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If there’s one thing to know about him, Kaveh is not a morning person. Insomnia takes its hold on him more often than not, and after many hours of lying with his eyes closed but brain wide awake, the sun rises too soon for him to get substantial rest. It’s routine, it’s something he’s had to deal with since he was a child, it’s just part of his life.
Sighing and blearily taking his blanket off, he sits up and lets the chillier air of the house wash over his body. Glancing outside, the sun has gone over the horizon already, which also means Alhaitham should have at least left the house by now.
Alhaitham. Even his name turns his world on an axis against all his better judgment. He would never say it to Alhaitham’s face, but if he were to truly describe the effect this man has on him, he would have to say he makes him feel alive . Every high, every low, Alhaitham’s seen him through it all. No one understands him and his dreams the way Alhaitham does. He could easily get a regular job if he desired to (he’s the most sought after person under his Darshan after all) but he would rather claw his eyes out than have to work on things that don’t scratch that itch in the back of his mind or put himself under the grinding stone for someone who doesn’t understand the heights he wants to reach for. Despite never voicing any of these exact reasons why he doesn’t just go out and pick up the first job he sees, Alhaitham understands it anyway. He knows Alhaitham isn’t serious when he takes jabs at Kaveh’s financial status, because even with all his complaints he still refuses to kick Kaveh out or pressure him into what everyone deems a normal job.
He really should get a move on with the day if his thoughts are going straight to his unfortunate attraction to his roommate this early. Shaking his head as if it would banish all thoughts of soul consuming fondness for the man, he snatches up a change of clothes from the pile on his desk chair ( Archons he should fold those) and finds himself going down the hall of the quiet house into the shared bathroom between him and Alhaitham’s room.
Multiple badly sung popular songs later (he feels compelled to make at least some noise to combat the utter silence of the house), the sun is higher in the sky by the time he steps out of the bathtub. He dresses and dries his hair while peering out the small bathroom window– at that point he can see the butterflies and hummingbirds in his (because he’s the one who grew all these plants from scratch while Alhaitham was content to live with his previously dead empty backyard) garden of vibrant flowers.
While his hair dries, he picks up his makeup bag from the counter– a lovely hand embroidered piece that he tipped handsomely for (with his own money, before he went painfully broke) because the old auntie deserved that and much more for her art in his eyes. Tracing his fingers over the bright floral patterns and golden threads woven in between, he finds himself walking to the windowsill seat in the living room. Cracking open the window completely, the fresh air fills his lungs and washes away any remaining exhaustion lingering in his bones from the restless night.
Hand mirror in one hand and kohl in the other, he’s just settled in to do his makeup next to the window overlooking the garden when he hears footsteps down the hall leading to the living room.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at the Akademiya today?” Kaveh calls out as Alhaitham rounds the corner to stand in the entrance of the room.
Alhaitham pauses and stares into Kaveh’s eyes with an unfamiliar look on his face. He holds a cup of what seems to be half finished tea in one hand and a paper in the other. After observing Kaveh for a couple seconds, he walks forward and sits down on the other side of the cushioned seat, smoothly placing the paper down next to him and tea on the floor.
“No. I have the day off today.” Alhaitham says, still looking at Kaveh. After a pause, he opens his mouth again. “What are you doing?”
Kaveh arranges his face into an expression of disdain, trying to push down the feeling of slight giddiness at the thought of someone, especially Alhaitham being interested in something of his. Instead of answering the question though, he gives into his knee jerk reaction that somehow only gets triggered around the gray haired man, and dramatically starts the beginning of a long rant.
“What, Alhaitham , am I not allowed to do my makeup anymore? Is it a crime to sit in the living room now, Alhaitham ? This is why you– eh ?!”
The rest of his sentence is lost to him when he’s abruptly cut off by Alhaitham leaning forward and plucking the kohl applicator from his hand.
“Hm?” He tilts his head slightly and raises an eyebrow at Kaveh, who’s lost for words.
(He desperately tries to not think about how his heart rate spiked at the slight brush of Alhaitham’s finger against his, or the almost endearing expression Alhaitham’s giving him, almost like he’s actually interested .)
“What’s all this about?” Kaveh forces out, trying to keep his voice neutral.
“Show me how to use this.” Alhaitham speaks not as if he’s asking, but demanding Kaveh to reveal the deep, dark secrets of his meticulous and highly sought after beauty routine. Why Alhaitham has a sudden interest in kohl remains a mystery, but for once, Kaveh feels like indulging Alhaitham in his demands (definitely not because the simple brush of a hand against his put him in a softer mood).
With his mind made up in a couple of seconds, Kaveh reaches forward and takes back the kohl applicator, pointedly ignoring the brush of their fingers that spark tingles in his chest and threaten to elicit a giddy smile. Holding up his mirror, he brings the applicator to his waterline and slides it across smoothly; the burning gaze of Alhaitham does not make him falter (but does make his heart beat slightly faster). Completing the other eye, he takes a small brush out from the depths of his bag and gently smudges the harsh lines. He’s reaching to do the same on his other eye when a hand reaches out and halts his wrist in the air.
“Can I– can I do that one?”
In all the time Kaveh’s known Alhaitham, he has never seen the man look this hesitant and unsure. Maybe that’s why he finds himself wordlessly handing over the brush, feeling as if he’s handing over his heart instead. He leans forward into Kaveh’s space, so much that he could count his individual eyelashes if he wanted to. When Kaveh doesn’t protest, he reaches one hand out to gently hold the side of his jaw while the other brings the brush to his eye. Immediately looking up, Kaveh’s heart feels like it’s going to beat out of his chest at the surprisingly soft way Alhaitham guides the brush to touch up the kohl. The seconds stretch on for longer than they usually do– he tries ever so hard to memorize the feeling of Alhaitham’s hand being ever so tender with him.
The instant Alhaitham starts to pull away, Kaveh feels a noise being wrenched from his chest (along with a slight feeling of disappointment at the moment ending just a few seconds too soon) as he unconsciously chases after the warmth of Alhaitham’s hand. Alhaitham stops abruptly in his retreat to peer into his eyes with an unreadable look. In contrast to him, Kaveh is self aware enough to know he wears his own heart on his sleeve– does Alhaitham recognize the feelings that might be plastered across his own face?
“What?” Oh. Looks like Kaveh is the fool.
He suddenly wishes the ground would swallow him whole, maybe Lord Kusanali will take pity on him for his embarrassing display right now and make him disappear into a thicket of vines never to be seen again. Maybe it was too hopeful for him to think that Alhaitham could have feelings for him. Maybe he was just a little too much of a romantic at heart to see the harsh reality of things; maybe he’s just been reading too many stories of happy endings and requited love and lovers happily riding off into the sunset to consider the possibility that Alhaitham just might not feel the same–
“Kaveh?” Alhaitham’s voice breaks through his inner turmoil and he’s suddenly registering the fact that Alhaitham’s hand returned to his jaw, tilting him ever so slightly to examine his face.
He forces out a pathetically fake laugh and wrenches himself back to his original sitting position. “Well, that’s all there was to it! Ah, I want to add red too, watch and learn! Maybe you’ll finally start appreciating aesthetics, you absolute heathen…” he trails off while he numbly opens a pot of red pigment.
“Kaveh. Is everything alright?” Alhaitham’s voice sounds more worried than he’s ever heard him.
“Do you think you are constantly privy to every part of my life? Yes I’m fine, what nonsense are you–”
“Do you think I care so little for you that I would ignore it if you are feeling unwell?” Alhaitham says in an almost accusatory tone. “You don’t have to say it, but something just happened for you to suddenly act differently.”
Kaveh loves how straightforward Alhaitham is, he truly does. He likes the way he just plainly points things out as they are, nothing more, nothing less. However, this time he’s really wringing him out with no mercy. Oh, Kaveh wants to say it so much. Yell it so he gets a glimpse of how deep his emotions truly run, show him how much his feelings gnaw at every fiber of his being until they consume him entirely. If it was any other situation, he wouldn’t have thought twice about speaking his mind.
This time though, he’s scared. He’s terrified. Looking away from Alhaitham goes against every fiber of his being, but he does it anyway, afraid of what he might find.
“Did you want to try kohl too?” he forces out instead.
Alhaitham ignores the question entirely. “Are you… unhappy living here?” He asks. “You always seem to dislike being around me. Am I too upsetting?” To anyone else, he might sound as if he’s simply inquiring about the weather. To Kaveh, he sounds uncertain.
Turning to him abruptly, he blurts “Alhaitham, I–” I love you. “I don’t hate you. Why would I hate you? You only annoy me sometimes, not all the time. Only like eighty percent of the time. Okay not that much, more like seventy five–”
“I love you, Kaveh.”
“percent– what?”
Alhaitham sighs. “I thought this was plain enough. What happened to the light of the Kshahrewar, didn’t you graduate with honors?”
“Hey! I love you too, but you’re so mean to this senior! What happened to respect–”
He’s cut off (once again, seriously what is it with this guy and cutting him off mid-sentence?) by a hand firmly but gently guiding his head forward to crash into a pair of surprisingly soft lips. Thank Lord Kusanali he hadn’t put lip makeup on yet, Archons he didn’t even get a warning before Alhaitham–
Oh. He’s being kissed. By Alhaitham. It feels like every possible creature near Gandharva Ville has come and taken up residence in his chest, every butterfly and crystalfly and firefly finding a home in his stomach. His heart soars, and against his will he feels himself tear up from how overwhelming his feelings are for this infuriating man that he’s forced to close his eyes.
Time loses its meaning entirely in this single kiss, and it feels simultaneously like the moment has ended too soon but stretched on forever. Alhaitham separates them, his breath soft against his own, his hand still delicately holding Kaveh’s chin.
“Did you finally take me up on using that Sumeru rose lip balm?”
Alhaitham rolls his eyes. “Yes, but is that really all you have to say after this? Those novels you’re always raving about did nothing to help your sense of romance, I see…”
Kaveh pouts. “I don’t think novels or any mortal language have enough words to describe how deep my feelings run for you. Is that better, oh great Scribe?”
Alhaitham’s face turns slightly pink. “I… you…”
All the feelings from this morning seem to catch up to him at this instant, and he feels giddy laughter start to bubble in his chest and he clutches his stomach in his giggles. “You– you really are something else.”
The other crosses his arms and looks at him with poorly concealed amusement. “I’m glad you find this funny. Are you quite done yet?” After a pause, he adds “Do you… want to be more than roommates?”
Kaveh wipes a tear and his giggles die down, but the smile remains. “Best roommates? Friends? Best friends? Best best friends?” He teases. Alhaitham gives him a deadpan look and makes a move to get up, causing Kaveh to laugh again.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Boyfriends?” He leans close to Alhaitham’s face, making Alhaitham look down at him. Is that fondness in his eyes? Has he always gazed at Kaveh like this?
“Let me think about that. Hmm…”
Kaveh lightly smacks his chest. “Hey! If you start thinking now, I’ll grow old and withered and bald–”
“Yes. In what universe would I not be in a relationship with you, you fool?”
Kaveh smiles even wider and his heart feels like it cannot be contained in his human vessel any longer. He chuckles and wraps his hands around Alhaitham’s waist, hugging the other and turning his head so his ear rests near his heart. Alhaitham’s hand strokes his hair, and they sit in contented silence until Kaveh decides it’s time to stop being a human leech and finish the rest of his makeup.
They murmur amongst themselves through the rest of the morning. Kaveh guides Alhaitham’s hand through the process of applying pigment to his eyelids, they bicker over the placement of said pigments, and laugh together when Kaveh kisses all over Alhaitham’s face after applying a red tinted gloss to his lips and they have to stumble to the bathroom together to take it off.
It becomes routine for them every morning, despite whatever mood they’re in, for Kaveh to do his makeup next to Alhaitham (and do Alhaitham’s for him, because he’s decided he wants to wear kohl and a little pigment too). If anyone in the Akademiya has commented or asked about Alhaitham’s new habit of wearing cosmetics, he hasn’t mentioned it to Kaveh. Kaveh gets into the habit of wearing red lip makeup more often, for the sole purpose of seeing lipstick marks on Alhaitham’s cheeks and laughing at his unimpressed face.
If anyone witnesses the way their touches linger when they fix each other’s kohl at the nearest streetlamp, or that the Scribe has taken to browsing cosmetic stores with his roommate, they politely avert their eyes and move on, leaving the two to their own bubble. Some things are better off left accepted and unquestioned.