Chapter Text
“Haitham, I will never understand your problem with commitment.” Kaveh stated out of the blue.
Alhaitham turned his head to peer at Kaveh, only looking away from the book in his hands for a moment before going back to pore at the pages.
They were sat next to each other on the couch in their house, or rather, Alhaitham’s house, as Alhaitham loved to remind Kaveh. It was a rather convenient living situation for Kaveh, who got to live in Alhaitham’s spacious house for no cost at all, only contributing his share of Mora to the weekly groceries and utility bills. It was a rather inconvenient living situation for Alhaitham, who had to share his spacious house with a broke architect who seemed to be intent on disagreeing with every word Alhaitham said.
Alhaitham sometimes wondered to himself why he ever invited Kaveh to live with him in the first place.
“You think I have a problem with commitment?” Alhaitham asked, only half paying attention to Kaveh’s statement. He’d learned very early on that he could reasonably ignore about two-thirds of what Kaveh said and get by with minimal consequences.
“Uh, yes! Obviously!” Kaveh crossed his arms, staring defiantly into Alhaitham’s eyes. Alhaitham closed his book. Unfortunately, this was beginning to look like the one-third of the time where he would actually have to listen to Kaveh’s nonsense. It wouldn’t be too hard to give Kaveh an acceptable answer, though.
“Well, let’s see here. I finished the thesis that you dropped out of, I’ve risen up the ranks to acquire the position of Scribe without going bankrupt, unlike a certain architect I know, and I’ve published more articles in scientific journals than you’ve probably read in your life. I think that shows sufficient commitment.” Alhaitham listed off, counting each point on his fingers. Kaveh’s face grew red with frustration.
“Ugh! You know what I mean! You're not committed in your relationships.” Kaveh sniffed disdainfully.
“How so?” Alhaitham inquired. Kaveh gaped, inhaling deeply to start what would probably be an impressive rant.
“Well, you always give Cyno excuses when he wants to play TCG with you. He’s been trying to set up a time to play for months now, and you’ve been ignoring him every time. Then there’s that time with Tighnari where you—” Alhaitham interrupted him with a dismissive wave of his hand, reaching into his pocket conspicuously.
“No, no, do go on. I just need to grab something.” Alhaitham said, a deadpan look on his face as Kaveh spluttered.
“You… Do you not have the decency to pay attention when I’m talking, Haitham? I always listen when you talk, I’m the most attentive listener you have! No one else even wants to listen to your dumb rambles, but I do, because I’m such a good friend, and—Haitham. What is that.” Kaveh cut off his epic rant abruptly when Alhaitham finally fished a red velvet box out of his pocket.
“This? Nothing, it’s just a ring.” Alhaitham shrugged. He opened the box to reveal a glittering diamond ring, gems inlaid in the shape of a drooping mourning flower blossom. Alhaitham stood up to drop to one knee, holding out the ring to Kaveh, whose jaw was dropped in shock.
“Alhaitham. What is this.” Kaveh blinked, not moving from his seat.
“You’re right, you are the most attentive listener I have. You listen to me even when I’m discussing the most boring and banal subjects, and when I finish talking, you always have something insightful to say.” Alhaitham started, a slight smile playing on his lips as Kaveh’s face grew more and more incredulous.
“How long has that been in your pocket?” Kaveh asked, looking at Alhaitham like he was insane. It had been two months, actually. Two months since Alhaitham had that ring custom designed, purchased it for an exorbitant fee, and placed it in his pocket for the perfect time.
“You keep me company when I’ve been alone my whole life, and you’re the one that makes my house feel like a home. It would even be correct to say that you are my home.” Alhaitham continued, his voice as casual as if he were discussing the food on a menu.
“Wh… We’re not even dating! What is this??” Kaveh stammered, face red as a beet.
“And you are the reason there is joy in my life. You’re more than the light of Kshahrewar, you’re the light of my world. You are the stars when the moon is new, you’re the sunrise after the darkness. You are my light, Kaveh.” Alhaitham did not break eye contact with Kaveh once during his entire speech, and the look on his roommate’s face was priceless.
“Are you proposing to me just to win an argument???” Kaveh spluttered.
“So, my light, will you marry me?” Alhaitham held the ring up closer so Kaveh could see the design. He smiled serenely as Kaveh stuttered, at a loss for words.
“Wh… No, I’m not gonna marry you!” Kaveh crossed his arms, looking down at Alhaitham incredulously.
“Wrong answer. Try again.” Alhaitham stated, his voice not changing from the same level tone as always.
“What do you mean wrong answer?? What am I supposed to do, say yes?”
Alhaitham actually raised an eyebrow at that.
“Well, preferably, yes. Otherwise returning this ring might be rather awkward.” Alhaitham commented, examining the ring for a second before turning it back to face Kaveh.
“I… Alright, fine then. Yes. I will marry you. Is that what you want to hear?” Kaveh conceded, throwing his hands up in defeat. Alhaitham smiled, standing up to slide the ring on Kaveh’s finger. Kaveh’s face flushed red at the motion, tilting his hand to admire the ring.
“So. Would you say that this effectively disproves any possibility of me having commitment issues in my relationships? I mean, marriage is the ultimate commitment, is it not?” Alhaitham smiled, and Kaveh’s face immediately dropped.
“You… Haitham! Did you seriously propose to me just to win an argument? You are insufferable, you know that? You have to be the smartest idiot in the Akademiya, no contest. It’s no wonder you don’t have any friends, I wouldn't even want to spend time with you if I wasn’t forced to. You are the single most annoying person to be around…” Kaveh continued on his rant as Alhaitham sat back down, tuning him out to pick up his book again.
Alhaitham couldn’t help but smile at the background noise of Kaveh’s complaining. Kaveh really was Alhaitham’s light, in more ways than he would ever know.