chesstotem: (all dressed up)
Ariadne; The Architect ([personal profile] chesstotem) wrote2010-09-12 07:06 pm

the one where Arthur is a douche (for [livejournal.com profile] thesecurity and <lj site="l

Ariadne was a little surprised, truth be told, at how well her date with Arthur was going - not that she'd thought it would be bad, per se, but she'd expected a bit more awkwardness about the whole thing.

Instead, what she got was Arthur being charming, handsome and just plain nice, talking easily about work and music and wine, while Ariadne chatted about designing and weird architectural details and they compared notes on a few of the cities they'd both been to.

It was still pretty early, but Ariadne had never really been able to hold her alcohol, so she demurred at the bartender's suggestion of another drink.

"We should get out of here before I start stumbling around in these shoes." They were sensible enough shoes, though still pretty new and liable to hurt her feet if she wasn't careful.

[identity profile] perfectforgery.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 07:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Why would you do that. Eames had plenty of answers, but a good one? The only good one wasn't something he quite wanted to admit to himself just yet, much less to it's subject. He would have come up with something, anything but the truth, but Ariadne had picked the perfect time to interrupt.

He was so glad he could kiss her, but that wouldn't work out so well right at that moment.

"My thoughts exactly. Can we please move this inside, Arthur? Feel free to hit me again once we've got some much needed privacy."

[identity profile] thesecurity.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 07:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Arthur stared at Ariadne for a moment, a little surprised to actually find hurt underneath his general overwhelming desire to neuter Eames--which was something else that he wasn't going to examine in his present company or state of drink because he knew it would look too far too green in the current light.

But... she was right. The last thing they needed was to use their one call to get Cobb to bail them out of jail for disturbing the peace--Arthur had no desire to get acquainted with the overcrowded Italian penal system on a first-person basis.

Straightening up, Arthur took a deep breath. Best thing to do was what Eames was good at--cutting his loses. He glanced down the hallway toward the elevator.

[identity profile] perfectforgery.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 07:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Eames frowned when Arthur looked towards the elevator, and he met the other man's eyes with a raised eyebrow. He didn't need to say it for Arthur to get the message. If Arthur went for the elevator, Eames would follow him. He would follow him despite being in just a robe with no shoes or socks or underpants. It wasn't as if Rome hadn't seen worse.

"Arthur, please."

[identity profile] thesecurity.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Arthur wished he couldn't read Eames' look, because it was actually mollifying and he didn't want to be mollified. He shook his head and walked toward the doorway. He brushed by Eames. "Which," he said to Ariadne, mostly though his teeth, "is the reasoning I gave you in the first place."

He didn't sit. He wanted another drink but refrained from that as well. His jacket, wrinkled now, was dumped over the sofa arm.

[identity profile] perfectforgery.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"Okay wait, both of you, shut it." Eames never signed on to be a peacemaker, but this was ridiculous. This was getting way too far out of hand, and he shot Ariadne a look that asked--no--insisted that she be quiet. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, wanting nothing more than to put some underwear on and not be in this robe right now of all times. Being the most sober person in the room was usually far more fun than this.

"Ariadne, Arthur and I are not...seeing each other. Arthur, in my defense I never outright told her anything. If we could sit down and discuss this like adults, that would be lovely."

[identity profile] thesecurity.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
What Arthur hated the most was that he knew he was acting like the wronged woman in this whole situation and that went noways to helping his nerves. Eames was not his and Ariadne was not his and he...

Fuck.

Arthur slumped into an armchair specifically so that no one could next to him. He still, however, glared at Eames. "Adults. Good idea, Eames. Perhaps you'd like to take off the condom and join us?" It was a guess, but, Arthur was betting (considering Eames and how fast he'd gotten out the door), a good one.

[identity profile] perfectforgery.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"Actually I think I will, Arthur, thank you," Eames replied sharply, reaching into his robe to get the condom off and making no secret of tying it up--despite the fact that he never actually came--and throwing it into the garbage, a visual fuck you for that little comment.

With a frustrated sigh he sat down on the other side of the sofa, running a hand through his own mussed hair, barely dry from his earlier shower. "I think the issue here is between you two. I really didn't do much aside from take the bait."

[identity profile] thesecurity.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Arthur made a production of not watching while very obviously not paying attention to anything else while Eames went about being his generously lewd and helpful self. Once he'd sat with the rest of them, Arthur looked directly at him with a frown. "Please shut the fuck up, Eames. Just this once. You are not helping, you're making Ariadne sound like a black widow and I honestly owe you at least one more punch. So please."

Arthur stood back up, running a hand over his mouth to pace to the other side of the room and turned to come back, unbuttoning his collar and then crossing his arms over his chest. "I should have been upfront," he said to Ariadne. "But what Eames and I have, or don't, frankly, is none of your business if we're going out for drinks. Even if we'd had a one night stand and never spoken of it again, it wouldn't be your business. I do not make it a habit of telling every sexual partner I have of all the rest that came before. I like you--you are a smart young woman, and pretty, and you stick your nose into everything which should annoy me more than it does. But just because I don't want to sleep with you on the first date doesn't mean I don't ever want to sleep with you. And just because we go on a first date doesn't mean I want a... a girlfriend."

Arthur's teeth clicked together and he turned abruptly for the mini-bar.
Edited 2010-09-14 21:11 (UTC)

[identity profile] perfectforgery.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 09:38 pm (UTC)(link)
When Arthur told Eames to shut up, he did the miraculous. He help up his hands in his defense and actually shut up. This was hardly the time for games after all. No, this was serious, and words needed to be had. Words that Arthur and Ariadne both gave. He had nodded along with Arthur, agreeing with what he said, legs crossed and head in his hand, and he expected Ariadne's part to go just as nicely.

It didn't.

She was getting right down to the point, wasn't she? She point he didn't quite want to face and he was sure, to some extent, Arthur didn't either. He frowned, wincing and reaching over to squeeze Ariadne's knee. "This is where I come in. Ariadne, sweetheart, we're criminals. And the reason why we're so bloody good at it is that we don't let anything happen that could lead to us getting caught. Now, I can't speak for why Arthur does anything that he does, but that may very well be a major part of it," It was a diversion, just barely, but damn if it wasn't a good one.

[identity profile] thesecurity.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 10:38 pm (UTC)(link)
If it was a diverision for Eames, then it was a diversion for both of them and one that Arthur didn't bother to correct. "I went on a date with you because..." Because she'd looked cute with the smudge of charcoal on her nose and Eames had been needling him. Both were poor answers. "Because I thought that we might have a nice night. But Eames is right. The last relationship I had that was anything other than a good lay," yes Eames was included, of course he was, why wouldn't he be, "was in college. Ten years ago."

[identity profile] perfectforgery.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, there was really nothing Eames could say to that, was there? He just looked at Arthur, meeting his eyes, waiting.

[identity profile] thesecurity.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Arthur opened his mouth...

...and closed it.

Then he turned around and poured himself a drink from the minibar. Because he didn't make it a habit of getting drunk but it seemed appropriate now. Perhaps drowning himself would be good. "I didn't think about it."

[identity profile] perfectforgery.livejournal.com 2010-09-14 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ariadne," Eames started when she stood, but there wasn't anything he could actually say, no. So he raised both eyebrows at Arthur, motioning towards her. Get on with it, Arthur, fix the mess.

[identity profile] thesecurity.livejournal.com 2010-09-15 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
Arthur glanced back at Eames, giving him a look of exasperation. He was not the charmer of the two of them, for god's sake. Crying women he didn't understand at all. And how were he and Eames on the same side all of a sudden? Shit.

Leaving his drink, Arthur crossed the small space and took Ariadne's shoes out of her hand. "I'm sorry. I haven't had a relationship that could be called functional in a decade, Ariadne. I didn't want to fuck you tonight because... because you're too good to be just a notch in my belt." It was honest. That was all he had been thinking.

Arthur sighed, holding out her shoes. If she still wanted to leave... he'd let her.

[identity profile] perfectforgery.livejournal.com 2010-09-15 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
To most people it would be weird perhaps, but in Eames's life, as well as he assumed Arthur's and Ariadne's, it took a lot more than kisses and post-coital arguments to even come near the weird scale. They did, after all, steal information from people's dreams for a living. This? This was not weird.

Odd, perhaps, but not weird. And for all that Eames just watched, his eyebrows going up for only a quick second before he reached for his abandoned glass of scotch and finished it off. He could remind her that being a notch wasn't the worst that anyone could be, but he didn't. It wasn't the time for lessons, nor was it really the time for snide commentary or the sharp little ache in his chest as he watched.

[identity profile] thesecurity.livejournal.com 2010-09-15 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
Her lips were soft.

That was Arthur's thought. They were soft and absolutely different from Eames', even when Eames was a woman. It was the way Ariadne kissed him. Almost entitled but curious enough not to be cocky. Asking, the way Eames never asked. They never asked, they just...

And why was he thinking about Eames?

Arthur opened his eyes as Ariadne pulled away; the hand that had somehow reached out for her hip sliding away... rising, until fingertips brushed a hickey on her collarbone. He glanced at Eames, his look just a little too grudgingly amused to be properly angry.

[identity profile] perfectforgery.livejournal.com 2010-09-15 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
Eames should leave. For a split second, that was his thought. He should leave if Arthur's hand was going to move in response, if he was going to lean into the kiss. The thought was pushed aside in an instant of course, because this was his hotel room and if anyone should be getting any in said hotel room it was the man who had been interrupted so close to orgasm less than twenty minutes ago.

His eyebrows went up in amusement as Arthur's eyes met his, and he couldn't help but chuckle. And then, there was that idea...

He stood and stood behind Arthur, squeezing his shoulders as if to give a massage. "If neither of you intent on leaving..." He didn't finish the sentence, instead pressing a light kiss behind Arthur's ear.

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