Work Text:
Kaveh dropped onto the sofa, intentionally scattering his pencils on the table loudly. Alhaitham would be unmoved by his dramatics, but he didn't care. He was going to be as dramatic as possible over Alhaitham kicking him out of the study while he'd been working. Sure it was technically Alhaitham's study, but that didn't mean Kaveh couldn't use it.
"Don't be such a drama queen," Alhaitham said from the doorway of the study. "Don't you have a desk of your own?"
"Yes, but it currently has models drying on it. I couldn't possibly move them!"
"Hm, well that doesn't sound like my problem." And with that, Alhaitham turned and closed himself inside his study.
A few hours later, Alhaitham emerged from his study to Kaveh sitting on the sofa hunched over his sketchpad. Without saying anything, he began pushing furniture around creating an open space in the center of the living room.
"What are you doing?" Kaveh asked sharply.
Alhaitham didn't spare him a glance as he said, "Come on. If I mess up, you can have the study for the next week. If I don't, you owe me a kiss."
Kaveh stared for a moment before setting his sketches aside and moving the sofa he'd been sitting on. Alhaitham placed a record on the phonograph and they stepped into place.
Kaveh already knew Alhaitham wouldn't mess up but he wasn't going to back down from the challenge. They danced, neither making any mistakes. With the final step Kaveh grinned, all grievances momentarily forgotten.
"Looks like you owe me a kiss, dear Senior," Alhaitham said with a smirk.
"What?! I did it perfectly too so I don't need to!" Kaveh exclaimed.
Alhaitham raised his eyebrows saying, "I don't recall making a bet on if you did it perfectly."
"You-!!" Kaveh began to retaliate.
"How about another dance, then?" Alhaitham said slyly.
Kaveh yelled "Hey! You cheater!" grinning as Alhaitham grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the bedroom.
The next several weeks passed in a blur for Kaveh. He spent most of his time at the build site for his current client. When he wasn't at the build site, he was working on designs for another project from the same client. The two barely saw each other during that time. The only reason Alhaitham knew Kaveh was ok was because he would see the architect asleep at the desk in the study when he left for work in the morning or asleep in the bed beside him half dressed, clearly having passed out from exhaustion only a few hours before Alhaitham woke up.
Kaveh woke to the smell of coffee and sounds of Alhaitham using his new coffee grinder. Normally he would have gotten up and bickered with Alhaitham for using his coffee grinder, but today he didn't have the energy and laid there staring at the ceiling. He listened to the sounds of Alhaitham having his coffee and didn't move as he heard Alhaitham come back to the bedroom and lay down beside him with a hand propping his head up.
"What, no good morning? No 'Alhaitham you bastard quit using my coffee grinder'?" Alhaitham teased. Kaveh only glanced at him and shrugged slightly. Alhaitham's brow furrowed as he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing. It's fine. I'm fine." Kaveh spoke as if he was trying to tell himself that more than Alhaitham. He started to roll over to get up but Alhaitham reached out, stopping him. His hand traced up Kaveh's arm and over his shoulders. Kaveh laid there silently as Alhaitham's fingers lightly brushed his cheek.
"No, everything is not fine," Alhaitham said softly. "Tell me what's wrong, amor."
Kaveh closed his eyes taking a shaky breath and replied thickly, "I don't know."
Alhaitham silently played with his hair and Kaveh began to panic he had done something wrong. Finally, Alhaitham said, "Hm, well let me know when you figure it out. By the way, I've paid for all the groceries the last several weeks."
"Yes, yes, I'll pay you back once I get paid," Kaveh sighed.
"I don't want to be paid back with money."
Kaveh quickly sat up. "Huh?! What do you want then?" He panicked. Surely Alhaitham couldn't mean…
"I think one kiss for each time I paid for groceries will do," Alhaitham said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "You also haven't paid me back for the last few months of bar tabs yet."
"You-!" Kaveh tried to be angry but couldn't. Alhaitham sat up beside him and began counting kisses until Kaveh didn't even know what he was repaying anymore.
Every day for the next few weeks, Kaveh gave Alhaitham a kiss before either of them left for work. On the days it didn't happen, they would both tally it to be repaid at the soonest possible time.
Alhaitham also stopped accepting any amount of mora from Kaveh when he paid for groceries or Kaveh's tabs, claiming that his other debts took priority and that if Kaveh insisted on paying him back, that he could pay with kisses and dancing. When Kaveh had asked what he meant by 'dancing', he received a shrug in reply earning Alhaitham a new nickname of 'Bestia'.
Kaveh finished work early on a day Alhaitham had to work late so he decided to head to Lambad's for dinner. He hadn't intended to drink so much, but once he started, he couldn't stop and a few hours later he was incredibly drunk talking to anyone who would listen. He was nursing his fourth glass of wine when Alhaitham sat down across from him.
"Drinking instead of working?" Alhaitham asked in a scolding tone.
"I finished all my work, for your information," Kaveh slurred. "There's nothing else for me to do until I meet my client tomorrow."
"I see. So you decided to come drinking once you had finished."
"No! I came to have dinner while I was waiting for you to come home. Besides, it was only one glass." Kaveh lifted the glass in his hand and reached his other hand across the table for Alhaitham's. He pouted when the Grand Sage crossed his arms against his chest out of Kaveh's reach.
"What about the other three glasses on the table?" Alhaitham asked flatly. Before Kaveh could argue after counting the glasses for himself, Alhaitham stood up and gently grabbed Kaveh's arm to signal it was time to leave.
Kaveh stood and let Alhaitham lead him towards the exit without argument. They had almost made it to door when Kaveh began to turn around saying, "Wait, Bestia, I haven't paid my bill yet."
"I paid it for you already," Alhaitham said, stopping only because Kaveh had.
"Alhaitham, te quiero comer a besos!" Kaveh exclaimed so loudly that everyone in the tavern heard. Kaveh was drunk enough to not have noticed everyone look their way but Alhaitham did. Many of the scholars chuckled and some of the Haravat scholars started whispering to each other.
"Hm. Come on," Alhaitham said, turning and walking out the door with Kaveh dutifully following after him. He could barely keep up until Alhaitham grabbed his arm to keep him from stumbling. Kaveh leaned against Alhaitham, breathing in his scent deeply.
When they got back to the house, Alhaitham reached into his pocket for his keys but couldn't find them quickly. "Where are my keys?" he muttered to himself.
"Kiss?" Kaveh tilted his head up waiting for Alhaitham to turn towards him.
"Hm? No," Alhaitham turned his head towards Kaveh who immediately cut him off with a kiss.
Having completed his task, Kaveh rested his head on Alhaitham's shoulder contentedly. Alhaitham was stunned for a moment. He realized that in his drunken state, Kaveh had misheard what he said and thought Alhaitham had been asking for the kiss he was owed for paying the bill at Lambad's, not looking for his keys.
He unlocked the door and stepped inside. Kaveh kissed Alhaitham's shoulder and stumbled to the sofa saying, "Goodnight, mi amor," as he fell asleep. Alhaitham stood there looking fondly at the architect's slumbering figure. He smiled to himself knowing that Kaveh was drunk enough that he wouldn't remember anything since they had gotten home in the morning which meant that Kaveh wouldn't remember the kiss, and Alhaitham could still claim a kissing debt.