A/N: Chapter title is an homage to lines that were best left in the first draft. This is the obligatory nsfw chapter, so if you're not into that, you can just take chapter 9 as the end.
Chapter 10: Boyfriend Activities
Life returned to how it had been before Kaveh left. To Kaveh, it felt as if he hadn't been away at all with the way Alhaitham so easily accepted everything going back to the way it had been. Shouldn't he be annoyed that he had to make space for Kaveh's things again? Or had he never reclaimed those spaces?
Kaveh was still in disbelief that Alhaitham was now his boyfriend. Firstly, because that had once been his wildest daydream, and secondly, because some days he believed it was a fever dream. In the past week he had received the following indications it was real: Alhaitham laid his head in Kaveh's lap as he read one evening, and every night Alhaitham would kiss him before going to bed (sometimes on the cheek rather than the lips). That was it.
Ok, maybe there were other small touches, loving gazes, kinder words than he was used to coming out of Alhaitham's mouth, but Kaveh craved more. Where was the need Alhaitham had displayed that night in the tavern? Had it all evaporated the moment Kaveh was back here? As if now Kaveh was in the house, Alhaitham could take as long as he wanted to get around to… To what?
Well, it was clear to Kaveh what he was waiting for. But how long was Alhaitham going to make him wait?! Didn't Alhaitham take what he wanted when he wanted it? Oh no. Did he not want the same things Kaveh wanted?
Surely not, Kaveh consoled himself. But what other reason could there be? Kaveh looked over at the other man, speeding through an Inazuman light novel that the archon herself had left on his desk (a recommendation from Hat Guy, not that he would ever tell the Scribe that).
It had taken Alhaitham an awfully long time to take Kaveh back from Damien. Would he ever have confessed his true feelings if another man hadn't entered Kaveh's life? Could it be that Alhaitham did have a shy side? Or was he too nervous to suggest doing more?
Kaveh nodded thoughtfully to himself. It made sense – Alhaitham had no romantic history as far as he was aware. Maybe he really didn't know how to initiate anything himself and Kaveh would be waiting forever for him to work up to it.
Well, fear not, my dear junior. This senior will help us both out!
Now that he thought about it, Kaveh was so used to people making a move on him, that the idea of him making a move on someone else was quite foreign to him. He was glad that the man in question was already his boyfriend, otherwise this might be more difficult.
He got up from where he'd (not) been working and planted himself next to Alhaitham, getting nice and close, able to lean his head on Alhaitham's shoulder. The first thing that happened was the book being lowered – a good sign!
"Are you alright?"
"I'm good."
"Did you want something?"
"I want to snuggle with my boyfriend."
"Oh." Alhaitham slid an arm around Kaveh. "Like this?"
Kaveh hummed and moved so that he could wrap both arms around Alhaitham. "Is this okay?"
"If you're comfortable."
He wasn't really – this wasn't a sustainable position unless he brought his legs up onto the sofa.
Alhaitham sighed. "Here." He untangled them, moved so that he was propped up against the arm of the sofa, and patted his chest. "This should be more comfortable for you. Or you can hold my book and I'll hold on to you."
Kaveh's eyes lit up and he took the book from Alhaitham, careful to keep his page. He settled into the space between Alhaitham's legs and soon found himself resting against that broad chest he'd often ogled, warm hands on his ribs and waist.
"The book, Kaveh."
"Oh, right. How's this?" He held the book up above his head.
"Great."
Alhaitham continued to read, and Kaveh turned the page when requested, quite content with just lying there and enjoying the feeling of being held.
The best part was that Alhaitham did not seem averse to this – he was the one that suggested this position!
"That's enough." Alhaitham's hands left Kaveh's body to pluck the book from his hands.
It had only been around 15 minutes… Ah well, it was better than nothing.
Just as Kaveh was about to get up, he felt Alhaitham's hands return to where they'd been.
"Oh, you like this?"
"Mm."
"Why didn't you ask to do this before?"
"I didn't think to ask."
So, it was that simple. Alhaitham was just clueless when it came to these sorts of things.
"Haitham, when you decided you wanted us to be together, what did you think would be different from before?"
"You would be happier to live with me because you'd know I love you and that any resentment you thought there was is, in fact, not there."
"Well, that's true, yes, but I meant more, um, like things we might do. For example, you kiss me sometimes now. What else might we do now we're boyfriends rather than roommates?"
"Things like this?" Alhaitham gave Kaveh a small squeeze.
"Anything else?"
"I can take you out on a date and not pretend that I'll ask you to pay me back."
Kaveh wanted to make a quip, but he realised it would be in poor taste; Alhaitham hadn't grown up with parents to take romantic cues from after all.
"Is there something you'd like to suggest?" Alhaitham asked, believing Kaveh was waiting for more.
"Seeing as you were willing to kiss me in the middle of the tavern, I don't think it would be too much to ask if you held my hand the next time we go out together."
"I could do that," Alhaitham said, threading his fingers between Kaveh's. "As you've no doubt realised, I don't have much experience in this area. I think that book was left on my desk because someone's trying to give me a hint. But, whatever you want, Kaveh, I'm willing to give."
"I don't want you to force yourself to do something you're not comfortable with."
"Do you think I wouldn't tell you? Or rather, do you think I would be able to hide that from you?"
Kaveh frowned, not that Alhaitham could see it. "We managed to hide our feelings for long enough."
"I don't want to hide things from you like that again."
Kaveh squeezed Alhaitham's hands. "Alright, I'll tell you what I really want. I want to fall asleep in your arms and then wake up with you next to me. Gods, how embarrassing that I had to tell you. And I'm not saying you have to put up with me in your bed every night, but once a week would be nice."
It was that simple. Kaveh asked and Kaveh got. Alhaitham let him sleep with him that night like it was the easiest thing in the world. It was a cool night, so having Alhaitham spoon him was perfect – he was even treated to a few kisses on his neck before Alhaitham made it clear that it was time to sleep.
Kaveh slept through without waking once – there was something reassuring about having someone else next to him. When he woke, Alhaitham was there, fingers gently tangling in his hair.
"Morning."
Kaveh smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing in the world. "Good morning."
"You're beautiful, Kaveh." Alhaitham was having a slight crisis over emotions he didn't quite understand. How could waking up next to Kaveh be affecting him so much? Was it because he hadn't had his morning coffee yet? Should he tell him? How he wanted this again and again. To wake up to Kaveh's smile every day. How he was lost in the marvel of having this intimate moment he had longed for without knowing. This is what some part of him had yearned for when he'd kissed Kaveh in the tavern. To have Kaveh in his house, to have Kaveh in his bed, legs entwined as they woke up on a new day.
He didn't say anything else, instead shifting in closer so he could kiss Kaveh, slow and gentle.
Kaveh laughed softly once they parted. "What's gotten into you? Did you have a dream about how to be a charming boyfriend? Or did my desires diffuse into your brain overnight?"
"New experiences give birth to new desires," Alhaitham said cryptically before pulling away; he had to. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed.
ooo
Kaveh's problems resolved themselves from that morning on. He got all the affection he'd longed for without needing to ask. Alhaitham held his hand without a care in the world, even when people recognised them on the street. If they had lunch together, Alhaitham would kiss him hello and goodbye. At home, they sat together or lounged on top of each other. Their private kisses deepened to the point that Kaveh was starting to wonder when Alhaitham would stop cutting them off before they got to the good part. He had been happy to wait, seeing as it looked like Alhaitham was building up to something, but it was taking a little too long.
Once again, Senior Kaveh was going to have to step in.
It was the weekend, and he had woken up before Alhaitham, which was a rarity seeing as the man seemed to have an internal clock that meant he woke up at the same time no matter what day of the week it was. He snuggled into Alhaitham's side, one hand on his shirtless chest, fingers lightly ghosting over toned muscles. In the past he might have complained that Alhaitham never wore a shirt to bed (because back then he could only lust over the sight if they saw each other too early in the morning), but now he thought it was great. This light touch was as much as he would allow himself to enjoy, as much as he wanted to run a finger over a nipple and see if that got a reaction. Would Alhaitham enjoy it? Could he –
"Morning."
Kaveh jumped. "M-morning!"
Alhaitham chuckled. "A million miles away, were you?"
"Something like that."
"Yet, your hand was quite present, and pleasant."
"O-oh? You like this?"
Kaveh let his fingers travel just a little further to brush over a nipple. "How about that?"
Time seemed to move slower as Kaveh watched Alhaitham's tongue peek out to wet his lips, parting as if he was going to respond, but closing again as his gaze left Kaveh's face in favour of watching his fingers.
He took the hint that he should let his fingers graze the nipple again. Was it his imagination, or was it harder than a moment ago? Was he going to be successful in his ploy? He let his finger circle absentmindedly as he watched Alhaitham's face, noticing how his lower lip seemed to disappear as he bit on it.
"Kaveh."
"Hmm?" His hand began to slip down Alhaitham's body and teal eyes followed its path. "Were you going to say something, Haitham?"
The poor man was turning redder by the moment, and Kaveh had not missed the way he'd slowly brought one leg up to hide any embarrassing reaction he might have. He'd just been woken up, hadn't had his morning coffee, and was clearly a bit stuck.
"I, um…" His eyes were everywhere but on Kaveh now.
"Where's your usual eloquence, my love?" Kaveh giggled. "Do you need a little more time to wake up?"
"I just thought of something we could do as boyfriends."
Kaveh was trying hard not to grin too much. "Did you now?"
Alhaitham felt quite out of his depth. He should say something – propose something – first, right? Gain some sort of consent, even if Kaveh seemed to be the one suggesting. But how should he phrase it? He shouldn't be too blunt and to the point… But that was his style, surely Kaveh would understand if he wasn't as suave as the guys in the light novels.
"Yeah. If you want, we could get each other off."
"Oh, thank god," Kaveh sighed – and Alhaitham much preferred this to being laughed at. "So, if I start kissing you, I have permission to touch your dick when the time's right?"
"Y-yeah." Just the thought was making him uncomfortable in a most pleasant way.
Kaveh wasted no time in connecting their lips and letting his hands run over Alhaitham's body as he'd (often) thought about in the past. He could do this all day – feeling up Alhaitham's toned body. He might not be able to have a body like this himself, but that didn't matter if his boyfriend had one that he could touch to his heart's content. Alhaitham must get muscle fatigue after working out, right? Surely, he would benefit from a good massage? I bet he'd make fantastic noises. Kaveh's imagination was already running away with him, forgetting that he was about to give Alhaitham a very intimate massage anyway. He was greedy for more; he wanted to work Alhaitham up slowly, but it was already too late for that.
Kaveh broke the kiss and slung his shirt off. "Touch me, too." He'd realised Alhaitham's hands were more interested in clutching the sheets than they were touching Kaveh, which was unacceptable.
Alhaitham started to mirror the way Kaveh was touching him, and that seemed to please the blond. He knew Kaveh was receptive to pretty much any physical contact – even just curling his fingers in his hair made him smile. He had barely begun exploring when he felt Kaveh run his hand down his stomach, not stopping until it was cupping him between his legs, eliciting an unwanted buck of his hips.
Kaveh, however, was very pleased with Alhaitham's reaction, and even more pleased to find that despite believing he'd started dating a man with zero interest in sex, there was no doubt that part of him was very interested in this. That hip movement had certainly been a cry for more, rather than just a surprised reaction.
He couldn't help himself as he groped Alhaitham shamelessly, eager to feel his arousal in his hand, and to hear the gasp that came with it.
"Can I suck it?" Kaveh blurted out.
Alhaitham looked confused for a moment – what about Kaveh? Shouldn't it be mutual? – but he was only human and couldn't refuse someone who looked so eager to suck his cock. "Be my guest."
Alhaitham could feel the smile on Kaveh's lips as he kissed him again before drawing away to claim his prize. Those ruby eyes were dark with desire, and there was something about that look that made Alhaitham want to see it again and again. Until this moment, being wanted like this was not something Alhaitham aspired to, but when it was Kaveh, it was different. And Kaveh was about to suck his cock with an expression like that? He'd better not think too hard about it, or it might be over too soon.
Kaveh slowly pulled at the waistband of Alhaitham's pants, wanting to savour the reveal. He was rewarded with a hard cock that sprung to attention once the fabric could no longer hold it. Part of him wanted to make a comment about how Alhaitham was already this turned on, but he wasn't faring much better, and he wasn't sure the words would come out right while he was mesmerised by the cock in front of him.
His mouth was better off getting to work anyway. With his hands pressed against Alhaitham's thighs, he lowered himself until he could lick a light trail from base to tip. Just this gentle touch earned a beautiful sound as Alhaitham stuttered out a gasp, clearly trying to keep it quiet. Once again he refrained from commenting – it would be so easy to tease him right now. Past partners might have enjoyed this sort of teasing, but as he wasn't sure how Alhaitham would react, it was best not to chance it. He wasn't going to do anything that might lead to Alhaitham putting a stop to this.
What Kaveh did not know was that Alhaitham was pretty much open to anything right now. His desire to learn coupled with his desire to climax was making him like putty under Kaveh's tongue.
After a few experimental licks, Kaveh swapped to kissing his way up the shaft, pressing his lips in such a way that he was lifting off with a gentle suck. Alhaitham was wondering if someone else's touch could push him to reach an undiscovered level of hardness when Kaveh finally took the tip in his mouth and he felt the swirl of his tongue. The moan of relief at receiving some proper attention was music to Kaveh's ears. He wanted to hear every sound Alhaitham had in him.
Kaveh was in no rush, and Alhaitham could tell. He felt like he was being treated like a piece of hard candy that Kaveh could spend all day sucking on. But make no mistake, this was great. He found it extremely hard to tease himself like this, so having Kaveh here to do it for him was a dream come true.
Alhaitham's moans were, to Kaveh's surprise, continuous. The man had no shame most of the time, so why should Kaveh expect him to suddenly shut up now? He wasn't complaining – this is exactly what he wanted. He lifted his eyes to see Alhaitham staring down at him with half-lidded eyes, mouth ajar, cheeks flushed. Gods, he'd really lucked out with this one.
"Kaveh…"
Say it again, he wanted to say, but his mouth had better things to do.
"It's so good…ahh, Kaveh…"
He couldn't help but be a little more enthusiastic upon hearing his name said like that. So, it should have come as no surprise when Alhaitham came not longer after. With no warning, it was a mess, dribbling out of the sides of his mouth and getting everywhere. Alhaitham was lying in a daze, but he was grinning as he watched Kaveh trying to clean himself up without dirtying the sheets.
"A little warning would have been nice, you know."
"Well, if you put these things in your mouth…"
Kaveh rolled his eyes – of course that would be Alhaitham's logic.
"I was trying hard not to," Alhaitham said. "But your tongue made a compelling argument."
"Not often you admit that."
"Perhaps you'd like me to argue back in a similar fashion?"
Kaveh's brain short-circuited as he tried to get his mouth to produce a reply. Of course, gods, please, yes. But at the same time, just because he'd done it, didn't mean he expected the same in return. After all, Alhaitham clearly hadn't been thinking about sucking him off as much as he had Alhaitham, otherwise he might have suggested this earlier, right?
Alhaitham pulled Kaveh closer and slipped a hand between his legs. "This hard from sucking me off?"
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?"
"Not really," Alhaitham admitted. "But you won't wait much longer."
The build up to Alhaitham putting his dick in his mouth and the first 10 seconds were the highlight. Kaveh wouldn't say it was the worst blowjob he'd ever received, but considering how much he'd been dreaming (and wanking to) this moment, it was rather disappointing.
Alhaitham had no idea how to handle something in his mouth that he wasn't supposed to eat (Kaveh had to remind him to mind his teeth more than once), and although it was endearing and great to find something that Alhaitham was terrible at, it made Kaveh wish that he wasn't Alhaitham's first. That thought, coupled with the fact it was Alhaitham sucking him off, helped him climax - all over Alhaitham's face, because the man was a bit indecisive about what to do now the moment was here, and just laid there with Kaveh's dick aimed right at his face. It was hilarious, and extremely enjoyable for Kaveh. After a few drinks, he was definitely going to be slipping this proud moment into conversation.
Alhaitham returned with a clean face and two cups of coffee.
"That was fun."
"This senior is going to teach you to suck dick properly."
"Practice will make perfect."
Kaveh paused. "So, you do want to do this again? And again?"
Alhaitham hummed as he sipped his coffee. "It's what boyfriends do, right?"
"I thought you were oblivious to that fact."
"Yes and no. You never mentioned it, and it made no difference to me if the nature of our relationship was sexual, so why change things?"
"But you…you like this change?"
"Very much," Alhaitham confirmed. "But there'll be none of this after 10pm, or on weekday mornings."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, don't mess with your schedule."
Alhaitham smirked at how easily Kaveh accepted his words. "I was joking."
"No, you weren't."
"You know me too well."
Their lazy Sunday morning turned into an equally lazy afternoon, not unlike many that they'd shared together before. Alhaitham thought about how so much had changed in the past half a year – from the coup to his social life to his relationship with Kaveh – and yet, so much had also stayed the same. He'd worked hard to keep his job and his housemate, and it'd paid off. The fact that his housemate was now his boyfriend was unexpected, but he wouldn't wish for things to be any other way.
"What are you staring at?"
"The Light of Kshahrewar, the light of my life."
Kaveh's face flushed. "You! You can't just say things like that without warning!"
"I love you."
"Alright, what are you up to? Are you trying to butter me up so I'll do all the cooking?"
Alhaitham smiled; he was just expressing his thoughts, and Kaveh was reacting as he always had to his heartfelt opinions. Everything was truly as it always had been.
A/N: Thanks for reading!