeks tinge red, but he still refuses with a snarl, "No."
Alhaitham scowls in disappointment before he looks calculatingly at Zazan.
Zazan immediately tenses up when Alhaitham leans closer to his face. They are caught in a staring contest as Alhaitham drunkenly looks down at Zazan with half-lidded eyes while Zazan is looking up warily.
"How cruel of you…," Alhaitham drawls after a long time, "do you really have the heart to let your mommy go hungry tonight?"
Zazan sputters and he swears he can hear someone chokes in the link.
Zazan lets out a strangled caw, "What in abyss?!"
Alhaitham lets out a happy humm before he unbuttons his clothes far nimbler than a drunken man should ever be able to.
"Here~" Alhaitham says as he pinches his pec, teasing Zazan with how squishable it looks peeking from under his clothes, "don't you love to suckle on it? So won't you do mommy a favor and mommy promises that he will let you suckle on it all night."
Zazan stares at Alhaitham, speechless, [First of all, what the fuck. Secondly, what's wrong with him? Thirdly, why's this weird shit actually turn me on?]
[Oh,] Waqa responds from the link, [I told you that Alhaitham's mating season hasn't officially ended yet. Anyway, the alcohol seems to trigger the leftover hormones. l can actually smell his pheromones from here.]
Zazan doesn't say anything after that. Mind too preoccupied with watching Alhaitham enticingly rubbing his nipple above him.
….
Alright, whatever.
Alhaitham wakes up with a pained noise.
The first thing that hits him is a headache that causes his face to scrunch up.
Enduring the headache, Alhaitham looks around. The first thing he finds is Zazan sucking hard on his deeply bruised nipple with absent expression. The second thing he finds is a flute glass crusted with dried cum lying next to where his hand were. The third thing he finds is that his mouth tastes rather gross.
Alhaitham subconsciously makes a face when he remembers. Then he lets out a squeal and looks at Zazan when he painfully bites on his nipple.
Zazan looks at Alhaitham, both glaring and blankly staring at him, before he spits Alhaitham's nipple out, "I warn you," he growls, "don't bring it up."
Alhaitham looks at Zazan for a moment before he hums, "Of course."
Zazan glares at Alhaitham a little longer before he resumes on suckling Alhaitham's nipple.
"Hayi… can I call you that? Doesn't matter, I can. Blame yourself for having a name that's a bother to say," Zazan says out of the blue, not bothering to check whether Alhaitham is paying attention or not.
Zazan clears his throat, "anyway, how…" he trails off, unsure of how to put it, "how are you going to get to know us better?"
Alhaitham looks up from his book to look at Zazan who's busy writing who knows what, "That depends…" he answers before trailing off with a humm, "simply telling each other will be optimal… but I get the feeling that it won't work."
Zazan snorts, then without looking up, he says, "Damn right," he scowls at his paper, seemingly having made a mistake, before he crumples the paper into a ball and tosses it into a trash can.
Zazan leans back to his chair with a huff and falls silent. But Alhaitham knows it won't last long so he doesn't continue reading yet. And sure enough, soon Zazan kicks his legs up onto his chair before he hugs his knees.
Zazan grumbles unintelligible things to himself before he finally glares outside the window with a scowl, "Well, damn. I know that talking won't work. But since, indeed, it will be the most optimal way, I tried to think of what I might say. And I can't even imagine it."
Alhaitham finally closes his book and sits up straighter, his wings perk up in curiosity, "How about not thinking about it?" he suggests, "why not just tell me what you want to say without arranging your words into a neat speech?"
Zazan finally looks at Alhaitham, though only from the corner of his eyes, then his mouth splits into an eerie grin, as if he just heard what he has wanted to hear, "Are you sure?" Zazan croons, "what if what I am going to say hurts your feelings?"
Alhaitham sends Zazan a look before he rolls his eyes with a sigh, "Why don't you try and let us see?"
Zazan puts down his legs from the chair and sits more properly, "Fair enough," he is smiling smugly and his wings are raised high, "then, I must say that I like you, but I hate your presence."
Zazan glances from the corner of his eyes at Alhaitham and sure enough, Alhaitham is stupidly staring at him in surprise.
Zazan softly cackles to himself, "I like you, in that you are a good fuck and have an interesting personality. But I hate your presence because you're causing disharmonies within the Segments. Do you have any idea how annoying internal struggle is when the versions of yourself are in the physical plane?"
Alhaitham doesn't say anything for a long time. He's unsure whether to take what Zazan said seriously or not, but even if he does, what is he supposed to say to that?
In the end, Alhaitham can only let out a 'huh' that sounds more disinterested than he intended to.
Zazan barks an angry laugh before he punches the desk in front of him, causing a crack to split the table into two, "I hate your presence. You're not supposed to be here," he sucks in a breath through his snarling mouth, "Prime is supposed to be a distant and calculating figure. Omega Build is supposed to be a depressed businessman that's unhappy even if he can feed a whole nation. And Alpha Build is supposed to be an emotionless unkillable weapon."
Zazan falls back to his chair and slumps to the backseat, "You've changed it all. You've changed them," he mutters as he looks at the ceiling with an angry smile, "simply through your mere presence. Because they find happiness just from having you by their side."
Zazan suddenly hurls a thick book at Alhaitham. The corner of it precisely hitting Alhaitham's head, causing Alhaitham to hiss in pain.
Zazan laughs, it's loud, maniacal, and… sorrowful….
As if he feels pain from hurting Alhaitham.
"But I am different!" Zazan yells, "I am 'Dottore' of 18 years old! I don't understand them!" Zazan glares at Alhaitham with his wings flared angrily, "because of you, Prime acts like a soft-hearted spouse, Omega Build acts like a devoted slave, and Alpha Build fucking acts like a naive boy!" tears are starting to flow from Zazan's eyes, "but I can't be like them… because I'm incapable of that deep of an affection, and that aspect won't ever develop…"
Zazan falls down to the floor with a squeaky sob, "It's unfair. We are all the same person. We are supposed to be miserable forever…" he starts to cry out sorrowful caws, as if begging his mother to come and comfort him, "but you change them… I can't do the same… it's unfair-" suddenly Alhaitham is already next to him and pulling him into a cocooning hug.
Zazan sobs quietly to Alhaitham's chest, "it's unfair…."
Notes:
Zazan is one complicated little bitch boy to write.
I'd be lying if I said writing him is not fun, tho.
On a completely different note, my cat is pregnant. And I don't know who the father is.
Chapter 40
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"I regret saying anything," Zazan mutters as he stares at the hot cup of cocoa Alhaitham had made for him at record speed.
Alhaitham hums and simply drills his chin on Zazan's crown, an act of comforting a distressed chick, "Shut up and just drink your yummy drink."
Zazan hisses with an embarrassed flush adorning his cheeks, "Can you stop?!"
Alhaitham says nothing, but he's now peppering kisses along Zazan's temple.
Zazan tsks before letting out a groan. Then he takes a gulp of the hot cocoa. Then another, and another, and….
Alhaitham softly chuckles, "Slow down, Zazan."
Zazan stops gulping and pulls away from the cup, a frosting mustache adorning his displeased face.
Alhaitham snorts before he tilts Zazan's head by the chin and starts to kitten lick the mustache away.
This time Zazan lets Alhaitham do as he pleases, defeated.
The door to the master bedroom opens and Zazan glances at it, only to find Waqa's head peeking into the room.
For a long while, Waqa is silently staring at Zazan whose face is being licked clean by Alhaitham and is generally being treated like a chick while Zazan also silently stares back at Waqa who's awkwardly standing by the door with a messy bouquet of Snezhnayan wildflowers.
[What-]
[We don't talk about this.]
Zazan glares warningly at Waqa and Waqa returns the glare with an unimpressed look.
Waqa sighs and lightly knocks the door twice, catching Alhaitham's attention by the twitch of his wings.
Alhaitham twists his head to look back, the tip of his tongue peeking out as if he was stopped when he was about to lick again. When he sees Waqa standing at the door, he immediately stores his tongue.
Waqa's lips twitch into a grin. That was adorable.
Alhaitham slightly pulls away from Zazan, and Zazan takes that as his chance to scoot away to a safe distance, and looks at Waqa, his wings ruffled from embarrassment, "What's with the flowers?" he asks.
"Ah," Waqa mutters before he averts his eyes to look at the messy bouquet, his earlier smugness and confidence replaced with shyness, "for you…" he says in a very low voice as he holds the bouquet at Alhaitham's direction.
Alhaitham blinks before he corrects his body so that he can see the bouquet better.
Alhaitham has no interest in pursuing aesthetics. But even if the flowers in the bouquet are most likely wildflowers, they are colorful and their petals are as translucent as thin ice.
The flowers are pretty, though Alhaitham wonders who prepares the bouquet since some of the flowers barely have any stem while some others still have their roots. Wait, now that Alhaitham looks closer, the only thing holding the bouquet together is what looks like a wildflower stem….
The bouquet is so pathetically messy that Alhaitham finds it cute.
Alhaitham finally stands up from the couch to receive the bouquet, ignoring Zazan's muffled snort, probably because of how the bouquet looks.
Alhaitham stops right in front of the bouquet and Waqa stands straighter though his eyes are still not looking at Alhaitham, "Is it intentional that some of them still have their roots?"
An amused caw slips past Zazan's lips because of that question.
Waqa ignores Zazan entirely and simply fakes a cough into his balled fist, he can feel his cheeks slowly heating up, "Just in case you want to try to preserve them or even plant them," he explains.
Alhaitham softly chuckles and it causes Waqa to finally look at him before he freezes.
Alhaitham is looking at the ugly bouquet he carelessly prepared on a whim with eyes that are practically overflowing with fondness.
"How thoughtful," Alhaitham comments as he takes the bouquet from Waqa's hands, the loveliest flush dusts his cheeks before he sends Waqa a smile lovelier than anything he has seen, "thank you."
Waqa freezes, staring wide-eyed at Alhaitham, wondering why such meaningless and ugly things are enough to evoke those expressions.
Then Waqa's wings twitch and he almost lets out a strangled caw when he realizes that this is the first time he has personally given Alhaitham anything.
…And of all things he gives him a bouquet of wildflowers…
Waqa lightning-fast snatches a flower with almost no stem from the bouquet and slips it under Alhaitham's bang, nestled charmingly on Alhaitham's ear.
Alhaitham is frozen from surprise as he stares at Waqa and Waqa takes that as his chance to clear his throat again, "In Snezhnaya, wild vegetations are rare except for varieties of ferns and mosses. It's a miracle that I found these near The Institute, especially at this time of the year. They made me think of you so I took them."
[Sheeeeshhhhh,] Zazan comments from the link, figuratively patting Waqa's back.
At the same time, Zandik whistles from the link, [Smooth, Alpha Build. Very smooth…]
Extreme heats are crawling up Waqa's cheeks so he decisively turns around, "Now that that's done, I'll take my leave now. See you in a week or so."
"Wait," Alhaitham calls out and Waqa curses himself for immediately stopping, "I have something for you," he says before he places the bouquet on their nest and then opens a drawer under the bed.
Waqa looks at Alhaitham with curiosity. His wings perk up in anticipation for what might Alhaitham have in store for him.
Alhaitham takes out a matching scarf and gloves and Waqa's wings immediately bristle in disgust.
"No," Waqa denies without giving Alhaitham a chance.
Alhaitham tsks, "Yes," he insists before he fast-walks to Waqa just in case he tries to run away, "stop reminding me to always wear something warm and start dressing like that yourself."
Waqa's face scrunches up in disagreement but he doesn't fight back Alhaitham who's putting the gloves on him.
"Of course since you're going to be away for some time, I can't check whether you really use them or not," Alhaitham says as he gently helps Waqa wear the scarf around his neck, "but I've worked hard on them so please, at the very least, keep them with you."
Waqa blinks at Alhaitham, half of his face covered by the scarf. What does he mean by 'he has worked hard on them'?
Waqa observes the gloves on his hands for a moment. Then he notices the squarical motives native to Sumeru on them.
… oh… Alhaitham made this for him…
A small sheepish grin blooms on Waqa's lips which is, fortunately, covered by the scarf.
"Fine, sure, whatever," Waqa agrees before he turns around to leave.
Only to be stopped again by Alhaitham who pulls him into a cocooning hug.
Alhaitham presses a kiss just below Waqa's eye, "Be careful on your way. Don't forget to come back, I'll be waiting for your return."
Waqa freezes in Alhaitham's hug before he grins and pulls his scarf slightly down to kiss Alhaitham's lips, "Yes, yes," Waqa drawls in amusement, "stop worrying too much, your lord will come back soon."
Zazan unimpressedly watches the duo continue frolicking together in a sappy farewell before Waqa finally leaves after leaving a bite mark on Alhaitham's neck.
Hah, horny people.
Alhaitham lets out a content sigh as he takes off the wildflower on his hair, then he catches Zazan sending him an unimpressed look, "Is there something the matter?" he asks.
Zazan shrugs his shoulders while still looking at Alhaitham unimpressedly.
Seeing that Zazan won't elaborate, Alhaitham rolls his eyes with a sigh before he goes off to search for a vase.
Zazan watches as Alhaitham prepares the vase for the flowers while occasionally sipping his hot cocoa.
Alhaitham goes to the bathroom to fill the vase with cold water and Zazan takes that as his chance to identify the wildflowers.
Ah, yes. Those easily identifiable weirdly colorful petals. They really are just wildflowers.
Though, folktales said that it was a seelie's tear that fell for its long gone lover.
Bullshit.
And yet Alhaitham gifted Alpha Build something in return.
….
If he had given Alhaitham those very same flowers when they first met instead of a human heart, would things be different?
…even if just slightly?
Zazan angrily downs his hot cocoa till the last drop, ignoring his scalded tongue. Then he's very tempted to just throw the empty cup somewhere but he stops himself.
Hayi dislikes it when he makes a mess of their nest…
Zazan cradles the empty cup with both of his hands, absentmindedly noting the leftover heat from the hot cocoa. He licks his lips, erasing the mustache on his upper lip.
'Dottore' leads an arrogant yet lonely existence.
Technically speaking, ethicality is relative. It's simply stupid to back off from searching for the truth just because of fear of heavenly retribution. So 'Dottore' continued his research on Khaenri'ahn technologies, albeit secretively. What heavenly retribution that awaited him later will be considered as the price of learning the truth.
It was such an unimaginable disappointment that the heavenly retribution never came and instead it was the mortals that stopped him.
'Dottore' of 18 years old at that time had gone through a lot of experiences. He had experienced what it felt to have peers and although they're not as smart as he was, at least they gave the suitable atmosphere for research.
So even if Zazan passed those days being shunned because of the gap in his intellect with the rest of the students, at least he knows what it felt to have company.
And Zazan has learned that those companies would only stay around as long as he aligned with their interests. Once he proved to have different views than them… that was as far as their company would go.
Zazan hears a long drawn soft squeal from Alhaitham so he looks up and immediately jumps from surprise.
Unfortunately it's already too late.
Alhaitham lunges at Zazan and drags him back to the couch. Zazan is, of course, struggling for his freedom so Alhaitham sits on him.
Zazan lets out a strangled grunt from Alhaitham's weight on his stomach, "Get off of me."
Alhaitham squirms a little to get better position before he simply lays down on his side on top of Zazan, "No."
Zazan's eyebrow twitches, his wings are pinned awkwardly under their weights and his body is practically squished into the couch, "Why are you like this?" he asks before he starts struggling again to jostle Alhaitham's body away from him, "I literally just threw a book at your head. Why do you not have any sense of self preservation?"
Alhaitham chuckles amusedly, "I do have a sense of self preservation. It's just that guarding myself against you is simply unnecessary."
"Unnecessary-" Zazan incredulously repeats before he makes a face, "even if somewhere in your imagination you think that I, as one of your mates, will never really hurt you, my action, at the very least, shows that I'm unstable."
Alhaitham lets out an absentminded humm as he gets himself comfortable on top of Zazan.
Zazan's lips twitch from extreme annoyance and he bites Alhaitham's shoulder bloody.
Alhaitham jolts from the pain before he moans a squeal, "Zazan… no… mommy has just gone through his mating season. He can't go at it again."
Zazan spits the shoulder he bit, "Can you stop?" he hisses embarrassedly, "I called you that as a joke, Prime damn it."
Alhaitham chuckles, "And yet I seem to recall that it worked pretty well on you."
Zazan snarls again, but this time he doesn't say anything and just throws his face away.
Then they fall silent. If Zazan ignores the way his wings are pinned painfully under him, he might consider this comfortable.
Then Alhaitham starts letting out chittering noises.
… This is the first time Alhaitham has let out the noises for him.
Zazan grits his teeth. The Segments are supposed to be the same person. Then why can't he perceive Alhaitham's noises the same way as they find them to be? It's unfair.
"Zazan," Alhaitham mumbles his name from above his head, "the same person might perceive a bond differently simply because they are not in the right age" he says out of the blue, "adding to that, a relationship can't be forced-"
"It can only be slowly nurtured through continuous contact," Zazan continues, "I know that. I read that book far before you ever had the chance to touch it."
Alhaitham hums before he bites Zazan's temple, causing Zazan to caw in pain, "Didn't know that you have interest in that topic."
Zazan's only response is unintelligible grumbles.
Alhaitham chuckles before he rubs his chin on Zazan's temple, "Then you should know that among the five of us, you're the most normal."
Zazan freezes, then his lips spread in a grin because Alhaitham is right. But then the grin immediately drops.
"What if I don't want to be normal?" Zazan asks, "I do like you, y'know. You don't force your moral views on me. What if I also want to know how it feels to illogically cherish you?"
Alhaitham holds his breath for a moment before he softly exhales it, "Thus I told you your reaction is normal. A relationship like this is not supposed to be spontaneous, Zazan," he explains, oh so gentle that Zazan wonders if he's mocking him, "it's fine if we start from being friends."
Zazan's lips slowly downturn into a scowl, "friends don't fuck each other."
"Friends with benefits, then," Alhaitham easily counter argues.
Zazan falls silent for a moment before he nods, "Acceptable."
Alhaitham snorts and then they fall into a peaceful silence.
"Hayi…" Zazan softly calls after a while, "are we… worth it?" he asks softly.
Alhaitham sucks in a breath before he rolls his body so that he can attack Zazan with kisses, "Yes, Zazan, my darling sweetheart. You are worth it."
Even though Zazan makes loud sounds of protests, he no longer tries to run away.
"Dottore! What in the name of Tsaritsa are you doing?" Pantalone says, just loud enough for his business partner to hear, which is already a sign of anger itself since Omega Build Dottore is kinda far away from where he is.
Dottore looks up from his notes to glance at Pantalone before he lets out a disinterested humm and looks back at his notes.
Pantalone's eyebrows twitch and his wings immediately ruffle, he's itching to yank Dottore's hair and fling his head around in frustration.
"I know you're idle but can you go bother someone else? I'm busy here," Dottore drawls boredly as he writes a series of numbers down.
Oh, that's it.
Pantalone, in a rare fit of anger, reaches out to grab Dottore's bang with a speed he didn't know he's capable of. Pantalone was kinda proud of it, actually. Unfortunately, Dottore easily intercepts his hand with a smack, which may or may not cause a loud uncomfortable crackle noise coming from his wrist.
"Bothering me is one thing, Panty," Dottore whispers, almost threateningly, "but only my Moonlight is allowed to pull my hair."
Alright. First, Pantalone wants to puke. He has finally had enough of this whipped creature. Second, he's still furious so he doesn't care.
Pantalone uses his other hand to try to grab Dottore's bang. Dottore lets out a squawk before he immediately uses the clipboard of his notes as a shield against Pantalone's assault.
"Hey! What is your problem, Panty?!" Dottore yells, his wings flared defensively behind him, "stop bothering me and do your own job!"
"Job can wait!" Pantalone angrily hisses, causing Dottore to gape at him which is understandable because he himself also feels surprised that he said that, "what's important right now is that you tell me what in Tsaritsa name you are planning!"
Dottore looks at Pantalone in confusion for a moment before his face lights up in understanding and he dryly exclaims, "Ah. That."
Pantalone really wants to grab Dottore's hair and bang his head to the wall. The only reason he doesn't attempt it again is because he will probably be the only one injured in the process.
So instead Pantalone hisses a long angry caw at Dottore, "You! Told Her Majesty that I agree with you to disclose the names of our insider in the Sumerian Diplomatic faction to your wife!" the more Pantalone says it, the angrier he gets to the point that he no longer try to keep up his appearance, Pantalone waves his hands around in wide arcs as his wings flare and flaps in anger, spreading well-groomed feathers around, "when did I agree to such a thing?!"
"Aaaaa…" Dottore trails off, still sounding so infuriatingly disinterested, "yeah. You suggested that I reach out to Alhaitham and since there's no time to get other Harbinger to vote for this decision, I used your name."
Pantalone waits. He waits for a promise of benefits, a reassurance that it will be counted as a favor, or maybe even a measly apology. Anything, really. But no. Dottore stops talking and resumes on working on whatever he's doing.
Pantalone's lips spread into a mix of a snarl and an annoyed smile. He's starting to consider sacrificing an arm as long as he can dent a wall with Dottore's head.
Pantalone is still in the same room as Omega Build Dottore, sending Dottore a murderous glare for who knows how long.
Pantalone sighs before he aggressively palms his face, his wings twitching behind him from nerves, "Can you at least tell me your plan?"
"No," Dottore unhesitatingly answers.
Notes:
Not me shamelessly using Pantalone as a reminder that Alhaitham and Dottore, well just Dottore but Alhaitham too by proxy, is abnormal in strength on daily basis.
Also, istg I love my cat so much. She chirps at me and sometimes we just make random meowing sounds at each other as if we can communicate.
Manifesting playable Dottore.
Current f2p fund: 5676 primos & 2 acquainted fates guaranteed (I've only started saving this patch plz don't judge my measly primos, I figured this might help me save)
Chapter 41
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Here," Zazan says to Alhaitham as he places down three wrapped balls of chocolate in front of him, "help me with them."
Alhaitham blinks at the chocolates wrapped in overly shiny foil before immediately knowing that Zazan probably gets them for the shiny foil.
Alhaitham lets out an amused huff and stores the file he was reading away, "Care to elaborate on how I should help you?"
Zazan scrunches his face at Alhaitham, as if Alhaitham had asked something redundant, "Eat them, duh."
Alhaitham's wings grow lax behind him as he tilts his head, "You're sharing your snack with me?" he can't help but tease.
Zazan tsks and rolls his eyes before he simply unwraps three of them at once and shoves them into Alhaitham's mouth, "I know that babysitting you is the most boring thing on Teyvat and yet here I am. So just shut up and help me with this one."
Alhaitham lets out muffled sounds of protest when Zazan forcefully shoves the sweets into his mouth. He was about to struggle, he could definitely escape, but the moment his tongue touched the chocolate balls, he changed his mind. Such exquisite taste, it would be a shame if they're gone to waste.
Seeing Alhaitham obediently receives the chocolate, Zazan retrieves his hand with a pleased smile. He watches as Alhaitham places his own hand to cover his mouth in the absence of his.
The chocolate balls are quite big so having three of them at once in your mouth is obviously enough to make any face look messy.
Zazan snickers before leaning into his knuckle as he watches in amusement at Alhaitham whose cheeks are bulging and is struggling to chew the sweets with closed mouth. How amusing, the only time Zazan has seen such a messy face on Alhaitham is when he was trying to choke himself on Waqa's dick.
After great effort and some time, Alhaitham finally manages to swallow all the sweets in his mouth, then he sends a disapproving look at Zazan who's looking so amused and smug, his wings raised high in indignation, "Next time have some manners," he chides before he coughs due to excessive sugar.
"Sure," Zazan cheerfully chimes as he reaches out to pour a glass of water for Alhaitham, "I was merely skipping the unnecessary dialogues," he hands Alhaitham the glass of water with a very smug grin.
Alhaitham's eyebrow ticks at Zazan's behavior but he simply takes the glass, "Thanks," instead he says with a raspy voice, mostly because he needs to be the better person here.
In return, Zazan proudly spreads his wings and places his palm on his chest before he slightly bows, the smug smile never leaving his face.
Hm, Alhaitham really wants to kick his balls.
Alhaitham coughs to clear his throat, "I didn't know you like chocolate," he comments instead because Zazan has such fertile seeds that it would be a shame if he harms them.
Zazan lazily slumps to his backseat and lazily waves at Alhaitham in dismissal, "Nah, I don't like them," then he reaches for the discarded foil and neatly folds them, "I only bought them because they have such shiny wrappers," he explains before he stores them in his coat.
Alhaitham sends an unimpressed look at Zazan. But then the corner of his mouth twitches up and he needs to look away because that's actually a little bit endearing and the fact that he has known beforehand that Zazan only gets the chocolate for the foils is making him giddy.
Zazan raises his eyebrows at Alhaitham who's looking away and pressing a palm to his mouth, but he says nothing because he notices from Alhaitham's wings which are raised high that he's, for some reason, happy, and it, unreasonably, sends him into an awkward fluster.
Zazan's wings twitch and he lets out a fake cough, "Uh, so…" he trails off as he awkwardly scratches his neck, "Prime will come back soon to discuss the plan with you. I… am not really interested in talking about that, though. What I want to ask is what you will do later," Zazan waves his hands around to emphasize his point, eyes not looking at Alhaitham, "I know you said that you want to get to know us better, and that's most likely what you will do, but we don't really stay around the Residence, y'know. What will you do when we are not around? It can't be that that's all you will do."
Alhaitham hums in thought, "You have a point," then he brings his feet up onto the couch and sits in a comfortable sidelean, "Will you judge me if I say that I mainly want to stay inside all day to read books?"
Zazan makes a face at Alhaitham before he also mimics Alhaitham's sitting posture, "Rather than judging, I find that unbelievable."
Alhaitham snorts, "True…" then he trails off with a humm, "Well, I had planned my life down to when I finally retired but now all that plan is gone," Alhaitham crosses his arm and looks at Zazan, almost playfully blaming him, "I live for knowledge research," Zazan's wings perk up, "but since I'm in Snezhnaya then I need to familiarize myself with the advancements here before I can even start. That's not counting the fact that I need to get a research license here with my curriculum vitae, which is filled with my works in Sumeru that might not get acknowledged here in Snezhnaya," Alhaitham absentmindedly flexes the fingers of his hands, "besides, I don't really need to search for Mora since my needs are already fully provided, isn't it?"
Alhaitham snorts before he leans into his palm, his eyes looking down in a mixture of wryness and ironical amusement, "Trying to figure out what I should do with my life at this age… it's not really funny."
Since Alhaitham has stopped talking, Zazan immediately jumps to give a suggestion, "You can be my assistant!" he exclaims with giddiness, wings flared from excitement.
Alhaitham looks at Zazan, a little bit taken aback, then he frowns, "No-"
"YES," Zazan cuts his refusal, "yes you can. You can work in the Institute. You can help me observe some progress in my experiments and record them and then we can compose the research paper together!" Zazan spreads his arms and wings grandly but when he notices that Alhaitham is still unconvinced, he calms himself down a little to elaborate more on the matter, "if you're my assistant then you won't need a research license. You can do any research you like and we can arrange whether you would want your name to be written in the paper or not!"
Alhaitham holds his hands up, "Zazan, calm down. I see that you're excited but I doubt things will work like that."
Zazan sways his body back and forth with soft exasperated caws before he levels Alhaitham with a serious look, "Hayi. 'We' are The Doctor. 'We' work at various departments in Snezhnaya and 'we' also have widespread connections. You've had a taste of the might of our nepotism in the Diplomatic Office. Just trust 'us' with this one. Tell me what you want to do, 'we' will find a way," Zazan sits back down on his seat, "though, if you want to stay home all day, that's also fine. Pretty sure Prime would love that."
Alhaitham snorts. without a doubt.
"You seem oddly excited with the idea," Alhaitham comments, "I find it a little bit odd. Can you tell me why?"
Zazan makes a face. He opens his mouth, probably to snark, but he closes it back. Then he brings his legs onto the couch and hugs it, seemingly losing spirit all of a sudden.
"As Alpha Build said, 'you are not allowed to get hurt'," Zazan says with a voice just enough for Alhaitham to hear before he shakily laughs, "Fuck you. Fuck all of you. Just because I'm not a mindless simp doesn't mean that I'm fine with getting my hands dirty with your blood."
Alhaitham blinks. Okay… he knows his mate has mood swings but what prompts this?
"Zazan…?" Alhaitham calls out, unsure.
"Hayi…" Zazan calls back, "I'm sorry."
Alhaitham's wings twitch, that's a genuine apology without a hint of joking, "What's wrong?" he asks.
Zazan seems to ignore him a little as he flicks his hands left and right by the wrists, "Y'know, that time when you almost died, there was a lot of blood," he says, "everywhere. But mostly on my surgical-gloved hands," Zazan leans back with a sigh, eyes avoiding Alhaitham, "it was weird. I had a glove and surgical outfit on but I felt really uncomfortable at that time. Just so you know I'm accustomed to blood and gore. It's just that at the time, something feels…" Zazan tilts his head in confusion, looking for the right word, "icky?"
Alhaitham can't help but softly snort at that. Leave it to Zazan to choose a weird adjective to describe his experience.
Zazan shrugs as he looks up emptily at the ceiling, "I'm sorry," he apologizes again and it still takes Alhaitham off guard, "... please don't hate me."
Alhaitham sits straighter on his seat in order to be more serious, "What did you do?" he softly asks.
Zazan finally looks at Alhaitham and it almost startles Alhaitham how empty his eyes are, "You were in a critical condition for a long time. I didn't want to be the one responsible for amputating your wings so I tried to keep them. But that was a huge miscalculation on my part because then you were losing so much blood. You could have died. So I did what I was able to do," then Zazan falls silent.
Alhaitham notices how Zazan's wings are cocooning himself anxiously, so he patiently asks again, "What did you do, Zazan?"
Zazan purses his trembling lips, trying to appear nonchalant, "I injected you with a solution. The same solution that Prime tried to break through when he asked for your feathers."
Alhaitham feels his spine chills.
Zazan continues, "I figured that since the solution showed high compatibility with your DNA, then it could probably help, and it did," Zazan looks away from Alhaitham again for a moment before he seems to harden his resolve and look at Alhaitham with determination, "as a result, a small percentage of you might not be 'you'."
The room falls chillingly silent.
Alhaitham says nothing. His eyes are wide as his mind races to process information that he has long reached the meaning.
Zazan also says nothing. He has said all that needs to be said. Silently, he shields himself with his wings, refusing to witness Alhaitham's imminent breakdown.
When Doctor enters the master bedroom, it's oddly quiet.
He finds Alhaitham and Zazan sitting on a couch across from each other with almost the same posture and emotion. Zazan is sitting curled into a ball on the couch with his wings shielding his whole body while Alhaitham is staring emptily at his fingers, almost distraught. Sometimes his wings ruffle and his face grows pale before he returns back to his calmness.
Doctor longs to run and immediately comforts him, but he knows that what Alhaitham needs right now is to be alone.
Zandik wryly laughs from the link, [It really is just one fuck up after another isn't it?]
Zazan tightens his wings around him before he barks a cynical laugh into the link, [Hah, that's an understatement. If somehow he accepted 'us' before, then he damn sure will leave now.]
[Damn, ain't you two cheery?] Waqa snarks, [Alhaitham won't leave, ever.]
[My,] Zazan chides, [being the favorite sure is fun.]
[Hayi- Alhaitham has no favorite,] Prime cuts in, stopping any further quarrel.
Please pardon him, Doctor currently has a lot on his mind.
Alhaitham suddenly sucks in a breath and he seems to only now be aware that Doctor has arrived. Doctor opens his mouth but Alhaitham raises his hand to stop his words before he is even able to say anything.
Alhaitham closes his eyes and sucks in one last deep breath before he finally looks at Zazan, "Zazan," he calls and Zazan subconsciously tightens his wings around himself, "can you tell me what exactly has changed from my body?"
Doctor keeps silent even if he can answer the question because Alhaitham is not asking him. This is their matter.
Quite a while passes and nothing is said until Zazan finally folds his wings back with a sigh.
Zazan sighs again and looks at Alhaitham straight in the eyes even if he doesn't want to, the fact that Alhaitham is calm is helping, "Unfortunately, it's hard to define," Zazan flicks his wings, "I can only say that the structure of some of the DNAs building your body is now slightly altered. It's not prominent enough to visibly change anything, but it's definitely there."
Alhaitham searches Zazan's eyes for a moment, noticing how tense he is, before deeming that he's telling the truth.
Alhaitham lets out a tense sigh before he stands from his seat and pulls Zazan into a hug, causing Zazan to look from above Alhaitham's shoulder in surprise, "I seriously didn't sign up for rollercoaster of emotion type of relationship, Zazan. We were just having a little silly bantering and then suddenly we ended up in this predicament," Alhaitham pinches Zazan's cheek till he caws in pain before pressing a kiss to his temple, "but even so, I appreciate you for informing me the truth."
Alhaitham pulls back to see Zazan gaping at him in surprise but with hope coloring his expression, so he offers him a little smile, "Now ease up or you might cry when I leave you alone."
Zazan's wings immediately bristle but Alhaitham already walks away before he can say anything.
Alhaitham stops in front of Doctor near the door, a respectful distance away and it reminds Doctor of the state of their relationship before he left three days ago.
Doctor's wings twitch awkwardly before he clears his throat, "So… would you like to discuss it here or somewhere else?"
Alhaitham tilts his head with an amused huff, the teasing glint in his eyes is as bright as the glint of his earring, "Where even is this 'somewhere else'?"
Ah, right. Alhaitham doesn't really know the way around and the more secret places of the Residence are off limits for him.
[Move,] Doctor orders Zazan from the link as he walks past Alhaitham.
Zazan's lips twitch but he does as told without further comment and relocates himself to sit on their nest.
Doctor sits at where Zazan was and Alhaitham returns to his earlier seat.
Doctor coughs one more time to his fist before he flexes his wings back and relaxes, "Before I start, I want to make sure one more time that you agree to help me."
"As I said before, I agree to help," Alhaitham answers, "since you find the need to reaffirm my willingness, am I allowed to assume that you have prepared a statement that I need to sign?"
Doctor folds his lips but his wings relax, as usual Alhaitham is a joy to work with.
"You're correct," Doctor says before he takes off his mask and then takes out the legal statement.
He hands the paper to Alhaitham, "You can take some time to read it first."
Alhaitham hums before he does as suggested.
[Alright, this is all pretty standard but why does it feel kinda dork-ish?] Zazan comments from the link.
No one responds but there are some snickers in the link.
"Do you have a pen?" Alhaitham asks, snapping Doctor from his daze, "or do I need to sign it with my blood?"
Alhaitham doesn't see it because he is looking at the paper but Doctor and Zazan's wings bristle at the mention of his blood.
Doctor snorts, masking his uneasiness, "Do you take this deal as a pact or something?" he mocks as he offers a pen.
Alhaitham briefly looks at Doctor in amusement as he takes the pen, "With you, who knows?" then he signs his name on it before returning the pen and paper to Doctor.
Doctor checks Alhaitham's signature before he softly huffs wryly. This is all progressing way too smoothly for his liking.
…
"... Is all clear?" Doctor asks once he finishes telling his plan.
Alhaitham hums thoughtfully with crossed arms.
In summary, the plan is to bring a disguised Doctor into the archive under the reason that he needs help in organizing the records.
… it isn't really a plan, to be honest. Or more precisely, there's no need for any plan. He, literally, only needs to sit prettily in the archive as Doctor does his things and then his part of the deal is finished.
…Alhaitham gets that his mate loves to spoil him but this is business and he doubts that it's all there's to it.
And judging from how Zazan is looking at them weirdly, it's safe to assume that he feels the same.
"So…?" Doctor asks, causing Alhaitham to notice how his wings are tensed nervously.
Alhaitham opens his mouth then he folds them with a frown before he tilts his head at Doctor with expression of disbelief clear on his face.
Alhaitham doesn't need to say anything. Doctor already gets it.
Doctor looks away as he massages the back of his neck, "Since the beginning I told you that I only need you to bring me in so don't look at me like that," he confidently says.
Alhaitham accidentally sees Zazan's expression when Doctor says that and he almost snorts, "If that's the case then I have no question," he finally answers before he stands up, "I'll check my tools then."
Doctor leans back in surprise.
Just like that? Isn't he way too trusting? Wait, they were acting a little too stiff, didn't they?
"Hayi!" Doctor blurts, "love you."
Look, when Doctor called him 'Hayi', Alhaitham already paused from the surprise so don't blame him for immediately swishing around until his vision spins when he hears Doctor's next words.
"What?" Alhaitham asks, a little bit wary with his wings flaring defensively.
"What?" Doctor asks at the same time, more because he's surprised at Alhaitham's reaction.
"I-" Alhaitham stutters, "why would you say that so suddenly?"
Doctor sits straighter, his wings starting to flare warily, "Why would it bother you so much?" he asks, as confused as three days ago on the balcony.
Then Doctor watches as Alhaitham's face and ears burn red and it kinda clicks, "Are you serious?" he asks, incredulous, "that sweet nothing works you to this extent?"
Alhaitham snaps his mouth open in indignation but he immediately closes it again to ponder his words,then he crosses his arms defensively, "What's wrong with that?" he challenges, admonishing himself for the lame retort.
Doctor lets out an astonished caw, "Really? You're a Haravatat graduate and you fall for sweet nothing? What's wrong with Akademiya's standard after I was exiled? Don't you know that words can be easily distorted to sway opinion-"
"I know!" Alhaitham cuts Doctor off, his chest heaves from embarrassment, "just so you know discourse analysis is the basic course for Haravatat students."
Doctor spreads his arms and wings widely, "Then why does it affect you?!"
Alhaitham can't answer. His mouth is sealed shut, unable to open up to muster anything, as his face heats up more till hints of tears paint his eyes.
And that expression is, for some reason, also causing Doctor to fall into a flustered state.
"Hey!" Zazan yells at them, causing them to flinch and their wings to twitch, "you two are grown ass men. At least act like it."
They don't answer. Doctor is simply trying to make himself look busy while Alhaitham turns around with his wings raised high to hide his state.
Notes:
A little story:
Me (randomly waking up at 3 AM): "Insanity is just a spectrum and the spectrum itself is not a straight line but a circle around the beholder, which is why the degree of insanity is heavily influenced by perspective."
Me: ... Oh, that's a cool line for a book. *Went back to sleep*I guess it's called the witching hour for a reason.
Manifesting playable Dottore.
Current f2p fund: 429 (I made a bad decision. It was totally not worth it, still salty about it but it's just a game so I'll be fine. I'm no fit for saving :')
I'm contemplating making a poster "do it for them".Alhaitham: how long will this require exactly?
Me: forever.
No, seriously. My heavy hitters are only him and Neuvillette. His hyperbloom team might be behind in meta now but jokes on it I'm playing him on aggravate.
Been 36*-ing Spiral Abyss since Neuvillette came out. Neuvillette's side probably does more work but if it works, it works.
So sorry, Hayi. You won't get rest yet. (Why am I talking about this? Probably just me being sad that my main is going to get powercrept soon. I think with Natlan and Snezhnaya update, with a lot of pyro and cryo enemies, dendro won't be as good anymore.
Don't worry, Alhaitham. You're still babygirl)
Chapter 42
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The stairs leading up to the main door of the Diplomatic Office are both familiar and unfamiliar to Alhaitham. Though, that's most likely because he barely goes there.
Pretty sure he has only been here around five times.
Alhaitham inwardly grimaces.
Hopefully Lord Kusanali doesn't assume something bad has happened.
Behind him, Doctor follows close. He's dressed in a low ranking Fatui recruit complete with the mask, hair a jarring soft blue amidst the muted color of his uniform. The very definition of head turner –in his opinion. Thankfully, no one is really staring at him since he's dressed as a Fatui. Otherwise, Alhaitham won't really know what would happen.
The guard opens the door for them and they both proceed without a hitch until they reach the top of the stairs at Alhaitham's office level.
It's as if things are repeating itself as Abgal sends Alhaitham a smile.
"Diplomat Alhaitham," Abgal greets, "I deeply apologize for not making any visit during your sick leave. In any case, I'm glad that you've regained your health. Although you've only worked for a day, your dedication in filing our reports is truly commendable," he laughs as if he just remembers something funny, "you only worked for a day but I can vividly recall the others' faces when they knew they had to go back to filing their own paperwork."
Alhaitham offers his superior a polite smile and a little nod, "Thank you. I'll go back to doing what I can do since they have all so graciously allowed me to recuperate from my injuries."
Abgal laughs again as he waves his hand, "Oh, don't strain yourself. I don't want you to injure yourself again. My diplomats are able to look after themselves so far, won't want them to grow spoiled," Abgal's eyes glint as he looks at Alhaitham in satisfied manner yet also looks down at him, "contrary to what I expected, you do hold up to your status as a former scholar in The Akademiya. Here I was, assuming that you betrayed Sumeru to elope with another nation's executive and turn into their pet. Since I've been proved wrong perhaps I owe you an apology," here, Abgal glances past Alhaitham to make eye contact with a Fatui recruit that follows Alhaitham, perhaps a little bit provocatively, "how about we go for a drink after work?"
Although Doctor is unable to hold back his wings from twitching, he manages to control his expression well.
Alhaitham's own expression betrays nothing, "That won't be necessary-"
"I must insist," Abgal cuts Alhaitham off, "you're part of the rank now and I've only just realized that we haven't really had the chance to get to know each other better," he steps closer to Alhaitham and stands in a distance that's slightly inappropriate but not enough to be considered as a harassment, "it will be my treat."
Alhaitham's wings twitch uncomfortably but before he can open his mouth, Doctor has pulled him back and stands between them, his wings calmly flared to shield Alhaitham from Abgal who frowns at him, "Please be mindful of your manners, Sir. My Lady is a respectable married Avian," Doctor says calmly and respectfully, fully committed to the act.
Abgal's eyes squint at Doctor in dislike but he takes a step back, "Please don't take my invitation that way. I'm only offering a chance for diplomat Alhaitham to build a little bit of connection in the rank. Due to his predicament and his unfortunate events… let's just say that he's a bit isolated."
"I'm grateful for your offer, Sir Abgal," Alhaitham says from his position behind Doctor, "but unfortunately I must decline."
Abgal scowls in arrogant disappointment but his expression is quickly changed into a disappointed understanding, "You've made your choice then," he turns around and leaves without even bidding a farewell.
Alhaitham and Doctor stand still for a while before Doctor's wings, which were still flared protectively, sag down tiredly.
Doctor lets out a huff of annoyance before he says, "What would My Lady like to do first?"
Alhaitham's wings twitch and he almost snorts. Well, won't you look at this gentleman?
Alhaitham clears his throat, "Well, let me open my office first and then we can proceed to move the files to the archive."
Doctor steps aside and stands in the sideline with his head bowed respectfully, giving way to Alhaitham.
This time, Alhaitham can't stop how the corners of his mouth are twitched up as he walks past Doctor and unlocks the door to his office.
Alhaitham goes in first. Doctor follows and before Alhaitham can go deeper into his office, Doctor yanks him back and slams him to the door.
Alhaitham stares wide-eyed at Doctor who cages his head, "Doctor?" he hesitantly asks.
And Doctor…
Oh, Doctor who's not dressed as immaculately as he usually does, whose wings are flared in threatening manner, whose face is covered by a mask by which sharp crimson irises are staring down at Alhaitham in unamusement and possessiveness, whose lips are stretched thin signaling his dissatisfaction… His face is covered by a mask and yet it gives Alhaitham the same excitement as seeing him naked and ready to mount him. So alluringly hidden and yet open at the same time. Teasing Alhaitham.
Doctor presses their forehead and pins Alhaitham's head to the door, "... Don't they know that you're taken?" he asks, voice so dangerously low, then Doctor pinches Alhaitham's jaw and tilts his head up to growl to his carotid artery, "do I need to place more claim on you? Or do I need to mess you up so badly that no one would even want to look at you?"
Alhaitham exhales a shaky breath through his nose. The area around his throat feels ticklish, slightly itching to get bitten. Suddenly, Zazan's idea to fuck in the archive sounds very appealing.
[Things are going to get serious, he said,] Waqa comments from the link.
[We should try to prevent Alhaitham from being a distraction when things are dangerous, he said,] Zazan readily continues.
The base of Doctor's wings twitch.
Doctor backs away from Alhaitham and crosses his arms, his wings still a signal of dissatisfaction.
Alhaitham stays leaning to the door even after Doctor left him for a while before he suddenly sucks in a sharp breath and pushes himself away from the door with shaky hands, "I can't possibly answer that, can I?" he asks in a small voice.
[...]
For a moment the link is quiet until Zazan breaks the silence, [Why is he so submissive?]
Doctor tilts his head, "Can't you really?"
Alhaitham slowly walks past Doctor, his wings sagging low while his head is tilted down as he peeks up to look at Doctor. Quietly, Alhaitham shakes his head.
[... What the Abyss?] Waqa curses.
Doctor sighs, "Hayi, we are in the middle of something important."
Alhaitham's wings twitch and he immediately stands taller, "Of course," he says before he unlocks the locker of his desk, "if no one has entered my office during my absence, there should be an important file here…" he mutters as he rummages around his locker.
Doctor walks to a couch and sits down as he waits with crossed arms. He can't really help Alhaitham, anyway. Their deal doesn't specifically say that he's not allowed to touch any other files except for the book he's after but he will stay away just to be safe. After all, this is the Sumerian faction. If anyone knows that Alhaitham brings him into the archive then he'll be marked as a traitor.
… which is a little bit tempting.
[Prime,] Zandik warningly calls from the link, [don't.]
Doctor tsks into the link, [I know. But the prospect is very tempting. Whether Alhaitham will be marked as a traitor or not, either way he still has to be responsible for the aftermath. He will lose his backing. He can't leave.]
[Prime,] Waqa groans in exasperation, [not like this. He trusts us.]
Doctor lets out a scoff, [What even is the difference?]
[Oh, why don't we just vote for it, hm?] Zazan drawls in boredom, [I'm against it, by the way.]
[Oh? That's not what I expected,] Zandik comments, [has being loved by Alhaitham changed you, Sigma Build?]
[Oh, shut up,] Zazan groans, [I have my own personal expectations.]
Doctor sniffs haughtily to the link, [All of you are not fit for decision making, too tainted by personal emotions. This is why in the end I'm the one responsible for decision ma-]
[Why do I get the feeling that Alhaitham will judge you for that?] Waqa says, cutting Doctor's speech, [I can feel it. He will probably say, 'Doctor, there are three versions of you that all said that it would be a bad idea. Why did you do the opposite?']
Zazan bursts out laughing, [You're right. I can feel it too.]
Doctor straightens his back in indignation.
"Here they are," Alhaitham suddenly pipes up, snapping Doctor from his internal argument.
Doctor stares at the mountains of files sitting on Alhaitham's desk, ‘an important file’, huh, "All of them?"
"Yes," Alhaitham easily answers.
At that, Doctor can't help but send Alhaitham a look, "You're using me, aren't you?"
Alhaitham's lips twitch into an amused grin, totally not sorry, and he looks down to stack two piles into one, "Help me."
Doctor pins Alhaitham with an unimpressed look before he stands up with a sigh, "Fine," he disgruntledly acquiesces before stacking the rest of the files into one.
Alhaitham sends Doctor a grateful close-eyed smile that sends Doctor's chest fluttering before he exits his office.
Doctor follows close.
Doctor is inside the archive.
It's almost comical how easily he gets in.
"Please place them down here," Alhaitham requests, snapping Doctor from his thoughts.
Doctor places the stack of files next to Alhaitham. They exchange a look from the corner of their eyes, signaling each other to go along with the plan.
So Doctor immediately looks around, checking if there's any surveillance devices and possible places for the book, while Alhaitham starts arranging the files into the shelves.
Alhaitham only has one mission as a diplomat. The deal with Doctor ensures that after this, his mission will be completed. Unfortunately, that's only if Doctor completely fulfills his promise, and even if he does, his mission doesn't only end with Fatui's insiders. Fortunately, he has made a list of suspicious personnels. All that's left to do is to match them with evidence.
Alhaitham looks at the shelves in the archive and then at Doctor who's looking around before he sighs.
He's very tempted to just rely on Doctor's promised intel since combing for information here will surely be a pain but, unfortunately, he has a promise to uphold. Thankfully, he's a fast reader.
Alhaitham takes out the first ledger.
Doctor walks past one shelf and then another, his eyes linger on one nameplate after another as he searches for the hidden section. Doctor has spent his three days absence to search for information regarding the Book of Bribery. All that's left for him to do is to find the book.
Sigma Build and Omega Build are ready to copy every word written in the page as soon as he finds them.
There. His eyes spy a shelf filled with plaques of honor and he approaches it. His hand reaches to twist a plaque from the shelf and a hidden locker immediately pops out with a mechanical noise.
Inside his office, Abgal glances at a bell which suddenly rings. Then he folds his hands on top of the other before humming into them.
That Bell only means one thing. Someone is rummaging through the hidden section in the archive.
Abgal taps a button on his desk and a screen lights up. It shows the current situation outside of the archive. With a few taps, Abgal sends the screen to playback.
Ahh, that slut has entered the archive with his pet for the day in tow.
Abgal leans back into his chair with a light frown, not really surprised but still angry. He has guessed that someone that transferred here even though he was part of The Akademiya can only be up to no good.
Abgal sniffs haughtily before he takes up a communication device, "Connect me to Lord Samuil of the Supreme Court."
The sun is already rushing to set. Alhaitham steps out of the archive followed by Doctor. They make a little detour to lock Alhaitham's office before they immediately walk down the stairs to the ground level. All without talking to each other.
Once they are out of the Diplomatic Office and quite a long way from there, they lean on each other for support in unison, minds overdosing from information.
Alhaitham rubs his tired from reading eyes as he blindly hooks an arm around Doctor's, "I assume you're done?" he asks before he rests the side of his head to Doctor's shoulder.
Doctor huffs a breath before he rests his own head on top of Alhaitham's, "Yes. As promised, I'll give you the names of our insiders in your faction's Diplomatic Office," Doctor places his foot wrongly and they sway off balance until Alhaitham pulls him steady, Doctor hums deeply before he rubs his cheek on Alhaitham's head, "tomorrow."
Alhaitham's other hand reaches to caress Doctor's arm, "Yes," he amends, "tomorrow."
They walk close to each other in the silence of empty streets, slightly swaying from time to time when one of them loses balance, straight to the underground station.
Colorful lights shine at them from behind. They slightly look back and see fireworks blooming in the night sky followed by many others, not long after the sound of their explosions reach them.
Alhaitham tiredly hums, eyes never leaving the wisps of colorful lights blooming and then trailing off to fade before being replaced by others, "That explains why no one was around."
Doctor makes an acknowledging sound, "I forgot that it's Her Majesty's birthday."
Quiet. Then Alhaitham twists his neck to look at Doctor weirdly.
Doctor raises his eyebrow at Alhaitham, "What?"
For a moment Alhaitham continues to look at Doctor weirdly before he looks back at the fireworks with a sigh, "Nothing."
Alhaitham continues to look at the fireworks so for some time they stand together in the empty street. A cold wind blows at them, causing Alhaitham to subconsciously burrow himself to Doctor's side and Doctor silently covers him with his wing.
[Prime,] Zandik calls out from the link followed by a big yawn, [why don't you bring Alhaitham to the Palace? There should be a fair at the main gate.]
Doctor doesn't answer for some time, eyes emptily staring at the fireworks just like Alhaitham, [Why should I?]
Zandik makes a choked caw of disbelief before he groans, [Just go, for fuck sake. Send any bill to me, I'll pay. Just make sure that Alhaitham has a good time.]
Doctor feels his mind is too tired to argue, so he simply asks Alhaitham directly, "Hayi, do you want to join the celebration?"
Alhaitham doesn't immediately answer, still too busy blankly watching the fireworks.
"Why?" Alhaitham asks back after a while.
"I don't know either," Doctor answers, which causes Alhaitham to look at him, "Omega Build told me to bring you there."
It clicks then and Alhaitham's mouth curves up, "I see…" he trails off fondly despite his fatigue, "tell him to bring me there himself next time. Right now I'm tired," he says before he turns around and pulls Doctor by the elbow to the direction of the underground station.
Doctor, who's a little bit awake now after seeing Alhaitham's smile and hearing his soft tone, hesitates for a moment, "Do you even hear yourself? Next time will be next year."
Alhaitham snorts before he rolls his eyes fondly, "You don't even hear yourself, do you? I'll be around for more than next year."
Doctor stills but Alhaitham continues to pull him forward, "You will?" he asks.
Alhaitham fondly sighs before he tilts his head back to rub Doctor's jaw, "I don't see why I won't."
Doctor's lips tremble as they part and meet yet he can't say anything back after a long time even if he wants to.
[Prime,] Zazan calls, his tone is soft without any hint of ill will for the first time in a long time, [I think it's time to just accept it.]
Doctor swallows back the lump in his throat before he takes a deep breath and releases it, "Hayi," he calls, in which Alhaitham replies with a humm, "I apologize for losing my temper that time, you really caught me by surprise. I've thought more about it and I suppose that it will be alright if you want to adopt a child."
This time Alhaitham stills and they stop walking. Alhaitham turns his whole body to face Doctor, wide-eyed and more awake than ever, his wings flared in surprise.
Doctor composedly folds his arms behind his back and smiles down arrogantly at Alhaitham, "What's with that expression? I figured that even if I probably won't be able to fit in in your imagination of a family, the others might be able to."
For some reason, Alhaitham's wings droop at that, "I see," he disinterestedly mutters before he walks away.
Doctor lets out a strangled caw before he catches up with Alhaitham, inwardly wondering what has he done wrong now.
Alhaitham senses Doctor walking by his side and he blindly hooks an arm around his elbow before pulling him closer to his side, "In any case, as we've discussed, let's get to know each other better first before deciding whether or not to adopt a child."
Doctor's wings twitch, "That's not a realistic plan. Who knows how long we will spend getting to know each other."
Alhaitham huffs an amused exhale, "So what?" he inquires as he sends Doctor a wide smile, "we have a lifetime, don't we?"
Doctor stops walking and this time Alhaitham also stops to fully face him, still smiling wide.
Doctor observes that smile, the smile that's sending waves of warmth to his chest, before reaching out to leave featherlight caresses on Alhaitham's cheek. Perhaps, it's, indeed, the time for him to just accept it.
"Hayi… I love you."
And just like before the simple sweet nothing is enough to send Alhaitham's face ablaze, but this time he doesn't try hiding it, and Doctor is thankful that it's enough. Because he won't know, ever, how to string a ballad worthy of his mate.
Doctor laughs and leans forward so that their eyes are at the same level, "You're too easy don't you think?" he mocks but he's sure that his face is as red as Alhaitham and his mouth is spread into a wide lopsided grin.
Alhaitham scowls, it's so adorable and lovely, and smacks Doctor's chest, "Shut up," then he gets behind Doctor and pushes him into the direction of the underground station.
Doctor laughs again but he says no more and lets himself be pushed.
Alhaitham rests his forehead on Doctor's back as he continues to push him. He secretly bites his lower lip to suppress his happy grin.
You know, Alhaitham is glad. Alhaitham is so very glad.
Truthfully, he lied to Kaveh. He has long known that he's in love.
It was when Alhaitham was researching crows' mating habits. He fell for the way crows court their mate. For some reason, softly singing Avian songs for their mate and dancing together in the air sound so charming to Alhaitham.
And charmed Alhaitham has.
It was shameful how he fell for a description written in a book so he didn't tell Kaveh the truth. It went against his principle of logic. And yet he still fell for it even if he should have known better than that.
But then his mate is so nice to him. Nicer and way more perfect than he ever imagined his mate would ever be.
And then his mate told him he loves him.
… it's too much.
… it's way too good to be true.
Discourse analysis is the basic course for a Haravatat student. Alhaitham knows far too well how words and actions are often twisted to appear appealing in order to gain something.
Alhaitham takes his mate's word to heart because he has no way to prove otherwise, he can only trust that his mate is not lying to him –lies, he doesn't want to know the truth if it means otherwise.
So Alhaitham can only bite his lower lip. He doesn't dare to raise his head nor shed a tear as he identifies different sounds of explosions amidst the sounds of fireworks or when projectiles pierce his heart and lungs, grazing his liver, and …he lost count.
Alhaitham can't prove his mate's words and that's fine.
He doesn't dare to look up or make a sound in case he will see or hear something that indicates he has fallen into a trap.
… Please… just let him die only knowing that his mate loves him.
Alhaitham chooses this. To die as an ignorant fool.
Doctor senses that Alhaitham is no longer pushing him, figuring that Alhaitham has stopped for some reason, he turns around, "Hayi?"
His smile drops.
His head aches.
Blood rushes from his heart as fast as his mind rushing to make sense of what he sees.
[What happened? WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT HAPPENED?]
Why's there so much blood? Why's Hayi on the dirty street? Why does he look so pale?
"...My love…?"
Notes:
The end (tapi bohong)
This fic hasn't ended (but this is a good way to end it ngl) but I won't update next time. I'm taking a hiatus to take care of my final. Will start updating again once I'm on term break.
Also like, I said in my note that you can ask in the comment if my headcanon is confusing but it seems that I haven't been able to explain anything yet because I was afraid of spoiling anything. But now that the story has come to this point, I think it's safe to say that I won't spoil anything so feel free to ask, I'll try my best to explain my world building.
Dottotham in this fic in a nutshell: Alhaitham fell first, Dottore skydived. Unfortunately, they're both too smart to the point that it's stupid.
Here's a spoiler: I believe in happy ending.
Manifesting playable Dottore.
Current f2p fund: 1905 (hopefully my determination won't waver during hiatus)
Chapter 43
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Hayi?" Doctor calls again, he's not sure why.
No response.
Doctor scrambles to reach his mate but his knees malfunction midway. It doesn't deter him in the slightest as he frantically drags himself along the snowy street to his beloved.
"My love…?" Doctor feels his strength leaving his limbs as his skin makes contact with Alhaitham.
Too cold. Way too cold. He knew he should have told him to wear something warmer.
Doctor rolls Alhaitham to his back. His hands frantically check for any sign of vitality in Alhaitham's body.
Doctor feels that Alhaitham's body is getting colder. Alhaitham's pulse is barely found under his trembling fingers. The up and down of Alhaitham's chest is almost nonexistent but blood leaks through every time it does so.
Ah, he should probably stop the bleeding.
… why does he have so many wounds?
[W̸̢̡̢̢̡̢̭̹̪̩̞̗̜͓͕̫̗̲̠̹̰̖̮̲̳̲̣̆̔̋̀̃̚͜͝h̸̢̖͈̲̣̤͇̯͖̝̖̙͔̙͙̮̖̤͒̊̀̏́̇̓͗͋̂̄̏̒̄͛̏͛͊̀͂͗̋̓͋̋̚͘͝ͅa̷̢̨̩̰̺͙͙̲̹̞̻͈̼͈̦̻̘̠̦̮͂̉͒̓͆͑́͂̏̿̏̈́̃͝͠t̷͇̰̻̳͓͚͓͙̪̻̺̠͈͔̑ͅ ̷͚̦̮͖̱̣̫͕̳̫̟̻̋̌͂́̇͋̐̈̆̾͝͠h̵̨̡̧̻̻̟̣̻̺͓̭̪̞̱̠̜̬̮̥̞̰͖͚̖̲̦̫̙̲̟͒́̉̌̾̋̀̾̏̄͛̐́̆̐̈͒͊̃̈́̃̓̂̋̈́̚̕͘a̶̧̡̨̩̠̞̣͙̞͔̰͕̘̫͇̲̞͉̱̦̪̲͎̔͋̈́̀̌̊̿̉̋̌̈́͗͌͊͘͝͠ͅp̵̫̹̭͋̉̾̔̀͋̄͗̈̔̔̃͊̽̓́̐̇͌̔̃̿͒̄̀̅͐̅̚͠p̴̡̡̢̱̬̠̗̮̻͖̠͚̥̪̩͕̱̜̺͕̩̞̝̞̮̺̾̏͒́̔͊͂̅̓̆̊̂͊̑̀̀͂̑͐̈̐͆̋̐̚̚͝͠͝ͅͅẻ̶̛̲̠̳̭̓̓͒̐̚͜ͅn̴̡̢͉̺̼̥͈̖͇͍͇̓̎̒̈́̏͜e̴̢̨̬̙̘̺͍̠͓̓͑̋̈́͜͜ͅd̷̢̨̻̳̱̔̿̈̆͗̎́̃̊̇̆̉́̓̅̌́̚͠͠?̷̧͇͇̘̝̺͔̮̺̋́̏̏̂̋͒̈́͒̿͆̔̐̈́̈̈́̕͠͝͝]
Alhaitham's eyes are drooping, but they still hold some life so Doctor forces Alhaitham's eyelid open and screams to his face, "KEEP THEM OPENED!"
Ah, but you know, Doctor should have known better that Alhaitham had never been very good at following his words.
Doctor loses sight of those beautiful eyes first and then every other vital sign is lost, one by one.
At first, Doctor sits there unmoving, not knowing what to do. Then he frantically pries Alhaitham's eyelid to open again but the sight of a lifeless eye scares him enough to let the eyelid go.
It immediately falls back shut.
A chill goes down Doctor's spine. He's heaving breath through an open mouth as he senses a load of bile slowly crawl up his throat.
Doctor forces the nauseating feeling back down by slapping Alhaitham's face.
He hits Alhaitham's face hard enough that Alhaitham's head is snapped to the left. The harsh sound echoes in the empty streets.
It must have hurt a lot.
Doctor has never hit Alhaitham with the intention to hurt him.
It should hurt.
Doctor hates that he did that.
It was meant to be hurt.
It was meant to be painful.
Pain is good. It means that the patient is alive.
But the patient doesn't respond.
Crows cry out when a living being dies, celebrating the arrival of food, but what sound does it make when its mate dies?
Doctor heightens his senses, hoping to catch any vital signs from his mate. But all that he finds are traces of unfamiliar elemental energy on his mate that stretches to a building so far away, in which he finds a lifeform.
This crow in particular chooses to crow in rage.
The Doctor goes into a rampage.
Approximately a month later
"Kaveh," Cyno calls out from behind his desk at his friend who's cutting a pathetic figure as he pukes his stomach out into a bucket, "you don't actually have to come, y'know."
At that, Kaveh immediately snaps his head up, "Shut up!"
Ah, there he is. The Light of Ksahrewar in all his red-stuffy-nose-from-cold glory. Traces of bile at the corner of his mouth, proof of suffering from seasickness since one third of the way from Sumeru.
Kaveh exaggeratedly inhales through his stuffy nose, making unflattering noises all the while, before he pukes again to his bucket, "I have the right to go along. This is a personal matter to me."
Ah, well. Cyno can't really refute that.
According to the deal between Alhaitham and Lord Kusanali, Alhaitham is supposed to send a weekly report regarding his mission as a diplomat. This is her way of keeping an eye on Alhaitham and, apparently, as a front for Alhaitham to live in Snezhnaya because, apparently, not having that kind of reason is going to be way too suspicious.
On top of that, the head faction has always sent monthly performance reviews to Lord Kusanali. That way if something happens to Alhaitham, Lord Kusanali will know. She's going through the great extent to pay Alhaitham back for his contribution in saving her.
Alhaitham's weekly reports stopped three months ago.
The monthly performance reviews two months ago stated that Alhaitham was terribly injured while off duty and couldn't come to work for a month.
That's a flag if Cyno had ever seen any.
The newest monthly performance reviews arrived 5 days ago and it stated that Alhaitham's whereabout is unknown.
This is why Cyno is on a ship to Snezhnaya. Normally, a diplomat would be the one taking care of this matter, but this case here contains a lot of personal issues as well as national safety issues.
As the General Mahamatra, Cyno finds his presence here is both necessary and unnecessary. Necessary, because Alhaitham's marriage to The Doctor can be seen as a diplomatic marriage so Alhaitham's unknown whereabouts is a diplomatic attack and he needs to address the situation, and unnecessary, because Alhaitham must be a lunatic for agreeing to marry The Doctor in the first place. It's just… Why 'him' of all people? Alhaitham was so popular back in the days, he can probably get someone better.
And then Kaveh bursted into the Sanctuary of Surasthana, again, and demanded to be allowed to go to Snezhnaya to personally search for Alhaitham.
At that moment, Cyno immediately deemed that his presence would be necessary. It's enough that Alhaitham is MIA. He doesn't need another one.
Twenty seven days ago
Prime Dottore loses control. It's funny how he has never done that before and the first time he does, half a district turns into smithereens in one fell swoop.
What's funnier is that no one notices, way too absorbed as they are in the celebration. Thinking back, Prime probably should have thought twice before making a scene on The Tsaritsa's birthday.
But, honestly, who cares? No one notices, anyway.
So Prime flies away from the scene, leaving dozens of destroyed buildings without looking back, with Alhaitham in his arms. It's fine. He has made sure that the culprit is incapacitated but pretty much alive. He also has ordered Alpha Build to fetch them. All that's left to worry is his beloved.
Alhaitham might be unconscious, but if he can reach his lab quickly then there's a chance that he can revitalize him again.
All he needs to do is to hurry.
Prime doesn't land, he crashes through the window closest to his lab. He ignores the mirror shards raining down on him as he quickly walks to the stairs. However, he pauses when something falls from Alhaitham's hand with a clattering sound to the marble floor.
The cryo shackle has come undone.
Prime knows that he should hurry. Yet instead of walking away, he carefully moves Alhaitham's body to one arm before kneeling down and picking it up.
Prime stares at the cryo shackle for a moment, eyes blank and dark but they hold swirling thoughts.
Prime clicks the shackle around Alhaitham's wrist.
It immediately falls back to the floor.
A moment of silence passes before Prime takes the shackle and tries to put it around Alhaitham's wrist again.
The shackle fits around Alhaitham's wrist only for a second before it comes undone again.
Doctor catches the shackle before it can fall. He stares at it, long. Then his lips spread into a snarl and his wings flare before he throws the shackle away.
It explodes upon impact, filling the corridor with icebergs, but Prime doesn't care. He stands before the stairs, taking a second to hold Alhaitham's head close to make sure that it won't hit anything, before he descends the stairs with Alhaitham in his arms.
Underground, Sigma Build has been waiting. There's no need for any instructions, he immediately prepares a pod. When it's time to mix the solution to fill the pod, he hesitates. He knows which solution is best but it feels terribly wrong. He wants to confirm with Prime but neither of them feel like talking. In the end, he mixes as he knows best.
Prime lays Alhaitham down on an operating table. Next to the table are the necessary equipment needed to sterilize Alhaitham and treat his wounds. Undoubtedly, Sigma Build prepared them.
Prime reaches for the scissors and cuts Alhaitham's clothes before taking them off his body. Some blood has dried, causing the clothes to stick and Prime carefully pulls on them. He doesn't want to accidentally peel the blood clot closing the wounds.
It doesn't take long –but still longer than he likes– for Alhaitham to be bare. Prime already has an inkling of how severe Alhaitham's wounds are but when he actually sees the extent of the damage on his body, he stills. He can vaguely sense Sigma Build also comes to a stop somewhere behind him.
The underground lab is deadly quiet as Prime and Sigma Build freeze. Then, slowly, with trembling hands, Prime reaches out to hold Alhaitham's wrist and check for a heartbeat.
The result is obvious. Prime doesn't even know why he even tries.
Prime observes Alhaitham's face. Oh, how he always looks so peaceful when he sleeps. The hand he's holding is cold but so does everything in Snezhnaya. Perhaps, if he kisses him, he will wake up.
The blood ever so slowly pooling under Alhaitham's body finally gathers enough to drip down the edge of the operating table. A drop of blood hits the floor. The smell explodes, snapping Prime and Sigma Build from their denial.
Prime bites his tongue till he tastes blood as he takes a clean cloth and wipes Alhaitham's body. Sigma Build steps forward and goes straight to preparing the needle and thread to stitch the wounds after the projectiles are extracted from Alhaitham's body.
They work silently in the deadly silence. Their hands move fast yet precise. As if they're racing against time and as if they haven't long lost the race.
When Alhaitham is placed well and comfortably within the pod filled with phosphoric blue liquid and all that's left to do is to seal the pod, Sigma Build finally breaks the silence, “This feels wrong.”
At that, Prime pauses.
It's true that as the Prime Segment, all decisions are made by him and it's true that he can decide things regardless of other Segments’ opinions. After all, other Segments' purpose is to only provide an insight from their perspective. Yet, that's also precisely why Prime hesitates. Because when a Segment with the most undeveloped moral view on which is right and which is wrong actually says that something feels wrong, Prime listens and thus he hesitates.
Even if only for a bit.
“Nothing we've done in the past centuries is even remotely morally neutral so why's it that you have moral consciousness now of all time?” Prime also breaks the silence himself, his words are mocking but his tone is weak.
For a moment, Sigma Build stares emptily at Alhaitham within the pod. He knows why this needs to be done and yet… dare he says that he feels scared.
“The changes that will develop in him… what if he hates us for them?” Sigma Build asks yet he does nothing to stop Prime from sealing the pod.
“If he hates us then that will be our responsibility for doing this,” Prime's fingers move swiftly to issue the necessary commands to the pod, “then, perhaps he will finally see reasons and leave.”
Sigma Build says nothing. He simply tilts his head down and lets his wings sag. He mourns as best as he can in his selfish fear.
The pod lights up and Prime steps back so that he can observe the pod fully, “but right now, the main priority is for him to wake up.”
Prime opens the door of the master bedroom. He spent a moment to scan the nest Omega Build has wasted so much precious time to design and build before he steps inside with a disdainful snort.
The existence of the master bedroom is nothing more than a formality. Segments don't need rest and only a fool would hide their most prized possession in their room. It was only after Alhaitham moved here that the master bedroom was actually used.
Prime kneels down beside their nest and pulls out the drawer under the bed. The gifts he has given to Alhaitham as their mating gifts greet him. Carefully stored and treasured oh so well that he freezes and his hands shake again.
[Prime,] Alpha Build calls with the tone he often used long ago, distant and bold, like a soldier, [if you want me to fetch someone alive, then the least you could do is to not leave the target half-dead,] he complains, [her limbs were basically turned into paste that I needed to seal the wounds with fire to keep her alive but this ungrateful bitch had the gall to fall unconscious so I had to electrocute her several times. And just so you know, this happened several times.]
Prime clenches his shaking hands to calm them before he takes a velvet box from the drawer, [Keep her alive until I say otherwise,] he orders as he stores Alhaitham's earring inside the box and returns it into the drawer.
[And I suppose I am to keep her away from the rest of the Fatui?] Alpha Build mockingly asks before he continues on without waiting for Prime to confirm, [damn! Am I so idle in your view that you order me to do all this alone?!]
Before anyone can say anything, Alpha Build continues his rant, [Oh, and now that brat is approaching!] Prime waits, and sure enough, Alpha Build continues, [DAMNIT! This bitch passes out again!] he growls in frustration.
Prime pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh, [Don't forget to adjust the voltage,] he reminds.
[I KNOW!] Alpha Build snaps, [who do you take me for?! This bitch better be worth the trouble or I swear I'm going to inject her with rifthound’s blood.]
[Yo, bitch boy,] Sigma Build calls, finally done listening to his tantrum, [stop having a hissy fit and hear this. The traces of elemental energy on Alhaitham's body is the same as the traces from ‘that’ day.]
The link falls deadly silent and Prime takes that as his chance to walk to his desk and sits down. As some more time passes without anything, he takes a blank sheet of paper and starts doodling.
Alpha Build laughs. It starts off as a giggle, rumbling low and dark, before it escalates into something loud and manic.
Then, the laughter vanishes.
[Understood,] Alpha Build says.
With that, Prime flicks his pen away and crumples his sheet of paper. He's done there, so he stands up and walks off to the balcony.
As Prime closes the balcony door behind him and the frigid wind of Snezhnaya whistles along his mask, he can't fight the way his body pauses and his insides quake.
It seems that there was a blizzard when he was away last night.
Everything is encased in ice. The balcony looks desolated. Prime doesn't know why or for what reason, but he lets out a caw.
The noise is soft, sad, and so vulnerable that he feels embarrassed. And yet, he keeps making that noise. Repetitive, like a call. Prime tries to cover his mouth with his hand to stop the noise coming from his mouth but instead, his knees malfunction again and he falls.
Prime finds himself unable to move, stuck kneeling before the table and chairs that have never been used prior to Alhaitham's arrival. Suddenly, a bitter taste fills his mouth and a lump stucks in his throat…. He misses his bel-
[Omega Build,] Prime calls, cutting his own thoughts, [meet up with Alpha Build and work with him to sort out the assailant while taking care of your usual duties.]
Omega Build doesn't respond for a moment, [... Understood,] then he says with a hoarse voice.
[I'm bringing her to the western bunker,] Alpha Build informs.
[Don't go overboard,] Prime warns before he moves on with his orders, [Sigma Build, monitor Alhaitham. Try to revitalize his heart, I'm sure you know how, and keep a tight watch on his brain waves, don't let it fall asleep.]
[Yeah, sure, whatever,] Sigma Build says but his voice lacks the usual bite, [at this point, I won't even be surprised if babysitting him is my full job.]
No one says anything after, and Prime lets out a long sigh if only to ease the pressure in his chest for even a little bit.
It does nothing.
Prime wryly grins to himself and leans back to look at the sky, he has no intention to get up yet. Tonight's the rare occasion where the sky is clear. The moon is bright and its silver light shines down beautifully.
Prime looks away from the moon, disinterested.
He doesn't need a substitute.
Notes:
Dottore is in denial, he wants to be in denial, but unfortunately, as a scholar he needs to always see the truth of the matter. It's fun to write.
Sup ppl, I miss writing fic.
For now, the update schedule will be irregular because I don't have other chapters written yet but if all is according to plan, I should be able to update again on Sunday.
Don't worry. I'm having fun writing this. I update because I need to destress from my final.Cat update:
Cyanide has five kittens now. I'm naming them all Schrodinger but there's only one true Schrodinger, I have no idea which, therefore if I call them Schrodinger, I might be wrong or I might be right.
That's my plan anyway, but Imma be honest I'll probably end up calling them Ding-ding.Manifesting playable Dottore.
Current f2p fund: 5819 (sadly, I'm going to pull for Raiden to maximize my Alhaitham team)
Chapter 44
Notes:
Happy early new years (it's already the 31st at my place, idk the date at yours).
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Alpha Build drops the woman on the floor –he feels that throwing her down will be more satisfying but he doesn't want to spend any more energy on her. He steps on the woman's wounded leg, checking if she's still conscious. She only lets out a weak whimper from the pain, meaning that she's half-awake.
That won't do.
Alpha Build kicks her side, aiming for her liver but making sure he doesn't kick it too hard lest he accidentally destroys it and kills her.
The woman lets out a screeching wail from the pain. Suddenly more lucid, she squirms on the floor, trying to get away from the source of her pain but Instead finding that she's having a hard time moving. She sits up, failing a lot before finally managing to sit, and looks at her hands.
Alpha Build sighs to himself and looks around for a chair. This is going to take some time. Finding none, he walks off to the nearest crate and sits there.
The woman is now staring dumbfoundedly at the stumps that were her hands. As her breathing grows shorter and faster, she starts to shake. The longer she stares, the longer she becomes more aware of the pain as well as the situations. Her whole body feels painful. Desperate whines come from her throat as she looks around in panic.
That's when she finally sees Alpha Build's masked figure casually sitting on a crate and looking down at her.
With a flinch, she calms her breath. Although, by all means, she doesn't magically stop panicking. If anything, her shaking has only grown worse. But Alpha Build will give it to her for her attempt to recollect herself in front of her group’s enemy.
The woman tries so hard to appear dignified that it's almost funny. She glares warningly at Alpha Build as if she isn't trying to slowly inch herself away from him out of fear.
Idiot. If Alpha Build were her, he would have assessed the extent of his injuries first before even thinking of moving.
Sure enough, she doubles over with pained whines slipping through her gritted teeth not long after. Her stumps of arms uselessly bump against her torso, trying in vain to ease her pain.
Pathetic.
And yet how dare this pathetic creature make an attempt on Alhaitham's life, not only once but twice.
The woman finally caves into the pain. She lets herself cry and lets out annoying wails. But not even that is allowed for her as something in her throat snaps and breathing suddenly becomes very difficult.
She chokes on herself. Saliva trails down from her gaping mouth as she desperately tries to take in air. Interestingly, amidst the lack of oxygen, she seems to suddenly remember Alpha Build's presence again.
She glares at him with hatred behind her eyes. Undoubtedly, a thousand curses are hanging on her lips, ready to be thrown carelessly if only she's not too busy trying to breathe.
Alpha Build stares back with disinterest. He raises an eyebrow at the woman but says nothing. He's more than content in silently watching her slowly die –not that he would allow her to die.
The bunker continues to be shrouded in total silence until the entrance door opens from outside.
Alpha Build doesn't look back, he already knows who the newcomer is, but the woman immediately looks at the door with a stupidly misplaced hope.
The way her eyes immediately drop with despair when Omega Build steps inside is so hilarious that Alpha Build snorts.
Who did she even expect? Her savior?
“Oh, dear,” Omega Build exclaims and Alpha Build's face immediately scrunches up in disgust, “how could you leave her like this? Her wounds might get infected this way,” he kneels next to her, “please pardon my impudence, lady. I need to treat your wounds,” he says as he slips his hands under her arms and carries her to a table.
The woman can't see Omega Build's face, but Alpha Build can. He can see his disgusted expression even if his face is covered by his mask.
[Hypocrite,] Alpha Build comments, [you disgust me.]
Omega Build busies himself by searching for medical supplies and doesn't glance at Alpha Build as he retorts, [Didn't Prime tell you to keep her alive?]
Alpha Build shrugs even if no one can see it, [She is better off dead. Won't you agree?]
Omega Build returns to the woman with a box of medical supplies and starts treating her wounds, [Sadly, I would have to disagree,] he answers.
“Clench your teeth, lady. This might hurt,” Omega Build says to the woman before he pours antiseptic on her leg.
[She is not allowed to die yet,] Omega Build continues, [she hasn't suffered enough.]
Alpha Build hums. Alright, he can compromise on that regard. But his lips still curl in dissatisfaction.
“Ah, what terrible wounds,” Omega Build comments, “who would be so cruel to cause these on you?”
Alpha Build rolls his eyes while inwardly letting out a groan, [Her jaw is dislocated, y'know. If you intend to keep talking to her, then at least fix it first.]
[I'm just doing my job, Alpha Build,] Omega Build says.
The corner of Alpha Build's lips twitches up, [So you won't fix it?]
[Not yet,] Omega Build says as he cuts open the woman's thigh to extract the dead flesh, pretending to not notice the woman's pain, [at least not until her voice is needed.]
Prime stands tall in front of the empty throne, his position there is both as a defendant and a prosecutor. Layer of aloofness masks his face under his Harbinger’s mask. There, he silently waits for the necessary parties to come.
Pantalone stands at the side of the walkway to the throne. He would rather not be here but he needs to make sure that things don't implicate him too badly. After all, he never agreed to allow Diplomat Alhaitham to be involved in the fight against the rebels. Yet here he is, stuck between wanting to beat Dottore up for his mistakes and wanting to flee from the grieving Avian.
Speaking plainly, Diplomat Alhaitham's death is Dottore's fault. But he won't say that to his face, it's clear and Pantalone is sure that he is aware already. So there's no need to provoke him. Grieving Avians tend to be very destructive. Honestly, Pantalone is worried about what Dottore might do to vent his grief. Pure strength might not be Dottore's value as the Second Harbinger, can’t be said that he's weak either though, but his schemes are.
Yet, Pantalone has a feeling that he can ruin a whole nation if he wishes to. He knows Dottore has mastered biological warfare long ago. Oh, it's so easy for him to ruin this nation. He just needs to poison the water, land, and air.
Thus Pantalone is here. To gauge how far losing his mate has affected Dottore. He'll also try to make his standing in this affair clear to Her Majesty.
The throne room’s doors part and come in Her Majesty followed by Pierro, the rebel investigation group tails behind them before joining Pantalone at the side.
Normally, standing right in front of the throne before given permission to do so is considered an insult to the crown, and yet Dottore continues to stand tall. He doesn't budge, his wings don't twitch in the slightest, even if he's blocking Her Majesty's path to the throne.
Pantalone sweats. His wings are tense as the muscles of his hands twitch from nerves. Dottore is trying to court death at this point.
The standoff between Her Majesty who stops behind Dottore because her path is blocked and Dottore who's rooted to his place continues. The mood in the throne room grows more nerve-wracking by the second. The rest of the Harbingers present are itching to teach Dottore his place but also afraid of causing a scene in front of Her Majesty.
A soft sigh that causes the whole room to chill several degrees from Her Majesty manages to calm the situation. She benevolently side steps past Dottore to reach the throne. Pierro sends a meaningful glare at Dottore as he passes him but Dottore isn't even looking at him. He's gazing straight ahead, eyes focused at nothing, cold and aloof, not showing the slightest hint of weakness.
The Tsaritsa sits upon her throne, gazing down at her subjects for a moment before she opens her mouth, “Today, I am reminded once again that humans are ambitious creatures,” she starts, her voice akin to a draft, “generation after generation there always are humans who plan to take over my beloved nation,” she pauses to let out a saddened sigh as she wipes the corner of her eye, “and today, standing before me is one of the victims of their greed. One of my Harbinger, The Doctor.”
The Tsaritsa pauses again. Her ice blue eyes gaze at Dottore with sympathy, as if she's waiting for him to say something or even cry. Too bad, Dottore has no intention to take part in her farce, “I heard that this round of rebel groups has been going on for more than a year. So please, pray tell, why is it that they've yet to be subdued?” he asks before he flicks his wings, “I am aware that I'm hardly in the position to say anything since national defense is not a part of my duties. But that is, until they seem to start targeting me,” he says, softly hinting his accusations, “what does the Tri-Copiae have to say about this?”
The feathers of Childe’s wings immediately ruffle from that but before he can say anything that will only shame them more, Arlecchino speaks up.
“It's not unusual for you to be targeted. After all, you're a high-ranked Harbinger,” Arlecchino defenses, causing Dottore to tilt his head to the side without looking at her, “the rebels seem to be targeting you due to your notoriety and status. If anyone else happened to be in your position then they would have been targeted instead.”
Dottore tilts his head down and chuckles, “and, somehow, that excuses your mistake?”
This time Capitano speaks up before Arlecchino can retort, “It's not an excuse,” he says before he bows his head deeply, “on the behalf of the Tri-Copiae, I apologize. Our incompetence has resulted in the death of your mate,” he says, causing the room to plunge into suffocating silence.
Childe jumps and lets out a choked squawk at what Capitano said. Pantalone appears to be collected on the outside but inwardly, he's sweating bullets. Capitano might have callously mentioned that since he's not an Avian so he doesn't know, but that doesn't mean Dottore will let this pass.
Underneath his mask, Dottore is glaring at the floor, trying so hard to keep himself from losing control again. Yet try as he might, there are still changes to his demeanor. His wings are still folded but his feathers are all ruffled, his chest is slightly heaving from rapid angry breathing, and his fists are shaking by his sides. Oh, it's difficult to do. It's so very difficult to remain calm.
As if noticing Dottore's inability to remain collected, The Tsaritsa raises her hand and says, “Doctor, I hope you do realize that Diplomat Alhaitham's safety within this nation is your duty.”
Dottore sucks in a few breaths through gritted teeth, “Be that as it may, might I be so bold to remind Your Majesty that as a diplomat, my mate was supposed to be under the protection of Tri-Copiae?”
The Tsaritsa hums, causing the frosted ceiling to vibrate, “Yes, that's correct and I believe that The Rooster has informed everyone present that Diplomat Alhaitham is vital in our relationship with Sumeru,” she gazes past Dottore to look at the Tri-Copiae, “Tri-Copiae, what will be your say regarding this matter?”
Arlecchino swiftly steps forward before either Childe or Capitano can twitch a finger, “With all due respect for the dead and his mate, Your Majesty. Diplomat Alhaitham wasn't supposed to be involved in our operation at all. If it wasn't because of Dottore's suggestion…,” she trails off, letting her next words be that of what listeners imagine.
This time, Pantalone decides to speak up, “At that time, all of us present as well as The Rooster are all aware of what might happen if we involved Diplomat Alhaitham. Yet we all agreed regardless. I believe that blaming Dottore for this unfortunate incident is both unfair and cruel,” there, hopefully this is enough to convince Dottore that he wishes to remain on peaceful terms with him.
Surprisingly, Dottore breaks the tension by letting out dark chuckles, the sounds reverberate in the echoey throne room, “Ah…,” he amusedly sighs, “I wonder how come things have gotten reduced to this act of pointing fingers at each other,” he mocks, “my intention for requesting this audience is simply to notify the Tri-Copiae of how daring the rebel group has become,” Dottore sharply rearranges his wings, “therefore, by all means, leave my mate out of your petty arguments of who's at fault,” he hisses.
The Tsaritsa regards Dottore for a moment, “Is that truly all your reason to gather us today, Doctor?”
Dottore tilts his head, the action is borderline disrespectful, “Of course not,” he says before he absentmindedly rubs his gloved fingers together, “The Dendro Archon’s warning stated that she claims my mate as part of her branches,” his fingers stop moving as he looks straight at the throne, “I wish to keep my mate’s body with me. There's a high chance that The Dendro Archon will want my mate's body back. But as his mate, I have the right to keep him by my side.”
Her Majesty looks at Dottore with an unreadable expression, “I understand. But this request might be difficult to grant.”
Dottore sighs and flicks his wings, “The Dendro Archon is also at fault as much as anyone else,” catching Her Majesty's interested look, Dottore continues, “my mate was allowed to go with me under the condition that he becomes a diplomat and report back to her on who might be a thorn inside the Sumerian faction’s Diplomatic Office. We are all aware that the rebel group has some form of connection there. The Dendro Archon had sent him to the crossfire. Whether it was intentional or not, she still sent him to his death.”
The Tsaritsa hums but this time the temperature rises slightly, signaling her elation, “That will be acceptable. Very well, I'll do what I can,” she slightly tilts her head as she looks at Dottore, “Is there any other reason, Doctor?”
Dottore rearranges his wings before he squares up his shoulders, “Seeing as the Tri-Copiae seems to be having a hard time dealing with the rebel group. I'll lend my help as best as I can.”
Her Majesty's eyebrows raise slightly, “So you wish to partake in their extermination?”
For the first time since he arrived in the throne room, Dottore smiles, it's such a cold smile that rivals even the temperature of the throne room, “Yes.”
The mood is pretty dead in the underground lab. Sigma Build hates it. Yet he can do nothing about it, not even is he able to leave. Even if he's able to, he won't. Someone needs constant monitoring.
So Sigma Build rubs his tired eyes and flips his notes to a new page. Several reference books surround him, all opened. Revitalizing one's heart is, usually, not this complicated. Sending electro energy to some acupuncture points in the chest is usually enough.
Unfortunately, Hayi's case isn't that simple. Each of his wounds are life threatening and difficult to recover from. Among all kinds of injuries, a stab wound is the deadliest. This is because the extent of the damage is mostly unknown. If the stab is deep then it has a high chance of injured internal organs. And Alhaitham was basically barraged with stab wounds.
The list of Alhaitham's injuries is enough to give Sigma Build a headache. He managed to assess how deep each projectile had injured Alhaitham in the little time he had when he was extracting the projectiles within his body. To put it simply, Hayi's condition is disheartening, hopeless even. His, better than most, self-regenerating attribute won't be able to catch up.
Sigma Build huffs a groan as he massages his temple before he bangs his head on his note.
After being electrocuted, the patient's heart rate will race from adrenaline. This is bad news for Alhaitham since the fast heart rate might cause blood to burst from the newly recovered blood vessels that will lead to internal bleeding that will send the patient into a critical condition. Therefore, to revitalize Hayi’s heart means that Sigma Build needs to find a way to adjust his heart beat.
Sigma Build raises his fists and slams the table repeatedly in frustration before he aggressively swivels his chair to face the single used pod in the room where the source of his problem is currently being so inconsiderately unconscious.
Sigma Build glares, long and hard, before his eyes start tearing up and his lips tremble, “Fuck you,” he weakly curses, “I know you're an omen of trouble the first time you contacted Prime but unfortunately, before I can do anything, you've already got Prime wrapped around your finger,” Sigma Build leans to his chair in defeat, “and after that, before I know it, you have gotten all of us at your beck and call,” this time, he looks at Alhaitham with sadness and his wings are limp behind him.
Sigma Build waits in silence, as if by doing so a miracle will happen. Of course, nothing happens. And so, Sigma Build cynically laughs to himself.
“Record stated that Kind Deshret tried to revive the Goddess of Flower and by doing so, he leads his civilization to ruin,” Sigma Build says aloud as he stands up from his chair to approach a table with various chemicals on top, “don't think that ‘we’ won't do the same. In fact, we might do something more extreme,” he glances back at Alhaitham with a toothy grin, “you better wake up soon or Prime might become too impatient,” he threatens.
Unfortunately, his threat results in nothing. Alhaitham stays dead. His heart beat is still a flat line. Not even his brain waves show any fluctuation.
Sigma Build’s grin drops along with his shoulders and wings. He looks at Alhaitham dejectedly for a long time, hoping that if he waits some more time, something will change.
But nothing changes, so he turns back to the table and starts mixing the chemicals, “Fine, be like that,” he mutters.
It doesn't take long before Sigma Build is done. He already knows what to make by heart. It's just that he's kinda conflicted about it.
He brings the solution with him as he approaches Alhaitham and stops right in front of his pod, the glow from the phosphoric blue liquid bathes him in cold light, “None of ‘us’ knows you well,” he states as he fiddles with the tube filled with the solution he just made, “but I feel like you would prefer to die like this,” he gestures at Alhaitham's whole being, “fully human, over dying in the unforeseeable future as something that's no longer 100% human.”
Sigma Build kneels down beside the pod where he can inject the solution in his hand into the pod, he grins to himself, “Unfortunately, Prime is selfish. Well, all of us are, but he's the only one that is selfish enough to immediately decide that you should be revived.”
Sigma Build directs his grin at Alhaitham but his grin slowly fades and a vulnerable expression shows on his face, “Actually, to ‘us’, the state of being dead isn't when the heart is no longer beating but when the brain has fallen asleep,” he awkwardly says as he averts his eyes to inject the solution into the pod, “so don't hate me too much for this,” he mumbles.
The content is emptied and Sigma Build looks up to watch with dead eyes as the solution mixes with the liquid inside the pod and the phosphoric blue slowly changes into light purple. There it is, the moment where his decision is sealed. From this moment on, he will be the reason for the changes in Alhaitham's body.
Sigma Build lets out a shaky snort that fades into a sad cawing laugh, his wings frantically twitching behind him, before he bangs his head on the pod, “Hayi…” he weakly calls, “wake up soon, won't you?” he asks as he accidentally lets a sniffle slip, “I miss you,” he admits because unlike the rest of the Segments, he isn't mentally strong enough to continue to deny Alhaitham's condition.
Unfortunately, even after a month has passed, Alhaitham is still deeply asleep.
Notes:
Headcanon note: the Tri-Copiae is basically Snezhnaya's national defense. There are three forces led by a Harbinger.
Arlecchino leads the force situated in the homeland (basically the police as well as the secret service).
Capitano leads the naval army.
Childe, with the help of Pulcinella, leads the army. (Pulcinella acts as the strategist)
Okay, to anyone who play Honkai: Star Rail, is it just me or Dr. Ratio is the Dottotham's love child? (I might be just deluded but screw it, he's my favorite character now)
Hear me out: he mostly takes after Alhaitham but he has Dottore's complicated disdain for the mediocre (fellow scholars that are not smart enough to understand his research) and somewhat tolerate the geniuses (the Archons). His intention in the quest is so similar to Dottore's research (BUT the reasoning is different. Dr. Ratio has a kinder reason).Also, for now I'll update once a week until I manage to write more. It's not that I don't have the time to write or don't want to write, it's just that whenever I'm about to (I already know what I want to write down to every detail) I just don't feel like typing it and I just stare at my phone and then fall asleep. Speech-to-text won't work since I have an accent and I kinda don't want to read (write?) this fic aloud.
The kittens are very distracting. Most of the time they're just these tiny little fluff balls that sleep all day but whenever Cyanide comes home they cry so loud. They are soooooo cute I just want to squish them.If there's any artist reading this, please, enlighten me. I get internally competitive at times whenever I draw that mostly my drawing just make me sad. I'm kinda pissed that I can't draw what I imagine (I know this is normal but like, I literally have no idea what I'm doing. Watching SpeedPaint doesn't help no more. I can't understand how this stroke with a bit of this layer effect can create this.
Alright, practice is the key to that but how? How do you practice something that you don't understand?
I'm genuinely asking cuz I'm so bad at color theory that I might as well be secretly color blind)
That was half a rant, half a cry for help. I think, to me, drawing is that kinda hobby that only stress and drain my money. Ftm, I'll just stick to writing.
Manifesting playable Dottore.
Current f2p fund: 6979
Chapter Text
16 days after Alhaitham's time of death
Abgal amicably waves a goodbye at the guard at the front of the Diplomatic Office as he steps down the short flight of stairs to the main street. Once he's a block away from his working place, the friendly smile on his face drops and he massages the back of his neck tiredly.
What a hassle. That slut from The Akademiya had only come for work for 3 days at most and they're not even a full shift but the stuff he has to take care of because of him is on the same scale as when he needs to write the monthly review. Come to think of it, the amount of care he needs to exert when he writes the monthly review in itself has also spiked ever since that slut arrived.
Now, even if that slut is dead, he's only getting busier. Some of his own diplomats even proposed that their faction seek an audience with The Tsaritsa and ask for justice for that slut.
He actually needed to refrain himself from losing his temper when he heard that.
What a fool. They have no idea what they're getting into. Seeking justice? In a land called Snezhnaya where the powerful step on the weak?
Seeking justice is but also another privilege of the powerful here. They're just mere diplomats, just errand boys for the two nations.
‘Representative of A Nation’? Laughable. They're just papers who happen to contain something important. As important as the content written on them might be, in the end they're just paper. Completely expendable.
And they dare to even request to meet the head of this nation?
Abgal lets out a guttural sigh through his gritted teeth.
Being a fool is one thing, but what they're trying to do is the same as steering a ship into a reef. In this case the ship is the whole Sumerian Diplomatic Office. His diplomats are not even aware that they're going to go up against the Supreme Court.
Abgal has heard of a rebellion group planning a coup against The Tsaritsa. He has no interest in that whatsoever. His daily life is already rough enough for him, he doesn't need to meddle with the affairs of this nation. But that slut just had to stick his nose to somewhere other than his master's dick.
What the Supreme Court had done to that slut might be considered extreme, even for Abgal who has seen a lot of things ever since he started working in Snezhnaya, but it's not too unwarranted. A mere diplomat from the lowest rank dares to see the nation’s dirty water. It's not even funny.
That slut chose his own fate. Yet after his death, he retaliates by giving him a lot of trouble.
“Well, at least he won't be able to add more trouble,” Abgal grumbles to himself as he stands to a stop at his destination, the public station.
Abgal is alone there. Even the security post is empty. Not surprising since he comes this late at night, well, late enough for coworkers to no longer be outside but not late enough for criminals to come out. It's probably time for a shift change.
Pain pulses in Abgal's head and he sighs again before patting his pocket for a cigarette.
He finds his cigarette box in his front pocket. He takes one out and lit it up before taking a long drag and slowly lets it out through his nose. Instantly, some of his headache fades away.
Abgal spends his time waiting for the public transport to come accompanied by his cigarette. Quite some time passes with nothing, he checks his pocket watch and frowns when he notices that the public transport is late. But before he even thinks of looking for the security guard to inquire, he sees the light from the vehicle coming from afar.
Abgal waits for it to arrive. Before long the vehicle comes to a stop right in front of him and the doors slowly open. He immediately steps onto the vehicle.
Inside, Abgal finds an Avian sitting silently. He's a little bit surprised but he supposes he can't think that he's the only person working overtime today.
“Good evening,” he greets the gentleman as he passes him to find a seat.
Abgal pauses when he reaches the end of the vehicle. He looks at the white iron wall in front of him in confusion. Is it just him or the vehicle seems to be shorter?
“What seems to be the matter?” the Avian suddenly asks, snapping Abgal from his thoughts.
“Nothing,” Abgal says as he turns around to scan the room for where he should sit.
Abgal spends quite a long time scanning the area. He's in the same cart as the engine room and there are only two rows of seats. Hmm, perhaps the reason why the vehicle feels shorter is because he's on the first cart.
“Am I making you uncomfortable to the point where you hesitate to sit across from me?” the Avian asks.
Abgal immediately shakes away his thoughts, seems like he has been quite rude to the Avian by hesitating, “My apologies, I didn't intend to come across like that,” he says.
Abgal approaches the seat across from the stranger. He secretly observes him as he sits down. The Avian is dressed like any worker in Snezhnaya. The only difference is that his clothes seem to be more expensive, typical. His head is tilted low to the point where his chin is pressed to his chest, causing his hat to cast a shadow over most of his face.
A light flashes through the windows and Abgal blinks. It seems like the vehicle has started to move.
Oh, but when Abgal looks through the window, the station isn't even in sight.
Abgal feels his heart skips a beat. How come the vehicle has started moving without him noticing? There's always a huge shake whenever the vehicle starts.
Only then, does Abgal realize that he's not on the usual public transportation.
Abgal sucks in a breath but he chokes on his cigarette smoke. He coughs out the smoke as he snuffs the cigarette, secretly trying to take more of his surroundings.
… He can't find anything suspicious.
Abgal clears his throat as he inwardly tries to calm himself. There's no way that the Supreme Court would send an assassin his way, right? He was the one who reported that slut.
Oh, but what if they want to completely tie all the loose ends?
Abgal immediately pales.
No, no. They won't. At most, they're just going to send him a warning. After all, he proved himself to be valuable.
Abgal lets out a long sigh, his worry seems to go away along with it. But when he twists his body to look through the window behind him, he jolts from panic.
The transport vehicle is not even in the citadel anymore.
Abgal straightens his back and his whole body tenses, flight or fight instinct ready to be triggered at any time.
The vehicle is now speeding through a snowfield. There's no semblance of civilization anywhere Abgal sees, though who knows what's under all that snow.
Abgal twists his body the other way in panic, his eyes frantically search for the traces of the citadel. It's so far away now and he's only getting further. Abgal feels his breath hitches and his hands tremble from fright. How come the vehicle is even able to move this fast.
“Are you alright?” The Avian who was so far unmoving suddenly asks, surprising Abgal enough to make him jump on his seat.
Abgal looks at the Avian, his eyes wide as he searches the Avian for clues as to why he's treated this way.
The Avian is looking at him now, causing Abgal to be able to see his masked face clearly. There's a calm and relaxed smile adorning the Avian’s lips. It's so surreal compared to what Abgal is feeling.
Abgal searches and searches for clues, hoping that if he can figure out who sent this Avian, then he can find a way to bargain.
“Careful now, Sir Abgal,” the Avian amusedly says, his voice so soothing that Abgal feels goosebumps rise along his arms, “as a public figure, it would be unbefitting for you to keep showing your prejudice against Avian.”
Abgal's fingers twitch and they nervously clench around nothing as he lets out a strained laugh, “You mistook me, my good sir. Rather than your species, it's your job that I hold against you,” he says as he continues to search, if he can figure out who sent this man then perhaps he can bargain for his life.
The Avian tilts his head, his bangs sways from the movement. Abgal stares at them for a moment before he chokes on his breath. The Avian has silverish-gray hair, it's the same shade as that slut.
“Now, just what do you think my job could possibly be?” the Avian asks, he sounds as playful as much as he's threatening.
The vehicle passes under something, blocking the light from outside for a moment and then the silverish-gray hair is no longer there, changed to light blue.
Abgal has seen that shade of light blue.
He secretly gulps before he states as calmly as he could, “Fatui,” the Avian's dark wings twitch, Abgal doesn't know if that's a good sign or not, “which really begs the question as to why the Fatui would send you to give me this treatment,” Abgal looks past the Avian to see through the window, they're still speeding through a snowfield.
“Well, aren't you proud of your job,” the Avian mocks, “of course, normally Fatui won't look for trouble with any diplomat due to the troubles it brings but…” the Avian trails off as he idly taps his index finger on his lap while continuing to stare at Abgal, his mask coldly glints under the moonlight phasing through both side of the windows, “let's just say that this predicament is quite personal.”
Abgal's insides chill, if that's the case then it will be difficult for him to bargain, yet he lets out a mocking chuckle, “Ahh, really…” he sighs as he rubs his jaw in mockery, “didn't you say it yourself that ‘Your Lady’ is a respectable married Avian? And yet here you are,” Abgal gestures at the Avian's whole being in amusement, “trying to avenge the death of ‘Your Lady? A mere lapdog like you?” He can't quite hold back the ugly cackles bursting from his chest, “‘personal’, huh?” he wipes the tears of amusement from the corner of his eyes, “you had a forbidden feeling for that slut, didn't you?” Abgal sees the Avian's head moves, he can't see his expression due to his mask but he's sure that the Avian looking at him, so he slightly leans forward, “did you love ‘Your Lady’, the slut from Sumeru, the mate of The Second Harbinger,” Abgal grins wider, “your superior’s ‘woman’?”
The Avian stares at Abgal, taken aback. After quite a long time, his shoulders slightly slumps and he looks away with a sigh while scratching the back of his neck. For a second, Abgal's chest feels light with relief but that feeling is instantly gone the moment the Avian opens his mouth again.
“You're a fool, aren't you?” the Avian asks and Abgal is sent to a full-blown panic.
Abgal leans back from surprise. His whole body tenses again as his mind quickly works out what he had missed.
To stall for time, Abgal laughs, “And just what do you mean by that? Trying to deny it when it's so clear that you're acting alone for the sake of avenging ‘Your Lady’?” Abgal stands up from his seat with a chuckle, “enough of this,” he commands, traces of amusement are gone from his voice, “I am the Head faction from the Sumerian Diplomatic Office. If you return me right now then I'll let you off this time.”
The Avian stares at him and Abgal looks down on him while putting on an air of authority. They continue in that stare down for quite a long time to the point that Abgal becomes worried.
Then, “You really are a fool, Sir Abgal. It's laughable,” the Avian says, his arms crossed in disappointment.
Abgal angrily sputters before he yells, “And you are a fool yourself! Do you have any idea what you're about to do to me will implicate you later on?! Even if you've planned all this very carefully, there's no way The Knave’s force won't be able to tie it back to you!” Abgal angrily slams his fist to a metal pipe next to him, “ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO SACRIFICE YOUR LIFE FOR THAT DEAD SLUT!”
The Avian's wings bristle and his fists shakes, “Sit back down, Sir Abgal,” the Avian hisses an order.
Abgal can sense the unbridled rage hidden in the Avian's voice. He never intended to follow his order and yet his knees give out from sheer fear and he falls back down to his seat. Abgal warily stares at the Avian, guarding himself if the Avian would suddenly lunge at him. His fingers are freezing. He isn't sure if it's just him or the general temperature, but his breath is coming out in mists.
“Have you ever considered that the reason I'm coming after you is because of another reason?” the Avian coldly asks, his wings lightly spread behind him as he sits unmoving as if he's a predator watching a prey.
Abgal lets out a shaky breath that fades into a hysterical laughter, mists coming out from his mouth and covering his vision, “Well, I'm quite sure that I have no business with you otherwise,” he answers as he rubs his hands together.
Why's it so Archon damned cold?
Abgal looks away from the predator in front of him to search for the cause of the chill, only to find out that the lights inside the vehicle have gone out. In fact, everything has gone out. Even the engine of the vehicle is absent. Abgal can only hear the rumbling of the vehicle.
Abgal lets out a gasp and he fully turns around to look out the window. A desolate snowfield greets him. Search as Abgal might, he can't find any clue as to where he is. Even when he looks up, the sky is covered with dark clouds, no stars to guide his position.
There's no escape.
Abgal frantically scratches the window, trying to open the latch.
The Avian ignores Abgal's escape attempt, “Well, the possible reason for my presence here is actually quite varied. It can be that my ‘superior’ ordered me to find you, it can also be that you're under suspicion for colluding with a certain rebel group.”
Abgal manages to open the window. Extremely frigid wind blows inside and Abgal immediately flinches back from the window. But soon enough he remembers his task and he braces himself before sticking his upper body out to search for any familiar landmark.
Abgal finds nothing. All he finds is the proof that just as he thought, the engine is not moving, and the vehicle is moving at the speed that if he jumps out, sure death awaits him.
Filled with despair once again, Abgal quickly thinks and decides to face his captor, “I'm not, in any way, colluding with any rebellion, and you have no right to treat me this way with no evidence,” Abgal says, trying to appear calm as if he hadn't panicked earlier, “and do you want me to believe that the master of the slut who betrayed his nation is ordering you to do this?”
At that, the Avian lets out a deep sigh full of disappointment, “Well, it seems that you're dead set on your perspective regarding this matter so let me just say this. Right now the rebel group has been marked as very dangerous to the point where people who seem to have any connection are allowed to immediately be captured. It's just a shame that someone happened to have made a mistake with a certain Harbinger.”
At first, Abgal stares at the Avian, unbelieving, before his body starts to tremble heavily and he immediately runs to the engine room and bangs at the door, “STOP THE VEHICLE!” he yells urgently as his hands urgently try to open the door, “STOP… it…” he trails off in horror once the door slides open and what greets him is an empty room.
“I suggest that you retake your seat, Sir Abgal. The road ahead might be too rough for you,” the Avian calls out.
Abgal doesn't heed him. He's frozen with terror as he blankly stares at the railway ahead. Then he violently flinches back when he sees that sign.
A dead end.
The vehicle is fast approaching the end of the railway even if the engine has been turned off for who knows since when. Abgal quickly steps inside the engine room to desperately slam any button and pull any lever, anything to stop the vehicle. Unfortunately, it's no use.
The vehicle hits the sign and demolishes it. Even so, it continues to move. It continues to move even if it's on the brink of rolling over. Abgal holds onto a lever as he screams in fear.
Abgal hopes that the vehicle will stop soon. Unfortunately, he sees something in the distance that causes his brain to freeze for a moment. A cliff.
He immediately abandons the lever he's holding on with dear life to run away with much difficulty to the end of the cart. He ignores the Avian still sitting calmly on his seat while holding onto a pole next to his seat.
Abgal searches around for something that can save him, he knows there's a safety device there somewhere. Sadly, he's not inside the usual public transport thus he can't find anything.
The transport vehicle dives into the cliff.
. . .
Both the snowfield and the cliff are dead silent. Down there, the wreckage of a transport vehicle silently burns. Even if the smoke from it reaches high into the sky, no human being would even see it, deep as it is into The Doctor’s territory.
[Was that all really necessary, Prime?] Omega Build asks from the link, [wasting a perfectly working transport vehicle for capturing him seems like too much of a waste.]
A side of the wreckage crumbles, creating a path for Prime to emerge, dragging Abgal out with him. Black soot specks his face and hair and some parts of his clothes are singed, but otherwise he appears uninjured and nonchalant.
Prime flaps his wings to get rid of the soot clinging to his feather, [You know as well as I do that this much is necessary to capture a head faction from the Diplomatic Office,] Prime raises Abgal up so that he can inspect his condition, [right now we are working ahead of even the Tri-Copiae,] bluish lips, pale face, heavy shivering, many bruises and lacerations as well as limbs snapped to odd angles and several burns, [what we do right now is illegal, we might even get punished for it by The Tsaritsa herself if we fail to provide any significant lead,] concussion, high chance of fractured bones and internal bleeding, third-degree burns covering his face and fourth-degree burns on many places.
Prime sighs. If only this person had listened to him then he won't have suffered this many injuries. Now he needs to treat his wounds or he might die.
“For the record,” Prime says to the unconscious man he's holding up by the collar, “it's not ‘did’. I still love him.”
Prime decisively walks off to a direction, an arm nonchalantly dragging Abgal through the snowfield, [Soon, he will be considered as a missing person since he's an important figure. It's fortunate for us that most people have it deeply rooted in their minds that Fatui won't harm a diplomat when in Snezhnaya. This way, suspicions will be averted from us for some time.]
Sigma Build sighs from the link, [Why not just dispose of him and be done with it?] he asks before he snaps, [JUST HELP ME DO SOMETHING THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT!]
Alpha Build tsks, [Stop yelling. You're only proving that your existence is so redundant,] he says, causing Sigma Build to fall into an unintelligible round of cursing but Alpha Build doesn't care and continues to talk as he pleases, [right now, Snezhnaya is not a good nesting place. You need to continue working on Alhaitham while we prepare for the perfect nest, and to do that we will have to uproot every threats from the sources,] hearing that, Sigma Build magically stops cursing, so Alpha Build continues, [the truth is not yet clear, if we kill that head faction now we might lose our lead and if the Tri-Copiae captures him first then they would most likely strike a deal where that head faction will be protected from us.]
[Well damn, that's annoying,] Sigma Build lets out a heartfelt comment, [and the Tri-Copiae is the only one having the imperial decree to capture any suspects without needing evidence, right? We are not being given the same authority even if Prime had declared that we will help,] he lets out an irritated growl, [what do they take us for?]
[Thus is the reason why our manpower is divided in this way. Don't take it to heart, Sigma Build. I know Alhaitham's predicament is quite difficult but you know as well as I do that you're capable of it. This might just be the bridge that will connect you better with Alhaitham,] Omega Build says, so uncharacteristically kind even for him, then his tone suddenly gains a few levels of excitement, [speaking of nesting place,] he starts, causing Sigma Build who was kinda touched speechless to groan, [if Snezhnaya proves to be unsalvageable, should we migrate somewhere else? It's a shame that we've taken Alhaitham to migrate with us to Snezhnaya and yet things end up like this,] Omega Build lets out a regretful sigh that sounds so fake to the point that Prime's eyebrow twitches before he starts suggesting nations with an excessively cheery tone, [what about Inazuma? There are a lot of uncharted islands but then again, so does Mondstadt. Having an underwater nest in Fontaine will also be interesting since there will only be us and Alhaitham under there. Just imagine the ambience. Li Yue also has some areas that are unsupervised but I heard that the place is almost as hot as the desert on top of being humid. So, does anyone have any opinion?]
For a moment, the link is silent as they're all too busy judging Omega Build.
Then, Prime speaks up, [Snezhnaya is fine.]
[Tha-]
[Agreed,] comes the unified answers from both Alpha Build and Sigma Build, cutting Omega Build's reaction.
Omega Build is speechless for a moment before he lets out a long-suffering sigh, [I shouldn't have asked.]
The link falls silent again and Prime focuses back on dragging his prisoner through the thick snow. The snow is as high as his calf, only getting thicker with every snow falling, and his wings annoyingly slow his movements as they continue to drag on the snow. How annoying. Birds really are supposed to be flying.
[We should have a honeymoon with Alhaitham,] Omega Build suddenly proposes.
Prime trips on his own legs and he almost faceplants into the snow, [Why?] he asks, a little bit more aggressive than he wants to.
[Yeah?] Omega Build asks back, unsure of what he had said that Prime reacts that way, [we never have a honeymoon, y'know? And mating exile is a different thing.]
[Not that,] Prime angrily says as he sputters alone in the desolate snowfield, [why would we need a honeymoon in the first place?”
[...] for a moment, Omega Build is unsure of how to respond, [... because we love our wife and want to spend more alone time with him?] he hesitantly answers.
Prime flinches and his wings flare as he comes to a stop, red deeply dusting his face, [W-wife?] he asks, unwilling to even think of that word.
No one responds from the link for a long time. Even Omega Build is likely too puzzled by Prime's reaction.
Then Sigma Build sighs, breaking the silence, [Oh, don't think about it too much, Omega Build,] he unimpressedly advices, [Prime is extremely slow in this regard.]
Prime's wings bristle. What does that supposed to mean?
[Ah…] Omega Build lets out a noise of understanding that fades off into a pained groan, [Prime,] he bemoans, [so it's because of you….]
The corner of Prime's mouth tick in annoyance, [Enough of this. Get back to your duty.]
The link returns to silence as every Segment withdraws their awareness one by one. Omega Build also does as ordered but not without a very disappointed sigh.
Prime feels very annoyed. What was that even about?
Notes:
Tell me, when you started reading the chapter, did you feel like the genre has shifted?
Aaah, this chapter was so much fun to write because I always love it when a character is confident in their abilities, in this instance because Dottore is so confident in keeping his victims alive till he no longer needs them that he's not afraid of injuring them.
Also, I really love that somehow I keep being able to establish that Dottore falls for Alhaitham in many ways. It's kinda funny.The kittens are getting kinda lively. They've started roughhousing with each other and it's so cute since they're only as big as my palm. Cute as hell.
Oh, and I've decided on their names, prepare for ugly names.
Schrodinger: an orang-brownish kitten with long fur.
Argentum: a long furred white kitten with some orange spots.
Mochi: same as Argentum but its tail is a bit crooked at the end.
Portugal: short haired white kitten but her tail and ears are slightly orange.
Genteng: a normal orange cat.
Manifesting playable Dottore.
Current f2p fund: 8490 (let's see if I am going to lose 50/50 on Raiden's banner)
Chapter 46
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
17 days after Alhaitham's time of death
Lord Samuil walks through the majesty of the Supreme Court’s Office. He secretly glances at the envoy of Fatui walking past him to the direction of the east wing. His fingers twitch from nerves but he does nothing more. He shouldn't act hasty. He has lost contact with Galina since he ordered her to take care of the Intel breach at The Diplomatic Office. She has been MIA since then. But that doesn’t mean she has betrayed him. The chances are that Galina died on her mission.
Samuil’s majestic falcon wings flick once as he straightens his back and squares his shoulders before he enters his office.
His role might not necessarily be uncovered yet so he need not act skittish.
Besides, if the disappearance of the Sumerian head faction of the Diplomatic Office, who reported the breach of confidential information in the first place, means anything, then he is yet to be targeted.
21 days after Alhaitham's time of death
P A I N
Abgal's eyes snap open. There's no transition from unconscious to awake for him. There's just this intense feeling of pain that etches into his body so deep that he can feel it in his bones.
His mouth subconsciously opens from the pain yet no sound comes out. He feels like throwing up. But when he tries to lean sideways so that he won’t dirty himself, he finds himself unable to move. Firstly, because he’s strapped down. Secondly, because moving aggravates his injuries.
Abgal emptily stares up at nothing as fear and pain mixes into a hellish cocktail of turmoil. First, he will look at the unfamiliar ceiling and anxiety will start gnawing inside his chest as he finds that he’s restrained in a dim room, alone. Then as panic starts bubbling within him, a pain will pierce his chest and it manages to ground him enough to think clearly again. Then he will decide that it’s best for him to first identify his situation. Then, he will notice that he can’t move and then he will start overthinking and then it goes on once more.
Abgal doesn’t know for how long he keeps repeating the five stages of terror nor does he have the mind to spare thinking about it. He continues to stiffly stare up, looking at nothing, as his mind continues to be trapped in the loop.
P A I N
It’s so painful that Abgal wants to throw up, bite his tongue, and scratch at the sources of pain till the feeling becomes numb.
…
“How long are we keeping them?” In a room, somewhere inside the bunker, that’s filled with screens, Alpha Build asks Prime as he eats his chocolate cake.
figuring that Alpha Build would only asks something like that if he senses that the specimen is showing signs of suicide, he glances at the screens, briefly, before returning his attention to polishing his surgical knifes.
[Until we get all that we want,] Prime answers from the link so that he doesn’t have to divide his attention by talking aloud.
Alpha Build bites his spoon in distaste before he spoons his cake and asks through the link as he eats, [I know that these two need to give all their worth first before they are allowed to die,] he glances at his spoon before licking the chocolate frosting on it and savors the bittersweet taste for a moment, [but the lack of target that can be killed on sight is starting to become frustrating.]
Sigma Build barks a cynical laugh from the link, [Frustrating?! Why don’t we switch job and let’s see if your job is truly frustrating!]
Alpha Build hums before gulping down the cake in his mouth, [I’ll pass,] he is about to spoon the cake again but he frowns when he finds that his plate is already empty, [you know as much as I do that due to my specialization, I’m no longer capable of handling such precise and delicate works.]
Silence for a moment, likely because Sigma Build is inhaling deeply so as to not smash something, [At this point, I suspect that you’re just trying to shirk your chores,] he groans out with stifled anger, [I bet at that time, you purposefully left Hayi’s aftercare to me because you didn’t want to do it yourself.]
Alpha Build sits straighter on his chair and his wings ruffled agitatedly but before he can defend himself, Omega Build enters the observation room.
Omega Build stretches his wings and flaps them a few times before lightly massaging the back of his neck, “By moonlight, that woman is so vile that it’s physically exhausting talking with her,” noticing the traces of cake on Alpha Build’s plate, he asks, “do you have more?”
Alpha Build squints his eyes, “No,” he says as he secretly slides his chair to hide the cake box from Omega Build’s line of sight.
Omega Build looks at Alpha Build, unimpressed, “I think your dependence on sweets has gotten to the point of addiction, Alpha Build,” he comments as he walks away with a flick of his wings because fighting with his younger segment for a slice of cake is quite unbefitting.
Alpha Build simply makes a face and lets out a grunt, his wings silently spreading behind him just in case Omega Build will lunge at him to try stealing his cake.
Omega Build smiles in disbelief when he notices Alpha Build’s stance but before he can say anything, Prime comments, “I’m sure that both of you were built with the intention of not needing food. Have I wasted my time then? Seeing as now both of you are fighting over such a thing?”
“Hey!” Alpha Build yells, offended, “you know I eat this to stabilize my mood.”
Prime pauses for a second before he lets out a haughty snort, “Of course,” he says, sounding so demeaning that Alpha Build’s wings bristle on their own, “as expected from someone so young.”
Alpha Build barks an irritated laugh, his hand itching to throw his empty plate at Prime’s head, but then he sucks a deep breath and calms down, “So what?” he calmly asks, “at least I’m not a fool who failed to realize that I am a married man after I literally spent almost half a year with Alhaitham,” Prime’s hands flinches and his wings twitch, causing Alpha Build to grin wide, “oh, Prime,” he mockingly crows before his tone drops, “what the fuck have you considered Hayi as all that time?”
Prime sits where he is, silently staring at the scalpel he hasn't finished polishing, before he says after a moment, “Since you’re still young, I’ll say this, When asking something, make sure that the question you’re asking is relevant to your target and the target has an idea of what you’re trying to ask.”
Alpha Build blatantly rolls his eyes, his wings rearranging themselves from annoyance, “Don’t give me that,” he rhythmically taps his spoon on the plate, using the ‘tap tap’ noise to keep his temper under control, “the Segments are essentially one person,” pause, “I love Alhaitham,” pause again, “I have known this fact since before that incident. Although I might have been able to accept it quickly due to the straightforward nature of my mental stage, it doesn't change the fact that the entity named ‘Dottore’ loves Alhaitham,” the spoon taps the plate loudly before it stops, “suffice to say, it's quite disappointing that the Prime Segment himself is unable to accept this fact after so long.”
Prime's wings twitch, irked at having his competence put into question, “As far as everything is concerned, the matter as illogical as love can't be used as a criteria to judge my competence. Let alone to judge how I act because of it.”
This time the plate really comes flying. It flies past Prime and embeds itself into the wall with a loud clang.
Prime, knowing full well that Alpha Build has no intention to truly aim at him, is unmoving on his seat, “Don’t destroy this place,” he chides after clicking his tongue, “if you break the insulation in the wall then we will have to go the extra mile to keep those two alive.”
Alpha Build doesn't respond to that, he aggressively stabs his metal fork to his chair, mangling the wood from the sheer strength of each stab, as a way to regulate his fury, “Well, since this matter seems so unimportant to you, surely it would pose no problem if I ask you to stay away from Hayi once he wake up?” he requests, so calm by his standard that it's uncanny.
Prime's head snaps to face at Alpha Build, his wings flaring up, “Are you asking me to stay away from my mate?”
Oh, so Prime does think of Hayi as his mate?
Alpha Build hangs his head low as he madly chuckles to himself, “I see, I see,” he mutters as he scratches his chair using his fork deeply before he raises his head and stares at Prime, eyes alight with both amusement and manic anger, “you consider Hayi as your mate, but you refuse to consider yourself as his mate,” Alpha Build cusps his hands together before he buries his face into them, “stay away from Hayi, Prime,” he asks with his head still hanging low, calm yet his wings are madly bristling, “please, stay away. For Hayi’s sake.”
At first, Prime stares at Alpha Build, speechless and slightly dumbfounded. Then his chest heaves as anger courses through his veins and his wings flare from the intensity of it.
How. Dare. He…!
There's a threatening caws rumbling deep in Prime's chest as he says, “The harmony between Segments is upheld because every Segment has the authority and freedom to access what other Segments can. Aren't you being too audacious with that request, Alpha Build?” Prime gives his answer, “besides, how dare you question my competence to this extent because of how I think of myself around Alhaitham. Do you think it's easy for me to just accept the way things are, taking into consideration my duties as the Prime Segment?”
Since the negotiation fails, Alpha Build raises his head, his face scrunches from extreme hatred and his eyes promise violence. But Before he can say anything, Omega Build jumps into the conversation.
“But it is easy, isn't it?” Omega Build asks.
Alpha Build isn't sure since when but Omega Build is already standing next to Prime. He's holding the plate he threw earlier. Alpha Build doesn't know if it's just him or not, but although Omega Build appears to be as composed as ever –without Alhaitham present, his hands seem to be shaking and his smile is shaky.
Prime glances at Omega Build, “No, it's not,” he answers coldly.
Omega Build sends Prime a smile before he hits his head with the plate. The sound of impact is so loud and sudden that Alpha Build jumps from surprise.
Alpha Build is not the only one surprised. The hit also takes Prime by surprise, causing him to fall from his seat. Omega Build haphazardly throw the plate away and lunge at Prime to throw hands.
Omega Build firmly holds Prime's collar as he points at his masked face, “You are also daring, don't you think, Prime?”
For a moment Prime is unmoving, mind still processing, before he deeply scowls and leans his head away from Omega Build's offending finger, “What do you mean?” then he immediately clicks his tongue and looks away, looking inconvenienced, “nevermind, it doesn't matter. Unhand me.”
Yet, against both Alpha Build and Prime's expectations, Omega Build punches Prime instead. The noise from the punch is enough to make a cracking noise and Prime lets out a surprised caw before he finally starts taking Omega Build seriously and struggles.
Omega Build's hand holds firm. It clenches Prime's clothes so harshly that it turns white and shakes from the intensity of it. In this way, Omega Build throws another punch.
It hits square on Prime's nose and blood flows freely from it. It's honestly quite unexpected and exciting that Alpha Build inwardly claps his hands.
[Should I stop them?] He asks to the link.
[Nah,] Sigma Build immediately responds, [not yet. This is kinda funny.]
Alpha Build silently nods to that, eyes not leaving the scuffle unfolding before him.
Prime receives Omega Build's blow for a while until he finally breaks free by ripping the portion of his clothes held by Omega Build.
Prime wipes the blood off of his face, his mask fell off during the scuffle showing his confused but mostly annoyed expression, “Now, Alpha Build is within my expectations. You, on the other hand, are unexpected, Omega Build,” he says as his wings spread warily when Omega Build simply stares at him and stands composed.
Omega Build laughs slowly, it sounds so dark and vile that Alpha Build’s wings shudder from disgust, “Well, since you refused to stay away from moonlight, then please, let me beat you up for his sake.”
Prime frowns, his wings tense, “I fail to see the connection or the need for that,” he says as he slowly circles Omega Build, sensing that he'll probably attack him again.
Omega Build tilts his head down with a sigh, his smile still ever presence. Then his smile drops and with a flap of his wings, he lunges at Prime.
Prime evades, causing Omega Build to caw in rage, “It's all because of you, Prime!” he yells like a madman as he chases after Prime who evaded him.
At that, Prime suddenly stops evading, catching Omega Build off guard, and punches Omega Build's throat, “Omega Build!” he roars as he looks down at Omega Build who holds his neck as he gasps for breath, mask fell off, showing his singular interest in causing harm, “don’t you dare blame it all on me.”
Omega Build laughs at that, hand still instinctively holding his throat to ease the pain while a drop of blood drips from his mouth, “I meant Alhaitham's sadness, you fool,” he hisses as he slowly stands up before lunging at Prime again.
Prime, surprised by what Omega Build said, reacts too late. He still manages to evade, but not without getting a deep gash on his shoulder from Omega Build's elongated nails. Prime tentatively feels the wound, trying to guess the extent of the injury, while glaring at Omega Build. His wings spread widely behind him, both as a warning and a defense.
Prime lets out a low growl as he feels blood quickly wets him, “Both you and Alpha Build are the same, speaking nonsense and wasting my time.”
Omega Build's wings flare as he silently watches Prime with a smile. In response, Prime silently elongates his own nails to counterattack if Omega Build comes at him again. Yet against his expectations, Omega Build only tilts his head in mockery with a sigh.
[Should I stop them now?] Alpha Build asks to the link, [that's actually quite a lot of blood.]
[No, not yet,] Sigma Build answers again, [that much blood won't kill Prime. Besides, someone really has to teach Prime.]
Alpha Build inwardly lets out a whistle, [Someone is against Prime, today.]
Sigma Build snorts, [Aren't you the same?]
Alpha Build stays silent.
Omega Build taps his fingers together, “Prime,” he calls before he sighs again while pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly, “I take it then you never realized that from time to time, Alhaitham would be very sad?” he rhetorically asks before he shoves his hands into his pants’ pockets and languidly stretches his wings, “imagine someone who've already had a stable life agreeing to accept a request move to live in a foreign nation where he will lose all the status he has gained, basically starting everything from a scratch,” he tilts his head down and lets out a haughty snort, “‘If there's no sacrifice, then it's hardly noble’, huh?” Omega Build retracks his hands as he tilts his head up and uses them to cover his face, “Prime, that was so embarrassing,” he bemoans, “‘no sacrifice’? Did you even listen to what you're saying?” Omega Build spreads his fingers just enough to peek at Prime, “even if he said that the reason he willingly went with you is because he knows that you'll kidnap him otherwise and it might cause wars between nations,” he puts away his hands to look amusedly at Prime's confused expression, “you and I both know, fully well, that Alhaitham is not a martyr,” he claps his hands once, “therefore, there's a reason for Alhaitham's compliance,” he looks away with forlorn look, “that reason being, he cared.”
Let alone Prime, Alpha Build who's only a spectator at this point feels a stab in his chest.
Omega Build loudly laughs as he spreads his hands and wings. The way he acts right now might be mistaken for joy but every Segment knows better.
Omega Build steps forward, “He cared!” he hysterically yells this fact at Prime, “be it that he cared because he is simply concerned for the well-being of his lifelong mate or that he had loved you even since then!” then he swiftly gestures at Prime to shut up before continuing, “yes, I said ‘you’ because he could have only fell for you at the time, and yes, I used past tense because when Alhaitham wakes up, he might not love us anymore.”
Omega Build huffs out a sigh. Then, in a flash, he kicks a table at Prime. Prime is caught off guard again but this time he's still ready so he swipes his elongated nails at the table.
Reality cracks and the cracking sound of atoms splitting booms in the small observation room before the table splits and combust into wooden shards. Omega Build is behind that table, readily lunging forward from behind the wreckage, power concentrated at the tips of his nails. That'll be troublesome to take head on so Prime jumps back to evade the attack.
Omega Build chases after him, “Prime,” he calmly calls in contrast to how aggressive he's attacking Prime, “what you think of someone is reflected in how you act around them. So of course, Alhaitham can see it too. Him being a Haravatat graduate who's well versed in discourse analysis,” as Omega Build says that, his eyes suddenly mist, surprising Prime enough to make a wrong step, “he first loved you and the started to love the rest of ‘us’,” Omega Build flaps his wings to boost him enough so that he can catch Prime.
They both fall down, Omega Build's hand pinning Prime down by the neck while his other hand savagely claws at the floor next to Prime's head, mangling the concrete. Prime's only struggle is his hand stabbing nails into the hand choking him.
Omega Build calmly looks down at Prime with a smile before his lips twitch and the facade he had tried so hard to keep up cracks in a second, “WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!!! ” he roars above Prime's face, “HE LOVED YOU! YOU KNOW HE IS VERY DEAR TO YOU SO WHY IT TOOK YOU THIS LONG TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU LOVE HIM?!” Omega Build stops mangling the floor to land a punch at Prime's eye, “HE COULD SENSE HOW YOU KEEP TRYING TO DISTANCE YOURSELF FROM HIM, WONDERING EACH TIME IF YOU TRULY FEEL THE SAME, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF ‘WE’ DO LOVE HIM!” this time, he punches Prime's mouth, “BECAUSE HE KNEW THAT YOU'RE THE ONE IN CHARGE OF MAKING DECISION!” he punches Prime's nose again, something cracks, who knows if it's Prime's cartilage or Omega Build's fist, “NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES ‘WE’ SAID ‘WE’ LOVE HIM, HE WILL ALWAYS BE WARY OF HOW TRUE IT IS! WONDERING IF THERE WILL COME THE DAY WE WILL DISPOSE OF HIM!” Omega Build stabs his elongated nails to the floor beside Prime's head and leans down to his face to roar, “ HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED IF WE FAIL TO WAKE HIM UP, THEN HE COULD HAVE DIED WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT ‘WE’ WERE THE ONE WHO KILLED HIM?!” he snarls down at Prime, chest heaving from fluctuating emotions.
Prime silently stares up with his only healthy eye, ignoring the tears dripping down on his face and the pain as well as the suffocating feeling around his neck. Dumbfounded, distraught, and even slightly nauseated as he ever so slowly tries to process what Omega Build said, completely unlike him. In the end though, he can only say nothing.
Sigma Build coldly snorts from the link, [‘but if you let that anger mess with our mate, then I will have to disassemble your body’, my ass. Since the beginning, you're the only one messing with him,] he grumbles, [what are you even trying to accomplish by half-assing this relationship, anyway?]
Alpha Build doesn't respond to that. He silently brings a leg up and hugs it. His wings are sadly drooping, depressed. Omega Build's words, even if they're not directed at him, are eating him alive. Because if Alhaitham really won't wake up, then… he regret everything he hasn't had the chance to do with him, for him.
Prime stares at Omega Build's snarling face, wide-eyed and blank.
“Therefore Prime, stay away from Alhaitham,” Prime's eyes finally shift and he immediately finds that Omega Build is holding a shard from the table earlier above his head, aiming at him, “or I'll have to keep you away,” he says as he stares into Prime's eyes with dark eyes filled with obsession, “I won't let you play him anymore,” he declares and with that, his hand descends.
Notes:
"Do you have any idea how annoying internal struggle is when the versions of yourself are in the physical plane?"
- Sigma BuildI kinda miss writing Alhaitham, ngl.
Manifesting playable Dottore.
Current f2p fund: 2949 (I got Raiden in 30 pulls but I saw the battlepass mission and then the gambling addiction kicks in, causing me to end up doing 16 more pulls)
Chapter 47
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Undoubtedly, that stab will leave a big damage to his vessel if Prime takes it head on. Yet he lies there, unmoving, staring as the hand descends.
Every information given has been processed. Though selfish Prime might be, he feels that he deserves this.
A hand stops the descent of Omega Build’s hand.
Omega Build's wings twitch, “What is it, Alpha Build?” he coldly asks.
“Thank you for doing this but that head faction finally decided to bite his tongue. I'll have to ask that you beat Prime any other time. If no one takes care of that head faction then we will lose progress,” Alpha Build succinctly informs.
For a moment, Omega Build falls silent as his wings ruffle. The next second, he stands up with a sigh. He looks down at Prime for a moment before he pettily throws the wooden shard at Prime's head then walks off to change his ruined clothes, flapping his wings a few times and blindly reaching back from time to time to ease the ruffles of his feathers before taking off his coat.
Before walking too far, Omega Build pauses his step and turns around, coat hanging in his arms that lazily oozes blood, “I will kill you in your sleep,” he promises as he expressionlessly points at Prime, who is still lying down in a daze, before he turns again with an arrogant flick of his wings and resumes walking.
Alpha Build rolls his eyes at Omega Build's cringy behavior before he focuses his attention at Prime who's still lying, unmoving, on the floor even after the shard hits his head. His current behaviors really doesn't befit Prime that Alpha Build entertains the idea that Prime's vessel has suffered a brain damage and right now some of his vessel's functions are disabled.
Alpha Build raises an eyebrow at Prime because he knows that Omega Build only wanted to vent so the force behind his attacks shouldn't be enough for that, “At this rate that head faction is going to die, Prime,” he informs but seeing that Prime is still unresponsive, he kicks his head.
Prime grunts from the light kick before he finally sits up. He makes a thin cut on his swollen eye with his elongated nails to let out the blood so that he can open it.
Prime clicks his tongue, “Fine,” he says as he picks up the scattered surgical knives that he was polishing.
Prime slowly, almost thoughtfully, put them inside his kit box. Even meticulously arranging them inside, frowning in thoughts all the while. It's clear that he's stalling.
Alpha Build wants to say a lot, mostly criticizing him. How dare he only think seriously about it now and hesitate when his skill is needed. What was he doing all that time? Is he going to deliberately make them lose progress?
In the end, he feels too lazy so he just observes the head faction’s condition through the screen.
Blood is flowing freely from the head faction's mouth. If nothing is done to him then he will enter a critical condition soon from blood loss. But, if Prime really is the one to treat him, if he really wants him to survive, then he will live for as long as he's needed. So all in all the head faction seems to be fine for now. Alright, whatever. Prime can have his mid-life crisis now.
Prime puts in his last scalpel and he blankly stares at his collection.
What should he do?
…what was he supposed to do?
He adores Alhaitham. He likes him.
He loves him.
But the fact that this relationship won't end well stays true.
Prime is the most selfish among the Segments, selfish for the sake of ‘Dottore’. He calculates things to end well with ‘Dottore’s’ goal taken into account…. Perhaps he should have added Alhaitham into his calculation from the beginning.
Prime closes his kit box and puts it away before he finally exits the observation room.
There's no use regretting the past at the moment.
…
If Alhaitham will no longer love him then that's fine. As long as his beloved lives, he won't ask more. He can't return the time he has stolen, but he can at least return Alhaitham's life.
. . .
There's an exaggeratedly girlish gasp when Omega Build closes the door and he inwardly lets out a long-suffering groan.
“Munafik, what happened to you?” Galina asks worriedly as she tries to sit up with her deformed limbs, a useless act that will only make her recovery go backward.
For a moment, Omega Build braces himself for the exhausting interaction about to come before he turns around with a smile, “It's nothing,” he says as he makes a show of hiding his injured arm behind him, “just a little scratch I got from a scuffle with someone.”
Galina pouts at him and Omega Build shudders inside, “Oh, come now,” she annoyingly whines at Omega Build, “you don't have to act tough just because you're in front of a very beautiful lady.”
Omega Build amusedly stares at the woman from behind his mask but deep inside he's dreaming of rolling her into a paper shredder, “I'm unaware that there's one around,” he says full of jokes but inwardly feeling disgusted because this woman sure is narcissistic.
Galina flinches and she looks down at her crippled limbs, self-conscious. Her lips are twitching into a hint of a smile as if she's trying to just pass it as a joke.
Omega Build waits a moment, to savor her pain, before he lets out an apologetic sigh, though inwardly he feels elated, as he approaches the simple bed Galina is on before he slightly bends down and gently holds both of Galina's bandaged stumps that were her arms, “My apologies,” he gently says, “that was very rude of me.”
With effort, Galina manages to put on a sly smirk, “Oh, it's fine. I figured that there must be a reason why you, of all people, are still single,” realizing that she's probably too obvious in trying to keep a friendly facade, she adds, “you’re not so bad for a Fatui, after all,” she says, turning it into flirting, then she lets out a mournful sigh, “a pity. If only you're not a Fatui then you could've bagged a beautiful Avian as a lover or even a lifelong mate already.”
At that, Omega Build can't help but still, his wings tense behind him. Since he already had the most beautiful mate, it's proven that his occupation has no connection with his eligibility. Yet deep down, he can't help but think that what that woman says is somewhat appealing.
… If only he's not a Harbinger… if only he wasn't exiled from Sumeru… then they could have had a peaceful life together.
… Just like what Alhaitham had always wanted…
Unfortunately, that is impossible.
For ‘Dottore’ to be exiled from his homeland is inevitable. He might not necessarily join the Fatui, but ‘he’ will always be exiled from Sumeru because of his experiment.
Therefore, it's no one's fault except himself. Omega Build knows there's no point in blaming Prime, he was only doing his duties as the Prime Segment. He himself is also at fault as much as the rest of the Segments. Not that Omega Build feels guilty about it.
“...nafik! Munafik!” Galina calls with her annoyingly high pitched voice, snapping Omega Build from his thoughts.
Wrangling the urge to bash her head, Omega Build quickly looks up, as if startled, “What?”
For a moment, Galina looks at him with an indiscernible expression and during this time, Omega Build is forced to continue looking at her ugly mug. Oh, she most likely was a beautiful woman by Snezhnaya's standards. But she hurt his moonlight so she can be nothing but ugly. Well, even without that, the extent of her injuries leaves her to be desired by anyone.
Something in Galina's face shifts and she tries to mask her calculating look by letting out an excited humm, unfortunately for her, Omega Build can see it clear as day, “You! Mister, you already love someone don't you?!” she excitedly accuses but there are traces of annoyance on her face, then she lets out an irritating gasp, “your wounds! Do they have anything to do with your secret someone?”
Omega Build sends a look at the woman with a weirded smile pasted on his lips, “W-what?” He says, managing to even act awkward even though deep down he only wants to cut her into pieces, cell by cell.
[Please, please!] Omega Build complains to the link, [can I kill her?]
[Hold on, let me think,] Alpha Build responds, [no,] then he deadpans.
At that, Omega Build caws in anguish, causing Alpha Build to annoyedly say, [Oh, quit that! At least you didn't have to spend so much energy to keep that bitch barely alive.]
Omega Build can't argue with that so he tunes back into reality, spreading his wings indignantly, he harshly says, “Don't cross the line, woman. You're just a prisoner here.”
Galina flinches back from surprise at Omega Build's sudden change of attitude before she recovers her demeanor and pouts, “Oh, please,” she whines, Omega Build wants nothing but ripping out her vocal cord, “just spill your woes to me and this love guru will help you,” she declares, proud and confident.
Ah. This is bad. If Omega Build stays here any longer he might break his character. If that happens then this woman will die way too easily.
Omega Build coldly looks down and repacks his stuff, he's supposed to check on the woman's wounds but right now he's no longer in the mood, “Well, it seems to me that the prisoner is awfully cheery. Must be that she's healthy,” she is very prone to getting infection at the moment, actually, “I shall take my leave and take care of other important things, then,” with that, he quickly leaves, deliberately flaring his wings as if he's angry.
“Wha- wait!” Galina calls in panic, seeing as Munafik only slams the door closed instead, she curses and flails her stumps of limbs around frustratedly, “Archon damnit!” she hisses through gritted teeth, careful if the walls have ears.
She can't stand living here anymore. Whatever this place is is no doubt not a safe place for her. She doesn't know who attacked her. She can only remember a flash, quickly followed by pains all over her body that are enough to make her instinctively puke whenever she tries to recall it.
Well, she also remembers the Avian she saw the first time she woke up in this place.
She would have thought that the Avian was the one that attacked her that night. Yet weirdly, he let Munafik treat her injuries. If that Avian was the one attacking with the intention to kill her, then he wouldn't have let others undo his work.
Galina sullenly stares at the stumps that were her limbs. Arms amputated till her elbows and legs till her calves. Despair quickly pools in her chest when she sees them so she quickly averts her eyes. It's a pity, her future husband would have to marry a cripple like her.
If Galina closes her eyes then she can easily recall how badly damaged her arms and legs are. She involuntarily shudders and trembles, whoever is behind the attack must have a personal reason. No one should be bloodthirsty enough to cause this much damage to her otherwise.
Whichever Harbinger her captor might be affiliated with, though Galina has a few guesses, at least right now it's clear that they want her alive.
Galina looks around the room she's kept in for her “treatments”. This place looks like an infirmary but there's only one bed –her’s. Instead of filling the room with more beds, several metal tables circle her bed. Galina assumes there was something on top of them since there are traces of dustless areas.
The more she observes the room, the more hopeless she feels. There's nothing to defend herself with, no place to hide, not even something to hold to help her reach the door –should be grateful that she's not strapped down? There's no way she can escape.
Galina would cry –she really wants to– but it's not the time for that. She needs to regroup with lord Samuil ASAP. She needs to confirm her kill to the nobles and warns the group that the Avian might be more troublesome than they anticipated. Although the room she's kept in might be under other Harbingers’ authority, at least it's clear that it's either the Doctor or the Puppeteer.
The former is more likely so Galina huffs annoyedly before she falls silent. Her eyes blankly looking ahead. Quite a long time passes like this before her lips start to wobble and her shoulder shakes.
She's going to die here, isn't she?
Galina firmly shakes her head. No, NO. She won't die here. She hasn't married yet, heck, she hasn't met someone she loves yet. She'll definitely escape and not rot here until who knows how long.
Galina bites her lower lip and nods determinedly. She'll find a way out. Somehow.
Galina looks at the stumps that were her limbs again but this time instead of lamenting them, she tries to guess how long till she's recovered from the amputation wounds enough to escape.
She puckers her lips thoughtfully. She’s not even a medic yet even she can tell that the treatments toward her wounds are extremely well done. This means someone, at least qualified to be a doctor, is monitoring her condition –then again, she heard that the Doctor's underlings are mostly mad scientists. That’s bad. Then she won’t be able to fake the progress of her recovery.
Can you even move like that?
Galina flinches when a voice in her head asks that, reminding her of how hopeless her situation is. Tears are starting to pool in her eyes but even if she wants to, she lacks the tool to wipe her eyes. So she lets them flow freely but her mind is still desperately brainstorming for a way out. A way too far-fetched plan slowly forming, halted from time to time because of some occasional sniffles.
That’s right. If she knows who’s in charge of monitoring her progress, then she could seduce them to help her out. Probably.
Galina fiercely shakes her head again to disperse the gloom in her head.
Munafik must be the one in charge of keeping her alive. He is the only one she has seen ever since she’s kept in this room. If taking the usual guard and prisoner’s synergies into account, then their synergy isn’t too bad. She can make something out of it. Perhaps she can even convince him to leave the Fatui with her.
Yes, this is a good plan. Even if he seems to have liked someone already, since he hasn’t actively pursued that someone, then the feeling shouldn’t be that deep yet. Even if, on the off chance that Munafik really loves that someone, then Galina can still convince him to help her escape.
Feeling that her plan is good, unaware of how stupid she is, Galina falls to her back and relaxes into the thin mattress. She slowly takes a deep breath before exhaling slowly, letting out the negative energy from her chest. Then, staring at the fluorescent lamp hanging from the ceiling for a moment before she closes her eyes to rest.
In order to guarantee secrecy, dispensable agents that are allowed to access highly confidential information are usually equipped with a small sack of deadly poison attached to their teeth. Then when the need arises, they will bite the sack and commit suicide.
But those are trained agents ready to die for their master. The opposite of Abgal. So when Prime actually found him on the verge of dying from blood loss, he quickly did the treatments needed to keep him alive. Sewing the tongue back was simple enough, it was when he’s done and idly staring at Abgal’s pale face did he wonder. Should he just kill him? The blood loss was severe, nursing Abgal back to life would be a pain. Sure, he spent an effort to keep him alive but he didn’t feel like spending more effort. So if Abgal’s life will fade anyway, why can’t it be because of him?
[You just want to vent your anger at yourself on him,] Sigma Build boredly comments, [isn’t he supposed to be kept alive for information? The fact that he tried to kill himself must mean that he knows something.]
Prime doesn’t answer for a moment. He idly plays with his polished scalpel, entertaining the idea to simply extract Abgal’s tongue since he can't kill him or Sigma Build will be proven correct. But then he remembers that Abgal will need his tongue to tell him what he knows so he clicks his tongue and stores his scalpel.
[That, or I might need to administer him some pain numbing substance,] Prime answers at last, [I admit I forgot to take into account that this much pain might not bode well with his Sumerian born identity and pampered way of life.]
Sigma Build hums then falls silent for a moment before he sighs, [Alright, since you no longer seem to care about his life and death –not that any of us care much in the first place, might as well turn him into a test subject.]
Prime pauses for a moment to think of why he shouldn’t do that. Honestly, he can't even think of what information this fool can give that might be valuable in the slightest, recalling that this fool was spouting grossly wrong deductions during their little ride. Actually finding none, he snaps his neck to ease the tense muscles and shrugs his wings before getting up and approaches the desk.
[Alright, what’s your idea?] Prime asks as he searches for a blank paper to write on.
[Let’s use him to test the blood transfusion theory,] Sigma Build answers, causing Prime to slightly pause before furrowing his eyebrows thoughtfully.
During that time, the only reason Sigma Build needed to inject Alhaitham with that solution was because of the blood loss. This single adversity was the only thing preventing Sigma Build from fully returning Alhaitham to his original state. Due to that, he has started an individual research to find out how to prevent someone dying from blood loss. Some of his test subjects died due to the collapse of their internal organs while the few surviving ones died because of Sigma Build’s lack of tentative care. He's still too young to develop that much patience.
[Accepted,] Prime agrees, [We’ll exchange posts. Come here after I arrived at the Residence.]
[Yes! Fucking finally!] comes Sigma Build’s agreement.
[Alpha Build, the Tri-Copiae has taken notice of the missing Sumerian head faction. Go give the Snezhnayan head faction a visit before the Tri-Copiae meddles.]
[Understood,] Alpha Build says.
[Omega Build, you’ll be in charge of the bunker. If Abgal somehow wakes up anytime soon, interrogates him.]
Alpha Build doesn't respond.
[Omega Build.]
Omega Build clicks his tongue, [Fine.]
Notes:
Munafik in Arabic means hypocrite. I tried to simplify the alphabet from munafīq to munafik. But it's an actual word in Indonesian language so I always cringe whenever I write it cuz it's so obvious that it's a fake name.
So like, I sometimes want to do something holiday themed but I don't particularly celebrate much holiday and it's kinda weird if I upload a fic for ones that I do celebrate. There's one event that I do occasionally celebrate, namely my birthday, but I get this feeling that if I only do something special only to celebrate my birthday then I might come across as... is conceited the right word?
Anyway, fuck that. Have double updates because today's my birthday.
Chapter 48
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Prime stands in the underground lab, pointedly not facing Alhaitham, as he watches Sigma Build happily packing his stuff.
“Everything is where they should be,” Sigma Build informs before he skips his way out without saying anything else.
Finding himself alone in his domain, for some reason, Prime feels very awkwardly out of place. There's an annoying feeling that something is wrong, he can feel it in his chest, but he can't figure out what is wrong. The cavity of his ribcage feels too small for his lungs. No matter how much Prime tries to arrange his posture to ease the slightly suffocating position of his ribcage, nothing changes.
There's a slight pricking feeling at the back of his neck, as if someone is staring at him. Prime stiffens, his wings lightly spread themselves as hopes start filling his chest. He quickly turns around, expecting the most beautiful pair of irises he is familiar with to be looking at him.
The slight curves at the corners of Prime's mouth are gone as quickly as it came, the actions unnoticed by the owner of the face.
Alhaitham is still the same as Sigma Build last reported. Deeply asleep, unbothered by anything. Prime supposes it's already a great mercy that his beloved seems to be sleeping peacefully.
It's unknown how long Prime stands before Alhaitham like a sad little crow awaiting his verdict. But even when Prime realizes that he's wasting time, he continues to stand there. There are so many things he can do instead of doing this, but the notion of leaving this spot is unbearable.
The heart monitor continuously issues a flatline, volume toned down so as to not become too annoying. The noise is the only thing accompanying Prime in the depressive silence of the underground lab. How very bleak, no wonder Sigma Build got stressed so quickly.
A grim smile blooms on Prime’s lips as he averts his eyes down, seemingly considering something. Then, with a flick of his wings, he seemingly loses the will to continue his facade of dignity as he drops down to his knees. With his head hanging low, wings sagging down without energy, and hands almost clasping together in a gesture of prayer before he catches himself and presses them down to the floor instead, Prime lets out a soft caw. The noise is such a dispirited call, hollow and without hope.
Prime only lets out that noise once, letting himself have the luxury to vent just this once, before he emptily stares at the screen at the lower part of the pod sustaining Alhaitham's existence, “I have wronged you, haven't I?” He asks with a humorless smile.
Prime continues to silently stare at the screen showing the condition of Alhaitham's body with the humorless smile still adorning his lips before his eyes steeled and he stands up, “If I had asked you what should I do, would you be able to answer?” he asks Alhaitham but mostly himself before he laughs at his own question, “Of course, you would be able to. Your perspective on our relationship might even help me solve everything before it can even pose a problem,” he mutters as he bitterly smiles to himself.
Prime stares at Alhaitham’s face for one last time, his lips stretching thin from how hard he's refraining himself from talking too much. Alhaitham continues to sleep, blissfully unaware of how much regret he's causing others to feel. His face is deadly pale yet he still looks as beautiful as ever, though Prime must admit that he mourns the loss of the luster of his skin.
Finally, Prime leaves his spot to read Sigma Build’s observation reports on Alhaitham's condition.
The solution Sigma Build has injected to the pod should keep Alhaitham's body from rotting and permeate the cells of his body to provide nutritions. Forcing his body to enter a stasis state and when he wakes up, he should find that his body has gotten stronger. This will allow Alhaitham's heart to be resuscitated without the risk of bursting the blood veins.
The problem is the blood loss. Alhaitham's body lost a lot of blood from the initial wounds and there's yet to be a way to replenish it. Since the body is in a stasis, even if the cells are given nutrients, the body won't develop new blood cells. Thus Sigma Build is trying to find out if it's possible to transfer blood between the same species.
Be that as it may, Prime fails to understand why Sigma Build chooses the complicated route.
[Sigma Build,] Prime calls to the link.
[Hah,] for some reason Sigma Build answers by barking out a mocking laugh, [look at you. It has only been what –not even 3 hours yet– and you've already felt suffocated down there, don't you?”
Prime pauses for a moment before he leans back into his chair and looks at Alhaitham, as if to exchange a look, but Alhaitham is unconscious so he simply looks away and says with a dry tone, [I was about to ask why you haven't restart Alhaitham's heart yet.]
[Oh,] Sigma Build embarrassedly mutters, [well, who can say you are not asking me this because you already need a distraction,] then he defends himself even though no one is accusing him, [and you have the report file. Why do you need to ask?] comes the answer that's actually relevant to Prime's question but it doesn't answer anything.
Well, Prime supposes that it's rare for the Segments to find a differing answer to the same question, [If the problem is because of blood loss, don't you think that reviving Alhaitham’s heart can easily take care of it?]
[Oh, well, yes,] Sigma Build says, slightly unsure of what Prime is trying to start, [if I do that it might be painful for Hayi, though.]
Prime raises an eyebrow at that, he glances at Alhaitham before looking at the file again and then his eyes squint in slight confusion, [Just because you restart his heart, that doesn't mean that he'll immediately wake up.]
[I know that!] Sigma Build snaps, offended, [Hayi will probably enter a coma but you should know, better than me, that a stasis state and a coma are different. Being dead and being in a coma are two different things,] Prime flinches at Sigma Build's choice of word but before he can say anything about it, Sigma Build continues, [YES, I SAID DEAD BECAUSE THIS IS GETTING STUPID!] Sigma Build pauses for a moment, probably to recollect himself, [all of you should know that denying that fact would only fruit in miscalculated results so stop it.]
Silent for a moment before Prime supposes that Sigma Build is correct so he relaxes himself and rearranges his agitated wings, [Of course they're different,] like the names aren't telling enough, [but in the state of coma the pain the patient feels is only a phantom feeling.]
Silent for a long while before Sigma Build lets out a halfhearted laugh that's cut off quickly as if he doesn't even feel like laughing, [Prime,] Sigma Build calls, sounding so tired, [does getting older comes with your brand of foolishness?]
Prime puts the file down and sits straighter, his eyebrows twitching, [Why do you always find the need to bring aggression into a perfectly calm discussion? Does it give you some sort of emotional gratification?]
Sigma Build sucks in a deep exhale that can be heard through the link before he huffs, [I've suspected it that time but you're actually senile, Prime,] he tiredly says.
Prime raises his hands in surrender before he leans back to his chair and spins it to face Alhaitham, hoping to be lent some strength, [Since you refuse to elaborate on your reason, should I deem it that you're incapable of providing a sound argument and restart Alhaitham's heart right now?]
Sigma Build screeches an angry caw, [DON'T YOU DARE!!!] he screams to the link, probably deafening the rest of the Segments, [why are you such a fool?! If you still somehow can't comprehend the reason why I'm trying to be as careful as possible, then don't meddle and just monitor his brain activity. I will revive him even if it will be the last thing I do.]
[It's not that getting older turns you stupid, Sigma Build,] Omega Build joins the conversation, finally coming out from sulking, [it's just that getting older turns you to become insensitive to the prospect of failure. In any case, I agree with you. Unlike the old cases of heart resuscitation, we don't have the luxury of experimenting. Extra caution is needed.]
Sigma Build groans in gratitude at hearing Omega Build, [Thank you.]
[Prime,] Alpha Build joins in, [you better not make a one-sided decision now. You know the purpose of the Segments is to give you insights from our perspective. Since you can't understand our points then deciding things on yourself is simply foolish.]
Prime will be honest, he will have to applaud them this time. Finally they manage to make a perfect defensive argument.
[Alright, I'll go along with it for now,] Prime relents, [but surely all of you won't delegate the Prime segment to a monitoring duty?]
[Nah, we are completely sure so don't you try to persuade us otherwise,] Omega Build strongly disagrees, [you're utterly useless in this matter that you better off not doing anything.]
After that, the link is filled with Alpha Build and Sigma Build's laughter.
Prime expressionlessly look at Alhaitham's face and blandly reports, “I'm being bullied.”
This time, Abgal wakes up to a weird sensation all over his body. The excruciating pain is still there, somehow numbed. Frowning in confusion, his hazy eyes roll within their socket to assess his situation. Abgal flinches and it's as if his breathing stops when he finds his predicament.
Abgal lets out a terrified wheeze as his eyes gain newfound clarity. For a moment, he lays there, petrified from fear as he stares at the multiple tubes nesting themselves into his veins and can only imagine what has been done to him. Then he snaps awake from his imagination with a horrified gurgle. He starts to struggle as horror seizes his being, hoping to get the tubes off of him but he's effectively tied down by leather straps. Despite that, Abgal continues to struggle in the hopes that somehow he will manage to dislodge the tubes.
“I won't do that if I were you,” a voice echoes into Abgal's ears, eerily clear even though he can't see where it comes from, causing him to slightly freeze before struggling even harder, the voice sighs at that, “just so you know, those instruments are the only things keeping you alive right now.”
Abgal fully pauses at that, his whole being as stiff as a board, causing the voice to let out a few chuckles, “Who are you?” Abgal asks through gritted teeth, trying to sound calm.
The voice lets out an amused humm before a blinding artificial light suddenly shines atop Abgal. Abgal flinches with a hiss as the light burns his retinas but he quickly cools himself because he hears a pair of steps coming closer. The pair of steps stop just right in front of Abgal and Abgal slowly peeks his eyes open.
The Avian that's both familiar and unfamiliar to Abgal sends him a cold smile, “Good morning, Sir Abgal,” the Avian greets, so perfunctorily polite that Abgal deeply wishes to be away from him, “now's the time for you to prove that you're not as foolish as I thought,” the Avian takes a step forward, the harsh light shines on him, making his unique mask glints sharply, “who do you think I am?” he asks as his wings rearrange themselves behind him from amusement.
Abgal's breathing comes out stuttered and it continues to do so as he tries to think while fear still etches itself deeply within his chest. He remembers that shade of blue and voice, although somehow he feels that the voice isn't as deep as he remembers, but he doesn't remember that mask. As far as Abgal knows, a Fatui’s rank is symbolized by their mask. It's their most sacred rule to always wear their own mask. He even heard that even carelessly taking off their mask can be seen as defecting The Tsaritsa and those that aren't part of the military force are prohibited from wearing the mask. These rules apply for anyone …Unless they're the Harbinger.
.
Oh.
Suddenly, everything becomes clear to Abgal.
As if sensing Abgal's enlightenment, the Harbinger, presumably the Doctor himself, approaches Abgal and stops beside him, “The longer you stay silent, the more foolish you appear,” he says.
Probably meaning that the longer Abgal says nothing, the more the Harbinger will deem him useless.
Abgal sucks in a breath, holding it inside his lungs for a while, before he lets it out in small bursts of raspy laughter, “That slu-” he cuts himself off then licks his chapped lips before correcting himself, “diplomat Alhaitham,” he tests the water, glancing at the Harbinger to try gauging his survivability but the Avian's face betrays nothing as a meaningless smile continues to adorn his lips.
Abgal gulps, trying to wet his parched throat but it does nothing, before he closes his eyes, resigned, “That slut actually dared to bring a Harbinger into my archive.”
Abgal hears the Harbinger snorts and lets out a laugh as he circles him. Abgal can't say that he appreciates the feeling of being appraised as if he's a corpse about to be eaten by a scavenger bird. Though, Abgal supposes that he needs to start accepting the fact that he won't live for long. Harbingers are notorious at how they deal with people they dislike, and the rumors surrounding the Doctor are the vilest.
… Oh, what a load of bull. Who's Abgal kidding? He wants to live.
Abgal opens his mouth but nothing comes out so he clears his painfully parched throat before trying again, “How am I to be of use to you?”
Abgal hears an amused humm from behind him and rustles of feathers, “Eager to please, or should I say to live, aren't you, Sir Abgal?”
Not feeling even the slightest hint of shame at being easily seen through, Abgal asks, “Why else would you keep me here?”
“Ah, I see,” the Doctor amusedly says as he circles Abgal again and stops in front of him, “but what else am I supposed to do with my test subject if not putting them into a quarantine?”
Abgal doesn't dare open his eyes, his heart madly rattling within his ribcage, does he even dare to ask why him?
“Why me?” Abgal asks regardless, his voice really small.
“To quote someone I know, why not?”
At that, Abgal opens his eyes out of anger, the light burns his retinas again but he couldn't care less. Abgal flinches when he finds that the Harbinger is already looking straight at him. The indignant courage gathered in him quickly evaporates.
Yet despite that, for the sake of his own life, Abgal opens his mouth, “If, as you said, I'm captured because I'm under suspicion for colluding with the rebel group, then you will get into trouble for treating me this way because your suspicion is false. I never interact with that group.”
The Harbinger lets out a soft condescending laugh, “Still threatening me with that even after you know my real identity? Sir Abgal, you are either bold or stupid, or both.”
Abgal bites his lower lip in anger, the dry skin easily seeps out iron, “Then, could you be so graceful so as to explain why I am under suspicion?”
The Harbinger lets out a humm before he steps back from the light, “I suppose I can,” he says from somewhere within the darkness, “but before that, just so you know, Sir Abgal. The so-called diplomat you seem to dislike so much was one of the heroes that averted a crisis in Sumeru. You see, there are some moles within your diplomats so my mate volunteered to help your Archon in filtering them,” the Harbinger pauses and Abgal can hear the scraping sound of wood against floor, “and coincidentally, I needed to look at a certain accounting book within the archives to help with the investigation of the rebel group. As it turns out, there really were clues within that book and then you just so coincidentally happened to call in the Supreme Court at the time.”
Abgal's feels chill crawling from his fingertips to his heart, “It was just a coincidence. I have no connection with the rebels!” he yells, “that book is confidential except for certain high-ranking individuals. I'm only following the procedure by reporting it to the Supreme Court.”
“Yes, perhaps,” the Harbinger agrees, “but then, even if it's that confidential, how could the Supreme Court easily send someone to assassinate a diplomat, and not just a simple diplomat might I add, he's my mate as well as someone with the Dendro Archon's favor. It's almost as if you're deliberately trying to hide something.”
Abgal stiffens, if diplomat Alhaitham was a hidden supervisor, it's still within his expectations but for him to gain Lord Kusanali’s favor?
“I have nothing to do with it!” Abgal yells, now fully panicked.
“Oh, we will see about that sooner or later,” the Harbinger says as the light suddenly turns off, blanketing the room in pure darkness, “hopefully a bit later since, as embarrassing as it is, I'm currently lacking test subjects.”
Prime silently stares at Alhaitham's peacefully sleeping face. He's bored out of his mind now that he's finally out of blank paper to doodle on. His hands absentmindedly fiddle with the last paper that has been folded into a paper crane before he throws it away into the mountain of origami at the corner.
Prime leans back to his chair with a huff. After some time, he decides to stand up and looks at Alhaitham from behind, if only to give himself a slight change of pace.
Prime's eyes immediately zone into Alhaitham’s ass but he immediately averts his eyes up to look at Alhaitham's back muscles.
“An Avian who loves to fly” is what Alhaitham's back can easily tell. The strong muscles that can only beautifully woven themselves from hours of flight build Alhaitham's back. Guess Alhaitham didn't lie when he said he loves to fly. Prime won't even be surprised if Alhaitham's nicely built upper body is solely for the sake of enabling him to fly more freely.
Prime ponders for a moment before he asks to the link, [Alpha Build, how difficult is it to fly?]
Alpha Build doesn't immediately answer for a moment before he answers with a slightly grumpy tone, [Prime, your question is the same as asking a human how difficult it is to walk.]
Prime hums, [I see,] he shortly responds.
The link falls silent as Prime blankly stares at Alhaitham's backside.
When Prime's eyes slowly lower to return to Alhaitham's ass, Alpha Build finally snaps, [Alright, what is it do you want?!]
But Alpha Build's attempt to stop Prime from staring at Alhaitham's delicious ass again is futile as Prime unblinkingly stares at it anyway, but before Prime can entertain any reckless idea, he distracts himself by asking, [Do you think I can fly again?]
Alpha Build immediately answers, likely to distract Prime from forming any stupid thought, [I assume you meant flying more stably because you're more than capable of flying, it's just that you harm the environment in the process.]
Prime's eyebrows twitch, [Yes,] he answers, [what do you say?]
[Eh, it shouldn't be too difficult. It's not like you lack the muscles or the stamina. You just lack the technique,] Alpha Build answers before he asks in suspicion, [what are you planning?]
Prime places his hand on Alhaitham's pod, covering his distracting ass, [Alhaitham will wake up, that's a given. So the next problem is how to treat him afterward,] Prime slightly spreads his fingers, peeks at Alhaitham's ass, then closes the gaps of his fingers again, [lifelong bond extends till death. Since Omega Build said Alhaitham might no longer love us once he wakes up, then we only have to court him again.]
Alpha Build lets out a humm, interested, [So that's your plan. Not bad. I can sense Omega Build's murderous intent, by the way. The only reason he doesn't join in this conversation is because he's too busy playing with our captives,] he comments, overall not sounding to be against it, [in all honesty, you are probably the only one capable of doing it, taking into account our difference in breed and Alhaitham's development.]
Prime finally decides to step back and stop molesting Alhaitham with his gaze and returns to his chair, [Should I use falcon breed’s courtship or crow breed’s?]
[Do you want to impress him or not?] Omega Build finally joins into the conversation.
[Fair point,] Prime amicably agrees.
Omega Build lets out a long groan of frustration before he huffs all his misery away, [Prime, your lack of reaction can only mean that you have no idea what you're trying to do so I will help you with the choreography so you better listen to me.]
[Thank you,] Prime distractedly says, eyes already found its way to Alhaitham's chest.
Omega Build lets out a frustrated caw.
Notes:
Please, pardon Prime. When someone is bored out of their mind, their thoughts tend to run wild.
Manifesting playable Dottore.
Current f2p fund: (and just when I'm trying to return to saving, Nahida is going to have a rerun. Though I think I'll skip for now since I probably won't get anything.)
Chapter 49
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“How's the Investigation coming off?” Pulcinella asks the young Avian diligently reading a file with eyebrows furrowed deep in concentration as he brings a tray of tea and snack.
The frustrated lines on Childe’s face deepen before he lets out a humm that fades off into a grumble as he ruffles his hair and petulantly slams the file in his hand down and takes another.
Pulcinella supposes that's all the answer he'll get, “Tea?” he offers the brat as he places the tray on a coffee table before pouring a cup for himself.
Childe's face scrunches up in unwillingness, further emphasizing the tiredness on his face, before he shakes his head, his wings twitching up before slumping down, “Thank you but no. I can't rest now or I won't finish reading these today.”
Pulcinella raises his eyebrows at Childe, “It's still early noon,” he points out before he unwraps a package of cookies and offers it to Childe, “come now, eat some. It's good that you're focused on your task but taking a step back when things get too much is also extremely important.”
The scents from the cookies waft at Childe, filling his nose with nutty aroma and rich scents of chocolate, causing Childe to stare at the cookies offered regretfully, “I can't,” he half-whines-half-wails, his brown wings ruffle behind him in great distress, before he forces himself to return the files, “so stop torturing me, old man.”
Pulcinella can't help but snort. He looks away for a moment before he slightly leans closer to Childe's ear and takes a cookie to his mouth. Slowly biting down on the cookie and munching on it, letting the crunchy noises get to Childe's ears. Savoring the way Childe's face scrunches up in pain more than savoring the exquisite taste of chocolate.
Finally having had enough of watching his ward’s suffering, Pulcinella lightly coughs to his fist with one last laugh before drinking his tea to clean his palate and comments, “This, young man, is exactly what I want you to learn from other Harbingers,” then he nods with a satisfied smile, “hopefully by traversing this adversity, you'll soon fully mature and realizes just how important your duty as a Harbinger is.”
Childe's wings twitch and the serious downward curve of his mouth deepens into a scowl, “They actually give me something to do. After refusing to even let me learn from afar, they suddenly treat me like I'm their coworker,” as he says that, his wings move to circle around him tightly, “just right when the stake is very high too. Are th-” Childe cuts himself off, he worries his lower lip for a moment before correcting his next words, “I can't help but feel weirded out by their sudden change of heart.”
Pulcinella lightly caresses his mustache for a moment before he sighs, “Bear with it, brat,” he gently orders but Childe's wings can't help but twitch at the nickname, Childe knows what it means, Pulcinella is asking him to keep his suspicions to himself, “I know it doesn't feel good for you but you must remember that you need to cooperate with them in order to fulfill your duty and ensure the safety of this nation,” Pulcinella closes his eyes and takes out another sip of his tea, “this round of rebel group actually managed to assassinate Diplomat Alhaitham when he's right beside Dottore. For the Tri-Copiae to be asked to work together is not too unwarranted.”
Childe purses his lips, “Still,” he argues, “don't you think cooperating to take down a rebellion is too much for my first joint mission?”
Pulcinella raises his eyebrows teasingly at Childe, “I thought you like challenges?” the corner of his mouth twitches up at the look Childe is giving him, “and this is not your first joint mission. Didn't you already have one with Signora?”
For a moment, Childe simply stares expressionlessly at Pulcinella before he closes his eyes in pain, “Old man, I swear I'll hit you if you actually consider that mission as a joint mission.”
Pulcinella looks at Childe for a moment, maintaining a neutral expression. The next second, his expression cracks with a snort and he needs to place down his cup so that he doesn't spill the content.
Childe looks at Pulcinella with dead eyes, his wings twitching unamusedly behind him, before he finally places down his file and closes his eyes. He really needs rest.
There's a knocking on the door, causing the merriments in The Rooster’s office to die down in an instant. Pulcinella and Childe exchange a glance before they both stand up. If it's the servant then they would've announced who they are and what's their business after they knock.
Pulcinella stops in front of the door, Childe is behind him, poised to attack, “What is it?”
“I'm here to propose a cooperation,” the voice from behind the door answers.
Childe frowns. That voice sounds a little bit familiar.
Pulcinella glances back at Childe and Childe catches the look. Meaning, Pulcinella deems the other person as neutral for now.
Pulcinella slightly takes a step back from the door and says, “What kind of cooperation? For you to directly visit a Harbinger’s office, do you have a death wish?” he threatens.
For a moment, nothing is heard from beyond the door. The tension rises by the second as Pulcinella and Childe waits, not knowing what the other person is doing outside. Finally, Pulcinella steps back and Childe quietly walks forward.
Childe watches the door for a moment, trying to guess just how much force is needed to burst through and surprise the other person without causing the whole corridor to cave in. His fingers twitch and a hydro blade forms in each of his hands. Childe firmly holds the blades before getting into the position to lunge forward, his wings perfectly poised behind him.
Just before Childe moves, the person from the other side of the door sighs, “Don’t do that,” the person says, almost chiding, and Childe ignores it.
The explosive power Childe has gathered in his legs comes free as he finally makes a move. Only to get a door slammed to his face.
Childe grunts a squawk when his face harshly collides with the door. The door comes so suddenly that he is unable to cancel his forward force. He futilely flaps his wings for some balance as his center of gravity is shifted backwards but it's useless. He falls down while flailing his hydro blades around.
At the door, a masked Avian unimpressedly stares down at Childe before he flicks his black wings and closes the door behind him, “Well, it is certainly rude of me to come in uninvited but I have a proposal that I would like to discuss behind an intact door,” he informs before he steps over Childe and walks pass Pulcinella to sit on one of the couches.
Childe jumps into a squat, his eyes squint at the Avian as he resolidifies the hydro blades in his hands. He's about to attack again but Pulcinella steps forward to block him.
Pulcinella lightly waves his hand at Childe as a gesture for him to back down as he scrutinizes the Avian, then, finding that the combination of light blue hair and black wings isn't common at all, he guesses, “Dottore?”
Dottore's wings twitch but he says nothing. He looks at the files stacked on the floor, curious but not actively trying to find out. As the silence stretches on, he finally averts his attention at Pulcinella and Childe before tilting his head.
“What? Do you want a reward for guessing correctly or something?” he asks as he tilts his head up.
Before Pulcinella can say anything, Childe incredulously asks, “Really?” but since there doesn't seem to be any aggression, he wills his hydro blades away and stands up straight, his wings folding themselves behind him as he steps forward, “who are you really and how can you be so bold to come here alone?”
Dottore glances at Childe before he looks at Pulcinella, “Why did you take him as your ward again?”
Childe lets out an indignant wail at that while Pulcinella simply laughs and pats Childe's thigh before lightly pushing him back, “Quite a pleasure to have you visit my territory, Dottore,” Pulcinella says as he sits on the couch opposite of Dottore.
For a moment Alpha Build feels taken aback by the seemingly real politeness before he simply shrugs his wings and lightly nods, “Likewise,” then his eyes find the cookies on the coffee table and takes one without asking for permission, ignoring Childe's soft squawk of protest, “so, were you just keeping watch on your ward as he does his homework or what?” he asks as he points at the files on the floor with the cookie.
Oh, that's it. Presumably a Harbinger or not be damned, Childe is going to kick him out at all costs. But Pulcinella simply laughs at that and pats the place beside him, silently asking Childe to calm down. So Childe sits down beside him, feathers ruffled in displeasure.
“I was just watching just how much my ward has grown,” Pulcinella says, a friendly smile half-hidden under his mustache, “a sentiment that you might experience once you have your own fledgling,” then, without even a hint of friendliness missing from his face, he says, “ah, it's quite unfortunate but you didn't manage to have one with your mate, right?”
Oh, that's a low blow. Childe has to bite his inner cheek to refrain himself from making faces. Not bad, old man.
Dottore tilts his head as he, no doubt, glares at Pulcinella but when he sees Childe's expression, he simply flicks his wings, “At the moment, yes,” he cryptically informs before he starts eating the cookie, wings slightly perking up at the taste that hits his tongue, “alright, that's enough for the small talk. I'm here to propose a cooperation.”
Pulcinella chuckles deep in his throat, reveling in his small win, “So you've said. But before we start discussing it in detail, what type of cooperation are you trying to propose?”
Dottore takes some time to pour himself a cup of tea and sips it, slightly grimacing at the taste he's unfamiliar with, “I offer you my help in gathering information on the rebellion.”
“Oh?” interesting, “but you are aware that I have no authority in that investigation, right?”
Dottore nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders, “Of course.”
Pulcinella amusedly leans back with a smile, his eyes thoughtful, “Since that's the case, then I suggest that you make this deal with Tartaglia. He just so happens to be with us right now.”
Childe's wings flinch, surprised at suddenly being mentioned, but before he can say anything, Dottore already waves his hand dismissively, “That won't be necessary. It's your ability that I need.”
Pulcinella intertwines his fingers with a merry chuckle, “Then what makes you think I'll be of help when I don't possess even the slightest authority in the investigation?”
Dottore lets out a tired sigh before he places down his cup, “You asked about the general idea of the cooperation,” he reminds.
Pulcinella’s smile freezes, his eyebrows slightly furrowed in confusion, “Yes, I did?”
Dottore's wings twitch, unamused, “Then allow me to explain what I wish to propose in detail. I offer you, or more specifically your ward, my help with the investigation. In return, you'll help me enable a scene with the nobles on suspicion so that I can dig further.”
“Ah, I see,” Pulcinella delightedly exclaims, “what I still couldn't see is what I will get from this.”
Dottore lazily waves his hand, his eyes straying back to the cookies, considering taking another piece, “No need to play coy,” he drawls, “you never try to hide that Tartaglia is a part of your forces. Who knows if to you he's an underling, a partner, or a support, but what's clear is that if his foothold becomes stronger then so does yours,” Dottore spreads his palms and tilts his head, as if saying ‘well’, “I wish to terminate the rebels due to personal reason. All I want from this cooperation is speedier progress. Your ward, on the other hand, can bring up the results of the investigation to the Tsaritsa.”
Meaning, Tartaglia might become the key figure in snuffing the rebellion.
Pulcinella lets out a laugh, he sounds absolutely happy but he tries to make himself sound a little bit skeptical, “Are you sure? That's quite a lot you're about to forfeit.”
Dottore shrugs and leans back to his couch, “You know very well that I have no interest in having any achievement in that area.”
Pulcinella lets out a humm, “Indeed, you don't. Very we-”
“Absolutely not!” Childe refuses as he jumps to his feet, wings flaring in anger, “I don't want to receive a medal of honor when I didn't do anything.”
Dottore, the heathen, simply tilts his head, “then just tell Her Majesty that you don't deserve the medal. I only offer you the chance, it's your own choice whether you want to receive it or not.”
Childe snarls, “THAT’S-” fair, Childe supposes.
Okay, that's actually fair. What the fuck.
Instantly, all the indignation in Childe’s body is gone like fire doused with water. He silently stands frozen, wings still flaring and the snarl is still in place but his eyes shine with genuine confusion.
Pulcinella clears his throat before laughing to fill in the awkward silence that falls after Childe enters a trance. He secretly extends a hand to pull on Childe's pants, silently asking him to sit back down. He sighs in relief when Childe plops back to his earlier spot, although it seems that he's still deep in a trance. Silently thanking Dottore for allowing him to think, Pulcinella starts to consider the proposal.
In all honesty, it's such a good deal. Way too good to be true, even. Not that Pulcinella doubts Dottore's credibility in this. If Dottore says that Childe will be the major contributor, then he will be, what Pulcinella worries about is what Dottore doesn't say.
Pulcinella looks at Dottore. He has poured himself another cup of tea and is now dipping a cookie into it. Pulcinella glances at Childe, he's still deep in a trance though at least his wings are no longer flaring angrily but instead sagging down.
In any case, as far as Pulcinella aware, Dottore is ‘honest’. Pulcinella is sure that he also has a record to keep and he won't be breaking it anytime soon. Even if his ‘personal reason’ is his mate.
…Right?
Pulcinella quietly sighs, “Very appealing but I have one condition.”
Dottore simply gestures at Pulcinella to go on.
“I want you to bring Childe during your investigation,” Pulcinella says, causing Dottore’s wings to immediately flare but Pulcinella gestures him to wait, “this is an opportunity for Tartaglia to learn and having you giving him cheat notes won't bode well for him. Besides, it will be troublesome if he manages to give the intel but doesn't know from where or who he got it.”
Dottore props his elbow on the armrest and leans on it, clearly dissatisfied, “You are aware that if Tartaglia messes up during the investigation –which involves the nobles, I remind– you'll also get implicated.”
“Yes,” Pulcinella easily confirms but upon noticing that Dottore is still looking at him as if unconvinced, he dismissively waves his hand, “oh, you're underestimating him too much. I'm sure that he won't cause unnecessary trouble. Isn't that right, Tartaglia?”
“Huh?” Childe finally snaps from his trance only to find out that the other Harbingers are now looking at him, “Yes, of course,” he nods even if he doesn't know what they're talking about.
Dottore looks back at Pulcinella, an unimpressed scowl on his face, before he twitches his wings with a sigh, “Alright, whatever. It's on you.”
Harbingers have their own office in the Zapolyarny Palace, but they rarely use it. Most choose to stay in their own base, away from the nosiness of other Harbingers. There's also a select few who choose to use it simply because their main duties are stationed in the Palace. Alpha Build is glad that The Rooster is among those select few, if only to cut down the time for travel.
Alpha Build trudges through the snowy streets by himself. The employees of the shop along the street diligently shoveling the snow to the roadside, all seem to be unaware of Alpha Build's presence but it's so obvious how they always steer clear from his path.
Alpha Build snorts to himself and tilts his head up. He blankly looks at the gray clouds pouring yet another load of snow onto the Citadel all the while continuing to walk. Even if it's snowing, it matters not to Alpha Build. The cold does nothing to him, at least it won't ever be able to make his vessel experience hypothermia. The only way the cold is ever going to be a hindrance to him is if it freezes his vessel solid, to the point where his blood is also freezing.
He can still feel the cold though. It doesn't bother him but he's not immune to it. Yet, right now, he feels warm. All because he's wearing the scarf and gloves Alhaitham gave him.
Alpha Build immediately flinches and shrinks his neck, burying his lower face into the scarf. He can see some people flinch from the corner of his eyes.
He grimaces to himself. Of course wearing more layers of clothes when it's cold is going to make him feel warm. It's not because he's specifically wearing something Alhaitham made for him that he feels warm. What did he even hope to achieve by making that correlation?
Alpha Build hisses to himself in embarrassment. His wings aggressively flare and flutter behind him, scaring nearby people to run. Still shamed by his own thinking process, Alpha Build looks around, trying to distract himself. He finds himself standing in front of a flower shop.
Alpha Build raises his eyebrows. Flowers are a luxury that even some nobles can't afford in Snezhnaya. The harsh environment barely lets any plants live, let alone something as fragile as flowers. Not to say that Snezhnaya doesn't have any variety of flowers. There are some but they're not that vibrant, mostly just a spectrum of white to blue that's differentiated by the shapes of the petals.
But if the appearance of the shop means anything, then it seems that this shop is quite thriving. Alpha Build considers the glittering glass panes of the greenhouse behind the shop then considers things some more before he finally decides to get in.
Oh, whatever. His investigation doesn't start today anyway.
Notes:
How come it is already the 28th? New semester starts on 14th... And to think that I hoped I could finish this fic before new semester starts.
Also, please tell me if you feel the plot is kinda rushed. I can't help it because I miss writing Alhaitham but I don't want to accidentally rush the plot. And this fic will continue to update once a week because to avoid burning out, I started another draft instead, hehe.
Manifesting playable Dottore.
Current f2p fund:
Chapter 50
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The longer Alpha Build looks at the bouquet of flowers in his hands, the more shame he feels chipping away his pride.
The bouquet is such a fancy expensive thing. But true to the expense, it's very pretty –pardon Alpha Build's lack of vocabulary to describe it. He bought a total of ninety nine flowers that form a very long declaration of love. The flowers are wrapped with silvery paper with golden accents there and there, tied together by a silk light blue ribbon, of Alpha Build's choice, the same shade as his hair.
It's very embarrassing but the reason he only bought ninety nine flowers is because, in a brief moment of enlightenment, he thought that along with these ninety nine flowers, Alhaitham would be the one hundredth.
Alpha Build snarls in embarrassment and, while carefully guarding the bouquet from any harm, bangs his head to the door leading to the underground lab. He keeps his head pressed to the door with his eyes clenched shut.
Alpha Build stays like that for a long time.
The bouquet is beautifully arranged. Even Alpha Build can see why it's so popular for couples despite the gut wrenching price. The flowers are an array of vibrant and lively colors. The fragrance coming from the bouquet is also very nice. The scents from different varieties of flowers actually manage to blend so nicely. It even manages to somewhat help Alpha Build calm down.
Unfortunately for Alpha Build, just before he's about to recollect himself fully, his mind suddenly recalls the bouquet he gave Alhaitham.
Alpha Build hisses with renewed fervor as he punches the door to vent his embarrassment, his wings fully flaring behind him.
[Stop that,] Prime orders from the link, [stew in silence. You're too noisy.]
Alpha Build, who's about to punch the door again, immediately stops and moves his hand to rub his face instead. Damn it, he's so embarrassed. That was also the first gift he personally gave Alhaitham too.
[Ah, is it about that sorry excuse of a bouquet, Alpha Build?] Sigma Build asks, rubbing salt to the wound.
Alpha Build growls to the link, [Shut it, Sigma Build.]
[What bouquet are you two talking about?] Prime asks out of boredom while Omega Build is snickering in the background.
[Ah, Alpha Build gave Hayi a bouquet before he left some time ago. None of you saw it first hand but damn, it's such a pitiful bouquet. Hayi even grinned when he accepted it,] Sigma Build explains, ignoring Alpha Build crowing his name in anger, [I think Hayi used the flower to make a bookmark later on.]
Alpha Build flinches back, his face red from shame, [He what?!] he loudly caws to the link.
[That pathetic thing?] Prime judges, actually sounding so disgusted that Alpha Build can't help but crumble to a squat, trying so hard not to die from embarrassment.
Sigma Build loudly caws a laugh, [Don't judge Alpha Build too much. It was mostly because Hayi has no talent in craftsmanship,] then he slightly quiets down in thoughts, [it's actually a wonder how he managed to do a passable work on the gloves and scarf he gave Alpha Build. Alexei must have worked really hard.]
[Oh?] Prime murmurs, sounding a little bit displeased, [that servant sure is very close to Alhaitham,] he comments.
Alpha Build exercises his breathing for a moment before he rolls his eyes, [You better leave Alexei alone, Prime. You know very well that Alhaitham needs someone to socially interact with, other than us, and so far that servant is the only one trustworthy enough,] he warns Prime before he protectively clenches the scarf around his neck, wings indignantly spread behind him on Alhaitham's behalf, [and the scarf and gloves Alhaitham gave me is more than passable, Sigma Build.]
Feeling the shame and embarrassment finally fades away enough, ignoring Sigma Build's dismissive comments from the link, Alpha Build stands up and opens the door before he descends the stairs leading to the underground lab.
Down there, Alpha Build stops for a moment to appreciate how Alhaitham look even when he's deep asleep before he holds the bouquet close to his chest and approaches the pod. On the way there, he slightly slows his steps to nudge the flowers into place, ignoring how Prime is staring at his every move judgingly. The closer he is to Alhaitham's pod, the slower he walks, feeling shy for some reason.
Alpha Build stops in front of Alhaitham's pod. His eyes downcast, still staring intently at the flowers and trying to find imperfections in there. If he can find any then he can probably leave for now and search for something more worth giving.
Alpha Build lightly jumps in place when Prime loudly coughs to himself.
Alpha Build glances annoyedly at Prime though deep down he's slightly thankful for the distraction, “What is it?”
In return to that, Prime raises an eyebrow at him before he glances down at the bouquet he's holding, “How many times have I warned you to not dirty my lab?”
Alpha Build makes a face before he simply rolls his eyes with a sigh and ignores him. He freezes when he accidentally finds himself looking at Alhaitham's face. His whole body becomes stiff and he kinda wants to run away. In the end, though, he simply curses Prime in his heart and kneels before Alhaitham.
Alpha Build awkwardly holds up the bouquet for Alhaitham, he doesn't know why he does that, it isn't like Alhaitham can take it, “For you… again…,” he trails off, unsure, awkward, and ashamed, “and again… I am sorry,” he apologizes, for some reason his voice is shaking as he does so and his vision is suddenly blurred.
Alpha Build half expects that Alhaitham would have woken up and comforted him by now. But even there's a limit to wishful thinking and denial so Alpha Build sucks in a breath and calms himself before he looks at Alhaitham. He tries to maintain his calm for as long as he can but the stitches on Alhaitham's body as well as the loss of the healthy luster of his skin are proof enough of his failure.
Alpha Build can't help it. He lets out a small caw that causes Prime to flinch and wonder if he also sounded like that.
Alpha Build defeatedly slumps before Alhaitham, wings limply sagging and eyes void, “I'm sorry,” he mumbles before he sucks in a breath and confesses, “I'm very afraid now,” a few hollow chuckles, “will you leave once you wake up?” Alpha Build sadly asks before he answers it himself, “No, no. You can't. You can't leave. Please, don't leave me,” he mumbles, hands subconsciously clenching the bouquet in his hands tighter and tighter, “I love you so please don't leave me.”
A sudden smell of blood snaps Alpha Build from his mumblings. He follows the source of the smell. He looks down to find that his hands are now bleeding because of the bouquet’s ornaments.
Alpha Build loosens his hold around the bouquet that's now crumpled and dirty with his blood before he snorts. He places the bouquet next to him before resolutely staring straight at Alhaitham's face, “I can only say that I am sorry time and time again. It won't erase the fact that I failed to keep you away from harm,” Alpha Build pauses to stare at Alhaitham's peaceful face, wondering how it would have contorted into something else if only Alhaitham has full control of his expression, “please rest,” he begs, “sleep well and have a peaceful dream,” then he grins to himself, “you should be able to dream now that there's no Akasha to eat it,” his lips thinning as he tries as hard as he can to keep his grin harmless when bloodlust starts eating his inside, “right now Snezhnaya is not a suitable nest for us but I promise that it will be once you wake up. So rest, I'll make it happen,” still staring at Alhaitham's face with a twitching boyish grin, mad anger and bloodlust seeping into his eyes, he promises.
. . .
Prime stares at the bloodied bouquet next to his feet. He considers throwing it out for a moment before he simply sighs and walks away. Not long after, he returns with a handkerchief.
[I told you to not dirty my lab, Alpha Build,] Prime chides to the link as he kneels down and starts cleaning the blood from the stems.
Alpha Build doesn't answer and Prime sighs again. He regards the flowers for a moment before he decides to get a vase for them.
“Outdoor activities?” Galina squeals with her very annoying voice that she probably thinks sounds cute.
As always, practicing great patience that can only befit a saint that he certainly is not, Omega Build refrains himself from ripping her vocal cord, he kindly smiles at Galina as he helps her onto a wheelchair, “Yes, think of it as a change of pace. Research found that a patient will recuperate faster when they do something to destress from time to time.”
“Ooo,” Galina croons appreciatively to match the mood though inwardly she's on high alert.
Galina is pretty sure that they parted ways badly last time. Munafik’s attitude is making her feel alerted. Some possible reasons behind his actions come to her mind. Though if they are all boiled down, it's either because she's about to be sent to the gallow or Munafik thinks highly of her.
Galina hopes it's the latter as her stumps anxiously squirm the same way she used to do when fidgeting. Because if it's the former then she might as well bite her tongue now.
“Now, mister,” Galina playfully purrs, “what do you really plan to do to me?”
Omega Build stops pushing the wheelchair, [I'm going to speed things up. I can't take this anymore,] he informs the link as he closes his eyes and tries to keep his expression under control.
[As long as you get the information needed, you're free to do as you see fit,] Prime responds, [everything else is progressing faster than planned anyway.]
Omega Build lets out a relieved sigh and resumes pushing the wheelchair to the place he has in mind.
“Munafik?” Galina calls out, clearly hesitant.
Ah, that's his cue. The curtain has been drawn. This will probably be more effective if they see face to face but Omega Build can no longer handle seeing her face.
“Munafik…?” Galina calls out again, hints of fear seeping into her voice.
Good.
Omega Build's steps ever so slowly come to a stop. His face is expressionless, not that the woman can twist her body to see it, as they stop in one of the dimly lit and bleak corridors in the bunker. He can sense panic and fear quickly build up within the woman's crippled body. Thankfully, she keeps her silence and doesn't aggravate him with her annoying voice.
Omega Build lets the corners of his lips twitch up but he carefully keeps the amusement from seeping into his tone, then he lets out a long hesitant shaky sigh before he says in a low voice, “I'm so sorry-”
“NO, YOU ARE NOT! IF YOU'RE TRULY SORRY THEN YOU WOULD LET ME GO!” Galina screeches, cutting Omega Build's apology.
Omega Build frowns. This woman is truly annoying. She won't even let him do his act flawlessly.
Quiet, because Omega Build is trying to keep himself from immediately killing her while Galina quietly panics before she realizes that she has broken out of her character.
“Please…” Galina begs as she stares ahead, voice barely above a whisper as tears quickly pool in her eyes, “just let me go.”
Quiet again for a moment, then Omega Build lets out a long shaky sigh before he whispers back with a voice that matches her's, “I can't….”
Galina knows she shouldn't, yet the sniffle still escapes and the tears still fall, “Why…?”
Omega Build's wings twitch behind him from amusement and his lips wobble from trying to keep his laughter at bay. His mind quickly thinks of what made-up reason would be best to tell. Something that this woman can empathize with even at the cost of her freedom.
In the end, he chooses to indulge in his little fantasy, “That special someone…,” he murmurs, “I've actually made a lifelong bond with him,” Omega Build lets his fingers lightly graze Galina's shoulders, “I love him,” he confesses, “so much,” he emphasizes before he deliberately sniffs, “to the point that I am suddenly become aware that my occupation won't bring him happiness,” then he straightens up and lets out an extremely shaky exhale, “the Harbinger I'm under promised me that he'll allow my dismissal if I do my last mission perfectly.”
Galina lets out a wet bitter laugh, “and your last mission just so happen to be me, isn't it?” she harrumphs, trying so hard to not take the bait and easily fails, “you sure have the gall to ask that from me, mister.”
Omega Build inwardly tsks, slightly forgetting that they're mostly just strangers, before he brokenly calls the woman's name for the first time, “Galina…,” ew, his tongue itches from just saying it, “I'm so sorry, but please…. I love him so much.”
Galina sniffles. She puts up a tough front by straightening her back, silently declaring that she won't follow his whim. Unfortunately for her, Omega Build has seen her enough to fully analyze her mental pattern.
Silently praying to his moonlight for forgiveness, Omega Build lets out a mournful caw. So sad, broken, and hopeless that Galina can't help but flinch. Just as Omega Build predicted.
“You!” Galina raises her voice, a facade to her quickly crumbling resolve, “How could you even trust a Harbinger?!” she can actually understand Munafik's sentiment, she internally curses herself when she realizes that she's starting to feel bad for him, “who are you working under?”
Omega Build raises his eyebrows, wondering if this woman is trying to gain Intel or simply curious, yet he answers anyway, “The Doctor,” he says with a hollow voice, when Galina starts to sputter in disbelief, he raises his voice briefly, “I know that the chances for him to fulfill his promise is slim but he always keeps his words and I am desperate enough to try.”
Omega Build purses his lips as he smugly observes the way Galina's shoulders are shaking from anger, it seems that he almost succeeds, “I don't have anyone to tell this to but y'know, my mate… I fell for him at first sight. He has a gorgeous pair of eyes that I can't help but see everytime I close my eyes. He's from the same nation as me and is also a great cook. He's very creative with it too. Sometimes he would cook something that looks inedible but it still turns out delicious. I like it the most when he cooks something from our homeland. I don't really have many great memories from that place but I guess I can't run too far from my origin since the spices just feel right in my taste buds.”
“... I di-”
Galina is about to say something but Omega Build easily cuts her off, now that he has started gushing about Alhaitham, he just can't stop, fortunately his voice still holds some hints of somberness, “He told me that he wants to adopt a child…, to build a family with me,” so deeply immersed in his fantasy, Omega Build can't help but stupidly grin to himself, “I couldn't be any happier,” his fingers absentmindedly fiddle with the wheelchair’s handles, “yesterday I found a house for sale in the Citadel. It's an absolute garbage that is better off getting demolished, yet I bought it. It's just so perfect. Just big enough for us and our book collections and maybe few children or fledglings, the neighborhood is friendly, and it's close to everything,” Omega Build chuckles to himself, “he hasn't seen it yet but I know for sure that he will love it. …It's the perfect nest for us…,” he finally stops gushing and trails off into silence.
Galina can't say anything for a while, though it can't be said that she's indifferent to Munafik's story, she bites her lips before resisting her own sympathy, “I didn't ask any of those.”
Omega Build hollowly laughs, “I know and I am sorry,” he apologizes since he didn't really mean to go on that long, “it’s just that I feel like you need to know my story…. Perhaps sympathizing with it too. From one hopeless romantic to another.”
‘Oh, that's a bullseye,’ Galina thoughts to herself in bitter amusement.
Galina understands Munafik. Oh, she understands him far too well.
Feeling her resolve quickly crumbling, Galina asks, “Does your mate love reading?”
Omega Build blinks, for a moment he ponders whether he should answer or not before he simply shrugs his wings and answers, “He does. So much,” fondness vibrantly bleeding into his tone that Galina's lips can't help but spread into a sad smile as she finds herself empathizing deeper, “when we're both free from work, we would read some books together. I would read some romance novel that I secretly bought and he would read some scholarly books as he burrows himself to my side,” Omega Build reminisces, a fond smile subconsciously blooms on his lips, “a truly mundane activity for a lover, I know. Yet, I love it, I love how warm and peaceful it is, I love how his simple presence beside me makes me feel like I'm home.”
Ah. Tears are falling from Galina's eyes again. She can easily understand Munafik's sentiment. She can even say that she's jealous of him.
Galina defeatedly slumps into her wheelchair, already accepting the fact that she won't be able to win against him, “...Why were you apologizing to me?”
Omega Build blinks again. Right. He was in the middle of something.
“Now you know who's holding you captive… it has been found that you've repeatedly targeted The Doctor's mate,” Omega Build pauses for a moment to wrangle his anger back under control, “you will only meet something terrible ahead.”
Galina closes her eyes, feeling extremely tired, “Why do you care?”
“... Because I sympathize with you,” he answers, causing Galina's lips to tremble, “I can't exactly say that you don't deserve what's coming your way since Diplomat Alhaitham was an innocent civilian, but The Doctor is now out for blood and you're a sitting duck here.”
Galina weakly huffs, “Are you sure you're not just saying all of those so that I will cooperate?”
Omega Build thoughtfully closes his eyes, “Yes. Because I think you deserve a little bit of mercy after all you've been through.”
Galina cynically snorts, “What do you know about me?”
“I've read your files,” Omega Build answers before he starts pushing the wheelchair slowly, “... you're more of a hopeless romantic than I am,” he pauses, a little bit hesitant to say the next part, “The Doctor won't let you live no matter what. Cooperating will at least ensure that you won't suffer too much before death. I think you deserve it after all you've been through.”
Galina lets out a resigned sighs, already accepting her defeat, “And betray the one I love most?”
Ah, Galina is such a stupidly hopeless romantic, isn't she?
Omega Build deliberately lets the silence stretch for a moment, pondering the likelihood that she's probably in a one-sided love, “I am a stranger and yet I know that your devotion will only ruin yourself.”
Galina curls into herself. Munafik is someone that actually understands her woes and he gives her the option to finally rest. It hurts that she won't see lord Samuil again, but Munafik is right. Her devotion has sapped her from everything she's worth.
“Fine,” Galina gives up.
Notes:
Alhaitham, wake up and reign in your men.
Not that he's a nice guy when you're awake. It's just that when you're awake I'm not obligated to write him like this therefore we can pretend that they're normal.Be honest tho, how many of you like this side of Dottore?
Manifesting playable Dottore.
Current f2p fund: 0 (Yes. I'm allocating all my primos for this banners phase. I'm sorry, Dottore but Gaming is so fucking fun and it's useless if I save up but I don't have fun. I also got Xianyun when pulling for Gaming's cons, he's at C3 now, so the weapon banner is a safe area as long as I get the featured weapons, though I would prefer Nahida's weapon.)
Chapter 51
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Her name is Galina. Her beloved parents gave her that name. Unfortunately, her parents no longer love her even though she still does.
A hopeless romantic is what she is. She thought that it must be a compliment since she was born in the nation of the Archon of love. She would soon come to realize that it was just another way of calling her a fool.
Galina's first love was someone with the same upbringing as her. He was handsome, kind, and friendly. He was perfect. Unfortunately, he already had a fiancee.
Yet, blinded by her love, she selfishly tried to get close to him. Once they were close enough, to her surprise, he told her that he wasn't actually in love with his fiancee and confessed that he loved her instead. What are the chances of that?! Surely, this must mean that they're fated.
He told her that, together, they can confront his fiancee and break the engagement. What he hadn't told her was that his fiancee was from a family that worked in the Supreme Court for generations. The confrontation went as well as rows of ants trying to get past a heavy rain.
Her first love immediately turned on her the moment he realized how badly he would be implicated. Soon they were all targeting her. She was still too heartbroken to realize just how badly her family might be implicated. Fortunately at that time, Galina's second and last love was present.
Lord Samuil took her under his wings, protecting her from the rest of his family's ire. He walked her home that day, she couldn't feel any happier. But unfortunately, her happiness quickly turned into misery as she had forgotten just how quickly news travel.
That day, Galina went home to find that her name had been erased from the family tree. The ever kind and merciful lord Samuil decided to take her in as his personal attendant. Galina felt extremely thankful and she has devoted herself to pay off his kindness ever since.
Ah, it's a wonder how such a stupid girl can survive so long.
. . .
Galina blankly stares at nothing as Munafik furiously writes down everything she has said. This is it. She has officially bitten the hand that fed her. All because she can see herself in the one who's in charge of her during captivity. The only difference is that Munafik has way better chances to live the life she has ever wanted.
Often Galina thinks why everything turns out this way. Perhaps, she's simply too stupid to play this song and dance.
“That's all that I can say for sure,” Galina tells Munafik, trying to stop herself from forming any regret.
“This will suffice,” Omega Build says as he continues to write before he realizes that he needs to act for a little longer so he raises his head for a moment to send the woman a grateful smile, “thank you.”
Galina miserably looks at Munafik's smile before she looks away. She tried, but maybe she simply didn't try hard enough because regret is quickly pooling and drowning her alive. Did she really betray lord Samuil? What has she done? Sure, the rebellion probably won't last long since The Tsaritsa’s counterattack was too sudden but it doesn't necessarily mean that they would fail. After all, Lord Samuil is still out there. But now that Galina has told Munafik everything, the rebel group won't have any chance.
Galina’s lips tremble as she grits her teeth to avoid letting out a distressed noise. What has she done?!
“Are you alright?”
Galina's head immediately snaps to the source of the question, finding Munafik is looking at her. She could never glean much from his expression because of his mask but right now she can see traces of worry from his thinning lips. Which is funny because the rest of his body language shows that he's happy.
Which is understandable, Galina supposes.
Galina closes her eyes and slumps her head to the backrest of her wheelchair, “Humor me a little,” she requests, “how much do you love your mate?”
Omega Build stretches his lips thoughtfully. How should he answer that? He can't exactly say that he loves his mate this much while exaggeratingly spreading his hands and wings, can he?
In the end, he settles for grandeur, “If need be, I would betray my allegiance to Her Majesty.”
“Whoa!” Galina startles, now she's for sure downright envious, “that's a blasphemy right there, mister.”
Munafik huffs in amusement, “And the rebellion against The Tsaritsa that you're a part of isn't?”
Galina hums, “Fair,” indeed, he's just doing something that she would also do for her love.
They fall into a seemingly comfortable silence as Munafik writes his report with suppressed amusement and Galina counts the passing seconds she has left. She doesn't really have much and contrary to how she appears, she does feel afraid. Out of habit, she fiddles with her fingers and when she has decided that playing with her fingers will be the best activity to do as she waits for when her end will come, she looks down. Only to find that she no longer has fingers.
Galina’s breath hitches and, for a moment, she loses her grip on reality. Her fingers felt so real. How come they’re only her imagination?
Galina shudders. It's probably for the best that she chooses to cooperate. She will still die either way but now that there's nothing else her captor could possibly want from her, then she will simply be disposed of swiftly. Seeing that she loses all of her limbs in the initial capture, the interrogation session will probably be unimaginable.
“... There's a chance that The Doctor will forget about you,” Omega Build suddenly says just loud enough for her to hear, cutting Galina's thoughts.
Galina looks at Munafik in surprise, “... What?”
Omega Build pointedly fixates his eyes on his briefcase as he puts the interrogation reports inside, “Don't get your hopes up, though. The Doctor is currently trying to hunt bigger fish so he might-”
“SHUSH!” Galina fiercely cuts him off, then she ignores Omega Build's surprised look and berates him, “Are you stupid? I just sold someone I love and my life just so that you, a stranger I barely know, can live happily with someone you love and you're doing this stupid thing that will get you killed by your superior if he knows?!”
Omega Build looks at Galina, his wings slightly flaring behind him in surprise, “I-”
“NO!” Galina doesn't let him say anything, “don't you dare say a single thing. Do not even thank me because it will be suspicious. Just go. Send your report to your superior and then retire to have a family with your mate,” then she huffs and looks away as she mumbles, “... if you're that grateful then you can tell your mate that you were saved by a very beautiful lady.”
Quiet. Omega Build is shocked speechless as he freezes in his spot.
Galina turns her head again to pin Omega Build with a glare, “Well?! What are you waiting for? Scram!”
“I…,” Omega Build tries to say something but he finds that Galina glares at him again.
Omega Build closes his mouth. He decisively closes his briefcase with a click and leaves without another word. Galina is left alone, sitting on her wheelchair without any means of mobility.
Omega Build swiftly walks the route to exit the bunker. His shoulders are relaxed and his steps are light, he's even quietly humming to himself. He makes a little stop at the observation room to change into his usual mask. Then he checks if all the doors except the exit are locked through one of the monitors.
After all is done, Omega Build stretches his wings and takes a deep calming breath, [Alright, I've done my part,] he informs to the link, [Sigma Build, have you moved your test subject like I asked you to?] he asks as he exits the room while quietly humming a relaxing tone to himself.
[Yes, and you owe me one. You know how annoying it is to transfer during an experiment,] Sigma Build grumbles.
[Of course,] Omega Build cheerfully chirps, [thank you for your trouble.]
[Aren't you going to kill her, Omega Build?] Alpha Build asks.
Omega Build's lips twitch up with glee as he exits the bunker but he feigns ignorance, [Pardon?]
Alpha Build tsks, already tired of the bullshit even before it starts, [If you don't want to kill her then I will.]
[HE…,] Omega Build exclaims indignantly before he trails off midway as if he just has a sudden change of mind, [Ah, actually, I'm not going to stop you if you want to kill her. That is, if you really wish to spend the effort to reach her.]
Alpha Build lets out a haggard sigh, [What are you planning?] he tiredly asks.
[Well, I'm glad you ask,] Omega Build cheerfully says to the link before he locks the exit from outside, [I plan to do nothing.]
Silence descends in the link. Omega Build ignores it in order to start trudging through the heavily snowed imaginary path. In such an environment, usually he, and the rest of the Segments, would have started cursing after a few steps and immediately opted to fly but right now he's in a good mood and won't mind taking a little walk.
Alpha Build roughly sighs in annoyance, [Stop. That!] he snaps, [stop cryptically wording your sentence and be clear for once. I'm in no mood to play your mind game.]
Omega Build simply grins and spreads his hands and wings for balance before he jumps around in the snow, [Oh, don't be like that. Besides, this one is not particularly difficult.]
Alpha Build hisses in anger, [ I don't have time for this! ]
[Omega Build,] Prime breaks the fight, finally feeling bored enough to be nice for once, [stop that. You're supposed to work together with Alpha Build so cooperate with him.]
Omega Build scowls, still holding a grudge at Prime for his foolishness. But before he can say anything, something buried under the snow trips him, causing him to face-plant into the snow. For a moment he stays there, finding that the coldness from the snow numbing his front has the effect of calming his annoyance.
Omega Build hums for a moment before he decides to make a snow fairy.
[She has given all she's worth. Thus, nothing more needs to be done to her, otherwise it'll simply be a waste of energy,] Omega Build finally answers.
[Awww, I didn't know that you have it in you, Omega Build,] Sigma Build mockingly coos, [do you feel touched after what she's done?] then his voice suddenly drops, [disgusting,] he growls.
Omega Build stops making the snow fairy and for a moment he simply lays there, wondering how to wake up without destroying his art, before he lets out a haughty laugh to the link, [Hah,] Omega Build carefully pushes himself to his feet and stands up to appraise his artwork, [what are you even talking about, Sigma Build?] His wings droop and he grimaces as he looks at his work, he clears his throat as he looks away from the “snow fairy”, [why would I feel bad when things were going as I expected?]
Omega Build takes out a little device from his coat and plays with it. He twirls the device in his fingers as he turns around, pointedly ignoring the “snow fairy”. His eyes immediately locate the exit/entrance to the hidden bunker and without any preamble, he presses the button on the device.
He watches as two small explosions occur, causing the snow to cave in and bury the only access into the bunker. The explosion is not that big, just enough to trigger snowslide, so that woman probably won't even feel the tremor. Especially since Omega Build purposefully chose the deepest room underground for the interrogation.
[Omega Build,] Alpha Build slowly mutters, [Oh, you are a mean bastard,] he tiredly curses.
Omega Build amicably laughs, [Oh, come now. I told you that there's no need to waste any more effort on that woman.]
Both Alpha Build and Sigma Build let out a haggard sigh.
Omega Build twirls the little device around his fingers for a little longer before he stores it inside his coat, [A healthy woman likely can last in there for 5 days on average,] he spreads his wings and flaps them a few times to warm up, [that woman probably can only survive for 2 days at most.]
Omega Build lightly jumps as he starts flapping his wings and flies. Unfortunately, his form is unstable and his leg accidentally drags on the snow, causing his shaky balance to immediately collapse. Omega Build finds himself face-planting into the snow for the second time that day.
Alpha Build lets out a disgusted noise to the link, [I told you to not put your hands into your pockets when you're flying. What are you even trying to achieve by doing that?] he berates, fully feeling the secondhand embarrassment.
[But spreading my hands for balance makes me look stupid,] Omega Build whines.
Sigma Build snorts, [And somehow falling flat on your face isn't?]
Omega Build can only let out disgruntled grumbles.
For a moment he stays like that before he roughly pushes himself up while shaking the snow off his wings. Then he stands straight before he puts himself into a flying position with stiff exaggeration. Once he feels satisfied with his form, ignoring Alpha Build's cringing noises, he takes off once more.
Omega Build can't say that flying is his preferred mode of mobility. It's too taxing and there are too many things to take note of to enjoy the view. But his moonlight loves to fly so he better starts liking it too.
[Say,] Omega Build says to the link to start a conversation, [are none of you curious as to why I choose to end her life like that?] he asks as he maneuvers himself away from a dark cloud.
Silence, none of the other Segments even feel like answering.
Omega Build huffs before he starts flying faster.
Omega Build doesn't feel pity for that woman in the slightest. She's a total fool that keeps letting herself be used again and again. Oh, it was so laughable how she fell for his scheme.
Omega Build petulantly sighs before he does an aerial maneuver to slightly vent his disappointment.
Oh, how Omega Build really wishes to talk about his decision for her verdict to anyone. He is proud of the outcome. A fitting end for such a stupid person. He was pretty sure that someone like her can only exist in a novel but there he was, proven to be wrong.
Omega Build clenches his eyes shut for a moment before he opens them again.
In two days, that woman will experience the horror of uncertainty. She's already fully aware that she'll die. The torment comes from the uncertainty of when and how she will die. Omega Build doesn't know how either. But it's likely either from starvation or from cold.
Omega Build darkly chuckles as he satisfiedly smiles to himself.
What is certain is that she won't die peacefully. She'll continue to wonder when her “killer” will come and she might even start hallucinating once the starvation and cold claws her subconscious. She'll also be hoping that her “killer” won't come at all, as per his last “kind” words for her. Then she'll start regretting her decision. She'll try to find a way to get out, only to be cruelly reminded of her lack of limbs.
Omega Build amusedly hums to himself. Ah, well. She's as good as dead so he better allocate his time to think of something more important such as planning how to court Alhaitham for the second time.
… This one might actually be difficult to do.
Kaveh sucks in a deep breath before he stiltedly screams in a mixture of frustration and triumph as he climbs down the ladders that will send him on-land. Cyno continues to converse with the envoys of representatives from the Diplomatic Office, Supreme Court, and Zapolyarny Palace as if Kaveh doesn't exist. The representatives glance at Kaveh but they immediately mimic General Mahamatra’s attitude in ignoring the young man.
Kaveh deeply sighs as he tightens his outer clothing around himself. He's glad that he's finally on land but Archon, it's cold. It's so fucking cold. Why is it so cold here? Alright, the fact that he is outdoors might also be a reason but Snezhnaya has no right to be this cold on what's supposed to be summer.
Kaveh looks at Cyno who's still conversing with who looks like very important people while looking as if the cold doesn't bother him before he decides to simply admire the place by himself. Except that there’s nothing to admire since, again, he’s outside. …Well, the snow is curiously pure white, Kaveh supposes.
“Kaveh,” Cyno calls, startling Kaveh to snap his head to look at him.
Kaveh has no idea how long he waited for Cyno to finish conversing with those people but his neck cracks loudly when he snaps his head. Kaveh stands still as the smile on his face slowly fades. He waits for when the pain will come but it doesn’t. He continues to wait, silently staring at Cyno with a stiff expression while Cyno awkwardly stares back, unsure of what to do since Kaveh doesn’t react.
“Uh… you good?” Cyno finally breaks the silence when Kaveh continues to stay unmoving for so long.
Kaveh, still with his stiff expression, slowly raises a hand to tentatively press his neck. Cyno waits with bated breath for Kaveh’s reaction. Only when Kaveh starts massaging his neck and being less careful in general does he slowly relax.
Kaveh smiles sheepishly as he continues to massage his neck for a bit longer, feeling guilty but also slightly thankful for the concern on Cyno’s face –Alhaitham could never, “I’m fine,” Kaveh finally answers after the long bout of silence as he testingly turns his head, “I think,” he adds when he feels resistances in his neck’s joint.
Cyno stares at Kaveh for a moment longer before he simply hums, “That’s good,” then he turns around and motions for Kaveh to follow him, “If only we were not here for official purpose, I would have cracked a joke to snap the tension.”
Kaveh has to take a moment to pause to stare at Cyno’s back. He wonders if he was joking. Because if he did then Kaveh doesn’t know whether he should laugh or not. Then again, if Cyno was joking, he would have looked Kaveh in the eyes and started explaining his joke since he’s not laughing.
In the end, Kaveh opts to ignore it and catch up to Cyno, “I’m sorry for insisting on coming along,” Kaveh whispers to Cyno as they approach the envoy.
Cyno keeps his eyes on the envoy as he whispers back, “It’s fine. As you’ve said, you have the right to be here.”
Kaveh thinks that Cyno is really kind. The only reason they are in Snezhnaya right now is beause he failed to convince Alhaitham to not go. That was the first time he had seen Alhaitham making a decision based on emotional intelligence so he thought that, as a caring senior, he should encourage him. Kaveh shouldn’t have done that. He forgot that unlike Alhaitham’s logical intelligence, Alhaitham’s emotional intelligence is unreliable.
“What should we do first?” Kaveh asks Cyno, deciding that regret won’t help him find Alhaitham.
“We should visit the Zapolyarny Palace first. Even if doing that will only make our work here harder, it’s necessary since we are in their territory,” Cyno says before he sends Kaveh a meaningful look, “stay alert, Kaveh. We are possibly going to meet, at least , a Harbinger there.”
Kaveh feels his feet become heavier but his steps don't falter. His fists clench beside him as he gulps before he silently nods at Cyno’s warning.
Cyno lets out a sigh just before they reach the envoy, “For now, I just hope that the Palace will at least welcome us warmer than its walls.”
Kaveh purses his lips, choosing not to engage. He still isn’t sure if Cyno is joking or not.
Notes:
I'm not sure if I wrote Cyno correctly tbh.
Chapter 52
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Excuse me! Please, wait!” a voice calls out, causing the whole envoy to turn to the source of it.
The guards within the envoy immediately step forward and point their weapons at the newcomer. The newcomer, a young man in his early twenties wearing the Sumerian diplomat’s uniform, immediately raises his hands to show that he is unarmed. Yet the guards continue to point their weapons at the young man. Although the borders are still not closed, Snezhnaya is currently on high alert. The assassination of The Doctor’s mate and the missing Sumerian head faction of the Diplomatic Office have already put Snezhnaya in a diplomatically precarious situation. The visit from The General Mahamatra of Sumeru itself is already a huge occasion, the Palace doesn’t need another big incident to happen.
The young man seems to have something urgent to say but seeing as the weapons are still pointed at him, he doesn't dare make a sudden move. Thus they are stuck in that standstill for a long time to the point that Kaveh kinda feels bad for him. Look, the guy is still panting yet he's forced to even his breathing so as to not startle the guards and get anyone injured.
The standstill continues for a moment longer to the point that Kaveh almost breaks the silence himself but, as if sensing his intent, Cyno pulls on his sleeve, silently asking him to stand back.
Indeed, if the newcomer won't even have the initiative to introduce himself, then he is most likely a hidden enemy.
The newcomer soon comes to an understanding and slowly says in a clear voice, “My name is Razak. I am a diplomat from the Sumerian faction, relational section. I have a message from The Akademiya for General Mahamatra Cyno,” the weapons are still trained at him so he adds, “I have my identification in my pocket. I'm going to take it out now. Please don't attack.”
The guard at foremost briefly glances at the other guards before he nods at Razak. Razak slowly and carefully reaches into his coat while keeping his other hand up. Soon, he takes out several cards and hands them to the nearest guard.
The guard carefully takes the cards, still having his weapon pointing at Razak. The guard glances at someone who's most likely the leader of the team. The leader gives a small nod and the guard immediately reads the cards. His eyes quickly flit around only for a brief moment before he nods back at the leader.
The leader lowers his weapon and the other guards immediately follow after.
The leader regards the diplomat who cowers slightly from his glare for a second before he motions his subordinates to return into position, “Follow us,” he tells Razak, “relay your message when we arrive at the Palace.”
The leader is about to return to his own position but the diplomat says something, “Unfortunately, the message is quite urgent,” he looks past the guards’ leader, right at Cyno, “it's of importance that I relay it sooner than later.”
The leader squints at the diplomat and his grip on his weapon tightens, causing the diplomat to take a step back, “And unfortunately, I can't allow you to be alone with the General Mahamatra. My mission is to keep our guests from harm. If you think that your message needs to be relayed as soon as possible then feel free to relay it once we are inside the port.”
“That…,” the diplomat trails off as he frowns thoughtfully, “I suppose that is acceptable.”
Kaveh frowns. If it's a message from The Akademiya, then it might be a message from Lord Kusanali. Therefore, shouldn't they try to keep it from the Snezhnayans’ ears?
Kaveh glances at Cyno but Cyno is busy scrutinizing the diplomat so he keeps his silence. Kaveh isn't even a part of The Akademiya, he probably shouldn't meddle and leaves this to Cyno.
Still, “Well, that was tense,” Kaveh comments as the envoy resumes their journey with an additional member.
For a moment, Cyno doesn't answer and Kaveh glances at him to find that he's still scrutinizing the diplomat. Poor guy. Kaveh can even see his cold sweat from where he is.
Actually feeling bad for the guy, Kaveh slightly nudges Cyno’s elbow and asks, “What is so interesting? Is that diplomat a secret TCG player or something?”
For a second Cyno's gaze intensifies, causing Razak to tense up, before he finally averts his eyes to glance at Kaveh, “Nothing. It's just a simple curiosity,” he answers, “at least for now.”
First of all, Snezhnaya's architecture is absolutely gorgeous. Kaveh feels bad for this nation since it has to receive Alhaitham as a citizen. His lazy ass probably can't give the appreciation this beautiful place deserves.
Second of all, Kaveh mentally scratches Snezhnaya from his tourist destinations list. It's simply way too fucking cold in here. How come the difference between being outside and inside is only a few degrees warmer –still cold enough to freeze unsuspecting tourists to death. By Lord Kusanali, Kaveh is so busy trying to keep his –fully gloved– fingers from freezing that he is unable to study the port’s grandeur. A shame! Since the port is the first place foreigners come to, of course the architecture needs to fully showcase the majesty of the nation.
Thirdly, curse Alhaitham. Of all Avians to be mated with, he just has to choose someone like ThE DOcToR. Then he just had to choose to move with ThE HarBinGeR and go MIA. Seriously, wasn't he the one who kept bragging about his cushy life?
“...This might be the last time you’ll see him.”
Kaveh bites his lower lip and curses in his heart. He clenches his hand into a fist and tilts his head up to avoid any unwanted tears to fall. This is no time to get emotional –fuck, he sounds like Alhaitham. He has to move fast. He might be able to make it just in time and save Alhaitham from the worst case scenario.
“Kaveh,” Cyno calls out for him for the second time that day and Kaveh makes sure that this time he doesn't snap his head too fast, “you might want to hear this,” he motions him to move closer, a deep frown marring his face.
For a second, Kaveh feels like running away. The last time Cyno called him like that, he got information dumped with Alhaitham's love affair. But this is no time for running away so he forces himself to come closer.
“Uh,” Razak pipes up hesitantly, “General Mahamtra, I don’t think….”
“Diplomat Razak,” Cyno politely cuts him off, “this man was living with Diplomat Alhaitham for some time. He has the right to know,” he looks at Razak before he looks at Kaveh, making his stomach curling, “therefore, please, repeat Lord Kusanali’s message to him. …He needs to hear it himself.”
Well, if that isn’t ominous then Kaveh doesn’t know what that is. But since Cyno said he needs to hear it himself, then he will.
So Kaveh approaches them with a smile filled with apprehension but it’s still a smile regardless, “Alright,” he sucks in a breath to steel himself, “what is it?”
For a moment Diplomat Razak frowns, unsure, before the light in his eyes turn into pity and something in Kaveh’s stomach curls more violently, “Mister…”
“Kaveh.”
There’s a light of recognition in Diplomat Razak’s eyes before he clears his throat, “Mister Kaveh, I am sorry for your loss,” he opens and Kaveh can’t help how something in his chest immediately drops, feeling defeated, “the purpose of General Mahamatra and your visit is to check on Diplomat Alhaitham, but I’m here to regretfully inform you that Diplomat Alhaitham was assassinated a month ago.”
A breath comes out from Kaveh’s mouth. It Can't be called a sigh or a huff, but it’s close to a desperate laugh. Kaveh’s mind tries to slowly fathom the diplomat’s words, afraid of reaching the conclusion too fast. As insufferable as Alhaitham might be, he has helped Kaveh during the lowest time of his life.
Diplomat Razak studies Kaveh’s expressions before he subtly grimaces, still, as per the General’s request, he continues to explain the situation, “The Rooster himself formally came to our faction in the Diplomatic Office to explain the situation. According to him, Diplomat Alhaitham was targeted by a rebel group because of his relation with the Second Harbinger, The Doctor,” then he pauses to brace himself before relaying the final blow, “during his visit, The Rooster also said that Diplomat Alhaitham will continue to be in Snezhnaya.”
Kaveh’s almost lifeless eyes almost immediately light up with anger and Diplomat Razak swiftly hides behind Cyno. He understands what Mister Kaveh is feeling, that’s precisely why he hides behind General Mahamatra. Especially because of the next thing he needs to relay.
Diplomat Razak clears his throat again and sighs before he pitches his voice to sound more formal, “The higher ups within our faction had tried to negotiate with The Rooster. Unfortunately, I am in no position to know what exactly happened due to my low rank. A few days later, our faction received a message from The Akademiya, stating that we leave Diplomat Alhaitham’s body in his mate’s care-”
“NO!” Kaveh yells, enraged, and Diplomat Razak flinches and hides himself better behind Cyno.
Grieving people are scary but Diplomat Razak dutifully continues his task, “I have no more knowledge than this. If you wish to search for more information, please continue to embark to the Palace. My colleagues are there to see the arrangement.”
Kaveh visibly puffs up from anger but before he can act out, Cyno places his hand on his shoulder to ground him, “Thank you for relaying this message, Diplomat Razak,” he addresses the poor guy, “if you have no other business, you may leave us.”
The diplomat immediately nods and leaves. His actions are almost rude, but he doesn’t care. He does not want to be involved.
Cyno glances at Kaveh who’s still visibly angry and glaring at the diplomat before he says in a soothing voice, “It’s not his fault, Kaveh. He’s just delivering messages.”
“I know,” Kaveh growls, actually wanting to yell but he doesn’t want to garner attention, “but how could they give up on Alhaitham that easily?!”
For a moment Cyno simply looks at Kaveh, silently pondering before he averts his eyes away, “I don’t want to speculate,” then he looks at the envoy approaching them, “in any case, it’s better that we visit the Palace first before deciding our next course of action,” he whispers to Kaveh.
Kaveh lets himself follow the envoy. His mind conjures images without his permission one by one. He knows he shouldn't be imagining what's happening to Alhaitham, but it’s hard not to. If, before, his goal is to make sure Alhaitham is still alive, right now his goal is to ensure that Alhaitham is not experiencing something worse than death.
Oh, Kaveh wants to throw up.
The Zapolyarny Palace is magnificent. If only Kaveh is not here for important reasons, he would have taken his time to fanboy over the fact that the castle manages to retain its glory despite being covered by layers of ice. But then again, Kaveh probably can't get to see the Palace if he isn't here because of important reasons.
The guards escorting the envoy continue to be alert even after they're inside the Palace. It's only once the envoy is greeted by The Rooster that they finally are at ease and leave their post.
The envoy exchanges words with the Rooster before they merge with the groups waiting behind the Harbinger. Each of the group then dignifiedly surrounds their representative, seemingly discussing something important. Kaveh isn't sure, he can't hear anything from where he is.
“A pleasure to have both of you visit our beloved country, General Mahamatra Cyno and… Mister Kaveh, if I'm correct,” The Rooster suddenly greets them and Kaveh is surprised enough to almost jump but he hides it well.
“Impressive,” Cyno comments before Kaveh can even react to the greeting, “I wouldn't be surprised if you recognize me but for you to immediately recognize my friend here is out of my expectations.”
The Rooster, a very short gentlemanly looking old man, amicably laughs, sounding so business-like that it feels kinda uncanny, “It's nothing impressive. Every foreigner that visits Snezhnaya needs to be identified first at the border before they can get in, after all.”
Cyno crosses his arms, “I see.”
Then they fall into a heavy silence. Kaveh is actually quite amazed that the Harbinger can continue to keep up the friendly smile on his face despite the uncomfortable silence.
The Rooster keeps the silence for a moment longer before he softly lets out a sigh, “I assume that you two won't have any other reasons to be here other than settling Diplomat Alhaitham's matter?” he asks but he sounded like giving a statement.
Cyno squints, “Indeed. I know that the diplomats didn't really negotiate the terms of agreement for the marriage between the former Grand Scribe of The Akademiya turned Diplomat Alhaitham and The Second Harbinger, The Doctor, but I'm quite sure that Lord Kusanali personally sent a letter to the Tsaritsa to treat him best,” there's not even a change to Cyno's gaze but Kaveh can feel something dangerous coming from him, “so tell me, how come that he's deceased and why you kept it from us for a month? If I don't personally come here to investigate, then would you keep it from us forever?”
The Rooster's smile slightly widens into something sharp, “I assure you that everything will be explained,” then he turns around and motions them to follow, “now please, follow me. The diplomats have already gathered in the conference room.”
Cyno immediately follows the Harbinger without a slightest hint of hesitation.
Since the beginning of their interaction, not once did Cyno glanced back at Kaveh. That's when Kaveh realizes that his unwavering sureness is necessary. They're in Snezhnaya, right at the heart of their stronghold to boot, Cyno has the duty to keep up his dignity as the General Mahamatra of Sumeru. Otherwise, the Harbinger could have taken that as a weak spot and used it against them. Especially since he already knows that they're here for Alhaitham.
Kaveh immediately squares his shoulders and follows, right behind Cyno. He's here to help. He can't afford to be a burden.
The Harbinger leads them through an ice layered corridor filled with artful decorations. Kaveh feels like this route is chosen to intimidate them but he couldn't care less. Look, it's beautiful alright, the layer of ice is even carved, but it's cold as fuck. He's too busy stopping himself from tightening the coat he got from someone on the ship –for free, so he can't really complain about how inadequate it is– to feel anything else. If the cold is their tactic then, well, mostly Kaveh just feels annoyed.
Not long after, the Harbinger stops in front of a pair of grand doors. They're made of wood and gilded with gold as well as exquisitely carved with cryo symbols. Kaveh inwardly grumbles when he finds himself admiring the doors. This one is actually way too catchy for him to ignore.
The guards standing beside the doors open it for them. Noises that previously unheard immediately spills out, though it quiets down the moment the occupants realize that the door is opened.
The Rooster smiles at them one last time before he leaves to approach the Snezhnaya's side. Cyno and Kaveh aren't left alone for long because immediately after, someone from Sumeru’s side leads them to a seat.
The Rooster scans the conference room for a moment before he smiles in satisfaction, “All of the parties are present. We shall conduct the meeting now,” he announces before he gestures to a woman seated at the front row of the Snezhnayans diplomats.
The woman stands up, had it any other time, Kaveh would have envied her for her coat but he really needs to stay focused, “Good morning, everyone. I am the head faction of the Snezhnayan Diplomatic Office. You may refer to me as ma'am Irina during this meeting,” she shortly introduces herself before shuffling the paper in her hands, “first of all, I want us to give a moment of silence for the deceased Diplomat Alhaitham before we discuss anything further,” she asks before she lowers her head and everyone in the conference room follow after, Kaveh feels his insides burn but even he doesn't want to disturb the mourning silence however fake it might be.
Ma'am Irina then raises her head and clears her throat, “Diplomat Alhaitham arrived in Snezhnaya as the mate of the Second Harbinger, Il Dottore. This is the first time in our history that an executive of a nation married someone from other nation without the need of arranged marriage so we both were elated as this can forge a tighter bond between our nations,” Cyno softly scoffs beside Kaveh, causing the rage boiling his insides to calm down just a little, “and peace was indeed forged between our nations. Economical trades, education, culture, etc were flourishing since then. Unfortunately, Diplomat Alhaitham was found dead after he was assassinated by a rebel group currently planning a coup.”
It takes a moment for Kaveh to understand but the moment he does, it takes a lot from him to not make any noises. So the rebellion is still ongoing? He thought it had been taken care of. If that's the case then aren't he and Cyno walking straight into a warfield?
As if thinking the same, Cyno subtly tenses up beside Kaveh.
One of the Sumerian diplomats raises her hand, “If you'll give me permission to speak,” she says but she asks without needing any permission, “if there's an ounce of truth to what you just said other than the loss of Diplomat Alhaitham's life, I have a question,” she pauses for a moment to take a deep breath, “don't you think it's quite shameful of you to insist on keeping the deceased’s body after you failed to keep him safe in your own homeland? Do you even think that you have the right to request it?”
Even through the distance, Kaveh can see the way the corners of The Harbinger’s mouth quirk and it fills him with a sense of foreboding.
Ma'am Irina closes her eyes for a moment before she opens them again, “Indeed, and that's precisely why I wish to bring this up,” then she lifts a scroll that even without the use of elemental sight, anyone can sense that it has traces of divine dendro energy, “this is a letter sent personally by your Archon prior to Diplomat Alhaitham's arrival,” it's almost comical how the Sumerian diplomats uniformly sucks in a breath, “this letter stated that The Dendro Archon considers Diplomat Alhaitham as one of her branches and claimed that he will always be hers. This letter, sent directly to The Tsaritsa, can only mean that The Dendro Archon is trying to guarantee Diplomat Alhaitham's safety within this nation.”
‘Through a veiled threat,’ the Snezhnayan diplomat doesn't say but all people present can hear it loud and clear.
Ma'am Irina slightly bows her head as if she's disappointed, “Which, if I'm being truthful, is quite hurtful for the blatant lack of trust,” then she shuffles some more paper before her expression becomes more downcast, “which also brings up another question as to why the Dendro Archon is so concerned to the point she’s almost sure that Diplomat Alhaitham will be harmed.”
Something in Kaveh’s stomach drops. He fervently prays in his heart that she's not about to bring ‘that’ up because then they would have no hope to bring Alhaitham home.
Unfortunately, the wrong Archon hears his prayers.
“Diplomat Alhaitham was previously the Grand Scribe of The Akademiya,” ma'am Irina declares and Kaveh can only bite his lower lip and hang his head in defeat, “for someone who clearly meant a lot to the Dendro Archon, it seemed sufficiently suspicious that he would be demoted like that. Sure, there were chances that that was simply to give Diplomat Alhaitham easier access to mingle with people of his own nation but why was it that he needed to be a diplomat?” She pauses again to shuffle some more paper but this pause feels more like it's to build up tension, “this is not a court,” with her somber eyes trained to her paper, she gravely says those words, “neither the victim nor the convict is standing here for us to judge, nor are we the juries, and the the podium is empty of judge,” Irina presses the paper in her hands to the desk before her, her eyes are misted as she lets out a sigh, “Diplomat Alhaitham agreed to form a lifelong bond with the Second Harbinger out of his own volition. Yet the Dendro Archon forbade Diplomat Alhaitham to move with his mate. Only after the deceased offered to become a diplomat with a mission to weed out traitors within the Sumerian diplomats’ ranks did he could be reunited with his mate.”
The Sumerian diplomats can't even hide the fact that they're surprised. Some diplomats, from both factions, are even gasping out loud. The lady who asked questions earlier is staring ahead with wide eyes and pale face.
Kaveh deeply sighs in his heart. He knows that it's highly unlikely but he hopes they don't see Alhaitham as a traitor. He needs their help to fight for Alhaitham to the bitter end.
“Might I be so rude to ask what's the reason for you to bring that up?” A male voice asks and Kaveh looks up with renewed hope.
“I'm Hilal, the acting Head Faction of the Sumerian faction, replacing the currently missing Sir Abgal,” the male voice, an Avian with a pair of dark gray wings introduces himself, causing Cyno to straightens up with total alertness on his seat, “How does –pardon my language– your story with questionable credibility, in any way, justify your audacity to keep the deceased's body in this nation instead of returning him to his land of origin.”
Kaveh clenches his fists. His mouth tastes bitter. He knows that that ‘story’ is the truth but if that will help him bringing Alhaitham home then he will keep his silence.
“Sir Hilal,” an Avian diplomat from the Snezhnayan faction quickly stands up, the way his jaws are tense shows how enraged he is, “The Doctor is as much a victim as Diplomat Alhaitham. The rebel group is at fault here so don't you dare put the blame on The Doctor. How dare you ask why we dared to request this. Is it so wrong that we want one of our Lord Harbinger to be able to keep the remnants of his mate with him?”
Sir Hilal doesn't answer. Too shell shocked as if he had never thought about it that way. His wings sag behind him as he's likely too surprised to respond.
“Please, maintain your calm,” ma'am Irina raises her voice and gestures to her diplomat to sit down, “as my diplomat had said, that is our reason as to why we request to keep Diplomat Alhaitham's body in Snezhnaya,” then she bows her head deeply, “after years long of built trust. I hope you'll grant us this request.”
“As you've said, Diplomat Alhaitham was indeed tasked to weed out traitors,” Cyno suddenly cuts in, startling Kaveh to snap his head at him, “he sent a monthly message to us to report his progress. I find it curious that his message stopped 3 months ago and only earlier today have I been notified of his death.”
The sole Harbinger in the room immediately clears his throat the moment Cyno stopped talking, “That's not a question that a diplomat can answer so allow me,” he politely says, probably throwing shades at Cyno, “three months ago was the first time Diplomat Alhaitham got targeted by the rebel group. He was injured quite gravely hence why he wasn't able to send any messages, thankfully The Doctor managed to treat him back to health.”
Cyno crosses his arms, “And none of you thought of notifying us at the time?”
The Rooster raises an eyebrow at Cyno, “I was unaware that we needed to send a report to your Archon on it. Especially since we are dealing with a rebellion, which is information better kept only within Snezhnaya. After all, it wasn't a full out war, we don't want to falsely notify other nations.”
Cyno's eyebrows furrow and Kaveh feels rather conflicted. On one hand, he wants this to continue because then they might win, but on the other hand, he's not sure if Cyno should provoke a Harbinger like that. And as the voices between diplomats start to grow among themselves, causing Kaveh to remember them again, Kaveh starts to worry about them too.
“Gentlemen,” ma'am Irina raises her voice and instantly the conference room regains their calmness, “please, let us continue this meeting dignifiedly.”
The meeting does continue with dignity. The diplomats are mostly discussing prices of trade since Snezhnaya might actually enter a civil war from the prolonged coup, nothing about Alhaitham is mentioned again.
Kaveh had a mind to simply leave the room. He feels like he might be able to do something as long as he's not there. But he doesn't really have the gut to storm out of the room by himself and Cyno seems to be vested in anything mentioning the rebellion. So he stayed.
Notes:
I have a dotthotham art wip that has been sitting on my laptop for a month because I feel too lazy continuing the line art. It's mostly because I'm trying to draw 4 Dottores being clingy to Alhaitham so the limbs are kinda annoying to draw.
Next, I'm sorry that I ask this, but if you like my fic, can you leave a comment? Comments really cheer me up because it makes me know what you likes. You can tell me what you think will happen next, you can tell me what you like from the chapter, or anything else. It doesn't have to be about the fic too. You can comment something random you experienced today like you accidentally stepped on a Lego brick because you didn't turn on your lamp, you can talk about some Genshin lore (though I must say, I'm not very in depth about it), heck you can give me a recipe for sweets (I low-key want this)
Idk, maybe I'm just bored. I do have friends irl but they need a break from me, ngl. (Lol)
Chapter 53
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Sir Hilal,” Cyno calls out to the acting head faction, stopping the diplomat in his track.
Sir Hilal stops and turns around to address the voice, not surprised at the sight of the General and his companion, “General Mahamatra,” he greets with a nod, “what seems to be the matter?”
Cyno calculates Sir Hilal’s behavior for a moment. No nonsense attitude even if he’s the General Mahamatra and straight to the point. The acting head faction either has an attitude or he is extremely busy.
Cyno hopes that it’s the latter, it will lessen his task somewhat, “Don’t you think that we have something to talk about regarding your earlier work performance during the meeting?” he asks and he can immediately sense Kaveh’s eyes on him.
Cyno stands firm. He has done something much dirtier in pursuing justice. A little bit of abuse of power toward the acting head faction isn’t that bad. This feels wrong for him but he needs to speed things up. Kaveh and he can’t stay for longer than necessary in Snezhnaya. He shouldn’t stay absent from his post in Sumeru and they can’t afford to continue being in Snezhnaya if this nation is truly going to enter a civil war. There are simply way too many wild variables that might be a threat to them and some might even threaten Sumeru.
Cyno is sure that bringing Alhaitham home is nigh impossible. He can only hope that they, at least, are not returning empty handed.
Sir Hilal takes a second look at both Cyno and Kaveh. He looks at them with a hint of arrogant air on his face before he squints his eyes in slight hostility. Then, against Cyno’s expectations, he simply huffs and walks away.
Cyno blinks, taken aback, and he can hear Kaveh make a soft strangled sound behind him.
Cyno is about to chase after him and pins him down out of habits but Sir Hilal says, “Follow me first. We need to find somewhere with privacy since I’m sure that our topic is best kept to ourselves.”
Now this. Cyno can’t say that he didn’t expect this from the head faction. So he makes an eye contact with Kaveh before walking up to the diplomat.
Sir Hilal glances at Cyno and Kaveh through the corner of his eyes, “I’m quite sure that the both of you are in a hurry especially after hearing the content of the meeting,” he looks ahead as he reaches into his coat and rummages around for a bit, “so worry not. The Zapolyarny Palace always has a meeting room for diplomats from other nations to use that guaranty privacy,” he fishes out a key with a dangling keychain seemingly to be carved from ice and has the symbol of The Akademiya, “just follow me,” he says before speeding up his pace.
Sir Hilal leads them through the main hall. Cyno can feel pairs of eyes on him the moment they emerge into it but he doesn’t react, contrary to Kaveh who immediately tenses up. Sir Hilal then leads them to a door guarded by two soldiers. He shows them the key and they immediately bow and open the door for them.
Cyno is surprised while Kaveh straight up choking on air at the sight that greets them. Behind that door is something that can only be described as ‘Sumeru’.
The cold tiles of the Palace abruptly change to warm polished wood. The window frame is also made of wood and the light coming from outside is yellowish warm. Even there's a smell of Sumerians’ spices in the air.
“Snezhnaya is a surprisingly sentimental nation,” Sir Hilal says before he stretches his hand out, “there are small portions of the Palace that are made to have the ambience of other nations. Who knows if it's to better welcome the diplomats or to lull the diplomats into a false sense of security.”
A dense amount of cryo energy quickly forms around Sir Hilal's palm, surprising Cyno to immediately take a defensive stance. He frowns when he can't summon his polearm before he remembers that guest’s weapons are prohibited in the Palace, rendering them unable to summon it. Cyno carefully inches back to make sure that Kaveh is behind him. Keeping in mind to not activate his own vision since the result of elemental reaction might hurt them all.
Sir Hilal slightly flexes his hand before motioning down. The condensed elemental energy drops to the floor like a droplet of water. Then, in a matter of seconds, a layer of frost quickly creeps along every surface of the room.
As the frost continues to engulf the room, Sir Hilal turns around and regards his guests with an arrogantly raised eyebrow, “Real privacy is a luxury in Snezhnaya,” as he says this, as if on cue, little devices start to rain down to the floor, then he shrugs his shoulders, “well, the strength of a vision is also a luxury on its own.”
The warmth bathing the room earlier is gone, replaced by the pure white of frost. For a moment Cyno simply looks wide-eyed at Sir Hilal before he looks down at the listening devices on the floor.
Cyno lets out a shaky breath. He watches as the mist of his breath slowly floats and fades as goosebumps ever so slowly raises on his skin. He had let his guard down. Thankfully Sir Hilal was only trying to ensure their privacy. Had he tried to kill them, Cyno doubts he can guarantee Kaveh and his safety.
“I- w-what?!” Kaveh starts to stutter, finally can't continue to keep his silence, “what was that?! That could've been dangerous!”
Sir Hilal raises his eyebrows at Kaveh, “Ah, of course. I apologize. I suppose I should have warned the both of you first before neutralizing the devices someone left here to spy on our conversation.”
Kaveh frowns but before he can say anything, Cyno beats him into it, “Sir Hilal, that was very dangerous no matter how good your intention was.”
Sir Hilal lets out a deep sigh, not trying to conceal his annoyance in the slightest, “This is annoying,” he mutters loud enough for Cyno and Kaveh to hear before he presses his palm into his chest and politely says, “I apologize, General Mahamatra,” then his politeness fully turn into something borderline rude, “now please just listen. I'm extremely busy. I have to prepare my colleagues to survive through the probable civil war,” he pauses to stretch his wings, “Now. If the purpose of your meeting here is to ask that I try again to negotiate for Diplomat Alhaitham's body, it's best that you leave. If, by any chance, you have other reasons, then please, cut to the chase,” he ask-orders- as he waves his hand at the General Mahamatra.
That's such an attitude, Kaveh thinks. There's something familiar to it. The rudeness and brusqueness of it reminds him of someone so much that he can't even fight back the pain in his chest. So even if Kaveh dislikes being treated this way, he doesn't have the power to say anything.
For a moment, Cyno observes the acting head faction who's standing still in wait and silently thinks, then, “You're quite a daring per-”
“General Mahamatra Cyno!” instantly Sir Hilal's wings flare from vexation as he snaps, “I apologize. But you're unfamiliar with just how harsh living in this nation can get and I would prefer to hurry and keep my people safe rather than listening to your attempt at intimidating me.”
Cyno clicks his mouth shut and observes Sir Hilal a bit more before, in the end, he simply sighs, “I am sorry,” he apologizes and Sir Hilal's wings slightly twitch, “we, indeed, don't have other reasons to meet you other than what you've stated,” Kaveh calls to him in a strained voice but Cyno easily ignores him, “but please, tell us why you didn't try negotiating harder during the meeting.”
Sir Hilal crosses his arms and rearranges his wings before he considers his guests, “The Tsaritsa is the Archon of love,” he starts, voice low as if he dislikes what he's going to say, “in turn, this nation is also full of love. It doesn't matter if The Cryo Archon froze her heart. This nation continues to be filled with citizens full of love…,” Sir Hilal trails off, his eyes a little bit faraway, “at least, that was what my grandmother who was a native Snezhnayan told me.”
Sir Hilal coughs into his fist and flaps his wings a few times, “The perpetual coldness of this nation has the magical ability to nurture love. I know both of you won't believe it since you both were students from The Akademiya. I was also skeptical but I've seen it firsthand,” there's a light red dusting Sir Hilal's cheeks that he tries to mask with a nonchalant shrug, “the cold simply brings people closer,” upon noticing the lost look on his guests’ faces, he closes his eyes for a moment before saying, “The Tsaritsa might not have love left for anyone but I know for a fact that people of Snezhnaya love fiercely. It doesn't matter if they're not native, as long as they live here long enough, they will be,” he pauses for a moment to bite his inner cheeks before sighing in resignation, “my position doesn't allow me to know the truth behind this matter, but I deem leaving Diplomat Alhaitham's body in his mate’s care as the best decision.”
Sir Hilal sees the look of disapproval on the blond guest’s face so he immediately says with a stern voice, “As a diplomat, my main task is to maintain the peace between this nation and ours, and ensure that the worst case scenario, which is war, won't happen.”
I won't take any chance of war for a corpse.
Sir Hilal doesn't say it, but Kaveh swears he can hear it.
“Diplomat Alhaitham was a citizen of Sumeru,” Cyno argues, “by the looks of it, you might have fallen in love with this nation, but as a diplomat you have the obligation to fight for his justice,” he finally spits out the harsh accusations that need to be said to emphasize the seriousness of the matter.
Sir Hilal's face immediately scrunches up in anger and the feathers of his wings ruffle, “That is if what I'm fighting for is truly justice,” he lets out a harsh sigh that causes his wings to grow more agitated, “I admit that I'm somewhat biased in this case. But, with all due respect to Lesser Lord Kusanali,” he pauses before he hisses with venom, “she sent Diplomat Alhaitham to his death,” his words are, thankfully, controversial enough to stun his guests so Sir Hilal continues, “Diplomat Alhaitham only wanted to be with his mate! Sure I might be missing important background stories, but it didn't change the fact that The God of Wisdom let a scribe –a scribe! Not even a Matra– to essentially become a spy!” Sir Hilal pauses to heave his breaths before he snarls, “let me remind you just how fortunate it is that Diplomat Alhaitham died in the hands of the rebels. Can you imagine what would've happened to our diplomatic relationship – to Diplomat Alhaitham – if he were caught by the Fatui, Palace’s soldiers, or even corrupt diplomats?!”
Sir Hilal now doesn't even try to hold back, he starts to openly pace around with his wings furiously flaring behind him, “And to top it off, the person I feel bad the most is The Doctor!” his declaration causes one of his guests’ face to pale but he doesn't care, “AVIANS! FUCKING MATE! FOR LIFE!” he screams, maybe he's remembering something in his past, maybe he's just extremely emotional, who knows, “if The Doctor doesn't know that Diplomat Alhaitham was sent as a spy, I feel bad for him. But if he knows, I feel even more bad for him because he really wanted to be with his mate so badly that he actually doesn't care that his mate is a spy!”
Sir Hilal finally stops. He massages his face as his breathing is yet to even.
Once his breathing is steady, he calmly addresses both of his guests who are staying so considerately quiet, “I won't take the chance of war just to possibly wrong a fellow Avians,” he briskly steps past his guests to the door, “if you both can swear on Celestia that they were both not genuine to each other, then feel free to find me at The Diplomatic Office,” Sir Hilal stops in front of the door, hand already on the doorknob, “I suggest that you both don't stay for much longer in this nation. I'm sure you both understand why,” the clicking sound of the door knob turning is so jarring in the deadly silent room, “until we meet again, gentlemen.”
Each Harbinger has their own brand of arrogance. Doesn't matter how small or big it is, they’re always arrogant in their own way. So it's hard for them all to cooperate together for one task. It's ultimately different than tolerating one Harbinger that benefits them.
But Alpha Build is on a mission. He will do everything to make sure that Hayi won't leave once he wakes up. Besides, he only needs to tolerate one brat. Prime will do the honor of tolerating the rest of the Harbingers in the meeting room.
As Alpha Build stands in the middle of the room that's too clean for it to be natural, he comments, “The Harbingers are summoned a lot lately,” he lets out a mocking snort, “and to think that they drop everything just to talk is almost laughable.”
The aforementioned ‘talk’ is a meeting to discuss how to prevent an all out civil war, actually. Alpha Build immediately realizes the stupidity of his comment so he simply ignores Prime side-eyeing him.
Alpha Build lowers his head in a thoughtful musing that is mostly just to hide his embarrassment and lets out a sigh that's close to a groan, “Well, I'm pretty sure that that brat doesn't have anything to contribute to the meeting so why can't he just skip it and actually start investigating?”
Prime holds his silence for a moment longer before he sighs and walks off to a chair, “I know you're itching for bloodshed,” he says as he sits down, “simply keep in mind that the brat's presence is expected in the meeting. If he's absent then it will raise suspicions from the other members of Tri-Copiae-”
“And if they know then they will follow us and possibly steal our kill, or worse, protect them from us,” Alpha Build continues, “I know already so just shut up.”
Prime doesn't comment on his rude behavior. He's just silently turning his head to look at Alpha Build. Even if his face is covered by a mask, Alpha Build can feel the displeased look on his face. As if saying “you were the one who started this talk”. Alpha Build simply looks away.
Seeing as Alpha Build doesn't look like he has any more interest in spouting nonsense, Prime relaxes into his seat. The room is silent as they both wait for when the meeting will start. The only difference is that one of them will continue to wait in the room once the meeting starts.
All in all, the silence can't really be said as comfortable. So Prime wordlessly stands up after 3 minutes and leaves Alpha Build alone in the room.
Closing the door behind him, Prime suddenly remembers that the meeting is still a long way from starting. He left early because being stuck in his underground lab with nothing to do was killing him. But sitting idly in waiting for when the meeting starts is also not a choice so rather than walking to the throne room, Prime opts to take a walk.
The corridors he passes are lavishly decorated with precious and historical riches. It's just sad that Prime doesn't have any interest in its aesthetic. Yet Prime doesn't even think of turning back. He continues on walking through the boring corridors if only to entertain himself a little.
“YOU!”
Someone yells very loudly but Prime doesn't even stop as he's not really interested in the Palace's gossip.
“HEY, STOP!”
The voice grows louder and nearer. Oh, really. This is what happens when you can't control your emotions. Usually, raising your voice that loud in the Palace is taboo, especially for a mere servant. But not only that, the owner of the voice actually tries to rope him into it. Prime refuses to partake in any stupidity so he simply purses his lips and speeds up his pace.
“FUCKING STOP YOU BAS-”
“Kaveh! Careful of your words.”
Prime pauses. That name sounds oddly familiar.
“My roommate.”
Prime turns around. He finds an albino Sumerian desert folk and a blond forest folk wrapped in a disgustingly basic winter outfit…. If he recalls correctly, Alhaitham's ex-roommate should be the blond one.
Noticing that the person he was chasing has finally acknowledged his existence, Kaveh immediately calms his heavy breathing and squares his jaw before glaring at the Harbinger in the eyes. Prime watches as red anger starts coloring his face as they continue to stare and glare at each other.
Now this can only mean that the blond has business with him.
[I say that we kill him,] Sigma Build nonchalantly suggests, as if he's not really watching the events unfolding, [I mean, it has been 5 minutes since both of you are not doing anything significant and he's clearly just trying to pick a fight with you.]
[Wait. wait-wait-wait,] Omega Build joins the conversation, [isn't he technically Moonlight’s son since he's one of his adoptees? Ever heard of winning the mother through their kids? Why don't we get close to him so that Moonlight will love us?]
[I'm pretty sure Hayi has disowned him for being too much of a mess as an adult,] Alpha Build throws a comment, [but I think that will be funny so I won't stop you if you want to try.]
[No,] Prime disagrees to the link as he turns his back at his mate's acquaintances, [we won't try. That's simply a wasteful investment,] then he walks off without deigning any words for the Sumerians.
“HEY-”
Prime hears his mate's roommate yells again only to be abruptly cut off by a loud noise that is definitely the sound of someone slipping.
Prime doesn't care. He will get to the throne room by circling the Palace now. Since it's quite a long route, he has no time to waste so please excuse him.
Notes:
Aaaaaaaaa! Thank you so much for all the kind comments in the last chapter. I'm so happy. Idk why but I sometimes feel very lonely updating this fic. Sometimes it really feels as if I'm shipping Dotthotham alone (is it normal? Idk, I'm new to actively shipping characters)
There really are a lot of projects for me in this semester. I think it won't mess with my update schedule but I don't know if I'll get busier later. Hopefully not, I really want to finish this series before Natlan get released. After that I'm going to write modern setting Dotthotham fic(s).
Also, unrelated, my wallet got stolen three days ago. Please do me a favor and pray that the thief will be showered with misfortunes.
I'm pissed cus I lost all of my important stuffs.
P.s my new profile pic is my kitty, Mochi. Isn't she just photogenic?
Chapter 54
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Childe loves fighting. It's brutal, blood pounding-kind of exciting, and it scratches the deep itch in his muscles that demands him to always be on the move lest he be killed…. It's his domain. It's his life. It's him.
A civil war, though…. It's not Childe's thing. War with other nations? Sure. He would even love to have a chance to fight against the Electro Archon. But with his own people? …Suffice to say, he isn't ready.
Childe respects those people's choices. He kind of gets what those people are rebelling for. That's why even if it'll feel like an unnecessary bloodshed, even for him , he'll try to prevent it. He knows these people’s drive, he can vision how much destruction these people will bring to this nation and themselves. Better try to keep the damage minimum, right? Won't want to have his family targeted next.
…. Selfish. Truly. But to be honest that’s his only drive that’s acceptable by common sense.
Childe straightens his back when he hears the doors to the throne room open and observes Dottore through the corner of his eyes. The dark winged Avian looks just as arrogant as usual, he doesn't even spare Childe a glance as he walks past him to sit on the designated seat for the Second Harbinger.
Childe deeply frowns behind the fold of his scarf. He doesn't expect Dottore to suddenly become friendly with him just because they agreed to work together. But still, the way he's being so blatantly ignored still hurts his ego. Especially since, according to their plan, they'll pay a certain diplomat a visit after this meeting ends.
Childe secretly huffs into his scarf and sulks a little. He sits still with straight back, trying to radiate as much arrogance as the other Harbingers present, but he pretty much grows tired of it at the next moment.
He actually kinda hates important meetings like this. He'll be stuck at the end of the meeting table that only manifests when needed, next to Pierro who will judge him the entire time. Pulcinella will sit on his designated spot, far away from Childe, rendering him unable to communicate with him. Then there's Sandrone. The Archon-damned Puppeteer who hates him for some reason when he barely interacts with her, seated too close to him than Childe would prefer.
Childe closes his eyes and secretly lets out a deep sigh. This meeting sucks already. He wants to go out and fight something.
When the doors open again, Childe doesn't need to know that it's Her Majesty and The First Harbinger who walk in. The way the temperature within the room immediately plummets is already telling. Still, Childe opens his eyes and respectfully lowers his head when Her Majesty sits on the throne and regards her subjects, just like the rest of the Harbingers.
A few moments later, Pierro starts the meeting, “Fifth day of the week, high noon, throne room. Start the meeting,” his voice booms in the otherwise quiet hall, “subject matter: the 86th round of rebellion in this century. Capitano, recount the chronology.”
Capitano waits for the polite amount of silence to pass before he stands up from his seat, “After thorough investigations done by the Tri-Copiae, the 86th round of rebellion allegedly started to gather their manpower since the last election of the Supreme Court’s eight representatives a decade ago. Since then, the rebel group has covertly made their move in many points of Snezhnaya. They seemed to target both remote and vital points. Currently, we have yet to find a pattern of their operation other than the likelihood that the rebellion is in some ways tied back to the Supreme Court's eight representatives.”
Silence.
Childe doesn't know what the rest of the Harbingers are thinking. Maybe they're just trying to stomach the information in silence.
Ha.
Now, that's just wishful thinking. They're probably calculating how to show the intel only privy to them to gain the most benefits. Typical.
Childe glances at Dottore out of curiosity. After all, he's most likely the most desperate person in the throne room.
But really, Childe should be concerned that he's not even surprised when he finds that Dottore is pretty much doodling on a sheet of paper looking all bored.
…
Wait, what?
Prime Dottore squints at the bullet points he had written on the paper next to a scribble he just made. Truly disappointing. He didn't expect much from the Tri-Copiae but knowing that they're making no progress at all is utterly disappointing.
[It seems like attending this meeting is just a waste of time,] Prime comments to the link as he starts loudly tapping the tip of his pen on the paper, adorning the paper with little dots and making quite loud tapping noises that make people turn their head.
[Oh, don't be like that,] Alpha Build consoles, [at least you get to confirm what you are coming for,] then he makes a mocking gasp, [oh, wait… that's not right either. They actually don't have the capability to even confirm the main perpetrator let alone figuring the rebel group’s backer.]
Omega Build snorts to the link, [Oh, don't be too harsh on them. We only managed to get a hold of the main perpetrator because we have a hint,] he says, genuinely trying to console Prime, [besides the main reason for Prime to join the meeting is to cross examine the facts so that we can check how truthful that bitch was.]
Sigma Build lets out a dramatic gasp, [Omega Build… you actually cursed that woman…] some chuckles slip past but he tries to continue his charade, [how could you curse someone that you sympathize with? Do you not have any heart?]
[Sigma Build,] Omega Build calls, tone a mix between laughter and annoyance, [I appreciate your hard work in trying to find an alternative treatment to Moonlight's condition. I know that deep down you're not as heartless as you try to appear, especially since you're pretty much addicted to having sex with Moonlight,] he gives his speech, all the while ignoring Sigma Build's angry retorts, [but I refuse to be the dummy you use to vent your frustrations because you're too incapable to maintain your patience.]
Silence, then, [Fuck you,] Sigma Build heartfully curses.
Prime silently snorts. How immature.
“...Judging by how you are so focused on your office supplies, I assume that you have something to share, Dottore,” Arlecchino comments, snapping Dottore from his inner thoughts.
Dottore taps the tip of his pen loudly on his paper one last time and keeps it there, letting the ink seep into the paper. Slowly, he turns his head to look at Arlecchino. Usually, people that receive that treatment from him would have flinched and quickly averted their head but Arlecchino stared at him head on instead. A brief glance around the table shows that the rest of the Harbingers are also staring at him, some of them sitting at the edge of their chairs. Seems like the meeting has slightly escalated and Arlecchino is trying to tone it down by averting the attention to him.
Dottore flicks his wings and dryly looks at Arlecchino before he looks down at his paper as he removes the tip of his pen. Truth be told, Dottore doesn't feel like responding and he also has a mind to just ignore Arlecchino’s comment out of spite. Unfortunately, The Rooster just has to meddle.
Pulcinella lets out a deliberate polite snort that soon he smothers by clearing his throat, “Indeed. Dottore seems to be really focused on his thoughts. He must have a lot in mind and since he personally offered to help with the rebel’s termination, taking into consideration his work performance when he has personal motivation, I'd wager that he has a lot of intel.”
Dottore's lips twitch, they almost curl in distaste but thankfully he manages to stop himself from doing so.
Look at them, both Arlecchino and Pulcinella are just the same, trying to use him to smoothen the meeting for easier exchange of information. He can give Pulcinella some leeway because they do have a cooperation going on. But he absolutely refuses to give Arlecchino a face.
Dottore absentmindedly twirls his pen around his fingers, inwardly trying to concoct the most venomous jab that would still be appropriate to be said in front of Her Majesty, “Of course I do, at least as much as anyone else has to say. Otherwise I can't see what the purpose of this meeting is,” he says and he can sense Pierro’s glare on him but since he doesn't say anything, suffice to say he hasn't overstepped.
Silence falls again and Dottore seriously considers just standing up and flying off.
The silence is broken by a delighted laughter coming from Pantalone, “Of course, of course,” he amusedly mutters while secretly glancing at others with ridicule, “it's only a given to give something in return of the same value,” then he places his hand on top of the other and subtly rubs the fingers in a greedy way, “but… that's to say that what you're offering is truly of value, Dottore.”
Dottore inwardly snorts. This guy who's delegated the task to care for Snezhnaya’s finances sure doesn't have tact when it comes to profit.
Sure enough, before Pantalone can even finish his sentence, the temperature has already dropped a few degrees, “Regrator,” The Tsaritsa sternly calls, voice sounds overlapping like gusts of winds during a blizzard, “I remind you, this is a meeting to discuss a national scale problem. Refrain from treating it lightly by seeing it as a chance to gain profits,” she scolds, causing the temperature to drop again and a draft to seep into the room.
Pantalone gapes a little but when Pierro glares at him for it, he immediately clicks his mouth shut, “I didn't mean to sound like that, Your Majesty,” he says after a while, the amusement from earlier replaced by hints of fear, “but nevertheless, I deeply apologize,” he says as he lowers his head to The Tsaritsa.
The Tsaritsa hums, causing the room to noticeably become warmer in a matter of seconds, “You're forgiven,” she softly says.
Pantalone bows at The Tsaritsa once more before he secretly fixes Dottore with a look.
Dottore raises his eyebrows, but no one can see it due to his mask so he slightly perks up his wings in inquiry. Not that he doesn't get what Pantalone is trying at. He's probably blaming the scolding he just got on him and not on the fact that he lacks restraint in front of profits. Still, Dottore condescendingly smirks at him just to rub salt on the wound.
In return, Pantalone sends him a tight smile that can only mean “fuck off”.
The giggles coming from Columbina, for some reason, are able to remind the group that they're really just wasting their time.
The situation is so awkward and unproductive that Childe feels like he should say something. Anything, just to break the ice. But when he is about to open his mouth, he catches a look from Pulcinella telling him to keep quiet. So, regretfully, he keeps his silence.
But Childe isn't the only one who caught the look from Pulcinella.
Sandrone sighs, she's about to say that this meeting is useless but then she remembers that The Tsaritsa was the one who arranged the meeting so, since she can't jab at Her Majesty, she jabs at her coworker, “Why don't we start from the beginning? The Tri-Copiae’s investigations result in the likelihood of the rebel group being related to the Supreme Court and…,” she trails off, a frown marring her forehead as she genuinely tries to think, “... Wait, is that it?”
“Exactly,” Dottore immediately mutters under his breath but everyone in the room can hear him, causing them to erupt in snorts and giggles except for The Tsaritsa and Pierro who look displeased and the members of the Tri-Copiae who can only sit in shame.
“Capitano,” Pierro calls, visibly annoyed, causing Capitano to immediately sit straighter in alert, “what excuse do you have for only managing to gain this much intel after all this time? If the reports for acts of anarchy in several locations that went to me indicate anything, it must be that the rebel group is not exactly trying to be hidden anymore.”
“I-”
“Permission to answer the question, Your Majesty,” Arlecchino cuts into the conversation.
And before The Tsaritsa can answer, Dottore, with no fear, comments, “Careful, Arlecchino. You try so desperately to not be held accountable that your weakness is showing.”
Arlecchino glares at Dottore, red faced from anger. Dottore returns her glare with a sharp and humorless smile.
A sudden chill encases the table, slightly freezing the Harbingers to their seat. It's Her Majesty's way of demanding respect from her Harbingers. Pure power is indeed the most effective way of subduing them and it's effective seeing as the Harbingers are now visibly piping down.
The Tsaritsa lets out an exhale of frost that freezes the meeting table, “My Knave, do tell us your excuse and Doctor,” The Tsaritsa pauses slightly to pin him with her icy blue eyes, “as far as I am aware, you want justice for your mate. So, unless I was mistaken, keep your participation in this meeting civil.”
The Tsaritsa is still pinning Dottore with her stare and the more she stares, the more Dottore's body is frozen. But it doesn't erase the arrogant smile on his face.
“If you wish so,” Dottore says.
Now Her Majesty's stare is fixed on Arlecchino who immediately flinches when frost starts creeping from the tips of her fingers, “I already have some suspicions regarding the rebel group. During the time when I was investigating the group, I found that the weaponry the rebels used was unable to be traced back to the source. This opens the possibility that the weapons they used weren't domestically manufactured and Dottore agreed with this theory. If the theory is true then the rebel group has connections in, at least, foreign nations and the Diplomatic Office,” she pauses to send a glare at Dottore, “unfortunately, I hadn't been able to confirm this suspicion since Dottore decided to cut off our cooperation,” she blames Dottore as she glares at the Avian who only arrogantly smiles wider.
Surprisingly, Dottore is not the one to respond.
Pulcinella lets out an extremely disappointed sigh that sounds as if he's chiding his grandchild, “Oh, Arlecchino. If you keep blaming it all on Dottore then I can't blame him for deciding to stop working with you,” he pauses slightly to regretfully brush his mustache, “I heard that you were supposed to keep Diplomat Alhaitham safe while Dottore is busy with helping your investigation,” then he lowers his head with another regretful sigh, “but not only were you failed to keep your part of the deal, you also have the audacity to blame Dottore for it. I get that you're desperately trying to keep a nice record so that Her Majesty will allow you to visit your homeland, but don't you think that you owe Dottore a lot of things?”
Dottore pointedly doesn't look at both Arlecchino and Pulcinella. He doodles on his paper, trying to make himself look busy. Pulcinella sure is capable in the art of diplomacy. He's so good at it that Dottore feels slightly disgusted.
. . .
Childe swiftly walks through the Palace's corridors. That meeting was painful to attend. He's really itching to get moving and do something productive.
Childe immediately brakes and backtracks to choose another route to the Northern Gate when he sees Sandrone on the way. He currently doesn't feel like being on the receiving end of her negative energy.
Immediately after exiting the throne room after being dismissed by The Tsaritsa, Dottore had told him to go to the Northern Gate so that they could start their collaboration. At first, he doesn't know if Dottore is joking or not because after he told him that, he walks to the direction of his lab. But, after an encouraging nod from the old man, he decides to just follow Dottore's instruction.
Fine. Whatever. Wanting to use him like a brainless pawn again? Sure. He can do that.
Prime unamusedly stares at the Sumerians arguing –well, more like one arguing, one trying to keep things civil– with the Fatui guard stationed at the entrance of the underground station that only leads to his residence from afar.
[What are the chances that they simply thought that that's the public station?] he asks to the link.
[Prime,] Sigma Build exasperatedly calls, [at the very least, don't extend your denial into that.]
Prime lets his wings sag before stretching them to vent his annoyance, [Now, if I kill them then I would be in the wrong.]
[I mean…] Omega Build hesitantly starts, as if he isn't sure why he needs to point this out, [the desert folk is the General Mahamatra and the forest folk might as well be our brother-in-law. But I don't know. You tell me.]
Prime lets his face scrunches up in extreme annoyance before he huffs and relaxes his face into a neutral expression. He supposes that it's already a great mercy that Omega Build didn't say that the forest folk is basically their step son.
[Then I'll let them into the Residence,] Prime informs the link as he approaches the group of people.
[What?!] Alpha Build abruptly joins the conversation, fully alert, [why?!]
[Let's just say that it's time to set boundaries once and for all,] Prime answers as he goes to greet the people of his hometown, “with all due respect, can you both kindly fuck off?”
Notes:
Prime really went, with all due respect but the amount of respect due is none.
On a different note, I pulled Raiden, she is on 4 pc emblem and staff of homa, but I don't use her as a DPS. She's just an electro applicator for my Alhaitham, Nahida, and Baizhu team while occasionally bursting to generate a little bit of energy for the whole party (but I very rarely do it) so I'm thinking of putting her on 4 pc golden troupe, but I'm afraid of losing comfortably acquiring back energy because I don't give other characters in the team er. But then again, emblem only gives 20% er so I probably should just try it.
Also, after I got Xianyun, I have a newfound appreciation for Xiao. His team is fun, it's just a little complicated and expensive. Yes, I have c0 Furina, c6 Faruzan, and C0 Xianyun for him. I've been playing Genshin for 3 years. The release of Alhaitham is only making me more attached to this game.
Also, I just found out that my C6 Bennet with 4pc noblesse can buff my Wanderer's attack from 1881 to 4k. Like, wth is that? And isn't just sad that I don't use any DPS that scale mostly off attack?
Alright, thank you for reading my nerdy ramble. Finding that I have only gotten one Rust after three years really put me in the mood to ramble this. Oh, and the fact that I'm also going to quit star rail too ig. It's just, I don't like turn-based game.
Alhaitham might wake up in three or more chapters.
Chapter 55
Notes:
I'm changing my update schedule to Saturday because I'm allocating Sunday to prepare for the upcoming week.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
For a moment, everything becomes still once the request fully comes out of Prime Dottore’s mouth. The guard is staring at him in horror and panic, looking as if his only wish is to disappear. On the other hand, Hayi's acquaintances, still having their back on him, are frozen midway in their actions.
Prime lets them take their time, not too keen in interacting with either of the three more than needed.
The one who reacts first is the guard. Though, his reactions are only letting out a series of strangled intelligible noises before he deeply bows down and scampers off.
[Nice,] Sigma Build halfheartedly comments, [finally someone who has basic sense of self-preservation.]
Prime ignores Sigma Build's comment in order to address the Sumerian guests that have started to woodenly turn towards him. Now that Prime thinks about it, it has been quite a while since anyone reacts like that. He must've spent too much time around his co-workers then.
The Sumerians might have turned to face him but they're still not saying anything, as if they can't comprehend that he is really in front of them. They stare at him, eyes blank but their body language is alert.
Out of boredom, Prime flares his wings for a second before folding them back neatly behind him, causing the Sumerians to jump back in surprise, “If, somehow, you two feel like it's an appropriate time to tour a nation that might undergo a civil war, then the public station is in that way. Simply ask the local shop owner around the way if you still can't find it,” Dottore ‘politely’ informs with a subtle sneer curling his lips, “now-” he slightly raises his voice as he holds both the Sumerians’ shoulder, “-leave me alone,” he growls as he pushes both Kaveh and Cyno away from each other to open a path for him to stomp through.
The General Mahamatra lets out a grunt of surprise while Kaveh lets out a yelp as he falls into the snow. Cyno is too busy trying to regain his balance so that he doesn't end up like Kaveh to notice that Kaveh, ignoring the snow clinging to his coat, immediately jumps to his feet and lunges at the Harbinger while brandishing Mehrak.
When Cyno notices, it's already too late. Kaveh gathers all the worry, fear, guilt, and frustration he has felt ever since he let Alhaitham go in his hands and strikes.
Cyno's eyes widen when Mehrak makes contact with the Harbinger’s head with a loud bang. For a moment, he doesn't know what to do next. He swears he can hear a crack of bone.
“Kaveh.”
Kaveh, who was harshly breathing through his mouth with eyes blankly staring at the blood flowing down the back of the Harbinger’s neck, immediately flinches back upon hearing his name.
Prime expected a hit to come from his ‘brother-in-law’. Really, he planned this. What he doesn't expect is to be hit with a briefcase.
Still, Prime stands unbothered even if he can feel his own blood seeping into his shirt, “Shouldn't you know better than to hit an executive of a nation that you're visiting?” he condescendingly asks as he turns around to face Kaveh, “did the General Mahamatra forgot to tell you?” he asks as he lazily points at Cyno while taking a step toward Kaveh, who immediately steps back from him, “but even so, as an Akademiya graduate, shouldn't you have at least that much common sense?” he chides as he stalks toward Kaveh.
Cyno quickly stands beside Kaveh, face strained. He can't do anything, really. The best option he has right now is to stand back and make sure he isn't seen as an accomplice to what can only be seen as an assault. But he needs to make sure that things won't escalate more, so he firmly stands between the Harbinger and Kaveh, separating them.
At least his action does stop the Harbinger’s advance.
The Harbinger tilts his head at Cyno. Then he lets out a sigh, as if he's disappointed at him. Cyno doesn't care. Alhaitham has died in this nation, he won't let Kaveh to also suffer the same fate. Even if he can't stop Kaveh from being executed for what can be considered as an assassination attempt of a nation’s executive…. At least, in Kaveh's case, he knows the truth of the matter.
Prime observes the two’s expression before he flicks his wings and lets out a humm, “General Mahamatra,” he addresses Cyno before he looks at Kaveh behind him who looks like he's still in shock at what he had done, “brother-in-law,” oh, the way Kaveh's face immediately turns from pale to green is so hilarious that Prime can't help but inwardly snorts, “I'll forget this ‘accident’ if you two promise me that both of you will stay away from me.”
Kaveh's disgusted face immediately morph to rage but before he can say anything, Cyno smacks a hand on his mouth shut, “How can I trust you-”
“Cyno!” and before the General Mahamatra can finish his question, Kaveh already wrangles himself away from Cyno's hand.
Prime, again, unamusedly stares at them as they both wrangle against each other, trying to gain the upper hand, before he decides to just go home. His brother-in-law seems rather hopeless, but at least the General has some sort of awareness. Prime actually planned to let them into his residence, once, if only to make sure that they won't bother him again in the future. But since his slight provocation worked better than he expected, then he probably can rely on his ‘offer’ to scare them away.
That's only one of the options, anyway. So when his brother-in-law somehow manages to best the General Mahamatra in physical strength and breaks himself free to grab his shoulder. He mentally steers back to the first option.
“Wait a damn second, you bastard,” Kaveh growls through gritted teeth as he harshly yanks the Harbinger to look at him, “tell me where Alhaitham is!”
Against his better judgment, Prime's wings flare in anger, startling Kaveh to take a step back, “DEAD!” he angrily snarls but still trying to keep his voice down, the whole world doesn't need to know about it, “and it was because of your Archon, if you are also curious about that too.”
Then Prime flaps his wings once and folds them neatly behind him as he straightens his back and calms his breathing. It's unbecoming of him to snap like that but it seems that he can no longer keep it bottled up. That means he needs to speed up his revenge even more. It will be bad if he keeps losing his calm like this in the future.
[Alpha Build,] Prime calls to the link, [I give you the permission for brutality during your investigation.]
[But no killing?] Alpha Build asks.
Prime simply answers with a grunt as he turns away once more from the two Sumerians.
“Zandik,” his brother-in-law calls and it makes Prime pause, “or Senior Zandik, or Il Dottore, whatever you prefer to be called with,” he rambles before he sucks in a shaky breath, “please, let me see Alhaitham,” he begs, sounding so tired from worry, “please.”
Prime scoffs, “For what purpose exactly? So that you can steal him from me?”
Kaveh stutters, seems like Prime had hit a bullseye, before he sighs, “I won't…. I promise,” he says in a low voice, “and even if Lord Kusanali caused Alhaitham's death, you can't keep him away from me forever. I've lived with him for years, I have the right to see him one last time.”
[And that is the privilege you had that I'm envious of, you fucker,] Omega Build snaps to the link, [fuck off, you have been by his side for years, now it's my turn.]
Sigma Build snorts, [just kill him and be done with it, Prime.]
Prime rearranges his wings and lets out a sigh, “Very well,” he says as he glances at Kaveh from above his shoulder, “follow me, then. But I must emphasize that you better remember your place,” he threatens before he walks into the underground station.
For a moment there's no sound from behind him. Then, there are two hurried steps coming after him.
[Prime,] Sigma Build exasperatedly calls, [do I even want to ask why?]
[Hayi needs to know someone beside us, doesn't he?] Prime rhetorically asks, [well, he has someone who's already worried for him. Isn't it better to maintain an established bond than finding trustable people from scratch?]
Omega Build lets out a begrudging humm, [Well, at least you did your homework,] he comments, causing Prime to inwardly roll his eyes.
[This will also be better in the long run,] Prime adds, [I'll use this opportunity to lay down the objective truths of the matter so that Hayi can have somewhat a semblance of a peaceful life,] then he pauses before adding again, [oh, and as long as they prove to not be worth anything in the long run, killing is allowed, Alpha Build.]
[Alright, sure. Just make sure to keep your eyes on them, though,] says Sigma Build, though from his tone Prime can gather that he's frowning, [if my last experiment goes smoothly tonight, then I can start Hayi's treatments tomorrow. Then, provided that nothing goes wrong, it should be possible to awaken Hayi in five days.]
That's very good news. Oh, that's such good news. Prime can feel his heart skipping a beat but he doesn't let it show on his gait.
[I'll be present during the process,] Prime simply says.
Childe hesitates.
It's actually rare for him to hesitate when he's itching to move, but damn he is really second guessing his choices here.
Alright, so… Childe really finds Dottore at the Northern Gate. At least a version of him. It's just that Childe still finds it a bit dubious whether it's really Dottore.
Childe gathers that the black winged Avian is the Dottore that proposed to do a cooperation together. The way the flawless skin of his lower face so unnaturally fades into scarred skin at the neck is pretty telling. It's as if the old skin of his face was peeled and changed with a new one. Then, there's also the lack of visible stitches on his neck that pretty much tells Childe that it's Dottore's handiwork.
But in actuality, the reason Childe hesitates is simply because of the way this Dottore dresses and his vibe in general.
He's wearing a patterned white coat that's secured to his body with belts that also hold some tool boxes. He's wearing the blue shirt Dottore usually wears along with the black pants and the standard boots Snezhnayans often use to keep snow away from their feet. A perpetual resting bitch face adorning his face but the way his wings are slightly flaring tells Childe that he's happy, resulting in a very weird vibe. But it's not Childe's place to not like it when his co-worker seems to be happy. And that's not really the reason why he doesn't want to interact with him. It's the scarf and the gloves he wears.
Childe is not one to make a big deal about what people wear but by The Tsaritsa, the scarf and gloves he wears are clashing so horribly with his style. Childe cringes from behind his scarf when he fully takes Dottore's appearance. He really shouldn't be bothered by it this much but deep down, something tells him to not be seen around Dottore when he is dressed like that.
Still, Childe has a mission. So, against what he's telling himself, Childe approaches Dottore.
“Y'know,” Childe announces his presence to Dottore as he languidly walks closer, “when I heard that your body was artificially made, I thought that it can at least withstand cold.”
Dottore's head abruptly snaps to look at Childe so fast that Childe hears a crack. Childe pauses and the smile on his face, although doesn't disappear, becomes frozen. Dottore stares unblinkingly at Childe, Childe only knows that because his mask only covers one of his eyes, and Childe unmovingly stares back with bated breath, as if he's trying to hide from a predator by not moving.
If things aren't creepy enough, Dottore just had to choose that moment to suddenly smile at him. Well, not at him but Childe isn't sure who it is directed at.
It's such an unnatural smile. From the creation to the end result. The corners of the mouth unceremoniously and slowly splitting into a too wide… expression. Childe doesn't know what to call it. He refuses to call it a smile and he doubts that it's a grin. It's more like Dottore is showing off his sharp teeth all the while readying himself to tear a part of reality.
“What… is wrong with you?” Childe inwardly grimaces, not the best way to address it and if Pulcinella is around then he would have side-eyed him for it but Childe really doesn't know how to address the matter with more finesse.
The first reaction Dottore has to his question is a light shining in his eyes and something within Childe is telling him to run away.
Childe frowns to himself when his foot moves by itself to take a step back and his frown deepens because when he forces himself to stand his ground, he can feel his legs slightly trembling.
Ah. Still with slightly trembling legs, the corner of Childe's mouth stretches into a wry grin. Such an unexplainable reaction can only mean that his instinct is telling him that there's danger. And judging from the way his wings are also agitated, then it's his Avian instinct.
Now that's a part interesting and a part annoying. Childe's Avian’s breed is higher in the food chain than Dottore’s and yet his Avian instinct is telling him that there's danger. Then again, Dottore is mated with a falcon breed Avian. Childe should have guessed that some things about either and both of them were bound to be unconventional.
Dottore suddenly coughs into his clenched fist and turns away from Childe, hiding his expression from him but Childe can still see his uncanny excitement from the way his wings are flared, “You're here. Good,” he says as he starts walking away without another word and Childe begrudgingly follows him, “here are the details,” he says as he hands out an envelope to Childe without turning back or stopping, “read it on the way and destroy it once you're done,” then he speeds up his pace without caring about Childe.
Childe can easily catch up, his legs are longer, but it's not an easy pace to use when he's supposed to read so Childe complains, “Slow down, will you? What has gotten you into such a hurry, anyway?”
Dottore still doesn't turn back. He simply lets out a disturbing laugh that shakes his shoulders and uncannily makes him sounds like he's a kid in a candy store.
“Well,” Dottore starts, walking a little bit slower but his steps become more springy, “One good news and then another. Isn't that already a cause for happiness?”
Something is telling Childe, something more deeply ingrained than his Avian instinct, that it's best that he doesn't know. So Childe simply lets out a noncommittal humm and opens the envelope.
“Good afternoon, my Moonlight,” Omega Build greets Alhaitham though he's not looking at him as he pushes a chair closer to Alhaitham's pod, “I'm sorry I can only come now after all this time but I was very preoccupied with a lot of things and I'm afraid that if I were to see you before taking care of them, I would l fall into a depressed state, unable to get anything done,” Omega Build instinctively about to kick a flower vase out of the way but he pauses before pushing the chair around it instead, “hahh, I was so busy that even after finally being able to return here, I still have to finish some more paperwork before I can have some time with you.”
Omega Build stops pushing the chair right in front of Alhaitham's pod. Then, still not looking at Alhaitham, he sits down on the chair and makes himself comfortable. Well, as comfortable as he can when he's sitting so close to the pod that his knees are pressed uncomfortably to its monitor. For a moment he simply thoughtfully bites the tip of his tongue as he twiddles his thumb, silently trying to compose what he wants to say into something more intelligible than a rambling.
In the end, because he's ‘Dottore', he opens the conversation with a complaint, “Scrunklyyyyy,” he whines a caw as he slumps forward, wings dramatically sagging on his back, “I've worked so hard these days that I'm unable to visit you sooner but how come you're still sleeping? You're supposed to warmly welcome me home with cute chirps….”
Omega Build peers up at Alhaitham's sleeping face, slightly pouting, before he lays his face flat on the monitor with a defeated sigh, “I want you to spoil me…,” he weakly mumbles.
Nothing changes. The heart monitor is still whining and the brain monitor is still showing the same wavelength. Omega Build hasn't felt the ambience of the underground lab firsthand but he has felt the hints of restlessness from the other Segments whenever they visit. If he has to comment, then he will say that they are truly exaggerating. Sure, the atmosphere is bleak but it's not like they're not accustomed to it.
Omega Build crosses his hands on top of each other on the monitor and lays his head on it, head tilted just enough to have a glance at Alhaitham, “I'm sorry,” he mumbles, watching as the breath coming out from saying those words condense on the glass of Alhaitham's pod, “that's not the appropriate thing to say in this situation,” he presses a finger on the glass and absentmindedly traces the condensation, “yet there are simply too many things to apologize for and not enough words to express it.”
Omega Build exaggeratedly spreads his wings as he pushes himself from the monitor to sit straight, “But apologies are due so let me start with how sorry I am to have you trying so hard to maintain our relationship,” he worries his lower lip and looks away, guilt colors his expression and it's such a rare occasion that Omega Build refuses to let his dearest moonlight sees it, “considering everything that we've failed to provide as your mate, it's suffice to say that we truly are no more than an uneducated brute,” his wings flick, “which really saddens me, especially because then you actually told Prime that we are a good mate.”
“You deserve better. Don't sell yourself that short just to make us feel better,” is hanging at the tip of Omega Build's tongue but he would never have the courage to say.
Omega Build leans back to his chair so much that he's pretty much half-sprawled on it and thoughtfully stares at Alhaitham's peaceful face, “Moonlight…” he trails off,sad, hesitation crosses his face and he looks more unsure as the time ticks by until it seems that his conviction entirely fades away.
“You know,” Omega Build suddenly chirps as he wiggles his body to sit up more appropriately, “I’m tasked with monitoring you until Sigma Build and Prime comes to start your treatment,” he smiles up at Alhaitham, hoping that he will see an exasperated but indulgent look from his beloved scrunkly, but even when he doesn't get it, he still keeps the smile up, “so let's have a chat as we wait?” Omega Build pauses, seemingly waiting for something, something that he can't explain with words, “I'm such a coward for only daring to talk to you in your current condition. Well, there's research that theorizes that a person can still hear what happens around them when they're unconscious. If you can hear me then that's good, but if you don't…” he trails off, a defeated and self-deprecating smile on his lips, “please, allow me to be a coward by using your state of unconsciousness as a practice.”
Notes:
This is where you know Kaveh isn't going to get special treatment. Poor guy. He's so worried but, unfortunately for him, he lets it show. As Sir Hilal had said, Snezhnaya is harsh.
I actually contemplated shoving Kaveh into prison. It's going to be so much fun writing him getting locked up and then getting a visit from Alhaitham once he wakes up.
My headcanon for Kaveh is that he's a sore loser when it comes to Alhaitham so when they meet, separated by prison bars, they're going to spend so much time in silence simply staring at each other. Alhaitham judging him for getting tricked as well as hitting his husband while Kaveh just stares and not knowing what to say.Unfortunately, that's a redundant plot as well as not effective. Dottore's intention is to make people leave him and Alhaitham alone. Prisoning Kaveh, even if he's legally allowed to do so, won't allow that since Cyno will then bother him to free Kaveh.
Just sharing it here, felt like a waste if I don't.
Here's a teaser for the modern setting Dotthotham that I pretty much won't start posting until I finish this series:
1. One must imagine Dotthotham growing up together.
2. Watch as they bring both the best and the worst in each other.
3. Alexei shall forever be their wingman.
Unrelated. I seriously can't wait for Wuthering Waves' release. I need to play 2 gacha games to cater my gambling addiction.
Chapter 56
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The chair Omega Build used is pulled back to give room for a small coffee table. On the table, there is a teapot with two cups of tea, one is placed on Alhaitham's side and the other is for Omega Build. A delicate ceramic plate filled with Omega Build's best attempts at making cookies is placed in the middle of the table, just right beside the teapot.
“... I tried my best,” Omega Build shyly mutters as his fingers absentmindedly traces the ceramic plate before they pick on the visible burnt parts of his cookies and flicking them out of sight, “pathetic, isn't it?” he asks, and he laughs nervously as his wings sag in embarrassment once he flips the cookie to find that the other side is entirely charred.
Omega Build covers his face with his palms, “I seriously need your help,” he mumbles, “I kept getting distracted when baking them and then forgot I had the oven on altogether,” he peeks at the ceramic plate from behind his palms and grimaces at his creation, “same cases with other recipes too but in my defense, I didn't know I can carve a lotus out of a tomato.”
Omega Build stretches his wings and lets out a huff as he straightens his back, eyes fixated on the monitor in front of him, “So wake up and teach me again, will you? You said that cooking is an essential skill since eating is a basic need for survival so those who can't cook will be the most likely people to perish from natural selection,” Omega Build reaches for his cup of tea and takes a sip to wet his throat, “in that case, then I might be the first to perish,” he whispers to his cup as he forlornly looks at Alhaitham's face with his entire body tiredly sagging.
Then, Omega Build suddenly flicks his wings and places his cup down with a clink, “Well, that's enough of my whining,” he says with an abrupt cheerful tone as he throws the sad plate of failures somewhere behind him, “let's get to my apology practice, shall we?”
…
Omega Build says that in a joking way. Unfortunately, only depressive silence greets him, quickly chipping away his facade again. His wings which were raised chirpily ever so slowly sag back down.
Omega Build twiddles his thumbs again, he does it a lot lately, “Actually… can I whine one more time?” he asks with a low voice, embarrassed.
Of course, Alhaitham doesn't answer. He can't. He never could. Never given the chance. Marrying him too, was forced, wasn't it?
Omega Build clenches his eyes shut and exercises his breathing, “I… am very pissed at Prime, you know,” he confesses before he brings his hand to massage his temple, “do you remember our first meeting here?” he asks as he absentmindedly traces the lip of his cup, “at that time, truthfully, I was also unable to visit you at a moment’s notice. Prime ordered me to get my duties done first so that the flow of mora is managed again. It was only a little earlier that Pantalone, my business partner, told me while I was stress-working in my office that I wasn't supposed to be rebuilt last,” his hands clench the coffee table in frustration but there's still a smile on his face.
The smile on Omega Build's face changes from an annoyed one to an angry one to a frustrated one before it finally settles into something sad, “I really am pissed,” he crows shakily, “if only he wasn't so petty then I could have had more time spent with you,” his eyesight becomes blurry, he tries to blink it away but it does nothing so he sucks in a deep steadying breath, “I fought with Prime a month ago,” the corner of his mouth tilts up into a smirk but he tries to bite it down because he knows Alhaitham won't appreciate what he had done, “it was an overdue and deserved beating on Prime's part,” Omega Build tries to cover his lower face with his palm because he can't keep away the smirk, but unfortunately he can't hide the way his wings are perking up in pride, as if he had cunningly and successfully protected his mate from harm.
… But ‘he’ is the harm….
Omega Build puts away his hand, no longer in the mood to smile and the light in his eyes dims significantly as he cowardly keeps his eyes away from Alhaitham, “I fought with Prime on the ground that I'm stopping him from playing with you…” Omega Build trails off as his attention becomes more and more drawn to his nails, “but in light of everything, now I understand what his intention was and I hate that I do,” he says as he blankly stares at the burnt cookies stuck under his nails, “as well as… realizing that I was the one who played you the most.”
Omega Build closes his eyes. A drop of tear slides from his eye and he immediately ducks his head, refusing to let Alhaitham sees it.
“I am extremely grateful that you were so accommodating with us,” a little pause to weigh his next words, “I know that at first you treated our marriage more as something inevitable but beneficial to both sides,” he pauses for a moment before continuing after a sigh, “then, something changed your view…” he lays his head on the table, wings tightly encasing himself, “... it was Alpha Build's confession, wasn't it?”
Omega Build moves his head slightly to blankly stare at the monitor across from him, “You know… I've lived for centuries as ‘Omega Build'. I only remember well the memories of what ‘I’ had been through when ‘Dottore' was my age. Of course, I have an impression of what happened before and after that but it's vague,” a pause simply for the sake of pausing, “I… had an impression that through Alpha Build's period, ‘I’ went through a lot of hardships. During that time, ‘I’ had to adapt to Snezhnaya's environment by myself. ‘I’ was only recently recruited into becoming the Harbinger and the working environment was…” Omega Build's face scrunches up, trying to find the right word, “... toxic, to say the least.”
Then Omega Build sits up formally before braving himself to look at Alhaitham head on, “but that's not my story to tell,” he says before he gestures at himself, “‘I’ am Omega Build Dottore, the period after Alpha Build Dottore,” he offers Alhaitham a thin smile, “I recall that during my period, ‘I’ found life to be boring,” his eyes flick away for just a moment before they are back on Alhaitham, staring at him but also at nothing, “at the time, ‘I’ had managed to get the respect befitting of my status… then ‘I’ found myself feeling utterly bored and… empty….”
Omega Build opens his mouth to continue again but he hesitates. He clicks his mouth shut and looks away while clearing his throat. Whether it's a practice or not and whether his interlocutor is conscious or not, it's still quite embarrassing to tell.
“That's why ‘I’ started having an interest in psychology…” he announces with an exaggerated cheer, followed by some embarrassed chuckles before he clears his throat again, “of course ‘I’ already had some knowledge of it. ‘I’ simply started studying all branches of it. ‘I’ found out then that it's quite easy to mass manipulate people into buying something,” he slightly pauses to wet his lips as his cheeks become slightly tinted, “‘I’...also found more about common emotions, ultimately leading to the realization that ‘I’ lacked the ability to feel some of them. Not sure if it's from birth or due to the environment but what was clear was that ‘I’ found something interesting. So ‘I’ became invested.”
Omega Build looks up and braves himself to really look at Alhaitham's face before he gulps, “Life was bleak,” he confesses, “the more ‘I’ studied them, the more ‘I’ felt both smug and bitter. Oh, why was it that what they call ‘happiness’ was something that I can only feel after a successful experiment?” he grins, “where was the rush of stimulation in my life? What was I supposed to do once I've done all the experiments I find interesting? And what was I supposed to do if one day I stopped finding them interesting?” Omega Build averts his eyes, what he will say next, he can't say it while looking at Alhaitham, “then ‘I’ found romance books,” his wings twitch from shame as he coughs into his fist, “they're a good substitute. Too unrealistic and brain numbing but they're filled with what most people wish to have,” his lips silently spread in self mockery, “they say that if you lie often enough then it will become reality.”
Omega Build looks at Alhaitham with unreadable eyes but his lips are stretched into something amused, “but… the jealousy I felt when I noticed that you started to treat our bond differently because of Alpha Build's confession was real. It burns-” he moves his palm to his chest, “-right here,” he pats it twice, “the thoughts that I was supposed to be the reason for you to change, that I am supposed to be your favorite, that sometimes I wish you're only dependent on me among other Segments burn here,” he slams his hand on the table and leans back to his seat, smiling at Alhaitham, “but then I realized that I don't even have the courage to tell you that I love you,” he tilts his head as his hand gestures around, eyes looking away sadly, “I want it to be perfect. I want to say it at the moment where it will be forever ingrained in you. Where you'll always be reminded of me whenever you see the other Segmen-”
Omega Build abruptly pauses his sentence. He stiffens on his seat, completely frozen. The serene and slightly arrogant air around him as he talked earlier is immediately gone.
Omega Build opens and closes his mouth, horrified, before he buries his face into his palms and sighs, “Moonlight,” he terrifiedly calls, shaky voice slightly muffled by his own palms, “knowing how people work psychologically has truly turned me into a hypocrite,” he softly bemoans, “once you wake up… will you still be able to love me?”
Sigma Build lightly flicks the tube attached to his test subject to check if there's a bubble in the liquid, finding none, he hums, “Are you sure it's alright to leave Omega Build alone with Hayi?”
Prime doesn't respond for a moment, opting to finish one section of the observation report from Sigma Build first, before he flicks his wings as he flips the page and says, “Knowing the cause and effect of an act might influence intention and the intention of doing something might affect its sincerity. But sincerity alone doesn't affect the value of what has been done.”
Meaning, what has been done is done and one can't simply dismiss an act of kindness simply because of its intention.
Also meaning that even if Omega Build is a hypocrite, he's still a total simp.
Sigma Build dryly looks at Prime from behind his mask, unimpressed, “Fair enough,” he says, his wings twitching behind him in annoyance.
Sigma Build walks to his desk to take a clipboard and smacks Prime's head with it along the way. He doesn't do it particularly hard, just enough to vent his annoyance.
Prime slams the report he's reading shut and glares at Sigma Build from behind his mask, Sigma Build doesn't cower, he simply stares back boredly, “Why the disrespect?” Prime growls, feathers ruffled.
Sigma Build flicks his wings and shrugs, “Ah, just figured that I have a free chance to hit you too,” he says as he swaggers away to his test subject.
Prime continues to glare at Sigma Build's back for a moment longer before he simply sighs and reopens the report, “Turns out you are actually capable of being careful with your test subjects,” he comments, though still feel slightly disgruntled from being hit for no reason, “so why was it you always destroyed them all within two weeks before?”
Sigma Build doesn't immediately answer, he finishes writing down what he wanted to write first before answering, “This is a special case,” he says before he throws the clipboard at Prime, who can easily catch it but still looks pissed, “in order to finish this experiment as quickly as possible, I need a consistent test subject,” Sigma Build explains as he looks down at his unconscious test subject, “and coincidentally,” his hand slowly touches his test subjects' neck, checking the pulse but the way he circles his hand around it making it looks like he's about to strangle him, “I want him to stay around a bit longer.”
Prime raises his eyebrows at Sigma Build, “You do realize that what he said during his time with you was merely desperate provocation, right?”
“I know!” Sigma Build snaps as he turns around to glare at Prime, wings flaring furiously, “but so what?! He thought he could escape via death if he continued to speak out of turn but guess what? Death is not yet a mercy he's privy to,” he promises, mouth spread manically wide and eyes bright with hysterical madness.
Prime amusedly hums and leans his chin on his knuckle, “I suppose so,” he comments as he glances at Sir Abgal with ridicule.
He just had to choose to provoke the pettiest Segment. His attempt to be freed from captivity sure has backfired spectacularly. If he suffers for a century or more then he has no one to blame but his own stupidity.
“By the way,” Sigma Build absentmindedly calls out as he inspects the rest of the tubes attached to his test subject, “are you sure it's alright to leave brother-in-law and the general to Alexei?”
Prime pauses for a moment before he shrugs, “Probably,” he casually answers which gathers a look from Sigma Build, “I'm quite sure that the general will keep brother-in-law in line, and if they're reckless enough to trespass, then Alexei knows what to do.”
[Hey,] Alpha Build calls out to the link, sounding somewhat excited, [hypothetically, if I were to just so happen to find a big gathering of the rebels, can I wipe them out?]
For a moment, Sigma Build and Prime simply share an unimpressed stare in silence.
[Alpha Build,] Sigma Build calls while pinching the bridge of his nose, it's covered by his mask so it doesn't do anything but the sentiment still counts, [must I remind you that we are the same person?]
What do you mean ‘hypothetically’? Who are you trying to fool? Yourself?
[Oh, yeah,] Alpha Build mutters, the excitement in his voice tones down a little, [so can I?] he asks again just to make sure, sounding hopeful.
Sigma Build sends Prime a look before he waves at him and walks off without another word.
Prime supposes he understands Sigma Build's feeling. It can be said that out of all the Segments, he's the only one currently doing a job he dislikes. Alright, fine. Prime supposes he can give him some slack.
[I have already given you the permission to kill, haven't I?] Prime says to the link, [so why's it that you find the need to reconfirm? That's quite unlike you I must say.]
Alpha Build slightly hesitates, [Well…] he trails off though his voice holds some excitement, [I feel like it'll be such a waste if I don't wipe them out when a lot of them have so graciously gathered together in one place but when I said a lot of them, I meant a lot. If I kill them now then those who are still in hiding might not come out.]
[And if you kill them all, no one is going to snitch on those still hiding,] Prime adds, so patiently that it almost feels condescending.
Alpha Build doesn't say anything for a while and Prime can sense his anger slowly mounting up.
Alpha Build tsks, [what do you suppose I do then?!] he snaps.
[Oh, I don't have any order for you,] Prime answers as he leans back into his seat and relaxes, [I'm giving you the chance to let loose. Do as you see fit,] then he grins darkly, [plan their demise.]
[... Sigma Build is right,] Alpha Build comments, [you're getting soft and it's scary.]
Prime's grin drops and Sigma Build's laughter coming from where he's currently observing blood vials only makes him feel sourer, [Whether you will take my generosity or not, that's up to you,] Prime grumbles, [just know that I'm doing this because I sense that all of us are on the brink of going berserk.]
“... Understood~” Alpha Build croons out loud with a wide grin.
Childe side eyes Dottore. If he has to guess then he's probably interacting with other Dottore. Childe doesn't know how he can possibly do that and he doesn't really want to know either. He doesn't want to know anything about Dottore, nor the rest of his co-workers, actually. All the knowledge he has come to know about them was all known involuntarily…. That grin is concerning, tho.
“So…,” Childe trails off as he casually leans back to the wall of the alley they're hiding at, “what was the deal?”
Dottore, still grinning that wide and uncanny grin, tilts his head at him and Childe silently wishes he can turn back time, “Apparently,” Dottore purrs delightedly, “I can do whatever I want.”
Childe doubts that. Childe severely doubts that.
Oh, wait. He's probably talking about the scope of what he is allowed to do by his other self and not being that literal. Surely Dottore can't do whatever he pleases –the repercussions of his action are not going to be nullified, right? Because Childe has forgotten for a moment back there that the Avian in front of him is a grieving Avian.
Childe has seen a report where an Avian was sentenced to prison because they ripped out someone’s, who allegedly killed their mate, heart and ate it raw –in the end, because the main suspect was killed, no one really found the truth. That's not that impressive by itself, actually. But that was done by a common civilian. Someone whose the moment they have the most blood on their hands was when they're gutting fish. So really, Childe doesn't want to know what Dottore will do if he lets loose. He also doesn't want to deal with it.
… What the hell? Why is he the one stressing over this?
Childe scowls and shrugs his wings, “So?” he asks as he waves his hand inquiringly at him, “what does that mean to our operation?”
Dottore's smile turns into something less uncanny but more annoying to look at, “It doesn't matter,” he says as he turns around to observe the street beyond the alley, “it doesn't change anything even if you know.”
Childe takes that personally.
He really wants to take a swing at Dottore, it’s good that he's not looking at him, he can probably land some hits, but the woman he saw in the picture within the envelope appears. Childe forces himself to calm down. Though, out of curiosity, he glances at Dottore to see his reaction.
Dottore hums with a pleased grin spreading his lips, “Our target is here,” he darkly murmurs as the feathers of his wings ruffle the same way Childe has seen the scales of some vishaps do when they found their prey.
Childe suddenly realizes that he has been observing Dottore more than he observes the target so he tears his eyes away to observe the woman while keeping the intensity of his gaze from being noticed, “Alright, keep your secret. So, what's the plan?”
Dottore thoughtfully bites his tongue for a moment before answering, “Follow the wolf to their nest, kill its pack, and rob it of its hide.”
Childe's wings shiver from Dottore's nonchalant tone that contradicts the bloodlust in his eyes, “Are you sure we aren't going to get into trouble for that? They're still Snezhnayan citizens, y'know. How can you be so sure that she even has a connection to our main target?”
Dottore's eyes flicker but they don't stray from their prey, “I have my way,” he answers though somewhat less enthusiastically, “besides, the end justifies the means.”
Childe can't help but softly snort before he warningly says, “I doubt that Her Majesty will forgive you for slaughtering innocent citizens,” in response, Dottore's fingers dig into the wall, leaving a clawmark, but Childe doesn't pay it any mind, “besides, isn't that woman the Snezhnayan diplomat that helped you keep your mate's body?”
Dottore's wings flare before they neatly fold themselves, “Does that even mean anything?” He lightly asks but Childe senses anger in his words, “hey, here's the body of your mate that I helped to kill, you can keep it.”
Childe clenches his mouth shut. Nothing more needs to be said.
The woman is almost out of their sight.
Dottore spreads his wings and silently flaps them. He motions Childe to follow the target on land before he flies up the building and disappears from Childe's sight.
Childe lets out a sigh but he still dutifully stalks out of their alley and starts tailing the woman.
No means of communication, no discussed plan, nothing. Dottore is not even considering him present, isn't he? Then again, the deal said that he only needs to be brought along. Dottore doesn't have the obligation to employ him.
Tch.
Notes:
Everytime, I look at my characterization for Dottore and think, "let's give him more depth of flavor."
Not related to the story of this fic but I made this https://twitter.com/ArtistnorWriter/status/1767427936536449094?t=3s7Sh_rLgKEwo6kQCrz7Qg&s=19
I think it's a fun thought to be entertained. Drawing like that was so relaxing I might draw more.Also, I really like writing Kaveh being called as brother-in-law. It's not that funny but everytime he's referred by that the mood in the scenes always lightens.
Unrelated. There are so many characters in my account that I'm disappointed with. Wanderer (or Adopted as I renamed him) is quite disappointing in terms of damage (but then again, he uses widsith). What I can't comprehend is Albedo. I got him on his first rerun and I swear, I have no clue what team he's supposed to be in. Geo in general feels like a second choice.
How are you doing? Remember the stolen wallet? I'm currently trying to make the new important stuffs. It's stressing cuz administration fee is a lot and my parents don't ito help me. Yeesh. It isn't like my money also got stolen or anything.
Chapter 57
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Irina snaps her head back for the umpteenth time that night. She tries to appear calm and collected as always, only to be betrayed by the way her chest silently heaves and breathes in panic. Still, she searches her surroundings, trying to find the source of the alarm blaring in her head. She finds nothing.
Her work in the Diplomatic Office has been extremely busy lately. Renewing trade contracts with other nations as well as smoothing the fallout of the Second Harbinger’s marriage really took her time. It's very late at night but she hasn't been able to come home for a week now so she takes the chance.
Ma'am Irina scans the surroundings one more time before she hesitantly starts turning around to resume her walk.
One step, two steps.
The sound of her heels rhythmically hitting the pavements echoes in the silent night.
Another step and something loudly crashes behind her, urging her to break into an instinctive sprint.
Nothing else is heard after the crash but Irina doesn't even dare to stop and have a look. Her heart is beating quickly as she runs and whenever her brain decides that it's the time to think, her heart stutters, screaming at her to run faster. She doesn't know the reason nor why. Her body runs as if it knows something beyond mortal’s imagination is chasing her.
Only when her destination is near does she somewhat slow down. Her whole body is tense as her legs tremblingly stand to a stop right at the front gate of a closed warehouse, traces of unreasonable fear still lingering deep in her muscles. She spends some time to calm her racing heartbeat before gulping to try wetting her parched throat.
Irina closes her eyes as she takes a few deep breaths. She extends her senses, trying to pick up any strange noise, and when she senses nothing, she finally takes a look behind her.
Snow.
Just snow and streets left empty due to the time. The shadows aren't even moving. No one is following her.
Only then, does Irina can finally feel physically and mentally relaxed.
Something behind her slides open, causing some light to bleed into the surroundings and startling her to turn around.
“... State your business,” says the pair of eyes behind the door once he has a good look at the guest.
Catching herself still feeling rather frazzled, Irina digs her nails into her hand and takes a deep breath before saying, “To love is to be able to let go.”
“Are you widowed?” the person immediately asks another question.
“ Yes,” Irina answers again, sensing herself becoming calmer from the questions.
“My condolences,” the person says before sliding the peeping window shut.
Back into the lightless night, Irina glances back one more time, frowning. Nothing changes. So when the door to the warehouse opens for her, she completely erases the thoughts of her being followed and gets in.
“Why, isn't it Ma'am Irina,” a man grandly greets her the moment she steps in, voice sounds particularly booming in the warehouse filled with people discussing things in whispers, “to what do we owe the pleasure of having a person of your stature with us in this humble warehouse?”
Irina pastes on the most scornful expression she can muster and takes a step back, pointedly keeping her distance from the man. She never likes him. Without counting what he had done to her sister, his arrogance that doesn't befit someone of his status already puts him in Irina’s black list.
“As far as things are concerned, my presence here is none of your business, Dmitri,” Irina says as she pointedly takes another step back when the man insists on getting closer to her.
The man, Dmitri, disgustingly pouts, “Ouch,” he mockingly looks hurt, “What have I done to warrant me such a cold treatment from a beautiful lady such as you?”
Irina silently grits her teeth and throws her face away. This shameless man sure has no conscience. How could he say that after betraying her sister?
But personal matter should be dealt in private so Irina looks at Dmitri again and asks, “Where's lord Samuil?”
The corner of Dmitri’s lips quirk up but he hides it by looking away and shrugging his shoulders, “Away for a ‘tactical retreat’,” there's an apparent jeer in his voice as he says the word but no one within earshot seems to care.
They've become accustomed to his disrespect. Dmitri dislikes lord Samuil. It's not even a secret. The reason? Nothing but envy.
Dmitri feels that he's more suitable to lead the rebellion. Often he would try to sway new recruits to be his lackey. Truly an idiotic move, of course no one will side with him –sans few stupid ones. It's clear that his strategy is as childish as he is. Who else would dare to defame someone in broad daylight without having any qualms about their own reputation?
No one knows what Dmitri truly intends to do, neither does they care. The rebels are united with the single purpose of dethroning The Tsaritsa. No one really cares where their comrades come from nor what is their personal objective. All they care about is that they can return to their home once everything is settled.
And that's exactly why Dmitri is still in the operation. Who would have guessed that beneath his mediocre social skills he possesses a great affinity for warfare. That alone is enough reason for lord Samuil to keep him.
Though in all honesty, Irina doesn't care. She's not here for politics. She's only here to free her sister. Fortunately, the position she has spent blood and tears to get is valuable enough to be a material for exchange. The things she can allow, supervise, and procure are extremely beneficial to the rebel group. Unfortunately , she's indeed too valuable. Her sister is still kept and people like Dmitri keep trying to build some connections with her.
Irina looks away with a sigh, “That’s to be expected. The Tsaritsa has started to deploy the Tri-Copiae. Lord Samuil has an appearance to keep in the Supreme Court. Of course it's best that he lies low for the moment.”
Dmitri scoffs, “Ah… of course you would think of such cowardice as a smart move. Can't say that I'm surprised,” he says, not bothering to hide his distaste, before he shrugs his shoulders, “so? What information do you have?” he asks with a strange glint in his eyes.
Irina doesn't notice the glint, too busy turning around with an indifferent look, “As I've stated again and again, Dmitri, my intel is to be received only within lord Samuil's presence,” she says as she, completely forgoing politeness, walks away, “No one wants you to rashly plan an attack at this time.”
Just before Irina can reach for the door, the man who opened it for her slides in front of her, covering the door and obstructing her path.
Irina can hear Dmitri sigh somewhere behind her, “I just can't understand it. You, as well as most of our force,” Irina hears his voice getting closer before something presses against her back, “why’s it that you lots trust that Sumerian so much? He's just a foreigner who came to our homeland and decides that our misery can be manipulated to fit his desire. Don't you have more dignity?”
The thing pressed against her back can only be a weapon. Regardless, Irina keeps her calm. She slightly squints her eyes as she tries to calculate the enemies’ positions without them noticing.
The result is that she's completely surrounded. Irina is no combatant. It's foolish to even think that she can escape unscathed.
After a few seconds of silently calculating, Irina finally lets out a sigh, “What is it now, Dmitri?” she asks, tone deliberately made to sound exasperated, “I know you're bad when it comes to interpersonal relationships but I expected that you should know better than this.”
Irina can hear Dmitri chuckling behind her. The tip of the weapon pressed against her back then is gone but someone nearby immediately steps closer and points a polearm at her, gesturing for her to move. Irina knows she can do nothing so she complies without much fight.
Irina is pushed to the ground then. Dmitri standing tall in front of her and arrogantly smiling down at her.
“Oh, of course,” Dmitri amusedly chats, “you and the rest expect that, doesn't it?”
Irina tries not to spit on his boots, it won't bring her any good to aggravate the situation, but the mask of calmness on her face should be insulting enough, “Well, aren't you a fool,” she comments matter of factly, “of all time to make your move, you choose the time where The Tsaritsa has gathered all her strength. Do you really think that you and your lackeys will be able to survive?”
The arrogant smile on Dmitri's face is still present as he tilts his head and lets out an amused sigh, “Isn't it actually more of a wonder how this pathetic rebel group even manages to get this far?” he asks as he starts leisurely circling around Irina in lazy steps, “actually, tell me something, ma'am.”
Dmitri presses his leg down on Irina’s ankle before putting some weights on it, “Did all of you truly think someone with talent such as mine will stoop so low so as to stay as a mere helper?” he asks, boot painfully pressing down on Irina's ankle.
For a moment, Irina can't help the way her eyes squint in confusion before they slightly widen after hearing those words.
Really. Really?
Oh. Again, Irina doesn't care about the rebel group's politics.
Noticing Irina's lack of desired reaction, Dmitri pouts. He sullenly considers things for a moment before he decides to stomp on Irina's ankle, not enough to break the bone but painful enough. that, at least, finally breaks Irina's demeanor. She screams in pain before she forces her mouth to close shut. Not that it stops her anguished screams. It continues to come out in whines instead.
Dmitri simply observes Irina for a moment as he continues to dig his boot on her ankle before he suddenly snaps his fingers with an understanding dawning on his face, “Oh, righttttt. You're not exactly a part of the rebellion,” he lifts his boot and walks around Irina before squatting in front of her, grinning with a fraction of triumph and giddiness, “you're here for Galina.”
Irina doesn't react to the name. She simply glares at Dmitri with eyes wet with tears of pain.
Dmitri tilts his head to the side, grinning wildly before he sighs, “What a poor pair of sisters,” he mockingly laments, “one is so stupid and blind while the other desperately tries to save her.”
Irina unblinkingly continues to glare at Dmitri. She doesn't say a word and even forces herself to stop letting out any pained noise.
Dmitri smiles at Irina in mocking sympathy, “Isn't it funny?” he whispers the question, “your sister thinks she is living her dream, doesn't she?” Dmitri's smile widens into a grin, “she thinks lord Samuil keeps her by his side because he's so kind, doesn't she?” Irina still keeps her mouth shut, biting down on her lower lip till it bleeds, “and then you came along, proposing help to lord Samuil in exchange that he lets your sister go without knowing the truth,” Dmitri's face scrunches up in mockery, “awwww, are you trying to protect your sister? Afraid that if she realizes she has been deceived again then she will break?” Dmitri coos.
A few drops of blood oozes from Irina's lip from how hard she bites it. Yet she still keeps her silence. In fact, she looks away, as if she doesn't want to hear anything Dmitri says.
Dmitri amusedly huffs before he roughly yanks Irina's chin to look at him, “Want to hear a secret?” he stares into Irina’s eyes with wide eyes as if he has something big to share, “it was lord Samuil's plan all along,” he whispers in a coo.
At first, Irina simply looks at him in confusion before her eyes widen and she finally can't help but break her silence, “...what…” she whispers back, uncomprehending.
Dmitri lets go of Irina's chin and giggles delightedly, “It was that bastard of a foreigner's plan all along,” he shakes his hands at Irina in giddiness, but upon noticing that she still doesn't get it, he continues, “everything. From me seducing your sister –which was stupidly easy, by the way– to her being disowned by her family so that lord Samuil can take her under his wings,” Dmitri tilts his head again as he sways on his heels, “oh, and even your cooperation with the rebel group. Actually, pretty sure that was his intention.”
Irina silently looks at Dmitri. No longer uncomprehending but more like she doesn't want to comprehend. A moment later, she giggles. Causing Dmitri to start looking at her in frustration.
“Don't tell me that was how you always recruit your lackey,” Irina says as she wipes the tears from her eyes, “the tactic is good. Taking advantage of emotional attachment like that. But you have to work on your story. At least make it more believable,” she mocks, trying to anger Dmitri so that he stops talking nonsense.
But Dmitri doesn't get angry as she expected. He simply smiles at her, calmly, amusedly, knowingly. Something in Irina's chest drops and chills start to spread from her fingers.
“WHAT IS SO FUNNY?!” she lashes out instead of Dmitri, and when Dmitri starts to laugh, she yells, “I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF YOUR POWER STRUGGLE SO JUST LEAVE ME AND MY SISTER ALONE!”
With one last laugh, Dmitri grabs Irina's hair and drags her to a wall where he immediately chains her into it, ignoring her tantrum, “Well, that's the neat part, ma'am,” he conversationally says as he kicks Irina's abdomen to make her stay still so that he can locks her wrist to the wall with long-chained cuffs, “that doesn't matter. You're vital to the operation,” Dmitri thoughtfully looks at Irina who glares at him with red eyes and bloodied lips for a moment before he flashes her a smile, “as a matter of fact, you're very vital to the point that your sin can't be pardoned.”
Something in Dmitri shifts. Irina can sense it but she doesn't know what it is. She doesn't know what to make of the shift but why will that matter? If Dmitri says that she's in too deep then the chances that he will let go of her is almost none.
“Never thought of you as the religious type,” Irina comments, if not to at least irk Dmitri a little bit.
But, again, Dmitri simply smiles that smile, “then that simply means that you've been fooled, doesn't it?”
Dmitri doesn't say anything more and it somehow fills Irina with more anxiety. He takes out a lighter from his pocket and playfully flicks the trigger a few times.
Irina immediately tenses up. She looks around in panic. Is he going to burn her? But why? If she is truly vital then won't he try to sway her more? Does he think that he won't be able to sway her so he decides to just kill her now so that she won't continue to help lord Samuil?
“Scared?” Dmitri asks and it snaps Irina from her frazzled thoughts, “good,” the lighter is lit for a few seconds before he extinguishes it and then repeats the actions.
Despite her hatred towards the man in front of her, Irina feels scared, “What are you planning, Dmitri?”
Dmitri blinks and looks at Irina with a humm before he softly laughs, “Well, something you won't like. At least that one is guaranteed,” then he stops playing with the lighter to really look at Irina, “oh, wait. You really are scared,” he amusedly points out.
Irina returns to her silent treatment and simply glares at Dmitri again. Trying to put on a tough front but her fists tremble despite herself.
Dmitri squats down so that they can see eye to eye, “you scared now? Of all time? Why not feel scared before you decide to partake in the rebellion?”
Again, that strange shift in Dmitri's words. Irina still can't put her finger on it. The way he said that she has sinned and that she's vital to the operation but makes no effort to make her join his side. It's as if his intention is to remove her out of the picture. But that doesn't make any sense. If that is his intention then that can only mean….
Oh.
Oh, no….
Irina's face pales deeply and Dmitri grins upon notice, “Yepp,” he croons, “you get it now.”
No. No….
Irina shivers. There's no way that's true. If that is true then let alone her sister, she won't even be able to guarantee her own life. Perhaps Dmitri just guesses her train of thoughts wrongly?
“...Get what?” Irina hesitantly asks.
Dmitri clicks his tongue in disappointment, “Don't play stupid. I know you get it already.”
Irina huffs out a laugh, “Really? I can't tell,” she tries to annoy Dmitri again but when Dmitri only stares at her unimpressed, she truly feels scared, “WHY?!” she screeches, not caring if her voice might bleed out of the warehouse, “why did you do something like this? What will you get from doing this?”
Dmitri thoughtfully looks away as he twirls the lighter around his fingers, “I… think it's because I like Snezhnaya the way they are?” he says and Irina can see some of his lackeys snap their heads to look at Dmitri in confusion, “sure, it's harsh living here in general and harsher when deep winter comes but at least this nation is feared. I like that.”
Dmitri's lackeys are all shifting in their position, looking at each other then at Dmitri, unsure. Irina can see them. She realizes then that they also don't know. That's good. Then she can convince them to turn on Dm-
“All in all!” Dmitri loudly says, startling everyone to look at him, as he flicks the top part of his lighter to uncover a button there, “The Tsaritsa shall reign supreme,” he calmly declares with manic glint in his eyes before he presses the button.
Instantly, a wave of pyro energy flares from the lighter. Patterns light up on all of Dmitri's lackeys before they burst into flame. They don't simultaneously burst all at once. There's a slight delay for some of them, for better or for worse, where they simply look around in fear and confusion before they too burst in flame.
Irina can't watch it but neither can she look away. Her eyes are glued to the burning people, still moving around in panic to douse the flame, and the way the fire quickly spreads from their bodies to the warehouse. When the smoke and the smell of burning flesh assault her nose, Irina finally snaps herself out of it and screams in terror.
“WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!” Irina screeches in fear as her eyes water from the intense feeling of nausea.
But Dmitri simply rubs his palms together over one of his burning lackeys, “It's nice, isn't it? It was quite cold in here,” he nonchalantly says as a wooden structure collapses not far behind him.
Irina doesn't know what to say. Right now she's just afraid of what will happen to her. Will Dmitri leave her alone to burn in here or will he kill her first?
“Nice creation,” a new voice suddenly comments, startling even Dmitri to turn around and face the stranger.
A masked black winged Avian stands not far from them, observing one of the burning bodies. He doesn't seem to care about the fire nor the heat. Even when the fire catches his wings, he continues to thoughtfully observe the bodies.
“Natlanian runes with some modifications of… Khaenri’ahn runes, I'd guess,” the Avian says, quite engrossed.
“...why, thank you,” Dmitri warily says, “Lord Harbinger… I suppose?”
Irina chokes, who knows if it's because of the smoke or the revelation. That doesn't matter, none of the men cares. They ignore Irina altogether.
The Harbinger finally looks away from the burning body to regard Dmitri with an amused humm, “ It's rare to see anyone being able to recognize a Harbinger so quickly,” he flicks his wings, causing the fire to quickly spread over the wings but they don't seem to be harmed, “but perhaps… I should give the ex-follower of Signora a little bit of recognition,” the Harbinger's eye uncovered by his mask lights up with moving patterns as it locks on Dmitri.
“Well,” the Harbinger clasps his hands loudly, his wings fully burning behind him but the fire never catches on to his clothes, before he says, “whatever you're planning to do to that woman. You have to give up on it,” the Harbinger's mouth slowly spread into a too wide grin full of sharp teeth, “I require her for… something.”
Irina silently shudders. If before, she hoped that Dmitri would leave her in the burning warehouse, where she can try to free herself, now she fervently hopes that Dmitri kills her. She doesn't know exactly what happens to those that are personally requested by the Harbingers, but she at least knows that there will be only unimaginable misery.
Fatui isn't exactly morally grounded, especially the Harbingers. To top it off, it just has to be The Doctor. Whether she wanted to or not, she has come to know what The Doctor is capable of during one of the meetings with the rebel group. That's exactly why he was targeted.
His deeds are simply unforgivable to them. Irina doesn't want to know precisely why but the rebel group wants to make an example of The Doctor.
Great idea. Terrible execution.
Just what actually made them think that provoking their most terrible opponent at the beginning of the operation was a good idea? Were they so confident? Or were they, in fact, simply fools trying to accomplish something greater than what they're destined to be?
The answer doesn't matter. At least to her. Irina thinks when a part of the ceiling collapses too close to her for comfort.
Dmitri and the Harbinger silently stare at each other for a moment longer before the stand off is broken by Dmitri bowing theatrically at the waist, “Of course. That would only be my pleasure.”
“Good,” the Harbinger says with a crowing laughter before he turns around, “now let's move to a more fitting place.”
Notes:
I just realized that I write everyone as unhinged to some degrees and generally a danger to normal people.
Dottore quite like theatrics. It feels so nice to finally being able to write Alpha Build unleashing his inner dramatics.
Alright, this is the first time I'm doing this so pardon me if this is going to be cringe but-
SHOUTOUT TO @gmoshiki for helping me with discussing some things in the future chapters!
Yes, future chapters. This chapter contains nothing of what we have discussed but I like to plan the build up for some chapters, leaving hints there and there that you won't notice as important but subconsciously acknowledge it. It helps with you accepting any revelations, and plot twists, I made but on unnoticeable level. Not sure what this means in the overall reading experience but I'm guessing that it should help making rereading the whole series once it's finished more entertaining?
Idk, I'm running this theory on Kim Dokja's, from Omniscient Reader, experience in rereading the books he has read. Him suddenly noticing things he missed before and such.
I won't be able to see if I've managed to implement the theory into this fic, tho. Because when I reread this series I'm just noticing grammar mistakes I made (they're so annoying but I don't edit my works once I've posted them because I don't want to accidentally create any discrepancies).
On a different note, Mochi, my kitty, somehow is able to be more toxic than her mother (joking, I know she's still a kitten but goddamn, even after I bought her fish toy to chew on she still chooses my hands).
Manifesting playable Dottore.
It has been a long time since I write that in Author's Note but right now the urge to lock him in one of the teapot's bedroom with Alhaitham is surging inside me.
Current f2p fund: whatever's left after I try pulling Neuvilette's weapon.
Lazy wannabe artist rant.
I want to draw Alhaitham choking on Dottore's dick but 1) I still don't know how to draw a dick -the fact that I keep cackling whenever I try to draw one doesn't help- and 2) the inspiration never comes.
(What I meant by inspiration is the view I want to portray and then my brain will break it down for me. When it comes to drawing, the second part rarely goes through. Which is probably why I hardly improve. Motivation is really hard for me to come by.)I **should** train by drawing something simple but my brain is telling me that that's not efficient and then before I know it I'm drawing something complicated.
Real story, sometimes I spent a few minutes trying to draw a circle for the base sketch for the head.
Chapter 58
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
[That bastard stole my kills,] Alpha Build says to the link as he expressionlessly looks into the warehouse.
Sigma Build snorts, [First come, first serve, Alpha Build,] he annoyingly reminds.
Alpha Build's wings twitch in exasperation, [I know!] he snaps.
Dammit. He misses Hayi. …. Alright, his reaction probably won't be too far off from Sigma Build's reaction but at least he will try to comfort him a little bit.
Eyes still observing the situation in the warehouse, Alpha Build's fingers absentmindedly rubs the scarf around his neck.
Not long after, Alpha Build hears a flapping sound and someone landing behind him. He already knows who it is even without turning around.
Childe briskly steps to Alpha Build's side and joins him into looking inside the warehouse, “Oh, shit. What happened?” he asks, wings flaring in alarm.
Alpha Build doesn't answer. Opting to continue fiddling with his scarf for comfort.
Fed up from being continuously ignored, Childe directly looks at Dottore's face, “Look. If you keep that up, I'm going to barge in right now and kill everyone.”
Dottore's eyebrows twitch and he clicks his tongue, annoyed at having his moment being interrupted, “No wonder Signora used you as a pawn,” he comments, “what a violent brute.”
[And what does that make you?] Sigma Build asks which Alpha Build easily ignores.
Childe's wings bristle in anger but before he can say anything, Dottore gestures at him to keep his mouth shut, “Shut it,” his uncovered eye locks on the madman inside the warehouse, flickering with weird lights.
Then Dottore blinks and his demeanor suddenly changes into being amused and intrigued, “Stay here,” he orders Childe as he spreads his wings, about to glide down.
“Really?!” Childe whisper-yells at Dottore, exasperated and annoyed, right before he jumps down.
“Yes,” Dottore affirms without looking back, “keep watch just in case there are other people nearby,” then he glides down.
Childe, being left alone again, makes a face at Dottore's back before simply grumbling to himself. Just for that. Oh, just for that Childe won't remind Dottore of his scarf and gloves.
“The bastard stole my kills,” Dottore says with a smile, just loud enough for Childe to hear and not Signora’s ex-follower and the captive far ahead.
Childe slightly glances, blinks slowly at him before he looks ahead. Offering no words of consolation.
Alpha Build makes a face to himself but says nothing more. Truly, only Hayi is kind enough to comfort him.
“Do you like your scarf?” Childe asks out of the blue, “I'd assume that it was from your mate because I've never seen you wearing one,” he pauses to grimace slightly, “especially not one that clashes with your look.”
Dottore frowns, hand subconsciously grabbing the front of his scarf defensively, “That's none of your business, isn't it?”
The corner of Childe's mouth ticks slightly. Okay, good. Thank you for making it easy for him.
Childe shrugs his shoulders, “I don't know, then. Just saying, though. Your scarf got burned when you went in.”
Dottore abruptly stops.
It takes Childe a few steps to register that Dottore has stopped walking. When it finally registers, he turns around to check on Dottore and… y'know, never in his life has Childe felt more conflicted about what he has done to someone. Like, he actually feels bad?? For Dottore???
Dottore freezes as he blankly stares at nothing. Not exactly breathing or blinking. Then, he wheezes a breath. a huge puff of condensed fear and anxiety coming out along with his exhalation before he frantically yet carefully tries to take off his scarf.
Childe swears Dottore's hands are trembling as he spreads the scarf in front of him to see the damage. Aside from the twitching of his lips and wings, and his labored breath, he doesn't do much else, though. Just silently staring at the scarf with wide eyes.
…. Oh wait. Oh, shit. Is he having a panic attack?
Childe hesitates, but when Dottore's lips start to wobble and his breathing becomes more frantic, he hesitantly opens his mouth, “Uhm, you good?”
Dottore doesn't answer. He continues to stare at the damaged scarf, burned beyond repair that it's a wonder how he didn't notice earlier. Upon noticing that it's impossible to be repaired, Dottore holds the scarf close to his chest and lets out a soft mourning caw. His head is lowered deeply in grief, his wings are tightly pressed to his back, and his shoulders slump down dejectedly.
… He looks just like Teucer that time when he bro-
- YO. WHAT THE FUCK?!
Childe aggressively coughs into his fist to get rid of the cursed image from his head, “Hey,” he firmly calls out to Dottore but when Dottore averts his slightly misted eye that looks so lost at him, he can't keep it up, Archon-damned brotherly instinct, “are you alright?”
The lost look in Dottore's eye immediately dissipates as he flicks his wings and straightens his back, “Why won't I be?” he says with a scoff and Childe would have lost the goodwill he has for him if not for the way his voice cracks when he says that.
Childe looks away with a shrug, “I don’t know. You suddenly stop walking,” then he slowly turns around and resumes walking, yes, pretending to not see anything seems to be the best option here, “if you're fine then come on. You're keeping our captive waiting,” he says and he could have just left Dottore behind but instead of that, he walks very slowly and languidly, as if giving Dottore a moment for himself.
Dottore stares at the Abyss tainted brat with an indescribable eye for a moment before he averts his eyes back to the scarf, wings twitching limply behind him. Then, he kneels down and uses his knee to carefully fold his damaged scarf. He folds it with reverent, extremely careful as if afraid it will dissipate if touched wrongly. When he's done, Dottore sadly stares at the scarf, wondering where everything went wrong.
Hayi knitted the scarf for him. He told him to wear it. So Alpha Build does. Everytime, everywhere. The moment he takes it off, he keeps it where he can see it.
Alpha Build likes the scarf. It's warm. It fills him with warmth. It reminds him of Hayi. When he wears it, it feels like Hayi is circling his arms around his neck in a hug.
So why? Why is it damaged? How come it's still damaged even when he always keeps it by his side?
…Just like Hayi…
[Alpha Build,] Omega Build's voice sounds particularly clear amidst the cacophony of noises inside Alpha Build's head, [stay strong,] he orders, but he somehow sounds gentle, as if trying to encourage his brother in arms, [I know you have your fears. But it's not the time to break,] it's quite weird, being nice to himself, [if you do then what you fear the most might just come true.]
Alpha Build's breathing becomes agitated and he lets out soft pained caws to himself. He continues to kneel on the snowy path, head lowered to his burned scarf seeking for comfort and wings tightly covering himself. He hugs his knees alongside the scarf, heaving breaths that refuse to fill his lungs.
When oxygen continues to escape his lungs and he becomes slightly lightheaded, Alpha Build sees Alhaitham telling him to return soon because he'll be waiting.
The muscles in Alpha Build's fist twitch and he hugs his knees tighter. Difficult. So so difficult. He can't. Sigma Build said that he will wake Alhaitham up. He knows to trust his ‘own’ capability. But Alpha Build fears despite himself.
If Hayi doesn't wake up, then this scarf and a pair of gloves are the last memento he gave him… and Alpha Build lets the scarf get damaged.
Why? How? Why couldn't Alpha Build protect Hayi? How could he fail to eliminate all threats when his entire being is created for the sole purpose of weaponization?
Alpha Build's wings and shoulders sag in defeat as he just forces himself entering stand-by mode. He's still aware of the surroundings but his mind immediately becomes a lot quieter. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. The smells of smoke, ash, and wool fill his nose and when he concentrates, he can smell a whiff of Hayi’s scent clinging to the scarf. It seems that Hayi did knit it himself and judging from the very faint smell of his blood, he wasn't very good at it. Though that's not a problem. The scarf turned out to be wonderful. It is warm, as intended, but also grounds Alpha Build for a remarkable period once Hayi went into a deep sleep.
Alpha Build takes another deep breath before he slowly lets it out. Then he opens his eyes and raises his head before staring at his gloved hands. For a while he's hesitant, not wanting to part. But once his mind provides reasons, he carefully takes them off.
The cold means nothing to Alpha Build. The Segments’ vessels are created to be extremely warm-blooded. Once the nerve endings sense any minute change in temperature, the vessel will immediately adjust to maintain the stable temperature of the body.
But still, once the gloves are off, Alpha Build wants to wear them back. It's quite strange. The gloves are nothing remarkable and yet Alpha Build finds himself quite attached to them. Maybe it's because he never had the courage to admit that he likes to hold Hayi's hand in his.
…
Then that will be the first thing he does once Hayi wakes up. Alpha Build thinks as he shrugs his wings and stands to his feet, storing the scarf and gloves into his coat. He slightly hesitates when he finds the brat is waiting for him, he's looking away but it's obvious, and the madman cocking his head curiously at him while their captive, cuffed to the madman, looks more terrified by the seconds.
Alpha Build immediately pastes on a stern face and power walks to them, “Brat,” he addresses Childe when he passes him but not stopping, forcing Childe to quickly match their steps, “If you are wondering why no one wanted to take you along to their mission, it's precisely because of this,” Alpha Build says, immediately regretting wasting his breath when he senses the brat getting offended.
Childe’s face contorted deeply from anger, so much for his kindness, before he barks an unkind laugh, “Hahah! And why's that? Because I show the compassion that the rest of you clearly lack?”
Alpha Build closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to calm his annoyance. The Rooster wanted the brat to get some experience on the field, he might as well give him a few pointers. Who knows, maybe if he learnt enough, The Rooster might let him do an operation on his own.
Alpha Build flicks his wings and waves at Signora’s ex-follower to resume their journey, “It’s your lack of initiative, actually,” the madman looks at him curiously for a second longer before he turns around and follows the order, “you’re a Harbinger, brat. Not some low rank soldier. Act like it.”
Out of the corner of Alpha Build’s eye, he can see the brat gaping stupidly at him. He closes his mouth, fingers raised to hesitantly point at him. Then his wings twitch and he looks away, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
“...Thanks,” Childe mumbles under his breath after a while.
Then they simply walk in the stiff silence. Come to think of it, their group is quite… unique. Two Harbingers, a defecting Fatui soldier, and a diplomat. If it's currently not nighttime, Alpha Build is actually quite curious if people will gather and stare at them or try not to be seen just from the sheer scandal of their gathering.
Childe clicks his tongue and silently rearranges his wings before he says, “I know you just told me to have my own initiative,” he says as he glances at Dottore warningly, “so don't be an ass and just answer me. What's the plan?”
Dottore slowly turns his head to shoot the brat his most unimpressed stare before massaging his lower jaw tiredly, “I'm taking the diplomat with me,” he says and it's quite funny how the woman trips on nothing once he says that, “you bring the man back to The Rooster and do what you two see fit.”
Silent for a moment before Childe sighs tiredly, having accustomed to it enough to not bother to feel annoyed anymore, “aren’t we supposed to be having a cooperation?” he asks, using some passive-aggression and inwardly wondering if Pulcinella will be proud if he's here with him.
Unfortunately for Childe, he's in the presence of the sassiest Segment, “Not really,” Alpha Build curtly answers, deep down Childe feels envy because why's he not allowed to be that blunt while Dottore can, “but since you were not entirely there at the time, I will kindly remind you that the cooperation is between The Rooster and I.”
Childe closes his eyes, deeply pained but unable to refute, “Fine,” he grumbles before flapping his wings a few times to vent his annoyance, also repeatedly slapping Dottore’s shoulder in the process but that's not really his intention, “So then. Are we done with the cooperation?”
Dottore makes a face at Childe while flaring his wings to shield himself from the wings hitting him, “Just what makes you think that a rebellion can be snuffed with a single operation?” he rhetorically asks before sighing deeply and flexing his wings in annoyance because the brat hasn't stopped hitting him, “still, for you to even think of it is already enough proof that The Rooster's education has failed.”
Childe’s wings which were about to fold immediately flare in indignation even before Dottore finishes his sentence. But before he can say anything, Childe hears the madman let out a soft snort. Childe stares at the madman, wondering if he heard wrong. But when he finds the madman’s shoulders slightly trembling with likely traces of amusement, he feels a little bit angry, and a little bit surprised. Though he's mostly annoyed because of course, Dottore will sic a madman on him.
Childe slightly leans to Dottore and asks, “Did he just laugh at me?”
Dottore's wings twitch, “It seems that he did,” then he raises his eyebrows at Childe, “what? Surprised?”
Slightly taken aback by Dottore's nonchalant attitudes, wondering if he's missing something, Childe hesitantly trails off, “... I mean…” he slightly gestures his hands around, “I am a Harbinger.”
“Huh,” Dottore makes an astonished noise that Childe is extremely sure sounded demeaning, “and here I'd assumed you would've gotten accustomed to being laughed at,” his hand absentmindedly reaches up as if about to grab something but he pauses slightly and puts his hand back down upon noticing that the scarf is no longer around his neck, “what with how you're constantly being treated.”
There's a smile on Childe's face, tight, annoyed, and hiding waves of anger. As his eyes plant blazing glare on the bastard beside him, he wonders if punching Dottore's jaw might jeopardize their operation. He's pretty sure that the punch will lead to an all out fight… but he's also pretty sure that the madman will stay around to spectate. Don't ask him how he knows, he just does.
Dottore points at the madman with his jaw, “It's highly likely that that man has been within the rebellion since the first phase of its clandestine. I'm not sure about you but I have confidence that The Rooster will be able to use him as well intended,” then he glances at Childe to make eye contact, “strike a deal with him, erase his record of betrayal, promote him into anyone's rank, whatever,” he list off with a shrug, “figuring him out will be The Rooster's task. In the meantime, I have a personal matter to attend to.”
There's no shift in the air but Childe can feel the indescribable urge to flee from a predator again, “Alright, fair enough. But at least tell me what you're going to do to the diplomat,” he asks quietly, more of curiosity than anything.
Dottore finally turns his head at Childe if only to flash him a chilling smile that doesn't reach his eyes, “Brat, you'll do well to drill it into your thick skull that my personal matter is none of your business,” he hisses before he flexes and ruffles his wings behind him as his eyes stops on his target, “Don't meddle and I can promise you that I, at least, won't stand in your way if one day you feel like having to avenge your family.”
The sudden turn to tense atmosphere already raises Childe's guard but the mention of his family immediately makes his wings bristle, “And just what makes you say that?”
Dottore gives him a thin smile that somehow looks eerier than his wide grin, “It's a given that someone shouldn't interact with people with power unless they also have the power,” he loudly says as he speeds up to the madman, silently reaching out his hand to him, “it's something that most Snezhnayans already understand well,” the madman immediately understands and unlocks the cuff on him, “it's just a shame that some Snezhnayans choose to ignore this bit of survival code,” Dottore evenly says as he stares unblinkingly at the diplomat who flinches when the end of the other chain is placed on the Harbingers palm.
Childe lets out a scoff, “That doesn't answer my question. I do have power, Dottore.”
Dottore looks at Childe in the eyes one last time that night, “You thought,” he corrects him before immediately turning around and leaving the group, forcefully dragging the woman by the chain.
Notes:
The worst day in Alpha Build's life.
Alpha Build's encouragement for the day: if you're useless today, just know that I failed the one purpose of my creation.
But I still stand up because life is not kind to anyone and if I don't stand up then I'm the only one who's truly fallen from gra-
Prime: Stop monologuing.Also like, I'm waiting for the day this fic reaches 200k cuz that'll probably the most motivation I've shown in my life this far.
Mochi loves to bite and scratch. The only time she accepts pets is when I hold her airborne. Otherwise, she bites. Love her tho, love her. She babysits my nephews when I'm too socially drained to do it.
Random story.
Once during the student orientation in my highschool, all new students were obligated to participate in a camping trip for two days and three nights. On the second night, the upperclassmen set up a huge bonfire where all of us were told to stand around it in a huge circle. Me, a teenager with some suspicions of having ADHD and being autistic that did whatever I want because I didn't really understand why I should follow anyone's orders if I don't like them/can't see the benefits, started to stand on one foot to cure some boredom. The terrain is uneven so I lost balance easily and there were huge gusts of winds. So I looked like I was squirming back and forth.
Finally, my classmate beside me asked me what I was doing, swaying in place like that.
Without a second thought, I told her, "I don't know, it feels like something is pulling me."
It was when all the classmates that surrounded me immediately jumps back from me that I quickly realized I just basically told a groups of highly superstitious high schoolers that incorporeal being was trying to drag me away.
Alright, so I could identify the problem. Did that mean I can figure out the solution?
Well.
Apparently letting out a snort and then smiling at them (I found the situation very funny) when I barely made any expression for the whole trip was not the correct solution (now that I think about it, that's kind of a huge gap in character and they probably think I got possessed). And to make the matter worse, upon noticing that they were still looking afraid, I pointed at myself (still smiling) and said, "I'm still human."
Hxrhxhb I can't remember why I said that of all things but I think I kinda know from the look in their eyes that they thought I was possessed so I told them I'm still human.
I don't remember much what happened after that because I kinda fell asleep standing.
Chapter 59
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Snezhnaya infrastructure is developed in circular clusters, focused on areas with resources. So it's not rare to find barren snowfields. In fact, the nearest one is just right after the Southern gate of the Citadel. Unlike the other gates that are flocked with people because of the local market, port, or military barrack, the Southern gate has nothing. Because what lies beyond that gate is a harsh environment filled with monsters and Fatui soldiers ready to shoot any person on sight.
Then beyond that snowfield is where his territory for the past centuries lies. His main lab, the storage of his findings and inventions, and its newest function… the fortress that secures his mate. The Institute.
Alpha Build Dottore quietly lets out a deep sigh the moment he passes the Southern gate. Instinctively, he almost longingly stares at the direction Hayi is currently resting but he stops himself before he can do so. He's currently not alone. He’d be damned if he accidentally endangers Hayi.
Actually… he's currently alone with someone he can freely use to vent. It doesn't matter whether there's a witness or not. He has various options and knows various methods to boot. If he wants to, he can just cater some of his frustrations through the little bloodshed. The only problem is that he has something small planned for the diplomat. So he opts to silently stand for a moment if only to ground himself better.
It's not quite his style, more like Omega Build or Prime’s, but they're the same person so the comparison in itself is already redundant. Besides, he kind of loses the mood for bloodshed. Right now he just feels tired and wants nothing more than to let his mind rest.
“ Take off your clothes,” Alpha Build quietly orders without looking back at his captive.
Perhaps he isn't firm enough because his captive doesn't move in the slightest.
But Alpha Build doesn't feel like yelling or the sort so he simply turns around and levels his petrified captive with a stare, “Well?”
The woman stares at him, wide eyed with apprehension. Once it finally dawns on her that Alpha Build is not joking, alarm starts to clearly color her expression as she subconsciously takes a step back.
Instantly, the mellow mood Alpha Build is in immediately evaporates and he roughly pulls the chain to him.
In return, the woman loses all the fearful obedience she has shown so far and immediately thrashes wildly against the cuffs chaining her wrists and tries to fight against its pull, “NO!” she screeches loudly, “HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!”
Perhaps it's because they're still right in front of the gate. The woman probably thinks someone might hear her. But the Southern gate has been dubbed as a military area. Even if someone can hear her they won't help. There's no way that as a head diplomat she doesn't know that. Thus her resistance can only be out of desperation.
A shame then, that all it manages to reap is Alpha Build’s annoyance that keeps mounting up.
Alpha Build exerts his strength into the chain until the metal bends under his fingers before he viciously whips the chain to the right, causing its captive to helplessly slam against the Southern Gate with a loud bang.
With the corner of his mouth ticking from nerves, Alpha Build expressionlessly watches as the woman can only whimper in pain while leaning to the gate. He didn't slam her to the gate that hard, there shouldn't be any damage to her bone. So she should be able to follow through with his plan.
“I won't ask again,” he warns the woman with an extremely apparent distaste, “take off your clothes or I'll rip them off of you.”
The woman fearfully stares into Alpha Build's uncovered eye, perhaps to evoke some sympathy. Her eyes are tearful and her face is pale. In other situations with different people, she might have succeeded. But unfortunately for her, Alpha Build doesn't have much sympathy to begin with let alone for the person who partook in the death of his mate.
Alpha Build impatiently takes a step forward and, with a jolt, the woman tremblingly starts to unfasten the fabrics that wrap around her as a layer of defense against the cold.
Alpha Build lets out a huff as he stands back and monitors the process. Won't want to have her trying to escape.
[Daaaaamn,] Sigma Build drawls in the link, [I know you're hormonal but even I didn't expect you would cheat on Hayi like this.]
Alpha Build's wings twitches from the sheer audacity of Sigma Build’s words, causing his captive to undress faster, [I'm not sure what you're trying to insinuate,] Alpha Build says, tone almost bored as he inwardly rolls his eyes, [but it's quite clear to me that you're the pervert here.]
[I mean…-] Omega Build joins the conversation but as he trails off Alpha Build quickly talks over him.
[Oh, shut it. You both thought wrong,] Alpha Build impatiently says, [besides that doesn't matter. I have the permission from Prime to do whatever I want.]
Alpha Build knows what he said doesn't shed any light on Sigma Build or Omega Build’s doubts. But that doesn't matter. He's not about to waste time trying to explain it to them when can just let them see for themselves.
The woman is now fully naked, crouching low on the snowy path, trying to cover her womanity with her hands. Alpha Build coldly looks down on her before he lets out a humorless snort and fiddle with the chain in his hand.
“ I overheard something in the warehouse, ” Alpha Build conversationally opens as if they're having an afternoon tea, “ Galina, ” he puts the name forward as he raises his eyes again to watch his captive’s expression.
The vivid mixture of surprise, worry, and fear in his captive's eyes is almost enough to lighten up his mood. Almost. But when he remembers how everything interconnects with him, the fleeting amusement he feels is immediately lost.
“ A familiar name for both of us, I see, ” Alpha Build rearranged his wings behind him to occupy himself from getting angry, “ makes sense since she's your sister and as for me… how could I not know the name of the person who killed the only one I wish to protect?”
The woman's eyes widened in fear, causing Alpha Build to laugh angrily, “ Don't you dare look so afraid! ” he lashes out as his wings angrily flare, “you knew what you and your sister were getting into. You knew the extent of what you must do, ” the words are hissed through gritted teeth as his voice distorts from the accumulation of fury he has held since… the beginning, “ so you must also already knew what the repercussions of your actions are, ” Alpha Build pulls his captive closer to him by the chain, he doesn't bother trying to search for any form of guilt on her face, he just wants to see the fear on her face better if only to fuel his rage more.
Irina closes her thighs, still trying to maintain a little bit of decency, as she plants her heels on the snowy path. But it's futile since the Harbinger is simply way too strong. When she's close enough to the Avian, she can physically feel herself getting squished by the hatred radiating from him. Irina looks the Harbinger in the eye. From the amount of fury painted in that crimson iris, she knows that her fate is already sealed.
Figuring that she has no chance to survive, Irina asks the one reason she cares about, “ W-what ha-ve you d-done to my sist-ter? ”
Irina sees the Harbinger’s mouth curve up into a maniacal grin in a flash and suddenly she feels like she has asked the wrong question.
“ Oh, she might be alive, ” Alpha Build croons and Irina watches as hints of cruelty seep into his eyes, “ but who knows until how long ,” he adds before he nonchalantly drops the chain in his hand and takes a step back from the naked woman.
Irina looks at the chain, which has held her captive for long, dropped on the snowy path in confusion. The cogs in her brain grind against each other to make sense of the situation.
But before she can even process that she has been basically set free, the Harbinger says, “ 3.5 kilometers to the south and 2 kilometers to the east from here, ” he says before he spreads his wings and flies over the Southern Gate to the other side.
Naked and confused, Irina stares at the direction the Harbinger disappears into before she stares at the chain linked to her cuffs.
What's going on? Is he setting her free? But why? Is it a trap? Giving her a trace of hope only to be killed once she starts running?
Then her mind latches on to the direction the Harbinger gave her and her mind immediately clicks. She quickly stands up. She glances at the position of the moon for hints of the coordinates before she runs. Completely forgetting to even wear her clothes back.
. . .
[That was… quite interesting, coming from you, Alpha Build,] Omega Build comments to the link.
For a moment, Alpha Build doesn't respond, opting to listlessly walk through the shopping district that has started to get busy as the sun slowly crawls up. As usual, everyone is giving him a wide berth. The listlessness in his movements is probably still unable to completely mask his fury.
[Suppose that it was,] Alpha Build finally responds as his eye scans the wares showcased behind windows across the street, [it doesn't matter, doesn't it?]
Sigma Build lets out a scoff, [Prime gave you the permission to let loose so that you can vent. Now that you've let her go that easily what will you do then if you go berserk?]
Finding nothing interesting, Alpha Build decisively turns to a direction with a specific place in mind, [I don't know,] he finally answers.
Irresponsible. Alpha Build knows that. Lately the Segments were losing control of their demeanors easily. That was partially Alpha Build's fault. The part of the link built up from his subconscious up until now is brimming with anger and frustrations. They even managed to leak to the rest of the link and influence the rest of the Segments, causing them to have a short fuse.
[I understand your intention for her,] Prime joins the conversation, [but what about you? What are you going to do?]
Alpha Build's wings limply twitch in annoyance, how many times has he heard that now, [Awww, Prime. You cared?] he mocks, if only to annoy him away.
Unfortunately, the lack of sharp tone as he says that clearly diminish the effect since, instead of leaving him alone, Prime asks again, [Need I remind you that you're the eldritch vessel?] he almost angrily says, reflecting the emotions corrupting the link, [if you go berserk, let alone being disassembled, the damage you will cause alone will be enough for The Tsaritsa to order for you to never be rebuilt.]
Alpha Build rolls his eyes and lets his wings slump to drag the snow, [So you do care,] he drily comments before huffing as he flicks his wings, [well, since you care so much then I'm taking a short break.]
Alpha Build slowly takes a deep breath before he lets it out, [My job is done for now and until The Rooster reports his finding to the Tsaritsa, I won't be able to make any major move,] Alpha Build doesn't feel bothered by the cold, but it feels weird to go around the Citadel without Alhaitham or the scarf he gave, [so shut up and let me have a moment for myself.]
[... Suit yourself,] Prime finally says.
Alpha Build tilts his head down to stare at his feet that crush the snow colored by the dawning sun and huffs. The puff of breath immediately condenses due to the cold air and he pauses for a moment to watch the steam fly up and dissipate.
[Omega Build,] Alpha Build calls after a while of nothing, [that bitch is dead, right?]
Omega Build doesn't immediately answer, [Which bitch?] he asks after a period of silence.
Alpha Build continues the journey to his destination, [The first one.]
[Oh, yeah. She should be,] Omega Build says, [the second one should also be soon.]
[Yep,] Alpha Build agrees as he pats around his coat to search for his Mora bag, [and if she somehow reaches the remnant of the bunker, she should be crippled enough from the frostbite to do anything and even if she’s still stubborn enough to do anything, there will be nothing.]
Omega Build chuckles to the link, the sound is a little bit giddy and dark, [Bravo, Alpha Build.]
Alpha Build grunts to the compliment and nothing else, [Sigma Build,] he calls, [You're about to wake up Hayi, right?]
Sigma Build clicks his tongue, [Yes. But don’t think he's going to immediately wake up. The initiation alone will take 7 hours.]
[That's fine by me,] Alpha Build says as he stands to a stop in front of a familiar flower shop.
Sigma Build immediately groans once it clicks to him what Alpha Build intention is.
Alpha Build's wings twitch up from the sound, [What?!] he snaps, life starting to return to his voice as embarrassment quickly fills him.
[If you buy flowers now- you know what? Whatever! Do as you please.]
Alpha Build scowls indignantly at Sigma Build’s tone but he doesn't say anything and opts to shrug his wings before stomping his way into the shop.
Scrumptious.
Utterly delicious and heavenly. Why, the smooth and rich broth easily glides down through his throat. Warmth quickly follows and seeps into his being, returning life to the parts of his body coldened by the weather.
The place for his current dining couldn't be more terrible, but even Kaveh must admit that the menu is wonderful. Almost being able to make him forget where he is.
“...Kaveh…,” Cyno quietly whispers to him as he lightly kicks him under the table.
Kaveh blinks at Cyno, his cheeks bulging from the food laid on the dining table. Cyno discreetly flickers his eyes to look at something behind him before he looks back into his eyes. It takes some time but the moment Kaveh gets it, he quickly gulps down the food and quickly wipes his mouth.
… Alright, maybe he did forget where he was.
The person Cyno warns Kaveh about immediately laughs once Kaveh manages to look more presentable, as if on cue, “That's quite alright, Honored General,” the head servant of the residence assures in the common tongue with a thick Snezhnayan accent, “It feels extremely nice to have my food being appreciated so openly,” he reasons as he places down another tray full of dishes that makes Kaveh’s mouth waters again.
Cyno openly sizes up the man with suspicion as he arranges the plates onto the table, “Is that so? Is it really only that or is it your master’s plan to make us too preoccupied to do anything else?”
Kaveh, with a spoonful of the newly arrived dish halfway entering his mouth, immediately freezes. Right. That's actually plausible. Especially since the food has done a really good job at distracting him.
While Kaveh is still in a dilemma whether to put the spoon into his mouth or to take it out, the servant responds to Cyno’s question with a big snort that's actually quite rude.
“My apologies,” Alexei says as he politely hides his mouth under his gloved hand but he still hasn't stopped laughing, “but if His Lordship really has the time to spare for that, he certainly won't use this approach.”
Kaveh finally decides to at least have a taste of the food since it will be such a waste –and kinda gross– if he takes the spoon out. His mouth closes around the delicacy and he has to strain himself from letting out a moan because he didn't know that meat can be so juicy to the point it melts in his mouth. From his squinted eyes, Kaveh can blurily see Cyno's unimpressed stare directed at him and he silently sends an apology in return. The temptations of food made by a high class chef is simply too much of a blessing after spending almost a month on a ship.
Cyno closes his eyes in pain. It isn't like he doesn't understand. In fact, he can resonate well with Kaveh. But, by Lord Kusanali, they have to put up some guard. How could Kaveh leave it all to him? He's also hungry for good food.
Cyno lets out a humm as he makes a show of lazily cutting a piece of meat on his plate though inwardly he's ready to inhale it, “So these are all out of your own initiative? How loyal of you to keep us in check without your master's order.”
Again, Alexei laughs, though it's more of a chuckle, as he elegantly pours a drink into their glasses, “Pardon me if I'm wrong, but I'm quite sure that treating venerable guests well is a servant's duty,” then the friendliness in his voice drops down a little bit as he places the pitcher on the table without a sound, “and my Lord, His Lordship, The Second Harbinger, The Doctor, Il Dottore doesn't care about the loyalty of his servants.”
Let alone Cyno, even Kaveh has to snap out of his bubble of happiness to tense up because of what the servant says.
What's his intention? Why did he tell us that? Is he trying to give us a hint that The Doctor's base of operation will be easy to tear up because of the lack of loyalty?
“At least not the kind of loyalty in the conventional sense,” Alexei adds before he walks out of the dining room.
Cyno and Kaveh quickly share a look, telepathically asking each other, but before anything can be established, the servant returns with another tray.
“I hope venerable guests still have room for dessert,” Alexei extravagantly announces as he brings in two pieces of exquisite-looking cake and places them in front of them.
Kaveh stares at the plate of delicate sweet in front of him. Now that the craving for good food in him has been satiated, he finally has the mind to collect himself. He actually feels especially horrified by his earlier behaviors. How could he become so mindless? What if the servant put something into the food?
Seeing that even the friendly guest becomes hesitant to eat the cake, Alexei lets out a sad sigh and continues from where he left off, “The established form of loyalty His Lordship enforces is rewards given according to action done,” he trains his eyes to politely look down as he recites what he has known by heart, “if you've done well then you survive for another day to get closer to your hefty paycheck, and if you make a grave mistake… suffice to say His Lordship has never refused additional supply of test subjects.”
A jolt of electricity courses through Kaveh as he is finally clearly reminded of where he is at, “That doesn't sound like a healthy working environment,” Kaveh comments as he makes eye contact with Cyno.
“That would depend on Mister Kaveh’s definition of a healthy working environment, wouldn't it?” Alexei amusedly asks.
“Are you declaring that you're not loyal to The Doctor, then?” Cyno inquires.
Alexei’s lips spread into a smile as he lowers his head politely, “If General is asking that because General wishes that I help general, then I must say that I'm quite sure protecting their masters’ secrets is the basic necessity for the making of a servant.”
“And as for loyalty,” Alexei continues before Cyno nor Kaveh can say anything, “I might not be loyal to His Lordship. But I can at least say that I'm loyal to His Ladyship."
The guests’ eyes immediately widen and before they can form a completely wrong conclusion, Alexei says, "Therefore I can confidently say that both of you shouldn't have come here.”
Notes:
Kaveh and Cyno is very hangry. Alexei really reflects his master here by tempting starving men with food. This level of manipulation truly befits The Doctor's head servant.
Mochi is just as cute as she is devious. Truly justify why I am reminded of Dottore whenever I see her.
Btw, I'm being gentle as I do it, but Mochi loves to step on my laptop whenever I use it so sometimes I just- grab her and yeet her away.
I wanted Time of Eternal Flow but all I got was Freedom Sworn. I have Kazuha so that isn't much pain but my main DPS don't use him well (maybe I should pull for Hu Tao... but I have unreasonable distaste for pyro). My Ayaka and Ayato sucks so much and that's pretty much all of my elemental DPS characters.
Also like, I really went from trying to figure out who can use Kazuha to I want to build Ningguang for a full geo team to I want to build DPS Zhongli to I want better em sand for Alhaitham. (It's always the babygirl. Everything always end with the babygirl).
... O wait, I have Raiden.
I have a theory about Dottore (not a headcanon because I don't think it's fun to write)
I think Prime doesn't have a vessel. He exists only within the Segments' head space. That will explain why when Omega Build Dottore negotiated with Nahida he referred to himself, "among the other segment, the one who stands before you is the most selfish."
It also explains why he easily agreed to destroying his Segments (if the one standing before Nahida was the Omega Build and not Prime, then destroying the rest of the Segments would mean that he will destroy himself)
It's like saving a backup data to the cloud. The reason why I don't think it's fun to write is because then Dottore's segments won't be able to develop their own personality because the Prime segment keep interfering the subconscious. On sci-fi side of plot it's fun to mull but I'm trying to write a romance story here.
Chapter 60
Notes:
I'm feeling generous today, might just post another update, idk.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Way too contradictory.
Kaveh frowns at the servant's words in confusion. What's going on? What's the servant trying to play at?
Kaveh looks at Cyno to see if he has any idea what the servant is trying to imply.
Cyno keeps his eyes trained on the servant before he carefully raises the piece of meat he has cut to his mouth, trying to tone the atmosphere down. Flavors strongly burst inside his mouth, commanding saliva to immediately flood out. Taken aback, Cyno pauses and frowns menacingly. He is the General Mahamatra. He is a man of discipline. He can get by with terrible food for a long time. But even he has to admit that this food almost brings his downfall.
ALMOST!!!
Cyno quickly places his fork down with a clack besides his plate and immediately takes a sip of his drink to cleanse his palate. The flavor is not so intense anymore on his tongue but all that does is flaming the need to eat more of the food. What's most embarrassing is the fact that his inability to focus on the matter at hand is purely out of his craving for good food.
Cyno internally growls to himself before he finally addresses the servant, “As unknowledgeable as I am to the acts of servitude in noble households, I'm certain that telling your guests that it's a mistake for them to come is not it,” he says.
Alexei's lips spread into a knowing smile before he raises his head and looks Cyno in the eyes, disregarding politeness, “My deepest apologies. I was merely stating what My Lady would've told both of you.”
Kaveh lets out an enraged gasp, causing Alexei to turn his head at him with an amicable smile on his face, as if he hasn't said anything wrong.
The servant's smile triggers Kaveh so much that he feels the urge to punch it off his face but he quickly tamps down the urge, he won't let himself be tricked twice, “It hasn't even been a full year since Alhaitham came here and you have the audacity to tell us that that's what he would've said to us?!” he angrily says instead.
Alexei silently looks at Kaveh, his smile wilting a little bit, before he takes a step back from the table and looks ahead, “Indeed,” he answers, thoughtful and slightly… exasperated, “I must admit that I don't know His Ladyship that well,” he lowers his head until his chin touches his chest, the corner of his lips quirking up slightly, “but it's hard to not notice things when His Ladyship always look for me to help him for the same specific things.”
Cyno lets out a scoff that causes Alexei to look at him, “So when you said you're loyal to Your Ladyship, you meant you're loyal to keeping him here?” he accuses again, “because as long as he's here then you can hide behind him from The Doctor's wrath.”
Before Alexei can answer, Kaveh quickly adds the accusation, “You are, in fact, ordered by-” he abruptly pauses, face going several shades of green, “ brother-in-law …,” he spits the term out with a visible shudder, “to distract us aren't you?”
Alexei silently glances at both of his guests. They're not even trying to be polite anymore. Which means that if he continues the charade, things are going to escalate into something physical.
Which is very annoying, mind you. Charade or not, Alexei really is just serving his duty as a servant.
“Alexei.”
Alexei abruptly stopped his hand which held a duster midway to the shelf in need of cleaning and inwardly cursed himself. He was pretty sure that His Lordship didn't remember his name. So for a version of His Lordship to call him by name, possibly also specifically looking for him, could only mean that His Lordship needed him for something.
Which was fine. Pretty normal. If he worked in a normal noble house.
Turning around to greet His Lordship, Alexei mentally prepared himself for the unconventional task about to come, “Yes, My Lord? What might I be of help?”
His Lordship The Sigma Build stood before him in all his glory. Like, a little bit too close for comfort –especially since this version of His Lordship is the one that loves to bodily alter his test subjects. He silently scrutinized Alexei as if he's mentally cutting him open.
Alexei needed a moment to catch himself from the surprise before he managed to lower his gaze. His Lordship let out a thoughtful humm that sent shivers of fear down Alexei's spine. When His Lordship took a step closer to have a better look at his face, Alexei still managed to not look His Lordship in the eyes as he, while holding his breath, tried to lean away from his master's gaze, lips spread in a tight smile.
With a humm of approval, His Lordship The Sigma Build stepped back from Alexei's personal bubble, “You're afraid of me,” he stated and before Alexei could force himself to deny that out of politeness, he continued, “good,” he praised.
Alexei had always made a point to never make eye contact with His Lordship. It's best to do his work quietly without being noticed, eye contact makes people able to easily remember you. But Alexei instantly forgot his own rule the moment he heard the tone of approval in His Lordship’s statement.
Alexei raised his head, finding His Lordship was looking down at him with arrogance and calculation in his eyes, and he froze.
Servants of The Harbingers might complain about their master when they have the chance to mingle with each other but there's still a proud sense of belonging in their voice whenever they compare their master. How could they not? The Harbingers are extremely powerful and successful. Even if the rest of Teyvat might dub them as villains, their mere presence still commands admiration. Being able to serve such a presence, in itself, already feels like an honor.
Alexei is not an exception.
He was just a boy from a backwater village that still held the belief that sacrificing their own people would be able to cure the pandemic ailing them at the time. With his luck, of course he was then chosen as the sacrifice. He was only 5 years old, he barely knew the ways of the world, let alone understood why his parents suddenly ignored him and locked him up in his room.
He couldn't get out of there for five days. That is until one night, his brother opened the door. He was barely awake when his brother, only twice his age then, stuffed him into a coat and then shoved him into a bag. The bag was so cozy that he couldn't help but fall asleep again.
He didn't wake up until he suddenly felt as if he's being squished under his brother's weight. He heard loud noises and his brother's yells so he struggled in the bag until he was freed. Once he was out, the yelling suddenly halted before it intensified. He was just waking up, he didn't know what was happening. Then he was suddenly pulled by a man away from his brother.
He was shoved into another room then. Prisoned for the second time. At least this time, he had a lot of visitors. He was afraid back then when those people prodded and injected him with something that smelled awful. Especially since he felt pain from all over his body afterwards. But he couldn't even fight back because his conditions had worsened to the point that he was unable to move.
One day, when he could barely open his eyes, His Lordship The Sigma Build came. Even barely awake, he could see that he was a weird one. Talking to himself, laughing to himself, even talking so passionately to an inanimate object. Back then, Alexei didn't know who this strange Avian was. What he knew was that the pain caused by their prodding and the injections became severely more painful that Alexei wanted to die.
The weird Avian referred to him as patient zero.
One day, the weird Avian stopped visiting him.
It took a very long time, but then he could stand up again.
. . .
His Lordship The Sigma Build might not look as admirable as the other versions of himself. But, by The Tsaritsa, Alexei looks up to him.
“Follow me,” His Lordship ordered before he walked away to the nearest room, snapping Alexei from his reminiscing.
Alexei sucked in a breath. He didn't want to follow but it wasn't like he had a choice so he followed His Lordship into the room.
“You're using my mate as a shield of safety, aren't you?” His Lordship said before Alexei could even fully enter the room.
The tips of Alexei's fingers chilled as he closed the door behind him, “Pardon me, My Lord?” he managed to smoothly ask.
His Lordship shrugged his wings as he turned around to look out the window, “You're afraid of me,” he stated again, “by checking your paycheck, I can see that you've worked here for a long time. So it's safe to assume that you're intelligent enough to survive this place,” His Lordship took out a scalpel from his coat and Alexei tensed up, “and the arrival of my mate opens up an easy safety option,” he muttered as his finger absentmindedly trailed along the blade.
Alexei felt his gut clench. He couldn't even deny it. Denying it would only aggravate His Lordship.
“It's quite fine. I don't judge,” His Lordship said next but he hasn't stored the scalpel, twirling it around his fingers instead.
Alexei wasn't sure if he could relax or not, “...My… Lord…?” he hesitantly inquired.
His Lordship dismissively waved his scalpel at him, causing Alexei to jump back out of fear, “I don't care about my subjects enough to think about their sincerity. Our job contract is only you doing your job and then I'll pay you. That's it. So you don't have to make it complicated.”
Alexei pursed his lips, unsure. Part of him was hoping that His Lordship only wanted to confirm that but a part of him knows for a fact that there was no way His Lordship would be doing something so pointless.
True to his thoughts, His Lordship continued, “The two guests Prime delegated to you,” he started as he stored the scalpel back into his coat, making Alexei instantly felt a lot safer, “the albino one is the General Mahamatra of Sumeru while the blond one is my…” Alexei inevitably tensed up as His Lordship trailed off, “brother-in-law.”
‘Huh?’ Alexei blankly stared at His Lordship’s back, his brain short-circuiting.
“In any case,” His Lordship raised his voice before his tone became grave, “my mate is currently unwell and I'm trying to make him feel better. Your task is to keep those guests away, physically and mentally, from the underground lab. Since you're relying on my mate's presence here for your continuous safety, it'll be best if you do not fail this task,” His Lordship then turned around to face him and Alexei felt himself trembling like a sieve when he saw his expression, “they're trying to steal Hayi from me,” he growled.
Alexei's voice got caught in his throat. His Lordship's apparent anger and possessiveness as well as the way his wings are flaring menacingly terrified Alexei to the point he can feel something physically choking his neck.
Still, “...u-kh- under-stood, My Lord,” he forced himself to say.
Alexei stares across the dining room with a pensive stare. Technically, he really isn't loyal to His Lordship. Admiration aside, His Lordship isn't an example for loyalty. But he also can't say that his loyalty to His Ladyship is completely unrelated with His Lordship.
People join the Fatui for different reasons. Some are forced and some are willingly. They also have their own cause. Some search for fame, power, or wealth.
Alexei is the latter. After being quarantined for a few years and being separated from his brother, he had no idea where to go from there. His village was a big no. It being the way it was on top of him not knowing how to go there. Joining the Fatui really was the only way out at the time.
He was at the perfect age to be trained into a child soldier, too. Thankfully, the House of Hearth didn't have eyes on him. He managed to catch the eyes of a prominent servant school for his intelligence instead. The rest is history.
“I have no doubt about your lack of knowledge on the aristocratic way of socialization, General,” Alexei answers, ignoring the question from His Lordship's… brother-in-law , “but things are quite delicate. Especially adding in the several related political factors.”
Both of the guests tense up significantly the moment he mentioned politics. Inwardly, Alexei smugly smirks. So they weren't completely ignorant of the political frailty of their unannounced visit here.
Alexei bows politely, “I advise that guests should stay put. His Lordship always fulfills his words,” he straightens his back to pointedly make eye contact with both of the guests, “all in due time.”
The General clenches his jaw but he says nothing more. He then finally decides to indulge his stomach by eating the dishes he prepared for them.
Mister Kaveh looks at the General with a crestfallen expression before he glares at Alexei, “You still have no right to assume what Alhaitham might say to us if he's here.”
‘All will be proven in due time,’ Alexei wants to repeat but he refrains.
He simply sends a polite smile to Mister Kaveh before stepping back close to the wall and stands guard.
His Ladyship's kindness is just as much of a shock as his sudden death. Alexei knows that in other places His Ladyship won't exactly be described as kind but… he was ‘kind’ to him. Alexei is sure that His Ladyship knows he had used him to rein back His Lordship in some ways. But His Ladyship let him, on top of being a reasonable master. Sad, but that's the best master a Fatui that only wishes for wealth and stability like him can serve. Even in his death, he's still somewhat protecting Alexei from His Lordship's unreasonableness.
…
His Ladyship's death…
Alexei closes his eyes so that his emotions won't be seen.
Alexei can't say he's close to him therefore he won't say that he's particularly upset with the news. Besides, His Lordship said he's working on making His Ladyship feel better. So there's nothing to worry about.
… But putting his survivality aside, Alexei hopes that His Ladyship will be alright.
His Lordship is inhumane. That's an unchangeable fact. But his inhumanity brings forth change.
In Snezhnaya, the end justifies the means. Alexei was only one of the samples for developing the cure to that pandemic. Many people died, either from the disease or from the development of the cure. He only survived because he was so unluckily lucky to be the patient zero where he's the key to break down the virus that the scientists were gentler with him.
As inhumane as it was, it still curbed the pandemic. The ethicality might be arguable but it still saves tons of life. Call him egoistic, Alexei doesn't care. Survival is humanity’s number one instinct.
So. It was shocking, but Alexei is happy for His Lordship for finding someone that loves him despite what he is. He heard that Avians put a lot of importance into finding their lifelong mate.
Really. At the time, he thought His Ladyship was in a one sided love for His Lordship because His Lordship was… His Lordship. Alexei thought that His Lordship thought of His Ladyship as a bed warmer at most. So His Ladyship being so obviously in love with His Lordship was cute if not a little bit sad to watch. But seeing how much effort His Lordship is putting into His Ladyship, Alexei can surmise that the feeling is –surprisingly– mutual.
Alexei opens his eyes and glances up from under his eyelashes to stare at the chandelier, careful of accidentally being read by the guests. He really wants to sigh.
Because therein lies the problem. His masters are not in a politically proper position to be able to express their love so openly. Them being the way they were, the enemies become so easily aware that His Ladyship is a weakness to His Lordship as much as His Lordship is to His Ladyship.
Alexei won't point and pick a side to deem as not guilty. Things are always way more complicated when people of nobility are concerned than they should be. Simply put, things are frustrating.
As a servant, Alexei can only do his role.
Sigma Build slams his note shut before slamming it to the table hard. He grins widely as he smugly points at the stacks of note that have tormented him for months, wings flared triumphantly behind him. There's no mistake in the calculation. All he has to do left is unsealing Hayi from the pod and starts the procedure. Then, he can have his friend… with benefits back.
[Prime!!!!] Sigma Build yells to the link as he runs around the underground lab to get the things he needs like a particularly caffeinated gremlin, [WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!!! I’M ABOUT TO START!]
The door behind Alhaitham’s pod slides open, “There's no need to yell. I'm here,” Prime says as he emerges from behind the pod while taking off his official fur coat.
Sigma Build exaggeratedly points at Prime, “A, fuck you. My freedom of speech is something I guarantee you won't ever be able to control,” he says but he still lowers his voice, careful if his voice might leak up to the ground level.
Prime observes Sigma Build for a moment. Noting from his wide manically shining eyes, he probably won't be able to order him to calm down. So he simply lets out a sigh and walks off to hang his fur coat with a flick of his wings.
Sigma Build walks up to the monitor of the pod to read Alhaitham’s data. The heartbeat is still a line. Obviously. So he skims past that and checks the record of his brain activity.
“There shouldn't be anything wrong with your calculation,” Prime says from the general direction of the desk Sigma Build uses to place his note.
Sigma Build scoffs, “Of course. Who do you take me for?” he sasses as he continues to read.
Prime's wings slump down, he's annoyed but he knows that he really can't control Sigma Build's freedom of speech, “Why did you call me here then?” he asks instead.
Sigma Build looks away from the monitor to give Prime a look from above his shoulder, “Because you said you'll be present during the process?”
Prime stares at Sigma Build and Sigma Build stares back.
Prime is the first to break their eye contact. He looks away and lets out a sigh as he slips his hand under his mask to rub his eyes. Dammit, he's so tired.
“Since you're not in the right mind for this,” Sigma Build says as he gestures back at Alhaitham, “fuck off. Your lack of alertness might ruin everything.”
“Shut it,” Prime hisses, “just start the transfusion first.”
“See!” Sigma Build exclaims as he points at Prime, “I'm supposed to unseal Hayi first before starting the blood transfusion because the filler liquid might get injected to him if I start it before unsealing him.”
Prime closes his eyes with a frown and hums out his annoyance. Sigma Build has always been annoyingly vocal but right now he doesn't have the capacity to ignore him. Unfortunately, that's the necessary evil he will have to tolerate in order to wake up Hayi.
Prime hisses a sigh through his gritted sigh and waves at Sigma Build, “Then, by all means, do as you see fit since it seems that you don't need a second opinion.”
Notes:
You miss Alhaitham. I miss writing Alhaitham. Let's have another chapter to get closer to him waking up.
He will officially wake up on Saturday's update.
Adios.
Chapter 61
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Prime stands back as he watches Sigma Build operate the pod to slowly lower and tilts back until Alhaitham is floating horizontally within the pod. Alhaitham's body stiffly moves along the movement of the solution within and Sigma Build unblinkingly watches on, his wings tense behind him. Only when Alhaitham's body becomes stable again does Sigma Build dare to look away and recheck the monitor.
Everything is as they should be. None of the equipment is faulty and Alhaitham's data is stable. If anything, Prime will say that Sigma Build is the wildest variable in this lab. He's certainly excited and confident, but, judging from his tense shoulders and breathing pattern, he's anxious. Prime would like to believe that his youngest Segment is above becoming rushed during an operation, but it will be considerably painful if he betrays his belief now.
So when Sigma Build seems to be reading Alhaitham's data longer than necessary, Prime reminds him, “Wear a mask before you unseal the pod.”
Sigma Build flinches back from the monitor, “I know!” he mutters as he scurries to a cabinet, wings stiff and eyes avoiding him.
Prime observes Sigma Build for a moment longer before he looks away with a sigh. His eyes land on the vases filled with rotten flowers piled at a corner of his lab and he frowns.
“That's highly unhygienic,” Prime comments in displeasure but he makes no move towards the vases.
Sigma Build glances at what Prime is commenting, a surgical mask on top of his Fatui mask, and clicks his tongue, “And what am I supposed to do? Take care of Alpha Build's messes?” he annoyedly asks, wings a tad less tense than before, “those flowers are his. Even if the stench of rotting flowers is annoying to bear, those are his gifts for Hayi. I don't have the authority to get rid of them,” he returns to Alhaitham’s side, pushing along the blood pumping device for the transfusion, body language considerably less stiff, “you… on the other hand….”
Prime scowls, “No.”
Sigma Build mockingly hums, though his eyes are focused on the strings of data he inputs into the pod’s controller, “Of course. Throwing out trash is simply beneath you, isn't it?”
Prime doesn't engage anymore. He simply rolls his eyes and crosses his arms as he unblinkingly observes Alhaitham's sustainer liquid slowly draining through a pipe connected to large storage tubes until only half is left. Once it comes to that state, he wordlessly walks to the cabinet to take out a surgical mask for himself.
Since the condition is fulfilled, the pod unlocks itself and the cover starts to slide open. Sigma Build watches, his wings subconsciously flaring and tensing up again, as the machine does its job. Once the machine stops, Sigma Build takes a moment to get a look at Alhaitham's face. He looks so peaceful. Way too peaceful for someone who's pretty much soaking in the river of death have the right to. And once again, Sigma Build hesitates.
There's no error in his calculation. But calculation is just calculation. The real case is bound to be different. Especially since the subject matter is not purely made of quantitative data.
Thus the forcibly buried hesitation resurfaces. What if this isn't the right choice?
Sigma Build wears the surgical gloves he stores in his lab coat before he carefully pokes Alhaitham's shoulder. The muscle is stiff, not giving in under the pressure of his finger in the slightest. A proof that his whole body is perfectly preserved by entering a stasis state. But the effect will wear off soon and then the body will immediately resume the critical state it was in, freshly out of heartbeat. So there's no room for hesitation.
What if this will turn Hayi into a monster?
Sigma Build's hands are steady as they hook under Alhaitham but the base of his wings are trembling heavily. He lifts Alhaitham's body from the pod and immediately brings him to an operating table, uncaring of the liquid dripping down from Alhaitham.
Laid upon the metal table, covered with the same glistening liquid that's drenching his body, Sigma Build can't help but remember a stranded fish. Unfortunately, his little amusement has to be cut short since Alhaitham's wings, which were stiffly pressing to his back in an uncomfortable manner, are starting to limply become lax.
[Prime!] Sigma Build urgently calls through the link so that he can start attaching the necessary instruments for the blood transfusion procedure without getting distracted.
Prime quickly appears beside the operating table. Wordlessly attaching the instruments to keep track of Alhaitham’s vital signs.
[There's no room for hesitation,] Prime reminds through the link, [just move forward following the approved plan.]
Indeed, there's no room for hesitation, but that doesn't mean that the hesitation is gone, [What if this isn't the right path?] Sigma Build raises the question because right now is the only appropriate time for it.
Prime's hands don't stop but his wings slightly twitch, [It will be my responsibility,] he declares before he preps the defibrillator.
“That bastard is planning something,” Kaveh urgently says to Cyno the moment the door to their guest room closes.
Cyno glances at Kaveh from the corner of his eyes before immediately looking away with a sigh. Kaveh sputters in anger as a response but before he can say anything, Cyno has already left him to walk deeper into the room. So, of course, he doesn't have any other choice except to stomp after Cyno in righteous indignation.
It's not that Kaveh doesn't understand. He already has an inkling that simply being here is already giving a lot of mental burden to Cyno but, pardon him for being selfish, they're here to confirm the safety Alhaitham’s body. What's the purpose of them being in this place if they won't, at the very least, try their best then?
Not that Kaveh is accusing Cyno of easily giving up. It's just that the way he sighed so dismissively rubbed Kaveh in the wrong way. Perhaps it's because even if Kaveh doesn't think Cyno has given up on Alhaitham, he fears that Cyno has.
“Sir Hilal told us that privacy is a luxury here,” Cyno reminds him once they stand right next to the bed and Kaveh immediately feels ashamed, “but I do agree with you.”
Kaveh senses another ‘but’ in Cyno's agreement so he silently stares at him, waiting for him to continue.
When Kaveh sees Cyno's lips subtly thinning from worry, his heart drops. However, when Cyno guiltily looks away, … strangely Kaveh feels nothing. Being unable to fight back simply because there's nothing he can do, Kaveh has felt that feeling way too many times to feel something.
Still, there's some urgent concerns left, “We're only here to see Alhaitham's remains, though. What's taking him so long?” Cyno crosses his arms to hide the way his shoulders are tensing up and his hands clenched into fists, it confirms that he has had the same thought as Kaveh at least once, “there’s no reason for him to not allow us to immediately see his remains unless-”
“Kaveh!” Cyno raises his voice, effectively stopping Kaveh from finishing his sentence, “for your own good, don't try imagining it.”
Kaveh grits his teeth, “And just what difference will that make?!” he argues loudly.
Cyno raises his hand, signaling Kaveh to keep his voice down, before strainedly says, “And what good being so reckless brings?”
Kaveh's shoulders slump down as he lets out an angry laugh, “In normal circumstances, nothing,” he points at Cyno with eyes blazing with sure-fire determination, “but considering the place, being reckless is warranted here,” Kaveh slowly shakes his head in disappointment as he starts walking backward from Cyno, “I have the responsibility to make sure that Alhaitham doesn't end up with something worse than death.”
Cyno silently watches as Kaveh slowly distances himself from him. But when Kaveh starts turning around, Cyno quickly catches up to him and grabs him by the wrist.
Kaveh flinches from the sudden contact and he instinctively swings his free hand at Cyno.
In response to the upcoming attack, Cyno yanks Kaveh by the wrist before dragging him to the bed. Kaveh digs his heels into the marbled floor to gain a better foothold so that he can wrench himself free but, sensing his intention, Cyno exerts all his strength into twisting Kaveh's arm to his back and pinning him down to the bed.
“Kaveh,” Cyno firmly calls into Kaveh's ear before he can start struggling again, “you have the wrong perception of me right now. Other than that, you seem to also not understand the whole situation.”
A few seconds of heavy silence before Kaveh finally processes what Cyno has said and starts struggling to be freed in response. Kaveh has a fair amount of strength in himself from all the lifting around some heavy materials so maybe if he uses all his might, then he will be able to free himself. Unfortunately for him, his strength doesn't hold a candle to a trained fighter like Cyno.
“What do you mean?!” Kaveh snaps once it's clear to him that he won't be able to free himself, “are you telling me that you made this journey only as a farce for Lord Kusanali?! Are you telling me that you aren't here to save Alhaitham?!” he accuses before he exerts a sudden explosive strength, hoping to catch Cyno off guard.
Cyno's jaws tense from effort as he tries to keep holding Kaveh down, “I'm not here for a rescue mission, Kaveh. I never was. Lord Kusanali’s order is simply to confirm Alhaitham's condition.”
Concerningly, Kaveh immediately loses all his strength but Cyno still doesn't let go of his arm, “What do you mean by that?” he asks and Cyno can't help but flinch from the lost tone.
Despite Kaveh seemingly losing all the fight in him, Cyno still firmly keeps him down, “It was Alhaitham's choice, Kaveh,” Cyno starts, “to leave Sumeru and be with his mate. That was his choice,” he feels a wave of headache as he spits the words out but he forces himself, “to honor his choice, Lord Kusanali sent me here only to confirm Alhaitham's condition. The moment the letter from Lord Kusanali arrives stating that we leave Alhaitham to his mate’s care, our stay here is no longer out of professional duty.”
The effect isn't immediate, but once Cyno's words register, Kaveh's, who's limp as he continues to be held down on the bed, shoulders start to shake, “C’mon, Cyno,” Kaveh says with trembling laugh, “that doesn't even make sense you know. Just tell me your plan, I promise I can help you.”
Cyno bites his lower lip in frustration at what he's about to say in response, “Kaveh, as the General Mahamatra my duty is to ensure the safety of Sumeru citizens.”
Kaveh lets out a bitter laugh as he starts struggling again, “And Alhaitham is somehow excluded?”
Cyno tightens his hold on Kaveh, “I'm not going to endanger the life of a Sumeru civilian to rescue an already dead one.”
Kaveh gasps with laughter before he suddenly sobs, tears flowing freely from his eyes, “How can you say that?” he says, voice broken with sobs and defeated laughter, “what if Alhaitham is still alive?”
“I know it's hard for you to accept but Alhaitham is dead Kaveh,” Cyno heavily states, “there might not be any witness but both Snezhnayan side and ours confirmed so.”
“Cyno…” Kaveh hollowly calls to the person keeping him down, “you're the General Mahamatra. How can you believe that they're telling the truth?”
Cyno tenses his jaw, “You only think that they're not telling the truth because of your stigmatized look on them. So many people agree to the conclusion that Alhaitham is dead. Why can't you be the same?”
Kaveh becomes still, even his breathing is barely noticeable, “It's so weird, Cyno,” he says, voice trembling as if on the verge of breaking down, “Alhaitham has only left for not even a full year so how come he's dead? Do you really want me to believe that he's killed by a third group?”
“If you're not stigmatized, if you really have an objective and clear look on both groups,” Cyno pauses to emphasize the weight of his words, “then can you tell me, Kaveh, with a good conscience, that you absolutely didn't hear the grief in The Doctor's voice when he told us about Alhaitham’s death? Or the contempt he showed us when he told us that Alhaitham died because of Lord Kusanali?”
Kaveh presses his face into the bed, “He's just trying to pin the blame on someone else, Cyno,” he weakly argues before all he can do is sobbing to the pillow.
Cyno silently observes Kaveh. Once he's sure that Kaveh won't do anything else except cry, he lets out a weary sigh and slowly lets him go.
Cyno feels so tired. While it's true that he is only here to confirm Alhaitham's condition. It doesn't change the fact that the reason The Doctor doesn't immediately show them Alhaitham's corpse is because he's doing something to it.
It doesn't feel good for his conscience. But he can’t do anything else except wait. He doesn't only have no power here but his hands are also tied behind his back. Causing a scene here can be very detrimental. The Fatui might frame him and say that he's helping the rebellion in dethroning The Tsaritsa.
Cyno can only hope that The Doctor will let them see Alhaitham soon. The longer they stay here, the higher the chance that they might get tangled with the civil war.
Everything is going well, exactly as he calculated. But Sigma Build wonders why he only feels more anxious as the time goes on. Maybe it's because all they have left to do is to wait?
Soaking Alhaitham's body in the solution proves to fix the problem of the fragile blood veins. There was only one dangerous moment. That is where the stasis state wore off and the wavelength from Alhaitham's brain fades quicker than he anticipated. But that problem was easily fixed once Prime managed to revitalize Alhaitham's heartbeat.
At first, the heart was weak, pumping the small bit of blood left in Alhaitham's body. But after only half an hour of blood transfer, the heartbeat count rose to an acceptable count and was practically stable in the next two hours.
Everything is going so well that Sigma Build can't help but feel antsy. Though, he's not the only one that's nervous it seems. Because when he glances at Prime, he finds him periodically glancing at the monitor then to Alhaitham every five seconds, wings and shoulders raised higher than usual.
The beeping sound from Alhaitham's heart monitor already feels like a music to them on its own, but that's kinda sad so Sigma Build breaks the silence, “Hayi might not wake up today,” he says before he quickly corrects himself, “heck, the quickest will probably be tomorrow and that in itself will be a miracle.”
Silence. Prime doesn't respond. And it causes the notion that Alhaitham might not wake up at all hangs in the air.
The heavy silence causes Sigma Build to slowly hunches up his shoulders. He starts tapping his foot to fill the awkward silence. Prime glances at him with an annoyed sigh before averting his eyes on Alhaitham again.
And that's when Sigma Build decides that annoying Prime will be his side quest.
Sigma Build starts coughing into his clenched fist, exaggeratedly loud and so obviously made up. That, or he's trying to hack out his lungs. Once that proves to be not enough though, he starts mixing some disharmonious caws into his coughing fit. Wracking all kinds of rackets that really begs him to be beaten up.
Prime's wings start to ruffle and it ruffles more and more the longer Sigma Build's antics go on. It's annoying, damned so, but Prime would rather spend his time observing Alhaitham rather than entertaining Sigma Build. So he starts doing breathing exercises to resist the urge to bash Sigma Build's head.
“... Za’shan…” a third voice suddenly joins, rendering both Prime and Sigma Build to freeze on their spot, “...you won't ‘now how to be ‘uaiet even in deth, ‘on’t you?”
The voice is extremely raspy from disuse. Barely able to articulate clearly and from what they can deduce, it's not speaking a good thing. And yet it feels like they're hearing the most beautiful voice. A voice that they have sorely missed for months. All because the owner of the voice is their everything. How ironic it is then that it's fear that immediately seized their heart, not relief. Fear that it's all just in their head. Fear that renders them hesitant to even look at their beloved's face.
But the greed in Prime shines best when it comes to Alhaitham. It easily overpowers other emotions, urging him to quickly grab his hand and secures him from ever slipping away from his grasp ever again.
The hand in his hold is cold and weak. It trembles just to move a finger but it continues to steadily fight the stiffness of the muscles so that it can return Prime's hold. When their fingers finally manage to intertwine, Prime slowly trails his eyes up to look at his beloved’s eyes.
Alhaitham, his beloved, looks back at him. His face looks so pale and tired but he's undoubtedly smiling at him. A faint fond smile that looks almost exasperated.
“... ‘ood morn’, Doc’or,” Alhaitham says, as if he hasn't just experienced death but a good sleep after a long day.
Doctor didn't cry when Alhaitham died. But now a few drops of tear do fall from underneath his mask, sliding along his cheeks and pooling at his chin. Doctor lets out a single bated breath before he surges forward with a caw to press his cheeks on Alhaitham's forehead. A few more drops of tears might have fallen off as he peppers kisses on Alhaitham's eyebrows but he doesn't care and neither does Alhaitham. So Doctor continues to press his lips on his beloved's face while murmuring relieved coos at the back of his throat.
“It's already afternoon,” Doctor finds himself saying with a raspy voice the moment he feels Alhaitham's hand cusp his cheek.
The hand on his cheek weakly pinches him before it drags him down for more nuzzling, “I s’pose I o’erslept,” his beloved murmurs back to him as he feels his cold lips press on the bridge on his nose.
Notes:
HE IS AWAKE !!!!!
You guys have no idea how much I lament that I can't post this exact chapter on 1st April. Like goddamn, I would really love to write Dottore failing to 'revive' Alhaitham (and then goes down King Deshret's path)
Actually, I challenge thee to write this. Like, gimme Dottotham crumbs, I'm starving.
I have another cat now. His name is Alex (short for Alexanderrrr; I give up naming my cats with scientific names they're way too fragile to carry on the weight of their name). He's a scaredy cat and very vocal. Like, why is he telling for Mochi to come play with him only to hiss at her?
ALHAITHAM HAS AWAKEN WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Chapter 62
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
They said you'll never know the true value of what you have until it's lost.
Doctor understands that. Why, that's precisely why he kept his distance from Alhaitham. Because mated or not –for a lifetime or not, there will inevitably come the time when the curtain closes.
And Doctor adores Alhaitham. Oh, he adores his mate so much that he is willing to entertain this performance while also keeping a firm grip on himself. So that when his love wishes to withdraw, he will be able to let him –everything– return to what they once were.
The smell of strong chemicals pierces Doctor's nose as he continues to press his face possessively to the crook of Alhaitham's neck. The cold fingers on his cheek sluggishly trail along his face to the back of his head, carding through his hair to gently scratch his scalp, the cold sensation sends shivers to his wings.
It's uncanny how relaxed he becomes from the simple act –even after keeping his distance, he's still pulled by Alhaitham's presence so easily. It's also quite shameful that he longs to hear Alhaitham's chirps. But Alhaitham just woke up, letting out Avian noises ought to be too much for him at the moment. So Doctor simply lets out a lamenting sigh and presses his face harder on Alhaitham's neck. Forcing himself to be content with what he has.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAA,” a half screech-half a caw is heard, startling Alhaitham's heart into beating loudly –which can be easily noticed from the heart monitor, “fuck off!” Zazan screeches as he pushes Doctor, who's unfortunately having a slow reaction, away from Alhaitham, “you're taking too long. It's my turn now!” screeches Zazan to Doctor who's flailing his arms, losing his balance from the push, before falling down in a flurry of discoordinated flapping wings.
Alhaitham stares wide-eyed at Doctor, unable to do anything else since his body is still weak. His mouth is slightly parted from surprise and he instinctively tries to help Doctor get to his feet by reaching out his hand. But his reaching hand is immediately snatched and pulled so that Alhaitham doesn't have a choice but to look at the perpetrator.
Alhaitham's eyes widened even more.
“Hayiiiii…,” Zazan whines a caw as he clasps Alhaitham's cold hand between his hands, fat drops of tears streaming from his eyes down his full-on bawling face, not even his mask can cover it, “hoooww…?! Whyyyyyy…?! Eeeeeeeeeee…,” he unintelligibly questions among his ugly sobs.
Alhaitham, with his hand still tightly held by Zazan, stares dumbfoundedly at his mate. Zazan is already hard to understand in a normal circumstance. So pardon Alhaitham for being unable to understand him after just waking up.
“... Za…zan…?” Alhaitham hesitantly calls.
Zazan chokes out a caw through his trembling lips before saying, “Why do you choose to wake up now? Right after I made a conjecture that it will be a miracle if you wake up tomorrow uwwweeeeeeeee…” he quickly says so that he doesn't butcher his sentence with more sobs but he still ends up bawling at the end of his sentence.
It's actually quite embarrassing. But Zazan can't stop crying even if he tries. So he plants his face on Alhaitham's chest to hide his face before crying louder.
Alhaitham slowly blinks at nothing, chest occupied by Zazan. He… still has no idea what Zazan wants. But honestly that's fine.
‘Everything is fine,’ Alhaitham wants to tell Zazan but he doubts he can say it clearly so he wordlessly cradles Zazan’s head and embraces him as tight as he can.
Atop him, Zazan loudly sobs and chokes on his own breath, only slightly muffled by his chest, and Alhaitham finds himself exasperatedly sighs but his hand moves to reassuringly pat Zazan’s head.
A hand holds the side of the operating table he's on and uses it as a leverage to stand up.
“You did,” Doctor says with an assured nod, fresh tear tracks still wetting both of his cheeks.
Alhaitham feels his eyebrow twitches. He says nothing though. He simply pulls Zazan closer and sends a weak but extremely exasperated smile at Doctor.
These two are his mates, alright.
[Hayi is awake!] Sigma Build announces to the link, way too loudly.
[He is?!] Omega Build asks not even a second after the announcement is made, [fuck! I still have more paperwork to do!]
Zazan cackles out loud to himself as he nimbly flits around the underground lab, taking the necessary equipment to check Alhaitham's condition, [Sucks to suck,] he mocks.
Omega Build lets out an indignant caw, [Oh, we’ll see about that,] he says.
Doctor carefully holds Alhaitham's hand up and presses his fingers on his wrist, counting the pulse –which is quite unnecessary because of the heart monitor, [Finish your duties first or I won't let you in,] Prime reminds to the link.
Omega Build crows in frustration, [AAAARGH that wasn't my intention in the first place.]
Sigma Build outwardly grins at Omega Build's misery, earning him a raised eyebrow from Alhaitham –which he returns with a toothy beam, [Sure, Omega Build. Suuuureeeeee,] he annoyingly croons to the link as he writes check marks on Alhaitham's brand new health record, [haahahaha, why can't you be more like Alpha Build?] he asks, knowing full well that if Omega Build is in the same room as him, he'll definitely get a flying kick to the head.
Omega Build lets himself audible to the link as he sucks in a controlled deep breath, [Because there's a quite palpable difference between spending your time picking flowers for your beloved and spending your time doing financial paperwork in an office that's filled with more paperwork!]
Sigma Build snorts before he immediately bursts out laughing. He doubles over while holding his stomach and lets his head rest on Alhaitham's lap, using Alhaitham's thigh to muffle his mirthful laughter.
Alhaitham's wings limply twitch behind him –if they're healthy they would have tense up– as he looks at Zazan in concern. But before he can inquire anything, Doctor already drags his attention away by the chin and shines a flashlight into his eyes. His reaction to the sudden light is quite delayed but his face does eventually scrunch up in response to the sudden light.
Doctor hums to himself as he notes the way Alhaitham's pupil constrict before directing the flashlight to the other eye, [His reaction is delayed so his motoric sensor hasn't fully returned-]
[I mean, he just woke up-] Omega Build cuts him off, which then Prime cuts back.
[ But since he doesn't seem to recoil from pain, we can cross out night vision from the mutation checklist,] Prime adds as if he wasn't cut off.
Sigma Build who hasn't stopped laughing since earlier abruptly shuts up and falls quiet on Alhaitham's lap. Right. The part he spent the most time ruminating about before he even started the first step of Alhaitham's treatments but has inexplicably forgotten because it pales in comparison to the joy of having Hayi back. Aaaaaaah, why can't life just be simple?
Sigma Build pushes himself from Alhaitham's lap and stands straight. He stalls the time a little bit by clearing his throat and swaying on his heels. But he quickly realizes that it might lead to grave consequence to stall the inevitable so he silently pats Alhaitham's knee before turning around to walk to a certain shelf.
[Why do you have to dampen the mood like that?] he asks Prime rather begrudgingly as he shifts through dusty files.
Finished with checking Alhaitham's eyes, Doctor wordlessly squeezes Alhaitham's cheek, silently asking him to open his mouth, [Would you rather that we left Alhaitham's body unchecked until it's too late?] he asks as he shines the flashlight into Alhaitham's obediently opened mouth.
[Ha,] Sigma Build mirthlessly laughs to the link in response.
Typical Prime. Answering a rhetorical question with another rhetorical question. It's not like they feel differently in regards to Alhaitham's revival either. But whatever. That's not important.
[Well, you can leave then. I can take over from this point on,] Sigma Build says as he returns to Alhaitham, eyes focused on his clipboard, [go on. Do something that befit more of your status as the Prime Segment.]
[His mouth is also normal,] Prime says before his tone turns slightly sharp, [and what, pray tell, something that's more important than seeing for myself the result of the mutation test?]
Sigma Build's wings twitch from a slight feeling of disgust but he keeps himself focused on his clipboard. Prime's mental age is quite old so he probably doesn't remember things as well as he does. But… it's extremely vexing that Prime doesn't seem to remember in the slightest Omega Build's outburst.
Ah, whatever. Answering his rhetoric seriously should suffice in bringing Prime down from his pedestal.
[Oh, I don't know,] Sigma Build answers almost nonchalantly as he taps his pen on his clipboard, [something like practicing your flight ability so that you can start to properly court Alhaitham like you said you would? Or maybe figuring out how to deal with brother-in-law?]
Doctor's movements abruptly pause as he tenses up. He glances at Sigma Build with distaste before flicking his wings.
[I suppose you're right,] Prime says before he turns to Alhaitham, “I have to go now. I'll return to check on you again as soon as I can. Sigma Build will stay with you,” he says as he rubs his cheek on Alhaitham's head before turning around and leaving.
Seriously? Sigma Build knows no Segment knows how to do a proper goodbye but even he knows Prime should've at least waited until Alhaitham says something.
Zazan observes Alhaitham who's looking at the door Prime just closed with his wings sagging in something between sad and disappointed before he sighs and snaps Alhaitham from his thoughts with a question, “This is a stupid question but I'll still ask just in case. Can you stand?”
Alhaitham turns his head to look at Zazan, eyebrow subtly raised up, “I ‘as dead for sev’al ‘onths and have only ‘een alive ‘or several ‘ours, Zazan. What do you think?”
The corner of Zazan's mouth twitches. It really is just one rhetoric after another. Oh well, at least Alhaitham's speech is getting better quickly.
Zazan opens his mouth, about to return the sass before he immediately closes his mouth as realization dawns on him, “How… much do you remember?” he asks despite being rather afraid of what the answer might be.
Alhaitham looks at Zazan with indescribable eyes before he relaxes to the bed and slowly raises a weak hand to tap the gem on his chest, “This records e’rything that I'm able to sense. ‘at do you know? Apparently a’alf dead person can ‘till hear,” then he averts his eyes away from Zazan, pointedly keeping his eyes on his pale hand that has yet to regain its color, “though ist not my area of expertise, I think your definition of whass considered dead ‘s correct.”
Zazan opens his mouth, expression slightly horrified, before he closes it again. Then he quickly flips through his file, eyes trained on the paper though it’s uncertain if he can read anything from how fast he flips it. Slamming the file closed, he uses the clipboard to fan himself as he paces around Alhaitham’s sickbed.
“That's good,” Zazan exclaims loudly, voice cracking slightly as he continues to pace around without looking at Alhaitham, “thank you for your feedback,” he says before he abruptly halts all movements, wings flaring and tensing up.
At the next moment, Zazan speeds to a cupboard to take out a beaker before speeding to a wastafel and fills the beaker with tap water. With a trembling hand he turns off the faucet once the water fills half of the beaker before downing the water in one go.
Zazan deliberately lets the water go down the wrong pipe and lets his vessel follow its instinct to cough them back out. He hacks the water out of his lungs, wheezing and retching in between as his eyes trained on the empty beaker in his hold, full of thoughts.
What the fuck, what the fuck? He remembers everything then? Everything? From his pleading to him explaining the procedure?
[Fffffffuck…,] Omega Build hisses in the link with as much mortification as Sigma Build currently feels.
“Zashan, are you alright?” Alhaitham asks, snapping Zazan from his internal breakdown.
Zazan's wings twitch as he coughs harshly one last time before he looks at Alhaitham, finding him trying to get off from his bed.
Zazan lets out a strangled caw from his throat then spit into the wastafel before he rushes to Alhaitham, “And just what do you think you're trying to do?” he screeches before pushing Alhaitham to lie back on the bed, a little bit too roughly due to his nerves, “you yourself aware that you were dead-” Zazan feels his throat clamps uncomfortably the moment the words come out, it's funny how he kept insisting that the Segments should just accept that fact but suddenly it's difficult for him to accept it, especially when Alhaitham is already awake, “... for months,” he continues through gritted teeth, “so use your common sense and don't move.”
Zazan pins Alhaitham under his glare as he continues to pin his chest down, making sure that he won't dare disobey. Alhaitham stares back, wide eyed, quite startled and slightly confused. Zazan can't blame him, really. He himself finds his behaviors right now to be strange.
Zazan is still heaving from the leftover exertion of hacking his lungs out as his glare slowly softening into a blank stare. He can see a few drops of water dripping on his hand from who knows where. They trail down the back of his hand to Alhaitham's chest but he doesn't focus on it. Focusing instead on Alhaitham's signs of life. On the beeping noise of the heart monitor and the beating he can slightly feel under his gloved hand, and on the up and down of Alhaitham's chest. Then, Zazan trails his eyes up to focus on Alhaitham's eyes which look back at him. The eyes that were previously shut close from the world are now shining with life again.
Ah… life looks good on him.
But why does Zazan keep seeing Alhaitham on that cold metallic operating table, lifeless and bloody from all the cuts he made to take out the bullets?
Zazan feels his eyes heat up and sees Alhaitham's eyes widen more with concern so he quickly pulls his hand back as if he just touches a fire and looks away.
… Ridiculous. Fucking Abyss, he finally stopped crying so why the fuck is he crying again?
Zazan furiously rubs his eyes as he makes a move to return to the wastafel where he left his clipboard but a hand has already pulled on his elbow. The pull is so ridiculously weak that Zazan won't even have to exert any strength to free himself but strangely he doesn't even want to try. So he lets himself be turned and pulled into a strangely warm hug when the body that's embracing him is cold.
Zazan rests his chin on Alhaitham's shoulder, tears returning to flow from his eyes but his face is expressionless as he opens his mouth, “So you remember everything then,” he states, “that's good. You're making it easier. I was kinda dreading having to pretend you never died.”
Alhaitham lets out something close to a breathy whistle, trying to let out a squeal but his vocal cord is still too stiff to create the sound so he says, “Thank you, Zazan.”
Alhaitham's gratitude is so extremely unexpected that Zazan chokes on his breath and his wings tense up behind him, flaring anxiously, “For what?!” he asks, voice a little bit harsher than what he intended.
“For saving my life,” Alhaitham says as he hugs Zazan tighter.
At that, fight returns to Zazan's eyes, burning the forced calmness in his eyes and uncovering the fear shining within. He wants to struggle but he knows that he will definitely free himself easily. The thing is just that he feels that he deserves this hug. He simply doesn't want to let go yet.
So Zazan simply laughs sarcastically, “Hah! Fucking stop that,” he hisses shakily as his tears flow more in its intensity, “don't you dare deceive me.”
Alhaitham doesn't really get what Zazan is getting at but he has a guess, “I meant it,” he emphasizes as he starts carding his fingers through Zazan's hair, “your method is certainly… not quite aligning with my ethics. But…,” he trails off as he closes his eyes to melt into the hug a little more, “you did the impossible and ‘revived’ me. It'd be very ungrateful if I started commenting on what you had done to save me, right?”
Zazan doesn't answer. Instead, he lets out a gasp as if he had been drowning for so long. His tear ducts are already out of his command as they secrete more and more tears so Zazan closes his eyes if only to make himself less pathetic. Whines and wails are already clawing at the back of his throat, begging to be let out, but he doesn't allow them to preserve at least a little bit of his dignity. But in exchange, Zazan circles his arms around Alhaitham and tightly hugs him back, perhaps a little too tightly because Alhaitham lets out a small grunt. Yet, Alhaitham doesn't struggle so they stay like that.
Alhaitham, too, stops playing with Zazan's hair and moves his arms to hug Zazan back, “When I heard the explosion from that weapon, I felt resigned, you know,” he conversationally starts but his voice is thick with emotions, “again and again someone tried to kill me when I was out with a version of you. I thought…,” Alhaitham trails off before letting out a shaky exhale, “I thought you were trying to dispose of me,” Zazan flinches in his hold but thankfully he doesn't let go of his hug, Alhaitham is grateful for that because he doesn't know what to do if Zazan sees his face right now nor does he wants to look at his face at what he's about to say next, “...I honestly couldn't tell just how genuine our relationship is,” Alhaitham's voice trembles as he confessed that, and Zazan swears that's the most emotion Alhaitham has shown him, then he sucks in a shaky breath before continuing again, “we were mated because of our deal. Sometimes I couldn't tell if everything you did to me was simply to compromise with your instinct or because you meant it. But one thing I could tell for sure is that I fell,” Zazan feels his shoulder getting wet but he says nothing and, again, Alhaitham is thankful for that, “and everything was so perfect that it was too good to be true so when I heard the weapon, I gave up,” this time Zazan fails to keep silent and lets out a choked anguished caw but quickly forcing himself to return to his silence so that Alhaitham can continue, “I thought that if you really want to dispose of me then it's better for me to die only knowing that you genuinely love me,” then Alhaitham lets out a shaky amused sigh as he weakly nuzzles to Zazan, “now I know better. At least I think I do. So again. Thank you, Zazan. For giving me more chances to experience our relationship more properly.”
For some inexplicable reason, Zazan feels light, as if the weight that had been crushing his shoulders are gone, but still, an important thing needs to be addressed first, “Since you remember everything, then you must know that there exist some wild variables. The procedure I had done to you has some probable side effects and I need to do a few tests to find if you develop any mutation,” Zazan pauses slightly, rethinking if he really is going to say what he's about to say, “but we can stay like this for a while longer if you want,” his lips twitch when he says that but there, he said it.
Alhaitham is silent for a moment before he lets out a soft chuckle, causing Zazan's wings to perk up because he genuinely had no idea he missed the sound so much, “Please, stay as long as you see fit,” Alhaitham answers.
And that's good. Sigma Build is grateful even. In all honesty his current mental state is not adequate enough to properly conduct the test.
Notes:
Hello, everyone. I have returned.
I was very busy during my hiatus because of my final. And honestly, my final hasn't fully ended yet. But I miss writing this fic.
And... It's just that I'm very sad right now. So why do I update this fic instead of cheering myself up? Well, writing this fic is my lifeline. Literally. I mean... I have some difficulties in finding reasons to live.
I have no idea what love is (in general). Sure, I love my cats, they are cute and able to cheer me up but that's it. And sometimes... They're not enough.
Do I love my family? ... I can't tell. Again, I don't know what love is and I'm not sure if I love my family. Which is why I feel terrible because I know my family cares about me.
I don't know who I am. When my friends asked me what kind of movies I watch, I couldn't even answer because I don't have any preference.
When I recall back, I only remember that I spent my days studying then I go home to draw or play games or helps around in my home before I go to sleep. Attempts to interact with other people inside any community that I might have an interest in is immediately scrapped because I don't feel like I fit in.
Because I hate strangers. Getting to know new people feels very difficult. Adding to that, I hate being outside. Everything feels so foreign. I should probably try get a part time job. Treat it as a therapy or some sort.
Oh shit, it's working. Writing my feelings out does work. Anyway, now that I think about it, I do have a personality. It's just that I lack the words to convey them. I am terrible at talking, you see.
Wanna hear something else? Another reason why I took a hiatus is because I wanted to make a Dottotham animatic. I was reluctant to announce it because there's a chance I won't finish it. BUT I WANT TO MAKE IT!
Yes. Yes. I'm obsessed. The thing about being emphatically numb is that when you finally feel it, you become obsessed. Gotta build the hill I will die on.
I'll try returning to update once a week. I have doubt since I don't have chapters in my arsenal ready yet. But, ehh, I will be fine.
Also, also. I have C1 Alhaitham now but fucking Hoyoverse won't allow me to feel powerful in Abyss with my close to 100% infusion uptime. Like, WTH IS THAT ABYSS!
*Sighs* I wish an introvert unhinged –might hold some literal definition– woman-child is a personality. Like goddamn, I'd love to talk about ships with other people but for some reason, outside of Dottotham, I feel sex in general as gross.
Ahhhhh what am I? Who am I? I love Mochi and Alexanderrrr(my second cat. Have I talked about him before?)Anyway, long time no see my fans! (Please allow me this moment of arrogance)
Chapter 63
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The mutation test is progressing quickly despite the various tests Alhaitham had to be put through. Perhaps Zazan, who seems like he wants to be done with the test as soon as he can, is a factor to that. From his expression Alhaitham can conclude that he feels restless and impatient. Not that Alhaitham has any problem with it. He finds it very heartwarming actually.
Zazan is… an enigma. Most of the time… – At the very least . Alhaitham has always found it difficult to understand him but right now, with the memories during his ‘death’, he can slightly tell.
“Say,” Zazan opens the conversation after he's done testing Alhaitham's abdominal area, “why did you directly implant a knowledge capsule to your own body?” he asks as he takes a black flashlight and shines it to Alhaitham's face from slightly afar.
Alhaitham squints his eyes when the black light hits him but otherwise he lets Zazan maneuver his head as he pleases, “What else do you use a knowledge capsule if not to store knowledge?”
Zazan clicks his tongue in annoyance but he continues the test dutifully –still rushed but also still professional, “I know that,” he snaps though without much heat, “what I'm asking is why would someone like you go that far just to keep some memories.”
Alhaitham hums as he closes his eyes when Zazan moves the flashlight closer, “The human memory is unreasonable at times so can you blame me? This much is at least necessary to ensure the validity of the truth I came to know especially under the heavy influence of The Akasha terminal. Besides,” he pauses slightly to lean on Zazan's hand who's holding his cheek to keep his face still but Alhaitham just finds his hand to be so warm, “seeing as since then I'm able to know the altered truth caused by The Irminsul, I suppose my over caution is rewarding enough, no?”
Zazan snorts, genuinely amused, it seems that only someone that's at the very least this eccentric can catch his attention, “Some knowledge brings troubles, y'know. Especially since someone went as far as tampering The Irminsul to hide the truth, the knowledge you know should be enough to provoke even Celestia.”
Zazan commented that in a joking way but he immediately regretted saying that. If, before, Alhaitham could stay hidden in the shadows even if he possesses the truth, now he's more noticeable because he's by his side. Meaning, Alhaitham is in danger the longer he stays by his side.
True to that, Zazan can feel the atmosphere quickly becoming heavy.
Yet, Alhaitham simply lets out a nonchalant humm, “Well, then I suppose I had forsaken my peaceful life since long ago.”
‘So it has nothing to do with you at all’ is what Zazan can hear but he's sure that that's just his wishful thinking.
Zazan can feel his adam apple bobs and his wings twitching in nerves as he gazes at Alhaitham, who still has his eyes closed contently while leaning into his palm and looking so content it almost feels like he doesn't care, “On your own accord to boot,” he adds jokingly then, to shove the anxious feeling in him away, as he shines his flashlight towards Alhaitham’s hair before all traces of amusement in him evaporate with an annoyed grunt.
Alhaitham, sensing that the light is no longer shining on his eyes, slightly opens his eyes to peek at Zazan, “What's wrong?” he asks, perhaps a little bit too calmly considering that Zazan’s reaction most likely has something to do with the test.
Zazan scowls at something Alhaitham can't see as if by doing so it will disappear, “Your hair is glowing,” he says before he clicks his tongue and scribbles something on his file.
Glowing hair, huh? That's… the least thing Alhaitham expects to get to the point that he doesn't know how to take it. Zazan might be just pulling his leg… Yet, he's sure that Zazan isn't playing around.
“...What?” Alhaitham hesitantly asks.
“Your hair is glowing under the black light,” Zazan repeats before he returns his attention to Alhaitham's hair and frowns.
Zazan directs the black flashlight on Alhaitham's hair again and switches it on and off. The glow is faint, almost unnoticeable, but now that Zazan has seen it, he knows it's there. That's also precisely why he now notices that Alhaitham's soft silvery-gray hair is now tinted with translucent indigo.
Fucking damn it. Now their color scheme is screwed and they won't look as good standing next to each other as before.
[Is that really what you decide to focus on?] Alpha Build asks from the link, snapping Zazan from his, admittedly, misfocus.
Zazan inwardly tsks to the link as he stores the black flashlight into his pocket and starts scribbling on his notes, [Fancy having you join us, Alpha Build. How was your vacation that you decided to take without a consultation?]
Alpha Build harshly sighs to the link, [You know very well that my vacation only lasted half a day because The Rooster contacted me right at the next day.]
[Yeah, yeah,] Sigma Build unkindly agrees, [clearly it was such an important task seeing as you have only decided to appear now. Really put into question why you still haven't caught their leader.]
Quiet for a moment before Alpha Build harshly sighs to the link, [Shut up. Don't even begin,] a few moments of silence again before he continues, [I'm doing my duties right now so I won't accept you mocking me for not being around to panic with you.]
Sigma Build accidentally misspelled a word on his file. He freezes for a moment, stunned at his mistake, before he furiously crosses the word. So furious in fact that the paper rips. Vexed, Sigma Build throws his pen away before roughly sitting down on the chair beside Alhaitham's bed.
Prime snorts to the link, [If you can't handle realizing the extent of what you've done alone, you shouldn't have chased me out.]
Sigma Build outwardly sneers before he slumps forward to Alhaitham's bed, wings twitching irritatedly before slumping down in defeat.
Zazan senses a little movement above his head before he feels a hand carefully poke the crown of his head accompanied by a breathy concerned squeal. Truthfully, he feels too lazy to deign an answer but when the poking turns into pulling at his hair, he annoyedly sighs and catches the offending hand.
Zazan raises his head to glare at the amused Avian, “What?”
Alhaitham doesn't say anything. He simply stares at him, his eyes searching him for something he doesn't know. In other circumstances, Zazan would have bristled his wings and carefully guarded his face from those searching eyes. Unfortunately, he really has pushed himself too far the past dozen hours.
Sigma Build is the weakest among other Segments, both physically and mentally. Moments leading to Alhaitham's resurrection really had been hectic. He didn't even realize that his vessel was close to passing out. The chance to slow down with Alhaitham earlier had given his vessel a chance to realize its physical condition.
So Zazan pins Alhaitham's hand to the bed under his chin, using it as a pillow, causing Alhaitham’s eyes to widen slightly in surprise. He raises his eyebrow at Alhaitham, challenging him to take his hand back. But Alhaitham doesn't. Instead, he continues to maintain their eye contact as he slowly rolls to his side, glitters of amusement sparkling in his still tired eyes. Then, when he has found the right position, he melts to the bed and the lines of his face soften into something… rather disgusting.
Like a firecracker, Zazan feels his cheeks heat up. Something in his chest twitches almost violently that shocks him into jumping back. Unfortunately, the state of his exhausted vessel leaves him only being able to flinch a little. So he immediately closes his eyes to protect himself from the sight.
Zazan hears Alhaitham softly letting out raspy chuckles and he quietly snarls as he feels his ears heat up even more, “What's so funny?” he harshly asks with his eyes still closed.
Alhaitham lets out an amused exhale one last time before he calms down with a sigh, “Nothing,” Alhaitham says, sounding so fond and playful that Zazan curiously peeks one of his eyes open.
Catching Zazan's sight again, the corner of Alhaitham's lips lifts up, “You really are unable to develop it, aren't you?” Zazan's eyebrows furrow in confusion at the question, causing Alhaitham to immediately use his free hand to ease the frown on his forehead, “rest, Zazan. You look tired,” seeing as Zazan makes a face at him instead, Alhaitham presses his hand on top of Zazan's head and pets his hair, “I'm alright at the moment. Rest now. Worry again after that. I was just feeling glad that you haven't changed,” he says before his hand slowly lays heavy on top of Zazan's head as he slowly drifts to sleep.
Huh, guess Alhaitham still needs more sleep after sleeping for so long.
Zazan watches Alhaitham’s sleeping face for a moment, the red on his face has already subsided but his heart is still beating violently, before he calls to the link, [Omega Build, when will you return?]
[Huh?] Omega Build says, rather unintelligibly, [me? Well, in an hour or so. I plan to procrastinate my paperwork a little. Why do you ask?]
Sigma Build doesn't immediately answer. He watches Alhaitham's sleeping face for a moment longer before he takes the hand laying on his head and brings it to his face. The corner of his lips and his wings twitches slightly at the thought of what he's about to do but, immediately, his jaw tightens with conviction before it relaxes.
Zazan presses a soft kiss on Alhaitham’s wrist before nuzzling Alhaitham's palm, [I'm not in the state to continue the test,] he answers finally, [besides… Alhaitham needs someone that can really appreciate him at the moment.]
For a moment, the link is filled with Omega Build's audible stunned silence before it's completely filled with this weird cross of a squeal and an audible inhale, [YEEESSSSSS!] Omega Build screams in the link so loud that Sigma Build's wings flick in annoyance, [HA- HAHAHAHAHAHA FINALLY! MY WORTH IS FUCKING FINALLY BEING ACKNOWLEDGED!] he yells in triumph before he goes into a delusional rant.
Zazan gets a headache so bad from all the noise that his teeth ache, [Shut the fuck up,] he poisonously hisses as he buries his face into Alhaitham's hands.
[Ha,] beyond Omega Build's noisy rambles, Sigma Build can still hear Alpha Build’s mocking laugh, [aren't you proud of your creation?]
Knowing that he brought this upon himself, Sigma Build simply grumbles to himself.
As someone who doesn't hold the Akasha terminal in high pedestal, Alhaitham found himself turning it off from time to time. It was refreshing to do so. Not immediately being barraged by the answers to his own musings and getting the chance to slowly understand the problem.
Alhaitham read it someday that people from other nations are able to do something Sumerians can't.
To dream.
A useless action that gives no benefit. Yet, Alhaitham found himself curious all the same. So one night, he slept without turning on his Akasha terminal.
His first dream was a nightmare.
From that experience, Alhaitham found out two things:
- The downside of planting a knowledge capsule directly to the body as an internal storage is being assaulted with the memories during the state of unconsciousness, and
- The memories recorded by the five senses (body) and subconscious (mind) are difficult to differentiate and accept. This is because both memories are true and personally experienced by the self.
The second result led Alhaitham into having trouble in differentiating dream and reality seeing as between the body that –normally– has records with nothing to note of and the dream that has records of conjured imaginations, his mind deemed that the latter was more intriguing.
For the next few nights, Alhaitham continued to sleep without turning on his Akasha terminal.
During that period, he only ever had nightmares.
The discussion regarding the results of those few nights proved to be difficult as Alhaitham found his nightmare had bled into his awake thoughts.
Alhaitham is lonely .
Alhaitham doesn't like interacting with people more than necessary.
Alhaitham's life is so boring .
Alhaitham prefers a peaceful life.
Alhaitham will die alone .
… Alhaitham felt lonely.
Finding that he almost became schizophrenic, Alhaitham chose to continue the experiment to get to know this phenomenon. After all, a condition that fell outside of every study had appeared in his own body.
The result was that Alhaitham became able to deactivate the record of his dream. The side effects are enhanced hearing, on top of his falcon breed ability, and he becomes a very light sleeper.
“Hayi…”
Alhaitham hears Zazan's voice calling him. He cracks his eyes a little to see him standing beside his bed, hair ruffled and eyes still bleary from sleep as he squints at his file.
Alhaitham has to keep himself from smiling. His mate sure is cute.
After adding something to his file, Zazan glances up from his file to check whether Alhaitham has woken up or not. Finding him still asleep, he clicks his tongue and moves his hand to smack Alhaitham's face but he immediately stops the descent of his hand before it can make contact with Alhaitham’s face.
Zazan retracts his hand and lets it fall to the bed. What is he supposed to do now? He's not one to wake up people. Most of the time, it's better if the other is unconscious. So how the hell do you wake up people?
Uh, anyway, Zazan raises his hand again and lets it hover above Alhaitham, unsure of what to do. Then, for some reason, Zazan pinches Alhaitham's nose.
At that –at that– Alhaitham cracks up. He finally opens his eyes as a wide smile blooms on his lips. Upon glancing to the side, he finds Zazan staring dumbfoundedly at him and that finally breaks Alhaitham into taking Zazan's hand off from his nose in order to loudly laugh.
Confused, Zazan twitches his wings and lets out a dumbfounded caw, causing Alhaitham to laugh even louder.
A few seconds more is all it takes for Zazan to finally catch on, “Ha. Ha. Ha. Good. Laugh more since it's so funny to you,” he dryly says but his wings are flaring indignantly.
His dry comment is, at least, seemed to work seeing as Alhaitham's laughter subsides into soft giggles and he finally looks at him.
Oh… Life is, in fact, a good look on Alhaitham. It feels like a really long time ago since he last saw Alhaitham's eyes. Those pretty shiny glittery eyes, now even more pretty shiny and glittery with the addition of mirth.
Fuck. No. Now is not the time. Zazan tells himself that and yet he still finds himself slowly losing himself into being hypnotized by Alhaitham's eyes.
Thankfully, for once, Omega Build proves to be helpful. The door to the underground lab suddenly slamming open very loudly surprises Alhaitham enough to look away and thus freeing Zazan from his hypnosis. Deeming that the patient still bedridden is dangerous, Zazan immediately distances himself to a safer distance.
Meanwhile, Zandik stands frozen at the doorway. Paralyzed from his moonlight’s gorgeous gaze. Those ever beautiful eyes that he has always admired are full with glimmers of mirth on top of brimming with life. His wings open and close behind him as he is unable to decide whether to lunge for a hug or to keep it cool.
“...Zandik?” Alhaitham hesitantly calls when Zandik continues to stand frozen in the doorway.
The call seems to wake Zandik up from his indecision since he quickly closes the door behind him and steps inside, “Moonlight…,” Zandik calls with a voice barely above a whisper as he walks across the room, wings dragging the floor, “my moonlight…,” Zandik calls again as he raises his arms like a walking corpse who has finally found his prey, “you're awake…,” that's his last intelligible words before he lunges at the bed and is reduced into sobbing mess at Alhaitham's shoulder.
Alhaitham blinks, confused, yet his arms move on their own to comfort the grown man hugging him, “I am, Zandik,” he whispers in comfort to his crying mate.
To that, Zandik lets out a pathetic drawn out caw before hugging Alhaitham tighter, almost desperate.
On the sideline, Zazan checks on his pocket watch. This will likely take another while. So he sighs and walks to the back of a shelf at the darkest corner. Might as well check if the rontgen pictures have developed.
Alexei knows that every Harbinger has quiet footfalls. The only reason you know they're coming is because they want you to know. The reason they want you to know is… well, it varies from an act of intimidation to… uh, whatever the lords fancy. To be completely honest, they're too abnormal for a servant like Alexei to understand.
So when Alexei hears the unmistakable footsteps of His Lordship, he… 50% feels resigned and 50% feels tired.
His Ladyship's guests pretty much stormed off from the dining room once they finished eating all the dishes –rude peasants. Unfortunately, keeping in mind His Lordship The Sigma Build's order, Alexei had no other choice but to follow the guests and stand guard at their door should they need to “go to the bathroom”. All in all, Alexei has done his job. If His Lordship –in actuality– wanted him to assassinate the guests, Alexei prefers death than killing pigs he had just fed.
Still, when the footsteps become quite close, Alexei respectfully bows his head. If today is his last day on Teyvat, let it be the truth that he will be executed for something petty like failure at reading between the lines. He won't allow himself to be executed for insulting nobility, that would only make him being seen as someone incompetent.
His Lordship –The Prime, judging from how big the shadow at his feet is– stops in front of the guest room and Alexei opens his mouth, “The guests are inside, My Lord.”
His Lordship’s wings flick in a way that he often does before doing unpleasant task, “How long have they been there?”
Without raising his head, Alexei answers, “Right after lunch until this moment, My Lord. Not a single time did they come out.”
Prime simply hums as a confirmation but upon remembering that the servant next to him is his mate's favorite, he says, “Very well.”
Alexei freezes. No way His Lordship just gave him a word of appreciation for doing as expected. Is it His Lordship's way of signaling him to dispose of the guests? Because Alexei is not too keen on that. A mere servant like him being asked to assassinate such important guests instead of His Lordship doing it himself can only mean that His Lordship is trying to shift the blame.
Keeping in mind that the current guests are close acquaintances of His Ladyship… then His Lordship probably doesn't wish to appear bad to His Ladyship.
Which is pretty in line with His Lordship's behavior so far.
…
Ahhh, Alexei feels like his stomach acid is rising. By the Tsaritsa, he has reached such a nice number on his paycheck and now he's going to lose it because he didn't anticipate His Lord to get married.
…
… Alright, that's very rude of him.
So with the resignation of a man led to a cliff, Alexei opens his mouth, “My Lord, earlier, in an attempt to fulfill my task, I reminded the guests that they shouldn't overstep their welcome keeping in mind the diplomatic relationships of the nations. The guests appeared to be particularly careful after. May I be so bold to know why?” he asks, because he will grasp for any twig that can soften his fall.
His Lordship's wings flick, for a moment Alexei dreads if he will simply get stabbed before even having the chance to jump, but then His Lordship tilts his head to the side and says, “Brother-in-law hit me with a briefcase and the General is trying to keep him out of prison,” His Lordship says with wings ruffled in a way that shows how inconvenienced he is, and Alexei is honestly unable to react because his brain simply lags from the information, then His Lordship shrugs his wings, “Since my head bled, his action can be considered an aggravated assault.”
…
Quiet.
….
Then there's just this moment where everything clicks and the atmosphere switches. Mainly signaled by the squeaky sound of Alexei sucking in a breath.
H O L Y T S A R I T S A
Standing just outside the darkroom with several pictures in his hands, Zazan feels like his world is collapsing. Every knowledge stored in his mind races to build a theory but no matter which combination he uses nor how he builds the theory, they simply crumble in the face of the results in his hands. Sadly enough, he can't even deny the result and deem it as a mistake because many parts of his logical cognition think that the results make sense.
The link crackles in his mind, a sign of an upcoming comment –Sigma Build doesn't even have the room of mind to deign the annoying noise a second thought– [Is that…] Alpha Build trails off, so fucking unsure and Zazan gets why, [is that a fucking womb?]
Notes:
And the biological bulshittery continues.
Ah ah. How will they take it.Also, this is a story of someone who isn't very active in social media besides for communication. Sometimes, I'll open X (twitter) and see that I have a new notification. Pleasantly surprised, I open the notification. Then the feeling is just gone when I found that someone had liked that one Dottotham drawing I drew in a moment of weakness.
That one is my most liked art too, wth (I think it's mostly because @Dessinby left a comment there but still.)
Nah. Nah, wth is that? I didn't even spend much time on that. Nooo, I didn't even plan the angle nor the composition. Not even sure if they're anatomically correct. It's just a drawing of Alhaitham having his face pinned to a pillow while Dottore (HIS FACE ISN'T EVEN IN THE FRAME) is inside him.
Anyway, I'm just questioning why a moment of weakness got much more likes. I have no intention to tell people to stop liking that post (it's their opinions).
It's just that choking in public out of nowhere because I open my notifications is getting old.
Also also, there's a neighbor chonky orange cat that has a crush on Mochi. I'm hesitating whether to chase him away or not because he might steal Mochi's innocence (wtf lol) and if such a case does happen, what if Mochi got smothered. On the other hand, he looks like a good boi (at least no visible disease).
But my mother gave me a verdict to chase the lover boy away because he's scaring Alex.So yeah, gotta take out the broom.
Chapter 64
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Zazan thoughtfully licks his lips before closing his eyes in resignation. With the ridiculous results out of sight, he can finally sense how tense his body is. So he exercises his breathing and blindly stores the pictures into its folder. Then, his arms fall limply to his sides as he tries to empty his mind more. His wings also quickly become limp on his back, rather lifeless from the absurdity of the situation.
Alpha Build's voice crackles again through the link, [Why a w-]
[SHUT THE FUCK UP!] Sigma Build cuts him off with a snap, though outwardly he still looks as if he's trying to achieve inner peace.
Damn.
When Sigma Build first notices how Alhaitham's hair is glowing, he knows that it's a sign that there's bound to be other mutations that have developed. But a womb? Why does it have to be a womb? Now it's trickier to pinpoint which way the solution will take direction.
Sigma Build's lips slightly tremble as he's yet again reminded of what he has done to Alhaitham… who's, admittedly, his beloved mate.
The first time Sigma Build had to save Alhaitham, he hadn't felt very proud. Alhaitham's regeneration ability is very potent –suspiciously so. His recovery rate was faster than his pace. He was forced to make a new wound everytime the wounds closed before he could take out the foreign matter lodged in him. Although in the end he succeeded in saving him, the process was extremely messy. The wounds he had to reopen –some of them taken several times– alone resulted in heavy blood loss to the point of life-threatening . The only way to save him at the time was to inject the solution Prime was developing that was diluted to the extreme.
There appeared to be no visible change to Alhaitham's body. Though, that actually only raises more questions since Prime's field of interest is human evolution and Alhaitham was literally his muse in creating the solution. It was absolutely illogical that nothing happened.
Sigma Build didn't tell Alhaitham the whole truth. He… didn’t want to create panic, you see. He did want to be honest with Alhaitham though. The reason he didn't was because that was just a suspicion built on a relation of cause and effect without any evidence yet.
Now, recalling back to when Alhaitham had to be put in a stasis. The pod was filled with the filler liquid used to grow the Segment’s vessels. That in itself didn't pose any problem since the liquid only functions as a source of nutrition because of its ability to permeate directly into the cells. The problem came when he injected the solution Prime made at a more potent dose than the first injection.
These three medical actions don't possess any huge side effects on their own but for a body so mouth wateringly compatible with the solution to experience all three, the effect is now apparent.
The first injection introduced the body to the solution. The filler liquid provided the necessary nutrients for body transformation. The second dose became the catalyst for the body to finally transform.
…
Fuck.
Sigma Build sighs to the link, [Alright, I've come up with a hypothesis,] he massages his jaw as he suddenly feels more tired than ever, probably because he just woke up, [with the exception that he's still Hayi, he's basically a very organic Segment.]
[I feel like that's a grossly simplified explanation of Alhaitham's condition,] Alpha Build comments almost immediately, as if he has been waiting for any update, [do tell how that would explain the womb though.]
Sigma Build aggressively bites his lower lips as the corner of his lips twitchingly spread into an annoyed smile, [Damn if I know,] why is he the only one not horny all the time, [when did the womb even grow? The stasis state Alhaitham was in should stop all cells from working. So how did his body rearrange itself to accommodate a womb on top of creating said womb?]
[Maybe that's just a tumor?] Alpha Build suggests.
[A tumor doesn't appear like that in rontgen pictures,] Sigma Build refutes before he finally opens his eyes and thoughtfully leans back on the door of the dark room, [besides, tumors are made of cells.]
[Is the womb even functional?] Prime asks, joining the discussion.
Sigma Build grimaces in pain as he rubs his temple to ease his headache, [That's not the fucking point here! Why are all of you so interested in the womb?! It's the fact that Alhaitham's mutation made him grow something that someone of his gender should not have that is concerning,] he says to the link, yelling at first before going quieter because he suddenly feels more and more tired.
To make matters worse, the most degenerate of all Segments decides right then and there to give his comment, [Mmm, wife Segment.]
At first, that comment makes Zazan want to throw a tantrum and kicks the wall out of annoyance. Before succumbing to the urge, however, he's suddenly reminded that he has left his vulnerable patient alone with a horny bastard for far too long. Hoping that Omega Build would at least have enough decency to not jump a patient who is still unable to even eat solid food, Sigma Build sprints to the sick bed area.
“OMEGA BUILD! IF YOU ARE FUCKING HIM I SWEAR…” he screams with murder in his voice but he quickly trails off into silence when he only finds Omega Build sitting calmly on the chair he used to sleep earlier.
Alhaitham is looking at Zazan, wings seem to have gained more strength as they perk high in alert. Zazan ignores him in order to suspiciously squint at Omega Build who's sitting with crossed legs and arms composedly propped on his knees as if they're hiding something. His wings folded neatly behind him, not a single feather is ruffled after all the sobbing he had done earlier.
Zandik simply sends Zazan a fake innocent smirk, “Just so you know, I'm a complete gentleman.”
Zazan flares his wings with an enraged caw, surprising Alhaitham into flinching.
Alhaitham observes Zazan and is quickly getting reminded that he can never really get what he's thinking. So he averts his attention to Zandik, hoping to get any clue of what's happening. The thing is. Zazan might be an enigma, but his mate in general is hard to read. Thus as clear as the devious expression Zandik supports be, Alhaitham can grasp nothing of the situation.
Alhaitham tries to twitch his wings to catch his mate's attention but they still don't respond too well so he asks, “Is there something wrong?”
Zazan glares at Zandik for a moment longer before he finally decides to answer.
Unfortunately for him, Zandik beats him to it, “Apparently you have a womb now,” he says as he looks at Alhaitham with a handsome smile.
[WHY THE FUCK DID YOU TELL HIM THAT?!] Sigma Build screeches to the link.
[Shush now, it's his body. You shouldn't keep it a secret from him,] Omega Build answers as he calmly smiles at him, so infuriatingly calm that it feels like a mockery.
Sigma Build dryly points his finger at Zandik, “You have an ulterior motive, don't you?” then he swipes his pointing finger to the exit, “get out.”
The calm smile on Zandik’s face gains a palpable hint of smugness, [Nah, I'd stay.]
Zazan chokes in anger as his wings flare on their own to full width.
But before he can say anything more, Alhaitham raises another question, “Does that mean I can have a child?”
That shuts Zazan up for a good moment. Why, just why would he focus on that information of all things. But the annoyed words he is about to throw at Alhaitham immediately dies in his throat when he sees the look on Alhaitham's face.
Alhaitham looks surprised. Pleasantly surprised to be exact. He's not quite smiling but his lips are curving up. And… there's hope in his eyes. That hint of hope halts Zazan mentally and physically because he never saw Alhaitham show that kind of emotion so clearly.
… Now that Zazan thinks about it, hope is an emotion that only exists when someone wants an outcome that differs from their expectations. All this time, Alhaitham must have been very calculative then. That… or he simply doesn't feel the need to feel hopeful. Which is good! A functioning scholar that works with logic doesn't need hope.
But damn it, Zazan doesn't want to be the one to make those little hints of hope disappear from his face.
Thankfully, Zandik stops being a general nuisance in the room and finally decides to use his ability for good.
“Do you want to?” Zandik gently asks Alhaitham with a doting smile adorning his lips.
At first, Alhaitham looks at Zandik with a happy smile, looking ready to answer, but at the next second he averts his eyes down shyly. A very lovely shade of red starts to bloom on his face as he quietly worries his lips. He sucks a breath, seemingly to calm himself down, but unfortunately the red on his face doesn't subside at all. In the end, with the shyness in him still at max, Alhaitham slowly nods his head, eyes still trained on his knees.
Zandik chuckles as he leans forward to the bed and props his cheek on his palm, “You can't do that moonlight,” he softly coos, “you have to tell us explicitly that you want our child.”
Alhaitham scowls and his wings ruffle slightly but unfortunately the red on his face considerably reduces his expression into something akin to fuming. It's very cute. So of course all he gets from that is Zandik's smile turning into a playful grin.
“I-” Alhaitham starts before he quickly stops again to suck in steadying breaths, wings twitching a lot behind him, “I… want… your child,” he whispers with a voice that gets quieter before quickly looking away from anyone in the room, wings twitching a lot, utterly flustered.
At Alhaitham's answer, Zandik full heartedly laughs and gets up from his chair, “Alright, let's do it then-”
Zazan grabs the nearest cranium model and throws it at Zandik, “Fucking get out already!”
“In my defense, I was expecting that my presence here is to appreciate my moonlight,” Zandik says with crossed arms, now a few feet away from Alhaitham as per Zazan's order.
Zazan doesn't bother to look at him. He simply grabs a water spray and shoots Omega Build, who lets out an affronted caw when the water hits him square in the face.
“We don't know if the womb is functional,” Zazan says to Alhaitham as he hands him the rontgen file.
Alhaitham only hesitates for a moment before he takes the file and opens it.
Alhaitham won't lie, the whole situation is absurd. He won't be surprised if Zazan is trying to prank him. It doesn't matter. It isn't like he wants to have a child with his mate.
… He only wants to raise one with his mate. That alone will suffice.
That will suffice.
The first picture that catches Alhaitham's eyes is a rontgen of his abdomen, placed at the right part of the file. Subconsciously, his hand presses on the area where the womb appears to be. There he doesn't feel any unfamiliar bump or changes that can indicate that he has a womb now. Maybe this is all just a prank. Yet, the picture looks way too real for any of it to be a mere cruel prank.
“The pictures on the left are the rontgen I took of you to check if there were any foreign matters still lodged in your body before sealing you in the stasis pod,” Zazan explains, waking Alhaitham from his thoughts to look at him, “the pictures on the right was taken when you fell asleep earlier to see if any of your internal organs are mutated,” he says while pointing at the picture he mentions, “as you can see, you grew… a womb,” his voice is shaky as he says the last word, as if refraining himself from asking why.
Zazan lets out a frustrated sigh as he ruffles his hair and his wings lightly flaps, “You don't seem to have the physical change necessary for the existence of the womb, i.e. a wider hips, but as you can see from the picture, your internal organs are rather squished to make room for the womb,” with another sigh, Zazan plops down tiredly to the chair, wings hanging limply, “you are currently unable to eat any solid food and is yet allowed to drink any water for now so the effects are still unnoticeable. We will have to wait for approximately 8 more hours to see it and I want to specifically inform you to brace yourself,” he pauses and looks straight into Alhaitham's eyes, “it might be the most painful thing you will experience.”
Alhaitham tensely stares back at Zazan, wings raised high from tension, until he asks, “Even more painful than death?” a genuine question on Alhaitham's part, unfortunately the way he says it makes it sound playful.
Zazan gives Alhaitham a dry look that screams ‘don't test me’ before he groans, “Well, it depends, I guess. Just keep in mind that whatever happens later will be your reality for the rest of your lif-” before he can finish his sentence properly, something hits him in the head.
“Don't you dare speak to moonlight with that tone, midget,” Zandik hisses angrily as he stalks to Alhaitham's side, wings flaring protectively.
Zazan feels his whole face twitch as he lets out an angry snort, “Alright, whatever!” he snaps before pointing at Alhaitham, “take off your clothes and spread your legs!”
Suddenly, the room plummets into silence as Alhaitham and even Zandik simply gape at Zazan.
Zazan's wings flare impatiently, “Well?! Are you deaf now on top of becoming biologically impossible?”
Zandik covers his mouth in faux horror, [Sigma Build, you degenerate!]
Sigma Build looks at Zandik in annoyance, [What now? Can't you stop being a nuisance for a mere minute?]
Wait a minute, now that he thinks about it, something doesn't sound right.
W A I T
“It's not like that!” Zazan screams to no one in general but his eyes are locking with Alhaitham's, before he grimaces, “j-just do what I say but it's not for that,” he stutters out of embarrassment from who knows what.
[Oh, of course. Of course, it's for science,] Omega Build mocks from the link.
[Oh, shut the fuck up! You're not helping with anything,] Zazan quickly snaps.
Zandik immediately feels indignant but before he can say anything, Alhaitham says, “Zazan…, mommy doesn't think he can take it right now.”
Zazan dryly stares at Alhaitham, feeling tired as hell while Zandik is hysterically cackling next to them.
Oh, for the love of everything that is shiny….
At one of the mountain ranges in Snezhnaya, Alpha Build snorts out loud, gaining a look from his… ‘teammates’.
“What's so funny?” Childe asks some time later after Dottore has made it clear that he won't elaborate.
Dottore stops laughing with a sigh before he glances at the brat with dislike, “Your face,” he boredly says in the end.
In response to the needless unkind comment, Childe sputters before squawking in anger. Unfortunately, as always, Dottore ignores him and walks off. So Childe flexes his wings and exercises his breathing the same way the old man has taught him to.
They're currently infiltrating an enemy camp. It would do no good if they're discovered this early. Not that he fears alerting the enemies, in fact he's pretty sure alerting the enemies will ease the task considerably. Unfortunately, the old man decided that he should listen to Dottore because of SeNioRity.
Ugh, whatever. Once Dottore is done with the confirmation that he wants to do, he is pretty much free to do what he wants then. Which is cool. He can manage to stay patient for at least that long.
“I was under the impression that the Harbingers are not in a relationship good enough to cooperate this well,” a man’s voice comments accompanied by the sounds of footsteps on snow, reminding Childe that his role here is not just a dog but also a babysitting one.
Childe huffs his frustration out one last time before he looks at Signora’s ex-subordinate, traces of annoyance gone from his face, replaced with an emotionless smile. An emotionless smile that doesn't reach the eyes but looks wide and friendly enough to the point that it's uncanny…. The same smile that Dmitri sends him.
Ah, yes. This smile was a part of his training so of course any soldier of Her Majesty can mimic it. … Is it bad that he finds Dmitri is more of an ally than Dottore because of it? Y'know, considering he defected and all?
In any case, Childe has to answer Dmitri’s, admittedly borderline audacious, comment, “Her Majesty’s wishes above all.”
To that, Dmitri simply cusps a hand above his heart and bows his head deeply. The picture-perfect of a loyal soldier. Which Childe finds very annoying because the man in front of him is a fanatic, not a loyal soldier.
“ Alright, stop dawdling, you two ,” Dottore calls out just a few steps ahead of them and Childe has an intrusive thoughts to just ignore him, thankfully he refrains himself from acting like a – well– child, “ is this the right place? ” Dottore asks.
Before Childe can snidely answer, the fanatic has already walked closer to Dottore and confirms, “ Yes, Lord Doctor ,” the fanatic says and Childe squints in suspicion at the way Dottore’s wings twitch from the title, “ if you have elemental sight, you would have been able to see the trails of warming seelie surrounding the area. ”
One of Dottore's irises light up with moving light as he scans the area, “ You know very well that doesn't answer my question,” he says after a few seconds.
Dmitri glances down with a snort, a really bold move, “ Of course. I'm actually planning to open the passage for the Lords myself ,” he says before he boldly walks to a cliff, uncaring of how The Young Master quickly summons his bow and aims at his back.
The fanatic fiddles with the cliff for a while. It's unknown what he's looking for nor what he's trying to do. How to open the secret passage is something that fanatic had vehemently tried to keep secret. Though, he was very cooperative for the rest of the interrogation. Likely because he doesn't want to be left out of the purge for some unknown reason.
So, carefully, Childe moves closer to Dottore to ask, “I know you won't answer my question, but I'm going to ask again, anyway. What's the plan?”
Dottore glances at Childe before looking back at the fanatic, “Yes. There's, indeed, a possibility that that man is a double agent but that shouldn't be something you normally would care about,” then he snorts which the brat only responses with a scoff –my, what a progress, “I assume The Rooster asked you to listen to me since this is a vital part of our cooperation, but don't worry. I don't intend to order you around for this mission.”
Childe scoffs though he still keeps his focus on Dmitri, “Yeah, right. You say that but you probably have a scheme already.”
Dottore snorts, “Believe what you want to believe. If I let you do what you want to do yet you still end up as my pawn, then blame yourself for being predictable,” he says, surprisingly amiable that Childe almost accidentally lets go of his elemental arrow when he can suddenly feel a surge of bloodlust from the Avian next to him, “my mate has finally woken up and yet here I am, away for a business while the other me are having a lot of fun with him.”
A portion of the cliff suddenly crumbles in a non discreet way, revealing the hidden passage the fanatic must have been looking for. The fanatic turns to look at them and Childe tenses up, bracing for any upcoming attack but none comes. So he slowly puts down his weapon.
“Do what you wish to do,” Dottore says as he starts walking to the passage, the bloodlust exuding from him intensifying with every step, “because I will do what I wish to do.”
The Eldritch Vessel Dottore comes closer and closer to the passage. His wings become more and more restless with every step to the point as if they are no longer wings. Dmitri's whole body instinctively stiffens as the monster that barely appears humane comes close to him, yet still manages to take a step back as The Doctor passes by him purely out of fear.
At the threshold of the dark passage where there's no clear divide between the shadow and his being, Dottore laughs, the sound is harrowing, raspy, like that of a dying crow, “They've all had their fun,” he sighs and it is somehow able to create a foreboding mist down to the passage that's quickly consumed by the darkness, “I, too, want to have my fun.”
Notes:
Lord Doctor returns.
Never realized how much I missed writing this emo segment. I sorta had writer block trying to write this chapter but when it comes to Alpha Build's part, it just flows.Also like, this is only the second chapter of Alhaitham having a womb and I can already see how things will go:
Sigma Build: *stressing over his patient*
Alhaitham, Omega Build, and y'all: MPREG! MPREG! MPREG! MPREG!Alpha Build: face was literally half-mangled when Alhaitham first saw him, the only literal monster among the Segments.
Alhaitham: Mm~ Smash me.
(This is where I realized that Alhaitham is very OOC in this fic and when I finally realized that it's okay to write characters OOC)
I have two cats, Mochi is raised from birth and she has grown up to a fine fluff that might look like a chicken to a mop depending on the level of moisture in her fur. Alexanderrrrr was adopted when he was a few months old. He has grown into a baby, sausage, eel, or flatbread, idk. He's a lil shapeshifter.
(Have y'all gotten tired of reading about my cats? Too bad, I won't stop :p)
I have guaranteed for my pulls now. Gotta get back to saving if I want Dottore. I don't care what he will be. Even if he's a shitty healer, I will pull for him. Gotta make my ship canon in my phone (delulu).
Chapter 65
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Snezhnaya is the nation of the Archon of Love. But… What is love?
Dmitri once wondered what the answer might be.
What is love?
Is it the shackle that binds people under the pretense of blood? Is it the desperation of people trying to connect with others during misfortune? Or is it the delusions that a pair indulge in together?
Dmitri guessed that it's all three. After all, he heard somewhere that there are many types of love. Though, his guess only brought him to the conclusion that Snezhnaya is a terrible nation to live in.
What else could a nation that governed under the Archon that presides over such a deceiving thing as love be described as?
Or maybe Dmitri thought wrong? Maybe –just maybe– love is not something pure, sweet, and full of hope like the fairy tales say? Maybe love is supposed to be harsh and unjust like the way his parents wanted to sacrifice his baby brother to ensure their survival?
Because if so, Dmitri refused to accept it. He wouldn't accept that the nation he was born in is that kind of nation. Just like how he didn't accept his parents sacrificing his baby brother.
Ironically, by a cruel twist of fate, Dmitri ended up becoming a Fatui. Forced –willingly– like many others to swore loyalty to the throne. Because if he did well enough in the army, then he might just be able to afford a better place for his baby brother and him.
The shackle of blood sure is heavy.
But unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the shackle of his allegiance is heavier.
Even after running away from home for 5 years, Dmitri still found it difficult to purge his own family alongside his village. Yet Dmitri completed his mission flawlessly. Believe him, it was difficult to bear the smell of his parents roasting alive. But it was better to cast his lot on a family member who hadn't done any harm rather than the family who readily forsaken his kin to save their own skin. Dmitri found then that the weight of his blood shackle reduced significantly. Reduced to just the right weight for his shoulders to bear.
It was difficult for the next few months. Dmitri questioned again what love is –what is it that this nation is built on. But as every other being that wishes to survive natural selection, Dmitri moved on.
When Dmitri was sent as a part of the reinforcement to the sea bordering with Natlan, he finally had a taste of the shackle built upon desperation. Though it was less of his forces against the Natlanian’s forces but his division against their commander. The nepotism and power abuse in Snezhnaya sure is terrible.
Ahhh, a simple mistake like serving a cold meal to the higher-ups when some mornings there would be bodies that no longer move because of the cold could send you to a military court.
What was more laughable was how easily they threw their shackles around, only to be screaming bloody murder when the person on the other end actually tied the end of their shackle to a boulder and threw it into the icy ocean.
Dmitri observed it all. And when it came his turn, he simply razed everything to ashes. Before any of the mocking theatrics even had the chance to play. He refused to partake in any of it.
The military prison was extremely cold. But at least the sky is beautiful and he's back in the citadel. Though he couldn't possibly know where his baby brother had been sent to, at the very least he's back to where he told his baby brother where he will be.
Thankfully, as he had expected, the military court didn't execute him. Guess a teen having the ability to raze a military division to ashes was too valuable to simply be disposed of. That was how he met Her Lordship The Fair Lady.
Dmitri didn't know much about the other Harbingers and he didn't bother to try to find out. But Her Lordship was a different case. Dmitri was curious why someone from another nation would choose to serve Snezhnaya.
…
Though Dmitri never knew firsthand love as a delusion, he came to know love as a raging fire.
“...which shall chip away the cold of this world with its warmth,” Dmitri prays under his breath, hands clasped together and eyes half-lidded, absolute serenity, “may love… continues to burn bright,” he whispers the last part before closing his eyes with a gentle smile as people around him burst into fire.
The gentle smile on Dmitri's face becomes more genuine as the people he has managed to save screams from passion. Yes! Rejoice! For you have now been saved from the cold and cruel world! Bathe in the warm glow of love!
Turns out, Dmitri was right. Love really is supposed to be cruel and unjust. That's precisely why it's beautiful.
Oh, to treasure someone so much to the point parting feels like searing your soul in half… to the point where the only thing that matters is that someone… to the point where the only justice that matters is for that someone.
It's unhealthy. It's destructive! IT’S BEAUTIFUL!
When Her Lordship The Fair Lady passed away, Dmitri was very sad. That day Snezhnaya had lost its saint of love. Along with that, Dmitri lost his role model. Then, again, Dmitri lost the answer to his question.
When Dmitri heard from the Underground that there's a rebellion, he admitted he was curious. What was it this time? For what ideology were these people fighting for?
Turns out, it was ‘self-love’. Dmitri was extremely disappointed. Finding that their ideology was so ugly, Dmitri decided to stomp it before it could even start. That was… until he found a case of shackle of delusions.
Galina’s love was beautiful. It was unjust yet selfless. The way she so readily sold herself –from her body to the purity of her soul– for Lord Samuil’s sake without expecting anything in return except his attention was heartbreakingly endearing. Unfortunately, the basis of her love was built upon deceits and delusions.
Once upon a time, an Avian fledgling was born in Snezhnaya. His father was a nobleman from Snezhnaya while his mother was a foreign Avian scholar from Sumeru working on her thesis.
The noble fell in love with her at first sight. It felt like he saw an angel. So he ran to inform his parents of his wish, completely forgetting that a human and an Avian aren't meant to be. But his parents were actually overjoyed.
Avians were looked up to in Snezhnaya, after all. They're a good way to boost their social standing. Especially if the Avian was a scholar from a prominent faction. So the noble family quickly prepared an invitation for the Avian under the reason of a feast.
Unfortunately, a ‘problem’ arose from the Avian.
When the noble proposed to her during the feast, she rejected him right in front of the other guests. The noble family was enraged and embarrassed thus they quickly called the guard to apprehend the Avian. She was locked in the manor's prison. Then the heartbroken young noble followed after her. The next day, the Avian could no longer fly home.
That was how Samuil was born to the bitterly cold Snezhnayan air. The air that's as bitter and cold as the treatments he received growing up. He was born an Avian when his father and grandparents were humans. People talked, and the Avian which was hoped to elevate their status turned out to lower them instead. Shamed to death yet didn't have the heart to dispose of their own blood. The noble family agreed to cut off Samuil's wings so that he could be disguised as a human.
Somehow aware of the noble family's wretched plan, the Avian mother broke free from her prison. As flightless as she might be with her sawed off wings, her claws were still there to protect her fledgling from the same fate she bore. On that day, there were 4 kills.
Of course, Samuil didn't remember any of that as he was raised under the care of the head maid that freed his mother. He was raised well. A little bit lonely at times but otherwise he was raised and educated to be a respectable nobleman.
Yet, the apple still didn't fall far from its tree it seems. Just like how his father took advantage of his mother while she was prisoned, Samuil took advantage of Galina's weakness –her heart. All in order to get Miss Irina's cooperation.
Dmitri clasps his hands in front of his chest again and closes his eyes. He prays that these people will find peace. For all the misfortunes they've experienced are all vital for the birth of the new saint of love.
“ The enemies are among us! Permission to attack every suspicious person granted! ”
“ How did they find our stronghold?! ”
“ Maintain order! Identify the enemies! Lookout, how many enemies are there?! ”
“ Enemies identified at the commuting area and the watchtower. Quickly dispatch troops to subdue the threats! ” the man yells his order before quickly slipping into a deserted passage without confirming if the masses he left behind have calmed down or not.
He lightly jogs through the dark and quiet corridor, unaware of the quiet shadow following after him. When the man reaches a door, he spares a second to observe his surroundings. Not an anomaly in sight so he quickly knocks twice on the door before slipping inside.
“ Pardon my intrusion, lord Samuil. This is urgent. You have to flee now ,” the man says before he can even close the door behind him properly.
The Avian in question flicks his wings and stands up from his chair, “ Pray tell, Lev. How dire is the situation to the point that you ask me to leave the stronghold I've spent the majority of my life building?”
Lev agitatedly shuffles on his feet. Now is not the right time for this kind of conversation but he honestly couldn't expect much from a leader that has never stepped foot once in the true battlefield. On top of that, rank wise, he can't show disrespect no matter how dire the situation is –a typical situation where the higher rank is filled with stuck up nobles. It often makes Lev wonder if he has made the right decision.
So taking two quick breaths, Lev calms his nerves and says, “ A Harbinger has been identified among the enemy’s force, my Lord,” the Avian’s wings flick and tense up –good, at least he at least has that much situational awareness, “ On top of that we've confirmed that Assault Team Captain Dmitri is among the attacking force,” Lord Samuil slams his fist into the table in anger but Lev doesn't bat an eye and continues to press on, “our current manpower is not enough to take on the throne’s advance party so I suggest that my Lord quickly evac-”
Before Lev can even finish his sentence, a loud resounding clank of the door sealing from the inside cuts him off. Lord Samuil flares his wings at whatever is behind him so according to the training he has received, Lev quickly turns around and assesses the danger while adopting a defensive stance. He immediately freezes when his brain can finally process the dark winged Avian leaning casually to the locked door, trapping all occupants in the room.
For a while, the three are locked in a standstill as they seize each other. The difference is that one of them simply appears to be extremely bored as he absentmindedly tosses a vial filled with glowing blue liquid while the rest are having trouble simply breathing in the tense air of danger. The mask is clearly a definite characteristic of a Fatui. Now adding the signature black wings and vial, the identity of the Avian can only be The Doctor himself.
The Doctor, after some more time, finally seems to have become tired of the silence, “Samuil, was-”
“How did you get in?!” Lev yells once everything registers, quickly taking his dagger out and switching into a combat stance.
The Doctor's smile freezes slightly as his lips twitch in annoyance before he simply ignores the interference and repeats himself, “Samuil, wasn't it?” he asks as he throws the vial in his hand once more before catching it in a tight grip, agitating the clearly panicked soldier attempting to appear strong, “a certain fanatic told me a lot about you. Though I do wonder why a member of the Supreme Court would feel the need to start a coup.”
“That’s not something a Tsaritsa’s dog like you would ever understand!” Lev angrily yells before he suddenly lunges at The Doctor.
The Doctor clicks his tongue, finally fed up with the useless interference. So he lacklusterly swipes his claw at the charging soldier. It almost seems mocking that the noncommittal gesture is not only enough to take the soldier’s life, but also enough to sever him into six parts. Truly highlights that the being in front of him is neither human nor Avian.
The Doctor harshly sighs, annoyed that his attempt at being dramatic is constantly interrupted, “Well, do you have any input or am I to continue monologuing?” he annoyedly asks the Avian terrified stiff.
That seems to startle the Avian back to reality as he uncontrollably staggers backward, seemingly without any awareness of his surroundings. Thus he trips over his own chair, tumbling and rolling into the cold floor in a heap of flapping wings. It's a pathetic view. Especially considering that he is supposed to be the final hurdle Alpha Build needs to eliminate. But he can work with this. Absolutely.
“W-what do you want from me?” Lord Samuil stutters out of fear, seemingly incapable of thinking whether his question sounds smart or not.
But again, Alpha Build can work with that.
Inwardly grinning in satisfaction, The Doctor nonchalantly kicks the heap of bloody flesh next to him out of his way and slowly stalks closer to the terrified Avian, “Everything is already self-explanatory, don't you think?” he stops in front of the desk separating them both with a stomp –causing Samuil to flinch, “but if you're dense enough to not notice, I'm here for a personal reason.”
Lord Samuil flares his wings and takes out his claws, a warning. Unfortunately, he's trembling far too heavily for him to look, in any way, intimidating. The Doctor kicks the desk out of his way, igniting lord Samuil to desperately look around for a way to distance himself from the danger, utterly unaware that not even the Abyss can keep him safe from The Doctor.
But The Doctor suddenly stops all movements and observes the trembling Avian in front of him. Then his face scrunches up from extreme distaste as he looks down at him. It's completely impossible to tell what he's thinking with the addition of the mask covering his face.
Lord Samuil is too taken aback by The Doctor’s weird behavior to react in time when The Doctor grabs a hold of his neck. Yet when he is finally able to react to the hand choking him, he's surprised once again when The Doctor slams him to the wall behind him until it gives in under the force and suddenly he's free falling. Lord Samuil dumbfoundedly stares up at the hole he has been thrown out, staring at the Avian looking down at him with crossed arms. And it takes him hitting a metal structure to finally notice that he's falling and that he's going to hit the ground soon so he has to flap his wings soon if he doesn't want to turn into a mashed tomato.
Lord Samuil spreads his wings as wide as he can. The pain from hitting the metal structure is smothered underneath the adrenaline of having faced a monster. A fire beam flares in front of him and with a squawk he maneuvers away from it. After the fire beam, it seems that nothing else is out to get him –except one or two arrows that occasionally enter his vision but never having the chance to hit him. So lord Samuil spares no energy in flying up above the cloud so that he can escape.
Before lord Samuil enters the cloud, he spares another glance at the hole he was thrown from. A chill goes down his spine when he makes eye contact with The Doctor. The dark winged Avian just stands there. Arms crossed, bored, and having no intention of chasing after him. Lord Samuil finds his instinct screaming at him to run away louder than ever to the point he almost loses his balance so without a second thought, he flaps his wings strongly and enters the cloud.
Alpha Build looks at the cloud the Avian disappeared into for just a second longer before he condescendingly snorts, [Turns out the culprit held responsible for Hayi’s predicament is just a coward not possessing even a hint of ability to protect himself.]
The link crackles for a moment before Prime's voice comes through, [That doesn't explain why you let him go.]
Alpha Build clicks his tongue, [I too want to finish it as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that would be too kind of an outcome for him.]
Prime hums to the link, [You are aware that if other Harbingers catch him first then we won't even be able to lay a finger on him at all, right?]
[Of course,] Alpha Build says as he yawns before he stretches his wings and rearranging them neatly behind him, [but let's catch him another day. That way we can smuggle him into one of our bunkers.]
Prime snorts, sounding rather pleased, [A fitting end. But what if he's not even worth anything as a test subject?]
Alpha Build rolls his eyes, [Oh, stop trying to make it sound like a hard bargain. We are all aware that the testing ground always needs new test subjects.]
Prime laughs then, causing a pleased smirk to appear on Alpha Build's face, [Accepted,] Prime confirms, [now finish your mission and you might just have enough time to visit Hayi before you have to close your mission.]
Alpha Build hums before he takes out his vial again, considering whether or not to use it, [I know. How is he, by the way?] he asks as he stores the vial again, for this clean up, he won't even need it.
Sigma Build lets out a helpless sigh, [As you can see, he's very energetic.]
[No. Not that,] Alpha Build says as he walks closer to the edge of the huge hole he created and observes the one-sided battlefield below, [how's he, emotionally.]
This time, Omega Build answers, [Horny.]
The Segments collectively let out a tired sigh at that.
Alpha Build massages the back of his neck, hoping that the pressure can ease the tension building there from annoyance, [If that's the only thing you can report even though your field of interest is psychology then I'm seriously questioning the importance of your existence, Omega Build.]
[Alright, alright, fine. I'm just giddy moonlight is back awake with us,] Omega Build grumbles with a huff as if he wasn't the one inconveniencing everyone, [he's rather cheerful despite being tired,] he answers seriously at last before quickly adding, [but he undoubtedly will really appreciate it if you return soon with some flowers.]
Alpha Build's ears instantly burns, [Do not mock me, you fucking simp.]
Omega Build snorts, [Oh, I'm being serious here. Bring moonlight some nice flowers and spend some time with him. He would really love your company.]
Alpha Build's wings flick, surprised by the information, [Why me?]
Omega Build begrudgingly scoffs, [Well, isn't it nice being the favorite and not even realizing it,] he chides, causing Alpha Build's whole face to burn, [but on top of that, it's because he's in the same age range as your mental stage.]
Alpha Build blinks before he shakes his head and flaps his wings to rid of the red on his face, [What?]
[One thing I've realized is that while moonlight is very experienced in sex, he is still completely green when it comes to relationship,] Omega Build says before pausing, somehow able to make the silence he left sounds unwilling, [discovering more about relationship with you will be the most perfect environment he can get since the age difference isn't too great. Of course, there's the factor that each of us has lived for centuries but since I'm sure that this subject is something you've never pursued, your standing with him should be pretty equal,] he elaborates.
That… sounds plausible.
Alpha Build is speechless. He doesn't know what to say. He would be more than happy to take the task, excited even. But at the same time he isn't sure if he can handle that great of a task.
Thankfully, Omega Build adds, [Oh, no need to overthink it. You're not going to be the only one doing the task. Of course you won't. The fuck did you expect? You think that I would give you all the chances? That any of us would give you all the chances?] he reassures at first before quickly descending into a rant that really signify that he's Dottore.
Having the luxury of being alone, Alpha Build outwardly rolls his eyes, [Alright-alright, ] he says with a sigh.
[Sooo…] Sigma Build conversationally trails off, [are you going to start killing anyone soon? Because I do need some test subjects.]
Alpha Build snorts, [I'm going to pass up the chance again. I'm not in the mood. I'll just leave it to the brat and the fanatic to take care of them and stay here to check on the documents our target left behind.]
[That's quite unlike you,] Prime comments.
[The effect of having a mate is very potent and true,] Omega Build answers on Alpha Build's behalf, [not that you would understand since you don't seem to care that much.]
Prime sighs at Omega Build's diss, [I only skipped your lesson once and that's because I was busy!]
[Well then, clearly you're not taking this seriously…]
Alpha Build quickly tunes out of the arguments and returns his focus to the battlefield, [If I'm not allowed to make it snow red then I'm not interested,] he explains before he cringes and asks, [who let that brat choose a bow?]
Notes:
If it isn't obvious, I like writing crazy people. Their train of thoughts are very fun to write.
Alpha Build: *being his emo ass and doing whatever he thinks will make him look cool*
Dmitri: Oh, the saint of love has been reborn!
Alpha Build: wtfWhen I first thought about Dmitri's concept, I had a Fatui mirror pastor in mind. But after writing him somehow I get the feeling that he felt like one of those magical girl.
Fun fact about the title of this series. "Cross Breeding Between Crow and Falcon: (title of the part)" is a reference to how people often title their research reports in Scopus or other journals. It's what links the rest of the series back to the beginning of the series, namely Alhaitham wanting to study crow breed Avian. But instead of a report paper regarding what he studied, there is this invisible researcher that study them instead.
As for the titling of the part:
Introduction: also a reference to how people title their research paper.
Hidden Among The Pages of Purana: a parallel to Sumeru Archon quest.
Migration: Alhaitham finding his home among other lunatics/j (lol it is actually a reference to how crows often return to a mating spot they've marked as safe to build a nest with their mate)
Y'know the cat who has a crush on Mochi? Well, he steps over his boundaries and chases Mochi around to the point Mochi doesn't feel safe on the ground. So yeah, I will always chase him out with a broom.
I don't really talk about Alex much, didn't I? Well, that's because he's the quiet one. He literally just sleeps, being clingy, and appears cute (being a baby). I can only shows picture of him and can't talk much about him.
I play ZZZ now and goddamn I already have a soft spot for vaguely looking like an animal creature that makes random noises but now there is going to be cat boy Alhaitham??!
So yeah, so far I have been spending my days with writing this fic and playing games. The animatic is going to finished by a miracle chance because 1) I have no idea what I'm doing (nah. I literally don't study art seriously. I somehow just got better at it after each seasonal depression), and 2) it's a musical animatic about this part of the series (so yeah, I'm trying to compact a 200k words into a 3 minutes 23 seconds video. It will need a miracle –or a completely bored out of my mind me– to complete).
Also also, just watched Natlan trailer. I'm seriously calculating the probability of football captain Capitano.
Thank you for reading this chapter. You're a wonderful person and I care about you. Have a nice day!
Please wait patiently for whatever shall happen to Samuil :)
Chapter 66
Notes:
Disclaimer: Weird chapter that I'm incapable to summarize with words. Proceed with caution.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Zazan wants to close his eyes for just a moment if only so that he can brace himself before facing reality. Unfortunately, if he does that, who knows what Omega Build will do. So he keeps his eyes peeled open, watching Omega Build helping Hayi undress with more touches than necessary.
The most annoying part of this all is that Zazan has already given up on keeping Omega Build away physically. Trying to argue might work but time is not exactly the luxury he has. Each second passes by without him fully assessing Alhaitham's body may result in critical predicaments.
So Zazan endures. Because Omega Build does have the right to mingle with Hayi even if it's obstructing his task. But only so much that when Omega Build starts to sneakily caresses Alhaitham's inner thighs after helping take off his patient gown with a mischievous smirk, Zazan quickly and precisely shoots his face with the water spray he has been clenching for a while now.
“Alright, that's enough,” Sigma Build says as he fixes his surgical gloves and approaches Alhaitham's bed, ignoring Omega Build who's squawking in anger at being sprayed with water again, “open your legs and don't make it weird,” he orders Alhaitham while throwing his water spray at Omega Build for good measure, staring sternly at Alhaitham as if daring him to disobey.
Alhaitham's lips twitch from amusement but he holds his tongue. Instead, he demurely crosses his legs to hide his lower half and shyly lowers his eyelid. It's apparent that he's playing innocent. Unfortunately, Zazan can't find it in himself to humor him at the moment.
So Zazan sucks in a breath, his wings ruffling angrily, and grabs both of Alhaitham's ankles before roughly spreading them apart, reaping a surprised wail and a flared wings from Alhaitham.
[Hey! Hey hey hey hey! What are you doing to moonlight, you imbecile?!] Omega Build angrily yells at Sigma Build from the link.
But Zazan doesn't deign him any answer, opting to scrutinize Alhaitham's lower body instead, because he knows Omega Build won't stop him. It's against their conduct of operation.
The normal male genital is still there, a complete set of it. From rough observation, Alhaitham's hips don't seem to be more curvy as well. Weird. Pursing his lips thoughtfully, Zazan lowers himself to a squat to peek under Alhaitham's balls. Alhaitham lets out an embarrassed yelp at that and he tries to close his legs but Zazan's grips on his ankles stay true as he keeps holding them apart.
There's also no female genital below his balls. What the fuck?
Zazan closes his eyes to think of some possible explanations.
The rontgen pictures show that the womb has a passage, which can be assumed as the vagina, down to Alhaitham's crotch. Yet no kind of opening can be found down there. Can it be assumed that the womb is not functional then?
Zazan reopens his eyes to scrutinize the spot where the sun doesn't shine on Alhaitham again. No. That doesn't sound very plausible. The solution is created with the sole purpose of human evolution. If it alters the body then it alters complete with its function. The chance that it merely creates a mass of flesh mimicking the desired object is highly unlikely.
Zazan's wings twitch and with a click of his tongue, he lets go of Alhaitham's legs, “Keep them apart or else I'll have to tie them apart,” he threatens when Alhaitham immediately starts to tremblingly close his legs.
With a flinch and wings ruffled from embarrassment, Alhaitham complies silently.
Zazan nods in satisfaction at Alhaitham's obedience before he brush Alhaitham's balls up so that he can inspect the place more. Alhaitham lets out a loud strangled squeak at the sudden touch which, again, Zazan ignores. He focuses on carefully prodding the place, searching if there's any hidden slit that's covered with a membrane. He ignores the way Alhaitham makes small jumps from time to time and how his thighs are shaking heavily.
[Turns out…] Omega Build trails off in the link, sounding extremely amused, [moonlight is really not into humiliation, huh?]
Zazan doesn't answer. He keeps on focusing on that space, searching for any abnormalities to no avail. Frustrated that he finds nothing, Zazan jabs his thumb at the spot where he has assumed the newly developed vulva would be. The sudden pain in such a remote place causes Alhaitham to yelp and he instinctively tries to close his legs.
Unfortunately, that makes Zazan, who's already annoyed that the situation doesn't make any sense and now added with Alhaitham's not cooperating well with his order, snap. He roughly grabs Alhaitham’s thighs and forcefully spreads them wide, wings flaring in vexation and snarling at Alhaitham.
The sight of his annoyed mate with aggression seeping in his very breath and the way his legs are spread to the point that it's almost painful are able to force a soft terrified squeal out of Alhaitham.
The moment Omega Build hears the sound, he quickly tuts to the link, [Not answering? Well, you sure are no fun today,] he comments, but when that doesn't snap Sigma Build from his angry brainstorming, he says, [Stop being so rough with moonlight. If you don't remember, he's currently your patient.]
That manages to bring Zazan back.
With an exhausted sigh, Zazan loosens his grips on Alhaitham's thighs and lets the legs relax, “‘Sorry,” he mumbles under his breath as he continues staring at Alhaitham’s crotch, mind lost in thoughts.
Alhaitham lets out a reassuring humm that's muffled by the hand he uses to cover his face from embarrassment, “What do you find?” he asks.
Zazan huffs in frustration before tilting his head up, defeated, wings slumped tiredly, “Nothing,” he reports, “and that's… quite concerning, I guess.”
Alhaitham really wants to close his legs. Having his mate so seriously observing that area in this kind of environment is quite embarrassing. He doesn't know what kind of image he's currently striking. But, at the moment, having Zandik shamelessly jerking off to him, while sitting so arrogantly and unabashedly on a chair a little bit far away from Zazan, definitely doesn't feel as flattering as usual.
Normally, Alhaitham would have gotten hard at the sight of his mate's delicious big cock. It's not like he's not in the mood to reciprocate either. The problem is that Zazan seems like he's stressing out from trying to help him. What else can he do except be accommodating?
Zazan suddenly lets out a loud caw while slamming his fist on the bed Alhaitham is on as if he has finally realized something.
“What's it?” Alhaitham asks after the noise snaps him from unknowingly sending a longing look at Zandik, who is smirking to himself as if he's aware he's watching.
Zazan freezes for a moment, mouth stretched into a tight smile, before he seemingly huffs all his apprehension away, “This is going to be weird,” he slowly says as he stares unblinkingly at Alhaitham as if to tell how serious he is, and Alhaitham tries to stare back as seriously as he can even if Zazan is currently talking right between his legs, “but I'll have to prod your asshole,” he says while exuding the same air of seriousness as before.
Again, the room plummets into silence as Omega Build even stops jerking his cock.
Alright, Alhaitham can't take this seriously anymore, “Zazan…” he trails off with an amused smile.
Zazan slaps Alhaitham’s thigh in annoyed embarrassment, “Shut up! I told you to not make it weird,” he snaps, wings ruffling madly behind him.
Alhaitham snorts, feeling more relaxed now, “You shouldn't make weird requests then,” he purrs while peering down at the red-faced youth between his legs.
Zazan opens his mouth, about to explain his theory, but then closes it again, sensing that it's not worth the embarrassment, “I thought of a theory I wish to confirm,” he says instead.
Alhaitham hums as he tilts his head to the side, tongue peeking from lips slightly parted in amusement, “Is that so?” he asks as he slowly moves his leg to press his soft thigh to Zazan's cheek, “suppose that I give you the benefit of the doubt, care to elaborate on what kind of instrument you are going to use to prod me?” he asks, though from the glint in his eyes, he's probably already thinking of something already.
“My fingers,” Zazan dryly answers, as if already accepting the fact that he's not going to be taken seriously.
Zandik snorts, “Starting from foreplay. How cute,” he mockingly comments.
That causes Zazan to swish around with flared wings, “Shut u-ewgh,” he says, intending to snap at Omega Build but instead finding him jerking off.
Zandik's lips twitch into a smug smile, “Don't mind me,” he sing-songs, “I'm just happy to see moonlight, that's all.”
Zazan dryly looks at Zandik for a moment, unimpressed, before he flicks his wings and ruffles his hair, “Alright, whatever. Just pass me the lubricant.”
Zandik snorts one more time before using his unoccupied hand to reach for the bottle beside him and throws it at Zazan, being surprisingly accommodating, probably because he wants to watch the next step already. Zazan easily catches the bottle before turning around, intending to simply ignore Zandik until his presence is needed. Without another word, he squeezes the viscous content of the bottle into his right hand and thoroughly lathers his fingers. His other hand parts Alhaitham’s globe of flesh so that he can fully see the suspiciously normal looking hole.
It took Zazan a while. But once he notices it, he knows that there's something to be found here. Alhaitham's anus looks normal, as in, it looks like a normal male anus. Which is why it's abnormal for Alhaitham. There's no way that this whore has a normal anus instead of his vertical one created through sex that occurs way too often than it should be healthy.
Sure, time can return the anus back to normal. But his body was put in a stasis so his anus shouldn't have healed and yet it is. Y'know what else formed despite the body being in a stasis? The womb.
So yeah. His theory is not completely baseless. Not that it will change anything if he explains his reasonings.
So Zazan rubs the healthy rim with his lubricated thumb, ignoring how a heat burns in his lower stomach when the virgin looking hole twitches. When he starts inserting his thumb inside, he can see the thigh, still pressed to his cheek because he didn't bother to bat it away, starts to tremble yet not showing any sign of trying to obstruct him. Oh, so obediently cooperating that it's kinda arousing. But Zazan quickly bites his tongue to kick down that thought. He won't give Hayi another teasing material he can exploit. Clearly, it doesn't bode well for him.
Zazan raises an eyebrow when his fingers are knuckle deep. Weird. It's not like he can reach Alhaitham's prostate with just his fingers, but usually that would've been enough to force a moan out of him. But at the moment Alhaitham doesn't even make any noise.
With that in mind, Zazan quickly glances up at Alhaitham to check if he's stifling his noises. Only to find that Alhaitham is quietly staring down at him, as if patiently waiting for things to get good.
Zazan gulps down the saliva starting to mount in his mouth to ignore the heat pooling more and more in his stomach and starts to prod his fingers around. Though there's no intention in him to make any of these sexual, the squelching sounds his fingers inadvertently created still sounds very suggestive. So Zazan secretly bites his inner cheeks as he starts to silently recount what he's trying to do, ignoring the sounds of labored breathing and not trying to find out if it comes from him or Alhaitham.
Alright, from his blind prodding, nothing is too unusual. The passage is tight, wet, and hot but that's just how it has always been. If he wants to confirm anything, he needs something longer than his fingers to be used to confirm what's going on inside. One that does not require him to cut Alhaitham open to see what's going on.
[You can use your tongue,] Omega Build suddenly suggests after staying silent for quite a while.
The suggestion makes Sigma Build irritatedly thrusts his fingers into Alhaitham, causing Alhaitham to instinctively clamp his head with his thighs, which is understandable so he doesn't comment on it, [I suppose I'm the only one taking this seriously since all of you are more fixated on fucking him,] Sigma Build says to the link, tone neutral but in reality he's annoyed beyond belief, [and I will let you. Later. Once I've confirmed that Alhaitham is fine,] he continues, neutral tone starting to crumble, [So for the sake of our mate, stop making things difficult for me!] he finally snaps to the link.
Omega Build, undoubtedly still lazily jerking himself off if the faint squelching sound from behind him is any indication, sighs to the link, though it sounds more as if he's inconvenienced by the bad performance, [You know how the Segments work, Sigma Build,] he coldly chides from the link, offended at what his younger Segment has said, causing Sigma Build's wings to bristle, [we care but we have different priority due to our mental age. You should be aware of it so I'll just leave it at that since you're making moonlight quite uncomfortable by having your fingers deep inside him, unmoving, like that,] he continues, oh so magnanimous that Sigma Build just wants to cut his neck, [again, you can use your tongue. As much as I'm aware, there has been no attempt to ‘fix’ that part of you, hasn't it?]
Sigma Build stills as he thoughtfully mulls it over, staring intently at his fingers which are deep in Alhaitham's hole and ignoring the way Alhaitham's thighs are starting to rub against his head from impatience. As a matter of fact, Omega Build has suggested a good solution for his problem. The Segments’ vessels are man-made. They took a lot of time to create because the smallest bit of error during the cultivation process may result in unusable vessels. In fact, with the exception of Prime's vessel, all vessels are in some ways flawed. His flaw is some mutations in his body, in a way similar to Alhaitham's case.
His tongue, in particular, is long. Long long . The others figured that's probably why he's such a noise maker and Prime had tried to cut a portion of his tongues off to shut him up, but it regrew since his regeneration ability is fixed with him having that long of a tongue, after sewing his mouth closed, which obviously failed because –of course– he fucking knew how to reopen some stitches.
Therefore indeed, his tongue is a good option. Zazan simply hoped for something that has… less sexual undertones.
Omega Build lazily hums in the link, this time sounding satisfied as if he knows he has already won, [I didn't know you have the time to be picky, Sigma Build.]
Zazan silently snarls from between Alhaitham's thighs that are crushing his head, his wings irritatedly rearranging themselves behind him. Damn, if there's one thing Omega Build is good at, it's manipulating everyone, even the Segments, to do what he wants. But it isn't like Zazan does have the time to be nitpicky so he takes his fingers out from Alhaitham.
Alhaitham immediately whines in disappointment the moment the fingers left him, “Is it done?” still he tries to ask with composure as he, with some effort, tries to free Zazan's head from his legs.
However, when he finds Zazan reluctantly starts sticking his tongue out, he instantly feels excitedly aroused if not a little bit amused, “Now, just what kind of theory do yo- !!” he purrs out before quickly choking in surprise as Zazan's tongue extends far longer than anything humane and is still going.
With his tongue fully out, dripping with thick saliva since it isn't exactly taken out often, Zazan experimentally moves the long muscle around, testing his mastery over it. Idly, he wonders if he looks like a monster to Alhaitham. But he knows not to entertain the thought at the moment otherwise he'll end up like Alpha Build who was feeling insecure about his looks. But honestly, judging from how he can start to smell faint arousal coming from Alhaitham and how the faint squelching sounds from Omega Build jerking off is getting slightly faster, he's probably fine.
Damn, his mate really is a freak, huh?
Feeling that things have been taking far too long than necessary, Zazan grabs Alhaitham's thighs and spreads them to allow his head some space. Next, he spreads the soft mounds of flesh that are hiding the place he's about to sully in the name of science. The place twitches, might be because of the cold air or excitement, or both. It doesn't really matter when Zazan immediately jabs his tongue in until he feels some form of blockage, causing Alhaitham to loudly squeal and flap his wings from the sudden intrusion.
For the record, Zazan mainly stops his research activity because of how tightly Alhaitham's thighs clamp his head. It honestly feels almost crushing. He held the thighs apart earlier mainly because he foresaw that this would happen but who would've guessed that Alhaitham managed to free his thighs from his grips so easily?
Alright, there's definitely a boost in Alhaitham's strength, Zazan thinks as he tries to wrestle Alhaitham's thighs to free his head. Unfortunately, Alhaitham's thighs don't budge in the slightest. Zazan is not too keen on asking Omega Build for help since the creature in question sounds like he's in too deep with his jerking off session. Then again, his inability to free his head is irrelevant. He can still move his tongue deeper still. So that's what Zazan does, pressing his tongue deeper and trying to feel out what is the blockage he found. Completely ignoring the way Alhaitham squeezes his head harder with a shrill squeal as he arches his back almost violently.
After feeling out the blockage with his tongue for some time, resulting in Alhaitham squirming around in overstimulated discomfort and yanking his hair as a plea for him to stop, Zazan guesses that this blockage is most likely some form of a flesh valve. To try to prove that point, Zazan pushes on the flesh and sure enough, it gives in, allowing his tongue to arrive in another passage. At the, undoubtedly, strange sensation from a passage which was not there before, Alhaitham's toes curl and he violently squirms around to make the sensation stop. Unfortunately for him, Zazan is too deep in thoughts to notice anything else except for the new things he finds.
It's only when Zazan's lower face is drenched with Alhaitham's cum and his own saliva does his tongue finally hit another wall of flesh. It's softer than the one from before. After tonguing it for a moment, finding that this one is more akin to a tightly sealed entrance instead of a valve, Zazan can immediately guess what it is.
[Found the cervix,] Zazan announces to the link as he triumphantly grins in all his drenched lower face glory.
[Niceeeee,] Omega Build, whom Sigma Build honestly had forgotten because Alhaitham was very loud, groans [now stimulate it,] he orders.
Sigma Build makes a face, the tip of his tongue accidentally pushes against the wall of flesh which causes Alhaitham to splurt come again, [I told you to fucking take this seriously,] he growls to the link.
Omega Build clicks his tongue outwardly, somehow Sigma Build is able to hear it amidst the noises Alhaitham has started to blabber, [Oh, I'm fucking taking this seriously,] he snaps, [stimulate the womb more so that it can be clearly seen whether moonlight is able to self-lubricate. If he can then it is a sign that the womb is functional,] he explains before growling, [now make a good show or I am going to go there and test it out myself.]
Alright. Firstly, Omega Build makes a good point. Secondly, when he said he's going to do it himself, that most likely means with his dick so Zazan can't allow that to happen. Thirdly, Zazan doesn't really oppose it. This is probably the first time he ever genuinely turns Alhaitham into a mess.
So yeah, there's no mercy for this whore.
Notes:
Help Alhaitham, yay or nay?
(I ask as if I don't have a plan already)So sorry for the weird chapter. It's necessary to prepare you for the weirder upcoming chapters. I might actually start to put body horror in the tag when that time comes.
Mochi, such soft fluff, but unfortunately refuses pats and cuddles. Cockroach hunter.
Alexanderrrrr, baby, but unfortunately short hair. Rat hunter.
I have two flavors of cat.
I hope this chapter doesn't disturb you much. Because it won't stop here and will get worse.
Have a nice day.
Chapter 67
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Alhaitham still hasn’t stopped coming since Zazan had accidentally nudged his newly developed cervix. So Zazan patiently waits for him to stop coming and at least gains a little bit of composure. He wants to know how Alhaitham will react once he knows he's going to experience the pleasure again whether he likes it or not. More or less similar to what he had done to him in their early days.
Zazan's chance for revenge is finally coming and he is quite excited –in more ways than one if the tightness of his pants is any indication. But whatever, this revenge is going to be sweet. He can see it. In fact, he can already taste it even now.
Zazan's inner thoughts are halted once he finally realizes that his papillae are literally catching some sweet taste. Not sweet as sugar is but sweet like… a freshly caught river fish. … Alright, so what his tongue catches is definitely protein based.
Frowning deep in thoughts, Zazan swirls the tip of his tongue around the cervix. Of course, Alhaitham still hasn't stopped cumming but he cares little of that even if that causes Alhaitham to make a wounded sounding squeal as his thighs tightens around his head and starts to spasm. In fact, sadistically grinning to himself for he knows what will happen if he does what he has in mind, Zazan adds more to the stimulation by pushing on the cervix, roughly licking the small hole.
With a keen, Alhaitham arches his back to the point it looks almost painful. His legs crushes Zazan's head so hard that it kinda hurts as a stronger climax comes out of his still weeping cock. Zazan stills completely, waiting again for Alhaitham to calm down. Because, the notion was laughable before, but at the moment Zazan honestly feels like Alhaitham being able to accidentally crush his head is not very unlikely.
So, because Zazan has a sense of dignity and self-preservation, he waits and uses the time to guess what the sweet taste that's now enveloping his papillae is.
Pheromone? Pheromone. Yeah. That's likely. From his observation so far, Alhaitham's body still retains his male functions. He even still possesses his prostate despite the fuckery going on inside his asshole. It's close to the flesh valve –just a bit deeper from where his fingers could reach. The only female characteristic that has developed in his body is the female reproductive organs –sans the conventional entrance for it. Assuming that Alhaitham's case is not an anomaly and that his mutation is indeed still aligning with the other cases thus far, the womb is most likely functional –though it's still unknown to what degree. The pheromone being released from this place is most likely one of the ways the womb is releasing the female hormone it creates since although it's now being actively produced in Alhaitham's body, it still, in a way, seems isolated from the rest of the bodily functions.
Which means, 1) Omega Build is right, Alhaitham can self-lubricate now, and 2) with time, the female hormone will build up and, if not regulated from time to time, will definitely turn Alhaitham into one extremely horny whore that's borderline murderous if not satiated well.
Zazan's wings shiver from fear and, embarrassingly, arousal at the thought.
Zazan is pulled out of his thoughts when the soft thighs crushing his head finally release him. They continuously spasm as they slide down his shoulders to hang limply from the edge of the bed. Curious, though infinitely amused, Zazan observes the extent of what he had done to Alhaitham.
Very good. The big bully who keeps mocking him during sex is now reduced to nothing more than a half conscious, spasming, fucked out whore that keeps softly mumbling Avian noises under his breath. Alhaitham's cock isn't even hard right now but it's still dripping liquid, dirtying the majority of his stomach and chest. It's rather concerning, actually. He might have to check on that later –but at the moment, it's just funny. His wings splay lifelessly under him, also dirty from his own cum that oozes down from his torso, seemingly not having energy left.
The sight causes Zazan to think if he has gone too far. Alhaitham hasn't woken up for very long, after all. The antibody is also most vulnerable post waking up. It'll be bad if Alhaitham falls ill right now of all time.
So Zazan forcefully tries to insert the rest of his tongue into Alhaitham's hole, causing Alhaitham to jolt awake but, other than that, can only hiccup and sobs as his body continues to spasm. His legs are not even able to move so that he can hinder Zazan's head anymore.
Of course it'll be bad, but he is sure he will know how to take care of it. Therefore, the only logical action at the moment is to exact his revenge.
Inwardly giggling sadistically, Zazan continues to force the rest of his tongue in, testing just how much this, now virgin but probably not for long, hole can hold. His tongue continuously squeezes into the tight space as he continues to force the rest in. Not that it matters since his tongue is just a very long but soft muscle without any bone. When Zazan's mouth can finally close around Alhaitham's hole, which is now dripping with that mildly sweet liquid, he pauses, calculating the most effective length he needs to break the whore.
The pause finally allows Alhaitham to sucks in a most needed breath. He sniffles as he tries to calm himself and regains composure. Zazan will allow him that much. After all, this brief reprieve is going to become torturous very soon.
With his calculation complete, Zazan gets ready, causing his tongue to accidentally twitch with intent inside Alhaitham's hole. Sensing the movement, Alhaitham's breath hitches as he starts to shiver with, Zazan notes with amusement, fear . Alhaitham's hands discoordinately try to find any purchase so that he can push himself up though it's useless since he's too weak to do anything.
Thus as a last resort, with a voice so full of pleas, Alhaitham opens his mouth, “...Zashan… noOuUuh- !”
What a shame it is that Alhaitham isn't exactly given any choice and all his pleading did is setting the starting mark for Zazan to, quite literally, tongue fuck him.
Alhaitham chokes, gasps, hiccups, wails, and squeals as he's forced to take in the slippery muscle into his hole. He doesn't even have the energy to stop Zazan except tightening his hole in the hope that it will stop the tongue. Unfortunately, it does nothing as the tongue continues to brutishly violates his inside and slams onto the entrance of his womb. With a stuttered breath, Alhaitham cums again with a cry, mind blanking out. With half a mind, he wonders if it will finally stop. Yet when the tongue continues to ravish him. Alhaitham –purely out of flight response– twists his body to try to crawl away.
And Alhaitham can only pitifully wail when he's immediately dragged back before he can even move an inch.
[Yessss. Very good. That's how you do it,] Omega Build appreciatively groans to the link as he speeds up his jerking motion, [you aren't eating moonlight correctly if he doesn't try to escape.]
Zazan doesn't even hear him, too busy inflicting torture with his tongue. Taking his revenge is fun. But it's also arousing, and one thing he doesn't want to do in his life is coming untouched in his pants. So he exacts his final move by pressing down on Alhaitham's prostate hard as he shoves his tongue as much as he can into Alhaitham's vagina, slamming hard into the cervix.
By that time, the only thing Alhaitham can do is let out a sob as he cums again.
Zazan pauses again. Observing Alhaitham's condition for a moment, he knows for sure that he has revenged himself. Now, with Hayi weakly whimpering as his ejaculation continues and the sound of Omega Build groaning as he reaches his climax, Zazan finally realizes that he's achingly hard.
… How the fuck will he take care of it, now? He figured that after tongue-fucking, he can just fuck him. But now that he thinks about it, he can't. After all, it really will be detrimental if he messes with Hayi too far. While he knows he can handle it, why take such risks? Besides, he has been very adamant on asking everyone to stop being horny. It would be weird if he's the one to take Hayi’s newly-regained virginity.
[Awww, so considerate,] Omega Build amusedly coos to the link with a chuckle, sounding less angry now that he had finally been able to jerk off, [which is quite unlike you so I'm sure it's just an attempt to maintain your dignity. As such, no need to worry. Your dignity is already dirty. Just fuck him. It'll be fun.]
Sigma Build is not in any mood to humor the Segment, his cock is kinda hurting and he has a postponed check-up to be done, [I make a point to not be a hypocrite, Omega Build,] he says after rearranging his wings.
Omega Build snorts out loud at that, taking the insult with amusement, before he stands up, [A useless facade to keep up, isn't it?] Omega Build asks as he very languidly approaches the sickbed, mostly because his legs are rather weak after cumming hard earlier, [you can't seriously insist on that when you're so hard down there.]
Sigma Build watches as Omega Build circles him before walking closer to Hayi. … He fucking took off his pants. An alarming sight because of what Zazan has been trying to keep him from doing and yet he can't find himself to care right now.
His pants are only becoming tighter and tighter for some reason despite him trying to calm his thoughts. On top of that, it's subtle, but Zazan can feel the heat pooling in his stomach slowly seeping to the rest of his body in a feverish haze. Aphrodisiac effects. Fucking pheromone also doubles as an aphrodisiac. Oh, Alpha Build will have a field day trying to stop himself from fucking Alhaitham now.
Omega Build holds the cum he has been cupping with his hand close to Alhaitham's face. It, somehow, causes Alhaitham to flutter open, showing his dazed eyes. The only thing Zazan can think of as a reason is because, maybe, the cum stinks. But that is quickly disproven when Alhaitham starts to nose the hand holding it. Then, like a kitten who has been weak from thirst for so long, Alhaitham weakly licks the hand. He kisses and sucks the hand, as if trying to coax it into giving what he wants. When that doesn't budge the hand, he presses his cheek to the hand and sadly whines.
That causes Omega Build to grin wide and coo, “Oh, moonlight. I'm so sorry, I didn't know you want my cum that much,” his grin subtly has an edge of danger as he carefully parts Alhaitham's mouth and slowly tips his cum inside, “there you go,” he purrs with a cackle from deep within his lungs, businessman veneer eroding into showing his obsessed self.
Zazan watches the act. He sees but he doesn't understand what's the significance of it. His mind is awake but only able to make a comment that it's gross. That's what his mind says yet his dick finds it extremely alluring.
Alhaitham, now cleaning Zandik's fingers with his tongue, finally notices Zazan. The least thing Zazan could have wanted –if he's still going along with his plan to stop. Yet Alhaitham is not Hayi if he's that obedient. Without any regard to what he's doing to others, Alhaitham sucks Zandik's fingers to the knuckle before tremblingly lifting a leg onto the bed, allowing Zazan to see the source of the aphrodisiac affecting him.
The clear liquid continuously dripping lazily from Alhaitham's hole certainly proves that he can self-lubricate now. Though Zazan has no idea why Alhaitham is showing his hole to him. A lie, because the gaze Alhaitham directs at him can't mean anything other than ‘fuck me’. So Zazan freezes, mind frantically reminding himself that he can't fuck the whore in front of him, but then he chokes on his breath when he can smell Alhaitham's pheromone –a feat he's not supposed to be able to do as his wish to mate is mostly dormant.
The feverish heat corrupting him seemingly intensifies tenfold as Zazan stands there, frozen and breathing extremely heavily. He tries hard to fight this unfamiliar desire. He has a task to do. Unfortunately, Omega Build chooses that moment to thwart his plan –because of course he does.
Omega Build spread his fingers that Alhaitham is sucking on, easily opening the mouth. With the objects in his mouth separated that wide, Alhaitham is unable to suck on them anymore. Yet he doesn't say anything.
Alhaitham simply waits patiently as he now dazedly looks at Zandik. The sweet look on his moonlight’s face is enough to spark desire in Zandik. So he dives tongue first into a kiss.
Alhaitham's face slightly scrunches from the suddenness of the kiss. Yet he doesn't try to oppose it at all. He opens his mouth for the explorer to map, lifting his tongue from time to time with just the littlest nudge of the tongue.
So obedient. So pliant. So… submissive.
That's new, Zazan thinks. That's new and it's extremely arousing. … Zazan likes that look on Alhaitham's face.
[Well, what are you waiting for?] Omega Build asks from the link, only slightly snapping Zazan from his horny aphrodisiac induced tunnel vision.
It takes a while before Sigma Build finally decides to take a step back, [If you want to fuck him that bad then you do it. I have my own things to do,] he says yet he doesn't distance himself after that one step.
Zazan can vaguely see Omega Build rolling his eyes, but he honestly doesn't focus on that. Instead he focuses on Alhaitham who finally decides to extract himself from the kiss to look at him.
“Zazan…,” Alhaitham trails off as he shoots him a pleading needy look, “please turn mommy into a real mommy….”
Out of habit, Zazan's wings slump down tiredly though inwardly he's very tempted. It's not the first time he's teased like that and as always, it's working.
Omega Build snorts to the link, [Oh, now I see the allure. Moonlight looks so snooty when he says that even though it's clearly an embarrassing thing to say,] he says before he softly bites Alhaitham's cheek, “it's so cute,” he purrs out loud, causing Alhaitham to spoiledly whine.
[Well, you fuck him, then,] Sigma Build repeats but this time he doesn't move in the slightest.
Omega Build tsks to the link, [No. You will,] he sternly says, giving no room for arguments, as he glares at Sigma Build, [moonlight, for whatever reason, chooses your clumsy and inexperienced self to take his womb virginity. So you either comply with his request or I'll force you to.]
… So damn unreasonable yet Zazan doubts Omega Build is only bluffing. Thinking of what to do, Zazan glances back to Alhaitham's hole. It's still dripping with that liquid. On top of that, it really does look like a virgin hole. So tight, as if its experience with others is now gone. With that thought, Zazan descends into a delusion that, from now on, Alhaitham is the Segments’. Gone are the traces left by his past partners. Now he can mold that hole to the shape of his dick.
… Wait, this is not his usual line of thoughts.
Unfortunately for Zazan, the moment he realizes it, his dick is already freed and is kissing Alhaitham's rim. Vexed, he glares at Omega Build who's back to roughly kissing Alhaitham. He's about to yell at him, but then his knees feel a wave of weakness when he feels the head of his dick already pressing inside Alhaitham's hole.
[Omega Build, you motherfucker,] in the end, Sigma Build curses to the link.
Omega Build ends his kiss with Alhaitham to send a smug smirk at Alpha Build, [you'll also be called that soon,] he says as he helps Alhaitham to circle his arms around Sigma Build's neck.
Gnashing his teeth, Zazan intends to free himself from Alhaitham to, at the very least, kick Omega Build for having the audacity to manipulate his subconscious. Unfortunately before he can do so, Omega Build is already nudging his lower back forward, causing his dick to rougly enters Alhaitham's hole deeper.
Alhaitham moans breathily to Zazan's ear, “Oh, Zazan please be gentle to mommy~”
If, before, the sudden tightness enveloping his dick hasn't been able to cloud his judgment, that sentence sure is. So with a defeated sigh, Zazan buries his face to Alhaitham's neck and submits to his dick. Whatever, he will see what he can do later. If shits gone to Abyss, he can just blame Omega Build.
…
Returning to the chair he used earlier, Omega Build smugly watches as Sigma Build clumsily fucks his moonlight. Unlike before, Sigma Build, of course, can't just be his inexperienced self. Fucking a virgin needs some amount of gentleness, after all. Still he has to admit that the way Sigma Build leaves gentle love bites on moonlight's neck every time he's too harsh is quite endearing.
As Omega Build starts to languidly jerk off again, he can't help but feel bad for moonlight. It isn't like the other's feeling to moonlight is a complete manipulation either. But he still feels bad because things can't be as natural as he had hoped.
Damn him for being a hopeless romantic. In truth, Omega Build truly wishes that the others will develop fondness for moonlight naturally. Unfortunately, Prime is a fool and Sigma Build doesn't have a single idea of what's going on. Alpha Build is surprisingly cooperative, though. So that's good. Then again, Alpha Build is just like him in this department.
Omega Build closes his eyes to the sound of his moonlight’s moans as he jerks his cock more seriously, imagining that he's the one fucking him.
He thought that if Prime and/ Sigma Build are unable to give moonlight what he deserves, then Alpha Build and him will suffice. But nooooooo. No, Prime just had to be an old awkward fool and Sigma Build had to be a whiny bitch. …And his moonlight just had to be smart and greedy –just the way he likes it.
So yeah, some manipulations of the subconscious are necessary to speed things up. Having lived for centuries, the Segments’ view on time is very skewed. In a way, he's lucky his task is closely related to business. Watching the rise and fall of trends sure brings him some semblance of time awareness.
And that's why he finds this necessary. Because moonlight would be hurt more, otherwise. So he'll continue to give some nudges here and there. He's the Omega Build Dottore, after all.
Notes:
[edited cuz me forgor to write note]
Thank you for the reassurances in the last chapter. Though I probably don't have to warn my readers about the content of the chapter, seeing as the tags and warning exist, I just can't be too sure since I'm not good at tagging. So I was worried. Because I know I'm demented but I don't if my readers are and I don't want to introduce this path to anyone.
That said, my friend said Dottore Dottore Dottore Dottore x Alhaitham is a weird ship already so I guess it's already a sign.
What can trigger my bloodlust like any other is waking up seeing fat mosquitoes in my room. Like, they dare eat me in my sleep and stayed? Oh, go to the electric chair.
Mochi has found her favorite place to sleep. It's my dirty laundry basket. Idk why but if she's happy and stays at home, then she can sleep there. Alex, on the other hand, likes to sleep on my table and stretches out with no consideration to others. Yes, he knocks everything off the table vis stretching. Which is annoying because my table is roughly 80cmx80cm.
Chapter 68
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It's actually a damn common sense to not touch something of dubious substance, not to mention licking it. But Zazan understands that the choice of licking the liquid secreted from Alhaitham’s womb origins from his decision alone. So yeah, Zazan has to bear the shame and consequences of his mistake whether he likes it or not.
And to be perfectly honest, he likes it.
Zazan thrusts his cock deep into Alhaitham's womb before he stills and clenches his eyes shut. His wings make a small flap behind him as he empties his cum one last time with a heavy shudder. His dick hurts, his balls hurt too. He doesn't know how long it has been nor how many times he has cummed. Frankly, at the moment, he is way too tired to care about the details.
The aphrodisiac sure was strong considering that it was able to influence him that badly. Wait, no. The fact that it can influence ‘him’ at all is already something. The fact that it's a natural secretion is also rather… concerning.
Come to think of it, shouldn't the aphrodisiac effects ailing him get worse since he has been continuously making contact with it –with his dick to boot? Yet, he no longer feels any of the effects left in him. Sure, he's tired, but that's purely out of the physical exertion of fucking for many hours. Unless the aphrodisiac effects can only be triggered when the target fulfills some kinds of requirements –which Zazan severely doubts it because what kind of secretion needs to be that advanced, then the womb most likely stopped secreting the aphrodisiac once it senses a participant.
Which means, the aphrodisiac is either secreted according to some kind of biological procedure or Alhaitham can secrete it on command. Zazan doesn't know which is better. Either way, Alhaitham now has the mean to severely disrupt any Segment from their duty to fuck.
That’s… going to create a really big dent in their productivity.
Zazan is fished out from his thoughts when Alhaitham squeezes his shoulder. The whore seems to be doing it because he feels another hot load enters his womb, chittering cheerfully and fluttering his wings. Now that Zazan observes it, isn't Alhaitham is kind of more… energized?
Zazan inwardly laughs bitterly before he limply leans to Alhaitham, honestly on the verge of passing out. He slightly wishes that his brain won't find the connections and explanations so soon but he supposes it is inevitable. In a way, it's better that he knows it sooner than later.
Alhaitham is in Alpha Build's age range. He's just as hormonal as Alpha Build –most likely way more as evidenced with his ability to keep up with 4 Segments sexual drive– so of course Alhaitham's body condition is similar to Alpha Build.
Fuck, Zazan curses to himself as he feels his mind getting fuzzy from tiredness. As if sensing his condition, Alhaitham circles his arms around Zazan's limp body and pulls him onto the bed. Zazan doesn't even try to struggle –he can't. So Zazan resigns himself to Alhaitham and whatever shits he will do to him, knowing full well that Omega Build won't help him because he probably fantasizes about getting this kind of treatment himself.
Yet, to Zazan's surprise, Alhaitham simply lies him down on the cleanest part of the bed –which is still pretty dirty but it's still the cleanest, softly smiling down at him in fucked contentment. Fighting the urge to close his eyes, Zazan squints his eyes to observe Alhaitham, trying to figure him out.
Alhaitham looks tired –not a surprise there– but, in a way, he also does look more energized.
…
Ffffffffuckk…..
Of course. Alhaitham's body is now more close to a Segment’s vessel than anything. He intended to test this one later, but now it seems like Alhaitham can gain energy from other sources. If the Segments’ main energy source is from the god’s remain core functioning as the heart that pumps energy to the rest of the vessel, Alhaitham can also do it, albeit probably only a little. Naturally, since the Segments’ cells are powered by the energy of a god’s remain, every cells of the vessel contains god’s remain energy. In conclusion, Alhaitham can ingest any part of a Segment and gain energy from it, cum included.
Haha, what the fuck?
If Alhaitham wants to then he can literally just survive by ingesting their cum.
What the fuck is this crude fiction ass bullshit? It must be Omega Build's fault.
[Hot,] Omega Build extremely eloquently comments to the link, igniting the desire within Sigma Build to castrate him.
Unfortunately, or fortunately for Zandik, Zazan doesn't feel like getting up. He simply rolls to his side grumpily, facing away from Alhaitham, and starts to doze off. Alhaitham reaction to it is simple. He just silently lies down beside him and snuggles to his wings before starting to softly chittering.
Zazan furrows his eyebrows in suspicion, wondering if it's Alhaitham’s trick, but he still doesn't move a finger, already resigned to his fate. He waits, but Alhaitham still doesn't do anything else except occasionally brushing his feathers and pulling him closer. It's very cozy that Zazan's already tired eyes are slowly closing. Unfortunately, his vigilance continues to blare alarm in his head, urging him to stay conscious until he knows the whore’s plan else he has to be content with dying via sex.
From the link, Alpha Build attempts to soothe his worry –and by that, it means he's mocking him, [Congratulations, you've tamed him.]
Zazan dryly hums to the link as a response before he simply rolls around to Alhaitham and buries his face to Alhaitham's chest, ignoring the wetness of it for he's already out of fuck to give. He can vaguely hear Omega Build softly snorts at him but he easily ignores him. In a way, it's shameful that he acts like this but fucking and then cuddling afterward is a deadly combo in coaxing him to be lazy. Especially, when Alhaitham starts spooning him and lazily scratching his scalp.
Omega Build sits around silently as the other two quietly snuggle in their sleep, leaning back to his chair as he gazes up in a post nut clarity. That was hot. He wants to do it again, but he also wants to personally breed moonlight. With so many mutations affecting his reproductive organs, there's no way moonlight's womb isn't functional.
… The thought of being a father. No, the mere thought of spawning a child is still so foreign to him. It's no wonder that the rest of the Segments oppose it.
Their relationship with Alhaitham is already unexpected. Adding a wild variable to the equation that they haven't fully wrapped their head around is an idiotic move. Even Omega Build also has some concerns. The only reason he is being supportive is because, apparently, a child often makes the mother reluctant to leave the relationship.
…
Alright, it's mostly because he's a simp.
But can anyone blame him? It's the first time moonlight ever wishes for something unreasonable. Who is he if he isn't going to deliver?
Besides, moonlight looked so excited earlier. Making your mate happy is just a given. And if anyone messes with his plan to make his moonlight happy, then he's going to make sure they die miserably.
[Or live miserably,] Omega Build ominously mutters to the link, [is that understood, Prime?]
Prime doesn't immediately answer, seemingly taken aback at suddenly being talked to, before he simply lets out an affirming grunt.
In return, Omega Build also grunts back to the link, [You better take care of our guests or I will.]
[I will,] Prime annoyedly says, [but in the case where the way I take care of them dissatisfy you, stay put. I know better what to do in this area of expertise. Don't start a war.]
He might not look like it, but Omega Build is very prone to committing crimes of passion.
Omega Build clicks his tongue, [I'll see what I can, granted that you do your best,] Omega Build answers, [those two have the higher chance of ruining everything than the child moonlight seeks.]
Prime rolls his eyes underneath his mask and doesn't deign any more response for Omega Build. After all, he's currently preoccupied with interacting with his brother-in-law and his mate's old acquaintance.
“So?” his brother-in-law challenges, “is it finally time that you allow us to see Alhaitham?”
Dottore flexes his wings in annoyance for a second before he folds them back with a sigh, “Well, aren't you dense,” he says, angering Kaveh to stride up to him but he's quickly pulled back by Cyno.
Dottore condescendingly raises an eyebrow at the two but since nobody can see it, he opts to verbally mock them, “Alexei,” he calls the servant standing by the door of the guest room behind him, “how many times have we had this exact conversation?”
Alexei quickly bows his head respectfully to hide his subtle smirk before answering, “8 times, My Lord.”
Dottore hums, “the times they've pestered you in my absence also counted?” he asks again.
“No, My Lord,” Alexei swiftly answers, “that would be 28 in total.”
This time Dottore lets out a longer humm that sounds blatantly mocking, “So dense but also shameless. Continuously bothering a hard-working man like that, as if they have nothing better to do,” he puts an emphasis on the last part as he pointedly stares at the General Mahamatra, wings perked high in indignation.
Despite the blatant insult, Cyno keeps his calm. Truthfully, he can't refute anything the Doctor said. Yet the one who's angry is Kaveh. Angry that the person who has supported him so much during this trip is bashed like that.
Kaveh strongly shrugs Cyno's hand that's restraining him off. He manages to get free and he intends to bash the Harbinger’s face so much that Alhaitham won't even like him anymore in the afterlife.
Unfortunately, Cyno has caught him again before he can even take a step so he can only resort to throwing back an insult, “Aren't you the dense one here? We asked for so many times and yet you never allow us to see him!”
Dottore lets out a harsh sigh as his wings twitch, clearly vexed, “And just pray tell, who are you to be making such a demand and expect me to comply?” he asks before tilting his head to the side with a hateful sneer, “you're not even my mate’s family. You were just a roommate of his. A fact that you don't even seem to want to admit.”
Instantly, Kaveh’s face explodes in red from anger –and shame, “I’M HIS BR-”
Cyno quickly digs his fingers to Kaveh's shoulder and yanks him back, stopping the rest of his words from spilling out, “Kaveh,” he urgently whispers to his friend as his eyes focus on The Doctor, “don't say that. You're not Alhaitham's legal family. If you say that, it's a false claim. The fact that he lets his servant in means that he needs a witness. Don't fall into his trap again.”
Dottore schools his face and resists the urge to click his tongue. His brother-in-law sure is annoying, but him and the general together is such a nuisance. Why are they so damn nosy? Who even gives them the right to? Dottore swears, it's things like these that make him regret not bringing Alhaitham with him on his own terms.
But that's a thought that will surely land him another long lecture from Omega Build before the courtship lesson even start so he quickly puts it away and sighs, “I must admit that the both of you truly have overstayed your welcome here and taken my hospitality for granted,” he says with wings slumping tiredly to make him look close to anger which does as intended seeing as that causes both his guests to tense so he crosses his arms and stare them down, “but I am curious. Just what are you trying to achieve by seeing my mate?” he asks, mainly to Kaveh, before shrugging, “considering the fact that you may or may not only wanted to confirm whether it's safe for you to sell my mate’s house to pay off your debt. The fact that I'm his mate at least warrants me this much caution, after all,” still looking at Kaveh, he quirks his lips into a small cruel smile, “as his mate, I have a duty to protect him, you see.”
Of course, if the accusation doesn't do it, then The Harbinger’s hypocrisy sure angers Kaveh like no other, “WHO GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO SAY THAT?!” he screams, the only thing stopping him from trying to commit homicide is Cyno who's holding him back by the shoulder, “HE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! IF YOU DIDN'T TRICK HIM BACK THEN THEN HE WOULD STILL BE IN SUMERU, BUYING ATROCIOUSLY UGLY FURNITURE!”
Yelling that off doesn't take out any load from Kaveh’s chest. As a matter of fact, it’s simply the one final push needed to set his temper rolling down the hill. But he falls into a foreboding silence as he notices the small smirk full of ridicule on The Doctor’s lips.
For Kaveh knows and Dottore knows.
That The Doctor didn't trick Alhaitham at all. That Kaveh had seen it all happening and did nothing. That Kaveh had allowed Alhaitham to go in the first place.
… That this is an unfortunate event rooted from Alhaitham's own choice.
Of course, that's to say that what happened was truly purely coincidental then the bastard’s action is justified. But that's why Kaveh stands here, because he doubts the bastard is innocent. To find out the truth so that Alhaitham can rest in peace.
Quickly, confidence returns to Kaveh, and along with it, calm. Unfortunately, Dottore is quick to dampen it.
Dottore hums as he folds his hands behind his back, “How selfish,” he sneers as if he can read Kaveh's mind, “has it ever occured to you that maybe my mate doesn't want your presence here?” he asks, causing his brother-in-law to scoff so he drops the bomb, “because he's alive now.”
Silence as Kaveh angrily grits his teeth before growling, “What?”
Dottore huffs an annoyed breath, clearly getting tired from talking to his brother-in-law, “You heard me well and I didn't mean that figuratively,” he slowly drawls and upon noticing the surprised but calculating look in the general’s eyes and the triumph in his brother-in-law’ s eyes, he clicks his tongue and says, “for the record, he did die,” perhaps he shouldn't say that, “I brought him back to live,” still, he pettily adds.
Silence, as both the guests process the information. The General Mahamatra seems to be angry and panicked while the nobody seems to have his brain short circuited. Then, the nobody barks a humorless laugh that quickly turns to sound sarcastic.
“You gross excuse of a heretic,” Kaveh spits, which unbeknownst to him causes Dottore to frown under his mask, “what have you done to him?!” he suddenly marches forward –sudden enough that Cyno fails to hold him back– to grab Dottore's collar and roughly pulls him closer, yet strangely the servant does nothing but smile, “you're just the lowest of scums, aren't you?” he hisses, so deeply enraged that his fists tremble, “fuck off. Return Alhaitham's body to those that can at least give him enough respect to not desecrate his corpse.”
Dottore smiles at his brother-in-law , seemingly unperturbed by the audacious hands but his flaring wings tell another story, “I see,” he airily mutters before he grabs the fist clenching his collar and slowly crushes it until he's sure the force is enough to strain the wrist bone, yet through sheer anger or stubbornness, the nobody doesn't seem to feel it, “you are worried, but also extremely stupid. A worried fool,” he hisses back, though his tone is much calmer than Kaveh's, “almost akin to a child with a pair of scissors intending to help a butterfly out of its cocoon,” he suddenly yanks Kaveh by the wrist, turns around, and slams Kaveh to the floor.
Kaveh gasps in pain as tremors reverberate throughout the room from the force alone. Through the corner of his eyes, he can see Cyno trying to attack the Harbinger still crushing his wrist but the servant quickly intercepts him. Without help from Cyno to free himself from the lock, Kaveh can only look up to the dangerous Avian quietly snarling down at him with flared wings.
The shock of getting slammed harshly to the floor has finally snapped Kaveh from his anger and suddenly he realizes the trouble he's in. He has been reckless and now he might die because of this despicable Avian. He doesn't hold any weapon and other means to free him are out of his reach. Still, he tries to struggle but quickly stops when a sharp pain quickly shoots from his restrained wrist and, for a moment, he fears that he might lose it.
A drop of warm liquid falls on his forehead and Kaveh shifts his attention back to the Avian.
It was blood.
It dripped from the Avian’s snarling mouth, most likely from his gum due to how harshly he grits his teeth, and rolls down to his cheek. The realization makes Kaveh freeze, suddenly he's aware of how much anger is coming from the Avian. He's afraid but there's a fraction of his mind that can't help but wonder why the Avian doesn't simply kill him if he's that angry.
As if sensing Kaveh's thoughts, the Avian growls, “Look, my mate would hate me if I kill you but frankly, you've crossed way too many lines here. So much that I'm quite sure if I kill you then he will understand,” yet contrary to what he says, he lets go of Kaveh's wrist and Kaveh quickly scrambles to distance himself from The Harbinger while clutching his wrist.
“You’re the one who needs to fuck off,” Dottore says before he spits the blood from his mouth and flaps his wings, trying to smooth the ruffle of his feathers, “both you and the general,” he clarifies as he tidies his collar as if nothing particularly drastic has happened, “think of it as my last mercy. Though you called me stupid back then, at least you didn't actively oppose our relationship,” he humorously says to Kaveh, head tilted to the side and wings composedly pressed to his back, the small smile earlier returning to his face though Kaveh can still sense that he's still angry.
After giving his ultimatum, Dottore doesn't bother to stay for a moment longer. He walks to the exit, eager to be rid of the nuisances. He ignores the General who seems to want to say something and doesn't even spare another glance at his brother-in-law . After all, if he stays a moment longer he might rid them for good.
So Dottore opens the door and immediately freezes.
Notes:
The Dottores knows they're villains to some but to them personally, Kaveh is their main antagonist.
Mmmm, my thumb hurts.
Y'know, when you people said in the comment that you've read this series for several times, I genuinely can't wrap my head around that. But then it was when I found myself reading a chapter I've posted, knowing full well that I won't edit it even if I found any writing mistake (I don't want to accidentally alter your understanding of the narrative), that I realized: No, I'm not rereading my fic because I'm doing quality tests. It's because I want to read a Dottotham fic too.
Goddamn, we are starved.
I have a story to tell.
On Thursday morning, when my older sister and my nephew were visiting, Alexanderrrrr brought a rat bigger than his head. Y'know, considering that it was gross and all, our reactions were basically to just take him out to play with the rat. That was until I picked him up and he let go of the rat then we realized, the rat was still alive.
So anyway it crawled up my skirt and basically took a refuge there so I just grabbed it along with my skirt and threw it down outside.That was quite something. But then, yesterday morning at 2.27 AM, Mochi brought a headless rat home.
I was like, I'm too tired for this and went back to sleep.
Anyway, how are you doing today? Feeling good? Feeling tired? Considering how you might fuck up the ecosystem if you exterminate an entire insect species?
Chapter 69
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“A..aAah … -ndik!”
Zazan's eyebrows twitch as he hears the weird noises disrupting the peace of his rest.
“Nno… No! stop that! You're going to drown Zazan!”
The eyebrows now furrow in confusion as the owner has no idea what the voice means.
That is… until he feels water quickly enter his perspiratory through his nose.
Zazan violently jolts awake, splashing water everywhere, and immediately coughs his lungs out –or at least tries to. He distinctly hears an angry caw and a soft squawk but honestly he isn't sure. He doesn't have the mind to make sure either because, for some reason, he's now underwater.
The water hits both Zandik and Alhaitham's face, distracting Zandik enough to finally stop fondling Alhaitham's chest. Alhaitham takes that as his chance to quickly scoot away from Zandik and helps Zazan reorient himself.
Zazan gasps under the water, borderline panicking. His limbs are very heavy and there's a cramp all over his hips. He tries to swim up but his limbs don't seem to row any water.
Then, Zazan feels something makes contact with him under the water. He loudly caws in fear at whatever fish, sea monster, or sea dragon that's about to eat him. Unfortunately, his voice is muffled and distorted by the water that he's sure no one can possibly hear him. The thing in the water now has a solid hold on his waist with its human-like hands. In a desperate attempt, Zazan starts to frantically flap his wings, hoping that it will hinder the thing from eating him for at least a few more seconds so that he can think.
With a pull, Zazan is above the water level. Air finally rushes into his lungs as he pukes out the water in his respiratory system with harsh coughs.
Zazan would actually be fine if left alone for just a moment longer to give his brain the time to adjust to the situation. Unfortunately, the abrupt change from drowning to being able to breathe again gives a sufficient obstacle for his brain to process what just happened. Actually, why does his mind feel very slow?
What happened?
…
Actually, nevermind. Let's just go back to drowning.
Refusing to acknowledge the stares he feels, Zazan lets himself slowly slide down the bathtub. Unfortunately, his speed is simply not fast enough to even let him submerge before the embarrassment of everything catches up to him. The fact that Omega Build is laughing at him as deep red bursts on his face is inconsequential as long as he can just drown his sorrow.
Yet, Zazan is simply not destined to be unburdened. The monster from earlier hooks his hands under his armpits and lifts him up to a safe level above the water surface, keeping sure that he won't drown. Staring blankly at the foamy surface of the warm water, though his face is definitely way warmer than the water he's soaking in, Zazan chooses to simply ignore the only reason he feels embarrassed.
Zazan ignores it when Alhaitham pokes his cheek. He ignores him too when the poke turns into a pinch. But when the pinch turns into a careful caress that's accompanied by a concerned squeal, Zazan breaks his own resolve to simply ignore Alhaitham and glances at his face.
Finally catching Zazan's gaze, though deep down infinitely amused, Alhaitham asks with a hint of worry, “Are you alright?”
Zazan makes a face before he quickly leans away from the hand, cheeks not burning but searing, “In case you've forgotten, you're the patient here,” he snaps, though without much heat –just enough to mask his embarrassment.
But Zazan knows that Alhaitham will soon point something out that will just embarrass him more. So, in preparation for that, Zazan scrunches his face into a scowl. Therefore, he's completely and utterly surprised when the expected embarrassment never comes as Alhaitham simply softly smiles at him. Zazan's mighty scowl slowly drops. The defensiveness he shows in his eyes changed into that of curiosity and awe.
The stomach churning and disgusting look that Alhaitham sends him earlier is back, with the addition of the smile. And the soft smile on his lips is such a big difference. It makes Alhaitham looks… waaaay prettier.
Alhaitham's pretty eyes are twinkling with warmth as he looks at him. Like how they sometimes used to. Like a pair of the most exquisite gems he has ever witnessed. The soft smile, the crease of exasperation and fondness as well as worry between his eyebrows, along with his wet hair that's brushed back are the perfect frame to showcase his eyes. But most of all, it shows Zazan something that he has never seen from Alhaitham before. His sincerest expression.
Zazan stares unblinkingly back at Alhaitham. He thinks that he probably looks like a fish –staring and gaping like he is. He doesn't care though. This sight of Alhaitham is simply –ugh– breathtaking.
As Zazan continues to stare, he notices something that was previously unnoticed because Alhaitham had masked his expression well. He only notices now that Alhaitham has a shy smile. Now that Zazan thinks about it, whenever Alhaitham is genuinely happy, his smile always carries with it a hint of shyness. It's almost as if he's carefully trying something new.
… Ah. So Alhaitham really is new to relationships.
… Disgusting, [Omega Build, I swear if you don't stop manipulating my subconscious, I'm going to castrate you.]
Omega Build clicks his tongue to the link, [Why are you so unromantic? Don't you find moonlight's smile looks especially precious?]
Zazan does, in fact, find it quite precious. But if he agrees now then there's a high chance that it's just Omega Build talking. So Zazan sends a splash of water straight to Omega Build's face.
Zazan inwardly curses to himself when, even though Omega Build is sent cursing as he tries to wash away the soapy water from his eyes, he still finds Alhaitham precious. In fact, even though Alhaitham is no longer looking at him, but looking at Omega Build in concern, he still finds him quite… precious. … No…? Not precious. Something above precious. Precious is his collection of shinies. Alhaitham is not the same as his shinies.
Zazan stops himself from jumping into a rabbit hole of thinking about the proper adjective to describe Alhaitham by slapping his own cheek, which startles Alhaitham into sweetly –confusedly– looking at him with concern, “How do you feel?” Zazan asks, trying to not dwell too deeply on why the whore is acting all sweet with him.
But, instead of answering him, Alhaitham blinks at him, surprised. Then he continues to not answer him as he simply stares at him with wide eyes. Confused, Zazan stares back with a raised eyebrow. A few seconds pass on until Alhaitham's cheeks slowly flush with the finest tint of pink Zazan has ever seen and starts to stammer something under his breath.
Staring back at Alhaitham, now with both eyebrows raised though he's unknowingly appreciating his flushed appearance, Zazan hums, “Well, it seems like there's something wrong with your verbal ability at the very least,” he comments, causing Alhaitham to immediately deflates but the red on his face only becomes a shade deeper as his wings twitch up indignantly, so Zazan protests defensively, “hey, don't give me that look. Believe it or not, it was all because of Omega Build.”
Zandik lets out a long suffering sigh as he leans to the bathtub to pin Zazan with an unimpressed stare –though it only gives Zazan a sense of pride as it only shows him Omega Build’s red irritated sclera, “And believe it or not, it's not my fault in the slightest that you're an unromantic brick,” he deapans, though seeing as his insult doesn't affect Sigma Build in the slightest, he chooses to just forget it, “and moonlight is fine. I checked his vitals when you passed out,” he says with a smirk as he trails a featherlight caress along Alhaitham's back, causing Alhaitham to straighten his back with fluttering wings.
“Oh,” Zazan very dryly reacts.
Inwardly clicking his tongue in disappointment, Zandik continues, “And I believe it's safe to assume that the womb is functional. Though there's no outer change to accommodate childbirth, the changes in his internal organs are already plenty,” he reports seriously before a mischievous smirk quickly blooms on his face, “in fact, I'm quite sure he has a pair of mammary glands in his tits now,” he adds as he slowly makes a reaching motion to Alhaitham's chest.
Zandik playfully caws in disappointment when Alhaitham leans away from his reach –slightly squishing Zazan though Zazan makes no comment– yet he doesn’t actively try to touch Alhaitham either.
So Alhaitham returns the playfulness by flicking his wings, sending a splash of water that easily drenches Zandik whole.
Zandik recoils from the water and he sputters for a moment before he slumps to the bathtub in defeat, “moonlightttt, not you tooooo,” he whines.
[Can you stop acting disgusting?] Sigma Build asks through the link, finally getting tired of the PDA, though outwardly, he doesn't show any expression.
[No,] Omega Build quickly and firmly refuses, [if you don't want to play with moonlight then I will.]
True to that, Alhaitham softly laughs as he turns around in the bathtub to face Zandik, giving Zazan a faceful of his wings but, again, he doesn't say anything, “My apologies,” Alhaitham amusedly says as he reaches out a hand to gently brush Zandik's hair away from his face, “are you alright?” he asks as he raises Zandik's face to his eye level by the chin, gentle enough that Zandik feels it's safe to assume that he does so lovingly.
Opening his eyes, ignoring the measly stings in his eyes, Zandik easily catches the fondness dripping from his moonlight's soft smile so he chooses to deem that, indeed, moonlight is holding his face lovingly, so he returns the smile and answers, “Of course I am.”
Alhaitham observes Zandik's eyes which are red, watery, and twitching – clearly irritated– for a moment before he snorts, “Don't be ridiculous, Zandik,” he chides as he playfully flicks his mate's cheek before reaching for the water spray, “let me wash your eyes.”
“Of course,” Zandik readily agrees as he eagerly leans forward so that his moonlight can easily wash his face for him.
Alhaitham raises his hand to cup Zandik's cheek but immediately pauses himself. With less than a centimeter distance between the tip of his fingers and Zandik's face, Alhaitham hesitates. Though it's only for a mere moment before he simply sucks in a breath to prepare himself and touches it, cheeks tinging with soft pink as he turns the water on so that he can wash his mate's eyes.
Zandik quietly lets out a contented sigh, enjoying the coddling more than the easing of his stinging eyes. Without opening his eyes, he leans to Alhaitham's hand as the water gently washes his face. Completely aware how the simple action manages to fluster his moonlight more.
Alhaitham tries to focus his attention on treating Zandik, yet he keeps finding himself looking away. He doesn't know why but he feels… shy, strangely self-conscious. Smiling to himself with a soft snort at the ridiculity of the situation, Alhaitham returns his attention back to Zandik and chooses to keep himself busy by observing his mate's features.
Clear water runs across his Zandik's face, slightly distorting it but still not enough to hide the fact that… he's handsome. Alhaitham can easily note how Zandik's eyelashes are as long and thick as his –of course, they're Sumerians. Right now, with his eyes closed, the eyelashes are such a nice contrast to Zandik's sharp jaw and long eyebrows. When his eyes are opened, Alhaitham knows that a pair of vivid crimson will appear. Sometimes they glint dangerously, sometimes they twinkle playfully, sometimes they light up very passionately.
Sometimes… they look at him gently. So warm and so full of adoration. As if the owner regards him as his most precious. …As if the owner loves him.
Alhaitham feels his face heats up as he almost averts his eyes again. But he simply bites his lower lip and resists the urge. They've been mated for almost a year now. He's just looking at his mate's face, there's nothing to be embarrassed about.
Yet, Alhaitham still flinches back with a startled squawk when he realizes that he's been staring at Zandik who's staring back at him.
Embarrassed, Alhaitham quickly backs away but Zandik is quick to catch both of his hands, effectively stopping him from running away, “I think you've sprayed my face for long enough,” he teases as he turns off the water before he, without breaking his eye contact with Alhaitham, raises the hand that was previously holding his face still to his lips and gently kisses it, causing Alhaitham to stutter out a squeal as his wings twitch up at the same time as his face reddening deeply –it’s so cute that Zandik can't help but coo inwardly, “you've greatly helped me. Whatever will I do if I lose my eyes,” he playfully laments as he slowly pulls Alhaitham closer to him.
Although embarrassed, Alhaitham lets himself be pulled. His eyes locked in a stare with Zandik. He can't look away. He doesn't want to. Especially not when Zandik is looking at him so warmly.
When Alhaitham is already at the edge of the bathtub, Zandik leans in. Not to kiss his lifelong mate, but so that he can press the tip of their noses together. Alhaitham lets Zandik and they stay like that, quietly staring into each other's eyes, searching into each other’s eyes so closely for who knows what. Like a pair of besotted lovebirds.
[You both are disgusting,] Sigma Build, who was forgotten, suddenly comments to the link.
Zandik easily ignores him in favor of sending a soft rattle to his moonlight. Alhaitham continues to quietly search for a moment longer before he rubs the tip of their noses together with a soft squeal. To that, Zandik tickles Alhaitham's forehead with the trail of plume on his forehead as he softly crows back.
[Seriously?] Sigma Build asks, exasperated, [do you really have nothing better to do?]
[Fuck off,] Omega Build finally snaps to the link as he starts pecking soft kisses to Alhaitham’s lips, the latter quietly enjoys it and sometimes kisses back, [clearly, you can't appreciate it, but I would very much love to romance moonlight.]
That does finally manage to shut Sigma Build up.
Unfortunately, Zandik is yet again not allowed to enjoy his romance as a certain vibration from one of the rooms at the ground level reaches them.
Alhaitham abruptly stops his Avian noises and pulls back.
“What was that?” Alhaitham asks as he suspiciously looks up.
Zandik doesn't answer. Way too busy cursing at Prime as Alhaitham stands up from the bathtub while throwing him a questioning glance.
Doctor opens the door and freezes as the first thing he sees is Alhaitham. His mind runs faster than ever to process what is going on. And with all his being completely focused on figuring out what's happening, he quickly remembers that Alhaitham has very sensitive ears and comes to the conclusion that he most likely heard his scuffle.
[Why did none of you stop him?] Prime asks to the link, too panicked to sound properly angry.
The only response he gets is a pair of lazy and nonchalant humm from Sigma Build and Omega Build.
Vexed but knowing that it's not the time and place to worry about that, Doctor quickly steers his mind to the more important task. Namely, figuring out if Alhaitham is mad at him and how mad. His eyebrows are furrowed so… that certainly means that he's angry… right?
So why does he get the feeling that Alhaitham is mostly just curious about what's happening mixed with a little bit of worry… for him?
???
Still slightly befuddled, Doctor makes the mistake of opening his mouth, “uhh… hello?” he says before quickly grimacing to himself when he realizes how stupid he sounds, “no. I mean, what are you doing here?”
Taking a deep breath so that he doesn't embarrass himself further, Doctor calmly reassess Alhaitham's mood again as well as observing the situation. He quickly finds that the furrow of Alhaitham's eyebrows are not as deep as earlier, eased in favor of amusement, though the hint of worry is still there. Alright, his embarrassing slip up proves to be a good thing.
“I heard some noises,” Alhaitham explains, snapping Doctor from his thoughts.
Though he's snapped from his thoughts, Doctor is clearly still not safe from Alhaitham because now the problem is that he's captivated by Alhaitham's eyes.
Which is very troublesome, mind you. Doctor had made sure to not look at Alhaitham too much when he woke up lest he ended up like Omega Build and Sigma Build. That took a lot of willpower. He also wanted to spend some more time with Hayi but nooo, there are nosy nobodies in his house. So he has to take care of them first.
Doctor hesitates for a moment as he closes his eyes, a feeble barrier to Alhaitham's very hypnotic eyes, and then says, “Which is completely normal to hear in an inhabited area, isn't it?”
Alhaitham tilts his head to the side with a soft sigh, exasperated, “It is. And it's also perfectly normal to check on the loud noises,” he argues before choosing to simply stand on his tip toes so that he can peek inside.
Doctor quickly extends a wing to block Alhaitham's view of the room behind him, “Indeed, but it's also considered polite to not immediately barge in without permission, isn't it?”
Alhaitham lets out an amused huff before he asks, “Well, do I have the permission?” though it's only for a distraction when he quickly shifts his weight to peek from above Doctor’s other shoulder.
But Doctor reacts in time to block his view by raising his wing again, though he fails to control his strength as the wooden door frame cracks under his wing.
Acting as if nothing happened, Doctor says, “Perhaps you do. But there's no need for you to check. Alexei merely knocked a table over.”
Inside the room, Alexei resists the urge to facepalm. Why does His Lordship have to pull him into this? There are better excuses and even coming clean won't do any harm because he's quite sure that His Ladyship won't do anything too drastic.
But then again Alexei is only a mere servant, so his only choice is to play along, “I apologize for disturbing you, My Lady,” he says before quickly clicking his mouth shut as he suddenly remembers something.
Sure enough. The General Mahamatra and mister Kaveh freeze. The air is thick as the room suddenly plummets into silence, both guests visibly thinking.
Then, the general gasps with a startled realization. Unfortunately, he isn't even given the slightest chance to speak as Alexei quickly shoves a gloved fist to his mouth while pinning his shoulder to the wall, effectively shutting him up. But with both of his hands occupied, Alexei is unable to stop the other guest from ruining anything.
Another while of silence passes as Kaveh simply freezes, hesitant and afraid to even think if it's who he thinks it is, “...Alhaitham?” yet he hesitantly calls out in the end.
More silence where Alexei sucks in a sharp breath as a chill quickly seeps into his fingers from fear upon noticing that His Lordship turns uncannily still at the doorway.
“Is that?” contrary to the scarily familiar voice from the room, Alhaitham reacts quickly, his tone sharp with alertness.
Doctor strongly flicks his wings before flaring them to full length, fully blocking the door, “Simply a mere guest who needs to fuck off.”
Alhaitham slightly frowns at the Doctor's unusual choice of words and aggressive tone, though it's mostly from worry because the situation seems to be more serious than he thought, “Doctor, what-”
Kaveh quickly jumps to his feet, The Harbinger’s hesitation easily confirms that he's right, “Alhaitham, it is-” he cuts himself off by screaming like a girl as he jumps back.
But in Kaveh's defense, he's not the only one who's scared shitless.
Because who would have thought that the Prime Dottore would be so angry that he snaps his head 180° just to send a snarl.
Of course, there exists an outlier, “I- Doctor, don't do that. That's bad for your neck,” Alhaitham worriedly chides as he tries to ‘fix’ Doctor's skull direction.
That's genuinely the most ridiculous reaction Doctor has ever heard in the rare occasions he does this stunt. Mostly because he can sense the genuine worry from the tone and the urgency of the hand trying to ‘fix’ his skull. So Doctor turns his head to look at Alhaitham again, accompanied by crackling of bones that causes Alhaitham to furrow his eyebrows even more.
Quiet…, “You're a weird one, aren't you?” Prime comments which causes Alhaitham to softly click his tongue in annoyance.
“Alright, that's enough,” Alhaitham says as he tries to push Doctor out of the doorway.
Doctor loses his balance for a moment before he jumps back in place. He raises his wings high and clenches both sides of the door frame for good measures. Very adamant on not letting his mate even see into the room.
Alhaitham is taken aback by how stubborn his mate is and can only stare in surprise for a moment. Then, he lets out an exasperated sigh as he stares at Doctor, wholly unamused. Yet, the Doctor doesn't move a muscle, still so stubbornly guarding the door frame.
So Alhaitham sighs, “Doctor, please. You're only convincing me more and more by the second that you're hiding something from me,” he says as he pointedly looks at his mask, “please, let me handle my own problem. You don't have to shield me from it,” he says but when Doctor doesn't budge, he adds, “please trust me.”
Now, the way Alhaitham straightly asks him to trust him and not his capability is enough to make Doctor’s resolve waver. He knows for sure that if he doesn't accommodate Alhaitham after he tries to convince him with that particular wording, Omega Build will give him a lot of homework. So the begging look Alhaitham sends him is definitely overkill.
And the sad sigh Alhaitham lets out next is definitely wholly unnecessary, “I won't leave you if that's what you're worried about.”
Doctor flinches. He wants to refuse that. It's not about that at all. He can also stall for some time so that Alexei can use his brain if he does so. But he can't. Not with audiences, especially these particular audiences.
“Alhaitham, it's me!” the nobody yells excitedly and Doctor’s wings ruffle in anger, why is his brother-in-law so eager to die?
Unfortunately, Alhaitham takes his moment of distraction to slightly nudge him aside, allowing him to finally have a look inside.
Doctor jumps in panic. He's about to resume his duty as a safety barrier but quickly stops himself when he notices the look on Alhaitham's face. Alhaitham is undoubtedly looking at brother-in-law but instead of anything Doctor had thought he would react, Alhaitham looks afraid, panicked even.
Doctor admits he has expected for the worse to happen if Alhaitham meets brother-in-law . So when his mate looks at his ex-roommate with fear, anger, and even some apprehension, Doctor doesn't know what to do.
Finally sure that it's really Alhaitham, Kaveh can't help the smile unconsciously worming to his lips, “Alhaitham, you-”
“Why are you here?!” Alhaitham cuts him off, wings flaring up indignantly.
Notes:
When you and your partner just want to be a disgusting couple but it feels like fate is literally against that.
Justice for Omega Build?
Also like, I'm so happy Dottotham starts to flourish even though barely (or maybe I'm just not looking hard enough).
Go, spread the words, produce more food, we are starving (lol)
And I only noticed this yesterday but apparently my country ban AO3. Now, I always have VPN ready in case I have to access unsafe websites but if one day I stopped updating out of the blue, it's probably because of it.
Also, I hope this doesn't sound annoying. But I want to share what I feel while trying to make the animatic.
First of all, wings. Their wings look so ugly because I simplifies them because I have to draw them a lot.
Two, I have not much experience in making animatic (no. I didn't start small. Starting small isn't really my thing. I always skip the basic which is very bad for learning artist but I just can't) and keep wondering if I truly want to spend the time to carefully draw a scene that will only appear for a fraction of second.
Three, I'm inherently afraid of 'failure'. Y'know, constantly trying to make your best? Which is weird because I still saved the first art I drew where the head is literally lopsided. Like, I don't know. I'm constantly torn between I can do better and I'm shit at this there's no point in continuing (damn, I don't have the mentality to be an artist). It's wasting a lot of time and I only have less than a month left in my term break (I know it won't be finished soon but still)Also, I'm curious. How long does it normally takes to draw? Cuz when I first started I spent like hours on the lineart alone and then felt self-conscious because why did I need that long? That's too time consuming. Then I trained to draw quickly but that only gives me an invisible timer that only gives me anxiety and telling me I'm a failure.
*Sigh* Why am I like this?
Overcomplicating at its finest.
This is going to be pretty weird to tell in here and I don't think I should tell it in detail but I need to tell it cuz I keep thinking about it.
Okay, so. Remember the cat that has a crush on Mochi? Well, Mochi isn't interested in him and yesterday I found him mounting Alexanderrrrr (my male cat). I really need second opinion here cuz I don't know if I should help Alex or not.
Chapter Text
Huh?
Doctor is actually too stunned to say anything else. Even when Alhaitham gently nudges him aside again to allow him more view of the room, he lets himself be steered, way too deep into his own mind that processing reality is a bit difficult at the moment. Why's Alhaitham afraid? Why's he angry? or rather, why's he angry but not at him?
A sentiment that clearly also takes his brother-in-law by surprise. Doctor would be lying if he says the look on his face isn't satisfying.
Kaveh awkwardly chuckles as he hesitantly glances around, trying to figure out if Alhaitham has suddenly grown some sense of humor, before quickly realizing that Alhaitham is genuinely angry at him, “W-what?” he sputters, “excuse me?”
Alhaitham silently glares at Kaveh, jaw tense with dislike. His mouth opens slightly before he quickly clicks it closed again with a shake of his head. He looks as if he has a lot to say but decides that it isn't worth it. The way he closes his eyes tightly at the next moment as he sucks in a deep breath only further enforces his mood.
When Alhaitham opens his eyes again, he doesn't look at Kaveh but at Cyno who's still pinned and silenced to the wall by Alexei, looking much calmer but still unmistakably angry, “Alexei, please let go of the General Mahamatra,” he orders the servant.
Alexei doesn't have to spare a glance at His Lordship to confirm before dutifully following the order –he is loyal to His Ladyship after all, “Of course, My Lady,” he says before he quickly jumps back to a respectable distance and bows.
Upon being freed, Cyno quickly wipes the saliva that has escaped his mouth to stall for some time.
This situation is truly distressing. Although he might have can see this situation as one of the outcomes, he never thought it would truly happen considering the extremely low probability. But that's honestly just an excuse that gives Alhaitham the right to not even listen to his explanation. So he has to quickly explain the situation before Alhaitham truly loses composure. Anything that will catch his interest enough to not immediately evict them.
Snezhnaya is a nation with power centered around the nobilities and the powerful after all. Sure, the court system exists, but it's extremely biased. So, as weird as it might be, Alhaitham –being the Lady of a very strong household in Snezhnaya’s political landscape– can literally send both him and Kaveh to prison if he feels like it. Especially because the Lord of said household seems to be very thrilled with the idea.
No investigation or proof needed.
Unfortunately, it seems Cyno spent too long composing himself seeing as, before he can even open his mouth, Alhaitham 'calmly' snaps, “What's the meaning of this, Cyno?”
Cyno hesitates. Alhaitham's tone might be quite level but the growl that slips out in every syllable as he strings the question tells him the truth. The truth is that he's currently facing a very angry falcon breed Avian.
Cyno gulps as he can't help but remember the days when he was just a Matra that got sent to oversee the damage control for the aftermath of Alhaitham's mating season. Memories of Alhaitham's notorious tantrums flashing one by one in his mind as he weighs his options. Alhaitham has… always, always, been very territorial of his nest. Honestly, it was a wonder of its own that he allowed Kaveh to be his roommate in the first place.
Seeing as trying to be calm doesn't yield the desired result, Alhaitham huffs angrily and chooses to forgo attempting at being civil altogether, “Why are you here?” he growls as his wings flare wide, “and why are you, for some reason, bringing Kaveh here?!” he loudly asks, extremely close to yelling.
Cyno raises both of his hands placatingly at Alhaitham, “I'll explain but first of all you have to calm down.”
It seems like he has said the wrong thing since instead of calming down, Alhaitham snarls at him, “Why should I?!” he snaps before slowly starts stalking towards Cyno, wings flared low as if he's ready to pounce his prey, “am I not allowed to be angry?! This isn't a part of our deal, Cyno. I've done my part of the deal so Lord Kusanali better respect her part.”
Cyno flinches heavily at the borderline blasphemous demand before he starts carefully stepping back to keep a safe distance from Alhaitham, inadvertently locked in a dance of predator and prey, though some parts of him feels glad that now he might have an inkling of what Alhaitham is thinking, “This is not what you think it is, Alhaitham. If you calm down, I will explain.”
Alhaitham raises his flared wings high, causing Cyno to tense up, “But do I have to?” he presses, “how can I be sure that you aren't here to drag me away whether I like it or not?”
Kaveh, despite not really understanding what's going on, can sense that Alhaitham is definitely getting the wrong idea, so he follows Cyno's step in trying to calm him, “Oh, stop it. You're being way too dramatic. Just listen to Cyno, for fuck sake,” he chides, because that's the only way he knows how to interact with Alhaitham.
Unfortunately, time sure flies. It has been quite a while since they interact with each other and even longer the time Alhaitham has been treated like a princess. So of course Alhaitham doesn't take that kindly. If Kaveh is too dense to notice his mistake, the disapproving and urgent look Cyno sends him is enough to make him notice that not only does he fail to calm Alhaitham, he also angered both the servant and The Harbinger in one go.
To make matter worse, the servant who feels insulted on His Lady’s behalf chooses that moment to fan the flame, “How presumptuous of you to ask His Ladyship to calm down when you have only antagonized us ever since your arrival here,” he says with a sneer before pulling on his collar to free his neck a little, agitated, “and you haven't even once apologized to His Lordship after physically assaulting him in public.”
Both Kaveh and Cyno flinch at that. Cyno realizes that the statement surely puts them in a very unfavorable side while Kaveh grimaces at being reminded once more of his mistake. Truly, if Kaveh wanted to hit the bastard, he should've hit him hard enough to make sure he tells no tale.
Alhaitham's wings twitch at what he hears as he searches Kaveh and Cyno’s body language. His wings flap with anger at what he finds. Without really intending to hold himself back, he marches toward Kaveh with claws slowly elongating, full of aggression.
Kaveh senses danger so he backs away from Alhaitham but he's quickly cornered to the wall. He observes Alhaitham's nails and very quickly comes to the conclusion that those can definitely kill him. Panicked, Kaveh looks around, hoping to find something that can help him defends himself but not hurt Alhaitham. But, just like when he was restrained by The Harbinger, he finds nothing. So Kaveh cautiously looks at Alhaitham, wholly tense. He doesn't want to fight him but it seems that it's necessary. Even if it's obvious he might be heavily injured, he has to at least try.
Fortunately for Kaveh, Cyno quickly jumps in front of him and acts as a barrier, “Alhaitham!” he yells, hoping to snap Alhaitham from his tunnel vision but all that does is causing Alhaitham to twitch his wings irritatedly.
Right. Sensitive to noises. So he's more aggravated now.
Grimacing to himself, Cyno carefully steps ahead, trying to meet Alhaitham in the middle and a safe distance away from Kaveh who he's sure doesn't have the heart to seriously fight Alhaitham at the moment even if it's for self defense –still so convinced that Alhaitham is just a victim, “We are sorry!” he yells, sighing in relief when that manages to pause Alhaitham, “I'm sorry that I come here without notice,” it wasn't like he could give Alhaitham a notice but this isn't about him, “Lord Kusanali doesn't send me to bring you back. We aren't here to bring you back,” and if Kaveh disagrees with Cyno, he thankfully keeps his silence, “and Kaveh is sorry for hitting your mate. It was all a misunderstanding,” he awkwardly tries to grin reassuringly at Alhaitham before glancing back at Kaveh, “isn't that right, Kaveh?”
Kaveh's face scrunches from extreme unwillingness but he can see Cyno's signal to play along clearly so he can't do anything else but help him by sending Alhaitham a sheepish smile, “I'm sorry.”
Ah. That's when the bastard deems that it's appropriate to interrupt their reunion. Of course. Kaveh can't say he's surprised but he still wants to bash his face with Mehrak.
Dottore scoffs. He kept his silence as he observed the situation, flattered at Alhaitham's justified anger and amused by the development of the situation. That is up until his brother-in-law apologizes for hitting him in the back of his head, while not even looking at him. Of course, the apology doesn't mean anything to him. But the way his brother-in-law apologizes only to appeal to his Hayi sickens him.
“Fucking shameless,” Dottore straight up curses, plainly showing his dissatisfaction, “my blood has been shed and you claim it was all a misunderstanding?”
Brother-in-law's face contorts indignantly but before he can say anything, Alhaitham chirps anxiously, “Blood?” he questions as he looks at Doctor, and Doctor can't help but be surprised at how worried he looks –and also slightly feel bad for making him worry, “Doctor, what happened? Are you alright?” Alhaitham urgently asks as he stops his advance toward the guests to rush to his mate, worry clearly visible to the point he almost looks distraught.
Now, Doctor does feel bad for making Alhaitham worry. But he senses a very good opportunity to kick his brother-in-law's liver without having to do it himself. So who is he if he doesn't capitalize on it?
“I met them at the underground station, demanding that I bring them here so that they can meet you,” Doctor starts, resisting the urge to grin as he notices both his guests are visibly tensing up, “of course I refused since I don't know them well enough and you were incapable of hosting them,” he continues before looking down, making himself looks hesitant, “then, out of nowhere, brother-in-law hit the back of my head with his briefcase when I was walking away,” he confesses after a sigh.
Alhaitham lets out a soft distressed wail as he circles around his mate to search for injuries before stopping to carefully inspect the back of his head. With Alhaitham behind him, clearly unable to see his expression, Doctor takes that as his chance to send a crooked smirk at both of his guests. His brother-in-law sends him a scathing glare and he simply smiles triumphantly in return, knowing full well that he has the higher ground here.
“There was a lot of blood,” Doctor exaggerates, “but I'm alright, now. Don't worry.”
Failing to find any trace of wound but knowing that his mate doesn't lie –especially on things like these, Alhaitham softly lets out a distressed wail again before he glares at Kaveh from above Doctor's shoulder, “I don't know what's your intention for coming here, Cyno, especially by bringing Kaveh. But I can see that it's not with a friendly intention.”
Cyno feels so tired. Because there's nothing false with The Doctor's statement and there's nothing wrong with Alhaitham's reaction. Is there a misunderstanding? Yes, but not really. And he has to convince Alhaitham that he misunderstands their intention. Which will be very difficult because Alhaitham seems to have sided with The Doctor already and Kaveh doesn't seem to look very apologetic –judging from Alhaitham's expression.
Cyno quietly lets out a long suffering sigh, “Please, give me a chance to really explain. If you still don't tolerate us after that, you can always tell us to leave. Your mate doesn't want us to stay for any longer after all,” he says the last part while looking at The Harbinger who's smugly smirking in satisfaction, and Cyno must say that he completely understands Kaveh's slip up, not morally agreeing with it but he understands.
Alhaitham silently thinks for a few seconds before he reassuringly squeezes Doctor's shoulder, “Alright,” he agrees before motioning Cyno to follow him.
Cyno immediately does but when Kaveh closely follows behind him, Alhaitham growls, “You stay here,” he says with a frown that deepens when Kaveh merely looks at him as if he's wronged, “Stay. Here,” Alhaitham insists with flared wings, “you owe my mate a proper apology.”
And if Kaveh has something to say to that, Alhaitham doesn't care. He simply turns around before he can see Kaveh says anything and leads Cyno to the room next door.
“Are you sure it's wise leaving Kaveh with The Ha- your mate and his servant?” Cyno asks as he enters the room after Alhaitham and almost immediately regrets making the question.
Alhaitham doesn't look at Cyno as he busies himself with closing the door for far longer than necessary before he lets out a tired sigh as his wings slump down, “I fail to see why your negative view on my mate matters to me.”
Finally freed from the enemies’ scrutiny and Kaveh's hopeful eyes, Cyno allows himself to palm his face and lets out a long suffering sigh, “I suppose the fact that your mate is The Second of the Fatui Harbinger that's capable of many atrocities doesn't matter to you,” he guesses, fully knowing the answer already.
With a huff, Cyno lets his arms fall to his side and observes Alhaitham's condition. Healthy, pampered, and spoiled are the impressions Cyno immediately gets. So no. Of course it doesn't matter to Alhaitham.
“I see that your mate has treated you well,” Cyno comments, “which would explain your extreme bias towards him.”
Alhaitham lets out a harsh sigh as his wings flex, “Cyno,” he sternly calls before turning around to pin him with an unnervingly cold look, “I agree to talk with you right now out of respect for what I remember of your sense of duty,” leaning back to the door, Alhaitham crosses his arms, “I'm sure you won't justify Kaveh's action –attacking my mate for no reason– with the completely unrelated fact of my mate's nature.”
Cyno lets his shoulders droop as he looks tiredly back at Alhaitham, “Fine,” he relents, “but if your mate attacks Kaveh in return because you left them in the same room, then it's clearly your mate's fault.”
“Of course,” Alhaitham says as he walks off to find a place to sit at, “which brings the question of why do you bring Kaveh along in the first place.”
Cyno bites his inner cheeks before he follows Alhaitham and sits across from him, “He insisted. And I have no doubt that he will wage a protest in Sanctuary of Surasthana if I refused him.”
Alhaitham crosses his arms, unamused, “He will. And I was under the impression that the General Mahamatra would prefer to brace some mild annoyances rather than risking a life.”
Cyno tilts his head up and stretches his legs, trying to get rid of the kinks accumulating from these days, before he asks, “What beef do you have with Kaveh?” he peers his eyes down to critically assess Alhaitham, “though you're never very keen on social interactions, I reckon that even you find it unnecessary to needlessly burn bridges.”
Alhaitham coldly huffs, “I'm sure that even you have noticed that bringing Kaveh along is a mistake,” he props his elbow to the armchair he's sitting on and leans his face on his knuckle, “the worried part alone is of course nothing bad. But he's too morally uptight and too kind to even visit Snezhnaya.”
Cyno slumps to his chair and folds his hands on top of each other on his stomach, “So you admit of the wrongness that can be found here,” he comments before letting out a lamenting sigh, “The Harbinger is a bad influence on you. Even if you often turned a blind eye to the illegal happenings in Sumeru, you at least didn't see it as normal.”
Yet Alhaitham simply raises an eyebrow at Cyno, “Morality mirrors the society. I'm sure you know this, Vahumana graduate,” Cyno only makes a face at the jab so Alhaitham huffs annoyedly and says, “if it's not broken, I fail to see why I should fix it, especially since I'm just a foreigner. But enough of that. You were worried that my mate might hurt Kaveh so get straight to the point.”
Cyno thinks that Alhaitham sure has changed, most likely the effect of being pampered –not that it's something that troubles him– so he says, “I'm just here to confirm what happened to you, as per Lord Kusanali’s request,” he explains, still slumped tiredly on the chair, before he covers his eyes, rather depressed, “which was completed the moment Lord Kusanali told me to leave you to your mate. But Kaveh wanted to at least see you. I admit I had some doubts too so I didn't mind complying but now that Kaveh knows you're alive and your mate had falsely claimed you were alive, I'm sure he won't return so easily,” parting his hands so that he can gauge Alhaitham's expression, Cyno finds Alhaitham looking at him coldly do he adds, “and yes, bringing him along is a mistake.”
Alhaitham flicks his wings as the corner of his lips twitches up into a smug smile, pleased, before the smile drops again, “For the record, I did die,” Alhaitham clarifies before raising a hand to stop Cyno from saying anything, “I know what my mate did to me is a heretical practice. But that's just what my mate is, a heretic. What matters here is that I don't mind being ‘revived’, or –in other words– being a subject of a heretical experiment.”
Cyno pauses for a moment, frozen halfway into sitting up tensely, before he decides to just slump back down, “Now that's just complicated,” he comments.
“It is,” Alhaitham agrees, “for you, that is. You've got what you want. Now please return to Sumeru. Since you're the one bringing Kaveh here, you have the responsibility to explain the situation to him,” he says without sympathy.
Cyno grimaces but he nods in agreement nonetheless.
The room then falls quiet as Cyno takes some more time to peacefully rest. Alhaitham lets him to out of pity, he at least has that much kindness, and he takes that as his chance to eavesdrop on what's happening in the next room. There are three people there, two of which look like they mortally hate each other, but they're suspiciously quiet. Either because one of them killed the other or they both agreed to a silent war. Both are actually a possibility. Alhaitham realizes that his mate can be quite childish at times, especially on things he finds troublesome.
“Hey,” Cyno calls, cutting Alhaitham's eavesdropping session short, “do you love your mate?”
“What?” Alhaitham asks, taken aback.
Cyno clicks his tongue before groaning, “just answer me so that I can explain it to Kaveh.”
But instead of answering, Alhaitham's wings bristle, “I want to stay here, Cyno. That alone should be enough to convince him to leave me be.”
Cyno sighs, “You know that isn't enough to convince Kaveh to leave. Especially after the long wait your mate put us through,” a lie because they have to leave whether Kaveh likes it or not, they've stayed for far too long, but Cyno still squints his eyes suspiciously at the way Alhaitham changes the subject, “and what's wrong with admitting that you love your mate?” he asks, perhaps not too tactful but he is trying to confirm whether Alhaitham is staying because he wants to or if there are other reasons.
Alhaitham scowls, “That’s your problem for bringing him along. The fact that I wish to stay should be enough.
But that only makes Cyno's suspicion grow, “Alhaitham, what's your real reason for staying?” he asks, not caring if he is being too nosy, a victim of domestic abuse is rarely aware they're abused after all, “are you staying by The Doctor purely because you want to or if there's anything that forces you to be with him?” then his eyes light up as he realizes something, “do you have to stay in proximity to The Doctor because of your revival? If so then you need not to worry, I'm sure Lord Kusanali can-”
Cyno is cut off, not because Alhaitham says something but because there's a literal sword stabbed to the chair next to his throat. Calmly, Cyno looks up at Alhaitham who's now looming over him with flared wings, trying to confirm anything. But Alhaitham's face is blank as he heavily breathes through his mouth.
“Cyno, when you were still a Matra, we have met a lot of times under the Avian regulations,” Alhaitham calmly starts, hand tightly clenching the hilt of his sword, “from that and other cases of Avians, I'm sure you know how Avians like to show off. My mate and I are no different,” his voice starts to waver as his hands tremble, “but he's a damn Harbinger,” at this point, Cyno can only look up at Alhaitham in surprise as occasional tears drops to his face, “attachment is seen as a weakness. Yet despite how we try to keep our distance, we are still targeted,” Alhaitham sniffles once before he pulls his sword out of the chair and walks to the door, not so secretly wiping his tears away, “I wish to stay and that's the only stance you and Kaveh will get. Our conversation ends here. You and Kaveh have to leave. None of you are welcomed here anymore. Now let's check on them. We have left them alone for far too long,” he one sidedly declares as he opens the door and goes to the hallway, leaving Cyno scrambling to follow.
Notes:
Let's just change genre to romcom for a moment. And by for a moment, it's unclear for how long.
# bonus:
There's actually not a single rule on how a servant should act in front of any Harbinger. Harbinger stand as a position that's far removed from the nobilities in terms of social class but in terms of political power, the Harbingers stand equal to the offspring of the crown despite their origins. This blur in caste causes some difficulties in deciding the befitting etiquette. Thus is why the Academy of Servitude never taught Alexei how to hold himself in the presence of His Lordship.Alexei's choice to always keep his head low and avoid looking directly to his masters are something he himself decides to do, simply out of survival instinct.
During the time he spent learning, he never thought that he will, one day, serve a Harbinger. Much less the Second Harbinger, The Doctor, himself. The Harbinger who's shrouded in mystery –just like any other Harbingers standing in the upper echelon.
There's not a clear record about The Doctor, but –through a lot of digging around– Alexei finds that The Doctor has served Snezhnaya for centuries. From his old connections in the Academy, Alexei hears that employment under The Doctor has high mortality rates.
It isn't surprising but it reminds Alexei of why he prefers to serve the local nobles.
For the first period of his servitude, Alexei fears for every second of his life. For the next period, he learns of His Lordship's preferences. And today, though still firmly aware that His Lordship is as dangerous as His Lordship let's him know, Alexei finds that... His Lordship can be cute.
No. That isn't a mockery or even a flattery. It's just a simple observation.
His Lordship really does act cute around His Ladyship.
There's just... Something. Something in the way His Lordship arrogantly tilts his head up with his wings raised high, trying so hard to appear cold towards the guests and making himself look unbothered by His Ladyship who's fussing over him, anxiously searching for injuries.
Pfft...
Alexei is extremely sure that His Lordship is simply trying to appear dignified to the guests. And His Lordship would have. If only He doesn't appear to literally preen under His Ladyship's worry.
Hehe. Alexei stands the opinion that he finds it very cute. But that's it for today. It would be extremely disastrous for him if His Lordship catches him laughing.
Chapter 71
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
For the record, Alhaitham didn't ask him to do anything, so Prime will do nothing. He had taken a seat on a chair, graciously waiting for his long overdue apology. Alexei is standing beside him –mostly just to fill the background– and Dottore must commend, his decision to bring up the assault was brilliant. He'll even give him a day off just for that.
Across Dottore –at the other side of the room and close to the wall to be precise, Kaveh silently stands. Not a hint of willingness to apologize shows on his expression. Not that Dottore will complain. He prefers it this way. No more interaction with such a useless hypocritical nuisance and by the end of it Alhaitham will drive him away for his lack of action.
The stomping sounds of angry marches reach the room before Alhaitham and Cyno appear at the door that they never bothered to close.
The room falls quiet as they simply stare at each other –except for Alexei who's respectfully looking down.
A few moments longer of silent assessment before Alhaitham's eyebrow twitches from nerves, “I see that you've made your choice,” Alhaitham disappointedly says to Kaveh.
Kaveh blinks, confused, but he can sense that Alhaitham is unsatisfied at something he does. So he opens his mouth to say sorry. But for a long time, he fails to say anything. Simply because he doesn't know what he should apologize for. It isn't like Alhaitham is angry at him for not apologizing to the bastard for giving him something that he deserved, right?
Now, Kaveh isn't wrong –arguably. Unfortunately, when you're trying to placate someone, it isn't about who's right and who's wrong. But again, Dottore won't complain. In fact, he's trying very hard to not smirk.
“Alright,” Cyno groans from behind Alhaitham before he taps his shoulder, silently asking for some room so that he can get in.
Alhaitham huffs in annoyance but otherwise he lets Cyno pass him
“Kaveh, why?” Cyno tiredly asks Kaveh with a grimace, honestly looking like he's mortally wounded.
But Kaveh doesn't get what Cyno is asking, “...what?” he hesitantly asks, absolutely bewildered.
“Tell me, did you at least try to apologize to The Doctor?” Cyno asks in return as he glances at the pair of Avians who are now communicating with each other using Avian noises.
Kaveh frowns as he looks at Cyno as if he's crazy, “Why would I?”
Cyno clicks his tongue and lets out a resigned sigh, “Nevermind,” he says before pointedly staring straight into Kaveh's eyes to signify how serious he is, “it doesn't matter anymore. We have to return to Sumeru now.”
It takes some time for the news to be processed, and when it does, Kaveh's face quickly contorts indignantly, “We can't return now. What about Alhaitham?!”
Cyno purses his lips, “There’s nothing about him. He wants to stay.”
Kaveh pauses for a moment before he lets out an ironic laugh, “Oh, c’mon, you goofball. Don't joke around like that. I thought you said we can't stay here for too long?” he rhetorically asks as he shifts on his legs with the intention to get their luggages, “better get moving, then. I’ve been itching to leave this forsaken pl-”
“Kaveh,” Cyno sternly calls as he pulls him back by the wrist, firmly holding him in place, “this is one of the times I'm most serious. Alhaitham wants to stay,” Cyno says as he stares unblinkingly into Kaveh's eyes, deeply hoping that he can get the point across, but when Kaveh simply looks at him with a confused smile, he explains, “he doesn't want to come with us, Kaveh.”
Kaveh's smile drops as he now stares at Cyno in disbelief, “But why would he…?”
Because Alhaitham does love The Doctor. It's quite difficult to believe and he didn't tell Cyno straight, but Cyno would be a fool if he didn't notice. And though he doesn't know if The Doctor fully loves him back, that's not Cyno's place to meddle.
In the name of Lord Kusanali, these predicaments are way too complicated for their 0 experience in relationships asses.
So Cyno spreads his lips into a tight line and says, “This is where his home is. He chooses to be here,” then he deeply sighs, “and we are no longer welcomed here so we have to leave. That’s his choice. You have to respect it, Kaveh.”
Kaveh fails to respond. He simply stares blankly at Cyno before directing his gaze to the pair of Avians, silently searching for the answers to his millions of questions. But alas, Alhaitham doesn't even look at him, too busy with the bastard. It's almost as if he has forgotten him.
And Kaveh wonders.
Why?
Just why?
Was it a lie when Lord Kusanali said Alhaitham considers him a family?
Does… family treat each other like this? Completely forgotten once another family is found?
…
NO!
Kaveh's eyes heat up with angry tears as he yanks his wrist from Cyno's hold and pushes him out of his way with a strength that even takes him by surprise. But there's no time to ponder about that. No. There's a way more pressing matter.
Because that's not how a family treats each other. Sure, his mother might have left him following the disappearance of his father, but Kaveh understands that she needs to move on. He absolutely understands that in order to move on, his mother needs to forget him first.
And if Alhaitham wishes to move on too, Kaveh understands. But only if he directly explains to him why. He's no longer a child. He won't cry if told goodbye no more.
So please…, at least say goodbye.
Kaveh marches up to Alhaitham, ignoring his so-called brother-in-law flaring his wings at him in an act of intimidation.
“Whatever you want to ask, Cyno can answer it for you,” Alhaitham coldly says without even turning to look at Kaveh.
And that freezes Kaveh completely, to the point that Cyno can't even pull him away once he recovers his bearings. Kaveh stands frozen, rooted to the floor, as he stares at Alhaitham's back, “Why?” he croaks, causing Alhaitham's wings to twitch and that's how Kaveh is sure that Alhaitham didn't mean what he told Cyno.
Alhaitham has always been awkward when it comes to expressing himself, after all. … Yes. Alhaitham was just saying something that he didn't mean to say in the heat of the moment.
Kaveh subconsciously smiles tremblingly with a sigh of relief, “Hey,” he gently calls out to Alhaitham, “it doesn't have to be like this, y'know,” Alhaitham is still not looking at him but Kaveh can see his hands tremblingly clench into fists, “just tell me what's wrong. I'll listen to your troubles,” Kaveh reassures before he carefully takes a step closer to Alhaitham, “we are a family, right?”
“SHAMELESS!” Dottore caws roaringly as he comes to stand between Kaveh and Alhaitham, snapping Kaveh to quickly steel his expressions, “how can you be so dense and shortsighted?!” Dottore growls to Kaveh's face, wings spread wide behind him to hide Alhaitham from view, “why won't you just leave us alone?”
Kaveh's face instantly burns red from anger before he, without even being able to stop himself due to his intense emotion, punches Dottore's face.
Dottore wobbles from the force of the punch and Kaveh grins in satisfaction even though his hand seems to hurt more than The Doctor feels pain. But his satisfaction is short-lived as The Doctor is able to quickly recover his bearings and stands tall between him and Alhaitham again, silently snarling with hatred.
“Kaveh, please. You have to ca-” Cyno tries to mediate again but he cuts himself short when the servant steps up to him.
Alexei politely smiles at the general who is tensely scrutinizing him in suspicion, “Please, general,” he amicably starts before his tone drops dangerously as he leans forward, “keep quiet. You've interfered way too many times already,” he warns in a whisper before smiling again, “both you and I are just strangers here. It would be inappropriate if either of us steps in.”
Kaveh gnashes his teeth at The Doctor, “STOP! FUCKING! INTERFERING!” he very loudly yells back, anger finally reaches its climax, “this is between me and Alhaitham!”
Dottore snarls at Kaveh, fully showing his sharp teeth, “And who are you to think that it doesn't concern me?! I'm here because you won't stop hurting my mate!”
Kaveh's face drops into confusion for a moment before he sharply barks a laugh, “HA! Nice joke. Now move to a circus or somewhere else more fitting for your tasteless humor.”
Dottore lets out a controlled breath through his nose before he lightning fast grabs Kaveh's collar and yanks him close, “You are not supposed to come here,” Doctor seethes to Kaveh's face, “my mate –for some forsaken reason– cares about you so I'll bear the displeasure of having to spell it out for you,” oh, Doctor hates spitting that out loud, “now that he's my mate, he wants to distance himself from people he care in order to ensure their safety, that fucking includes you,” Dottore's wings flap in anger as he growls, “so fucking man up already and stop bothering him. You're old enough to do that, aren't you?”
Cyno suddenly understands Alhaitham's behavior with a start. Shame quickly fills him when he realizes that The fucking Doctor himself realizes what's actually happening before him. What The Doctor says might as well be lies but Cyno knows enough story from Alhaitham's side to know they arent.
Cyno really should have known better. The fact that he isn't personally close to Alhaitham doesn't excuse why he misread the situation.
Alhaitham married The Second of the Fatui Harbinger. In order to live peacefully in that marriage, Alhaitham chooses to leave his nation. By doing so, Sumeru won't be at risk with having someone of such a high profile in Sumeru but in return, Alhaitham enters the wolves' den.
The definition of “taking care of” is very broad. Cyno was worried that The Doctor is taking care of Alhaitham by simply putting him in a golden cage and then calling it a day. Now he knows that he was correct with the exception that the cage is an open cage. Meaning that The Doctor values Alhaitham enough that he's willing to make the relationship quite equal. Thus creating a fragile sense of harmonious marriage. One that Alhaitham clearly treasures.
Alhaitham most likely thinks that the arrival of Kaveh and him will break that equilibrium he has carefully tried to maintain. And Cyno is now sure that Alhaitham's agitated attitude was not just because he fears that his marriage will be disturbed but also because Alhaitham is worried about Kaveh. His earlier story about being targeted was to convey that he's a target simply because he and his mate love each other –thus Kaveh might also be targeted simply due to his tie with Alhaitham.
This is bad. If Kaveh and The Doctor continue to clash like that then these giant misunderstandings will turn into true bad blood. Cyno has to sto-
“General, please,” Alexei murmurs as he forcefully drags Cyno away from his masters, “leave them to resolve their own crisis.”
Cyno tries to struggle but the servant is stronger than he anticipated, so he grits his teeth and tries to bargain, “Let go of me. I have to stop them from fighting. It is all just a misunderstanding.”
But what the servant says next makes Cyno freeze, “I'm aware,” Alexei grimly admits, “at least I think I do,” he says as he respectfully deposits Cyno on a chair before looking at the scuffle and tries to have a look at His Ladyship, “from what I know, His Ladyship is not one to be so… frazzled,” unable to get a single look because His Lordship is dutifully shielding His Ladyship, Alexei opts to look at the general Mahamatra with sympathy, “I know you don't have a single amount of trust in me but I did warn you that you both shouldn't be here.”
Cyno's lips curled in hesitation as he observes his friend and The Doctor continue to yell at each other while Alhaitham is doing who knows what. He now knows the missing pieces of information and he can't decide or justify any action without all the parties to sit down and clear the misunderstandings first. Unfortunately, the only one that can mediate them all finds that simply forgetting each other will be the best option. And Cyno honestly can see why Alhaitham thinks so.
Walking their separate ways is the best solution since it has no risk of coming into contact which can establish ties. Kaveh can continue to blissfully live his life and Alhaitham can keep out variables that might destroy the balance of his marriage. It's still the most appropriate solution at the moment too. With the danger of being targeted still fresh, it's best to not interact with Alhaitham at all. If only it isn't extremely cruel to Kaveh and even Alhaitham himself.
Kaveh, being his worried self and Alhaitham, who is secretly a mother hen.
“I won't stop you from breaking them up if things turn physical. I will even help you to keep His Lordship at bay,” Alexei says as he also observes the verbal scuffle, but upon noticing the general's surprised look from the corner of his eyes, he smiles –mostly to himself, “I am loyal to His Ladyship,” he says as he places a palm above his heart, “in Snezhnaya, family matters above all. And although His Ladyship is not from Snezhnaya, it will do him well to learn now,” then his smile gains a grim undertone, “as well as realizing that nothing will be achieved by playing both sides.”
Kaveh grabs Dottore's collar too and yells to his face, “What is it to you?! Are you so afraid that Alhaitham will realize he has made a mistake by marrying you that you won't even allow us to talk?!”
Dottore responds by loudly crowing in anger right at Kaveh's face, enraged at the audacity of his brother-in-law .
Alhaitham sucks in a sharp breath.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
A sniffle is alright, but do not cry.
…
Some things… really aren't meant to be. And Alhaitham understands that if he wants to peacefully love his mate, he can only do that if he leaves his old life. Yet why does everything turn like this?
Alhaitham thought… when Kaveh personally built his bridal carriage and even sent him off to his mate, that meant he supported him.
…Clearly, he was wrong.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
A tear escapes his eyes.
It's alright, don't cry. Crying won't help with anything. Why's he so emotional, anyway? Is it a side effect of his revival?
Unfortunately, despite his attempt to distract himself with his own thoughts, it's as if a dam just broke and more tears start to well up in his eyes. So Alhaitham tilts his head up, a meager attempt at holding back his tears. But when a wail is at the brink of conception, Alhaitham chokes on his breath as he furiously wipes his eyes and rushes to the door.
Cyno tenses up when he sees Alhaitham running to the door, but he doesn't move to stop him. He figures that with all the yellings and his sensitive hearing, Alhaitham probably needs some time to cool off. Especially since both the subjects of his anguish don't seem to be aware of his absence as they're still way too busy trash talking each other. And judging from how the servant is observing from the corner of his eyes before letting out a sigh of relief, it seems that he finally makes a correct decision.
When Alhaitham opens the door, he's startled to find Zandik is already standing there as if waiting for him. He silently stares at him with a tear still hanging to his eyelashes, unsure of what to do. But Zandik says nothing and simply smiles reassuringly at him before raising his pointer finger to his lips, silently asking him to be quiet. He then gently nudges him away from the door.
Alhaitham follows Zandik's guidance, hoping to figure out why Zandik would stand here. Isn't the existence of his Segments confidential? Why would he come here and risk being noticed? But Alhaitham's confusion only grows by the second as Zandik holds the doorknob and simply stands there, as if guarding it.
A few more seconds pass with Alhaitham staring confusedly at Zandik while Zandik offers nothing more than a smile. When it's clear to Alhaitham that Zandik won't offer any explanation, he opens his mouth. But before he can let out any sound, he's suddenly being pulled away by the hand. Startled, he turns around to see who it is. Only to find Zazan who's wearing his cloak and bringing a bundle of warm clothes.
Alhaitham softly makes a questioning squeal, the sound is rather raspy because he was holding back his cry. But Zazan offers no response and simply continues to pull him, expression looking rather grim. Extremely confused, Alhaitham looks back at Zandik, searching for an answer. But Zandik simply waves at him, his reassuring smile still pasted on his face.
Although bewildered, Alhaitham decides to quietly follow along.
With a deceivingly easy crush of his hand, another load of brain mush is squeezed out of the monster's hand as the remnants of the victim falls unceremoniously to the snow, dirtying the pure white with red.
Although that corpse was a traitor to the throne, it was still once a citizen of Snezhnaya. So seeing it being killed like an ant and then whatever remains he has being callously discarded onto the snow like a trash does make Childe –and Dmitri too by the looks of it– uncomfortable.
But that's not the first time they see ‘Dottore’ treats the poor soul that's too slow to flee today so Childe feigns aloofness towards the corpse by commenting, “Sheesh. Leave some for us,” he complains though there's not much heat behind his words.
For a group that dares to challenge the throne, they're ridiculously weak and disorganized –and trust him, for him to notice that is a new kind of low. So Childe doesn't find this mission to be exciting in any way. It feels like cleaning bathroom stains with a toothbrush. All in all, Childe doesn't mind Dottore single handedly massacring the majority of them in a single attack.
The monster ‘glances’ at him. Dottore in this form doesn't have anything that looks remotely close to an eye. Yet Childe is sure that he is currently giving him the stink eye. How he can be so sure that ‘Dottore’ is looking at him in the first place is solely because his instinct immediately blares an alarm in his head as needle-like sensation pricks all over his arms, urging him to quickly brandish his hydro blades. But he resists the urge because it's unnecessary. By now, he knows that Dottore doesn't even see him as someone worth fighting.
Which is proven to be correct when ‘Dottore’ merely snorts at him condescendingly before ignoring him to raise his long neck to scan the area with a flick of his massive wings that oddly only sends snow flying at Childe and not anyone else. Without uttering a single word, Childe expressionlessly dust the snow from his coat. This, Childe is already accustomed with, the disrespect is honestly starting to get old. What he's not accustomed to, on the other hand, is not being the one to do the ‘cleanup’ so color him curious.
Come to think of it, why did Dottore suddenly transform and go into a –albeit a very brief one– rampage? Childe was so sure that he would just leave all the dirty work to him and the fanatic while he would do… whatever it is that he does. Yet, before Childe could even attempt to descend into the fifth rebel camp with the fanatic, Dottore suddenly ran past them and dived head first from the cliff they stood at. Out of curiosity, he ran to the edge to see what had caught Dottore’s attention, but there didn't seem to be anything worth noting.
What caught Childe's attention was, in fact, Dottore, who wasn't simply free falling but flying straight down. That was interesting. Childe was very certain Dottore's wings formation doesn’t allow that kind of maneuver. He wondered how Dottore would land. But then flesh started growing all over Dottore's form like tumors that quickly formed into an abomination of… abyssal draconic-bird thingy.
Through his sharp hawk-breed Avian eyes, Childe noticed scales start growing over the newly amassed flesh and he wondered what would happen next, especially since Dottore was already very close to the ground by then. Unfortunately, his observation had to be cut short as a blinding light that was able to light up the whole camp accompanied by a weird high pitched noise that made his ears ring despite not sounding loud at all suddenly caught him by surprise. Shortly after, an earthquake that shook Childe to wobble to his knees followed. And then there was only pure silence as the billowing wind of the mountain range was even strangely void.
A few seconds passed with nothing before a wave of headache suddenly hits Childe. Blinded and deafened, and then being assaulted with a headache, Childe was incapacitated for a moment. What helped him sober up was the unmistakable smell of blood.
Childe –purely out of training and discipline– quickly jumped to his feet, ignoring the intense nausea he felt, and ran to observed the situation from the edge of the cliff. There, Childe only saw wreckage of the camp they were supposed to clean up and 'Dottore' in his new form.
To say that Childe was intrigued is simply an understatement. He would very much love to fight ‘Dottore’ right then and there. After all, what are the odds of him meeting something that resembles an evil dragon so much? This fight alone will keep Tonia and Teucer entertained for months.
Their fight would undoubtedly be very awesome and there was even a fitting arena already –namely the remains of the camp, so there's no reason to not fight, right?
Well…
“Indeed,” Pulcinella pipes up, his voice is a little bit muffled from the handkerchief pressed to his nose, as he jumps over the corpse to approach Dottore, “it would be wise to give the opportunity to learn to the inexperienced,” he says before stopping his journey to ‘Dottore’ when the monster silently turns towards him, head tilted in an extremely creepy and uncanny way.
Disturbed by the silent ‘gaze’, Pulcinella clears his throat to hide his discomfort before he says, “I am curious. What has agitated you so?”
A second of hair-raising silence passes where ‘Dottore’ simply stares at The Rooster as if he doesn't recognize him, causing tension in the air to quickly spike up –this won't be the first time Dottore's experiment fails in public after all.
Pulcinella jumps a little from surprise when ‘Dottore’ suddenly melts. The bluish black feathers growing on his wings fall off and the scales covering his form like an armor light up brilliantly like embers before, out of nowhere, fire envelopes the monster's form.
It doesn't take long before the flame dies down and reveals Dottore. He silently stands with his back facing The Rooster and the rest of his team –the only proof of his transformation is a circle around him made of black ash. Naked too, by the looks of it.
Not too keen on being seen with a pervert weirdo, Childe silently takes The Doctor's coat –which was left on the cliff and picked up by Dmitri– from the fanatic, who's still slow in the head from witnessing what had happened, and throws it at Dottore.
As if he has an eye at the back of his head, Dottore catches the coat flawlessly and lazily drapes it on his shoulders. Somehow, he even takes out his mask from within the coat. They all wait patiently as The Doctor carefully wears his mask. Yet when The Doctor is finished dressing himself, he continues to stand in silence, staring across the carnage he started mere minutes ago.
After a long bout of silence that even manages to make Pulcinella impatient, Dottore flicks his wings, causing dark particles to fly in the air, and asks, “How many more camps?”
Oh, Childe wants to throw Dottore off a cliff. That much waiting only to be ignored? In hindsight, Childe should have known better. He should have stabbed his hydro blade up Dottore’s ass when he had a chance. That will surely earn him a punishment from Her Majesty but it will also give him an epic life and death fight so it's a fair tradeoff.
But The Rooster is as diplomatic as ever with him simply answering the question, “This was the last one,” he says before storing his handkerchief into his coat, “Arlecchino and Capito have exchanged words confirming that they find the rebel camps as mentioned in Dmitri's Intel,” he explains before smiling wide in satisfaction, “because of you, our group finished our part way ahead of the schedule. Now we have to move quickly to capture their leader or they'll be alerted of us,” he ‘blames’.
“Of course,” Dottore simply says as he tilts his head up and falls silent and unmoving again.
Children's wings twitch in annoyance. At this point, whether it is a part of their deal or not, he will go capture the leader by himself. What is Dottore even doing? Existential crisis?
“Pulcinella,” Dottore hesitantly calls, which is very weird in itself, “if your in-law is hindering you and makes your spouse sad, what will you do?”
…
Alright, what the fuck? Is he… is Dottore seriously asking for relationship advice?
Now, Childe is way too speechless to even complain internally.
Pulcinella pauses for a moment, pondering Dottore's question as he observes the Avian, before he answers with a nod, “get rid of them, of course.”
Childe lets out a strangled squawk.
NOOOOO! No, old man, no! I know that's not how you will take care of that kind of problem so don't tell him that! You're only answering him diplomatically with Dottore's personality in mind, aren't you?! That's not how you treat your loved one’s family!
Dottore humms, “I figured so,” he so easily agrees and now Childe doesn't know who to beat up.
“If I may be so presumptuous to ask, Lord Doctor,” Dmitri suddenly opens his mouth, causing Childe to remember that he probably kept quiet the whole way because of his status, “how have your in-law made your mate sad?”
Dottore's wings twitch irritatedly from being referred that way but it seems like he's actually desperate for an answer since he simply ignores it with a huff and answers, “my in-law is currently visiting. Due to the several assassination attempts on my mate, my mate is worried that my in-law will be targeted too so my mate tries to keep my in-law safe by pushing him away,” Dottore pauses as he lets out a harsh sigh as his wings ruffle in vexation “but my in-law just can't take a hint and now my mate is crying.”
… Okayyyy… things are more complicated than Childe thought. He knows how complicated personal relationships can be when you're a Harbinger. Dottore specifically asking for advice to Pulcinella is also a good move. After all, the old man has always taken good care of his family whenever he's away. And honestly, kudos to Dottore for actually trying to find a way to resolve things instead of being his usual overbearing self. Childe didn't know he had it in him.
“The only punishment fitting for the sin of making a loved one sad, of course, can only be death,” Dmitri heatedly declares, quickly reminding Childe that Dottore's attempt means nothing since he's asking a calculative self-serving old man and a crazed fanatic.
Childe glances at the old man –who's still calculatively observing Dottore, then at Dmitri –who genuinely looks angry, and then at Dottore whose wings are now folded high –as if he has now regained confidence before he deeply sighs.
This group is hopeless.
So much that Childe won't even voice his opinion because they would undoubtedly just ignore him.
Childe wishes the best of luck to whoever Dottore's in-law might be.
Notes:
Life is complicated when it's not just you and your mate.
Next in stop, Alhaitham's depression chapter.
I declare Cyno as the MVP of this story. Series even. Since the beginning, he has been constantly dragged along the drama simply because of his sense of duty and being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Chapter 72
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It was a rainy evening.
Alhaitham doesn't know what Kaveh remembers that day as but to Alhaitham, that was a very special day.
That day… he finally reacquired his clear mind.
Zazan leads Alhaitham into the transport vehicle. Alhaitham doesn't know why he drags him here at this time but he doesn't feel like asking. So, like a lifeless doll, he lets himself be led to the seat as his wings drag across the floor.
Alhaitham sits down without much reaction. His wings are slumped down very low as if they're just unwanted heavy burdens. He blankly stares at his hands resting on his lap as he continues to silently sit down at his seat, not even once asking why he's there nor making more movements than to breathe.
Zazan, too, wordlessly stands next to Alhaitham. The bundle of warm clothes is still in his hold as he waits for Alhaitham to say something –which then he will take as an opportunity to break the sad mood. But a long time passes where Alhaitham continues to say nothing before Zazan finally sucks in a resigned breath through his mouth, his wings subconsciously drooping dejectedly.
Zazan slowly places the outerwear on Alhaitham's lap before he, as quietly as possible so as to not bother Alhaitham, walks to the control panel.
In front of the controller he can easily operate like second nature, Zazan finds himself not knowing what to do. Of course, he still knows which buttons to press. It's just that he has no idea where to go.
No fixed destination in mind, no time allocation, nothing. Omega Build simply told him to bring Alhaitham away from The Institute to get some fresh air. But he simply doesn't know the place to get that effect.
With a sigh, Zazan turns around and observes Alhaitham from the engine room. He sees Alhaitham is still sitting unmoving, looking so withdrawn and sad. Depressed, even.
It's uncanny. It doesn't feel right. It's… not supposed to happen.
Alhaitham is supposed to be happy. Not even facing off against the government was enough to shake him like that. So why does getting a visit from brother-in-law make him like this? For someone who doesn't overcomplicate things, why's he so wound up over this? If he knows what is best then why doesn't he just do it? Why's he so reluctant? It's strange.
….
… He really doesn't know Alhaitham much, huh?
Some might argue that knowing someone at the present is enough. But the truth is, knowing someone before that is also important. Their origin is what makes people who they are after all.
So Zazan wonders. Was Alhaitham always like this? Wanting to live a normal and peaceful life while also having no qualms about overthrowing the government –even if he argues that it's only for his selfish reason– when he thinks that it's necessary is quite the extreme thought process after all. How was Alhaitham raised, how was he educated, how was he even?
Does he even know Alhaitham at all?
Zazan bites his inner cheeks as he closes his eyes to think.
[Now, this is funny,] Sigma Build comments to the link, [as far as I know when Avians mate for life, it's when they have known each other enough like it's their own life.]
No one responds to him. The link is deadly silent. The link has never been this quiet. There’d always be, at least, some white noises. But it's so quiet that Sigma Build can hear his own heartbeat.
Zazan's wings ruffle from discomfort, [I see, is that how it is? You're all leaving me to pick him up alone?] he baits.
But there's still no answer.
Damn it. He didn't think that when Omega Build said he needed to have a talk with Alhaitham, he meant he had to talk about feelings. And especially, not really just him and Alhaitham. What the hell does he want to achieve by sending him of all Segments to talk with Alhaitham. What's there to share? Nothing. He doesn't even have as much romantic feeling as Alpha Build –which is probably the bare minimum– he isn't even as egocentric as Prime –which he's quite sure can ruin marriage.
Opening his eyes with a sigh, Zazan observes Alhaitham again. Almost instantly, he's reminded of the situation at hand. So Zazan turns to the controller and sets the destination to a remote tourist spot at the lowest speed possible –which will take them around 50 minutes to arrive, grimacing all the while as if bracing to do something painful.
After-mortem depression. Something that –according to natural laws– shouldn't even be a thing but he doesn't get this good if he can't –or causes something that can– casually defy nature. And that is Alhaitham’s diagnosis, at least until new trouble arises.
Craziness, just like pain, is a self-preservation mechanism. Pain is a sign that something is wrong with your body –thus protecting your body from collapsing– while losing your sanity is a way to preserve your mind –as ironic as it sounds. The reason why most people find reviving the dead is bad is not just because it defies natural order. Another reason is because there's concern that the revived won't take death too well. After all, if death isn't the ultimate traumatic experience then Zazan doesn't know what is.
…
Zazan had hoped… that Alhaitham won't remember anything during his death. That way it will most likely just feel like waking up from a nightmare. But he just has to go above and beyond by being –technically– mentally conscious at that time.
The most dangerous threat to an immortal is their mental strength. It's difficult to endure eternity, especially when one only has their own mind to entertain themselves. And though Alhaitham was only dead for a few months, he's just a mortal.
…
Alhaitham's depression is just an early symptom.
Sucking in a sharp breath as he clenches the door handle, Zazan opens the sliding door rather roughly and quickly steps forward just in case he loses gut.
“Alright, let's talk!”
Kaveh and Prime only realize that Alhaitham is no longer with them just a little bit over twenty minutes after Alhaitham stormed off. Cyno finds it quite impressive, really. For someone that seems to be arguing for Alhaitham's ‘sake’, they don't seem to put much attention on Alhaitham in the first place. Cyno is almost tempted to just leave them be and count how much longer until they realize.
Unfortunately, time isn't a luxury Cyno can afford anymore. At this point, he would be lucky if he can cross the Snezhnayan border. Damn, isn't that thought tiring?
So many troubles start over nothing. Alhaitham doesn't have to deal with any of these. Abyss knows he doesn't even have to deal with any of these.
Cyno lets out a deep sigh and tries to secretly massage his temple.
He shouldn't have come here. There was no need for him to come and now they're in danger because he came. He should have trusted Alhaitham's choice. … Or at the very least, trusted that he will not regret his choice.
… What in Abyss was he thinking? It's Alhaitham. Though he was never close enough to know him, he knows that Alhaitham never picks something he isn't fine with. Always choosing the lesser evil at the very lea-
Cyno abruptly cuts his line of thoughts when the argument he's observing suddenly turns quiet. For a moment, he tenses up because he thought Alhaitham's mate has finally decided to kill Kaveh and be done with them, but they aren't even fighting. The Doctor doesn't even look at Kaveh anymore. He's staring at the door that Alhaitham has impressively closed shut after he stormed out.
… Wait a minute.
Dottore quickly stomps over to the door, wings flared, leaving Kaveh flabbergasted at suddenly being ignored, [What's the meaning of this, Omega Build?!] he straight up crows to the link in anger.
In response to Prime's anger, Omega Build sighs, [Moonlight needs a break from you and brother-in-law, ] he answers, calmly –almost bored.
Prime sucks in a sharp breath and holds it in so that he doesn't start yelling out loud as he grabs the door knob and tries to twist it.
But the knob doesn't budge in the slightest so Prime angrily bangs the door and coldly orders to the link, [Open the door.]
There's no response. Not from the other side of the door, not from the link either. Prime is completely ignored. Enraged, Prime claws the door to find any purchase so that he can rip it off its hinges, but before he can find any, Omega Build finally says something that makes him pause.
[Moonlight needs to get a treatment for a side effect of his revival.]
Prime pauses, simply because he's afraid. Any side effect from the revival is impossible to be deemed a good thing. The risk is great and he was aware of it when he said that he would take responsibility for it. But that doesn't mean he's ready.
Prime breathes out shakily, [T-then what are you doing?] he stutters, completely unlike him, before quickly regaining confidence, [what is the meaning of this then? Let me out so that I can treat him!] he panickedly orders.
Contrary to Prime, Omega Build responds very calmly, [Oh, I don't think I will,] Prime’s wings ruffled in vexation at his response but Omega Build continues before Prime can try anything too drastic, [the scope of moonlight's treatment is in my area of expertise and I deem that your participation will only hinder my treatment.]
Prime lets out a sarcastic snort to the link, [Then what are you doing here? Why are you sending Sigma Build instead?]
Omega Build sighs, [Y'know, Prime. No matter how much I try to pretend, in the end, I'm just a monster trying to fit into a shadow of a human,] then he huffs out loud to the point that Prime can hear him from the other side, [and you're a coward. That's your duty. Being a coward so that you can always consider which action will have the best long-term outcome. The moment you see moonlight's current condition, you will ask him to return to Sumeru. Thinking that, at least that way, moonlight can live the rest of his life peacefully,] then he pauses slightly to think of how to word his reason, [and among the Segments, Sigma Build is the most honest. He's blunt, still untainted with too many logical considerations.]
Prime cynically laughs to the link, [And what will that serve if he can't even express love?]
[And somehow you can?] Omega Build bitingly asks, the buried anger at Prime quickly resurfacing, [you can't even believe that moonlight won't leave us, not even having the courage to selfishly think that his only place is next to us,] then, almost as quickly, he calms himself down, [at the moment, moonlight doesn't need to be burdened with the questions of whether we love him or not. He only needs to know that we care about him. That he is precious to us. … That we don't want him to suffer.]
Silence.
No one says anything –not even moving except for breathing– and the only noises Zazan can hear is the rumbling sound of the engine.
… This… wasn't what he expected. He had hoped that he would at least startle Alhaitham, snapping him from his blank look. But not only does he have no reaction, he doesn't even seem to register the noise.
Zazan, without being able to stop himself, exhales in panic as he rushes to Alhaitham.
What does this mean? Unresponsiveness to sound when loud sounds can send him to sensory overload in matters of seconds can only be a sign of neurological problem. Meaning that they have to return. If more problems surface then he won't have anything to treat Alhaitham with. But if he returns with Alhaitham to the lab, it might trigger some sort of PTSD.
… Logically, Zazan should bring back Alhaitham. But Omega Build must have other reasons that he decides to overrule Prime's authority. So they can't return and he needs to bring Alhaitham to a place with adequate equipment for emergencies, away from stress triggers.
Thus they will continue their journey.
Sigma Build's base of facility is at the mountain range next to the tourist spot. The only reason he knows that tourist spot in the first place is because it's near his lab. Like other labs of ‘his’, it wasn't built with the intention of healing. But… he can make do with it. Yes. He can. Just find out what's Alhaitham's problem first and then he can decide the step from there.
Oh, Zazan doesn't even know if he’d prefer Alhaitham having medical problems or psychological problems. Either way, it won't be easy to treat them.
…
Please…
Allow Zazan to be in denial and hope that there's nothing wrong with Alhaitham. Just that he's sad. Because then, there's no problem with Alhaitham but with ‘him’.
Zazan skids to a stop right in front of Alhaitham and snatches the clothes he left on his lap, “What are you doing?” he strainedly asks, trying to keep his panic to himself, as he hastily takes a fur coat out of the bundle and drapes it across Alhaitham's shoulders, “do you not feel the cold? How in Abyss can you sit still when you're wearing nothing warm?” he rants as he helps Alhaitham wear his coat.
There. Zazan knows for a fact that Alhaitham loves to be coddled –Prime is honestly just too blind for not noticing it. This should be able to cheer him up a little right?
But when Zazan touches Alhaitham's ice cold hand, he stops joking around. His hands immediately abandon their task in trying to aesthetically fix the coat to hold Alhaitham's wrist, checking the pulse. It's a little bit fast, most likely because the body is trying to fight the cold by faster blood circulation, but that doesn't make sense because then why would Alhaitham be so cold?
A little bit frantic, Zazan forces open Alhaitham's eyelid next. He would have prefered to have a flashlight with him. Unfortunately, that's not an option so he makes do and try to discern Alhaitham's pupil with the light from the transport vehicle alone. The pupil seems fine but unfortunately, judging from the way Alhaitham's eyeballs are unmoving in their eye sockets he might have other problems.
… Humiliation is something that Dottore –especially the youngest version– is familiar with. It seems to occur a lot when Alhaitham is around. From being teased to doing something illogical, it happens in many ways.
Humiliation that comes with crying when Alhaitham is around… every Segment is familiar with it. The difference is that usually they don't feel any shame from it, not even Zazan. But now he can only feel shame as tears quickly overflow from his eyes and flow uncontrollably down his cheeks.
It's so damn shameful that when he's faced with the proof of his incompetence, he can only cry. But no matter what he thinks or does, he still continues to cry and even rushing forward to hug Alhaitham. The only silver lining that can be pulled from his behaviors is the fact that Alhaitham finally reacts.
“... Zazan…?” Alhaitham weakly calls his name before hugging him back without waiting for any explanation.
Zazan finds that very admirable, in a way, yet for some reason he can only hoarsely cry out to Alhaitham's shoulder, “I'm sorry… I'm so so sorry!” he sobs, “I shouldn't have revived you! I know I shouldn't! There were a lot of wild variables and now there's something wrong with you and I don't know how to fix you!”
Alhaitham's shoulders tense up as he slowly sucks in a breath before slowly breathing it out, “Then… why did you revive me?” why waste so much of your time for me if you'd only regret it?
Zazan's wings flared before falling limply, “How could I not?!” he yells before he collapses to a squat, sobbing his way from Alhaitham's shoulder to quietly crying on his lap, “I don't want to lose you this quickly,” he whispers, “you're my only friend… I like you a lot. Really really like you,” sucking in a breath before coughing it out in sobs, he confesses, “by the Abyss, I might even genuinely love you.”
There's only the sounds of Zazan's quiet sobs then. It's not surprising. Alhaitham is the one who needs mental relief and here Zazan is bawling on his lap. Utterly pathetic.
Zazan clenches his eyes shut hard and pulls away from Alhaitham's lap, it doesn't stop the tears from flowing so he furiously wipes them away with his sleeves as he says, “Alright. Now that I've got your attention, let's start talking about your prognosis…” he trails off into silence when a cold hand gently cups his cheek, the thumb gently trying to brush his river of tears away.
Alhaitham look at Zazan, face creased with worry –hints of tiredness there and there but his eyes definitely have more life than before, “There's no rush,” he gently tells Zazan as he pulls him to the seat to sit behind him, “I'm fine. Just having a little bit too much in my mind,” he explains.
Zazan stares at Alhaitham's face for a moment in confusion, tears still quietly flowing from his eyes, before he asks, a little bit frustrated, “Why are you like this?”
Alhaitham's lips ever so slowly stretch into a gentle curve that's so calming to look at, “I don't know what you're talking about.”
Zazan lets out a choked snort before he tries to wipe his eyes again, “Why are you so good at handling me –us?” he asks again, “why are you so good at handling our distress? It makes no sense. You don't have any real relationship experience. Just like us.”
Alhaitham silently pulls Zazan closer to his chest and slowly envelopes him with his wings, “I don't know either,” he admits to Zazan's hair, “because mostly…” he slightly trails off as he cards his fingers between Zazan's messy hair, “I only have to be there to listen to your problem.”
Zazan sucks in a sharp breath before he starts sobbing again. This time, not even he knows why he's crying again. Alhaitham doesn't say anything and simply continues to be there with him.
“There's nothing wrong with me, Zazan,” Alhaitham soothingly says before he starts gently chittering to his mate, “So please, tell me your problems,” he coaxes as he starts petting Zazan's hair again, “it's alright to ask help from me,” he reassures again.
And with that, Zazan lets himself cry.
Notes:
Omega Build, basically: Go cry to your mommy.
Prime: I thought you want things to develop "healthily".
Omega Build: Oh, shut up. Brother-in-law is allowed to play dirty but I can't?
Ladies and gents, aside from the fact that th talk hasn't started, things are going to get worse before it gets better. In other words, yes. This is the last "arc".
Fucking finally.
I want Abyss to destroy Natlan so baaaaad.
Also can we all pretend that I never wrote Pierro as the First Harbinger? That's going to bother me so much.
Chapter Text
Zazan silently sits leaning to Alhaitham's chest, deeply thinking, stuck in a ponder. In accordance with that, Alhaitham sits beside him, quiet, no longer chittering. Neither of them asked for a timeout but they continue to silently sit together, only accompanied by the rumbling of the engine, seemingly having to reach a mutual understanding.
…
Psychological ailment isn't contagious. So why in the world does he also become depressed like Alhaitham?
Feeling ridiculous, Zazan flexes his wings to get ready to start being productive, but when he opens his mouth, he doesn't know what to say.
Fortunately, Alhaitham can already sense the air around Zazan slightly changes so he asks, “What's wrong?”
Zazan's wings twitch, how's he always able to tell, “Nothing, just…” he vaguely motions with his hands, “I don't know, start talking,” then he sits straighter as if he just realizes something, “wait a damn minute, you're the patient here,” pushing away from Alhaitham's chest, forcing Alhaitham to fold back his wings, Zazan tries to sternly glare at Alhaitham, “start talking,” he orders.
Alhaitham furrows his eyebrows, confused, “... What is there to talk about?”
“I-” Zazan almost snaps but he quickly reins himself back, “was that a rhetoric or are you playing dumb?” he asks, not quite successful at trying to hold back his frustration, before trying to focus back on the important matter, “you said you have a lot on your mind. Talk about it.”
“...Why…?” Alhaitham hesitantly asks, very confused, before an understanding –thankfully– dawns on him, “It's nothing important. You talk first,” he so infuriatingly explains but he looks so genuinely neutral about it and even having the time to look reassuringly at Zazan that Zazan can't help but deflate.
The concern is very nice of Alhaitham but it only tells Zazan that he's redirecting the concern away from him so he snaps, though without much heat because, again, the way Alhaitham tries to look reassuringly at him is doing things, “What do you mean nothing important? You were just sitting here quietly for so long because you have “a lot on your mind”.”
To that, Alhaitham raises an eyebrow at Zazan, “Is sitting in thought forbidden in Snezhnaya?” he asks, “because you were crying out of distress earlier and that seems to be much more concerning.”
Zazan dryly stares at Alhaitham before he defeatedly leans forward to Alhaitham's chest, deeply sighing as his wings droop, “I was simply out of control. You, on the other hand, are a patient who's supposed to be under constant observation. So stop deflecting and start talking.”
Alhaitham makes a noise of disagreement but he still moves his wing to warmly cocoon the both of them, “Zazan, losing control of your emotions can't be brushed away so carelessly.”
Zazan deeply sighs again as he pinches the bridge of his nose though he doesn't move from Alhaitham's chest, “Alright-alright, I will. But you start first.”
Alhaitham hums in slight confusion, “... Why me?” he asks again, “what's there to talk about?”
Zazan shifts his head so that he stare from above Alhaitham’s shoulder and look at the depressing scene of the barren snow field out the window, hoping to be given some strength, “Anything,” he dryly says though it's only to mask his embarrassment at the fact that whatever Alhaitham will tell him can only be something he hasn't known, “you said you want us to get to know each other. That'll require an exchange of information,” he argues while staring blankly at the moving scenery, trying very hard to not make himself sound unsure, “it was my turn last time. Now it's your turn.”
For a moment, Alhaitham does nothing. As if he's trying to make his presence faint. Now, Zazan is familiar with hypocrisy but right now he doesn't have the patience to tolerate it. Damn, he will even fuck the answer out of Alhaitham if he has to.
Thankfully, before Zazan's patience completely runs out, Alhaitham shifts on his seat a little. He's still not talking, probably just stalling, but Zazan wants to see where he's going with this so he waits patiently. Omega Build has stressed a lot that Alhaitham has to talk out of his own will, after all.
When their position is changed to Alhaitham bonelessly leaning to Zazan with his arms loosely hugging him, Alhaitham finally lets out a sigh, “Fine.”
But only silence follows. Again.
Haha, Zazan is honestly on the verge of fucking the conversation out of Alhaitham.
Thankfully, before the need to do that arises, Alhaitham finally says, “I am a male Avian,” then he pauses again as if he just said a big secret and wow, Zazan genuinely feels cheated, but then –thankfully– Alhaitham huffs in frustration, “alright, that's not the best way to start it. Let me try again,” he annoyedly says before falling into a long silence again.
This time Zazan lets him. Alhaitham simply doesn't know where to start and is not just trying to be let off the hook. That's understandable. Zazan accepts that. He's just like him. He understands and as long as Alhaitham doesn't try to run away again, he will wait for as long as it takes.
“From the normal point of view alone, it must be weird how Kaveh took the role of a family when he passed me to you back then in Sumeru, isn't it?” Alhaitham finally asks and Zazan's lips can't help but twitch into a grin because he's, for some reason, happy that Alhaitham genuinely tries again.
So Zazan humors Alhaitham, “I'm not sure if I'm qualified to judge whether something is normal or not but sure, explains to me why you think it's weird.”
Alhaitham huffs in amusement as he tightens his hug around Zazan, the action more about comforting himself than anything else, “Avians are territorial especially to those of different species because there will always be one thing that no matter how much other species would try to understand, they never get it. Thus Avians tend to instinctively avoid close relationships with other species,” he murmurs, “I'm also like that. In fact, I'm much more territorial to the point that I drugged my forced mating partners to make them attached to me so that they would listen to my beck and call, among other things.”
Zazan's eyebrows subconsciously raised in bewilderment. Damn, that does explain why Alhaitham likes ‘him’ –because he also has something wrong with his morals– and probably also likes the fact that there are 4 of ‘him’. Alhaitham probably laps up all the attention and possessiveness ‘he’ showed him.
Hot damn, what a whore. Zazan thinks to himself while trying so hard to not make his opinion show on his face –even if Alhaitham can't see it. Alhaitham probably won't appreciate being judged. And the fact that Alhaitham is actually that kind of person is honestly kinda hot.
Well now he is the one getting derailed so Zazan comments to stay focused, “Sooo, either you keep brother-in-law out of the goodness of your heart because he makes you see reason or you keep him around because you like the attachment.”
To that, Alhaitham hisses, somewhat more embarrassed than pained, “A little bit of both, actually,” he quietly groans before adding in an even quieter voice, “and 'son' would be a more accurate way to refer to him.”
The air stills .
What the fuck.
“I'm not calling him my 'son'!” Zazan very decisively and vehemently hisses.
“That's not-”
Zazan immediately cuts Alhaitham off before he can make any excuse, “ No! ” he loudly crows next to Alhaitham's ear, causing him to flinch but Zazan doesn't care, he would have sent Alhaitham a look on top of that if he can but he doesn't feel like detangling himself from Alhaitham's hug so he says, “whether you adopted him or not, it's still weird to call someone who's supposed to be mentally older than me ‘son’ !”
Alhaitham slightly opens his mouth before shutting it with a click, dismayed resignation on his face, “I'm not asking you to. I only want to slightly correct you, which is quite unnecessary now that I think about it since Kaveh isn't that deeply related to what I want to talk about.”
Zazan lets out a doubtful crow at that –he can't help it.
Alhaitham clicks his tongue and becomes limp atop Zazan, “I'm trying,” he says, voice muffled from how his cheek is squished atop Zazan's head.
Zazan bites his tongue, trying hard to hold back his retort but quickly deciding to just fuck it, “Try harder.”
Alhaitham snorts before shifting his head to dig his chin on Zazan's head, “Fine,” he amusedly says before pensively staring the floor, “I'm a male Avian,” Alhaitham carefully says, returning to square one, “and before coming of age, I never had any hormonal thoughts. In fact, I was only horny during my mating season,” Zazan tenses up in trepidation, with.... brother-in-law out of the conversation, he's back to being interested at what Alhaitham is telling him, “sex is gross after some time. Especially when I become inexplicably lustful from time to time and have sex not because I want to but because my body demands it. Then it starts getting worse to the point that I can barely have a clear mind.”
Zazan says nothing, engrossed over the implication that Alhaitham isn't a whore by choice. There’s also the fact that he's sure Alhaitham is genuinely enthused every time he gets fucked by the Segments. Meaning that, overtime, something changes in him. And that something is most likely ‘him’, judging by the fact that Alhaitham chooses to bring up sex is gross while talking about his old partners only.
That's an intriguing thought. What could have possibly changes Alhaitham's view on sex that he had only found after meeting ‘him’? Well, aside from the fact that ‘he' is a heretical scientist, Zazan can't think of anything else. But he's unprecedentedly sure that that's not what someone would look for in a partner.
So Zazan directly asks, “And I suppose having sex with me is somehow different?”
Alhaitham pauses for a moment before he quietly hums, “Do you know why I like it intense?” he asks.
Zazan is pretty sure that's just rhetoric but damn, he's itching to answer, “because you have a thing for rough sex and like getting manhandled?”
Alhaitham snorts and pinches Zazan's neck, earning him an annoyed crow which he masterfully ignores, “In relation, you're correct,” he agrees, “but it is mostly because I can't think much that way.”
Zazan frowns, confused, “And you like that? I thought you dislike sex because it makes it hard to think clearly.”
Alhaitham lets out a long sigh as his wings slump down, “Unfortunately, the sex was necessary due to my mutation,” he says, rather grumbling, “so I had to have a lot of sex whether I like it or not. Do you know how difficult it is to let yourself get fucked by someone not up your standard?”
Zazan bursts into a fit of laughter that he tries to quickly muffle by pressing his face to Alhaitham's chest to no avail.
He- he can't help it. Damn, his mate was such a brat. He drugged, manipulated, and broke the heart of a bunch of suitors and still has the gall to say they're not to his taste.
Hot damn.
Sucking in a sharp breath of amusement, Zazan tries to comment, “You-” unfortunately he has to cut himself off because of another series of laughter, “damn, now I pity your suitors.”
Alhaitham's wings ruffle up, offended, and he tightens his arms around Zazan, almost as if he's trying to punish him, “Those mating sessions were done out of necessity. They weren't supposed to ‘fall in love’ with me.”
Zazan silently grins to Alhaitham's chest, rather amazed at how Alhaitham seems to have forgotten he had just admitted that he drugged his exes, very shameless of him, “You’re getting defensive,” he points out instead of reminding Alhaitham of his immorality that he doesn't particularly care of in the slightest, “meaning that you care about them whether you like them or not.”
Alhaitham huffs and his wings twitch in annoyance, “I'm just an Avian,” he weakly admits, “though I didn't actively search for a suitable lifelong mate, I still instinctively treasure the notion of one day getting mated for life,” his wings slightly shuffle, showing the owner’s distress, “I couldn't tell them to stop courting me. I didn't know how.”
Zazan thoughtfully bites his inner cheek. That was actually a lot to take in. Out of all the red flags, Zazan never thought Alhaitham would own the manipulative department. Alright, he's more surprised with the fact that Alhaitham feels guilty about it.
Zazan hums before slowly opening his mouth, “Be honest with me,” he requests, “why did you choose ‘me’?”
Alhaitham hesitates. Simply because there are more than one answers to that question and he isn't sure which to tell Zazan. He can just say it's because of their deal. It won't be wrong at all but even he doesn't like that answer. He can just say it's because he instinctively sings back to Doctor’s courtship song but he isn't sure if Zazan would like that answer.
So Alhaitham chooses the long proven method of deflecting the question back to Zazan, “Why did ‘you’ court m…” he trails off into silence once he remembers that Doctor only sang for him that day because of their deal.
Unfortunately, Zazan can already deduce his question, but instead of telling Alhaitham what he has expected –feared, Zazan instead says, “You're one of a kind. Someone, who doesn't judge my methods and doesn't fear me at the same time, like you probably won't show up again in my lifetime,” then he impatiently smacks Alhaitham's back, “now your turn. Tell me why you chose me.”
Alhaitham flinches slightly from the smack, more surprised than anything else, before he starts to glance around, trying to process what Zazan has just told him and hoping to, somehow, find a suitable answer. But he quickly comes to a realization. Why can't he just be truthful?
Relaxing his whole weight to Zazan, Alhaitham shyly says, “Because I like your courtship song.”
“Wha-” Zazan makes a face as his ears burn from the startled embarrassment, he half-expected Alhaitham would explain how his dick is somehow better than his exes’, “no way,” he denies, “why would you marry me for life just because you like my song? That song wasn't even a good one.”
Alhaitham huffs in embarrassment, “It’s not just the song, I didn't even know what it was about –I’m not a crow breed Avian, but also the way you sang it,” he clenches his eyes shut from embarrassment as he elaborates, “I like the way you softly sang to me…” he trails off before hissing in embarrassment, “I like how it wasn't for the whole world to hear but just the two of us,” Alhaitham moves his head from Zazan's head and buries his face to the crook of Zazan's neck, huffing embarrassedly with twitching wings, “i really like that it was very intimate,” he whispers to Zazan despite his embarrassment.
Zazan opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again, and closes it again. … Seriously?
That's not what Zazan had expected so he says, “That's how every other crow breed Avians sing, though… so if another crow breed Avian courted you before me, you'd fall for them?”
Alhaitham clicks his tongue before slumping to Zazan with a defeated sigh, “You know what? Most likely,” he petulantly answers, “since crow breed is rare, I figured that I wouldn't have the chance of meeting another one and decided to just marry you.”
Zazan… feels like he messed up, for some reason, “I love you,” and for some fucking reason he says that.
Alhaitham’s wings twitch up from surprise and for a moment, he simply tightens his hugs around Zazan before his lips slowly spread into a little happy smile, “I love you too,” he murmurs back before tightening his hold around Zazan again into something that ought to be close to suffocating –he can't help it, “and Waqa, and Zandik, and Doctor.”
When Zazan hears Alhaitham returning his love, he senses something jumps in his chest and feels himself getting hot and restless. What the hell is that? The symptoms of love that his older Segments have been consistently shown around Alhaitham? Oh, so now he's going to be a simp too? Well, goodbye rational thoughts. You'll be sorely missed but Alhaitham is more important.
Damn you, Omega Build.
“So,” Zazan loudly caws to snap himself from his own thoughts because he's about to start overheating from the embarrassment, “since you love us, can we kill brother -in-law ?”
Alhaitham pulls away from Zazan so that he can send him a look. For the first time after entering the transport vehicle, they're finally looking at each other again. Somewhere in Zazan's conscious, he felt like something is telling him to feel ashamed that he makes Alhaitham looks at him like that.
“Why?!” Alhaitham loudly asks with flared wings, extremely exasperated.
Prime quietly rests his forehead on the door. He's not supposed to appear like that in front of guests –especially unwanted ones– but, trust him, he has bargained a lot by simply leaning to the wall instead of what he actually wishes to do.
Damn, it's hard to get accustomed to Alhaitham telling him he loves him.
Prime lets out a very long sigh and hopes against everything that he doesn't sound smitten.
“Are you seeing this, Cyno?” From a deeper part of the room, Kaveh asks Cyno, who has decided to approach him, not bothering to keep his voice down anymore, “the bastard definitely has some screws loose,” the servant very loudly clears his throat at what Kaveh said, causing Cyno to grimace in pain, “Alhaitham is definitely not safe around him. We have to bring him home where it's sa-” Kaveh's words get cut off when Cyno suddenly sprints the rest of the way towards him and hastily drags him away.
“Ow, ow-ow-ow-ow, what's it?” Kaveh yelps in pain from Cyno's harsh grip on his arm as he gets dragged to the bathroom but Cyno doesn't say anything.
Cyno swiftly opens the bathroom's door, shoves Kaveh in, and enters the bathroom himself before swiftly closing it behind him while, impressively, not making a sound.
Alexei stares at the bathroom for some time, waiting for anything to happen, but when he can only hear muffled noises, he wishes the general good luck. With nothing else to see, Alexei decides to gauge His Lordship's mood but finding him still leaning to the door, wings twitching and shuffling doing Tsaritsa knows what, he decides to simply leave His Lordship be. Out of option –and the fact that he can't get out of the room since His Lordship is standing right in front of it, Alexei chooses to find some place to sit and wait for when things are going to progress again.
“Okay-okay, what is it?!” Kaveh annoyedly asks as he rubs his sore arm but his annoyance quickly fades when he notices the angry look on Cyno's face, “... Cyno?” he carefully asks.
Cyno clenches his eyes shut as he quickly exercises his breathing to wrangle his panic under control before he opens his eyes and calmly asks, “Why are you deliberately provoking the Harbinger?”
Kaveh blinks, confused, before standing straighter, “What?” he asks, trying to feign innocence.
Cyno groans and massages his temples, eyes clenching shut again but this time from the headache hitting him like a wave of Sumpter Beasts, “I'm sorry, Kaveh, but I don't have the time to understand your motive so I'll just assume that you do it in the hope that if the Harbinger kills you, Alhaitham will finally ‘see reason’ and runs away.”
Kaveh flinches, “I'm not!” he quickly denies but when Cyno opens his eyes to send him a bloodshot glare, his pretense wilts, “I- well, I only planned to get injured,” seeing Cyno deflates, Kaveh quickly continues before he can say anything, “I know it's dangerous but I won't be able to snap Alhaitham from whatever he's on without surprising him,” then he gives Cyno a big smile, trying to convince and reassure him at the same time.
Cyno silently stares at Kaveh. His eyes are so full with swirling thoughts that Kaveh can't understand. A few minutes pass in silence. Then the invisible timer quickly hits a ten minute mark of full silence.
Kaveh's eyebrows furrow from nerves. What's wrong with Cyno? He's acting kinda creepy.
Kaveh opens his mouth, about to ask if he's okay, but Cyno suddenly punches the wall near the wastafel, causing Kaveh to yelp and look at Cyno in alarm.
Upon noticing Kaveh's alarmed, yet still laced with worry, look directed at him, Cyno sucks in a breath, holds it in for a moment, before slowly letting it out and says, “Alhaitham was right. It is a mistake bringing you here.”
Kaveh quietly sputters as he continues to look worriedly, but now with a hint of hurt, at Cyno.
But Kaveh says nothing so Cyno continues, “You don't trust the Harbinger,” Cyno points out in a reassuring tone, “rightfully so,” he adds before slowly squatting down and hangs his head down, so so tired, “and you're so worried about Alhaitham that you can't easily accept that he will be fine with the Harbinger,” Cyno sighs again, his shoulders slumping down, before he stares up into Kaveh's eyes, “and so I tell you, he won't,” Kaveh's eyes start to water but Cyno knows he can't look away lest Kaveh will continue to deny the reality, “there's nothing the least bit peaceful about a Harbinger and Alhaitham certainly won't find a peaceful life by marrying one,” there's a sheen of determination lighting up in Kaveh's eyes, Cyno has no other choice than to crush it, “Alhaitham knows that more than anyone,” ah, there it is, the instant disappearance of hope, “he knows, yet he still chooses to be here,” Cyno worries his lower lip a little, having a hard time believing what he is about to say, “you have to let go of Alhaitham. It's his life, his decision.”
Kaveh chokes on his breath before his eyes steel, “Can I call myself his family if I don't stop him from making a bad decision?!” he yells.
Cyno stares for a moment before he decides to fall on his ass and sits on the floor, leaning to the door –thi is going to be a long conversation, “I can't possibly answer that,” he truthfully answers and Kaveh's expression falls, perhaps he has also started to second-guess himself, so what Cyno can do is tell him, “but what I can tell you for sure is that it's too late to stop him.”
Kaveh's eyes snap to look at him in terror, no longer teary, just afraid, “What?” he quietly asks, almost horrified.
Cyno would feel bad for him but he's currently too tired with everything and what's to come if he fails to convince Kaveh to leave Alhaitham be, so he can only explain things, “Alhaitham is already mated to The Doctor prior to leaving Sumeru. That's the only reason Lord Kusanali allowed The Doctor to take Alhaitham away so easily in the first place,” he says as he gently and rhythmically bangs the back of his head to the bathroom's door, “you can't separate them since they're marrie-”
“WELL, THEY CAN FILE A DIVORCE!” Kaveh yells frustratedly, cutting Cyno off, “it's just a marriage. There's certainly something wrong with Alhaitham because he definitely won't try to keep up such a disadvantageous marriage like…?” he quickly trails into silence upon noticing that Cyno is staring at him as if he's stupid.
Cyno tries to blink his headache away as he smacks his lips, “Alright. First, let’s just assume that Alhaitham wants to keep the marriage because he wants to stay with The Doctor. Then it would be extremely morally wrong right down to the essence for you to ask him to file a divorce out of nowhere like that because you're disrupting his happy life simply out of your unwarranted fears,” Kaveh opens his mouth, about to say something, but Cyno weakly raises a finger to stop him, “but the more surefire reason for you to let go of Alhaitham is because he's not a human,” Kaveh looks at him dumbly so Cyno points out with a sigh, “Alhaitham is an Avian. And so is The Doctor,” Kaveh's eyebrows slowly furrowed in confusion so Cyno snaps and flails his hands around, exasperated, “Avians mate for life, Kaveh! They can't live without each other and expect to ever smile again!”
Kaveh gapes for a moment before he stutters, “W-well, I'm sure there's somethi-”
Cyno cuts Kaveh off by groaning very loudly, "Even if there is, are you seriously going to ask Alhaitham to get out of the marriage he wants to be in?” there's still hints of resistance in Kaveh's eyes so Cyno clicks his tongue and tells him, “give it up, Kaveh. Alhaitham is happy here. Even if he might not be in the future, that's his choice to make. If you keep telling him to leave his mate, you're just terrorizing him, which is definitely not what a family does. And if you take him by force-,” Cyno abruptly pauses, the grim prediction quickly reminding him of how dire Alhaitham’s situation will get if he fails to convince Kaveh and snapping him from his own tired induced fit, “...he will live for a few months, completely and utterly miserable, constantly searching for his mate, before eventually dying from depression alone.”
Kaveh stares unblinkingly at Cyno as tears quickly refill his eyes and Cyno grimly stares back as he says, “That's the fate of an Avian so please, for Alhaitham's sake, give up.”
Notes:
Sadly, I have to lay low in the onion. I didn't realize I was out of stock.
[I'm so sorry for editing the chapter. Usually I don't bother even if there's a lot of grammar mistakes. Unfortunately, this chapter had more than grammar mistakes so I decided to edit it. Thank you for your understanding and I hope your reading experience isn't disrupted much.]
Chapter Text
Run!
Wheezy breaths continuously slip past their mouths as they run for their lives, hiding beneath one shadow after another.
Kill yourself!
Strangled yelps are forced out of them when their comrades slit their own throat mid-running and rolling down the snow with splatters of blood, one after another.
Pray that you don't get caught.
Their surprise is cut short when that chilling crow is heard from far away. Even if the monster is nowhere to be seen, their primal fear still works its way to their brain and tells them to stay away from it. To run, to kill themselves, to stay out of the monster's grasp no matter what.
The lesser men quickly give in to the sweet temptation of death. Those with more willpower ignore their burning lungs and run again. Those who can fly… don't dare to enter the sky.
Samuil chokes on his breath but he doesn't have the guts to stop. No matter what, he must escape. As long as he survives that monster, the fire of rebellion will continue to burn. So he must escape.
Samuil swears in his mother's name, he will free Snezhnaya from the clutches of the nobilities and The Tsaritsa. In his mother's honor, he won't stop until his last drop of blood melts the bitter cold of Snezhnaya. He has to succeed no matter what. All for the better future of the people.
He will sacrifice everything he holds dear if that means no one will ever end up like his mother in the future.
That is his promise.
“Why not? It isn't like he's your real ‘son’ ,” Zazan asks, deeply emphasizing the word ‘son’ with an insurmountable amount of disgust.
Alhaitham dryly stares at Zazan before letting out a deep sigh and slumps to his seat, “Why do you want to in the first place?” he asks back, “sending him back to Sumeru will be much less of a hassle.”
Zazan shrugs before he mimics Alhaitham and also slumps to his seat, “Right now, maybe. But no one can guarantee that he won't cause trouble in the future,” he answers.
Alhaitham glances at Zazan from the corner of his eyes, “What beef do you have with Kaveh?” he asks, not too serious at first before quickly sitting up straighter when he remembers that his mate is very petty when it comes to revenge, “what did he do to you?” he seriously asks, just in case.
Zazan makes a face as he turns his head to look at Alhaitham, “Aside from the fact that he hit the back of ‘my’ head? Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because he keeps crossing the lines and boundaries as a guest to my house? Or maybe because he keeps demanding things without even thinking if he has the right to even ask? Or maybe because he blames ‘us’ for your death…” he heatedly rants before trailing off into silence as his annoyance quickly evaporates when he notices Alhaitham sharply snapping his head to look at him with worry… and… guilt? at the last part
“... What?” Zazan’s wings twitch anxiously as he hesitantly asks, unsettled from the look Alhaitham is sending him.
For a moment, Alhaitham quietly rearranges his wings as he worries his lower lip and continues to look at Zazan with those expressions, seemingly thinking deeply of what to say, before he slowly says in a hushed voice, “It wasn't your fault,” upon seeing the corner of Zazan's mouth twitches, he repeats with a more assured tone, “it wasn't your fault. My death has nothing to do with you.”
Zazan's lips curl in disagreement. It's quite weird, actually. Alhaitham saying that he's not at fault for his death is definitely true. Yet, he only feels a little relieved to hear that on top of thinking that it was his fault in the first place. What's weirder is the fact that he can't accept that he's not at fault despite the fact proving otherwise and Alhaitham's reassurance.
The way of a simp is truly weird.
Shuffling his wings as he squares up, Zazan scowls, “You were dead. How can you know for sure?” he coldly says, trying to fit the picture of self-assuredness.
Alhaitham clicks his mouth shut.
A smug yet endlessly bitter smile appears on Zazan's lips because of it. Again, there's only the rumble of the engine filling the room as Alhaitham is, undoubtedly, scrambling for a comeback while Zazan lets the silence stew, already satisfied at his apparent win. Unfortunately, the way of a simp is truly weird. A second ago Zazan was inwardly celebrating his win and now he feels like his chest is put on a compressor machine called anxiety because now he's back to being allegedly guilty for Alhaitham's death.
Damn, it hasn't even been ten minutes and Zazan already misses his rationality.
Alhaitham lets out a very deep sigh, snapping Zazan from his needlessly contradictory spiral of thoughts, before he asks, “I told you I had given up at that time, right?”
Zazan's eyebrows slowly furrowed in confusion as he thinks of what Alhaitham is trying to say. It's a very quick process because there has only been one occasion where Alhaitham says something about giving up and he was quite clear about what when he told him.
Zazan's first reaction after understanding the relation is to snap his head to look at Alhaitham, wide-eyed. He doesn't know for sure what expression he's donning but he can see Alhaitham's face scrunches up with even more guilt even though he's not directly looking at him.
“I'm sorry,” Alhaitham mutters, “I heard the attack,” he confesses as he very carefully and slowly slumps sideways to lean on Zazan, “and I chose to take it,” Alhaitham slowly brings his legs onto the seat so that he can hug them, wings intermittently twitching in anxiety as he waits for how Zazan will react, “I'm sorry,” he repeats.
Quiet again for the both of them.
After an unknown amount of time passes, Zazan lets out a humorless laugh under his breath, “You really ought to learn to stop apologizing and thanking me for something like these.”
“Zazan…” Alhaitham murmurs worriedly as he looks at Zazan and moves his wings to blanket him.
But Zazan simply pushes him away, gently –he still remembers that Alhaitham is a patient, so that he can stand up, “You have to understand that it was all your choices over your own life,” Zazan says as he looks at Alhaitham with a carefully constructed blank look that's, unfortunately, ruined by the twitching of his mouth.
As if aware of his imperfect facial expression, Zazan turns around, wings raised high to hide him from Alhaitham's gaze, “I… will be sad if you choose to die, naturally,” he, rather cheerfully, says with a cracking voice but Alhaitham can only see his wings, “but hey, I get it.”
Alhaitham chokes on his breath as he quickly jumps to his feet, “That's not what I mean,” he urgently says as he tries to hug Zazan.
“Yep, of course,” Zazan dismissively agrees as he quickly walks forward, only narrowly escaping Alhaitham's hug, “conversation is over. We've arrived. Let's go get you something to eat,” he says as he continues to walk to the engine room.
Alhaitham's wings twitch up as he looks outside. From the scenery alone, he can't tell where they are. Judging from how many people he can hear in the distance but no sounds of weird machinery, this place isn't The Institute, and judging from the lack of Snezhnaya’s insignia, they're not in the Citadel. Not that the insignia is completely missing, though. There are still some stores putting up the insignia but it's way less for this place to be the Citadel.
“I suggest you wear your noise canceling headset,” Zazan says as he exits the engine room, already wearing his cloak –Alhaitham doesn't know when he entered, snapping Alhaitham to resume looking at him with worry, so Zazan pointedly looks away and stares at the exit, uncomfortably waiting for the vehicle to stop.
Alhaitham hesitates only for a few seconds more before his ears start picking up more and more foreign noises and he decides to follow Zazan's advice. He returns to their seat and goes straight for the bundle of warm clothes Zazan gave him. Unraveling them, he finds warm clothes ranging from fit for hiking in a snowy mountain to fashionable coats fit for high end places. Of course, Alhaitham goes straight for his headset.
“Wear more layers,” Zazan orders but his voice is missing his obnoxious arrogance, “I have a lab up in the mountain. Only ‘I’ go up there so there's no easy pathway up. We might have to fly there,” he explains as he glances at Alhaitham with a subdued anticipation.
Oh, it's hilarious how Alhaitham's entire body immediately perks up in excitement at the mere mention of ‘flying’. Gone is his worried and anxious expression –finally, replaced with giddy excitement and fluttering wings that don't quite fit his age, as he now very passionately checks which clothes will be more suited to wear. The way Alhaitham looks so spirited coupled with how his wings look fine enough for a flight bring a grin to Zazan's lips. Alhaitham's excitement is truly contagious.
But when Zazan looks back to the door to give Alhaitham some privacy, his amusement fades away like a footprint on snow. Alhaitham really loves flying, huh? If he loves it so much… then why choose him? It doesn't make any sense.
Damn it. Since he has embraced the way of a simp, Prime's subconscious is now the one trying to influence him. And damn him for quickly being able to understand the reasons of Prime's worry. Alhaitham and ‘them’ truly don't match.
“We will go there after getting you something to eat other than my cum,” Zazan announces to Alhaitham to snap himself from that line of thought.
Alhaitham snorts before letting out a chirpy squeal as an answer –thankfully not making it weird.
But the mention of cum quickly reminds Zazan of another thing to address, “... And perhaps get you some morning after medication while we are at it?” he very carefully suggests.
Alhaitham who's walking to Zazan with springs in his steps that he almost looks like skipping abruptly pauses, “What?” he asks with a blank expression.
Zazan purses his lips, dismayed at having to talk about this, “Your womb-,” he points out as he gestures at Alhaitham's abdomen, “is something that I've only seen now and I'm not confident if I can assist you during the pregnancy. That's outside of my area of expertise. At least for the moment,” Zazan braves a glance at Alhaitham's expression and quietly sighs in relief when Alhaitham seems to be waiting for him to continue even if his eyebrows are deeply furrowed, “I'm not saying you aren't allowed to be pregnant. I'm asking you to consider waiting until I can confidently treat you during pregnancy,” he bargains and promises, something he doesn't usually do but he does it regardless.
Alhaitham is quiet for a moment, eyes searching Zazan's expression and Zazan looks back to emphasize how serious he is, before he asks the most damning question Zazan ever heard, “The whole womb thing wasn't just a roleplay?”
Zazan very loudly caws as he looks at Alhaitham in a mix of scorn and dismay.
One look at that expression confirms to Alhaitham that the whole womb thing is real. For a moment he opens his mouth in bewilderment but nothing comes out. So he closes his mouth and simply sends Zazan the widest grin he can make, hoping that it can convey what he wants to say.
The contemptuous barrages of rant Zazan about to spew at Alhaitham for having the gall thinking that he was joking pathetically dies in his throat at the very happy look filled with hope Alhaitham sends him. Again. And, again, he still doesn't think 'happiness' isn't the appropriate reaction to this news. But since Alhaitham has been consistent with his reaction every time he is told that he can get pregnant, Zazan feels that it's safe to assume that's Alhaitham's real opinion to his pregnancy.
By all means, who's Zazan to crush his weird fixation on being able to be bred?
… Oh.
The last piece of puzzle finally clicks into place in Zazan's mind and he repeatedly snaps his fingers in front of Alhaitham's face to get his attention, “Alright, congratulations for being able to defy biological order. Now back to the important matter,” Zazan wants to continue but he slightly stumbles on his words when Alhaitham suddenly grabs his hand and gently squeezes it while continuing to look very happily at him.
Zazan wants to pulls his hand away, he really does, but Alhaitham's hand feels so much warmer –even through his gloves– than it was before so he decides not to do so so that he can monitors Alhaitham's temperature, thus he decides to bear with it and says, “I personally suggest that you take the medication for now,” he says, which Alhaitham very happily and obediently nods to, making Zazan inadvertently looks away to hide his red face and fishes around for his mask, yet continues to allow Alhaitham to hold his hand.
The transport vehicle slowly automatically comes to a stop but the door is yet to open, which Zazan takes as the chance to say, “And I think I get why you kept brother-in-law around,” that finally causes the air to change into something more serious, “the mutation you mentioned causes you to fornicate crazily, right? I assume having someone you consider a chick around is able to inhibit that urge.”
Alhaitham doesn't answer for a moment before he squeezes Zazan's hand one last time and walks closer to him, standing hip to hip with Zazan, “Don't tell Kaveh,” he warns, somewhat amusedly, “he won't believe you, anyway.”
Zazan simply snorts at that and pulls Alhaitham by the hand as the exit door opens for them.
There's not many of them left.
Although Samuil still believes that as long as he survives, the fire of rebellion will continue, the chances of him even surviving is getting slimmer by the decrease in his people. The Fatui doesn't hold back. The monster that has been chasing after them from their base in the South to the point that they have no other choice than to circle around the central area to avoid the Palace to get to the Northern mountain range has taken them out one by one.
The worst part of it all is the fact that Samuil is quite sure the monster is simply toying with them. He can sense that it has the ability to squash them in one go but it doesn't. …Is it… purposefully herding them some-
Samuil's thoughts are cut when one of his remaining comrades suddenly cries hysterically while clenching around someone that almost looks like her, most likely her sister. She desperately tries to keep this one person by her side to the point that her frostbitten fingers bleed to the fabric of her sister. The sister can only sheepishly send a smile to her comrades as she tries to soothe her sister's warranted fear.
“Shh shh shh, Selena… it's alright. You'll be alright. Just stay with lord Samuil. After we survive this, I promise I'll accompany you to a tailor and buy you a new gown.”
That's a lie. Everyone knows it. Samuil, the people who stiffens up from fear of having their position known but leave the pair of sisters alone out of compassion, and even the crying lady herself.
So it's not a surprise how the lady simply cries louder, “Liar! Liar!” she sobs harder, almost vindicated, “don't you dare go out there! If you're so sure that we can survive this together then stay with me!”
“Selena…”
If, before, people around them leave the lady be, now, the lady is too loud to not be a compromise.
Samuil notices the look of panic in his comrades’ eyes so he quickly addresses the pair, “What's wrong? Why are you crying, lady?”
The crying lady immediately gasps in desperation the moment she hears her leader’s voice and immediately turns to him, “My lord!” she cries desperately, ignoring how her sister is trying to calm her down, “my lord, please, you have to stop my sister! She's planning to sacr-”
Her words disappear into the wind as her body explodes, smattering blood and viscera everywhere, not allowed to even finish her plea.
The group of people panics almost immediately. They curse loudly at the remainder of the lady and look around in paranoia. The only calm people are Samuil and the lady's sister who are both too struck by surprise to process anything.
That monster has returned.
They don't know where it is.
But it knows where they are.
With their leader still frozen in shock, they can only argue among themselves. Oh, what to do? Which direction to run to? Who to blame?
With another chill coursing through their veins as their battle honed instinct tells them to run, another head of their comrades explodes. They saw nothing. Not even a hint of anything can be captured by their eyes and even their instinct only warns them less than a second before another body falls.
It's not a surprise that they choose to run for themselves.
“Everyone! Stay together!” Samuil desperately yells the moment he snaps out of his frozen stupor.
Of course, no one heeds the words of the lord anymore.
All except one.
“My lord,” the lady who was also frozen stiff like Samuil gasps through her grief choked throat, “this is my end of the line. Please, run for your own safety,” she selflessly requests as her body slowly loses its strength and folds to grief over the remains of her sister.
But the defeated in all but motivation lord thinks otherwise as he grabs the lady's elbow and drags her away.
“My lord…?” the lady weakly whimpers through her ever-flowing tears as she weakly lets herself be dragged away.
“Stay strong, comrade,” Samuil requests with a steady voice, a veneer to his desperation of being the only one left, “the fight isn't over until our last breath.”
Biting her lower lip til it bleeds, the lady firmly nods. Her eyes which haven't stopped flowing with tears gain hints of steely determination. She can't give up now. For her fallen sister and comrades, she must fight to the end.
Ah, truly such a fool.
Childe observes the far ahead “battlefield” through binoculars as he lets out an unsympathetic –even a little bit humorous– humm, “Hoe’s mad,” he comments out loud, “and by that, I mean you, Dottore.”
The fanatic keeps his silence but Childe can hear his feet shuffling on the snow. He's not even sure at this point why the fanatic is still around. They've tagged down the main target and got all intels from him. He kind of figured that he will be judged by the military court as soon as he lost all his value yet here he is.
As for Dottore? Well, said Harbinger is currently busy with transforming out of his –admittedly– very cool form. Childe guesses he can understand why he doesn't say a word. Though he doesn't expect to get any response if they were in any other circumstances either.
So it's quite the pleasant surprise when Dottore does respond.
“Astute observation,” Dottore snidely comments back as he takes back his spare clothes and coat from Dmitri's offering hands, “that Avian over there was the one who keeps placing a target above my mate's head so, in all honesty, being ‘mad’ about it is downplaying it by a lot.”
Childe frowns from behind his binoculars as he continues to observe their main target, he wants to send Dottore a look but he knows it won't fruit in anything so he simply hums again, “Huh… well, aren't you nice today,” their main target finally escapes into the forest and disappears from Childe’s line of sight so he quickly stores his binoculars and spread his wings to prepare to chase after him, but not without one last comment, “totally get it, though. Not that I agree with your method. There's simply nothing blowing off steam like better than a good ol’ bloodshed in a fight… even if you only have the bloodshed without the fight.”
Dottore, honest to Tsaritsa, snorts in good humor at that –really signifying his mellowed mood, “Well, pardon me for finding play fight with ants unappealing,” then his wings bristle as he flares his wings and flaps them a few times, preparing to fly, “besides…” he ominously trails off, “playtime is over.”
Chapter 75
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It's on this snowy path branched from the main road of the entrance, with a cloak covering the Fatui insignia on his mask and a mate holding hands with him, does Zazan realize… this is a fucking date.
Slowly getting tense and awkward by the second after the realization, Zazan carefully tries to secretly glance at Alhaitham. Alhaitham hasn't said anything after entering the spot so Zazan can at least hope that Alhaitham simply thinks of this visit as an emergency food trip, right…? Because there are already so many reasons for them to be a bad match, he doesn't need to add a terrible date to the long list of reasons.
Fuck, Alhaitham looks excited.
Alhaitham curiously glances around the white wonderland, unaware of the crisis Zazan is mentally experiencing, too busy observing the place. The snow is so white here. The snow accumulating around The Residence looks gray compared to this, perhaps because this spot is far from any industries while The Residence is at some sort of factory institute. The snow distribution also seems to naturally even across every surface. In a way, somehow the snow looks like it's softly blanketing everything.
Of course, this place can't be called a tourist spot if it only has snow to offer, in Snezhnaya of all places. There's a giant willow tree near them. Its vines heavily hang down, weighed by glistening icy tears. Planted right in the middle of a frozen fountain, it really brings out the beauty of the place. Not to mention the forest of its brothers and sisters that can be seen at the feet of the mountain range.
Alhaitham finds it almost unbelievable that his mate has a lab near a place like this. But then again, those willow trees feel like they've absorbed some elemental energy. Must be why his mate chooses this place.
“Why are you so fond of trying to catch hypothermia?” Zazan finally asks, breaking the silence.
Alhaitham turns to his mate, wings subconsciously perked high from curiosity and a faint excited smile on his lips, causing Zazan to flinch, red almost instantly paints his ears that are, fortunately, covered by his cloak.
Alhaitham tilts his head to the side as he sends Zazan a soft questioning squeal, wondering what's wrong.
Zazan opens his mouth, wings ruffling from feeling uncomfortable in his own skin, but he doesn't say anything and clenches his eyes tightly shut instead. Damn it, he misses his rationality. At least then Alhaitham won't look so ridiculously pretty all the time. They're in public for fuck sake, it would cost Zazan half his life if he gets enchanted.
Hissing a controlled breath through his teeth, Zazan growls under his breath, “Nothing,” then he opens his eyes and pulls Alhaitham's hand, eyes fully trained on the road, might as well take advantage of the fact that they're still holding hands, “let's find you something to eat and then go to my lab,” he says before freezing up after one step.
Zazan… doesn't have the slightest idea where everything is.
Tensely biting his inner cheeks so that he doesn't scream out of embarrassment, Zazan masks it by calmly asking Alhaitham, “What do you want to eat?”
Alhaitham thoughtfully hums as he stops next to Zazan, raising an eyebrow at him when Zazan instantly twists his head away from him but not saying anything about it, “I have no clue. Do you have any recommendations?”
Zazan closes his eyes in dismay. He can't answer that. Of course, he can't. When, even, was the last time he ate?
Secretly huffing out his trepidation, Zazan chooses to come clean about this one, “No clue either. Pretty sure Prime told you ‘we’ don't exactly need to eat.”
Please don't be disappointed. Don't be disappointed. Please. Please. Don't you fucking dare be disappointed.
“Oh,” Alhaitham mutters, more because he forgot and was reminded than because he feels unimpressed but to Zazan it sounds waaaayyyyy more like the latter.
Zazan stands unmoving, looking as frozen as the Snezhnayan flag near them. It's over, he repeatedly laments to the link, uncaring if no one responds to him. In fact, too immersed as he is in his self reverie, Zazan fails to notice Alhaitham actively scanning the buildings in search of any establishment that will suit their need.
“How about we try that one?” Alhaitham says.
Zazan jumps when he hears Alhaitham's voice and immediately scans which establishment Alhaitham is referring to. It's a humble building with people in it, not empty and not too crowded either. In a way, it looks quite cozy with its light brown wall and wooden furniture, very homey.
The place looks safe and sufficient but Zazan feels like he'll be disappointed in himself if he takes Alhaitham there so he says, “You're only picking that one because it's the closest, aren't you?”
Alhaitham leans to Zazan's side with an amused huff, unknowingly making Zazan tense up in a fluster, “There’s no problem with that, no? I don't feel particularly hungry and this is just to test if my digestive system is still working well so there's no need to think too much about where to eat.”
Zazan silently stares at Alhaitham.
Sensing the stare, Alhaitham returns the stare with a confused look, “What?”
Yes, Zazan will be disappointed in himself if he brings Alhaitham to that place.
So Zazan points at the tall building near the forest entrance that isn't even clear if it's a restaurant or not –he only picks it because it looks fancy enough, “Let's go there.”
But Zazan can't even take a single step because Alhaitham doesn't move in the slightest. Wings and shoulders tensing up in fear of having fucked up, Zazan slowly twists his neck to see what's wrong with Alhaitham. What he finds is Alhaitham staring at him as if he's an idiot.
… Suddenly, Zazan wants to go home.
“... What…?” Zazan very meekly asks, kinda afraid of asking.
“That's…,” Alhaitham hesitantly trails off, unsure if Zazan is fucking with him or not, “that's a government building,” in the end, he chooses to say it because Zazan doesn't strike him as someone social enough to know that.
Sure enough, Zazan's face glows with red in embarrassment as he snarls at Alhaitham, “I know!” he whisper-yells, utterly outing his cluelessness.
Alhaitham unimpressedly looks at Zazan –he can't help it, “Then why did you ask to go there?” he asks with twitching wings, finding the situation amusing despite anything else.
“I-” Zazan's wings bristle as he stutters in enraged embarrassment, “we can go there and ask for a recommendation.”
Alhaitham finally pulls away from Zazan so that he can send him a look but Zazan stubbornly keeps his hand in his so he simply sends Zazan a rather teasing smile and says, “That sounds rather troublesome to simply get a meal.”
Zazan's wings flare with a bristle, “Fine!” he spits annoyedly, “let’s go to your place of choice. Don't blame me if you don't like the food,” he grumbles under his breath as he drags Alhaitham to cross the streets.
…
“Welc-” the doorman cheerfully opens the door for them before pausing for a moment once he takes in Zazan's cloaked form, “Welcome to our establishment!” he changes his language as if he never paused though now wariness colors his eyes, “please choose any table you like. The menu is on the table. Feel free to call the waitress once you've decided on your order.”
Alhaitham thanks the doorman with a polite smile while Zazan takes that as his chance to scan the establishment. A few heads are staring at them but they quickly return to their own business the moment they notice him looking back at them. Those who aren't interested in the slightest at an Avian couple joining them are mostly because they're already fixated on their own tag-along. But when Zazan's scanning eyes pass the counter, he sees two women animatedly whispering and giggling to each other while staring at them and gesturing wildly.
Underneath his mask, Zazan frowns. What are those two laughing at? How can they be hired when they're that rude?
Then Zazan notices that those two women are focused more on Alhaitham than them.
[… Checking him out…]
Suddenly, Zazan is reminded of Omega Build's words and an indescribable amount of annoyance explodes within Zazan. Oh, those wenches won't have any mercy. He's going to make sure they won't even be left with the ability to hold a thought-
Unfortunately, before he can take any action, Alhaitham already pulls him towards a table that's rather secluded from the rest of the restaurant. Zazan catches Alhaitham glancing back at him as they walk past other customers so he has no other choice but to calm himself down by rearranging his wings. Composure, please me. He has already embarrassed himself enough and they haven't even done anything.
“Do you think they allow takeout?” Alhaitham asks once they've taken a seat.
Zazan silently arranges his wings into a comfortable position first before asking back, “Why do you want to know?” then he frowns as he ponders aloud, “you're choosing to sit at this secluded table rather than at any other table. It hints that you choose a table more to your preferences if you have to eat here. Why do you suddenly prefer takeout than eating here?” a mischievous grin slowly spreads on Zazan's lips as he teases, “regretting your choice already? You haven't even ordered any food yet.”
Alhaitham's lips twitch up into a soft amused smile, causing Zazan's heart to stutter, as he says, “You said I might feel excruciating pain when the food starts to enter my digestive tract. I'd prefer to not attract commotion,” then Alhaitham casts his eyes down to check on the menu, “besides, you don't seem to be very comfortable here.”
Zazan feels his throat dry up. He knows Alhaitham is observant but to find him so considerate of him is a different matter. … It feels… really good being cared for.
Zazan clears his throat by coughing into his palm, also to hide his stupid grin while he's at it, “Your first point is already sufficient. There's no need for you to try building connections with the jury.”
Alhaitham snorts as a response before he fully focuses on his menu, quietly reading the meal options with a content smile on his face.
They're currently seated at the corner so they shouldn't be too conspicuous. Still, Zazan glances around to check just to be safe. Finding no one is looking at them and the women at the counter are also gone, Zazan finally allows himself to stare at his mate.
Zazan doesn't know since when but at the moment, he no longer finds Alhaitham pretty just because of his eyes. He finds every part of Alhaitham pretty. Right now, the way the warm light of the restaurant falls softly on Alhaitham's hair makes Zazan think of an amber encased in silver plait. The way Alhaitham's eyes look up to gaze at him so gently, irises vibrant with their unique colors, reminds Zazan of the bright cluster of gems he found near a radioactive site. And Alhaitham’s smile… damn, his smile…
It's so disgusting yet so pretty, so soft, so loving. His lips are curved so beautifully in a gentle arc so rich with tender emotion that it squeezes Zazan's windpipe. And damn, who would've guessed that those lips were also the ones that torturously bullied his dick into weeping-
“What is wrong?” Alhaitham asks, startling Zazan with a jump at the realization that Alhaitham has been staring back at him for who knows how long.
“Nothing,” Zazan squawks, perhaps way too loudly, as he looks away to hide his deep red face.
Damned disgraceful. Why the fuck did he get reminded of that of all things. Someone's dick must be at fault and it's certainly not his.
Zazan nearly jumps from his seat when Alhaitham suddenly touches his hand, “Zazan?” Alhaitham asks, back with that damned worry on his face.
Now, Zazan would really love to snap at Alhaitham in annoyance for being such a worrywart, but due the skin contact of their hands, Zazan can only stare back at Alhaitham with eyes wide in panic. Most accursedly, his brain really has the time to think back and remind him of how Alhaitham's hands tremblingly squeezed his shoulders and clawed at his back from ecstasy as he pounded into his tight and hot womb. So needy for his cum, ready to beg for- what the fuck, what the fuck! Stop thinking about that!
Indescribable heat from nowhere suddenly makes Zazan's face boil and he quickly sucks in a controlled breath because he doesn't want the heat to come from a certain place. Alhaitham is still looking at him, appearing to be more and more concerned by the second. Zazan knows he has to say something. But no matter how much he internally beats himself to say something, nothing comes out.
Thankfully, the universe decides to give him some slack by sending in a help in the form of a kid approaching them with a big smile, “Gud ivining, misters! Kan I tek yor orders?”
Zazan doesn't even major in any language but that kid's pronunciation is so abysmal that he really wants to kick him away. Thankfully he doesn't. Firstly, because he isn't in the mood to create any commotion. Secondly, because Alhaitham is finally no longer looking at him with worry but giving his attention to the kid instead, with his wings perking up in interest to boot.
“I have and don't worry about my partner. He is only accompanying me here,” Alhaitham says in a very fluent Snezhnayan that surprises the kid silent.
The kid gapes at Alhaitham for a moment before he beams with glittering eyes, causing Alhaitham to grin, “Then please give me your order, mister!” the kid very spiritedly requests as he looks at his note, ready to write.
Zazan watches as Alhaitham's smile spreads wider and becomes more giddy, likely from finding the kid cute –he can't understand why, and Zazan can't help but feel dissatisfied –he also can't understand why.
“Of course,” Alhaitham says amusedly, “but can I order as a takeout?”
The kid pauses with a confused frown before he stares at Alhaitham with his big eyes, earning him a sheepish smile from Alhaitham.
“I'm sure the food here is great and this place is also very cozy. Unfortunately, my mate and I can't stay for too long here so I want to know if you can wrap the food for us to go, ” then he leans closer to the kid –Zazan’s wings tense up and slightly flared in possessive indigniation but he refrains himself from beating the kid away– to whisper to him, “I'll leave a big tip as a thank.”
At the mention of a tip, the kid quickly nods and takes Alhaitham’s order before practically running to the kitchen, leaving Alhaitham and Zazan alone in their seats.
“What?” Alhaitham asks as he blinks confusedly at Zazan when he finds him staring at him with a hint of… hostility?
Zazan points at Alhaitham and calmly dictates, “After you get your meal, we will go straight to the forest entrance and fly to the lab,” he orders before quickly grinning in triumph when Alhaitham stares at him with excitement.
…
Curses his damned damned mouth. They haven't done anything for this trip to be remotely close to being called a date and now they're leaving already. If they leave now then this trip really is just going to be an emergency food trip. Which is what it is, but what if Alhaitham really thinks this is a date? This is beyond disappointing to him then.
But this isn't a date.
But Alhaitham might think that this is a date.
Sh-should Zazan change his mind now and pull Alhaitham to sightsee? This place should have a lot of interesting spots to show off to, isn't it? But he can already see the forest entrance. It would be embarrassing if he suddenly changes course, isn't it?
Maybe if Zazan could just stall for a moment, “Out of all things to order, why would you order porridge?”
Ah. Curses his damned damned mouth.
Alhaitham hums as he continues to walk with the same pace –so much for stalling, “Not needing to eat has truly made you clueless of anything related to food, hasn't it?” he comments as he glances with a raised eyebrow at Zazan, “though I have the feeling that you are still knowledgeable in how the digestive tract works.”
Zazan clicks his tongue before pulling Alhaitham faster across the streets, wings ruffling in agitation, “Alright,you chose porridge because it's easy on your empty stomach. Good. That was only a trick question.”
Alhaitham simply snorts as an answer.
When they arrive in front of the steel gate of the forest entrance, Zazan abruptly stops with a breath held in his lungs. Frowning, he twists his head back to the streets behind him, earning him another raised eyebrow from Alhaitham. Though he doesn't put too much attention on it at the moment and opts to wonder why he is such an idiot the moment he becomes a simp.
Did he- did he really just drag Alhaitham to the entrance faster when he actually wanted to stall?
…
Discombobulated, Zazan can only stand frozen in silence.
Alright, Alhaitham is now very concerned, “Zazan…” he hesitantly calls his mate's name as he waves his hand in front of Zazan's eyes, hoping to snap him out of it.
Alhaitham yelps in surprise with flinching wings when Zazan abruptly catches his wrist, still blank faced, “What?” Zazan snaps, though he sounds weirdly unfocused.
Alhaitham opens his mouth before quickly closing it again, not knowing what to say –at least something that can snap Zazan out of it. With nothing to say, Alhaitham wishes to do something yet he doesn't know what to do so he ends up shuffling awkwardly on his feet. Then he remembers something that will definitely snap any man out of it. The only question is if he really should.
Zazan doesn't take inconveniences peacefully on a good day, let alone being kicked in the balls.
Mulling over it for only another second and quickly deciding that he definitely shouldn't, Alhaitham simply tries to start a conversation, “You know you can't fly with that cloak on, right?”
Shit.
Zazan is, indeed, snapped out of it at the question. The word ‘fly’ quickly reminds him that Alhaitham has been very excited about that. He stares at Alhaitham, horrified, as his mind frantically churns to find any excuse or reason why they should be here for a bit longer.
This is getting scarily concerning.
Alhaitham waits for some time but the way Zazan is now staring in fear at him like that, but still with a sense of blankness, is making him impatient so he sighs in annoyance and flicks his wings, “Za-”
“Do you want to stay here for a bit longer?” Zazan asks on autopilot, cutting Alhaitham off.
Alhaitham closes his mouth and stares at Zazan in surprise at the abrupt question, giving Zazan enough time to truly snap himself out of it and takes advantage of the question and steer it into the direction more to his advantage.
And to do that, Zazan chooses to be frank, “This… was a terrible date.”
Realization finally dawns on Alhaitham's eyes and his wings quickly relax as an amused smile blooms on his lips, “I wasn't aware that this was a date.”
Zazan lets out a scoff, red tainting his cheeks which he no longer bothers to hide from Alhaitham, “I knew it. You weren't even thinking of it as a date. Just why would I agonize over it?” he grumbles.
Alhaitham softly chuckles, “I don't know,” he quietly says to Zazan before leaning in to press a kiss on Zazan's exposed face not hidden by his mask, “but thank you for agonizing over it.”
Zazan flexes his wings as he looks away with a growl, uselessly trying to hide his fluster at the kiss, before dragging Alhaitham past the gate, “I assume you aren't interested in the date so let's just get to the lab quickly. You look fine but I'd prefer it if I can monitor your vitals more accurately,” he says without looking back at Alhaitham, wings, to his demise, twitching happily behind him.
Alhaitham smiles to himself before running a few steps so that he can walk side by side with Zazan –who pointedly keeps his eyes away from him, “Indeed, let's have it another time,” he says as he squeezes Zazan's hand before letting out a content sigh, “I'd really love to have a date with you.”
Zazan responds to that by letting out a growl as he squeezes Alhaitham's hand back.
Notes:
If you find this fic without obsessively scouting the Il Dottore/Alhaitham pages (me) or the Bottom Alhaitham pages (also me lol), I genuinely doesn't know what you expected or was searching for but I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far.
Am I getting sentimental? Eh, probably. To be fair, I never thought I'd be writing a fic series for one and a half year.
I'm writing this words of gratitude right now cuz I'm getting the feeling now and I'm not sure if I'll be getting the feel later (cuz I'm dead inside like that).
Things will get worse with a chance for Dottore to do his fucked up things before they reach their long awaited happy ending.
Help, Alex is such a good hunter that he brings dead rat to me everyday while Mochi is just a lazy fluff that looks like a dirty rag when she gets rained (I love her)
Chapter 76
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The pure white snow crunches under their feet as they pass under the glittering vines of the willow trees. Their pace isn't slow enough to sightsee but not fast enough to arrive at the flight point efficiently either. Nevertheless, Zazan continues to hold Alhaitham's hand and leads them silently.
Perhaps this is not a date… but there's no harm in letting Alhaitham take in the environment for a bit longer. After all, he might become his lab assistant one day. Let him familiarize himself with the environment a little bit. Who knows, maybe Alhaitham will get curious and become his lab assistant sooner.
Secretly glancing back at Alhaitham, Zazan suppresses a grin from forming –which is useless to mask his satisfaction as his wings out him by fluttering and perking up in a preen.
As expected, Alhaitham is critically examining every tree they pass. His eyes slightly glowing up with elemental energy as he looks around, scanning the area like a capable predator scouring possible threats. Even without any elemental power of his own, Zazan already knows what intrigues his mate.
The reason Zazan chooses this mountain as the location for his base is because of the amalgamation of various types of elemental energy drowning the ecosystem yet manages to be harmless to the living being. The crystal tears hanging down the vines of the willow trees are actually an effect of cryo and hydro energies. In order to adapt to the harsh winter of Snezhnaya, the willow trees have developed the ability to store water in this way. Technically, an ordinary tree should become frozen solid without any anchor to guide and suppress the cryo energy let alone the addition of hydro, yet instead of dying off and becoming extinct in Snezhnaya, the willow trees step up their game by absorbing pyro energy to balance its temperature. It's sheer recklessness and a deviation of innate status. A very interesting case that even manages to interest Zazan enough to build a permanent lab nearby.
Slightly smiling to himself, Zazan flicks his wings and looks back to the path ahead. Against his own habit, Zazan has hopes. He hopes that this is enough to convince Alhaitham to work with him. This area of studies is certainly much more tolerable for Alhaitham than his other more ‘critical’ experiments.
Yet despite his own certainty, Zazan still feels unsure of how receptive Alhaitham is to this area of study.
So when Alhaitham huffs out loud, Zazan can't help but slightly tense up, “Show off,” Alhaitham comments under his breath.
By all means, Alhaitham's reaction is only ambiguous at best but it's already enough to put a wide grin on Zazan's face. Even if Alhaitham commented out of envy, that's still good in Zazan's book because it means that Alhaitham is interested enough. But what truly makes Zazan happy is the fact that he knows by heart, at least for this one, that Alhaitham is interested.
So Zazan proudly preens and turns halfway to send Alhaitham his big grin, “I have an area full of curious specimens. Can you blame me for showing it off to you?”
Alhaitham silently stares at him, for some reason his eyes are slightly wide with surprise, but then his expression melts into a fond look complete with a beautiful smile that's enough to make Zazan heat up, “I suppose you're right,” Alhaitham agrees with an amused huff before observing the trees once more but his eyes are no longer glowing, “even without considering the research value of this place, the view alone is enough for anyone wanting to show it off,” looking up to stare at the vines full of glittering tears that reflect the sunlight, Alhaitham can't help but mutter, “this place is beautiful.”
Inwardly, Zazan agrees but his gaze is fixed at Alhaitham and the lingering soft smile on his lips.
Blinking away the sudden unreasonable urge to kiss his mate, Zazan turns to face forward again, “Hah! Aesthetic is a highly impractical point to even be put into consideration as to why this place is highly valuable!” he loudly yells to further tamp down the urges to be sappy with his mate, causing Alhaitham to flinch from the loud noise, before pulling Alhaitham forward again, “lets go. We should be near the flying point.”
Alhaitham doesn't need even a second before he hurries to Zazan's side, still consistently being excited at the mention of flying. Zazan is secretly thankful that he finally knows what kind of bribe he can use on Alhaitham. Glancing at Alhaitham to figure out why he's quiet and finding him resuming his observation, Zazan is even more thankful. Finally, another moment for him to collect his thoughts and perhaps make himself accustomed to looking at Alhaitham.
Secretly glancing at Alhaitham again, Zazan can't help but curse.
Damn. Zazan wants to scream as he's once again barraged with the urges to ‘mingle’ with his mate. It's extremely unreasonable and ridiculous that this intense of an emotion can be so easily evoked by a simple glance.
But you know, Alhaitham is pretty. He really is pretty. So so pretty. Why would he repeat it three times? And why the fuck does he still feel like he hasn't done Alhaitham any justice?
Biting his inner cheeks as his wings twitch in annoyance, Zazan can't help but see Omega Build's behaviors in a new light.
As the same entity, Zazan obviously understands why Omega Build calls Alhaitham by a very trite name such as ‘moonlight’. The first time they really have a good look at Alhaitham when he isn't on guard and true to himself was on the first night of their mating exile. The sight of Alhaitham sleeping so peacefully as if he's protected from any danger even though the moonlight was shining on him and making him look so conspicuous will forever burn in their memory. It's very instinctually satisfying to know that their mate is feeling safe enough to sleep in a non discreet place. Really puts their mind at ease especially when they are a nation-scale public enemy. Although Zazan's still reluctant to consider that as an achievement, he still takes pride in it and –just like other Segments– strives to continue keeping that memory the reality.
The fact that Alhaitham looks so pretty under the moonlight is just a bonus. Yep, surely. The way Alhaitham looked like he glowed under the moonlight as if he's an ethereal entity formed by the very moonlight itself is definitely not the reason why Omega Build calls Alhaitham ‘moonlight'.
[You do realize that the purpose of pet names is to endear, right?] Omega Build suddenly comments to the link, causing Sigma Build to abruptly pauses in his tracks from flabbergastion and making Alhaitham bumps into him with a small surprised squawk.
Sigma Build flexes his wings, [Are you fucking serious?!] he angrily caws to the link as he stretches his neck indignantly and glare at the nearest willow tree, [for hours you went radio silent and only now resurfacing yet it's only to fucking argue with my line of thoughts?!]
Sigma Build gets a mental image of Omega Build leaning to a door and nonchalantly shrugs at him from the link, absolutely infuriating, [To be fair, you misinterpret my appreciation of moonlight's beauty. It's only right if I correct you,] Omega Build argues –as if that's even worth arguing.
Sigma Build makes a face of extreme annoyance as he snarls at nothing, wings slumping dispiritedly behind his back, [Sure. Whatever. I don't care,] he snaps, [begone, you useless simp!] he yells to the link before immediately remembering that he needs a little help here.
[Sure-]
[Wait, what should I do?!] Sigma Build quickly cuts Omega Build's farewell off before he can disappear.
Unfortunately, Omega Build continues chirpily as if he hears nothing, [Have fun with moonlight.]
With that, the link returns to radio silence.
…Zazan swears he heard someone laughing before the unnerving silence returns to fill his ears again. Motherfucker. They're toying with him. Guess he should just stop expecting any help then.
“What's wrong?” Alhaitham cautiously whispers to Zazan as he looks around, scanning for any sign of danger.
Seeing Alhaitham tensing up and even loosening his hand from his hold, Zazan vexatedly pulls Alhaitham and holds him close by the waist, “Nothing,” he annoyedly grumbles as he bodily drags Alhaitham to their destination, ignoring Alhaitham's noises of protest.
A few dozen meters of brisk walk later, Zazan drags Alhaitham past a pair of willow trees and they emerge into a little clearing. There's a little platform in the middle of the clearing. It looks man-made but is rather covered by the snow so it doesn't look conspicuous. That's… subpar, but Alhaitham hasn't had enough flight in Snezhnaya to deem how important the clearing yet.
Without a word, Zazan lets go of Alhaitham's hand and walks to the clearing. He roughly takes off his cloak while angrily grumbling to himself. Alhaitham continues to stand in his spot, hesitating. But when Zazan has folded his cloak haphazardly and stretches his wings, Alhaitham quickly spreads his own wings to warm up.
Sensing an abnormal gust of wind touching his feathers, Zazan quickly becomes alert. He abruptly turns around to see who or what is causing the wind, only to find Alhaitham happily flapping his wings while making little jumps. Not too different from what a fledgling does when it first learns how to fly.
Unable to refrain himself, Zazan amusedly asks, a boisterous laughter already on the brink of conception, “Have you lost your ability to fly?” Alhaitham abruptly pauses mid-jump to glare offendedly at Zazan but Zazan simply finds that as his cue to tease him more, “how unfortunate. It seems that we have to find another way to get into my lab.”
Alhaitham's wings puff up in anger. Zazan finds that very cute and he can't help but let out an annoying laugh even when Alhaitham kicks the snow at him with an enraged wail. Is it wise for him to annoy Alhaitham like this? Probably not in the long run, but for the moment it's funny.
“Ahhh, what a pity!” Zazan lamentfully caws as he walks away from Alhaitham with a shit-eating grin on his lips, “we only need to take off from this point and fly past that main willow tree to enter a wind current that will take us to the lab,” he can sense Alhaitham's gaze burning at the back of his head but that only makes his grin spreads wider, “oh, such a shame it is that the falcon has forgotten how to fly,” he grandly announces with spread arms and waits for how Alhaitham will respond to that with a wide grin.
But only silence greets him.
Worried that Alhaitham might have stormed off in anger –however unlikely that might sound, Zazan turns around at a breakneck speed.
…
Zazan's wings slump down in a mixture of relief and disbelief when he finds Alhaitham petulantly sitting on the snow, wings hugging himself so that only his head is seen.
… Is Alhaitham… sulking?
Alright, why the fuck would Zazan suddenly feel bad?
Feeling ridiculous at his own sentiment yet still bothered by it, Zazan clears his throat to catch Alhaitham's attention and maybe apologize –for who knows what for.
Yet Alhaitham continues to sit there, unmoving. He's not even looking at him but pointedly looking away.
Zazan purses his lips as he reluctantly crosses his arms, utterly confused. Is… Alhaitham giving him a silent treatment? Why, though? And why does he do something so childish in the first place?
Zazan hesitates for a few seconds longer before he decides to approach his mate, “Hayi?” he calls out experimentally, which, once again, is met with silence so he slowly squats down next to Alhaitham, staring confusedly at Alhaitham's face, hoping to find any speck of hints on what's going on, “uhm, you good?” he tries to ask once more once he finds nothing on Alhaitham's face.
Hmmm…. Has Zazan unknowingly always been this annoying whenever he does something like this?
Zazan squints exasperatedly at Alhaitham and flares his wings annoyedly, trying to tell Alhaitham to stop it. But the only reaction he gets is Alhaitham shifting his wings to cover, even, his head.
Understanding that he won't get anything out of this, Zazan silently mulls for a moment before he sighs, “I'm sorry,” he quietly apologizes.
It's kinda funny his Alhaitham almost immediately parts his wings to glare at Zazan, “For what?” Alhaitham coldly asks.
Zazan silently bites his lower lip, he isn't sure but he kinda has an idea, “For playing you using the thing you love.”
Alhaitham blinks his eyes in surprise. He didn't expect that Zazan would actually understand. Of course, there's a chance that it's just a lucky guess, but that's not the point. For Zazan to even make the guess would require that he understands the problem first.
So Alhaitham leans to Zazan and nuzzles his masked face with a smile, silently accepting his apology.
Zazan feels his face heats up but he simply ignores it in order to hug Alhaitham closer, “We should go now.”
Alhaitham lets out a surprised humm, “I thought you said I've forgotten how to fly?” he teasingly points out.
Zazan scowls at Alhaitham's teasing but says nothing to it and simply stands up, dragging Alhaitham to his feet.
“Diagnosis, theory, and observation aside, I can't know for sure,” Zazan lets go of Alhaitham and steps back to create some distance, “to fly and then see is simply more efficient,” he explains before spreading his wings and experimentally hovering above ground.
It takes less than a second for Alhaitham to understand what's going on. He immediately spreads his own wings and tries to fly a few inches above ground. But then it feels like fire has entered his veins. Alhaitham sucks in a sharp breath and, before Zazan can ask what's wrong, Alhaitham strongly flaps his wings.
Distinctly, Alhaitham feels like he hears Zazan cawing at him to stop, but he sounds so far away so Alhaitham continues to fly up. He closes his eyes when he hits a cloud, slightly shuddering when little icicles make his face go numb, but he continues to fly up with a liberated grin.
When Alhaitham opens his eyes again, he's already above the cloud, panting from the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere. The sun is shining warmly and brightly over here. Breathlessly chuckling, Alhaitham shakes the ice and water from his hair and basks in the sunlight.
The fire in his veins continues to thrumm and fills him with warmth. Restlessly, Alhaitham chirpily flies around. Happily trying out some of his old tricks. But he quickly pauses to loosen his earpiece when he hears something.
Ah. There it is. The sounds of Zazan's anxious caws for him to return.
Pursing his lips in guilt, Alhaitham silently laments the short time. He really wants to stay here a bit longer but he knows he shouldn't make Zazan worry. Besides, it's not Zazan's fault that he is still recuperating from death.
So, fixing his earpiece back into place, Alhaitham flies higher for a few seconds –because no one says that he can't show off– before abruptly stopping and letting the gravity pull him down. He flaps his wings 5 times before folding them and holding his breath. He feels the pressure of the sound waves on his face but he keeps going, grinning excitedly instead. Soon Alhaitham enters the cloud again and he counts for 7 seconds before he spins his body and quickly flaps his wings when he emerges from the cloud.
Alhaitham closes his eyes in satisfaction when he hears the sonic boom he wanted to create, a proud smile blooming on his lips.
Opening his eyes to search where Zazan is, he finds him flying stiffly not that far below him, flying slightly higher before dropping his altitude back to where it was as if there's an imaginary barrier stopping him. Their eyes meet and Zazan angrily caws again. Grinning brightly, Alhaitham flies down to Zazan's high but, instead of hovering next to him, he playfully flies around him while letting out short peppy squeals.
Zazan glares at Alhaitham, annoyed at suddenly being left alone, but Alhaitham simply beams happily at him and he can't help but feel his face heat up. Damn it. Looking away disgruntledly, Zazan lets out a caw to command Alhaitham to follow him before leading him to the mutated great willow tree. Without a single complaint, Alhaitham flies next to Zazan, silently breathing heavily from euphoria.
Thus Zazan feels bad for being sad.
… They really are a bad match. Their union is a mistake. He has to let go of Alhaitham. He can't tether him down to him just because of an accidental mating.
… Alhaitham loves flying. Him, not so much. Alhaitham's breed flies 1 km above ground. His breed commonly flies 30 to 60 meters above ground.
… Even at his typical altitude, Zazan can't fly for long.
Finally, after a flight that feels way too long, Zazan heavily lands on the great willow tree he had set as a landmark. Zazan heaves as he supports himself up with his hands so that he doesn't lay undignifiedly on the trunk, his wings burning from exertion behind him. On the other hand, Alhaitham takes his time to fly around the great tree, curiously assessing why this tree is different from the rest.
Pushing himself up to sit, Zazan bitterly chuckles to himself when he continues to catch his breath. Utterly pathetic. He is the healthier one here and he can't even fly this short distance.
After some time, Alhaitham finally has his fill and gracefully lands on the tree trunk Zazan is resting at.
Finding Zazan sitting spiritlessly as if he's on his last breath, Alhaitham can't help but ask, “What's wrong with you?”
Panting once more before folding his knee up so that he can rest his temple on it, Zazan bitingly asks back, “What does it look like to you?”
Alhaitham regards Zazan for a moment before he points at him, “Weak.”
Zazan lightning fast raises his head to annoyedly caws at Alhaitham, offended.
Alhaitham merely chuckles to that and carefully sits down next to Zazan, his wings folded neatly behind him while his legs hang down.
Zazan finally manages to even his breathing but his heart is still racing. Almost as if he's on the brink of death, he glances at Alhaitham, checking his condition. Alhaitham looks fresh as if he's finally liberated from great burden, like a fish returned into the water, returned to where he belongs.
Ahh, Zazan's heart bitterly aches.
Zazan gulps the saliva accumulating in his mouth and carefully scoots next to Alhaitham, eyes not leaving Alhaitham's face even for a blink, “How are you feeling?” Zazan asks as he finally peels his eyes off from Alhaitham to stare down the tree, rather awkward but genuine in its intention, “I mean, is there any shortness of breath or even any slight burning muscle?” he elaborates.
Alhaitham softly snorts, “Aren't you just listing your own symptoms?”
Zazan makes a face and lets out an annoyed caw at that. But when he twists his neck to send Alhaitham a glare, any piece of his mind immediately disappears like a thin layer of ice under the morning sunlight. Alhaitham is amusedly looking at him from the corner of his eyes. A teasing smile is already apparent on his lips, as if he has already expected Zazan's reaction.
Cheeks heating up unbearably, Zazan grits his teeth and throws his face away. Dammit, he got baited. Next, Zazan flexes his wings irritatedly when he hears Alhaitham's soft laughter, which causes his cheeks to somehow heat up more. He continues to pointedly look away, silently fuming, adamant on ignoring Alhaitham.
But when Alhaitham suddenly leans to him and rests his head on his shoulder, Zazan jumps a little before immediately tensing up, one hand quickly gripping the trunk for dear life while the other clenches his knee anxiously, “What do you think you are doing?!” he snaps, eyes fixated on staring at the drop down that's definitely going to hurt .
Yet Alhaitham has the audacity to respond to his anger by letting out a chittering noise –but perhaps it's also his own vault for immediately relaxing slightly when he hears it, “Thank you, Zazan,” Alhaitham softly mumbles as he very contentedly rubs his cheek on Zazan's shoulder.
Zazan tenses up from that but he quickly grits his teeth and growls out, “For what?”
Alhaitham silently reaches for Zazan's hand that's still tensely clenching his own knee and intertwines their hand, purring slightly when the warmth of their hands start to merge together, “For caring about my health so much and for taking me here,” Alhaitham answers.
Zazan can feel warmth and happiness drip from Alhaitham's words. Idly, he wonders what kind of face Alhaitham is making. But to check on that would mean he has to push Alhaitham off his shoulder. He… really doesn't want to try the probability of him falling off if he does. And, maybe, he also finds peace in this little moment.
But, of course, he has to destroy this peace regardless of what he wants, “Sure, no problem,” he dismisses Alhaitham's gratitude, almost as if he's sarcastic, “get off of me, we have to get to the lab.”
Alhaitham amusedly huffs and complies without much fuss, “Of course,” he says as he pushes himself off from Zazan –causing Zazan to, once more, grip the trunk for dear life, “after all, I have guests to address, don't I?”
Zazan's shoulders ever so slightly tense up as he very carefully, almost to the point of paranoia, tries to stand up again. Pointedly, he doesn't look at Alhaitham. He doesn't know if he's ready to try guessing what he might be thinking.
Dammit. His heart aches.
Notes:
I'm telling you, Prime's flight lessons are brutal.
Chapter 77
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ah.
Zazan raises both of his arms in triumph once he manages to safely land at the small courtyard of his lab. His chest heaves to pump oxygen into his lungs and his face red from exertion. But all that pales now that he has managed to land safely.
He really should have installed a mode of transportation long ago. Flying to & fro like this is way too troublesome.… But then he won't be able to bring Alhaitham to this not-quite-date.
…
Nahh. Gravity rules. Zazan truly has taken land for granted. Obviously, he belongs to being tethered to earth.
Still with arms up, Zazan deeply takes a breath twice before smirking widely. Unfortunately, his moment of happiness is quickly gone because someone so inconsiderately decides to grab his hand and spins around him, causing Zazan to let out a strangled caw as he's forcefully being twirled at high speed. Yet the only answers he gets are cheerful chirps of merry laughter as he continues being twirled.
Soon, Zazan loses his balance and tilts. About to fall to the snow, out of spite more than anything else, Zazan exerts his strength to pull Alhaitham down. As expected, Alhaitham loses his flight balance and comes tumbling on top of Zazan, fully squishing him to the snow.
Has he ever said how heavy Alhaitham is with all his muscles?
Yet, Zazan doesn't push Alhaitham away.
As undignified as this is, piling on the cold snow like a pile of losers, this… somehow feels cozier than his private Archive. Most importantly, contrary to what Zazan has expected, Alhaitham feels warm. Isn't that just weird? They were just flying through particles of ice but Alhaitham is somehow warmed up. …He really is made to fly, huh?
Before Zazan can spiral down into those deprecating thoughts once more, Alhaitham has started to softly giggle before pushing himself up…
And then… Zazan sees “moonlight”...
Pearly white teeth peeking from a wide happy grin that makes his eyes cutely scrunched shut. Particles of ice caught in his hair glitter like stars. His silver hair softly aglows under the rare shine of Snezhnaya's sunlight. Why, if he isn't the moonlight, Zazan doesn't know what else he can be.
Unconsciously, Zazan reaches a hand to gently cup Alhaitham's cheek. When Alhaitham curiously opens his eyes, Zazan doesn't know what comes over him, he very tenderly kisses Alhaitham's lips, eyes closed in relief. Like a jeweler who finally finds their most cherished gem.
Alhaitham's breath hitches from the unexpected kiss. For long he can only stare wide-eyed at Zazan. He genuinely doesn't expect the kiss, much less how heartfelt it feels. In fact, so surprised he is, not a sliver of thoughts tells him to kiss back.
But Zazan doesn't mind that. He simply kisses Alhaitham for a moment longer before slowly pulling back and opening his eyes. Finding Alhaitham pressing a hand to his lips in surprise, a lovely shade of flush tinging his cheeks. Must be from the cold.
Raising an eyebrow, Zazan asks, “What's wrong with you?” then he presses a hand to Alhaitham's forehead without waiting for an answer.
Alhaitham's face is a bit hot but it's certainly not hot enough to be classified as a fever. But weirdly, Alhaitham's face only gets redder as he ducks away from his hand.
“Nothing,” Alhaitham quickly answers, perhaps too quickly.
Although Alhaitham's voice is muffled by his hand, Zazan can still hear the slight strain in it so he suspiciously squints his eyes at Alhaitham, “Uh-huh. Right,” he drawls very sarcastically.
Alhaitham's face only flushes deeper as he pointedly squints at something that's certainly not Zazan's face, his wings twitching restlessly behind him.
Normally, after subconsciously doing something embarrassing like that, Zazan would become very embarrassed, not Alhaitham. Normally, if Alhaitham is embarrassed, Zazan would make fun of him. Normally, they don't just silently stay awkwardly still and wait for the other to say something.
But this is certainly different as Zazan feels nothing sort of the triumph he often feels but only a sense of primal satisfaction.
Alright, this is certainly weird so Zazan quickly scoot from beneath Alhaitham and stands up.
“Let's go. We are already late as it is,” he says, with a head tilt towards the entrance of his lab as he blindly pats the snow from his clothes.
Normally, Zazan would leave after saying that. But he instead extends a hand to help Alhaitham up.
Alhaitham, still busy pressing his lips and flusteredly looks away, finally looks at Zazan. Well, at his extended hand. But he doesn't take it and simply stares at it for some time.
Alhaitham kind of expects that Zazan will retrieve his hand because he doesn't reach it quick enough. But he's proven to be wrong as Zazan continues to extend his hand and silently waits patiently. Curious, Alhaitham glances up to check on Zazan's expression.
He finds Zazan looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
Quickly, Alhaitham flits his eyes down before flushing deeper and takes Zazan's hand.
“See? It wasn't that difficult,” Zazan sarcastically says as he pulls Alhaitham to his feet.
Alhaitham doesn't say anything and simply stares at Zazan with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.
Alright, Zazan, who thought that Alhaitham is merely acting weird, is finally affected by the fluster. Damn, no one told him that psychological behavior can be contagious. So he pretends that there's nothing wrong and continues to hold Alhaitham's hand before turning to the entrance of his lab, silently leading Alhaitham.
Pulling Alhaitham's hand, Zazan stiffly leads him to the entrance, pointedly trying to keep his wings still so as to not twitch nervously. He sets at a slow pace, worried that if he goes too fast, he will trip over his own feet. But maybe he should go faster? He can feel Alhaitham's gaze burning at the back of his head.
When the silence feels like it suffocates him, Zazan awkwardly clears his throat, “What are you looking at?” Zazan says, actually intending to snap at Alhaitham but his tone comes out far quieter than he had wanted.
If only Zazan isn't pointedly keeping his face away from Alhaitham, he would've caught Alhaitham flinching from the question and blushing deep red.
Alhaitham opens his mouth and slightly looks around as his cheeks continue burning, his wings twitching restlessly behind him. Yet he can't say a single word and can only let out a short squeaky squeal. Embarrassed, Alhaitham's wings subconsciously flared and he squeezes Zazan's hand nervously.
But Zazan doesn't say anything to that and simply squeezes Alhaitham's hand back.
Alhaitham's wings freeze up and he stares at Zazan's back in stunned silence.
No biting word to downplay his show of affection? Not even feeling embarrassed after kissing him like that? Not even mocking him for being flustered but only giving him reassurance?
Alhaitham's wings perk up high as a giddy grin quickly blooms on his lips. Oh, Zazan loves him- No. His mates do love him.
Unable to hold himself back, Alhaitham spreads his wings wide before throwing himself to hug Zazan. Zazan, not expecting to be body tackled like that, has no chance to evade and get slammed face-first into the metal door of his lab’s entrance.
Assuredly smiling to himself as he leans back to the door he's guarding, Omega Build smugly purrs to the link which Sigma Build is purposefully exempted from at the moment, [I told you. Never judge my decision on my field ever again.]
On the other side of the door, Prime massages his jaw tiredly, [When are you going to let me out?] he asks, pointedly ignoring Omega Build's rhetoric.
Omega Build pretends to think for a moment –which is useless because Prime already knows his answer already, [Nah.]
Prime lets out a harsh sigh, [You know very well that judging everyone's decision is my duty. So don't even think about locking me up here with them until I agree with your condition. It's not going to work.]
Omega Build amusedly hums to the link, [Oh, really? Why do I think otherwise?] he mocks before groaning annoyedly when it's clear to him that Prime is taking what he said literally, [I hope you do aware that I'm not locking you there because of that.]
Prime slightly frowns in silence for a moment before he says, [Then what for? Alhaitham is already happy and Sigma Build has done as you expected he'd do. Why else are you locking me here?]
[For the record,] Omega Build annoyedly snaps at Prime's slowness, [Sigma Build is doing better than I had expected. In fact, if he can lead Alhaitham to a mating session at the entrance of his lab, I'd be very impressed,] he rants before quickly shaking his head to get rid of the distracting imagery, [but no, that's an unrelated case. In your case, how in the world are you not aware why I keep you locked up?]
Prime scowls from a mixture of annoyance and exasperation, but before he can snap at Omega Build to free him, the bathroom door slowly opens and everything suddenly clicks, [Oh,] Prime mutters to the link.
[Oh, indeed,] Omega Build mocks in return.
Hearing the two pairs of footsteps approaching him, Prime straightens his back and neatly folds his wings. He has people to tell off, better keep his appearance sharp. Even when the pairs of footsteps finally stop behind him, Prime simply stares at the door coldly, not bothering to look at them.
It's only when one of the nuisances clears his throat does he slowly turns around. But he says nothing and simply tilts his head, coldly and silently asking what they want.
Brother-in-law clenches his jaw before angrily looking away, useless as always, and, too kind as always, the General Mahamatra opens his mouth, “Thank you for accommodating us for the last few days and granting us to see Alhaitham,” he says, very diplomatic, as if they never overstep any boundaries.
Brother-in-law's face scrunches up in disgust at the General Mahamatra’s words but he simply grits his teeth and stew in silence.
To that, Dottore can't help but laugh, “Pretending nothing happened, I see?” he mocks.
Brother-in-law’s hands clench into fists but the General Mahamatra blindly grabs it, silently telling Kaveh to hold back, “On the behalf of my companion, I deeply apologize. Hopefully you can understand that Kaveh's fear and transgressions were caused by his grief over losing a family member and not turn it into diplomatic issues.”
Slowly, Dottore's lips spread into a cold grin, “What if I don't understand?”
“Then you must learn because now you're married to someone,” Cyno bitingly says, surprising Dottore and even Kaveh.
Finding the Doctor is stunned, Cyno quickly comes to the conclusion that the Doctor has never received such criticism so he continues with a darkening face, “I don't know who you are. I don't know what Alhaitham sees in you but I also don't know Alhaitham well. I'm here merely to check on one the heroes of Sumeru’s condition in his marriage with a Fatui Harbinger. To see if he's treated well and respected as he deserves,” Cyno closes his eyes and lets out a very tired sigh, “in the first place, I didn't ever think that both you and Alhaitham are able to love but that's not relevant because around a year ago you two decided to get married so here we are,” opening his eyes again to pin Dottore with a strict glare, Cyno warns, “you promised to Alhaitham that you'll protect him. It's understandable that you struggle to do so with all the enemies you have but I'm sure that you also promised to make him happy. So you better be, or I'll exert all of Sumeru's diplomatical might to return Alhaitham to his homeland.”
Prime stares at the General Mahamatra in stunned silence at his outburst. For the fair and careful General to blatantly threaten him like that…, it's either because he's desperate or he's sure that his action is justified. For some reason, Prime can't decide which it is as he feels that it's both.
[Or, y'know, the problem might be you,] Omega Build chides from the link, [because there's not a single word of his is false or even a hyperbole.]
Prime's eyebrow twitches underneath his mask, [And how do you know that?]
[Feeling,] Omega Build answers oh so assuredly and dramatically, as if he says something earth-shattering and not just utter rubbish.
Rolling his eyes at Omega Build, Prime returns his attention to the General Mahamatra and coldly smiles, “It wounds me that you think I don't try,” he chillingly says before violently flaring his wings when what he says seems to trigger brother-in-law, “I AM TRYING!” he roars, “and before you arrogant people can say something about me not trying simply out of your inference of my job, let me tell you this,” he growls out before hissing through a snarl, “my mate is fully aware that I'm not a good person.”
Finally having the chance to talk about that, Dottore feels that it is unfair to him if he stops at that, so he angrily flaps his wings in a little tantrum as he rants –even though he knows he shouldn't, “ALHAITHAM IS FUCKING AWARE THAT I'M NOT A GOOD PERSON! So what's it that bothers you so much he marries me?!” Dottore loudly crows, addressing his guests but from the way his head is tilted up it’s almost as if he's yelling at the whole world, “who gives you the right to judge that he's better off without me?! Who gives you the right to judge that he shouldn't waste his heart on me?!” he crows angrily, fed up by everything.
Oh, why can't they just peacefully love each other?
… Deep down, Dottore already knows the answer.
It's because he's not a good person.
But that's what he is. Always has been. Since the day he was born, he is already destined to be a monster. And logics, karmic relations, fates, natural laws –or whatever in Abyss you want to call it– simply don't give people like him that kind of chance.
Dottore accepts that. That's the consequences of his actions. Saying he doesn't deserve it is simply childish.
But then there's this one person who, despite being smart, chooses to be ignorant to all of those and decides to love him of all people. Despite knowing the repercussions and risks of his choice, still chooses to love a monster like him.
To that, Dottore can't help but be bitterly happy.
To that, Prime wants to leave a way out should Alhaitham finally finds himself that he's had enough of the pain and misery that comes from loving him. That's the last he can do for the love of his life. He'll set the falcon free once more even though deep down he wants him to stay by his side till the rest of eternity.
But even Prime –as selfish as he is– knows that's asking too much.
Harshly huffing out his anger, Dottore folds his wings back behind him and scowls at his guests, “But I'll keep your advice in mind,” he says before turning around to place a hand on the doorknob, “I'll give you an hour to pack up and then I want you to disappear from here or I'll make you disappear permanently.”
Trying to turn the knob but finding it doesn't budge, Prime yells to the link, [FUCKING LET ME OUT!]
Understanding that he shouldn't play around anymore, Omega Build lets the knob go before he silently skedaddles through the corridor and disappears into the corner. He doesn't really care about the guests but, for the sake of his own sanity, he hopes that they're at least smart enough to not aggravate Prime further.
Zazan thoughtfully observes Alhaitham's scan results, a trail of dried blood flowed from his forehead to his chin.
After some time, he hums in satisfaction as he nods and closes the file, “Nothing seems to be wrong. Just tell me if you start feeling any pain,” he says to Alhaitham across from him who's supposed to be eating his porridge but instead looking at him in concern.
“Of course I'm alright. Clearly, it's you who needs the medical attention,” Alhaitham says as he reaches out over the table to worriedly touch Zazan's forehead.
Zazan slaps Alhaitham's hand away –very gently, more like a nudge, mind you– and scowls at Alhaitham, “And clearly, you need to eat,” he sasses but when Alhaitham continues to look at him with concern, Zazan flicks his wings in exasperation, “just eat. It isn't like you can treat me,” noticing Alhaitham's look of disapproval, Zazan sighs and gestures at Alhaitham's bowl of porridge with both hands, wings flared in vexation, “eat.”
Alhaitham hesitates for a second longer before he quickly understands that if he wants to get Zazan treated, he should finish eating. So Alhaitham finally starts eating his porridge. He seems very conflicted whether he should prioritize manners over concern, though.
Watching Alhaitham eat, Zazan presses a knuckle to his lips, subtly hiding the quirk of his lips. He actually finds the accident very hilarious and Alhaitham's current behavior cute. Which is weird because he's very clearly inconvenienced by his bleeding head and Alhaitham's disobedience. Maybe he has a neurological problem? Because he's only feeling happy right now.
Then he hears the link crackling and he feels annoyed, more proof that he has a concussion, [Stay with Alhaitham in your lab and don't take him down the mountain,] Alpha Build warns him before his voice immediately disconnects from the link.
Zazan quickly straightens up in alarm, [What's going on?] he urgently inquires to the link but there's no answer.
Vexed, Zazan grits his teeth, but he keeps his silence. He doesn't want to alert Alhaitham. Besides, he still has no plan to bring Alhaitham home yet. He still has a lot of things to show off.
Notes:
Whenomechainsama
Chapter 78
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
They've underestimated them a little bit.
Alpha Build Dottore strongly flaps his wings as he agilely weaves around their ambushers’ attacks. He doesn't know if the brat and the fanatic can dodge them like he did and he, frankly, doesn't care. Their well-being is none of his concern.
The ambusher piloting one of the heavy weapons scrambles to get out of his seat when he sees him coming straight at him but Alpha Build doesn't give him the chance as he quickly summons his claymore and cuts the man, along with the weapon, clean. The weapon bursts in sparks of fire while the man bursts in a bloody firework, putting in quite the eye-catching chaotic view, but Alpha Build doesn't pay too much attention to it because neither does anyone else. His instinct senses people marking him down with their target so Alpha Build flaps his wings once more and soars through the rebels coming after him in an attempt to overwhelm him.
That way, he can finish this without making too much of a mess that Alhaitham might be able to see from the lab. That way, he can slightly deter the man operating the canon that's marking him down from firing. He won't die from it, of course, maybe a little bit inconvenienced, but Alpha Build doubts Prime will allow any more procedures to fix his appearance. Although Alhaitham says he doesn't care too much about his appearance –he definitely cares about his dick, tho– Alpha Build won't take the chance to see if he won't be frightened when he sees that his mate's face is wholly burnt and peeling there and there. So Alpha Build will suppress the collateral as much as possib-
Ah. Damn this nation of madmen.
“The Doctor is still moving! Fire once more, comrade! Do not be frightened! For our freedom! ”
Alpha Build wipes the blood off his eyes and pats off the fire on his coat. He can sense another load of elemental energy accumulating in the cannon not too far from him but he's not too concerned about it. Although that brat is an idiot, at least he is a bit of a genius in combat.
With a whistling sound of the wind caressing his wings, Childe dives down from the sky with one wing slightly charred straight down to slash the man about to attempt to kill Dottore. Alpha Build doesn't pay too much attention. His dive isn't as impressive as Alhaitham's dive so all that really matters is that his clothes aren't going to get harmed more than they already are.
Then comes a sea of flame washing away the second wave of the rebels coming after Dottore into cinders and smoke as if they're but mere paper.
“My Lord, so benevolent you are for charging first like that but please, remember that you have a loved one to return to so allow this servant to lend his hands in slaying these blasphemers, ” with this fervent speech, the fanatic emerges from the flame with a crazed smile on his face, “ It's an honor to fight for the Saint of Love, ” the fanatic declares as he clasps his hands together and starts gathering pyro energy, “ and with this, I, Dmitri, swears in the name of love that I will not rest until every last one of these lost souls are returned to the warmth of love. ”
With that, an incantation shines above the fanatic's head and blood starts flowing from his eyes as passionate flames burn everything within the fanatic's sight.
… There are many things Dottore would like to address in the fanatic's words but there are simply way too many that the only appropriate thing to do is to just pretend he never heard it.
Oh, a nation with so many people with screws loose. From the one atop the throne that wishes to topple the heavenly rules to the most insignificant peasant dreaming of foolish freedom even in the face of genocide. Truly…
It's truly no wonder he has been affiliated with this nation for centuries.
“When I said you can't treat me, I meant that as in you literally has no knowledge nor the skill to do so,” Zazan grumbles as he allows himself being subjected into Alhaitham's fussing –not even the beneficial kind of fussing as Alhaitham has only been cleaning his forehead wound and staring at it with uncertainty as he certainly has no idea how to treat a vessel.
“Then you should've immediately treated yourself,” Alhaitham exasperatedly says as he presses Zazan's wound out of pettiness, reaping a pained squawk from Zazan.
Clutching his wound, Zazan glares at Alhaitham, “Not only do you not know how to treat me but you also dare to be rough with my injury. What would you do if you gave me a brain hemorrhage?” he dramatically asks.
By all means, Zazan is absolutely only being dramatic. Not at all is he being serious in the slightest. Yet Alhaitham still get this look of conflicted uncertainty and regret that's usually only present on a child’s face.
Zazan falls quiet, the urge to continue the charade and sense of guilt warring within his surprisingly still there conscience.
“...I'm just joking…,” Zazan quietly mutters, the guilt won.
Alhaitham's conflicted expression falls into exasperation and… relief…?
Zazan inwardly curses when his heart stutters from another wave of guilt that's accompanied by happiness from having someone worry over him to this extent, “Ha! I can't believe you actually fall for that, haha,” Zazan awkwardly laughs it off, trying to mask his fluster yet his wings out him once more by perking up high and twitching.
Aware of the state of his wings, Zazan trails off into silence and looks away, “It's just a scratch, it'll heal on its own,” he quietly mutters, embarrassed, deeply wishing that he hadn't taken off his mask.
Alhaitham rolls his eyes with a sigh before he starts browsing the cabinets, “Don't you have a band-aid around here?”
Zazan scowls as his wings raised high in indignation, “I told you it will heal on its own.”
Alhaitham turns to face Zazan, his own wings raised indignantly, “And leaving your wound exposed to the elements of nature like that?” huffing, Alhaitham turns around to continue his search without waiting for another retort, “just tell me where the band-aid is or I'm going to seal your wound with a duck tape,” Alhaitham says as he waves the tape he just found threateningly at Zazan.
Zazan makes a face as he flares his wings defensively, “Of all things, why would you go straight to duct tape? You've literally passed at least 7 rolls of bandage in your search.”
Alhaitham tilts his head as he crosses his arms menacingly, “Oh, so now you want me to bandage a scratch wound?”
Zazan glares at Alhaitham as his wings flap exasperatedly behind him for a while before he just tiredly looks at him, wings slumping in defeat, “Third cabinet to your left,” he says and Alhaitham quickly rushes to find the band-aid, and since Zazan has nothing else to do but wait until Alhaitham returns with his spoil, he checks the scratch once more through the reflection on the nearest metal furniture, “since you're so adamant in treating this insignificant injury, you better make the effort to, at least, properly presses the skin together.”
“Of course,” Alhaitham agrees with an almost offended tone and with that, Zazan's face is suddenly shoved full with the view of Alhaitham's chest.
Damn, why's Omega Build such a pervert? Faced with a very close-up view of Alhaitham's chest that's wrapped in a perfectly fitting fabric, showing off the luxurious mounds that are definitely getting plumper each day because of the newly developed mammary glands, Zazan can't help but flinch back. No. Nu-uh. If this is how Alhaitham will distract him from their banter then he won't fall for it.
Unfortunately, Alhaitham pulls Zazan's face closer again by grabbing his jaw, “Where are you going, mister?” Alhaitham chidingly reprimands, “I'm about to do as you say here so don't move.”
Zazan knows he said he won't fall for it but he still falls for it.
Alas, a lump still forms in his throat causing Zazan to be unable to retort. As a show of resistance, Zazan petulantly looks away from Alhaitham, causing Alhaitham to click his tongue as he can no longer see the wound clearly so he forcefully pulls Zazan's chin to face him again. Faced again with the luxurious chest, Zazan gives up. If he wants to look at a different scenery, it's better if he just complies.
So Zazan continues to stay still, pretending the way Alhaitham carefully and dotingly treats his wounds doesn't make him want to purr.
For the record, the wound really is just a scratch. Alhaitham knows that yet he still insisted on treating it. Now, with the wound neatly covered with a band-aid, Alhaitham stares at it in silence for a moment before he leans down to kiss it better.
Letting out a caw of astonished embarrassment, Zazan leans away from Alhaitham to look at him, “Why are you so dramatic?! It's just a scratch! Don't jinx it like that,” he hisses with red face at the equally red faced Alhaitham.
Scrambling away from the chair he's sitting at so that Alhaitham doesn't take advantage of this moment and steer it into depravity, Zazan quickly steps away from Alhaitham with his wings spread in warning. Yet before he can take more than 6 steps, Zazan changes his mind and abruptly stands straight, wings neatly folded behind him. For a moment he has forgotten that they're in his lab and can't exactly leave Alhaitham alone right now.
Alhaitham sends a squeal and a tilted head at him for his abrupt change of mind. Saying nothing, Zazan simply takes that as his chance to fast walk towards Alhaitham, grab his hand, and pull him to a door without saying anything. He only gives Alhaitham a brief moment to righten his walking posture before resuming his journey, head tilted arrogantly and wings carefully folded like a distinguished gentleman.
This might not be a date and Prime is the one obligated with re-courting Alhaitham. But damn it, Zazan is also Dottore. He's fond of showing off too.
…
Hm. Zazan may or may not have forgotten that there are things in his hall of achievement not fit being shown to Alhaitham.
“And here I thought you said only the Segments ever come to this place. Turns out, some occasional test subjects do visit you from time to time,” Alhaitham comments, causing Zazan to flinch a little but before he can say anything, he continues, “so who's the unlucky fellas?”
Zazan awkwardly stares at the very humane “anatomy models” of a male and female humans encased in resin, not daring to glance at Alhaitham. Judging as Alhaitham might be and ashamed as he is for forgetting the existence of these models, he's still proud of his work. He manages to preserve these two specimens very realistically so nothing can make him feel ashamed of them.
Still, Zazan bites his tongue as he simply can't decide on which approach he should choose to answer Alhaitham’s question. Should he try to justify why he has these anatomical models or should he explain why he decided to turn these two into anatomical models? Hmmm…. What is Alhaitham asking again?
“Why are you interested?” Zazan oh so stupidly asks, “I mean, do you want to know why I keep them or why I did this to them.”
Alhaitham glances at Zazan and the judgment in his eyes is enough to make Zazan mentally recoil, “I guess my question is closer to the former since if I recall correctly human’s body doesn't possess crystal nodes along their shoulder blades.”
Zazan stares at Alhaitham in stunned silence for a moment before it finally clicks and he can't help but excitedly exclaim with a grin, “Oh!” Alhaitham isn't trying to judge him, he really is just curious, “These are the models I keep around for reference. Every subject of Prime's research on human’s evolution requires these crystal nodes to be installed to monitor the… control variables injected into them,” Zazan explains, carefully keeping the more important parts from Alhaitham so that he doesn't get burdened with the knowledge he doesn't wish to know, he'll have to actively ask him for that.
Still, Zazan can't help but wonder, “Why do you want to know that?” he quietly asks, unsure if he even should.
After all, Alhaitham might only pretending that he's okay.
Too absorbed in his own discouraging thoughts, Zazan fails to notice Alhaitham's hand approaching his cheek and pinches it hard.
Ignoring Zazan's caws of pain, Alhaitham continues to pull on his cheek annoyedly as he rolls his eyes, “In case you didn't know because you're exiled for centuries from Sumeru, “real” anatomical models like these aren't exactly scandalous,” he explains and his lips can't help but twitch from amusement when Zazan's pained caws tilt an octave higher from astonishment before it returns to its pained pitch, “they’re certainly uncommon to be found in normal household but why does that matter? This isn't a house. This is a laboratory of the Second Fatui Harbinger, The Doctor, is it not?” Alhaitham says as he finally lets go of Zazan's cheek.
Zazan gapes at Alhaitham as he mindlessly rubs his sore cheek before light of understanding shines in his eyes and he proudly nods as he preens, “Of course, of course. It's certainly to be expected that a great researcher like me is in possession of models such as these,” he smugly plays along before his face contorts into a scowl as he sarcastically comments, “certainly it's not concerning for you at all,” then he glares at Alhaitham with his wings ruffled angrily, “don't even pretend that you aren't bothered by something you see here because someone might be stupid enough to genuinely think you're okay with these.”
To that, Alhaitham can't help but be touched by Zazan's concern, “I won't. Don't worry,” he reassures Zazan with a sweet smile, “it's just that for this particular thing, I really am not bothered. Human corpses are, at times, preserved and turned into a scientific instrument. It's a logical action. Of course, as for how they turned into corpses in the first place is entirely none of my concern.”
… Okay…. Damn! Okay, sexy.
Zazan is charmed and it shows from the way his cheeks tinge and his mouth spreads into a stupid excited grin.
Pressing a hand to his mouth to preserve a little bit of his image, Zazan decides to fan Alhaitham's annoyance a little, “Then that means you're not entirely okay with it so why bother trying to explain your view on these models to me?”
Alhaitham closes his eyes as, instead of getting angry, a teasing smile can't help but worm its way into his lips, “Because someone was so proud in wanting to show off his place until he seemed to accidentally showed these models,” he answers and grins mischievously when Zazan tenses up, “my poor darling Zazan was so distressed by his lack of insight that the cute trot in his prideful strides disappear. As your mate and a very caring mommy, what else can I do but try to encourage you to continue?” Alhaitham teasingly purrs, very much enjoying the way Zazan turns deep red.
Unable to say anything to defend himself, Zazan silently snarls at Alhaitham before grabbing his hand and pulling him through the corridor to his desired destination. His shoulders hunch up higher and higher in trepidation with each increasingly disturbing “anatomical model” they pass. Yet Alhaitham continues to say nothing so Zazan won't take it for granted and simply pulls him faster to the point they're almost close to sprinting.
Alhaitham lets himself be dragged, a fond smile on his lips. Cyno said he has changed. Alhaitham disagrees. If anything, he's quite sure that it's not that he has changed but the environment is. He has always been this way. It's just that he didn't have the chance to act this way because he had to act his old self with his almost nonexistent old social group. With his mate, who's definitely a worse version of him in some aspects, Alhaitham has to take a different role and attitude in interacting with him.
Alhaitham doesn't mind that. In fact, it has been very liberating and… fun.
Of course, Alhaitham won't ever fully agree to his mate's research methods. But he's not a part of that research thus he won't do anything about it. That would be highly unprofessional.
Besides, between these former humans who are definitely beyond saving and his mate who's getting more and more panicked with the increasingly disturbing view, his mate is definitely way more interesting.
Ah. Alhaitham really should sever ties with his old colleagues. They would be very disappointed if they know just how morally gray and permissive he actually is.
Okay. They've underestimated them a lot.
Many would disagree since it's three people against hundreds with various weapons but that's just a little detail to be brushed off if the rebels win. History conforms to the winner after all. If the rebel wins, though.
As a bullet embeds itself into Alpha Build's head through his eye, he can't help but curses Sigma Build and himself. Mostly Sigma Build, though. He knows why Sigma Build went with Alhaitham through that route but he should have some suspicion when he finds the streets so empty like that. But not only does he let his guard down, he also parades Alhaitham around a city full of danger.
Oh, Alpha Build wants to gut that fanatic. Of all things, how could he fail to mention that Samuil's hometown is the tourist spot Sigma Build brought Alhaitham to?
That brat is also useless. Only knowing how to brawl like a wild dog. Even he's still smiling until now.
The Knave is also useless. Not even knowing who's the leader of the rebel group let alone knowing a secret faction of it.
Everyone is useless, he is useless.
Roughly gouging out his eye along with the bullet from his head before throwing it to the snow, Alpha Build laments to himself. So much for keeping himself pretty.
Sighing a bone deep ache out of his lungs, Alpha Build tilts his head up and stares emptily at the gloomy sky. Oh, he wants to go home. … But the incident is done and now he's ugly again.
A woman tries to sneak up on Alpha Build with a knife so Alpha Build slashes her head off with his claws. Not letting the momentum fades, Alpha Build summons his claymore and hacks through the nearest foolish rebels. Violently he kills, desperately he destroys.
What is done is done. He is ugly once more but that's not a problem. He has duties to be done.
Alpha Build is Alhaitham's Waqa, after all.
Notes:
Man, I love writing this trio.
Y'know, it's changing of season in Indonesia from dry season to rainy season. I'm suffering. It's so hot and humid.
To battle against that, I sleep on the floor with my electric fan on. And that's when my cats decide to snuggle me in my sleep.
Like goddamn, cats. You both are very cute but why are you snuggling me when it's hot. Especially you, Mochi. You have way too much fur.
Anyway, how's your school/work/day?
Chapter 79
Notes:
Posting a bit early cuz I need some rest tomorrow.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Alright, you don't need to see that, not that, not that, not that either…” Zazan anxiously mutters to himself as he continues to half-sprint across the corridors, uncaring that his breath is getting shorter.
Alhaitham cares about that, though, “You do realize that you have no obligation to show me around right?” he says as he continues to let himself be pulled, easily catching up with Zazan.
Zazan simply ignores Alhaitham. He heard him, though, judging from the way his wings bristle indignantly. But it can't be helped. Zazan wants to show his work to Alhaitham because Alhaitham might be convinced to become his assistant then. But in truth, Zazan only wants to show off to his mate.
Abruptly skidding to a halt, heavily wheezing for breath as he blankly stares at the heavy metal doors in front of him, Zazan suddenly realizes that he has arrived at the final area in his lab. It's only then that Zazan truly realizes… he's got nothing to show off.
Ah….
Zazan feels Alhaitham gently squeezing his hand, “Zazan?” he calls him.
Gasping as if he finally realizes that he's messed up, Zazan turns around to silently look at Alhaitham in defeat.
Faced with the crestfallen expression and eyes of desperation over such simple matters, Alhaitham genuinely can't help but feel endeared so he curiously asks, “What's this room for?”
Zazan's wings twitch, surprised, “Huh?” he exclaims as he twists his head to take a second look at where they're at, “Oh. This. It's my office that doubles as a lookout for the mountain range,” he stiffly says before hesitantly offering, “...do you want to see it?”
Wait, no. He shouldn't have said that. It's just an office with a balcony and huge ass windows. It's not even a clean one as it's absolutely cluttered with his shiny junks. Alhaitham won't want to see it. No, he'll be disappointed if he sees it and it's not something worth showing off.
Yet, as if Alhaitham can sense what Zazan doesn't want him to see, Alhaitham agrees, “If you don't mind.”
… Alhaitham is just being polite to him.
Hesitating, Zazan makes the mistake of not quickly pulling Alhaitham inside, which Alhaitham quickly understands as a sign of discomfort, “You know yourself best,” Alhaitham says, “if you won't be comfortable with showing your office to me. You don't have to.”
DAMN! Now Alhaitham feels bad at him.
Angrily asking what's wrong with himself internally, Zazan squares himself up before pressing the button to open the gates, his hand subconsciously squeezing Alhaitham's hand in his.
It's not the first time his mate ever acted this way. As a matter of fact, his mates are always difficult to read as his order of priorities on things are different than most people. So Alhaitham has no idea what to make of Zazan's current behavior. His mate has always been so self-subconscious… and Zazan in particular has always been so worried about being boring or bored.
“Zazan, what is it that you're so afraid of?” Alhaitham asks as the heavy metal doors of Zazan's office slowly part for them.
Zazan jumps a little, as if surprised at being found out, but then he just twists his waist to make a face at Alhaitham, “What are you even talking about? It's just an office,” he says as he pulls Alhaitham into the office even though his heart screams “M A N Y!”
Thank Lord Kusanali that they're just two single men on a trip. They don't bring many things with them so packing up and leaving in an hour is definitely feasible. They never intended to stay comfortably so they didn't exactly unpack their luggage either. Now, if only Kaveh would help him pack up then they would be leaving even sooner.
Cyno huffs in determination, steeling himself, before he looks at Kaveh to tell him to get his shits together. But that's not the first time Cyno wants to tell Kaveh that since the Harbinger left them. And this time, too, Cyno doesn't have the heart to tell him.
As Alhaitham had put it, Kaveh is just too kind. He just can't help but be crushed to know that he had lost another family. Cyno can't even be sure which is better to Kaveh, Alhaitham being alive but Kaveh can't see him ever again or Alhaitham being dead as they've suspected.
“I know I'm being a burden but…,” Kaveh says as he powerlessly looks at his hands before trailing off with a bitter laugh, “can you give me another minute. I'll help you pack up then.”
Cyno sucks in a deep breath as his conscience can't help but feel like it's pierced. What in Abyss was he thinking? Kaveh has just lost another one he can consider a family and the last interaction he had with Alhaitham wasn't even remotely amicable. The fact that Alhaitham is still alive and Kaveh can't even search him to apologize lest he makes things worse is the worst too.
“It's alright,” Cyno reassures as he resumes packing their things, “We don't bring much so I'm almost done and soon we can go to the Diplomatic Office to arrange our return to Sumeru.”
“Oh,” Kaveh mutters, “I suppose we can't linger for a bit longer and see if we can talk to Alhaitham one last time?”
Now Cyno feels like his conscience is grinded into powder, “Kaveh…” he calls, trying to be reassuring and tells him that he's there with him but all he sounds like is a defeated soldier bringing news of his family's death without even being able to bring back the body.
Kaveh laughs, forced and strained, “I know, I know. I shouldn't see him anymore for our safety, right?” he says, humorlessly playful, before hollowly chuckling into silence, “...it's just that… I really wish that I told him I wished him a good marriage.”
Cyno abruptly pauses before he slowly places the luggage he has finished packing up away. Slowly turning to look at Kaveh who's sitting on the bed, slouching as if the weight of guilt is crushing his shoulders, Cyno decides that they still have some time to spare. It's the perfect time that Cyno makes sure that Kaveh won't have any regrets and truly understands that there's no other choices.
“That's quite the abrupt change in opinion,” Cyno comments as he pulls a chair closer to Kaveh and sits down.
Kaveh politely laughs again, which Cyno knows that he only does at the moment to mask his pain, as he mindlessly waves his hand, “Why?” he rhetorically asks, at least he intended it as such but when he fails to follow up with another rhetoric, Kaveh realizes that he can't exactly explain himself.
Which Cyno takes as his cue to continue his rhetoric by cruelly pointing out his behavior, “Because you know you can't do anything else to help Alhaitham but you still want to hope that he'll be happy?”
Kaveh's lips spread into a wide smile before they start to quiver as tears start dropping from his eyes, “Yeah,” he admits, embracing the pain that pierces his heart as he does so, “but not quite,” he adds in a whisper through teeth gritted in grief, barely audible even to Cyno who's sitting in front of him.
Cyno waits for a moment, waiting if Kaveh would elaborate, and when it is clear that he won't, Cyno says, “There's nothing we can do, Kaveh. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.”
Kaveh clenches his eyes shut as he presses his hands to his eyes, “Noooo. Not that,” he frustratedly whines before he starts to quietly bawl his eyes out.
Cyno waits patiently for Kaveh to continue. He understands. It's always difficult to process grief.
When Kaveh can finally get a hold of himself again, he lets out a deep sigh as he stares at the snowy garden out the window, his tears still wet on his cheeks, “It doesn't matter who you are or how long you've been dating, it would always be difficult to get accustomed to marriage life, isn't it? Especially if you're as emotionally stunted as Alhaitham,” a trace of humor manages to fill Kaveh's voice as he diss his ex-roommate but it quickly disappears again, “And yet here I am, barging in uninvited, fueled with assumptions, making him angry at me,” Kaveh takes a time to pause so that he doesn't start crying again, “that asshole-” he sobs, “that asshole doesn't have a sense of self-awareness, does he? What's he even doing? Not having any experience in a proper relationship yet going straight with the most complicated kind of marriage. Has he lost the rationality he was so proud of?!”
Cyno says nothing. He doesn't know Alhaitham enough to say anything. Besides, he's just here to lend his ears.
Kaveh finally stops staring out the window to stare at his hands again, his wrist kinda hurts after Alhaitham's mate grabbed it but he currently deems it as his punishment for what he had done, “... Do you think… someone like Alhaitham is capable of grinning out of happiness?” he asks out of the blue.
“What?” Cyno says, a little bit taken aback.
Kaveh painedly smiles to himself, “I know right? For years I've been living with him as his roommate and I don't even think he's capable of that,” then that smile drops as Kaveh gnaws on his lips out of guilt, “yet he did just that, grinning out of happiness, when he found out I would build him his bridal carriage.”
Cyno falls silent, a little bit surprised. What Kaveh just told him has confirmed some things to him yet he continues to keep his silence. He'd rather wait until Kaveh tells him his purpose of telling him that than wrongly make another assumption.
Kaveh mindlessly fiddles with his nails as his lips spread into a small grin, which quickly drops, “The day we sent off Alhaitham to that bastard, I bet you thought I forced him to wear that bridal attire.”
Kaveh stops talking as he tries so hard to rein back his sobs so Cyno takes that as his cue to ask, “You didn't?”
Kaveh sadly snorts at that, “I didn't,” then he hesitates for a moment before sighing deeply, “after Alhaitham knew I'd make him a bridal carriage, as per our plan to make his marriage seems like a good thing, he went off to buy a bridal suit and a veil. His head accessories were also out of his own volition,” then Kaveh lets out another deep sigh, “that's why I told you he's an idiot. He tried so much to appear nonchalant and unbothered by the marriage but it's so clear that he has something about it. It's just that I have no idea what he was thinking so I…,” he trails off as he gestures at himself before sighing once more.
To that, Cyno also sighs. Talk about miscommunication. Such a predicament that can easily be prevented if only they'd talked. But, given the circumstances, talking wasn't a privilege they have. Not then, not now.
“The night before we sent Alhaitham off, Alhaitham tried out his bridal attire and he even asked me for my opinion,” Kaveh says and Cyno quickly tunes in once more because he's there to lend his ears, “I thought it was weird. It was so unlike him so I went to Tighnari and asked him about it,” pauses slightly as he hesitates, “Avians being natural hopeless romantics is such a weird thought, especially since Alhaitham is an Avian,” then he closes his eyes as guilt contorts his face deeply, “but I didn't know Avians mate for life and that they would soon follow their mate to death if one of them die first,” not really knowing how to feel about it, Kaveh shrugs, “that’s beautiful… but also very sad and Alhaitham just had to choose the most problematic Avian to be mated with.”
Staring out the window once more, Kaveh squeezes his own hands, “I was very worried but that was not an excuse for me to butt in and ruin their marriage like that. Especially since they, as fucked up as they are, still find their marriage to be sacred,” weakly pushing himself up, Kaveh slaps his own cheeks to cheer himself up, “alright. That's enough moping. Let's get out of here before that bastard finds another reason to make us look bad in Alhaitham's eyes.”
Cyno knows that they really should go. But he doesn't immediately stand up from his chair in order to look at Kaveh with sympathetic eyes.
Faced with such a look, Kaveh's lips can't help but quiver again but he forces a smile on his lips, “Please.”
Sighing painedly, Cyno stands up from the chair and nods.
Why?
Again, why?
Zazan is not even asking why him but why it has to be Alhaitham?
Alhaitham isn't even a fraction as evil as him so why does he suffer again and again?
Zazan can't move properly because his legs are still regenerating from being almost torn off in the explosion. Still, he tries to get to Alhaitham because any damage and injury his body receives is inconsequential. Some might turn out to be troublesome later on but it won't ever be enough to be truly life threatening for him. Alhaitham is more urgent. He's his main concern. Will always be.
“Hayi…,” Zazan crows out his mate's name, desperate, on the verge of crying.
But Alhaitham can't even answer him as he went through, no doubt, several kinds of shock and syndromes. Zazan can't blame him. It's a given if a glacial lance is impaling your chest and frost is spreading from the wound. His lungs might even have completely collapsed by now.
Alhaitham must be in so much pain and Zazan should have treated him quickly but…
“Hayi…”
...Zazan doesn't know how.
It's a fatal injury. The wound is an anomaly. Alhaitham isn't even responding to his voice nor his frantic attempt to keep him breathing.
…By all means, he's better off dead at this point.
“Hayi…”
Ah, Alhaitham is crying, most likely out of pain. Zazan is crying too. The leader of the rebel group is having a panic attack as he desperately tries to stop the bleeding of his severed limb and wing. Alpha Build is savagely mangling the woman responsible for Alhaitham's predicament. Omega Build and Prime are flying as fast as they can to their location, desperate, afraid, enraged.
Alhaitham is gasping in pain. His breathing is short. He probably can't use his lungs anymore.
Zazan wants to make Alhaitham's pain disappear. He doesn't know how. He can only cry.
How many times has Dottore told Alhaitham that the frost will be the death of him?
“Noooooo,” Zazan crows as he tries to pull off the lance from Alhaitham's chest, uncaring of how the frost is creeping to his hands too but flinching when Alhaitham's frozen flesh shatters when the weapon is pulled out and splashing blood to his face as Alhaitham instinctively writhes in agony.
Zazan is sorry. Zazan can't protect Hayi. Zazan doesn’t know how to treat Hayi. Zazan is not a good mate.
Zazan is sorry that he hurts Alhaitham but, please, Alhaitham can't die yet. Alhaitham hasn't had the chance to be happy. They haven't even had a proper date once.
“Hayi…” Zazan crows once more and when Alhaitham continues to not respond to him, he takes off his vial earring, “I'm sorry,” he apologizes before injecting the vial to Alhaitham's heart.
Notes:
I know y'all have probably seen this from miles away with all the foreshadowing so I hope it's not too boring.
I still believe in happy ending, do you?
Chapter 80
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Sigma Build is mentally around 18 years old. He's the most humane version of ‘Dottore’, not yet burdened with too much hatred and self-conviction. He existed at the turning point of ‘Dottore’s life. 500 years ago, when ‘he’ learnt the loneliness of mind.
Despite that, ‘he’ wasn't lonely. ‘He’ simply came to understand the basis of human interaction, mutual benefits. The problem was that ‘he’ underestimated how it feels to finally have someone able to understand and accept ‘him’ even though not necessarily agreeing with ‘him’.
Delusions choke its user by pulling them into a vicious cycle of power and withdrawal for more power even if at the cost of the user's life.
When Alhaitham is there, Sigma Build is Zazan.
When Alhaitham cares, Zazan feels empowered.
When Alhaitham is not there-
What the fuck happened?!
One memory of happiness ago.
Whoever said the first step is the scariest step must be wrong. Clearly, the scariest step is when you were well deep into the room and your mountain of junk suddenly started collapsing on you. Not that it was a rare occurrence. Oh, then why did Zazan get so spooked? Well, because unlike the usual, Alhaitham was with him that time and he would get injured because of his junk so, of course, Zazan was scared.
The moment Zazan heard the ominous sound of his junk losing balance, he felt his goosebumps rise and his wings subconsciously flared with trepidation. With a very panicked strangled squawk, Zazan quickly pulled Alhaitham and sprinted to the window. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best choice of actions. His erratic footsteps definitely triggered his stuff to collapse even more.
It was a very close call, Zazan's heart was on the verge of malfunctioning by the time they reached the observation window, both from the sudden exercise and the fact that Alhaitham wasn't safe there either. Not really in the right mind to think of another solution, Zazan instinctively pulls Alhaitham down and tightly hugs his head, spreading his wings protectively above Alhaitham. When the spread of collapse finally reached them, the shiny trinkets –which are mostly crystals or pieces of metal, mind you– started to rain on top of them so Zazan spread his wings wider to make sure none of it could even touch his Hayi.
Did his choice of actions mean something? Yes. Zazan supposes that a patient avoiding any additional injuries was worth it in exchange of getting bruises all over his back and a possible concussion on his part. Those injuries were meaningless to him, anyway. The sole reason why Zazan contemplated the usefulness of his actions was because he was then trapped to the window with Alhaitham… of whom he has yet to let go.
“Well, that's a mess,” Zazan casually comments before frowning when he finds himself wanting to let go of Alhaitham but can't.
Alhaitham snakes a hand up to Zazan's cheek and pinches him, causing Zazan to squawk dryly from the pain, “Oh, I agree, and in case you don't know, there's literally a rule on how to stack your stuff stably,” Alhaitham annoyedly says, Zazan feels like it's out of worry, before he tries to free himself from Zazan's hug, “can you let me go? I want to assess what almost buried us alive.”
For the record, Zazan has been trying to do just that for a while now but his arms are still stubbornly keeping Alhaitham close to him. A few seconds passes as Zazan internally roasts himself to let Alhaitham go to no avail. When Alhaitham reaches up to grab his arm –most likely to free himself, Zazan tenses up and –without being able to stop himself– his arms tighten around Alhaitham so much that Alhaitham lets out a pained squawk.
“Zazan… you're crushing me… let go,” Alhaitham groans as he pulls on Zazan's arms.
But Zazan himself is confused as he really wants to let go but his arms don't obey. They continue to hug Alhaitham close to him, heavily shaking yet stubbornly strong. Zazan frowns because of it. What is this? A sense of bad premonition? Or did his junk hit something and he has neurological damage now?
“Zazan…” Alhaitham wheezes out when he starts having trouble breathing.
Not wanting to suffocate Alhaitham to death finally seems to be enough reason for Zazan's arms to finally let go.
Alhaitham lets out a wail of relief as he is finally able to take a deep breath. He gasps for a few moments before finally sending Zazan an annoyed glare. Yet he quickly changes his mind when he sees Zazan's condition.
Alhaitham's hands quickly reach out to Zazan but Zazan catches them before they can touch him, “I'm fine,” he snaps, already able to guess Alhaitham's intention, “rather than fussing about me, it's better to check your condition first.”
Alhaitham can't help but look at Zazan as if he's stupid, “Zazan. You literally have a crystal shard embedded into your head.”
Zazan blinks at Alhaitham, not sure if he's telling the truth or just tricking him.
“O-oh-” Zazan mutters when he suddenly feels woozy at the next second and collapses to Alhaitham who quickly catches him.
“Alright, thankfully I bring one of the bandages with me,” Alhaitham says as he tries to lay Zazan down as much as he can in the cramped space they're trapped at, sounding so hard not to panic, “please don't pass out, I don't know how to treat you.”
Zazan silently sends Alhaitham a thumbs up. This level of injury won't make him pass out, most likely, but Zazan definitely doesn't want Alhaitham to see the embarrassment on his face. Ugh, why's he acting like a total fool?
…
“Good job,” Zazan praises as they now sit quietly side by side, knees bumping against each other, “you'll definitely be a good assistant. Are you sure you don't-”
“Will anyone come get us out?” Alhaitham asks, cutting Zazan off.
Zazan makes a sour face at being purposefully cut off but he simply sighs and answers, “No. We should just crash the window and fly out.”
Alhaitham slightly shifts away from Zazan to send him a raised eyebrow, “Won’t that destroy your office?” he skeptically asks as he vaguely gestures at the mountain of… ‘curios’ trapping them.
Zazan purses his lips, hesitant, but he quickly slouches his shoulders with a sigh, “No can do. No one comes here except me,” he says as he mindlessly fiddles with the obsidian shard that was lodged on his head, looking like a moping kid.
Alhaitham stares at Zazan for a moment before he lets out a sigh, “‘You’ are a busy person.”
“Yep,” Zazan shortly answers before he raises the obsidian shard next to Alhaitham's face.
Alhaitham watches as Zazan's eyes widen and shine a little before his lips bloom into a satisfied smirk, traces of moping suddenly disappear from him entirely. Curious, Alhaitham waits for Zazan to tell what he has in mind, Zazan is never one to keep his thoughts secret after all. But Zazan says nothing and simply stores the obsidian shard, wings preening as if he's proud of something.
Alhaitham's eyebrow twitches but he makes no fuss about it in order to take a look at the mountain of shiny curios in front of him, “I think you have a hoarding problem, Zazan,” Alhaitham comments, the corner of his lips twitches up as he can't help but remember Corvus.
“Yeap.”
Now annoyed at the nonchalant answer, Alhaitham huffs at Zazan, “Is that it?”
Pausing slightly to assess Alhaitham before grinning playfully when he notices that he manages to annoy him, Zazan annoyingly purrs, “I admit I have a problem so what? Not all problems need to be fixed.”
Alhaitham is secretly a sore loser. Especially if he loses in a battle of words to a boring opinion. But he still has some self-restraint so he simply roughly leans to Zazan in retaliation, squishing him under his wings to the window.
Aware of his triumph, Zazan simply cackles annoyingly and pulls Alhaitham closer by the waist, “Oh, mommy… please don't get mad at Zazan,” he playfully teases.
Alhaitham lets out an annoyed huff and slightly smacks Zazan's face with his wing, causing Zazan to giggle mirthfully.
Then, they slowly fade into a comfortable silence as they bask in the warmth of the other’s. Frankly, it's to be expected. They're absolutely acting like a pair of birds cuddling in their nest at the moment.
Because of that thought, Zazan can't help but glance at the trail of plumes at the back of Alhaitham's neck. Oh, Alhaitham's primordial trace looks so soft. The ‘glance’ quickly turns into a ‘stare’ and before Zazan knows it, he is already pressing a kiss on Alhaitham's primordial trace, causing Alhaitham to let out a loud squawk and jolt away from Zazan in surprise.
Due to the sudden movement in the cramped space, Zazan accidentally hits the window with his injured head. Groaning in pain as he carefully feels the back of his head, Zazan opens his mouth to snark at Alhaitham but he pauses when he notices that Alhaitham is looking at him with a red face and wings ruffled in embarrassment.
Oh, right. Primordial trace is Avians’ primal imprint. Intimate touches on that part are only reserved for loved ones.
That's general information for an Avian but it has only come to Zazan now.
Of course, Alhaitham has kissed ‘Dottore's' primordial trace a lot of times in the past but it's the first time that ‘Dottore’ ever touches that place outside of sex.
“I-” Zazan stutters, his wings ruffling wildly as he can't help but feel extra self-consciously embarrassed, “...sorry?”
Alhaitham blinks his pretty eyes at Zazan, surprised, before he giggles with an amused grin, face still very cutely flushed, “What for? You're my mate,” Alhaitham chirps happily.
Staring at Alhaitham's giddy face, Zazan can't help but feel bad. Such an extense of happiness from a little gesture… ‘He’ should've done something like this sooner. Come to think of it, why didn't ‘he’? Crow breed Avian uses such little gestures to bond, right?
Zazan contemplates whether he should continue his little action but when he remembers where they are at, he decides against it. His junk might collapse again and bury them alive this time. So Zazan carefully taps the window to search for the most optimal location.
“Are we getting out now?” Alhaitham asks as he tries to make room for Zazan to do his work.
Zazan only answers with a humm before he spreads a wing above Alhaitham and taps the glass with his obsidian shard. The glass immediately shatters on them, raining in harmless crystals.
Alpha Build can't help but think that Sigma Build is such an idiot. Alhaitham is definitely very close to danger and what does he do? Nothing. He should've at the very least evacuate him to a safer place. Idiot.
Though, as Alpha Build manages to kill off another group of rebels, he quickly regains understanding of the situation. It's because Alhaitham is having fun. He rarely does ever since they get mated. And be it out of a sense of arrogance or something else… even Alpha Build can't stomach being the one to rain on his happiness.
However, as quick as the understanding calms him, his calm disappears just as quickly when he notices that his main target is nowhere to be seen.
Enraged, Alpha Build lets out a roaring caw that he doesn't really care if the brat would be able to understand or not before he spreads his wings and flies as high as he can.
Up there, with the wind whistling around him, Alpha Build's senses are worked to the max as he scans the battlefield. He's just a crow breed Avian. He doesn't have natural top-notch predation abilities like Alhaitham does but all the experiments done on him should be enough to find his target. It has to be enough.
Alpha Build scans the sea of charred snow, nothing. He scans the pile of corpses, nothing. He scans the willow forest… target found.
With no regard to any of his injuries, Alpha Build spreads his wings and flies angrily towards the rat who dared to escape.
Fuck, the wind is strong. It's cold as fuck out there. Makes sense since his lab is at a snowy peak and he’s not even standing at the ground level. So why does he subconsciously think of that? Well, it's because he can sense Alpha Build's uneasiness telling him to bring Alhaitham somewhere else so he's currently grasping for any reason that can be used to drag Alhaitham away.
Satisfied with his reasoning, Zazan looks at Alhaitham. Unfortunately, any hope he has to be able to naturally pull Alhaitham away dies down when he catches him. It's Alhaitham. He doesn't fear the cold. As a matter of fact, he's currently enjoying the harsh wind by closing his eyes and letting the wind caress his feathers.
… Right… Falcons live at high altitude. For good reasons. Hayi looks so pretty when he enjoys the wind like that.
Suddenly, Alhaitham snaps his head to the direction the wind is coming from, eyes focused and wings alert.
“What's wrong?” Zazan asks before he tenses up once he finally manages to wrangle his rationality back in control.
Oh, he's such a fool. Alpha Build's battlefield isn't even in a different area. Of fucking course Alhaitham would be able to hear him. Now what should he do to fool Alhaitham and coax him to move somewhere else?
“I…” Alhaitham trails off, unsure, but he frowns worriedly as he subconsciously takes a step closer to the direction of the battlefield, “I think I heard Waqa….”
Hmmm, it takes a lot from Zazan to not spread his wings so that he can obstruct Alhaitham's eyes, instead, he looks at Alhaitham weirdly, “No you didn't, Alpha Build isn't even in this region.”
Then, because fate is stupid, an explosion is heard from the battlefield. It's just a small explosion from where they are. But Zazan can hear it therefore Alhaitham definitely can too. Most damning of all, it takes Alhaitham's attention.
Before Alhaitham can open his mouth, Zazan makes a show of casually leaning to the railing, “ Welcome to Snezhnaya, my beloved! ” He says with gusto, a very stupid facade to distract Alhaitham but it works all the same because it manages to fluster him –never has Zazan felt more grateful that Alhaitham has a thing for accent, “you can't care for every sign of violence here, especially since you're married to me,” then –after internally apologizing to Alhaitham– in a lower voice he asks, “or are you not able to cope living with me?”
That finally takes Alhaitham's attention away from the battlefield as he finally looks at Zazan, “What?”
Zazan internally grimaces to himself for what he's about to bring up but it's necessary sooner or later, “The time is almost up, y'know. Soon, there won't be a turning back for you,” damnit, it's still difficult to talk about, “you've just basically estranged your brother . Who would help you if you want to leave me, then?” Zazan asks with a smile as he bravely stares at Alhaitham, it actually hurts him to ask that but he's sure it hurts more for Alhaitham.
Alhaitham confusedly stares back at Zazan for a moment, not catching on yet, before his mouth silently falls open in disbelief and his wings flare in anger, “Zazan, you…” he angrily starts but quickly trailing off into silence as tears of betrayal quickly fills his eyes, “not you too…,” he quietly pleads.
The smile on Zazan's lips wobble but he keeps the smile on, “I'd rather have you angry at me for questioning your loyalty again and again than seeing you regret your choice one day,” he says with a shrug, trying so hard to appear nonchalant despite the way his wings shake, “it's a valid concern.”
Afraid of breaking his facade, Zazan's looks away from Alhaitham and walks past him so that he can get off the building, “‘I' am selfish like that. If you can't handle it, then…” Zazan shrugs as he goes past Alhaitham, “you should return to Sumeru with your brother .”
Zazan expects to get beaten up the moment those words leave his mouth. However, Alhaitham doesn't do as he expected, not even saying anything. It's quite concerning to the point that Zazan has to mentally wrestle himself from checking Alhaitham's condition.
But then Alhaitham lets out this very sad broken lifeless wail that makes Zazan completely forget about his act and turn around, wings flared in utter distress.
But Alhaitham is smiling at him… there are tears in his eyes but he's smiling nonetheless….
Fuck.
“You should stop doing this kind of thing,” Alhaitham wetly says but there's a smile in his voice.
To that, Zazan can't help but explode, “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!” he rages, perhaps wrongfully, “none of us want you to leave but ‘I’ am a rational being. Your safety and happiness is a priority above all else.”
Flapping his wings, Zazan paces around at the narrow platform agitatedly, “First of all, you value a peaceful life above all else. Right now, you're toeing the line of being in too deep and ‘we’ can't even guarantee that ‘we’ would continue to be able to protect you,” stopping, Zazan stares at Alhaitham, shoulders tiredly drooping, “I want you to stay. But I don't want you to be forced to do something you'll regret because you stayed. This is completely new. I don't know what to do or what the solution is. Normally trials and errors are needed to handle such circumstances but I… I won't be able to bear any error in this. So hel-” Zazan rants before suddenly cutting himself off, “nevermind,” he defeatedly mutters as he looks at his feet.
As always, Alhaitham hugs Zazan. Ever so gentle. Ever so patient. Ever so understanding. To that kind of gesture, who Zazan is if he doesn't return the hug and maybe cries a little? He's just a crybaby, after all.
“When two people choose to live together, it doesn't matter how compatible they are with each other, they would always bring Abyss to the other without fail,” Alhaitham says as he gently pats Zazan's back, “you're my chosen Abyss, ‘Dottore'.”
Zazan snorts and pitifully chokes on a sniffle, “I assure you the misery you'll experience simply because you choose to stay by my side won't even compare to what you've mentally prepared for.”
Alhaitham lets out an understanding humm, “That's a given. Although I'm aware that it's a part of what I signed up for, it would still be an unpleasant occurrence in the end.”
Zazan tries to calm himself down by basking in Alhaitham's warmth, “So you're just fine with it?”
Alhaitham lets out a sigh, “I won't know, Zazan. But if my Abyss would be the misery of being by your side, your Abyss would be the fear of me regretting my choice,” Alhaitham pauses to stabilize his breath and Zazan can see the way his wings restlessly rearrange themselves, “can you do that for me?” Alhaitham quietly asks, Zazan almost unable to hear it amidst the strong wind, “please?”
Zazan doesn't know about the others but he never wants Alhaitham to leave in the first place so of course he has no other desire but to agree. Unfortunately, fate is, again, extremely stupid and before Zazan can wholeheartedly agree to Alhaitham, a fireball comes straight at them.
Zazan is the one to pull Alhaitham out of the way but Alhaitham is the one who shields Zazan from the flame. The fireball misses them completely but before Alhaitham can be relieved for not being too badly injured, Zazan has started to pull at him in panic. The fireball might not hit them but it hit his office without a doubt. There are so many unstable things in his office so it's better that they move before something exp-
That day, a peak was lost to an explosion.
Notes:
Y'know, I was sick for almost a full week and when I was sleeping on my bed, Mochi jumps onto my table and cutely pats my cheek. It was sooooooo cuteeeeee AH TJXYJCHN
I hope you like onions because the more hurt the sad, the more comforting the happiness is.
Also, I made a bluesky account because even if I don't post art that often nor is my art that good, the thought that an AI stealing from me without my consent when I just want to share some fun is extremely hurtful.
Anyway, here's the link if you're interested
https://bsky.app/profile/anotherneither.bsky.social
Chapter 81
Notes:
This chapter is shorter than my usual standard of 3k words. Usually, that's a sign of tragic chapter.
Have fun! :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Zazan hears something ringing. He isn't sure if it's just inside his head or there's a gas leak. In any case, Zazan doesn't dwell on it and simply coughs, forcing out pieces of destroyed lungs from his throat, and he grimaces.
Oh, everything hurts….
Zazan tries to stand up but his legs are mostly unresponsive. He tries to push his face from the snow to take a look at them but he doesn't have the strength to even move his arms, they're just dead weights and his wings are just unnecessary luggage pressing him down. Zazan silently huffs and quietly exercises his breathing to regain his mental stability.
No need to see them. Deep down Zazan already knows that his legs were caught in the explosion. Honestly, it was already a miracle that Alhaitham had enough reflex to rip the metal platform they were standing on and use it to shield them from the direct blast. They still took a major brunt of it but at least they didn't take the force head on and instead got thrown from the peak.
Wheezing, Zazan ever so slowly loses his consciousness. His vessel has lost so much blood. He feels tired and hurt. He wants to sleep…
What about Alhaitham?
Flinching awake, Zazan suddenly becomes more alert than ever. As if his earlier weakness was just a joke, he manages to push himself up from the snow to scan his new surroundings. His eyes are blurry and everything looks like smudges on white canvas, still, he continues to scan.
Vines covered with crystal teardrops hang like curtains in every direction Zazan can see and Zazan deeply feels disappointment. Is this place pretty? Yes. He had established that fact with Alhaitham. But it obstructs his vision to properly assess his position and where Alhaitham could be at. Most of all, if Alhaitham ever comes here again in the future, he would recall being almost killed in an explosion.
Damn. It was the only place he could show off too….
Zazan heavily sighs at the thought but he forces himself to drag his body across the snow to search for Alhaitham. They were thrown together. They have to be close to each other. Zazan only has to find him and then they can wait until Prime or Alpha Build arrives.
Too busy he is searching, Zazan fails to notice a badly burnt woman charging at him with vengeance in her every breath. When Zazan notices, it's already too late. The woman is already about to stab him with a cryo polearm so deeply fueled with hatred it freezes even her hand.
Zazan instinctively flares his wings to fly out of danger but instead bile shoots up from his stomach as blinding pain shoots from his wings. From beneath his fractured mask, Zazan can only stare frozen at the woman's crazed smile. But there's no despair in his eyes. Deep down, Zazan only feels shame for leaving Alhaitham on his own at a time like this.
But then the woman’s polearm is knocked back hard enough for her to be thrown back by something enveloped with dendro energy.
‘Dottore' dislikes the divine. ‘He’ has some distaste towards vision holders. But Zazan has never been happier to sense Alhaitham's signature elemental energy.
However, the smile of relief on Zazan's face quickly fades once he takes in Alhaitham's condition.
Alhaitham brandishes his sword at the woman who's forcing herself to get up. He wheezily pants, seemingly forcing himself to stand with the sheer force of adrenaline alone. His face is extremely pale –even his lips are tinting blue– from blood loss. His whole body shivers with pain from all the injuries on his body drenching him in his own blood.
“ WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! ” The unknown woman screeches at the top of her lungs, crazed, “ THAT MAN YOU'RE PROTECTING IS THE VILEST VILLAIN THERE IS WHY WOULD YOU- ” she abruptly cuts her own screeches when she notices this silver haired man simply stands on guard against her like his life depends on it, “ oh? ” the woman murmurs softly before she cackles hysterically, “ you're that monster's bitch, aren't you? ” she asks as she points at Alhaitham with her polearm, which has now frozen her fingers completely, “ move. You're disgusting enough as is but I have no business with you, ” she barks an order.
Zazan fearfully stares at Alhaitham's battered body, precisely at his wings. They're completely burnt bloody. Some parts are even burnt to the bones. The sight itself is already enough to choke Zazan with horror but when Alhaitham protectively flares his wings in response to the woman, Zazan feels another load of bile crawling up his throat.
Alhaitham's wings are ruined beyond saving. Adding in the injuries on the rest of his body, Alhaitham should have gone to find a safe place to rest until ‘he’ comes to him. Oh, why did Zazan assume Alhaitham would be able to withstand the blast? His body isn't a complete vessel like his.
Fearing for Alhaitham's survivability, Zazan loudly crows at him, trying to tell him to run, but his voice is so gone that he can only muster a weak caw.
Alhaitham doesn't look back at Zazan. He continues to stay alert and keeps his eyes on the enemy coming for his mate's life. The only sign of him acknowledging Zazan is a soft raspy squeal he sent to reassure Zazan that everything will be okay.
Zazan feels something in his chest drop. Now he feels despair.
No. Hayi, leave. You learned crow breed Avians' language, you can't possibly misinterpret what I just told you. Leave! I'd be fine! What are you doing here, anyway? You know I won't ever permanently die-
… Ah.
… It's because Alhaitham loves him.
This is the same case as when Alhaitham blocked the bullets for Prime. It's so obvious. No Avian can ever stay still if they know their mate is going to be harmed. It doesn't even matter if their mate can't die. They just want to protect.
But Alhaitham shouldn't do that! Why would he do that?! Unlike ‘him’ Alhaitham can easily die so why won't he listen to his reason and flee?!
Anxious beyond belief, Zazan wants to make another caw to urge Alhaitham to run. Unfortunately, blood suddenly climbs up his throat and he throws up. Distracted, Alhaitham takes his eyes off his opponent to check on Zazan's condition. Which their attacker quickly takes as her chance to strike the Harbinger once more.
Taken off guard, Alhaitham is barely able to fend off the incoming attack. He awkwardly blocks the blow with his sword at an odd angle. He manages to parry the blow completely. However, he underestimates the strength of the blow and slightly loses the balance of his footwork.
Gritting her teeth, the woman growls, “ Fine, ” she spits, “ I see that you’re just as bad as him ” she says as she lowers her stance for a more aggressive fighting style, “ I shall eradicate you with that cancer you try to protect then, ” with that, she launches herself at Alhaitham with full bloodlust.
This time, the woman aims at Alhaitham’s midsection, intending to slice him in half. Alhaitham quickly uses the blade of his sword to block it but his injuries are simply too severe and the woman fully takes advantage of that. She tightly grips her polearm to lever Alhaitham out of the way.
The manic force built from rage and sadness the woman exerts is simply too strong. Her obsessive eyes don’t even track Alhaitham and, instead, lock on her real target, the Harbinger who had turned her sister, the last person she can call her family, into nothing. Alhaitham is pushed out of the way with a small sound of wounded squeal as his scabbed wounds reopen themselves in spurts of blood.
Zazan spreads his wings with worry and lets out a worried caw out of instinct. The amount of blood Alhaitham is letting out is already life-threatening at this point. Zazan knows he has to check on Alhaitham’s condition now and do everything he can before it's all too late. So, with eyes only trained on Alhaitham and nothing else, with mind thinking about Alhaitham and nothing else, with a subconscious awake for Alhaitham and nothing else, Zazan tries to crawl towards his mate.
Zazan finds his hand is stabbed to the ground at the next moment, frost creeping from the wound.
The woman bitterly laughs in anger, “ how dare you make that face… ” she growls as she grinds her polearm, enraged beyond belief when the Harbinger doesn't look like he's in pain in the slightest and continues to pay attention at his bitch, “ you… who killed and tortured many souls for the sake of foolish plan of the Cryo Archon have no right to make such a face ,” she rages but when the Harbinger continues to ignore her, she frees her weapon from the Harbinger's hand and uses the broad part of the blade to hit the Doctor's face, “ you who has forsaken humanity… HOW DARE YOU MAKE SUCH A HUMANE EXPRESSIONS !”
“ SOLEIL, NO-”
A condensed dendro energy, a male scream from another stranger, and a second later, everything goes into a standstill as they suddenly find Samuil writhing on the floor with a chopped arm and wing.
Alhaitham lets out a shaky breath as he can't help but stare in horror at the screaming bloodied man on the snow he just accidentally mutilated.
Alhaitham’s hands aren’t exactly clean. There are times when disposing of someone is much less troublesome than crowd control. The only reason he is shaken right now is because he shouldn’t be capable of slicing limbs as cleanly as that.
Suddenly, Zazan’s words echo in Alhaitham’s mind.
“...you are no longer fully human anymore…”
The next breath Alhaitham inhales wracked him to the core at the full realization of everything. He staggers at the sudden realization of how severe the situation is. He truly has grown complacent. It was so easy to not think too much about it.
Alhaitham shouldn’t be alive right now. He should have died months ago. The organ nested in his stomach shouldn't exist. He isn’t supposed to be capable of carrying a child. The injuries he is currently suffering should have sent him incapable of moving because of blood loss.
Suddenly, the rose-tinted filter keeping Alhaitham sane all this time shatters and Alhaitham no longer sees his predicaments as a beautiful fantasy but the truth.
Now that Alhaitham thinks about it… his existence is now a blasphemy, isn’t it?
Alhaitham breathes out in horror. The alarm of his instinct for self-preservation he tries so very hard to brush off all this time to keep his calm suddenly blare all at once, telling him to quickly slice his own throat lest he ends up like the Khaenri'ahn during the Cataclysm.
Alhaitham feels like he's no longer in his body. His hands are heavily shaking, no longer able to get a good grip at his swords. He's breathing but it is as if he's not. Yet, he can't do anything except stare at the chopped off hand and wing lying on near his feet.
A screech of pure unadulterated rage snaps Alhaitham from his reverie as he raises his weapon to block the attack out of muscle memory.
The woman somehow appears more crazed as she attacks Alhaitham with abandon, “I AM SO TIRED OF ALL THESE BLOODSHED!” she screeches as she lands a heavy blow that sends Alhaitham's arms straining to defend from, “WHY WON'T YOU MONSTERS JUST DIE ALREADY?!” normally, Alhaitham won't think much of being called a monster but right now the mere mention of it freezes him up.
The woman capitalizes Alhaitham's distraction to form a glacial lance on her other hand. It isn't as deadly in sheer amount of elemental energy as her other weapon but it'll do its job. Stabbing Alhaitham's thigh with her polearm to render him unable to evade, she drives her lance right through his chest.
Suddenly their little space becomes much noisier as Alhaitham stiffly falls back, his face frozen in a stiff shock. The woman heaves as he stares at the man slowly bleeding out to death before she lets go of her lance. She closes her eyes and a relieved smile blooms on her face, then.
Selena… I did-
The woman doesn't know what animal killed her. The next thing she sees is the cloudy sky of Snezhnaya under the red filter of her own blood.
“Hayi…!”
…
“Alhaitham,” her grandma called from behind him and he couldn't help but jump a little as he hastily shoved the book he was reading under the cover.
Alhaitham turned around then, cheeks flushed and wings twitching in embarrassment, “Yes, grandma?” he shyly said.
Smiling, his grandma carefully kneeled down in front of him, “What were you reading?” she gently asked, “can grandma see?”
Alhaitham's wings tensed up as he hesitantly shook his head no.
“Why?” his grandma asked again, still so gentle, “did you read something you weren't supposed to read?”
Alhaitham bulged his cheeks as he shook his head again, more sure this time, indignant.
His grandma then grinned, as if she had tricked him, “If that's the case, then you don't have anything to hide from grandma.”
Alhaitham tensed up.
Ever so slowly, his grandma's grin softened into a smile, “Let grandma see, my little falcon.”
Alhaitham's wings twitched again as he hesitated for a moment longer before he slowly turned around to take out the book and gave it to his grandma.
Alhaitham's bedroom was quiet as Alhaitham clenched his eyes shut, too embarrassed to see what was going on while his grandma read the title and quickly flipped through the page.
“Has my little falcon fallen in love?” his grandma asked with a smiling voice.
Alhaitham's whole body jumped to quickly deny with a high-pitched embarrassed wail.
His grandma chuckled warmly as she pinches Alhaitham's reddened cheeks, “Then why were you reading about how birds court? Investigating what your future mate would be like?”
Alhaitham's cheeks exploded in red as his wings wildly poofed up in embarrassment, “Birds aren't the same as Avian, grandma!” he protested before he folded his small wings around himself, “but yes…,” he muttered so quietly, unable to lie.
His grandma laughed cheerily as she pulled Alhaitham into a hug, “Which bird do you like the most, then?”
Alhaitham was embarrassed but there was a small smile on his lips as he quietly answered, “Crows.”
His grandma blinked in confusion at his answer but she asked again without missing a beat, “Why?”
Alhaitham pressed his hands to his cheeks to hide his reddened face and his smile, “Because they're loud and obnoxious but when it comes to their mate, they become quiet and gentle.”
His grandma hummed before she suddenly started tickling Alhaitham's waist, “Noooo,” her grandma playfully lamented, “why does my grandchild grow up so quickly?”
Alhaitham loudly laughed and struggled as hard as he could from the tickling, “Stoppp! Grandmaaaa!”
Afraid of hurting her back, his grandma stopped and simply hugged Alhaitham close, “Then…” his grandma trailed off as she listened to Alhaitham's erratic breath from being tickled, “may my child Alhaitham find a loving and soft-spoken mate who will live with him peacefully.”
Grandma, Alhaitham is sorry.
…
Present.
Hayi…, Zazan is sorry….
Alhaitham's body is basically a Segment vessel. He's at Alpha Build's mental age range. Being injected with god’s remains like this… of course, there can only be one outcome. At least one that Zazan hopes will be achieved.
Five seconds after injection, the liquid he injected quickly travels across every branch of Alhaitham's veins. Alhaitham is miraculously no longer gasping in pain. Instead, he looks extremely content as if his pain is gone. The frozen areas of his body quickly shatter, showing Zazan the cavity of Alhaitham's chest for a moment before flesh starts growing layer by layer to patch him up.
In a matter of seconds, Alhaitham looks as good as new. His breathing even sounds even. He lays on the snow like he was just sleeping, as if everything prior to this was just a bad dream if only not for the way his veins still glow blue and the pool of blood around him. Alhaitham's eyebrows twitch, as if he's about to wake up.
But Zazan knows that it's not done yet.
… Zazan wants to close his eyes.
… But he has a responsibility to witness his doing.
Alhaitham's eyes snap open as he lets out a bloodcurdling scream. His nails elongate out of instinct, clawing at himself to try to get rid of the solution already molding with his every cell. Not long after, his body loses its sense of coordination. His limbs twitch and forcefully fold in the wrong direction, his muscles spasm and tear themselves open, blood vessels in his eyes pop into a waterfall of blood.
Excruciatingly, Alhaitham starts to transform.
Screaming, Alhaitham continues to suffer.
Shamelessly, Zazan continues to only be able to watch.
Notes:
After 80 and a half chapters, it's with a heavy heart I inform you... My Google doc for this fic finally can't continue on.
I had to start another file lmao.
A few days ago, I was reading some previous chapters to get a grasp of where I left off... And I was literally literally tearing up in class, thinking "who wrote this? This is so sad... Oh, wait that's me."
So, I finally fulfilled my words with the body horror. Hope you're all still fine with it. Also also, tell me how many twist(s) you found in this chapter and which one was your favorite?
Mine was the fact that Dottore's guess during the introduction was not exactly wrong lmao
This part: "I've heard and even experienced myself the creativity of suitors in trying to gain my courtship. Yet it's the first time I actually have someone tried to do so within the excuse of a case study."
(If you're wondering how can I have my favorite twist, it's because I have two mode. Writer mode and reader mode)
This is where I start the rally, "I BELIEVE IN HAPPY ENDING!"
COME ONE! EVERYONE CHANT WITH ME!
And, as ashamed as I am to admit it, as a writer I do care about the kudos y'all have left on this fic. 💜💜💜💜 For the 600-ish kudos. And I'm so sorry I can't help but be concerned with the kudos/hits ratio on this fic (specifically the hits). Because if I understand it correctly then hits is the amount of user reading this fic every 24 hours and I really hope the 2.5% ratio is just because I'm a bad writer or this ship is unpopular because the alternative would be that 600-ish of you are reading this fic ~40 times already and that level of obsession is genuinely scaring me.
Like, I haven't started a cult, have I?
Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter and have a great day!
And I hope my notes don't ruin your reading experience because I thought I should try to make you smile a little after dropping tragic chapters such as this.
Chapter 82
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
As far as Alhaitham could remember, Port Ormos had always been so noisy. Compared to after he moved to Sumeru City, that place was hell to his sensitive hearing. But Alhaitham is an underage orphan and his only relative lived there so he could only endure.
His only relative was his paternal grandmother. Unlike him, she wasn't an Avian neither was his father and mother. However, his paternal grandpa was an Avian thus his father still carried the Avian gene factor. And as it turned out, mother was also a human bearing the Avian gene factor from his maternal grandmother.
… Alhaitham was born to this world as a freak of nature miracle.
Sumeru wasn't openly discriminating against Avian but there was a clear separation between humans and Avians as far as Alhaitham could tell. Some places are more so than others. Him being clearly born as an Avian when the majority of his family were clearly humans was such an easy picking for kids to capitalize on. That was, if he wasn't born as a falcon breed Avian. Alhaitham didn't really feel like being targeted in the slightest mostly because he never cared if they were exiling him or picking on him. Books were simply way more fascinating.
But the noises in Port Ormos still persisted as a torture.
Thankfully, his grandma was ever so kind, caring, and responsible. Aware that he has sensitive hearing, his grandma would often bring him to the lighthouse. High up there, Alhaitham doesn't hear much. He only felt the salty winds caressing him.
Up there, Alhaitham would lean out the window and spread his wings wide. Oftentimes, his grandma would have to pull him back out of fear that he would fall off. Slightly pouting because the wind didn't feel as strong inside the lighthouse, Alhaitham silently complied with.
Seeing such a scene, his grandma would sadly smile to herself in guilt and ask, “Do you like flying that much, little falcon?”
Alhaitham would tilt his head back until he could see his grandma and nodded with a beaming smile albeit a bit shy.
His grandma then would chuckle and ruffle his hair affectionately before telling him, “Then fly as much as you want once your wings have grown, my little falcon.”
Usually, after that, Alhaitham would look at his grandma with a big grin, unable to fully express his happiness, yet his grandma would still understand. That day was a little bit different, though. It was a few days after his grandma found him reading that book about bird's courtship.
And so, Alhaitham didn't know what came to him but for the first time, he said something, “I will!” he shyly declared, voice almost completely lost in the wind, “and when I find my mate, I will fly with them and then we will dance in the sky until we're tired and fall asleep cuddling together!”
…
Zazan continues to watch as flesh molds over one another and bones crackle until Alhaitham's scream is drowned under it. He watches unblinkingly, witnessing every bit of suffering Alhaitham feels like a silent guardian, silently trying to reassure him that it'll all be all right. But even he knows that it's meaningless. Be it the essence of his action nor the essence of his unnecessary reassurance.
Because what awaits Alhaitham when all is over is pure blasphemy.
A vacuum explosion of pure energy occurs and Zazan is almost sucked in if only he doesn't immediately get flung back like a ragdoll till his back slams against a tree. What follows after is a screech of white noise that sends his vision white and his subconscious waver. It hurts but Zazan motionlessly takes everything. It isn't like he can run.
And still, Zazan keeps his eyes peeled open because even if his subconscious can't process this event, he knows Prime most definitely can. So he watches and watches even if it feels like his eyeballs are about to melt. This is his responsibility.
Zazan hears the ear-piercing inhumane screech well before his vision returns. When his eyes are finally able to see…, Zazan can't help but suck in a sharp breath.
Unlike Alpha Build in his eldritch mode, Alhaitham has eyes. A well-functioning one if the way they scan the surroundings is any indication. The only thing concerning Zazan the most is the lack of sentience in those eyes. Completely and utterly like that of a beast.
Suddenly, Zazan is afraid that Alhaitham is no longer there.
After motionless for so long, the monster abruptly twitches and snaps his head to the sky. Spreading its two pairs of majestic wings, it screeches towards the sky, calling.
Zazan doesn't know what the screech means yet he can still feel the sadness in it. Even Waqa suddenly stills just before he manages to gouge the woman who hurted his mate once more. He doesn't know what that sound means. He can't even guess what creature makes that sound. But it's repetitive therefore it must be a call for some sort. And he doesn't have time to figure out why, he just knows that it's his Hayi calling for him.
…Hayi is calling for his mate… because he's in pain.
At the next second, Waqa transforms out of instinct, crushing the mangled headless corpse into paste, and rushes to where his Hayi is. The aftermath of his transformation is ignored completely though it flattens the area.
…
After his grandma died, Alhaitham entered the Akademiya. It was easier that way. He wouldn't have to rely on the kindness of his neighbors and Sumeru City was simply much more tolerable than Port Ormos.
Sumeru City had more Avians than Port Ormos, not by a lot but it's still noticeable. Some childish and instinctive part of him wondered if he would be able to find a mate soon.
In so many ways, that thought is inappropriate. His grandma had just died. He shouldn't be thinking about that already. However… Although a falcon is a solitary bird, being left all alone in the world still felt… scary. So Alhaitham might have some wishes.
But the truth was… humans and Avians turned out to be afraid of him. Both because of his breed and mind.
Alhaitham thought, ‘Fair enough,’ and kept to himself, not minding being isolated once more.
Alhaitham is a violent breed. He always got so territorial when other Avians entered his eyes, a result of losing his only relative. When he realized that, he understood why he had no suitor. It's only logical that they're afraid. Still, he hoped that he'd find someone before he came of age. He wanted to be with someone he could trust when he had to do it for the first time.
Then Alhaitham had his first forced mating session. Of course, he hadn't found a mate. As it turned out, that was not a problem. What was actually a bother was his Avian genes had undergone a mutation.
Sex hurted and then it felt good. He saw it as a process done out of intimacy at first and then as nothing more than a device to not constantly hurting anymore. Funny how he had to choose between comfort or his clarity of mind.
Funny, how once upon a time Alhaitham was also a hopeless romantic until it simply lost its value. Funny, how he found Kaveh looking like a homeless person completely wet in the rain and he somehow felt a maternal instinct. Funny, how he suddenly stopped hurting but the damage was already done.
Funny…, how he found the exact book he let his grandma read that day in the House of Daena when he was archiving the books. Funny…, how his bookmark was still on the page about crow. Funny…, how he heard of a crow breed Avian visiting Sumeru.
He proposed a study of crow’s Avian language but in reality, he just wanted to know if his heart was still there.
Alhaitham couldn't exactly pinpoint when was the starting point he fell in love.
He was perfectly aware that ‘Zandik’ only did those acts of courtship to fulfill his part of the deal. But the attraction was already there so when ‘he’ sang that courtship song, Alhaitham instantly got smothered by his long buried instinct and sang back. In a way, he was almost desperate to find a mate of his own.
That wasn't very smart of him. He didn't even know why ‘Zandik' added that condition. Or maybe, deep down, Alhaitham already knew why ‘he’ proposed that condition….
Being mated for life makes Avians extremely vulnerable emotionally. Being mated would make him a convenient tool for The Doctor. Alhaitham, ironically, in light of things, didn't mind that. He had been with someone worse. It was already a plus that The Doctor fits his taste.
Somewhere along the way, Alhaitham found that ‘Zandik' somewhat showed a caring attitude towards him. That was interesting especially because it started after ‘he’ had explicitly written down the line of their contract. Carefully, Alhaitham observed, and saddeningly, Alhaitham found himself wanting to try to be a proper mate with The Doctor.
Maybe Alhaitham started to fall in love when their mating exile started?
Alhaitham didn't know why ‘Zandik' suddenly became so sweet. He didn't know why ‘he’ became a bit silly. He didn't know why ‘he’ brought him gifts as if ‘he’ was courting him nor why he felt so happy about it. What he did note was how their sex didn't feel so empty anymore.
When separation looked like it would be inevitable, Alhaitham wasn't sure what he had wanted ‘Zandik' to do. He wasn't sure if he wanted ‘Zandik' to forcefully drag him to Snezhnaya. He wasn't sure either if he could cope with losing his lifelong mate after such a short time. They hadn't even had the time to be proper mates.
When ‘Zandik' begged him to follow ‘him’, Alhaitham refused and he had cried. But it was only logical. He had to care for himself because their relationship was a contract and he couldn't be sure if ‘Zandik' truly wanted him to come as ‘his’ mate. But then ‘Zandik' respected his wish to stay and sang an apology to him for the whole night –as if he was sorry that things ended up that way– and Alhaitham no longer knew what to choose. In the end, Alhaitham chose to come with his mate, ignoring how loud his thoughts were telling him no.
When Waqa told him he loved him, he didn’t start falling in love. He just felt so relieved that his feelings were reciprocated that he wanted to cry once more.
…
Waqa is acting on instinct. He's only focused on finding his Hayi as quickly as possible. Because of that, he doesn't exactly notice the creature that looks just like him in front of him.
The monster swallows back another mournful call that it's about to howl to the sky in order to shift its attention towards the threat getting closer to him. Its eyes are sharp and dangerous as it stares at Waqa, scanning for weakness it can exploit. The feather of its wings ruffle in warning more and more the more the seemingly blind but very much threatening Waqa gets closer.
Waqa doesn't even realize the monster’s existence. His senses are all trained to the fullest to search for where his Hayi might be, only getting more agitated when Alhaitham's call abruptly came to an end. Fueled by worry, Waqa opens his beak and lets out a calling crow in return, hoping that Alhaitham will return it and thus he can find where he is.
Agitated by the loud noise the threat makes, the monster runs towards it and goes straight to slash its throat.
…
His Doctor is a callous man who Alhaitham can tell is extremely stressed all the time because he has high standards and is secretly hoping that the world fit it. He kinda has a short fuse because of it and most of the time expresses his emotion through harsh words. It’s the perfect self-defense, after all.
Alhaitham loves his Doctor despite it all because Doctor appreciates and respects him.
His Zandik is a bit silly and perverted but he’s the sweetest man Alhaitham has ever known. Sometimes Alhaitham feels like his cheeriness is exaggerated. Not fake, just exaggerated in a way that he’s trying something new and trying so hard to make it fits his expectations. In a way, he gives the same aura as Doctor but, sometimes, he also feels as if he’s trying hard not to become like him.
Alhaitham loves his Zandik because he feels the most welcome with him.
His Waqa is strong and scary. He gets the feeling that Waqa is a bit volatile since he often would go unnervingly silent before he suddenly barks unkind words to everyone. He's tough but not invincible. He has many scars but he never talked about it. Those scars definitely aren't just physical scars because Waqa is always so distrustful towards others.
Alhaitham loves his Waqa because he isn't the monster he sees in himself. To Alhaitham, Waqa is safety.
His Zazan is a bit complicated. Absolutely and utterly impossible to completely understand. He feels like a child but sometimes it also feels like he's the one that takes their relationship the most seriously.
Alhaitham loves his Zazan because he feels endeared when he's around him.
Alhaitham loves his mates. Every single one of them. He loves them so much that he wants to try to build a family with them. Alhaitham isn't even sure why. Perhaps because he's curious about how a child raised by the both of them will turn out?
… Actually, Alhaitham simply wants to leave a trace of his love.
His heart is still there.
…
Waqa realizes the fatal attack coming for his throat just a little bit too late to leave completely unscathed. He manages to raise his front claws to deflect the incoming attack but he's wholly unprepared for the raw strength it possesses. His block fails but it manages to slightly alter its course and the attack slashes his shoulder instead, leaving a deep gash.
Inwardly cursing, Waqa prepares to finish his attacker quickly. If whatever he's fighting is this troublesome then he should be done with it as soon as possible. The longer it exists, the more danger his Hayi will be in.
Waqa fends off a few more attacks until he finally senses an opening. He firmly plants his hind legs to the ground and builds up some momentum, intending to claw right through the creature's chest.
[DON'T! THAT'S HAYI!] Sigma Build screeches to the link, finally able to reconnect with it.
Alpha Build reflexively stops his attack to confirm the truth by accessing Sigma Build’s data. His abrupt decision breaks his stance and footwork. Coupled with how his mind is too busy reeling back from information, Alpha Build is unable to defend from Alhaitham's attack.
…
Alhaitham… really hopes that he can build a family with his mate.
They won't ever be able to live a peaceful life but Alhaitham really wants to try.
Alhaitham hopes… he can still be a hopeless romantic.
…
When Alpha Build finishes processing the information, Alhaitham has already pushed him onto the snow and continuously slashing him with his claws. Alpha Build tries to block some of them but it's not exactly effective since he can't move freely. The natural option for him would be to free himself. But Alpha Build doesn't know how to without hurting his Hayi more than he already is hurting.
[FUCKING DO SOMETHING!] Alpha Build screams to the link as he has to mentally refrains his instinct from fighting back.
Sigma Build doesn't know what to scream back to the link. His legs aren't completely healed yet. He could probably run with a very obvious limp but that won't change anything. Alhaitham would very quickly notice him and flick him away like an ant. Oh, why does he have to be perfect as anything?
As a human, he's a perfection. As an Eldritch god he's also a perfection. What is this? Alpha Build had to undergo several procedures to correct his vessel, giving him enough time to manage his mental state. And now, here's Alhaitham, perfect ascension from the start. He doesn't even need to try.
[CAN'T YOU FUCKING HURRY?!] Alpha Build yells to the link again after Alhaitham almost gouged his heart out, snapping Sigma Build from his thoughts.
Sigma Build stores his complaints somewhere else. Right now he's busy. He has to quickly figure out a way for an injured human like him to separate two behemoths that are flattening trees like they're just grass. No biggie.
Fortunately, Sigma Build doesn't have to do it all by himself. When Alhaitham maliciously raises his claw with a snarl, a shadow shifts straight between Alpha Build and him. Not able to quickly change gear from attacking to defending, Alhaitham chooses to ignore the shadow for now and finish his attack before he would change into defense.
But that's all the time Prime needs to press the viridescent gem on Alhaitham's chest and injects him with a neutralizer.
Alhaitham freezes up before his massive form shivers and he staggers back as intelligence slowly bleeds into his eyes. His eyes look around, scanning the areas in the midst of his confusion. When his eyes land on the bloodied draconic bird, they shake with shock and fear.
Finished with barging into –essentially– Alhaitham's memory to fish out his awareness, Prime retrieves his hand and just fall down to the snow, tired as fuck.
Alhaitham continues to back off until he's a good distance away from the draconic creature. Shiveringly, his two pairs of wings fold around himself, his eyes staring at the snow in the hope that everything is just a bad dream. Before he can convince himself, Alhaitham's form engulfs itself in fire, transforming back to his human form.
Seeing that, Waqa quickly also bursts into fire, transforming out of his Eldritch form. Before the fire can die down completely, Waqa is already rushing to Alhaitham's side. He doesn't know what he would be able to do for his Hayi but he'd make sure that his Hayi won't have to ask for his presence beside him.
Alhaitham's fire dies down, leaving him quietly sitting naked in a circle of black ash. Despite the two pairs of wings now he has on his back enveloping him, he's still shivering. His eyes are wide as he blankly stares at the blood dying his hands red.
Happy at seeing that his Hayi looks uninjured –but aware that he's shaken, Waqa softly caws at him.
For a few seconds, Alhaitham can't look away from the blood in his hands before he finally looks up to see who's calling for him. When his eyes meet with Waqa, he finds him grinning widely with relief, as if the blood still flowing from his wounds doesn't exist.
Silently, tears start to flow from Alhaitham's eyes, startling Waqa to quickly rush to him with concerned caws. Squatting in front of Alhaitham, Waqa caws again, asking him what's wrong. But Alhaitham only cries harder, now starting to sob loudly as he presses his hands to his face.
“What am I?” Alhaitham quietly asks between his sobs.
Notes:
I'm tired of writing angst. I'm blaming you, INeedFanfic. It is all your fault.
Chapter 83
Notes:
Find me on bluesky if you want to send me an invitation to start a Dottotham cult: Mandatory self promotion because the only reason I still use Twitter is because of the messaging features in the dm
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Waqa freezes. His grin turns stiff. His chest becomes stuffy.
He… is built for “field work”. He doesn’t know how to answer that question even if it’s about him, much less if it is about his Hayi. That sounds like a philosophical question. He doesn’t study philosophy. His purpose of creation is mostly only to survive or be eliminated. He can't answer that question.
But… Waqa can feel that his Hayi is desperate for an answer. He can sense it from the quiet sobs he lets out. His Hayi is afraid. So Waqa wracks his brain for an answer that might calm him down.
A second passes with nothingness then another and Waqa’s head is still a blank. He truly doesn't know what to say. His Hayi is still crying and the only thing he can do is squatting in front of him like an idiot.
Doctor pushes himself up from the snow with a wheeze. His arms are trembling and his whole back burns from overexertion. Flying from the Citadel straight to this area at full speed without stopping hasn't been nice for his, admittedly, ancient vessel. Still, it's a pleasant surprise that after all these centuries his vessel is still able to secrete adrenaline.
Swaying slightly as he takes a step towards Alhaitham with his wings limply dragging on the snow, Doctor shakes his head to forcefully snap himself out of it.
Finding Alhaitham covering his face as he sobs to himself, Doctor's steps falter. Ah, once again, the circumstances have proved that only pain and misery will ever come from staying beside him. … He shouldn't have let Alhaitham stay for so long.
Then, realizing that Alhaitham is completely naked on the snow, Doctor quickly shoves that thought for later and takes off his fur coat. He can worry about that later. Clearly, Alhaitham is not in the state to worry about that.
Doctor takes a second or two to shake off snow and stray branches from his coat before he approaches Alhaitham with a surer step. When he's about to drop the coat on Alhaitham, he pauses, considering what would be more proper. In the end, he carefully spreads the coat with both hands before gently draping it on Alhaitham's shoulders.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings flick in surprise because of the warm fabric, skewing it, but he's yet to stop crying and show them his face.
Sighing, Doctor kneels down behind Alhaitham and patiently rearranges the coat to properly cover him, his gentleness so different from usual but that's irrelevant, “Why don't we save that question for later?” Doctor asks as he tentatively places a hand on Alhaitham's head, pausing right after when Alhaitham tenses up from the touch.
Doctor waits for a moment longer to see if Alhaitham will attack him as he keeps his hand on his head with a bated breath and when seconds pass peacefully, Doctor gently ruffles and pets Alhaitham's hair, “Let’s get you somewhere warmer first,” he gently coax the concerningly quiet Alhaitham.
Alhaitham pauses, seemingly not even breathing. Then his body and wings tremble heavily, risking the coat on his shoulders falling, and his chest starts to heave heavily from panic.
Both Waqa and Doctor’s wings flare in panic despite the tiredness and injuries they sustain but before they can do anything to calm down Alhaitham, he already sucks in a sharp breath and parts his hands just enough to peek at Waqa who's squatting in front of him.
Alhaitham's pretty eyes quietly peer at Waqa and Waqa is frozen under his gaze. The crimson crown of Alhaitham's pupil now seems to be glowing as a crack seemingly made from the void itself tears the corner of his eyes. It's very pretty. So pretty that Waqa has to resist the urge to pry off Alhaitham's hands from his face so that he can see the extent of his ascension altering his body.
But Waqa can still see the tears clinging to Alhaitham's lashes, painting his fear and sorrow, so he turns around and flattens his wings to his back, silently telling Alhaitham to get onto his back.
“I'll carry you,” Waqa offers out loud when Alhaitham doesn't make a sound nor movement.
When Alhaitham still shows no response to that, Waqa makes an extra effort to not allow his wings to shuffle in anxiety, “Can you get on, Hayi?” he asks but he can't refrain himself from glancing back at Alhaitham from above his shoulder, worries deeply etched on his eyebrows as he checks on his mate.
Alhaitham's eyes glisten in response and it sounds like he sucks in a breath in preparation to say something. When his pairs of wings lethargically ruffle, Waqa inadvertently tenses up in fear of Alhaitham lashing out at him, yet Alhaitham continues to say nothing. He simply hangs his head down till his bangs cover his face and then his hands finally leave his face to rushedly reach for the fur coat keeping him warm and pull it over his head, casting shadows over his face.
Against his efforts to not to, Waqa's wings shuffle anxiously at Alhaitham's silence so he lets out a hesitant caw at him, asking where his mate is hurting.
Alhaitham silently shakes his head a little before he carefully holds Waqa's shoulders and pulls himself onto his back.
Waqa knows that Alhaitham wanted to say something. It's extremely clear. But he is already relieved that Alhaitham is finally close to him so Waqa carefully rises to his feet, eager to quickly return home where Alhaitham would be safe. He takes a step towards home but quickly remembers the state of the battlefield so he pauses and looks back at Prime for opinion.
Catching the look from Alpha Build, Prime looks down with a sigh, his masks glinting ominously with his stormy mood, but the hand he reaches out to act as a comforting weight on Alhaitham's head is exceedingly gentle, “Let’s return now. Leave the rest to Omega Build,” he orders with a voice carefully made to not sound too harsh for Alhaitham's ears even though the corner of his lips twitches down with extreme hatred, “the transport vehicle is quiet far so it's best that we start walking,” he adds as he glances at the treeline.
Sigma Build, who has been silently observing as he lets his vessel mend itself instantly perk up when he feels Prime's gaze. With frantic flaps of his wings, he struggles to his feet before he limps towards Alhaitham, a wry sheepish anxious yet hopeful grin on his lips.
Sucking a deep breath to swallow down some of his anxiety, Zazan grins widely before pressing a hand to Alhaitham's back, “Hayi-”
The relief he's about to express through soft complaints is quickly swallowed back down his throat when Alhaitham immediately tenses up with a sharp intake of breath the moment his hand touches him.
Flabbergasted, Zazan can only silently open and close his mouth as his fears quickly resurfaces. But it isn't like Zazan doesn't understand. He has turned Alhaitham into what he is without his approval so of course he'd react this way. If anything, this is quite tame.
Yet still, broken hearted by the fact, even if he thinks that he has no right to feel that way, Zazan can't even consider taking his hand off Alhaitham, “Hayi…?” he repeats, hesitantly calling Alhaitham's name in fear this time.
But Alhaitham doesn't answer Zazan's call. In fact, it's as if he's trying to ignore him as he starts to tremble and tightly clench Waqa’s shoulders until his knuckles turn white.
It's when Alhaitham starts to whine out low anxious squeals under his breath that Alpha Build finally snaps, [If you don't take your hands off Hayi this instant, I'll kick your ass to the other ends of Snezhnaya,] he growls to the link.
Zazan's wings twitch in indignation, peeling a few scabs and causing a little bit of blood to flow once more, [On what grounds are you threatening me?] he growls back despite knowing full well that he should follow that advice.
[On the grounds that it's my duty to protect Hayi!] Alpha Build snaps, [I don't care about the circumstances. I only care about the fact that Hayi is currently scared of you so you keep your hands off him.]
Zazan knows damn well that he should give Alhaitham space. Yet, still, he grits his teeth in defiance. He's so unbearably afraid that Alhaitham will continue to be afraid of him if he doesn't immediately set things straight but he also knows that Alhaitham has had enough as is. Conflicted, Zazan glances at Doctor for opinion.
Prime, sensing Sigma Build's gaze, quietly sighs to himself as headache pulses on his temple, [Go. Assist Omega Build,] he orders through the link.
Zazan’s lips silently spread into a snarl at the betrayal and his eyes tear up in anger but… he takes his hand off Alhaitham's back. His eyes glisten with hurt when Alhaitham visibly relaxes the moment his hand leaves him but he doesn't pursue him again.
Zazan understands.
Therefore….
He takes a step back from Alhaitham no matter how much his chest aches. He refrains himself from chasing after Alhaitham when their little entourage starts to walk off and refrains himself from calling after him no matter how much he wants to. He also refrains his eyes from shedding any tears as it's not his place to do so.
This… is simply his responsibility.
… It really is cold here in Snezhnaya.
Samuil gnaws on his lower lip to smother another groan that will definitely uncover his position as he drags his body another half a meter from where he was before. The fingers of his remaining hand have poked a hole through his glove after the repetitive motion of dragging himself to safety. They're numbed blue as if they're about to snap off from the cold. It might also be from blood loss because of his severed hand and wings but, frankly, details don't matter at this point.
And, frankly, in hindsight, he's uselessly struggling against fate at the moment. He's in the middle of nowhere with grave injuries. He doesn't know where the enemies are and they can definitely track him easily with the obvious trail of blood he left on the snow. The fact that he's not yet found at the moment is most likely because his enemies are toying with him.
“Oh, are you done?” A voice amicably greets Samuil from somewhere behind him, making him suddenly aware that he's no longer alone and that he has stopped dragging himself.
Panicked, Samuil exerts all the energy left in his body to drag himself away as quickly as he can from where he is, frantic. He doesn't care which direction he goes. The only thing that matters is that he distances himself from the man who's undoubtedly his enemy.
The voice hums thoughtfully but the man says nothing as he seems to just observe him. However, when Samuil manages to move himself away a little, he hears the sound of snow crunching under a weight as if the man has taken a step forward. Samuil tenses up and freezes from fear for a fraction of second, fearing that the man would suddenly run towards him and kill him. But, as Samuil stays still, so does the man.
Wracked with terror and apprehension, Samuil tentatively drags himself forward once more and he hears the man taking another step. Pausing, and not hearing the man taking another step, Samuil grits his teeth in rage. The bastard is toying with him.
Out of spite more than anything else, Samuil drags himself as fast as he can, exerting every strength left in him. He can hear the ruffles of feathers and a snort from the man before he mockingly takes the steps to match his progress.
Samuil grits his teeth till he can taste iron from his gums but he doesn't waste any energy to say anything. Getting furious will only make his heart beat faster and exacerbate his blood loss. So he fully focuses on getting away no matter how futile it is.
The treeline is not that far ahead. If he can get there, he can take advantage of the man's carelessness and use the bushes to erase his presence. Samuil purposefully ignores how unlikely that sounds. Empty hope is still better than no hope.
Two arms away from the treeline and the man still not taking him seriously, Samuil carefully breathes through his mouth to pace his excitement. Soon, he'll have a chance for survival. Soon, it'll either be death or alive for him.
But… perhaps Samuil has taken his vision for granted because he is completely taken off guard when a pair of feet enters his vision. Before he can even process who those feet belong to, one of them is already raised to dig its hard and heavy heel of its boot on his skull. The pressure hurts and Samuil groans in pain as it sends multicolored sparks to appear in his blackened vision.
The man from earlier lets out a disappointed sigh and clicks his tongue in dissatisfaction, “Just when he almost reaches the finish line too…,” he halfheartedly complains as he languidly approaches.
Sigma Build just knows which snark he should bark at Omega Build. He knows, but he doesn't have the energy to muster the word. He simply glares at Omega Build but his eyes are missing the hotheaded fire Omega Build often sees in his younger self. Right now, it's just a dead tired annoyance.
Omega Build pauses as his head tilts to the side, assessing. A moment later, he resumes his steps with a somber yet slightly amused flick of his wings, “You look like Alpha Build,” he comments and when that isn't enough to offend Sigma Build into reigniting the fire in his eyes, he asks out loud, “upset?”
Normally, this kind of talk should be left to the link to ensure that no one could hear. But talking these kinds of things out loud is simply way more effective. Besides, as far as they are concerned, no one is around and this trash crawling on the snow will soon be declared as dead even to The Irminsul.
Sigma Build silently stares at him for a moment longer before he looks down at the delirious writhing trash beneath him, not a single noise is made. Even his wings are completely fixed into one position that signals nothingness. His expressions and body languages are completely devoid even when he kicks the trash square in the mouth until blood spills onto his boot.
Ah… ultimately tragic. Omega Build really wants to wipe an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye at his younger shelf's achievement. Dead is the chatterbox, there comes the depression. Sigma Build has finally grown up even though it shouldn't be possible. All the more reason that it's such a miracle.
Sigma Build wordlessly squats down and yanks the trash’s hair so that he can assess his injuries, “Salvageable,” he comments as he grabs the trash's face and angles it to a few directions.
Omega Build hums as he stares at the lifeless way Sigma Build's eyes gaze at his newest test subject before he glances at the blood that's miraculously still flowing from the trash's wounds, “Not for long, I reckon.”
Sigma Build hums before he abruptly punches the trash's face until his nose is broken, still looking uncannily devoid of emotions, “True,” he mutters as he raises to his feet and uncaringly drags the trash towards his blown up lab, completely deaf to the way the trash is wailing in pain.
Omega Build rearranges his wings and folds his hands behind his back as he follows his younger self, “You do realize that he won't stay mad at you for long, right?” he says, not really explaining what he's referring to but he's sure that the context is certain.
Sigma Build's wings flick before rearranging themselves in complete silence.
Humming, Omega Build nods before he points out to the link, [But the fearful signs moonlight has shown and will show you are eating you alive,] while outwardly cheerfully asking, “So… what is your agenda?”
Sigma Build's wings twitch in aggression, finally the first sign of life he has shown, but it quickly dies back down, “I want to skin him alive, I want to light every paths of his nerve ending with pain, I want to torture him as long as I can and kills him as slowly as I can,” he lists off, extra eerie with him ranting like a child but his voice carries the weight Prime usually has in his voice, calm and detached from personal feelings, “but… after all he has done, I can't simply make peace with the fact that he can just escape to nothingness without paying off the slightest bit of his blood debt,” Sigma Build pauses to throw the mangled half-corpse up the cliff before he flies up there in a single graceful flap of his wings.
Omega Build's jaw drops at the blatant showoff. Is that a direct result after taking a flight with Alhaitham? In any case, as the older Segment, Omega Build has an ego to fulfill so he spreads his own wings and flies up as well.
Up there, slightly panting from the short flight –it wasn't a long way up, it's just that he had flown a great distance beforehand so that really was Omega Build’s breaking point, Omega Build finds the trash, inches away from death, buried under the snow to slow down his bleeding –but probably also send him into hypothermia– while Sigma Build is squatting beside him looking like a total bully, or maybe just looking like Alpha Build.
“He’d be a good contender, don't you think?” Sigma Build asks as he coldly calculates the poor sod that doesn't even have enough consciousness to be aware of the danger he is in, “he's a Sumerian falcon breed Avian too,” Sigma Build chillingly adds and Omega Build gets goosebumps from the collective excitement rising in the link at the realization, “he'd be the perfect specimen for the trial,” Sigma Build declares with finality.
Omega Build has to suck in a breath before letting out a shaky exhale to release his own excitement so that he doesn't break into a manic attack, “But only if he can achieve moonlight's ascension, won't he?” he throws in his insight for peer assessment, “in all interpretation, moonlight can no longer be compared to him in any aspect, after all.”
“We can lower the dose and isolate the evolution to focus only on the needed organs,” Sigma Build argues, “it's a crude solution, of course, and the risk of the test subject committing suicide from the agony and mental backlash is on the red zone. But…,” he trails off to stare at Omega Build, his eyes filled with cold bemusement, “that can easily be patched with another crude solution, isn't it?”
Omega Build freezes under Sigma Build's gaze. Ah, he really is acting like Prime right now. But that thought aside, his argument is correct. If the need do arise, they really can just improvise a new way to patch it up. Who cares if the test subject will suffer? Not ‘him' in general and especially not for this test subject.
Thus Omega Build lets the corner of his lips quirk up in satisfaction as he inclines his head in agreement, “Indeed.”
Notes:
Who's ready to see some canon compliant Dottore?
I certainly am. I can finally rest my angst juicer and takes out my character building blender. The chance for me to kinda write Dottore's 'backstory' has arrived.Turns out, I hate coffee. The caffeine makes me not sleepy, true, but it also makes me too hyperactive to focus and once the effect is gone, my hands go numb.
And the detox process is hell.
Nah, I'm not making myself dependent on any substance.Hmmm the struggle of having a chonky and a long cat is trying to get Alex to eat more but he only wants to eat if Mochi also eats but Mochi is already looking like its namesake.
Like damn.
Chapter 84
Summary:
Find me on bluesky if you want to send me an invitation to start a Dottotham cult: Mandatory self promotion because the only reason I still use Twitter is because of the messaging features in the dm
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
In the case where a test subject is having a psychotic break; diazepam would do, dose depends on the subject's mass. If the medicine doesn't work, forcibly restrain it and if that also doesn't work, euthanize it. In this way, further loss of time and resources can be pressed.
In the case where a test subject falls into depression and shows no reaction towards any experiment, keep it alive as it will prove its worth as a control variable.
In the case where your mate accidentally becomes the ultimate success in your life…
???
ψ ψ̵̝̱͙̞͕̖̝͉͇͔̝̞̳̈͋͛̊̍̅̚̕͝͝ ̶̛̝̯̻̺̤͇̫̙̪̪͂̽̎̋̍̇̎̈́͊̂͌̌̌̇̕͜ͅE̷̛̲͉̼̣̝͆͒͊̑̓͊̀̎̑̇́̏̓͛̇͑͒͒̇̔x̵͖̝̝͇̳̥̰̣̰͈̝͛͐͋͗ç̵̜͈͖͈̮̖̤͕̫̐u̷͍̠͈̭̝͋͌̑̿͊͆̎̒͑̆͌͌͐͆́̔͆̕s̷̡̛̮̭̭̞͈͕̫͎̙͉̩͓͑̾͋̀͑̄͌̆̋͋́̇͘͠ͅe̷̡̗͖͗̑͂̎̅͆̊̓̿̿́̊̿̈́̌͝͠ ̸̧̨̨̩͍͍̻̮̙̠̞̭̻̤̫̖̜̞͖̅̈́͐͋͝ͅm̶̨̡̧͇̞̞͇̹̈̉͊̈́̋͒͑̏̽̃͘͘e̴̛̫̱̠̱͓͆̈́̓̔̾̉͛̈́̿͋̉̊̀͌͜͝?̵̟͇̹̝́͆̒̉̋͊̊̇̋̌̓̋̉̽̏̃͝ ̵̟̞̖̫͇̤̪̺͎͙͖̭̳̬̓̀̄☠̵̹̦̠̞̼̍̕ ⛥
… Apologize…? and then… then….
…then…?
[Prime,] Alpha Build calls, snapping him from his thoughts, [what now?]
With a sigh, Doctor looks around and takes in the surroundings. They've returned to the Residence, their home –though he doesn't know if Hayi would still want to call this place that. Alhaitham hasn't said a single word along the journey but, according to Alpha Build, he isn't asleep either. That might prove to be more concerning.
[Prime,] Alpha Build calls again, more impatient this time.
Slightly biting his lower lip, Doctor steps up to open the door but he doesn't enter yet. He can see Alexei emerging from the corridor to greet them so he pointedly faces him to stop him in his tracks.
Alexei soundlessly halts his steps, fearing that he has done something wrong. Then, seeing as His Lordship continues to say nothing but keeps facing his way, Alexei quickly understands. He respectfully bows his head and returns from whence he came, making sure that there are no other pairs of eyes around.
Having their privacy assured, Doctor turns to look at Alpha Build who's still carrying Alhaitham on his back, unsure when to put him down. Slowly he reaches out to pat Alhaitham's head again, causing Alhaitham's pairs of wings to twitch alive under his coat.
Doctor doesn't know if what he will say is the correct thing to say but it has to be said so it's with fearful heart he asks, “Can you walk by yourself?”
That question causes Alpha Build to look at Prime as if he's crazy. But before he can say anything, Alhaitham is already shifting on his back to get down. Thus he is preoccupied with gently getting Alhaitham to the ground.
Alhaitham sways a little when his feet touch the ground. To that, both Doctor and Alpha Build might have overreacted by flaring their wings as they spread their arms towards Alhaitham just in case they have to catch him. But, they probably look as if they're trying to corner him instead because Alhaitham immediately flinches and steps away from them in fear.
Fear. Yes. It's fear. His mate is avoiding him because of fear.
It hurts. Oh, it hurts.
But this is not about him so Doctor chokes down his pain and asks in the most soothing voice he can muster, “Do you want to take off your coat?”
Alhaitham doesn't answer verbally. He simply tightens the coat around himself and takes a shaky step forward. He sways so easily and his new pair of wings uncontrollably flap around, trying to stabilize himself. Alpha Build quickly rushes to the front of Alhaitham and steadies him by the shoulders.
What's left of Waqa’s appearance can only be described as the horror of war but his remaining eyes look up to Alhaitham with as much earnest worry he can muster, “Where do you want to go?” he asks, rather desperate, “please tell me. I can carry you there.”
Unfortunately, Alhaitham seems to not want the attention as he simply curls to himself and staggers past him. Unsure of what to do, Waqa looks at Doctor for help. But Doctor himself doesn't have any answer as he simply purses his lips and shakes his head a little, telling him to leave Alhaitham be.
Astonished, Alpha Build yells to the link, [He can barely stand stably and he's about to climb the stairs!] he angrily points out, wings flared in frustration.
Prime sighs and follows Alhaitham, his wings twitching behind him, [But he currently doesn't want to receive any ‘help’ from us.]
Alpha Build freezes up before his entire shoulders and wings droop down dejectedly.
Oh….
Well out of his depth, Alpha Build resorts to the only thing he ever knows, [Can I go get him some flowers?]
Prime's wings droop in exasperation. Given the context, the amount of stupidity in that sentence alone is preposterous to be uttered by him.
But Prime knows that it's not Alpha Build's fault that he's not created for this kind of purpose so he sighs to the link and dutifully says, [It'd be bad if you leave Alhaitham without a word even if he's not engaging with you,] sighing again, his wings weakly flick before drooping even more, [Bear with the uncertainty for a bit longer. At least until he feels safe.]
Although the answer Prime gives him is less than ideal, Alpha Build finds that to be acceptable. So Waqa silently rushes to catch up with them and silently guards Alhaitham from behind as they slowly ascend the stairs, making sure he won't slip. Patiently keeping his silence even though according to his code of conduct he should have been brute forcing the problem by now.
Unfortunately, when Alhaitham finally reaches the top of the stairs and almost arrives at the master bedroom, Prime is the one who ruins everything.
[Don't do it.]
[Do it. See if that'll help.]
[No. Don't. Please don't.]
Prime's breathing is getting heavier by the second the silence stretches for too long. Each step they take towards their bedroom, their nest, without any word spoken terrifies him to no end.
Their nest is supposed to be their safe place. It's the place where they're simply a pair of mated Avians. If they go there now, the memory of this day will forever etch itself into their memory.
Thus, even though his judgment says he shouldn't, Doctor ambushes the coated figure of his mate with a tight hug.
Unable to bear any reaction Alhaitham might have towards his hug, Prime tightly shuts his eyes and desperately whispers in Snezhnayan, “...Do you want me to get brother-in-law?” he offers though his heart is so afraid that Alhaitham will say yes.
Startled by Prime's deviant behavior but then becoming furious when he hears what Prime says, Alpha Build intends to scream at him through the link. But he can't even transmit a single word as he's immediately barraged by a flood of emotions Prime is feeling. He feels fear from the wave. But it is normal. He gets it. What he doesn't get and can't handle is the sheer feeling of hopeless resignation Prime is feeling.
Doctor presses Alhaitham's head under his chin and only then is he brave enough to open his eyes again, “Do you want to go home to Sumeru?” he offers again, voice cracking from sadness.
Silence as Doctor can feel Alhaitham shivering in his hug. Silence as Alpha Build wants to say that Prime is joking and Alhaitham isn't allowed to leave. Silence as ‘Dottore' stew in fear.
The silence is broken when Alhaitham lets out a sad wail followed by loud cries, “Shut up!” he snaps as he tightly clenches Doctor's shoulders and holds him close, “shut up!” he repeats again, sounding so desperate and defeated, “why won't you ever shut up?! You make me want to stay so please…,” his voice trails off into something quiet, sad, and scared as he begs, “please don't discard me.”
“Where are you hiding him?” Arlecchino asks Omega Build Dottore, fully accusing him right from the start.
With a smile on his lips, Dottore dramatically gestures at the ornate box next to him, wings spread a little in a show of dramatics.
Arlecchino’s eyebrow twitches as she spares the time to, at the very least, assess the size of the box before quickly deciding that she has wasted her time and glares at Dottore, “Hiding the man responsible for the rebellion is a severe crime that even you won't be pardoned from, Dottore,” she growls in annoyance.
Dottore mutely stares at Arlecchino before he sagely nods his head in agreement, annoying Arlecchino to no end.
At the exchange, Pulcinella can't help but laugh amusedly as he moves to sit at the seat next to them. The seat further from the box though. Because, considering Dottore, the content of that box won't possibly be easy on his stomach.
“Although I am certainly in no position to say this because of my inexperience in this field, I will still kindly ask that you relax, Arlecchino,” Pulcinella placates her as he plays with his mustache, “our job is done here.”
The haze of anger in Arlecchino’s eyes is instantly replaced with ice cold, calculative indignation, “That would be incorrect as my duty would be serving the right punishment to our target. I won't be so angry if your group didn't ‘improvise’ our plan and just go as planned. Now, what am I supposed to do that my target is nowhere to be found?"
Pulcinella kindly smiles widely at Arlecchino's implicit accusation. He's about to smooth things out, but, before he can say anything, he's interrupted by Dottore's raised pointer finger that cuts into their conversation. Both Pulcinella and Arlecchino turn to look at Dottore, one curious and the other annoyed, wondering what The Doctor has to say.
Dottore smiles when he gets their attention and, without further ado, he starts gesturing with his hands… talking in sign language…. Why?
A blood vessel twitches on Arlecchino's neck, “Is this a joke to you?” she hisses angrily as she crosses her arms, refraining herself from throwing hands at Dottore.
Dottore simply tilts his head and sends her a confused smile, wings drooping slightly to complete the look.
“You haven't talked since we've regrouped,” Capitano points out as he walks in and joins them, bravely sitting next to the box, “is there any particular reason you haven't talked?” he asks, of concern for someone that mostly works behind the scene and actively participates in the field for the first time more than anything but Arlecchino quickly adds in her suspicion.
“Are you afraid that whatever you said here will be held against you?” Arlecchino asks, eyes narrowing in suspicion that's more prominent than before.
There's still a smile on Dottore's lips but it is as if the smile is just his default expression, lacking the mischief he has shown this far. Then, without wavering in the slightest under Arlecchino's piercing stare, he starts signing again. Arlecchino grits her teeth, well annoyed now especially with the way Dottore is signing deliberately slow as if he's being patient with them. The fact that they don't understand him because they don't know sign language is another salt sprinkled onto the wound.
But before she can unleash her wrath, Childe's voice pipes in and freezes everyone up, “I thought your mate was already dead?”
Arlecchino slowly and woodenly turns around to pin an unnerving stare at Childe but he doesn't have the time to acknowledge her because he's already busy trying to backtrack due to the stare Pulcinella is sending him, “Wait. Wait. I'm so sorry. That was harsh. I shouldn't have said it that way. Uh… did they desecrate your mate?” he panickedly asks, wings flared anxiously.
The rest of the Harbingers stare at him as if he's stupid.
Blinking, Childe's wings slowly puff up in a slow dawning terror at the realization that he has asked for something much more fucked up so casually, “I MEAN-”
“Since you're certainly not versed in tact, who don't you just shut up, Childe?” Pulcinella asks, glaringly rude that Childe can't help but wince and folds his wings meekly.
“But it seems that you can understand what Dottore is saying,” Capitano says, trying to keep the atmosphere civil, “can you interpret for us?”
Childe's wings ruffle at the attention from the person he looks up to and he coughs to his fist, “Yea. Of course,” he agrees, not quite looking at Capitano.
The corner of Dottore's mouth twitches. It's unknown if it's from annoyance or something else. But he doesn't dwell on it further and simply flicks his wings before he starts to sign.
“‘I… managed to… revive my mate…?’” Childe says as he interprets Dottore's hand signs with much skepticism, when Dottore doesn't try to correct him and instead continue to sign, Childe pretends there's nothing weird and continues to interpret, “‘neither your intel nor that fanatic’s managed to inform us that Samuil's family is also partaking in the rebellion. The good thing is that because of their ambush, we have now completely eradicated them. The bad thing is that my mate was caught in the crossfire and died again in the process. Therefore, pardon me for keeping my voice to myself. I don't want to lose myself in anger and blame all of you for being…,’” Childe trails off in hesitation but when Dottore stills along with him, unnervingly staring at him with a plastic smile, Childe continues with a grimace, “‘incompetent.’”
Arlecchino scoffs and thankfully, although she still glares at Childe a little, redirects her attention towards Dottore, “Then why would you stay in this incompetent group, I wonder. Is it perhaps to claim all the prestige of killing the leader?”
Dottore lets out a condescending snort before he starts signing again.
Y'know, Childe really wonders why they'd want to trash talk each other like this but he can't exactly say anything here except dutifully interpreting, “‘Why… do… monkey…? Oh, do such a meaningless thing?’”
Satisfied, Dottore tilts his head and smiles at Arlecchino, mocking. To further prove his point, he silently takes the box and hands it to Pulcinella. Pulcinella stiffens up when the box is pushed to his face and he can smell blood but he pretends that he's okay and accepts the box with a grateful smile.
Dottore raises his hands with an airy smile as if saying “well”. Arlecchino's eye twitches because of it while Capitano simply droops his head with a sigh. Ah whatever. Why would they bother with the details?
[How's Hayi?] Sigma Build asks to the link as he pushes a hospital bed into a room with white walls and observation mirror.
[I know nothing else except for what you can already see through the shared database,] Alpha Build answers after a while, probably only bothered to answer just out of a little bit of kindness –strange as it may sound.
Which is why Zazan pauses completely and gazes emptily at his hands, which are holding the bed rails as handles to push the bed. ‘He’ is not kind, not even to himself.
Sigma Build lets out a shaky sigh and tilts his head up, uncaring if the harsh glare of the lamp is hurting his eyes, [How much does he hate me?] he asks, his eyes slowly tearing up though he puts all the blame on the light.
[How'd I know that?] Alpha Build snaps to the link, annoyed that his little kindness to share an update to Sigma Build is taken advantage of and turned into a counseling session.
Sigma Build clenches his eyes shut and sucks in a breath to calm himself down, “True,” he mutters to himself as he resumes his job at setting up the place.
It's useless to get so caught up in that. Only time will tell. And Zazan is determined to bring up a result that will make Hayi forgives him faster.
Steeled, Zazan pats the bed rail when he has pushed the bed to the correct position before leaving the room to get his test subject.
The underground part of his lab is completely dark except for the flickering emergency light there and there. This is certainly a tripping hazard. Unfortunately, they have to lay low for the moment so repairing the infrastructure will take some time. Not that Zazan is concerned much about it. He'd be too busy to care about such a thing.
His test subject silently lies on the bed, living completely off bypass. It's honestly such a shame that he has to use such an advanced instrument for this test subject. Oh, why can't he just be healthy as a test subject? It isn't like he has much worth than that.
Snorting in contempt, Zazan takes the clipboard attached to the bed and writes on the chart.
Reproductive Research of Divinity
-Day 1-
Starting the experiment. Due to the condition of the test subject, life-saving protocol is needed to ensure his survival.
Test subject is currently in a coma and will be kept that way until the desired evolution takes hold in his body.
Status: comatose
Procedure: starting with implanting the crystal nodes required to bind the essence of the god's remains.
Notes: -
Notes:
Sorry for the shorter than usual chapter but no heavy angst. I'm currently detoxing from caffeine so my brain has been kinda slow. Hopefully I don't have to have a hiatus. I really want to finish this fic before Snezhnaya comes out.
Chapter Text
Being inexperienced in a relationship doesn't excuse him from all the hurtful things he had done to his mate. Doctor is aware that the reason Alhaitham is hurting is partially because of him and him alone. The distance he put between him and Alhaitham was his own selfish precaution so that he doesn't get burnt.
As Omega Build had –literally– tried to drill into his head, that's not how you're supposed to manage a relationship. If you want to be happy then be happy together. Sacrifice a little so that you get burnt together, sharing the hardship with each other.
It's stupid. But, apparently, that's just how love is. It's not that love makes people stupid but it needs a decorum of stupidity to work.
…In a way… that feels demeaning.
But… Alhaitham is still tightly clenching his shoulders. Crying so loudly –Oh so afraid and desperate that he would be discarded. He never even have the slightest of that intention. He did this to him.
It's all a mess because of him. He was so stupid. He shouldn't have forwarded that condition in their deal –at least not when he is this emotionally weak towards Alhaitham. Oh, but why does that matter now? They've both fallen for each other. It doesn't even matter that he doesn't know since when.
What matters is that they're plummeting down right now. Not yet crashing –at least he hopes so– but it's already hurting. Rather than scrutinizing what he should have done, won't it be better if he makes things right?
After all, he's Prime.
With that, Doctor returns his attention to the reality of what he had done. Alhaitham is still sobbing on his chest. Each sorrowful wail coming from Alhaitham's lips is cutting him deeply. He can sense Alpha Build agitatedly pacing somewhere behind him, wanting to drive him away from Alhaitham yet too afraid of upsetting Alhaitham even more. And he is still tightly hugging Alhaitham close, afraid that he will disappear.
….
Truly, this is stupid.
He offered Alhaitham to leave him when he didn't want him to leave. Alhaitham is very upset because he keeps offering him to leave. Alpha Build is agitated because he doesn't like getting Alhaitham all sad.
Isn't the solution incredibly simple? Alhaitham simply needs to stay. Why did he keep offering him to leave, anyway?
… Oh, right. It's because he wants him to be safe. Having a relationship with him is the fastest way to get killed.
[Not anymore,] Sigma Build suddenly pipes in through the link, snapping Prime from his thoughts, [you know very well that you offered to call brother-in-law to return and bring Hayi home because you can't cope with the realization that you've ultimately failed to separate Hayi from our work,] he heartlessly accuses, tone flat as if he's saying that while deeply focusing on something else, [therefore, I'm telling you, for what Hayi currently is, there's no safer place in Teyvat other than next to us.]
Prime's wings twitch and he freezes completely. He can hear Alpha Build abruptly stopping before slowly stalking into the corner of his periphery, very careful in not making any noise that can upset Alhaitham now that he has stopped crying and simply holding him tight, unwilling to let go.
… Sigma Build isn't wrong. In fact, he's entirely correct. Alhaitham is like ‘him’ now. He's as much of a blasphemy as him. He's the safest if he stays by his side.
And judging from the way he can see Alpha Build glaring dagger at him from the corner of his eyes, it's only wise that he keeps Alhaitham close no matter what. Be it for Alhaitham or for himself.
Doctor carefully inhales a deep breath as he starts soothingly patting the back of Alhaitham's head. Alhaitham immediately tenses up. Doctor can't tell if it's out of fear or disgust but he pretends to not notice it. The least he can do for Alhaitham at this point is to ignore his own comfort until Alhaitham feels better. Besides, Alhaitham isn't trying to get away from him.
But… just because he knows what to do doesn't mean he's capable of communicating his mistake. But since it's Alhaitham, he has the option to sing it. Alhaitham will understand. Somehow he can and Doctor never realizes just how grateful he's until today.
Assured that Alhaitham is calm enough to listen, though he's definitely still angry at him, Doctor starts the song with a coo.
It's but a humble note. Soft to the point it's almost smothered by the sound of the wind whistling through the windowsill. It's just a call for his mate, asking him where he is, asking him if he's willing to listen to him. It's the humblest noise ‘Dottore' ever made. So so fearful but still he desperately tries.
What follows after is another pathetic coo. A confession of his sin. Whispered right into Alhaitham's ears out of Shame.
Afterwards, Doctor lets out another coo. An apology. For promising something he could never fulfill. For breaking the promise before fulfilling even one of them. For hurting him under the pretense of his sake.
Next is another coo, and Doctor’s Avian noise cracks as he lets the sound out. Pathetic. So utterly pathetic. He has a wide array of Avian noise so why can he only let out sad coos.
Yet, no matter how hard Doctor racks his brain, the next sound he makes is another coo. His voice breaks then, causing the already pathetic sounding noise to fizzle into nothing.
Doctor freezes, eyes staring blankly as he feels his chest drop into the Abyss. It's over. He's a good for nothing mate that can't even sing an apology.
But, to Doctor's surprise, the moment his voice disappears, Alhaitham caresses his cheek before gently pulling away. He looks up at Doctor with an undeserved amount of concern. In return, Doctor can see Alhaitham's face because of it.
His mate… is the most gorgeous Avian ‘Dottore' has ever laid his eyes on. From the first time he laid his eyes on him even until this moment, never once did his mind ever change. His eyes are always his favorite. They are always so pretty. They always shine so brightly with intelligence. They always gaze at him as if he's his mate, the bestest one he could ever ask. Even if there's a crack that starts from one of his pupils and extends to his cheek before disappearing just under his ear, they're still pretty.
Doctor loses sight of Alhaitham's face when his mask is carefully taken off but the visage he so deeply cherishes quickly returns when his beloved cups both of his cheeks.
“Doctor,” Alhaitham calls, thumbs caressing away drops of tears he wasn't even aware of from his cheeks, “why are you crying?”
Ah, there it is. The care he never deserved.
Instantly, tears start to flow from Doctor's eyes as he grits his teeth, silently crying as he gazes at Alhaitham, not daring to close his eyes out of fear that it will be the last time he lays his eyes on his mate.
Doctor can start to feel the pain then. The kind of emotional pain he never had the chance to build resistance from that causes him to slightly double over Alhaitham. It's like a dam has been broken. He starts to sob. Right in front of Alhaitham's face, his face contorts disgracefully with all the regret and shame he felt all these centuries. Despite so, he continues to let out his Avian noise, cooing desperately for forgiveness even if his voice has already been distorted as pathetic as it can.
Like this, he has as much dignity as his youngest Segment.
Yet still, Alhaitham gently presses their forehead together and comfortingly sings a song to calm him down.
Haha, what in Abyss is this supposed to be? Alhaitham is the one who's hurting the most. He definitely doesn't deserve this. So why does he still care so much?
He deserves to be hurting alone.
So Doctor grabs both of Alhaitham's wrists, wanting to pull away, but it feels as if his hands are stuck to Alhaitham's wrists as he simply holds them in place and leans more to Alhaitham instead of pushing away. Then, without even having the time to process what's happening, he starts to cry. Like a human this time.
The stench of blood with a hint of charred flesh can still pierce through the surgical mask Zazan is wearing as he mends one crystal node after another into Subject 1’s stomach. In a more typical procedure, he would implant seven nodes at the base of the subject's limbs but for this one he is only implanting five nodes around Subject 1’s abdominal cavity. The amount of crystal nodes implanted controls the degree of evolution of the test subject and by focusing it on this area, hopefully the outcome is much more foreseeable than usual.
And, since he's decreasing the scope of evolution to the abdominal area, Zazan hopes the rest of the body doesn't reject the mutated part or the evolution takes turn into forming a cancerous mass. It'll be such a shame if that happens. Keeping this test subject alive with his whole guts gone would cost much more than its worth.
Ah, here Zazan is, starting an experiment outside of his scope of expertise. It should have been Prime's research, not his. But Prime has to check on Alhaitham's condition. In the meantime, since he has learned how to implant the nodes, it's better to have a head start by implanting them. When it really comes to it, Prime will be the one to oversee the process.
… Zazan feels icky knowing that his oldest Segment is currently crying.
[Make sure to check the extent of Alhaitham's evolution once you've snapped out of it, Prime,] Zazan says to the link, hoping to get the situation on track, [you know, like what you're supposed to do the moment Alhaitham arrives home?]
There's no response from the link –at least not the one that he desired, [I'm going to get some flowers,] Alpha Build announces to the link.
Zazan meticulously makes sure he doesn't rush to finish the process of mending one of the crystal nodes to the test subject’s pelvic bone before he calmly withdraws his hands from the body and takes a step back. He closes his eyes to rest from all the red as he tilts his head up and takes a deep calming breath, pretending that he's having a date with Alhaitham and the thick fishy smell of blood is not assaulting his nostrils. For a moment there, everything is peaceful.
Unfortunately, Zazan's head throbs, breaking the immersion. He snaps his eyes open with a growl as his wings flex in anger.
Why? Just why is he the only one with a sense of urgency around here? And he's the one handling a very important experiment. Shouldn't he be the one to have some relaxation first?
Zazan's eyes return to the test subject lying on the operating table and gain a newfound hate. He has opened the test subject’s body. It'll be more efficient if he finishes the procedure before closing it up. Actually, he shouldn't be grumbling like this either because Subject 1 still possesses the body of a human thus he's at the risk of crashing each second he leaves him open.
But damn, Zazan really feels like procrastinating right now.
-
Reproductive Research of Divinity
-Day 1-
Log 2:
Implanting the crystal nodes. The amount of crystal nodes implanted is reduced into 5 and are planted in the stomach to focus on mutating the abdominal cavity into a hospitable place to transplant the womb for the reproduction process.
Status: drug induced comatose
Procedure: a cut similar to an autopsy cut was done to expose the abdominal cavity before the crystal nodes were manually planted. 2 noses were planted on the pelvic bones, 1 was planted on the spine, and 2 were planted on the rib bones.
Notes: Subject 1 crashed 5 times because I was quite unmotivated so it might have developed some form of permanent brain damage. (No, you can't judge me, Prime. You were having a meltdown while I did all the dirty work)
Alpha Build, true to his words, had left them to get some flowers.
Doctor stares into Alhaitham's eyes with his puffy eyes and Alhaitham returns the stare with his own puffy eyes.
Hesitantly, Doctor parts his lips, “I… am so sorry,” he whispers, repeating the syllables he has uttered for so many times in the last hour with his hoarse voice.
Alhaitham continues to silently stare back for a moment longer before he looks away, wings folded to himself in a hug, “I know. You've repeated that so many times now,” he quietly says, sounding so withdrawn as if Doctor's apology doesn't mean a thing to him.
Doctor thinks that's fair and he should step back from him now. He doesn't deserve forgiveness let alone his mate's affection. At least that's what he should do if Alhaitham is a stranger. But Alhaitham is his mate and he matters a lot to him.
Being overly considerate towards boundaries is reserved for strangers, not his mate. When it comes to his mate, he should act irrational. He should have been that way since the beginning.
Maybe… he still has a chance?
As if his life depends on it, Doctor wraps his arms around Alhaitham and hugs him tightly.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings twitch in surprise, causing the coat covering him up to slide off his wings, exposing him to the cold air. Alhaitham pretends as if there's nothing wrong with that and simply melts into Doctor's hug. Doctor respects that. Even though he's supposed to check on Alhaitham's condition, he pretends that there's nothing wrong. If Alhaitham doesn't feel like addressing it right now… then feigning ignorance for the moment is alright.
Waqa can sense the servant's eyes on him even if he tries to be discreet. He doesn't particularly care about it though. Right now, what he cares about is deciding which flower from the Residence's garden will make Hayi happy.
Actually, why not flowers? It's better if he brings Hayi a full bouquet rather than just a flower right?
Satisfied, Waqa approaches the nearest flower bed with intent before pausing once more.
He… still doesn't know which flowers he should bring.
Waqa hesitates for but a second before his jaw tightens and he barks, “Alexei!”
Said servant jumps so high as if his soul is leaving his body. For a moment, he stands there, breathing heavily, considering if running away would simply be safer. But at the next second he closes his eyes in resignation, sending prayers to the Tsaritsa, before he hurries to his master who looks like he's about to cleave his head for making him wait due to his incompetence.
“What could I possibly be of help, My Lord?” Alexei asks, his voice manages to stay controlled despite the way his limbs tremble heavily from fear.
Alexei still stands by his opinion that His Lordship is simply the worst. All versions of him, without an exception, are all humanity’s greatest enemy. His Lordship the Alpha Build is the prime example though. Alexei’s fear for him is primal on top of the usual fear reserved for His Lordship.
“Do you know how to arrange flowers?” Alpha Build asks, straight to the point and without a hint of embarrassment as if he's asking the most normal thing in the world.
Alexei's utter fear for him is the only thing that prevents him from choking on his own spit and coughing inelegantly. Admittedly, in some social contexts, His Lordship question really is the most normal thing in the world. It's way too normal, in fact, that Alexei can't help but stare at His Lordship with a gaping mouth like a mannerless peasant.
Alpha Build's wings flex in agitation at having his time wasted because he's made to wait for an answer to a yes/no question, “You're Lady Alhaitham's servant. Make yourself useful,” he coldly orders before he turns to scrutinize the flowers.
Alexei instantly locks in. Firstly, he wants to praise His Ladyship. He hopes His Ladyship lives a long fulfilling life. Truly marvelous. His Lordship literally just let his incompetence slide simply on the fact that he's His Ladyship's servant. Oh, Alexei wants to swear his allegiance to His Ladyship all over again.
But it's best that he doesn't flirt with death altogether so he quickly rushes to His Lordship’s side and inquires, “Forgive the impudence, My Lord. This humble servant was merely assessing if I am capable enough to qualify as having the knowledge.”
Alpha Build glances at the servant with a little bit of interest, after all he has a soft spot for those who don't overestimate themselves, “Well, are you?”
Alexei parts his lips, closes them again because of nerves, before he opens them again and answers, “I possess some insight of it.”
Alpha Build raises an eyebrow before his wings flick and he motions Alexei to come closer. In any case, the insight the servant possesses is definitely more than what he knows.
“Teach me how to arrange a bouquet for Lady Alhaitham,” Alpha Build orders.
Alexei's motions of coming closer immediately turn stiff and slow. What does His Lordship mean by teaching him. By Tsaritsa, has he bitten off more than he can chew? If His Ladyship doesn't like the bouquet His Lordship arranges for him won't that mean a death sentence for him?
I- is it too late to run away now? Alexei has saved enough money to live lavishly without work for the rest of his life. It would be such a pity if he dies before he can spend them, won't it?
'So what? Are you going to pretend you don't hear His Lordship and runs off?'
With the resignation of a man upon death row, Alexei exhales all regrets in his heart and marches to his doom, “May I know the purpose of the bouquet, My Lord?”
Alpha Build looks at Alexei with wide eyes, slightly surprised at the question, “... To make him happy?”
Alexei quietly looks down at the snow-covered soil, hoping with everything that the smile on his lips looks polite rather than grimly resigned, before he asks for more clues, “What does My Lord wish to convey with the bouquet?”
Alpha Build frowns as he regards Alexei with a glaring eye, confused at the purpose of the questions and a little bit annoyed by them. The look he sends Alexei is complete with dried blood painting his face with traces of gore, evidence of what he had been doing prior to returning. That look scares the shit out of Alexei.
Thankfully, before Alexei can beg for his life and accidentally annoy Alpha Build for real, Alpha Build answers, “how about ‘I’m sorry for turning you into a monster’?”
Alexei stills completely. Hesitantly, he braves his fear to have a look at His Lordship's expression, trying to judge just how serious and literal His Lordship is currently being.
Alpha Build stares back at Alexei as if he says nothing wrong. Then he raises an eyebrow as the time goes on, wondering why this servant is suddenly so quiet.
Ever so slowly, a thin smile blooms on Alexei's lips.
Ah. Please. Just kill him.
Chapter 86
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Hm, one can never truly realize just how tired they are until they finally get the chance to let down their guard.
Having a breakdown once in a while sure feels nice. The only problem is that Doctor isn't sure if he's allowed to do it. Does he even have the right to when it was he who caused all these?
Doctor sucks in a shaky breath as he closes his eyes, pushing out some more tears from his eyes, before he starts calming down. Alhaitham, forever being the person he never deserved that he is, gently brushes his tears away before letting out a soft squeal, asking if he's alright now.
To that, Doctor may or may not push out a couple more tears as he circles his arms around Alhaitham's waist and hugs him tight, silently asking him to stay like that for longer. Then he presses his chin on Alhaitham's head, making sure that he won't be able to see his face. Doctor’s heartbeat starts to race as his wings twitch anxiously from shame and inner conflict.
He knows he doesn't have the right to bask in Alhaitham's comfort after all he had done like this. If he were Alhaitham he would've left long ago. But he's too desperate and selfish to just let Alhaitham go like that. He's… too emotionally attached now.
He loves his mate.
Quietly, Alhaitham circles his arms around Dottore's waist and hugs back. Doctor can't see his face but he can see how his pairs of wings shiver and tremble with buried pain. Ah, Doctor can feel Alhaitham's shoulders shake. He's the one crying now.
The fact that Doctor doesn't exactly know how to comfort Alhaitham in return truly speaks volumes of his incompetence. He can offer Alhaitham another chance to leave him. But he doesn't know if that's what Alhaitham needs to hear. He… no longer has the capability to offer that anymore.
So, with the clumsiness of someone who's doing it for the first time, Doctor hugs Alhaitham tighter and whispers ever so softly, “I'm so sorry, Hayi.”
To that, Alhaitham starts to openly sob and cry as he completely melts into the hug. Unlike when he got mad at him before, he's now crying in anguish. Doctor personally can't comprehend how his mate can bear to repress this amount of grief. It would have been better if he beat him already instead of hugging him like this. Doctor knows he deserves that.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings flex before he pushes away from Doctor. Doctor has to bite his tongue to pretend that he doesn't feel hurt but that's unimportant. What's important is how Alhaitham is clenching his jaw and tightly folding his lips so that his face doesn't contort into sadness as he glares at him with wet eyes.
Doctor wants to pull him close again. He wants to hug him again, ask him what's wrong and shield him from any pain. But he knows that he's the cause of his pain so Doctor clenches his hands into fists to refrain himself and waits for what Alhaitham will say.
Alhaitham's tough face quickly crumbles as his lips wobble and tears start to flow down his wet cheeks once more. Doctor's hands twitch, wanting to hold Alhaitham's face against his better judgement, but he stops himself when Alhaitham roughly wipes the tears from his cheeks, his pairs of wings drooping and shivering from forcefully buried sorrow. Doctor's own wings droop as he sadly looks at Alhaitham, waiting at the ready for his punishment.
“Doctor…,” Alhaitham whispers amidst his tears from under the hand shielding his mate from his sorrow, “what have you done to me?” he asks, extremely hurt, and his pairs of wings cocoon his body for comfort before he crumbles to the floor, crying louder.
Zazan throws himself onto a chair with a tired huff. Fucking finally. He had spent too much of his time making sure that Subject 1's body wouldn't reject the crystal nodes.
Zazan crosses his arms as he idly spins the chair around, deeply thinking. As long as the time he has spent to implant the crystal nodes, Prime is still taking longer trying to assess Alhaitham. So that means he's not behind the schedule.
But….
Zazan abruptly pauses his chair spin and returns to face Subject 1. He frowns in annoyance at the signs of necrosis around the five areas of the newly implanted crystal nodes. His wings flex, almost flaring in an explosion of anger, but they quickly slump bonelessly in exasperation.
Zazan judges that Subject 1 will reach its expiration date soon if he doesn't move onto the next stage already.
Sighing, Zazan stands up from his chair and walks up to a cabinet. Necrosis is always tricky to deal with in this kind of experiment. Because the source of the necrosis is the subject's blood vessels unable to quickly adapt to the body's new additions. There's a chance that the subject's body will be able to adapt the crystal nodes and resolve the necrosis with a little help but this is an experiment which he can't afford to fail this early.
Sighing as his eyebrows twitch from annoyance, Zazan takes some saline bags and returns to the experiment table. He hooks 2 of the bags at the same time and connects them to the IV drip. Then he goes back to the cabinet to take a vial of antibiotic and steroid.
Zazan is not too keen on continuing the experiment on his own. For the next step, he have to consult with Prime. Unfortunately, it seems like Prime is not yet in the right state of mind to deliver objective judgment. So he'll have to hold on and try to extend the shelf life of Subject 1.
Zazan throws himself back onto the chair and sits there, arms crossed. He’ll have to observe for now and inject either antibiotic or steroid when the necrosis shows signs of worsening.
So damn annoying. Waiting like this instead of taking a head start for his next part. After this step is done and Subject 1 is stabilized, Prime will oversee the injection of the god’s remains. Next, it'll be Zazan's job again to implant the uterus needed for the location of the experiment. Which extremely sucks because he hasn't had the time to figure out whether to grow one from Alhaitham's cells or to use an organ from a donor then calibrate the cells with that of Subject 1’s. Theoretically, option 2 is more preferable because it's more time efficient but the purpose of this experiment is to eliminate dangerous variables that might occur when Alhaitham gets pregnant.
Sighing in defeat, Zazan tightly folds his wings and scowls at Subject 1 in silence.
No can do. Necrosis is unstable and gets worse in silence. If he turns his eyes away, the time he notices that it has worsened is when Subject 1 is already inches away from death’s door.
Reproductive Research of Divinity
-Day 1-
Log 3:
The crystal nodes had been successfully implanted. Unfortunately, Subject 1 showed signs of necrosis due to the implants. Starting the next step of the experiment was recommended to enhance the subject's constitution. Subject was put on observation for the moment with two saline bags for hydration.
Status: drug induced comatose
Procedure: the Subject was subconsciously squirming from pain despite being heavily drugged. Diagnosis reveals that Subject 1’s abdomen was blackening under the skin. It was concluded that necrosis has appeared in Subject 1's abdomen as per the observations with previous similar test subjects.
Subject was put on observation until further instruction.
Notes: -
Doctor's whole body jolts. He really wants to rush towards Alhaitham and check if he's okay. But right before his hands reach him, he freezes as he kneels before his mate. Now that he's this close, he can hear Alhaitham's soft heart wrenching sobs.
Awkwardly, Doctor retracts his hands and wrings them as he gazes at Alhaitham in pain, “I turned you into a monster,” Doctor confesses steadily, he has to at least admit to his crime.
Alhaitham's breath hitches as his pairs wings twitch heavily, causing Doctor's own wings to droop in sadness and fear, “I…,” he continues, losing strength in his voice, “turned you into ‘me’,” ah, his cheeks feel wet again, “I'm so sorry,” he says after a sniffle.
Alhaitham's wings tremble. He chokes on his own sobs as he continues to stay hidden under the cocoon of his wings. This close, Doctor can discern the emotions behind his mate's sobs.
Alhaitham does not sound sad. He sounds horrified. Doctor doesn't know if that's better or worse.
“Then…,” Alhaitham weakly starts while choking down more of his cries as he pushes himself up before folding back his pairs of wings and looking straight into Doctor's eyes, “what now?” he asks, voice barely above a pained whisper.
Doctor’s breath hitches as his heart stutters.
Oh, what has he done?
Except for the new pair of wings and the crack in his eye, Alhaitham physically looks the same. At least for the moment. The major reason Doctor is utterly horrified under Alhaitham's gaze is because he's looking at him with the worst possible feeling he could have given the context.
Trust.
Alhaitham is looking at him for an explanation for what's happening to his body. But he's calm. He's way too calm. As if Alhaitham knows for sure that ‘he’ can make things better.
Doctor's chest immediately constricts with anxiety and he gasps for breath. No. Don't look at me like that, love. I've hurt you too much. Don't forgive me this easily.
Subconsciously, Doctor parts his mouth to say something. But nothing comes out and he can only stiffly shake his head. Alhaitham's expression falls a little and Doctor feels a fraction more relieved.
Alhaitham's breath stutters for a few seconds more before he lets out a calming breath and wipes his tears, “I see. That's alright. I'm sure we can figure something out soon,” he says as he staggers towards their nest.
“NO!” Doctor crows loudly, causing Alhaitham to wince and covers his ears as his feathers ruffle from the pain, as he blocks Alhaitham's way, wings flared wide telling Alhaitham to back off.
Alhaitham sways back from the sudden movement, very off-balance and at the risk of falling. Afraid of his mate getting another injury, Doctor quickly grabs Alhaitham's hands and steady him. But the panic that drove him into yelling is still thumping in his blood so his wings are ruffled and he's panting so heavily that it looks as if he's about to pass out.
Aware of his unsightly appearance, Doctor forcefully calms himself down. He manages to fold his wings back but, as a result, his hands become the outlet of his panic as they clench Alhaitham's wrists until his knuckles turn white. Alhaitham slightly frowns from the pain but Doctor can't let go of his wrists even if wants to.
Instead, Doctor stares at Alhaitham emptily and shakes his head, “D-don’t…” he raspily stutters, “you have to go home. I'm a danger to you. I'll ruin you more than I already have if you stay,” he hurriedly warns in a small voice.
Alhaitham freezes as he looks at Doctor in surprise. His wings subconsciously flare on their own as he stares at Doctor with hurt. Again? After he begged him not to?
But it seems as if Doctor can't read Alhaitham's feelings at all. He woodenly lets go of Alhaitham's wrists and blankly holds his cheeks, cradling Alhaitham's head as gentle as a lover would. But his words hurt more than a knife wound.
“You have to go,” Doctor mumbles to Alhaitham as he gently brushes Alhaitham's cheek, expression blank as if he's under hypnosis, “you can't stay here. The danger is ‘me’.”
There's something extremely sad in Doctor's words and the way he tells it. Alhaitham can sense that Doctor doesn't actually want to say it but he has to. Alhaitham wonders why he keeps telling him to go. Don't they love each other? Why can't they stay together through sickness and health?
“You have to go, love,” Doctor whispers, his voice both sorrowful and resigned, “I'm not a good mate.”
Alhaitham's breath stutters again, the calmness he tries so hard to put himself under quickly disappears after hearing his mate's words.
Doctor is a good mate. It's easily proven with how much he remembers that Alhaitham wants to live a peaceful life –something that he can never provide. Even if Alhaitham said that he has given up on living that way, he's still so fixated on fulfilling that silly wish of his.
It's as heartwarming as much as it hurts.
But Alhaitham has been crying way too much for the last few hours so he lets his instinct take over and slaps some sense into his mate.
… Alhaitham might have not fully comprehended what 'turning into his mate' entails so he accidentally slaps Doctor’s face with more strength than necessary. The result of it is Doctor flying across the room and slams through the bathroom’s wall until it caves. For a moment Doctor lays under the rubbles, dazed, wondering if the shaking he feels is just his skull being rattled or if there's a sudden earthquake.
Alhaitham lets out a squawk of surprise from the result of his uncontrolled strength but he stays rooted to where he is even though deep down he wants to rush to check on his mate. He has a point to make after all. He can only watch from afar right now. Seeing as Doctor seems to be alright if not a bit dazed, Alhaitham steadies his breathing for a moment before he calls his mate.
“‘Dottore’,” Alhaitham calls and Doctor slowly makes eye contact with him, “I'm staying,” he firmly declares.
Instantly, the haze of confusion disappears from Doctor's eyes and he quickly jumps to his feet, “No!,” he loudly disagrees again as he haphazardly brushes off dust from his clothes and wings, he doesn't want to dirty Alhaitham more than he already is, “just why would you-”
“Can't you snap out of it already?” Alhaitham asks and the wetness in his mate's voice urges Doctor to quickly pay attention to him and nothing else, “what makes you think you can just push me away before taking any responsibility?” Alhaitham asks and it hurts him as much as he knows it hurts his mate, “I'm staying and I'll continue to stay by your side,” he declares with teary eyes yet hard determination paints his face cold, “till death do us part.”
Dottore is blushing.
Childe doesn't know why Dottore is blushing and why he is observing him but he chooses to chalk it up with boredom and tension.
Why is he bored? Well, it has something to do with the fact that they're stuck together in this tourism transport vehicle that's moving at a crawling pace along the snowy hills. If his geographical knowledge proves to be correct, they're still a long way from the Citadel. Archon damn it, they should've taken Dottore's transport vehicle but noooo, someone just has to be overly suspicious of Dottore that she refuses.
As if she can sense Childe's thoughts, Arlecchino ever so slowly turns her head to glance at him.
Childe quickly looks away. Not too keen on fighting her in such a tight space. Not that he'll lose. It's just that he can't be so recklessly looking for a fight in a disadvantageous location when Lord Capitano is sitting next to him.
So, about tension. Yeah, the tension is killing him inside.
Some time ago, Dottore has started acting weird –well, weirder than usual. Right now he's blushing red with a big giddy grin on his face as he twiddles with his fingers. Before that, he –still acting like a mute– started having a hissy fit by flaring his wings and agitatedly jumped to his feet, looking so angry he looked as if he's about to rip the transport vehicle apart and flew to the sunset to nuke the sun. Then, he suddenly lost strength and fell to the floor, blankly staring at the thin air while depressedly biting his nails. He did a lot things after that, each weirder than before, but none of the other occupants wanted to deal with him so they decided to just back off and give Dottore some space.
By ‘some’, Childe meant the majority of the transport vehicle.
Haha, they're all Harbingers here so why are they squeezing together at the back just to give Dottore some space for his meltdown?
… Okay, it's because none of them wants to get caught up in Dottore's brand of madness.
Besides, Childe can hardly complain. Sure, he's being squished to the hard metallic wall. But do you know what is squishing him to the wall? Lord Capitano himself.
Childe's wings twitch from how hard he is trying to stifle his grin.
Oh, being squished like this, Childe can just feel how firm Sir Capitano's muscles are. Respectfully, his thighs alone can definitely crush his head.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHEHEHEHOHO!”
A very loud hysterical laughter jolts Childe awake from his thoughts. Mortified, he tense up and extremely woodenly tries to look around for the source of the laughter. Quickly, he finds that he's not the only one surprised by the laugh. Since they're all looking surprised then that can only mean…
Ah, sure enough, it's just Dottore. And since no one is looking at him, that at least means that his thoughts are safe within his mind.
…
Wait, who says Dottore can't read his mind?
“Alexei.”
His Lordship the Alpha Build suddenly calls him and Alexei almost knocks the crystal vase down from nerves. He… is already nervous from being watched closely by His Lordship as he shows him how to prepare for a bouquet. The sudden interruption is wholly unneeded if he wants to live with a healthy heart.
Still, Alexei swallows back his complaint and places the Inazuman floral shears in his hand on the table and bows his head towards his master, “Yes, My Lord?”
Alpha Build thoughtfully stares at the Inazuman floral shears in his hands for a while before –in a voice atypical of His Lordship the Alpha Build– he asks, “Do you think Lady Alhaitham and I can live together?” he asks as he very carefully cuts the stem off a flower he has been holding for a long time now.
Alexei carefully closes his eyes to mask his wince. Just how in Tsaritsa is he supposed to answer that question?
Digging his nails into his gloved fist so that his hands don't tremble, Alexei politely inquires, “Pardon?”
Alpha Build pauses completely before he looks away from the flower in his hand and stares into the horizon, “Do you think…” he quietly starts, almost as if this question is a deep self-rumination, “there's a place Alhaitham and I can love each other freely?”
Alexei pales as he sways, almost fainting, dazed by His Lordship's question.
There are two things Alexei really wants to scream to the sky.
Firstly, His Lordship's low volume must mean that this is not supposed to be heard by anyone else. As honorable as that is, Alexei does not wish to be His Lordship's confidant. Secondly, just how in Tsaritsa is he supposed to answer that? If he answers truthfully and His Lordship dislikes his answer, he dies. If he answers according to what His Lordship wishes to hear and fate decides to play with him, he dies.
In the end, almost dying from stress –funny how cutting the flowers was actually quite relaxing, Alexei chooses to take the safe route, “My Lord, this is Snezhnaya. Nation of the Archon of love.”
At that answer, Alpha Build turns to look at Alexei for a moment before he returns into cutting the flower stems, “I suppose so,” he quietly agrees.
Notes:
Was wondering why the my fix wasn't updating.
I haven't updated the chapter yet, kekw.So like, Mochi has a grass carp plushie, I have killer whale plushie, Alexanderrrrr has headless rats.
Srsly tho, how's he such a good hunter and why does he only eat the head?
Chapter 87
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Contrary to Alhaitham's expectations, Doctor's wings visibly relax, “...Till death do us part?” he quietly whispers, deeply hesitant but… there's hope and restrained relief in his eyes.
Ah. Everything just clicks for Alhaitham then.
His mate is truly selfish.
Doctor does love him. He wants them to stay together. It's just that he doesn't want him getting killed because they're together. He doesn't want to be the reason for his death.
Faced with such difficulty, Doctor simply thinks that separation will be the best solution.
Ahhh…. This fool.
Alhaitham closes his eyes as he lets out a sad sigh, “We're mated for life, idiot,” he softly says before opening his eyes when he feels Doctor cradling his face once more.
Alhaitham holds Doctor's hands and stares up into his mate's eyes. They’re looking at him with so much hope after hearing his insult –as if it's the sign that he has been waiting for, the sign that Alhaitham has finally understood his reason– that Alhaitham can't help but tear up again. Ah, so this is the concern that has been eating his mate alive and making him continuously wonder when he will leave him.
“Stupid,” Alhaitham curses louder as an exasperated smile blooms on his lips, “you're so stupid,” he curses again as his smile becomes more genuine when Doctor’s eyes simply become brighter with hope and joy at his insult.
Alhaitham breathily chuckles as he presses Doctor's hands more to his face, “If I am mated to you for life, of course, I'll die by your side,” he exasperatedly points out as his voice wetly cracks, “I will eventually die whether I'm your mate or not. The only difference would be whether I die in a relationship with you or not,” ah, Alhaitham feels that it's so stupid that he has to explain this, “why are you even considering that it'll be your fault?”
Doctor's wings are actively flapping from happiness now. He looks so goofy as he stares at Alhaitham with such bright eyes like a kid in a candy store. To that sight, Alhaitham can't help but snort and widely smiles in fondness at his mate.
Doctor flinches, as if he just realizes how embarrassing he's acting, but he doesn't try stopping his wings and simply glances away with an awkward smile as red crawls up his cheeks, “Are you sure?” he asks, still avoiding eye contact with Alhaitham but he looks happier than ever.
Oh, this bastard. The nerve. Alhaitham really wants to kick him in the balls just to prove a point.
But Alhaitham simply lets go of Doctor's hand and grabs his chin before forcing him to look into his eyes, “I love you,” Alhaitham says and the annoyance in his heart melts when Doctor's wings instantly perk up high in happiness, “what about you?” he softly asks as his thumb gently brushes Dottore's cheek.
Dottore's breathing is slow as he gazes at Alhaitham's face gently cradled in his hands, “I love you too,” he confesses, rather shy but it's enough for Alhaitham.
Oh, it's enough for Alhaitham to flush and smile from happiness, “Then it's settled,” Alhaitham softly whispers as his pairs of wings flutter happily.
Doctor's eyes widened slightly, “...Really?” he softly mutters in wonder, as if he's amazed that the answer to his most difficult problem is actually so simple.
Alhaitham softly chuckles in exasperation as he gazes at Dottore with fondness –Archon, his mate is so stupid, “Many Avians don't even get the chance to meet their lifelong mate let alone die under their loving care. So what do you think?”
To that, Doctor stills, as if his brain is short circuiting. Archon, he's so stupid. So so stupid and yet Alhaitham loves him more than anything.
“Do you feel faint?” Doctor suddenly asks out of the blue, causing Alhaitham to snap out of his love daze.
Alhaitham blinks in confusion but, before he can say anything, Doctor has hounded him with more questions, “Do you feel short of breath? Any muscle weakness? Any trouble in seeing?” he asks as he nimbly circles around Alhaitham, haphazardly fussing over him as quickly as possible.
“Any complications at all?” Doctor asks as he finally returns to Alhaitham's field of vision.
Alhaitham, still too confused from the way things are progressing, can only nod his head in confusion.
Doctor deems that acceptable. He nods his head in understanding before grabbing Alhaitham's hand and drags him to the closet. He slams the door open and randomly takes out one of his dress shirts and rips the wing-holes wider with his bare hands.
Alhaitham lets out a squeal of surprise at Doctor's frantic actions. But, again, before he can do anything, Doctor has already made a move to make Alhaitham wear the shirt. Thankfully, he immediately pauses as he calculatively looks at Alhaitham and the ruined shirt. Deciding that his shirt won't fit Alhaitham's meatier form –let alone letting his pairs of wings through, he throws the shirt away before pulling out a silky sheet and about to wrap it around Alhaitham.
Alhaitham takes a step away from Doctor, causing him to pause in his step, “Doctor, what are you doing?”
Doctor's expressions are strangely easy for Alhaitham to read as he seems to be calculating something for a moment before he simply says cryptically, “You'll see.”
Alhaitham lets out a sigh as he relents and spreads his arms, subjecting himself to whatever his mate is planning. Happily, Doctor's wings perk up and spread as he carefully wraps the silky sheet around Alhaitham's body, making sure that it'll securely cover him. It's definitely not enough to be called clothes and it definitely won't keep Alhaitham warm, but it'll cover his decency.
Alhaitham testingly flexes his pairs of wings when Dottore takes a step back from him, “So?” he asks expectantly when he feels that the sheet isn't restricting him at all.
Instead of answering, Doctor simply grabs his hand again and pulls him towards the door.
Alhaitham sighs again but he lets himself be pulled, though he immediately tries to warn Doctor when he sees that he's not having any intention to wear his mask first, “Doctor, your face.”
Doctor's steps falter for a fraction of second before he boldly opens the door and pulls Alhaitham into the corridor, “It's alright. No servant is currently in the Residence,” he explains though it won't even matter if there's any servant around.
For what he's about to do, he should at least show his face to Alhaitham.
The observatorium is as empty and vain as Alhaitham remembers.
The whole situation is rather dumbfounding. He's standing there under the dim light of the closing dawn, wrapped only in a silky sheet secured to him with knots yet his worry is still on Doctor's exposed face. Doctor who’s leaving him near the entrance to fiddle with the controller in the middle of the room.
Alhaitham spends his time in silence as he patiently waits for whatever Doctor is planning. That's until the glass dome of the observatorium rises, letting in harsh and bitter winds of Snezhnaya along with snowflakes. As always, the cold doesn't bother Alhaitham but he still lets out a wail to ask what Doctor is doing.
Doctor doesn't answer. He simply looks at Alhaitham from afar, causing Alhaitham to be unable to see his expression because of the distance and poor lighting. Then, without a word, he walks to the edge of the observatory, motioning for Alhaitham to follow him.
Hesitantly, Alhaitham steps towards his mate. Curiosity quickly fills his mind as Doctor seems to be warming up his wings. He's about to ask what he's planning to do but he immediately forgets when he sees the sun slowly rising from behind the snowy mountains.
The sunrise basks his mate with strong backlight, making Alhaitham only able to see his mate's silhouette. Alhaitham's steps falter for a moment before he resumes his steps at a slower pace. Curiosity still fills his mind but, as Alhaitham sees the silhouette of Doctor stretching his wings as if he's about to take off, silly thoughts start to fill his heart.
Will Doctor ask him to fly together?
Alhaitham stands to a stop just a few steps in front of Doctor before he lets out a questioning squeal.
Because of the lighting, Doctor knows very well that Alhaitham can't see his face. Which is good because he's actually too damn nervous and it's definitely showing on his face. On the other hand, Doctor can see Alhaitham's beautiful face. Even more beautiful under the sunlight. Even the crack on his face glows beautifully as it turns a warm hue as if it's absorbing the light.
Sucking in a deep calming breath, Doctor caws at Alhaitham, asking him to prepare to be amazed, before he flaps his wings as strongly as he can and takes off.
Damn, his back is already hurting from that. Of course it does. He's a crow breed Avian, his bone structure isn't that strong.
Unfortunately, it's an absolutely necessary move. All falcon breeds aerial courtship dance starts from the taking off stage and Doctor didn't get thrown into the freezing lake of Snezhnaya and swims against the current with his wings alone just to pathetically fail executing the first maneuver.
After flying up enough distance, Doctor flies in place and turns around to check on Alhaitham. From way up there, he can't see his mate's face and it's nerve-wracking and comforting at the same time. Well, at least Alhaitham appears to be looking at him so he's at least watching him.
Aware that there's no good in putting the performance off any longer as it'll only discourage him, Doctor closes his eyes and folds his wings.
And then, he falls.
Doctor feels like he might have heard Alhaitham letting out a panicked squeal but he doesn't try to see if he hears right. Instead, he snaps his eyes open and spreads his wings. The Snezhnayan wind immediately catches his fall and he rolls to break off some tension on his wings.
Now, crows would be lucky if they can manage to fly straight after a barrel roll. Falcons usually do the maneuver for fun. Therefore, to impress Alhaitham, he should do no less than five barrel rolls followed by a hike until he touches the cloud before he takes a dive back to the observatorium. It should be an easier phase after because he only has to pull Alhaitham into a dance.
Internally readying himself, Doctor squares his shoulders before he starts the maneuver routine. He manages to execute the first roll flawlessly and without effort. Next, he takes advantage of the inertia from the first roll to start off the second roll. On the third roll, Doctor starts to feel dizzy and he has to exercise his breathing so that he doesn't throw up. On the fourth roll, Doctor feels pressure building up in his cranium. On the fifth roll, Doctor regrets everything but at least it's over.
For the hike, Doctor has to mentally tell himself that he has to do it or else it will all be in vain. During the dive, Doctor may or may not pass out for a few seconds. He honestly feels like crashing down won't be a terrible idea. The snow is thick. He'll survive.
But Doctor knows damn well that that would erase all the magnificence of his performance. So no, he doesn't have the option to give up and crash down. He has to gracefully glide towards the observatorium and see if Alhaitham is willing to join his dance.
But reality doesn't cater to anyone's plan. Perhaps this first mishap is a tribute to the many more mishaps that will happen in their marriage just because they're now two people instead of one. And honestly? Doctor won't complain. At least not for this one. Not when Alhaitham is chirping at him at a miles an hour to the point he doesn't know what Avian noise he's making and looking at him with the brightest eyes as if he's just done the most impressive feat all creatures can do.
Sure, the way Alhaitham body slams him for a hug hurts and it takes a lot from Doctor to not panic and lose his balance. But… it feels like the early days of their mated life all over again. The euphoria, the giddiness, the… love. A single glance is enough to slow Dottore's breath. A single smile is enough to make him mentally stutter. A single Avian noise is enough to make him drown under his Avian instinct and pursue him.
Best of all, there's nothing for Doctor to worry about. There's no longer the need to worry that Alhaitham is only taking advantage of him. There's no need to worry that Alhaitham is only entertaining a casual fling. There… is no need to worry that Alhaitham doesn't want to spend the rest of his life with him.
So Doctor cups both of Alhaitham's cheeks and grins widely, liberated. Maybe he's acting too much like his younger selves because he sees Alhaitham's eyes slightly widen and a flush crawls up his cheeks but he doesn't dwell on that. Who cares? He won't be able to fly for much longer so might as well push himself until he passes out.
Alhaitham loves flying, right? Then let's fly.
Without a word, just grinning playfully at Alhaitham, Doctor intertwines their fingers and flies up into the clouds. For a moment Alhaitham is being pulled as he wonders what Doctor is planning but then he quickly understands and soon becomes the one leading them up. Doctor continues to grin in excitement as Alhaitham pulls him to fly faster. But it quickly drops the moment Alhaitham sends him that look.
That look . The one he always has on his face whenever he's about to do an aerial stunt with his younger selfs that ‘Dottore' doesn't even know is possible. Doctor’s mouth twitches from fear but he silently nods, resigned to his fate.
Regret never comes sooner than that.
Doctor honestly feels as if his soul left his body just from how fast they're falling. It's terrible. Forget throwing up, he's about to straight up pass out. But he doesn't. Won't allow himself to. Because Alhaitham is having so much fun.
Doctor has hurt his mate for so long just to fulfill his own selfishness. This is the least he can do as his first step to repay for everything he had done. Even if it comes at the cost of permanent acrophobia.
When Dottore comes to, it's difficult to breathe. He looks around and sees that they're above clouds. His wings are flapping in discoordination as he wheezes for oxygen. Weren't they falling down? How come they're up here now?
Haha. This is a murder attempt. The oxygen level up here isn't suitable for his lungs in the slightest. Looking at Alhaitham doesn't help. Up here, his visage is simply too beautiful to allow Doctor to breathe properly.
It's warm and bright here. The thin layer of ice forming at the tip of Alhaitham's hair and eyelashes is melting. Along with that, Doctor's heart too.
Alhaitham is panting from the lack of oxygen too but his cheeks are flushed with excitement. His beautiful eyes are bright like the stars as they gaze at him with so much tenderness Doctor feels himself subconsciously grinning back. Alhaitham lets out sweet chittering noises to that, the crack on his face warmly glowing a gentle green.
Ah…. The first time Doctor heard Alhaitham communicating with him via Avian noise, he wanted to gather him in his arms and cuddle him to death. Sadly, he didn't follow his instinct and chose to maintain his composure. Now, that feeling is still the same. The only difference is that there's nothing to consider here.
So Doctor intertwines both of their hands and lets out a high-spirited caw. Confused, Alhaitham lets out a questioning squeal though the note is never fully delivered as Doctor abruptly pulls on his hands and dive, causing Alhaitham to let out a loud squeal.
They're spinning again. Only this time, Doctor is the initiator. Their hands hold on tightly to each other as they roll together thousands meters above ground.
Contrary to what it sounds like, this is… fun.
Exhilarated, Doctor lets out a loud cawing laughter as he closes his eyes to feel the frigid air of Snezhnaya biting the skin of his face. Seeing that, ever so slightly the light in Alhaitham's eyes flicker before burning brighter than ever with happiness. Influenced by Doctor, Alhaitham sucks in a deep breath and closes his eyes in giddiness before letting out a majestic wail at the top of his lungs.
When Alhaitham opens his eyes again, their eyes immediately meet and it's as if the time slows down. Just from their gaze alone they share their hearts with each other. Then, as if they can read each other's mind, they both grin at each other before letting go and disappearing into the sea of clouds.
A few seconds of nothing pass before they emerge at the same time and fly orbiting each other in a curve. In that brief moment, they exchange some Avian noises before going under the cloud once more. They don't emerge again. Instead, they continue to fly orbiting each other as they return to the observatorium.
During their closing journey, Alhaitham flies beneath Doctor on his back and reaches a hand towards him, his eyes full of expectant hope. Doctor, who's completely flushed and having a full body shivers from overexertion, smiles at Alhaitham, hiding his envy.
This is blatant cheating. Look at him, he's already adept at flying so what's the use of getting a second pair of wings that helps him fly on his back as easily as walking backwards?
Despite his ire, Doctor takes Alhaitham's hand in his and holds it tight, a doting smile never leaving his lips.
Alhaitham looks away shyly and never quite looks at Doctor again as they peacefully fly back to their nest.
𓅪 ♡ 𓅪
“Will you marry me?” Doctor asks before they even have the chance to properly land.
Because of his stupid inconsideration, Alhaitham trips on air and falls on him. Doctor can't even stand on his own strength let alone supporting Alhaitham's weight. So he immediately staggers backward with Alhaitham and they fall to the snow in a heap of tangled limbs.
Doctor shivers from how the cold snow contrasts sharply with the temperature of his exhausted vessel. He knows he should get up and get Alhaitham inside so that they won't catch cold. But… he's damn tired. Staying like this for a moment longer won't hurt. Besides, Alhaitham still hasn't answered his question.
A few moments pass and Doctor almost falls asleep from exhaustion if Alhaitham doesn't push his upper body up to look at him while his lower body and pairs of wings lay atop him like the most welcome blanket to ever exist.
“What even is the need for that?” Alhaitham asks as he looks suspiciously at Doctor.
But… from the way his mouth is twitching up from time to time as if he's stifling a smile, Doctor knows very well that Alhaitham likes the thought of getting married. Doctor supposes that it's just the way they are. Always so careful. Never accepting nice things without a question.
So Doctor softly sends Alhaitham a soft knowing smile as he gently cups his cheek –he can sense Alhaitham's heartbeat quicken along with his face heating up because of his actions– and says, “Our marriage ceremony wasn't exactly proper, wasn't it?” Doctor asks, bringing up the matter that has been bothering him since the beginning, “I mean, sure, The Dendro Archon witnessed and even pronounced it herself –if it were up to me we won't even have any witness except maybe your servant– but I wasn't even present during my own marriage. How can I not want to redo it?” he rants, carefully not bringing up Alhaitham's death just in case it's hurtful for him.
But Doctor is so passionate in his rant that he doesn't realize how he has been subconsciously squeezing Alhaitham's cheeks and annoyedly shaking his head. When he realizes what he's doing, he quickly freezes and let's Alhaitham's cheek go as if he just touches something hot. But Alhaitham simply chuckles to that and grabs Doctor's hand before pressing it back to his cheek.
With a cheek smushed to Doctor's hand, Alhaitham warmly stares at Doctor in such a way that makes him dizzy from having his heart racing and his breathing stop at the same time.
“Yes, love. I will,” Alhaitham says in a volume just enough for him to hear but it's enough to send him to Celestia and back.
Notes:
Rejoice, For the awaited happy end is fast encroaching!
Anyway, if you're interested in really getting an understanding on why the Segments are placing such emphasize on their inferior flying abilities compared to Alhaitham, here are some shorts from YouTube.
Firstly, this is how crows fly with their mate
https://youtube.com/shorts/sDnOt7w5dX8?si=4C9SCkI2CtjnFnshSecondly, this is a falcon catching up with an airplane just for the heck of it.
https://youtube.com/shorts/gZKoLWkjNnw?si=ulDMqMHBKPxkJLaZSo now you can understand why Dottore is stressed over it.
Bonus:
The inspiration for their last maneuver
word(s)
Chapter 88
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The snow covered ground is still bitingly cold with only a dress shirt on Doctor's back. Even if his vessel is not as fragile as that of a human body, the Snezhnayan weather is simply too harsh. The cold doesn't even bring any relief to his aching wings. In all honesty, the cold brings back some bad memories of his early relocation but Doctor doesn't mind enduring it. Now that his doubts have disappeared, he doesn't have to actively ruin the mood anymore.
Doctor sends a gentle rattle at Alhaitham as he squeezes his cheek. Alhaitham lets out a soft disgruntled growl at his antics but he leans more to his palm instead, even closing his eyes as if he's enjoying it. Because of that, Doctor has to bite his tongue to refrain himself from letting out a coo and pinching both of his mate's cheeks. Who gave him the right to be that cute?
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately –depending on which fact Doctor wishes to dwell on, he can always rely on himself to ruin the mood.
With a grace that Doctor is genuinely quite envious of, Waqa lands next to them, the flaps of his wings silent, holding a sizable bouquet that even Doctor will admit looks magnificent if only it doesn't contain one of the few specimens that manages to absorb cryo energy in his garden.
[Oh, stop being so stingy,] Alpha Build snaps at Prime from the link, aware of his thoughts, [there are still some successful specimens left in the batch. I only took one to make for the base of this bouquet,] he annoyedly explains, defending his decision.
A decision which Prime deeply questions as he squints his eyes at Alpha Build, [You just used a result that took 2 decades to cultivate for a bouquet of flowers that will be discarded in three days,] he dryly points out, [and I'm fairly sure that you chose that because it's glowy enough,] Prime adds with a face that clearly expresses how much he's doubting Alpha Build's intelligence.
Waqa simply rolls his eyes and chooses to ignore Doctor, knowing and admitting just how questionable his actions are. Not that he regrets his decision in the slightest. For his Hayi, this mere mutated flower is not precious enough.
Hearing the snow crunching under the weight of someone that he's very sure is Waqa, Alhaitham pushes himself up to sit properly. Though the definition of proper is quite loose since he's sitting on Doctor's stomach only covered in a skewed sheet that, at this point, is a wonder that it still manages to hold on. They might be inside a private property of the Institute but they're very much still in public, mind you. Yet, Alhaitham's pairs of wings still flutter in happiness at seeing Waqa, as if he's not feeling cold nor embarrassed in the slightest.
“What's with the bouquet?” Alhaitham asks at Alpha Build with raised eyebrows and a small smile, knowing very well that it's for him but feigns ignorance and disinterest by brushing his ruffled hair back into position.
Inwardly, Waqa feels exasperated that he has to play this game. Not that he doesn't want to play along, it's just not the best time for that. Not when there's such a high chance for Alhaitham to catch hypothermia soon.
So Waqa doesn't take the bait and simply kneels down in front of Alhaitham, presenting the bouquet with both hands, “A bouquet for my soon to be spouse,” he declares with a wide grin, not even his insecurities over his mangled and bloodied face can smother his needs to join in in spoiling his mate.
At first, Alhaitham acts surprised, but Waqa's very contagious grin very quickly makes his lips start to twitch with laughter and he quickly receives the bouquet with a big smile that makes Waqa want to lock him up somewhere for himself, “Thank you,” Alhaitham says as he reaches for the bouquet, his voice sounds rather soft from shyness while his eyes trained on the flowers and not daring to look up.
Waqa's grin softens into a smile as he feels the tensions in his shoulders slowly dissipate. Yesterday was so stressful. He was ready to throw everything again just to make sure Alhaitham returns to their nest alive. Thankfully, it didn't come to that.
Dying for Hayi is easy. Staying alive for him should be Waqa's new standard. Besides, he'd be damned if Hayi returns alive only to be sent to Prime and Sigma Build's care. Sure, Omega Build knows what he's doing but that's one against two and, honestly, why have that odds when it can be two against two?
So, when Alhaitham holds the bouquet and their hands touched, Waqa quickly grabs his wrists and pulls him into a bridal carry as he stands up, “My Lady, I'm perfectly aware how much that procession meant to you but that's not enough excuse for you to go out dressed like this,” he strictly scolds his mate when Alhaitham lets out a surprised wail and stares at him with wide eyes, “you'll get cold so let's head in,” he adds in a mumble because the way Alhaitham continues to stare at him slowly makes him feel self-subconscious.
Alhaitham doesn't argue. In fact, he doesn't make any sound. He just smiles softly at Waqa and leans to his chest like a spoiled lover, fingers absentmindedly playing with the petals of the flowers.
Waqa lets out a snort at Alhaitham's rare show of obedience but he decides not to question it. He simply tilts his head away from Alhaitham in the fear of getting his dried blood on him and walks across the backyard of the Residence that Prime chose as an emergency landing in big strides, eager to quickly get his mate to warmth.
Prime blankly stares at Alpha Build's back, his presence had quickly been forgotten the moment Alpha Build called Alhaitham their soon to be spouse. While he agrees that using that kind of nomination is a good move in getting Alhaitham's attention, he was still the one who almost broke his vessel to ask Alhaitham to marry him. Can't- can't they give him a little more moment?
Without Alhaitham's presence, the snow is bitterly cold and staying where he is is just sad. He wants to follow after them but his limbs won't listen to him for at least a few more minutes.
He is forgotten.
Prime wants to curse at Alpha Build but, honestly, he's just trying hard not to cry at the moment.
In the brightly white and clinically clean room, Zazan sits still on his chair and stares at his folded hands in deep rumination.
‘He’ is going to get married. It feels weird and is quite difficult to fathom. Sure, this won't be the first time ‘he’ gets married. But the first time ‘he’ wasn't even present so it's easy to not think too much about it. And isn't it weird that ‘his’ first and second marriage is to the same Avian?
Zazan tightly shuts his eyes and massages his temples.
Sure, he has lived for centuries as a Segment. But he's still mentally 18 years old and yet he's about to get married for the second time. Saying that he's panicking is an understatement.
Zazan folds his hands together and props his chin on them before he lets out a deep sigh.
He's just making excuses.
Marrying Alhaitham is not a problem. Once? Twice? Annually? Zazan doesn't mind. The problem is just that he also wants to be present during the wedding ceremony. He isn't even sure if they can have anything remotely close to a wedding ceremony but he just wants to be there. To be on the altar, having a chance to see Hayi, holding his hands, and maybe kissing him.
Zazan wants to be a part of the marriage.
The only problem is Zazan doesn't know if Alhaitham is willing to. He turned him into what he is now. And… he is too much of a coward to seek the answer.
Irritatedly, Zazan growls and punches the metal table until there's a dent on it. He glares at the unconscious Subject 1 while inwardly cursing Doctor. If they could just move on with the experiment, then he would have enough failsafe to smooth Alhaitham's anger at him for at least a little bit.
…
That is an unrealistic excuse and Zazan knows it. The wedding will take only a week, at most, to prepare while he hasn't even started cultivating the womb. …This is not the kind of project he can rush either.
Zazan bites his lips until he tastes iron before he curls to himself on the table. He won't cry. He's desperate to know what Alhaitham thinks of him but he won't cry here. He's not that pathetic.
Still… Zazan shifts his wings to cocoon himself just in case.
When they fucking finally arrive at the Zapolyarny Palace, Omega Build Dottore is in a much better mood than than when he arrived at the scene. How can he not? His moonlight is happy and safe, and he will soon get the chance to marry him.
Life is good. Especially because now he can finally take his moonlight into a honeymoon. Ah, right. He should probably get back right after reporting to The Tsaritsa. He wants to ask his moonlight some inputs on their honeymoon destination.
“I won't ask for another paid leave but I'm taking my work home,” Dottore immediately says to Pantalone as he stands next to him in the line of Harbingers next to the carpet leading up to the throne, not even having the courtesy for a greeting.
Pantalone's lips twitch in annoyance but he simply smiles, “You're slacking these days,” he jabs back as he presses his wings tightly to himself to keep himself warm, not in the mood to keep things civil.
To be perfectly honest, Dottore rarely ever keeps things civil, “You will understand if you finally find yourself a mate instead of constantly obsessing over Mora.”
First of all, the fucking audacity. Pantalone is very much still a young bachelor in his prime for a marriage. He still has time. How dare Dottore bring that up when he had been single for centuries and has only been married for a year at most. Just because he has a wife now doesn't erase the fact that he was as pathetically single as Pantalone is.
…
Pantalone's wings flare angrily at the low blow and he secretly kicks Dottore's calf before huffing his anger as he rearranges his wings, “So the rumor saying your mate is still alive is true?” he asks, as he observes Pulcinella standing awkwardly in wait while holding a box at an arm length.
“Ow,” Dottore dryly exclaims, mostly just to fulfill the social expectations of someone being kicked, before he glances at Pantalone from the corner of his eyes –not that anyone can see if he decides to blatantly look at Pantalone since he's wearing his mask, “you're taking that retort personally, huh?” he comments absentmindedly but when Pantalone’s smile drops as he openly glares at him, he decides to not poke at his wounded pride anymore and simply answers his question, “technically, he was never dead. But as I'm quite sure you have no desire to know the extreme details, I will just inform you that, yes, my mate is still alive.”
Pantalone's smile slowly drops as his gaze gains a calculative look. Seeing that, Dottore clicks his tongue and looks away with a sigh, opting to observe how Pulcinella is visibly agonizing whether to trust the box into Childe's hands or to keep it safe in his own hands. It seems like The Rooster is still conflicted about the content of the box which he can only speculate about and not daring to see for himself. Not that Dottore cares. He has his own trouble. Such as the incoming unrealistic demand his business partner will undoubtedly soon spout.
Pantalone silently clears his throat to catch Dottore's attention, as expected, “I’m elated to hear that your wife survived the cruelty of the rebel group,” Pantalone solemnly says and Dottore almost snorts at how rehearsed it sounds to him but he refrains himself from interrupting and allows his business partner to continue with his bullshit, “however, I very much would love to know the details-”
Dottore cuts his proposal off with a loud sigh, “I assure you, Panty, whatever you have in mind isn't even worth discussing,” he says under his breath and is especially quiet when he says the nickname, fully knowing that he shouldn't use it in the throne room but still uses it regardless.
Pantalone's wings twitch with displeasure and his facade finally cracks into a scowl, “Don't call me that,” he hisses with a voice matching Dottore in volume, “and the fact that you've managed to actually revive someone and not just reanimating your vessels is already good enough to be put onto the bargaining table,” he growls under his breath like a beast catching a whiff of blood, “so, indeed, I would love to hear the details. Or, perhaps, is there any reason you're perfectly sure that this won't be a good project?” and so the beast hounds for his prey, “perhaps something personal?” the beast sneers cruelly, fully knowing the answer already.
The mask of The Doctor is always cold. It only ever appears as anything else because Omega Build Dottore puts great care in learning to appear that way. Thus, when it comes to visual intimidation alone, Omega Build Dottore far more than excels.
The mouth that's usually quirked up for at least a polite smile is now bereft of any kind expression, “If you're so curious…,” Dottore trails off ominously, his tone is nonchalant yet Pantalone can already sense the danger, “the same procedure cannot be replicated,” he says before he slowly twists his neck towards Pantalone to send him a coldly eerie smile, “I assure you it's not the matter of whether I want to do it or not. For the base of operation alone I'd need god's remains, which is already painfully rare, isn't it?” with an amused huff, Dottore looks forward once more right as Pierro opens the door for The Tsaritsa, “Oh, and… the price of insinuating that I use my mate as a test subject might be a liiittle too expensive, even for you.”
For the record, Doctor didn't cry because he was left alone. As a matter of fact, he didn't cry at all. The reason why his wings are hanging low and his shoulders drooping is because he's tired.
To further prove that point, Doctor’s hand is trembling heavily as he tries to reach for the doorknob. Yes, try. His hand actually struggles to achieve such a simple motor function for a few times before he simply gives up and rips the door off.
Snarling, Dottore throws the door away with the vehemence of a grumpy cat. Once he sees for himself that the offending door is lying alone on the cold snow, he finally huffs in satisfaction before he turns around and freezes.
Why's it that Alhaitham always finds him in the most embarrassing situation at the door?
“... What kind of disservice did that door ever do to you?” Alhaitham hesitantly asks after a few minutes of awkward silence.
Doctor continues to stand frozen on his spot for a few seconds before all of his feathers immediately floof up in mortification as red immediately paints his whole face, “Uh…,” he stammers in embarrassment, unable to utter anything else.
“Doctor?” Alhaitham inquires again though he doesn't fight back a snort from escaping.
“Hayi,” Waqa calls out loud as he approaches, thankfully taking Alhaitham's attention from Doctor, “I know you fear nothing but at least wear something warmer,” he says as he drapes a thick blanket across Alhaitham's shoulders and pats in into place, not forgetting to send Doctor a look of distaste for his loss of temper.
That look proves to be very effective as Doctor very quickly wrangles his emotions back under control, “I have some motoric issues so I did all I could to get in,” he calmly admits.
Which, as intended, causes Alhaitham's pairs of wings to perk up as he looks at him with worry, all attention on Doctor, “What kind of motoric issues?” Alhaitham asks as he steps closer.
The corners of Doctor's lips ever so slowly tilts up the closer Alhaitham gets to him but it very quickly drops when Waqa intercepts Alhaitham's path and gently pulls him back, “Careful, Hayi,” he warns in a whisper though it's definitely loud enough for Doctor to hear, “judging from the state of that innocent door, I think it's best that we exercise caution.”
To that, Doctor lets out a loud disdainful snort. What a ridiculous act. There's no way Alhaitham would fall for that.
Indeed, Alhaitham doesn't fall for that. Because Alhaitham staring at him with vigilance is a completely conscious decision.
Doctor doesn't know why but cold immediately fills his chest and the surprise of it makes him let out a small wounded crow as he stares at Alhaitham with wide eyes, his wings drooping behind him.
Seeing Doctor's… hurt look, Alhaitham flinches before he hesitantly parts his lips but, before he can say anything, Waqa has already laughed out loud and pushes him away, “Oh, don't worry, Hayi,” he annoyingly croons as he throws a taunting grin at Doctor from above his shoulder, “you are allowed to express vigilance. I'd even say that it's wise for you to do so,” he jeers as he pokes his tongue out at Doctor, amused beyond belief.
Only then, does Doctor have the awareness to close his mouth.
He… wants to say that he isn't hurt. But it does affect him.
Ever so slowly, Doctor crumbles to his knees, reclaimed once more by exhaustion.
Haha, this can't even be considered as his retribution.
Notes:
Mmmm, sorry for disappearing without notice. I was busy with exams. The major reason I skipped update was actually because my professors decided they want to have written exams. My hands were dead.
Anyway, expect slow update for a while. Any comments left are greatly appreciated and I honestly need that to go through my final.
Also, idk if there will ever be the correct time to say this, but I seriously think that Dancing in The Dark suits Dottore well.
Chapter 89
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Okay, Waqa admits, he just wanted to be a little bit mean at Prime. He didn't really think much of the consequence of his actions. Now, he's alone with Hayi, pushing him around Awkwardly because he isn't sure when he should stop.
… Some things are difficult to change. One of those things is Waqa's inability to comprehend what he should do beyond surviving.
“Waqa,” Alhaitham finally calls out to him, probably fed up already with Waqa pushing him around aimlessly, “I think we should clean up.”
… huh?
Uh…, wait. Wait wait. What’s happening? Why’s Hayi suddenly asking him to clean up? Is he hinting that they should have sex?
Waqa doesn’t mind that in the slightest but… won’t having sex at this moment risky? Hayi just underwent a full-body rearrangement right to his very strand of DNA. That’s not even counting the risk of pregnancy. After all, Waqa’s vessel is at peak performance for breeding if compared to other Segments –Waqa isn’t proud of this but this is the fact.
Waqa might have gotten too used to ignoring social expectations that he kinda forgot what most of them are about. But he’s quite sure that having sex after traumatic experiences without any attempt to first resolve the trauma doesn’t bode well for any relationships.
[Whoa…,] Omega Build quietly trails off in the link, full of astonishment.
[What?] Alpha Build immediately asks, desperate for anything that can help him resolve this situation without offending Alhaitham.
Waqa might be hesitant of doing it right now but he still wants to do it the soonest it’s safe to.
[Well,] Omega Build starts with a contemplating sigh, [if you had bothered to access my built-up knowledge, you’d find that you’re practicing common sense at the moment,] Alpha Build’s eyebrow twitches but he says nothing, [I was merely glad that you’re not as useless as I had thought.]
Alright, now Alpha Build can no longer refrain himself from snarling to the link, [Then what about you?!] he snaps, [will you try to not be as useless as I thought?]
“Waqa?” Alhaitham calls again as he stops walking, causing Waqa to slam into him.
“...what?” Waqa softly asks, his face pressed to Alhaitham's back, he kinda doesn't want to see Alhaitham's face when he rejects his advance.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings twitch, sensing something is off about his mate, still Alhaitham continues with his request, “we've been soaked in blood for long enough, don't we?”
Instantly, Waqa shoots back from Alhaitham's back, wings slightly spread with surprise, “Oh…,” he mutters as red starts to rise in his face, “yeah. Let's clean ourselves,” he quickly mumbles as he reaches for Alhaitham's hands and pulls him to return to the master bedroom.
Which is why Waqa's steps immediately falter the moment he sees that they're already in front of it.
Damn. Hayi asked them to clean up because he thought Waqa was about to push him straight into their nest. It was nothing sexual like he had thought.
Waqa painedly closes his eyes as he pushes the door open, brute forcing his embarrassment. Without a word, he pulls Alhaitham in and closes the door behind them before pulling Alhaitham again into the bathroom and to the hidden area. Who cares if Alhaitham's blood is going to dirty the pool? How else are they going to clean his pairs of wings?
“Waqa?” Alhaitham quietly calls his name again though Waqa is very sure that this time it's because he's worried because of his silence.
Waqa knows that and yet he continues to robotically prepare the pool. This is an innocent bath. He must not think dirty.
“Wa-”
“Which soap do you want to use?” Waqa asks, cutting Alhaitham off but at least he dares to look at his eyes now –at least for a few seconds before he looks away with faint red tinging his cheeks, still embarrassed from earlier.
Alhaitham sighs and chooses to let it slide. It seems like his mate doesn't want to talk about his earlier behavior. So he approaches him instead to see the options. As far as he knew, they don't have varieties.
Alhaitham stares at the all in one body soap staring at him and is trying so hard to not make a face, “Waqa, I don't think you're supposed to mix any soap into the pool,” he says as he takes the bottle of soap from Waqa's hand and places it out of his range as if making sure Waqa won't pour it in regardless.
[He's right,] Prime says to the link, very briefly, probably still sulking and only interacting because his prized pool is in danger.
Thankfully, Waqa has the thickest face when it comes to dealing with Alhaitham, “I know. I'm just asking which one you'll use afterwards.”
Alhaitham raises an eyebrow at Waqa while Waqa keeps up his deadpan face, staring at each other in silence for a while, before Alhaitham says, “I didn't know we have other brands of soap.”
They don't.
Waqa finally clenches his eyes shut in defeat. His wings ruffle and perk up in deep grimace. But when he hears Alhaitham's soft mirtful laughs, Waqa immediately snaps his eyes open.
Alhaitham sweetly smiles at him, his face warm with laughter, “Go undress. I'll prepare the pool.”
Waqa immediately frowns but, before he can say anything, Alhaitham has gently flicked his forehead, “Come now, I'm not so pathetic that I'd force my gravely injured mate to prepare my bath.”
Ah.
Suddenly, Waqa becomes far too aware of the wounds scabbing all over his body. Did he really give Alhaitham the bouquet and call him his future spouse when he looked like that? How embarrassing.
The dread steadily rising in Waqa's chest quickly disperses when Alhaitham pinches his cheek, not hard enough to hurt but it still makes him grimace, “Go ahead. I won't take long.”
Hesitantly, Waqa walks away with his wings hanging low with worry but not before defending his health, “These wounds are just superficial. I won't die from them.”
“Of course,” Alhaitham warmly says and Waqa can sense his gaze on his back as if he's making sure he's truly walking away, “you're strong, after all.”
Waqa's steps falter slightly before his wings perk up pridefully and his steps become peppier.
[There's no sign of outside complications,] Alpha Build reports to the link as he meticulously inspect Alhaitham's form guised as helping him wash off his body, [with the exception of the markings on his face and the addition of the pair of wings and the small changes to accommodate it, Alhaitham stays the same,” then Waqa slowly glides his hands along Alhaitham's sides before mentally measuring his hips, [his hips also show no changes to accomodate birth. I guess if Alhaitham still wants to have a child, we'd have to surgically take it out when the time is ri-]
Waqa's report is cut off when he feels Alhaitham softly flicking his forehead again. Disgruntledly, he looks up from Alhaitham's navel to immediately freeze when he realizes that he's practically sitting on Alhaitham's lap. At the next second, Waqa immediately jumps and tries to scramble off but, perhaps due to the water that rises to his chest when he is sitting on Alhaitham's lap, his movement is too slow and Alhaitham easily catches his wrist and pulls him back to his lap.
“Where are you going, mister?” Alhaitham amusedly asks though with a little bit of strain as he tries to make Waqa stay put despite him struggling to free himself, his wings splashing water everywhere like a drowning bird, “stop that,” he chides as he hugs Waqa's back to his chest, knowing full well that it would limit his mate's strength because he always worries about accidentally hurting him, “Waqa, you're going to reopen your wounds,” Alhaitham warns with a sense of urgency when Waqa still continues to struggle to get free.
That makes Waqa pause as his wings flare indignantly, though the effect is diminished because his feathers are wet, “I told you that these ‘wounds’ are all superficial,” he repeats irritably.
Because of Waqa's sudden lack of struggle, Alhaitham frees one of his hands from the duty of holding his mate and carefully caresses the deep wounds on Waqa's shoulder. Claw marks. Saying that Alhaitham doesn't remember anything would be a lie. His gem recorded everything including the memory of him inflicting these wounds to Waqa.
“Those are small wounds,” Waqa quietly says as he catches Alhaitham's hand and turns around on Alhaitham's lap to face his mate, no longer wanting to run away, “it's alright.”
Alhaitham says nothing to that. He just sadly stares at the wounds. Waqa tries to reassuringly squeeze Alhaitham's hand but he knows it matters little. Alhaitham isn't stupid. With a glance alone he would have realized that the wounds he made are worse than the wounds he had gotten from literally battling a troop of hundreds.
“It's alright,” Waqa repeats, “this is just a reminder that I'm still not exempted from natural selection.”
That doesn't really cheer Alhaitham up but that still manages to make Alhaitham send him the dirty look.
And to that, Waqa grins wide, happy that even if it's just a small win, it's still a win regardless, “What? It's true,” he says as he slowly raises his scarred hand to cup Alhaitham's cheek, “I'm your Waqa, am I not?” he asks as he clumsily imitates the way Alhaitham would reassuringly caresses ‘his’ cheeks, “something as small as this won't faze me.”
“That's-” Alhaitham quickly says before he swallows back his words and lets out a deep sigh before he holds both of Waqa's cheeks and deeply stares into his eyes, “I did wrong. Don't just brush it off. I'll make up for it,” he gravely says but when Waqa simply looks at him in confusion, Alhaitham adds, “I also have a responsibility to protect you as your mate.”
Waqa flinches. He genuinely doesn't expect that. He quickly lets go of Alhaitham's cheek, wanting to retreat before Alhaitham can see the extent of his face exploding in red from his words alone. Unfortunately for Waqa, Alhaitham doesn't let him go that easily as he simply squeezes his cheeks, rendering him unable to escape.
With nothing else he can do, Waqa mirros what Alhaitham is doing with his cheeks and squeezes Alhaitham's cheeks too. The only difference is that while Alhaitham looks slightly flushed yet determined, Waqa is just beet red from being flustered, flattered, and happy. In fact, from the way his eye tries to avoid Alhaitham as hard as he can, Alhaitham thinks he's also a bit touched.
Alhaitham finds that saddening.
So Alhaitham leans forward to nuzzle the stubbly plumes on his mate’s forehead –what’s left of his primordial trace– and Waqa lets out a wrangled caw because of it, “I'm not your mate because I'm something fragile that you must protect,” Alhaitham whispers before he presses a kiss on Waqa's eyebrow, he can feel Waqa's temperature raises because of it, “I am your partner,” he says and he hears Waqa sucks in a sharp breath because of it so he lets go of Waqa's cheeks to, instead, hold the hands holding his own cheeks as he leans back to send his most protective husband a smile.
Alhaitham's smile is thin and shy but Waqa's only eye is wide as he stares at Alhaitham unblinkingly, “I-” Waqa opens his mouth only to quickly lose his voice so he clears his throat and tries again, “I- th- ugh…,” he fumbles again, still not knowing what to say, yet Alhaitham's expression still doesn't change as he continues to look at him with enough warmth and fondness to suffocate his chest, “I'm home, Hayi,” in the end, Waqa can only blurt that out.
Alhaitham's eyes widen as he is stunned from surprise for a fraction of second before he breaks into a grin and surges forward to hug Waqa tightly, his Avian noises uncontrollably goes off like a firecracker, “Welcome home, Waqa,” he warmly says amidst his chittering, “you were gone for so long. I've missed you.”
Waqa is only frozen for a second before he awkwardly raises his arms to hug Alhaitham back. He's not used to this so his strength is a little bit uncontrolled but he doesn't let go of Alhaitham. A single tear of relief manages to escape his eye socket before he quickly hardens his expression and redirects his soppy feeling into singing an Avian song for his mate even if his vocal cord is too ruined for that.
Finally, the last heavy load on Waqa's shoulder lifts itself.
His mate is safe.
Omega Build Dottore still has a smile on his lips and yet everyone in the throne room can still sense his stormy mood. Would anyone ask him why he's in a terrible mood? No. Each and every one of them knows very well that he won't answer shit. Besides, the throne room is not the place for personal issues.
“My Harbingers have gathered here once more,” The Tsaritsa says, opening the meeting, similarly ignoring Dottore's bad mood, “I hope you're all bearing good news for me.”
The room, understandably, falls into silence. Not that the Harbingers are bearing bad news and are afraid of consequences. They're just not very chatty people.
In moments like these, it's Pierro’s duty to manage the flow. Truly, he's such a glorified secretary.
“I have received the report from the Tri-copiae,” Pierro says as he flips open the bundle of report in his hands, “the fire of the rebellion has been extinguished and the majority of operations can be continued without a hindrance thanks to the battle that's pushed to remote areas…,” Pierro reads before he trails off before closing his eyes in pain, “however, Dottore's lab in the north is destroyed during the struggle,” he continues before looking at Dottore with tiredness palpable in his eyes, “and as a payment for his tribute to the operation and his loss of lab, he has requested for an empty land just outside of the gate,” he blandly finishes as he stares at Dottore, silently demanding an explanation from him.
“Interesting…,” The Tsaritsa mutters as she lands her gaze on Dottore, scrutinizing his intentions along with the rest of the Harbingers.
But before the Cryo Archon or Dottore can say anything more, Arlecchino loudly scoffs, “And what will you use that land for, I wonder,” he comments, not even hiding his disagreement with the request, “a new lab? So close to the Citadel? Are you perhaps trying to cut costs by reducing the transportation fee of your ‘test subject' or…,” she trails off as her gaze goes dark with veiled fury, “are you tired of having to pluck children off the streets’ of other nations?” she accuses.
Tension quickly fills the room so Pulcinella clears his throat, he has a duty to maintain goodwill with Dottore after all, “I must also raise my concern regarding the request,” not that he approves of a lab so close to the Citadel, though, “an empty land gifted to someone of a Fatui Harbinger status and for a great achievement can only be at least 2 acres to be appropriate,” here, he bites his tongue and tries hard to ignore the stare coming from Dottore, “I'm afraid a land that big will prove to be a problem should there be a need for expansion. Not to mention the troubles that will come from Dottore's experiments if he does decide to build a lab on the land.”
After hearing the inputs from two of her Harbingers, The Tsaritsa lets out a humm before she looks at Dottore once more, “After hearing their concerns, I'm inclined to feel troubled with your request, Doctor,” The Tsaritsa says and Pantalone takes that as his cue to subtly inches away from Dottore just in case he decides to blow up on Her Majesty too, “but fret not,” The Tsaritsa continues, “I can't simply dismiss your request after your feat. Tell me for what purpose you need that land for and I shall decide.”
Dottore's lips twitch slightly into a smile, feeling lazy that he has to argue for getting his prize, but he still bows his head in courtesy to The Tsaritsa, “I plan to build a house there, Your Majesty.”
Arlecchino immediately snorts loudly, calling his bullshit without a single word, “A house for your failed experiments that you, for some reason, want to keep around, perhaps?”
“My,” Sandrone coldly pipes in, “does The Doctor plan to slowly surround the citadel with his forces?” she bitingly asks.
Dottore's wings twitch once before they slumps in exasperation. Without trying to hide it, he looks at the two Harbingers in dismay. Even though half of his face is covered by his mask, it can clearly be seen that he's silently mocking their very active imagination.
Arlecchino and Sandrone’s face gain a few layers of ice as they glare back at Dottore. Pulcinella and Pantalone make eye contact as they silently sweat. There would be no salvaging Dottore if he decides to act out now.
The situation is extremely tense. The only nice thing about it is probably how Columbina's lips crack into a smile as she presses a hand to her mouth to muffle her giggles. Childe? Well, he has this constipated look on his face because he just has no idea what reaction is the safest to make.
Meanwhile, the majority of Dottore's brain is currently busy lamenting that he's not the one brushing Alhaitham's feathers instead of Alpha Build.
And… the one who said that the throne room is not the place for anything personal is telling that to newbies.
So Dottore sends The Tsaritsa a weak smile, as if he's the bigger person in the room by ignoring the accusations thrown at him, “I do plan to build a new house there, Your Majesty,” he says truthfully.
Let alone Pierro, even The Tsaritsa raises an eyebrow at Dottore, “What of your Residence in The Institute?”
Dottore's wings perk up as if he has forgotten something and only remembered it now, “Oh, I must clarify that I want to build this new house for my mate,” he casually says, making every heads snap at him because a Harbinger sharing their personal matter openly is unheard of, “and yes, he's still alive. Things had been simply too hectic for me to report it to you, Your Majesty,” Dottore adds.
The occupants react differently to that information. Not that Dottore cares. The only relevant expression he should observe right now is Her Majesty's. Fortunately for him, The Tsaritsa is pressing her hands together with an almost smile on her face. She's elated from the news and the temperature of the room becomes slightly warmer.
Dottore has no clue why The Tsaritsa is happy but that's not his problem, “However, there are some side effects from my attempt to save his life,” he regretfully inform, “although I'm unsure if calling it a side effect is correct, that's beside the point since my mate now possesses a chance to conceive a child.”
The room immediately plunges into silence.
“What?!” Arlecchino yells, cracking the silence and her cold persona.
Dottore's lips twitch from amusement but he pretends he hears nothing and simply continues, “My mate accepted the changes extremely well and has been wanting to have a child for a while now,” Dottore continues to drop the bombs, inwardly cackling maniacally, “The Institute is my workplace. It is barely suitable for my mate right now let alone when he's pregnant,” he adds before ending his explanation with a small bow, “therefore, I hope Your Majesty would be so kind as to fulfill this Harbinger's wish.”
Again, silence stretches in the room. Not the silence of surprise similar to earlier but more akin to a silence that descends when the room is filled with people that are high from drug use.
Then, Arlecchino growls, “You're not even a decent human being and yet you actually dream of being a father?” she calmly asks despite her biting words, “there ought to be a limit to your jokes even if you're sick, Dottore.”
Dottore hums as he tilts his head to the side and sends Arlecchino a cynical smile, “You aren't wrong,” he good naturedly agrees, even his wings are perking high from amusement, “Still, are you going to block my attempt at trying to be a good father by providing a safe place for my family because of your prejudice?”
Saying that the glare Arlecchino sends at Dottore is deadly is an understatement but, before the situation can becomes even more tense, The Tsaritsa quickly sends her verdict, “You have my blessings-”
“Your Majesty?!” Arlecchino, so surprised as she is, fails to maintain her composure and accidentally cuts The Tsaritsa.
Normally, that's one of the most grave misconduct there is. However, considering that Arlecchino isn't the only one surprised by her verdict, The Tsaritsa chooses to let it slide with a wave of her hand.
“Let me finish, My Knave,” The Tsaritsa says as the slightly warmer than usual room drastically plummets into freezing cold.
To that, Arlecchino can only bite her tongue and bow her head as a sign of admitting her fault as well as ignoring the triumphant smirk Dottore is sending her.
Letting out a sigh that freezes the room even more, The Tsaritsa returns her gaze at Dottore, “However, I have to take into account The Rooster's concern. As a result, I can't give you the land that you have in mind,” she regretfully says before adding, “but, in exchange, I hand to you the full ownership of Nod-Krai as well as granting you the autonomy to govern it.”
The Harbingers are all frozen in surprise. With that much land and authority, there's practically no difference between Dottore being a Harbinger or nobility. Such a verdict will undoubtedly be extremely scandalous with the house of nobilities. Yet, even if the Harbingers disapprove of Her Majesty's decision, they say nothing. As things stand, this is not their concern.
Dottore smiles wide as his wings relaxes behind him from satisfaction before he bows at the waist to the throne, “I can't possibly thank you enough for your generosity, Your Majesty.”
Notes:
For the record, Capitano says nothing because he was too bamboozled to utter a single word.
I'm deeply hoping that Hoyo will make Dottore playable, especially after mentioning him as if he's the Archon of Nod-Krai.
Chapter 90
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It took a really long time to brush all of Alhaitham's feathers, especially because Alhaitham felt bad and insisted on brushing Waqa's feathers in return. By the time they're finished, they've pretty much turned into a pair of days old bulle fruits left alone in the open. Waqa is not complaining though. It has been such a long time since the last time he could relax. …And Alhaitham was just simply adorable when he shyly started the water fight.
And for the record –disregarding how obvious it is– Waqa obliterates Alhaitham in his own fight. Heh, Alhaitham was even almost close to tears by the time he was done with him. If that fight continued, Waqa would definitely be able to make him surrender and beg for mercy. It's too bad that Prime is being a sulky salty entity and stopped the fight because they were getting water everywhere.
Hah! As if he's the one who will clean up the mess. Of course it'd be the servant that will clean up the mess.
Waqa stops recounting the events when he feels Alhaitham circles his arms around his waist and spoiledly nuzzles into his hair, “What's wrong?” Waqa casually asks, trying to hide how his wings perk up from liking the quiet intimacy.
Alhaitham simply hugs him tighter as he purrs out a chittering noise before he lazily mumbles, “You're warm.”
Waqa snorts as his wings twitch. Oh, of course he won't say he's cold. It's almost as if he has personal grudge over it or something.
Distinctly, Alpha Build can sense both Sigma Build and Omega Build are judging him from the link but he ignores it in order to dry himself with the towel faster, “Then go ahead and sit in front of the heater. It'll definitely be warmer there,” Waqa says though he doesn't actively try to push Alhaitham off.
Alhaitham pauses for a moment before he pulls back from the hug with a sigh that almost sounds contemptuous, his pairs of wings drooping with exasperation, “It’s your warmth that I want, not the heater’s,” he deadpans and the tiredness in his voice makes Waqa pauses to tilt his head at Alhaitham in confusion.
Waqa pauses for a few seconds more before he hesitantly starts to slowly dry himself again, staring at Alhaitham all the while –a little bit dumbfounded, “You shouldn't be dependent on my warmth, though?” he asks, confusion palpable on his face, wondering why Alhaitham is acting so unreasonable, “it would be really bad if I'm not around when you're outside. Actually, is that why you never wear something warm?”
[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH,] Sigma Build suddenly screams to the link from… second-hand embarrassment?
Alpha Build's wings twitch in annoyance at the ringing in his ears, [Can you shut up?!] he snaps to the link, his rare bout of good mood instantly ruined.
[No!] surprisingly, it's Omega Build that protests, [it's you that fucking needs to shut up!] he screams to the link with mortification, not an ounce of composure left.
Now, Waqa is well-versed in friendly fire among the Segments and he'd definitely love to continue the discussion of who needs to shut the fuck up. But Omega Build can just thank Alhaitham that he doesn't get his pride destroyed –at least for the moment– because Waqa really can't comprehend why the contempt in Alhaitham's eyes immediately levels up from exasperation to vexation after he said that.
… Is Alhaitham annoyed because of what he said?
… No… that would be absolutely ridiculous.
… Right?
“I suppose you're right,” Alhaitham agrees but Waqa is getting the feeling that he's disappointed in him from the way he crosses his arms before he turns around and leaves, his pairs of wings flicking behind him.
Waqa genuinely has no clue what's happening. Alhaitham is following his opinion albeit, for a reason he doesn't understand, rather unwillingly. So why does he feel like he messed up something? Even the link is suspiciously silent with a reverberating silence of disappointment.
… When you're stuck, the best course of action is to inquire.
So Waqa opens his mouth, wanting to ask Alhaitham what's wrong. But, before he can even open his mouth, Alhaitham has turned to him again and grabs his hand. Waqa looks at Alhaitham in confusion but he says nothing because the way Alhaitham is glaring at him with annoyance shuts him up for good.
Wordlessly, Alhaitham pulls him out of the bathroom and into the library corner of the master bedroom. Deciding that he has no clue what's happening, Waqa says nothing and lets himself be pulled. Even when Alhaitham pushes him onto the couch before roughly slamming into him and hugging him annoyedly.
Quite a while passes in silence as Alhaitham tightly hugs him without uttering a single word. Waqa's hands float around with hesitation before he decides to rest one on Alhaitham's back while the other rests on the armrest.
Another while passes in silence as Waqa stares at Alhaitham, trying to discern his intention, before everything suddenly clicks, “Oh, you were asking for a cuddle,” he says rather proudly.
Alhaitham says nothing but his pairs of wings twitch. On the other hand, the link is filled with pained groans. Waqa doesn't care much though. What matters now is that he understands what's happening so he knows what to do.
Happily, Waqa pulls Alhaitham closer and plants his chin on his head before purring to his mate.
Omega Build Dottore rubs his jaw as he tilts his head up to emptily look at the bleak sky of Snezhnaya. How come a version of him can be that embarrassingly dense? He should definitely return to The Residence as quickly as possible lest Alpha Build embarrasses himself more.
Oh, who's he kidding? Alpha Build is already doing a much better job than Prime and Sigma Build. Prime with the way he is and Sigma Build who, despite never wanting to make his moonlight leave, has been the only one that had physically harmed him. So yeah, whether he likes it or not, that dense fool is actually his best ally.
Dottore lets out a sigh that's borderline a growl as he massages the back of his neck. It's quite unbecoming of him to act so grouchy in public but he really just wants to go home already and cuddle his mate to death. Unfortunately, he can't. At least not yet. He still has to visit some clothing stores to have them make his moonlight something that'll accommodate his pairs of wings. It won't be easy because, as he predicts it, the only option is for the clothes to be backless altogether but that kind of clothing is simply way too impractical in Snezhnaya –not counting the fact that it'd look so weird in his wardrobe.
Giving up thinking about it, Omega Build asks for a second opinion to the link, [What if moonlight really is immune to Snezhnayan weather?] he asks though it pains him so much that he has to consider forgoing his moonlight's comfort for a simple solution.
Alpha Build immediately scoffs to the link, [The prospect of him not being immune should be enough of a reason to deem it no,] he chidingly responds as if the answer is already clear all along.
Which Omega Build wholeheartedly agrees but that doesn't ease his dilemma in the slightest so he has to sigh in pain and argues, [The temperature moonlight braved through during the aerial courtship dance is enough to turn an Avian to become frozen solid in matters of seconds. Yet, moonlight is in the perfect condition isn't he? Furthermore, after the first flight moonlight had in Snezhnaya, which was also the first time he stepped into this wretchedly cold nation, he only accumulated frosts that didn't even leave a single frostbite,] Omega Build says as he walks at the back of the other Harbingers exiting the throne room, [if that's not enough solution, I'll just order a few to accommodate moonlight for a moment until a much more solid test to prove his immunity is done.]
Truly, Omega Build wants to continue the discussion for much longer –he’d take any chance to figure out the best way to spoil his mate rotten. Unfortunately, he has to cut it short because he notices that the Harbingers, all of them except for Pierro, are purposefully walking slower and slower as if they're trying to corner him to have a talk. Damn it.
Wanting this to be done with so that he can move on with his to-do list, Dottore opens the conversation on his own accord, “Nod-Krai is an island on the border of Snezhnaya. It's not a small island but the profit that can be gained from the land couldn't be any smaller because it's an abandoned area filled with abyssal monsters. The only extreme plus side of that island is the fact that it's incredibly strategic in trades. Since I have the autonomy to govern that place means that I can establish a trading hub there which will be incredibly enticing to the international merchants because of the chance for them to cut their transportation fees…,” Dottore quickly trails off, suddenly seeing the full opportunity cost of having that island under his name.
Damn. The piece of certificate stored in his coat suddenly felt like thousands of gold bars. Which is… neat to have, Dottore supposes, but not exactly what he desires.
“Huh,” Dottore hums in slight amazement, “The Tsaritsa is quite generous, isn't she?” he casually says which makes some bristles but he's not in the mood to humor them so he continues with a shrug, “just tell me what do you want to say. I have to get to the clothing stores to get my mate something new to wear before they all close.”
To that, Pantalone laughs as he slows down to walk next to Dottore, his wings slightly ruffled from what seems to be a secondhand embarrassment, “You could have, at the very least, keep that to yourself.”
Dottore takes offense to that as he openly scowls at his business partner, “What's wrong with me openly expressing that I love my mate.”
To that, Pantalone can only bitterly laugh in his mind. He's still young. He still had time to find a mate.
On the other hand, the rest of The Harbingers look quite uncomfortable as if they can't wrap their head around the fact that Dottore loves his mate so much.
… Dottore takes extreme offense to that so he quickly snaps, “State your business, already!”
Hm. With that kind of reaction, it doesn't take a genius to immediately notice that they have offended Dottore.
So Pantalone quickly clears his throat, his wings shifting awkwardly, “Well-”
Unlike his usual self, Capitano cuts Pantalone off to quickly make his concerns known, “I wish to let you know that I will be willing to lend my hand should you need my assistance in cleaning the monsters in Nod-Krai.”
Dottore waits for Capitano to continue with his condition but he doesn't, so Dottore pauses, making the rest of the Harbingers stop walking too –except for Columbina and Childe who walk for a few more steps before they pause and return to watch, “Oh? How generous of you,” Dottore comments, “what would be the compensation for The First Harbinger to be willing to lend his hand?”
Capitano lowers his head with a sigh, “All I ask is that you provide a basecamp for my men and treat them with respect befitting of humans,” ah, there it is, the sign of distrust that Capitano can easily discern in Dottore's smile, “it's my duty to oversee the border be it the lands or the seas. Nod-Krai isn't an exception. Unfortunately, that island has been neglected for a while because it's not in the top priority. It's my duty to pick up my slack.”
Dottore quietly stares at Capitano for a few seconds before his wings flick and he refuses the offer with a sigh, “That won't be necessary,” he says with tight lips, feeling a bit uncomfortable, “I'm sure I can clear that area by myself eventually.”
Ever the chivalrous, Capitano insists on helping, “Turning an untouched land into a home won't be quick,” he says and when the corner of Dottore's lips twitch as he lowers his head in thoughts, he adds the finishing blow, “especially if it's to accommodate a child.”
Dottore’s wings bristle slightly but he quickly smoothens them down with a sigh, “I will think about it.”
Childe's wings twitch a lot in an attempt to smother down his admiration towards the Captain. The First Harbinger is so admirable. Such a responsible commander. Willing to get his duty done even if he no longer has the responsibility to do it. And it's all because he has concern for a future fledgling?! Oh, Childe wants to sob.
Seemingly tired of having to tolerate being surrounded by the rest of The Harbingers, Dottore starts monologuing, “Let me make this quick, then. No. I don't plan to establish any government there. That's just way too much work for something that I'm not interested in. The answer to the follow-up questions for that will be, ‘Yes. I don't care if it becomes a lawless land. Yes, I don't care if it will become a refuge for the most wanted criminals.’ As a matter of fact, I encourage you to throw the most unwanted criminals there. It'll be akin to giving me a spare part. It'll be trash but I can still use it,” he pauses to take a breath but when he sees Pantalone and Pulcinella opening their mouth, he quickly continues, “‘no, I'm not going to mess with the trades.’ Rest assured. I genuinely only asked for a land near the capital so that my mate and my possible future child can easily interact with civilization but Her Majesty, for some reason, thought that I need to be a landowner to be a father,” silently, Pantalone closes his mouth slowly and Dottore huffs, tired of talking already, “if any of you are still thinking that we'll still have something else to discuss after all I had said, please contact me at a later date to schedule a meeting,” he says before he shoulders past the crowd around him to rush to, hopefully, the closest respectable clothing store.
Despite his urgency, Arlecchino says something under her breath that makes Dottore can't help but abruptly pause in his track, “I knew it.”
By all means, Arlecchino says nothing incriminating and yet the way she says it still makes Dottore's blood boil, “Interesting take,” he says without turning around but he can feel The Knave's cold gaze piercing his back, “why don't you join me in my shopping spree and elaborate more with your thoughts?”
The corridor plunges into silence before Arlecchino blurts, “What?”
Dottore pretends to not hear her and instead tilts his head in thoughts, “Oh, while we are at it, care to join us, Columbina? I think you'd know how to design clothing for someone that has multiple pairs of wings,” he says before walking off without looking back, knowing full well that they'd follow.
Though it's not because The Knave would follow him willingly. It's because he knows that The Damslette will be pushing The Knave to follow in her excitement of spending time outside of the Zapolyarny Palace.
Sure enough, Dottore soon hears The Damslette letting out a soft excited gasp followed by The Knave's frantic attempts in asking for a timeout which, by the sounds of it, is ignored.
…
“ Why? ” Arlecchino immediately growls at Omega Build Dottore the moment they're escorted into a private selection room.
Dottore notes that she's angry. And quite rightfully so. Nevertheless, the annoyance on her face still manages to make Dottore snort.
The fire of anger in Arlecchino's eyes burns brighter at Dottore's disrespect. Understanding that he probably shouldn't fan the fire because he does need to get some clothes in this store, Dottore opts to quickly huffs in amusement and answers her.
Though it's not before he sits down on the luxury couch, “Because your dismissal towards my efforts to make my family's life easier has been grating on me for a while now,” he answers bluntly, causing Arlecchino to still in surprise, though it's not for long since Dottore quickly breaks the tension by offering a plate of cake towards Columbina, “tiramisu, ordered straight from Fontaine.”
Rolling her eyes when Columbina quickly rushes to accept the plate of cake and sits down on the couch next to Dottore, Arlecchino crosses her arms with a huff, “Don’t be stupid. You know very well that you aren't fit to become a father.”
“I know,” Dottore easily agrees, surprising Arlecchino, “I'm not ready and I don't think I'll ever be,” he admits before he shrugs and cuts the cake for himself –a noticeably larger one that makes Columbina glares at his plate with envy, “having a child is one of the most common cause of a divorce after finance. I'm aware of the risk. But I want my mate to be happy so I'll try my best.”
Arlecchino freezes for a moment before she grits her teeth, “If you only care about your mate then don't you dare have a child. Don't you dare bring a child you don't want into this world.”
Dottore pauses with a spoonful of cake in his mouth which is down turned with many thoughts, “I suppose that's very irresponsible of me,” he agrees which takes Arlecchino off guard, yet before she can form a different opinion of him, Dottore quickly proves his identity as Dottore once again, “I guess I'd have to tolerate your rude prejudice towards me for longer.”
“ You- ”
Before Arlecchino can continue her, undoubtedly, colorful sentence, Dottore cuts her off, “Or- you can give me your advice.”
Again, Arlecchino is at a loss for words, “What?”
Dottore simply plates another portion of the cake and extends it to Arlecchino, “You're experienced in housing several children. I'm sure you know what to have around, how much sunlight they’d need, how much personal space and parental guidance they'd need, etc.”
Arlecchino thoughtfully stares at the offered plate before she takes it with a sigh and sits on the couch next to Columbina. She doesn't like this one bit. But, in all honesty, she knows that she can't just tell this mated pair to not have a child so this is the next best thing.
“Why would you want to know how to house that many children, anyway?” Arlecchino asks under her breath as she carefully cuts the cake into a bite size but she pauses once more to glance at Dottore because he's being suspiciously quiet.
“... Hmm…,” Dottore hums as he leisurely cuts his cake, “that's a personal matter,” he says.
Instantly, Arlecchino's face scrunches with disgust while Columbina starts giggling.
Pretending as if he hasn't been read through, Dottore loudly snaps his fingers, “Bring out the ensembles. Do you people not want to go home?” he orders.
Immediately, the owner of the clothing store opens the door and motions for his employees to showcase their pieces. They're all pale faced. Deadly afraid but their pay is based on commissions so, in a way, they're also very eager.
Dottore places his plate down to seriously scrutinize the pieces, ignoring the look Arlecchino is sending him.
Notes:
Happy 90 chapters me. Haha, I'm genuinely wondering if this fic will bursts through 300k words.
Also, this fic reached 666 kudos a few days ago and I took a screenshot of it because that's just such a perfect moment.
On one hand, I'm hoping that Capitano will become playable. On the other hand I don't want him to because he's rumored to be revived in 6.x and what has been consistent do far is that the Harbingers don't get released twice in a row.
The again. That rumor feels very cope for me cuz then what's the purpose of giving him that throne? Especially because you claim pyro traveler's constellation there. I know Genshin has a lot of things that don't make sense but ain't no way they'd release a character whose corpse is showcased on a throne. It's definitely breaks the immersion of new players that pulled for him in early game only to find out that he died there. Not to mention the leaks that'll be contained in his voice line.
Aaaaaaa I just want all of the Harbingers to be playable! WHY CAN'T THEY?
Chapter 91
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The deep night is fast approaching. At a time like this, she would have already returned to The House of The Hearth to oversee the reports from the daylight corps. Now though, now…. She's socializing with Dottore .
Oh, Arlecchino can only hope that the children won't be unnecessarily worried due to her rather sudden change of schedule.
Letting out a loud sigh that causes the employees who are prattling on and on about nonsense in the hope that he can make them buy something to stiffen from nerves, Arlecchino slightly leans back into the chair and looks boredly at Dottore.
Dottore, sensing the stare, motions the employee to continue his speech before he quietly falls back to Arlecchino's side.
Arlecchino looks away as Dottore sits down on the couch next to her, still not too keen on mingling with him, before she lets out another loud sigh and gets on with it, “First of all, since you're so sure that you don't deserve to be judged by me, what makes you think it's a good idea to let a land your child will grow in become chock full of criminals?”
Dottore raises an eyebrow, not quite expecting that the base of his mindset seems to be problematic already, “Harsh environment will make them grow strong, no?” he asks as he glances at Arlecchino's face from under his mask in order to glean her response from her expression, “isn't it not too different from how you treat the children in your orphanage?” he adds to his reasoning when he notices the frustrated look on the ‘Father’s’ face, his wings slightly perking up from curiosity at the recognizable expression yet not understanding the reason for such expression.
Arlecchino's eyebrow twitches from the strain of refraining herself from castrating Dottore so that he won't be able to procreate. If he has the audacity to think his plan is a reflection of her rules, then the child is better off never being born. Allowing Dottore to become a father is a sin at this point.
Arlecchino rubs the bridge of her nose as she glares annoyedly at Dottore from the corner of her eyes, “They're orphans, Dottore,” she tiredly points out, getting even more tired when she sees Dottore's wings twitch before perking up higher as if he's excited that he can finally see his wrongs, so she adds in an unnecessary comment to vent her frustration, “unless you're planning to abandon your mate and child, don't think you can treat your child the same as I treat the children of The House of The Hearth.”
Dottore's feathers immediately ruffle at the accusation sounding advice but they immediately smoothen again as the owner sighs with a smile, “I suppose you're right,” he amicably agrees as he reaches into his coat to take out a small notebook, “well, I guess being a parent is all about sacrifices,” he comments as he happily scratches on his notebook, seemingly crossing out a whole page of writings.
Arlecchino cynically snorts as she rolls her eyes, not actually trusting Dottore's words for it. He can act like he cares all he wants. Arlecchino won't fall for his facade. As a matter of fact, she knows very well he won't be able to keep the act for long. There's absolutely no chance that someone who sees humans as test subjects can be a good father.
“Do you have time to spare on Monday?” Dottore suddenly asks, causing Columbina to suddenly snap her head in an almost 180° angle, utterly scandalized, causing the employee she was chatting with to let out a startled squeak.
Both Arlecchino and Dottore send her a deadpan look, wordlessly refuting whatever she has in mind and silently insinuating that she's weird for even thinking that.
Columbina pouts as the wings on her head ruffle to hide her embarrassment, “You're a married man, Doctor. You shouldn't be asking a woman to meet you alone in the first place,” she says the, undoubtedly, recited part of a religious book from somewhere.
To that, Arlecchino sends Dottore a look, telling him to fix things up.
Dottore slightly slouches on his chair for a second before he straightens up and flaps his wings twice before continuing his invitation, “If you are, I invite you to visit my office in The Regrator’s jurisdiction,” he slowly says while pointedly staring at Columbina whose little wings puff up even more.
“And what will be the purpose of this invitation?” Arlecchino coldly asks.
“Plainly, it's to discuss if Nod-Krai will also be under the jurisdiction of your patrol teams,” Dottore answers as he props his chin on his knuckle, oozing smugness even if the quirk of his lips is neutral, “it's not a small island, after all. Sooner or later civilians will start coming and at that point you have the obligation to keep an eye on them,” he explains before softly groaning in annoyance –without a doubt a facade, “unfortunately, if it comes to that point, a form of government is needed –of which I'm not interested in– especially because it'd mean that we'll have to have a continuous cooperation,” Dottore nonchalantly says before secretly smirking when he senses more than sees Arlechino tensing up on her seat.
Arlecchino falls into silence. She's thinking about what will be her course of action. Dottore isn't wrong. Her duty is to keep the peace with the civilians. The problem is she doesn't want to work for Dottore. But she also doesn't want to go back on what she said and tells Dottore that his idea is okay just because of her convenience.
Dottore cheerfully claps once, startling the occupants of the room, “Well, now you see the dilemma,” he annoyingly sing-songs.
In the end, Arlecchino sighs and says, “There is no need for a meeting. You're the one with the full ownership of that island.”
Sure, maybe becoming a parent is about sacrifices. What does that have to do with her? It's not even her child.
“Well, isn't that splendid?” Dottore mockingly acts surprised, “thankfully I haven't scratched any of my original plans off my agenda,” he was only doodling his moonlight's tits earlier.
Sighing for the umpteenth time in the span of hours, Arlecchino truly wonders. Why did she even agree to come?
Columbina lets out an elated gasp, “Doctor, you should see this one,” she says as she looks back at Dottore with a satisfied smile, causing Dottore to immediately get up from his chair to see what the Damslette is referring to.
Seeing her two coworkers argue over the clothes, suddenly Arlecchino remembers why she's here instead of closing the day. She wasn't given the choice to refuse.
It's very cold in Snezhnaya. That's but a simple fact. Thus it's only reasonable if Zazan turns on the heater in the observation room. Perhaps, it's also supposed to be an instinct too.
Funny how he doesn't feel that instinct kicks in yet even when he can barely feel his fingers already. Isn't that weird? He's a researcher that is often stationed on the operating section. The condition of his hands should always be his top priority.
And yet-
Yet…, Zazan can only continue to blankly watch as the tip of his fingers slowly gets bluer.
Zazan sits in the dark and cold observation room completely alone, his wings lifelessly slumping on his back. In a way, it's almost as if he has as much life as the unconscious test subject chained to the bed down there in the room. The unforgiving and cruel chill is ever so slowly trying to claim his life and yet his body isn't even reacting with a shiver.
If Zazan wants to, he can curl into his own wings for some warmth. If he wants to, he can just turn on the heater and the lamp. It's not like there's no electricity in the observation room.
He can… but he won't. It's simply because he doesn't want to.
… It's not the heater's warmth that he wants…
Lifelessly, Zazan clenches his hand into a fist. He watches as the skin of his hand easily cracks like an eggshell. Now Zazan can see that his hand is no longer blue but red.
Unfortunately, in his eyes, the red isn't his. It's Alhaitham's red. The blue of his dying cells simply looks like the curse he has given Alhaitham.
As Zazan's breathing starts to quicken, he can't help but instinctively peek at Alhaitham through Alpha Build's perspective. He's currently sleeping now. Looking so peaceful and comfortable in Alpha Build's embrace and Zazan both feels envy and fear because of it.
Envious because of how warm they look. Because he is usually the one that Alhaitham forcefully cuddles with. Because he wants to be the one cuddling with Alhaitham without worry instead of stuck underground with fears clawing at his insides.
But so do afraid because… because if he's the one there, Alhaitham won't look as peaceful as he looks now. Because he'll be afraid of him. Because Zazan knows for sure that Alhaitham won't want to even look at him.
The light in the observation room suddenly switches on, casting the entire room with its glaring light, causing Zazan to clench his eyes shut with a wince and a raspy caw.
With a sigh, Prime enters the room and places his folded fur coat on the nearest desk, “Where's the chart?” he asks out loud as he fixes his gloves.
Zazan doesn't immediately answer. He continues to raspily growl to himself with clenched eyes, waiting for the sting to pass. Yet the sting doesn't go away. Instead, tears start to seep out of his clenched eyes.
Seeing that his youngest Segment is currently having a mental breakdown, Prime decides to find the chart himself. With that kind of mental condition, it's best that he vents his emotions now and pulls himself together later. After all, Sigma Build's mental age is ripe with emotional turmoil –be it because of an imaginative scenario or not.
Prime quickly finds the chart hanging on the metal railing next to the observation window. Opening it to the last entry, Prime reads the last log and he frowns.
The test subject is… ‘usable’ . Though that's already pushing it. The chance of a healthy subject in his prime successfully passing the first stage of his experiment is already 1 in a ten. A mutilated test subject with multiple brain damages and severe blood loss is far from ideal.
With his face scrunched in displeasure under his mask, Prime coldly looks down at the lump of useless meatsack lying on the bed.
It already pains Prime more than anything that he has to call the thing down there as a test subject. It’s already rotting despite being still –supposedly– alive and it can't even breath on its own. Utterly pathetic. It should've regained its useless conscience a few hours ago and yet it seems like it doesn't even have the will to live anymore.
Wings twitching annoyedly, Prime looks up to let his blood flow to circulate to his head better so that he doesn't get a headache and sighs deeply.
Truly, it'd be a better use of his time if he just scrape the thing down there off his property and begin anew.
Actually, why hasn't ‘he’?
Looking down once more, Prime scrutinizingly tilts his head to the side. Now, he sees something more than trash. He sees a trash that dares to exist in this existence – that dares to hurt his mate .
Snorting coldly, Prime flicks his wings before returning the chart to its original place and turns to where he stashes his equipment.
Oh, of course ‘he’ still keeps the trash around. How could he forget? This experiment is personal.
“Once you're done, meet me at the table,” Prime says aloud, not bothering to check if Sigma Build has calmed down yet or not.
“Why are you here?” Sigma Build asks, his voice raspy and breathless from his earlier mental breakdown, “why aren't you with Hayi?!” he yells, for some reason sounding desperate, “he isn't afraid of you so why are you not staying by his side?!”
With his hand staying on the doorknob, Prime pauses before sighing, “The timeline I have in mind should allow us to have our result way before the day of our wedding,” he says instead of answering, “if nothing else proves to be a hindrance, we should be able to attend our wedding bearing the result as our gift for him,” he slowly continues before glancing back at his youngest Segment, who's disgustingly and pathetically staring at him with crushed expression yet hopeful eyes, “that entirely depends on your willingness to cooperate, though,” he says before he opens the door and descends down the stairs, leaving Sigma Build alone in the observation room.
Sigma Build hesitates. Then his body jerks up before he abruptly stops again, frowning deeply as his wings spasm behind him. Long he spends his time in silent debate before fire of determination suddenly lits his eyes into a pair of vibrant drops of blood.
Sigma Build finally stands tall, flapping his wings to get rid of their numbness before he follows the path Prime took with sure steps.
It's late at night. Every corridor is lighted only with the dim shine of night lamps. Each and every corridor is bereft of any life forms. At least until now.
Its bulky form stalks quietly through the corridor, covered under the guise of the shadow. It silently crosses the room and descends the stairs, looking as if it's slithering. Its path is efficient, almost as if it knows where to go. And perhaps it does know its destination by heart. Like a trained assassin waiting coming in to reap the soul of its long-observed target.
And thus, at the front of a grand door, it ever so quietly comes to a full stop. It has reached its destination. The master bedroom.
In the dim lighting, the form grins, showing off its sharp teeth-
[Hayi is asleep,] Alpha Build grumpily informs to the link, [so was I but I know you don't care about that but I'm warning you, Omega Build. Don't you dare wake him up. He has been through a lot.]
Under the dim light, Omega Build's smile drops, [I'm fully aware of that,] he snaps to the link, offended by Alpha Build's assumption.
Alpha Build lets out a disbelieving snort, [Then why would you sneak around like a rat like that?]
Very carefully, Omega Build reaches for the doorknob so that the bags of clothes in his arms don't make a sound and, very slowly , he opens the door, [What do you think?] he bitingly asks –which effect is severely dampened due to his ridiculous show of stepping into the room in slow-motion– as he raises an eyebrow at Alpha Build who simply looks at him as if he's a clown, so Omega Build sighs and explains, [moonlight has very sensitive hearing,] he reminds Alpha Build matter of factly though he's not trying to make it annoying as he opts to instead places the bags down next to the cupboard.
Alpha Build inwardly rolls his eyes but he can't retort with anything because Omega Build isn't wrong. He's not happy with the fact that Omega Build wins so easily though. Unfortunately, he doesn't want to argue in fear of accidentally waking up Alhaitham so he keeps himself busy by playing with Alhaitham's hair.
At least until Alpha Build sees Omega Build standing beside the bed, [What are you doing?] he asks, guarded.
Omega Build sends him an annoyed look, [Don't you dare look at me like I'm an intruder. This bed was bought with my Mora,] he growls to the link before carefully trying to slip under the blanket, uncaring of Alpha Build's further opinions –should he have any.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings lethargically twitch as he sleepily rolls to check what's causing the bed to dip, making both Alpha Build and Omega Build pause even their breathing.
For a moment, Alhaitham simply squints at Zandik, trying to discern his face in the dark, frowning in deep concentration, then his expression completely eases up as he sends his mate a small smile, “... Zandik,” he sleepily mutters in greeting.
Ah…. Zandik wants to cry. That's so cute. So so cute that every inch of his fatigued from stress vessel immediately relaxes.
Zandik really wants to coo but he knows very well that Alhaitham absolutely needs the rest so he simply lets out a gentle shush while pressing a soft kiss to his forehead, “Shh… go back to sleep, my moonlight,” he gently whispers as he peppers more kisses to Alhaitham's forehead.
Alhaitham sleepily lets out a soft squeal as he rolls around to circle his arms around Zandik's neck, his wings shifting contentedly behind him as he spoiledly nuzzles into Zandik's kisses.
Zandik is all too happy to receive Alhaitham. He quickly yet carefully shifts around on the bed to find a comfortable position before pulling his moonlight close. He continues to pepper kisses to his mate's face, his wings gently fluttering behind him. And when Alhaitham's movements start to grow more and more lethargic, he slows down his kisses until he stops altogether and simply presses their foreheads together.
Yeah, this is the height of life. Omega Build genuinely doesn't think he'd ever need to complain about having to wake up early to do a boring job anymore if this is what he'll find at the end of the day. His wish is fulfilled. His moonlight is all he ever needs.
Everything is just unprecedentedly perfect. The shared warmth of the bed, his moonlight, the soothing white noise of Snezhnayan night winds, his moonlight, the soft snore of his beloved moonlight. And everything is even more perfect when Alpha Build doesn't make a fuss in the slightest and simply hugs his moonlight from behind.
Pleased, Zandik closes his eyes with a content sigh. Alpha Build might be a dense fool at times but he's always weirdly in tune with moonlight's needs. Like this, when morning comes and moonlight wakes up, he'd wake up surrounded by the loving embrace of his mates.
Zandik really hopes his moonlight can truly see, despite the different kinds of difficulty ‘he’ expresses ‘himself, how much ‘he’ loves him then.
Notes:
If you wonder why Zandik/Omega Build likes to nuzzle faces and/ peppering kisses with Alhaitham, this is the reason:
https://youtu.be/CXtoiwFZP5M?si=Exz-mxC8Q0gY8w9G
They're probably sharing food but it's a very good imagery still.
Today's 21st January. It's my birthday. Does that mean you get double update? Not really because I kinda forgot that today's my birthday too.
Also also, I wanted to pull for Arlecchino but I lost to C2 Tighnari. I'm so sad. I kinda knew it would happen but I'm still kinda sad. So then I ran to write this chapter.
Anyway, here's my UID. Just in case anyone wants to donate.
828928904Thankfully this patch is lantern rite. Not sure if I can get to pity but that's already something.
Chapter 92
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Abgal wonders what he's doing.
He knows that he's writing yet he doesn't know what he's writing. He knows where he is, his office at the Supreme Court, yet he doesn't know why he's there. He knows that he's currently in the safety of a government building yet there's something nagging at the back of his mind. It tells him: ‘I should kill myself before it's too late’.
The thought immediately sends a chilly shudder down Abgal's spine and he tries to shake it off by lightly flapping his wings, only to immediately frown.
Why does he feel so sluggish?
Confused, Abgal tries to stretch his body, trying to see if it can shake the feeling off. When, somehow, he feels his movements getting slower instead, Abgal tries to stand up, intending to work his body a little. Intended to.
Abgal's heart drops faster than his mind is able to comprehend he can't get up.
With his wings perked up high from tense fear, Abgal slowly lets out a deep breath, trying to calm his weirdly over-paranoid nerves. He tries to move his feet. They comply as easily as breathing. He tries to straighten each of his legs. They obey his whims so easily that Abgal doesn't doubt he'd be able to dance with them. He tries to get up again…. Nothing.
… What's happening?
Why can't he get up from his chair? Why can he move his body but it's as if he's glued to this chair? Something's wrong. What is it? Why can't he move? He has to run! He has to get to safety! He has to….
He has to kill himself…?
With that thought, the forced calmness Abgal feels immediately evaporates. His wings flare widely from fear. His feathers ruffled from intense instinct to flee. Abgal struggles on his chair, his wings flapping harshly in desperation to get away. The sounds of unruly, panic stricken, squawking that fills the room is unfamiliar to him.
Then, miraculously, Abgal wakes up.
Before Abgal can even figure out the orientation of his body, a hand roughly slams his head down till he can hear his brain rattling within his skull.
Abgal's face contorts from the pain beneath the hand keeping his head pressed down. What's happening now? He can't see. He can't move his limbs. He can feel one of his wings flapping frantically against a hard surface but soon it's also restrained down.
Abgal's heartbeat races till he can feel his blood pounding in his ears. He opens his mouth, hoping to figure out what's happening, but what comes out is a wail of agony as he suddenly feels as if his intestines are ripped apart. He immediately struggles against whatever is holding him down, then. Desperate in making the pain he feels disappear. Yet the pain persists and stews into agony as the hand holding his head down is unmoving.
“Tsk,” Abgal somehow can hear someone click his tongue amidst his screams and the ringing in his ears from the pain, a chillingly nonchalant noise as if the source is only mildly inconvenienced by hearing his screams, “propofol?” the voice asks and Abgal feels more chills descend on his being despite not knowing what that is.
“No,” another voice… or the man is talking to himself in a deeper tone? “you know very well that he needs to be awake for this stage,” what is he talking about?
“What if he dies because of it?” at this point, Abgal no longer bothers to figure out who's talking, he can only hope that the voice isn't talking about him.
Then comes a period of silence that's only filled with Abgal's non-stop screeching. He still has no idea what's going on. The hot-white agony crawling like fire ants in his veins doesn't allow him to even recall his latest memory.
“Ketamine, 4 grams,” the voice finally decides.
Abgal doesn't know what a ketamine is. Regardless, he still tries to struggle as much as he can. He's in danger. There's no doubt about it. Unfortunately, Abgal's submission is quickly forced out of him when the voice lets out a harsh annoyed sigh and then, somehow, he can feel fingers digging into the marrow of his right arm, “Can you stop?” the voice chides him as if he's a kid throwing a tantrum, “the needles on your arm are already crowded as they are. If even one of them is ripped off then I might as well just rip them all off along with the skin of your arm,” the voice threatens.
Abgal can't say anything to that. The fingers warningly digging, somehow, even deeper into his marrow is already enough to send him into a horrified silence. Besides, it's too late now.
The blissful numbness slowly claims Abgal's body. It soothes the agony eating at his insides but, at the same time, he can't help the dreads pooling in his stomach as he slowly loses the energy to fight back. When he wakes up, he will probably prefer to not be able to in the first place.
Oh, he should have listened to his own instinct when it told him to kill himself.
Alhaitham wakes up with the natural urge of relieving his morning business.
Unfortunately, he can't.
Because he's tangled under limbs and buried under wings. Funny thing is, usually he'd go as far as throwing something at Kaveh if he so much as breathes wrongly at him before he gets his coffee. Now though, he can't even get mad.
Because Zandik has a really cute sleeping face. His lips are slightly parted, causing the tip of his sharp teeth to peek out. There's also a little smidge of drool at the corner of his mouth too because of it. And his cheek is smushed to the pillow. He's so cute. Alhaitham wants to stare at him a little longer.
Unfortunately, Alhaitham still feels the need to go to the bathroom.
Not wanting to hold it back any longer, Alhaitham starts to squirm and shifts on the bed, trying to free himself from the limbs trapping him in his predicament.
“Oh, you're finally awake,” Alhaitham hears Waqa mutters behind him, voice gravelly and grumpy from just waking up, “good morning, Hayi,” he mutters as he pecks a kiss on Alhaitham's primordial trace before retrieving his limbs and wings from Alhaitham.
Alhaitham freezes up, not used to receiving such a form of intimacy in the morning, before the urge to use the bathroom quickly snaps him out of it and he struggles once more to get Zandik's limbs and wing off of him as he starts to feel his cheeks and ears heating up, his pairs of wings shifts in embarrassment behind him and flare to hide himself from Waqa's gaze. To try to make himself seem less flustered, Alhaitham tries to return the greeting. Unfortunately, he only managed to stutter out a squeal in return to Waqa's greetings.
Extremely sure that he is now positively red down to his neck, Alhaitham no longer tries to not disturb Zandik's sleep in his struggle to free himself. Unfortunately for him, Zandik doesn't let him go easily as he, instead, sleepily pulls him closer into a tight hug.
“Five more minutes, please. I will sign the proposal as soon as possible. Just leave it on my desk,” Zandik mumbles with his eyes closed as he spoiledly rubs his cheeks on Alhaitham's hair.
To that, Alhaitham silently bites his lower lip in pain. His Zandik is so cute. He really doesn't want to disturb his sleep. But he really needs to go to the bathroom now.
Alhaitham quietly sighs in pain before he starts gently shaking Zandik's shoulder to wake him up, “Zandik…,” he softly calls, “it's time to wake up.”
Zandik grumpily frowns with his eyes still closed, “Nonsense,” he sleepily refutes before grumbling, “moonlight is still here so it's not even daytime yet.”
Alhaitham lets out an amused sigh before he defeatedly presses his forehead to Zandik's chest. That's so cute. Alhaitham can't win.
Defeated, Alhaitham gives up and lets himself continue to be hugged. It's only five more minutes. Surely he can hold it back for that long.
Meanwhile, Waqa unimpressedly watches with crossed arms as Alhaitham squirms on the bed like a worm for a moment before he pins a stare at the very much pretending to be asleep Zandik, “Hayi needs to use the bathroom so stop playing around and let him go,” he deadpans, causing Alhaitham to freeze and Zandik to immediately sit up so that he can look at Alhaitham with eyes wide with wonders.
For a moment, Zandik simply stares at Alhaitham innocently, fully awake without a trace of sleepiness, while Alhaitham glares at him, his thighs rubbing against each other in an attempt to resist the urge, before he opens his damned mouth, “Can I waaAa-”
Before Zandik can finish his request, Waqa has already dragged him off the bed by the ankle. Wordlessly, he drags Zandik across the master bedroom towards the balcony, completely ignoring Zandik's enraged caws and curses. As he opens the door to the balcony, Waqa spares the time to stop for a moment so that he can throw Alhaitham a thumbs up before he disappears into the balcony.
Alhaitham silently watches the balcony door with an unreadable expression for a moment before he jumps down from the bed and rushes to the bathroom.
. . .
“Why won't you let me watch you peeeee?” Zandik lifelessly whines at Alhaitham as he steps into the balcony, staring up at him broken-hearted as he lays sprawled on the cold floor, seemingly never getting up in the first place ever since he got dragged there.
Alhaitham immediately pauses after his first step to send an unimpressed stare at Zandik. When Zandik simply blinks his pretty eyes innocently at him as if he has done nothing wrong, Alhaitham's pairs of wings and shoulders slump with exasperation.
“Just step on his face,” Waqa dryly suggests as he stares at Zandik with disgust while casually leaning against the railing, “he deserves that,” he unkindly comments but when he sees Zandik tense up with anticipation instead, he quickly changes his mind, “wait, no. He'd like that way too much.”
Immediately, Zandik pushes himself up slightly just so that he can send Waqa an offended look, “What did I ever do to you?” he asks with as much hurt as someone who just witnessed their favorite toy being destroyed in front of their face.
Waqa slowly blinks at Zandik before he ignores him completely and asks Alhaitham, “What do you want to eat for breakfast?”
Alhaitham's pairs of wings perk up at the attention, “I thought ‘you’ don't need to eat?” he asks instead.
Waqa opens his mouth, about to answer, but Zandik immediately stands up and sits down on the balcony chair and answers for him instead, “Correct but if that means we get to eat with your most delightful company then that's completely arguable,” he says with a charming smirk that urge Waqa to stare at him dryly once more.
Alhaitham, too, wants to stare dryly at him but, under Zandik's loving yet mischievous gaze, he quickly feels his face heating up, “I'm not hungry,” Alhaitham quickly mumbles as he averts his eyes from Zandik but he still sits down on the vacant chair across from Zandik.
“Then…,” Waqa trails off as he pushes himself off from the railing to approach Alhaitham, his wings flaring warily with excitement, “how about we eat chocolate cake for breakfast like a degenerate?” he asks as he stares at Alhaitham with his only eye glittering with yearning.
Faced with that kind of expression, Alhaitham's lips twitch in amusement as he sighs, “I suppose we can be degenerates this morning.”
Waqa's wings sharply perk up in lieu of his excitement, “I'll tell Alexei to prepare some then,” he says with a sense of self satisfaction before he, without preamble, jumps off the balcony.
Alhaitham wants to say that he's surprised. Unfortunately, he doesn't. Mostly because that somehow feels very in character with Waqa and because they're Avians so it can't even be called a stunt.
But then Alhaitham's pairs of wings immediately tense up when he remembers that his mate is not exactly the best when it comes to flying.
Now worried, Alhaitham makes a move to stand up but his action is immediately halted when he hears Zandik say, “Why are you so nice to him but not me?” he asks, his tone neutral bordering playful but when Alhaitham looks at him, he can see that he's a bit dejected.
Aware that to his mate it may feel unfair, even though their request definitely can't be compared to each other, Alhaitham softly sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose, “...I'm just not into humiliation, Zandik,” he hesitantly says, unsure of how his most affectionate mate will react.
“Okay,” Zandik accepts, surprisingly easily.
Alhaitham is rather surprised. He doesn't expect that Zandik would accept his reason so easily. Well, Zandik is slightly scowling –almost pouting– but he still accepts it.
Noticing Alhaitham's surprised stare, Zandik can't help but snort and tilts his head amusedly, “What are you looking at me like that for?” he asks with a gentle smile on his lips, “you’re allowed to have boundaries even with your mate, you know?”
Alhaitham clicks his mouth shut, still staring at Zandik in surprise and Zandik steadily maintains his gentle appearance. They continue the silent exchange before Alhaitham finally can't handle it anymore and he shyly looks down. Alhaitham restlessly wrings his hands under the table for a moment before he finally lets out a squeal of understanding.
Zandik silently chuckles deep in his chest before he leans forward, “Who was it?” he asks out of the blue.
Confused by the question Alhaitham looks up from his hand to look at Zandik but he immediately flinches back from the intensity of his gaze.
Zandik's gentle smile is still on his lips but his eyes are now narrowed ever so slightly in a way that makes him looks especially menacing, “My moonlight,” he calmly purrs, as he slowly gets onto the table to lean even closer to Alhaitham, “who was it?” he repeats in a whisper as he crawls on the table towards Alhaitham, his smile so sweet but his eyes are dark with promise, “tell me the name of the one who so foolishly disregard your wish to the point you thought you are not allowed to have boundaries when you're in a relationship,” Zandik coaxes as he gently caresses Alhaitham's cheek with his knuckle, his voice as soothing as the whispers of an evil god that Alhaitham almost gets pulled in.
“Get down from the table,” Waqa suddenly says from the master bedroom, holding a two tiers chocolate cake in one hand while the other holds some plates and silverware, shattering the mesmerizing atmosphere, “you're scaring Hayi.”
Zandik's wings immediately flare in indignation as he gasps scandalously at Waqa, “No, I'm not,” he growls vehemently.
Waqa glares at him, “Get down, regardless,” he annoyedly repeats, “you’re not the menu.”
Zandik pointedly crosses his arms, not moving an inch from where he is, “I can be.”
Waqa stares at Zandik with dead eyes, his hands are itching terribly to just throw the cake at Zandik's face.
Thankfully, the imminent disaster is easily averted when Alhaitham starts to, quite loudly, snickers to his hand, “Zandik, please just get down from the table,” he breathily says between his soft laughter.
For a moment, Zandik simply freezes up, unable to process why his moonlight is laughing so cheerfully. Thankfully, Waqa is also too preoccupied with Alhaitham's laughter to lose his patience. When Alhaitham starts to calm down, both Waqa and Zandik snap out of their stupor almost at the same time with Waqa stuck for a bit longer, giving Zandik enough time to frantically flaps his wings as he scrambles backward so that he can return to sit prettily back on his chair.
When Waqa silently places the cake on the table, Alhaitham finally stops laughing before sending Zandik an amused look, “Trutfully, they're not around anymore,” he says, causing both Waqa and Zandik to look at him with wings perked with curiosity, so Alhaitham slightly grimaces to himself before continuing, “I accidentally killed them,” …silence and Alhaitham winces to himself, “I failed to recognize them as my partners during a mating exile and killed them because I thought they were intruders,” … still with the same silence and with both of them staring unblinkingly at him, “after that accident, I was not allowed to perform any mating exile with partners that are less than a mate as my punishment.”
… The silence continues… until Waqa suddenly starts clapping and Zandik follows almost immediately.
Not expecting that, Alhaitham sputters, “I- No!- Don't applaud me for that!”
Although they both follow Alhaitham's wish and stops clapping, Waqa still frowns at him in confusion, “Why not? You stood for yourself.”
Across from Alhaitham, Zandik sagely nods, “Indeed, moonlight, you did nothing wrong. Many won't even dare to think of fighting back,” he commends, causing Alhaitham to facepalm.
“You both are such a bad influence,” Alhaitham exasperatedly laments though his shoulders are shaking from silent laughter.
As expected, when Abgal wakes up, he immediately wants to die.
The smell of blood is thick. His insides hurt. Breathing is painful and difficult.
He can't move. He doesn't want to.
He can't see his body. He doesn't want to.
He wants to kill himself. He can't.
Ah. Why did this happen to him? What has he done to warrant this? Who did this to him? Why didn't they just kill him?
Abgal hears something slide open followed by the sounds of footsteps. Its pace is languid, self-assured, and confident. It stops next to where Abgal is and then he can hear the soft clatter of equipment.
Through his tunneling heavy vision, Abgal can see an unfamiliar curl of hair that sends him a sense of dread like no other.
Though unfamiliar, Abgal knows who that hair belongs to. The owner rarely appears in public and almost never stepped foot in the Supreme Court. Yet Abgal knows that shade of blue. He knows from the small amount of files his followers managed to acquire for him.
The Second of The Fatui Harbinger, Il Dottore.
Now it's clear to Abgal why he is left to live.
It's because he's already dead to the world.
Notes:
I drew them (sorry that it's in bluesky):
https://bsky.app/profile/anotherneither.bsky.social/post/3lgfoosp5qs2xI'm genuinely kinda frustrated. It kinda feels like I'm closing in to my coloring style but I honestly still has no idea what I'm doing.
Also, remember that animatic I said I wanted to try? Unfortunately, life catches up. I lost the passion to finish it and I'll get busier. What I can always consistently do is writing so writing will always be my top priority.
It's going to suck a lot tho. My perfectionist ass is going to feel so irked I fail to fulfill my words. But like, at the same time I can just do it slowly... But I mentally can't cuz I'm always rushing things like I'm going to die in 5 years.
Maybe I should upload the few seconds I managed to create somewhere so that I can get a little bit of peace of mind.
And, I probably won't get Arlecchino. I'm at peace with it. My fault for pulling C1R1 Neuvillette. If I ever need pyro DPS, imma just resort to pyro Xiao like always.
Chapter 93
Notes:
I have returned... uh, with a pretty rusty writing skills so please bear with me.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
They can actually see in the dark so turning on the lamp is usually just a matter of preference or saving electricity. So, in this room filled with shelves lined row upon row of jars, the only source of light is the black light, uv light, and artificial sunlight installed upon the shelves to keep the particular organism within the jar alive. But there is a row of shelves that are kept dark and there an Avian stands.
Zazan scrutinizes the jars before taking a look at his notes and then frowning, [We have high standards for a reason and this doesn't match any of it in the slightest,] he complains to the link, [Alhaitham's womb took at least a month to grow and develop. These were all forcibly sped up with various kinds of chemicals that I'd be surprised if they aren't poisonous if implanted into Subject 1.]
From the link, Doctor clicks his tongue, [that doesn't matter anymore. I've cut Subject 1 open so just pick the best one.]
Zazan's wings immediately bristle with irritation, [Why would you cut it open?!] he angrily caws to the link, [I told you I need to confirm the eligibility of the implants first.]
[Precisely that,] Doctor calmy snorts to the link, [we don't have much time. Omega Build won't even consider delaying the ceremony for our sake.]
Zazan's wings flex angrily, almost knocking some jars, but they quickly slump tiredly as he tilts his head up tiredly, “Don't you just hate it when something that was worse than unimportant suddenly becomes important because there's no second chance,” he mutters to himself before scrutinizing the jars once more, [this pretty much us making an all-in bet on a coin flip,] he grumbles again to the link.
Standing upon the operating table that's lit by a very bright light for the purpose of smiting most bacterias, Doctor sighs underneath his operating mask as he makes the cut on Subject 1’s abdomen wider, [Do you want to skip the wedding ceremony?] he tiredly asks as he sews some parts of the skin to keep the abdomen open, [because, knowing me, Omega Build will definitely hold that over our heads for the rest of our existence.]
Zazan doesn't answer. At least not to the link. At the next second, he kicks the door to the operating room open, the jar filled with the womb in his hand.
Doctor calmly looks back, his wings bristles slightly from annoyance but he immediately pauses when he sees the womb in the jar, “... Are you sure we aren't betting on a dice roll?”
Zazan's lips part open with a snarl as his wings flare in annoyance. At the next second, he clicks his mouth shut and simply flaps his wings before placing the jar on the table next to the operating table and goes to disinfect himself. Doctor silently raises an eyebrow at his younger Segment’s behavior. Ever since Alhaitham flinches away from him, he seems to have developed some kind of maturity atypical of someone with his mental age.
Shaking his head slightly to get rid of distraction, Doctor clears his throat before speaking, “Reproductive research of divinity, Day 7, log 1: after a week of being a useless leech, Subject 1 will finally prove some form of use,” then he pauses to sneer as if the prospect of it is ridiculous even to him, “procedure: the implantation of the womb that was grown in a jar. Notes: the womb was grown in less than a week. Even if it was developed using a DNA from a lifeform close to a god, a high chance of failure is expected,” he adds, his voice laced with the distaste of someone having to lower his standard.
Right at that moment, Zazan comes into the operating room, fully geared and pushing in several high tech devices,” just in case we have to save its life,” he tiredly grumbles before he stands next to Doctor.
Wordlessly, the Dottores share a look, before, with a simultaneous tired sigh, they start the procedure.
. . .
That shade of blue…
The Second of The Fatui Harbinger, Il Dottore.
For a while, Abgal simply stares at Dottore in silence. His heart is full of fear and trepidation but he can't do anything about it. Through the numbness induced by drugs, he can sense that he's being held down. Even if he, somehow, can brute force everything and move, Abgal doesn't think he should run. It's weird. Somehow he just knows that this is the fate that he deserves.
Or maybe, maybe…. From one Avian to another, deep down Abgal can sense that the crow is keeping him here for a personal reason. Perhaps this is his retribution for punishing an innocent civilian for a crime he didn't even know.
Dottore stares at Subject 1 for a moment longer before flicking his wings in annoyance and then poking a finger at Subject 1’s abdomen.
As if a spark of fire has been triggered and his blood veins are lines of gunpowder, pain spreads in matters of seconds. The noncommittal poke at his abdomen that should've felt like nothing, considering the numbness he feels, for some reason feels as if his internal organs have been ripped out and then placed back together. Oh, Abgal doesn't even know if any living being can make a sound similar to what he's making. If he had something in his stomach, he would've been throwing it all up from the pure pain. Maybe that's for the better too. In this position, throwing up will definitely drown him to death.
“Does it hurt?” the Harbinger asks, somehow Abgal can hear his voice amidst all of his screaming crystal clear, “because you're only feeling the aftermath of the full brunt of it all.”
Abgal can't answer, he's still too busy squirming and screaming in the hope that the pain will disperse as quickly as possible. Even if he can be coherent enough, he won't even know what to say to such an apathetic comment.
Dottore lets out a soft sigh that belies the fury of a murder of thousands crows, “because of you, my mate had to experience all that you're feeling,” he grins at Abgal, his mask covering most of his expression yet Abgal can still tell that the smile is of manic anger, “fully conscious during the process and on the verge of death because fate decides that pain is not enough it has to add fear to the equation because it'd certainly be hilarious.”
It takes Abgal a few long agonizing minutes for him to finally be able to stop screaming, “I-” he manages to stutter out before he starts gasping for air for no reason, “I never did anything to your mate,” in the end, he finally manages to spit out.
Dottore’s wings slump. Tiredness? Exasperation? Or bafflement? Abgal doesn't know.
Then the Doctor's mouth parts slightly as he tilts his head as if he's amused. Again, the mask on his face obscures the majority of his expression so Abgal can only wait with fear as his already in pain body twists itself into knots from anxiety.
Finally, Dottore spreads his wings wide as he throws his head back. A loud crowing laughter booms from his parted lips, making Abgal's ears ring.
“HuHehehe Pah- Pardon me,” Dottore says with much difficulty as he continues to laugh, even his wings are flapping from amusement, “hehehehe, my apologies,” he finally giggles off into composure, “it's just… the irony of this situation isn't lost to me,” the Harbinger states with a smile on his lips before he bursts into booming laughter once more.
Abgal watches this twisted Avian laugh until he's wheezing. He doesn't know what to say to any of this. Should he even say anything at all? What's clear to Abgal is only one fact.
The fact that he ends up here because his backings wanted him to make The Second Harbinger feel sorry but this is his reaction.
Dottore suddenly huffs in amusement, snapping Abgal from his inner reverie, before asking, “Do you prefer artificial insemination or a more conventional means of impregnation?”
Through his eyes blurred from a layer of blood in his eyes, Abgal blankly stares at the Harbinger, “What?” he shakily asks.
Dottore snaps his fingers, “Right. You don't know,” he cheerfully says as he flips open a folder and pulls out a black and white picture before holding it in front of Abgal's face, “you have a womb now. Congratulations,” he says with a grin he can't quite fight off from his face as if he's extremely proud of himself, “since you've managed to enlighten me on how the Harbingers’ targets usually feel, I'm allowing you the freedom of choosing your own preferred means of getting pregnant.”
For a long time, Abgal can say nothing. His eyes blankly stare at the black and white picture in front of him. He's hop- praying with everything, to every Archon and gods he knows of, that the Doctor is merely joking. He's deeply hoping that the madman will start laughing again.
Unfortunately for Abgal, this revelation feels too much like the Doctor is finally telling him his verdict instead of another attempt to scare him.
Once the realization hits him, Abgal's breathing ever so slowly gets shorter and shorter, “G- get away from me,” he manages to stutter before the device monitoring his heart explodes into loud beeping and he quickly passes out.
The crow's wings perk up in surprise, “Oh? I suppose that means you prefer the more conventional way,” he slowly mutters as if this is another enlightenment to him, “I'll try my best to arrange it,” he says with a shrug before walking away, leaving Abgal strapped down on the operating table.
“What do you think is the chance that falcon breed Avians are all promiscuous?” Doctor asks the moment he steps out of the room he kept Abgal in and comes face to face with Zazan.
Zazan, with his arms crossed, slowly blinks at Doctor, “Are you seriously going to think about that?” he asks before his wings flex irritably, “how are you even going to find someone to impregnate him? One that won't report to anyone that the leader of the Rebel group is still alive and is in our captive. Not to mention how the conventional means of impregnation has such a low chance of a success that will, in turn, slow other observation progresses considerably.”
Doctor lets out a snort, “The Fatui is practically crawling with people that have big ambition. Blow the fire a little bit and we will be lucky if they don't ruin its womb in their excitement,” he coldly says but both he and Zazan immediately scrunches their face in disgust at the thought of it, “as for its looks, we only have to saw off the rest of its wings and, perhaps, give its face a few slashes,” he adds as he walks past Zazan.
Zazan immediately follows Doctor, hounding for answers, “you haven't addressed my last concern.”
“Subject 1 is not ready for the next step as of yet,” Doctor slowly says, calculating but also sullen and disappointed, “if its show of excessive pain is any indication, I'd say that its body has yet to accept the modification we've given.”
Zazan simply lets out a hum as he continues to follow Doctor though his steps quickly falter once he notices that Doctor is going towards the bunker's exit, “Uh, where are you going?” he warily asks.
“The Residence,” Doctor curtly answers before he blindly grabs Zazan's arm and drags him when he starts backing off.
Zazan immediately lets out loud caws of protest, “Let me go! If you want to go then go! Why are you dragging me with you?!”
Doctor lets out a sigh as he continues to drag Zazan to the exit, “You also have to attend the marriage ceremony, that's why.”
Zazan stiffens for a fraction of seconds before he starts struggling even fiercer, complete with the frantic flapping of wings typical of panicked aves, “LET GO OF ME! I HAVE TO FEED OUR TEST SUBJECT!”
Yet Doctor simply sighs and counters his argument, “I've hooked him into several bags of nutrients and sedatives. He won't wake up nor die until our return. You're coming whether you like it or not.”
To that, Zazan lets out a loud caw. He has to go? Fine. He will. But he won't do it peacefully.
Alhaitham blinks at the mountains of magazines, books, tomes, and even several scriptures dropped down in front of him before he stares at the culprit in confusion.
The culprit, Zandik, who's most likely feeling embarrassed because of something from the way his lips are twitching slightly, tightly smiles at him before quickly looking down at the books, “so…” he trails off, his wings shuffling awkwardly behind him.
Alhaitham blinks at his mate, his wings perking up in attention at what his mate has to say but he quickly realizes that his mate won't say anything so he asks, “What is it, Zandik?”
Zandik bites his lower lip as he grimaces, his hands pointing down at the mountains of his spoils, “I… have no idea how to plan a marriage ceremony.”
Alhaitham silently stares at Zandik for a moment before he opens his mouth… and then closes it again with an audible click.
Actually, that's a pretty good point.
Zandik lets out a few chuckles before he crumbles into a squat with an anguished whine, “you don't have any idea either do you?” he asks in despair as his wings ruffle up before cocooning himself.
Alhaitham wants to laugh at Zandik's dramatics. He really does. But he has a feeling that Zandik loves these kinds of celebrations and it'd be very mean of him to laugh. Especially because he has no idea how to plan a wedding either.
So Alhaitham lets out a soft reassuring squeal as he leans forward and asks, “What do you know about wedding ceremonies?”
Zandik's head peeks out from his cocoon to hesitantly answer, “Uh, gorgeous clothes, vows, happy ever after?”
Alhaitham smiles, trying so hard to not laugh at hearing the last part, “and how did you come to associate those things with marriage ceremonies?”
At that, Zandik confidently comes out of his cocoon, “Why, through my astute observation skills and many experiences of attending spectacular weddings, of course.”
This time Alhaitham finally lets out a few chuckles –he can't help it. He absolutely loves how each and every version of his mate's eyes always light up when they're bragging. Their eyes light up for different reasons but it always breaks their aloof scholar facade.
It's just that Alhaitham is particularly fond of the way Zandik's eyes light up with passion and a brand of pride that's almost akin to innocence, so Alhaitham doesn't even try to stop himself from pinching Zandik's cheek and pulls on it, “if you're so experienced then what are you worrying about?” he asks, his voice dripping with warmth.
Zandik lets out a whiny caw as he scrunches his face from the pinch as if it hurts as much as a stab wound to the liver, so Alhaitham lets go of his cheek with a snort.
Zandik sullenly rubs his pinched cheek while looking at Alhaitham in accusation –at least for a few moments before he bashfully looks away, “Because they don't feel like us,” he mumbles under his breath, probably in the hopes that Alhaitham won't hear.
Unfortunately –or fortunately– for Zandik, he underestimated Alhaitham's hearing ability.
“Why?” Alhaitham amusedly asks as he raises an eyebrow at Zandik, “because I recall you really like dressing me up so it's probably about the vow, isn't it?”
Zandik awkwardly scratches the back of his head as he mumbles, “Partly…” he trails off before flexing his wings and straightens his back, “because the last time a god personally blessed us, our marriage was a disaster,” he grumbles, his wings ruffling up behind him, “so this time, I'm not going to allow our vow to be under any god’s name,” he adds with a very decisive nods that is immediately followed by hesitantly glancing at his moonlight, as if he's checking if it's okay to do so.
“That's not a problem,” Alhaitham easily agrees, not a fervent believer himself, “is that why you're unsure of how to plan the ceremony?”
This time, Zandik hesitates. ‘Happily ever after’. if he's being honest, that phrase only exists in his dictionary because of some romance novels Pantalone shoved into his face. He absolutely thinks that it's a ridiculous vision. Such a thing can't happen because fate is just quirky like that.
How unfortunate it is then, that Zandik wants that to come true for their second marriage.
He doesn't dare to wish for it during the ceremony. He doesn't want to jinx it. Even if he knows he's being irrationally superstitious, he doesn't dare to wish for it. Because he knows he'll be extremely bitter when fate pranks him again.
“Zandik,” his moonlight's soft call snaps him from his own thoughts and he visibly relaxes just from knowing that his moonlight is listening to him, “lets just do what we want,” his moonlight says.
Zandik blinks, “What?”
Alhaitham tilts his head with an amused smile as he crosses his arms, “I have this feeling that you won't invite anyone,” he says as his pairs of wings ruffle up with amusement, “I won't either,” he adds, his smile growing softer –more reassuring, “and since we won't be having any witnesses or asking for any blessings, we can just do whatever we want,” Alhaitham slowly says as if he's trying to explain the ley lines structure to a ten years old –and honestly Zandik feels like he's only seven years old– then he shrugs good naturedly with a content sigh, “we don't have to impress anyone's judgement so it ought to be fun.”
Zandik's eyes widen slightly before his whole body perks up with a sharp intake of his breath. ‘fun’, his moonlight thinks it'll be fun .
“Can I assume that you mean that as a permission for me to slap a wedding ceremony title into a dinner date and call it a day?” Zandik asks, his expression is serious.
He won't really do that but he needs to figure out the bottom line.
Alhaitham chuckles as his pairs of wings rearrange themselves, “I'd even agree if you ask me to stage a heist on Northland Bank and call it our marriage procession.”
Zandik dramatically lets out a scandalized gasp, “A heist? On a bank I'm a board member of ?”
Alhaitham calmly nods, “They'd never suspect a thing.”
Silence, as they both stare at each other before they crumble into little giggles.
“Both of you are pathetic planners,” Waqa comments as he finally emerges from the mountains of magazines that Zandik had pretty much dropped on him out of pettiness, “how can you plan anything without mentioning cake even once?” he condescendingly asks, his wings slumping behind him from exasperation.
Both Zandik and Alhaitham silently stare at Waqa for a moment. Then Zandik takes a scripture from the pile and plasters it on Waqa's face as he forcefully pushes Waqa back down the pile.
“Return from whence you came, you idiot,” Zandik dramatically declares as his wings annoyedly flare behind him.
Alhaitham lets out a snort before he lightly smacks Zandik's wrist, “Stop trying to kill your younger self.”
Notes:
A month gone and suddenly I forgot the mood of the my fic where I left it at. I'm so sorry if there's a dramatic shift in vibe from chapter 92. I- I don't know how some of you do it but I'm not going to reread this whole series.
Also, I'm facing several dilemmas. Like this is the last arc but why do I feel like it'll be full of filler episodes? Is it weird that I feel like this fic ain't fic-ing if there's no more angst.? But nah, the worst part of this feelings is knowing that it feels that way precisely because Dottotham is finally getting their closure here.
Which is good because finally but also bad cuz I'm terrible at mentally accepting things.
Also, have you ever thought of what their future fledglings name would be? Cuz I've been thinking of something that sounds Sumerian or any language that is a descendant from that language but I keep thinking Dajjal and I feel like that's kinda disrespectful?
(Which is kinda weird now that I think about it cuz naming a character Lucifer is pretty common)
Chapter Text
“Okay!” Zandik cheerfully says as he claps his hands once, “here is our most ingenious plan for our wedding day,” he announces as he snaps a map open with a dramatic flip of his hand.
Alhaitham softly huffs in amusement as he sits with crossed arms, “If I didn't know better, I genuinely would've thought that you really wanted to rob your own bank with all that flairs,” he comments as he amusedly looks at the mind map laid upon the desk in front of him.
“And risk The Regrator ruining our honeymoon?” Zandik asks with a gasp, mockingly offended.
Alhaitham's eyes immediately snap down to fixate on the mind map. His mouth parts slightly as his pairs of wings slightly ruffle up before he shut it again, his wings floofing more and more the redder his cheeks flush. Curses, he's still not used to the idea of going on a honeymoon with his mate.
As Alhaitham shyly nods, his wings restlessly shuffling behind him from a mixture of excitement and awkwardness, Zandik's own wings flare up in pride as his lips spread into an excited grin though he quickly wrangle his expression into something more reassuring, “It’s going to be a great wedding, moonlight,” he excitedly gushes though he keeps his voice just above a whisper so that he doesn't irritate Alhaitham's hearing, “you have my word. This will be my first wedding, after all. I have a motive to make sure it will be the most memorable event in our life –emphasis on my life because I've lived for centuries and seen an exorbitant amount of stupidity across the eras.”
Alhaitham finally looks up from the mind map to tilt his head to the side, his lips imperceptibly raised slightly into a teasing smile, “And I hope this event doesn't turn out to become one of those ‘stupidities’ you mentioned.”
Zandik's ruffled feathers immediately flatten, “I never said that,” he mumbles, sounding slightly sullen, “why are you targeting me?” he asks as his wings ruffle in playful indignation before he points at Waqa who is sitting next to a window with a palette and brush in his hand, squinting at the canvas in front of him as if it owes him blood, “why not Alpha Build who is having a midlife crisis in his career.”
Alhaitham raises an eyebrow at Zandik, “He’s not bothering anyone,” he casually answers with a slight shrug of his wings.
Zandik lets out an indignant squawk as he roughly sits across from Alhaitham, his arms crossed petulantly, “You’re mean to me. I’m not bringing you any dessert tonight.”
“Don’t worry, Hayi. I will,” Waqa finally decides to chime in, “if you find yourself too lazy to ask the servant to prepare you some then I will yell it for you.”
Alhaitham leans back to his chair with an exasperated snort, “Please don't yell at the servant, Waqa.”
Waqa simply lets out a noncommittal humm as an answer. He’s still squinting at the canvas in front of him, his wings flattened to his back from his intense focus.
Then Waqa lets out a sigh and lean sideway to glare at Zandik, “Get lost. You're ruining the lighting,” he growls, his wings subconsciously flaring behind him to appear bigger in front of his older version.
Zandik’s eyebrows twitch as he sends an annoyed smile at Waqa, “How about no?” he calmly asks though his wings are also flaring up in return.
Alhaitham quietly sighs to himself. At this point, he can't even be bothered to care that his mate is waging a war with himself. As a matter of fact, it has started to become funny. Especially in an instance where they’re just shy away from going too far and they abruptly pause to make these faces that just boil down to ‘what in Abyss are we doing?’.
Waqa snarls at Zandik, of which Zandik simply laughs mockingly at, “Of course. Pitiful intimidation such as that is all you can do isn’t it?”
Alhaitham glances around the library they’re sitting at. If they are in The House of Daena, he’d be the one to personally throw them out by now. But they are in his mate’s private library so he can just sit prettily and watch them argue. Besides, this is really making him wonder just how far they're going to bicker with themselves.
“Move,” Waqa growls again, his hand slowly reaching for the easel, “go sit somewhere else.”
“Nahhhh…,” Zandik lazily drawls with a challenging smirk, “if I want to sit across my moonlight, I can.”
Waqa's hand grips around the easel until the wood lets out a crisp crack but then he suddenly lets go of it and sits back on his stool, pretending as if he never lost any control.
Zandik raises an eyebrow at Waqa's strange behavior. Usually, he'd have tried to shove that easel down his throat by now. It's childish, sure. But it actually helps him vent his angry hormones in a less explosive way –and he is usually bored enough to humor him so he doesn't mind. For him to suddenly be able to regulate his behavior like that is strange.
…
Zandik abruptly sits straighter with his wings folded tightly onto his back. Then, ever so slowly, he twists his body to check on his moonlight. They make eye contact and Zandik quickly looks ahead once more, his expression solemn as a light shade of red slowly crawls up his face.
Staring blankly at the back of the canvas Waqa is so unfairly using to hide his embarrassment while he's left out in the open, Zandik asks to the link, [Were we very embarrassing?]
For a moment, the link is quiet before Waqa answers his question, [Yeah,] he says as he quietly shuffles his wings, curt and a bit gruff.
Finally, Zandik can't quite hold back his wings from twitching. His breathing comes out a bit winded from the mortification of having appeared so undignified in front of his lifelong mate –as if Alhaitham hasn't seen him act worse– that the feathers of his wings floof up. He quickly racks his brain to figure out a way to salvage his image. Anything goes as long as his moonlight doesn't find him embarrassing. He'd sacrifice Alpha Build if he has to.
Thankfully, for better or worse, Zandik doesn't have to risk worsening his image any further by saying anything. Why, because it doesn't matter anymore. His moonlight is already breaking the thick silence with his most enchanting laughter.
It starts off with a soft snort that turns into a chuckle. Both Zandik and Waqa should've felt embarrassed for being laughed at. They really should. Yet instead, their eyes light up with wonder as they try to peek at Alhaitham, their wings perking up with curiosity.
Alhaitham eyes are squinted close as he softly laughs into his hands that hide his smile, “Archon, I'm mated to a murder of silly crows,” he softly comments, his pairs of wings fluttering happily as he continues to laugh.
With his wings raised high, Zandik tentatively turns his seating position so that he can see Alhaitham better, “Do you regret it?” he quietly asks as he fixates his gaze on the desk separating them, secretly fiddling with his fingers under the table, “being mated to a murder of stupid crows?”
Alhaitham abruptly stops laughing, making Zandik flinch, “I never said that!” he says, perhaps a bit too stern than necessary because Zandik is now lowering his wings meekly.
Alhaitham bites his lower lip and takes a deep breath before he slowly lets it out. He didn't mean to lose his calm but he is getting tired from all the doubts.
Flicking his wings, Alhaitham opens his mouth to ask Zandik to just forget his outburst and brief him on his plan, but he quickly changes his mind, “What did I do wrong?” he asks, because if he can't even ask Zandik then their relationship is already doomed from the start, “I've never acted distant nor form any intimate relationship with anyone else since I'm mated to you so what's the reason for all the doubts?”
Zandik freezes, his eyes trained on Alhaitham before they look around, searching for anything that can change the subject. This is probably the prime example of cases where Zandik hates being the Omega Build. He doesn't want to be the one delivering the answers especially when Prime is the sole reason the rest of the Segments are acting like this.
But Omega Build Dottore knows the reason and he must answer his moonlight no matter how much it'll hurt.
Zandik neatly folds his hands above the table as he looks into Alhaitham's eyes before he cowardly looks down at his hands, “It's because ‘I’ am stupid. Nothing more,” Zandik braves himself to peek at Alhaitham's expression before he looks down again when he finds him frowning, “‘I’ can't think of a single sense why you never do any of ‘us’ wrong despite all that has ever happened,” he explains, and he wants to elaborate more and explain that it's none of his moonlight's fault that ‘he’ is behaving this way but his throat clamps up as his wings restlessly shuffle behind him.
“But none of what happened to me was ever your fault,” Alhaitham says, his voice so small, weighed by confusion and uncertainty, “why would I ever wrong you for something you've never done to me? That makes no sense.”
It's difficult to breathe but thankfully Zandik doesn't really need a stable perspiration, “You're too kind!” he yells, his voice laced with so much frustration it makes his throat clogs up, “and that's what doesn't make any sense to ‘me’,” he continues, his hands tremblingly clenching into fists upon the desk, “it's unsettling. You're certainly disadvantaged in this relationship, the least you would’ve really wanted to do is to wrong ‘me’ in return but you never did and it sometimes feels like you're staying because of some motives I don't know of,” he rants.
Zandik doesn't really say much but by the end of it, he's already panting as if he had flown nonstop to Sumeru. He quietly stares at the desk. His eyes feel like they're wet and his heart feels like they're about to burst into cardiac arrest at any second. He feels so alone and afraid right now. As if he's pointing his claws at his only ally.
This is so unfair. Why did he have to say anything? This mess was all because of Prime's nature. Yet here he is, taking all the risk to explain because he doesn't want any version of himself to hurt his moonlight anymore.
Instantly, Zandik's breathing calms down.
Yeah, that's right. Zandik might be a hypocrite but he will protect his moonlight at all costs. Even if it means they won't be together anymore.
His moonlight is just that precious to Zandik.
“I see,” Alhaitham says, his voice sounding so unexpectedly calm that Zandik looks up at him in surprise, before he continues, “it’s a matter of perspective then,” he says with a tired sigh.
Zandik blinks at Alhaitham, confused, “Aren’t you mad at me?”
“Oh, I'm mad at you,” Alhaitham says as he crosses his arms, “but mostly just disappointed,” he adds, making Zandik curl into his own wings in shame.
Seeing Zandik behaves that way, Alhaitham's pairs of wings slump tiredly as he sighs, “I don't know how I can change that mindset of yours, Dottore,” he says, gently though it's apparent that he's so done, “at least not now.”
Zandik sheepishly looks back down at his twiddling fingers, “it's still not too late, moonlight. You can still back out. As a matter of fact, you still can even if it's on the D-Da-” his words are cut off when a book suddenly hits him square in the forehead.
Alhaitham dryly looks at him, extremely unimpressed, “Are you happy now?”
Zandik looks at Alhaitham with his eyes wide, discombobulated.
Alhaitham snorts, “I'm warning you, mister. If you start saying that's not what you meant, I'll refuse to go on our honeymoon with you.”
Zandik's wings flare up indignantly but he almost immediately deflates, “but that's not…” he trails off as he bites his tongue to stop what he was about to say, “that… that can't possibly be enough after everything I've done to you.”
“Oh, but it is,” Alhaitham easily argues, “I threw a book at you for no reason other than that I'm pissed at you,” he says, the amused twitch of his lips breaking his composed facade, “that’s arguably worse, isn't it?”
Zandik immediately opens his mouth to refute, yet nothing comes out. He closes his mouth, frowning deeply. Then he tilts his head to the side, thinking hard. Finally, he lets out a loud, extremely befuddled caw as he confusedly stares at Alhaitham.
“Will you still marry us even if you know we're this emotionally stupid all the time?” Waqa asks as he slowly walks to their desk, his wings poised neatly behind him to hide his nerves.
Alhaitham lets out an amused sigh as he pinches the bridge of his nose, “We are already mated for life, mister crow,” he exasperatedly says as he rubs his face before he amusedly looks at his mates, “and before you say anything stupid about the possibility of reverting the bond, I'll tell you that I refuse to revert it,” almost immediately after saying that, his pairs of wings immediately start twitching anxiously as he looks down, “but, of course, if you wish to revert the bond then I'd also be okay with that.”
Waqa's wings immediately flare in panic. He doesn't mean it that way. Damn, ‘he’ never even thought of that.
… Actually, Prime might have but it's probably due to stupid reasons so it's irrelevant.
RIGHT?
Zandik suddenly bangs his head to the table while screaming a loud frustrated caw.
“I'm telling you,” he weakly starts as he slumps on the desk, ignoring Alhaitham and Waqa's stare, “this is all Prime's fault.”
Alhaitham and Waqa stare at Zandik for a moment longer before they share the same confused look.
As if he can see their look, Zandik pushes his face up and props his chin on his palm, “Let's just eat some desserts,” he offers out of the blue, “Prime and Sigma Build are going to return soon. This is not a discussion that will get any easier without all of ‘me’ in one room,” he adds to convince Alhaitham before he can say anything else.
Alhaitham shares another look with Waqa before he hesitantly nods, “Alright.”
“Nu-uh. Where are you going, Prime? We have to attend our wedding, right?” Zazan gleefully asks as he pulls on Doctor's arm in the hope of wrangling him towards the entrance of The Residence.
An utterly futile attempt because Doctor is way stronger than Zazan is so all he manages to do is hang on Doctor's arm like a particularly annoying piece of baggage as Doctor casually walks back to the gate.
“Prime,” Zazan growls as he digs his heels on the snow and flaps his wings just to make sure that he'd stop, all of which are futile.
“Arrgh, damn it!” Zazan screams as he throws a punch at Doctor, which is mostly just annoying to Doctor than hurting, “FUCK. YOU!” he loudly crows angrily, “YOU ACTUALLY MANAGED TO MAKE PEACE WITH HAYI AFTER EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE TO HIM AND NOW YOU WANT TO RUN AWAY JUST BECAUSE WE ALL NEED TO TALK?!”
Doctor abruptly pauses, his wings flaring up with fury, “You have no idea what you're signing yourself up to.”
Zazan lets out another angry caw, furious that he's being looked down upon, “I'm young but I'm not stupid!”
Doctor scoffs as he flicks his wings in annoyance, “It is precisely because you're young that you don't know what you're getting into,” he coldly says, “do you even realize that you're about to get married at such a young age?”
Ah. It's right at this moment that Zazan completely figures out Doctor’s plan. He's stalling. With such a pathetic attempt to boot.
Vexed, Zazan kicks the back of Doctor's knee before he drags him inside, “DUH?!” he annoyedly yells as he stomps into the entrance, somehow getting enough explosive strength to actually drag his older version with him.
Panicked, Doctor lets out a loud screech as he flaps his wings in distress, “IT’S NOT TOO LATE SIGMA BUILD! UNHAND ME NOW!” he screeches, completely losing his composure.
Zazan merely huffs and ignores Doctor's pleas as he slams the door open before immediately freezing.
“Sup,” Waqa greets before he raises the leash Doctor used to restrain him the first time he met Alhaitham, “I'll be taking over from here,” he says with a humorless smile.
As if aware that the chances of his escape have lessened significantly, Doctor calms himself down before he says, “You both are making a mistake.”
Waqa merely snorts as he approaches Doctor, “You wish,” he tauntingly says, “in matters concerning relationship, Omega Build takes the reins of command,” he says as he very methodically ties Doctor's arms behind his back, “and returning with you –whether it's on your own volition or not– was his direct command.”
From beneath his mask, Doctor glares at Waqa as he grits his teeth. Unfortunately, before he can say anything else, He feels something hit the back of his head before everything turns black.
Haha, Doctor genuinely wants to say that he can't believe that they'd actually go this far.
. . .
When Doctor opens his eyes, his arms are still tied behind his back. He looks around, finding Alhaitham, Sigma Build, and Alpha Build sitting with him around a table. Before he can even wonder where Omega Build is, Omega Build is already walking in and sits down at the only seat left.
“Good evening, everyone,” Zandik politely greets, “I'm Omega Build Dottore and I'll be your guide in this session of marriage counseling.”
Doctor slowly blinks his eyes –unimpressed– before he tilts his head up with a sigh. Has his sense of humor always been this terrible?
Chapter Text
“Let us begin this session by telling each other what we feel,” Zandik says before he looks at Alhaitham with a disarming smile, “Lady Alhaitham,” he gently starts, “due to the nature of ‘my’ long life, I hope you won't mind if we start this session with listening to the troubles ailing the heart of the youngest ‘me’?”
To that, Alhaitham solemnly nods. Though he won't ever consider himself a good listener –he can listen to others very well but his empathy is a bit lacking, knowing more about his mate is a crucial step. Listening his mate's point of view chronologically will help him better. Unfortunately, Zazan has different sentiments, judging from the way his head immediately snaps to look at Zandik with betrayal.
[Just do it,] Zandik urges through the link when he senses Sigma Build's gaze, not letting him to even try refusing.
Zazan's wings ruffle as he glares at Zandik, [Why in Abyss would you start with me?!] he snaps, ignoring Omega Build's urging, [you're going to sour the whole session.]
Zandik finally stops smiling at Alhaitham to send Zazan a look, [And are you actually thinking that moonlight will take this session to heart if we start before you clarify your feelings with him?]
Zazan can't help but make a face as his wings shudder with disgust, [Don't say it like that, you're making it sound gross.]
[Oh, really?] Doctor grouches to the link, [so the fact that we're doing this stupid play pretend in the first place isn't a problem to you?]
Both Zandik and Zazan ignore Doctor as they exchange a look for a moment longer before, finally, Zazan dares himself to look at Alhaitham.
Alhaitham returns Zazan's look, his expression is neutral. It's probably because he thinks that will accommodate his mates to open up more easily but, honestly, it only makes Zazan even more anxious. Because why isn't he reacting like he has predicted? Why isn't Alhaitham cursing Zazan out for what he has done? Why is he so calm with him? What does Alhaitham want from him that he is able to be so patient?
Zazan stares at Alhaitham and Alhaitham looks back at him. Zazan's wings restlessly ruffle and flex from anxiety while Alhaitham's pairs of wings are casually folded behind him. Zazan is mentally stressed as he racks his brain for something he can say to his mate while Alhaitham is patiently waiting for him to say anything.
Finally, before Zazan can even utter a single word, his eyes start to tear up. Finding Alhaitham's face becomes blurred, Zazan quickly tries to wipe his tears away. He wants to see his Hayi clearly for a bit longer, he missed him so much. But instead, the tears start to flow from his eyes freely and he can't stop.
It's embarrassing. So so embarrassing that Zazan doesn't dare to take his hands away from his face. Idly, he can hear himself letting out anguished caws but he can't stop even though it's extremely embarrassing.
Zazan is ashamed of himself.
Not about crying but because he knows he has to at least say sorry to Alhaitham but he can't. Not because he doesn't know what to say but because he isn't actually sorry of what he has done. He wants Alhaitham to be alive so he did everything he could to keep him alive. Even if it means Alhaitham is no longer a human he didn't care. Zazan wants his Hayi to always be by his side.
Zazan can't say he's sorry because he isn't sorry. Zazan isn't a liar.
“It has been a while,” Alhaitham's voice softly cuts the awkward atmosphere that's only filled with the cries of his youngest version of his mate.
Zazan’s shoulders still as he sucks a sharp breath before he braves himself to peek at Alhaitham, “...yeah….” He hesitantly trails off, his voice barely a whisper.
Alhaitham tilts his head as he gently comments, “You were gone without telling me anything,” then he sits up straighter as his pairs of wings rearrange themselves before his lips spread into a soft smile, “I’ve missed you.”
Zazan’s eyes instantly tears up again but this time he doesn’t try to hide behind his hands anymore and chooses to confront Alhaitham directly, instead, “Liar…,” he softly accuses as fat drops of tears trail down his cheeks, “you didn’t miss me at all so don’t say that to me!” he shouts as his wings flap angrily behind him before his voice drops again as he begs, “please….”
Alhaitham's eyebrows furrow with concern as his smile slowly curves down. He extends a hand to reach for Zazan across from him so that he can pull him into a hug. But his hand is stopped by Zandik’s hand.
Alhaitham looks at Zandik in confusion but Zandik merely squeezes his hand reassuringly with a sad smile.
Oh…. Alhaitham understands. This is finally the time for them to be openly honest to each other. He has to refrain himself and only communicate with words.
So Alhaitham retracts his hand and takes a deep breath before he softly asks, “What makes you think I am lying, Zazan?”
Zazan roughly slumps forward onto the table separating them, his forehead bumping loudly against the wood but he doesn’t make any pained noise, “You know what I did to you so you should be hating me,” he says.
Has Alhaitham ever said that his mates’ accusations always hurt him?
So Alhaitham digs his nails into his palm so that he doesn’t become overcome by his own sadness –he’ll have his turn later– and says, “Isn’t that just your assumption?” he asks though that seems to be as far as his restrain could go as he finally snaps, “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT ME TO DO THEN?!” Alhaitham screams, tears threatening to fall from his eyes so he strongly flaps his pairs of wings to vent his anger, sending gusts of wind everywhere, “you know it was you who did something terrible to me so why are you punishing me by dismissing what I say?” he asks with a voice strained from holding back tears.
Zazan slowly pushes himself up from the table to look at Alhaitham with wide eyes, “I-,” he chokes out, his eyes trailing all over Alhaitham’s face, trying to gouge just how angry he is for actually yelling like that but he can only find sadness, “I am punishing you?” he softly asks, unsure –but Alhaitham's current expression is already hinting him at something.
Alhaitham slowly blinks his eyes in sadness, pushing out a few tears off his eyes, “To me, you are,” he chokes out.
Zazan's throat immediately clamps up, his wings slump down, and his eyes are wide from the revelation.
After that, nothing more is said between Alhaitham and Zazan. They just look down at their hands. Their eyes swirling with their own respective thoughts.
The silence stretches so long that Doctor can't help but shift in his seat, wanting to ease his boredom but finding out that his wings have gotten a bit numb instead so he says to the link, [Hurry it up or at least untie me already,] he grumbles, [I've been here long enough so I might as well partake in this stupid play for a bit longer.]
No one responds to him, at least not directly as Zandik simply sighs and asks Alhaitham, “Are you ready to hear from Alpha Build next, Lady Alhaitham?” he says as he reaches for Alhaitham's hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.
Alhaitham’s pairs of wings twitch once before he sucks in a deep breath and nods, “Yeah.”
So Waqa immediately straightens up and twists his body so that he can see Alhaitham face to face –the perks of sitting to his right, “I…,” he starts before trailing off with a frown at Alhaitham's tears strained face, “I'm Alpha Build Dottore,” he introduces himself as he clumsily tries to wipe Alhaitham's tears with the cuff of his sleeves, “when ‘I’ was just a single entity, ‘I’ first arrived in Snezhnaya at my age. Fresh from being exiled from my home and straight into this ruthlessly cold nation,” his scarred hands hold Alhaitham's face like he's the most sacred thing in his life – his touch now no longer rough and clumsy like he used to, “‘my’ main objective was only to adapt and survive back then, so much that ‘I’ forgot who I was,” he says before he grins wide at Alhaitham with his sharp teeth on full display, “when I told you that I think I love you, I found traces of who I was and i want to tell you,” he pauses to soften his grin into a smile, “I was right. I've grown to love you more,” Alhaitham's eyes widen as he looks at him with his pretty eyes and Waqa can't help but chuckle and pettily adds, “told you so.”
Alhaitham opens his mouth but he can say nothing. In the end, he can only let out a soft shaky squeal as he starts crying again. The difference this time is that he's making grabby hands towards Waqa.
Waqa lets out a crowing merry laughter as he pulls Alhaitham into a hug, letting his mate bury his face to the crook of his neck and cries, “And I'm telling you this too,” Waqa continues as he reassuringly pats Alhaitham's back, “I don't want you to feel burdened into staying just because we treated you right sometimes ,” Waqa’s smile wavers a little as he lets out a sigh and his wings lowers sadly, “those instances don't erase the fact that we've also wronged you,” Waqa can see Alhaitham's pairs of wings twitch and feel him trying to pull away so he quickly hugs him tighter so that he will just listen to him first, “grievances can mount up and, honestly, I appreciate how much tolerance you've shown ‘me’ but, please, think more of yourself,” then he pauses to think about how he can drive his point more, “that's how much ‘I’ respect you as my lifelong mate.”
Silence… before Alhaitham hugs Waqa so tight he accidentally squeaks out a caw.
Oh, and even if Waqa can see Doctor trying to hold back a smirk he can't get mad at all. Not when his lifelong mate is clinging tightly to him as he wails. His Hayi needs him so Waqa will be there for him.
The fact that Zandik is grinning at him with double thumbs up might, perhaps, has also boosted his ego a little bit.
[... He's just saying what I want to tell him,] Doctor bitterly comments to the link.
[But did you tell him?!] Zandik immediately snaps as his smile tightens into a stiff snarl, [No? Then that'd make you as useful as a rock in a relationship.]
Doctor silently shifts in his seat again, saying nothing more though he's scowling darkly.
For quite some time, the room is only filled with Alhaitham's loud sobs as he continues to cling onto Waqa. So long, in fact, that Zandik feels like he needs to start calming him down and offer him a glass of water to rehydrate. But, in the end, he doesn't make any noise and neither did the others except for Waqa's soft reassurances. This is their allocated time, after all.
When Alhaitham finally lets go of Waqa, his face is covered with tears and snot. Waqa quickly cleans his face again with his sleeve, completely ignoring Zandik who's trying to offer Alhaitham a handkerchief. Through this, they make eye contact once more. Waqa softly grins up at Alhaitham as he retrieves his hands and Alhaitham smiles back even though the corners of his eyes are still red from tears. A soft unguarded little smile that Waqa's wings can't help but subconsciously flutter behind him.
“Here,” Zandik softly says as he pushes a glass full of water towards Alhaitham –his ignored handkerchief stored back in his coat, “you need to hydrate yourself.”
Alhaitham lets out a snort, the sound a little wet from his earlier crying, “I did not need that much water just because I was crying.”
“Drink it all nonetheless,” Zandik urges but when Alhaitham simply smiles at him in exasperation, he tilts his head and clasps his hands together, “do it for me, please?”
Alhaitham exasperatedly smiles at Zandik but he still raises the glass to his lips.
Zandik sits straight with a pleased smile as he takes the empty glass back from Alhaitham, “And so, we may continue,” he says as his wings start to tense slightly with nerves, “I'll be the next, if you don't mind.”
Alhaitham twists his body so that he can look at Zandik –who's sitting to his left– properly. Then he smiles up at him as he lets out a soft encouraging squeal. His pairs of wings folded relaxedly behind him. A picture perfect of a comfortable mate…. And that makes Zandik's gaze soften a bit more as he looks at his moonlight.
Instantly, the tension Zandik feels leaves him. That's right, he's talking to his beloved moonlight. His dearest mate. His Lady Alhaitham who loves him as Zandik loves him too.
[Disgusting,] Doctor mutters to the link which is, again, ignored by everyone else.
Zandik hesitantly extends a hand towards Alhaitham, an awkward smile marring his lips.
Alhaitham wordlessly looks back at Zandik, his smile curving with a smile so loving that Zandik feels his chest tightens with happiness. He takes Zandik's hand and gently intertwines their fingers together before giving it a reassuring squeeze. Once more, Alhaitham lets out an encouraging squeal as he tilts his head to the side, his gaze so warm it melts Zandik's inside.
Therefore, it's only appropriate for Zandik to lean forward to press their foreheads together, “I love you to death,” he besottedly whispers as he tickles Alhaitham's forehead with his primordial trace, “sometimes it feels like I love you too much and I really want to bludgeon someone to death just so that I can get out some of the excess energy in my veins,” he confesses.
Alhaitham simply lets out a soft chuckle to that and rubs the tip of their noses together, “You need help,” he whispers to Zandik's lips, sounding so fond and exasperated at the same time.
Zandik snorts before he softly peppers kisses on Alhaitham’s lips as he reaches for his other hand, “Can you help me?” he asks as he intertwines these hands too.
“I don't think so,” Alhaitham amusedly says as he leans back to fondly look at Zandik, “I might become a bad influence, instead,” he teases.
Zandik playfully lets out a sad caw, making Alhaitham laughs.
Doctor sighs to the link, [How much longer do I have to watch this?]
This time, Zandik's wings twitch in annoyance so he peppers Alhaitham's face with kisses again so that he won't notice his stormy expression as he says to the link, [Well, have you thought of what you want to tell moonlight?] he coldly asks, [because if you are just going to say something insensitive, I won't care if he hates you after this session.]
Doctor's wings angrily ruffle though it's not really noticeable with the way they're pressed between his back and the chair. He growls to the link. But before he can say anything, Zandik cuts him off.
[Prime, I assure you,] Zandik slowly says to the link, his voice hushed from refraining anger, [you're the only one between all of us who's not taking this seriously.]
Doctor immediately freezes. Without being able to stop himself, he glances at his younger Segments one by one, observing the look on their faces.
Omega Build is still acting disgusting so Prime doesn't think too much of him. But… Alpha Build is smiling contentedly, as if he's proud of himself, and Sigma Build is solemnly frowning as if he's deep in thoughts. What's going on?
Why does it feel like Doctor has missed something crucial.
“Now,” Zandik cheerfully says as he pulls back from Alhaitham's face after one last kiss on his forehead, “it's Prime's turn,” he says with a smile and a reassuring squeeze on their intertwined hands.
Alhaitham softly chuckles with a smile as he squeezes Zandik's hands in return before he lets go of his hands and looks at Doctor, a soft smile still lingering on his lips.
Being put on Alhaitham's attention like this, Doctor's chest immediately tightens. He must admit that he really didn't take this seriously. Now… he doesn't know what to say….
…
He's pathetic, isn't he?
Alhaitham is still staring at him. But his smile ever so slowly wilts. And his pretty eyes..., by the Abyss, his eyes are now filled with a sad hope. Alhaitham is waiting, hoping that his mate will say something.
… Doctor doesn't like that.
“What do you want to hear from me?” Doctor quickly asks just so that his mate won't look at him as if he's begging him to talk –something he should be able to grant him yet he somehow doesn't know how.
That earns him three cumulative kicks to the shin from each of his younger Segments.
“ARGGHHH, HOW CAN ANYONE BE THIS CLUELESS AT SIMPLE COMMUNICATION?!” Zazan angrily screeches as his wings frantically flap with mortification.
Waqa doesn't say anything. He's just sitting there on his seat, arms crossed. His wings are slightly slumping behind him as he silently stares at Doctor in judgmental astonishment. Likely wondering why he's still considered the most tactless among the Segments.
Zandik? Well, he's trying to hold back how the smile on his face is fighting to turn into a snarl –he doesn't want to appear so uncomposed in front of his moonlight when he's supposed to be the guide. Though, judging from the way his wings are twitching madly, he won't be able to stay strong for much longer.
“Have you ever considered stepping down from the top of command, Prime?” Zandik seethingly growls, questioning Doctor's competence because –of course– when he wants to strike, he strikes where it hurts the most.
Doctor's eyes immediately darken with anger but before he can say anything to implicate himself further, Alhaitham asks a question that makes everyone still, “Have you gotten bored of me?” he softly asks.
Doctor immediately feels a chill in his chest, “... What?” he asks, not sure if he heard Alhaitham right.
Alhaitham's eyelids lower with hurt as he fixes his eyes on the table separating him from Doctor yet he still crosses his arms as a facade of indifference, “You keep urging me to leave,” he softly points out.
“I-” Doctor chokes, his words stuck in his throat, “like Alpha Build said, it was out of respect.”
Waqa instantly glares at Doctor but Doctor doesn't even look at him. He's looking closely at Alhaitham's expression, desperately searching for any positive reaction.
There's no change in Alhaitham's expression, “You rarely came to see me,” Alhaitham says.
“I told you I was busy,” Doctor says before he immediately feels his skin crawl from the realization that he's just making excuses now.
Alhaitham says nothing to that, “You told me that crow breed Avians bond with their mate by cuddling,” he quietly says, his pairs of wings slumping low behind him in defeat, “I can't remember the last time you cuddled with me,” he points out, now clearly hurt.
… Doctor doesn't know what to say to that.
….
“... I'm sorry…,” Doctor begs as tears silently trails down his cheeks, “I'm old,” he says as if that means anything so he quickly elaborates, “I’ve spent centuries alone and it's difficult for me to adapt and transition my habits into that of a mated Avian,” then he makes a strangled noises in his throat as if he's instantly aware just how shameful his excuses sounds.
Unfortunately, Doctor is telling the truth.
“I love you, Hayi…,” Doctor softly whispers as he starts to quietly sobs, he can't even hide his face because his arms are tied behind his back, “please forgive me for being a terrible mate,” he begs in a choked voice, “please give me another chance to correct my mistakes.”
Alhaitham quietly sniffles, his hands tightly clenching his arms as he continues to keep them crossed, “Can you promise me that you'll learn?” he wetly asks even though he doesn't actually mind that Doctor is distant with him.
It's only because Alhaitham has to hold each version of his mate on the same standards.
…
Then, perhaps, he also needs to stop pretending that he isn't hurt?
Alhaitham continues to keep his sadness into quiet sniffles. But all that does is make him doubled over with grief in his seat. Ashamed, Alhaitham quickly shifts his pairs of wings to hide himself from his mates’ eyes, unaware that that only makes him more sad to look at.
And Doctor, tied as he is to his seat, is forced to witness his doing.
Doctor feels as if his chest is being compressed until there's no air left as he stares at Alhaitham's trembling form. His mate is crying again but this time he is trying to keep his sadness hidden. It's almost as if Alhaitham just knows that his sadness won't move Doctor, as if he thinks Doctor just doesn't care about him enough.
The thought immediately makes Doctor want to throw up. He would've tried to break himself free from his restraint just so that he could physically prove to his mate that he cares –actions speak louder than words, right?– but he's also aware that the leash used to tie his hand back is not easy to break even if he tries.
So Doctor opens his mouth to try again, “I promise,” he says, almost blabbering from how desperate he is to calm Alhaitham down, “on my name as Prime Dottore, I promise I'll learn how to treat you right,” he vows before softly adding, “and how to be a good father for our fledglings.”
The air stills .
Every single Segment is staring at Doctor with a gaping mouth. Alhaitham is frozen for a moment longer before he peeks up from behind his wings to stare at Doctor with wide eyes, astonishment evident in his tear streaked face.
….
Did Doctor say something wrong again?
Chapter 96
Summary:
Everyone has their own running gag. For Zandik/Omega Build, his running gag is lobotomy impact.
Fun fact: Prime immediately flew to Zapolyarny Palace to request an audience with The Tsaritsa the moment he was untied from the chair. But before he can met her, Pierro shooed him away and told him to go bother someone else with the help of Pulcinella but then he brought up how Childe had barged into his territory by entering his boat without permission so Pulcinella just gave up and wrote the letter just so that Dottore would just go away.
Chapter Text
The silence is simply excruciating –and calling it that is still an understatement.
The link is proving itself to be useless as it's completely silent, rendering Doctor to be not so different than a normal human –unable to discuss with himself. So Doctor can only stare at his mate and pretend that his younger versions aren't looking at him with horror. Yet still, his chest tightens more and more with every second that passes.
But the worst comes when hurt and confusion start to swirl together within Alhaitham's eyes that slowly concocts into disbelief.
Seriously…. Did Doctor really say something wrong again?
[...Why the fuck would you say that?] Zandik finally growls to the link, his wings twitching madly behind him from refraining anger.
Considering how he has appeared before Alhaitham during the entirety of this session, Doctor is thankful that his wings are pinned, otherwise they would have been flaring with aggression, [and what, pray tell, have I said wrong?] Doctor seethes back, feeling fed up of not knowing what's going on already, [not a single thing I said was false and you know it.]
Zandik's wings still as he glares at Doctor with contempt and a tight smile, [Timing is important and I'm sure you know that,] he slowly says as if he's teaching a child, [so it doesn't matter whether you're genuinely telling the truth or not,] then he sucks in a deep breath, [BECAUSE YOU SOUNDED LIKE YOU'RE USING ALHAITHAM'S DESIRE TO HAVE A FLEDGLING TO MANIPULATE HIM INTO STAYING AND I REALLY WANT TO CLAW YOUR THORACIC BONE OUT RIGHT NOW!]
Doctor immediately flinches and his eyes widen. Realizations fit into the empty slots of puzzle within his mind as, without him knowing it, his expression becomes transparent as he stares at Alhaitham with guilt and fear. Thus when Alhaitham's face starts to clearly contort with pain, Doctor wheezes out a fearful caw and opens his mouth.
Fortunately, before Doctor can say anything that will ruin everything further, Zandik calmly orders, “Leave us.”
On cue, both Waqa and Zazan immediately push up from their chairs, fueled with the trepidation of having to stay in this situation for even a second longer. For a brief second, they merely stand, hesitating, before, without briefing each other or even a glance at, they rush to Doctor and carry him along with his chair over their head. They don't think much of what they're doing so they don't really care what they look like. Still, when they hear Alhaitham let out a strangled squawk at their abrupt, and admittedly comical, funeral march to the door, they assume that's their cue to start running.
So the two rush out carrying the still bound Doctor over their head, miraculously only bumping the door frame once and not ripping it off its easel.
Quickly, the sound of their footsteps fade into the distance.
And then there's only silence.
Silence… that's broken by the sounds of a pair of hurried footsteps returning followed by the sound of the door clicking shut before the footsteps fade away again.
Zandik's wings twitch and he thinly smiles to himself in mortification. Thank you so much for their consideration but why must they appear so dorky? Isn't it enough that they have trouble with communication? Do they also have to act so awkwardly?
…
Wait, does he also act like t-
The sound of soft sniffles stops Zandik from derailing further.
Right. Omega Build Dottore's presence is needed for damage control and human relations. … Fucking damnit.
Zandik slowly takes a deep calming breath to ease his nerves –which instantly fails because his wings immediately ruffle at the next second from anger, “He-” he starts before immediately cutting himself off to fight back a snarl of disgust at what he's about to say, “he wasn't lying,” Zandik finally manages to say after gulping down his rising stomach acid.
Alhaitham doesn't immediately answer. He continues to quietly sniffle behind the cover of his pairs of wings and… Zandik doesn't know what more to say. Stupid Prime and his lack of tact.
Sighing deeply, Zandik slams his face onto the table with a loud bang, “Prime was telling the truth,” Zandik sullenly grumbles as he rubs his sore forehead.
Quiet again for a little while before Alhaitham finally asks, “Am I supposed to trust him, then?”
Zandik's wings twitch and he lets out a sigh, “Do you want to?” he asks as he folds his hands underneath his chin, “after everything, I figured that you would've hated him by now and yet do you still hope to believe him?” he asks as he glances at Alhaitham to immediately get his heart mercilessly pierced.
Alhaitham's eyelids are lowered tiredly as he blankly stares at the table, his pairs of majestic wings folded around him to comfort himself. His feathers are matted and his eyes are dim. His mate isn't just sad but also depressed.
Oh, dear, his moonlight is a mess. Maybe Zandik should buy that semi automatic brush to preen Alhaitham's feathers. Having two pairs of wings must mean that he can't take care of them on his own.
….
Haha, it's all because of ‘him’.
“Then again,” Zandik softly starts as he looks at Alhaitham with sad eyes, “he's your first love so it's very hard for you to admonish him, isn't it?” he asks though he already knows the answer and just for that reason he hates the existence of Prime Dottore.
Alhaitham doesn't answer. He merely lets out a soft distressed squeal as his pairs of wings shuffle anxiously around him. Not exactly denying it but also not very happy of it being true.
Zandik closes his eyes with a sigh. Life is unfair, isn't it? He thought that people not being able to let go of their feelings for someone that only hurt them are just an overused stupid plot from a stupid book. … It'd be better if it's truly just that. But here his moonlight sits, crying not because he knows Zandik is right but because he's desperately hoping that his ‘mate’ still loves him.
But he does love him. ‘Dottore’ does love him…. Zandik loves Alhaitham to death.
Why's it so unfair?
Zandik quietly bites his tongue so that he doesn't start growling out a caw of hatred and sadness.
To ensure the harmony between the Segments bla bla bla.
… Zandik wishes to lock Alhaitham up for himself. If he's locked up then no one and nothing can hurt him. They could just live happily with each other.
Unfortunately, Zandik is also very proud of his mate. He wants to bring him everywhere. He wants to introduce his moonlight to everyone –doesn’t matter if they're significant or not, Zandik just wants the fact that they're mated to each other be known. …He wants people to know just how much they love each other.
Which brings them back to the roots of the problem.
‘Dottore’ loves Alhaitham. The problem is that not every version of him knows what to do with this new emotion. The only reason Alpha Build and him could easily adapt to the changes is because they're at the mental age to seek a mate.
Prime wasn't lying one bit. He really is old. When people grow old, they become stubborn in their way of living their life.
But that's still in no way an excuse to hurt his moonlight.
“Someone once asks me,” Zandik starts, catching Alhaitham's curiosity and he can't help but smile at his mate when his eyes light up because of it even if it's only slightly, “they ask me if I love you because you're Alhaitham, or if I love you because you're the most gorgeous person I've ever seen.”
Ah, there it is. The smile Zandik likes so much is starting to creep onto his moonlight's lips.
Alhaitham lets out a soft amused huff –so soft that it's almost inaudible but Zandik is happy that at least his moonlight no longer looks so sad– before he humors his mate, “And what did you say?” he asks, his voice small and raspy from sadness.
Zandik's wings subconsciously flex with anger at Prime but he doesn't linger too long on it –Prime can do whatever he wants, this is the time to cheer his dearest moonlight up.
So Zandik shrugs his shoulders as his eyes playfully squint from his widening smile, “I answered, it doesn't matter,” he says, “because throughout Celestia and Abyss, you alone are my loved one.”
With a loud chortle, Alhaitham's tear stained face lights up and he starts to laugh, “What in Abyss are you talking about?” he asks amidst his laughter as he smacks Zandik with a wing.
Zandik doesn't immediately answer. He simply gazes fondly at Alhaitham with a besotted smile.
Alhaitham is laughing into his hands. It's probably because he's still not used to laughing freely so he's shy about it. His eyes are squinted shut from his smile. At this rate, he's going to develop crow’s feet at the corner of his eyes and Zandik is all too happy to be the culprit.
But Zandik's most favorite thing is the way Alhaitham's pairs of wings flutter happily behind him. He finds it extremely endearing. Because, if Zandik hopes hard enough, his moonlight must have subconsciously done such a primal behavior of happiness because he can't help that he's very happy because of him.
Yeah. Zandik will selfishly take all the credits. At least for the moment… until he has to return to his duties as Omega Build Dottore and works his ass off to ‘suggest’ his other versions to treat his moonlight better.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Alhaitham asks, snapping Zandik from his thoughts.
Ah, he's so busy staring that he didn't even realize Alhaitham has stopped laughing. But that's not too much of a shame either. At least he doesn’t miss the way Alhaitham's cheeks slowly flush deeper with red the longer he stares.
He can never tell it to anyone but it truly makes Zandik feel suffocatingly happy to know that he also has the same effect on his moonlight. To know that his moonlight can also grow flustered from his loving –at least he hopes he looks that way– gaze alone makes him happy. Because he also feels that way when his moonlight would look at him with adoration and Zandik thinks that that's how he knows they truly love each other.
So Zandik pushes his face off the table and leans back to his chair with a sad sigh, “I love you to death, moonlight,” he says as he casts his eyes down on the ground.
Alhaitham's lips twitch with amusement as he also looks down on the ground, “Yeah,” he softly says, shyly affirming it.
Zandik silently reaches for Alhaitham's hand and gently intertwines their fingers once more, “I know it's difficult to tolerate ‘me’,” he says, his voice almost cracking again from anger at Prime so he takes a deep breath before continuing, “but Prime means every promise he says,” a squeeze to reassure Alhaitham, “and if he fails to fulfill his promises then I vow to you that I'll become what he can't.”
ah, Zandik's eyes are blurry, why?
“I swear on my existence, Alhaitham.”
For a moment, Zandik can sense nothing. His ears are filled with this muffled underwater noise as silence stretches in the room.
Then, a squeeze in his hand returns him to the surface.
….
“Why the fuck are you here?” Childe subconsciously blurts out the moment he opens the door to his home and the first thing he sees is Dottore sitting awkwardly like a statue as his siblings sit around him and openly gawk.
“ Ajax !” his older brother reprimands, ever so wise as if he's also not gawking like a child at his coworker.
His very dangerous coworker.
Unfortunately, before he can delve deeper into that very important thought, Tonia lets out a very scandalized gasp as she jumps onto her feet and rushes inside, “ MAMA! AJAX SAID THE F WORD TO THE HANDSOME GUEST! ” she screeches.
Childe lets out a strangled squawk at the betrayal. No “ welcome home, brother ”. No “ how was your journey home, brother ”. Heck, not even “ how the f- frick did you get home, there's a blizzard outside ”. Just that he cursed at a guest.
A very dangerous guest.
“ Big bro !” his sweet sweet Teucer gasps too, “ that's not nice! Agent crow flew through a blizzard so that he could visit us ,” he reprimands him too, crossing his arms above his chest in his very cute tantrum.
So Childe apologetically laughs even if his heart feels like it's being pierced, “ I'm so sorry, Teucer. I just didn't know that agent crow was supposed to come here… ” he trails off, only now realizing what he had referred to Dottore as.
Thankfully, before Childe can get derailed again, Anton catches on, “ He didn't tell you he's going to visit? ” he asks, his wings shifting anxiously behind him.
Ah yes. His very dangerous coworker is currently a guest in his house.
“... N… ,” Childe hesitates as he cautiously looks at Dottore, searching for the purpose of his arrival here.
With a flick of his wings, Dottore reaches into his coat to pull out an envelope just enough to flash Childe the insignia before shoving it back into his coat.
The temperature suddenly drops, leaving only Teucer unaware of it.
Anton immediately clears his throat and stands up, “ Teucer, I think we should leave them alone .”
Teucer lets out a wail, “ Why? Don't wanna. I wanna play with big bro Ajax !”
Anton immediately scoops Teucer up and carries him under his armpit, “ Oh, that's too bad because you have no choice, mwahahahaha ,” he theatrically says as he sends Childe a look, ignoring Teucer’s protests and struggles.
When Anton disappears into the small corridor of his humble home, Childe immediately drops his facade and growls at Dottore, “Why the fuck are you here?!” he hisses, his wings flaring up protectively behind him.
Dottore lets out a sigh as he silently takes out the envelope again and extends it towards Childe.
Childe snatches the envelope and immediately rips it open. It'd be a lie if he says that he isn't surprised when he actually finds an official letter written by Pierro inside. He had actually expected Dottore to only be bluffing because their roles in the Harbinger roster don't exactly match well.
With a frown, Childe reads the content of the letter.
With the power bestowed upon me by the Tsaritsa, I, Pierro, The First of The Fatui Harbinger, order Tartaglia, The Eleventh of The Fatui Harbinger to assist Dottore in his parental study.
It truly feels like Childe’s brain screeches to a stop. For a moment, he thought that this letter was fake but then he noticed the very legit headers and stample. Meaning that, ignoring the fact that the letter is very brief, this letter truly comes from Pierro.
“What the fuck…?” Childe lets out a heartfelt mutter as he stares at Dottore weirdly, his wings slumping down behind him.
But Dottore merely shrugs and takes out another envelope, “This one is from The Rooster.”
Childe slowly reaches out for the letter, too shaken up by the surreality of the moment to be aggressive.
And here, in this very much the old man’s official template and signature, is written:
Just help him.
Hissing out a breath through gritted teeth, Childe looks up at Dottore with a thin smile before he throws the letters at Dottore's face, “JUST WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!” he snaps, his wings flaring angrily behind him.
“ AJAX !” ah, his sweet mama screeches.
She's standing at the entrance of the corridor with snacks on a platter. Her wings are ruffled and slightly flared from anger. And Tonia, sweet traitorous Tonia is glaring at him with a pout, her wings flaring behind her to make herself appear bigger.
. . .
Two Avians confronting each other in the middle of a blizzard is definitely the very definition of dramatic but who are the Harbingers if not dramatic.
“Why are you here?” Childe slowly asks, the coldness of the icicles digging into his skin is finally enough to calm him down.
Dottore doesn't immediately answer. He just stands there in silence as frost slowly climbs up his mask. Come to think of it, how come he hasn't given his face any frostbite with that mask on all the time?
“I believe the reason for my visit has been explained to you in both letters,” Dottore finally says.
Childe's face scrunches up from the stray snowflake entering his eyes, “No really,” he growls, “well, the letters say you're here for ‘parental study’ and because you need help but that still doesn't explain why you're here exactly.”
Dottore's lips curl with disgust at hearing the content of the letter but he simply flicks the snow off his wings and says, “In all of Snezhnaya, your family is probably the nearest flock that's able to answer my questions without bias.”
Childe barks a laugh, “THAT'S IT?! IS THAT ALL THE REASON FOR YOU TO TERRORIZE MY FAMILY?!” he angrily yells as he grabs the lapel of Dottore's coat.
With a sigh, Dottore grabs Childe's wrist and clenches it hard, “Why not?” he coldly asks, “what was your reason when you barged into my boat when Lady Alhaitham first arrived?”
Childe instantly makes a face. Dear, Tsaritsa. This man is petty.
Chapter 97
Notes:
Not me wanting to post this update on April's Fool so that people who were fooled feel better and people who weren't pranked do not feel so lonely but I had to physically take a moment for a break because the fluff in this chapter gave me a whiplash so here I am. Fashionably late.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Zazan wants to run away. He wants to leave this room and throw himself into the main furnace of the factory section of The Institute. Perhaps the agony he will feel during the duration of waiting for someone to drag him out of the fire pit will be enough to burn away a fraction of shame he feels towards himself.
But truthfully… Zazan's desire to stay far outweighs his fear. He knows Alhaitham cares about ‘him’. Seeing him hurt won't change anything and will only hurt Alhaitham more. Besides… the truth will still stand that Zazan hurt his Hayi.
So Zazan stays seated on his chair –back again in this room where he finally realized he has been hurting his mate, anxiously wringing his hands under the table because he can't help it, “... H-hey…,” he finally braves himself to stutter as he raises his head to look at Alhaitham, his wings flattened to his back.
For a moment, Alhaitham merely stares back at him in silence before he sighs, his pairs of wings shifting behind him, “... Hey,” he whispers back with a tired smile, a smile that Zazan knows far too well is only on Alhaitham's lips because he… pities him.
…, “I'm sorry,” Zazan says, voice firm, hesitation gone.
Because Zazan knows for sure that he needs to apologize. Because he knows that a mere apology isn't enough for what he has done but he still has to say it first because that is the starting line. Because Zazan doesn't know what else to do if not apologizing to Alhaitham.
Zazan is not Alpha Build who –ironically– knows what he wants from Alhaitham and isn't afraid of telling Alhaitham so. Zazan is not Omega Build who has longed for centuries for a mate that he dares to enter this relationship with all vulnerabilities bared open. Abyss, Zazan is not even Prime who might be as struggling as he is –if not worse– to adapt to the relationship but has enough authority and resources to make amends through actions.
Zazan is just Zazan. The Sigma Build Dottore. The slice of life events where ‘he’ was an outcast for who he is and what he stands for.
But his apology, though it's but mere words, makes Alhaitham's smile stretch more genuinely, “I know,” Alhaitham softly says, his pairs of wings gently flapping behind him before neatly folding themselves back.
Zazan doesn't understand why Alhaitham is happy, but he won't look a gift horse in the mouth either so he simply asks, “Do you want to know my… excuse?” then he quickly flinches before correcting himself, “I mean, the reason I acted the way I did?”
Alhaitham's smile freezes –Zazan wants to hit himself– and he looks down sadly, “Perhaps-,” he quietly mutters.
“Or maybe I shouldn't?” Zazan hurriedly asks, “it won't change the fact that I treated you wrong, right?”
To that, Alhaitham's pairs of wings perk up –Zazan doesn't know why he's interested and neither in what, “No. Tell me,” Alhaitham says, his pretty eyes finally shining with life, “saying what you thought to be the problem out loud helps in understanding where you went wrong.”
Oh, Zazan sees. Alhaitham is excited because he is trying to be better. He doesn't relish in rubbing his mistakes on his face.
Zazan's lips twitch into an awkward grin, his sharp teeth all peeking out which probably makes him look really ugly so he quickly smothers his smile by biting his lower lip, “Truth be told…,” he starts before immediately trailing off, “I… like you?” his wings shuffling anxiously and his voice cracks with uncertainty so Zazan clears his throat, “I love you,” he says, firmly once more, as if stating a fact, “and I don't know what to do with that,” he says as he looks down in shame before he immediately flinches and looks at Alhaitham with panic, “ which is entirely my fault!” he adds, his wings ruffling anxiously, “so I shouldn't have treated you that way. It's just that ‘I’ never knew how to maintain a genuine interpersonal relationship with anyone on a casual level so I can't even begin to comprehend how a lifelong relationship would work in the slightest-” Zazan quickly says before abruptly choking on his own words when the truth finally comes out of his own mouth, making his chest heaves with what he wants to say next, “but I want to try,” he softly whispers, looking straight into Alhaitham's eyes before he slowly averts his eyes down, “I want to love you.”
Zazan almost jumps off his chair in surprise when he feels something nudges at his hand. He quickly looks at it, finding a delicate dendro vine gently wrapping around his wrist. Out of instinct, Zazan wants to cut it off with his knife as quickly as he can but, distinctly, he can sense Alhaitham's signature elemental energy so he lets the vine tugs his hand onto the table and looks at Alhaitham with curious eyes.
Alhaitham doesn't immediately answer his look, opting to first takes Zazan's hand in his, “And I want you to love me too,” Alhaitham says as he finally looks at Zazan with gentle gaze and loving smile.
Zazan’s breath slightly hitches as he feels his heart stutter, “Will you go on a date with me?” he quickly blurts out, riding along the atmosphere.
Alhaitham blinks his eyes, taken aback, but before he can retract his hand, Zazan quickly holds his hand and continues, “I promised you, remember?” he desperately asks, his wings flaring behind him from panic, “I- of course it won't be anytime too soon but probably after the…,” he suddenly trails off, cheeks abruptly exploding in red, “...the wedding,” he says in a low voice before glancing at Alhaitham's expression.
Alhaitham looks at Zazan in surprise for a moment longer before his expression melts into a shy grin, “Okay,” he says, his voice chirpier than earlier, “after our wedding,” he confirms, his cheeks flushing a lovely shade of red too as his pairs of wings flutter behind him.
Zazan's eyes widened with wonder. Sure, Alhaitham's pairs of wings aren't fluttering as much as how they would usually do when he's around Omega Build but they're still fluttering happily. Zazan will see that as a good thing. At least that means Alhaitham still wants to get married.
…. Zazan really wants to let out a whimper of happiness right now but that would be too embarrassing. So, Zazan retrieves his hand and pats around his pockets to find where he had put the box. He doesn't immediately find it so he busies himself to find the damned box so that he won't be too focused on how Alhaitham is staring at him and how his face is heating up more and more.
He finally finds the box in his chest pocket. Right, how could he forget that he had so sappily placed it above his heart? Well, anyway, the small velvet box is now in his hand and Zazan sucks in a slow deep breath before he pushes it towards Alhaitham. He had thought of many things to say when he finally hands his gift to Alhaitham but when it really comes to it, Zazan supposes that he's a trainwreck, unable to say anything.
Alhaitham sees the box and, at first, he can only stare at it in confusion. But then realization hits him and he can't help but let out a strangled squeal as he immediately shoots his head up to stare at Zazan with wide eyes, his cheeks reddening deeply. He has a guess of what is inside the box but isn't it stupid that his chest is suddenly feeling so stuffed?
Seeing Alhaitham’s reaction, Zazan's wings perk up with pride and he finally grins with confidence as he slowly opens the box, “I've noticed that you don't like wearing the accessories ‘I’ have given you. The longest you've worn something was the earring Prime gave you. From that, I conclude that you like something simple,” Zazan starts as he pushes the box towards Alhaitham and looks at him expectantly, “what do you think?”
Glimmering softly within the small velvet box is a silver ring inlaid with obsidian carved into a silhouette of 4 crows. It doesn't look like much at first glance. The silver band isn't too thick and intricate, and the gem is unassuming. But Alhaitham can tell how sentimental it is because the silver is polished so smooth it almost looks as if he won't feel a thing when he wears it. And the obsidian…
“Is that the gem that was lodged in your head?” Alhaitham amusedly asks as he gives Zazan a look, already knowing that he's right.
Zazan simply grins widely as his wings flare with pride, “Yep,” he caws happily, “for extra sentimentality.”
Alhaitham lets out a snort and looks at the ring once more. The gem might look unassuming but Alhaitham is certain that it took great care to carve, especially when, the longer he looks, the more he realizes that they're shaping into a mural. It's a great ring. Still, why is he feeling so fuzzy all over just because of it? It's just a piece of jewelry.
A hand gently squeezes Alhaitham’s hand, snapping him from his inner thoughts, “Try it?” Zazan softly asks as he looks at Alhaitham expectantly.
Alhaitham bites his lower lip to stop himself from letting out an embarrassing squeal that's already on the brink of conception and simply spreads the fingers of his hand.
Zazan grins as he carefully takes out the ring and slides it into Alhaitham's awaiting finger, “It's a perfect fit,” he comments proudly.
Alhaitham simply lets out a squeal. For some reason, he's feeling too overwhelmed to say anything while at the same time also wanting to scream. Unable to hold back his happiness, Alhaitham's pairs of wings start wildly fluttering behind him. They honestly look as if they've become sentient with the way they're flapping so uncharacteristically unreserved.
But Alhaitham doesn't care. He is way too happy to admire his ring to notice, happiness stretching his lips into a soft grin. And Zazan doesn't mind it either. He's all too happy about it. He was so damn proud of himself for making his mate happy.
Ah, Zazan knows taking the time to carve the ring himself while waiting for the artificial wombs to grow was the right choice.
Without realizing that his own wings are also fluttering happily, Zazan takes out a sketchbook and a pencil from his coat, “How about we design your wedding suit now?”
“Do I have to get used to you making disgusting faces every morning?” Pantalone, without looking away from his subordinate who's presenting the report of this year's revenue, quietly asks Dottore who's sitting on his meeting seat but is very clearly not listening to any of the words being delivered by the presenter.
Smiling happily, Omega Build Dottore rearranges his wings before turning his attention back onto the presenter and secretly says to his coworker, “This is the vibe of a married man, so, maybe.”
Pantalone makes a face but he simply sighs and listens to the presenter finishing her report. Out of the corner of his eyes, Pantalone can see that The Doctor is doodling little hearts on a sheet of paper. Oh, Pantalone just can tell that he'll start humming too if he's much less self-aware that they're currently in a meeting.
Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Where's his depressed friend who will constantly focus on his work in the hopes of getting a sense of self-accomplishment? Who's this Avian that looks so happy he'd probably start singing a ballad about his mate?
Pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly the moment the presenter is done, Pantalone immediately stands up, “This meeting is adjourned. Thank you everyone for doing your part,” he closes the meeting with a smile before shaking hands with some executives who wish to discuss some things with him.
With a smile, Pantalone listens to his colleagues. Y'know, doing his job as one of the owners of the company. Unlike the other owner who's still grinning idiotically at a piece of paper. Oh, dear Tsaritsa, is he blushing?
Pantalone quickly coughs, “Gentlemen, I'm afraid I have to cut this discussion short,” he says as he ushers the executives out the meeting room –Dottore might not care about his image but it would jeopardize the image of this company if words got around that one of the owners of the company appears so… smitten, “as always, my office is open for great ideas,” he adds before closing the door behind them.
“Speaking of ideas, how about another paid leave?” Dottore asks the moment the executives’ voices are muffled by the doors.
Pantalone’s wings flex with anger but he's still smiling as he looks at Dottore, “In exchange for a cut salary? Sure.”
Dottore looks at him as his lips curl in such a way that Pantalone is sure he's looking at him as if he's an idiot under his mask, “You do realize that my workday and work leave ratio is so skewed that The Tsaritsa will even give me a land as an apology even though workplace rights violation isn't even Her jurisdiction, right?”
For a moment, Pantalone simply stares at Dottore with his wings flaring indignantly, before he sighs defeatedly, “You're taking Her Majesty's favor for granted.”
Dottore snorts as he leans back to his seat, “Envious?” he jeers as he annoyingly smirks at Pantalone, “you should find a mate yourself then. Her Majesty has a soft spot for Avian couples, after all.”
Pantalone tiredly stares at Dottore as he massages his jaw before he goes towards the alcohol cabinet with a big sigh, “I know one of the reasons why we get along so well is because we share an almost similar view on the ‘divine’ but, unlike you, I still have some preservation on being viewed as a heretic.”
Dottore doesn't immediately answer. Pantalone finds that a bit strange but he doesn't immediately check on him and simply pours himself a glass of his strongest firewater. Downing a full glass and then pouring another, Pantalone finally senses the edge of agitation from… his envy… loosens so he turns around to finally address Dottore.
Only to find Dottore frozen on his seat with his hand holding a pencil midway to the sheet of paper, “... What?” Pantalone cautiously asks.
“A heretic?” Dottore repeats, “me?” he amusedly asks before chuckling to himself.
Y'know, the door is in that way and Pantalone can definitely just walk out rather than humoring his coworker but, by Mora, he's in the mood for gossip now, “It's alright, friend,” Pantalone sarcastically reassures Dottore as he retakes his seat at the meeting table with the bottle and two glasses, “I know you don't care about respecting Archons enough to consider their personal feelings,” then he shrugs nonchalantly as he pours Dottore a glass of firewater before pouring another for himself, “I mean, keeping tabs of those things are my job.”
Dottore finally places his pencil down next to his sheet of paper and looks at Pantalone, his wings perked a little from curiosity as he takes the offered alcohol, “And what do you mean by that?”
Pantalone doesn't immediately answer and simply glances at Dottore's doodles. Upon finding ‘Dottore & Alhaitham’ surrounded by childish doodles of hearts, Pantalone immediately scrunches his face in disgust and lets out a sigh. Seriously? Will he turn into someone like Dottore too once he finds his lifelong mate?
“You were recruited into the Fatui way before I did so I'll assume you know who the White Tsar was,” Dottore doesn't confirm his assumption but Pantalone simply shrugs his wings and continues, “supposedly, ever since the White Tsar’s ruling, Avians have already been seen highly in Snezhnaya. The original reason was because Avians mate for life,” then he makes a face as he gestures his semi disgust with his hands, “being the Archon of Love, the White Tsar was very fond of this trait.”
For a moment, Dottore swirls his glass of alcohol in silence before he concludes, “and after generations of mixed couple between Avians and humans to lift their social caste, The Tsaritsa is excited to finally have an Avian couple in Snezhnaya especially one so high in nobility rank?”
Pantalone is quiet for a moment as he sullenly stares at his alcohol before he flexes his wings and downs the drink in one go, “Pretty much,” he says with a groan from the burn.
For a moment, the meeting room becomes quiet until Dottore comments, “So that's why that fanatic called my younger version the ‘Saint of Love.”
Pantalone slowly twists his neck to look at Dottore, the bottle in his hand continuously pouring alcohol into his glass and quickly overflows onto the meeting table.
....
Pantalone starts squawking with laughter.
Children are weird….
Because for some reason Prime can understand them easily.
Aren't children supposed to be difficult to understand because of the knowledge and comprehension gap?
But Prime understands very well that these children, the Abyss tainted brat’s siblings, are staring at him because they're curious about him.
Ironically, what Prime doesn't understand is why the Abyss tainted brat’s mother is telling them to stop staring because they're being rude.
Why are they rude? Aren't they merely observing him to satiate their curiosity? Is that considered rude? Why? Sure, there must be a way for them to be able to observe him more secretly but that's not rude, just unskilled. So where's the rudeness?
Rude is not staring at him in observation. Rude is how the Abyss tainted brat is openly staring at him with apparent judgement in his eyes as he stabs his fork repeatedly onto his food as if he's planning to kill Prime. It's how he looks as if he's questioning his intellect when it's clear that he's much superior than him in that regard.
That is rude, insulting even.
Notes:
So according to the hype shorts revolving around Nod-Krai, apparently the moon will probably be an obvious theme there.
Anyway, when I saw the short about the Frostmoon Scions using moonlight in their... Slogan...? Prayer...? I started laughing cuz Zandik/Omega Build calling Alhaitham his moonlight in Nod-Krai will gather so many different reactions that I find it funny.
It will depend on the scion's alignment with Fatui but Zandik's nickname will definitely either be very blasphemous or very endearing to them.
Chapter 98
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Y'know, Panty. When my mate is happy he'd do these little gestures with his hands as if he's wringing something.
I think he's trying to stop himself from doing something.
I think… he's trying not to hug me.
I can't have that. If my mate wants to hug me then he shall hug me as hard as he wants. I won't even mind if my lungs get crushed under my collapsing ribs if it really comes to that.
He's my mate, he should always know that he can always hug me if he so wishes.
I'd even be happier if he kisses me.”
“Put the flowers there- No! NO! You're ruining them!”
“ Look, you want to know how marriage works? Hell if I know. Sure, I've been married for years but that doesn't mean I know a damn thing how it works.
Look, everyday, people out there live the best of their lives without knowing what they're doing so if you really love your wife- husband- mate- your lover then just promise yourself you'll always give him what is best for him and what he wants.
One-sided? Yeah, sure. It's like that at first but that's because you want him to truly know that he matters a lot to you. After that, he'll start treating you the same way.
How am I so sure? Well, that's just how love is.
Heh, now –with all due respect– get off of my property. Ajax won't stop whining about you being dangerous, Lord Dottore, but I think he's just feeling threatened.”
“Alright, that's the 5th gem stitched onto the coat. Only… 165 gems to go…
….
Oh, I did this to myself.”
Alexei comes to a stop outside of His Lordship the Sigma Build's private archive. For a moment, he hesitates there. It has been a while since he last saw His Ladyship. And Alexei doesn't know if he can continue to keep his composure.
The confrontation between His Lordship’s… brother-in-law and His Ladyship is still fresh in his mind. As someone who has to be separated from his family, Alexei dare to even say that he can't pick any side. On one hand, there's his paycheck –no, His Ladyship's happiness as he's clearly in love with His Lordship– but on the other hand, there's His Ladyship's family who he had to cut ties with to keep them safe.
… But Alexei is just a servant. He doesn't have any real say in these trifles. Investing himself on the problem will only get him beheaded –or worse.
Alexei takes a deep breath to brace himself for whatever might happen inside before he raises a hand to politely knock on the door, “My Lady, it's Alexei.”
“Come in,” His Ladyship's voice rings from behind the door.
Alexei grabs the doorknob to immediately pause as a chilling shiver suddenly runs down his spine. There's someone dangerous inside. It's His Ladyship Alhaitham.
Alexei heaves a terrified breath to stop his hands from shaking just enough so that he can twist the doorknob. Oh, he's so terrified. Every cells of his mortal body is telling him to run before it's too late but Alexei has to ignore it. All because it's his duties to attend His Ladyship.
“My Lady,” Alexei politely greets with his head bowed down to hide his horror.
This is not His Ladyship Alhaitham. This is not the same Avian His Lordship brought from Sumeru that ran off when his mate and brother fought. This…. This is the same monster hiding beneath His Lordship the Alpha Build's skin.
Alexei feels nauseated. Oh, what has His Lordship done to His Ladyship? This is his mate. How could he turn him into whatever blasphemous abomination this is.
… And when His Ladyship loves His Lordship so much too.
“Alexei, how have you been?” His Ladyship asks from his place by the window, snapping Alexei from thinking too deeply into that dark depressing thoughts.
For a moment, Alexei can't answer –his teeth clattering too hard against each other from fear– but then he braves himself to look into His Ladyship's eyes and he immediately calms down.
Oh, it's His Ladyship. It still is His Ladyship. Those intelligent eyes are shining with concern. Those are His Ladyship's eyes.
Ah, this is still His Ladyship Alhaitham.
“His Lordship has been fussing over an event so I've been quite busy, My Lady,” Alexei answers with a knowing smile, “which makes this servant wonder as to why His Ladyship is calling this servant here for an afternoon tea,” he's still fearing for his life but Alexei trusts that His Ladyship is kind, “does My Lady wishes to prepare another gift for His Lordship?” he braves himself to teasingly ask.
His Ladyship's cheeks instantly flush a soft shade of red as his feathers ruffle from embarrassment, “N-no,” His Ladyship stutters before he bites his lower lip and clears his throat, “not now,” he corrects himself before shyly looking out the window, his pairs of wings shifting around as if trying to distract Alexei from looking at His Ladyship's embarrassed face.
Finally, Alexei lets himself to smile. He was wrong. This is still the same Avian His Lordship brought home.
“May I know why I've been summoned then, My Lady?” Alexei asks, not having the guts to tease his master more, “pardon me for pressing but I have a feeling His Lordship might be searching for me.”
“Of course,” His Ladyship quickly says, his pairs of wings flapping with relief at the change in topic, “I- well, I…,” His Ladyship stutters, struggling to voice his thoughts, but Alexei simply waits because he's just a servant, “I- I’ll get married tonight…,” His Ladyship says and Alexei has to stop himself from looking at his master in confusion because he certainly knows that, “...and I really want to tell someone about it,” His Ladyship continues.
Alexei sucks in a sharp breath as if he has been punched. He can't help it. This is just so sad. Very cute but sad. His Ladyship should be telling his family instead of a mere servant like him –especially when he already knows it.
So, even when he knows the risk of incurring His Lordship's wrath if he informs his master this, Alexei braves himself to say, “Congratulations, My Lady. After the marriage is over My Lady will be legally acknowledged as the Madam of the House and an extension of the the Second of the Fatui Harbinger,” His Ladyship immediately snaps his head back to look at him –probably because he didn't expect this kind of talk will come up– but Alexei continues on, “with that, any attempt to hurt His Ladyship will not only be an attack to His Lordship but also an offend to the whole Fatui.”
His Ladyship says nothing. He is staring at Alexei with confusion palpable on his face. And it'd be a lie if Alexei says he isn't afraid of being stared at so closely by a monster.
So Alexei forces a grin onto his lips as he adds, “His Ladyship will be able to contact his family once more,” he nervously explains –at least the way realization slowly dawns on His Ladyship's face is telling him that he's doing the right thing, “the risk will still be there but people will become much more hesitant to try.”
There, at least Alexei did one good thing in his life.
“Would you like to use make-up?” Zazan asks as he helps hooking jewelries onto Alhaitham's pairs of wings.
Alhaitham looks up from his hands to look at Zazan's reflection in the mirror, “Make-up?”
“Yeah,” Zazan mumbles as he squints in concentration, “only if you want to, though. Alpha Build is going to use some,” he says as he snakes golden plated strings along Alhaitham's wings.
Alhaitham blinks, “Why would he use make-up?”
Zazan pauses before he slowly stands up straight so that he can look at Alhaitham's expression in the mirror, “... I don't know. You ask him,” he finally says when he sees that Alhaitham actually looks confused.
But in hindsight, Zazan sort of understands. Alpha Build is literally missing an eye and half of his face is lined with scars. Make-up can't salvage that in the slightest.
At Zazan's answer, Alhaitham shifts his wings in confusion, making Zazan screeches in pain, “NOOOO! YOU SKEWED ALL THE JEWELRIES!”
Alhaitham freezes in his seat. …So what is he supposed to do? Not move his wings for the entire wedding?
As if realizing how impractical the jewelries are, Zazan lets out a sad caw as he begins to take off the pieces that aren't in place, his wings drooping sadly, “A, what a waste. Such a broad surface area yet I can't even adorn it with a single jewelry,” he laments, genuinely looking more and more heartbroken with each jewelry taken off from Alhaitham's wings.
Alhaitham softly smiles as he chuckles, “I told you it won't be feasible,” he teases.
Zazan's wings immediately bristled, “It was feasible until you moved your wings,” he argues.
Alhaitham doesn't bother to answer. He just stares at Zazan's reflection in the mirror. Zazan, knowing that he's being unreasonable, can only look away with a grumble.
“Done,” Zazan says as he pats his hands in satisfaction, “now stand up so that I can see if everything is in place,” he orders, his wings perking up high with anticipation.
Alhaitham chuckles to himself at Zazan's apparent excitement and carefully stands up so that he won't accidentally rip his wedding suit.
Actually, calling it a suit is a stretch. It's more of a long coat that drapes over his dress shirt and dress pants and pools around him in a cascade of fabric. It's covered in complicated embroideries and sewn gems that actually makes Alhaitham feel a bit embarrassed.
His Zazan made this for him. He really is good at stitching. Such a masterpiece on his first project. Oh, Alhaitham is embarrassed at what he had knitted for Waqa.
Alhaitham's musings are interrupted when he senses Zazan fussing around him to tidy up some folds and creases, “I still don't know what is the purpose of you giving me a tail,” Alhaitham comments when Zazan carefully tidies up the end of Alhaitham's coat so that it'll flare around him like a crown, making Zazan freezes.
“... I thought you liked the design?” Zazan quietly asks as he pointedly fiddles with a gem stitched on Alhaitham's coat, his wings pressing to his back nervously.
Alhaitham's lips twitch into an amused smile, “Yes and I still like it,” he says, his smile spreading wider when he sees Zazan's reflection immediately perk up with pride, “I just don't see why anyone would purposefully design something that'll drag on the floor. It will just get dirty.”
Zazan frowns in disagreement but he's pretty much still preening with pride as he answers, “Because it's stupid that you get a second pair of wings before you get a tail,” he grumbles as he obsesses on shifting Alhaitham's wings around to perfect the composition of Alhaitham's reflection in the mirror, “I mean, tail is very important to maneuver mid air, right?”
Alhaitham laughs, “Like you'd know,” he teases.
“Exactly!” Zazan exclaims, his wings flaring from indignation, “I don't have wings so I won't know.”
Alhaitham lets out an amused huff before he turns around to look at Zazan directly, “Alright, mister. That's enough fussing over me. Now it's time for you to get dressed too,” he says as he reaches out to fix Zazan's crooked bow tie.
Zazan swiftly takes a step back before Alhaitham can touch him, “Right, of course,” then he rushes to where he hanged his coat.
Alhaitham patiently waits as he watches Zazan carefully wear his coat while pointedly not looking at Alhaitham. Alhaitham doesn't mind. He feels the same. They'd look at each other sooner or later.
Zazan expertly secures his last button but he slightly jumps when Alhaitham's hands enter his vision and straighten his bow tie, “Nervous?” Alhaitham softly asks as he pats his lapels and Zazan wants to say no but he's too afraid that his voice will crack, “me too.”
Zazan's head immediately snaps up to look at Alhaitham but he quickly looks away again. No. Zazan doesn't want to fully see Alhaitham now. He wants to fully admire how his Hayi looks up on the altar.
But Zazan admits that he's getting impatient so he extends a gloved hand towards Alhaitham as he says, “That's stupid. There's no audience to sneer at us if we make a mistake and even if there's any, they won't dare say a single thing.”
Alhaitham softly chuckles as he takes Zazan's hand, “I guess you're right. This wedding is just for us, after all,” he says as he lets Zazan pull him out of the dressing room.
Zazan's hand squeezes Alhaitham's hand slightly, “Do you prefer to have a witness?” Zazan quietly asks as he fixatedly stares ahead.
Alhaitham reassuringly squeezes Zazan's hand in return, “No. Everything is already perfect.”
“Okay,” Zandik cheerfully exclaimed as he gestured around for them to quiet down even though he's the only one talking, “first, Alpha Build will meet Alhaitham at the door and invite him for a dance. I think waltz will be best here because I'll need you to dance with Alhaitham towards the altar.”
Alhaitham looked at Zandik with raised eyebrows, but before he could say anything, Waqa chimed in first, “Wait, why me and why a dance?” he asked before his face contorted with suspicions, “are you trying to embarrass me?”
Zandik sneered down at Waqa with disgust, “I only asked you to waltz with Alhaitham, not tango,” he said, as if Waqa knew the difference –dance is dance and he can't dance, “and the procession will start with you because you're the first to properly treat Alhaitham like a mate,” he explains before quickly adding, his wings flaring agitatedly, “but only because you were rebuilt before me so don't get too cocky.”
Zazan leads Alhaitham to the observatory that has been heavily decorated with fresh flowers and elegant ribbons. For a moment, Alhaitham is too busy admiring the effort his mates must have given to turn the empty observatory into this beautiful venue. The moon and stars are glittering up there in the sky, easily seen through the glass dome. Yet, as pretty as the nebula looks, Alhaitham's attention is quickly averted towards Waqa when he approaches him.
Without a word, Waqa awkwardly bows with a hand extended towards Alhaitham, “May I have a dance, Lady Alhaitham?” he asks, his hands trembling slightly as he waits for Alhaitham to reach his hand.
With one last smile towards Zazan, Alhaitham happily takes Waqa's hand, “Why, of course, handsome sir,” he amusedly says, making Waqa immediately shoot up to stare at Alhaitham with a wide eye.
Alhaitham smiles at Waqa with a chuckle as he lays his other hand on Waqa's shoulder, “Zazan said you wanted to wear make-up,” he comments.
Waqa blinks his eye in confusion before his cheeks flush a little as he grabs Alhaitham's waist, “I tried,” he embarrassedly admits as he carefully twirls Alhaitham so that he won't trip on his coat, “but I didn't really know how to use it.”
Alhaitham amusedly looks at Waqa as they slowly dance their way across the floor towards the altar, “That's okay,” he says with a reassuring chirp, “because I prefer to see my handsome Waqa the way he is.”
Waqa's lips tremble slightly as his grip on Alhaitham's waist tightens slightly, “... Okay,” he says with a sigh –accepting that his mate's taste is questionable.
“And then,” Zandik continued with his hands raised dramatically, “I'll officiate the wedding.”
… Silence. There was no comment. No one was even trying to argue that he isn't fit for that position.
Zandik scowled and looked down at the table vehemently, “If anyone is wondering, it's because I'll be the one taking the legal and official matters to Zapolyarny Palace so that role fits me best.”
Alhaitham squeezes Waqa's hand one last time before he steps up the altar where Zandik is already waiting in his three piece suit behind a desk covered with official papers. Alhaitham didn't mention it before but the desk looks so out of place up on the altar. Curious, he peeks at the papers and immediately ugly snorts.
Grinning wide, Zandik sing-songs in a voice that barely hides his laughter, “Ah, the groom is truly gorgeous. How lucky his partner must be,” he manages to purr before he starts doubling over and wheezing.
Alhaitham himself can't control his laughter anymore as he rests a hand on the desk and leans to it for support.
Legal documents. The papers are Snezhnayan marriage certificate and marriage license. It shouldn't be so funny to Alhaitham but it is. This is just so his mates.
“Usually-” Alhaitham gasps for breath from laughing too hard, “usually, this is the part where the priest holds a religious book, Zandik,” he says before he starts laughing again.
Zandik can only wheeze, “Why would that matter here? God has no business in this marriage,” he says before he presses a hand to his mouth to try calming his laugh, “and onward, all the intricacies will only involve humans so these are all that matters.”
“Sigma Build will be the one carrying the rings to the altar so that you can place them on our finger,” Zandik said as he carefully looked at Alhaitham as if he was searching for something, “...and Prime will be the one giving the vow.”
Alhaitham and Zandik continue to laugh so much they don't even notice Doctor slowly making his way to the altar. By the time Alhaitham notices him, Doctor is already sweating from trying to keep his smile on his face. Zandik actually had noticed him long ago but he preferred to ignore him so that he could continue to laugh with his moonlight. Cruel? Maybe. But Zandik will always be pissed at Prime.
Alhaitham quickly straightens up with a few more chuckles before he takes a deep calming breath and looks at Doctor expectantly, “Alright. I'm ready,” he softly says.
Zazan takes that as his cue to quickly stand across Waqa next to the altar. A white box is in his hands. He holds it so carefully his hands are slightly trembling from focus.
…
Doctor's voice is stuck in his throat.
Alhaitham is gorgeous here. Under the nebula of glittering stars, bathed under the moonlight, and adorned in gemstones, the prettiest thing ‘Dottore’ has ever seen in his life is still his pair of eyes. They're just so bright. They're like a beacon that always lights up whenever Alhaitham spots him.
‘Dottore’ doesn't know how that works. ‘He' is just an unethical doctor –he's sure that's him putting it very lightly. He's not even a good human so why would Alhaitham love him? What is there to love?
“I love you,” Doctor declares once he realizes that he's making Alhaitham wait again, “with all my breath. With all my life,” he continues because even if he's still trying to make sense of how Alhaitham can love him, one thing remains true and proven, “until death and back to life again,” ‘Dottore’ loves Alhaitham, “so I'll always love and cherish you,” so Doctor finally allows himself to smile –unguarded, unpracticed, full of all his feelings he tries to suppress, “until eternity rots me.”
“...Why him?” Waqa growled, he would've yelled in protests but he didn't want to upset Alhaitham.
Zandik slowly took a deep breath as he looked straight at Alhaitham –because even if Waqa was the one who asked, what matters is Alhaitham's opinion, “Because when it was clear that we couldn't be together anymore, Prime was the one who decided to pursue you correctly and actually confronted the Dendro Archon for a semblance of permission,” he carefully said before shamefully looking down, “considering that I somewhat asked him to just kidnap you, his actions say a lot about him.”
Notes:
A little announcement about Oh, What A Misfortune that I probably should just announce there but I don't think it's that important so I'll just tell it here:
I kinda planned that there will be a fuck or die situation where Alhaitham has to ride Zandik (his student) to save his life. From that, Zandik grows attached to Alhaitham because Alhaitham actually treats him like a person and after the incident, he falls harder. The thing is that the incident makes Alhaitham think of himself as disgusting because he has to fuck a minor.
But then I realized something. In that fic, Alhaitham has supposedly exists since the first knowledge is passed down (the equivalent irl will be existing since the first caveman mural). He has existed since humans were literal savages. Alhaitham in that fic probably has the most unethical moral view on Teyvat. He won't be bothered in the slightest that he's fucking a minor.
So I need some time to replan the plot outline of that while fic.
Probably makes it something like:
?: Grand Scribe, why are you fucking a minor!
Alhaitham: he might be a minor but his cock ain't minor.
?: ... What does that even mean?!?!?!
Hugo Vlad from Zenless zone zero gives me the same excitement to play as Alhaitham. Alhaitham is still my babygirl tho.
... Hugo Vlad x Alhaitham, anyone?
I had two cats before. One is Mochi and the other is Alexanderrrrr. Mochi is a docile housecat while Alexanderrrrr is a little hunter. Unfortunately, the rats near my house are often poisoned so my fear come true and Alexanderrrrr died after eating a poisoned rat.
Thankfully, Mochi doesn't like rats. She only brings them dead to me as a tribute for tasty treats. She didn't eat much after Alexanderrrrr died but now her appetite is back.
Chapter 99
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Alright, I'm ready,” Alhaitham says after he calms down from his laughter, subtly trying to fix his skewed accessories before finally staring up at Doctor with an expectant smile.
…
Well…, Alhaitham has gotten used to waiting. It's okay. He's okay. Maybe Doctor is just nervous and that is normal.
“I love you,” his Doctor says, his voice sounding a bit out of breath but he finally says something that he truly means to say instead of the carefully crafted lines he used to say.
It's a bit embarrassing but Alhaitham's wings flutter slightly at the confession and his smile becomes softer. Hearing his Doctor telling him that with full eye contact just feels so different. Especially because it's not uttered during a desperate time but on a joyous occasion.
“With all my breath. With all my life.”
Alhaitham feels his cheeks heating up slightly so he subconsciously wrings his fingers to ground himself. He actually prefers to fiddle with the sleeves of his coat but he has a feeling Zazan will be very sad if he wrinkles it. Unfortunately, he feels himself losing more and more control of his conscious action, so Alhaitham slowly takes a deep breath to calm his way too excited heart. He just can't help it. After countless partners, he finally finds his lifelong mate.
“Until death and back to life again.”
Alhaitham quietly snorts. Is this his mate's jab about how usually people vow to love only until death parts them? … Or… is this his mate's declaration that if Alhaitham dies again, he'll still love him and try to revive him again?
“So I'll always love and cherish you,” Doctor finally allows himself to smile –unguarded, unpracticed, full of all his feelings he tries to suppress, “until eternity rots me.”
…
Alhaitham freezes.
…
Zandik barks a hysterical laugh, "When the time where our foolish play needs to end comes, one of us will need to die. I hope you're aware of that. The time where you can no longer stall this moment will eventually come and judging from our standing, it will most likely be you."
Alhaitham steadily says, "I'm aware of that."
Zandik's smile drops and he feels his wings drooping, "And you're fine with it?" he chokes out.
…
Zandik's eyes flit around Alhaitham's face, searching for anything, "There should be another solution, no?" Zandik lets out a manic giggle as his wings perk up, "Of course there is. Even if it only benefits you.”
…
Zandik can feel his lips trembling due to an intense emotion that he can remember from a very distant memory, "Anything?" He chokes out, "you can be anything. As long as you come with me. I'll take good care of you.”
…
Ah…. Alhaitham's lips start to wobble. This is his Doctor.
He has and always will love him.
Alhaitham hesitantly raises a hand up to Doctor's face and pinches his cheek.
Doctor's smile becomes slightly crooked from having his cheek pinched but his smile is still there, at least for a few minutes, “Really? Yes, you can dream now but I assure you I am not dreaming,” Doctor finally says when minutes pass and Alhaitham's only reaction is pinching his cheek, yet… his smile softens with amusement instead of annoyance.
Alhaitham's eyes widen, “A…,” he manages to softly let out before he loses all control of himself and starts crying.
Yes. This is still the man Alhaitham finally fell in love with after countless relationships he never really wanted. This is still the ‘Zandik’ he made a contract with. This is still his first love.
…
Outwardly, Doctor is still smiling but inwardly, he's bathing in cold sweat. What did he do this time? Why is Alhaitham crying again?
… Scratch that, why is no one trying to calm him down.
Hesitantly, Doctor raises a hand to hold Alhaitham's hand that's still pinching his cheek and holds it gently, “...I'm sorry,” he meekly says as he awkwardly pats Alhaitham's hand in an effort to calm him down, “I shouldn't have snarked at you since we're still on the altar.”
[PFFT!] someone snorts to the link, judging from how Doctor can see Omega Build trying to keep himself still from the corner of his eyes, it's probably him.
Doctor would have snapped at him from the link. He really would, especially since he won't say anything that Alhaitham can hear. But he doesn't. Because Alhaitham is also starting to laugh while still crying. It doesn't seem like he can do both at the same time because he also starts hiccupping though.
Doctor opens his mouth, wanting to try calming Alhaitham down once more, but before he can say anything, Alhaitham squeezes his hand and pulls him into a tight hug.
Doctor tenses up in Alhaitham's tight embrace. He doesn't know what else to do but place his hands on Alhaitham's waist. In all marriage records he read to prepare for this day, he never read anything about the wedded couple hugging each other on the altar. He's pretty sure they mostly kiss each other.
… Is this a consolation hug???
“I have been slowly falling in love more and more with you ever since we were still in Sumeru,” Alhaitham says, making Dottore want to punch himself in the face for his stupid speculation.
Alhaitham finally lets go of his hug, pulling back just slightly so that he can look up at Dottore with his wet yet bright pretty eyes and a big bright smile that makes Doctor's heart stutter, “now I'm yours as you're mine,” he says with a blush that beckons Doctor to slowly lean in.
Alhaitham's smile softens and he closes his eyes.
𓅪 ♡ 𓅪
Zandik quietly watches the sight with an imperceptible satisfied grin on his lips –fucking finally, after all his time and effort– but then he suddenly lets out a strangled squawk, “Wait- Uh, you may now kiss. I mean, you already are but yeah. Yeah….”
Alhaitham snorts and pulls back from the kiss to look at Zandik in amusement, “I thought you said you're the most fit to officiate our wedding?” he teasingly asks.
Zandik's wings twitch as his face explodes with red, “I did and I am so now you may put the rings on us.”
Alhaitham simply laughs at that and looks at Zazan who steps onto the altar and opens the ring box for Alhaitham.
…
Alhaitham doesn't know how his mates managed to move the obscenely large bed in the master bedroom they usually use to copulate into the observatorium but that doesn't matter. Because the bed is now there and he's sitting on it against the headboard.
“Moonlight~” Zandik purrs with a mischievous smirk that spells danger on his lips, “Do you know how crows strategize against bigger birds?” he asks, making Waqa let out a groan as he knows where this is going.
Alhaitham doesn't answer. He's too busy staring at his mates and at the same time at nothing. The stars are still glittering in the sky and the moonlight is the only source of light in the observatorium now. Also, technically, if this is a normal wedding then this place is a place of worship so it's incredibly blasphemous that they're going to spend their wedding night here.
“They'd gather their murder and gang on the intruder. If the intruder is lucky, it might just escape. But if it isn't… well…,” Zandik trails off as he comes closer towards Alhaitham and places a hand on his thigh and gently squeezes it, “rest in pieces, dear.”
Alhaitham nervously gulps the saliva pooling in his mouth and pointedly looks away from Zandik, watching the sheer curtains of the bed with avid interest. In his defense, the sheer curtains are interesting. How can such a fragile material survive unscathed for so long when they sometimes mate with their claws out?
Doctor's smirking face suddenly pops into Alhaitham's line of sight, startling Alhaitham's pairs of wings into twitching as he jolts from surprise, “What are you observing so closely that you ignore us?” he asks, his voice lowering to a purr as he reaches out to gently pinch Alhaitham's chin.
Alhaitham accidentally lets out a stuttered squeal as he quickly looks away, “I'm not. I'm just looking at Zazan, that's all,” he weakly denies.
Yes, Zazan. His Zazan is always so cute so it'd be safe to look at him. Unfortunately for Alhaitham, as if Zazan knows exactly what to do, he slowly slips his tongue out of his mouth with a smirk.
Alhaitham's breath hitches as Zazan's tongue keeps slipping out of his mouth. The more his tongue comes out, the more Alhaitham tenses up as memories of that tongue licking him resurfaces. When Zazan's tongue is finally out of his mouth, Alhaitham is already panting and trying to secretly rub his asshole, which is already starting to get wet, against the bed.
Alhaitham flinches with a small whimper when he suddenly hear Zandik's husky chuckle right next to his sensitive hear, the way Zandik's breath hits his ear already sending a shiver down his spine, “This is our wedding night, my dearest moonlight,” Zandik coos as he softly kisses Alhaitham's ear, making a soft whimper slip out of Alhaitham's lips, “so, in order to please the falcon, we are going to gangbang you.”
Alhaitham's brain short-circuits. Yeah, maybe he should just disassociate as usual. Maybe then he won't feel like he's melting. But if he does that then his bad habit won't change. Besides, Alhaitham dissociates during sex because he usually didn't like his partner but he doesn't have much choice. Now, Alhaitham really really likes his partner.
Alhaitham stiffly leans away from Zandik but he can't get away that much because he comes right towards Doctor, aware that he doesn't have room to escape, Alhaitham gulps his own saliva to wet his dry throat and tries to control the situation a little bit, “Where did you learn that word, Zandik,” he asks with a chuckle.
“Where did you know that word, mister falcon?” Zandik counters as the hand he uses to caress Alhaitham's thigh crawls up to tease Alhaitham's asshole through his pants, which already has a visible wet patch that's steadily growing bigger by now.
Alhaitham's mouth goes dry and he can't retort. He's too busy exercising his breath so that he doesn't pass out from hypertension. A mating partner that he likes ready to take him is a pleasant surprise. Two mating partners that he likes ready to take him is basically a miracle –a very pleasant one. Four mating partners that he really really likes and knows can fuck him stupid promising to thoroughly use him? Ah… Alhaitham almost feels like he's being bullied, not in a good way.
Alhaitham holds the bed sheet in a deathly grip as he tries to ignore Zandik's fingers which are rubbing circles around his asshole through his pants and Doctor's fingers which are trailing up and down along his torso before pinching his nipples through his dress shirt. Zazan is no help. He's teasingly swaying his long long tongue that Alhaitham knows how having that poking against the entrance of his womb feels like. Alhaitham lets out a soft gasp and, out of desperation to calm himself down, he glances at Waqa, hoping that he'd act as awkwardly as usual and distracts him a little.
Unfortunately, Alhaitham simply forgot that he's most carnally attracted towards Waqa's vessel. Waqa is not even looking at him as he slowly unbuttons his shirt, slowly revealing his chiseled vessel that Alhaitham actually has always wanted to kiss and lick all this time but hasn't figured yet how to ask for permission without acting too needy. Then Waqa's buttons are all off and he takes his dress shirt off him, inadvertently showing Alhaitham the most beautiful view that makes him subconsciously licks his lips.
As if he can sense Alhaitham's thoughts, Waqa turns his head to look at Alhaitham and raises an eyebrow at him. He doesn't smirk like Doctor. He doesn't tease him like Zandik nor Zazan. Waqa's action is so casual and very in character with his usual quiet attitude that Alhaitham has come to be very fond of but it's finally the thing that makes him quake.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings droop submissively as he starts humming out drunken chittering sounds. Zazan and Zandik immediately grin in unison at the sight and familiar sweet scent that permeates the air. Ah, Alhaitham enters heat from his arousal alone. How cute.
Waqa instantly freezes when the sweet scent enters his nostril, his whole demeanor suddenly shifting. He doesn't make a sound nor visibly react to the smell. But that's precisely what makes Alhaitham shivers.
How poised. So restrained. Like an intelligent predator sensing its prey.
And like a predator, Waqa carefully climbs the bed and crawls towards Alhaitham with his wings flared. He says nothing, just slowly and quietly approaching Alhaitham with his singular eye staring straight into him, black pupil blown wide until his iris almost looks to be consumed by it. Alhaitham squirms, subconsciously trying to put a distance between him and Waqa who looks like he's about to predate him. But before he can move even an inch, Doctor and Zandik grab each of his thighs and spread them for Waqa to slot into.
Waqa slots himself between Alhaitham's thighs, looming over Alhaitham with his wings flaring almost in an intimidating way. His eye unblinkingly searches Alhaitham's flushed and restless face before it slowly trails down, searching for something, until it finally stops at the obvious wet patch on Alhaitham's pants which looks even more exposed with the way Doctor and Zandik is holding his legs. Ever so slowly, Waqa's lips spread into a wide grin as if he has finally found what he's searching for, sharp and jagged teeth able to easily tear through flesh glinting ominously down at Alhaitham and sending him into a shudder –both aroused and afraid.
“Don't look so afraid, mister falcon,” Waqa purrs slowly, enunciating every syllable, “I promise we won't accidentally tear you to shreds.”
Alhaitham's pairs of wings droop even more in submission. He finally lets himself lay down on the bed, pitifully staring up at Waqa as Zandik and Doctor continue to hold his thighs apart. He doesn't say anything but that's completely fine because all the Segments can smell his sweet scent of heat even clearer now.
Oh, Alhaitham is going to be swallowed whole.
Notes:
Don't get mad. I can explain.
... Okay, I can't.
This chapter is very short and I know some of you are really waiting for the fivesome. Unfortunately, I was in a dilemma. Do I make it into one long chapter or separate it into two chapters so that I can celebrate my first 100th chapter with a fivesome chapter (I had to add "chapter" after "fivesome"). It's non-negotiable. Fivesome on the 100th is da wae.
So sorry for the short chapter. Here have some cute animal videos that remind of this ship.
https://youtube.com/shorts/jjO4tlNbgD8?si=k-oPO1keB541Hlsm
ZAZAN. ZAZAN. THAT'S DEFINITELY ZAZAN.
https://x.com/buitengebieden/status/1912431237685195039?s=19
Waqatham and their future fledgling for real.
Chapter 100
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ah… the Snezhnayan sky is very beautiful tonight. The stars are glittering with mischief and the moon is shining gently. What a tranquil night sky. So much so that Alhaitham feels guilty that he regards those space objects in his heart as mere pervert voyeurs watching him writhe on the bed as his husbands tease him.
It has definitely become a habit that he and Dottore would tear each other's clothes off in the face of imminent sex. It's quick, serves its purpose well, and very sexy to some degree. … To be honest, Alhaitham doesn't mind –really likes– this habit. Such an unrestrained show of desire is simply delicious.
Unfortunately, for some reason, it seems that his mates have decided to act civil for once. Alhaitham can't be too pissed off about it either because, to some degree, he still possesses the desire to preserve his wedding suit. Besides, there are 4 pairs of hands helping working together. Surely this won't take long.
…Unfortunately, what is even more unfortunate is that his mates see that it's fit to tease him after seducing him like that.
Alhaitham swallows down a whimper of frustration as Zandik continues to rub circles around his rim through his pants. Ah, why hasn't he taken it off already? It's already soaking wet and all sticky. Actually, Waqa isn't any better. He should stop kissing his thighs with an eye that screams he wants to gnaw on them. Even if taking his pants off would mean his thighs will become exposed to Waqa's hunger, Alhaitham is certain that he still prefers that.
Just take his clothes off already. He won't even get mad that they're purposefully ignoring his dick. Actually, if that's so much to ask can they at least have the decency to back off for a minute and let Alhaitham takes his own clothes off?
Doctor lets out a low hum next to Alhaitham's ear, making him shudder slightly, “Your feathers are all ruffled, dear,” he comments in Snezhnayan as he pinches and fondles his dressed chest, “are you pissed off of something?” he innocently asks as he slips two fingers through the gaps between Alhaitham's button and rubs reassuring –very mocking– circles on his chest.
Alhaitham shudders slightly. The skin to skin contact feels good. It'd feel much better if they're all naked already though. Should Alhaitham just tell them to move on already?
Unfortunately for Alhaitham, immediately after he parts his lips to voice his complaint, Zazan thinks it's funny to slip his tongue into his mouth.
Actually, Zazan is not just slipping his tongue into Alhaitham's mouth. He's exploring his mouth with his tongue, mapping every tooth and soft plane in his mouth, stuffing Alhaitham's mouth so much that his mouth is too full to utter a single word. It gets worse when Zazan's tongue is finished with his mouth and he decides to explore deeper.
Ah! Alhaitham's leg accidentally kicks out when Zazan's tongue slides into his throat. The soft muscle gently but persistently enters deeper, pressing down on his voice ribbon and caressing his inner throat. What's left of Alhaitham's attempt to breathe immediately ceases when Zazan's tongue finally reaches the depth their cock would usually reach whenever Alhaitham deepthroats them and starts retreating a few centimeters before sliding deeper again.
Alhaitham's toes curl as he glares up at Zazan with teary eyes. Is this chick really teasing him? This chick who usually spoiledly calls him mommy?! Oh, the audacity.
Zazan continues to slide his tongue in and out of Alhaitham's throat while looking back at him innocently. But, deep down, he's drenched with sweat. He hasn't had sex with Alhaitham ever since he finally managed to pay Alhaitham his revenge. Is Alhaitham going to retaliate now? Well, in any case, please stop glaring at him like that. He's scared.
The longer Alhaitham and Zazan look into each other's eyes, the more Zazan shakes inside so he finally asks to the link, [Can't we just start now?!] he crows in panic, [Hayi looks like might bite off our dick in cold blood if we tease him any longer.]
[What a coward,] Omega Build laments to the link.
[WHA-]
[Yeah,] Alpha Build cuts Sigma Build off before he can start screaming annoyingly in the link while obsessively sniffing Alhaitham's thigh, [he's ripe now. I can smell how sweet he is even from here.]
Zandik lets out a hum, his wings flapping a little with satisfaction, [Well, let us undress our beloved mate, then,] he says as he finally stops teasing circles around Alhaitham's rim, making Alhaitham let out a muffled whine.
But his whine is cut short because Zazan abruptly pulls out his tongue, making him chokes a little on their shared spit. What Alhaitham sees next is a blur of annoyance and astonishment as his mates quickly strip him off in matters of seconds that it's clear to him that they must have been teasing him earlier. But before Alhaitham can even think of being angry, he's already shoved –very gently– into kneeling on the bed. All four of his mates are standing in line in front of him, looking as if they're soldiers in a ceremony.
At least until Zazan starts shifting uncomfortably on his legs with his wings shuffling anxiously. Zazan's demeanor feels like it's breaking the choreography they've planned and, judging from the way Zandik's wings are slumping exasperatedly, Alhaitham isn't the only one who thinks so.
Zandik lets out a sigh as his wings ruffle in annoyance at Zazan before he averts his attention back to Alhaitham and curves his lips up into a hungry smile, “Although I said that ‘we' are going to… gangbang you, my dearest moonlight,” Zandik purrs, making Alhaitham shudders from the raw intensity of the promise he puts when he says that obscene word, “this wedding night is about us. It wouldn't be fair if ‘we’ chase only ‘our’ own pleasure, isn't it?”
Alhaitham bites his tongue in silence. This is definitely a bait. He won't take it. He won't. He… won't….
Alhaitham crosses his arms above his chest with a soft huff, his pairs of wings ruffling irritatedly, “So what do you propose?”
Zandik just smiles. Then he unzips his pants and takes out his cock, already hard from smelling Alhaitham's pheromone for a while now, followed by the rest of the Segments. Even Zazan too. He holds his cock and points it towards Alhaitham for a moment before he starts jerking it off –though he looks as if he's only doing it because he's anxious.
In any case, it doesn't matter. Alhaitham is a falcon breed Avian. A breed of a bird of prey. When he sees food, his focus is only on one thing.
And right now, he sees 4.
Alhaitham feels his body heating up considerably. He stares at his mates’ cocks, all lined up like a feast for him to devour, and can't help the drool slipping from the corner of his mouth as his thighs rub needily against each other, his own cock erect and dripping with need.
To such a sight, Waqa's cock hardens and responds in kind by pulsing angrily and dripping with precum. Zandik bites his lips and starts teasing Alhaitham more by jerking his own cock slowly. Doctor doesn't do anything much but smirking in triumph though his cock visibly looks as excited as his other shelves.
Meanwhile, Zazan is the only one shaking with fear. Sure, he's still jerking his cock off but the movement of his hand is getting more and more stiff and aborted. Zazan doesn't think it's wise to rile Alhaitham up like this.
Alhaitham is ascended, sure. That means they can be as rough as they want and not care too much about refraining themselves so that Hayi won't get hurt, correct. But this is the first time they're going to mate after Alhaitham's second death so is it truly wise that they crowd him like this? Besides, even if Alhaitham's body can keep up now, what about his mind? What if they end up driving him to insanity because they fucked him too hard?
… Zazan hates himself that he knows for certain Alhaitham would like that.
. . .
[I'm telling you. Moonlight has a favorite,] Omega Build says as he watches Alhaitham worship Alpha Build's body like the Eldritch vessel is his only religion.
Prime lets out a sigh from beside the obscenely large bed but he continues to rummage through the drawers of their love nest, [He doesn't. He's too smart to not know that in the end each of us is still the same entity,] he says to the link before frowning deeply when he still can't find the thing.
[What nonsense are you spouting?!] Omega Build screeches as his wings flap indignantly, [of course I know that but that doesn't mean Alhaitham doesn't have a favorite. Just look at him! Why's he sucking and licking on Alpha Build's cock like it's the sweetest treat in the world?!]
Doctor visibly scowls in annoyance and he's about to snap at Omega Build. Thankfully, before he can get distracted from his mission, he finally finds what he's looking for. Smirking, Doctor immediately takes the object and closes the drawer before he immediately strikes Alhaitham's right ass cheek.
Alhaitham chokes around Waqa's cock, startled from the lashing, making Waqa groan and place a hand on Alhaitham's head to calm him down, “Why do you keep surprising Hayi whenever he's sucking me,” Waqa growls as he narrows his eyes at Doctor with suspicions, “are you trying to imprint on Hayi's mind that he'll choke whenever he's sucking me off?”
Doctor's smirk slightly falls from the accusation and his wings slump exasperatedly, “You know very well that that doesn't mean a single thing to Alhaitham,” he dryly retorts before he lashes Alhaitham's other cheek with the riding crop they used on their first night in The Residence.
Alhaitham's throat tightens from the pain. Waqa lets out a hiss from the sudden constriction around his shaft and he grabs Alhaitham's hair so that he can pull him off his cock. But it's almost as if Alhaitham can sense Waqa's intention as he quickly swallows more of his cock until the tip of his nose kisses the hard muscles of Waqa's pelvis. To seal the deal, Doctor lashes Alhaitham's thigh, making Alhaitham groan around Waqa's cock buried deep in his throat. Waqa lets out a groan of his own as his back goes slightly numb from pleasure and his hand loses its strength on Alhaitham's hair.
“Fine,” Waqa spits as his wings flare low and tremble, “you’re right. This is pretty much Hayi's taste,” he growls as his hips start slightly thrusting in and out of Alhaitham's mouth.
Doctor smirks in triumph at Waqa's admittance. Glancing down, he sees Alhaitham’s pairs of wings lazily flapping and Doctor’s smirk becomes darker. He raises his hand and, with sadistic glee, he strikes the muscles between Alhaitham's wings.
Alhaitham lets out a keen but it's reduced into a whiny squeal due to Waqa's cock stuffing his mouth. His pairs of wings frantically flap from the pleasure and pain spreading from his most sensitive muscles to the rest of his body. Out of instinct, he needily raises his ass high, signaling for his mate to mount him already.
Waqa lets out a deep guttural groan while Doctor smirks at Alhaitham's posture. How obscene. Ah, the falcon is very ready to be bred. Doctor can't see it from his position but he's sure that Alhaitham's asshole is definitely flowing like a river with his natural slick and aphrodisiac.
…
Frankly, Doctor can't be sure if it'll be safe to stick his dick into a tight passage full of aphrodisiacs but, in all honesty, it doesn't matter. Said passage full of aphrodisiacs is his mate's delicious hole. If he doesn't breed it then who will?
Whatever happens next is simply the risk Dottore is willing to take so Doctor shoves two of his fingers into Alhaitham's slick hole, “Omega Build, prep him,” he orders as his fingers spread Alhaitham's hole, causing more slick to flow out of Alhaitham's hole like a river trailing down his cock before falling onto the smooth cover of the bed.
Zandik, who was already licking his lips at the thought of slurping all that slick and then sucking out more of it straight from the source, instantly lunges at Alhaitham's ass. He digs his fingers into the firm, red-lined globes of Alhaitham's ass cheeks and spreads them wide. Alhaitham lets out a choked squeal around Waqa's cock because of the abrupt handling of his ass but his claws are instantly out when he feels Zandik's tongue on the underside of his cock.
Zandik roughly laps the slick drenching Alhaitham's shaft and follows the river up to the source. However, when he sees Alhaitham's asshole spread by Doctor's fingers, he pauses. Doctor immediately takes his fingers out with a huff, thinking that Zandik is probably about to demand him to do so, but it's not that. The poor smitten Avian is simply falling in love once again.
With reverence, Zandik caresses Alhaitham's gushing and slightly inflamed hole. Oh, such a beautiful view. So slick, so needy, so ripe… so perfect to be bred.
“I want him to sit on my face,” Zandik says out of the blue as he continues to stare at Alhaitham's hole, his face looking so hopelessly in love it's disgusting.
Though Zandik said that with the intention to warn, deep down he's just declaring what he wants. Because the next thing he does is grips Alhaitham's hips and pulls his ass towards his face before he plops back to his back, inadvertently manhandling Alhaitham into sitting on his face. It all happened rather quickly, Doctor can only blink at the sudden change in their position while Waqa instantly caws in fury at the sudden loss of Alhaitham's throat around his cock.
“Ah?” Alhaitham raspily mutters and frowns in confusion, his pairs of wings stilling as he tries to process what has happened, not even realizing that he's sitting on someone's face.
“AHN?!” Alhaitham loudly squeals with a flinch when a mouth suddenly wraps around his sensitive rim and aggressively sucks his rim as if it intends to drink him dry.
“N-no! Stop! Ah! Stop it. Let me go~” Alhaitham whines as he tries to wiggle free from the hands firmly holding his hips in place, “Nn, Doctor~!” he wails as his hands desperately try to wrench the hands off his hips.
Asking Doctor for help is probably the worst thing Alhaitham could've done. Because instead of helping Alhaitham, Doctor merely smirks and reaches up to blindly rummage through the bed’s ceiling. Not that he can help it. With a tongue brutishy mapping every fold and crease of his inside, Alhaitham simply can't think straight.
Alhaitham screeches a wail when Doctor whips his chest. Ah, it's getting too much. Pain and pleasure is genuinely blending into one Alhaitham isn't sure which is which.
“Hayi…,” Alhaitham somehow hears someone calling him so he tries to focus his eyes to see who it is.
Ah, it's his Waqa. His strong and protective Waqa. Oh, Alhaitham should've just called his name instead of Doctor’s.
Weakly, Alhaitham lets out a soft squeal at Waqa. He stretches his hands out at him, a silent plea to be saved. Waqa holds his hands, reassuring him with a gentle but firm squeeze around his wrist.
When Waqa pulls his hands, Alhaitham isn't at all surprised that the hands holding his hips finally let go of him.
What surprises him is when Waqa suddenly pushes him onto his back and roughly inserts his cock to the hilt, hitting the mouth of his womb straight.
Alhaitham's back arches off the bed with a shrill squeal. His toes are curling as tears start to bead at the corner of his eyes from the sudden pleasure. Oh, Alhaitham genuinely forgot he has a womb.
…
Zazan watches Alpha Build wreck Alhaitham's ass once more and he can't help but let out curse and wrap his hand around his own cock and starts jerking out to the sight.
Omega Build has a point. Alhaitham probably has a favorite. There's no way Alhaitham would sing that loudly if he doesn't favor Alpha Build. What Zazan isn't sure is whether he favors Alpha Build because he fucks him well or if Alhaitham sings like that because he favors Alpha Build.
… Fuck it, Zazan doesn't know. All he knows is that the two correlate somehow…. And that his hand doesn't feel enough.
Zazan frustratedly runs his hand through his hair as he starts jerking himself faster. Acting this way embarrasses him but he doesn't have a choice. The heat of the aphrodisiac is getting way too unbearable. Unfortunately, when the heat spreads to the rest of his body instead of calming down, Zazan can only growl… and continue to jerk himself off.
How annoying.
How unbearably annoying.
ZAZAN REALLY WANTS TO JOIN AND GETS RID OF THE APHRODISIAC IN HIS BLOOD QUICKLY BUT THOSE FOUR ARE BEING SCARY, DAMN it!
Crows will team up with its murder to drive off an intruder, my ass. How in Abyss is this teaming up? All Zazan sees is them competing with each other to be the first to succeed breeding Alhaitham –WHICH MAKES NO SENSE BECAUSE WE ALL LITERALLY HAVE THE SAME DNA STRAND SO WHOEVER IMPREGNATES HAYI DOESN'T CHANGE A SINGLE THING!
But, as if logic has eluded those three, Prime simply continues to watch on as Omega Build and Alpha Build snatch and manhandle Alhaitham's body for their own pleasure. One moment Alpha Build would be pounding Alhaitham into the mattress and at the next moment Omega Build would try to push Alpha Build away so that he can play with Alhaitham instead. Then Alpha Build will literally yank him away by the hair and resume his activities as if nothing had happened.
…Isn't it really bad that even Zazan starts to pity Alhaitham at this point?
And then, accompanied by a roaring wail that sends every animal in The Residence’s vicinity instinctively keep their voice down, the true reason why Zazan is too afraid to join lets himself be known.
His mommy is angry now.
Notes:
Guys, I think I found Zandik
https://youtu.be/Jqsf17C1Lpk?si=bu8GtxzgIoLUSmFPoV: you witness what happened after the Segment makes their fledgling cry
https://youtu.be/YaE_M2vtCps?si=przX2P4sOIhne72
Also, I just bought a pair of budgies. One is light blue with black accents while the other is greenish white with a splash of black and yellow. As you can guess it, I name the blue one Dottore and the white one Alhaitham.
It's kinda embarrassing to call their name out loud but now I can absolutely say that:
1) Alhaitham bit me today.
2) Dottore keeps trying to mount Alhaitham all day.
Chapter 101
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Alpha Build's vessel has been heavily modified ever since its creation. To be honest, the reason he looks so “mangly” is more because of the modifications done to it rather than battle scars. However, despite the vessel's aesthetics –or the lack of it, the Eldritch vessel is still what ‘Dottore’ prided as the closest thing to divinity.
Sure, the Eldritch vessel's presence among common mortals often commands fear and the desperate urge to escape from his notice at all costs to the point that they'd kill themselves. However, such is the nature of a blasphemous divinity. That is just the common reaction to the innate fear every mortal in Teyvat has to preserve their lives. ‘Dottore' figures that the Celestia planted this in the mortals’ subconscious so that Khaenri’ah won't happen again. What ‘Dottore' hasn't figured out yet is if the Celestia planted it through the Irminsul or if humans are actually smarter than ‘he’ thought that they are able to conclude what to do after seeing what happened to Khaenri'ah.
In any case, that's not the kind of musing appropriate for the current situation. As mentioned before, Alpha Build's Eldritch vessel commands fear from other living beings. ‘Dottore' never experienced that fear firsthand. At least until today.
Finally fed up from being manhandled left and right, Alhaitham wails from anger. His wail is probably louder than he intended to but at least that does its job in stopping his mates. Definitely not because of the dendro vines he accidentally summons in his anger that Alhaitham has no idea how to control yet.
Zazan, who was standing not quite far away from the bed but is thankfully still out of the chaos' radius, very carefully takes a step back from the slithering cluster of vines. His hand has finally stopped pumping his cock out of caution as he stares unblinkingly at the vines. They're smooth, thankfully. Otherwise Zazan would actually feel bad for those three for being tangled in them.
After making sure that he'd be fine, Zazan averts his eyes from the vines to their owner and his hand subconsciously grips around his cock, making him wince in pain.
In the brain, there's this little part called the amygdala. This little fella is what helps human process fear. But it doesn't just process fear. The amygdala is there to process various types of emotion. It's actually also working with the hypothalamus, nucleus accumbens, and prefrontal cortex to process arousal.
So it's definitely not weird that Zazan is feeling both very aroused and afraid.
Actually, he's still under the influence of Alhaitham's aphrodisiac so Zazan can't help but be aroused even though he's very afraid.
… Well, if Alhaitham is allowed to be weird, why can't Zazan be?
Sitting in the middle of the writhing vines is Alhaitham. His pairs of wings slightly ruffled and flaring. His plump pectorals are rising up and down from agitation. His mouth is contorted into a soft snarl and his eyes are alight with anger. These visages are what arouse Zazan despite Alhaitham looking pissed.
So what makes Zazan afraid?
The black cracks on Alhaitham's face. They start from Alhaitham's right pupil and stretch down to his cheek. ‘Dottore' didn't think much of it before because there were more pressing matters. Idly, ‘he’ thought that the markings looked like thorny vines. Now, ‘he’ thinks that they might have looked like a shape of rose, considering that the dark cracks have now ‘bloomed’ and uncovered the ‘corolla’.
Said corolla is shaped like an eye that's now staring straight at his haplessly tangled preys. Zazan isn't sure if that's a real eye or not but it's still uncanny. Especially because it appears on his cheek.
Zazan grits his teeth and grips his cock tighter when he feels his cock throb with interest.
Why? Just why? Why does Alhaitham have to be such a damn beautiful damned blasphemy? Just look at him, a perfect example of an Eldritch divinity. Aaaaaa, Zazan wants to fuck him so bad.
“Do you really?” Alhaitham suddenly asks out of nowhere, startling Zazan.
Zazan lets out a squawk as his head snaps up from Alhaitham's plump pectorals to look at Alhaitham in the eyes –the regular ones– and his hand tenses around his cock, “... What…?” Zazan hesitantly says, pretty sure that he didn't say anything out loud.
Alhaitham's wings ease up as his shoulders relax, no longer agitated since his preys have been mostly subdued, “Fucking me,” Alhaitham purrs dangerously as he tentatively waves his hand, watching in amusement as the vines move according to his whim.
Zazan feels a shiver runs down his spine, not just from Alhaitham's possible mind reading ability but also from how Alhaitham summons more vines and order them to wrap around Prime and tangle him down, but he tries to mask it off with an awkward laugh, “Haha… I mean…,” his voice fades off into an awkward silence as nerves render him only able to awkwardly gesture at their discarded wedding attire and then the bed with one hand while the other is horny gripping his own cock before his wings and shoulders droop with defeat, “Yes,” he admits.
Alhaitham blinks in surprise at Zazan's uncharacteristically easy compliance before he leans forward and extends a hand towards him with a beckoning smile, “Come closer, then.”
Zazan can physically feel his cock oozing out precum without even having to look at it. He really wants to take Alhaitham's hand, to fuck Alhaitham until he can't cum anymore. He can feel his cock dripping with more needs at the thought of it but Zazan continues to hesitate.
Tense, Zazan presses his wings to his back so that he won't accidentally bump them into the vines and scans the bed.
The bed doesn't look like a bed anymore, at least if its function is for sleep. It's practically covered with writhing vines that Zazan doesn't even know where their roots are because of the sheer mass of it. He can see that they definitely don't root from Alhaitham, though.
As if the vines know Zazan is looking at them, they writhe happily. Their sudden movement causes Zazan's older versions to start struggling out of instinct. The vines, as if they have their own sentience, don't take kindly to their attempt and start wrapping around their bodies tighter, binding them into a messy cocoon where they can only stay still tensely. Zazan swallows down a big gulp of saliva, perhaps he should calm down and assess the situation more?
But… is that really necessary? His older Segments might look quietly tense under all those vines but they look nothing like afraid. If anything, Zazan can see that they're as aroused as him. Especially since their cocks, jutting from between the gaps of the vines that Alhaitham most likely left there for easy access –whore, are all rock hard.
Zazan jumps a little when a vine gently touches his hand. For a moment, he forgot that Alhaitham might be able to read his mind. But when the vine shows no sign of aggression, Zazan curiously spreads his hand. The vine gently wraps around his wrist and rubs against his palm, in a way it almost looks spoiled.
Alhaitham lets out a chuckle as he uses the vine to pull Zazan closer, “Do not be afraid, darling,” he purrs as he spreads his legs for Zazan to slot into, showing off the drenched hole that has been abused by Alpha Build and Omega Build yet still left unsatisfied, “mommy just want you to help a little.”
Zazan inwardly laughs hysterically. Yeah, there's no way he'd just help a little . Still, he tentatively steps forward, careful to not step on any of the vines.
Alhaitham's wings flap a little at Zazan's show of care. With an amused smile, Alhaitham spreads his arms towards Zazan, beckoning him to come even closer. The vines gently writhe as they part a way for Zazan to come through, unknown whether it's from Alhaitham's will or not.
The vines coincidentally also drags Omega Build away, startling him into opening his mouth. But, before he can make any noise, a vine comes up to his face and gently wraps around his mouth. Omega Build freezes before his eyebrows slowly furrowing, looking indignant at not being allowed to argue more than afraid.
Zazan almost lets out a snort. There's definitely something wrong with them. A possibly dangerous entity that has incapacitated them way too easily while they have no safety precautions at all yet they still wish to engage is just downright stupid.
So anyway, Zazan throws himself into Alhaitham's arms and buries his face between his plump chest.
Alhaitham lets out a soft grunt when Zazan plops on top of him but he merely chuckles when he starts excitedly kissing his mounds, “Do you want to suckle on mommy's nipples, my darling sweetheart?” he teasingly asks.
Zazan knows he should make a face –should show Alhaitham that he is done with that kind of teasing. But… –he doesn't know since when– right now Zazan is very sure that he has a thing for it. Must be a damn pavlovian response of calling Alhaitham mommy = a good time.
Still, Zazan pushes himself to shift his head so that he can glare at Alhaitham's face –oh, his special eye isn't real- nevermind it moved, “No,” Zazan firmly says as he tries not to get distracted into observing Alhaitham's special eye more closely, “I-,” Damn it, he looked at it, “I want to learn how to make love with my beloved mate!” he quickly shouts so that he doesn't get distracted again.
Alhaitham freezes and he looks at Zazan with wide eyes. Even the vines are also stopping still. Without any word being said, Zazan can already feel his older Segments judging him.
Zazan feels his cheeks heating up. Great. He isn't suitable for something like this. Point ta-
Before Zazan can finish his thoughts, Alhaitham suddenly surges forward to hug him tightly.
Zazan lets out a strangled caw from the surprise but still grabs Alhaitham's waist out of muscle reflex, “What-” Zazan confusedly asks before he yelps out another caw when Alhaitham starts nuzzling into the primordial trace on his forehead while chittering happily. Out of the corner of his eyes, Zazan can see a soft glow. It's the vines, they're dispersing into glittering light, freeing his other shelves from the entanglement.
“I'm sorry,” Alhaitham softly says –Zazan can hear his smile even without having to look at his face– before he pulls back from the hug –and now Zazan can see him beaming happily, the markings on his face no longer blooming and his feathers are all ruffled from excitement, “I can't help it. I have a husband now,” he softly gushes as a deep red quickly paints his cheeks.
Zazan stills for a moment before he rearranges his wings and folds them neatly. Right. Just because ‘he’ hasn't found ‘his’ lifelong mate for centuries and then suddenly having one doesn't mean it's only a momentous occasion for ‘him’.
Hesitantly, Zazan reaches for Alhaitham's hand and pulls it towards his face, “And that means I now have a wife,” he says as he presses a clumsy kiss to the back of Alhaitham's hand before quickly snapping his head up to look at Alhaitham, his wings flaring alertly, “...or a husband? Ugh, which moniker do you prefer?”
Alhaitham softly laughs as his pairs of wings flutter happily, “Whichever one is more proper in Snezhnayan politics.”
Zazan doesn't know when was the last time he allowed himself to get absorbed but right now his eyes are shining again as he stares at Alhaitham –even after what Alhaitham had said, “That'd be ‘wife’. Will that be alright with you?” he says, eyes shining as he stares unblinkingly at Alhaitham.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings happily flutter once more as he proudly says, “Then I guess I'm now the wife of the Second Harbinger, Il Dottore.”
Zazan feels his own cheeks heating up as he preens under Alhaitham's happiness, still he says, “No. The correct title would be Lady Alhaitham of the Second Harbinger, Lord Il Dottore.”
Alhaitham lets out a snort before he gives Zazan a dead look though without losing his smile, “Cumbersome titles are parts of why I liked just being the Grand Scribe,” he amusedly says, sounding like he isn't excited by the title but Zazan can tell that he is still happy with the ties the title brings.
Zazan lets out a snort and rolls his eyes but before he can retort again, Zandik softly chimes in, “Moonlight…,” he softly whines as he kneels beside the bed and looks up at Alhaitham with puppy eyes, “I'm sorry for acting like a savage. May I please get onto the bed again?”
Alhaitham lets out a snort but he doesn't tell Zandik to go away. Instead, he grabs his arm and pulls him onto the bed before kissing him until he's breathless.
“Of course,” Alhaitham airily says as he lets go of Zandik who's wheezing for air, letting him swoon onto the bed so that he can lay down and catch his breath, before he looks at Waqa –who looks rather sheepish– and Doctor –who looks flushed, “I was promised that I'll get ganged up on, after all.”
Zazan lets out a choked squawk while Zandik lets out a breathless laugh before saying, “True. My deepest apologies, wife. I admit we didn't truly prepare on how to work with each other,” he giddily says as he wraps his arms around Alhaitham's waist and pulls him from behind into a loving hug, “will you give us a second chance, love?” he asks as he spoiledly rubs his cheek on Alhaitham's hair.
Alhaitham simply laughs and pushes Zandik onto the bed so that he can straddle his stomach.
. . .
When Zazan sees Alhaitham pins Zandik down on his back, he inwardly laughs at his older Segment unfortunate predicament. The best part is how Omega Build doesn't even seem to know how much danger he is in. Unfortunately, after almost an hour of jerking himself off to the sight of Alhaitham roughly bouncing on Omega Build's cock, Zazan quickly realizes that the bastard actually enjoys it.
Grumbling, Zazan crawls towards Alhaitham to capture his drooling mouth into a kiss as he catches Alhaitham's hand and guides it to jerk his cock for him, making Alhaitham pause as he tries to understand what's going on. Zandik lets out a protesting caw as if he hasn't cum twice already but Zazan skillfully ignores him by kissing Alhaitham deeper. Alhaitham lets out a muffled moan as he lets Zazan annoyedly kiss him, awkwardly jerking Zazan off with one hand before he starts bouncing his ass again.
Due to the up and down movement, kissing becomes harder so Alhaitham stops kissing Zazan altogether. Zazan immediately scowls and his wings flap in displeasure. Alhaitham immediately lets out breathless coo as he continues to bounce but, as an apology, he starts massaging Zazan's cock with both hands.
“We didn't really think this through,” Waqa comments from next to Doctor as he watches Alhaitham commanding Zazan to get down the bed and stands up so that he can suck him off, his cock hard and dripping with desire but he has no interest in jerking it off.
For a moment, Doctor merely looks at the show while tentatively jerking off before he finally sighs, “It didn't sound feasible in the first place,” he says, “even if the bed is big, it still can't accommodate the five of us,” then he points at Alhaitham, “besides, although Alhaitham has one hole, a mouth, and two hands, how do you expect him to continuously engage with all four of us at the same time?”
Waqa lets out an understanding hum. Yet, when Zandik cums deep inside Alhaitham's hole for the third time and Alhaitham finally rips an ejaculation out of Zazan with his mouth, he quickly jumps onto his feet. He has been waiting very patiently for an hour. It's time for his shift to start.
Unfortunately, before Waqa can take a step, Doctor grabs his ankle, making him fall face first onto the ground despite the frantic flapping of his wings.
Doctor stands up with a groan, “I know well enough to not let myself make the same mistake,” he says as he calmly drags Waqa by the ankle towards the bed, “Omega Build, switch with Alpha Build,” he says before throwing Waqa onto the bed.
Waqa lets out a grunt when he hits the bed. But, with a single minded determination, he ignores the throbbing pain on his face and quickly pushes himself up so that he can grab Zandik and throw him off the bed before he quickly lunges to hug Alhaitham from the back. Yet, contrary to what Doctor feared, he doesn't immediately start pounding into Alhaitham again but peppering kisses onto his back instead, confusing Alhaitham enough that he stops sucking Zazan's cock so that he can check on him by glancing back from above his shoulder.
“I'm sorry,” Waqa whispers to Alhaitham's skin as he presses a kiss at the base of Alhaitham's upper pair of wings, “I'm so sorry, Hayi,” he repeats as he presses another kiss on the primordial trace at the back of Alhaitham's neck, making Alhaitham's cheeks instantly turning a deep red, “I lost control of myself when it's supposed to be my duty to always protect you,” Waqa dejectedly whispers as he buries his face at the crook of Alhaitham's neck.
Alhaitham, still flushed a deep red, accidentally lets out a stuttered squawk so he quickly bites his lips and hides his face by pressing it to Zazan's crotch, “Y-yeah… it's alright. There's no real harm done so you don't need to apologize,” Alhaitham quickly stutters, his voice so soft it's almost muffled completely by Zazan's skin.
Zazan dryly watches the exchange with slumping shoulders and wings. Can't they do this any other time? Or, at very least, have the decency to not do it on his crotch?
“Okay,” Waqa whispers before he blindly aligns his cock with Alhaitham's oozing hole and thrusts in.
Alhaitham throws his head back with a startled moan, his pairs of wings flapping with delight. Zazan will assume that it's because Alhaitham really favors Alpha Build's cock. And, though Zazan doesn't understand Alhaitham's fixation, he can understand the appeal of Alhaitham's blissful expression.
For the record, when Zazan holds Alhaitham's head and gently guides his mouth back to his cock, it's not out of jealousy. Truly. As a matter of fact, when Doctor steps towards him, Zazan shuffles to the left a little to make room for him so that Alhaitham can suck both of their cocks alternatively.
Notes:
Yesterday I asked INeedFanfic for an inspiration cuz I have no idea how to write a fivesome. He said I should write Alhaitham making Dottore unable to walk. I though that that's a bit vague so I tried to clarify by asking, "Steal his lumbar spine?". He said yes so I said the next chapter (this chapter) is going to be weird. So anyway, how do you like the weird mixture of fluff and fivesome?
Budgie update:
Dottore is this sweet little fluffbird. He literally just chirps, eat, and sitting like a fluffball.
On the other hand, Alhaitham is being all hissy and is in constant imminent panic attack. Like, I'm so sorry I'm scary, sweetie. I just want to change your water cuz you keep using the water bowl(?) as a toilet.But, when things are calming down and I merely observe from afar, I am able to witness the blessed view of Alhaitham aggressively kissing Dottore (help, I can't tell if that's a good thing or not or if Alhaitham is just naturally aggressive at whatever she's doing)
Chapter 102
Notes:
I'm so sorry for being late. My brain really refused to cooperate.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Alhaitham doesn't know why Waqa's cock looks so much different than his other selves’ cock. It certainly looks humane but it looks jarringly different to Doctor, Zandik, or Zazan’s cock that looks quite… ‘pretty’. And what Alhaitham has noticed from his… husbands is that they're modeled after the same thing. In this case, that thing is probably the original Dottore.
Not that Alhaitham is complaining or such. If anything, he's commending how delightfully different Waqa's cock feels as it strokes his tight passage and slips into his sensitive womb. It just feels too good. So good that Alhaitham keeps forgetting to suck Zazan and Doctor's cock.
Waqa grips Alhaitham's hips tight, uncaring if he leaves any bruises, and starts slamming in rougher and rougher, making Alhaitham chokes around Zazan's cock.
Alhaitham's legs start to tremble as they struggle to support his weight. Desperately, Alhaitham pulls off from Zazan's cock so that he can take a brief reprieve and gasp for air but it's only for just a moment before he immediately swallows Doctor's cock and enthusiastically sucks on it. But when he no longer can take how Waqa's shaft is rubbing against his prostate and the way his flaring glans is hooking the lip of his womb, his knees finally give out and he lets go of Zazan and Doctor's cock, plopping onto the bed like a putty dough without so much as a sound.
He just drops onto the bed, laying still. Concerningly still.
Waqa instantly pauses, “...Hayi?” he softly calls as he carefully stays still, afraid if the smallest movement might hurt his mate, “are you alright?” are you unable to mentally cope with all the pleasure, after all?
Alhaitham's upper wings twitch –signaling that he's still conscious– before he lets out a whine, “‘M fineee…,” he mumbles, slurring heavily as he tries to push himself up.
Zazan sends Doctor a look, [Alpha Build should've been last,] he grumbles to the link, fully blaming Prime, [oh, but that's unnecessary because he's not Alhaitham's favorite, isn't it? So Alhaitham can definitely still take more after this, right? Will you be willing to bet a billion Mora on that?] he annoyedly rants to the link, wings ruffling vexatiously.
Doctor blatantly rolls his eyes, [Have you become so addicted to sex now that having your turn is your only concern?] he snidely remarks as he helps Alhaitham up, [Alhaitham literally just sucked you off till your wings fluttered and yet you are still complaining?]
Zazan angrily crows to the link and kicks Doctor's calf but Doctor only reacts to it by blindly smacking his face with his wing.
Doctor pinches Alhaitham's chin and tilts it up so that he can look at his face, “What's wrong?” he asks as he gently brushes Alhaitham's hair away from his eyes, almost snorting when he sees Alhaitham's fucked out expression, “does having a womb feels that good?” he teasingly asks as he shakes Alhaitham's head by the chin.
Alhaitham can only slowly blink his dazed eyes and stare unfocused up at Doctor in silence, head too addled with lust to think. But, even when his brain finally registers what's happening, Alhaitham can only let out a moan and rocks his hips back against Waqa's stationary hips. His lips twitching into a smile and a smidge of drool slipping past his lips when he feels the cock in his womb twitches.
Waqa immediately hisses and tightens his grips on Alhaitham's hips to stop him from moving. Let it be known that even if he takes pride in being able to pleasure his Hayi, it's not in his desire to break him. … Well, the thought is tempting but Waqa prefers Alhaitham to be sane. Kinda.
In any case, Waqa thinks that it's wise for Alhaitham to rest first. Maybe he hasn't fully acclimated to his new body. Sure, Hayi might have some experience with the womb because of Sigma Build's enthusiastic tongue. But Waqa will assume that at the time his womb’s sensory nerves haven't fully synchronized with the rest of his body yet. Now, considering that Alhaitham's ascension into divinity was impossibly perfect, his nerves and every discordant pathway in his body have probably snapped into place.
So yes, taking it easy for now is probably the safest bet.
Unfortunately, when it comes to having sex with Hayi, Waqa is still inexperienced. Not that it's his fault. He didn't have many chances to, after all.
Waqa reassuringly massages Alhaitham's hips as he very slowly pulls out, not wanting to stimulate Alhaitham more. However, Alhaitham doesn't take kindly to that. Instantly, like an ambush predator sensing the movement of its prey, the vines that were once dismissed suddenly materialize in a matter of seconds. The vines instantly wrap around Waqa, stopping him from moving completely.
Waqa stays still, not because he's incapacitated and can't fight back but because he doesn't think it's necessary to fight back. Whether the vines are dangerous or not, they're Hayi’s. Besides…, Waqa is curious where things are going.
Alhaitham doesn't look like he will be able to move anytime soon though that doesn't seem to be a problem at all. Once the vines realize that its prey won't displease them, several of them disentangle from Waqa's limbs to wrap around their owner’s limbs instead. With some effort, they slowly work together to flip Alhaitham onto his back, allowing Waqa to see Alhaitham's lusty yet stormy gaze.
Waqa feels a shiver when a vine starts to wrap around his neck creepily slowly, “Have I done bad, My Lady?” he teasingly asks with a sharp grin.
Alhaitham frowns as he commands a vine to slither up to his own lips so that he can bite it, “You're supposed to breed me, My Lord” Alhaitham sullenly grumbles as he gnaws on the vine, imagining that it's Waqa's handsome cheek.
Waqa’s smirk widens as he follows the tug of the vine and allows himself to be led into looming over Alhaitham, “My apologies…, wife ,” Waqa purrs, his wings flaring possessively when he feels Alhaitham's hole clenching around his shaft at the moniker, “I don't want to be too cruel on our wedding night.”
Alhaitham narrows his eyes dangerously. Waqa isn't too concerned about it. Alhaitham can appear as threatening as he wants. Waqa can sense how the vines are needily pulling him closer towards Alhaitham, how they subconsciously act according to their master's will. So he simply traps Alhaitham's head between his arms before leaning in to stick his tongue into Alhaitham's mouth.
Alhaitham angrily lets out a strangled moan that's quickly melted with desire. The vines don't disappear. They writhe languidly against Alhaitham's skin. Sometimes they pull Waqa closer and Waqa translates that into Alhaitham wanting to take a breath. So Waqa will pull back slightly before diving back in to devour Alhaitham’s mouth. Sometimes the vine around Waqa's neck will tighten and Waqa knows it means Alhaitham wants him to be rougher.
So Waqa doesn't give mercy and fuck Alhaitham until the only thing keeping Alhaitham from sliding off the bed is his vines.
“This… is sordid,” Doctor quietly mutters as he watches Waqa fucking Alhaitham within an inch of his life amidst writhing mass of vines, cock standing in attention and dripping with precum without even being touched.
“Say what you want,” Zandik gasps as he finally pushes himself up from the floor, “don't you dare blink.”
Oh, even if Doctor wants to look away, he can't, “Why?” Doctor asks, rather ineloquent compared to his usual self but he's currently way too distracted to care.
“I need this memory from every angle,” Zandik says, breathing dreamily as he gazes at the indescribable act in front of them.
Doctor's wings flick with disgust, but he says nothing. After all, an unbiased record of this observation is really necessary. With Zandik, who's too dosed with aphrodisiac to look at other things other than the actions, and Zazan, who's too busy furiously jerking off, Doctor is the only one left.
Both Waqa and Alhaitham let out a roar when they finally cum, making Doctor jump a little. Before Doctor can even react, the vines shoot past him and capture Zazan. The chick lets out a strangled caw when he's suddenly captured, but before he can even complain, the vines drag him onto the bed to switch places with Waqa.
Waqa, still coming down from his high, doesn't even let out a single sound as the vines push him off the bed. He just lets himself fall onto the cold floor with the wet smack of sweaty skin. He lies unmoving on the floor for a moment before he starts softly cackling.
“He's going to drain our soul,” Waqa tiredly wheezes with a grin.
“Nice,” Zandik breathlessly mutters as he plays with one of the idle vines.
… Doctor feels a pit form in his stomach.
. . .
Using the observatory as the wedding venue and wedding night sounded like a good plan. It has been left empty for almost a century by now so it's a nice effort of reusing old resources. The glass dome also easily serves as a bonus point since it allows them to have something that feels really close to an outdoor ceremony while being protected from the freezing cold.
It was such a good plan.
At least until morning comes and the sun that is usually hidden by layers upon layers of grey clouds spitefully decides to show up and blast them with enough sunlight to make them blind.
Doctor silently snarls at the sun as he tries to block the light by clenching his eyes shut. Oh, truly, this is why he prefers the moon. At least its light intensity isn't so bad.
Doctor grumbles to himself when he finds that closing his eyes doesn't help. Seriously, the sun was never this bright before. Maybe if he lays on his side it'll be better?
Sighing exasperatedly, Doctor carefully tries to roll his body only to immediately screech out a pained caw that –miraculously– wakes up no one. Not that it's surprising. Alhaitham really did dry them of all essence of life. It's ridiculous how Alhaitham can actually sap them of all strength through sex, especially considering how effective he's at it.
“Muscle cramp?” Alhaitham sleepily asks from somewhere Doctor can't see followed by the sounds of footsteps.
Doctor tries to bite his tongue even as his back muscles pulse with pain and opens his mouth to deny, “No-aARGH!” only for Alhaitham to mercilessly roll him onto his stomach.
Hurts. It's hurting so bad. Honestly, Doctor feels more like someone had torn off his muscles barehanded rather than mere overexertion.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings flinch when Doctor shouts in pain. But when Doctor starts letting out soft pained whimper, he grimaces and starts massaging Doctor’s back muscles with the same caution as handling fragile ancient artifacts.
“I'm sorry,” Alhaitham softly says while letting out chittering sounds as he carefully feels for tight muscles, “I made sure to be gentler with you but it seems I was still too rough.”
Doctor's wings slump exasperatedly. That's the best accidental insult Doctor has ever heard in his life. Particularly because Alhaitham was noticeably gentler with him than his younger Segments.
Doctor decides to just close his eyes and enjoy the massage, “We have to go visit the Zapolyarny Palace today,” he tiredly mumbles while letting out a purr when Alhaitham starts massaging the muscles between his wings, “we need to change your marriage status and citizenship.”
Alhaitham's hands accidentally knead too hard, reaping a dying squawk from Doctor, “I’m sorry,” Alhaitham quickly apologizes and apologetically rubs Doctor's back, “I’m surprised, that's all. When I first arrived here, there wasn't any need to change my citizenship so what is different this time?”
For a moment Doctor simply exercises his breathing to wait for the pain to pass before he lets out a relieved sigh and lays bonelessly on the cold floor, “In other nations, Avians usually become lifelong mates with other Avians so the government automatically recognizes the bond as marriage. In Snezhnaya, things are a bit different since most Avians become lifelong mates with huma-,” Doctor chokes on his breath when Alhaitham starts massaging a particularly nasty knot.
“I see,” Alhaitham distractedly mutters as he focuses on resolutely massaging the knot on Doctor's back muscles and ignoring his flapping wings.
“That's what he gets for being so ancient,” Zazan lazily mocks as he continues to lay on the floor, next to Waqa's feet.
Waqa amusedly cackles, too sated to be fiery, “Aren't you in the same condition as Prime?”
Zazan makes a face but he quickly drops it with a sigh, “We are all in the same condition,” he merely points out before glancing at a grinning Zandik whose half of his body is lying under the bed, “how are you doing?”
Zandik's shoulders shake with silent laughter as he looks at Zazan with too wide eyes full of mania, “There’s no way we didn't succeed in impregnating him, right?” he asks, lips spreading in a face-splitting grin from excitement.
Zazan doesn't really know what to say so he just looks at Zandik with a tired look.
“STO- STOP!! IT'S OKAY I'M FINE NOW!!!” Doctor screeches as he curls to himself and flares his wings, trying to stop Alhaitham's hands from forcefully kneading the rest of the kinks out of his muscles.
Alhaitham does stop but, if anything, that fills Doctor with suspicion so he cautiously looks from above his shoulder.
… Doctor wants to cry.
Last night was 4 against 1 so why does Alhaitham look so rejuvenated? Where's the fairness of it? Oh, of course Doctor is familiar with how unfair the world can be but this is beyond ridiculous.
EVEN THE BRUISES LEFT BY ALPHA BUILD ARE BUT FADING COLOR!!!
Alhaitham suddenly flinches as his pairs of wings spread in panic, “D- Doctor? Why are you crying?!” he squawks as his hands float around Doctor, wanting to fuss around him but also not wanting to aggravate him further.
Doctor immediately scowls before loudly sniffling and rolls away from Alhaitham, “I'm fine!” he embarrassedly snaps as he –with much difficulty– tries to get up, “just clean up and have something to eat. We're going to finish all the bureaucratic matters as soon as possible.”
Doctor never really realized how pretentious he sat his whole life until he had to ride a train with his whole back aching. Well, Alhaitham's massage did take care of most of the pain but every twinge of pain shooting up each time the train bumps a little, Doctor can feel his ego hurting. Honestly, the only balm that currently can soothe his wound is the fact that Alhaitham is sitting funny.
Doctor blissfully chooses to forget the fact that Alhaitham shouldn't have been able to get up at all.
Alhaitham inwardly chuckles at the way Doctor's wings are perking up with pride. Even if Doctor is wearing his mask, Alhaitham can easily guess that he's probably taking pride at the fact that he's sitting a bit funny. He doesn't mind though, if anything he likes that his husbands fucked him hard enough for this to happen. Though Alhaitham wonders what he should do in the Palace since he would certainly sully his husband's image if the Lady of the house is limping around the Palace.
With a sigh, Alhaitham shifts in his seat so that he can lean to Doctor's arm, “I'm going to rest for a bit. I hope you don't mind,” he softly mutters.
Well, let's just hope that his self-regeneration ability is as ridiculously strong as it usually is.
Doctor stares at Alhaitham for a second before he quickly moves his arm so that he can press Alhaitham to his side, earning him a surprised look from Alhaitham.
“Then rest,” Doctor softly coos with a grin that reminds Alhaitham of their wedding vow, “you’re safe next to me, love,” Doctor continues as he blankets Alhaitham with his wing before nuzzling his cheek on Alhaitham's hair.
Alhaitham freezes, a soft tint of red suddenly dusting his cheeks. This isn't like Doctor at all. Usually he'd carefully keep his distance and act cold and indifferent.
… Does it mean that Doctor finally accepted him?
With a smile and slightly fluttering wings, Alhaitham melts into Doctor's side embrace, “I'll take your word for it,” he softly whispers as he nuzzles into Doctor's chest.
Notes:
To the five people still reading this fic and waiting for update, I have some terrible news.
No. I'm not abandoning this fic. There's no way I'm going to abandon a 300k long fic unless I'm dead.
The bad news is that I might post less frequently because I have to start working on my thesis.
You can't see it from there but my brain is already overheating, trust.
Chapter 103
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“I thought you said you wanted to rest?” Doctor gently asks in this voice of his that, for some reason, Alhaitham strangely always finds it so… comforting(?) , “if so, you should stop playing with my hand and close your eyes again. We are going to arrive soon. Rest when you can.”
It's very strange. When they're like this, Alhaitham always finds Doctor's voice to be extremely soothing. It feels like closing your eyes while bathing under the sun. Extremely warm and cozy. It ought to be strange that Alhaitham has this kind of impression of The Doctor. But… his husband is probably more strange and he himself might be even more strange.
Actually, it's such a shame that Doctor rarely be like this. Alhaitham would love to see his most guarded mate to mellow like this more often. After all, moments like these, so few in between but deeply cherished all the time, was what makes Alhaitham fell for Doctor.
Therefore, even if Alhaitham feels his eyelids getting heavier from the lull of Doctor's gentle voice, he stubbornly continues to play with Doctor's hand, “I'll consider your advice,” he playfully says as he stacks his hand above Doctor’s hand, not at all hiding the fact that he's admiring the way their ringed fingers intertwine together.
Doctor's wings twitch as he feels his chest getting itchy at the sight, “Then at the very least close your eyes,” he mumbles, bashfully averting his eyes towards the window even if his mask hides the red on his face more than well enough.
Alhaitham softly chuckles as he rearranges his pairs of wings before burrowing himself even deeper into his husband's embrace, “If you sing for me, I'll try to close my eyes,” he spoiledly says and immediately smiles when he can feel Doctor tensing up next to him and the steady vibration of his husband's heartbeat drums just slightly faster.
“I-” Doctor hesitantly starts before quickly cutting himself off by clearing his throat.
…
As a gentle coo smoothly slips past Doctor's lips, Alhaitham closes his eyes with a contented sigh.
Alhaitham is secretly very thankful that his husband can afford private transportation. Otherwise, the chances for Doctor to actually accept his request will be saddeningly low.
Crows are simply not songbirds, after all. Objectively speaking, Alhaitham doesn't expect anyone would find their songs to be enjoyable in the slightest. Alhaitham doubts that the Avians in Snezhnaya can even tolerate hearing it.
But so be it. Falcons themselves are also not songbirds. Alhaitham knows for a fact that the only reason his past partners can tolerate him during mating season was because his mouth was mostly stuffed all the time.
Alhaitham doesn't know if his husbands do like hearing his Avian noises or not. He doesn't think it's necessary to know it either. All Alhaitham knows is that at least Zandik finds his chittering sounds to be cute and that's enough. As for Doctor, what Alhaitham really likes about his songs is his obvious effort to make his note as gentle as possible, as if he's careful of Alhaitham's sensitive hearing.
This is Doctor. Alhaitham’s ever careful husband.
…
Alhaitham really can't fight the smile creeping onto his lips so he doesn't, “Husband,” Alhaitham quietly calls, his pairs of wings shifting around shyly at having uttered the nickname.
The smooth rattle Doctor is gently making gets abruptly cut off as his heartbeat starts to frantically beat.
“Hm?” Doctor quietly hums back, a far cry from the way his heartbeat is racing and the way his wings are twitching.
Alhaitham bites his lower lip, hesitating for just a moment before he lets go of Dottore's hand with a light sigh, “Do you really think we are ready to become parents?”
The transport vehicle bumps slightly along the rail, gently swaying the pair of lovebirds within. The sun in Snezhnaya always is a shy thing, hiding its grace behind the frosty clouds. The crow doesn't know yet what to say so the falcon can only wait in silence.
“... I don't know…,” Doctor finally says, his voice so low and unsure Alhaitham feels bad for asking, “...but I'm willing to try,” he continues after a moment, just as hesitant as his answer but he tries to squeeze Alhaitham's ringed hand with his own to appear more sincere.
The smile on Alhaitham's lips hasn't faded but it's tinted with sadness, “But do you really want to?” he asks again.
The silence that follows is much shorter as Doctor quickly pulls Alhaitham into a tighter embrace, “I want to support my wife,” he declares, his voice much more assured and steady, “and if he wants to build a family, I'm willing to support him.”
Stray branches of persistent trees lightly scrape against the window. Shadows dance across the carpeted floor of the transport vehicle as it goes on. Alhaitham can hear the gentle murmur of a big civilization slowly approaching.
Alhaitham gently pulls away from Doctor slightly and sings his song for his husband.
The particular station their transport vehicle arrives at is as deserted as always. But, for the first time, Alhaitham can come out of the transport vehicle first. So Alhaitham carefully steps down the metal ladder onto the snowy ground below, his lower pair of wings dragging against everything.
Alhaitham simply lets out a sigh –since there's nothing he can do about it– and stretches his pairs of wings. Seriously, Avians definitely have wings because they're supposed to fly, not being cooped up inside a narrow metal chamber. It's not like Snezhnaya is against Avians flying freely despite having dangerous weather either. Besides, Alhaitham has two pairs of wings now. If they both end up stiff and sore, maintaining them is going to be such a pain.
“... Are you sure you're comfortable wearing that?” Doctor immediately asks the moment he steps out of the vehicle and the first thing he sees is Alhaitham’s back window, “I might be nearly giving up trying to figure out if you're immune to the cold or not but having your whole back exposed in Snezhnaya of all places is bound to make people look at you weirdly.”
Alhaitham lets out a snort as he looks back at Doctor with a raised eyebrow, “That's sweet of you to care that I stay warm everywhere I go, husband. But I literally have two pairs of wings and that's what you think will make people stare?”
Doctor's mouth instantly curves down in a way Alhaitham often sees as a scowl on Zazan's face, “Well, it's because I don't care if the reason they stare is because you have two pairs of wings,” he says, crossing his arms above his chest the same way Waqa would whenever he's being defensive.
Alhaitham doesn't immediately get it but the moment he does, an endeared smile instantly blooms upon his lips, “Oh, I'm so sorry, Doctor,” Alhaitham says, voice slightly muffled by the hand he uses to stifle his sweet giggle, “I didn't know you're easy to jealousy.”
Doctor lets out a scoff, his wings ruffling behind him in annoyance, “Don't claim you didn't know when you already claimed that we both are possessive back when we were still in Sumeru.”
Alhaitham merely giggles for a moment longer before he clears his throat, “My apologies for assuming that my earlier assumption was wrong since my outfit was given by Zandik, then,” he says, a teasing smile on his lips as he looks up at Doctor with eyes glittering from mirth.
The mask might hide Doctor’s expression well but it can't hide how his ears tinge slightly red at being put under those pretty eyes’ attention so Doctor simply lets out a sigh and accepts his defeat, “You're right,” Doctor admits as he walks to Alhaitham and holds his hand out to him, “so can you please hold my hand tight as we walk to the Zapolyarny Palace?”
Alhaitham blinks, a little bit taken aback at the sudden proposal but he still subconsciously reaches for Doctor's hand, “Why?”
Doctor looks at Alhaitham for a moment before he allows himself to flirtatiously smirk, “because they can stare all they want but the fact remains that you're mine,” then he sharply looks away and pulls Alhaitham by the hand into an embarrassed jog, his wings twitching restlessly behind him.
Alhaitham lets himself be pulled but his eyes are wide as he stares at the back of Doctor's head. At first, he could only process in silence what had happened. Then, Alhaitham can't help but laugh again as he squeezes Doctor's hand.
Oh, Archon. His husband is embarrassed and actually wants to run away from him but he also doesn't want to leave him alone so he drags him with him. How stupid.
…Cute….
. . .
The amount of people staring at Alhaitham is practically nonexistent. It's almost unheard of for Doctor's prediction to be very off but it's very easy to understand why. Doctor's possessive thinking simply makes him forget that Snezhnaya’s common people will try to steer clear from any semblance of nobility as they can. They don't even want to be caught staring at their carriage, let alone their wives.
Therefore, the only thing bothering Doctor in this strangely quiet yet packed road of Snezhnaya is the reminder of what happened here.
Doctor lets out a huff, secretly forcing out the cold dread from his chest, “Ah, I forgot there's a construction here,” he says, trying to initiate a chat with Alhaitham so that his mind won't think back of that night.
Alhaitham glances at Doctor then at the half-constructed buildings, “As far as I remember, the buildings here looked very sturdy. What happened?”
“You were last here almost a year ago,” Doctor points out to buy himself some time to think, “but a natural disaster struck this district,” he smoothly lies.
Alhaitham looks back at Doctor, “An earthquake?”
Said natural disaster nods his head, “Something like that.”
Alhaitham can sense that there's something wrong with Doctor's answer.
Normally, he would just leave it at that so that he won't be exposed to confidential information but now Alhaitham doesn't mind knowing more. He hasn't really talked about it to any of his husbands yet but Alhaitham has decided that it's best that he stops feigning ignorance of everything related to the Fatui. He should really educate himself if he really wants to have a fledgling with his mate.
Unfortunately, before Alhaitham can ask more about it, Doctor has suddenly pulled him into a road opposite of the construction, “Let's go this way since the construction seems to be too loud for you.”
Alhaitham frowns in confusion but it's only for a moment as he suddenly stumbles towards Doctor's side when his ears suddenly register the ring all at once, making Doctor anxiously pull him closer.
Doctor's wings flare with concern as he tries to cup his hands above Alhaitham’s earpieces to try to block the noises some more. He's not happy that Alhaitham is in pain but he's very grateful that Alhaitham doesn't remember ever dying on that road. This is simply the lesser pain.
But then a thought that Alhaitham's late reaction to the noise might be because his subconscious is trying to remember what happened passes Doctor's mind.
Without a word, Doctor pulls Alhaitham into his arms and runs with him. Running. The Harbinger is running on the street with his wife in his arms. Running. Not flying.
With all due respect, the Harbingers are an arrogant bunch. That much is obvious to anyone –be it servants, guards, fatuus, diplomats, or businessmen– that has the chance to meet any of them. So it is to be expected to always see them walking around as composed as a proud noble. Seeing The Doctor of all Harbingers to frantically run through the Northern gate of Zapolyarny Palace with a very puzzled looking Avian in his arms is enough to make everyone think if they're currently inside a mass dream of some sort –since The Doctor is involved, that doesn't sound too unlikely at all.
Doctor finally places Alhaitham down once they arrive in the central garden –not too far from the Rooster's office, “Is here alright with you?” he asks as he places his hands on Alhaitham's shoulders –more so that he can lean on Alhaitham while secretly catching his breath than holding Alhaitham in place.
Alhaitham hesitates for a moment as he worriedly raises his hands to hold the hands on his shoulders, “I… have been telling you that I'm fine since that bridge near the shopping district,” he says, his voice carefully soft in an attempt to sooth Doctor, “what's wrong?”
Doctor quickly opens his mouth, “There's nothing wr-” then he shuts his mouth with a click when he suddenly feels himself compelled to stay quiet.
Where are they currently at? The central garden.
Why's it called the central garden? It's at the center of the Palace and is near everything though only high ranking nobility is allowed to enter as it's basically The Tsaritsa’s garden.
Is The Tsaritsa here? No, because it's still morning hour and The Tsaritsa has duties to fulfill in the throne room.
So who's idle enough to visit the garden at this hour? Columbina.
With a sigh, Doctor lets go of Alhaitham's shoulders and slowly turns his head towards the gazebo in the center of the garden.
Lo and behold, the goose is currently propping her head onto her palms as she watches them with a smile on her lips, “Oh, please don't mind me. I'm just enjoying the blooming flowers next to you,” The Damselette cheerfully says with a wave.
Upon hearing the Harbinger's voice, Alhaitham quickly snaps his head towards the gazebo and stares at the small lady with wide eyes and his pairs of wings flaring alertly, surprised that he hadn't noticed her at all.
Columbina stares at Alhaitham's flared pairs of wings for a moment before she lets out an excited gasp and quickly rushes closer, “Oh, you must be Lady Alhaitham!” The Damselette squeals as she squeezes Alhaitham's hand in excitement.
Doctor's hands twitch, already itching to pick up Alhaitham again.
Unfortunately, Columbina doesn't give Doctor any chance to retrieve his wife, “It's a pleasure to finally meet the person who steals Doctor's heart,” she teases Doctor as she tries to pull Alhaitham towards the gazebo, “have a tea with me. Your mate cracked my favorite cup so please accompany me in exchange. Oh, and your attire is gorgeous! Of course, it is. I helped your mate pick it up-”
Columbina’s whirlwind of chatter is quickly cut short when Doctor grabs her hand that hold Alhaitham's.
Columbina quickly turns towards Doctor with an angry pout but, before she can say anything, Doctor says, “Kindly let go of my wife, Damselette,” Doctor growls, his wings ruffling behind him with annoyance, “we are here to take care of citizenship so I'll be needing him.”
Columbina freezes, her mouth falling down in a slightly unflattering gape as the grip of her hand around Alhaitham's hands weaken, allowing Alhaitham to slip his hand free. It's not that she's following Doctor's demands. It's more that she's too surprised at hearing Dottore calling Lady Alhaitham his wife.
Unfortunately, by the time she snaps out of her daze, Doctor has taken Alhaitham running out of the garden.
. . .
“Doctor, please just direct me to the office then take me home,” Alhaitham says, a little bit out of breath from trying to run as fast as he can on a slippery floor.
Doctor's mouth tightens as he looks away from Alhaitham, probably because he's a bit embarrassed, “That's my plan,” he quietly grumbles under his breath, smoothing his feathers with a flick of his wings, before he sheepishly looks down at his feet, “but I guess I ruined it myself.”
Alhaitham takes a deep breath before letting it all out in an amused huff, “Oh, whatever. Just tell me where I should go.”
Doctor quietly offers his hand to Alhaitham again, “Normally matters of citizenship go in the bureau but I'm a special case.”
Alhaitham exasperatedly looks at Doctor as he takes the offered hand, “Did you bully your coworker?”
Doctor lets out an offended scoff, “Hardly. That old man is lucky I’m too busy to deal with bureaucratic affairs. Otherwise, I won't even think of taking the deal,” he rants in a low voice –careful to not be heard by the walls– as he pulls Alhaitham into a relaxed walk.
Alhaitham smiles a little as he teasingly bumps his hips at Dottore, “If you're too busy, I could've done it myself.”
Doctor looks at Alhaitham as if he has insulted him, “What makes you think that you aren't busy as well?”
Alhaitham looks at Doctor in confusion, “... I'm unemployed?” he hesitantly points out.
Doctor's wings slump in exasperation, “No. You just married me,” he corrects Alhaitham, as if what he says makes any sense, before he grabs the handle of an ornate door they arrive at, “besides, the deal has been made,” with that, he pushes the door open.
Doctor instantly freezes at the doorway, the hand holding the door handle gripping it so hard the metal starts to bend.
Childe freezes too, a cookie halfway into his mouth as he stupidly stares at Dottore with his dead fish eyes.
Pulcinella freezes as well, his hand stretched back in preparation of throwing a handkerchief at Childe so that he can clean the cookie crumbs he litters the floor with.
Alhaitham is still in the hall, unable to see into the room since Doctor is blocking the way, so he tugs at Doctor's sleeve and softly calls, “Doctor?”
Childe's eyes widen in recognition at the soft voice, “Is tha-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Doctor throws Childe off the open balcony.
Notes:
I thought when I said I'll post less often it'll be like 50% less which is once every two weeks.
Nah. It's very near to once a month lmao.
(I miss Dottotham. I never realize just how rare this ship is when I post chapter weekly)
I even read all the Chinese fics. I really want to comment in some of them because interactions with the author really help. Unfortunately, I read their fics with Google translate and I'm afraid of mistakenly reading the the nuances or, most of the times, what the fic is really about. So I never comment lmao. I'm so sorry.
Chapter 104
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
For a moment there's only absolute silence until Pulcinella finally lets out a very exasperated groan, “Why, Dottore? Why? ”
Dottore flicks his wings as he turns to face Pulcinella, the sneer under his mask is actually able to make Pulcinella feel that he's the one in the wrong, “I'm glad that you've finally decided that it's time to educate that brat but I won't allow you to educate him using my mate,” he hisses, hand blindly pulling Alhaitham closer protectively and the only reason Alhaitham lets himself be pulled is because he's still reeling from having witnessed his husband bully his coworker with his own eyes, “that brat might be naive enough to allow you into his family but I'm not giving you that kind of opportunity,” Dottore continues as he gently guides Alhaitham to sit on the couch across Pulcinella.
Pulcinella sits in absolute silence for a moment longer, quite taken aback from Dottore's lack of usual composure, before he decides to silently sidestep the matter altogether by greeting whom their business is concerned with, “Good morning, Lady Alhaitham,” The Rooster warmly greets with a polite nod, pretending not to notice the cold glare Dottore sends him –how does that even work when he's wearing a mask? “If I'm being honest, I never expected you two to stay together for this long-” Dottore's wings twitch into an angry flare but, at this point, he doesn't even appear in Pulcinella’s eyes anymore, “nevertheless, it's such a pleasant surprise that now you're changing your citizenship,” and Pulcinella smiles –that kind of trained smile people in power use when they're congratulating someone for choosing something that will lead to an inevitable demise, “congratulations on your marriage.”
Alhaitham pauses but his pairs of wings instantly perk up the moment Pulcinella finishes his sentence. In all honesty, Alhaitham can sense the Harbinger's ridicule and sarcasm, but…. But –please forgive him for focusing on the wrong thing, at the wrong time– this is the second time someone congratulates him for his marriage.
Therefore, Alhaitham can't help the smile creeping onto his lips. He tries to suppress it, of course, considering the time and place. But his attempt is easily rendered useless because he's puffing his chest and feathers as he preens from the vain words of goodwill.
“Thank you,” Alhaitham doesn't say, he chirps .
For the first time since Childe was thrown out of the balcony, Pulcinella can finally be freed from Dottore's unreasonable aggression. That's because said Avian is currently looking at his mate with sheer surprise. And honestly? Pulcinella understands.
It's so rare to see someone smiles that genuinely happy in Zapolyarny Palace, especially when the context is talking about marriage. Furthermore, even after several seconds of awkward silence has passed, Lady Alhaitham still has that smile on his lips. There's even a light warm flush on his cheeks.
Oh…. Pulcinella feels so bad for Lady Alhaitham now. Such pure feelings and for someone like Dottore.
Pulcinella is an old elf. He has seen his fair share of Avian couples before. Sweet romantics, all of them.
And now, Pulcinella, for some reason, feels like he had let his granddaughter marry a bad man. How does that even make a single sense? Lady Alhaitham is not a sweet helpless young lady despite his title let alone being related to him. So, Archon, why does Pulcinella feel really sour?
Dear Tsaritsa, forgive Pulcinella's impudence. It's not his place as a lowly subject to question your authority but please tell him why you'd let such a sweet Avian marry Dottore . Pulcinella knows you've frozen your heart but this is beyond cruel.
“Alright, the old man is staring at you like a creep so why don't you take a look around?” Dottore asks, snapping Pulcinella from his inner conflict.
Pulcinella instantly clears his throat, quickly finding that he's been tearing up from who knows since when –no wonder Dottore called him a creep, and chuckles, “Yes. I think that would be a nice idea. It's cruel to make the newlywed bride take care of boring paperwork, isn't it?”
Alhaitham's smile instantly disappears into a frown. These Harbingers are acting weird. Normally, Alhaitham would just follow their advice and leave but now that Alhaitham has decided to change his citizenship altogether, he wants to learn how to manage his own bureaucratic affairs.
Besides, if it's cruel to make the newlywed take care of boring paperwork, then his husband should be exempted too.
Alhaitham looks at Pulcinella straight in the eyes. The old elf looks rather surprised as they make eye contact, clearly not used to being looked at in the eyes except for a few exceptions. Unfortunately, before Alhaitham can say anything, Dottore squeezes his hand as a silent gesture to stop.
Alhaitham bites his tongue as he tilts his head at Dottore in inquiry but his mate is pointedly staring at the Harbinger across from them, “I’m sorry to ask you this but please wait outside for me, love,” he steadily says as he gently nudges Alhaitham's thigh with his knuckle, masked eyes still watching the Rooster's every move.
Alhaitham can see from the corner of his eyes that the old Harbinger flinches in his seat the moment Doctor uses the pet name. Rude. The small lady from earlier was also the same. Is it so surprising that his husband calls him so affectionately?
Ah, Alhaitham can feel his possessive-protective instinct surging. This is bad. He doesn't want to lose control and tries to kill the old Harbinger. Having one murder with a plea of insanity in his record is bad enough. He doesn't want to add another.
“Fine,” Alhaitham relents, sounding a bit sullen as he can't help but send a little glare at the old Harbinger, “I'll try not to wander too far,” Alhaitham says to his husband before he sulkily shrugs his pairs of wings and walks towards the door.
The moment the door gently closes behind Alhaitham, the silence instantly becomes dense as Dottore flares his wings wide in a warning, “What seems to be the problem, Rooster?” Dottore asks, his voice calm as a frozen lake.
Pulcinella knows the danger of a frozen lake but he just can't stop himself from commenting, “Aside from the basic pet name and, perhaps, the public display of affection? It's the fact that you two won't last long,” he carefully says, eyes never blinking in the hope of catching the slightest hint of aggression coming from Dottore.
Yet, strangely, the crow breed Avian is acting like his usual self just for this moment, “I know,” Dottore says as he silently pushes a folder towards Pulcinella, hiding his real emotion.
Unfortunately, Pulcinella can still see the slight hints of defeat in the way Dottore's wings are lowered a fraction, “Well, that's strange,” The Rooster comments again, “I actually wanted to give an old man advice about the brighter the fire, the faster the candle burns but… your response tells me that you expect your marriage to end soon.”
Dottore's wings flexes irritably at being hounded like this but he merely sighs and taps the folder he's pushed towards Pulcinella, “That's none of your business, isn't it?”
Pulcinella lets out a chuckle as he finally slides the folder closer to him, “Humor me a little, Dottore,” the old man gently says as he quietly opens the folder, “this old man is quite curious why you'd deceive your ‘beloved’ in this way.”
Dottore falls quiet as he looks at the table separating him from the Rooster in contemplation. He really doesn't want to let any of the Harbinger know about his personal relationship more than necessary. However…, there are, indeed, times where peer review is needed.
“I can't leave the Fatui nor do I intend to,” Dottore starts with a sigh, “unfortunately, we're now closing in to the last stage of our grand plan. When that time comes, he might not be by my side anymore,” what he's going to say next is something he is yet to fully accept so he can't help but subconsciously look out the window to hide his expression even if he's already wearing a mask, “and all I can only hope is that when the inevitable finally comes, the reason why he's no longer by my side is because he has grown to hate me.”
Out of politeness, Pulcinella pointedly keeps his eyes trained on the folder, “Then, I assume the reason why you told your mate you both are here to change his citizenship while, in truth, you're asking me to forge him a special double citizenship file is so that he can hate you from a safe place?”
“I'm afraid that's private information,” Dottore coldly answers as he returns that piercing gaze of his back at Pulcinella, “unless you’ve suddenly found a problem with fulfilling my request?”
Pulcinella lets out a dismissive hum as he lightly shakes his head, “Not at all,” then a grin twitches into the old man’s face, making Dottore extremely wary, “as I said, I only wanted you to humor me.”
“... And what humor are you talking about?” Dottore warily asks, sensing that there's something annoying happening somewhere.
This time, Pulcinella lets out a snort as he continues to pointedly look at the content of the folder, “Pantalone was not very fond of Rosalyn's spending habits and the thought of it still annoys him to this day,” Pulcinella explains slowly, which Dottore doesn't try to interrupt because his demeanor smells fishy, “these days, The Regrator often pays a visit to her grave to sing a ballad about you and Lady Alhaitham.”
…
“Pardon me?”
It's only after he closes the door behind him does Alhaitham allow himself to scowl at his reflection on the icy floor.
Alhaitham expected that there'll be resistance. After all, he's marrying an executive of a nation. But, deep down, there's still a part of him that feels bitter for having the sincerity of his affections questioned. Besides, why are they showing their true opinion now instead of back when Alhaitham first arrived in Snezhnaya. If that's the case then maybe Alhaitham won't take it to the heart.
… Actually, weren't the old man and the small lady more surprised at his mate’s show of affection than at his?
Alhaitham watches as all of his feathers ruffle from indignation through the reflection on the icy floor. Seeing that he has lost composure, Alhaitham tries to calm himself through a breathing exercise. He really doesn't want to alert people by looking all angry. Unfortunately, all his breathing exercise is able to achieve is making him look much more agitated.
Alhaitham snarls at his reflection and rushes to the nearest window to get some air, hoping that the frigid wind of Snezhnaya will calm him down. His slowly elongating nails clack against the glass as Alhaitham tries to open the latch none too gently. His pairs of wings slowly unfurl into an angry flare the longer he struggles to open the simple latch with his clawed hands.
It's only when Alhaitham finally manages to slam the window open does he finally start calming down.
In Snezhnaya, one can easily taste the cryo energy just from inhaling the outdoor air. Alhaitham's chest heaves as he takes one deep breath after another. Ever so slowly, his anger is slowly replaced by what Alhaitham is genuinely feeling, hopelessness.
It truly is no one's fault except Alhaitham's that he falls in love with ‘Dottore'. It even started from an inappropriate borderline unethical proposal coming from Alhaitham's own doing. He won't blame his mate for taking so long to open up.
But they're finally acting like a true mate after almost a year. Alhaitham will be damned if he lets his husband's coworkers’ rude reaction affect Doctor.
Doctor has finally opened up to him. If he shuts himself again Alhaitham will-
“Excuse me, sir. Would you like a cup of calming tea?” A gentle voice of a girl snaps Alhaitham from his increasingly violent and distorted thoughts.
Alhaitham blinks his eyes from the haze of bloodlust and carefully relaxes his hands that are crushing the windowsill. He takes another deep breath of the frigid air before he finally pulls himself into the hall again to look at the girl.
A young Katszlein lady respectfully stares up at him. She is wearing a grey coat that covers most of her body. The young lady’s face doesn't hold any expression as she waits for Alhaitham's response, politely bowing her head but not to the extent Alexei usually does.
The young lady appears at the most opportune moment. Alhaitham doesn't even know what he might do if he doesn't deescalate his chaotic thoughts. Why's he so temperamental anyway? Is it one of the side effects of his ‘ascension’? Well, Alhaitham should tell Doctor about it later.
… But maybe not today. His mates are the type to endlessly worry in silence, after all. Please let Alhaitham be selfish and keep it a secret. At least until the novelty of being married fades.
Alhaitham takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out in a puff of condensation, “My apologies, I didn't quite hear you,” Alhaitham says as he finally steps back from the window to look at the young lady properly.
The young lady quietly bows her head deeper, “I noticed that you seem to be extremely agitated, which is common to anyone that first stepped into the Zapolyarny Palace,” the young lady explains, quickly piquing Alhaitham's attention so the young lady elaborates more, “The Zapolyarny Palace is extremely cold. It tends to trigger the uneasy feeling of slowly dying to newcomers. Perhaps that was why you were so agitated so I'd like to offer a cup of warm calming tea.”
“I see,” Alhaitham quietly mutters as he takes another deep breath, “did the Lady Harbinger from the garden tell you to bring me there?” Alhaitham asks because as kind and welcome the offer is, the young lady has also reminded him that he's currently in the Zapolyarny Palace.
The young lady immediately flinches, her tail twitching restlessly, “Lady Harbinger? Do you mean The Damselette?” The young lady asks, and before Alhaitham can answer, she starts rambling, “No. Of course, not. I'm not in a high enough rank to receive direct orders from a Harbinger…,” then she trails off with a gasp as realization seems to strike her, effectively breaking her composed expression, “Ah! Then you must be Lady Alhaitham of the Second Harbinger, Il Dottore. My deepest apologies, My Lady. I wasn't aware of His Ladyship's identity thus I have addressed His Ladyship wrongly….”
Alhaitham really wants to say that there's absolutely no need for her to apologize so profusely. He wasn't lying when he told Zazan that he isn't particularly fond of titles. However, the young lady's reaction fascinates him. In Sumeru, grand titles are thrown everywhere but it seems like in Snezhnaya each title holds significance true to its name.
By the time Alhaitham has finished his observation, the young lady has fallen into silence. She just stands in front of Alhaitham, ears and tail limp with fear. For some reason, Alhaitham feels compelled to hug and comfort her until she's happy but she ignores the feeling because that's just a weird thing to do to someone you just met.
“It's quite alright,” Alhaitham finally says, “there's no harm done and you were only being kind to me,” the young lady's ears perk up from hearing what he says so Alhaitham feels quite bad for what he's going to say next, “however, I believe you're lying to me,” he accuses, making the lady snaps his head up to look at Alhaitham in the eyes, “I think you are high enough in rank to receive orders from a Harbinger.”
The young lady's eyes widen before she finally catches herself and looks down –as Alhaitham has observed how people in the lower ranking should've acted around him, “I…,” the young lady trails off, unsure to start but Alhaitham isn't in any rush so he waits, “my apologies, Lady Alhaitham,” she repeats with a slight grimace before she starts doing… card tricks(?) and manifests a cup of warm tea, “I only wish to give you this,” she continues as she places the cup of tea on Alhaitham's hand before she runs away, ears flattened to her head in embarrassment.
Alhaitham is so confused at what just happened in the last few seconds that by the time he sort of understands what happened, the young lady is already gone from his sight.
Suddenly being left alone in the empty hallway once again, Alhaitham can only stare blankly at the cup of warm tea conjured from magic. A fragrant steam wafts from the cup straight into Alhaitham's nose. Now that Alhaitham thinks about it, he suddenly feels much calmer just by holding this warm cup. Perhaps the cold does affect him even if he can't feel it. Well, it's either that or the tea is laced with a very heavy dose of sleeping drugs.
Out of consideration for that possibility, Alhaitham steps towards the window once again and stretches the cup out the window.
“Out of respect for the gifter, shouldn't you at the very least just leave it by the window instead of throwing it out?” This time, a cold voice of a mature lady stops Alhaitham.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings twitch, he doesn't hear the lady approaching him at all, “With all due respect, would you consume anything a stranger has given you?” Alhaitham asks in return but he does retrieve his hand and places the cup on the windowsill.
The lady lets out a cold snort as she slowly walks closer towards Alhaitham, “Well, aren't you as rude as your husband?”
Oh, of course. The rude manner of speech coupled with the ability to escape Alhaitham's hearing. Just Alhaitham's luck.
“My apologies if my common sense offended you,” Alhaitham calmly shoots back with a respectful nod.
The lady pauses for a moment before she starts chuckling while shaking her head amusedly, “I am Arlecchino, the fourth of the Eleven Harbingers. It's a pleasure to finally see the face that almost drove Dottore into committing genocide but it's even more of a pleasure to find that Dottore marries someone that can, at the very least, holds a candle during an argument.”
Alhaitham simply smiles at the compliment, not really knowing how to respond to that. Perhaps his husband is more of a bully than he had initially thought to the point that his coworker would come talking behind his back to his wife. Also…, Alhaitham may or may not is trying really hard not to say that he definitely dominates the bed.
Thankfully, it seems that Arlecchino is pleased with his silence, “You're a quiet one,” she comments with an approving nod, “that's already a guarantee that you'll be much less annoying than Dottore.”
Alhaitham's polite smile twitches in annoyance, “Please refrain from insulting my husband in my face, Lady Harbinger.”
Arlecchino raises a hand to her cheek and contemplatively nods again, “Yes, I think you have the potential to be a good parent in the case Dottore fails.”
Okay, now Alhaitham doesn't bother to stop his pairs of wings from flexing angrily, “What do you want from me?” he snaps.
The Harbinger continues to stare at Alhaitham while slowly nodding –the action shouldn't have felt as annoying as it feels to Alhaitham but it's really driving him mad, “The Tsaritsa wants to meet you,” the Harbinger finally says, halting Alhaitham's murder fantasy.
“...Pardon me?”
Notes:
Shout-out to @Gmoshiki for giving me the idea of Alhaitham and Lynette's meeting. The idea was for Alhaitham to have a little tea party with Lynette while Dottore is in a meeting with the rest of the Harbingers and throwing shades with Arlecchino all the time. BUT I suddenly thought of this nice contrast between Alhaitham who wants to have a loving family and Arlecchino who raises her 'family' coldly for the sake of survival.
So sorry that it isn't as you expected but the Dottotham is going to have personalized couple coaching soon ୧( ಠ Д ಠ )୨
I first started writing this fic during the latter patches of Sumeru. It has been more or less 2 years since then. I can't believe I serenaded Alhaitham (the Alhaitham in my account) towards Dottore (the NPC in Nod-Krai) for two whole years.
It's funny af in my mind.
Btw, I drew something and then I kinda lose the motivation heh. I have toxic relationship with arts.
https://bsky.app/profile/anotherneither.bsky.social/post/3lqkaiq6wv22a
Chapter 105
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
A study in Fontaine has revealed that an average person typically has 6.000 thoughts per day. Alhaitham thinks that is a reasonable number. It isn't too far-fetched and the only reason most people don't realize it is because ‘thoughts’ itself is not important enough to be remembered. Especially since most of these thoughts barely even form a proper concept before they're forgotten.
However, precisely at this moment only, does Alhaitham's mind is blissfully blank except for one thought.
“Where's my husband when I need him?”
“If you don't know the way, I do have a moment to spare to escort you there,” The Fourth Harbinger says, reminding Alhaitham of her presence.
For a moment, Alhaitham can only look at Arlecchino in surprise, hoping with everything that he doesn't look like he's panicking internally, before the silence finally stretches for far too long and Alhaitham is forced to say something to avoid being rude, “I…,” Alhaitham trails off, giving himself additional time to think of something, “I promised my husband that I won't wander too far,” he finally says, hoping that it's enough to save himself from meeting someone new.
Arlecchino raises an eyebrow at Alhaitham, “Refusing to comply with a summon from The Tsaritsa is a form of mutiny, My Lady,” he helpfully informs before crossing her arms menacingly –well, it's part of her job description to drag people who refuse summoning, after all, “I know for a fact that you've been here for a year and granted a special permit to stay in Snezhnaya. Although you may be immune to many Snezhnayan laws, mutiny is not one of them.”
This time, Alhaitham has more than one thought. 1) He can sense that the Lady Harbinger finds it much more amusing to call him ‘Lady’ than the other Harbingers. 2) It's interesting how refusing a summon from the Archon is considered a mutiny in Snezhnaya instead of blasphemy. 3) Where is my husband?
Alhaitham is quiet for so long that Arlecchino genuinely wonders if he's about to cry. Then, he quickly pivots to the corridor where The Rooster's office is at before running with his pairs of wings frantically flapping around so that he won't slip on the icy floor. …His Ladyship actually looks ridiculous enough that Arlecchino doesn't have the heart to capture him and drag him to the throne room immediately.
Go ahead, little falcon. Go. Meet with your mate since you're so afraid. Don't blame her if your mate can't save you from the summoning, though.
Alhaitham finally almost reaches where his mate is. He subconsciously lets a small smile of relief creep onto his face. He's close to his mate now, he'll be fine.
Unfortunately, right when Alhaitham is about to grab the door knob, the door suddenly bursts open followed by Doctor angrily rushing out with flaring wings. The result is obvious. Alhaitham collides into Doctor and they fall down with disgraceful squawks and flapping wings.
…
Arlecchino would like to rectify her judgment on their future child’s safety.
Dottore sucks in a sharp breath as his back throbs with the vengeance of their wedding night but he quickly pushes the pain away with a pained wheeze as he pushes himself up, “Hayi? What's wrong?”
Alhaitham pulls Dottore back onto the floor so that he can secretly whisper to his husband –if his plan to be discreet resulted in Doctor grunting in agony because his back got bent too quickly in the process, that's his miscalculation, “A- are you okay?” Alhaitham anxiously squeals as he pulls Doctor close, “I’m sorry. I thought your back was fine.”
Doctor presses his face onto the crook of Alhaitham's neck and lets out a weak caw, “It's nothing. Don't worry about it,” he quietly says with a grimace before huffing out the rest of the pain and asking, “What did you want to tell me?”
“The Tsaritsa is summoning me,” Alhaitham urgently says, his pairs of wings flaring at the reminder of the urgent matter.
“What?” Doctor lets out a strangled caw, “who would-” he cuts himself off when he notices Arlecchino, who's staring at them, unimpressed.
… Doctor gently cups his hands above Alhaitham's ears, ignoring his questioning look, “WHY IN TEYVAT YOU HARBINGERS ARE SO IDLE TODAY?!” he roars, finally fed up.
It's already rare for two Harbingers to be in the Zapolyarny Palace. So why is it that they've literally met every remaining Harbingers except Capitano, Sandrone, and Pulcinella?! Even if today is simply an astronomical event, why are they all so interested in his personal life?!
“The Tsaritsa declared today to be a holiday,” Arlecchino says, still with the same unimpressed air.
Dottore's wings flare at the blatant lie, “Oh? And pray tell, why would Her Majesty be generous enough to personally declare a whole day to be a holiday when one of her Harbingers' mourning period was only half a day?” he asks, mockery and annoyance thick in his voice.
Arlecchino, unfazed, calmly says, “It's to celebrate your wedding with Lady Alhaitham.”
….
“What?” Dottore caws, his wings drooping low as he struggles to comprehend the implications of Arlecchino's, “... Signora’s mourning period was only half a day….”
“Her Majesty is the Archon of Love, not Death.”
….
Doctor takes his hands off Alhaitham's ears to gently cup his cheeks so that he can look Alhaitham in the eyes when he admits his inability to protect him, “I’m sorry, wife,” Doctor painedly says, “being an introvert doesn't exempt you from Her Majesty's summon.”
Alhaitham's eyes widen and a small sad squeal escapes his lips.
… Yeah, these two aren't ready to become parents.
. . .
The throne room isn't that far from The Rooster's office, and, at the pace they're going, they'll probably get there soon.
… If Alhaitham prays for the sky to suddenly split open above the Palace, will that be considered blasphemy? Oh, it probably is, considering that he's basically hoping for something ill to happen to the Cryo Archon.
“Don't be nervous,” Doctor softly tells Alhaitham as he intertwines their fingers together, “Her Majesty doesn't have any reason to summon you so this is most likely just for formality.”
“Except that this formality should've been done the first time you came here, so that's already something,” Arlecchino heartlessly points out as she walks behind the couple.
Dottore sharply snaps his head back to scowl at Arlecchino, his wings ruffling slightly, “You are irrelevant to this discussion.”
Before Arlecchino can shoot her own barbs, Alhaitham has opened his mouth, “Doctor, stop being mean to your coworker,” he chides.
Arlecchino raises an eyebrow at Alhaitham, but upon noticing that Dottore's wings are drooping dejectedly, she can't help but let out a snort.
Dottore's wings flare angrily this time as he scowls at Arlecchino, but Lady Alhaitham easily reins him in again, “Calm down, husband…” Alhaitham softly says though he sounds very exasperated, “just ignore her. I'm sure she'll leave on her own.”
… Arlecchino abruptly comes to a stop.
The throne room is just right at the corner, and Lady Alhaitham doesn't look like he'll circumvent the summon in fear of implicating his husband. Although it's not in Arlecchino’s habit to not see her mission through completely, this one is an exception. If she tails them for any longer, she might start a fight.
With that consideration in mind, Arlecchino turns around and walks towards the garden to share some tea with Columbina.
Doctor doesn't physically see Arlecchino leaving them, but he can still sense her walking away, so he lets out a hum, “I didn't think that would actually work,” he comments.
“The saying ‘if you don't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist’ works on more things than most people thought, Doctor,” Alhaitham simply says.
Doctor lets out a snort right as they turn into the throne room’s corridor and immediately stop there.
They stand there, side by side, the fingers of their hand gently intertwined and their feathers brushing against each other. They don't say anything to each other. They simply stand in front of the Grand door of the throne room that's bereft of even guards because of the holiday.
Alhaitham wouldn’t have given this much care if he were meeting with any other Archons. Because the Archons are simply a more advanced intelligent form. So Alhaitham only has to put a little bit more thought into his actions.
However, the Cryo Archon is different. She's a bit more complicated to maneuver.
Inazuma's Electro Archon might also be the leader of the nation, but she doesn't openly order her subjects to become, essentially, terrorists in other nations. But more importantly, Alhaitham feels like he's going to meet his mother-in-law for the first time. After the wedding. The wedding that didn't even mention Her name. Isn't that enough disrespect to warrant a death sentence?
Doctor squeezes Alhaitham's hand just a little bit tighter, “Should I come in with you?”
Alhaitham glances at Doctor before he says, “We should just elope properly and live in other nations if you're suggesting that,” he says as he squeezes Doctor's hand back before letting it go, “I'll be fine, Doctor. Don't worry.”
The grand doors of the throne room quietly part as Alhaitham walks closer to it, almost as if the owner of the throne knows Alhaitham is coming. Dottore silently watches as the grand doors slowly close behind Alhaitham, just as silently as when they opened. It's only when Dottore's gaze on Alhaitham is completely blocked that he finally turns around and stomps angrily in a certain direction.
If Dottore can help it, he would stay by the door until The Tsaritsa lets go of his wife. Unfortunately, he has some business in Signora's grave. Said business is to check if Pantalone is really there, and if he is, he's going to make him unable to prattle even his business schemes.
.
..
…
….
“Signora, I've come to bring you your old subordinate,” Pantalone dramatically declares to Signora's unmoving grave before he bows to let Dmitri step forward.
“Greetings, Lord Signora,” Dmitri reverently says as he kneels before the cold coffin, “it has been a long time since I last saw your unparalleled beauty. I hope you've rested well in this sanctuary provided by the ever benevolent Her Majesty, The Tsaritsa.”
Pantalone nods alongside Dmitri, “Yes, yes. I hope your stay here hasn't been too dull, Rosalyn,” he amends the fanatic soldier’s words with a grin as his feathers ruffle from amusement, “not that you can answer that so I'm here to continue where I left off yesterday just in case you're bored there.”
Pantalone theatrically claps his hands once before spreading his arms and wings before he starts to recite,
“In Snezhnaya's halls of frost,
There dwelt a lord of fearsome old,
Lord Dottore, masked and cruelly wise,
With poison mind and gleaming eyes.
In gilded lands where sages stood,
Beneath the dusk of Port Ormos,
There strode a man, calm and proud,
With voice like wind and mind unbowed.
Oh sing the song of mind and might,
Of hearts that clash beneath the night,
Where reason danced with ruthless scheme,
And love was born from broken dream.”
Pantalone smugly ends his verses with a satisfied smile, his wings puffing up in a preen. Oh, he's so good at this. Sure, he has been repeating those three verses every time he visits Signora's grave but he's still good.
Dmitri enthusiastically cheers and claps his hands in excitement, “Bravo, Lord Pantalone, bravo!” he shouts, disturbing the peace of the mausoleum but stoking Pantalone’s ego in exchange.
Pantalone giddily chuckles to himself before he grandly gestures at Dmitri, “And now, to continue where I left off, your most capable subordinate will sing the verses he has written about the new Saint of Love!”
[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!] Alpha Build suddenly screeches into the link, his scream sounds so heartrending.
Doctor, who is only entering the mausoleum right at that moment, instantly staggers on his feet at the force of Alpha Build's scream resounding from his mind to the rest of his body.
[What is wrong with you?] Prime growls to the link, wings twitching irritably from pain.
[STOP THAT FANATIC!] Alpha Build says instead, still screeching like a panicked crow, but then he manages to sound even more ear-splitting as he corrects himself, [ WAIT, NO! DON'T EVEN INTERACT WITH HIM UCTDTG- AAAA! ]
Prime forcibly cuts Alpha Build off the link for the moment before he immediately freezes.
In the tundra's teeth where blizzards wail,
Where silence hangs like a funeral veil,
They whisper still of crimson flame,
Of love and blood and cursed name.
He was a warhound, leashed to none,
A blade for hire, a bastard son.
They called him Crow, for where he passed,
No field grew green, no peace could last.
But love can grow in poisoned soil—
A stolen glance, a pause in toil.
His Ladyship saw the man beneath the scar,
And kissed the wound that made him war.
They came for his love, not him, in truth—
To punish love, to break his love.
A thousand men, a general's hate,
To make the beast watch as they desecrate.
No tears he shed. No prayers he spoke.
Just death beneath the tundra oak.
A hundred men, then more he slew—
A crimson tide where cold winds blew.
The fanatic soldier sings his ballad. His voice roughened and raw, for he himself has been fighting in countless wars. His hands are clasped reverently in a prayer as he bows his head to the cold and silent sarcophagus of his former superior.
Dmitri didn't know what love was. Then he serves under The Fair Lady. Now, he sings the report of his pilgrimage to his master. For he has finally found another form of love in his pilgrimage. Even if his master has now become one with Her Majesty's ice, he knows she can still hear him. For love is strong and it stretches far beyond the living.
… Pantalone suddenly feels like he's the vilest person in the world.
He thought it'd be funny to tell Signora that the next person to have a lover is Dottore of all Harbingers. Especially because her love story ends with tragedy, while Dottore is… well, his story was ending in tragedy, but he fixed it, so now his story has a happy ending… kind of?
Anyway, he invited the fanatic because Dottore said that he keeps calling him the Saint of Love where the fanatic previously called Signora that. The Regrator simply finds it really funny and ironic, but now he sees that the fanatic genuinely believes that he can call Dottore the Saint of Love. … Hm, this man is utterly mental, isn't he?
… Hm…. Doctor doesn't know what to say. He just stands by the mausoleum’s entrance, frozen with disbelief.
[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASAAASAAAAJCTNCTUDRJXDUI-DUOMBGY!¡!] Alpha Build screeches to the link again, the sheer size of his meltdown manages to pierce through the wall Prime placed on his connection to the link.
Prime's head hurts so much from the screaming. But, this time, he makes no effort to silence Alpha Build. …He completely understands his meltdown. And also because his attention is moved to another Segment.
[Hm,] Omega Build hums thoughtfully to the link, [maybe I shouldn't have told Panty about it.]
[SO IT WAS YOU!] this time, it's Prime himself who shouts to the link.
It's completely out of his character. Unfortunately, this is way too embarrassing for him not to get heated up as well. The second-hand embarrassment –can it even be called that if the first-hand embarrassment comes from his other selves?– is too much to bear. Who should he even get mad at? Pantalone? Signora? The fanatic? Himself? …His mate???
[Pantalone,] Omega Build –oh, so helpful– answers it for him.
… Dottore takes a deep breath and roughly exhales in anger.
The noise makes Pantalone's wings twitch, and he quickly turns around with a smile. However, his smile quickly drops when he realizes that it's Dottore who has found him and not any other Harbingers who are also in on the joke.
Chuckling awkwardly, Pantalone pastes a tight smile onto his lips, pretending that his wings aren't twitching with trepidation, “Haha, Dottore, fancy seeing you here. Why would you come to this dreary mausoleum alone on the day after your wedding?” he stiffly asks, his voice might be cracking slightly at the end but no one will actually believe that since he's a famed soothsayer, “speaking of the wedding, where has your… wife(?) gone to? Shouldn't you be with him?”
Dottore doesn't say a thing. He just crosses his arms and silently stares at Pantalone, unsmiling . Though deep down, he's currently reciting a mantra to keep himself from losing his composure and getting embarrassed.
Hearing what The Regrator has just said, Dmitri, who was solemnly praying to The Tsaritsa in front of his former Harbinger's coffin, abruptly pauses his prayer to get up. He runs past Pantalone and prostrates before Dottore. Pantalone lets out a surprised squawk at the sudden excessive show of loyalty, but Dottore doesn't move. He just stands there and stares.
Ah, truly unwavering and calm as a frozen ice, as expected of the new Saint of Love, “Loyal priest Dmitri. Sworn to be the sword for the Saint of Love,” Dmitri introduces himself with as much reverence as worshipping an actual god, “Lord Dottore, please take me as one if your subject so that this humble priest can continue his duty to spread Her Majesty, The Tsaritsa’s words of love to more lost souls.”
Pantalone lets out a loud strangled caw as he tries hard to keep his laughter at bay, “M- my, how fortunate of you, Dottore,” he manages to say before wheezing until he's squeaking, “Dmitri was strong enough to partake in the civil war. What a great addition to your firepower.”
Finally, Dottore moves and it is to smack Pantalone in the head.
Notes:
So so excited for Dottore in Nod-Krai but also so so afraid that he will die and not become playable.
Forget me wanting Dottore actually meeting Alhaitham in the game, I'm already afraid that he'll die and be forgotten.
Anyway, I want to write the rest of the chapters to be sickening sweet. I deserve it. I've been writing them in pain for almost 2 years. It's time for them to be happy.
And damn. When Dottore appears in Nod-Krai, this fic is going to be such a relic of forgotten past.... Because more people are definitely going to start shipping them too hehehehe (delulu).
Out of topic but have you seen Komano manato from ZZZ? He's absolutely gorgeous.
Seeing him feels like a soothing balm on the wound left open from Hugo's remodeling (HIS OLD MODEL REMINDED ME OF A STRAY CAT! I WANT THE MALNOURISHED MAN BACK! HE'S A CRIMINAL. HE COULDN'T POSSIBLY SECURE ENOUGH FOOD TO NOT BE MALNOURISHED ESPECIALLY SINCE HE WAS STARVED WHEN HE WAS A KID)
*Cough* anyway, how are y'all today?
Chapter 106
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
For the first time since Alhaitham has started to live in Snezhnaya, he finally feels the cold.
Or at least that's what he thought he's feeling.
The throne room is cold– colder than the few parts of Snezhnaya he has had the chance to visit. Yet, at the same time, Alhaitham can sense that it's not the cold he's familiar with as a human. It's different. It feels… ‘thick’ ... solid(?)....?
It's not a natural cold. But there's a chance that Alhaitham feels that way because he's no longer a human.
… Yeah….
Alhaitham slowly makes his way towards the throne, his head bowed deeply. He hasn't been listening to his gut feeling lately. The major reason for that is because it keeps telling him to quickly kill himself after he has ‘ascended’. But, for just this one, Alhaitham has no problem listening to it.
Because it's suddenly telling him to survive .
Alhaitham noiselessly kneels down before the throne, not once did he raise his head to look at the god sitting on the throne. It's only appropriate. As far as things stand, Alhaitham is just a peasant that married into nobility.
“ For you to only now visit me, does the Doctor hate me so? ” The Tsaritsa inquires, her voice sounding like a whistle of a draft during a blizzard.
Alhaitham doesn't quite like how it sounds to his ears and has to mentally refrain himself from pressing his earpieces tighter, “ My deepest apologies, Your Majesty, ” he says after a while, his pairs of wings pressing themselves tight to his back on their own because of discomfort, “ I…, ” he trails off, not knowing what to say without painting his husband or Snezhnayan politics in a bad light.
“ Look at Your Queen when you're speaking to her, little falcon, ” The Tsaritsa speaks again before Alhaitham can even give her his excuse.
But… she sounds… kinder ?
Alhaitham can still feel his gut telling him to not do anything stupid. But Alhaitham doubts he can live in Snezhnaya without taking any chance. He's part of the nobility, after all. Not a simple civilian.
In the rare occasion where Alhaitham has met his mates’ coworkers, Alhaitham has instinctively followed the civilians’ attitude in behaving around nobility. It's a habit born of his old lifestyle. He understands the sentiment of the civilians wanting to just survive in an already harsh living situation without being caught up in the drama of the people in power.
But that's a lifestyle Alhaitham is no longer a part of.
Alhaitham takes a deep breath before letting it out in one go, the puff of condensation floats up to slightly blur his face as he raises his head to finally look up, “ My deepest apologies, Your Majesty, ” Alhaitham repeats, his voice is steady now as he looks straight at the epitome of Cryo, “ this lowly subject was too dull to fathom the etiquettes of nobility, ” he finally says, deciding to put the blame on himself.
It's minute, but Alhaitham can sense the temperature rises up slightly as The Tsaritsa slightly tilts her head in amusement, making the crystals on her crown glitter prettily with cold light, “ Your eyes are beautiful ,” The Tsaritsa comments instead of responding to Alhaitham's excuse –Alhaitham will take that as her accepting his apology, “ I suppose The Doctor does love you dearly. ”
Yes. The little falcon's eyes tell her that he's afraid of her. But The Tsaritsa can also see the sweet hope in the eyes of the mutated human. Though his journey was long and arduous, filled with pain and sorrow, the little falcon knows that he has finally pierced through the storm clouds and has returned to his nest.
The little falcon is hopeful for the future with his mate. His eyes are still very bright. How atypical of her subjects. Oh, how long has it been since The Tsaritsa sees love in the nation of love?
Ah, The Cryo Archon knows the little falcon won't understand what she meant. But why does that matter? The Tsaritsa has no need to explain herself to her subject.
But neither does The Tsaritsa expect her subject to answer, “ He does, Your Majesty,” Alhaitham says, his voice steady and the light in his eyes unwavering.
The Tsaritsa lets out a baffled laugh despite herself. She can't help it. Such confidence that –considering who the little falcon is speaking with– borders with blasphemy. Yes, this is certainly the little crows’ mate.
The love of the little heretic's life.
The Tsaritsa subtly clears her throat, freezing the melting icicles on the ceiling once more, “ Since that's the case, I'm glad the Dendro Archon allowed you to move to Snezhnaya, ” she amusedly says, “ though your life here hasn't been ideal, this is the only nation that will accept the both of you. ”
True.
Alhaitham has thought about it a few times. If things will be different if his mate is an executive in other nations. The answer is yes but in the worst way possible.
Because his mate is Zandik and his Zandik was a heretic.
Snezhnaya is proud of its might. This is probably the only nation that will allow their executive to marry a personnel of another nation's government.
“ Of course. However, this lowly subject can't be more grateful to Her Majesty for allowing my stay here, ” Alhaitham agrees, his eyelids slightly lowered serenely.
The Tsaritsa chuckles, making the frozen icicles melt once again. One icicle accidentally drips right onto Alhaitham's head and The Tsaritsa giggles at the way the little falcon's pairs of wings ruffle irritatedly from the sudden drop of water. How adorable.
After a moment, The Tsaritsa clears her throat, “ Lady Alhaitham of The Second Harbinger, Il Dottore, ” The Tsaritsa says Alhaitham's full title –and Alhaitham wonders if this means he has her blessing, “ you are an extension of The Doctor. As such, I expect you to act someone fit for that title. ”
Oh! The Tsaritsa accepts him. He has her blessing.
Alhaitham is actually trying very hard not to grin in excitement so he bows his head until his forehead touches the icy floor just in case he fails, “ I understand, Your Majesty. I will- ”
The Tsaritsa cuts Alhaitham off before he can finish, “ You will have an audience with me on the first date of every month. ”
….
Well, now Alhaitham definitely can't raise his head, “ Pardon me, Your Majesty? ”
The Tsaritsa lets out a troubled hum as she raises a hand, a gentle wisp of cryo energy trailing after her fingers, “ It has been a year and you've only ever visited Your Queen once, ” The Tsaritsa says and Alhaitham genuinely doesn't know if he should feel afraid or not, “ not only that, though you ascended through an unconventional mean, you're still a god now –albeit a minor one– and it's my duty as the Archon of this nation to keep an eye on every god residing here, ” The Tsaritsa gracefully flicks the wisp of cryo towards Alhaitham's face –the soft frost hitting his nose felt like a salt to the wound, “ Surely you don't expect Your Queen to be the one to pay you a visit? ”
… “ Of course not, Your Majesty, ” Alhaitham says, his pairs of wings managed to stay still despite how bitter he feels, “ Though, may I ask a question? ”
“ Make haste. Your mate is already getting impatient outside, ” The Tsaritsa says and Alhaitham can just tell that she's very amused.
“ For a god to manifest, there needs to be a devout worshipper so how can I be considered a god when I have no such worshipper? ” Alhaitham asks, genuinely curious for a while now –especially since he has a feeling that his mate won't answer this question, ever.
The Tsaritsa presses a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter, “ Your mate has always had a knack for heresy, ” she merely says, unfortunately failing to hold back mirth from bleeding into her words.
Absolute silence falls in the throne room for so long that The Tsaritsa suspects Alhaitham might have passed out from the cold –especially with that kind of attire.
“ ... I will retreat now if Your Majesty doesn't mind,” Alhaitham finally says, his voice calm.
The Tsaritsa is a little surprised by his calmness so she just says, “ Of course. Send my regards to The Doctor. Pozdravlyayu. ”
Alhaitham simply bows his head one last time before getting up without another word.
The grand doors filled with intricate reliefs silently part again for Alhaitham. Alhaitham gracefully approaches it, knowing full well that The Tsaritsa is still watching his every move. Unfortunately, that proves to be very difficult because the first thing he sees is his husband's face, roughened from –probably– a fist fight.
… Alhaitham is pretty sure he only left him for less than twenty minutes.
Composure be damned, Alhaitham strides past the double doors to rush towards his mate. He doesn't look like he has any form of bleeding but for the usually very neat and tidy Doctor to be all ruffled and covered in scratches? Alhaitham can't help but worry. Also, why is there soot on his clothes?
Alhaitham has a feeling that Doctor won whatever fight he must have started so he just pinches both of his cheek until the poor Harbinger is grimacing in pain, “What did you do, husband?” Alhaitham asks, sounding just a bit annoyed but he's pulling both of Doctor's cheeks apart.
Prime is different from Sigma Build and Omega Build. He has an image to keep after all. So, even if his cheeks are really hurting because of Alhaitham, Doctor doesn't scream or whine to be let go. He simply smiles –or at least tries to– at Alhaitham. At least until his wife twists his cheeks because he looks so cheeky.
Doctor swallows down the pained caw he's about to let slip and quickly shoots his hands up to grab Alhaitham's wrists, “I don't think you want to know,” Doctor quickly says while trying to coax Alhaitham's hands to let go of his cheeks.
Doctor will even beg for Alhaitham to let this go. He really doesn't want to recount what had happened in the mausoleum. Hopefully, his mate will just think that he's asking about a confidential information and lets go.
Unfortunately, Alhaitham narrows his eyes and scowls at him instead, “You are trying to make my life troublesome, aren't you?” Alhaitham asks as he pulls on Doctor's cheeks in frustration for a bit more before he lets go with a huff, “well, you better make my marriage worth it, husband,” he softly complains while soothingly caressing the red marks he left on Doctor's cheeks, his pairs of wings ruffled agitatedly and slightly flaring.
Doctor is thankful that his mask's design is very practical, otherwise, he'd have looked really stupid right now, “Of course,” he softly says while soothingly caressing Alhaitham's hands in an attempt to ease him, “that's to be expected, isn't it? Especially since I've taken you away from your hometown,” Alhaitham hands suddenly still and Doctor uses that as his chance to bring them together so that he can kiss Alhaitham's fingers, “that's the bare minimum of my responsibility towards you.”
Alhaitham's eyes widen and, for a moment, he doesn't know what to say. He may or may not have expected that Doctor would look hurt or even angry, not this. This kind of declaration coming from Doctor is unusual and is making his wings flutter when Alhaitham is supposed to be angry at his mate.
Alhaitham feels his cheeks heating up so he quickly pulls his hands free from Doctor's clutches and crosses his arms defensively, “W- well, I'm glad that you understand that,” he says, trying to act nonchalant but his stutter pretty much shows that he's flustered.
… Doctor doesn't know why but he suddenly wants to let out a coo and pulls his mate into a tight hug –must be Omega Build's subconscious.
Doctor pulls Alhaitham and hugs him tight regardless, making Alhaitham let out a surprised squeal, “Yes. If you want anything, please let me know,” Doctor coos while contentedly rubbing his cheek against Alhaitham's hair.
Alhaitham isn't sure how to react. He… feels like he's going to explode. Why's Doctor suddenly acting like this? Isn't he usually the composed one? Why would he suddenly become very affectionate? He can't take it.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings restlessly shift around until Alhaitham finally caves in with a soft wail and returns Doctor's hug, “Then let's stay like this for a bit longer,” Alhaitham mumbles while slotting his head under Dottore's chin to hide how red he actually is, “at least for the moment.”
Doctor really likes this.
“Of course, My Lady,” Doctor coos as he hugs Alhaitham tighter and cocoons them both with his wings, noting with amusement when he can feel Alhaitham's heartbeat quickening –completely disregarding the fact that his own heart might also be beating way too quickly.
[Huh, I think Hayi likes this,] Doctor fascinatedly reports to the link.
For a while, no one responds. The link is radio silent. A bit rare but not the first time it happened. What's strange is that Prime can strangely feel their judgment in the silence.
Finally, there's a three collective sighs before Sigma Build says, [There's Prime who never connects the dots that Hayi is dressing inappropriately for the cold weather because he likes it when his mate fusses over him –can’t blame him; his mate won't show any other kind of care, after all– and then there's also Prime who doesn't realize that, of course, an Avian likes that his mate treats him with affection,] he annoyedly grumbles as if Prime is stupid.
Omega Build quickly joins the conversation with a tut, [Shush, the old man is learning. Don't discourage him,] he reprimands Sigma Build, talking as if Prime is stupid.
… Doctor slowly pulls away from the hug after a while, “Let's go. You should return home soon before other nosy people start congratulating you,” he says before interlocking their hands as if it's normal and pulling him towards the Northern gate.
Alhaitham stares at their hands for a moment before he tightens his hold and asks, “What about you? Won't you return home with me?”
Doctor looks away, trying to hide how he's actually very happy that his wife is a bit nosy, “I still have a few business left to do,” Doctor smoothly says, “it'll take quite a while so you should go first.”
Alhaitham raises an eyebrow at Doctor's happily ruffling wings before he quietly looks down, “But the Lady Harbinger said today is a holiday.”
Doctor senses the hint of sadness in Alhaitham's tone so –although he has no idea why his mate is sad– he squeezes Alhaitham's hand before smiling at him reassuringly, “Yes. Unfortunately, I have personal business to attend to,” he explains in a voice so doting it almost makes Alhaitham trip, “you should go ahead with our honeymoon trip. I'll look for you once I'm done here,” Doctor continues as he pulls Alhaitham towards a carriage already waiting there.
“Wait, wha-” Alhaitham actually trips on the snow when he hears the word ‘honeymoon’ but, thankfully, Doctor quickly steadies him by holding onto his shoulders.
This time, Doctor doesn't have to explain.
“Good morning, My Lady,” Alexei’s voice greets, snapping Alhaitham into looking at the carriage.
The servant is sitting behind the horses, clad in heavy attire fit to be out in the cold for hours. His hands are already reaching for the reins to prepare for the journey. Behind him is a polished carriage, not small at all but Alhaitham knows for a fact he won't enjoy his time to be stuck inside with his two pairs of wings in the slightest.
“Wait, how can it be called ‘our’ honeymoon if I'll be the only one going?” Alhaitham protests as he turns around, trying to escape from Doctor's hold on his shoulders.
“I won't be coming with you but I will also come with you,” Doctor says as he opens the door of the carriage to reveal Zandik in his Harbinger suit.
Zandik instantly freezes in his position. His stance is low and his arms are raised readily, looking almost as if he's about to burst out of the carriage to grab his prey. Oh, Alhaitham can just tell that he intends to snatch him and drag him inside.
Zandik pretends nothing has happened and wordlessly sits down close to the window before smiling at Alhaitham, “Although Prime says it in a stupid way, he's right. You won't be on the trip alone, I'll accompany you through here,” he sweetly explains before gesturing around with his hands to explain further, “Sigma Build will join us in our first stop and then Alpha Build will convene with us at our destination,” he says, his wings ruffling in clear excitement that Alhaitham doesn't think he can say no to him, “oh, of course Prime will also join us once he's done. You don't have to worry,” he quickly adds before smiling expectantly at Alhaitham.
Alhaitham hesitantly parts his mouth before quickly closing it again with a sigh. It's no use. He can't just say no when his husband really looks forward to this. Besides…, Alhaitham does want to have this honeymoon. The cramped carriage is genuinely the only thing that dampens his excitement.
“Alright,” Alhaitham relents as he steps up into the carriage but suddenly turns around to give Doctor one last hug, “see you soon, husband.”
Doctor freezes for a moment inside Alhaitham's hug, not knowing how to react. Subconsciously, he glances at Zandik, silently asking for his input. Said Segment merely shrugs his shoulders before impatiently crossing his arms.
[Useless,] Doctor mutters to the link, which offends Zandik greatly, but too bad he can't say anything about it because Alhaitham is around, isn't it?
Doctor hesitates for a moment before he gently cups Alhaitham's cheeks and kisses his forehead, “Have fun, love,” he gently coos to Alhaitham's skin, earning him a nod of approval from Omega Build, which annoys him a lot.
Alhaitham lets out a soft squeal to that before he disappears inside the carriage.
Alexei gently snaps the horses’ rein and the carriage slowly moves, gradually disappearing into the distance.
As the carriage is finally gone, the warmth of humanity in Dottore's face disappears as well. Sighing softly to himself, Dottore turns around with his arms clasped behind his back. He purposefully ignores Pantalone and the fanatic hiding behind a pillar like a disgusting stalker and marches alone to his lab.
The carriage will tour as Omega Build has planned and Prime knows he doesn't have much time. If he wants to give the declaration status of Alhaitham's ability to bear a child safely as his first real mating gift, he has to make haste. He'll have to fly straight to the bunker after collecting his relevant research notes.
Hmm, Dottore wonders if his test subject will be able to bear a rushed experiment.
Notes:
They said that eyes are the window to the soul. Alhaitham's eyes are pretty to The Tsaritsa because they're still somewhat clear after, what she thought, happened to him. Especially because he's now a human mutated into a god. The Tsaritsa is instantly speculating a fanfiction in her head.
Soooo who's ready to stalk the Dottotham honeymoon like Pantalone and Dmitri? –Alexei is also there against his will.
Chapter 107
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Amongst the eleven Harbingers, he is likely the only one who dares to love someone that dearly. I'm unsure whether it's out of arrogance or selfishness.”
“Is Your Majesty against it?”
“My Harbingers are free to do anything in their private time as long as it doesn't hinder my plan. But, just in case, keep an eye on his mate.
.
.
.
Gods are supposed to be born once every century or more. Being able to create one… what are his plans? Not to mention that this milestone of his may have alerted the Celestia.”
[Subject 1’s vitals are… good enough,] Sigma Build reports to the link before letting out a sigh, [alright, it's teetering on the brink of being useless. We shouldn't have rushed to prepare it,] he grumbles, annoyed at the poor quality of the test subject.
[Stop complaining and just report his condition to me,] Prime calmly orders with a flick of his wings as he thoroughly leaves through his filing cabinets, [oh, and you might have to change his diapers.]
Prime can hear Sigma Build sucks in a deep breath from the link, [WHY MEEE!!!!?] he screeches angrily, as expected.
Prime idly pinches his earlobe as he waits until the ringing in his ears comes to pass before he finally says, [Because you're already there,] he boredly points out, [surely you don't find it pleasant having to endure the stench while assessing its status?]
Silence, but Prime knows very well that his youngest self isn't that unreasonable, [Fine,] Sigma Build growls to the link, [fine, I'll do it!] he yells to the link with the conviction of a man who has unwillingly surrendered to his fate, [but you better find the willing research participant that you said will be easy to find!] he vengefully roars.
Prime's fingers still, pausing in their task of placing relevant files into a briefcase.
Right. He did offer to find someone willing to impregnate the trash since it has refused the artificial insemination option. That really shouldn't be too difficult but how should he bring it up? Just snatch a random Fatui soldier and bluntly give the order with some promise of promotion?
Doctor closes his briefcase with a frown before pausing again.
Actually…, there's already one soldier that'll probably fit the task. He said he'll be loyal to his command, right? A little bit of convincing and bribe might be enough to persuade him.
Prime walks to the door, his steps languid and self-assured. He presses a button for the heavy door of his lab to rise and steps into the dimly lit hallway. Prime hums a tune to himself as he steps into the elevator, thinking of ways to coax the fanatic soldier into willing to impregnate his old superior. After all, even if he claimed that he only joined the rebellion for an infiltration, there might still be some sense of camaraderie still.
Well, if that fanatic soldier is actually much more attached to the trash than he claimed, this offer will definitely reveal his true color. Hopefully Pantalone is still with him. He might need to have a witness for this exchange.
. . .
The Northern Gate is deserted by the time Prime gets there but he can easily spot the fanatic soldier and Pantalone still hiding behind a pillar. Not that it's difficult to spot them. Not at all. Not when they're discussing very loudly.
The Regrator with all his yap about how much following the carriage will enlighten the fanatic soldier more about love and the fanatic soldier with all his contemplation of whether he should follow the Regrator’s advice or not blaspheme love should his presence be known by the couple and interrupt the sacred ritual.
Prime slowly sucks in a deep breath.
Oh, no one understands just how much Prime wants to punch the fanatic soldier again for using the word ‘blasphemy’ in such a pathetic regard.
“You, who have claimed yourself as my sword,” Dottore calls out once he gets close enough to the two squabbling fully grown adults, making them both look at him in annoyance before they quickly realize who they're glaring at.
“Ah…,” the fanatic soldier yelps softly before he turns around and respectfully bows at Dottore, “at the ready, My Lord.”
“How good is your stamina in sex?” Dottore –true to his plans– bluntly asks, reaping a choked caw from Pantalone but no one really pays attention to him right now.
The fanatic soldier straightens his back with a slightly dazed look before he notices that the Saint of Love isn't joking around so he places a hand above his heart and dutifully answers, “As a priest, I'm well-versed in spreading any form of lo-”
Pantalone lets out a loud shriek, “NO! DON'T YOU UTTER SUCH A THING!” he shouts with flapping wings and looking as if he's almost foaming in the mouth, “I have finally witnessed a nice change of genre. Don't ruin it with your sordid self!” he continues while pointing an indignant finger at Dottore's face.
Dottore merely glances at Pantalone before he returns his attention back to his business –though deep down he really wants to throw Pantalone off a cliff for screaming so loudly, “Good,” he comments the fanatic soldier's confidence, “for your first mission, I need you to do your best in impregnating my test subject.”
Oh, Pantalone wants to throw up. Impregnating a ‘test subject’? What test subject? A goat?
No…. Considering that it's Dottore's experiment, there's a high chance that the test subject is a human.
Ew, what is this third-rate crude and tasteless porn? Surely Signora's former subordinate won't agree to this, ri-
“By the will of the Saint of Love,” Dmitri serenely says as he reverently kneels before Dottore.
… “I'm leaving,” Pantalone says as he disappointedly turns around to leave, not even finding Dottore's exasperatedly slumping wings funny.
Dottore doesn't even say anything to Pantalone as he makes his way towards the Northern gate. Oh, of course the Doctor doesn't care about anything else but his research. Whatever, Pantalone will just have to stalk Lady Alhaitham to cleanse his mind and eyes from the sordidity he just witnessed. It will be easy to catch up with the carriage. Though Pantalone is not a fighter, he definitely can fly well.
With that, Pantalone takes off his Harbinger coat and folds it in his hands before gracefully taking off to the cold sky.
Meanwhile, Dottore is currently scrutinizing just how truthful the fanatic soldier is, narrowed eyes covered behind a mask, “If that's the case, then follow me,” he says as he leads the fanatic soldier into his underground lab to further assess the fanatic soldier's chance of impregnating his test subject.
[Sigma Build,] Prime calls to the link as he descends once again, [don't forget to measure how deep Subject 1’s womb is.]
[Ugh, Fine!] Sigma Build snaps, [but I'm only going to use an x-ray,]
Prime pauses before raising an eyebrow at Sigma Build –thankfully his colorful expression is hidden beneath his mask, [How else do you think you're going to do it?] he carefully asks.
… [I'm not going to answer that,] Sigma Build evasively answers after a brief silence.
For a moment, the link falls into a productive silence until Alpha Build hesitantly asks, [So we can't have sex with Hayi in the meantime?] then he quickly adds, [I mean, I'm quite sure we've all thought of what will happen if Hayi is sexually starved.]
Prime can feel his back ominously throbs from the question, [... Then I suppose we have to continue fulfilling our duty as his mate,] he decides –definitely not because he fears for his back.
[And what if he gets pregnant before we can even properly assess the possible dangers of his pregnancy?] Sigma Build asks, still a little bit sullen but he's definitely with Prime in preventing Alhaitham from getting sexually berserk.
Prime is quiet for a long time before he finally says, [Then it can't be helped. He needs to have his child,] he lets out a sigh as his wings tiredly slump a little, [time has no favorite. Immortality won't be kind to Hayi, especially since he never asked for it. In the case where Hayi ends up surviving when ‘we’ don't, the child will hopefully prevent the collapse of his mental state.]
The link falls into a contemplative silence. Prime is just way too well-versed in ruining a happy mood. But, then again, that's his duties as the oldest Segment. Paranoia.
[Omega Build,] Prime calls after he manages to calm down his mind from over-reacting, [make sure Hayi understands the risk of conceiving his own child,] he orders.
Omega Build finally joins the conversation with an annoyed groan, [Alright, I get it,] he grumbles, annoyed at having his lovely time with his moonlight being interrupted by such a bleak atmosphere, [but the point is that Hayi will bear our child regardless of anything, right?]
… [Yes,] Prime answers with a huff.
[Then there's nothing new so shut up already,] Omega Build snaps to the link before grumpily looking out the window of the carriage, his wings ruffling irritatedly.
Alhaitham glances at Zandik. His husband has been strangely quiet ever since the carriage has moved. That's strange. Usually he'd start chattering about anything.
The silence that Alhaitham usually welcomes with an open arm suddenly makes him feel self-conscious and nervous about their honeymoon.
“... Zandik,” Alhaitham softly calls, carefully shifting his pairs of wings in the absolutely cramped space.
“Mm?” Zandik merely hums in response, not even bothering to look away from the window.
Alhaitham looks at the back of Zandik's head, not knowing how to react to such a cold response from his most loving husband. Does Zandik notices Alhaitham's dissatisfaction with the carriage and is mad at him? Oh, Alhaitham feels bad now…. But then he quickly notices how Zandik's black feathers are all ruffled in discomfort and a thought suddenly crosses his mind.
… Is his husband having motion sickness?
… “Husband-”
“Yessss~?” Zandik abruptly turns around to face Alhaitham, his mouth spread wide in a goofy grin that makes Alhaitham snorts.
Yeah, there's no way his husband would have motion sickness. He was just sulking because Alhaitham didn't call him ‘husband’. How childish.
Still, Alhaitham asks just in case, “It’s nothing. I just thought you were having motion sickness since you were so quiet.”
… Silence.
Alhaitham glances at Zandik and Zandik awkwardly looks away, “... Come now, how could you even think of me like that,” Zandik amusedly says but the brief awkward pause in his answer is enough to make Alhaitham suspicious.
Unfortunately for Zandik, not long after he says that, the carriage suddenly bumps on a little pebble on the snow, jostling the carriage.
Zandik instantly presses a hand to his mouth and throws his face away from Alhaitham's scrutinizing gaze. His shoulders are tense as he tries to discreetly swallow down the bile threatening to burst forth with all his might. He probably hasn't been the coolest in his moonlight’s eyes but he won't do something as embarrassing as throwing up in front of him. No, that's Sigma Build's thing.
With a lot of effort, Zandik is finally able to swallow down the nausea. Unfortunately, it's such a shame that his moonlight can very well see that he's not well. Oh well, it could be worse.
Zandik suddenly feels Alhaitham's cold fingers gently massaging the back of his neck, “If you have motion sickness, why would you suggest that we ride a carriage?” Alhaitham asks, sounding so doting and fond that Zandik melts to his touch.
Zandik still doesn't show his face at Alhaitham though, “Mainly for mobility but it's also to ensure that you won't get too cold,” he answers, wings shifting shyly as he enjoys Alhaitham massage, “after all, I tried my best to find a design to accommodate your pairs of wings but I know it isn't good at all.”
Alhaitham's massaging fingers pause and he quickly presses his face to Zandik's arm so that he can hide his bashful expression, “What nonsense,” he softly mutters, a smile bleeding into his voice, “this is a great design to be done with that timeframe.”
Zandik playfully lets out an offended gasp before twisting his body, grunting a little caw when Alhaitham suddenly lunges forward to press his face to his chest though he pays it no mind –he likes it– and simply wraps his arms around his moonlight's waist and pulls him closer, “Please don't say that,” he huffs as he pokes at Alhaitham's exposed skin, “I have standards for my creation and this invitation to frostbite definitely does not qualify,” he sulks, now finding consolation in caressing the area between Alhaitham's wings, “though you have a habit for dressing inappropriately for the weather. I'm quite sure that you genuinely feel cold at times,” Zandik continues, now finding amusement in watching Alhaitham's wings shiver from his soft touches.
Alhaitham blindly smacks Zandik's chest as a silent request for him to stop teasing his back, still not pulling his face away from Zandik's chest, before he confesses once Zandik does stop, “It's scientifically recorded that when Avians become mated with each other, their rational becomes clouded with instincts. Dressing like that was my self defense against those instincts,” he mutters as he finally pulls away from Zandik's chest, “if I get sick because of the cold due to my attire that any potential mates never seem to care enough to worry over, then I should stop the relationship. Although Sumeru isn't as cold as in Snezhnaya, it certainly still worked,” he quietly explains, not daring to look at Zandik's reaction, before he lets out a cynical chuckle, “actually, I sometimes find it ironic that out of all the potential mates I went through, you were the only one who cared about it.”
Silence falls into the carriage. Alhaitham nervously smiles to himself as he looks down at his twiddling thumbs. He… really doesn't dare to check on his husband's expression. Telling that to Zandik must've been insulting and might even be a little bit hurtful to him.
Zandik's hands suddenly shoot out to grab Alhaitham's shoulders and twist him towards him, “What do you mean ‘ironic’?” he offendedly asks but still maintains the volume of his voice, “Ahh! Of course I'm different from your exes, moonlight. I'm fated to become your lifelong mate. Of course I'm better than them. How dare you expect that I'll be worse than those pathetic Avians that literally had to team up to satis- Why are you laughing?!”
Ah, Alhaitham really can't help it. This is the cutest rant he has ever heard. Oh, Zandik really is the sweetest, huh?
“Moonlighttttt~” Zandik whines annoyedly as Alhaitham continues to laugh –which only makes Alhaitham laugh harder, “stop laughing! I'm mad at y-”
Alhaitham kisses Zandik.
A full press of their lips without any tongue. A sweet kiss that kind of feels like the intention is to shut him up –considering that Alhaitham is firmly cupping Zandik’s cheeks. But… Zandik genuinely finds this kiss almost innocent, especially since he can see that his moonlight is closing his eyes and can sense that his moonlight is smiling into the kiss.
Alhaitham pulls back from the kiss after a while with a cheerful chirp and a happy flutter of his wings, “You're so cute, husband,” Alhaitham coos with a big grin, hands now cupping Zandik's cheeks more prominently as if he's pinching fluffy doughs.
Zandik instantly feels his cheeks heating up, “You're cheating,” he vehemently hisses though he doesn't pull back from Alhaitham's hands even as his face reddens deeper.
“No, I'm not~” Alhaitham teasingly says with a sweet tilt of his head.
… Okay, Zandik accepts his defeat.
Outside of the carriage, Alexei watches the road with dead eyes. He really doesn't want to be His Lordship's chauffeur for their honeymoon. Alas, the request was made and Alexei values his life too much to care.
… By the way, it's very cold outside.
Notes:
I know I'm allowed to write as I want but I still care to omit things that may be uncomfortable to read, especially since the topic might be really traumatizing to some.
Though I do plan to write Samuil becoming traumatized as his retribution –which will also be very in character with Dottore, it's not exactly the center of the plot and would essentially be fine being left out the fic.
Please let me know about your opinions on this.
And,
If you're not too busy, can you please open this link
https://bsky.app/profile/anotherneither.bsky.social/post/3lrysg4irx224And tell me your opinion for this as well? I'm actually really trying to to understand the appeal.
On a more happy note, Alexei wants to throw up rainbows.
Chapter 108
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
. . .
. .
.
It's not a public knowledge that, in Teyvat, there exists several versions of ‘Dottore'. These versions are the slices of ‘Dottore's life, preferably dubbed as the Segments. Conceptually, there were once a version for each point in ‘his’ life from the first time ‘he’ ever formed thought till the moment ‘he’ can barely make one. In practice, the slices are condensed and optimized into a handful of those with notable differences in thinking patterns.
Sigma is the eighteenth letter in the ancient alphabet. In the field of mathematics, it means the sum of an equation. It is also the symbol for standard deviation.
Sigma Build Dottore is the origin of ‘Dottore'. It's the Segment where the existence once known as ‘Zandik’ started becoming interested in defying the hierarchical laws set by the gods. He is the Segment when ‘Dottore' was once a human.
Alpha is the first letter in the ancient alphabet. It denotes the first of everything. In physics, it means acceleration. In astronomy, it refers to ascension.
Alpha Build Dottore is the ascended. The condition of his vessel and his mental fortitude allows him to endure countless experiments until he ultimately possesses the power equivalent to the gods. He is the perfect stage to ascend. But ‘Dottore' never intended to become a god. Thus he is an eldritch being, a blasphemy.
Omega is the last letter in the ancient alphabet. It's the final of everything. In cosmology, it denotes the density of the universe.
Omega Build Dottore is the equalizer of ‘Zandik’ and ‘Dottore'. It's the bridge between humanity and the endgame of what ‘he’ wishes to achieve at all costs. He is the one desperately trying to balance the perspective of humanity and the one meddling in the god’s battleground.
Prime means the fundamental. It's the most essential part of anything. It's the most important and the original.
Prime Dottore is the goal. He is ‘Zandik's wishes to become ’Dottore’. He holds the ultimate missions for the existence of all Segments.
The Segments’ vessels are inspired by the divine puppets made by the Electro Archon. The creation of each vessel took an exorbitant amount of time and resources. After all, it isn't easy for a human to replicate a god's creation. Especially, because ‘he’ doesn't have the power of the divine.
Therefore, each Segment is a prototype for the next Segment. As such, inadvertently, there's bound to be unintended development during each creation. For Sigma Build, it's his abnormal muscle growth. In Alpha Build's case, his abnormality is difficult to discern due to the layers of modifications his vessel went through.
But Omega Build is a special case. His abnormality is that his vessel is too close to perfection. His subconscious is too developed. So much so that, unlike the Sigma Build or the Alpha Build, he has developed a trace of an individual id.
“We could've just flown to our destination if you're this terrible at handling motion sickness, Zandik,” Alhaitham says with a sigh as he continues to massage the back of Zandik's neck.
Zandik, though weakly leaning towards the window as if he has lost half of his soul, manages to let out a cheeky laugh, “Oh, don't worry about it, dear,” he says, unfortunately sounding rather miserable, “I'll be instantly be alright once I get down.”
Alhaitham wants to smack his husband. Unfortunately, it's not a nice thing to hit a sick and miserable person. So he just pinches Zandik's cheek and pulls it just enough to make him scrunch his face.
“It's not about that, Zandik,” Alhaitham exasperatedly says as he lets go of Zandik's cheek and reaches up to massage the top of his head to help ease his nausea, “I just don't like seeing my mate feeling uncomfortable. Especially since he feels so because he's putting up with something I don't even like.”
Zandik looks like he's about to throws up but he quickly forces himself not to by leaning to Alhaitham's massage and saying, “Aww, my little wife is worried about me,” he coos, his wings perking up happily despite feeling like the rest of his digestive tract are melted and grossly churning into one unholy concoction, “understood, My Lady. This Lord shan't ever show up in pain anymore.”
Alhaitham clicks his tongue and squeezes Zandik's head in annoyance –which genuinely hurts even without counting the fact that Zandik already feels under the weather, “I'm not saying that,” Alhaitham snaps with a flex of his pairs of wings, making the massive limbs bump against carriage with a loud noise that irritates him even more, “... just don't purposefully hide the fact that you're in pain from me,” in the end, he says with a sigh as his hand eases its strength on Zandik's head to resume massaging it, “... Though I more than likely won't be able to help with the cause of your discomfort, I can, at the very least, try to help you ease the pain,” Alhaitham softly adds as he looks away to stare through the window at his side, his hand returning to soothingly massage Zandik's head.
… Ah, Zandik loves his moonlight.
With a subconscious smile gently creeping onto his lips, Zandik reaches his own hand up to catch Alhaitham's hand and presses it to his lips, “I will, my moonlight,” and so he sweetly lies with a kiss to Alhaitham's fingers.
Zandik adores Alhaitham. He is beyond elated to know that his mate cares about him. But, as a Segment of Dottore, he also knows that, in the future, there will be injuries that Alhaitham won't be able to help with in the slightest. So really, what's the use of letting his beloved know if it'll only make him sick with worry?
But… Zandik supposes that he can take advantage of this by faking mild sickness for kisses.
Alhaitham softly chuckles as his cheeks softly flushes, “You ought to stop calling me that. We're going to be in public soon.”
Zandik playfully straightens his back with a gasp, his hand not letting go of Alhaitham's hand, “No. Never. In all a hundred languages and thousands of local translations, ‘moonlight’ is the most fitting to call you,” he dramatically declares before smirking, “well, I guess ‘wifey’ also fits you well.”
The flush on Alhaitham's cheeks reddens a few shades deeper, “That's just worse,” he complains while pointedly staring at everywhere that's not Zandik’s face.
“Ah, really?” Zandik fakes a sad caw, “but I think it sounds cute.”
Alhaitham's feathers puff up in embarrassment, “I'm a grown man, Zandik. So are you.”
Zandik tilts his head, this time faking confusion, “Your point being?”
Alhaitham scowls before twisting his body to look out the window once again, “How do you feel if I call you ‘hubby’?” he annoyedly asks, which completely backfires because Zandik definitely loves that nickname.
Alhaitham lets out a yelp when Zandik's hands suddenly grab his shoulders and twist him to face him again, “I'm not sure so can you please call me that while looking at me?” he says, his face now faking seriousness but the way his wings are flaring in anticipation tells Alhaitham another story.
A frown now joins Alhaitham's red, scowling face, “No,” he firmly refuses.
Which only makes things worse as Zandik starts to pleads with him, “Why not~? Wifey, please… call me your hubby~”
Alhaitham clenches his eyes shut as he can physically feel his face heating up, “No,” he repeats while trying to struggle free from Zandik's hold on his shoulders.
Zandik's wings sadly droop as he dejectedly asks, “Why not~?” he whines as he lets go of Alhaitham's shoulders.
Alhaitham's pairs of wings twitch as his feathers ruffle –if the carriage isn't too cramped, they would've folded forwards to hide Alhaitham from Zandik's pleading eyes, “Because it's embarrassing,” Alhaitham says as he looks out the window once again to avoid looking at Zandik's face –he might cave in otherwise.
Zandik finally chuckles and leans back slightly, “Is that so?” he asks as he smiles while admiring Alhaitham's flushed side view, “that means I must have embarrassed myself in front of my coworkers a lot because I've always referred to you as ‘my moonlight’.”
Zandik watches as Alhaitham's shoulders tense up before slowly twisting his body just enough to secretly peek at him through the corner of his eyes and Zandik can't help but smile.
Yeah… Zandik is in love.
The id is the most primitive function of the subconscious. It is the first thing to develop, present since birth, as it's essentially what drives vulnerable, ignorant babies’ instinct for survival. Because of it, id is completely driven by the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification of instinctual desires such as hunger, aggression, and sexual urges. But… it's also the most honest a human can be.
The Segments generally have their own id, of course, it's part of existing. Sigma Build has his desire to connect, Alpha Build has his uncontrollable desire to either rage or mate, and Prime has ‘Zandik's final desires. That's how it should be. The prototype Segments only have desires for instinct and survival while the Prime Segment has the desire of the original existence.
That's how it should be. That's how the Segments can work in harmony. The continuity of their existence as one being. It's the sole reason why the Segments are all counted as a single being. Because they all live for the desires of a single existence.
But there's, once again, another error in the experiment.
‘Zandik' is an Avian who often forget that he's also weak to primal instinct. And so, the original body didn't account for the fact that centuries of yearning for a mate that'll never come will eventually drive the Segment insane enough that he, subconsciously, develops his own desires for the Segment's own survival.
Hence why Omega Build Dottore is also selfish like Prime. Because he also has his own id. And he yearns for the company of a mate.
If ‘Zandik' has never forgotten that he’s an Avian, the stages of the Segments will be different.
Sigma Build Dottore is the stage where Avian instincts barely affect the mind. Alpha Build Dottore is the stage where the Avian instinct battles with rationality daily. Prime Dottore is the stage where the Avian instinct finally accepts his defeat and is overshadowed by the rational.
Omega Build Dottore is the stage where ‘he’ wonders if there will eventually come anyone that will accept him as a flawed individual.
Because ‘Zandik' barely remembers that he’s still just an Avian, ‘he’ only remembers this stage of his life as a fraction of miserable existence filled with hopeless longing for someone to finally come. And it was genuinely only a fraction of ‘his’ life. Because the original ‘Zandik' barely had the time to realize he's lonely before the emotion is overshadowed by the thrill of one successful experiment after another. By the time ‘Zandik’ felt he was lonely again, he was already in the Prime's stage to notice it.
Unfortunately, Segments can't grow old, be it physically or mentally. Segments are purposefully created with a fixed physical and mental maturity. After all, they're a fraction of ‘Zandik's life made into existence at the same time.
And so, that fraction of loneliness turned into centuries of hopeless yearning. It's something that only the Omega Build alone feels. But the worst part is that he can't even have hope. Because when people are lonely they can just look forward to the tomorrow where someone will finally be with them. But Omega Build can't, because he knows very well how he'll end up.
He will end up as Prime, successful in his endeavors but forever the lone crow.
And at the same time, Omega Build will continue to be Omega Build, hopelessly yearning until loneliness kills him.
Alhaitham's lips part slightly as his feathers ruffle in slight agitation, “W- why would you- Do you have no shame?!” he stutters in embarrassment, his pairs of wings trembling as the red on his face plunges an even deeper shade of red and creeps down even his neck.
Oh…. Not even ‘himself’ will understand just how happy Omega Build was when Alhaitham proposed his deal to Prime back in Sumeru. After all, it was a start. He was finally given the chance to try.
Zandik tilts his head with a gentle loving smile, “What is there to be embarrassed about?” he softly asks.
Alhaitham tenses up before he slowly twists his body so that they can look at each other again. Zandik doesn't even try to fake confusion in his expression. He just keeps up his gentle smile. Because, currently, he genuinely feels fondness like never before.
Alhaitham's pretty eyes slightly widen as he looks at Zandik. If he can be any redder, he probably would but he can't so Zandik half-expects that he'd explode anytime soon. But, instead, his pairs of wings relax behind his back as he lets out a soft squeal.
… Zandik doesn't know what the Avian noise means. To him, it doesn't particularly translate to anything. But Zandik simply lets out a rattle and gently leans forward.
It seems that it's the correct choice since Alhaitham also leans forward to meet him. So Zandik smiles wider and gently cups Alhaitham's cheek before pressing their foreheads together. To that, Alhaitham closes his eyes with a contented sigh and starts softly chittering. So Zandik follows by tickling Alhaitham's forehead with his primordial trace and softly cooing to his lifelong mate.
Oh, that's right. Omega Build wasn't the only one who yearned for a mate.
“I love you, wifey,” Zandik softly coos in between their gentle song, which earns him a smack on the face from Alhaitham.
“Stop!”
….
Can someone please take over Alexei's duty? He can't handle this anymore. Don't get him wrong, he's happy to understand that His Ladyship's feelings for His Lordship is certainly reciprocated but he just can't take this anymore. Not like this.
“This carriage seems to move rather slowly,” The Regrator comments from where he has seated himself next to Alexei at the coachman seat, “is it the customary pace for newlyweds’ carriage to move at or is this purely out of Dottore's preference?”
… Why is The Regrator talking to Alexei?
“I'm afraid I cannot answer, Lord Pantalone,” Alexei respectfully answers with a smile that hopefully doesn't look like a grimace.
Pantalone lets out a hum as his wings rearrange themselves behind him, “And why is that?” he asks with the tone that makes shivers run down Alexei's spine, “is it truly because you can't or because you won't?” he asks again, now with the tilt of his head that makes the friendly smile on his face look terrifying.
Alexei tries to open his mouth to say something but his tongue is too stiff to move so he closes his mouth with a big gulp before trying again, “I'm afraid that by doing so, I'll go against His Lordship’s wishes, Lord Pantalone.”
Pantalone hums again, making Alexei's grips on the horses' leash tighten with nerves, “It seems that-” a loud bump inside the carriage cuts Pantalone off, making him glance back at the carriage with a raised eyebrow while Alexei quietly jumps in fright.
“Heh, never mind,” Pantalone says after a while as he leans back towards the carriage, probably so that he can hear what's happening inside better.
… Alexei wants to go home.
“Try talking to him,” Samuil can barely hear the voice talking in the darkness.
The former lord of the rebel group tries to push himself up from whatever position he's currently being held at but he can't even move his limbs. It feels like something is holding them down. Huffing to himself, Samuil loathes himself for already feeling used to these treatments.
Ah, whatever. Painful as the Doctor's experiments might be, the Doctor has pretty much stated that he's an important integral to it. So he just has to endure whatever humiliation and pain the Doctor has in store. If he bides his time well, the time to finally escape will surely come.
“Awh, look at you,” a voice familiar to Samuil makes all his thoughts screech to a halt.
Suddenly the complete darkness is lifted and comes the blinding light that threatens to burn Samuil from within. What he sees next just might be the most harrowing sight he has ever seen. It's the face of the traitor that causes hundreds of men and women fighting for a better life to be mercilessly slaughtered. And that face is currently smiling down kindly at him when he usually would always scowl in his presence.
“Lord Samuil,” that traitor casually calls his name as if there's nothing wrong with the way Samuil is restrained in this humiliating position, still with the respectful title that currently no longer has any meaning so it's certainly only uttered for mockery, “do you know that your wings are cut off?” he easily asks as if he's just asking about the weather.
… “Whuhh?” Samuil weakly drawls, the panic in his heart rendering him unable to hear himself.
The traitor warmly chuckles as he gently pats Samuil’s head, “There, there. Easy. I'm not sure if it's because of Lord Dottore's drugs or because of the brain damage Lord Dottore mentioned during the briefing but, either way, please refrain from pushing yourself too hard,” he dotingly says before slotting himself between Samuil's legs and leans forward to press their foreheads together, “otherwise it'll be difficult for our child to be born.”
Samuil wants to throw up, “Whluhh?!”
Dmitri merrily laughs and straightens his back before clasping his hands in a prayer, “Don't you worry, lord Samuil,” he says with a smile that actually reaches his eyes, “I'll pray for Her Majesty, The Tsaritsa's blessings so that everything will go smoothly.”
Samuil can't say anything, the tears just silently fall from his eyes unbidden and unstoppable.
From somewhere above them, something crackles alive followed by the sound of someone letting out a sigh, “I ordered you to fertilize his womb, not to torment his already fragile psychological fortitude,” comes Dottore's annoyed warning.
Dmitri lets out an apologetic laugh, “My deepest apologies, Lord Dottore,” he says before he starts stripping.
In the observation room, Prime only has to look at the monitoring screen for a few seconds before he turns to Sigma Build, “How about you stay here for a bit longer while I go join the honeymoon earlier in your stead?”
Somewhere along the way, the Segments have started to become much more daring without Prime noticing because Sigma Build instantly sneers at him. Then he doesn't even deign him any answer and simply returns his attention to the little trinkets in front of him.
“I still think that giving Alhaitham a fresh human heart is better,” Sigma Build says as he gestures at the glittering trinkets, “I mean, these are the best of my shinies collections but this holds no value to a falcon breed Avian, isn't it?”
The little shit is ignoring him.
Well, all things aside, Prime is much more offended that Sigma Build didn't learn anything from his past gift mistake than him ignoring him.
So Prime flicks his wings with a condescending sigh, “And you people said I will be the one to ruin the marriage.”
“Hmm,” Sigma Build simply hums before he snatches a clipboard and throws it at Prime, “shut up and monitor the test subject as per your job.”
Prime lets out an annoyed huff and returns his attention to the monitoring screen, “Fine, but I guess this means you'll have to figure out your gift by yourself,” he says, subtly threatening.
A threat that Sigma Build simply rolls his eyes at, “If the price of your opinion is me staying here while you have fun in my stead, then I might as well figure it out myself. Thank you very much.”
Prime irritatedly flaps his wings before he restlessly looks around, “Where's the sick bucket?” he asks, rather urgently.
Notes:
Okay, I might sound like Dottore apologizer here but hear me out first.
I really like to think that Dottore is just a human. A very fucked up one and even that description still barely able to describe him but still a human nonetheless.
Like, when I learned about his experiments at the Eleazar hospital I was like, oh, neat so in Teyvat they can do organ transplants.
HVSUCRJ I genuinely felt I was so evil that I sympathize more to what Dottore is trying to do than his victims.
Like, we don't really know what happened during that era but I believe there are monsters everywhere and then there's this disease that slowly kills people in a very painful way. So Dottore did try to save them in a way he thought best but he lacks sympathy to understand his patients' fear and pain so his method at the time lacks gentleness.
And people condemned him because of how cruel his method is but Dottore doesn't understand because why does that matter? His experiments fruit in data that can possibly cure the disease and becomes the foundations of new inventions.
But nah, he was ahead of his time so he was exiled.
I'm not saying he's a good person. I'm saying that he's a terrible person and that's what makes him a good character. He's a villain from birth that doesn't feel two dimensional or forced.
So why do I say this? Everyday I live in the fear that Dottore won't be playable. This is a hot take even for me but I'd very much prefer that his end is open ended in the Archon Quest than him plainly shown being killed because then we can just think of all the plots where he might've actually died or survived.
Not that he's going to ever die in my head. If he dies in game, I'll continue to write Dottotham as if he's still alive lmao.
Anyway, so sorry for my usual paranoia rant. How are y'all today? I hope this chapter is nice to read. I feel like I'm getting rusty.
Chapter 109
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Aaa… -mong the Segments, Omega Build is definitely the more tolerant one but if he has to stay in this carriage any longer, he'll force through the walls and bury himself in the snow. Sadly, if he does that, Alhaitham will likely find him embarrassing. Which isn't good because they finally have their honeymoon and Zandik really wants to paint himself as the cool, romantic husband.
So, please. There's only one fifth of the way left. Zandik will literally start his own charity if he can endure the motion sickness for just a bit longer.
Thankfully, Alhaitham has entered his social battery recharging state and is currently staring at the landscape in silence. All Zandik has to do at this moment is literally just keep up his cool. He can do that. Pretending that there's nothing wrong is just a basic human skill.
… Ah, he's tilting to Alhaitham's side…-
Zandik must not! Stay. Cool!
… But moonlight’s lap looks so inviting to lie his head on. Just imagine lying down there and stares up at the beautiful visage of his moonlight's gorgeous face partly covered by his plump mounds-
No! Must. Stay. Cool-
“Oh, just lay down, already,” Alhaitham exasperatedly snaps before his hand suddenly shoots out to grab Zandik's head and forcefully pulls it down to lay on his lap, reaping a startled squawk from Zandik.
....
Ohhh. As expected, it's very comfortable to lay his head on. Zandik doesn't want to get up.
B- but… Zandik's cool and romantic husband image?
Alhaitham is still staring out the window in silence as his hand that previously forced Zandik to lay down now presses down on Zandik's head in warning, “Stay down.”
… Zandik's wings that intended to flail around in tantrum so that Alhaitham will release him meekly folds themselves against his back, “... Yes, sir,” he blurts out, not particularly loud but not quiet either –scratch that, with Alhaitham's hearing, it may as well just be considered a scream.
There's a little bit of pause inside the carriage before Alhaitham's fingers that are resting on Zandik's forehead flinch a little in reaction to what has just been said, as if he's only now realizing what Zandik has just said. And…, well, there are many things that, if Zandik will just be honest to himself, he finds utterly embarrassing. For example, at this moment, Zandik is utterly mortified. Just why would he say that? How embarrass-
Alhaitham's stilled hand starts to gently pet Zandik's head, “Good boy.”
Nevermind. Zandik is his moonlight's good boy. Everything is all good.
Alhaitham is still staring at the landscape outside the carriage but his hand pets Zandik's head so masterfully nice that Zandik doesn't feel any form of nausea anymore. As a matter of fact, he's so happy with the petting that he starts purring happily. The sound that makes Alhaitham finally looks away from the window just so that he can look at his husband's happy face.
Zandik has his eyes closed with contentment, his long lashes casting a shadow on his cheeks. Despite having his face pale from motion sickness, he's smiling. And when Alhaitham tries to retrieve his hand so that he can see his face better, Zandik instantly lets out an offended crow and grabs his hand so that he can press it to his head again. Archon, he's acting like a clingy cat. He's so silly.
Unable to resist himself, Alhaitham pinches Zandik's cheek and pulls slightly, “Why are you acting so cute? What do you want from me?” he coos.
Zandik lets out a grumbling crow, annoyed that Alhaitham stopped petting him, “Huh? What are you talking about? I'm always cute.”
Sigma Build instantly lets out a gag in the link, [You have no shame and dignity, do you?] he tiredly asks.
[Oh, I'll roll onto my back and stick my tongue out for moonlight if he ever asks me to!] Omega Build aggressively answers, sounding so annoyed at having his time with his moonlight bothered that he has to grab Alhaitham's hand and uses it to cover his face so that Alhaitham won't be able to see the face he's making, before he quietly adds, [sadly, he probably won't ever ask me to do that but you get my point.]
Somewhere that's thankfully far enough for him to not die from the secondhand embarrassment, Zazan tiredly makes eye contact with Doctor through the monitoring screen that's currently broadcasting an ‘Avian breeding documentary’.
“... What do you want me to say?” Doctor asks as he slowly moves his bloodshot eyes up to meet Zazan's gaze, “whatever debasing fantasy Omega Build has is literally so much better than this,” he calmly says as he gestures at the monitor, not complaining but sounding like he really wants to.
For a moment, Zazan simply looks at Doctor in silence before he looks away with a cheeky smile and mockingly laughs at him, “Heh.”
For the record, Doctor is currently holding the clipboard Zazan threw at him earlier. If he wants to, he can just throw it at the brat. On top of that, unlike his youngest Segment, he won't miss and said Segment won't be able to evade it quickly enough. So why doesn't he do that? Well, he kind of needs the clipboard and, besides, he's above acting like that –so childish.
So Doctor just lets out a snort of his own, “Laugh all you want. I wonder if you can still act so high and mighty once Alhaitham asks you to make love to him.”
…
Red instantly paints Zazan's face as his wings flare agitatedly, “And what do you mean by that?!” he crows loudly.
Doctor doesn't answer. He doesn't have to. Not when his goal of getting under Zazan's skin has been achieved so easily that it's almost sad.
Oblivious to ‘his own’ thoughts because his mind is way too preoccupied with overthinking on the innuendo –which, honestly, speaks how much Alhaitham has corrupted him– Zazan rambles on and on about details no one ever asked, “I- Yes, told Hayi I wanted to make love to him, but so what? I'm basically just asking for sex. Why is that a big deal? He's my wife too. Why can't I ask him for sex?!” he shouts, utterly red faced and if that's not enough to sign just how bothered he is, his wings are also flapping strongly, “ACTUALLY-” he continues because –apparently– his grave isn't deep enough, “WHY ARE YOU PATRONIZING ME?! WHAT I DID WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN ANYTHING YOU'VE EVER DONE TO HIM!”
[Mmn, should I fit a threesome into our honeymoon agenda?] Omega Build asks, genuinely asking and not mocking but, to the already flustered Zazan, it sounds like a mockery.
[YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!] Zazan screeches to the link to the dismay of all of his older versions.
Waqa –who has been keeping to himself because he's currently focusing on a very important task, growls to the link in annoyance– [Can't all of you, please, for once, just shut up and actually try to communicate these kinds of things to Hayi?] he exasperatedly asks, growling a little because he's a bit tired, [and before you say something about the function of the link is to discuss, I am unprecedentedly sure that it's not to discuss these kinds of things!]
… He isn't wrong per se. Unfortunately, when someone voices their opinion, it's only natural that others will also voice their own opinion. But, very fortunately, someone has unknowingly stopped them from descending into petty squabbles and returning their attention to the important things.
“Lord Dottore,” Dmitri’s voice comes out of the speaker, “it seems that Lord Samuil has passed out.”
Prime clicks his tongue before he turns to the monitoring screen and presses the button to connect with the intercom, “Have you ejaculated inside Subject 1's womb?” he asks as he glances at the monitor that shows the Subject's vitals.
“Yes, My Lord,” Dmitri says, “and supposedly enough to impregnate a lady but I have never done this with a man so I, unfortunately, do not possess the knowledge to be certain,” he reports out of habit from being in the military before he quickly adds when he realizes he just focused on the wrong thing, “I mean, naturally, men are unable to get pregnant so I'm afraid this is as far as I can assist,” he quickly reiterates his report, smiling stiffly while pointedly keeping his head down.
The sight of this fanatic soldier bashfully lowering his head out of embarrassment when he's still slotted between someone else's legs is so ridiculous that Sigma Build can't help but step closer to the monitoring screen and ask, “Why in Abyss did you choose this guy?”
Prime's eyebrow twitches beneath his mask and he waves Sigma Build away with a flick of his wings, “That's not your task to think about,” he finally says to the intercom before adding, “however, it's true that we can't be sure of the result yet. As such, I'll have to trouble you to participate again every three days until the Subject shows the desired signs.”
Dmitri blinks and finally looks up to where the intercom is located at, “Three days, My Lord? Isn't that way too frequent?”
Sigma Build pauses again from packing up his shinies, [Wait, isn't he actually kinda knowledgeable about this?]
Prime ignores Sigma Build's comment, “It is. Unfortunately, I'm on a tight schedule and have to speed things up,” and maybe because Alhaitham definitely has way more sex than once every three days so Prime may or may not also want to simulate what will happen while he's at it, “Is there any problem?” he asks, his voice neutral but he's narrowing his eyes slightly in suspicion, “your testes seem to be in perfect health so it can't be that you don't want to hurt the Subject, right?”
Dmitri pauses, his face scrunching up in utter befuddlement that’s almost unsightly to be shown in front of his superior, “... No?” he hesitantly says before quickly clearing his throat and says, “it's not that at all, My Lord. It's just…,” then he trails off before lowering his head again with a grimace, a hand resting on his hip, somehow looking both defeated and extremely amused at the same time, “may I, please, dress him up in something… more pleasing?”
…
In the centuries following his creation, this is genuinely the first time Prime has to take a step back from his experiment and turn to his younger self for opinions.
Unfortunately…, “What do you even want me to say?” his younger self also has no idea.
Which is… fair enough.
Prime massages the bridge of his nose as he leans to the intercom once again, “Do as you wish,” he defeatedly says, not even telling the fanatic to explain the importance of such props –he really doesn't want to have that kind of conversation with him about It .
[Prude,] Omega Build mocks from the link.
Prime's mouth instinctively twitches into a snarl, [If you find it so interesting, why don't you have the conversation?] he growls.
[Nah,] Omega Build taunts, [it's your misery. Why do I have to share it with y-] his thoughts are abruptly cut off when he feels his moonlight pulling on his cheek again.
“Are you bullying yourself again?” Alhaitham asks before he continues without waiting for the answer, “stop.”
Zandik's wings instantly puff up, “Aw!” he softly caws in complain, “No, I'm not. How did you even come to that conclusion?”
Alhaitham releases Zandik's cheek to gently brush his hair away from his face, “Because you always have this very evil look on your face whenever you do it.”
Zandik indignantly parts his lips, about to refute. But… then he closes it again because, well… ‘he’ does look really evil at times. Doesn't mean he appreciates it being pointed out, though. Especially by his moonlight.
So Zandik sulkily rolls to his side, head still resting on Alhaitham's lap, “Hmph, I don't see any problem. After all, I'm bullying myself, not others.”
Alhaitham's hands absentmindedly plays with the longer portion of Zandik's hair, “Are you telling me you're bullying yourself because you're nice to others?”
… “No….”
“I thought so,” Alhaitham mutters as his hand begins to make the base of a braid using Zandik's hair, “... So if you can't be kind to others, at least be nice to yourself.”
Hearing that, Zandik stills. But then he slowly twists his head around just enough so that he can narrow his eyes at Alhaitham. Why is his wife really good at baiting a reaction out of him?
“Did you just tell me of all people to be nicer to myself , and not care about other people?” Zandik incredulously asks, “I'm sorry, but are you even hearing yourself?”
Now, Alhaitham has heard his husband being sarcastic to him all the time but only when it's with Zandik that he has the courage to raise a hand to playfully smack him for it, “I literally have a record of everything that happened around me whether it's a conscious detail or not so there's no need for you to repeat what I just said.”
Zandik's wings puff up again in displeasure. Now Zandik slightly understands a fraction of what Sigma Build feels whenever Alhaitham teases him. It's… actually kind of fun.
Zandik throws his face away again, his heartbeat racing slightly from playful excitement, “Hmph, if that's the case then for what reason does one of the heroes of Sumeru tell someone to be more selfish and ignore others?”
Alhaitham smacks Zandik again, this time it's out of distaste from the title, “Just so you know, I never intended to save a nation. I just wanted to protect my peaceful life,” Alhaitham says, fingers itching to pinch Zandik's cheek in revenge but he sighs the urge out and just reaches out to pet his husband again, “besides, I'm your mate. What's wrong with wanting my mate to be happier than others?”
Hm, yeah. This is a losing game. Honestly, Zandik never understands how Sigma Build is able to play this game for so long.
Zandik slowly lets out a steady, silent breath before he twists his head to look at Alhaitham in the eyes, “Why do you love me so?”
Alhaitham pauses, not expecting the question at all, “What?”
Zandik translates Alhaitham's surprise at the question as Alhaitham loving him not out of calculation and can't help but coo as he reaches up to smush Alhaitham's cheeks, “Awwww, my wife loves me so much. I'm so luckyyyy. After centuries, I’ve finally found youuuu!”
Alhaitham lets out an exasperated sigh but can't help but chuckle as he grabs Zandik's hands, trying to free his cheeks from their clutch, “Zandik, stop… at least sit up properly. You're going to give yourself scoliosis.”
Zandik instantly lets go of Alhaitham's cheeks, “Awh,” he sadly caws while deflating on Alhaitham's lap before quickly perking up again, “Wait. Awh! My wife cares a lot about meeee,” he happily says, borderline squealing, “Oh, I wish you were born in the same era as me. Maybe then I won't be so lonely all these centu-” he abruptly cuts himself off as memories of the quality of life back then flashes before his eyes, “actually, no…,” he softly whispers as he makes the side of his head lay more comfortably on Alhaitham's lap, wings rearranging themselves neatly behind his back, “you’re better off living in this era,” he thoughtfully mutters, “so much more peaceful, just like what you wanted.”
Zandik feels Alhaitham pokes at his cheek and he twists his head to look at him. Then, just as he expected, he sees the most breathtaking view in his life. Alhaitham is smiling down at him with a gaze so loving it makes Zandik feels all fuzzy and giddy. Even if Zandik can only see half of his face from down there, he's already melting with happiness.
So Zandik smiles back, “I can say for certain that I'd really love the opportunity to meet you earlier in ‘my’ life, though,” he gently says, “at least then I'd have the chance to court you more properly and in the correct order.”
Alhaitham lets out a chuckle as his cheeks flushes softly, his smile not wavering in the slightest as he holds Zandik's cheek and cards through his hair, “Zandik…,” he softly calls after a while.
Zandik simply lets out a soft questioning crow, too busy purring in contentment from Alhaitham's loving caresses.
“How long does your coworker plan to tag along?” Alhaitham asks.
Zandik's purring instantly stops. He… knows that Pantalone is definitely the one hitching a ride since 400 meters away from the Zapolyarny Palace and is currently sitting at the coachman seat with Alexei. He pretended not to notice because… well…, he kinda wanted to show off. Of course, Alhaitham probably also heard the Avian getting onto the carriage. So now, well, it's only appropriate if he kicks the Avian off.
So Zandik sweetly smiles up at Alhaitham and pats around for his mask. Then, in one quick motion, he wears it and pushes himself up to aggressively yank the window separating them from the coachman seat open. Pantalone flinches back from the sudden movement but, before he can even think of flying off to safety, Zandik has shot an arm out to grab his collar and pulls him until his face presses against the small window.
“Panty…,” Zandik dangerously purrs with a smile on his face, “I think I'll have to charge you a kidney for a ticket if you keep following us around. Are you interested?”
Pantalone caws out a nervous laugh as his hands frantically search around for a way to release himself from Dottore's grip, “Will any kidney suffice?” he nervously asks yet his eyes still have the audacity to flit around the carriage for more details.
Zandik's smile concerningly widens, "I'm afraid it has to specifically be yours….”
That finally stops Pantalone's eyes from wandering as they look at Dottore warily, “Now, I assure you that my kidney is nothing special,” he says with a stiff laugh.
Zandik chuckles in return, “On the contrary, the kidney of a Harbinger is highly valuable because it's rather exotic, don't you think?”
… Pantalone gives up, “May I take my leave, then?”
Zandik lets go of Pantalone's collar with a cheerful smile, his wings flaring behind him like a curtain just in case Pantalone has the gall to look around again, “See you at work, then.”
Pantalone forces a smile onto his face and gets down the carriage that Dottore's servant has enough kindness to stop for a moment. The snow crunches beneath Pantalone's boots and it's only then that he realizes he's… in the middle of nowhere. Pantalone looks around but, as far as his eyes can see, there's no trace of civilization that can be seen.
Pantalone bites his inner cheek as he stiffly turns to look at the carriage again, “Actually, can I please ride with you until you get to a city?”
This time, the one-way mirror on the carriage door gently slides up –so much unlike the one at the coachman seat– and, to Pantalone's surprise, Lady Alhaitham's face appears.
He has changed. Pantalone isn't just talking about the markings on his face and the way his eyes seem to shine from an unknown source. It's also the fact that Pantalone feels a shiver of primal fear when their eyes meet even if it's only for a moment before the Lady's eyes move to observe his wings.
“You're a raven breed Avian,” Alhaitham comments out of nowhere, surprising Pantalone.
Pantalone is actually quite confused of where this is going but it's rude to ignore a Lady, “Correct. How can you tell? Usually people always think that I'm a crow breed Avian just like your husband.”
“Well, the easiest way to differentiate a raven from a crow is by looking at their tail,” Alhaitham starts explaining and Pantalone can see that he’s passionate about this topic –Dottore definitely doesn't like that they're chatting, though, “Unfortunately, Avians have no tail but I can still tell since, overall, the feather formation of your wings is more angular.”
Pantalone curiously spreads his wings and checks it out…. Well, he can't tell. Not when the only crow breed Avian around barely ever spread his wings. Still, it's an impressive random fact, Pantalone supposes. Hmm, dare he piss Dottore off?
“Does this mean I'm better than your husband at something?” Pantalone asks, making Dottore let out an offended squawk as his face instantly pops up at the window next to Alhaitham's, looking so funnily annoyed compared to Alhaitham's calm, thoughtful look.
“Actually, yes,” Alhaitham says, making Dottore snap his head to look at him with betrayal –oh, Pantalone is internally dying from laughter, “it, theoretically, makes you better at flying.”
… Pause for a moment before Dottore lets out a gasp and throws his face away, “Alright, that's it,” he growls before looking forward, “Alexei, move-”
“Wait,” Alhaitham cuts Dottore off before he can fully give out the order, making Pantalone raise an eyebrow because he didn't expect them to be this close, “I was trying to confirm his breed because I sense there's a hailstorm up North.”
… “So?” Dottore heartlessly inquires.
Alhaitham simply sends Dottore a look and that's how Pantalone finds himself at the coachman seat once again, sitting next to Dottore's servant.
Notes:
Mama falcon's are always either cute or cool. You can't change my mind.
https://x.com/buitengebieden/status/1942338090737054032?s=19
My mother adopted a stray cat from the parking lot of the school she's teaching. Her name is Mocha and she has achieved something Alhaitham in this fic can't ever achieve. Getting pregnant three months in.
Random story time.
During high school, my Javanese teacher taught me about a story and the point is in one scene, the woman asked her husband to die together and she would wait for her at the gate of heaven so that they can live together.So like, my teacher quipped about how they can be so sure they're going to heaven.
And, like. Firstly, I know the story is a folklore during age of Hinduism so if I'm taking that into account the heaven here is just a localization for Moksha. So why's this relevant? Well, they literally just have to try and try again until they get to heaven. Right? Like, genuinely unlimited retries until finish?
So anyway, my teacher didn't understand what I mean and I just gave up trying because, precisely at that moment, my brain deadass cooked up a Joongdok concept where Dokja and Joonghyuk fail at a scenario and Dokja tells him that he'll find a way to meet him at the next regression (I hadn't finished reading the novel so this kinda goes against what Dokja is trying to teach Joonghyuk) and so Joonghyuk regress again and again until he finally spawns again and again until he finds the alternate universe where Dokja is finally there.
Chapter 110
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Alhaitham is so busy zoning out that, by the time he realizes the carriage has stopped moving, he recoils away from the carriage’s door because he only notices the noises now.
Fortunately, because the carriage has stopped moving, nothing can stop Zandik from becoming a cool, romantic husband, “There, there,” he gently coos as he presses both of his hands atop Alhaitham's ears from behind, “I’m here.”
… Why in Teyvat would Zandik say that? That's literally the most pointless string of words. So what if Zandik is there? It doesn't change anything.
But the way Alhaitham's hands are grabbing his wrists as he tilts his head up until they can make eye contact speaks… appreciation?
“Thank you, love” Alhaitham softly says with a squeal and it takes everything in Zandik's willpower to not start crying because why does his wife never know when to stop making him fall for him over and over again?
“Zandik?” Alhaitham softly calls out, snapping Zandik out of his thoughts, “the carriage has stopped moving. Do you still have nausea?” he asks, the corners of his mouth teasingly lifted up into a thin smile.
…
Zandik stares at that barely there smile and can't look away.
“... Among the Segments, who's your favorite?” Zandik quietly asks, eyes never leaving Alhaitham's lips.
Ah, how stupid. What is he even trying to achieve by asking that question? The Segments are all the same. There's literally no way Alhaitham can ever have any form of favoritism.
Oh, why does ‘he’ crave to be recognized so much? His moonlight loves ‘him’. Isn't that enough?
Yet Zandik still feels bitter. He's endlessly bitter knowing that his moonlight loves every version of him the same when it's he who puts in so much work. So can't Zandik, please, be allowed to be greedy?
Ah, it'll hurt a lot if Zandik is not the favorite. His moonlight is still looking at him in stunned silence so maybe he should retract the question before it's too late. That way, maybe, he won't be too sad because his moonlight's favorite can't be h-
“It's you,” Alhaitham answers, voice so soft it's barely a whisper.
… Zandik feels really angry.
At least he does until he zones in to look at Alhaitham's face and finds him shyly looking away with his wings restlessly shifting in a misdirection attempt.
…. If his moonlight was looking at his face, it probably meant his moonlight was just saying that to see Zandik's reaction. But if his moonlight doesn't dare to look him in the eyes, then…, judging from his moonlight's personality, then it means that was a confession.
… W h y, t h o u g h ?!
Alhaitham's face scrunches up in discomfort when fat drops of tears rain on his face, “But I was never by your side when you were hurt…,” Zandik painfully whispers as tears flow from his cheeks to rain on Alhaitham's face, unbidden and uncontrollable.
Oh, it hurts to be able to feel.
Alhaitham pulls Zandik's hands off his ears so that he can twist his body to look at him face to face, “yet you were always there to pick me up,” he soothingly says, making Zandik slowly lifts his head to look at him with his teary eyes.
In those teary crimson eyes that often bathe him in warm gaze, Alhaitham can see incomprehension so, with a fond sigh, he cups Zandik's cheeks and wipes off his tears with his thumbs, “I can feel it, you know,” he whispers as he leans forward to press their foreheads together, making Zandik's wings perk up when his primordial trace is touched, “the way Doctor, Waqa, or Zazan would suddenly change their attitude after being particularly emotionally dense,” ah, it'd be impossible to not notice the way Zandik's eyes gain light, “I figured that someone must be giving them hints,” Alhaitham pauses, trying to distract Zandik from the sad thoughts he's thinking, “and it's difficult not to notice that they're acting like my Zandik.”
…
Right now, there's undoubtedly more tears rolling down his cheeks. But… Zandik doesn't care. Not when his moonlight is calling ‘his’ name.
Alhaitham doesn't realize it but, like this, Zandik can see his pretty eyes becoming prettier as stars shine in them, “My Zandik who bothered to thoughtfully spend the time to pick out a calligraphy set for me, my Zandik who tried to court me even if we are already mated to each other, my Zandik that visited me the most when I died just to have a one sided chat and show me his terrible cooking skill…,” Alhaitham pauses to take a deep shaky breath, his pairs of wings fluttering behind him, “tell me, how am I supposed to not have you as my favorite?”
Ah… Zandik loves how Alhaitham says ‘his’ name. It doesn't feel like an insult coming from him. He always sounds so neutral at worst.
“I-” Zandik sniffles, “if that's the case then convince me,” he demands as he looks away, dislodging his face from Alhaitham's hands, wings hanging low but slightly perking up in anticipation.
Alhaitham pauses for a moment before he… laughs, “Alright,” he fondly breathes out as he pulls Zandik into a tight hug that makes Zandik freeze, “how shall I prove it to my favorite husband?”
… “Ah…,” Zandik trails off, unsure, “I- say that you love me the most!” he blurts out his demand, not particularly thinking too deep and, as a result, immediately mentally screeching to a halt, “uh…-”
“I love my Zandik the most,” Alhaitham coos with a soft squeal before he starts pressing kisses on Zandik's cheeks, “I love how he always looks at me with stars in his eyes. I love how he always notices when I'm sad even though I say nothing. I love how he always tries to meet me halfway in the efforts to become a lifelong mate,” Alhaitham pauses to look at the way Zandik is all wide-eyed and blushing before he leans in to kiss his primordial trace, “I love my Zandik the most. If it's not for him, I won't ever be able to stay in this relationship for long,” he whispers, lips fondly pulling on the soft plumes on Zandik's forehead.
… “Stop…,” Zandik whines a caw, now embarrassed.
Alhaitham giggles and, instead of pulling away, peppers more kisses on Zandik's primordial trace, “No,” he playfully chirps as his pairs of wings flutter behind him, “it's rare for you to be around so it's about time I finally give you the appreciation you deserve.”
Zandik lets out an anguished crow but, in the end, he simply pulls Alhaitham closer by the waist and returns the kisses with the same fervor.
Yet, being able to love and be loved in return feels unbearably good.
“Okay, I'm all cheered up now,” Zandik abruptly says as he happily gazes into Alhaitham's eyes, wings now all perked up.
Alhaitham stares at those eyes that have regained their warmth and can't help but laugh, “Then let's have our honeymoon?”
Hearing that, Zandik just gets cheerier and flaps his wings in excitement, “Yeah, let's-” the smile on his face turns stiff as he abruptly cuts himself off, “wait inside for a moment to adjust your earpieces. I'll be back soon,” he seriously says though he still has a smile on his lips.
Before Alhaitham can even asks what he's about to do, Zandik has worn his mask and slipped out of the carriage. The door slides open and shut so quickly that Alhaitham doesn't even get the chance to have a good look of where they are. But… Alhaitham thinks he saw colorful flags. Are they… no. Let's just wait for Zandik to tell him rather than speculating. It… will be more fun this way.
Outside the carriage, Dottore is immediately comes face to face with Pantalone who's casually sitting on the coachman seat with his wings folded neatly behind him.
“Hmm,” Pantalone hums as he thoughtfully taps his fingertips together, “congratulations on being the favorite.”
Dottore's wing flexes in annoyance but then he simply lets out a sigh, “Thank you,” he proudly says with a puffed up chest, “as a reward for your kind words, I'm not going to take your kidney-” he cuts himself off when he sees Pantalone excitedly opens his mouth and raises a finger up, “on the condition that you leave now.”
Pantalone visibly deflates while Alexei is looking visibly uncomfortable. Serves him right. As Alhaitham's servant, he should have prevented this pervert from listening in on them.
“Alexei,” Dottore calmly calls though it still makes the servant straightens his back as if he just yelled at him.
“... Yes, My Lord?” Alexei fearfully inquires, barely able to turn his head to be bowed towards Dottore's general direction.
Dottore's mouth curves up into a little mischievous smile, “You're done here. Return to The Residence and make sure The Regrator comes with you. Is that understood?”
Alexei lets out a wheeze that sounds suspiciously akin to him losing his soul, “I-” Alexei tries to decline but when he raises his head, he finds that His Lordship is still smiling at him and can't help but feel a shiver runs down his spine, “I- I- I understand, My Lord.”
Pantalone, who was amusedly listening to their exchange with crossed arms, immediately lets out a snort, “Now, what makes you think he can prevent me from doing what I want?”
Dottore flicks his wings as he grandly gestures at himself with his own hands, “The fact that you might end up owing me your kidney.”
….
The carriage door gently slides open after a soft knock. Alhaitham's pairs of wings immediately perk up and he turns to look at who opened it.
Zandik is standing there, wings slightly flared in such a way that prevents Alhaitham from immediately seeing everything, “May I have your hand, My Lady?” he asks as he extends a hand into the carriage with a big smile on his masked face.
Ah, that smile is so contagious that Alhaitham can't help but smile too, “It'd be my pleasure, My Lord,” he says as he places his hand on the offered hand and stands up, “will you tell me where we are?” Alhaitham asks as he carefully tries to step out of the carriage.
“Snezhnaya,” Zandik says, which makes Alhaitham look at him with an unamused look but it only makes Zandik's smile widens into a grin, “hehe, to be precise, we are at a famous moon eclipse festival,” he says as he finally steps aside to allow Alhaitham looks at the festivities, "or at least what will be."
Or… the frozen festivities because the moment it's clear to the citizens that they won't be leaving anytime soon, they immediately freeze in fear. What a shame. The decorations look quite pretty with their unusual choice of color palette. Unfortunately, all Alhaitham can focus on is the look on the citizens’ face.
Fear. Uncertainty. Dawning realization. Defeat. Then, lastly, disappointment that quickly turns to annoyance. Ah, they aren't welcomed here.
Alhaitham's lower pair of wings twitch and, suddenly, he realizes that these looks might not only be directed at his husband, “Please tell me you've made a reservation,” Alhaitham tensely whispers to Zandik.
“Why, of course, I have,” Zandik says in a normal volume that makes the citizens flinch back in fear, “who do you take me for? I've talked to their chief, as a matter of fact.”
Right at that moment, a woman's voice strongly cuts through the fearful silence, “Hurry up, everyone! At this rate we are going to be late for the eclipse. I better find an incoming natural disaster at our gate since you people are frozen in pla-” and she finally appears in their vision to immediately pause the moment she sees the reason why her people are acting dead, namely natural disasters.
“Oh,” the woman tiredly mutters as she sees The he Doctor waves at her, “just get back to work, everyone. They're supposed to be here,” she says as she tightens her thick coat around herself just in case she'd have to switch to combat, not bothering to even lower her voice.
“So the esteemed Second of the Fatui Harbinger does come,” the woman says as she languidly walks towards them, “I'm not sure which is more surprising. The fact that The Doctor has the time to visit a festival so far away from the Citadel, the fact that The Doctor has a ‘wife’ that's very clearly a grown ass man, or the fact that The Doctor is visiting a festival so far away from the Citadel to have a honeymoon with his ‘wife’ that's very clearly a grown ass man.”
…
“Yeah. It genuinely sounds ridiculous, isn't it?” Alhaitham asks as he looks away to hide his amusement.
Oh? That surprises the woman a little bit. She had expected that The Doctor was so cruel for forcing a man to become his trophy wife but… this is probably just the result of nobility bullshits, isn't it? Well, judging from how The Doctor is just smiling even when his ‘wife’ is speaking out of turn, she's probably right.
The woman lets out a laugh and theatrically bows at Alhaitham, “Well, now that you're already here, please stay to enjoy the festivities, My Lady. It'd be a shame to not to when you and your husband have rode the carriage this far,” she says before peeking up to look at The Doctor and finds him still just silently smiling at his wife without any intention to take the reins of the conversation.
“Thank you,” Alhaitham says with a nod, “I assume you're the chief my mate mentioned?”
The woman nods, “Bullseye, sweet…,” she trails off when The Doctor suddenly snaps his head to face her with an unnaturally wide smile, “... My Lady,” she reiterates and almost throws up with disgust when The Doctor returns to look at his wife with a besotted smile –ew, disgustingly in love Avian, “The name is Valentina but feel free to just call me Chief.”
Alhaitham politely nods but, before he can open his mouth to introduce himself, Zandik steps forward between them, “And you may address my mate as His Ladyship. Now, if you'll excuse us, we will go spend our time as planned,” then he drags Alhaitham away by the hand.
Chief Valentina stares at their intertwined hands and can't help but press a hand to her mouth. Archon, are nobilities these days so obscene? How can they so openly flaunt their love for each other like that? She very much prefers it when they put up shows of being in love. At least then she won't feel too much like she's violating their privacies when she inadvertently has to monitor them. Now, she probably has to make a special team that'll quickly stop people from finding the couple just in case they get too loving, doesn't she?
Ugh.
The choice of color palette for decorations at a festival usually differs vastly from the location. In Natlan, decorations are typically colorful murals. In Mondstadt, they use fresh flowers and wind wheels. In Inazuma, they use paper that is cut or folded. In Liyue, the decorations are inspired by mystical beasts. In Sumeru, it's easy to find decorations with more decorations on top.
But in Snezhnaya, it seems like they're fond of glass and ice. Which makes sense. Less resources to create. But it probably requires a higher level of skill.
Not that Alhaitham is going to complain. They're quite beautiful. Shining and glittering as they weave along branches of stubborn trees.
The sound of Zandik's soft laughter snaps Alhaitham from his observation to look at him, “Beautiful, isn't it?” Zandik asks as he walks next to Alhaitham, smiling expectantly.
Alhaitham pauses for a moment before he leans to affectionately bump their shoulders together and squeeze Zandik's hand in his, “I suppose they do,” he says as they walk together through a path canopied by icy ornaments hanging from dried branches, “so tell me why are we walking away from the festival.”
Zandik bursts out laughing for a moment before he quickly presses a hand to his mouth to stop himself, “We aren't actually going to participate in the festival, moonlight. Our participation will greatly affect their behavior,” Zandik says as he smiles knowingly at Alhaitham, “and you asked that as if you can even bear being in the crowds.”
Alhaitham's steps stagger for a second before he quickly matches their pace again with his pairs of wings ruffled from indignation.
“I-”
“Don't forget to add the fact that your hearing has become even more sensitive than before,” Zandik cuts Alhaitham off with a smug know-it-all smirk.
… Alhaitham wonders if this is what others feel when he corrects them.
Alhaitham returns to look at the dangling decorations with a huff, not forgetting to smack the back of Zandik's head with his upper wing when he lets out a triumphant chuckle, “Then what's so good at our destination that you endured hours of motion sickness just so that we can see it?” he asks, now curious.
“The festival,” Zandik cheerfully crows.
Alhaitham abruptly stops walking to close his eyes and take a deep breath, inadvertently also pulling his mate to a stop, “Zandik,” Alhaitham calmly calls as he pinches the bridge of his nose, “have I ever told you that you have a very annoying habit of giving halved information?”
… Ouch.
Zandik awkwardly scratches the back of his neck with a chuckle, “I'm sorry,” he only manages to sheepishly say, too distracted from the way his ears ring due to the loud laughter filling the link.
Alhaitham finally opened his eyes to look at Zandik. Ah, his mate's wings are limp with sadness. Was Alhaitham too harsh with his wording?
Alhaitham lets out a sigh as he gently touches Zandik's cheek… and then pinches and pulls it so hard that Zandik crows loudly in pain and frantically flaps his wings, “Oh, it’s only annoying at times so there's no need to apologize,” Alhaitham amusedly says as he soothingly pats the red mark he just created.
[No,] Prime quickly comments to the link, [Hayi, you rarely have to deal with it. It's annoying all the time so don't feel bad. You should punish him more.]
Zandik pitifully lets out a whine to Alhaitham at the cruelty his cheek just suffered but he still responds to the link, [We can't do that in public, Prime.]
Silence, before Prime vehemently crows, [That is not- wait, no. Did you just imply you're above public sex?]
And, in Zandik's signature move, he ignores the link, “But I'm still annoying to you,” he sadly states.
“Yes,” Alhaitham bluntly affirms, which hurts to the point Zandik deflates in sadness so much that Alhaitham has to hold both of his shoulders to make sure he won't melt to the snowy ground to mope, “so you'll be less annoying if you'd just explain to me what you meant.”
Zandik holds Alhaitham's wrists as he exaggeratedly makes himself look very sad –because he's wearing his mask, Zandik isn't sure if his moonlight can tell his theatrics, “But I want to give you a surprise….”
Alhaitham's pairs of wings silently flare in agitation as his lips stretch into an annoyed smile, “Then, please, next time don't tell me anything at all,” Alhaitham calmly says but the markings on his face are becoming tinted with red.
Zandik stares at his moonlight's markings with fascination from behind his mask, “But then you won't be looking forward to the surprise nor try to guess what it is,” he argues with his head tilted curiously as his moonlight's eyes start glowing prettier deadlier.
Sigma Build instantly lets out a snort to the link, [When you've only ever played psychological warfare and it shows.]
…
Alhaitham, still with his annoyed smile forcefully pasted on his lips, slowly takes a deep breath –and Zandik watches with even more fascination as he notices through the small gap between his moonlight's lips that all of his teeth are steadily becoming pointier and jagged, “Then just tell me that it's a surprise,” Alhaitham ‘says’.
Zandik blinks. Wait, did his moonlight really say something? What language was that?
[Uhh…,] Alpha Build hesitantly pipes into the link, [you definitely should stop toying with Hayi. He looks like he's about to get you folded,] he warns before quickly adding, [and it doesn't matter whether you'll win or not. The point is that we haven't monitored Hayi’s abilities after his ascension so don't test it alone because he might hurt himself.]
Zandik takes that as an invitation to grab his moonlight's head and makes out with him.
… Yeah.
Notes:
I keep writing Dottotham being in love due to several reasons. 1) I can genuinely see their potenTIAL TO BECOME A LOVING COUPLEEEE. 2) dead dove isn't my style. 3) I'm trying to make INeedFanfic grow bored of lovey dovey Dottotham that he'd just finally start writing toxic, dead dove Dottotham.
This is a real issue, bro. You gotta understand that when you said you always see Dottotham ending up dying together in a fire, I'm intrigued and very much like the idea but I have my own ideas and I put them as my top priority because I suffer from being a perfectionist and I can only do it myself.
For example, I'm seeing Dottotham's version of "will you still love me if I was a worm".
The night is quiet here. Though their place still needs a few more furniture and random shinies they picked up on a travel to feel like home, this is still the most Zandik has ever felt home. It doesn't mean that Zandik can fall asleep anytime soon, though.
It's quite unfortunate that, unlike his other versions, Zandik doesn't have too physically taxing tasks. Therefore, it's difficult for him to fall asleep. A pity. Zandik would very much love to fall asleep next to his moonlight and finds that they've curled into each other's arms when he wakes up.
But... Being unable to sleep has its own benefits. For example, it gives Zandik more chances to stare at his moonlight's face without any disturbance. And it's truly such a sight. Ah, his moonlight always looks so beautiful, trusting, and cute when he's asleep. If he wants to, he can probably get together with anyone.
...
Zandik pokes Alhaitham's cheek over and over until Alhaitham peeks an eye open with a groan, "What?" Alhaitham grumbles, sounding as if he's about to maul his mate for disturbing his sleep.
"Promise me you'll kill me first if you want to cheat on me," Zandik absolutely says, no preamble nor finesse.
Alhaitham's eyebrows twitch in annoyance as he sleepily glares at his husband, "Hah?" he growls.
Zandik urgently cups Alhaitham's cheek as his eyes genuinely start tearing up, "Please promise me," he begs.
The corner of Alhaitham's eye twitches in irritation, "I will," he agrees without the slightest hint of hesitation, which actually makes Zandik flaps his wings happily but, at the same time, also irritates Alhaitham even more, "Zandik, I agreed so please go to sleep now."
Zandik obediently settles down but he still mumbles, "But I don't need to sleep."
Alhaitham annoyedly headbutts Zandik's collarbone and buries his head under his chin, "Well, I do. So shut up and cuddle me in silence," he demands.
I'm not telling you to stop telling me your hc, bro. But why stop at hc when you can add a few more words and it'll turn into a fic?
Also, I do think of ways they would die. I imagine Alhaitham's ascencion will have a side effect that slowly turns him into an Irminsul tree. Zandik, unable to adapt to being alone again, kills himself to always be together with his moonlight. Basically adding more clause to their vow into "together in life and death then back to life again and beyond death."
Chapter 111
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
When the teeth peeked from between his moonlight's smiling lips, they looked pretty dangerous. They looked all jagged and pointy like the jaw of a bleeder. But now that Zandik has his tongue feeling up all those teeth, he can say that his moonlight's teeth are more akin to a venomous animal’s jaw.
Wait, does that mean his moonlight has a venomous sack he can feel up somewhere around here?
Zandik grips Alhaitham's waist and pulls him close, making Alhaitham snap out of his surprise at being kissed so deeply as Zandik's cold mask presses against the bridge of his nose. Alhaitham tries to pull back, not keen on being distracted from lecturing his husband because of a simple kiss. Unfortunately for Alhaitham, the kiss isn't as simple as he thought and Zandik seems to just know where to press his tongue on.
Hm, on second thought, venomous animals have sharp fangs, not a whole jaw full of sharp teeth. His moonlight's teeth are a sharp set of fangs, canines, incisors, a couple variations of molars, and… wait, what is this shape?
“Mngh~” Alhaitham whimpers, his pairs of wings fluttering behind him from lack of air.
Alhaitham’s eyelids are getting droopy. He grabs his husband's lapel and pulls on them weakly. Ah, his husband planned this, didn't he? Depriving him of oxygen so that he is too disoriented to scold him? Sneaky bastard.
Zandik growls into Alhaitham's mouth when he feels that the sharp teeth he's trying to study start to revert their transformation.
No. Not now. He only has to identify one more shape of teeth!
Slightly annoyed, Zandik slides a leg between Alhaitham's legs and pulls him onto his thigh. He grips his mate's hips even tighter as he desperately tries to feel up more of those teeth that are now barely different from normal Avian teeth. His wings even subconsciously flare in both possessiveness and irritation around them.
Unfortunately, it's too late. Alhaitham's teeth have returned to normal now. Perhaps he should annoy his moonlight again. It'll probably earn him something unpleasant but it's for science.
Zandik pulls back from the kiss with the intention to annoy the shit out of his wife but that intention immediately flies out of his head.
Reddened cheeks, saliva coating swollen lips, droopy eyelids with dazed and unfocused eyes, and a bit of panting….
Zandik smirks, [My, our mate sure is submissive,] he purrs appreciatively to the link as he kisses off a smidge of saliva from the corner of Alhaitham's mouth, “Delectable, My Lady,” he croons to his moonlight's cheek.
Hearing that, Alhaitham's eyebrow twitches and his pairs of wings flex in annoyance. Oh, what a sneaky bastard. Maybe Alhaitham should smack him again.
Thankfully for Zandik, Alhaitham is too weak kneed to be anything other than docile.
Still panting slightly, Alhaitham petulantly wraps his arms around Zandik's neck, “Since you insist that I follow you without telling me where we are headed to, you have to carry me. Otherwise, I will return to the village without you,” he threatens as he annoyedly plants his face at the crook of Zandik's neck, more to hide his embarrassment at acting so uncharacteristically childish than anything else.
Alhaitham really doesn't know why. He has been acting more playful around his husband lately. Especially so around Zandik. He's just so silly, Alhaitham supposes.
At Alhaitham's demands, Zandik lets out a laugh that sounds doting instead of exasperated that it makes Alhaitham's pair of wings tremble, “As you wish, princess,” he teases as he hooks an arm under Alhaitham's knees and lifts his mate up.
Alhaitham's arms wrap around Zandik's neck a bit tighter, not expecting that he'd agree so easily, “I-” he stutters before he lets out a huff and pretends that he doesn't care, “suit yourself. But, if you drop me, I'm not letting you kiss me for a week.”
Zandik lets out a wounded crow though he's still smiling, “Ah, truly a grave punishment for the gravest of sin,” he solemnly utters as he starts walking, “how utterly appropriate, my moonlight.”
Alhaitham lets out a scoff at Zandik's theatrics but he can't help but smile at it too –which he quickly hides by resting his chin on Zandik's shoulder to look at the trail his husband left behind, “That being said, do put me down if you're getting too tired,” Alhaitham softly says as he narrows his eyes suspiciously at the dry bush that just moved, “can't have my husband too tired to enjoy the honeymoon, after all.”
Zandik barks out a laugh, “Oh, no no no. You're getting it all wrong, dearest moonlight,” he says as he tilts his head so that his cheek is pressing against Alhaitham's hair, “this is already the start of my honeymoon with you. So just hold tight and praise me to give me strength.”
Alhaitham lets out a fond snort and nuzzles his nose to Zandik's shoulder in contentment though he can't help but ask, “Why do we keep being followed everywhere we go?”
….
Zandik lets out an awkward laugh and raises his wings to block Alhaitham's view of their stalkers, “This is the price of having a VVIP existence,” he says with a sigh before letting out a sad caw, “wait, no. Why do you pay more attention to them than me? Where's my praise?”
All things considered, this place is better than most of the land in Snezhnaya. Sure, there are monsters everywhere and there's absolutely no power line here but the fact that the temperature here is higher than the port in Snezhnaya is already saying something. Oh, and the Abyssal monster is pretty much just another form of “willing” test subjects.
The cost of developing this land will be steep, though. Like, the depth between continental shelf and continental rise kind of steep. Though that cost really only applies if there's any need to hire other factions around here or to bribe a good relationship with them.
Since, right now, this part of Nod-Krai is not inhabited due to the Abyssal corruption, it's safe to assume that he can abuse squatter rights here. Well, as long as he can find the source of the Abyssal corruption and build a containment facility around it –possibly also find a way to convert it into something more useful, then there will be, at the very least, a guaranteed surplus return. So, really, everything is only a matter of getting the development supplies here.
[Isn't there a town there? Why not try to find supply there?] Sigma Build asks to the link.
Alpha Build flicks his wings in utter astonishment, [Did you really just suggest that I get supplies from drifters and scavengers?] he asks, baffled that his younger Segment dares to propose such a notion.
[Y'know what?] Sigma Build immediately responds, sensing the incoming jeer, [no. I did not. You hallucinated the whole thing.]
Yeah, no, [Oh, for Prime sake, my younger self thought that building a facility responsible to contain a highly dangerous energy using scraps of dubious quality] Alpha Build dramatically laments, [oh, people said blasphemy is the worst sin but, truly, it is actually shortsightedness.]
… Sigma Build takes a deep breath in the link before he very seriously says, [I'm going to tell Hayi that you bullied me if you don't shut up.]
…
Alpha Build does shut up. But it's mostly because he wonders what even is the weight of that threat. Well, I guess Sigma Build thinks that threat means anything because he's mommy's little bitch. But, unfortunately for Sigma Build, Alpha Build is a grown up.
And it's precisely because Alpha Build is such a grown up that he changes the subject, [Should we collaborate with the other Harbingers, Prime?]
Prime clicks his tongue in mild annoyance, [We'll consider that once we've identified the source of Abyssal corruption,] he decides, quicker that Alpha Build expected –he must be mentally tired from observing the Avian mating documentary then, [Since Nod-Krai is not a part of any nation, It's pretty obvious that there will be faction disputes all over the territory. That'll be enough of a headache on its own so don't add other Harbingers into the equation. Especially when it comes to establishing the facility.]
Right. Among the Eleven Harbingers, ‘he’ is the only one given permission to operate in Nod-Krai. Though The Tsaritsa can definitely give something better than a blessing to operate in other territory than Snezhnaya –especially since Omega Build specifically hinted that the purpose of the land he requested is to build a home, Nod-Krai truly suits him the most.
Oh, the native inhabitants can frown at him all they want. What are they gonna do? Pray to the Archon of their nation? Heh.
So, really, Nod-Krai is the most suitable place for them. The people mind their own business. And if they do mind, they are probably too powerless to do anything to oppose ‘him’.
Still though, Alpha Build doesn't really like the prospect of having a home with Hayi so close to the Abyssal corruption source. There might be a chance that Hayi has some resistance to Abyssal corruption now that he has ascended. But, there's no telling just how good his resistance is and isn't it better to avoid it altogether than risk it?
Well, that kind of question is best assessed after further observation. Right now, Alpha Build can do something much more productive than speculating. Namely, start exterminating the Abyssal monsters.
“And… we've arrived,” Zandik softly says as he gently jostles Alhaitham up in his arms to wake him up.
“Is that so?” Alhaitham mumbles as he sleepily blinks his eyes and pulls back just so that he can look at Zandik's masked face, “huh, why didn't you wake me up?”
Zandik lets a small, prideful grin appear on his lips, “Because I wondered if I can carry you here without waking you up~” he playfully crows.
Ah, Alhaitham wants to kiss his mate so bad but he playfully bites Zandik's cheek instead, reaping a surprised yelp from Zandik, “Ow, why?!” Zandik squawks even though it doesn't hurt.
“Because my husband is really adorable,” Alhaitham warmly says, his lips spread into a small grin so endearing Zandik can't help but want to pull him closer, “I can't help it.”
Zandik playfully lets out a wounded crow as he gazes into his beloved moonlight's eyes through his mask with enough adoration to make Alhaitham feel it, “If I'm truly adorable then why would you bite me?” he asks as he rubs Alhaitham's nose against the tip of his mask, “it hurts….”
Alhaitham softly chuckles and cups Zandik's cheek apologetically gently, “Then, shall I kiss it better?”
Zandik gravely nods, “I’m afraid that's the only appropriate price for the pain you subjected me to, my love.”
Alhaitham smushes Zandik's cheeks in response, “You said that, as if kissing you to cure your pain is a big favor from me,” Alhaitham chides before he leans in to kiss Zandik's cheek.
But Zandik, the sneaky bastard, quickly tilts his head up so that, instead of pressing against Zandik's cheek, Alhaitham's lips press against his own lips instead.
Alhaitham can't help it anymore. He giggles into the kiss before pulling back so that he can shower his husband with face kisses. It starts from Zandik's so-called hurting cheek, then to his mask, to his other cheek, his mask again, his chin, and pretty much every part of his face that Alhaitham can reach. The most adoring of kisses just for his most loving husband.
. . .
Alhaitham gives Zandik a lot of face kisses so it takes some time. But it still takes more time because Zandik refuses to place him down so Alhaitham has to pepper him with another shower of kisses. Not that Alhaitham minds. His mate loves getting kisses so for what reason must he stop kissing him?
Zandik giggles happily as he finally lets Alhaitham down onto his own feet, his wings ruffling happily from the shower of love, “Alright, that's all the kisses needed for you to pay off your fine,” he playfully says before grabbing Alhaitham's shoulders and turns him to face their destination and not letting them go, “sadly, that doesn't cover your release.”
Alhaitham lets out an amused huff at the joke but he can't say anything because he's too busy understanding what he's seeing.
It seems that the journey to get to the small clearing they're at from the village was quite long since it's already dark now. Alhaitham didn't notice it too much because there are little warm-hued lamps on the snow to light the place dimly, just enough to mimic the lighting of the last light after sunset. There's a loveseat that's currently covered with a layer of sheet so that snow won't accumulate there and a little square table in front of it adorned with a base full of beautiful flowers and sweets that are only able to be left outside because they're in Snezhnaya.
The wind is a bit strong here. Alhaitham supposes it's because they're in a high altitude area –judging from the cliff in front of the table that allows him to see glacial statues that are now erected at the village. And, Alhaitham guesses, Zandik brings him here to see the festival.
Alhaitham exasperatedly chuckles. How extra. They could've just joined the festival in the village –Alhaitham will bear with the noises– like a normal couple but his husband just has to have a private observation dais.
Alhaitham lets out a fond sigh before he twists his head back to look at Zandik, who's smiling expectantly at him, “Have you planned how we are going to return to the village after this?” he teasingly asks.
Zandik's wings perk up with pride, “Oh, we aren't returning for today,” he answers as he gestures at the tent behind him, “we will camp here and see the stars.”
Alhaitham doesn't look forward to that. He has had enough of riding a cramped carriage, he doesn't want to sleep in a tent as well. But… Alhaitham supposes that this will be fine.
Because that tent is huge. Like, really huge. How in Teyvat did Alhaitham not see that?
Alhaitham lets out an appreciative hum, which makes Zandik puffs his chest with pride, “Well, I guess that takes care of everything,” Alhaitham comments as he carefully steps towards the loveseat, “there's probably also risks of falling from the cliff but I trust that we're both careful enough to not let that happen.”
Zandik quickly follows Alhaitham without any fear of falling and takes a seat next to him, “Does that mean you won't catch me if I fall?” he asks, a hand pressed above his heart in mock hurt.
Alhaitham raises an eyebrow, “Do you want to find out?”
Zandik's smile stiffens for a while before he quickly snorts, “No,” he amusedly says before looking down at the village, “not right now,” he softly murmurs to the wind as he snakes an arms around Alhaitham's waist and gently pulls him closer, “it's about to start.”
Alhaitham lets out a hum that matches the softness of Zandik's murmur, “You still haven't told me anything about this festival,” he comments as he rests his head on Zandik's shoulder, his pairs of wings leaning heavily against Zandik's wings to keep each other warm.
Zandik snaps his finger as if he just remembers, “Ah, I almost forgot about that,” he softly says, the tone of his voice almost lulling Alhaitham back to sleep again, “well, technically, this is a ritual to ensure healthy offsprings.”
Alhaitham blinks before a shy flush slowly rises up his cheeks, “I- I thought you'd agree that this kind of thing is just superstition?”
Oh, Zandik can just easily tell from Alhaitham's stutter that he's blushing without looking at him, “I do,” he gently says before gently massaging Alhaitham's hip, “but what hurt taking you to watch this will be? Besides, I must say that the festival itself is quite the sight.”
Just as Zandik says that, a lone firework shoots up into the sky with a whistling sound. It explodes alone in the sky, releasing sparkles of silvery wisps as if they're made of celestial dust. Those wisps form a full moon shape before they dance down with the lead of gravity, twinkling down until there's nothingness.
As the last of those wisps fades away, a solemn silence falls in the area. Everything is so quiet as if even the littlest of insects is heartily praying to the Archon. Then, Alhaitham's breath slows down in amazement as the moon shines brighter than he has ever seen.
The full moon shines down its rays of gentle light. The pillars of light almost look like it'll be really soft to the touch. Almost as if it spreads warmth in the cold of Everwinter.
Down there, Alhaitham can see that the village has extinguished every light, leaving the moon as their sole source of light. Thus Alhaitham can't help but look up at the sky again. The moon is a big and steady object amidst the flickering stars and dancing aurora. It almost feels as if the moon will always be there, a never changing protector that will watch its subject.
“Breathtaking, no?” Zandik’s soft voice is the first to gently cut through the silence, “it's easy to become a god in the eyes of humans, don't you think?” he asks again as he looks at Alhaitham from behind his mask, “all that's necessary is to show grandeur that inspires awe and they'd revere you with their life.”
There is something in Zandik's voice that makes Alhaitham look at him.
Zandik subconsciously smiles when he can fully see Alhaitham’s face. Oh, ever since he first saw him sleeping under the shower of moonlight, he has always wanted to bring him here. So crushingly ethereal, more divine than any god.
Zandik slowly raises his gloved hand to hold Alhaitham's face that looks as if it's absorbing the moonlight from the way it glows, touches exceedingly light as if he's afraid of committing transgressions, “Alhaitham,” he softly calls, making Alhaitham subconsciously straightens his back because he has never heard Zandik calls him by his name, “may ‘I’ please have the honor of becoming the father of your child?”
Alhaitham is too helpless against the way his eyes are getting all blurry, “I- I don't want to have an offspring with an idiot,” he stutters as a few drops of tears trails down his smiling face.
Zandik tilts his head to the side as he gently brushes Alhaitham's tears off his face with soft chuckles, “Now, I don't consider myself to be intellectually challenged, much less an idiot, you know?”
Alhaitham wetly laughs, “Then why'd you ask?” he asks before wrapping his arms around Zandik's neck in a tight hug, “you're my husband, aren't you?” he says, voice as soft and gentle as the moonlight bathing them both.
Zandik's smile softens as he wraps his arms around Alhaitham's waist and gently hugs him. They've never really talked about this but he will take that as a yes.
Notes:
*reads draft*
Chapter... 111?
... How did we get here?
May us all pray for INeedFanfic who's supposed to get 30% on his test but somehow ended up with 2% (his words).
He hasn't said anything since he told me this so I guess I'll take that as my cue to prepare a life size Dottore cut-out sneering down at his grave with a text bubble saying "skill issue".
Random Genshin ramble.
Is Ineffa meta? No. Probably not yet. Am I pulling for her? Yes. Will I pull for Aino too? YES.
I saw the potential of Alhaitham trying to adopt her and ever since I heard her ranting about a boy bullying her by saying her robots are useless that's why she doesn't have a family, I want Alhaitham to adopt her even more.
Oh, I can just see Alhaitham and Dottore having custody battles on the correct way to raise her.
Chapter 112
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
As fake as the sky is, at least it's beautiful at night. Oh, perhaps Zandik should give the moon a courtesy for giving such a gentle light that gives his wifey the backdrop he deserves. This is totally romantic. Zandik is finally being a cool, romantic husband to his moonlight.
Which –judging from the way things are leading to– Zandik also has to ruin with a PSA intermission.
Damn it.
“Moonlight,” Zandik softly calls as he passively looks at the village down the cliff while resting his chin on Alhaitham's shoulder, earning him a questioning hum from Alhaitham, “how much do you want my baby?”
…
Alhaitham secretly bites his lower lip as his hands start massaging the back of Zandik's neck with the intention of something much less innocent than a hug, “Why don't I just show you how much I want you to become a daddy?”
Zandik's lips instantly twitch into a helpless smile. He leans heavily towards Alhaitham, his feathers ruffling with excitement at the implications in Alhaitham's words. Yet, at the same time, he's also feeling a bit exasperated.
He… wasn't trying to initiate sex –it’s his fault for wording it like that, though. Zandik was trying to ask how important it is for Alhaitham to have his offspring. But now Zandik is too damn intrigued to give the warning he must give.
To be or not to be, that is the question.
Finally, Zandik lets out a really sad crow as he kneads Alhaitham's hips to vent his frustration, “Moonlight, nooo,” he whines disheartenedly, inwardly mourning the lost sex, “I'm trying to have a serious talk with you.”
Alhaitham's pairs of wings merrily flap as he pulls back from the hug with a laugh, “Really?” he asks, head teasingly tilted to the side, “I couldn't tell.”
Zandik exaggerates a sad frown, “Oh, I'm looking forward to your demonstration but we do need to have this talk first.”
Alhaitham lets out another chuckle before he quickly takes a deep breath and asks, “Do you not want us to have our own fledgling?” he asks with a careful smile on his lips.
Zandik suddenly grabs both of Alhaitham's cheeks and smushes them, making Alhaitham lets out a surprised squeal, “To voice out Sigma Build’s utter befuddlement,” he starts with a steady voice even though his hands are subjecting Alhaitham's cheeks to all the cute aggression he has kept buried deep within, “why is it that you are more fixated on whether or not it's possible to have a baby ‘I’ fathered than the feasibility of a man – you – being pregnant and birthing safely?”
For a moment, Alhaitham can only stare at Zandik with wide eyes before he opens his mouth, “Because you are The Doctor,” he says so matter of factly that Zandik wants to eat his face.
A long time passes in silence where Zandik simply smushes Alhaitham's cheeks in his hands as they look into each other's eyes before Zandik finally responds, “I… am quite sure you know that my moniker is pretty much just a sarcasm.”
And here, Alhaitham purposefully looks at Zandik with those pretty eyes of his, “Whether it's a sarcasm or not is completely unrelated to your skill,” Alhaitham says, making Zandik wonders if this is an assassination attempt since his chest is squeezing his heart really tightly especially when Alhaitham's pairs of wings start perking up with pride as he continues, “I know for a fact that you know what will happen to me best if I do end up getting pregnant and I'm also sure that you'll take care of me,” Alhaitham says, sounding both so proud and trustful that Zandik wants to find the furthest hole from here to roll around and squeal in.
Zandik feels his face getting hotter and his lips twitching into a smile he can't quite quell despite the severity of what he is trying to warn his moonlight about, “... Just because I'm proficient at what I'm doing doesn't mean that there's no danger, moonlight.”
“I know,” Alhaitham says as he finally pries Zandik's hands off his cheeks and hold them reassuringly, “and I also know that you'll tell me the truth,” he says as he leans forward to affectionately rub their cheeks against each other before pulling back again, “that includes whether it'll be okay for me to continue forward with the pregnancy or if I have to terminate the little one.”
Zandik's hands stiffen in Alhaitham's holds. Ah, of course his mate knows what he's trying to bring up. Perhaps Zandik should apologize for assuming that his moonlight doesn't think it through.
Alhaitham intertwines both of their hands together with a sweet smile, “Is that everything you want to tell me?”
Zandik stares at Alhaitham for a moment longer, heart still swelling with inflated ego as he tries to recall other things he has to mention, before he finally says, “Ye-”
Before Zandik can even finish his word, Alhaitham has dragged him off the loveseat and practically carries him to the tent he has prepared, “then let's make some babies~” he coos as his pairs of wings flap excitedly behind him.
Before Zandik can even remotely respond to that, he suddenly finds himself thrown onto the high quality soft mattress with flower petals scattered on top he has prepared. He lies dazed on the mattress for just a second before he quickly pushes himself up to his elbow –just in time to see Alhaitham shrugging off his outer coat. Oh, Zandik swears he feels a shiver go down his spine when Alhaitham slowly stalks closer to him with unblinking eyes.
But then Alhaitham pauses with a blink of his pretty eyes as he finally takes in the interior of the tent.
The tent somehow feels more vast than what it looked outside even though there's some furniture inside. Just to test his observation, Alhaitham tries to spread his pairs of wings wide and flap them lightly. He doesn't accidentally bump any of his wings against anything. As expected of Zandik. So thoughtful with everything.
“This is not how I wanted you to find out,” Zandik quietly complains as he drags himself to the edge of the mattress so that he can store his mask on the nightstand.
Alhaitham is pretty sure he couldn't see in the dark before but, now, he can see that Zandik is sulkily twiddling with a flower petal in his hand. It's not just any flower petal, though. Alhaitham is pretty sure that, judging from the scent, it's a sumeru rose petal. As a matter of fact, he can also smell the scent of an incense he usually used around his house back when he still lived in Sumeru.
Alhaitham folds back his wings behind him and carefully steps towards the mattress to sit down next to his husband, “Why the Sumeru theme?” he softly asks, his upper pair of wings apologetically bumping against Zandik's wings.
Zandik tenses up before he fakes a nonchalant shrug, “Most Avians tend to migrate to their birth place to mate. I thought you'd find this…,” he trails off as he waves his hands around, trying to find the right word, “... familiar?” he hesitantly guesses before offering the flower petal he was playing with to Alhaitham.
Alhaitham looks at the flower petal for a moment before he takes it, a fond smile gently blooming on his lips, “Well, aren't you quite the romantic,” he warmly comments as he affectionately leans to his husband's shoulder.
Zandik lets out a disgruntled grunt at his moonlight's teasing –even though he's inwardly cheering with happiness, “...so what of it?” he really quietly asks.
Alhaitham softly chuckles as he gently reaches out to Zandik's ringed hand, “Nothing. It's just that I might have a sudden change in mood,” ah, their matching rings are really nice to look at, “can you be gentle with me tonight?”
…
At this moment, a certain memory from another Segment flashes through Zandik's mind.
“Do you know why I like it intense?”
Subconsciously, Zandik leans back so that he can look at Alhaitham fully. Alhaitham lets out a startled squeal when the support he's leaning against suddenly disappears but he pointedly keeps his eyes away from meeting with Zandik's surprised own. But that's precisely how Zandik is able to see how Alhaitham's cheeks redden deeply in the dark before his feathers ruffle madly and he quickly hides his face with his arms.
“Quit staring,” Alhaitham softly whines a squeal, sounding a bit winded from being too flustered, “I'm sorry I changed the mood abruptly, okay?” he complains before he shifts his arms around so that he can peek at his husband, “... I just thought that doing it gently will fit the occasion more,” he quietly mumbles, making Zandik's heart stutters.
Zandik's wings start to flap happily, his Avian instincts comprehending the situation faster than his head could. About a single fact that's actually far too simple but both him and his mate are too deep in denial to comprehend. Avians mate for life. They are. And now, his moonlight wants to remember him as his mate.
Zandik is as much of a heretic as the other Segments of his life but, at the moment, he doesn't know where to touch his god. This moment feels too sacred for no reason. This isn't even their wedding night. They've pretty much gone past that line over and over again so there's absolutely no reason for them to be shy.
Yet, they are. Because there is a difference. His moonlight wants him to be gentle. Because, for the first time, this isn't just for chasing needs. This is to feel. His moonlight wants to remember more than the pleasure.
Alhaitham wants to make love with ‘Zandik’.
Zandik grabs Alhaitham's wrists, the pressure is barely there and even then his hands are actually shaking, “Then, won't you please look at me?” he asks, his voice steady unlike his hands.
For a moment, Alhaitham says nothing. He simply tightens his arms around his head as a sign of refusal. But then his pairs of wings start to tremble and his arms slowly part, allowing Zandik to see Alhaitham's restless face. So flustered, delightfully vulnerable.
Alhaitham is still averting his eyes from Zandik so Zandik carefully cups his cheek and waits until his mate to finally gather the courage to look him in the eyes, “Can you scoot to the center of the mattress? I don't want you to fall,” he softly says once Alhaitham finally looks at him.
Alhaitham's lips part but nothing comes out. Then, he doesn't even try to say anything and just mutely nods his head. It's almost impressive the way he can noiselessly pull himself to the center of the mattress when he has such massive pairs of wings.
Zandik gets up to take off his outer clothes before he slowly crawls to slot himself between Alhaitham's legs –for some reason, he feels like he shouldn't make any move that'll startle Alhaitham, “It's alright,” he whispers as he leans forward to reassuringly kiss Alhaitham's forehead, causing Alhaitham to finally make a noise by letting out a soft, indulging squeal, “I'll make sure to be as gentle as I can,” then he affectionately tickles Alhaitham's nose with his primordial trace, making Alhaitham softly chitters in amusement, “so that means I'll prepare you first, love. Do you mind?”
His voice is still failing him so Alhaitham simply lets out a squeal in agreement as his hands reach down to take off his pants. Zandik helps him, frowning slightly in frustration because he's still unfamiliar with Alhaitham's new pants. As Alhaitham's pants are finally off, Zandik lets them slide off the bed as he checks Alhaitham's hole for just a moment before he leans forward again to start mouthing on Alhaitham's neck.
Zandik can hear Alhaitham immediately letting out a startled squeal as he feels him shiver under his mouth so he whispers to his skin, “You're not wet yet,” Zandik tells Alhaitham as he starts nibbling –not biting– on the skin of his neck, hands gently caressing each of Alhaitham's inner thighs.
Alhaitham lets out a soft gasp when one of Zandik's hands reaches his mermaid line while the other gently squeezes his ass. Zandik can't help but inwardly coos as he kisses Alhaitham's ear. He really doesn't expect his mate to be very sensitive when they slow down. Ah, this is quite exciting. He's getting hard.
With one last teasing nibble to Alhaitham's earlobe, Zandik pulls himself up with a small grin, “Let's undress first,” he says as he starts unbuttoning his shirt, “it'll be annoying if we have to stop to take off your top later, no?”
Alhaitham lies on his back and stares at Zandik for a moment, that sweet scent of his has started to permeate the air, before he pushes himself up, “I suppose you're right,” he softly says as he starts reaching for the zipper on his back.
Zandik simply lets out a hum to that because he's too busy trying to carefully unzip his pants. He's already so hard, he doesn't want to overstimulate himself this early. On that note, Zandik didn't expect that starting slow and gentle can feel so naughty. The tenderness feels somewhat obscene. And that's really something coming from Zandik because his usual preferred way of prepping Alhaitham's hole is by eating it.
Zandik is quickly snapped out of his musings with a startled groan when Alhaitham grabs his cock and starts tentatively jerking it off, “Why are you so hard already?” Alhaitham asks as he pulls himself onto Zandik's lap.
Zandik holds Alhaitham's waist with a chuckle, "Aren't you the same?” he teasingly asks as he grabs Alhaitham's own erection and strokes it agonizingly slowly, his other hand feeling up the cleft of Alhaitham's ass to find his hole, “on top of smelling so sweet for me.”
Alhaitham lets out a mewling squeal when Zandik's first finger easily slides into him, his hand reaches up to grab Zandik's shoulder while the other continues to stroke Zandik's shaft, “Ah… should we try being gentle any other time?” he asks as he needily thrusts his plump mounds to Zandik's face, nipples looking so sensitive already.
Zandik gladly takes the offer, starting with flicking his tongue against Alhaitham's nipple, “So impatient already? I quite like the change of pace,” he purrs before he envelopes Alhaitham's nipple with his mouth while gently easing in two more fingers, a sign that he's also impatient.
Alhaitham arches his back with a needy wail, his hand pausing its stroke on Zandik's shaft before he vengefully doubles the speed.
Zandik lets out a throaty growl before letting Alhaitham's nipple go with a laugh, his fingers indulgently working Alhaitham's hole open faster while he teases Alhaitham's cock slit, “Is this what you meant when you said you'll show me how much you want me to become a daddy?” he teases verbally while his hands tease Alhaitham physically until his pairs of wings flutter behind him.
“Hngh~” Alhaitham grunts, intending to scoff but Zandik purposefully presses his fingers on his prostate, “ahh… no~” he pants before bonelessly resting his chin on Zandik's head, burying Zandik's head between his soft mounds –much to his delight, both hands gripping his husband's shoulders now as his hips stutteringly thrust back and forth in confusion whether to meet the fingers thrusting in and out of his ass or the hand wrapped around his cock.
Zandik chuckles at Alhaitham's response. He nibbles on the mounds trapping him in their soft prison for a moment before he pushes Alhaitham onto his back again. His cock instantly twitches with need at the sight of his wife looking so needy to be devoured with his legs spread wide and chest heaving impatiently.
Still, Zandik said he'll be gentle so he retrieves his hands, making Alhaitham whines at the loss, so that he can trap Alhaitham's head between his elbows and kisses his forehead, “I'm going to put it in,” he whispers to Alhaitham's skin as he grabs his thighs apart.
Alhaitham's arms quickly shoot up to wrap around Zandik's neck as he slowly feels himself being split open, “Nn~” he sweetly whimpers, making Zandik kiss his eyebrow dotingly.
If there's anything better from gentle sex than rough sex, it's the fact that Zandik has the time to savor everything. He doesn't have Sigma Build's long tongue to feel up Alhaitham's inside but this is just exactly what he needs. The way he can feel Alhaitham's tight channel squeezes against his intruding cock before it eagerly gives way for him. The hot velvety walls pulses around him, coaxing him to go deeper until he finds that place.
And when Zandik's cock finally hits the gate of that place, Alhaitham lets out a loud keen as his toes curl just from Zandik merely bumping it with his cock. Even then, that gate parts a little, gushing out hot, sticky water that bathes Zandik's cock with aphrodisiac. Oh, who knew that his mate could be such a cheater?
Zandik bites the pillow beneath Alhaitham's head to tamp down the urge to mate like a savage, “Moonlight, this is unfair,” he growls, though not particularly complaining.
A bit of aphrodisiac won't defeat him.
So Zandik starts moving in and out, gentle as he said he would. Even though he has to practically exercise his breathing, his hips never stutter, always moving in that gentle steady pace that's driving Alhaitham restless. And every time he knocks on that gate, he's always served with the best sight of his wife squirming for more. Absolutely adorable.
Zandik speeds his pace a little just so that Alhaitham won't rip his head out of frustration, making Alhaitham sing so sweetly for him, “Ah… ahn… Zandik,” Alhaitham pants, his hips bucking up restlessly to meet his slow thrust, “ahh! My mate…!” he whines, fingers digging into Zandik's back, leaving stinging pain that almost makes Zandik snap, “husb-”
Before Alhaitham can try riling him up again, Zandik stuffs his mouth with his tongue.
“Hmngh~” Alhaitham whines into the kiss, returning it with passion but still trying to pitifully stare at Zandik with his pretty eyes, silently begging him to get rougher.
If anything, that look is just making Zandik much more determined to be gentle.
“Shh…,” Zandik coos sweetly as he pecks Alhaitham's lips, his wings flaring behind him, “don't get too noisy love. They might know what we're doing,” he purrs, knowing full well that it's obvious to their stalkers what they're doing.
Alhaitham lets out another whine to that. He pulls Zandik closer with his limbs and barely leaving him room to move. He's probably thinking that if they won't be rough then it better be a long night.
Zandik simply smirks down at his wife and peppers adoring kisses all over his face. Before long, he's already making Alhaitham restlessly squirming again. Oh, this is going to be a long night indeed.
Notes:
Sometimes, it almost feels like I spin a roulette to decide where the mood of this fic will go.
Chapter 113
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
A cold shower in Snezhnaya is a unique choice even for Dmitri. And, well, let's just say that he's a very unique individual. He has no shame in that regard.
Heh, his comrades can say that cold shower is torture all they want. Dmitri knows the truth. His comrades are just weak. Hot showers will make them fold against the everwinter but regularly having a cold shower will make you grow used to the cold. It's genius tactics from the higher-ups. It's certainly not because soldiers in the lower rung can't afford hot water. If the higher ups are really that corrupt, then the sick will not be given hot water at all.
Dmitri buttons up his uniform while happily smiling at his reflection. Ah, he just helped the Saint of Love. He did a great service for his homeland. Dmitri doesn't know what Lord Dottore intended to do with Lord Samuil but that's none of his business.
What's certain is that Dmitri knows Lord Samuil has a womb now because of Lord Dottore's experiment. The fact that Lord Dottore asks him to seed the womb can only mean one thing. And, if Dmitri is honest to himself, he's a bit weirded out that he had to fuck his old ‘superior’ but he's happy –honored, even– to know that he has a helping hand in the realization of male pregnancies.
Just imagining how much this experiment can help others finding their love is making Dmitri proud of himself. Oh, he knows Lady Signora will be very pleased with this development. The pitiful orphan she had saved on a whim has finally made a contribution for this world. Dmitri can no longer return her kindness to her but he'll gladly serve The Tsaritsa for the purpose of love just as Lady Signora intended.
Dmitri methodically checks all of his attributes one last time before he steps out of the showering room. The slight temperature difference makes him stagger a little but his smile doesn't disappear. He stiffly moves a leg in front of the other and slowly makes his way to the Harbinger’s office.
Now, according to Lord Dottore, his task is done and he can leave but, as per the soldier's book of etiquette, he still has to report to him first so Dmitri softly knocks on the metal door and says, “This is Dmitri speaking, My Lord. Thank you for allowing me to use the shower area. Will Lord Dottore be needing my assistance in other things or am I dismissed for the day?”
For a moment there's only silence until the Harbinger says, “Come in.”
… First of all, Dmitri usually hates when his superior does ask him to stay when he says that. It's very clearly just some pleasantries exchanged just to be friendly. Why would anyone even think he wants to work more?
But, at the same time, it's the Saint of Love that asks Dmitri to stay this time. Dmitri is elated . Doesn't this mean Lord Dottore has finally accepted him as his subordinate? Well, sure, there will be paperwork that needs to be filed but deployment isn't just about paperwork.
So when the metal door automatically slides open for him, Dmitri schools his face from grinning like an idiot, “How may I be of service, My Lord?” he asks, voice and expression steadily professional but his eyes are literally sparkling with excitement.
Dottore silently stares at the fanatic, trying to judge his character from his demeanor, [... Do any of you have any idea why he looks so thrilled?] Prime asks to the link, a bit weirded out.
Sigma Build thoughtfully clicks his tongue but Alpha Build comments first, [He's just weird like that. Don't think too much about it and he'd be a good subordinate to have. Not to mention that he did rank quite high in Signora's pecking order.]
[Fair,] Prime decides before he looks down at his experiment logbook and starts writing, trying to ignore those weirdly hopeful eyes.
After trying to understand the intent of this discussion based on Alpha Build's answer, Sigma Build finally realizes that his other selves are actually trying to recruit the fanatic, [Wait, why are we recruiting?]
Prime's wings twitch irritatedly, [Well, someone gave away the one good servant we had to Hayi so forgive me if I have to recruit someone to fetch me things that I need,] he snaps before he looks up with a sigh, “Why do you want to work for me?”
Dmitri, much to his own chagrin, freezes up. Holy Tsaritsa, what should he do? He was totally unprepared for a job interview. What if his unpreparedness makes Lord Dottore see him as unfit to recruit?
Dottore patiently waits for Dmitri to answer. After all, his subordinates are usually assigned to him against their will, with the exception of the few people trying to show that they've created technological masterpieces and wanting to be given funds or acknowledgment. So forgive him for being curious for the reason why this fanatic soldier wants to work for him.
“Your love story has inspired me, My Lord,” Dmitri says, deciding to be truthful because he knows Lord Dottore is far too great to be lied to.
… Dottore feels like he just heard something wrong, “What do you mean by that?” he carefully asks, feeling a cup of dread slowly drenching his shoulders.
Dmitri secretly lets out a sigh of relief, “During my personal mission, I was given the chance to see how your relationship with Lady Alhaitham pan out,” he carefully says, inwardly happy that he finally has the chance to say this, “while it's true that the love of a mother is strong and admirable, I personally find the joining of two strangers to be much more beautiful.”
Prime just sits frozen on his ass. He doesn't know how to respond to that. By Abyss, he knows even if Omega Build is sitting in his position right now, he won't know how to react either.
Dmitri takes the Harbinger's silence as a gesture to elaborate so he gratefully smiles for the chance, “Lady Signora burned her own life force to avenge her fallen fiancè. That was how the ever benevolent, Her Majesty, The Tsaritsa gazed upon her. Driven by gratitude, Lady Signora moved on from the death of her fiancè and started to become one of Snezhnaya’s Fatui Harbingers,” Dmitri says before he breaks into a proud grin –he can't help it anymore, “I once thought that this world is endlessly bitter like the night's frost. After meeting Lady Signora, I know now that love pushes people to greatness!” he excitedly says, hands erupting in passionate flames as he spreads his arms, “and you, Lord Dottore, is the best example for this!” he giggles excitedly before he waves his flaming hands around, “love has driven you to be mated with your enemy! Love has driven Lady Alhaitham to leave his birth nation just to be with you! Love has given you a weakness your enemy exploited but you still persevered with your mate!” he lists off before realizing that he's losing his composure so he holds his cheeks to ground himself, the scent of cooking flesh quickly filling the room, “my favorite part is how your love has motivated you to find a way to revive the dead but, right now, I'm starting to feel more amazed by the fact that you have the benevolence to include the Avian who lusts after your mate in your newest experiment that I assume will allow you to have an offspring with the love your life, My Lord,” Dmitri softly finishes before kneeling before Dottore's desk, “I wish to be a part of your great legacy, My Lord. Please allow me to do your bidding,” he reverently requests, voice soft like a prayer.
…
Dottore is feeling really uncomfortable but he ignores that in favor of asking one very important question, “What did you mean by lusting after my mate and who are you talking about?”
Dmitri stiffens a little before he looks at Dottore, looking very bewildered, “Exactly as I meant and I was talking about Lord Samuil,” he says, sounding ridiculously innocent after spouting his fanatical spiel.
…
Dottore's feathers instantly ruffle madly once the information sinks in but his voice is calm as he orders Dmitri, “Your first mission is to go to the Zapolyarny Palace and find The Rooster,” he says as he rummages his desk for his Harbinger token, “show this to him and ask for the paperwork I requested,” he continues as he throws the token at his newest subordinate, “don't let anyone know the content and bring it straight to me.”
Dmitri easily catches the token and wordlessly bows out. Though he isn't big on politics nor is he good at socializing, he can still see that Lord Dottore is about to go nuclear. Not that he regrets telling him the truth. Lord Dottore deserves to know that one of his experiment’s participants harbors ill intention for his wife, after all. If his mouth causes pain for his former ‘superior' then, well, rest in pieces.
The tent they're staying in is shaking ever so slightly. Zandik knows that it won't collapse on them, though. As a matter of fact, he thinks that they'll probably cause a landslide first before this tent can collapse. He just decides to pay closer attention to it because his moonlight is looking at him with pleading eyes.
“Zandik,” Alhaitham sweetly calls while his hands frustratedly clench the bedsheet, claws digging into the mattress and marring it with more tears, “haven't you had enough? Be rougher already…,” he wails, shaking his ass a little to make a point.
To that, Zandik just laughs before rolling Alhaitham to lie on his side, “Again, patience,” he coos as he lifts one of his wife's legs above his shoulder before pinning him down under his weight to prevent Alhaitham from moving on his own, his cock pressing insistently against Alhaitham's cervix that still refuses to open up, “this tight little place is always stubbornly refusing to open up unless ‘I’ ram in,” he says with a teasing roll of his hips, making Alhaitham's legs tense up as he feels the tip of Zandik's cock drawing circles against the sensitive mouth of his womb, before he leans down to whisper to Alhaitham's ear, “ now I'm a bit curious, love. Can I even breach this place gently at all? ” he says in Snezhnayan.
Zandik watches with amusement as Alhaitham's pairs of wings docilely slumping down for a second before they immediately flare and start flapping irritatedly in a little tantrum.
Zandik chuckles even as pulled out feathers –from both their wings and the beddings– fly around and simply whispers more, “ Moonlight… my moonlight…, ” he softly croons as he gently rocks his hips, feeling Alhaitham's whole body tense up each time he knocks on his cervix as if he's about to throw him off but he doesn't –not yet, at least, “ my lovely little wifey~ please allow me to come in…. ”
Alhaitham lets out a choked gasp, sounding so scandalized but, at the same time, his body feels so pliant beneath Zandik, “Stop that,” he hisses but his ears are awfully red and Zandik can feel his cervix twitch and tremble under the insistent pressure of his cock.
So Zandik sweetly kisses Alhaitham's reddened ear, “ No~ ” he coos before he starts nibbling on Alhaitham's earlobe, “ as I recall, you are just not into humiliation. And this… ,” Zandik trails off as he reaches down to feel up Alhaitham's neglected cock just to be sure, immediately grinning ear to ear when he feels how much precum has been dripping out down here all this time, “ you don't exactly hate this, don't you? ” he teasingly asks, hand playfully squeezing Alhaitham's cock head.
Alhaitham instantly lets out a choked gasp as his whole body trembles and he has to plant his face onto the mattress to calm himself down, claws digging into the mattress even more, “ T- this is taking too long…, ” Alhaitham softly says, subconsciously using Snezhnayan.
Zandik's wings gently flap behind him, his moonlight's Snezhnayan sounds really adorable, “ your point being? ” he amusedly purrs, dotingly kissing Alhaitham's ear with an indulgent rattle playing at the back of his throat, “ the night is still young, beloved. ”
Alhaitham softly lets out a whiny wail, his body now genuinely shaking beneath Zandik's weight and gentle thrusts, “ Ah… uhn…, ” he sobs in frustration before he finally cracks under all the edging and begs, “ hubby, please…. ”
Zandik turns into a statue right at that moment, his cock pulled halfway out of Alhaitham's hole that tries to suck him back in. There are simply a lot of things to process at that moment. Well, there are actually just two things but these two things are really major.
First of all, before Zandik pulls out, he feels that Alhaitham's cervix finally opened up for him. Secondly, he must've heard wrong. There's no way his wifey just called him that. Didn't he say that it's too embarrassing?
Right at that moment, Alhaitham lets out a desperate whine, snapping Zandik out of his thoughts, “ H- hubby… hubby, please…, ” he sobs, desperately trying to rock his hips back despite being pinned down beneath Zandik's weight, frustrated tears beautifully rolling down his cheeks.
…
Experiment completed ✅
Alhaitham lets out a surprised wail when he's suddenly rolled onto his stomach. Unfortunately, he isn't even given any time to complain because Zandik immediately pulls his ass up and starts ramming into his womb. Alhaitham throws his head back with a loud squeal. Fucking finally.
“ Whore, ” Zandik growls to Alhaitham's primordial trace at the back of his neck, hips slapping against Alhaitham's ass so harshly it stings a little, “ my whorish little wifey who can't appreciate gentle lovemaking. ”
Alhaitham's jaw goes slack, drool quickly trailing down the corner of his mouth as he feels his Zandik's cock ramming into his womb so roughly it almost feels it'll get bruised tomorrow, “ Yesh …,” he moans, pairs of wings convulsing along with his whole body as he comes for the first time from his cock this night, “ wifey is sorry, hubby… really sorry…. ”
Zandik lets out a laugh before he bites the back of Alhaitham's neck until blood fills his mouth while keeping his harsh pace, making Alhaitham grow even more docile beneath him, “Oh, please don't get too embarrassed tomorrow,” he lovingly mutters to Alhaitham's hair before he straightens his back and pulls Alhaitham's ass higher, “ well, I suppose your only purpose is to be bred now, ” Zandik crows, wings flared wide in triumph.
Alhaitham's only response to that by raising his ass higher into an Avian mating press.
. . .
Usually, Zandik doesn't sleep. His daily tasks are usually less energy consuming and more mentally consuming, after all. That's why he more often finds himself doing recreational activities instead of sleeping.
But his moonlight really has the way to drain his energy effectively that he finds himself asleep with the desire to continue to sleep. He doesn't intend to complain, truly. But he's physically tired right now and would appreciate a longer sleep. He's also very sure that he has only been asleep for a few hours. Why's his moonlight already trying to wake him up?
With a disgruntled groan, Zandik sleepily takes his arms off Alhaitham's body, just in case his moonlight just wants to take a relief but he can't free himself from his limbs –let’s ignore the fact that it is usually his fault.
But Alhaitham just chuckles to his face and nuzzles into him more in an attempt to wake him up and when that doesn't work, he starts kissing Zandik's face while chittering happily, “Hubby, wake up,” Alhaitham says while playfully biting at Zandik's cheek.
… Zandik feels so wronged right now. Why's his mate so good at reading him? He can perfectly choose which action will make him fold after such little time they have spent together. So, please, pray tell, why does he have to go with the overkill? The kisses are enough to pique Zandik's attention. The happy chirpings and the pet name is unwarranted.
Zandik cracks his eyes open with a tired sigh before he immediately buries his face into Alhaitham's chest, “Moonlight, I'm ‘eepy…,” he groans, his mouth instinctively kissing the fading bite marks he left all over Alhaitham's skin that's now splattered with dried blood everywhere – gentle , eh?
Alhaitham lets out a hum, his happy chittering softening into a quiet murmur, before he cradles Zandik's head and starts massaging his scalp, “Then go back to sleep, love,” he raspily says, a testament to the loud screaming he did last night.
Zandik grabs Alhaitham's waist and pulls him closer, chasing more of the warmth he used to not care much, “No…,” he yawns, “tell me why you woke me up,” he says as he lazily rubs his cheek against Alhaitham's soft skin.
Alhaitham lets out a chuckle, sounding even more angelic to Zandik's sleepy head, “You asked me to wake you up yesterday because last night was your sleeping schedule and you were worried you won't be able to wake up to bring me back to the village.”
Zandik finally peels his eyes open, trying to recall yesterday, before he makes a move to pull away, “Right, we have to go t-”
“Shh,” Alhaitham shushes Zandik up and pulls him back down, going as far as pinning him down under his wings to make sure he won't try to escape again, “Let’s just sleep in for today,” he softly says as he hugs Zandik tightly before easing up.
“But we haven't seen the after festival. I heard they give trinkets that are said to bestow blessings for fertility,” Zandik argues though he's pretty much already cozying himself back into Alhaitham's warmth –deep down he just doesn't think it's worth it to wake up for that.
“We both know it's just a placebo effect,” Alhaitham says, voice growing softer from still being sleepy himself, “and I'd much rather you be fully conscious for the rest of our honeymoon.”
Zandik gives in to the temptation and pulls their naked bodies closer to each other, “We are such a bad member of society,” he sleepily comments even though he intertwines their legs together because his feet feel cold.
Alhaitham lets out a soft grunt, “I don't mind. I just want my overdue cuddling session that my mate implied he'd give me often.”
Zandik lets out a tired caw as he apologetically kisses the gem on Alhaitham's chest, “Then please remember this as the starting date of my installment.”
Notes:
Me: *points at Zandiktham* Cringe!
Also me: perfectI hope y'all are ready for a side story of Dmitri's bizzare adventure.
Also, the stalkers outside their tents when they finally start getting rough.
Chief Valentina: Oh, Archon! Domestic abuse in the middle of nowhere?! Is the Harbinger trying to kill his wife?!
The one Avian in the chief's stalking group: *is having a boner*
Chapter 114
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The snow crunches under their feet. Dmitri doesn't know why but he really likes the sound. It makes the muscles around his right ear tense up but he really likes it. After all, it gives him a good motivation to walk faster and is also the reason why he learnt to fly using his vision.
“Hey,” someone calls right as a snowball hits the back of Dmitri’s head, making him stop, “why would you help us?” asks one of the kids Dmitri has just saved from a horde of Abyss monsters.
Dmitri takes a deep breath as he stands taller, hands exasperatedly resting on his hips, before he slowly lets the breath out.
Dmitri really doesn't like kids. They're ungrateful little rascals that don't have a speck of gratitude. They're useless, too young to understand love and won't be until years ahead so he can't even preach the benevolence of Her Majesty, The Tsaritsa to them.
Still, Dmitri pastes on a small smile as he turns around and cusps his hands together, “Because it's my duty to do s-”
“Yeah, right,” the same boy cuts him off with a sharp snark, “you're just a Fatui bastard. You're probably expecting us to grovel at your feet and pay you our entire village's fortune for the trouble,” he mockingly says, probably just parroting words he overheard somewhere.
That earns him a smack from his little sister, “Brother, shut up,” she says, sounding so authoritative that it's kinda adorable, “I don't care if our village will starve at the end of the moon cycle. At least I am safe.”
… Wow. Dmitri really doesn't want to be defended by a selfish, little girl like her. Actually, why's that a problem now? They were pretty happy with his arrival when they were still being surrounded by the monsters.
The brother looks at his sister for a moment before he stares at Dmitri with eyes deader than a child his age should be, “I give you my lovely little sister for your trouble,” he says, making his little sister screech like an Abyss vulture, “please take care of her because I just love her so much that the thought of parting with her fills me with drea-”
Unfortunately, the brother can't really finish his theatrics because his little sister is now hitting him so violently that he has to defend himself. Which is very fortunate for Dmitri because he's so close to laughing his guts off. He's very sure that the boy just recited a drama script word for word. If Dmitri recalls correctly, the drama was pretty cringy too.
Ugh, this is why Dmitri doesn't like kids. They boast and act like they're the wisest creature in the world when their taste is utterly heart wrenching. Oh, Dmitri just knows that this kid will definitely be embarrassed of himself when he's older.
Dmitri chuckles as he waves his hand to manipulate a fire pillar between the siblings, making the little sister jump away with a terrified scream and also effectively separating them from trying to kill each other, “Please don't fight,” Dmitri patiently says though his smile is threatening to fade away, “I just saved you two from monsters before any of you can get injured enough to be tended on the field. I really don't want to have to cauterize any of you.”
The brother squints his eyes arrogantly at Dmitri, probably trying to look at him as if he's stupid but it's only making him look stupid instead, “She's just a stupid little girl, she can't hurt me that much,” he argues.
Dmitri simply smiles as he raises a flaming hand, “the presence of wounds during the process is optional.”
…
“Have you two heard of noblesse oblige?” Dmitri asks as he leads them down the small path next to a cliff, hand busy poking the snowy ground with a stick he picked up earlier to check for the stability of the ground after burning the snow off the path.
The brother who was smart enough to keep his mouth shut after the threat of being a subject of arson hesitantly opens his mouth, “I read it in a Fountainian drama script,” he quietly says, hand pressing his little sister against the cliff so that she won't fall while his other hand grips the end of Dmitri's coat, “I think it has something to do with the strong protecting the weak. What of it?”
Dmitri lets out a chuckle before he clears his throat to enter preaching priest mode, “Well, you asked why am I helping you two, right?” he asks before jumping over the portion of the path that just crumbled down, the two siblings easily copy his movements, “I'm just fulfilling my duty.”
The boy is quiet for a moment before he says, “But you aren't a noble,” he points out, “so stop pretending you're saving us out of the kindness of your heart,” he continues, hand clenching anxiously around the end of Dmitri's coat, “...please….”
Dmitri internally lets out a sigh. Oh, the brats from this part of Snezhnaya are so annoying. How mannerless. They're so wound up over being a poorer village than the Citadel they don't know that, without Her Majesty's authority over this land, their village would be so so much poorer and unlivable. Ungrateful little twerps.
Dmitri lets out a quiet sigh that's easily unnoticeable from how strong the wind is whipping them, “I don't know what other soldiers ask of you or someone you know,” he carefully says, not stopping his careful trek down the road even once, “but being able to be kind is a privilege I'm privy to,” he says, mentally patting himself in the back when he senses the siblings’ gazes on him, “my superior asked me to go to the Citadel and I saw you two being chased by chance. Now, it certainly won't benefit me to help the both of you, but… I had the privilege of being raised by the most benevolent Lady I ever knew,” he says, glancing at the siblings to check if they're listening and immediately smiling warmly when he finds that they're listening intently, “so I saved you two because it is certainly what she would've wanted me to do, even if she won't outwardly order me to.”
This time, the little finally opens her mouth after keeping it shut for so long, “Mister, are you trying to manipulate us into joining the Fatui?”
Dmitri inwardly lets out a sigh. She isn't wrong, per se. But it's really annoying how she can't keep her mouth shut for someone who's literally within his arm-length, on a cliff. Won't it be funny if he just pushes her off?
Thankfully, Dmitri is still able to keep his smile as he lets out an exasperated laugh, “Oh, you don't have to worry about that. That's not my jobdesk. Someone else will come to your village to do that.”
Anger and disgust fill his chest up with dark sludge that it's physically difficult to breathe. Still, he forces himself to breathe even though oxygen is not really a necessity for him. Right now, the significance of breathing is just that it has a therapeutic effect of doing a mundane repetitive thing. Just enough to stop himself from losing control over his own emotions.
Those two emotions aside, Dottore can feel a part of himself laugh at the irony of the situation. He's so angry right now because someone wants Alhaitham. Come to think of it, he hunted all of Alhaitham's exes too when they're still in Sumeru, right?
Hehe, what gives? Alhaitham is mated to him. He's his as much as Dottore is his. Why's he reacting so explosively over something like this? Is it because the trash is the same breed as his mate? No, that can't be it. As much as everything is concerned, he's won the courtship.
… He's angry because he can't be sure whether his Alhaitham was targeted because of him or because the trash thought that his Alhaitham would be better off dead than be mated with him, right?
… Because ‘he' is such a terrible person so there's no way he'd be a good mate, right?
…
Dottore takes a deep breath before slowly letting it out. This is ridiculous. He's being too worked up over something so illogical. Not to mention that the former is definitely more logical but he's too paranoid and ends up finding the latter more acceptable.
But… just because it's illogical, doesn't mean that he can't just forget about it so easily. No… he… cares about his Alhaitham too much to just forget about it now…. Curses.
Dottore lets out a long sigh as he walks to the Subject 1’s monitoring devices. One monitor is blinking lazily to the Subject's vitals while another is showing the details. The one Dottore is focusing more on is the monitor that's showing him the imaging of Subject 1’s internal organs. After all, the vitals monitor will tell him very loudly if there's something life threatening but he has to watch the Subject 1’s wombs minute updates to see if there's any development.
He had injected enough growth factor directly into Subject 1's womb after the fanatic soldier went to the shower area in the hope that whatever lifeform had reached the fallopian tube to develop faster. Of course, there's a risk of the sperms instantly dying due to the change in environment caused by the serum but that's easily fixable. What he really wants to confirm first is whether or not the womb is able to host a life.
… The fanatic said that his love story is admirable….
That was so weird. What was that supposed to mean? He was acting stupidly. None of the hardships he just went through would ever happen if he had just left Alhaitham back in Sumeru. He was acting illogical. There's nothing admirable about that.
But… it feels nice to be able to act illogically and still be found to be admirable.
[Oh, you're still wound up about that?] Omega Build comments from the link, [I really thought by now each and every one of us have accepted that we are finally mated for life.]
Prime clicks his tongue as he rearranges his wings irritably –it's enough that he's having emotional turmoil on his own, Omega Build's presence will just fester his emotions more, [Why are you here?] he gruffly asks, [didn't you want to have an interruption-free honeymoon with Alhaitham?]
Omega Build lets out a flippant hum, [Well, my vassal is asleep so my subconscious has come here to bother you.]
Prime's left wing twitches from annoyance but he quickly sighs, [Is it really necessary for Alhaitham to bear a child? Didn't he say he's fine with adopting? I'd really prefer to just discard this experiment already,] he grumbles, almost sounding like he's complaining.
For a moment, Omega Build is quiet before he softly sighs, [What do you know about falcon breed Avians, Prime?] he asks out of nowhere.
Prime blinks behind his mask, surprised at the sudden question, [And what… is the purpose of that question?]
[Well,] Omega Build starts with the tone of someone about to do something really tedious before he monotonously says, [probably to instill to you why I am the favorite but I'm really hoping it won't turn to that so, please, don't disappoint me.]
Prime slips his hands under his mask to tiredly massage his eyes, [They do lots of sex,] he says before immediately adding when he senses waves of disappointment coming from not just Omega Build but also Alpha Build and Sigma Build, [because of their intense mating season and the way they bond.]
Omega Build lets out a neutral hum, [Not bad. At least you remember the things he told you,] he says so arrogantly that Prime rolls his eyes, [but do you also know why they tend to have a lot of sex?]
Prime pauses. Uh, because they're all whores? … Is that a trick question?
[And I suppose you know the answer to that?] Prime asks because this won't be the first time Omega Build asks a question he doesn't know the answer to either in a patronizing way.
Omega Build clicks his tongue in disappointment before he says after a moment of silence, as if he still wants Prime to try harder on his own, [On the first ‘official’ meeting between you and moonlight, you told him that it's insulting to compare you to a literal crow,” he starts, chuckling a little even though he wasn't there himself, [but he has a point, so I tried to search around for falcons’ behaviors.]
Prime idly taps his finger on the desk as he half watches the monitors and half listens to Omega Build. Starting from unnecessary backstory as if Prime can't just dive into the shared memory to see this for himself. Typical of someone used to interacting with common humans.
[Falcons are solitary birds, but they place strong importance on family bonds,] Omega Build says, slowly pronouncing each syllable as if he knows Prime isn't really listening to him, and true to that Prime's tapping fingers pause, [they're pretty fierce birds, Prime. When moonlight asked you if he could adopt a child, he had completely disregarded his old life and decided to have a life with us.]
… Ah, Prime feels numb all over.
Omega Build just lets out a mixture of disappointed and frustrated sigh, [And this is why I live in depression. Do any of you have the slightest idea how discouraging it is to live with the constant reminder that I'd get to the point I become so jaded and paranoid that I would sabotage myself?] he rants before letting out a soft sigh, [We are loved,] he, then, happily says as if he didn't just rant about his bleak life, [our Alhaitham loves us,] he repeats giddily before he very seriously says to Prime, [you owe him an apology for yelling at him after he, essentially, proposed to you.]
And then the link turns silent once more. Omega Build's vessel must be waking up. That works for Prime. He…. He really needs some time to rearrange his thoughts.
“Moonlight…,” Zandik softly calls as he tries to wake Alhaitham up with ticklish kisses to his neck, “we should get up. It's past noon already.”
Alhaitham lets out a sleepy groan as he pulls Zandik closer, his pairs of wings twitching from being tickled, “Alright, I'm waking up,” he mutters but he's not moving at all.
So Zandik pokes the ticklish area under his chest and gives him no mercy.
Alhaitham instantly jumps away from Zandik with a loud wail of surprise and almost falls off the bed if Zandik doesn't grab his hands and pulls him close for a kiss, “Happy waking hour, love,” he softly caws to Alhaitham's surprised face, “let's get you cleaned up for your date with Sigma Build,” he says as he walks away to one corner of the tent.
Alhaitham is still in the process of waking up so he doesn't immediately understand what Zandik just said but, the moment he does, his pairs of wings instantly perk up, “Zazan is coming?”
Zandik pauses digging up snow to look back at Alhaitham, his wings also perking up to match Alhaitham's excitement, “Of course he is. I told you that ‘we’ are going to have our honeymoon, right?” he says with a chuckle before he resumes shoveling the snow into the bucket, “and he's going to take you to that date he promised so let's get you all cleaned up and and all of your wings preen-”
Zandik can't be sure what happened after that.
. . .
Zazan shifts on his feet as he exercises his breathing. Oh, why would Omega Build have to spill his plans? Now Hayi is looking at him with his very pretty eyes full of expectations. It's making him more nervous than he should be, damnit.
Alhaitham lets out a happy chirp, snapping Zazan from his internal meltdown, “Can you tell me where we are going?” he asks, stars literally shining dimmer than the sparkles in his eyes.
At the corner of his periphery, Zazan can see Omega Build giving him thumbs up –which feels extremely mocking since his wings are literally shaking with amusement, “Well-” damn, his voice cracked, “I mean, I have a plan but if I tell you now it won't be fun, right?” he says, wings literally shaking as he tries to raise them high in an attempt to appear confident.
Alhaitham laughs, the sound so sweet it makes Zazan's wings flutter, “I suppose you're right,” he says before he teasingly asks, “should I also wear a blindfold?”
Ah, Hayi is so pretty when he's smiling like that. So so pretty that Zazan can't help but blush under his mask. But… he's no longer embarrassed by it anymore. Because Hayi is his wife now and it's normal to find your wife to be so heart crushingly pretty.
“Lean down a little,” Zazan asks Alhaitham as he fishes a hand into his pocket.
Usually, Alhaitham would tease Zazan a little because it's so easy to get under his skin but, right now, he's too excited to have his first –official– date, “Alright,” he softly chirps as he slightly leans down, “are you going to kiss me again?”
Oh, Alhaitham can see from the little portion of Zazan's face not covered by his mask that his whole face is getting red. But, surprisingly, Zazan doesn't bite the hook and just scowls at him. Then, his hand finally finds what he's searching for from his pocket and slips it above Alhaitham's ear.
Alhaitham blinks in surprise. Did… Zazan just slipped a flower into his hair? … Why though?
Alhaitham parts his mouth, intending to ask. But before he can say anything, Zazan suddenly cups both of his cheeks and kisses his lips shut. After a while, he pulls back to look at Alhaitham before his eyes get all glittery and then he kisses him again.
Ah, uh…? Can anyone tell Alhaitham what's going on with his darling sweetheart?
Notes:
Y'know, I've seen Dottore pictured as cats. Him as persian cats make sense but have you considered him as Bingus?
NO, TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY! Bingus is just the perfect combinations of ugly and adorable! And he doesn't have fur so when he's in Snezhnaya he gets to wear sweaters and fluffy coats!!!!!Bingus Dottore!!!!!!!
#Random fact from this series
If you've been imagining Alexei as an old man or a cold young man with mean eyes, I'm so sorry to not have mentioned this sooner but he's actually a pretty boy.
Because 1) he's a servant of nobility and they tend to look pretty, and 2) Pantalone picked him out for Dottore.#Random fact for my series
I promised to myself that this series is ending soon so I started making a storyboard for the modern AU I said I'd do after this fic ends.
The storyboard makes me realize something. This series is basically a saga while the modern AU is a sitcom.#Random fact
Mocha is around 2 months pregnant now. I'm both excited and dreading the neverending cries of kitties.
Chapter 115
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Zazan sighs into the kiss. This feels so liberating. He does love Hayi. But it has been difficult to let himself act as he wants when he doesn't know how long the relationship will last.
Hmm, Zazan doesn't want to stop kissing his mate. The absence of teasing and bantering in exchange for kisses is too nice to pass up. Still, it's time for him to part. Hayi still needs to breathe, after all.
When he pulls back, Zazan sees Alhaitham immediately snaps his eyes open and takes a deep breath, his face that same shade of red he had back then in front of the lab near that willow forest.
“Ah?” Alhaitham pants softly, eyes looking at Zazan with so much confusion that it makes him grin, “why would- mph!”
And so Zazan kisses Alhaitham again.
“Za-”
And again.
“Wait-”
And again.
“Ow!”
And on and on because Zazan really adores Alhaitham and now he knows how to show it.
When Alhaitham finally starts chuckling happily and melting into the kiss, Zazan finally leans back with a satisfied smile. Alhaitham's eyelids are lowered shyly as he covers his reddened cheeks and mouth with his hands, pairs of wings happily perking high with all of his feathers slightly ruffled. Hehe, Zazan did it. Alhaitham looks so happy now.
Zazan proudly puffs his chest. Oh, Alhaitham is so much more precious than any of his shinies when he looks like this… When he's acting all coy and embarrassed because his mates love him.
Because ‘he’ might not be his first but ‘he’ is still his first love.
“Oh, if you wanted to keep it a surprise, you could've, at the very least, brushed your mask away a little,” Alhaitham softly complains though, judging from his expression, he doesn't actually mind at all, “it hurts when your mask knocked on my lips.”
Zazan smugly crosses his arms, wings no longer shaking behind him, “Oh, stop. I know the pain is worth it. Besides, it couldn't possibly hu…,” Zazan trails off when Alhaitham peers up at him through his eyelashes, eyes looking like the prettiest gem Zazan has ever seen with the way they sparkle and glitter with love, “b-but sure,” he coughs, voice cracking again from being unprepared to be subjected under such a beautiful gaze, “I'll keep in mind to not hurt your lips since they're, apparently, very delicate.”
Alhaitham lets out a chuckle, eyes scrunching into a pair of crescents as he probably has a big smile hiding behind his hands, “Thank you,” he softly says.
Zazan chuckles and scratches his own reddening cheek, “It's nothing,” he mumbles as he looks away, trying to hide his face from Alhaitham but ends up seeing Omega Build acting weirdly.
Well, “weird” might be a bit of a stretch because Omega Build has always been the odd one out between the Segments for centuries so Zazan is already somewhat desensitized to it. But even then, this is still a new low even for him. Because Omega Build is currently leaning against a tree, a hand is grabbing his own lower face tightly while the other is aggressively scratching a tree. Oh, and he's stomping the snowy ground from time to time, wings twitching and flapping madly as if he has lost control over them.
… He's genuinely acting so weird that Zazan somehow feels concerned, especially because Zazan can't even see his expression because he's wearing his mask, [... Omega Build, are you good…?] he hesitantly asks through the link.
Omega Build, surprisingly, does respond, but it's just making Zazan even more concerned, [Ajnkifcshkodsgn adorableicfjxri, so so adorablejcydrfc….]
…
Alright, anyway, Zazan takes out a map from his coat jacket and snaps it open, “Well, it's not that I want to keep it a secret. It's just that you won't even know the place even if I tell you where it is and explaining the place will be much easier if you see it firsthand.”
Alhaitham finally lowers his hands from his face to nod in agreement, “Sounds reasonable.”
Zazan lets out a hum before flipping the map around for Alhaitham to see, “It's a bit far from here, though. What do you think?”
Alhaitham looks at the map. It doesn't look like the terrain he's familiar with. He guesses because it's not an official map. A map released by an established institution requires several details that must be obliged. This map doesn't even have a scaling.
Oh, and, that “X” mark is especially telling, “Are you taking me to a treasure hunt, Zazan?” Alhaitham asks with a smile.
Zazan grins wide, “Perhaps,” he cryptically says as he folds the map back and stores it into his coat jacket once more, “but we have to reach the area drawn in the map first.”
Alhaitham's smile wilts a little, “Do we have to take the carriage again?” he carefully asks but then the thought of being cramped inside a box lowers his excitement even more, “how long will it take to get there?” he asks, wings already hanging low.
Zazan looks at Alhaitham straight in the eyes, a mischievous smile slowly spreading his lips, “Oh, probably not too long,” he teasingly crows before adding, “because we're going there flying.”
Alhaitham freezes for a moment before his wings instantly perk up as he lets out a gasp, “Really?” he softly whispers, eyes practically shining as he stares at Zazan, searching for any sign that he might be lying.
Zazan scoffs with a dismissive wave of his hand, trying to hide how affected he is by Alhaitham's pretty eyes, “Of course. If you didn't notice, the map showed a mountain area with a lot of cliffs. Do you really think a carriage can go there?” he says casually before his wings twitch when he realizes that he just made the place sound dangerous –it is, “ah, don't worry. I've actually been here to scout for danger. We won't have the ground giving up beneath us or being buried alive. I've also hidden some supplies there so we won't have to bring anything.”
The light in Alhaitham's eyes softens as he smiles, “I’m not worried about that. I know you won't put me in danger,” he says with a chuckle though his lower pair of wings are twitching as if it remembers that it isn't supposed to exist, “I'm just worried you'll get tired from flying.”
Zazan's wings indignantly bristle, a weak attempt to force down his guilt from resurfacing, “I'll let you know that my stamina is a lot better now,” he says, crossing his arms defensively, “but sure, mock me from being weak all you want if you have to later,” he hotly adds before stomping past Alhaitham to the edge of the cliff, “can we go now or are you going to fuss more?”
“Wait a bit,” Alhaitham says before he runs to tackle Zandik –who’s now leaning back against a tree with a weird smile on his lips– into a hug.
Zandik lets out a startled caw as he jumps in Alhaitham's arms, surprised at suddenly being hugged out of nowhere after being ignored for a while, “Ah? Moonlight, what's wrong?” he asks as he places his hands on Alhaitham's back.
Alhaitham hugs Zandik tighter before he pulls back to beam sweetly at him, “Thank you for insisting that we have a honeymoon, Zandik. I'm having fun.”
Zandik freezes for a moment before he picks Alhaitham up and spins around happily, making Alhaitham lets out a surprised chirp and hugs him tighter as he instinctively spreads his pairs of wings for balance, “Hehe, of course,” he laughs, wings happily spreading behind him as he slowly spins to a stop but not letting Alhaitham down yet, “I’m your favorite, after all. Anything to make my little wifey feel happy and loved.”
Alhaitham lets out a chuckle and rests his forehead against Zandik's mask, the metal feeling especially cold against his reddened face, “You won't ever stop calling me that, do you?” he softly asks.
“Nope,” Zandik playfully crows before he lets Alhaitham back down onto his feet, “so you better get used to it because Sigma Build is already waiting,” he gently says before he lovingly kisses Alhaitham's lips, making Alhaitham's eyelashes flutter close, “have fun love. You'll see me again later.”
As usual, Samuil wakes up to a pain that he can't even guess is coming from what. His mouth instinctively parts for a loud wail. But, before he can let out a single note of pain, a hand grabs his lower face and forces his mouth shut.
The prick at his neck comes after. It, surprisingly, doesn't hurt. The needle goes in smoothly and almost immediately goes out again. The hand gripping his mouth shut immediately leaves his face as cold trickles spread from his neck.
Samuil can't feel his jaw. It slackens against the pillow no matter what he does. He still wants to scream, though. He still feels the pain. Sharp throbs between his legs that start from his abdomen, hurting him so painfully that he wants to throw up. Oh, Samuil wants to scream but he can't.
The decider of his fate, The Doctor, isn't even chatting anymore. Usually, he'd start talking whether Samuil is listening to him or not. Now that he's so quiet while staring at something between Samuil's legs with a clipboard in his hand, Samuil feels like there's a bucket of snow filling his chest.
Why the sudden silence? Is this pain the result of whatever The Doctor is doing to him? Or is he finally going to die?
Suddenly, Samuil feels his lower body starting to jolt around uncontrollably. It scares Samuil more than ever since he's taken captive. What's happening to him? The pain, Samuil is familiar with. But, why the sudden loss of control of his own body?
Then, just as quickly as the sudden flare of pain comes, it all disappears at the same time. His lower body has even calmed down. It feels weird.
Samuil lets out a long, heavy sigh. Not just because the pain is finally gone but also because he suddenly feels very tired and lightheaded. He's getting so sleepy. Ah, Samuil knows that he'll only feel pain again soon. So why not just sleep without pain for once?
“Heh, gross,” The Doctor amusedly comments under his breath, finally breaking the silence.
Samuil's body twitches as he forces himself to stay awake. The Doctor is grinning as he writes something down. What? What did he mean by-
!
… Ah…. What in the Archon's name is that? Samuil can feel that something is moving between his legs. It's wet and warm… and it pulses….
…It feels almost like a tiny beating heart….
“Congratulations,” Dottore drawls, mouth spread in a wide, fascinated grin, “you’re now the mother of Dmitri Zolov’s child.”
…
Samuil's body starts convulsing with disgust as he feels like he wants to throw up.
Dottore tuts as he pulls out a pair of surgical gloves from his coat, “Oh, being nervous to become a mother is normal but even then you shouldn't try to crush your child, you know,” he says as he reaches for the beating mass of flesh laying atop the bloody sheet between Subject 1's legs.
Dottore carefully pokes at the mass, humming in fascination when the delicate chambers of the barely developing heart don't burst, “Did you know that the heart is the first internal organs to be formed in a fetus?” he conversationally asks Subject 1 who's still having a panic attack as he tries to pick the mass up, “fascinatingly, it's also the first organ humans would lose as they grow up,” he darkly says as he smiles down at the mass that's slowly pulsing weaker and weaker from losing blood.
Samuil doesn't know why but he really wishes that he could speak right now. Not so that he can scream or curse at the Harbinger, but so that he can laugh at him. He of all people is talking about that?
As if the Harbinger can hear Samuil's thoughts, he suddenly raises his head to smile at him, “There you go,” he cheerfully says as he shoves the red mass of flesh that's not even big enough to fill his palm, “I was told that falcon breed Avians have strong familial bond so go ahead, look at your child before it perishes.”
Again, Samuil wants to laugh. But he can't. Not just because his jaw is limp but also because he can't take his eyes away from the beating mass. And, as if on cue, the mass pulses one last time to drip blood onto his face before it stops moving altogether.
… Samuil doesn't know why, but he starts tearing up.
Dottore starts laughing harshly, “Oh, you're actually saddened by its death?” he mocks before he crushes the mass of flesh right in front of Samuil's face, causing more blood to splatter all over his face.
Dottore stares at his stricken test subject and starts laughing again, “Oh, don't be too sad. Dmitri will come again soon to help you have another one.”
Samuil still can't move his jaw but he can still roll his eyes so he defiantly glares at Dottore, cursing him with his eyes even as tears roll down his face.
Dottore looks at Samuil from behind his mask and can't help but snort, “Did you know that my mate was one of the heroes of Sumeru?” he asks out of nowhere, not piquing Samuil's interest in the slightest but Dottore never actually cares if his test subject ever listens to him or not –if they're smart, they should, “but then he just had to make the mistake of being mated to me. If he would just stay in Sumeru then he won't have to deal with you and you won't have to end up dealing with me,” he says while slowly shaking his head before he looks at Samuil with a thin, angry smile, “at least that's what I've always thought whenever I see him. But, frankly, I'm getting sick of it. Why is it our fault for falling for each other?” he asks with a smile but his wings are flaring angrily behind his back, “why is it not your fault for targeting us?” he loudly crows, hand gripping the metal table next to Samuil's bed until it creaks ominously, “is it because you wanted to steal my mate from me?!” Dottore is full on shouting now, gone is the facade, he's acting on pure anger outburst, “even so then why'd you try to kill him not once or twice but THREE times?! What did he do?! He's just a civilian! Is it because he no longer sides with Sumeru?!”
Samuil can only stare at the Harbinger with wide, terrified eyes. If, so far, he has been under the care of a composed Avian, he can't even imagine how he’d fare if he's under the mercy of a rampaging one?
Dottore folds his wings neatly as he takes a deep breath, bloodied arms hanging limply beside his body, “I heard you wanted to topple the old line of nobilities because you wanted to avenge your Sumerian mother,” he so calmly says after such an outburst that it's almost frightening, “fair enough,” he says with a shrug, “you wanted to use my mate and I to achieve your dream. Now that you've lost, it really shouldn't be wrong for me to use you to achieve my mate's dream, right?” he asks before turning around to leave the room while mumbling to himself, “huh, this might actually be the most just human experiment I've done so far.”
…
“Okay, are you just trying to make me introspect on my own miscalculation?” Zazan asks as he sulkily buries his face between Alhaitham's plump mounds, no longer able to stand the quiet as Alhaitham carries him up a hike.
Alhaitham, who's actually just resting his chin on Zazan's head as he concentrates deeply to not accidentally make the wrong step and slip off a cliff, laughs, “I don't know, Zazan. What have you understood so far?” he teases.
Zazan’s wings twitch irritatedly before they slump down in defeat, “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have overestimated myself and came crashing down,” he sourly says, voice muffled by Alhaitham's chest.
Alhaitham lets out a snort and jolts Zazan up so that he can carry him better in his hands, “This is going to be much easier if you didn't refuse to be carried in a bridal carry.”
Zazan grumbles unintelligibly to Alhaitham's chest as he stubbornly wraps his legs around Alhaitham's waist and his arms around his neck, just in case Alhaitham would try shifting his position.
Alhaitham rolls his eyes with an amused breath, “Don't you think being carried like this is more embarrassing?”
“Nope,” Zazan says as he squeezes one of Alhaitham's plump mounds, making Alhaitham slip on the icy ground with a surprised squeal.
Thankfully, they've reached the entrance of the cave in Zazan's map so they don't fall tumbling off a cliff but tangled in each other's limbs on the cold ground instead.
Chuckling to himself, Zazan quickly extricates himself from Alhaitham's quivering body –likely still reeling from having his chest that's still sensitive from Omega Build's rough play being squeezed, “Thank you for the ride~” Zazan playfully coos before he freezes.
“A? A-ah, Z- zashan?” Alhaitham stutters with all of his effort amidst soft moans.
Alhaitham's body is convulsing ever so slightly, pinned to his back beneath Zazan's weight. If Alhaitham isn't staring up at Zazan with confusion and a slight hint of fear, Zazan would compare this to a kiddie ride –a kind of dirty one. Alhaitham’s eyebrows are furrowing down as he tries to keep his head steady but his eyes are getting glassy with pleasure regardless of his attempt.
…
The Segments don't need to eat. Zazan usually doesn't bother to try it even for pleasure. His time is better if used to study ancient technology than indulging in ineffective refueling. As a matter of fact, it has been such a long time since he ate anything that he doesn't even remember if he has any allergies.
But, judging from the sweet smelling wet patch steadily growing bigger atop Alhaitham's mound that he has just squeezed, Zazan really hopes that he isn't lactose intolerant.
Notes:
In the brainstorming session where I tried to decide if Alhaitham should lay egg or give birth, I ended up choosing that he either have his child in a mammal way or and avian way because I don't want to turn Alhaitham into a platypus.
Also, imagine if Zazan isn't lactose intolerant but their future child is so 'Zandik' can get all of Alhaitham's milk lmao.
Ahhh, I'm so excited for Nod-Krai even though my pulling plan is basically just men and meta characters do that I can pull for more men (hehe). Aside from that, I don't like how the travelers are said to land in Nod-Krai but then we end up in Mondstadt. How. Idk, I'll see for myself there. Especially because I wonder how Dottore will turn out because for, supposedly being the one who 'owns' that region, he isn't mentioned at all.
Also, when I started this series, I vowed that I want to finish this before we can get any more Dottore's appearance in game because I'm going to struggle so much with trying to fit in the stories with the lore.
BUT THEN THEY END UP WORSHIPPING THE MOON IN NOD-KRAI HAHAHA!
IT'S A HUGE COINCIDENCE BUT DAMN AM I NOT THRIVING HERE FOR ACCIDENTALLY WRITING DOTTORE AS A HERETIC!Everyone: we are here for the moon.
Zandik: sameHjfubfh. I'm imagining all the factions are battling it out with Sandrone while Dottore is playing house with Alhaitham in a small island above the Fatui base (yes. I opened the preview map in Hoyolab to decide it. Hopefully it doesn't end up as a boss arena when Nod-Krai comes out)
Welp, that's all from me for today. How are you my dearest readers?
Chapter 116
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
…
Zazan presses a hand to his mouth just to make sure that he isn't drooling.
It isn't just about the way Alhaitham's clothes cling to the outline of his hardened nipple, though. The sweet, milky scent itself smells a bit different than cow milk. It… smells so much more alluring in a way that Zazan just instinctively knows that it'll taste so good.
…
At this point, with all of the evidence mounting up, Zazan won't even be surprised if Alhaitham's ascension molded him into the perfect mommy.
Zazan immediately frowns the moment that thought crosses his mind and flicks his wings before taking a deep breath as he presses another hand onto his mouth.
No. Putting that label on Alhaitham is redundant. Hayi has always been the perfect mommy for Zazan.
Zazan is snapped out of his thoughts when he feels his sleeve being pulled, “Zazan…?” Alhaitham softly calls, trying to stifle a moan, “ah, what's going on?” he pants, pretty eyes beautifully glazed with pleasure as they look up at him with uncertainty, “I- I feel something is gushing out of my nipple.”
For a moment, Zazan simply stares down at Alhaitham, ravenously eating up his appearance, before he blinks his eyes and removes his hands off his face, “I think you're lactating,” he says, pinching his own chin in thought.
Alhaitham's eyebrows twitch before they furrow as his face contorts to look at Zazan as if he just said something utterly stupid –here, Zazan would like to shamelessly admit that the look is turning him on, "Stop joking,” he grumbles, the effect severely ruined by the choked whimper he lets out at the end.
“Bet,” Zazan says with a loud clap of his hands before he makes quick work of throwing Alhaitham above his shoulders and happily prancing to the camp he established a few days ago.
Alhaitham immediately lets out a squawk, pairs of wings instinctively flapping in panic to free himself, momentarily forgetting the sensation on his chest, “Zazan, put me down!” Alhaitham angrily demands.
“Nu uh,” Zazan cheekily purrs, feathers ruffling with excitement as he subconsciously licks his lips –oh, the scent is strong, “you didn't believe me so let's get it checked out.”
“I-” Alhaitham squeals angrily before he quickly cuts himself off with a long sigh, “then can you at least walk more carefully?”
… Zazan starts sprinting, making Alhaitham wail in fear. But he doesn't just sprint up and down these narrow icy paths recklessly. He's skillfully avoiding every slippery ice on the ground that he has memorized like the back of his hand so that they won't have any accidents. Unfortunately, Alhaitham doesn't know that so he continues to wail in fear.
. . .
Alhaitham lets out a strangled squawk as Zazan rolls him off his shoulders and deposits him onto a bedding made of fabrics. Alhaitham immediately pushes himself to his elbows and glares at Zazan, having a lot to say, or at least he tries to. Before he can even make eye contact with his husband, his mate has already turned away to close the sheet of camouflage fabric that hides the entrance of the camp, wings cheerfully perking up high.
But, right as Zazan grabs the camouflage sheet, he stills. Alhaitham can't see his expression from where he's sitting but he can sense Zazan's demeanor changing. Zazan's wings are still perking up high but they're folded more composedly now as he silently secures the sheet.
Alhaitham, despite himself, squirms tensely. He can't help it. This chick is currently giving the same vibe as when Zandik or Doctor is internally planning to tease him until he begs. Alhaitham usually won't mind the change in dynamic but he still likes his darling sweetheart.
“Mommy~” Zazan purrs, making Alhaitham chokes on his own spit from surprise, before he slowly turns around to face Alhaitham, mouth splitting in a wide predatory grin, “I'm hungry,” he amusedly whines as he slowly stalks towards Alhaitham, eyes switching between looking into Alhaitham's eyes and his plump mounds, “breastfeed me, plea-”
Unable to endure this tension any longer, Alhaitham throws a small pillow at Zazan's face, face redder than red.
The pillow hits Zazan square in the face before it falls unceremoniously to the ground, stopping Zazan in his track and giving Alhaitham the time to ask, “Zazan, what-” Alhaitham starts before, unfortunately, cutting himself off with a big gulp, not even daring to bring himself to ask what that was about in fear of the following mortification.
Zazan looks at Alhaitham for a moment before he reaches for the pillow with a deep scowl and throws it back at Alhaitham, wings flared indignantly, “What do you mean, “what”?” he seethes, flared wings flapping a little in indignation, “you literally made me develop this kink. Take responsibility!”
Alhaitham gapes at Zazan, his face somehow even redder, “I- huh?!” he oh so eloquently squeaks, making Zazan crumples into a squat with a defeated sigh.
“Can I, at the very least, taste your milk?” Zazan asks as he takes off his mask, trying to look up at Alhaitham pleadingly, “it’s already gushing out. That's such a waste.”
Alhaitham softly wails as his pairs of wings subconsciously flare around himself to block Zazan's look, “Why would y-” Alhaitham tries to say to dissuade Zazan but cuts himself off because Zazan literally just said he wants to drink his milk because it'll be a waste not to, “t- these are for our fledgling, Zazan.”
Zazan stills, as if he just remembers that, but then he immediately narrows his eyes suspiciously at Alhaitham, “Then if the reason you're lactating right now is because your mammaries are full and not because you're pregnant, I can drink you dry?”
Alhaitham's eyelashes flutter as he stiffly smiles. Ah, he's getting dizzy. Why are they even having this conversation?
Still, he can't just say no. His only problem really is because his breast milk is for their fledgling. Not allowing Zazan to indulge in this kink after he introduced him to it is kind of mean. So, as embarrassing as it is, Alhaitham supposes that he brought this upon himself.
So Alhaitham unbuttons his long coat and slides off his top as a show of his intention –also because he can't hold Zazan in good faith not to tease him, “Of course,” Alhaitham says, voice shaky with embarrassment but he pretends that his face isn't red by arrogantly looking down at Zazan.
Unfortunately, looking down at Zazan only makes Alhaitham remember why he introduced Zazan to this kink. Zazan really has a pair of very expressive crimson eyes. They always have a shine of mischief in them so seeing them getting a sheen of confusion from pleasure is so arousing. And right now, Zazan is looking at Alhaitham with a smug look, eyes shining with triumph and mischief.
… Oh, Alhaitham wants to discipline him so bad….
The red on Alhaitham's face steadily disappears the longer he looks at Zazan, replaced with the urge to subjugate. He looks down at his chest, almost flinching because he doesn't remember his pectorals ever being this big –calling them his breast isn't even an overstatement anymore, before he looks at his nipples and slightly shudders to himself. Ah, they are so hard. One of them is also lightly quivering from time to time as his milk continues to steadily gush out.
Alhaitham lets out a hum as he grazes his gushing nipple with his nail and lather his fingers with the milk, “Is this what you want?” Alhaitham asks as he rubs the milk between his fingers and shows it to Zazan, “they're quite sticky.”
The way Zazan immediately snorts like an agitated bull almost makes Alhaitham cracks up, but then Zazan quickly scrambles forward to grab Alhaitham's wrist, “Yes, mommy,” he softly says, sounding so docile it makes Alhaitham's chest flutter, “Zazan wants it,” he softly mumbles before he starts licking Alhaitham's fingers clean, eyelids lowering from the taste.
…
Alhaitham hasn't told his mate yet. Ever since his checkup with Zazan –and Zandik– that ended up with Zazan taking his womb virginity, every time he finds himself getting horny, he feels something slick gush out of his hole. It felt weird at first but it makes sex easier so Alhaitham doesn't mind it much. What he minds is the heat that immediately follows after. It bubbles deep underneath Alhaitham's skin. It makes him restless, eager to cool himself –which usually ends up with him doing something that makes him sweat a lot.
Zazan lets out a pleased rumble at the back of his throat, snapping Alhaitham to look at him. The two Avians make eye contact, both are predatory in their own way. No words are said. Zazan just adoringly kisses the tip of Alhaitham's fingers without breaking eye contact, causing a slow smirk to spread on Alhaitham's lips.
“Come to mommy, my darling sweetheart,” Alhaitham coos as he spreads his arms welcomely.
Zazan grins wide, for the first time he looks like he's 100% agreeing to the kink, “Yes, mommy~” he purrs before he climbs onto the bedding and slots himself between Alhaitham's legs before spoiledly resting his chin on Alhaitham's chest, eyeing Alhaitham's gushing peak rather impatiently.
Alhaitham leans back to his arm with a fascinated grin as he observes the honest desire in Zazan's eyes, “Zazan, do you want to drink mommy's milk?” he asks as he raises a hand to pet Zazan's fluffy hair.
That gentle petting immediately turns into a harsh yank of surprise on Zazan's hair as Alhaitham lets out a loud squeal when Zazan doesn't answer him and just wraps his mouth around his nipple and sucks hard.
Zazan lets out a satisfied hum at the back of his throat. His mouth is quickly filled with milk with just a few light sucking –how abundant. Not to mention the taste. It's delicious. Not overly sweet but very creamy. It'd taste so good if heated up and paired with a plate of cookies.
Alhaitham's hand finally finds its strength and he tries to pull Zazan's head off his chest, “Za- Zazan,” he sternly says, breaking out of the play when he finds that his hand is still too shaky from pleasure, “you’re supposed to check first if I'm pregnant yet!” he wails in frustration when Zazan continues to drink from him.
Zazan continues to drink for a while longer before he finally seems to realize what Alhaitham just said and spits his nipple out with a scowl, “You aren't yet,” he says, annoyedly crossing his arms.
Alhaitham presses a finger onto his nipple to stop it from leaking, “And how do you know that? You haven't done anything.”
Zazan's wings flare indignantly, offended at the accusation, “I was grabbing your wrist to check on your pulse,” he says, sounding as if he's complaining that Alhaitham dares to even thought that he's unprofessional, “you have normal pulse,” Zazan informs as he grabs Alhaitham's wrist again and waits for a minute to recount his heart rate, causing the blocked nipple to gush out its milk once more, “if you're already pregnant then there's bound to be any change to it.”
Alhaitham's pairs of wings still shift restlessly, “What if you just miss the change?”
Zazan clicks his tongue as he rolls his eyes but he's extremely gentle and careful as he presses a hand on top of Alhaitham's lower belly, “I don't feel any heartbeat down here either,” he softly says, not looking up at Alhaitham but Alhaitham can tell that he's trying to be reassuring, “sure, it'll take time for the heart to develop but are you really thinking that you won't be able to make enough milk again before labour?” Zazan asks, mouth spread in an exasperated grimace, “I've checked your mammary glands on Omega Build's request and they're massive. You aren't even pregnant yet nor is it overly long since you've grown a womb and yet-” Zazan pauses his lecture to grab both of Alhaitham's mounds to make a point, “these. Are. Already. This. Damned. Heavy,” he says, enunciating each syllable with a rough squeeze.
Alhaitham throws his head back with a long moan as his other nipple starts gushing too, unable to even respond to Zazan's conjecture.
Zazan freezes as he stares at the milk dripping out of Alhaitham's nipple that trails down his beautiful mounds and ends up drenching his hands with its sticky sweetness, “Uh,” he hesitantly mutters at the river of milk, kind of regretting it since this means some drops will be spilt.
Alhaitham lets out a loud wail when Zazan pinches both of his nipples to stop the milk from spilling out. He arches his back as his pairs of wings uncontrollably shake and flap behind him. To make matters worse, that heat in his veins is burning him from the inside now. Ugh, Alhaitham feels like his vision is spinning. Is he going to die from overheating?
To be perfectly honest, Zazan actually feels it. Alhaitham's temperature feels higher than normal. On top of that, his crotch is pressed against Alhaitham's ass. He can perfectly feel that Alhaitham's natural slick and aphrodisiac have basically drenched his pants.
Zazan himself actually feels affected by Alhaitham's aphrodisiac already. He's so close to losing his mind but he's waiting for Alhaitham to understand his current health status first. Especially since his Hayi finds it important to have an offspring.
And, although Zazan is the youngest Segment of ‘Zandik', he wants his Hayi to be happy. So if going against the natural order of sexual reproduction will make Hayi happy, Zazan is fine with the thought of becoming a father at his mental age. Besides, that's not such a heavy price to pay for a family.
Finding himself getting misplacedly teary eyed when Alhaitham is literally writhing against him, Zazan makes a face at himself before he leans forward to kiss the gem in the middle of Alhaitham's collarbone, the fact that Alhaitham moans louder because of the chaste kiss is completely accidental but Zazan will grin triumphantly to that, “Mommy~” Zazan purrs with a fake sweetness, “can you train Zazan's stamina?” he croons as he purposefully tugs Alhaitham's nipples around.
Alhaitham simply lets out a winded gasp, the question not administered to his head yet, but then his crimson pupils light up with danger and the next thing Zazan knows is that his back is pressed against the cold, uneven stone wall and his face is smothered by Alhaitham's mounds with Alhaitham's chin digging heavily at the crown of his head.
“Oh, of course, sweetheart,” Alhaitham croons, voice rough as if he's having a fever, “mommy will help you train your stamina today but…,” he trails off, breath coming out in scalding hot puffs above Zazan's head as he makes quick work of freeing Zazan's erection from the confines of his pants, “only if you also help making mommy a real mommy again,” he dazedly purrs as he leans down to lick Zazan's earlobe, the action coincidentally also giving Zazan the chance to breathe.
Zazan gasps for a few breaths before his chest immediately stutters when he feels Alhaitham gripping his shaft roughly –is it just him or Alhaitham's temperature is abnormally high? “Ha-” Zazan tries to say before immediately choking on a groan when Alhaitham starts pumping his cock roughly while needily sucking on his ear.
Zazan grabs Alhaitham's waist, frowning in concern when he feels Alhaitham burning up against his palm.
Normally, high fever is a sign of infection and it's best to treat and find its cause. However, this case is a bit different –special even. Different in that it is Alhaitham that's having a fever. A fever that suddenly spikes up out of nowhere during a sexual play.
…
Zazan bites Alhaitham's nape until he feels that sweet iron. Alhaitham wails loudly. But, instead of trying to free himself from Zazan's bite or reacting to the pain, he just grinds against Zazan's thigh and jerks his cock faster. Not to mention the fact that Zazan can literally feel his shirt slowly getting drenched with Alhaitham's milk.
Zazan quietly cackles to himself as he grabs Alhaitham's waist tighter and reaches up to Alhaitham's nipple again, “Of course, mommy,” he coos as he flicks Alhaitham's nipple, the action causing a drop of milk to splatter onto his own cheek but he just licks it with a grin before continuing, “Zazan will definitely fill mommy with his baby.”
Alhaitham pulls back with a whine just so that he can straddle Zazan's lap before he immediately surges forward again to kiss his darling sweetheart, not even trying to pull off his pants first.
Zazan raises an eyebrow before he shrugs and kisses Alhaitham back until their teeth clack loudly against each other. Come to think of it, Zazan can't remember if he ever undresses his mate with his own hands. Alhaitham had always slipped into lingerie or undressed himself before.
So, as Zazan unbuckles Alhaitham's belt, he can't help but smirk into the kiss before pulling back to whisper, “Mommy, can you lift your hips up so that Zazan can put it in?”
In response to that, Alhaitham immediately smothers Zazan's face with his breast again, not that it means no, though, “Of course, sweetheart,” he pants before lifting his hips and pulls his pants down.
At first, Zazan laments the lost chance of unwrapping his present with his own hands. But then he feels Alhaitham's abnormally hot entrance pressing insistently against his swollen cock head and he mentally shrugs. Why fuss about that when he can just enjoy what he has?
Alhaitham, as per his needy self, starts lowering himself on Zazan's cock in such a way that'd certainly tear his ass. Zazan grips Alhaitham's ass, trying hard to stop his mate from being too rough on himself to the point that his knuckles turn white. Even when his cock is already sheathed to the hilt, Zazan still keeps his hands on Alhaitham's ass, trying to make sure Alhaitham adapts to his size first before he starts to get rough on his own womb.
Unfortunately, Zazan's goodwill isn't received well seeing as Alhaitham can only wait for less than two seconds before he literally tries to crush Zazan's windpipe while letting out a warning growl.
Zazan keeps his hands on Alhaitham's ass but he immediately looks away from Alhaitham's mounds to rasp, “Mommy, you're hurting Zazan.”
That manages to make Alhaitham pause. Maybe it catches him off guard. Zazan doesn't think it's important enough for him to know the reason why, though –at least for now.
His mommy isn't having his guard up. Zazan is thankful that the mounds pressing against the side of his face are hiding his grin. He has an idea. He doesn't know if it'll work but he certainly knows it'll bite him in the ass later.
Ah, whatever. Zazan is literally balls deep inside his wife's ass. What use is fearing the consequence?
Zazan, taking advantage of Alhaitham’s state of confusion, pushes him onto his back and starts doing his hardest to abuse his womb, going so rough that Alhaitham's mounds bounce up and down from the force of it. Alhaitham lets out a choked wail as his hands immediately shoot up to grab Zazan's shoulders. Zazan purposefully digs his knees into the bedding, bracing himself just in case Alhaitham will try to throw him off.
But, contrary to Zazan's expectations, Alhaitham doesn't struggle at all. In fact, he just lays there and takes it for once, hands squeezing Zazan's shoulders and pairs of wings flapping against the bedding.
“Oh! Yesh!” Alhaitham growls, the tip of his red tongue slightly peeking out of his mouth, “ahhh, my darling sweetheart is so good to mommy,” he blabbers, eyes rolling up in ecstasy as his nails dig into Zazan's skin.
… This might sound a bit stupid, but Zazan is so happy to hear that.
Notes:
Okay, so, to be honest, it has been a long time since I read my fic so I might have forgotten some little details like whether or not Zazan ever undresses Alhaitham. Another reason I'm bringing this up is because I also can't remember if I have ever written the moment Alhaitham secretes his aphrodisiac from his own point of view.
So anyway, that's the update for this week. I hope you like it and I hope that you'll enjoy the Nod-Krai patch when it drops because I certainly will and might spend too much time playing instead of writing.
Then again, the opposite might also be true because I'm really trying hard to not pull for C2 Alhaitham.
#INeedFanfic appreciation segment because I'm genuinely so glad that he is reading my fic and started commenting on it and we end up as homies because where else am I going to throw my headcanon and ideas if not at his head?
*Picture of a kitty sleeping in a box full of cash*
Accurate depiction of Zazan because he has access to 'Zandik' bank account as well.
Zazan: *slips a wad of cash into Alhaitham's waistband* call me your baby.
Prime: [HOW MUCH DID YOU GIVE THE WHORE?!]
Zandik: [Hush. He's doing a great job.]
Alhaitham: ... Just that? I can do more than calling you my baby with the right price, y'know....
Prime: [WHAT?!]
Zazan: ... breastfeed me.
Zandik: [Hell yeah.]
Prime: [WHAT?!!]Alhaitham: *spreads his arms welcomely* come here then, baby boy. Let's get to somewhere more private.
Prime: [OH HELL NAH!]
Waqa: [Why are you complaining?]Then imagine Zazan being annoyed by Prime's screaming that he forcefully disconnects from the link when he follows Alhaitham.
Whatever happens there, no other Segments know.
But when Zazan comes out, he's blissed.
Zandik: [So how was it?]
Zazan: [I got a full course meal.]
Zandik: [*whistles* now I'm jealous too.]
Zazan: [Heh, no one said the whore is done for the night.]
Prime: [*exited* Is he not?!]
Alhaitham: *comes out, shaking a little, and walks to kiss Zazan's cheek* visit me again sometimes, sweetheart. Mommy misses you already.
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