Summary- Arthur has his first adventure in "feminine care" shopping. Awkwardness ensues
Disclaimer- I do not own Inception!
A/N- I promised myself that I wouldn't write this because I had too much to do and it was such an awkward idea. BUT I just broke that promise. Don't read if you don't enjoy awkward situations!
PS- Being neither a man, nor living with one, I apologize if this is incredibly over-reacted. But it was fun to write about :D Girls will probably enjoy this more than boys.
It had been almost two years since Arthur and Ariadne began dating and almost a year since they had started living together. They'd found a small apartment to rent in New York (they had mutually agreed on New York since Ariadne had finished college and the state was close to both of their families), and were now living comfortably. Ariadne had a full time job for an architecture company, and Arthur stayed home mostly, since the money from Inception basically covered their costs.
Despite the normal little disagreements that all couples had, the two had relatively few arguments and for the most part, the arrangement worked nicely. Neither could complain.
On this night, Ariadne came home from work much more tired than usual. She opened the door and walked into the warm house.
"Hello," Arthur called to her. She smiled weakly and went to sit by him on the couch. He put an arm around her, and she rested her head against his shoulder.
"Busy day," she said, not bothering to elaborate. He kissed her head.
"I'm sorry. I can make dinner tonight, if you'd like," he offered. Her response wasn't what he expected, as she suddenly groaned and buried her face in her hands.
"I forgot to go to the store," she admitted. He chuckled.
"I can do that too, Ari," he told her. She smiled and kissed him.
"Thanks," she spoke, and stood up. He stood up also, and walked to the bedroom to get a coat. She went into the opposite room, the bathroom, and shut the door. Arthur located his coat on a chair and put it on. He exited the room and walked to the door, but before he could leave, Ariadne came up behind him.
"Actually, I'll go Arthur, it's okay," she told him, and attempted to move in front of him.
"No, it's alright. I want to go for you," he responded, and moved her hand away from the door.
"No, really, I'll go." Ariadne almost demanded.
"I want to do this for you." Arthur replied. Ariadne sighed.
"Fine. Then would you mind picking up some pads while you're out?" she asked him, a small blush creeping up into her cheek. Arthur's face fell ever so slightly.
"I…uh, yes, that's fine." He answered her, and turned for the door, obviously anxious to leave the situation.
"Arthur," she called after him. He turned again.
"Yes?" he asked with an almost worried look on his face.
"Make sure to get the Always Long Super Ultra Thin with Flexi-Wings." She instructed. He wore a blank expression on his face.
"What?" he asked urgently.
"I'll write it down," she told him, and disappeared into the kitchen for a moment. Arthur stood stalk still by the door until she returned. She gingerly handed him the piece of paper.
"Thanks," he spoke. She smiled and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you." She replied. He returned her smile, and walked out the house.
The doors to the grocery store slid open for him and he walked in, the cold air hitting him viciously. He picked up a basket, and began to walk to the grocery isle. Voices spoke all around him, and various beeping sounds echoed though the huge area. He decided to put off the more…daunting task until later. He made his way through all the food isles, taking maybe a little more time than necessary (Organic or non organic? Hmm…let's ponder this for a good five minutes). Finally, there was nothing left to distract him from his task. Sighing, he moved away from the magazines which he been scanning over in a desperate attempt to prolong the job ahead of him.
He arrived in the "Feminine Care" isle within seconds, and walked slowly to the section he was looking for, trying to avoid everything else around him. The isle was full of other women staring at varies packages, most of them looking extremely concentrated, with a hand over their chin. He stood next to a woman who he thought was maybe 30, and looked at all the various types of protection that was available.
His eyes immediately unfocused themselves. There were so many words, so many different options. Maximum Protection Ultra Thins, Regular Ultra Thin with Wings, Regular Ultra Thin without Wings, Long Super Ultra Thins, Regular Maxi, Long Super Maxi with Wings, and the list went on and on. So many things were unclear. What was the difference between Regular Ultra and Long Super Ultra? How much longer was long? And what the hell were wings? He shook his head discreetly and pulled out the piece of paper that Ariadne had given him.
Always Long Super Ultra Thin with Flexi-Wings. There were those wings again. He looked once again to the shelves, and scanned until finally he found what he was looking for. He reached forward to grab it and was immediately aware of all the women turning to look at the sudden change in movement. He ignored the stares and placed the pack in the basket, walking away from the women quickly.
The check-out line proved to be even worse. People of all genders and ages could plainly see the package sitting in his basket. Trying to ignore them, he buried his face in a magazine until it was his turn for checkout. The elderly cashier women went incredibly slow, and Arthur stood awkwardly, waiting for her to finish.
All was well until she saw the package of pads. A knowing smile crept across her face as she rang them up.
"You must be a wonderful boyfriend," she told him. He gave her a forced smile and said nothing as she continued to ring him up.
Finally, he was taking his bags and walking out of the store. The cool air outside made him feel free and the comfort of the paper bags enabled him to walk to his car confident that no one could see what was inside his bag.
Ariadne was reading a book when she heard the door open. Arthur entered, carrying two bags. She walked to him and took one, carrying it to the kitchen. When she turned around, he was right behind her and pulled her into a deep kiss. It took her by surprise, and when he broke away, she was still wide eyed.
"Ariadne, I love you so much," he began. She lifted her eyebrows and smiled.
"But please never make me buy you pads again." He finished. She exploded into laughter, and pulled him close for another kiss.
A/N- I'm not sure whether or not this counts as fluff. Maybe awkward fluff. Well anyway! I think I exceeded the number of times that a person should say awkward in a fanfiction. PLEASE review and let me know what you thought because as usual, I'm totally not sure if this is a good or bad idea :DD