Archive of Our Own

Rain steadily patters upon the bedroom window, scattering upon contact with the glass; the first they’ve had after such a long dry spell. The sound brings a calmness to mind, a soothing melody, a natural lullaby. With eyes at rest, Alhaitham notices the warmth pressed against his chest, feels a set of legs tangled with his own, fingers laced through his. He sits in the moment, listening intently to the sounds of bursting raindrops and focusing on the body pressed to him. It's instinct, the way he pulls Kaveh closer to him, seeking out even more warmth.

And when he opens his eyes he’s met with scattered strands of blonde on the silken pillowcase, the stunning curve of his neck as it gives a way to exposed shoulders. Alhaitham draws the blanket up around their bodies, sealing in the once-escaping warmth, and sucks in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of Kaveh's hair.

The smallest movement. The smallest shuffle of Kaveh’s ass against Alhatiham’s crotch is all it takes to pull a sound from his throat, for his cock to slowly begin hardening. Kaveh stirs, then. His upper body shifts and his lower body twists, once again moving against Alhaitham, and suddenly he is aware of everything: the cold dewy air surrounding them, the pitter-patter of rain hitting the roof, the way that bits of the sun make it through the clouds catch Kaveh’s golden hair in a beautiful shimmer.

“Kaveh?” Alhaitham whispers in his ear, placing a kiss on the back of it. His hand finds Kaveh’s skin, warm to the touch, and rests on his stomach. “Kaveh.”

Through a sleep-induced haze, Kaveh twists his torso and looks at Alhaitham over his shoulder. His smile is sleepy, his amber eyes hardly open. “Mhm?” he manages in response, the sound low in his throat.

“You’re beautiful,” he says, and he means it. There is something honest about mornings to Alhaitham, something about it that makes him say things he usually might swallow back or cover in a layer of snark.

“And you’re hard,” Kaveh mumbles back, hardly awake, reaching a hand behind him to graze over the expanse of Alhiathim’s lower abdomen before trailing downward. Fingers graze over the length of his cock, deliberate in the feather-like touch.

Alhaitham sucks in a breath. “You rubbed against me.” Another kiss behind Kaveh’s ear. “Can you really blame me―especially when you’re looking at me like that?”

“Like what?” Kaveh asks, turning his head to the side as Alhaitham’s limbs begin to explore the slope of his shoulders.

“Like”―Like you love me―“like you’re begging for a continuation of last night.”

Mornings are honest, they make Alhaitham honest, but not honest enough. There are some truths the early sunrise cannot coax out of him, for they must stay buried beneath the shadow of the moon.

“That a bad thing?” Kaveh asks. The movement of his hand is slow, sloppy even, as he works up and down the length of his cock. “Is the Scribe tired after only a couple of rounds? Is that all you got?”

Alhaitham feels his eyes twitch. Kaveh is an instigator; he gets what he wants by instigating conflict, taking stabs at Alhaitham’s pride, knowing that it’ll push his buttons and eventually snap whatever thin strings are holding him together. In the presence of Kaveh, when they are alone, Alhaitham is a weak man. He knows these tricks like the back of his hand, and yet he willingly allows himself to break every time. There is a certain satisfaction in breaking Kaveh that he cannot quite place, a sense of pride whenever he sees him crying or hears him begging for more.

In moments like these, however, Alhaitham takes a different approach. The rain and monochrome lighting are the perfect backdrops for a softer kind of mood. How often is it that Kaveh and Alhaithim find themselves still in bed together come morning? More times than not, one of them is gone before the other, may it be to their shared office space or off to attend to business beyond the house. This is a rare occasion, and it is one that needs to be handled with the utmost care.

He says nothing as he pulls Kaveh against him, pressing his ass flush against his cock. Kaveh’s head falls heavy and his eyes shut, biting the inside of his cheek as his hand stills on Alhaitham. His hands explore, leaving trails of heat along Kaveh’s stomach, the rigid lines of his ribs, and the hard buds of his nipples. Stilling here, Alhaitham pinches and brushes the tips of his fingers over them, reveling in the way Kaveh squirms both into and away from the touch.

“What’re you waiting for?” Kaveh huffs.

“I’m enjoying you,” Alhaitham tells him and bites into his neck hard enough to leave behind a light outline of his teeth.

Impatient, he says, “Enjoy me faster―”

Kaveh is cut off by his own moan, a sound that had been pulled from him when Alhaitham’s wandering hand found Kaveh’s cock and feathered his fingers over the leaking tip. He bucks his hips against sudden touch and, finally, lets go of Alhaitham’s cock. His hands instead find purchase on the bedsheets, the pillow underneath him, Alhaitham’s forearm. Anything he can grab he does because the once feather-like touch has completely engulfed him, pumping up and down at a slow but steady pace.

Kisses dot his neck, his shoulder, the upper portion of his biceps, and teeth, on occasion, sink into the beautifully tanned skin. Alhaitham has spent hours that multiply into days staring at the freckles sprinkled upon Kaveh’s sun-kissed flesh, the scars that adorn his chest and back. He’s burned everything about Kaveh into his mind, lest they’re ever apart for an extended period of time.

Desperate, Alhaitham tilts Kaveh’s head back and captures his lips. The kiss is sloppy and slow, and the moment Alhaitham licks at the other’s lips with his tongue, he’s granted access. His hand makes quick work of Kaveh’s cock, running his thumb over the leaking tip and using what he gathers to slick up the shaft. Kaveh is a mess underneath his touch as he always is, but there is something about the early morning that makes him react a little more honestly, too.

“W-wait,” Kaveh begs against Alhaitham’s mouth and pulls away. “I don’t wanna―wanna cum without you. I need you.”

Alhaitham has never been able to withstand the way Kaveh begs, has never been able to stay stubborn in situations like this. In truth, he loves and adores pleasuring Kaveh in the ways he desires more than anything. To feel Kaveh wither and fall apart underneath his touch is more than enough for him, but at this moment, he wants Alhaitham. He’s begging for him.

And who is Alhaitham to not oblige?

Kaveh could order Alhaitham to grab the fiery bud of a flaming flower with nothing but his bare hands and he wouldn’t mind as the flesh of his palm is charred if it meant Kaveh was happy. He would traverse across Teyvat for him. He would travel the stars and capture the ones Kaveh liked in a jar if only to receive a smile in return, or perhaps his company if Alhaitham were lucky. Anything, anything at all. Kaveh only has to say a mere few words and Alhaitham will do whatever it takes if it’ll keep him by his side.

“Okay,” Alhaitham breathes out and removes his hand from Kaveh’s cock, pulling back just enough to line himself up with Kaveh’s hole. Still loose from last night, he’s able to push in with little resistance. He presses himself against Kaveh’s back and snakes his arm around to his chest, cupping his left pec in his hand. “You feel so good.”

“Sh-shut up.” Kaveh sighs shakily as Alhaitham bottoms out and stills, waiting, but he is impatient. “Alhaitham. If you don’t fuck me right now,” he says, moving his hips backward, “I’ll pull you out and get off in my own room―”

He chokes on a moan as Alhaitham pulls out halfway and then quickly slams back in. “Threatening me while I’m inside you?” Alhaitham presses his lips against Kaveh’s and gently nibbles at the soft skin of his bottom lip. “Interesting.”

The next movements of his hips are deliberate, languid, sharp, and they send Kaveh into a spiral. “Fuck―I’m sorry―I didn’t mean it. Pleaseplease. I-I can’t―Alhaitham.”

“Oh?” He smirks and nips at Kaveh’s jaw. “Then tell me, what do you mean? Or rather, what do you want?”

“Faster, please,” Kaveh pants and grinds his hips, looking for friction. It's a small, desperate attempt and it's enough to send Alhaitham over the edge; he’s going to give Kaveh exactly what he wants.

And so Alhaitham does. He pulls Kaveh closer to him, his back flush against Alhaitham’s chest, and tangles their legs together as he begins to fuck into Kaveh just like how he begged for it: fast. It takes a few wild thrusts to find the pace he was looking for, but when he does settle on a rhythm, the way Kaveh’s hole clenches around his cock tells him everything he needs to know.

Alhaitham sits up, using one arm to hold up his body while the other holds Kaveh close, and uses the new position to pound into Kaveh from a different angle. A high-pitched sound is punched from Kaveh’s throat, and Alhaitham smirks in response, leaning down to kiss his shoulder. Kaveh lifts his leg, allowing Alhaitham to grab it by the thigh and keep it in position as he finally brushes against his prostate.

Desperate moans fill the room, mingling with the rain continuing to patter against the roof. He takes in the sight; Kaveh half underneath him, his leg raised slightly as his cock bounces against his stomach with each thrust of Alhaitham inside him. Sweat glistens against his skin, catching the dim light of the room beautifully, and strands of hair stick to his forehead, and the back of his neck.

The sounds leaving his throat are wild things, growing in intensity the closer to his release he becomes. Kaveh grips the sheets, claws at the arm holding his leg up.

“You’re beautiful,” Alhaitham mumbles into his ear, nipping at the lobe. “You’re perfect.” He lets Kaveh’s leg drop and instead grabs his hand, intimately intertwining their fingers and pressing the fist they’ve created against his chest.

Kaveh can’t respond. The words visibly die in his throat and all he can manage is a strained moan as he tightens around Alhaitham’s cock, and soon white is shooting from the tip of his aching cock as he finds the strength to rut back against the hips slamming into him, desperate to chase after the pleasure.

He pulls Alhaitham over the edge with him.

“Alhaitham,” he manages as he’s fucked through his orgasm, “cum inside me.”

A few more thrusts and Alhaitham is spilling inside of Kaveh, thick and hot, as his hips come to a steady stop. He pauses inside Kaveh a moment, sparing a brief moment to capture Kaveh’s lips in something messy and wet, before breaking apart and pulling out. Alhaitham watches, to his own delight, as his cum streams down Kaveh’s ass and begins to pool on the sheets.

Alhaitham collapses behind Kaveh and turns the man around so they’re face to face. Kaveh is fucked out, his pupils blown and his eyelids heavy, drool staining the corner of his mouth and the line of his jaw. His skin is flushed and hot to the touch. Amongst the drool and sweat and wild hair, Kaveh’s beauty remains the same. While tucking a loose strand of gold hair behind Kaveh’s ear, Alhaitham leans forward and kisses his chin, the tip of his nose, the high arch of his cheek.

Finally, he slowly drags his lips over Kaveh’s and settles into a sweet kiss, one that is wildly different than the ones during sex.

Kaveh huffs and pulls away. “You brute,” he scolds. “I need to breathe, you know.”

Humming, Alhaitham presses another kiss to his lips. “You’ll live. Besides, it's one of the only ways to keep your mouth shut. Unless, of course, you’d prefer that.”

“At this rate, you’re going to suffocate me,” Kaveh mumbles and lets his eyes fall shut. Then, he whispers. It's a quiet mumble, really, hardly audible with the rain slowly growing heavier and louder. “Are you going to leave?”

“Eventually.” Kaveh’s lips tilt downward. “We’ll have to change the sheets, Kaveh. But it can wait a little longer.”

Kaveh presses his head into the crook of Alhaitham’s neck, relaxing against him.

Alhaitham can’t take much more of this, or his heart is going to burst.

.

.

.

At first, it wasn’t like this.

It started when he arrived home late, against his own wishes and usual strict rescheduling of leaving right when the sun began to hang over the horizon. The sun had long since set by the time he stumbled into his home. His day had been aggravating, spent untangling the fuck up of one of his juniors. He wanted nothing more than to collapse into his bed and sleep through the next day.

Instead, he found Kaveh in his bed. Alhaitham’s bed. Tucked underneath the covers, laying on the side that is usually his. He wasn’t asleep, and though he had been on the cusp, he sat up upon noticing his roommate's presence in the doorway.

“Ah, Alhaitham―I’m sorry,” Kaveh began, though he made no effort to get out of bed. “It's rather cold in my room and your quilt is warm―”

“It's quite alright.”

The shock on Kaveh’s face was a delight Alhaitham relished in for as long as it lasted, which was a long while. Alhaitham removed his cape and hung it on a hook, stripping himself of the tight shirts hugging his torso, and unwinding the fabrics around his waist. The earpieces that once sat on his head ended up on the bedside table, and soon Alhaitham was crawling into bed next to him.

He slept peacefully.

It became a regular occurrence for Kaveh to make his way to Alhaitham’s room on cold nights, seeking out the warmth of the quilt and the body that lay next to him. Soon, Kaveh began sleeping closer and closer to Alhaitham until he was practically on top of him, their legs intertwining. Alhaitham never made an effort to pull away. He couldn’t bring himself to detach himself from Kaveh; the feel of him pressed against Alhaitham was too good to let go.

Neither can he remember how it happened, who moved first, and when, only that Alhaitham ended up with his cock weighing heavily on Kaveh’s tongue while he fingered his hole. His free hand ended up in Kaveh’s hair, making a mess of the already loose braid.

It was quick and desperate, but Kaveh looked lovely with his mouth around Alhaitham’s cock and his hole stretched wide, even if just by Alhaitham’s fingers. Split slid down his chin, and it was that slight alone that sent Alhaitham over the edge, cumming down his throat. Kaveh followed, spilling at the feel of gentle fingers brushing his prostate over and over.

Neither spoke in the aftermath. They cleaned up and fell asleep with a bit of space between them, but close enough to still feel each other’s warmth.

But weeks later, Kaveh was being fucked by Alhaitham’s fingers once more,

And then it changed.

Alhaitham, spending countless hours with his mouth on Kaveh’s rim, tongue fucking him.

Kaveh, on all fours, as he stretched to take in Alhaitham’s cock.

Handjobs underneath the covers.

Gradually, Kaveh abandoned his room entirely and made the once-empty space in Ahaitham’s bed his. His scent was permanent on the pillow and, truthfully, Alhaitham can’t imagine how he ever slept well by himself. He cannot begin to imagine how he might try to sleep without Kaveh’s presence beside him.

He can’t stand the thought.

.

.

.

"Must be a heavy storm," Kaveh says from the kitchen. He stands in front of one of the counters, watching the tea steep, dressed in nothing but one of Alhaitham's lounge shirts. He leans forward, standing on the tips of his toes, to peer out the window overlooking their back garden. Rain pounds the windows now, heavy and hard, as it crashes into the earth.

Alhaitham is smitten where he lingers in the doorway. Seeing Kaveh dressed in his clothes standing in their kitchen while talking about something as mundane as the weather is surreal. He often wonders if the people of Sumeru have been given dreams again because this must be some long dream he can't wake up from.

He can't remember when they turned from just two men who happened to know each other from the Akademiya and ended up sharing a house as a result of unfortunate circumstances on Kaveh's part to something softer. They share comfortable silence and tea. They browse the local markets for food and furniture and end the day with drinks, which Alhaitham always pays for. They bathe together to "save water" and share a bed for "heat". They've seen each other naked, sweating and breathless, and Alhaitham truly can't remember how any of that came about. It just happened.

It very rapidly became their normal, and he doesn't know when that happened either.

Perhaps it has always been normal.

Perhaps he's always found comfort in feeling Kaveh take his place beside him in bed after staying up entirely too late working away in their shared study. It never felt strange to wake up to Kaveh's sleeping form come morning, never felt odd to see him dressed in clothes he stole from Alhaitham's wardrobe.

He does not know when they happened either. He doesn't know what they are, if anything at all, and the mere thought of them being nothing makes his heart lurch.

Alhaitham walks up behind Kaveh, fingers feathering over his hips and trailing down to the uppermost exposed section of his thigh. The touches mean nothing and only fulfill a desire he has to touch Kaveh any time he’s able. Something about the man's soft, warm skin underneath his touch settles a stir Alhaitham can’t find the root of.

“It's supposed to last until tonight,” Alhaitham tells Kaveh, and angles his head to drop a kiss on the curve of his neck.

“Oh?” Kaveh challenges. “And you know this how?”

“I just do.”

Scoffing, Kaveh mumbles, “Is there anything you don’t know, oh great Scribe?”

His hands play with the hem of the shirt before slipping underneath to find the bare skin of Kaveh’s toned abdomen. Alhaitham knows of the stars and the blood-stained past of their land. He knows of legends, myths, and truths. He knows of archons and devils. Alhaitham is a wise man with extensive knowledge on many things and he has never been shy to show it.

He knows, also, about Kaveh. That his emotional fragility is both a gift and a curse, a beautiful part of him. He knows that Kaveh is an honest drunk who blabbers nonsense until he’s forcefully tucked into bed. He is confident in his work but insecure in his own skin, uncertain of himself and what the future holds for him. Alhaitham knows that if Kaveh could be anywhere else that wasn’t this house he would be; he says it all the time when they bicker and fight over stupid things like decor and organization.

But does he mean it? For a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, his true feelings are unknown.

“If only you knew how little I know about the things that matter,” Alhaithams mutters against the crook of Kaveh’s neck and lets out a sigh, enjoying the way Kaveh shivers as his hands explore further. The shirt bunches up, exposing Kaveh’s torso. Through what little reflection appears on the window, Alhaitham drinks in the sight.

“What the hell does that meーoh,” he gasps mid-sentence and leans forward to brace himself on the counter. Alhaitham’s steady hands toy with Kaveh’s nipples while his tongue drags a long stripe up to the shell of his ear. The sound that emits from his throat is sweet, soft, honest. “You’re insatiable, aren’t you?”

Alhaitham hums against Kaveh’s skin. “And you aren’t?”

“We just fucked,” Kaveh defends, his head falling back onto Alhaitham’s shoulder. Not a moment is wasted before their lips are connected in a haphazard kiss, sloppy and wet, full of desperation and longing.

Breaking away, Alhaitham says, “Tell me to stop and I will.” His hand runs down the length of Kaveh’s body, fingers fluttering across the shaft of his hardening cock.

Kaveh shakes his head and melts back against Alhaitham, his body relaxing against his touch. It's always so nice to feel Kaveh give himself to Alhaitham, to trust him completely and fully with his body. He doesn’t shy away from the touch anymore, like he once had, and instead begs for it, demands it.

Alhaitham dots the side of Kaveh’s head in kisses, follows the curve of his jaw and nips at the slope of his neck. Kaveh sighs at the feeling, his hand gripping the counter for purchase as Alhaitham’s hands work up and down the length of his now fully hard cock. It's quite a lovely view, Alhaitham thinks, to see his chest from up here, to see his cock peeking out from underneath the stolen shirt.

He would savor the view a little longer if his patience weren’t wearing thin. He’s quick to turn Kaveh around, to capture his lips and suck the air out of him in a desperate attempt for closer contact. His hands find Kaveh’s face and here, he holds him gently. Like he might fall apart, like if the touch is not feather-like he will crumble to dust and Alhaitham is desperate to keep Kaveh, to have and hold him. He tastes the mint on Kaveh’s breath and inhales the Padisarah soap he insisted on buying despite the price. At the time, Alhaitham was fully against it一It's supporting them, Kaveh had said, motioning to the small stand within the small shopping plaza of Sumeru City, It's homemade and I bet it smells amazing一but he’s not so much anymore. The scent is fresh and warm and everything Kaveh is.

Nothing would ever beat the look on Kaveh’s face when Alhaitham gave in and bought him the stained glass container, also handmade. Alhaitham would buy dozens of Padisarah soaps if it meant getting to see that look for the rest of his life. It was so pure, so selfless, to be that joyful about helping out a stranger he didn’t know buy their next meal. That day, a part of Alhaitham shifted, too. Kaveh seemed to have that effect on him.

Gasping, Kaveh manages to say, “Don’t ever stop一”

And Alhaitham breaks.

He hoists Kaveh up, wrapping his legs around his waist, and carries him over to the small dining table station in front of a set of large windows overlooking the rest of their garden. Alhaitham pushes everything on the table aside and tries not to cringe at the sound of miscellaneous items clattering to the floor as he takes great care in laying Kaveh down. He digests the sight once again, for he is unable to help himself; Kaveh’s hair is mused, his usual braid sloppy and loose for it had not been done by Alahitham’s hands. His skin is flushed red with heat, and the slightly oversized shirt he stole from Alhaitham’s wardrobe slips from his right shoulder, revealing hardly anything and yet so much at the same time.

“You’re gorgeous, Kaveh,” Alhaitham mumbles as he nestles between Kaveh’s legs and leans forward, brushing his bottom lip against both of Kaveh’s. “Simply breathtaking.”

“Alhaitham, please一”

“Don’t tell me to stop. Don’t tell me not to adorn you with the words you deserve to hear.”

Kaveh’s hands fly up to his face. It's not typical for him to be so shy during intimate moments like this. They’ve become so used to one another’s bodies and ways that there’s very little to hide from, yet here he is, hiding. It's unfathomably cute.

“Look at me.” Alhaitham’s fingers feather over the top of Kaveh’s hand before tugging the fingers away. His face is fire red. “Are you embarrassed?” he questions, slightly raising an eyebrow.

“So what if I am?” Kaveh’s eyes shoot to the side, avoiding Alhaitham’s gaze.

He smiles, a ghost of a thing on his lips. “Nothing,” he says against Kaveh’s jaw and begins to trail his lips downward following the length of his neck. Alhaitham pushes the shirt up once again, revealing the expanse of Kaveh’s chest and his toned abdomen. He continues with his path of fire along Kaveh’s skin, occasionally stopping to kitten lick one of his nipples or nip at his short ribs. Beanthe his lips, Kaveh squirms and lets out whimpers, his chest rising and falling with each desperate breath.

Soon, Alhaitham is on his knees between Kaveh’s thighs, either one slung over his shoulder as he circles the tip of his tongue around his rim. Kaveh gasps, his hands flying to bury themselves in Alhaitham’s still-wet hair. They tug at the strands and push his mouth closer, aching for more contact. He kitten licks the outside of Kaveh’s hole before dipping his thumb inside, stopping at the first knuckle. He stretches the muscle and lets the tip of his tongue slip past the rim. Kaveh’s breath hitches and the tightness of his grip on Alhaitham’s hair increases, tugging harder as he makes yet another attempt to push his face closer.

Alhaitham removes his thumb and wraps his arms around the meaty thighs caging his hand in, digging his fingers into the flesh as he begins to tongue fuck Kaveh. He makes an effort to stop Kaveh from rocking his hips against his face, from using his hands to push his head closer, chasing more than what he’s being given. Alhaitham loves it. He loves the way Kaveh’s warmth wraps around his tongue and the desperate sounds that leave his tongue and the way his legs dig into his shoulders, push against his shoulder, as the pleasure increases when a finger slips in alongside his tongue.

He clenches around Alhaitham, muttering, “Archons, Alhaitham, please. I can’t一I can’t.”

Smirking, Alhiatham removes his tongue and nibbles at the inner part of Kaveh’s thigh. “Please what?”

“More.” Kaveh swallows and removes a hand from Alhaitham’s hair, using it to prop himself up on the table. “This isn’t enough.”

“Oh? So you don’t want to cum on my tongue?” he teases and drags a long stripe across the outside of Kaveh’s hole. “What do you want then?”

Kaveh’s teeth visibly dip into the inside of his cheek as his face burns even more red, impossibly red. “Your cock,” he manages. “You. Inside. Please.”

His pleas are needy things, breathless, and they’re more than enough to bring Alhaitham to his feet. Kaveh’s legs fall from his shoulders and settle on either side of his hip, still open enough for Alhaitham to have a good look at what lies between them. He leans forward and kisses Kaveh, slipping his tongue past his lips and forcing Kaveh to taste himself.

“Don’t you taste divine?” he asks against Kaveh’s lips, and grins at the whimper he receives in place of words.

Kaveh’s hands move up to Alhaitham’s shoulders, squeezing before bringing him closer. “Just fuck me already,” he begs.

How could Alhaitham ever say no to that?

He knows. Kaveh knows how to play Alhaitham, how to say and do things to get what he wants, and Alhaitham is no fool. He falls right into Kaveh’s trap each and every time, without a fight, because there is a freedom that only comes with being in Kaveh’s presence. He doesn’t have to put on a facade around him. There’s no need to hide the fact that he is pathetic and wrapped completely around Kaveh’s finger. There’s no need to pretend. He can hang up his mask along with his cloak and just be.

“Anything you want,” Alhaitham whispers before leaning back slightly. He removes his cock from his lounge pants and uses the precum drooling from the tip to coat the rest of his length. He lines himself up with Kaveh’s hole and, just before pushing in, leans in close, so close the tips of their noses make contact, says, “I would give you the world, Kaveh. Say the word and it's yours,” and then one quick thrust he buries himself inside of Kaveh.

Alhaitham bottoms out and groans at the sudden warmth encasing him, at Kaveh’s walls tight walls wrapping around him. He doesn’t give Kaveh a chance to answer and finds a steady pace. He pulls out until just the tip is left in before thrusting to the hilt. Kaveh wraps one around Alhaitham’s neck and presses the palm of his other hand against his chest, gasping and moaning as Alhaitham’s cock repeatedly slams into him at a relentless pace.

Unshed tears cling to his lashes and his head falls back against the table, his hips trying to move in time with Alhaitham’s. The movements before quicker, chasing after the pleasure, and it's when the tip of Alhaitham’s cock brushes against that sweet buried deep within Kaveh that he finally cries. The tears are large and fall fast down his face, leaving red stains behind. Drool begins to dribble out of the corner of his mouth, almost in time with the cum leaking from the head of his cock. He clings to Alhaitham, his legs tightly wrapping around his waist and dragging him closer.

His breath on Alhaitham’s ear and his fingers digging into the back of his neck are almost too much for Alhaitham, nearly sending him over the edge. Those whimpers in his ear, on his skin, the dull pain of trimmed nails scratching at him are almost enough to break him, but after slowly his pace down to something that can only be described as agonizing, he regains some composure.

He moves a hand to stroke Kaveh’s weeping cock, but is stopped.

His eyes are half-lidded and alight with desire, wild and fiery, and his cheeks are slick with tears. “Don’t,” Kaveh commands.

So Alhaitham doesn’t.

Instead, he slips one hand under Kaveh’s lower back and angles his hips up, allowing him to drive his cock in deeper, and intimately intertwines his free hand with Kaveh’s, pressing it by his head. Kaveh turns his head to the side and bites into Alhaitham’s forearm when his prostate is brushed again, again, again, stifling his moans.

Alhaitham holds Kaveh close, captivated by every moan and whimper that escapes him, and leaves slopping kisses everywhere his lips can reach. The tip of his nose, each cheek, the sharp line of his jaw, the bow of his throat, the long lines of his collarbones. Teeth marks and already forming bruises are left in Alhaitham’s wake.

Being inside Kaveh has always been a blissful feeling, but something about this moment, something about the pattering rain outside and the look on Kaveh’s face and the rapid beating of Alhaitham’s heart is making it feel all the more different. Something is different. They are different.

And he understands it, then, that the feeling has been inside him all along. That the feeling he felt when he emerged from the bathroom to find Kaveh in the kitchen has been buried somewhere inside him, tucked away in some dark corner of his heart. It's always been there, he thinks. It's been there since their time at the Akademiya and it was there the day Kaveh, despite how embarrassing it was, explained that he had gone bankrupt, that he was left without money due to what Alhiatham believes is his own idealism. It made itself known, only slightly, when Alhaitham said they could share the house Kaveh built, that it was half his anyway.

It's been there every day since, too. A thrum in his heart and a lump in his throat and a wave over his entire body. It's there. It's always been there, for as long he can remember and before.

Alhaitham looks down at Kaveh, a mess of sweat and cum beneath him, and he gives the feeling a name, its true name.

Not want. Or desire. Or need.

“Kaveh,” he breathes against Kaveh’s skin and finds great delight in the way he shivers.

“Kaveh,” he says again, with urgency.

“Kaveh,” he mutters into Kaveh’s mouth, as he captures his lips. “You’re beautiful.”

And his hand is gone from Kaveh’s back, moving to instead caress his face. He touches him as if he’s made of glass, and to Alhaitham he is. He is glass and he is marble and he is pristine, despite his dents and scratches, he is nothing less than perfect.

With a cry, Kaveh spills onto his stomach and Alaitham fucks him through the orgasm, chasing his own and filling Kaveh up. He’s breathless, a man gone mad, as he drops his head onto Kaveh’s shoulder and lets his hips still after several more weak thrusts. They stay like that for a while, impossibly close and intertwined, the atmosphere completely different compared to when they started.

Kaveh’s tone is teasing when he says, “You know, showering me in compliments isn’t necessary, Alhaitham.”

Into his neck, Alhiatham responds, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, I mean一it's just that一if you don’t mean一”

“Are you doubting my sincerity? Are you calling me a liar?” He sits up, peering down at Kaveh.

Kaveh doesn’t back down. “And if I am?”

“Earlier I said I know very little of the things that matter, but now, Kaveh, I know of one thing that matters.” Alhaitham brings their laced fingers up to his lips and kisses the back of Kaveh’s hand. “It's you. It's always been you.”

“Alhaitham一”

“Would you still continue to doubt me if I said I love you?” Alhaitham speaks into Kaveh’s skin and holds Kaveh’s gaze. “I love you.”

“Have you gone mad?”

He shakes his head. “No. Quite the opposite, in fact.” Alhaitham shuts his eyes. “You can doubt the Archons and Celestia. You can call me a liar. You can do whatever you want. But please do not treat me as a fool when I am laying myself bare to you.”

Kaveh exhales without a word, his hips falling from their tight grasp around Alhaitham’s hips. He is a man with few fears, but this silence is one of them. The loudness of it, the sheer weight of it pressing into his shoulders and crushing his chest, is beyond horrifying.

There is nothing but rain hitting the roof and striking their windows. Nothing but their breaths. Nothing but Alhaitham’s heart beating wildly in his chest.

“I thought,” Kaveh mutters, tightening his fingers woven through Alhaitham’s. “I’d hoped. If I could dream I would’ve dreamt of it. But I never knew.”

He leans up and by the back of his neck, pulls Alhaitham down into a kiss that outmatches any prior ones. It is soft and sweet. It's simple. He’s kissing him just to kiss him because he can.

“I’m yours, Kaveh.” The words tumble from Alhaitham’s lips, a little shakier than he would’ve liked. “If you’ll have me.”

A smile plays on Kaveh’s lips and it's like the sun has been plucked from the sky, like Kaveh has swallowed it, and now it's shining through him.

“Can we go back to bed?” Kaveh whispers.

Alhaitham would fight Archons to keep that smile on Kaveh’s face. He would wage war against anyone who dare ruin it. He would move mountains and give Kaveh the world if it kept him by his side, if only for the brief while they are on Tevyat.

For all Alhaitham would do for Kaveh, it's an impossibly simple request.

It's perfect.