Chapter Text
You were sick of this. You were a Haravatat graduate. You had the top grades in your class. Your professor is still using your thesis on runic's direct connection with societal shift as a teaching tool . By no measurement, even the Akademiya's, were you dumb. Yet every time you were surrounded by people that was exactly how you felt. They talked and laughed and went on dates. How? Everytime you tried to join the conversation died off. There was something to this whole making friends thing that you were just blatantly missing. So, you decided, you'll have to approach the problem the same way you approached anything you didn’t know how to do: Research first.
There was just one snag. The very basis of socializing implied more than one person. Your own notes and observations were sure to be biased in your own understandings and viewpoints. No, you needed someone else to contribute. Given your track record with people, likely someone just as socially bereft as you were. Fortunately or unfortunately, you knew just the person.
This time of day the Akademiya Scribe could usually be found in the House of Daena. The second you stood on the bridge that connected the main entrance to the center elevator that led up to higher floors you spotted him. In the past you had only known him in passing. The job of the Akademiya Scribe was both painfully boring and mind-numbingly simple. Why someone on his level would even bother applying was beyond you. Still, you were pleased to find him alone even if you did feel a little bad about interrupting his reading. Occasionally you saw him bickering with a blonde man you'd never personally met. If he were around there was no way your courage would hold out for this.
"I need your help," you said as you took the seat directly opposite him at the study table. He sat perched with an ankle resting over his knee and didn't even look up. Your attention shifted from his face to the gold headphones he never took off. Dammit. Was he ignoring you or did he just not hear you? "Alhaitham?" You were less sure of yourself this time and it showed in your voice.
"I can hear you," he replied evenly without looking up. You jolted back in your chair so you were sitting with your back straight. He had heard you so he had ignored you but he wasn't still ignoring you so… where did that leave you?
"I need your help," You repeated. With a sigh he closed the book. It made a soft thump from its size alone as he did. Finally, the weight of his attention was on you. You swallowed hard and did your best not to let his impassive expression rattle you.
"Do you need my help or do you just want my help for some reason?"
"This is an elective study, if that's what you're asking, but as far as data collection goes I need your help." You were trying to sound like you were negotiating, but Alhaitham forever looked like he wasn't buying it. He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I need someone else who struggles with socializing to compare observations and exchange ideas with. If I try to do it myself the results will lean into my own biases and leave me right where I started."
"What makes you think I struggle with socializing?" He countered. You didn’t think you imagined the slight bit of offense in his tone.
"The only person you ever talk to is that blonde man, and even those interactions don't seem particularly pleasant," you replied honestly. "Socially, I mean. Discussing work with the Sages or the specifics of a study with a student doesn't count."
Alhaitham's gaze slipped a little bit as he thought. Was he considering his lack of social options? Or was he considering your proposal? You weren't trying to be offensive, and you desperately hoped he wasn't offended. He already might very well walk away from this. Offending him was not going to improve your chances any. To reinforce your point, you carefully put your notebook on the table before him. It was already open to an outline of how you planned to go about researching this along with a few small notations of your own thoughts. He didn’t move as he glanced it over.
"The end goal of this research is to benefit socially," he stated. The point was obvious and you didn't feel the need to nod. "Consider that I see no social benefit from this."
"What?" That took you off guard. "You intimidate nearly everyone you come across without saying a word."
"I also like being left alone."
"But don't you get lonely ?" Alhaitham arched a brow. You sighed in exasperation and pinched the bridge of your nose to fend off a headache. "You must want some company outside of the blonde you argue with." He still didn't seem even remotely swayed. Surely he needed some interaction outside of his Akademiya duties?
"I'll consider your proposal," the Scribe said as he stood. He picked up his book and tucked it into the pocket at his lower back. Without looking back he walked away from you and your research outline.
You snatched up the notebook feeling more than a little annoyed. That was generally how people said they felt around Alhaitham– Annoyed. Yet he wanted his solitude. To a certain extent you couldn’t blame him. There was no one that you could relax around quite like your books and nothing quite as soothing as the sounds of the forest. Everyone wanted someone to talk to now and again though. A friend to rely on. You sighed and looked back down at your notes. Or maybe not everyone wanted that. Maybe it was just you. And maybe it would be on you to figure out how to achieve that.
You were on your way out of the library much later (it was a fruitless pursuit but you tried searching for any materials the library might have) when you heard the sound of voices arguing. By this point of the day the Akademiya was quiet and it was mostly professors that wandered here and there. Students were either still in the library or had gone home for the day. The first voice was one you’d heard before but couldn’t immediately put a face to.
“You can’t be serious! This is the perfect opportunity for you to figure out how to talk to them and you’re not going to take it?” The voice was dramatic and a little on the loud side, echoing in the empty room.
“I don’t need to research how to approach people, and quiet down. Your voice is echoing in here.” That was a voice you recognized. What was Alhaitham still doing here? No, that was silly. There were a million reasons the Scribe might still be here. You shouldn’t be eavesdropping on their conversation, but to be fair… with the volume of the first voice you didn’t really need to. All you needed to do was be in the area.
“Oh please Alhaitham, you’re going to pretend you haven’t been sneaking glances? How stupid do you think I am?”
“You do not want me to answer that.”
“Take the opportunity! Learn to approach people! Maybe half the students wouldn’t be afraid to be in the same classroom as you.”
“Is there a particular reason you’re still here? I know you’re not that worried about my social life.”
There was the sound of a heavy sigh.
“You grabbed both keys. Again.”
There was the sound of metal jingling and then footsteps. Only one set though, which meant one of them was lingering behind. The footsteps echoed in the empty room and then there was the sound of the doors to the atrium and you and the stranger were alone.
“Are you going to eavesdrop forever?” Shit. Not a stranger. Alhaitham had been the one to stay behind. Purely because he knew you were listening, it seemed.
“You don’t really need to eavesdrop on a conversation that could be heard in Ghandarvaville.” You replied defensively, stepping onto the stone walkway above him and into full view. “Were you… talking about my proposal?” Maybe asking directly wasn’t the best approach, but no use pretending you didn’t hear what you did. “There was someone… you were struggling to approach?”
“Kaveh likes to make things more dramatic than they are,” Alhaitham replied with a groan. Your eyes widened. He didn’t mean… The Kaveh, did he? “It’s been his opinion that I should be more social romantically and he keeps finding ‘signs’ of apparent feelings for nearly anyone he can.” Alhaitham shook his head and crossed his arms. “I’ll help you with your research,” he added, “it would give Kaveh enough reassurance that I care about my social prospects that he’ll stop talking about it for a while.”
Oh. Well that wasn’t the turn you had been expecting. You had expected to have to try to argue with him again and present a more convincing argument. (Something you would have had to dedicate serious time to when you returned home, if you ever stood a chance.) Yet now Alhaitham was agreeing to work with you easily. It wasn’t exactly the way you were hoping it would go, you didn’t like the thought of your little research project being an excuse to get Kaveh off his back, but you had his participation if nothing else.
“We can talk about it tomorrow at Puspa Cafe during lunch. It would be a more optimal location for studying social interactions and habits.”
As if that decided it, Alhaitham turned away from you and disappeared into a door on the lower level. You were left alone to stare in disbelief at the spot he had occupied.
This was off to a strange start, but at least it was a start?