Chapter Text
Subject: New Team Member
From: Soltani [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Good morning,
This is a reminder that our new Due Diligence Manager will be joining us today. We hope his transition to our office will be swift with the team’s best efforts to welcome him. This also marks the beginning of our new project with Ormos Tech. Details and assignments to follow throughout the week.
Reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Soltani
Bay Capital, HR Director
There were many signs of something amiss that morning. Many signs that Kaveh ignored.
The first one was a simple mistake, really, a slight of hand. When Kaveh heard his alarm, chosen specifically because of its chime-like tune supposedly designed to give someone a soothing start to their day, he felt anything but that. And so, naturally, he fat fingered the snooze button. Well, what was supposed to be the snooze button, at least. It was when the sun started to bleed past the curtains and splay across his face that he woke in a panic to the sound of absolute silence. Said panic only worsened when, picking up his phone to check any new notifications, a taunting 8:10 glared at him. Shit.
Jumping out of bed, he stumbled and awkwardly hopped over discarded pants and strewn about shirts, haphazardly picking one up and dropping it the second he noticed an awkward stain near the collar. He simply trudged on towards the kitchen, letting a chant of thank you’s fill the room as he noticed a mug of coffee waiting for him on the counter. Finally something was going his way.
He didn’t think twice before bringing it to his lips and chugging half of it, but he did immediately think once about spitting it out. Not only was it cold, probably because it had been left there for a while by then, but it tasted burnt, too. His lips could only hold back a gag as he swallowed it anyway, and kept drinking the rest– there was no time to remake it, and he’d be damned if he ever heads off to work without his daily fix of caffeine. When he placed the cup back down, he finally noticed the barely decipherable scribble on a paper left next to it:
couldn’t wake you up this morning but made coffee gotta run
- N
His eye involuntarily twitched in annoyance, but he didn’t dwell on it. Well, he couldn’t dwell on it. Another reminder that he had no time. Instead he let out a huff and padded off to the bathroom for a quick shower– also cold, because he couldn’t wait for the water to warm up.
He must be on a run today, he mused: definitely nearing a world record for the highest streak of unfortunate circumstances met on a Monday morning. It seemed now he couldn’t even find a pair of matching socks, let alone the dark navy pants he was planning to pair with his white shirt. Could anything possibly go his way?
His work phone, a relatively new model, sat next to his regular phone on his nightstand, a much older model with cracks dating back years lining the screen. It just kept flashing with notifications that would have to go unchecked until he got to the office, and he kept being reminded that it was almost 8:30.. 8:31. He was really panicking now. He had ten minutes to spare, so he relented and picked out the first thing he could find: a reliable pair of black slacks. He multitasked the last steps in his routine, and only once he’d perfected his kohl did he realize it was now 8:41, and if he wanted to make it to work with even a semblance of timeliness, he had to leave now. Bag ready, everything packed, work phone in his pocket and personal phone in hand, he made sure to grab his keys on his way out. At least he could prevent something from going terribly wrong today.
He was practically running down the stairs, a miracle he hadn’t fallen yet, considering he was more focused on typing a message.
kaveh
nari
nari
nari pls read ur msgs
tighnari
good morning kaveh
kaveh
ya gm
tighnari
ok rude much
kaveh
sry mulgtusaksig
tighnari
???
kaveh
lon stry can u call
pretty olease
“Oh, thank God,” he said as he finally heard the familiar sound of his ringtone. “Nari, I’m screwed.”
“That’s definitely a sentence I’ve never heard you say.” It was as if the sarcasm managed to crawl through the speaker and flick him on the forehead. Not necessarily painful, but still frustrating.
"Just,” he sighed, exiting the building and making his way to the subway station, “this morning has been so insanely bad that I don’t even know where to start. Point is, the earliest I can make it is like, 10… 9:50 if I run?” There was a short pause before the other replied.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, ‘oh’.” Kaveh knew Tighnari didn’t deserve any snark, but he also knew he was panicking and not really capable of rational interaction.
“Don’t you have that kickoff with M&A?” He was pointing out the obvious as if it hadn't been Kaveh's go-to conversation topic all week.
“Exactly the problem. Please, please, please help. I’ll do anything.” Kaveh didn't want to grovel, but he really did feel screwed. This was a big deal, too, it was one of the highest paying acquisitions he had ever seen in his career: the investors were going all out. And he could really use a good bonus at the end of the year, so he didn't want to entertain the idea of starting things off on a bad note.
“Okay, calm down. Can’t you just take the call on your way over?”
“Well, I would," he reasoned, station finally in view. The arrival screen that decorated the station awning indicated his train would be here in one minute, so he picked up the pace. "If I trusted my signal enough to stay stable that long.”
“Okay, okay. So what do you want me to do, exactly?” He had an odd idea, but he brought it up anyway. No harm in trying.
“Stall? If you can?" he didn't even sound sure himself of the odds of this working, but hey, his options were limited. "I don’t know, you’re charismatic. Cyno’s supposed to join, too. If you just, work your magic, or, whatever it is you do with him, I don’t know. He’s important, if he’s late it’ll be fine.”
“You do realize you’re important too, right? No one will be mad if you push it forward an hour.” Tighnari argued back.
“You know I don’t like to inconvenience people like that. It’s been on the schedule for a week.”
“So you want me to flirt with Cyno so that he can inconvenience them instead?” That left Kaveh at a loss. He was right, technically.
“Well, when you put it that way.." his argument drifted off into nothingness once he gave his attention to getting past the ticket scanner. Either way, people would be inconvenienced, but was it so selfish of him to want the guy with a stable reputation take the fall for him, the one whose next debt payment was on the line? Okay, well- Kaveh didn't dwell on it further. "Wait, flirt?" he realized, a smirk taking shape on his lips. "Ha! I knew there was something going on between you two.”
“Do you want my help or not?” That shut him up quick.
“Fine, sorry. I won’t bring it up. Anyway, will you? Help?” The train was approaching and he needed a response quick.
“Sure," Tighnari resigned, "My morning isn’t that busy anyway.”
“You’re a lifesaver! Okay, my train is here, I gotta go. Thank you thank you thank you! I owe you one.” He must have looked like a maniac, but he didn't care.
“Yeah, yeah, just focus on getting here. See you in a bit.”
After hanging up the phone and boarding the train, Kaveh managed to find a seat almost immediately, against all rush-hour odds. As he sat down, he let out a sigh. He had made it relatively in time: things would go smoothly from here on out, he comforted himself. From a rational point of view, being an hour late was nothing. It wasn’t uncharacteristic for someone’s route to be delayed or for things to get pushed back. After all, it didn’t matter when he started, because he’d only leave the office whenever his work was done anyway. This just meant leaving a little bit later, but what was the difference between leaving at nine compared to eight?
He managed to calm down just enough to the point of catching his breath, and settled on the fact that being anxious wouldn’t change the fact he was already late. Instead, he focused on catching up on some rest for the duration of his commute. He’d made it, he was headed to work. The rest of the day would proceed smoothly.
…But Kaveh should have learned, by now, not to get too comfortable. The rest of the day was clearly not about to proceed smoothly, and he was a fool for thinking it would. When the train reached his stop, he picked up the pace, sending Tighnari a quick heads up that he was almost there, and he didn’t need to keep distracting Cyno. He’d already put his phone away when it started buzzing with notifications, but he assumed it was just an okay and maybe some gushing about the conversation, so he paid it no mind. Instead, he jogged up to Bay Capital’s doors and almost bumped into the security doors while desperately waving his badge, willing it to scan properly. Two elevator greetings and three corporate smiles later, he just barely made it to his desk and hooked up his laptop before receiving the incoming call notification from Cyno.
To his credit, the M&A call went smoothly. It was all standard, him catching everyone up on how his team would proceed with valuating Ormos Tech’s infrastructure to prepare for the upcoming acquisition. However, once the call ended and Kaveh finally had a moment to sift through his emails, he was wrapped into what could only be the sick, twisted premise of a crude prank TV show episode.
The first email was beneath a string of follow-ups, and the time stamps made him realize he probably should have checked those notifications earlier that morning.
Subject: Last Minute Buddy Switch
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Hi Kaveh,
Unfortunately Panah is out of town for an impromptu client pitch. He was supposed to show the new compliance hire the ropes today. His first assignment is actually to support the AEC team with your valuation, so assigning him to you makes the most sense for quick acclimation. We’ll send him up to you once he’s done setting up in IT.
Thanks.
Soltani
Bay Capital, HR Director
This wasn’t so bad, he guessed. Kaveh actually didn’t mind being assigned a company buddy since it gave him an excuse to take a long stretching break to show someone around. He rolled his eyes slightly, however, because his day was already stressful, and he didn’t know if he could maintain a happy “welcome” expression for more than an hour. This actually wouldn’t have been so bad if, upon opening the following emails with details on the new guy, the name and photo on his screen belonged to anyone else.
He got a taste of burnt coffee for the second time that day as bile rose up in his throat.
Memories flashed across his mind: study sessions in a hidden corner of the Ksharewar library, chess matches in the privacy of their own living room, nagging that slowly devolved into arguments, into the argument— Suddenly, he felt lightheaded, and he knew that checking Tighnari’s replies would result not in an update on his corporate love life, but rather with a warning he didn’t know if he’d have appreciated having a few seconds prior.
tighnari
kaveh
dont panic
i swear i didnt know any of this
but cyno only just thought to mention that the new hire is alhaitham
ok yeah me telling you not to panic wont do anything
good luck… !!(??)
—
A thumbs-up reaction was the only response he could muster. That and a muffled screech he held back in his throat that to any of the people around him probably sounded like the squawk of a sick bird.
Hesitantly, he typed a response.
kaveh
where are u rn
Three dots appeared as soon as he sent it.
tighnari
water refill
His attempt at remaining calm and collected translated into what could only be described as him leaping out of his chair and speed-walking to the kitchenette. Kaveh didn't care about the onlookers, though. His sights were set on a certain black haired HR rep who he currently wanted to strangle. As he approached Tighnari, however, the concerned look on his face made him settle for a light interrogation.
"Nari," he said, making direct eye contact. "What the hell is going on?"
"Kaveh, I swear on Lord Kusanali's name that I had absolutely no idea of any of this up until this morning." said Tighnari. He looked just as apologetic as he did puzzled.
"You're literally HR. Don't you guys send out, like, all the new hire info ahead of time?" Kaveh's voice was too close to shaky for comfort.
"Oh, the new hire info you don't even read, apparently?" the other replied sarcastically. "Yeah, I'm not in charge of those."
"Okay, first, we get those so often I'm surprised half of them don't get lost in a sea of generic company updates. Second," he relented, "sorry for snapping at you. I trust that you didn't know. But now I get to tell you that Panah's work trip just gave me a new buddy to be responsible for."
At that, Tighnari's eyes widened. "Oh, shit," he paused, clearly unaware that this was a possibility. "I mean, okay, that's kind of a mess, yeah. I don't even know what to say to that."
“Do I quit? I should quit, shouldn’t I?" Kaveh was rambling now, staring up at the ceiling in defeat. "Yeah, this is definitely a sign from the heavens.”
“Be serious." Tighnari's voice brought Kaveh's gaze back to reality.
“I am serious!" Was he being too loud? Probably. But he couldn't be bothered to care: he just let everything out. "First, everything goes absolutely wrong this morning. Nasir didn’t even bother waking me up before leaving and I had thirty minutes to get ready. Which, I know just sounds like a string of bad coincidences, and yes, I’d leave it at that, but this? I mean, come on-”
“Kaveh!" Tighnari cut him off. "Snap out of it. You’re not quitting and this- well, this is definitely all different kinds of weird, but is it that hard to believe Alhaitham, of all people, could land a good job in his own home town?"
“It is if he supposedly moved out of said hometown. And Bay is huge, Nari, so why is he here? Now?" Tighnari just sighed as he concluded his point. “So, yeah. I’m quitting.”
“Are you sure you can afford it?” Kaveh simply rolled his eyes and Tighnari was quick to move on, as it was best to avoid that topic altogether. “When’s he getting here, anyway?” he continued.
“I have no clue, it depends on IT. I hope they’re taking their sweet time.. Hey, maybe someone should cut off the power.” Yes, surely it couldn't be that hard to pull a few plugs.
Tighnari only gave him a blank stare, unamused. “Come on, Kaveh, it can’t be that bad. Plus, people change and grow, you haven’t seen each other in how many years now?”
“Eight,” said Kaveh, not missing a beat but definitely missing Tighnari’s raised brow, “and yes, it can be that bad. You don’t know him like I do.”
“Are you sure you know him at all anymore?”
Kaveh chose to ignore that comment. "I’ve got it! I’ll just pretend I don’t remember him! I’ll be all like, ‘Nice to meet you, you must be Alhaitham’, and who knows, maybe it’ll disorient him enough that he’ll really think I’m a completely different Kaveh.” Tighnari probably thought he was going insane.
“I’m not corroborating on some elaborate concussion amnesia backstory.” he said, arms crossed and face flat.
Kaveh scoffed, reaching behind Tighnari to grab a paper cup. “You’re so fake.” he said, now filling said cup.
“Yeah, definitely me and not the one ready to keep up a false identity for the foreseeable future.”
"Archons, I’d really rather quit and fall into even worse debt than work anywhere near him. He’s on my project. I wouldn’t even be able to avoid him.” Kaveh was practically hissing in a poor attempt at whisper shouting, so as to not attract attention. After a beat, Tighnari spoke, uncertain.
"Not that it's any of my business, but why are you so worked up about this?" Kaveh didn't know what to say. "You guys fought, sure, but you were kids. Surely you aren't harboring a grudge after all these years."
Kaveh didn't know what to say because Kaveh didn't know what to think. Why was he so freaked out? If anything, Alhaitham should have been the one pacing about at that moment. After all, Kaveh was the one who ended things on such a bad note. He winced as he recollected his words, something along the lines of regretting he had ever been friends with him in the first place. And the more the words echoed in his mind, the worse he felt. He had absolutely no idea how to go about this, and the acknowledgement of his irrationality only made his feelings feel even more rational.
“Shit,” he cursed. His cup had started to overflow and he didn’t even realize it. When he went over to the sink, he was too busy wiping his hands dry to notice someone approaching Tighnari.
“Um, Mister Tighnari?” a girl's voice asked, uncertain.
“Oh, Collei! How are you? Sorry, do you need to fill your bottle? Don’t mind us.” How Tighnari could switch from treating Kaveh with such sarcasm to responding to Collei in perfect corporate form was beyond him.
“I’m just looking for Mr. Kaveh, have you seen him?”
At that, Kaveh turned. “Hi Collei,” he smiled, also expertly hiding his earlier expression of disdain. “What’s up?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you there!” Collei was clearly embarrassed, face going red, so he made it a point to soften his tone.
“Oh, don’t apologize. But did you need something?”
“Um, actually, Mr. Kaveh, someone’s looking for you?” His stomach dropped. “I told him to wait at your desk, since I wasn’t sure where you were, exactly.” She got quieter and quieter as Kaveh’s face looked more and more nauseated. “Um, sorry… should I not have done that?”
“No, no! Don’t apologize, please. That was the right move.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as he said that, already trying to plan his next move. Should he just run?
“Well, Collei,” Tighnari stepped in, “don’t mind him, you did good. If you come with me, I have another assignment for you.” He went around to stand by her side and gave Kaveh one last pointed look. “Just focus on doing your job. This is a professional setting, don’t overthink it.” And with that, he turned and brought Collei away with him.
And so, Kaveh was left stranded at the water cooler with nothing but his own thoughts and a damp paper towel. Okay, he tried to reason, this was just another routine company intro. He'd done this plenty of times. Just show him around and get him on board with the project. Easy- except it wasn't.
His heart was pounding so loudly in his chest he could hardly hear his own thoughts, and that stupid employee ID photo was stuck in his head like a radio tune. He hadn't even gotten a good look at it, so his mind just Frankenstein-ed the few details it took to recognize him into one ominous mesh. Teal irises surrounding deep scarlet, grey hair with those insufferable teal strands. Teal, teal, teal. The hues melded into a vomit shade of green and he thought for a moment that he was going to be sick. When he threw the paper towel into the nearest bin, he debated hovering over it and saying goodbye to that morning's coffee of doom and despair. He decided against it.
Tighnari's words played on repeat in his mind as he kept walking. Anyone could acknowledge that after so many years, words exchanged in your early twenties hardly meant anything. Kaveh could barely remember the things he'd said back then, so, logically, why should Alhaitham? But Kaveh had made it a point to forget that fight. It took a long time and a lot of effort before he felt like he'd fully moved on, longer than he'd like to admit, and even then, felt was a key word here.
He was scared. And he was angry. This was all unfair. All his hard work was unraveling right in front of him, and any belief he'd ever held that he wasn't affected by this, by him, was revealing itself to be evidently delusional.
He wanted to scream, but his desk was just around the corner. When he rounded it, he immediately noticed his silhouette, back turned towards him. He really wasn't hard to recognize, despite having filled out in a couple of places.
Had he gotten taller?
Immediately ignoring that thought, he put his very best effort into swallowing his pride before slapping on a tight smile and walking right up to him.
Alhaitham turned without Kaveh needing to say anything, like he could sense his presence. And, boy, was Kaveh thoroughly unprepared. The second his eyes made contact with that familiar teal hue, his vocabulary shrunk to include only a few 'um's and 'uh's. He instead spent a few seconds in silence to take in his face gather his words.
The first thing he noticed was that his cheeks were much more hollow than he remembered. Granted, eight years is plenty of time to grow out any left over baby fat. His eyes skimmed down. Not up, anywhere but up, lest he have to hold any more eye contact. And it was then that he saw how much the younger man filled out his shirt. The tension on his buttons was nearing levels of dress code violation, and his biceps were, to put it lightly, massive. Wait, massive?
That snapped him out of his trance fast enough to look up and notice Alhaitham's expression, the quirk of a brow indicating slight confusion, if not cockiness. Whatever it meant, it irked him. How could he for a second forget how smug this guy could be?
"You must be Alhaitham," he spoke first. It wasn't his intention to go through with the amnesia plan, but the idea was already on his mind and he blanked. Alhaitham just stared at him.
"Yes," he started, reaching out his hand, "but I don't think introductions are necessary, Senior." Not a hint of a smirk passed his face, but Kaveh could still sense it.
Hearing his old title, now, in this setting, reminded Kaveh of all the times he had to remind his Junior to use it way back when. To let it slip like that brought back so many vivid memories. It felt like a mockery. When he reciprocated the handshake, he squeezed tight, letting his irritation slip subtly.
"Well, it's hard to be sure," he replied, "what with how rare it is to spot you with your face out of a book." Alhaitham had the audacity to smirk this time, really smirk, the smug bastard. When he felt his hand tense further, he realized they were still shaking hands. He pulled away abruptly.
"I don't recall reading in your presence at all these past eight years," hearing that number coming out of his mouth stung, and Kaveh didn't want to know why. "But I can understand if you've forgotten my face. You may just have to adapt to seeing it a little more often." He was dreading the idea of that, actually.
Alhaitham must have noticed his discomfort, because a small smile showed on his face. Was he seriously getting enjoyment out of tormenting him right now? Oh, how Kaveh desperately wished it were socially acceptable to punch your ex-roommate turned coworker. Couldn't there be some sort of exception that allowed it under strenuous circumstances? Unfortunately, company policy dictates otherwise. He settled for a roll of his eyes instead, waving as indication to shut up and follow him.
He guided Alhaitham around the desk, waving over the mess of papers and notes. “Well, as you can tell, this is my desk…” he looked up as he spoke, worried Alhaitham thought he was an idiot for pointing out something so obvious. The look on his face suggested as much. “But we go by a free for all system. That, or we book a spot in advance. Anyway,”
Alhaitham butted in before Kaveh could move on. “So, should I leave my things next to yours for the time being?”
Kaveh had been so worried about the reunion that he hadn’t even begun to worry about the notion of working next to Alhaitham for the entire afternoon. Not only that, but Alhaitham specifically said for the time being. No linguist would overlook the implications of an indefinite temporal reference. For all either of them knew, Alhaitham would be working closely with Kaveh for the unforeseeable future. Suddenly he felt sick for the nth time that day.
He could only ramble to block out that terrifying mental image. “Um, yeah, no one’s sitting next to me. Not that I know of, I mean, maybe? But we’ll just move and-"
A cough interrupted him, and it came from… the opposite direction? He bolted his head to see Alhaitham, who had somehow teleported to his other side, dropping off his things.
“Not to interrupt your rambling, but can we leave the musical chairs dilemma for later today?”
“Hey, I wasn’t- ugh! Just, follow me.” In his annoyance, Kaveh missed the way Alhaitham’s lips quirked ever so slightly. He also missed how Alhaitham’s comments left him so focused on said annoyance that he was almost forgetting how nervous he was just moments earlier.
He guided them along a wall of tall windows, pointing out things like the printing area, the bathroom, the kitchenette and the emergency exit. Alhaitham hummed along every now and then, simply to make it known he was at least paying attention, but he didn’t make any comments besides that.
“And there,” said Kaveh once they’d made it back to their desks, pointing outside, “is the best view you can get of the Divine Tree.” The walk had actually helped a bit, and he was in a good enough mood to at least appreciate the deliberate daylighting strategy used by the architects who designed the Bay HQ.
“I didn’t realize Bay Capital paid its employees per minute spent sightseeing.” Nevermind. What an absolute prick. Kaveh turned to see Alhaitham, arms crossed, looking very unimpressed.
“You know very well that what we do here is not sightseeing," he huffed.
“Then why point it out in the first place?”
“Because this building was clearly designed with the intention of inspiring the people sitting in these very offices. And what better way to go about that than to instill awe by making good use of the natural landscape available?”
“I’d say a big bonus would reach that goal much more efficiently.”
“This isn’t about money, though. This is about-" and he stuttered. Why couldn't he keep going, elaborate on benefits beyond the materialistic? "Ugh, just, whatever, why don't we get you up to speed on our company practices?"
He didn't know how to make sense of the look Alhaitham was giving him, but he was grateful the other man didn't press further. He led them back to his desk, where a matrix of time sheet codes and confidential access passwords awaited them.
—
Getting Alhaitham caught up was, unsurprisingly, very easy. The younger man always had a knack for nailing directions on his first try, so at least he wasn't jumping through hoops in the process. He just had to say things once and Alhaitham would echo back a reworded response, making it clear he was grasping the concepts correctly. They shared his desk, chairs too close for comfort, but it was manageable as the work took over most of his thoughts.
When the clock on the bottom right corner of his screen signaled 1 PM, Kaveh realized just how hungry he was. He looked at Alhaitham, who looked at him, and he realized there was a non zero chance he'd have to treat his Junior to a meal.
"Did you pack your own lunch?" Please say yes, please say yes, please say
"No." Wonderful. Just wonderful.
"Usually it's our responsibility to pay for our buddy's lunch on their first day," he said, and Alhaitham just stared. "There's, um, a place I like just a few blocks from here, they have a bunch of different soup options." And then it hit him that Alhaitham wasn't a fan of soup. Why did he even remember that? And why was this so awkward? "Actually, scratch that. There's an Inazuman place around the corner if you-"
"I'm okay with soup," Alhaitham interjected, blunt as usual.
"You are?" This, however, was unusual.
"Yes," he said, standing up. He looked down at Kaveh awkwardly for a moment. "I don't really know where it is, though, so you'll have to lead the way."
Kaveh, dumbfounded, realized he was still sitting down. He shut off his laptop, using it as an opportunity to remind Alhaitham to do so every time he left his desk, and finally stood up. In a few steps, he surpassed Alhaitham and signaled him to follow as he led them downstairs.
He was grateful that Alhaitham followed him quietly, but he almost wished he would say something. He took them around Sumeru's winding streets, moving swiftly to make the awkward walk as short as possible. They arrived and ordered their food, and only once they were settled down at a cramped table did Kaveh express his disgust.
"Who the hell asks for Sabz Meat Stew without the stew? And why do they even make it?!"
Alhaitham could only offer a shrug in response, taking a bite of his non-soup soup. "It's not a bad move on their part. Attracts a broader consumer base."
"You mean to tell me that a single extra customer counts as a 'broader' consumer base?" He was appalled.
"I'm not the only one in this city who acknowledges the inconvenience of eating soup during the working day." That made.. little sense.
"How is soup an inconvenience?" said Kaveh, bringing a spoonful of his soup to his lips. Alhaitham didn't bother with a reply.
"You're asking a lot of questions," he said instead.
"And you're asking very few, despite this being your first day," Kaveh scoffed. What was he supposed to do? Eat in complete silence? Apparently so, because Alhaitham stayed silent after that.
He was about to get offended, Alhaitham's attitude indicating he was simply not worth speaking to, but Alhaitham spoke up after a few moments: "How have you been?"
Kaveh choked on his soup, then, the liquid leaving a bitter sting in his nostrils. Alhaitham handed him a napkin, and he was grateful as he grabbed it to cough what felt like half his lungs out. When he finally calmed down, he still had no words.
"Are you seriously asking me that?"
"Weren't you just complaining about my lack of questions?" Alhaitham looked confused and a little peeved. To be fair, Kaveh had complained, but he was thinking more in the realm of company rule clarifications, not a bullet full of repressed emotions disguised as a question.
"Sorry, sorry," he said, "but I'm sure you've pieced together my last few years from my AkashadIn profile." He was fairly proud of himself for diverting the conversation to a professional tone.
"I don't have AkashadIn." And now he was irritated. Again. Alhaitham was really bent on making his life as difficult as possible the second he walked back into it.
"Oh," he said, "I guess I just figured you'd have researched your future coworkers before starting the job."
"Shouldn't it work the other way around? Since you didn't know I don't have a profile, that can only mean you never bothered to check either." Touché.
"Well, how could I check the profile of someone I didn't even know was joining the company until this morning?"
"Aren't they supposed to give employees some kind of notice?" Alhaitham asked. "Besides, it's not like I knew you'd be my buddy until today."
That's right: neither of them knew anything until that very morning, thanks to Panah's scheduling conflict. What an absolute joke. Kaveh realized, then, that maybe he was being a little unreasonable. If he was struggling to wrap his head around such an abrupt reunion, who knew what Alhaitham must have been thinking. This situation was just thrown at him on top of his first day at work, where he supposedly knew no one.
His guilt got the better of him, and he conceded with an answer: "I've been okay." Alhaitham gave him a confused look. "You asked how I've been. I've been okay."
It was quiet, until it wasn't. Alhaitham responded with a "me too", and the conversation took a few awkward baby steps in the direction of small talk. The two resumed eating, with a few updates on recent work experience. They both made an effort to avoid specific topics: college, friendships, why Alhaitham moved back from Liyue (although Kaveh really wanted to ask, but he restrained himself).
When they were done, Alhaitham excused himself to go to the bathroom to wash his hands, and Kaveh received a perfectly timed call from Nasir.
"Hello?" He picked up, confused. He usually didn't get calls from him at this time of day.
"Hey, babe! You made it to work okay?" The voice on the the other end was muffled, barely comprehensible over what was probably a big group of people.
"Yeah, about that-"
"Sorry for not waking you up, by the way." Ah. So this was why he was calling. "You were just sleeping so soundly and I had to run. You understand, right?" So he just wanted to make sure Kaveh wasn't mad.
"Um, yeah. Don't worry about it." He was already disengaged in the conversation, instead looking around the restaurant.
"You sure? You sound a little upset."
"Oh, well, HR decided I wasn't having a hard enough time, I suppose. I've just been having the most intense day of my life." He said this as he spied a head of gray hair in the crowd, making its way towards him.
"Yeah, Arya, I'm coming!" Clearly this wasn't a reply meant for him. "Oh, sorry about that. Listen, I gotta run, I just wanted to check in, but you're okay?"
"I mean, yeah, if you-" He was again cut off, this time by an unintelligible voice somewhere on the other end.
"Alright, okay, I really have to go, sorry babe. Tell me about it when you get home! Love you."
"Wait, Nasir-" He was cut off one final time, as the line closed abruptly, and he sighed once more.
"Nasir?" Kaveh had let Alhaitham out of his sights for one second, and he'd somehow crept up behind him, startling him.
"Oh, yeah.." he turned sheepishly. That wasn't a name Alhaitham was unfamiliar with.
"You guys got back together?" Talk about avoiding certain subjects. When Kaveh looked at him, Alhaitham's eyes were scrunched in confusion, and he could tell there were more than a few questions running through his mind at that moment. For a second, he almost looked like his younger self, the version of him Kaveh once knew, filled to the brim with curiosity. It was endearing, catching a glimpse of his familiar, ever curious junior, and maybe that was why he entertained him with an answer despite how personal of a question that was.
"Yeah, a little while after…" Kaveh stopped himself mid sentence, not wanting to go there. "Well, anyway," he raised his left hand then, which displayed a silver band adorned with a small gemstone, "he proposed a while back, so I guess you could say we more than got back together."
If Kaveh knew any better, he would have realized that Alhaitham's silence this time was unlike any of their quiet moments from earlier. But he was willingly ignoring many things that day, so he didn't.
"How long is a while?" Again, Kaveh didn't pick up on the shift in tone.
"Oh, two years," he replied, bringing his hand down to look at the ring. The topic was making it easy to forget the unpleasant phone call.
"So what's the delay with the wedding?" Alhaitham replied, and Kaveh looked up to meet his blank face, a face he knew not because he looked at it much himself, but because he saw Alhaitham using it around strangers who bothered him during their time back in school. What the fuck was his problem?
His jaw clenched then, and he cursed at the part of himself that thought this anti-social man was anything like he used to be. It was clear the Alhaitham he once knew was nowhere to be found, there was no innocent junior hiding somewhere behind those smirks and blank stares. The Alhaitham he once knew would never stoop so low, not as low as the man that now stood in front of him. Again, what the fuck was his problem? Who mocks the engagement of a friend they haven't seen in nearly a decade? What the actual fuck?
So simply scoffed and shoulder-checked him as he walked past, making his way to the exit. He didn't even turn to check if Alhaitham was following, not caring whether he did or not. That prick could get lost, for all he cared. Thankfully, however, Alhaitham did follow, so he wouldn't have had to go searching for him later.
When they got back, one very awkward elevator ride later, Kaveh noticed Siraj was at his desk. Never in his life had he been grateful to see him, until now.
"Siraj," he waved at him, walking up to his desk.
"What do you want?" Siraj was rude, but at the moment nothing could really anger him. After all, Alhaitham had already wound him to his limit. Speaking of, he finally turned around to look at him.
"Alhaitham, meet Siraj." He'd be lying if he said he didn't get any enjoyment from witnessing the most awkward handshake of all time. Siraj didn't even bother to stand up and casually offered up his hand. With those weird glasses he always wore, it was hard to tell if he was even looking at them.
"I hope you don't turn out to waste my time, new guy." Ah, good old Siraj. Not even capable of standard pleasantries. It was very satisfying, watching Alhaitham grab that hand out of corporate obligation, only able to nod. He could always count on Siraj.
"He's a legal compliance analyst, so he'll be reporting to you quite frequently," he said, giving Alhaitham a sadistic grin. And then, he counted down the seconds. Three, two..
"Wait, I'll be reporting to him?" Yes, this was a perfect punishment. As Siraj began stuttering complaints, completely befuddled, Kaveh staged the perfect exit.
"Well, I have a meeting in," he looked down at his wrist, "oh, right now! You don't mind if I move my stuff to one of the private offices, do you?" Alhaitham looked like he was putting all his efforts into clenching his jaw so it wouldn't fall open. "I was worried to leave you alone, but you're in good hands with Siraj!"
With that, he began making his way to his desk, gathering his things. As he slung his bag over his shoulder, he looked up to see Alhaitham was staring at him. He didn't want to know why. He simply mouthed a sarcastic have fun and turned around, leaving him behind and taking some much needed time to himself for the first time all day.
He busied himself with responding to emails and creating timelines for the next two months, preparing assignments for his analysts. It was a good distraction: on days like this, (or, days somewhat like this. No days would ever really compare to this one, no matter how disastrous,) Kaveh was grateful for the mountains of work he could use to distract himself.
When six o'clock rolled around, he contemplated getting up and stretching his legs for a moment, but through the glass door he could make out a familiar figure, seemingly packing up his things. When it looked like, yes, Alhaitham was in fact leaving, Kaveh couldn't hold back a scoff. Of course Alhaitham was the type to leave the office the very second the work day was 'over'.
He rolled his eyes before gluing them back on his screen, but from the corner of his eye, he wondered if what he was making out was a blurry Alhaitham giving him a stiff wave. Regardless, he didn't look back.
Draft Saved
Subject: RE: New Team Member
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Please get rid of him. Or just put me out of my misery and fire me already. Either works, thanks.