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When Kaveh and Alhaitham leave the Tavern, after Kaveh has spent about ten minutes thanking everyone profusely for the birthday wishes, Kaveh is exhausted. It had been a good day, fantastic really, and Kaveh’s heart is still warm with the affection from his friends he’d been showered in.
“I have something for you when we get home,” Alhaitham says next to him, and Kaveh turns to blink at him in surprise. Alhaitham’s arm came to curl around his waist, as they walked home, but he said nothing more. Alhaitham was never one for romantic gestures, so it was surprising really that he had planned anything at all.
“Oh?”
“It’s a surprise,” Alhaitham responds coolly, knowing Kaveh will try to pry it out of him. Kaveh laughs softly, and presses himself further into Alhaitham’s warmth. Alhaitham turns and leans his head down to press a kiss into Kaveh’s hair. The warmth in his chest spreads further, and does not leave even as they’re separating to go inside. “Go sit on the divan,” Alhaitham directs, and Kaveh is half-tempted to be a bit of a brat, but he’s also tired and excited to see what Alhaitham has planned for him, so he goes and sits on the couch.
He watches Alhaitham disappear into the bedroom, and fights the urge to crane his head to see what he’s doing.
“Close your eyes, and don’t peek,” Alhaitham calls, and Kaveh huffs a sigh, but smiles regardless, as he closes his eyes and folds his hand onto his lap. Alhaitham continues shuffling around, before Kaveh hears him walk over, and stop in front of him. “Alright, you can open them now.”
Kaveh opens his eyes, and Alhaitham is holding a book. It’s a beautiful book, with brilliant reds and green adorning the cover, but there are no words for Kaveh to identify what it is. For a second, Kaveh is confused, as he takes the book from Alhaitham’s hand, before he opens it, and his breath catches.
It’s a photo album. Of Kaveh and Alhaitham, all the random photos they had snapped over the years of knowing each other. He flips through the pages, and there are pictures of him with their friends as well, some that he remembers taking, and some that he doesn’t. There are even pictures of when Kaveh first started building Mehrak, and her prototypes. There’s a picture of Kaveh, holding the finished Mehrak, and beaming wildly at the Kamera. It’s filled with Kaveh’s memories over the years from the moment Alhaitham stepped into his life.
“You only have one photo album of your family, so I made you another one.” Family. His chest clenches, tight and hot, and he suddenly feels overwhelmed. His eyes catch on a picture, and it’s of both him and Alhaitham, sitting next to each other at the Tavern. It’s from before they started dating, and Kaveh isn’t even looking at Alhaitham in the photo. Alhaitham is looking at him though, and there’s a gentle smile on his face and his features are soft, eyes glowing with the expression that Kaveh has come to know as love from him.
Kaveh’s eyes burn, and then a scalding hot tear streams down his cheek. He sniffs, and Alhaitham makes a short, abrupt, and panicked noise.
“Why are you- do you not like it?” He asks, voice edging into something hurt and panicked, as he bends down to rest his hands on Kaveh’s knees. Kaveh can’t take his eyes away from the photo, the warmth that has been building in his chest now exploding into something hot and all-consuming. He doesn’t answer Alhaitham for a moment, as another tear falls from his eyes, and his thumb traces the features of Alhaitham in the photo. “Kaveh, darling?” Alhaitham asks again, tentatively, and Kaveh reaches up to swipe at his face, before lifting his head to smile up at Alhaitham, watery and trembling, but bright. Alhaitham’s expression, which was pinched tight with concern, eases into something gentle, and he extends his hand to cup Kaveh’s cheek, brushing another stray tear away.
I love him. I’m in love with him. I’m going to spend the rest of my life with this man and not for a single moment will I ever regret it.
“I love it. A lot. I love you so much. It just- it made me emotional, I’m sorry. I really do love it. And you,” Kaveh laughs, wetly, and he can’t stop, won’t stop, telling Alhaitham just how much he loves him. Alhaitham smiles too then, just a slight quirk of his lips, but it screams adoration as he keeps cupping Kaveh’s cheek. “Thank you, Haitham.”
“You’re ridiculous. Come here, my love,” Alhaitham murmurs, gentle and kind. He places the photo album gently on the divan next to Kaveh, before he tugs Kaveh forward to press his head into his shoulder. Kaveh hiccups with an aborted sob, the entire day of being loved and appreciated crashing down on him, as he buries his head into Alhaitham’s collar. He breathes in, breathes in Alhaitham’s pine scented cologne, breathes in the scent of his lover, and clings to him tightly as he tries to compose himself.
He should be embarrassed about getting so emotional over a photo album, but he really isn’t. Because Alhaitham is right. He hasn’t had a photo album of family in years, and the one that he has is almost too painful to look at now. This one is new, this one is not filled with ghosts. Rather, it is filled with love.
Kaveh pulls away, rubbing at his face again, and Alhaitham is still smiling at him. He’s beautiful, in every way, and Kaveh will never love anyone the way he loves Alhaitham. An all-consuming feeling that swallows him whole, invades his bones.
“I love you,” Kaveh says again, and Alhaitham’s smile only grows. He leans forward, and their lips meet. It tastes of Kaveh’s tears. It tastes of Alhaitham. It tastes of home, of family, of a love that transcends the stars.
When they part, their noses still brush, Alhaitham’s hand having moved to cup the back of Kaveh’s neck. He presses another kiss to Kaveh’s forehead, and then whispers into his skin.
“Happy Birthday, Kaveh.”