Begin

IV

Alhaitham listened closely to Kaveh talking about his friends. Coming over. To their house. He knew them and had talked before, and he actually didn't hate Cyno and Tighnari like most people who went at their university, but they were still Kaveh's friend. And he definelty didn't make a good first impression, knowing that their first fight surely didn't go unnoticed.

In his head, he was glad that Kaveh omitted the part where he lied to him for several days, and he tried to gaslight him. While in his mind he had already decided that he wouldn't actually follow the feelings he harbored for Kaveh, an irrational part of him, the part he always tried to suppress, wanted to make a good impression on Kaveh's friends.

Reason as to why he agreed to have them come over.

The annoyance he felt when Kaveh hugged Cyno to welcome him was mirrored on Tighnari's face.

Interesting.

Although they knew each other already, they introduced themself properly: "I'm Cyno, this is my boyfriend, Tighnari," He said, hugging the other's shoulders.

Tighnari scrolled Cyno's arm off himself, sighing: "Cyno, shut up, please. He's my friend." He glanced at him, frowning, and added: "sometimes."

Alhaitham wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to that: "I'm Alhaitham. Kaveh's... roommate." Friend? That word lingered on his tongue, not sure if it was accurate. Roommate was the safe place Alhaitham forced them in. Friend might have been a step that Alhaitham wasn't sure he was ready to take. But as he looked at Kaveh, he could see his expression distant and hurt.

There was another word that Alhaitham definitely didn't want to use. That could've been a reality if they both just talked with each other. He knew that. But he still ignored those thoughts when they resurfaced, more and more frequent as time passed.

The next step was the house tour: Alhaitham hated every part of it. Seeing the space that had become his and Kaveh's being invaded by intruder made his blood boil from inside.

He knew he didn't have any right to think that. Being jealous wasn't a prerogative of roommates. It was of lovers.

Alhaitham was the one who chose their standing. He wondered if it would've been different had they been together. Knowing that his relationship was fundamentally different than the one with Cyno or Tighnari. At that moment, their relationship was lesser.

They passed in front of Kaveh's room, the door open to see inside: nothing much, since he used to live in a single room with little space for personal things.

"I would've thought you two would sleep together!" joked Cyno, peeking inside.

Kaveh blushed until his ears: "Wh- what are you talking about, we obviously sleep separately."

Cyno and Tighnari exchanged a look, smirking. If they didn't know before, they obviously knew now.

Alhaitham put a hand behind Tighnari's shoulder and lightly pushed him with him towards the next room: "Let's continue."

He didn't turn around, but behind him, he could hear Cyno whispering something to Kaveh. He pushed the jealousy down.

As they sat down on the sofa in the living room, tea and coffee in front of them, Alhaitham cheered inside by seeing Cyno and Tighnari sitting next to each other, leaving him and Kaveh to sit together. Not being jealous for a bit was good, but the feeling of Kaveh's skin on his every time their hands brushed against each other was driving him crazy.

"So, how did you two meet each other again?" Asked Cyno, leaning forward and supporting his face with his hands. A light smile was deforming his features. Really different from the serious and upright student Alhaitham met during university.