Work Text:
It's known that rabbits are naturally social creatures, companionship being a very important factor of their life. They thrive in pairs or small groups, therefore why most rabbit hybrids tend to seek out emotional connection with friends and family. Bunny hybrids are more drawn to their own kind, feeling a sense of belonging when bonding with others who share the same traits and challenges.
Bunnies have many habits; it helps strengthen their bond with each other. Customs such as mutual grooming, sharing meals side-by-side and flopping in the presence of another bring security to them. One of the most known customs are that rabbit hybrids kiss as a greeting — a quick peck to the nose or cheek before carrying on with their day.
Kaveh himself is not immune to such rituals. The architect kept bunny hybrids as friends since his akademiya days, having close relations with them even in his adult life. It was common to see him out with fellow bunnies, walking arm-in-arm on a stroll in Sumeru City.
There was once a time when his affections weren't only directed to lapins, a time when everything felt softer and Kaveh was followed by a junior snow leopard with a tail and ears too big for a small body. They were the most captivating days of his life, filled with bickering and laughter that were his everything.
Alhaitham despite being a snow leopard, has been the prime subject of greeting kisses before; his senior didn't seem to mind that Alhaitham wasn't a fellow bunny, always pressing a peck on top of his nose or cheek. It would leave a sweet and flowery scent behind, sticking to the feline for the whole day.
"Senior! Senior! It's ticklish!" Alhaitham would trill between giggles and purrs, trying to avoid the pecks from Kaveh. Even after the vocal complaints, Alhaitham would wrap his tail around the taller figure; the feline would embrace the other around the neck with his arms, keeping Kaveh close.
The resistance would be met with a reluctant pet on his head, fingers threading through short grey hair; stroking his ears with a happy teeth purr ringing in the air. Their little corner between bookshelves was filled with disputes and growls, but it was what felt most like haven to the two youths.
Every prey hybrid would call Kaveh foolish for his actions — for getting close to a predator and challenging him all the time. But he never understood the fear. Alhaitham may be sharp-tongued and rude at times, but he was the brightest mind Kaveh ever met. Alhaitham focuses greatly on himself at all times. However, he does not do so out of a disregard for others; instead, it is a result of his rationality.
Kaveh swore up and down Alhaitham was nothing like the rude and stuck-up alphas, that he was different and would never hurt Kaveh in any way, shape or form. It felt like a fact to him — the grass was green, the sky was blue, and Alhaitham was the perfect mate that he could envision.He was so wrong.
The thesis was supposed to bring them closer. Kaveh thought that a chance to write a paper together would've breached the line between romance and friendship. It would've proven to not only himself, but to everyone else, that prey and predators could form a meaningful relationship. To his dismay, the stereotypes were proven right that day.
In that moment, he couldn't help but think about the warnings his peers would whisper to him. They warned him that predators were cruel, sharp-tongued and arrogant, told him to be careful when they saw him getting too friendly with Alhaitham. He fought hard against those prejudices, and yet he couldn't help but feel betrayed that day.
The aftermath of their altercate left them both in total disarray, wounds cut deep from mere words that landed too strongly. They would spend their upcoming years trying to suppress their instincts, to forget about a chosen mate that discarded them, and to pine over what could've been if the remarks would've been sugarcoated.
That fateful night in the tavern marked a new beginning for them, a chance at something that felt too unreachable in the past. Alhaitham's tail invaded Kaveh's space, wrapping around the man's wrist. "I've heard plenty of your buildings — of the palace standing high — and yet I find you at rock bottom in a tavern, drinking the night away." It was an invitation to speak of the troubles that the architect carried on his shoulders.
Having been oppressed by life for too long, Kaveh completely unloaded all his woes onto his erstwhile friend right there and then. He speaks of the withering and debt, of the childhood home he can no longer call his. He would lament about the many misfortunes that had befallen him, only falling silent when they left the tavern in the dead of night.
Alhaitham listened intently to Kaveh's words, and reading him like an open book once more, asked him a simple question: "How has realizing your ideals gone for you?"
Kaveh stayed silent, pondering on the question. His mind came up blank, leaving him to simply shrug and shake his head. There will come a day where he will be able to answer that question, but it was not today.
Alhaitham stared at the intoxicated little bunny, sighing deeply before getting closer. Kaveh's ears instantly went up, alerted by the thick scent of a predator invading his space. He took a step back, nearly falling over if it weren't for the scribe's quick reaction time. Kaveh felt a strong arm wrap around his waist and another firmly grasping his forearm.
Kaveh wiggled in the snow leopard's hold for a few seconds before giving up. He looked up at Alhaitham, eyes glassy and unfocused, silently begging the leopard to let go. His silent pleas were dismissed, though the grip began to grow gentler. "Don't be stubborn, Kaveh."
"Hey!-" Kaveh yelped when Alhaitham adjusted their positions without a warning, a broad hand placed on his hip to support him. Kaveh remained speechless as his junior supported him, the man guiding him somewhere at a slow and comfortable space. The alcohol impacted his train of thought, leaving him silent and without many protests for the entirety of the walk.
Kaveh never thought he'd end up sharing a living space with the person he once detested. Don't get him wrong, his now-roommate (!) was still as annoying as ever, Alhaitham's snark attitude hasn't changed a bit since their akademiya days! The man was still getting on Kaveh's nerves, bringing home horrid furniture and debating him on everything, but Kaveh found himself yearning for their bickering as the days passed by.
He soon grew to call their shared abode a home, something personal that was marked by both of them. Alhaitham's woody and earthy tone was more pronounced around the house, the alpha's scent stronger than Kaveh's.
Kaveh would go crazy over it, his mind screaming at him to get away from the alpha. It was strong, invading Kaveh's olfactory senses every time he dared walking around the house. It was pleasant, it was everything he needed. He loved Alhaitham's scent, he craved it every waking moment he spent in that house. Kaveh's instincts wanted him, his mind told him it was a line he shouldn't cross ever again.
Due to that, Kaveh started spending his time out of the house more often. He would go out and spend time with his fellow bunny friends, only coming back home to make dinner. Alhaitham didn't seem to mind the arrangement at first, only encouraging Kaveh more to go out; he hated seeing the architect isolate himself to work on projects.
Kaveh wasn't quite happy with the setup. Sure, he was the one that was avoiding Alhaitham, but he still wanted to see the man! He couldn't make up his mind; it felt like he was being pulled closer everyday, the more he fought back against his desires, the more he wanted to fulfill them.
He wanted to have a heartfelt conversation — tell the other his woes like that night back in the tavern — and to quell the lingering thoughts of their past dynamic. Kaveh wished to stop being tied down to the past; if anything, the thought of Alhaitham wanting him too in the way he yearned seemed far-fetched.
The alpha was cold and distant, a man of few words when they weren't arguing. Lately, even their arguments became sparse, a deviation from their usual routine. Alhaitham was a man of action, a schedule was the most practical thing he followed, and yet he didn't seem that bothered by the disrupted pattern.
Alhaitham hated his new routine.
He hated seeing Kaveh leave in the mornings and come back home late, hated seeing the omega avoiding him like the plague. Alhaitham wanted nothing more but to embrace the other and receive the same affections from the past.
He wasn't a small cub anymore, no longer able to be held in the bunny's arms and engulfed in the warmth fully. As the years passed he began to build healthier routines to ensure a peaceful life, it ended in him becoming more built and taller. Alhaitham wished to experience the kisses one more time.
The alpha knew something had to be said. He had to stop the wretched cycle of wondering if they could have more. Alhaitham craved a conversation that would put his mind ease, but he couldn't help the worry that the thought provoked. Kaveh did always manage to make him act irrational; to act and think illogically, driven by his emotions and heart.
Would a conversation mend things? Or worse, break the already feeble connection they managed to maintain while Kaveh lived in his house? Alhaitham would hate for his emotions to drive Kaveh away, to make the architect avoid him more than he already does.
He stopped his train of thoughts when he saw Kaveh walking towards the front door. The omega was dressed lavishly, obviously planning on going out with his companions for another night out. Another night of being close to other people, of showering close friends with the affections he desired. Why could they have it and he couldn't?
Before he could think reasonably, his body moved. Alhaitham stood in front of Kaveh, blocking the other from accessing the front door.
The action was instantly met with an attitude, the bunny thumping his foot and letting out a low angry grunt. "Alhaitham! I have to be somewhere!" Kaveh chastised, bunny tail wagging slightly.
"Don't go." Alhaitham took a step forward, speckled grey ears flattening against his head. "Please, don't go."
The plea made Kaveh stop in his tracks, he never heard the alpha sound so desperate. Kaveh looked up, trying to read the other's facial expression. It was an endeavor that bore no fruit, as the scribe's features remained impassive. Kaveh's nose picked up on a sour scent — Alhaitham's — it made him frown.
"Okay…only if you tell me why. You seem pretty insistent." Kaveh took a step back, only for the snow leopard to follow right after.
Alhaitham inhaled deeply, eyes fixated on the prey before him. He found himself speechless, only able to stare and admire the man before him. He wanted to confess, to tell the other his deepest cravings and how much he wished their relationship would sprout more beautifully than the silence they had now.
Alhaitham wanted to openly love him and be loved in return. He wanted to mark, to scent and to declare to the whole world that the man before him was his perfect mirror. The alpha wished for everything that seemed impossible in the current timeline, and yet he could only hope.
He was brought back by another loud stomp of Kaveh's foot, the omega growing impatient with him.
"I want you."
"What?"
"I want you and i want you to want me. I want to wake up in the mornings and to be enveloped in your scent, to admire you without secrecy and to be able to speak of your beauty bluntly. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the love I carry for you and that's the most magnificent way I can live. I love you, Kaveh." Alhaitham choked out, tail lashing wildly behind him. He didn't know what got into him, what make him confess so out of the blue.
He blamed the rash actions on the uncomfortable emotion that began to bloom in his chest. It was something akin to jealousy, watching everyone get the affections that were his in the past Alhaitham feared the day he would lose the most valuable person in his life, and it grew tenfold right in that moment when he realized he confessed.
His posture slackened, guilt immediately flooding his system. "I apologize. I crossed a li-…!"
The apology was cut off by a soft coo, before the bunny reached closer and pressed a small peck on Alhaitham's nose. Kaveh gazed at him with a small smile, hidden by the long bunny ears that the omega held close to his face. It was a small gesture of embarrassment, something Kaveh would do to hide smiles and, apparently, blushes.
Alhaitham's tail instantly raised, his hands remain useless in the air as if he wasn't sure if he could reach towards the other. He was perplexed and almost giddy that a situation that he wasn't prepared for was going smoothly.
Kaveh professed: "I share the same passions. Moving in a shared home taught me so much more about you, about me…about us. I never knew what these feelings were, but I can now undeniably say that I love you too."
Kaveh squeaked when Alhaitham instantly pounced at him, pulling him into a firm hug. Alhaitham growled softly, nose instantly nuzzling into Kaveh's neck. He inhaled the flowery scent, a nectar he missed dearly. A low, rumbling sound came deeply from his throat after he wrapped his tail around the architect's legs.
After another inhale of the aroma, he pulled back just slightly, staring at Kaveh with wide and expectant eyes. The man silently begged for more, which Kaveh was quick to give. He leaned closer, lips parted as Alhaitham brushed a thumb over his softness.
Kaveh's hands found their way in his junior's hair, combing through it as it brought shivers down Alhaitham's spine. The snow leopard chose to close the gap between them, the kiss delivered with utmost gentleness before deepening it with a sense of urgency. He wanted so much more, wanted to give everything he could offer to the omega.
Kaveh pulled away, breath labored. Alhaitham followed right after, only to be rejected with a finger to his lips. "You were jealous, weren't you?" Kaveh teased, a glint in his eyes that meant he got the scribe all figured out. "You didn't want me to go because you knew how I act around close friends."
"You used to give me those pecks all the time. You'd pull me close and wouldn't let me go before you greeted me, wouldn't go a day without your affections. After everything…they stopped. I wanted to have them back, to have you back." Alhaitham grumbled, a sincere explanation between growls.
Kaveh's eyes softened, a happy teeth purr echoing through the hallway. "You're still my cute junior. Oh, how you'd huff and protest about them, only to lean in for more. I can still remember those giggles." The bunny chuckled, head rested in the crook of Alhaitham's neck.
Alhaitham rolled his eyes, the senior's teasings making him flustered.
He didn't know what happened, why he took the leap of fate and ambushed Kaveh at such an hour to confess, but he wasn't upset about the results. They had a long road ahead, days where they would talk about the past and ridicule themselves for it, for being oblivious and not able to recognize the feelings they held for each other.
With Kaveh by his side, Alhaitham's life was truly peaceful.