Forgive me for each halting line

Ⅳ

Perhaps it was due to being in close proximity with an Alpha for so long, or perhaps it was 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 was 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 was sure permeated 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 more happy that for the first time, 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.