[ oh. oh. alhaitham will feel kaveh smirk against his palm, because he definitely saw him start to crack. he knows he shouldn't push his luck, but he can't help but crave more, since it's so unusual to see him emote so blatantly like this. there are the small things, the subtle things, but most people don't notice those. kaveh does, of course, but that's only because they've not only known each other for a long time, but because they also spend so much time together. ]

Aggressively? [ rolls his eyes. ] Really? I think I'm being rather... tame. [ kaveh chuckles, but it's quick to taper, but w- wait what? ] Are you, are you serious? [ he lets his hand go and sits up. ] ... [ well, ok, perhaps it's not too farfetched an assumption to make given all the arguing they do, but... b- but... ]

[ kaveh averts his eyes as his face colors pink. ] That's not the least bit true.