ruffians | relationships are a tricky business

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relationships are a tricky business

[Eames perhaps doesn't give things the amount of thought they deserve all the time. To one degree or another, he's always been at least a little impulsive, but his habit of looking at things in terms of what's practical instead of what they mean is an oversight that seems to be specific to dealing with Arthur.]

[Case in point: Arthur has a change of clothes at his place, because it only makes sense. If he's going to spend the night so regularly, he should have clean clothes to leave in the next day. The fact that Eames spent a good while rearranging his drawers when he got back to clear one out for Arthur is obviously only a logical continuation of that. Who really wants their only choice of clothing to be "whatever I wore when I was here last"? It doesn't mean anything except that Eames is wonderfully considerate and deserves a gift for his altruism.]

[Either way, it's done now and Eames is busying himself heating some leftover chilli for dinner. Arthur's supposed to be over at some point, but he has no idea when and he is a hungry man who missed lunch because of business reasons.]

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[Arthur hasn't been very bothered by the clothes situation. It's annoying to have to go home so often but whenever he gets annoyed about that he just thinks he should be home more often anyway. The logical step of taking over some of Eames' space would not occur to him.]

[So it's going to be a surprise. But for now Arthur's just focused on the nice night in he's going to have with Eames. He's brought an affordable bottle of wine as he generally does when he comes over for dinner, and he walks right in the door as he generally does when he comes over for dinner. As he closes the door behind him he calls out to Eames.]

Smells good in here.

[It does smell good in here, it's true. Eames smiles to himself, glancing over his shoulder at the dog who's gotten up from where he was chilling in his crate to scamper out into the hallway at the sound of Arthur's voice, and calls back.]

You hungry?

Yeah, I skipped lunch.

[Arthur spends a minute telling Boxer what a good dog he is before he comes through to the kitchen and rests his hand on Eames' back.]

I brought malbec.

[Boxer is satisfied by this, and he follows Arthur closely to the kitchen, opting to sit by Eames' feet and look up at them.]

[Eames smiles at the hand on his back and looks aside at Arthur, he leans over for a quick kiss and makes an approving noise at the wine choice.]

That should go nicely with yesterday's chilli.

[Arthur hums happily and puts the bottle down on the counter. He brings his hand up to Eames' shoulder to fiddle with his collar and get in all close, clearly angling for a bit more affection.]

[Eames grins back and tilts his head, going for a longer kiss this time. He can't spare much time unfortunately, just in case the food burns, but who's gonna refuse to kiss that face?]

[Arthur grins as he kisses Eames as long as Eames will put up with, and then he pulls away so he can go take off his shoes and jacket. After that he goes to get some wine glasses, pouring one for Eames and one for himself, leaving Eames' at the counter as he goes to get comfy at the table.]

How was your day?

Busy.

[He sighs and shakes his head, very much an 'I don't want to talk about it' kind of response as he takes a sip of wine.]

I did clear out a drawer for you upstairs though, if you want it.

[supes casual]

[Arthur isn't listening closely enough to register that properly, so he's sure that he misheard it.]

You what?

Cleared... A drawer?

[is that a bad thing]

Oh.

[He's being so casual about this oh my god. How is he supposed to react? Eames cleared a drawer for him that's a step towards moving in together right?]

Why did you, um... why?

[Eames pulls a bit of a face as he moves to get a couple of plates and start spooning out the food. If Arthur doesn't want it, that's fine, but he doesn't see why he's so confused by it.]

It seemed sensible? You might as well have more than one thing here to pick from. [He glances over at Arthur.] Say I haven't had a chance to do any laundry, for instance.

Yeah, of course. That makes sense.

[He only sounds mostly convinced.]

[O....kay.]

It's fine if you don't want it.

[He brings the plates and cutlery over and sets them down, sitting across from Arthur.]

No, it's a good idea, I just think...

[He doesn't know what he thinks. He looks down at his food and realizes how hungry he is.]

For most people that's kind of a big step.

We're not 'most people'.

[Most people suck.]

Right.

[He nods and sighs at his food.]

So this is just a convenience thing for you.

Well, yes.

[He shoots Arthur a concerned look, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.]

I'm just trying to make this all better for you. [He says it all with a measured tone, the way he does when he's not entirely sure what he wants to say but he's definitely trying to avoid an argument.] Sorry if I overstepped.

[he does not sound entirely certain of that apology]

[Arthur has figured out he needs to take Eames at his word and he can tell he's trying to diffuse the situation, so he nods.]

No, I'm just... over reacting.

[He doesn't really think he is but he can tell he's over reacting to the intent and that's what's important.]

I can take a look after dinner.

[A reassuring smile.]

[He's not entirely reassured, but he's not going to push it. He just wants Arthur to be comfortable in his home, that's hardly pushing for something or trying to execute some hidden agenda. There's nothing wrong with wanting somebody to spend more time with you instead of hurrying home for different clothes.]

[But whatever. Eames just eats his food, looking at Arthur every now and then to watch his his expression and gauge how he's feeling.]

[Arthur takes a few bites in silence, doing his best to search for something to talk about that isn't this. It occurs to him food could be the new discourse.]

Mm, this is just as good as it was last night.

Good. [He'll bite.] I'm glad you're not bored of it.

[He smiles.]

Of course not.

[He takes a sip of wine.]

So why was your day so shitty?

Had someone trying to avoid paying what they owe.

[Eames sighs, it is what it is.]

How about you? I didn't even ask about your day.

Good.

[Kind of better now because of the drawer thing but he's still unsure about that.]

Pretty busy, but just with the regular stuff.

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