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Left hand fiddling with the pins in his hair, right pushing the sludge on his lunch tray with a fork, Kaveh was way beyond zoned out. His mind wasn’t quite running circles around him, it was more of a dreamy waltz captivating all of his attention. A slow dance, hand in hand with a familiar classmate, peer, junior, and roommate. It had been weeks now since their thesis dissolved in something akin to an explosion. Kaveh was to graduate the following week, but he’d always imagined his final days in the Akademiya with a certain gray-haired someone. Kaveh hated him. Maybe. Sort of. He thinks so anyways. He hated those stupid teal orange eyes, his unkempt hair under his cap, the way his eyes lit up instead of laughing at jokes, the way he slid his hands into his sleeves when the study rooms got cold at night. He totally hated him. That’s why he’s always on Kaveh’s mind. Alhaitham .
Left hand running across the seams of his uniform robe, right tracing the pages of an open textbook, Alhaitham couldn’t get anything done. Exams were coming to a close, just one more that afternoon before the eldest class graduated the following week. Before Kaveh graduated the following week. Kaveh . Since the implosion of their thesis things had been worse than ever. Sure they fought, sure it was usually Alhaitham’s fault, but he didn’t expect it to go like this . But now Kaveh is leaving the Akademiya, graduating next week, and he’s left to study alone in the House of Daena, which was presently going exceedingly poorly. He’d never told Kaveh what he thought. Instead of saying how he adored Kaveh, he irreparably damaged their thesis and somehow their relationship. He loved him.
Kaveh was worried he’d ruined it all. That he’d lost his love- no. Roommate.
Alhaitham was worried he’d ruined it all. That he’d lost his roommate- no. Love.
Kaveh always found Alhaitham to be far too avoidant. Far too reserved. Maybe that’s what he liked about his junior. Determined and getting the job done every time, but without any flair. Had it been him, he’d never shut up about his intellect and accomplishments. The silver haired boy, two years below him, was clearly a prodigy. That’s before you even get into his looks. Kaveh always found him to be handsome , sure, but the girls always fawned over Alhaitham. Kaveh just thought he was too dense for his own good, severely lacking in emotional intellect. He’d never admit his feelings for his roommate to himself.
Alhaitham more than admired his senior, even though he frustrated him endlessly. Kaveh was kinder, smarter, more creative, and more outgoing than Alhaitham could ever be. He was never good with words himself, it was why he became a Haravatat scholar and worked his way to the top, to compensate. Despite having millions of words at his disposal it was never enough to reach Kaveh. Kaveh was somehow lightyears more eloquent than Alhaitham and he was an engineer for Archons’ sake. He was jealous and infatuated with Kaveh.
Before everything between them soured like old milk, a common occurrence in their shared kitchen as their studies often kept them from their chores, Kaveh and Alhaitham did everything together. Coffee in the morning. Late night studying. Stargazing when the weather permitted. When forced indoors they often turned to evenings inside with card games. Kaveh always wins at blackjack, Alhaitham always wins at bridge. Lunch in academic buildings, going back and forth on who paid that day because it was guaranteed they’d both still be there tomorrow. Alhaitham still owes Kaveh a couple hundred Mora, actually. Kaveh just owed Alhaitham another game of cards.
Their relationship thrived between mundane tasks, washing out dirty dishes and sweeping the hardwood of the dormitory. Feelings laid in the flyleaves of textbooks and between the plates stacked in the cabinets. Everything unsaid blossomed in the cracks of the study tables in the House of Daena and in treetops where they hid to watch the skies. Everything was unspoken but they still understood the intricacies of the other’s routine through observation alone. They knew what the other needed and when. At 2AM when the words on pages blurred with sleep, or at 5AM when sleep wasn’t an option out of fear. When busy markets were too loud, or when the dorm was too quiet. Alhaitham needs his headphones. Kaveh’s been working too late. The bed is too cold alone. They held hands to not get lost in crowds at festivals. Cups of tea to calm down after a hard day. Cups of coffee to wake up after a hard night. They both had minds that ran on far too long off of only a seed of anxious thought, but they each had the other who understood and lightened the load.
One constant between them was always stargazing. Dozens if not hundreds of nights were spent shoulder to shoulder away from the tree cover, examining the shapes of the constellations in the sky. Textbooks were borrowed on the subject from the library, letters written to the famous astrologer of Mondstadt, and rainy evenings were spent poring over star charts instead of the real things. The constellations over Teyvat were Kaveh’s favorite things, inspiring much of his work and occupying much of his mind between equations or theorems. Alhaitham liked them because Kaveh liked them, mastering their shapes and elements and stories just to please the blonde. Over time they represented much more between themselves and became of great comfort to them both, particularly Kaveh. Tracing the patterns between the stars into each other's skin as a way to ground an overthinking friend. Actual feelings for one another were never shared out loud, only the constellations, and that was often enough.
That evening Kaveh didn’t feel any better. Sprawled out on a tree branch, a favorite of his, with a space beside him where his usual companion would lie. He just needed to breathe, counting stars in patterns only he truly understood, trying to slow his mind. Exams were over, but he didn’t feel any better. Meals stayed untouched. Hours spent up at night, thinking about where they’d gone wrong and how his life would never be the same again. Kaveh knew it was his own fault. So he laid in silence, counting away at the stars in the sky, hoping to whatever archon would listen that things would change. The Light of Kshahrewar never had it easy, and the added pressure of the title didn’t help. He laid under the stars waiting for his life to change, knowing things won’t in just one night, especially without Alhaitham. He just wanted him back.
That evening Alhaitham didn’t feel any better. Back in the House of Daena he sat, waiting for his usual prompt to go home, Kaveh. He was always the one to get Alhaitham out of his studies, usually to go out and sit in some gnarled old tree they liked. It felt like he was planted to his seat, growing right through it, unable to stand, leave, think, or breathe. He’d never felt so useless. He missed the soft looks of red eyes from across the table when Kaveh could sense he was in his head again, just like now. When things got bad, Alhaitham would take Kaveh’s hand, gently under the table, and the blonde would softly run his thumb over Alhaitham’s knuckles. Despite always being so outgoing, Kaveh was always soft for him. Until he made him angry. Archons, it felt like he couldn’t breathe. He just needed to breathe, ideally with the help of a friendly Kshahrewar student. He just wanted him back.
It was too much, sitting in the tree. Kaveh thought maybe the House of Daena would feel better.
It was too much, sitting in the House of Daena. Alhaitham thought maybe the tree would feel better.
Kaveh wasn’t even looking, preoccupied with adjusting his top. He’d begun to grow out of it, but couldn’t spare the expense if he was just about to graduate.
Alhaitham wasn’t even looking, preoccupied with a loose panel on his earpieces. With a light press it snapped back into place and he placed the apparatus back on his fluffed hair.
Nobody was looking until they met at the doorway by mistake, Alhaitham pulling the door open, Kaveh pushing from the outside, losing their balances and tumbling into each other. Kaveh practically shoved Alhaitham into the floor, but the taller, and stronger, held his ground to guide them both upright once more.
Red eyes grew wider, teal followed shortly after, each met with the blushing of the other’s cheeks and nose. Despite the cool breeze coming through the doorway, it felt like the space was broiling. They both radiated a mixture of discomfort and heat.
“Oh uhm, excuse me. Sorry,” Alhaitham choked out gruffly, moving to walk back through the doorway and outside. Always so nonchalant, often to a fault.
That was until a hand grabbed at his wrist, pulling him back. “No! I mean, no, you don’t have to- I mean- Archons, I’m sorry,” the blonde spluttered, hand locking over his juniors wrist. He felt frantic. He looked it too.
Alhaitham softened, eyes moving from pure panic to more concern. Pulling his wrist away slowly, so as to not hurt the blonde. He looked his senior over top to bottom, no injuries, no apparent illness, he seemed unharmed. If he was perfectly safe, why did he even want to speak to Alhaitham at all? Why was Kaveh in such distress?
Kaveh’s now empty hand felt cool and tingly now that the boy's wrist was no longer trapped in it. What had he done?
He wanted to scream. To kick, to fight, to run. It’s all his fault. Everything is. Always. He needed to get away from Alhaitham before he made it worse.
Panic still writhed in Alhaitham’s ribcage, coiling like vines around a tower. Why was Kaveh so upset? What had he done?
He wanted to scream. To hold Kaveh’s face in his hands, to stroke his soft golden hair, to protect him, to keep him, to fix it all. He didn’t understand what was wrong.
Kaveh felt trapped, stuck, pinned to the floor by his own mistake of grabbing Alhaitham’s arm.
Alhaitham felt trapped, stuck, pinned to the floor by his own mistake of destroying Kaveh’s trust in him.
Kaveh’s eyes welled with tears, lips wobbling, and hands trembling. He didn’t understand why he felt so scared when this is the one person who made him feel at home.
In a moment of weakness, or fondness, Alhaitham hurriedly gathered the older boy into his arms and pulled him back outside. Leaning his back against the exterior wall, Alhaitham could feel his shirt front dampening slightly as Kaveh buried into his chest. He let the blonde cry, humming soft shushes while he traced the patterns of the constellations into Kaveh’s back.
And so Kaveh wept. For all he had lost, for all he might never find again, and for the boy who ruined him, that strangely held him as he cried. The boy he had begun to hate, who comforted him for reasons unknown.
Alhaitham wasn’t a stranger to Kaveh’s anxiety attacks, knowing how to handle them was a second nature. How to soothe, to comfort, to calm. It felt unfair that he was placated because he had him back, even though the circumstances were miserable, even though it was for just a moment. He hid a small smile in Kaveh’s hair.
Kaveh finally had what he wanted and he still couldn’t calm down. He couldn’t stop to stomach what he had done, where he was now, who was holding him, or what to do next. The tears wouldn’t stop but the fingers on his back were grounding and familiar. He smelled familiar. Like home.
In the past they’d spent many hours together, wrapped up in blankets with hands in the other’s hair completely tangled into each other’s arms. Sharing beds. Sharing bodies as pillows. Trading soft touches to quell worries that went too far. Their friendship was a long length of yarn that sometimes ended up in a messy heap. That was until the strand was cut.
Despite his extensive studies in linguistics, many languages and lexicons later, Alhaitham couldn’t find the right words. After what felt like a millennia he decided to just murmur “I’m sorry,” and that felt like enough.
It did not fall on deaf ears, denoted with a squeeze to the torso. “Let’s get you home,” he continued. Kaveh just clung harder. “I’ve got you, now let’s get back home. Deep breath for me.”
Kaveh listened, trying to fill his lungs just to cough and splutter. Heaving into the uniform of the gray haired boy until he could center himself enough to meet his face, Kaveh stood shaking. Alhaitham just waited patiently for him to come around.
“The stars are nice,” Kaveh mumbled, rubbing his face with his fist messily as he pulled back from his junior. He tried to play it off as if he was just mentioning the state of the night sky, like he wasn’t paying so much attention to Alhaitham’s touch.
“I never forgot you know.” He could never forget. If it was because of his knack for learning or his love for Kaveh was uncertain.
“Thank you.” He knew Alhaitham enough to realize that he’d never forget.
“I don’t expect this to change things.” It wasn’t an angry statement, merely a resigned one.
“I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.” Kaveh wasn’t angry, but he sighed as if he was. Just tired , Alhaitham supposed, but it left him more nervous than it should’ve.
Alhaitham looked down at his senior worriedly, he was never much taller, but Kaveh is closing the gap now, catching up to him as he finally gets enough to eat to grow properly. Both of their eyes were wide, four glassy marbles, damp with tears. Sniffling echoed in the dark.
“Can you walk me home?” It was weak leaving Kaveh’s throat. He may as well have taken a dagger to Alhaitham’s core.
The linguist didn’t speak a word, just slowly took the architect’s hand and led him back to the student accommodations.
They still were roommates. The great thesis debacle came too late in the term to make any official changes. Instead of moving, the energy just closed off the space. Never in the same room at the same time, never awake at the same hours. The common space was left untouched and dusty after the last few weeks.
The walk was tense, but not unwelcome. The air was cool and the sky was dark, only illuminated by the academic buildings they passed. They didn’t speak and their steps were swaying side to side, not quite in a straight line. Relaxed, tired, edging into delirium.
About halfway to the Akademiya dormitory, Kaveh was hazy from exhaustion after his bout of tears and stumbled over a loose stone in the path. He crashed into the cobbled road knees first, the heels of his hands following fast, leaving four small splotches of red in the street. It felt like slow-motion, terrifying but pathetic.
“Kaveh!” Alhaitham yelped, then immediately flushed a deep red realizing the fact that he let out such a foolish sound.
Still kneeling, Kaveh’s shoulders began to shake with a sob. Such a fragile creature in this state, Kaveh just wanted to go home. He just wanted to lay down and cry in peace. Instead he melted into the concrete stones, waiting to get run over.
Alhaitham leaned over to place a hand on the crying form’s shoulder and was met with a cry.
“No! No, no, no, just leave me here please.” All hope had drained from his voice, leaving him scratchy, ragged, and frantically hyperventilating.
Alhaitham winced, “What?”
“I said go,” Kaveh snarled, voice thick with tears once more. He was shaking almost violently.
“I don’t understand.” Alhaitham was teary again, bile rising up in the back of his throat.
“I’m fine. Screw off. Don’t play nice with me. I’m literally on my knees begging here, Haitham. Just go.”
“Oh. Okay,” the silvery boy conceded. Before continuing on the journey he removes his earpieces, noise cancelling for when the world gets to be too much. He placed them over Kaveh’s shaggy locks, turning them on, then ghosted his hand through blonde roots, and looked back up to keep walking.
The gesture totaled Kaveh, sinking into the ground into a puddle of blood and tears as he heard the other walk away. The earpieces were nice, dulling the ache of shoes clacking away on the hard stone. It didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered. He was graduating, sure, but it felt like a moot point by now without Alhaitham in his life. So he cried in the street, as it was late enough it may as well have been in complete privacy.
On the walk back to the dorm Alhaitham spilled over, tears leaking onto his pale face as he hurried back. Coughing and choking as he nearly broke into a run to just be away from everything. He didn’t want to be away from Kaveh, but that’s what Kaveh wanted, so he’d go as far as he can as fast as he can. What he wanted was to fix it. To fix everything for Kaveh. Even if he didn’t get to keep him, Alhaitham wanted him to be happy .
Gasping breaths entered Kaveh’s chest far too often and far too shallow to be good enough. Eventually the lightheadedness caught up to him and the tears ran dry. He just decided to sit, watching the sky through blurry vision, until he could go home and face Alhaitham again. His hands and knees were stinging, stains left on the knees of his robes.
Alhaitham watched out the windows impatiently as he gathered supplies to clean Kaveh’s wounds and boiled water for tea. His face felt hot and sticky but it didn’t matter now.
When Kaveh slowly cracked the door he was met with the smell of ginger, a bundle of supplies on the table, and his roommate closing his book while rising from the sofa.
“Kaveh…”
“Hey, Haitham…” He looked so tired, so sad, so innocent.
“Bedtime?” Alhaitham was so unbelievably worried.
Kaveh just nodded. They were no strangers to sharing beds, whether it was accidental after nights spent drinking, or on purpose during particularly loud storms, it was common in their younger years.
“Alright, you go ahead and change, I’ll be right there,” said Alhaitham fondly as he gathered things from the counter to bring over to the bedroom.
Kaveh almost whined at the thought. So kind, so familiar, and so very warm. Shuffling off he rubbed at his face again, wincing as the salty tears entered an open scrape on his palm.
Alhaitham watched wistfully as the other left the room.
Kaveh pulled on a loose, oversized pajama top, yawning as he went. A soft knock startled him, as he’d taken off the earpieces. A shock of silver hair peeked in the room, nudging the door open with occupied hands.
“Come, sit on the edge of the bed. I want to clean your scrapes- Please I mean-” His Haravatat studies fail him when flustered. After their fight, the awkwardness never ceased.
“It’s okay, forget ab-” Kaveh tried to move on, to push him away.
“Please sit,” a soft spoken command.
He obeys and eases onto the side of the bed, palms facing upwards awkwardly in his lap. Alhaitham kneels before him and takes a damp cloth to one knee with his right hand, the injured wincing under the touch. In an attempt to soothe Kaveh as he tended to the wounds, Alhaitham’s left hand moved to rest lightly on his thigh, moving up and down it reassuringly. After wiping both knees he moved to Kaveh’s palms. Slightly ticklish, he struggled to stay still, so Alhaitham’s left hand moved to his wrist, running the thumb over the joint as he worked. The moment was ever so tender, domestic almost. Almost like they had done this a million times before, or as if the touch didn’t light their skin on fire. Next came the antiseptic, which stung more than either had anticipated.
“Archons, Haiyi -” a reflex in a moment of weakness.
The nickname sent a red flush up the neck of the silver-headed boy, “Almost done Veh, promise.” He sped up to end the pain sooner. He hated seeing Kaveh in pain. Alhaitham had wanted to help, to touch him, to coddle him, but this was torturous.
“Please hurry up, I just wanted to get to bed.” With him. He just wanted to be in bed with him.
“It’s like you want an infection, Kaveh,” Alhaitham reprimanded.
“I already have you, what’s one more?” Internally he was cringing, was he allowed to poke fun again, or was it too soon?
Alhaitham couldn’t tell if that hurt or was cause for further fluster. He had him.
“All set. Drink your tea, it should be cool enough by now. I need to change and we can go to sleep, okay?” He packed the first aid supplies and prepared to leave the room. Kaveh just sighed. He didn’t want him to go, to walk out on him and never come back again.
Kaveh watched wistfully as the other left the room.
When Alhaitham returned, he found only a tuft of blonde peeking from the covers, the corresponding form huddled under the quilt. He turned off the lights, took a sip of the now cool tea, and climbed into the sheets with his roommate. Immediately, things felt awkward again as he sat against the wall, not wanting to breach the boundary and make contact with Kaveh.
They sat for several minutes like this. Alhaitham on the bed sitting upright, hands folded in his lap, with Kaveh coiled into a ball on his right hand side and his back to him. Kaveh looked so small, frail even. Alhaitham had always expected Kaveh would go out in an explosion like a dying star, not this softly. Not this delicately.
“Haitham?” It came out almost imperceptibly quiet.
“Yeah Veh?” A seldom used nickname these days.
“Can I-” Kaveh paused, shuddering a deep breath. “Can you just hold me?” He’d wanted to stand his ground, to keep hating Alhaitham, but he was so tired and so scared.
“If that’s what you want, I can go instead if you want,” Alhaitham replied, not uncomfortable, just afraid to make Kaveh feel that way. Afraid he was projecting his desires onto someone in such a weakened state.
“No… Please stay,” Kaveh murmured, turning to face his junior. He draped his arm over the other’s lap, like a limp hug.
Alhaitham’s hand began to card through blond strands, stopping to untangle any knots in the fluff. Kaveh had taken out the usual clips he wore, but they left behind the occasional tangle. They stayed here in silence for a couple of minutes.
“Yeah, I can hold you. That would be nice I think.”
A few more minutes passed before Kaveh slowly tugged the taller body down into the heap of quilting and wormed his way onto Alhaitham’s chest. His head still slotted into the crook of his neck just the same. One hand stayed buried in Kaveh’s hair, the other then wrapped around the small of his back securely keeping him against his chest, just how Kaveh wanted. Kaveh’s eyes grew heavier by the second, but the emotional turmoil still weighed in the back of his mind. Alhaitham could tell.
“Would it be alright uh, if I put my hand on your back under your top?” This wasn’t new, but their usual boundaries had been thrown to the wayside alongside their thesis.
A forceful nod into Alhaitham’s shoulder.
“Okay. It’s okay. I’m here,” he cooed, hand breaching the line into Kaveh’s top and beginning to trace patterns only familiar to them into cool, soft skin.
“Will you stay?” It left Kaveh’s mouth weakly, like an admission of guilt. He hated that Alhaitham knew exactly the right words he needed to calm down. He hated Alhaitham. Right?
“If you’ll have me.” He hated himself .
It wasn’t like this solved things. Cuddling couldn’t repair their work, take back screaming matches, or break down solid walls. Nevertheless they stayed like this, Kaveh nestled into Alhaitham’s chest. Kaveh’s left hand was balled under himself, and his right toying with the collar of his pillow’s shirt. Alhaitham’s left hand was still in the hair of his newfound weighted blanket, and his right drawing patterns over his back. Quiet shushing left Alhaitham’s lips whenever Kaveh wriggled as his mind raced. Always restless.
This did not solve anything, actually. As Kaveh drifted into sleep, noticeable as he stopped shifting around, Alhaitham finally let his guard down. Silent streams of tears spilled into blonde hair. He didn’t solve anything . He laid there and wept as quietly as he could, only interrupting his prayers to some Celestia-born entity that he didn’t believe in to stifle the occasional hiccup he couldn’t hold down. Deep down he knew that they’d wake up again in the morning and leave Kaveh’s bedroom, subsequently leaving whatever affection remained between them under the covers, never to be seen again.
After only around half an hour the shaking of his shoulders woke the boy using one as a pillow. Kaveh had seen Alhaitham cry a handful of times, but not as frequently as he’d been caught himself. He propped himself up on his left elbow, groggily rubbing his eyes with his right hand, then moving to caress Alhaitham’s cheek much softer, thumb tracing under his eyes. His junior felt so fragile under his fingertips.
“Haitham… hey…”
“I- I- *hic* I’m so sorry Kaveh-” His speech was choppy, laced with harsh hiccups and tears pouring down his now reddened face.
“No Haitham, no apologies,” an attempt to dissuade Alhaitham’s worst habit of obsessive apologies.
“But- but- but- I ruined the thesis and I yelled at you and I was terrible and- *hic* and awful and-”
“We don’t have to worry about that now. Just breathe,” Kaveh cooed as he ran his calloused fingers under crying eyes.
“I can’t even fix it.” His crying grew noisier now that the blonde was awake, his own words pushing him farther. “Please don’t go. Please don’t leave me yet.” He was begging now.
Kaveh’s hand had moved up to stroke gray hairs, trying to soothe the wracking, choking sobs leaving the boy. He felt so helpless, he’d never seen Alhaitham so upset. The linguist was always calm, always stoic, even when they met as children. Anxiety attacks tended to plague Kaveh most, but this wasn’t terribly unfamiliar to solve.
“I’m not going, but I need you to breathe.”
Alhaitham’s hand moved to his own chest, not quite grasping for air, but pressing into it for stability. Kaveh removed his hand from the gray hair and placed it on top of the other’s, grasping it from behind and leaning against Alhaitham’s chest. He began to move in small circles, trying to quell the storm in the ribcage beneath his fingers. Pressure, repetition, reassurance.
“Just-“ Alhaitham stuttered, hard.
“I’m not going Haiyi.” Firmly said but with the softest of intention.
“Please,” he choked, trying to fill his lungs with Kaveh before he inevitably left again. It was all his fault . He was just going to leave him. He was going to graduate, and move on. He’d live with someone else, even love with someone else.
Out of ideas, Kaveh just curled his head back into the crook of Alhaitham’s neck, crawled to put more of his weight on his chest, and wrapped himself around the crying figure like a clamp. One hand held his back firmly, while the other set of fingers laid on the back of Alhaitham’s neck, caressing the ends of his hair. He began to take extra deep breaths, hoping the other would feel and copy the action, trying to sync their pulses.
“I’m right here Haiyi. Just keep breathing. I’m not going.” Never too loud but right by his ear.
“Can- can- I- *hic* can you-“ He was coming out of it enough to articulate his needs but the anxiety that stirred in him was making it even harder to speak.
“Easy. Take your time,” Kaveh reassured.
“Can you…” A deep breath. “Can you do the thing with the stars?” Defeat.
“Yeah, that sounds good. Will that make you feel better?” Kaveh knew Alhaitham mostly just liked the astronomy studies because of him. He always knew that, but he taught anyways.
A simple small nod. Understated as ever.
Kaveh’s pointer finger was now placed on Alhaitham’s chest.
“Well, there’s ampulla ,” Kaveh murmured as he traced a small flask over the trembling chest of his roommate. He was met with a soft hiccup.
“There’s the trifolium ,” as he drew a four leaf clover.
Alhaitham’s breathing settled, leveling to hear his companion easier.
“Hmmmm…” he tapped a few times, almost teasing. “ Lotos somnos ,” then illustrating the lotus flower.
“I like paradisea,” a bird takes form, “but I know you prefer vultur volans,” and the bird changes shape. Their constellations, as they’d declared one night, tipsy and on the edge of a rock wall somewhere on the outskirts of Sumeru City.
Kaveh knew a lot more about the stars and their shapes than most. Alhaitham just liked when he gave him attention.
“The viatrix and the viator ,” long fingers danced over Alhaitham’s nightshirt. A small whine left his chest as he settled further into calmness.
“ Spinea corona ,” Kaveh whispers now, lazily forming a tiara. Alhaitham’s eyes grew dry yet heavy.
“ Felis fuscus and *yawn* felis alba. ” Twin cats.
“Kaveh?” Archons , he sounded terrified.
“Yeah Haiyi?” Kaveh was growing sleepy now, his words coming out far softer than he’d meant and palm flattening over Alhaitham’s chest.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too.”
It was undecided if that was an apology for the evening’s events, or for much, much more.
Alhaitham gathered the blonde back into his arms, tears gone for the evening. They were both dozing off by then, stifling yawns in each other’s bodies. The smaller still clung to his junior like he would float away if he stopped. The taller reciprocated, until his grip loosened as he drifted into sleep.
With the Akasha nobody was dreaming in Sumeru, but Kaveh still wished that Alhaitham had sweet dreams. He deserved them.
Just before completely slipping into sleep, his last moment of lucidity, Alhaitham pressed a small kiss into the crown of Kaveh’s hair.
When Kaveh woke again there was sun pouring into the windows and his head was still against a warm torso belonging to his friend.
When Alhaitham woke again it was because Kaveh squeezed him in a deep hug, drawing him out of his rest.
He stayed.
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