“Pretty sure I DON’T wanna try any of your spotted dick…” 2/?

Feb 11, 2013 01:41

Title:  “Pretty sure I DON’T wanna try any of your spotted dick…”
Rating:   PG-13 (for now ;-))
Pairing:   Arthur/Eames
Disclaimer:   Pssh, I wish I was Christopher Nolan, but sadly I do not own these characters
Warnings:   Contains awesomenes
Summary:   Arthur's not too keen on having a new neighbor...but he might just change his mind about that.

The next morning, Arthur awoke around noon. He relished these times where he could sleep in and not have anyone blowing up his phone about profiles and other dream work. He rolled over lazily in his bed, contemplating what to do today. It’s odd, for someone whose time is usually so strictly calculated, to have absolutely nothing written on their schedule but, even though it feels a little strange, Arthur loves this time to himself. And he knows one thing…before anything else happens, the man needs his coffee. He groans as he fights to relax the sleeping cramps in his neck and shoulders. Eventually, he hauls himself out of bed and blindly makes his way to the coffee pot.
Coffee is the main ingredient in Arthur’s mornings. It’s more important than showers and breakfast. Without any caffeine to start off his day, he is not the most agreeable person to be around. He fumbles for a mug in the cabinet and grabs for the barely filled pot. Can’t wait anymore. It’s enough for the first cup. He groans as he flops down on the couch, with mug in hand, and turns on the news.

After he’s got his java in, he starts to fall into his routine. He makes some breakfast, then showers and dresses. While walking to the kitchen to finish the dishes he notices there is a piece of paper near his door. Curious, he walks over and picks it up.

Didn’t have your number so this note will have to do J
Sorry about yesterday. After everything was done I passed out.
Let me make it up to you. Come over today when you can.
-E

So he didn’t forget. Arthur feels like an idiot for being so uptight about it. He wondered how long the note had been there. Maybe Eames already thought Arthur had stood him up. He rushed into his room to change shirts. You can’t show up late and sloppy looking. He picked out one of his favorites and put it on then dashed out the door and across the hall. He could hear voices inside, talking and laughing. Arthur felt extremely nervous as he knocked on the door. He heard some shuffling around inside and then the door swung open. He was greeted by a huge smile.

“Hey! You made it!” Eames exclaimed as he grabbed Arthur’s shoulder and pulled him in. There were two guys sitting on the couch and a girl standing in the kitchen area. He didn’t know it was a party, well per se.

Arthur tried to be as casual as possible. “Yeah I saw you’re note. “

ldquo;Yeah, I feel really bad about that. I figured I could return the favor and invite you over here to hang out for a while. We’re watching the game now.” Eames’ wide grin made Arthur smile. Either Eames was drunk, getting there or just extremely happy to see him; the latter, Arthur doubted.

“Oh well if you’re hanging out with friends, I can come back some other time.” Arthur said nervously looking around the room. Eames laughed.

“Nonsense!” He shoved Arthur over to the living room where the two guys were seated. “Everyone, this is Arthur. I met him yesterday, he lives across the hall. Arthur, this is Peter and Mike.”

Peter looked Arthur over and then smirked. “Alright?”

Arthur looked puzzled. “Alright what?”

That phrase alone sent the entire room into an uproar with laughter. If Arthur didn’t feel uncomfortable before he sure as hell did now.  Peter and Mike were rolling around on the couch doubled over in laughter. Eames tried to calm them down.

“Alright, leave it out mates.” He looked to Arthur. “He was asking you if you’re alright. It’s like a greeting, like hey what’s up?” Arthur could see he was trying hard not to laugh. Eames nudged him in the ribs with his elbow and grinned. “It’s a British thing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh. Right. Okay.” Arthur felt like a fish out of water. Maybe it would be better if it was just him and Eames. He had no idea he would have company and this made Arthur feel even more awkward.

“HEY!” A voice came from the kitchen. Everyone turned toward the noise. “Yeah.” Arthur had forgotten about the girl he saw when he walked in. She walked over to Arthur, greeting him warmly. “Hi Arthur, I’m Cathy, not that anybody--” she glared at Eames “-bothers to introduce me. I’m just another one of the guys.” She smiled at Arthur and laughed. She seemed really nice. Arthur could tell he liked her already.

“How could anyone forget you darling???” Eames chimed as he grabbed her in a tight hug and swung her around. Maybe he spoke too soon. Arthur could feel that jealous streak coming back with full vengeance. He wished he could become close like that with Eames, maybe even closer. A voice shocked him out of his daydream.

“Hey! Arthur! Grab a beer out the fridge and come join us!” Mike hollered from the couch. Both he and Peter were engrossed in the Rugby match on the TV. Arthur grabbed a cold one and sat down with them. Drinking definitely took the edge off.

“I didn’t know we got rugby games in the states…” Arthur thought out loud.

“Yeah. BBC America plays the major ones from back home. They’re kind of delayed but at least you get them.”

Eames walked over and sat down next to Arthur. Arthur could feel his hands getting clammy already. He looked at Arthur curiously and asked, “I didn’t know Americans even knew the game really. Are you into rugby?”

“Well, I’ve seen a couple matches before but I don’t know the rules so I can’t follow it that well.”

Eames snickered. “Well I always have them on when they’re airing. You should come over and I’ll teach you the basics.” He winked at Arthur, and in that wink, Arthur felt the whole bottom half of his body go numb. God, he was so damn cute!

“Uh, yeah. That sounds great.” He tried not to sound too eager but he was pretty sure he didn’t succeed.

“He might teach you a little more than just that Arthur.” Mike chuckled.

“Uh-oh! Watch out!” Peter yelled as he high-fived Mike, both laughing uncontrollably.

Eames glared at both of them, “Oi! Leave it out you lot!” He turned to Arthur and gave the best smile he could muster. His cheeks had gone red. Arthur returned the smile but was puzzled. What was that about?

A voice came from the kitchen, “Don’t pay any attention to them Arthur. This is just the standard nonsense that goes on with these guys. You’ll get use to it I’m sure.” Arthur turned around and saw Cathy shoot him a very warm smile. Then she looked at Eames, “E…a word?”

“Be right back.” Eames said, touching Arthur’s knee as he rose from the couch and walked toward the kitchen.  Arthur couldn’t help himself staring at Eames as he walked. It wasn’t really a walk, more like a glide. His movement was so fluid and his clothes hugged him in all the right places. Arthur’s eyes studied Eames, trying to remember every detail he possibly could. The fleeting glances while meeting Eames yesterday wasn’t enough. Now Arthur had the time to take in every inch of Eames. The man was gorgeous! His hair was medium brown with sandy highlights scattered in between. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of grey and blue Arthur had ever seen. His body...Christ his body…the man was a fucking Adonis. His muscles seemed to bulge out of his threadbare t-shirt. Noticing a hint of ink underneath Eames’ left sleeve, Arthur’s mouth went dry. He had a thing for tats and his mind began imagining how many tattoos covered Eames’ glorious physique. Arthur could feel himself drifting off into his imagination; he shook his head and thought it better not to think about those things at this moment.

“So, Arthur…what do you do?” Arthur turned back toward Mike and Peter. He hadn’t realized just how long he had been staring at Eames. He tried to compose himself, hoping they wouldn’t notice the pink blush he could feel spreading across his cheeks.

“I’m sorry?”

“What do you do mate? Like your line of work…” Mike said again.

“You look like you could be an accountant.” Peter chuckled. “Real posh and kept up, you know?”

Arthur smiled. “Haha, no I’m not an accountant. I’m a….” he paused. Shit. How am I going to explain this?? “I’m a consultant…for a private firm.”

“OOOOOO! Well, la-di-da.” They both looked thoroughly surprised and intrigued. “And just what exactly does that entail Arthur? Private firm? Is it a secret?”

Peter leaned closer and whispered, “Are you a spy mate?”

Mike looked at Peter, “Ooo, like 007?!”

“Yeah! He probably is finding out all sorts of information, whacking blokes that get too close.” Peter whispered again as he turned to Arthur. “Are you like secret service?? We promise we won’t tell anyone.”

“Scouts honor!” They both put up their hands like there was some kind of trust oath that would make him “spill the beans”. Arthur sat stunned and silent.

“He said private firm, didn’t he? That means it’s none of your fucking business.” Eames laughed as he sat next to Arthur. Peter and Mike exchanged glances. Arthur felt relieved to have the questions stop. In all actuality they weren’t too far off from the truth. Working in the dreamscape is kind of like being a spy in a way. “Now, if you two are through questioning him we can get back to watching some rugger on the telly!”

Arthur smiled. He found himself liking Eames more and more with every minute.

Cathy sat down to join them as they proceeded to have a rugby marathon. To Arthur’s surprise, this day turned out better than he had anticipated. Eames’ friends seemed to really like him and he liked them. They talked about trivial things during commercials breaks, sharing a laugh here and there, only to return their attention to the TV once the match was back on. Several times Arthur thought he saw Eames sneak a glance at him and smile but he couldn’t bring himself to look and confirm his suspicion. He forced himself to focus all of his attention on the television. They must have watched at least three matches before deciding to call it quits.

“I’m in need of some serious kip mate or I might not make it to the airport tomorrow.” Pete said as he grabbed his jacket.

Eames walked over with the rest of the coats. “When does your flight leave?” he asked, helping Cathy into her jacket.

“5 in the bloody A.M.! Fuckin’ hell, I’m seriously considering rebooking.”

“Can’t mate. You know we’ve got work Monday.” Mike piped in. “Wish we could stay though. England’s not gonna be the same without ya E.”

“Yeah well you’re going to have to get used to it. I’ll visit around the holidays though.”

Arthur must have looked as confused as he felt. Eames took one look at him and laughed. “They only came for the weekend to help me move in and get settled.”

“Oh. That’s a shame, I liked you guys. You guys are a lot of fun.” Arthur smiled sheepishly.

Pete and Mike awed in unison as they pulled Arthur in for a great big hug. “We like you too mate! Don’t worry. Eames can’t get rid of us forever. We’ll be back.”

“Oi! Leave some for me! Jesus…” Cathy shooed them off to say goodbye to Arthur. She pulls him in for a hug. “You’re so sweet. Don’t worry; you won’t miss us too much. Eames will be here to keep you company.” she said with a wink as she followed Peter and Mike out the door. Eames stepped into the hallway to say thanks and farewell to his friends. He returned looking a bit saddened at his friends’ departure.

“Well, they’re a fun bunch, aren’t they?” Arthur said as he cleared the table of the empty beer bottles.

Eames walked over to help clean up. “Yeah, they’re the bollocks. Too bad they had to leave before you could really get a chance to know them.”

“I wish I had friends that would travel overseas just to help me move into a new place.” Arthur said with a chuckle.

Eames laughed. “Yeah. That was pretty nice of them, wasn’t it?”

“Uh huh.” Arthur agreed as he walked over to throw out the trash.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do that.”

“Oh…okay.” Arthur shoved his hands into his pockets. He didn’t really know what to do now that everyone else was gone. “Well…I guess I better be off then. It is getting late.”

“Oh.” Eames says, the opens his mouth as if he’s going to say something else.

“What?” Arthur asks when Eames doesn’t continue.

“I was going to ask what were you doing tomorrow but you’re probably busy. I don’t want to intrude; it’s just that I really haven’t met anyone else besides you. And I don’t know the city very well so I was wondering…” Eames pauses, scratching his head “maybe you could show me around?” Being an excellent point man and body language reader, Arthur picks up on the brief flicker of panic that flashes across Eames’ face. Arthur’s mind starts racing. What was that? Is he asking me out? Don’t be stupid Arthur. He’s just looking for a tour guide. Eames must see the Arthur’s internal struggle on how to answer because he just shrugs and says “Forget it. I…I knew you were too busy.”

“No!” Arthur said that a lot louder than he intended to. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I mean no. It’s not a problem. I can show you around if you want.”

“You’re sure it’s no trouble for you?” Eames asks warily.

“Yeah, it’s no trouble.” Arthur assures him.

Eames sighs in relief and smiles. “Brilliant. Um, I just wanted to see what was around the neighborhood. What do you do for fun around here? ”

“That depends on your idea of fun. I have a couple of places in mind. What time did you want to get started?”

“Preferably early in the afternoon. Maybe we can grab lunch or something too?”

“Okay, sounds good. I’m usually up fairly early so whenever you’re ready just knock on my door.”

“Alright then.” Eames walks Arthur to the door. “I really do appreciate this Arthur.”

Arthur tries to laugh it off. “It’s no big deal. I’m glad I could help.” There’s a palpable pause as they face to say their goodbyes. Forgetting that Eames is a bit taller, Arthur becomes painfully aware that his gaze is directly leveled to Eames’ lips. The spatial proximity was not in Arthur’s favor either. He wonders what those lips would feel like pressed against his own. Just then, because God never has mercy on him, Eames’ tongue slowly laps out to lick his bottom lip and Arthur feels himself harden immediately. He definitely needs to go before Eames notices the bulge forming at the front of his pants. “So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.”

“You too.” Eames replies as he smiles softly. Arthur feels a shiver run down his spine and his cock twitches. He abruptly turns and walks out the door. He doesn’t hear the door close behind him; he knows Eames is still standing there watching. His palms are sweating profusely as he tries desperately to keep calm opening the door to his apartment. Once inside, he turns and gives a brief smile to Eames before shutting the door.

He runs straight to the bathroom and begins splashing cold water on his face. He turns off the tap and stares at his reflection in the mirror. If Eames could have this effect on him within a matter of seconds, how the hell is he supposed to get through the afternoon tomorrow?!?

“Ugh…” he groans as he flops down face first onto the bed. He doesn’t even bother to take his clothes off. He just lies there, willing his erection away and trying hard to not think of Eames. Eames with his soft, pouty lips and his big muscles and that stupid crooked grin…

“Grr!!!” he bites down on his pillow. This is not helping at all. He gets out of bed and walks straight to the living room. “Maybe if I just watch some TV and zone out for a bit I’ll forget it.” He stretches out on the couch and turns on some stupid Perry Mason mystery movie on the Hallmark Channel. It’s not something he would normally choose to watch but it will do for now. He can feel his eyes getting heavy already so he reaches for a pillow and blanket. Arthur is fast asleep before the murder even happens.

inception, arthur/eames

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