#kiwitown

[darlingandmreames]

@kiwitown requested an Arthur/Eames fic where Arthur has epilepsy and Eames helps him through/takes care of him after a seizure, so here it is!

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Eames glanced over as he heard Arthur turn on the coffee machine and looked down at his watch, frowning. It was nearly nine in the evening. Not exactly prime time to be making coffee. “You planning on sleeping tonight?”

“Maybe. Probably not, though,” Arthur sighed. “I have a lot to get done.”

“You know we have a little time, right?” Eames leaned back in his chair. “Even if Maurice Fischer keeled over this very minute we’d still have at least a few days to get everything set. I think you have time for a night’s rest. You certainly look like you could use it.”

Arthur leveled a deadpan look at him. “Thank you, Eames. Your compliments are flattering, as always.”

“I’m just saying, you look like you’ve barely slept recently.” Eames paused, frowning again. Now that he thought about it, Arthur really did look exhausted. Eames could see the dark circles under his eyes even from all the way over here. “Seriously, when was the last time you got a decent amount of sleep?”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “I’m fine. Besides,” he raised an eyebrow, “you’re not one to talk, considering you’re also still here at 9pm.”

“Yeah but at least I’m not making coffee.” Eames shrugged and turned back to the documents he’d been going through. “When you’re exhausted and pissed off at everything tomorrow, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

"I'll be fine. And if I'm not, I'll even let you say I told you s-"

Arthur's voice cut off with an odd, strangled sound and a moment later Eames heard something shatter on the ground. He turned, confused. Had Arthur accidentally burnt himself or something? "Arthur?" His confusion turned to panic as he finished turning. Arthur was leaning against the counter stiffly, face slightly contorted and a shattered coffee cup on the ground by his feet. He dropped down to the ground as Eames watched, landing heavily on a few of the ceramic shards. "Shit, Arthur!"

Eames ran over. Arthur's eyes were open but they were rolled back and he was still making the odd strangling noise, back arched and body tense. "Arthur, can you hear me? Arthur?" Eames pulled off his jacket and slid it carefully under Arthur's head and neck; his best guess was that Arthur was having a seizure, and while he wasn't entirely sure what to do he knew enough to know that, whatever was happening, he should protect Arthur's head. "You're okay, it's okay." 

He swept the remainders of Arthur's mug across the floor and away from where they were; if this was a seizure and Arthur started convulsing, Eames didn't want anything even remotely sharp nearby for Arthur to hurt himself with even more than he might've already hurt himself with the fall. He kept his hands loosely on Arthur's shoulders, mind racing as he tried to recall something, anything, about what to do when someone was seizing. "It's okay, you're alright, you're fine." Fear tightened Eames' chest as Arthur started jerking slightly and he brought a hand up to the side of Arthur's face gently. "It's okay, darling, you're okay."

The convulsions probably lasted little more than a minute, if that, but it felt like an hour, panic and helplessness gripping Eames like a vice as he muttered to Arthur softly, telling him over and over again that it was alright. He didn't know if Arthur could even hear him, he probably couldn't, but it seemed wrong to stay quiet. Eventually the shaking lessened, then stopped all together, and Arthur seemed to go limp. Eames rolled him onto his side carefully, making sure to keep his head resting on the jacket and brushing away the ceramic shards he'd fallen on. Thankfully it didn't look like he'd cut himself. "Hey, there you go." Eames ran a hand through Arthur's hair as the rigidity slowly seeped out of his posture. "That's it, you're alright."

"'mes?"

Arthur's voice was muddled and disoriented, and Eames probably wouldn't have recognized the word if it hadn't been his name. "Yeah, darling, it's me." He ran his hand through Arthur's hair again, other hand rubbing gentle circles between his shoulder blades. "You back with me?"

"Mm." Arthur mumbled something that Eames couldn't quite catch, words running together incoherently.

"I think you just had a seizure, do you want me to call an ambulance?"

"No, 'm fine, I've had…" Arthur trailed off slightly for a moment. "'ve had them before."

Eames blinked, surprised. He'd known Arthur a long time, and he'd never seen him have anything like that before. If Arthur said he didn't need an ambulance though, Eames trusted him. They sat there like that for several minutes- Arthur laid on his side, Eames kneeling beside him- until Arthur finally sat up slowly. Eames kept his hand between Arthur's shoulders, steadying him as he swayed slightly. "Are you alright?"

Arthur nodded. "It's been…been a while since I had anything s’bad as that." 

He wiped at his mouth with his sleeve, wiping away the saliva that had rolled down his chin during the seizure. The movement was slightly uncoordinated and there was still disorientation in his voice, but he sounded at least a little more present. Eames helped him shift so that he was leaning back against the cabinets. "Didn't realize you had seizures."

"Don't usually. Not anymore at least." Arthur blinked slowly and took a few deep breaths. "I take meds 'nd they usually work, but I guess the stress 'nd not sleeping…"

Arthur closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning slightly. Eames felt his fear spike and he readied himself in case Arthur started seizing again. "Are…are you…?"

"'m alright. Just a headache. I get them after."

Eames nodded, fear dissipating slightly, though not much. “Do you need anything?”

“Water.”

Eames nodded again and propped Arthur up against the cabinets a little more fully, waiting a moment to make sure he didn’t tip over before standing up and grabbing a glass of water from the sink by the coffee machine. Arthur accepted the glass gratefully and leaned against Eames' shoulder heavily as he sat back down, seeming to sag against him. He took small sips until the glass was empty and set it down on the ground beside him, leaning his head back against the cabinet and closing his eyes. After a moment Eames shifted to wrap his arm around Arthur's shoulders and pull him in a bit. Arthur moved with him easily, resting his head in the crook of Eames' neck. "You scared the shit out of me. Just went down with no warning. You're lucky you didn't cut yourself on the shards of your mug."

"Sorry. Didn't mean t' frighten you."

"I'm just glad you're okay." Eames went back to stroking  Arthur's hair. "Will you be okay the rest of the evening?"

Arthur nodded. "Just need to rest."

"Alright. Just let me know when you're ready, and we'll head back to the hotel. I can call us a cab." 

"Thanks."

"Of course, darling." Eames rested his cheek on the top of Arthur's head. He still had work he needed to do, but it could wait until tomorrow. They had time. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. It was alright, Arthur was alright. "Of course." 

After a few minutes Arthur sat up slightly. "I think I'm starting to fall asleep, I should get back to the hotel."

Eames nodded and helped Arthur up carefully. He was less unsteady now and the disorientation was mostly gone from his voice but he looked exhausted, even more so than he had before. Eames brushed his hair back gently from where it had fallen in front of his face. "Are you okay to sleep?"

Arthur nodded. "It's fine. I don't think I've ever had more than one seizure in a 24 hour period. Going to bed and getting some rest is the best thing I can do right now" He made his way over to his workstation and pulled his coat on slowly before heading towards the door.

Eames followed him, grabbing his own coat on the way. He caught up to Arthur quickly, resting his hand on the small of Arthur's back; he was moving mostly normally now but his gait had the slight unsteadiness of someone barely awake, and Eames didn't want to take any chances. Arthur didn't seem to mind at least, leaning against Eames as he hailed a cab from the sidewalk. His head was nodding slightly and Eames wrapped his arm around Arthur's waist, worried that Arthur might actually drift off standing up and fall again. He even took the middle seat in the cab so that Arthur could stay leaned against him the entire ride back. Sure enough, Arthur seemed to doze off on his shoulder within a minute of the cab pulling out.

The cab ride and walk up to Arthur's hotel room was thankfully uneventful and by the time they were outside Arthur's door he seemed nothing more concerning than just very, very tired. Eames couldn't help the pang of concern in his chest, though, as they paused in the hall, the image of Arthur convulsing on the workshop floor still fresh in his mind. "You sure you'll be alright tonight?"

Arthur gave him a tired smile. "I'm okay now, Eames, really. Thanks for helping me." He started to unlock the door but hesitated, turning back to Eames with an unsure look. "I'd, um, I'd prefer if this just stayed between us. No one else knows about this and I'm…not exactly keen on that changing."

"Of course, love. Not a word." Eames rested his hand on Arthur's arm, shoving down his worry as best he could. "You'll text me if you need anything?"

Arthur nodded, opening the door and heading into his room. "Thanks again."

"Don't mention it." Eames watched Arthur's door a moment longer even after he'd closed it behind him before finally heading down the hall to where his own room was. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he walked, turning the volume up; he usually kept it on silent, but not tonight. He trusted Arthur when he said he was fine now, but if that changed Eames fully intended to be there to help.

[paramore]

logey’s goin home to kiwitown for the holidays. so miami is getting the treat of a lifetime tonight. the bearded prince james (who also happens to tech for us), is gonna play a little acoustic for us on these next couple shows. pls show him all the love when you see him.

[wolfidy-blog]

So, last night my Animal Crossing town, Kiwitown, had it's first August fireworks show! I showed up at the start time like A good mayor. I wore the silly hat my assistant was giving out and bought a special cookie. Then I started wondering just how long this fireworks show was supposed to be. Five hours. FIVE HOURS! Our not-so-great Fourth of July fireworks back home last about 15 minutes and costs in the neighborhood of $30,000. Kiwitown must be super rich! ...if my town has all those bells, why do I have to fund public works projects? God damn, Isabelle! Learn what's important to fund!