Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“No way! Him , looking for a date?”
“I swear, I thought it was a joke!”
“Who’d ever go out with someone that stiff?”
“Well… if you’re into the silent and mysterious type…”

That morning, in the corridors of Sumeru’s Akademiya, rumors spread faster than the news of a cancelled seminar.
Students crowded around a bright pink notice board, whispering, commenting, laughing.

At the center of the commotion was a single name: Alhaitham, written in neat, precise handwriting on a small note that, somehow, had ended up in the dating announcements section.

One thing was certain: he was the last person anyone would expect to be looking for love. And now, it was all the Akademiya could talk about.

In particular, a blond-haired architecture student named Kaveh, arms crossed and pride slightly bruised, stared at the notice with wide eyes, caught between skepticism… and an unexpected, unsettling curiosity.

How on earth did someone like Alhaitham end up searching for a date?

***

The day before.

The evening was peaceful,peaceful in the methodical, calculated way Alhaitham appreciated.
The tea in his cup was still warm, the soft twilight light filtered through the curtains, and the house was quiet. No noisy footsteps, no loud music. Just the gentle rustle of pages turned with care, and no lessons left to review.

Everything was perfect.

Outside, the sky faded to a deep orange, as if even the day itself were retreating so as not to disturb him.

Then, of course, came his housemates.

An inconvenience he had long accounted for,ever since he’d agreed to live with them two years ago.

“Got a moment?”
Tighnari’s voice was kind, but unusually tense.
Alhaitham didn’t look up from his book right away, answering only with a small gesture. It wasn’t rudeness,it was simply how he managed his time: finish the paragraph first, then deal with the world.

Tighnari and Cyno, his two closest friends, stood by the living room door,one with arms crossed, the other wearing a serious expression.
They had officially become a couple a few months ago. But Alhaitham had known they liked each other long before they admitted it.
The way Cyno looked at him, the way Tighnari spoiled him with gifts,obvious signs, at least to someone who had never been in love, but had read extensively about it.

So when he saw them standing there side by side, sharing a knowing look, it didn’t take long for him to guess what they were about to say.
He’d been expecting this for a while.

“You’re moving out,” he said calmly, closing his book.
Tighnari blinked in surprise. Cyno tilted his head slightly.

“What? How do you know?” the latter asked, caught off guard.

“Deduction. Lately, you’ve spent more nights in a hotel than here,” Alhaitham replied with the same tone he’d use to file a report.
“And your desk plant, Tighnari, hasn’t been in its usual spot for three days. You’ve been sleeping in Cyno’s room,” he added with a shrug.
“You need more privacy. It’s obvious.”

“Well, yes. Tighnari’s like cheese to me,” Cyno said. “It sticks to me all the time, he’s very tasty… and definitely hot.”

Tighnari sighed, but fondly. A tender smile appeared on his face as Cyno visibly relaxed.

“You’re… not upset?” Cyno asked cautiously. Maybe Alhaitham’s composed reaction had caught them off guard.
They knew him better than anyone else, and yet, it seemed they still feared that under all that calm, he might be hiding a feeling of abandonment.

Truthfully, Alhaitham would miss the color they brought into the house,Cyno’s terrible puns, Tighnari’s ever-growing plant collection, the warmth of a kitchen where they had once shared meals in winter.

But he understood why they had to go. He had never expected them to stay forever. It was only natural,they needed to move forward, build their life together.
He hoped to still be part of it, somehow. But he couldn’t keep them in the house. He’d manage just fine.

“I’m not offended, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Alhaitham said, picking up on their hesitation.
“Your decision makes sense. You’re in love, so you want your own space. It’s a logical progression.”

Logical , he said.
As if love were just an equation to solve. A sequence of signs to decode, like formulas on a page.

People fell in love, and then,sometimes,they moved in together.
They were absorbed into a private microcosm, orbiting each other like twin galaxies.

It must be nice.
It was, at least, for Cyno and Tighnari. That much was clear.

Alhaitham was genuinely happy for them. Even if he didn’t quite know, on a personal level, what it felt like.
But he didn’t need to experience it firsthand to see how good it was for the people he cared about.

Tighnari glanced at him, hesitating.

“Sure, but… that doesn’t mean we don’t feel bad about leaving you here. After everything…”

“There’s no need to worry so much. It’s not like you’re moving to the other side of Teyvat,” Alhaitham interrupted calmly. Then, as if to reassure them further, he added: “And really, I don’t mind. I’ve lived alone for years.”

It was true.
Ever since his grandmother passed away, his life had followed a quiet rhythm,orderly spaces, fixed times, dishes always in place.
He had learned to manage everything on his own terms, carefully regulating his energy, his silence, his breaks.

He was used to a routine tailored exactly to his internal calendar.
When you lived alone long enough, planning became second nature.

Sharing a home with two friends was one thing: eventually, everyone retreated to their rooms, needing their own space. Sometimes they’d eat together, but it wasn’t mandatory.
A partner, though… that would be something else entirely. It would require more effort, more presence.

Watching Cyno and Tighnari holding hands, for a moment, a thought crossed his mind:
What did it feel like, exactly, to have someone who chose you every evening,and consciously shared their space with you?

He didn’t know.
And, in all likelihood, he never would.
And, even more likely… it was better that way.

He pushed the thought aside in favor of something more pressing,something Tighnari quickly brought him back to.

“By the way, we’ve been thinking we should help with the rent. We’re kind of leaving you in a bind, and I think it’s only fair that we keep paying our share for a while.”

“Yeah, exactly! Even if you get to enjoy having the fridge all to yourself, I guess that’ll be cold comfort,” Cyno added, trying to lighten the mood with one of his signature awful puns.
Tighnari elbowed him gently, while Cyno chuckled at his own joke.

Alhaitham blinked. He hadn’t expected such thoughtfulness.
He wasn’t exactly broke,his scholarship covered most expenses,but paying double the costs would certainly make saving money harder.

Maybe… there was a solution. Risky, but viable: he needed a new roommate.
It would be tiring to find someone who wouldn’t irritate him, but it was a variable he had already accounted for.

“That won’t be necessary,” he said, calm but firm. “You’re not obligated. I’ll look for someone to rent the room to.”

“Well, we can cover the difference for a bit, if needed,” Cyno insisted.
“We don’t want this to become a burden for you,or for you to rush and end up with someone who makes your life harder. Take your time.”

It was a reasonable offer. Generous. The kind of thing only people who truly knew him would suggest.
Alhaitham didn’t like depending on others,but knowing he could have more time to evaluate a new roommate was reassuring, at least.

“Alright,” he replied, his tone final. “But I’ll try to be quick. You’ll have plenty of expenses with the move. I’ll find someone. The Akademiya is full of students looking for a room.”
He paused briefly, eyes fixed on the rim of his teacup, before adding, more quietly:
“Even if the idea doesn’t exactly thrill me.”

Tighnari sat on the armrest of the chair, curious.
“Really? I mean, you lived just fine with us.”

“Well, yes. But you two were compatible,” Alhaitham said in his usual practical tone.
“Similar schedules. Predictable habits. No unsolicited emotional outbursts.”

And yet, even as he said it, something tugged at that thought.

Because yes, it was true,everything had worked thanks to consistent logic.
But that wasn’t all.

With his friends, the house had felt… more alive.

He’d grown used to endless Genius Invokation duels with Cyno over breakfast.
To Tighnari’s long-winded stories about nocturnal creatures,and Akademiya gossip.
To the laughter that burst out at the most absurd times, like that one time they’d accidentally put salt in the tea.

They’d even covered for one another during the busiest exam weeks, running errands and leaving messy little notes on the kitchen table.

It had been, in its way, a functional coexistence. But also a familiar one.

Though he wouldn’t easily say it out loud,he’d had fun.
And he had grown attached.

Now, that balance was about to shift.

Would he ever grow attached to a new roommate?

The thought made him slightly uneasy, though he tried not to show it.

Cyno raised an eyebrow, confused.
“…Emotional outbursts? That’s a fancy way to put it. What do you mean?”

“Some people start talking the moment they wake up. Others think they have the right to move my books. Or worse,put on loud music in the living room in some twisted attempt to ‘socialize’,” Alhaitham replied, lips pressed in irritation just imagining it.

Tighnari laughed softly, shaking his head.
“You’re already picturing a nightmare scenario.”

“I’m just considering all variables,” Alhaitham replied. “Space matters to me. Peace and quiet even more. Not everyone knows how to exist without invading it.”

“Should we put that in the ad?” Tighnari teased.
“Something like: ‘Quiet roommate wanted. Emotionally discreet, self-sacrificing, and preferably capable of vanishing when others are around’?”

The joke earned a small smile from Alhaitham.

“Doesn’t sound too bad. But perhaps it’s better to keep the ad simple and meet the candidates in person. It would help me assess who I’m dealing with.”

Tighnari nodded with a knowing smile. “Makes sense.”

Cyno turned toward the entry table, where they’d left some papers.
He grabbed one and returned to him.

“Then just write something up and we’ll post it. We can pin it to the Akademiya board before lectures. That way you won’t waste time,you’ve got class this afternoon, right?”

Alhaitham nodded.
“Fine. Post it near the Architecture department. Fewer annoying people hang around there.”

Tighnari, meanwhile, sat beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“You’ll see. It’ll be fine. Maybe you’ll find someone who surprises you.”

Alhaitham didn’t respond right away.

He simply leaned back, book on his lap, as the light faded completely and the house,still theirs, for just a little longer,fell silent.

Soon, an unexpected variable would arrive.

“I just hope they don’t play an instrument,” he muttered under his breath.

But Tighnari heard him,and laughed again.
“Maybe just the flute. Then you can ask them to play while you read.”

“Just kill me now, if that’s my fate,” Alhaitham deadpanned, which sent both his friends into fits of laughter.

Moments later, the three of them sat down to drink tea together.

Alhaitham watched the steam rise from his cup, eyes growing heavier with sleep.
Still, he stayed up a little longer.

After all… it was their last night, before everything changed.

****

The Next Morning

The following day, the Akademiya’s morning air smelled of fresh parchment and overly strong coffee, eagerly consumed by several stressed-out students.

Cyno walked confidently alongside Tighnari down the still mostly empty corridors, the announcement carefully folded between his fingers.

“Did he say to leave it near the Architecture department, right?” Tighnari asked, yawning.

“Yeah. After all, those who build houses might be pretty interested in renting one, no?” Cyno guessed, then glanced around.

They passed by the main bulletin board, crowded with flyers for lectures, book sales, and study groups. Further along, there was a half-empty wall hosting a series of colorful notes pinned to a pink corkboard.

“Will this do? The others are way too cluttered!” Cyno asked, stopping in front of the board covered in heart-shaped notes, flyers with various smiling faces, and titles like “Looking for my soulmate” or “Seeking good-looking guy for casual dates, just some fun to blow off pre-exam stress.”

Tighnari looked at it with a raised eyebrow.
“Hm. Some of these ads are kind of weird, but at least this one’s tidy. At least here the announcement will actually be seen.”

“Exactly! Visibility is what counts.”
Cyno methodically grabbed a pin and fastened the announcement right in the center, between a “I like moonlit walks and ancient books” and an “Offering massages in exchange for genuine affection.”

Tighnari stared at him for a second, slightly puzzled.
“…You know, this pink background seems unusual for an academic bulletin board. Are we sure this is the right one?”

“It must be the new aesthetic of Architecture students. You know those guys always have style,” Cyno replied cheerfully.

With that, they exchanged a knowing nod and continued walking.

Neither of them noticed that this was actually the board dedicated to dating and romantic announcements. The title was pinned under a couple of notes they hadn’t bothered to move.

And so, among all the dating requests, Alhaitham’s announcement now stood out prominently:

“Seeking long-term compatibility.

I prefer an in-person meeting to discuss boundaries and expectations together.
You can find me in the library, usually from 3 to 6 pm.
Ask for Alhaitham.”

The notice did not go unnoticed by many students, who were utterly surprised to learn that the serious scribe was looking for a partner.
And it certainly caught the attention of an Architecture student named Kaveh.

****

Afternoon

The afternoon sun filtered obliquely through the Akademiya’s glass walls, tracing arches of light along the corridors.
Kaveh walked slowly beside his friend Faruzan, who moved with the light step of someone who, despite having aged well for over a hundred years, still took her time to observe everything with curious eyes.
Having spent three quarters of her life trapped inside a puzzle, the woman was more eager than ever to see the outside world.

The pink announcement board stood out like a blooming flower amid the marble.
Kaveh slowed his pace, his gaze once again drawn to that note.

Faruzan noticed immediately.
“Oh? What caught your eye, my boy? A new scholarship opportunity?”

Kaveh gave a wry smile.
“If only! No, it’s just… an announcement. One of those announcements, you know. This board is matchmaking one couple after another these days.”
He nodded discreetly.

Faruzan leaned in curiously, frowning.
“Seeking long-term compatibility…” she read aloud, then laughed heartily.
“Oh, Celestia, how formal! Who’s this methodical-hearted young man?”
She glanced at the name: “Alhaitham? He’s not new to me.”

“Well, he’s the scribe, after all. Everyone knows him. I see him sometimes in common classes. He should be a researcher now,” Kaveh answered, carefully avoiding mentioning how hard it was for him not to notice.
Alhaitham was genuinely handsome, with striking aquamarine eyes, a lean figure, and muscular arms and shoulders that he never failed to show off in overly tight tank tops.
When he spoke in class, it was with admirable eloquence, and he seemed truly passionate about his studies.
He had just one flaw: his personality.

Feigning nonchalance, Kaveh shrugged.
“I’ve talked to him a few times. Actually tried to invite him for coffee once. He’s an interesting guy,” he admitted casually, still feeling the sting of Alhaitham’s rejection.
It had been months, but he couldn’t help feeling offended.

“Ooooh?” Faruzan looked at him with far too much satisfaction. “And did he accept?”

“No. Said he was busy. More than once, actually.” Kaveh crossed his arms with a sigh.
“It’s obvious someone like Alhaitham wouldn’t be interested in someone like me, but at least he could’ve been a bit more tactful!”

“He has that ‘I know everything’ vibe that makes me want to scatter his books all over the house.”

Actually, it was more than that.

Had Alhaitham really been avoiding him?
Maybe back then he simply wasn’t interested in dating anyone; that was perfectly understandable.
But what if he had avoided him just because he wasn’t interested in him ?

Kaveh didn’t know.
And that unsettled him more than he wanted to admit.
He didn’t want to bother him,or come off as intrusive.

“Maybe he’s just changed his mind about relationships now,” he muttered under his breath.
“Or… no. Maybe I’m simply not his type.”

He pursed his lips, torn.
The idea of going to the library and facing rejection again made him nervous.
But at the same time, that announcement was the closest thing to an open door Alhaitham had ever left.
It would be foolish not to take the chance.

If only to clear the doubt.

Faruzan stifled a chuckle, then theatrically placed a hand on her chest.
“Ah, young people these days. So impatient. If every rejection were a slammed door, we’d never have built the towers of Sumeru!”
She leaned closer to the note, reading again.
“He says he’s at the library from three to six. It’s almost a formal invitation. Why don’t you try again? Maybe he’s less busy now.”

Kaveh shrugged uncertainly.
“I don’t know. I never thought he was the type to want company. And maybe… he doesn’t like me at all.”

Faruzan raised an eyebrow.
“Maybe he’s just waiting for the right one. Don’t be shy.”

Kaveh huffed, but the corners of his mouth twitched upward.
“Me? Shy? I’m just… realistic.”

“As realistic as you want, dear. But now you’re curious too.”
She gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow.
“Come on. Go see if this young scribe still ignores you. Maybe he’s just waiting for someone to read between the lines. Offer him some tea, coffee, something.”

Kaveh was silent for a moment, then sighed.
“Alright. I’ll go to the library. I better hurry, before the competition gets too fierce.”

“Ah, academic love!” Faruzan sighed, bringing a hand to her heart.
“There’s nothing more poetic. I’ll come with you right away. Then you’ll have to update me on every detail.”

Chapter Text

Kaveh’s room was a chaotic work of art: plants balanced precariously, posters stuck up with badly placed tape, and a rug that looked like it had survived epic battles after yet another late night spent tearing up failed sketches.

He truly loved that house.

But when exam time came around, the place turned into a jungle: Nilou practicing dance steps in the living room, Dunyazard cooking non-stop, Dehya hardly ever home but somehow still managing to leave makeup scattered everywhere. Then there was Faruzan, reading everything aloud; Layla, constantly stressed about exams; and Candace, desperately trying to keep things in order,with little success.

It was home , and for that reason it was dear to him, as dear as his beloved friends. But living with six other people was starting to become a challenge for everyone.

That morning, however, he had carved out some time for himself. He had tidied up and gotten ready to meet Alhaitham at the library.

He had washed and carefully combed his hair, chosen a smart shirt free of graphite or ink stains, and even applied three different scented creams to his face.

Even his desk had undergone a perfect decluttering: discarded projects piled up and tossed away, the best prints tucked neatly into a brand-new folder.

He was in a good mood, at last. Terrified of getting rejected by Alhaitham again, of course, but at least he had a spark of hope. Something nice to think about for a few hours.

The past few months had not been kind. His architecture projects piled up with revisions and misunderstandings; exams brought neither satisfaction nor good grades: he was constantly distracted. Professors had shot him down far too often whenever he dared to stray even slightly from the standard requirements. He didn’t have enough money for new, quality materials, and he had already failed a couple of times.

Naturally, his situation with his mother only made things worse. She hadn’t answered him in months: not since moving in with her new boyfriend. That silence weighed heavier than any scolding, leaving him without an anchor. He adored his friends, but even they couldn’t find the right words to lift him when it came to that matter.

To keep his mind off it, he focused on the note he’d read on the bulletin board:

“I prefer to meet in person to define boundaries and expectations together. You can find me in the library, usually from 3 to 6 p.m. Ask for Alhaitham.”

A simple message, signed by a name he knew well: Alhaitham. Being a meticulous scribe with little interest in small talk, Kaveh had never expected him to be interested in meetings of this sort. Especially after rejecting all of Kaveh’s invitations in recent months, always saying he was busy.

And yet, he had written that note.

That invitation had struck a chord, perhaps because Kaveh was in a place where even the smallest sign felt like a lifeline. And the possibility of a second chance with the man he’d been crushing on for months? That was a very good sign indeed.

Before leaving the house, he gave a quick wave to Nilou, who greeted him with her mouth full of cookies as she ran down the hallway, late for something.

In the kitchen, he was, of course, met with Faruzan’s knowing gaze and that mischievous little old-lady smirk.

“Now remember, young man: we want all the details later,” she reminded him.

“And if it goes well, you’re buying us drinks!” Dehya added with a grin.

“And you’ll get a whole week off cleaning duty,” Candace proposed.

“I don’t know what to hope for, then! I’m not rich enough to buy drinks for all of you, but… a week without cleaning sounds like a dream,” Kaveh joked, before finally stepping out the door. “See you later, then!”

***

The walk to the library was an exercise in self-control: deep breaths, rehearsing an opening line that wouldn’t sound desperate, and trying to convince himself this was just a conversation.

The Akademiya library welcomed him with the scent of old paper and ink. Light streamed through the tall windows, tracing golden arches across the tables; some students dozed over their books, others whispered in hushed tones.
And there, at the far end of a row of shelves, Kaveh saw him.
Sitting with perfect posture, surrounded by papers and volumes, Alhaitham seemed carved out of calm itself. The still pen, the focused gaze, the unhurried precision with which he turned each page, all of it gave the impression that the rest of the world was no more than distant noise.

As always, he was beautiful. The green of his clothes brought out the pale hue of his eyes, while the black lent him an air of refined seriousness.
Far too beautiful, for someone like Kaveh.

He could have turned away. Let it go, gone home, spared himself the risk of possible embarrassment. But the thought of not knowing what might happen weighed more heavily than the fear of rejection.
He inhaled, squared his shoulders, and moved toward him, trying to mold his anxiety into composure.

A couple of tables away, Kaveh had already started fixing a polite, but not intrusive, expression on his face. He set his folder down to one side of the table, as if it were just a pretext, and when Alhaitham looked up, those calm, unshakable eyes betrayed no surprise.

“Hi!” Kaveh said, trying to hide the tension in his voice. “I’m Kaveh. I, uh… saw your notice.”

And he stood there, waiting for a reaction, a cautious hope pounding in his chest.

Alhaitham looked up from his book with the ease of someone who had never once been caught off guard in his life.
“Oh, right. Kaveh. We’ve met before.” His voice was calm, almost distracted, as though he were merely confirming a detail he’d filed away long ago.

Kaveh let slip a smile he hoped looked confident. He was almost surprised Alhaitham remembered him at all, and tried not to feel too pleased about it.
“Yeah, in several classes,” he said, tilting his head in what he hoped was a casual gesture. Then, with a hint of irony, he added, “But you’ve never gone out with me when I invited you a couple of times. I was actually surprised to see your notice. I thought you preferred being alone.”

The sting of being turned down at least four times still lingered, each time with the same I’m busy in response to his offers to study together, grab a coffee, or go for a walk. But now, he didn’t want to dwell on the past. He was trying to claim a chance in the present, hoping to start over.

For a moment, Alhaitham said nothing, as if weighing the statement the same way he would assess an academic text: the weight of the words, their context, their possible implications. He furrowed his brow ever so slightly and shrugged.
“Oh, well… I considered it carefully,” he said at last, in a neutral tone. “That’s why I made the announcement now.”

Fantastic.

Kaveh felt a triumphant smile creep onto his face. So there was hope! Just as he’d imagined, maybe Alhaitham had decided to put himself out there because he’d entered a stage where he was open to relationships.

Leaning forward slightly, without quite crossing into his space, Kaveh seized on that apparent opening.
“Well, I hope you’ll consider me, then,” he admitted, his smile only barely trembling. “I’m seriously interested.”

“I don’t reject people outright,” Alhaitham replied, calmly turning a page before gesturing for him to sit.

Kaveh hastily sat down, an idiotic grin plastered on his face. He’d been standing there like a statue, and when he finally dropped into the chair, he let out a tense sigh.

“But you’ll have to decide for yourself, too,” Alhaitham added seriously, meeting his gaze. “If the terms suit you. You might change your mind.”

The answer caught him slightly off guard.
“Uh… sure?” Kaveh said, unsure if that was meant as a challenge, an invitation, or both. “But if I weren’t interested, I wouldn’t be here, right?”

After a few moments, he reconsidered those words and ended up appreciating them more.
Alhaitham, he realized, was concerned that Kaveh might still like him once they got to know each other better. A thoughtful consideration, on his part.

“Fair enough,” Alhaitham agreed, resting his hand under his chin, pensive. The question that followed nearly made Kaveh fall off his chair.
“Are you busy tonight?” he asked, with the same casualness one might use to ask the time.

They could actually have a date, finally! And it was Alhaitham himself who had taken the first step.
Kaveh tried not to look too eager. “Uh… no, I don’t think so. Why?”

“Come to my place, then.”

For a heartbeat, Kaveh’s brain stalled.
He just stared at him, unsure if he had heard correctly.
To his place.

All at once, warmth rose to his cheeks.
It could only mean one thing. There was hardly room for misinterpretation.
His eyes widened slightly, and this time he couldn’t manage to look composed.

He hadn’t expected that sort of invitation, not so soon! In fact, he hadn’t expected at all that Alhaitham would be that kind of man. The kind who slept with someone on the first date, who made his intentions that clear.

Truth be told, neither was Kaveh that sort of man. He’d never gone to someone’s home or slept with someone he barely knew.
And yet…

For just a moment, vivid enough to make him tremble, he imagined the distance between them closing for good. He and Alhaitham, finally close, with no library table or polite conversation between acquaintances keeping them apart.
He wondered what Alhaitham was like when he lowered his guard.

Would those strong, precise hands, now turning the pages of a book with surgical calm, move over his skin with the same surety?
He pictured Alhaitham, heartbeat quickening, undoing the buttons of his shirt with the patience of someone well-acquainted with the structure of what they were dismantling. Steady lips trailing slowly down his neck, pausing deliberately between each kiss.

What sort of lover would he be: more passionate, or more gentle? Would he surprise him with unexpected energy, or be the kind who, even with tenderness, knew exactly where to touch to make him shiver?

“Well? Still interested?”

Alhaitham’s voice jolted him back, his eyebrow slightly raised, as if curious about Kaveh’s sudden silence.
Kaveh gave a start, trying to erase the foolish grin from his face. He didn’t want to seem that desperate.
He wasn’t, really. He hadn’t been in a relationship for a long time, but he’d never felt the urge to find a casual fling just for fun. He had too much on his plate to invest in something that would lead nowhere.

For Kaveh, love was like a well-crafted work of art: something you could dream of, admire from afar, but never force into shape. Like a good book that found you by chance on the shelf, or the perfect line appearing under your pencil when you least expected i: it only came when the right inspiration chose to arrive.

And then, before the right person, the feeling would take shape on its own: natural and inevitable, like an architecture that, once conceived, seemed as though it had always existed, impatient to be made real.

Who was to say this wasn’t a chance to lay the foundations for something stronger?

In that moment, he felt it might be worth finding out.
Alhaitham was interesting. Intriguing. He had liked him for a long time.
Maybe the evening would lead nowhere, or maybe it would change something.
Kaveh had never been the type to let go so quickly… but with him, who knew?

What did he have to lose, after all? He wasn’t in a relationship. His heart wasn’t tied to anyone else. All he had was a mind crowded with a thousand thoughts, and falling into the arms of a handsome man seemed like the best way to quiet them.

He composed himself with difficulty, forcing his lips into a measured smile.
“Of course I am. It’s just…” he decided to be honest, “…I didn’t think you’d get straight to the point so soon.”

Alhaitham regarded him, puzzled, as if trying to parse the meaning of that remark.
“…Yeah? I’ll finish a couple of pages and be ready, if you’re free now.”

“Sure,” Kaveh replied, before pulling out his sketchbook and letting the pencil glide over the paper. He wasn’t drawing anything elaborate: just lines, floral motifs, leaves and trees, but the movement was familiar, soothing. He was searching for inspiration for a future courtyard design, and inevitably, he found himself smiling.

Alhaitham, for his part, lifted his gaze from the book for a moment, giving him a brief but unexpectedly curious glance.
“Do you draw often?” he asked, as if mentally filing away the information. “I imagine you’ll need some space for it.”

Kaveh looked up slightly, smiling faintly. “Yeah… I usually need a desk.”

The other man nodded. “I see. Luckily, those aren’t hard to come by.”

It was an odd sort of comment, but Kaveh didn’t dwell on it. Alhaitham had a unique way of speaking, but Kaveh liked that. He was direct enough to be reassuring. There was no need to constantly read between the lines or untangle layers of subtext. For all his enigmatic qualities, he was surprisingly transparent in other ways.

When they finally rose to leave a short while later, Kaveh felt restless, but pleasantly so. Good thing I took the time to get ready , he thought, remembering the care he’d put into his appearance: hair neatly combed, a scented shower, a freshly pressed shirt, a light spray of fragrance over his shoulders and neck. He had no idea how close he might get to Alhaitham that night, but he was glad to be perfectly presentable.

****

The walk home passed without incident. Kaveh’s steady footsteps beside Alhaitham set the rhythm of the short journey.
“The house is very close to the Akademiya. Convenient for getting to class early,” Alhaitham remarked. It seemed like an essential detail to mention, if Kaveh was considering moving in with him.

“Of course! Makes it easier to sleep until late, I guess,” Kaveh laughed.

“Hm.” Alhaitham agreed, casting him a sidelong glance for a better look. He’d had Kaveh near him all afternoon in the library, but in the warm glow of sunset, the scarlet of his clothes made his golden skin and soft features stand out even more.
Kaveh was a handsome man.
That was a fact, free of unnecessary aesthetic judgment, more like a technical assessment: silky, well-kept hair in a warm blond that caught the light; large, vivid scarlet eyes like gemstones set in a harmonious face; full, well-shaped lips completing an altogether pleasing whole.

They hadn’t spent much time together, truth be told. Their conversations had started during a period when Alhaitham was always busy, and while he’d gathered that Kaveh wanted to be friends, the man had always picked the worst possible moments to invite him out. He had been busy for a while.
It didn’t seem Kaveh’d taken offense, though: otherwise he wouldn’t have shown up to see the house.

Alhaitham thought back to what little he knew about him. In class, Kaveh often seemed chaotic: a half-filled, half-scribbled notebook in front of him, sometimes arriving late, sometimes flustered after forgetting something. And yet, he didn’t give the impression of being a bad person. On the contrary, there was a lively energy about him that made him interesting.

But what would it be like to have him in the house? Would he be messy, the kind of roommate who leaves books lying around and coffee cups on the table? Probably.
Tighnari had certainly been tidier, though Cyno wasn’t exactly a neat freak either, and he’d still been a good housemate.

All things considered, Kaveh also seemed like someone who could work well when he truly focused. He drew often, and well. Alhaitham had seen him more than once completely absorbed in his sketches, the confident line of the pencil betraying an attention to detail that contrasted with his otherwise haphazard manner. It was clear how seriously he took his course, despite the times he’d failed exams. That determination, in a way, was admirable.

They reached the entrance, and Alhaitham opened the door, letting Kaveh step in first.
The door closed behind them with a familiar, solid click. For Alhaitham, home was above all silence: an orderly, precise place where everything was in its place. He didn’t often think about how it might look through someone else’s eyes. Right now, though, he had to, given that the person in question was the one who might rent it.

Kaveh smiled as he looked around. A wave of fresh air, scented faintly of tea and mint, drifted through the entryway. Light from a wide arched window fell across dark green rugs on the stone floor, while the shadows of the inner arches painted soft geometry on the walls.
“Uh… you’ve got a beautiful place. It’s cozy. The wood of the tables goes really well with the rugs. Did you decorate it like this yourself?”
His voice held a tone Alhaitham couldn’t quite place: a mix of genuine admiration and mild nervousness.

Was he worried Alhaitham might not pick him as a housemate? In truth, Alhaitham was already leaning more toward yes than no. Finding someone on the first day, someone who likely wouldn’t be much trouble, would save him weeks of tedious searching.

“More or less. Some things belonged to Cyno and Tighnari, my two friends who’ve now moved out. They decided to leave them here,” he explained, letting Kaveh take his time looking around.

“Oh! I think I’ve seen them around the Akademiya,” Kaveh said. “So, now you live alone,” he concluded.
“Yeah. They’re together, and about to move in with each other.” It wasn’t a secret: far from it. Anyone who saw those two holding hands could put the pieces together in an instant. “So now, it’s just me at home.”

Kaveh smiled in a way Alhaitham couldn’t quite decipher. It wasn’t perfunctory, nor purely polite, there was a certain satisfaction in it, for reasons he couldn’t guess.
“Oh, I see,” he murmured softly. “So the house is… for the two of us only, now. I get it.”

Alhaitham nodded, taking the statement literally, as he usually did. “Yes, exactly. Every room is available, except my private study, of course. Best to keep that as tidy as possible.”
“Of course. Wouldn’t want to mess that up,” Kaveh agreed, slipping his hands loosely into his pockets. Another smile played on his lips, and Alhaitham noticed the faint pink on his cheeks, perhaps from the heat outside. In Sumeru, even after seven in the evening, the temperature stayed high, especially in this season.

They walked toward the hallway. Their steps on the rugs set a soft rhythm, interrupted only when the space narrowed and their arms brushed. Each time, Kaveh seemed to hold a barely perceptible breath. Alhaitham didn’t think much of it; he wasn’t fond of physical contact himself, but if it was accidental, apologizing would only make it more awkward.

“This is the kitchen,” he said as they stepped into the next room. It was bright: shelves of light wood lined with spices and ingredients, a spotless stovetop, a table with four chairs.
He noticed, however, that instead of studying the shelves or counters, Kaveh seemed focused on him, as if the kitchen was little more than a pretext. The blond’s gaze drifted slowly, a little distracted, always coming back to his face.
“Yeah. It’s so beautiful. The…kitchen, I mean.” he commented in a slow tone.
Too generic to be truly about the kitchen.

Maybe he’s just tired , Alhaitham thought. Many students were, especially at the end of the day.
But then Kaveh’s eyes traced briefly over his lips before meeting his gaze again. The small motion sent an instinctive shiver down Alhaitham’s spine: a definitely not unpleasant one, though he couldn’t quite interpret it. He pushed it aside firmly, refocusing on more practical matters. It would be foolish to read more into it.

“Glad you like it. I’ll show you the rest shortly.”
Kaveh shot him a quick, almost amused look. Alhaitham assumed it was simply his way of being friendly, of making a good impression. “Mm-hm. I guess… for that, you’ll want to move out of the kitchen.”

“Yes,” he confirmed, entirely missing any implied meaning. Kaveh probably just meant seeing the rest of the house. “I need to show you the other rooms.”

Then Alhaitham paused for a moment.
People often told him he was too cold, too pragmatic, a quality that people didn’t seem to appreciate, though to him it was just being himself. Maybe he could make the effort to be more cordial with Kaveh, if they were to be housemates.

“Before we go to the bedroom, would you like a glass of tea?” Alhaitham asked. It felt like a polite offer to make, rather than jumping straight into the rent discussion.
Kaveh hesitated, then nodded. Alhaitham didn’t miss the way he exhaled, as if releasing some tension, and felt reassured: he’d made the right choice in offering.
“Yes… I’d like that. You know, to get to know you a little better before we… well . You know.”

To him, it was a perfectly sensible answer. Establishing a bit of conversation before tackling practical matters was a common enough approach.

In the kitchen, the scent of mint returned as he poured hot water into the teapot. Kaveh sat down, fingers interlaced on the table, watching him as he prepared the cups.

“You know,” Kaveh said with a smile once he sat across from him, “I didn’t think you’d invite me here this soon.”
“It was the most efficient choice,” Alhaitham replied, entirely missing any subtext. “I believe this way, two people can get to know each other better.” He elaborated, “An in-person meeting provides a lot of information: tone, posture, the way someone moves in a space. Far more reliable than any note you might have written in response, after you knew you were interested.”

Kaveh tilted his head slightly, still smiling. “True. It’s been a long time since we’ve talked for more than five minutes. We should do it more often.”

“We inevitably will, from now on, most likely,” Alhaitham observed. After all, they were going to live together.

At that, Kaveh’s smile broadened. He straightened his back, as if to compose himself, and took a large sip of tea, burning himself slightly in the process. Once he recovered, he blurted out, with far too much enthusiasm, “Of course! I’d be delighted!”

Alhaitham was a little surprised by all that enthusiasm; it was rare for anyone to be so pleased at the idea of sharing space with him. He only hoped Kaveh wouldn’t regret it once he discovered how meticulous he could be.
“So, Kaveh, you’re an architect. What do you usually need when you work?” he asked in a practical tone. “Silence? Natural light? A stable workspace?”
“A space of my own… yes,” Kaveh said, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear and nodding. “I adore my roommates, but there are seven of us now. Sometimes it gets a little chaotic. The girls could use more space too.”

“ Seven . Impressive,” Alhaitham remarked. He didn’t dare ask why Kaveh had ended up living with that many people. Perhaps it was a money issue, but it wasn’t polite to pry. It did, however, explain why Kaveh had responded so quickly to his ad.

They drank and talked for a few more minutes. Kaveh spoke animatedly about cooking with his roommates, about long evenings spent playing board games or going out together. Alhaitham let him talk, occasionally nodding.
If Kaveh was already used to living with a lot of people, he reasoned, sharing a house with just one other person wouldn’t be much of an adjustment. That was another point in his favor.

When the cups were empty, he stood. “If you like, I can show you the room now.”
Kaveh nodded and got to his feet immediately. “Sure!”

They stepped back into the hallway.
“That’s the reading room over there,” Alhaitham pointed out. “It’s spacious and bright, especially in the morning. And here…”

They stopped in front of the room for rent. “Here it is.”
Alhaitham opened the door.

There was a light wooden wardrobe, a desk near the window, and plenty of open space. Tighnari and Cyno had left most of their things, but they would be clearing it out soon.

“Do you want to take a closer look?” he asked in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Yes, sure!” Kaveh replied.

He stepped inside. Alhaitham didn’t immediately cross the threshold, letting him explore on his own, until Kaveh turned and did something unexpected: he walked toward him naturally and took his hand.

“And you? Not coming in with me?” Kaveh asked softly, lacing their fingers together before pulling him closer, making him startle.

Alhaitham was not easily surprised.
But this definitely caught him off guard.

For a moment, he didn’t pull his hand back. Kaveh’s skin was warm against his own, and with those two steps closed between them, they were now closer than ever. Being nearly the same height, Alhaitham found himself looking directly into his face, just a palm’s breadth away.

Kaveh tilted his head, studying him for a few seconds, then lifted a hand. His fingers brushed Alhaitham’s temple, sliding upward to catch a lock of his hair: smooth and silky to the touch. He twirled it slowly, as if examining the weave of fine fabric.
“Just as I imagined,” he murmured, with a faint smile. “Very beautiful .”

Alhaitham looked at him, searching for a logical connection between that comment and the room. “My… hair?”
He wasn’t used to physical contact, but he stayed still, too puzzled to react.

“Mhm.” Kaveh let the strand fall slowly, his knuckles brushing Alhaitham’s cheek. The touch was light, almost accidental, but deliberately unhurried. “And not just the hair.”

For the first time since he’d entered, uncertainty slipped into Alhaitham’s thoughts. Could it be that Kaveh… wasn’t here for the room?
“Kaveh,” he managed, keeping his voice steady, “don’t you… want to see your room? You wanted to talk about the rent, right?”

Kaveh stepped back as if shocked, his face flushing all the way to the tips of his ears. He quickly withdrew the hand that had touched Alhaitham and ran it through his hair in a nervous gesture.
“My room?” he stammered, as if the words burned his tongue. “What… do you mean, my room? Rent ?”

Alhaitham stared at him, increasingly perplexed. “Yes… weren’t you here because of the rental ad on the noticeboard?”

Kaveh lowered his gaze, bit his lip, and a nervous smile trembled on his mouth. He let out a deep sigh before blurting, in a rush, “The… rental notice… oh. Rental . Oh, Celestia. Ah. Fuck .” He could barely look him in the eye. “Sorry. I misunderstood. Sorry ! The notice was on the…well, never mind.” His hand now waved awkwardly, as if trying to conjure an escape route.
“Uh… maybe… I should head back, check on a few things at home, you know, drawings, materials…” he improvised suddenly, trying to disguise his retreat with a casual tone, but his completely panicked expression betrayed him.

Alhaitham, meanwhile, was wide-eyed, equally stunned.
How had this misunderstanding happened?
What noticeboard did Kaveh think he’d seen?

What kind of board had Cyno and Tighnari posted his ad on?
They had clearly made quite a mess if Kaveh had thought Alhaitham had invited him over for… entirely different reasons.

“Wait! Kaveh!” he started to call after him, but Kaveh had already rushed out of the room, fleeing clumsily.
“It was a pleasure! Thanks for the tea! Sorry, I really have to go!” he shouted, running away as fast as possible.

Chapter Text

The house had fallen back into silence the instant Kaveh fled.

Alhaitham stood frozen in the entryway, stunned into immobility. The door had slammed shut far too quickly: he hadn’t even had time to stop Kaveh, to clear up the misunderstanding.

A sigh slipped past his lips as he shook his head. Cyno and Tighnari.. . yes, this time they had truly made a mess of things . And now? Every future encounter with Kaveh in the Akademiya corridors risked becoming a minefield of embarrassment.

Being the object of someone’s interest wasn’t such an impossible concept to grasp, yet he had never found himself in such a situation before. He avoided people as much as he could, preferring focused solitude, or blissful quiet. Certainly, he hadn’t expected to attract someone.

And yet, Kaveh had proven just that, by actually coming all the way to his house.

Thinking back on what had happened, Alhaitham could hardly believe he hadn’t recognized the absurd misunderstanding earlier. Now, piecing everything together, every detail of the evening stood out with glaring clarity.

It all made sense now: Kaveh’s smiles, far more frequent than necessary; the looks he cast at him during lectures; the invitations he had always declined, simply because they’d come at times when he was too busy.

What would have happened if, just once, he had said yes? Would Kaveh have dared to reveal his feelings outright? And those feelings: were they deep, or only a shallow attraction?

The memory of Kaveh’s fingers returned vividly: first laced with his own, then in his hair, and finally brushing across his face.

He rubbed his chin, thoughtful. He hadn’t been annoyed, no: only too disoriented to react. He wasn’t accustomed to being touched, and he still hadn’t identified the sensation that had surged through him: a faint warmth, tangled with a strange, unsteady confusion.

Brooding over it would bring no rational answers. He had no experience with such things. But one fact was certain: he could not allow Kaveh to feel humiliated because of him.

He was not in the habit of concerning himself with others’ problems, yet this time he felt a direct responsibility. At the very least, Kaveh deserved an explanation. Even if the truth might wound him, he had to know he hadn’t been rejected out of disgust or bad intention, but because of a misunderstanding.

The only problem was finding the right way to say it, and that would be no easy task.

One accusation often leveled against him was that he was cold, impassive. As a child, those comments had bothered him. By now, however, they hardly touched him.

He knew well he was not an easy person to understand. For too many years, he hadn’t interacted with others in a normal way. In his early life, he had studied at home under the care of his grandmother. She had died when he was still a boy, and with her passing, the only person who had ever truly cared for him, his little world had shattered.

Not that it had ever been particularly clear before. Somehow, he had always felt different from most people. Every sensation came too intensely, overwhelming him before he could analyze or name it. Noises, strangers, the rehearsed patterns of social interaction: it was all draining. When he shut himself in his room, surrounded by books and safety, life was easier to manage.

He had a brilliant mind: an excellent scholar, a genius , people said. And yet he was never as quick to understand others, not when their intentions or thoughts went unspoken. Because of that, communication had always been a struggle.

The hardest part, perhaps, was making people understand his tone of voice, the way he expressed an opinion.

He spoke plainly, without filters, and people mistook it for arrogance or lack of concern. Often they thought he was lashing out, when he was only being honest. He put himself first, and believed others should do the same, not from selfishness, but for their own well-being.

Now, however, he was concerned for someone else. He absolutely had to give Kaveh an explanation.

But first, he had to speak with Cyno and Tighnari.

Alhaitham wasted no more time. He left the house and set off at a brisk pace toward the one place he was nearly certain to find them: they spent most summer evenings there.

Within minutes, he reached the Puspa Café and stepped inside. The place glowed with the golden warmth of sunset filtering through green and blue glass panes. The air was heavy with the spiced aroma of coffee and the sweet scent of herbs burning in a brazier by the entrance.

At that hour, the café was really crowded: scholars murmuring to one another, a few groups of students lingering after lectures, merchants pausing before returning home.

Without hesitation, Alhaitham pushed the door fully open and scanned the room. He spotted Cyno and Tighnari at once, sitting at a table by the window. The surface was littered with half-empty cups and rolled-up scrolls. The two lovers sat hand in hand, lost in each other’s smiles. They didn’t even notice his arrival.

His jaw tightened. He had crossed the street with quick strides, noise-cancelling headsets at full power, ignoring stares and chuckles. Clearly, word of the “romantic ad on the dating board” had spread fast. He could not allow the situation to spiral further.

He reached their table without preamble, switched off his noise cancellation, and leveled his most severe glare at them.

“We need to talk. Now .”

Cyno and Tighnari exchanged a glance. For a moment they tried to remain serious, but Tighnari betrayed himself first: his ears twitched nervously. Cyno adjusted his seat with a guilty half-smile.

“We know,” Cyno admitted, bowing his head slightly. “We messed up the bulletin board. We didn’t realize it was the one for dating notices!” He paused, as if confessing a grave crime. “Alhaitham, we…”

“Oh, so you knew ?” Alhaitham cut him off, one eyebrow arching into dangerous heights of disdain. “And when exactly were you planning to inform me? After half the Akademiya had their laugh?”

“Hey, we already took it down!” Tighnari raised his hands in surrender. “We’re sorry all those rumors spread, really. You’re obviously not the type to look for a date that way. But now it won’t be an issue anymore.”

“That’s not the point.” Alhaitham dropped onto the chair beside them, propping an elbow on the table. He drew in a breath before explaining: “Someone came to the library. I thought he wanted to see the house, so I invited him over, while he thought I was trying to date him and sleep with him.”

He recounted everything in detail: their conversations, the rooms he had shown him, Kaveh’s enthusiasm. But the longer he spoke, the harder it became to read the expressions on their faces. Their lips pressed into mock seriousness, shoulders beginning to shake.

When he reached the part about the bedroom, about the way Kaveh’s hand had tangled in his hair, the way he had practically sought refuge in his arms, his two friends couldn’t hold back any longer. They doubled over, laughter spilling out. Tighnari burst first, Cyno following close behind, hiding his grin behind his hand.

“Sorry, Alhaitham!” Tighnari managed between chuckles, earning a murderous look. “But who was this guy?”

“Kaveh. The architecture student with a thousand projects going at once,” Alhaitham answered curtly, lips pressed thin. “The one who tries to help a dozen others before finishing his own work.”

“Wait, wait!” Cyno gasped, dabbing at the corner of his eye. “I get it now! He’s the girls’ roommate!”

Alhaitham froze for an instant. Indeed, Kaveh had mentioned knowing who Cyno and Tighnari were. “You know him?”

“Not exactly,” Tighnari said, failing to hide his grin, “but he’s friends with our friends, like Dehya and Nilou, you know? They all live together. Him and six girls! No wonder he’s always so well-groomed. Dehya must be lending him skincare products all the time. Honestly, his skin is amazing.”

Alhaitham pinched the bridge of his nose, exhausted. “He did mention something like that. And yes. I guess it is.”

“Soooo?” Cyno prodded, mischief glinting in his eyes. “Why not take him as your roommate, then? That place of his must be crowded.”

“Because he probably hates me now,” Alhaitham shot back, ice-cold, “or else he’s too embarrassed to even look at me. But I’ll explain. And I’ll put the blame where it belongs: on you two. Own it.”

“Fine. We accept that,” Tighnari said, leaning back with his cup, smiling faintly. “But he is really pretty, don’t you think? You should be a little flattere, at least.. When’s the last time anyone made a move on you?”

“That is not the point,” Alhaitham replied flatly. “I never said he wasn’t pretty.”

Cyno chuckled again, dropping a dry remark.
“At that point, you might as well have gone through with it. You were already in the bedroom, after all.”

“Exactly,” Tighnari chimed in, taking a sip of tea with a mischievous smile. “He was practically throwing himself at you!”

A sharp silence cut the air. Alhaitham looked at them the way he would study a badly written formula.
“You’re both idiots. You know I don’t care about that kind of thing.”

“Shame,” Tighnari sighed, still amused. “A good fuck never hurts, right? It would’ve given you a nice serotonin boost. Might even help you relax for once.”

That earned him another glare. Alhaitham was about to retort when a burst of cheerful voices forced him to turn toward the door.

It swung open, and a small group entered with confident steps: Dehya in the lead, Candace right behind, Nilou laughing at something Dunyarzard had just said. In the middle of the four girls, looking thoroughly miserable, was Kaveh.

His hair was loose over his shoulders, his cheeks flushed, probably due to the bottle of wine he clutched in one hand. His expression was halfway between tragic and defeated. Alhaitham couldn’t hear his words yet, but he was speaking animatedly. His friends surrounded him with sympathetic and amused looks; Dehya slipped an arm around his shoulders to steady him.

“Oh, fuck, no” Alhaitham muttered, stiffening. “This can’t be happening.”

“Interesting,” Tighnari whispered with a dangerous grin. “Target acquired.”

“Don’t you dare say a fucking word,” Alhaitham hissed through clenched teeth.

Too late. Kaveh and his little entourage had already chosen a table, right next to theirs.

“Fine, I’m leaving.” Alhaitham pushed back his chair, but Cyno’s hand shot out, gripping his arm.

“Idiot, where do you think you’re going? If you walk out now, he’ll see you for sure. Hide!”

“ What? ” Alhaitham shot back.

“Under the table!” Tighnari insisted, barely stifling a laugh. “Quickly!”

Alhaitham stared at them in disbelief, but the growing noise from the group left him no choice. With a low, mortified growl, he ducked down and wedged himself beneath the table, crouching awkwardly between his friends’ legs.

“I can’t believe I’m going along with this nonsense,” he muttered darkly.

“ Shh ! They’re here!” they hushed him in unison, as Tighnari leaned slightly to the side, ears twitching toward the next table.

Kaveh dropped heavily into his seat, setting the bottle down with a thud. Nilou patted his shoulder gently.

“What a disaster !” he exclaimed, dragging his fingers through his hair. “I’ve never felt so idiotic in my life!”

“Oh, Kaveh. Our poor Kaveh,” Dunyarzard cooed, resting a hand on his arm. “It’s not the end of the world, I promise. Maybe he was even flattered.”

“Not a chance…” Kaveh groaned, taking another gulp of wine. “He looked more shocked than anything.”

“Well, it’s Alhaitham ,” Candace reassured him. “He probably just didn’t see it coming. He doesn’t exactly keep people close, beside Cyno and Tighnari. That’s all.”

“And it’s not even your fault!” Dehya added firmly. “Blame whoever messed up the notice board. How were you supposed to know?”

At that, Cyno and Tighnari lowered their gazes, silently praying not to be noticed. The girls were too busy consoling Kaveh to pay them any mind.

“I know, I know…” Kaveh said, agitated. “But what must he think of me now? I practically threw myself into his arms like some desperate fool! I even held his hand…” He buried his face in his palms with a groan. “…and I would’ve gone even further if I hadn’t realized I’d misunderstood everything. I was this close to kissing him. If he’d wanted it, of course. But the moment I sensed something was wrong, I pulled back right away!”

Under the table, Alhaitham’s lips pressed into a hard line. His temples throbbed, and his heartbeat pounded in his chest.

Kissing Kaveh.

The thought struck him hard: sudden, sharp, like lightning splitting open a dark room.

He tried to imagine it: Kaveh’s lips on his, fingers pulling him closer, maybe threading through his hair. And he felt no revulsion, no discomfort. Only a strange, tightening pressure in his chest and an emptiness curling in his stomach.

That would certainly have been a different kind of experience. And a strange one. He hardly ever touched even his closest friends, not even in a casual hug goodbye, let alone someone he didn’t really know yet. But still, he had no idea how it would feel. He couldn’t know, not without trying.

So, there was no point in wondering whether he might have liked it or not, because either way, he and Kaveh weren’t going to kiss. It had all been a misunderstanding, and as much as he regretted that Kaveh was hurting now, he would explain everything, and they would sort it out.

Nilou gave him a gentle smile, patting his arm. “Don’t worry, Kaveh. He knows by now it was just a misunderstanding.”

“Hm... it’s just that I didn’t want to come apart like that,” Kaveh protested, already visibly tipsy. “I wanted to seem... I don’t know, dignified! Confident. But instead...” He took another long gulp and stared at the bottle, as if searching for answers on the label. “Now he’ll never want to see me again!”

Under the table, Tighnari covered his mouth to hold back a laugh, while Cyno whispered just under his breath: “Admit it, this is too good.”

Alhaitham kicked him lightly from below.

“It’s just that...” Kaveh sighed dreamily, a smile suddenly spreading across his face. “...you should’ve seen him. When I thought he might actually be interested, the way he looked at me…so intense.”

Dehya chuckled. “Well, maybe he thought you were cute. More than maybe!”

“ Cute ?” Kaveh nearly tripped over the word, shaking his head. “No, no. He’s the one who’s... too much! Did you see those shoulders? And those abs? I didn’t even think it was legal to wear thin shirts in class, but wow .” He sighed, still smiling. “It’s like they were carved by an Archon himself. And it’s not just the way he looks. It’s the way he talks . He captures you without even trying.”

Candace slid him a glass of water, but he ignored it, swallowing down more wine. “And then, Alhaitham kept talking to me about every room, every little detail, and he was so careful, so focused, so kind , so interested in my job. But I was too distracted, thinking about how much I wanted him to just pin me down and bang me against every piece of furniture he mentioned.”

Under the table, Alhaitham closed his eyes for a moment, as though trying to slip into another dimension. Things had already been embarrassing enough a few hours ago, but now.. . now, it was far better not to think at all. Not to imagine too vividly. But the mind was merciless: every word out of Kaveh’s mouth became sharp, vivid pictures.

Bang him against every piece of furniture, Kaveh said? His home offered far too many possibilities, too many triggers for fantasies best left unspoken.

And yet, he couldn’t help it: he saw him sprawled across the kitchen table, completely bare, eyes dark and intent, hand reaching out in silent invitation. Then the image shifted, Alhaitham pressing him down, Kaveh’s legs curling around his waist... He tried to banish it, but the thought spun into another: Kaveh astride him on the living room couch, arms looped around his neck, lips pressed firmly against his own, so close…

He dragged a hand over his face, breathing deeply, trying to wrestle his thoughts back into order. He couldn’t let himself drift into this now. He had to stay in control. He had to fix this, talk to Kaveh, clear up the misunderstanding... without succumbing to the temptation of imagining more.

Meanwhile, Cyno had both hands clamped over his mouth, shoulders shaking as he fought down laughter, while Tighnari’s ears stood bolt upright in disbelief.

“Kaveh!” Dehya burst out laughing. “Good thing Alhaitham’s not here to hear you right now.”

“And then,” Kaveh went on, fully lost in his emotional drunkenness, “when I held his hand... Archons, I swear my heart just exploded! Why couldn’t he be interested in me ? I would’ve given anything for that ad to really be a date invitation...”

He slumped back against his chair, exhausted by himself. His friends looked at him with a mix of sympathy and fondness.

“All right, Kaveh, that’s enough wine for you,” Candace decreed firmly but kindly, prying the glass from his hand. “Go wash your face.”

“Yeah, yeah... you’re right. I’ll... go to the bathroom,” he muttered, staggering to his feet and heading toward the back of the café. Dehya hurried after him to make sure he didn’t bump into anything.

The moment he was out of sight, Cyno leaned urgently toward the table and hissed at Alhaitham: “Now or never. Out .”

“Finally,” Alhaitham growled, slipping out from under the table with an elegance that was anything but intact. He straightened, adjusting his green mantle. “What a night.”

“Well, it’s not every day you get that kind of entertainment,” Cyno replied, barely suppressing a laugh. “Now get out of here before he comes back. We’ll handle the rest.”

Moving quickly, while Alhaitham made for the far side of the room, Cyno approached the girls’ table with his hands clasped behind his back. “What a surprise,” he said, voice calm and natural. “Ladies...” He dipped his head politely. “I didn’t expect to find you here tonight. How are you? Would you mind if Tighnari and I joined you for a drink?”

The four welcomed him with warm smiles, immediately distracted by his presence, while Tighnari kept an eye on Alhaitham’s escape.

The latter, despite his irritation, slipped out the café door without looking back.

Tighnari tracked him with his gaze, stifling a laugh. Then he lifted his teacup toward Cyno, giving him a conspiratorial wink. For now, they’d saved themselves, just in time.

****

The next day.

Kaveh woke with a pounding headache, every throb like a hammer against his skull. Morning light seeped faintly through the curtains, and even trying to close his eyes again only made the burning behind his temples worse. He had definitely drunk far too much.

He dragged himself into the kitchen, heavy-footed, trying to piece together the night before. He remembered far too clearly how much he’d complained, and guilt gnawed at him. He hadn’t wanted to make his endlessly patient housemates worry.

“Good morning, girls,” he mumbled as he reached the table, where the six of them were already chatting cheerfully. He forced a weak smile, faking energy he didn’t have, at least to show his gratitude. They’d left him hot tea, a bit of baklava, and some fragrant rose cream. “Thanks so much for breakfast! I’ll do the dishes tonight.”

“Don’t mention it. You look like someone hammered your skull in,” Dehya teased with a conspiratorial grin.

“No, no,” he replied, trying to sound more cheerful than he felt. “I’m... perfectly fine.”

“Sorry I missed it last night, I had too much to study! But the girls filled me in on everything,” Layla reassured him, followed by Faruzan, who nodded. “I hope you’re feeling better.”

“Do you think you’ll manage to go to the Akademiya alone, or do you need a bit of moral support?” Faruzan added, concerned.

“Don’t worry! I’ll be fine,” he lied shamelessly. In truth, the thought of stepping foot in the Akademiya and seeing Alhaitham again already made him break out in a cold sweat. Just imagining those calm, piercing eyes froze him in place.

The girls didn’t push further; they knew Kaveh struggled to ask for help, and pressing him would only embarrass him more. So, between sips of tea and bites of toast, Nilou picked up the conversation again: “Oh, by the way, Kaveh, after you came home with Dehya last night, we found out that Cyno and Tighnari are going to be our new neighbors! They found a place right next door.”

"Well, I’m glad they’ve settled in!" commented Candace. "Now they just need to find a place for Collei. They’d like to have her move here to the city, so Tighnari won’t have to keep going back and forth from the forest for a while, at least until she finishes her studies."

Kaveh tried to focus on the conversation, just to distract himself. "Collei? She’s like Tighnari’s little sister, right?"

"Yes, she’s the girl he’s been taking care of for a few years," explained Dunyarzard. "They say that now the symptoms of Eleazar have eased, she might be able to start studying at the Akademiya. She had the same illness, and since she recovered, she was able to move here with all of them. That’s why she seemed to care so much about Collei and her situation. “We could try to help her."

"Of course! Cyno and Tighnari think it would really help Collei to stay with some friends, so she can learn to manage on her own a little and experience school life. She’s been alone with Tighnari in the forest far too long, poor thing," commented Nilou, nodding firmly. "We really need to make an effort to find her a home. That girl is adorable. I’d adopt her myself!"

"I know her, that little one. I gave her some lessons," observed Faruzan. "It would be wonderful if she lived with us. She would learn to be independent without feeling abandoned. Besides, I could always tutor her for free."

"Yeah, but there are already seven of us!" said Layla, regretfully. "Where could we put her? Maybe in Kaveh’s room?"

Kaveh was about to say something, but then the girls exchanged knowing looks.

With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Dehya said what they had probably all been thinking: "You know what would be even more fun? If Kaveh moved in with Alhaitham! That way Collei could use his room for a while, Kaveh would have much more space for his architecture projects, and on top of that… he’d live with the man he likes!"

Kaveh jolted, not entirely sure the girls were only joking.

"That’s absolutely unthinkable! As if Alhaitham would ever…after yesterday," he stammered, unable to finish the thought.

"What do you mean? Didn’t you want to get fucked against all the furniture in that house? You’d have so many chances if you moved in," Dehya teased with a smirk.

Kaveh rubbed his face with both hands, feeling his cheeks burn. "Don’t remind me of the nonsense I said while drunk. Please . And besides, are you trying to throw me out?" he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Of course not, Kaveh, we adore you!" Nilou exclaimed firmly. "But… you really have been uncomfortable here for a long time. You already told us that you wanted to move out. Alhaitham’s place has so much more space and comfort for you."

"Yeah. You’re ahead of almost all of us in your courses, and you’re the one who needs the most space for drawings and design boards. We’d still be living right next door," reassured Candace. "Just think about it, all right?"

"Exactly… here you can’t even change in peace unless you lock yourself in your room, with all of us around!" Dunyarzard pointed out, laughing.

"While in Alhaitham’s house… well, you could change anytime, maybe even in front of him," Candace joked with a sly grin.

Kaveh rolled his eyes, half-closing them as he let out a weary sigh. "You’re terrible," he said, slowly getting up to carry his plate to the sink and get ready to head out for class. "I’m leaving now."

"We love you too!" Nilou laughed, waving as he walked away.

Kaveh made his way to the door, trying to focus on his breathing and ignore the echo of thoughts about Alhaitham buzzing in his head. The headache was awful, but the anxiety of seeing him again at the Akademiya was almost worse. He tried to convince himself that everything would be fine, but failed miserably.

***

One hour later.

Kaveh was hunched over his desk, his nose almost touching the paper. His pen raced nervously, as if scratching the page could erase the turmoil in his mind. He wrote, crossed out, rewrote: anything to keep his hands busy. In truth, the professor’s words were slipping past him without leaving a trace, like drops sliding down fogged glass.

The headache didn’t help, but that wasn’t the real problem. No, the problem was last night, the thought of Alhaitham, and the way he kept remembering every single detail of that disaster.

Then, as if fate had decided to punish him further, Alhaitham walked into the classroom.

Late.

Kaveh’s eyes widened when he saw him enter with all the calm in the world, without even apologizing. He had never been careless about punctuality.

"Alhaitham, you’re late," the teacher pointed out.

"I know. I’ll try not to be again," Alhaitham replied curtly, letting his gaze sweep across the rows of seated students before settling on Kaveh, who had an empty seat beside him. No one else was sitting nearby, since he was placed in a small two-seat row at the top of some steps.

He moved toward him with such disarming calm that Kaveh could do nothing but stare, mouth slightly open in shock. Then, without asking, without hesitation, Alhaitham sat down next to him.

Kaveh felt a shiver run down his spine, so sharp it made him grip his pen until it creaked. He didn’t dare look at him for long—he couldn’t. Looking at Alhaitham was like letting himself fall into an abyss. He forced his gaze to stay on the professor, eyes fixed, even as his hand trembled and his notes turned into a mess of meaningless scratches.

“Hello,” Alhaitham said after a couple of seconds, his voice unyielding as always: icy, steady, unbent.

“Uh… hi?” Kaveh whispered, barely audible. At once he felt the heat rush to his cheeks, followed by a wave of silent anger at himself for losing control so easily.

What was Alhaitham thinking, sitting down next to him after everything that had happened? Was he angry? He didn’t seem particularly so, but it was never easy to read him, not from his voice, not from his face.

For a few minutes, Kaveh tried desperately to focus, to cling to the professor’s words as though they were a lifeline. But the silence beside him, the sheer awareness of Alhaitham’s presence that close, unraveled every attempt at self-control.

Then that voice came again, lower this time, leaning slightly toward him, calm and flat: “Anyway, yeah. I wanted to tell you it was Cyno and Tighnari’s fault in the end. They put it on the wrong board, and they apologize.”

Kaveh’s heart lurched so hard he almost coughed. He forced out a clumsy chuckle, trying to cut through the tension. It was considerate, in a way, that Alhaitham had bothered to tell him, but dragging that whole matter back up felt mortifying. “Yeah, well, I figured as much. I accept the apology. Don’t worry about it anymore.”

“They didn’t do it on purpose, though,” Alhaitham went on with the ease of someone laying out a logical conclusion. Kaveh turned his head just slightly to glance at him. “And I didn’t know either. It wasn’t directed at you personally.”

Kaveh nodded far too quickly, trying to smile. “Well, I hope so!”

But soon enough he felt a prickling unease rise under his skin. Alhaitham’s calmness irritated him almost as much as it made him falter. Why was he so collected, while Kaveh was practically falling apart? Hadn’t it affected him at all?

Unfortunately, Kaveh was impulsive by nature, and saying the wrong thing came as naturally to him as wrecking everything else. At last he burst out, his voice cracking through the thin mask of composure: “Listen, but really… why didn’t you stop me yesterday? You’re telling me you didn’t notice? I thought I was being obvious enough, wasn’t I?”

If Alhaitham had mentioned the house sooner, Kaveh never would have grabbed his hand! Why had he just let him go on like that? All it had done was drag things out!

But Alhaitham only shrugged, answering with total composure, as if discussing the weather. “And how was I supposed to notice? No one has ever tried to flirt with me before. I didn’t expect it.” He gave a small, careless shrug. “It didn’t seem like a plausible outcome, so I didn’t even consider it as an option.”

Blood pounded hot in Kaveh’s temples. He was dumbfounded. Was Alhaitham joking? How could he not have realized what Kaveh meant?

Wasn’t it obvious: months of taut nerves every time they spoke, the way Kaveh looked at him, tried to get closer to him? How could he reduce all of that to nothing?

And worse: how could Alhaitham think that no one would ever take an interest in him? He was striking, brilliant, carrying that cold confidence about him. Maybe he didn’t care, but to Kaveh it was unthinkable that he could dismiss himself like that, as though he had no impact at all.

“Have you ever actually looked at yourself in the mirror?” Kaveh blurted, too exasperated to hold back. 

“So what is this: did you two come to class to flirt? Enough!” The professor spun around, glaring at them. The ripple of laughter that spread through the room stabbed at Kaveh like knives. He wanted to smash his head into the desk and disappear into his notebook.

Naturally, Alhaitham didn’t seem disturbed. It was maddening.

After a few seconds, he resumed in the same calm, almost clinical tone: “Of course I watch myself? Like, every day, of course. Otherwise how would I brush my teeth? Or comb my hair? Anyway, Kaveh…” He went on, scribbling down the occasional word, unbothered. Kaveh raised an eyebrow, waiting.

“The point is, I don’t do casual sex. As a rule. It wasn’t anything personal against you.”

The words hit Kaveh like a bucket of ice water. He stared at him, stunned, mouth opening and closing without finding sound. How could he say something like that so casually? And what did he think of him, to even frame it that way?

“Well, I… I wasn’t there just for that !” he stammered, more shaken than angry. “Alhaitham, what the fuck?”

He wanted to shout that of course he hadn’t thrown himself at his place just for the chance of a quick fling. Every glance, every word the night before, that reckless slip of taking his hand: it hadn’t been whim or impulse. It was months of being pulled into his orbit, of fighting it and then surrendering anyway to something he knew was hopeless.

“I know. Otherwise you wouldn’t have talked with me over tea, or kept the conversation going in a way that suggested you wanted to know me beyond physical contact.” Alhaitham barely looked at him, voice level, as though listing data points to prove a hypothesis. “But in the bedroom, you seemed interested in sleeping with me as well, so I thought it important to clarify. I have too many commitments, and casual sex has never been among them. It’s nothing personal, and it doesn’t mean you aren’t attractive, or anything like that.”

Kaveh’s hand went slack, his pen slipping from his grip. He couldn’t breathe. It felt as though Alhaitham had just dropped a bomb on his chest, then turned back to the professor’s lecture without a flicker of emotion.

Had he just said Kaveh was attractive ?

“W-what?” he managed to whisper.

“It’s simply a fact that you are. Don’t look at me like that. You’re an artist: you should recognize beauty even better than I do,” Alhaitham replied, his voice steady and matter-of-fact as ever. Then, as if he were discussing the most trivial subject imaginable, he added: “By the way… you mentioned your house was crowded. Do you still need a room? I can hold one for you. Otherwise, I’ll repost the notice tomorrow.”

Kaveh stared at him, completely shaken, his face burning. This was far too much.

Was Alhaitham mocking him? He knew the man was peculiar, but not that peculiar.

How could he? After dropping those words on him with the casualness of commenting on the weather: telling him he was attractive, dismissing it like a trivial aside, he was now offering him a place to live. With him. Under the same roof. As if he had no idea what a devastating combination that was for Kaveh: exposing his feelings by mistake, being told he was attractive as though it meant nothing, and then, immediately after, being invited to move in. It was unbearable.

Of course, it would be the convenient choice. If he moved in with Alhaitham, Collei would get her space at the girls’ house, he’d have every comfort for work and study, and the man he liked would be right there beside him. And Alhaitham, evidently, was completely unbothered by the arrangement.

And yet, at the same time, it felt utterly insane.

“Are you seriously asking me to move in with you after all this?!” he burst out, his voice ringing through the classroom louder than he intended.

He regretted it instantly.

The professor slammed his register down on the desk. “Out! Both of you! Right now! And get yourselves a room, for Celestia’s sake! I am deeply disappointed in you both!”

The class erupted in laughter at the remark. If Alhaitham had been the subject of gossip after the fiasco with the noticeboard, after this, his reputation was well and truly ruined.

Kaveh stared at the floor, as they went out. Alhaitham, however, rose with enviable composure, gathered both their books along with his own, and gave a small shrug.

“There was really no need to get so worked up, you know,” he murmured as they hurried out. “I was just asking!”

He could be utterly unbearable when he wanted to be.

Chapter Text

“Celestia! What a fucking embarrassment!” Kaveh exclaimed in exasperation, running his hands through his hair.
He and Alhaitham had just been thrown out of the classroom in front of everyone.

Alhaitham was a little disoriented: nothing like that had ever happened to him before. In class, he usually kept to himself and had never been scolded for being too talkative. At most, for being too irreverent toward the teachers, with his cutting replies.

Now, however, not only had he and Kaveh made complete fools of themselves, but they had also convinced the entire class that there was something going on between them. He didn’t particularly care about that sort of gossip, but he only hoped strangers wouldn’t suddenly start talking to him just to meddle in his business.

“Kaveh…” he tried, but Kaveh let out a deliberately exaggerated sigh.

“Give me a minute. Just…just a minute! I need to try not to fucking explode!” he muttered, before sliding down against the wall, visibly drained, as though the weight of the last few hours had sucked him dry. He drew in a deep breath, while Alhaitham stood beside him, motionless, his face neutral but his gaze watchful. Then Kaveh collapsed onto the floor, and he followed suit.

A heavy, awkward silence settled over them. Alhaitham, however, didn’t look away; he preferred to study Kaveh’s face, searching for clues to his state of mind. His brows were furrowed, his mouth twisted in a bitter grimace. His eyes stayed fixed on a vague spot on the wall, just to avoid meeting his own.

When Kaveh sighed and pulled his knees up to his chest, Alhaitham read the movement as a possible signal: maybe he wasn’t furious anymore, but rather dejected, fragile in a way he rarely showed. He kept watching him, saying nothing. Perhaps it was best to let Kaveh speak first, since he was the one who had gotten angry.

Kaveh’s uncertain smile appeared a few moments later, almost embarassed. Alhaitham was surprised at his words, his eyes widening just slightly.
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have raised my voice like that in class. Now I’ve gotten both of us kicked out!”

Well, at least he wasn’t so angry with him anymore.

Alhaitham thought carefully before replying.
Kaveh had taken offense because he’d suggested he move in with him, right after the conversation they’d had in class.

He wondered where he had gone wrong. Had he been tactless? Maybe Kaveh had felt humiliated when he told him, without mincing words, that he wasn’t the type for a one-night stand. Had he thought Alhaitham underestimated his interest, reducing it to nothing more than a desire for physical closeness? That seemed the most likely explanation.

And yet, it had never been his intention to hurt Kaveh: he had only wanted to reassure him, to explain that he hadn’t shown much interest simply because he preferred to get to know someone better first, not because there was anything wrong with Kaveh. He had tried to comfort him with straightforward, concise statements, but perhaps he hadn’t phrased them the right way.

Then, he had seen him thrown off as well when he’d told him he was attractive. That, however, seemed absurd to him. How could Kaveh not realize it? It was obvious! Kaveh himself had once accused him of never looking in the mirror, but truthfully, Alhaitham could have thrown the exact same line back at him.

He sighed, giving the faintest shake of his head. He had clearly made a misstep, though he still couldn’t pinpoint which one. He stayed seated, forcing himself not to come up with an excuse to leave: he and Kaveh definitely needed to talk.

“It doesn’t matter,” he finally replied, his voice measured and calm. “I only wanted to give you some logical explanations. Yesterday I didn’t get the chance to speak to you, so today I sought you out to do it.”

Kaveh lowered his gaze, his voice barely above a whisper. “I know. I panicked after that misunderstanding… I’m sorry,” he admitted, before finally turning his head to look at him. “Both yesterday and today. Unfortunately, I get carried away by my emotions. I’m impulsive, and… I always ruin everything. I’m so sorry.”

Not everyone could admit so openly that they were wrong. Alhaitham was surprised, though also a little irritated: Kaveh was harshly wallowing in self-pity, but truth be told, they had both been at fault. They had simply misunderstood each other. There was no need for him to take all the blame. Kaveh was indeed far too impulsive, but Alhaitham had been overly rational.

“Stop apologizing. A conversation takes two. Don’t shoulder all of it yourself,” he said, perhaps a little too sharply, though it still earned a slightly more relieved expression from Kaveh. “I just didn’t think you’d be offended by what I said. I was only explaining how I view sex, relationships… that sort of thing. So maybe you wouldn’t think you’d done something wrong.”

The flush that spread across Kaveh’s cheeks didn’t escape his trained eyes. Still, he went on; stopping would have made it harder to keep speaking.

“Normally, the only people I really interact with are Cyno and Tighnari, aside from strictly necessary contacts at the Akademiya or other practical matters. I don’t know you well enough yet to know what bothers you or what you like.” He gave a small shrug. “But that’s something we can work on.”

Kaveh’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and Alhaitham saw him relax. The tight fist of his hand softened, and a cautious smile flickered across his face. “No, it’s just… you were very, very direct. It threw me off, hearing you say certain things so bluntly. I’m not used to that.”

He hadn’t outright called him insensitive , but that was probably what he meant. Alhaitham stiffened slightly, almost involuntarily. It always happened, and it was about to happen again: people so often found him lacking in tact. Yet somehow, this time, it bothered him much more than usual.

But then Kaveh leaned his chin into his hand, a thoughtful smile tugging at his lips. “But I don’t mind, you know? You’re honest. So many people just circle around the truth, and I spend months wondering what I did wrong. Maybe it’s better to have someone who says things outright, like you do.”

Against his own instincts, Alhaitham felt his lips twitch into a restrained smile, a reaction he almost never allowed himself.

The silence that followed no longer felt heavy. Instead, it carried a different tone, almost softer.

So, Kaveh hadn’t been offended after all. He had been thrown off, but now he had made an effort to understand him. A faint sense of relief washed over him as he absently toyed with the wire of his earphones. It was… pleasant , being understood, despite everything that had happened.

Then Kaveh, with his usual impulsiveness barely held in check, broke the quiet, his tone brimming with barely suppressed enthusiasm. “Hey, but… were you serious when you said I could still move in with you?”

Alhaitham had assumed that by now Kaveh had dismissed the idea, so he looked at him, slightly surprised. Did he really want to live with him? Was he willing to give it a try?

“Of course. Why not?” he answered without hesitation. “At this point.”

The smile that spread across Kaveh’s face was the most genuine Alhaitham had seen in the past two days. “Ah! Good! Perfect…” he said, before quickly pulling himself back, fidgeting with his hands. “But, well… I wouldn’t want things to get awkward.”

“They already are. They can’t get worse,” Alhaitham replied dryly, though with a shadow of irony that he rarely allowed to slip through. 

It was undeniable, after all. By now, he knew Kaveh liked him, and while Kaveh couldn’t possibly know that Alhaitham had overheard his drunken ramblings the night before, Alhaitham was even aware of his fantasies about him. He had been struggling to push them from his mind ever since.

Still, that didn’t make Kaveh a bad person. He had already considered the option of taking him in as a roommate: punishing him simply for his feelings felt wrong. “And besides, at least I won’t risk ending up living with someone I don’t know at all.”

Kaveh’s laugh sounded light. For a moment, Alhaitham allowed himself to think that maybe the situation wasn’t so disastrous after all.

“You’re such a strange one,” Kaveh remarked, leaning back against the wall.

“Yeah. People tell me that a lot,” Alhaitham answered honestly. “Besides…” he murmured, almost as if speaking to himself rather than to Kaveh, “…having another genius in the house can only benefit my learning and my studies. A direct exchange with someone of equal intellect, even if in a different field, could be stimulating.”

Kaveh’s eyes widened, completely caught off guard. Judging by his reaction, he wasn’t used to receiving compliments. But Alhaitham had merely stated a fact.

“A… a genius ? Me?” he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Don’t exaggerate. I’ve even failed classes before: hardly genius material!”

Alhaitham didn’t so much as blink. “That’s irrelevant. I’ve seen your projects. They’re original and well done.”

He wasn’t exaggerating at all. He never did. He had seen Kaveh’s work, even some displayed on the Akademiya walls, and he had genuinely admired them.

They weren’t just technical drawings: they were projects that seemed to breathe, architectures that didn’t just stand on calculations and proportions but managed to convey emotion.

He had seen models of houses integrating hanging gardens designed to filter the air and make it cleaner; structures with windows positioned to capture sunlight depending on the seasons; plazas conceived not only to showcase monuments but to invite people to linger and talk to one another. They were all thoughtful, inspired ideas.

Kaveh fell silent for a long moment. Perhaps those words had struck him more deeply than he wanted to admit. Clearly, he hadn’t expected such recognition from Alhaitham, much less delivered with such clarity and conviction.

Alhaitham noticed the faintest smile curving his lips, as though that sentence had untangled a knot he had carried for a long time. “I’m flattered,” he said softly, with a tone almost ironic, “isn’t a word I’d often use with you. But… thank you.”

“Hm. I’m just stating the truth. A grade doesn’t measure the depth of an idea, nor its originality,” Alhaitham continued confidently. “The cause of your  bad grades probably lies elsewhere. Maybe, over the next few days, I’ll find out where.”

Kaveh looked even more surprised. He glanced at him hopefully. “You mean… like, you’d help me study?”

“I don’t think you need my help, and I might only confuse you, but if we’re going to live together, maybe I’ll see if your study methods have any flaws,” Alhaitham replied.

“You know, speaking of which…” Kaveh said after a moment. “You know my housemates are friends with your old ones, Cyno and Tighnari, right? Well, last night they said that Collei, Tighnari’s little sister, needs a place. And that she’d be fine living with us, since she already knows most of the girls.” He explained it with matter-of-fact practicality. “If I move out, that frees up a spot for her too.”

Alhaitham stared at him for a moment, surprised. Cyno and Tighnari hadn’t mentioned that option to him.

“Collei?” he repeated, his voice low. Of course he knew the girl. He had even looked after her at times when she was younger and Tighnari had been busy. He’d asked her endless questions about the forest plants, perhaps to the point of boring her a little, but it hadn’t gone badly. He was attached to her, almost like an older brother. But certainly, Collei would enjoy herself much more in a house full of lively girls like Dehya, or caring ones like Nilou.

He nodded slowly. “In fact… she’s at the age to begin her studies here. Living in the city with girls she already knows, and close to Cyno and Tighnari, would be good for her.”
His gaze returned to Kaveh. “And in that regard, your arrangement is perfect. You’d move in with me, and she’d have a free room. Generous of you.”

Kaveh shrugged casually. “It just seems like the most practical solution. I’ve been thinking about moving to another place for a while anyway: you know, too little space. And the girls like the idea too.” Then he glanced up, curious. “But how much would the room cost?”

“Some, but not much,” Alhaitham answered calmly. Then he told him the price, without hesitation.

Kaveh only raised his eyebrows, pleasantly surprised. “Hm, I expected much worse! That’s actually not bad at all.”

There was a brief silence, then Alhaitham fixed him with the serious look he always wore before delivering one of his sharp remarks. “There’s just one condition.”

Kaveh looked at him with genuine concern, bracing for some kind of catch. “What?”

“You won’t blow up my house,” Alhaitham stated flatly. “No stoves catching fire, no dirty dishes piling up for days, no clothes scattered everywhere or things like that.”

Kaveh’s mouth dropped open. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking slightly offended. “Me? I don’t blow things up! I’m an architect, not an alchemist! If anything, I’d only make the house more beautiful. It’s a bit empty, right now.”

“Not more cluttered?” Alhaitham countered without changing expression. “I’ve seen your notebooks, you know.”

Kaveh narrowed his eyes, shooting him a glare. “You know what? Maybe I’ll reconsider. Maybe I’ll make someone else happy with my creative genius .”

“Excellent idea. You could ask Dori. She’d probably charge you four times my price. Just don’t come crawling back afterward,” Alhaitham retorted, dry as ever, but with the faintest hint of a smile betraying his amusement. Like before, the expression had slipped onto his face without him even noticing.

Kaveh caught it immediately and chuckled softly, shaking his head. “You’re really unbearable, you know.”

“Thank you. My pleasure,” Alhaitham replied.

***

The halls of the Akademiya bustled as always, students streaming in and out of classrooms with stacks of books and animated debates. But amid the din, the small group of Cyno, Tighnari, Collei, Nilou, and Faruzan walked close together, their voices low, as if plotting something.

“So the plan’s working?” Tighnari asked, folding his arms and eyeing the group inquisitively. “Do you really think those two might actually end up together, eventually?”

Nilou beamed, practically dancing as she walked. “Of course! Kaveh said he’d like to move in with Alhaitham, obviously.”

They all chuckled knowingly.

“And that way, there’ll be a perfect spot for Collei,” Faruzan added pragmatically.

Collei lowered her gaze, clutching her book to her chest. “I… I’d be really happy to live with you all. But I really hope I’m not causing problems for anyone! I’d feel bad making Kaveh leave…”

“Problems?” Cyno repeated, encouraging. “Don’t worry. Alhaitham needs a roommate anyway. If it wasn’t Kaveh, it would have been someone else. But come on: can you imagine anything better than sending him the guy who’s head over heels for him?”

“Alhaitham didn’t even deny that Kaveh’s pretty . And he went out of his way to apologize to him yesterday!” Tighnari chimed in, amused. Teasing Alhaitham on such matters was rare: he normally never showed interest in anyone. Perhaps this exception would bear fruit.

Maybe they were meddling too much, but deep down, they only wanted to see him happy. They knew all too well that the rigid walls he had built around himself sometimes kept out too many good things as well.

On that note, Cyno sighed, shaking his head lightly. “The hard part will be convincing Alhaitham, though. He’s not exactly the most flexible person alive.”

Tighnari nodded thoughtfully. “But they’d be so good together. Alhaitham needs someone like Kaveh: lively, able to stand his ground, intelligent… and so on.”

“Exactly!” Nilou added, her enthusiasm contagious. “Kaveh’s perfect for him. And he deserves a little stability too. Maybe Alhaitham’s ways will help him in return…”

They rounded the corner, and suddenly froze.

Just ahead, in the shadow of the corridor outside a classroom, Alhaitham and Kaveh were deep in conversation, closer than usual. Alhaitham held an open book and, still talking, handed it to Kaveh. Their fingers brushed, only briefly, but long enough to make Cyno and Tighnari’s eyes go wide.

“Oh… they’re already together. Just look at them. How cute!” Cyno remarked.

“Shh!” his partner hushed him, placing a hand over his lips, as the group exchanged astonished glances. It was rare to recall the last time Alhaitham had spoken to someone with such engagement.

Kaveh and Alhaitham noticed them. The first greeted them with a smile, the second with a simple nod, though their eyes lingered especially on Collei.

“Collei, how are you?” Alhaitham asked, standing up. “When did you get to the city?”

Tighnari seized the opportunity and stepped forward. “Actually, Alhaitham, we wanted to tell you that Collei was thinking of…”

“Ah, yes. I know. She needs a room,” Alhaitham interrupted, his voice as calm and cool as ever. “Kaveh will be staying with me, and she’ll stay with the girls. We’ve already settled it.”

The silence that followed was instant and heavy. Nilou clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a squeal of joy, Collei lit up with relief, and Faruzan only smiled, enigmatic as always. Cyno and Tighnari, on the other hand, stood frozen, staring at Alhaitham in disbelief.

They had known their friend for years, but somehow, he never ceased to surprise them.

***

It was incredible how, in just a few days, Kaveh’s life had taken such a wildly different turn than he’d expected.
He had suddenly found himself in the middle of a makeshift move, with friends, roommates, and boxes multiplying in every corner of the hallways. Cyno and Tighnari had already settled into the apartment next door to the girls, Collei was packing her bags to join them, and he…
He was about to move in with Alhaitham.

Just the thought of it twisted his stomach into a knot he couldn’t quite untangle. What would it even be like, sharing a home with someone he liked so much?

Kaveh sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked over the stack of suitcases, rolled-up sketches, wooden models, and tools he had piled up over the years. It was embarrassing: it looked like he was relocating an entire library and half an architecture workshop.

“Sure you don’t want a cart?” Dehya laughed as he struggled to balance a box of books on his shoulder.
“I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” Kaveh protested, though his flushed face betrayed the effort.

The girls laughed, helped steady the load, and together they headed toward Alhaitham’s place.

When they arrived, they found him in the middle of an uncharacteristically domestic task: scrubbing every corner of the house, wiping floors, dusting surfaces. Cyno and Tighnari had already hauled away most of their belongings, but the living room was still cluttered with scattered books and a few half-abandoned pieces of furniture. Alhaitham, impassive as ever, was sorting shelves and tossing out loose papers.

At the sound of the door, he glanced up briefly from the volume he was shelving, only to freeze at the sight of Kaveh’s mountain of baggage. “Did you bring half the Akademiya with you?”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Kaveh muttered, trying not to trip over his boxes. “And it’s not half. Maybe… uhm, a third.”

Alhaitham raised a single eyebrow. “We’ll revisit that when we can actually walk through this place without tripping over your models.”

“Says the one with overflowing bookcases. You’re about to get knocked out by an encyclopedia, just so you know!” Kaveh shot back, pointing at a heavy tome that Alhaitham barely managed to catch before it hit the floor.

Archons, he could be insufferable when he tried.

And yet… he was so much more than that. Just a few days earlier, after they’d both been thrown out of class, Alhaitham had been oddly kind, in his own way. He’d called him a genius, still offered him the room, even taken some of the blame for their spat. Kaveh hadn’t missed a single one of those gestures, nor the rare, fleeting smiles that had accompanied them.

And of course, he couldn’t stop turning over in his mind the line Alhaitham had insisted on repeating: that he wasn’t interested in casual sex . He’d claimed he said it so Kaveh wouldn’t feel at fault, but it was a strange point to hammer home. Did he mean he was actually looking for a serious relationship? And with who, exactly?

From what Kaveh could tell, Alhaitham had never shown much interest in dating anyone. So… maybe there was a chance he could be the exception?

Luckily, before he could get lost in that spiral of thoughts, the girls breezed past him, unloading boxes with disarming speed. Dunyarzard began lining up rolls of parchment, Dehya and Candace hefted the heavier crates, and the others busied themselves sorting loose items.

Faruzan, with a maternal air, scanned the space critically. “You’ll need clear rules, or this place will turn into a warehouse in less than a month.”
Alhaitham sighed, and for the first time, Kaveh caught a flicker of resignation on his face. “Exactly what I was thinking. That’s why I’ve decided Kaveh can use the living room as a workspace too, as long as he doesn’t take over every surface.”

Kaveh froze, eyes wide. He hadn’t expected that kind of concession from him. “Really? You mean… it doesn’t bother you?”

“What bothers me is mess, not creativity,” Alhaitham replied with disarming calm. “If you need the space, it makes sense you should have it. Just don’t wreck the shelves, and sweep up properly. If I find pencil shavings on the floor, I’ll serve them to you for breakfast the next morning.”

Kaveh’s heart gave a jolt. He could hardly believe it: Alhaitham was truly welcoming him, after all.
He couldn’t help but smile, unexpectedly relieved. “Alright, I promise I’ll keep everything spotless!”

“How very considerate of you, Alhaitham!” came a new voice: Tighnari’s, of course.
“Oh, look, the lovebirds are here. Didn’t you just move out?” Alhaitham shot back dryly.

Cyno and Tighnari had just entered, ready to haul away the last of their things.
“Not for long! We’re just here to clear the rest for Kaveh,” Cyno explained, motioning the others forward.

Kaveh hurried after them down the hall with Alhaitham and Tighnari, his arms full of boxes and bags. While Cyno and Tighnari gathered the last odds and ends, including a hideous  mushroom-shaped lamp and a scarab-shaped pillow he and Alhaitham began opening the wardrobe to make space for his clothes.

Kaveh watched him from the corner of his eye as Alhaitham folded a shirt with effortless precision. His stomach flipped: this man was touching his things, making room for him, as if sharing a home were the most natural thing in the world.

“You’ve got a lot of stuff,” Alhaitham remarked, hanging up a jacket.
“Well, of course!” Kaveh huffed, feigning offense, though his heart was pounding. The whole scene felt absurd and wonderful all at once: the laughter of friends helping him move, the chaos, the new home.

“Not all of us live like you, with nothing but an endless row of see-through tank tops, all identical!”

The words tumbled out before he could stop them, and he bit his lip. Archons, why had he said that of all things? Couldn’t he just answer like a normal person? It wasn’t his fault, though, if Alhaitham insisted on wearing those tight tops that showed practically everything .

He felt heat climb to his ears and scrambled to change the subject. “A-anyway, I was thinking I could sort my cloaks by color, so…”

But he never got the chance. The moment he pulled open a bedside drawer, horror froze him in place: inside was a rather generous collection of sex toys. His hands stiffened on the wood, his expression desperately neutral even as his eyes catalogued the unmistakable shapes and materials.

Oh no.

“Ah, those ,” Cyno’s voice chimed behind him, perfectly casual, as though he were commenting on dice. “ Nari and I were just wondering if we’d packed those already.”

Alhaitham cast a curious glance into the drawer, eyed a purple dildo, then shrugged indifferently and went back to folding clothes.

“Ah, I see! Well… yeah, definitely best not to leave them in my drawer with my socks, right? Hahaha!” Kaveh laughed nervously, failing to sound even remotely at ease.

“You know, Kaveh, there’s nothing scandalous about it. Lots of couples use them: adds some variety!” Cyno said matter-of-factly, scooping them into a bag one by one.

Kaveh felt his brain implode. He could not believe Cyno was discussing this with such calm detachment. Struggling to keep a sarcastic smirk in place while his face burned, he shot back, “Of course. Not surprised at all. You really are Alhaitham’s friend: so blunt .”

Meanwhile, Alhaitham hadn’t even flinched. He just kept folding his trousers as though the drawer had contained nothing more scandalous than forgotten fountain pens. Kaveh couldn’t help but wonder if he was truly that unbothered… or secretly savoring his torment.

“Cyno!” Tighnari scolded, barely suppressing a laugh as he grabbed him by the arm. “Would you stop terrifying Kaveh? Not everyone’s as shameless as you.”

“I’m not terrifying anyone. I was just informing him. By the way, Kaveh, you can find them easily enough in Port Ormos, in any size you want. For personal use or for couples,” Cyno replied with deadly seriousness, which only made Tighnari laugh harder.

“Come on, before you start giving a full lecture on the subject,” Tighnari chuckled, dragging him toward the door. “Let them finish unpacking in peace.”

Kaveh covered his eyes with one hand, struggling not to groan out loud. “Archons, give me strength. Please .”

He heard the soft rustle of fabric beside him: Alhaitham had just set down yet another pile of clothes. “Are you always this dramatic over nothing?” he asked without stopping his work. Kaveh could have sworn he caught the trace of a smile on his lips.
That asshole.

Kaveh dropped his hand from his face and glared at him, cheeks still flushed. That was absolutely the last topic he wanted to discuss with Alhaitham, after all the humiliations he’d already endured. “ Nothing ? Did you see what was in that drawer? They were huge ! How does anyone even fit..”,he stopped himself, puffing. “..well, never mind.”

"Yeah,” Alhaitham replied, perfectly unruffled. “At least now they’ll be playing with those toys at their own place instead of right next to my room. Honestly, I was getting a little tired of having to wear noise-cancelling headphones just to get some sleep.”

Kaveh let out a long, exasperated sigh. How on earth could he never get flustered?
He glanced at his suitcase and realized Alhaitham had been so quick to help him that it was almost entirely empty already.
Despite himself, he smiled. “Thanks for helping, anyway.”

“Let’s go grab the rest. That way we’ll be done before dinner,” was all Alhaitham said before heading back into the living room.

***

Once the last box was emptied and the incriminating drawer firmly shut, the day finally seemed to wind down. One by one, everyone began saying their goodbyes.
Nilou hugged Kaveh with her usual sweetness. “You’ll see, everything will be fine. You’ll feel at home in no time!”
Faruzan clapped him on the shoulder, encouraging. “And remember not to leave your tools lying around. These floors aren’t a workshop!”

Dehya, Candace, Layla, and Dunyarzard helped carry the last things downstairs, smiling knowingly as they bid him farewell. Cyno and Tighnari, thankfully, made no further mention of their toys and left in high spirits, eager to move the last of their belongings into their own apartment.

Finally, Collei approached him last, a little shyly. “Thanks again, Kaveh. Really. It means a lot to me to finally have a home with my friends.”
Kaveh gave her a warm smile. “Don’t mention it, Collei. I’m glad you’re here in the city too.”

When everyone had left, the door closed behind them, and silence settled over the house.
Kaveh turned and found himself alone with Alhaitham in the living room. It felt almost unreal. After days of chaos and boxes, the move was officially done.
His heart was beating faster than it should. No turning back now: he was going to live with Alhaitham.

He glanced over and saw him leaning casually against the doorframe, as if nothing at all had changed.
It was evening already.

“I’ve got some vegetable rice ready,” Alhaitham said. “Do you like that?”
“That’s perfect, thanks!” Kaveh answered, maybe a little too quickly, unable to hide his enthusiasm.
“Calm down,” he tried to remind himself. “It’s just dinner, not a date!” But he had half-feared Alhaitham would retreat to his room to eat alone.

They sat across from each other at the table. Alhaitham had already set out the rice and a glass of water for him. A thoughtful gesture, done, as always, without any comment. Apparently, that was simply how Alhaitham was. Actions, not words. And actions weren’t bad, Kaveh thought.

For a moment, the clink of cutlery against bowls filled the silence, almost too loud. To break it, Kaveh ventured a start: “You know, I was thinking of hanging some drawings in the living room. Just a few sketches, to bring some life to the walls. They look so bare now that Cyno and Tighnari took their stuff out.”

“Of course the walls don’t have life. They’re literally walls,” Alhaitham replied without looking up from his rice. “Either way, do as you like. Just make sure the windows are still visible.”

Kaveh laughed, shaking his head. “You’re hopeless. A touch of aesthetics wouldn’t hurt you, you know?”

“I chose functionality over appearances. And besides, you’re here now, so you can handle the aesthetics. You seem to care about it a lot. Have you been drawing for a longtime?” Alhaitham asked. His tone wasn’t what Kaveh would call curious, but the fact he was continuing the conversation was promising.

“Huh? Yeah! Since I was a kid,” Kaveh replied, smiling. “My parents taught me. Mostly my mother: she’s an architect like me.”
The memory of when he was small and happy, before everything changed, pricked at his heart. His father was still alive, his mother still able to smile beside him. They had given him a sketchbook and some blocks, and Kaveh had immediately discovered the joy of building houses.

“Oh. Do they live here in Sumeru?” Alhaitham asked.

Kaveh avoided telling him his father had been dead for years, in a tragic way, and that his mother had remarried in Fontaine and hadn’t replied to his letters in months. It wasn’t an easy subject for him, and he didn’t want it to spoil their first dinner in the house. He didn’t want to risk making his voice tremble or his eyes sting with tears.

“No,” he said simply, with a small shrug. Alhaitham seemed to catch that he was withholding something, his brow furrowing slightly, but he didn’t press: perhaps out of respect. Instead, Kaveh asked: “What about your parents?”

“Neither do them,” Alhaitham answered, probably hiding something himself. Kaveh worried for a moment, but understood perfectly that this wasn’t the time to dig deeper. Alhaitham merely asked if he wanted some bread, and then they moved on to more practical topics: where to put the books, what classes they were taking, what time they woke up, and the fact that they’d need to buy more dishes now that there were two of them.

As Alhaitham spoke, Kaveh couldn’t stop watching him: the way he drank from his glass, the slow precision of his movements, his ever-calm expression. It was surreal to think they’d be sharing this space, daily life, even mundane moments like this.
What would it be like, living beside him every day?

Maybe the heavier topics they had avoided tonight would come more naturally over time. Maybe he would get to know him better. Maybe he’d even get used to having him so close without his heart racing every time, though he doubted that.

As if sensing his thoughts, Alhaitham glanced up. “Stop staring at me, anyway. I asked you a question a minute ago. Were you listening?”
Kaveh jolted. “Me? Staring ? I was just noticing how methodical you are at cutting bread.”
“That’s an odd observation,” Alhaitham commented, expression unchanged. “Considering you were looking at my face, not my hands.”

Kaveh buried his gaze in his bowl, trying to hide the warmth creeping up his cheeks. “Hm. I’ll…just go refill the water jug.”

When they’d finished eating and washed the dishes, passing sponge and soap back and forth—Alhaitham excused himself matter-of-factly. “All right. This is when I usually dedicate time to my own work. I’ll be in my studio.”
“Oh… all right. Goodnight, then.”

Kaveh watched him go, a tight mix of frustration and disappointment in his chest. He had almost hoped the evening would stretch on, maybe with more conversation. But he forced himself to let it go. This was fair, after all. They were roommates now, and he had to respect his space. He had always known how reserved Alhaitham was.

Determined not to sit idle, Kaveh spread out his scrolls and models in the living room. He wanted to make use of this new, spacious area that Alhaitham had conceded to him with surprisingly little resistance. Maybe this time he’d actually focus.

But he realized, after a few minutes of sketching aimlessly, that he already missed his friends. The silence, the weight of being observed, felt almost deafening.
So he pulled out his spincrystals and put on some music to work by, humming along as he became absorbed in his drafting. Without noticing, he cranked the volume up high.
Not that it mattered. He doubted Alhaitham would hear it anyway, with his ever-present noise-cancelling headphones.

A long night of work and loud music awaited him.

Chapter Text

The desk was already buried under sheets of paper, rolls of parchment, half-finished sketches, and incomplete calculations. Kaveh’s hands trembled as he moved from one page to the next, drawing increasingly frantic lines.

The design simply wasn’t coming out the way he wanted.

The music, now blasting at full volume, thundered against the walls like in a crowded tavern, drowning out most of his thoughts. Maybe that was exactly what he wanted: to silence the doubts, the fears, the growing sense of failure.

“I can’t… I can’t mess this up again!” he muttered through gritted teeth, dragging the compass across the paper so hard that he tore yet another sheet.

The blueprint for the Alcazarzaray Palace had to be flawless. It was an ambitious project, a palace to be raised in the heart of the forest, backed by an enormous budget. If Kaveh could win that commission, his name would be remembered forever.

It wasn’t just about money; it never had been. He wanted to leave his mark with his art. And this was his best chance.

But first, he needed a convincing proposal. And he just wasn’t getting there.
He ripped another sheet away, crumpled it, and tossed it to the floor, where it joined the growing mountain of discarded failures at his feet.

He cranked the music even louder. Too loud.

That was when a sharp bang made him jolt. The living room door had been flung open with force.

“Kaveh!”

The sleepy yet furious voice froze him in place. He whipped around so fast he nearly fell out of his chair.

Alhaitham stood there, clearly annoyed. Kaveh must have literally dragged him out of bed.

His silver hair was a tousled mess, his breathing quickened as if he’d rushed there just to yell at him, and… he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Kaveh fumbled for an apology, but for one suspended moment he was mesmerized by the sight before him. The lamplight cast shadows over Alhaitham’s broad shoulders, the defined lines of his chest, the sharp ridges of his abs.

Oh.

Kaveh had always thought that Alhaitham’s tank tops outlined his torso perfectly, but it was nothing compared to the sight of his bare, sun-kissed skin, the faint trail disappearing just beneath the waistband of his trousers, the elegant curve of his collarbones. He was even more stunning than Kaveh had imagined.

“Well?” Alhaitham snapped, folding his arms across his chest, his expression balanced somewhere between irritation and fatigue.

Kaveh was mortified for having interrupted his sleep, but also far too distracted. He tried not to stare, forcing himself to appear serious. Surely this was his punishment for waking Alhaitham at such an ungodly hour: having to face him half-naked, furious, and still devastatingly attractive.

He tried not to think about how sexy he looked with his hair disheveled, his eyelids heavy with sleep, and so little clothing on. Was this what Alhaitham would look like if he ever woke up in bed next to him?

Focus, he scolded himself, biting his lip. He needed to focus.

“Uh? Y-yeah?” he stammered, shuffling papers together in a clumsy attempt to tidy up the chaos.

“What the hell are you doing?” Alhaitham demanded, raising his voice to be heard over the blaring music.

Kaveh froze, clutching the compass like a lifeline. He had no idea what to say, because half his brain was occupied with admiring Alhaitham, while the other half screamed in shame.

And Alhaitham was right: he had turned the music up far too loud. Now that he thought about it, he could barely hear him speak.

His guilt surged. Alhaitham had class early tomorrow. He had ruined his first night already! What if Alhaitham kicked him out right now? What if he realized what a terrible roommate he was?

He had been so excited to finally have the space to work that he hadn’t considered how disruptive he was being. And now he’d dragged someone else into his chaos. He had been reckless and inconsiderate.

“I… I was working, sorry!” he blurted out, shouting over the music.

Alhaitham frowned, raking a hand through his hair, and without another word, he strode across the room. In seconds, he was at Kaveh’s side, and with a swift motion, he turned down the volume. A heavy silence fell, broken only by Kaveh’s frantic heartbeat.

He wanted to crawl under the table from sheer embarrassment, but there was no escaping it now.

“At three in the morning?” Alhaitham asked, arms crossed again. Kaveh forced himself to look at his face instead of noticing how the gesture only made his chest stand out more. “With the music blasting like a festival? Are you insane?”

Kaveh pressed his lips together before giving up, lowering his head. Alhaitham wasn’t wrong. He had gone overboard.

Normal sleeping hours had been impossible for him lately. He was too stressed to close his eyes, and this bad habit had taken hold over the past few months. He decided to be honest, at least about what he was doing.

“I know! But it’s important! If I don’t get this project done now, I’ll never finish it. This is my chance, Alhaitham. I… I can’t let it slip away,” he murmured, before exhaling a long sigh.

The silence that followed was razor-sharp.

Alhaitham’s pale eyes locked onto him, and Kaveh had the unnerving feeling that he was reading every thought, every fear in his head. He tried to hold his gaze, but his eyes inevitably dipped straight onto his bare chest.

Fatal mistake.

How was he supposed to stop staring at something so perfect? Kaveh still couldn’t figure out how Alhaitham had built such a physique when he spent most of his time studying, but now was hardly the time to ask.

“Well. Do whatever you want, but turn that damn music down,” Alhaitham muttered after a moment.

Kaveh barely heard him. He was too busy wondering how satisfying it would be to bury his face in that chest, when Alhaitham’s voice snapped sharper, tinged with irritation.

“Kaveh!” he barked. “Are you even listening to me?”

“W-why wouldn’t I be listening?” Kaveh defended himself lamely. “Of course I’m listening!”

“Oh, really? My face is up here, you know,” Alhaitham said, narrowing his eyes.

Kaveh’s heart skipped a beat.

That was somehow even more humiliating than waking him up with the music blaring. He hadn’t realized he’d been so obvious.

“Well, you could at least put a shirt on, you know? Sorry, but… you’re distracting me! Obviously I can’t focus like this!” he blurted out defensively. It was true he was distracted, but Alhaitham already knew how he felt about him. He had to understand, right?

Alhaitham raised an eyebrow, not moving an inch. “ Excuse me? ”

“You heard me!” Kaveh snapped, more exasperated with himself than with him. “Don’t make me say it again!”

For a moment, they stared at each other in silence. Kaveh instantly regretted letting those words slip out, his heart hammering against his ribs, his cheeks burning as he struggled to meet his gaze.

Alhaitham, meanwhile, seemed to regain his composure, though a flicker of unease crossed his face as he dragged a hand through his disheveled hair.

“You do realize it’s summer, right?” he finally said, his smug tone leaving no room for argument. “It’s over thirty degrees. I’m boiling , Kaveh. Wearing another layer feels unbearable.”

Kaveh’s mouth fell open, and he hunched his shoulders. “Hm… yeah, fair point.”

Well, that was a stupid way to end an argument. But the damage was already done.

“I’m going back to bed,” Alhaitham cut in, turning toward the hallway. With an irritable huff, he disappeared into his room, slamming the door shut behind him.

The silence returned. This time, it was heavier than before.

Kaveh remained frozen at the table, compass still in hand, face flushed scarlet, his stomach twisting into knots.

And now, how in the world was he supposed to concentrate?

The sound of Alhaitham’s footsteps had already faded, yet Kaveh’s heart still pounded as if he were standing right there.
He dragged a hand through his hair, despair weighing on his shoulders.
“Congratulations, idiot,” he muttered to himself.

He couldn’t shake the look Alhaitham had given him just before leaving: he looked so angry.

Kaveh couldn’t rid himself of the sense that he’d crossed a line, that he’d said things in the worst possible way. As always. Instead of apologizing sincerely, he had snapped back at him.

And why, out of all the things he could have said, had he chosen to scold him for being half-naked? It hadn’t just been embarrassing: it was childish. He could have spoken to him properly, reasoned with him as an equal… but no. His focus had slipped, just like some hormone-addled teenager.

That attraction he felt for him was always there, resurfacing at the worst moments. And it was up to him to keep it in check.

Now, though, he’d both disturbed and offended Alhaitham, not only waking him up, but picking a fight as well.

He should have been working on the project, yet even as he sketched feverishly, his mind wandered elsewhere: to how he might possibly make it up to Alhaitham the following morning.

****

The next morning, Alhaitham woke with a dull throb in his temples. He couldn’t remember sleeping this poorly in weeks: broken rest, lingering noise still ringing in his ears, and that stubborn sense of irritation.

Rubbing his forehead, he dragged himself out of bed. The memory of the night before came back immediately: Kaveh hunched over his papers, music blaring, that lost look in his eyes. And then, their argument.
A sigh escaped him.

Part of him regretted snapping like that. It was obvious Kaveh was throwing himself into some project, pouring all his anxiety and ambition into it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sacrificed hours of sleep. But the night before, Alhaitham had been too annoyed to even ask what it was about.

He had no doubt it was important. Still… did Kaveh really think he could turn the living room into a tavern every night? That, he couldn’t allow. A house needed rules.

He stretched as he rose. The warmth of the sheets slipped away against the cool air, but he made no move to reach for a shirt. At home, he always moved about like this.

His hand was on the door when he froze, a flash of memory rising unbidden: Kaveh’s words, blurted out with that flustered, fixed stare.

“Well, you could at least put on a shirt, you know?”

That gaze had been locked, stubbornly, on his bare torso.

Of course he’d noticed. He wasn’t always good at reading minds, but he knew well enough that Kaveh liked him. What else could it mean, those crimson eyes glued to his chest?

Alhaitham inhaled slowly.
His own eyes flicked instinctively downward. Sure, he worked out daily to keep his back balanced after long hours bent over books, and out of sheer discipline. But he had never cared much about the effect it might have on others.

Apparently, Kaveh did.

The thought left him more flattered than confused. Irritated with himself, he brushed it aside, recalling Kaveh’s too-interested stare, the way he had bitten his lip with a certain longing. He cleared his throat, dismissing the thought. Irrelevant . If Kaveh wanted to look, that was his problem. What mattered was that he learned not to blast the music.

And yet, when his hand touched the door handle, he hesitated again. He didn’t want to give him more excuses, or repeat that pointless embarrassment. With a huff, he turned back, snatched a tank top from the chair, and pulled it on without caring how tightly it clung.

“Better. End of story.”

He strode toward the kitchen, already framing the sharpest words he could muster to reassert the rule of a silent night. But his resolve faltered the moment he crossed the threshold.

A warm, inviting fragrance filled the air: toasted bread, sweet spices, and the faint steam of tea.

His brows shot up in disbelief.

The table was overflowing. Plates upon plates: freshly toasted bread, neatly stacked pancakes, eggs prepared three different ways, yogurt topped with perfectly diced fruit, jars of jam, even a teapot still sending up curls of steam.

Behind the table, Kaveh moved nervously among the dishes, his blond hair still a little tousled, though his expression was determined.
“Ah! You’re up! Good morning. Sit down, I… well, I might have gone a little overboard with breakfast. Or a lot. But these should all be things you like, right?”

He gave a sheepish smile before gesturing toward the fridge, where a cluster of handwritten recipe notes hung pinned by magnets. Alhaitham recognized them instantly: his own notes, copied carelessly long ago with the vague thought of “trying them someday.”

Now, every one of them had been brought to life.

Alhaitham stood motionless, arms crossed, at a loss for how to react.

No one had ever done something like this for him.

He couldn’t help but think how much time Kaveh must have spent: hours, perhaps. Had he not even slept, just to prepare all this?

A strange pang struck his chest, one he couldn’t quite name. Guilt, perhaps. But also something warmer. He couldn’t deny he was moved.

He had been angry with Kaveh the night before, but that irritation had already melted away.

“…you made all this yourself?” he asked at last, his tone flat but edged with genuine surprise. “No deliveries?”

Kaveh dropped his gaze, ruffling flour-dusted fingers through his hair. “Yeah. I… I just wanted to say sorry for last night. For waking you, for yelling, and for…well, for saying really stupid things.”

Then, almost desperately, he pressed a plate into Alhaitham’s hands, as though letting the food speak louder than his words: a small stack of pancakes, carefully garnished.

Alhaitham studied him for a long moment, expression unreadable.

He had not expected this, not at all. He had braced for another argument. Instead, it was clear Kaveh had thought it through. He had gone to such lengths to make amends.

At last, Alhaitham let out a quiet sigh and dropped into his chair.

“You didn’t have to,” he said softly. He twirled the fork between his fingers, then lifted a bite of pancake to his lips.

Kaveh sat down across from him, impatience written all over his face. He watched intently as Alhaitham tasted the first mouthful, anxiety etched in his eyes, bracing for a harsh verdict. But instead, Alhaitham was caught off guard: the flavor was balanced just right. sweet, light, with a touch that spoke of care and effort. Slowly, his gaze softened.

“You didn’t sleep at all to make all this, did you?” he asked after a moment.

“Hm. Yeah.” Kaveh lowered his eyes to his plate, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. “I tried to study through the night, but it didn’t go well. I just kept feeling guilty about how I acted, and I wondered how to make it up to you. Then I saw the recipes on the fridge. I thought… maybe you’d like it.”

So he had spent hours torturing himself, reflecting on his own actions. Stubborn, proud, impulsive, but also conscientious when he wanted to be. There was no denying it.

A brief silence followed, but it no longer carried tension. Alhaitham took another bite, then another, calmly savoring the pancake’s soft texture. When he spoke again, his voice had softened, carrying an unspoken note of gratitude.

“Well, it’s very good. Really.”

Kaveh’s face lit up with a broad smile, as though those words had lifted a weight off his chest. “Really?”

Alhaitham chewed slowly, set down his fork, and raised his gaze just slightly. A glint of irony flickered in his eyes.

“But I’m not entirely sure I’ve forgiven you yet,” he ventured, tone calm, studying him closely. “You might have to do exactly the same thing tomorrow morning.”

Kaveh’s eyes widened, indignant. “Oh, don’t exaggerate! I’m not your personal chef!”

“Aren’t you?” Alhaitham teased, sipping his tea with deliberate nonchalance.

At that, Kaveh couldn’t help bursting into laughter, bright and unrestrained. “Of course not! Don’t you see I’m already drowning in my own projects?”

Even on Alhaitham’s lips, the faintest trace of a smile curved: subtle, almost imperceptible.

“Shame,” he murmured, turning back to his plate.

Kaveh sighed, but the smile still tugged at his mouth.

They shifted into lighter conversation: the classes awaiting them that day, the books Alhaitham was reading, even errands they both needed to run, groceries, if they were to keep organizing dinners.

Time seemed to flow more gently. Morning light spilled in through the windows, and for a moment, the house felt like a shared space again, like when Alhaitham had lived with his two friends. The presence of another, which had irritated him so much the night before, now edged closer to companionship.

When they finished eating, Alhaitham gathered the dishes without a word. Kaveh watched him, blinking in surprise. “Oh… thanks!”

“For what?” Alhaitham replied flatly.

To him, it wasn’t a grand gesture, just a household duty. And yet, perhaps for Kaveh, it was enough to sense that, yes, he had softened after all.

“Well…” Alhaitham added dryly as he moved toward the sink, “don’t make a habit of it.”

Kaveh gave a guilty little grin. “You mean the music, or the late-night arguments?”

“Both,” Alhaitham answered without turning around. “If you keep the volume down, there won’t be any need to argue.”

“Deal,” Kaveh agreed, helping him clear the table before heading off to class.

***

The following days slipped by in a rhythm Kaveh had never thought possible. It had been nearly two and a half weeks since he’d moved in.

Mornings began early for Alhaitham: always quiet, always methodically. He set his alarm at almost the same time every day, showered, and went straight to the kitchen.

There, he prepared breakfast, organized his notes, or skimmed through his work diagrams, while Kaveh stumbled in, still half-asleep, hair a mess, padding around in his pajamas before inevitably rushing into the shower at the last minute.

The way Alhaitham moved through the house, precise, calm, was always fascinating to watch, except when it led, inevitably, to them poking at each other over trivial matters.

Beside him, Kaveh always felt a little restless, the same way he had that day he’d shown up at the library, convinced he had an actual date with him. No matter how much he wrestled with fatigue and exam anxiety, it wasn’t enough to dull his awareness of the one person he insisted he didn’t like.

If only his crush on Alhaitham had melted away like snow under the sun, life would have been easier. He would have grown used to his presence from the first moment he woke, without trying to read meaning into every gesture.

Instead, he now spent his days deciphering Alhaitham’s behavior, tormenting his poor friends with constant reports.

Some evenings, when Alhaitham shut himself away in his room, Kaveh would go out with the girls, listing every small “progress” he thought he had made: the times Alhaitham had smiled, the times he had paid him attention, even the moments he had refused to let Kaveh pay him back for groceries.

Every gesture had become both puzzle and prize for Kaveh—a source of hope and, at the same time, of gnawing anxiety. Did he have a chance with Alhaitham? Or were they simply becoming closer friends?

He didn’t want to be too direct, nor reckless enough to make a move. It would be ridiculous: after all, Alhaitham already knew he liked him. If anything, it would have to be Alhaitham to take the first step. Kaveh was sure of his feelings, but still terrified of misreading, of stumbling, of feeling too exposed in front of the man he was falling for more and more each day.

A few months ago, he had admired Alhaitham for his looks, had found his demeanor fascinating. But now, his feelings had grown deeper. The more he learned to read Alhaitham’s quiet gestures of care, the more he cared in return. Of course, he wanted to know him better still: he knew almost nothing about his past, and they had yet to go out together, beyond classes and mundane shopping trips.

But when, how, and whether it was even right to ask him on a real date… that, he didn’t know. Sharing a home was a double-edged sword: he had him close at hand, always, but it also made the thought of asking him out feel even more awkward.

And yet, despite all his doubts, being near Alhaitham made him feel alive, as though each small gesture from him could change the course of his day.

That morning was no exception. Kaveh shuffled into the kitchen with messy hair, poured himself a steaming cup of tea, and found him already seated at the table.

Alhaitham looked up from the pages of his book. “Morning. Did you sleep?”

That was his way of showing interest: direct questions. By now, Kaveh understood.

“Not much,” Kaveh admitted with a shrug. “Same as always.”

Alhaitham said nothing, but slid a cup of coffee across the table. Kaveh drank it gratefully before heading to class.

Later, they ended up studying together in the living room.

Kaveh forced himself into his books, calculations, and sketches, but his gaze often drifted toward Alhaitham, who observed him with that composed, attentive air, ready to intervene only when necessary. Small spats often arose in these moments, especially when Kaveh left papers and pens scattered about: Alhaitham would move them without asking, and Kaveh would flare up, only to calm down after the usual bickering.

“Alhaitham, you’ve moved my compasses again!” Kaveh huffed, glaring at the now-clear table.

“They were on the floor!” he shot back, irritated. “I wasn’t about to risk losing a foot. Go get them, they’re on the shelf.”

Kaveh sighed and folded his sheet of paper. Unfortunately, this time Alhaitham was right, but he could have just put them back on the table! “Mh. Okay. Sorry.”

Alhaitham raised a brow, mockery in his expression. “I should mark this day on the calendar. Did I hear that right?”

“You’re unbearable,” Kaveh muttered, bending over his work again. He had to hurry: after all, they still needed to go grocery shopping together.

They often went out to the market or to buy supplies.

“How sweet, doing house chores like a pair of perfect lovebirds!” Tighnari had once remarked to Alhaitham when he caught the two of them browsing the stalls together.

Kaveh had felt secretly pleased by that comment, while Alhaitham had kept his usual impassive face. He wasn’t sure whether Tighnari and Cyno teased him about that often; he didn’t spend enough time with them yet to know. They had already invited him to join them one evening soon, together with Alhaitham, but they would have to wait until exams were over.

That afternoon, as usual, Kaveh lost himself among the most crowded shelves, while Alhaitham followed with a more practical air, picking up only what he had already listed.

On their way back, their bags heavy in hand, Kaveh let out a sigh. “Only one week left before the end of the summer term. There’s no way I’ll manage to finish everything in time for the exam…”

He wasn’t sure why he’d said it. Even though he still had the whole evening to study, months of effort weighed down on him all at once. He only hoped he wasn’t annoying Alhaitham with yet another complaint. But Alhaitham didn’t look irritated. He gave him a serious look while putting the groceries away.

“Don’t cross that bridge before you come to it, Kaveh.”

Alhaitham’s tone was firm, but not cold. It sounded more like advice than a rebuke. Kaveh glanced sideways at him, struck by how easily he could cut through the knot of anxieties that had been strangling him for weeks with just a few words.

“Easy for you to say,” he muttered. “Not everyone has your calm, you know? I just can’t get organized properly, no matter how hard I try.”

Alhaitham stayed silent, and for a moment Kaveh worried he had offended him. But then he heard him sigh softly. “It’s not about calm. It’s about methods. You wear yourself out by brooding.”

That sentence, delivered in the usual flat tone, buzzed in his head for a long time. He wanted to argue back, but part of him knew there was truth in it.

Dinner passed peacefully; it was becoming more and more pleasant, eating together like that, just the two of them, chatting without the noise of the rest of the world.

But afterward, as always, Alhaitham quietly cleared the table and then retreated to his room with his books. The closing door marked the end of their time together, and Kaveh was left alone again, like every night.

So, he went back to studying.

He covered the table once more with papers: notes, half-finished sketches. A candle flickered, on the verge of going out, and the ink of a pen had already dried, abandoned like a fallen soldier at his side. Kaveh buried his head in his hands, his eyes bloodshot from strain: he had been staring at the same calculation for at least ten minutes without moving his pencil.

His mind refused to cooperate.

He wondered what his mother would think, seeing that he could no longer produce decent designs. She would be so disappointed in him. In fact, she probably already was: it had been two months since she’d answered any of his letters. Not a greeting, not a line. Maybe she had already grown tired of him, stopped believing that her son would become the brilliant architect she dreamed of.

A knot tightened in his stomach. Maybe it was time to go all the way to Fontaine to see her? Maybe then he would understand what was happening.

He sighed. As if exam pressure weren’t enough, now this weight was crushing him too. And, as always, there was another problem: the time he wasted on others. He had a pile of notes copied for classmates who had asked him for them.
“You’re good, help us, I’ve fallen behind,” they had said, and he never had the heart to refuse. So he fell behind even more. Always.

The clock ticked out a deafening silence. Two in the morning.
Kaveh yawned.

That was when he heard soft footsteps behind him. He didn’t notice at first, but then a shadow fell across the table.

A steaming cup of coffee was placed firmly beside his papers.

“Drink. You need it.”

Kaveh startled and looked up. Alhaitham was there, sinking into the chair beside him, half-lit by the candlelight. And, as usual, when Kaveh least expected it, he was shirtless. The compact line of his perfect shoulders and bare chest caught his eye immediately, sending a flush over his face. He quickly looked away, pretending to focus on the coffee. He couldn’t afford another embarrassing scene like the one two weeks ago.

“…what are you doing here?” he murmured, voice rough with exhaustion. “Did I wake you up?” Then he took a grateful sip of the coffee. “Thanks, anyway.”

Alhaitham studied him, his gaze unreadable. He seemed to take in every detail: the dark circles under his eyes, his trembling hands, the stack of scrawled notes. Then, calm but firm, he said, “No. I couldn’t sleep. But since I’m here, let’s see what you’re doing wrong.”

Kaveh blinked at him, bewildered. “What…?”

“You’ve been awake every night for two weeks.” Alhaitham picked up one of his notebooks. “You keep writing like you’re racing against the clock, but you’re getting nowhere. Something has to be wrong. Let me see.”

Kaveh froze, pencil suspended mid-air. He didn’t know whether to feel more confused, embarrassed, or… grateful. The thought that Alhaitham had noticed, that he cared enough to know he had been up all those nights, made his heart pound wildly. And yet, he felt a little stung by the bluntness of his words. It wasn’t exactly kind to tell him he was doing something wrong.

“You… you didn’t have to bother,” he tried, uncertain. “And there isn’t necessarily anything wrong, anyway.”

“Sure, of course,” the other replied, ironic, barely turning his head toward him. “Keep this up and you’ll collapse before you even make it to the exam.”

It was the typical Alhaitham way of saying something almost caring while disguising it as a merciless critique. And Kaveh, in his state, couldn’t decide whether to feel offended or comforted.

Alhaitham picked up one of the stacked notebooks and flipped through it carefully, his expression slowly twisting into skepticism. Each page was densely written, not too disorganized. But what really made him frown was the realization that followed: they weren’t unique. They were copies. Perfect copies, one after another.

He turned toward Kaveh, who was meanwhile sipping his coffee as though he could hide inside the cup. Kaveh already knew what was coming.

“…why did you write the same thing five times?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kaveh coughed, trying to sound casual. “Oh, that. Well… they asked me to. You know, some classmates didn’t have time to take notes, others had theirs all messed up… so I offered to rewrite them.”

Alhaitham stared at him for a long moment, then shut the notebook with a sharp snap.
“Why? Can’t they write for themselves?”

His tone was incredulous, almost annoyed. Kaveh’s eyes widened, and he set down the cup with a small thud. “Hey, it’s not like that! It’s not a problem for me, really. I just wanted to be nice. If I can lend a hand, why not?”

Kaveh only wanted to help people. To be liked, to be seen as kind, intelligent, dependable. Was it really so terrible to want to be appreciated?

“Because you’re burning yourself out. You don’t need to sacrifice yourself just to be liked.” Alhaitham’s voice wasn’t raised, but every word carried the weight of an undeniable truth. He ran a hand through his hair, visibly annoyed, and added in a lower tone: “You’re still the same selfless idiot. You really need to cut it out.”

Kaveh’s mouth fell open, ready to protest. “I’m… I’m not…”

“Spare me,” the other cut him off, shoving the copied notebooks aside as if they were nothing but useless ballast. “Let these idiots deal with it themselves.”

Then he leaned over the main project, buried beneath that pile of duplicates, and let his eyes trace the lines Kaveh had drawn. It was the plan for the Alcazazaray Palace. Concentration sharpened his features again, as though the rest of the world had vanished for him.

Kaveh stayed quiet, his cheeks burning with a mix of irritation and… something else. It was always like this, lately: Alhaitham knew exactly how to strike at his weak points, yet at the same time, he seemed to see straight through the chaos to the heart of his work.

Alhaitham lingered over the project for a while, his fingers brushing along the paper’s edge as if weighing the substance of Kaveh’s ideas. 

“Hm. You have a solid vision, but it lacks structure. If you really want to finish it, you can’t scatter your ideas across ten different pages. Rewrite everything onto a single sheet, clean, no cross-outs or doodles.”

Kaveh stared at him, taken aback. It wasn’t quite a compliment, but from Alhaitham it was nearly an acknowledgment, and that was enough to make his stomach tighten. “So… you think it has potential? Really?” he asked softly, almost afraid of the answer.

Alhaitham lifted his gaze to him, calm and disarming as ever. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here telling you, would I?”

He paused, then added with a trace of sternness that came off almost like concern: “I’ll be up for a while longer. Reading. But I’m keeping an eye on you. Don’t you dare waste more time copying notes for those idiots again.”

Kaveh flushed to the tips of his ears, clutching the pen in his fingers. Having him stay by his side in the middle of a breakdown was the kindest thing Alhaitham could have done for him, and he probably hadn’t even realized it. “I don’t… I don’t want to waste your time!” he tried to protest, but the irritated look Alhaitham shot him silenced him instantly.

With that, Alhaitham pulled a book from the shelf, leaned back in his chair, and began to read, saying nothing more.

Kaveh returned to his work, but the steady rustle of pages turning beside him distracted him more than once. His eyes kept flicking toward him: the serious face half-lit by the warm glow, his steady focus… Alhaitham looked so reassuring.

His heartbeat quickened, and for a fleeting moment he thought that, maybe, that night he really would manage to rewrite everything and bring some order back into his project. He threw himself into it with all he had, soft music playing in the background. He wanted to make him proud.

Chapter Text

One month later.

Alhaitham couldn’t quite understand what had gotten into him.

This was the twentieth night in a row he had barely slept, waking up only to check on Kaveh.

He was clearly running on a sleep deficit, but every time he shut his eyes, he ended up jolting awake and wondering if Kaveh had finally finished his project. It was absurd: he needed proper rest to face the day, he had exams to prepare for, responsibilities to meet.

And yet, there he was, night after night, thinking about someone else. And not just anyone he could easily push to the back of his mind, but his own roommate, someone impossible to avoid.

He tossed under the covers, replaying the look in Kaveh’s sad eyes, the way he was sacrificing himself for that project. Each time, a sharp pang struck his chest: something he refused to analyze. It wasn’t just irritation at losing sleep, or simple worry: it was something else entirely, something he had no idea how to handle. He couldn’t stop thinking about Kaveh, and the more he tried to retreat to his room after dinner, the sooner he found himself seeking him out again.

Kaveh was even going out less with his friends, and more than once Alhaitham had caught sight of a full glass of wine abandoned on the table. He hated seeing him isolate himself like that, and he wanted to stop it somehow.

At least he’d managed to convince him to quit copying notes for others; but there was still a long road ahead.

So every night, Alhaitham ended up in the living room.

Whenever he approached him, he came armed with a new excuse: “I was just getting some water,” “couldn’t sleep,” “wanted to finish this book.” Harmless lies he never thought he’d use in his life. But with Kaveh, everything was different.

Alhaitham had always been blunt to a fault. He’d never had trouble saying things as they were, regardless of others’ reactions. But here, confessing that he was worried seemed impossible. It would make everything too real.

He feared Kaveh might feel guilty. And perhaps, deep down, he was afraid of seeming ridiculous. What was he supposed to say? That he stayed up at night just to make sure Kaveh wasn’t wearing himself out, simply to see him smile over a cup of tea or a moment of relief? That he felt oddly honored, because Kaveh seemed to draw strength from his presence? That would mean admitting to something he couldn’t even name himself.

By now, he almost always found him in crisis. He wondered how long Kaveh had lived like this, how many years he had been burning himself away.

His shoulders were always slumped, his eyes red, his sketches barely kept in order, something Alhaitham had once tried to teach him. Yet after a cup of tea or coffee, a stray suggestion, or even a few sharp remarks, Kaveh calmed down. He would work faster, more focused, as though just a little nudge was enough to set him back on track.

Alhaitham had noticed: Kaveh worked better when they talked. It wasn’t just a distraction; it was as though conversation nourished him. Almost without realizing it, their talks grew longer, deeper. Kaveh still avoided opening up about his past, preferring discussions about projects, architectural history, and the like.

Kaveh’s passion was relentless: he could argue for hours, defend every line of a sketch, every design choice as though it were a matter of life and death. And while Alhaitham often did not know much about these topics, he couldn’t help but admire him.

He’d met many scholars, but never anyone with that kind of fervor. Kaveh’s work wasn’t just mechanical study: it was spirit, heart, a fire that constantly threatened to consume him but made him… alive. And that energy was contagious.

He saw it in the little things: the way Kaveh wrinkled his nose when erasing a line that didn’t sit right, how his absorbed expression softened at the faintest praise, even in his frustrated sighs that never failed to pull half a smile from him. Tiny fragments he shouldn’t have cared about, and yet he noticed. He remembered.

By nature, Alhaitham was the opposite. Orderly, rational, master of his own time and energy. He had always believed that was the only sensible way to live: minimize waste, optimize effort. But now, watching someone move in the opposite direction, with all the chaos and loss it entailed, he couldn’t look away.

It was like observing a natural phenomenon up close: dangerous, illogical, yet utterly fascinating.

And what irritated him most was the knowledge that his admiration no longer stopped at the intellectual level. It wasn’t just curiosity about a different method, nor simply recognition of a colleague’s skills. No, it went deeper, already threatening the fragile balance he had always prided himself on. After all, he had already rearranged his nights for Kaveh, even though Kaveh had never asked.

Alhaitham didn’t realize, or rather, didn’t want to realize, that this growing attention wasn’t just concern. He told himself it was annoyance, mere discipline: Kaveh was a mess and someone had to keep him from self-destruction. But that didn’t explain why he lingered, watching him work for long minutes, even when there was nothing left to say.

Every time he saw him bent over his project, blond hair falling into tired eyes, he felt an inexplicable urgency to stay by his side. Even when he could have gone back to bed.

He didn’t want to admit it, not even to himself, but that impulsive, fragile part of Kaveh exasperated him just as much as it drew him in. Because where Kaveh saw only weakness, Alhaitham had already recognized a remarkable strength.

"Your eyes are red again," he remarked that night too, while Kaveh, hunched over his paper, stubbornly redrew the same lines.

"And you’re on guard duty again," Kaveh huffed, though a smile tugged at his lips. "You came to check on me, admit it."

Alhaitham stared at him for a moment, as if preparing a retort. Instead, he merely shrugged and sat down, opening a book he had no intention of reading. "Someone has to."

Kaveh shrugged in return and handed him something from the desk: two steaming cups of tea. He placed one right next to Alhaitham.
"Here. I knew you were awake anyway. I took care of it this time."

Alhaitham slowly raised his gaze. His green eyes glimmered for a moment under the warm lamplight. "...Green tea?" His voice held a faint hesitation; he wasn’t used to such direct attention.

"Mh. That’s right." Kaveh sat down closer to him, his cheeks slightly flushed. He blew gently on the steam before taking a sip. "You’re always here now. By the way… thank you."

Alhaitham shrugged. Kaveh had noticed, but he could still try to pretend otherwise. "Well, I..”

“I said thank you, Alhaitham.”
Kaveh cut him off, as if afraid to let that fragile moment of sincerity slip away.
“You’ve helped me so much.”

The silence that followed was unlike the many others they had shared before: it wasn’t the taut hush of their bickering, nor the focused quiet of study nights. It was dense, almost intimate, heavy with unspoken gratitude. The room, lit only by the warm cone of the lamp, felt like it contained a smaller universe, just for the two of them.

At last, Alhaitham spoke, his voice carrying that calm tone he used whenever curiosity slipped through without him admitting it outright:
“Well. On that note. You’ve told me endlessly how important this project is: the palace with the name fifty letters long, I mean. But I’ve never asked why this one matters more than the others.”

Kaveh lowered his gaze to the unfinished page. His pen trembled slightly, and a faint smile curved his lips.
“Because it would make me unforgettable. Isn’t that every artist’s dream?” he said with conviction, before his expression darkened.
“And… maybe my mother would like it too. You know, when she and my father still lived here in Sumeru, we wanted to build a house like this. We even drew it together. Green towers, pavilions suspended between trees…” he murmured, flipping through his sketches.
“But they never managed to build it. I’m… shaping it after that dream we had, all those years ago.”

Alhaitham sat still. He wasn’t one to be easily caught off guard, but those words opened a new window onto Kaveh. He rarely spoke about his family, often avoiding the subject entirely, so Alhaitham had suspected something was hidden. Yet now, Kaveh had mentioned them. His own eyes, usually impassive, betrayed genuine attention.
“And… where is your mother now?”

The silence that followed weighed on Kaveh more than he had expected. He swallowed, trying to steady his voice, but his fingers betrayed him as they tightened around the warm cup.
“She remarried in Fontaine. You know… after my father’s death, she wanted to start over.”

Alhaitham stiffened almost imperceptibly. The words stirred a familiar ache. He too had lost his parents too early. It had been his grandmother who raised him, and the hollow that loss left had never disappeared, only deepened when she too eventually passed away.

A sudden pang gripped his chest, a distant echo of the loneliness he so rarely let surface. The thought that Kaveh might have felt the same was unbearable. Now he understood why the subject was avoided.
“…Oh. Kaveh. I’m sorry,” he murmured quietly.

“Thank you. It was a long time ago, really. He died young, on a failed expedition.” Kaveh forced a detached tone, but his eyes shone faintly, betraying the emotion he tried to hide by lowering his gaze.
“Anyway, my mother’s been living in Fontaine for quite a while now. It’s fair, really. But… she hasn’t answered my letters for weeks. I’m worried.”

Alhaitham’s brow furrowed. His gaze, which usually filtered everything with detached logic, darkened.
“That is strange.”

“Yeah,” Kaveh sighed, long and weary. “She used to disappear now and then, but it’s been a long time now. Maybe… maybe she’s moved on and has other things on her mind.”

Alhaitham studied him in silence. Inside, there was a quiet conflict: his rational mind tried to frame the matter as a simple fact, but his heart, so often ignored, beat harder than it should. And when he spoke, it was without hesitation, as though stating an undeniable truth:
“We should go to Fontaine.”

Kaveh blinked at him, wide-eyed, as if the words made no sense.
“What? We should?”

Alhaitham didn’t retreat, didn’t correct himself. His green eyes met Kaveh’s with startling calm, though within him surged a new awareness: maybe Kaveh’s struggles were tied to his mother’s absence. His obsessive busyness, his desperate need for approval bordering on self-denial: they were all signs he could now connect.

And if that was the case, he would solve it the way he solved practical problems: with logic and method. They would simply go to Fontaine.

“I’ve never seen Fontaine,” he added casually, flipping to the next page of his book.
“It could be the right opportunity. If she doesn’t reply by the end of exams, we’ll plan a trip there to check.”

It wasn’t the real reason he wanted to go with him, of course. But he said it with steady conviction.

Kaveh’s eyes softened, likely guessing the truth behind the proposal. Alhaitham wasn’t sure how to handle the fact that Kaveh was growing better at reading him, so he avoided his gaze.

“Thank you,” Kaveh murmured, pausing in his sketching.

“For what?” Alhaitham asked, though he already knew.

“For helping me. With my mother, with… everything.”

The silence that followed was thick, charged with a tension Alhaitham refused to examine too closely. In the candlelight, Kaveh’s face was even more striking than usual: golden lines highlighted his fair lashes, soft locks falling against his cheekbones. He had always been handsome, of course, but with that expression of gratitude directed at him, somehow he appeared even more so.

Alhaitham realized only after a moment that he had been holding his breath. When he finally spoke, he didn’t deflect: he let the words fall sharp and bare, cutting straight to what he usually avoided:
“I know what it means to lose someone. If I still had even one family member alive… I wouldn’t rest until I found them. I understand your worries.”

He saw the effect immediately: the surprised look in Kaveh’s eyes, the genuine shock that shifted quickly into a shadow of regret.
“Oh… Alhaitham, I… I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, you couldn’t have known. I never talk about it,” Alhaitham said, without bitterness.

It wasn’t his habit to speak of himself. He didn’t usually yield anything. But in that moment, revealing a piece of truth felt inevitable: almost a small offering in return for the fragile honesty Kaveh had entrusted him with earlier.

“I lost my parents when I was young.” His voice remained even, disciplined, though inside the familiar pang stirred again, never fully gone. “So, my grandmother raised me. She taught me so much, gave me my first books, helped me discover what I loved. But… she’s gone too, for some years now.”

It was brief, concise. Just enough. He wouldn’t open the door too wide onto that emptiness. He wasn’t used to the vulnerability it brought, and he despised the shallow pity of strangers.

But Kaveh wasn’t a stranger. He set down his cup, the steam long since faded, and looked at him with eyes full of genuine sorrow.
“I’m so sorry…”

Alhaitham gave the smallest shake of his head, cutting off the empathy before it could take root too deeply. This wasn’t about him, after all: it was about Kaveh. He had said it only so Kaveh would know he understood.

“It was a long time ago,” he said simply, lowering his gaze back to the open book beside him. The printed words were a safe refuge. Maybe it was better to shift the conversation.
“Anyway… your project. Have you decided to start it over, or are you still holding onto the old sketches?”

The shift in topic was deliberate, sharp. It might have come across as abrupt, but it was the only way to keep the conversation from sinking into something too heavy.

Kaveh hesitated, then slowly nodded, accepting the change. “Maybe it’s better if I rewrite everything properly and throw some things out. Before we drown under piles of scrap paper.” He tried to smile.

“Well, to be fair, the living room is starting to look a bit like a dump,” Alhaitham remarked.

“A dump, really?” Kaveh sighed, rolling his eyes skyward before shooting him a glare. “Should we talk about your obsession with building book towers?”

“Towers? It’s just a way to keep them organized. Unlike what you do,” Alhaitham countered, unbothered.

Falling back into these petty quarrels meant everything was fine. Despite the harder conversations they’d had before, here they were again: just themselves. That thought was reassuring.

“But who stacks twenty books one on top of the other? Don’t you think that’s a bit much? Those ridiculous towers collapsed twice just last week, and one of them fell on me!”

Alhaitham looked up with an unshaken expression, as if the matter had nothing to do with him. “If you didn’t get so close to my shelves, it wouldn’t be an issue.”

“They’re not your shelves,” Kaveh shot back, lips pressed into a stubborn line. “It’s our living room. And it’s not normal to live under the constant threat of a literary landslide.”

The silence that followed stretched just long enough before Alhaitham raised a brow, angled ever so slightly at him. “Did it hurt you?”

“No! But it startled me!” Kaveh protested, exasperated, though his eyes already glimmered with amusement, betraying how hard it was for him to stay sulky for long.

Alhaitham calmly closed the book in his hands and set it down beside him. “Then next time, don’t walk past it. Problem solved.”

“You’re impossible,” Kaveh huffed, turning away with a theatrical wave of his hand. But his tone wasn’t truly angry: it was the same back-and-forth they had almost every day, a familiar dance that always restored their balance.

And so the night stretched on, in that strange yet not unpleasant equilibrium: Kaveh buried in his work, muttering or sighing depending on the moment, and Alhaitham reading, tossing out the occasional dry, seemingly distracted remark while staying keenly aware. Time slipped by quickly.

The night was already deep. The candles had burned down almost entirely, leaving only a golden half-light flickering gently across the walls. Alhaitham, seated with an open book before him, noticed that Kaveh’s pencil hadn’t been scratching the page for some time. He looked up and found him slumped over the table, fast asleep among scattered papers and sketches.

Alhaitham stayed still, silent. He watched him for a moment: the calm rhythm of his breathing, the blond hair falling over his forehead, his body fully surrendered to sleep. He looked incredibly fragile like this, yet finally at peace.

His face, so often tightened by anxiety and irritation, was now relaxed. Long lashes cast soft shadows on his cheeks, and his parted lips let slip a steady, quiet breath.

For a moment, Alhaitham hesitated. It would be easier to let him sleep there undisturbed: he himself was exhausted, with little desire to get up. But he couldn’t ignore how uncomfortable that position was, how tomorrow Kaveh would surely complain of a stiff neck or back pain. That was the last thing Kaveh needed, to be worn down even more.

He rose quietly and stepped closer. His hands, used to precise, measured movements, slid carefully beneath the architect’s shoulders and knees. He lifted him with care, feeling his weight relax against his chest.

In that instant, Alhaitham regretted, for the first time, not having put on a shirt. By now Kaveh was probably used to seeing him half-dressed around the house, but holding him like this was different. Too different.

The warmth of Kaveh seeped through his skin at once. It was an unusual sensation, almost unmanageable in its immediacy: too close, too intimate, skirting the edge of what he had always considered acceptable. This was no simple act of carrying him to bed, not anymore. The softness of blond hair brushing his chin, the slow breath against his bare chest…for a fleeting moment he realized he wasn’t just holding a burden to be moved, but a person.

And not just any person.

Kaveh didn’t stir, even as he was lifted. He simply let himself be carried, his head resting against Alhaitham’s shoulder. It was embarrassing, yes, but they had been living together for more than a month now. What did it matter, after all, to step into his room just to put him to bed?

He made his way to Kaveh’s room, intent on laying him down and returning to his reading until he collapsed.

But as he reached the edge of the bed, the weight of the last two weeks of exhaustion struck him without warning: his muscles trembled, his eyelids grew heavy, his breath uneven.

He should have pulled away, but it was difficult: Kaveh clung to him in his sleep, and waking him now would have been a shame. He slept so deeply, with an almost angelic expression.

Alhaitham tried to think of how to reposition him without disturbing his rest, but he no longer had the strength to arrange him properly. Instead, he sank down gently against him, still holding him close.

It was surprisingly comfortable, there on Kaveh’s mattress, with him in his arms. The world faded away slowly. His last thought, before sleep dragged him under, was that he absolutely needed to get up and return to his own room, but his legs wouldn’t move, and his eyelids were far too heavy to open again. So he ended up falling asleep beside him.

**

Kaveh had never had a dream so wonderful and so vivid.
Kaveh’s fantasies had long festered in the shadowed corners of his mind, molten and relentless. But that night, the dream was the best one he had ever had.

Alhaitham’s strong hands slid beneath his shirt, nails scraping his hips in a way that made his breath hitch. In his mind, those lips he’d watched curve with cold precision during their debates now claimed his throat with bruising urgency, teeth nipping at the sensitive skin below his ear until Kaveh whimpered.

“You’ve thought about this. About us…” Alhaitham murmured, voice thick with a hunger Kaveh had never dared assign to him, “every time I corrected your work, every time we were together. Tell me you’ve thought about this too.”

“Yes… of course I did,” Kaveh said without hesitation.

Then, in a moment, Alhaitham pinned his wrists above his head, hips grinding down in a slow, deliberate rhythm that left Kaveh arching for more. He dreamed about the sting of Alhaitham’s nails digging into his thighs as he forced them apart. The friction of their bodies was almost too much to bear: Alhaitham’s cock hard against his own, trapped between them, leaking and desperate.

Kaveh’s mind tormented him with even the details: how Alhaitham tasted sweet and good as Kaveh kissed his neck, or the low moan Alhaitham made when Kaveh clawed at his back. “Look at me,” he demanded, and Kaveh drowned in the storm of his gaze, pupils blown and possessive.

Alhaitham’s fingers pushed slick and relentless inside him, stretching him open with precision. It felt so good, even though it was just a dream. The pleasure of being filled inch by inch, Alhaitham’s breath hitched as he moved his fingers inside him, his voice fraying as he hissed, “You’re so pretty… I can’t wait to fuck you, Kaveh.”

Then Alhaitham was on the top of him. 

“Breathe, relax” Alhaitham said, and Kaveh’s voice dissolved into a choked moan, as Alhaitham was finally pushing inside him; the stretch was overwhelming, the fullness perfect. Alhaitham’s hips snapped forward again, burying himself to the hilt, and Kaveh’s legs hooked around his waist, pulling him deeper. Alhaitham then pushed himself inside him again and again, muttering praise: “Perfect, taking me so well… you needed this, right?” until Kaveh shattered, sobbing his name.

 The pace was so good, each withdrawal a torment, each snap of Alhaitham’s hips punching a gasp from Kaveh’s lips.

Kaveh’s hands scrabbled for purchase, finally tangling in Alhaitham’s hair as their foreheads pressed together. 

“Come for me,” he demanded, “Kaveh...”

The command tipped Kaveh over, his release ripped through him, overwhelming, his body clamping down as Alhaitham followed with a moan, spilling deep inside him.

Then they both hugged each other, exhausted. Alhaitham’s shaky hand brushed golden hair from Kaveh’s damp face, lips lingering on his temple.

“I love you..”, he told him, with a soft whisper.

Now Kaveh was in Alhaitham’s arms, held against him the way he had longed to be for months. Alhaitham’s arm was wrapped around his waist, and, to Kaveh’s delight, of course, he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Just like in the best daydreams that had tormented him in recent weeks, his face was pressed to his bare chest. Their bodies fit together in a firm hold, and somehow, by some cruel trick of chance, his knee pressed against his own groin, creating the perfect friction… again.

At that point, Kaveh was already half-awake, with a smile on his face. He didn’t open his eyes yet, not ready to let that perfect dream go.

Celestia… if he had to face Alhaitham after a dream like this, he would die of shame. But it wasn’t his fault, was it? You couldn’t control dreams. He had been drawn to him for far too long, and clearly his mind had found its own way to release the torment.

A shiver ran down his spine. Warmth wrapped around his body, too real, too solid to belong only to a dream. Even before opening his eyes, he felt an unmistakable ache between his legs, a heat that forced a soft, involuntary sigh from his lips. His body had truly responded to the dream. He had woken up fully aroused, so hard that he could hardly think of anything else.

It hadn’t happened in a long time; exhaustion and sleepless nights hadn’t left much room for such awakenings. But with a dream like this… it made sense. Since he had woken up early enough, maybe he could even steal a moment to take care of it before class.

Then, slowly, he opened his eyes.
And the world collapsed around him.

Alhaitham was there. Really there. In his bed. His bare chest beneath Kaveh’s cheek, his arm resting firmly around his waist, his calm breath brushing through his hair. Too close. Too real.

Kaveh’s eyes widened, frozen in shock. He tried to move just a little, but even that slight shift was enough to stir Alhaitham.

The other man’s eyes blinked open suddenly, still hazy with sleep. For a heartbeat they stared at each other, unmoving, both with hearts pounding.

Then Alhaitham stirred, pulling his arm back slightly. His voice came low, rough, almost hesitant.
“You… you fell asleep at the table. I brought you here.” He swallowed, looking away. “And then… I think I fell asleep too. I’m sorry.”

Kaveh’s mouth hung open. He wasn’t just embarrassed: he was shaken. He had never seen Alhaitham off balance before, never caught him this unsettled. Yet here he was, his expression strangely tense, and… his face entirely flushed. Was he embarrassed too?

“Oh…I see.”, he managed to reply. “Don’t worry.”

So that was what had happened.
Of course, he hadn’t done anything inconvenient with Alhaitham: it had all been just a dream. And yet… now Alhaitham was in his bed. And they had actually slept in each other’s arms.

Kaveh’s heart leapt to his throat. He needed to move, before Alhaitham noticed how hard he was.

Instinctively, he tried to shift his legs to hide the state he was in, but it only made things worse. He ended up pressing harder against him, and realized, with shock, that he wasn’t the only one in that condition.

The solid, undeniable pressure against his thigh froze him in place. His heart hammered, his mind screaming it couldn’t be real. But it was. Alhaitham had slept with him in his arms… and his body had responded exactly the same way.

If anything, that thought only made Kaveh’s own condition worse. He felt himself grow even harder, his face burning as he averted his eyes.

He absolutely needed to calm down. Maybe Alhaitham had just woken up like that: it could happen, of course. Or maybe he, too, had gotten aroused because of their close contact. Perhaps… he was attracted to him. The thought, naturally, filled him with euphoria, but he couldn’t be sure.

There was only one thing he was certain of: being caught red-handed like that was making him die of embarrassment.

What was he supposed to do? What were they supposed to do? He had gone from dreaming of being with him to literally waking up in his arms, both of them in that state! That kind of accident had just short-circuited his brain.

“D-do you want to get up now? Maybe… it’s late? You have… class?” he stammered, breathless.

Alhaitham lowered his eyes, drawing in a slow breath. Kaveh looked at him only for an instant, regretting it immediately. If he thought he had already seen too much, he hadn’t considered the sight of Alhaitham trying to hold himself back, pressed against him, still visibly horny.

Alhaitham’s voice betrayed a rare hesitation:
“Yeah, um… just give me a moment, Kaveh, I’ll go back to my room.”

“…Oh. Uh… y-you know what? Maybe it’s better if I get up first, actually, yes!” Kaveh forced himself to pull away.

Enough.

It was a beautiful torture to stay so close to Alhaitham, but if he lingered any longer, he was going to explode in every possible way.

He leapt out of bed in almost ridiculous haste, nearly tripping on the sheets, and rushed toward the bathroom without looking back. He grabbed a blanket on the way, wrapping it around himself in a desperate attempt to cover up, even though at this point Alhaitham already knew what state he was in: seeing it wouldn’t have changed much.

The bathroom door shut behind him with a loud thud. Kaveh leaned against it, panting, his heart pounding in his ears.

They had been living together for a month and a half, and for almost twenty days Alhaitham had been staying up every night for him: for company, to help, even just to get to know him better. Kaveh had noticed it all, no matter how much Alhaitham tried to hide behind his closed-off, stubborn nature. He had caught every small gesture, every curious question, though he still didn’t know what it all meant. Was Alhaitham starting to like him? He hoped so, desperately, but he wasn’t sure yet.

And last night, they had shared so much. Kaveh had opened up to him, spoken about his past, and even Alhaitham had done the same. He had even offered to help him look for his mother.

And now this.

A morning wake-up in his bed, in the most intimate and shocking way possible. Feeling his body respond, feeling Alhaitham’s body respond to him. It was too much. Too much not to read something into it.

Kaveh ran his hands over his face, trying to clear his head. But the truth was, he didn’t understand anything anymore.

What was happening between them?

Chapter Text

Kaveh had barely scrambled out of bed before bolting into the bathroom, and Alhaitham could hardly blame him. Not after a wake-up like that. Not after finding themselves tangled so tightly together, in the most humiliating circumstances imaginable.

The moment the bathroom door slammed shut, Alhaitham’s already fragile composure shattered completely. He stared at the empty space where Kaveh had been lying only seconds ago, nestled in his arms. Morning light spilled across the rumpled sheets, throwing shadows over the evidence of their shared vulnerability: the crushed pillow, the lingering trace of padisarah and green tea clinging to the air.

He rolled onto his back with a ragged sigh, pressing his forearm hard over his closed eyes. The logical architecture of his mind, normally so precise, so orderly, had collapsed like a house of cards. Every rationalization he tried to force on himself seemed absurd now.

He was fairly certain this wasn’t just a simple morning reflex. His reaction had been triggered by Kaveh’s closeness. It was Kaveh who made him so turned on.

He crumbled under the visceral memory of Kaveh’s breath ghosting over his collarbone, of the way his thigh had accidentally pressed against Alhaitham’s still-hard cock.

Control. The word echoed in his head like a mantra, even as his body betrayed him. How was he supposed to look Kaveh in the eye now? The moment he realized how hard Kaveh had been upon waking, his own reaction had only intensified.

A sharp pang pulsed through his groin where Kaveh’s knee had brushed him; every nerve seemed inflamed, electrified by that accidental collision.

He had catalogued every expression on Kaveh’s face during those paralyzing seconds when their eyes had locked: the dilation of pupils, the trembling of his lips, the unmistakable flush blooming across his cheekbones. Data that defied any alternative interpretation: Kaveh hadn’t been merely embarrassed. He still liked him, even after weeks of cohabitation.

As he tried to steady himself, the sound of the shower reached him through the wall: the soft cascade of water striking tile.

As if everything that had already happened wasn’t enough to torment him, his treacherous imagination conjured Kaveh having a shower: steam curling around his shoulders, droplets clinging to sunlit hair before sliding down his chest.

Enough.

He pressed his palms hard against his temples, but the image unfolded with merciless clarity: Kaveh’s head tilted back against the slick tiles, water coursing down the elegant arch of his throat, soap trailing along his legs...

Alhaitham let out a sharp breath and sat up abruptly, sheets gathered around his waist. The mirror across the room reflected a disheveled mess: hair mussed from sleep, or perhaps from Kaveh’s fingers, chest heaving too quickly, eyes wide with shock.

Three shaky breaths. Five. The rhythm of the shower slowed until it was little more than a trickle. He had to retreat to his own room before Kaveh found him still in this state, sprawled on the bed like this. He stood stiffly, hurriedly, and fled.

The click of his own bedroom door echoed decisively as he shut it behind him. He braced himself on the bed before collapsing onto the mattress with a frustrated groan.

Rationality had deserted him the instant Kaveh pressed against him, and now his body burned with a desire that mocked his so-vaunted self-control. There was no way he could go to breakfast, no way he could leave the house like this. He needed to deal with it.

He shed what little he still wore, already shirtless, tugging down his trousers. Cool air brushed his bare skin, but it did nothing to quell the heat coiled in his belly.

He was being an idiot, he scolded himself, even as his hand drifted lower, slipping beneath the waistband of his boxers. He had never done this while thinking of someone before. For him, it had always been a simple matter of release, a practical necessity. On mornings when he woke aroused, he never lingered: just dealt with it quickly, efficiently.

He wasn’t ignorant. He read voraciously, had come across romance novels with explicit scenes. He wasn’t the type to be scandalized: if he were, he never would have survived Cyno and Tighnari’s conversations. He had simply never cared much about the sexual sphere, as he had already reminded Kaveh.

He never understood why people were so obsessed with physical contact, with finding someone to take to bed, when the issue could be solved so easily.

But now, with Kaveh filling his mind, he understood.

He had never been so turned on in his life. His fingers wrapped around his aching erection, and he wanted to stop thinking, but his mind instantly conjured Kaveh. Perhaps he’d spent too much time trying not to think about him, in too many contexts. Now it had become impossible to stop.

In his vision, Kaveh knelt between his spread legs, golden hair tumbling over flushed cheeks, eyes glazed with submission. Those elegant artist’s hands gripped his hips before slender fingers wrapped around his cock. “Let me take care of you…”

The imagined words cleaved through him. He knew they weren’t real, mere fabrications of a hormone-drugged mind, but the impact was devastating. His hand jerked faster as he pictured Kaveh’s lips on his cock, the hot slide of his tongue tracing veins with reverence.

Alhaitham's hand moved in rough strokes as the vision unfolded: Kaveh's soft lips parting, tongue swiping the weeping head before swallowing him whole. The imagined heat was exquisite, overwhelming. 

His hips jerked upward into that wet tightness, and a soft moan tore from his throat as he pictured it all too clearly: Kaveh taking his cock deep into his mouth, again and again.

"Does it feel good?" dream-Kaveh murmured, pulling off with a satisfied smile. His thumb massaged the slick tip, his other hand still wrapped around his cock. "Want me to ride you next? Want to watch me fall apart on your cock?" 

Alhaitham’s free hand clawed at the sheets, trying to anchor himself as the fantasy consumed him. The vision shifted mercilessly: Kaveh astride him now, straddling his hips, his bare skin warm and soft beneath Alhaitham’s trembling hands.

Slowly, he imagined Kaveh sinking down. Inch by inch, taking him so well until Alhaitham swore he could feel the clench, the warm and impossibly good tightness.

Kaveh would feel so good, even outside the dream: he was sure of it.

When Kaveh had expressed interest in sleeping with him, almost two months before, Alhaitham hadn't even considered it. But now, in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to sink into him, to watch his composure unravel, to make him moan and tremble with every thrust.

"You feel so good" Kaveh sobbed in his mind’s ear, nails dragging red crescents down his shoulders. "I’m yours. Always yours."

He pictured him arching his back, letting out soft moans, moving above him with urgency.

Reality dissolved into that sensation.

Had Kaveh ever imagined similar scenarios? Perhaps. Most likely. After all, he liked Alhaitham. Maybe he, too, had fantasized about being held in Alhaitham’s grip, about letting him do whatever he wanted. Maybe he touched himself thinking about him, too.

That thought pushed him over the edge completely.

He couldn’t resist any longer.

His control, his logic, the carefully cultivated detachment: all of it was utterly destroyed in that instant. He sighed, chasing the impossible warmth of his fantasy until relief came, tearing through him in a violent shudder that left him trembling and breathless.

His vision blurred for a moment as he reopened his eyes, still gasping for air.

Now, there was only silence. A cold silence, one that shouldn’t have followed such overwhelming feelings, because of course, Kaveh wasn’t there beside him.

He quickly wiped his hand with a tissue; he would need a cold shower as soon as possible, but his legs still shook too much to stand.

His mind, unfortunately, regained clarity after a few moments.

It had been over fifty days since Kaveh had moved in.

Kaveh had stormed into his orderly life, and now Alhaitham had cataloged his preferences in food, books, and hobbies, rewritten his entire sleep schedule to match Kaveh’s nocturnal habits, until his head was utterly overrun by his presence.

A brutal realization froze him.

What had just struck him wasn't a simple desire. Lust burned fiercely and then faded.

Kaveh was attractive, of course, Alhaitham had never failed to notice that. He had always known. It wouldn’t have been illogical, or strange, if Alhaitham had merely reacted to his presence, to his attention, to the fact that he was always around. He could have satisfied that desire and moved on right away.

But something like this had lingered for weeks. For endless nights he hadn’t understood what was wrong with him, why he couldn’t sleep, why he couldn’t stop thinking about Kaveh.

Now, finally, he understood why Kaveh had been so offended when Alhaitham implied he wasn’t the type for casual sex. The two things weren’t always so separate, and now he saw what Kaveh meant when he told him he obviously wasn’t interested in just that. In the same way, now, Alhaitham would have never been satisfied just by sleeping with Kaveh. He wanted more.

Kaveh had liked him for months. And probably , Alhaitham started liking him way before he realized it. Wanting to sleep with him had only been the logical consequence of that feeling.  

Was that why Alhaitham now longed for him this way? Because of the feelings he had repressed for days?

Across the hallway, he heard Kaveh’s footsteps: a simple reminder that he was too close, always too close.

The pounding of his own heart was unmistakable. How had it taken him so long to realize? And more importantly, what was he supposed to do now?

He had absolutely no idea how to handle this. He felt as if someone had just poured a bucket of cold water over him. Knowing the other liked him should have been reassuring, but instead, it terrified him. It meant he had to decide how to act now.

He got ready to take a shower, hoping it would calm him down. As he picked up his comb, his gaze fell on Kaveh’s blue-feathered hair clip, left behind on the desk. It was a cheap object, fragile, probably costing only a few mora. And yet he had repaired it twice already, just to please Kaveh, without Kaveh even asking. He sighed, pushing away, for at least a minute, the truth he still refused to name.

Maybe he needed to talk to Cyno and Tighnari. They would definitely tease him, but at least they had more experience in these matters than he did.

***

Kaveh had been in the kitchen for quite a while, but judging from the scent of burnt coffee, he probably hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. Alhaitham had just changed after his shower and walked in with his usual upright posture, trying his best to appear calm.

But the moment he crossed the threshold, Kaveh nearly dropped the bread knife mid-slice. The morning light filtered softly through the thin curtains, wrapping the room in a warm, welcoming glow: the exact opposite of the icy silence between them, as neither dared to speak.

“Uh… good morning!” Kaveh’s voice was hoarse. He averted his eyes at once, staring stubbornly at the cutting board instead. A flush had spread across his entire face.

“Good morning, Kaveh.”

 Alhaitham moved with calculated precision toward the coffeepot, far too aware of Kaveh’s every motion. The architect, usually so elegant even in the smallest of gestures, suddenly looked awkward, jerky: he recoiled instantly when their elbows nearly brushed, before forcing out a nervous little laugh.

“Heh! I’m…uh, yeah, sorry, I’m still a bit sleepy!” he blurted, quickly distracting himself with a glass of water, only to cough clumsily after gulping down too much at once.

Alhaitham instinctively reached out to take the glass from him, and of course, their hands brushed. A fleeting contact, but enough to freeze them both. Kaveh drew back as if scalded, clutching the glass tightly.

This was unbearable. Alhaitham shrugged slightly, sighing. The tension was so thick it was giving him a headache.

How was he supposed to fix this? Normally, he simply stated things as they were. They had found a way to communicate like that, and Kaveh, to his surprise, had learned to accept it. But now… he couldn’t possibly say what he was really thinking.

Lost in thought, he drifted: Should I apologize? But what could I even say? “Sorry I woke up horny and thought of you while I …?”

Absurd. Impossible. Even he knew how inappropriate that was.

“Tea or coffee?” he asked instead, choosing the most sterile escape. “I’ll make something.”

“Coffee’s… fine, thanks,” Kaveh muttered, almost mortified, taking it without meeting his eyes.

They remained trapped in that offbeat dance for endless minutes. Kaveh sat down to spread jam on his bread with the focus of a surgeon; Alhaitham, meanwhile, busied himself counting the flowers painted on the wall. The silence swelled between them like a storm cloud, ready to burst.

“Listen, I…” Kaveh began at the same time Alhaitham said, “Anyway…”

They stopped short.

“You go ahead,” Alhaitham conceded, fixing his gaze on him with too much intent.

Kaveh pressed his lips together, then dropped his eyes. “I… won’t be home for dinner tonight, I forgot to tell you, I’m sorry. The girls invited me over. Don’t wait for me, just go to bed if you need to sleep.”

The metal spoon clinked against Alhaitham’s cup. Not a single muscle on his face betrayed emotion, but his thoughts flicked to the fridge: he had bought ingredients to make fatteh for dinner, with toasted bread and yogurt sauce. Kaveh’s favorite dessert.

 A pity.

 He’d just make it another time, he told himself with a faint shrug.

“All right,” he said, biting into his bread. He should have felt relieved: more time to sort out his own feelings, but instead, disappointment tugged at him. “Then I’ll take the chance to visit Cyno and Tighnari. Haven’t seen them in a while.”

Alhaitham sipped the coffee. It really was half burnt. Bitter, like everything in that moment. “And besides, I’ve got some Academy reports to review. The exam’s in five days.”

A lie. He had purposely kept the evening free, leaving space for Kaveh’s laughter, their clinking dishes, their usual late-night talks. But what was the point of saying so now?

Maybe Kaveh needed to talk to his friends too. It couldn’t have been easy for him either, being caught like that.

Kaveh forced a smile before springing to his feet. “Right, then…” He grabbed his bag, already halfway to the door. “See you later. Have a good day!”

He left a little too quickly.

Alhaitham stayed frozen, staring at his plate: Kaveh hadn’t even finished his meal. Uneven scraps of bread remained, butter smeared in messy stripes: a half-eaten disaster. With a sigh, he gathered it up and tossed it.

Better to head to class right away: at least it would stop him from thinking.

***

Evening

Kaveh's old roommates’ house was filled with the usual cheerful chatter. Nilou had lit a sweet incense that clung to the curtains, Dehya was clearing the table after dinner, Dunyarzad had brought sweets, and Layla was fighting off sleep with a mug of coffee in hand. Faruzan sat neatly on the sofa, explaining something to Collei, who had taken Kaveh’s old room. Candace, meanwhile, had prepared mint tea.

Kaveh had missed that warm, welcoming atmosphere, even though he’d been more than happy living with Alhaitham. Because of exams, he hadn’t been able to see the girls properly for almost a month.

Right now, however, he was anything but relaxed. The matter of Alhaitham, about which, of course, his friends wanted updates, had grown more and more absurd.

Kaveh perched nervously on an armchair, running his hands through his hair. He had just finished recounting all those nights spent talking with Alhaitham, how Alhaitham had carried him to bed, and now, unfortunately, he had reached that morning scene.

“So… I woke up… well, let’s just say in a bit of a state…” he began, then faltered, embarrassed. He was used to having plenty of female friends, but maybe talking about this sort of thing wasn’t ideal around them. “You know..well..”

Apparently, they couldn’t care less. They only leaned closer, even more intrigued.

“Yeah, we get it!” Dehya smirked. “And? Get to the point! Did something happen?”

“Not exactly! I mean, yes, I woke up like that because… well, because I was dreaming things I shouldn’t be dreaming! I dreamed about sleeping with Alhaitham. Celestia. That was so intense. the details..were…” His face flamed hotter. He could never forget a dream like that. “And then I woke up with him right beside me. My face pressed against that perfect chest...” He sighed, shaking his head. “And he found me in that state. Now he must think I’m some depraved maniac! But I was so shocked to find him there that I couldn’t move right away! I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable, you know?”

After a pause, he added miserably: “The most embarrassing part, though, was that he was… in the same state as me. That’s when I panicked and bolted to the bathroom.”

The room erupted in laughter.

 “Oh, Kaveh, come on, as if he’d think you’re some kind of maniac!” Candace laughed. “Honestly! It’s not like you climbed into his bed on purpose. And apparently, he didn’t mind either.”

“Exactly,” Nilou chimed in. “If you really made him uncomfortable, you wouldn’t even be close to him in the first place!”

Kaveh blinked. “Do you think he likes me? Me?”

Layla yawned, but still managed to mumble: “Well, maybe not two months ago, but now? It’s pretty obvious. He stays up every night working with you, doesn’t he? Don’t tell me that’s for fun… someone like him, who always goes to bed at the same exact time.”

“He even wants to take you all the way to Fontaine to look for your mother,” Dunyarzad said more seriously. “You know, I’m glad you told him about your past, and that he shared his too. You’re really bonding, aren’t you?”

“And he’s started cooking for you,” Collei added shyly, almost hiding behind her cup. “You told me you saw he bought ingredients for your favorite dessert.”

Kaveh had pretended not to notice, just like he had with Alhaitham’s other little kindnesses. But in truth, he had noticed them all. He just didn’t want to get his hopes up. Even so, his heartbeat quickened at the thought that the girls might be right.

It would be a dream if Alhaitham liked him. But what could he do now? The situation was embarrassing, and he had no idea how to talk to him naturally again, let alone figure things out.

“He helps you study for exams like it’s his life’s mission,” Faruzan added with a knowing little smile.

Nilou, smiling with satisfaction, concluded: “And besides… he was horny for you too, wasn’t he?”

Kaveh dragged a hand down his face, exasperated. “Maybe he just woke up like that. And please, don’t make me relive it! I can’t even look him in the eye after that dream already…”

Nilou stroked his arm gently. “Then why don’t you try again, instead of running away?”

“He already knows I like him! What more am I supposed to do?” Kaveh protested.

“Be more direct if he doesn’t get it,” Dehya said mischievously. “Next time it’s hot and he takes off his shirt, take yours off too. Let’s see how he reacts! Work on your palace project in your underwear.”

The room burst into laughter and whistles.

Kaveh shook his head with a laugh. “You’re all insane!”

“Think about it, it’s not a bad idea,” Candace murmured with a faint smile.

Kaveh let himself fall back into the armchair. In truth, it wasn’t such a bad idea, though the thought of exposing himself like that was mortifying. “Maybe, though, I should also keep an eye on what he does. After all, he already knows I like him. If he likes me that much, shouldn’t he be giving me some kind of sign?”

He thought back to Alhaitham’s composure at breakfast: was it possible he had already calmed down? Or was he just pretending? What did he really feel for Kaveh?

Kaveh wished he knew. But at that very moment, Alhaitham was right next door at Cyno and Tighnari’s place

Chapter Text

Cyno and Tighnari’s new house was warm and cosy, its oil lamps casting a soft amber glow.
Alhaitham stared into the wavering reflection in his tea, as if an answer might be hidden there. Cyno and Tighnari stayed silent: they knew that look well, the faint contraction of his brow that betrayed he was about to admit something he didn’t want to say.

He had already spoken about Kaveh for at least half an hour, and it certainly wasn’t the first time he’d gone on analyzing his behavior with them. His friends had probably already guessed where he was headed, but they let him continue at his own pace. For that, he was grateful: he needed to retrace every clue before reaching a conclusion.

“So, to sum it all up…” Alhaitham said, in his usual calm, almost detached tone. “I think about him quite often.”

His friends looked up at the same time, perfectly synchronized, as if they had rehearsed it. A dry murmur: “Aha. How often?”

Alhaitham thought he was keeping his composure, but the way his hand fidgeted with the teacup betrayed him. “Very often. I’d say… every day, even when he isn’t around.”

Tighnari smiled, resting his chin on his hand. He looked satisfied, nodding encouragingly. “In fact, you’ve been mentioning him in every conversation for over a month now.”

“Yes, and I’m also dying of sleep deprivation,” Alhaitham added, sounding somewhat annoyed after a brief silence. The situation was entirely his own fault, though he wasn’t sure how it had come to this. Or rather, he already knew, but it was hard to admit. “Because I go to bed when Kaveh goes to bed. Every night. That way he can study in peace, with me beside him.”

“So you stay up with him every night?” Cyno asked, eyes widening slightly. “You? The one who insists on sleeping at the bedtime of an eighty-year-old?”

“I have to. During exam season, Kaveh gets very stressed. When I stay by his side, at least he can focus. And we talk about many things.” Alhaitham shrugged. He had treasured those moments, almost fearing they would end once the exams were over. He worried he wouldn’t find other chances to spend so much time with Kaveh after the project deadlines. “My routine changed a bit, without me even noticing.”

Cyno and Tighnari exchanged another look, heavy with implications. Their reply was the same as it had been at least five times before, accompanied by a smile, sing-song: “…Yeees? And then? Anything else?”

Alhaitham drew a slow breath, as though carefully selecting words he normally would have pushed aside.

He had grown attached. He, who even denied that small part of his subconscious that wanted to shield him from the future pain of disappointment or loss, had ended up giving in, binding himself to someone new.

“I’m not sure I understand what’s happening to me. What kind of problem do I have?” He shook his head in frustration. “I always worry about him. Every time I see a new paint stain on his sleeves I think he’s overworking. If he skips a meal, I get irritated and end up cooking for him myself. I share details with him that I don't easily talk about.” He stopped, his gaze distant. Something flickered in his eyes, something he rarely allowed others to see: the vulnerability of someone afraid of having opened up too much, too soon. “About my family, my past…”

“And isn’t that a good thing?” Tighnari pressed, smiling faintly. He knew better than anyone how hard it was for Alhaitham to open up. “Aren’t you glad about that? I think it’s really good for you.”

Alhaitham lowered his eyes. His voice dropped, almost like a secret he shouldn’t confess. “I suppose so. I enjoy spending time with him.”

Silence fell again, heavier this time. Even Alhaitham could feel his heart beating faster, an uneasy rhythm he couldn’t ignore.

“Well, Alhaitham, I’d say that really just means you’re simply…” Tighnari began, but stopped when Cyno signaled him to wait.

“Go on,” Cyno said, as calm as ever. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

Alhaitham clenched his jaw. Every word that followed cost him an effort he didn’t show outwardly, but inside, it was a collapse of certainties. “Yes. I also think I might be… attracted to him. Is that the right word? Are you attracted to someone if you think about him at inappropriate times? If you… contemplate the idea of…” He hesitated, and of course saw Tighnari and Cyno stifling laughter. “…let’s say, sleeping with him?”

A slight blink escaped him. For a man who had always trusted reason above all else, that phrase sounded like surrender.

“Well, I told you from the start you should just go for it!” Tighnari covered his mouth to keep from laughing. “So I was right after all!”

Cyno, meanwhile, simply struck the table with his hand like delivering a verdict. “There it is! The diagnosis is… you’re in love.”

“Exactly,” Tighnari confirmed, raising his cup with satisfaction. “I’m afraid you’re falling in love, my friend.”

“Alhaitham,” Cyno declared with almost ridiculous solemnity, “congratulations.”

The word hung in the air, heavier than Alhaitham was willing to admit. In love. It wasn’t a concept unfamiliar to him: he had read about it in countless books, analyzed its consequences in history and philosophy, even reduced it to a set of chemical and psychological reactions, as though it were merely a problem of applied biology. But hearing it applied to himself, as the definition of what he felt… unsettled him.

His heart quickened again, a dull pounding he couldn’t smother with his usual calm.

So, apparently, he had fallen in love with Kaveh. He hadn’t predicted it, hadn’t calculated it: it had simply happened. He hadn’t been able to stop it.

“So you think I’m in love…” he repeated under his breath, almost testing how the word felt on his tongue.

He ran a hand over his face, a sigh slipping out despite himself. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so vulnerable. It wasn’t anything scandalous; it happened to almost everyone. He was well past twenty-five, and by now there was nothing so embarrassing about having a crush. And yet, he wasn’t remotely prepared for it.

“Perhaps so, yes. The symptoms fit.” He spoke with a touch of irony. It was useless to deny it, considering he had sought out his friends precisely to talk about it and figure out what to do. “Just what I needed.”

“The symptoms? It’s not an illness! It’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Tighnari encouraged him with a smile.

“Well, it… it shouldn’t be so complicated, really,” Alhaitham muttered, resting his elbows on the table and burying his head in his hands. His temples throbbed, and the echo of his own thoughts was wearing him down. “Almost everyone falls in love, right? Statistically, it’s very common. Yet I can’t figure out what to do about it. I can’t even figure myself out anymore,” he admitted, before glancing up at them with a faintly raised brow. “Are you sure about this, anyway?”

“Yes, but of course the final word is yours,” Tighnari replied, then tested him with a question: “Well, think about it this way: how would you feel if someone else started flirting with Kaveh? Or if Kaveh began liking someone else?”

At the very thought, hearing those words, Alhaitham felt a knot of nervousness tighten in his stomach.

Kaveh with someone else?

He narrowed his eyes to slits, gripping his cup tightly, instantly recognizing the wave of irritation and pure jealousy that had struck him. He had never been jealous of Kaveh before, not even with all his female friends, because he knew nothing was going on. Besides, he had known even before they lived together that Kaveh was fond of him, so the matter had never worried him.

But now, he realized how lucky he was that Kaveh liked him. He had taken it for granted, perhaps, but he shouldn’t. There was no guarantee Kaveh would wait for him forever, nor could he expect his devotion to last endlessly without showing interest in return. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them.

For the first time, thanks to Kaveh, he felt truly special. A new part of himself longed for Kaveh’s romantic attention, for certain gestures that would belong to him alone. He wanted to be unique, for him. That was exactly why he couldn’t go on stalling.
Cyno and Tighnari had only confirmed the doubts he already carried.

“Well... it would bother me. A lot,” he admitted, pressing his lips into a tense line.

He didn’t want anyone else to touch Kaveh, or look at him the way he did now. Better not to dwell on it, or he really would start to get irritated. After all, it was just a hypothetical scenario meant to make him face what he truly felt.

His friends watched him silently, without judgment. It was rare to see him expose himself like that. Then, they smiled.
“Well, that’s further confirmation. So... what do you want to do now?”

“I’ll find a solution,” Alhaitham said pragmatically, after a moment’s thought. He was ready to present his plan: that was the only logical conclusion he had reached, if he wanted to stop overthinking this. “I need to sort this out. If there’s a problem, then there’s also a method and a solution. There has to be a way forward. I’ll figure out what I want from him, and what final outcome I want to reach. It’s no different from other problems.”

“Alhaitham...” Tighnari tilted his head, his expression softening. “I appreciate the intent, but Kaveh isn’t an equation. This isn’t something you can solve by putting the variables in order, you know that, right? This time, you need to leave room for feelings.”

“Exactly,” Cyno added, his tone firm but not harsh. “You can’t reason it out like you do with your research. You have to... let go. Live what you feel, and see what happens.”

“Let go?” Alhaitham lifted his gaze, his eyes gleaming with a tension he could no longer mask. There was a crack in his self-control. “I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know what you’re supposed to say, or how you’re supposed to act. I don’t even know how you start courting someone. I don’t understand relationships at all. I don’t even know if he still wants to be with me, or things like that. Maybe he’s already gotten over me.”

His fingers tightened around the cup, now cold. It was rare to see him like this: nervous, almost agitated, in a way that didn’t fit his usual icy composure.

Tighnari let out a soft laugh, full of tenderness. “Are you really that clueless? Kaveh is still crazy about you. You don’t need to do anything elaborate: just show him you’re interested too, and ask him out! You’re already starting with a huge advantage.”

Alhaitham looked away. “Yes, but I don’t want to stumble around in the dark and just try things blindly. I want to do it properly, be in control, and understand what I’m doing. You get that, right?”

“So what’s your plan?” Cyno asked, wary, already guessing the answer.

Alhaitham drew a deep breath, recovering a sliver of his academic composure. “I simply need to inform myself. I don’t have a solid foundation in the subject, so... I’ll pick up a manual or two, study them, and figure out what I want and what to do. That’s all. I don’t know why I was worrying so much,” he added, feigning a more dismissive tone. If he faltered, he would lose himself. He needed to pull it together. “Whenever I apply myself, things turn out well. I just have to put in the effort. If that means reading sappy books or guides, then I’ll do it.”

A moment of silence followed, before Tighnari had to cover his mouth to stop himself from bursting into laughter. Cyno drummed his fingers on the table and shook his head in exasperation.

“Alhaitham!” Tighnari said, laughing, “you’re incredible. Do you seriously want to go find a manual on how to flirt with Kaveh?”

“Why not?” he replied seriously, crossing his arms over his chest. “If I don’t know the rules of a field, it’s only logical to acquire them. I’d never walk into an academic dispute without studying first.”

“So you’d go into a bookstore and ask for... ‘Flirting for Beginners’? Or maybe ‘How to Make Your Roommate Fall into Your Arms in Ten Easy Steps’?” Tighnari teased.

“Or the adult section,” Cyno added flatly. “Something like ‘Advanced Techniques to Satisfy an Architect.’”

“Oh, Archons, I can already see it! Alhaitham, in the library, with that same serious face, asking the clerk: ‘Excuse me, could you point me to the best manual on how to sleep with Kaveh? I’m not quite sure how it works! Preferably with illustrations,’” Tighnari joked.

Alhaitham exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose as if to stave off a headache. “Don’t be ridiculous. I was talking about psychology books, guides on how to have a decent date, that sort of thing. I know perfectly well how the rest works. Spare me the scandalized act. The two of you do nothing but jump each other, and sometimes you forget how many details you’ve shared with me in complete nonchalance,” he shot back. “You even scandalized Kaveh with those sex toys in your drawer!”

Cyno and Tighnari exchanged angelic grins, squeezing each other’s hands across the table. “Guilty as charged.”

“And besides, I’ve read enough books and comics, and I’ve seen more than enough explicit scenes. I don’t need illustrations. At most, a quick refresher,” he clarified, truthfully. “I know how male anatomy works, and since I apparently ended up falling in love with another man, it should actually be simpler. We function the same way.”

Cyno broke into a strangled laugh, but his words were cutting: “If you really ‘know how the rest works,’ then how come you couldn’t even move this morning, with Kaveh in the same bed? Are you sure you’re that prepared?”

Alhaitham’s hand stiffened around his cup. “That’s irrelevant. It wasn’t the right context,” he justified himself, jaw tightening.

“Don’t worry, Alhaitham. No one’s judging. We’ll celebrate your loss of virginity with a nice cake,” Tighnari whistled.

“As long as you two pay for it, do as you like. And sorry, but I will read those books,” Alhaitham countered, his expression softening slightly despite himself.

When the echoes of laughter faded and the atmosphere grew calmer again, Alhaitham stared into his cold tea. His fingers drummed lightly on the cup, a sign he still wasn’t done.

“I wanted to ask you one last thing...” he said, in that controlled voice he used whenever he was about to tread on personal ground. “You two... how did you know? That you liked each other, I mean. Not the moment you decided to be together. The exact moment you realized it was different. That you weren’t just friends.”

Cyno and Tighnari exchanged a tender look that said it all. Tighnari was the first to answer:

“I realized I couldn’t imagine a life without Cyno anymore. He was the first person I thought of, the one I always had fun with, and someone I admired deeply. He always made me feel good, but I wanted to make him feel the same way too. I wanted him to stay with me. Only with me.”

“And I realized,” Cyno added, giving him a tender look, “that I was always seeking his company. If I didn’t see him for a few hours, I’d find some excuse to go to him. And in the end, look at us: we’ve never been apart since.”

“Literally,” Tighnari laughed, nudging him playfully with his elbow. “We’re glued to each other! And I even put up with your terrible jokes.”

Alhaitham allowed himself the faintest smile as he listened in silence, though inside, every word struck him with force. That description fit him perfectly. The nights he had stayed awake beside Kaveh, just for the peace of being near him. The constant desire to spend more time together, in any context. The admiration he felt for him. The fear that their shared routines might vanish, leaving him without that daily warmth.

He lowered his gaze, an ironic smile tugging at his lips, as if mocking himself. “I see. Seems I’m completely doomed, then.”

“I think so too. But honestly, you’d make a good pair,” Tighnari winked. “I think Kaveh’s the only one capable of standing up to that temper of yours.”

Alhaitham let out a small huff before leaning back in his chair, watching the amber light dance across the walls while his friends continued to tease him. Just as he had expected, they had mocked him, but they had also helped him clarify his doubts.

Feelings were unpredictable and difficult to manage, but if they could laugh about them, it meant they weren’t insurmountable. Strange, disorienting, to feel such layered and erratic emotions, but perhaps, in a way, also intriguing. Like a new equation waiting to be solved.

He only needed to figure out what to do next.

****

The next day.

The next morning arrived more quietly than usual, after a sleepless night.

Alhaitham was fortunate to have studied most of the material in advance: with the storm of emotions currently clouding his mind, he doubted he could have absorbed much new information anyway.

He had spent hours mulling over what Cyno and Tighnari had said, far more agitated than he had admitted at the time.

It hadn’t been hard to agree with them: he was in love, truly in love. The days when he had tried to dismiss the feeling as confusion were long gone. Now, however, no matter how much he tried to steady himself with the thought of studying love, of analyzing his next steps like any other subject, all he felt was a sharp restlessness at the idea of facing Kaveh.

What were the right steps to take now? How soon should he start sending signals?

At least they already lived together. That answered one of his doubts: what it would be like to spend so much time by Kaveh’s side. He had grown so used to his presence that missing dinner with him the night before had already felt irritating. Unfortunately, there were other variables to consider: how would it be to go on real dates, for example? To kiss him? Things of that sort.

That morning, Alhaitham woke up with a frown, immediately sensing something was off.

He had grown accustomed to the little household noises: the clink of a cup, the rustle of a newspaper hastily turned, Kaveh’s hesitant footsteps as he shuffled through the kitchen, half-asleep. That background chaos, so familiar, had filled his days. But now there was nothing: only the wind rattling the shutters.

He got up with a bad premonition, and found the kitchen table almost bare, save for a small note left beside the coffeepot. He unfolded it slowly, as if it were fragile.

“Hi, Alhaitham. I have some deadlines coming up and a lot of work to do, so I’d rather focus and stay in the Akademiya. I’ll be back after dinner today as well, sorry. See you soon! – K.”

Just a few lines.

So this was the second evening Kaveh would be eating out. Yes, he had given him an explanation, but…

A hollow ache spread through his chest as he gripped the note tightly, before sighing. Kaveh had always studied with him at home. Had he not been able to focus enough?

Alhaitham couldn’t shake the feeling that Kaveh was avoiding him after the awkwardness of the previous morning. He had even fled breakfast this time! Of course, facing each other was unbearably difficult for him as well, but the less they spoke, the greater the embarrassment would be when they eventually did.

He made his coffee and drank it in silence, a nervous heat burning under his skin. Already he missed Kaveh’s amused tone as he told some silly anecdote, his sleepy eyes lighting up over a warm cup. Even his morning complaints about how tired he was now seemed… necessary. 

Now that house didn’t feel like a home anymore.

****

Classes did nothing to improve his mood. Each time he took notes, his hand paused halfway through a line as he instinctively turned to the seat beside him, finding it empty. Kaveh had clearly skipped lessons to focus on his project. It was allowed, occasionally: but to skip literature, a subject he loved, was unlike him.

The professor’s words washed over Alhaitham without sticking. His thoughts kept circling back to one thing: where Kaveh was, what he was doing, how he was feeling. He felt ridiculous, with his head lost in the clouds like this. For years he had insisted one should think primarily of oneself; and yet, that day, he hadn’t done so at all.

He ate a quick lunch before deciding to retreat to the library for the afternoon.

At least he had a goal: to learn how to win Kaveh over. Assuming Kaveh would stop avoiding him, he thought with a flicker of irritation.

The shelves welcomed him with their solemn silence, but this time he didn’t stop at the sections he already knew by heart. Instead, he sought out psychology manuals, books on social behavior, frivolous essays on love, romance, even seduction, complete with illustrations. 

He grabbed a few brightly colored guides with ridiculous titles like “Ten Rules for the Perfect Date” and even some romance comics between two men, just to better visualize the details. Merely holding them made him shiver, as though betraying his own reputation.

Still, he gathered a pile and carried it to a secluded table, far from curious eyes. No one could see him doing something like this.

He began reading and taking notes with the same meticulousness he reserved for philosophy texts. He had to learn as much as possible.

Love wasn’t rational, but it still had its rules. And if there were rules, he could master them. That was something he was good at.

He started writing formulas of behavior as though they were equations, in order, in his neat hand. With each new piece of information, he felt a little better. At last, he understood what he needed to do.

“Step 1: Give flowers.”

What flowers did Kaveh like? Perhaps Padisarahs: he often wore their sweet fragrance. Alhaitham could find some and bring one to him. They were said to be a romantic gesture, and it didn’t seem too difficult. He pictured Kaveh accepting a flower with a smile, and his mood lifted considerably.

“2: Offer to pay for something.”

That was another practical, easy piece of advice. Alhaitham copied it down diligently, reflecting: he could start by paying for the groceries, without asking Kaveh to split the bill. Again, the image of Kaveh turning to him in surprise, those gentle, soft, grateful eyes on him, made his heart beat harder than expected.

“3: Give sincere compliments.”

Alhaitham wrote it down too, though he hesitated for a moment. He had already done that, after all. He was used to saying what he thought aloud, to the point that Kaveh had been stunned when he told him he was attractive.
Still, he carefully noted in his journal: “Remind Kaveh of his qualities: handsome, intelligent, creative. Compliment his clothes, his work, his gestures.” He shrugged. Maybe it would sound silly to blurt something like that out, but if the manual insisted it could help, he could at least try.

“4: Invite him out of the house.”

Of course. A different setting could make many things clearer. A walk in the gardens, a visit to an evening market, even just a simple outdoor coffee break. Nothing complicated. He could ask without trouble. Truthfully, he had wanted to for some time.

It was at step five that Alhaitham began to feel uneasy.

“5: Seek physical contact.”

His lips pressed together slightly as his heart picked up speed, inevitably.
For someone who, just the morning before, had fantasized in detail about going to bed with Kaveh, he was now far too nervous. After all, it had been physical contact that had driven them apart in embarrassment last time. He would have to be very careful to create a gentler situation, one where they would both feel comfortable.

The texts advised “building a bond through natural touches”: taking his hand at the right moment, brushing his shoulder in complicity, guiding him through a corridor with a hand on his back. Alhaitham recopied each suggestion, underlining the sentences several times, as though to carve them into his memory.

Then he moved on to a book with illustrations, hoping to lighten the mental load.

Cyno and Tighnari had teased him about this, so he would never tell them that he had actually borrowed manuals on love between men.

He cautiously opened a few pages, and immediately stiffened. It wasn’t that he hadn’t expected explicit drawings, but he hadn’t expected this many details.

He flipped through the pages with the tips of his fingers, his face composed though his eyes widened slightly. The drawings were… very explanatory. Excessively didactic. Male bodies intertwined in anatomically precise perspectives, arrows and captions indicating pressure points, recommended angles for a partner’s pleasure, suggested sequences of movements. Alhaitham pressed his lips tighter as he silently counted the number of positions described.

“Verbal and non-verbal communication during intimacy,” he read under his breath, forcing himself to keep taking notes. His handwriting, usually so steady, grew faintly nervous, uneven.

“Notes: Practical Section,” he titled carefully, before starting a bulleted list.

He wrote everything down with surgical precision, but the more he transcribed, the more his imagination betrayed him: the warmth of Kaveh’s skin under his hands, the way Kaveh would be too close, holding his breath, with each step Alhaitham recorded. Every phrase in the manual stopped being abstract advice and turned into a vivid image.

• Foreplay: Very important for relaxing the partner, not only physically but also mentally. Pay attention to tone of voice and eye contact. Reassure verbally (examples: “Do you like this?”; “Tell me if you’d rather…,” etc.).
  
  

Alhaitham’s pen stalled for a moment. Would he be able to talk like that? He, who weighed every word with logic and detachment:could he really utter such intimate phrases without sounding ridiculous? He imagined Kaveh, lying beside him, hair tousled against the pillow, those bright eyes fixed on him. The thought alone made his breath quicken.

• Positions: Some require considerable flexibility and strength. Others favor closeness and eye contact. Choose depending on the context. For the first time, prefer one where you can look into your partner’s eyes.
  
  

His stomach tightened. Looking into Kaveh’s eyes, that close, while he… No. Enough. He bit the inside of his cheek, as if the sting could repress the heat rising to his face.

• Stimulation: Detailed maps exist. It is not a linear process; the partner’s reactions must be listened to. (NB: Consult manual, p. 28.)

His fingers trembled faintly. Listening to Kaveh… watching every breath, every movement of his lips… learning from a single moan what pleased him. He had spent his life analyzing every detail of the outside world; why, suddenly, did it seem impossible to do the same now?

• Lubrication: Mentioned in multiple paragraphs. Essential. Note: procure a specific, scented product. Add to the shopping list.
  
  
• Rhythm: Variable. No universal optimal speed. Follow the partner’s breathing.

That last note froze him in place. For a moment, he stopped writing entirely. He imagined Kaveh’s breath beneath him, uneven, short, growing faster and faster, and his own body matching it, adapting, responding. A shiver ran down his spine, and he had to close his eyes briefly, fingers clenching tight around the pen, before hurriedly turning the page.

At that point, his eyes fell on a particular illustration. Two figures again: one with light hair, head tilted back in bliss against the other’s chest, being held close as he was kissed on the neck. The posture was achingly intimate, a complete, trusting surrender. One man’s thighs were wrapped around the other’s hips, legs parted in welcome.

His heart slammed against his ribs. Not because of the raw sensuality of the image, but because of the sudden realization that those intertwined bodies could be him and Kaveh. That those expressions could be theirs. That thought was far more embarrassing than everything he had painstakingly transcribed with a mask of detachment.

Heat rushed to his ears.
He snapped the book shut with a sharp thud, stirring a little dust from the desk. A hand dragged over his face as he tried to reassemble his trademark composure. Absurd. There was nothing to be scandalized about. Nothing he didn’t already know, and yet…

He forced himself to open the volume again, this time with a deliberately analytical approach. He had to extract useful data, strip away the excessive sentimentality. He had to translate that body language into a sequence of actionable steps.

He wrote with determination, though his face was still burning:

Essential:

• Create the right environment. Dim lighting, comfortable temperature, no interruptions, a soft mattress.
  
  
• Clear communication. Consent is key. Ask “May I?” before moving to new stages. Examples: “Can I take this off?” or “Do you like it when I do this?”

The pen flew quickly across the page, fixing every detail, when suddenly a shadow stretched over his notes. He had no time to think. He jolted upright, slamming the manual shut so abruptly that ink bled across the edge of his notebook. Not quickly enough, though—the cover remained visible: two men kissing, entwined in an unmistakable embrace, caught in the light.

“Oh. Are you here too? Hi!”

Kaveh’s voice hit him like a blade. Low, warm, faintly amused. Alhaitham’s shoulders went rigid, jaw tight. He looked up and found him standing there, books clutched to his chest, a suspicious flush coloring his cheeks. He had probably seen something. The titles and images spoke for themselves.

Alhaitham wanted to bang his head against the desk. Instead he froze, a criminal caught red-handed, fumbling to stack the books too quickly, noisily. He hadn’t seen Kaveh in more than a full day, and of course he had to show up now, while he was studying how to… seduce him?

“I didn’t know you were into this kind of reading,” Kaveh murmured. His tone was a mix of surprise and teasing malice, a sharp blade hidden behind a smile. He leaned just enough to peek at the cover, pale eyes glinting. “Ah, I’ve read this one too. A bit… explicit, sure. But the story’s engaging.”

Alhaitham’s heart skipped. He couldn’t tell if he was relieved that Kaveh was pretending to talk about fiction, or if he felt even more trapped. He flicked his gaze up, a glance too quick to seem natural. He tried to recover his impassive mask, but the pen in his hand betrayed a faint tremor.

“Oh, that… Yes, it looks interesting. Haven’t read it yet.”

“Really? You seemed much more focused on these… Essays?” Kaveh tilted his head, blond hair slipping across his cheek as he tried to read the manuals’ spines.

Alhaitham’s arm shot out unnaturally fast, covering the book as if it were a state secret.
“Psychology,” he blurted, his voice rough. Then he coughed and corrected himself: “And anatomy. Just… books.”

The silence that followed burned hotter than any question. Kaveh watched him, half amused, half puzzled, and the blush on his cheeks refused to fade. He looked on the verge of laughing, but held back.

“Psychology and anatomy, huh? Curious combination.” Kaveh dropped his gaze briefly, running a thumb along the spine of the book he held. He seemed to be trying for composure, but the ironic curve of his mouth gave him away.

Alhaitham felt like dying inside. Obviously, Kaveh wasn’t buying that excuse. And yet, he wasn’t openly mocking him either: worse, he seemed to be figuring something out. Had he realized these books were for him? He needed to divert him, fast.

“Kaveh, this is a library,” he finally replied, coldness wavering in his throat. “Weren’t you here to study?”

“True. I do have studying to do. But I’m just here to borrow a few things,” Kaveh said, his tone calm, almost too calm, as though savoring every shade of Alhaitham’s embarrassment.

The silence that fell was sharp, heavy. Even the rustle of pages at nearby tables seemed to magnify it. Alhaitham forced his eyes down to the paper, though the words blurred before him.

It was Kaveh who broke it. He hesitated only a moment before asking, with a smile that promised nothing good:
“Soooo… shall we see each other after dinner?”

Alhaitham looked up at him, and for the first time let a note of irritation and disappointment slip into his voice. He hadn’t meant to sound so sharp, but he had missed Kaveh badly, and hated realizing how much he resented feeling avoided.

“Well, that depends on what time you’re back. I didn’t see you yesterday, nor this morning.” His pen tapped twice on the notebook. “Since you’re not around at dinner, I’ll eat here and head home after. I still have work to do.”

Kaveh froze, startled by the tone, but didn’t falter. He only smiled faintly, an expression carrying a hint of cunning, as if he already had a plan in mind.
“Oh, don’t worry.” His eyes sparkled briefly. “This time we’ll meet. I won’t be late.”

Alhaitham clenched his jaw. It was the perfect chance to let him go and recover from this humiliation, but the manual’s instructions still buzzed in his head: light touch, positive communication, reassuring tone. At some point, he would have to start showing Kaveh he was interested.

It couldn’t be that hard, right?
He inhaled, forced himself to extend a hand, and, in a gesture surprisingly unnatural for him, let his fingers rest on Kaveh’s shoulder. The touch was brief, too hesitant to feel natural. His heart hammered, but he compelled himself to say something, anything.

A compliment. The manual had suggested compliments.

“Anyway…” he began, his voice forced into a brighter register, “I wanted to say that your shirt… is very well made. I’d say the fabric is excellent.”

A moment of total silence.
Kaveh stared at him, visibly taken aback. His eyes widened slightly, then narrowed in a mix of confusion and amusement.

“…Thanks?” he finally replied, raising a brow. “If you like it that much, I can tell you where I bought it.”

The heat flooding Alhaitham’s ears was devastating. Had he gotten it wrong? Kaveh didn’t seem to understand his intention at all.
He withdrew his hand immediately, as though he had touched something scalding. Trying to mask his embarrassment, he went back to tapping his pen against the notebook, but the motion only betrayed his nerves.

“Why not? Well, I’ll see you tonight, Kaveh. Have a good day.” That was all he managed before being left alone at the table. Kaveh walked away with a smile, though his expression was layered with something so complex that Alhaitham couldn’t even begin to interpret it.

***

Evening.

Alhaitham returned home later than usual, after a quick dinner near the Akademiya.
His mind was tired, yet curiously alert. He wondered if Kaveh had already come back, if he needed help with the project, or if he would rather unwind with more casual conversation.

But the moment he opened the door to the living room, he stopped dead.

The lights were dimmer than usual, their warm glow softening every shadow. On the couch, amid rumpled pillows and scattered papers, lay Kaveh, absorbed in a book.
He was wearing only a red robe, carelessly left open across his chest and beautiful thighs, beneath which was nothing but a pair of boxer shorts far too tight.

Alhaitham froze in place, his heartbeat accelerating so violently he could hear it in his ears.
He had imagined Kaveh without clothes before, but nothing compared to this. Kaveh was nothing short of breathtaking.

The thin fabric slipped loosely from his shoulders, revealing the line of his collarbones and warm amber skin, touched by candlelight.
Alhaitham’s lips parted soundlessly, his gaze drawn helplessly to every detail: the elegant bend of Kaveh’s long legs, the faint definition of muscle along his chest, the curve of a hip that the robe barely concealed.

Kaveh couldn’t possibly not know that Alhaitham would see him. He knew he’d be home after dinner. He would never sit in the living room like this without meaning to be seen.
Was he trying to seduce him? Of course he was… there was no other explanation.

“And now, what was he supposed to do?” The thought surged in panic as Kaveh continued reading.
He had to stay calm. He didn’t expect Kaveh to make the first move again, but he couldn’t afford to lose control like this.

For a fleeting instant, he remembered the manuals he had studied: all those neat, practical tips he had copied down, but now, faced with the living reality before him, those pages felt suddenly ridiculous.

That was when Kaveh noticed him, lifting his gaze with a perfectly calm smile. “There you are! Good evening! How was your study session?”

Alhaitham scrambled to recover a neutral tone, but his voice came out shakier than he intended. “…Why… why are you dressed like that?”

Kaveh closed the book, lips curving into a half-smile: innocent and provocative all at once. “Me? I was really hot, that’s all. Just like you’ve been all last month.”

Alhaitham fell silent again, realizing only then how Kaveh must have felt every time he had lounged shirtless in the living room. Had he really put him through that kind of torment? The thought nearly short-circuited his brain.

Kaveh stood, and the robe slipped further open, as though he meant for it to fall away entirely. Alhaitham forced himself to meet his eyes as Kaveh, calm as ever, said:
“If you’d like, I can show you the progress on the architecture project. Want to come sit at the table with me?”

Alhaitham’s heart gave an almost imperceptible lurch. The invitation was simple, innocent, spoken without explicit malice. Yet in that dim glow, with Kaveh’s body way too much exposed and his voice sliding so casually into the air, it felt like a direct summons.

“Yes. Let me put my things down and I’ll come,” he replied at last, with a steadiness he no longer truly possessed.