Chapter Text
Everything is calm at the Akademiya, perhaps too calm for Kunikuzushi's comfort. After 500 long years of life, he's learned that too much silence always results in trouble, especially in a place as populous as the educational center of Sumeru, being in such an deafening silence is like a prologue to a mess .
House of Daena was never really a quiet place for trained ears like his. Normally, murmurs could be heard among the other scholars while the purple-haired one sat alone at his desk working on his thesis or simply reading quietly. Following his routine of working in silence was Hat guy's aim but he knew it was useless to try when he heard light footsteps approaching at a rapid pace, accompanied by soft murmurs beginning.
"Hat guy! It's been a while!" The cheerful voice of the desert dweller –so well known to the older man– , invades his ears, And to the former Fatui's displeasure he feels the Anemo vision –or as he mentally refers to sometimes, his heart– vibrating gently against the blue fabric over his shoulder in an almost disconcerting manner as the brunette slides easily into the chair next to the puppet, their knees briefly touching, "Working on your thesis or just reading something?"
"Thesis, I have to ensure it's perfect, I wouldn't accept a flaw under my name" he almost lets slip 'another flaw' from his lips, his voice coming out much softer than he would ever admit he could use with someone like Sethos, "Shouldn't you be delivering some letters or something?" The question quickly escapes him, unable to deny the curiosity the other man blooms in him.
The vibrant green eyes of the brunette shine slightly as he lets out a noise as if unlocking an important memory with just a few words from the other man, "Oh right! The grand sage sent me after you. Apparently, something about a little job for us both, I guess" he taps his fingers against the wooden table as he speaks, his eyes always focused on the shorter man, causing nervousness in the other, "We should have already be heading there, to be true".
Kunikuzushi's face closes as he furrows his brow, an irritated sigh escaping his lightly pink-tinted lips due to the few pieces of zaytun peach he had consumed –the subtle taste of the fruit always bringing back memories of sharing lavender melon slices with the little child he cared for so many years ago because of it sweet taste–.
The taller man pulls Hat guy's hat down with a gentle pat, wanting to draw the other's attention into him and, of course, steal a good look at the hat that he's a little obsessed with, sometimes even pestering the wanderer until the purple one’s anger takes over (which Kunikuzushi has started to control better by simply flying away before getting too angry and going too far), "Let's go, both of us know the sooner we go, the sooner we can get back here and you can continue working" Sethos says with a smile, chuckling lightly, making it clear that even after the little 'meeting,' he would stick by the other man for a while longer.
Kunikuzushi simply nods but still lets out an annoyed 'tsk', getting up from the table while quickly closing his draft of the thesis in the small notebook and promptly stashing it in the bag he obliges himself to carry, a small stuffed flower hanging on it it, the blue tones mixing with the natural green. He doesn't wait for the other to follow him, simply rising and heading for the elevator, hearing Sethos's steps following closely behind and then catching up with him, the younger man looking at him with an almost adoringly curious gaze, a common look in the young man's eyes when near the other.
Wanderer pretends not to notice the horde of eyes following him and Sethos as they walk. He can hear the murmurs but can't really discern what each one is saying, deciding it's best to simply ignore it. Sethos, on the other hand, doesn't even glance at anyone else, looking only at the white-robed man in front of him with those eyes always described by Kunikuzushi as 'too bright to be normal', which the brunette quickly taken the words as a compliment the first time he heard those words (even though according to Hat guy, they weren't compliments! He just thinks the other's eyes are supernaturally bright).
The two walk in silence, mostly because Sethos had got distracted by the swaying of one of the various trinkets on the shorter man's hat –sometimes Wanderer wonders for too long if the other man really thinks or if there's a vacant spot in his brain, Sethos can definitely be as irrational as a cheerful puppy sometimes in his eyes– but soon, they’re standing in front of the desk of the grand sage and official scribe of the Akademiya, Al-Haitham, who looks at them with that serious expression and merely nods as an welcoming gesture before starting to speak.
"You two must be wondering why I've gathered you here today," the man's deep voice begins before adjusting his glasses –which is noticed by the other two just now– on the bridge of his nose as he pulls out some papers and extends them for the two to take. Sethos's hand accidentally touches the slender, delicate fingers of the shorter man's as they both reach out for the papers, Kunikuzushi can feel a warm wave wash over his body, rising to his cheeks, but quickly clearing his throat and retracting his hand trying to seem unbothered by the soft touch but strangly falling into not show his true emotions, the brunette's eyes burn holes on his skin, and he can feel the raised eyebrow of the scribe directed at him. Kunikuzushi clears his throat and looks away, quickly pulling some of the documents and pretending to focus on reading it, still able to feel Sethos's silly smile direct to him.
“Well, as you can see from the documents, it's just a task for you two, in summary a desert mercenary village has been causing a lot of trouble since the incident of the Temple of Silence. We needed a representative from the Akademiya and one from the desert people to be a bridge between the Akademiya and them, I had thought of sending both the General Mahamatra and the leader of the forest watchers," the man pauses in his speech, raising a ceramic cup –which has some writing in some unknown language with a heart drawn at the end on it– to his thin lips before continuing, “However, I believe it would be too…aggressive to send those two given their positions, and with some thought, you would be the better option, since the two of you have a certain dynamic that the situation could take advantage of, I chose both of you with the General’s and the forest watcher’s help to go there, in the documents contain details and a map with the localization for each of you, you may leave now." He speaks without really lifting his eyes to look at them again, only looking at one of the several sheets on his desk, dismissing the two shorter men without further ado.
Wanderer just nods, preferring not to say anything, but still feeling annoyed at being taken away from his thesis for something like this. His fingers tighten slightly on the documents before he sighs, turning away and leaving in light steps out of the office, shortly followed by heavier footsteps behind him as the black man walks alongside him.
"Y’know, let's look at the bright side, maybe it's a chance for us to get to know each other better! Don't even worry ‘bout anything, I'll take care of you there in the desert, Kuni" Sethos says, throwing quick, fake punches in the air, a cheerful smile with his sharp canines showing off on his lips, and for some annoying reason, Kunikuzushi feels his body heating up because of the younger man and his too sweet actions, and on top of that, that little nickname that he even feels himself almost passing out because of it.
"I don't need your protection, you big dorky puppy" Wanderer says with a sigh, trying to hold back a gentle smile that almost appears on his lips, but instead letting out a soft chuckle that he quickly hides with a cough, "We leave tomorrow early morning, meet me at the city gate at sunrise or I'll go alone" he grumbles, giving a slight nod of his head as a quick farewell, the former harbinger just wanting to get out of there and be able to think in peace for a bit, maybe read one of the books the Dendro Archon had given him or just lay down and have a moment of silence in his troubled mind.
"You're the boss" The brunette speaks with a bright smile, waving his hand, knowing just well that the hat guy just hates given good bye or any type of farewell talking, so just goes like the other, he walks towards the main exit of the library, even though deep down he feels slightly saddened by not being able to spend more time with the shorter man today, but still happy to know that he could see him early in the morning. He quickly makes his way out of the educational building while the indigo-haired man heads for the exit towards the top, going to the sanctuary where he resides with the Sumeru Archon.
As Sethos quickly walks down the ramps towards the central part of the city, nearing the Grand Bazaar entrance, he is stopped by General Mahamatra himself, who puts a hand on his shoulder and looks at him with those eyes almost too full of amusement.
"Hey Sethos, my man, my bro, how was your little date with the famous Hat guy?" And even with his neutral expression, the amusement in his eyes is clear, his fingers gripping the other's shoulder firmly, "You can thank me and Tighy, we wanted to give you two some time to enjoy yourselves, and maybe thanks Kaveh for the idea too, even though he was a little more than just tipsy when he gave the idea.”
Sethos blinks his vibrant green eyes a few times, seeming to have a delay in genuinely understanding the words and their meanings, looking at the older man as if he had spoken another language, "...date?" He murmurs, looking slightly lost, before simply shrugging it off as some kind of joke and nodding, "Thanks, I guess…?"
It's easy to see Cyno raising an eyebrow before nodding with amusement, whispering to himself, "Oh, so you two still haven't even realized it..." He licks his lips and lets out a soft 'mhm', "Want to go to the tavern with us? I've invited Al-Haitham and Kaveh too, and of course Tigh will be there but you get it" he says with a still mildly amused tone but trying to hide it a little at least.
"Sure, I just can't stay out late, Kuni wants to leave early tomorrow" the dark-skinned brunette nods, humming softly in agreement, the nickname for the Wanderer slipping from his lips naturally.
"Oh, -KUNI- wants to leave early, huh?" Cyno says with a teasing tone, amused at how easily the younger dark skinned man calls the Wanderer by nicknames, resulting in Sethos’s checks turning slightly red, "I won't question your timing then, if your husband wants you out early, who am I to say anything?" he says, pulling the other with a hand on his shoulder, dragging him without even waiting for a response, "Now let's go, I want to show off my new TCG deck."