Work Text:
Kaveh scribbles on the paper until his pencil breaks yet again. He groans in frustration.
The architect finally managed to get an important commission after a long break of doing some smaller ones that could barely cover his living costs and rent. If this goes well, he might pay off a large portion of his debt and still have some mora left. He’s been working on this project for almost three days without proper sleep.
Although he took some naps, they were not sufficient for his body's needs.
Kaveh reached for his coffee mug only to realize it was empty. He rubbed his eyes as if to shoo the sleep away. The man considered two options: take another nap on the bed or refill the coffee mug.
One look at his bed deemed the first option impossible. The mattress was occupied by various art supplies, drafts, and reference books. ‘No way in hell I’m cleaning this today,’ mused Kaveh.
The blond got up, took the mug, and left his room, only to notice his roommate being home earlier than anticipated.
Alhaitham took off his shoes and stepped inside the living room. He acknowledged Kaveh’s presence by saying: “you look like a corpse.” and put his bag on one of the couches.
“Well, good evening to you too, asshole.” His want for coffee evaporated.
Alhaitham only spared him a glance and walked over to the bookshelves.
“I thought you’d be home later.”
No response.
“Alhaitham.”
Silence.
‘He probably had turned noise-canceling on, ugh.’
Kaveh decided to ignore his roommate for now and went to the kitchen to wash his coffee mug. He returned to the living room, laid down on a couch, and lost himself in thought.
It’s hard for Kaveh to not think about Alhaitham when he’s in the same room. His eyes wander to Alhaitham’s back, admiring his figure in silence.
‘We are not friends. I know this much. We used to be, though… And I still cannot stop myself from caring about him. He’s like that one itch that doesn’t go away no matter how much you scratch it. Like an allergic reaction, a pain in the ass.’ Thinks Kaveh.
‘He used to be so much shorter, his shoulders weren’t this wide, and he didn’t have this much muscle. He used to be much cuter back then. Feeble scholar, my ass,’ the architect pouts, still observing his roommate. Alhaitham’s hand now reaches for a different book. He seems to be looking for something, his long, slender fingers skimming through pages.
None of them say a word. Each of them is doing their own thing. In Kaveh’s case, that would be observing Alhaitham and wondering when he became so insufferable. In Alhaitham’s case, it would be searching for something to read, not paying mind to his roommate.
The silence is weirdly comforting for the blond. His lids feel heavy, and his breathing slows down. He’s tired, so tired.
‘I still have this project to finish. Just some finishing touches before I can show this to the client… I can’t move. I knew this break was a bad idea… And Haitham is home as well… I can’t focus.’
“Don’t sleep here.”
“Mhm.”
“Kaveh.”
Silence.
“Kaveh, I’m serious.”
Alhaitham stood over Kaveh with his arms crossed. His figure cast a shadow upon the architect’s face.
As his eyelids fluttered open, the tired man let out a small groan. Clear annoyance painted his expression, and loose strands of hair tickled his cheeks.
“Why can’t you just let me nap in peace?”
“Your back will hurt if you sleep here, and we both know it’s not going to be a short nap.” Said Alhaitham, and Kaveh raised his brow in confusion.
“And since when do you care about me like that?”
“I don’t. It’s just I don’t want to hear your nagging first thing in the morning.” A smirk.
“It wouldn’t hurt you to be nice for once. I’m your senior.” Said Kaveh as he sat up and fixed his messy hair.
“Respect is to be earned, not given. I respect you as a fellow scholar, but it doesn’t mean I have to respect you as a person. I don't believe in being ‘nice’ to someone simply because they're older than me. Being born earlier does not make you superior in any way.”
“You-!”
“I think you’re forgetting how nice I actually am even though you’re a menace. I paid your tab at Lambad’s, by the way.”
A flash of surprise ran through Kaveh’s face, but it disappeared as quickly as it showed up.
“I didn’t ask you to do that.” He said with a sour face.
“That’s kind of the point of being nice, isn’t it?” Alhaitham cocked his head and gave the other a curious look. He almost looked cute like this. Almost.
“I’ll pay you back for it.”
“You can pay me back by going to bed and letting me have a peaceful morning.”
“I can’t really do that now. My room is a mess.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Oh, shut it, Haitham.”
“You could sleep in my room tonight.”
Alhaitham stared blankly at his roommate as the others' face flushed red.
“Huh?! And where would YOU sleep??”
“In my room? Where else??”
Kaveh looked mortified. His expression became an even darker shade of red.
“Y-you mean with you? In your bed?”
The scribe raised an eyebrow at that.
“Where else?”
“I-”
“Don’t make such a big deal out of it. We used to sleep over at each other's places all the time when we still worked together on that project years ago.”
‘BUT WE NEVER SLEPT IN THE SAME BED.’ Kaveh hides his face in his palms. He doesn’t voice his thoughts. ‘Ughhh, this is embarrassing. But I don’t want to sleep here. He’s right about my back pains. Why does he always have to be right?? I don’t know if I can handle this. I don’t know if I can be so close to his stupid pretty face without dying. Ughh. Archons hate me. Celestia hates me… Wait. Wait. Wait, Kaveh. You don’t like him like that, no. You just find him pretty. That’s all there is to it. Right. He’s right. Notabigdealnotabigdealnotabigdeal.’
“Well?” Alhaitham’s voice pulled him out of his mind.
“Ugh, fine. Let me take a bath first.”
“Alright.”
***
Kaveh took a look at himself in the bathroom mirror. Dark circles under the eyes, tangled hair, chapped lips, fingers dirty from graphite dust (his shirt wasn’t spared from it either). Now, that’s a look of a hard-working man.
Sigh.
Kaveh’s cheeks still were dusted a light shade of pink. At least THAT wasn’t dirt. He wished he could blame this on alcohol, but he hadn’t had any for the past few days. He treated his work quite seriously. The architect couldn’t afford to mess that up. Not this time. Not ever.
Deep breath. ‘Calm down, Kaveh.’
The man washed his hands thoroughly, then his face. ‘Already looking much better.’
He turned on the tap and watched hot water pour into the tub. If the water didn’t almost burn his skin, it wouldn’t feel like a proper bath. The slight burn made him feel something, made him feel alive. When the blonde was satisfied with the temperature, he poured some peach oil into the bath.
He undressed, threw his clothes into the laundry bin, and got into the bathtub slowly. The hot water felt miraculously relaxing. He slid down the tub as low as possible, only his face on the surface. He lay like that for a while and then slid back up to a sitting position.
‘Maybe I should sleep in the tub instead.’ He thought to himself.
Kaveh took a shampoo and washed his hair and the rest of his body. After he deemed his job satisfying, he got out of the bath.
***
After doing his skincare routine for the first time this week, Kaveh headed to Alhaitham’s room. His heart pounded like crazy, the commission completely forgotten, as he stressed over what was about to happen. It wasn’t the first time he shared a bed with someone, but it was Haitham, and the context was completely different.
It was supposed to be innocent. Just two people sleeping next to each other. But it’s been a while since he’s been this close with someone, so intimate. Closeness scared him. It would require being vulnerable, and Kaveh couldn’t have that.
But he made up his mind already. And so he knocked on the door.
The scribe opened it, and Kaveh’s breath hitched.
Alhaitham’s hair was wet, water dripped from the ends. He had a towel draped over his shoulders and, oh, he wasn't wearing his noise-canceling headphones.
‘Of course, he’s not wearing a shirt. He’s trying to kill me. What a bastard.’ Thought Kaveh.
“Are you coming in or are you just going to stare at me?”
“I wasn't staring.” The architect pouted and stepped inside the room.
“Sure, whatever you say, senior Kaveh.” Said the other as he hung the wet towel on the backrest of a chair.
“You-! You only call me that when you’re mocking me! Argh, let’s just go to sleep. I’ve had enough of you.”
Alhaitham didn’t even grace Kaveh’s outburst with a comment. He just slipped under the covers, and Kaveh soon followed.
***
“Can you stop moving around? I can’t sleep because of your fidgeting.”
“I can’t sleep either. I’m not doing this on purpose. Also, you’re the one who told me to sleep here, so now bear with the consequences.”
“Fine.” Alhaitham turns towards Kaveh and cuddles up to him, wrapping a leg around the man and holding on tightly.
“Wh-What do you think you’re doing!?” The blond turns his head around, trying to face the other; his face burning again in embarrassment.
“Bearing the consequences of my actions. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“And how exactly feeling your whole body weight on me is supposed to help me sleep!? You’re crushing me!”
“I've read in a book once that cuddling reduces stress and anxiety. Also, you can’t fidget if I hold you, so that works for me just fine.”
“ALHAIT-”
“Shhh.”
“Hai-”
“Shush, sleep.”
“How!? Let me go!”
“No.”
“What do you mean no??”
“No.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“The pot calling the kettle black,” Alhaitham whispers in Kaveh’s ear and nuzzles his neck.
Whatever the blond wants to say back to Haitham is stuck in his throat. Although Kaveh may feel flustered, Alhaitham helps to keep him grounded.
His heartbeat calms down with time, and the warm feeling he had in the living room is coming back.
Alhaitham’s forehead is still buried in Kaveh’s nape, his slow breath tickling the other.
Kaveh finally relaxes against his roommate, anxieties steadily evaporating, and his mind focuses on Alhaitham and his actions.
Even though Kaveh hates to admit it, he notices that Alhaitham cares for him in his own way. He masks his intentions with surficial egoism, making Kaveh irritable in the process. But his actions are calculated. They know each other better than anyone else.
Kaveh finally falls asleep with a soft smile on his face.
They are not friends, but they can be.
***
Kaveh wakes up in Alhaitham’s bed. The space next to him is empty and cold.
‘He got up already.’ The man thinks to himself, surprisingly disappointed.
Kaveh sits up and stretches his back until he hears a satisfying “pop”. It’s been a while since he felt this well-rested. The architect smells food in the air, so he follows it idly to the source.
Alhaitham is in the kitchen prepping food. Two empty plates sit ready beside him. He’s making sabz meat stew.
The scribe turns around at the sound of his roommate’s steps.
“Good afternoon, sleeping beauty.” He says with a gentle smirk.
Kaveh ignores the nickname.
“Afternoon? Haitham, what time is it?”
“It’s 3pm. I’m making dinner but for you, it would be breakfast.”
“Are you making some for me too?”
“No, I’m gonna eat two portions myself.” Kaveh rolls his eyes at that.
“You don’t have to be so sarcastic about it.”
Alhaitham makes no comment, puts the steaming meal on plates, and places them on the table. They eat in silence until the scribe breaks it with a question.
“Did you sleep well?” The younger looks at him with a curious glint in his eyes.
“I-I did actually. Thanks for letting me sleep in your room.”
“What?”
“I said, thanks for letting me sleep in your room… Hey! Stop acting like you didn’t hear me! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you!?”
Alhaitham smiles fondly.
“They say that earnest thanks should be given thrice, so… One more time, please.”