xx. from eden

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It was about ten 'o clock at night when they arrived at the airport, bags packed, nearly gliding through security with ease. Andrew had been on his fair share of business trips, and that made packing much easier on the both of them. He'd compulsively checked and re-checked their luggage several times just to make sure they didn't miss anything. Their flight would take off at eleven pm, he'd chosen an overnight flight simply because the trip by plane was going to take between twelve and fourteen hours, and with that kind of time it'd be best to just sleep through it. Once they'd boarded the plane, he led Inara through the doors separating the different flight classes, heading up to first. Usually if he was on his own he'd simply have flown business, but he wanted to make the trip extra special for Inara, so he may have bumped them up just for that. As they took their seats and waited for the plane to take off, he sent a quick text to the group chat his sisters had set up, letting his family know they'd just boarded and that they should be arriving around eleven am their time. Before long it seemed everyone had boarded, and he intertwined their fingers together as the plane began it's take off, falling into a peaceful sleep thirty minutes after they were in the air. -- thirteen hours later... Andy had woke up about a half an hour before they were set to land, and he glanced beside Inara at the window, looking out over the land below them with a barely contained excitement. Time seemed to move forward quickly, because before he knew it, he was leading Inara through the large expanse that was Heathrow Airport. After they'd collected their luggage, he kept his boyfriend close to him as they navigated the vast space, keeping his eye out for a familiar face. When his eyes fell upon his step-dad Uri, his mum, and his littlest sister his face visibly lit up, pulling Inara along with him and letting go of his hand only to scoop Ari up in his arms. Grinning, he made the necessary introductions, and his mum offered Inara a hug. "We only hug in this family, luv." She laughed, and Andrew thought his heart might burst from how full it was. It would be another twenty minute drive to the house, and the whole way he sat between Ari and Inara in the back of his parent's car, so that he could entertain Ari, and also hold his boyfriend's hand. Admittedly, he was tired from the long journey, but it didn't seem to show. As they pulled up to his family home, Uri waved him away and took it upon himself to unpack the boot of the car. "Andrew Emerson, you know better. Go give Inara the grand tour." Andrew knew better than to argue with him, especially with his middle name thrown into the mix. As they climbed the steps, fingers intertwined, he prepared himself for the tour of their living quarters for the next week.

. . . Innocence died screaming, honey ask me I should know; I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door. . . copycat @inara

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Andy had tried to keep it a secret. And he had, for as long as humanly possible. But Inara Aria was very detail-oriented, and a planner when it came to many things. One of those being travel. Oh, when he got to a destination Inara was fine to let adventure unfold how it would, but in the process of getting there, he could be... exhaustive. When Inara finally got his hands on their boarding passes digitally, it'd been impossible for Andrew to keep to himself that he'd sprung for first class on their flight to London. Inara had carefully split his reaction between scorn and gratitude. It wasn't necessary, but there was nothing for it, and Inara knew spoiling him was a way Andy expressed his love. So for the first time in his life, Inara sat at the front of the plane. His and Andy's seats - more like micro-sofas - were next to each other and so they were able to maintain gentle skin-to-skin contact even when they were both dead asleep on the overnight flight. Inara woke first and was up, staring thoughtfully out the window when Andrew stirred right before they landed. The voyage through the airport that came next was a blur. Inara was anxious and nervous and excited. He wanted, very, very badly to make a good impression on Andrew's family. He was terrified that they wouldn't see in him what Andy did and so he was very quiet and subdued. Until, that is, the introductions finally happened. Andy's mother, specifically, had a way of making Inara feel immediately at home. even in the middle of the crowded airport. He accepted the hug, taking it as a good sign. Soon they were in the backseat of the car, Andy's fingers tangled in his, more on Inara's seat than his, but the younger man far from minded. He watched with great interest the rolling city and landscape out his window, keeping up with the bright conversation and answering the no small number of questions gently batted his way. They arrived at their destination soon enough and Inara looked on the facade of the idyllic home with a vague smile on his lips. Andy got fussed at by his step-father and Inara grinned more widely, eyes dancing behind his sunglasses. "How have I not been using your middle name all this time?" he asked, like it was boyfriend's fault. He reached out a hand to be taken and allowed himself to be lead inward. "Andrew Emerson," Inara added teasingly.

. . . And then I learned the truth How everything good in life seems to lead back to you And every single time I run into your arms I feel like I exist for love. . . eos @andy

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Visibly flustered, his face heated up at the addition of his middle name on Inara's lips. His head dipped down for a moment in embarrassment, before he returned with a laugh. "Don't do that, that's only for when I'm in trouble." As they made it inside, his mum fussed over him very little before heading into the kitchen to start dinner, which he appreciated as he started touring around the house. They passed through the kitchen on their way to the living room, where the walls seemed to be practically covered in picture frames and photographs. Some were simply professionally done family photos, or pictures from when he and his siblings were in school, but others were much more candid. Notably a photo of he and all his siblings together, with Ari on his back as he stood in the middle. For the moment he allowed them to linger there, and somewhere on the other side of the house he could hear Aria's footsteps pounding the wooden floors, and his mother chastising her from the kitchen about running in the house. In his distraction, he didn't notice AJ sneaking up behind him until she was dragging him into a hug. "Drew! How was your flight?" She asked, and he nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling on her. The oldest of his sisters, she was already moving to rope Inara into a hug. "It was alright, slept through it like usual." He answered, smiling. "You must be Inara. I've heard such good things, mostly from Drew gushing about you over facetime. I'm Alessandra, his favorite sister." She said with a laugh, and Andy shrugged with a smile. "I don't have favorites, AJ. If I did it'd be Ari by a huge margin." He teased back, earning a look of faux betrayal from her. "I'll remember that later when I'm telling your boyfriend every embarrassing thing I can about you." After a few moments of banter, AJ had gone, and he moved on with Inara to avoid anymore ambushes from his family. They climbed the stairs next, heading to the second floor of the home. He pointed out his parents, and Ari's, and Allie's rooms. Coming to the end of the hall, he opened the 'guest room', which was really just his old room in all actuality. Their luggage was already neatly set beside the queen-sized bed. While it was set up to look like a typical guest bedroom, it still had a collection of Andy's old belongings not brought with him to uni or Astaria. Some old dusty vinyls, and a record player sat in the corner. Notably there was a small piano on the opposite side from the records. He moved closer to it, playing a few keys, and nodding at how it seemed to still be in tune. Turning back to Inara, he smiled softly, and closed the distance between them to wrap his arms around his boyfriend's waist. "I hope it's not proving to be too overwhelming...they mean well, but sometimes it can be too much."

. . . Innocence died screaming, honey ask me I should know; I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door. . . copycat @inara

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"I'll have to remember that," Inara laughed. Andy certainly got in trouble enough that that middle name was going to get its fair share of uses going forward. The couple moved into the house, finding themselves in a living room with so many pictures Inara thought he could spend the rest of the day there. He walked through at a glacial pace, fingers brushing certain photographs or frames showing Andrew throughout his life. Inara's heart swelled and broke, making room to grow even more. AJ's arrival broke the warm daze Inara had fallen into. Just like all the other members of Andy's family so far, Inara instinctively loved her. Watching Andrew interact with his siblings made his chest squeeze in a way that was almost painful. AJ was gone just as quickly as she'd come, and Inara hoped that he'd stuck this latest first impression, too. Andrew guided Inara upstairs next. He knew from just brushing the doorknob to the room they entered that it had been his boyfriend's. The air hummed with the memory of him and, despite the bit of effort to make it into a more neutral guest bedroom, Inara could feel Andrew in every square inch of it. Again, Inara floated through, eyes gently charting thorough paths over everything, drinking in this place that had housed the love of his life while he grew. Notes on a piano interrupted Inara's spellbound state this time. He looked over his shoulder, smiling, eyes gleaming. "Of course you play the piano," he commented, almost ruefully. Andrew swept him up, his arms winding perfectly around Inara's waist. The younger man rested his forehead against Andy's lips, closing his eyes and smiling. "No, it's," he paused, searching for the word, but only one really worked, even if it was cliche and sounded like a line, "perfect." Inara twisted in Andy's arms, until he leaned back against his lover's chest, his head laying back on his shoulder. "So this is the place that raised my Andrew," he said, almost to himself, and then hummed in thought. "I love your family. I just met them, but I love them." The younger man paused, biting his bottom lip. He wanted to ask but Andy would say the same handful of perfect words, no matter what. Still, Inara couldn't hold it in, and maybe those perfect words would sink in? "Do you think they like me so far? It's so important that they do."

. . . And then I learned the truth How everything good in life seems to lead back to you And every single time I run into your arms I feel like I exist for love. . . eos @andy

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Moving one of his hands upwards, he played with the strands of long dark hair, running his fingers through it gently as his boyfriend spoke. Andy pressed a kiss to Inara's forehead, and then to the top of his head when he twisted within their embrace. His other arm dropped from Inara's hair in the process, moving to wind around the other man once more. With a smile he hummed in response to the statement, heart tightening in his chest hearing his boyfriend say 'my Andrew'. It was almost overwhelming how easily the younger man could elicit that response from him. "I'm so glad." He answered softly, heart clenching even more with adoration and fondness. He sensed the nervous energy before he even heard it in his partner's voice, and looked down at him best he could. Reaching up, he held his hand against Inara's cheek and did what he could to twist a bit so he could see him fully and meet those entrancing honey-colored eyes. "Cherished, I know for a fact that they already love you. They don't just see you as my boyfriend, Inara. They see you as family, one way or another." He whispered, pressing a kiss to his lover's temple, coming back from the gesture with an encouraging smile. "I...as AJ said, I've been 'gushing' about you to them ever since the day we met. It's not just that they love how happy I am with you, although that's definitely a perk, but they love you as a person. With Homegrown, and how thoughtful you are, how sweet, and kind, and considerate. How talented you are. How good you've been for me in just this period of time." He went on, becoming passionate from atop the little soapbox he'd climbed on. "Long story short sweetheart, they're so excited to finally meet you." Andy pressed another kiss, this time to Inara's lips, hoping he could adequately steal away the bit of anxiety and replace it with comfort. From outside the room, he could hear Ari's bare feet pounding against the old hardwood of the house and up the stairs. In his mind's eye he could almost see her, yelling from down the hall, her voice carrying through their still shut door. "Drew~! 'Nara~! Dinner's ready! Mum said to wash your mitts!" Andy let out a soft laugh, shaking his head with a smirk and a low chuckle. "Looks like you've earned a nickname of your own." Releasing Inara from his hold, he stepped beside him and tangled their fingers together. "Shall we?"

. . . Innocence died screaming, honey ask me I should know; I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door. . . copycat @inara

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All Inara wanted to do when Andy's hand reached up to brace his cheek was close his eyes and lean into it. He reached up his own hand to rest atop Andy's, but that dark brown, amber-speckled gaze locked on Inara's honeyed one. He knew that Andrew was going to say the most perfect things, managing, somehow, to turn what would sound sappy and silly on anyone else's lips into poetry. His prediction came true. With each sentence Andrew spoke, voice soft and sincere, Inara's chest tightened and loosened at the same time; tightened with compounding love, loosening the tension of nervousness. Even though Andy was building up his confidences, Inara didn't fixate on those gentle compliments. Mostly he was caught by the fact that Andy had been "gushing" about Inara to his family. That, more than anything else that Andrew said, warmed him from the inside out and brought the boiling anxieties about making a good impression to a manageable simmer. To masterfully seal his point, Andy brought their lips together and now Inara's eyelids did flutter closed. His other hand snaked up to curl against Andrew's neck, shifting slowly until his fingers were wound in the hair at the nape of it. Ari's voice broke the spell, but in the best possible way. Inara pulled a centimeter away and, when Andy pointed out he'd gotten his own nickname, he smiled, small but bright. "I'll take that as a good sign," he chuckled softly. Andrew stepped toward the door. Inara felt the raw impulse to cry out, almost like he was in pain, at the sudden lack of contact, but his lover caught their fingers together, fitting them like pieces of cosmic puzzle. "I am kind of starving," Inara admitted, letting Andrew lead him toward the nearest bathroom. "I can't wait to try your mom's cooking."

. . . And then I learned the truth How everything good in life seems to lead back to you And every single time I run into your arms I feel like I exist for love. . . eos @andy

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[googlefont=Dancing Script]

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After stopping by the upstairs bathroom to wash their hands, which had of course turned into a battle of Andy playfully flicking water at Inara and getting immediate payback for it, he led the way down the staircase once more with their fingers entwined together. They briefly flitted through the kitchen once more, instead turning into the dining room. His step-dad had already made quick work of setting the table, and seemed to be wrestling with getting Ari to sit down. Pulling out one of the dark wooden chairs for Inara to sit, he picked a spot immediately beside his boyfriend, draping his jacket over it and bending to press a quick kiss to the younger man's forehead before taking a seat himself. Shortly after AJ joined the table, sitting on Andy's other side. At opposite ends, after dinner had been laid out in the center of the table, were his mum and step-dad. Across the table from them, Ari fidgeted in her chair beside his second youngest sister Allie. Andy offered a quick introduction between Inara and Allie before they fully started into dinner. It wasn't until then he even noticed the shepherd's pie, and once he did he gave a bright smile. Conversation at dinner came easy. Thankfully he was able to skip over most of the boring details of his work trip, but in exchange, he had to listen red faced and bashful as his mum and AJ and even Uri brought up tiny and embarrassing anecdotes from his childhood. "Poor Drew," his oldest sister said with a laugh, "Addie dared him to stick his head between the stair banisters and he got stuck there for an hour or two." He rolled his eyes in response, "Don't tell tall tales, it was more like 30 minutes." He huffed, but the hint of a sheepish smile broke through with a glance in Inara's direction as he laced their fingers together on the table. With a gentle smile, Dana looked across the table at Andy and Inara, and redirected the conversation. He'd never been so relieved. "Inara, I just wanted to tell you how glad we are to have you here. It goes without saying, but feel free to help yourself to anything in the house, dear." With a quick squeeze of his boyfriend's hand, Andy smiled and pushed out his chair to stand. "I'll get the dishes." AJ said, beating him to it. With an amused snort, he offered his hand to Inara instead, as AJ started to collect the empty plates. "If AJ's got the dishes handled, I think we might turn in early. I forgot how bad jet lag is. I gotta drive to the office tomorrow."

. . . Innocence died screaming, honey ask me I should know; I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door. . . copycat @inara

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Dinner was delightful for so many reasons. The cooking was sensational, yes, and the company just as much. But it was the conversation that really stuck Inara the most. He wondered if he was just desensitized to his family's teasing because he worked with them. Or if for that same reason, his family was more gradual in that teasing, and Andrew's had to pack all of their own into the limited time face-to-face they had together. Whichever was true, Inara didn't really care. Hearing about Andy's childhood and adolescence was something he could sit and do happily the entire trip without an ounce of regret. Everything about his boyfriend, Inara loved. That extended to arguably trivial anecdotes and tales, and he couldn't stop smiling and laughing. Particularly at the heat he could see rising behind the stubble in Andy's pale face. It was easy to be himself, and not trip over trying to impress, with Andrew's family. Most of Inara's anxieties were soothed during dinner, because everyone at the table was so unquestionably genuine. You couldn't fake the kind of sincerity that Andy's loved ones had, and Inara could see that it was a family trait. With many heartfelt thanks to Andy's mother for the lovely meal, Inara was whisked gently back to the stairs by his boyfriend. On the way up the rickety, love-worn, carpeted steps, Inara palmed a yawn and blinked sleepiness out of his eyes. He was no stranger to jet-lag, having visited extended family several times in his life in Persia, but how hard it hit always surprised him. Inara had a hunch Andrew was going to be dizzily romantic as he closed the door behind Inara in their bedroom. He was getting a little tired of being the victim, though. So he beat Andy to it. The older man turned, a smile on his lips, opening them to say something- right into a kiss from Inara. He poured his heart into the action, his goal to have an outlet for the inhuman levels of love for Andrew that had been welling up and, maybe, on the side, to drive the breath from the other man's lungs. Inara pulled away gently - one of his hands braced Andrew's lower back, crushing them together, the other's fingers were wound in the hair on the back of his head. Inara softly rested their foreheads together. "Hi," he said, lamely, but intentionally so, smiling slyly.

. . . And then I learned the truth How everything good in life seems to lead back to you And every single time I run into your arms I feel like I exist for love. . . eos @andy

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Arm-in-arm up the stairs, he couldn't hide the small smile on his face, nor did he want to. Both because of how much more relaxed his better half was during and following dinner, and the adorable yawn that Inara muted with his hand. Holding the door to their room open for his boyfriend, he followed after, turning to close the door behind them. The moment the door jam clicked closed and Andy turned to face Inara, he started to make a joke, but was caught in a sweet kiss before the words had a chance. Caught in a tender riptide, his eyes fluttered closed, hand coming up to cup his boyfriend's jaw. Swept away by the adoration and love, he was thankful for the hand bracing the small of his back and the way it grounded him. He didn't dare trust his legs to hold him. As they parted, he inhaled desperately, dark eyes opening once more and focusing in on Inara's honeyed gaze. A soft smile curled at his lips, and he rested his other hand against the younger man's hip, idly playing with the hem of his shirt. "Hey." He answered, polite amusement dancing in his eyes. Andy drew his hand from Inara's cheek, instead opting to push a stray wave out of his partner's face carefully. He was almost dizzy with happiness, heart feeling light despite the intensity and weight of the love it carried. For a moment he just admired his companion, expression twisting, almost looking pained at one point, but the smile poised on his lips never faltered. With a decidedly shaky breath, he swiped the pad of his thumb over the younger man's cheek affectionately, before letting his hands drop, instead hooking under his boyfriend's backside and lifting him up effortlessly. Taking a few steps forward, smirking slyly, he lowered Inara gently onto the mattress so he could sit, before pressing a chaste kiss to his forehead. "I love you. So much." It was just shy of a whisper, spoken just before he pulled away.

. . . Innocence died screaming, honey ask me I should know; I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door. . . copycat @inara

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The thumb that skidded over Inara's cheek sent goosebumps and a fresh wave of heat through his skin. His eyelashes fluttered closed, into the subtle gesture. Those same eyelashes sprang open when Andrew's broad hands dropped, anchoring just below his seat to hoist him effortlessly into the air. Inara gave a soft sound of surprise, arms instinctively looping around his boyfriend's neck to keep him steady. Andy drifted across the room and in transit, the two men's cheeks were pressed together, Andrew's soft stubble scraping against Inara's smooth-shaved jaw. Inara breathed a bit laboredly into the other man's ear, until he was placed tenderly on the edge of the mattress and a kiss was brushed on his brow. Inara's mind warred with his soul. The entire trip so far had done nothing but throw kindling on top of kindling for the love he felt for Andrew. That, in turn, fueled baser urges in Inara. But the setting meant he couldn't act on them. His fingers curled into the belt on Andy's pants, wanting nothing more than to unfasten and do away with it. Inara tamped down the heat packed into his cheeks. Instead, he helped Andrew out of his shirt in a more sedate, rather than ravenous way. Inara paused, grabbing his boyfriend by the hips, and leaned in, placing a sensual kiss to the trail of hair that fell from his navel to disappear beneath the waist of his pants. Inara paused, nipped the skin in arguably petty venting of his cooped up hunger, then pulled Andrew nearer to place his burning cheek against his lower abdomen and breathe deeply.

. . . And then I learned the truth How everything good in life seems to lead back to you And every single time I run into your arms I feel like I exist for love. . . eos @andy

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