Chapter Text
Cyno and Tighnari returned from their Mondstadt travel right in the middle of the week, eager to meet their friends and tell them all about what they saw and did in the city of Freedom. Therefore, Kaveh and Alhaitham met them for dinner at Lambad’s, sharing food and wine - though Alhaitham stopped on his first glass, very differently from Kaveh who had continued filling his own for the past couple of hours.
At some point, Alhaitham got up from his seat.
“Apologies, I have an early meeting and shall head home. I'll pay for what we had until now.”
“Still acting Grand Sage, right? Go act well then.” Cyno said with a serious face, making Tighnari facepalm with a groan.
“I wish Albedo hadn't spurred you on… I might end up dying from…”
Tighnari stopped talking as his chin fell watching Alhaitham bow down towards Kaveh, giving him a peck on the lips before moving away as if nothing. Cyno was just as shocked, though his face remained neutral. Kaveh smiled sweetly as he watched his roommate going downstairs, not noticing the effect the act brought.
Clearing his throat, Tighnari decided to ask first. “So… how long have you two been dating and not telling us?”
Kaveh tilted his head sideways as he sipped more wine. “What? We are not dating, why would you say that?”
The other two exchanged a confused glance, unsure if Kaveh was joking or playing coy.
“Because… you just kissed? As if it was a usual thing?” Cyno answered, speaking slowly to not be misheard.
“Oh, right, that. We have been doing it for a few weeks I guess, but that's all. That surely doesn't mean we are dating.” The architect shrugged, completely at ease with his explanation.
“Kaveh. Would you say goodbye to me or Tighnari like that?” The general Mahamatra insisted, unable to accept what he was hearing.
Kaveh burst out laughing, the idea of kissing any of his friends absolutely ridiculous. “Hell no, why would I even do that?”
“That's the point. If you and Alhaitham are not dating, why kiss him goodbye?” Tighnari repeated, even more confused than before.
“Well… there's actually a funny story that led us to this point, you know.” Kaveh twirled his glass briefly, taking a sip with eyes staring at the wall.
Both Cyno and Tighnari waited for him to elaborate. When he didn't say anything else for over a minute, the ranger hit the table to wake the architect from his daydreaming, starting to become annoyed.
“What story? Now that you mentioned it, you'd better be telling us, or no more wine for today!”
Kaveh gasped dramatically, a hand placed on his chest before scratching his head in defeat. “Fine. Then you will see once and for all that there's nothing going on between me and Haitham.
“So, a few weeks ago, I finished reading a nice book about Fontaine culture, now that my mom is living there and talked about me visiting her. I then decided to try and learn some of their traditions before going there, to acclimate better, you know?
Alhaitham was reading on the couch, so I asked him if I could experiment with the way they say hello, just to see if it was too weird or not. Not sure if you both know, but it is very common for fontainians to peck each other's cheeks as a way to say hello or goodbye.Since Haitham just hummed in response, which is the usual way he says yes when his book is too interesting, I leaned in to peck his cheek… but then he turned his face towards me, and I kissed his lips instead.” Kaveh stopped to groan, his cheeks turning red. “I was so so embarrassed that I'm sure I got red ‘til the tips of my ears. I couldn't even say anything. And do you know what Haitham did?”
Cyno was trying his best not to laugh, while Tighnari just shook his head in denial, his ears dropping in deep defeat.
“He just blinked and went like ‘Oh, I see. That's fine by me, Kaveh.’. Who the hell says that after being kissed on the lips?” The architect groaned, the memory painfully alive in his mind. “And then he just got up, ruffled my hair and went to his bedroom, leaving me gaping at the couch, thoroughly embarrassed!”
Kaveh stopped to drink some more of his wine, pouring a full new glass when he realized he had emptied the previous one. Cyno peeked at Tighnari, who looked even more troubled than him.
“I see. So you kissed him by accident, fine. A few weeks ago. That doesn't explain why you are still doing it.” The general said, taking the wine bottle away from Kaveh’s reach.
“You see… I had a deadline coming up, so I did not even see Haitham the next couple days. On the third one, when I was finally done with my project, I got up early and he was in the kitchen. Strangely, he had an extra coffee on his hand, and he walked to me and placed it in my hands. After I thanked him, he just leaned in and pecked my lips.” He sighed, blushing yet again. “I had no reaction, I was still sleepy and very surprised. Then he just nodded, and I could swear I saw a smile on that damn handsome face of his as he muttered ‘Good, you did not change your mind. See you later, Kaveh’. After that, well, it just sort of became a habit.” He shrugged.
“What the hell? What do you mean it became a habit?” Tighnari could not hold his tongue anymore, still confused and somehow feeling sorry for Alhaitham at the same time.
“Oh you know. I kissed him when he got home, he kissed me before going to sleep. Or either of us kissed the other when heading out. We also started using these pecks to avoid fights. When one of us started getting out of hand, the other would just go and give a peck, and boom. Fighting was over. Very practical if you ask me”. Kaveh said, clearly proud of himself. “Now I'm sure you guys can see that this is not dating, right? There’s no holding hands, hugs, further kissing or anything like that. So, not dating.” He reached for the bottle, pouring himself the rest of it.
Cyno sighed deeply, considering his next words carefully. “Are you saying nothing else changed besides all that pecking? Which, you know, it's so very normal between mere roommates, I'm sure.” He rolled his eyes.
The blonde thought for a while, sipping his wine and looking at the ceiling, several different expressions of happiness and embarrassment crossing his face. “Nothing at all. We did go shopping a bit more often together than separated. He left me coffee a few times, with the right amount of sugar in it. He let me buy some furniture, even though they did not really need replacement. I mean, they did need replacement because they were ugly, but still. And there was also that time Haitham took me to watch Nilou’s new play…”
Tighnari raised a hand, stopping him midway. “Wait. Alhaitham went to watch a play? He hates plays!”
“Yeah, I thought so too! But when I asked him after the show was over, because I avoided doing it before it so he didn't go back on his word, he said it was worth it to see my reactions to it. I guess he wanted to practice his observational skills or something.” The architect replied, completely blind.
That was enough for Cyno already. He slammed his head on the table, muttering “Poor Alhaitham” in a volume only Tighnari could hear, getting some petting on his back from his lover. Kaveh didn't even notice their reactions, already too drunk to pay attention to his surroundings. “Nari… I have some documents to bring to the Akademiya tomorrow…”
The ranger nodded, scratching his right ear. “Yes, please, talk to him. He needs to know he's dealing with an utter idiot.” He whispered, sure their blonde friend wouldn't notice even if he said it out loud by then.