Arms wrapped around his burly protector, Eugene looked up to Abraham, his lover, with a curious gaze. The Sergeant didn't seem to be paying much attention to him. Oddly enough, he seemed relaxed, for once. Maybe it was only odd because of the way he usually was; though behind the walls of Alexandria, he knew danger lurked just outside. Both of them did. The Saviors were now their most recent threat. And poor Abraham lost an eye at the hands of Dwight, one of Negan's most loyal men, while out scouting with Eugene. His right eye was still bandaged, - Abraham didn't seem to like others looking at it - forcing Eugene to lie on Abraham's left side. Eugene, knew the incident was his fault... But he was slowly coming to terms with it. Abraham never let him dwell on it all too much, anyway.
"Abraham?" Eugene finally asked, almost meekly.
"Hm?" Came Abraham's half-assed response. His mind was elsewhere.
"You're awfully quiet, tonight." Eugene stated gently, with a concerned gaze, now.
"Just thinkin'." Abraham shrugged some, and now he tilted his head down so he could see Eugene, adjusting his hold on the man.
"About what?" Eugene pushed, carefully, not wanting to upset Abraham.
"Us." He responded without missing a beat.
"And, what about us?" Eugene continued to push.
"When I was with Rosita, I knew you liked her. Then you tried to impress her while I was with Holly, before she'd kicked me out." Abraham stated, though it was more like he was thinking aloud.
"And, your point is?" Eugene tilted his head, wondering if he would like where this was going. Odds were he wouldn't.
"When did you start havin' feelings for me? I mean... Definitely seemed like you only wanted Rosita."
Eugene was taken aback by the question, expecting something entirely different. Abraham might've been blunt, but he was never rude to Eugene like he was often with others. He was oddly gentle for such a large man... Despite his swearing like a damned sailor.
"I... I don't know." Eugene finally managed, resting his head against Abraham's broad shoulder.
"You've gotta know." Abraham retorted quickly, but he truly was genuinely curious.
Eugene huffed at his persistence, and he paused for a moment, in thought. "It was... After you kissed me. Remember that?"
Abraham nodded his head in acknowledgement, but he didn't speak.
"When did you start loving me? I never thought you would, truthfully. Nor did I ever understand.You're all... muscle and testosterone, whereas I'm only..." Eugene trailed off, gesturing to his own body, almost sadly, before he went on, "Not to mention you only seemed interested in women, as well. Between your ex-wife, Rosita, and Holly, I just assumed..."
Abraham frowned at the other man's words, almost disappointed to hear just how upset Eugene was with his body. That, he'd have to deal with later. "Remember when I got shot, Eugene? When that fucking Savior took out my eye..."
This time Eugene nodded in acknowledgement, looking up to Abraham, with a soft gaze, practically begging him to go on.
"I realized how much you care. You might've fucking lied, before all this, just do I'd help you, but when I went down... You grabbed my gun and fucking protected me... You can't even shoot. But you did it 'cause you care." He managed a chuckle, when Eugene's cheeks flushed a slight pink.
"I've always cared, Abe. Not in... Well, this way, until very recently." Eugene responded, tilting his head down. Oddly enough, he was almost... proud. He protected and saved the man who later became his lover, on instinct. Maybe it was a sign... Only he believed in that kind of thing. Which he didn't.
"Too bad you didn't tell me sooner." Abraham managed another soft chuckle, tilting Eugene's head back up some, "Did I ever thank you for savin' my damned life?"
Eugene shook his head slowly in response, looking up to the man, practically melting at the sight of those blue eyes.
Within a short moment, Abraham pressed his lips firmly to Eugene's, and that was all the thanks he needed.