Work Text:
Kaveh stands before his adoring fans, arms outstretched wide as wings. His crooked smile shifts to open-mouthed laughter, and he responds to someone with a wave of his pointer and a wink like punctuation.
Alhaitham pretends he isn't watching his boyfriend over Archaic Runes: Advanced Edition's dusty pages; he pretends the acrid taste of jealousy doesn't coat his tongue. And as a girl from Amurta reaches out to gently push Kaveh's arm, Alhaitham refuses to examine the cruel twist between his ribs. It doesn't matter, shouldn't matter, so he turns back to his book and angles himself toward the wall.
Beneath the stained glass rays and kaleidoscope colors, Alhaitham reads and rereads the same paragraph several times until a shadow stretches over the lamplight. When he finally looks, Kaveh stands over him, miming the button click of Alhaitham's headphones. Mouths the word "off" as if saying it aloud would make a difference.
Begrudgingly, Alhaitham flicks off his headphones and stares at Kaveh.
"Don't give me that look," Kaveh says, but it's lighthearted as he offers a smile not shared with the crowd. "I have something to show you. Care to accompany me to my room?"
———
Alhaitham leans over Kaveh's desk to scan his latest home design. It's a crisp outline of shapes and patterns with comments scribbled in the margins of degrees, material choices, and ideas with question marks ready for editing. There's a sketch of a window in the farthest corner, an arrow sweeping down to indicate the room, and beneath it reads "bay - reading corner?" Under the window is a shelving unit for a library. Alhaitham doesn't recognize any of these details from their prior conversations; he can't help but wonder as he examines the intricacies.
Kaveh's voice is fragile when he asks, "Do you have any feedback?"
Yet feedback is buried beneath demanding curiosity. "What is this for?" Alhaitham says instead, and already, he's considering Kaveh's motives. "This doesn't look like your final project."
The pause that follows seems filled with unfamiliar anxiety. Kaveh bites the inside of his lip, then grapples with words that appear out of reach. "That's because it's an independent project. Perhaps it's more hopeful than practical, but I was curious about your opinion." He stops opposite Alhaitham and drags his finger across the paper, catching a ribbon of ink on the pad.
"As you can see, it's a personal library paired with a reading nook. I was considering built-in seating — ah, here." He unearths a page beneath several designs. "I'm still deciding if it's worth keeping this booth or if furniture would suffice. Do you have a preference? I'm not married to either idea."
Alhaitham looks between the two drafts, then returns to Kaveh, who expectantly waits for his reply. "Are you asking me because I read?" he jests, delivery far too muted.
"Well," Kaveh rubs the back of his neck. "Not exactly, but that's certainly a factor."
Another pause follows. Alhaitham considers not the designs nor his preference but Kaveh's reason. The flat pull of his mouth, the worry in his brow as his eyes anxiously flit across his work. There's a riddle in Kaveh's answer, something he still needs to say yet won't. Why does Alhaitham's opinion matter?
"I like the booth," Alhaitham says, and when Kaveh brightens, nodding as he extracts the chosen page, Alhaitham feels the pieces click into place. His heart thunders, but he's confident. "Is this for me?"
Kaveh freezes.
So it is.
"You..." His fingers quiver, and Kaveh's tense again. "You love making things more complicated, don't you? Yes, it's for you. Nope! No, don't look at me like that. I'll explain, just— okay, listen. I wanted to ask you if, after we graduate, you might be interested in living with me. Before you answer, I want to preface this by saying that I realize this is a big commitment, and I certainly don't expect you to know immediately, especially with as much time as we still have, but I—"
Alhaitham's ears ring. "Why?"
"Huh? Why? Why what?" Alhaitham finds incredulity is much more natural on Kaveh. "Why do I want us to move in together? Maybe because, I don't know, we're dating?" Kaveh catches himself with a deflated sigh. "It's only an idea. Truly, if you're uninterested, I can submit this to the construction team as a separate project. I'm sure it can still be of use."
"And here you say I love making things complicated." Alhaitham steps around the desk. "I think I know the answer," he says, and he's sure he does, "but humor me. Why are you designing a home for us?"
"Well, because..." Kaveh's stare doesn't leave Alhaitham's. His lips part, cheeks growing a soft pink, and slowly, carefully, he slides his hand through silver tresses and closes the distance with a step. He tucks a strand of hair behind Alhaitham's ear, and Alhaitham is captivated, helpless as he stands before a boy who could have anyone.
"Because, Haitham, I don't want to be without you."
I love you, Alhaitham thinks alongside the honeyed warmth filling his chest. With their foreheads pressed together, breathing each other in, he feels it again and again—
I love you.
I love you.
It's affection so warm it should belong to someone else.
"Will that suffice?" Kaveh whispers in the space between longing and desire.
His answer is a kiss that blankets them both. He intends to keep it short, but Kaveh maneuvers his arms around Alhaitham's shoulders and chases his mouth with a hum. Kaveh kisses him again, deeper, coaxing Alhaitham into holding his waist, and after a savoring press of their lips, Alhaitham quietly says, "I think I'd like to live with you."
He can see the words wash through Kaveh, the way he swells and glimmers, and Kaveh's never looked as bright as he has at this moment. "Really?" he curls forward, his embrace tightening. "Wow, I... Thank you."
"Why are you thanking me?"
And Kaveh's eyes crinkle with delight. "Why, indeed."