It's not gay (it is) | Kavetham

II | Unconscious anger

It'd taken all but three days for Cyno and Tighnari to finally drop the subject of his sexuality. Cyno had broken a dam with a single sentence and suddenly both him and Tighnari were flip flopping between feigned support and relentless teasing.

Kaveh doesn't drop his guard. Even when a day passes without a pestering voice whispering in his ear. 

Not until three more days pass that he accepts the passage of time.

The elephant in the room comparable to the size of Antarctica and named after Kaveh's supposed sexuality is decidedly forgotten— Thank the Archons. 

Except when Tighnari and Cyno are silent, together, it's a bad sign.

Kaveh's "sexuality crisis," as they've dubbed it, was simply a small detail to them.

The big picture is something to be feared tenfold. Their jokes take a cruel turn from a rainstorm straight to a hurricane.

The second— the moment his guard is dropped is when they pounce.

- 

It was a calculated plan from the beginning. 

Kaveh's never liked the texture of strawberries. Any other fruit, sure, he'll eat— but strawberries are to be kept well off his plate. 

But unfortunately, strawberries just had to be included in his salad. Kaveh's plan clicks into place as he seats himself across from Alhaitham in the dining hall.

His fork already begins sorting the red fruit out of his salad. "You want some?"

Kaveh doesn't wait for a response as he plops one of the offending fruits onto the plate across from him.

It wasn't a particularly complicated plan, Alhaitham will eat almost anything— and in favor of Kaveh, his dreaded strawberries. 

Alhaitham glances up from his book— Archons, can he give it a break for one minute?— he then glances down at his plate then right back up to Kaveh.

"You're just pawning off the food you don't want to eat to me," Alhaitham remarks, eyes falling back to his book. 

Which is— true. That's exactly what he's doing. But Alhaitham could at least have the decency to not point it out so loudly. 

"But—" Kaveh scrambles for words as he still continues to sort out his strawberries.

"if you don't eat it, it will go to waste!" he concludes as he lumps another berry onto Alhaitham's plate. 

"I don't see how that's my problem."

"You don't feel bad letting it go to waste?"

"It's your lunch, why'd you buy it if you weren't gonna finish it?" saying this, Alhaitham's hand sneaks away from his book to pop one of the strawberries into his mouth. 

"Haitham!"

Snickers fill his ears from the forgotten other sides of the table, an omen of what's to come. "Ohhh, Haitham."

"You guys already have pet names?" Tighnari smirks in Kaveh's direction. 

Shame suddenly coats Kaveh as if it were a second skin. He hadn't even realized that he'd given the other a nickname— it was just a manner of shortening it, honestly he hadn't even meant it like that. 

"You—" Kaveh's red to his ears, he can feel it. "I— You know, it wasn't like that," laughter follows his statement and Kaveh knows he's lost some unknown game. 

He sighs around the rapid beating of his pulse, embarrassment flooding into his veins as he sinks down into his seat. 

The wretched remaining strawberries mockingly look up at him from inside his bowl. He's not even really hungry anymore— a waste.