Chapter Text
Gone. Missing. Lost.
Kaveh’s bath bombs were not there, there was just emptiness in the place where the wicker basket full of colorful orbs used to sit on the windowsill. Someone took them away along with it and hid them away. Without any remorse, anyone with human feelings would at least leave the basket behind.
Even a monster with close to no conscience would leave the basket, it matched the décor perfectly, Kaveh made should of that. Without the basket, the windowsill looked empty and just as devoided of good taste as it was before Kaveh moved in.
And there could be only one culprit, there was no other way.
One person capable of enough cruelty to go out of his way to grab and steal away his whole bath bomb basket. One person with this little concern for Kaveh’s efforts to make this house look aesthetically pleasing.
Alhaitham.
Kaveh sighed. His roommate was always such an annoying walking perfection until he would start going out of his way to torment Kaveh. The disappearance of the bath bombs was probably a punishment of something idiotic – a part of the constant pettifogging he experienced ever since he moved in, or even longer, since the first day he met Alhaitham, the most irritating perfectionist who actually had the guts to demand that Kaveh would meet his standards and obeyed the rules he set for the house.
Alhaitham seemed to have continuously decided to become Kaveh’s menace as long as they lived together, questioning his sleeping and eating schedule, working habits, and his control over the budget. Sure, none of those were exactly his forte but Alhaitham didn’t need to do that.
It was hard and humiliating enough to be living at Alhaitham’s mercy every day. He could understand why Althaitham wanted him to do chores, it was a good deal actually since most of the time he couldn’t pay rent. He understood when Alhaitham got angry about leaving clothes on the floor (although it was only in his room, Alhaitham should have no say in how it looks like).
But this. Althaitham didn’t have to assert his dominance by stealing the bath bombs, it was just petty.
Kaveh took a deep breath in, channeling his inner drama queen energy to the fullest and praying that he would be patient enough not to strangle Alhaitham yet this time. He was tempted too. Oh, he was. But Alhaitham owned the house and if he died Kaveh would have to live under the bridge.
So no murder today. Just a flamboyant drama queen explosion. Breathe in and out.
He turned around and exited the bathroom, marching right to the kitchen where his menace was brewing himself a coffee. Using the high-quality coffee beans that Kaveh had ordered, yet another proof that Alhaitham needed him in his life but instead of thanking him for making his life less spartan, he treated him like a test subject. Stealing bath bombs along with their designated beautiful handmade wicker basket. Checking how much of his bullshit Kaveh would take.
He entered the kitchen and Alhaitham just stood there barely casting a glance at Kaveh, looking as stoic as ever, with a thick book in one hand, coffee cup in another, fitting tank top leaving little to the imagination.
The sight of Alhaitham’s perfectly sculpted body admittedly had distracted Kaveh for a second or two, causing him to lose his momentum. But it was hard, okay? As a gay man, he couldn’t possibly turn a blind eye to his roommate’s hotness. If only Alhaitham’s personality was more bearable, then he would be really attractive. Like really, really attractive. Attractive, smart, caring, handsome, and wise enough to fall Kaveh hopelessly in love with him.
But fortunately, Alhaitham was a cold-hearted asshole, which saved Kaveh from the horrible fate of harboring unrequited love for him. Most likely. He couldn’t deny that despite their animosity, Althaitham was dear to him and meant to him a bit more than a friend and there were some moments when he imagine what would happen if they got together.
Very stupid thoughts, Alhaitham is a terrible, heartless person, the left side of his brain yelled at him every single time.
But then again, Kaveh always favored the right hemisphere. Unfortunately, now it was making him want to lean in and bury his face in Alhaitham’s pectoral muscles.
“What now?” Alhaitham sighed, tossing him a cold sidelong glare.
Kaveh blinked and instantly remembered what he was angry about. His jaw tensed, and eyes glimmered as he confronted Alhaitham about stripping him of one of the most basic human rights. The right to quality hygiene.
“Where are my bubble bombs?” he asked. “Where did you hide them?”
Alhaitham rolled his eyes like the soulless creature with no empathy that he was. “Pay half of the water bills and I’ll give them back. Or you could try taking showers instead.”
“You monster!” Kaveh gawked. “You know bubble bath with wine is the sacred time for me! I need it for my mental health! And to maintain the creativity needed for my work!”
“It was proven that cold showers are better for increasing circulation and hence helping with all brain work, including your projects. So you should perhaps consider that. Or you can move out and you can take all the baths you want at your new place,” Alhaitham rolled his eyes. “Do you even have an idea how much the water bills increased since you’ve invaded my space?”
“That’s only because you’re a person who has no enjoyment in their life and takes short cold showers instead of long aromatic baths like a normal person with a large bathtub should!” Kaveh argued with exhilaration. “You lived here like an animal!”
“Well, at least animals can take care of themselves,” Alhaitham glared at him. “Any cat would do a better job at surviving on their own than you do. So maybe you should consider changing your lifestyle a bit to toughen up especially since you clearly can’t shoulder the expenses that come along with your long comfy baths.”
“I am perfectly fine on my own!” Kaveh argued very well knowing that he had given Alhaitham a lot of reasons to not believe him in the slightest. He needed an argument. A strong one. “Look! This week I didn’t once ask you to buy me food! See? I can do fine on my own!”
“I saw you scavenge for leftovers from my fridge every single day this week,” Alhaitham stated.
Kaveh bit his lip. That hurt. Somehow, Alhaitham always knew where to hit so it would trigger Kaveh’s insecurities. But that only enraged him more.
“I cook for you all the time!”
“Funny how you consider ordering takeout and buying groceries on my credit card ‘cooking’” Alhaitham mocked him even using finger quotes to ridicule Kaveh more.
“At least admit that you eat much better since I moved in,” Kaveh scoffed.
At this point, Alhaiham hesitated. Kaveh was almost happy for a moment knowing that he finally found something Alhaitham should feel grateful for. But of course, even now, Alhatham had to go and ruin it.
“I admit my meals are more diverse and better since you’re around. And you arrange our meals well when you remember about it. But still, I pay for the groceries. And if you are going to pay for the food, at least pay for your baths. Or electricity, the bill also went up thanks to you since you’re spending nights working on your project instead of sleeping.”
“You know I can’t!” Kaveh groaned. “And I know I owe you rent too but I’m not done yet with the project, give me two more weeks,” he avoided Alhaitham’s eyes when he said that.
“Then shower until then. And when you’re done with the project, have a celebratory bath, I allow it and provide you with the chosen bath bomb from your basket,” Alahaitham offered magnanimously. His tone made Kaveh’s blood boil.
“If you’re not giving me my bath bombs, I’m going to dump all your shower gel there, you asshole. I already have water in my tub, I need my bath!”
“You said my shower gel is basic. Are you really going to lower your standards so much?” Alhaitham looked at him with doubt in his eyes.
“I will if you make me!” Kaveh scoffed.
“If you can sacrifice your standards so much that you’d use my shower gel, then just start taking showers instead,” Alhaitham stated harshly. “Or. Pay. The. Water. Bill.”
“Give me back my bombs,” Kaveh asked for the last time.
“No.”
“Fine. Then say goodbye to your shower gel.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Alhaitham glared at him with a nasty scowl.
“Watch me,” Kaveh drawled out.
He turned around and exited the room without looking back. Cursing Alhaitham under his breath, he stepped into the bathroom, stripped down from his bathrobe and placed it on the chair. Then, he grabbed the shower gel Alhaitham used, twitching his nose with disgust. It smelled like cheap shower gel for men. 20 in 1 but actually, no quality at all. It would ruin his bath for sure, was it worth it? What if the smell lingered on his skin and people noticed?
Just as he was about to squirt the bottle out into the tub, the door shot wide open. Kaveh’s eyes jolted in the direction of the movement just in time to see Alhaitham throw a large pink bath bomb in the direction of the tub. In a blink, the water splashed everywhere and the pleasant shimmering of the dissolving bath bomb filled Kaveh’s ears.
But he wasn’t looking at the tub, he was looking at his roommate and his roommate was looking back at him. Well, not at his face, he was looking at Kaveh’s body with odd tension on his face.
Kaveh couldn’t deny that this attention flattered him, to a degree that his heart started thumping louder in his chest. Before Alhaitham could notice what he was doing to him, Kaveh cleared his throat and said. “What? Are you waiting for the invitation to join me to save water?”
Alhaitham finally looked away, a very faint, barely noticeable blush embellishing his cheeks. “Don’t drown in that bathtub, you idiot,” he said and walked out of the room closing the door behind him with a bang.
Kaveh blinked and looked around the bathroom, at himself dripping in water, at the soft bubbles forming in the bathtub. Briefly, he wondered if he should just ask Alhaitham if he could pay the bills through other means. Maybe then, Alhaitham would be less frustrated and more bearable.
Also, there was the fact, that this would mean finally getting to ravage Alhaitham and see if would keep that damned poker face in bed because that was something Kaveh spent far too much time thinking about already.
He would feel guilty about it if not for the fact that Alhaitham stared at him a moment ago.
He was ogling him for fuck’s sake. He was pretty much asking Kaveh to think about undressing him.
With a sigh, he entered his bath and poured himself a glass of wine.
It didn’t matter. His bath time was too precious to waste on thinking about what Alhaitham wanted or did not. It didn’t matter anyway, he was a heartless bastard after all. He was not worth it, he tried to convince himself but still, he could feel his heart loudly thumping in his chest.
No falling in love with Alhaitham, he reminded himself. It would be pointless, utterly pointless, maybe sex would be good but that would be it, after all, Alhaitham never would love him back.
He cringed thinking that maybe moving in with Alhaitham all those months ago wasn’t such a smart decision after all. Stupid horniness clouded his judgment and keeping his feelings in check was getting harder and harder.
And as if fighting it wasn’t hard enough already, the bastard had to go out of his way to ogle him.
Maybe later he would vent to Tighnari or Cyno. Tighnari was a good listener and always gave him good advice.