[ the room reverberates with it: the sorrow, the confusion, the deflection of which sends shards of sound and intent spinning out into the hush of an unknown galaxy. kaveh, who sits at the centre of it, wrapped in gauze and the curtain of fervor. alhaitham who observes the spiral of its nebula from just outside of its gravitational pull. no, that is an imprecise statement. for alhaitham has never been outside of kaveh's reach.
the gauze rests. another bandaid finds its way against the curve of kaveh's neck where a shard of the diadem's ricochet has caught it. alhaitham's fingers are slow and sure. ]
For you to preface your statements like so implies that I have lied to you in the past. But Kaveh, when have ever I lied to you in ways that matter?
[ a mirror is a reflection of what one allows themselves to show. alhaitham, who has always looked to the mirror of kaveh's existence, knows - that perhaps, fundamentally, alhaitham does not know how. not when it comes to kaveh.
the nail file is an addition to alhaitham's pouch that he has never really used for himself. he slips it out from its case. his hand reaches around kaveh, gently, to take his wrist between his fingers. alhaitham's weight leans forward and settles against the slope of kaveh's back. his chin hooks over kaveh's good shoulder. in the night, they are a creature of matching veins and arteries, shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, bone to bone.
alhaitham speaks, low. ]
My intentions were clear, and continue to be so. [ his fingers slide up to kaveh's, where he disentangles nail from teeth. alhaitham begins to file. ] Sachin's research interested me. Objectively speaking, the quality and genius behind his theorems and construction of studies are worth learning from regardless of the conclusions that he has drawn for them. My interest was drawn also based on the coincidence between Sachin's circumstances and the circumstances of your father's disappearance. It seemed to me that there was much to learn from knowing the truth.
[ a second finger. the leveling of the file. alhaitham continues: ] Out of ignorance and a misplaced sense of guilt, you had no choice but to blame yourself. You cannot make choices if you do not know. I gave you the information so that you can now choose, knowingly, what you wish to believe, and what you wish to do with it.
[ the third, alhaitham carefully lifts to the wan glow from the stained glass of his window. the sliver of moonlight highlights a particularly nasty-looking jagged edge of a chewed nail. he presses the nail file to it. alhaitham's voice does not waver. ]
Just as you ask me of my thoughts, so do I ask you: Kaveh, do you regret having learned what you have?
no subject
the gauze rests. another bandaid finds its way against the curve of kaveh's neck where a shard of the diadem's ricochet has caught it. alhaitham's fingers are slow and sure. ]
For you to preface your statements like so implies that I have lied to you in the past. But Kaveh, when have ever I lied to you in ways that matter?
[ a mirror is a reflection of what one allows themselves to show. alhaitham, who has always looked to the mirror of kaveh's existence, knows - that perhaps, fundamentally, alhaitham does not know how. not when it comes to kaveh.
the nail file is an addition to alhaitham's pouch that he has never really used for himself. he slips it out from its case. his hand reaches around kaveh, gently, to take his wrist between his fingers. alhaitham's weight leans forward and settles against the slope of kaveh's back. his chin hooks over kaveh's good shoulder. in the night, they are a creature of matching veins and arteries, shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, bone to bone.
alhaitham speaks, low. ]
My intentions were clear, and continue to be so. [ his fingers slide up to kaveh's, where he disentangles nail from teeth. alhaitham begins to file. ] Sachin's research interested me. Objectively speaking, the quality and genius behind his theorems and construction of studies are worth learning from regardless of the conclusions that he has drawn for them. My interest was drawn also based on the coincidence between Sachin's circumstances and the circumstances of your father's disappearance. It seemed to me that there was much to learn from knowing the truth.
[ a second finger. the leveling of the file. alhaitham continues: ] Out of ignorance and a misplaced sense of guilt, you had no choice but to blame yourself. You cannot make choices if you do not know. I gave you the information so that you can now choose, knowingly, what you wish to believe, and what you wish to do with it.
[ the third, alhaitham carefully lifts to the wan glow from the stained glass of his window. the sliver of moonlight highlights a particularly nasty-looking jagged edge of a chewed nail. he presses the nail file to it. alhaitham's voice does not waver. ]
Just as you ask me of my thoughts, so do I ask you: Kaveh, do you regret having learned what you have?