Work Text:
The first time it happened, it was with Tighnari.
It was just a random day. Kaveh was going about his daily errands, just being a productive and functional adult, when he crossed paths with Tighnari. Life had kept them busy, so it had been a while since they had last met up. Because of this, they decided to complete this little stretch of errands together. Nothing wrong with that—Kaveh was even looking forward to it a little. Last time they did actually get together, it was a dinner joined by Cyno and Alhaitham. It was nice to not have a conversation derailed with a stupid joke or Alhaitham bringing his… Alhaitham-ness.
[Cyno: -5 affection]
[Alhaitham: -0 affection]
Kaveh stopped walking when Mehrak chirped up by side to read out… whatever it was his mechanical friend just said. Why just out of nowhere, why update him on this—and what’s the point of telling him he lost zero points!?
Actually, getting mad that he got an update that zero points were lost was the least of his worries, but he didn’t have the chance to do anything about it as Tighnari realized he stopped walking a few steps ahead. “Kaveh?” He asked, his ear twitching in his direction.
There was… no way Tighnari didn’t hear Mehrak. Maybe he was being nice and not mentioning it. Kaveh banked on that niceness as he caught up with him to continue their spur-of-the-moment get-together. “Sorry about that.” Kaveh said, not even sure where to start with his excuse. If he was going to spare him the embarrassment of not mentioning Mehrak’s words, then Kaveh was going to show his appreciation by not bringing up the topic himself.
It was nice, and Kaveh had a great time wandering around Sumeru City with Tighnari by his side. Mehrak didn’t chime in again with weird messages he still didn’t want to decrypt but knew he probably would have to anyway later. It was in the back of his mind at the start, but slowly, as he spent more time around Tighnari, he almost completely forgot about it. Maybe he was the one who heard wrong.
Tighnari had joined him on his final stop at Khalid’s souvenir shop. A client of his wanted to find some fancy antiques or whatever to match the aesthetic of his new building. Kaveh could appreciate the art and the beauty of cohesive decor in a well-built home, but this guy was something else. Kaveh even complained about it to Tighnari as he looked over Khalid’s stuff. Such a shame the client couldn’t be here with it—it would be so much easier if he decorated himself instead of dumping this task onto Kaveh too.
Kaveh probably bought this on himself, though. He always somehow managed to talk himself into doing more than he probably should just to make someone happy. The client talked so much about what he wanted and what artistic motif he craved that Kaveh felt a little hesitant even buying a small vase that could go in the front foyer. The delicate detailing along the tapered neck was a soft blue shade, the accent color of the client’s color palette. It should make him happy, right?
Khalid’s wares were truly beautiful, so Kaveh kept a smile on his face until he left the shop with Tighnari by his side. Then he frowned as he looked over the vase again. “Do you think this will work?” He asked, as if Tighnari had seen the client’s full plans—and as if Kaveh hadn’t asked the same question at least three times beforehand.
“Yes, Kaveh,” Tighnari’s voice was light, like it was all some sort of joke, “it will work, he will like it, you have an amazing creative eye for these sorts of things.”
“I-” Kaveh choked out, completely taken aback by such straightforward praise. Now he wished the vase was a little bigger so he could try to hide behind it, but that would be rather childish. Instead, he fidgeted with the vase in his hands and brushed his thumb against the horizontal ribbing at the bottom. “I just want to make my clients happy.”
“You will.” Tighnari said so confidently that Kaveh felt like he had no choice but to believe him. He turned until he was right in front of Kaveh and pulled something out of his pocket. “I bought this when you were on the other side of the shop. It reminded me of you.” Tighnari slipped his fingers inside the deep collar of Kaveh’s shirt and pinned something to the wide hem.
Kaveh tried to see what he was doing, but Tighnari’s hands were in the way. His knuckles occasionally brushed against his bare skin, but it was so faint and sudden that it had to be just an accident.
[Achievement Unlocked! The Gift of a New Beginning]
“What-”
“Do you like it?” Tighnari asked, a look in his eyes that made the simple question feel heavier than it was.
Kaveh blinked at him and then turned his head toward Mehrak. They were floating next to Tighnari and looking at the new gift as well. They said that right by Tighnari’s gigantic sonar disc ears… and he was completely ignoring it. Was this a new joke he wasn’t in on? When in the hell did Tighnari create an inside joke with Mehrak of all people?
Kaveh was too confused and took too long to answer. Tighnari awkwardly dropped his hands to his side—Kaveh didn’t even realize he was still being touched until his warm fingers were removed and he felt slightly below body temperature metal in its place. “Do you not like it?” Tighnari asked, sounding a little glum. His ears were even drooping a bit.
Finally, Kaveh looked down at his new gift. It was a little pin shaped like a lion. The ferocious face was the same as the one on his keys, but the mane was a little more fluffy to mimic that of fur instead of a gear. It was, overall, really cute—and really out of place in Khalid’s shop—how did he even pick up this sort of thing?
“No, no, I-” Kaveh quickly tried to recover, “It’s really cute. Thank you so much.”
[Tighnari: +10 affection]
[Alhaitham: -0 affection]
Okay, really, what was the point of that?
Still not getting the chance to question it, Tighnari perked up again. Behind him, Kaveh could even see him shake his tail in a lazy wag. He never did that to people besides maybe his master. Sure as hell never to Kaveh—what was actually going on?
“Good,” Tighnari said, his tail stilling again. “I have to leave now. I hope to see you later. Don’t lose my gift.” With a teasing wink, he left with a wave.
“Wh-Hey! I don’t lose things on purpose! And-!”
[First date: Success! Tighnari’s route: Viridescent Vigil progress: 5%. Keep it up! ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ]
“...What!?”
Afterwards, he tinkered with Mehrak to try and see if they were malfunctioning with some weird virus—he sure as hell didn’t know what else to call it. He tried asking about these weird affection scores, this achievement he got, and the progress percentage, but he couldn’t find anything. He thought he was successful until Alhaitham came into his room. Kaveh didn’t realize how long he was hiding away working.
“What’s wrong with Mehrak?” Alhaitham asked in mundane, small talk. Sometimes he was curious about his work, and sometimes he wasn’t. This time. Kaveh wished he wasn’t. How did he even start explaining this?
“I don’t know.” Kaveh admitted honestly. “They’re having problems communicating.” That was simple enough, right?
Apparently, since Alhaitham only hummed and put down a cup of coffee on one of the sparse open spots on his desk. The mug was well-loved and one of Kaveh’s favorites. The printed design on it had almost been washed off from use.
“Ah, thank you.” Kaveh happily pulled it closer and took a sip.
[Alhaitham: +50 affection]
And promptly choked on it.
[Alhaitham: -0 affection]
Kaveh covered his mouth to prevent coffee from sputtering all over Mehrak’s innards. They had just come online again; no point in fucking things up more with spit and coffee. That was the least of his worries, though, as they said that right next to Alhaitham. With his hand still over his mouth, he quickly looked over at Alhaitham to gauge his reaction. He knew he wouldn’t be nice and ignore it, not when it was said so loudly in the quiet lull of Kaveh trying to enjoy some coffee.
Alhaitham just looked at him, waited, blinked, and raised his brow. “It’s hot.”
Because Kaveh was expecting the conversation to be on Mehrak’s weird behavior, he somehow thought Alhaitham was talking about them mentioning the affection level was hot. Right after he had that thought, Kaveh realized that made no fucking sense and he was instead talking about the coffee. “Yes! Right, coffee’s hot. Awfully hot coffee pot, haha.” He rambled nonsense because maybe talking more would push the weird affection updates behind him.
But it wasn’t that easy because he had more questions. Why was he still getting updates about losing so few points, and why did he suddenly gain so many? At least he knew now that Alhaitham’s count could actually move. When Tighnari gifted him the pin, he got ten, but a cup of coffee gave him five times that amount? Why was he getting these updates to begin with? He had no idea where to start, but he knew he wanted to make it stop.
Alhaitham still looked at him like he was waiting for something else, but it didn’t come. Instead, his eyes flicked down to notice the pin that was still on his shirt. “When did you get that?” He gestured towards it.
Still trying to push Mehrak’s updates behind him, Kaveh latched onto the new topic. “Oh! Tighnari gave it to me.”
[Alhaitham: -50 affection]
That took the wind out of his sails. Well, back to zero…
“He… said it… reminded him of me.” Kaveh finished the sentence with a listless air, mind distracted.
[Alhaitham: -100 affection… (︶︹︶)]
Don’t you try to cutesy emote at me. Also, how are you saying that? Kaveh glared at Mehrak, but their green face looked the same as ever without that slightly disappointed look. Not knowing what else to do, Kaveh removed the pin and held it out in front of himself to look it over again. It did sort of look like him, if he were to be generous. “See it?” He asked, placing it by his face as he looked up at Alhaitham.
“Hmm.” Alhaitham said, slightly glaring in a way so subtle only those used to his minor facial changes could notice it. Was he trying to be nice at first and ignore it too, but the last comment pushed him over the edge? Kaveh didn’t know. “Don’t stay up too late.” He said instead of mentioning the toolbox-shaped elephant in the room.
“I won’t, I promise.” He would try not to, but obviously Mehrak was still malfunctioning, so that meant he had to start all over again. He thought that was the end of it, but Alhaitham still hovered around him. Finally, he sighed and looked back up at Alhaitham. “I’ll go to bed at a reasonable time, and if not, you can drag me away from my desk.”
[Alhaitham: +200 affection! Great work!]
The corner of Alhaitham’s mouth twitched in a small smile. “Good, I’ll keep you to that.” Satisfied, Alhaitham finally let him be and left Kaveh to be more confused than ever. He dove right back into his work, but he felt like he was constantly coming to a dead end. Nothing was wrong with Mehrak, and even when he quietly pressed them about these weird affection points, they just mechanically chirped at him. Even though he felt like there was still much to do, he didn’t go back on his promise and stopped working when it was getting late.
He wasn’t rewarded or deducted anything for his actions, but it made him wonder if he would’ve if he waited for Alhaitham to retrieve him. In the end, he felt he made the best decision—both for his heart, mind, and well-being.
Some odd days later, he lost the pin. He didn’t try to, but it probably got swept away in the mess of trying to fix Mehrak. He didn’t get another affection notification, so he reasoned that either he fixed the problem or Tighnari wasn’t upset. He wasn’t aware that it was hidden away in Alhaitham’s room.
~!~
The second time it happened, it was with Cyno.
A client was acting shady and constantly postponing payments. Kaveh was a sympathetic man, sometimes to his own detriment, so he accepted each excuse—even the pitiful ones—based on the promise that she would totally pay him when she had the chance. Trust her, for real this time.
Four more next time, I promise for real this time later, and he was getting a little agitated. It wasn’t his plan, but he somehow found evidence that she was the head of a money laundering scheme. One thing led to another, and Cyno got involved to handle the rest of it. It was just his luck as a simple architect to stumble across this gigantic scam, but at least, in some way, he wasn’t the real victim of it. Still, he ended up being involved with wrapping up the loose ends with his own evidence, and that lasted all day. By the end of the day, he was exhausted.
“Thank you for your help, Kaveh.” Cyno said in all honesty when their work was done.
Kaveh waved his hand in the air, a lazy motion that it wasn’t that big of a deal. “It’s the least I could do. I wouldn’t want to sit around and do nothing, knowing she might hurt other people.” And Kaveh got paid for the work he did do, too, which was a nice little bonus. Cyno did try to offer him more as a reward for his hard work, but Kaveh had to politely decline. That money could go towards a victim who needed it more.
“You have good morals.” Cyno praised, his voice still deep and in work mode, but his eyes were kind and his smile was soft.
“Well-” Kaveh started, feeling a little embarrassed by his friends suddenly praising him again. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s the right thing to do, you know?”
Cyno agreed with a thoughtful hum before changing the subject. “Since you didn’t want the reward, how about I treat you to dinner instead?”
Kaveh had planned to hem and haw a bit to act modest before agreeing, but he wasn’t given the chance. Since that first day with Tighnari, Mehrak hadn’t talked more about affection points and achievements, but they finally decided to pull a silly prank again. They floated right between Kaveh and Cyno, their green face pulled into a happy smile as they protected the prompt:
[Accept Date? Yes or No]
It was just… right there… out in the open… for everyone to see…
But Cyno kept his expectant gaze right on him. Kaveh looked at him, down at the options, and back to Cyno. He didn’t have time to question why everyone was being so nice and ignoring Mehrak because he wanted to do everything he could to stop making them project such nonsense.
“Mehrak… don’t… don’t do that.” He tried to softly whisper to them, but he was sure Cyno heard that as his shoulders slightly lowered.
[Reject Date. Are you sure? Yes or No]
“No! Just-!” Kaveh immediately stopped trying to keep his voice down at the next prompt. He didn’t want to turn Cyno down! He just didn’t want to call it a date! At a loss since the yes was glowing as if he was about to confirm that, he spoke up again. “Yes! Let’s get dinner!”
[Date Accepted. Cyno: +10 affection]
[Alhaitham: -0 affection]
Let’s ignore that!
That was exactly what Kaveh did as he joined Cyno to the Puspa Cafe. The cafe was busy this time of night, leading Kaveh and Cyno to find a rather secluded booth on the second floor. Kaveh didn’t mind—it meant that if Mehrak acted up again, not too many people would hopefully hear it. His friends all silently agreed to ignore it—somehow—but Kaveh wasn’t sure if strangers would do the same.
At the start, Kaveh was on edge, waiting for Mehrak to act up again and waiting for the other shoe to drop for a stranger to ask what was going on. He remained that way even after they ordered and Cyno noticed.
Underneath the table, Cyno nudged his ankle with his foot. “Relax a little.” He teased, his smile growing.
[Achievement Unlocked! A Nudge in the Right Direction]
“What-”
Once again, Kaveh didn’t get the chance to question what that sequence of events was about when their meal magically appeared right in front of them. The waitress didn’t hear his achievement, and the couple a few booths down didn’t hear it—apparently it was a city-wide agreement to not mention how Mehrak was running an Adventures’ Guild equivalent with Kaveh the only member. Cool. Great. Awesome.
Kaveh ate his meal to not waste food, but now he had to live with the realization that this apparently was a date and Cyno was the type of man who liked to play footsies. Wonderful. Amazing. He totally wanted to know that.
Between bites of food, there was small talk. Only once did Cyno nudge him again with his toe, but he said it was an accident and apologized. Since it happened when Kaveh was lost in his head again, he wasn’t sure if it actually was. Either way, the affection score didn’t move. Kaveh let Cyno control the pace of the conversation, which mostly ended up being TCG. Kaveh was too much of a casual player to simply join in when the conversation allowed as Cyno went on about the new meta.
With the meal done and the cafe going through the passive aggressive motions of reminding the lingering patrons that they were closing soon, Cyno and Kaveh left. They walked outside before stopping right at the edge of the outdoor seating area. Finally, it was time to part ways. Mehrak had remained silent since the achievement. If this was the same scenario as with Tighnari, he was waiting for the next popup.
“Next time, bring your cards. I can teach you how to unlock the true potential of your deck.” Cyno promised, a determined look in his eyes.
“Oh, sure, that sounds great.” He was pretty sure his deck still consisted of the generic starter pack, wherever it was in his room. Great, he would have to find it now, didn’t he? Yes, he would for their totally-friendly-not-a-date-get-together that was just a get-together and not a-
[First date: Success! Cyno’s route: Twilight Arbiter progress: 5%. Keep it up! ヽ(>∀<☆)ノ ]
Date.
Kaveh waved Cyno off after that and turned towards his home to start the defeated walk back. Despite Mehrak’s annoying pestering, it was actually a nice little dinner. “What is wrong with you?” He asked his supposedly helpful toolbox in a harsh whisper. “When could you say actual words?” He was pretty sure he programmed that in at some point, but it always seemed like Mehrak preferred to just boop and beep and Kaveh would get what they were trying to communicate. Like right, they booped to show that they were pleased with themselves.
With another long sigh, Kaveh found his key and unlocked the front door to push it open. Stepping inside, he found Alhaitham on the couch reading a book with a plate in front of him. The food on it was mostly eaten, showing that he was almost done with his meal. Kaveh blinked into alertness—normally, he tried to bring something back for Alhaitham when he went out to eat without him. Mehrak pulling their weird tricks completely distracted him, but maybe it was alright since he already cooked for himself.
Alhaitham flicked his eyes over towards him before going back to his book. “There’s a plate for you in the kitchen.”
“You made me a plate?” Kaveh asked as if Alhaitham didn’t literally just say that. Very rarely did Alhaitham handle the cooking. His recipes were rather… interesting. It was just easier for Kaveh to handle it. If Alhaitham didn’t like something, he would be quiet. If he did like something, he would hum his appreciation before eating. Only once did Kaveh make something he didn’t eat, and that was at the beginning of this little agreement. He made a meal that had a texture Alhaitham couldn’t stand—he picked at it like a toddler and ate what he could tolerate. In some way, it was a little cute.
[Alhaitham: +50 affection]
“Mhmm.” He flipped to the next page. “It should still be hot.”
Again, the giant point value in comparison… but Kaveh pushed that aside for now. “Sorry, I just got back from dinner, actually. It’ll still be good tomorrow, right?”
Immediately, Alhaitham closed the book without marking the page. He looked over Kaveh more thoroughly now, probably noticing that he came back empty-handed. “With who?”
Why did he sound a little angry? “Cyno?”
[Alhaitham: -250 affection…(￢ ￢)]
That might be why…
“Uh!” Kaveh quickly said as he reached out to hold Mehrak close to his chest. “Mehrak is still malfunctioning a bit, so I’ll be busy with them again.”
[Alhaitham: -10 affection…]
“I don’t know how long I’ll be-”
[Alhaitham: -20 affection…]
He was mentally begging, crying, and on his knees to make Mehrak stop. “But if I’m hungry later, I’ll eat it!”
[Alhaitham: -0 affection]
He didn’t know what was happening; he just knew it was triggering his primal need to fix and to make other people happy. “And if I’m staying up too late again, you can come get me! I’ll eat, sleep, whatever, just—just I have to fix this, and I know what you say about not being able to do these things when I’m sleep deprived!” Anymore desperate, he might add on praise to look at him actually listening to Alhaitham’s constant pestering masquerading as helpful advice.
[Alhaitham: +300 affection!!! Congratulations!]
Kaveh let out a sigh of relief. Yay, how peachy; the score was even again. It didn’t take long for him to realize his math was a little off and, if he was calculating right, he was now in the positives. “Wait-”
Alhaitham didn’t wait as he placed his book down and subtly smiled. He looked out towards the window to see the dark sky. “I was starting to wonder if my advice was falling on deaf ears. Work while you can, but it is late.”
Kaveh waited for another notification to pop up, but it didn’t come after a few moments. “O-Okay… yeah, sounds good.” His meal with Cyno was large, so he doubted he would be hungry again in a few hours. “I’ll eat what you made later. Uh, goodnight, Alhaitham.” He wasn’t sure what he was saying, just that he wanted to get it out there so he could try fixing Mehrak again.
[Alhaitham: +30 affection]
“Goodnight, Kaveh.”
Apparently that was the right thing.
Later on, Alhaitham did drag him away to eat the food he made. Kaveh diligently sat at the table and wasn’t bothered at all when Alhaitham simply stared at him. Afterwards, Alhaitham took the dishes from him and gently nudged Kaveh off to rest. Kaveh was too busy waiting for a popup to happen again to fight the coddling, but it never came. Maybe now he actually, finally fixed the problem.
~!~
The third time it happened, Kaveh had reached his limit because it was with Hat Guy. Fucking Hat Guy.
After the Interdarshan Championship, Kaveh had seen him every now and then fluttering around Sumeru City. With such a striking silhouette, it was hard to miss him, but Kaveh never went out his way to seek him out. He thought about it once, when he checked out a book from the library Kaveh was interested in, but he figured it could wait. He wasn’t in a rush.
Kaveh could admit, on a base level, he was a little curious about him. Surely he had an actual name instead of Hat Guy, but he looked like he kept everyone at arm's length to prevent them from figuring it out. Out of everyone, he figured Aether was the closest to know it, but last he heard he was off doing what he did best in Natlan.
But that was where his curiosity ended. Maybe underneath his harsh exterior, he was a nice guy, but Kaveh wasn’t going to force a friendship on him. He was perfectly content in his lane as Hat Guy remained in his own.
One day, he was about to enter the Akademiya when a cat meowed at him. Of course he looked down to see what the cat wanted and was greeted by an orange tabby staring right up at him. Kaveh smiled at the cat, reached down to let it sniff his hand, and scratched its head when it didn’t reject his pets. Kaveh thought that would be it and his day would be a little brighter because he got to pet a cat, but the cat had other ideas. Right when he was about to walk into the Akademiya, the cat walked between his legs as if to herd him elsewhere.
Kaveh weighed his options and figured his library visit could wait a bit as he entertained the cute kitten. The cat kept meowing at him and looking back, and Kaveh knew that the cat wanted him to see something. He followed the cat along the curling trail, all the way to a hidden notch in the path. He heard a few more cats meowing, and Kaveh thought the cat was going to introduce him to his kitty family, but instead he saw a person.
There were cats, but all of them were paying attention to Hat Guy. Hat Guy looked bored, but he still paid each cat their needed attention. Five cats circled around him, with the cat Kaveh followed being the sixth. Hat Guy looked up at him and made a face. “If you tell anyone, you’re dead.”
What a strong opening. Kaveh might’ve told him off and turned right around, but instead Mehrak floated up from his side.
[Achievement Unlocked! The Purr-fect Place For A Secret Rendezvous]
…Wait…
Maybe Tighnari, Cyno, and Alhaitham were being nice and ignoring Mehrak’s weird behavior. Maybe strangers didn’t know Mehrak’s normal behavior and thought this update was a part of it. Maybe they thought it was none of their business to comment on it.
But Hat Guy… Hat Guy was different. He already threatened him like he was talking about the weather, so surely he would say something about Mehrak sprouting some achievement with a suggestive name and a silly pun. Kaveh managed to hide his smile because he was hoping that someone else would finally react to Mehrak to let him know he wasn’t going crazy.
It never came. Hat Guy never commented on Mehrak, and he never questioned why Kaveh was helplessly staring at him. Kaveh felt his shoulders slump in defeat. “Can I play with the cats?” He really needed to be smothered in fluffy fur and healed by licensed therapist, Dr. Mittens.
Hat Guy huffed at him. “What do you need my permission for? Do whatever the hell you want.”
In a petty sort of way, Kaveh wished he was that mean to Mehrak, but he quickly took that thought back because he was better than that. The cat he originally followed meowed at him again and batted their head against the back of his leg. Kaveh dragged his feet until he was sitting a few feet away from Hat Guy at a respectable distance. Hat Guy still glared at him as if he were too close, but Kaveh didn’t care anymore. His spot was open enough to lay down, and that was what he did. Who cares how it looked—him lying down next to a stranger surrounded by cats with his eyes closed—he sure didn’t.
Let the cats get him. Let the weird messages override his brain. He’ll just ignore it—he could do that, right? Other people didn’t hear them, so at least his friends weren’t thinking any less of him. If anything, it sounded like they were thinking more of him. He could feel a cat or two get curious and start walking over him, but Kaveh did nothing about it. They were small and light enough, and it was exactly what he wanted.
Kaveh hadn’t thought about dating ever since he moved in with Alhaitham.
[Alhaitham: +20 affection]
Awesome, thanks, anyway. He was too busy trying to take care of himself without being a burden to worry about bringing someone else into the picture. At the start, Kaveh felt barely human. If he didn’t have Alhaitham, he wasn’t sure where he would be mentally, much less financially. The rent he charged was more of a silent agreement that no matter what, Kaveh wouldn’t allow himself to freeload. Alhaitham didn’t even want to charge rent at first.
[Alhaitham: +20 affection]
Just what he needed. Perfect, thanks, anyway. Now that he thought about it, he really did owe a lot to Alhaitham. Even if it was in his own special way, he showed that he was right there to help him when he was in need. It was at a distance, but that was where Kaveh pushed him because he could only handle feeling so utterly worthless. Since he had that stable foundation, he was able to slowly build himself up again. Alhaitham even gave him budgeting advice, and he was better at not falling for scams. He didn’t lose much besides his time dealing with that lady from before… the one that led him to that date with Cyno, somehow.
[Alhaitham: -40 affection]
Why? Just why? Why was he getting these popups about Alhaitham? Sure, he was thinking about him right now, but it wasn’t like Alhaitham was around to know that. Was this some sort of subliminal messaging? Did Mehrak want to push him in that direction? He didn’t understand at all. At this point, he would prefer just being asked to date outright so he could say—
Kaveh didn’t know what he would say, but the thought was derailed as he felt a paw touch the space between his brows. He scrunched his face in confusion, but it was apparently already contorted that way when he was inside his head. He finally opened his eyes to see what it was, only to see Hat Guy looming over him with a cat in hand. Hat Guy was holding the cat’s paw, using that to gently poke his face. The cat meowed at him while Hat Guy was trying to glare, but it was ruined by the subtle blush on his cheeks.
“Your scowling is annoying the cats.” He huffed
[Achievement Unlocked! A-mew-sing Arrangement!]
“Oh, sorry,” Kaveh said, numb and listless. “I’ll just stare into the void instead.”
[...: affection +1]
Even his little popup wouldn’t tell him Hat Guy’s real name. Also, just one point? This guy sure was hard to please.
[If you want to learn Hat Guy’s real name, accept the courting quest!]
He was not that curious to know Hat Guy’s real name.
[...: affection +1]
Thank you, very cool.
Kaveh pushed himself to sit up. All he wanted was to relax, but now he just felt more exhausted. There were still things he needed to do, but now all he wanted was to go home and take a nap so he could have more energy to freak out on Mehrak again. “Thanks for letting me relax here.” Kaveh said, mostly because it felt right to.
Hat Guy huffed at him again, and Kaveh thought that was the end of that. He brushed some loose cat hair off his shirt and took a few steps away when Hat Guy spoke up again. “They’re always here. Come by whenever you want, preferably when I’m not around.”
Too tired to say anything, Kaveh offered a thumbs up and walked away.
[Achievement Unlocked! Bouken Da Bouken]
What.
[First Date: Success! … route: Reborn From Ashes progress: 1% Slow and steady wins the race! (o･ω･o)]
He would rather lose, actually. He felt like he did, in a way, because how the fuck was that actually a date? If Kaveh looked at his interaction with Tighnari and Cyno from an omnipresent point of view, he could see it, but this? Actually, he didn’t care anymore. Mehrak floated by his side as he made his way back home, occasionally boop ing at him. If they were trying to say something, he ignored it. When he made it, he pulled his key out and let himself in. It was quiet, but that was expected as Alhaitham was busy at the moment. He should be busy too, but here he was.
The couch looked so comfortable. The floor even looked comfortable. Hell, Alhaitham’s bed that he passed on the way to his room looked absolutely divine. Alhaitham always shut the door when he was out, though, so why was it opened now?
[Alhaitham: +400 affection! Congrats! Congrats! Congrats!]
He had to get rid of this. He had to put an end to this. He couldn’t live with these updates and with this knowledge. Maybe that was dramatic, but he still hated it and wanted to be done with it. Just like he had the past few unwanted dates, he threw himself into his work to see what the problem was. It was always Mehrak, so it couldn’t be the Akasha acting up. What was the problem, then?
Kaveh wasn’t sure how long he spent hunched over his desk, but he felt like he made little progress in anything. Every wire and bolt was perfectly clean and every gear was running smoothly. Nothing should be wrong with Mehrak. But those updates still came, small yet persistent, reminding him that he still had work to do.
[Alhaitham: +50 affection]
[Tighnari: +5 affection]
[Alhaitham: +25 affection]
[...: +1 affection]
[Cyno: +10 affection]
[Alhaitham: +30 affection]
[Alhaitham: +40 affection]
“What! What do you want!? Why are you giving me such aggravating updates!?” Kaveh asked. Mehrak could apparently speak now, so why weren’t they just saying it outright? If Mehrak wasn’t his—supposed—friend, he would’ve relied on the tried and true method of fixing a broken machine by giving it a good smack.
[Achievement Unlocked! Welcome, User!]
Finally, a screen popped up that actually had valuable information instead of affection updates and achievements. Kaveh blinked as he looked over it all and what anger he felt inside completely vanished. In the top corner, there was his profile. It shared his name, age, gender, and preference. Mehrak had this information on hand in the off chance they ever got separated and people knew who was their owner, but he sure didn’t add the preference: male bullet in there himself…
Following that was the bolded title: Aggravated by Love.
He sure felt that way.
Under that, there were profile pictures of Tighnari, Cyno, Alhaitham, and even Hat Guy represented as just ellipses. There were two meters by each name, along with labels about what they were. The blue one was labeled as a friendship meter and was maxed out on all of them minus Hat Guy, who was about halfway filled if he were to eyeball it generously.
The one next to that was pink and labeled affection. Everyone was at different levels. Unsurprisingly, Hat Guy was the lowest at just a visible line of pink pixels, then Cyno and Tighnari were more or less tied at around three-fourths of the bar. Alhaitham’s though…
“What is all this?” He asked, reaching out his hand to touch the screen but stopping before making contact.
[Welcome to Aggravated by Love! The goal of this game is to help the user find love!]
Well, he couldn’t argue with that logic, he supposed, but there was still a problem. “I’m not trying to find a relationship at the moment. Besides, wouldn’t it be more romantic to just,” Kaveh awkwardly gestured with his hands, “fall into one on my own?”
[I tried to let you, but you kept fumbling the bag. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ]
“...You didn’t need to say that...”
[So now I’m helping you out with handy love mechanics and motivational achievements! Your actions and choices will be represented here on this home screen. Once you complete your quest, I will go back to normal. Good luck! (⌒▽⌒)☆]
Kaveh dragged his hands down his face. There was a lot to unravel from that info dump, and there was so much he still had questions about. He knew exactly which one to start with, though. “Okay, so I guess to win, I have to… love someone?”
[More or less.]
Sure, great. “And… stay in love?” The question sounded stilted coming out of his mouth, but if he was going to have to force someone to share a happily ever after with, he would rather suffer in silence. He could probably live with this.
[I cannot control that.]
Kaveh felt a little better that he wasn’t going to remove someone's free will. He still wasn’t sure about the whole thing, much less if anyone deserved love like this—him included—but maybe if he just went on one or two actual dates, then he could be okay. Once again, Kaveh looked over his affection scores. Hat Guy’s was so low that it felt pointless, wasting the time and effort. Cyno and Tighnari were a toss up, so it really depended on his mood and personal attraction, but then, still, there was Alhaitham’s.
His affection meter was broken. The pink pixels extended past the usual bar and stopped right underneath the stupid update’s stupid title. That should make it an easy choice on who to pick for this game, but Kaveh felt even more hesitant. If things didn’t work out for one reason or another, wouldn’t that make it more awkward between them? Kaveh could admit he was comfortable now. They knew how to work and live around each other; a failed romance would ruin that again. Not only that, depending on what happened, he might have to move out. Unless something wasn’t undeniably Kaveh’s fault, he doubted that Alhaitham would kick him out, but Kaveh wasn’t sure if he could live in such an uncomfortable environment.
[Choose your path: Alhaitham. Cyno. Tighnari. …]
The popup stared right at him with four options. He thought he had more time to think about this, but he wasn’t given the chance to figure out how to get rid of it to give him more time when he heard the front door open and close. Alhaitham was home. “Kaveh?”
And knew he was home, too.
Even though Kaveh had more or less figured out that other people couldn’t see the screens, he panicked. He didn’t want Alhaitham to see all this and see that he was still trying to fix Mehrak. Now that he knew what the problem was, he lost the ability to be clueless because he was a terrible liar. Kaveh didn’t say a thing, but Alhaitham approached as if he returned the greeting.
Kaveh waved his hands in front of the screen to try and physically push it away. All he got was a cheerful confirmation noise.
[Path accepted.]
Not even a yes or no this time!?
Alhaitham stood in front of his open door, looking at him in that same neural way he always did. “What are you doing?”
Kaveh looked up at Alhaitham from his work desk, seeing him around the notification that told him his fate. He felt himself go cold, wondering just how, out of everything—out of everyone —he ended up like this. “I have a date with Hat Guy!?”
[...: affection +2]
His name was the smallest! How the hell did he manage to accidentally pick it!?
He yelled out the question both in shock, and to ask Mehrak how that was even possible, but nothing came. The screen vanished, and he was left with Alhaitham glaring down at him. It wasn’t like he was the one who had to pretend to date someone who hates everyone for a bit. What was he so upset about? The bag he was holding in his hand fell to the floor with a heavy thump.
“Don’t show up.” Alhaitham demanded. “Ignore him. Forget him.”
“I-” Kaveh shouted that out, but he was still confused by how it all worked. If no one was aware of these screens and mechanics, Kaveh doubted he was aware that he suddenly decided to pursue him. He wasn’t sure where he was planning to go with the sentence as Alhaitham stepped forward and grabbed his hand.
“Why are you so interested in others anyway?” Alhaitham tugged his hand, and Kaveh found himself stumbling to his feet.
The need to defend and explain himself was strong. “I’m not-”
Alhaitham interrupted him by pulling him close. He wrapped his other arm around his waist, tugging him to his chest. “If you have so much love to give all of a sudden, why aren’t you showing any to me?”
Kaveh found himself being manipulated like a doll. He didn’t fight Alhaitham pulling him into a crushing hug, and he didn’t fight Alhaitham’s almost shaking grip on his wrist. All he did was gape at him, his eyes wide as he tried to process this drastic change of demeanor.
[Alhaitham: +5 affection]
Maybe it wasn’t a change. Maybe it was just hidden away until now. In some twisted way, he was used to the extreme point changes with Alhaitham. The five felt so pitiful in comparison. Alhaitham only slightly loosened his hold to be more comfortable before dropping his head to rest on Kaveh’s shoulder. “Why won’t you pick me?”
He had all these reasons why he shouldn’t, but Kaveh couldn’t get his voice to work saying anything. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, but maybe he was going about it the wrong way. Even when he was with others, Alhaitham was lingering in the back of his mind. Was it because he was thinking about him so much, or was it the other way around?
Was this the bag he, as so gracefully worded, constantly fumbled?
[( ˘⌣˘)♡(˘⌣˘ )]
Kaveh huffed a pitiful laugh. Alhaitham held him tighter.
“Okay.” Kaveh said, resolved. “Okay. I'll pick you.”
[Path Change: Success! Alhaitham’s route: Caution In Confidence progress: 95% Was that so hard? >ᴗ•) ]