indigently | 𝒪𝓅𝑒𝓃 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝓉 🏛️

[ He blinks in shock when Alhaitham goes so quickly from post-orgasmic bliss to wide-eyed as he all but rushes from the shower and the bathroom both. He knows Alhaitham well enough to recognize the look of the man when he's on the verge of a breakthrough— normally, at least. In their current situation, though, with what's just happened between them, his brain isn't holding that information quite right, and he's left with the abrupt, surprise cold of the scribe's departure, even the brief, small kisses doing nothing to appease the anxious twist of his brain.

So when he turns off the shower and dries himself, a towel around his waist in turn, it's Alhaitham's room he goes to, not his; he stands in the doorway for a moment in silence, watching the other man as he scribbles notes over a page, dripping water everywhere in the process. ]

...Alhaitham...?

[One hand still on his stylus, the other reaching out to Kaveh at his door and giving him a beckoning sign. He knows Kaveh may have reacted anxiously, and he's happy to show him he's not going anywhere.]

You've given me an idea that I needed to get on paper before I fell asleep with you. Come here. [If Kaveh is to walk into his reach, he'll tug him onto his lap, lean his chin over his shoulder as he writes.]

[ It's a relief when Alhaitham beckons to him, tugs him into his lap as he comes close. With a faint smile, he sits back to allow the other to lean over him more easily, his eyes drifting closed as he beats back the feelings that started up the moment the younger walked out of the shower.

It's silly. Time and time again, the scribe has proven himself, shown Kaveh that he has no intent of going anywhere despite the elder's worries—

and yet the elder continues to worry, and he doesn't know why.

Still, there's something nice about the fact that he gave Alhaitham an idea. He wants to ask— he also wants to ask what they are now— but he doesn't want to interrupt, and besides, the other man is kind of comfortable...

He turns his head, a soft breath gusting against the other's neck. ]

Tell me when you're done, I have questions.

[Tilting his head gently to rest the side of it against Kaveh's, Alhaitham rubs his temple against him affectionately even if he doesn't stray his eyes from his writing. If Kaveh were to peek, he'd find a table of contents, more than actual writing—ideas set in a cadence, from the beginning to the development and ending in a conclusion. Something about poetic frames in ancient scriptures and what they may mean.

Alhaitham hums an affirmative, free arm wrapped securely around his senior, as he double checks what he wrote. Once he's done, he drops the stylus, sprawls more comfortably on the chair and brushes Kaveh's wet hair away from his face before kissing the side of his face.] You can ask, now.

[ By the time Alhaitham is done, he's actually half-asleep, eyes drooping and breathing even against the other's neck. But he stirs all too willingly when the other sprawls back into the chair and brushes his hair back to leave a kiss on his face; his eyes open again, soft and vulnerable and bright with curiosity. Even then, though, his voice is low and almost more mumbled than anything: ]

What did I do that gave you an idea for a paper? And...

[ He doesn't give him time to answer, instead continuing on, giving a soft voice to the anxieties that have bugged him. ]

What now? I mean... what are we? Apart from...... I just, I think I need to hear you say it.

[One of these answers is easier than the other, so he answers it first.

That is not to say that the second answer is easy to begin with. Alhaitham's eyes follow the sleepy sheen to Kaveh's eyes, the recently bitten flush on his lips. He looks beautiful like this, and something warm in him settles despite how damp he is from having barely dried himself from the shower.

Any other moment and the answer he wants to give Kaveh would make him scramble out of his fear, out of his own instinctive need to self-sabotage. There's still a chance of it, after all.

Yet, he knows how to maneuver that well. He brings up one of Kaveh's hands and presses a kiss on the back of his ring finger.] Should I buy us rings? Ensure you and everyone knows?

[It's too much, too soon, too fast, too public, as well. But he knows that in comparison when Alhaitham tells him that he'd like for the two of them to see each other exclusively, it'd sound like a more easygoing compromise.

Perhaps Kaveh knows what he's doing, too, after all.] As for what inspired me, I'm not sure. But I've felt very clear-headed after we've engaged physically. I'm sure Tighnari has a biological explanation for that.

[ Kaveh's eyes widen at the suggestion that Alhaitham buy them rings; with a soft, giddy sort of laugh, he shakes his head, nudges a gentle elbow into the scribe's side. Truth be told, there's a part of him that very much would like to say that, let's do that, but he knows it's too soon, knows it's too much, and right now he'd like this to be something just for them, not for anyone else to know. Yet.

Later on, he thinks he might shout it from the rooftops. ]

Don't be silly, Alhaitham. [ His chiding is gentle, amused in that giddy sort of way. ] It's too soon for that right now. We only just... [ A shrug. ] You know.

[ And then, he shrieks, and shoves the other man so hard he might almost fall off the chair. ]

Engaged physically?! Oh my God, Alhaitham, could you be any more clinical about it?!

[Just as keikaku.

(Translators note: keikaku means plan.)

Alhaitham's cheek tugs the corner of his lip into a half-smile. He's glad that Kaveh agrees, nonetheless, and he's about to propose something a lot more sensible-

—Except he's almost out of his chair when Kaveh pushes him. He shuffles back onto his seat, or at least, clings to Kaveh harder. If he's going down, he may as well go with him.] What would you rather I call it? Have intercourse? Having sex? Making love?

[Oh, he's just teasing him, now.]

You're impossible...

[ He grumbles it, and his cheeks turn pink, but he knows exactly what Alhaitham is doing in trying to rile him up, so he doesn't complain or focus in on it too hard. Instead, he just winds both of his arms around the other's waist, and leans up to kiss him, slow and deep. ]

Just shut up and kiss me. You're hotter when you're quiet.

[ It's mumbled against his lips with a low laugh, because two can play at that game. Right? ]

[Parting his lips to kiss Kaveh feels like bridging over a chasm, rather than opening it, and yet, it opens an abyss all the same. He now understands how proximity, the permission to touch, to kiss, to blend the air of his lungs into Kaveh's, doesn't sate anyone who has yearned for it, no matter how long. He now understands that hunger feeds into hunger, and that each kiss can only make him long for more.

And when Kaveh is laughing so sultrily against his lips, he can't do much else but dive deep into the abyss that is the need for him.

He understands now why the Sun King decided to do what he did.]

Can you review it for me? [He presses kisses along the side of his face, up to his temple. Down to the hing of his jaw.] It's only a structure of what I mean to work on, but I'd like to know what you think.

[ He's busy smiling into the kiss and responding to it, leaning his head back so that Alhaitham can reach all his targets more easily, when the scribe asks him to review his work, and Kaveh's eyes open wide as he looks at him. ]

A-are you sure?

[ It almost surprises him just how much of a stutter is in the words as he looks from Alhaitham to the paper. He's not opposed, of course, but he— well. Somehow he wasn't expecting the other to want him to review it. He's hardly a linguist, and the last time they worked together on anything—

But that's all in the past now, isn't it? Especially right now, with those lips on the side of his jaw, curved in the barest of smiles. ]

If you're sure, then I'll look at it.

[The scale of what he's asking does not escape him. Between kisses, nips, weaving his fingers through Kaveh's hair, Alhaitham knows that the ask is monumental. But for Kaveh, who's unsure of who and what they are, who keeps asking why and how, he knows something like this is an extent of his trust. A request to look forward, rather than back, for at least a while.]

I'm very sure. [He mumbles by his ear, then pulls back to look at Kaveh in the eye.] I trust your judgement.

[ Kaveh hums his content, head tilted into the kisses and nips, the fingers in his hair, and when Alhaitham pulls back to look at him, he almost whines— instead, his eyes drop briefly from the other's gaze, and a smile forms on his lips. ]

Okay.

[ And so he focuses his attention, somewhat sleepy and content though it may be, on the paper in front of them, reading through the planned layout and the few notes Alhaitham has here and there, feeling his cheeks redden and his eyes water.

He inspired a paper on the poetic frames of ancient scripture? The whole thing, somehow, is better than a love letter, and he finds himself disappointed that it's only a layout rather than a full essay, because... ]

This is beautiful, Haitham. Although you might need a third opinion because mine might be clouded by the fact that I feel like crying right now.. [ He laughs, a wet sound, and turns to press his face into the other's neck. ] I want to read the whole thing when it's done.

[While Kaveh is skimming over the things he jotted down, Alhaitham allows himself to drop his forehead against his shoulder. He breathes him in, all soap and shampoo and Kaveh, and he thinks he could compare this moment to laying under a beam of sunlight at the end of a busy day.]

'Crying'? [His eyebrows and head shoot up, and Alhaitham is genuinely surprised. He cradles Kaveh in his arms close, tilting himself so he can peer at the architect better.] Was it that bad?

[He knows it's not, but still it's better than asking if it's that good.]

[ Of course, despite his emotion, Kaveh can't help but laugh at the surprise on Alhaitham's face. He shakes his head, and nuzzles in close as the other peers down at him after having just a moment ago nestled on his shoulder. ]

No, it's not bad at all. It's just... you said I inspired this, right? And it's about poetry, so I just...

[ He shrugs. ]

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I keep thinking of the poetry you recited before, and I just... I feel good. That's all.

[At that, Alhaitham snorts, a soft little huff of a breath, his shoulders lowering as he relaxes.]

You would make that kind of connection. [He says as he leans his head further against Kaveh's, receptive and wanting more of that nuzzling.

But while he knows well that Kaveh would take offense to such a comment, he adds:] You would be right about it, though.

[ He smiles at the way Alhaitham relaxes and leans in closer, understanding what he wants and rewarding him easily, another contented nuzzle against him. Perhaps he might normally take offense, but the scribe's quick addition, and the tone of his voice, are enough to prevent it, a lazy smile forming on his lips instead. ]

I love you.

[ It's a soft, content mumble. ]

If you're done writing, should we go to bed?

Mnff. [Muffled, against Kaveh's skin as he burrows his face against him, arms wrapped tight and breathing him in with a long, drawn-out inhale, and a relieved, peaceful sigh. Like coming home. That's Alhaithamese for "I love you, too."

But he does say it, whispers it against Kaveh's ear. Before he picks him up. How he manages to do so while sitting down and then carry a fully grown, tall man is odd, but I guess it comes with being a DPS.] I'm impressed. That's the Light of Kshahrewar's genius, I see. That's the best idea you've ever gotten in your life. [He says as he pads them both to his bed.]

[ Kaveh yelps as they go so abruptly from sitting together to him being literally carried, his arms tight around the other's shoulders as he attempts to brace himself against Alhaitham in some way, not wanting either to fall or to overbalance him. Only once they're moving does he have time to register the whispered words against his ear and the teasing about him being a genius. He laughs, and nuzzles at the side of his jaw once more. ]

In the morning, I'll clean up so you can get a start on your draft. [ It's perhaps the most conciliatory he's ever been about chores, but he's feeling good in a way he's never felt before. ] And then maybe we can go out somewhere for lunch—

[ He pauses, thoughtful, and then shakes his head. ]

—No, I'll cook. I want to be alone with you.

[He only drops Kaveh carefully on the bed before he tugs his covers out of the way, and then tugging the architect in with him. How fast and how efficiently he is getting into a bed to sleep in comparison to everything else he does is probably only comparable with how quickly he finished off work every day so he can go back home.

Home. Their home.

Still, he frowns, settling close as he tugs Kaveh closer.] You're not going to overdo it just because we entered a relationship, are you?

[ Kaveh is quick to curl into the other man's side as he's pulled into the bed, a sigh of content on his lips as he nuzzles in nice and close. And while he's so close that he can't see Alhaitham's frown, he can certainly hear it.

It's enough to make him pull away and look up at him, a soft smile on his lips once he catches sight of the other's expression; and he leans up, mouth pressing to the crease between his brows, as if to soothe the frown away. ]

If I overdo it just for tomorrow, will you blame me too terribly? I promise I won't make a habit of it. I just... [ He laughs, light and airy, lips pressing now to the corner of the other man's. ] I'm happy.

[Alhaitham sighs. Kaveh's nature is always aimed at others, and their… connection, he supposes, has been reliant on the fact that Alhaitham was the one that Kaveh would not struggle to please. In fact, part of why he often calls out the architect on his ideals and his tendencies to spread himself too thin is exactly so that he'll forget that he hasn't made an effort to please Alhaitham, and fall into that predisposition.

So the scribe presses kisses to the corner of Kaveh's lip in return, the kiss to his brow soothing but not removing the weight of his gaze, crowding the space against him and holding him tight. He won't do a thing for Alhaitham if Alhaitham keeps him steady in the circle of his arms, after all.] I will hold you onto that, Kaveh.

𝒪𝓅𝑒𝓃 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝓉 🏛️

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