Work Text:
Alhaitham stormed down the dimly lit hallway, frustration growing with each echoing hammer blow that resonated from Kaveh's room. He pounded on the door with a mix of irritation and desperation.
"What could you want? It's two in the morning," Kaveh grumbled as he opened the door, his eyes bleary.
"What do I want? You're the one hammering away in the middle of the night!" Alhaitham retorted, his voice tense.
Kaveh opened the door wider, revealing the disheveled state of his workspace, strewn with blueprints and various tools. "Leave me be," he said, rubbing his eyes. "I'll have you know I have a client who's eager to use me for her commission on her house. She's willing to pay a lot too."
Alhaitham raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Can't that wait until the morning? You know, at a reasonable time when someone does their work?"
Kaveh scoffed, dismissing Alhaitham's plea. "It just so happens that I've struck upon an ingenious idea for her windows. Of course, it doesn't match the style of the sidings I've picked out earlier, so basically, I need to start over to-"
Alhaitham cut him off, exasperated. "Save it. I don't particularly care about what you decide for her house. I just came in here because I want you to shut up a little. I'm trying to sleep."
Without another word, Kaveh shut the door with a snobby hmph , resuming his work even louder, as if in defiance of Alhaitham's need for rest. The rhythmic pounding and clattering continued, leaving Alhaitham to wonder how he'd ever manage to get a good night's sleep without his soundproof headphones as a last resort.
The next early morning sun cast a soft, golden hue through the half-closed blinds of the house, painting a mosaic of light and shadow across the perfectly matched furniture. All chosen by Kaveh, of course, and all expenses paid by Alhaitham, of course. Alhaitham, with heavy eyelids, reluctantly dragged himself out of bed. He yawned, still feeling the lingering annoyance from the interrupted sleep caused by Kaveh's late-night work.
As he stumbled into the living room, Alhaitham was surprised to see Kaveh, refreshed and starry-eyed, standing by the front door, hurriedly tucking his feather into his hair. Alhaitham couldn't resist the urge to make a comment.
"What are you doing up so early? From what I remember, you don't have a reliable job to show up to every day," he quipped, the irritation from the previous night still fresh in his mind.
Kaveh let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you ever save your snide comments and just say something nice?" He spoke with annoyance, reflecting the frantic pace of his morning. "Me and my client planned to meet early about the blueprints. I've had to change them about half a dozen times to fit her aesthetic, but I think this time..." Kaveh paused, his voice trailing off as if he struggled to voice out his thoughts.
"This time, it's perfect," he finally managed to conclude, his eyes betraying to display just how tired he truly was.
With a final effort to pull himself together, Kaveh prepared to leave, grabbing Mehrak and turning towards the door. "Well, I gotta go. Don't wait for me tonight. I'll be celebrating my newest successful commission with a drink at the Lambad’s later." With that, he left, his footsteps fading away as he headed into the bustling morning city. And in a flash, Alhaitham was left staring at his closed front door. Turning away, he decided to get ready for his own day at work, Alhaitham had no intention of waiting for him to come home anyway.
The day had turned into night, and true to his word, Kaveh did not come back until late. Alhaitham had resigned himself to a quiet evening alone. As he sat reading a book on the divan, the familiar sound of the door knob turning and fumbling with the lock reached his ears. A muffled curse and a weak knock followed, and he sighed, wondering what kind of state Kaveh would be in this time.
He opened the door to find Kaveh standing there, swaying unsteadily, his head down. "I forgot my keys," Kaveh slurred out, his words slightly incoherent.
Alhaitham's exasperation was evident. "For fucks sake, Kaveh, why do you always have to go this far?" Kaveh says nothing in return. With a heavy sigh, Alhaitham half-dragged, half-carried Kaveh over to the divan and ungraciously unlooped Kaveh’s arm from around his shoulders. Kaveh practically collapsed onto the couch without the support of Alhaitham holding him up. Looking like a dead man from a crime scene, Alhaitham left Kaveh sprawled across the divan while he went to the kitchen. Warming up the kettle, Alhaitham hoped it would help Kaveh regain some semblance of sobriety. As he worked, he couldn't help but wonder what had driven Kaveh to this point once again.
When he returned with a tray of tea, he found Kaveh in the same position, staring at the ceiling with glazed over eyes. Alhaitham set the tray down on the table, and grabbed himself a cup. Kaveh turned to the noise of clinking dishes. Kaveh’s eyes followed Alhaitham’s hands as he poured himself a cup, where he then brought it up to his lips to take a sip. Alhaitham looked down to where Kaveh was still laying. Their eyes locked for a brief moment, and Alhaitham wordlessly gestured to the other cup still on the tray, a silent invitation for Kaveh to sit up and get his tea himself.
Kaveh slowly forced himself to sit upright and poured a cup of tea, his hands trembling slightly. "Thank you," he mumbled, and for a few minutes, nothing else was said. They sat side by side on the couch, Alhaitham straight as a board, Kaveh slightly slumped from not being able to hold his weight at the moment. The room was filled with the warmth of the tea and the weight of unspoken words, both of them aware of the awkward situation they were in.
Alhaitham had been the one who had finally broken the awkward silence that enveloped the room, his voice hesitant to start the conversation first. "You must've struck a really good deal on that commission if you stayed out this late."
Kaveh, normally quick with a retort, hesitated, his disheveled appearance and exhaustion left him looking vulnerable. "She didn't accept my proposal," he confessed, his voice tinged with defeat.
Alhaitham arched an eyebrow. "Ah, is that so?” He drew out slowly, carefully hand picking his next words. “Well then, I guess it's back to drafting again, huh? That client of yours really is a pain in the ass. What is this, your sixth, seventh revision for her?"
In the dim light, Kaveh's free hand not holding his tea clenched into a tight fist, the frustration and anger evident in the slight trembling of his fingers. "No, no. You don't understand. That was it. She decided to work with another commissioner for her house. She said working with me was taking too long. So, it was becoming a hassle to meet with me."
Alhaitham struggled to find words that might offer some comfort, but his pride took precedence. "Well, what can you do?" he replied nonchalantly, hoping to ease the tension a bit.
Kaveh's pent-up frustration built up even more as he raised his voice, his anger palpable. "What can I do? What can I do ? All these days, no, weeks of kissing up to this woman who doesn't know a lick about architecture, telling me every draft is wrong, slaving away, pouring all my creativity and hard work into making her happy, and just for her to reject it fully in the end. And you're telling me, what can I do?"
Alhaitham's response was touched with bitterness. He was never known to speak gently, in his defense. "Well, take this as a learning lesson then. She never asked for a new design on those windows, new sidings to go with those windows, or whatever else your mind came up with while drawing out draft after draft. Maybe if you just kept it the bare minimum of what she wanted, she would have been completely satisfied. I know I would have been satisfied with you being done ages ago. I haven’t been able to sleep properly since you took up her commision."
The tension in the room reached its breaking point as Kaveh, overwhelmed by emotions, dropped his tea cup. It shattered on the ground, its contents spilling in all directions. His frustration bubbled over, and he pushed against Alhaitham's chest multiple times.
"Fuck you. Fuck you!" Kaveh's voice cracked. Alhaitham scooted away, retreating down the length of the couch, but Kaveh followed, their faces mere inches from each other.
Kaveh's voice trembled as he continued, the raw emotion in his words cutting through the air. "The whole reason why I wanted the damn commission to go through is because of you! I've been trying so hard to get out of this hellhole that I have to call my home. I just want enough money to finally be out of your hair, get my own place, so the only person I can burden is myself!"
“Kaveh, I-”, Alhaitham brought his hand between the both of them, attempting to give them more space. He tried to get a word in to offer some sort of comfort or understanding, but Kaveh kept closing the distance, cutting off his words.
"But every time I try to help, I keep making things worse," Kaveh's voice cracked further. "I wasted that lady's time with my substandard ideas, I wasted Lambad's time with me ordering drink after drink, wallowing in my misery until closing time, and I'm wasting your time thinking I'll ever be able to stand on my own and do something with my life."
Alhaitham's back hit the edge of the divan, with nowhere else to retreat. Kaveh kept moving closer, until he was practically leaning over Alhaitham's lap, their faces almost touching. Looking up to Kaveh's reddened face, Alhaitham saw tears threatening to fall. In stark contrast to his harsh words, Kaveh appeared more devastated than angry.
"Why? Why can't I do anything right?" Kaveh whispered, his voice shaky as he struggled to get the words out. Kaveh stared deeply into Alhaitham’s eyes, as if searching for the answer he so desperately wants in them. Without another word, Alhaitham reached out and gently guided the back of Kaveh's neck toward his shoulder. And only then, Kaveh cried, his tears finally flowing, his turmoil and frustration pouring out in a mixture of sobs and whispered regrets.
Kaveh flopped down onto Alhaitham's lap, his entire body weight pressing against him. His sobs were loud and childlike, and Alhaitham couldn't quite tell if it was the lingering effects of alcohol or the release of pent-up emotions that had him in such a state. Maybe it was both.
"Shh, you're okay," Alhaitham cooed softly, his hand on Kaveh's neck gently moving up to play with his hair. With his other hand, he rubbed soothing circles into Kaveh's trembling back. Kaveh buried his face deeper into the crook of Alhaitham's neck, his hand fisting tightly around Alhaitham's shirt, crinkling the fabric.
Kaveh's crying came in waves, each time his tears would slow down and Alhaitham would think his meltdown was over, Alhaitham would let go of him just a little. And everytime Kaveh’s breath would hitch, and another onslaught of tears would follow, as if his thoughts wouldn't leave him alone. Like the bubble that was Alhaitham’s arms would burst, and Kaveh would comprehend his surroundings again, and remember the reality that is his life. But every time, Alhaitham was quick to tighten his hold on him again, offering silent support and comfort in his own way. It took more than a few moments for Kaveh to finally calm down.
When he felt that the worst of the crying had passed, Kaveh slightly shifted his head away from Alhaitham's wet shoulder. His voice was worn and defeated as he whimpered, "I'm tired."
Alhaitham understood, his own exhaustion mirrored in Kaveh's eyes. He nodded and gently replied, "Okay then, let's go to sleep."
After Alhaitham guided Kaveh to his bed, the weight of the night's emotional turbulence still lingered in the air. Kaveh, his earlier outpouring of emotions having taken a toll on him, looked utterly exhausted.
Alhaitham, ever the pragmatic one, began to help Kaveh change into more comfortable clothes, removing his shoes and draping a blanket over him. Once Kaveh was settled in, Alhaitham flickered off the lights and climbed into bed beside him.
In the embrace of the darkness, they lay side by side, the room filled with the soothing rhythm of their shared breaths. Kaveh, overcome with gratitude for Alhaitham's understanding and support, broke the silence with a soft, contemplative apology. "Alhaitham, I'm sorry—"
Alhaitham's arm draped around Kaveh’s waist, a soft gesture to silence him. "Don't start now," he whispered, thumbing circles into his skin. "We can talk about that tomorrow. You said you were tired, right? Let's go to sleep."
Kaveh nodded, shifting under the covers to burrow deeper underneath the blankets. "Okay, goodnight, Alhaitham," he murmured, still weary about the unresolved argument that went down in the living room.
"Goodnight," Alhaitham said, his voice filled with nothing but warmth. They could talk about it in the morning.