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“WHY CAN’T YOU JUST EDIT THE DRAFT AS I TELL YOU TO!?”
“BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE THE SUFFICENT FUNDS FOR THAT!”
I’m about to lose it on this stupid client, he clearly doesn't have enough mora to have tiled flooring for this project, yet he still insists on adding it to the draft! Can’t he just- UGH!
I’m the architect here! So I should be the one choosing the adjustments!
I breathe in the fresh sumeru air, and focus on the slight chill of the wind against the exposed part of my back. internally battling the urge to snap this person's limbs off.
Haven't I already had a bad enough day as it is? Why does everyday of my life have to be like this? On top of that, my stomach feels fuzzy, as if I've consumed alcohol recently. That familiar warm feeling in my stomach ligners.
I ignore it.
“Sir, the only option right now is to have wooden floors, if you want to have tiled flooring, then you’re going to have to get extra mora from somewhere else. And that extra mora is absolutely not coming out of my own pocket.”
The client's aggravating voice erupts, “Listen, the client is always right, so just add the—”
I turn on my heel and walk away before this arrogant asshole can finish.
There's no way I'm dealing with this today, I just want to go home and sleep. Behind me, the fading sound of someone blabbering about some “disrespect” is heard, but boldly ignored. Fortunately, the walk home wasn't so bad, my lungs filling with fresh sumeru air feels so much better than having to argue with rude clients.
Drawing closer to the last part of my walk. That feeling in my stomach turns to fog in my head. How am I drunk?
The house moves into view and I gaze at the moonlight laying over the shared home. I can’t believe it’s already one in the morning. Alhaitham’s going to be mad.
Alhaitham, my… Why am I hesitating? He’s my roommate, I know that. Quite an annoying one too.
I walk up to the door and my hand presses against the wooden handle that turns as I hear the faint ‘click’ of the door. The cool air brushes past me as I step inside. The lights are off, only faint silhouettes of certain objects are visible.
Alhaitham must be asleep already, hence why the lights are off.
I take off my shoes and place them on the wooden rack next to the door. While placing my house keys on the table, a presence lurks at me from behind. I snap around only to see alhaitham leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. An expression that shows he’s.. Not so happy, appears on his face.
A loose, soft white shirt, and dark green sweat pants that scrunch up just above his ankle hang against his muscular build.
“Do you have any idea how late it is?” he says in a rough, demanding tone. “You said you were going to be home 2 hours ago.”
“I… got held up with a client” that came out wrong. defeated, like someone just abandoned all hope in everything.
Alhaitham’s tone shifts to a more softer, almost concerned one. “Kaveh, What happened?
The inner corners of his eyebrows burrow down. Hah, he actually seems concerned, he's not though. Why in any universe would Alhaitham ever be worried about anyone? Especially not me.
“As if you care.”
“I do care,” he says. “You look exhausted, your hair is a mess, you’ve been coming home past midnight way too often lately, and do you think I can't hear you crying in your room in the middle of the night?”
I’m already getting a headache from this. I let my eyes fall shut and place my hand on the living room table to support my weight, exhaustion weighing on me until it feels like there’s weights on my back. Everything around me blurs together. That slight, drunk feeling still disturbs me.
“Alhaitham…” I mumble weakly. “I’m tired. Just leave me alone.”
For a bit, there's pindrop silence. Then I hear the soft sound of footsteps drawing closer.
I force my eyes open, only to find him moving beside me. Before I get the chance to say anything, his hand brushes lightly against my cheek as he reaches up to fix a stray strand of hair that had fallen on my face.
I freeze.
He's being so gentle. The warmth of his touch sends a shiver down my spine, yet I can't bring myself to move away. Instead, I stay perfectly still, watching him through sleepy, half opened eyes.
I watch his gaze fall on mine, the moonlight peeking in through the skylight resting softly across his face. My chest tightens in a confusing way I've never felt before. Why is time going so slow? And why do I want it to go slower?
His hand falls back beside his waist.
“I'm worried, Kaveh.”
His voice sounds genuine. Maybe he is worried, maybe he does care. But what can he do about my problems? I sigh through my nose and ignore him, I move to step past him and my shoulder brushes against his. I keep walking, hearing only my own footsteps tap against the hard wooden floor, slowly walking towards my room.
Even without looking, I can feel Alhaitham's eyes on me. I just know He’s going to say something in 3.. 2..
A strong hand grabs the upper portion of my arm just above my elbow. Am I really so tired that I couldn't hear his footsteps?
“Sleep in my room tonight,” he says.
My head snaps around to look at him, his expression surprisingly soft. I notice the tone of his voice. It’s not demanding, unlike earlier, but a suggestion of worry. Almost desperate. Maybe I should just go with it. He's worried about me. For once.
But no, I shouldn't. Staying with him for a night isn’t going to change anything.
I open my mouth to say something opposing, to tell him “why” or maybe “I don’t want to”, though the word “sure” comes out instead.
What's wrong with me..?
I feel his hand tug on my flimsy arm, gesturing to follow him. I do. The sound of our footsteps mix, and the air grows warmer, my cheeks as well. Wait… what?
Alhaitham leads me to the entrance of his dim-lit room. It's organized, books stacked neatly, the clothes in his closet hang tidy, unlike mine at the moment.
He points to the floor.
“You can sleep there.”
“You..!” I say aggravated. “You invited me to your room and now you’re telling me to sleep on the floor!?”
“Yes.” He says in a way that makes me want to throw my claymore at him. How can he be so inconsiderate!?
I glance at Alhaitham, he's giving me a look that's.. something i dont usually see on his face. it's somehow.. regretful with a mix of ‘maybe I Should let him sleep on the bed'. I rub the nape of my neck and glance back at the spot where he wants me to sleep. Oh no.. that feeling in my head is getting worse.
A tired voice escapes my throat, “Fine.” I turn towards his closet to grab extra bedding. My movement stops when I hear a small noise stumble out of his mouth. I turn my head around, and see Alhaitham's mouth slightly open. Whatever he's about to say, it seems like he's hesitant.
I raise a brow. “Well? Spit it out.”
He rubs a hand on his elbow, looking nervous. Woah, I don't think I've ever seen Alhaitham nervous before.
“acually…” Alhaitham says still rubbing his arm. “just sleep on the bed.”
My lips move in a way that just barely counts as a smile. Well, more close to a smirk.
My brow slightly rises, my tone shifting to a slightly teasing one, “And where are you going to sleep?” Why do I feel so drunk right now? I didn't drink at all today, which is pretty rare for me.
Alhatham opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it, and closes it.
His arm lifts to point at the bed next to us. “There.”
Okay, somehow, I'm drunk. Maybe I did drink and just don't remember. Hold on a second, I think I can recall cyno handing me some sort of drink, Though I can’t remember whether or not it was alcoholic. It definitely was because whenever I'm drunk, for some unreasonable reason, I always feel the need to have physical affection with someone. Though I've never had the chance to satisfy this feeling with anyone before. I never had anyone to turn to for it.
The corner of my mouth lifts into a smirk and I step closer to Alhaitham. That need for physical affection takes over my body and mind. I can't even think straight anymore. My hands slide into Alhaitham's waist, wrapping my arms around him. My chest presses against his firm one.
His body involuntarily jerks. Tough, panicky hands press against my shoulder trying to gently pry me away. My body resists and presses closer into him.
This is the first time I've ever hugged Alhaitham. It feels so warm and fuzzy. Wait, maybe that's just the alcohol I had earlier. Right?
Alhaitham sighs, his hands moving up to pet my head. I feel my hair pins being taken off, then the sound of them being put on the bedside table. Slim fingers stroke through my blonde hair. He uses his other hand to twirl a bundle of it in his fingers. I'm enjoying this too much.
Alhatham must've come to the realization that I'm drunk, that's probably why he's not getting mad. We would usually be arguing right about now. The air feels warmer, my cheeks too. They're probably bright pink by now.
His chin drops down to rest on top of my head, making me blush even harder. That also triggers my drunk ass self to cuddle into him more.
My mouth opens, “I'm tired, I wanna go to bed.”
A hand quickly reaches down to lift my knees up, and another supports my back. He swiftly raises me and throws me onto the bed.
I let out a soft grunt and an “ouch" followed after.
His hand presses against my lower back, keeping me upright.
“Did that hurt?” he says, concerned.
My voice blurts out annoyed, “I'm not fragile.”
I quickly crawl under the blanket and rest my cheek on the pillow. Alhatham does the same. My eyes fall onto the dark green pillow that separates me from the wall and I grab it, pulling it towards me. I hold it against my chest.
My eyes gradually shut, and I drift off…
-----------------
The feeling of warm, morning sunlight creeps onto my face. My eyes lazily fall open only to realize my face is stuffed into something… hard? No, soft? Wait, shit-
My arms are wrapped around Ahaitham's waist, and one of his hands is lightly pressed against the back of my head.
I'm definitely gonna rip his limbs off… once he wakes up.
I don't know what to do. Should I move, and wake him up? What time is it anyway? My face is being slightly pressed to his chest, our legs are intertwined in a way that I probably won’t be able to move them without him waking up, and The blanket’s job of keeping us warm is working a little too well because I'm now sweating.
After 5 minutes of overthinking the situation, (which to Kaveh felt like a whole hour) I've decided to wait until Alhaitham wakes up.
This might take a while…
Alhaitham's leg twitches and my heart stops beating for a moment. Why am I getting so worked up about this? I can’t help but snuggle my face deeper in his collar bone and notice how warm he feels. God, my head feels like an earthquake.
I'm so... comfy, and just... Oh my Archons, What's wrong with me?
He's just my roommate, so why am I so nervous? All I can smell is him. He doesn't have any cologne on, so how does he smell so good?
My knee is itchy. This isn't the time right now, knee! Can you itch later? Please?
"Knee" said no.
The tiny, irritating pulse coming from my leg feels like some sort of foreign torture method. I gently move my leg, slowly rubbing it against Alhaitham's shin in an attempt to soothe the aggravating feeling.
Phew. It worked.
The hand resting on my head moves, and I freeze.
Did he wake up? I'm just going to keep pretending I'm asleep.
I feel the moving hand softly stroke my hair, small rhythmic patterns that send a sort of satisfying chill throughout my body making me involuntarily jerk upward to a sitting position.
I stare at Alhaitham, he's staring at me. Why is he so beautiful? His messy, soft grey hair, turquoise eyes that feel like they’re about to swallow you whole, a perfectly sculpted nose, the way the ends of his hair are slightly lighter than the rest.
And his lips…
“What are you staring at?” Alhaitham’s croaky voice says.
My mind snaps back.
“Oh- I.. Uh…”
What was I staring at? I notice my own heavy breathing and try to calm it down.
Alhaitham, seemingly uninterested in what's happening, is still laying down. one of his arms perched under the nape of his neck. The other… strong.. Muscular… arm is resting on his chest with his beautiful.. Veiny… slim hands scrunching up a fist of his shirt.
He grabs the top of the blanket and pulls it over his shoulder while shifting his position to face away from me. Guess he's going back to sleep then.
“If you're going back to sleep then I will too.” I say.
There's no reply. He better not be ignoring me again.
“haitham?” I say as I slowly inch my face closer.
I'm just going to check if he’s actually asleep, or just boldly ignoring me. I place my hand next to his head for support and peek my eyes over the hair hiding his face.
His eyes are shut. Soft Eyelashes resting on his cheeks. I can’t help but stare. His expression looks so placid. Since when has he looked so handsome while sleeping?
Without even noticing, I move closer, and closer. The hand I'm using for support slips without warning, and I fall straight onto the sleeping alhaitham. My hands quickly snap to hoist me back up. Once I finally regain my balance, I realize I'm in an… interesting position.
Alhaitham is staring at me wide-eyed. My hands are placed on either side of his head, and my knees on both sides of his waist. The mattress slightly dips in from my weight. Realization instantly tackles me.
I’m practically pinning him to the bed.
“Kaveh…” Alhaitham says, still staring, sounding dazed.
“AH-!” I say while leaping off him.
“You're acting weird,” he says, narrowing his eyes, “are you trying to tell me something?” What does he mean by that? He can't be serious. Does he think I'm trying to hit on him? No no no, I'm not… obviously!
“Tell you something!?” I say, starting an argument, “And you're the one acting weird!”
“You were pinning me to the bed just now.” Alhaitham says blankly.
“I FELL!” Out of embarrassment, my cheeks turn slightly pink.
A teasing smirk grows on his lips.
“Kaveh, you're blushing.” I panic, and immediately lunge my hand out to grab a pillow. Smashing it onto my face as I rip the blanket off and jump out the bed.
“SHUT UUUP!” I say while sprinting out the door with my face covered.
I hide behind the wall in our living room. The pillow clutched tightly in my arms. I hear footsteps draw closer. Alhaitham's head peeks out from the edge of the wall. His eyes narrow. I look at his ridiculously handsome face.
“Why are you hiding?” he says
“Because… you..!” I say with a mix of frustration and embarrassment. How do I even respond to that question?
“Because I..?” He says with an annoyingly mocking tone.
“Whatever,” I say, trying to shift the topic, “I want coffee!”
I try to move past him, planning to head to the kitchen but he plants himself in front of me.
My eyes narrow and my grip on the pillow tightens.