Even after weathering through the storm, facing impending doom and the world's end together, they still find themselves back on familiar ground again at home, returning to their customary mundane bickering. Some old habits don't really change, after all, even with affection :")
Kaveh is, understandably, distressed at seeing the house in complete disarray. While Alhaitham agrees that it isn't ideal (in CN, it's more obvious that he's not completely unaffected since he says "确实麻烦 / Quèshí máfan / It is indeed troublesome"), but as these are all material things that can be easily fixed, he's not as upset about seeing the (expected) mess. Their house still stands relatively intact, after all, and more importantly, they're both still here together in their home, unhurt, safe and alive. Considering they had survived the major upheavals in Sumeru and Irminsul literally burning down in the past weeks, broken furniture, fallen paintings and torn books are a comparatively small price to pay.
I don't think Kaveh would disagree with this line of reasoning, but of course Alhaitham, being Alhaitham, prefers being cryptic instead of sharing all of that lol. So Kaveh, being Kaveh, becomes more upset because how could Alhaitham not be just as (if not more so) visibly disheartened about his own house—their house!!—being in shambles? The place that not only provides them physical comfort and safety, but that also holds all their precious items and memories of their past with their families?
But this is just how Kaveh is; he frets and worries aloud because he processes his whirl of emotions and anxieties by voicing them, and he especially doesn't hold back all the details when airing his grievances to Alhaitham. In contrast, Alhaitham is simply one who processes his thoughts and feelings internally first, and even though it might seem like he's internalizing or suppressing his emotions, he isn't. He's still very much in touch with his own emotions and takes them in stride. But because he tends to be placid and more composed with his outward expressions, he can sometimes come across as intellectualizing his emotions, or that he cares only about "rationality" (also untrue).
Since the way they process emotions differ from each other, it's to be expected that they would clash over their reactions towards the current state of the house. To the point where Kaveh becomes exasperated about Alhaitham's seemingly lack of (aesthetic and emotional) sensibilities, grousing about how it's always a massive pain to discuss sentimental things and matters of the heart with him.
Speaking of "sentimental things", I do have to complain a little about how a certain word/phrase was translated in EN. Don't get me wrong—for most part, I think the EN translations in this epilogue scene are mostly good and read just fine. It's just that I personally think translating "感情 / gǎnqíng" to "sentimental things/your sentimentality" is an odd choice (maybe the EN translators were trying to draw parallels/link it back to the "sentiments that lay between them" line Alhaitham used back in the conversation with Thoth when describing the friendship between the three God-Kings).
"感情" is a pretty common word which simply means "emotion/feeling/sentiment", "emotional attachment" or just "relationship". Depending on the context, it's used to describe the close emotional bonds between people, which can be either platonic/familial or romantic in nature (e.g. the bond between parent and child; between colleagues or friends; or the romantic attachment and affections between lovers). It's also used to describe (positive) business relationships.
So on its own, translating "感情" as "sentimentality" isn't wrong per se, but I feel that it's inaccurate within the context of Kaveh and Alhaitham's conversation. Because why would Kaveh harp on about sentimental things (and how these things are an important and essential aspect of making a real home together), only to suddenly turn around and feel bad when Alhaitham mentions it back to him? Why would Kaveh then not want to dwell on his "sentimentality"? Especially when one of his major gripes is that Alhaitham tends to be too detached and aloof (because Kaveh knows that Alhaitham is just as capable of feeling deeply about certain things—he's just very selective about showing it). With that context in mind, I personally feel that the flow of the conversation in EN doesn't read as well in that moment and it made it seem like only a one-sided sentimentality from Kaveh's end.
I found some screencaps with the CN text and I'll share them here for posterity; from the CN lines, I do think that they aren't simply talking about sentimental things, but specifically about the complicated feelings (both the good and the bad) between them, and the emotional attachment they still harbour towards each other:
Kaveh: 所以我才一直说，跟你讨论感情问题就是自讨苦吃。唉, 你根本就不明白真正的家需要多少细节…
This is why I've always said discussing about feelings/relationship matters with you is just asking for trouble. *Sighs* You simply don't understand how much thought and effort goes into making a proper home…
Alhaitham: 听起来，这些事让你很痛苦。
It sounds like these things are causing you a lot of pain.
Kaveh: 房子还是挂画 ?
The house? Or the paintings?
Alhaitham: 讨论感情问题。
Discussing about (our) feelings/relationship matters.
Kaveh: 呃，是吧…我暂时不打算想那么细。
Uh, well, yes... But I'd rather not dwell too deeply on that right now.
Lol honestly, this whole conversation can basically be summarised as:-
🏛️: Everything is in shambles yet it seems like you hardly care! This is why it's a pain to talk to you about feelings, you don't understand and appreciate how much goes into making a place a home.
🌱: Actually, I think we should address our feelings about our situationship relationship first.
🏛️: uHHHHhhh yeah ok let's…um, not talk about that yet…h-haha...
Still, even if Kaveh falls back on denial again (lol) and isn't quite ready to talk about it yet with Alhaitham, I love how this scene confirms what I'd always thought about—that he's not actually oblivious to his own feelings (and Alhaitham's feelings) with regard to their current relationship and the underlying sentiments that remain between them. And, this is just my own interpretation from the CN voice-acting/their expressions and body language (and maybe I'm reading too much into the subtext), but I do think that Alhaitham is also implicitly letting Kaveh know that he doesn't have to force himself to put up with Alhaitham's personality (since Kaveh's always complaining about it...) or continue to stay with him if it only gives Kaveh pain and misery.
"When anguish becomes the norm, people usually attempt to improve their situation".
While Kaveh agrees with part of it, he's also able to acknowledge that he too, like Alhaitham, is someone who might not be able to change so easily nor can he force it to happen either; that perhaps, Kaveh himself has grown too used to being around Alhaitham again and even finds comfort in his steady presence. Because alongside this "anguish", Kaveh still finds "inspiration". Much how like how their contradictory views gives rise to more speculation and philosophy, or how Kaveh tends to find solace in pain and suffering in his pursuit of his ideals, of art. Kaveh is even able to admit that he's come to rely upon it (anguish, Alhaitham) sometimes, not only as a grounding force but as motivation to continue persevering.
And that's why Alhaitham looks happy. Even if he sounds as though he's only teasing his senior (all in good-humour!! because can Alhaitham ever not be sassy and cheeky with his senior? lol), he is genuinely happy for Kaveh for making this decision for himself and choosing to stand firm by it.
Alhaitham also did take Kaveh's earlier gripes to heart, how sometimes even the littlest gestures and sensibility can mean a difference to the other person, when he offers to put the box holding Kaveh's important items and childhood mementos (his inks and old sketches, and his mother's old diary) back into Kaveh's bedroom. Something that I suppose both of them might have avoided so far until now—handling each others' most treasured and personal possessions.
And Kaveh does the same for Alhaitham in return too, when he glances through the fallen books (most of which are from his late grandmother and parents' personal libraries, and likely all that Alhaitham has left of his family), recognising how some are out-of-print collections, and he decides to help clean and repair the ones with torn pages because Kaveh understands just how much Alhaitham cherishes his books.
It's honestly been such a journey seeing these little changes in their relationship throughout all the events since 3.2—from the belligerent tension and scholarly hostility whenever they clash and argue, to the annoyingly petty but still-playful banters, and then the blink-and-you'll-miss moments of a gentler kind of affection and camaraderie that's gradually blooming between them once more.
These two will always, always hold a special place in my heart :') ❤︎
