specifythepoint | (no subject)

things in london got complicated. i hope my loft isn't a mess.

there may be a few books laying about. i'll have it clean before you arrive.

you have time i'm stuck at the airport

would you like me to come retrieve you? i've acquired a car.

[ "acquire" meaning "stole" but that doesn't really need to be specified. ]

jfk, airfrance

twenty minutes.

[He's waiting with a slim suitcase; the suits were already messengered to the loft.

[ which eames had noted, because he'd nearly tripped over the delivery boy on his way out. the car he stole is sleek and black, less ostentatious than one would expect of eames. he isn't wearing his own face; the pretty blonde woman is the one who weaves through the crowd to find him, but eames words come from her lips. ]

Hello, darling.

[To Arthur's credit he doesn't even blink, he just smiles as if they're dating and leans forward as if for a kiss, which he presses on her cheek]

Are you being followed or are you just having fun?

[These things are important to know.]

[ the smile eames offers up is bright and just a hair too sharp to belong wholly to the woman whose face he's wearing. there's a hand pressed to arthur's chest, steadying himself as he leans up to murmur his answer in arthur's ear. ]

The latter. But it never hurts to be cautious, of course.

[ only james knew, after all. and desire, but desire hardly counted. ]

Of course. Let's go.

[Arthur wheels his suitcase to the car]

You could have used mine.

[ the keys jingle, a counterpoint to the sharp click of heels. eames never does pass up a moment to practice, after all. ]

I could have.

[ he kicks off the heels before getting in the driver's seat. ]

How was London?

Cold and dark. Typical for this time of year.

[Arthur slides into the passenger seat]

I got a few jobs. Enough money to keep me afloat for a year, if I wanted.

[That's always how it is in the dreamcrime business. Enough money but they both know it's not enough]

You should have gone somewhere more pleasant.

[ like eames, who had vanished off to south africa for a few weeks on a whim. ]

Everything ended neatly?

Neatly enough.

Everything is closed, if that's what you mean.

[He leans back into the seat. He looks tired.]

I forgot what working alone felt like.

You could have asked.

[ it's how things work here, with them. ]

[He shakes his head]

I'm not Dom.

[He needed to be alone]

The offer stands.

[ he says the words, but it's shaky ground.

the difference between arthur and eames is that eames wouldn't have stuck around through dom's tailspin--wouldn't and hadn't. whether or not this would have held true in arthur's case remains to be seen. ]

I'll remember.

[He takes a moment]

What did I miss?

The usual foolishness.

[ it's hard to say whether or not eames is being close-mouthed deliberately or whether he truly thinks there's nothing worth telling.

he also runs a red light to punctuate the statement. ]

[Arthur sits up]

The usual foolishness like Eddie becoming Deputy Mayor or the usual foolishness like you breaking the law?

Both.

[ and azrael, but eames isn't going to speak of that at all. that little game is private, thus far. ]

I'm afraid my explanations would pale in comparison to what you'll have at your fingertips when you turn on your communicator.

If I live long enough to do it.

[Snort. There's the apartment building coming up]

And...Zatanna?

My driving is impeccable.

[ and terrifying. he waits until he's parked--atrociously, by the by--to answer arthur's question. ]

We've not spoken recently. I've been lying low.

[Arthur is so tired he lets this go. It's not his car, after all.]

Have you been here?

text; WHAT'S THIS A SUBJECT LINE

text; I BELIEVE IT IS

text; AND A FIXED THREAD?

text; IT'S LIKE A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

text; GOD BLESS YOU, DW

text; ALL OF THE BLESSINGS also action y/n/cake

action; OF COURSE

action; /wraps up this thread

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;