(Alhaitham and Kaveh are both guys he/him)

The entire afternoon had been filled with Kaveh voice as he talk to himself or throwing random comments in Alhaitham’s direction.

It wasn’t anything unusual—he’d long since noticed that Kaveh was prone to letting his thoughts spill out loud, especially when Kaveh was deep in focus or trying to process something. Alhaitham didn’t mind; he’d grown fond of this habit of Kaveh over the course of their relationship. That evening, however, Kaveh was seated on the couch beside him, shoulders brushing, Kaveh attention half on the work in his hands and half on the string of complaints and musings that poured from his lips.

Alhaitham listened quietly, his book open in his lap, though his attention was more on Kaveh than the words on the page. Lately, his stress had been building. Work had been relentless—deadlines stacked one after the other, clients that demanded more, and the exhausting pressure to stay ahead of it all.

As Kaveh continued to rant, Alhaitham interjected now and then with a “yeah” or “mhm,” his responses just enough to let Kaveh know he was listening. He leaned a little closer, the corners of his lips twitching upward as Kaveh tirade grew more animated.

Finally, as Kaveh turned to emphasize a point, Alhaitham leaned in even further, his voice dropping to a quiet murmur. Oh yeah? he whispered, the warmth of his breath brushing Kaveh cheek.

Before Kaveh could process the shift, his lips captured Kaveh in a gentle yet decisive kiss, effectively cutting off his stream of thoughts.