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Azmi, contrary to what people have told her prior to her admission to the Akademiya, actually likes it there.
And sure, the workload is absolute hell, especially for the Kshahrewar students. Even if Haravatat classes typically target topics like syntax, semantics and linguistics– rarely have her professors ever referenced anything in relation to creative writing or literature. Which is what Azmi is good at. (She was not warned about the lack of creative openings in each course before applying to the darshan.)
It’s something her girlfriend, Daya, from the Kshahrewar darshan, currently studying engineering has complained about multiple times. The Akademiya’s focus had never been on art or appreciation for the creative, with slight changes to general curriculum only being made with the newly donated Zubayr Theatre under Director Nilou’s care. Daya has talked her ear off late into the night rambling on about how the only professor who seemed to openly critique the Akademiya’s attitude towards artistry was a Kshahrewar professor. One that Azmi (unwillingly) now knows too much about.
Professor Kaveh. Nicknamed the “Light of Kshahrewar” and the number one candidate for the next head of the darshan after Director Zaha Hadi. Rumored to be second to, if not equal, the greatest honors graduate of Kshahrewar, Pir Kavikavus.
It’s not like Azmi’s jealous– Professor Kaveh may be blonde, pretty (even by her standards. And they are high.) and smart. But she is too! (Not blonde yet, but a hair salon opened up recently near campus).
And yet Daya just won’t stop talking about him. The best Azmi has been able to do recently is kiss her partner quiet. Shutting her up when Daya’s busy rambling about Professor Kaveh this, Professor Kaveh that.
Azmi will just have to do her own research. Just to find out what makes this Professor Kaveh so great.
—
On second thought, Azmi can kind of understand Daya’s “obsession” with Professor Kaveh. Azmi herself is a lesbian, and has never been attracted to men. But she has a massive (platonic) respect for her Linguistics and Semantics professor, Alhaitham.
He’s a bit of an anomaly. His office hours are strictly on Fridays, from 4pm to 5pm. (Contrary to Kaveh’s daily hours. From 2pm to 3pm, as Daya lets her know.) And he never seems to get along with any of the other Haravatat professors, and prefers to spend his spare lunch breaks in the other darshan halls. (Particularly in the Kshahrewar darshan. Rumors have spread about his secret girlfriend, but they quickly dissolved seeing his unpleasant demeanor.) But all things considered, he’s a good professor. He grades fairly without exceptions, he’s caring (in his own way), and his advice is undeniably superb.
Rumors from outside of darshan tend to follow him around. Mostly those about his personal life, which he apparently reveals “too much of.” (Whatever that meant…) The most popular theory is his hidden lover in the Akademiya. Some speculate it’s really just a cat that he “needs to quickly get back to.” While the majority of the Rtawahist darshan think it’s one of their own male professors, the Kshahrewar darshan say he’s married to a lovely little woman who isn’t affiliated with Akademiya.
Azmi doesn’t personally have any interest in his private life, a sentiment not shared by her fellow darshan members. The Haravatat are the ones who actively write articles and put their observational skills to the test by “infiltrating” (stalking, in Azmi’s opinion. But to “each their own.”) his social medias– which is none, except for his LinkedAkasha. Which as expected, reveals nothing.
Azmi had scrolled through RateMyProfessor before her third year at the Akademiya had started, and Alhaitham’s profile had stood out to her amongst her other teachers. Two particular ratings were extremely aggressive. Perhaps they’d been wronged by Alhaitham somehow, but Azmi thought they were getting a little too into it.
MrningFlwer 4 yrs ago.
★☆☆☆☆
Horrible. Terribly argumentative and disagreeable. I can never have any kind of constructive or proper conversation with him! Who sets their office hours to one straight hour on Friday? No one wants to walk from the dorms all the way to his office building, (which is on the other end of campus) to go find him! No matter the difficulty of the course, a professor sh…
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HiveMinded 1 yr ago.
★☆☆☆☆
Alhaitham. It was only because of YOU my thesis wasn’t approved by advisor Azar. This is why I will take everything from you– everything that you have ever held dear. I will tear open your ribs and stuff it so that you may finally feel even a drop of sympathy for me. It wasn’t illegal and definitely did not violate a cardinal sin! You cannot just make up rules when convenient for you– it is because of YO...
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Azmi couldn’t even read through half of them without getting dizzy. But nevertheless, those posts alone had her anxious for days to come before her first class, despite Alhaitham’s overall 4.6 star rating and plenty of positive experiences to note.
Her actual meeting with him was... An extremely passive experience. First impressions were fairly normal, he introduced himself and outlined the expectations of the course, arching his eyebrows at the grumbles that echoed through the lecture hall once he introduced his office hours– but he was… just like any other professor. Nothing like the reviews said. (Except the office hours. That was true.)
The way he earned Azmi’s personal respect was a little unorthodox. She’d shown up to his office hours after a big fight with Daya. She walked in, wiping her eyes and sniffling. She’d really just needed a few questions answered on the homework before the test next week– but Alhaitham spotted her before she could collect herself outside the door.
He didn’t have to listen. Their argument had been dumb anyway. Azmi didn’t agree with something Daya had said and they spiraled out of control. Daya walked out on her, telling her spitefully that they were over.
And Azmi let her walk out.
The rush of adrenaline from their fight had long drained by that point. The weight of her words sinking and punching her in the gut. Daya hadn’t been having the greatest month with midterms finalizing, and instead of being understanding, Azmi had lashed out first.
Still, her mouth tasted bitter. Because Daya shouldn’t have brought up her ex boyfriend. Shouldn’t have told her and reminded her of her horrible mistakes and her past. Shouldn’t have held that against her because it wasn’t her fault.
She didn’t even realize she’d been crying until Alhaitham passed her a box of tissues. She couldn’t face him fully. So ashamed to have broken down in front of her professor of all people. But he didn’t say anything. He just… listened.
“Sorry, professor.” Azmi whispered. She took a tissue and blew her nose, sniffling.
She sobbed into her hands and hiccuped. “I just… I don't know how to talk to her now. I don’t know how to apologize. I shouldn’t have talked to her like that– but I can’t excuse her either. It hurt. It hurt.”
“She walked out, right?”
Azmi blinked between the tears. She wasn’t expecting him to say anything.
“Y-Yeah. She.. she left. I don’t know where she is now.”
She finally lifted her head to face her professor. He didn’t look bored. Nor did he look ignorant. He looked… attentive. Like he cared.
“My advice is to not let her go. Let her calm down, but don’t let her walk out of your life.”
“But… I shouldn’t have started it. I-I should’ve been more understanding.”
“Azmi.” he adjusted his glasses. “What matters here isn't who’s to blame. Nor is it about how you ‘should have’ behaved. I don’t want to tell you what to do, per say. But from my personal experience…” he paused, a soft look crossing his face.
“It’s not worth it to let them leave over one fight, especially not one like this. No matter how bad it gets. Daya is clearly very important to you. So, don’t spend all your time thinking about how to stop her– but get up. Talk to her when you’re ready.”
“Alright… Thank you, professor Alhaitham.” She sniffed, pulling another tissue from the box.
He shrugged. “Take it from personal experience. These things take time, yes. But seeing how much she means to you, it’s worth it. I made that mistake once, and I’m only lucky to have my husband here now.”
Azmi nodded, wiping the last of her tears away. “T-Thank you, professor. I’ll be on my way then. I think I have someone to talk to.”
Her professor nodded, leaning forward and clicking open his phone. “I have another 5 minutes before my office hours end. What did you need to ask?”
“Oh! Right, so, about chapter five…”
—
It takes four days until Azmi works up the courage to text Daya, and for Daya to agree to meet her at Puspa Cafe. Their night ends with Azmi curled up in her arms, content to hear Daya’s heartbeat thrum gently in her ear.
Until it processes a week later.
“Wait… Husband?”
—
Now, Azmi would like to say that she didn’t dwell on it much. She would love to say that she, unlike her darshanmates, does not care for drama and the like. There is nothing interesting about her professor’s private life– and he is owed that kind of privacy, obviously.
But her interest is undeniably piqued. She hasn’t still spilled the information to Daya, or anyone else for that matter. But holy shit. With the thought in mind that professor Alhaitham had a husband, it was now increasingly obvious that her professor is downright smitten with him.
In lectures, he’s always seen fidgeting with a little fuzzy lion keychain that definitely is not his. (But it is the Kshahrewar mascot… likely a distraction tactic.) His jewelry is decorative with patterns and carvings not commonly seen in the unartistic Haravatat darshan, and god the lunches. It was by chance that Azmi had seen him eating in the Haravatat cafeteria, and her mouth watered at first glance.
Sabzi polo with a small slice of tahchin on the side. Two diamonds of baklava glisten with sugary syrup and Azmi craves. Daya isn’t the greatest cook, so oftentimes she’s the one who bakes and cooks for the two of them. But the prospect of your loved one even trying warms Azmi to the core. She can only imagine how her professor feels.
Then there’s the matter of the rings on his fingers. Unabashedly, a simple golden ring emboldened with a tiny red gem stares at her the entirety of her lecture, and she is appalled at how nobody noticed, aside from her. It was quite literally sitting, open faced and bare for the entire world to see on his ring finger!
So yes. Professor Alhaitham has a mystery husband– and he tends to let that fact slip quite a bit, although “subtle.” (At least according to the general populous of the Akademiya, because Azmi still isn’t sure how nobody noticed the ring.) But the matter of who becomes the priority in the back of her mind.
And she thinks she’s figured it out.
–
Without a doubt, it is professor Siraj. A member of the Vahumana darshan, and admittedly, an oddity even amongst the “mad scholars” of the Akademiya. Similarly surrounded by rumors like his husband (Alhaitham), but not about his private life. Moreso along the lines of criminal activity, but Azmi isn’t a criminology major, so that’s not her business.
But what she is interested in is the way Siraj seems to linger near Alhaitham’s door after his last lecture of the day and trails after him, following behind closely but never talking to him directly. (Maybe he’s just too shy to initiate in public… Daya was the same when they had started dating.) She notices the times Siraj will sometimes show up to Alhaitham’s office hours using the excuse of looking for one of his students, and she often hears from Daya’s Vahumana friends about Siraj’s common habit of taking calls in between lectures. Coincidentally at the same moment Alhaitham isn’t teaching his own class.
It’s mysterious, and perhaps a little far fetched, but Azmi is confident it’s Siraj. Maybe they often agree to meet in the Kshahrewar darshan to hide their relationship better? She snorts to herself.
They can fool everyone else, but they won’t fool her.
—
“Hey, how old is Professor Kaveh even?” Azmi asks out of the blue, twirling a lock of Daya’s hair on one finger. Despite her persistence research into Alhaitham’s newly found husband; she hasn’t forgotten her original goal: Discover more about Professor Kaveh. (And win back her Daya’s affection and attention.)
“Oh.. eh, no clue.”
“What? How do you not know? Isn’t that like… public information?”
Daya shrugs from where she’s perched in Azmi’s lap, shifting. “Probably, but I haven’t bothered to look into it. That’s weird, after all.” (Crap, Azmi thinks.) “He doesn’t talk much about himself, so everything I do know is from my own observation…”
“Oh, I see. Does he have a partner of some sort?”
Daya bites her lip, thinking. (An extremely cute habit of hers. Azmi can’t resist and presses a lithe kiss to the corner of her mouth.) “I don’t think so… he does wear a ring, but it isn’t on his ring finger.”
“Hm. Alright.”
“Why’re you asking? Are you planning on taking one of his classes–?”
“Huh? No, no. I’m just asking, is all.”
Daya cocks an eyebrow suspiciously but doesn’t push, snuggling back into Azmi’s arms and burrowing into the crook of her neck. Azmi smirks. Well, she has this one up on Professor Kaveh at least; having the most gorgeous girlfriend to hit the earth.
If she’s going to win this race, it’s probably worthwhile to be able to get up close with him…
“Actually, now that you mention it… does he have any open courses or lectures?”
—
Turns out, the answer to that is no. But Daya mentioned near the end of the year that Kaveh would be holding a free unaffiliated lecture about urban planning and the structure of the City of Fontaine. Daya can’t go– she has a final that day for a different course, and only asks that Azmi takes notes for her.
Azmi, because she is a good person with no alternative motives, agrees, skipping off to the building in a nearby campus, her laptop in hand. At least with this lecture, she’ll be able to get up close to the man afterwards and finally corner him down. (And also internalize his clothing style and mannerisms, but that’s unimportant.)
The initial kick off to the lecture goes off without a hitch. Kaveh introduces himself and outlines his talk, Azmi quickly labels and jots down some preliminary information on one page and begins to stare and observe.
Looking at him now, she kind of understands her girlfriend. Kaveh is… pretty. There is no other word for it really. He has a charm that is neither feminine or masculine, but incredibly androgynously.., Gender. Azmi is almost jealous, really.
He’s powerful in his speech and in his mannerisms. He walks the stage with purpose and the way he threads his words and his hands demands attention– and the crowd so willingly hands it over on a silver platter. But Azmi won’t let herself be distracted.
It doesn’t take long for the lecture to end, and in the meantime Azmi hatches her plan. Pin him down after he’s answered questions and most of everyone has funneled out. Then, interrogate him on his haircare, his view on art in the Akademiya, where he shops and how he’s grown to be so successful. This is all necessary.
It takes a while, which is no surprise. Azmi found out from one Akasha search that Kaveh himself was actually an extremely accomplished individual. After his admittance to the Akademiya, he was the architect who drafted designs and organized the structure of many of the newer buildings. Many of the infrastructure around Sumeru and specifically the ports had been fixed up by Kaveh himself.
His most notable creation had been the Palace of Alcazarzaray, a home built for a millionaire known only as “Lord Sangemah Bay.” His magnum opus– towering at a high location surrounded by lush vegetation and gorgeous waterfalls with a view to rival that of the moon and stars themselves.
(So, he’s accomplished. Azmi sighs loudly out to herself. God, Daya. Couldn’t you have been infatuated with a less accomplished man?)
“Ah… excuse me? Do you have a question for me?”
Azmi snaps out of her trance. Professor Kaveh looks at her with a confused smile. “Sorry, you’re the last one here. Are you looking for something?”
Azmi swallows. On second thought, this is a lot more scary than she originally thought it’d be. Kaveh towers over her by at least 12 centimeters, and it doesn’t help that he's likely physically stronger than her.
“No! I actually just wanted to a–”
“Kaveh.”
The architect nearly jumps out his skin and whirls around to face their interruptor– Professor Alhaitham?
“Alhaitham–! What the– good gods, what is wrong with you?! You texted me that you’d be here in five minutes, and it’s barely been one!”
Her professor just shrugs, nodding to her in greeting. “Azmi. Hello. Please excuse him, he’s a little rowdy today.”
“Rowdy?! Why, you– ugh! Please, I’m so sorry. You had a question?”
Azmi is… admittedly, taken aback. They know each other? And they…banter so naturally? Azmi doesn’t think she’s ever seen her own professor smile, much less smirk smugly watching Kaveh’s fuming reactions. She swears she can almost see the silly sprout-like tuft of hair on Alhaitham’s head twisting into a heart.
“I… er.” Azmi stutters. “No, it’s nothing. Please have a good day.”
Azmi scrambles off, the sound of her footsteps trailing behind her. Before she can even make it out the door, she can spot her professor snicker, talking outloud:
“I came to pick you up early for our anniversary, ya hayati.” As he loops an arm around Kaveh’s waist. Kaveh grabs his wrist, his middle finger sporting a similar ring to Alhaitham’s supposed wedding ring– with a small green gem instead of red.
“You’re infuriating, eshgham.