#i would like more arranged marriage trope for alhaitham pls

[genshin-impacted]

Exchange of Rings 

(Alhaitham x Reader - 1/?) 

Alhaitham never thought he would marry. The idea of knowing someone well enough to be in a long-term relationship and then committing himself to them was so far out of the picture, he never would have imagined that he would set up a matchmaking profile and meet you.  -or- You've always wanted to fall in love. Arranged marriages mean the two of you will work to make it work. If love happens, then it happens, though if falling in love is the end goal, you may as well almost be at the finish line.

Word Count: ~2.6k 

Notes: afab!reader, second person pov “you”, switches pov with Alhaitham, modern au, arranged marriage, fall first/fall harder, mentions of sex, slow burn(?)

[Next]

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Meeting the family is pleasant enough. The house of your made match is a two-story in a well-off neighborhood, so you already know what type of luxury to expect. But you've come prepared today, a gift basket of fruits in your hand as you walk past the pretty porch and stand on the tweed welcome mat.

The one who greets you at the front door after you ring it is who you presume to be his mother, who opens the door and welcomes you in eagerly. Your 'suitor,' for a lack of better words, is Alhaitham. You had to search up its origin to see that it's a Persian name, but his last name is a dead giveaway to his other Caucasian half. His mother must be the Persian half, skin sun-kissed to bronze with her light lavender hijab wrapping her upper half, and a bright smile as she takes your gift basket and tells you that you didn't have to and that you are so polite!

You tell her the kumquats are from your house, and she tells you that she loves them; she makes drinks that her husband adores that doesn't raise his blood pressure. A tall white man with graying hair-- a silver fox that you can see the resemblance in your suitor almost immediately-- comes in from what you think is the kitchen and holds out a hand for you to shake. His handshake is firm and warm, much like his wife's welcome. 

"Well, please, make yourselves at home," the mother tells you, ushering you into the dining room. You peek over into the kitchen and see a marble island. "I can't tell you how excited we are to finally meet you. We've heard- or," she laughs, "we've read good things about you."

"And I've read good things about your son. The feeling's mutual," you reply. You aren't quite sure what else to say; you don't know him at all aside from all the things that were written on his profile when it was sent to you. 

You would like to think the two of you are compatible enough, considering that the two of you technically "chose" each other through the matchmaking process, but you suppose you never really know until you meet him. Speaking of– that's exactly what will happen after you meet his parents. So far so good, you think. His parents are really, honestly lovely. It's evident that the two of them love their son and love each other, which is not a requirement by any means. It's not as though you'll marry the family (just the son), but it is nice to know that they've set the precedence to a loving couple– something you hope to end up as, despite it all. 

To think that it was years ago you heard about arranged marriages or matchmaking in the modern day. That you would end up in one today is something you didn't think you would have ever thought you would decide to do. In its simplest definition, it's when two people are put together to make a relationship work. It's practical, but funnily enough, when you think of it like that, you find it to be a little romantic.

You hope your suitor doesn't mind that side of you.

"Speaking of which..." The father sticks his head out into the hall. "Alhaitham! Your future fiancé is here!" He turns back to wink at you as you feel a shy smile worm its way out at the words. "Or so we hope!"

You hear steady footsteps from the staircases, and you don't mean to, but your heart skips, quickening as you wait to see your match in person. The first thing you notice is his height. It's hard not to with how short you are; everyone ends up towering over you, and Alhaitham is no different. The second thing is his hair. He does not seem like the type of person who dyes it-- or so you think-- so the silver must be natural. The third is his eyes: blue or green; you think you'll have to take a closer look to decide, but they are pretty regardless. 

You flash a smile at him before you forget to. He looks at his father and on cue, his father introduces the two of us. 

"Alhaitham, this is…" He says your name, and he looks back at you with a slight frown. "I am pronouncing it right, yes?"

To your delight, he is. You smile up at him, genuine and easy. "Yes, that's right. Thank you."

The mother pulls you aside with a sly smile that makes her crows feet appear at the sides of her eyes. "He made sure to search up the pronunciation before you came. Kept practicing it to get it right." 

"My wife spilling the beans aside," he says, huffing, "this is our son, Alhaitham. I'm assuming the two of you have lots to talk about so we'll be on our way. Feel free to eat anything on the table! We left it for you two."

"Sure thing," you say, waving at them as they walk up the stairs. "Thank you!" and then you turn toward Alhaitham who has yet to say a word.

"Feel free to sit down," he tells you, and you try not to smile at the fact that you think his voice is as attractive as the rest of him. "We might be in for the long haul for this conversation..." 

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Alhaitham never thought he would marry. 

It's not as if he thinks he's undeserving of love or anything of the like. He just never thought about spending his life with someone like that, mostly out of disdain for the general population he's had the misfortune of interacting with. It isn't as horrible as it was in his earlier life; once people began to be able to make sound(er) judgment and make smarter decisions, he found them a little more bearable to interact with and eventually made companions with like-minded people. Begrudgingly. 

(His friends are known to be 'geniuses' though, and with genius comes a little bit of insanity, so he isn't sure what that means for him.)

Matter of fact is, he's gone through most of his life without needless social interaction and has done pretty well for himself, so he thinks that's a testament to how unnecessary socializing is to live the life he wants. So marriage-- the idea of knowing someone well enough to be in a long-term relationship and then committing himself to them was so far out of the picture, he never would have imagined that he would set up a matchmaking profile…

All at the behest of his grandmother. 

His parents have always wanted him to find someone once he graduated from university. His excuse of 'school comes first' stopped working the moment he got a job, and from then on it was mild concern on whether he was too alone or lonely. He's grateful for his parents for never really forcing him to do anything, but their well-meaning suggestions are still something that floats in the background, distracting him. But both his parents and him both know that any relationship with him would fail, simply because he would not put any effort into it. 

He did try. Once. The person he last tried dating ended up splitting up with him because he seemed emotionally distant. The fact Alhaitham didn't seem very bothered when (to him) the inevitable happened only seemed to prove them right. But what was he to do– pretend to be attached to someone when he hardly knew who they were? If dating is the fast track, then he'd prefer to be on the right most lane or, even better, not be on the tracks at all.

It wasn't until his grandmother spoke to him about arranged marriages, how it was similar to a contracted deal, vetting suitors until he could choose exactly who he wanted with what conditions, that he finally considered it again.

It's true that the idea appealed to him because of his parent's insistence and it seemed like a logical way to deal with the idea of marriage. It's certainly skipping a few steps he wouldn't miss, but it's the in-depth selection period that appeals to him the most. And a little bit, though he will not admit it, is for his grandmother, to ease her mind. Alhaitham knows she has always wanted him to live a peaceful life and though a partner is not necessary (his grandmother is proof of that), having someone he can turn to when she is gone is something that worries her.

So hopefully when you come to meet him, he can see whether or not the two of you can live out that life of peace together. It would certainly solve a lot of his problems. For one, his friends would finally stop trying to set him up with people with the worst possible compatibility.

When the day arrives when he meets you, his grandmother asks him if he's nervous. He tells her no, which only makes her laugh and look at him knowingly. (He really isn’t nervous, and receiving such a familiar look from his grandmother makes him feel like she knows something he doesn’t.) She pats her weathered and dearly worn hands on his arm. "This is not just for your parents or me, habibi, but for you as well." She tells him, "To be seen is a wonderfully unique thing. I hope you will get to experience it.

He doesn't quite understand, but he knows his grandmother will refuse to give him the answers if she thinks it's something he needs to discover on his own. Regardless, Alhaitham dryly tells her to not get her hopes up, and she laughs again before pinching his cheeks till they hurt, like she always does.

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First things first, the two of you start addressing any possible red flags or dealbreakers between the two of you. He asks you if you snore-- you say no. He tells you that whichever residence the two of you take, he has to have room for his books-- you shrug and say why not. And now you think you should have gone first because the first thing out of your mouth is the same as his-- he does not snore-- and whether or not he finds you attractive.

To his credit, he doesn't raise his brows or look confused. Instead, Alhaitham finally takes a good look at you, and you try not to squirm under the scrutiny. 

"Yes," he tells you simply, and the tension in your body is released all at once. And the next few questions, despite how important they are, don't seem to faze you as much as your questions did.

"I'd like to sign a prenup. Is that agreeable?"

"Yeah, I was thinking of the same."

"How do you feel about a joint bank account?"

"Maybe down the line? But not now."

"Do you want kids?"

"If it feels like we can raise them properly, yes."

"What kind of wedding do you want?"

"A big wedding, but only because my extended family is pretty big."

This turns out to be the first contention between the two of you, and his brows furrow slightly. "You want a small wedding, huh?" you ask. Before he can say anything, you continue, "I'm willing to make it a little smaller and limit the amount of people coming but family is really important to me, so I'd like them to be there." 

A moment's pause, and then a nod. "Alright. that sounds agreeable. I'm not very interested in the details of the wedding, so-"

"Honestly, I'll probably have some of my friends help out," you say. "I'll always make the final decision after talking it out with you." 

Alhaitham nods again, and then he's onto the next topic already. You don't see a note or paper anywhere with all these questions so you wonder if he's coming up with them all now or if he's already prepared it in his head. You try to think of any other questions other than the ones you listed, but they seem miniscule compared to the ones already asked. Nothing else seems to be a dealbreaker for you.

"You don't have any other questions?" he asks you, and it feels as though he's gauging you with this one like his previous ones. 

"Well, not really. the important ones are gone. 'Do you love your family?' I think that's pretty evident..." You put your hand on your chin in thought. "Well, I-" A question pops into your head and you think of it more like an unwelcome thought than anything. 

Not to miss a detail, as you have come to learn already, Alhaitham jumps on the opportunity to ask. "You have one?"

"Well," you say, hesitating. "I was wondering what you were looking to find in this arrangement. Between the two of us."

"We won't just be roommates, if that's what you're asking," Alhaitham says, and your hopeless romantic heart skips a beat. "We're both adults. We can work out an agreement on our boundaries and comforts. I'm assuming this question means you want sex to be on the table?"

You sputter. You don't mean to do something so unattractive but it's hard to stay calm when he just says things like that when you're thinking of something a little more innocent. Embarrassingly innocent, now that he's brought up the more lustful side of it all.

"I- I mean, yeah. That would be great," you stammer, "but I guess I was thinking more of the romance. You know..." you trail off, feeling your face warm as Alhaitham looks at you without a word to help continue your train of thought. 

I want the both of us to fall in love, you think helplessly. The both of you fall into silence.

"...The agreement is to live together for a year and plan a date if the both of us agree to it," Alhaitham says finally. You don't think he means to, but his steady logic calms you down from any wandering anxious thoughts. "There's still time for us to back out if we really wanted to. Nothing is set in stone yet. So whatever outcome happens at the end of it and you're not satisfied, you can leave."

To the point. "And the same goes for you too," you say, and when he nods, you try not to hold onto too much hope that it'll all work out.

You do, a little, anyway.

You've always wanted to fall in love. So deeply in love that it changes you. If bodies are a temple, then yours must be a gated community, with only the right people with the passcode to enter. The fast-paced dating game is not for you; the people available are not of your pace-- you date for love and for marriage, not for fun. 

You think of this almost like a last resort, but at the same time, it isn't. Especially with these conditions, you think this is your one chance to do romance your way. You have one year with a man who is so attractive it hurts, but with hobbies and personality that you think might be so misaligned that it hurts too. (When was the last time you read a book for leisure, not counting fan fictional works?) Arranged marriages mean the two of you will work to make it work. If he thinks you are worth it, then it will happen. 

But if the goal of it all is to fall in love at the end of it, you think you're almost done on your end. 

It does not take much for you to fall in love.

You think you’re nearly there when Alhaitham brings out the rings– plain, matching silver wedding bands– for the two of you to wear.

They fit perfectly.