Work Text:
Today was completely for himself, that he made sure of. He had no lectures to prepare, no clients to meet with, nothing to worry him. Kaveh always believed that an artist should have at least one day where they did absolutely nothing at all, what better day than his birthday.
He wasn’t expecting Cyno and Alhaitham to be out of the house so early. Because the only person he found in the kitchen was Tighnari.
“You have too many types of coffee beans in here, what do you even need so many?”
Kaveh stretches as he takes his seat, quietly watching Tighnari prepare some hot tea. “Technically I brought them, but Alhaitham has been trying a whole bunch lately.”
Tighnari shakes his head to himself, he sets a piping hot cup in front of Kaveh. “Anyway, you don't have anything planned today, am I correct?”
The cup felt nice and warm in his hands, the flavor wafting up towards his nose. He nods as he brings it up toward his lips and takes a small sip.
There was a look in his eyes that told Kaveh that he clearly knew something he didn’t. That’s when he grabbed something from the counter and handed it to Kaveh.
“Happy birthday, my love.”
The small gift was wrapped in reusable paper and a simple ribbon. Classic Tighnari, simple as well as good for the environment. As Kaveh opens it, he finds a small case of watercolors and paint brushes.
“I saw them when I made a rare visit to the Grand Bazaar and I had to get them for you.”
Kaveh offered him a warm smile, a smile which Tighnari returned as he sat beside him atop the table. “I’ll have to paint something for you then to thank you.”
Tighnari rolls his eyes and takes a sip from Kaveh’s cup. “You don’t have to repay me for a birthday gift, Kaveh. You can thank me by using them.”
“Why are you stealing my tea? It was good..” Kaveh pretended to pout, which only earned another eye roll from Tighnari.
“I made the tea, so I can drink it if I want to.” Tignari drinks more. Kaveh reaches for it but Tighnari keeps holding away from him. “You’re so worried about tea when you’re getting cake later!”
Alhaitham was cooking. Like in the kitchen, apron on and making a meal. For Kaveh.
And Cyno was struggling to light the candle on his birthday cake.
Alhaitham doesn’t even look back at all when he holds up a box of matches and shakes them obnoxiously, taunting Cyno. “We’re going to have eaten already before you light that candle with your electro vision.”
Tighnari plucks them from Alhaitham’s hands and pulls one out to light. He hands Cyno the illuminated match. “If you got a trick candle, I can’t save you from Kaveh’s wrath.”
“I won’t disclose if I did or did not.” Cyno simply answered. Lighting each candle decorated around the cake and blowing out the match.
Alhaitham brings the main dish to the table, setting it right beside the cake. He unties the apron from around his waist and brings it up over his head. ‘I would’ve been done sooner if the birthday boy hadn’t been snooping around in the kitchen.”
“It smelled too good to resist.” Kaveh and Alhaitham both sat around the table with Tighnari and Cyno. Kaveh couldn’t be more pleased with the people he chose to spend his special day with. Especially on such a big milestone of a birthday as well. The two candles that Cyno lit on the cake had been numbered, ‘30’. He always felt so much older than them, he had always been their senior after all but ironically today that didn't feel like it even mattered all too much. At the end of the day, he loved them, and they loved him. There was nothing that he could do to change it.
“You two hurry up and give your gifts already. I already gave mine this morning.” Tighnari sits back, plate in hand, while Cyno rushes off into his room to grab his gift. Not surprisingly shaped like his Casket of Tomes.
That it was, a special deck made specifically for Kaveh. Complete with character cards of Kaveh himself, Cyno and Tighnari.
“Ahaitham doesn’t have one yet,” He explained upon the observation that one partner had been missing from the deck. “You only play with three character cards anyway so it would be silly to include him if he did.”
Alhaitham crosses his arms over his chest. “What will your excuse be when it’s my birthday?”
All Cyno does is look in his direction nonchalantly. “Let’s hope yours comes by the time your birthday comes around next year.
“These card backs..” Kaveh gently flips through them, pulling one out of the deck to study it more closely. “Is this..the Palace of Alcazarzaray?” He meets Cyno’s eyes, and for once Cyno softens, averting his eyes immediately and becoming a little more timid. The look Kaveh was giving him clearly told him how much he appreciated it.
“I had a friend from Mondstadt commissioned for it. I thought you’d enjoy playing with a design you admired.”
Kaveh only struggled to hold back tears as he placed the cards back into the Casket of Tomes. “That’s more than thoughtful of you, Cyno. Please extend my gratitude to your friend as well.”
When Alhaitham returns with his own particularly large gift that even puzzles Cyno and Tighnari, like it was something they hadn’t previously agreed on. All three of them crowded around it as Kaveh opened it. There, they found a photo album.
They took their time flipping through, it practically overflowed with photos of all four of them. Some of even more people that Kaveh cared about, Collei, Madame Faruzan, the Traveler and Paimon. A couple pages were even solely dedicated to family photos of Kaveh with his father and mother, right beside the new family that he had formed. When Kaveh looked at it, the tears overflowed. He quickly caught them in his sleeve, shaking with an overwhelming feeling of joy and melancholy all mixed up inside his heart.
In this house that once felt so empty, that barely carried the remnants of a family. Kaveh had filled it back up with positive memories. It had finally become his home again.
He felt Alhaitham’s warm hand on the small of his back. The face that he was met with when he turned to face him was of genuine concern. “I was trying to avoid making you cry on your birthday.”
“It’s a little too late for that.” All Kaveh could do was smile.