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1
The first time it happens, they are newly friends. Okay, well, he wouldn’t say anything happened. More like it didn’t happen. He should get to the point.
When Alhaitham was a first year in the prestigious Akademiya of Sumeru, he met a second year architecture student and they became friends - not so much that they went out every evening or even met up that frequently, really. However, in the years of knowing people - he would not say he was friends with them - he found out that on people’s birthdays their friends would often wish them a happy birthday and gift them something small, or even something bigger if they were close friends.
But that didn’t apply to him and Kaveh (not yet, anyway) so he would probably need to gift him something smaller, and also wish him a happy birthday, which is impossible if he doesn’t know when he actually has his birthday.
So he makes a plan (it’s what he’s best at, after all) and decides to gift him something around the date of any major holiday and if he ever mentions anything to do with birthdays, birth dates, anything of the sort, he’s sorted. If not… Well, there’s more than one holiday, isn’t there?
First things first, the gift, something small, unobtrusive that Kaveh would appreciate. In actuality he’s unsure what gifts people receive, he’s never received a gift, given that his parents passed away when he was young and he never saw the need for friends. The whole situation is a bit out of his depth, if he’s being completely honest - and he always tries to be.
He settles on a red scarf to gift him during the winter holidays. A practical gift, fitting for the holidays and for a birthday of a friend. Now he needs to gift it and wait for the reaction, hopefully he can get this conundrum done and dusted with his first try.
He tries to be as natural as possible, giving him the scarf wrapped in neutral wrapping paper on a day they were going to meet anyway, he receives a response that for some reason causes him not to be able to look away as a bright smile crosses Kaveh’s face, lighting up his eyes. His perpetual eye-bags seem less-so somehow.
“This is for me?! ‘Haitham, you didn’t have to! I know you don’t celebrate the winter holidays,” That’s true, he was raised Muslim. Honestly, it makes it less suspicious if he gives Kaveh gifts during his own holidays.
“And is this cashmere?! Do you even have enough money for something like this? ‘Haitham you know you don’t have to give me expensive gifts for me to like you, right?” Good to know. “I like you just fine,” Ouch, that one actually hurt a little, “Plus, you’re one of my best friends! I want you to take care of yourself first and foremost.”
He would say it was surprisingly considerate of Kaveh, but given his softness and emotional fragility, maybe it wasn’t out of character. Regardless, that was a failure, time for plan B.
2
Friends know each other’s birthdays, right? Wrong. Alhaitham doesn’t know his closest friend’s birthday, so therefore friends in general must not be bothered with their friends' birthdays. Besides, it’s really awkward asking a friend you’ve had for over a year what their birthday is, shouldn’t one know this kind of stuff?
His schedule is absolutely packed with classes, with him studying physics and taking elective classes in literature and linguistics, and exams are just around the corner, however the spring equinox is right around the corner, which means it’s another chance to try and approximate Kaveh’s birthday. Coincidentally, Kaveh has invited him to a party a few days before Maidyozarem begins, so he has the perfect opportunity to give him the gift.
The gift itself is a set of fine tip pens and fountain pens as well as a sketchbook. The amount of research he had conducted into which paper would be better for the type of art and architecture work Kaveh does rivalled the amount of research he did for his 15th century Liyuen poetry paper. And Kaveh’s gift doesn’t count towards his degree while his paper does, it’s pretty interesting how much work he put into something which past him would agree is inconsequential.
Somehow his current self doesn’t think so, in fact, he feels quite strongly about finding the perfect present for his closest (and only) friend.
On the day that he plans to give Kaveh his gift he has two lectures in the morning and a four hour lab in the afternoon, as well as reading for his linguistics class. He isn’t planning on drinking during Kaveh’s party since he has classes basically everyday. (He hears Kaveh’s voice in his head, “Alhaitham you’re torturing yourself with all these classes, just choose something and stick with it!” ) The tiredness he feels is bearable if it means that he gets to see Kaveh’s smile when he gets the present.
The party is incessantly loud, creating headaches and causing him to turn up the noise cancelling feature of his headphones. That’s unfortunate, no matter how many times he complains about Kaveh’s “irritating” voice, everyone who knows the two of them knows that he isn’t sincere in his admonition. He was looking forward to hearing the older student’s shortening of his name once more - he rarely ever does it, only in moments of high emotion or sincerity.
“Kaveh.” He feels himself speak but he doesn’t hear anything, it’s a strange sensation, and he is unsure if he likes it or not - sometimes he gets anxious that he is speaking too loudly or that he’s slurring his words or that his emphasis falls on the wrong syllable, silly things, really.
“Alhaitham! I wasn’t sure if you were coming, being the wet blanket that you are,” he reads, not hearing a single thing coming out of his mouth, but being able to imitate the tone of his voice in his head as he sees him speak, the subtle notes of teasing and the moments when his voice gets softer and slightly more fond. Or maybe he’s imagining that…
He hands him the - again, neutral coloured - paper bag and steps back, waiting on his reaction. He gets it. The blond’s face expressed shock, and then he starts to pull out the sketchbooks and the pens - in their case, of course. Kaveh is the easiest person to interact with, Alhaitham thinks, all his emotions play across his face and the tone of his voice so much more expressively than the rest of the populace.
He breaks out of his zoning out when he gets pulling into a not un -welcome hug from the best (and only) friend he’s ever had, and he thinks that he will always be happy if their dynamic stays this way forever.
He didn’t read anything about a birthday though.
3
Ok, so he doesn’t have any excuse this time. He and Kaveh are together now, as in dating. He can’t say he was expecting anything like this to come from their friendship, and from their sharing of a flat. He wasn’t expecting the offer to share a flat (he’s heard enough horror stories about dating your flatmate or roommate not to be wary), but he’s not complaining… Maybe he is complaining a little bit.
He’s okay with sharing a flat (and bed) with Kaveh however Cyno, Tighnari, Lisa and Candace. Candace herself keeps the kitchen neat and orderly, and she always cleans up after herself, and Lisa is frequently away on weekend trips to Mondstadt to see her girlfriend. (On the weekends that Jean comes to visit Lisa in Sumeru, however, it’s a whole other story.) Tighnari and Cyno are sickeningly in love, and are always engaging in PDA all over the flat. Yes, Alhaitham knows that technically it isn’t PDA since it is in the flat and not in public.
Him and Kaveh on the other hand, don’t really engage in very romantic activities (according to Cyno, who Alhaitham swear has a grudge against him, for what reason, he doesn’t know.) Alhaitham isn’t actually sure of the reason why, only that sometimes he wants nothing more than to touch Kaveh and to cuddle with him and kiss him and at other times he wants nothing to do with him, hates the feeling of his touch against his skin and despises talking in any capacity.
When those days come, he never complains about it; after all, there’s nothing really to complain about - but Kaveh notices regardless. He always sits, dejected, leaving a good metre between them when they watch a movie together, and he doesn’t cuddle up to him in bed when they go to sleep. It’s almost like watching a puppy follow around its owner.
Back to the point. Living together with Kaveh it is difficult to draw mind-maps and pinboards all over the room detailing the next gift idea and which holiday the gift coincidentally appears on, so he has to get creative. The summer solstice.
Yes, he knows, but there aren’t many holidays during the summer and he’s got to do something other than summer school during the three months the Akademiya isn’t holding their usual classes. At least, that’s what Kaveh claims. So he collects his paycheck - he started working as a TA and personal tutor this semester. He hates it - and goes off to buy Kaveh a present.
The first thing that catches his eye is stupidly expensive, out of his price range, and, if he’s being honest (which he always tries to be), kind of… basic. It is just the newest iPad, nothing really special. But it’s teal, which is Kaveh’s favourite colour - which was a surprise given that the man wears exclusively red ( “It matches my colour palette, I’m an autumn tone darling I can’t wear cyan” ) The next thing he finds has genuine potential, and he thinks that maybe he found the perfect birthday gift.
The solstice comes around and with it is a week-long trip to visit Kaveh’s family - if he was smart now he would ask Kaveh’s family, but imagine the reactions of his boyfriend’s family when they realise that their son’s significant other doesn’t know his birthday. Yeah, he thought so.
It’s during a quiet evening, after a nice time relaxing in the living room with a bottle of white wine - and before a little fun, nothing intense, they’re at Kaveh’s parents after all - that he pulls out the gift.
“What’s the occasion, babe? Or is it just another one of your whims?” Kaveh gets a kiss for his troubles, but it does make Alhaitham question whether or not he is getting too frequent and obvious with his mission to find out his beloved’s birthday. “Alright then, keep your secrets,” the reference gets a light shove and an eyeroll as Kaveh laughs at him.
“An embroidery kit? ‘Haitham you really are the best gift giver I know,” it’s a sweet sentiment but one that Alhaitham knows isn’t exactly true, sure he’s decent, but the best gifts that he’s seen have been Kaveh’s gifts to him. And they’ve been on his birthday, so that’s that.
4
So maybe it is his fault, the lack of knowledge on some people’s *cough* Kaveh *cough* birthdays. So far he has discovered that it is not during the winter holidays, not at the end of Ramadan and not during the summer solstice.
What has he got left? Valentine’s Day? Worth a shot, isn’t it?
All he can think of is the stereotypical flowers and chocolate combo - he’s hopeless at romance, sue him - and he’s out of ideas for presents, after all, him and Kaveh get presents for each other on their anniversary, so he has to watch out for repeats and reruns.
The flowers are, of course, padisarah’s - Kaveh’s favourites - unpicked and still in their pot. He gets the chocolate orders special from Natlan, after all, his boyfriend deserves the best, and now that Alhaitham has a stable paycheck working in admin at the Akademiya (Kaveh insists that he could do better, but it’s easy work and easy money, so why not?) he can afford to spoil his boyfriend a little (ok, a lot, the chocolate was expensive, ok?).
Of course, the chocolates and flowers have to have a little more substance to be up to par with Kaveh’s very precise palate. Along with the previously mentioned, he books a table at a restaurant - not a very fancy one, Kaveh finds them pretentious and overbearing, Alhaitham has no opinion on the matter other than not having anything fancy enough to wear - and mentions to Kaveh to keep his evening free. The man responds in kind, with a suggestive comment - as per Kaveh’s usual style.
The day goes off without a hitch, and the evening starts off even better. Kaveh looks delectable in his crisp new suit (in autumnal shades, of course) and Alhaitham wears his best, which Kaveh has repeatedly said is the only tolerable outfit in his entire wardrobe. If Alhaitham could spend his entire life wearing leggings, a tank top and a jacket he probably would.
The only other thing is to make sure that his gifts are in their paper bag - appropriately, in little red love hearts - and they set off in Alhaitham’s car. The ride is pretty short - they live in the centre of Sumeru - and silent. By this point Kaveh has learned that it is better if they don’t speak while in the car, Alhaitham focuses his all on the road and tunes out any outside speaking. It was a cause for a great many arguments back in the day, nowadays they’ve been together for long enough - they even have their own flat - that they learn to compromise on these sorts of things.
Not on road safety though, Alhaitham insists, Kaveh just huffs.
The restaurant is pretty atmospheric, with candles and the lights dimmed especially for Valentine’s. Kaveh looks beautiful with his hair up, the hair clips catching the light and dispersing it in all the shades of the rainbow, primarily yellow candle light. His chocolate eyes look red in the light and perfectly match the shade of the suit he was wearing. Kaveh’s colour theory may actually have some merit, Alhaitham thinks.
The gifts are given pretty quickly, and Kaveh seems happy enough with the vegan chocolate and potted padisarah’s, fawning over putting them on their balcony. Alhaitham looks away from Kaveh’s distracting smile, failing to notice the look of pure adoration being sent his way.
“Alhaitham,” he turns his head, “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, you’ve inspired all my art from the very moment we first met, and I’ve never met anyone who means as much to me as you do. I love you from the bottom of my heart.”
He pulls out a ring.
5
He’s tried everything at this point, asked every friend they have, no one tells him anything. All he can do is do the most horrifying thing imaginable… making a Facebook account, befriending Kaveh on facebook and checking his birthday on Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg can get his personal information for all he cares, he just wants to find out his fiance’s birthday. Is that too much to ask? After knowing him for seven years, how is it even possible for one as astute as Alhaitham to not know?
“‘Haitham? What are you doing? I’ve never seen you use a phone, like, ever.” He rolls his eyes, of course he uses a phone, Kaveh, every single time he calls him when Kaveh is away on a trip to meet with clients.
“Just setting up a Facebook, thought it was probably about time to get my information stolen and sold off to third party websites,” He sees Kaveh’s eyes light up as he tries to pry Alhaitham’s beat up old Samsung out of his hands.
“Gimme, babe, come on, don’t you trust me? I’ll even friend myself since you’re such an old man that you won’t be able to,” The teasing is natural and comfortable, their own way of flirting, really.
“If I’m old Kaveh, I wonder what that makes you. And if your ninety year old grandma can use it, I’m sure I can,” He gets a hearty laugh for his effort and his face involuntarily perks up into a smile. He’s unsure when he started smiling more than frowning. He remembers the days when he wasn’t happy, and all he did was work and study and work some more, barely sleeping the night before his nine-am classes.
Maybe love has made him soft and emotionally fragile. But with Kaveh here, it doesn’t seem like a bad thing.
He gets his phone back pretty quickly, with Kaveh having chosen his hobbies and interests, his relationship status, writing in his birthday (how he wishes that were him) and including his occupation, “You really went all in on giving it away for free.” The shove that gets him is worth it for the joke, especially for the quick kiss that follows as Kaveh goes to the kitchen to finish off their dinner.
He quickly searches through the profile and finds the friends list which shows off a few friends that Kaveh had added, Tighnari, Cyno, Lisa, Dehya, Candace and Nilou to name a few. He scrolls a little and lands on Kaveh. Feeling a wave of trepidation roll through him, he taps on the profile.
The app loads for what feels like an absurd amount of time, and then he sees it, the most important date in his life, since it is the day his best friend and fiance came into this world.
It’s their anniversary.
What.
He’s been giving Kaveh gifts for their anniversary for years and he never mentioned his birthday. Now he can’t mention it at all until they get married so their anniversary changes. Sometimes he wishes he could strangle Kaveh without any ethical, legal or biological consequences.
+1
It happens when they’re lying in bed on the rare day they aren’t needed in the morning (well, when Alhaitham isn’t needed, Kaveh can take a day off anytime, considering he works freelance) and the topic randomly comes up.
“You found out my birthday on Facebook?! ”
“It wasn’t intentional.”
“Cut the bullshit babe. Admit it, you didn’t know.”
“Fine. I didn’t know what day your birthday was until I made a Facebook account.”
“Ha! And you call me inconsiderate.”
“When have I ever called you inconsiderate.”
“When I refused to cancel karaoke night with our friends.”
“That was blatantly ableist.”
He gets a snort out of his husband.
“I still can’t believe I owe my birthday celebrations to Mark Zuckerberg.”
…
“Wait. Was that what all the random gifting was about when we just started going out? Oh my Archon it was! That’s so cute! You were so adorable back then ‘Haitham why aren’t you like this anymore?”