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Kaveh and Tighnari became best friends when they were twelve years old, but they started out as enemies.
Middle school was rough for Kaveh. It was clear that he was different from the other kids, and not in a good way. But Kaveh's parents had always taught him to be himself no matter what, and the one thing everyone knew about Kaveh within five minutes of meeting him was that he was incredibly stubborn. When he made up his mind about something, there was no changing it. Absolutely nothing could convince him from whatever ill-advised course of action he had chosen to pursue.
He'd made up his mind within seconds that Tighnari was the most awful person in existence, and no matter how many nice things people said about him, Kaveh continued to spit fire in his direction every time he walked by. The worst part was that he didn't seem to notice this at all, like Kaveh didn't even register as something worth remarking upon. Kaveh hated him with every fiber of his being, and nobody knew this except for Kaveh.
Looking back, he wasn't entirely sure… why. Maybe it was just that everyone liked Tighnari, and no one liked Kaveh. He had just moved to this school, and he had no friends, and he was bitter about it. Tighnari just smiled at him one day when he was in a terrible mood, and from that day forth, Kaveh despised him. How dare he smile. It was like he was mocking Kaveh with his happiness! So rude. Kaveh could not let that stand.
He started hatching plans for revenge on his archnemesis. Kaveh doodled constantly, and he was actually pretty good. He came up with the brilliant idea to leave ugly fox doodles in Tighnari's desk. He made sure sure they were weirdly-proportioned or obnoxious colors or making ridiculous faces. The intent was to make fun of Tighnari for being a Valuka Shuna. He was certain this would get his message across. He would fold them up and stick them into the crevices of the shitty school desks for the classes where seating was assigned. He knew where Tighnari sat in every class. He had to—he was his archnemesis, after all!
Kaveh always watched Tighnari very closely after leaving him a doodle. Tighnari would usually frown at them and look around, like he was trying to figure out who'd left them there. Kaveh was really sneaky, though. He was giddy with wicked glee that his evil plan had worked. And then one day, the weirdest thing happened. Tighnari actually smiled at one of his doodles. This was the opposite of what Kaveh wanted, and it infuriated him. He made the doodles even worse, and then Tighnari started laughing at them. Kaveh seethed with sheer, blinding rage. He made the foxes as ugly as possible, but it only seemed to make Tighnari giggle more.
One Thursday at lunch period, Kaveh finally just burst into tears in the bathroom. He couldn't get anything right! He couldn't even get revenge on his archnemesis! God, Kaveh was so pathetic. The other kids were right not to like him or want to be his friend. He sobbed in the bathroom stall. He should just give up on everything, at this point. He was a complete failure.
Someone came into the bathroom, and Kaveh's hands flew up to cover his mouth. He didn't want anyone to hear him crying. He quickly scrambled off the floor, backing up in the stall.
"Hello?"
Kaveh couldn't help letting out a harsh sob through his hands. Of course it had to be Tighnari.
Footsteps approached his stall carefully. "Are you okay?"
"No!" Kaveh screamed. "I hate you!"
Tighnari didn't leave. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked tentatively.
Kaveh tried to summon back the familiar rage, but all that came out was another sob. "I hate you, Tighnari! Go away!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Tighnari. "Did I do something to hurt your feelings?"
"You laughed at my drawings," Kaveh wailed.
"The fox drawings? Oh! Those were yours?"
"Yes," he sobbed.
"Aw, I'm really sorry. I thought they were supposed to be funny. I liked that one with its tongue sticking out."
Kaveh huffed. "They were supposed to make you mad," he explained.
"Mad?" Tighnari repeated. "Why would silly fox doodles make me mad? They're all so cute."
"They're not supposed to be cute!" Kaveh screamed at him from the other side of the stall.
"Okay, okay, sorry," Tighnari said quickly. "I didn't realize you were trying to make them ugly. I thought you were just… kind of crap at drawing, honestly."
Kaveh scoffed, his tears halting in their tracks. He stomped forward and wrenched the stall door open. Tighnari looked surprised, stepping back.
"Oh," he said. "You're Kaveh, right? You sit behind me in history."
"I am not crap at drawing!" Kaveh shouted, furious.
Tighnari pursed his lips together. "No, you're very good at drawing," he said, obviously lying.
"I am great at drawing," he said furiously. "I'll show you. I'm going to draw you the cutest fox you've ever seen in your life."
"Oh… kay?" said Tighnari, holding up his hands. "That's fine with me."
"And you had better hate it," Kaveh said viciously, stomping past him and out of the bathroom.
Kaveh spent a really long time on that drawing. He looked up pictures of fennecs and drew so many of them all over his notes and his sketchbooks. Finally he decided on a pose and carefully etched the lines, coloring it in with colored pencils. The shading was immaculate. The coloring was perfect. It was greatest piece of art Kaveh had ever created.
When it was finally time to give it to Tighnari, he hesitated. He was proud of his drawing, and he didn't want Tighnari to hate it. He wanted him to say thank you and that it was beautiful. It didn't matter that he was Kaveh's archnemesis. That seemed so unimportant now. He wanted to be accepted by someone, just one person.
He bit his lip as he walked into history with the drawing in his folder. He didn't want it to get wrinkled or ruin it by folding it up. He marched up to Tighnari's desk and opened the folder, sliding the drawing out and onto the plastic desktop. Tighnari looked up at him in surprise, then down at the paper.
"Do you hate it?" Kaveh asked him in a small voice.
Tighnari looked up with a furrow in his brow. "I don't know what you want me to say."
"Just tell me the truth."
Kaveh waited with bated breath. Tighnari looked back down at the drawing, and a soft smile appeared on his face. "I think it's great," he said, glancing up. "You clearly spent a lot of time on it, and you're a really amazing artist."
Kaveh let out a long, shaky breath. "Thank you," he whispered.
Tighnari's smile brightened as he said, "You're welcome. Are you going to draw me more foxes?"
"Do… you want me to?"
"Yeah," said Tighnari. "I like getting them. I like seeing what you come up with."
Something warm unfurled in Kaveh's chest. That tight knot of fear and doubt had eased, and Kaveh returned his smile. "Okay," he said shyly, tucking his hair behind his ear.
The bell rung, and Kaveh quickly took his seat behind Tighnari. At the end of class, Tighnari turned back in his seat and slipped Kaveh a piece of lined notebook paper. "Here," he said. "This one's for you. It's not as good as yours."
Kaveh picked up the paper. It was a little fox with a heart on its tummy. He smiled and said, "I love it."
He looked up at Tighnari, who smiled back.
***
So that was how it happened, basically. First they exchanged drawings of foxes, then other animals, and they they started drawing each other comics. They collaborated on one, Kaveh drawing the panels while Tighnari wrote the dialogue. They made copies and handed them out at school, and they were a hit. The pair started a series about a fox and a peacock who went on adventures together. Suddenly people were talking to Kaveh, asking him about the comic and requesting drawings of their favorite characters. He and Tighnari became quite popular at their middle school, and it even carried over into high school.
And then in sophomore year, Tighnari came out as gay.
It was funny because no one had ever really asked Kaveh if he was gay. Everyone just assumed he was. It didn't really bother him, because well, they weren't wrong. The reason he had to leave his old school was because of the bullying. Kaveh refused to change himself to fit in, and it didn't matter how much he was mocked for it. He always bit back, too, which got him into trouble.
Kaveh remembered the day Tighnari told him as clear as day. It was after cheer practice, which they both attended. Kaveh's background in gymnastics made him a standout, and Tighnari just joined so they could do it together. He ended up having a lot of fun with it, to both of their surprise. They'd become such close friends, Kaveh honestly felt like he knew everything there was to know about Tighnari at this point.
But as they were getting pizza after practice that day, Tighnari said, "Hey, Kaveh?"
"What's up?" Kaveh asked him, biting into his cheesy slice.
"I have something to tell you."
Kaveh stopped chewing for a second before resuming and swallowing his bite of pizza. "Okay. Consider me intrigued."
Tighnari smiled tightly. "You know how people have been asking if we're together?"
"Ugh," Kaveh groaned. "I told you, hun, don't worry about it. They just can't fathom a straight man waving pom-poms because they're insecure in their own sexualities."
"Mhmm." Tighnari suddenly looked uncomfortable. "What if I wasn't straight, though?"
Kaveh blinked. "Are you saying…?" Tighnari nodded slightly, and Kaveh's eyes bulged. He slammed his hands down on the table and screamed, "What?"
"Please don't make it a big deal," Tighnari said quickly.
He forced himself to take in a deep breath. Calm. He could be calm about this. "Right. Totally not a big deal that my best friend in the entire world is gay. And that he didn't tell me until now. At a radom pizza parlor on a Wednesday, of all days."
"Well, I wasn't sure," Tighnari protested.
Kaveh cocked his head and asked, "What made you sure?"
Tighnari's cheeks instantly flushed red. He mumbled something Kaveh didn't catch.
"What was that?" Kaveh asked.
Tighnari huffed. "I have a crush."
"On who?" Kaveh demanded. "Wait, is it me?"
"No, it's not you," Tighnari snapped.
"Oh." For some reason he didn't care to examine, Kaveh felt a little disappointed about that. "Well, who is it?"
Tighnari mumbled again.
"Speak up, bitch," Kaveh said, snapping in his face.
"Flins," Tighnari hissed.
Kaveh took in a huge, dramatic gasp. "No! Flins is your gay awakening? Really?"
Tighnari reached across the table and grabbed his hair, shoving his head down. "Well, don't scream it, dumbass."
"Lemme go!" Kaveh shrieked, slapping him away.
His friend released him. Tighnari's cheeks were spectacularly red as he looked around the restaurant to see if anyone had overheard him. Kaveh was affronted by the attack on his hair, but he forgave Tighnari easily. He shot him a feral grin.
"Are you going to ask him out?" he questioned.
"No!" Tighnari yelped, shaking his head fiercely. "He's straight!"
"I don't think he's explicitly straight," Kaveh reasoned. "He could be bi. You never know."
"I'm not asking him out."
"Why not?"
Tighnari shot him a glare and said sassily, "Because unlike you, I have a sense of shame."
"Aw, don't be ashamed of yourself, hun," Kaveh cooed. He got up from his seat to give Tighnari an awkward side-hug, holding the fox's head to his chest. "I'm so proud of you."
"Shut up," Tighnari mumbled into his chest.
Kaveh broke away. He sat back down, his eyes gleaming. "I think we should come up with a plan."
"A plan for what?"
"To figure out if he's into guys, obviously," said Kaveh, flipping his hair. "I'll just hit on him, and then-"
"No!" Tighnari squealed. "You cannot hit on my crush!"
"It's for research purposes only!"
Tighnari glared at him, nostrils flaring as he jabbed his finger at Kaveh. "Don't. You. Dare. I will beat your ass."
"Oo-ooh," said Kaveh, placing a hand to his chest.
"Stop," Tighnari grumbled, rolling his eyes. "That was not an invitation for you to be weird."
Kaveh did do his best not to be weird. The thing was, he'd never really been attracted to Tighnari. Sure, he was cute. Obviously. He kind of just wasn't Kaveh's type, that was all. But learning that he was gay changed things for Kaveh. He'd always argued with the people who called them boyfriends in the name of defending his best friend, but they could actually be boyfriends now. It completely changed his perspective.
Kaveh did have one boyfriend back in the eighth grade, but it was a disaster. He was a terrible kisser. Not that Kaveh was much better, but damn, at least he'd seen kissing in movies. That was not how it was supposed to go. He started to wonder what it would be like to kiss Tighnari. His best friend. He loved Tighnari! He was a little offended Tighnari didn't seem to want to kiss him at all. Didn't even see him as an option, really.
Eventually he did convince Tighnari to ask Flins out. Flins was quite polite with his rejection, but Tighnari was still really upset. Kaveh was painting his nails on his bed under a sheet of packing paper.
"Fuck him," Kaveh said. "He doesn't know what he's missing."
"No, don't say that," Tighnari sighed. "He was really nice about it."
"So? He rejected my best friend. By law, he is my mortal enemy now."
Tighnari rolled his eyes. "Kaveh, stop being ridiculous."
"Okay, okay," Kaveh gave in.
He finished the top coat and brought Tighnari's hand to his mouth, blowing gently on his nails. Tighnari sighed again. Kaveh hated seeing him sad. It always made him want to get into a fight with whoever upset him (which he would not win, obviously, but that had never stopped him before). Tighnari didn't want that, though.
On impulse, Kaveh brought Tighnari's knuckles to his lips and kissed them. Tighnari looked up in surprise, his eyes narrowing. "What are you doing?"
"What?" Kaveh asked innocently. "I can't kiss your hand?"
"Why are you kissing my hand?"
"I could kiss you on the mouth instead, if you want," Kaveh offered.
He rolled his eyes again and said, "Shut up."
Miffed, Kaveh dropped his hand. He crossed his arms and looked away.
"Wait, are you seriously mad I don't want to kiss you?" Tighnari asked him.
"No," Kaveh lied.
"Why would I kiss you?" Tighnari asked, bewildered.
Kaveh huffed and glared at him. "I'm cute and gay. You're cute and gay! Why shouldn't we kiss?"
"Because you're my best friend?" Tighnari tried. "It would be weird."
"Fine, whatever," said Kaveh. He grabbed the nail polish and went to put it away.
Tighnari was quiet for a moment before he said, "You don't actually want to kiss me, do you?"
Kaveh whirled around, hands on his hips. "I do, as a matter of fact. But it's fine, 'cause you don't even think I'm cute. You've clearly been lying to me all these years when you said I looked cute, which makes you a liar, and I don't kiss liars anyway, so. It's fine."
"What the hell? Kaveh."
"You know what? I changed my mind." Kaveh turned his nose up. "I wouldn't kiss you even if you begged me."
"Oh my God, stop being such a drama queen," Tighnari moaned.
"Whatever," Kaveh said again, turning and marching out the door.
"Kaveh!" Tighnari called after him.
He ignored him, stomping down the stairs and collecting his backpack. He slipped his feet into his shoes and threw open the front door.
"Kaveh, you absolute buffon, get back here!" Tighnari demanded.
"Just leave me alone," said Kaveh, slamming the door behind him.
Tighnari immediately yanked it back open and followed him down the front path. He grabbed Kaveh's shoulder and turned him around, and Kaveh faced him with tears in his eyes. Tighnari instantly softened when he saw them.
"Kaveh," he said gently. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," said Kaveh, swiping at his eyes. "Just let me go."
"No," said Tighnari, pulling him into a hug. Kaveh sniffled and hugged him back, burying his face into Tighnari's hair. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings," Tighnari said into his chest. "I was just surprised."
"'Cause you don't think about me like that," Kaveh grumbled.
"No, I don't," said Tighnari.
Kaveh's heart sank. It was fine. He wasn't even really into Tighnari anyway, not like he was with other guys. He couldn't picture much beyond kissing him. It had just seemed like a nice idea. Tighnari was probably a good kisser, and Kaveh was curious.
Kaveh went back upstairs and let himself be cheered up. He was still a little sad, though. It never felt good to get rejected. He nursed the heartache for a while, but he eventually let it go.
And then a few months later, just a week after Tighnari's sixteenth birthday, they were lying in bed together. They did this frequently, staying over at the other's house at least once a week just so they could talk well into the night. At this point, Kaveh referred to Tighnari's parents as Bonus Mom and Dad.
They were facing each other, and there was a lull in the conversation. Kaveh was pretty sleepy, his eyes fluttering in the darkness. And then Tighnari shifted closer. He scooted his head across the pillow until their noses were touching.
"Do you still want to kiss me?" Tighnari whispered.
Kaveh was instantly alert. He nodded silently. Tighnari came even closer, covering the rest of the distance between them.
His lips were soft. He kissed gently, hesitant pecks against Kaveh's mouth. Kaveh's hand slid up to his cheek to keep him in place. It was a slow exploration, soft and unhurried. It was comfortable. Kaveh accepted Tighnari's sweet kisses and returned them in kind.
Kaveh opened his mouth, giving him a gentle brush of tongue. He just wanted to taste him. Tighnari let him in, and Kaveh gave a little whimper as his tongue slid inside. This was so much better than his shitty boyfriend. Kaveh stroked his lips and tongue, still exploring.
Tighnari shifted in bed, and Kaveh pulled him closer until their bodies were flush. He liked the feeling of Tighnari against him. Heat started to pulse between them, growing as the kiss continued. They both made soft noises in their throats. In a moment of boldness, Kaveh reached out and bit his lower lip. Tighnari whimpered in a way that went instantly to Kaveh's core.
He shifted on top of Tighnari, caging him in. He had a brief moment of doubt. "Is this okay?" he whispered.
Tighnari nodded and pulled him down, so down Kaveh went. He tried not to put all his weight on Tighnari, settling his knees on either side of Tighnari's hips. There was a delicious friction there, and Kaveh gasped. He chased it without thinking about it, grinding down against Tighnari with animal instinct. Tighnari keened and pushed his hips up into Kaveh's, and that really made him see stars.
Kaveh broke away to ask, "Can I-?"
"Yes," Tighnari answered instantly.
With no further preamble, Kaveh reached into Tighnari's pants and cupped his cock. He squeezed along the shaft and leaned down to swallow the little moan Tighnari made. God, this was hot. This was really not what Kaveh had been picturing when he thought about kissing Tighnari, but now that they were here he wasn't about to stop.
"Kaveh," Tighnari said against his lips, and then, "Mmph."
"Ssh," Kaveh hushed him.
He managed to take himself out, too, and then he was gripping both their cocks together. It was so good—the feeling of skin on skin, wet beads of precome slicking the way. So much better than masturbating, not the least because Tighnari was still making those hot little noises.
Kaveh shushed him again, reaching up to cover his mouth. Tighnari looked so good with his ears flattened against his head, his pretty eyes blinking up at Kaveh. He moaned against Kaveh's hand, and Kaveh had to bite back a noise of his own. He stroked faster, and Tighnari started bucking beneath his hand. His noises grew in pitch.
Kaveh was looking down at their cocks gripped together when Tighnari came. The sight of his come spurting over Kaveh's hand and cock sent Kaveh into overdrive, and he blindly pumped them, smearing the come everywhere. He followed shortly after with a little gasp.
He stayed up there, panting over Tighnari's prone body as they both attempted to catch their breath. The first emotion to set in was shock.
"We probably shouldn't have done that," he remarked.
Tighnari huffed and said, "Don't look at me. It was your idea."
Kaveh scoffed in reply. He sat up, pulling off his come-stained shirt and tossing it in the laundry bin. "You started it," he pointed out.
"I just asked if you wanted to kiss me," Tighnari said defensively, doing the same with his own shirt. He tucked himself back inside his pants.
Kaveh rolled off him, adjusting himself as he lay flat on his back. His pulse was still thrumming in his veins. After a couple moments of silence, just to really let it sink in, he turned to Tighnari and said, "Soo…"
Tighnari turned to face him and repeated, "So."
Kaveh searched his eyes. It didn't seem like he regretted it. Kaveh sure didn't. He hadn't been expecting it, but he didn't regret it at all. A grin crossed his face.
"What made you change your mind?" he asked.
Tighnari sighed. "I don't know. You just put the idea in my head, and…" He shrugged.
"And it was great, like I said," he finished. Tighnari's cheeks flushed red, and Kaveh cooed. He reached his fingers out to brush one of them.
"Shut up." Tighnari pulled the blanket up to cover his face, ducking beneath it.
Kaveh giggled beside him. "You gonna hide from me now? Don't you want more kisses?"
"Go away," Tighnari mumbled.
Kaveh snatched the blanket away and started peppering Tighnari's face with loud smacks. Tighnari squealed, and Kaveh shushed him again. "You don't want your parents to find out, do you?"
Tighnari groaned softly. He laid his head back down on the pillow. "Kaveh, what did we dooo?"
"I don't know, but it was a lot of fun," Kaveh replied. His teasing smile suddenly dropped as he turned serious. "Do you want to try dating?"
Tighnari bit his lower lip and didn't answer.
"We don't have to," Kaveh said quickly. "Just- Why not, right? If there's more where that came from."
"You're my best friend," Tighnari whined. "What if we end up hating each other?"
"Oh, Tighnari," Kaveh sighed. "You should know by now there's no way you could possibly get rid of me. You know how stubborn I am."
Tighnari gave him a small smile. "Okay, then." He leaned in to peck Kaveh's lips. "I guess we really are boyfriends now."
Kaveh made an excited noise and pulled him close.
They only dated for about six months. The fight that broke them up went like this: Kaveh wanted to have sex. Tighnari wanted to have sex. But neither of them could agree who would be fucking who.
"You're taller," Tighnari would say.
"You're stronger," Kaveh would argue.
"You're more dominant."
"You'd kick my ass in a fight."
"You're the one who started this."
"That doesn't mean I'm the top!"
"Yes, it does."
"Does not!"
On and on it went. They found plenty of other things to do together, both in the bedroom and outside of it. But Kaveh didn't like that he was turning seventeen soon and still technically a virgin. He was clearly the more stubborn one, and he would win this fight.
"Kaveh," Tighnari said finally, "this isn't going to work."
Kaveh blinked at him, instantly simmering down. "What?"
Tighnari sighed. His forehead pressed into Kaveh's shoulder beside him on the sofa. "I'm not what you want. You're not what I want. Why are we still trying?"
Kaveh's eyes filled with tears, but they didn't fall. He'd kind of been thinking the same thing. That didn't mean it didn't hurt.
Tighnari looked up sadly. "You know I'm right."
"I don't want to lose you," Kaveh whispered.
"You won't," said Tighnari, shaking his head softly. He reached out for Kaveh's hand, intertwining their fingers.
Kaveh swallowed the lump in his throat. "Promise?"
"Promise," said Tighnari. His other hand brushed Kaveh's hair from his face. "I love you, but we're better as friends. We've been fighting so much. I just want things to go back to the way they used to be. When they were easy between us, and I felt like I could tell you anything."
Kaveh nodded and said, "That would be nice, actually."
They shared a wistful little smile.
Kaveh scooted back from him on the sofa. "Want to play Mario Kart?"
"That depends. Are you going to throw a fit when I beat your ass?"
With a scoff, Kaveh said, "No."
Tighnari raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Mhmm. We'll see."
(Kaveh absolutely did throw a fit when Tighnari won.)
The distance was hard at first, but it got easier. It took a few months for things to feel natural again. But then a year, two years—hell, even ten years down the line—there was one constant in the mess that was Kaveh's life: Tighnari was his best friend. Always.
***
"Never have I ever slept with my best friend."
Tighnari slammed his hand down on the table. "Hey! No! That is targeted. You're cheating!"
Alhaitham smirked and said, "Drink. Both of you."
"So mean," said Kaveh, knocking back his drink with a giggle.
Tighnari was very drunk by this point. He sloppily drank his shot. "You all want me to die of alcohol poisoning and leave my children without a mother, apparently."
"Hang on," said Cyno, frowning. He grabbed Tighnari's thigh. "Did you two really…?"
Tighnari suddenly felt a sick lurch in his stomach. He hadn't told Cyno that yet, had he? Fuck. That was definitely something you were supposed to tell your husband.
In Tighnari's defense, they had only been dating for about a year at that point. They were so caught up with combining their households, getting married, and then having the twins that Tighnari really just hadn't had the chance to discuss everything about his past. This was their first night out since Malik and Bashir had been born, and even though Tighnari was getting absolutely shit-faced courtesy of their stupid little game, he did really need a night off.
Kaveh repeatedly smacked Tighnari's arm from the floor and said, "You didn't tell your husband about us?"
"Stop hitting me!" Tighnari screamed, shoving him away. He turned back to Cyno. "We dated for six months in high school, and I broke up with him for being a melodramatic bitch."
"How dare you!" Kaveh shrieked. "Our breakup was mutual!"
Alhaitham grabbed his arm and pulled him off the floor. "Kaveh, come help me in the kitchen," he said. Kaveh protested, but Alhaitham dragged him out of the room. Tighnari shot him a grateful look.
He turned back to Cyno, anxious even through the haze of alcohol. "I'm sorry, Cyno. It's not like I didn't tell you on purpose! We've just been so busy-"
"It's okay," said Cyno, but he was still frowning.
Tighnari whined in his throat. "We didn't even have sex," he insisted.
"Then why did you drink?"
"'Cause, well… it's still kind of sleeping together?" Tighnari tried. "The idea of preventative sex being a marker of virginity is totally outdated."
"He was your first?" Cyno asked softly.
Tighnari felt a little pang in his chest. "Kinda? It really wasn't serious, though." He searched Cyno's face. It was pretty blurry.
Cyno's hands covered his. "We should get home. We'll talk about it in the morning, okay?"
"Okay," said Tighnari, leaning his forehead on Cyno's shoulder. "I'm sleepy."
Cyno chuckled. "Come on, baby." He helped Tighnari to his feet.
The kids were all at their grandparents' for the night, which Isis was thrilled about. It was hard to leave the twins when they were still so young, but Tighnari's mom insisted he needed a break. And he did. He was really, really regretting his agreement to play Never Have I Ever, though. Kaveh and Alhaitham seemed to have made it their mission to get him as drunk as possible, and they were quite successful.
Tighnari collapsed into bed as soon as he got there, and he felt Cyno take off his shoes for him. He remembered he was supposed to be worried about something, but he was too tired to think about it. He fell asleep with Cyno's arms around him.
The next morning was painful. The sunlight burned his eyes, and Tighnari stirred with a pathetic groan. "Good morning, beautiful," said Cyno.
Tighnari turned to him blearily. "Hi. Did I get hit by a truck last night?"
Cyno smiled and shook his head. He put his phone down and grabbed his husband some painkillers and a glass of water. Tighnari thanked him. The water did help a little. It felt like something had crawled into his throat and died. He let Cyno gently coax him into a shower, and then they cuddled in bed together.
"Can we talk about last night?" Cyno asked him.
Tighnari frowned. He tried to remember, but it made his head ache. "What did I do?" he groaned.
Cyno smiled back, but it looked a little pained. Tighnari's frown deepened, and he took Cyno's face in his hands.
"What is it?" he asked softly.
"You never told me you and Kaveh dated."
Tighnari blinked. "Oh. Yeah, we did for a bit." He tried harder to remember what had happened the night before and winced at the shooting pain. "I'm sorry, last night is still kind of a blur."
"It's okay."
He searched Cyno's eyes. "I never meant to keep it a secret from you," he said softly.
Cyno pursed his lips. "Really?"
"Really," Tighnari insisted. "It was such a long time ago. And things have been so busy lately, I just didn't even think about it."
"Things have been busy," Cyno agreed. He still looked unsure. "It just took me by surprise."
"I'm sorry," Tighnari whispered, leaning in to kiss his forehead. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."
Cyno nodded. He rolled onto his back, looking up at the ceiling. "How'd it start?"
"Well," said Tighnari, "I came out in tenth grade. I told you that, right?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah," Tighnari repeated. "And I guess I kind of just thought, 'Well, we're both gay, and we already get along really well, so… why not try it?'" He huffed a little as he thought back to his high school years. "Kaveh was a menace back then. I mean, even worse than he is now. When we started dating, he got really insecure. He needed constant reassurance. We kept fighting about it, and it sucked. And then there was the whole… sex thing."
He looked over at Cyno, whose expression had tightened. Tighnari swallowed and then went on.
"We couldn't agree who should top," Tighnari explained. "Neither of us wanted to. We argued about it all the time."
Cyno suddenly turned to him with an amused look. "Really?" he asked.
Tighnari nodded and said, "Really. He got super annoying about it, actually. He made a PowerPoint presentation."
"What?" Cyno said, huffing in disbelief.
"I know, right?" said Tighnari. "Fucking insufferable idiot."
Cyno's smile fell. "Do you… still love him?"
Tighnari's eyes widened. "What?" he huffed. "Is that what you're worried about?"
Cyno sighed. He looked away again, clenching his fists under the covers. "I know we got married really fast. We haven't had the time yet to get to know everything about each other. You guys have been best friends for over twenty years. You're so close. You have this… bond."
"Cyno, hey," Tighnari whispered. He put his hands on either side of Cyno's face and turned it towards him. "I love you more than anything in this world. You're it for me. You're my soulmate." He gave him a little smile. "I do love Kaveh, but not like that. I never have. It just wasn't there for us. We were so young, too. He'll always be my best friend, but you're more than that. You're the person I want to wake up to every morning until we grow old and gray. I love our little family. I want more babies, and I want them to grow up feeling the love we have for them and each other."
Cyno's eyes were misty. He blinked at Tighnari, a soft smile on his face. "You don't think we rushed into this too soon?"
"No, not at all." Tighnari leaned in to peck his lips. "I'm sure about you, Cyno. We were meant to be together. If I jeopardized that, I- I'll never forgive myself-"
"Hey, ssh, it's okay."
Cyno pulled a teary Tighnari into his arms. Tighnari cried quietly. His head was still pounding, and he hated the thought that he'd kept a secret from his husband. He really hadn't meant to do it. What if Cyno didn't want to be with him anymore? What if he didn't want him to see Kaveh?
The tears started to ramp up. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he cried.
"Hey, I'm not mad," Cyno soothed him.
"You're not?" he asked, pulling away.
Cyno shook his head. He brought his thumbs to Tighnari's cheeks, wiping away the tears. "I'm not. I believe you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I guess… I'm still kind of afraid it's not real."
"Not real?" Tighnari repeated, sniffling.
"You're so perfect it's like I dreamed you up. I couldn't ask for anything more. You're all I want. I just want to make sure that's what you want, too."
"Of course!" Tighnari exclaimed. "I married you, didn't I?"
A smile broke out across his face. "Yeah. Yeah, you did."
Tighnari returned the smile. He pulled Cyno close, embracing him tightly. "I love you. I wouldn't trade you for anyone else in the entire world."
"You don't even know all the people in the world," Cyno teased.
"I know none of them are as wonderful as my husband," Tighnari insisted. He let Cyno go. A nervous thought still nagged at him. "Are you going to be okay with Kaveh around?"
Cyno showed his teeth in that familiar half-smile. "As long as he doesn't try anything with my wife."
"Oh, please. He's been gone for Alhaitham for years."
"You dated Alhaitham too, right?" Cyno asked him.
Tighnari sighed and said, "A story for another time. My head is killing me."
"Aww." Cyno kissed his forehead. "Let me take care of you, Mama Bear."
"I won't argue with that."
Cyno made him breakfast and brought it to him in bed. He pampered Tighnari until it was time to pick up the kids. Luckily his headache had mostly subsided by then because Isis screamed when she saw him, flinging herself into his arms.
"I missed you, Mama!" she declared. "Did you have fun with Uncle Kaveh and Uncle Haitham?"
Tighnari huffed and said, "More like they had fun with me."
He had missed his kids dearly. They gathered everyone up into the minivan and took them home, where he and Cyno spent the day entertaining Isis and caring for the twins. Cyno kept shooting him besotted looks all day.
"What's with you today?" Tighnari finally asked him after the twins finally settled down for a nap and Isis was playing quietly.
Cyno grinned. "You said you wanted more babies."
Tighnari let out a bark of laughter. "I do. Maybe let's give it a couple months, though."
His husband's grin turned wicked. He scooted up to Tighnari on the couch, leaning in and whispering into his neck, "I want to put a baby in you tonight."
"Cyno!" Tighnari giggled.
"Come on," Cyno murmured, mouthing over his skin. "Just one more."
Tighnari did eventually agree. And the next time, Cyno said the same thing. Just one more. Tighnari knew by now not to believe him, but he gave in anyway. How could he resist?
Their family grew. Things got even more messy and chaotic. But knowing Cyno would be there through it all made Tighnari feel like he could face the world.