Chapter Text
“My grandmother is coming to Sumeru next week.”
Kaveh looked up, startled by his roommate’s infuriating habit of entering rooms without a sound. The words had been uttered perfectly calmly, and utterly out of nowhere. But Kaveh was mostly used to it, after a year of sharing a house with this creature.
“That’s nice to hear. I miss Auntie.”
He had met Alhaitham’s grandmother many years before, naturally, when they were still young students and Alhaitham was still stuck to Kaveh like a silver-haired barnacle. She used to cook for Kaveh at every possible moment, insisting that a boy his age shouldn’t have to take care of himself, and made a point to celebrate his birthday every single year. She still sent postcards now and then, and had continued to do so even when the two men weren’t on speaking terms.
“She’s not staying at our house,” Alhaitham continued, showing no sign of acknowledgement for what Kaveh had just said. “I told her we don’t have enough space. However, she does know that we live together.”
Kaveh felt suddenly a little too small, a little too cold, and a little too uncomfortable. “She knows about the Palace and stuff, then, I assume?”
“No,” Alhaitham replied, expressionless. “She found out about our living arrangement from Professor Zaha Hadi.”
“Oh,” Kaveh murmured, perking up again. “Well, that’s good. I wouldn’t want Auntie to be disappointed in me.”
“She would hardly be disappointed, Kaveh,” he said. “But I assumed you wouldn’t want her to know, so I didn’t tell her. Essentially, she assumed that we were living together because we’re a couple.”
Kaveh instantly flushed, his face turning pink as his eyes suddenly became interested in a blank wall. “Ah... That’s awkward. What did you tell her?”
Alhaitham went silent, staring at him as if he were stupid.
“Alhaitham? What did you say?”
Alhaitham crossed his arms.
“You let her believe that we’re dating?”
“I couldn’t think of a particularly good lie, so I simply let her believe what she wanted. It was convenient,” he replied, shrugging.
“Convenient my ass!” Kaveh hissed, jumping off his chair to stick an accusatory finger at that damn green gem. “What do we do now? What if she tells everyone that we’re together? Everyone is gonna know that we live together! And what are we supposed to say to her?”
“I don’t know.”
Kaveh’s arms dropped at that, and he stared into Alhaitham’s eyes with a guarded expression.
“You… don’t have a plan?”
“No.”
“Fuck,” Kaveh grunted, fiddling with his ponytail. “If you didn’t manage to come up with something, we’re screwed. Couldn’t you just tell her that you lied?”
“I could, hypothetically.” Alhaitham continued to look utterly unfazed.. “But she would be upset, I think. It’s become quite the… elaborate lie. I’ve been pretending for a year.”
Kaveh stared at him once again, in utter disbelief. He ran his hands through golden strands, sighing heavily. “A whole damn year? Alhaitham, you’re supposed to be smart.”
They stood in silence for several moments, a clock ticking somewhere in the distance. Alhaitham continued to be devastatingly silent, staring at Kaveh through those bored teal lenses as if he had been waiting for an immediate solution, as if Kaveh was supposed to know what was going on in that infuriatingly reserved mind, as if—
“We should pretend,” Alhaitham stated, calmly. “That we really are a couple. Then, she won’t be upset at me and she won’t find out about your financial situation. It shouldn’t be for long; I doubt she’ll stay put in Sumeru City for longer than a few weeks.”
Kaveh’s mouth fell, gaping, as he struggled to find a response. “We— You— What,” he stuttered, cocking his head. “You want us to pretend we’re dating?”
Alhaitham shrugged. “If you can think of a better plan, senior, do let me know. This is the most efficient solution.”
It was probably the least efficient solution they could have possibly come up with, but stupidity seemed to hang around the air in that house, and so the days passed, Alhaitham finished more books, Kaveh worked on more blueprints, and in an instant it was Tuesday.
They were sitting awkwardly at Puspa Café, next to one another, Kaveh fidgeting with his hair clips while Alhaitham stared forward unflinchingly.
“She’s going to find out in one second if you keep acting so anxious.”
“She’s not here yet,” Kaveh barked, adjusting his braid.
“If she walks in and you look so blatantly uncomfortable, it won’t be a good look on me as a boyfriend,” Alhaitham observed.
Kaveh let go of the braid, narrowing his eyes. “That sounds very in-character. Boyfriend or not, you’re still an asshole.”
Alhaitham raised an amused eyebrow, snaking his arm around Kaveh’s waist and pulling him closer in a perfectly casual movement.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
“Showing the love of my life some affection. This is meant to be realistic, no, senior? If we were dating, I would do this.”
“I doubt it,” Kaveh grumbled, looking away. “I can’t even imagine what you as a boyfriend would look like. The word ‘romance’ isn’t even in your vocabulary.”
“I am happy to indulge your curiosity. You are about to find out what I look like as a boyfriend.” He gently pulled Kaveh’s fingers from his lips, where he was anxiously nibbling his nails. “Relax. It’s just my grandmother. You’ve known her for ages.”
“Yeah, but not as her grandson-in-law! What if she thinks I’m totally unsuited for you?”
Alhaitham snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. She loves you. She’s ecstatic about us, and keeps poking at me to propose.”
“Really?” Kaveh asked, his head still turned. He didn’t want his furious blush to be visible.
“If anything, she thinks I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you, and that I’m very lucky.”
“She’s right,” Kaveh grunted. “You better treat me like a king, since I’m helping clean up the mess you made. As my boyfriend, I think it’s only right that you should pay for all my drinks at Lambad’s.”
“Don’t I do that already?”
“Without complaining.”
“If anything, you complain much more than me.”
“I don’t kno—”
“My loves!” came a fond voice from behind them.
A tall and slender elderly woman, wisps of silver hair flailing around her head, engulfed the both of them in a bone-crushing embrace, taking the time to bury Alhaitham’s face with desperate kisses.
“It’s been so long,” she whispered, ruffling their hair and undoing all of Kaveh’s meticulous work on his hairdo.
“Welcome home, grandma,” Alhaitham greeted, not hiding a smile. Kaveh resisted bursting out laughing at the sight of Auntie Yalda’s lipstick having left a constellation of red marks on his skin, sporting a genuine beam instead.
“Welcome home, Auntie. I’ve missed you,” he said.
“And I you, my dear!” she replied, returning his beam. “We have so much to talk about. Haitham tells me everything about you in our letters, of course, but it’s not the same!”
Alhaitham did not speak, calling the waiter over to take their orders.
“I actually visited the Palace of Alcazarzaray before coming into the city,” she continued, taking a seat. “It truly is a marvel. I believe I’ve already congratulated you, but I’ll do it again. You really are a formidable artist.”
Kaveh smiled sheepishly. “Thank you, Auntie.”
They ordered, or rather Yalda ordered, insisting that half of the menu was absolutely necessary on their table, because the “boys” were too “skinny.”
“I taught you to cook well enough. Why aren’t you feeding Kaveh properly?” she scrutinised, pointing a spoon at Alhaitham.
“He is perfectly well-fed, as am I,” he replied, crossing his arms.
“I’ll make sure to make plenty of fatteh. Kaveh, darling, can you forgive me for not cooking for you in so long?”
Kaveh laughed, not hiding his fondness. “Don’t worry, Auntie. You did teach Alhaitham well, he makes a very good one.”
“That’s good to hear,” she answered. “You two have a lot to tell me.”
“In regards to?”
“Don’t play silly with me, boy. Your relationship.”
“I’ve already written to you about it extensively.”
“Well, now I want to hear from Kaveh,” she shrugged, directing her piercing teal gaze to panicked red eyes. “Let me hear your version, my dear.”
Kaveh gulped, willing the coffee to arrive immediately. He put on a nervous smile which he hoped could be attributed to shyness.
“Oh, you know. I don’t think it’s so surprising that we got together, after all, we’ve been best friends for such a long time. We didn’t talk for a few years since we had that fight, but eventually Alhaitham saw me in a tavern, came over, apologised, and asked me out. We’ve been a couple ever since.”
He tentatively reached for Alhaitham’s hand, tangling their fingers together. It was a story they had gone over several times, but he had the irrational fear of having messed up a detail accidentally.
“Took him long enough,” Yalda huffed. “I told him so many times to apologise to you, but he was being so ridiculous. Saying you didn’t want to see him again, when it was so obvious he just needed to apologise.”
“It’s in the past now,” Alhaitham interrupted.
“Let your grandmother speak,” she continued. “I’ve been telling him to confess to you for so many years. But he’s so stubborn! Ever since he was still shorter than me, it was obvious he looked at you like you held up the sun.”
“I was a child, grandma. We were just friends.”
“You told me, word per word, that you wanted to marry Kaveh!” she exclaimed, laughing fondly. “So adorable. I told you it might happen some day, and wasn’t I right!”
Kaveh snickered, letting go of Alhaitham’s hand to cover his mouth. “Well, he never told me that.”
“I hardly think it’s relevant. Again, we were children, and I’d never had a best friend.”
“Twelve years old is not quite that young, Haitham,” Yalda pointed out. “And now that you’re twenty-six, you’re still saying the same thing.”
“Well, you’re right. Kaveh is the only one I’ve ever wanted.”
Kaveh nearly choked on pure air, hands frozen as he processed what had just been said. He smiled sheepishly, forcing his eyes to look at Alhaitham.
“You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted, too.”
“Okay, lovebirds!” Yalda interrupted, grinning. “See? Alhaitham, you had better get a ring soon.”
“We’ve only been together for a year,” Alhaitham reasoned.
“You’ve been dancing around each other for over a decade,” she retorted, now pointing the spoon at Kaveh. “You too. Don’t think I didn’t notice. Always making those puppy eyes at my grandson.”
Kaveh cackled a bit too loudly for it to be natural, desperately looking for the waiter. “Of course! Who would’ve resisted falling in love with Haitham?”
Yalda looked extremely pleased. “He did grow into such a handsome boy. Don’t you agree, Kaveh?”
“Oh, excuse me!” Kaveh called, waving over a waiter. “I’m so sorry, Auntie! I just realised I ordered my coffee wrong.”
“Tell me about Liyue, grandma,” Alhaitham cut in, thankfully changing the subject. “I’ve been meaning to return.”
“Oh, you should, honey. It’s beautiful as always, of course, and its history is so interesting. I met an old friend, Mr Zhongli, who told me incredible stories about the Geo Archon. Fascinating, really.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve practiced my Liyuen,” Alhaitham hummed.
“Perhaps it would be a good spot for your honeymoon,” Yalda commented, just as Kaveh turned his head back to the conversation.
“Ah,” he choked. “Perhaps. Liyuen architecture is very interesting. Did you visit any interesting ruins, Auntie?”
“I did visit a beautiful spot in Huaguang Stone Forest which would be perfect for a wedding,” Yalda continued, seemingly not having heard him. “What do you think, Kaveh?”
“Well,” he started, fidgeting with his fingers. “I feel like a wedding in Sumeru would be more practical. So all our friends could attend, and all.”
“You’re right,” she conceded. “Where would you like for the honeymoon to be, dear? I assure you that my grandson can afford anything, after his little Grand Sage stunt.”
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t freely offer my money,” Alhaitham mumbled.
“Shush. Kaveh, where would be your ideal destination?”
Kaveh stuttered, pretending to think long and hard about the subject.
“Kaveh wants to go to Inazuma,” Alhaitham commented. “We haven’t had a chance to go since they opened their borders. He really wants to take a good look at the architecture and visit the Grand Narukami Shrine.”
The worst part was that it was completely true. Kaveh’s heart fluttered at the realisation that Alhaitham had paid enough attention to his rambles to remember details.
Yalda clapped her hands enthusiastically. “That would be lovely! Say, Kaveh, do you—”
He was thankfully saved from answering whatever question she was going to make by the waiter finally bringing their food, granting him a desperately needed sigh of relief.
The door closed slowly behind them when the pair arrived home, or rather rolled home, after having been utterly stuffed to the brim by Yalda’s insistence (and Alhaitham’s generous wallet).
“Well, that was awkward as shit,” Kaveh mumbled. “Did you really say you wanted to marry me when we were kids?”
Alhaitham frowned. “Yes. I was a child, senior, but if you so wish, you may feel flattered. I would assume I meant it in the sense that I wanted us to be friends forever.”
“Aw,” Kaveh cooed. “Who knew you could be so sweet? Bring little Haitham back, I like him better than you.”
Alhaitham barely grunted before locking himself in the bathroom, the shower water quickly starting to run.
Kaveh collapsed onto the divan, holding his stomach and staring up at the ceiling. He felt the urge to hide his face in his hands, despite being completely alone, after what could only be described as the most awkward moment of his life.
Alhaitham was a good actor. No, that was an understatement: Alhaitham was an impressively skilled actor. He was utterly unfazed throughout the exchange, — even while discussing honeymoon plans — a languid arm thrown around Kaveh’s waist, rubbing absentminded circles onto his skin as if he were perfectly at ease pretending that Kaveh really was his lover, his safe space, his joy and comfort.
And it was… oddly soothing. A firm, grounding grip on his body, a compliment here and there, a demonstration of care and attention in between comments about Inazuman tourist attractions. It felt natural, even, organic, as if Alhaitham weren’t acting at all.
And that was the worst part. The last thing Kaveh needed was to fall in love with his roommate, who he also considered to be his best friend, although he’d never admit that out loud. It had only been one day, and he was already destroyed by the emotional toll that an affectionate Alhaitham had taken on him. Surely, it couldn’t get much worse than this.
“Kaveh chose all the furniture, of course,” Alhaitham rambled, taking his grandmother around the living room. “The dining table is here, as you can see, and down this door we’re in the kitchen.”
They stepped in to find the sight of Kaveh kneeling on the floor, a bandana tied around his forehead while he rubbed furiously at the tiles with a wet cloth.
“And this is my housewife,” Alhaitham added.
The wet cloth quickly found its way to the smack center of Alhaitham’s face, travelling like an intercontinental ballistic missile.
“Housewife my a— butt,” Kaveh spat, a scowl colouring his features. “We can talk about it when you start giving me half your salary and taking me to resorts in Fontaine.” He stood up in a very dignified manner, ignoring Alhaitham’s subtle smirk. “Hello, Auntie, how are you?”
“Very well, my dear,” she chuckled.
“No greeting me?” Alhaitham asked, crossing his arms. “I thought you loved me.”
“I thought I did too, but you haven’t been deserving of my love lately,” Kaveh sighed, crossing his own arms theatrically. “Guess you’re sleeping on the divan tonight.”
Alhaitham pouted, and it was a sight so adorable Kaveh had to resist pinching his cheeks.
“You had better apologise,” Yalda suggested, poking her grandson. “I don’t want you coming to me crying again, asking for advice on how to get him back.”
“Again?”
“Oh, yes, he was distraught after that big fight of yours,” Yalda mentioned offhandedly, untying his bandana. If she noticed the immediate tension in the air, she didn’t mention it, handing Alhaitham the cloth. “Come on, help your ‘housewife.’ What a pitiful excuse for a man you are! He’s going to properly leave you, if you don’t make yourself useful.”
“It’s not my day to clean,” Alhaitham grumbled, doing as he was told regardless.
Yalda led Kaveh out into the living room, where he poured them each a glass of wine. He sat down with a tired sigh, and tried to resist the urge to down the drink in one go.
“I brought something you might find interesting,” she started, grinning, while pulling out a few pieces of paper from her handbag. “I know my grandson can be… well, quiet, and reserved. I don’t know how good he really is at expressing his feelings with you.”
“Yes, he’s never been the best at… well, talking,” Kaveh admitted.
“But he’s pretty clear about it in his letters.” she continued, slamming them on the table. “So I thought you might like to read them.”
“Oh!” Kaveh exclaimed, taking a large sip. “Thank you, but I couldn’t. I don’t want to intrude on his privacy.”
“Nonsense, darling!” she replied, pushing one towards him. “It’s nothing that private. Just the way he talks about you. Here, I’ll read a passage out loud. You do know I despise the desert, grandma, but I wasn’t going to let Kaveh go without me. I know perfectly well that he can take care of himself, but I worry excessively… Something about him makes me lose all rationality. Regardless, the trip was surprisingly interesting. We met a deity trapped in the body of a cat, and Kaveh gushed about the temple’s design for hours. I always enjoy hearing him speak, but it’s all the more interesting when he’s so passionate.”
She turned to another page, not taking the moment to notice how Kaveh’s mouth had fallen open.
“Oh, yes, this one was sweet. I told him to stop gushing about you to me and send love letters instead, but I think he’s still a little shy,” she chuckled. “Kaveh is on a trip for two whole weeks, building some sort of warehouse, and our house is oddly silent. It’s unsettling. A little peace is welcome, but I do miss his talking. I wish he’d write me more.”
“That’s, um,” Kaveh choked, feeling touched despite the rational voice screaming in his head that it was all fabricated. “Really sweet. I’ll write to him more next time.”
“You should, dear. I don’t think he’d ever tire of you,” she commented, skimming through more letters.
“I think I should go start on lunch,” Kaveh coughed, standing up. “Thank you, really, these letters are lovely. But I don’t want to leave everything to Haitham.”
Yalda made her way to the bathroom while Kaveh rummaged through the fridge, picking out the fresh vegetables they had bought at the bazaar earlier.
“She showed me some of your letters,” he mentioned casually, peeling an eggplant. “You’re pretty good at pretending you’re in love with me.”
“It’s not hard,” Alhaitham shrugged, looking away.
What exactly was that supposed to mean? A bout of warmth prickled Kaveh’s chest, but he didn’t dwell on it much.
“So you complain about how much noise I make, but then you complain about the silence to your grandmother when I’m travelling,” Kaveh teased. “I’ll make sure to send very detailed letters about all my complaints next time I leave the city.”
Alhaitham didn’t dignify that with a reply, and instead started chopping the eggplants Kaveh had finished peeling.
“No, no, no,” Yalda interrupted, walking in. “Leave that to me. I want to spoil my grandchildren, you two go enjoy your romance somewhere else while I cook.”
They complied. Except ‘enjoying their romance’ turned out to mean Alhaitham picking out a book about something uninteresting like Inazuman religion while Kaveh buried himself in humiliation and bewilderment on his bed. They sat down for lunch, and Yalda’s food was heavenly as usual, allowing Kaveh to fall into naïve, unguarded bliss before his heart was wrung inside out once again.
“There are three rooms in the house,” she observed. “And you are two people who share a bed.”
Kaveh nearly choked on a mouthful of rice, hopefully disguising his panic with several coughs.
”Might I know why your poor grandmother was kicked out to a common inn when you clearly have enough space to take me in?
“We share a bedroom, of course, but the other two rooms are studies, one for myself and one for Kaveh,” Alhaitham explained, unbothered while he sipped his own wine. “Besides, he has an excessive amount of clothes, so he keeps most of them in a closet in his study. The room does double as a guest bedroom, but I didn’t want to inconvenience him, forcing him to move his things and work in the living room.”
“The amount of clothes I have is perfectly normal,” Kaveh grumbled.
“I also think it’s hardly reproachable that I would like to keep some privacy in being alone with my lover,” Alhaitham added, and Kaveh bit back another choke. Half at the implication, and half at the sheer rudeness of making such an excuse to his own grandmother.
“I do apologise for his manners,” Kaveh squeaked, interrupting Yalda’s half-open mouth. “Of course, it would not inconvenience me at all to vacate my study for a while! I told Alhaitham that, but you know how stubborn he is, auntie.”
“I do, child, and believe me, I tried to teach him manners, so there’s no need to apologise for him. It is sweet that he wants you all to himself,” she chuckled, smiling sweetly. “But, since it’s not inconvenient, I’ll move my things here tomorrow morning.”
Kaveh dropped his glass with a messy splatter of cracking sounds, eyes widened as he registered Yalda’s words. She would move her things. She would stay with them. They would have to keep this act up at home, all the time. She would take his bedroom. He would have to sleep with—
“What?” he squeaked, finally registering a few small cuts on his hands. “Oh. I’m sorry! The breaking glass just scared me. I’ll go clean up.”
He got up in a flurry, followed by both Alhaitham and Yalda as he cleaned the small bruises, laughing nervously the whole time. Act normal. Act normal. Act normal. He managed to return to the table so they could serve dessert.
“Zaha invited me to the annual Akademiya Ball as her plus-one!” Yalda mentioned excitedly. “I assume the both of you will go, too. I’m excited.”
“Of course! I love parties, and I look forward to this one every year,” Kaveh exclaimed.
“I never go,” Alhaitham deadpanned. “I’m not required to attend, and I don’t see why I would return to my workplace when I have the chance not to.”
“Poor Kaveh,” Yalda grunted. “All alone at the ball, because his fiancé is a hermit.”
“We’re not engaged,” Alhaitham corrected. “And he’s hardly alone. Kaveh has a frankly impressive number of friends.”
“And only one ‘boyfriend,’ who is supposed to support him and accompany him to events which are important to him!”
“It really is okay, Auntie,” Kaveh chuckled. “We both know Alhaitham isn’t one for parties. I don’t want to bother him.”
“Nonsense!” she tutted. “We will all go. Alhaitham can survive through one party for the sake of your happiness, it really won’t kill him.”
It was settled. Alhaitham was stubborn, but he had no choice but obey the woman who had raised him. They would all go to the ball together, which meant that the entirety of the Akademiya would know that they were ‘a couple.’
Excellent. Perfectly ideal.
”I sleep on the right side of the bed,” Kaveh mumbled.
They were standing in their nightclothes, awkwardly lingering by the door, fully aware that Yalda was only a wall away. In the end, they had decided that vacating Alhaitham’s room would be easier given that all he had were a few scattered books, and Kaveh’s looked more like a master bedroom due to the painted walls and several trinkets lying around. And so, now Alhaitham was staring at his roommate’s thin golden covers.
“I also sleep on the right side of the bed,” he replied.
“Well, you got us into this mess, and you are in my room. So, you’re sleeping on the left today,” Kaveh huffed, climbing under the covers.
“Fine. I’ll be the bigger person,” Alhaitham shrugged, lying down next to him.
“Excuse you? This entire situation is your fault!”
“Keep your voice down, senior, or she’ll hear you,” Alhaitham whispered. “In any case, I would say this particular situation is your own fault. You were the one who practically invited her to stay here.”
“Not true!” Kaveh retorted, although it was pretty much true. “I was just being polite, trying to make up for you being rude as shit.”
“So you call setting boundaries ‘being rude as shit.’ That does summarise your lifestyle quite well.”
Kaveh’s eye twitched, and he reached to turn off the light. “Good fucking night, honey.”
”See you tomorrow, my love.”
The “my love” hadn’t affected him at all. Zero. Nope. Not at all. Kaveh hadn’t reacted, and had simply closed his eyes, definitely managing to drift into sleep quite quickly. It would have been stupid to feel warm in the cheeks and have your heartbeat flutter because of a teasing, completely unserious remark by your roommate.
“Good morning, angel,” Alhaitham murmured as he walked into the kitchen, handing Kaveh a cup of coffee. “How did you sleep?”
Kaveh nearly combusted on the spot, flushing a deep crimson as his lips inadvertently curled up. This is a ruse, his head screamed, pointing to Yalda’s figure biting into a breakfast wrap two steps away. This is fake.
Well. If Alhaitham could be a good actor, Kaveh could too. Why not use his flustered state to his advantage? Looking the part would only make the ordeal more realistic.
He smiled coyly, not bothering to hide his blush. “I always sleep well with your arms around me,” he replied, pressing a soft kiss to Alhaitham’s cheek.
He switched his gaze to Yalda, completely unable to look at Alhaitham while humiliation seeped into his bones. Why did I do that? He plastered another smile on his lips. “Good morning, Auntie.”
“Good morning,” she chuckled. “You two are sweet.”
Kaveh moved to drown his coffee in several spoonfuls of sugar, but Alhaitham tapped his finger gently. “I already did it.”
“Oh,” he mumbled, trying a sip. It was just how he liked it. “Thanks.”
“So,” Yalda hummed. “What are we doing on Monday?”
Alhaitham raised a brow. “Unfortunately working from nine to five. Why?”
She rolled her eyes. “Kaveh, you’re closer, do slap him for me. Surely you, at least, have started planning something for his birthday.”
Kaveh laughed nervously, taking a large sip of coffee. Right. It was already February.
“Of course, of course,” he replied, a bit too quickly. “But, since I didn’t know you would be coming, Auntie, I had planned something else. A romantic picnic, you know how it is. But, we obviously need to celebrate the three of us together! I was actually meaning to speak to you two so we could decide what we want to do. I mean, what Alhaitham wants to do, of course. It’s his day.”
“Oh, don’t let me get in the way of your romantic picnic, sweetheart!” she exclaimed, delighted. “Do your thing. I’ll enjoy having the house to myself to relax a little.”
“Nonsense, Auntie!” Kaveh shouted, then cleared his throat. “Haitham and I have plenty of time for romantic moments. I’m sure he’d like to spend his birthday with you, now that you’re here.”
“You’re both perfectly aware that I don’t care about birthdays,” Alhaitha interrupted, looking between the two of them. “We don’t have to do anything.”
Yalda and Kaveh rolled their eyes in perfect unison, shooting him an identical look of disdain.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kaveh huffed.
“I’ll make your favourite, a strawberry pie. Oh, Kaveh, we’ll have to get started on the cooking soon. We won’t have the time on Sunday evening, since it’s the ball.”
“True,” Kaveh mumbled, poking a piece of flatbread. He did not want to think about that party.
Falling asleep next to Alhaitham was even harder on the second night, in which Kaveh could feel the tingle of Alhaitham’s pinky toe grazing his ankle. It was enough to keep the architect awake for hours, debating whether Alhaitham would wake up if he moved his leg slightly.
His breath caught when Alhaitham himself readjusted while fast asleep, his entire two feet now pressed against Kaveh’s poor ankle. He nearly jumped.
“Hm… ’m cold,” Alhaitham mumbled, sending Kaveh’s heartbeat speeding up drastically.
He barely managed to sleep.
The next night, Kaveh dropped a fluffy blanket on the left side of the bed, earning him an eyebrow raise from his now bedmate.
“I know you’re used to a princess bed with your premium special expensive mattress and your thick covers, so it’s no wonder you’re trembling all night,” he huffed. “Just don’t throw your blanket to my side. I’m gonna sweat to death.”
He went to sleep unsure of whether the mumbled “thank you” he heard was a figment of his imagination.
“You look dazzling,” Yalda giggled, poking at Kaveh’s earring. “No wonder my grandson fell in love with you.”
Said grandson was busy buttoning his sleeve. “You look gorgeous,” he mumbled, focused on the button, and Kaveh thought it would have sounded more honest if he were actually looking.
They were standing in the living room, adding any finishing touches to their outfits before heading out to the ball. Kaveh was wearing a red blouse made in lace with a long suit jacket matching its colour draped on his shoulders. A golden ribbon adorned the collar, and the fitted white dress pants made way to a heeled boot. The amber earrings matched the jewels adorning his fingers, and a golden hairpin complemented the sophisticated hairdo he had braided his golden locks into.
Alhaitham was wearing a simple old suit he had scavenged the depths of the storage cupboard to find.
“We’ll be late,” the Scribe muttered, extending one arm to Kaveh and the other to Yalda.
“Someone is suddenly excited to go to the party, hm?” Kaveh teased, intertwining a ringed hand with Alhaitham’s.
“Someone is excited to show off his stunning date,” Yalda corrected, chuckling.
“Someone is excited to get to the ball early so he can also leave early,” Alhaitham grumbled, his tone more defensive than usual. It seemed that being forced to attend a party was one of the few things that got under his unfazed skin.
The walk to the Akademiya was short, but it was nothing short of nerve-wracking. Kaveh hoped that Alhaitham couldn’t feel just how sweaty his hands were, although that seemed unlikely. He was going to walk in, in front of everyone, on Alhaiham’s arm, and dote on him like a besotted boyfriend. Or rather, fiancé. He hoped Yalda would stop referencing their future wedding now that they were in public.
They met Professor Zaha Hadi at the front door.
“Kaveh,” she greeted, smiling. “Long time no see. I didn’t know you were dating my dear friend’s grandson.”
“Ah, hello, professor,” he replied, sheepishly. “I actually didn’t know you were close with Auntie Yalda.”
“We go a long way back,” she chuckled, adjusting her glasses. “Alhaitham is very lucky. You know, in all my years of teaching, I don’t think there’s quite been another student like Kaveh. Partly because of his brilliance and partly because of the way he saw architecture, always focused on the impact he could have on the world. It’s heartwarming to see a young man so passionate.”
“Thank you, professor,” he said, earnestly. “Your compliments mean a lot to me.”
“We can’t stand here all day,” Yalda quipped. “Let’s go, the ball is in the House of Daena.”
“Excellent. I’ll have plenty of choice in case I need a book to distract me from the party.”
Yalda sighed fondly, and as the group stepped through the marble halls, Kaveh felt more and more observed. A whisper here and there, a scholar looking in their direction, a faraway giggle… Were they looking at him? At where his hands were holding the Scribe’s? Or was he just going insane?
“Finally!” Cyno exclaimed, approaching them as soon as they walked in. “Looks like you two are finally ready for ro-dance. Like. Romance. But ro-dance. Okay, whatever. I really am so happy for you, Alhaitham was—”
“We’re not actually together,” Alhaitham interrupted curtly, turning his head discreetly to ensure that Yalda was out of earshot. “We are pretending for my grandmother’s sake because she believes we are a couple, due to long and complicated reasons.”
Cyno stared at them blankly.
“Long and complicated.”
“Yes, long and complicated.”
“Basically, he’s been writing to her pretending that we’ve been a couple for the past whole year,” Kaveh pitched in. “For whatever reason. Going all, boohoo, Kaveh’s on a trip this week, I miss him so much, and wow, I wanna marry Kaveh so bad, do you think I should propose already?”
“For whatever reason,” Cyno repeated, amused, turning his attention to Alhaitham. “Care to explain your behaviour? Why would you do that?”
“I said that the reasons are long and complicated,” Alhaitham insisted, unflinching. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we unfortunately have to greet many people.”
They did greet many people, half of which enquired about their relationship status, and when their rounds around the massive library were finally over, Kaveh gulped down three glasses of champagne at once.
“What had you said about this being ‘fun,’ senior?” Alhaitham grunted, reaching for a glass himself.
“It’s way more fun when, one, you aren’t the Scribe and don’t have to greet every damn person in this place, and two, you don’t have to answer five thousand questions about how you’re dating the gorgeous, extremely desirable, and enviably brilliant Light of Kshahrewar.”
Alhaitham hummed. “Now, what? What very fun thing do we do now? Just talk, which we could be doing at home, in silence, sitting comfortably?”
“It’s a ball, so we dance, idiot,” Kaveh mumbled, now sipping on wine. “Or we would dance, if you knew how to.”
“I know how to.”
“No, you don’t.”
They joined a waltz, swirling around the room in perfect unison.
“I have to admit that you’re not that bad,” Kaveh muttered, observing the slight twitch of his partner’s lips so close to his own. “Still room for improvement, though.”
“Perfection is unachievable, senior. Something you would do well to remember.”
“Really?” Kaveh smiled. “Then how do you explain this?”
He parted from Alhaitham’s arms in a fluid movement, twirling to the rhythm of the melody while his arms swirled gracefully. As the music softened, he removed the delicate hairpin with elegance, and more golden curls cascaded to his shoulders.
He threw his head back laughing. “How do I look?”
Alhaitham’s expression was indecipherable, and Kaveh felt a bout of self-consciousness as he wondered whether his hair was now a mess.
The Scribe cleared his throat. “What was the word my grandmother used? Dazzling?”
“Wow, a Haravatat scholar and you need your grandma to help you compliment your own boyfriend,” Kaveh teased. “Or, maybe, fiancé. I’ll accept your proposal if you get me a gorgeous, custom-made ring.”
“So shallow, senior,” Alhaitham chuckled, and he looked as if he were going to say something else, but the music drew to an end and it was muffled by clapping.
“I’ll go check out the drink bar,” Kaveh called over the ruckus, rushing away to delight himself with the options.
Three of the drinks looked extremely interesting, so he simply brushed off the choice and ordered all three. Forty minutes later, he was finishing off something with a vaguely apple-y aftertaste and promising shots to a handful of students.
“Snezhnaya sure knows how to make alcohol,” he slurred, putting down the small glass as the students around him coughed and snickered. A greying scholar eyed the group disapprovingly.
“Wouldn’t you say your behaviour is inappropriate for a member of staff?” he scoffed.
Kaveh turned, taking a moment to visualise the individual speaking to him. “It’s a party,” he scoffed. “Let us be happy. They’re not underage.”
“I do wonder why the ex-Grand Sage would put up with the embarrassment of choosing someone like you,” the man grumbled.
Kaveh’s eyes widened, and he stepped towards the man with much gravity, jabbing a finger at his chest. “I beg your finest pardon? Say that looking me in the eye, you coward!”
“I said,” the man started, slowly. “That I don’t know why the ex-Grand Sage would choose someone like you.”
The architect saw red, handing the bottle of vodka he had been holding to a very entertained student before raising his chin and spitting jumbled words out in a flurry.
“I don’t know who you think you are to be treating random people like that, throwing insults around for no reason! The only embarrassment here is you, who’s trying to— to make me feel bad. I don’t even know you, and it’s frankly laughable that you would think your words could have any effect on my behaviour. You’re a— you’re—”
The man blinked at him, crossing his arms. “I’m a…? You’re so drunk you don’t even know what you’re saying. Do us all a favour and go home.”
“Oh, I know exactly what I was gonna say, but I do have some consideration for decorum, even if you don’t believe me! I’ll go home whenever I want, and then, I’ll go with my boyfriend, who lives with me and loves me very much and— and is not embarrassed of me! He likes me. A lot— He likes— He likes— He— he called me gorgeous earlier today. Bet you didn’t know that.”
“I wasn’t interested in knowing.”
“You—!” Kaveh shouted, earning several startled glances from around the group. “He’s not embarrassed of me. He said I’m the love of his life.”
The man snickered. “I must admit your drunkenness is amusing. Perhaps this is why he keeps you around.”
“He keeps me around because he cares about me!” Kaveh yelled, now more to himself than anyone else. “And we’re very happy together. And his grandmother loves me too, and she wants us to get married. And,” he leaned forward lowering his tone, “we make love every single night.”
Kaveh burst out cackling, his boisterous, breathless laughter only intensifying as he watched the scholar’s scandalised expression. The alcohol blurred the following moments, and he had no idea how long he had been laughing for when an arm wrapped around his shoulders, nudging him forward.
“Let’s get you some water,” Alhaitham murmured.
“Tell him you’re not embarrassed by me, Haitham,” Kaveh hiccuped, suddenly perfectly serious.
“Who?” Alhaitham mumbled, focused on leading him somewhere.
“Him! That— jerk! Said I’m an embarrassment to you! Can you believe it?”
“How rude,” Alhaitham replied, looking around for a waiter.
“Very! I’m not embarrassing you!” Kaveh slurred, leaning against him. “Right?”
“No.”
Kaveh broke into a grin, wrapping his arms around Alhaitham’s neck. “Haitham…” he whispered.
“A glass of water, please,” Alhaitham called, gesturing to someone.
“Haitham,” he whined. “Look at me.”
Alhaitham turned. “I’m looking.”
“I don’t think our acting is good enough,” he pouted.
“It’s perfectly realistic.”
Kaveh hummed. “No. Not believable enough. That random guy thought it was weird that we were together.”
Alhaitham sighed. “Forget whoever that was. He’s irrelevant.”
“We can do better, I think…” Kaveh whispered, blinking at those unwavering eyes. He smiled, and Alhaitham was watching him so intensely, so carefully, and he was so close, and his skin felt so nice. He said something, but Kaveh couldn’t hear, too focused on counting his eyelashes, analysing the ring of amber around the teal of his eyes, measuring the angle of his cheekbones. The air was warm, flushing his cheeks, and the lighting was like melted moonbeams.
And then Kaveh was devouring his roommate’s lips, sloppy and desperate and self-indulgent and perfect and warm and—
Alhaitham pulled away softly, offering a glass of water which seemed to have magically appeared out of thin air.
Kaveh stared at the water, then at Alhaitham again. He cocked his head. “Tell me the truth. This week… were you… Are you really acting?”
Alhaitham brought the glass to Kaveh’s smudged lipstick, easing it forward slowly.
“Let’s go home.”