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Alhaitham grumbled as he walked out of his room at an ungodly hour in the morning, rubbing at his eyes to try and rid them of sleep. He had heard a strange noise and woke up unpleasantly, yet his thoughts wouldn't let him write off the noise as the wind or an animal outside.
He made his way to the dining room, accidentally bumping into one of the dining room table’s legs. He sighed in slight pain as he felt blood rush to his foot. That would bruise for sure. Whatever, he could deal with it later, for now he was focused on what could possibly have woken him up at this unknown but very early hour.
It was Kaveh, of course, as it usually was during the late hours of the night. He was always up at least once a week, maybe even twice. He’d spent the last month working on designs for yet another client, though this time it was a particularly difficult one. This time, however, he was up making a small model, the noise being it coming crashing down on the table. He was tired, aggravated, and just overall in a shitty mood. The client was being so difficult, not understanding the laws of gravity and physics apparently. Kaveh felt like he was talking to a child each time the client opened his mouth. Yet he was getting such a large sum of money from this that he couldn’t afford to quit the project, not to mention how much time he’d already put into it.
As Alhaitham entered the dining room, Kaveh paid no mind to his roommate, choosing instead to mutter angrily under his breath as he started to rebuild his broken project. Though the moment his roommate had stubbed the leg of the table, it all came down once more. His head snapped towards him, his aggravation growing more by the second.
“Kaveh. What on Teyvat are you doing up this late?” Alhaitham asked quietly, not realizing he had knocked over Kaveh's project. It was times like these when Alhaitham wondered if something was wrong with him mentally or physically; needing a psychological evaluation for object permanence or needing glasses was the debate of the century in his mind.
“I haven't even a clue how late it is, and I don't care how important this may be. You and I need sleep and neither of us can achieve that if you don't go to your room and go to sleep.” Alhaitham continued, speaking tiredly as he stood on the opposite side of the table, staring at Kaveh.
“You don’t understand, this needs to be done. I’ve been working on it for weeks and I still can’t get the model finished!” Kaveh said with a groan, dropping his forehead down on the table, his shoulders slumping. His hair was a mess, his clothes a tad disheveled and he just overall looked like shit. It was obvious how stressed he was, even if it was partially his own fault for continuing on with the infuriating client.
“If I can’t satisfy this client in the next month I’m going to quit, I swear to the Archons..” He grumbled, letting out an exaggerated sigh before lifting his head back up to stare defeated at the model.
Alhaitham let out a tired groan of annoyance, realizing how screwed Kaveh had made himself with this client. He walked over to his roommate and carefully moved the pieces of the model over to the middle of the table so they wouldn't get damaged again, bending down to pick up the few pieces that fell onto the floor.
“I see how stressed you are, which is even more of an indication that you need sleep. You can work on this tomorrow when you've had at least six hours of sleep. You definitely won't get this done if you try to work on it while sleep deprived and stressed to no end.” Alhaitham mumbled softly as he placed the fallen pieces with the others in the middle of the table, turning to stand in front of Kaveh with his arms crossed, looking down at the blond man with half-lidded and very tired eyes.
“No, if I don’t work on it now then I probably won’t have any time later. I’m supposed to be going over the blueprints tomorrow with the client and some of the workers, I need to at least have it decently built to give an example,” Kaveh retorted, immediately pulling the broken model back in front of him and building it back up once more. He was being stubborn, as per usual, and it seemed he wouldn’t be backing down very soon.
While he continued to build the model, he tried to tune out most of Alhaitham’s lecturing. It was a bit harder considering just how tired he was, but he’d have to make it manageable for now.
“Kaveh..” Alhaitham wanted to reason more, but sighed before he could speak any further. He was appalled at how stubborn his roommate could be. Did Kaveh really think if he didn't make this one client happy he would end his entire career?
“...Don't say I didn't try to help you. Goodnight,” Alhaitham grumbled as he walked away from Kaveh, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Sometimes he wondered what went on in Kaveh's mind to make him think like he did. It really didn't concern him that much.
He retreated back to his room and crawled into his bed, sleep coming to him very stubbornly. How fitting. He groaned softly as he realized he wouldn't be going back to sleep and reached over to his nightstand, grabbing one of his books and flipping open to his spot, wanting to read to waste the unslept hours away.
As the night continued, sleepless for the both of them, the sounds of the model falling and Kaveh’s groans of annoyance could still be heard. It had been an hour.. then two.. and now almost four and he was still at it. Though his growing exhaustion was noticed by how few and far between his groans of annoyance could be heard, not to mention how many more times the model had audibly fell.
In Alhaitham’s room, he could feel his eyes drooping into the sweet cradle of sleep, with his hands failing to keep his book up until he was almost fully asleep. He was actually getting sleep tonight..
Then he heard birds chirping. His eyes creaked open, his eyebrows furrowing as he set his book down and buried his face in his hands. What he wouldn't give for a night of peaceful sleep.
He marked the place he had stopped in his book, got out of bed and began getting dressed for the day, feeling a headache come on from his lack of sleep. He was going to be the life of the party with his friends today.
The sounds from the dining room had stopped by morning, replaced with the occasional creaking of the table or chair. Kaveh was, well, passed out to say the least. His head buried in his arms on the table, pieces of the broken model in front of him—along with a bit on him—and his person looking even more rough for wear. He had reached his limit it seemed, and he would most definitely be even more of a pain if woken up.
Alhaitham walked into their shared living space and looked over to Kaveh with a sigh. He did that a lot when he was with Kaveh, it seemed.
He moved over quietly to the sleeping man and brushed away the broken pieces of the model, noting how it seemed beyond repair now. He leaned down and shook Kaveh's shoulder slightly, knowing how awful the architect could be when he was woken up from his much needed sleep that he hardly ever got. “Kaveh, you have to get up. If you want to sleep in today, I couldn't care less, but at least do it in your own bed.”
The man only grumbled, refusing to get up even as he let out a tired yawn. He didn’t want to move, not one bit. He was far too tired for that, and was sure he wouldn’t even be able to make it to the couch before his legs gave out.
“Just let me sleep..” he muttered, using one of his hands to lazily brush his roommate off.
After a moment's pause of silence between the two, Kaveh raised his head groggily. “Are you just gonna keep staring at me or what?” he grumbled, sitting up properly in the chair with yet another yawn. He rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands, trying to rid them of the sleep he had only moments before.
Alhaitham cleared his throat and turned to face his entire body away from Kaveh, closing his eyes so he didn't see those big red ones staring up at him. “Good morning, Kaveh. I wasn't staring at you, I was merely debating on whether or not I would wake you or leave you to your terrible sleeping position.”
“Too late for that, you literally already shook me awake,” he mumbled, yawning yet again before slowly standing from the chair. He raised his arms, stretching a bit before finally standing properly, albeit still quite tired.
Alhaitham watched Kaveh's every move, his calculating eyes catching every minute movement of Kaveh's and committing it to a special place he kept in the back of his mind. A place no one was allowed to go to except him.
And, hopefully, eventually, Kaveh as well.
Alhaitham sighed as he was caught in a predicament, grumbling as he walked past Kaveh. “Just get ready for the day.”
“Yea, yea, don’t get your panties in a twist,” he sighed, walking off to his clutter of a room. Papers and pencils were strewn across the room along with clothes and some pieces of wood from his model. He shut the door—with a bit of trouble of course—and started to get ready for the day.
Alhaitham stood in the living room, frozen with a deep red on his face. Why in all of Celestia does Kaveh say those sorts of things?!
He took a deep breath and tried to stop thinking about it, pressing the back of his hand to his cheek to check how warm his face was.
Ah, he was screwed.
It took surprisingly less time than usual for Kaveh to leave his room, being fully dressed besides his messy and slightly tangled hair. He didn’t bother with it for now, opting to make himself some food instead. So, making his way to the kitchen, he did just that. With another yawn—signaling that he was still completely exhausted—he made himself some breakfast.
Alhaitham shook himself out of his unusual stupor and walked over to the kitchen, spotting Kaveh in front of the stovetop. He saw how tangled the man's hair was and got the urge to brush through it for him. But, that would most likely end in him getting a punch to the throat. So, he'd rather not, even if the punch wouldn't hurt too badly.
“Your hair looks like a rat's nest.” Alhaitham settled for instead, leaning against the countertop with crossed arms and closed eyes.
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Kaveh grumbled, turning to face him, his back against the counter as he began to eat a piece of toast—his usual quick and easy meal. He did, however, run a hand through his hair, getting out a few of the tangles with his fingers instead of a brush. It was faster and easier, and didn't cause him the trouble of searching for his brush either.
Alhaitham groaned internally, kicking himself at how stupid he was being right now. How in the hell did he go from wanting to brush Kaveh's hair to telling him it looked like a rat's nest?!
“...You should actually brush it.” Damn it, that's not any better!
“I don’t have time,” Kaveh said simply, an obviously annoyed edge to his tone. It was always the same shit, different day with his roommate. It was growing more and more annoying by the days, even if he’d already voiced it plenty of times before. “I’ll brush it when I get home or something.”
I can brush it for you. The offer was on the tip of Alhaithams tongue, but the pit in his stomach that grew with dread from the fear of rejection caused him to swallow his words, opting instead to sigh in annoyance. “You're seriously going out like that?”
“Yea, so what?” his roommate said sharply, one of his hands going up to fidget with his earring. He’d finished his breakfast, brushing off a few crumbs that had made their way to his clothes. “Do you have a problem with it?”
Alhaitham let out a dry laugh, quick and regrettable. "I just wanted to make sure you were purposely planning on going into public like that. You're saying you have time to bicker with me but not brush your hair even slightly?"
“If you have a problem with it then do it yourself,” Kave said with a scoff, pushing himself off the counter. “Like you’re one to talk anyways, you started this,” he crossed his arms, glaring at Alhaitham. He knew most of his bad mood stemmed from exhaustion, but he couldn’t help but feel agitated by his roommate’s antics.
“Do what myself? Take care of myself like a decent human being?”
Fuck. Why the fuck did he say that?! Shit, shit, shit..!
“Wh- Wait, no, Kaveh- I.. I didn't mean that..”
There was a long, awkward silence between the two before Kaveh finally spoke. “I meant brushing my hair, idiot. Unbrushed hair isn’t all that serious,” he grumbled, trying his best to look anywhere but Alhaitham. After yet another moment's pause, he began to leave. It was awkward, tension being so intense that you could cut it with a knife, a dull one at that.
"Kav- Kaveh! Please, wait- Listen to me!" Alhaitham shouted desperately, grabbing onto Kaveh's wrist to keep him from leaving.
“Please, I didn't mean that- I'm begging you, please look at me?”
“Then what did you mean, huh? Explain that to me,” Kaveh snatched his wrist out of his grip, a small scowl on his face. He still couldn’t exactly fathom just how he could say that to him, especially over something so.. mundane.
“I- Shit, Kaveh, I don't know what I meant to say but it wasn't that..
“It wasn’t even that serious.. you didn’t have to start just nitpicking me over my hair if it’s not brushed for one day.”
“Kaveh, listen, I didn't mean what I said, I wasn't thinking. We're both tired, please. Let's try to calm down before we say anything else we might regret.”
“Obviously you weren’t thinking,” Kaveh muttered bitterly under his breath. He then let out a small sigh, trying to calm himself down. “Fine..”
Alhaitham breathed out in relief as he took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Okay.. Okay. I'm sorry for that. Truly."
“It’s.. fine, I guess.” Kaveh rubbed one of his eyes slightly, but whether it was from whatever emotions were running high or his continuous fighting to stay awake was unclear.
Alhaitham grumbled to himself softly as he stepped away from Kaveh, looking at the floor with narrowed eyes. He felt disgusted with himself. Why would he say something like that?
“...You- You can do whatever you want. I truly don't care. I'm- ..I'm sorry.” He sighed softly, retreating to his room quickly, closing and locking the door behind him.
“I- Alhaitham-” Kaveh started, stumbling over his words for a bit before being abruptly cut off by the door shutting and locking. He let out yet another sigh, gently resting his forehead against the door. He stood there for a while, his emotions dying down and a small sense of guilt filling it for it. He couldn’t help but feel bad, even though he wasn’t exactly the one who started it all.
Alhaitham, however, slid down the door and curled into himself when he hit the floor, guilt overwhelming his senses.
He didn't know what was wrong with him. Why didn't he ever say what he truly thought? It always ended up like this.
“Alhaitham.. Talk to me, please.” Kaveh pleaded from the other side of the door, worry seeping into his stomach as he didn't hear an immediate answer.
“No. Please go away..” Alhaitham mumbled with his head tucked into his chest, his back firmly against his door. He hated the way he did anything. Why was he like this? He had always known he had done things differently than other people but this was going too far. How could he hurt the person he had thought of his one and only, even if he had yet to confess to him?
“I’m not leaving,” Kaveh said stubbornly, a small pout coming to his face. “I don’t care if you talk to me right now, but I’m staying right where I am until you do.” He sat down against the door, his arms and legs crossed as he did so. He was far too stubborn for his own good, but he didn’t care, not one bit.
“Damn it..” Alhaitham sniffled quietly, his hands moving up to grip tightly at his hair, pulling and yanking harshly.
Oh, how he wanted Kaveh to go away. And yet.. how he wanted him to stay right there.
“You don’t have to say anything back.. but I.. I hate the silence y’know. And it’s awkward silence too..” The sound of nothing but their breath consumed them both for a while, a lot longer than Kaveh would’ve liked. After, say, ten minutes of them just sitting in silence, he finally spoke up again. “Do you remember.. back in the Academiya.. when I told you how much I hated not having enough.. well, confidence I guess, to actually voice what I want?” He paused, as if waiting for the response he knew would probably never come.
Of course he did, he remembered it like it was yesterday. But his voice stopped working about five minutes ago. He resorted to tapping on the door in morse code, a quick "yea" being tapped out.
“Well.. the reason why I kept saying that.. it- it was because there was something I wanted to say to you.. and don’t get me wrong, I know this is probably a horrible time to say this, but..” he stopped, not sure if he should go any further. His heart ached with each word he spoke, but he had to get it out, no matter how much it made his heart practically writhe in agony.
Alhaitham knew he shouldn't get his hopes up. But there was a tiny part of him that wanted it so badly to happen.
A few moments of silence later.. “i love you.” was tapped against the door, the sound of his breath hitching in his throat as well.
“You beat me to it..” Kaveh whispered, tapping it back almost immediately. If only the stupid door wasn’t in the way, if only there wasn’t the barrier between them, if only there wasn’t one around his heart that yearned to break free, to be with him. He wanted to embrace him, to hold him close. He wanted to shower him with all the love and affection his heart had ached for all these years. It tore him apart having to live like this, in secrecy and fear of his own lovings. But even as it was reciprocated, he couldn’t help but feel himself break.
Fuck.
Alhaitham slid out of the way of the door slowly, turning to face it head on and took in a shaky breath. He carefully unlocked the knob but didn't do anything more than that. Just an opening for Kaveh if he wanted to come in.
Kaveh, on the other hand, heard the click of the door as it was unlocked and scrambled to stand, his back hitting the door slightly as he tripped a bit. He had to take this opportunity, he needed to take this chance, to finally connect with him in such a way. He reached a shaky hand out, turning the knob and entering, his voice ringing out softly as he did so. “Alhaitham..?”
Alhaitham wasted no time and lunged forward, tackling Kaveh in a huge hug, burying his face into Kaveh's hair.
“‘M’sorry…”
Kaveh let out a small yelp of surprise at being hugged so suddenly and tightly, a strained chuckle leaving his lips before he wrapped his arms around him in turn. His heart was practically a puddle at this point, a soft sigh coming from him.
“Alhaitham..” His voice was sweeter now, filled with nothing but affection and longing. He could feel warm tears pricking at his eyes, he’d dreamed of this moment since their Academiya years, and it was finally, finally happening. He couldn’t believe it, nor could he help the few tears that ran down his cheeks.
Alhaitham only held onto Kaveh tighter, refusing to let his grip falter now that he finally had Kaveh in his hands. Although, he pulled away for a second, looking at Kaveh's tears and wiping them away with his knuckle, his eyes, for once, upturned and affectionate.
This is what peace felt like.
“Archons, this is so embarrassing..” Kaveh said with a small, watery chuckle. His cheeks were tinged with a bit of a rosy hue, both from embarrassment and their sweet and affectionate moment together. It was so nice being like this, being open and.. loving. It made his heart pound and ache at the same time, a whirlwind of emotions making themselves known in his chest.
Alhaitham's had glided down Kaveh's cheek before resting on his chin, holding him so that he would face up towards him with only his thumb and pointer. His breath caught in his throat and he debated on whether or not he should go through with what he was thinking about. Would Kaveh push him away? Was it too early for this? What if he messed up somehow?
“Alhaitham..” Kaveh couldn’t help but repeat his name continuously, it simply rolled off his tongue easier than any other words he wished to say, to express. He never wanted to leave this embrace, he never wanted to leave behind the gentle and sweet touches. He wanted nothing more than to stay in this moment forever, but he knew it had to come to an end eventually, just as every sweet thing ends in agony.
Alhaitham could only feel his cheeks heat up even more at how Kaveh said his name. It wasn't like how the blond normally said his name. Normally, it would be started off with or followed by a sigh. And most of the time Kaveh would groan in frustration along with his name. But this time... It was so different.
Kaveh chuckled slightly, covering his grin with the back of his hand. The sight of his roommate’s blush was endearing, not to mention downright adorable even. “You okay? You’re looking a little rosey there.”
“Mhm. I'm fine..” Alhaitham muttered, looking at Kaveh before sighing.
“I.. I would like to kiss you.” Fuck him gently with a chainsaw, what's wrong with him?!
“I’m not stopping you,” Kaveh said simply, his grin widening. He was flattered, incredibly so, especially with just how upfront he was about it. That was always a trait of his that he loved… well, 80% of the time at least.
“It- I feel like I'm trying to stop myself. I don't think you would like it if I really did kiss you, even if you aren't stopping me. Who's to say I don't mess up and somehow hurt you? What if this all doesn't work out and I've wasted this kiss? What if-“ Damnit, shut up for once!
Kaveh groaned in annoyance, interrupting him by pressing his lips against his roommates. Alhaitham gasped as Kaveh kissed him, melting into it immediately. As Kaveh pulled away, Alhaitham's eyes slowly opened to stare at the blond, pure wonder adorning his eyes.
“Just shut up already, yea?”
“...Okay.”
“Good. Now you got what you wanted, happy now?” Kaveh asked with a cheeky grin. Alhaitham looked so endearing like this, the way he had melted into the kiss so quickly, the wonder in his eyes.. Archons, it was too much for Kaveh’s heart to handle. It made him weak in the knees just looking at him.
“...Well, I wouldn't mind if we did it more.” Alhaitham mumbled, looking down at Kaveh's lips and dragging his gaze back up to Kaveh's eyes.
“Then maybe a few more times wouldn’t hurt,” he leaned just a tad closer as he spoke. He could feel his face heating up a bit at his gaze.
Alhaitham smiled softly as he leaned all the way into Kaveh, pressing his lips against Kaveh's and sighing softly. What he wouldn't give to have this go on for an eternity. His hands dropped from Kaveh's face and found themselves slipping down Kaveh's back, pressing him into Alhaitham softly, consequently deepening the kiss.
Archons...
It was like heaven almost.. or maybe even like a dream come true. Either way, Kaveh sure as hell wasn’t complaining. This was something he had longed for and he wasn’t going to pass it up now. He could feel his heart melting with each moment that passed, his mind clouded only with thoughts of just how lucky he was in that moment.
Alhaitham pulled away from the kiss, albeit reluctantly, and stared at Kaveh once again. “Why didn’t we do this sooner..?”
“I don’t know… but better late than never I guess,” he chuckled softly, leaning his cheek onto Alhaitham’s shoulder.
Alhaitham sighed as Kaveh leaned against him, wrapping his arms tighter around the blonde man with a rare smile gracing his lips.
“We still have to go out today. We both have work to do.”
“Fuck that, let’s just stay in today, yea? I don’t care about my client right now, he could kiss my ass for all I care.”
Alhaitham chuckled softly, bringing his hands up to stroke Kaveh's hair and fucking finally get the knots out. "Fine by me."
“Ow- watch how hard you’re pulling, douche,” Kaveh grumbled, though it was more lighthearted than it used to be.