Ⅰ

The commission had been simple enough; paint a pretty portrait of some lord or another, within a specific amount of time. Make him look beautiful and majestic, though he might not look that way. It wasn’t something Kaveh hadn’t done before.

While he’d much rather be spending his time on more interesting projects, his debts were beginning to become rather frighteningly deep, and his pockets painfully shallow. Therefore, when he got approached by an acquaintance with this particular job, he jumped at the chance.

Now here he is, sitting in a pretty garden filled with delicate roses, colorful lotuses and gorgeous padisarahs, easel set up and paint arranged neatly in a row on the table beside him. All that stands between him and his promised five-hundred thousand Mora being the lack of a painting on the blank canvas.

Said Lord hasn’t bothered to show up. It has been hours, yet there is no sign of this damned lord… Al—Alhaitham, was it?

‘How rude.’

Had it not been for the beautiful garden with pretty plants begging to be drawn by Kaveh, he would have left a long time ago.

“I’m sorry, Master Kaveh, I’m certain the young Lord will be joining you soon.” A sheepish little smile adorns the maid’s face as she gently pushes his paints on the table beside him aside in favor of a small plate of refreshments; expensive tea from a faraway land, pastries he has never been able to afford, those sort of things. It doesn’t do much to make him feel better about being treated with such disrespect.

“Didn’t you say he’d be here three hours ago?” Kaveh asks, trying to hold back the frustration in his voice. It wasn’t the maid’s fault, at least, not to the best of his knowledge. With a soft huff, he busies himself putting his pencils away and closing his sketchbook shut.

He is done waiting.

“Oh! My Lord!” The maid’s startled exclamation makes Kaveh look up and follow her wide-eyed gaze.

‘Speak of the devil, I suppose.’

Kaveh pauses as his eyes catch on a handsome, awfully well-built man with silvery soft hair and striking teal eyes. He walks with purpose and pride, and judging by the expensive-looking clothes and priceless gems hanging from his sash like they are nothing more than useless trinkets, it is easy to assume that this is in fact the young lord in question—Kaveh’s client.

The client who has left Kaveh waiting for hours.

“You must be Master Kaveh, of the Kshahrewar,” the young lord says. He has a deep and smooth voice that Kaveh would happily listen to for hours, if it weren’t so monotone.

He silently walks by Kaveh to take his spot on the chair placed in the midst of the garden. A strong, almost cloying smell immediately wafts past and Kaveh wrinkles his nose.

‘Ugh, an alpha. That explains so much.’

“You must be Lord Alhaitham. Is it customary for you to keep others waiting for hours?” He can’t help but point out the rude treatment he has been subjected to, with no small amount of resentment in his voice.

“No, not usually,” the lord says candidly. Kaveh waits for the man to elaborate, but he remains silent. He simply adjusts the cloak hanging off his shoulders, pulls a book from seemingly nowhere and opens it to a random page which he begins to read.

Kaveh can’t tell if the lord is snubbing him, or if he is just like that. Well—whatever—it’s not like he hasn’t had eccentric clients in the past.

“Now that you’re here, can we finally get started?” Kaveh sighs, setting down his sketchbook onto his lap. Lord Alhaitham just glances up from his book to give him a stoic and blank look. Kaveh assumes that’s the go-ahead.

“My apologies, I’m going to need you to look up from your book,” Kaveh says slowly with a measured tone, trying his best to filter out his impatience. Despite his best efforts, he’s not doing a good job. “Unless you want me to paint a portrait of you reading?”

Lord Alhaitham gave him a faint shrug.

‘So be it then, to each their own.’

Without wasting another word, Kaveh picks up a pencil from his small collection of supplies. He begrudgingly begins to draw out the shapes of the man before him.

It’s customary for Kaveh to hold light conversation with his clients during his work. Small talk to help them relax, breezy compliments to put faint blushes on their cheeks, those sort of things.

This client however, didn’t need any such thing. Kaveh didn’t need to pull an interesting expression from the man; the alpha sits still with a thoughtful look on his face as he flips through the pages of his book—already sufficiently inspiring to the artist.

There is a slight furrow to his brows, paired with an intelligent twinkle in his eyes and a slight uptick of his lips—the alpha shuts his book with a soft thud, startling Kaveh. Alhaitham’s small smile grows in apparent amusement at how the blond jumps.

“My book is done,” he says as he rises to his feet.

“So you’re leaving?”

Lord Alhaitham gives him a small nod, tucking the now-finished book under his arm. “I’ll have someone contact you for our next session.”

“And you’re going to be late for said session too?” Kaveh can’t help but retort sarcastically, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

The alpha gives another small nod. “Perhaps.”

“Do you like having people wait for you, or are you too self-centered to realize that my time is just as valuable to me as your time is to you?” Kaveh snaps.

Alhaitham stands with his back to the omega. To Kaveh’s surprise, he suddenly whirls around and plops back down where he was sitting just a moment ago.

“I have another job for you.”

“You’re joking?” Kaveh snorts. “Oh great lord, granting me yet another opportunity to waste my time?”

“I don’t have the time to sit around for hours on end, for someone to paint me. I’d like to keep my leisure hours during the night, and I never know in advance when I’ll have several hours free during the day.” Alhaitham leaned forward, “During the period that you paint my portrait, stay here, in one of the guest wings. It goes without saying that any costs will be covered during this time and—”

“You can’t be serious,” Kaveh interjects.

“—In addition to the Mora owed, and being provided with housing, I’ll also pay off your outstanding debts.”

That sounds far too good to be true. Kaveh frowns. “All this, for a painting? What’s the catch?”

“On top of the portrait I’ve commissioned…” Alhaitham paused, “Well, I want you to pretend to be my mate.”

What?!” Kaveh exclaims in horror. He barely manages to keep himself from dropping the pencil in his hand. He gapes at his client—who is apparently out of his mind.

He knew it. The commission was too good to be true. Kaveh isn’t known for his portraits. There are far better, far more famous painters in Sumeru that could have done the job just as well, if not better than him.

“I will not force you into something you’re not comfortable with,” Alhaitham continues, “Afterall, it’s no more than a charade you’re being paid to play. On top of the painting, of course.”

“How can I trust you?”

“You can’t,” Alhaitham says bluntly. “All I can do is hope that you’ll take my word for it.”

Kaveh falls silent.

“I’d say it’s a pretty good offer.” The alpha gives a shrug. “Who knows when one of your debtors will tire of waiting and decides to come get their money back in… other ways.”

The message is painfully clear to Kaveh. He, an omega, will be sold off to the highest bidder in an attempt to recoup the money he has lost for his debtors. It pains him but deep down, Kaveh knows that the lord sitting in front of him isn’t wrong.

Nonetheless, he scowls darkly. “Are you threatening me?”

Alhaitham signs, “Hardly, I’m just pointing out the obvious truth. A truth you seem to be failing to take into account judging by your hesitation.”

“And how do you know about my debts anyway?!” Kaveh snaps.

“Master Kaveh of Kshahrewar, your debts are those of legends,” Alhaitham says with a small chuckle that only serves to ruffle Kaveh’s feathers further. “I thought it was a joke, but your reaction has cleared up that little misconception.”

“Did you purposefully choose me because of my debts?”

“The rumor of your debts pales in comparison to the regard for your talents. You’re undoubtedly skilled.” Alhaitham gives a smirk, one that rubs Kaveh entirely the wrong way. “I won’t deny that was a factor, that, and that you’re an omega.”

Kaveh already knows that Alhaitham has figured out that he is an omega, but it still irks him that he was found out after taking so much care; he wears high collars, long sleeves and far too much perfume in an attempt to mask his scent. Almost instinctively, he reaches up to his neck as he glares down the alpha.

‘I fit right into his little plan.’

Despite knowing his strength is laughable compared to the alpha’s, it takes everything in him to not bash the blank canvas over Alhaitham’s head, if only to teach him a lesson. Within the span of their short conversation, Kaveh is left to feel both used and patronized.

Unfortunately, the reality of his situation looms over him, his debts far too much for Kaveh to be able to immediately dismiss the generous offer.

With no clear answer being spoken by Kaveh, Alhaitham cocks his head to the side. “So that’s a yes, I presume?

Ⅱ

True to the young Lord’s word, Kaveh wakes up the following morning to two letters sitting neatly on his doorstep. One with the Lord Sangemah Bay’s seal, and another, with an unfamiliar falcon seal.

Kaveh opens up the first letter.

The second letter is considerably more concise.

Kaveh puts down the letters, not quite certain how to feel.

It really doesn’t take too long, packing his belongings that is. After hopping from one place to another for so long, he’s used to fitting all his worldly possessions into a couple of bags.

It leaves him with nothing to do for the rest of the day, giving him ample time to sketch out various scenes and variations that Lord Alhaitham could be painted in. He wants to cut down the time needed to complete this disastrous commission. More than that, drawing serves as a wonderful method to keep his mind from wandering astray, to darker thoughts and suspicions about the arrangement.

A knock on his door snaps him out of his reverie.

He’s somewhat surprised to find the lord himself at his door rather than a servant or another, and he’s caught off guard by how handsome the alpha is up close. Kaveh can suddenly admire the soft, yet well defined features of his face much better than from the distance they had between them in the garden.

‘Too bad his attitude is so damn horrible.’

“Hello,” Kaveh simply says. Alhaitham’s eyes jump around until they settle on the couple of bags the omega had packed for himself.

“Good, you’re already packed. Let’s go.”

The lord glances behind him and makes a waving gesture with his hand. A moment later an errand boy brushes past the two of them and inside the blond’s house fetching Kaveh’s things. Kaveh opens his mouth to thank him, but the boy has left before he can manage a word, already fitting the omega’s bags into the carriage the lord arrived with.

“Well?” Alhaitham prompts, stepping to the side in a silent gesture for Kaveh to get moving.

The carriage is comfortable yet stylish, well fitting of a noble family. Leather seats, silk curtains and ornate doors; it is clear that whoever the carriage belongs to is quite wealthy, not that Kaveh doesn’t already know that. There are windows on both sides of the carriage, allowing those inside to peer at the world outside as they make their way through the city’s streets.

Kaveh would enjoy himself more if it wasn’t for the uncomfortable silence hanging in the air between him and the nobleman sitting on the opposite side of the carriage. If Alhaitham senses any awkwardness, he doesn’t show it, as he is too engrossed with yet another book he decided to bring with him.

“I didn’t think you’d come pick me up yourself,” Kaveh says suddenly, hoping it would ignite a conversation to kill the uncomfortable silence between them.

“Of course,” Alhaitham says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. He doesn’t bother looking up from his book. “You’re supposed to be my mate. It’s best that we get to know each other and get our stories straight before we arrive, don’t you agree?”

“Is there a rush?”

“We are to have dinner with my grandmother tonight.” Alhaitham sounds less than thrilled at this. “She’s excited to meet my new mate.”

"What? Tonight?!" Kaveh knew that playing a role was a part of his job here, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon. "But...but I barely even know you.”

Alhaitham finally sets his book aside onto the seat and crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Well then, as I said, we might as well get started on getting our stories straight."

During his last, relatively brief trip to the lord’s mansion, he hadn’t really gotten a chance to study the interior of the mansion or explore the different rooms; he spent most of his time in the garden either waiting for the alpha, painting him, or bickering with him.

One would assume with a garden as beautiful, the mansion’s interior would be equally if not more amazing. Right? Wrong. Kaveh feels like he is about to break out in hives from how horrible the mansion is on the inside.

Mismatched decorations and clashing colors, the only semblance of coherence to be found was the combination for various shades of green and stacks upon stacks of books scattered around every nook and cranny of the building.

Well, no matter. That isn’t his concern right now. What does concern him right now, is trying to convince the old lady sitting opposite to him at the dinner table that he is madly in love with her grandson.

“And he snaps his book shut while I was painting him and just…” Kaveh makes an airy gesture with a hand, “gets up! He ruined the whole scene. And just as I think he’s about to walk away, when he just walks up to me instead and asks for a date. I obviously wanted to say no, but… I don’t know…”

Kaveh does his best to shoot Alhaitham what could be considered a loving glance. He turns his attention back to the Lady of the house with a small smile. “Deep down, I suppose I knew he was the one. Anyway, I won’t bore you any longer. The rest is history.”

He’s quite good at this, if he says so himself. The quasi-surprised, yet vaguely impressed look on Alhaitham’s face seems to say the same.

“Well,” the lady of the house gives her grandson a warm smile before looking back at Kaveh, “ I am incredibly happy my little Haitham has found someone to settle down with. He’s quite difficult, that boy.”

“Believe me, I know,” Kaveh chuckles good-naturedly. It’s the first bit of truth he’s said this entire meal. “But I must thank you for raising such a wonderful grandson. He’s everything I could’ve asked for in a mate. I don’t know where I’d be without him.”

‘At home, with my sketchbook, doing what I pleased, rather than playing this stupid game of emotional charades.’ He thinks to himself rather bitterly.

“Please, Kaveh,” Alhaitham begins, the pleading undertone to his voice clear. The poor alpha looked beyond uncomfortable—but hey, given what little Kaveh knew of him and how he seemed to have the emotional range of a mildly perturbed rock, that isn’t a bad thing, right? “Your food is getting cold. You should eat.”

‘Shut up.’ The message is clear. Kaveh fights the urge to roll his eyes. “Well excuse me for wanting to tell your lovely grandmother how much I appreciate you, especially after all you’ve done.”

“Mm,” is the alpha’s only response before he goes back to his food. With a small smile of his own, Kaveh finally turns his attention back to the food on his plate that had been painstakingly prepared by the staff. He takes a bite and instantly fights the urge to moan at how utterly good it is—all this time drowning in debt has left him with very little opportunity to eat good food.

To Kaveh’s surprise, Alhaitham’s grandmother suddenly laughs, and for a moment he thinks he must’ve inadvertently made a faux pas of some sort to elicit such a reaction. But when he looks up, he finds her grinning at her grandson, a borderline mischievous look in her eyes. “Oh my! You must excuse me, but I just realized that this might be the first time I’ve seen Alhaitham at the dinner table without a book.”

Alhaitham did that? Wait, of course he would. “Oh, he knows better than that.” Kaveh gives a brisk chuckle of his own. “After the third date in a row he did that I told him off.”

Kaveh pretends to ignore the weak glare Alhaitham was shooting from beside him. “It had nothing to do with what you said, Kaveh.”

“I get it, you do what you want.” The blond smiles back at him. He knows he’s acting unconventionally for someone of his status—afterall, omegas normally didn’t tell their alpha what they should or should not be doing—but despite this all being an elaborate play for Alhaitham’s grandmother, he can’t help but to poke fun.

If Alhaitham minds, he doesn’t show it. He only sighs and leans back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Kaveh is relieved to find the tiniest of smiles playing on the alpha’s lips. “I thought I'd made that clear already.”

“Oh yes. Of course.”

Alhaitham’s grandmother gives another little laugh, clearly delighting in her grandson and his mate's playful bickering. The utter tenderness in the Lady’s eyes as she studied her grandson, the love in the small smile that played on her lips—all this made Kaveh’s heart squeeze. Painfully so.

Kaveh is here to trick her. He knew that from the very start. He is here to trick this kind, old woman who wants nothing but the best for her grandson. Yet here he is, helping her shitty grandson pull the wool over her eyes in the worst way possible.

Is he doing the right thing? As frightening as his debts are, should he have accepted Alhaitham’s deal for any amount of Mora?

Kaveh swallows thickly. He’s barely started eating, but somehow, he’s had enough already.

“Excuse me.” The chair beneath him makes an uncomfortable loud screeching sound as he suddenly rises to his feet. He forces a smile on his face, but he’s quite certain both people at the table can see right through it. “I need some air.”

He makes a quick escape out of the dining hall, and wanders around aimlessly, looking for someone—anyone—to direct him to his belongings.

He finally finds a maid in another wing of the mansion, busy dusting a painting of who he presumes is one of Alhaitham’s ancestors. He peers at the painting, and many others lining the side of the room. If Kaveh has to claim there were any redeeming qualities to the horrendous interior of the mansion, it would have to be the magnificent paintings it held on its walls. Is his work truly worthy hanging between these masterpieces?

He shakes off the thought and takes a deep breath, donning a polite smile before walking up to the maid, hoping the sounds of his footsteps would’ve alerted her of his presence so as to not startle her.

“Excuse me?”

The maid whirls around, looking rather surprised that the blond would be talking to her. She seems nervous, like she’s been caught red-handed in something she shouldn’t have been doing. Her tense smile almost makes Kaveh more anxious than he already is. “Oh! Hello, Master Kaveh. M—may I help you?”

Kaveh nods lightly. “Would you happen to know where my belongings are? It’s alright if you don’t, I’ll just—”

“Oh, of course.” The maid gives what the blond could only guess is a sigh of relief, and her smile relaxes. “They’re in the lord’s bedroom.”

“Could you show me the way?”

Thanks to the brief period that Kaveh has known Alhaitham, he’s able to guess what his bedroom might look like. It’s probably filled with books, very few sentimental ornaments, if any, and most of his things are likely neatly tucked away in their proper spots. It would be a room devoid of personality, serving only as a place to sleep and sometimes read, and nothing more.

Well, he’s partially right. Kind of. There’s a lot of books, for sure, but they’re not tucked away neatly, or stacked in an organized pile. No, they’re scattered everywhere, giving the impression that a hurricane had swept through the alpha’s room, tossing Alhaitham’s belongings everywhere in a bunch of unorganized heaps. There are no decorations either, save for a couple of ornamental pillows that were clearly put there by someone else, and a rather ugly wooden statue of a half-bird half-lion creature of some sort sitting in a far corner of the room.

It takes a moment for Kaveh to spot the bags he had brought with him placed on the ottoman at the foot of the alpha’s bed, next to yet another pile of books.

How much does Alhaitham read, exactly?

Kaveh has barely donned his coat again before the door to Alhaitham’s bedroom swings open, with none other than the man himself standing at the door with a dark expression. The blond wrinkles his nose at the scent of an angry alpha beginning to fill the air between them.

“What—” Alhaitham’s eyes narrow at the sight of the bags in Kaveh’s hands before he looks back at the blond, “Where are you going?”

The omega inside of him is begging for him to drop onto his knees and beg for forgiveness, but Kaveh doesn’t care. He isn’t weak, he isn’t one to bend to any alpha’s will.

He shakes his head. “I can’t do this. I’m leaving.”

“What do you mean you’re leaving? You just got here,” Alhaitham states firmly, taking a step forward. Kaveh fights the urge to take a step back, deciding to firmly stay put. “I can’t live with myself, getting paid to trick some sweet old lady—who’s your grandmother, by the way—into thinking something that isn’t real.”

“Really? You’d give this up just because you don’t want to feel guilty over it?” It rubs Kaveh entirely the wrong way—the way Alhaitham drawls the word ‘guilty’, as if feeling remorse over one’s actions was beneath him. Perhaps that wasn’t the intention, but he doesn’t really care right now.

“You might not get it,” Kaveh snaps back harshly, “But I can’t live with myself if I were to do something like this for a friend, but to get paid for it by some self-serving asshole? That’s infinitely worse.”

“What about your debts?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“So you’re just going to leave?!”

“Yes.” Kaveh set down his bags long enough to defiantly plant his hands on his hips. “What? Are you going to trap me here?”

“Of course not!” Alhaitham exclaims. “What do you take me for? By all means, be my guest, the door is right there.”

“‘What do I take you for’?!” Kaveh echos a bit too loudly, “I take you for some asshole who’s willing to pay someone far too much Mora to play with his grandmother’s heart!”

Alhaitham’s shoulders slump, and something about his expression makes Kaveh hesitate. Rather than pick up his bags again and make a beeline for the door as he ought to do, he watches the alpha’s Adam's apple bob as he swallows thickly. When he speaks again, his voice has none of the anger in it that it had just moments ago; now it’s somber, sounding almost defeated.

“My grandmother is dying.” Alhaitham takes a deep breath, clenching and unclenching the fists at his sides. Even a blind man could tell how distraught he is over the very mention of his grandmother’s predicament—a sharp contrast with the alpha’s usual stoic demeanor that catches Kaveh completely off-guard. “All she’s ever wanted was to see me settle down with someone. I’m just trying to fulfill her wish before she…”

He trails off. Kaveh doesn’t ask him to finish his thoughts. Instead he shakes his head with a deep sigh. “Why? What’s your issue? You’re a wealthy, noble-born alpha with good looks. If you were just a little more pleasant you’d have half of Sumeru at your feet.”

Alhaitham simply stands there, his lips ticked down in displeasure. “You think I don’t know that?”

“I’m sure you do,” Kaveh mumbles with a bitter chuckle.

“There isn’t enough time to find someone I truly care for.” The admission was almost vulnerable, a side Kaveh hasn’t seen of the alpha yet.

“Kaveh, please—” Alhaitham takes another step forward. Kaveh hates how the pleading look in the alpha’s eyes tugged at his heart strings, “—just for while you finish the painting. When you’re done, you can forget all about this.”

“And when the painting is done? What will all this have been for?”

“You’ll have bought me some time, I’ll think of something.”

Kaveh chews on his lower lip, tossing and turning Alhaitham’s words over in his head. Really, for all he knew, the alpha could be making this all up on the spot to toy with the omega’s heart, to lure him into a trap of some sort.

But maybe, just maybe he might be telling the truth.

After a moment’s deliberation, Kaveh sighs loudly, theatrically ripping off his cloak and tossing it aside onto Alhaitham’s bed. “Fine. But only because of your grandmother. I’m not doing this for you.”

Alhaitham gives a soft sigh of relief and Kaveh almost feels bad for wanting to leave in the first place. He thinks the alpha was about to thank him, when he says, “And here I was, thinking you were going to ask for more money.”

“That’s an option?!” Kaveh snaps.

The alpha smirks. “No.”

“But—”

“Now that you’re here, let me show you to the bedroom where you’ll be sleeping,” Alhaitham says, moving over to Kaveh to pick up only one of the two bags Kaveh had brought with him before walking to the other side of his room, where another, less conspicuous door was. “Or would you rather sleep here, with me?” Alhaitham teases.

“Gods, no,” the omega sighs, picking up his other bag. “But won’t someone suspect something if we’re not staying in the same room?”

“I thought the idea of staying in my room was far too abhorrent to even consider,” Alhaitham teases. Kaveh shoots him a mirthless smile in response. The alpha continues as he opens the door to the guest bedroom in question, “Just don’t use the bedroom’s main doors to come and go. You’ll have to go through my room.”

“...Fine.”

The other bedroom is naturally smaller than Alhaitham’s bedroom and similarly decorated in horrible taste like the rest of the mansion. But it’s quaint and cozy nonetheless. And at the very least there weren’t books everywhere.

“When you’re ready, come back to the dinner table,” Alhaitham says, setting down Kaveh’s bag. He stares into the omega’s eyes with an unreadable expression. “I’ll have come up with an excuse by the time you come back.”

It’s still going to be hard, looking into the old woman’s eyes and forcing a smile, pretending to genuinely adore her grandson despite the overwhelming guilt threatening to claw its way up his throat and make him retch, but it’s doable now.

‘It’s for a good cause.’ Kaveh reminds himself. He will just have to finish that painting quickly.

Ⅲ

As a portrait artist, your client’s first impressions of you are vital. It is incredibly important that your client feels at ease around you and does not dislike you, as you and your subject will most likely be forced to endure each other’s presence for extended periods of silence. Therefore, it is best that you didn’t do something that would have the two of you start off on the wrong foot.

Kaveh believes that he and Alhaitham are far past that point. It is their first actual painting session after that day in the garden, and five minutes in it has already gone terribly, terribly wrong.

For one, Alhaitham absolutely refuses to sit in the garden, and insists on staying put in the library, which is where they are now.

“What do you mean that you’re not going to sit still?!” Kaveh exclaims. Really, he was this close to picking up his easel and throwing it at the alpha.

“I’ve been here for a whole week. I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to. I think even your grandmother is sick of me gushing about how wonderful you are.” The omega stops half-way through his sentence to let out a crude bark of laughter, “—and you can’t even grace me with an hour of your time for me to paint your damn portrait?”

“No, what I said is that I’m not going to sit around doing nothing for hours on end in the garden while you paint me, when I’d much rather be somewhere else.” Alhaitham tsk’s, looking less than happy at Kaveh’s upset. “Find some other way to get it done.”

“What…then how am I supposed to paint you?”

“Simple. I’ll call you, you’ll gather references for whatever you need, and work on the painting as much as you can.” Alhaitham crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“That’s stupid. Do you know anything about art?”

“If you can’t do it, we can cut off our entire deal right here.” Alhaitham gave a shrug. “I’ll just find some other painter.”

The balls on this asshole; he is talking like he hadn’t been practically begging for the omega to stay a few days ago. Kaveh grits his teeth. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do. But just so you know, you’re insufferable!”

Alhaitham gives a small, joyless smile.

The lord gives the painter about forty-five minutes that day to gather said references. Kaveh spends this time capturing the general shape of the other man’s face on paper; he locks in the seemingly perpetual downturn of his brows, his round cheeks, and the subtle slope of his nose to the sharp angle of Alhaitham’s jaw as he grits his teeth—unable to truly focus on his book due to the rather loud scratching sounds Kaveh’s pencil makes as he draws.

It’s another week before Kaveh gets the chance to do his job again properly. One would almost wonder if Alhaitham is dragging things out on purpose, but by now Kaveh knows the alpha well enough to know that it isn’t a matter of tricking the blond to stick around longer, it is that he genuinely does not care for having his portrait painted.

Kaveh would later find out that the whole idea of having a portrait was his grandmother’s, but that revelation is a distant future away.

That day, Kaveh has skipped lunch in favor of finally exploring the library Alhaitham seems so fond of, quickly finding himself engrossed in wonderful books on architecture, engineering and art he couldn’t even hope to find on his own.

He is a little less than happy when Alhaitham sends a maid to fetch him with the message that the lord wishes for his ‘mate’ to continue his portrait of him—right now, in the dining room where he is having a late lunch.

But it’s alright. The sooner Kaveh gathers enough references, the sooner he can begin the portrait in earnest. And the sooner he’ll be done with this whole mess. He’d be lying if he says the initial guilt of tricking Alhaitham’s grandmother wasn’t beginning to fade away, and he’d also be lying if he said the alpha with all his quirks and self-centered mannerisms wasn’t beginning to grow on him, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to go back to his old life.

So here he sits, in the seat opposite to Alhaitham as the latter reads his book of the day, the half-finished meal before him almost completely forgotten. It’s quite tricky, balancing his sketchbook at the edge of the dining table at just the right angle for his wrist to sit comfortably against the parchment, but the blond ultimately manages.

Today, Kaveh decides, he’s going to touch up on his sketches from last time to capture the tinier details of Alhaitham’s features. The small things that made portraits feel alive and have the subject’s personality shine through the stillness of the canvas.

"You never told me about your family," Alhaitham suddenly says without looking up from his book.

"What's there to tell?" Kaveh sighs, keeping his eyes fixed on the little strokes he was making on the parchment. "My mother died giving birth to me. My father was a lesser lord. He disowned me when I presented as an omega. Nothing more, nothing less."

Kaveh has gotten quite used to recounting this particular story. It's been years, but there's still a heavy weight on his chest whenever he recalls his past, constricting his throat and making it a bit harder to breathe. "No condolences, please. I'm quite happy with my current life."

Alhaitham doesn't say anything, but he stares at Kaveh like he's waiting for him to elaborate. So Kaveh does, partially to humor the alpha, and partially to fill what has now become uncomfortable silence.

“Well, if I hadn’t presented as an omega, and I were still my father’s son…” The soft scratching sounds his pencil makes against the paper suddenly sound so distant to him, and he barely realizes when he stops drawing entirely, far too lost in his thoughts. “I’d most likely have become his heir. I’d have to set aside my passions in life in favor of doing what was right and proper in the eyes of that family. Pwah. That’s no way to live, constrained by the shackles of what’s to be expected of one.”

Alhaitham hums noncommittally as he turns a page of his book. “Some of us prefer a stable life. In a world fraught with unpredictability and tragedy, would striving for peace be so bad?”

“Yes, but at what cost?” Kaveh rolls his wrist before continuing to draw again. He decides he’s shaded a certain part of Alhaitham’s hair a bit too darkly, and takes a moment to fix the section. “You can go on all day about risk mitigation and stability and the likes, but once everything is fixed and done and everything is in its place in the world, are you happy with yourself?”

“Can you be happy with yourself if nothing is right in your world?” Alhaitham quietly retorts.

“Everything is just fine in my world, thank you,” Kaveh says, a bit too sharply.

The other man huffs softly in a pseudo-laugh. “It sure doesn’t seem that way.”

There’s a sharp sound as Kaveh nearly slams his pencil against the wooden dining table in front of him. Best to keep himself from drawing any more before he makes a horrible mistake in his sketches due to frustration. “Hah. You’re not exactly the pinnacle of joy yourself. When was the last time you talked to someone instead of looking down at them?”

Alhaitham looked up from his book to stare straight up into the omega’s vermillion eyes. “Right now.”

Kaveh wants to bite back something along the lines of ‘arguing isn’t talking’, but unfortunately, he’s forced to admit that it is. To spite the alpha, Kaveh snaps his mouth shut and refuses to talk for a good twenty minutes or so.

“You’re not wrong, you know.” The blond finally sighs when he sets his pencil aside once more—this time to give his hands a small break. “I wouldn’t say there’s nothing I’d like to change, but if there was anything I could change, it would be the cruelty of it all.”

Alhaitham blinks rapidly before looking up from his book. He frowns in puzzlement. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you think it’s awful, how we’re forced into these little roles because of something so arbitrary as secondary gender?” Kaveh snorts loudly, rolling his head back in an attempt to work out the kink in his neck from looking down for an extended amount of time, “If you ask me, if I could, I’d rid all of us of this stupid biological game we’re forced to play.”

“You’re smart enough to know that there’s little to no hope for you to change anything.” The implications are clear, Kaveh isn’t much more than an omega; in society’s eyes, he’s no more than a creature meant to look pretty and bear pups for his mate, regardless of how smart or eloquent or charming or talented he may be—but there’s no prejudice or malice behind Alhaitham’s words, so Kaveh isn’t upset. At least, not really. “So why bother concerning yourself with other’s woes?”

“I can’t see why I shouldn’t at least try. Even if all I can do is have my own identity outside of being an omega.” Kaveh gives a half-hearted shrug as he picks up his pencil again. “And who knows, maybe I’ll have a chance to do something about it in the future. Change the world for the better.”

They return to relative silence, and this time, the alpha gives Kaveh about an hour and a half to do whatever he needs to do, before rising to his feet with a loud sigh. During this time, Kaveh captures the tiniest details of Alhaitham’s features, from the way the tips of his hair gently curled up at the ends, to how if one looked closely, they might spot the way his lips just barely curled up into the faintest of smiles at the edges.

This time, Kaveh decides he wants to capture the colors that made up Alhaitham. Sure, the artificial, dim lighting here in the library is far different from the warm glow of sunshine in the garden, but it will unfortunately have to do for now.

He leaves his sketchbook in favor of a small canvas he brought with him, and his paint set.

Alhaitham forgoes conversation altogether in favor of whichever book he was drowning himself in this time. It’s quiet, but it’s alright; the silence between them is comfortable, with each of them doing what they enjoy doing. There are no rhetorical questions about art, or mentions of societal issues pertaining to the politics regarding secondary gender; it is just Alhaitham with his book, and Kaveh with his paintbrush.

And yet, despite the fact that neither of them have spoken a word almost the entire time, for the first time, Kaveh feels like he’s sitting with a friend and not some alpha who was paying him for some stupid commission.

Kaveh almost hopes they’d be friends after this whole ordeal.

“Would you like some tea?” Alhaitham finally looks up from his book, wincing as he rolls his shoulders. Who knows how long he’d been hunched over that book like that.

Kaveh nods. “Yes, thank you.”

The blond finds it interesting that Alhaitham doesn’t call for a maid like one might expect of a pampered aristocrat, but he instead gets up and returns a few moments later, holding a tray with a small tea pot, a pair of cups and a small platter of sweets.

He places it down on the table between them and wordlessly pours himself and Kaveh a cup. He sets the tea in front of the omega, and sits back down in his spot, his own cup in hand.

Kaveh gives Alhaitham a warm smile. “Thank you.”

The other man nods. “You’re welcome.”

Kaveh has always enjoyed the process of bringing his drawings to life with color, but he finds himself delighting when he gets the silver of the lord’s hair just right, or how he’s able to capture the precise contrast between the alpha’s pale skin and the kohl rimming his eyes. But he’s especially fond of how he finally nails the exact shade of pink dusting Alhaitham’s cheeks.

Ⅳ

Perhaps it is due to being in close proximity with an alpha for so long, or perhaps it is the stress of his whole situation, but Kaveh’s heat has come early.

He knows it the moment he opens his eyes that morning. The silk sheets covering his body are suddenly too rough, and he’s far too restless for this hour in the morning. He feels vulnerable, exposed even, and he wishes there were a hole for him to crawl into to hide in for the foreseeable future.

He wishes he could stay in bed, gather his sheets into a little nest and stay cooped up in his room until he rides his heat out, but he knows he can’t. It’s torture, fighting back his dizziness to change into his regular clothes—which he did not remember to be this itchy—and forcing himself to look at least somewhat presentable.

Though, not everything is horrible this morning. He’s more than thankful to find Alhaitham very much not in his bedroom, and he holds his breath as he tries his best to dash through it, hoping to not inhale any of the alpha’s scent, lest it makes him even more woozy.

“Kaveh, darling, are you alright?” Alhaitham’s grandmother coos the moment he sits down at the breakfast table, giving him a concerned frown. Kaveh learned some time ago that the Lady is a beta, so it is only natural that she isn't able to immediately pick up on the tell-tale scent of omega in heat that he is sure permeates the air.

Nonetheless, he doesn’t want to concern her, so he clears his throat and gives a bright smile, trying his best to sit up straight as he normally would. “Of course, my lady. I just didn’t sleep very well last night.”

“Well, eat up! You’re as pale as a sheet, darling,” she quips kindly, as she reaches across the table to place another poached egg onto his plate. The gesture fills his heart with warmth, and he sincerely thanks her.

“Ah, there you are.” Alhaitham’s voice resounds from behind him. Kaveh whirls around in his seat in the direction of the dining room door, his heart suddenly pounding madly in his chest. If the omega hadn’t been looking closely, he’d have missed the way the other man suddenly tenses ever-so-slightly, and Kaveh knows he knows.

As expected of an unmated alpha like him.

But, to Kaveh’s relief, he doesn’t comment on it. He simply stays put, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he leans against the doorframe, keeping his distance. “My prior appointment today was canceled, so I was wondering, Kaveh, would you have time to work on the portrait?”

Of course he has time. That’s why he’s here in the first place. But he understands the true question hidden underneath Alhaitham’s words.

‘Does your heat allow for you to work on the portrait?’

Who knew that when push came to shove, Alhaitham could be considerate and tactful. Kaveh finds himself pleasantly surprised, and the smile he gives to the alpha comes quite easily. “We can get started, and if something comes up, we can continue later.”

Alhaitham gives a short nod. “I’ll meet you in the garden whenever you’re ready.”

Kaveh should be happier that for the first time in a while, they are sitting outside to work on the portrait. Despite the clouds overhead partially dimming what should’ve been radiant sunshine, there’s nothing better than natural light.

He isn’t dumb, he knows that Alhaitham doesn’t like the bugs that normally come with flower-filled gardens; the sound of buzzing won’t let him focus on his reading, and gods forbid something flies in front of his face.

Alhaitham only picked this particular spot because of the fresh air and open environment that would prevent the omega from suffocating on pheromones and making his preheat fever worse.

But unfortunately, it’s not enough in the slightest.

His hands won’t stop shaking, and it was making things awfully difficult for him—every stroke has to be redone once, twice, thrice before it is satisfactory. His face burns, distractingly so. His clothes feel like sandpaper on his skin.

‘He could ask Alhaitham for help.’ Kaveh thinks, ‘He probably wouldn’t refuse.’

No, he has to at least try to pull through. Tomorrow he’ll stay inside his room and rest, away from any alphas that might make the more primal part of his brain go haywire.

‘Despite the rough exterior, Alhaitham is quite kind and considerate. A wonderful mate to raise pups with—’

No. No. Kaveh pushes away the intrusive thoughts brought on by his heat. He shushes his inner omega nagging him to pounce the virile alpha sitting across from him. No, he is here to paint, and that’s what he is going to do. Who knows when he’ll have an opportunity like this again.

A pang in his stomach makes Kaveh cringe. Maybe he should tell Alhaitham to go. He can gather references of the plants and flowers here, so today wouldn’t be a complete waste—

But the alpha smells so, so good. And he doesn’t want him to go. He wants him right here, with him, close by and he never, ever wants to let him go. What he wouldn’t give to be held by those strong arms, to bury his face in that well-built chest, to—

He needs to get a hold of himself, immediately. He is more than this. He has enough self-control to get his job done, which is precisely why he is here, to do a job. He isn’t here to drool over the thought of his client’s cock.

Kaveh swallows thickly and holds his paintbrush tighter, until his knuckles have turned white.

Would Alhaitham stop him if he presented himself to him? It would be wonderful, to be taken right there and right then on the ground. Oh, how good Alhaitham would feel with his knot inside him—

Kaveh suddenly set down his paintbrush on the easel in front of him. He wants to take a deep breath to ground himself, but all that will do is make him more dizzy with the alpha’s intoxicating scent. So instead, he opts for curling his hands into fists and digging his nails into the palm of his hands.

“Kaveh, are you alright?” Fuck, even the alpha’s voice is setting his body on fire.

“I—I can’t. Not today. I—” Kaveh takes a deep breath, suddenly unable to talk, “it looks like it’s about t-to rain. I’ll—I gotta put these back inside.”

Without waiting for Alhaitham’s reply, he suddenly stands up, barely aware of how he has knocked over the stool he was sitting on. In retrospect, Kaveh wishes he hadn’t gotten up so quickly, because the next thing he knows is that his vision has gone dark, he’s completely lost balance, and he’s about to fall.

Except he doesn’t.

Judging by the warmth that is now surrounding him, and the intoxicating smell of alpha rendering him unable to move, Alhaitham caught him before he could hit the ground.

Kaveh doesn’t open his eyes. He doesn’t want to. He simply turns his head until his face is buried into the crook of Alhaitham’s neck and takes deep breaths, clinging onto him for dear life. It must hurt, the way he is digging his nails into the alpha’s back like this, but he can’t really bring himself to let go. His scent was intoxicating yet soothing, and it helps with the horrible gnawing feeling in the omega’s chest that’s been there since he’s woken up that morning.

“Thank you. But… you don’t have to—” He just barely manages with a soft sigh. Alhaitham says nothing, and only continues to hold Kaveh, for which he is grateful.

This must be hard on the alpha too, being so close to a trembling omega on the verge of their heat and doing nothing about it. Surely Alhaitham is well aware of how defenseless omegas are when they’re like this, powerless to both outside forces and their internal urges. He’ll have gone through similar experiences himself with his ruts.

And yet, he makes no move on Kaveh, simply holding him there in his arms.

Oh, Alhaitham could snap him up and Kaveh would be powerless to stop him. The omega shudders at the thought.

Something cold drops onto Kaveh’s scalp, making him shiver. It happens again, and again, and after the third time he lets go of Alhaitham long enough to bring a hand up to touch the spot on his head, only for his fingers to come back wet.

It’s only then when he becomes aware of the soft pattering sound of rain falling onto leaves, and he just barely puts two and two together to realize that it was raining. “Ah…”

Each of the little raindrops make his skin burn. A chilly wind blows past them, far too cold against Kaveh’s burning skin.

“You’re shivering.” The omega can’t help but to give a small whine as Alhaitham lets go of him. A moment later Kaveh feels a thick cloak wrap around him. It’s still warm from Alhaitham’s body, and it smells painfully good.

Kaveh fights the urge to nuzzle his face into one of the lapels brushing against his cheek, despite how he had been—embarrassingly—clinging to the alpha for dear life mere seconds ago.

Thankfully, he’s a bit more coherent now; whatever swept over him a moment ago is now fading away. He takes a deep breath, and another, before finally speaking, trying his utmost to keep the tremble out of his voice. “It’s cold. We should go inside.”

Alhaitham blinks at him. He looks like he’s about to say something, but he must’ve decided against it. He simply nods, and does not comment on how Kaveh needs a moment to catch his breath every few steps.

The trip back to his bedroom seems to drag on forever, and Kaveh is more than grateful for how the alpha practically carries him to his bed and sets him down gently, as if the omega were made of glass and he didn’t want him to break.

“If you need anything, you should—” Alhaitham starts, but Kaveh doesn’t really want to hear it. Not right now, with all kinds of thoughts swirling uncontrollably through his mind. What if he said something he shouldn’t?

“I’m alright.” He’s not, he really is not, but what could he ask from Alhaitham? Or rather, what else can he ask that wouldn’t completely shatter whatever fragile friendship they have managed to forge during his time here? “I’ll be just fine.”

Kaveh skips dinner that night, telling the maids that he feels far too full from lunch to possibly stomach anything. He knows things will be worse in the morning and he needs his strength, but he ultimately decides against it, knowing anything he’d try to force down his throat would make its way back up in a couple hours anyways.

He spends the night using the last of his strength to make himself a nest with all the spare pillows and blankets he can find on the couches and in the closets of his bedroom. He’s almost done, when he spots a familiar cloak sitting at the end of his bed, completely forgotten with the rest of the rain-soaked clothes Kaveh had been wearing earlier that day.

He’s almost surprised to learn that the cloak still very much smells of the alpha. Kaveh is more grateful for that than he’d like to admit.

After peeking over his shoulder to make sure the door leading to Alhaitham’s bedroom is most definitely closed, he clutches the damn thing to his chest. He buries his face into the thick fabric, inhaling deeply.

It smells good—so painfully good.

Oh, how he wishes the alpha were here with him right now. He whimpers at the thought. It felt so nice, being held in his arms. What he wouldn’t give—

Kaveh squeezes his eyes shut, willing the thoughts out of his mind. He throws the cloak on top of the small pile of sheets and pillows on his bed, meant to become part of his soon to be nest.

As he predicted, the next morning, his heat finally hits him.

It hits him hard.

He’s wrapped up in his little cocoon of pillows and silk sheets, writhing with pain, arousal and heat, useless to do anything about his predicament, defenseless as all he can do is lay there, and wait out his personal hell.

When he was back home, he might’ve sought out an alpha to temporarily soothe his pain. Or if he knew his neighbors weren’t home, after making sure he’d properly sound-proofed his house, he’d let himself cry out; vocalizing his pain had always helped, even if it was just the illusion of it soothing his agony.

He has no such luxuries here. All he has was this wretched cloak that he clutches to his chest like a lifeline.

Another wave of his heat crashes over him. His body cries out for an alpha that isn’t there—for the alpha that he knows could be there if he were to just ask—and his heart beats almost painfully against his ribs.

There’s an awfully persuasive voice inside him, singing to him to call out to an alpha, any alpha, to soothe his pain. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to have a knot inside him, an alpha’s knot, Alha—

No. No. Spending so long around the alpha has tricked his subconscious into thinking that there is a viable mate waiting for him to give the word, when there isn’t one.

‘If he were to call out to Alhaitham, would he come to his rescue?’

Kaveh further buries his face into the cloak in his arms. Oh, how nice it would be if Alhaitham would come in here, right now. The omega can’t help but to rub his legs together at the thought, and he's all too aware of the dampness between his thighs.

What would Alhaitham do, if he saw him lying there, helpless and unable to move due to his heat?

He'd surely try to help him, right? But there is only one way to truly help out an omega at the mercy of the full brunt of their heat.

His heat is nigh unbearable, and it takes everything in Kaveh's power to not call out for help. His body shudders with each new wave, and he can feel the thin clothes and silk sheets sticking to him from sweat.

Alhaitham would help him, he surely would. He'd sit down on the bed next to him, and slowly pry the cloak from his grasp. He would set it aside, before perhaps bending down to kiss him, deeply. Not sweetly, or tenderly, or lovingly, but with hunger, and the promise of so much more.

Kaveh lets out a little whine at the thought of Alhaitham’s touch, failing to suppress the noise despite his best efforts. It’s shameful to fantasize about his client-perhaps-friend, he knows it, but he can’t help it. The smell of the alpha’s natural scent emanating from the cloak is like a drug, consuming his mind and further dragging him into his fantasy.

Perhaps Alhaitham wouldn’t fuck him immediately. Maybe he’d first tease the omega with feather-light touches of his hands and lips. He’d have him pleading to be touched properly.

Alhaitham wouldn’t indulge him immediately. No, no, he’d make sure he was begging—

It’s too much. It’s all getting far too much. Kaveh can’t help but to shove a hand into his pants, and he just barely manages to muffle his moan with his other hand. His touch is nothing compared to what he imagines, what he craves, but it’s far better than ignoring his ache any longer.

And even then, Alhaitham wouldn’t completely indulge the omega either. He’d take his time, running his hands up and down the omega’s body. He’d take his time preparing the omega, having him cry with only his fingers. He’d scissor him slowly, carefully, telling Kaveh that he must not rush if he didn’t want to get himself hurt.

And finally, finally, when he deems the omega properly prepared, he’d enter him so slowly, that by the time Alhaitham bottoms out, tears are rolling down down Kaveh’s cheeks from sheer desperation.

The smell from the cloak is maddening. The scent of alpha makes him feel like his sanity is slipping away. But he’s close, far too close to the edge to even consider stopping now.

But even when Alhaitham would be fully sheathed inside the omega, he’d refuse to move. He’d stay put, with his cock buried inside him. Kaveh would try and move his hips in an attempt to get something—anything—but strong hands would hold him in place, leaving finger-shaped bruises on his skin.

Alhaitham would slowly pull out, torturously slow, and once Kaveh had lowered his guard, completely convinced the alpha was about to exit him for good, with a sharp jerk of his hips, the alpha would slam into him and straight into the sensitive bundle of nerves inside him, making him see stars.

Kaveh bites down on the cloak in attempt to the soft whines and moans that involuntarily escaped him. His hips jerk erratically into his fist, and tears prickle at the corner of his eyes as the coil in his stomach tightens to an unbearable degree and his orgasm threatens to overtake him.

Alhaitham would finally mercilessly pound into him, not even slowing down just enough for him to catch his breath. He’d fuck him ruthlessly, leaving nothing but a wretched, trembling mess, unable to do anything but to take the alpha’s cock like the good little omega he is.

The alpha would come with a loud groan, pumping him full of his seed. And before Kaveh could so much as do anything about this whole mess, the cock still inside him would swell with the alpha’s knot, locking him in place.

He’d be so full, so wonderfully full, absolutely powerless in his alpha’s strong grip.

The omega cries out as he comes, making a mess of his hand and the sheets around him. He doesn’t need to be completely coherent to understand how he has stained the sheets, or how there’s slick rolling down his thighs. But he doesn’t really care. He groans at the thought that this was just the beginning.

He’s barely come down from his orgasm when he shudders again with another wave of his heat, and he covers his face with the stupid cloak, groaning in frustration—or maybe even shame.

He wishes Alhaitham were really here.

He should toss the cloak away, he really should, but the thought of being without pains him too much. The smell of alpha was comforting, although it most definitely made everything so much worse. But at the very least, it helps distract him from the fact that he was so terribly alone, despite ‘help’ being a cry away.

The next three days are an awful, blurry haze that he’s quite glad to remember very little of. At some point, Kaveh must’ve been coherent enough to have the good sense to throw some of his sheets aside and take a shower, because when his heat dissipates and he finally comes to, he finds a couple of sweet-smelling large towels in his nest, and his hair is still a bit damp.

More than anything though, he’s surprised to find a bowl of now-cooled down soup and a half-full glass of room temperature water sitting on his bedside table.

Someone has been taking care of him, making sure that he was well-fed and cared for during his heat. And it isn’t hard to guess who it may have been. Kaveh buries his face into his hands and sighs deeply.

Ⅴ

If Kaveh doesn’t look like a mess, he sure feels like one.

The remnants of his particularly severe, off-schedule heat is making his skin itch, and his clothes—despite being made of the finest material—don’t quite feel right. But despite it all, he is faring rather well. He is more than glad to be out and about once more.

He walks into the dining room that morning to find the breakfast table already set for the residents of the mansion, but there is no one in sight. Perfect. Time to himself to eat to his heart’s content, and gather himself so he’ll be prepared for whatever the rest of the day has in store for him.

Kaveh quietly hums to himself as he pours himself tea, and helps himself to one of the breakfast cakes that have been graciously set out. He knows it’s rude; digging in before waiting for either Alhaitham or his grandmother to arrive, but he’s so, so hungry and everything just looks so good. He slices a bit of cake with the corner of his fork, and finally takes a bite, giving a sigh of relief.

Yes, all is well.

That is, until Alhaitham shows up.

He silently pulls up the seat next to the omega, and sits down next to him. Kaveh stills, his face preemptively heating up with shame or embarrassment, maybe both, he isn’t sure.

“Look who it is,” the alpha drawls with a teasing tone to his voice, “Finally decided to crawl out of your self-imposed solitary confinement?”

Alhaitham knows where Kaveh has been for the last three days, and it’s precisely why he hasn’t been around for that period of time. Kaveh would wager that it was him who had left the trays of food for him during his heat. So, naturally, he was surely just teasing Kaveh to be an ass, right?

“Seeing you again makes me want to go right back.”

Alhaitham raises a brow, crossing his arms in front of his chest. His lips curl up into a smirk. “Is that so?”

“Alhaitham, I need to ask you something,” Kaveh says sternly. The sudden serious tone in his voice wipes the smile straight off of Alhaitham’s face, and he stares back into the omega’s vermillion eyes. “If you’re about to ask if I saw or did anything during your heat, the answer is no, you can rest easy.”

Kaveh tsk’s. “I wanted to ask if you were the one who brought me food, but if you want to be like that—”

“Be like what?” Alhaitham sighs, as if Kaveh were being absolutely unreasonable to be upset in the first place, “It’s a perfectly reasonable question to ask, given the vulnerable nature of—”

They’re interrupted by the sound of the dining room doors opening, revealing the figure of Alhaitham’s grandmother. Her eyes widen and her mouth forms a small ‘o’ the moment she lays eyes on the omega, and she hurries over to Kaveh as fast as she can.

Short of breath, she plops down onto the free seat next to him, and reaches forward until she’s got his head in her hands. Kaveh lets her turn his head this way and that, and tries not to smile at her comically serious expression as she inspects him for any visible ailments.

“Kaveh, darling, are you doing alright?” The lady says with a concerned frown that makes his heart positively melt. “Where have you been?”

Kaveh opens his mouth to answer, only to close it a moment later.

The truth is a reasonable answer; he has been suffering through his heat for the last three days. But here is the thing; his heat would’ve been considerably shorter if he had an alpha to help him through it. And in this grand act, Alhaitham is supposed to be said alpha to help him through said heat.

So Kaveh gives a strained smile instead, “Oh, I wasn’t feeling well. A bit dizzy and—”

“Have you been eating well?”

“Ah, well…” He must’ve been eating something, if Alhaitham has been bringing him food. But his appetite tended to disappear during his heats, leaving him barely able to stomach anything at all. “To be honest, I’ve been feeling a bit nauseous.”

“Is that so?” The lady gives what one could only be described as a devious chuckle, and Kaveh immediately regrets not just saying ‘yes’ and being done with it. “I wasn’t expecting heirs so soon.”

Anything more she’d say is interrupted by the sound of Alhaitham choking on his coffee, and her chuckle turns into a soft laugh at her grandson’s reaction to the implication she made. She plants a soft, affectionate kiss onto Kaveh’s forehead before slowly getting up with a huff, taking her usual place at the other side of the table.

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind. But, he, on the other hand…” Kaveh sighs, looking over in the direction of his ‘mate’ in what he hopes comes off as longing. Alhaitham only squints straight ahead, crossing his arms over his chest, not even dignifying the blond’s teasing with a retort of his own. Kaveh joins the elderly woman with a mischievous smile of his own.

They eat in silence, quietly enjoying each other’s presence, before the lady speaks up once more, when they’re almost done with their meal.

“Kaveh, darling, if you’re feeling better now, won’t you attend the gathering tonight? It’s a small little party hosted by some acquaintances.” She smiles, clasping her hands at her chest.

Kaveh shoots a glance in Alhaitham’s direction, who has been giving him a rather stern look, as if to signal to him that he really shouldn’t turn his grandmother down—like Kaveh doesn’t already know that.

He fights the urge to roll his eyes at the alpha, and instead gives the elderly woman a polite smile. “Of course!”

“Oh, I just can’t wait to show you off to all of my friends!” She replies in delight.

The party is not just a small little gathering in the slightest. It is held in perhaps the largest ballroom Kaveh had ever laid his eyes upon. Judging by how many people are in attendance, it is for good reason too. If Kaveh has to guess, he’d shoot for two-hundred fifty, maybe even three hundred guests.

The venue is gorgeous. Beneath their feet, intricate patterns were carved into the pale marble floor; Kaveh feels as if he’d grow dizzy if he stares at it for too long. Large stone columns sprout from the tiles, wrapped in golden vines that lead up to the vast ceiling above them, similarly covered in intricately engraved marble tiles. Beautifully detailed paintings of various scenes lined the walls.

Kaveh looks in wonder, feeling as if he stepped into the throne room of the Gods.

The host has taken much care to provide their guests with all the food and drink they could ever wish for; banquet tables are lined up along the far walls of the ballroom with every delicacy Kaveh could imagine. Servers make their rounds with trays of spirit routinely, replacing glasses before people could reach the bottom, only providing the finest of wine.

It’s all so wonderful.

While normally Kaveh enjoys social gatherings, and he would have loved for the opportunity to study the architecture surrounding him, he dislikes the kind of party that clearly didn’t serve a purpose beyond party-goers showing off.

A party like this.

Nevermind the egregious displays of wealth from almost all party-goers, Kaveh couldn’t stop staring at the pets accompanying some of the guests: the omegas dressed in pretty, yet revealing clothing, that are clearly meant to be there as a status symbol of some kind for their owners.

Kaveh catches a glimpse of a collar around the neck of one of the omegas. A chain attached to it, steadily held by the asshole who claims the thing for his own. He makes a big show of waving the shackles around, as if to draw attention to how he kept his omega on a leash.

“C’mon, let’s go.” Kaveh feels Alhaitham’s hand gently press against his back, urging him to move.

Kaveh does not.

“Have you never seen something like…” Alhaitham waves a hand in the general direction of the man with his chained omega, “like this?”

“From a distance,” Kaveh manages to say through gritted teeth. “That doesn’t mean I like seeing it up close.”

Alhaitham frowns thoughtfully. “Wait one moment, I’ll get us drinks.”

“Drinks aren’t a proper solution for societal issues—hey! I’m still talking to you!” But it’s too late, Alhaitham is already ignoring Kaveh in favor of the closest server with more than one full cup on their tray.

“Surely—” A voice rumbles into Kaveh’s ear, and suddenly he feels himself suffocating in the scent of pheromones, belonging to an alpha he most definitely did not know. “—no one would leave a beauty such as yourself all alone like this, would they?”

Kaveh whirls around to face the stranger. He’s handsome—Kaveh begrudgingly admits to himself—with a sharp jaw and well-toned physique. But the blond finds himself comparing the man to Alhaitham in the back of his mind, someone who this stranger simply does not measure up to.

“My apologies,” the alpha says smoothly, an easy smile playing on his lips. “Did I startle you?”

The blond gave a polite yet empty smile that did not reach his eyes. “I can’t say that you didn’t.”

The alpha chuckles smoothly, and it’s easy to see how anyone might find him attractive. The smile he’s giving Kaveh is awfully charming, at the very least. “Where is your owner?”

“My mate—” Kaveh corrects through gritted teeth, glancing over to Alhaitham’s direction. Of course, this stranger just had to go and say that, didn’t he? The blond is more than a little relieved to find Alhaitham already making his way back, two cups in hand. “—is getting me a drink.”

“Ah, I must apologize once more then.” The alpha gives a small and polite bow, the empty smile never leaving his lips. “Your mate is very lucky. Well, enjoy the party.”

The stranger disappears into the crowd before Alhaitham makes it back to them; it’s almost as if he were fleeing. That however, does not mean he wasn’t spotted by Kaveh’s ‘mate’.

Kaveh watches Alhaitham’s eyes narrow to slits as he carefully scans the crowd around them, absent-mindedly handing Kaveh his cup, a cup the omega gratefully takes from his grasp. “Who was that?”

“I don’t know,” Kaveh answers candidly. He waves a dismissive hand, exhaling loudly. “Some self-important alpha, then again, aren’t you all? When I told him I was here with you, he left.”

“Hmm.” Alhaitham looks around a bit longer before he smooths his frown and turns his attention back to Kaveh. “I’ll have to introduce you to a few people. Are you alright with that??”

“It’s part of our deal, isn’t it?” The blond murmurs quietly, watching the wine spin around in the glass as he slowly swivels it.

“The deal ensures that I will never force you into a situation you do not want to be in.” Alhaitham’s voice is as monotone as ever, but there’s a certain softness to his gaze, one that conveyed genuine concern. “Obviously, this falls under that.”

“Are we talking to that guy?” Kaveh asks quietly, subtly eyeing the man with the collared omega.

Alhaitham’s lips twitch like he’s trying to suppress a smile. “We are not.”

Kaveh takes a large sip of his drink. “Then let’s go.”

True to Alhaitham’s word, they avoid any particularly awful human beings and instead mingle peoples that seemed perfectly normal, at least, as far as Kaveh could tell. They spend some time catching up with the alpha’s grandmother’s friends, and almost all of them swoon over the couple, remarking how nice it is that Alhaitham finally found someone. They remark how fortunate the lord is for finding such a pretty mate, how lovely they are together, and various other compliments of similar nature.

There’s also Alhaitham’s business acquaintances who are equally, if not more surprised than his grandmother’s friends to see him with an omega on his arm. On more than one occasion does Kaveh spot the disappointment and jealousy in someone’s eyes when Alhaitham introduces him as his mate.

But out of every ten people they talk to, nine of them barely seem to notice Kaveh beyond him being the ‘omega Alhaitham brought with him.’ When they talk to him, he can hear the condescension in their voices, as if he is unworthy of holding a conversation with them. More than once Kaveh finds himself inadvertently snapping back, and he’s grateful Alhaitham doesn’t stop him, not even once. If anything, he seems mildly pleased everytime Kaveh would go out of his way to interrupt someone’s stupid quip about omegas.

Nonetheless, he hates it. He hates it here. He needs to remind himself over and over that the party will eventually end; he needs to remind himself that they’ll go back home and he will be able to forget about this whole ordeal. So when Alhaitham finally runs into what appears to be genuine friends of his—’who knew, he has friends!’—Kaveh finishes his wine and excuses himself, making a beeline for the balcony he’d spotted some time ago.

The moment he steps outside he’s met with a cool, refreshing breeze, and he can’t help but let out a sigh of relief. He makes his way over to the railing and leans over, trying to peer down below at what is undoubtedly a vast garden. It’s far too dark to make out much more than dim silhouettes, but he supposes the assumed scenic view before him is quite pretty during the day, if the soft fragrance of padisarahs emanating from below is any indication.

Yes, he’ll spend some time here, clear his head, and go back to the party before Alhaitham concludes catching up with his friends. Or something like that.

“Imagine my luck to be running into you again. It must be fate.” A vaguely familiar voice laughs lightly. It takes Kaveh a brief moment to recognize who it belongs to, but when he does, he sighs. He turns around and his suspicions are confirmed; it’s the same alpha from earlier, who had thought Kaveh was here without an ‘owner’.

“I hardly think fate has anything to do with it,” Kaveh replies simply. His eyes dart around. The balcony was large enough that from where he was standing, very few people from within the ballroom would be able to see him, and he’s practically alone out here, save for a couple on the far side of the balcony, far too busy with each other to notice their surroundings. He’s not trapped, but his situation isn’t ideal.

He should’ve been more careful.

“You’re a funny one, you.” There’s no humor in the alpha’s voice as he offers Kaveh one of the two glasses in his hands. The blond accepts the proffered drink, if only to be polite. “I like it when my omegas have personality.”

Is he supposed to feel flattered at that? Kaveh suddenly regrets taking the glass from him.

“I’ve been watching you all night, little bird.” The alpha’s easy smile grows predatory, and Kaveh doesn’t like it—not one bit. “You looked so bored, I couldn’t help but to feel bad for you. Must be terrible, having a mate like him, hmm?”

“You’re not very good at this, are you?” Kaveh grimaces.

“Hey now, I’m just trying to be friends. No need to be so on edge.” The alpha holds out a hand, presumably for Kaveh to take. “Say, why don’t you come with me? I can show you what a real alpha is like. You’ll like it, I promise.”

Kaveh fights back the urge to roll his eyes and groan loudly. He might have, if it wasn’t for the smell of angry alpha beginning to permeate the air between them. And that, Kaveh knows, is dangerous. “My sincerest apologies, but I’m afraid I already have a mate of my own.”

“The same guy you left behind?” The lecherous grin on the alpha’s face sends shivers down Kaveh’s spine. “Right. Come now, you don’t need to be so shy—”

“I don’t think I’m communicating effectively enough for you to understand what I’m trying to say,” Kaveh snaps, tossing his drink over his shoulder and the balcony railing behind him. He hears the glass shatter somewhere below a few moments later, but he doesn’t quite care at the moment. “And what I’m saying is no.”

Never mind the angry pheromones the alpha is exuding, even under the dim silvery lighting of the moon above, the omega can see how angry the other man looks. Kaveh would be lying if he claims to be any less than at least a little rattled, facing an alpha so terribly upset over being turned down.

“Listen here, you fucking omega—” A hand lunges out to grab him, and Kaveh just barely manages to dodge at the last moment, leaving the alpha grasping at thin air. The blond tries to put space between them by taking a step back, only to have his back collide with the edge of the balcony. Next best option would be to slip to the side and hope he’d be fast enough to evade the angry alpha’s claws, but—

The alpha is suddenly dragged back by a hand on his shoulder, and next thing Kaveh knows, Alhaitham’s fist has collided with the stranger’s jaw hard enough to have him stumble back a few steps.

“What the fuck—” the alpha hisses, wincing as he brings a hand up to the spot he’d been punched. He grits his teeth, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he glares at Alhaitham. “What’s your fucking problem, huh?!”

“My apologies,” Alhaitham says dryly, “I was under the impression you lacked a basic understanding of the common tongue, seeing as my mate has been telling you he isn’t interested. I figured a more physical method of communication might prove more effective.”

“You’ll pay for this—”

“I doubt I will, unless you’d rather settle this right here and now,” he states simply, “But you’re quite inebriated, and I’ve already nearly knocked you off your feet with a single punch. Are you sure?”

The alpha sputters, but quickly scuttles away, disappearing into the crowd and out of sight. “Well, that was quick,” Kaveh remarks, taking no small pleasure in seeing the alpha flee.

Alhaitham turns back around towards the omega, his eyes critically scanning the blond, looking for any injuries. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” Kaveh tries his best to come off as nonchalant, but he knows he’s still too tense from what had just transpired to appear relaxed in any capacity. “Thank you,” he mumbles. “Truly.”

Alhaitham gives a nod. “Of course. You are my mate after all.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kaveh snorts with a small smile, leaning back against the railing. Alhaitham gives a soft huff of his own, as he takes his place next to him on the railing, and suddenly, for some reason, Kaveh can’t manage to look away.

The other man has always been awfully handsome to Kaveh, all the way from day one, as much as it pained him to admit it. But the alpha looks especially regal tonight, with the way the moonlight dances off of his features, making his teal eyes almost glow; he is absolutely ethereal. Kaveh wishes he had his sketchbook here with him, but on second thought, he figures it’s better this way, because if he did, he’d have to tear his focus between the drawing he was trying to capture onto the parchment and Alhaitham himself, rather than simply drink in the sight before him with no other distractions.

‘What is he thinking?’

“Give me that,” Kaveh sighs, taking the half-full glass of wine from Alhaitham’s hand. It’s not until he’s had a couple sips does he realize that some might consider this—him drinking from Alhaitham’s cup—as an indirect kiss, and he hates how his face heats up at the thought, like he’s some sort of love-struck virgin.

With a dark scowl, he shoves the glass back at the alpha, the remainder of the wine sloshing around madly in the confines of the cup. Alhaitham chuckles, and Kaveh decides he doesn’t want to ask what he finds so amusing.

“It appears that all my acquaintances like you,” Alhaitham begins in a quiet voice. There’s a specific look in his eyes that Kaveh can’t quite decipher. “Do you know how many times I was told that I was lucky to have found you?”

“Well, they’re not wrong,” Kaveh laughs lightly. Alhaitham gives a half-smile, but he doesn’t laugh. He simply stares straight into Kaveh’s eyes; the intensity of his gaze prevents the omega from looking away.

“Kaveh, do you know what I find interesting?”

“Judging by the number of books in your house, I’d say many things.”

“It’s that you most likely do have half of Sumeru at your feet, just begging to be your mate, and yet you choose not to do anything about it,” Alhaitham muses. Kaveh finds himself letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding when the alpha finally breaks his gaze to take a sip from his wine.

Kaveh gives a weak shrug, and it’s only when his shoulder brushes against Alhaitham’s does he actually notice that there isn’t much distance between the two of them. So, just in case, he turns to the side until he’s facing Alhaitham, with his hip resting against the edge of the railing. Alhaitham looks up from his glass to look back at Kaveh and yes, there really isn’t much distance between them, is there?

“I suppose,” Kaveh begins, his voice not much more than a soft murmur. “This is where I tell you about how I haven’t found the right person, or something like that?”

Alhaitham hums, tilting his head to the side with a barely perceptible shrug. So close, so terribly close. “I suppose it could be. Or I suppose—”

“Oh, you two lovebirds. Dear me, I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Alhaitham’s grandmother exclaims from the balcony door, making the two of them jump simultaneously. “I’ve been looking all over for you two!”

Neither of them say anything in favor of shuffling their feet and sheepishly looking away.

The lady sighed loudly. “I do hate to interrupt your fun, but I’d like to go home now. Will the two of you come with me, or shall I tell our lovely host to prepare a spare bedroom for the two of you?”

“That really won’t be necessary,” Alhaitham sighs. He pushes himself off of the railing and offers his arm to Kaveh. “Shall we go?”

The ride home is awfully quiet, save for the rattling of the carriage wheels and the sound of their horses' hooves thudding against the ground.

Kaveh wants to say something, he really does, but anything and everything he might say feels like it may lead to him saying something he’d regret. He doesn’t want to look over at Alhaitham either, because he feels like the simple sight of him just sitting there might prompt him to say something he’d truly regret.

From the corner of his eye he spots Alhaitham’s grandmother studying the two of them, with an unreadable expression that leaves Kaveh wondering what she’s thinking about. A moment later she turns her gaze to the window next to her, the faintest of smiles playing on her lips.

Ⅵ

Kaveh’s brush hovers over the canvas, idly waiting for the artist to resume his work. However, he finds himself lost in thoughts about the night before, and all that has happened so far.

The painting was nearing its finished stage, and realistically, he didn’t need Alhaitham to sit patiently in the chair within the garden. Yet by now it’s become a ritual for the two and he’s come to enjoy the time they spend together in relative silence, where he is allowed to shamelessly observe the alpha without questions asked.

His mind wanders to his first night at the lord’s mansion, and the reason that convinced him to stay. It was the almost pained look on Alhaitham’s face when he shared the fate of his loving grandmother that changed Kaveh’s mind.

He would be lying if he were to say that it doesn’t still bother him, lying to the old woman, but he somewhat understands Alhaitham’s position knowing that all he wants is for her to see him happy before she passes, even if that happiness might be no more than a lie.

Kaveh feels an unfamiliar tug in his chest, and he lowers his brush, giving up on the prospect of getting anything done while his mind is full of distractions.

“Alhaitham…” He speaks up hesitantly.

The alpha looks up from his seat curiously, and wordlessly he gazes towards Kaveh with slight concern on his face at the omega’s tone.

“I… I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Kaveh continues.

“Yes?” Alhaitham replies candidly. He smiles gently, as if to encourage Kaveh to say whatever is on his mind.

“Your grandmother—”

“No.”

Kaveh’s question is cut off before he can ask, Alhaitham’s kind expression fell to one Kaveh couldn’t quite place, but it made him feel like he was no more than a stranger, if not an intruder.

“Either continue your painting, or wrap it up for today without wasting more of my time.” Alhaitham’s words are harsh, cutting sharply through Kaveh.

Kaveh puts his brush down with a soft clack, letting a soft whine escape as he does so, soft enough for Alhaitham to hopefully not hear.

But he does.

“Wait…” Alhaitham stands up, shaking his head—not at Kaveh, but at himself—and walks towards the omega who nervously shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”

Alhaitham pauses for a moment. “What did you want to ask me about my grandmother?”

Kaveh’s mouth hangs agape, surprised at the candid question on the topic that previously had Alhaitham snap so rapidly.

“I—I know it’s personal, and probably none of my business, but…” Kaveh hesitates. “What ails her? How long does she have? Is she ok, is she in pain?”

Alhaitham gives a fond smile at the barrage of questions, but Kaveh sees in his eyes the pain of the reality he’s facing.

“It’s an illness most common in foreign lands far away from here,” Alhaitham begins solemnly, “We found out about it a few months ago, and it’s been rapidly eating away at her.”

“We’ve seen many doctors, near and far, but they all tell her the same. She will not live past the next year.” Alhaitham averts his gaze, favoring the empty sky to Kaveh’s pity-filled eyes. “If she is in pain, she won’t show it, that’s how she is.”

A quiet sits between them, and Kaveh gathers that’s all Alhaitham will say unless he asks for more. He places a gentle hand on Alhaitham’s wrist, to pull back his attention to him.

“She means a lot to you.” It is both a statement as well as a question. “Will you tell me about her?”

Alhaitham looks to the tentative hand on his wrist, and with a sigh places his hand over Kaveh’s. “After my parents passed, she vowed to protect me and care for me. She raised me, when they no longer could.”

Kaveh has wondered about the young Lord’s parents before, but the topic seemed even more taboo than the illness claiming his grandmother. He gives a reassuring nod, and Alhaitham continues.

“She made sure I’d still have a connection to my parents. My father liked to read, and she ensured I’d read everything he did and more.” He chuckles at the apparent memory, “She always says she doesn’t know if we’ve been given too much share of wisdom or not, but would remind me that being different is a gift.”

Kaveh hums. Alhaitham’s grandmother was kind and wise, he’s gathered by now.

“She has always told me, ‘You are such a smart child. Many such people have large egos and a propensity to act on their own. You are outstanding and possess a broader horizon than ordinary people. This is not a bad thing, but you must take care to have a clearer mind than others. You must understand that vain pursuits are but dust, and that you must discern your path with the greatest of wisdom.’”

At first the words seem arrogant to Kaveh, but then he remembers it was the lady who spoke them, and he re-evaluates them. He thinks about Alhaitham and how he’s acted around him, and he feels like he understands him a little better.

Where society indulges in frivolities and worse, where society would put an omega in chains, Alhaitham does not and would never. He turns his head away from vain pursuits and instead cherishes knowledge and wisdom.

A small smile spreads across Kaveh’s lips. His appreciation for Alhaitham and his grandmother has grown, learning the wise woman’s words as she raised the young man.

“She is wonderful…” Kaveh sighs.

“She loves you,” Alhaitham smiles at Kaveh. “Which I never doubted.”

“Really? How so?” Kaveh looks in confusion.

“By now you know she’s steadfast, but what you may not know is that she too, is an artist. The paintings within the mansion were all made by her.”

Kaveh gapes. The countless images adorning the mansion walls were all made by the same person? And said person is none other than Alhaitham’s grandmother?

“She is magnificent!” Kaveh excitedly exclaims.

“So she is,” Alhaitham pauses. “The two of you are very alike.”

Kaveh’s face flushes red at what felt like unintentional praise. To call her magnificent, only to be compared to her after being in agreement, Kaveh feels undeserving.

They stand there in a comfortable silence, until Kaveh decides it’s been enough and pushes him towards the canvas he’s been working on so diligently. “You should learn how to paint.”

“Is that not what I hired you for?” Alhaitham replies sarcastically.

“Shush, I’m just going to teach you some basics. I think having a painted picture of near anything from her loving grandson would make your grandmother happy.”

Alhaitham nods, his eyes twinkle with the excitement of a young boy. Kaveh giggles to himself at the endearing change in demeanor. The tall and handsome alpha, reduced to the mindset of a young pup wanting to prove itself to its parents.

Kaveh hands Alhaitham the brush, their fingers touching briefly causing Kaveh to retract abruptly. The action earns him a light chuckle from the alpha, a sound he chooses to ignore in favor of finding some scrap paper for the man to ruin with his lack of artistic prowess.

“N—normally I’d start with a sketch,” Kaveh curses himself for stuttering. He doesn’t understand why all of a sudden, he is acting like a schoolgirl in love. He’s been perfectly normal in both his behavior and thoughts towards Alhaitham so far, right?

He steals a glance to his side, and eyes the alpha up and down. He has always known the man was good looking, but every time he gets a chance to witness it up close, this very fact is emphasized by all the details he’s able to perceive at close distance.

The appeal behind Alhaitham was the subtleties to his demeanor, Kaveh decides then and there. The alpha doesn’t outwardly smile, making the small lift at the corner of his lips ever so precious when given. His movements are always minimal, yet graceful. Kaveh's mind wanders to how Alhaitham would be in a fight, cool and calculated, he imagines.

“But…?” Alhaitham’s deep voice snaps Kaveh from his thoughts. How long has he been standing there just staring at the alpha?

“But what?” Kaveh asks sheepishly, unsure where he left off when he last spoke.

Alhaitham’s expression is impossible to read, Kaveh believes he sees some amusement in it, but that doesn’t feel quite right. “You normally start with a sketch,” Alhaitham states, as if he were a teacher reminding a student where they left off in a book they were expected to pay attention to in class.

“Right! I normally start with a sketch.” Kaveh regains his composure quickly. “But I doubt your drawing skills are anything to call home for, so we’ll do some basic shapes for now.”

Kaveh puts the scraps of paper he’d found on the small table holding his supplies, gesturing to Alhaitham to give it a try.

Awkwardly Alhaitham holds the brush and moves it toward the blank scrap, only for Kaveh to tut and stop him. “Wait, you’re holding the brush all wrong.”

Kaveh reaches over Alhaitham’s hand and moves the alpha’s fingers around the brush to ensure he’s holding the tool properly. When his eyes move up to meet Alhaitham’s gaze, he stills.

Silently Alhaitham stares at Kaveh, and the air between them feels thick with words left unspoken. The alpha’s sharp gaze pulls Kaveh in and locks him in place, making him feel like he’s drowning in the storm raging within the fascinating teal eyes.

“There’s specks of orange,” Kaveh remarks, unintentionally speaking aloud his thoughts.

“What?” Alhaitham responds.

“In your eyes, I hadn’t noticed before, there’s flecks of orange there.”

“Is that so?” Alhaitham’s lids lower and he closes the space between them ever so slightly.

Kaveh becomes acutely aware of how close they are, and how embarrassing it truly was for him to comment on the alpha’s eyes, no matter how fascinating they were.

“Yes! Well! Either way, you were holding the brush all wrong,” Kaveh stammers, stepping back from Alhaitham and creating space between them once more.

“Indeed, you said that.”

“Did I?” Kaveh chuckles awkwardly.

Alhaitham watches Kaveh’s every move like a predator watches his prey. It sends a shiver down Kaveh’s spine, and he isn’t sure if he can claim to dislike it. He feels exposed under Alhaitham’s gaze, and does everything in his power to hide the arousal he knows is lacing his scent this very moment.

Surely he is successful, as Alhaitham gives no indication of noticing anything being amiss.

Ⅶ

Something is off that morning.

Actually, things have been off for a few days now—specifically with Alhaitham. He’d show up for breakfast, snatched something from the table and promptly left again. He has even canceled their previously daily art sessions, excused by him having ‘no time’, only for Kaveh to find him a bit later, holed up in the library with a faint scowl.

But something is particularly off this morning.

By this time Alhaitham would’ve already been knocking on Kaveh’s door, asking him what was taking him so long, and how they had to be at the breakfast table fifteen minutes ago. But now, when Kaveh is quite sure it’s already terribly late, nothing but silence greets him from behind the door that separates them. Kaveh never heard him leave—or do anything, for that matter. He must still be in his room.

Maybe he’s sleeping in?

After getting changed and ready for the day, Kaveh walks up to the door joining their rooms together and raps his knuckles against the ornate wood. “Alhaitham?”

Silence.

After counting to ten in his head, Kaveh knocks again. Once more he is met with silence, but he thinks he hears something akin to what he guesses is the rustling of sheets, further backing up the hypothesis that Alhaitham is still in bed. Nevertheless, there is still no answer.

‘Oh well.’ Kaveh figures he’ll just wake Alhaitham up and make sure he’s alright before he makes his way to the dining room. He’s sure Alhaitham’s grandmother is already waiting for them.

“I still need to use your door to leave—” He’s barely opened the door a crack and he can already smell it, thick and heavy in the air. The unmistakable scent of an alpha in rut.

Well, that explains the recent mood changes.

Something primal inside Kaveh stirs at the sweet scent of the alpha, and he suppresses the shudder that creeps up on him. How could he have been so blind to this particular possibility?

“Alhaitham, are you alright?” It’s only then that he dares peek through the slight crack of the door. Predictably, he finds the alpha lying in bed, face-down, covered by nothing but a sheet that’s half-haphazardly draped over his waist. Kaveh tries not to stare, and he tries not to breathe in too deeply through his nose.

Is this what Alhaitham had felt during his heat?

Alhaitham turned his head just far enough to groggily peer at the blond. There’s a dangerous glint in his one visible eye that has the omega’s heart beating far faster than normal.

“Do you want me to get you water?” Kaveh asks, slipping inside the room and closing the door behind him. Logic would dictate that he should turn back around and use the main door of his bedroom but he can’t just leave Alhaitham like this, can he?

“Kaveh.” Alhaitham’s voice is awfully raspy and low—from sleep or strain, Kaveh would never know. “You should go.”

“Or what? I have a hard time believing you’re one of those alphas who is unable to control themselves.” Kaveh sighs, planting a hand on his hip. “You’re in a lot of pain. Let me…”

He takes a deep breath. “Let me help you out.”

“This isn’t a part of your job.”

Kaveh is about to bite back, tell him how not everything has to do with the stupid deal between them, how some things might be done out of just caring for someone else—like how he had helped out during the omega’s heat. But Alhaitham looks so out of it that he can’t really bring himself to bicker. All he does is sigh and walk across the bedroom to the main door. “I’m going to get you some things. I’ll be right back.”

Alhaitham doesn’t say anything, and only buries his face into the pillow beneath his head again.

It’s not until Kaveh steps out of Alhaitham’s bedroom does he realize how much that brief encounter had wound him up. He needs to take a moment to gather his composure. He’s glad there isn’t anyone in this wing of the mansion at the moment. Surely they’d find the sight of the red-faced omega leaning against a wall with a hand on his chest as he struggles to catch his breath more than a little odd.

He must still look more than a little flustered when he steps into the dining hall a few minutes later, apologizing profusely to Alhaitham’s grandmother for being so late to today’s breakfast. She doesn’t question him when he takes a tray and fills it with food and tea to take back to the alpha’s room, nor when he asks a maid for a cold towel.

“Kaveh dear?” She says questioningly just as Kaveh is about to leave the room, tray in hand. He stops in his tracks and turns around to find a peculiar look on the lady’s face.

The old woman sighs, and gives him a small smile. “Take care of my little Haitham, will you?”

‘Does she know about my arrangement with Alhaitham, or is she just concerned about her grandson?’

Kaveh gave a short nod and a smile of his own. “Of course.”

She must be sensing he’s genuinely telling the truth, because she nods back at him, sighing again. “Good. Now go, he must be waiting for you.”

Kaveh is unsurprised to find Alhaitham exactly how he had left him, given that he hasn’t been away for very long. Alhaitham’s scent is intoxicating, dizzying almost, and breathing with his mouth isn’t helping as much as the omega hoped it would, but he thinks he can manage long enough to at least tend to the lord’s basic needs.

Alhaitham isn’t faring all that well; Kaveh doesn’t need to press the back of his hand against the alpha’s forehead to be able to feel how badly he is burning up. He refuses to eat, move or do anything really, and the way he flinches every time Kaveh’s hand accidentally brushes against his skin makes the blond’s heart squeeze with sympathy.

Kaveh knows he’s playing a dangerous game, hovering around closely to an alpha so deeply entrenched by their rut. Maybe it’s the sweet scent of a virile alpha hanging in the air that’s making him this way, but he can’t help but to admit to himself that the prospect of riling up the alpha excites him.

Afterall, there is only one way to really help out an alpha in a rut, isn't there? And Alhaitham seems to be in so much pain, especially with an omega like him so close.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt if he just—

“Kaveh,” Alhaitham says, suddenly yanking the omega out of his thoughts. The alpha further buries his face into his pillow, until his voice is almost completely muffled. “I need you to go.”

“I’ve been spending all morning trying to help you feel better, and this is the thanks I get?” The omega snaps back softly. He crosses his arms in front of his chest, even though he knows Alhaitham can’t see him right now. “Alhaitham, don’t worry, I—”

“Your scent,” Alhaitham mumbles into his pillow, so softly that for a moment he almost doesn’t hear him.

Kaveh startles. Has the alpha been able to smell the faint arousal on the omega? He’d heard how alphas senses heightened during their ruts, but he hadn’t thought it to be to this degree.

The blond watches the alpha’s back rise and fall with each deep, poorly controlled inhale and exhale, and the way the alpha’s muscles tense and relax as he struggles to keep a hold on himself.

If Alhaitham hadn’t been doing good before, then he definitely isn’t okay now.

Maybe he can fix that.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Kaveh leans down until his lips are nearly brushing the outer shell of Alhaitham’s ear. “I could help you, if you’d let me.”

The omega does not miss the way the alpha’s arms seem to be trembling as he struggles to control himself. Alhaitham seems to choke on his words, just turning his head to the side far enough to look at him with one, glazed-over eye. “Kaveh, you don’t want to—”

“I want you to,” Kaveh whispers.

That seems to make something snap within the alpha, because next thing Kaveh knows he’s been thrown onto the bed, pinned down to the mattress by his wrists, trapped underneath the alpha’s body. Alhaitham takes a moment to gaze into the omega's vermillion eyes, seemingly searching for something. Kaveh is about to open his mouth to ask what he is doing, before his lips are captured in a desperate and needy kiss.

The blond lets out a soft moan as the alpha's tongue forces itself inside his mouth, shuddering at the sensation. Their teeth clack against one another, but Kaveh doesn't care. Neither does he mind the hands that lock his wrists above his head with a grip strong enough that'll surely leave bruises tomorrow.

Kaveh turns his head to the side to break their kiss, and gasps for air, finding himself unable to catch his breath. Alhaitham wastes no time shifting his focus onto the soft skin of the omega's neck, peppering kisses and small bites. He grinds down onto the omega beneath him, drawing out a whine from the blond.

"Al—Alhaitham..." Kaveh breathes, gently tugging on the hands pinning him in place. The alpha barely even seems to notice, so he wriggles around some more, trying to get the other man’s attention.

Alhaitham must’ve left about three or four more bruises on the blond’s neck before he finally loosens his grip just enough for Kaveh to free his hands. He just barely manages to grab onto the younger man’s shoulder to gently hold him back.

The alpha's eyes are still glazed over, but there's concern in his gaze at the sudden resistance. Kaveh gives a small smile in hopes of quelling any worries he may be having. He places a hand on the younger man's cheek, abscent-mindedly noting how hot his skin felt beneath his palm. "Let me."

Alhaitham is still giving him the same dazed, hungry stare, and Kaveh assumes that his words aren’t quite registering. Nonetheless, when the omega slides his hands down to gently push against Alhaitham’s well-built chest, the alpha lets himself be pushed back until his back is hitting the mattress with a soft huff.

Kaveh wastes no time peeling off his own clothes and climbing on top of the alpha until he’s straddling the younger man, and he bends down, pressing a slow, languid kiss on the Alhaitham’s lips.

Not breaking the kiss, the omega reaches back behind him. He runs his fingers against his already dripping wet hole, coating his digits in slick before slipping them inside with a sharp inhale. He feels Alhaitham run his hands up the back of his thighs, squeezing lightly in what Kaveh could only guess to be a silent request to hurry up.

Kaveh breaks the kiss to let out the soft whine that bubbles up from him as his fingers brush against his sweet spot. He wants to take the time to indulge in himself more, but with the alpha’s erection brushing against him almost teasingly every time he shifts his hips down, it would feel like such a waste to spend time pleasuring himself when instead, he could hurry up and make himself feel good on the alpha’s sizable cock.

The blond winces as he continues to roughly scissor himself, preparing his tight hole from what was to come. He feels a bit self conscious with the way Alhaitham’s lust-filled eyes follow his every move. He’d like to think there’s a hidden meaning in the way Alhaitham suddenly grabs his chin and yanks Kaveh down until their lips crash together once more.

Kaveh reciprocates the kiss until he feels like his lungs are about to collapse from the lack of air. He finally sits back on top of Alhaitham, the feel of the alpha’s cock poking against him sending thrills through his limbs for what was to come. The dark look Alhaitham is giving him, and the way he digs his fingers into Kaveh’s hips is enough indication that his patience is running thin, and the omega can’t help but to breathe out a soft laugh.

Not wanting to torture the alpha any longer, Kaveh sits up on his knees and scoots back. He reaches down and back, wrapping his fingers around Alhaitham’s cock, and carefully lines it up with his entrance.

Taking a deep breath, Kaveh slowly sinks down—or at least attempts to; he’s barely got the head in and his eyes sting with unshed tears. He wants to give himself a moment to adjust to the thick length stretching him so, but the way Alhaitham inhales sharply and tenses beneath the omega, practically clawing at the sheets under him encourages him to keep going.

The omega can’t help the whine he lets out as he slides down bit-by-bit, finally bottoming out with a soft gasp. Alhaitham groans, letting go of his sheets in favor of grabbing Kaveh’s legs, pressing down in the supple skin, leaving his mark for the omega to remember him by for days to come.

Kaveh leans forward, resting his hands on Alhaitham’s chest to support himself, panting as he tenses around the alpha’s throbbing cock. He feels so impossibly full, stretched to his limits, so fucking good; he doesn’t want to move—not for a bit, at least.

A hand slides up the omega’s thigh and up to his waist, resting on his stomach. Kaveh looks down to find a pronounced bulge where Alhaitham’s cock would be inside him, and he needs to bite back a moan at the sight.

“You look so beautiful like this,” Alhaitham murmurs, gently pressing down on the omega’s stomach, pulling another whine from his throat as he feels the shifting of the cock inside him. “And to think, we haven’t even started yet.”

“Shut up,” Kaveh groans, gently swiping the other man’s hand away. He shifts his weight forward onto his trembling arms and breathes deeply as he moves back up ever so slowly, and he already misses the feeling of being completely filled by the other man.

Gently, he lowers himself back down again, keening at the feeling of being stuffed full. Up and down, up and down, Kaveh finds himself falling into a natural rhythm as he bounces on the alpha’s cock.

It’s good, it’s so very good. The alpha feels incredible inside him, and with him having control, Kaveh can swivel his hips how he likes, ramming the cock where it feels best. The omega can’t help the loud moans that he lets out with every bounce, raking his nails down Alhaitham’s perfect chest.

He’s far too lost in his own pleasure to notice the predatory gleam in Alhaitham’s eyes, and he doesn’t suspect a thing when the alpha’s grip on Kaveh’s waist tightens even more. The alpha waits until the omega moves up again, before locking him in place and slipping his cock out of him.

“Wait—” Kaveh yelps in surprise as he’s suddenly thrown onto his back, with Alhaitham climbing on top of him, pinning him down once more. The omega’s lips are captured into a filthy, filthy kiss that steals the remaining breath out of Kaveh’s lungs, making him feel like he’s about to pass out.

“You think—” Alhaitham’s voice was no more than a growl. He averts his attention from the omega’s almost endearingly shocked expression, just long enough to line himself up with his hole once more “—you can take things into your own hands, and get away with it?”

Kaveh’s retort is ripped away when the alpha suddenly rams into him, making him cry out. Alhaitham is merciless in the way he pounds into the omega trapped under him. It’s impressive with the way he’s able to hit his sweet spot over and over and over again, rendering Kaveh powerless to do anything but submit.

Teeth nip and bite at his neck almost threateningly, eliciting an instinctive shiver from the blond. Despite being so awfully drunk on his rut, Kaveh highly doubts Alhaitham would actually mark him for good, but he can’t deny the thrill that races through his limbs at the thought of being claimed right then and there.

“You think you could do whatever you like?” The alpha growls into the omega’s ear as he thrusts into him at a relentless pace. In and out, in and out, with each rut Kaveh feels his sanity slip further away.

“You’re taking my cock so well.” Kaveh feels a hand push the hair out of his face almost tenderly as Alhaitham continues to fuck him ruthlessly. “Such a good omega.”

He’s so lost in his pleasure, he can’t even bite back at the alpha. Any words melt into senseless babbling, and all he can do is take it. He just barely manages a nod.

“Have you been waiting for me to fuck you?”

A pathetic whine is all Kaveh can respond with because yes, he has been waiting.

“Do you like being bred like this?”

Kaveh has never felt as strong an urge to be bred by an alpha as he does now; he wants Alhaitham’s release inside him, if only to carry the alpha’s presence with him long after Alhaitham’s rut ends.

Kaveh’s orgasm overtakes him suddenly and all at once, ripping a cry from his chest. Alhaitham slows down, finally allowing for the trembling omega to just barely catch his breath.

Alhaitham obviously isn’t done, if the rock-hard cock still buried deep inside Kaveh was any indication. Kaveh struggles to catch his breath, his chest stuttering with each inhale and exhale as he squirmed around the alpha inside him.

He is far past his limit, but he doesn’t want to disappoint the alpha so desperately trying to find relief through his body.

“You…you don’t have to stop,” Kaveh stammers through breaths, reaching up with a trembling hand to run his fingers through Alhaitham’s hair.

Alhaitham spares no time as he starts moving again, and immediately Kaveh regrets his words. It’s too much, it’s all too much. His body is still sensitive from his orgasm, and he has no control of where his body goes.

He is grateful for Alhaitham’s hold on him, keeping him steady despite the alpha becoming more frantic with his own movements. Kaveh wants to keep holding on, to keep going, for his alpha’s sake, but also because he eagerly awaits the feeling of being filled to the brim with Alhaitham’s seed.

Any noises released by the omega are no more than mindless babbling. His body screams at him, begging him to stop accepting the relentless thrusting, the pleasure bordering on pain.

Yet Alhaitham’s thrusts grow faster, and all Kaveh can do is cry out desperately while digging his nails into the alpha’s back. His legs tremble uncontrollably as he tries his very best to at least stay still and not instinctively move away from the overstimulation he’s feeling right now. He can barely muster the strength to just breathe with the way Alhaitham mercilessly moves into him.

He is so terribly spent, but he has never felt so terribly good either.

Alhaitham’s movements grow frantic, and Kaveh senses the alpha is close to reaching his climax; it’s the way he curses with every thrust, the way his breaths have turned into soft moans that make the omega swell with pride because it’s him who makes the alpha feel this good. murmurs how amazing Kaveh’s hole feels,

Kaveh whines at the words Alhaitham breathes out to him, his voice barely above a whisper, “You fit me so well, as if you’re made for me.”

“You can finish—inside me,” Kaveh gasps, desperate to feel Alhaitham’s seed inside of him. “Come for me, Alhaitham,” he says, guiding the alpha with the sweet words of encouragement.

“Fuck… Kaveh, I’m going to—” Alhaitham pants.

It’s then that Kaveh feels the younger man’s release finally spill inside him, paired with the swell of the alpha’s knot. Alhaitham hisses while Kaveh can only give one final whimper of his own.

The room grows quiet, only the sound of their rapid breathing between them. Kaveh opens his mouth to say something, but he’s cut off by the feel of the alpha’s cock suddenly moving slightly inside. The omega’s hand flies up to his mouth just in time to muffle the small cry he gives out as the knot stretches his insides out further.

It feels like his insides are on fire, and the tears that had been flowing freely already, spill down his cheeks and onto the now-soiled sheets beneath them.

The alpha presses a soft kiss against Kaveh’s cheek, almost as if to apologize. The blond gives a soft, shaky sigh, turning his head in Alhaitham’s direction. “So, you were about to say you were going to knot me?”

“I—”

“It’s alright,” Kaveh sighs happily. It feels amazing, being wrapped in the alpha’s arms like this, warming his cock as he’s filled by the man’s knot. It’s the closest he’s ever been to pure bliss.

He chuckles softly. “We’re going to be here a while, aren’t we?”

“Hm.” Alhaitham nuzzles the crook of Kaveh’s neck, burying his nose into the soft, unmarked skin, making the blond shudder. Kaveh pushes down the thought of Alhaitham’s teeth sinking into that very spot, sometime in the future—he pushes down the even more invasive thought of wanting it to be now.

Kaveh feels a hand snake around his torso, and a moment later his lips are captured in a brief, almost chaste kiss. “I suppose we will.”

Ⅷ

The painting is one of the best ones Kaveh has ever made, if he says so himself. He’s never painted his other clients this well, that’s for sure.

In the painting, the lord sits within the now familiar garden, bathed by golden sunlight, surrounded by vines, ferns and all sorts of different flowers within a litany of vibrant colors. He looks regal as he stares down at the leather-backed book within his hands, a magnetic look in his bright, crystalline eyes that once one meets them, they’d find it impossible to look away.

Deft paint strokes captured the feathery softness of the silver hair, and, if one looks closely, they might notice the healthy pink flush dusting his cheeks, or the subtle smile playing on his lips.

Perhaps, if one looks long enough, they might be able to trick themselves into believing that the subject trapped within the confines of the canvas is very much alive.

“It’s quite nice,” Alhaitham says. His words don’t convey enthusiasm, but there’s a look in his eye that speaks for itself; it is a look that tells Kaveh that the alpha found the painting to be more than just ‘nice’.

The blond sighs loudly. “Given that you’re the worst subject I’ve ever had, I’d say it’s quite amazing, even.”

“Is that so?” The alpha tilts his head in his senior’s direction, a small smile playing on his lips; it’s not unlike the one depicted in the painting they were standing in front of.

“Absolutely,” Kaveh says with a huff, planting a hand on his hip. “It is absolutely so.”

Alhaitham chuckles softly. “So, you wouldn’t be open to a second commission?”

The omega gapes at him. “What?!”

“Twice the pay–your debts included, plus,” Alhaitham waits a beat for extra emphasis, “the honor of becoming my mate. Only on arrival, of course.”

“The honor of being your mate? Please. Don’t make me laugh.” Kaveh glares at Alhaitham from the corner of his eyes, “And to spend a lifetime with you? I’d sooner chew my leg off.”

“Oh really?” Alhaitham drawls, crossing his arms in front of his chest. His lips twitch like he’s trying not to smile, and Kaveh needs to cover his own laughter with a cough. “Mating bonds are reserved for the fourth painting—at least.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“We’ll see, Haitham.”

Kaveh turns his gaze to the painting once more. Perhaps, if one looks long enough, they might be able to see the love the artist felt for the subject trapped within the confines of the canvas.