Work Text:
Kaveh was working tirelessly on his draft, his hand cramping up every few minutes as he sketched. He had been working on this set of blueprints for hours, rarely taking a break to stretch his legs. His stomach growled but Kaveh tutted, ignoring the noise.
“Just a couple more minutes. I need to finish this portion…” Kaveh muttered to himself. The deadline for this draft was in a couple of days and he needed it to be perfect .
His stomach growled again.
Kaveh rolled his shoulders and ignored the growling. He continued working through the growing hunger. The pangs of hunger kept getting worse and worse, but Kaveh powered through it. All Kaveh was focused on was finishing the draft.
The creak of his door snapped Kaveh out of his stupor. He swiveled around in his chair, blinking owlishly at his roommate. “Kaveh? Are you still working? You’ve been cooped up in your room for hours.”
Kaveh sighed and turned back to his blueprints. “I don’t have a lot of work left.” He tapped his pencil against the paper. “So a couple more minutes and I’ll be done.”
“And when did you last say that to yourself?” Alhaitham asked, his voice taking on an exasperated tone.
“Uh, about…” The blond stopped sketching. “An hour ago.”
Kaveh could practically see Alhaitham rolling his eyes. “Take a break, Kaveh. You have a few more days until the deadline, so there isn’t a reason why you can’t get some rest.”
“No, it’s fine. I can rest when I finish.”
“Kaveh, this isn’t healthy. When was the last time you even ate?”
Kaveh put his pencil down and turned to face Alhaitham. “Haitham, I am fine-” Kaveh’s stomach growled. He inhaled sharply, his face heating up. “You didn’t hear that.”
“Get up Kaveh, come on. Go eat something.”
“But, there’s so much-” Alhaitham put his hand up to silence Kaveh.
“Nope, you can continue it after you’ve eaten something. Now get up.” Alhaitham walked over to Kaveh and held his hand out. “Come on.”
Kaveh eyed his hand, his face scrunched up as he looked up at Alhaitham. Alhaitham raised his brows and shook his hand again. Kaveh rolled his eyes, but grabbed his hand, letting Alhiatham pull him up. Kaveh swore Alhaitham had a shit-eating grin as he dragged him to the kitchen and sat him at the dining table. A steaming bowl of curry shrimp and rice stared back at him, the scent of good food wafting towards his face. Kaveh’s mouth began to water.
“I was right. You were starving.” Alhaitham said, taking a seat. Kaveh glanced up, his hands hovering over his lap. “What? Eat Kaveh.” He leaned his head on his hand.
Kaveh scarfed down his food as if on command, the thought of breathing coming second to his sheer hunger. His eyes skirted up, coming upon Alhaitham watching him intensely, an unknown emotion behind his eyes. Kaveh paused in his eating, their eyes locking for mere moments. Alhaitham raised a brow. Kaveh choked on a stray piece of shrimp.
Mid-choke, there was a chair screech, and footsteps rushing towards him.
Kaveh inhaled, blinking rapidly as Alhaitham came into focus. He was kneeling before him, his hand on Kaveh’s knee. “You alright? Was the food that good?”
Kaveh swatted his hand away, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment. “I–” He rubbed at his face. “The food was great, yeah, but I’m fine.” Alhaitham raised that damned eyebrow again, making Kaveh flush harder. “I swear, I’m fine Haitham, I think I’m just-” He closed his eyes, his body sagging forward. “-Tired.”
A hand passed through Kaveh’s hair, brushing it back. “Let’s get you to bed then.” Kaveh nodded absently, his eyes fluttering shut as he felt arms wrap around his midriff and pick him up.
Kaveh snuggled his face into the crook of Alhaitham’s neck, taking in soft breaths. The creak of his bedroom door roused him from his sleep. “Haitham…” He mumbled, sleep seeping into his voice.
Alhaitham shushed him, leaning over and softly placing Kaveh in his bed. “Focus on getting rest.” He pulled the covers over Kaveh. “You’ve been working so hard.”
Kaveh sighed, his eyes fluttering shut as the warmth of sleep pulled him under the covers. Lips pressed softly against his forehead as a hand caressed his cheek.
“Good night, Kaveh.”