A Padisarah Amongst the Roses

Chapter 8: A Flower

Kaveh POV

'Alhaitham's lap is actually quite comfortable' was the only thought running through my head at the moment. His deep voice snapped me out of my trance and I quickly noticed my position on his lap. I could feel the blood and heat rush to my face when I realized what I was thinking.

"Uh, what? Sorry, I um... got distracted by... something. What were you saying?"

I averted my beet-red face, far away from his gaze. As soon as I heard him say "never mind," a voice escaped out of my throat. I didn't mean to, but, again, I was in a tight position.

"Ah, no. Don't put it off." Feeling trapped, Alhaitham swallowed. He looked like he didn't want to answer. Seeing that he hesitated, I didn't want to push him, but he looked serious about it.

"Haitham?" My hand found its way to his chest and gently, but soothingly, rubbed his collarbone. "You can tell me. Please. So I can help." The soothing motion gradually relaxed Alhaitham and eased the answer out. "Fine," he spoke slowly. "I... feel that we should just relax, and forget about all of this, but... can we?" His face was stoic as he spoke. As I thought about it, it made it harder to think we could. We had gone through so much already. Still, the words came out of my mouth before I knew it.

"Alhaitham, we'll try." My right hand clutched his.

"We have time. Things will heal, as much as they seem they won't, hmm? Wasn't our relationship horrible? Now look what it is. We've improved, and so will the situation. I'll be here for you the whole way." And with that, my lips pressed against his once more. Alhaitham made a sound of agreement. "Kaveh..." Alhaitham whispered in my ear when he rested his tired head on my shoulder. His hands slipped down my back, dangerously close to the waistband of my pants. Then my brain snapped in place again and I realized what exactly this was leading to.

"Ah, Haitham, maybe we shouldn't-" No. I wanted this, I just wasn't admitting it. Still, we had just confessed our love to each other a mere few weeks ago. It didn't feel right. Alhaitham seemed to come to his senses and yanked his hand back like he had touched a stove.

"Oh gods, I'm sorry... I- I didn't realize I was... umm.."

I hesitated for a second, but finally came to a conclusion. "Uh... it's actually... yes."

"I'm sorry, Kaveh, I- wait, what?"

The amount of time it took for Alhaitham to turn red was alarming- less than three seconds. Same here, I thought.

"Let's just take it somewhere else, okay?" I whispered, my hands cupping his face in an attempt to calm the man in front of me. He was staring into my soul; two beautiful green oceans facing two amber orbs.

Alhaitham was still stunned by my answer. Makes sense, this was foreign to both of us, I assume. I had never really thought of this matter since learning about it. I had never needed to, because I had my job and a perfectly good coffee machine.

The last thing on my mind was love. But now, I believe I broke that rule, so Alhaitham and I had crossed quite a big line.

I knew he wouldn't ever take advantage of me. And I knew that it was going to be a long night.

                                     ***

The next morning was chaotic. By complete instinct, I screamed when I found myself in his arms, comfortably laying down in his bed. Oh, the horror Alhaitham woke up to. His eyes practically snapped open once the nightmarish sound left my mouth- which was an ear-piercing shriek that not even the gods could suppress.