Chapter Text
A grey-haired man stood in the doorway.
“Kaveh,” he greeted, and it came out as a sigh of relief.
The stranger unceremoniously handed him a small box as if it were a routine set of paperwork to sign. Kaveh’s eyes widened as he opened it, finding a breathtakingly gorgeous ring inside. “Marry me.”
Kaveh blinked. He closed the door. He opened it again. The man was still there.
“Uh,” he started. “I think you have the wrong… address?”
“No.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Okay.” He cleared his throat. “Um. Do we know each other? I’m really sorry, but I don’t remember who you are.”
The stranger waved his hand. “Details. We’ll sort them out soon.”
“Uh,” Kaveh mumbled, scratching his head. “Is this a prank?”
“No. My proposal is genuine.”
“Are you drunk?”
“No.”
Silence.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Alhaitham,” he replied, which was the first sentence formulated by him to make some logical sense.
“And why are you proposing to me?”
“Because you are the love of my life.”
Well, that was sweet. Kind of. And creepy. Was this the guy’s way of asking someone out?
“And what makes you think I’m the love of your life?” he asked slowly.
“Long story. Can I come in?”
Kaveh closed the door protectively behind him. “Sorry, but not really.”
Alhaitham shrugged. “I’ll explain from here, then. We were lovers in a past life.”
Kaveh did not react.
“To be exact, we were lovers in almost every past life we’ve had. Obviously, our souls have an affinity for one another. It is only natural that we be lovers in this life, too.”
Kaveh gently offered the small box back. The man was either drunk, high, or pulling a secret prank, but Kaveh preferred to give people the benefit of the doubt, even when they sounded insane. “I’m sorry, but I have to decline your offer.”
“Keep the ring,” Alhaitham replied. “Accepting my proposal or not, I’d not marry anyone but you. I have no use for rings. So, if it is to your taste, which I assume it should be, simply wear it without considering that it signifies any sort of commitment.”
Kaveh stared down at the box. ‘To his taste’ was quite an understatement, given that it was probably the most beautiful ring he had ever witnessed, engraved with flowers and different-coloured jewels adorning a thin band of intricate gold. It was a piece of invaluable craftsmanship.
“Thank you, but I can’t accept this. It’s too expensive.”
Alhaitham shrugged. “It’s not like either of us paid. We technically did, but it’s not like we have access to the bank account that paid.”
Kaveh cocked his head, wondering if he was the one who was drunk, or high, or dreaming. “I really don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“This ring is from our past life.”
“Oh,” he mouthed, head still cocked. “Um. No offence, but I don’t believe you. Of course everyone knows about reincarnations and stuff, but nobody knows who they were in their past lives.”
Alhaitham raised an amused brow. “Nobody is strong.”
Kaveh sighed. “Okay, Mr Know-It-All. Enlighten me. How did you come by this information?”
“I work in the government archive.”
“And they just happen to own forbidden knowledge and keep it in a big stuffy library?”
“Precisely,” Alhaitham replied, leaning against the wall.
Kaveh crossed his arms. “You’re funny, I’ll give you that, but if you want to ask me out, you’re gonna have to do better than this.”
“It wasn’t a joke.”
“Okay. Point still stands. Not marrying you.”
“Fine.”
Kaveh closed the door. Peeking through the spy hole, he watched the stranger walk away calmly, hands in his pockets and an utterly blank gaze in his eyes.
Alhaitham never returned, which confirmed that it was probably either a prank or an odd method for making a move on someone. After all, if they truly were fated to be together, his destined lover wouldn’t have simply strolled away from his house looking unfazed.
Kind of a shame, a tiny voice whispered in the back of his mind. He was so handsome. And those teal eyes… Kaveh shook his head and willed the thoughts away.
He hadn’t taken the ring back. It was still in its box, glittering when Kaveh took it under light to examine it, and waiting patiently to be made useful while sitting on the vanity. He considered donating it (but that seemed sacrilegious), or hunting Alhaitham down to return it. Maybe the man would come back for it at some point, realising how much money he had simply thrown away.
After four months, Kaveh took the leap and started wearing it for special events. It was too precious for everyday outings, but became indispensable when he was invited to weddings and similarly large gatherings. It was the perfect addition to any outfit.
More months passed. One day, Kaveh was walking his dog in a park when a now-familiar shadow approached him.
“Kaveh.”
“Alhaitham. Are you a stalker?”
“No,” he replied. “That would take too much effort. You rejected my proposal, so I accepted your rejection. This meeting is simply a coincidence.”
“Great,” Kaveh mumbled. “Well. Good day.”
“Good day.”
They walked away from each other.
Two months later, he saw Alhaitham in the same park, now running with sweaty bangs stuck to his forehead.
He removed his earphones. “Kaveh. Good morning.”
“Good morning,” Kaveh replied, willing his eyes away from the bare chest in front of him. “Didn’t know you ran.”
“Unsurprising. You don’t know much about me.”
“With that attitude, it’s funny that you’d think I would ever fall in love with you,” Kaveh grumbled.
Alhaitham crossed his arms. “You still will.”
“You just lost, like, a billion points. You’d have to overthrow a repressive government and save a god or something, to have a chance to ask me out again.”
Kaveh’s eyes nearly leapt off his face when he read the newspaper a week later.
The Director of the Department of National Transcripts, Alhaitham, calls for the arrest of Grand Sage Azar, freeing Lord Kusanali and revealing the repressive corruption underlying Sumeru’s government.
They met in the same park at the same time, Alhaitham still shirtless.
“Can we get married now?”
“You’re literally the fucking Grand Sage of Sumeru.”
“I don’t see how that incapacitates marriage. It’s also a provisional role I’m being forced to take on. We’re organising new elections as quickly as possible. I have no interest in being Grand Sage, so if that was your only setback, we will be able to marry in approximately six weeks.”
Kaveh stared at him blankly. He took a deep breath. “I already said no more than once.”
Alhaitham shrugged. “Considering that I met the conditions you stipulated in our last meeting and that you keep averting your eyes to my chest and arms, I thought you might have changed your mind.”
Face scrunched up, Kaveh pointed an accusatory finger at the aforementioned sculpted chest. “You—! You’re insufferable! Even if we did marry, I bet we’d divorce within the year.”
“I disagree,” Alhaitham replied. “Especially given that we’ve spent literal centuries married to one another.”
“I probably died early from stress in my past life, then.”
“That did actually happen a couple of times.”
Kaveh’s jaw dropped. “I’m done conversing with you. Bye.”
“Bye.” Alhaitham waved.
Kaveh kept visiting the same park, now on a semi-regular schedule. He was curious and intrigued, that was all. It’s not like this kind of thing happened to most people in their lives, having someone lead a coup d’état because you offhandedly encouraged them to. Or maybe it had just been a coincidence.
But Alhaitham didn’t show up. Until six weeks later, the day that a new Grand Sage was announced.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning. Why are you shirtless? It’s cold. I know you’re exercising, but damn, I’d die if I was half-naked in this wind.”
Alhaitham’s expression remained unchanged. “You seem to enjoy it.”
Kaveh’s face flushed a deep red, and he stuttered while fidgeting with the dog leash. “I just—! What? It’s not my fault! I’m just asking innocently! You don’t have to ignore my question and accuse me of drooling over your torso!”
“I wasn’t ignoring your question or accusing you of anything. I simply stated that I’m shirtless because it seems to please you.”
Kaveh gripped the leash so tightly his knuckles went white.
“You’re such an asshole.”
“It was an objective observation.”
“I’m not accepting your proposal.”
“Okay.”
It became a daily occurrence. Although Alhaitham started wearing a shirt after being scolded for it.
“What’s your dog’s name?” Alhaitham asked, petting a pair of fluffy ears.
“Mehrak,” Kaveh grumbled, shooting daggers at the traitor eagerly accepting Alhaitham’s touch.
“You’re adorable.”
Kaveh stuttered, cheeks turning a ferocious red as he averted his gaze, hiding his face with a shaky hand. “Don’t— don’t just say that. It’s embarrassing. I’m not doing anything especially cute, I’m just standing here.”
The corner of Alhaitham’s lips twitched. “I was talking to the dog,” he explained, matter-of-factly.
Kaveh considered crawling into a hole and suffocating to death. His blush only deepened.
“Ah…”
“I think you’ve made it pretty clear that you wouldn’t be comfortable accepting compliments from me,” Alhaitham continued, standing up. “So don’t worry, I’m not interested in crossing your boundaries. I’m not as much of an asshole as you might think.”
Kaveh untied his hair, redoing his ponytail for the sake of having something to do with his hands.
“I prefer to get straight to the point,” Alhaitham said, which was perfectly unnecessary since that was already painfully obvious. “You keep coming here and interacting with me, and your body language indicates some sort of attraction. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but I have the impression that you’re romantically interested in me, so I am reiterating my proposal.”
Kaveh sighed, massaging his temples. “Do you live in a parallel universe?”
“I assume my observations were incorrect, judging by your response. Apologies.”
“Oh my god,” Kaveh muttered. “Can’t you just ask me out like a normal person? It’s really not that hard. Just ask if you could have my number. Or invite me to grab a coffee at that café over there.”
“Could I have your number? And would you like to join me for a coffee at that café over there?”
Kaveh’s left eye twitched. “Are you even interested in me?”
Alhaitham cocked his head. “Was that ironic? I’ve asked you to marry me at least three times. I keep coming to this park. I overthrew the government because you said it would be necessary for you to consider pursuing me.”
“Well, I know that!” Kaveh exclaimed, huffing. “I meant, are you actually attracted to me? Or are you just doing this whole thing because it would logically make sense because you for some reason believe we were married in our past reincarnations?”
A pair of infuriating teal eyes glimmered with a hint of amusement. “Do you take me for a fool? You think I’d propose to you if I wasn’t sure of my decision? Of course I’m attracted to you, Kaveh.”
Kaveh looked away, heart fluttering with something between blatant rage and sheepish infatuation. “Fine,” he grunted. “Let’s go to that café.”
They sat on a table in the exterior area, overlooking the park while Mehrak happily lapped at a bowl of fresh water. Alhaitham had been surprisingly gallant, pulling Kaveh’s chair out for him and asking if there was anything he’d like to share. It was all done with that perpetual bored expression, though.
“So,” the architect started, poking at a slice of cake drowned in buttercream. “Tell me more about the whole past-life thing. I still don’t believe you, for the record, but I’d like to know how you reached your conclusions.”
“I don’t have to do much for my job, so I end up perusing the archives and reading whatever looks interesting a lot of the time.”
“Isn’t that, like,” Kaveh lowered his voice, “a criminal offence?”
“Yes,” he replied, sipping on hot chocolate. “Anyway. The classified section had some intriguing titles, so I was skimming through them at some point, and I found—”
“I feel like you shouldn’t be admitting this in public,” Kaveh whispered nervously.
“It doesn’t matter,” Alhaitham grunted, waving his hand. “As Grand Sage, it was all knowledge I should be allowed to access. No one has to know I looked at the files before the government change.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t be casually talking about it!”
“Stop interrupting. You asked a question, and I’m trying to answer.”
It was almost imperceptible, but Kaveh flinched like a wounded puppy, sinking into himself as red eyes looked down at the cake.
Alhaitham stared forward. “I apologise,” he stated, quickly. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I meant it teasingly. I won’t say such a thing again.”
Kaveh looked up, and he was taken aback by Alhaitham’s face, for the first time, demonstrating some kind of… emotion. Granted, it wasn’t much, but there was a frown distorting those gorgeous teal eyes, which looked slightly wider than usual in a show of concern. One could almost say there was a sliver of vulnerability in them.
“It’s fine,” Kaveh muttered, biting into the cake. “Go on.”
“That’s pretty much the entire explanation. I found out that the government had records of who we were in past lives for some reason. So I read my file.”
Kaveh dropped his fork. “First of all.” He inhaled deeply. “For some reason? You didn’t think to investigate why they would invade our privacy like that? Don’t you think that’s pretty important?”
Alhaitham shrugged. “I didn’t say it wasn’t important. It doesn’t mean that it’s my personal responsibility to enquire on the matter.”
“Wouldn’t you say it’s your responsibility to do something about it?”
“The question of whether having access to some forms of knowledge automatically comes with the responsibility to act in a certain way is quite an interesting and nuanced one, actually.” Kaveh’s face scrunched into a scowl, but Alhaitham continued before he could cut in. “But yes, in this instance I do agree with you. I submitted a report to the Sumeran Bureau of Investigation.”
“Don’t you think they’d be in on whatever sketchy shit the ex-Grand Sage was doing?”
“I don’t think so,” Alhaitham replied. “I’m friends with the head of the SBI, Cyno. He seems like an honest person.”
Kaveh blinked. “You have friends?”
Alhaitham leaned forward. “What, did you think you were the only person who could tolerate my insufferable personality?
“Yeah, actually.”
Alhaitham rolled his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself just because you’re the love of my every life.”
Kaveh choked on his coffee, cheeks blazing furiously as he bit back a smile. “You say stuff like that on purpose.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Anyway,” Kaveh cut in, clearing his throat. “Keep talking. The files. What did you find?”
“I read about my previous life, and then I looked up the name of my spouse. You. And I kept going through my previous lives, and we were together in almost all of them.”
Kaveh drummed his fingers against the mug. “Can I see the files?”
“No,” Alhaitham replied, sticking his fork into the cake. “Lord Kusanali said they weren’t supposed to exist in the first place. So they were all destroyed.”
Amber eyes squinted at him. “So how do I know if you’re telling the truth?”
A shrug. “You don’t.”
Kaveh took a tentative bite of cake, his fork clinking against Alhaitham’s.
“How did you get that ring?”
“It was from, I believe, three lifetimes ago. We didn’t have heirs and the ring ended up in the archives for over a hundred years, so when I saw it referenced in our files, I decided to retrieve it.”
“So you stole it,” Kaveh remarked.
“Yes.” He called a waiter over, asking for another pastry. “Lord Kusanali knows that it’s in my possession. So, technically, my crime has been pardoned by the archon.”
“Right, you’re friends with a fucking god. Because that’s not weird at all.”
“I wouldn’t say we’re friends,” Alhaitham murmured. “I don’t think she likes me much.”
“Well, she let you steal a ring, so that must count for something.”
“Do you like it?”
Kaveh cocked his head.
“The ring.”
“Oh.” A blush. “Yes. It’s stunning.”
Alhaitham nodded. “I find it overly elaborate.”
“Of course you do,” Kaveh scoffed, eyeing the man’s plain black clothes. “You’re boring.”
“Maybe.”
“Tell me something interesting about yourself.”
Alhaitham cut the newly arrived pain au chocolat in half, pushing the plate towards Kaveh. “I’m a linguist.”
Kaveh bit into the pastry, humming delightedly as the chocolate melted in his mouth. “Okay, kind of interesting. Not so common. Do you like it?”
“As you know, I work with archives, not linguistics. But yes, I like the subject area.”
“You’re probably a polyglot or something. How many languages do you speak?”
“Twenty-six.”
Kaveh choked, coughing desperately. “No, you don’t.”
Alhaitham raised a brow. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Yeah.” Mehrak barked in agreement. “No one speaks twenty-six languages.”
“I believe the record sits at fifty-something.”
Kaveh crossed his arms. “Speak Fontainian.”
“T’es beau.”
Kaveh squinted his eyes. “Okay. Maybe I’m kinda rusty. It’s been a while. Say something else that I can actually understand.”
“It was an extremely simple sentence.”
“Shut the fuck up. Say something else.”
“Those are contradictory orders.”
“Just say something else!” Kaveh barked.
“Bonjour.”
He rolled his eyes. “Come on!”
“T’as pas compris ce que j’ai dit, alors j’ai essayé quelque chose de plus facile. Mais si tu veux, je peux continuer, même si tu me comprends pas.”
Kaveh sipped his coffee. “Um. Oui, oui.”
A shadow of a smile coloured Alhaitham’s lips. “Peut-être que je pourrais te dire que j’aime la couleur de tes yeux, et la couleur de tes cheveux, ou même la façon dont tu me regardes maintenant, en essayant de me comprendre.”
Kaveh sighed. “I give up. Guess I gotta take it back up before visiting my mum again.”
“She’s Fontainian?”
“No, but she lives there.”
He scratched his head, and Alhaitham had the impression that it wasn’t a pleasant topic.
“How do you like the pain au chocolat?”
“Ah, true,” Kaveh murmured, pushing the plate forward so Alhaitham could taste it. “Sorry! It’s delicious.”
Alhaitham hummed, trying a bite. “How many points do I have now?”
Kaveh cocked his head.
“You said I lost a billion points at some point in the park. And that I had to make up for it.”
“Oh!” Kaveh exclaimed, chuckling. “I guess you’re doing a little better. The cake and the pain au chocolat definitely helped.”
“Hm. What else would get me more points?”
Kaveh rolled his eyes fondly. “You’re not very good at this. Your first date?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” Kaveh coughed, cheeks flushing. “Sorry.”
Alhaitham’s eyes danced in amusement. He leaned back on his chair. “I told you, I wouldn’t marry anyone but you.”
Kaveh hid his blush behind the now-empty mug of coffee. “You’re awfully smitten for someone who basically just met me.”
“Quite the exaggeration.”
“Our past lives that we can’t remember don’t count.”
“Still.”
“Fine, it’s been several months. But we didn’t talk for most of those.”
“We actually met before that,” Alhaitham commented, taking the last sip of his hot chocolate.
Kaveh stared.
“What? When?”
“We went to university together.”
Kaveh’s jaw dropped. “And you’re only telling me this now? Despite me obviously not remembering?”
“We never actually talked,” Alhaitham explained, shrugging. “We were from different departments, and you’re two years my senior.”
“So you really are a stalker,” Kaveh mumbled.
“Hardly,” Alhaitham chuckled. “Everyone knew who you were. The university’s darling, the genius architect prodigy with a million achievements and record-breaking grades.”
“Ah,” Kaveh mumbled sheepishly, smiling. “I guess you’re right. They did make a big deal out of me.”
“They would hang your face up on every board. Even I knew about your legendary palace project thing, or something.”
“God, that’s embarrassing.”
“Why?” Alhaitham cocked his head. “You earned the recognition.”
“Debatable. But whatever. So, you knew who I was already? What did you think about me before finding out that we’re soulmates or something? Again, not saying I totally believe that.”
“Oh, I had a massive crush.”
Kaveh cackled, toning down the volume when the tables around them turned in his direction. “You? A massive crush? No way.”
“Why so? I have feelings too, you know. You were intelligent, beautiful, kind. What’s there not to like?”
“Then why did you never come talk to me?”
Alhaitham blinked. “Again, I have feelings too, and those may include embarrassment. You think I’d approach a gorgeous genius senior who everyone was in love with?”
Kaveh pouted. “So you’re saying I might have never seen the love of my life again, because you were too shy to ask me out.”
“I would say it’s unfair to put the blame on me. You’re just as much at fault for not seeking me out.”
Kaveh raised his chin dramatically, unable to find an appropriate retort to that argument.
“Well. Whatever. I just didn’t take you as the nervous type, considering that you just showed up at my house out of nowhere to ask me to marry you. Come on, be honest. Were you high or something?”
“No,” Alhaitham replied, averting his gaze for a moment. “On second thought, that probably wasn’t the best strategy.”
“What an understatement,” Kaveh scoffed. “Do I feel like the same person to you? As who you had a celebrity crush on a few years ago.”
Alhaitham leaned down to pet Mehrak some more. “Somewhat. I like the real version better.”
Kaveh’s eyes crinkled at the edges.
“Your hair is longer.”
“Oh. Yeah,” he hummed, fiddling with a blond lock curling into itself around his chest. “I didn’t have the time to take care of all of this when I was swamped in uni.”
Alhaitham followed the curl with softened eyes.
“What else do I have to do? To get more points.”
Kaveh raised an eyebrow. “You should know by now. And no more blunt proposals.”
“Fine. You’re a romantic, I imagine?”
The architect crossed his arms. “I’m a normal person. You’re just weird.”
“Whatever you wish to believe. Anyway, I would prefer if we met somewhere other than the park, next time.”
“So you’re just assuming that there’s going to be a next time.”
Alhaitham’s sharp gaze dropped into mild surprise, and his shoulders slumped slightly in disappointment. “Ah. My apologies.”
Kaveh took a pen out of his pocket, scribbling away in loopy handwriting on a napkin. “I guess your performance wasn’t that bad,” he murmured.
When Alhaitham saw the phone number in black ink, he grew the first real smile Kaveh had seen on those lips.
The following day, Kaveh came home to an overflowing bouquet with gorgeous petals sitting on his doorstep, on top of a note written in neat, angular letters.
I can do romance, if that’ll make you smile.
There were threads wrapped around several stems, tied to small pieces of paper. They indicated what the flower represented, and Alhaitham had picked out adoration, new beginnings, passion, beauty, hope, and patience.
As Kaveh walked in, smelling their perfume, he was beaming from ear to ear.
Notes:
thank you for reading!! 2nd chapter coming out tomorrow <3 hope you’re enjoying this
(it’s my second “i’d love you in every lifetime” story… can you tell i have a thing for it)
Chapter Text
Kaveh let Alhaitham in through the front door, deeming him probably-not-a-psychopath after three dates. The man brought a stack of paperwork with him, and Kaveh genuinely wondered if it would be marriage documents.
“Files about the people we were in a few past lives,” Alhaitham explained.
Amber eyes squinted. “I thought they’d been destroyed.”
“The ones referencing reincarnations were. But they can’t erase my memory, so if I remember our names, there’s nothing stopping me from seeking out our records.”
Kaveh picked up a page, skimming the name. “But this is a woman.”
Alhaitham crossed his arms. “Yes, the point of reincarnation is a soul inhabiting different bodies. We’ve been all sorts of people before.”
“Right. ‘Esther.’ Was this you or me?”
“Me.”
“Figures. She looks grumpy in this photo.”
Alhaitham cocked an eyebrow in amusement. “It’s an ID photo. Almost everyone looks grumpy.”
“I don’t,” Kaveh announced, flipping his hair. “I would show you my glowing smile on my ID if I wasn’t scared of you stealing my personal information or something.”
Alhaitham blinked. “I am quite literally the director of the place where the government keeps everyone’s personal information,” he said slowly.
“Ah,” Kaveh choked. “That is true.”
He sifted through the pages, observing face upon face, trying to recognise in them his distinctive glimmer and Alhaitham’s piercing reservation. It proved harder than he would have expected.
“I wonder what our souls really are,” he hummed. “I don’t know. It’d be nice to have all these people joined together, to see what we all have in common.”
“Yes, it’s an intriguing concept,” Alhaitham conceded, handing Kaveh a cup of freshly-brewed coffee. “We’ve had all sorts of professions, but I found that your pursuits tend to border on grandiose and artistic.”
Kaveh looked up. “So that’s my essence? Being a dramatic artist?”
Alhaitham chuckled fondly. That softness in his eyes had become commonplace. “I would call it ambition. But then again, we can only make conclusions based on facts, such as our achievements and life choices. And we can’t truly know who these people were without interacting with them.”
“What did you find about yourself?”
“I have the impression that I aimed for peace in most of my lives. The opposite of you, in a sense.”
“Is the saying true, then? That opposites attract? Maybe our souls are totally different, and that’s why we end up drawn to each other.”
“Maybe they’re similar.”
Kaveh narrowed his eyes, sipping his coffee. “I don’t think so.”
Another stranger showed up on Kaveh’s doorstep. Was this going to become a common occurrence?
It was a small girl, probably around six years old or so, with white hair and glittering green eyes. She smiled politely, as if she were much older, and greeted the architect with a handshake.
“Hello, Kaveh.”
“Hi,” he replied, uncertain. “Are you… lost? Do you need help finding your parents?”
She laughed delightedly, clapping her hands. “No, no, I’m afraid my form is deceptive. I’m much older than you. Call me Nahida.”
“Um. Okay. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nahida. How can I help?”
“May I come in?”
Well, he couldn’t say no to a child.
He was serving her some tea when she casually revealed her identity as the Archon of Wisdom. Kaveh burned himself and dropped the teapot on the floor.
“Lord Kusanali!” he shouted, kneeling in prayer. “To what do I owe the honour of your presence in my humble house?”
She giggled. “Kaveh, please stand up. I’m just a person. There’s no need to worry. I’m just here to chat.”
“Right.”
He smiled nervously. While he cleaned up the mess and prepared more tea, now even more carefully and with a fancier tea set, he nearly sweated to death, wondering what in the actual fuck the God of Wisdom wanted to chat with him about.
“I know Alhaitham told you details about your past lives.”
He froze. He was surely going to be arrested for heavenly crimes because of that stupid, insufferable, gorgeous man who he was in the middle of falling in love with. And he was going to be arrested by a god.
“I am so sorry, Lord Kusanali. Genuinely, I know that this information is forbidden knowledge, and Alhaitham and I should never have—”
She waved her hands around, smiling. “I said not to worry. I’m not angry. Really, it’s not Alhaitham’s fault that the government had been extracting and recording forbidden information. He was the one who ended this entire operation, anyway. And curiosity is only natural.”
“Right, right.” Kaveh nodded, heart beating so quickly it might fall off his chest.
“I just figured that, since you already know a ton of secrets, another one won’t do much harm,” she shrugged, sipping tea comfortably. “So I decided to tell you that we were good friends, many lifetimes ago.”
“Oh.” Kaveh took the time to properly observe the deity, taking in the gentle curve of her lips and the childlike glimmer in her eyes. “I’m honoured that I was ever deserving of your friendship.”
“I’m sure you still are,” she said, frowning. “Which is why I wanted to come here. To talk to you, after all this time.”
His jaw dropped. It took herculean effort to force it closed again.
“Lord Kusanali—”
“Please, Nahida.”
“Nahida,” he corrected, looking away sheepishly. “Could you tell me… what I was like?”
She looked up nostalgically, tapping the teacup rhythmically. “You were full of life. Everywhere you went, everything was a little brighter. A little more colourful.”
He couldn’t bite back an earnest smile. “I’m very glad to know that. Out of curiosity… was I an artist?”
“Oh, yes.” She nodded vehemently. “A sculptor, you were. And one of a kind. You were the one who built the statues of me scattered around Sumeru.”
His eyes widened, and he touched a featherlight hand to his heart. “I’m… I—” His lips opened and closed, searching for words. “I sincerely apologise, I’m just… taken aback. And touched. To think that I achieved so much, and that I brought so much into the world, without even being aware of it. It’s… odd.”
“Yes, it is,” she agreed, reaching for his hand. “Souls are funny things.”
They sat in silence for a few long moments, draining out the teapot.
“May I…” he started, looking down. “May I ask another question?”
“Of course.”
“Were we together in that life? I mean,” he cleared his throat, “me and Alhaitham.”
“Oh, yes,” she replied, smiling. “It seems that you two can’t get enough of each other.”
“Before this, I actually thought that soulmates didn’t exist.”
“They don’t,” Nahida shrugged.
He frowned. “Then how come we’re together in every lifetime?”
“Well,” she started, sipping more tea. “I suppose you could appropriately call it ‘soulmates.’ It’s just that there’s nothing tying your souls together or anything. You just seem to choose each other every time.”
“Oh.” Kaveh blinked, and a dizzying warmth pooled in his chest. Something that felt a little like tears crept up his throat. “That’s… beautiful, actually.”
“It is! I find it very sweet. Especially because, with how different you two are, I wouldn’t have expected you to fall in love again and again. I suppose I still have a lot to learn about humans.”
Kaveh offered her some candied nuts, which she accepted excitedly. He remained silent, fidgeting with the teacup.
“Thank you for visiting me,” he murmured. “I’m honoured to have you with me, Nahida. And thank you for answering my questions. I’m sorry that I made it all about me and my doubts,” he chuckled. “We should do a proper catch-up instead.”
“Oh, yes!” she exclaimed. “I do have a lot to tell you about the last few hundred years. Perhaps more tea would be in order?”
Alhaitham had taken Kaveh on a coffee date, a museum date, and a forest date, so the architect concluded that it was his turn to whip something up and, well, perhaps move to the next step and make their relationship an actual relationship.
“Welcome!” he exclaimed, opening the door to reveal an intricate setup of candles and ceramic dishes on the dinner table. “I made that stew you mentioned liking.”
Alhaitham smiled slightly, taking his shoes off and greeting Mehrak with a pet. “You’re perfect.”
Kaveh’s breath hitched in his throat. “Was that…” He coughed. “For me, or Mehrak again?”
Alhaitham looked up. “You.”
Kaveh smiled, a toothy grin in between his lips as he took Alhaitham’s hand, pulling him in for a kiss on the cheek. He laughed delightedly at the pink blush that crept onto those usually stoic features.
The architect recounted his lengthy meeting with Nahida, Alhaitham simply listening and occasionally nodding while Kaveh explained each and every detail in between their first sip of wine and the last bite of dessert.
“I thought it was pretty romantic,” Kaveh commented, the alcohol tinting his cheeks slightly. “Like. Us choosing each other every time.”
“I can see why I do it,” Alhaitham murmured.
Kaveh’s eyelashes fluttered with the hint of a smile. “Go on, then. Why do you always choose me?”
Alhaitham crossed his arms. “Maybe because I love hearing you talk. Or because I love figuring out the way you think. Or because I’ve never seen eyes as beautiful as yours. Or anyone as gorgeous as you, really, with that golden hair and that smile. Or because you’re brilliant, and I never want our dates to end.”
He listed it all off much too casually, with that indecipherable look in his eyes and the usual expressionless mouth moving around the words as if they were well-known facts which took no amount of effort to simply recite.
Kaveh smiled from ear to ear, for what felt like the millionth time that evening, and his cheeks were starting to feel sore. He spoke before really processing what he was about to say, whispering, “Come braid my hair.”
Alhaitham stood up swiftly, not having to be asked twice. Kaveh removed his ties and clips, shaking his head softly so the strands would fall lazily around his face.
Alhaitham threaded through them with gentle fingers, smoothing them down before bringing them together, taking his time holding the golden curls. Kaveh had the impression that he was moving slowly on purpose, to keep his hands there for longer, but he didn’t complain. The delicate touch to his scalp was soothing.
After a long, quiet moment, Alhaitham tied the braid, then reached to the flower vase and softly threaded a few small buds into blonde hair, careful not to ruin the hairdo.
“There you go,” he hummed. “The Goddess of Flowers would have been jealous of you.”
Kaveh laughed, turning his head up to meet an adoring teal gaze. “Are you that confident in your braiding skills?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Alhaitham replied, running his hand down the side of Kaveh’s jaw. “You would’ve looked stunning no matter how poor my skills were.”
Kaveh stared.
He reached up, hand wrapping around the back of Alhaitham’s neck and pulling him down gently. They both inhaled deeply, eyes meeting with shy complicity under the warm light of the overhead lamp. Their lips glanced at each other, only one breath apart, and then they closed the distance at the same time, a sweet kiss melting like sugar on their mouths. Kaveh sighed softly, drinking in the warmth of Alhaitham’s parted lips, feeling something like relief well up in his chest — like he’d been waiting for this for much longer than a few months.
Alhaitham’s hand trembled as it made its way to the crown of a blonde head, fingers pressing delicately on the locks he had braided himself moments before. He ran his ghost of a touch down, shadowing the skin of Kaveh’s face as if it were made of precious porcelain, every sheepish movement measured by a quiet reverence tingling through his palm. His weren’t the hands of an artist: the skin was smooth, empty of the callouses dotting Kaveh’s own, and when the tip of his digits finally grazed against Kaveh’s cheek, as if asking for permission and making a confession at the same time, it felt like there was no air left in his lungs, even though the moment hadn’t last lasted longer than a few meek seconds.
They pulled back gasping wordlessly, eyelids opening and amber and teal enthralled by each other, both exquisitely dilated. Alhaitham’s caress moved to cup Kaveh’s jaw with a shudder.
“I can…” Kaveh started, barely louder than a whisper. “I can see why we’ve been doing this for so long.”
Alhaitham’s eyes seemed enraptured by the sight, dancing around each freckle on golden skin. His other hand held the back of Kaveh’s head, supporting its weight with a gentle firmness. “I understand the point of reincarnating, now.”
Kaveh cocked his head.
“We’ve done this for the first time hundreds, if not thousands of times,” Alhaitham explained. “What luck.”
Kaveh’s glowing lips grew into a wide smile, nuzzling his forehead against Alhaitham’s chin. He pushed the other man away lightly, standing up to properly look into his eyes.
“I hope it felt just like this, all those other first times,” he murmured, pulling Alhaitham’s neck into an embrace. He smoothed down a silver eyebrow with his other hand, fingers featherlight.
Alhaitham held him carefully, burying his face into the crook of his neck and exhaling deeply. He let himself melt into the touch, the light perfume of Kaveh’s hair oil mixed with beads of sweat calming his dizzying heart rate. They stayed in that position, tangled into each other, mumbling sweet confessions and exchanging gentle laughs.
When Tighnari knocked on the door, he was expecting to find Kaveh having breakfast on his own, as often happened on empty Saturdays at this time. The heavy rain plattered against the windows, and while he waited for the door to open, he wondered whether his love for his friend was truly worth a soaked shirt and hair flattened by fat raindrops.
His jaw dropped when a man he recognised from the newspapers opened the door, seemingly unfazed while wearing a shirt that evidently belonged to Kaveh.
“Um,” Tighnari managed, clearing his throat. “Is Kaveh home?”
“Yes,” the ex-Acting Grand Sage replied.
“Okay. I’m his friend, Tighnari. Can I come in?” He stole a glance into the living room. “Or am I interrupting?”
“Tighnari!” Kaveh called, rushing to the doorframe in an apron and pyjamas. “Let him in, Alhaitham! He’s gonna catch a cold or something!”
Kaveh tackled him into a smothering hug, Alhaitham observing silently. “It’s been so long since you’ve visited me!”
Tighnari blinked at the hero of the nation standing two steps away, sipping casually on a mug of coffee. “Yeah. Uh. Too long.”
“I’ll make breakfast for the three of us. You don’t mind, right, Haitham?”
‘Haitham’ looked like he most definitely minded, but he simply shrugged in response, moving to set another place on the table. It’s clearly not his first time in the house, Tighnari observed.
“I have a lot to tell you,” Kaveh blabbed on, taking out a frying pan.
“I can see that. Who’s this guy?”
“His fiancé,” Alhaitham replied, matter-of-factly.
Tighnari gawked, ears shooting up in tangible shock. He opened his mouth to shout something, but Kaveh flailed his arms desperately in an interruption.
“No!” the architect shrieked, and Tighnari’s eyes narrowed as he noticed a gorgeous, glittering ring on his left hand. “Not exactly.”
“Apologies,” Alhaitham corrected, tone of voice still dripping apathy. “Ex-husband.”
Tighnari frowned deeper than what he thought his eyebrows capable of, scratching his head in bewilderment as he turned his eyes back to Kaveh. “What?”
“It’s a long story,” he sighed, throwing a tablecloth at Alhaitham. “He’s not my ex-husband. It’s just that… we found out that we were married in our past lives.”
The forest ranger blinked.
“And also, I gotta tell you all about how Nahi— I mean, Lord Kusanali herself came over for tea with me, and—”
Tighnari listened attentively while gulping down a pot of coffee, doubting his sanity as Kaveh chatted excitedly about facts that sounded entirely fabricated, dancing around the sunlit kitchen and occasionally bending down to kiss Alhaitham’s forehead.
And yet… he found himself believing it all. The indecipherable hard lines of Alhaitham’s features countered everything Kaveh’s passionate, unpredictable presence stood for, but in seeing them side by side, bickering about the amount of salt in breakfast eggs, there was a warm, softening gaze that seemed to connect them, much like a threaded tether between two hearts. Alhaitham tapped the stunning ring under the table and tied Kaveh’s hair back while he cooked, his attentiveness hypnotic. Kaveh looked back and smiled, scrunching his face in an effort to kiss him from the awkward angle and falling into unrestrained laughter when he didn’t manage.
A shadow of a smile crept up on Tighnari’s face, not that the couple noticed, absorbed in their warm bubble which seemed to contain the whole world.
“Were you this gorgeous in every life?” Alhaitham murmured, but despite its low volume, both fox ears captured the sound perfectly.
Kaveh giggled, wiping his hands down to reach for Alhaitham’s dimpled jaw. “Were you this clingy?”
They melted into a kiss, lips smiling against each other as Alhaitham ran his fingers through messy golden locks.
Tighnari cleared his throat. “I’m still here, you know.”
Notes:
me writing this at 1am: i just invented romance
me re-reading it in the morning: i just misspelled “kaveh” 3xanyway, i’ve now posted more than 10 fics… which isn’t that much and i know i don’t have a large readership, but i really wanted to say thank you to everyone engaging with my work in any way. each kudos, comment, bookmark means a lot to me, and it really warms my heart to see people enjoying my writing <3 i love you guys
as always, thank you SO MUCH for reading and drop a comment if you feel like it! :)