kaveh snapping at alhaitham for buying another ugly wood carving⊠except he forgot it was his birthday đ
read my short fic on twitter here or see more below! đ«¶
â
âThis looks absolutely nothing like me!â Kaveh snaps at the rough-out Aranara carving that suddenly shows up one morning, looking so blonde and angry.
Alhaitham comes out of his room at this moment and walks over to their common shelf where the architect stands.
Kaveh has a meeting with a particularly frustrating client today and heâs feeling so anxious that he cannot help but snaps at Alhaitham too, âHow many times do I have to tell you not to bring ugly wood carvings into our home!?â
Alhaitham looks at Kaveh, his lips tightens. Something unfathomable flashes across his eyes and disappears just as suddenly.
âDo whatever you want with it then,â Alhaitham says finally after an awkward silence. Then he grabs his key from the shelf and turns his back to walk towards the front door without saying another word.
Kaveh looks at him leaving the house in puzzlement. It is not a rare occasion to see the Scribe not bothering to argue with him but Alhaitham never walks away after saying only one sentence before. He looks as if heâs angry or evenâŠpouting? Kaveh is not sure if that word can describe Alhaitham.
Maybe Kaveh did something wrong? He gasps at the thought.
Is it because the smell of the cream soup he made yesterday was too strong? Or maybe it was the fact that the house is now so messy because heâs in the middle of tidying up things? Or maybe he moved or touched some books he wasnât supposed to?
Kaveh ends up thinking for the whole day. He even spaces out during the clientâs meeting and almost drops the model when he tries to present his plan.
He thinks and thinks but nothing comes to his mind. They have been on unusually pretty good terms lately, so he cannot think of something recent that might have made Alhaitham upset.
Kaveh is so deep in thought he almost bumps into Collei on the way home.
âAh! Sorry!â Kaveh exclaims then realizes who it is, âCollei! I didnât know you were in town today!â
Somehow, the trainee Forest Ranger looks shocked to see him. She quickly picks up something that fell to the ground when they bumped into each other earlier. Kaveh catches a glimpse of a small green box with yellow ribbon before Collei swiftly hides it behind her back.
âItâs so good to see you! Wanna grab something to eat?â Kaveh asks, ignoring her suspicious behavior. Heâs not ready to go home just yet, not when he still hasnât figured out what he did wrong.
âUh, sorry I have somewhere to be today,â Collei replies nervously, avoiding to meeting his eyes, âIf you will excuse me, I really need to get going.â
Then she takes off before he can say another word.
Kaveh ruffles his hair in confusion. What is going on today?
After wandering around aimlessly for a while, he decides that he has no other place to go except the good old Lambadâs Tavern.
He sits down at a table and orders a drink even though itâs merely 5PM.
âHey, Kaveh!â Lambad shouts his name from behind the counter, âThat oneâs on the house! Happy Birthday!â
Oh. Shit.
A realization strikes him like a bolt of lightning.
âHow could I forget!â he cries, standing up abruptly, âIt is my birthday!â
He tells Lambad that heâll take a raincheck on that glass of wine before leaving the tavern. Kaveh rushes home as fast as he can and finds Alhaitham standing in front of the shelf with the Aranara carving on one hand and a bag on another.
Alhaitham raises his eyebrows when he sees Kaveh practically flying from the front door.
âNo, waitâ-â Kaveh tries to catch his breath, âD-donât throw that away!â
âOh?â Alhaitham puts down the Aranara and turns to face the architect. âSeems like you finally remember something.â
âSorry for what I said this morning,â Kaveh blurts out, âI know it sounds like an excuse but that clientâs project kept me frustrated all night and I shouldnât have taken it on you.â
Alhaitham looks at him silently.
âAlright, alright,â Kaveh puts two hands in the air, âI apologize for calling it ugly.â
The Scribe lets out a chuckle right this second. It is clear that he does not intend put up any fights with Kaveh on his birthday.
Alhaitham hands him the Aranara in question and asks, âWill you also stop calling my other wood carvings ugly?â
âWell, I wouldnât go that far,â Kaveh replies with a beaming smile. His eyes light up as he takes the wooden figure in his hands.
Alhaitham gives him birthday presents every year but they are usually books or drafting tools. This is the first time Kaveh has received something custom-made. Well, from anyone, really.
âI donât know whatâs gotten into me this morning,â he mumbles, feeling the rough wood under his fingers. âSure, it looks a bit cruder than that one in your bedroom which I kind of like, but the more you look at it, the morâ- Hey!â
âI changed my mind,â Alhaitham announces with a straight face, the Aranara is now back to his hand. âIâm taking it back.â
Kaveh blinks.
âWhat did you just say!?â he raises his voice.
âI donât see any reasons why it should be in the possession of someone who doesnât appreciate it,â he replies simply while putting the wooden figure in the bag, then starts to walk to the entrance hall.
âHow do you know I donât appreciate it!?â Kaveh follows him, trying so hard not to yell at his back, âThis is ridiculous! You just gave it to me literally a second ago!â
That does not make Alhaitham slow down one bit. In the heat of the moment, Kaveh charges at him without thinking.
Next thing he knows, they are both on the floor with Alhaitham being beneath him. He quickly snatches the bag from the Scribeâs hand and sits up.
âHa!â Kaveh exclaims, raising it in the air in victory. âYou cannot walk away from me this time! Donât you know that itâs rude to take back what you have given!?â
When there isnât any response, Kaveh glances down, only to see that Alhaitham is covering his face laughing.
Kaveh looks at this scene in disbelief.
âWere you just teasing me!?â he asks with a high-pitched voice, âOh my god, who are you? What have you done to my Alhaitham?â
âI couldnât help,â he is still laughing, âYou shouldâve seen your face.â
Itâs extremely rare for Kaveh to see a silly side of Alhaitham, let alone seeing him laughing like this. Kaveh stares dazedly at him, completely forgetting why he was mad in the first place.
âYou can have the Aranara,â Alhaitham says with a smile, âWill you get off me now? Although I donât really mindâ-â
Kaveh interrupts this sentence with a cough, just realizing what a dangerous position they are in. He shifts to move out of the way, but at this moment, a small piece of paper falls of the bag and lands on Alhaithamâs chest.
The Scribeâs eyes widen as he moves to reach for it, but Kaveh is quicker.
Seeing whatâs on there, he is speechless.
Alhaitham covers his face again, but his ears are turning visibly red. The worse thing is, Kaveh can also feel his face burning too.
âYou carved this,â he asks softly, âfor me?â
After a while, Alhaitham admits with a sigh, âYes.â
Kaveh is dumbfounded. He assumed that it was merely a commission. Never has he ever thought Alhaitham would go that far to do something like this for him.
âThatâs why youâve been coming home late for the past week!â Kaveh just remembers how unusual it was when he said that he needed to work overtime.
âYou knowing this wasnât part of the plan, I was too careless.â he says flatly and decides to pull himself up, unintentionally getting closer to Kaveh. âNow itâs good time for you to forget you have seen that workshop receipt.â
âNuh-uh,â Kaveh pokes his chest, âThis Aranara is now worth a million mora to me.â
âYou have just burdened yourself with a new enormous debt thenâ Alhaitham teases.
âHey!â
âI think wood craving has grown on me.â Alhaitham smiles, âSo Iâm afraid youâll have to put up with these ugly figurines for now.â
âCome on, they are not that ugly,â Kaveh chuckles, âBut we do need to set up a proper corner for them so they donât disrupt the current aesthetic.â
The Scribe canât help but roll his eyes at this comment.
âSeriously though, thank youâ Kaveh softly touches his shoulder and looks directly into his eyes, âItâs the first time someone did something so special for me. I will always treasure it.â
The Scribe stares back at him and without a warning, Alhaitham pulls him into his arms and whispers to his hair, âHappy Birthday, Kaveh.â
After that, Collei, along with Cyno and Tighnari, burst open their front door right when they are still hugging in the hallway. Kavehâs face turns as red as a tomato as Alhaitham helps him up on his feet.
The night cannot be more perfect. The house is filled with the smell of good food, laughers and joy. His most favorite dishes are laid out on the table and the gifts are waiting for him to open. Wine never tastes better and even Cynoâs jokes are funnier than usual.
Kaveh watches as everyone starts to eat and cheerfully discuss about what games they are going to play tonight. His heart aches a bit thinking of how much he does not want to ever lose this; his friends, his happiness, his home.
And when his eyes accidentally meet with Alhaithamâs, he cannot help but wonder, would things turn out differently if he hadnât met the Scribe at the tavern that night where he had taken Kaveh in?
He tries harder now to stay happy, to actually listen to some of Alhaithamâs advice, the sensible ones at least.
âDonât burden yourself with something unnecessary from the past and from the futureâ, he would say.
So instead of dwelling on the past regrets and unknown future, Kaveh thinks he is ready now to find comfort in the present happiness.
Some Pokemon fans really need a sense of humor. I'm sorry but after years of people wanting dunsparce to get an epic evolution only for it to evolve into a slightly longer version of itself and its called fucking dundunsparce is the funniest shit ever and y'all won't admit it
ROWLET CAKE ROWLET CAKE!!!! The frosting is matcha flavored! This piece was based on those vintage 80's style cakes I kept finding on Instagram. The checkerboard pattern in the background is a tablecloth that I scanned. You can buy this print on my Etsy.
This is easily one of my favorite illustrations I made last year ahahaha which is why I got really obnoxious with the tags. (Sorry) Been thinking about sharing some of my process work to show how this materialized.
discoholicmusic
gummygunk
snowghoul
titsay
