Chapter Text
He’s tossed and turned for the fifth time in bed, groaning idly into his pillow and cursing… the dendro… mushrooms, he barely catches his thoughts in time, for not allowing him to fall asleep immediately. The moment his back hit his bed, he should have fallen asleep. Yet here he is — still very much awake and tired and agitated, scowling into the air as if the dark had wronged him in so many ways.
“I hate this,” he mutters, turning to hug the blanket to his nose, trying to retain some warmth in his cold, cold bed. Gods, how alone he feels sometimes. Mentally he swears every couple out by memory for making him feel this way, damn it. Including Tighnari and Cyno, who make being together look so easy.
No, especially Tighnari and Cyno.
He turns and buries his face into his pillows once more.
That’s when he hears it — the faintest smattering of steps in his bedroom’s direction, getting closer with every passing second.
Kaveh doesn’t move a muscle.
No, really, he doesn’t even breathe.
The steps pause at his door, and then stop there.
You’re not smooth at all, Kaveh thinks with a roll of his eyes.
Seriously, just how many times will Alhaitham stand outside his door like he was waiting for something? What did Kaveh even do to deserve this shock at this time in the night?
It’s certainly not the first time Kaveh has noticed Alhaitham sneaking to stand outside his door without any sound whatsoever. Just to stand there — what purpose could he have? Was Alhaitham just really obsessed with the design of his door? Kaveh knew he put in extra effort to perfect it, but was there really a need to admire it only at this time of the night?
Alhaitham visited at random times during the night. Usually well past midnight after Kaveh stumbles home to fall into bed after a shower, and he usually assumes Alhaitham is already asleep whenever he comes home that late. Because his door is always closed and there’s no trace of light from beneath the door.
There’s a faint light under the door now — definitely not the main hall’s, the light was too dim for it to be that one. He can’t see Alhaitham’s shadow, but it’s so obvious that he’s right there.
You can’t hide from me, asshole.
Before he manages to think past that sentence and figure out whether he should ignore him and his weirdness or not, he’s ripping the blanket away from his body and marching towards the door already.
The door flies open with his hand twisting the knob sharply, a scowl on his face-
And Alhaitham looks at him sharply, as if he’d been torn out of his thoughts by his sudden intrusion. His slightly widened eyes betray his surprise when Kaveh stares at him.
“What are you doing here?” Alhaitham asks first.
And Kaveh nearly answers, because it’s his room, but wait- wasn’t that supposed to be his question to ask?
“No, don’t turn this on me,” he says, pointing an accusatory finger at Alhaitham. “What are you doing outside my room like a creep?”
Alhaitham raises a brow. “What, am I not allowed to stand anywhere I please now? Might I remind you that this is my house and you should be grateful I even took you in in the first place.”
Kaveh splutters, because What the fuck. “You- You—!”
Alhaitham smirks, his shock already schooled back to indifference. “You should really consider sleeping, Kaveh. You look horrible.”
“Fuck you,” Kaveh retorts, but then frowns, because Alhaitham-
Alhaitham is directing all the attention onto him.
“What are you doing outside my door?”
“Why are you not asleep?” The grey haired man counters, crossing his arms.
Kaveh very pointedly does not look at the thin shirt masquerading as nightwear on Alhaitham’s body.
“Answer my question first.”
Alhaitham seems to hesitate for a moment, obviously not expecting to have ever been caught without a backup plan in mind.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he says eventually, and it sounds like a half-truth to Kaveh’s ears.
Kaveh raises a brow. “And so you decided to camp outside my door.”
Alhaitham turns back. “I’ll be going back now. I see that conversing with you seems to be a waste of my time and energy, so I shall be reading in the meantime.”
“Wait!” Kaveh blurts, before he slaps a hand over his mouth with big fucking eyes when Alhaitham looks back at him with a raised brow.
Fuck, he hadn’t meant to say that. He’d just wanted to know why the hell Alhaitham seems to enjoy standing outside his door so much.
And now Alhaitham is waiting with a blank stare, the one he hates so much.
“Do… you want… coffee?” Kaveh bites out eventually, unable to come up with anything to fill the silence with.
Alhaitham’s lips press into a thin line. “Weren’t you going to sleep?”
“I have to look through some blueprints for the new project anyways,” Kaveh mutters. “Do you want coffee or not?”
That’s not really the question he wants to ask, but he’s kind of scared about the answer. About why on earth Alhaitham would stand outside his door for seemingly no reason whatsoever. Was he possessed?
Alhaitham thinks for a moment. “No.”
Then he adds, “You’re not allowed to have it either.”
Indignantly, Kaveh raises his chin with a glare. “What, so I can’t even touch the coffee now?”
“It’s midnight. What are you drinking coffee at this time for?”
“To stay awake, of course! Are the blueprints going to review themselves?”
“You look like you’re about to keel over and die. Your hair is a mess and there are shadows under your eyes. You’ve been sleeping at dawn for several days each week and only sleep through the entire day on your rest day.”
Kaveh’s jaw drops. “Why are you keeping track of my sleep schedule!”
“It’s hard not to notice when I wake up the time you sleep.”
Kaveh doesn’t have an answer to refute that.
“So,” Alhaitham decides thoughtfully, a finger to his chin, “You’ll review your blueprints without coffee until you feel like sleeping, and then you can go to bed.”
“What’s the point of reviewing something when I’m half asleep? That’s just wasting time!”
“The point is that you’re supposed to fall asleep. You can check your work tomorrow.”
Kaveh scowls, because is there even a point in arguing with Alhaitham? The man is resolute, stubborn and a massive pain in his ass. He’s not going to budge no matter how much Kaveh tries.
Letting out a little hmph, Kaveh glares at him and sweeps towards his own office. “Fine, suit yourself.”
He’s going to sit his ass in his study and finish a few blueprints before he, hopefully, feels sleepy enough to rest comfortably in bed.
That, at least, was the plan… until he hears Alhaitham following him again.
He whips around. “Why are you following me!”
“It’s my house,” Alhaitham repeats, and oh, if that doesn’t make Kaveh want to slap him so badly.
In the end, Kaveh sits at his study table, and Alhaitham pulls a random book from his shelves to read in a corner in a comfortable chair.
Kaveh not so subtly glares at him.
“Aren’t you supposed to be doing your work?” Alhaitham asks, and his voice is monotone as always, but it sounds almost condescending in Kaveh’s ears.
The absolute, utter fucking nerve of this guy.
Kaveh fumes and pulls his hair into a bun before he starts on his work, all while refusing to even glance in the other man’s direction — while unbeknownst to him, Alhaitham has been watching him work for awhile now.
And then it gets even better, because instead of reviewing the prints like he’s supposed to, Kaveh finds himself doodling and writing out methods with little sketches of just how he’s going to murder Alhaitham and take his house for himself because damn if this man isn’t the most infuriating person he has ever had the displeasure of meeting. And Kaveh meets a lot of people.
When he squints at his paper, he sees that little Kaveh is wringing little Alhaitham’s neck with his bare hands.
This brings a small smile to his lips, because what wouldn’t he give to be able to do that right this instant and not be charged for manslaughter.
Then he crushes the paper and flings it into the waiting trash can under his desk with a loud sigh, shaking his head.
“You’re too distracting,” Kaveh announces, glaring at Alhaitham, who barely spares him a glance from his readings of The Working Mechanisms of the last of King Deshret’s Ruins that he’d obviously stolen from Kaveh’s bookshelf, and mind you, Kaveh forgot he’d even had that there. Because there are just too many books that he keeps to learn more about mechanisms in a bid to get his theories right.
But wait, that isn’t the point right now.
“Am I?” Comes the less audible voice from across the room. “But I’m barely making a sound here. How could you be so disturbed by my presence that you’re unable to do work?”
Then he lifts his gaze. “Or is it that you’re so incompetent that you can’t even do your own work without blaming it on someone else?”
“Fuck you,” Kaveh hisses, slamming a hand on the table. “Why are you so- so annoying!”
“Am I?” Alhaitham muses again, setting the book down and pressing concerned fingers to his chin as if in deep thought, and Kaveh scowls because he’s clearly mocking him.
“Get out.”
He doesn’t expect Alhaitham to comply so easily; standing up and neatly tucking the book back into the shelf, right where Kaveh had kept it before, not giving him a single look as he strides straight out of the door and closes it behind him.
Kaveh doesn’t realise he’s so tense until he relaxes, slumping over the table, and all his breath leaves him in one long, drawn out sigh.
Archons, what did I do to deserve a roommate like this, he thinks almost desperately, burying his face against the table and clasping his hands over the back of his head.
Given that Alhaitham had been the only one to offer him a place, he couldn’t exactly complain about the man. But fuck, he was so- so-
I’ve run out of words to call him.
Jerk. Asshole. Bitchy.
No fucking taste in furniture and decoration.
Kaveh groans loudly. And he can’t fall asleep either, despite his foggy mind.
What an absolutely miserable day.
He manages to review more than half the blueprint with some satisfaction with his work, scanning his notes over even as his vision blurs and he stifles a yawn threatening to bring tears to his eyes.
I can fix whatever’s wrong in the morning.
And so he leaves his study, fumbling around with the doorknob and stumbling his way to his room.
The door is closed, and that’s strange, because he doesn’t ever remember closing it.
But that could just be his sleep deprived mind playing tricks on him. He twists the handle and allows himself in after turning the lights outside off, and freezes. A scream nearly tears itself from his chest when he sees—
Alhaitham, sound asleep in his bed.
Alhaitham, sound asleep in his bed.
Alhaitham, sound asleep in his bed!
What the actual fuck. Kaveh’s jaw drops. Seriously? What is he up to now? There’s barely enough room as it is on his bed! Does Alhaitham intend to make him sleep on the couch?
God if this man doesn’t drive him fucking insane! He almost wants to consider getting help for Alhaitham because is he in his right mind? What’s happening to him?
“Haitham,” he hisses when he drops to his knees next to the quietly sleeping man’s head, and the grey haired man doesn’t move a muscle. “Alhaitham!”
An eye opens slightly to gaze at him.
“What are you doing in my bed?” Kaveh asks, wanting to sound angry and annoyed, but his voice comes out almost desperate and Kaveh wants to smack himself.
The eye closes and Alhaitham’s lips move slightly.
Then he seemingly falls back asleep.
And Kaveh gapes at him incredulously.
I pray for strength, he thinks silently, hands clasped together. I pray for peace in my mind.
“Your bed is big enough,” Alhaitham mumbles, turning his face into his pillow, and Kaveh flushes when the man literally nuzzles his face into it. Holy shit.
That… that was kind of adorable.
God damn his confusing and absolutely irritable junior.
With a huff, Kaveh goes to the other side of his bed and lays himself over the covers, trying his best to ignore the heat beside him. He’s practically a furnace. Why is he so warm?
He has space, but he lays stiffly, heart beating fast in his chest at their strangely close proximity. His cheeks are undoubtedly red right now… at least Alhaitham’s asleep and can’t mock him for it.
He turns on his side, then turns back because it feels weird giving someone he’s not used to being in his bed his back, unprotected — a strangely vulnerable feeling, but Kaveh is used to sleeping on his other side, and…
And his eyes are drooping already, the image of Alhaitham’s back at the back of his eyelids as his heart manages to calm its frantic pace enough into a merely slightly faster than usual speed, but it’s enough for Kaveh to fully fall into a fitful slumber.
Somewhere in the night, he’s aware of warmth… an all-encompassing warmth, heat everywhere. He’s almost sweating, but the warmth and pressure is welcome, wrapped tightly around him, faint puffs of air against his neck.
He makes a small sound of content, turning a face into the arm next to his head, and sleeps once more.
By the time his consciousness returns to him, the sun is already high in the sky.
The side next to him is cold and devoid of warmth, and as expected, Alhaitham isn’t there when Kaveh turns over to peer into the space.
The blanket is draped over him, loosely tucked under his arm and- and there are only two possible explanations for it.
One, he’d somehow snatched it off Alhaitham in the middle of the night.
Two, Alhaitham had put it over him.
He buries his face into his pillow and groans in frustration.
“What is wrong with you!” he says, frustrated, into his unsuspecting pillow.
The house is entirely empty, an observation made by Kaveh as he emerges from his room, blinking blearily at the desolate hallways.
Only then does he allow himself to sink into the couch with a loud huff, head in hands. Fuck, did he really sleep in the same bed as Alhaitham?
And to imagine-
To imagine that he had a short dream of waking up in Alhaitham’s arms.
Dear Archon, he begs silently, free me from this insanity.
By the time he manages to finish up on his blueprints and check them over — and erase any unsightly doodles he’s had of Alhaitham made deep into the night, cheeks aflame — the sun has fallen yet again, and Kaveh still feels awake. Briefly, he wonders if tonight will be yet another nightmare of Alhaitham standing outside his bedroom.
Kaveh sighs.
Alhaitham returns home at the same time everyday, as usual, and he gazes at Kaveh slumped over the living room table.
“You’re not at the site today,” Alhaitham says, his tone matter-of-fact.
“Wow,” Kaveh returns sarcastically. “I’m so glad you noticed. You don’t need spectacles after all.”
Ignoring him, Alhaitham saunters over to glance down at his work. “It’s a wonder you couldn’t finish them last night.”
Kaveh sneers, “You couldn’t possibly understand what it’s like to be an architect, Scribe.”
“I couldn’t,” Alhaitham agrees easily — too easily, and Kaveh feels almost stupid. He frowns.
Kaveh makes something simple for them to eat, and he gets a quiet thank you from Alhaitham. It’s almost out of character for him.
He raises a brow at him. “Someone’s in a good mood.”
And he expects; the newfound revelation of an unknown species. He’s gotten his hands on even more books to read. He usurped some plan to destroy Sumeru (again).
But instead of the usual, proper answer Alhaitham graces him with, all he makes is an affirmative hum, gaze locked on his food.
Strange.
Then, Kaveh decides that it isn’t his problem to deal with.
(Nor does he want to admit that the slight smile curving Alhaitham’s lips makes his insides flutter, makes him want to find out why Alhaitham is smiling and attempt to make him smile more.)
Tonight, Kaveh waits with bated breath for footsteps that may stop outside his door.
But the lights are off and no one arrives, and Kaveh is left to drift off to sleep alone.
The next time it occurs, it’s when Kaveh stopped trying to listen to Alhaitham’s footsteps.
In his sleep, he hears the door opening, and then an extended silence — before the bed dips behind him, the mattress sinking as if it could not handle the weight.
An arm settles around him comfortably, and he almost stops breathing when he finally wakes up, eyes shooting wide just as the breathing of the other evens out behind him, holding him close, chin tucking atop his head.
A leg half thrown over his, and he’s completely tangled with Alhaitham, whose quiet breaths are the only sounds heard in the room.
And Kaveh’s jaw drops because Oh my Archons, is he cuddling me?
For the next thirty minutes, Kaveh’s mind reels. He doesn’t move an inch in fear that Alhaitham will wake up and realise that he’s awake, that he knows that Alhaitham is sneaking into his room to… cuddle with him.
What is he supposed to say? He can’t trust himself to not end up looking like a gaping fish when he finally speaks to Alhaitham about this. Not without processing it or understanding Alhaitham’s reasoning, at least.
Kaveh now stays awake long into the night to try to catch Alhaitham doing it again.
It happens sometimes. Other times, Alhaitham just stands outside his door silently, as if contemplating whether or not to enter.
And Kaveh holds his breath every time Alhaitham waits to make that decision, heart skipping to its own irregular beat and he-
He shakes his head.
No way is he ever wishing that Alhaitham would just come in and cuddle him.
It feels nice, hearing his junior’s quiet breaths instead of his annoying voice for once, feeling the soft puffs of air fluttering the hair at his neck, the steady thuds of his heart against Kaveh’s back.
Small things that he’s learnt to find comfort in at night.
(Laying awake wishing Alhaitham would choose to come again.)
What does it mean when your roommate enjoys sneaking into your bedroom at night to give you cuddles, but leaves no trace when he gets out early in the morning?
Or maybe it isn’t that early and I just wake up late?
“Hey,” a low voice says, tapping at the table in front of him. “Kaveh. Focus.”
Cyno pins him with a look, and Kaveh blinks back. “Huh?”
“Remember, the first person to lose buys the others drinks,” Tighnari says with a nod, gesturing to his cards.
Oh. Right. TCG.
He’d invited Tighnari and Cyno out for a few rounds of the game — well, it wasn’t that he had specifically asked them out. They just happened to hold this session every month.
“Do we begin?” Tighnari asks, fiddling with the elemental dice.
Kaveh nods, but Cyno leans back in his seat and crosses his arms. “No. He’s distracted.”
“What could I possibly be distracted by?” Kaveh says almost exasperatedly. “We can play either way. I’m focused. And ready.”
“You’re thinking of something else,” Cyno mutters, gesturing at Kaveh’s eyes. “It’s clear.”
Even Tighnari is looking at him with a scrutinising gaze now.
Kaveh groans and covers his face. “Okay, okay! Stop looking. I’ll try to regain my focus.”
“What’s wrong?” Tighnari asks, setting the dice down. “Is it a new project?”
“Alhaitham isn’t here,” Cyno points out, and great, Kaveh definitely needed the reminder. “You can say whatever.”
Kaveh shakes his head and waves his hands — supposedly a small action that turns almost frantic in a bid to clear his thoughts.
Tighnari looks concerned.
Cyno raises a brow.
“Nothing,” he starts, then clears his throat when his voice comes out weaker than expected, “It’s nothing, really. Just-”
He hesitates.
They wait patiently.
“What does it mean, if your roommate sneaks into your room at night to… cuddle you while you’re asleep?”
They both stare at him incredulously.
Silence falls around the table, and Kaveh shrinks into himself at their simultaneous questioning gazes.
“I’m… sorry?” Tighnari breaks the silence first.
“By roommate, do you mean Alhaitham?” And of course Cyno cuts straight to the point.
Kaveh waves his hands again, cheeks burning. “It doesn’t matter who! Just, what does it mean? What could it mean? Why would he- they do this?”
Tighnari looks thoughtful while Cyno is stone faced, as always.
“Perhaps he felt alone and sought your company,” Tighnari suggests, clasping his hands together and leaning on the table, “But was too ashamed to have you know that he wanted it.”
Cyno crosses his arms again. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Kaveh shakes his head. “He hates me.”
They exchange looks, and Kaveh feels like he’s missing an important piece of information.
“He doesn’t… hate you,” Cyno says slowly, and Tighnari nods in agreement.
“I don’t understand.” Kaveh mumbles hopelessly, head in his hands once more. “All he does is make me feel like a fool all day. He’s so stubborn and annoying. He stands outside my door like a creep. Sometimes he comes in and other times he doesn’t. Hey, Tighnari, Cyno, do you cuddle? What does it mean to you?”
At the twin blank looks from his friends, with Cyno crossing his arms, lips tightly shut, and Tighnari, who looks lost, Kaveh sighs and drops that line of conversation.
“The answer is simple,” Tighnari says. “How do you feel when he cuddles you?”
It’s not simple at all! “…Warm?” Kaveh answers. Albeit confused. “He’s like a furnace, almost. He’s burning up inside or something, I can feel it.”
Tighnari looks exasperated at him now.
“I meant… emotionally. Not physically.”
“Oh.”
Kaveh fiddles with his thumbs and then gives a loud sigh, crossing his arms and ankles and then sagging against the chair. “I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.” Cyno says immediately, and damn him too, perceptive little matra.
Mahamatra, actually.
Still, he bites the inside of his cheek stubbornly. “Do I really have to share it with you?”
“No.” Cyno replies before Tighnari can. “Best you learn to understand your feelings on your own. They are a pretty good lead for this case.”
Why is he talking about my feelings as if it’s a puzzle to be cracked by the operating forces?
Before any of them can say more, the empty seat next to Kaveh is pulled out and sat on.
He stiffens briefly at the familiar build of Alhaitham by his side, and the topic dies on their lips immediately.
When no one speaks, Alhaitham purses his lips slightly. “Are you not playing?”
“We are,” Kaveh blurts, and all of them stare at him. “We were just waiting for you.”
“Huh,” is all Alhaitham says, unconvinced.
Cyno nods, and Tighnari picks the dice up with a smile again. “Shall we begin?”
The walk home is uneventful, but Kaveh’s mind is full of thoughts.
Alhaitham has his noise cancelling mode switched on again, which is a relief actually, because that means Kaveh doesn’t have to attempt a conversation that’s bound to turn out awkward on his behalf.
Until Alhaitham actually gives him a look that has Kaveh reeling back.
“What’s on your mind?”
Kaveh freezes. “H-huh?”
I’m not even saying anything!
Alhaitham looks back at the pavement and continues, “You’re thinking so loud even I can hear it.” Then he gestures to his earpieces. “And I can’t even hear you.”
They both stay silent on the trudge back to the house.
Alhaitham, as usual, and Kaveh, because he’s mortified.
By the time Kaveh is in bed, he feels as if he might have walked to Khaenri’ah and back with how painfully tense he’d been the entire time — yes, the entire time, because ever since Alhaitham sat at the table with them, he’s been hyper aware of the other man’s every movement, and he-
Kaveh groans and sinks into his blankets, covering his face with it. This is so embarrassing.
And he’d found himself zoning out more often than not with crazy thoughts filling his mind, like, Is it really not normal for roommates to want to sleep in each others’ beds and cuddle to sleep at night, and Kaveh thinks that maybe that answer should have been way too obvious for him to even question, because even before this he’s never found Alhaitham sneaking into his room for a cuddle.
No, he’s never heard of such a thing happening before. Granted, the people of Sumeru are rather reclusive and don’t usually speak of their… romantic experiences, or platonic ones even, but surely if it was happening somewhere, he would have heard of it—? What if he’s mistaking Alhaitham’s actions for something else? Has any researcher ever done an in depth analysis of such behaviour? Kaveh thinks it might have been done. Maybe he’ll stop by the House of Daena tomorrow for-
The train of thought cuts off abruptly at the door opening, red eyes meeting turquoise, and they both freeze.
Though his eyes betray nothing, it’s easy to tell that Alhaitham is startled with his being awake, and is at a loss for what to do now that he’s been caught. Kaveh wonders if he’ll make up some dumb excuse or ask another silly What are you doing here, to which Kaveh would promptly kick him out on his ass.
Yet, instead of the response Kaveh had been mentally preparing himself for, the door promptly closes itself shut once more, leaving him to stare at the door as if its existence offended him and not the man behind it.
The next few days pass in silence — the silence he imagines Alhaitham would have enjoyed, had the silence been anything but absolutely fucking awkward, because Alhaitham seems to be avoiding any interaction with him altogether.
And Kaveh is frustrated. Not just because Alhaitham doesn’t give him cuddles anymore, of course, but he feels… weirdly empty.
When he returns home, Alhaitham is nowhere to be seen. When he leaves in the morning, Alhaitham is nowhere to be seen. When he stays around to complete his work, Alhaitham is nowhere to be seen.
Damn it, even the shops and taverns that they frequent — they all say that he’s been here earlier but never specifically when, and Kaveh wants to scream because can they just talk? Would it really be so difficult?
Then he realises that it is difficult for his stubborn, knotheaded, assholey junior to admit to wanting anything other than factual knowledge.
In an attempt to find a solution, he visits Tighnari at Gandharva Ville, where his apprentice Collei flits about him, trying to ensure his “safety and well-being” while Tighnari was away to treat a Withering zone.
By the time he returns, the sun is setting and Tighnari looks surprised to see him.
“If you’re here to ask about your relationship with him, I don’t think there’s much I can do to help you,” is the first thing he says, tone almost apologetic as he mixes a salve in one of his bowls.
Kaveh puffs his cheeks out. “I can’t go a day without suffering in his house, Tighnari, save me.”
“If you’re looking for accommodations, I might be able to get one of the Rangers to make room for you, but there’s no guarantee…”
“They hate me after that one time I accidentally tried building a house in a Withering Zone!”
“It’s been quite awhile, I doubt they’ll hold it over your head. Besides, if you can no longer stay at Alhaitham’s house, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind?”
“No one can know,” Kaveh mumbles, shaking his head. “And… and I can stay there, it’s just… he’s being so frustrating.”
Tighnari nods in understanding.
“He found out that I knew that he was sneaking into my room at night,” Kaveh confesses, “But instead of speaking to me about it he ran away. He’s been avoiding me ever since, and it’s almost been a week already. I can’t catch him anywhere. I don’t know his schedule but he knows mine like the back of his hand.”
“Hmm,” the other hums, tapping at his chin. “It seems communication isn’t a viable option in a case such as this when the other appears and disappears at will. But have you perhaps tried leaving a note for him and asking to talk?”
Leaving a note?
Kaveh’s heart thumps.
Perhaps, that was the way..?
A little peace offering of sorts.
“Thank you,” Kaveh blurts out, getting up so quickly his chair nearly falls over; a little bit of an overreaction, but Tighnari hides his surprise with a smile.
“Of course. Would you like to stay over for dinner? They managed to catch some fresh shrooms…”
There’s a pile of crumpled up short notes in Kaveh’s dustbin with how awkward it feels. Letters written by him to explain that it was fine that Alhaitham needed human affection as well, that Kaveh had liked the attention, but that he’d stared at the paper for all of two seconds before tearing it up and making sure the words would be illegible because hell if he’d give Alhaitham the pleasure of knowing his creepiness made him feel… nice.
That, and he doesn’t specifically know if Alhaitham knows that he knows that he’s been crawling into his bed a few days each week, or if Alhaitham had just been embarrassed to be caught in the act.
It takes a while before he manages to settle on something short, simple and straight to the point. Nothing embarrassing. No spilling of emotions across the sheets.
That should do it.
That night, Alhaitham returns to a note tucked neatly under the fold of his comforter, just big enough for him to pause and look closer.
It’s simple. Just two words, phrased as a question.
Let’s talk?