Let Me Romance You

"Eames, would you just piss off? I'm not interested right now."

"You break my heart Arthur, you really do."

Arthur rolled his eyes and not so gently shoved Eames, pushing him out of Arthur's personal space.

"Look, love, I get it, you're busy all the time. You're the most sought after point man in the history of point men and women, and I'm just a pesky forger that won't leave well alone."

"Perfectly summarised. It baffles me how you can understand where I'm coming from and yet not understand at all."

"Like I said, I get it. Just hear me out, okay?"

Arthur took a break and looked up from the paperwork he'd been tidying away. Eames had taken a few steps back and was lingering by the side of his desk, hands jammed into the pockets of his disgustingly old-fashioned cords. His gaze was unreadable, but his cheeks were pink.

"You have sixty seconds."

Eames grinned. "Thanks, love. Now, Arthur, ever since the day I first saw your perfect bum in trousers tighter than should be legal, I wanted to have you. My attraction to you has only grown as I realised the depths of your intelligence, not to mention your tendency to shoot people that piss you off in the face. Will you go out to dinner with me tonight?"

Arthur's skin crawled. It was as he'd suspected and exactly the reason why he'd been telling Eames to piss off.

"No," he said. "Now go away."

If anything, Eames's cheeks grew pinker. "Won't you give me a chance?"

"I'm not what you want," Arthur snapped. "I'm asexual, okay? I don't want to have sex with you, or any other man or woman on the planet. Now, leave me alone and go find someone else to press your case upon. Your sixty seconds are up." With that, Arthur turned his back and continued tidying up his work, setting aside a pile to burn and a pile to store in his briefcase.

Eames was suspiciously silent beside him. After a moment, he drew a breath. Arthur braced himself.

"Asexual, or aromantic?"

Of all the questions Arthur had expected Eames to respond with, it wasn't that.

"Well?"

Arthur chewed on his lip. "The first, not the second."

There was a long pause and the sound of feet shuffling on concrete. Eames still didn't move away, and eventually Arthur looked up to glare at him.

"What?"

"Come to dinner," Eames said, his voice earnest. "Let me romance you. No pressure, no expectations. Just a dinner between good friends that care about each other."

Arthur tensed. He'd been promised that before and been sorely disappointed. But Eames was reliable, despite his reputation. He always completed the jobs, and completed them well. He might turn up late and appear as if he pissed the day away playing on his phone, but Arthur knew he put in the long hours and got the work done.

"I reserve the right to leave at any time," Arthur found himself saying. "And you better sharpen up. I don't go on dates with men that dress like that."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Eames asked. He was smirking. Arthur knew that he was well aware that he looked like a grandpa. "I'll pick you up from your hotel at seven."

"Okay." Arthur listened to the sound of footsteps walking away. It was only when the door to the warehouse closed with a click that he allowed himself to smile.

Perhaps dinner with Eames wasn't the worst of ideas.

Auction Prompt D19/4. Sexuality - Asexual [590 words = 11 coins]