Archive of Our Own ^beta

Haitham was going on one of his book obsession rabbit holes again wherein he picked up all the books he could find on a specific topic that scratched his brain and devoured all the literature related to it within about a week. Kaveh usually enjoyed witnessing such a sight as it lets him know of Haitham's sense of passion, validating the fact that he's far from being stone-like. However, this particular flavor of the month bothered Kaveh deeply. Haitham flipped to the last page of the book he was reading–it's so far towards the end that it looked like he was reading through the whole references section even–before making persistent eye contact with his roommate who was staring at him. He then leaned forward and gently placed it on top of his other rabbit hole books.

"This book is due two weeks from now, like the others. If you want to secure them, be sure to borrow all of these immediately after I return them."

Then, he picked up another book on the city planning of Aaru village and how it complements their social structure and values. It's not exactly the same as Kaveh's dream research topic about how the internal structures of traditional houses reflect the values of those people's culture. He often ranted to Haitham about how lots of his colleagues do this kind of architectural anthropology projects, but they focus too much on the exteriors of these houses and not their structural allocation of space inside. They also tend to focus on practical matters like "the roof is made like this to shield them from the heat," but they don't normally delve into cultural attitudes. Because he wanted to draw more insights on cultural attitudes based on interior architecture, he wanted to pair up with a Vahumana researcher to ensure full accuracy. Haitham, being the eternal killjoy that he was, had to rain on Kaveh's parade by telling him that no one from Vahumana would ever join such a research project.

The thing is, Kaveh knew exactly what Haitham meant at that moment. It was an indirect encouragement for him to write his paper as a single author but he tried his best to dismiss that interpretation of his roommate's words because supportive Haitham…creeps him out, for the lack of a better term. In fact, he was doing that just now, making Kaveh feel immensely uneasy by borrowing all these books that the architect could use as references for his paper. Many of them are only tangentially related to his research idea but with the lack of related literature on the topic, Kaveh has to really cling to slightly related previous works as a starting point. Haitham knew all of this and went out of his way to acquire these journal articles and books to help his roommate. At this point, Kaveh doesn't even know anymore if he's relieved or worried that his junior actually seems to be enjoying the books he borrowed.

"He must have such a huge crush on me to do that."

That thought enters Kaveh's head a lot recently and he always forces it to leave immediately, but lately, he's been having trouble with doing that.

In a sense, the pristine sight of Haitham reading on the divan with his head leaned against his hand looked like an invitation to two things: the first was to finally write the paper he's been wanting to for months and the second was to surrender and accept this Haravatat graduate's undying affection for him. Kaveh couldn't handle the second implication of Haitham's actions yet at this point in time, so he quickly grabbed one of the books Haitham finished reading and decided to start taking down notes. This way, he'll get to be productive while taking the opportunity to avoid worrying about his roommate reciprocating his feelings.

~

Reading books and journal articles related to his topic could only do so much to help Kaveh. At the end of the day, he needed to gather data himself as he was very much intent on not doing a literature review. After all, his inspiration came from wanting to further study the architectural sensibilities of Aaru village citizens, whom he constructed a library for. They all seemed to be surprised that he understood their vision and specifications so well, hinting that they might've had some unique architectural philosophy passed down across generations. He wasn't exactly sure about it, but he found it worth investigating…although he wouldn't have really pursued it if Haitham wasn't so supportive. Until the day Kaveh was supposed to leave for Aaru Village to start his month-long data gathering, he still couldn't understand why his roommate kept acting so strangely. Well, he's always been somewhat supportive and accommodating but not in such a persistent manner. For god's sake, he even packed some of Kaveh's things for him!

That's probably why he decided to leave the house at 6 a.m. without informing Haitham at all. Well, he was aware of his date of departure but not the exact time. Kaveh's logic was that if he assumed that Haitham won't miss him when he's away for a month, that means that leaving the house without exchanging goodbyes wouldn't hurt his roommate. Finding the courage to leave in such a hasty manner would help Kaveh remind himself of his assumption–an assumption which would keep him sane, he thought. Deep down, he had this odd gut feeling that Haitham would probably yearn for his presence regularly or something along those lines, but that's not something that Kaveh wanted to acknowledge. He hoped that his trip to the desert will help keep Haitham's recent dedication to helping him far out of his mind for his own sense of peace.

So Kaveh closed the front door behind him and tried to find a way to manage carrying all his luggage. As he was arranging his belongings, he heard a door creaking, startling him so tremendously he ended up squealing. He calmed down as soon as he saw the scribe donning his sleep wear with his bed head and groggy eyes. Well, his eyes weren't just groggy, they had a hint of…sadness to them? Hopefully, Kaveh was only imagining it. But the fact that Haitham was right in front of him instead of indulging in the comfort of his bed said a lot. He definitely rushed to catch up to Kaveh. That was obvious enough. He really should've closed the door more quietly.

Kaveh had to keep on reminding himself: Haitham won't miss him, Haitham won't miss him, Haitham won't miss him. Leaving the house at the break of dawn only inconvenienced his roommate, it couldn't have possibly broken his heart or anything that severe.

"Make sure to gather your data diligently, alright?"

Okay, that sounded reasonably cold enough and in character for someone like Haitham. Thankfully, he was still his normal self. But he said it in such a way that was far too meek for Kaveh to wrap his head around. Perhaps it was just a result of his sleepiness, yet that couldn't explain his longing gaze and his slow cat-like blinks. Oddly enough, that's always how he stared at him every time he left for the desert but that was too difficult to process on top of everything. Huh, maybe the Haravatat scholar's statement was meant to serve as his own form of well-wishing.

If he were a true romantic as he claimed to be, Kaveh would've gathered up the courage to give Haitham a goodbye kiss as a way to soothe his roommate who was about to end up being lonely for a month. However, he was far from being a swoon worthy male lead in a romantic novel–he was but a self-conscious architect attempting to revive his interest in research writing. Thus, he couldn't bring himself to do something so bold, at least not right now. Anyway, it was probably for the better, considering it was more likely that Haitham wasn't actually going to miss him after all.

"I know that already, you don't have to tell me. As per usual, I'll write to you three days before I come back."

"Likewise, you didn't have to tell me. Goodbye, Kaveh."

"Goodbye. I hope you enjoy your solitude."

"Mhm."

Right, Kaveh remembered that the way it should be is that Haitham would relish in his alone time while he gets to amuse himself with Aaru Village's interior architecture. He wouldn't be lying to himself by saying that he was greatly looking forward to that. However, he knew deep down that it was entirely possible for him to both take delight in his trip while also missing his stoic, gray-haired crush. That has happened before and it will happen again.

~

As soon as Kaveh was about to pay mora over the counter of a very small and humble hotel in Aaru Village, he was startled by a threatening voice coming from behind.

"Stop what you're doing right there."

He turned around and was faced with Candace, the guardian of Aaru Village herself. What could he have possibly done to incur her wrath?

"I will not allow you to pay for your accommodations during your entire stay here. Let me take you to your temporary residence."

Well, this wasn't too surprising for Kaveh, he knew Candace was a rather progressive individual and practically pioneered trade liberalization in Aaru Village, which was something her predecessors struggled with. Perhaps she was expecting him to build a new building for them like he did last time–something catered towards overall rural development. In that case…

"There's no need to do that, Candace! I…I'm not here for any construction project. I'm just going to do research. Everything will only end up in some academic journal without any concrete impact on your village, so I don't need to receive compensation for this."

"I beg to disagree. Anyone that consistently puts in a good word for Aaru Village is a valuable connection."

Whoa, why couldn't she have been the "businesswoman" Kaveh was indebted to instead? After a few rounds of back and forth with Kaveh repeatedly refusing and Candace firmly insisting on her offer, one of them was forced to concede.

"Okay then, I won't refuse your generous offer."

~

"Please tell me if there is anything you find unsatisfactory with your lodging. However, I must say that my house is one of the very few in Aaru Village with guest rooms."

"Oh, so this is your house?"

Candace immediately flashed a small, gentle smile at him, although her gaze was slightly inscrutable.

"I know this house doesn't live up to your standards as an architect, but–"

"No, Candace, stop. Please, that's not what I meant. Any respectable researcher in architectural history would know there is a lot of cultural relevance behind traditional houses, especially those in Aaru Village, considering your affiliation with King Deshret's civilization. And houses like these are the ones that form the foundation of architectural philosophy in a certain region. Vahumana researchers would often even consider these houses to be artifacts that preserve cultural history itself and are essential to the discussion of anthropology, although recently, due to clashing views between darshans, researchers on history try to focus on individual pieces of artifacts such as jewelry, coffins, mementos, etc. because that's their expertise and they don't want to consult Kshahrewar scholars regarding comparative architecture anymore. It's complicated. But anyway, the point is I appreciate your house much much more than you'd imagine."

Candace seemed to be staring at him with bewilderment and blinked her eyes rapidly.

"It's okay, Kaveh. There's no need to butter up your host so much. I was the one who offered up my residence."

Kaveh was stumped. He really wasn't trying to suck up to her, they were his truest sentiments. However, if Candace really wanted to learn the whole truth then…

"No, seriously, Candace. I am asking for a lot and I will pay you back tenfold but I need to have a look around your house for the research project I was talking about."

Obviously, she agreed to her guest and in return, suffered from immense confusion as Kaveh was measuring the distances between rooms and walls and he would run to certain corners of the room and sketch what he saw. Well, at least he seemed too busy for her to offer him any tea so she didn't need to make the effort to prepare any. Maybe she could instead use the time to go out and check…

"Candace, may I ask: would you know how long it has been since this house was first constructed?"

For some odd reason, Candace sighed deeply with a strong hint of disappointment.

"It's only been four years. I grew up in an ancestral home which stood for over 50 years but its foundations were weakened so we were left with no choice but to have it rebuilt."

"Oh, I see. Your ancestral home must have been wonderful, then. But this one seems just as charming. I just wanted to ask so I can trace the architectural trend timeline or something like that. What was on your mind when you had this house built? Or did your parents commission it?"

"Hmmm, we didn't give our architect too many instructions. In Aaru Village, we aren't very particular about the designs of our houses. We simply tell them the size of our family and if we have special requests for additional rooms, if any and the architect knows what to do. All I told him was that our house had to have a guest room. I'm so sorry, I'm really not the best person to ask about this kind of thing and if I were to be very frank, I doubt you'll get enough results for your research project here."

"Not at all. Living in your own house makes you believe it's mundane and it'll take someone else to tell you how unique it is. That's often the case for traditional houses, and their structures are usually designed intuitively based on something equivalent to common sense. Basically, building a traditional house in Aaru Village would likely come naturally to its citizens. That cultural sensibility is something I'd like to uncover."

"Well, if that's the case, let me take you to our local architect. Please be patient with her. Don't intimidate her, okay?"

~

Well, Kaveh couldn't follow Candace's advice no matter how much he thought he did. His sheer enthusiasm was intimidating whether he liked it or not, and the village architect felt nervous accompanying him to survey each house.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't have a vision when I created this, I just followed what my dad taught me and…"

"Oh my god, so you're saying it really is a craft preserved across generations?"

"Now that you put it that way…"

"Well, I also noticed lots of the distances between some rooms, doors, archways, are very exact according to my measurements. I'm just wondering, what is it that makes you decide NOT to deviate from this pattern?"

The village architect paused in contemplation before responding,

"I find it elegant. I know it's strange to use a word to describe such simple houses but my family always says that–and I agree with them on this–when designing an architectural structure, there always has to be something hidden beneath the surface. That's why we also make hidden passageways–"

"WHAT? Oh, how could I have missed them? Do you think we can take a look at them in the other houses or would that be too disrespectful? Or perhaps, could you describe them to me instead?"

~

Kaveh didn't expect that such a frivolous question asked out of curiosity would actually lead him to where he was now–drawing arrows between people's names with their household roles and the secret passages connecting their rooms. Apparently, he had learned that these passageways weren't always two-way, with some whose doors could only be locked or unlocked from the outside. It often allowed parents to "ambush" their children at ungodly times while preventing the reverse from happening. Of course, these kinds of passageways linked rooms with different owners, and some villagers gathered around him to comment on his work with amusement, as well as sow some community intrigue.

"You and your husband have separate rooms?"

"Why not? We wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully if we slept in the same room!"

"... wait…do you mean what I think you mean?"

It was honestly so fun and lighthearted that Kaveh wondered if he was just wasting time and not doing actual research. He had to keep reminding himself that this was indeed necessary when it came to linking cultural attitudes and interior architectural features of houses.

It made him even wonder…if there was a secret passageway between his and Haitham's rooms, would it be two-way or one-way? And if it was the latter, who would be the one to have easier access to the other's room? Ugh, there it goes again, but it's fine. It's just a fleeting thought. Kaveh shouldn't get stressed over a little bit of curiosity.

Out of the blue, Candace whispered to Kaveh, "don't worry, there is no secret pathway connecting to the guest room in my house. I specifically requested that. You can come check later if you want."

"It's fine. I wouldn't mind it even if there was any," Kaveh replied.

Just then, one of the village aunties with very very sensitive hearing quipped, "I'm surprised she doesn't have any pathways leading to the guest room considering she lets Dehya stay there."

Suddenly the sounds of murmuring were heard, worrying Kaveh slightly until he saw Candace giggle, indicating that it was probably fine. Maybe they all just liked talking about their relationship.

"That's only on the first night, to help her get settled so she doesn't have to take care of her own food. Her house is a much better place to stay at."

Suddenly, Kaveh was curious. What is it that made Dehya's house particularly "better" in Candace's eyes?

"Excuse me, Candace, do you think we can visit her house? I can't miss out on analyzing its interior, after all."

"Well, it's not really her house. She's just renting a portion of it but I will be able to show it to you."

~~~

"Oh wow, the communal space here does really feel like the most important part of the house. It's at the center after all. I think I understand why you prefer Dehya's living space more. Compared to your house, the floor plan of this feels more–"

"Egalitarian," Candace chimed in.

And that's the moment when it clicked for Kaveh.

"Wait…was that the correct word to use?" Candace pondered, sounding somewhat embarrassed.

"Of course. You're absolutely right. And you've just given me my breakthrough."

Spatial allocation–that's the concept Kaveh realized he should zero in on. Residents of Aaru village seemed to be very particular about who or what they dedicate certain wings or rooms of the interior to, which everyone does to some extent but their approach was more intuitive and they were more sensitive to how different interior layouts affected their emotional state and interpersonal dynamics. It wasn't just a matter of them wanting a cozy house, a spacious house, an elegant house anymore.

"Ah, I remembered something you might be interested in hearing."

"Hm?"

"Archaeologists from the Vahumana darshan told us this was false but we Aaru village residents used to say that the high priest Kasala used to occupy a room directly to the right of King Deshret's and that room supposedly ruined the symmetry of his pyramid which is now his mausoleum. I didn't think of it as something you'd be interested in knowing since elders usually only mention that to couples who are about to get married–something about reminding them to always accommodate each other despite the inconvenience."

Yes, what a wonderful tidbit of ethnography. That had totally nothing to do with his own real life circumstances. Nope, not at all. Why would he taint this valuable piece of cultural data by imagining how it parallels his relationship with that infuriating person whom he so happened to develop feelings for? What a disgrace to this lovely piece of Aaru village marriage advice…

"So does this mean you and Dehya received such a comment from someone?"

Candace chuckled ever so softly and a blush would have appeared on her cheeks if her skin tone didn't hide it.

"Yes, we did."

~~~

After a couple more weeks of data gathering, Kaveh bade farewell to the Aaru Village residents he interviewed and expressed his hope that more architects contracted by the akademiya would learn to respect their cultural sensibilities in the future once they read the research paper he was about to publish. Gosh, was he overpromising? Well, regardless, he had to somehow pressure himself to actually write it or else, he would've wasted the time and effort of not only dozens of homeowners in Aaru Village but even Haitham himself who helped him conceptualize his paper until the methodology section. If only research was less daunting.

~

He always made it a point to arrive at Haitham's house before his roommate's work day ended so he could seclude himself in his room and sleep for 12-15 hours, give or take, uninterrupted by a certain someone's presence. He'd even skip dinner just to recuperate from his long and tiring trip. Then, he'd wake up to be served breakfast by Haitham before his usual wake-up time. For some reason (reasons which are obvious but Kaveh chooses to deny), Haitham always made sure to get up earlier than his usual wake-up time just to watch Kaveh whenever he arrived from his trips.

It was 6 a.m. the next day when the two of them were repeating this odd Kaveh homecoming ritual as they always did, keeping their one unspoken rule which was for Haitham to never ask the tired architect how his trip went before the latter started talking himself. That way, his recovery period won't be rushed.

At this point, Kaveh felt ready to snap out of his spacing out and spoke without necessarily addressing his words to Haitham,

"You know, I usually love the feeling of returning from my trips and settling in my room once again and relishing the familiar sights of Sumeru City but this time, the only thing I feel is dread over having to finally write my paper which I'm not sure is even going to get published. And I have to get to it later in the day…"

"Hmmm, you can write an outline for now."

Wow, he couldn't believe that was the first thing Haitham told him since he got back. He was asking for reassurance, not coldness.

"Writing isn't as simple as that for everyone. I have what–60 pages of transcripts I took down of my interviewees' responses. You try figuring out how to start with that."

Kaveh didn't miss the way Haitham's eyes widened when he mentioned the 60 pages. Yes, he gathered THAT much interview data. He couldn't afford to be anything less than rigorous. Then, the scribe's facial features started to form into a pensive expression.

"The outline is meant for you to establish the general flow of your arguments and the points you want to bring up. It doesn't mean you're obligated to write in order. Besides, I only suggested it so that you can rest right after coming up with your outline. Then, you'd feel accomplished enough to justify your slow progress."

"I have no intention of progressing slowly. If you can write a journal article over three days, I can make it in a week or less."

Haitham sighed deeply and seemed to roll his eyes. He's always been so patronizing.

"And if the quality suffers?"

"Then it'll get rejected. That's all. Big deal."

Of course, Kaveh was being sarcastic but part of him believed his journal submission was bound to be rejected anyway. The only reason why he didn't plan on abandoning the project at this point was because he felt like he owed it to the Aaru Village residents he interviewed and he didn't want his interviewees' time to go to waste if he didn't produce something out of the data gathering process. Actually, part of him wanted to just give away his data to someone else and have them write based on it because his analysis of it would probably sound shallow. Huh, perhaps something keeping him from doing that was the fact that Haitham helped him come up with his initial literature review and he can't afford to waste his time. And besides, he couldn't turn down the prospect of receiving a publication incentive that he can use to pay his rent in advance.

After all, as they say, "no pain, no gain." However, the problem is that Kaveh isn't well-acquainted with the pain associated with having articles rejected rather than designs. Of course, he suffered throughout defending his final thesis but that instance isn't enough to allow him to get used to the feeling of shifting around his own words and ideas based on other peoples recommendations. It also is worth noting that revisions are much easier to accomplish when writing papers on machinery, since their testing methodologies and standards are cut and dried. With ethnography however, he could get everything wrong. The analysis frameworks were swimming in his head and he couldn't help but cringe at everything he's thought of writing down so far. Naturally, Haitham wouldn't know how any of that felt due to two reasons: 1) Haravatat (and Vahumana) students are generally comfortable enough with their bullshitting abilities that the average researcher from that darshan doesn't even know the feeling of cringing at their own writing, and 2) Haitham is an objectively excellent writer who may sometimes have a faulty sense of logic in Kaveh's eyes he but never ever cuts corners with explaining his arguments, at least in academic writing.

Ugh, Kaveh should finish his food faster to escape the scrutinizing gaze of the oh so stellar researcher in front of him who had never encountered any struggle with publishing his papers.

~

At around midnight, Kaveh woke up surprised and disoriented until he finally made sense of his surroundings and browsed through the scattered papers on his desk. As he read through one of them, he wondered who wrote it and as soon as he remembered the answer to that question, a wave of self-loathing began to inundate his groggy brain. Yet that thought was put on hold when he saw another pile of papers bound by bull clips with little notes clipped to them…except the handwriting on the notes didn't seem to be his.

Wait, did Haitham organize his transcripts for him while he took a six hour nap that gave him a stiff neck? Kaveh knew that it was probably because his roommate couldn't stand the sight of him being a hot mess and probably did it to lord his effective data organizing skills over him, but he couldn't help but feel grateful somehow. Sure, he wanted to be left alone to his own devices but at least receiving some form of help would motivate him to finish writing due to his sense of guilt. The more Haitham helps him, the worse he'll feel about bailing out. Thus, he made the effort to freshen up, prepare a cup of coffee, and write through the cringe. Oh, and he made sure to lock the door to his room this time to bar a certain someone from interfering with his work further, even if it was of a positive nature.

~

The next time around, Kaveh was the one who asked Haitham directly for help but for an entirely different purpose.

"I know you've been helping me a lot already throughout my writing process but I have one last favor to ask of you. Don't worry, I know you'll enjoy this way more than the other things you've done."

"Tell me the details first. And don't expect me to work on it during the weekend."

"Hah, as if I'd ever count on that. I just need you to read through my draft and recommend some revisions."

"Oh?"

There was a hint of intrigue in his expression. Kaveh was right, he would be interested in tearing him apart both intellectually and emotionally. Of course. That's the very reason why he even approached his roommate in particular before consulting any Vahumana researcher. He figured that if he could survive Haitham tearing his paper to shreds figuratively, then he could survive the harsh comments of editors from highly ranked journals. It's not so much that Haitham's comments were bound to be more anxiety inducing than that of professional editors, but that after he reads through it, Kaveh is pretty sure he'll lose attachment to his own work enough to not mind it getting trampled on again.

"Yes. Surely, you don't think I can submit this to a journal in its current state?"

"Of course you won't be able to yet."

"Right. So your task is to criticize it as much as you want. Mold my article into something worth publishing. I want you to be harsher than any single editor in chief of the top 10 academic journals in Sumeru. I'll give you a cut of my publication incentive if you do a good job."

"Hm, how much?"

Kaveh couldn't do anything else but roll his eyes and walk away.

"As I said, it'll depend on the quality of your work," he responded with a wave of his hand.

~

To many students, having to make major revisions to their thesis induces a feeling of rejection even if they technically passed their defense (whether it be for the proposal or the final paper). It's not just because they were at the receiving end of harsh comments, but because slaving away to rework their ideas is a painful process, especially when they're required to do so after taking emotional damage. Kaveh is no exception to this rule, which was why he dreaded receiving Haitham's critiques of his first draft. If the Haravatat scholar was simply rebutting his arguments, he could somehow come up with a defense for his points, but because Haitham has to act like an editor, his recommended changes will end up being things that Kaveh is obligated to comply with if he wants to succeed in this endeavor.

So yes, he didn't fear the idea of not meeting Haitham's standards so much as he feared the burden of nonstop writing yet again.

Just two days after Kaveh commissioned his roommate to read through and comment on his draft, the bastard already completed his task and left the annotated papers on the desk in the architect's room. Obviously, he'd be quick at doing such a thing. Criticizing Kaveh always came so naturally to him, almost as much as eating did.

Luckily for him, at first glance, Kaveh took note of the way Haitham used a pencil to write his comments on the margins of the pages instead of a red pen, making the words seem less imposing and glaring. Huh, did he somehow remember Kaveh's rant about colors of text and their effects on readers' emotions? Well, regardless of whether he did or not, the soft gray tint left behind by the graphite was more soothing to the eyes and he was grateful to his critic for skipping out on red ink whether intentionally or not. Granted, the actual words written in pencil weren't any less intimidating.

Or at least, that's what Kaveh assumed…

However, upon reading the comments, they seemed rather tame, actually? There were suggestions for improving the statement of the research questions and objectives, some comments on unnecessary sentences that can be deleted, some questions asking for elaboration on key points, and a recommendation to sight an additional source to establish the conceptual framework–a source which Haitham had already bookmarked and cited for him, no less. Overall, the comments were all rather reasonable and doable. Strange…

But still nowhere near as strange as some of the other annotations Haitham jotted down. There were a couple of phrases he underlined at least 5 times and circled haphazardly with exclamation points on the side. He encircled one whole paragraph and drew an arrow pointing to the word he scribbled: a simple “WOW”. Was he being sarcastic or was that genuine?

Then, he got to the general comments on the back page, which was a list of bullet points stating:

• You should have made an outline, seriously.
• Reword for better clarity and go straight to the point. Avoid vagueness.
• The intro can be restructured to captivate the readers more. Convince them of the importance of the topic (not that you didn't do that already but there's room for improvement). See margins for suggestions.
• The scope and limitations don't have to sound like you're giving too many disclaimers. Every paper has them.
• State general findings first before getting into the specifics. No need to strictly follow one paragraph per finding. That can be clunky.
• Speaking of which, the findings are great. Have more confidence stating them. I do like how your conclusion sounds more modest though.
• The quotes from the transcripts were excellent. How did you even get those responses?
• Your thematic analysis was even better than that of some Vahumana scholars, to be honest.
• Don't revise as soon as you see these comments. Let them simmer first.

Always being one to go against Haitham's suggestions, Kaveh immediately disregarded the last point and went on to slave away at his paper around midnight because that's when he works best, allegedly. After all, good comments need to be addressed well (although he easily brushed off the compliments about his work, pretending they didn't exist). Perhaps the Haravatat researcher would indeed be getting around half of his publication incentive at this rate.

~

As soon as Kaveh finished rereading his manuscript five times, he handed the paper to his roommate before rushing out the door. Neither of them had work that day but he needed to escape from Haitham’s scrutiny. For sure, he'd point out new flaws in his writing this time. In the meantime, perhaps he could take refuge in Gandharva Ville.

“The secret to writing a good paper?” Tighnari reiterated Kaveh's question to him.

“Whatever it is, it seems like you've cracked the code. You publish thrice a year, don't you?”

“The thing is, this secret you speak of is different for each field. In Amurta, as long as your methodology is sound and you have new observations to present, your paper can usually get through. Qualitative methods are something else…If Cyno were here, his answer to your question might be ‘research ethics.’”

“Ah, hmmm…I suppose the true secret has something to do with skill and mastery, which is why it can't be explained easily.”

“But I'm sure you can practice it easily.”

“Probably…anyway, I had Haitham comment on my manuscript again and I'm not one to disturb him while he's doing that…So! Why don't you tell me about the gossip about those three Amurta professors who disbanded their research team?”

Although Tighnari wasn't in the mood to talk about those messy middle-aged researchers who were in the midst of their midlife crisis and making it everyone else's problem, he was determined to soothe Kaveh's anxiety considering he probably rushed all the way to Gandharva Ville to flee from Haitham who was reviewing his work.

He took a deep sigh and started, “So you know, one of them was actually my embryology professor. Let me tell you about his grading system so you can get an idea of what his personality is like…”

Thus, a four hour conversation was started, with the two friends jumping from the dramatic professors to new generation enrollees in their darshans, to the latest debates on performance enhancing drugs. It was only when Tighnari was alerted by his alarm clock to remind him to adjust his experimental setup that they decided to part ways. After so much time, Haitham should have been done with his little task already. As long as Kaveh doesn't look at or touch the revised manuscript, he might be able to feel calm throughout the night before he goes back to the grind tomorrow.

Thus, he rushed back home (bringing his key this time) and pushed the door open a bit too strongly with how much nervous energy was circulating in his body. And there he found the gray-haired brat sitting with his leg propped up, with suspiciously familiar-looking papers in his hands.

“What? You're still not done?!”

Haitham visibly jerked a bit in surprise and just as quickly flipped the papers back so the first page would be at the front and handed the manuscript to its author.

“Here. I'm done.”

“Really? You finished right as I came through the door? You weren't even at the last page earlier.”

“I completed the task three hours ago.”

“So you were just double checking this entire time?”

“Uh, I think the term is ‘rereading’. Anyway, here you go.”

Kaveh really didn't want to stress about new comments that afternoon but since the paper was already in front of him, might as well…

“Huh? Where are the comments? All you did was underline things rather aggressively I must say.”

“Says the person who has torn through a page of a library book by underlining a phrase too intensely.”

“That was one time!!! Don't change the topic. Where are the comments?”

There are probably at least two pages back to back worth of comments, right? Why not write some on the margins like last time? What suddenly inspired Haitham to be such a clean freak with his notes?

“You addressed all of my previous comments already. There's nothing more to add.”

“What?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh come on, nothing becomes perfect after one revision.”

“I know. That's for the journal editor to take care of.”

“Why? Why not make me suffer now so my paper can get through more easily? I’m not ready to face multiple rejections and rewrites.”

“Firstly, I'm not a Vahumana journal editor. Even if I rewrite your paper entirely, there's no guarantee that it can get through. Secondly, I don't want to erase your writing style. Journal articles have gotten drier and more bland recently because people think academic writing has to sound one way.”

“Don't you do that too?”

“Yeah, probably. Everyone does to some extent but I'm not about to worsen it for you. Any further changes to your manuscript should fall under your discretion. I'm not your co-author or anything.”

“You could be at this rate.”

“That's not how it works, Kaveh.”

“So what, do I just submit it as it is now?”

“Yeah.”

Yeah, just like that? No ifs, no buts? Was this even Haitham he was talking to? Well, it probably still was. Perhaps he was just too lazy to make more comments again. A portion of Kaveh's publication incentive was probably too small of a commission fee for him.

“You think this could make it to the Journal of Material Culture? You'd better take me out for dinner to compensate me if this gets desk rejected.”

“So you're saying I shouldn't treat you if it gets accepted, or at least passes a few rounds of review before it gets rejected?”

Why was Haitham so confident in his paper getting accepted? If he were a Vahumana journal editor, would he let it get published? Both of them know it doesn't pay to be overconfident yet he was doing that just now.

“Come on, let's think of some back up journals I can submit to if things don't pan out with the Journal of Material Culture.”

“Why? Are you going to settle for the low standard journals which might even be predatory? Well, I suppose you could try to do it as a form of investigation. If they ask you to pay a high publication fee, then we can alert Cyno and make the General Mahamatra’s life easier.”

“I mean I won't if it's predatory but come on, there must be other journals with slightly less stringent requirements around here…”

“Well, you could try publishing in a student-run magazine If you want, but that means bidding farewell to your publication incentive.”

“Ugh, Haitham, could you please take my concerns seriously? Just because publishing journal articles is such an easy process for you doesn't mean it's the same for everyone!”

“I'm not going to feed your anxieties until the worst actually happens. Take it one step at a time.”

Haitham said it as if it was so simple, but Kaveh couldn't object to that kind of wisdom, so he let it be for now.

~

After two full weeks of hesitation, Kaveh finally submitted to his desired journal before the deadline had passed. Whether to celebrate finishing the paper (for now) or to drown out his anxiety, he naturally headed to Lambad's Tavern for a dinner treat. Although he had no company, drinking alone was great. Better than having to deal with that prick of a roommate he has whose writing is somehow loved by all Haravatat journals in Sumeru…

Who then walked into the tavern with another man and politely gestured to him to sit down. Damn, since when was he this courteous? Kaveh's initial instinct was to start comparing himself to this date of Haitham's who must have possessed such a fascinating intellect while remaining level-headed and strictly rational. In fact, he seemed to be an prolific publisher of Vahumana journal articles and recently took up the post of editor-in-chief of the Journal of Material Culture. Wait, what?

Oh god, Kaveh could finally see the bigger picture. This was not a date at all–it was far worse.

“Feel free to get anything you want from the menu. It's my treat.”

“Much obliged.”

As if. Normally, Haitham wouldn't go out of his way to extend this much courtesy to some stuck-up researcher. Kaveh could tell from a mile away that this man had ulterior motives and if his intuition was correct, it must have been about something involving him…

“Let’s get straight to the point. I'm sure you're aware of the rise of new competitors to your journal.”

“What are you talking about? The Journal of Material Culture is the single most prestigious academic journal in the entire Sumeru that discusses, well, anthropology in relation to artifacts.”

And there it was. He knew Haitham was capable of using underhanded techniques to get what he wanted, but he didn't think he'd use these methods to secure someone else's publication. Well, perhaps, it was because he was looking forward to the commission fee and the rent being paid on time. So yes, still regular self-centered Haitham who wouldn't go this far for Kaveh's sake alone.

“That's if you're strictly talking about journals, yes.”

“Why? Are you implying that those cheap student magazines can compete with an esteemed peer-reviewed journal?”

“It certainly can't when it comes to citations but if we're talking about readership, that's a whole other matter. My mother used to submit papers to your journal, so it means a lot to me, which is why I'm hoping to convince you to salvage it from decline.”

Bullshit. Pure bullshit. Kaveh knew that Haitham wasn't prone to sentimentality like that and even if he were, it wouldn't be over an academic journal. Why wasn't the editor-in-chief smart enough to point out how ridiculous this sounded?

“So what's your grand suggestion? Are you trying to peddle an article to me, the editor-in-chief, directly?”

Ah, there. At least he finally caught on. It was at this point that Kaveh's breath hitched, hoping that his name wouldn't be uttered by the man he felt eternally indebted to. He couldn't bear the thought of having to owe him something else in exchange for this. He couldn't even bear having his pride crushed by the idea that the only way he could only publish his paper in a prestigious journal was through nepotism.

“There’s no need for me to do such a thing. I could get past your editors easily. And my “grand suggestion” is actually rather simple. Embrace novel concepts and unique narratives. Topics you'd want to read in your spare time. Your journal covers the daily lives of our ancestors, not machinery testing, meaning you have far more liberties as much as topics are concerned yet your journal has been consistently taking the traditional route. It's why the latest revelation about boat-making and ancestral watersports has been published in a magazine and not in your journal.”

“It's not a huge loss for our journal.”

“I suppose this one article doesn't mean much to you. But if you keep on losing genuinely interesting articles to magazines then…perhaps some subscriptions will be canceled…”

“Why are you telling me this? Are you trying to endorse someone's article?”

Kaveh knew this was the truth, yet he was grateful that Haitham managed to conceal his true intentions enough for him to be able to lie to himself and claim that he could publish this paper based on his own merit.

“If that were my intention, I would've mentioned the title and topic from the beginning. All I ask is for you to reflect on these considerations.”

~

After around a month and a half of slaving away revising his manuscripts over and over again, Kaveh was finally able to get his article published and receive his publication incentive fee. It should have been a moment worth celebrating, but his exhaustion only led him to feel relief that it was all over. His day went by normally, with him going to pick up some groceries, looking at some vases on display that he decided against buying, and drinking a glass of alcohol in the afternoon before heading home to break the news to his roommate as nonchalantly as possible. Anyway, they already were notified about the publication a couple of days ago.

“Here. I figured I'd just give you half of my publication incentive so you'll be free to spend it however you like. Or preferably, I hope you'd count it towards my rent.”

He noticed a little smirk form on Haitham's lips–something Kaveh assumed to be a reaction to the mention of monetary gain.

“I thought you said I could spend this however I want?”

“Can't I give suggestions?”

“You can, but I will have to decline.”

For some reason, Kaveh was still disappointed with Haitham's reaction even though he expected this already. Perhaps, part of him hoped to relish in the same encouragement that the Haravatat researcher gave him throughout the writing process.

“Ugh, I seriously hope you don't spend my hard-earned publication incentive on some stupid sculpture! I know you did half the work and basically convinced the journal to publish my work but can you at least get something that looks decent for once?”

“Looks like you haven't written in such a long time that you forgot what a research assistant is. Likewise, you've also overestimated the compensation typically provided to such research assistants, so the fact that you're struggling to come up with enough funds to pay your rent is entirely due to your miscalculation.”

Kaveh hated that Haitham was right. He was far too insecure about his ability to write an academic paper that he overestimated the credit that was due to the Haravatat researcher who only really did clerical work for him.

“Okay fine. Then give the extra back!”

“Alright. I'm amenable to that–on one condition.”

Kaveh's breath hitched. He was already anticipating some sort of predatory clause attached to the return of his own money. Something that could be more emotionally or mentally costly than simply letting Haitham keep the excess payment.

“Whatever. Just keep the money. I don't care anymore.”

“So you don't want to hear about my plan to return the money in the form of dinner at Lambad’s Tavern?”

Well…okay, that was a bit unexpectedly pleasant. Kaveh would rather have the money to settle payments in advance so he can finally break free from his monthly obligations, but this deal benefited him at least. Perhaps, Haitham was indeed becoming a bit kinder lately. However, he still had to make sure he wasn't being shortchanged.

“Really? Our orders don't usually cost half of the amount I gave you!”

“I know. That means I'll need to take you out on multiple dinners. What do you say?”

The straightforward offer rendered Kaveh speechless for a moment. He was still bracing himself in case Haitham revealed there was gonna be a catch to the arrangement. However, in the midst of their somewhat awkward silence, he could only notice his roommate's pupils darting back and forth uneasily while still trying to make eye contact with him.

As much as the calm and calculated Haravatat graduate favored rationality over emotionality, that didn't mean that he didn't possess certain emotions to begin with. After spending quite some time with his junior, Kaveh learned to take note of cues that would provide hints on Haitham's true feelings. Right now, his eyes looked as though they were pleading–pleading for him to say yes, and maybe, just maybe, much more than that. The kind and generous senior in him was inclined to give in.

“Okay. Yeah, sure.”

Upon hearing this, Haitham sighed in relief, knowing that his efforts had paid off.