Thread by @cup_of_comfort

#haikaveh #アルカーヴェ

The past few days had been a blur to Kaveh.

He remembered feeling weak and cold, even when Alhaitham cradled him in his arms. People came and went by while he drifted in and out of consciousness.

All he could think of was Aliyah.

It's been two weeks and every time Kaveh closed his eyes, he saw a little girl, her face hidden in the shadow, crying.

"Mother, father, where are you...? I... I don't want to be alone..."

And every time he reached his hand out, she disappeared like smoke.

He remembered the days when he was just like that little girl, crying in loneliness, without the warmth of parents, and he vowed to himself that it wouldn't happen if he ever had a kid.

And yet he did. He abandoned Aliyah in the desert, her cries still echoed in his ears.

Kaveh opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of his and Alhaitham's room.

It's almost dark outside, and the only lamp illuminating the room was the bedside lamp. However, instead of the usual silence, there were small, fussy cries in the background.

He thought he was hallucinating again—until he heard Alhaitham's voice.

"You're awake."

Kaveh turned to see his Alpha sitting on a chair by the bed. However, instead of a book in his hands, he was holding... a baby bottle.

"Alhaitham...?"

"Mm," he hummed, and Kaveh just realised that the cries were coming from the bundle held against Alhaitham's chest.

"She doesn't want the formula anymore," Alhaitham continued like he's stating the obvious. "Do you still produce milk?"

"...what kind of question is that...?" Kaveh groaned out.

But with Alhaitham's assistance, he sat up, and his husband carefully handed him the bundle, who began nuzzling and searching for his chest instinctively.

It's Aliyah, obviously hungry, but still found comfort in him.

Kaveh slowly undressed and let her latch, wincing at her eagerness. But he couldn't blame her; not since his milk supply had been dwindling, perhaps due to stress.

But seeing Aliyah back in his arms, smelling her scent once again—Kaveh wanted to cry.

He almost didn't remember that Alhaitham was still there, staring intensely at him nursing Aliyah.

"W... What?" He stuttered when he realised his husband was watching him, cheeks red. "Don't stare."

"Why can't I watch my wife nurse my child?"

Kaveh pursued his lips in a pout. "Who said that she's your child?"

Alhaitham's expression didn't even change. "So you've been cheating on me even though we're bonded *and* married?"

"I'm not—agh!" Kaveh gave up.

"Besides, the only people that can't tell that she's my child are either blind or in denial," Alhaitham added, tone laced in mild amusement. "So which one are you?"

"Ever heard of not upsetting a pregnant Omega?" Kaveh hissed, cheeks even redder in embarrassment.

"But you're not pregnant anymore. Our child's already here," Alhaitham said, now with a small smile. "Or do you want me to get you pregnant again?

Kaveh's mouth opened to retort, then closed again, speechless.

Dammit, he couldn't win at all against his husband, could he?

"...we should talk," Kaveh quietly said, after a few moments of silence.

"We should," Alhaitham agreed. "You do owe me an explanation."

Aliyah added with a few of her baby noises, as if agreeing, even though she technically couldn't understand any of it yet.

They sat together on the dining table that night when Aliyah had fallen asleep.

Kaveh was absolutely floored at how much baby items Alhaitham had bought. There's a baby crib already placed beside their bed, along with a mountain of various baby clothes and supplies.

When Kaveh protested about it, saying that it's a waste of money because Aliyah would've grown out of them in a few months, Alhaitham just answered, "then we'll purchase new ones in a few months."

Kaveh gave up trying to reason with him about Aliyah. For now.

They sat in silence for a while, Kaveh fidgeting with his cup while he was well aware that Alhaitham was staring at him.

"Are we going to sit here and say nothing until dawn?" Kaveh finally asked.

"If that's what it takes for you to talk, then yes," Alhaitham said.

"But also, I don't want to force you to say anything you don't feel uncomfortable telling me."

He said that with a straight face, but Kaveh knew that Alhaitham was... disappointed.

Not upset. Just disappointed.

"You don't trust me?"

"No!" Kaveh snapped his head up, looking directly at Alhaitham's eyes for what felt like eternity. "I mean.. yes, uh, I trust you, Alhaitham."

"Then, why?" Alhaitham asked. "What drove you to think to hide your pregnancy from me and give birth alone in the desert, away from me?"

"I—" There felt like a lump in Kaveh's throat. "You..."

Alhaitham waited patiently.

"You..." Kaveh tried down to keep his voice steady. "Y-You don't want kids."

"I never said that."

"You did! That party last year, when someone asked you about having one, you said—"

"—that I don't think I'm suitable for one." Alhaitham cut him off.

"Yes! That! You don't want one! I understand that they're noisy, and perhaps with child, the house will get super messy, and—"

"Kaveh."

"—between our jobs, at least we have to take turns caring for the child—"

"Kaveh!"

That actually startled Kaveh. Alhaitham would never, ever raise his voice like that. He wasn't even using his influence, but it was enough to shut him up.

"I never had a proper family," Alhaitham spoke. "I don't know how a father should act. But one can always learn—

—and if you think that reason justify you to hide your pregnancy from your own husband, then you're sorely mistaken."

"I was afraid, okay?!" Kaveh shot back. "We tried so hard to make sure that I don't get pregnant. You just got appointed as the Grand Sage, and we argue a lot.."

Kaveh tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "I just don't want our kids to see us in a bad light."

"All you have to do is ask."

Kaveh blinked. "Huh?"

"If you want me to lavish you with love, all you have to do is ask."

"...huh??"

"The reason why I tease you all the time is because you always have the most fascinating reason when I do..."

Kaveh spluttered. "Wha—hey!"

"...but I love it more when I see your face soften, when you smile. When you laugh... It makes me want to love you more—

—and not let you go, it scares even myself."

Kaveh sucked in a deep breath at the confession. True, Alhaitham irritated him a lot, but... if he found Kaveh insufferable, then he wouldn't marry him, right? Bonding was also not a light matter—he's willing to commit to Kaveh—

—until death to them part, so what was Kaveh so afraid of? He should've trusted Alhaitham more.

"I'm sorry," Kaveh whispered.

He hadn't realised that Alhaitham had stood up from his seat until he knelt in front of Kaveh's seat and took Kaveh's hand into his.

"Never do that again." Alhaitham told him.

"D-Do what..?"

"Get pregnant and then leaving me out of the picture, without knowing," he stared at Kaveh's hand and squeezed his hand. "I'll pamper you. I'll massage your feet at night and your shoulders at day. You just need to ask."

Kaveh blushed. "I think it's too early for me to get pregnant again."

"...you're right," Alhaitham agreed. "We do have a more urgent problem, don't we?"

Kaveh blinked in confusion, wondering about what his husband meant, until a hand crept on his chest.

"Wha—?!"

"I noticed that you have difficulties nursing Aliyah earlier."

"I-It's just because I was stressed since I got home from the desert!" Kaveh protested. "Having Aliyah back should return them to normal soon!"

"Are you sure?" Alhaitham let out a chuckle.

The hand on his chest squeezed harder as Alhaitham stood up and leant down to whisper on Kaveh's ears. "I've read about ways to stimulate... this. Rather than waiting, should we just try my methods now?

"Pervert!" Kaveh hissed. "S-Stop touching my chest...!"

He could feel Alhaitham's hot breath tickling, lips nibbling on the shell of his ears. "So do you prefer bringing this to the bedroom?"

"What are you talking about?! Aliyah's sleeping there—ah!"

"Shush. This is for Aliyah's sake, too."

"Aliyah my ass! You greedy, scheming little—hngh!—you just want—a-ah, Haitham...!"

A kiss pressed onto his temple. "We have eight months worth of catching up, after all."

(Thus Kaveh ended up being eaten that night.)

-part three — END-

and that finally wraps it up lmao. might turn this to a longer version later with 🔥 scenes included (lots of it) but... i need to prioritise securing my finance first, no thanks to my sudden & unfair unemployment.

regardless, thank you for reading & following!

again, no pressure, but i'd appreciate if you consider donating to my kofi if you like my work :) thank you for your support! ko-fi.com/cup_of_comfort

part 2 over here!

https://twitter.com/cup_of_comfort/status/1619545877257019394?t=XOWV3NxZSxQ0AcWykVcXJg&s=19

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