fete au Paris (open, dreamscapes!verse)

[chesstotem]

Time might work differently in dreams, but it was even weirder when an event both anticipated and feared was approaching. The past week or so had occasionally felt to Ariadne like it was speeding along at a breakneck pace towards a barrier, while at the same time crawling up a tall mountain.

And then, almost as soon as it arrived, it was over. Her thesis defense was successful, and the following afternoon she and two of Miles's other students received their degrees.

The mistress of labyrinths was now a master of architecture.

Miles knew how to throw a party. The entire upper floor of a trendy Paris restaurant had been rented out for the occasion - there was lots of food, and even more champagne, to toast Ariadne and her two classmates.

Lots of people were invited, of course, but there were a few in particular Ariadne was especially excited to see. Not that she was waiting, or anything. She was already on her second glass of champagne.

[Okay, this is mostly for dreamscape!verse folks, but anyone else who might reasonably be expected to be invited is welcome, as well as potential party-crashers! Threadhopping is not only encouraged, it is essentially mandatory, so have at it!]

Comments

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

It took everything Eames had not to text Ariadne to come to a bar on the other side of town after her grand fete so he could toast to her in the comfort of his own scenery. It really did. But it was hardly a secret in their circles that Eames prefer ed to work with Cobb and Arthur, so any association between himself and Ariadne was hardly a bad one. He hadn't gone to the graduation itself, after all, so he could show up here.

He took a glass of champagne from one of the waitresses with a smile and a 'merci', leaning against the wall and looking around. He had dressed nicely for the occasion, shaved too. Eames wasn't an idiot, he knew how to fit in so that no one suspected that he was a party crasher. The suit might not have been perfectly tailored to a certain point man's specifications, but this wasn't about Arthur was it? No, this was entirely about their mistress of labyrinths.

[chesstotem]

There were a lot of people, many of whom Ariadne knew only fleetingly, or not at all. It was okay, though, because it was done and now she could relax with some more of this lovely champagne. So she was a little flushed when she broke away from the crowd and spotted a familiar figure leaning against a wall.

"Fancy seeing you here," she said, unable to stop herself from cracking a grin at Eames. "And no paisley in sight."

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

Eames gave her one of his trademark little-smiles, nodding in acknowledgment and taking a sip of the champagne. Good stuff, but then again this was Paris. Even the two euro garbage was good stuff, comparitively. "It seemed I was unlucky enough to find a Versace store that was entirely sold out of everything paisley." He joked, continuing to look around. "I take it the ceremony went well."

[chesstotem]

She laughed. "Well enough. I got that little piece of paper with my name on it, so I guess they decided to cut me loose. I didn't want to give them any more money, anyway." Not that she didn't have plenty of that, now. She followed Eames' gaze, spotting Miles regaling a few people with what was likely to be a story about James and Phillipa's latest Lego masterpiece. "Sacramento is going to be very different."

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

He nodded, taking another sip of his champagne and looking back at Ariadne. "Sacremento's boring, but there are always ways to make the best out of wherever you are. A capital city like that one isn't going to have the best young nightlife, but the best bars are always the ones nearest to the government buildings and those farthest."

[chesstotem]

"I'll keep that in mind. I'm sure my coworkers will have some recommendations, too." She was suddenly struck by the fact that her new job was likely to be pretty boring, most of the time. Sure, she'd be designing dreamscapes again, but they'd be test environments, and the rest of the time she'd be just... listening.

Fischer job, this wasn't.

"We'll always have Paris," she found herself saying with a wry smile.

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

He couldn't help but chuckle, nodding and raising his glass in her direction. "We'll always have Paris," He repeated, finishing his champagne and casually slipping it on a waitresses tray as she passed by. He wanted to make more casual conversation, ask her what she's going to do, when someone caught his eye.

"Oh look, Miss Olivia Dunham. This can't be good," He said more to himself than anything else, not knowing that the two were acquainted.

[chesstotem]

Ariadne blinked, following the forger's gaze, then glanced at his face. "You know Olivia? ...I hope she hasn't arrested you."

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

"She hasn't. But the question should be how do you know her?" Eames asked, his brow furrowed and his eyes finally back on Ariadne. "You're hardly the most likely of Bureau targets, as lovely and talented as you are."

[chesstotem]

"Cobb brought her in to do some training with me. She's a, uh, friend of the family." Ariadne raised her eyebrows. "How do you know her?"

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

Eames's eyebrow went up, and he could not doubt her more than he did He knows a lie when he hears it, and that was most definitely a lie. "Professional interest," He says quickly in order to get to the real meat of the conversation. "You look incredibly naive when you lie, I'd work on that,"

[chesstotem]

"Look, I don't know exactly how she got on Cobb's radar, but she's been training me for undercover work the past few days. The cover is, she's an old friend of my family's." She gave Eames a withering look. "Arthur seems intrigued by her, too, a little. I think it's because he hasn't actually been able to get a lot of information on her."

...Am I actually in on dreamscapes? IDEK.

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

Eames nodded, even chuckled at the comment about Arthur, and took a nice, long sip of his champagne. "I'll talk to him. She was on my radar about...three weeks ago. I could forge her intimately if I wanted to." That was, really, the best explanation he could give to her of how he knew Olivia. It had all been for his own need to collect people, and he had been an asshole about it. He knew that, but Ariadne didn't need to know how terrible a person he could be sometimes.

[thesecurity.livejournal.com]

Arthur would have agreed on the last point.

He leaned back against the wall next to Eames, his own--mostly untouched--drink in hand. Ariadne had said that the Forger would, might, show, though Arthur couldn't say that he'd believed it until he'd seen it for himself. "It will never cease to amaze me how you dumb down your French to get a reaction from people." Arthur finally looked over at Eames, raising an eyebrow. "You shaved."

And yes, he did sound vaguely surprised.

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

"It serves my purposes in ways you wouldn't understand," Eames answered, not looking directly at Arthur yet. No, his eyes are on the nearest waitress, and when she gets close enough he leaves his glass on her tray and takes another with a smile and another 'merci'.

"And I do, contrary to popular belief, shave frequently. Not regularly, but frequently." He commented as he took a sup of his drink, still watching the crowd.

[thesecurity.livejournal.com]

"I'd say it serves the same purpose that shaving once every two weeks does," Arthur said, pulling absently down on his cuffs before crossing his arms over his chest, careful with the glass in hand. The words were an actual obversation, not a slight, but Arthur didn't follow the thread of conversation further. "I'm a little surprised to see you here." Glad--for Ariadne's sake, of course--but surprised.

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

"Your lack of faith in me is encouraging, really. On both counts," Eames responded, making a face and nursing the glass. Good champagne isn't something he usually had. Not because it was too expensive, but because it was only meant for special occasions. What can he say, he's a traditionalist. "I told Cobb I would be, I'm surprised he didn't pass the news on. Or Ariadne for that matter."

[thesecurity.livejournal.com]

The first count had actually been a compliment... if backhanded. Arthur assumed that despite Eames' words that he'd take it. As for the second count, well. "I heard that you were coming, I just didn't believe it. I didn't figure you for the legitimate, champagne drinking crowd."

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

"Did I ever tell you that I went to Eaton, Arthur?" Eames asked with an amused smile on his lips. He rarely let anything out about his past if he could help it, but he'd known Arthur for more than long enough, and the potential to see his face was just too much. It seemed like a good rebuttal. Champagne drinking crowd indeed.

[thesecurity.livejournal.com]

Arthur opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. Of course Eames would chose then to turn and finally look at him, always for the impact. He tried not to give him the satisfaction. "People change," he just said. Dryly.

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

"Always a little, but not massively." Arthur 0, Eames +200. The world order was stable, and he took the opportunity to drink more. "Don't worry, I was an sharp little shit then too, your world-view is safe."

[thesecurity.livejournal.com]

Arthur snorted quietly and looked the other way, giving the point to Eames. He wet his lips with his own drink. "I suppose I know where you get your general distaste of uniforms, then. From one to another?"

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

"Not exactly," He clarified, though he really didn't need to. "I didn't exactly graduate the way you Americans do. Took my A levels though, that was all that mattered."

[thesecurity.livejournal.com]

Arthur wasn't exactly on top of the English educational system; in all the places he'd lived as a child, England hadn't been one of them and now that sort of thing generally fell below his radar. He did notice that Eames said took them--not what he'd actually scored. If it hadn't been high, Arthur assumed it wasn't because of a lack of brains. Eames was too smart for his own good.

He supposed that Eaton had been a skill-set for the Forger. Learn how to act, to blend in, because he couldn't see Eames actually being happy at a place like that... unless that was his own assumptions of the man. Arthur didn't ask, just filed away the information, another piece in the puzzle of Eames. It was an ongoing process. "I tend to think that education is more than the degree or the grade. Have you seen Ariadne yet?"

[perfectforgery.livejournal.com]

If Arthur had asked, Eames wouldn't have answered. It was important to keep some sense of mystery after all, even with someone who knew too much already. He smiled his typical, condescending smile right back at Arthur in response before sipping his champagne. "Then we agree on something, that's nice," After his sip, he continues with a nod. "She seems happy, as she should be."