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Post by Arthur Kirkland on May 30, 2011 19:39:17 GMT
"I like seafood spaghetti." Arthur said, with a bit of a smile. He did! He liked seafood a lot. Or he had when he'd had more of an appetite. It had been one of his favourite things. It had been a while since he'd had it though, and even longer since he'd had a decent meal.
Arthur was still too light-headed to be much help with cleaning up, but he did head downstairs and start closing the windows down there as well. He was determined not to be completely useless even if his body was failing him. As Alfred caught up with him, he offered him the hoodie again, then paused when he didn't reach for it. He followed Alfred outside and locked up, then after a moment of hesitation pulled it back on, curling back into the warm fabric.
"It's only ten minutes to walk back home, and if we're going to the shop we might as well walk." He said, quietly, starting to lead Alfred back to his flat. He hid his hands in the pockets of Alfred's jacket. "I only have spaghetti at home, so we'll have to get everything else." That probably wouldn't surprise Alfred now. The bread that he'd used to make bread that morning was stale, and aside from that he only had tinned and dried food, and not much of that. He could perhaps be forgiven bearing in mind he was moving in a week, but then again he should really be eating up the tinned food too.
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Post by Alfred Jones on May 31, 2011 9:36:09 GMT
Glancing at Arthur as if he wasn't sure, Alfred just hummed but finally he nodded a little. Well he'd just assume that Arthur liked most of the stuff for the recipe as well...Once they met up at the door and were outside, Alfred nodded slowly but cocked his head. "Are you sure you're up to it though? I mean, you look a bit dizzy." The younger blonde pointed that out.
"If you took the bus home and got the pasta cooking I could walk home and buy the rest of the stuff we need..." Well he could try and offer that, though he did have a feeling he would be denied. Arthur was so damned stubborn, even if he had only known him for a short while. It was slightly irritating, especially in this instance when he was so worried about the older man.
"What's your favorite seafood, Arthur?" Alfred asked then, planning on at atleast getting more of whatever it was so hopefully Arthur would be tempted into eating a bigger portion...Making a noise, he then stretched out his arms slowly, eyes closing and then sighed happily as his back popped. That was better...Already he was planning on what to do for the food though, wanting to make it tasty so that Arthur would have to eat more. And if he didn't...Well, he was planning on still eating whatever portions Arthur had.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on May 31, 2011 11:10:54 GMT
"I'll be fine." Arthur said, just a little stiffly. There was no reason for Alfred to believe him after last time, but Arthur was determined not to get the bus. If he was going to have to eat, he'd at least do some exercise to try and work it off. He appreciated that Alfred was just trying to look after him, but he was also a little worried that Alfred was going to use it as an excuse to disappear, and Arthur really didn't want that to happen. He felt bad still that he'd ruined what had been a good day.
Pausing at the question, Arthur considered it. He didn't have a very good relationship with food at the moment, and it had been a long time since he'd thought of any food in a positive way. "I suppose crab's nice." He said, after a while. "I like white fish." He added, quickly, remembering how fatty crab could be. "I don't know. I just like seafood." Maybe 'liked' would be more accurate, bearing in mind this was more of a memory from back before he'd started to have issues with food, and goodness only knew when that had started. He hadn't really been eating properly since he left home, though it had obviously gotten a lot worse recently.
As they reached the shop, Arthur grabbed a basket, and gestured Alfred to lead him. "You might as well get food for the next couple of days too." He said, sounding just a little reluctant. "However long you're planning to stay. Though we could pick up some things so you can eat in the new house too." If they were going to be painting all day, Alfred would probably want lunch.
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Post by Alfred Jones on May 31, 2011 11:28:19 GMT
Frowning at Arthur declining the offer, Alfred faintly sulked a little. It really would be better for Arthur to take the bus, he didn't want him passing out...And then that answer to his question just made him question how well he'd be able to even eat this dish...He'd still be getting some crabs legs.
Once they arrived, Alfred cocked his head at the gesture before he nodded lightly. Well, that did make sense... "Mmkay then. Um, we can take over a pan and pot over there right? That way we can have soup or something." Well that would be smart, as well as maybe taking over half of the dishes, silverware and glasses so they'd have those as well.
Leading the way, Alfred mostly just put basic stuff in the basket, such as some bread and stuff for sandwiches, a few cans of soup, a bag of chips. He'd grab the ingredient he'd need for the meal tonight as well when they passed it, and then after a moment reached over and snagged the basket, realizing it might be getting too heavy for Arthur. "I got this, you just put anything you want in."
And he didnt even leave room for arguing on that, heading towards the seafood area.After a few minutes he seemed to have all that he needed from there though, some mussells, crabs legs, shrimps, etc. Just a good variety. Overall he managed to get what he wanted before the basket overflowed at least, and then he looked at Arthur once again.
"Is there anything else you wanna grab..? Like some tea or juice or something?"
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on May 31, 2011 11:37:05 GMT
"We can. We've got to bring it all over sooner or later. I might clean the cupboards before we put anything away in them, though." Arthur said, thoughtfully. "If I'd thought about it I would have done it before you got here." But he usually tried not to think about food. He did at least grab some milk - if Alfred was going to make him eat, he'd have tea with milk rather than lemon for once. Besides, it might make Alfred feel a little better if he seemed to actually be helping.
Arthur was relieved when Alfred took the basket off him, though, and as they paused while Alfred worked out the seafood, Arthur closed his eyes and tried to stop his head from swimming. By the time Alfred had everything he was a little bit better, and he offered a smile. "Ice cream." He reminded Alfred, glancing around the shop to see where the freezers were, and then leading the younger man over. He eyed what was there, and paused noticing the sorbet. That actually didn't look too bad, but... He reached out to grab some chocolate ice cream for Alfred, deciding he'd carry it rather than putting it in the already full basket. "Is that everything now?" He asked, before starting to head over towards the tills.
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Post by Alfred Jones on May 31, 2011 11:47:01 GMT
"Awesome then, that doesnt limit us as much." The younger man stated, looking pleased. "If we take over some stuff tomorrow, you can clean out the cupboards while I get started on painting your room." Paint fumes didn't help much for when someone was feeling light headed anyway. Basically he was intending on doing the harder work.
"Oh yeah!..Grab something you'd like too?" Alfred requested, knowing it was stupid to hope he would actually eat something like that if he was reall anorexic...However he had noticed him eyeing the sorbet. Nodding, Alfred let Arthur move ahead, then snagged one of the smaller containers of the sorbet before joining him up there. Once it was their turn he started loading things on the belt, managing to hide the smaller container behind the milk from Arthur.
To be honest he still felt bad about Arthur paying for this stuff, even moreso now because it kind of felt like the older man wouldn't be eating it as well. Frowning to himself at the thought, he rocked on his feet a bit, almost considering putting some of the stuff back so Arthur wouldn't spend as much...Well, either way, he snagged the bags before Arthur could, refusing to let him carry anything.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on May 31, 2011 12:39:41 GMT
"I should start drawing the picture in your room first." Arthur pointed out. "I can do that while you paint my room. You'll probably finish before me, so if you can give the cupboards a quick wipe down when you do, I'd appreciate it." He said, thoughtfully. That sounded logical. Alfred would probably still finish a bit before Arthur, because it would be difficult to get a painting that covered the whole room sketched out. Arthur hadn't done anything quite like it before. It'd be a challenge.
Fortunately for Alfred, Arthur didn't notice the sorbet until after it was rung through the register, or he would have complained. As it was, he shot Alfred a displeased look, but didn't say anything. No doubt he was planning on trying to get him to eat the whole pot, and the thought made a shiver run down Arthur's spine. There was probably a thousand calories in there. And that just made him think of how many there would be in the seafood spaghetti, and... Arthur quickly turned his attention away, trying to think about the painting as well, because if he had to think about all the food that Alfred was going to make him eat, Arthur thought he might be sick.
He paid up with a quiet thanks, and frowned when Alfred took all of the bags, but wasn't in the mood to fight it. The money didn't bother him: he was always trying to buy Alfred things, and it wasn't enough that it would even make a noticeable dent in Arthur's current account, let alone his savings. "I think I might try and sketch out a couple of attempts for your room on paper when we get back."
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Post by Alfred Jones on May 31, 2011 13:10:57 GMT
"Ahh yeah that'd make more sense I guess..."Alfred was pretty sure he'd be able to get a coat done, wipe the cupboard down, and then give the room another coat before getting the dishes put in at least. Pleased that there was no fighting about it, Alfred just led the way out of the store before letting Arthur lead the way home.
"Mm? Yeah that's no problem, you can do it while 'm cookin'...And you know, Arthur, it's technically your house, so you can make the forest however you want." Obviously Alfred didn't mind too much what it was anyway, or what type of forest. Once they reached Arthurs home, Alfred headed in quickly to the kitchen to get the food started as well as put in the refrigerator or freezer if they needed it.
As he was getting the shells off the shrimps though, a thought occurred to him, and he hummed lightly. "Hey Arthur, I just realized...You know quite a bit about me, but I don't really know a lot about you." It usually went the other way around, with the people he'd meet.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on May 31, 2011 14:13:44 GMT
Smiling a little when Alfred gave him free licence over what to do in his room, Arthur shook his head. "Well, I like the ideas that you came up with already anyway. Especially the waterfall, though that's going to be a bit tricky to get looking good." He paused to unlock the door, holding it for Alfred since he was carrying his bags, and though he kicked off his shoes inside, he kept Alfred's hoodie on now. Alfred had said that he could keep it, and he was getting a little fond of the too large garment.
Arthur got paper and pencils from his desk and sat at the bar in the kitchen so they could talk while Alfred started to work on their dinner, and with his phone out as a reference again, started to sketch. The realisation made him frown, and he gave a little shrug. "Only because I had to do that article." He pointed out. He doubted that Alfred would have told him any of his history without it, though admittedly Arthur had guessed pieces of it before.
"What do you want to know anyway?" He asked, going back to sketching. He sounded a little hesitant, because he was. He didn't really like thinking about his family, and wasn't sure how much he wanted Alfred to know.
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Post by Alfred Jones on May 31, 2011 21:28:58 GMT
Nodding with a chuckle, Alfred just rolled his shoulders. "Well I believe in you?" He teased, getting everything prepped. Around five minutes though, Alfred was just waiting as things cooked, and he considered the question. "Um...Well...I dunno...I'd just rather know some more stuff about you if you're going to really be letting me live there with you.." Alfred stated, voice getting a little quieter like he was asking something he shouldn't.
"...Never mind." He didn't feel like making this awkward or uncomfortable, which of course it seemed would be what would happen judging by Arthurs tone. Plus the guy had enough issues with eating, it'd be best not to stress him out around meal times. Instead Alfred attempted to busy himself with the cooking, despite nothing needing to be done at the moment.
It took around half an hour, but finally the spaghetti was done. The sauce itself was a marinara sauce, because he figured the white sauce he had had planned might seem to fattening to Arthur, while most of the seafoods were in the sauce. Only the prawns were left out, cooked and covered in a very light butter sauce. Serving Arthur not a giant portion, but a bit bigger than he'd normally have, Alfred smiled at him a bit nervously as he passed, setting the plate in the spot he'd normally sit before returning to serve himself. Once done, he headed on over and sat in the seat he'd normally use.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on May 31, 2011 22:19:19 GMT
Realising Alfred had a reason for asking, Arthur frowned a little to himself. He felt bad for rebuking Alfred like that, especially when his family history wasn't as bad as Alfred's. Just because it was unpleasant didn't mean that he shouldn't tell Alfred. He focused on his drawing as Alfred went back to sketching.
By the time Alfred finished up, Arthur had a semi decent sketch done, and he frowned at it, before moving everything out of the way so Alfred could put the bowl down. He frowned to see Alfred had given him more than usual, and eyed him, wondering if he was planning on making him eat it all. Pushing the sketch over, he let Alfred have a look. "Does that seem all right to you?" He asked.
While Alfred was having a look, Arthur eyed the food in front of him. He'd already spotted that the pawns were covered in butter and disregarded them, but at least Alfred hadn't used a white sauce for most of the meal. Maybe if he avoided he spaghetti, and just ate some of the fish it wouldn't be too bad. Arthur hesitantly picked out a bit and nibbled on it. At least it didn't take too bad.
In an attempt to distract himself from trying to count up calories as he ate, Arthur turned his attention back to the question Alfred had posed earlier. "My mum was an actress." He said, quietly. "And my father's a politician. I don't really speak to him any more, nor my brothers. I left home when I was sixteen when I inherited my mum's estate, and I've been living here since." He gave a little shrug. "That's all there is to me, I'm afraid."
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Post by Alfred Jones on May 31, 2011 22:55:25 GMT
Perking to see the sketch, Alfred tugged it on over, looking at it before he began eating. "It looks really cool! I almost wish the room was round or something so there wouldn't be corners." Chuckling, Alfred returned the sketch to him before starting on his meal...It tasted restaurant worthy. Well at least he figured he'd done alright...
The examination of the food wasn't unnoticed though, and Alfred pouted a bit. "Aw c'mon Arthur, you gotta eat it together. It helps the tastes blend really well." He pointed out, at least trying a different approach that was, technically, true. He'd started on his prawns first though, enjoying the taste of them mixed with some sauce and pasta.
Blinking when Arthur spoke though, Alfred was quiet before he blinked in surprise. "...What did she act in?" He asked then, curious. Also he was wondering how close he was to her...And his brothers. "I'm kind of surprised you were even able to get a place to stay at that age though." Seeing as a lot of people wouldn't really find a 16 year old living on their own to be a very good thing.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jun 1, 2011 0:34:22 GMT
Pleased that Alfred was happy with it, Arthur nodded at the idea. "I think the room would be too small if we rounded it off though." Arthur said, thinking of filling in the corners. "We can get some pot plants or something, and that might help it to ease round?" He suggested. If Alfred was having a futon then it wouldn't take up too much space anyway, so they could work around that. But they could see when everything was settled in. They'd have to paint it first.
Looking up as Alfred tried to get him to eat differently, Arthur frowned and eyed his food, but ignored the advice. In a way, he was scared of it tasting too good, in case he ate it all. He'd already eaten too much as it was. He at least continued to pick at it, taking tiny mouthfuls, and leaving gaps between each one so he could get away with eating as little as possible.
"Um. Mostly theatre things, I think." Arthur said, frowning a little. "I used to have some adverts from her shows, but..." Like so many other things, he'd lost them in the move. "She did do a couple of TV shows and films and I've found some of them, but the one where she was a big character wasn't very popular and it never got released on DVD." He sighed, setting his fork down. He gave a shrug at Alfred's other point, looking away. "Money makes a lot of things easier."
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jun 2, 2011 12:03:25 GMT
"Plants wound be nice. It'd make it smell fresher." Alfred pointed out with a smile. "we'd have to make sure they werent the kind that could make cats sick though..." Well he wasnt so sure about the futon now, seeing as if he got a bed with a frame, he could hide under the bed as well. In any case though, he pouted when he didn't take his advice, disappointed at it going unheeded. He wasn't enjoying the food to the fullest!
...Not that he probably wanted to, but he still felt a bit offended by it, in a silly way. And unfortunately for Arthur, Alfred was watching his eating descretely, intending on leaving as much on his plate as Arthur did on his. It was nice to hear about Arthurs mother though, and he hummed in thought. Maybe he could find it...If Arthur wanted to watch the film, that is. "...Well, that's true I suppose." he mumured, giving a hum. "So..You were close to her, right? What sort of stuff did she teach you?" He was focusing on the good memories of her now, or trying to. He'd like to see her as well, but...Well he didn't want to bring up that awkward question.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jun 2, 2011 14:50:20 GMT
Nodding, Arthur smiled. "I was going to get some pot plants anyway, I was just thinking if we got some bigger, free standing ones it would look nice." He commented. He hadn't even thought about making sure that they wouldn't make the cat that he was going to get sick. He'd have to research that!
"Ah, well... I can't really remember her. She died the day I got out of hospital." He admitted with a slight shrug. "Some kind of accident. I can't find it reported properly in the papers, and my father wouldn't tell me." He sighed, finally pushing his plate away. Even if he had been eating properly thinking about this killed his appetite. "She wasn't my father's wife, so you can imagine what the papers should have been like, but it really wasn't like that." Glancing back towards the bedroom, he nodded his head in that direction. "It's her picture on my bedside table. Her ring, too."
Eyeing the bowl again, Arthur sighed. "I'm sorry, Alfred. I can't eat any more than that. But it was good." Perhaps he could have eaten a little more if he'd really tried, but obviously he didn't want to. He felt miserable and fat as it was, and no doubt Alfred was going to try and force him to eat some ice cream after that. And, somewhat typically, he was too self-centred to notice that Alfred was copying him. He was trying not to look at either plate anyway.
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jun 2, 2011 22:10:50 GMT
Nodding a bit in thought, Alfred rest his head to the side on his shoulder before looking where he had nodded. He'd maybe sneak a peek before he forgot, since he was curious about how similar she and Arthur looked...What if she had huge eyebrows as well? Biting his lip, he mentally chided himself, that wasn't appropriate thinking about that subject.
Frowning, Alfred sulked a bit, but nodded, eyeing his food. Well, he was copying him...Except with the ice cream... "Ok, then you do have to eat a little bit of ice cream. You said you would." Nodding with a determined look that wasnt unsimilar to a kids, Alfred stood and cleared their plates.
A few minutes later he had dished up their ice cream, his a three scoop serving while for Arthur he had given him a rather small scoop of the sorbet. Plopping down in his seat again, he dug in to the ice cream, enjoying the taste. "Hows your sorbet?" He asked, pouting. There was basically like three spoonsfulls of the stuff there, how could he not eat it?
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jun 2, 2011 23:33:45 GMT
Arthur did notice when Alfred cleaned their plates that there was still some food left on Alfred's, which was unusual. Usually he ate everything he was given, and often enough came back for a second portion. His worries were quickly abated when Alfred returned with two bowls, the one for Alfred obviously full enough for him to relax.
Taking his bowl, Arthur eyed the sorbet. The idea of eating it made him feel sick. But a glance at Alfred told him he wouldn't have a chance to disobey. Maybe if he took his time most of it would melt. He did take a small spoonful, closing his eyes as he did so. It tasted good, and that made him feel sick and panicky. He didn't want to eat! He was already so fat. The question made him tense still further, and Arthur tried his best not to show his disgust on his face. "It's... fine." He said, teeth gritted just a little.
Arthur's thin shoulders slumped, and he pulled his legs up, eyeing his spoon. Reluctantly - very reluctantly - he took another spoonful, but paused with it on his lips. Green eyes flickered to Alfred, before back at it, then he put the spoon back down without eating it. He wanted to tell Alfred that he couldn't do this, that it was just disgusting, but he was too afraid that Alfred would just run out on him. "Am I really thin?" He asked, quietly, looking down at the bowl. Half of him dreaded what Alfred would say, but the other half was begging Alfred to prove him wrong, so that this could all be over.
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jun 3, 2011 1:19:03 GMT
Even with that much ice cream in the bowl, it wasn't very much for Alfred, not at all. It was like he had another stomache meant solely for desserts. Alfred wasnt staring at him, but he was cautiously sneaking glances at the older man as he ate his own ice cream. Cocking his head when the spoon was sat down, he frowned softly.
The question itself made him frown, and softly he played with the remining scoop of ice cream. "Yes..Incredibly thin. You're probably past the beginning of going into the red zone." he said softly, eyes on the ice cream before finally looking towards Arthur, worried. It was obvious he wanted to help Arthur, but he also knew that he couldn't help the other man without him wanting to be helped..
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jun 3, 2011 20:10:02 GMT
"The red zone?" Arthur asked, frowning a little. He didn't know what Alfred meant by that, but it didn't sound good. He looked down at his lap and pulled at Alfred's hoodie, looking at how baggy it was on him. Maybe he was right, but... Arthur couldn't see it still. As he picked at the sleeves of it, an idea started to form, and he suddenly squirmed out of it and held it out to Alfred.
"Put it on. Please. I want to see how big it is on you." He said, sounding curious, but also a little bit desperate. If he was right, then it should be almost as loose on Alfred as it was on him, but somehow Arthur doubted that it would be. Would Alfred really buy a jumper that big on him? But even so, Arthur couldn't believe it. He just couldn't see it himself. If Alfred was right, though, perhaps Arthur would have to start eating more. He would't like it, but maybe they could find a good way to do it.
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jun 3, 2011 20:26:55 GMT
Nodding, Alfred just continued to eat his ice cream, stickinghis tongue out when it was all gone to get the melted areas. Cocking his head at the request then, Alfred wriggled his nose but stood and headed over, tugging the hoodie on. It fit well, only a little baggy at the end where it puffed out a little because of the band. "There..?"
Alfred wasn't exactly sure where Arthur was going with this, but..Well maybe at least he was starting to get through to him...For now though, he stayed standing near Arthurs chair, so he could inspect how it fit on him. "Want it back now..?" he asked then, preparing to take it off because it was too warm compared to the ice cream he'd just consumed.
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