Contentment To Its Fullest
It was rare that Alhaitham paced, but that was exactly what he was currently doing. It was Kaveh's fault, of course. "I have a surprise for your birthday this year, Haitham!" the blonde had said, and recently surprises meant far too many people, and a party to entertain said people.
He stopped his movements, and looked at the clock. He hadn't even left their room yet, and he was worrying himself about something so ridiculous. This was far too much like something Kaveh would do, not himself.
Just as he put his hand on the doorknob, he heard a knock at the front door, and he pulled his hand away as if he'd been burned. He could hear Kaveh's melodious laugh float down the hall, and someone else's voice. Tighnari.
Were guests showing up already? He hoped not, it would be nice to have at least a few minutes alone with Kaveh first. Alhaitham sighed. On the other hand, he was surely expected to come say hello, now.
Slowly, he opened the door, was hit by the smell of fresh coffee and food, and crept down the hall. So far, he didn't hear anything but the sounds of Kaveh working in the kitchen. Though, if Tighnari had shown up, he would likely be wherever the blonde was.
When he reached the door frame, he peeked around the door, searching for any sign of fluffy ears. Unfortunately, all he found was Kaveh looking directly at him, confusion plastered on his beautiful face, Mehrak floating behind him.
"… What are you doing?"
Alhaitham cleared his throat and straightened up, "Nothing. You made breakfast."
The change of subject didn't go unnoticed, but Kaveh let it go in favor of giving Alhaitham a kiss. Morning affection was always welcome, amongst the long list of things he had never even thought about before, and he leaned into it, enjoying the blonde's taste, and scent. After a moment, Kaveh leaned back, and gave him a smile that gleamed like the sun.
"Beep, beep beep!" Mehrak chirped happily.
"Happy birthday, Haitham!"
Well, when Kaveh put it like that, kisses and all, it left Alhaitham a bit breathless.
"Thank you," he said as he glanced around the room.
This also didn't go unnoticed by Kaveh, and he raised a brow, "Looking for something? Wha-!"
Upon not finding any of their friends lurking, he turned his attention back to Kaveh. In one swift motion, and a yelp from the blonde, he sat Kaveh on the table, and leaned into him. Once he claimed those soft lips, he didn't let up until they were forced to separate due to lack of air.
When he leaned back in, Kaveh smacked him on the arm, no real force behind it, "You!- You can't just manhandle me!"
"Hm. You didn't seem to mind a moment ago, and your body says you enjoyed it," Alhaitham replied with a smirk, looking over his own handiwork.
Forever. He would enjoy seeing Kaveh like this forever. Eyes wide, cheeks pink, lips red, and out of breath, nice and riled up. Alhaitham had realized some time ago that he was possessive of Kaveh.
It took one seeing one of the blonde's clients hitting on him to finally make him see. Alhaitham had marked Kaveh then, all across his chest, and neck. He'd laid claim to him. He leaned forward to claim more, but Kaveh pushed him away lightly.
"A-at least eat the breakfast I made for you!"
Alhaitham looked him straight in the eyes, and cocked an eyebrow, "I've already got breakfast right here."
"What? That's not…"
"I'm going to devour you, Kaveh."
"... Could you at least not say that with such a serious face?!"
Alhaitham let a low growl slip past his throat, and pulled his lips back in a nearly crazed smirk, "I'm going to devour you."
"Beep?"
Kaveh swallowed hard, suddenly looking like prey that was ready to bolt.
"G-go take a nap, Mehrak!"
~xxxxxxxxxx~
Alhaitham drifted in the warmth next to him, so close it could almost be an extension of his own body. He wrapped his arms tighter around Kaveh's center, and pressed his face into the blonde's back.
Kaveh shifted in his grip, and made a soft, happy noise. This was great, so comfortable. It was a Tuesday, yet they were able to lounge around together as if it were the weekend. While he was Acting Grand Sage, he had made it so those who worked for the Akademiya would have a day off for their birthday. While it was purely for selfish reasons, it worked out for everyone. Alhaitham felt that it was the best choice he'd ever made in his leadership position.
He opened his eyes, and observed his handy work, the bites and bruises adorning Kaveh's beautiful, smooth back. With a smile, he kissed each one, before he was rudely interrupted by a knock on the front door.
Kaveh's head popped up, dazed from sleep, "Huh?"
The knock sounded again, and Kaveh was suddenly scrambling out of the bed. Alhaitham was left hugging and kissing air. In the process of trying to quickly pull on some clothing, the blonde completely missed getting one foot into a pant leg, and fell to one side.
"Kaveh… I can get the door…"
"No, no, no! Uh, no, that's fine. I'll get it."
Kaveh ended up pulling on Alhaitham's clothes, and rushed off to the door. Alhaitham had no intention of getting out of bed, though he had to wonder when he'd be dragged out of bed to entertain guests.
This time it was Nilou's voice that floated down the hall. She sounded cheerful, of course, she always did. Kaveh's voice was the one that caught his attention, as usual, unfortunately it was to the words "in a few hours", and "it's all set".
Alhaitham sighed. Ultimately, it didn't matter what they did, as long as he got to spend the day with Kaveh, and he was happy to have spent the morning alone with him. If he had to share a small amount of time with their friends, then so be it.
He waited until he heard the front door close to sit up, assuming that if they had spoken in the entryway for that long, the girl had left. The clothes he had previously been wearing were now out of the question, since they were now inhabited by a blonde. He considered not bothering with clothes, at all. This was his own home, after all. Kaveh would have a fit.
"Might as well just get dressed," he mumbled.
Alhaitham was pleased to find he'd been correct about Nilou leaving, not that it was a surprise that he was right. He always was. He found Kaveh in the kitchen once more, holding up Alhaitham's pants with one hand, and scraping their uneaten breakfast away with the other.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to change back into your own clothes?"
Kaveh jumped, just as he had earlier that morning. Alhaitham was not a large person, by any means. Perfectly fit, in fact, but Kaveh was still much more slender, lacking quite as much muscle tone. Alhaitham's pants slipped down the moment the blonde let go.
Alhaitham simply watched with a smirk, enjoying the view of the mess he had made of Kaveh's skin.
The blonde made a noise, and pulled the pants back up, "Oh my god, Haitham. You are such a… Never mind, I'm not going to say it on your birthday," he said as he went back to clearing the pan, pouting, "I thought you had fallen back asleep… and I was hungry."
With a rumble, Alhaitham's stomach agreed, They had been preoccupied for a while, and not a bite of Kaveh's likely delicious breakfast had been eaten. However, as he wrapped his arms around the blonde, he felt it was well worth it.
"You go change clothes, I'll make something simple." Alhaitham said, leaving a kiss before he pulled away.
"I-I can do both! Just give me a minute to change…"
Alhaitham pushed the blonde towards the door, "Oh, but you've already done so much for me, Senior."
As usual, the shades of red Kaveh turned were glorious. It was unbelievable that the man thought Alhaitham had no sense for art, and beauty. He appreciated Kaveh all the time, and all he had to show for the day was the art he'd been creating of the blonde's skin.
Even though the afternoon sun was filtering in through the curtains, Alhaitham fried some eggs, made some toast, and put together a simple salad to go with them. It was an odd meal, at an odd time, but it was delicious for someone who had used more energy than they had consumed.
"What are you going to do with the rest of your day?" Kaveh asked, peeking out from behind his steaming mug.
That caught Alhaitham's attention, did this mean there were no plans, no party? If that were the case-
"I was thinking about doing some reading. Maybe we'd have a third helping later."
Kaveh opened his mouth to say something, probably about Alhaitham's crudeness, but stopped, and took a breath, "Maybe later, but… I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk later? We could go when there are fewer people."
Alhaitham thought about it, watching the way Kaveh was moving. He would have expected twitchiness, nervousness, anything to indicate he had something up his sleeve, but the blonde simply sat there smiling, waiting for a response.
"A walk with you always sounds nice, Kaveh. When would you like to go?"
"I was thinking after the sun goes down, soon. It's a clear night, so we can see the stars, and most people will have gone home. We can stop and grab dinner on the way home, so we have more time after. What do you think?"
Alhaitham hummed in agreement, and Kaveh cleaned up from their meal. He sat back and "read", with his eyes solely on the blonde. It still made his breath catch to think that he had this now. The one thing that made his life perfect, through migraines, arguments, and breakdowns, they had all the love in the world to share.
He had his peaceful life, and he knew his grandmother would be proud of him. He'd lost count of how many times he'd imagined her being there, celebrating. Birthdays, his anniversary with Kaveh and some day their marriage, any of the holidays Kaveh would come up with. He had no doubt she would find him whimsical, and appreciate this part of his personality as much as everyone appreciated the blonde's brilliance.
Children. She would want them to have children. With that thought, his heart beat faster. He could picture Kaveh teaching them how to draw, and paint, and himself teaching them to read, and use logic.
"Haitham?"
Alhaitham blinked up at Kaveh, who had moved to sit next to him, "Yes?"
He felt Kaveh's fingers gently swipe under his eyes, "You're crying…"
"My grandmother," he said, and Kaveh nodded in response, understanding.
"I wish she were here, too. I would love to have met her," Kaveh smiled, "Surely she would be more reasonable than you."
Alhaitham smiled at the thought, he couldn't argue with that. She had always been the most reasonable person he'd ever known. It was what he strove to be, unfortunately, Kaveh often made all reason fly out the door.
"Do you want to go for that walk?"
He nodded in response, and Mehrak gave a questioning noise, having apparently woken from her nap.
"Of course, you can join us," he said, and watched her face light up.
It was difficult to imagine going without her anymore. She was always there, wanting to be around them, even if Kaveh wasn't working. He wondered what it would take to classify her as an intelligent artificial life form. She could certainly act on her own without direction.
Kaveh was right, most people were off the streets, he even held Alhaitham's hand. As usual, the blonde chatted up a storm, dragging him here, and there to see the way this, or that glimmered in the moonlight. Before he knew it, they were at the overlook next to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, overlooking the western lands of Sumeru.
On the side where the sky was more visible sat several comfortable looking blankets, and cushions, along with a bottle of wine, and a cake with a single candle burning on top. Behind him, he could hear Tighnari, and Cyno whispering about the best time to make their stealthy escape, so he ignored them.
Kaveh sat them both down on the blankets, and held up the cake with a bright smile, "Happy birthday, Alhaitham!"
"Beep, beep!"
Without looking away from Kaveh, he blew out the candle, gently took the cake, and set it down before pulling the blonde into a soft, but deep kiss. This went on until neither of them could breathe anymore, and were forced to pull away.
"I take it you like it, then?"
Alhaitham nodded, and ran his fingers over Kaveh's cheek, "It's perfect, Kaveh. The only thing I wanted for today was to spend it with you, and I've had that. Thank you."
"Every time I asked you, you said the only thing you wanted was me, so here I am. It's an odd present, but you're an odd person, I suppose."
"You also remembered the meteor shower I mentioned," he said as they laid back to look at the starry sky.
"Hm, I do listen, you know. Out of the three nights, tonight should be the peak, and it's perfectly clear skies," he pulled a blanket over them, "Were you nervous that I was going to throw a party?"
Alhaitham debated if he would admit the truth or not, but Kaveh would already know the answer, "A little, perhaps.
Kaveh snorted as they snuggled in together. They talked for the rest of the night, and enjoyed the show. Alhaitham's birthday had turned out nothing like he'd been expecting, but in the best way possible. Peace, relaxation, their tiny was truly content.
Though he couldn't wait for Valentine's Day…
~xxxxxxxxxx~
Whether or not they are directly linked, or the characters know each other, I think of my stories as all having happened within the same little world! In my stories. I frequently mention things that have happened in others I have written, but most of them should be able to be read stand alone without issues.
Also, while I try to keep it very close with Genshin lore, I don't know every single bit of lore, and can't remember it all. So, some things are slightly different, there are also some things that are only guessed. I'm just here to write stories for people to read, should they choose!
As for my version of travel time, everything is small, and close together in the game, so I spread it out a little. It should take time to get places! (More dramatic that way rofl)
Thank you to my husband for being my proofreader!
As always, thank you for reading, I hope everyone enjoys it!
Feel free to leave a comment :)