Chapter Text
ALHAITHAM’S HOME, 2:00 P.M.
“I’ll be back in three weeks, see ya.”
That was the last thing Alhaitham heard before he heard the door shut. Kaveh was leaving for Fontaine to visit his mother. Ever since last winter, he would make it a habit to visit every winter and summer. This is the second time he had left the house for Fontaine.
Alhaitham secretly dreaded those times of the year.
Yes, it was never quiet in the house when Kaveh was around, whether that be them arguing during the day, or Kaveh hammering at a new project at night. But when Kaveh was gone, the house was completely silent.
The silence was almost suffocating.
Somewhere along the way, Alhaitham had grown used to the noise over time.
And even started to fall in love with the man.
His love was quiet, but steadily growing, as if it could be compared to a flower in bloom.
Alhaitham peered over from his book, watching Kaveh walk out the door and shut the door behind him.
Silence. Unbearable, suffocating silence.
Alhaitham stood up from his chair and placed down his book. “This is going to be a long three weeks,” he muttered.
He didn’t know exactly when he fell in love with Kaveh. Maybe it was during their Akademiya days. Maybe when it was when Kaveh first moved in. It was hard to tell.
What was even harder to tell was Kaveh’s feelings for him. There have been many times when they’ve been decent around each other, perhaps even comfortable around each other, but Kaveh insists there is absolutely nothing between them. He wanted to keep their relations with each other private. Alhaitham didn’t mind if people knew. Regardless, no matter how well he knew Kaveh, he would never be able to pinpoint Kaveh’s feelings for him.
Alhaitham stared at the front door, as if staring would make his beloved Kaveh come back. The empty house had already been unbearable last winter, but somehow Alhaitham could feel that this summer would be worse. He would hate to admit it, but he was desperately yearning. He could feel the dread slowly growing in his chest, hell, even in his lungs, at Kaveh’s departure.
Or maybe what was growing wasn’t just dread.