Perhaps the appeal is that Kaveh bites back.
As an academic, Alhaitham thrives on challenges. It sparks joy, scratches that part of his genius that itches to learn more. It's a matter of observation and experimentation; the problem is that other people veer away and Alhaitham can't study them in the way that he wishes.
Kaveh though—Kaveh not only bites back, he makes a point to nip at the hand directly feeding him.
"You would drag me into here, wouldn't you? Did I embarrass you?"
"You're tipsy."
"Nonsense. I've had one drink, certainly not enough to cause any trouble."
"And yet you picked a fight with Tighnari."
Alhaitham has Kaveh pressed into the counter of the bathroom. Kaveh hisses, the sink faucet digging into the small of his back. Everything is too small in Gandharva Ville; the homes, the rooms, the toilets—
"He was being rude," says Kaveh. "So I was rude back."
Alhaitham grasps him by the chin, sweeping his thumb over his bottom lip. Kaveh's mouth opens—only to snap at his fingers. That bite of his. Gods, Alhaitham loves it.
Kaveh is a man with many facets, each side carefully penned like his architectural blueprints, planned to the finest detail. Different from every angle. Requires math and patience to work out. He could study him for eras, write papers on what makes him tick, and the moment the essay is done, there'd be more to discover.
"Did you bring me in here to punish me?" asks Kaveh then, his gaze turning half-lidded. Alhaitham's thumb still rests on his lip. Kaveh's tongue darts out to lick it before pulling the digit between his teeth.
"To praise you, perhaps."
Something flashes through Kaveh's eyes. "Oh? Do go on."
"Tighnari was wrong."
Kaveh scoffs. "I know. He is no artist but he knows better than to critique someone's work when he knows nothing about it. Those of us who bleed for your work deserve better."
There is no one Alhaitham knows who is more passionate than Kaveh who works himself to near death just to be a potential prospect. Hunched over his drafting table deep into the night, designing for potential clients who haven't even offered up a deposit.
It is foolish. Alhaitham has often thought so, but it is also admirable because even Alhaitham cannot say that he has the same sort of drive for his own academics. He thinks in a straight line; this leads to that, so on and so forth. Kaveh, though, bleeds moments together, combining moments and ideas that Alhaitham may have never begun to consider.
Opposites. Kaveh reflects everything that Alhaitham wishes he could be; artistic and passionate, driven by his desires.
It is a rare show of this that drives him now, leading him to a sort of impulsiveness that only Kaveh can drag from him. Alhaitham leans forward to press his face into Kaveh's nape. His fingers curl around Kaveh's hips and pull him to the edge of the counter until their bodies are flush. Then he grins, chuckling into Kaveh's neck. "What's this?"
"Shove it. As if you didn't know. You dragged me in here—"
"You shoved your bag into your lap. Most would have noticed."
"Yes, well, you aren't most." A pause. "We don't have long. They'll notice we're gone."
Alhaitham nips at Kaveh's neck, his teeth just barely sinking into the flesh there. He won't want to be marked up, not here in public. Still. He nearly does, the thought of it strangely appealing. Instead, he just kisses Kaveh's jaw, and then the apple of his throat.
"Quickly, then," says Alhatham.
"'Quickly,' he says." Kaveh snorts. "You make it sound easy."
Because it is. Alhaitham drops to his knees and presses his palms to Kaveh's thighs. Kaveh's gaze dips toward him. Pupils widen as Alhaitham nuzzles his erection through his trousers. A quick flick to the bathroom door.
"Here?"
"Where else?" It sounds so simple as he says it. Alhaitham watches Kaveh swallow as he thinks.
"Awfully confident, aren't you?"
Alhaitham mouths at his trousers, tracing his cock with his lips. "Is that a challenge?"
It is. Alhaitham knows it is. From the moment Kaveh said it to the widening of his legs, it's a request presented as a challenge, one that Alhaitham is happy to oblige. Kaveh undoes his trousers with shaking hands. He pulls out his cock and strokes it once, hissing softly as his thumb smooths over the tip.
Alhaitham peels away Kaveh's hand and kisses the tip of his cock. He licks down the length, tongue tracing the thick vein there until he reaches the base. It twitches. Leaks precome. He smiles as he nibbles at Kaveh's groin.
"Oh, wipe that smug smile of your—oh." Kaveh chokes, muffling his moan with a palm.
Alhaitham swallows his cock down with little fanfare and sets right to work, tongue flat against the underside of his length. He bobs his head, sucking around him, humming softly as the tip hits the back of his throat.
Kaveh leans back, hitting the mirror. "Fuck," he curses, a hand settling into Alhaitham's hair. He pulls at it hard, enough for the scalp to sting. "Fuck."
Alhaitham pulls off and shushes him. "Quiet. You know how Tighnari's ears are."
Kaveh bites at his lip to keep from crying out as Alhaitham wraps his lips around the head of his cock. He suckles the tip, tonguing at the slit, lapping at the precome that dribbles from it.
"Archons, the sight of you." Kaveh watches him with wide eyes. Then he clasps a hand over his mouth again to keep down a husky moan.
Alhaitham is quiet, more composed—at least on the outside. His cock tents his trousers, aching for more. He grinds his palm against it, staving off whatever pleasure builds in his gut. This is about Kaveh, watching him lose it so easily and come so quickly.
He'd been infuriatingly handsome when arguing with Tighnari. It had taken everything in Althaiham's power to not just bend him over the table right there.
A hiccup. One slight problem—
The others don't know. About them. Not yet. Kaveh and Alhaitham haven't found the time to fess up, so as far as the others are concerned, they're just ill-tempered roommates. Not hopelessly in love. Not doomed to featherlight touches and early morning kisses and spooning in the bed.
Certainly not fucking in Tighnari's bathroom.
Alhaitham doubles his efforts, sucking at Kaveh's cock and swirling his tongue. He jerks the rest with his hand, reaching the part his lips don't. Everything is rushed, hurried. Clipped in its pace. Kaveh pulls at his hair from the root, causing Alhaitham to grunt.
"Haitham," he murmurs, his voice low, raspy with arousal. "Haitham, I'm close. I'm going to come. I'm—"
A soft groan as Kaveh spills into his mouth. Alhaitham swallows it, pulling off to lap at any leftover spillage. For the cleanup, he reasons, not because it's sinful, or because Kaveh watches him with a dark, ruddy gaze, breathing wildly.
It is too quick for their liking. Alhaitham kisses Kaveh's soft cock before tucking it back into his trousers. He stands and leans close, squeezing Kaveh's length for good measure.
"Can I kiss you?"
Kaveh doesn't give him a choice, closing the distance to bite at his mouth. There it is, that antagonistic drive. Kaveh kisses him like he wants to drown in him—or kill him—and frankly, either option sounds good at the moment. Alhaitham moans around Kaveh's tongue, chasing it with his own. He is not doing a good job at ignoring his own need, pulling Kaveh into his erection for a quick grind.
Legs wrap around him, heels digging into his ass to keep him close. "Haitham," says Kaveh with a flutter of his lips, so different from the aggressive nature of his mouth. He latches on and refuses to let go. He holds Alhaitham's chin in a tight grip, forcing him to stay so he can plunder his mouth.
Alhaitham rolls his hips. The friction on his cock is divine. "A little more," he mutters against Kaveh's mouth. More kisses, more heavy petting, more frantic rutting as they grind against each other. Kaveh barely rests against the counter, his cock hard again, seeking out more.
And then the bathroom door opens.
Kaveh screeches, Alhaitham nearly drops him, and Tighnari just stands there unamused with his palm flat against the door frame. "Are you done? Some of us have to use the restroom for its intended purpose."
Alhaitham, for once, actually feels sheepish. It's a foreign feel that crawls through his chest, heightened by the arousal that still courses through his veins. And annoyance. Fuck, he'd been close.
Tighnari's gaze narrows. "What's with that clueless look? Did you think we didn't know you've been fucking each other? Besides, you're loud."
"When you say we," starts Kaveh, "just who do you mean?"
"Wait, you actually thought—" Tighnari bursts into laughter. Then he coughs, gathering himself. "You've got two minutes, otherwise I'll just pee with the two of you still in here. In the meantime, I have a bet to cash in on." Tighnari leaves and the door slams shut.
Alhaitham stands there with an aching cock, a staved-off orgasm, and Kaveh blubbering as he leans against the counter.
"I, we—" Kaveh's eyes dart to the window. "Think we can climb out and just make a run for it?"
Alhaitham is practical. They are all adults and he doesn't quite care what Tighnari and Cyno think. But all Kaveh has to do is wobble that bottom lip of his and Alhaitham is a goner.
"When we're home, I'll make a proper mess of you."
Kaveh laughs, rubbing at his face.
And then he gets stuck in the window frame.