The Two Of Us Could Run
Title: The Two Of Us Could Run
Author: killhilvolume2
Paring:Arthur/ Eames
Word Count: 3,580
Rating: R
Warnings:Some mild sexual content,swearing, mentions of abuse
Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Summary: AU! Arthur and Eames are teenagers in love.
A/N: I feel like I have been working on this forever.
This was kind of inspired by "American Beauty,"and a tiny bit by "Maurice." I was just trying to play around with the teenage romance cliche, without it coming off as crack.
I am kind of kicking myself over how out of character Arthur and Eames probably are in this, but writing in the AU genre is outside of my comfort zone to begin with, so I did the best I could.
I apologize in advance for any spelling, punctuation, or grammar mistakes I have made.
The title comes from the song "Run" by Vampire Weekend.
5723 Kensington Avenue was the largest house on the street. It was all white, except for the front door which was bright red, and the neighbors often referred to as the “White House” due to it's slight resemblance to the actual White House.
Tonight, like with almost every night, a tall ladder appears on the side of this house. This ladder extends all the way up to the bedroom window of Arthur Grey, the youngest member of the household, who is currently sleeping with his head propped up awkwardly against the head board of his bed.
As he sleeps, he dreams of places he has never been before, of people he has never met before. He walks through streets he doesn't know the names of, and eats food that taste a little bit like heaven. More importantly, he dreams of-
Loud tapping on the bedroom window snaps Arthur back to the waking world, and he is greeted by the soft glow of his lamp, shining directly into his eyes
The American history textbook he had been reading prior to his nap, is resting heavily against chest and he isn't at all surprised that the Industrial Revolution would induce sleep, even with the sound of his parents screaming at each other downstairs as background noise.
They are still going at it, judging by the sudden crash he can hear from below. His parents had a tendency of throwing large, expensive items when things got really heated.
If this had been a year ago, Arthur would have rushed down the stairs to make sure his mother was okay and would have tried to get them stop fighting (if only for a second) but they never took notice of Arthur standing at the foot of the stairs, longing to be able to make everything better. They never noticed the hurt they were putting their only son through, and after countless nights of these ugly and passionate screaming matches, Arthur found himself not caring if they ripped each other to pieces.
Another tap on the window distracts Arthur from thinking too much about his parents heated argument, and the dark haired boy looks up to see a pair of gray eyes staring at him from behind the glass.
Arthur tries to bite back a smile as he gets up from his bed and walks over to the window. He can feel his heart doing flips inside his chest, as he takes small steps towards his destination, not wanting to seem too eager to reach it.
When he finally gets over to the window, he takes a minute to look at the owner of those inciting eyes, staring up at him with slight annoyance. Arthur really has to bite back his smile now as he pushes back the small latch and slides the window up until it is open all the way.
The cool evening air makes it's way into the bedroom, as does the long body of a devastatingly handsome eighteen year old boy with golden brown hair, a scruffy unshaven face that makes him look more like a man than a teenager, and magnificently sexy lips.
When the young man is completely in the room, he dusts the dirt off of his vintage black leather jacket that fits tightly against his broad frame and looks at Arthur.
It is then that Arthur gets a good look at the other boys face in light, and sees that his bottom lip is busted and swollen purple, while there is an ugly, dark, bruise forming underneath his right eye. He also notices dry blood trailing under his left nostril.
Arthur rushes to his side and gently places his hand carefully on the taller boy's face. He feels a rush of anger and sadness run through his body at the thought of someone inflicting pain on this handsome face.
“Who did this Eames?” his voice is shaky with anger.
Eames smiles with amusement at the protective tone in the other boy's voice, and wraps his arms around Arthur's thin waist, pulling him close.
“You forgot to keep the window open for me again, darling,” he says, his charming British accent filling Arthur's ears, sending a chill up his spine.
“Don't change the subject.” he growls back with up most seriousness in his voice, but finds himself leaning into Eames embrace, feeling the soft leather of the older boy's jacket on his cheek.
“Who do you think did this?” Eames sighs deeply. “It won't take you long to guess, love. I am the man's personal punching bag after all.”
Realization dawns quickly on Arthur, who presses himself closer to Eames, so that there isn't even an inch between them.
He knew Eames' stepfather pushed him around a lot, but it had never this bad before, at least not that Arthur had been aware of.
“That bastard.” he whispers as he presses his cheek into the soft leather of Eames' jacket . “That fucking asshole.”
“What language, coming from such a nice boy!” Eames says with gentle affection, and Arthur allows himself to relax in his warm embrace. But just as soon as he gets comfortable, another crash is heard from down below. Arthur flinches sharply at the sound. It must be something heavy, like the vase of pink roses Arthur's dad had sent to his mom earlier that week. Eames, who sees Arthur's reaction to the noise, tightens his grip on the younger boy. “They are really going at it. Has it been this bad all night?”
“Try all week. I'm surprised nobody has called the cops yet,” Arthur tries to say as though it is humorous, but a wave of pain runs through him as he recalls the horrible things his parent's have been throwing back in forth at each other all night; all the accusations and terrible names. “I wish someone would though.”
Eames pulls back slightly, so that he can look Arthur in the eye. The pain that Arthur dares not voice, can be seen pouring out of those brown orbs. It amazes him that this kid--barely seventeen years old-- was able to hold it together, when it would have made sense for him to fall to pieces. His strength was part of the reason Eames was so crazy about him, but at the same time the older boy wanted to do everything in his power to make sure nobody tried to break the strong spirit of the one he loved.
This sudden surge of protectiveness makes Eames desperate to show Arthur just how much he cares for him, as he gently places both hands on the sides of the boy's face and kisses him with all the love and passion that he can possibly express, trying hard to ignore the pain coming from his bottom lip. Arthur responds back with just as much enthusiasm, enjoying the taste of Eames' mouth against his own.
Within a matter of minutes they find themselves moving towards Arthur's bed, their bodies still pressed together, and their lips still locked desperately. Arthur can feel the cool air hit his skin, as Eames unbuttons the white cotton shirt he is wearing, while he works getting the heavy leather jacket off of the other boy.
When they make it to the bed, they are both naked from the waist up and have started to work on the buttons of each others jeans. They have to disconnect their mouths and bodies briefly in order to remove whats left of their clothing as quickly as they can, and soon they are standing only inches apart staring at each other through lust filled eyes.
Arthur backs away slowly until he can feel the edge of his bed against the back of his legs, his eyes never leaving Eames' as he moves to lie down on the bed.
Eames licks his lips at the sight of Arthur lying naked on the bed, propped up on his elbows, waiting for him to make his move.
He crawls onto the bed, hands on both sides of Arthur's lithe form, as he makes way up towards his lover.
Arthur finds himself trembling when Eames is finally lying top of him, making it so their bodies are connected in all the right places. Eames had claimed his virginity several months ago, in the very same bed, and since then they had made love numerous times. Whether it was the intensity of the moment, or the passion and desperation of every kiss, there is something about tonight that is causing Arthur's nerves to go haywire, to the point where he cannot control the involuntary movements that are making it's way throughout his body.
Eames can feel Arthur shaking beneath him, making him hesitate to take their activities further. He has been with several girls and a few boys before, but they had all been meaningless fucks that had always left him unsatisfied Then he met Arthur: quiet, stubborn, serious, perfect Arthur, whose soft brown eyes and sharp wit had won him over instantly. Being around him made Eames want to take action and become a person worth standing by the other boy's side, even if that meant putting fantastic sex on hold to see to his boyfriend's needs.
He presses his forehead against Arthur's, feeling the sweat of the boy's skin on his own.
“You are trembling, darling.” he says with concern, taking Arthur's right hand and clasping it with his own. “We don't have to do this tonight, if your not feeling up to it.”
A huge smile forms on Arthur's lips, and he gives Eames' hand a soft squeeze.
“Eames, do you love me?”
“You know I do, more than anything,” the older boy replies softly without a bit of hesitation, then brings Arthur's hand to his lips, and presses a kiss on his knuckles.
“Then please fuck me, or next time I'll make myself forget to leave the ladder out.”
A strange mix of a laugh and a groan escapes his lips as he sweeps down and plants wet, sloppy kiss on the younger boys mouth.
“I'll be more than happy to oblige you, love.” he whispers against Arthur's lips in between kisses, his voice filled with deep lust. “Only because you asked so nicely.”
~
Eames looks down at Arthur, who dozing lightly in his arms; his face buried in the crook of his neck. He runs his long fingers through his lover's sweat soaked hair, stroking the damp strands gently.
Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Arthur's alarm clock on his nightstand, next to his Albert Einstein action figure. The bright green numbers read "12:30."
The fighting downstairs seems to have ceased completely, and Eames is glad of it. Arthur shouldn't have put up with that bullshit. Arthur once told him that his parents didn't always hate each other, and that they used to be a somewhat normal family. He won't say exactly what happened to cause the huge rift in his parents marriage, and Eames doesn't press the issue because he couldn't give less of a shit about what Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Grey fight about. The only thing he has cared about for the past year, was finding away to get Arthur away from the madness, and due to some recent developments that have occurred in the past few hours, Eames believes that he now has a perfect opportunity to not only get himself out of this God forsaken town, but to whisk Arthur away as well.
The problem was going to convince the other boy (who was now snoring adorably) to go along with it, which might prove to be a bit of challenge. Because while there was no doubt in his mind that Arthur loves him, his lover is a very practical young man, and would argue that there was nothing practical about them running away.
Still, it was more than worth a try, and if he was able to convince Arthur--the kid who had dumped milk over his head on his first day of school (though Eames might have accidentally grabbed his ass in the lunch line) to go out with him, then there was a fighting chance that he would be able to convince his lover to skip town with him tonight.
~
“Arthur,” Eames whispers as he gently shakes Arthur awake.“Wake up love, we need to talk.”
Arthur groans to signal that he is awake, but he doesn't open his eyes.
“What time is it?” the boys voice is tired and scratchy from sleep, as snuggles closer to Eames.
“It's late.” is Eames reply, and as adorable as sleepy-after-sex Arthur is, he is anxious to have this conversation. “I'm serious though, we really need to talk. It's important.”
The serious tone in Eames voice causes Arthur to wake up quickly.
“Okay,” Arthur says as he looks up at lover through drowsy eyes. “What do we need to talk about?”
Eames takes a deep breath. He knows that what ever way this conversation goes, it will change both of them forever.
"I'm going to have to leave town tonight.” It as he spoke the words, he could see the boy's face fall, his brown eyes filling with confusion and fear.
“What do you mean, you have to leave town?” Arthur's voice is shaky and filled with uncertainty. He knew Eames hated living in the confines of a small town, especially one that was filled with people who turned their nose up at his, what his mother called “bold behavior” whatever that meant, but he had never said anything about leaving.
“My good old step-dad tossed me out after he busted my lip. He told me to never show my face around his house again.”
“What about your mom?” Arthur asks desperately. Surely Eames' mother wouldn't let her own son be thrown out on the streets. “Didn't she try to stop him?”
“She didn't say a word.” Eames' replies almost casually, like it is nothing shocking. “She cried a bit when I kissed her goodbye, but she is too afraid of him to stand up for herself, or me.”
Panic and anger hits Arthur like a ton of bricks as he wrenches himself out of the boy's arms, trying to ignore the hurt look on his boyfriend's face.
Eames was leaving, the most important person in his life, the only person he has ever loved, was leaving him.
“So, is this the end of us then?” he hates how small his voice sounds, but what he hates even more is how much his heart is aching at the thought of Eames leaving him.”You were just going to fuck me one last time and then bail?”
“What?! Christ no!” Eames exclaims, fighting to keep his voice down. This was not how he had wanted this conversation to go, and seeing Arthur on the verge of breaking down is almost too much for his heart to handle. He grabs him by shoulders and forces the younger teen to look him in the eyes.“Arthur, I want you to come with me.”
“Come with you? You mean like run away?” The question sounds stupid as he speaks it aloud, but he just wants to make sure that he understands Eames correctly.
“Yes.”
“What about school? You still have your senior year to finish, and I'm only a junior.”
Eames sighs, leave it Arthur to to bring up school at at a time like this. “I've never been a fan of formal education, and the only reason I ever go, is to see you. Besides, you're smart enough as it is, you really don't need any more schooling.”
Arthur rolls his eyes, As always Eames is missing the point.
“What about money?” As much as he wants to believe love is enough, Arthur is not a fool.
“I have enough saved up to get us by for awhile.” Eames stops there, choosing not to elaborate on how he had obtained said money over the past few months. Pick pocketing wasn't exactly the most legitimate way for a teenager to be making money, but he was better at that than at bagging groceries.
“What about-”
“Arthur, stop.” Eames' interrupts firmly, as he tightens his grip on Arthur's shoulders. “Switch that brain of yours off for a second and listen to me. Can you do that, love?”
Arthur opens his mouth to speak, but Eames(anticipating an argument) places his curled up index finger under the boy's chin and gently pushes up until he can here the soft sound of Arthur's teeth clicking together.
Arthur gives him a look of defeat before nodding his head, and Eames removes his finger, but not before he gently caresses his boyfriends jawline; loving the feel of his soft skin on his fingertips
“I know that I am asking a lot of you, perhaps more than you are willing to give up.” Eames can feel his chest hurt a little bit as he speaks the last part, but he is determined to remain strong and convince Arthur that his place is with him. “If you come away with me tonight, I can't promise that things are going to be easy for the two of us, in fact it might get really tough out there, but what I can promise you is that I will take care of you and love you for as long as you let me.”
The sincerity in Eames' voice and the love that is laced in every word, is almost enough to make Arthur disregard the nagging voice in the back of mind that is begging him to be practical about the situation.
There are certain expectations for an upper class, intelligent, young man such as Arthur, and he knew quite well what the unspoken plan his parents had set for him was.
He would go to his father's Alma mater, Dartmouth, after graduating at the top of his class, which he was already well on the road to doing given his outstanding grades and impressive test scores. His mom has already been telling people that he is considering majoring in business, just like his dad, which something that Arthur doesn't recalls mentioning to her at all.
They also expected there to be a beautiful, well educated bride, who would give him children and together they would keep up the image of a good, upper middle class household.
He saw nothing extraordinary about this future, especially if Eames wasn't in it.
From the time he had caught Eames not-so-subtly following him home after school in that loud, piss yellow, piece of shit car of his (that was probably manufactured in a former communist country) up until this moment where he is asking Arthur to leave everything behind and run off into an uncertain future with him, every second with the strange, and irritatingly charming young man from what seems like another world, has been like nothing he's ever experienced before.
Falling in love with Eames was definitely not part of the “plan” but it was most certainly the best thing that had ever happened to him, and just like that, Arthur realizes that an ordinary life would never be enough for him now, not when the possibility of an extraordinary life is been presented to him.
So going against every ounce of logic that is screaming that leaving with Eames is a mistake, Arthur finds himself staring into the older teen's eyes and saying: “You know, when they realize that we are gone, people are going to think you killed me, buried my body in a ditch somewhere, then took off for parts unknown.”
Eames lets out a bark of laughter at his boyfriend's dark humor.
“Is that your fucked up way of saying that you'll come with me?”
Arthur smiles and nods. “It is, Mr. Eames”
And in the blink of an eye, Arthur finds himself on his back again, staring up at his lover who has a look of pure bliss on his face, his eyes shining with happiness.
Eames leans down and plants tiny kisses all over Arthur face, starting at his forehead then making down his right cheek, across his jawline, but stops when he gets to the lips. He takes in the moment, for he is still in awe at the fact that Arthur, his Arthur, trusts and loves him enough to leave everything behind so that they could be together.
“Do you know how lucky we are to have found one another?” he asks, not caring if it sounds cheesy. Arthur struggles not to laugh at the overly romantic sentiment, that sounds like something out of a bad teenage romance novel; it is a struggle that Eames doesn't miss. “ I'm trying to be romantic here, dearest.There is no need to laugh.”
Arthur can't hold back his laughter at that, especially when Eames' lips form an adorable, but pathetic pout. “Isn't us running away together disgustingly romantic enough?”
Eames looks down at him lovingly, feeling his heart almost burst at the sight of Arthur's radiant smile.
“Yes, it's more than enough, darling.”
End
Author: killhilvolume2
Paring:Arthur/ Eames
Word Count: 3,580
Rating: R
Warnings:Some mild sexual content,swearing, mentions of abuse
Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Summary: AU! Arthur and Eames are teenagers in love.
A/N: I feel like I have been working on this forever.
This was kind of inspired by "American Beauty,"and a tiny bit by "Maurice." I was just trying to play around with the teenage romance cliche, without it coming off as crack.
I am kind of kicking myself over how out of character Arthur and Eames probably are in this, but writing in the AU genre is outside of my comfort zone to begin with, so I did the best I could.
I apologize in advance for any spelling, punctuation, or grammar mistakes I have made.
The title comes from the song "Run" by Vampire Weekend.
5723 Kensington Avenue was the largest house on the street. It was all white, except for the front door which was bright red, and the neighbors often referred to as the “White House” due to it's slight resemblance to the actual White House.
Tonight, like with almost every night, a tall ladder appears on the side of this house. This ladder extends all the way up to the bedroom window of Arthur Grey, the youngest member of the household, who is currently sleeping with his head propped up awkwardly against the head board of his bed.
As he sleeps, he dreams of places he has never been before, of people he has never met before. He walks through streets he doesn't know the names of, and eats food that taste a little bit like heaven. More importantly, he dreams of-
Loud tapping on the bedroom window snaps Arthur back to the waking world, and he is greeted by the soft glow of his lamp, shining directly into his eyes
The American history textbook he had been reading prior to his nap, is resting heavily against chest and he isn't at all surprised that the Industrial Revolution would induce sleep, even with the sound of his parents screaming at each other downstairs as background noise.
They are still going at it, judging by the sudden crash he can hear from below. His parents had a tendency of throwing large, expensive items when things got really heated.
If this had been a year ago, Arthur would have rushed down the stairs to make sure his mother was okay and would have tried to get them stop fighting (if only for a second) but they never took notice of Arthur standing at the foot of the stairs, longing to be able to make everything better. They never noticed the hurt they were putting their only son through, and after countless nights of these ugly and passionate screaming matches, Arthur found himself not caring if they ripped each other to pieces.
Another tap on the window distracts Arthur from thinking too much about his parents heated argument, and the dark haired boy looks up to see a pair of gray eyes staring at him from behind the glass.
Arthur tries to bite back a smile as he gets up from his bed and walks over to the window. He can feel his heart doing flips inside his chest, as he takes small steps towards his destination, not wanting to seem too eager to reach it.
When he finally gets over to the window, he takes a minute to look at the owner of those inciting eyes, staring up at him with slight annoyance. Arthur really has to bite back his smile now as he pushes back the small latch and slides the window up until it is open all the way.
The cool evening air makes it's way into the bedroom, as does the long body of a devastatingly handsome eighteen year old boy with golden brown hair, a scruffy unshaven face that makes him look more like a man than a teenager, and magnificently sexy lips.
When the young man is completely in the room, he dusts the dirt off of his vintage black leather jacket that fits tightly against his broad frame and looks at Arthur.
It is then that Arthur gets a good look at the other boys face in light, and sees that his bottom lip is busted and swollen purple, while there is an ugly, dark, bruise forming underneath his right eye. He also notices dry blood trailing under his left nostril.
Arthur rushes to his side and gently places his hand carefully on the taller boy's face. He feels a rush of anger and sadness run through his body at the thought of someone inflicting pain on this handsome face.
“Who did this Eames?” his voice is shaky with anger.
Eames smiles with amusement at the protective tone in the other boy's voice, and wraps his arms around Arthur's thin waist, pulling him close.
“You forgot to keep the window open for me again, darling,” he says, his charming British accent filling Arthur's ears, sending a chill up his spine.
“Don't change the subject.” he growls back with up most seriousness in his voice, but finds himself leaning into Eames embrace, feeling the soft leather of the older boy's jacket on his cheek.
“Who do you think did this?” Eames sighs deeply. “It won't take you long to guess, love. I am the man's personal punching bag after all.”
Realization dawns quickly on Arthur, who presses himself closer to Eames, so that there isn't even an inch between them.
He knew Eames' stepfather pushed him around a lot, but it had never this bad before, at least not that Arthur had been aware of.
“That bastard.” he whispers as he presses his cheek into the soft leather of Eames' jacket . “That fucking asshole.”
“What language, coming from such a nice boy!” Eames says with gentle affection, and Arthur allows himself to relax in his warm embrace. But just as soon as he gets comfortable, another crash is heard from down below. Arthur flinches sharply at the sound. It must be something heavy, like the vase of pink roses Arthur's dad had sent to his mom earlier that week. Eames, who sees Arthur's reaction to the noise, tightens his grip on the younger boy. “They are really going at it. Has it been this bad all night?”
“Try all week. I'm surprised nobody has called the cops yet,” Arthur tries to say as though it is humorous, but a wave of pain runs through him as he recalls the horrible things his parent's have been throwing back in forth at each other all night; all the accusations and terrible names. “I wish someone would though.”
Eames pulls back slightly, so that he can look Arthur in the eye. The pain that Arthur dares not voice, can be seen pouring out of those brown orbs. It amazes him that this kid--barely seventeen years old-- was able to hold it together, when it would have made sense for him to fall to pieces. His strength was part of the reason Eames was so crazy about him, but at the same time the older boy wanted to do everything in his power to make sure nobody tried to break the strong spirit of the one he loved.
This sudden surge of protectiveness makes Eames desperate to show Arthur just how much he cares for him, as he gently places both hands on the sides of the boy's face and kisses him with all the love and passion that he can possibly express, trying hard to ignore the pain coming from his bottom lip. Arthur responds back with just as much enthusiasm, enjoying the taste of Eames' mouth against his own.
Within a matter of minutes they find themselves moving towards Arthur's bed, their bodies still pressed together, and their lips still locked desperately. Arthur can feel the cool air hit his skin, as Eames unbuttons the white cotton shirt he is wearing, while he works getting the heavy leather jacket off of the other boy.
When they make it to the bed, they are both naked from the waist up and have started to work on the buttons of each others jeans. They have to disconnect their mouths and bodies briefly in order to remove whats left of their clothing as quickly as they can, and soon they are standing only inches apart staring at each other through lust filled eyes.
Arthur backs away slowly until he can feel the edge of his bed against the back of his legs, his eyes never leaving Eames' as he moves to lie down on the bed.
Eames licks his lips at the sight of Arthur lying naked on the bed, propped up on his elbows, waiting for him to make his move.
He crawls onto the bed, hands on both sides of Arthur's lithe form, as he makes way up towards his lover.
Arthur finds himself trembling when Eames is finally lying top of him, making it so their bodies are connected in all the right places. Eames had claimed his virginity several months ago, in the very same bed, and since then they had made love numerous times. Whether it was the intensity of the moment, or the passion and desperation of every kiss, there is something about tonight that is causing Arthur's nerves to go haywire, to the point where he cannot control the involuntary movements that are making it's way throughout his body.
Eames can feel Arthur shaking beneath him, making him hesitate to take their activities further. He has been with several girls and a few boys before, but they had all been meaningless fucks that had always left him unsatisfied Then he met Arthur: quiet, stubborn, serious, perfect Arthur, whose soft brown eyes and sharp wit had won him over instantly. Being around him made Eames want to take action and become a person worth standing by the other boy's side, even if that meant putting fantastic sex on hold to see to his boyfriend's needs.
He presses his forehead against Arthur's, feeling the sweat of the boy's skin on his own.
“You are trembling, darling.” he says with concern, taking Arthur's right hand and clasping it with his own. “We don't have to do this tonight, if your not feeling up to it.”
A huge smile forms on Arthur's lips, and he gives Eames' hand a soft squeeze.
“Eames, do you love me?”
“You know I do, more than anything,” the older boy replies softly without a bit of hesitation, then brings Arthur's hand to his lips, and presses a kiss on his knuckles.
“Then please fuck me, or next time I'll make myself forget to leave the ladder out.”
A strange mix of a laugh and a groan escapes his lips as he sweeps down and plants wet, sloppy kiss on the younger boys mouth.
“I'll be more than happy to oblige you, love.” he whispers against Arthur's lips in between kisses, his voice filled with deep lust. “Only because you asked so nicely.”
~
Eames looks down at Arthur, who dozing lightly in his arms; his face buried in the crook of his neck. He runs his long fingers through his lover's sweat soaked hair, stroking the damp strands gently.
Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Arthur's alarm clock on his nightstand, next to his Albert Einstein action figure. The bright green numbers read "12:30."
The fighting downstairs seems to have ceased completely, and Eames is glad of it. Arthur shouldn't have put up with that bullshit. Arthur once told him that his parents didn't always hate each other, and that they used to be a somewhat normal family. He won't say exactly what happened to cause the huge rift in his parents marriage, and Eames doesn't press the issue because he couldn't give less of a shit about what Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Grey fight about. The only thing he has cared about for the past year, was finding away to get Arthur away from the madness, and due to some recent developments that have occurred in the past few hours, Eames believes that he now has a perfect opportunity to not only get himself out of this God forsaken town, but to whisk Arthur away as well.
The problem was going to convince the other boy (who was now snoring adorably) to go along with it, which might prove to be a bit of challenge. Because while there was no doubt in his mind that Arthur loves him, his lover is a very practical young man, and would argue that there was nothing practical about them running away.
Still, it was more than worth a try, and if he was able to convince Arthur--the kid who had dumped milk over his head on his first day of school (though Eames might have accidentally grabbed his ass in the lunch line) to go out with him, then there was a fighting chance that he would be able to convince his lover to skip town with him tonight.
~
“Arthur,” Eames whispers as he gently shakes Arthur awake.“Wake up love, we need to talk.”
Arthur groans to signal that he is awake, but he doesn't open his eyes.
“What time is it?” the boys voice is tired and scratchy from sleep, as snuggles closer to Eames.
“It's late.” is Eames reply, and as adorable as sleepy-after-sex Arthur is, he is anxious to have this conversation. “I'm serious though, we really need to talk. It's important.”
The serious tone in Eames voice causes Arthur to wake up quickly.
“Okay,” Arthur says as he looks up at lover through drowsy eyes. “What do we need to talk about?”
Eames takes a deep breath. He knows that what ever way this conversation goes, it will change both of them forever.
"I'm going to have to leave town tonight.” It as he spoke the words, he could see the boy's face fall, his brown eyes filling with confusion and fear.
“What do you mean, you have to leave town?” Arthur's voice is shaky and filled with uncertainty. He knew Eames hated living in the confines of a small town, especially one that was filled with people who turned their nose up at his, what his mother called “bold behavior” whatever that meant, but he had never said anything about leaving.
“My good old step-dad tossed me out after he busted my lip. He told me to never show my face around his house again.”
“What about your mom?” Arthur asks desperately. Surely Eames' mother wouldn't let her own son be thrown out on the streets. “Didn't she try to stop him?”
“She didn't say a word.” Eames' replies almost casually, like it is nothing shocking. “She cried a bit when I kissed her goodbye, but she is too afraid of him to stand up for herself, or me.”
Panic and anger hits Arthur like a ton of bricks as he wrenches himself out of the boy's arms, trying to ignore the hurt look on his boyfriend's face.
Eames was leaving, the most important person in his life, the only person he has ever loved, was leaving him.
“So, is this the end of us then?” he hates how small his voice sounds, but what he hates even more is how much his heart is aching at the thought of Eames leaving him.”You were just going to fuck me one last time and then bail?”
“What?! Christ no!” Eames exclaims, fighting to keep his voice down. This was not how he had wanted this conversation to go, and seeing Arthur on the verge of breaking down is almost too much for his heart to handle. He grabs him by shoulders and forces the younger teen to look him in the eyes.“Arthur, I want you to come with me.”
“Come with you? You mean like run away?” The question sounds stupid as he speaks it aloud, but he just wants to make sure that he understands Eames correctly.
“Yes.”
“What about school? You still have your senior year to finish, and I'm only a junior.”
Eames sighs, leave it Arthur to to bring up school at at a time like this. “I've never been a fan of formal education, and the only reason I ever go, is to see you. Besides, you're smart enough as it is, you really don't need any more schooling.”
Arthur rolls his eyes, As always Eames is missing the point.
“What about money?” As much as he wants to believe love is enough, Arthur is not a fool.
“I have enough saved up to get us by for awhile.” Eames stops there, choosing not to elaborate on how he had obtained said money over the past few months. Pick pocketing wasn't exactly the most legitimate way for a teenager to be making money, but he was better at that than at bagging groceries.
“What about-”
“Arthur, stop.” Eames' interrupts firmly, as he tightens his grip on Arthur's shoulders. “Switch that brain of yours off for a second and listen to me. Can you do that, love?”
Arthur opens his mouth to speak, but Eames(anticipating an argument) places his curled up index finger under the boy's chin and gently pushes up until he can here the soft sound of Arthur's teeth clicking together.
Arthur gives him a look of defeat before nodding his head, and Eames removes his finger, but not before he gently caresses his boyfriends jawline; loving the feel of his soft skin on his fingertips
“I know that I am asking a lot of you, perhaps more than you are willing to give up.” Eames can feel his chest hurt a little bit as he speaks the last part, but he is determined to remain strong and convince Arthur that his place is with him. “If you come away with me tonight, I can't promise that things are going to be easy for the two of us, in fact it might get really tough out there, but what I can promise you is that I will take care of you and love you for as long as you let me.”
The sincerity in Eames' voice and the love that is laced in every word, is almost enough to make Arthur disregard the nagging voice in the back of mind that is begging him to be practical about the situation.
There are certain expectations for an upper class, intelligent, young man such as Arthur, and he knew quite well what the unspoken plan his parents had set for him was.
He would go to his father's Alma mater, Dartmouth, after graduating at the top of his class, which he was already well on the road to doing given his outstanding grades and impressive test scores. His mom has already been telling people that he is considering majoring in business, just like his dad, which something that Arthur doesn't recalls mentioning to her at all.
They also expected there to be a beautiful, well educated bride, who would give him children and together they would keep up the image of a good, upper middle class household.
He saw nothing extraordinary about this future, especially if Eames wasn't in it.
From the time he had caught Eames not-so-subtly following him home after school in that loud, piss yellow, piece of shit car of his (that was probably manufactured in a former communist country) up until this moment where he is asking Arthur to leave everything behind and run off into an uncertain future with him, every second with the strange, and irritatingly charming young man from what seems like another world, has been like nothing he's ever experienced before.
Falling in love with Eames was definitely not part of the “plan” but it was most certainly the best thing that had ever happened to him, and just like that, Arthur realizes that an ordinary life would never be enough for him now, not when the possibility of an extraordinary life is been presented to him.
So going against every ounce of logic that is screaming that leaving with Eames is a mistake, Arthur finds himself staring into the older teen's eyes and saying: “You know, when they realize that we are gone, people are going to think you killed me, buried my body in a ditch somewhere, then took off for parts unknown.”
Eames lets out a bark of laughter at his boyfriend's dark humor.
“Is that your fucked up way of saying that you'll come with me?”
Arthur smiles and nods. “It is, Mr. Eames”
And in the blink of an eye, Arthur finds himself on his back again, staring up at his lover who has a look of pure bliss on his face, his eyes shining with happiness.
Eames leans down and plants tiny kisses all over Arthur face, starting at his forehead then making down his right cheek, across his jawline, but stops when he gets to the lips. He takes in the moment, for he is still in awe at the fact that Arthur, his Arthur, trusts and loves him enough to leave everything behind so that they could be together.
“Do you know how lucky we are to have found one another?” he asks, not caring if it sounds cheesy. Arthur struggles not to laugh at the overly romantic sentiment, that sounds like something out of a bad teenage romance novel; it is a struggle that Eames doesn't miss. “ I'm trying to be romantic here, dearest.There is no need to laugh.”
Arthur can't hold back his laughter at that, especially when Eames' lips form an adorable, but pathetic pout. “Isn't us running away together disgustingly romantic enough?”
Eames looks down at him lovingly, feeling his heart almost burst at the sight of Arthur's radiant smile.
“Yes, it's more than enough, darling.”
End