[Fic] Hand in hand is the only way to land, pt. 3
Title: Hand in hand is the only way to land
Author/Artist: sirona_gs and red_rahl
Team: ROMANCE!
Prompt: None
Word count: 1,260 this part
Rating: PG so far
Warnings: Smile
Summary: Eames brings his newest discovery for Arthur to check on. Pet shennanigans ensue...
Notes: This story is a WIP collaboration, and will post once a week so that both red_rahl and me can polish our bits (so to speak). Title from The Cure's Lovecats.
Part One Part Two
[art] by red_rahl
[text] by sirona_gs
"I swear to god, Arthur, I'm not lying. It was right there, chewing away at my Sugar Puffs. I haven't the faintest how it got in, but it's a good thing Derek didn't find it before I did."
Arthur frowns, checking the little thing's teeth. "Derek's too small to cause it much damage yet; he's barely starting to form his hunting instincts. Still, I am glad you found it first. I still can't believe you found it in your cupboard, though."
Eames shrugs helplessly. "It's not like I haven't wondered where it came from, I just can't work it out."
"You might want to check your cupboard for mice tunnels," Arthur says distractedly as he attempts to weigh the gerbil without it squirming so much as to upset the measurements.
"Never seen any mice in it before."
"Doesn't mean there aren't any," Arthur says, wrangling the furry creature gently back onto the counter. "Well, you have your standard Mongolian gerbil here. I'd bet it's someone's pet that's found its way out of the cage and lead them on a merry chase."
"Does that mean I have to give Tony back?" Eames asks mournfully.
"Tony? Is that what you're calling her?"
"Her?"
"Yeah. You've got a girl on your hands. And no, I shouldn't think anyone's still looking for her -- she's been out and about for at least a few weeks."
Eames' eyes light up. "I can keep her?"
"Well, unless someone demands you give her back, yeah, I suppose you can. You'll need better supplies, though. Gerbils require pretty large cages to burrow in, because they like to tunnel, see? That's how this one found its way into your cupboard."
"Brilliant!" Eames gushes, running his finger over the little mammal's back. "She's just so cute. I was thinking maybe I'd make a space for her at the bookshop. The kids will love her--oh. I can't keep calling her Tony, can I... Well then. That makes her Pepper."
"Pepper?" Arthur asks, bemused.
"Yes, for Pepper... Potts..." There's a very fetching flush to the tops of Eames' cheekbones. "Um. Because I named Tony after Tony Stark," he says shyly.
Arthur is hard-pressed to stop himself from beaming at the silly, adorable man.
...Adorable? Surely not. Surely he's not getting so stupidly enamoured of the man, with his god-awful shirts and his square glasses and his enormous yet startlingly gentle hands and his love of all things small and furry and... Uh. What was his point again?
A flurry of wings interrupt his thoughts; it's a bit of a relief, since Arthur isn't sure what he might have done if they hadn't.
"Patrick!" he admonishes when Pepper scuttles quickly behind some flasks, poking her worried nose back out after a moment.
Patrick makes his way to Arthur's shoulder, perching there sheepishly and ruffling his hair with his long beak.
Eames watches them, fascinated.
"Is that the toucan you came into the bookshop for?" he wants to know.
"Yes," Arthur admits, lifting a hand to stroke the bird's feathers. "His name is Patrick. According to the book you so helpfully supplied me with, they'd kept him in too small a cage for his size, and hadn't fed him enough fruit. Toucans can subsist on insects, but they are actually frugivorous -- they eat mostly fruit," he clarifies, seeing Eames' confused face.
"Ah." Eames' face clears and he reaches a tentative hand forward. "Do you think he'd mind if I..."
"Oh, no, go ahead! The one thing his previous owner was good for is socialising him -- if they're handreared, they get pretty much like Patrick here -- they don't mind strangers, and can be quite affectionate--stop that," he squirms when Patrick nuzzles his neck and wraps his tail around it.
Eames runs a careful finger over Patrick's head. The toucan removes his bill from where he's trying to curl around Arthur and nudges his hand, hopping up and down excitedly on Arthur's shoulder.
"They're a bit of a menace when it comes to attention-seeking," Arthur admits. "Here, watch this," he adds, reaching behind Christopher's cage and pulling out a tennis ball. "Patrick! Patrick, what's this?"
Patrick eyes the ball excitedly. Arthur turns towards the door, where there are fewer breakable items; being a vet isn't exactly a job for clumsy people. There are also fewer cages -- his patients and rescues reside further inside. He tosses the ball carefully into the air.
With an excited squawk Patrick launches himself off Arthur's shoulder, piques to the left and catches the ball in his beak. He flies back to Arthur smugly, dropping the ball in his outstretched hand.
Eames' eyes are huge when Arthur glances back at him, and he claps his hands in delight.
"Oh my god, that was amazing! I've never seen anything like it!" he gushes.
Arthur fetches a treat for Patrick, who snaps it out of the air when Arthur throws it at him. He comes to land in front of Christopher's cage, watching the little turtle with interest and ignoring the humans for the moment. Meanwhile, Eames is coaxing out Pepper from between the two beakers where she'd taken refuge. Arthur hands him a hamster treat to help; their fingers brush when Eames reaches for it, and for a second all Arthur can do is stare at him, flushed and warm and wanting.
"Thanks," Eames says, voice a little hoarse.
Pepper sniffs the treat suspiciously, but relents and scuttles out into the open when Eames leaves it for her. She grabs it between her little paws and nibbles at it while Eames picks her up carefully.
"I'd better go find her a home. Large cage, you said?"
"More like a tank, I should think. Look, come here," Arthur says, tugging at his shirtsleeve.
Eames follows happily as Arthur takes him into the back, where there's a large glass tank full of earth and straw and miscellaneous fodder.
"Like I said, they like to dig," he tells Eames as Eames watches a furry head poke out of a tunnel. "So they have to be contained in something not metal or plastic. This is perfect for them. You can put a wire ceiling on the top, but the sides and floor should be either wood or glass."
"Right," Eames says, looking like he wants to be writing all of that down, but his hands are full of a curious, squeaking gerbil. "Duly noted. Would you, maybe, consider coming with me to find something for her? It's just that it's always good to have a professional on hand when it comes to animals' health," he rushes to add, looking down at Pepper like it's vitally important that he counts every one of her whiskers right this minute.
Arthur smiles at how endearingly flustered Eames is getting. "Are you asking me out on a date, Mr Eames?" he fishes.
Eames looks cornered. "Uh... maybe?"
"In that case, I'd love to."
Eames smiles at him cautiously, which turns into a full-out beam when Arthur grins back.
"Pick me up at five today?"
"Five o'clock," Eames repeats happily as Pepper twitches her nose at Arthur like she knows what she's just done.
Arthur's counting the minutes already.
Part Four
Author/Artist: sirona_gs and red_rahl
Team: ROMANCE!
Prompt: None
Word count: 1,260 this part
Rating: PG so far
Warnings: Smile
Summary: Eames brings his newest discovery for Arthur to check on. Pet shennanigans ensue...
Notes: This story is a WIP collaboration, and will post once a week so that both red_rahl and me can polish our bits (so to speak). Title from The Cure's Lovecats.
Part One Part Two
[art] by red_rahl
[text] by sirona_gs
"I swear to god, Arthur, I'm not lying. It was right there, chewing away at my Sugar Puffs. I haven't the faintest how it got in, but it's a good thing Derek didn't find it before I did."
Arthur frowns, checking the little thing's teeth. "Derek's too small to cause it much damage yet; he's barely starting to form his hunting instincts. Still, I am glad you found it first. I still can't believe you found it in your cupboard, though."
Eames shrugs helplessly. "It's not like I haven't wondered where it came from, I just can't work it out."
"You might want to check your cupboard for mice tunnels," Arthur says distractedly as he attempts to weigh the gerbil without it squirming so much as to upset the measurements.
"Never seen any mice in it before."
"Doesn't mean there aren't any," Arthur says, wrangling the furry creature gently back onto the counter. "Well, you have your standard Mongolian gerbil here. I'd bet it's someone's pet that's found its way out of the cage and lead them on a merry chase."
"Does that mean I have to give Tony back?" Eames asks mournfully.
"Tony? Is that what you're calling her?"
"Her?"
"Yeah. You've got a girl on your hands. And no, I shouldn't think anyone's still looking for her -- she's been out and about for at least a few weeks."
Eames' eyes light up. "I can keep her?"
"Well, unless someone demands you give her back, yeah, I suppose you can. You'll need better supplies, though. Gerbils require pretty large cages to burrow in, because they like to tunnel, see? That's how this one found its way into your cupboard."
"Brilliant!" Eames gushes, running his finger over the little mammal's back. "She's just so cute. I was thinking maybe I'd make a space for her at the bookshop. The kids will love her--oh. I can't keep calling her Tony, can I... Well then. That makes her Pepper."
"Pepper?" Arthur asks, bemused.
"Yes, for Pepper... Potts..." There's a very fetching flush to the tops of Eames' cheekbones. "Um. Because I named Tony after Tony Stark," he says shyly.
Arthur is hard-pressed to stop himself from beaming at the silly, adorable man.
...Adorable? Surely not. Surely he's not getting so stupidly enamoured of the man, with his god-awful shirts and his square glasses and his enormous yet startlingly gentle hands and his love of all things small and furry and... Uh. What was his point again?
A flurry of wings interrupt his thoughts; it's a bit of a relief, since Arthur isn't sure what he might have done if they hadn't.
"Patrick!" he admonishes when Pepper scuttles quickly behind some flasks, poking her worried nose back out after a moment.
Patrick makes his way to Arthur's shoulder, perching there sheepishly and ruffling his hair with his long beak.
Eames watches them, fascinated.
"Is that the toucan you came into the bookshop for?" he wants to know.
"Yes," Arthur admits, lifting a hand to stroke the bird's feathers. "His name is Patrick. According to the book you so helpfully supplied me with, they'd kept him in too small a cage for his size, and hadn't fed him enough fruit. Toucans can subsist on insects, but they are actually frugivorous -- they eat mostly fruit," he clarifies, seeing Eames' confused face.
"Ah." Eames' face clears and he reaches a tentative hand forward. "Do you think he'd mind if I..."
"Oh, no, go ahead! The one thing his previous owner was good for is socialising him -- if they're handreared, they get pretty much like Patrick here -- they don't mind strangers, and can be quite affectionate--stop that," he squirms when Patrick nuzzles his neck and wraps his tail around it.
Eames runs a careful finger over Patrick's head. The toucan removes his bill from where he's trying to curl around Arthur and nudges his hand, hopping up and down excitedly on Arthur's shoulder.
"They're a bit of a menace when it comes to attention-seeking," Arthur admits. "Here, watch this," he adds, reaching behind Christopher's cage and pulling out a tennis ball. "Patrick! Patrick, what's this?"
Patrick eyes the ball excitedly. Arthur turns towards the door, where there are fewer breakable items; being a vet isn't exactly a job for clumsy people. There are also fewer cages -- his patients and rescues reside further inside. He tosses the ball carefully into the air.
With an excited squawk Patrick launches himself off Arthur's shoulder, piques to the left and catches the ball in his beak. He flies back to Arthur smugly, dropping the ball in his outstretched hand.
Eames' eyes are huge when Arthur glances back at him, and he claps his hands in delight.
"Oh my god, that was amazing! I've never seen anything like it!" he gushes.
Arthur fetches a treat for Patrick, who snaps it out of the air when Arthur throws it at him. He comes to land in front of Christopher's cage, watching the little turtle with interest and ignoring the humans for the moment. Meanwhile, Eames is coaxing out Pepper from between the two beakers where she'd taken refuge. Arthur hands him a hamster treat to help; their fingers brush when Eames reaches for it, and for a second all Arthur can do is stare at him, flushed and warm and wanting.
"Thanks," Eames says, voice a little hoarse.
Pepper sniffs the treat suspiciously, but relents and scuttles out into the open when Eames leaves it for her. She grabs it between her little paws and nibbles at it while Eames picks her up carefully.
"I'd better go find her a home. Large cage, you said?"
"More like a tank, I should think. Look, come here," Arthur says, tugging at his shirtsleeve.
Eames follows happily as Arthur takes him into the back, where there's a large glass tank full of earth and straw and miscellaneous fodder.
"Like I said, they like to dig," he tells Eames as Eames watches a furry head poke out of a tunnel. "So they have to be contained in something not metal or plastic. This is perfect for them. You can put a wire ceiling on the top, but the sides and floor should be either wood or glass."
"Right," Eames says, looking like he wants to be writing all of that down, but his hands are full of a curious, squeaking gerbil. "Duly noted. Would you, maybe, consider coming with me to find something for her? It's just that it's always good to have a professional on hand when it comes to animals' health," he rushes to add, looking down at Pepper like it's vitally important that he counts every one of her whiskers right this minute.
Arthur smiles at how endearingly flustered Eames is getting. "Are you asking me out on a date, Mr Eames?" he fishes.
Eames looks cornered. "Uh... maybe?"
"In that case, I'd love to."
Eames smiles at him cautiously, which turns into a full-out beam when Arthur grins back.
"Pick me up at five today?"
"Five o'clock," Eames repeats happily as Pepper twitches her nose at Arthur like she knows what she's just done.
Arthur's counting the minutes already.
Part Four