Chapter Text
"Alhaitham! Alhaitham please wake up! Don't leave me please— you need to stay alive!" His head buzzed. as someone was yelling and crying out.
What happened?
His heart hurts and he feels warm.
He doesn't remember.
His thoughts are a mess.
His eyes stick together when he tries to look.
Someone is clinging onto the front of his shirt.
Finally he manages to open his eyes.
Above him is a person with short brown hair and beautiful red eyes, in which he sees his own reflection.
The person starts crying a name again and again.
Alhaitham
…
It must be his name.
…
He is too tired to stay awake.
All he wants is to sleep, even if just for a bit.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Alhaitham stirs awake at the sound of his alarm as the comfort and warmth of his bed wants to lure him back to sleep.
He pulls his blanket over his head and tries to ignore the ringing of his phone.
Eventually, he gives in and rolls over in his bed, and his hand reaches over for his phone on his nightstand and shuts it off.
He lays there, staring at the ceiling as he thinks and gathers his thoughts.
It was the same dream once again.
Or more accurately, the same memory that keeps replaying in his head again and again ever since that day.
Begrudgingly, he gets up and takes his music player from his nightstand and puts on his headphones as usual.
He can't be late today, or he will get in trouble again, especially after the stunt he pulled a few days ago.
He would rather wrap up everything today quickly.
It's been more than 10 years since he's lost his memories after he was involved in a near fatal car crash.
He doesn't remember much aside from the unknown brunette person that saved him that day.
He checks his phone and sees 11 missed calls from Faruzan, 3 from Cyno and 78 new messages from the group chat.
Right, they were supposed to visit the new location today together and get a tour before they'd start filming there.
It was a large palace they had booked which belongs to Lord Sangemah Bay.
He looks up at the clock in his room and checks the time.
11:46 AM
The meeting was supposed to be at 9 AM. He is more than late.
Nonetheless, he still takes his time to take a shower, make himself coffee and get dressed in his usual tight black turtleneck shirt which highlights the green gem necklace he wears, a pair of black pants, and his turquoise sash before putting on his dark green jacket.
Finally, he gets into his car and drives over to the meeting place.
When he arrives, Faruzan is the first to approach him. "Where in Teyvat were you?! We waited 2 hours for you to show up until we eventually did the tour without you," she angrily asks him.
"I'm sure I'll be fine even without a tour, Madame Faruzan." He brushes her off and walks over to Cyno and Tighnari.
Unfortunately for most of them, Alhaitham had the lead role and was far too valuable to be replaced, so he was pretty much free to do as he pleased, as long as he showed up to filming.
"There you finally are! You just missed your biggest fan," Tighnari snickers and looks over to his husband.
"Yeah, our tour guide could not shut up about you. Maybe he even has a big fat crush on you," Cyno says dramatically while leaning into Tighnari.
Alhaitham only rolls his eyes and sighs.
Great, another one of those weirdos.
Of course, he already had dealt with plenty of weird and invasive fans.
One time, a deranged fan broke into his house to steal his socks and underwear. Another time, an obsessive fan tried to cut off a piece of his hair that was nicknamed "Sprout" by his fans.
"Well, we are now all headed to lunch on top of the palace's rooftop. Would you like to accompany us, Alhaitham?" Nilou asks, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"I heard from director Furina that the scenery up there is beautiful. It's a private garden that is usually off limits."
Nilou always had an eye for beauty and the arts, combined with her kind and happy personality, it quickly made her the favourite among fans and other actors.
And even though he wasn't into women, he could admit that Nilou was objectively pretty.
After some consideration, Alhaitham gives a hum of approval and joins them for lunch on the balcony of the massive palace.
"Did you know the architect who build this palace will join us for filming to help with the set design? He was also the guy that gave us the tour today," Nilou says, "he was super nice and answered all of our questions."
Alhaitham groans internally.
Great, now this crazed fan of his was going to be on set with him almost every single day?
The universe really hated him.
"So Alhaitham still hasn't arrived? Colour me surprised!" Kaveh says, annoyed.
They were all supposed to get a tour together today, but to no one's surprise, Alhaitham is late and most likely even still asleep in his bed without a care in the world.
"See, this is why I didn't want to work with him!" He turns to Tighnari who's rubbing his temple.
Kaveh had been very vocal from the start about his disdain for Alhaitham. Luckily, in the end, they had managed to convince him to work with them for the movie set.
"Kaveh, you're a good kid and I know you've got this. Alhaitham's our lead actor and he's incredibly talented. We all just have to accept him like he is." Faruzan comforts him.
Kaveh sighs.
He has plenty of reasons for why he doesn't want to work with Alhaitham, but they don't have to know that, right?
Hopefully, he doesn't have to see him today or any time soon.
"Well, shall we start the tour? It's now 11 AM and I only have until 12 AM because I have meeting with a client," Kaveh now chimes in.
The rest of the group agrees and head off to explore the palace.
He chats a lot with Nilou since she showed a lot of interest in the palace itself and its decor.
"This mural was hand painted by me. It took me around 2 weeks to finish it." They stopped before a large mural depicting two birds, flying almost intimately, dancing around each other.
One of them is a gray eagle with striking green accents, while the other one is a phoenix with a mix of fiery red and yellow-golden feathers.
"It's really pretty." Cyno comments.
"Thank you! I lost a lot of sleep over it, but it turned out good enough."
He still remembers skipping meals just so he could finish it in time, and the smell of the paint is etched into his mind.
Without even noticing, he steps closer to the mural, and lets his fingers glide over it almost longingly, yearning for something before he quickly snaps out of it again.
"Hey Kaveh, are you alright?" Tighnari asks him as they continue to walk down the long corridors.
Tighnari was one of the few people Kaveh had opened up to a bit, but even then he would rather not want Tighnari to known about his past.
"Yeah, I'm fine just a bit nostalgic." He gives Tighnari a soft smile, hoping that would be enough for him to drop the topic.
And it seemed to have worked, because Tighnari doesn't ask again after that and rather keeps to casual conversation topics.
At the end of the tour, they all say goodbye as Kaveh now has to go see one of his clients, but just as he gets to his car he sees another car pull into the parking space.
It was him.
It was Alhaitham, undoubtedly.
Just a few minutes later and Alhaitham would have seen him as well.
It seems like luck was on his side today.
Finally, Alhaitham was at home again and could lounge on his couch without any annoying obligations or social events.
However, his bad luck was about to reach its peak very soon.
He was reading the new script they've received for this movie, when he sees his phone blowing up with notifications.
Usually, he would ignore any messages this late, but for some reason he picked up his phone regardless to check.
And then his stomach drops.
"Old interview with famous actor Alhaitham resurfaces!"
"Who is the mysterious person he is looking for?"
"Leaked old interview of the lead actor of Pandora's Tower ignites heated debates and speculation within the fandom!"
He stops reading.
No one was supposed to know about this.
This is a nightmare.
All of his careful planning is now out the window.
He checks his phone again and sees the group chat exploding with mentions of his name and missed calls.
Despite that, Alhaitham opens his phone and looks at the video that multiple people sent him.
"So Alhaitham this was your first movie, right?"
There, a far younger Alhaitham sits in a chair opposite to the interviewer. The room is bathed in soft rays of sunlight.
He nods.
"Let's begin with the interview, then." The interviewer says.
"What made you start acting, Alhaitham?"
"A few years ago, I was involved in a car accident which resulted in me losing all of my memories. The only thing I remember is someone rescuing me that day, and calling my name."
He hesitates for a moment.
"I kept thinking about them, and how they must have known me, and if I find them, I will be able to find out what happened that day and who I used to be." He goes silent again.
"I thought that if I make it as an actor, they will see my face and recognize me and try to reach out."
He hears the chirping of birds outside the window.
"Well, I wish you luck. Making it big isn't that easy." They chuckle.
"I'm well aware of that." He responds. "But I need to find them. I have had this feeling of emptiness ever since I forgot who I was and what my goals in life were, so I have to keep looking for them to find out who I used to be."
"That is very inspiring, Alhaitham." The interviewer says to the young actor and smiles.
The next day at work, the atmosphere is noticeably different.
The set is filled with personnel, but it's very quiet. Unnaturally quiet. Not that the silence bothers him, he had always preferred peace over the overwhelming noise of the usual film set.
His coworkers are all speaking in a hushed tone as he walks by.
Curious eyes follow him wherever he goes.
After a while, he finally spots Faruzan who was talking to a blond guy he had never seen before, although he wasn't too sure about that, as he feels something familiar as he walks closer to the both of them.
His blond long hair is open and cascades down his back and shoulders. His red eyes reflect the sunlight coming in from the windows.
Faruzan's attention shifts to Alhaitham as he comes closer.
The man is wearing a red blouse with white-gold bird patterns and black pants. These are complemented by the golden earrings and jewelry on his hands, arm and around his neck.
"There you finally are! I've been looking for you." She seems to be in a bad mood, probably because of what happened yesterday.
Before he could say anything, his attention shifts to the blond, who has an almost unreadable expression on his face.
"Alhaitham, let me introduce you to Kaveh, the Light of Kshahrewar, architect of the Palace of Alcazarzaray, and temporary set designer for this movie." Faruzan continues to talk but Alhaitham's attention is now elsewhere.
For some reason, he is unable to tear his eyes away from Kaveh.
"Kaveh…"
Now he remembers.
Didn't Tighnari and Cyno say something about him being a fan?
But instead of gushing over him and jumping at the chance to talk to him, he stays silent and looks at Alhaitham with disdain, like he is the worst person to have ever existed.
But it only intrigues Alhaitham even more.
He definitely wasn't a fan of him.
Without even saying a single word, Kaveh turns and leaves after Faruzan finishes talking.
"And there he goes." She puts her hands to her hips.
"He doesn't seem to like me that much," Alhaitham comments, still looking in the direction Kaveh walked away.
"We need to talk, Alhaitham."
He already knows about what, and he would rather avoid that topic altogether, so he attempts to leave, but Faruzan blocks his way.
"Firstly, that interview. Was it real?"
"It was, and I meant every single word I said," he says, in hopes it would make Faruzan drop the topic.
He wasn't keen on sharing something so personal with other people.
"Once you're off the clock, we will talk more about this. I am far too busy today."
"Okay." He's lying. He already knows he won't continue to talk about it with anyone.
The day goes by quickly as they only have to read and memorize the new script today.
Once he is alone, he makes his way to one of the pavilions on the grassy area around the palace, and makes himself comfortable on one of the benches, and begins to read the book he took with him this morning.
He feels the warm breeze against his skin and finally relaxes.
After a few hours, he's so deeply engrossed in his book that he fails to notice Nilou approaching him, wearing one of her many signature blue dresses and with a large basket full of muffins that was most likely gifted to her by one of her many devoted fans.
She sits down next to him and taps him on the shoulder when he doesn't notice her.
He turns to look at her, pausing his music.
"Would you like some muffins? It's too many for me to finish." She smiles at him, but he knows this isn't the real reason she was here.
Nonetheless, he takes one of the muffins and bites into it. He got a blueberry-flavored one, he notes.
Nilou strikes up some casual conversation topics such as the new script, and gushes over Chiori's new costumes that she is looking forward to wear once they start filming.
"She even let my try on the dress for the ballroom scene. It was so nice of her." Nilou pauses to chew.
"She really knows how to make gorgeous costumes while also making them comfortable." She stretches and stops talking for a moment. Then she turns to look at Alhaitham again, her voice softer and quieter now, almost careful.
"I saw the video. Your interview, I mean."
And there it is. The real reason.
He reaches for his music player to tune out Nilou's words, but she's faster and takes his hands into hers and continues talking to him.
"I want you to know that we all talked yesterday and that you can always ask us for help. Friends have each others back, after all." Nilou notices Alhaithams growing discomfort at being touched and lets go of his hands.
"I think it's a beautiful motivation. Not all would have the resolve to go that far for someone. That person is very lucky." She leans back, looking at the clear blue sky and the few birds flying over them.
Alhaitham follows her gaze at the sky, now thinking about that day again.
That when he woke up in the hospital all alone, not knowing what had happened and who he was.
The only thing he remembered was that person and what was presumably his name.
He feels a sense of longing when he thinks of that person. It must have been someone close to him, but where were they now? Why did they never reach out after the accident? And who were they to him?
So many questions, and he still isn't getting any closer to getting any answers.
When he looks down again, he spots a familiar blond-haired figure in the distance, crouching down and playing with an orange cat.
"Kaveh."
The way his blond hair glows in the sunlight like a blooming nilopala lotus at night draws his eyes.
"Pretty," he thinks to himself.
Kaveh has been plaguing his thoughts ever since he saw him for the first time.
Surprisingly, he doesn't mind it.
"Someone caught your attention, didn't they?" Nilou is also good at understanding other people, so naturally she notices Alhaitham's curiosity for Kaveh.
"I think you should go over and talk to him."
Alhaitham considers it for a moment and then makes up his mind.
He gets up from the bench and leaves Nilou behind as he walks over to Kaveh, crouching down next to him.
At first, Kaveh doesn't notice him, but when he does, his expression turns sour.
"What do you want?" Kaveh scowls and gets up.
"I didn't get a tour of the palace," is all Alhaitham says.
This seemingly upsets Kaveh even more as he balls his hand into a fist.
"You—! You have the audacity to come up to me like this!? After you didn't show up for the original tour?! And what now? You want me to give you a private tour?" He gestures wildly, pointing at Alhaitham from time to time.
"I'm so sorry, Your Highness. Let me clear my calendar for you so I can give the most luxurious of tours," Kaveh says in a condescending tone.
"Wouldn't it be rather unfortunate for the lead actor to get lost and possibly even end up getting hurt in such a large palace?" Alhaitham retorts with a smug smile.
Kaveh groans and rolls his eyes.
"Fine, fine. Right this way then, Your Highness."
Alhaitham follows without a single complaint and lets Kaveh talk to his hearts content. It feels nice not having to talk for once.
"The spiral staircase gave me a lot of trouble as I had originally planned an elevator here, but due to some constrains that was unfortunately not possible. I had to come up with another solution that didn't take up too much space." It's like Kaveh is reading his thoughts and responds to them without him needing to open his mouth.
"I also made sure the ceiling would have a special kind of pattern that would make the halls look more spacious but also not too empty and boring. It's important to find a good balance in aesthetics and practicality when designing and planning buildings, especially ones as large and grand as this palace," Kaveh continued to ramble about architecture.
Kaveh indulges Alhaitham's curiosity, explaining every single detail that he has poured into this palace. It's this wordless understanding that makes him relax and lets him take in Kaveh's company.
At some point during their tour, Kaveh had taken Alhaitham's hand in his, which neither of them seemed have to noticed.
As they walk down the halls, Alhaitham notices the large mural with the two birds and stops in front of it, making Kaveh stop as well as Alhaitham speaks up.
"What's this?"
"Oh, that was more of a personal touch I added while I had some free time. I lost a lot of sleep over it, but I think it was worth it in the end." Kaveh is a bit hesitant as he tells him about the mural.
Past the mural, he sees through a giant window and sees the big bells being set up for the movie, reminding him that Faruzan still wants to talk to him. He shuts off his phone so she can't reach him.
"Can we continue?" Alhaitham feels Kaveh's hand in his and forgets to answer.
Whether it is subconscious or not, Kaveh begins to speak softer and gently traces his finger over the back of Alhaitham's hand.
Alhaitham hums in acknowledgement and they continue to walk around, hand in hand.
He feels a gentle breeze as soon they reach the rooftop balcony, the sky now tinted orange as the clouds are bathed in the sunset, and only the occasional chirping of birds can be heard.
Kaveh leans on the stone railing and takes in the view, letting his hair blow in the wind.
"Isn't it beautiful? I choose this exact location so you will always have a perfect view of the sunset," he says.
"It matches your eyes," Alhaitham comments without even thinking.
"What—" The wind intensifies, cutting off Kaveh's words and turning his hair into a wild mane.
Before Kaveh can even fix his hair, Alhaitham reaches out and tucks his hair behind his ear, leaving Kaveh speechless and flustered. Even if he tries to hide it to the best of his abilities, Alhaitham still notices.
Silence follows between them, but it's not an uncomfortable one.
…No, it's quite the opposite, actually.
He feels at peace, as if it was just them he needs to think about.
Because that is all he wants to think about right now. How Kaveh's soft skin feels beneath his finger tips, and the pretty faint blush on his face.
Alhaitham allows himself to let his hand linger on Kaveh's face, and examines him closely as he didn't have a chance to do that previously.
He can still hear the sound of the bells in the distance.
Kaveh really is beautiful, he thinks—
They both get startled and pull away as the ringing of Kaveh's phone breaks the fragile silence.
"Hold on, it's Madame Faruzan." He picks up the call. Faruzan sounds like she has to hold back her anger as she speaks with Kaveh.
"Yes, yes, Alhaitham is here with me." He turns around to see Alhaitham no longer standing there.
Alhaitham had disappeared right as Kaveh looked away. He sighs.
"About that, Madame Faruzan—"
Quickly, Alhaitham makes his way into the large hallway to avoid having to meet with Faruzan.
But he did enjoy Kaveh's company a lot.
He should seek him out more often.
And that's exactly what he does the following days, weeks and months.
"Will you move?! You literally have the entire bench for yourself, yet you're all up in my space." Kaveh complains as he attempts to shove Alhaitham away.
Alhaitham only responds with a hum and makes himself even more comfortable on Kavehs shoulder.
Over time, Alhaitham and Kaveh grew very close, much to Kavehs dismay. Alhaitham had taken a particular liking to Kaveh's personal space and liked getting on his nerves.
And once again, Kaveh sighs and gives into Alhaithams whims, letting him do as he pleases.
"You're very lucky that I am in a good mood right now." He looks over to Cyno and Tighnari, who look back at him with a knowing expression.
Everyone was pretty aware that Alhaitham had started to seek out Kaveh whenever he could, not that Alhaitham tried to keep his affection for Kaveh a secret.
It was rather that almost every single day when he arrived at work, the first thing he asked is if Kaveh was there yet and where he could find him.
Or when they went out to any social events in between longer filming sessions, such as today, he would always insist on sitting next to or near Kaveh.
Kaveh, on the other hand, is much more discreet with his fondness for the young actor.
When he thinks no one is looking, he will look at Alhaitham with an almost longing expression.
However, both of them insist that their relationship is purely platonic, which not many people bought.
Unfortunately for Kaveh, right now Cyno and Tighnari didn't buy it either.
And the rumors they spread about them even made people call them boyfriends.
For example, one time when Alhaitham had asked Cyno about Kaveh's whereabouts, he had replied with, "I haven't seen your boyfriend today yet, but I'm pretty sure he is scheduled to meet with Chiori once he arrives. I'd suggest looking near the changing room."
And it doesn't help that it was obvious who they were referring to.
"Hey lovebirds, the food is here." Tighnari snaps his fingers to get their attention.
Alhaitham sits up properly again and scoots over to give Kaveh some space.
The four of them engage in casual conversations, which are mainly about Collei, Cyno and Tighnari's adoptive daughter.
"Did she like the books I brought her from my personal library?" Alhaitham asks Cyno.
"Oh yeah, she liked them a lot, especially the one called 'The Boar Princess'," he responds, "you're always free to come visit us, by the way. She really likes it when you come over to help with her studies."
They continue to chat until Kaveh's phone rings.
"I'm so sorry guys, but it seems like I need to quickly go somewhere," Kaveh says apologetically and gets up, leaving Alhaitham slightly disappointed as he was under the assumption that they were going to spent the entire day together.
Nonetheless, they all say goodbye to Kaveh.
Once Kaveh leaves their sight, Cyno and Tighnari turn to Alhaitham. "And hows it going with your boyfriend? Have you guys kissed yet?" Tighnari inquires.
"No, we haven't kissed and we will never kiss. I already made it clear my heart only belongs to the person that saved me." He crosses his arms and leans back.
Cyno raises an eyebrow. "Does he know that?" He asks and leans forward, putting his chin on his knuckles.
"Speaking of which, what does Kaveh think of this whole thing? I mean, it's pretty important to you, isn't it?" Tighnari rests his face on his hand tilting his head.
"We haven't talked about it yet," Alhaitham responds dryly as he rather wants to avoid that topic altogether.
"What do you mean you haven't talked about it yet? It's everywhere on the news, your fans are still trying to figure out who it might be, and a bunch of other actors also frequently talk about it," Tighnari says.
Alhaitham only shrugs and takes a sip from his cup. "Neither of us ever brought it up. I don't see why it's necessary for us to talk about."
He goes to take another sip from his cup, only to find it already empty, so he opts to drinking out of Kaveh's cup which he had left behind in his hurry.
"It's important because it's obvious you two have the hots for each other and you can't keep denying that. Even if you deny your own feelings, what would you do if Kaveh confessed that he liked you?" Cyno leans back in his chair and sighs.
"That won't happen. Besides, I probably only like him that much because his red eyes remind me of the person that saved me."
This earns him a snicker from the both of them.
"I didn't know you also had a thing for Cyno since you like red eyes like that." Tighnari lets himself dramatically fall onto Cyno's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Alhaitham. I feel flattered, but I'm loyal to my husband." He plays along and clutches Tighnari's hands tightly.
"I would never pursue a married man. Besides, you're not even my type."
Alhaitham pours himself another cup of wine. He probably shouldn't drink too much since he still has to drive home later.
"Oh, but Kaveh is your type?" They smirk and wiggle with their eyebrows.
Alhaitham knows it's pointless to continue arguing with them like this.
After several hours they all say goodbye and Alhaitham drives home.
It's already dark, and the stars shine bright in the sky.
But only a few minutes later he spots a familiar figure walking slowly and hunched over on the sidewalk.
He slows his car down and opens the window on the passenger side.
"Kaveh."
The visibly drunk and tired man stops to look at where the sound came from. He squints as he tries to make out who it is.
Feeling pity for his friend, Alhaitham gets out and helps Kaveh get in the car.
"Don't try to tell me what to do." Kaveh tries to resist and fight Alhaitham, but his grip is too strong for Kaveh to escape out of.
The silence is almost deafening once they're in the car.
"Can you at least tell me your address so I can get you home?" Alhaitham breaks the silence.
" 21st Treasure street." Kaveh mumbles.
"That is the address for a holiday home, Kaveh. Don't talk to me like I'm stupid." Alhaitham starts getting irritated, all he wanted to do was to help Kaveh and now he's playing him for a fool.
Kaveh snaps at those words.
"Wow, thank you! I almost forgot that I'm staying at a house that isn't mine, because I'm fucking homeless and broke! Thank you so much for the friendly reminder, Alhaitham! Really really needed that right now especially from you!" His voice is laced with sarcasm and disdain as he speaks.
This quickly shuts up Alhaitham, as all his irritation dissolves and turns into concern.
"You're homeless?" He asks after a while.
"Why do you think I agreed to this job? Tighnari promised me a place to stay, free food and extra mora. How was I supposed to say no to that?" He sighs and finally lets himself relax.
"I was sick of living in my car for years with no way to shower in the morning or wash my clothes, so I took the offer." He turns his head to Alhaitham. "You must think I'm pathetic now."
"No. I'm just very confused and surprised that someone as brilliant and smart as you could even be homeless." He shakes his head and shoots a glance at Kaveh as he still needs to focus on the road.
Kaveh doesn't say anything anymore as he simply stares at Alhaitham. He can feel Kaveh's eyes burn into him as they drive to the house.
He can feel a gently touch on his cheek as they stop at a red light. He turns his head and into Kaveh's soft touch.
A shaky exhale escapes his lips as Kaveh leans closer and caresses his cheek.
He follows Kaveh and leans forward, tilting his head as his eyes search Kaveh's face and eventually land of Kaveh's lips, which he seems to notice as his thumb is now trailing down and over Alhaithams lips.
But just as he's about to close his eyes, the car behind them honks, making them both quickly pull away.
This leaves Alhaitham strangely disappointed. What did he think was going to happen? Ugh, Tighnari and Cyno got into his head.
Soon they reach the temporary residence of Kaveh and step out of the car.
Alhaitham accompanies Kaveh to the front door, his hand on Kaveh's hip just in case he trips as Kaveh is visibly exhausted.
They now stand right in front of the door.
"Thanks. You didn't have to do all that," Kaveh says a bit flustered.
"It's no problem, my place is just on—"
His words get caught in his throat as he feels Kaveh's hand slide up his chest.
He feels his heart start to race as he locks eyes with Kaveh, and his other hand caresses his cheek once more.
When he notices Kaveh's hesitance, he leans down, giving Kaveh the okay to continue, which he immediately takes by slowly kissing Alhaitham on the lips.
Gods, he feels so dizzy, but right now, it's like he's on cloud nine.
Alhaitham's thoughts are a mess as he kisses Kaveh back, chasing the feeling of those lips. He wraps his arms around Kaveh's waist, unintentionally pressing him against the door.
"Alhaitham—" Kaveh pants and tries to gasp for air just as Alhaitham slips his tongue into his mouth, which earns him a moan from the other man.
Kaveh returns Alhaitham's enthusiasm by gripping his hair in his fist and pulls him closer into a hungry kiss, ripping a loud satisfied groan from Alhaitham's throat.
Eventually, they pull away and rest their foreheads against each other as they try to breath.
Alhaitham knows that right now, he will give into any of Kaveh's whims, so he waits for Kaveh to speak up.
Once Kaveh catches his breath again, he starts talking.
"Alhaitham— I think… I think you should go home," he pauses, "it's pretty late."
"Oh." Alhaitham can't even hide the immediate disappointment he feels when he hears those words. "Yeah, you're right. It's pretty late. I should be heading home."
Reluctantly, he pulls away from Kaveh, instantly missing the warmth of the other in his arms.
Before he turns to leave, he leans into Kavehs ear and whispers.
"Goodnight, Kaveh."
Kaveh avoids eye contact with him as he fiddles with his key to open the door. Once open, he quickly slips inside and slams the door shut.
Back in the car, Alhaitham leans back and drags his fingers through his hair as his heart continues to pound, his body still feeling like it's been set ablaze.
Maybe he does have feelings for Kaveh.