[ he'd been privy to this side of kaveh several times before - it surfaced when he was at his most vulnerable, and by the nature of their long, tumultuous relationship, vulnerability was not a total stranger. alhaitham never quite gets used to seeing it though, not when the architect exuded total confidence the other 99% of the time, swanning around sumeru city on his way to this contract or that meeting with a smile he doesn't want anyone to know is fragile. often the scribe thinks to himself that this must be exhausting, to put so much effort into dancing around his problems - though the last time he said as much, they'd completely fallen out and hadn't talked for a long time afterwards.
so, alhaitham tries to choose his words more carefully, tries to watch his roommate from afar to at least make sure he had the space to deal with the slips in his façade. maybe he'd always been doing that. keeping tabs on (much less trying to protect) kaveh was like trying to bottle lightning though, which explains his less than stellar success rate at either thing, explains why he still has to watch him be upset even when he's standing right next to him.
it's frustrating as all hell, really, but somehow the irritation of the night fades into a lesser white noise as kaveh mumbles words alhaitham's still not quite sure he really understands and kisses him far sweeter than he deserves, the scribe reciprocating firmly in turn but hardly as rushed. ]
You're ridiculous, as usual. [ his low voice rumbles against the blonde's soft lips as they part, his expression neutral but a gentle fondness lingering in those turquoise eyes. ] Now, I believe there's several doddering higher-ups you haven't said hello to yet - probably a good idea to if that vacant sage position is ever going to filled, and the quicker it is, the sooner they'll stop asking me my opinions on it.
[ then it's alhaitham's turn to guide them both back out to the party, a large hand playing lightly on the small of his back in what could probably be interpreted as a friendly gesture if it were anyone else - but alhaitham didn't touch, not when it was anyone but kaveh.
they'd almost managed to rejoin the fray of the soiree when they're stopped in their tracks by yet another academic who couldn't take a hint that alhaitham was never here for conversation, insisting that he was required to settle a minor debate a few meters away. 'it'll only take a second,' the scholar pleads, and normally she'd be sent away with some scathing words about office hours - but, she's a senior in his darshan, and here alhaitham is, trying to play nice so that it would make kaveh's night easier.
oh, who had he become? ]
I'll just be a minute.
[ the taller man mutters reluctantly to his partner, his image the very definition of through with this - and slips away briefly to intellectually destroy the small cluster of haravatat scholars clustered near a bar table a few meters away. ]
no subject
so, alhaitham tries to choose his words more carefully, tries to watch his roommate from afar to at least make sure he had the space to deal with the slips in his façade. maybe he'd always been doing that. keeping tabs on (much less trying to protect) kaveh was like trying to bottle lightning though, which explains his less than stellar success rate at either thing, explains why he still has to watch him be upset even when he's standing right next to him.
it's frustrating as all hell, really, but somehow the irritation of the night fades into a lesser white noise as kaveh mumbles words alhaitham's still not quite sure he really understands and kisses him far sweeter than he deserves, the scribe reciprocating firmly in turn but hardly as rushed. ]
You're ridiculous, as usual. [ his low voice rumbles against the blonde's soft lips as they part, his expression neutral but a gentle fondness lingering in those turquoise eyes. ] Now, I believe there's several doddering higher-ups you haven't said hello to yet - probably a good idea to if that vacant sage position is ever going to filled, and the quicker it is, the sooner they'll stop asking me my opinions on it.
[ then it's alhaitham's turn to guide them both back out to the party, a large hand playing lightly on the small of his back in what could probably be interpreted as a friendly gesture if it were anyone else - but alhaitham didn't touch, not when it was anyone but kaveh.
they'd almost managed to rejoin the fray of the soiree when they're stopped in their tracks by yet another academic who couldn't take a hint that alhaitham was never here for conversation, insisting that he was required to settle a minor debate a few meters away. 'it'll only take a second,' the scholar pleads, and normally she'd be sent away with some scathing words about office hours - but, she's a senior in his darshan, and here alhaitham is, trying to play nice so that it would make kaveh's night easier.
oh, who had he become? ]
I'll just be a minute.
[ the taller man mutters reluctantly to his partner, his image the very definition of through with this - and slips away briefly to intellectually destroy the small cluster of haravatat scholars clustered near a bar table a few meters away. ]