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“Room 231.. Room 233.. Room 235, aaand room 237! Aha!” Kaveh tried to be as quiet and unsuspicious as he could but he was filled with excitement. As soon as he managed to open the door he would be inside the room of the bastard in charge of choosing the design for the next Akademiya expansion. Kaveh had already met the person during his years as a Kshahrewar student and despite barely ever talking to Hazir he knew the brunette despised him. And now Kaveh is sure Hazir would approve a toddler’s design before he approves of Kaveh’s intricate and well thought out design and that’s something Kaveh will not allow. Kaveh wanted this opportunity and he wanted it bad .
It wasn’t as if Kaveh wasn’t talented enough to achieve this. Anyone that knew Kaveh would preach his skills but some people did not like his nature and some simply envied him. The latter being Hazir. A man born to the richest and most powerful families that got him everywhere he wanted to be, but never to the same level Kaveh was in. So he relied on extremely unfair resorts to make sure the blond did not achieve grandness. Today Kaveh was here to prove him wrong and show that he was able to play dirty back at him.
Tick!
The door slid open as the lock was undone and Kaveh tiptoed inside, paying attention to not make any sound as he closed the door behind him. The moon’s light was the only source of illumination and Kaveh watched his toes as he maneuvered around the unfamiliar space. He could hear the loud chatter of the fund gathering party in the hotel’s ballroom below his floor, he heard that people from all regions were attending, it wasn't just a simple event but one of a lifetime. Everyone wanted their name involved in this project, even if it was on the plaque of a random bench.
Kaveh reached the desk and found nothing on the top of it, but of course he wasn’t expecting this to be easy yet he hoped to be in and out of the room as soon as possible. In the drawers was nothing to be found either, but Kaveh wasn't giving up so easily. He knew that the briefcase containing the finalized plan had to be somewhere in the room, for Kaveh knew it was to be delivered today to the project manager and the senior partner in charge of the construction.
“Damn it, where did you hide it?” Kaveh slid his hand all over the desk in case there was a hidden compartment but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Before he could react to the small creak behind him, Kaveh was being pinned onto the top of the desk and a hand covered his mouth. Without having a second to ready himself for the sudden attack all he could do now was to bite. So he pressed his teeth as hard as he could against the stranger’s hands.
Hiss . “Kaveh, stop. Don’t create a pointless commotion.”
Alhaitham .
What is he doing here?
“What are you doing here? Kaveh echoed his thoughts out loud. “You’re supposed to be down there! At the celebration! Not hiding here in the dark like some
rishboland tiger waiting to catch his next prey!” The blond could not understand how the Haravatat mastermind could have gotten the plans messed up this bad. This was not supposed to happen.
“ Quiet .” Alhaitham whispered as he got off Kaveh and looked towards the door.
Kaveh followed his gaze, because even if he was pissed off he still trusted Alhaitham’s usual plan of action. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he looked back at the teal eyed man next to him. He noticed the slight furrow of his eyebrows as his hand meddled with the intensity of his headphones and how his eyes seemed to shine in the darkness of the room. Alhaitham sensed his gaze, he senses everything when it comes to Kaveh after all, and he gestures back at the door with a movement of his chin.
Looking back at the door he began to notice a pair of shadows, a pair of shoes, moving under the door and stopping right in front of it. Kaveh had been found and all his efforts and planning would go to waste and his beautifully designed structure would never be built.
knock knock knock
Kaveh embarrassingly flinched and took a step back, successfully hitting his ankle on the leg of the desk. The sudden pain forced a yelp out of him. He noticed the way Alhaitham tensed in the corner of his vision but neither moved again. To keep it short, they were absolutely fucked .
“Is everything alright in there Sir Alhaitham?” The slightly muffled voice reached their ears, it was completely unfamiliar and it carried a hint of skepticism. Kaveh turned to look at Alhaitham and the furrow of his eyebrows was there again. He knew his partner in crime would think of something to say, it was Alhaitham after all.
The Alhaitham that has followed Kaveh literally and figuratively since they were just students and despite their arguments always came back or allowed the blond back into his life. They were both picture perfect students, the one that parents would point at and tell their children to be like them. Yet no one knew of the perfectly planned and hidden operations they’d do at night that if caught, would warrant their expulsion. But Alhaitham, an expert in linguistics, always managed to detect ways to find information and talk the two of them out of trouble. And Kaveh, an expert in technology, knew the city’s ins and outs and could create gadgets to aid them in their escapades.
They were compatible in almost every way that mattered, almost , being a keyword.
“Yes. I apologize for my partner getting a little too loud.” Alhaitham had the audacity to smirk while dropping the suggestive sentence. While Kaveh wasn’t the one to open his mouth to the innuendo his face instantly became painted in the color red, whether it was from feeling flustered or angry, Kaveh did not care nor did he want to hear more.
However, Kaveh is just a man with a poorly chosen companion, because the second be thinks he is safe, the gray haired man next to him turns to face him and makes a sound that resembles a growl, or a hiss. “K, stop doing that. Now . But yes everything is quite alright, however I’d appreciate some space and time before we are to come down.”
A second passes in which Kaveh finds himself in utter disbelief at what the other is doing.
“I-I apologize Sir. I will leave now.” And with that the pair of shadows peeking under the door disappear at a quick pace.
The silence continues and that was what Kaveh needed before giving his partner a piece of his mind. Not once in their long history has Alhaitham done something similar and Kaveh needed a second to recover from the sudden whiplash inducted on him.
“Alhaitham,”
“Kaveh.”
“Explain to me what you just did and implied. Did you just give the impression to that poor guard that we were being indecent here?” Kaveh walked closer towards Alhaitham and he realized that there was a certain playful glimmer in his eyes. “Come on now, first you have the nerve to say all of that and now you’re quiet? You’re making a joke of your darshan.”
“Well I apologize senior, I thought you’d be satisfied after you answered your own question.”
“You’re totally and completely insufferable today and don’t even–” Kaveh noticed the slow rise of Alhaitham’s hands out of the corner of his eyes but it wasn’t until he felt them touch his hair when he reacted. Or rather stopped reacting and froze up, not truly understanding what the other could be possibly doing.
“Relax, this was the best course of action. I rehearsed it in my mind approximately 5 times, and it's all going according to plan, now I need to make you look the part.” Alhaitham's slightly calloused hands grabbed the hairpins that were meticulously placed on blond hair and softly messed it up in random places. Kaveh opened his mouth to let out another round of complaints but as he did he saw Alhaitham’s eyes flicker to his lips. Simultaneously Alhaitham’s hands slid down to the back of the blond’s neck while the other found its way to Kaveh’s chin.
Kaveh could only look up at Alhaitham and the way the younger’s eyes became darker, dilated, and how all the sounds from the party outside drowned in an accelerando rhythm of static and the mismatched sets of breaths that combined in the close proximity of the two. Kaveh felt a delicate and almost hesitant touch on the corner of his mouth with Alhaitham’s finger and with the touch Kaveh’s lungs halted.
It wasn’t until said finger pressed a bit harder and slid lower, pulling Kaveh’s lower lip down successfully with the movement that Kaveh’s brain managed to catch up to the situation. He felt his eyes refocus at the scene in front of him, at the man in front of him. He opened his mouth, preparing to confront the other on his actions, yet no sound managed to come out and instead caused Alhaitham to copy his reaction and snapped his eyes back from his lips to meet Kaveh’s.
The atmosphere doesn’t feel as awkward or weird as it should. Considering how the last five minutes were filled with something they've never done, something they never experienced or danced around before. Sure, they were partners in every way, but this , this pushed them into an unknown area. Some people talked about it, but never them.
In the solitude of the hotel’s darkness Kaveh felt the beginning of something that should scare him but as he looked deeply into teal eyes that seemed to reciprocate the sudden inception of certain sentiments.
Kaveh cannot deny that he never thought about them like this before. He had ears and the rumors were everywhere, following him wherever he went on the daily. Half of the city was sure that they lived together, while the other half believed they had a secret affair after being seen out at night in inconspicuous clothing and sneaking inside their home. It was on the people’s hands to bet on what they are and it was on Kaveh and Alhaitham’s hands to either correct or deny such claims but they never bothered. Kaveh grew to love some aspect of it, his yearning heart loved the way his name was never uttered alone but paired with Alhaitham’s.
So sue him! Sue him for feeding his brain and heart a considerable amount of daydreams and what ifs when it came to him and his partner. Sometimes he believed his own fantasies whenever the younger would keep his eyes on Kaveh a little longer than sufficient, or when Alhaitham would risk their operations just to run back and steal whatever ridiculous item caught Kaveh’s attention. No matter how many times the blond dreamt about the possibility of their relationship deepening and becoming something more, Kaveh disregarded them as quickly as the thoughts formed. But right in this moment, Kaveh felt the weight of all those quick fleeting thoughts come back at full intensity.
It was so sudden but the gravity pull of those teal eyes staring right at him felt so right. Years of underlying tension and unspoken words, ignored feelings that felt wrong and out of place. Kaveh might be reaching too far and flying so high with the possibility of the man in front of him feeling the same way but how many more decades will he tiptoe around the inevitable? How long can he avoid fate?
What can he even say that hasn’t already been said and shown in his actions towards the other?
“Haitham-”
A finger on his lip quieted him.
“Later okay? I believe you forgot where we are and what we have to do. It’s almost eleven, Hazir will deliver everything soon so stop finding distractions in me and go do your part.” Alhaitham stepped away but the warmth did not leave Kaveh because the younger’s tone was full of endearment and lightheartedness. “Here. I got here before you and already broke through the locks.”
“First of all, it really isn’t my fault I got distracted! You were not supposed to be here, you know? Or maybe you were busy being distracted by me instead.” Kaveh did not appreciate to be blatantly called out. It sounded as if he was responsible for the last minutes, which he really, really wasn't to be blamed for!
Alhaitham settled the now opened and unlocked briefcase on top of the desk and took out every sheet of paper and drafts and set them aside. Kaveh summoned Mehrak and had her take out his own set of documents.
“Well are you just gonna stand there or will you let me put these in there now?” Kaveh double checked all pages were in order and properly stacked before he attempted to put them in Zahir’s briefcase. Yet his lovely roommate stood in the way.
“You can reach the briefcase perfectly fine from there, if my position inconveniences you in any way then I recommend you can attempt to move me from it.”
“Well don’t tell me twice.” Kaveh sets down the stack of documents and fixes his footing before ramming into Alhaitham’s side. The younger one does not move from his spot. Kaveh feels the pain of the in-ear device digging into his ear from the impact but maybe the pain from realizing how weak he is against his partner is worse.
“Good job senior. You almost made me fear for my life.”
“Shut up you big meanie! Ugh I seriously cannot stand you-”
“Can we not do this in the main channel please ?” Tighnari’s robotic voice came through the in-ear device, scaring Kaveh who once again almost yelped and hit his hand. He forgot it wasn’t just him and Alhaitham in this operation, but his two friends as well. “Also why are you two taking so long? There’s barely any time left before Zahir comes up with everyone to deliver the briefcase.”
“Why are you lecturing me! This guy is completely uncooperative and getting in my way like always! Also I apologize for accidentally turning on my ear piece I was trying to tackle Alhaitham down.” Kaveh hurriedly grabbed the briefcase and meticulously inserted the documents. With the briefcase full of the swapped documents he passed it to Alhaitham who began reactivating the locks on it.
“Do not include me in this please. You have ten minutes to get down here.” Tighnari’s voice whispered back with a hint of exasperation. Kaveh knew he’d get overly stressed in high risk situations and it usually wasn’t his fault. But he accepted he was partly at fault for it this time.
“All good on your side? You don’t sound too happy, I’m sorry Nari.” Kaveh watched as Alhaitham worked diligently with the briefcase.
“Of course not, Alhaitham was supposed to be here half an hour ago to not raise suspicions and Cyno... well he’s being Cyno. Just get here before the ten minutes are up, please .”
“What did Cyno do? He doesn’t even have a specific part assigned to him this time.” Kaveh replied idly while putting Mehrak away after giving her a head pat for her assistance.
“Well just like the ten minutes you have left I also told him ten jokes to lighten him up.” Cyno replied, his tone of voice making everyone sigh. There was only one reason for this tone. “Sadly no pun in ten did.”
Kaveh heard Alhaitham sigh like he hasn’t in a while.
“Oh. Well okay. We will be there soon Nari.” Kaveh responded.
“Get it? Because I said no pun in ten did and it sounds like no pun intended-” Was the last Kaveh heard before he turned down the volume of his in-ear.
“All right Haitham put it back where you found it and let’s leave now so we don’t give Tighnari an early death.”
“Not so much my fault. Let’s go.” Alhaitham finished putting the briefcase where it was hidden, in the closet.
Kaveh walked to the door and slowly opened it. He looked both ways to make sure no one was around before the pair made their escape. He felt Alhaitham join him at the door and when the coast was clear he walked out.
“Right, how can I forget what Tighnari said. You were not supposed to be up here in the first place! You blamed me for getting distracted but you started this.” Kaveh turned around and poked Alhaitham’s chest with his finger. He hated having to look up at him every time and see the way those teal eyes would meet his without any open emotion. It pissed Kaveh off more than it should. “This was your plan all along wasn't it? To get me and you in-”
Kaveh didn’t realize what was happening again as the hand he was using to jab at Alhaitham was grabbed by the younger and he was being pushed into a door. A body, Alhaitham’s body, pressed too close to him.
“Archons! What-”
“Someone is getting off the elevator. Play pretend.” Alhaitham supplied him with a response. Due to their closeness he was able to feel his warm breath against him. However Kaveh felt defeated in a way. His part of the mission had been saved and altered by Alhaitham twice . Both times ending up with him being pressed up against something and he didn’t know if it was the thrill and adrenaline of doing illicit stuff or if it was just Alhaitham.
“Ah, are we interrupting? I was beginning to notice your absence, Alhaitham.” The deep voice of Zahir resonated through the hallway’s walls.
Kaveh instantly felt Alhaitham’s warmth go away as the younger turned to look at Zahir. Maybe if Alhaitham wasn’t obsessed and fully content with his job he could be an actor in the way his face managed to look warm and caught off guard almost instantly.
Kaveh matched the act his partner was putting on. He became bashful looking and held onto Alhaitham’s arm as he tried to hide and fix his hair after some of it fell onto his face.
“Don’t fret Zahir, we are done here for now. We will be on our way now, I doubt the lack of our presence would’ve saddened you today regardless. In the way you constantly ignore us in a normal setting.” Alhaitham replied with some tension in his syllables. Neither of the men liked each other and it was a given. “Come on, let's continue somewhere else.”
Alhaitham began walking and almost forcefully dragged Kaveh away with him. The blond tried not to yelp for the third time in the night. Yet he felt tense walking past Zahir who had analytical eyes following the two of them. Kaveh could only hope their efforts would work and they would walk out victorious and that they did not look suspicious for the wrong reasons.
Zahir’s eyes lowered to the lower part of Kaveh’s face, maybe his lips, as he passed him and something on his eyes changed. Kaveh could barely get to dissect the interaction before he was pulled into the elevator by his partner and heard the doors begin to close.
It wasn’t until the silver doors closed in front of them that he understood just why Zahir looked at him like that .
Kaveh’s hair was a mess regardless of him attempting to fix it moments ago, but that was not the worst part. Kaveh recalls the way Alhaitham’s finger dragged on his lip earlier in the dark hotel room and he now understands part of why he did it. His slight red lipstick was smudged all over, and his hair tousled, painting the illusion of obscenity. An image that was probably part of Alhaitham’s plan all along.
“Alhaitham.”
“That is my name.”
“You senseless buffoon! I looked perfect and now it’s all ruined and- oh no this was so they’d think that we… Alhaitham!” Kaveh repeatedly begins to slap Alhaitham on his arm. Albeit the slaps are weak, it sends the message. Kaveh’s body can only contain so much anger before he explodes after all.
“For the record I think you still look perfect.”
“You truly do not appreciate any- What?” Kaveh stops mid-sentence and Alhaitham turns his way at the same time.
“I don’t appreciate beauty? Is that what you were going to say? My apologies to prove you wrong yet once more but I do.” The younger grabs Kaveh’s hands that remained frozen mid-slap and he lowers them, yet he doesn't let go. “I will admit that you looked good earlier but I think you look better like this. With me in that hallway and this scandalous and disheveled look you look mine .”
“What are you saying?” The voice that came out of his mouth was almost unrecognizable to Kaveh. Soft and vulnerable, waiting for words that he had dreamt to hear for a long time.
“I do not enjoy involving myself in situations like this. I could be home reading or organizing my new collections. And you know this, but you also know I’ll never say no to you no matter what you ask of me.”
Kaveh felt his hands shake, or maybe it was Alhaitham’s. He didn’t know and he didn’t care at the moment. He just wanted confirmation that he wasn’t the only one stuck in daydreams and ceaseless moments of yearning for someone close but also far away.
A moment passed where teal met ruby. Where every piece began to fully combine and intertwine.
“Can I truly ask for anything?”
“Always.”
“Kiss me.”
For the third time in the night Kaveh was in close proximity with Alhaitham. Pressed between the elevator’s wall and Alhaitham’s body. His hands became abandoned as he felt his face being carefully cradled by a pair of hands that Kaveh was used to seeing working roughly.
Kaveh didn’t know what to do with his own hands as he felt the hesitant- no, tender, touch of lips against his own. His eyes closed on impact and he tried to express everything he kept locked away for years with just one kiss and he felt Alhaitham do the same.
It wasn’t a simple kiss, it was two people merging with their reciprocated feelings for one another. Years and years of memories and emotions combining together. Kaveh’s heart felt heavier and lighter at the same time, he was now able to tame his longing and yearning for the man in front of him because Alhaitham was kissing him like he was the only person in the whole wide world that mattered. Kaveh didn’t need to hear it to know that he was loved back in the same way he loved Alhaitham.
Kaveh’s mind regained some control and awareness back as the elevator beeped with the alert of reaching the chosen level and he opened a singular eye to locate the button to close the doors. He attempted to press it from his position but it was too far from him. While trying not to break from the kiss he continued to reach but inevitably his lips separated from Alhaitham’s. One was desperate to keep their moment from being interrupted and the other desperate from it ending. Alhaitham kept his lips on Kaveh and began kissing his neck as the blond finally clicked the proper button and went back to his partner.
“Haitham-”
“Can you guys please remember we are on security cameras duty. And that your ten minutes are over?” The robotic voice of their friend came through the forgotten in-ear, again . “We need you two out here. Now.”
“Fuck you Tighnari, I would never do this to you.” Kaveh toggled his microphone back on and replied as he threw his head back and pushed Alhaitham away softly as he kept kissing his neck.
“What possible problem requires our immediate attention that you have to interrupt at the worst timing possible? I believed you two were insanely capable of doing your jobs.” Alhaitham replied, his cold tone was back and Kaveh suffered from whiplash due to it. He also realized that it had been a really long time since the younger had used that tone towards him. Even when he would leave their house a mess.
“Easy Haitham, it’s fine.”
“You were supposed to meet with the higher ups from Inazuma like we agreed, they’re about to leave.” Tighnari sounded more exasperated than before.
“I can meet with them at a different time. I have the proper connections for it.” Alhaitham replied and fully separated from Kaveh but held onto his hand. “You’re watching right? Well we are going home. Goodnight you two.”
Alhaitham took his in-ear off from under his headphones and stored them in his pocket, making a show out of it towards the camera in the corner of the elevator. He gave one expectating look to Kaveh and as soon as he gave a tiny smirk the blond knew what he meant and what to do.
“Shit sorry Nari and Cyno! I really am but goodnight and good job today! Bye!” Kaveh took off his in-ear as he began to be guided out of the elevator by Alhaitham in the opposite direction of the fund celebration and in the direction of their home. His smile seemed to be stuck to his face no matter how hard he tried to lower the intensity of it. He felt incredibly giggly doing whatever it was they were doing.
Regardless of Kaveh’s familiarity with the feeling of adrenaline after years of doing things he totally shouldn’t be doing (but things he totally wanted to do) he never felt a feeling like this. He knew he had to apologize to his friends for ditching them like that but he was currently over the moon. Half-walking and half-running, hands enclosing one another, with his partner towards their home.
He had one wish that he wanted to accomplish before the stars said goodbye and the sun rose up. To get to call Alhaitham his partner in a way he never got to. In a way he could only get to do deep inside his mind. His heart raced more as he realized that all his what ifs were about to become his reality. He had already spent most of his life in the gravitational pull of Alhaitham, and now he knows he wants to spend the rest of his life in it.