— Characters: Alhaitham, Lumine, Paimon
— Summary: There’s a new unwritten rule at the Akademiya that both Lumine and Paimon have no idea of: Don't wake the Scribes while he's asleep.
— Word count: 1073
— Ao3
Happy Birthday, Alhaitham!
Almost everyone at the Akademiya recently learned of a new unwritten rule: Don't wake the Scribes while he's asleep.
After taking on the position of Acting Grand Sage, the **** of work had given Alhaitham less time to sleep. He spent more time at the Akademiya than at home. During the rare time he was off, scholars often caught him falling asleep somewhere in the grounds of House of Daena, with one or several books by his side, of course.
Once, a scholar woke him just to warn him that it was going to rain. But the next day, no one saw the scholar at House of Daena anymore. It was rumored that because of his wrongdoing with the Scribe, who was aslo the Acting Grand Sage, so he was demoted and sent away. However, there was another theory that he failed Alhaitham's surprise test, then fled out of House of Daena weeping, vowing not to return until he could outwit the Acting Grand Sage.
As a consequence, after that incident, no one dared disturb Alhaitham's sleep anymore.
But the Traveler had no idea. Lumine and Paimon happened to learn from Kaveh that it was Alhaitham's birthday. It wasn't much of a coincidence, actually, as Kaveh blocked their way, pleading with them to pull Alhaitham home or his preparations for a surprise party would be ruined. Paimon, because of her desire for good food, decided to take a trip to the Akademiya.
"Look! Is Alhaitham taking a nap over there?"
Paimon's words echoed around the room. Lumine had to put her hand over her mouth to gesture to her friend.
"Shhh. Paimon, you're being so loud!"
"What? I'm not..." Paimon denied. "Obviously I speak very quietly!"
The scholars let Lumine and Paimon into Alhaitham's private study. He wasn't in the room but was sitting outside, one fist on his temple, the other holding a book, fingers clamped on the unfinished page. Paimon flew over to observe and said:
"Hey, Alhaitham is really sleeping! But I'm not going to wake him! What if he asks me tough questions or forces me to read..."
As soon as she said that, Alhaitham's arm reached out and grabbed the edge of Paimon's robe.
"Ouch!"
Paimon screamed, unable to fly away despite her wriggling. Alhaitham blinked to open his drowsy eyelids. He said:
"Too late, Paimon. I've heard you two since you first entered the room."
"Oh, Traveler! Come and save me!"
It was amusing to see Paimon furiously scream out for rescue, but also a touch heartbreaking. Lumine then went on to save the day:
"My apologies, Alhaitham! We happened to be passing by here, intending to say hello to you for a bit, then wish you a happy birthday."
Alhaitham abruptly let go. Paimon, so unprepared, lost speed and flew towards the Traveler. Fortunately, Lumine caught her before they both plummeted to the ground.
"Since you're both here," said Alhaitham, "How about a read with me?"
Paimon, still stunned, answered immediately:
"Nope! I won't read books! Lumine, you don't want to read either, do you?"
Paimon's eyes seemed to be begging Lumine to get her out of here. Lumine shook her head:
"No... Erm... I'm not feeling like reading today..."
"If that's the case, help me with organizing the documents then."
With that said, Alhaitham stood up and walked inside. Lumine and Paimon followed obediently. Organizing stuff should be less of a headache than reading a book, anyway.
But they were wrong. In Alhaitham's office, there are countless unclassified papers and books. He only gave vague instructions that they had helped him with this kind of work once before, they could easily do it again. After about five minutes, Paimon was already scratching her head.
"Paimon gives up! Why does he keep making us do these things! We're supposed to be eating well at the party— Oops!"
As fast as a lightning bolt, Lumine moved quickly over to quiet Paimon. That surprise party was a secret. But Alhaitham had heard it all.
"Is that housemate of mine making trouble again?" He inquired, with his gaze still not leaving the stack of papers on his desk.
"Well... Lumine! You tell him!"
Prodded by Paimon, Lumine spoke up:
"Kaveh is throwing a party... He requested us to accompany you back home."
"I'm not a party person myself."
Paimon was immediately irritated when she heard that:
"That party is for you! How many delicacies you are going to miss!"
In a bored tone, Alhaitham said:
"That Kaveh said it's a party. But it's really just an excuse to open my good bottles of wine."
"There's good wine too?"
Paimon's face was filled with hunger. Lumine sighed and shook her head. She stated:
"In any case, it is Kaveh's good intention. Other friends will come to congratulate you as well. You should also return home. I've heard that you've only been at the Akademiya lately."
Alhaitham pondered for a moment and then replied:
"Hmm. If you two help me sort through this mound of documents and books, maybe we'll be back in time for that party."
Paimon and Lumine exchanged nods. Although they did not want to do anything, just by thinking about the upcoming party, they became more enthusiastic than ever. Occasionally, Paimon was tapped on the head by Alhaitham for making his study more messy. Lumine then had to comfort her companion by naming the delicacies that they would enjoy later that day.
Eventually, when the sun fell behind the top of the mountain, their work was temporarily settled. Paimon feared she could not fly longer and complained about being hungry the whole way back home. But when they saw Kaveh, Cyno, Tighnari, and even Nilou with Dehya waiting for them outside, all their tiredness seemed to fade away. Even Alhaitham, who always said he disliked partying, smirked slightly as everyone around him shouted in unison:
"Happy Birthday to you, Alhaitham!"
The momentary smile on Alhaitham's lips vanished. He said:
"There’s no need to be so formal. If you are all gathered here, let's go inside for a meal."
Paimon was the first to shout for joy. The group then followed one another into the house. Lumine nudged Alhaitham's arm lightly, saying:
"Celebrating a birthday at home is still preferable to being alone at the Akademiya, isn't it?"
Alhaitham nodded slightly, this time, he gave a bigger smile.
"Thanks to all of you. Especially you, Traveler."
-The end-
