Chapter Text
After the events with the Dendro Archon and the discovery of the false usage of the Akasha, Al-Haitham was temporarily made Acting Grand Sage to oversee the restructuring of the Akademiya. This was not a job he wanted, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't the right man for the job– he had the experience and the reputation— and to be honest, he doubts he would be able to trust many other sages yet anyway.
In spite of this, Haitham began to loathe his new job fairly quickly. It's not as if his old title as the Scribe was particularly riveting or anything, but there was one significant point to that job that his new one did not often allow— getting home by five pm.
Such is not a luxury he thought he really looked forward to, but it seemed to be one of those blessings that go untreasured until lost. Haitham missed his scheduled walk home, when he could walk among the people of Sumeru. He missed greeting the elderly woman selling baked treats on the side of the road near his home. He missed buying two of the treats (at a greatly discounted price, despite his protests) for himself and his roommate to enjoy after dinner.
Ah, his roommate. Haitham supposed that he missed him too, sometimes.
"Haitham!"
Haitham was snapped out of his daydream at the call of his name, jolting to face his roommate, Kaveh, who was standing in the entryway to the living room, wooden spoon in hand.
"God, Haitham, you seriously worry me sometimes!" The fuming blond shook his head, waving his spoon around in a flamboyant, Kaveh-like manner. "I've been calling you for so long! I thought you must have fallen asleep, come to find out you've been staring at the wall. You need a break, man."
"Oh? My apologies," Haitham frowned, looking down at the forgotten book in his lap. Maybe he really did need a break, if daydreaming about work made him lose himself so completely. "My mind was elsewhere, did you need something?"
The other man sighed, waving him off. "No, it's whatever. I was just wondering if you had any plans for tomorrow night. I know I mentioned I was gonna stay at Nari's, but he said he can't do tomorrow anymore— something about a discovery regarding some berry, blah blah." Kaveh put his spoon down on a plate for a moment before he started to untie his hair. "Long story short, I haven't shopped for tomorrow's dinner and I'll probably just pick something up on the way back. You gonna be home?"
Kaveh did a good job of hiding it, but Haitham noticed the small pout on his lips and the saddened look in Kaveh's eyes when he mentioned the cancelled sleepover. He's been planning this for weeks... Haitham thought to himself. How could Tighnari just drop the ball like that?
Deciding not to mention it for now, Haitham responded to the other's question with a nod. "I'll be home. I had planned on going into work, but… maybe I'll take the day off."
Kaveh perked up, before frowning. "Aw, the one day you take a day off is the day I'm not gonna be home until, like, five pm!"
An uncharacteristically soft smile grew on Haitham's face as a plan formed in his mind. "That's okay, five is early enough. We can hang out when you get back."
The other man laughed, nodding his head, "Wow, I don't think I've ever heard you say the words 'hang out' before! Yeah, we can do that. Now," Kaveh stood up, beckoning Haitham to do the same. "Time for dinner!"
***
At exactly nine am, Al-Haitham sat up in bed to shut off his alarm. Sure, today may be his day off from work– but his day was going to be far from leisure.
The first thing he did after a quick trip to brush his teeth was to make breakfast for himself and his snoring roommate. This was often his task anyway, since Kaveh usually left much later than him and was usually the one to prepare dinner for the both of them anyway. Usually, Haitham made a simple egg scramble with toast– but today, for some reason, Haitham felt like putting in a little extra effort.
Opening the cupboard, Haitham lugged out the jar of flour, bag of sugar, and an assortment of a few other ingredients before opening the fridge and pulling out milk and eggs.
After finding a bowl and whisk, Haitham began to work his way through adding each ingredient to the bowl, putting each one away as he went– ever the efficient worker. He took out a pan to warm up while he whisked the batter together, and poured the first few pancakes into the waiting pan.
While they cooked, Haitham turned back to the fridge to pull out raspberries and maple syrup. When he decided the pancakes were done, he flipped them onto a plate before pouring in more batter— continuing his process until much of the bowl was empty and he had a tower of six pancakes in his plate.
Deciding this was good enough for his sweet-tooth-having roommate, he took the now washed raspberries and piled them on with a spoon, before drizzling the entire dish with a good amount of maple syrup.
He set the plate down on the dining table, along with a fresh mug of coffee that he had made while the pancakes cooked, before walking to Kaveh's bedroom to knock on the door softly.
"Kaveh…" Haitham waited, pressing his ear to the door for any sign of wakefulness, before pushing the door open.
On the other side of the door lay Kaveh, sprawled across his bed, his cheek resting on his hand as he snored softly. For some reason, the sight brought a smile to Haitham's face as he walked over to the other's bed to gently shake him.
"Kaveh… wake up, breakfast is ready," he spoke, his hands on the other's arm.
After a few more shakes, the man began to stir. "Haith…am?" he mumbled, eyes barely opening before he flopped over to his other side. "Okay, I'm coming…"
Smiling at the other's drooping eyes, Haitham left the room to cover Kaveh's coffee with a plate. Hopefully the pancakes won't be too cold by the time he comes out to eat… Haitham thought to himself as he tucked into his own bowl of yogurt.
When Kaveh finally made it out, his eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sight of the dining table. "Pancakes?"
He walked over, pulling out his chair and sitting down across from his roommate. He picekd up the knife and fork, a smile growing on his face that completely erased all his prior elements of exhaustion. "I love pancakes! Thanks, Haitham!"
Haitham gave him a polite nod as the other boy dug into his food. "Of course."
Kaveh shook his head, mouth already stuffed as he spoke– trying to cover his mouth with one hand while simultaneously attempting to cut another piece. "You didn't have to do this!" He smiled, before suddenly looking puzzled. "I didn't forget an occasion, did I?"
Haitham shook his head, smiling inwardly. "No, not at all. I simply wanted to repay you for all the hard work you always put into our dinners"
And I wanted to cheer you up, he thought to himself.
Kaveh swallowed before grinning. "Sweet, thanks Haitham! These are so yummy, honestly! I should make you cook more."
"I would not mind, but I am afraid my knowledge in the field is rather limited. Simpler recipes are all I can really do," Haitham shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. "I can try to make breakfast a little more fun, though I will refrain from making such sugary treats very often. Breakfast is a very important meal, after all, and its important to start one's day with a nutritious—"
"I get it, I get it," Kaveh interrupted, rolling his eyes with a smile as he speared a raspberry with his knife. "I won't hound you to make pancakes every day, don't worry. But now that I know you can make these so well, I will expect them once in a while. Got that?" he pointed his raspberry in the other's face, as if threatening him with it.
This time, Haitham was unable to hold back a small chuckle. "Sir, yes sir."
***
Once the pancakes were long gone and Kaveh was out the door, Haitham began to put his plan into action.
First things first— he needed to make a quick trip to the store, so he showered and changed before heading out.
He first walked to the convenience store, where he bought various snacks that he was pretty sure Kaveh liked— chips, salsa, those little fruit gummies, and a few bags of popcorn, alongside some marshmallows and hot chocolate powder.
Then, he carried all his groceries to the video store where he rented a few movies, deciding to keep them all lighter for the night.
He made one final stop at the lady's bakery on the side of the road, buying a package of cookies.
Once he got back home, he placed all his stuff on the dining table before initiating phase two of his plan.
Before Kaveh had become his roommate, they had held a sleepover on the architect's insistence so that he could decide whether the two of them were compatible or not. On that day, he had dragged mattresses into the living room, covering them in comforters and pillows. Haitham had found the whole thing to be rather strange considering it was one of their first interactions, but he often finds himself fondly remembering that night.
Wanting to recreate the day, Haitham dragged three of their portable mattresses (something bought after Kaveh and Nari started frequenting their sleepovers) into the living room, before going to take the comforters off his and Kaveh's beds and throwing them over the mattresses. He grabbed more blankets from the closet, tossing them over the mattresses too, before neatly setting six pillows at the top of the makeshift bed.
Stepping back to admire his work, Haitham smiled. It was only 4 pm, and he already set up the entire sleepover, and had all the snacks ready in bowls! All he had to do now was wait for Kaveh to get home, so that Haitham could finally see that adorable surprised look on his face like the one he got earlier. Just the thought was bringing a smile to his face already... for some reason.