Archive of Our Own

Kaveh entered the shared home in silence. The blonde’s hands clutched at a few objects from behind his back. A sheepish expression splayed across his face. Just a few days ago, after another argument , birthing from an incredibly helpful discussion on whatever impending crisis life had thrown at the architect, which the scholar made sure to make a big deal of, Kaveh left in a fury. As usual, he stayed at Tighnari’s place with Cyno and Collei for the first night and then managed the others at some hostile. 

But a few things were different this time. 

One thing was that Kaveh had already had a business trip to Mondstadt which had swallowed a month he would have spent at home if not for short trips around Sumeru. 

The second thing was that the argument occurred when he got back because Kaveh may or may not have forgotten to respond to any of Alhaitham's unsurprisingly blunt letters for the entire month he was gone. You can lop this in with the fact he came back with a busted lip that wasn’t healing very well and looked much worse than it was. Kaveh tried to explain it was simply a bad run-in with a drunk customer at a tavern who insisted he received the wrong design on a blueprint the customer mapped out with Kaveh that very morning. He also tried to explain that a busted lip was nothing, but Alhaitham, being him, would not hear it. 

The third thing was that he came bearing a gift. Tighnari said it was a good idea to get a gift and when Kaveh got a special visit from a young girl he met in Monstadt, he couldn’t turn down the idea. Once again, to clarify, Kaveh was not guilty at all. He only got a gift because it was the right thing to do.

Alhaitham sat with his legs crossed, his noise-canceling earpieces in. His eyes of rust and teal skimmed the surface of a book in hand. 

Warm lamp light reflected like gold threads in his silver hair. A glow looked to eternally rest upon his cheek and slide down the edge of his sculpted face. The way his neck emerged from his muscular shoulders and his hair wisped in waves about his face, framing everything from his cheekbones to the slight bump in his nose perfectly. He spent a good too many seconds studying the scribe's face before he shook his head out of its trance. Kaveh cursed himself again, wishing he never entered that house. At a time like this, when Alhaitham was focused and could not hear, Kaveh could simply sneak away. But, as previously said, there was something different about this time. 

One thing was obvious. Alhaitham knew Kaveh was there but simply hadn’t looked up yet. He made it a point not to look up. 

The blonde scoffed, his red eyes shifting to his feet before he took another forward.

The weight of objects in his hands had begun to make his wrist ache as he kept them concealed in an awkward position behind his back. 

“I know you can hear me,” Kaveh spoke awkwardly against the silence. He couldn’t help but feel petty over that outburst those days ago. He always got emotional and left and then always slithered back. It felt more than just wrong, and holding the objects behind his back that slowly grew heavier and heavier matched the heave of his chest. 

Besides, he would admit that he said some or even more than some unhelpful things to the scribe. Kaveh swore that he wasn’t guilty. 

“I bought you something.”

Alhaitham's eyes delayed just slightly, but not by much. The scribe raised his eyes slowly, and so unusually approachable for a man such as himself, it made Kaveh sick to his stomach. Alhaitham raised an eyebrow and Kaveh could already hear the words before they hit his ears. ‘You’re back.’

Kaveh was almost surprised when Alhaitham said something surprisingly different.

“Let’s see it. What’d you get?”

Kaveh might have internally died when Alhaitham entirely took out his earpiece and set the book he was reading down next to him, sliding a bookmark between the pages, before diverting his attention to land solely on the architect. 

“I didn’t want to get you anything… But- uh- Tighnari said I should get something. It’s kinda dumb…” 

“Alright, let’s see this ‘dumb’ gift.” 

If Kaveh wasn’t astonished then, he was most definitely astonished now. It's not that he hadn’t been astonished before. When Kaveh would come back, there might be a few snarky remarks that did not need to be shared between the two, but Alhaitham always had a softer ring about him. Kaveh would leave for days on end and come back to find him waiting with patience. Kaveh had always wondered from the back of his mind if Alhaitham was only warm because Kaveh hadn’t been around, or if he was simply warm all along. 

But here, there weren’t even rude or blunt remarks, and Alhaitham did not seem to be bothered by Kaveh’s intruding presence at all. Kaveh wondered if he was trying to pretend like the fight never happened, but it didn’t quite seem like that either. 

Kaveh continued to hold Alhaitham under a scrutinizing and questioning gaze, but the scholar did not budge. 

The blonde finally shifted his stance, moving his weight between his hips as he moved his scarlet gaze to rest against the coffee table in front of Alhaitham instead of at him. 

“Do you know of the mage Alice of the Hexenzirkel?” 

Alhaitham tilted his head, his brows finally furrowing. 

“Yes, I do. I hope your gift is not some sort of dangerous plan involving the Hexenzirkel or world-to-world traveling.” Kaveh scoffed in response as he moved forward, taking the gifts he had hidden behind his back and holding them out to Alhaitham. In one hand was a bouquet of Kalpalata Lotuses, Rainbow roses, Cala lilies, and the beaded stems of dendrobiums. In the other was a stack of three books, one a forest green, one a satin blue, and one a leathery brown, all without any form of labels. 

Kaveh chose not to notice, or rather, not pay attention to the way Alhaitham's eyes widened at the gesture. “My mother always had a vase filled with all sorts of local specialties from some nation sitting at the dinner table and on the mantelpiece. She said it made things a little better.” Kaveh trailed off, cursing himself for already heading down such a depressive line of topic. 

He quickly cleared his throat, beginning to feel rather jittery under Alhaitham's gaze which seemed more speculative than usual as he took the bouquet from the architect, but was still weary of the books. Kaveh pretended to not notice when Alhaitham’s fingers brushed against his at the exchange.

“These books are somewhat infamously suspected to have come from a different world under the hand of Alice. A place without archons or elements and these three books are told to specifically- study human nature… One is called A Tale of Two Cities, taking place in a land similar to Fontaine, another is called Crime and Punishment, which occurs in a land similar to Snezhnaya, and the last is called The Setting Sun, taking place in a land similar to Inazuma.” 

Alhaitham blinked a few times, “Another world and under Alice’s hand. Are you sure you should have your hands on these…?” Kaveh fought back another scoff and failed, moving to pinch his fingers at the bridge of his nose. 

“I knew this was a bad idea! I just simply ran into someone who had these during that trip to Mondstadt and- just forget it.”

Alhaitham’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at the blank covers of the forest green book on the top of the stack. “I’m quite surprised. But I’m more concerned about how you got your hands on these.” he examined the books, running his eyes against the top cover and down their spines. 

Alhaitham’s bluntness was one thing, but the fact he always needed an explanation for everything just for him to correct you later basically drove Kaveh off the deep end. 

Kaveh didn’t quite understand why he suddenly felt extremely irritable, but a more aggressive tone had wormed its way into his already tired voice. 

Kaveh was never very good at predicting people, but he knew quite well what that look on Alhaitham’s face was, so he finished it before it could start. 

“No Haitham, I didn’t get myself into trouble. No Haitham, you and I are not in danger because of the books. No Haitham, these books are not dangerous.” 

Alhaitham’s expression finally twisted into a grimace but wiped that look off his face with the shaking of his head, keeping that patient and calm tone to his voice.

“I just figured that-”

“These books aren’t even illegal! They just don’t have copies!” Kaveh interrupted, swept up in himself, but not enough to not watch Alhaitham’s face fall again. 

“The legality of these books isn’t an issue, Kaveh. If you want to discuss threats, the only danger these books could possibly have is their potential to expose individuals to concepts they might not be prepared for or are able to handle responsibly. I never said anything about them being dangerous either, could you at least try and be less melodramatic for a few minutes please?”

Alhaitham’s blunt tone was back, and Kaveh was getting emotional. 

“Melodramatic? Can you stop dressing me down like I’m some kid?!” Kaveh seethed, “How about you just accept the fucking books which I thought you would have wanted to read and let me be?! I’ll go and give them back to the owner if you don’t want to read them!” Kaveh’s voice had raised to a shout, and his voice snapped with every syllable. The architect still held the books out to Alhaitham, who still had that observant look written across his face as he slowly moved to take the books from the blonde, who jerked his arms back as if to take them back, but the scribe held them close to his chest next to the bouquet. 

“Kaveh, you don’t need to be mad at yourself for doing a nice thing even after we fought. It’s only natural for people to try and fix things they aren’t happy with. Besides,” Alhaitham looked down at the flowers and the books before looking back up at Kaveh who barely met his eyes, “I like these. I think we’ll both enjoy the flowers at least.”

No. No. No, this wasn’t right. Kaveh was stumped from one move to the next at each of Alhaitham's actions. He had no idea why Alhaitham had so much patience, and he hated the way that Alhaitham always understood.  

Kaveh hated how he couldn’t bring himself to apologize, emotionally or physically. The architect turned away from the scribe, “I better get going, Cyno and Tighnari said I could drop by for dinner with them and Collei.” 

The blonde knew that the scribe stared at his back as he began to walk away. 

“Alright then, have a nice time. Ask Collei if she has yet finished that book on Rukkhashava mushrooms I gave her a few weeks ago.”

Kaveh shook his head to himself. “What was I even expecting by coming back here…”

The room was filled with silence, but some part of Kaveh couldn’t force him to leave his home- or even their home- one more time. Kaveh was still and he could hear the shuffling of movement behind him, but Alhaitham didn’t approach, as he was likely organizing his books in an unceremonious pile on the coffee table. Kaveh hated how the image in his mind made his heart warm despite how many times he had frustratingly reorganized Alhaitham's hoards of books.

It was a disgusting kind of warm, the type of heat in your body during a fever, where your skin is incredibly cold, unlike your gut and throat that sear with its presence.

Kaveh didn’t need to start thinking about the falling out they had, but he did. He thought about how he felt before, how that warmth that would spread through his chest was pleasant and could be reckoned with, not so painful and unbearable. The feeling held him down, wringing around his neck like a hand squeezing and twisting water out of a cleaning rag.

He didn’t know what he wanted to do, his heart willed him away just as it did forward, and his mind wished it would simply stop working before he had to decide for himself. 

Kaveh stayed facing the door but finally blurted out “I was hoping you’d insist on me staying here for once. Maybe have dinner with you since it’s been a while… But it's you who we are talking about.”

It was quiet again, but Alhaitham audibly lowered himself onto the couch again before responding. 

“I understand. You should go have dinner with Tighnari. It is perfectly realistic to want to spend time with those whom you care about. I haven’t asked you to stay because I don’t feel that you want to. Believe it or not, but I honestly don’t want to make you do something you don’t want to.” 

Kaveh finally managed to set his hand on the doorknob, preparing to push it open.  

“I just hope you know that you are important to me, even if you don’t feel the same way. You don’t have to care about me and I’m not asking you to. I just want you to be alright. I care about you.”

Kaveh’s voice had easily lost its charge and hated the sense of vulnerability and fatigue that had suddenly wiped out his nerves like the strike of a bomb. 

“I don’t care about you.” Kaveh’s words that spilled from his mouth were foreign and probably contradicted everything that happened between the two up to that point, but Kaveh could feel Alhaitham lift his gaze off his back.

Similar to a frenzy to get it back, Kaveh spoke up, “What about you? It's always about what I want. What do you want for yourself?”

The architect would not lie to himself. Kaveh wanted to hear Alhaitham say I want you to leave. He wanted the scribe to tell him to move out and be serious about it for once. Kaveh wants Alhaitham to stop wasting his time on someone who magically fails at every aspect of life and focus on himself.

“It's nothing,” Alhaitham said, audibly shut down from the sharp phrase that had snapped thoughtlessly from the blonde's lips. 

“Do you want me to leave?” Kaveh asked. 

It was silent for a while. 

“I’ve never wanted you to leave, Kaveh.  I want you to stay with me.” Kaveh turned around, staring at the figure across the room that was doused in golden lamplight, the crown of his head catching light and reflecting shadows, making him glow with the halo that ran streaks of refracted warmth through his hair.

Kaveh sucked in a breath before going back inside. 

“Have you eaten anything today?” Kaveh immediately regretted staying, threatening to leave again, but he let himself get led into the kitchen. 

“If you are going to dress me down on my eating habits and how I should take care of myself, I’m really going to leave this time.” 

The architect leaned on the counter and watched the scribe move around, not returning the blonde’s gaze.

“I was never going to do that in the first place. I was just curious.” Alhaitham rummaged through the kitchen and Kaveh watched as he prepared unfamiliar leftovers on two plates. 

The scribe eventually set up everything, placing the food on the table to take a seat, and waiting for Kaveh to take his usual seat across from him. Kaveh sat down slowly, but was silent and still as he stared down at his plate with a hollow gaze. 

He felt guilty. In the end, all Kaveh was useful for was to take up air, make arguments, and be ungrateful. He lost his house due to his foolishness and was welcomed into Alhaitham's home even though they were no longer on a speaking basis. Kaveh was often stressed and struggled to handle the impending events in his life, and Alhaitham was always there. When he wasn't there he would make up for it later.

It was petty to get frustrated with, but Kaveh didn’t want him to be there for him. Kaveh didn’t want the scribe's support when he knew that he could be somewhere else doing something important instead of wasting his time with someone incompetent like him. 

Kaveh hated how Alhaitham put up an ignorant and brash front, but was more thoughtful than most of the people the architect knew. 

 
But, what Kaveh hated more than anything was how Alhaitham always had some sort of analogy that he created on Kaveh's problems and all the things wrong with him. But, somewhere in his brain, the architect knew that the scribe only wanted him to get better and go easier on himself. The scribe wanted Kaveh to know the reasons behind his problems because if he didn’t he would probably feel even worse about himself and blame everything as a whole.

Kaveh doesn’t want to know. Kaveh doesn’t want to think about it. But, Kaveh couldn’t help but let his thoughts drill into his mind.

Why was it always about how Kaveh felt? Why did Alhaitham, although with a cold tone and an ironed-flat expression, have to look out for him? Why couldn’t he just leave him alone and watch him struggle instead of trying to do something about it?

Alhaitham was waiting for Kaveh to start eating before eating his food, but Kaveh immediately shook his head. “Quit waiting for me to eat.”

Alhaitham tilted his head to look at the blonde from a different angle before softly sighing. He then focused on his own plate and began to eat slowly, stealing occasional glances at Kaveh. 

“I’m sorry.” Kaveh blurted it out and Alhaitham continued to chew before swallowing. “For what?”

“I was rude earlier.” 

Alhaitham seemed to pay no bother: “You don't have to apologize.” He continued to eat, his expression impassive but not dim-lit or bothered at all. Kaveh hated that expression because he was sure Alhaitham was cooking up something in that intricate mind of his, but wouldn’t let the blonde in on it. 

“I said I don’t care about you.” Kaveh pressed further, trying to draw something out of the other man, but to his avail, nothing came but a thin-lipped smile. 

“Well then, I’m glad you've decided to share what you’re feeling instead of lashing out and expecting me to somehow know exactly what it is you want-”

“But I’m not feeling that at all! I don't not care about you! I don’t even hate you! You just keep shrugging off my bad behavior with all these labels without ignoring the big picture! You ask what I want but shouldn’t it be the other way around? For Archons’ sake, I’m living in your damn house!” 

Alhaitham shifted uncomfortably at the volume that Kaveh’s voice had raised, but he did not move to collect his earpieces or even remind Kaveh not to yell. 

The scribe took a deep breath before shaking his head. 

“It's our house, Kaveh.” his voice had taken on a more stern front and Kaveh only continued. 

“It's not. It never has been. You say that I’ll leave once I’m more stable, but I don’t think I’ll ever be stable ! I feed off you like a leech and you chalk it up to me going through a hard time. Every day can’t be a hard time it can’t. You shouldn’t have to let me live in your house. At the least, you shouldn’t have to care about me like you do. You know how I’m a total wreckage so why won’t you just let me leave? I know this isn’t what you want. You hate these fights even more than I do.”

“How do you know what I want,” Alhaitham grumbled from beneath his breath before shaking his head with frustration. 

“I don’t have to do anything. It’s my choice to let you stay here. It may not get through that thick head of yours, but you’re my friend, Kaveh . These fights are,” Alhaitham scoffed, pressing his face into his palm, “really frustrating . Is it that hard to believe that I’m not trying to fix you or keep you here because I feel bad for you? Is it that hard to believe that I simply want you here?” 

“Even if you break down, fight, yell, or whatever it is, this house doesn’t feel like a home without you. No matter how much I hate those crappy paintings you buy or the crumpled scraps of blueprints you leave everywhere but the trash, I’d still rather you be here than not . I don’t care if you want to shout. If you want to take it out on someone, you can take it out on me. We’re only people we’ll figure something out.”

“I want you to stay with me, no matter the cost.” 

When Alhaitham finally stopped talking, Kaveh's head already hung heavy, his neck craned to stare down at the full plate in front of him. Alhaitham took a deep breath, leaning back in his chair. Kaveh finished off his plate in silence and didn’t look up once. 

Alhaitham only watched the architect finish eating, his expression unreadable with his lips screwed tight. 

He said everything he meant, but couldn’t help but feel like he ceremoniously fucked up.

Alhaitham watched as Kaveh stood up, stacking his utensils on his plate, cleared his plate to the sink, and set off to the hallway. He watched as the blonde turned the corner, and only a short several seconds later, the clicking of Kaveh’s door shutting resounded through the house. 

Alhaitham did the dishes in silence and wiped the surface of the dining table off in silence. He took special care to put the bouquet the architect had bought for him in a crystal vase. He stared at the heads of colorful buds. 

His heart ached as it usually did. 

Alhaitham set the vase on the counter in silence. 

Alhaitham passed the closed door to Kaveh's room in silence, before entering his own in silence. His nightly routine passed irregularly quickly, and he was left in a dark and empty space that felt even more empty than usual. 

He thought about what he said, he thought about what Kaveh said. 

He had been too blunt again.

‘What the hell am I doing’ were the sole words that rang through his head as he rolled over onto his side, before flopping onto his back again. He stared up at the ceiling and listened to the sound of familiar footsteps echo in the room next to his. 

He didn’t like aimless noise but listened anyway. He was wide awake, but his heart found the rhythm in the silence and feeling of the figure in the other room.

The kind of silence that comes to a house where no one can sleep. A restless silence on a smaller scale just as it was dead quiet on a larger one.

He heard the familiar squeak of Kaveh’s desk chair as he sat down. 

Scarlet irises stared down at various sketches of buildings and unfinished blueprints that scattered across his walls and over his desk. 

He wondered when doing what he loved, doing the only thing he felt he could truly connect to his mother, became such a chore. He ran his hands through his hair, lifting his gaze to his right to stare at the wall that divided Alhaitham’s room and his own. 

‘I want you to stay with me, no matter the cost.’ 

Kaveh’s ruby eyes shifted from the wall to a small shelf additive on his desk. He stared at the leather cover of his sketchbook, glancing between a pen on his desk, the book, and the wall. 

He took a hard look at the wall before scoffing. He leaned over his desk and took the sketchbook and pen off its surface. He held the pen between his index and middle finger while opening the sketchbook with the other. He turned around in his chair, staring at his bed and the golden light that cast its warm glow over the traditionally designed covers. 

He switched his gaze to his left, back to the wall that divided them.

“ Alhaitham ,” he called quietly first, before raising his voice, but it lacked any bite. 

“Haitham could you come here... please”

When Kaveh did not get an answer, he tapped his pen on the surface of his sketchbook, craning his neck back to stare at the ceiling.

He closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath as the sound of his door clicking open resonated within his head. He rolled his head back, sitting up only when his roommate stood in the doorway. 

“Sit on the bed.” 

Alhaitham moved forward, shutting the door behind him as he entered the architect’s room. He sat down on the bed and remained quiet. He watched as Kaveh opened a medium-sized leather booklet, flipping through the pages before finally flattening it out over his knees. 

Alhaitham gulped as he watched Kaveh glance between the paper and him, before starting to sketch. He kept still as Kaveh worked, watching the way when his chin would dip down to look at the pages, his bangs would sweep into his eyes. He’d use his knee to keep the book’s page from turning while using his free hand to tuck the long locks back behind his ear, but like pools of gold, they would only slip back down into his eyes again. 

The scribe wanted to reach out and fix it, but he knew better than that. Despite his eyes spending the most time centered on Kaveh, they slowly drew towards the designs and blueprints that littered his walls. 

Alhaitham went into Kaveh's room, and if he did, it was probably for a glance to make sure the architect hadn’t fallen asleep at his desk. 

“Quit moving.” Kaveh snapped him out of his thoughts and he was slightly taken aback by the sudden command but fixed his position. He kept his eyes on Kaveh this time.

Kaveh had drawn this face many times before. But in its own way, there was always something different in each sketch. Perhaps it was the light that caught in his eyes, or how distinct the line between his brows was. Kaveh eventually stared down at the page with Alhaitham's face on it and blamed the soft and soothing light from his desk lamp for the soft look in his eyes and the oddly kind expression. 

As Kaveh continued to work, his focus shifting between the sketchbook and the actual subject, Alhaitham grew more intrigued. 

Kaveh turned the page before looking up, “Turn your head to the right and tilt your face down.”

In silence, Alhaitham complied. He turned his head to the right and tilted his face down. He tried to maintain his neutral expression, but a slight crease formed between his brows as Kaveh scoffed. 

“You’re doing it wrong.” 

The blonde moved forward out of his seat and soon, a pair of fingers grasped at Alhaitham's chin, tilting his head further to the right so that Kaveh could see more of his jaw.

Alhaitham's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected touch, remaining compliant despite the way his heart had begun to hammer within his ribs. Kaveh’s fingers stayed there, and his eyes lingered on Alhaitham's vibrant irises. The architect studied the movement that curved down his face as wisps of gray bangs settled over those eyes that were seemingly averted. 

Alhaitham held still, taking in shallow breaths as he slowly absorbed the physical and emotional intimacy that he received from the man only inches away from him.

Kaveh, on the other hand, took no note of the distance between them, which was now almost nothing. Almost in a trance, his scarlet eyes absorbed the man’s face like a wet sponge, counting every mid-toned eyelash that framed his patterned eyes, studying the bridge of Alhaitham’s nose.

He almost shut his eyes to not look at the distance between Kaveh's lips and his face.

The scribe hoped his skin didn’t look as hot as it felt as a strange but still vaguely familiar sense of excitement at what was to come next filled his body. 

And it was gone in an instant. 

Kaveh pulled away without another glance, settling back in his desk chair, and continuing to draw as if nothing ever happened. This allowed for Alhaitham's heart to slow. He was especially careful to make sure he stayed composed and not let the disappointment show on his face. 

The silence continued as Kaveh occasionally lifted his eyes to study the pale of Alhaitham's neck and how his Adam’s apple prettily protruded from his throat.

“I finished.” 

Kaveh shut the book and Alhaitham nodded, his eyes flickering between Kaven and the sketchbook. 

“Can I see what you’ve done?” 

Alhaitham hated the way his voice came out so weak; frail, as if it had been starved. Kaveh looked away from the scribe, but still tossed the book to him.

“Go ahead.”

Alhaitham caught the sketchbook, opening it up to flip through the pages. He examined the sketches and Kaveh pretended not to notice the way his eyes had brightened through looking over the pages. Kaveh cast his gaze to the floor, avoiding Alhaitham's gaze. 

“I’ve never seen myself like this before.” 

“And here I thought the feeble scholar didn’t like art,” Kaveh scoffed, getting up from the desk to sit next to Alhaitham on the bed. Their knees brushed, but the blonde chose to ignore it and focus on staring down at his drawing. 

Alhaitham chuckled too softly, shifting slightly in his place to maintain their knee-to-knee contact. Kaveh stiffened but didn’t move, watching as Alhaitham’s fingertips lightly traced over the lines that Kaveh had put together to make his face. Kaveh would have cringed if he hadn't known the drawing was in pen and was honestly glad he hadn’t picked a pencil instead. 

“Sorry if I made you look too feminine…” Kaveh called himself out before Alhaitham could comment on how soft he made the man look from the light expression to the glowing look about his face.

“I never knew you saw me as so approachable.” Alhaitham let out a deep breath as he spoke, but also leaned into Kaveh's shoulder. 

Kaveh stiffened once again but from the relaxed expression on Alhaitham’s face to the gentle but oddly fond gaze he sent at the drawing, Kaveh did not pull back. 

He didn’t notice how tired or relaxed Alhaitham looked until that very moment. Of course, being the big-mouth architect he is, Kaveh had to wreck it. 

“What did you expect?” The architect blurted out

“I didn’t expect anything in particular,” the scribe admitted, pulling his hand back from the sketch for his fingers to linger near a golden lock of Kaveh’s hair. He carefully and gently brushed it back behind the architect’s ear. 

“I trust your artistic vision, Kaveh. I, personally, am not the biggest fan of the arts, but I’m glad I can be a part of yours.” There might have been an unsaid ‘most of the time’ but that wasn’t the point. Kaveh’s scarlet irises which previously avoided contact with Alhaitham’s eyes now reached them.

“I meant what you expected when I got up in your face.” 

Alhaitham fought hard not to draw his eyes away. 

“I wasn’t sure,” the scribe replied honestly, his heart beginning to speed up at the maintained eye contact. “But I trust you.”

“Trust me?” Kaveh repeated in a glossy tone that rolled off the edge of his tongue. He tilted his chin to look at Alhaitham through the tops of his pale lashes. 

“Yes,” the scribe whispered, leaning in closer, letting himself get drawn into the architect’s eyes like a sailor to a siren. 

“Well, then would you trust me if I…” The words got stuck in Kaveh's throat. Had he lost his mind? He was suddenly very aware of the position they were in and how close they were to each other. His heartbeat practically rang in his ears now. 

“ Trust you with what, Kaveh?” Alhaitham asked softly in a voice that was barely above a whisper. 

That was all it took for Kaveh to reach forward, take Alhaitham's face in his palms, and press their lips together. 

‘you’re my friend, Kaveh’

Only then did his eyes shoot open. Kaveh then jerked back, lightly shoving Alhaitham away, not harshly, but enough to create distance between the two of them as he moved to stand up. 

“I’m sorry- I shouldn’t have done that… I didn't mean to-” Kaveh rushed, pushing his hands into his hair as he raked his nails against his scalp.

Alhaitham’s eyes were wide with confusion and somewhere in the mix was a sliver of hurt. 

“ You didn’t mean to? ” Alhaitham repeated after Kaveh, the ghost of his words burning at his racing heart as his lips twisted into a frown. 

“I thought you wanted this-”

“But you can’t possibly want this ?! Why do you always have to sacrifice yourself and your feelings for me?” Kaveh’s voice raised to a yell again, “Even if you’re a blunt asshole I’m still not worthy of any of this. I’m not worth this to you! Why won't you just push me away so I won’t have to do it myself -” 

“But I do want this.” 

Kaveh’s body stiffened from head to toe as he stared at Alhaitham like a deer in headlights. 

“ You want this ?” Kaveh asked, astonished at the scribe's words. He motioned with his hands at the space between Alhaitham and himself. Kaveh was sure a part of him ascended when he watched a reddish tint rise to the cheeks of the all-blunt and all-emotionless Alhaitham. 

The scribe swallowed hard, his heart wailing in his chest. He got up off the bed and approached Kaveh, “More than anything,” Alhaitham said with a chuckle, “I simply didn’t want to force you into anything-” 

Kaveh interrupted his words by pulling Alhaitham back into his grasp, sliding their lips together with such force that they tumbled back onto Kaveh’s bed. Kaveh could feel Alhaitham’s teeth as the scribe smiled, kissing back softly. 

Alhaitham sat up still working his lips as he wrapped his arms around Kaveh's waist from where he was positioned sitting in his lap. 

The scribe moved to press and pepper gentle kisses down the side of the architect’s jaw, smiling as tucked his head into the crook of where Kaveh’s trapezius met his neck. Alhaitham felt the warmth of his skin against his cheek and basked in it. 

Alhaitham mumbled something inaudible into his shoulder and Kaveh could feel his lips brush against his skin. 

“What is it now you oaf.” Kaveh laughed as he felt Alhaitham scowl against his skin. 

The scribe spoke, barely lifting himself away from the architect, who brought his fingers up to mess with his soft, gray hair. “I can’t hear you when you mumble like that,” Kaveh grinned cheekily at the grumble that Alhaitham elicited. 

Alhaitham lifted his head to meet Kaveh's gaze, straightening his posture as he sat up. 

“I love you, Kaveh.” The scribe said it first. The silence was back again, but was no longer restless like it once was. Kaveh then smiled with all of his teeth.

“I love you too, Haitham.” 

-

“Klee, This letter is addressed to you” The acting grandmaster spoke to the young girl who beamed with excitement, peeking over the woman’s desk to stare at the letter in hand. 

“It from Sumeru- who would you even know from su-” 

Jean couldn’t even remotely attempt to finish her sentence before she snagged the letter from right beneath her grasp. The older woman couldn’t even object before the letter with the fancy wax seal was in tatters on the floor and Klee's face was practically glued to its contents. 

“Kaveh finally wrote me back!” The girl explained, bouncing around with a beaming smile. It was a miracle she could even read the letter when moving around so much. 

“Kaveh… Kaveh? Wait… You mean the Light of Kshahrewar ?” Klee nodded before giggling as around the borders of the letter he had drawn miniature sumeru-styled dodocos.

“Yes! He said he often has trouble with his friend who likes books, so I helped him arrange a gift!” Jean chuckled at the young girl's enthusiasm. “And what might have been?” 

“Oh, just a few books from my collection and a bouquet of natio- er-  local specialties!” Klee corrected before finally slowing her movements down to a stop. 

“He says that he is very thankful for the gift and although his apology had started off in a rough patch, the gift had been a huge success and that if I ever need anything designed for future building projects, or maybe a little something for dodoco, then I could always contact him. He states ‘I am forever in your debt. If you ever find yourself in Sumeru again, feel free and entirely welcome to stop by’- oooo! And look! He made a little drawing with me and dodoco!”

Jean was surprised that Klee had made a friend with such a high-ranked person, known as one of the greatest designers in all of Tevyat’s architectural industry. But she didn’t question it, patting Klee’s head with a smile. 

“I’m going to go and write him back right now!” the girl exclaimed to Jean who laughed with a smile. “That sounds like a good idea.” 

And with the flourish of a red hat and the slam of an office door, a letter was soon to be written and received.