cassim relationship headcanons ᛝ 🤎
A/N: i love him so much, the way his arc was resolved breaks me. he deserves the world ♡
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ warnings : none 𓂃꩜ reader's gender not mentioned
cassim gravitates towards people with a fire in them, and he loves seeing how your face lights up when you talk about your favorite topics. whenever you stop your rambling because you think you’re doing too much, he’ll frown and shift closer to you, telling you to keep going. he tries his hardest to really get what it is you’re talking about, beyond just the surface level, even if he thinks it’s too advanced of a subject for him.
he would only go for someone who has some kind of passion for social justice—someone who’s very aware of world issues and takes up action. he admires that kind of advocacy and makes it a point to engage in serious discussions with you.
he feels like his s/o is better than him, but not in the way that causes resentment—the kind that makes him wonder why you even bother with him. he sees all your good qualities and he feels as though he’ll just lead you astray.
you’re aware of his history with alibaba, and though it took him a while to open up about everything—he’s supposed to be the charismatic, untouchable leader of the fog troupe; speaking about those kind of emotional topics always made him seize up and try to brush it off coolly—you made sure that once he did, you would always remind him of his worth and would do your best to help him get over his insecurities.
cassim doesn't do huge displays of affection. he mainly shows his love for you through gifts, acts of service, and gentle touches.
whenever him and his crew come back from a successful heist, he makes sure to keep some of their finds just for you, following you as you lead him eagerly to your bedroom and try on whatever jewelry or clothing he’s stolen this time.
the first few times cassim did this, you would insist that you didn’t need him to be so extra—you could just pick out a few little leftover baubles like the rest of the gang after everything was split! but he would push on, and time after time he’d make sure to get items he knew were perfectly your taste; nice enough that you’d look lovelier than ever adorned in them, but nothing too fancy lest someone try to cut your fingers off for some rings. at some point you gave up trying to be noble and simply let cassim spoil you, basking in his praise as he’d compliment you.
“god, you put all those statues and frescoes to shame. even the gold looks better when you’re wearing it.”
the other members of the fog troupe have varying feelings towards you; some are green with envy because of how close you are with their leader and his blatant favoritism toward you, while others fear ever upsetting you and be on the receiving end of cassim’s ire.
he likes to give and receive affirming words—any compliments you give him, he takes to heart, even if you don’t pay too much attention to them. the easiest way to get him flustered is to pull him into your lap, cupping his face, and shower him with loving words, telling him every little thing you adore about him—the man will try his damnedest to play it off but you can be sure that he’ll be putty in your hands.
cassim’s favorite places to touch are your arms, hands, and back. he’ll come back from a particularly nasty job and simply lay with you, face buried into your neck, muttering against your knuckles while kissing them with reverence. whenever you two are in a more dangerous part of town, he’ll stick to you like a shadow, hand resting on your back in a quiet reassurance. he often hugs you from the side, calloused hands brushing up and down your arms as he presses his lips against your temple.
this man is stubborn as hell, and he probably starts a lot of arguments, but he is ALWAYS the first to apologize. the second he sees the simmering look on your face, hears the way you spit out your words—his entire resolve crumbles, whatever retort he was about to fire back at you dying on his tongue. he doesn't care if he was right or wrong; he’ll do whatever he can to get back on your good side because he hates seeing his better half upset because of him, of all people.
he likes to take smoke breaks with his partner, and even if you yourself don’t smoke, he’ll simply light up his cigar and enjoy your company, your backs pressed against each other as you prattle on about whatever. he listens and takes note of everything; which subjects get you heated, what you get excited about, whoever it is you’ve been complaining about as of late, and he stores it away in his mind.
the more cassim likes someone, the less he talks and the more he simply absorbs everything they say, hanging on to their every word—but he knows how much you appreciate his feedback, so he makes sure to respond every once in a while, usually with a soft hum or noise of approval.
your name is always in that man’s mouth. at this point, everyone in balbadd knows about you, and whether or not they’re privy to you two’s relationship status, they can only guess just why the enigmatic and usually cool man is so fond of you.
cassim knows he should hide it; as much as he fully believes you can defend yourself, he still fears the day that someone will end up hurting you to get back at him.
but for all that its worth, he simply cannot hide how much he likes you—every day it’s a battle with himself to stop being such a simp for you. even without grandiose gestures, his mannerisms make it so abundantly clear; the way he looks at you like you’re better than any treasure he’s ever stolen, the way he says your name like it’s a prayer, the way he always positions his body to face you. thoughts of you fill his mind every waking moment.
hassan and zainab are so. sick. of. him. they’re not jealous of your relationship—in fact, they’re you’re number one supporters!—but man, cassim cannot and will not shut up about you. they tease the two of you to no end, making sure to groan dramatically anytime their friend mentions your name as if to say “AGAIN?”
“[name], whatever kind of magic you did, put an end to it and give us our friend back! this is the third time he’s brought you up in a conversation that had nothing to do with you!”
but even with their merciless joking at your expense, they’re still grateful that their friend has found someone he can show all his flaws and darkness to and still be embraced with love and acceptance. they can see that your presence has put a lightness in his step, and they find that cassim’s usual snide smirks are being replaced with genuine smiles.
cassim wants to be selfish about you, to get possessive, to be jealous, but he simply can’t bring himself to do that to you; he sees how brightly you shine and he vows that he will never be the one to block your light from anyone. he sets aside his own covetousness and understands that it would be a grave disservice to you if he were to let his feelings get in the way of your life and relationships.
there’s a part of him that pretty much no one has seen but you; his most vulnerable, sensitive, and purest self. he hasn’t shown anyone this side since he was a broken little boy being held together by his adoptive mother and siblings, and he never thought it’d resurface until you two deepened your relationship. you’ve seen him at his rawest and ugliest and the fact that you still didn’t turn away is something he’ll never forget.
“what, you think this is too much? please, i didn’t even have to kill any guards to get this! but you… the fact that i get to call you mine... that's a favor i can never pay you back for, even if i buried you in treasures for the rest of my life. nothing i give you could ever be more than that, so, please, [name]... just take it, okay?”
if he were to talk to anyone else the way he talks to you… illah, may the ground beneath him open up and swallow him alive. “please,” “i love you,” “you’re too good to me,” etc. you have this man saying vocabulary he hasn’t uttered to like, anyone ever.
tl;dr cassim is soooo fucking smitten. you are his better half and he thanks his lucky stars every day that he met you.
masterlist ○˳
