Arthur made a little noise at the swat, shaking his rear as he went and ended up pulling the plum wine they both liked out of the fridge and opened it before heading to the table to pour them both a glass.
He let Eames serve the food and sat down with a tired sigh after he finished pouring the wine. Rolling his shoulders and not believing how tired his body felt, "Is there ever a time when you don't make something that looks delicious?" Arthur couldn't really recall a time...
"My souffle collapsed and I burnt some bread, once," he reminds Arthur (the souffle the end of a particularly angry argument between them and the bread when he'd been distracted by making out with the point man) as he sits down across from him, smiling at the drink choice.
"We should really just buy stock in them," he said of the company that made the wine.
Brow furrowing as he thought and then went "oh yeah" before picking up his fork and twisting some of the noodles onto it, "I slammed that door that hard on purpose, knowing that would happen, and you almost did that with the waffles one time." Because Eames had gotten the idea of trying to wake Arthur up that morning through kisses (and it had worked so well that Arthur pointed out the smell which then sent Eames cursing and flying back into the kitchen).
After taking a bite and making a pleased noise of approval, chewing some and then swallowing, "Already have. Well, I have. I wasn't sure if you wanted in on that - also wanted to make sure it proved fruitful before saying anything about it." Arthur had shares of stock in other things but he rarely felt he needed to bring them up (the conversations they had didn't really allow for talk of technical financial matters beyond what sum certain dream sharing jobs were offering).
"I wasn't very appreciative of it," Eames chuckles (getting angry about it would do nothing) and then smiling at the memory of the waffles. "It would have been worth it. Really I just didn't want to burn the kitchen," he says.
Taking a few bites before he responded, chewing, swallowing and then speaking, "I should get in on it, but I won't. Just letting all my little bank accounts accrue interest," he says. "It's good to know you're playing the field there, though."
The only response Eames got to any of that was a garbled noise as Arthur's mouth was too full of food to respond properly. He hadn't realized how hungry he was - and how much he had missed Eames' cooking - until he had started eating.
Eames smiled slightly but let Arthur eat in silence.
However, when they were both done and putting away the dishes, Eames' hand slipped back into the pocket with the ring. He knew Arthur had to be tired, could tell so, and was debating putting off telling him until tomorrow. But then again, did it matter when Eames asked as long as he asked?
Arthur was pushing his chair back under the table, one hand rubbing at his face when he noticed Eames still out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look at his lover and noticed the hand in his pocket.
He must have been that tired because he couldn't understand that gesture (especially when Eames seemed to be staring off into space). Tilting his head a little, leaning against the back of the chair a bit more, "Eames?"
Eames took a deep startled breath but, when he turned to look at Arthur, leaning against his chair and still so tired, but asking Eames if he was okay, he felt his heart expand. And he resolved that yes, he would ask him tonight.
"Arthur," he said, and his voice felt so choked that he cleared his throat, stepping closer to the point man. "We've been through a lot... to get to this point in our lives. And I love you quite a lot - more than I should, maybe, but..."
He trailed off slightly, and finally closed his hand around the little box and pulled it out. He wasn't going to get down on one knee, because they were equals; but he did present it to the point man.
"It would mean quite a lot to me if we go married, so - I'm asking you to."
Arthur blinked once, twice, and then a few more times in between standing up straighter and looking at the box Eames was presenting him with. He recognized a ring box when he saw one and... he was thinking he might have to sit down again.
But when he finally did find his voice, what came out of his mouth was, softly, "Are you sure you want to... marry someone like me?"
Forget the fact Arthur had never even imagined himself being married to anyone; the fact Eames wanted to be tied to him like that... Arthur couldn't help but want to make sure that Eames had considered this all very carefully. He wanted to marry Arthur he was going to get everything that came along with him. ("For better or worse" and all that.)
Eames knew how Arthur could be, knew how he could doubt himself. And so he didn't take that as a no.
Taking one of Arthur's hands in his free one, he stroked his thumb over his knuckles.
"How could I not want to marry you? I know we've had our problems in the past, but we're still together. You're the person whom I want to wake up with kisses in the morning, who I enjoy reading with. The fact that we work together only makes it better.
"I know you're not a perfect person or even what most people call a good person. But darling, you're perfect for me."
No one had ever said that to him before and it overwhelmed him, frankly. He ended up blinking rapidly as wetness was gathering behind his eyelids quite suddenly and he didn't understand why (he blamed it on being so tired; that had to be it).
He didn't pull his hand from Eames' grip, but did look away for a moment, swallowing hard and trying to pull himself together. Even after all they had been through, all that they had between them, he still had a hard time accepting it all easily.
At that grip tightening on his hand, Arthur brought up a hand to rub at his eyes while his face was still turned away before closing the distance and pressing his face into Eames' neck, an arm going across the other's shoulders to hold him closer.
Sniffing once, "I think you've always been perfect for me, too." That had to be the case because ever since they had met each other those years ago, Eames practically sauntering into his life one night in a random bar, neither had been able to stop thinking about the other completely even after years of separation and even ended up crossing paths again (more than once).
Even back then, young and unsure of what the other man had felt for him, Arthur hadn't ever really wanted to give the other up.
That desire had remained and was amplified many times over by now.
Thus, his answer could really only be: "Yes. I will marry you, Eames." My Eames.Because ever since that time they had spent together when they were young... they really had only belonged to each other. That's why all the others
( ... )
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(Some things will never change; Arthur being a smartass is one of them.)
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He had grabbed some wine, of course, but there was also some diet sodas and juice, along with water, in the fridge.
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He let Eames serve the food and sat down with a tired sigh after he finished pouring the wine. Rolling his shoulders and not believing how tired his body felt, "Is there ever a time when you don't make something that looks delicious?" Arthur couldn't really recall a time...
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"We should really just buy stock in them," he said of the company that made the wine.
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After taking a bite and making a pleased noise of approval, chewing some and then swallowing, "Already have. Well, I have. I wasn't sure if you wanted in on that - also wanted to make sure it proved fruitful before saying anything about it." Arthur had shares of stock in other things but he rarely felt he needed to bring them up (the conversations they had didn't really allow for talk of technical financial matters beyond what sum certain dream sharing jobs were offering).
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Taking a few bites before he responded, chewing, swallowing and then speaking, "I should get in on it, but I won't. Just letting all my little bank accounts accrue interest," he says. "It's good to know you're playing the field there, though."
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However, when they were both done and putting away the dishes, Eames' hand slipped back into the pocket with the ring. He knew Arthur had to be tired, could tell so, and was debating putting off telling him until tomorrow. But then again, did it matter when Eames asked as long as he asked?
Reply
He must have been that tired because he couldn't understand that gesture (especially when Eames seemed to be staring off into space). Tilting his head a little, leaning against the back of the chair a bit more, "Eames?"
Reply
"Arthur," he said, and his voice felt so choked that he cleared his throat, stepping closer to the point man. "We've been through a lot... to get to this point in our lives. And I love you quite a lot - more than I should, maybe, but..."
He trailed off slightly, and finally closed his hand around the little box and pulled it out. He wasn't going to get down on one knee, because they were equals; but he did present it to the point man.
"It would mean quite a lot to me if we go married, so - I'm asking you to."
Reply
But when he finally did find his voice, what came out of his mouth was, softly, "Are you sure you want to... marry someone like me?"
Forget the fact Arthur had never even imagined himself being married to anyone; the fact Eames wanted to be tied to him like that... Arthur couldn't help but want to make sure that Eames had considered this all very carefully. He wanted to marry Arthur he was going to get everything that came along with him. ("For better or worse" and all that.)
Reply
Taking one of Arthur's hands in his free one, he stroked his thumb over his knuckles.
"How could I not want to marry you? I know we've had our problems in the past, but we're still together. You're the person whom I want to wake up with kisses in the morning, who I enjoy reading with. The fact that we work together only makes it better.
"I know you're not a perfect person or even what most people call a good person. But darling, you're perfect for me."
Reply
No one had ever said that to him before and it overwhelmed him, frankly. He ended up blinking rapidly as wetness was gathering behind his eyelids quite suddenly and he didn't understand why (he blamed it on being so tired; that had to be it).
He didn't pull his hand from Eames' grip, but did look away for a moment, swallowing hard and trying to pull himself together. Even after all they had been through, all that they had between them, he still had a hard time accepting it all easily.
Reply
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Sniffing once, "I think you've always been perfect for me, too." That had to be the case because ever since they had met each other those years ago, Eames practically sauntering into his life one night in a random bar, neither had been able to stop thinking about the other completely even after years of separation and even ended up crossing paths again (more than once).
Even back then, young and unsure of what the other man had felt for him, Arthur hadn't ever really wanted to give the other up.
That desire had remained and was amplified many times over by now.
Thus, his answer could really only be: "Yes. I will marry you, Eames." My Eames.Because ever since that time they had spent together when they were young... they really had only belonged to each other. That's why all the others ( ... )
Reply
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