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A scene of a magnificent celebration, with nothing but the purest of white flowers adorning the area. The sky was as clear as it could be, with the sun above bringing light to all who basked underneath its warmth. Kaveh found himself simply standing, watching the scene unfold before him while butterflies flew past, as if to chase the flowers blowing in the wind.
Where he was, Kaveh had no idea, but he found that he did not have the urge to know. He did not mind, for the sound of the rushing river water calmed his mind and eased all his worries. The sun’s heat was not intense enough that it made him dizzy, no, but it was enough to cause his eyelids to droop. The sun’s warmth enveloping his body like this was comfortingly pleasant in a way.
This moment did not last very long, however, and Kaveh realised that the environment he was in slowly began to shift and change around him. As it did so, the sun and its warmth were soon nowhere to be found—but the place Kaveh found himself wasn’t any less pleasant. In fact, a surge of gentle memories flowed through Kaveh’s mind as he took in his new environment, now standing at one of the open ledges located at Razan Garden under the silent, starry night sky. From here, Kaveh had a view of Yazadaha Pool and its rushing rivers—but that only occupied a small segment that made up the entire expanse of Sumeru’s land, with nothing but lush greens as far as the eye could see, the trees resting underneath the stars.
Such a sight was one that Kaveh could never grow tired of. The sensation of the gentle breeze as it brushed past his face, the smell of the nighttime air, the subtle glow of the moon as it shone upon him… Though simple, it was these experiences that Kaveh found himself appreciating most. The quiet, serene ones as he stood underneath the vast expanse of the sky, realising that the size of his problems paled in comparison to the number of stars that filled the space above.
The sound of the steady, rhythmic pattering of rain was the first thing Kaveh noticed as he slowly stirred from his slumber, and his eyes fluttered open to see that their green-tinted window was filled with drops of rain, slowly streaming down the glass. As usual, Alhaitham had woken up before him and placed a pillow right beside Kaveh so as to not wake him when Alhaitham left their bed.
Kaveh smiled, the thought of Alhaitham placing him in more of a good mood than he already was after such a pleasant dream. It was a shame he couldn’t quite remember the exacts, but Kaveh supposed what mattered most was that the dream was one that had left a warm feeling in his heart.
He yawned and stretched in his place as his body slowly began to wake up. Luckily for him, Kaveh had no obligations for today, meaning that he had an entire free day to spend however he wanted.
But as he came to, Kaveh was struck with the sudden compulsion to check the date, to confirm a crucial piece of information that had been floating in the back of his mind for a few weeks.
Ah…
It’s my birthday..!
A familiar yet rare excitement bubbled up within him. Perhaps he could use today as an excuse to let himself relax?
But before Kaveh could ruminate on this further, the bedroom door opened with no warning, no hint of Alhaitham’s footsteps as he walked through the door. In an instant, Kaveh felt a warm grin spread across his face.
“Happy birthday,” Alhaitham said, reciprocating his smile as he held a plate of fatteh in his hands—a plate of fatteh with flatbread that appeared to be in a shape of their home (or, at least, that’s what Kaveh could make it out to be with how… interesting it looked.)
As he closed the door behind him, Alhaitham continued.
“Cake does not exactly make for the healthiest breakfast, so I cooked you fatteh instead,” Alhaitham said, approaching the bed where Kaveh was now sitting upright, as Alhaitham took his own seat on his side of the bed. “Though I’m not exactly fond of eating on the bed, I will make an exception for you, just this once.”
“I can’t believe you,” Kaveh chuckled, shuffling a little so that Alhaitham had room. “Breakfast in bed? Now that’s a new one. What’s the next romantic cliché? Do you plan on spoon-feeding me, too?”
“Hm, if that’s what you’d like.”
“I— I was only joking…”
After their banter, Alhaitham had eventually set up the bed tray table that Kaveh didn’t even know they’d owned until today, so that Kaveh could eat more comfortably from their bed. At first, Kaveh was incredibly reluctant to break apart the flatbread’s design—wanting to savour it for a few moments longer. But when Alhaitham believed Kaveh’s appreciation to have gone on for a second too long, he decided to do the job in Kaveh’s stead by stealing part of the roof and dipping it in the mixture of yogurt and beans, much to Kaveh’s dismay.
Soon enough, Kaveh begrudgingly dug in, though his hesitance quickly dissipated once he’d taken the first bite and realised how hungry he was. It wasn’t long until the flatbread somewhat resembling their home became a pile of delicious rubble.
Now halfway through his meal, Alhaitham continued to speak.
“Seeing as you’ve completely forgotten it was your birthday, I presume you don’t have any plans?” Alhaitham said before taking a sip of his coffee.
“Mm, well,” Kaveh began, swallowing the last of the food in his mouth, “you’re right—I don’t have any plans. I’m simply happy to spend the day with you,” he chuckled. “Unless, of course, you’re too busy—feel free to abandon me and make me celebrate by myself. I won’t mind,” Kaveh said dramatically.
“Maybe I will,” Alhaitham replied. “Carrying out the duties of Akademiya scribe is no easy feat.”
“Oh, come on, I was only joking!” Kaveh exclaimed. “Unless, of course, you really mean it. If you’ve a lot on your plate, you don’t have to—”
“Was it not obvious that I was also making a joke?”
“Yeah, I— I know. I’m just making sure that you’re not just dropping work all of a sudden—especially since the Akademiya is still in the midst of recovering after the whole… Azar ordeal. And I can’t believe they’re still delegating Acting Grand Sage tasks to you, by the way. I thought Naphis had already taken up the role of Acting Grand Sage?”
“He has, but Naphis still has his own duties to manage.”
“Mm, that makes sense,” Kaveh said, his mind continuing to ponder. “But still, the Azar situation was more than a year ago now. Surely it can’t be so hard to find a suitable candidate to take up the role of Grand Sage?”
“Sure, the Akademiya has sights set on a handful of candidates, but neither Naphis nor I trust anyone else to be competent enough to undertake the duties of Grand Sage. The only ones we do are the current sages, and frankly enough, half of them are too busy continuing to fix whatever the corrupt sages had neglected—which is why tasks have been split up and delegated to each sage. So, in all technicalities, every sage has taken up Acting Grand Sage duties, with Naphis holding the title.”
“So it’s gotten that bad, huh? Everyone must be so busy… I can’t imagine it.”
Their conversation surrounding the Akademiya continued until Kaveh finished his fatteh—and even then, the two had gotten lost in conversation, straying from one topic to another. Eventually, they’d decided that enough time had passed and that it was time to wash up.
“Thank you again for breakfast,” Kaveh said, leaning in to leave a kiss against Alhaitham’s cheek. Pulling away, the two looked each other in the eye, a warm smile on their faces. With how fondly Alhaitham was looking at him, Kaveh felt as if he would melt right there on the spot and seep into their bed. Or perhaps that was simply his sleepiness talking.
“C’mon, if you continue to look at me like that, these dishes will never be washed.”
“Like what?” Despite the sudden call-out, Alhaitham continued to look Kaveh in the eye with that endearingly crooked smirk.
“Just look away already, will you?!” Kaveh gently pushed at Alhaitham’s cheek, turning his head away before hurriedly jumping out of bed. “Hurry up, these dishes won’t wash themselves!”
Walking to the kitchen, Kaveh looked down at the dirty plate of flatbread crumbs, yogurt residue and beans in his hand, executing hypocrisy and staring down at the dirty dish with a fond smile.
“How long did it take you, by the way?” Kaveh suddenly asked as they stepped foot into their kitchen. “Creating architectural structures out of flatbread isn’t exactly a skillset in your arsenal, so I can imagine it must have taken you a bit.”
“Actually, it wasn’t too hard at all. I’ve seen you create similar dishes a handful of times, and so the procedure has long since been stored in my head.”
“Alright, I get it—you aren’t an intellectual genius for nothing.”
“Well, I had to learn from an equally intellectual genius myself.”
“Oh, shush,” Kaveh chuckled, looking at Alhaitham with that same fond smile. “Just leave your mug there—I’ll start on the dishes.”
“Nonsense—it’s your birthday, I’ll handle the dishes this time around.”
“And since when did you care about something as trivial as birthday privilege?”
“Since now, but only because it’s your birthday.”
Those simple words alone made Kaveh’s heart stutter—the unexpected endearment surprising him.
“Archons, Alhaitham, I swear I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get used to your expressions of affection.”
“That wasn’t meant to be an expression of affection. If it were anyone else’s birthday, it would not serve as an excuse for laziness, like some people in the office like to believe,” Alhaitham sighed, as if he had experienced such an event recently. “But for you, I have the compulsion to spoil you.”
As Alhaitham began on the dishes, he smiled.
“Ah, I suppose that really was an expression of my affection after all,” Alhaitham added, a slight chuckle in his tone. “But anyways, because you have no plans for today, that means we’ll be able to celebrate with the things I have planned.”
“You… planned things for my birthday?”
“Of course. Initially, I wanted to discuss these plans with you to ensure no clashes in your schedule would occur but instead, I figured you might enjoy being surprised—and so I did the preparations in advance, without you.”
With such a sweet sentiment, Kaveh couldn’t help but smile, though his expression turned into one of dismay as he began to ruminate on certain details.
“Thank you, I truly appreciate it,” Kaveh began, sincerity in his tone. “But what if I had mandatory work plans today? Were you really willing to plan in advance with the risk of needing to call everything off if it turned out I was unable to go through with them?”
“That is true. While I was willing to call everything off, I decided that the best solution was to instead subtly hint at you to leave the day of your birthday clear.”
Hearing this, Kaveh felt a little surprised. It was certainly a coincidence that all his work plans happened to fall every day of the week except for this specific day, but how did Alhaitham do it?
“And how exactly did you pull that off?” Kaveh chuckled.
“Well, I simply kept tabs on your schedule while also nudging at you every so often…”
18th of June, three weeks ago.
“…so this might be the first commission in a while that’s progressed this quickly,” Kaveh said in excitement. The two of them had just gotten back from work and were now resting on the divan, sitting side-by-side as they engaged in conversation.
“Congratulations. This is a rare event indeed.”
“Yeah, this hasn’t happened in a while. I can’t believe they actually approved the draft on the first try. Well, I certainly wouldn’t have minded they’d change a few aspects if they were unhappy, but these are the first commissioners in a while who actually trust in my artistic vision.”
“Again, a rare occurrence in Sumeru.”
“Mm. If all goes according to plan, I meet with them sometime this week. Ah, right, and I have to schedule that meeting… wait, when did I plan to schedule that meeting again?” Kaveh said, his sentence trailing off as it reduced to a mumble while he checked his planner. “Ah, exactly three weeks from now.”
Glancing over his shoulder, Alhaitham checked the day that Kaveh mentioned was exactly three weeks from now.
If today is Wednesday…
“Kaveh,” Alhaitham said, looking him in the eye. “Don’t you think it would be better to schedule that meeting on a Friday? A meeting in the middle of the week would feel odd.”
“…Huh?”
“Don’t give me that look. Does it not make sense? If you book that meeting on a Friday, your client will be in a much better mood, as it’s statistically proven that the prospect of the weekend greatly improves one’s mood.”
Kaveh gave him yet another look, this one of disbelief.
“I… don’t exactly know what you’re trying to achieve, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to listen to your advice.”
Kaveh made some changes to his planner with the quill in his hand, altering it to what Alhaitham had suggested.
“There. Happy now?”
Alhaitham huffed, feeling victorious.
“Mm.”
Present…
“Archons, thinking about it now, your reasoning was completely uncompelling. I seriously thought you were pulling those statistics straight out of your ass,” Kaveh scoffed.
“I technically was.”
“Still, I should’ve realised you were trying to keep that day clear because it was my birthday. I don’t know how I didn’t make that connection the first time, when I was already aware it was my birthday… Ah, it’s probably because I wouldn’t have thought you were planning a surprise for me.”
“And why would you think that? You already know I care about you. Why is the idea of me planning something for your birthday so surreal?”
“It’s not the idea of you planning something on my birthday that I find ‘surreal,’ that much is obvious. It’s just… Surprises. You hate surprises. So I suppose I figured that… planning a surprise for me wouldn’t have crossed your mind.”
“And you think that just because I dislike something, I expect you to share those same views?”
“…Yes?”
“Your thinking is flawed, then. I’m perfectly capable of understanding the needs of others, including their personal preferences. You are no exception—far from it.”
“I know, I know… I guess my brain has been too preoccupied with work to think properly.”
“Hm,” Alhaitham huffed, “I think so, too.”
“You weren’t supposed to agree with that.”
Alhaitham simply let out a sigh as he finished washing the last of their dishes, storing it to dry.
“So, what exactly did you have planned?” Kaveh asked, quite curious as to what exactly Alhaitham had in store for his birthday.
“You’ll see.”
“But I wanna know now.”
“So impatient. You should be getting ready to leave the house—I don’t want you hogging up the bathroom again.”
“You..!” Kaveh sighed, rolling his eyes. “Fine. Since you can’t even answer a simple question, then so be it. I’ll go get ready—and just because you pointed it out, I think I will hog up the bathroom, thank you very much.”
“Ready to go?” Alhaitham asked as he grabbed the bookmark he had set down on the table in front of him, before slipping it between the pages.
Kaveh hummed in agreement as he entered the living room, and as he did so, he felt Alhaitham’s stare as he looked him up and down—and Kaveh couldn’t help but feel as if he were silently being judged for whatever reason.
…Is there something on my face? Is my outfit not okay?
For his outfit, Kaveh had decided to wear one that he’d often wear during dates with Alhaitham—a delicate, white blouse with a deep V-neck collar rimmed with large ruffles, tucked into high-waisted maroon trousers. The dangly earrings he wore matched with the trousers—earrings made up of a cascade of small, maroon flowers. Today, Kaveh had decided to wear his hair down, with only a few of his red pins at the front to keep part of his bangs out of his face and to show off the subtle maroon eyeshadow he wore.
Kaveh’s worries dissipated when he was instead met with a warm smile, one that caused Alhaitham’s gaze to soften as he looked him in the eye. Kaveh quickly noticed the deepened beating of his own heart as he gazed back.
“You look divine,” Alhaitham said, standing from the divan to approach Kaveh.
“Stop it,” he scoffed, looking away.
Alhaitham simply chuckled in response and reached for Kaveh’s hand, before bringing it to his lips and leaving a gentle kiss upon his knuckles.
Archons above, have mercy, Kaveh pleaded, almost breathless at the display of affection, despite the fact that Alhaitham had done this countless of times before.
Kaveh couldn’t help but find himself moving closer to Alhaitham until they were barely centimetres apart. With a look of adoration, Kaveh lifted a hand to cup Alhaitham’s cheek, his palm encompassing the warmth of his skin.
“The same goes for you,” Kaveh chuckled. It seemed that Alhaitham had the same thought as him, as he had also decided to wear an outfit that he often did whenever they went out on dates—sporting one of his usual well-fitted tops, this time being a black turtleneck, along with a pair of trousers held up by a leather belt.
And of course, Alhaitham’s signature green gem remained on full display, with most if not all of his tops having been tailored to keep it visible.
“Seriously,” Kaveh continued, brushing his thumb across Alhaitham’s cheekbone. “Your beauty is comparable to the Archons themselves.”
Alhaitham turned to look away, a sound that appeared to be a sputter escaping from him.
“Wha— oh, come on, it wasn’t that bad!”
“If that’s what you’d like to believe,” Alhaitham said, looking back at Kaveh. “And besides, what if the Archons weren’t attractive? There are multiple ways your compliment could be taken the wrong way.”
“Seriously,” Kaveh uttered, using his current grasp on Alhaitham’s cheek to gently push him away. “You just had to ruin the moment.”
“I was only joking. It was good.”
Kaveh huffed. “Whatever.”
Alhaitham, seemingly dissatisfied with that response, grasped at Kaveh’s hand once again and pulled him in for a gentle kiss.
“Does that make up for it?” Alhaitham asked once the two had pulled away
“Hm, I don’t know,” Kaveh scoffed, “I think you’ll have to give me another.”
“So needy. We should get going, it’s almost time for our reservation.”
“You made… reservations?” Kaveh asked, somehow a little surprised, now having forgotten all about the kiss he had requested.
“I’ve done so multiple times in the past. I fail to see why you’d be surprised that I made reservations for your birthday.”
“I dunno, I suppose I just… wasn’t expecting it.”
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if you were expecting it, Kaveh. I’m not sure if you are aware, but that’s how surprises work.”
At this, Kaveh scoffed. “Shut up, asshole.”
“Hm. I’m hurt that’s all you see me as,” Alhaitham replied, completely deadpan—and when Kaveh only looked at him in confusion, Alhaitham continued. “I find it unbelievable that you’ve regressed me to the orifice that brings you pleasure.”
Kaveh continued to stare at Alhaitham, the words seemingly replaying in his mind, before his eyes widened in regretful understanding.
“I— I can’t believe you!”
The moment Alhaitham and Kaveh left their home hand-in-hand and took the path situated to the right of their front door before taking a left turn, Kaveh began to question why in Teyvat Alhaitham was bringing him to the Akademiya.
“Alhaitham… You are aware that this path only leads to the front doors of the Akademiya, right? Studying doesn’t make for the most conventional birthday plan, but if it’s with you, then I suppose I wouldn’t mi—”
“What do you take me for? A workaholic? Don’t project your ways of thinking onto me.”
“It’s hard to think otherwise when we’re literally walking to the Akademiya.”
Alhaitham rolled his eyes, despite Kaveh not being able to see due to his focus being on the path ahead of them.
“Just trust me.”
Kaveh let out a superficial scoff, rolling his eyes despite Alhaitham not looking in his direction.
“Fine.”
Despite not glancing in the other’s direction in the time that they walked to the Akademiya, the two could already sense the other’s amusement. And when the two finally looked each other in the eye, they couldn’t help but let out a bit of a chuckle.
Now at the front entrance to the Akademiya, Alhaitham led Kaveh inside with resolve, as if they were close to their destination. As they walked past the numerous student and staff, the two did not pay any mind to the stares they received from passer-byers. It made sense, seeing as they were two prominent figures who were dressed quite nicely—with Alhaitham’s reputation preceding him after his stint as Acting Grand Sage and Kaveh’s prominence as the Light of Kshahrewar.
What’s more, the fact that they were in a relationship had been made public a while ago now.
They’d been dating for a year now, and it was only a few months after they had gotten together that word had begun to go around. Neither of them had any reason to hide their relationship. And because of their indifference, soon enough, almost the entirety of Sumeru had become aware.
“You seem to be troubled,” Alhaitham suddenly mentioned, looking Kaveh in the eye. “Are the stares making you uncomfortable?”
“Mm, not quite, though I suppose they are a little unsettling,” Kaveh admitted. “Well, I don’t mind it too much. Such is bound to happen, what with your reputation as former Acting Grand Sage.”
“And I don’t suppose they might also be jealous of me for winning over the Light of Kshahrewar?”
“Again, that name is nothing but an empty title. If anything, people would be more surprised that the former Acting Grand Sage has a heart behind that stone-cold face of his.”
Alhaitham simply let out a scoff, not bothering to refute back.
As the two walked inside the Akademiya, Kaveh finally realised where Alhaitham was taking him the moment they walked past the fountain and headed towards the door that led to the back exit.
Razan Garden.
Their being in the Akademiya made sense now, Kaveh thought, as Alhaitham pushed open the doors leading to Razan Garden’s main lobby. They continued to walk through the garden’s path and began trekking up a certain route—a familiar one that the two would frequent during their student days—leading to the more hidden pavilions of Razan Garden. A place where they had shared many intimate moments together; though at the time, neither would have classified it as such.
But looking back on those memories now, it was almost laughable how oblivious the two were of the other’s feelings.
Those pavilions… Alhaitham held my birthday surprise there last year, too. He must like that place more than I had initially thought.
Last year… It was on Kaveh’s birthday last year that the two had finally discussed their mutual feelings for each other—though Kaveh remembers clearly how he had pestered Alhaitham to “redo” their confession and repeat the same conversation tomorrow as if it had never happened.
“And why would I do that?” Alhaitham had asked, a look of amused confusion on his face.
“Because! I don’t want our anniversary to fall on my birthday, that’s just— It doesn’t feel right!”
“Our anniversary? You’re thinking quite far ahead. And I don’t see the harm of having it fall on your birthday—unless you were thinking you might break up with me and that you didn’t want your ex’s anniversary the same day as your birthday. However, that possibility is inconceivable, as there is no chance I would let you break up with—”
“Alhaitham! Don’t say things like that! And— of course I’m thinking far ahead. As you said, there’s no chance we’d break up, right? So wouldn’t it make logical sense for our anniversary to fall on a different day to my birthday?”
“Again, I don’t see why it shouldn’t fall on your birthday. But if that’s what you’d want, Kaveh, then we can forget we ever had this conversation.”
I didn’t think he’d agree so quickly.
“Thank you,” Kaveh said as he went to grab Alhaitham’s hand. However, Alhaitham pulled his hand away as Kaveh looked at him in disbelief.
“What happened to forgetting we’d ever discussed our mutual feelings?”
“But— I— Ugh, you! Surely I’d still be able to hold your hand?”
“But that means our conversation would have to be remembered. And you were the one who insisted we forget about our mutual feelings. So unless you want to bring it up again, that conversation is forgotten until tomorrow.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I’m just following what you want.”
Being pulled out of his thoughts, it was only then that Kaveh realised that they had arrived at their destination—the exact same location that they had frequented as students, and the exact same location that Kaveh and Alhaitham had confessed their feelings on the day of his birthday, exactly a year ago.
The main pavilion in the middle had been decorated, with the decoration being quite similar to the one Alhaitham had organised for his birthday last year—pillars ornamented with elegant padisarahs, nilotpala lotuses and balloons ranging from a pastel yellow and blue colour palette to match the flowers’ natural hue. But instead of last year’s set-up—a venue that that accommodated around a dozen guests—there was but a table perfect for two, stacked with an assortment of light snacks, fruits and drinks. The table top itself was made of glass while its rimming and body were made of aluminium coated in a white finish, constructed into an intricate floral design to match the two chairs of the same motif.
“If you continue to remain silent, I might assume that you dislike the venue.”
“What, no!” Kaveh found himself in a slight panic, quickly turning his head to look Alhaitham in the eye. “Sorry, I was just— it’s gorgeous. I mean, Razan Garden is elegant enough but my god, the blend of subtle lighting, the padisarahs and the lotuses, and— oh, right, and it’s also a very similar set up to last year’s I noticed.” Kaveh’s eyes began to dart around once again, wanting to take in every detail. “It’s ethereal.”
As Alhaitham observed Kaveh’s state of entrancement, he couldn’t help but admire Kaveh’s passion and excitement, observing his almost child-like wonder as Kaveh’s mind so obviously began to analyse every aesthetic detail. The sight filled Alhaitham with a fond warmth, a warmth fuelled by the adoration he held for the person most important to him. With Kaveh so passionate, Alhaitham couldn’t find it in himself to utter any words of sarcasm or sharp-witted banter, and so he simply replied;
“I’m glad you like it.”
Alhaitham took Kaveh by the hand once again, pulling him out of his entrancement so that he could lead Kaveh to take a seat at the table. Then, Alhaitham took his own seat opposite of him, watching as Kaveh began to hesitate on which one of the snacks to grab.
“You don’t need to hold yourself back. Nobody else is here to eat this, so feel free to put however much you please on your plate.”
“No, no, it’s not that—it’s just…” as Kaveh spoke, his hand reached over to grab one of the dozens of madeleines that had been stacked to form the vague shape of a plant before pausing, stopping barely a centimetre away. “Everything is presented so nicely. I almost feel bad for having to destroy it straight away.”
“Hm.” Alhaitham crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “If that’s the case, then there’s no rush.”
“Are you sure? How long did you have this place booked out for, anyway?” Kaveh also sat himself back, letting himself get comfortable in his seat. “I still can’t believe you rented out Razan Garden again. Was this and the similar décor as my birthday last year intentional?”
“It was, yes. Despite what you may believe, there are times where I value sentimentality—this being one of them.” Alhaitham uncrossed his arms and reached forward to grab the pitcher of cocktail, pouring both his and Kaveh’s glasses. “I wanted to reminisce on the events that occurred during your birthday last year. I’m aware of the fact that the discussion of our mutual feelings was inevitable, but I like to believe that my planning for your birthday accelerated that development.”
“Ah, I figured.” He noticed that Alhaitham had poured his glass and leaned forward to grab it, taking it in his hands before looking up at Alhaitham, giving him a smile. “Thank you. Words can’t express how much I adore this.”
Alhaitham let out a quiet huff of satisfaction, reciprocating his smile.
Kaveh then reached forward with drink in hand, hovering it over the table, prompting Alhaitham to do the same. With a gentle clink of glasses, the two took a sip of their drink.
“You’re amazing,” Kaveh said out of the blue, as if the thought had been on his mind for a while. “Who knew you could be so romantic.”
“You say that almost every time I take you out on a date or partake in conventional romantic gestures. You’d think you would be used to it after a year.”
Even now, there are times where I still find it unbelievable, Kaveh thought, not being able to help the stifled chuckle that escaped him.
“You’re right, you’re right. I was only joking.”
Half-joking.
“Your face tells me otherwise, but fine, I’ll believe you.”
“Good.”
The two continued their light-hearted conversation for around an hour or two, not minding the time as they indulged in both discussing intriguing topics and the snacks all laid out.
Kaveh had eventually gotten over his initial hesitance to ruin such thoughtfully displayed food, though it had taken a while—and even then, he was careful not to break everything apart immediately, insistent on savouring both the sight and the flavours to the fullest.
The tray of baklava, cut into slices forming the shape of a diamond, now had several empty diamond-shaped spaces where the two had carefully pulled out pieces of the dizzyingly sweet dessert. To remedy this, the two had subconsciously sought solace in the gentle and mellow flavour of their rose custard, letting the milky flavour subdue the overwhelming taste of honey. When they had gotten sick of sweetness altogether, a ball of panipuri would balance everything out—and despite its small size, just a single one would be filled with several different sour and savoury flavours, all packed into a deep-fried shell of goodness.
“Archons, this really hits the spot,” Kaveh said, already grabbing another ball of panipuri and submerging it into the watery sauce, despite only just having swallowed the bite in his mouth. “I still can’t believe you prepared most of this—just how long did all of this take you?”
“I prepared most of this the day before while you were out of the house. You were out most of the day, so I had plenty of time.”
“But— what about work? Some days, you arrive back home later than I do… Alhaitham, don’t tell me that you—”
“What, called off work?”
“Archons above.” Kaveh pinched the bridge of his nose, a frustrated sigh escaping him. “I can only hope that your absence doesn’t cause too much of a disruption. Good thing you aren’t Acting Grand Sage anymore, either—I’d be severely worried about the Akademiya otherwise.”
“You should know by now that I dislike being in debt to others.” Alhaitham took the last sip of his drink before gently placing his glass back down. “I ensured any necessary work was completed before calling off work, so there’s no need for you to lecture me.”
“Alright, alright… Geez, you could’ve had this prepared by someone else, you know?” Kaveh swiftly popped the panipuri into his mouth, doing so to ensure he wouldn’t spill the watery sauce. “But whatever, it’s… it’s nice to eat food prepared by you,” Kaveh mumbled, covering his mouth with his hand as he spoke.
“I’m sure you of all people should understand the desire to spoil someone you cherish,” Alhaitham said matter-of-factly. “Of course I would take the time to prepare this. In fact, knowing you, you’d probably complain if I really had asked someone else to prepare this spread—saying something along the lines of it not being as heartfelt and thoughtful as preparing everything yourself.”
“Oh, come on, I was just saying that ‘cause— well, I just— I feel bad that you had to do extra work in advance just so that you could call a day off, and— hey, I most certainly would not complain if you had bought the food! I’ll have you know that I’d be equally as grateful, thank you very much!”
Alhaitham smirked, completely amused by Kaveh’s rambling.
“First of all, I don’t do this out of obligation and you of all people should know that. I only do something if it bring me personal fulfillment. And second, I still think you’d complain, but if you say otherwise, then I suppose I’ll just have to take your word for it.”
“As you should,” Kaveh huffed, feeling as if he’d won whatever superficial debate they were having.
Soon enough, the entire spread of snacks had been cleared out, though having been done so over the span of a handful of hours—meaning that by the time they had left the pavilions, their stomachs were already ready for lunch.
“I still can’t believe you have more bookings for today,” Kaveh said as they exited the Akademiya gates. “I thought that Razan Garden would be our only destination, and I would’ve been completely satisfied if that were so.”
“I wanted us to spend the entire day celebrating your birthday, so consider it my gift to you.”
“Well, when you put it like that… I suppose I can accept it…” Kaveh said, his sentence trailing off—though he continued to have his reservations.
“Good. Because you have no choice but to accept. You wouldn’t want these bookings to go to waste, would you?” Alhaitham said, his tone playfully condescending.
“So now you’re coercing me.”
“Yes, I am coercing you into being treated for your birthday. A most heinous crime, indeed—I wouldn’t be surprised if Cyno were already on his way to arrest me.”
“Oh, shut up. Well, in any case, I prefer something like this over having you spend mora on an expensive gift anyway, like what you did last year—I still can’t believe you disregarded your need for practicality and bought an overly expensive quill, all because you thought I’d like the design!”
Hm. I probably shouldn’t tell Kaveh about the gift I bought him until after we get home.
“You ended up liking my gift for you last year, did you not?”
“Well, of course I did, the design on the feather was simply exquisite, but—”
“Then that quill was worth every mora.”
“Arguing with you is pointless,” Kaveh sighed.
As the two continued to walk, they were quick to make their way into the main area of Treasure’s Street. With the direction they were headed, Kaveh thought that Alhaitham might take him to Puspa Café for lunch, or even Lambad’s if they walked a little further.
However, Kaveh was left even more confused when they headed away from both Puspa Café and Lambad’s Tavern, instead heading into the area of the city known for its high-end luxuries.
“Alhaitham,” Kaveh began, hesitation causing him to pause. “Please don’t tell me that you…”
“That I what?”
“I, uh… I didn’t take you as one to get lost, I think you must’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere, or—”
“We’re going the right way.”
“Oh—” Kaveh stammered, a little embarrassed. “Please don’t tell me that you reserved a table at…”
“At Sharvari’s Blessing?”
“…Archons above.”
Due to his life’s circumstances, Kaveh wasn’t quite used to walking through this particular area of Sumeru city and even dreaded doing so as insecurities of old would begin to resurface from the depths of his mind. He’d be reminded of a time not too long ago where he was at his lowest, doing what he could to both scrounge for mora and pretend that he wasn’t scrounging for mora—putting on a façade to both acquaintances and to those who looked up to him that the Light of Kshahrewar had no such flaws.
And alongside such dark memories, Kaveh would also be reminded of the ones before he was stripped of his innocence. Memories where the word family did not bear any tainted stains—memories where the word would bring him a fond happiness instead of the yearning ache he’d feel, longing for what he had destroyed.
Yes, despite Kaveh feeling uneasy for walking through streets that he felt he didn’t deserve to walk on, he also felt uneasy because of a painful, bittersweet nostalgia he’d feel, as there was once a time where he knew these streets like the back of his hand.
During a distant time of his life, one where the word family did not bring with it any heartache, Kaveh’s parents often took him to many of the restaurants and stalls here quite often—doing so as a form of bonding. One of their favourite locations as a family was an elegantly designed restaurant called Sharvari’s Blessing, and so their family became a weekly regular.
“Do you know why this restaurant is one of my favourites?” Kaveh’s father had asked him one day, looking him earnestly in the eye.
“Uh, is it ‘cause the food here’s good?” Kaveh had replied, not quite sure what warranted such a question.
At his response, his father had let out a hearty chuckle.
“Not quite, though that, I cannot deny!”
“Then why?”
Kaveh’s father had given him a smile, a particular glow of excitement in his eyes.
“You know how much your dad loves the stars, right?”
“I think he’d know,” Kaveh’s mother had interrupted, “you never shut up about them!”
“Oh, shush,” Kaveh’s father had scoffed, teasingly rolling his eyes. “Anyways, before your mother’s completely rude interruption—”
“Hey!”
“—the reason why I love this place so much is because the name Sharvari is actually an old Sumerian word that means ‘starlit night’, and this place really goes all out with the theme, huh?” He looked up at the ceiling, a fond smile on his face as he observed its details. “Whoever decorated this place knows what they’re doing. If we walked outside right now and looked up, you’d be able to see this exact same view.”
At this, Kaveh looked up in awe, observing the decoration of stars on the ceiling, and realising that he could recognise a few of the constellations that his dad had taught him.
“Kaveh, have you made up your mind on what you’d like to order? Or are you too busy mindlessly staring up at the ceiling?”
“Oh, uh—” Kaveh found himself being pulled out of his thoughts, looking back down at the menu in his hands. “I suppose I’ll have Sharvari’s Special.”
“The biryani dish, correct?”
“Mm.”
It wasn’t long after that a waiter came around to their table and Kaveh waited while Alhaitham placed their order as well as ask for some table water.
“You appeared to be preoccupied while we walked here,” Alhaitham suddenly mention, taking a sip of water. “What’s on your mind?”
“Ah…” Kaveh felt a throb of heartache at that, reminded of all that he had reminisced on. “I still can’t help but feel a little guilty—I mean, I’m well aware of how expensive the food is here…”
“I thought so.” Alhaitham placed his glass of water down, before reaching over to place his hand over Kaveh’s where it rest on the table. “Kaveh, not only is it your birthday today, but our finances are shared. They have been for a year now.”
And that fact makes me feel even more worse, Kaveh thought, still not quite comfortable with Alhaitham’s financial support. But that was a conversation for another time.
“I know, I know—but still, I just…”
“Kaveh.”
Kaveh let out a sigh.
“Fine.”
After their conversation, Kaveh continued to remain distracted, oftentimes not being able to help it—it had been years since he’d come to this place, after all, with his last visit being with his family. It was hard not to think about his childhood and his past, and how happy their family was before his father’s death.
Kaveh found himself continuing to gaze up at the ceiling, remembering the conversation he had with his father all those years ago. From what he had remembered, the ceiling hadn’t appeared to change, with the same stars and same constellations continuing to remain.
“You keep staring at the ceiling,” Alhaitham pointed out, “yet you haven’t begun your usual architectural and aesthetic ramble you have whenever we come across a new location. I’m curious as to why.”
…My usual architectural and aesthetic ramble? Kaveh thought, wondering for a brief second how often he must have subjected Alhaitham to his inner thoughts if Alhaitham were anticipating it.
“Ah, well, actually…” Kaveh began, searching for the words to explain all that was running through his mind.
I suppose telling Alhaitham wouldn’t hurt.
“This restaurant… I’ve actually come here before.” Kaveh paused to take a sip of water while Alhaitham, knowing that Kaveh had more to say, waited for him to continue. “My, uh… My parents used to bring me here as a child quite often. In fact, we were here so often that the waiters and waitresses working here at the time had become acquainted with my parents.”
That thought brought a bittersweet smile to Kaveh’s face.
“This restaurant was one of my father’s favourites, and he even told me once that he had brought my mother here on dates before I was even born. Almost like what we’re doing right now, huh?” Kaveh chuckled. “And, well, the reason I keep staring up at the ceiling is because of something my father explained to me. He told me that one of the main reasons he loved this place so much was because name Sharvari—”
“—is an old word that means starlit night.” Alhaitham chimed in. “It explains the theme of stars surrounding this restaurant.”
“Mm, exactly. Being a Rtawahist graduate, he adored the stars—and he especially loved the fact that the ceiling in this restaurant is decorated in a way that replicates the view of the real sky above.”
At this, Alhaitham looked up, confirming that fact. As he observed the ceiling, he found himself recognising a handful of constellations—including his own.
“Impressive,” Alhaitham murmured. “It’s no wonder your father loved this place so much, and it’s no surprise as to why this restaurant is so popular. The interior design is enough to make anyone want to come back.”
Kaveh hummed in agreement. It felt almost surreal to be back in a location that was so prominent in his childhood—with chairs and tables that have remained the same, and yet, feel a lot smaller than they used to.
Of course the furniture feels smaller. I was barely a decade old when our family frequented this place.
The two continued their conversation, now fixated on the topic of stars. Alhaitham had even begun to talk about his own childhood surrounding them, recounting how his grandmother had taught him to look out for his constellation.
Soon enough, their food had arrived and by this point, Kaveh was well settled in. Alhaitham had not realised the prominence this place had in Kaveh’s life and was glad that he was able to get comfortable despite his childhood memories.
“You’re looking at me with that face again,” Kaveh chuckled, looking Alhaitham in the eye. “You should smile like that more often. You’ll end up with wrinkles by thirty if you scowl so often.”
“I don’t scowl.” Alhaitham looked down at his food, appearing to be fixing up another spoonful to feign indifference. “That’s just how my face rests.”
“Uhuh, whatever you say.” Kaveh mirrored his actions, taking another spoonful of biryani into his mouth, being filled with yet another dose of nostalgia. As a child, his father often ordered the Sharvari Special while Kaveh was stuck with the children’s menu options—and so Kaveh had often asked his father for a taste, having grown tired of the smaller servings.
“How’s your food? Are you enjoying it?” Kaveh asked, quite curious about the tahchin that Alhaitham had ordered.
“Despite this dish appearing in most places in Sumeru, this restaurant does a quite good job of personalising the dish, adding their own spin onto it. I don’t usually care for dishes that have been overcomplicated, but I must admit that I do enjoy this.”
“What a surprise, the straightforward, efficiency-driven Alhaitham is actually enjoying an overcomplicated and nicely presented dish? Not a single soul in Sumeru would believe me if I had told them.”
“You’re not amusing in the slightest,” Alhaitham scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I suppose I won’t ever express my true opinions in the future from now on, if this is how you will act.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry— You know I’m only joking,” Kaveh stammered, making up for his earlier quips. “It’s good you’re enjoying it.”
With that, Alhaitham gave him a smile.
“Geez… I might start overheating if you continue giving me that look,” Kaveh said, quickly looking back down at his food to avert his gaze. “I’m seriously still not used to you smiling at me like that.”
“But I thought you said I should do it more often?”
“Well, yes, but—! Oh, I don’t know, do whatever you want.”
Alhaitham’s too goddamn attractive. I seriously might die of giddiness if he keeps looking at me like he’s in love with me.
…Well, he is in love with me, but that’s besides the point!
Now full and satisfied, Kaveh and Alhaitham exited the front doors of Sharvari’s Blessing, instinctively holding the other’s hand.
“So, what’s next on this itinerary of yours?” Kaveh asked as they stood by the side of the path. “At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if you had the entire day planned out.”
“And you’re exactly right.”
“Huh, I wasn’t actually expecting…” Kaveh trailed off, lost in thought. “So… Are you going to tell me where we’re going next?”
“Nope.”
“Wha— Not even a hint..?”
Alhaitham gently unlinked his hand from Kaveh’s and began to walk off, heading for the main plaza of Treasure’s Street.
“You’re unbelievable. Hey, wait up!”
Realising that Alhaitham had no intention of turning back, Kaveh quickly caught up to him, grabbing his hand.
“I can’t believe you sometimes. Were you seriously about to leave me behind like that?”
“It’s not leaving you behind if I knew you were going to follow me, Kaveh.”
Kaveh pouted. “I could’ve easily let you walk off, you know.”
“I highly doubt it.”
“You…” Kaveh grumbled. “What reason do you have to be so cruel, anyway?”
“What reason?” Alhaitham couldn’t help but smile a little, not being able to help his amusement. “Because I find riling you up to be quite humorous.”
“…The more you talk, the more I want to throw you into the rivers of Yazadaha Pool.”
“Not if I throw you in first.”
“Ugh!” Kaveh exclaimed. “Just tell me where we’re going already,” he said as they neared the city’s exit. “I didn’t think your plans would take us outside the city.”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
Kaveh underestimated how soon it would be, until the two found themselves standing beside a carriage situated a meter or two from the city’s entrance—one that was much nicer than the carriages commonly used for merchant imports and exports, with a design that could resemble a carriage used by royalty.
Alhaitham unlinked his hand from Kaveh’s once again, walking over to stand by the carriage before opening the door and gesturing for Kaveh to step inside.
Their earlier squabble quickly disappeared from Kaveh’s mind, replaced with the racing feeling of both excitement and giddiness all at once.
"God, one moment I want to throw you into a river and the next, I want to pull you in for a kiss." Kaveh approached the door, giving Alhaitham a little grin. "You've got me brainwashed. You know that, right?"
Before Kaveh could step inside the carriage, Alhaitham leaned in, leaving a gentle kiss upon Kaveh's lips.
"I could say the same thing myself."
Overwhelmed by tender sentiments, Kaveh felt his cheeks warming, getting lost in the eyes of the one he held dearest to his heart.
Archons, I love you, Alhaitham.
Without another word, Kaveh stepped into the carriage and Alhaitham followed straight after, closing the door behind him.
Despite noticing a certain fact the moment Kaveh had laid eyes upon the carriage, it was only when they were inside that Kaveh decided to bring up said fact, wondering how they would get anywhere otherwise.
“So, uh, I have to ask… Usually, a sumpter beast or a horse of some kind would be pulling a carriage like this, so I was just wondering where exactly..?”
“Ah. This carriage doesn’t need a horse or a sumpter beast.”
“Wait, what?” Kaveh began to look around, confused. “But then how will we..?”
To answer his question, Alhaitham placed his hand on what appeared to be a simple control panel of some sort and Kaveh watched as a surge of dendro energy flowed through his fingertips and into the carriage itself. Not a second passed and the carriage quickly came to life, a soft green glow of dendro energy surrounding them.
"This carriage is one designed to allow travel even without a horse or sumpter beast, if one wields a vision."
"Huh, I don't think I've seen such a carriage before," Kaveh said, now completely curious about its design. "How remarkable. Where did you even find such a vehicle?"
"I came across the design when looking through project proposals during work. It was the result of a joint project between a few Spantamad and Kshahrewar students and they were happy to let me give it a trial run."
At this, Kaveh paused for a minute, his brows furrowing.
"…So, basically, you took advantage of your position as scribe and your reputation as former Acting Grand Sage, so that you could ask to borrow the product of a group of students' hard work. Why am I not surprised."
"You say that as if I 'take advantage' of my status often. And you're merely overexaggerating—those students wanted for me to trial their project. I didn't coerce them or take advantage of them in the slightest."
"Hm, you say that, but I can almost picture a scenario where you approach those students, that infamous cold expression on your face, and ask them about their project… Feeling so intimidated, they'd have no choice but to comply, regardless of your intentions."
"Again, you're exaggerating. They were the ones to approach me first; I'll have you know."
"I mean, it's rare for anybody to want to approach you, but I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it."
Alhaitham huffed, not bothering to continue the argument—instead intertwining his fingers with Kaveh's and leaning his head against Kaveh's shoulder, letting himself get comfortable.
"Tired? We've had quite the event-filled day, and it's not even over yet. It also must've taken a lot of energy to plan all this, huh?" Kaveh turned his head, enough so that he could kiss the top of Alhaitham's head, taking comfort in the familiar scent of his usual shampoo.
"Mm. You're not wrong there, but it was all worth it for you." Alhaitham closed his eyes, filled with sublime contentment as his body relaxed, feeling satisfied enough at the notion of being able to rest against his lover.
“You’re amazing, Alhaitham. Have I told you that already?”
“I think you’ve said that at every location we’ve been to today,” Alhaitham replied.
“Mm, well, I mean it.” Kaveh leaned his own head against Alhaitham’s, his eyes almost closing on their own. “You’re amazing and I love you.”
Alhaitham smiled, though Kaveh couldn’t quite see. But that fact didn’t matter when their feelings had already been made clear.
“I love you too, Kaveh.”
As the two continued their mindless conversation, relishing in the peace and comfort of their company, the carriage remained at a steady pace—passing over the bridge situated above one of the multiple rivers diverting from Yazadaha Pool.
When Kaveh noticed this, his gaze having been fixed on the view outside the window, he couldn’t help but be reminded of their earlier conversation where he had threatened to throw Alhaitham into one of them.
Now would’ve been the perfect chance to do so, Kaveh thought, letting out a quiet chuckle.
“You seem to be thoroughly entertained,” Alhaitham said, noticing Kaveh’s amusement. “Care to tell me what’s on your mind this time?”
“Oh, nothing much. You might become upset if I voiced my current thoughts out loud.”
“You do realise that prospect only makes me want to hear it more, right?”
“I’d really rather not.”
“Fine. Suit yourself.”
Nearly an hour had passed, though to Kaveh and Alhaitham, it didn’t quite feel like an hour—they certainly wouldn’t have minded sitting in comfortable silence for a moment longer. However, the carriage soon came to a steady halt at the entrance of what Kaveh recognised to be Vimara Village—a location east of the main city and a halfway point to Port Ormos.
“We’re almost there,” Alhaitham said, exiting the carriage. Kaveh followed behind him, taking the hand that Alhaitham offered, acting as extra guidance as he stepped out of the carriage.
“We’ve been travelling for so long, it appears that the sun is about to set,” Kaveh pointed out, noticing the sky’s change of hue.
Perfect timing, Alhaitham thought, smiling to himself.
The moment they’d exited the carriage, the two were greeted by a few village residents, giving them warm smiles. Kaveh happily waved back while Alhaitham gave them a quick nod, before taking Kaveh by the hand and leading him on a path that took them further inside the village.
From there, Alhaitham led Kaveh through a few turns, crossing a bridge to the other side of the river that separated one side of Vimara Village from the other, before taking him on a path that seemed to lead outside of the village premises.
“Seriously, just where are you taking me this time? I thought our next destination would be somewhere in the village, but every time I thought we were about to stop, you’d just keep walking and take yet another turn!” Kaveh exclaimed, slightly frustrated that all of his earlier guesses had been incorrect.
“No matter how many times you ask, the answer will always be the same.”
“And that is..?”
“To just trust me.”
“…Fine,” Kaveh sighed. “I suppose there’s nothing else I can do but to trust you, but…”
Kaveh looked around at their surroundings, being met by nothing but wildlife and grass.
“…Are you sure we’re going the right way?!”
“How many times do I have to tell you, just—”
“—Just trust you, I know, I know.” Kaveh let out yet another sigh. “I’ll trust you. Despite the fact that we’re walking off the path and up some random and dangerously steep hill, but I won’t say anything.”
“I’d never let you come into harm. I’ve already walked up this route before, so I know what I’m doing.”
Staying true to his word, Alhaitham safely led Kaveh up the earlier mentioned hill; though with its size, it could easily be considered a mini mountain of sorts. The moment they’d reached the top, Kaveh was pleasantly greeted by the sight of a picnic blanket laid out on the grass, its intricate floral design reminding Kaveh of how the pavilions of Razan Garden had been decorated earlier today—with padisarahs and nilotpala lotuses among other flowers being incorporated into its design. On top of the picnic blanket were a handful of square pillows with covers of a similar design, as well as a picnic basket that held a bottle of alcohol and two glasses.
“Oh my god,” Kaveh murmured, his eyes widening. “This is…” Lost for words, Kaveh simply pulled Alhaitham in for a tight hug, burying his face in the crevice of Alhaitham’s neck, a wide smile on his face.
“I take it that you like it?” Alhaitham asked, readily hugging back.
“I love it.” Kaveh lifted his head, looking Alhaitham in the eye. “Alhaitham, this is just— You— Archons, look at what you’ve done to me.” He quickly averted his gaze, a sudden rush of emotions overwhelming him. “This is too much…”
“Kaveh,” Alhaitham murmured, lifting a hand to gently cup his cheek. When Kaveh hesitantly met his gaze once again, Alhaitham felt his heart skip a beat, noticing the gleam of unshed tears in Kaveh’s eyes. Despite Kaveh’s obvious happiness, a slight panic struck Alhaitham at the sight.
To remedy this, he gently pulled Kaveh in, his hands still cupping Kaveh’s cheek as Alhaitham kissed him. With his eyes closed, Alhaitham simply caressed his thumb across Kaveh’s cheek, just underneath his eye where he felt the gentle touch of a teardrop across the pad of his thumb.
Pulling away, Alhaitham felt his heart flutter at the sight of silent tears flowing from Kaveh’s eyes as Kaveh looked at him with a wide smile.
“Sorry,” Kaveh chuckled, wiping at his eyes. “I can’t help it. You know how quickly I can get emotional.”
“I know.” Alhaitham leaned in once again and carefully kissed Kaveh’s damp cheek. “Cry as much or as little as you please.”
After they’d settled down onto the picnic blanket, Alhaitham eventually informed Kaveh of his plans and why he’d chosen this location in particular. According to Alhaitham, he was told by a traveller that this location was the ideal spot for both watching the sunset and to stargaze, so days prior, he had visited the location in person so that he could safely mark out the best route that led to the top.
Whoever Alhaitham sourced this information from certainly knows what they’re talking about, Kaveh thought as he watched the sun gradually begin to set beyond the horizon. I can see everything perfectly from here.
Despite having been witness to countless sunsets and sunrises in his lifetime, Kaveh would never grow tired of how for just a few moments, the sky would glow of a golden orange—a hue so strong that everything basking underneath would follow in its steps, reflecting that same orange glow. He found fascination in how the sun would disappear in the distance, before being quickly followed by a blanket of darkness embellished with a million little gems.
Now that the stars had made themselves visible to their onlookers from below, Kaveh slowly laid down on his back, letting his head rest on one of the soft pillows. Alhaitham did the same, laying right beside Kaveh, their arms touching from the proximity.
“Hm… Doesn’t this remind you of Sharvari’s Blessing?” Kaveh began, closely observing the stars above. “Or perhaps I was the only one who stared up at the ceiling so much.”
“You’re right,” Alhaitham said as he started internally mapping out his constellation. “The view of the sky is almost the exact same as the ceiling at Sharvari’s Blessing. Or, perhaps I should say, the ceiling is almost the exact same as the actual view of the stars—not the other way around.”
“Yeah, it makes more sense that way,” Kaveh chuckled, before feeling around for Alhaitham’s hand. He intertwined their fingers together, feeling nothing but pure contentment in his heart.
The cool chill of night brought about it a gentle breeze, though its presence did not bring any discomfort, instead feeling like a gust of refreshment upon Kaveh’s face. The unique scent of nighttime was one that Kaveh particularly enjoyed, often being reminded of the late night walks he’d have when he needed to clear his mind.
As they laid side-by-side, their earlier conversation from Sharvari’s Blessing had been continued from where they had left off, with Alhaitham now expanding on what his grandmother had told him about his constellation as a child. This in turn led Kaveh to discuss how his father often told him that his constellation was actually closely, if not completely, linked with another constellation—and that whatever that constellation symbolised, or whoever that constellation belonged to, would be of great significance in Kaveh’s life.
“Did your father know that constellation was mine?” Alhaitham asked, in awe at the fact that their constellations really were interlinked.
“No, he didn’t. He didn’t even know whether it belonged to a person or was a symbolic constellation of some sort—he told me that the two bore many similarities.”
“Well, you know now at least,” Alhaitham said, caressing his thumb across Kaveh’s hand. “Who knew we were destined to meet, even many years before we had even known each other.”
Kaveh smiled, a giddy feeling overwhelming him. This very fact continued to replay in his mind, though Kaveh still couldn’t quite believe it.
Soulmates.
He and Alhaitham are soulmates.
They continued to stargaze for almost an hour, though half the time Kaveh had his eyes closed, not being able to help the droopiness of his eyelids. Alhaitham’s presence brought him great comfort—and after their hearty meal at Sharvari’s Blessing, it’d left him very content, but quite sleepy.
Kaveh had noticed that Alhaitham had been periodically checking his pocket watch, and when prompted about it, Alhaitham would tell him that they had one more reservation left and that he was simply keeping track of time.
Eventually, Alhaitham nudged at Kaveh’s arm, signalling that it was time for them to get going. The two of them packed the picnic blanket, basket and pillows while Kaveh tasked Mehrak with assisting them to carry a majority of their items, so that they could safely traverse the walk back down the hill.
Going back along the same route they came, they walked through Vimara Village and made their way to the carriage, having remained in the same place as they'd left it.
The carriage ride back to the city was a peaceful and quiet one spent resting against the other with the occasional comment or short conversation sprinkled throughout.
…And maybe the occasional kiss here and there, but who was counting?
(Kaveh was. They'd only kissed twice before they began to make out, though it didn't last long at all thanks to the occasional passerbyer.)
As they exited the carriage, the two linked hands once again and walked through the entrance of the city, being greeted by the guards stationed there.
“Are you sure this is the last reservation for today? I swear, this had better be the last,” Kaveh said, almost sounding as if he were fed up with said reservations. Of course, it was the fact that Kaveh still felt bad for how much Alhaitham had planned for his birthday. Just how much did all this cost, he couldn’t help but wonder.
“And what if I really did have more reservations? I’m hurt you’d disregard the hard work and planning that went into organising your birthday surprise.”
“But— but it’s almost nine in the evening! If dinner were to last a few hours… Just what sort of place would be open near midnight?!”
“Hm,” Alhaitham huffed, a subtle smirk on his face.
The walk to Lambad’s Tavern barely took them three minutes with how close it was to the city’s entrance, though enough time had passed since lunch for their stomachs to be growling once again.
Entering the tavern, they were immediately greeted by Lambad, who called out to them from behind the counter.
“Greetings sir Kaveh, sir Alhaitham! The table’s all set up for you upstairs.”
“Thank you,” they replied, heading for the stairs. And as the two walked past Lambad, he reached out to pat Kaveh on the back.
“Happy birthday, sir Kaveh.”
“Oh—thank you!” He stammered, a little embarrassed. He gave Lambad a smile before following Alhaitham up the familiar flight of stairs, having come here so often both by himself and with friends that he knew the place like the back of his hand. That, and the fact that it was Kaveh himself who had redesigned the entire second floor of the tavern, so it was no surprise that he’d be familiar with its layout.
The moment the top floor came into Kaveh’s vision, he was surprised by a sudden cacophony of voices, the scene going by all too quickly.
“Happy birthday!” They cheered, a roar of excitement as Kaveh and Alhaitham approached the table.
“Archons, what a surprise!” A wide smile spread across Kaveh’s face, and he readily joined the group that had been waiting for him—a group of some of his dearest friends. Cyno gave him a smile while Tighnari greeted him with a wave, and the Traveller waved him over as Paimon did an excited loop-de-loop in the air.
“Is it really a surprise if gathering together is what we usually do whenever it is one of our birthdays?” Tighnari asked once Kaveh and Alhaitham had taken their seats.
“No, you’re right, it’s just—”
I suppose after being with Alhaitham all day, I almost didn’t expect to celebrate my birthday with anyone else. But this is nice.
“I guess I just didn’t expect it.”
“What, too busy with your head in the clouds?” Cyno said, a sly grin on his face. “We know all about your little date with—”
“Argh, shush!” Kaveh exclaimed, his cheeks quickly warming. “That’s none of your concern.”
“I’m just messing with you. You had a good day, I take it?”
“…Yes, yes I did.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Once the group had settled down, the Traveller and Paimon quickly excused themselves, excitedly heading downstairs—before returning to the table with a beautifully decorated cake. The cake itself was comprised of two tiers and iced with white and yellow frosting along the edges. And on top of the cake was an array of padisarahs and nilotpala lotuses, with a single golden candle to bring the whole cake together.
Oh, Archons above, don’t tell me that they’re going to—
Much to Kaveh’s dismay, the group began to sing happy birthday as the Traveller approached the table so that they could set the cake down in front of him. Well, Kaveh supposed that he couldn’t be upset, despite never knowing how to react whenever he was subjected to being sung happy birthday.
Once the song had finished, Tighnari nudged at Kaveh to blow out the candle. After making his silent wish, Kaveh blew out the candle while everyone raised their glasses with a cheer.
"Finally! I won against Cyno!" Kaveh cheered far too excitedly, not quite aware of how loud his voice had gotten until Tighnari's ears instinctively flattened against his head.
"Sorry," Kaveh murmured.
"Of course you won against Cyno, just look at the state he's in! He's barely responsive," Tighnari exclaimed, poking at Cyno's cheek. "He just finished resolving a difficult case, so he hasn’t had much free time up until today.”
Now that the group had finished dinner, everyone had begun to play a few rounds of TCG while engaging in conversation, though half the time their chatter either composed of excited shouting or drunken rambles that didn’t make sense.
Throughout the night, Kaveh and Alhaitham snuck a few kisses when they thought that nobody was looking. On the other hand, nobody had the patience to tell them that everyone was looking, apart from Paimon who had already fallen asleep by the Traveller’s side.
“Hm, I think it’s time for us to head home,” Tighnari said, wrapping Cyno’s arm behind his neck. “Will you and Alhaitham be fine getting home?”
“We should be alright,” Kaveh said as he begun to pack his TCG deck away. “And besides, we’re barely a five-minute walk away. I’m more worried about you and Cyno… Sure you don’t need us to walk you back?”
“You and Alhaitham are quite drunk yourselves, so I’m not sure you’d be of much help.”
“Paimon and I should also get going,” the Traveller said, glancing over at a sleeping Paimon. “We have a trip to Inazuma tomorrow, so we’d better get some rest. But I’m happy to assist you in bringing Cyno home.”
“I… I think I’ll be alright,” Tighnari said, albeit with hesitance.
“I insist. Cyno’s probably quite heavy.”
“Well, he’s not too heavy, but— Alright, I suppose I wouldn’t mind the assistance.”
The Traveller smiled before looking down beside them, contemplating on whether or not they should wake Paimon up.
“Paimon.” The Traveller gently nudged at Paimon’s shoulder. “C’mon, it’s time to go.”
“Alhaitham and I will head back now too I suppose,” Kaveh said, carefully standing himself up. “Alhaitham, stand up, let’s— oh come on, don’t tell me you fell asleep too?!”
Crouching down to Alhaitham’s level, Kaveh observed that Alhaitham really had, in fact, fallen asleep.
“Do you think he and Paimon are sharing a dream?” Tighnari chuckled.
“Perhaps Alhaitham’s sitting Paimon down to study,” Kaveh said, continuing from Tighnari’s train of thought. “On second thought, such a scenario might be a nightmare for Paimon instead of a dream.”
“She could do with a few classes at the Akademiya,” Alhaitham murmured groggily, having clearly just woken up. “What time is it?”
“Time for us to go,” Kaveh replied, standing back up. Alhaitham followed, standing beside Kaveh as he stretched a little. Still a little disoriented from sleep and from alcohol, Alhaitham found his balance to be unsteady, and so he quickly grasped onto Kaveh for support so as to not stumble forward.
“Yikes, we really should get going so we can rest,” Kaveh said, holding onto Alhaitham tight. “Thank you so much everyone, I mean it. Today was wonderful.”
“Heh, I’m… I’m sure it was,” Cyno chuckled, his words coming out slow. “You aren’t slick. I’d probably have to use three hands if I wanted to count how many times you and Alhaitham ki—”
“Cyno,” Tighnari hissed, “that’s enough from you. I’m going to take this one home and give him a good beating. And it was our pleasure to be he—”
“A beating? Archons, yes ple—”
“Cyno!” Tighnari slapped a palm over Cyno’s mouth, a mortified look on his face. “Don’t listen to him. He’s spouting nonsense.”
“I— I’m not even going to question that,” Kaveh sighed.
“Well, as long as you and Cyno practice good communication, then—”
“Traveller, don’t encourage him!” Tighnari snapped.
“See, it wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Kaveh cooed as they walked over to their bed. “There was no way I was about to let you sleep without cleaning up. You reek of alcohol—probably drank more than I did, surprisingly enough.”
“I only reek of it because Cyno accidentally spilled his drink on my chest.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever—that doesn’t change the fact that you drank more than me.” Kaveh dropped onto their bed, dragging Alhaitham down with him as he tugged at his arm. “Well, I still feel a little lightheaded, but it’s not a bad feeling. Or maybe that’s just because I’m with you.”
“Mm, perhaps.” Alhaitham rolled over to face Kaveh so that he could bury his face into the crevice of Kaveh’s neck. “Did you have a good birthday?”
“Did I have a good birthday?” Kaveh repeated, almost as if in disbelief. “What do you think?”
“I wouldn’t know unless you tell me.”
“Ugh. You’re unbelievable.” Kaveh pulled away from Alhaitham slightly, prompting Alhaitham to look him in the eye. When he did so, Kaveh slowly leaned in, his hands slinking up to cup Alhaitham’s cheeks.
“I think the answer should be obvious.” Kaveh’s eyes glanced down at Alhaitham’s lips, lingering on his soft skin for a moment too long before glancing back up, meeting his intense gaze.
“It’s a yes or no question. There’s no need for you to beat around the bush, Kaveh.” Alhaitham reached up to graze the pads of his fingers along one of Kaveh’s hands.
“You of all people should know that some questions don’t need to be asked, nor do some questions need an answer. Shouldn’t you be able to tell what my response would be?”
“I know. But when a question can be so easily answered, there’s no harm in just answering, is there?”
“Mm, this argument’s going nowhere, isn’t it?” Kaveh smiled, his face inching even closer. “Why can’t you just let me win for once? Is your pride really so easily shattered?”
“You’re thinking about it all wrong. I have full confidence in my pride.”
“Then you don’t need to be given a straight answer.”
“And how about you? Is answering such a simple question really so hard for you?” Alhaitham’s hand moved from Kaveh’s hand to his shoulder, before slinking down to the side of his arm. “It almost makes me doubt your sincerity.”
“Fine. Since you want an answer so bad, then so be it.”
Before any more words could be spoken, Kaveh carefully leaned in to take Alhaitham’s lips in a fervent kiss, their lips gently colliding in a rupture of built-up yearning. Their kisses began at a steady pace, their lips slowly moving in tandem against the other, taking the time to feel the other against their skin—relishing in the other’s warmth.
Then, they craved the other’s taste, and Kaveh reached over to dig his fingers into the soft expanse of Alhaitham’s hair—pulling him closer, deeper, so much so that he could almost hear his heartbeat (or perhaps that was just his own beating heart ringing in his ears). Alhaitham let out a quiet sigh in response, teetering on the edge of a whine, his senses overwhelmed with nothing but Kaveh.
The two pulled away with a quiet gasp, heavy breaths filling the air.
“Alhaitham, I love you—I love you so much, I…” Kaveh grazed his thumb against Alhaitham’s cheek. “Today made me very happy. Thank you.”
Alhaitham leaned into the touch, letting his eyes flutter shut for a brief moment before opening them, meeting Kaveh’s gaze.
“That’s all I needed to hear.”
He leaned in to plant a gentle kiss onto Kaveh’s cheek, before whispering in his ear.
“I love you. Happy birthday.”
