For as Long as It Takes - Kavetham Angst/Fluff

Chapter 14 - Do We Look Like Friends?

Kaveh was actually glad he didn't have to confront Alhaitham about the last night. He arrived back around noon and the other was nowhere to be seen. Instead of waiting for him to return Kaveh closed himself in his room, trying to remember last things missing in his travelling backpack. He questioned his decision at this point but quickly reassured himself it's only for the best. They could never live his dream so it's better to forget this.

When Alhaitham returned it was already dark outside and Kaveh didn't bother to disturb him, then he remembered the letter he wrote to him. Sort of a love letter. If he got his letter, he knows exactly why he's probably ignoring him. He was just really drunk yesterday and Kaveh just looks a lot more feminine than other men he knows so it made sense. He threw himself on his luxuriously soft bed, enjoying the comfort he wouldn't feel in the few upcoming days. He fell asleep in no time, snoring quietly.

~•~

Alhaitham made a note in his head to go check on Kaveh when he heard he finally arrived home. But he didn't want to possibly make things awkward so he grabbed a book and decided to wait for a little bit.

As soon as he thought it was late enough for Kaveh to be possibly asleep, he quietly made his way to Kavehs room. He slowly opened the door, just enough for him to peek inside without being noticed in case he's working on his commissions tonight. But to his surprise, Kaveh was sleeping for real, snoring a little. He must've been really tired from all that travelling.
Alhaitham smiled a little and hesitantly entered the room, he knew he shouldn't do that, but it was his house anyway, right? He lowered himself next to blondes bed and gently removed some hair strands from his forehead, l tucking it behind his ear carefully. And after few more moments of hesitation he lightly pressed his lips against the forehead.
He could see Kaveh smiling in his sleep which made him blush a little. He must be having a wonderful dream, he rarely smiles these days, he realised.

Before he left for good he noticed the wooden supporting stick, laid against a wall. He glanced at sleeping Kaveh with a concerned look. Hopefully it isn't anything too serious...

~•~

Kaveh left early in the morning, not being given a chance to say goodbye to his roommate since it seemed like he was still asleep, which was not usual during the week. So instead he wrote a quick letter: 'I'll be away for about a week, don't try to contact me. P.S. don't worry I'll be careful'. He would absolutely add some cheesy embarrassing sentence but he didn't know what terms they are on right now so he decided against it, sighing sadly and putting the piece of paper on the kitchen counter.

He grabbed all his things and closed the main door behind him, glancing at his home for the last time before leaving. Home...

~•~

A lot of things happened while Kaveh was away.
He missed the fall of the Grand sage and some of his helpers, which couldn't work without Alhaithams surprisingly good acting skills. But few days before that, the scribe met Traveller and they planned the whole thing together with few other people. And thanks to that, he has been promoted. We all know that story...

They met in the Daena library. Kaveh was the first to notice the other, but he didn't want to approach him. He didn't really know how his roommate feels about him now, after they weren't in touch for more than a week.
Of course a lot changed on both sides. And there were few things that Kaveh wanted to ask him.

"Oh, hello there," Alhaitham spoke first, not even bothering to look at the other, reading some book with really boring cover. As expected. But Kaveh had more important things in his mind right now.
"What the hell happened here while I was away?! Everybody is talking about the Acting Grand sage," Kaveh started.

"Yes, they kind of want me to become the next Grand sage," the other answered, still paying more attention to the book.

"You?!? Of all people? There are so many people that would fit the position much better than some grumpy muscle-brained bookworm!"
"Who, for example? You?," the other said with a pinch of sarcasm, ignoring all the insults thrown at him.

"Well, even I would make a better suitor for the position"
"Well, and where were you when Sumeru needed you the most? No wonder they prefer me over you."
Where were you when I needed you? Alhaitham meant to say, it definitely wasn't easy to come home late in the evening to a complete silence when so many things were happening and there was no one who would blabber about it. He liked peace and silence for as long as he could remember but it felt different out of sudden. Kaveh wasn't a bother all along.

"You're being an absolute asshole again, I don't know why I am even bothering to talk to you! How could I know about the situation, I was in the desert, investigating some ruins!"

"You know what? You can move out if you can't stand my personality," Alhaitham ended the dialog, regretting things he said right away but he managed to keep his cool somehow. Kaveh walked away, trying his best to hold back tears. Alhaitham wanted to go and catch up to him or at least shout an apology but he saw Traveller approaching him so he stayed calm and quiet. It was enough trouble if they heard about them being roommates.

"Was that a friend of yours?," Paimon asked curiously.
"Do we really look like friends?"