Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kaveh spends the morning, as has become his new normal, adjusting his nest in a fit of restlessness. 

He'll be in season in about a month. Although he has no plans to spend it conventionally, with a partner, the itch to prepare keeps creeping up on him. He finds himself restless- consistently getting up to perfect his sleeping space as if to impress some imaginary guest.

He's been rearranging things since early morning, and is frankly ready to crash. But of course, he can't without his instincts' approval.

So instead he swims up to the ceiling of his den, hoping a higher view might give him some inspiration.

His nest is a beautiful one, with a soft mat of green toned fabrics over a bed of kelp, surrounded by a half-circular barrier made of colourful corals. They mostly consist of reds and lighter blues. 

Kaveh still thinks it could do with another colour, but as a flash of turquoise eyes visits him, he instead shakes the thought away.

No. He refuses to go there.

He still has some pinks and yellows stored away from a nest he'd helped decorate a few weeks back- maybe he could instead substitute the reds? He glanced down and groaned... but then it would upset the sharp colour contrast...and It would still be missing something.

Not. Going. There.

Flaring his fins in agitation, he decides to take a break before he blows up and starts pulling apart the whole thing. He'd rather not waste another day away getting sidetracked by his stupid instincts. 

Especially not for a completely obsolete nest. 

With a flick of his tail, he glides out of his den and into the reef territory he calls his home. 

He lives in one of the smaller territories that make up the most populous reef colony in Sumeru. It's still one of the more plentiful territories, closer to the dwelling of the Dendro Archon, the goddess who brought life to the whole of Sumeru. 

The sun must have come up quite a while ago, for the seas are pleasantly warm, a fact that the wildlife seems to be taking advantage of. 

I must've gotten caught in a nest frenzy again. He stares up at the lively reef. Considering how late it is, he should probably hunt something, but it would be a crime to disturb the schools right now.

Instead, he settles down in the sand to watch.

It's honestly a beautiful sight, schools of red and silver do endless circles above the reef, sending glittering light refracting across the sand. The light hits his own scales as well, bathing a small portion of sand before him pink. 

Kaveh's stomach grumbles, but he ignores it, enraptured by the picturesque view before him. He feels an intense urge to engrave the scene into one of his carvings, but he knows he will get sidetracked again if he heads back inside.

His internal debate doesn't last for very long before it becomes entirely moot point.

Luckily, or rather unluckily, the sight disperses before Kaveh even comes to a decision. The school scatters in a panic, moving to circle elsewhere where the light doesn't touch as well, and Kaveh doesn't have time to question why before a blur of grey descends on the grouping.

He scowls.

Of course, such a beautiful reef would be far more enjoyable to live in if it weren't for the passionless shark he shared his home with. The other just doesn't understand the romance that is to be seen on a beautiful day like today! Would it kill him to appreciate the world around him for once!

As if hearing his reproach- which Kaveh is almost entirely certain was completely non-vocal this time- the shark turns to catch sight of him slumped amongst the sand. His reefmate pauses for a few confusing seconds, before he makes a large swooping turn and comes barreling his way. Between his claws, two large dying fish are clutched delicately.

"Alhaitham." Kaveh begrudgingly greets aloud as the shark approaches. Up close, it is always slightly unnerving how the big the others presence is.

Kaveh, of course, is longer from top to tail, with vibrant red scales and large delicate fins to match. 

Alhaitham, in contrast, is a solid slate grey, though bulkier and far stronger than any mer of Kaveh's lineage can hope to be. Although, it might also be his attitude that makes his presence seem so all-encompassing.

Alhaitham likes to glide around with the unnerving grace of a predator. Despite being a natural born reef shark, he is considered off putting to a large population of other residents of the Sumerian reef shoals.

It's mostly unfounded racism. While Shark mer have been known to prey on other mer such as himself- Alhaitham has repeatedly expressed his disapproval with such methodology. He considered it unethical to contribute to the consumption of other sentients. It's one of the few things they agree on. Kaveh wouldn't stick around he thought otherwise.

Alhaitham, of course, doesn't bother to return his greeting. Instead, he opts to swoop a large slow circle around Kaveh, in a way he knows sets off every one of Kaveh's little prey instincts. 

By this point Kaveh is certain Alhaitham knows it does this, and that's entirely why he does it. Goddess knows the asshole thrives on pissing him off on every other occasion.

After the third circle, Kaveh cracks, and his fins flare out in a dramatic display of agitation. "Stop that!" He barks. Without thinking about it, his hand snaps out to snatch the shark's arm, and he pulls the other to a stop before him.

It's a massive social faux pas- Mers don't touch others with their hands unless they are family or intimate- but frankly Kaveh has long since passed that boundary with his frustrating reefmate. 

He did try a couple of times to stop touching the other- he knows it isn't polite or very comfortable, but Alhaitham just. doesn't. stop. unless Kaveh physically makes him. There's also the fact that Alhaitham is perfectly capable of just pulling away from his grip if he minded so much, so Kaveh just prefers to assume that he's not bothered by it. 

Kaveh forces himself to physically release his fingers when the other is before him, and pretends he can't still feel the pressure of the others touch against his skin. 

"Hm." Alhaitham gives him an examining look, as if he hadn't been staring at Kaveh the entire time he'd been circling. "You're up late again."

Kaveh can't help the fluster that creeps up his skin, not at all helped by the warmth of his palms. Why must Alhaitham insist on pointing out his flaws at every occasion?!

"And?" He snaps back, tail sweeping behind him.

"You should stop staying up so late with your projects, this is becoming a habit." He glances at Kaveh's tail, but thankfully refrains from commenting on its now embarrassingly frantic beat.

"Don't be ridiculous! I am not lazy! I was up early, thank you very much! Just because you don't see me, doesn't mean I'm not there!"

"And? With what project? Weren't you yapping incessantly on about the lack of commissions just yesterday?"

"Yapping? Hey! I was expressing my frustration in a very normal way! Not everyone can be as devoid of sentiment as a speck of algae! I'll have you know I was up early fixing-" my nest. It hits Kaveh what he was about to confess, and he hastily backtracks with a stutter, "-uh, I, um, mean I was up working on a personal project of mine!"

"Fixing what?"

"What?"

"You said fixing. What were you fixing?"

Kaveh looks away. 

"Uh, nothing. You must've misheard!"

Alhaitham hums. "I don't think so. You seem pretty embarrassed over it."

"I am not embarrassed!" Kaveh takes a deep inhale of water, and lets it flutter out of his gills. "Fine-" he murmurs, "-If you must know I was-" His words trail off into an inaudible mutter.

"You were?" Alhaitham prompts. When Kaveh glances up he finds him smirking at him like some kind of sadist. He hisses.

"I WAS FIXING MY NEST OKAY!!" Kaveh flushes down his face and chest. Considering his scales are already red, he shudders to think of how unflattering he looks at this moment.

Alhaitham, for his own part, freezes. Obviously he wasn't expecting that answer. It is a pretty sensitive topic for reef mer after all. Even if Alhaitham's own species does not experience the yearly season in quite the same way. 

Good, maybe he'll learn not to pressure him. Or at least change the subject now.

"Did you finish?" 

Or not. Why does Kaveh even bother with expectations? Clearly Alhaitham lives to confound.

Well... at least the most embarrassing part is out the way. 

"...no." Kaveh begins, hesitantly, looking pointedly at the floor once more.

Alhaitham doesn't say anything, but Kaveh gets the feeling he wants him to elaborate.

He supposes he doesn't see the harm, it might help to have an ear to vent to. He just won't go into too much detail and It'll be fine, impersonal even.

"The bedding is fine. It's perfect even... but I wanted a symmetrical coral barrier for when I- for some kind of flimsy protection. I don't know. But I can't have it looking bad so I thought I'll get some nice corals. Which is fine, the placement is fine. But the colour is off! I know it's off! I've got blues and reds but my brain keeps saying it needs another colour to be perfect! It would be fine if I could find it, but none of the coral around here is the right shade of turquoise! So my instincts go around in a stupid circle and I end up spending hours pulling apart a perfectly beautiful job for a complete waste of time! And it is a waste of time I tell you! I can't stay in there too long before I can't focus on anything else, even sleeping." 

Kaveh's tail swishes behind him in a big arc. 

"Ugh, I'm so ready to tell my instincts where to shove it and get some sleep." He finishes with a grumble, and glances up to see Alhaitham's eyes fixated intently on him. He startles. 

Oh no, had he just... He'd forgotten who he was ranting to!... Alhaitham had heard all of that. 

What happened to impersonal Kaveh!

"Or whatever! It's fine though!" He hastily backtracks, and frantically pushes himself off the seabed. 

He shakes the sand off his tail. 

"Uh anyways, I should really go eat something, haha." With an awkward laugh, he moves to pass Alhaitham, ready to pretend this conversation had never happened.

As usual, Alhaitham isn't nearly as eager. 

"Here." Alhaitham says.

Kaveh is forced hastily to abort his exit with the introduction of something centimetres from his vision.  It glitters enticingly, and Kaveh instantly moves to snatch it. It's one of the fish Alhaitham had been holding on to.

"I don't want it." His reefmate says before Kaveh can even ask. When Kaveh glances up, he finds that Alhaitham has used the distraction of the fish to vanish.

Now very suddenly alone, Kaveh pulls the fish away from his face to stare at it with a complicated look.

It can't possibly mean...

Providing food is a courting behaviour. Surely Alhaitham doesn't...isn't... No of course not! It probably doesn't mean the same thing for sharks. Right? Right!? And besides, Alhaitham is the least romantic mer Kaveh has ever known. He's probably just foisting his leftovers onto Kaveh.

He should probably reject it before his instincts get any wrong ideas. 

...

He takes a bite.

Oh it's red snapper, his favourite. He hadn't even noticed.

...but what was Alhaitham even doing catching Red Snapper? He doesn't even like the taste. He always says they're too unappetizing to eat. Something about the colour being unproductive to his enjoyment of the meal- whatever that meant.

Why had that idiot even caught this? 

Chapter Text

"Here." 

Kaveh blinks up from his draft carving to see black.

Alhaitham is once again shoving things into his face. 

"What?" Kaveh croaks, bleary eyed.

Is this going to become some weird habit? Because he doesn't think he will be able to handle it if it does. Especially with how tired he is. He hadn't gotten a proper night's sleep in nearly three days, and he was about ready to collapse. 

He spares a glance down at the suspicious imprint in the sand next to his carving.

...Collapse again?

Well, at least it's probably not an offering of food again this time. Unless, for some reason, Alhaitham has taken to shoving his unwanted kills into dark fabric bags before foisting them off onto his unsuspecting reefmate. That didn't seem like Alhaitham's style of trick. Maybe it was some kind of psychological fake out, trying to force Kaveh into getting hyped up for something that isn't there? In which case Kaveh isn't falling for it. He doesn't even care what is or isn't in some stupid fabric bag that's still waiting in front of his-

"Kaveh." 

Kaveh refocuses his attention to realise that Alhaitham's arm is still extended before him, and that he's been staring at the bag without moving to accept or deny for who knows how long.

Alhaitham's tail swishes before him impatiently.

With a sheepish look, Kaveh forces his lead arms to lift up, and curls his fingers around the bag. It feels as if it is filled with many small objects.

Having done his due, and accepted the gift, Kaveh waits. 

Only Alhaitham doesn't leave.

"Kaveh. Open it."

Ah, he's waiting for Kaveh's reaction. To the gift. Inside the bag. Right.

Belatedly, Kaveh opens the bag and glances in.

What? 

What he sees shocks him so much, he is instantly rendered fully awake.

'What?" He repeats aloud. His numb fingers pull from the bag a magnificent piece of turquoise coral.

He snaps his head up to make direct eye contact with Alhaitham, who looks exactly as unbothered as normal. 

As if he weren't handing out courting gifts to Kaveh left, right and center. As if he hadn't listened to Kaveh's complaints about his nest and gone off to help him. As if he hadn't given him one of the most intimate gifts a suitor could give.

"Alhaitham..." Kaveh whispered, wide eyed. Surely this had to mean-

"Finish your nest and get some sleep before you go nocturnal. You've been keeping both of us up with your endless toil."

  -nothing. Nothing at all. Just another unfortunate by-product of Alhaithaim's perpetual solipsism. Of course.

Kaveh forced down the surge of bitterness that threatened to erupt- locking it away with the rest of his useless feelings for someone who would never feel the same. 

It was stupid to hope. 

"What..." He trails off as his throat catches around the words. What does this mean? What do you mean? He doesn't think he wants to hear the answer.

Alhaitham's tail flicks sharply from behind him, more expressive an action than Kaveh has seen from him in months.

"Is that all you have to say? Next time resolve your own problems, I am aware you have a network for this kind of thing. It's beneath you to come complaining to me about every little thing."

This time Kaveh doesn't repress the flash of emotion that heats a path up his spine. It's easier than the alternative. 

He snarls.

"What!? I wasn't asking you to try to fix my problems for me! I was fine! I don't need this!" 

Taking his chance, he attempts to thrust the stupid not-courting gift back at his pigheaded reefmate. 

The other reels back out of reach before he can. A hint of a frown appears on his face.

"I never said I wanted them back." He rebukes. "What would I do with them? Just get some sleep, Kaveh."

He gives a single pointed look at the coral still clenched his Kaveh's hand- his meaning very clear. He's not going to take no for an answer.

Alhaitham seems to consider the conversation done, because once again he turns and darts away before Kaveh can demand any explanation.

"W-wait. Hey!" Kaveh calls after him, but Alhaitham, as usual, has already vanished. 

Would it kill the shark to at least settle for a simple goodbye before he leaves? 

With a grumble, Kaveh turns back to his gift. He stares down at the beautiful coral in his palm, and bites his lip, before reaching in to pull out the rest of the bag's contents.

As expected, it's all coral. It looks as if Alhaitham had gone out of his way to collect coral of as many shades of vaguely turquoise colouration as he could. Out of the upwards ten branches stored in the bag, Kaveh sees shades from aqua blue all the way to ocean green.

Best of all he finds the most magnificent piece mixed with a deep turquoise one streaked with a single line of red. A perfect match for Alhaitham's eyes.

It's flattering. Too flattering. Kaveh feels his fins jitter, and he shakes an arm out to try and dispel the sudden, molten rush of emotion. 

He can't help but imagine what it would be like to receive these as a courting gift- a romantic thought that brings him almost to tears. 

He imagines Alhaitham with one of his tiny smiles in place, reaching for one of Kaveh's hands, and placing that perfect coral with a perfect match for his eyes atop his palm. Alhaitham would curl his fingers around the piece like Kaveh was doing right now and he would say-

He would say-

...That it was useless to fantasise about things that would never come to fruition.

Even in fantasy, Alhaitham has to ruin everything. The words sends a chill down his spine, and Kaveh forces his fingers to uncurl before he breaks the perfect branch. 

Feeling absolutely drained, Kaveh begins to collect up his work to head back to his nest. He'll fix up his nest- hopefully, but unrealistically for the final time- and get a proper night's sleep for once.

Alhaitham was right.

As much as he doesn't want to accept this gift, It was impacting pretty badly on his sleep. Kaveh couldn't afford to reject it if he wanted to keep functioning for his work. So he would use this coral, and sleep and it wouldn't mean anything at all. Nothing had changed. Nothing would change.

Now he just had to convince his instincts of the same.

An impossible task. After all, Kaveh had been trying for years.

Chapter Text

Despite what Alhaitham seemed to believe, Kaveh was not, in fact, struggling for work.

For the next few days, after the not-courting courting gift, Kaveh had spent being absolutely swamped with requests. He'd found himself engaged in back to back client meetings all week, and yet with very little actual architectural drafting going on.

This close to spawning season, nobody wanted to start building any beautiful cave systems to live in or nearly any buildings at all. There just wasn't time or motivation for it. This didn't mean Kaveh didn't have any work to do though- around this time Kaveh's job tended to change to fill a particularly strange niche.

These last few weeks, Kaveh had been flooded with requests of a more sensitive nature.

Namely nest planning.

Now, Kaveh was not by any measure an interior planner, but he was not too prideful to turn down commision simply because they were not strictly speaking his purview. People were desperate to impress their potential partners and their own instincts, and some were willing to pay good money to ensure they could achieve both at the same time.

So as the season approached, Kaveh would spend most mornings mediating between couples having issues compromising over nest decorating; or going through his material network to find and supply people with incredibly specific or rare materials for their nests.

It was tiring work, but Kaveh would never turn down a person so desperate as to consult an architect regarding such intimate matters. Nor would he reject the commision fee that came with. Especially given that he would not be taking any commissions during the spawning season.

Today, despite his overflowing schedule, Kaveh had actually made sure not to plan in any meetings in the afternoon.

He instead had set aside the time to go visit Tighnari's residence.

He needed to pick up some medication in preparation for his season. Given that he was going to spend it alone, Tighnari had stressed that it was important to dull the symptoms as much as possible, and Kaveh wasn't going to complain. He knew how taxing his time could be, and honestly wasn't looking forward to it.

He also wasn't going to squander the opportunity to spend time with his friends, as he hadn't seen them for a few months now.

Of course, given that he shared friends with his reefmate, he'd graciously invited Alhaitham to tag along, but as per usual, the other had declined.

“I’m going over to Tighnari’s tomorrow.” He’d said, hovering over Alhaitham, of whom was slumped into the sand reading. “Do you want to come too? I’m sure he’s already invited you, and someone like you could do with some fun and relaxation... for once in your life.”

Alhaitham hadn't been particularly impressed, not even glancing up to acknowledge Kaveh.“I would not consider any gathering you attend as ‘relaxing’." He'd grunted. "I'm sure it’ll be noisy and not at all worth the obscene travel times. Besides, I also have plans for tonight.”

Kaveh huffed, unreasonably irritated. “And do these plans happen to pertain to sitting in your den alone, reading for hours on end?”

“I don't see why that is any business of yours. I’m not going. I’m busy.”

“Fine!” Kaveh had snapped back viciously, Whipping his tail through the water behind him. “Sometimes I wonder what Tighnari and Cyno even see in you. Because clearly you don't appreciate any of our company at all!”

“Kaveh-” Alhaitham had started, head snapping up to retort, but Kaveh had raced away to his nest before he could hear it.

If Alhaitham enjoyed his time alone so much- why did he even invite Kaveh to live with him at all? Clearly Kaveh was such a bother to be around- so why hadn't Alhaitham just kicked him out?

Truthfully, Kaveh knew he had overreacted to the rejection, his response far more aggressive than he’d intended. This close to his season, Kaveh was getting a little too worked up about Alhaitham rejecting his company.

His instincts had taken a rejection of his company as a rejection of Kaveh himself. All of the typically courting behaviours Alhaitham had been displaying had given Kaveh some obviously unfair expectations of their relationship, and Kaveh knew he was being completely irrational.

So Kaveh had quickly fled mid-argument off to his nest before he could make any more mistakes- and there he stayed for the rest of the day. Even with time, however, he can't shake off the strand of bitterness that runs through him at every reminder that he was an obligation to Alhaitham, and nothing more.

He decided they both needed space. The next morning he got up extra early to avoid an encounter with Alhaitham.

It seemed to have worked- He didn't see the other around when he was catching his breakfast or departing for work. It was a little disappointing, but Kaveh pointedly didn't dwell on it as he quickly got ready and scurried off to work.

By the time midday had rolled around, Kaveh was incredibly relieved to leave.

His last client of the day has spent the entire meeting furiously picking at his scales in front of Kaveh- an act that he had to put a lot of effort into pointedly ignoring. By the time the client had been satisfied with their progress, Kaveh could only be relieved that his species was not one to grow courting colours during their seasons. He couldn't imagine how incessantly itchy it must be to forgo all pretence of public decency just to get them out faster.

In any case, Kaveh was glad to be done for the day. After saying his goodbyes to the client, Kaveh made sure to pick up his bag before he fled.

It was filled with a few gifts for Collei, and some exotic plants he'd encountered when investigating nesting materials for clients. He needed a second opinion on the viability of some of them as safe nesting materials, and Tighnari was the best person to ask.

...and of course he'd also brought along some money to pay for the medicine he'd requested. Despite what Tighnari had said about waiving costs, Kaveh didn't like to rely on charity. He did enough of that already.

Double checking that he had everything, Kaveh set off past the busy areas of Sumeru city.

It took him almost two hours of swimming to make it to the Avidya Kelp Forest, a portion of the reef filled with imposing dark streams of kelp that filled a massive forest area.

And then he began to swim upwards.

Tighnari's own residence was actually partially above water, a given that Tighnari, opposed most mer, actually needed air to survive.

Apparently his species were descended from one that had originally lived in the shallows of the desert- a vast empty void of open sea, devoid of coral or decent shelter.

Over generations, the Valuka Shuna, or the Desert Seals, had adapted to the calmer, warmer waters of the Sumeru Reefs. Tighnari, as their ancestor, was actually incredibly ill-suited to survival in the cold emptiness of the desert. 

Kaveh could understand. Most Reef Residents had trouble in the desert. Kaveh himself had been out there once or twice for projects, and still couldn't understand how the shoals there could stand it- being out in the open. Exposed to predators all of the time.

Maybe it helped that most of them were sharks or had some kind of Shark ancestors? Being the predator probably made any amalgamation of the depths, or local monster, seem far less of a threat.
That and, of course, the desert-dwellers had little other choice. Up until very recently, residents of the empty were often chased from reef territories with vengeance.

It was mid afternoon by the time Kaveh surfaced in the semi-sunken cave system Tighnari had made his home.

Kaveh pops his head above water, rising just enough to ensure that his gills stayed just below the waterline. Above water, he had to remember not to breathe through his mouth, and focus on taking in water entirely through his gills. Apparently, with enough practice some mer could learn to breathe air- but Kaveh wasn't really invested enough to test this.

He'd stick with his gills, thank you very much.

It looked like Cyno had made it ahead of him, for Tighnari was already wearing that particular look of fond exasperation on his face- the one he saved for Cyno's sad excuse for humour.

He didn't see Cyno around, but considering Collei's notable absence he was almost certainly with her.

Tighnari was sitting entirely out of the water when Kaveh arrived, but turned to face Kaveh when he trilled a quick greeting.

The sound echoed strangely into the air, another facet of Tighnari's unique living conditions Kaveh had somewhat adjusted to over the years. Everything sounded so loud above water. 

"You're earlier than I expected." Tighnari greeted him back, shuffling a little to let his tail slip into the water. Kaveh slides forward to let it brush lightly against Kaveh's own tail- a gesture of affection that was almost exclusive to fish mer, but one that Tighnari had always humoured.

"My last meeting ended a little earlier than I expected, and I didn't want to hang around at home waiting so I decided to leave a little early. I hope you don't mind?"

"Not really, although you're lucky I wasn't busy."

Tighnari turns back away from Kaveh to finish with whatever he had been previously working on. "Cyno actually turned up even earlier than you. He's been trying to teach Collei how to play TGC again for the last hour."

"Hah! Yeah I could tell from your expression when I arrived! Cyno's been making his jokes again hasn't he?" Kaveh teases.

"Yes, Yes, Laugh it up. You deal with an hour of terrible puns and tell me you wouldn't be predisposed to murder at the end." Tighnari grouched. Clearly having finished with his work, he turned to face Kaveh once more.

"Well he's not my mate- so I'm still better off."

Tighnari's eyebrow rose. "At least I'm not in denial."

Kaveh splutters incoherently, tail flapping in embarrassment. It splashes a little water onto the rocks.

"Wha-I- What's that supposed to mean!!?" He squawks. "I- Alhaitham is just a reefmate okay!!"

Tighnari smirks. He slowly lifts an eyebrow.

"I didn't say anything about Alhaitham, now did I?"

"Why-You- Ugh!"

Kaveh slumps his head against the rocks, groaning.

"Please don't start with this..." He grumbles. "My instincts are confused enough. I really don't need you adding to them. Ugh! That brat Alhaitham keeps on accidentally giving me courting gifts, and it's hard enough to convince my instincts that he doesn't mean them."

Tighnari squints at him.

"And why wouldn’t he mean them?"

Kaveh's head snaps back up to give Tighnari a dubious look.

"Well!" He begins, "-Why would you think he would mean them? Do we seem like we get along enough for that?! Not to mention whenever I question him about them he's like- 'You were being too noisy. Just take this and go to sleep'- or 'You didn't eat yesterday Kaveh, eat this before you start spouting nonsense at me again.'"

Kaveh flaps an arm above the water, flicking water everywhere. "-Does that seem like the kind of romantic sentiment you would expect from a courting offer!?"

"Well, no, but-"

"-Exactly! So he's obviously either completely oblivious to the implications or doing it deliberately to make fun of me!"

"Kaveh-"

"And of course he would choose to do it around this time of year- when my instincts are bound to get all crossed by all the mixed signals! What a pigheaded junior-"

"I really-"

"Ugh I really want to give him a piece of my mind!"

Kaveh shoves his face back into the rocks. "...but it's probably best to stay away for the moment. I said some things I really didn't mean yesterday, because my instincts keep having unfair expectations ...Hormones make everything so weird..." 

Kaveh trails off with a mumble, and lifts his face once more, to find Tighnari staring at him with a vaguely constipated look.

"What... What did I say?"

Tighnari just shakes his head and sighs at the ceiling. "It doesn't matter." He replies. "I think Cyno and Collei heard you earlier, they're swimming over here now"

Sure enough, a few seconds later the head of a tiny green puffer mer pops out from the other pool, followed by the  larger figure of a desert shark mer.

"Collei!" Kaveh grins, clambering up out of the entrance pool he'd been loitering in to quickly tip into the other pool. A horribly disorienting sensation for most mers, but one Kaveh had gotten used to with all the times he had visited his friend over the years.

He reaches for the satchel he'd brought along and pulls out Collei's gift. A selection of fabrics that he had bought as nesting materials on behalf of a client- one who had ultimately rejected them all at the last moment. Seeing as he had no use for them, and couldn't return them, he figured Collei could use them for her projects.

"These are for you!" He held them out for Collei to see before gently setting them adrift for Collei to take without any risk of contact. The girl's eyes widened at the array of beautiful fabrics, quickly rushing forward to gather up and clutch the gift to her chest, mumbling a squeaky thank you.

Cute! Why did Tighnari get to hoard all of the tolerable housemates? Looking at Collei was like seeing little baby shark Alhaitham again, all bright-eyed, bashful and awkward. Nothing like the obnoxious brute he'd grown into.

Kaveh tears his eyes away from the teenager before he starts reminiscing. Remembering what else he'd brought along, he quickly reaches into the bag once more. He digs out the plant samples a little more delicately than the fabric, and holds these out to Tighnari.

"This is for work." He announces, as the Seal mer reaches out to take them, "-Have a look at them please, if you can identify them and tell me if they're nest safe it would help me a lot. A few clients had some questions, and you would know the answers better than me."

Tighnari held the first one up to his eye, and started to remark on its botany. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Collei swim off with her gifts, Cyno following after once more a sharp gesture from Tighnari.

Just as well, it took a while.

"- Okay so I think I've got it, but if you could pretty please label them in writing so I remember and don't accidentally poison one of my clients."

"Of course. I know how you are. " Tighnari pauses, head turning to make direct eye contact with Kaveh.

"Speaking of wellbeing, are you still planning to spend your season alone? Without a Nest Guardian?

Kaveh grimaced. "Yeah, that's why I came, remember? For the Relievers."

"I didn't forget." Tighnari grumbles, "I was just hoping you had. Me and Cyno are still perfectly willing to stand guard for you- in fact we would much prefer it."

"I know. But you have work, and I don't want to bother. I'll be fine, I'll have the Relievers."

"Perhaps. But you should be aware that the only reason I'm not insisting is because you live with Alhaitham." He pauses. "Are you sure you're not courting anyone?"

"Ha!" Kaveh barks. "As if! The only mer around all the time is Alhaitham, and you know how he is!"

Tighnari gives a flat look. "Nevertheless, you did mention hormonal problems earlier, and that's usually only an issue so early between courting couples. If there's no one, then I suppose it could also be the first symptom of an early cycle-" He frowns, "-To which case I will probably have to give you both the reliever doses ahead of time. You might not have time for another visit before you start nesting."

"Ugh, you think so?"

"I'm unsure. If I give you both doses you will be guaranteed an early start, but it's likely worth the risk."

"How early exactly...?"

"Right at the start of the Sumerian Nest Season. You'd probably be one of the first ones to start nesting."

"That's in like two and a half weeks away...right?"

"You are the Reef Fish mer, not me, you should know this Kaveh. But yes, the Sumerian Mating Season has been calculated to start in approximately 15- 20 days from now. I have already had a few reports of a few truly early starts."

"...and I'm better off with double doses...?"

"Yes."

"Fine. I trust you."

Tighnari had declined to give him the dose right away- citing that it would be better for him to take it right before he left- apparently to ensure that any of the aftereffects would hit once he was safely at home.

So instead, Kaveh spent the next few hours playing games with Tighnari and Cyno.

Collei had gone off somewhere once more, either to patrol or work on her projects- but neither Cyno nor Tighnari were bothered so Kaveh chose not to be either.

Regretfully, he wasn't allowed to drink this time, given the medicine he was going to be taking. Although perhaps there was some benefit to sobriety? Cyno, who was already mostly drunk, had already flashed Kaveh his support cards a dozen times in this game alone. He had also very clearly long forgotten what deck he was actually playing with, because he was calling out the wrong character cards every other turn.

He thinks he might actually be beating the self-identifying King of Invocations at TGC right now.

Not that Cyno was actually sober enough to notice. 

"-and do you know what he said! He told me that I was being irrational! It's part of my life's work! Sure I didn't really need that carving anymore but I never said he could replace it with his horrible taste in art! But every time he does this it's always the same thing! 'It's my territory, Kaveh.' Then why even invite me to live with him if he wants me to touch absolutely nothing!" Kaveh trails off to take a deep breath, which Cyno promptly interrupts.

"Well you know what they say, keep your friends close, but your anemones closer." The shark says chuckling at his own joke.

Kaveh stares blankly.

Tighnari's expression sours, and he groans loudly.

"-Get it. Because anemones sounds like-"

"-stop." Tighnari darts forward to shove his palm right over Cyno’s mouth.

"No talking. I have revoked your talking rights." He turns back to Kaveh, without taking his hand away from the other's mouth. It's a horribly intimate thing to witness, and Kaveh darts his eyes everywhere but at the sight.

"Kaveh, have you ever considered that this is just Alhaitham's way of getting your attention? I admit it sounds strange, but I know how you two are- always bickering over everything. I definitely remember you saying that most of your arguments aren't actually all that serious. I would assume same probably applies for him."

Kaveh's lips purse.

He had considered it. Thoroughly. Many times in fact. But... that had just left him making assumptions that were obviously not true- and Kaveh wasn't going to let himself see things that weren't there. Yes, on some level Kaveh knew Alhaitham cared about him...but not enough. Never enough.

It was easier sometimes to pretend Alhaitham didn't care at all.

"I... don't doubt it," Kaveh admits quietly, after a beat. "I just, it just…it feels like sometimes he doesn't really want me around at all. Like I'm some chore he's enduring for some unseen reward." Like he doesn't love me back.

There's a short pause.

"And have you tried talking to him about this? Or at least considered it?" Tighnari prompts, softly.

Kaveh scoffs, his gaze unseeingly burning into his cards.

"Of course not. I don't... I'm living on his charity already… I don't want to make things worse. He's clearly already unhappy with me." He already dislikes me enough.

Tighnari belatedly takes hand away from Cyno's mouth, and they both turn to look at Kaveh with matching indecipherable expressions.

Kaveh hunches in on himself, feeling a little hunted. His hands clench his cards so hard his fingers tingle. 

"Kaveh…" Tighnari starts, delicately, before Cyno interjects.

"If Alhaitham didn't want you around you wouldn’t be." The desert shark reassures, in his own blunt way. He promptly drops his own cards and drifts a little closer to brush his own tailfin gently against Kaveh's. 

Kaveh's throat tightens. He puts his own cards down, game long forgotten.

It's too much.

"I guess..." He agrees, voice strained. "...I...Just please, can we talk about something else."

Cyno crosses his arms dramatically, and leans forward in a way that Kaveh might find intimidating if Cyno were any less drunk. "...very well," He declares, a touch too loudly. "-but you should mullet over. Any fin is possible, eve-fin if you are in denial."

Ugh.

Say what you want about Cyno's jokes, at least they are very good for mood shifting. Kaveh breathes a quiet sigh of relief as Tighnari launches himself at Cyno in retaliation for the joke, who dodges with a loud cackle. It's almost worth having to watch the insinuating mating chase that follows- sinking down to the seabed and pretending to be part of the floor.

He traces elaborate patterns into the sand and thinks.

What are his friends seeing in Alhaitham that he can't?

Chapter Text

Kaveh is very glad Tighnari had made him wait to take the Relievers. If he had taken it any earlier, he’s sure he would never have been able to make it home.

In reality, it takes Kaveh over three hours and every inch of willpower he possesses to make his way from the Avidya forest. It absolutely doesn’t help that midway through hour one, the sun had set, leaving Kaveh stuck navigating his way home entirely through the water flow direction and far off lights of the reef. 

By the time he smells home close by, he is feeling almost like he'd been tossed against the rocks a few hundred times. 

Put plainly: he felt awful.

His body moved slow and heavy, and his rasping gills were starting to itch like they were swollen. To top all of that, there was a low tier headache pounding a steady drumbeat in his skull.

Every inch of him is crying out for rest. 

Goddess he’s so thankful that Tighnari had forced him ahead of time not to plan any work for tomorrow. Just in case, he'd said- but If this was how bad it was in a couple of hours, he wasn't looking forward to tomorrow at all. 

As Kaveh finally slides passed the invisible boundary into his own territory, he can't help the relieved chirp that escapes him. His instincts finally settle into safety, and he feels incrementally better as some of the tension lifts from his spine.  He slows down his movements to a crawl, feeling safe enough to just drift within the bounds of his own home. 

Speaking of instincts, Kaveh can only pray that Alhaitham would have already settled to sleep by this time of night. There was no reason for the other to wait up for him, after all.

Kaveh waves off a foreboding chill.

He wasn't ready to see Alhaitham right now. He already had enough conflicting feelings towards the shark mer, and he didn't need the other to start accidentally springing any more courting gestures on him. Kaveh needed to get a hold of his own instincts before he could trust himself to be rational around the other. 

Kaveh tiredly glances over the reef territory as he moves through it, relieved when he doesn't spot any sign of silver against the lowlight. He forces his aching body to speed up a little as he approaches the nest. In contrast to Kaveh’s own terrible night vision, Alhaitham could see very well in the dark- which meant that sometimes the shark liked to sneak up behind him and-

“Kaveh.”

-scare him. Kaveh flinches so hard his shoulders jump to hit his earrings, and his gills splutter in a way that almost sends him into a choking fit. 

Kaveh quickly clamps down on his screaming prey instincts, before he can react badly and attempt to bolt right out of his own territory. 

Right in front of Alhaitham. 

He would never live that down. 

Now feeling unpleasantly far more awake, Kaveh whirls around to face the object of his frustrations. 

Curse his terrible luck. 

“What.” He grunts out, at Alhaitham.

He furiously fights down the immediate and incredibly embarrassing urge to chirp at his reefmate.

Nope. Shh. Not doing that.

“You’re late.”

Kaveh blinks. That's unusual. Alhaitham doesn't usually concern himself with Kaveh's business so obviously. 

“Yes well, time goes fast when you’re enjoying yourself.” He grouses. “Not that you would know anything about that.”

Alhaitham crosses his arms against his chest, looking unimpressed. He glides forwards, right passed Kaveh himself, an unspoken gesture for the reef mer to follow.

“And yet," The shark retorts. "No enjoyment is worth endangering yourself over.”

Endangering? Kaveh eyes Alhaitham in confusion.

“What are you talking about?”

Alhaitham huffs.

“The sun set hours ago, Kaveh. You and I are both aware that you have no scotopic vision to speak of- travelling after dark for you is always a risk." He half turns to give Kaveh a tired look, "Especially in the state you are now. I would prefer that you not keep me up with your needless self-endangerment."

What. Why would Alhaitham be waiting up for him? Was he…concerned…about Kaveh? 

No. No of course not.

Kaveh must’ve misheard. He’d probably just upset that he couldn't sleep, and blaming it on Kaveh like usual.

For a mer that claims to be entirely rational, Alhaitham sure is petty. Why is it that whenever Alhaitham can't sleep he has to get on Kaveh’s case about everything?

Kaveh rolls his eyes exasperatingly.

“Excuse you?” he scoffs, loudly. "I can take care of myself perfectly fine!”

“Normally, I wouldn't doubt it-” Alhaitham concedes, before abandoning his path forward to carefully to sweep a wide circle around Kaveh. 

Kaveh shivers.

It sets off his instincts even worse in the dark, and Kaveh grinds his teeth together to keep himself from reacting at all, swimming forward slightly faster in a poor attempt to avoid the circling. 

“-but perhaps you should give yourself a look over before you start proclaiming about your all so intact self-preservation instincts. I think even you might have something different to say.” 

Kaveh pointedly doesn't bother glancing down at himself. He knows he looks like a wreck. It kind of hurts to have it pointed out by the love of his life Alhaitham though.

“I look fine!” He rebukes loudly, wincing when it sets off the pounding in his head even worse.

“Hm. No. You look like you’ve overdone yourself. Again. Perhaps I should have accompanied you to Tighnari’s. Clearly you are unable to moderate yourself without my company.”

Moderate himself?! He's perfectly capable of moder-What? Wait…did Alhaitham think that he- he did didn't he! 

The frustration tapers off a little, as Kaveh can't help but find himself a little amused at the misunderstanding. 

With a tiny huff, he reaches out and latches onto Alhaitham’s wrist to get him to, once again, stop circling. 

“Alhaitham,” he groans, swiping his other hand into the dark void between them. “I’m not drunk.”

How awful must he be swimming that Alhaitham's mistaking him for heavily intoxicated? Surely Alhaitham is just exaggerating, he can't look that poorly?

Alhaitham blinks slowly and impassively down at him, clearly disbelieving. 

“And you expect me to believe this?” 

The shark pointedly shakes their connected hands. 

Kaveh quickly yanks his own hand back, and clutches it tightly to his chest.

His knuckles whiten with pressure, and palm burns like he'd thrust it right into a hydrothermal vent. The mortification of being called out is immediately subsumed by irritation. 

It's not that hard to believe Kaveh surely? 

The tension skyrockets once more.

“Yes." He retorts bitingly. "Because I'm telling you it's true. I’m not drunk!”

“Yes. Not drunk. Like on the many other occasions you’ve told me the same while very clearly inebriated.”

“Yes-no! Yes, I mean I don't tell you that, I've never done that, but even if I did, I'm being serious this time.” 

Kaveh flaps his tail and then hands for good measure. 

“I'm not drunk, Alhaitham! I'm medicated!”

It's a if Kaveh has found the magic word, a switch to flips to shift Alhaitham's entire demeanour. Kaveh almost flinches when Alhaitham abruptly stills, forcing Kaveh to also come to a stop. The sharks eyes seems to sharpen even in the dimness of the night, sweeping over Kaveh's body to take him in once more.

Kaveh unconsciously hunches down a little under the gaze. There's a tightness building in his chest, as if the heavy pressure of a cave-in were condensed on top of his lungs. It was as if Alhaitham's gaze was prying him open to pull out all the parts that make up Kaveh's psyche, and examining each fragile piece to determine Kaveh's worth.

He feels pinned under that gaze, unable to muster even the most incremental movements, for fear of exposing something under it. Kaveh doesn't want to know what Alhaitham's sees- when he looks at the mess he's made of his very existence.

He already knows he would be found wanting.

It feels like an eternity before Alhaitham's mouth parts once more.

“You’re sick.” Alhaitham asks, far more statement than question. There's an unidentifiable emotion tinting his voice- Kaveh thinks he can even hear the unhappy twist of the others lips. 

If Kaveh imagines, he can believe that it's worry. That Alhaitham is worried about him. Surely that wouldn't be farfetched- to think that Alhaitham might have the capacity to care for a sick person? Even if that person were not really a friend anymore? 

Kaveh doesn't know.

Maybe he's getting it wrong? It's easy to mistake things, in the dark, and he knows he can't read Alhaitham the way he used to. Maybe Alhaitham is just annoyed at him, like usual? 

Kaveh pushes the train of thought away before his night can get any worse. 

“No. I mean yes, sort of, but it's not that kind of medicine.”

“So yes.”

Kaveh presses his lips together and just shrugs. What is there to say?

Alhaitham slides closer, as if incensed by the silence. Far too close into Kaveh's space, enough for Kaveh to make out the individual lines of his reefmate's face in the dark. Close enough that Kaveh fights to keep his face from flaring crimson in response. 

"Stop!" Kaveh shuffles back a little. "I'm fine! By Kusanali's will, you don't need to hover!" 

Alhaitham doesn't respond, doesn't even seem to notice Kaveh had spoken. The shark searches his face still, seemingly finding whatever he was looking for, because thankfully he backs up after a beat.

"Inebriated or sick, it makes little difference." He states, dryly. "If you weren't feeling well you definitely shouldn't have been out in the middle of the night.”  Alhaitham's tail flicks a dark shape behind him. “Surely Tighnari could have kept you overnight?”

Tighnari could have. 

But Kaveh once more sees the scene in his mind, of Tighnari and Cyno so happy in each other's company, chasing eachother around the space like they were the only two mers in existence. It makes a pit form where his heart should be, an all consuming abyss yearning for something that isn't, and will never be his. To see something so beautiful, so perfect, so unattainable.

Kaveh wants.

It's almost cruel, and sometimes, in the loneliest moments of moments of his best friends' company, Kaveh finds himself not able to bear it.

He'd rather make the trek home.

This isn't something he can easily enunciate to Alhaitham, however, even if it were something he was willing at all to share. So Kaveh doesn't bother.

He shrugs once more under Alhaitham's searching gaze, eyes darting everywhere but at his reefmate.

“I’m not going to inconvenience Tighnari.” he grumbles, instead. It's not entirely a lie. “Besides, I was perfectly fine when I left.”

He glances up accidentally, meeting Alhaitham's eyes as stare down at him, unblinking. Alhaitham's lips curl ever so slightly downwards, and in the ensuing silence Kaveh feels the disapproval settle beneath his skin like an icy chill breaking out across the reef.

“And I'm sure we all would rather you an inconvenience than dead.” Alhaitham bites out, his voice hard once more.

Kaveh has the horrible, sickening feeling that he'd missed something, that he'd overstepped on something important. A surge of guilt floods his system, and he bites his lip hard, trying to retrace the conversation to no end.

There's always something with Alhaitham.

Kaveh looks away. His mouth opens. Closes.

"Can we not right now?" He says, instead of any of the other things he could've. Should've. His voice cracks nervously. "I’m tired and sick and I just want to sleep, Alhaitham. What is it you want from me?” He stares tiredly up at the figure floating before him. 

Alhaitham is silent for a handful of moments, before he visibly seems to warm. He sighs.

"For you to not run yourself towards your end at every opportunity," he confesses after a beat, voice so low Kaveh almost misses it. "-but perhaps that's too heavy a wish to make. Perhaps its just not possible for you."

In the quiet gloom of the night, the confession sounds oddly charged. There's something there- something vulnerable to Alhaitham's words, as if he were confessing something different altogether. Something important. Something just beyond Kaveh's comprehension. 

If Kaveh could just reach out and-

Kaveh wants-

Kaveh opens his mouth, to argue or question or confess he doesn't know- will never know, because he doesn't get the chance. 

Alhaitham reaches out and curls a careful hand around Kaveh's bicep and-

-Kaveh's brain grinds to a halt.

He thinks he makes a noise, perhaps embarrassing, as Alhaitham tugs him forward with his grip. Whatever it was, it's lost under the sudden loud rush of his heartbeat in his ears, pounding much too fast. The world seems to twist and swirl under the burn of Alhaitham's fingers, and Kaveh is gone, heady with the implications. He feels- he feels as if he might just implode if it dares to linger too long.

Alhaitham seems to hear his thoughts, or really just feel the tension stiffening Kaveh's spine, because he doesn't keep hold for too long. He drags Kaveh for barely a minute before his hand abruptly drops, leaving behind a quickly buried wave of disappointment, and the phantom sensation of the shark's touch branded hotly into his skin.

It takes Kaveh a long second to realise that he's been pulled to the entrance of his own den. He hadn't even realised he'd almost made it there, so caught up in the other mer.

It's then realises that while he'd been distracted by their argument, Alhaitham had somehow managed to lead him almost the way to the entrance of his own den. When did-

“Get some sleep, Kaveh.” Alhaitham hums, as Kaveh splutters and uselessly flails in place, brain caught up in endless circles. 

For a second, in the lowlight, Kaveh swears he can see a smile curve over the others face. It's gone before he can even dare to comment.

Kaveh ignores the heat of his own face in response, and the heavy weight of Alhaitham's gaze as he pulls himself together, and swims the last few increments to his nest.

He’s just through the entrance when Alhaitham’s voice calls to him from outside.

“Next time you’re not feeling well, just stay over at Tighnari’s. I think we all would prefer it.” 

We all?

Oh, The nerve of this man! Just say you would rather have the territory all to yourself Alhaitham!

Chapter Text

Contrary to his prior beliefs, Kaveh does not actually spend the next day horribly sick. Most of the symptoms thankfully pass overnight, and Kaveh already feels better by the next morning. 

Not well- but better. 

It definitely helps that he barely even has to leave his den to hunt the next morning. Strangely enough, there's a small school of fish turning circles barely paces from his den, an easy and thankfully quick meal.

Kaveh doesn't let himself question it.

He opts to hole up in his den after eating his fill, spending the rest of the day alternating between resting and working on his various projects. Alhaitham for once, doesn't come to bother him. It's peaceful.

Kaveh is back to work by the next day, and the next week goes by pretty smoothly.

...

Of course, as with all of Kaveh's luck, it can't last. So obviously, he wakes up exactly eight days later to the scent of pheromones wafting all over his den, effectively ruining every one of his plans.

Kaveh wakes slowly, groggily, to something wrong. There is the strangest scent in the water around him, clogging up his den.

He tiredly inhales, tasting the area confusedly, before-

This...is almost smells like..

-He bolts awake. 

Theres heat pheromones infused into the water all around him, seeping from his nest.

His own pheromones.

The release of a mer's pheromones was considered to be the very first active symptom of ones incoming heat. His body was going into overdrive to attract potential suitors, effectively screaming to everyone in the immediate area of his availability. He'd likely have anywhere between one to three days before the actual onset of his heat.

Kaveh's eyes prop open. He promptly pushes his face into the bed of his nest, groaning loudly and dramatically. "I cannot believe my life…" He whines aloud into the fabric.

This season was setting in far too quickly.

"Ugh. I thought Tighnari said two weeks?" He grumbles, heaving himself up from his nest. The sun filtering in through underwater skylight tells him that it's still likely early morning- surprisingly enough he hasn't overslept.

Good.

With the official onset of his seasonal pheromones, it meant that Kaveh could no longer afford to keep working. He felt guilty about all the unfinished contracts he'd wouldn't be able to uphold, and terribly irritated at his body for deciding now was the correct time to start his season. 

He sighs. 

He'd need to pay a quick visit to several of his clients today, to explain the situation. Probably as soon as possible, before the pheromones fully set in and he starts flashing his heat at every passerby in the reef.

With an irritated grumble, Kaveh streaks across his den to start shoving various things into one of his bags, simultaneously collecting several coral hair clips from beside his nest. He also impulsively scoops up one of the turquoise corals from around his nest, shoving into his hair just behind his left ear.

Realising he'd left two of his carvings outside, he throws the bag over his shoulder and bolts out of the den to fumble in the sand for them, left hand simultaneously and fruitlessly trying to pin back his bangs. 

Out of the corner of his eye, as he successfully digs one of the carvings out of the sand, Kaveh sees Alhaitham stop bothering the fish schools to beeline his way.

Alhaitham pauses a short distance from Kaveh, before his eyes go wide, and face rapidly twists in a way that indicates he can smell the hopefully very faint scent of Kaveh's pheromones. Kaveh isn't too worried about that, Alhaitham has always had sharper senses than most, and even he had to get pretty close before he'd noticed the pheromones at all. Chances are it's barely noticeable. Probably.

Alhaitham flashes even faster to Kaveh's side. His face twists in a way Kaveh has little inclination to play attention to, although it doesn't look happy.

"Kaveh." Alhaitham says, sounding absolutely furious. "Your in-"

"Yes I know." Kaveh cuts him off hurriedly, waving the hand holding his clips dismissively at him. "Not yet though." He digs the second carving out and quickly shoves it with the others into his bag. "I'm fine. It's just the pheromones at the moment. Barely anything."

Alhaitham's crosses his arms against his chest, tail slapping against the sand. His lips press to a tight, unhappy line.

"I don't care." He retorts, voice sharp. "Occasions like this are exactly why I question your self-preservation all the time, Kaveh. You cannot seriously be thinking of going out like this- trailing pheromones all over the place?"

Kaveh shoots him a quelling look. 

He can do whatever he wants, thank you very much. Alhaitham is not his minder.

Kaveh shakes off the sand from his now free right hand, and reaches up to start braiding a lock of his hair back.

"Yes." He retorts, hotly.

"I've got some things to deliver before my season starts for real." He elaborates, after a beat. "Considering I wasn't exactly expecting this to crop up so soon, I also need to quickly make sure my clients know I'm not going to be available for the rest of the season." 

Alhaitham doesn't look particularly reassured when Kaveh finally glances up.

"I'll be fine, Alhaitham." He adds. "-I'm being serious when I say you can barely smell the pheromones, and they'll be buried under all the other smells of the greater reef. Besides, like I told you the other day. I. can. take. care. of. myself."

Alhaitham growls sub-vocally. It prompts a twitch from Kaveh skittish instincts that he promptly ignores, alongside another, warmer feeling that he also promptly ignores.

"Being able to fend off danger does not justify taking completely unnecessary risks, Kaveh. It would be prudent for you to prioritise yourself for once. Are you certain there is nobody else that can deliver your 'essentials' for you?" The tone of his voice makes it absolutely clear what he thinks of said essentials.

Kaveh's fingers twitch in his hair. He laughs flatly.

"What, like you?" He questions, disbelieving. "Absolutely not! I'm not going to have you ruin every bit of rapport I have with my clients over a little pheromones. Besides, some of these clients are private, and I'm not going to air out their confidential business to someone as well known as you! Can you imagine? Nobody would ever approach me again."

He finishes off his braid, and pins it in place with one of his remaining clips. 

He then turns to make direct eye contact with Alhaitham, raising an eyebrow as the other seems to visibly struggle with his thoughts. It's almost amusing to watch, and if Kaveh were any less harried and restless he might have stopped to admire.

A short staring contest ensues.

Alhaitham caves first.

"Fine." The shark concedes.

Kaveh smiles. It's almost a happy one.

"Good. Thank you." Hurried and done with this conversation, Kaveh makes to move past the other. 

He then is once again forced to reel back as Alhaitham, in what is quickly becoming a habit, once again forces him to stop by shoving a fish corpse directly in front of Kaveh's face.

"Eat first." He insists as Kaveh reels back to avoid kissing the thing. Or Alhaitham's hand. Or maybe Alhaitham.

Ignoring Kaveh's reaction, as usual, Alhaitham continues on.

"I noticed you were about to leave without breakfast once again, and I'm not letting you take foolish risks on an empty stomach." 

The shark proceeds to stares stubbornly at Kaveh, until the other reaches forward and delicately takes the fish from him, dramatically sighing before taking a large bite. 

Beside him, Alhaitham smugly crunches into his own catch. It's unsurprisingly annoying, and if Kaveh's mouth wasn't full...

Also suprisingly attractive.

In fact, it feels terribly intimate, sharing a meal so close. A meal that had been caught for him. 

Kaveh wills down the blush threatening to break out across his skin. He does his best to scarf the fish down as quickly as physically possible.

Which is a mistake, considering that the moment he finishes Alhaitham is shoving his half eaten one into Kaveh's hands as well. This not only renews the net of tangled feelings tightening Kaveh's chest, but also leaves Alhaitham very free to very blatantly watch Kaveh eat. 

Kaveh opts to eat even faster.

He barely tastes the fish, shovelling at such a rate that he's just shy of choking himself, in a way that must seem incredibly off-putting, grotesque in comparison to the ever put together Alhaitham. Strangely enough though, the shark's expression stays trained impassively upon him. If he cares, if he finds Kaveh disgusting in any capacity, then he doesn't see fit to comment.

Kaveh will take his wins where he can get them.

The moment Kaveh's finished, he whirls around and away from Alhaitham to locate the very last of his work carvings, shoving them into his bag with an indelicate touch. 

He needs to leave. Now. 

He immediately makes to vacate the premises, hurrying off with a beat of his tail.

This time, at least, Alhaitham doesn't try to stop him. Alhaitham watches him go.

Or so he'd hoped.

For a minute or two, Kaveh thinks he's free from meddling, that his reefmate, for once, has seen fit to save him from his stubbornness. He should've known better than to assume. 

Kaveh is barely out of the territory when a head of silver slides back into his peripheral, and slows to match his pace beside him.

Kaveh startles.

"What- Alhaitham!" He splutters, as the other seamlessly keeps pace with him. "I told you! I'm going!"

Alhaitham just hums, pace increasing ever so slightly with Kaveh's subtle attempts to leave. "Yes, I know."

"Then why are you following me!"

"I am not. But I too have work today, and also happen to be going in this direction. His fin bumps against Kaveh's own as he weaves forward and turns slightly to make eye contact. "Surely it is no bother to travel together."

It is. It is very much a bother. But Kaveh can't repress the quiet surge of relief that floods him when he realises he isn't going to be travelling alone. That Alhaitham still cares.  

He isn't going to let Alhaitham know that though.

Kaveh clenches his jaw.

Al-haitham's fin once again bumps into Kaveh, and with an annoyed grunt Kaveh swims down until he's swimming slightly below the bigger mer, the only position in which Alhaitham has yet to consistently attack Kaveh with his flailing limbs. 

Kaveh grinds his teeth together. "Fine." He grits out, swimming even further down when Alhaithams tailfin somehow manages to brush his own.

Alhaitham's lip quirks, invisible to his reefmate's eyes.

Alhaitham is the most insensitive swimmer Kaveh has ever met. He has absolutely no regard for where his limbs may be, and every time Kaveh swims beside him he finds himself accidentally brushed by a combination of both tail, fins and even hands on occasion.

Of course, no matter how many times Kaveh has complained about this habit, Alhaitham only answers with a 'Perhaps you should not stay in my space so much then, Kaveh.' An ironic response, considering how much he complains about not being able to hear Kaveh properly whenever he endeavours to swim slightly further away and out of range of said flailing limbs. 

Over time, Kaveh has found it easier to just swim slightly underneath Alhaitham like some kind of delicate pregnant mate needing protection. While slightly embarrassing, it’s turns better than having to dodge limbs the whole time they’re travelling together.

It's also...sometimes, nice to pretend... that this means something. 

Kaveh says nothing, letting Alhaitham lead him into the city.

This time of year, the reef is as loud and busy as it ever gets. Swarms spun swarms of mer, hurrying to ready themselves for their encroaching inevitable seasons.

It must be hell for Alhaitham's heightened senses, which makes it so confusing that the shark doesn't immediately beeline for his workplace the moment they enter the greater city reef area. 

In fact, against every last scrap of logic rolling around in Kaveh's brain, Alhaitham proceeds to escort him all the way to his first client.

How did he even know where his clients lived?

Before departing, Alhaitham stops to give the blonde one more searching look, an indecipherable expression twisting his features, before the smooth out once more. The shark sighs.

"Try not to do anything foolish." He says, before turning to depart, leaving Kaveh fuming behind him. 

Chapter Text

Kaveh wasn't lying about wanting to conduct his business as quickly as physically possible. The little instinctual piece of his hindbrain was having some very loud, very unhappy, feelings about him leaving his nest at this time of year. Every second in the open was another second he spent hunched in on himself, unbalanced and exposed outside the safety of home territory, and Kaveh wasn't feeling so confident about this anymore.

He also wasn't exactly keen on advertising his current pheromone problem, which means he can't afford to linger for very long with his clients lest they notice. 

All this prompted him to spend as little time as possible rushing around the city, flashing from client to client to inform them of his early start to the season.

Most of them seem a little put out, but largely forgiving. Any mer of the Sumeru reef understands how unpredictable this time of year can be.

Some of his meetings take a little longer than he expected, Kaveh loathe to leave his clients without as much as he can. However, that isn't to say he isn't rushing, so he's free from his obligations after a few hours, and leaves most of his clients fairly satisfied.

That's not to say there aren't any issues at all. Kaveh's instincts have spent the entire time ramping up on the unsafe unsafe unsafe vibes, and Kaveh is just about ready to climb out of his skin and/or sprint home. His pheromones are also noticeably stronger than they were when he woke up, which Kaveh was desperately praying to Kusanali wouldn't happen.

Of course, this all results in Kaveh hesitantly creeping down the populous greater reef streets with his shoulders hunched, ignoring all of the sideways glances and quiet gossiping as he makes his way home. Well, if he had any doubts that people could smell him. Kaveh almost wishes he'd Alhaitham handle his clients.

Almost.

As he heads out of the city area, the crowds disperse into empty paths.This fails to satisfy Kaveh's hindbrain at all.

In fact, the insidious feeling of being watched steadily creeps up on him, subsuming his anxiety to make it a hundred times worse. His instincts start up a shrill siren. He wishes he'd thought to bring his greatsword.

With little other choice, Kaveh pushes through, his pace doubling as his fins stand to attention.

He's a good half of the way there when a semi-familiar voice calls out his name, forcing him to halt his progress. 

He could, of course, ignore whoever's calling, but that would be rude, and Kaveh is no Alhaitham. Besides, Kaveh doesn't feel quite safe enough to leave his back to exposed to the speaker.

Kaveh grimaces and turns to face the other mer, who he instantly recognises as a former co-worker of his.

"Ah…Ahsan." He greets, pasting on a half-hearted-at-best smile as he greets the approaching mer. His fins twitch anxiously as the other comes close enough to quite obviously smell Kaveh's leaking pheromones, if he hadn't done so already. 

Luckily enough, if Ahsan notices them, the man doesn't comment. Unluckily enough, he also doesn't seem pick up at all on Kaveh's complete unwillingness to converse right now. The mer grins back at Kaveh, smiling wide and exposing sharp fangs. The other mer abruptly throws his hands wide as if in celebration. 

The sharpness of the motion makes Kaveh's instincts scream to flee- which Kaveh promptly pushes down with the long practice of cohabiting with a predator species prone to spontaneous fits of assholery.

"Ah, Kaveh!” Ahsan greets, smile somehow creeping even wider. It only serves to flash even more sharp fangs. “I haven't seen you for nearly a year! Not since we worked together on that tunnel project, yes?"

Kaveh's fins twitch nervously. "Hm? Oh yes, the tunnel. You were in charge of the supports. I remember."

He glances around. There's no-one else in sight. It doesn't make him feel better.

"Yes, and you were the beautiful architect watching over my every move. Fun times." He leans forward, slightly further into Kaveh's space than he's strictly comfortable with, and Kaveh's smile falters ever so slightly as he slowly backs up. Something's wrong.

"A-ah um, yes. W-what have you been up to lately?"

"Oh me?" Kaveh flinches slightly as the others tail sweeps sharply behind him, cutting a thin gouge into the sand below.

His hindbrain yowls threat threat threat. His logical brain agrees. He's trying to scare me. Kaveh realises, his eyes widening incrementally before he taps down the reflex. He keeps his fins still, searching.

It's all but confirmed when Ahsan starts to laugh, throwing his arms out into a unreasonably wide gesture with his limbs spread wide, forcing Kaveh to back up a few paces to avoid touching the other mer. The man does it again a few seconds later, seemingly innocuously, when Kaveh fails to react to his expectations.

"-other projects, of course-"

Ahsan is cornering him on purpose, Kaveh realises, a thick mass of terror collecting in his chest. When he discreetly glances around, he finally notices that they're completely isolated, and Ahsan had likely known this before he'd even approached.

The other mer is trying to pressure Kaveh into starting a mating chase, and if Kaveh weren't so used to vaguely threatening gestures, and assholish instinct baiting from Alhaitham, he thinks it might’ve even worked.

No wonder he'd been feeling watched.

With a tight breath, Kaveh realises that it doesn't matter that Ahsan wants him to flee, at the moment he doesn't have another option. And Ahsan is very much prepared to run, if the strange tension in the other man's muscles is any indicator.

Kaveh is stuck, pelted with a cold rush of adrenaline. So instead he doesn't something stupid. He doesn't wait for the twist of fear to finish seeking into his scent, as Ahsan carries on talking and flailing.

"-here and there. None with any other architects quite as beautiful as-"

Kaveh lunges.

Jolting forward with a snarl, he just misses the other's eyes as he tears his claws into Ahsan's face. There's a howl. The other mer jerks away and rips Kaveh off him, twisting out of his hold to dig his own razor sharp claws down Kaveh's shoulder and arms.

Kaveh flinches with a hiss as the pain hits.

Ahsan attempts to use the distraction to push him to the sandbed. Kaveh whips his tail up in a circular motion to slam hard into the others chest, successfully stunning his attacker and using the backwards momentum to free himself. With a sharp twist, Kaveh is up and off, trails of blood and a now bloodthirsty mer in his wake.

He darts for home, weaving and ducking to avoid the bigger mer, who seems to be having no problem at all closing the distance before them. Despite all this, he makes it a fair distance before the other catches up- mere minutes from the safety of his territory.

Kaveh shrieks when the other mer succeeds in clipping Kaveh's tail, slicing into one delicate fin and sending Kaveh into a wild tailspin. He catches sight of the other's face as he spirals. The pinprick eyes and terrible open-mouthed smile send another rush of molten terror down his veins. 

Kaveh throws himself down to avoid another tackle and loses sight of the other for a mere second before he's slammed to the ground, and a viciously sharp row of teeth sink into his shoulder. 

Kaveh shrieks. He thrashes in the others grip, blind to anything but the taste of blood in the water and the torturous branding of teeth against skin. Together they roll, a frenzied grapple of teeth and claws.

Kaveh doesn't notice the change in the current. Neither of them do.

It's all the warning either mer got before a massive grey shape descends silently from behind them, and Ahsan's weight is summarily ripped off of Kaveh.

Kaveh scrambles to flip upright and away as he hears his assaulter let out a agonised screech this time.

He twists back to see Alhaitham, with his razor sharp claws tearing into the other mer.  

Kaveh pants wildly, caught frozen between fleeing and helping his reefmate tear into the threat. 

In the end, his indecision and fear keep him rooted in place, unable to do a single thing but watch as blood pools thickly into the water around them.

His reefmate needs no help anyways. In a display of brutality that really should put off Kaveh far more than it actually does, Alhaitham rips into the other mer with his teeth and claws, slamming Ahsan into the sand below. 

Kaveh is almost afraid that Alhaitham is going to actually murder the other, until Ahsan manages to tear himself free from Alhaitham's jaws. The mer bolts away with a thick trail of blood following- missing a few chunks of flesh and possibly…probably some fingers too.

Alhaitham doesn't even bother to pursue, simply watching the other mer go with blank wary eyes. 

And then, once Ahsan turns the corner and is gone from sight, the shark mer stops moving- deathly, terrifyingly motionless amidst the churning water.

Kaveh doesn't like it- the sudden calm doing nothing for his taxed instincts. Something's still wrong, it murmured at him. Is Alhaitham okay?

"Alhaitham…?" He ventures hesitantly, unnerved. 

Alhaitham head snaps around. The shark mer's attention instantly fixates on the injured blonde. Kaveh's wants to cry, or probably scream, as his blood freezes over in his veins once more.

Alhaitham's eyes are wide and still, pupils blown. Wrong.

Once, in a drunken fit nearly a year ago, Kaveh had deigned to list and categorise every every micro expression he'd ever seen on Alhaitham's porcelain face, sorting them neatly into mental boxes associated with every possible feeling. He could write a book examining each one, but it wouldn't include this one. This was an expression Kaveh had never seen before, and never wanted to see again. It spoke of a pure ferality, of that deep well of bloodlust that existed in every shark mer, submerged beneath the sapient thoughts. A horrifying indication of a mer trapped deep beneath their own instincts.

It scared him.

Kaveh curls his claws into the sand, and slowly, incrementally, shuffles backwards. Maybe if he can just sneak home, wait this all out-

The response is immediate. Alhaitham growls a deep warning that sucks the water straight from Kaveh's gills. The shark mer raises himself from where he's stilled and slowly begins to approach. Predatory teal eyes dissect Kaveh's every move.

Run

Kaveh, for once in his life, listens to his instincts. His claws stir up the sand as he throws himself into action once more, heaving himself up and into a sprint, pumping his tail as fast as he can go towards his nest.

This time he doesn't make it very far. 

His gills splutter as he hits the sand once more, a heavy weight pinning him face first to the seabed. For a terrible, awful moment, Kaveh is convinced he is about to be torn to shreds by the love of his life. To be saved by Alhaitham only to be condemned in turn. Fuck, the area tastes like blood- His own blood! Alhaitham's probably deep in a blood frenzy! 

He thrashes desperately against the grip on him, flailing like the dying fish of every other one of Alhaitham's previous meals. His heart pulses in his ears, and years nothing over its frantic best.

He's not ready! He doesn't want to die! Not like this!

The weight does not move, but neither does the pain come. After an endless, terror-filled, futile minute, nothing happens at all. Kaveh's scrambling dies down as he exhausts himself, terror giving way slightly to rationality. Why isn't he attacking? Does Alhaitham recognise him? Is he okay?

Kaveh swallows a shaky breath.

"A-Al-Alhaitham?" he stutters, blood still pulsing thickly in his ears. His gills rasp hard and fast, distorting the words thickly.

The only answer he gets is a deep rumbling sound, the sound of a predator caught in a bloodlust. Kaveh goes a little faint at the sound for multiple reasons. He jolts again when a pair of arms slide around his stomach like bands of steel.

Right. Instincts. Maybe if he changes his tone?

"C-can you let me-me up. Please?" He lets out a plaintive whine for good measure.

The tail pinning his own shifts slightly, removing the restraining weight, as if Alhaitham can truly still understand. For a hopeful second Kaveh thinks he's about to be completely released, but Alhaitham simply readjusts his grip, seemingly content with keeping the other mer trapped firmly in his own hold.

Still, tail finally freed, Kaveh attempts to wiggle against the others arms wrapped around him.

Another growl, and Kaveh freezes once more against every instinct. 

And then Alhaitham is rising, taking Kaveh along with him. Kaveh makes a squeak of protest but doesn't have time for any proper response before Alhaitham starts forwards, dragging Kaveh along beneath him. The position locks Kaveh between the others arms and stomach, forcing him to swim alongside Alhaitham or be carried along protectively like some kind of small child. 

Or an injured person, he supposes. 

If Kaveh had the forethought to be anything but mostly terrified out of his mind right now, he thinks he might be flattered, or annoyed. Maybe both. Alhaitham always seemed to bring out the dichotomy in his feelings. 

The arms stays locked around Kaveh even when he restores his bearings and tries to pry it away to swim on his own. After a full minute, Kaveh gives up and goes limp, letting Alhaitham pull him along in silence, Alhaitham too quiet and Kaveh far too tense to speak anymore.

Alhaitham speeds both mers all the way home as quickly as possible, still clearly deep in his instincts. Kaveh wiggles a little in the shark's grip as the enter their territory at last, hopeful, but Alhaitham fails to release him.

In fact, as they glide through their shared territory, it quickly becomes evident to Kaveh that they are heading in the complete opposite direction of Kaveh's own nest.

Alhaitham is dragging both of them into his own den.

Kaveh renews his struggles once more in earnest, uncomfortable with the thought, quickly earning himself another censorious growl. It's not nearly as effective now that Kaveh is mostly, desperately sure the other isn't about to murder and eat him. 

The thing is, It's not Kaveh's first time being in Alhaitham's den. Sharks are clearly not half as possessive over their nests as Kaveh's own species. On multiple occasions Alhaitham had all but dragged Kaveh into his den following a conversation gone on too long outside of it. 

There's something different about this time though. And it's not just the Season.

Alhaitham's den has never been anything impressive. In fact by Kaveh's standards it's a travesty. It's a mostly empty space filled with tablets of writing, with a single soft bed of pale yellow fabric and reed that- if Kaveh squinted, turned away, and then completely close his eyes, he might be able to muster up the willpower to call a nest.

This 'nest' is where Alhaitham proceeds to drag Kaveh, before, with surprising gentleness for a mer so deep in instinct, depositing Kaveh into the circle of fabrics.

Kaveh stays perfectly quiet even as the other finally let's go, shuffling back as Alhaitham quietly stares down at him. Kaveh stares back, unsure.

Silence.

Alhaitham breaks it first.

Alhaitham makes a sound Kaveh would never hear from a lucid Alhaitham, and honestly Kaveh didn't really expect it from a feral one either. 

Alhaitham whines.

It almost startles Kaveh completely out of his fear haze. Kaveh's mouth drops wide open, staring up at the other in utter confusion as his heartbeat begins to settle. Maybe it was a fluke? He's mishearing things? Hallucinating? 

Alhaitham whines again.

What the fuck.

"W-what is it?" Kaveh stutters, when Alhaitham stares down at him, impassive but for the unhappy downturn of his lip.

At the sound of his voice, the shark seems to perk up slightly, eye contact becoming more pointed.

Huh.

"Uh is this about me talking? Alhaitham? You want me to talk?

Alhaitham doesn't nod, or really respond at all, but Kaveh gets the feeling he's right. 

"Okay. Y-yeah I can do that. J-Just as well I cancelled all of my existing c-contracts today, because one man had the most horrifying revision he wanted to propose to me- you wouldn't believe the clashing of colour he wanted. I-" Kaveh briefly cuts off with a squeak as Alhaitham leans down to press his face into the crook if Kaveh's neck, but continues when Alhaitham tilts his face back upwards to give him a sad look. It's so adorable pitiful Kaveh can't help but immediately give in.

"A-ahn awful green that clashed horribly with his own scales. It's not my problem anymore though. I'm so glad I got to tell him n-no!" Kaveh twitched and his voice gets incredibly strangled as Alhaitham takes the opportunity to run his tongue right over Kaveh's skin. More specifically, he begins laving over the bite wound on his shoulder. Kaveh's eyes nearly pop out of his skull as the other thoroughly cleans over his injury, moving down his arms to thoroughly lave away the fear-sour scent clinging to his skin.

The other pays no attention to the way Kaveh's skin heats beneath every touch, only pausing to make unhappy noises whenever Kaveh's voice stutters to a stop.

Eventually, after far far too long, Alhaitham stops, pulling back once more to run his gaze over Kaveh for more injuries. His eyes trail down until come to rest on the ripped tail membrane.

Kaveh promptly pulls his tail and the fin away before Alhaitham can even think about it. He was absolutely not willing to let the other's tongue anywhere near such a sensitive membrane. Feral or not.

Alhaitham makes an unhappy noise.

Kaveh ignores it. He gives Alhaitham a very pointed look, holding eye contact with the feral mer, until Alhaitham grudgingly concedes, allowing Kaveh to keep his tail to himself.

Instead, he opts to heave himself fully on top of Kaveh, crushing the blonde to Alhaitham’s sad excuse for a nest with his weight.

"Hey!” Kaveh shouts, annoyance already overcoming the last vestiges of fear “I am not your damn bedding!" Kaveh instinctively curls his tail between them, right up against the others chest. He almost heaves the other mer right off of himself before he gets distracted by the strangest sensation vibrating in the water around him. 

Wait…

is Alhaitham...

…

is he... 

…

purring?

Kaveh, forgetting everything, quiets, stills. Sure enough, he feels the faintest tremor of rhythmical vibrations trailing through the water around him. He realises he can feel it against the tail pressed between them. 

Oh lord Kusanali, he is. Did Kaveh die? Is this a dream? Do dreams replace your reefmates with feral strangers? 

Kaveh bites down on a overwhelmed scream. Today has been a day.

Nevertheless, the idea that Alhaitham of all mers is content right now drains him of all ability to fight, and he allows the other to collapse fully into him, removing the tail barrier that once seperated them. It has the added benefit of letting him feel that purr right up against his own chest.

His breath slows, and muscles unclench. 

It was comforting. Soothing. He supposed that why all the couples like to rave about this.

Kaveh breathes The last of the tension any drains from his spine. Kaveh slips closed his eyes, and just lets himself bask in it, squished against the other mer’s chest.

He was exhausted. Maybe this could be tomorrow's problem.

As he drifts off, he swears he hears a second purr rise to join Alhaitham's. 

Chapter Text

-so reckless-" The voice says, a juxtaposition of familiar and fond at once.

Skin brushes down his torso- a hand, he thinks- sending pleasant shivers down his spine. The scent taste of the water reassures of safety and comfort, and he allows himself to drift to the sensation.

This is a dream, he thinks, quiet. I've never had one like this before.

Fingers trail down his scaled body. Once, they reach his tailfin, and the raw and sensitive ache it brings confuses him. Even in a dream, he has to feel pain? Odd.

He hisses aloud, a tired protest, as fingers continue to prod at his weakness, and the waters go still around him. The voice, the vibration he hadn't recognised to be still quietly present, halts, and the comforting and painful touch slowly withdraws.

Kaveh is halfway through a noise, a whine, when it returns, a cool soothing hand coming to cradle his face, card through his restless curls. 

“Go back to sleep Kaveh,” the voice returns to murmur, a gentle rebuke, and Kaveh thinks ‘but I'm already asleep?’ “I've got you.” It says. 

Kaveh confused, trusts it. believes it.

For once in his life, listens.

Kaveh stirs. 

His nest feels different, more firm than it should. With a mildly confused trill, he shifts slightly to get more comfortable, inhaling the deep scent of safety and protection. It's familiar. Trusted. He makes a soft noise.

"You're awake." 

Kaveh slowly cracks an eye open to the grey mass of another mer floating closely above him. It's just Alhaitham.

"Mhmm, yeah yeah Haitham-" he yawn-

Wait? What?

Alhaitham?

Kaveh's eyes snap open.

"-Alhaitham!?" He squeaks, a touch too loudly. 

The mer in question visibly winces.

Memories slam into Kaveh with the full force of a tsunami crashing hard against the earth, yesterday's events playing like a cheap play in crystal clear clarity.

Kaveh jolts up, forehead almost colliding with Alhaitham's, and hisses at the sharp ache of pain that stabs into his shoulder. A painful tilt of his head, and he's noticing the careful bandaging on his chest and shoulder, the deep bite of his person having been tended to in his sleep. His ripped up tailfin has also been tended to, he notes with a touch of mortification. 

He reaches out to grab Alhaitham's shoulders, ignoring the ignoring the dodge backwards until he makes contact, and reels the other mer in. He frantically runs his eyes over and down other mer, searching. There is a number of shallow cuts littered around Alhaitham's chest and shoulder, and a bandage wrapped around one forearm. 

"Are you okay?! Hurt? You’re not still feral right!?" 

Alhaitham gives him a unhappy look, one recognisable in the book of Alhaitham. He shakes Kaveh's hands off him and reels further back.

"Consider yourself first." He returns, sounding deeply frustrated. "Did I hurt you anywhere?"

Does he not remember?

Kaveh blinks up at him. 

"No I'm fine." He replies instinctively, reaching for Alhaitham again. 

The shark mer shys away, expression tight. There is a disbelieving twist to the other mer's mouth that only serves to irritate.

“I’m fine.” He repeats, when Alhaitham only stares. When the other just continues looking, Kaveh clenches his teeth.

What is so hard to believe? Does Alhaitham think he would lie about this? Or does he really think he'd hurt Kaveh? 

“Alhaitham I'm fine-” he repeats, “Seriously! You didn't do anything...well apart from tearing into Ahsan, but frankly he deserved it. You did not hurt me, and I'm perfectly okay.”

Something smooths out in Alhaitham's expression, but he doesn't look much happier for it. 

"I took advantage of you." He grits out, gesturing sharply to his own den around them. It's a reasonable assumption but...

"You did nothing." Kaveh states, firmly. He needs Alhaitham to understand. 

"You dragged me in here to tend to my wounds." He blushes faintly, but carries on determinedly. "There's nothing to forgive." 

"Fine.” Alhaitham agrees, still unhappy. “No more excursions until the season is over.”

Kaveh boils. Kaveh burns. 

Kaveh hisses loudly. Alhaitham has no right.

“You are not my guardian, Alhaitham.You have no say on my movements.” He warns lowly.

Alhaitham ignores him. “You got hurt.”

“And!? I am not incompetent! I could've handled myself!” Kaveh snarls back.

“If I believed that I would not bother asking. We both carry evidence that indicates otherwise.”

“I-Why were you even there anyhow!? Were you stalking me!?”

Alhaitham twitches. Falters. Watches Kaveh like one might a cornered animal. “Not exactly.” He admits in the same tone another would use to discuss the changing tides. 

Kaveh doesn't know what he expected, guilt? From Alhaitham? He doesn't know why he bothers.

“I paid a runner to notify me when you chose to leave the city. They clearly were not fast enough, however.” His voice trails unintelligible. Kaveh ignores it.

“So you were just trying to what,” he snaps, “-catch up to me? Why?”

Alhaitham gives him a look. “I cannot trust you to prioritise your own health.” He replies. "As I am otherwise responsible for humouring your poor life decisions, It would be remiss of me to have allowed you to suffer from them. So yes, I was going to escort you home.”

He shrugs. "Clearly it was not a fallacious decision to make.” He sweeps an arm to gesture at Kaveh's bandaged arm and torso, voice sobering. “The consequences could've been much more severe had I not intervened.”

Kaveh freezes.

The Phantom sensation of teeth in his skin, pinning him to the sand, and his heart thudding in his chest as he claws-

"Kaveh?"

There's blood in the water and Kaveh cannot tell if it's his or not. He tastes the thrill of the hunt and the fear of prey

"Kaveh?"

Someone howls, and there is blood blood blood blood blood

"Kaveh!"

Someone touches him, and Kaveh jolts away violently, reality cramming itself tightly back into shaking bones. Alhaitham is staring, analysing, and Kaveh heart beats beats beats. 

He wants the other to stop looking.

"Kaveh?" Alhaitham repeats, as deaf to his wishes as usual, eyes still roaming his tensed form. His lip curls to something uncertain. "Are you alright?" He asks. Aloud. He sounds almost concerned. Liar.

There is a million things Kaveh could say, could answer with, as he pushes down a shaky sob.

Yes. He thinks. no. He thinks. What a stupid question coming from someone like you. He thinks. I'm tired and scared and lonely. He thinks. I just want you to love me. I just want to stop loving you. He thinks.

His eyes burn. He chokes down another noise. Fear churns to anger burns to white hot anger.

Stop looking at me like that. He thinks.

“WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE!” He screams. Loud.

Alhaitham flinches.

The other's hands jolt, dropping away from their steady encroach on Kaveh's person. 

Kaveh wants to flinch back, take it back in the ensuing Silence.

He stops breathing as he watches the other mer's face twist, an expression so reminiscent of hurt manifesting across his face. A split second of torturous agony twists his features, almost unrecognisable to its cause.

It is gone before Kaveh can put a true name to it, quickly replaced by something much worse. 

In Alhaitham's face, something shutters. Withdraws. His expression slides next into a perfect mask total neutrality- an impenetrable, implacable, weathered stone wall.

It's an expression Kaveh has seen on his face once before, on the day years ago when everything went horribly wrong between them. Kaveh has never wanted to see that expression again. Does not want to see it now.

He wants to beg it away, run, scream. His breath catches once more.

He does nothing.

“Kaveh.” Alhaitham starts, voice deceptively calm, and his eyes raise to meet Kaveh's for what feels like the first time in a millenia, catching his gaze with unwavering focus. There is something hidden there, visible beneath the thinnest veneer, a depth that enshrouds some hidden secret. It dares Kaveh to look, to see, to unearth it.

Kaveh is afraid.

“-Do you truly believe me to be so callous?" Alhaitham continues, almost curious in tone. "That I care nothing for you at all?" He's still staring. "You spend so much time attributing my every action to one of disregard that you chain me to a delusion of your own waking mind. Does it soothe your guilt to believe so lowly of me? I tire of being a receptacle for you to unload your every negative emotion upon. I am not your enemy, Kaveh.” Alhaitham says, voice vehemently mild “I do not hate you.”

At this Kaveh does flinch, reeling like he'd been struck. He opens his mouth to snap back, argue, but Alhaitham isn't done. The other raises a hand up sharply between them.

Kaveh's mouth closes again with a snap.

He says nothing. 

Alhaitham continues, unhindered. "When have I ever left you to believe that I hold you of no regard?" His voice builds, growing to something alive, intent. A plea hidden beneath resentment. 

"Why would I have let you into my territory, my home, into my nest, if I were anything close to the fictitious image you have crafted of my likeness? No,” He snaps, “-I am not your enemy, and not so uncaring as you would illude. I have no desire to see you hurt, and even less desire to watch you self-immolate in any attempt to satisfy your endless pursuit of repentance.”

Kaveh says nothing.

“You are not incapable, but there is a reason reef mer choose to forgo leaving the boundaries of their nest at this time of year.”

Kaveh says nothing.

“And that's why I care, Kaveh. I care because I want to, and I care because someone has to. Do you understand?" His eyes beg, where is tone slips back to calm.

Kaveh breathes. His mouth opens once more. Kaveh breathes. His mouth closes once more. 

"I-" he says, after a beat. He swallows. "I'm sorry." He says, quiet. "You're right. I understand" He burns with guilt.

Alhaitham sighs.

“No. I don't think you do." He replies, toneless once more. Something almost resigned seeps in. "You are not understanding at all. Self blame is not what I desire from you. It is not actionable, not productive. Self sacrifice will not bring you my forgiveness, and I do not want it. I want you to stop looking in others what only you can give yourself."

Kaveh shakes. "I-" he repeats. His voice falters, stills.

I can't.

Kaveh chokes on a sob. He turns abruptly, buries himself beneath his palms before the other can see his expression twist, drop. As if it would hide the choking splutter of his gills. Blinded by himself, he doesn't get to see how Alhaitham reacts, to see the way his eyes soften, but he hears the tiny spoken "oh," before firm muscular arms dart forward to tug at him.

Come to drag him in until he is ensconced against the other mer's chest, pressed hidden from the world behind firm muscle and skin.

Kaveh starts to cry in earnest. 

Alhaitham holds him through it. 

"I-” Kaveh tries again, time after time, but sorry is not what Alhaitham wants to hear, so he drops it every time. The shark doesn't say a word, doesn't prompt or console, a sturdy, silent presence through his desperate, breathless fit. 

Kaveh cries for an endless stretch, minutes that could have been hours, the stress and fear of today, of yesterday, unloading itself into Alhaitham’s arms. He cries until he is empty. He cries until he is wrung out.

And then he stops, breathless hiccups petering out into soft, exhausted calm.

He lets himself rest, afterwards, for a selfish moment in the safety of his reefmate's arms. And then the embarrassment and guilt hits, dull yet present, and he forces himself to pull away.

“I-” he says once more, this time intending to finish. 

“No more excursions for the rest of the season.” The shark mer interrupts. Commands once more.

And-

Alhaitham still isn't his nest guardian, still isn't his mate. Kaveh knows, Kaveh tells himself, but he can't find it in him to protest anymore. This time he just nods mutely, tiredly, fight drained.

Alhaitham is still looking, searching, and this time he must find something desirable in the response, in Kaveh's defeated posture, because he relaxes all at once. His shoulders drop minutely in the water, expression settling into something flat and normal.

“Good. Now get up, we both need to eat something, and I'm not settling for subpar midday rotation.” 

And like nothing had happened, that they hadn't argued and Kaveh hadn't cried in his arms, Alhaitham cuts back to blunt, stubborn, normality.

Kaveh could almost roll his eyes at the sudden change of topic, almost dredge up the urge to snap back as usual but-

He cares about me. 

He cares about me. 

-he can't find it in him to be annoyed right now. The world seems brighter now, somehow, the water more crisp running through his gills. Something light builds in his chest.

So instead, Kaveh simply huffs, and turns away to hide a smile. 

“If I must.” He responds, and lifts himself to move passed the other mer to the exit. He allows his tail to flick to the side as he swims, the gentlest brush of scale against scale, an affectation unsaid. 

Alhaitham doesn't flinch away. 

Chapter Text

The world is heat. Sound. Everything terrible and nothing good.

Kaveh pants into the calm water, face half buried into the sand just outside his nest, and feels.

His head pounds. 

His tail aches. 

His everything is squirming and shivering, and craving everything that he'd willingly chosen to deny himself.

Tighnari had warned Kaveh that going in for a dry spell just before his season would suck but…well…it sucked. Bad. This was really worse than he'd been expecting.

With the full onset of his seasonal hormones, the proper start to the Heat, his body had been sent into overdrive.

He feels almost gravid with the weight of rapidly developing eggs, swelling and dropping down his body in preparation for imminent laying. Although they're not nearly large enough to be visible, they're uncomfortable at best, striving to make his cycle impossible to ignore.

He's almost nest-bound with pre-laying cramps.Their presence had prompted near constant almost shock-like cramping down the length of his waist and tail, sensation ranging anywhere between agonisingly intense to almost pleasurable ache. It also made it impossible to remain in place anymore, as his tail shifted and curled restlessly in seek of relief he had no means to provide. The ache of it seemed to slow his every moment to a pained crawl, as his body screamed in protest of every movement.

Perhaps a temporary blessing and relief from the pain, (or so he supposed) Kaveh had also noticed as his mind began to fog, a dissociative haze settling like a thick blanket over his thoughts. He felt akin to a ghost overshadowing his own body- not quite there as his instincts slowly stripped the rationality from his mind.

Give it a few days, and Kaveh would be no different from the rest of the masses, craving nothing but base instinctual relief without a thought to the consequences.

He dreaded it.

As much as it made the pain more tolerable, it scared him, as it did every year, to become something foreign to even himself. 

Like every year since he'd reached maturity against the backdrop of the Sumeru Reef, he would endure. He would endure, and so he breathes through the pain and exhaustion and fear. He breathes, and with every inhale he can taste the heady warmth of his own pheromones. They saturate thickly amongst the waters of his own nest, and probably the entire territory by now. 

Kaveh might have found it in himself to be embarrassed- surely Alhaitham had been tasting him for hours now- if he were anything more than the base consistency of a limp sea cucumber at the present moment. His emotions muted by exhaustion, the haze, and the everything else.

Kaveh’s heat had just started, and already he was exhausted.

To put it lightly, Kaveh really doesn't feel up to any amount of physical exertion at the current moment. Unfortunately for him, however, Kaveh is also; hungry, hosting a body with several times the usual energy expenditure, and alone for the season. If he didn't want this to get any worse, he was required to get up and hunt something for himself. 

If he'd had a partner, chosen to do this the normal way, the fun way, he wouldn't have to, but nooo. Of course, this year he has made the operative decision to spend his season alone, so now he must get up if he wants to eat. 

Ugh.

Kaveh lets himself have another few moments of self pity: to regret every decision that had led to this moment, lodged amongst the coarse sand, before finally making to move. 

With a bone-weary whine, he hefts his face from the seafloor, and scrubs clinging sand off it. 

Even without his eyes open, the light drills a rattling drumbeat through the crevices of his skull. The sun burns through his eyelids, surely refracted across his nest via the skylight above- and for once he curses his artistic vision. Why did he decide he wanted light in his sleeping area? 

He cracks open his eyes, pushes himself upright, and regrets it when the his body tips sideways across the water. The world twists and turns around him, spinning in vertiginous circles. 

He closes his eyes. Pants. The world is working against him.

For a few moments he lets the water rasp through his gills- a slow deep pattern- until he feels moderately less like a fish tossed about a whirlpool. 

Not about to immediately give up and call it a day.

He re-opens his eyes. Flinches.

Ugh, still bright.

The vertigo has settled somewhat though. He’ll take what he can get.

He swims a short lap around his nest, ignoring the cramping as he stretches out his weighty limbs. Once he feels sufficiently like he's not about to break out into literally anything else, he turns gently, and- Swimming delicately to avoid the general ache up his tail (up his everything really) and makes his way outside the cavern.

“Right. Eat.” He murmurs aloud to himself. A reminder and a command at once.

Fuck. It's even brighter outside.

Squinting his eyes against the sparkling sand, beautiful but oh so deadly, Kaveh moves half-blindly forward, carefully making his way towards where he knows some of the slower schools like to gather. Or least they did in the mornings. It was still morning right?

“Where are you going?”

Kaveh startles, jolts, eyes snapping wide as whips around. He regrets it a mere moments later when he proceeds to temporarily blind himself, and his sore muscles choose that moment to scream in absolute agony. Regret regret regret regret.

“Fuck!” he grits, hisses “-give me some warning, Haitham!” He hastily flings a hand over sensitive eyes. His other hand comes up to rub at his forehead, where the pounding is steadily growing to a sizable migraine. He must be worse off than he'd thought, to not predict this.

From the gaps between his fingers, he sees Alhaitham pointedly ignore his perfectly reasonable request, the other mer's eyes narrowing in his direction.

“Where are you going?” He repeats. 

Kaveh would roll his eyes, if he didn't think it would significantly exacerbate the pain in his skull. “Where do you think?” He bravely removes the shelter from his eyes to gesture in the direction of the bright blurry flashes that he's been presuming to be a sizable school. “Food.” He replies.

Alhaitham huffs. 

“Kaveh, look to your left.”

Kaveh looks to his left. Squints. There's no fish at all, but he hadn't specified fish, only food. And to his left was food. Dood in the form of a small colony of plump-looking shrimp, seemingly herded before his nest. 

Kaveh stares.

These weren't here yesterday. Shouldn't be here. Kaveh narrows his eyes and watches as one of the shrimp does a delicious little circle around a rock, slow and fat and-

“No.” Kaveh says aloud- abruptly and loudly, before he can be tempted into something he will regret. From the corner of his eye he sees Alhaitham flinch. He tries not to less the rush of guilt overcome him.

Alhaitham needs to stop.

Kaveh knows, knows the other mer doesn't understand- doesn't feel the pull in the same way Kaveh's species does. Can't understand why Kaveh can't just stop being stubborn. That Kaveh can't put into words how he knows that if accepts a single gesture right now, he will break his own heart. That he's going to be carrying unfair expectations when he's inevitably pulled under. Expectations that will break him.

He needs to do this on his own, and Alhaitham needs to stop trying to provide for him. He's overstepping his boundaries again.

Kaveh can be willfully oblivious, he admits, but he isn't stupid. Seemingly herded is as good as confirmation here. Alhaitham is half the reason for his migraine right now, and the Shark needs to stop before Kaveh does something they’ll both regret.

“No.” Kaveh says once more. Repeats slowly, firmly, as much a reminder to himself as Alhaitham.

He reluctantly forces himself to tear his eyes away from the offering, and start moving away before he can give into temptation, into regret.

In the blurry light, beneath the haze of his lashes, he thinks he sees Alhaitham’s expression sour. There's definitely a frustrated tense to the others shoulder's, as Kaveh refuses so vehemently, but the other doesn't speak on it.

Kaveh also says nothing as the other mer silently trails him back towards his original goal- right back passed the pointedly neglected offering.

Thankfully, the shiny blur is indeed a whirl of silver fish, swimming in reflective tight circles that make Kaveh's brain curl and wither after them. He's tired just from the trip here, mouth wide to catch large gulps of water as he stares after the whirling movement.

He doesn't want to do this. 

Half wishes he'd just taken the damn shrimp.

Has to do this.

Thankfully, Kaveh is stubborn enough to power through almost anything, so he ignores the pointed focus of eyes on him, the way his body screams at him, the exhaustion that threatens to pull him still. It works, but not really.

Kaveh attempts to hunt. Attempts being the operative word.

Today is not a good day.

Kaveh has never spent a season partnerless before, and although he had prepared for this, somewhat, it shows. 

This is ten times worse of an experience than he'd expected. His body feels slow, heavy, achy and foreign. His limbs scream at him every time he attempts to coordinate them, and it takes him several tries to build up enough momentum to catch anything at all.

In the end he snatches a single fish on the average side. Not the most filling meal, but he's too tired and done and in far too much pain to care at all as he crams the whole thing down in minutes.

Alhaitham watches him the whole time, something Kaveh's distantly embarrassed about, but the shark mer doesn't say a word. The other watches him eat in peace, face blank, and only makes a low dissatisfied noise when Kaveh finishes and turns to head back to his nest, stomach still half empty. 

It's easily ignorable. The noise, not the stomach. His stomach is protesting and nauseous simultaneously.

Kaveh promises himself to make up for it next time. Surely he will feel much better after he has a nap.

Kaveh does not make up for it next time.

He does not feel better after sleeping, either. 

When he eventually emerges from the depths of his nest it is far past afternoon- probably (hopefully) of the same day- and the evening fish rush has long since passed. Kaveh doesn't even care.

His headache has somewhat subsided, and the light levels are more tolerable at this time, but that's the only good things he can say about being awake right now.

His skin itches, twists, with slowly rising need. Instead he has to hunt.

Kaveh trails out of his nest at a crawl, unsurprised to find Alhaitham up and about among the shoals once again. The other seems to be everywhere he looks these days.

Kaveh groans lowly as the other clearly catches his emergence in the currents, and promptly beelines towards him. 

Kaveh has a moment to look up to the surface and fortify himself. Clamp down on his traitorous heart, and the stupid desires that are out to ruin his life.

He carefully doesn't react when Alhaitham once again attempts to provide for him. Kaveh can't even muster up the willpower to be surprised, even as Alhaitham tries a new method- or rather a tried and true old method. Kaveh barely has a moment to himself before Alhaitham is back to shoving things into his face- this time a sizeable fish, one far larger than he'd attempted, or even larger than anything Alhaitham had chosen to present him with before. 

Kaveh glances down at the thing and sighs when his stomach chooses the moment to loudly protest. 

He idly wonders if Alhaitham is putting more effort into this than he'd previously assumed. For a catch this large, Kaveh himself would have specifically had to seek it out among the pack.

Unless Alhaitham’s natural advantage makes this easier? Do sharks have it easier with bigger catches? Likely, but enough to just coincidentally catch something of this size? It has implications, implications that Kaveh aggressively shuts down before he can consider too deeply. Instead he chooses to devote his dwindling energy to resisting the glorious, appetising, unsolicited offering. 

Kaveh spares a long, drawn out glance at the freshly gutted fish, large and bright, inhaling deeply the taste of fresh blood along his senses. His stomach protests once more, and he groans into the water.

Kaveh forces his head away. Moves pointedly passed Alhaitham. Ignores the frustrated sound from behind him.

The less said about his own hunting the better.

It becomes a pattern. 

The cycle repeats over and over. Kaveh leaves his nest to hunt and Alhaitham attempts to feed him out of some misguided sense of pity or maybe even patrionisation. Not everything can last, however.

Alhaitham loses his patience on the second (or third? Maybe third?) day, after five? separate subpar meals, and a missed one altogether. It’s something Kaveh really should have expected. Alhaitham has always been just as stubborn as Kaveh himself, and he really should have known the other wouldn't give up so easily.

He's too tired to expect it, however, when Kaveh fails in his hunt spectacularly. Again. His almost catch flails straight out from between his claws and smacks into his stomach as it flees. Of course, his stomach is currently gestating eggs and is sensitive as fuck, so it feels like a punch to the gut, and he promptly doubles over with a agonised hiss.

There's movement and Alhaitham is there, as he always is.

At this point, Kaveh is approaching the point of ferality, and his thoughts swim like molasses in his brain. He barely registers the unhappy look on Alhaitham’s face as he watches Kaveh pant into the open sea, blood on his claws but nothing to show for it.

Kaveh himself gives a frustrated shriek at the seafloor, tail seizing in a way that makes him want to cry. Fuck it, some distant part of him thinks.

"Fuck it." He says aloud.

In this moment his absolute exhaustion with this whole ordeal outweighs the ravenous demands of his stomach, and he couldn't care less. Kaveh gives up. He lets himself sink to the seafloor with a tiny whine, and buries his face into the sand.

Around him, he can feel the whirl of movement- his reefmate gliding around him rapid fast- but even soaked in the syrup slowness of his instincts, Alhaitham has never registered as any threat. Kaveh stays with his face pressed to the seabed for what feels like hours but was probably only minutes, until he feels the stir of movement at his side.

With an irritated noise, he lifts his head up, and low and behold, Alhaitham is offering him dinner. Kaveh does not move.

Alhaitham, as usual, thrusts the thing at him, testing his self restraint. But Kaveh refuses to take advantage of anyone, his stupid reefmate included, and so he shakes his head rapidly, and moves to rise. 

Alhaitham growls- a low, angry sound that has Kaveh freezing on instinct as A hand reaches out and grabs a hold of one of his own.

“Take it." Alhaitham says aloud, the vibrations of his growl still heavy on his tongue. "You haven't been eating properly, and clearly you can't provide for yourself."

He presses the catch between the space of their joined hands, attempting to curl Kaveh's own fingers around it.

Kaveh resists. His heart kicks up into a frantic best, and he tries to yank away his hand. It holds firm, tightly pressed beneath Alhaitham's own. Alhaitham is holding his hand. Kaveh wants to scream.

"N-no." He stutters aloud, answering both himself and his reefmate. He feels his tail twisting behind him into anxious, painful knots. He can't! He won't!

“Take it.” 

“No!”

"Take it!"

"No!"

At this point, Alhaitham seems to get tired of Kaveh's perfectly logical refusal, and cheats. “Fine.” he says instead.

He takes the fish back, and with a sharp motion of the wrist, he scours a deep line into the belly of his catch.

The thick scent of prey floods the space between them, flooding Kaveh's nostrils with the heady call of food  Kaveh can taste it on his tongue, and can hear his stomach answer it's call, loudly grumbling. Completely on instinct, his pupils widen as his mouth opens to savour the delicious scent-

-and that's when Alhaitham strikes. He shoves the whole thing into Kaveh's mouth.

Kaveh squeaks, chokes, and bites down out of habit, and finds his mouth flooded with food. 

He's not proud of what happens next.

As hungry as he is, he fails to resist the siren call, and then he is gone. Gone to a feeding frenzy, downing the prey without restraint, without another thought to resist.

Kaveh eats.

When he comes back to himself, Alhaitham is still sitting there watching him avidly. The only difference being that there is now the tiniest of smirks sitting there, pasted across his face. Kaveh carefully doesn't think it is the most attractive thing he's ever seen. Of course, it doesn't matter much when he's already lit up bright red in embarrassment upon realising what he had just done. 

The part of himself he'd been desperately hoping to suppressing- the part that aches to reach out and curl around Alhaitham, to press skin to skin and scale to scale, to claim and be claimed in turn- bubbles to the surface.

Pain and exhaustion be damned, Kaveh darts forward and flees before he can do anything even more embarrassing, like kiss that smirk away. 

After that, the dam breaks, and Alhaitham stops letting him attempt his own hunts at all. Every time he leaves his nest Alhaitham is there, a catch ready, holding it out to him with a face that makes it plain that he's perfectly willing to repeat his original trick if it will bring about his desired outcome. Kaveh doesn't want to repeat that, and technically he has already broken his promise not to accept any courting gestures from his reefmate while in season. It's too late anyways.

He takes the fish everytime, and pretends that he isn't lying to himself. That he isn't collapsing the walls he'd carved himself. 

He lets Alhaitham feed him, and pretends he doesn't care.

This works until it doesn't. Kaveh stops leaving his nest.

Chapter Text

There is sound outside the nest, a voice and gentle scraping, something that should ping as a threat threat threat but does not.

A voice- his mate?(His mate!?)- is calling his name from outside the nest.

Cracking an eye open against the sandbed, Kaveh trills. An acknowledgement and greeting all at once. He tries to make it sound enthusiastic, but it mostly comes off as sad and half pained.

Kaveh?

His mate doesn't come in. He continues talking outside, sounding oddly confused, and Kaveh is also confused. Why is he still outside? What is wrong? Did he not hear him? Maybe his mate hadn't heard him the first time, the other did have poor hearing. He thinks.

Kaveh musters up his voice and gives a louder, more enthusiastic chirp of acknowledgement. Surely his mate would have heard that?

Are you still half asleep? Why are you- nevermind, if you don't answer me I'm coming in.

Kaveh breathes and feels above him, the rustle of a large body enter his shelter. He makes yet another noise of greeting. He tilts his head to the side to see his mate slide through the entrance, looking upset and oddly tentative. Why were they upset? Were they unhappy with the nest? With Kaveh? Maybe it was the decorations. Kaveh hadn't prepared properly. If he just readjusts-

Kaveh attempts to lever himself up, despite every one of his limbs screaming at him, and makes it halfway before his shoulder burns (ow!) and arms give up and he slowly sinks back down to the seabed. He doesn't have time for this, he needs to- With an annoyed huff, he attempts again. He barely starts before and arm sneaks beneath and around him to lift him instead.

His gills rasp at the sudden rush of water and he stares blankly, dizzy and unfocused for a long moment. Hands adjust him.

He reorientates to find himself held up by hands under his arms, to find himself being examined like a freshly caught fish under his mate's appraising eyes. The horrible horrible downturn of his mate's mouth turns further. Kaveh droops. It's not his nest is it? It's him. His mate is unhappy with him.

Hands juggle him again, one leaving and adjusting to briefly cup his face instead.

You're feverish.

Kaveh watches the shape of the words, the unhappy twist of the lips that firm them, but fails to comprehend. His mate makes a short sharp noise, even more unhappy, and Kaveh flinches. He droops further.

I shouldn't have believed you when you promised you'd be fine. You never are. 

His mate gently lowers him back to the soft floor of his nest, and removes (stay) his hands. His mate turns to leave (stay!). Turns to leave him! He hadn't even realised he'd been missing his mate, he couldn't leave now!

Kaveh wheezes, starts with an alarmed chirp, and attempts to scramble up once more. An arm bats away reaching arms, and shoves him firmly right back into the nest.

Don't go!

Don't get up. I'll be back. 

Don't go!

I need to leave Kaveh. I'll be back soon.

Don't go!

You’re sick and I need you to eat something. I won't be long, just stay put.

The tone softens, and from his position face first in the dirt, Kaveh swears that a hand threads through his hair. His mate leaves (leaves!) Anyway. 

Kaveh buries his face back against the softness of the nest and keens, for a second or minutes or hours, as time twists and turns outside the trappings of rationality. An eternity coalesced into a second seems to pass before there is the vibration of movement outside the nest, something that should be a threat but is not.

Someone (His Mate!?) is calling his name, and Kaveh barely has time to chirp a tired greeting before he feels the water ripple with the second mer's entrance.

The rich taste of blood trails behind him, coating thickly against his tongue. He cracks an eye open, rolling against his nest to face his mate. 

He's so tired.

His stomach growls in hunger, but also roils at the thought of eating, and Kaveh drops his eye back closed. He hisses faintly.

"Tired.” His mouth forms, murmurs quietly, and the word tastes foreign against his lips. He hears his mate begin to respond, voice quiet and steady protests, but the words slip from his grasp as quickly as they'd come, and Kaveh cannot comprehend.

Kaveh you need to eat.

Kaveh grumbles a high pitched whine, tilting his head away when something prods at the pressed seam of his lips.

We've already done this routine.

The voice sounds fond.

Don't be difficult. Just take the food Kaveh. 

A hand reaches for his chin, and gently tilts it back. A second hand comes to touch, until Kaveh's cheeks are cradled firmly between the gentle hands of his mate. Despite the touch being cool, the pinpoint of contact seems to burn against his face, and his tail beats a single frantic note against the seabed. His eyes shoot open to stare into turquoise and red and Kaveh stares and stares and stares-

-and blinks. There is no touch, no eyes, and a fish in his claws. When had it gotten there? Kaveh lifts it. Had he…caught it? But when? 

He loses track. The fish is suddenly between teeth, and his mouth fills with the delicacy of flesh. He takes a bite.

It turns out he was in fact very hungry, because he musters up the jaw strength for another bite immediately.

Kaveh eats.

You don't have to wolf it down, there's still more.

His mate’s (Mate! Oh that's where the food had come from!) voice sounds from his left and Kaveh finds his head turning on instinct, to meet the other mer's eyes. His mate is watching him, eyes intense with something Kaveh can't name nor process, and he's not eating. He's not eating.

Kaveh freezes in place, mouth half full, and stares back up at his mate. He glances down at his food, and back up at his mate, and his hands raise to-

His mate raises another catch (where did that come from) and takes a bite before Kaveh can even begin to offer. He doesn't break eye contact.

Kaveh grumbles and goes back to eating.

When he is finished- and he thinks that it took longer than it should have, that fish kept appearing in his claws- his mate comes back into his space, tilting his face back with careful fingers. He hears the faint murmur of words, too quiet to be for Kaveh, and then the cool touch pulls away. He maybe makes a noise after it, but it goes unanswered. Kaveh is pushed back into the nest (-when did he ever leave it?). 

Kaveh makes another mournful noise as the swish of movement leaves him, but he is full, warm and so so tired. His eyes slip closed without his consent and-

He blinks and- 

"Eat, Kaveh."

He blinks and- 

He launches himself at his mate, grabs and twists them both down to the nest. Caught off guard, his mate lands on his back, and Kaveh slots himself smugly across the the hard plane of the mer's chest.

He latches on even as his mate attempts to pry him off, a loud purr vibrating against the current.

"Kaveh-"

his mate protests, but Kaveh ignores it. All is as it should be. He blinks and-

Kaveh moves to twist his tail together with his mate, and whines as the other pulls away.

You didn't consent to that

But he wants it. Please.

No. You're not in your right mind right now.

Please.

Kaveh starts to purr as hands cup his face.

I would never take advantage of you Kaveh. 

Kaveh doesn't understand, but there is love in his voice and hands  pulling him gently to down to cuddle and Kaveh is content for now. He ignores the itch- it's fine- his mate is happy and he is happy and everything is as it should be.

Kaveh blinks and-

Kaveh cannot sleep. He doesn't know why. He is safe in his nest, and his mate is curled to his side, but something- something is off. Kaveh blinks in the dark and-

He is well fed, well provided for, and safe in the company. 

Perhaps it is something to do with work- his work...his work as an architect... A broke architect that- oh. Oh. It's not to do with work at all.

Like the final stone of a new wall being cemented into place, Kaveh blinks back to reality, the last of the haze floating away. Suddenly the scales pressed to his own are not those of his mate at all, but those of-

"Alhaitham?" He realises aloud.

-his reefmate. Kaveh makes to sit up. "Alhaitham?" He repeats, a touch louder, and the tail against his own shifts. A hand gently presses him back to the bedding, back against that solid length of scale. Alhaitham hums. "Go back to sleep Kaveh, " he says.

Kaveh freezes, opens his mouth to- to- to do something, but a gentle firm hand gently soothes down his side and it's comforting, more than it reasonably should be. Perhaps he's not completely free of his season. It's so comforting, and Kaveh is so tired, and Alhaitham is here by his side. Maybe Alhaitham's idea has merit, maybe he'd like to pretend.

Kaveh lets himself indulge in the ministrations, settling back into the bedding and let's his body settle adrift once more.

He drifts to dreams of teal and red and gentle hands and eyes that watch so gently. Of grandious nests and corals and quiet moments of love.

When he wakes up again, he is alone.