Dear Lord, Arthur looks like a twig.
Eames hadn't seen the Point Man since their last job together, which was something like five months ago.
And now he was seeing the man right in front of him in a busy airport. Only it didn't look like Arthur. He had always been lean, but this couldn't be natural.
"Arthur, you look horrible."
"Nice to see you again too, Mr. Eames." Arthur responds, rolling his eyes.
Eames rubs his hands down Arthur's bony shoulders. "Have you been eating?"
Arthur scoffs. "Yes."
Well, not very much, Eames notes, looking at Arthur's face.
"I don't think I've ever seen you this distraught, Eames." Arthur teases.
"It would be good to not mock my concern," Eames retorts.
Arthur is silent.
Eames looks him in the eyes and notices that the spark in Arthur's eyes are a lot duller than he remembers.
Such a pity, because it really fit Arthur well.
"Oh, Petal." Eames murmurs.
The Point Man closes his eyes and leans into Eames' shoulder. Eames responds by wrapping an arm around him.
He remembers the last job he had with Arthur.
Arthur had been spending eight hour days so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice that the rest of the team had gone to go get food, even though Eames asked Arthur if he wanted to come along.
"Care to come along, Arthur?"
"No, I'm good." Arthur said, barely looking up.
Eames sighed. This just simply wasn't healthy. He gave Ariadne a look.
Ariadne nodded, getting the hint. "You sure?"
"Yeah, I'll get something later."
He didn't.
Later that day, the Forger had went to a fast food restaurant and bought Arthur something just because the poor dear looked like he was going to collapse.
He walked up to Arthur's desk and quietly set to bag down on Arthur's desk.
The Point Man looked up, surprised to see Eames looking at him. "What?"
"I'll need to see that you've taken a bite before I can continue working."
"Mr. Eames, you don't have to do this for my benefit." Arthur said, looking like he was trying very hard to not smile like a giddy schoolgirl.
Eames chuckled. "Oh no, Arthur. This is for my benefit."
Arthur didn't argue, grabbing the cheeseburger and taking a hungry bite.
"That's a doll." Eames said with a smile.
"Your condescending pet names are, as always, a pleasure to hear," Arthur retorted.
Eames responded by ruffling Arthur's (Really, really, gelled) hair.
"Dear, do you ever eat?" Eames asked.
Arthur shrugged. "Yeah. Just didn't get around to it today."
He didn't buy that. "You really should eat more." Eames warned.
"Mhm."
That was months ago. And Arthur looks like a fucking twig.
"You really should look after yourself better," Eames murmurs into Arthur's ear.
The Point Man shrugs. "I just forget to eat sometimes."
The two men straighten up, keeping a nice distance away from each other.
Eames looks down, a smirk on his face. "Well love, I think that you need someone to look after you."
"Oh?"
"Someone to make sure that you keep healthy," Eames says, looking Arthur in the eyes.
"Would this person stay longer than an occasional job?" Arthur inquires, looking too sweet for words.
Seconds later, Eames invades Arthur's personal space, his face really quite close to the Point Man's. "I'm not sure he'd ever leave." He whispers.
"I'm not sure I'd let him." Arthur laughs.
Eames returns the smile. "Let's get you something to eat," He says, taking Arthur's hand.