---
The buzzing, the whirring. A cacophony of sparks ran through him as each wave of emotional agony crashed over him, It had been a difficult few weeks. A lot was on his mind, mostly about his relationship with a certain Britannic fella. One that had become more and more important to him.
And it honestly terrified him.
Not that Arthur was a bad guy, far from it. But he was horrified of messing it up, simply just dreading the day they eventually have to part ways. Even though he knew he could make it so they never part, it battled with his morals. Autonomy was important to him, and he’d hate to put his loved ones through the same pain he has been through.
He channeled these feelings into movement, into his training. Shirt off, muscles glistening with sweat as he practiced his stances, as well as hand-eye coordination.
The tingles, the waves of sensation cascading down his body. With every slow, deliberate movement of his arms, posing elegantly. The stresses of the day washing away as he closed his eyes, the overwhelming sound of rain serving to further relax him as it lashed down, the soft woosh bringing a serene calm to the Drifter.
Every time he got even remotely overstimulated, his body did the same thing. His nerves felt as though they were lit up, shooting like electrical currents through his body, ultimately reaching his chest. It felt heavy with sorrow, and it was a wonder to him how he got the courage to practice his footwork even as he felt the turmoil brew within. His emotions were so intense as a result of being abandoned, that they ended up conjuring up a whole new world, and he was not about to let that happen again.
Duviri, he had mixed feelings. It helped him cope, to come to terms with the pain. But the pain is ever present, even here. Even now. Even with him. He felt so ungrateful, so horrible. Even with Arthur by his side, he still felt low a lot of the time. He still felt angry.
He felt his mind spiralling again, so with a quick shake of his head, he cast the negative thoughts aside. And focused on the task at hand.
One hop, two hop. Switch foot. Right hook, left hook. Deep exhale.
The Drifter still took priority in being able to at least hold his own outside of his Warframes. Finding great joy in sparring with Arthur, perhaps for more reasons than just training. But the best part of having someone like Arthur as a training partner was he was not about to let Denzel slack off.
Just because he adores him, it does not mean the kid gloves are on when it comes to things as important as keeping in the best condition he can be.
Denzel always admired Arthur’s work ethic, yet was constantly concerned the idiot was overworking himself.
But today he was very concerned, because he had not heard from his lover. Now, its not unusual – but he’d usually at least leave a text letting him know he won’t be as present for whatever reason, so this was driving him a little up the wall. He wasn’t really upset at Arthur, but the nagging fear of something possibly happening to his love poked and prodded at his heart.
He hated the thought of a life without Arthur. The emotional despair he currently felt seemed to further push him to intensify his movements, each punch grew quicker, crackling with more power. He was wailing at nothing, at his own emotional instability, perhaps.
Denzel soon stopped his work out, breath heavy and chest heaving as he collapsed back onto the couch, his beloved vulaphyla trotting over, hopping up on the couch and nudging against his arm. He let out a low chuckle and began to give it little head scritches. It was a moment of respite from his mind. “We’ve been through it all together, haven’t we Spud?”
The creature made a low rumble and he just laughed softly. “Yeah. As if you can understand me.”
He’d held off on triple texting Arthur even more - but he was growing increasingly antsy the longer he went not hearing from him. He glanced over towards POM-2 PC, pushing himself up off of the couch and waltzing over, plopping down and firing it up.
Denz1nonly: Finally managed to do a roundhouse kick without wobbling
Denz1nonly: oh also Amir wants to play Fables and Frontiers tonight so Ill be home late I hope thats ok <3
Denz1nonly: Arthur?
He sighed. God. He was beginning to go over all sorts of scenarios in his mind, shit. What if he- No. He’d know, Lettie would've contacted him.
Then he got the notification, he felt the hope swell up. Annnd it was a text from Amir. He loved the guy, but god.
H16h V0l7463: Heeeeyyyy Future, sorry to bother ya, but are you still on for tonight???
Denz1nonly: yeah, yeah. Got my character figured out
Denz1nonly: but also like, have you seen or heard from Arthur?
H16h V0l7463: Ohhhh lolz
H16h V0l7463: Uhh he told me not to tell you
H16h V0l7463: its a surprise!
Denz1nonly: ok, its important enough hes not answering my texts?
H16h V0l7463: I dunno!! he seemed pretty serious, I know more than anyone how annoying it is when im interrupted!! Anyways, gotta go blast!! ALSO TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER FOR LATER BYYYEEEEEEEE
What could he possibly be doing?
Denzel felt the familiar ache in his chest, immediately shooting up off the couch, startling his pets as they watched him pace about the backroom, eyebrows furrowed together as he tried to run through everything Arthur could POSSIBLY be up to right now. Each one worse than the last. Gods. He always thought the absolute worse, and he hated it. No. Arthur wouldn’t hurt him, not at all.
Surprises. A surprise. For what? What could it even BE?
Amidst his internal meltdown, the loudness of his head was cut short by the faint sound of something familiar, followed by a blanket of calm that only ever seemed to draft over him whenever the Britannic man was there.
Gentle footsteps from behind, followed by that lovely drawl. “Don’t turn around yet.”
Denzel blinked, he contemplated exploding then and there, but he fought against it. Acting on emotion never ended well for him. He took in a deep breath, eyes closed. “Did you get my messages?”
Arthur seemed to get winded by that question, his grasp on the little gift he’d put together tightening slightly, as he held it close to his chest. “Well, I couldn’t exactly respond with my hands full.”
The impatience was beginning to gnaw, foot tapping against the ground. Arthur let out a soft chuckle and stepped up closer, leaning in to whisper. “You can turn around now.”
And that he did. He immediately obliged, and when he saw it.. he felt his heart well up. Seeing him standing there looking so earnest, yet.. self conscious. He held it out towards him.
It wasn’t anything too fancy, but Denzel wasn’t one to be fussed about luxury. Arthur stood, with a paper rose bouquet in his hands. The Drifter had to question how he managed to do this, and was even more curious as to when exactly he picked up origami.
“I..”
Now he felt a little ridiculous for freaking out like he did, the fact this man took the time out of his day to make something like this. For him. They were all combinations of his favourite colours, and as he reached out to take them into his own hands, he inhaled them as if they were the real thing, coaxing a soft laugh out of his partner. Arthur reached to caress Denzel’s cheek, feeling an adoration so suffocatingly sweet as he felt him lean in to the gentle touch.
“Thank you.. I… I wish I could repa-”
He was cut off by an impromptu kiss, fervent and deep, feeling Arthur running his thumb against his cheek tenderly. For a second he froze, the gift squishing against his chest as he was yanked close to him. He had no clue what brought this on, but he wasn’t complaining. Any sort of upset he once felt towards him seemed to melt into the kiss as he responded with equal roughness. Arthur growling against his lips in response, only leaning in more.
Denzel stumbled backwards a little as Arthur took that as a cue to pull back. “Sorry about that love. But, uh..” he spoke, breathless from their little kiss, eyes flitting down, focused now on how tightly his precious Drifter gripped the gift he spend hours slaving over. “You do not owe me anything. I made it for you. I remember you once telling me you’d never gotten anything.. like that, from anyone. And it bloody near broke my heart.”
The man before him seemed unmoved, physically at least. He noticed a singular tear begin to fall. “Ah bollocks, don’t cry-” he hurried once more, wiping the tear away. Denzel collapsed against him, face burying in the crook of his neck as he struggled to fight back sobs. Arthur made a move to slowly and gently grab onto the gift and set it down on the coffee table, before wrapping his arms around his Drifter tightly, resting his chin atop of his head as he ran his rough fingers through his lovers hair, frowning as he felt him hiccup and sob, each little sniffle followed by gentle “I love you’s and apologies.
“I know..” Denzel started, hiccuping as he pulled away, face soaked with his tears, shakily raising his arm up to wipe the remaining tears away. “You told me I don’t have to get you anything but,”
Arthur ran his hand down to his back now, running soothing circles. “I’m serious, you don’t.”
A stubborn glare had him sigh, looking away. “This was for you. I do not expect anything back, my love. All I ask is you keep being you. Keep loving and caring like you do.”
Denzel felt his heart thud against his chest, the overwhelming love he felt being showered upon him was enough to have his body shudder. “But.. why?”
Arthur blinked, genuinely confused. Why? What kind of question was that?
A scoff left the man’s mouth as he rolled his eyes, grasping his chin and tilting his head up to meet each others gaze. “Because I love you, and I had noticed you haven’t been yourself lately.”
Denzel’s eyes were glazed over and red from all the crying, but a small, weak smile was now on his face. Arthur leaned in to press a soft kiss to his forehead. “You deserve this, sweets.”
There was a beat of quiet between them, nothing but the whistling gust of wind outside the backroom, and the faint patter of rain drops were present.
“I thought you died.” Denzel confessed, genuinely embarrassed. Everything was fine. His man was here, alive and.. as well as he could be. He was here.
He was okay.
Arthur froze, fighting within himself whether to laugh or not. It was quite absurd, but he held his hand over his chest. “Well, I’m not. Not yet anyway.”
Denzel’s expression remained cold, serious. Arthur then reached behind his own neck. “Sorry. Not funny.”
The Drifter did smirk a little. “It was a little bit. But seriously, don’t leave me in the dark like that again. And my fear isn’t completely unfounded.”
Tilting his head with a finger pressed against his chin in thought, Arthur shrugged his shoulders. “You have a point, love. Next time I’ll at least tell you I’ll be busy.”
With a sigh of relief, Denzel gave a quick peck to Arthur’s lips before stepping away, moving to grab the bunch of paper roses and glanced down at it, taking in the details, then soft glowing eyes lingered on Arthur again. “I’m still gonna do something for you.”
Arthur, rather bashful, cleared his throat at that revelation. “You know what, fine.”
“But we’re still going on that ride.”
--
THIS AINT THE GREATEST BUT I HAVE SO MANY BRAIN WORMS ABOUT THEM AAAAAGH might do a sequel to this, if i can get the Juice to write again,. still rusty
