Chapter Text
The soft glow of the early morning painted the quiet house in hues of pink and purple. The sun offensively beamed through the windows that surrounded the living room, brightening the peaceful home.
On one of the divans, Alhaitham stirred, groaning as he tried blinking his eyes open. He hissed when the rays of light invaded his eyes and squeezed them shut again. He had never had a worse headache in his life.
As his senses came flooding back to him, he realized he was not the only figure that was taking up the couch. The pillow his head was comfortably resting on was breathing, and it had a heartbeat. The sense of touch finally hit him, and he could feel that his pillow was warm and its fabric was soft. The dots snapped into place in his mind– the “pillow” he was lying on was not a pillow at all. His head darted up, but the weight of pain pulled it back down into Kaveh’s shoulder. He clutched his head, muttering curses under his breath.
Kaveh’s sleeping body turned toward him and embraced him close, forcing his face into his chest. Kaveh nuzzled his nose into Alhaitham’s hair, unconsciously leaving ghosts of pecks on his scalp. Alhaitham’s shut eyes jumped open at the gesture.
Alhaitham was stuck in many predicaments. For starters, his head felt like it was going to explode. The second one was that the world was spinning so badly that it was making him dizzy, which was making him sick. The third one was the fact that he and Kaveh were curled up together on the divan. The fourth one was the question of why he did not want to move, why did he want to bask in this moment for eternity?
Alhaitham tugged on Kaveh’s shirt (which reeked of alcohol), startling the architect awake.
Kaveh looked down at him through half-open lids. “What, ‘Haitham?” he mumbled groggily.
“What’s…,” his voice was hoarse, and his throat was killing him as he spoke, “why are we sleeping together on the couch?”
Kaveh laughed lazily. “You collapsed onto it when we got home. And then you threw a fit when I tried to get you up– and then you pulled me down onto you and wouldn’t let go.”
Alhaitham grumbled unhappily. “What do you mean I ‘threw a fit’? I don’t do that.” He hid his face in Kaveh’s chest.
Kaveh gently pulled Alhaitham’s hair to tilt his face back up. “You are an absolute child when you drink too much, Alhaitham.”
Alhaitham couldn’t refute that. Mostly because he had no memory of that happening. Instead, he decided to play into that role if that was how Kaveh saw him when he drank. It was only fair to act the same way after, no?
“My head hurts, Kaveh,” he whined.
Instead of getting irritated, which was Alhaitham’s intention, Kaveh just laughed. “Go shower, okay? You’ll feel better.” He dragged his hand through Alhaitham’s hair, making it even more of a mess than it already was.
After a few attempts of trying to get out of Alhaitham’s clingy grasp, Kaveh finally made it to his feet.
Alhaitham was forced to shower away the evidence of what he had done that night. As nice as the water felt, it was a terrible task trying to get through it.
Kaveh knocked at the bathroom door lightly. “Coffee is ready, Haitham. Are you alright?”
Alhaitham just grunted miserably.
“Can I come in?”
Alhaitham contemplated it for less than a second. “Yes.”
“Are you able to handle this by yourself?” Kaveh teased once he walked into the bathroom, but his words were dipped in concern he couldn’t conceal. The only thing that separated them was the curtains.
Begrudgingly, Alhaitham sighed. It was humiliating how absolutely helpless he was as a normally hyper-independent individual. “I feel like shit, Kaveh,” he admitted, regardless.
“This is why drinking is bad for you.”
“I don’t think you have any room to be talking.” Kaveh couldn’t see Alhaitham’s frown, but he could certainly hear it.
“Clearly, I can handle it better. Which one of us is the one who can walk around, and which one of us can’t shower himself?” Kaveh teased.
“Just help me already,” Alhaitham groaned impatiently.
“Are you sure? We’ve never–”
Alhaitham opened the curtain with a glare that was meant to shoot lasers through Kaveh’s skull. He was sitting on the floor, looking like a sopping wet cat that accidentally fell into the pool. Alhaitham noticed Kaveh was looking at him with fake pity and splashed water onto him.
“Hey!” Kaveh jumped back. “How do you expect me to help if I’m being attacked!”
Alhaitham thought for a second, tapping his index finger against his chin. “Can you get in?”
Kaveh’s jaw flew open, absolutely taken aback by the bold ask of his junior. “I– What?!” Kaveh had a pained, flustered expression plastered on his face. The red of his cheeks could not be hidden if he tried.
The last time they had showered together was when they were students at the Akademiya. It had become a normal thing after a long, stressful night of studying. It had happened after they found themselves covered head to toe in mud one day while they were out conducting research in the deepest parts of Sumeru’s rainforest. It had been well over a decade since then.
Alhaitham’s chin was on the edge of the tub, and he looked up at Kaveh innocently.
Alhaitham didn’t press on about it, though, and let Kaveh make the decision for himself.
Kaveh folded under absolutely zero pressure. “Okay, fine!”
Once Kaveh joined him, he got to his knees behind Alhaitham. Alhaitham was being difficult and refused to stand up, so Kaveh had to comply with it.
Kaveh lathered his silky grey hair in his own shampoo, arguing that it smelled better than the plain concoction in the bottle that belonged to Alhaitham. He insisted the scent of alcohol needed to be rinsed out with the mixed smells of sunsettia’s and zaytun peaches.
Alhaitham melted into the hands that massaged his scalp soothingly. The way Kaveh worked his fingers in Alhaitham’s hair had quickly become one of the top contenders for best sensations in the entire world.
“Alhaitham,” Kaveh suddenly started after a mostly silent shower. “Do you remember last night?”
Alhaitham turned toward him. “Which part?”
Kaveh looked at him unamused. “The part when you know… we kissed?”
“I do.”
“Was that real to you?”
Instead of responding with a nod or any other affirmation, Alhaitham kissed him instead. Softly, but so lovingly. “It was,” he hardly pulled back. “I meant everything I said to you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Kaveh. I am sure that I love you.” Alhaitham kissed him again. And again, and again, and again. “And I want to call you my boyfriend for real this time.”
Kaveh swiped wet hair that stuck to Alhaitham’s head away from his face. He pretended to contemplate his answer, and Alhaitham wasn’t having it. He grabbed both sides of Kaveh’s face and kissed him much harder than the times before. The shock that electrified Kaveh’s veins disappeared as quickly as it had come on, letting the moment take control of him.
When they both were forced to draw back for air, Kaveh covered Alhaitham’s mouth once he saw him diving back in for more. “As much as I want to make out with you, can we maybe do it somewhere that isn’t so... wet?”
Alhaitham’s sparkling eyes died in an instant, and Kaveh could feel the frown against his palm.
“Oh, shut up!” Kaveh huffed. “You’re going to be the one brewing a new pot of coffee.”
Alhaitham just laughed and successfully dove in for more.