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“Oh no,” Kaveh said, dismay and disappointment articulated all too succinctly in just two syllables.
“Hm,” Al-Haitham supplied, almost as eloquently, arms folded across his chest and curiosity evident in his sharp gaze. “And this is…?”
“It’s a puzzle made of chocolate…”
Al-Haitham angled his head, arching a brow at the opened box on the coffee table once more.
“Or at least it was supposed to be,” Kaveh continued, one hand already massaging at the space between his eyes. “Miss Enteka was kind enough to let me use her kitchen two days ago so I could make it for you. I’d arranged for it to be delivered this afternoon, but I never expected the weather today to be so scorching that it’d melt the puzzle so quickly like this!”
He grimaced, glancing away. He couldn’t bear to look at the despairing state of the gooey, liquified confection any longer. “I’m sorry I ruined the surprise, Al-Haitham. I’d only wanted to do something different for your Valentine’s Day gift.”
Hovering beside them, Mehrak let out a despondent electronic warble, mirroring Kaveh’s own dejection.
But Al-Haitham only sighed, shaking his head. “Unless your Vision has seemingly bestowed upon you the power to manipulate even the sun, I would disagree with the notion that you ruined anything.”
At Kaveh’s forlorn expression, he exhaled another sigh, his tone shifting into something gentler: “Still, I do appreciate the sentiment and effort. Anyway, since it’s my turn this month to get the coffee beans, we should procure some desserts from the bazaar as well.”
As brusque as his words were, Kaveh knew Al-Haitham was only trying to soothe his disappointment and lift the mood. So, he attempted a smile and nodded instead.
Then, once he’d discarded the melted confection away, Kaveh quickly followed Al-Haitham out through the front door.
※
“Haitham…? Oh, you’re up earlier today.” Kaveh yawned as he reached blearily for the dallah, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
Nearly a month had whisked by since Valentine’s Day. Ongoing restoration projects of several public buildings in Aaru Village had kept Kaveh busy and occupied with work, and he’d mostly forgotten about his botched surprise gift—right until the moment he stepped into the sunlit kitchen this bright Saturday morning to find Al-Haitham seemingly in deep discussion with Mehrak.
“What’s all this?” Kaveh asked, pacing over and taking in the bags of groceries on the kitchen counter. Mehrak chirped a greeting at his approach, but Al-Haitham barely lifted his gaze, musing still at the holo-diagrams projected out against the patterned brightwood walls before them.
Before Kaveh could voice another question, the holo-diagrams beaming out from Mehrak abruptly switched to a holo-recording instead. One that Kaveh quickly recognised as a recording of himself bustling about in Miss Enteka’s kitchen as he carefully crafted the chocolate puzzle, one meticulous piece at a time.
“This is… Ahh, right…” Kaveh said, slightly mortified by the sudden reminder of his failed surprise attempt. He turned towards Mehrak, shaking his head almost chidingly, though not unkindly. “I didn’t realise you were recording the process the whole time then.”
He gave Al-Haitham a sidelong look, feeling self-conscious now. But Al-Haitham continued observing the recording wordlessly; it was only after the recording ended that he reached a hand forward, drawing Kaveh closer to his side of the counter.
“Huh? What now?” Kaveh paused, catching sight of the items Al-Haitham had pulled out of the grocery bags—coffee beans, cacao blocks, gelatinised slime sheets, butter, milk, sugar, padisarah essence, and a bottle of cherry liqueur. He realised then they were all ingredients to make chocolate confectionery; that Al-Haitham had even bought a set of baking moulds for the puzzle.
“We should adjust the temperature of the fridge this time before setting the chocolate,” Al-Haitham said matter-of-factly to Kaveh’s look of surprise. “It’s been warmer in Sumeru City lately, so perhaps it’s best to cool the puzzle for longer at a lower temperature, for the chocolate to retain its shape…”
He trailed off as he began chopping up the cacao blocks with a knife, looking over to Kaveh to check if the sliced pieces were of the correct size.
Kaveh felt a wedge of emotion in his throat then, a warmth prickling within his chest. But he nodded at Al-Haitham with a smile, his enthusiasm at sculpting another new chocolate puzzle from scratch returning once again.
※
“Okay, I think that should do it! All right, Al-Haitham—let’s see how quickly you can crack this one, heh.”
“I’ve already solved it,” Al-Haitham replied, without missing a beat.
Kaveh was still in the midst of languishing a melodramatic sigh, however, his voice light and haughty with teasing. “It may be foolish of me to expect it from a man who claims to operate solely on objectivity. But I know there’s a sliver of romance, of sentimentality that resides still in your cinder block of a heart, to truly appreciate the artistry in—Wait, what?”
Kaveh blinked, finally catching up with Al-Haitham’s words. “You’ve solved the puzzle? A-Already?! ”
Al-Haitham inclined his head. He lifted the chocolate puzzle box to his lips then, and—to Kaveh’s absolute horror—nipped at the patterned lid with his teeth.
“It’s easiest if I simply eat my way through the puzzle right to the cherry liqueur in the centre.” Al-Haitham deadpanned once he’d finished chewing off the left corner of the box. He flicked a tongue over stray bits of frosting and crushed coffee flakes from his canines, mouth curved into a grin as he hummed in approval. “Miss Enteka’s newest supply of spiced coffee beans does add an interesting flavour.”
“You…” Kaveh was still staring slack-jawed at the sight of Al-Haitham licking chocolate and coffee flakes from his lips, looking almost like a contented cat who had just finished a saucer of cream. He let out a frosty, long-suffering groan. “You’re such a heathen sometimes.”
“I’m merely being efficient.” Al-Haitham remained unperturbed, but Kaveh recognised that all-too-familiar roguish gleam in his teal eyes. “Besides, isn't there another kind of puzzle you’d like to solve?”
“I don’t know why I even bother with you sometimes… Hey!” Kaveh jolted when Al-Haitham’s fingers brushed against his hand, but he didn’t recoil from the touch.
Directing Kaveh’s fingers with his own to reach for a piece of broken chocolate from the plate, Al-Haitham then raised both their hands up towards his chest—to press the chocolate past the loose collar of his lounge shirt, against the sliver of bare skin just below his clavicle and right above his jewelled piercing.
“Aren’t you curious?” Al-Haitham said, his gaze placid as he watched the way Kaveh’s eyes widened at the sight and feel of the chocolate pressed between their fingers and against Al-Haitham’s chest. “To see how long it takes to melt this piece of chocolate?”
Kaveh frowned again, still perplexed. “Of course it would melt just as quickly in this heat… Oh. You mean on your nip—Archons, Haitham.”
He swore that Al-Haitham’s soft laugh was almost too coy; deceptively innocent behind that knowing, cat-like grin.
“Don’t you want to see if you can crack this puzzle as well, senior?”
Kaveh’s only response was to move forward with a surging kiss, his lips and teeth catching against Al-Haitham’s, before he pushed Al-Haitham back roughly against the counter.
“They say curiosity killed the cat,” Kaveh said, once they had pulled apart for a breath. “Perhaps my irreverent junior should consider treading forward with utmost care.”
Al-Haitham watched steadily as Kaveh met his gaze with a dangerous grin of his own; as the wedge in Kaveh’s throat bobbed in anticipation.
“It’s fine,” Al-Haitham hummed with wry amusement, eyes bright and alluring. “A cat has nine lives, after all. So, we can do this nine times over… Or until you finally crack the code.”
“You’re a glutton for punishment, I swear,” Kaveh huffed, and Al-Haitham laughed once more when Kaveh pinned him down with a growl, kissing him fiercely.
.
.
.
.
.
“There you are, Mehrak,” Kaveh said to the sight of the automated toolbox hovering over the kitchen counter. He downed a glass of water before reaching forward to pat Mehrak’s side. “You don’t really need to do all the cleaning, you know? Since it’s all Haitham’s fault the kitchen got messed up like this.”
A curious, questioning beep.
“Erk… No, no, you’re right. I was, uh, just as involved in this mess…”
Another cheerful warble, and Mehrak swivelled again, beaming a digital screen out before them.
“Hmm? Ah, you recorded the chocolate-making process earlier for future reference? Haha, that’s a good idea—”
Only for Kaveh to splutter into his glass when he finally saw—heard—the indecencies that had transpired on top of the kitchen counter as the recording began to play. Indecencies in which he and Al-Haitham had—thoroughly and indisputably—been involved.
“W-Wha-?! Mehrak, please delete this at once!”
Outside in the living room, still curled against the cushions on the divan and clad only in his chocolate-stained lounge shirt, Al-Haitham stirred from his nap. Glancing drowsily towards the sound of Kaveh’s flustered rambles and Mehrak’s apologetic beeps, he exhaled a sigh, the corner of his mouth twitching into a soft smile.
Al-Haitham stretched languidly like a cat, basking in the quiet and late evening sun. Then, after another moment or two, he finally rose from the divan and padded into the kitchen to assist with the cleaning.
Today was indeed a good day.
—End—