Chapter Text
Kaveh awoke to the sound of thunderous banging at his bedroom door, and an all too familiar voice calling out to him.
"Kaveh. Up."
Clearly, Haitham didn't understand the gravity of his afternoon naps. These peaceful moments were all he could salvage from his long days working as an architect; one of the finest of Sumeru, if he could say so himself. He groaned into his pillow.
Not minding to knock again, Haitham strode into the room and stood idly by the doorway.
"You-" sneered Kaveh, using his bed to maneuver himself into a lazy excuse of a sitting position. "Who told you that you could march in here and wake me up without a second thought. What if I had been changing or something? Do you have no regard to people's privacy?"
Haitham chuckled under his breath, for even his minimal actions could get Kaveh riled up like a madman. "I knocked. Twice. Besides, do you really think I'd wake you up over nothing? I, too, was at immense peace in your absence before realizing our assignment for the Akademiya was this evening. We're leaving in half an hour." he said, before treading closer towards Kaveh, who was carelessly sprung onto his bed.
The tips of Kaveh's ears perked, turning to a shade of red matching the deep crimson of his eyes. "Y-You couldn't have waited for me to wake up on my own pace? I don't need thirty minutes to get ready! In fact, I'll be at the doorway in five!" called Kaveh.
AlHaitham sighed in exparation as he threw Kaveh a bundle of loosely folded clothes. "Whatever, just don't be late. You can pretty up some other time, but this is what you'll be wearing today,"
Kaveh, busy staring at the clothes the Akademiya had provided him, realized what Haitham had just said. "I guess these will do. And hey, you! What did you mean 'pretty up'?” he grinned and looked up at Haitham, who was now towering over him. The latter responded with nothing but a cold stare.
Without warning, Haitham reached for the corner of his roommate's right eye, gently wiping off something that wasn't there. Every muscle in Kaveh's body tensed. "Hm. I always thought that was eyeliner. I guess it's not." Haitham said. With that, he strode out of the room, hiding a concerned look on his face. Had Kaveh taken this hint? Probably not. Just like every other hint he had given, left to collect dust on the tides of Kaveh's endless sea of a mind.
Conversely, Kaveh was giddy with joy, of course masked. This was the second time AlHaitham had come this close to him. Furthermore, he was going to spend even more time with him tonight. Of course, it would be spent bickering and arguing while trying to prove useful to the Akademiya, but still, they were together. He'd be fine living like this, as long as those little flashes of hope were there to distract him from the disheartening yet inevitable truth.