Work Text:
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C’est Pas Vrai
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Kaveh sighed, twisting as casually as he could in his seat to look at the clock and check the time.
He was waiting on a client for a meeting and he didn’t want to be. He wanted to be home.
Wriothesley still wasn’t completely back to being his husband- Well, no, that wasn’t true. He was his husband, would (hopefully) always be- but he was still being so incredibly gentle, soft. It would be endearing if it wasn’t so…
Infuriating.
And what was the most infuriating is that it wasn’t infuriating- Which made it infuriating.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, he was going to make himself crazy.
Because the thing of it was, he didn’t mind that Wriothesley was sweet with him, was always kind and calm and just so damned even-keeled. It was strong and stabilizing and not like anything that Kaveh had ever known.
Alhaitham…
Haitham was strong, calm, fucking unflappable. But he, in an effort to keep Kaveh at arm’s length, had never been warm with him. Warm meant welcoming, meant that Kaveh would fall further in love with him.
Hindsight, what a bitch it was. Useful, sure, but even when you could learn from it, it was still a bitch.
He studied his drained coffee cup. He’d meant to look casual, collected, sipping on coffee and looking over some initial sketches, but his appointment was incredibly late.
It was to be his fourth meeting of the day, and if he was being honest he… Would just rather be home. Home with his overly careful husband, his confused … Roommate and his beautiful daughter.
It was one thing to bury yourself in work when you were looking for a reason to be out of the house, but it was entirely another when he wanted nothing more than to be at home.
Kaveh wasn’t sure how, exactly, they were going to fix the general… Vibes in the house, but he didn’t have even a single doubt that they would be fixed. If it went the way that Alhaitham initially proposed back before the problem had even truly come to a head, well… It wasn’t like Kaveh would mind that.
When he’d lost himself to thoughts about how damned good Wriothesley would look whilst being taken apart by Alhaitham, it wasn’t like he didn’t think that something might come out of just Kaveh and Haitham also being… Physical together- It hadn’t been his main goal, no; but it wasn’t like he was disinterested in it. He’d been dealing with his broken heart for and because of the man for how long while they’d been fucking? Obviously Kaveh wasn’t opposed.
Haitham knew how to play him like an instrument, and so long as it went well, so long as Wriothesley wasn’t thoroughly disturbed by the things that Kaveh liked, it could really only mean good things, right?
And so far as Kaveh could tell, it wasn’t that Wriothesley was upset at the idea of Kaveh having interests that… Were less… Common- It was more that he didn’t think that he, Wriothesley himself, could be trusted to go to such depths.
Kaveh sighed, forcing himself to think about the client meeting that he should have been leaving right now, instead of still waiting for. Honestly, this was absurd.
His ability to work at full capacity right now was crippled. He couldn’t.
He just didn’t have a place to do so.
If he wanted to stay up late working on sketches? He could go to the House of Daena or Alhaitham’s study, he supposed- But he wanted to work at his desk.
A desk that he couldn’t work at late because it was less than a person away from his sleeping daughter.
Same reason that he couldn’t work on models- He didn’t know what he was going to do about that when he actually got to a point where he needed to work on a model, but that was a problem for future Kaveh.
He studied the dark ring at the bottom of his mug, less than a mouthful left as he rolled the mug back and forth just wanting to do something with his hands, his energy.
It was strange to think that if he wanted to, he could probably rent an office at the Akademiya.
He was so used to not having mora, that now that he had some, more than ‘some’, he almost just… Forgot about it. His default was to work himself to death so that he could pay rent, so that he could prove himself useful in some way to his roommate that wasn’t just what he could do in the bedroom. And with Wriothesley keeping the house cleaner than Kaveh ever had, not to mention taking care of almost all the meals, it… Kaveh just didn’t have anything to worry about there.
He could, he supposed, get an office. Just let himself go work there in the dead of night.
But he didn’t like that.
He liked working until he was about to fall asleep, or actually nodding off, and then just tipping himself into bed. He liked being able to work when the muse struck, a few minutes here or there while he was doing other things. An office outside the house would mean that he would actually need to regulate his time.
Kaveh’s face scrunched and he set the mug back down on the table.
It would, actually, probably be for the best if he started, well, training himself now- That way when their daughter was old enough to form memories she wouldn’t be thinking about how daddy was a crazy person who haunted their house and vanished at random times only to come back covered in wood shavings or ink.
And it would probably be helpful to Wriothesley if he didn’t constantly have to wonder about when - if - his husband would be home.
He should start either looking into that for the short term or really and truly start making progress on the house renovations.
Kaveh knew better than anyone that Alhaitham was particular. He liked his routines. The fact that things had been, over all, going as well as they were even though Kaveh had completely screwed the scribe’s regimens over more than once, was nothing short of miraculous. So anything that he could do to minimize the amount of … Disruption when it came to the renovation would, surely, be greatly appreciated.
And it wasn’t just his junior who would appreciate his efforts to minimize the disruptions- He could only assume that Wriothesley would almost be pulling out his hair if he was still secreted away in the house while it was being worked on. And Carole, his sweet Chou, could only benefit from a shorter working time.
If it were just him? He would push for over-night work, loss of sleep be damned in the name of progress; he could sleep when the work was done.
But it wasn’t just him.
So they would need to keep reasonable hours, likely only working while Alhaitham was out of the house.
Kaveh glanced at the clock again and decided that he had waited long enough- Longer than he probably should have, really. It was fine. They knew how to contact him if they wanted to.
He just… He was going home. He just wanted to be home.
Kaveh gently caressed Mehrak and had her hold his working papers as he took his mug back over to the counter, tipping into the dish bin and brushing his hands on his pants as he made his way back to Mehrak.
He did his best to keep his excitement at finally giving himself permission to go home to a minimum and headed out, his small automaton beeping happily as she glided along behind him. He was just about to open the door to the city streets when a messenger opened the door for him, a frantic look in their eyes.
“Ah, Mister Kaveh,” they panted, “I caught you.”
Kaveh raised a brow, but swiftly ushered the messenger to a seat, leaving them there to catch their breath - over their protestations - and fetched them a glass of water.
“I, thank you,” they said, giving in and gulping half the glance in one go, exhaling heavily, and then downed the rest.
Kaveh’s brows all but disappeared he lifted them so high, questions scrawled clearly across his face.
The messenger held up a small sealed scroll, their hand shaking.
Kaveh took it, “Do you need any more water?”
“No,” they shook their head, “I just need to wait for your response.
“I,” they set the empty glass down loudly and patted down their pockets, “I have paper and a pen if you need one.”
Kaveh hummed, walking around and taking his own seat, perching on the edge of it, Mehrak booping interestedly and hovering over his shoulder.
The green seal shimmered as he broke it, noting that he didn’t recognize the pattern of it, but it felt… Familiar for some reason.
He skimmed the page, brows lowering and knitting together as he went back to the top and began to reread it.
It was a proposal.
And it looked like it was one that he would have made- It was a public works proposal.
They, whoever was requesting his services, would be footing the bill for the project, but Kaveh had almost full creative liberties- Pending approval. Ground could be broken as soon as his designs were approved as the Akademiya had already approved the work permit‽ He studied the page closer, trying to figure out what it was about it that felt familiar- It wasn’t just the seal, the writing…
“Can I keep this?” Kaveh asked, not even glancing at the messenger, unable to tear his eyes from the page.
“I was not directed to retrieve the message,” the messenger murmured, sounding distressed. “But I also wasn’t told if you could.”
Kaveh hummed, reading over the proposal again.
If he was understanding the words on the page, he could keep it- Provided he agreed to take the job. If he didn’t, he should return it.
This whole thing felt… Strange, if he was being honest.
They weren’t asking for his bid for the job, it was just his if he wanted it. They were asking him not to mention to anyone that the job was being done, or that it existed at all, whether he took it or not- Kaveh couldn’t understand why the Akademiya wouldn’t want the good press for taking on a job of this nature. Perhaps the individual just didn’t want the credit for it?
Kaveh could understand that; as much as he liked the warm fuzzies that came with doing a job ‘for the greater good,’ the children’s library he’d helped with came to mind, there was something strange about being… Thanked simply for being a good person? For just doing something that anyone would do if they had the ability.
But at the same time…
This wasn’t so ‘controversial’ as a library for desert dwellers, nor was it anything so in depth. It was just an expansion, really, on an existing structure and-
Oh.
Oh.
Kaveh sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.
That absolute goofball.
He turned to Mehrak and accepted a pen and scroll from her, giving her a thankful pat before carefully considering his response.
Alhaitham,
I would be more than happy to-
Kaveh lifted his hand for a moment; this was so stupid. Did Hayi write this proposal with his left hand?
- to work on a design for the additional training facilities. I-
He shook his head. Was he trying that hard to disguise himself? Why? And didn't he know that Kaveh would know? Of all people, Kaveh would know.
Kaveh read over the proposal again, and crumpled his own response.
“You,” he said to the messenger, a modicum of guilt gnawing at him as he realized that he’d never even tried to learn their name, “tell whomever sent this that I am more than happy to take the job.
“Tell them to send me any of their requirements at their leisure so that I may begin working on it.”
But, then, if Alhaitham didn’t want him to know, if that really was his goal, then Kaveh wasn’t going to call him out. Foolish man.
The messenger nodded, but held out the paper and pen all the same, “If…
“If it isn’t too much trouble, I was told to get your response in writing…”
Kaveh sighed, and rubbed his eyes, but took another paper from Mehrak.
I would be delighted to work with you on completing such a job. Please send me your list of requirements, a budget to stay within, as well as any other parameters you wish me to stay within. Per your request, I will not mention this job to anyone either now or when I receive further instructions.
Thank you for contacting me for this task, I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts and preferences for the build ahead.
Kaveh
He rolled the paper up and considered it. He didn’t have any way of sealing the scroll, but he couldn’t help but think that Alhaitham wouldn’t appreciate the idea that the messenger could read his response- lacking in information or context though it was.
Although-
“You said you had paper as well?” The messenger nodded. “Was that provided to you by the individual who hired you as a runner?” The messenger nodded again. Of course. “May I have it then?” The messenger continued to nod, handing over the paper they’d been supplied with.
Kaveh looked it over and, yep, there it was. Alhaitham had affixed a small bead of wax. All he would need to do would be to find a way to heat it and-
And that’s why he’d been sought out at the café.
He wrapped his own written letter in the page provided by Haitham, ensuring that the edge of his own sheet was touching the wax, but that it wasn’t out far enough to stop the wax from reaching the rest of Haitham’s scroll when it was wrapped together. Absurd man- should have just given him a damned envelope.
Wrapped papers carefully in hand, he made his way over to the counter and asked for a mug of boiled water. Enteka gave him a strange look, but handed the water a moment later, no charge.
He held the wax bead carefully to the bottom of the mug, letting the thermal conduction melt the wax. It took… Well, probably not that long, but it felt like an age as he was stood there, waiting for it and hoping that he wouldn’t spill water all over the pages.
He set the mug back down on the counter and, without considering further, pulled out his keys and pressed the small lion head keychain into the wax. It wasn’t his seal, no, but it was his. He wondered if Alhaitham would find it endearing or annoying. Perhaps he might just find it clever, using his keychain instead of attempting to use his nail or a knife to etch something into it. After all, anyone could use a blank seal. There would be no telling if it had been ‘intercepted’ and re-sealed.
He pulled the lion away, the face clear in the golden glimmering green wax, considering.
Though, he could honestly say that he couldn’t think of another time that he’d seen a colour such as this.
He thanked Enteka as she took the mug and he took his leave, heading back to where the messenger was anxiously waiting.
“There you have it,” Kaveh said, handing the response to them. “Seal and ready to be delivered.”
“Thank you,” they breathed, and all but jumped to their feet, bowing awkwardly before speed-walking out of the café before, he assumed, breaking into a run on the street outside.
Kaveh shook his head, shrugging at Mehrak who blooped questioningly at him, and considered the missive in his hand.
It simply wouldn’t do to give it to Mehrak to hold; she’d long learned to respond to Haitham and while that wouldn’t be an issue, aside from the fact that Hayi clearly went to some effort to keep the whole thing anonymous. But what certainly would be an issue would be if Wriothesley somehow got access to it, as Mehrak responded to him as well.
Now, of course, Kaveh didn’t have any issue with his husband-
Oh.
Oh.
Fucking Alhaitham.
Kaveh reconsidered the job- It wasn’t that Haitham wanted to just ‘do’ a public work job near the house, something easy for Kaveh to work on and still be home for dinner as he’d originally thought.
No.
It was so much more than that.
It was for Wriothesley.
Hayi’s entire pitch had been about expanding the training grounds for Wriothesley.
There was no not knowing that his husband was used to doing more with his physicality than just running a few laps. There was also no not knowing that there wasn’t anything like the Pankration Ring near them for him to visit.
While, no, the proposal had nothing to do with the sport that his husband was said to have dominated, there was no denying that it was clearly about as close to that as one could get without involving the sport.
Mehrak beeped at him, jolting him from his thoughts, and he smiled at her, shaking his head at his own foolishness.
Not knowing what else to do with the proposal, he banished it to the subspace. It wasn’t the worst idea he’d ever had, but it still felt strange not to give a work document to his little friend, she usually carried everything when it came to the jobs he did, but… Considering the circumstances, it just… Wasn’t worth the risk.
Kaveh didn’t know why Haitham didn’t want Wriothesley to know what he was planning- Abyss, Kaveh wasn’t even sure if Haitham wanted him to know that he was behind it, but it was clear that he didn’t.
And, truly, it doesn’t matter if Kaveh understands or not: He’d agreed to the terms and him keeping his trap shut was one of them.
Surveying the area he’d held his series of meetings in one last time just in case he’d missed something, and, upon seeing nothing out of place, decided to head out and make his way home.
He let himself out of the café and, even though Mehrak was gliding happily along behind him, he sent her to the subspace as well, the road far busier than expected. He absolutely didn’t want anything to happen to her as he decided to take the longer way home, unable to stop himself from stopping at the fruit cart and picking up a pomegranate. He’d seen them earlier and could not shake his desire for one- Pain in the ass to eat or not? They were quite delicious.
He found himself humming as he walked up the ramp towards their home, gently tossing the fruit into the air and catching it before banishing it to the subspace and tugging his keys back out of his pocket and letting himself in.
Mehrak returned from the subspace as he stepped out of his shoes and floated off to drop off his supplies and set herself on her charging base, as was routine.
Kaveh arched his back, humming at the series of pops that it caused, and stepped into the sitting room, greeting his husband with a smile as he reached into the playpen and scooped his daughter into his arms.
Ah, see, now that was the life.
She patted his cheek with her little hand and babbled at him.
“Is that so?” he asked, and then caught her little hand between lip covered teeth and ‘bit’ it lightly. Carole’s elated giggled illuminated his soul. She was perfect.
“Welcome home,” Wriothesley murmured, setting the book that was in his hand on the coffee table. “How was work?”
Kaveh hummed, resting Chou on his hip, “Good-
“Well, mostly.” Wriothesley hummed, patting the cushion on the divan beside him, but Kaveh shook his head, preferring to stand for a moment. “One of my potential clients just never showed up, so that was a bummer.”
Wriothesley frowned, getting to his feet, “No note or anything?”
Kaveh shook his head, tilting his head to catch his husband’s lips in a gentle kiss of greeting, “Hi,” he smiled, before shifting back to answer the question. “Nope, nothing; just didn’t show up.
“I guess it’s fine though?” he started towards the kitchen, deciding to deposit the fruit there. “It’s not like I don’t have enough other potential clients right now-
“Plus, I really need to start making some headway on the house renovations,” he shrugged his baby free arm, and set the pomegranate on the table. “So,” he paused, humming softly, “I’m just going to look on the bright side.”
“Sounds like a solid plan,” Wriothesley agreed easily. “You starving?”
“Nah,” Kaveh shook his head, “I’m happy to wait until Haitham gets home to have dinner.
“If I start to get too peckish, I can always have some fruit.
“What about you?” he asked, bouncing Carole lightly as he swayed with her on his hip, “Are you wanting dinner sooner over later?”
“I’m okay,” Wriothesley murmured, tossing a tea towel over his shoulder as he leaned against the counter. “And…
“Uh, Haitham offered to pick up dinner, so…” he shrugged, “Yeah, I can wait.”
“He did?” Kaveh asked, tilting his head, “When was that? I didn’t realize that you two had gone on your run today…?”
“No, he, uh,” Wriothesley studied him, “He came home for lunch.”
Kaveh all but froze, blinking rapidly as he considered that.
“He… Came home? For lunch?”
“He did,” Wriothesley confirmed. “Is…
“That’s okay, isn’t it? I mean, I didn’t ask him to or anything-”
Kaveh shook his head, a soft laugh bubbling out of him, “Of course it’s okay; he lives here, you live here.
“I think it’s nice that he came home to see you.
“I know he hates when people bother him when he’s on his lunch hour- Or, ever, really,” he mused. “But he finds it especially grating when he’s not on the clock.
“Unless…” Kaveh paused, studying his husband in turn, “unless you didn’t like seeing him; that wouldn’t be okay, then-”
Wriothesley threw up a hand, “No, I mean.
“I didn’t mind it. It was…
“It’s not like I ever mind seeing either of you.
“I guess it was stupid, but I thought maybe, considering your confusion and concern about me maybe being jealous about you and Haitham, that maybe you wouldn’t…
“Like it,” he finished lamely after a beat. “Or something…”
“I suppose that’s fair enough,” Kaveh nodded a little, “But considering that you and he, and me, too, I guess, are-” he paused, glancing at the babe in his arm, “-spending so much time together, it’s not really a concern for me.
“Honestly, I just think it’s nice that you have someone here that you get along with. I know you’re in a really difficult position considering everything we, you, left behind in Fontaine.”
“Yeah?” Wriothesley asked, broad shoulders slumping just a little, some of the tension coiled in his frame. “Good, that… Yeah, that’s good.”
Kaveh felt himself go soft; considering that his husband was a cryo user, he sure was warm.
“Well, as much as I am loath to part with her,” Kaveh murmured, snugging up his cheek on the top of Carole’s head, her curls tickling against him, “Do you mind watching her a bit longer before I take over?
“I want to grab a shower and change into something a little more comfortable.”
“Nah,” Wriothesley smiled, tossing the tea towel from his shoulder once more, clearly having put it there just for something to do over it having any real purpose. “I never mind keeping an eye on her.”
And even though he was the one that had asked for her to be held, Kaveh found himself hesitating when Wriothesley reached out to take her. He sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, and then another, before he finally handed her over.
Wriothesley looked so soft as he waited patiently for Kaveh to hand their daughter over, softening even more as he cradled the babe into his chest, shifting her to the side and giving Kaveh another kiss, “We’ll be waiting for you, but take your time.”
Kaveh scoffed, but he was smiling, teasing back, “Oh, so, no pressure then?”
“Exactly,” Wriothesley agreed easily.
Kaveh rolled his eyes, but his smile was still curving his lips as he made his way to their room to shed his ‘please hire me’ persona.
He gave Rochelle a gentle tap as he made his way around to grab a loose white tunic and the black leggings that he’d bought in Fontaine. He wasn’t quite ready to slip into pajamas, but he was ready to relax.
He tossed his clean clothes onto the made bed, and tugged out his feather and hair clips, dropping them onto the nightstand with one hand and untwisting his braid with the other, massaging his scalp a little before slipping off his earrings and collar, dropping those onto the nightstand as well, before he stripped out of his caplet, sash, and belt, dropping them haphazardly on his drafting chair before using it to help balance himself as he pulled off his intricate anklets and left them on the floor.
He needed a better methodology for removing all this now that he was sharing a room with his husband and their daughter, but that would come in time.
Kaveh paused on his way to the bathroom, glancing down the hall towards the sitting room where he could hear Wriothesley murmuring softly in Fontainian, his heart thumping stupidly in his chest.
He understood, really he did, how Wriothesley could worry about hurting Kaveh, but when he was so soft, so gentle, so careful like this… He just wished that he could show his husband how he saw him-
Maybe then he would understand why he wasn’t worried in the slightest.
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