When Kaveh weighed the pros and cons of moving back in with Alhaitham, this was not something that crossed his mind.

The things he thought of instead: Pro—good coffee because Alhaitham refuses to buy the cheap stuff. Con—the mess because Alhaitham is the type to just walk over a pile of books because selective vision is one of his worst qualities. Pro—the icebox is always full, as is the pantry. Con—Kaveh is the one expected to be hauling those groceries home, even if he isn't the one paying for them to be stocked.

In the grand scheme of things, these are minor nitpicks that Kaveh is more than willing to push through if it means food in his belly and a roof over his head. And, really, Alhaitham… well, Kaveh has never hated him, even at his angriest. Horrifically annoyed by, yes. Eternally vexed in the presence of, yes. Pushed to his absolute limits by? Certainly.

Like right now.

Kaveh was enjoying a very nice, lazy morning with a cup of coffee and the morning paper when Alhaitham walked in half-naked. He can't help the heat that curls in his gut. Kaveh's eyes rake the edges of Alhaitham's form, washing over the length of him.

The reality is that he's never forgotten just what those muscles feel like underneath his hands, or the length and girth of Alhaitham's cock, or those soft grunts that tumble from his mouth with every slick thrust into Kaveh's yielding body. The pressure of being filled and overstimulated.

(And no, Alhaitham wasn't an exclusive thing; Kaveh has fucked plenty of other men, thank you very much. It's just that Alhaitham is someone he's never been able to forget, though Kaveh has gotten very good at ignoring the why.)

Alhaitham seems unbothered as he brushes past Kaveh, settling a hand against his hip as he guides him to the side. Where Kaveh's body burns at the touch, Alhaitham remains cool and unaffected, pouring himself a cup of coffee as he manages to bid him a good morning.

Kaveh remembers that early sleep-filled voice, particularly when it was accompanied by warm breath on his neck, and an erection pressed between his thighs. Late mornings in the sheets. Quiet nights where they just lost themselves in each other. The cuddling neither of them ever mentioned because it was a beneficial sort of thing and nothing more.

It isn't that Kaveh expected the Roommates with Benefits to resume the moment he took up residence here once again. In fact, he didn't even think of it, that part of their past locked away tightly, the key thrown away.

But Alhaitham. But Alhaitham, with his propensity to walk around less-than clothed in his home, or the casual and lingering touches, or the soft-handed way he speaks to Kaveh when he isn't irritated.

It's been weeks since Kaveh has come back and it's only gotten worse. The longing. The need. Kaveh was desperate enough to get drunk at a bar and find a cute date, only to leave him high and dry when he didn't kiss like Alhaitham—

"Is everything alright?"

Kaveh hadn't realized that he holds his mug in a white-knuckled grip. He clears his throat and sets his coffee down. "I—it's just early."

Alhaitham looks at the clock. "It's nearly eleven. Midmorning for most."

"So abysmally early for me." It is a miracle that Kaveh is awake before noon.

There is a twitch in Alhaitham's mouth as he chuckles softly. "Too stressed," he chides. "If you're concerned about paying the rent—"

"That is not what I'm stressed about."

Alhaitham's eyebrows raise. "Well. Whatever the problem is, don't let it affect the coffee. This—" He sniffs the liquid in his mug and takes a sip, cringing. "—is terrible."

Kaveh had thought that perhaps Alhaitham may carry a modicum of sympathy for his plight. And then Kaveh came back down to earth, immediately questioning why it's this man that his dick craves. "Ridiculous," he mutters. "Make your own damn coffee."

"I would have," says Alhaitham. "But, as you said, you're up strangely early. Another project to design that will never see the light of day?"

"Do you want me to strangle you?"

"Who would pay the bulk of the rent then?"

Kaveh lets out an aggrieved sigh before dropping his face to the table with a clunk. "Gods, I'm suffering, aren't I? I've chosen to suffer, and for what? A roof over my head? The dastardly sight of you, every morning?"

Alhaitham reaches over to pet his bangs, both sweet and condescending, which only confuses Kaveh's half-chubbed cock even more. Kaveh groans, hiding his face against his forearm.

"Well, there's at least one thing that you're good at," says Alhaitham. "I've heard that you're the reason Puspa Cafe is hitting its daily sales goals for wine—"

"Haitham."

A rare laugh as Alhaitham pulls away.

Kaveh notices later that despite his complaints, Alhaitham drinks the rest of the coffee.

#

It takes three months, one week, and four days for Kaveh to finally cave, and he knows this because he's counted the days on his desk calendar as a method of distraction.

"Alhatiham," he says one night, rudely interrupting what is known as Alhaitham's Book Time. Kaveh pinches the bridge of his nose, wincing preemptively at the request he's about to make. "I can't believe that I am saying this, but can you please fuck me into the bed until I can no longer think?"

Alhaitham says nothing. Alhaitham just gapes at him, mouth slightly ajar as he still holds his book before him. Then, the slight tilt of his head, the narrowing of his eyes as the request sinks in and takes root. He presses a hand to his mouth, and oh, Kaveh knows he's made a mistake.

The crack of Alhaitham's book snapping shut makes Kaveh jump. He expects a smirk to be stretched across Alhaitham's face, not a gentle, mildly amused smile.

Kaveh is immediately suspicious. "You know what? I've changed my mind. I can handle this myself."

"You can't," says Alhaitham.

"I—"

"Do you think I haven't heard you? Kaveh, these walls are paper-thin. It's been weeks of listening to you jacking off your frustration."

Oh. Oh. Kaveh's throat dries up. He didn't realize, didn't think he'd been that loud, not to mention that Alhaitham wears those gods-damned headphones most hours of the day. He thinks of them now, all those times he's been three-fingers deep in his ass, moaning this idiot's name.

"The answer is yes, by the way."

"Yes, to what?"

Alhaitham has the audacity to look a little offended. "Fucking you. It'll be just like old times."

It will be nothing like old times. Kaveh's in too deep, not that he'd ever admit to it. Still, his cock is hard and wet, his ass is woefully empty, and Kaveh is tired of dreaming of Alhaitham every single night.

Alhaitham stands, setting his book on the couchside table. "Kaveh." His voice is too gentle. "Say the word and we'll leave this be and not mention it again."

Kaveh's throat is dry. Only one word comes as an answer.

And it's one that makes Alhaitham kiss his knuckles and smile before tugging Kaveh into his bedroom.

#

So, as it turns out, it is just like old times because even though years have passed, Alhaitham seems to remember exactly what Kaveh likes.

Maybe that isn't so strange. Hasn't Kaveh's source of annoyance been that he can't forget the feel of Alhaitham, even now? Alhaitham hangs over him with a smirk and traces every fold of skin, every little freckle, and dip and curve with his fingers.

"Too skinny," he mutters, pinching at Kaveh's side.

"Well I was homeless, I'll remind you."

"Eat more."

"Be less stingy with the groceries."

Alhaitham huffs before leaning over to—

Kaveh shoves Alhaitham's face away with his palm. "No kissing." A firm request. It'll be easier that way. Even back then, their friends-with-benefits relationship teetered on something considerably more. And not just for Kaveh—Alhaitham too. He isn't the sort to just randomly fuck around, let alone kiss another person. He never did back then and Kaveh wonders why he'd want to now.

(Not that he wouldn't, by the way, because Gods, Kaveh would. Alhaitham's lips look softer compared to his.)

Alhaitham blinks slowly. His breath is warm against Kaveh's palm as he sighs, but acquiesce nonetheless. "Noted," he replies before kissing Kaveh's hand instead. Then he shifts downwards, pressing his face into Kaveh's neck instead. "Here?"

"I—yes. That's… fine."

A kiss against the soft skin there is Alhaitham's answer. Then a bite, his teeth just barely sinking in to suckle. He always loved to leave marks, didn't he? Kaveh learned about cosmetics purely to hide them but his chest would always swell at the sight days later in the mirror.

Alhaitham laps at the juncture of Kaveh's neck, his collarbone, tongue tracing the curve of the bone there. His shirt is rucked up and tossed away, and Alhaitham bites at his sternum before swirling his tongue around the stiff peaks of Kaveh's nipples.

Gods, it's like riding a bicycle. They fall into each other as if they never parted, Alhaitham playing him like a finely tuned instrument as his fingers sweep over his body. This is what Kaveh needed. His back arches from the bed as Alhaitham pinches at his chest. His legs hook around Alhaitham's hips to pull him closer.

It's all so easy, so very easy. "I should have…"

Alhaitham looks up from where his cheek rests against Kaveh's chest. "You should have?"

"Demanded this sooner. I should have—yes. Yes, more of that please." Of Alhaitham's hand pressed to his trousers, tracing the length of Kaveh's tented cock.

"I wasn't going to be the one to bring it up," says Alhaitham, leaning back to squeeze Kaveh's erection fully, "but I won't deny that I thought about it as well."

Kaveh moans, hips rising to seek out more friction. He shoves his thumbs into the waistband of his trousers and tugs. "Off. Help me get them off. I'm—" He nearly kicks Alhaitham in the face trying to shuck off the rest of his clothing.

Alhaitham's grip around his ankle is tight to keep it from flying wildly again. "Kaveh, slow down."

"I don't want to. Haitham, I've—For months, I've been like this. Just fuck me. I want—"

"I know what you want."

Of course, he does. He always has, hasn't he? Kaveh and Alhaitham have always been a system of checks and balances because Kaveh is wild in a sense of self-destructive moods. Alhaitham kisses the joint of his ankle before dropping it over his shoulder. Then he ducks, dipping between Kaveh's legs.

"Haitham, what are you—" Kaveh yelps at the bite against his inner thigh. "You don't have to…"

"And if I want to?" Alhaitham kisses that spot again, soothing away the pain left by that searing bite. Then he licks from there all the way to the crease of Kaveh's groin before nibbling at the base of his cock. "Kaveh, you ask me to fuck you but do not expect me to indulge?"

"I—" Truth be told, he didn't know what to expect. And that's what he tells Alhaitham next, earning him a sharp tug of the balls. "Hey!"

"I would have thought," says Alhaitham dryly as he nuzzles the length of Kaveh's leaking cock, "that the years would have given you some insight. Was I truly a terrible fuck back in the day?"

"No. Archons, no, just, I'd thought this would be a one-and-done kind of thing. You know, I make a terrible request, you fuck me as quickly as possible, and we get on with our day."

The look Alhaitham gives him is searing. "Kaveh," he says then, "I couldn't possibly fuck you as quickly as possible and get on with my day."

Before Kaveh can comprehend the meaning of that, Alhaitham swallows down his cock. Hot and wet. Fuck, Kaveh forgot that he was good at this. Alhaitham hums as he sinks down Kaveh's length until the tip of it hits the back of his throat. He swallows, sucking at him, cheeks hallowing out as Kaveh writhes in the sheets.

"Shit," he murmurs, thighs tensing. Kaveh's hands fly immediately to Alhaitham's hair, pulling. "Haitham, wait, slow down."

Alhaitham does not. He bobs up and down Kaveh's cock, tongue flat against the underside. He strokes the rest of his hand. Rolls Kaveh's balls in the other, too many things happening at once that leave Kaveh a panting mess in the bed.

He bucks his hips, unable to stop himself, which only makes Alhaitham moan around him. That sound. Kaveh melts in the sheets, just like his cock melts in the heat of Alhaitham's mouth before he pops off.

"Kaveh," he says, a thumb digging into the smooth skin of Kaveh's perineum.

"Do you expect me to beg?"

Alhaitham laughs as he dips low, kissing that soft expanse just underneath his balls. "I don't expect it, no, but I'd like to hear it."

"You would."

"Yes."

Such a simple, shameless response. Alhaitham tugs at Kaveh's hips and presses back his thighs before spreading his asscheeks. He thumbs across Kaveh's hole, watching it clench which only makes Kaveh embarrassed.

"Stop staring and fucking do something." Alhaitham gives him a look and waits. Kaveh's face burns red. "Please," he says. "Please do something, anything at this point."

Alhaitham licks a stripe across his hole, tongue swirling against his rim. Not what he meant. Not what he— Oh, but it's nice. Kaveh keens, head tipping back against the pillow as Alhaitham's tongue pokes and prods at his entrance. The click of a bottle being uncapped. A slick, wet finger sinking between his cheeks before pressing in.

His fingers are different. Everything about this is different and it's just what Kaveh was missing. He keens, grinding his hips down, forcing that finger deeper. Alhaitham snorts but plays along, and a second finger slides in alongside the first.

"Archons," hisses Kaveh. "Archons, that's—Mmhmn."

Alhaitham fucks Kaveh on his fingers until Kaveh's a whining mess. His thighs burn from riding his hand. His cock twitches against his belly, dribbling precome all over his abs. And Alhaitham watches him with a lustful, ruddy haze, kissing every inch of Kaveh's ass.

A third finger. He sweeps over Kaveh's prostrate, milking that bundle of nerves for everything it's worth. "Kaveh," he says, voice too steady, "are you close?"

"Yes, yes—"

Alhaitham nods and keeps it up, fingers prodding at that spot until Kaveh is seeing stars. Kaveh's fingers curl around his cock to stroke it, and then he's coming all over his stomach, thigh jerking around Alhaitham's head as he tips over the edge.

"There you go," says Alhaitham, fucking him through it. Kaveh gasps as those ripples of overstimulation course through his veins.

Then his fingers are gone. Alhaitham shucks off his clothing in record time and slots between Kaveh's legs. He doesn't ask, he just slicks his cock and sinks in right to the root.

"Fuck." Alhaitham is the one to curse this time. He takes a moment to ground himself, leaning over Kaveh and hiking his legs around his waist. "Kaveh," he murmurs—and it's always his name, isn't it? Alhaitham mutters his name as often as he can, this time whispering against his nape as he grinds his hips against Kaveh's ass.

"Move it," snaps Kaveh. "Haitham, fuck me."

That is what he asked for. Alhaitham grunts, but moves, pulling out to the tip before thrusting in hard. Kaveh's nerves sing in response, and he jerks in the bed underneath him. Gods. It burns, but it's good. It's been so long since he's been so full. Alhaitham's cock stretches him in all the right ways and then some.

Alhaitham fucks him quickly, biceps bulging as he holds himself up over Kaveh. Kaveh cries out, pulled tight and thin as that hazy glow of pleasure wafts over him. His cock is hard again, despite already spending himself, flushed at the tip.

"Kaveh." Sweat beads on Alhaitham's brow. He watches Kaveh's face with a too-soft expression, and—

No, no, it isn't supposed to be this way. Kaveh swallows. He should look away but he can't, not when Alhaitham gasps on the next downstroke, his eyes tipping closed. "Tight," he says. "Fuck, Kaveh, you feel good. So good."

This time, when Alhaitham leans close, Kaveh doesn't stop him. Alhaitham's thrusts slow to a crawl and he languidly rolls his hips as he takes hold of Kaveh's chin. He thumbs over his lips, thinking.

"Please," says Kaveh. A pitiful whine, but it's all that Alhaitham needs to close the distance.

Alhaitham's lips are as soft as Kaveh thought. He kisses him slowly, sweetly, and fucks him with heavy thrusts that leave Kaveh breathless and his mind reeling. "I'm close," says Alhaitham against his mouth. "Gods, you're—"

If Kaveh knew kissing him would be like this, he would have indulged in the years prior. Alhaitham licks at his lips like a man dehydrated, tongue slipping between them to seek out his own. His thrusts take on an uneven gait as the angle changes. Alhaitham's cock twitches in Kaveh's ass as it carves through his insides, and Archons, above, those soft little grunts of his.

Kaveh comes a second time before he does, from Alhaitham's cock alone, his body seizing as he goes limp in the ships. "Haitham. Haitham, Haitham—"

One, two, three quick thrusts before Alhaitham spills next, filling Kaveh's ass with a rush of white-hot warmth. He groans, collapsing against Kaveh.

"Heavy," mutters Kaveh. "You're heavy."

"Let me—" Another soft moan as Kaveh wriggles against him, Alhaitham's softening cock still lodged inside of him. They manage to shift onto their sides, sinking into the sheets. Kaveh doesn't comment on Alhaitham's tactile cuddling or the way that he trails his knuckles down the length of Kaveh's side in the lulling, sleepy aftermath.

Eventually, Alhaitham does speak. "Was it so terrible?"

"Hm? What? The fucking?"

"The kissing."

Oh. Kaveh can't help but laugh. "No, it was—"

"I couldn't help myself. I've always…" Alhaitham sighs. "Kaveh, we should talk about this in the morning."

Because whatever this is isn't what it was before.

"And why not now?"

"Because right now, I just want to lay here and feel you. And—" His hands curl around Kaveh's hips, dragging him back to find that Alhaitham is half-hard again.

"Haitham."

"I'm not asking for more. Just like this." Alhaitham settles his cock into the space between Kaveh's thighs, uncaring of the mess they've left behind. He hums softly, pressing his face into Kaveh's hair before saying, "I like just laying here, like this. It doesn't need to be more."

"Unless I want it to be, I assume."

Alhaitham doesn't immediately answer. "Kaveh, I am not an unfeeling man."

Kaveh snorts, but his chest warms at the small admission. "What a relief because then all of this would be incredibly awkward, wouldn't it?"

He feels Alhaitham grin against his neck before kissing it. "Tomorrow," he says again. "We'll worry about that tomorrow."

But, if Kaveh knows anything about Alhaitham, it won't be much of a worry, just like it won't be much of a talk.

(And it isn't. Kaveh says something dumb in the morning that might be, I love you, which makes Alhaitham say something even dumber such as, I love you, too.)