You can find the fic summary and tags here. Below is a snippet from the chapter.** Enjoy!
** This chapter is explicit, but the snippet is not!
"I lied," Alhaitham says, one week later.
"About what?" Kaveh asks, feet kicked up over the other's lap. Aggressively. Alhaitham tried to push them off several times before giving up. They're both on the divan, Alhaitham leaning back on the cushions with a book in hand. (Something about Deshretian language. It sounds boring. They should talk about it over dinner later, see if Alhaitham can convince him otherwise.)
Alhaitham fixes Kaveh with those two-toned eyes of his before shrugging and going back to his reading.
"Hey! Tell me!" Kaveh kicks a foot indignantly. Alhaitham makes a face and (unsuccessfully) attempts to shove Kaveh off him again. "Don't bring something up and leave me hanging!"
"Surely you can figure it out."
"Who the hell can guess based on something so vague? Just tell me."
Alhaitham sighs, but it's the too-shallow kind that Kaveh's learned means he's actually amused, and so it's more like his approximation of a chuckle. "Back when I ordered the soup. I lied."
"Oh my god," Kaveh says, "I knew it. Nobody in their right mind would—"
"You are my type," Alhaitham says, flipping a page. "Painfully, regrettably, exactly my type."
Kaveh feels his breath pulled out from inside him. All he can do is try not to squawk in shock as his heart does a whole gymnast's routine against his ribcage. He looks at the man in front of him and tries to process that, somehow, he has become someone's… well, not everything, but something.
When he manages to get his wits about him again, all he manages to say is, "So, wait, the soup part is real, though? The — the no soup part?"
Alhaitham laughs in that low rumbling way, and Kaveh can feel it in his toes. (They're very close to Alhaitham's chest!)
You can find the fic summary and tags here. Below is a snippet from the chapter.** Enjoy!
** This chapter is explicit, but the snippet is not!
"I lied," Alhaitham says, one week later.
"About what?" Kaveh asks, feet kicked up over the other's lap. Aggressively. Alhaitham tried to push them off several times before giving up. They're both on the divan, Alhaitham leaning back on the cushions with a book in hand. (Something about Deshretian language. It sounds boring. They should talk about it over dinner later, see if Alhaitham can convince him otherwise.)
Alhaitham fixes Kaveh with those two-toned eyes of his before shrugging and going back to his reading.
"Hey! Tell me!" Kaveh kicks a foot indignantly. Alhaitham makes a face and (unsuccessfully) attempts to shove Kaveh off him again. "Don't bring something up and leave me hanging!"
"Surely you can figure it out."
"Who the hell can guess based on something so vague? Just tell me."
Alhaitham sighs, but it's the too-shallow kind that Kaveh's learned means he's actually amused, and so it's more like his approximation of a chuckle. "Back when I ordered the soup. I lied."
"Oh my god," Kaveh says, "I knew it. Nobody in their right mind would—"
"You are my type," Alhaitham says, flipping a page. "Painfully, regrettably, exactly my type."
Kaveh feels his breath pulled out from inside him. All he can do is try not to squawk in shock as his heart does a whole gymnast's routine against his ribcage. He looks at the man in front of him and tries to process that, somehow, he has become someone's… well, not everything, but something.
When he manages to get his wits about him again, all he manages to say is, "So, wait, the soup part is real, though? The — the no soup part?"
Alhaitham laughs in that low rumbling way, and Kaveh can feel it in his toes. (They're very close to Alhaitham's chest!)
my tumblrinas, since i love y'all the most (don't tell twitter), what are we thinking for my next fic update?
to my bones - hkvh
you've got 'fine' written all over you(r car) - hkvh
teal was the color of your eyes - hkvh (nobody pick this pls it's hard to write)
secret fourth answer - kaebedo
Voting ended onJun 4
(note: not including worst in the business bc it's wrapping up on friday)
fic descriptions for context 👇
to my bones: ghost alhaitham x renovator kaveh. a little spooky n atmospheric, with some humor.
you've got 'fine' written all over you(r car): police chief alhaitham x illegal parking kaveh. romcom. they just moved in together last chapter!
teal was the color of your eyes: modern-ish au dual timeline alhaitham x kaveh fic. alhaitham moved on, kaveh didn't, and years later, they meet again and relearn each other. the story also delves into the past to show how they grew apart.
secret fourth answer (kaebedo): romcom. only 2 chapters, just needs some editing.
hi hi, just sliding in your asks to say that hopefully you don't mind me spam commenting your fics recently ':) (it's me, im bookie_ninja on ao3 lmao). i've just really enjoyed your work 💕
a fragment from sky, earth, rumble is now written down in my inspiration notebook. as a reminder that maybe sometimes less is more.
hope you have a great day!
oh trust me, spam commenting is the opposite of a bad time lolol! I always love hearing that one of my stories was enjoyed, there's nothing like getting those emails that show someone couldn't put them down.
omg 🥹🥹 that's cool and i'm honored?? really awesome, i hope it brings a smile to ur face whenever u see it 💕💕
Chapter 4 of Worst in the business is out on ao3! :)
Things get spicy~!
You can find the fic summary and tags here. Below is a snippet from the chapter. Enjoy!
There are boons to the new system that got Kaveh banned.
Namely: Alhaitham Bahati is sitting at one star. (He's close to two — though he's gotten several zero star reviews from other dashers, which is nothing short of hilarious.)
Since Alhaitham's rating is scraping the bottom of the barrel, no other self-respecting delivery workers in the area pick up his morning coffee order, leaving it for Kaveh. Perfect.
Kaveh picks up the drinks and arrives at the house with glee.
"Good morning," he says as the door opens. He takes in Alhaitham's horrible bedhead, the droopy look of his eyes, and his slouched posture. "Or not?"
"Mornings are never good," Alhaitham supplies. His voice is rumbly, like he's just rolled out of bed. It makes Kaveh shiver in all the right ways.
Kaveh drops a latte in his waiting hands. "Explains why you ordered two." He watches as Alhaitham pops the lid off his cup.
"Hm." He replaces it with a frown. "You've ruined the latte art."
Before Kaveh can react — is he supposed to apologize for latte art getting ruined by, like, basic physics? They argue about this every other morning — Alhaitham nods to the other cup.
With a great sigh, Kaveh pops the lid off this one, too. As expected, the foam is all in disarray.
"That's disappointing."
"Well, what did you expect? For it to be different this time?"
"Is that so much to ask for?" Alhaitham looks so put out that Kaveh's retort dies on his tongue. The man looks so tired and... and…
"Um," Kaveh says, "if you have a pitcher, I guess I could… redo it for you?"
"That's not in your job description," Alhaitham points out. But after a beat, he steps aside. "Come in. I'll show you to the kitchen."
Kaveh follows him through the house, thinking about anything other than the fact that he's still on the clock and that this is not something he should be doing. Which isn't actually hard to do, because what the hell? Alhaitham's furniture is hideous to take in.
Kaveh points to the ugly carving sitting on the bookshelf. It has equally atrocious friends scattered around the living room. "What is this? It's so ugly."
"That is an Aranara. Surely you learned about them in preschool."
The moment Alhaitham assembles a pitcher, a frother, and a carton of milk on the counter, Kaveh gets to work. In a matter of a few minutes, in which they bicker about the merits of aesthetic taste, he's pouring the last of the foam over the second cup, tidying up the edges of the decorative feather he's created.
"There. See? All fixed."
Alhaitham takes the cup in hand, peering down at the art for a few moments. Then he takes a good, long drag of coffee, but not before swirling the cup.
Kaveh is dumbfounded. "You can't be serious."
"It's good." Alhaitham slides the other cup towards him. "Thank you."
"I just fixed the art! You whined about it!"
"It was nice. You looked very focused."
Kaveh shakes his head. "What are you playing at?" he asks. Two coffees... but Alhaitham normally orders one. And now he's teasing him. He let Kaveh into the house without arguing about the practicality of it even once.
But… no. Kaveh's got to be reading this totally wrong, right?
Chapter 4 of Worst in the business is out on ao3! :)
Things get spicy~!
You can find the fic summary and tags here. Below is a snippet from the chapter. Enjoy!
There are boons to the new system that got Kaveh banned.
Namely: Alhaitham Bahati is sitting at one star. (He's close to two — though he's gotten several zero star reviews from other dashers, which is nothing short of hilarious.)
Since Alhaitham's rating is scraping the bottom of the barrel, no other self-respecting delivery workers in the area pick up his morning coffee order, leaving it for Kaveh. Perfect.
Kaveh picks up the drinks and arrives at the house with glee.
"Good morning," he says as the door opens. He takes in Alhaitham's horrible bedhead, the droopy look of his eyes, and his slouched posture. "Or not?"
"Mornings are never good," Alhaitham supplies. His voice is rumbly, like he's just rolled out of bed. It makes Kaveh shiver in all the right ways.
Kaveh drops a latte in his waiting hands. "Explains why you ordered two." He watches as Alhaitham pops the lid off his cup.
"Hm." He replaces it with a frown. "You've ruined the latte art."
Before Kaveh can react — is he supposed to apologize for latte art getting ruined by, like, basic physics? They argue about this every other morning — Alhaitham nods to the other cup.
With a great sigh, Kaveh pops the lid off this one, too. As expected, the foam is all in disarray.
"That's disappointing."
"Well, what did you expect? For it to be different this time?"
"Is that so much to ask for?" Alhaitham looks so put out that Kaveh's retort dies on his tongue. The man looks so tired and... and…
"Um," Kaveh says, "if you have a pitcher, I guess I could… redo it for you?"
"That's not in your job description," Alhaitham points out. But after a beat, he steps aside. "Come in. I'll show you to the kitchen."
Kaveh follows him through the house, thinking about anything other than the fact that he's still on the clock and that this is not something he should be doing. Which isn't actually hard to do, because what the hell? Alhaitham's furniture is hideous to take in.
Kaveh points to the ugly carving sitting on the bookshelf. It has equally atrocious friends scattered around the living room. "What is this? It's so ugly."
"That is an Aranara. Surely you learned about them in preschool."
The moment Alhaitham assembles a pitcher, a frother, and a carton of milk on the counter, Kaveh gets to work. In a matter of a few minutes, in which they bicker about the merits of aesthetic taste, he's pouring the last of the foam over the second cup, tidying up the edges of the decorative feather he's created.
"There. See? All fixed."
Alhaitham takes the cup in hand, peering down at the art for a few moments. Then he takes a good, long drag of coffee, but not before swirling the cup.
Kaveh is dumbfounded. "You can't be serious."
"It's good." Alhaitham slides the other cup towards him. "Thank you."
"I just fixed the art! You whined about it!"
"It was nice. You looked very focused."
Kaveh shakes his head. "What are you playing at?" he asks. Two coffees... but Alhaitham normally orders one. And now he's teasing him. He let Kaveh into the house without arguing about the practicality of it even once.
But… no. Kaveh's got to be reading this totally wrong, right?
"Why," he asks, making sure his glare is particularly scathing, "did you order your soup, and I quote, 'without the broth?'"
"It's how I eat it while reading," Alhaitham replies, which — is frankly an insane thing to say. Like, generally.
Or: Alhaitham orders increasingly ridiculous deliveries... and Kaveh, his Doridasher, is collateral damage.
Read it on ao3 here!
A snippet is below!
Oh, not again, Kaveh thinks, seeing an order ping on his app.
He bites down the annoyance that rushes through him as he reads the details.
Alhaitham Bahati is the bane of Kaveh's part-time Doridashing career. He gives excellent tips. But any time he finds fault in Kaveh's delivery methods — and he always does, somehow — he also leaves a 3-star review.
Can Kaveh, financially, live on 3 stars? Absolutely. Can he, morally, conceptually, philosophically, accept anything like mediocrity when he has high-achiever inclinations? No. Hell, no.
This month has become a test of Kaveh's patience. Just last week, Alhaitham ordered skewers from a food stall in the bazaar — five minutes before said food stall was set to close. And he had extremely specific, bizarre instructions, to boot.
("News flash," Kaveh said after Alhaitham chastised him for failing to confirm that five grams of spices, precisely, were used for each skewer, "you're lucky you even got your ridiculous order. The stall owner yelled at me over it!"
"And how is that my concern?" Alhaitham had answered. He even frowned, as if Kaveh's words were a great bother to him. "You accepted the order. It's your job to fulfill it.")
Kaveh is certain that today's order will be at least as absurd as the last. It's been true thus far. And seeing the instructions now, he's proven right.
Kaveh walks into Puspa Café five minutes later, feet shuffling, and knows he's about to look and feel like an absolute fool.
"Pickup for Bahati," he says when he reaches the counter. The short man working the register scowls.
"Oh. That guy." He shakes his head. "Who the hell orders dessert if they don't even like sweet foods? It's a waste of money." He waves a hand before Kaveh can even attempt to answer. "And that lazy grease pupa doesn't even bother picking it up himself. It'd be so satisfying to see his reaction when he realizes he's banned, but no. He keeps getting dashers to do his dirty work."
"Wait, what?" Now Kaveh's invested, curiosity peaked. "He's banned from the premises?"
"Ah. No," the employee answers. Kaveh sees a name badge on him, but it's entirely unhelpful, with 'HAT GUY' written on it in all caps and a purple cat pin blocking the bottom half entirely. "But he's not allowed to order anything."
"Why?" Wait, can he even be ordering with Doridash, then? Has Kaveh unwittingly gotten himself involved in something illicit?
"Because we all hate his guts. Except the boss. She thinks his orders are the funniest thing she's ever seen, so she goes out of her way to make them herself." Hat Guy grabs a container from the fridge behind him. "Here. Get it out of my sight."
Kaveh does. He follows the winding paths of Sumeru City uphill — up-tree, technically, since the streets follow the Great Tree's trunk, more or less — and admires the way the late afternoon sunshine dapples the pavement in gold-flecked splendor through the tree's leaves.
Kaveh makes the trip to his customer's doorstep with a pep in his step. And the moment Alhaitham answers his knock, Kaveh bursts into a grin. He can't help it — at least he's not the only victim to Alhaitham's special breed of torment in town.
"Low-sugar padisarah pudding with no padisarah syrup." Kaveh practically shoves the plastic container and its jiggly contents into Alhaitham's hands. "Did you know that Puspa Café's staff hates you? Because they made certain I did."
"I'm not surprised, if that's what you're getting at," Alhaitham replies. "After all, they have yet to succeed at even my simpler requests."
O-kay. Now Kaveh just feels bad for the poor employees.
You can find the fic summary and tags here.
Below is a snippet from the chapter. Enjoy!
There are consequences, as it turns out, to pushing out an update for the most popular delivery app on the market without first consulting with your employer.
To put it lightly: Kaveh is banned from Doridashing for two straight weeks.
Honestly, he's getting off easy. He knows it. Dori knows it. There are, however, perks to being one of the boss's favorites, so rather than being fired, he's put on temporary leave.
Which still sucks. Kaveh can kiss all his stars goodbye; the system automatically wipes a user's reviews upon a ban. Of course, the stars can be returned after appealing them.
But here is the other consequence to pushing out an update for an app without asking ahead of time: his appeals on the matter have been revoked. It is apparently the only way Dori can appease shareholders.
So. He's banned from dashing, and when he does get back to it, he'll have no ratings and no stars. He will automatically be assigned the poorly-rated customers his update has deemed lower priority customers.
What can Kaveh say? His luck is in hell. Of course he's managed to make his own life miserable while doing something good for the rest of humanity. Ugh.
There is a silver lining, at least: one client has moved forward with a housing project after seeing his blueprints. So Kaveh won't be piss-poor and bumming around his friend's tavern for too much longer.
God. He hasn't slept on a solid bed in months. He'll have to work his ass off dashing as soon as his account is restored. And it's going to be miserable, but it'll help pay Lambad back for his kindness.
Tonight, though, since he is facing the consequences of his own actions, Kaveh's got nothing else to do. And, well, on Tuesdays, Lambad lets him drink for free, so…
He's halfway to plastered when someone sits right next to him at the counter. And at first, Kaveh doesn't even notice he's got company, honestly; he's too busy mulling over the pros and cons of going mora diving in the Akademiya fountains. (Which he has concluded— mostly — isn't worth it. But hey, if he gets desperate enough…)
But then Lambad approaches to take their order.
"One plate of fish rolls, and a side of ajilenakh cake."
Kaveh wheels around in his seat.
Beside him, Alhaitham Bahati calmly leans forward on the counter.
You can find the fic summary and tags here.
Below is a snippet from the chapter. Enjoy!
There are consequences, as it turns out, to pushing out an update for the most popular delivery app on the market without first consulting with your employer.
To put it lightly: Kaveh is banned from Doridashing for two straight weeks.
Honestly, he's getting off easy. He knows it. Dori knows it. There are, however, perks to being one of the boss's favorites, so rather than being fired, he's put on temporary leave.
Which still sucks. Kaveh can kiss all his stars goodbye; the system automatically wipes a user's reviews upon a ban. Of course, the stars can be returned after appealing them.
But here is the other consequence to pushing out an update for an app without asking ahead of time: his appeals on the matter have been revoked. It is apparently the only way Dori can appease shareholders.
So. He's banned from dashing, and when he does get back to it, he'll have no ratings and no stars. He will automatically be assigned the poorly-rated customers his update has deemed lower priority customers.
What can Kaveh say? His luck is in hell. Of course he's managed to make his own life miserable while doing something good for the rest of humanity. Ugh.
There is a silver lining, at least: one client has moved forward with a housing project after seeing his blueprints. So Kaveh won't be piss-poor and bumming around his friend's tavern for too much longer.
God. He hasn't slept on a solid bed in months. He'll have to work his ass off dashing as soon as his account is restored. And it's going to be miserable, but it'll help pay Lambad back for his kindness.
Tonight, though, since he is facing the consequences of his own actions, Kaveh's got nothing else to do. And, well, on Tuesdays, Lambad lets him drink for free, so…
He's halfway to plastered when someone sits right next to him at the counter. And at first, Kaveh doesn't even notice he's got company, honestly; he's too busy mulling over the pros and cons of going mora diving in the Akademiya fountains. (Which he has concluded— mostly — isn't worth it. But hey, if he gets desperate enough…)
But then Lambad approaches to take their order.
"One plate of fish rolls, and a side of ajilenakh cake."
Kaveh wheels around in his seat.
Beside him, Alhaitham Bahati calmly leans forward on the counter.
it is wipwednesday my dudes (part one bajillion and one)
as always, tumblr gets fed best 🤭sneak preview of Worst in the business! chapter 3 continues below the cut!
There's a long stretch of silence that's broken only by the clinking of glasses around them. Alhaitham is staring very observantly at the countertop. He drums his fingers on it.
"The dashers I've gotten this week have been incompetent."
"Oh. Is that all?" Kaveh snorts. "I bet you're rating's in the gutter, huh?" That would explain it — if Alhaitham can't get a dasher to pick up his order, he'd be forced to do it himself. Ha! Serves him right. Kaveh would pay good money to be a fly on the wall when Alhaitham visits Puspa Café for his evening coffee.
"Not at all."
Oh. Damn. Nevermind. "Huh… So, then why…?" Kaveh trails off. If it isn't lack in the supply chain, then…
"Most of them don't care to read simple directions, and I've had enough of their mistakes." Ha. Of course it comes down to control for him. Infuriating man. Lambad drops Alhaitham's food on the counter, raising his brows when their eyes meet, smile turning crooked.
Kaveh rolls his eyes. Archons, they're just talking. His friend is making all kinds of assumptions over there, he can tell.
"Have you quit working?"
Kaveh pauses in reaching for his third glass of wine. "What?"
A writer friend told me something that broke my heart a little bit today; they're going to quit publishing their fanfic.
My instant thought was that they had been trolled or attacked or that something terrible had happened in their life because this person is so passionate about their writing. It wasn't any of that. Engagement with their works has been going down, as it has for many of us. Comments are like gold dust a lot of the time, and just looking through the historical comment counts on old fics on ao3 demonstrates this trend very clearly. It was not simply the comments dropping off which caused them to decide to stop posting, however.
My friend came across a discord server for their fandom (I should point out here that their fandom interest and mine diverged a couple of years ago, we stay in touch but don't currently read each other's posts because I'm not into their fandom and they would rather gouge their eyes out with a wooden spoon than read anything Star Wars) and specifically to share fic in that fandom. They joined, because we all love a good fic rec, only to discover that their latest multichapter fic, which has almost no comments and very few kudos, is being hotly discussed in this server as one of the best stories ever. Not one of these people has bothered to say this to them on the fic. When they asked, none of participants could see the point in telling the author of the fic they apparently loved so much that they love it.
This discovery has absolutely destroyed my friend's love of sharing fic. They share because they love seeing other people's enjoyment, and fic writers do that through comments and kudos/reblogs/likes because we don't get paid. There is no literary critic writing a blog post/article about how amazing the story is for us to copy and keep/frame. There is no money from royalties. All we have are the words of the people reading our works.
Those people on that server could have taken five minutes of the time they spent gushing about how amazing my friend's story was to other people and used it to tell the one person guaranteed to want to hear that praise how much they loved it. They could have taken a moment to express their opinion to the person who spent hours upon hours plotting, writing, editing, and posting those chapters. Instead, they deprived my friend of thing that keeps them sharing their writing, and in the process have killed their love of it. My friend now feels used and unmotivated.
I won't be sharing a link to their fic, they said I could share their experience but not their identity. I know they plan to post one final chapter. I know they intend to express their hurt at being excluded from the praise for the thing they created, and I know they intend to announce that as a consequence they will not be posting for a long while, if at all.
So please, I beg you, don't hide your love of a story from the writer. It's just about the only thing we have.
As someone who writes both fanfic and published novels, let me say:
Books are sent out to you, and I never, ever need to hear about them. Talking about books with the author is...fraught. Feel free to shut us out.
Fanfic is sent out for you, because we are in the same community. Talking about the fanfic with the author is community building. We should all be in the same place. (AO3 comments, now that lj is gone.)
I never want to make it sound like an obligation, but I hope this sort of explains why a discord about my books (without me) is a best case scenario, while a discord about my fic (without me) is...kind of a nightmare.
Alhaitham hums. "It's pretty late," he remarks, blessedly changing the subject. "Are you still working?"
"No, I'm volunteering out of goodwill and a desire to serve belligerent, picky eaters. Yes, obviously, I'm working."
"Don't be obtuse. I mean, are you going to keep working after you finish my orders, even though you clearly need to rest?"
Kaveh narrows his eyes. "Orders, plural?"
"You didn't think I'd end my night without coffee, did you?"
Kaveh sighs heavily. "Do not make me run to Puspa or Lambad's again. I don't know how much more of the inclines my legs can handle."
Alhaitham, very seriously, leans over, inspecting Kaveh's lower half. "You can take it," he replies. "Truthfully, you look like you could use the workout."
"I'm sorry, did I ask?" Kaveh puts his hands on his hips firmly. "Listen. This whole back-and-forth is infuriating on its own, but on four hours of sleep, I…"
He trails off. Alhaitham's eyes are on him, giving him his full attention. They're a light green, one of Kaveh's favorite shades to use in traditional Sumeru-style glass windows. Around his irises are reddish rings. Together, the colors are stunning.
"Oh. Your eyes are…" Fuck, what is he saying? He tries to save it: "… big."
Aaaand flop. Oh, God. He doesn't blame Alhaitham one bit for arching a brow at him. Kaveh's ears prickle, and he feels himself flush.
"Right." Alhaitham tilts his head, considering something. Whatever it is, it makes his gaze intense; Kaveh can't breathe for a moment. Can't look away.
Then Alhaitham says: "You, too."
Registering his own words, he freezes. They both stare at each other, wide-eyed and thunderstruck by mutual idiocy.
Kaveh watches Alhaitham's chest heave with a big breath. What a sight. He mirrors the action. It feels grounding.
If Alhaitham wasn't his customer, if they'd met back at the Akademiya, would they have been friends?
"Why," he asks, making sure his glare is particularly scathing, "did you order your soup, and I quote, 'without the broth?'"
"It's how I eat it while reading," Alhaitham replies, which — is frankly an insane thing to say. Like, generally.
Or: Alhaitham orders increasingly ridiculous deliveries... and Kaveh, his Doridasher, is collateral damage.
Read it on ao3 here!
A snippet is below!
Oh, not again, Kaveh thinks, seeing an order ping on his app.
He bites down the annoyance that rushes through him as he reads the details.
Alhaitham Bahati is the bane of Kaveh's part-time Doridashing career. He gives excellent tips. But any time he finds fault in Kaveh's delivery methods — and he always does, somehow — he also leaves a 3-star review.
Can Kaveh, financially, live on 3 stars? Absolutely. Can he, morally, conceptually, philosophically, accept anything like mediocrity when he has high-achiever inclinations? No. Hell, no.
This month has become a test of Kaveh's patience. Just last week, Alhaitham ordered skewers from a food stall in the bazaar — five minutes before said food stall was set to close. And he had extremely specific, bizarre instructions, to boot.
("News flash," Kaveh said after Alhaitham chastised him for failing to confirm that five grams of spices, precisely, were used for each skewer, "you're lucky you even got your ridiculous order. The stall owner yelled at me over it!"
"And how is that my concern?" Alhaitham had answered. He even frowned, as if Kaveh's words were a great bother to him. "You accepted the order. It's your job to fulfill it.")
Kaveh is certain that today's order will be at least as absurd as the last. It's been true thus far. And seeing the instructions now, he's proven right.
Kaveh walks into Puspa Café five minutes later, feet shuffling, and knows he's about to look and feel like an absolute fool.
"Pickup for Bahati," he says when he reaches the counter. The short man working the register scowls.
"Oh. That guy." He shakes his head. "Who the hell orders dessert if they don't even like sweet foods? It's a waste of money." He waves a hand before Kaveh can even attempt to answer. "And that lazy grease pupa doesn't even bother picking it up himself. It'd be so satisfying to see his reaction when he realizes he's banned, but no. He keeps getting dashers to do his dirty work."
"Wait, what?" Now Kaveh's invested, curiosity peaked. "He's banned from the premises?"
"Ah. No," the employee answers. Kaveh sees a name badge on him, but it's entirely unhelpful, with 'HAT GUY' written on it in all caps and a purple cat pin blocking the bottom half entirely. "But he's not allowed to order anything."
"Why?" Wait, can he even be ordering with Doridash, then? Has Kaveh unwittingly gotten himself involved in something illicit?
"Because we all hate his guts. Except the boss. She thinks his orders are the funniest thing she's ever seen, so she goes out of her way to make them herself." Hat Guy grabs a container from the fridge behind him. "Here. Get it out of my sight."
Kaveh does. He follows the winding paths of Sumeru City uphill — up-tree, technically, since the streets follow the Great Tree's trunk, more or less — and admires the way the late afternoon sunshine dapples the pavement in gold-flecked splendor through the tree's leaves.
Kaveh makes the trip to his customer's doorstep with a pep in his step. And the moment Alhaitham answers his knock, Kaveh bursts into a grin. He can't help it — at least he's not the only victim to Alhaitham's special breed of torment in town.
"Low-sugar padisarah pudding with no padisarah syrup." Kaveh practically shoves the plastic container and its jiggly contents into Alhaitham's hands. "Did you know that Puspa Café's staff hates you? Because they made certain I did."
"I'm not surprised, if that's what you're getting at," Alhaitham replies. "After all, they have yet to succeed at even my simpler requests."
O-kay. Now Kaveh just feels bad for the poor employees.
You guys I’m gonna go insane why is it a line of text sometimes and a fancy box others please somebody explain to me what is happening and why and also how to make it the nice little box
Until then, here’s chapter 27(I think?) of A Marriage of Convenience, right on time for the anniversary this year!
kaledo-art
jacobvanloon
baratheonpilled
turnnoffyourmind
ellievsbear
stormborns
pixelskylines
romaincrisis
