Work Text:
May 2
Kaveh was an architect; therefore, he was intelligent, creative, ambitious, and most of all, curious.
Kaveh was curious about a lot of things; what he would build next, what commissions he would be offered, who he’d befriend next, his roommate. He was especially curious about his roommate.
Why did Alhaitham hardly ever smile anymore? Or, was he just like that around Kaveh? Does Alhaitham even hang out with people other than Kaveh? Does he enjoy hanging out with Kaveh? What does he say whenever Kaveh isn’t around? The last question definitely scared Kaveh the most.
Alhaitham was intelligent, capable, and confident. Most of all, Alhaitham is rude . He never hesitates to call out every ‘flaw’ in Kaveh’s ideals, every flaw in his clients, and especially every flaw in Kaveh’s day to day life.
You need to stop staying up for clients that are going to cancel anyway.
The client didn’t ask for all of this, why are you doing so much more than necessary?
You didn’t take the trash out.
Your dishes are still in the sink.
Ugh! Kaveh hates him… not really. Kaveh really does love him, but he knows he’ll never see the day Alhaitham returns his feelings, so he deflects his feelings with jokes and bickering. Kaveh has been aware of his feelings ever since he started to live with Alhaitham, but he never ever let himself imagine what a life with Alhaitham would look like. If he did, there would be no more saving him.
What Alhaitham says whenever Kaveh isn’t around is a question that Kaveh worries about more than he’d like to admit. If Alhaitham is so rude to his face he can’t even imagine what he says behind his back.
Suddenly, Kaveh is hit with an idea both so genius and so stupid that he can’t help but laugh. If he installs an audio recording device in Mehrak and adjusts him to also recognize Alhaitham’s voice, then it would only take a week or two to figure out what he’s saying behind his back! Kaveh wastes no time immediately getting to work.
–
The house is a mess when Alhaitham gets home, which is a surprise considering Kaveh is the one who made the mess in the living room this time. “Kaveh,” Kaveh jumps and whips his head around at the mention of his name, “What are you doing to Mehrak?” Alhaitham steps into the kitchen, but he can still see the many mechanical parts on the living room floor (which he cannot name off of the top of his head) and the noticeably empty parts of Mehrak.
“I’m just upgrading his projection! The living room will be clean by tomorrow morning, promise.” Kaveh has already turned back around to continue his work. Technically, he wasn’t lying! He was upgrading Mehrak’s projection… he was just also adding an audio recording device to see what Alhaitham says about him.
“Not a very promising claim when your dishes are still in the sink.”
“Well, I didn’t promise to do the dishes! I just said ‘I’ll do them at some point’.” Alhaitham sighs at Kaveh’s response. Instead of arguing further, he just retreats back into his room. Kaveh is too focused on the task at hand to notice the lack of a response.
May 3
To his surprise, Alhaitham wakes up the next day to a clean living room and an empty sink. Kaveh has no clients today if Alhaitham remembers correctly, so he decided against waking Kaveh up. He instead opted to drink his coffee quietly and leave a note for Kaveh whenever he wakes up.
Kaveh wakes up not long after Alhaitham leaves, and he thanks the archons for having a free day in archons know how long. When he goes to make himself a small breakfast, he finds a note from Alhaitham on the counter.
I’m going to be home a bit later today. I have a meeting with the Matra.
Kaveh smiles as he reads the note, “Even more time to snoop.” Kaveh abandons his original goal to make breakfast for now and instead goes to retrieve Mehrak from his room. “Okay Mehrak, since you’re programmed to recognize Alhaitham’s voice now, I need you to spy on him. I’m sure he’s trying to soil my reputation! Tell me everything you hear, but you cannot get caught. Okay? I think one week should be enough time.”
Mehrak smiles and makes an unintelligible noise that Kaveh takes as ‘affirmative!’.
May 3
Alhaitham hated working overtime. He clocked in at the same time everyday, he clocked out at the same time everyday, and he never brought home work. Unfortunately, his new position as the Acting Grand Sage did nothing but increase his workload and he was therefore forced to forego his previous routine.
The amount of paperwork he had to do increased (which he didn’t think possible since all he did as the Scribe was attend meetings and fill out paperwork), the amount of meetings he had to attend increased, the amount of people he had to oversee increased, and the amount of time he had for Kaveh decreased.
Alhaitham is not a kind man, he did not offer Kaveh his house out of the kindness of his heart. He cares for Kaveh. He always has and always will, but he knows Kaveh will never care for him the way he cares for Kaveh. They always bickered, but it was okay because at least Alhaitham had Kaveh’s attention.
Alhaitham sighed as he checked the clock in his office and gathered up all the paperwork he would need for the upcoming meeting with the Matra. The Matra requested additional funding to build a small headquarters in the desert since they’ll be sending more forces out there regularly due to the civil changes lately. Alhaitham had to admit, it was a good idea, he just didn’t want to do any more paperwork.
Sitting in a room with multiple Matra officers, Alhaitham wished he could doze off. However, Alhaitham was anything but a slacker, so he stayed attentive nonetheless.
“We have plans for everything all sorted out and outlined. That includes the location, why that location, and other things we took into account. However, it’s hard finding someone available to direct this,” one of the Matra officers explained.
“I know who can do this, I’ll review your paperwork once I’m back in my office as well.”
“Oh?” The officer sounded more surprised than anything, “A recommendation from the Grand Sage himself?”
“ Acting Grand Sage,” oh, Alhaitham was so excited to resign from his current position, “but yes, I believe Kaveh is more than capable of completing this mission.”
Another one of the officers sitting at the table turned to the officer sitting next to him, trying to whisper. “Kaveh? Isn’t that the guy who built the Palace of Alcarzarzaray?”
“‘The Guy’ is the Light of Kshahrewar you idiot.”
Alhaitham responds to the two officers without addressing them, and instead addresses the whole table, “Yes, that is Kaveh. I believe his creativity would be beneficial to you all. He’s very passionate about his work, so I believe looking into his portfolio would be in your best interest.” This meeting has already gone on for five minutes longer than it was meant to, so Alhaitham stands up before announcing his leave. “Like I said, I will review your paperwork tomorrow when I’m back in the office. Should you believe Kaveh is suitable for your project, you will need to submit that paperwork as well.”
May 4
Kaveh has mentioned having long-lasting headaches lately, so Alhaitham decided to take a trip to Gandharva Ville to see if there was anything that could help soothe his roommate's headaches. Alhaitham was not doing this because he cared (at least he claimed), but because Kaveh is more irritable whenever he has a headache, therefore causing more arguments. It is not because he cares.
“You said he’s having long-lasting headaches?” Tighnari questioned.
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
“He hardly sleeps.”
“Now,” Tighnari turns away from his task at hand to face Alhaitham, “is that because he’s sick, or because he’s Kaveh?”
“Both. He never sleeps anyway, but he sleeps even less lately. Yesterday was the only day I think he slept more than five hours.”
“Why hasn’t he been sleeping?”
“Kaveh is generous to a fault. He’s been tweaking the same two blueprints the last three weeks. Although, he should be done soon if the deadlines he’s mentioned to me are accurate.” Tighnari hums in acknowledgment. He continues to smash and stir some herbs together for a few minutes before turning back around to hand over a jar to Alhaitham. “These should help his headaches. If they continue to bother Kaveh, give him this paste along with his dinner. However, not even a doctor can help someone who simply refuses to go to bed. That’s on you considering you live with him.”
Alhaitham hums in acknowledgment, nods, and turns around to leave with the jar in hand.
–
When Alhaitham returns to the office, he only spends fifteen minutes signing various papers before the head Matra officer from the day prior comes in.
“Acting Grand Sage,” he says to make his present known.
Alhaitham doesn’t look up from his paperwork that he’s working on, “What do you need?”
“I was looking through Mister Kaveh’s portfolio like you instructed yesterday, but I do have some worries.” Alhaitham nods towards the chair in front of his desk, silently encouraging the man to sit down and continue. “Well, the problem is, how do I word this, his portfolio is fantastic. We have a list of everything he’s built, of course, but we also have a list of things he’s currently working on. Is it wise to bring such a busy man along with us? We can’t delay the building any longer, it would be inefficient to do so. However, we also can’t find anyone else suitable for the job.”
“The Matra is hoping for construction to start in two weeks, are they not?”
“Well, yes–”
Alhaitham cuts the officer off, “The timing won’t be an issue. His current commissions are almost complete on his end and he won’t be needed for the rest of the process. Kaveh is a smart man, if you need him to start in two weeks, then he will meet the deadline.” Maybe ‘smart’ is a bit of an exaggeration. Kaveh is incredible at what he does, Alhaitham would never argue otherwise, but completing jobs at the expense of your own health isn’t the most intelligent decision. If Kaveh decides to take this commission, which he will, Alhaitham will be sure to force him to bring Tighnari’s paste along with him.
The Matra officer looks shocked at Alhaitham’s words, but he quickly regains his composure, “Alright, then I have no complaints. Here is the paperwork then, thank you,” he quickly gets up and leaves.
Archons, Alhaitham really wants to quit this job.
May 5
The archons decided to bless Alhaitham today with the ability to leave work early. He approved the Matra construction requests, approved so many other requests (also denied many others), and sent out paperwork that had been collecting dust in the corner of his office. However, whenever the archons bless him, Kaveh is there to disrupt it.
Alhaitham!
I finished the cheese this morning after you left for work, and we’re running low on a lot of other things too. If you happen to get home before me (which I doubt, idk why I’m writing this) please do the usual groceries.
Pretty please!!! (╥﹏╥)
Notes were meant to be short and concise, yet Kaveh always had to be extra with all of his notes (the fact that Alhaitham has kept every note Kaveh has written to him, no matter how insignificant, is not important). Alhaitham knows he could say no, but getting the groceries now would prevent further inconvenience and would be beneficial to him as well, not just Kaveh. He sighs, knowing his afternoon of relaxation is now just an unattainable dream.
Alhaitham doesn’t hate going to the bazaar, it’s just easier whenever Kaveh goes instead. Kaveh can and will talk about anything as long as you let him, so he’s mastered small talk. Alhaitham couldn't care less about small talk.
Every ‘Auntie’, which is what Kaveh called them (how he became so close with every one of them is beyond Alhaitham), would dote on the two of them in an attempt to get them to buy more products whenever Alhaitham and Kaveh actually go to the bazaar together. Somehow, they got even worse with just Alhaitham there.
“No Kaveh today?”
Alhaitham shook his head, “He’s currently busy.”
“Oh, what a shame, what can I get for you darling?”
“Some harra fruit and zaytun peaches.”
“You know,” the auntie started, “I’m not so sure why you and Kaveh still live together. I’m sure a darling boy like Kaveh has women lining up for him. Such a kind and beautiful boy like him is sure to have no trouble.”
There are women lining up for him, however, Kaveh (un)fortunately likes men, is what Alhaitham chooses not to say. “Yes, I agree, however matters such as romance are entirely up to Kaveh.”
Alhaitham only hummed in acknowledgement as the auntie continued to fawn over Kaveh. Once he was done making his way around the bazaar, he finally made his way home. Kaveh was already in the living room, sketching away, when Alhaitham arrived with the groceries.
“You’re back! Did you get fruits?”
Alhaitham rolls his eyes at the question and smirks before answering, “No, if you wanted them so bad then you can do the groceries yourself next time.”
“Alhai– oh, you asshole. I see the peaches sticking out of the bag!”
“Yes, I did get fruit, now put them away.”
Kaveh is already in the process of doing so when he replies, “Seriously, would a ‘please’ kill you?” Of course, Kaveh is speaking again before Alhaitham can say anything, “Also, you won’t believe who pulled me aside after my meeting with my client earlier today! The Matra want me to design a headquarters for them in the desert. I told them that I had just finished a commission with a client today, and that I’ll finish another one up in two days.”
Kaveh keeps rambling on about his commissions and the Matra as if Alhaitham had no clue about it. Kaveh doesn’t even look at Alhaitham while he speaks, just dancing around their kitchen as he puts away the groceries. Cute, he thinks.
May 6
Kaveh knows he told Mehrak one week, but he was getting impatient! He has a habit of letting his curiosity get the better of him. Once he was sure that Alhaitham was out of the house and on his way to work, Kaveh powered on Mehrak.
“Mehrak! Tell me everything he said.”
Mehrak looked at Kaveh confused, as if to say “But you said a week!”.
“I know, I know, but I’m impatient! Can you really blame me? Now, spill.”
–
“Oh? A recommendation from the Grand Sage himself?”
“Acting Grand Sage, but yes, I believe Kaveh is more than capable of completing this mission.”
“Kaveh? Isn’t that the guy who built the Palace of Alcarzarzaray?”
“‘The Guy’ is the Light of Kshahrewar you idiot.”
“Yes, that is Kaveh. I believe his creativity would be beneficial to you all. He’s very passionate about his work, so I believe looking into his portfolio would be in your best interest.”
–
“Now, is that because he’s sick, or because he’s Kaveh?”
“Both. He never sleeps anyway, but he sleeps even less lately. Yesterday was the only day I think he slept more than five hours.”
“Why hasn’t he been sleeping?”
“Kaveh is generous to a fault.”
–
“Well, the problem is, how do I word this, his portfolio is fantastic. We have a list of everything he’s built, of course, but we also have a list of things he’s currently working on. Is it wise to bring such a busy man along with us? We can’t delay the building any longer, it would be inefficient to do so. However, we also can’t find anyone else suitable for the job.”
“The Matra is hoping for construction to start in two weeks, are they not?”
“Well, yes–”
“The timing won’t be an issue. His current commissions are almost complete on his end and he won’t be needed for the rest of the process. Kaveh is a smart man, if you need him to start in two weeks, then he will meet the deadline.”
–
“You know, I’m not so sure why you and Kaveh still live together. I’m sure a darling boy like Kaveh has women lining up for him. Such a kind and beautiful boy like him is sure to have no trouble.”
“Yes, I agree, however matters such as romance are entirely up to Kaveh.”
–
“Also, you won’t believe who pulled me aside after my meeting with my client earlier today! The Matra want me to design a headquarters for them in the desert. I told them that I had just finished a commission with a client today, and that I’ll finish another one up in two days. I think this would be a really good project, for both my career and the mora. Besides, I could get out of your hair while I’m at it. I bet you could save a lot of money on groceries when I’m gone, ha!”
“Cute.”
–
Kaveh is completely red in the face with his head in his hands by the time Mehrak is done projecting Alhaitham’s voice. “That was not your job Mehrak…” Kaveh says, completely undefeated. So much for not imagining a life with Alhaitham.
Mehrak gives Kaveh a sad stare. As sad as a machine’s stare can be anyway.
Capable? Creative? Passionate? Generous? Ugh, that one was hardly a compliment. Smart? Then, what was Alhaitham agreeing with!? The fact that Kaveh is, not to toot his own horn, desired by women or the fact that he’s ‘kind’ and ‘beautiful’!? Oh, and he’s totally going to yell at Tighnari next time he sees him. What do you mean, “Is he sick or just being Kaveh?”! Assholes, all of them. Oh my God! That asshole acted like he didn’t know about my commission the whole time! Kaveh thought.
Kaveh looked up, removing his head from his hands, but he was still blushing like a schoolgirl. What in Teyvat was he going to do when Alhaitham got home? There’s no way he can keep this to himself.
–
It was eerily quiet when Alhaitham got home. “Kaveh?”
“In here,” he heard a small voice call out from Kaveh’s room down the hall.
Alhaitham walks over to see Kaveh slumped in his bed, an unusual sight considering he’s usually slumped in his desk chair. “What’s got you so defeated? Another one of your clients cancel?”
“No, asshole.” Kaveh stands up and turns towards Alhaitham, “ You are what has got me so defeated! Does it make you happy to hear that? You let me tell you about my new commission yesterday like a fool as if you didn’t basically tell the Matra to hire me! You’ve been dangling my own feelings in front of me like a cat toy for the last Gods know how long! You can’t call me capable, creative, passionate, smart, and generous in the same tone people talk about their lover and expect me to move on and act like I’m just your roommate. I can’t ever tell what you’re thinking anymore.”
Alhaitham is thoroughly shocked, and he doesn’t even try to regain his composure. How does Kaveh know all of this? Regardless, how he found out doesn’t change the fact that he knows now, so that can be a conversation for later. Alhaitham, for the first time in a very long time, does not know how to respond. The silence is deafening.
“What if I do want to talk about you like that?”
“What in the world are you talking about, Alhaitham!”
Oh.
Oh.
Kaveh got confirmation he’s been begging the Gods to give him for years. He wastes no time to pull Alhaitham close, holding no regard for his work uniform, and kiss the confusion off of his face. It’s not rushed, forced, or confusing. This is, without a doubt, a romantic kiss that could only be shared between lovers. It’s as if years of feelings, years of yearning , were poured into the kiss. Kaveh puts his arms around Alhaitham’s neck and feels him melt even further into the kiss.
Now that they’ve kissed, Kaveh feels like an idiot for not realizing Alhaitham’s reciprocation sooner. Kaveh pulls away and nudges Alhaitham’s chest, his face now only an inch away from Kaveh, “You’re still an asshole, you know that, right?”
Alhaitham laughs, genuinely laughs, Kaveh feels his shoulders jump up and down as the laughter comes right from his heart. “Always,” Alhaitham replies before leaning in once again.