Mrs Kim is inspired by the character of the same name off Gilmore Girls...what it was a good with Jared Paladecki in it! (Hopefully I've spelt his name right). Next update for you right here.
By the time Monday rolled around Arthur began to get nervous. He and Eames had texted a lot over the rest of the weekend, but hadn't seen each other since Eames had dropped him off at his aunts in the small hours of Sunday morning, due to Arthur having to work the whole day. The space in between had given Arthur plenty of time to freak out, everything was happening so fast, things were jumbled in his head, all he could think as he lay awake the night before was that maybe he was letting old feelings make him lose his head, could he really trust the validity of his feelings for Eames? It was just too much too fast.
He tried to think of a way to tell Eames that didn't make him sound like an utter coward, but by the time he'd stepped off the bus, all he had was a collection of excuses that just sounded feeble to his own ears. He'd texted Eames to meet him at break in this little alcove behind the bleachers where Arthur used to hide away when he needed to, it occurred to he might have to avoid that place for a while after this.
He did his best to put on a normal face in his first two lessons, Marco was quiet again, though Arthur could still feel his eyes searing a hole into his skin, but he didn't go near Arthur, didn't even trip him up when he handed around the papers. Ari said word had spread about Eames' and Marco's fight, Marco hadn't confirmed anything but most people put two and two together when they heard Arthur was there, she said there were already rumours going around, to which he laughed her off, whilst his insides shook with nerves.
People still looked at Arthur but this time with an edge of curiosity instead of just blatant dislike, as if to say 'Why would Eames help someone like you?'. He ignored them as he always had, but now people backed off a little when Arthur came down the corridor, as if they thought Arthur had Eames on some kind of leash, it filled him with disgust and shame that they thought him so weak, like he needed Eames as some kind of personal guard dog.
By the time he got the alcove, Eames was late and Arthur was pissed off and nervous all at once, he wanted to yell at Eames for attracting even more attention to him, for making him lose his head and the tight control he had over his feelings. He was pacing when he heard the snap and crack of broken twigs, Arthur span round, case prepared and ready to tell Eames he needed some space.
But the words died on his lips when he saw Eames standing there, hands stuffed in his pockets, with that soft smile on his lips and the warmth in his eyes focused only on Arthur, it made his heart flip in his chest.
"You wanted to talk about something darling?" it was the darling that did it, that nickname that Arthur secretly adored, seeing Eames standing there and all his doubts were blown away in a moment.
He shook his head and threw his hands around Eames' shoulders "Nothing" he muttered contentedly, breathing in the scent that was just so, Eames.
Eames chuckled, making his body rumble "Hello to you to Arthur" he put his own arms around Arthur, holding him tightly but not suffocating him "God I missed you" he sighed softly, Arthurs chest felt like it was about to burst.
"Me too" he murmured into his neck. He allowed himself a few blissful moments wrapped up in Eames' warmth, before the practical part of his brain kicked in and he sighed deeply, but when he tried to move back Eames held on just as tightly as before.
"Eames, someone might see" he warned, Eames buried his head further into Arthur shoulder
"Fuck 'em"
Arthur rolled his eyes at him "Eames" he chastised and pushed again, this time Eames' grip loosened and Arthur stepped back, gulping a breath of fresh air to clean his head which was a little groggy from being near Eames, his body also disagreed with his decision.
"You always have to be the sensible one" Eames sulked, bottom lip sticking out like a petulant child, Arthur laughed at the expression on his face and relented enough to squeeze Eames' arm
"Someone has to be"
Eames pouted even more at that, before his expression cleared into something akin to worry, blatantly ignoring Arthur's warning, he brushed his fingers against Arthur's cheek, the simple movement took Arthur's breath away "Are you sure, there wasn't something you wanted to talk about darling?"
He shook his head again, despite the cold wind his body felt hot "I just missed you is all" when Eames made to drop his hand, Arthur put it firmly against his cheek again.
Eames grinned at the action "What happened to 'Someone might see us?"
"Fuck 'em" Eames laughed happily and pulled Arthur into his arms again, a great sigh left his chest and Arthur felt Eames' muscle relax into the embrace. How could he have thought of giving this up, being near Eames was like being on a drug, he forgot his tight rein on his feelings and became the same blushing little kid he'd always been around him, an emotion that he'd long thought dead now stirred in his chest, he wasn't ready to admit it out loud yet, but it was there. Eames was his greatest weakness, the only person who Arthur lost his defences around, the only person he'd ever been able to show his venerable side around, who saw Arthur at his weakest. Part of him hated that fact him.
But the other part loved it.
The bells sharp ringing ruined their moment, with a contented hum Eames dropped his hands and stepped away from Arthur, he felt the cold seep in with the departure of Eames' warm body "We best go in love" he ran his hand through Arthur's hair, who just stopped himself purring at the touch.
"Yeah" Arthur breathed, suddenly feeling depressed about how he wasn't going to see Eames for the rest of the day at school "You go now and I'll wait for a few minutes"
Eames look became intense as he moved his hand down to Arthur's cheek again, brushing his thumb over Arthur's lips, he parted them almost automatically and Eames smiled, eyes crinkling "One day Arthur I promise you, we'll be able to walk in there hand in hand, and that Arthur Reyes-Holmes, will be one of the proudest moments of my life" he pressed a light kiss to the corner of Arthur's mouth.
It was a silly and unrealistic promise, but the way Eames said it, with such determination and sincerity he found himself wanting to believe him "Maybe" he whispered, that was all he could offer for now.
It seemed enough for Eames whose eyes lit up at Arthur's simple answer "Pick you up after school right?" Arthur nodded, and with a final smile, Eames walked away towards the school. Arthur watched him leave and fought a peculiar urge to go after him, he touched the place where Eames had kissed him, it felt warmer than any other part of his body, and tingled with the sensation left behind.
He waited a few minutes before leaving the alcove, using that time to calm his body down after such close proximity to Eames. He was far more relaxed than he'd been this morning, the doubts in his mind silenced, for now he basked in the happy afterglow of being with Eames, the cold sharpening his senses again. He pulled his coat up against the chill, he vaguely wondered if Lily had her scarf with her today as he wrapped his coat tighter around his body, finding it a poor substitute for Eames' warmth.
After a few minutes it seemed safe enough to go in, he had to speed walk to make it to his lesson without being yelled at. He still got a snarky comment from his teacher and a snigger from the rest of the class, but it was completely worth it, he spent the rest of the day obsessively checking the clock till the end of the day, time seemed to drag on endlessly, one slow minute ticking into another, at the end of the day Ari waved him goodbye as he sat in the library waiting for Eames to finish practise.
Arthur always loved the library, it was a refuge since the librarian, a fierce old South Korean woman named Mrs Kim didn't allow people messing about, nobody, not even the jocks pissed around in the library. As well as the security provided, he also loved the smell of books, electronic books were good for storage and all that, but to Arthur they could never replace the feel of holding a real book, and the crinkle of the paper as you turned the page, its why Arthur and the others always hung out here during their free periods.
What it lacked however was decent air conditioning, and the stuffiness was beginning to get to him, Mrs Kim gave him the all clear to open a window. From the window however he could see across to the football field where Eames and the rest of the jocks were practising, when he pulled open the window, instead of immediately going to sit back down again he watched them for a minute. They were well into the training, all kitted out and running at these blockers over and over again, trying to move them further back. He found it hard to spot Eames among all the guys in helmets and shoulder pads, but he looked anyway.
Impatience making him brave, Arthur made a snap decision and quickly gathered up his stuff, waving goodbye to Mrs Kim as he strode out of the library. Before he could second guess himself he walked as fast as he could towards the field, his trainers squeaking against the floor in the direction that led round the outside of the bleachers.
Nerves reared up the closer he got to the field, he hadn't been here in forever, and avoided football practise like the plague, but he was curious, he had also never seen Eames play.
Slowly sidling round the edge of the bleachers he peaked around the edge, fairly secure that the players were concentrated on their dumb practise to take notice of Arthur hiding behind the bleachers. The air had now gotten so cold that Arthur's breath turned to steam when he exhaled. They were still running against the blockers, an angry slap sounding out whenever the two connected, Coach Saunders yelled instructions at them, blowing his whistle and clapping his hands. Anger began to fill Arthur's senses as he looked out at the people who had made his life a misery as they slammed into the blockers, he never stood a chance against brute force like that.
He was about to turn away, regretting the whole experience when the coach blew on his whistle again yelled "Eames!"
Arthur turned back around immediately and rushed back over to his spot in time to see pull off his helmet, his hair damp from sweat; jog over to where Coach Saunders was standing. Arthur wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but from the way Eames face fell it didn't look good. He nodded his at the Coach, brows knitted in concentration as he talked, when the Coach blew his whistle again Eames jammed his helmet back on and ran straight back to the blockers.
He started running at them and the slam as he hit it was the loudest yet as he and two other propelled the equipment backwards, further than Arthur had seen so far. He did it again and again and again, each time moving the blocker further than before, until it became apparent that Eames was doing the majority of the work alone.
The Coach blew his whistle and slapped Eames on the back, who was bent over slightly, panting his breath swirling in the afternoon air and made towards the showers. The rest of the team gave Eames a thumbs up or some variation of that as they trailed after the Coach, he looked slightly uncomfortable with the praise, ducking his head a lot. Arthur caught sight of Yusuf and Dom when they took their helmets off, the two of them followed the others inside as well, but looked behind confused when Eames didn't follow. Arthur couldn't hear the answer he gave them but from the way he pointed behind at the equipment Arthur guessed he meant to stay out, the two shrugged and waved goodbye to him.
Alone on the field Eames turned back to the blockers and ran at them again, with even more ferocity than before, like he had a personal agenda against the foam guy. By himself he slammed against the blockers, pushing them with all his strength till they moved a few more inches. Arthur always knew Eames was strong, but he'd never really thought about it, watching him moving those blockers Arthur realised Eames could've easily hurt him by now if he wanted to. But he hadn't.
He debated going back inside for a moment to the warmth of the library which suddenly didn't seem so stuffy in the freezing winter air, but Eames' next run had him clasping his arm with a grunt of pain, Arthur was out of his hiding place and walking towards Eames before he realised what he was doing.
At the movement, Eames looked up and caught sight of Arthur, making it impossible for him to escape without looking like a creeper. Eames looked a little taken aback when he saw Arthur standing there, but in a flash he pulled off his helmet and jogged over to where Arthur was standing awkwardly.
"Hey" he panted when he reached Arthur "Didn't think I'd ever see you hear"
Arthur shrugged nonchalantly "I saw you guys practising in the library and got curious" Eames looked far too pleased with the statement "So far all I've picked up is that you just need brute strength and nothing else"
"It's more complicated than that" Eames eyes began to light up "The strength thing is not to damage other players, but to protect your own. When you're on that field all of us have to look out for each other, if someone gets greedy and too glory hungry it can cost us the game. You also have the guys who have to be agile enough to get around the other players and to get the touchdown, there's a lot more to this game than just brute strength, otherwise any idiot could do it"
"I wonder why they let you on then" Arthur teased lightly, Eames clapped a hand to his chest with a wounded look on his face.
"How can a person so gorgeous be so cruel" Arthur blushed furiously at the compliment
"Shut up" he nudged Eames, it was like pushing a tree trunk.
"You love it" Eames winked, a particularly cold gust of wind decided to blow at that moment, making Arthur shiver with the icy needles attacking his skin, Eames humour disappeared as he grasped Arthur's bare shoulders "Jesus Arthur your frozen! Where the hells your coat?"
Arthur blinked up at him in confusion, before realising that he indeed had no coat on "I must've left it in the library"
Eames looked at him disapprovingly, rubbing Arthur's chilled arms with his own warm hands "You should go back there, I'll only be a few minutes I promise" Arthur nodded and hurried back in the direction of the school, aware that in a minute all the football guys would be exiting the changing rooms and if they caught sight of Arthur it could be bad news. He went the long way round back to library for fear of running into them, once inside the library again he appreciated the stuffiness a lot more now he'd been exposed to the cold winter air outside.
Mrs. Kim arched an eyebrow when she saw him come back in shivering, he had a feeling she knew about the jocks picking on Arthur despite the fact she never seemed to leave the library, ever. She gave him the once over and seemed satisfied that he wasn't in pain and went back to her computer, glasses low on her nose.
He sat back down at one of the tables again quickly and pulled his books out, and focused his concentration on his French paper, enjoying the warmth and security of the library again, feeling comfortable enough to put in his headphones. He got so relaxed that when a hand touched his shoulder he nearly leapt up in the air.
Eames looked entirely too smug with this fact, his hair now damp from the showers "Ready to go darling?" Arthur began packing up his stuff "Got your coat" Eames asked.
Arthur rolled his eyes at Eames' tone "Yes mum" he slung his heavy black book bag over his shoulder "Is your arm ok now?"
Eames arched an eyebrow in confusion until he caught up, then an amused smile played on his lips "Now whose playing mum"
"Just get to the car Mr. Eames" he grumbled, brushing past him, irritated. Eames caught up with Arthur's stride, he could practically feel the cocky smirk he knew would be on his face, and muttered something about 'childish'. They walked out of the library together; missing Mrs. Kim's extremely raised eyebrow and grin of her own.
Things will heat up next chapter...just saying ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing :D