mouse

he inhales one last time, breathing in the scent of her life before unfolding the paper in his hands to reveal her handwriting.

"My Darling Alhaitham,

If you're reading this, it means you've met Kaveh."

-end of part one-

althm flips open the book, flitting through page after page until an envelope slips out & onto the floor when he lands on a photo of his grandmother and kvh. he picks it up, circling around to her desk before sitting down & opening the letter.

he crosses over to her bookshelf, thumbing the spine of book after book until he lands on one that reads:

𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱: 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯.

althm closes the door behind him before taking quick steps across the room and behind that large desk. he pulls open a drawer and then two, shuffling through papers for answers.

he swears that for a moment he sees her look up from her desk across the room with that peeved look on her face that softens only once she sees its him.

faruzan's voice cuts through the mirage like smoke as she calls for him down the hallway.

he strides down the hallway to the former chairwoman's office, agitated and suddenly lonely. it only takes a small push of the handle for him to suddenly be surrounded by the smell of ink and powder and tea. he staggers a misstep as the familiar smells put her right in front of him once again.

even her closest advisors rarely got anything more than a cagey 'well done' from her. the only person althm has ever seen her affectionate with was--well, himself.

althm stands, mind suddenly fevered with questions he needed the answers to.

with each photo he can see them getting closer, how their smiles go from polite and corporate to familiar and unabashed in each other's presence. he had no idea that his grandmother had a friend like that. she was direct and batty on most occasions.

photos of the blonde and his grandmother litter the screen as they shake hands during the opening of each building. the most recent one is a year ago. they both hold the large pair of scissors together as they laugh, open and warm, as they cut the huge red ribbon.

article after article pop up about kvh, the renown architect hired by his grandmother to build the very building he was sitting in. and not only that, but every flagship building for he company was crafted by those slender, calloused hands.

if you'd like to request any changes or revisions, please let me know as soon as possible."

with that, the blonde bows slightly before collecting his blueprints and walking out.

...

as soon as the architect leaves, althm turns to his computer and opens his akasha search engine.

kvh looks up, waiting for input or rejection. but all althm can do is nod and look away. the idea, the blueprint, the execution, it was all flawless and deeply reminiscent of his grandmother.

🏛️: "i'll um, get to work on the full cost and materials breakdown in order to get started.

my vision is to use glass for all four walls and to repurpose the space into a rose garden. it'll be functional space for staff to relax in as well as visitors to peruse."

althm stares at the plans and his mind brings the image to life. sunlight and soil and roses.

current plans. if i may?"

kvh gestures to the large oak desk and althm nods, giving him the go ahead to lay the new plans over the old ones.

🏛️: "i resurveyed the area and found an abandoned company greenery behind the annex space.

and its that smile, that aching familiarity painted all over his face that makes althm feel suddenly jealous and curious at the same time.

🌱: "who--"

🏛️: "i trust the board provided my initial blueprint for the annex but after seeing the centerpiece art, I decided to amend and expand the

she--," kvh looks away and it breaks the spell, loneliness creeps its way into althm's mind as he studies the wood of his desk.

🏛️: "she was a wonderful woman," kvh finishes and then smiles softly like he's recalling memories of his own of her.

althm feels his brow furrow slightly as he continues to observe. once their eyes meet its like they lock together. they both stare and stare and stare, silence passing slowly and quickly all at once before the blonde speaks again.

🏛️: "i'm very sorry, for your loss.

a sudden sadness settles over every feature as the blonde stares for moment at the hands in his lap. althm's eyes flick to his calendar on the wall. 2pm: review annex plans.

🌱: "you're an architect."

kvh's eyes finally meet his.

🏛️: "yes."

he breathes it like confession.

🌱: "i don't believe we've met, actually--"

🏛️: "oh! no, no no. we haven't. i, um--," crimson eyes flutter around the room, landing on anything but the ceo, "i worked with your grandmother," he finally says.

🌱: "alhaitham," he responds, shaking only once before letting go.

🏛️: "yes, i know." kaveh looks down, like he's trying to figure something out before taking his seat again.

he knows? from the tabloids? althm sits forward in his chair, taking in the strange, complex person in front of him.

when he properly steps into he door of his office, the man stands & offers an awkward handshake.

🏛️: "hi, um--hello. i'm kaveh."

althm takes the slender hand & finds himself surprised by the faint callouses that rub against his palm.

his eyes, his mind, just study what's in front of him like a puzzle of his very own.

"i was trying to tell you that your 2 o'clock already arrived." faruzan smiles sweetly before walking away, looking properly entertained for reasons beyond althm.

his skin is pale but still carries warmth, his shoulders are broad but slender, and his legs are long and crossed daintily. everything about the man feels like a contradiction, so much so that althm can't look away.

he forgets to be angry, annoyed, or even miffed.

he pushes the doors open, ready to exhale and sink into the quiet, but when he looks up two crimson eyes are gazing back at him. he freezes and--stares. unbecoming of an acting ceo, he knows, but he really can't help it.

in the middle of his sanctuary of quiet sits a man. a blonde one.

faruzan, please. i just need a moment alone--"

"mr. ceo, wait a moment!"

althm doesn't stop his pace as strides past and directly for the double doors of his office. just a few feet, only a few feet to beautiful, complete, abject silence.

🌱: "archons above, what does it take for a moment of peace around here?"

he's already whizzing past prying eyes & ears, back to his office to collect his sanity. faruzan, his uncannily merry secretary, sing songs after him with his schedule for the afternoon.

"m-mr. ceo!"

🌱: "not now,

…

his second day as ceo begins not much better than his first. meetings with the board of directors eats up his morning and afternoon. his lunch break, his only real moment of reprieve, was sacrileged by flashing cameras and incessant questions.

when he could damn near here her shout of a laugh at the sight of him lamenting his current position?

how could she ever really die then? althm closes the file and takes a steadying breath. he decides then to miss her, not mourn her. because she’s not really gone.

not for him, anyway.

even now, it’s difficult for his mind to grasp the finality of his grandmother’s passing. how could she be gone? when she was right here, in his mind and heart, constantly? when he could conjure her snarky expressions and wrinkled fingers?

she chose it for her legacy and for some reason, it pushes emotion into his throat for the first time since she passed. death was always too abstract for him to process. his parents died before he could really remember them, before he could really understand what he’d lost.