Work Text:
“You’re heading out early today,” Kaveh comments. He sits in the living room, nursing a coffee that’s basically just cream, and watches Alhaitham gather a stack of papers. He doesn’t respond immediately and Kaveh wonders if he’s already turned on his noise canceling headphones. However, he eventually approaches Kaveh and sighs.
“Unfortunately. There’s a lot to do today and I’d rather not stay late.” He takes Kaveh’s coffee cup from his hands. He takes a small sip and his frown worsens. Kaveh rolls his eyes.
“I don’t know why you insist on stealing my coffee every time,” he says. Alhaitham holds the mug out and Kaveh takes it from his hands gladly. “You don’t like cream.”
Alhaitham shrugs. He glances at the clock on the wall and sighs again. “I have to go.”
“Will you be going to straight to Lambard’s after work?” Kaveh asks. They’d agreed to meet Cyno and Tighnari that night for drinks, and Kaveh needed to know if he should head there on his own or wait for Alhaitham.
“Probably.”
“Alright, I’ll meet you there.” Kaveh returns to his coffee, expecting Alhaitham to slip away silently like he did each morning after their exchange. Instead, he leans over Kaveh and lightly taps the front of his head against Kaveh’s.
It takes Kaveh a moment to fully process what just happened and by that time Alhaitham’s long gone. He blinks and places his hand on his head, directly on top of the spot Alhaitham, well, bonked.
“What the hell?” he mutters. The gesture was weird, sure, but what he was mostly confused about was Alhaitham initiating it. Many people in Sumeru had different perspectives on Alhaitham’s actions but Kaveh knew him and knew he didn’t stray from the routine he’d built up for himself over the years. In fact, Alhaitham’s routine was so predictable Kaveh could easily pay off all his debts just by betting on what he thought Alhaitham would do throughout the day. So, for him to actively change the routine and without warning, Kaveh finds himself ruminating on the gesture for most of his morning.
He ends up worrying a bit too much on whether Alhaitham was feeling okay, so he ends up taking his lunch on the go. He makes sure to pack an extra set of cutlery just in case Alhaitham wanted to steal a bite of his fatteh (while Alhaitham loved to steal food from Kaveh he didn’t like using the same fork or spoon) and set off for where he knows Alhaitham took his lunch breaks. Sure enough, he finds Alhaitham sitting under the shade of an out-of-the-way tree in Razan Garden. His butter chicken seems discarded in his lap in favor of a book, something that did not surprise Kaveh. He approaches and pokes Alhaitham’s cheek.
Alhaitham looks up with a glare and Kaveh doesn’t miss how his expression softens ever so slightly when he realizes who’s interrupting his book. He sits beside Alhaitham with a huff. “You really should eat. You need energy to get through the day, you know?”
Alhaitham smiles ever so slightly. “Did you really come all this way just to nag me?”
“No,” Kaveh shoots back. He doesn’t tell Alhaitham he was worried either. “I just wanted to eat somewhere else for a change.”
“Sure,” Alhaitham says and Kaveh can tell from his tone he doesn’t fully believe that. Still, he doesn’t push it, and ends up setting his book down to push his chicken around on the plate.
“Here,” Kaveh holds out his plate, “you can have some of mine.” Alhaitham looks genuinely surprised at Kaveh’s offer but shakes his head.
“You should eat your own lunch. I’ll just–.”
“Just take some,” Kaveh sighs. He places the extra set of cutlery in Alhaitham’s hands. “You shouldn’t force yourself to eat something you don’t want.” He removes the chicken plate from Alhaitham’s lap. He frowns.
“Sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Haitham. You can’t help it if one of your safe foods changes.” Kaveh can tell Alhaitham is still frustrated so, even if he doesn’t know the purpose of the gesture yet, he mimics Alhaitham’s movements from this morning. He bonks his forehead against Alhaitham’s, soft enough to ensure his junior knew he didn’t mean anything malicious.
Alhaitham’s eyes go wide and the way he looks at Kaveh makes him flustered. He averts his eyes quickly but still scoots closer so they can comfortably share the fatteh. “Eat.”
Finally, a smile creeps back onto Alhaitham’s face. “Thanks,” he mutters.
“You know, they say earnest thanks should be given three times,” Kaveh teases and Alhaitham’s smile grows just a bit.
“Now, where have I heard that before…”
Together, they end up finishing the fatteh and Kaveh eats some of the butter chicken before Alhaitham has to return to work. He stands and Kaveh follows, brushing some leaves off of his pants.
“Try not to give yourself a headache at work,” he tells Alhaitham. Alhaitham hums and fiddles with the cord of his headphones, a tell-tale sign he wants to say something but isn’t sure how to say it. Kaveh waits patiently.
“You should come back here when I finish work,” he says. Kaveh snorts.
“You want to walk together to Lambard’s, right?” he clarifies and while Alhaitham hesitates, he eventually nods.
“Alright,” Kaveh agrees, “I’ll meet you here when you get off.” Alhaitham relaxes slightly. He leans forward to knock his forehead against the top of Kaveh’s head. Then, he disappears before Kaveh gets the chance to ask what the gesture means.
When Kaveh returns that night, Alhaitham is already waiting for him. Alhaitham’s greeting is another headbutt and as they make their way to Lambard’s, Kaveh breaks the ice.
“Haitham?”
Alhaitham hums to indicate he’s listening, even if he doesn’t meet Kaveh’s eyes.
“Why are you headbutting me?”
Alhaitham stops, and Kaveh stops too. “It’s not that I mind,” he adds quickly, “it’s just a new part of your routine, so I’m wondering what brought it up.”
Alhaitham shrugs, wraps the cord of his headphones around his finger, and sighs. “I just wanted to be more affectionate, I guess,” he mutters. “I know it’s not what normal people do–.”
Kaveh places both of his hands on Alhaitham’s cheeks. He closes his mouth as Kaveh stares up at him intensely. “I love you, Alhaitham,” he says and Alhaitham’s cheeks turn pink under Kaveh’s hands. “I love you for who you are. I don’t care if it’s normal or not. You make me happy, just the way you are.”
“...I love you, too,” Alhaitham says quietly. He takes one of Kaveh’s hands off his cheek and places a chaste kiss in the center of his palm. “Thank you.”
“The headbutts are cute,” Kaveh says. Alhaitham puffs out his cheeks and Kaveh laughs. Then, he stands on his tiptoes and knocks his forehead against Alhaiham’s. “Come on, we’re going to be late.” Alhaitham hums.
They resume their walk to Lambard’s with their pinkies linked.