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PAST
You, Alhaitham, and Kaveh were playing together in Alhaitham's backyard. The sound of laughter danced in the air as the three of you enjoyed the last taste of summer before the hectic school year would start. Your parents sat with Alhaitham's having a casual chat.
Alhaitham's dad wasn't paying attention to the conversation, instead choosing to look at you and his son. The two of you sat under the apple tree talking since Kaveh went inside to grab a drink. He couldn't hear what you were saying, but saw how much you made Alhaitham smile.
"Hon," Alhaitham's mom calls. "Is everything okay?" she asks looking in the direction of his gaze.
"It's fine," he replies. Your parents follow his gaze, too. A warm smile paints your mom's face while a mischievous glint shines in your dad's eyes.
"They're going to date someday," your dad blurts out, causing your mom and Alhaitham's mom to look at him in surprise.
"No, I agree," Alhaitham's dad says. "I'm actually willing to bet on it."
"A bet you say?" your dad thinks aloud. "How much we talking?"
"$100 says they'll date when they're in high school."
"What?" your mom says.
"I'll double it," your dad smirks. "$200, but I know my daughter. I think college."
"I'll match it," Alhaitham's mom chimes in. "$200. They're going to date the summer before Alhaitham goes to college."
"Great," your dad smiles. "So the pool is $500."
"Oh my my my," your mom sighs. "You guys are insane! They're only seven and eight!"
"Just speculating," Alhaitham's mom shrugs. "There's nothing wrong with that."
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PRESENT
You, Kaveh, and your parents were at Alhaitham's house waiting for midnight to strike. To pass the time, everyone decided to do something different. Kaveh was on their living room couch watching a movie. Your parents and Alhaitham's mom sat with him, entranced in their own conversation. In another room, you sat with Alhaitham at the piano bench. Currently, he was playing a piece from the book you gave him for Christmas.
You watch as his skilled hands glide across the stark white keys, gently tapping them in the rhythm of the song. His viridescent eyes narrowed in focus as he played. The melody filled the air, bringing a gentle smile to your face. Once he was finished, you clapped for him.
"That was beautiful," you say.
"Thank you," he replies while his eyes lingered on you.
"What?"
"Nothing, I'm just excited for the future."
"Future as in an hour from now?" you ask, referring to the new year.
"Well," he says sheepishly. "That and every year after." You felt a familiar fluttering sensation rising in your chest.
"What are you gonna do after college?" you think aloud.
"I did an internship at the Akademiya this summer," he says, mentioning the research facility.
"Ah, I remember that," you nod.
"If things go well, then I might work there after college." He scoots closer to you and rests his head on your shoulder. "What about you?"
"In high school, Kaveh and I always said that we can work together in the future, since our majors are very closely related, but honestly I could work anywhere after I get my computer science degree." You shrug. "I haven't really figured anything out yet."
"That's okay," Alhaitham says. "There's no pressure to figure it out now."
"That's true." You rest your hand on Alhaitham's thigh. A pair of viridian eyes focus on the charm bracelet on your wrist. Every time your wrist moved, the charms would jingle or glimmer in the light. "All I know is when I move out, I for sure want to have a pet," you say.
"Oh, what kind?"
"I'd be happy with anything, but maybe a dog."
"I'd love to have a dog with you."
"Really?!" The obvious excitement in your voice brought a childlike grin to Alhaitham's face.
"Of course," he says with a chuckle.
"Haitham, let's say in the future we move in together. Would you like to have a big house or a small house?"
"I don't really care about how big the house is, or where we live, for that matter," he replies. Alhaitham gives your hand a gentle squeeze. "If we're moving in together, that's more than enough for me." Tiredly, you nuzzle his silky silver hair. The faint scent of coconut fills your nostrils.
"I need to steal your shampoo," you blurt out. With a chuckle, Alhaitham places his hand above yours, fingers intertwining. He brings your hand up to his mouth and presses a kiss against your knuckles. A gentle laugh left your lips as he did so.
Before you could say anything, a knock echoed against the door. With a groan, Alhaitham removed his head from your shoulder. "Come in," he calls.
Your brother opens the door with a sheepish smile. "The countdown is starting soon," he informs. "There'll be fireworks in ten minutes."
"Thanks, Kav. We'll be right out," you say.
Once your brother leaves, you and Alhaitham stand from the piano bench. You were about to reach for the doorknob when you felt a hand on your waist. "Yes?" you ask as you turned to face him.
Wordlessly, he took a step closer to you. While one hand rested at your waist, the other found its way under your chin, gently lifting it up. All you saw was a sea of green. "Haitham, what are yo-"
The warmth of his lips on yours stole the words from your mouth. A tingling sensation bubbled in your stomach. Before it this could escalate, you reluctantly pulled away. "Hey, it's not midnight yet," you scold.
"I'm sure I don't need a set time to kiss you. I can do that whenever I want and as long as you don't stop me," he responds nonchalantly.
"Well, if that's the case." You shrug. Your hands grab the man's shirt, pulling him closer. As you did this, both of his hands traveled down to your hips. A playful smirk painted his expression. Alhaitham leaned in to kiss you once again, but before he could the door to the room opened.
"Oh my my my," your mom teases. Instantly, you and Alhaitham separated from each other. Bright red painted your cheeks, as well as Alhaitham's.
"Hey, mom," you quickly said.
"I came to drag you guys outside to watch the countdown, but I guess I'm interrupting something." She turned around and walked out of the room. "Just join us when you're done. We don't want you to miss the fireworks"
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FUTURE
Alhaitham sat in his home office, nose deep into a research paper. He currently worked for the Akademiya, which is a renowned research facility with a reputation for it's dedicated employees. He was no exception. His English degree and affinity for foreign languages made him a perfect fit to work at the Akademiya. In his first few years, he managed to rise through the ranks, quickly earning him the position of the Akademiya's Scribe.
Much like your friends and Alhaitham, you worked at the Akademiya, too, but in a different department. Rather than using your computer science degree in one of the six Darshans, you decided to take it easy and just work as computer repair. After all, everyone needs computer support. It wasn't uncommon for a researcher to throw a fit when their computer crashes in the middle of an intense project.
The man pushes his glasses up with a sigh. The research paper he was currently reading started to give him a migraine. "Poorly written, just like the last one," he mumbles while reaching for a pen. His eyes catch a glimpse of the framed photo next to his pen cup. It was the same framed photo you gave him for Christmas nearly eleven years ago. He couldn't help the grin that found its way to his face. Impulsively, he took the photo frame and removed its back, a habit he formed when he wanted to distract himself from his demanding job.
The back of the photo now had three handwritten lines on it. The third one dislplayed 'Married my best friend' in Alhaitham's penmanship with your wedding date six years ago written next to it.
A knock on his door broke him from his thoughts. He quickly put the picture back in its frame. "Come in," he calls. The wooden door swung open, revealing you in a very lavish dress. A warm smile decorated your features.
"Haitham," you greet. "Did you forget?"
"Forget what?"
"Nilou has a new show opening tonight, and we're all supposed to be there," you remind him.
"Oh, I'll be right out then," he says. "But what about Samir?" he asks.
Samir is your and Alhaitham's son, who was a curious five year old. He inherited your hair color, but had Alhaitham's striking eyes. Much like his father, Samir prefers to stay inside and read.
"I already took care of it," you beam. As if on cue, the doorbell sounds. "That should be her right now." You quickly leave Alhaitham's office and run to the front door. The grey-haired man follows behind you.
Once you open the door, a wider smile grows on your face. "Nahida!" you squeal as you welcome the girl into your home with a hug. The young girl you once knew was now sixteen. "So glad you could watch Samir!"
"It's no problem," she giggles. "I think it's only appropriate that I should babysit my old babysitter's kid."
"Woah, Nahida," Alhaitham says in shock. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" The girl immediately goes to hug him.
"It has!" the teen laughs. "Your mom told mine about both of your positions in the Akademiya. Congrats!"
"Thank you," you both say.
"How are you two holding up?" she asks. "I can only imagine how stressful that kind of work environment can be."
"Well, it certainly is something," Alhaitham sighs.
"Mommy!" Samir shouts as he runs down the stairs towards you. "My movie ended."
"I can put a new one on for you, if you want," you suggest.
"Yes please!" he beams. Your son's eyes flicker over to Nahida. "Mommy, Daddy, why is there a stranger in our house? Didn't they teach you guys about stranger danger in school, too?" A smile threatens to show itself on Alhaitham's features while you let out a little gasp.
"Honey, that's rude. She's not a stranger, she's an old friend," you say. "She'll be watching you while we go out tonight."
"My name's Nahida," the girl beams.
"I'm Samir."
"Nice to meet you!"
"Behave, okay?" Alhaitham says.
"Okay."
With that, Alhaitham rushes to the bedroom to make himself presentable for Nilou's show. He discards his polo shirt and jeans for a more appropriate button up and slacks. After double checking his pockets, he leaves the room to find Nahida and Samir sitting across from each other on the couch. Samir excitedly chatters about his recent fascination with space.
Alhaitham's viridian eyes meet yours, causing a grin to appear on your face. "Mommy and Daddy will be back before you know it," you say to Samir. The boy leaves his place on the couch to hug both of you before running back to Nahida.
"Thanks again, Nahida," Alhaitham calls.
"Of course! Go enjoy yourselves!"
Alhaitham opens the front door for you, letting you leave before he follows. Afterwards, he unlocks the car door, opening it for you.
"I find it sweet you still open the door for me all these years later," you say once he's in the car. "Thank you."
"Of course, love," Alhaitham smiles. "Samir is a lot like you, you know?"
"Is he?"
"Yeah. Blurting out things like that when meeting new people is something only you do," he laughs, thinking back to when you two first met.
"That was what? 20-something years ago?"
"Some things never change," he says.
"I can think of a few things."
"Oh, care to share?" the man asks.
"You and me," you state. Your eyes fall to the charm bracelet around your wrist. What started off with eight simple charms, has grown over the years. "We've matured a lot since we first met."
"Yeah, but we're still the same little kids," he adds
"With jobs and money," you joke. "Now we can pretend to be functioning adults."
"Oh my my my," Alhaitham says as he rolls his eyes as you let out a little laugh. "What?"
"My mom's rubbing off on you, huh? She says that a lot."
"Mhm," he says.
For a moment, he takes his eyes off the road and a hand off the wheel. He reaches for one of your hands, which lay in your lap. Once your fingers lace with his, his viridian eyes focus on the road ahead. When he does this, you lean back into your seat getting comfortable.
You glance out the window at the buildings you pass on the way to the theater. Many of the buildings in town have changed like the seasons. Older storefronts became worn out and eventually replaced by newer ones. But despite the changes in this town (and in life), maybe Alhaitham was right.
Throughout the turbulence in your life, you could always count on Alhaitham to be a constant, an anchor in a sea of confusion and difficulty. His presence alone was enough to calm you, much like yours is to him. No matter what changes you face in your life, you have always done it with Alhaitham at your side.
That's never going to change.
You take an opportunity to steal another glance at Alhaitham, your husband and best friend. A wide grin grows on your face when you think of all you've been through together. "What is it love?" he asks.
"You've still got your reading glasses on," you reply.
"Sorry, I forgot to take them off before we left," Alhaitham sighs.
"It's fine!" you beam, "I think I prefer you with your glasses on."
"Do you now?" he says with a teasing tone.
"Mhm. Your glasses combined with your grey hair really make you look like an old man," you joke. Alhaitham playfully rolls your eyes as he lifts your hand up to his lips. He presses a gentle kiss on your knuckles before returning it to its place in your lap.
"Yeah, some things never change," he laughs, "not that I'd want you to anyways."
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That's a wrap!!
Thank you all so much for the love and support these past few months. I'm so grateful for each and every one of you for reading, commenting, and/or voting.
If you're interested, feel free to check out some other stories on my profile. Thanks again, and I'll see you in the next story. ❤️