Chapter Text
In the early morning, colored rays dance across the tiled floors peeking through the stained glass windows while animals chirp and chatter outside. Inside, it’s a little more complicated.
Kaveh prefers the calm of dawn when he’s not pulling all-nighters like it’s a tournament, and he is the champion. It is not exactly quiet, but without the squabbling between him and Alhaitham. It’s perfect. Lightly treading around the serene house with his favorite slippers, beginning to treat himself to a nice cup of chai. He’d like to try out that new blend he purchased from the market last week.
That is, until he stumbles upon something rather startling.
“WHAT IN ARCHONS NAME ARE YOU DOING?”
There is a woman. In their kitchen. No. In Kaveh’s kitchen. That he arranges. And is king of.
“Mr Alhaitham is sleeping. You mustn't wake him at this hour! I thought you to be better with how you live together.” She replied, stunned and fist clutching the front of her apron in indignation.
“Pardon? Mr. Alhaitham? Who is he, your superior?” Kaveh scoffs in alarm and curiosity.
“Yes, now go back to your quarters and wait for breakfast.”
The woman swivels around to continue preparing said breakfast, and huffs quietly intended for only herself. Kaveh is a nosy man, so ears perk up at the slight sound.
The furious blond retreats back to the hallway, and takes a turn to “Mr Alhaitham”s room to have more than a word with him. Opting to refrain from kicking the door open, having respect for the house’s integrity and his own dignity, he instead twists the intricate doorknob and grips the door while swinging it open. It swishes like a sword, nearly missing one’s vital spot, a satisfying sound to Kaveh's ears.
“What shrewd woman have you invited to our house to do our dirty work!?” My dirty work, More like! Kaveh whispered with a screech inching behind his words. Though multiple feet away, his pointed scorn did not seem to reach Alhaitham to the nonchalant man's silent pleasure.
“And here I thought you were a feminist, Kaveh.”
“Oh believe me, women are a delight and I am both friends with many and appreciative of them. Unlike you.” Kaveh stares off, arms crossed at Alhaitham’s bountiful but cramped shelf of books accompanied with assorted baubles. He finds himself curious about their origins, or why such a cold man owns these little things. He wants to know why, but he hates how deeply it interests him. To be selfish and delve deep into what he's up to in his time, memorize the warmth of the room and the titles of all those books, to inspect his mementos with an interest comparable to a world class detective in pursuit.
“You blame it on me liking men? Two birds with one stone with these hate crimes.” Alhaitham quips back, with not one glance from his novel. Not that he needs it, feeling the daggers from Kaveh’s eyes inches away from his neck.
“Oh and what lucky man would have the displeasure of being stuck with you?”
Alhaitham’s gaze strays off the book for once, flitting with an intensity unseen before to Kaveh’s direction.
“What? Struck a chord? Serves you right for subjecting this poor maid to cleaning up after us.” The architect flares up, storming out his roommate’s quarters grumbling to himself.
“Why would we need a maid? Two grown men well in their late 20’s… Was I not good enough of a household cleaner to suffice? Can he really be that selfish?”
The scribe pays the woman fairly, Stella, that is. Coming from Mondstadt, he’s heard about her prestigious reviews from her clients around Sumeru. A very far away word, if you ask him. He wouldn’t hire some incompetent and unwilling maid to tidy up after him and Kaveh. Though the blond doesn’t make much of a mess food or clothes wise, he leaves around his tools and papers during big projects and recently he’s been slipping on stray pencils on the floor. It irritates him deeply, and he’d rather dig his own grave than live down the defiler himself seeing Alhaitham slip and end up with a mouthful of tile over a simple stick of wood and graphite.
Neither of them have the time or care to take care of these issues, and he figured he’d do them both a favor.