Chapter Text
On that day, at that moment, Alhaitham wished for nothing else than for others to be there next to him.
“We’ll always be together.”
Those words called out to him from someone long gone but were just a fleeting, momentary promise. Instead, he became a lone scholar. The pride of the Akademiya. The Scribe. Satisfaction only came with the statistics and outcome. Happiness with successful plans. Thrill and excitement from logical deductions.
And yet, why? Why does he feel so…?
“Doesn’t being lonely suck at all?”
Alhaitham turned to that mercenary that interested him, Dehya. Her smile was both oblivious and oddly comforting. Every conversation he shared with her felt like her voice was trying to pull him out of his comfort in solitude.
And yet his heart was troubled, forcing him to answer, “I like being alone,” and avoid her intuitive gaze.
A hum escaped the pyro woman as she said, “In that case, I’ll be alone with you.”
From the corner of his eye, Alhaitham watched Dehya sit beside him on the bench and stretch her limbs. A sigh escaped his lips. “That’s not necessary. Don’t you have other things to do?”
“Yeah, but one of them is hanging out with my friends,” Dehya answered, lying back on the bench. “Or we can do whatever tickles you fancy, even fight some monsters.”
“Did you forget I can handle myself in a fight?”
“That depends on what kind of fight it is.”
“Speaking like a cryptic, are we?” Alhaitham asked, his interest piquing at hearing the desert woman’s elaborate vagueness.
An amused chuckle left Dehya’s mouth. She didn’t answer afterward, instead saying, “I know being around others is not your style, Alhaitham, but I’m sure you’ll get that one person who will stick with you till the end. Life would just suck otherwise. You should give people a chance to be that to you. The way your life changes afterward will be so worth it.”
“As if anyone like that will want to be around me,” Alhaitham stated.
“Then I’ll be that person until they come around,” Dehya pointed at herself.
“Of course, until someone tosses a bag of Mora at you.”
“As if you wouldn’t out-pay them to keep me around. Besides, me betraying my friends? Not in my blood nor spirit.”
The scholar eyed the confident mercenary. No doubt she meant it based on how her eyes looked. “As usual, you sound so sure of yourself.”
“Were you any different when you spoke to me?” she asked.
Alhaitham paused, wanting to turn his attention back to his book. However, Dehya’s smile pulled stronger in the tug-of-war, her words lingering like a bright star at the sun's rising.
The scholar closed his eyes but still imagined her smile. Unable to resist the aura she projected, he slowly reached out his right hand, reopening his eyes to tell her, “Very well. I’ll hold you to that, Dehya.”
Dehya replaced her smile with a slightly gaped mouth, her eyebrow moving upwards as she stared at the hand before her. It didn’t take long for the smile to return as she took her right hand to shake it, feeling the firmness of one who reads books day and night. Had it not been for the fact that she knows Alhaitham, she would have assumed he planned to throw her. In the end, Dehya was happy to be able to shake his hand.
##
“And with that, Alhaitham and I exchanged a passionate handshake.” Dehya finished her story to Nilou and Collei at the diner that evening, both of whom had tears running down their cheeks.
“What a lovely story!” Collei cried, placing a napkin over her mouth.
“Beautiful, like a romance novel,” said Nilou, wiping away her tears with her napkin. “To think Alhaitham would open up to you like that, Dehya. Much faster than he did the rest of us.”
“I’m still trying to work up the courage to even speak with him,” said Collei, a slight blush coloring her cheeks as she rubbed her head, “What’s your secret? Did you cast a magic spell on him, by any chance?”
“Or maybe you made him drink a potion?”
Dehya chuckled at the theories thrown her way. “Settle down, girls. You know it’s not nice to talk about someone when they’re in front of you.”
A rough cough interrupted their conversation, causing the girls to turn to Alhaitham, who sat with them. His unamused stare caused Collei to dart her eyes to the nearest view away from his eyes while Nilou tilted her head down with a frown.
“Speaking of, you finally have something to add, Alhaitham?” Dehya asked, turning to the sulking scholar.
“Dehya, how often have I told you not to share that story?”
“A-Are you not happy about it, Mr. Alhaitham?” Collei asked, “But it sounds like a true friendship born in real-time.”
“Exactly,” Nilou added, “It’s reminiscent of a dramatic memory only born from the purity of youth.” The young dancer straightened her posture, eyes widened, and hands clasped together, “I have an idea for a new dance, now!”
“Really? Already?” Collei asked, “Then this handshake must be powerful enough to inspire anything. I-I want to share a passionate handshake with you, too! I-if it isn’t a bother, of course.”
Despite the brimming enthusiasm present, Alhaitham sighed, thinking of a proper way to respond. Then he side-eyed Dehya and answered, “You’ll… find a better handshake with Dehya than with me. She’s the one who offered it to me in the first place.”
“Alhai-”
“Really?” The green-haired girl’s body was on the brink of bouncing, “Will you shake my hand too, Dehya? Pretty please?”
Dehya glared at Alhaitham from the side of her eye for how he lied about her offering the handshake, but she didn’t want to disappoint the excited forest ranger, so she prepared to extend her hand out. “Alright, Collei, I’ll give you a handshake.” Looking down, she noticed Collei preparing to shake her arm with her left, which stopped the mercenary from extending hers, “Oh, you don’t want to be shaking with your left hand.”
Nilou tilted her head at the statement, asking, “Why? Is there a problem with that?”
“Not necessarily, but in my line of work as a mercenary, shaking with your left hand means ‘Goodbye,’” Dehya explained, “Alhaitham and I shook with our right hands, which means ‘All my best.’”
“Wow, so handshakes have different meanings to them?” Collei asked, “I would never have guessed that.”
“There are some other kinds too, but for now, just remember that the right hands mean good,” said Dehya.
“I see…” Nilou took a second to study Alhaitham and Dehya before asking, “Does that mean you and Alhaitham share a special bond then?”
Alhaitham’s eyes widened as he quickly answered, “H-hardl-”
“Absolutely,” Dehya cut in, grinning at the awkward scholar, “Alhaitham and I now have a special bond.”
The scholar in question turned away with a slight huff. “Then, do you know what shaking a left hand with a right hand means, Dehya?”
The mercenary tilted her head at the question. “Come again?”
“Shaking a left hand with a right. What does it mean?”
Nilou rubbed her mouth with her finger, letting out a thinking hum, “What could it mean…?”
“I don’t think that question makes sense at all, Mr. Alhaitham,” said Collei, “You can’t shake a left hand with a right.”
“That’s right,” Dehya said, playfully poking the scholar's arm, “Alhaitham, you’re not going to psyche me out with weird questions like that. Got to do better.”
“It’s far from a weird question, Dehya,” Alhaitham retorted, moving his arm away from the annoying poking, “And will you stop poking me.”
“Then what does it mean?” Dehya said, continuing her constant poking.
Silence followed the man, his eyebrows twitching as his mind only focused on the poking the girl next to her kept doing. Before long, he stood up from his table and said, “I’m afraid that’s all the time I have. The bill is on my tab, so enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Dodging the mercenary’s request for a hint, Alhaitham left the diner without glancing back at the girls. In his mind, he wondered if proposing a question so odd was appropriate. He doubted they would remember it the next day, not allowing memories of him to linger too long. The last thing he heard before leaving was Nilou beginning her long speech about her new dance idea.
Perhaps they had already forgotten. That was fine with him.
##
The next day was tiresome for Alhaitham. Proof after proof that the scholars going to him about Akademiya business have no insight to offer. Adding on to the fact that the new applications he received showed little promise. Nothing but boastful talks of wanting to make century breakthroughs and weightless promises of revolutionary knowledge. It was full of people who liked the sound of their convoluted language.
Denied.
Denied.
Denied.
Alhaitham grew weary of having to think that word over and over. He thought walking would ease his mind, but he’d need to go somewhere quiet during lunchtime. Deep down, he wished he could just go home and not have to bother with the headaches. Relaxing with his favorite book sounded more like a distant dream to him now. However, he stopped his mixture of thoughts when he heard the sound of cheers from children.
At the training ground, Alhaitham saw Dehya surrounded by a group of kids training before them as if she were performing. Her punches and kicks, though nimble to untrained eyes, carried the strength of hammers, knocking the wooden chips off the training dummies. Then with a wind-up of her right fist, she knocked the abdomen of a dummy clean off, leaving only the head and limbs.
Cheers of awe and wonder followed from the children watching as they gathered around Dehya, bombarding her with a mountain of praise and questions. Despite her intimidating display of power, the mercenary was calm while speaking to the children, almost like a mother to her group of impressionable children. The sight fascinated Alhaitham, calming his already aching mind. But why, he thought?
He waited to step in once all the kids returned to their parents and Dehya was alone.
“That’s a lot of staring you were doing there, Alhaitham.”
The scholar didn’t flinch when Dehya said this, fully aware of her keen senses. Looking into her blue irises, he asked, “How long did you know?”
“For a while,” she wiped her sweating forehead with a towel, breathing a sigh of relief, “If you wanted to watch with the kids, you should have said something.”
“It’s not my place to intrude on their fun.” Watching Dehya wrap the towel around her neck and flick the water droplets off her hair was a sight.
“Everyone has a place to watch me train, even you,” she stated, “Doing it alone is such a boring way to pass the time.”
“Won’t that invite prying eyes?” Alhaitham asked.
“Yeah, but many people here, no offense, don’t seem like they train a whole lot. It’s a shame because you look like you’ve done your fair share of rigorous workouts,” Dehya said, eyeing his muscles, resisting the urge to poke them again.
Clearing his throat to avoid the silent staring, Alhaitham responded, “You did a good job with the presentation, by the way.”
Dehya let out an amused huff, turning to the man, “What’s this? A compliment from Alhaitham? Am I going to be the next Pyro Archon?”
The man in question narrowed his eyes. “If you don’t want it, I can take it back.”
“Relax, it’s just a friendly jab,” Dehya said, “It wouldn’t hurt to smile a bit, you know. Those kids smile at basically anything I do compared to you.”
“Kids gravitate to whoever they desire to be in the future,” Alhaitham asked, “It’s no surprise your work ethic would attract such attentive eyes.”
“Really? All I did was punch some wooden sticks,” Dehya said, shrugging, “But if it’s what they like, then that's good enough for me.”
That’s good enough for me . Alhaitham repeated in his head, wondering what bothered him in that sentence.
Dehya smirked at him. “Have you got time to spar with me after my break? I’ve wanted a partner for so long, but people freak out whenever I ask them.”
“I wonder why.” Alhaitham said, glancing over at the broken dummies, “Do I annoy you that much?”
“Oh, no, don’t worry about that!” Dehya stammered, rubbing her head, “I won’t hit you that hard (maybe) . I did all that to impress the kids.”
“It would still be risky…” Alhaitham muttered, realizing how much Dehya had improved. “When was the last time you asked me to spar?”
“Months ago, if I recall,” Dehya answered, “Just like then, I don’t see that roommate of yours around. Did you two get into a fight again?”
Alhaitham pulled his lip back at the statement and shook his head. “I don’t call listening to nagging ‘a fight’. Besides, I haven’t seen him all day. Akademiya work and all.”
“Tiresome, huh? It sounds like you have a lot to get off your chest,” said Dehya, grinning enthusiastically.
“I do.”
“What a coincidence! So do I!”
Alhaitham saw that sparkle in Dehya’s blue eyes, complimenting her grin and nodding to him. He sighed, tired and almost ready to say no, but how could he? Slowly, his energy returned to him as his eyes matched that same fire. Curiosity overtook his logic as he slowly made his way to the grounds.
Taking Alhaitham’s behavior as a sign of approval, the mercenary tossed her towel aside, readying herself to go toe-to-toe with her new opponent. “Yeah, now that’s more like it!”
Unstoppable strength against immovable calculation.
Alhaitham never thought he would act this way, either. So many strange things happened to him because of this woman he now wants to face. Not even the process of elimination can help explain any of this. Nor will it help him in this fight.
##
Alhaitham’s muscles were sore the next day. Nothing from the spar he and Dehya had surprised him, from the sheer strength and agility of the mercenary to the relentless nature of her attacks. Had it not been for his calculative quick reactions to her moves, the spar would have ended as soon as it started. Ending it in a stalemate, much to both their dissatisfaction, the two decided to go shopping to make up for it and allow their bodies to recover.
While Dehya was happy to invite Candace to join, Alhaitham was less than thrilled to have his roommate butt in and potentially cause more headaches for him and Dehya; however, knowing the desert woman, she could get along with just anybody.
“Hey, Kaveh, do you know what it means when you shake your right hand with someone’s left?” Dehya asked.
Kaveh, who had joined the three on a shopping trip through the Sumeru market, looked over at Dehya and Candace with a raised eyebrow. “What?” He asked.
“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Candace said, “Is that some sort of riddle?”
“Hardly,” the artist answered, “I don’t know who told you something so silly, Dehya, but you can’t shake hands like that.”
“Yeah, but Alhaitham was saying-”
“I gave Dehya a question to test her problem-solving capabilities,” Alhaitham explained, “Rather arrogant of you to call it ‘silly,’ Kaveh.”
“Wha- Alhaitham, you just gave her a trick question!” Kaveh shouted, “It’s impossible to use your left hand to shake a person’s right and vice versa.”
“Funny because I believe the opposite,” the scholar said with a shrug, “Think hard enough, and I’m sure you’ll reach the answer, eventually.”
“As if it would be worth anything, knowing you and your ‘tests.’”
“It’s not for you to decide that.”
A groan escaped the artist’s lips as he replied, “First, you wandered into the desert without telling me, and now you’re burdening our friends with this nonsense? What on earth is wrong with you?!”
“Okay, you two, settle down,” Candace called out, “Dehya and I don’t mind this test of Alhaitham’s; on the contrary, you’ve made me even more interested in solving it.”
“See?” Alhaitham rolled his eyes away from Kaveh, “The ladies are showing far more potential for scholarly. How I wish everyone were like them.”
“You just love hearing the sound of your voice…” Kaveh muttered.
“If you want to give it a shot, Candace, go ahead,” Dehya said with a shrug, “I still haven’t figured it out myself.”
Candace adopted a thinking pose, a hand under her chin as her eyes focused. With a pondering hum, she muttered the question again before her eyes shot up with a smile. “Oh, I got it.”
Kaveh’s eyes widened. “Y-you do?!”
Candace nodded, moving over to stand next to Dehya. “Alhaitham thinks outside the box in several circumstances. Knowing him, he’d test our knowledge and ability to do the same. The simple answer would be that it’s impossible; however…” The blue-haired woman then locked her left hand with Dehya’s right, facing the boys to shake their hands before them, “This, right, Alhaitham?”
“C-Candace?!” Dehya jolted, feeling her heat thump from her friend’s sudden action.
“Ah, very clever,” Kaveh said.
Alhaitham stared at Candace’s hands, holding tightly onto Dehya’s like a steel chain, challenging to break. Despite his mouth being closed, he felt air trying to escape through the tiny openings. Nervousness took hold of him for the first time as this desert woman showed remarkable deduction skills. If she was close to the answer, part of him hoped Dehya would soon follow, especially after yesterday.
##
Yesterday, Dehya repeatedly badgered Alhaitham in the Akadimiya library as he worked. Usually, Alhaitham would have the annoyances kicked out without a second thought, but he allowed the mercenary to stick around as she had nothing else to do then. He partially regretted it, as focusing with so much noise present was challenging.
“Come on, Alhaitham,” Dehya whined, trying to pull his book away from him only to get swatted away repeatedly, “Give me a hint.”
“How many times must I repeat this to you? Hints are for the talentless. If you can’t figure it out on your own, then that is your limit of critical thinking,” Alhaitham answered, not looking in her direction as his eyes were glued to his book.
The mercenary let out a low grunt and crossed her arms. Before long, a smirk followed, and she said, “If I recall, you still owe me for that win I earned during our spar.” Right on cue, the scholar rolled his eyes. “Maybe a hint, or should I tell your roommate.”
Alhaitham lowered his voice and narrowed his green eyes toward her. “Blackmailing is a felony, Dehya.”
“Yeah?” The mercenary leaned in closer, “And claiming something is a felony when it isn’t is also a felony.”
“Citation, please.”
“Hint, please.”
The two stared into each other’s eyes, the air between them tensing like a packed room. One calm yet cold stare against a crafty, smiling gaze.
Alhaitham sighed, ending the staredown first, and said, “Alright, one hint.”
“Yes!” Dehya cheered like a little kid.
“Do you recall running into a team of scholars during your teenage years?”
“You’re… going to have to be specific.”
“The scholars had their route through the desert planned out, but a storm forced them to move off course and lose their way. When they were about to run out of supplies, the scholars decided to head back to Sumeru, but one stayed.”
“Oh… there was a scholar I found who looked like he was about to pass out. Now that I think about it…Wait!” Dehya whispered as her eyes widened, “That was you, Alhaitham?”
The gray-haired scholar nodded, continuing his story. He spoke about how important the research was to him; however, his colleagues abandoned it in the face of potential danger. In hindsight, though, they were right to do so. Alhaitham, on the other hand, was too stubborn in his youth to admit that. He was willing to traverse the scorching desert sands if it meant accomplishing his goal. Such a tale only ends in one way to Dehya.
Luckily for Alhaitham, on the verge of passing out from dehydration, a mercenary found him and got him to safety, but he didn’t recall anything after that.
Dehya placed a finger over her chin and said, “You don’t remember that part, do you? I brought you back to Aaru Village, but a search team from the Akadimiya arrived and took you away. I didn’t even have a chance to watch over your recovery, let alone get your name. It’s crazy that we were that close to meeting for the first time.” She paused as a thought seemed to have arrived at her mind’s doorstep, but she quickly closed it and asked, “So… what does this have to do with your riddle?”
Alhaitham sighed, wondering if he should go further; however, knowing Dehya, she would struggle the less she knew. So he said, “What did you do when you found me?”
“Huh?” Dehya tilted her head, “I… saved you, didn’t I? It’s not like I did anything else that’s special.”
Alhaitham remained silent for a moment before standing up. “That’ll be it for today. No more hints.”
“What?! That’s the hint?!”
“Yes. If you can’t figure it out, then there’s no shame or fault to you,” Alhaitham said to the shocked mercenary. He looked away from her, trying to hide his frown and the pained expression in his eyes, “I’d rather you forget about this, to be honest…”
“You’d rather I what?”
“Nothing.”
“Alhaitham, did I-?”
That was all Alhaitham heard: the concern in her tone and the image of her worried expression before he left the library. He wanted to tell the truth but kept the words under lock and key. Such feelings would only muddy things between them.
##
“Ooh, I see!” Dehya said to Candace, “I’d never thought of that, Candace. Just the kind of trick question you’d expect from Alhaitham.”
“Well, Alhaitham?” Candace looked into the scholar’s eyes, “What’s your verdict.”
Alhaitham stared at the two holding hands together, his silence carrying a strange heaviness before a loud, “Incorrect.” After passing his verdict, he turned away from the three, crossing his arms, “Not even close.”
“And there it is…” Kaveh muttered as he rolled his eyes, “It’s never easy with you, is it?”
“Ah, then I guess I’m stumped too,” Candace admitted, letting go of Dehya’s hand, “I don’t want to give up so easily, but…”
“Forget about it,” Kaveh said with a shrug, “It’s not like Alhaitham’s going to give up the answer, and I doubt you’ll get any special aside from bragging rights.”
“All the more confusing why you haven’t made at least ten attempts by now, Kaveh,” Alhaitham said.
“Tch, you-!”
Dehya sighed unexpectedly and said, “Geez, it’s that tough, huh? Well, this question is too much for the Flame Mane. I guess I’ll just give up.”
“Dehya?” Candace asked, finding her friend’s tone odd.
“Yeah, you’re not the Akadimiya’s top scholar for nothing, Alhaitham,” said Dehya, walking up to Alhaitham.
Kaveh chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds just like him.”
“Are you okay, Dehya?” Alhaitham asked.
“Nah, not at all,” Dehya answered, smirking as she eyed Alhaitham’s hand, “Since I couldn’t figure it out, I’ll have to face my end of the deal, right?”
“End of the… what?” Alhaitham asked.
Before he knew it, Dehya had grabbed a tight hold of his left hand and began dragging him through the Sumeru streets, much to his shock. “We’ll see you two later!”
Alhaitham couldn’t believe how fast Dehya was moving. His body struggled to keep up with him, his arm feeling like it was being slowly yanked out. His heart rate rose, and sweat dripped down him as they narrowly avoided the crowd of people in the market.
“Dehya!” He shouted at the running mercenary, “What are you doing?! You- We didn’t make a deal for getting the answer or not!”
She answered with her usual smile. “Yeah, I know. I just wanted to grab you and drag you away.”
“You… felt like it?”
“Now then, how about you be my date today?”
“Date?!”
“Come on, I know you’re free.”
“Will you slow down for a second?!”
Dehya did as told and allowed the scholar to catch his breath.
Finally stabilizing his airflow, Alhaitham stood straight and looked at the smiling mercenary. “What’s with you? A date? Are you… asking me that? In what scenario would you-”
“This scenario, Alhaitham,” Dehya answered, “If you plan on refusing, you should at least let go of my hand.”
Alhaitham looked over to see his right hand still held onto her left. His eyes widened as a loud thumping began in his chest. Just like that day…
##
A faint memory of that day when a lost male scholar was held in the arms of a female mercenary. His lips were as dry as his skin. In the distance, he could see a vulture flying high above them. Such a sight, however, wouldn’t deter him from his goal, especially after the mercenary told him she would take him to safety.
“I told you… I’m not heading back…!” He shouted to the young mercenary, “I’ve already decided to keep going on my own! If no one can keep up with me or take this seriously, I’d rather do it alone!”
“Are you insane?!” The young girl shouted at the boy, keeping a tight hold on his Akedimiya outfit, “You go on like this for another thirty minutes, and you’ll start seeing vultures hovering over you!”
“But this project… I put too much time into it to let it end! If I don’t produce results…”
The mercenary’s eyes softened, realizing the kind of scholar he was; however, she said, “No project should be more valuable than your own life. If you came here with others, I’m sure they tried to tell you the same. They must be worried about you, so just…”
“The rest of them can do whatever! I don’t need them or their opinions! I… can’t…”
“Fine, then I don’t need your opinion either!” The mercenary grabbed the boy’s hand with her before carrying him across the hot sands.
The boy let out a gasp at the girl’s unbelievable strength. “Wha- What are you?!”
“No one gets left behind,” said the mercenary as she crossed the vast, blazing sands, “If you don’t like my desert rule, guess what? Those who conquered this hell on Teyvat get to make them! Anyone else will end up as a skeletal decoration underneath this sand. So shut your mouth and let me save your life!”
The next thirty minutes after that statement was filled with the quiet blowing of the Sumeru desert wind across the sand. The gray-haired scholar, once yelling at the mercenary, was now quiet. He watched the girl continue to carry him without a single sweat to be seen nor grunt to be heard. Glancing over, he noticed that her hand was still resting on his. Whether it was to prevent him from making a break for it or to keep him from falling should she get tired of carrying him, it brought a warm, comfortable contrast to the desert's strenuous heat.
“Um… I would’ve been dead by now, right?” He asked.
“More or less, yes,” answered the girl.
Silence followed before a “Thank you” left the scholar's lips, followed by a “Don’t mention it” from the mercenary.
##
A blur from then on. The memory was faint but had a lingering presence. It’s why the desert interested Alhaitham, not because of its vast nature or unforgiving danger, but the knowledge it held and the people traversed through it. The girl, now looking more like Dehya every day he looked into her eyes, remained ever on his mind.
If that was her, then why didn’t she…?
“Hey, Alhaitham.”
Alhaitham returned to reality, the first image he saw being of Dehya waving her hand in front of his face, asking if he was okay.
The scholar paused to relax his breathing, noticing that his face and body temperature dramatically increased ever since Dehya took his hand. With a nod, he answered, “I’m fine.”
The mercenary frowned, trying to look beyond just his eyes. “You don’t look fine to me. If I’m coming across as forceful, then…”
“You’re the last person who would make me feel that way,” he crossed his arms, “I was in shock at the number of words you threw at me. Like a… date? What exactly are we supposed to do?”
Dehya giggled, returning to her cheerful self, as she tugged his hand towards her. “It’s not going to be complicated to think about. Just follow my lead.”
“I can’t follow someone’s lead if I don’t know where we’re going,” Alhaitham pointed out, hearing the mercenary scoff.
“Where’s the fun in revealing everything, Alhaitham?! We’re going to the spot where the answer is, and that’s all I’ll say,” Dehya answered.
Now it was her turn to be vague. Alhaitham started to wonder where she was getting all this bravado from. Hardly from Candace, anyone in the desert, Kaveh, or anyone else in the city. Surely, he would have noticed long before now if it were for him, but he now wondered if he wasn’t paying as much attention as usual. Or that something distracted him for so long.
Dehya? He wondered, looking down at her hand on his, her right keeping hold of his right. Did she figure it out? Why not just say it now? These questions ran through his mind as they went outside the city. By then, he deduced that their destination was the desert. Looking towards the setting sun behind them, the scholar calculated that the temperature would drop by the time they arrived, eliminating the risk of heat exposure.
However, that still didn’t explain why there, of all places in Sumeru. Usually, he would stop all this, as trusting other people would lead to unwelcoming circumstances. However, Dehya, while simple and forward with her thinking, never bore ill intent to those she trusted. To repay that level of trust with the opposite would be foolish.
Trust. He thought to himself, trying to recall a memory associated with that word.
Only two.
##
“Here we are!”
They arrived at a lone oasis in the desert after twenty minutes of traversing through the rough sand at dusk. Alhaitham didn’t know whether to be disappointed, embarrassed, or intrigued by Dehya’s approach to critical questions. Something in his heart told him he would always pick the third option.
Tilting his head, he turned his turquoise eyes to her and said, “This is it? I struggle to understand why you would pick this place, Dehya.”
“Oh right, you don’t know, do you?” Dehya asked, wasting no time in going into the oasis water. She gestured for the scholar to come closer. He hesitated at first but trusted what the mercenary had in mind. “Lean your head forward for a second.”
At this moment, Alhaitham would have lost all his patience had it been anyone else. Nothing annoyed him more than being in a wet environment unsafe for his books, but any oasis like this would beat having sand in his shoes.
Suddenly, he felt cold water landing on the top of his hand, drenching his gray hair and invigorating his dried skin. Looking up, he saw Dehya capturing the pure water into her cupped hands and readying to pour more on top of him.
“Dehya, what are you doing?”
“I’m cooling you off,” the desert woman answered with a smile, “You felt hot back in the city, so I thought of a great place to cool you off. Thankfully, it’s getting colder out here, and nothing beats nice water trickling.”
“I… appreciate the thought, but I didn’t feel hot at all,” Alhaitham said, “And what does this have to do with my question?”
“Well, I have my hands together, and I’m shaking them while cooling you off with water,” Dehya said, “I figured you asked that question to test my knowledge of surviving in a desert.”
Alhaitham lost his train of thought after listening to Dehya’s explanation. At first, he thought she was just moving around based on how she felt at the moment, but it surprised him how much thought she put into her answer- more so that it was logical. Of course, anyone would have come to that conclusion, but not for his well-being. A new feeling started growing inside Alhaitham, unfamiliar and unknown to him.
“So? Did I win?” Dehya asked.
A chuckle erupted from the scholar, catching her off guard as he said, “Off the mark again, but you get points.”
“Was that… a laugh? Someone punch me because I might be dreaming.”
“I think you mean…” Alhaitham stopped himself from correcting her.
“But I didn’t get it right again?” Dehya asked, slumping a little, “All that walking for nothing, huh?”
“Let’s just forget about the handshake stuff,” Alhaitham said, not wanting to look at her frown, “Again, it’s not that important if you get it or not. You don’t want to waste your time on this.”
“Alhaitham, you know how much I hate backing down from a challenge,” Dehya retorted, her hands on her hips, “If it’s not that, then I’ll just have to think harder.”
Alhaitham crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. “All this drive over a single question? I don’t get you at all.”
Dehya shook her head, clenching her fists tightly. “No, all for the thrill of eventually getting it right. I’m not giving up until I hear you acknowledge my answer and right.”
“You are such an… interesting girl,” Alhaitham muttered, staring at her, almost imagining a fiery aura around her body boiling the water below.
“Hm? I missed that last part?” Dehya asked, moving closer.
The scholar instinctively backed away, his heart thumping again as he loosened the intensity of his stare. “I said you look hot at well.” At that moment, he realized what he had said and regretted it when the mercenary’s blue eyes shot open, and… a blush appeared across her cheeks. “I mean… your temperature is rising. As in… your blood is perhaps circulating towards your brain, which can lead to a blackout.”
“Ah…I-If so… then…” Dehya cleared her throat, turning away from the man, “Could you… pour some on me too? Better to be safe than sorry.”
“Y-yeah, of course.”
His heart thumped again, louder and faster, like a beating drum during a dramatic crescendo. Looking down at the crystal clear water, he cupped his hands to capture it, feeling the soothing cold touch his fingertips. He watched Dehya ready her hair so the water doesn’t drench it, exposing most of her upper back. Taking that as a sign that that was the area she wanted him to go for, Alhaitham took the water and let it trickle down on her back. In his logical mind, he thought all of this was unnecessary for what looked like a simple bath; however, something in him told him not to stop- to let this continue for as long as possible. He couldn’t help but obey it.
Times like this made Alhaitham wish Dehya never stopped guessing the answer nor got it correct on the next try. Something about this answer of hers wasn’t the one he was looking for, but it intrigued him nonetheless. Plus, as odd as it was, he got a nice bath out of it and got to be with her, creating a mixture of emotions unfamiliar to him. Eventually, he’ll get to the bottom of it, but his mind needs a break for now.
Maybe that’s why Dehya brought him here. Either way, she didn’t get the correct answer; however, it wasn’t like hers was wrong either.