Chapter Text
”Are you packed?”
“Yes. You?”
“Of course!”
“Then why am I looking at your tape measure, compass, and vision on the coffee table?”
“What? I packed those last night!” Kaveh turns from his seat at their kitchen table, eyeing the living room, smile slipping when he spots the tools.
“Well?”
“I— I’m not taking those!”
Al Haitham raises an eyebrow before finishing his glass of water. “If you say so.”
“I do say so!”
“Hmm. Sure.” His scribe rises from the table, taking their dinner plates to the sink to wash, leaving only Kaveh’s glass.
Tomorrow, they’re both heading off to Gandharva Ville. Kaveh is consulting the local designers for a commission while Al Haitham is meeting the head forest watchers. He’s been awfully vague about why.
“Make sure you at least take your vision.”
“Only if you bring your guards.”
Where there should be a witty comeback, Al Haitham stays quiet. Kaveh pushes. “You are bringing your guard team, right? You’re the Grand Sage after all.”
Al Haitham runs the water, letting it get warm. “I gave them the week off. They have better things to do than follow me around tomorrow.” He sets a dish on the drying rack before starting the next.
What?
“Haitham, that’s the second stupidest thing you’ve done all week. That team is there to protect you against assassination attempts and murderers and criminals and the hundreds of other things that might want you dead like killer-mushrooms and Ruin Guards and Ruin Hunters and everything else that ruins things and—”
Kaveh takes a swig of his wine before his anxiety takes over. “We’re travelling together. That’s final. If you insist on going without your guard, then I insist on badgering you every step of the way. And we’ll split the travel cost!”
Al Haitham rinses the bowls. “… I highly doubt we’ll run into any Ruin Guards in the forest, even dormant ones, but fine. If you insist.”
“I do insist!”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” Kaveh can’t see his lips but he can hear his smile.
Archons, Kaveh missed this.
Late night dinners and good conversation followed by light-hearted, comfortable banter with the man he loves.
“What do you mean, the second stupidest thing I’ve done this week?”
Ah, that.
When he doesn’t answer, Al Haitham shuts off the water and pushes. “Am I missing something? Is this about my meeting next week?”
His extended silence is all the confirmation his boyfriend needs. “Kaveh, I’d reschedule, but it’s the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing. She’s coming a long way for this meeting.”
“I know, I know. I just… Haitham, I was planning that dinner for a month.”
Al Haitham puts the last glass on the drying rack before rejoining Kaveh at the table, wrapping his arms around him from behind and burying his face in the crook of his neck. “There will be other dinners, Kaveh. Don’t worry.”
Not like that dinner.
Kaveh planned it down to the minute:
A table for two on the balcony of the Razan Gardens, their spot. A sunset to end their old lives in preparation for the new. Red wine to warm the night by candlelight under the stars. A ring, a proposal, a handful of words to embody the thousands to come should his scribe say yes, followed by the dawn of a new, shared life.
It was perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
But, at the end of the day, they still live separate lives, have their own responsibilities, and must act when there’s work to be done.
There will be other dinners.
Kaveh will make sure of it until the weight of the small pouch in his pocket is gone and the ring inside is on his scribe’s finger.
Al Haitham wraps an arm around Kaveh’s chest and hums before continuing. “Besides, cancelling plans is nothing new for us. You just cancelled on me for the dinner that I planned this weekend when you accepted tomorrow’s job.” Al Haitham says, nuzzling his neck.
“I didn’t mean to… It’s just that this commission is a really good opportunity! I haven’t worked in Gandharva Ville in years! And you know how much I love studying their—”
“—nature-inspired floor plans, leaf-like archways, dangling balconies, ancient wood carvings, and stained windows. Yes, love. I know.” Al Haitham kisses his cheek. “You still cancelled on me by agreeing to a trip that you know will take at least a week.”
“And just how long ago did you plan that dinner?”
He can feel his scribe go still. He’s holding his breath, thinking of an answer. Then, Kaveh feels Al Haitham’s other hand move to grab hold of something in his pocket. Only after feeling the tension and… disappointment(?) fade from his scribe’s hunched form does he answer, “...not long. Don’t worry. Like I said, there will be other dinners. You just do what makes you happy.”
Kaveh senses there’s more, but he won’t push his boyfriend to tell tonight. Instead, he looks up from the empty glass in his hand, eyes locking on the beautiful vase of padisarahs on the table that Al Haitham got yesterday ‘because they were on sale.’
There was no sale. Kaveh walked past the flower stand in the Bazaar twice this morning to check.
On top of that, he must have paid extra for the best of the bunch. The flowers on the table are practically glowing with luscious life. The green of their stems sparks an idea. “When was the last time you used your vision for something outside of combat?”
Al Haitham stands from behind him, starving Kaveh of his warmth. He gives the question thought.
“Yesterday.”
“What? What for?”
Al Haitham only smirks as he takes Kaveh’s empty glass to the sink.
“You just sit back and admire my work. Up for a round of chess after this?”
“Admire your wor— Hey! Don’t change the subject with chess!”
Kaveh gets up from the table, marching over to the sink to wash his own glass out of spite. Al Haitham hands him the sponge and dries his hands before heading to the living room. “I’ll set up the board.”
“You will do no such thing until I get an answer!” he says, rinsing the glass.
Al Haitham’s laugh fills the home like a breath of fresh air. Kaveh swears their house plants turn greener and bloom with joy at the sound. It’s as if—
Oh.
“You used your vision on the flowers.” He finishes up the dishes and strolls over to Al Haitham who’s already sitting on the divan with their chessboard set up on the coffee table next to Kaveh’s tools.
“See? You certainly have your moments of genius.”
Archons, he wants to kiss that smirk off his face so badly. But no. That’s exactly what Al Haitham wants. Nope! He’s not getting that satisfaction today. Now then, back to his flower-inspired plan.
“I certainly do.” He sits on the divan, letting his head rest in his scribe’s lap. “I bet I can make a flower with more petals than you can.”
Al Haitham runs a hand through Kaveh’s hair. He leans into the touch, pressing into the palm cupping his cheek. “Only in your dreams, love.”
They spend the rest of the night conjuring flowers with dozens of petals, weaving stems into crowns, and inventing new houseplants with their visions, just like they used to years ago.
Even after wine, Al Haitham’s lips taste like padisarahs.