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“Haitham, stop taking off your hearing aids! I’m still talking!”
The first time Alhaitham did it was more of a show of exasperation. He didn’t feel arguing with Kaveh, especially when their difference was fundamental in principles.
Why should one continue arguing when their vision never aligned to begin with? It was akin to talking to a wall. Pointless. Waste of time.
By that, he didn’t mean that talking to Kaveh as a whole was pointless and a waste of time, but this particular argument was especially so.
Alhaitham had intended to let it be. Perhaps Kaveh would be pissed off, but he was hoping this would be the surefire way for both of them to cool down and stop arguing.
In an hour, Kaveh would need to tend their garden, and Alhaitham should prepare to cook for their dinner.
But Kaveh didn’t give up today, for some reason.
“Now you have no option but to listen to me.”
Kaveh sat on Alhaitham’s lap, hands taking both of his hearing aids, and forced Alhaitham to wear it again, much to Alhaitham’s annoyance.
So it seemed Kaveh would do anything for him to listen. Alhaitham sighed; if this wasn’t the person that Alhaitham loved, Alhaitham would’ve dumped this blond outside and left him homeless.
“That’s enough, Kaveh. I got what you’re saying.”
“Heh, so you do listen to me.”
Though that smug, little smile was endearing (as always), Kaveh should’ve been grateful that he was the only one that Alhaitham would and ever love.
The second time he did it was because of yet another argument based on irreconcilable, fundamental differences.
Again, just like the first time it happened, the argument itself wasn’t the important point. What was important and amusing, however, was the efforts and the lengths that Kaveh went through, so Alhaitham would listen to him.
‘Now you have no options but to listen to me. Haha.’
This time, Kaveh went through an incredulous length to learn sign language. As if he had been preparing for this moment.
Oh, and how kind Kaveh was to translate his laugh, too.
How adorable, Alhaitham smirked, before he closed his eyes.
“Damn it!”
Alhaitham opened his eyes for a bit, just in time to catch on Kaveh’s exasperation, before he closed his eyes again.
Kaveh could try, however many times he wanted. By this point, Alhaitham was more interested to keep arguing so he could see how Kaveh would overcome this.
Call him a sadist, but you should see how cute Kaveh was in trying to get his points across.
Alhaitham chuckled as he saw Kaveh sulking on the sofa. It was the little thing that Kaveh always did whenever he was faced with another defeat and stupid oversight in his latest tactic to get Alhaitham listen to him.
Adorable.
Way too adorable.
The third time they went on another argument and Alhaitham took off his hearing aid, Kaveh didn’t respond and only pouted.
Even after ten and twenty minutes passed, the blond did nothing except for sitting down across Alhaitham. All Kaveh did was only staring at him, unamused.
“Whatever I do, you won’t listen to me, huh?”
Oh, he was being serious.
Alhaitham put his hearing aid back, then he scooted closer to Kaveh.
“What did you say?”
“Oh, so now you would like to listen to me.” Kaveh pouted again. “Too late. You’re running out of the one and only Kaveh’s talking credit. Try again tomorrow.”
“Is there any way I can top up my credit today?”
“Nuh uh, come back again tomorrow.”
Alhaitham chuckled and let out a tiny smile, scooting closer to Kaveh, and continued reading his book. Their shoulders bruised on each other, as they both instinctively moved closer to find comfort in each other.
“Alright.”
Alhaitham said as his smile still plastered on his face.
Sometimes, even when Kaveh didn’t try, he was still way too adorable.
The fourth time it happened, Kaveh snatched Alhaitham’s hearing aids away as soon as Alhaitham took it off.
Before Alhaitham could catch him, Kaveh had run away like a child about to be reprimanded by his mother.
Which was exactly what Alhaitham was about to do, because those hearing aids were a damn trouble to get!
“Kaveh, come back here!”
Alhaitham disliked raising his voice. It was a bother, and it attracted too much attention. Curses, he muttered. But Kaveh, to his surprise, was light on his feet, and only his voice could catch up to him.
From the distance, Alhaitham saw Kaveh saying something to him, but Kaveh, being Kaveh, seemed to forget that Alhaitham couldn’t hear.
It didn’t matter; Alhaitham would chase Kaveh. It wasn’t as if his roommate tried to hide his destination. Kaveh was running along the all-familiar route to Lambad’s Tavern.
Oh, Alhaitham sighed in exasperation. He knew how this would go.
He entered the tavern, slammed the door with a loud bang, witnessing Kaveh sitting at the barstool, out of breath, as his hand shook to write a note for him.
‘Your hearing aids in exchange for three crates of wine. Deal?’
Alhaitham read the note, then he looked up to see Kaveh’s messed up hair. Sweat trickled down Kaveh’s temple as he tried his best to give a cool (but in all honesty? Pathetic) smirk in between him catching his breath.
Alhaitham sighed.
“Deal.”
He didn’t want to continue this any longer. Besides, they were already at the tavern, so might as well use this opportunity as a peace settlement—in which Alhaitham paid for their bills. Again.
“Pleasure doing business with you!”
Well, as long as Kaveh would stop running.
Kaveh gave him a thick pouch where his hearing aids nestled inside of him.
Alhaitham remembered this pouch, one that Kaveh sewed himself in between his projects for the past couple of weeks. So that guy planned this all along from weeks ago, huh?
Alhaitham observed the pouch once again. The design was quite thoughtful, as if Kaveh tried his best not to damage his hearing aids in the slightest.
Alhaitham couldn’t hold his smile as he took out his hearing aids and put it back on. The lengths that Kaveh went through just to win over a silly argument was admirable.
“I win this time!”
Alhaitham blinked once, then twice, when the sound returned to his ear. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
In a moment, Kaveh looked so stunning with his wide smile.
He smiled again, however, when Kaveh looked away as the first bottle of wine arrived at their table.
Hearing Kaveh’s excitement was one of the best things that came out over this stupid argument.
The fifth time it happened, Kaveh took his hearing aids again and held it close in his hand. Resting it on top of his thighs as he sat cross-legged across Alhaitham in their living room.
It was obvious that Kaveh wouldn’t let Alhaitham to take it out of his hands unless Alhaitham relented to him. Which he preferred not to do for now, and continued reading his book.
“This is the most unfortunate, but you will miss out on a very juicy blackmail material about me, since you can’t hear me now.”
Well, jokes on Kaveh.
Alhaitham could do lip reading just fine.
“The other day I was visiting Tighnari, and I ate a somewhat poisonous mushroom by accident. Then I got high and Tighnari nagged me.”
Alhaitham glanced as he opened his book. Trying to cover up his attempt to not laugh at the picture of Kaveh getting high over mushrooms.
“I visited the House of Daena yesterday. I didn’t know they installed a new mirror near the checkout counter and it took me five minutes to figure out why the signage on the other row was reversed. The librarian was laughing at me.”
To be honest, Alhaitham wanted to do the same.
Alhaitham bit down on his inner lips. He couldn’t laugh, or else Kaveh would catch on the fact that he could read his lips.
This was Alhaitham’s secret weapon. He had to keep it safe.
Alhaitham glanced back at Kaveh, who seemed to think of what he wanted to say next.
“Alhaitham.”
Kaveh was calling his name. That was an easy, but futile attempt to—
“I love you.”
Alhaitham could feel his heart stopped beating for a momentary second.
“I’ve been in love with you for so many years now. You don’t know how painful my heart ache for you.”
That.
That was unexpected.
“You’re my first and only love, you know?”
Alhaitham was in between getting curious about what Kaveh was about to say next, contemplating at the fact that his feelings were not one sided all these times, and also trying his best not to out his secret ability to lip reading.
But in the end, all Alhaitham could do was to cover up his face with the book, stretching his hand towards Kaveh and asking for his hearing aids back.
“Give it back.”
He’d heard enough.
“Y-yes.”
Alhaitham wore his hearing aids again. He should do something about this.
Kaveh did it.
He fucking did it. He finally confessed to Alhaitham.
Well, albeit in a not-so-favourable condition where his roommate couldn’t hear him, but he got it across after all the back-and-forth all these times. Somewhat.
“Shit…”
Kaveh would proudly consider that massive progress.
Why was it so hard for him to just confess to Alhaitham? He was already an adult who shouldn’t have been caught up with stupid feelings and just say what he wanted to say.
Why was it so hard just to confess?!
There were already so many opportunities like that one in the tavern, for example, but what the hell did he do? Asking for wines!
Kaveh would’ve had an excuse that drinking three crates of wine made him tipsy; but it was also a stupid excuse all the same, because Alhaitham knew Kaveh was a heavy drinker and would never get tipsy.
Alhaitham knew that, but Kaveh also knew better; that was only yet another of his cowardly excuses to not confess.
Oh, well.
There would be another time. At the very least, he had practiced confessing while he looked at Alhaitham straight in his eyes; knowing that Alhaitham couldn’t read lips. Next time, Kaveh would’ve come prepared.
Kaveh also did his best to act as calm as possible. Remember, Alhaitham couldn’t read his lips.
Alhaitham wouldn’t know what he said.
Stay calm.
“Kaveh, it’s your turn to prepare for dinner today.”
Then, Kaveh jolted.
So much for staying calm when Alhaitham called his name was already enough to make him shocked.
“Y-yes! Hang on, give me a moment!”
Right, Kaveh.
You can do this.
Pretend to act like normal. Everything was fine.
There will be another opportunity in the future.
If Kaveh couldn’t confess today, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. There would be plenty of it in the future. Not that he could get out of Alhaitham’s house soon, not when his savings were close to non-existent.
Today may be just another day, but he would have more in the future.
Kaveh took a deep breath before entering the kitchen.
He saw Alhaitham standing by the counter, finished with chopping all the vegetables and meat.
“Are we still going with the curry for tonight?” Alhaitham asked as he prepared the rest of the ingredients.
“Yeah,”
Kaveh didn’t want to think too much about their meal tonight. Not when his mind was still preoccupied with new ways to annoy Alhaitham. Then, Kaveh could finally sneak a confession or two, maybe.
Next time, for good.
“You make the curry tonight.”
“Why should I?” Kaveh clicked his tongue as he wore the apron, even before Alhaitham gave his response. “You’re supposed to cook today. It’s on the schedule.”
In the end, he always relented to whatever Alhaitham wanted. Kaveh was one hopeless, pathetic guy who was love-struck towards his own roommate.
“I like your curry better.”
His darn roommate, who always found some ways to tug on his heartstrings.
“Why? We both use the same recipe every single time.” Kaveh put in one of the curry blocks into the pot, stirring it up along with the rest of the ingredients.
“Yes, but it tastes different when you made it.”
Kaveh chuckled. Alhaitham could be silly at times.
“How is it different?”
“Any meals taste better when it’s made by someone we love.”
To which Kaveh choked.
He didn’t mishear it.
“Excuse me—?”
Kaveh didn’t mishear it at all.
“Oh, and also, I like curry.”
Kaveh groaned, his cheek reddened in a shade that it had never gone before.
“That’s not the most important thing in here though?!”
Kaveh looked up at Alhaitham. His carmine eyes met with those teal eyes, who looked at him with a warm gaze towards him.
“Then what’s the most important thing here, Kaveh?”
It would’ve been romantic if it wasn’t for the darn awful smirk on his lips.
“It’s…”
Kaveh didn’t know what he should say next. Was this the chance to confession he had tried to get all these times?
“I-it’s the fact that you just said… said—”
But it was so unfair!
Why did Alhaitham got to confess first, and over a pot of curry, of all things?!
“Said what?”
Alhaitham smirked again, and Kaveh didn’t know whether to think that it was hot or it was… annoying.
“Said that you liked my curry!”
“Mmm, not an accurate answer. Try again.”
The audacity of this darn scribe!
“Ah, y-you! So annoying!” Kaveh turned around and continued to stir his curry. He had almost forgotten to put in the chicken meat because of Alhaitham.
Not to mention that this man ended up laughing at his reaction instead.
How cruel.
“Next time, you should make the curry.” Kaveh didn’t dare to look at Alhaitham. He wasn’t ready to face this man.
What if Alhaitham laughed at his face?
“Why?”
When Kaveh said that he wanted to confess to Alhaitham, this wasn’t what he had in mind.
“I love your curry too, Haitham. The most. And the only one.”
He didn’t think of Alhaitham, who would return his feelings. The first and the only one that he loved to give him a hug from behind, kissing the crook of his neck. Accompanied by the gentle sound of his curry simmering.
“Sure.”
But it ended well all the same, so Kaveh could only sighed and accept the fact that the love of his life was one aggravating scribe.
At the very least, it reciprocated.