The Argument

“Oh man... The date!” Eisenhower suddenly ceased what he was working on and began rushing to pack up. He had suddenly remembered that he promised to take his boyfriend out to dinner that night, and he was over an hour late. Eisenhower rushed home and ran up the stairs to their apartment, opening the door to see a very sad Artemis waiting for him.

“Artemis... oh my goodness I’m so sorry... I just... got so caught up in work again. I promise I’ll make it up to you”

“Figures. I should’ve known you would value your work over me...” Artemis said dejectedly.

“Artemis! No it’s not-“

“You always do this Howie! And I’m sick of it! There are nights where you won’t even come home because you’re so obsessed with work. I just want the bare minimum of attention from you but apparently even that’s too much to ask for.” Artemis stood up and put on his jacket.

“Wait... Artemis! Please don’t leave. Let’s just talk about this!” Eisenhower scrambled to get Artemis to stay.

“No! I’ve had it with you! I’m spending the night at my friend’s house. I just... I don’t even want to look at you right now. Goodbye.” Artemis slammed the door behind him in Eisenhower’s face.

Eisenhower stood in silence, in shock from Artemis’s response.

“You really did it this time, Eisen...” he muttered to himself, hanging his head low as he sat down at the now empty table, alone.

...

“Artemis?! What’s up man? It’s almost 12 am, you good?”

“Can I crash here for the night? I... I got into it with Eisen and just can’t bear to be around him right now.”

“Aw man... I mean sure, but what happened man? You gotta tell me. Come on, sit down. I’ll grab you a beer or soda if you want?”

“I’m good on alcohol. I’ll just take a soda. Thanks.”

Artemis sat down on the couch as his friend got himself a soda from the fridge and sat on the couch across from him.

“It’s just that... Eisen... It’s like he cares more about his damn job than me. Like... I understand work is important but the thing is... he is willingly spending overtime at work because he’s just... so obsessed with his projects! He promised me he’d take me on a date tonight, and he showed up 2 hours late because he was spending time on his projects over me.”

“Damn... that’s rough man. I’m sorry. How often does he do this?”

“All. The. Time. Like seriously dude there are some nights where he won’t even come home because he is so focused on his work! It pisses me off!”

“Well, I can’t say I blame you. At the same time though, you also gotta understand his perspective.”

“What do you mean his perspective!?”

“Well there’s gotta be a reason why he’s so obsessed with work. I doubt it has anything to do with you. I mean... I barely know the guy but the few times I’ve seen him, he’s been absolutely crazy for you. That guy loves you Artie, I know that for a fact. Maybe he’s crunching for a deadline? Or his boss is forcing him to stay overtime?”

“I guess...”

“Really the best thing to do in a situation like this is just talk it out. Speak to him and ask him what’s going on in his world, y’know? But be honest about how it makes you feel. Let him know that it sucks when he lets you down, or doesn’t come home. You feel?”

“Yeah, you’re right... I was pretty hard on him...”

“Nah don’t sweat it man I don’t blame you. Things like that happen and it’s normal. Just... don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Take your time and just chill with me until you’ve cooled off and ready to talk to him again, alright?”

“Alright. Thanks bro. I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime man.”

...

The next morning, Artemis came back to the apartment and knocked on the door.

“Eisen? Are you there? It’s... me. Artie.”

Artemis waited for a bit, but no response. He knocked again and waited a bit longer. While Artemis was waiting, Eisenhower happened to return back to the apartment around the same time. He stood there silently as Artemis turned around and noticed him.

Eisen had went out and bought gifts for him as an apology. He was carrying some flowers and a gift basket with a movie and some of Artemis’s favorite snacks.

“O-Oh... uh... hello... Artemis” Eisenhower said awkwardly.

Artemis smiled, his heart warmed by Eisen’s cheesy yet genuine gesture.

“Oh you dork... come here!” Artemis ran up to Eisen and hugged him.

“Listen... Howie... I’m sorry for being so hard on you last night. I can’t stay mad at you forever.”

“No... You had every right to be mad at me”. Eisenhower said solemnly. “I’ve... been a lousy husband. I’m sorry.”

“Howie... don’t talk about yourself like that... Come on... It’s Sunday! We have the whole day now to make up for it right?”

“Y-Yeah... that’s right.” Eisen muttered. He smiled softly as the two walked back into their apartment together, eager to spend the rest of their day together.