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Curiosity killed the cat, they say.
Alhaitham became that cat. He just hasn't died (yet).
He figures he may as well, because as he's attempting to break into his own house through the window he's snatched by a pair of hands and pulled away just as he's almost managing to turn the latch with his claw. He fights back, attempting to reach for the window again, when that voice makes him stop:
"Oops– Calm down, little friend! You'll get us both injured!"
Kaveh.
Alhaitham is turned around to be held at eye level, his roommate flashing him a smile that could provide light and warmth to an entire galaxy for eons. "Haha! You look just like someone I know," he chuckles, his voice a bit too soft compared to what the scribe is used to.
"It's me, Kaveh. Let me into the house," he tells. Clearly his vocal chords have no idea what syllables are, though, because he ends up with three drawled out meows that make absolutely no sense. His ears flatten against his head. Annoying.
"Pshht," Kaveh snorts, pulling the cat to his chest, "Goodness gracious; you're just as grumpy too. What were you trying to get inside for?"
"This is my house."
"Meow meow indeed," Kaveh singsongs, moving towards the door, "Let's get you some water, shall we, little friend? Thankfully for the both of us, Alhaitham didn't take my keys today," he tells, a sigh spilling onto the cat's fur as the door opens, "He does that so often I can't help but think it's on purpose."
"It is, sometimes."
Kaveh congratulates him on his meowing eloquence and prepares a bowl with water. He's also a little too eager to put an animal on their table, but Alhaitham won't complain since he happens to be the one crossing that limit. Like most things regarding his feline form, drinking water with his tongue is easy and intuitive; he'd just rather not have Kaveh resting his chin over his folded arms to watch him so intently. He looks like that at his projects too, and that can't possibly bode well for a living thing.
"Are you a stray, buddy? You're so dirty. Oh, I know!" he clasps his hands together, "I'll give you a nice warm bath and then we'll look for your owner! Oh… wait," he grimaces, "Shouldn't have said that. Cats don't like baths, do they? Uh… uhm… I'll… I'll go to the bathroom to prepare something that definitely doesn't involve getting you wet; be right back!"
Kaveh departs, and Alhaitham sighs – all this headache just because he pressed a button on a potentially fatally dangerous ancient relic.
Kaveh's lucky that Alhaitham is no ordinary cat, but rather just a very lazy, catlike human posing as a feline – the architect would have gills clawed open into his neck at this point otherwise. What sane person takes a cat they know nothing about into the bathtub with them? Kaveh's genius can only truly be rivaled by his eccentricity.
Alhaitham doesn't mind this, though – the water is comfortably warm and Kaveh's chest is the perfect spot for taking a… catnap. Wonderful. Puns aside, the dip of his sternum makes for a cozy pillow, nicely fitting Alhaitham's chin while his pectorals cradle the scribe's cheeks. His long fingers provide great caresses too, gently tapping at the cat's ribs as if gliding over piano keys, while humming a tranquil song that vibrates off his chest and into Alhaitham's. He quickly finds himself purring, his body liquid over the architect's.
As the landlord, Alhaitham thinks it would be quite reasonable to add a new clause to their contract, stating that Kaveh is required to bathe him in this manner everyday for the rest of his life.
Kaveh blows dry Alhaitham's fur while his own golden hair drips over his half-naked body, curling over every curve from his cheekbones all the way down to his pectorals – rivers of molten gold crossing his fair skin. Vanilla almond, Alhaitham thinks.
It's only after he's done with the cat that he gets up from the bed, snatching the towel away from his hips to begin drying his own hair. Alhaitham stares at Kaveh's curves for all of one second before forcing himself to look away; he may be a cat now but he still has the bare minimum manners and doesn't want to invade his roommate's privacy in such a predatory way.
The image has been etched to his mind beyond recovery, though – Kaveh's slim waist, his accentuated hipbones, his small but round ass and the way it perks up above his slender thighs.
Celestia be damned; Kaveh has a cute little thigh gap and Alhaitham feels indecent for even knowing about it.
Kaveh finishes getting ready while Alhaitham takes a semi-nap on his pillow to clear his mind. Thankfully for him it's incredibly easy to fall asleep in this form, even more so than usual. He partially blames it on the soothing flowery scent of his roommate's shampoo, though.
"Alright, done and done!" Kaveh announces, Aren't you a good kitty? Thank you so much for waiting," he praises, fingertips doing something behind Alhaitham's ears – something magical, alluring, inconceivably glorious. The feline leans into the blonde's palm, his eyes sliding closed and rolling to the back of his head. "You're so fuzzy and adorable. I love you already," he murmurs as he's picking up Alhaitham and nuzzling his cheeks against his fur, "I wonder if that pesky Haravatat would let you stay…"
"I am that pesky Haravatat, Kaveh."
Of course the blonde doesn't understand a meow of what he says, so he glues Alhaitham's eyes to the back of his skull with a terrible "Worry not; we'll purr-suade him if need be!" before they set out to look for his nonexistent owner.
The sun is already setting when Kaveh finally understands that there's no one searching for Alhaitham. With a sigh, the architect cradles the feline against his shoulder and cards his fingers through his fur in a silent apology. "So you don't have anyone, huh. Don't worry, little friend, I'll take care of you," he murmurs into the cat's fur, "You're not alone."
Archons; he's so corny. Alhaitham won't lie, though, if he were an actual stray cat he'd most likely be very comforted by Kaveh's words and actions. As it stands, though, he just finds it deeply endearing what a softie the architect truly is. Considering how much they're always jabbing at each other, it's a good change to be treated like this.
He wonders what it would take to make Kaveh act like this once he manages to get his body back.
They stop by a store to buy cat food on the way home. Alhaitham is not excited for it, even though his roommate beams at the idea of 'the most delish crunchy treats, with lots hearty creamy fillings'. The cat would suggest Kaveh eats the damn thing since he's so interested it makes his eyes sparkle, but unfortunately for Alhaitham he hasn't learned how to speak… yet.
His chosen method of rejection, therefore, is pushing the plate away with his paw and huffing for good measure as he looks away.
"Nooo, don't be like that!" Kaveh tries, pushing the plate back to its starting position, "Come on, at least try some! You must be hungry."
"Not for these 'crunchies'," Alhaitham complains, walking towards Kaveh's glass of water to push that off the table and hopefully make a better argument out of it. The architect quickly grabs the glass, before it topples over, and scowls at the feline.
"Bad kitty! Ugh, you really remind me of him sometimes," he says, taking a sip of his water with a frown before his expression turns a one-eighty, illuminating the entire kitchen with the glow of his smile. "Alcaitham!"
Oh. Oh no.
Oh no.
The cat attempts to complain about the atrocious name by hissing, spiking up his fur, clawing at the air and smacking his paw repeatedly on the table. Kaveh simply laughs at his attempts.
After convincing Alhaitham to try the cat food – it wasn't bad, he'll give it that – Kaveh takes him to the office and leaves him on the desk, sighing at the state of disarray of the place. "That guy keeps getting new books and reading none of them! I can't believe he's so messy," the blonde sighs, picking up one of the volumes from the pile on the corner. "...'Hilichurl Ballad Selection'? Seriously, Alhaitham? Not surprised you haven't read this."
…ah. He got that one for Kaveh, actually. Must've forgotten to give it to him.
The architect opens it and flips through some of the pages, one hand moving to his chin after a while. Alhaitham isn't surprised to have been right that this book would interest his roommate – he's gotten so absorbed into the thing that he hasn't even moved from his spot, which is quite charming. It's annoying to see him standing like that, though, so Alhaitham pushes a pen off the desk to catch his attention.
The blonde whips his head around, startled with the noise. He smiles sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Looks like I got distracted for a second. Will you just let me, uh… hm." He looks at the book again, one hand clasped across his mouth and a look of concentration on his face. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can tackle this," he says after a while, before leaving the book on the desk and getting a notebook from the drawer on the corner – Alhaitham's notebook. One of his pens, too.
Kaveh flips through the pages, probably searching for an empty one, and eventually stops. There's something written in the pages, though, which the blonde slides his fingertips over, a semblance of admiration crossing his features. "This brain of yours…" he mumbles with a smile, "If only your handwriting wasn't so terrible. How'd you become a scribe with chicken scratches like this, Alhaitham?"
In respect for the tender way with which his name was said, the cat doesn't retaliate, but he does make a mental note to later inform this fool that he does put just about enough effort for his handwriting to be legible while at work… and at work only.
Kaveh finds an empty page and starts scribbling down – translating the hilichurl poems, maybe? Alhaitham takes a peek, but quickly decides that reading upside down is one of the few things that are decidedly not easy in this godforsaken form and, thus, gives up on his attempts. He lays down beside Kaveh, though, occasionally clawing at his hand just to make him screw up and leave blotches of ink on his paper.
If cats could smirk, Kaveh would certainly know who he really is.
The blonde eventually stops to smile at him, offering his hand for the taking. Alhaitham rolls around, grabbing the limb with his paws to kick it with his feet and sink his teeth into the soft flesh. "Hah. He's going to adore you," the blonde muses out loud, his voice laced with something strangely melancholic. Alhaitham stops moving, simply holding still while watching Kaveh's smile steadily fade away. "He doesn't like my company at all, but I really hope he'll like yours. It's not healthy to be alone all the time."
The blonde caresses his furry cheek with the pad of his index finger, tickling his whiskers. Alhaitham continues to watch and wonder about what exactly gave him that indication.
Kaveh is good company. Admittedly, one of the very few Alhaitham likes keeping around and possibly the one he enjoys the most. How did that get lost in translation?
"You'll help me take care of him, right? Maybe you could even make him smile. That would be nice," the blonde adds which, again, what the hell?
Alhaitham does smile. He does it when he realizes he took Kaveh's keys by mistake, when the blonde accidentally leaves the bath ready for him after a tough day of work, after he makes Kaveh so annoyed he marches away with his cheeks red and puffy, when he finds the architect draped over his desk after working on his projects the whole night and places his coat over those cold shoulders, and…
…he can't see any of those. Of course.
It's not like Alhaitham can tell him he's wrong, so he stops thinking about the entire exchange and rubs his face against his new favorite thing – Kaveh's warm hand. Just as intended, he gets exactly what he wants: those magical caresses behind his ear.
By bedtime, Alhaitham makes an attempt at going to his own room, but the architect warns him about the dangers of becoming skewered cat and drags him to his room instead. "It's safer this way," he murmurs as he's patting the feline's head, holding him against his chest, "Alhaitham owns the place, you know? We can't rest easy until we've talked to him about you. But please don't worry; I'm sure I can find a way of convincing him to let you stay."
"Purr-suasion," Alhaitham grumbles with his ears flat, which steals a chuckle out of Kaveh.
He kisses the tip of the cat's nose and places him on the bed to change into his pajamas, which consists solely of his underwear and a baggy, thin white shirt that does not cover his thigh gap. Thankfully, Alhaitham's attention is taken elsewhere when Kaveh loosens his hair and allows it to drape over his shoulders, flashing the feline a lazy little moonlit smile.
If Alhaitham were under the influence of any amount of alcohol, right now would be a good time as any to say that Kaveh is beautiful. Breathtakingly so.
He's sober and a cat though, so all he does is waiting until the blonde plops onto the bed and holds him close. For all the shit Alhaitham's ever given him about the amount of pillows Kaveh keeps in his bed, he's feeling quite cozy and comfortable.
A little too much, mayhaps, because he falls asleep within moments.
The feline wakes up in the middle of the night with a pained whimper coming from Kaveh. The blonde trembles, his face contorted with discomfort, eyebrows tightly drawn together. Alhaitham presses his paw to the architect's face, but it draws no reaction from him.
"Kaveh," he meows, "Wake up."
His calls don't reach the whimpering blonde. With a frown, Alhaitham drags his tongue across Kaveh's cheek, aware of how it probably feels like sandpaper, until the blonde finally opens his eyes. There's tiny teardrops clinging to his lashes, his irises glossy as they move around without focus, until finally landing on the cat.
"Oh… I'm sorry, did I wake you up…?" he whispers, sitting up to rub at his eyes. The architect draws his legs close to his chest, chin over his knees, and continuously blinks away tears that insist on holding on to his wet eyelashes like stubborn little diamonds. He doesn't say anything about what happened, so Alhaitham prompts him to – pushes at his thigh with his paw again and again, demanding attention, until he receives a mellow smile. "Don't tell me you're worried," he chuckles weakly, "I'm okay. It was just a nightmare. Happens often, I'm used to it."
…what?
He never mentioned a word about this to Alhaitham. He didn't know. Didn't imagine. How often, he wonders? Every night? Every week?
Why did he keep this a secret?
Kaveh's fingertips land on his scalp, silencing his musings. "Don't make that scary face. You're seriously making justice to your name, Alcaitham," he jokes, his voice a tad bit steadier, "I'm feeling better already. Thank you for being here for me."
…oh…
…how… annoying.
Once Alhaitham's back to his original body, he may just decide to remodel one of their bedrooms into something absolutely useless just so they'll have to sleep in the same bed.
Kaveh stands up, wiping what remains of his tears with a sniffle. "I'll hit the bathroom really quick. Be right back."
He leaves, and Alhaitham waits.
He waits a little too much.
Perturbed by Kaveh's lengthy absence, Alhaitham jumps down from the bed and traverses the moonlit-illuminated house. His roommate isn't in the bathroom, like he said he'd be, and neither in the kitchen or living room or study. Where could he—
Alhaitham feels a light going on inside of his head. He silently treks back to the hallway leading to his own bedroom, seeing the door ever so slightly ajar. He pushes it open with his paw and peeks inside to find Kaveh laying on the bed, legs dangling out, Alhaitham's pillow in his grasp.
"...Kaveh…?"
The blonde sits upright, still holding the pillow and with his eyes wide. "Oh! Ah…" He stammers, hesitantly placing the item back into place. He curls his hands into fists over his knees, lips pressed together. "I was just… checking if Alhaitham had come back, but he isn't home yet."
"Really. And yet he's standing right here."
Kaveh spills forth a shaky sigh, sleepily rubbing at his eye. "He didn't tell me where he went… I hope he's safe."
He takes in a breath and stands up, approaching the cat and crouching to gently pick him up. "Ah… I can't wait for you to meet Alhaitham. Truly. He's such an annoying little shit, but I love him to bits. You'll love him too."
Of course Kaveh had to call him a little shit. Alhaitham rolls his eyes and allows himself to be taken back to the blonde's room, slipping into slumber before they've even arrived.
It's when he's nestled in Kaveh's bed, pressed between his warm chest and a bunch of pillows that smell like his shampoo that it occurs to Alhaitham—
Kaveh said he loves him.
He wakes up to the alluring scent of exotic flowers and the comforting heat of Kaveh's body seeping into his own. Alhaitham draws in a deep breath, arms wrapping tighter around the architect's lithe frame and his leg pushing higher between those warm thighs. Kaveh hugs his head in return, pushing his face further into his chest, a mumble-grumble vibrating off his throat.
His pectorals quickly suffocate Alhaitham, though, so the cat weakly pushes at his shoulder to request some breathing space.
"You're killing me," he mumbles into Kaveh's sternum.
He's not meowing.
Kaveh screams and pushes himself off the bed, landing on his back on the floor, legs up on the mattress. Alhaitham lazily drags himself towards him, sneaking between his knees to glance down at the flustered mess he's become on the floor. "Oh, my," the scribe chuckles, propping one arm up to rest his chin on his palm, "Good morning, Kaveh."
"You—!" the architect hisses, a blush at least three tones redder than his eyes crawling up his neck to settle on his cheeks, "What's the meaning of this?!"
"You'll have to be more specific."
The blonde scowls, pointing accusingly at Alhaitham, "Why are you naked on my bed?! Why were we cuddling?! Where is my cat?!"
"He's right here," the scribe informs, ignoring all previous questions, "Bold of you to call me yours when you haven't even claimed me yet. Although… you did say something about loving me to bits last night, so I'm assuming that counts. Now it's my turn to ask questions."
Kaveh groans, eyes rolling, hands slapping across his face. "I should've known. Celestia; I should've known. Nothing in this world can act like you and not be you."
"I'm taking that as a compliment, thank you very much."
Sighing, Kaveh allows his arms to drop to the ground – defeat. With his gaze transfixed to Alhaitham's, his cheeks still lightly flushed and his golden hair sprawled messily beneath him, it's like he's taunting the scribe, challenging him not to drool all over how pretty he is.
"What did you want to ask?" the blonde eventually inquires.
Alhaitham presses his cheek to Kaveh's warm leg, just beyond his knee. His enticing scent rises off his thigh, causing saliva to pool on the scribe's tongue; he swallows it down. "I want an explanation for what you said last night."
Kaveh's irises quiver, his lips pursing tight together. "What do you want it to mean?" he whispers, "I'll tell you anything you want to hear."
"I want the truth."
"Fine. Fine." Kaveh draws in a breath, exhaling it until his chest fully deflates. He looks small, vulnerable, even more so than Alhaitham believes that cat form has ever been. "I have feelings for you," he admits.
"What kind of feelings?"
Kaveh playfully kicks him in the face, enticing a smile out of him. Alhaitham kisses the sole of his foot, his heel, places little pecks to each of his toes as they curl up to escape his ticklish touches. "If you don't tell me," he whispers against the blonde's ankle, "I won't be able to say I feel the same."
Kaveh slips off his grasp, sitting up on the floor. He ends up at eye level with Alhaitham, golden hair messy, pointing at every possible direction and covering most of his glossy irises and flushed cheeks. Looks so boyish, it's like they're back to their Akademiya days. "I– I like you. I love…" he purses his rosy lips for a moment, "I love you," he whispers, "To bits."
Alhaitham tucks a few strands of hair behind Kaveh's ear, then traces the curve of his jaw and cradles his cheek. His skin feels softer, warmer than the pages of any book the scribe could ever land his hands on, and reading emotions off of his eyes and expressions brings him much more joy. It's a challenge and blessing of its own to find the hidden treasures Kaveh allows him to see – him, and no one else.
"Guess I love you too," Alhaitham confesses, "Although you seem to believe I hate your company."
Kaveh chuckles nervously, bashfully looking away. "Gosh; I really said that out loud, didn't I?"
"You did. And it's a pity that you thought so for so long," he says as he presses a kiss to the corners of the blonde's mouth, "Let's have breakfast together and I can show you just how much I appreciate having you around."
"Making" breakfast consists of annoying Kaveh. Couldn't be any different when he's looking like eye candy in those pajamas and a messy ponytail – he keeps attempting to cook while Alhaitham hugs him from behind and plants wet kisses to his exposed neck, leaving the occasional bite to the warm column as well as sinking his fingernails into his roommate's taut abdomen, grazing at it through his thin shirt.
"Haitham…! Are you actively trying to give me a heart attack…?!"
The scribe licks his ear and produces a husky meow from the back of his throat, enticing a groan out of Kaveh. The blonde turns around to smack Alhaitham's forehead with his spatula, a flustered scowl etched to his face. "Bad kitty!" he reprimands.
"Heh. Are you going to punish me, my senior?"
Kaveh smiles mischievously, wrapping his arms around the scribe's neck. "After breakfast," he whispers against Alhaitham's lips, "Be good for me until then."
"You make me want to be even worse."
His worse means kissing Kaveh's breath away, pressing him flush against the sink to draw out hums and little whimpers, until whatever the blonde had on the stove catches on fire. While Kaveh hurries to kill the flames, Alhaitham leans his lower back against the table to watch, his thumb brushing against his mouth to wipe it dry.
"Good thing we still have those 'crunchies' you were so excited about," he teases.