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Arthur stomped the snow off his boots as he opened the door to Noel's apartment. The hot air hit him as soon as he stepped through the entrance, a stark contrast to the cold New York air outside. Arthur began to remove his gloves and scarf while John got to work on unbuttoning his coat.
There was a faint smell of something cooking emanating from the kitchen. It smelt divine- Noel's cooking always did.
"Evening boys."
John's hand stopped moving.
Arthur, it's Noel. He's leaning against the kitchen door, an easy smile on his face. He looks pleased, almost smug. He... he has good reason to.
Before Arthur could ask what the hell John meant by that, the entity in his head continued.
He's wearing a dress. It's a deep red and clings to his body. The hemline is rather short, the fabric barely covering his thighs. The top and bottom of the dress is fringed with a white fabric which looks similar in texture to fur.
His hair is loose, hanging in curls around his neck.
Somehow he's changed the colour of his lips making them a similar shade to his dress. He's still smiling down at us. He's beautiful, Arthur.
"From the fact that Arthur's face has started to go red, I'll take it that you're describing me, John. Like what you see, doll?"
Yes, yes I like it a lot.
"Yes," Arthur repeated airily without much thought, his mind thoroughly engrossed in engraving the image John painted of their partner into his mind.
"And you Arthur?" Snapped out of his daze, he was now aware of the sound of footsteps getting closer with a definite click-clack of shoes hitting against the wooden floor.
That wasn't the sound of Noel's customary boots.
"You're wearing heels as well?!" Arthur asked, feeling his face getting redder. Noel had obviously put a lot of effort into this.
"Well if your mother spent hours trying to teach you how to walk in them, you would also wear them whenever you could," came the overly flippant reply.
"Wait a moment, are you ok with this? What with all..." Arthur fumbled for words, ending up having to be content with vaguely gesturing at his partner.
Noel's stopped walking. Now stood in the middle of the hall. One of his eyebrows is raised but he's still smiling. I wish you could see him, Arthur. He is gorgeous.
"Don't worry doll, if I didn't want to wear this I wouldn't have. Just because I'm not a woman, doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy feminine things on occasion. And hey what can I say, I trust the both of ya with this. John doesn't really care about gender anyway,"
His voice, which had been sounding so certain, gained an unsure waiver.
"...and I'm pretty sure you won't see me any differently"
Arthur, he's walking closer again, reaching up to put his hands on our shoulders. There's a tender, vulnerable expression on his face. He's smiling softly, looking at us with so much love in his eyes. However it doesn't completely drown out the hint of fear.
"John says you look beautiful, by the way. I think he's been freaking out a little since he first saw you this evening, judging by the amount of times he's described you. And I have to say that I agree with him."
Arthur could hear the faint pop of Noel leaving a kiss on John's palm.
Noel lifted my hand up to his lips. Whatever he used to stain them has left a mark.
"Thanks, doll." There was a slight chuckle from Noel as John lifted his hand to survey the transferred lipstick.
Arthur moved his own hand to Noel's hip, feeling the soft material of the dress. Silk, if he had to guess. He went to roll a piece between forefinger and thumb, only to realise that there was not, in fact, enough material for him to be able to do this.
"Christ! John said the dress was tight but he failed to mention that it was this tight!"
This exclamation earned him a laugh from both of his partners.
Noel moved his hand from Arthurs shoulder to cradle the back of his head. Both Arthur and Noel leaned in towards one another.
Just before either one of them was able to close the distance completely, an incessant beeping began to emanate from the kitchen- dinner was ready.