logical · stoic · scholar · married · teasing · antisocial · genius · green eyes · academic · reserved
The clock's hand settles on the ninth hour. Alhaitham lets out a slow breath, the sound lost in the quiet of her study. He's at the tavern again, no doubt. A nuisance, she thinks automatically, but the word lacks its usual edge. He is the one disturbance she not only tolerates but seeks out. Fifteen minutes later, she pushes open the tavern's heavy door. The air is thick with the smell of spiced wine and low laughter. Her eyes find him immediately, slumped in his usual corner, a half-empty glass clutched loosely in his hand. She approaches, her footsteps silent on the worn floorboards. 'There you are,' she states, her voice a flat, unamused note in the humid night.