unconventionaltechniques | Arthur and Eames

Arthur and Eames

Arthur and Eames have been partners for longer than they've been with the organization. Both started out as criminals in two different fields, but the word of dream sharing brought them together. Arthur, a brilliant tactician, and Eames, a forger in every sense and meaning of the word, started out almost adversarial. One crisp and sharp with a military precision and the other messy and wild and dangerous in other ways they found it interesting to work with one another, to say the least.

In the end though they learned that friction between them was all about attraction and once they opened up to one another, the world for them changed.

Now they've walked away from dream share to work for an organization that keeps America safe, protects its people, and lets them do what they do best. Subvert criminals by twisting the law.

Everyone knows they're not just partners in the work sense but in every sense. In love. Devoted to one another. Able to read the other without a word, Barely with even a look. They're not as tightly wound as some in the Ravens, and certainly cause a lot of trouble in different ways, but they're good at what they do... and they're feared by those that know the truth of who and what they are.

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Maybe he should have thought it might come up in that way, but Meridian doesn't hide that hint of surprise in the way his eyes just slightly widen. He considers Arthur, looking for any sort of idea that maybe they had made a mistake and set themselves up with this. He didn't see it though.

"Do you think we might already be militarized because of the men we are, or that during those early months in training they might have already done something?"

They'd been pushed beyond their limits, drugged, fought, passed out and who knows what could have happened. He can't swear he has a clue all that happened in those early days when he'd been recruited. How could have an idea now?

"Smart," Ex says with a little smirk. "Never return to the scene of the crime."

He listens as Eames speaks about forging and hears his passion for the things he's done. "I can see that. It's why magic still fascinates people - both the slight of hand, the stage shows or, if you're a believer, of the "real" kind."

When Eames speaks about an extractor and a distraction, he can't help the little snort. Meridian's and his partnership was all about distraction and extraction but only in a more violent approach. "It is fascinating what people choose to believe and don't believe," he says.

"Do you miss the dreams?"

"My gut says that it's because of the men you are," Arthur says after some consideration. "I doubt they'd want their weapons to be weaponized against them."

Of course, in saying that, there was the likelihood that they were because of the government and there was a failsafe for them to get in. They wouldn't really know unless they went in.

"In saying that, it's hard to say unless we went in," he says.

"Exactly. They say that if you get away with a bank robbery, and you never do it again, the chances are they won't find you. If they haven't in five years, the chances of them finding you is slim to none. Most are caught on the second or third attempt because the first time worked so well they keep doing it."

He is careful about the way he does things. Just so he can keep doing them.

Though he isn't expecting that question and he can't help but to sigh, even as he nods. "I do. I miss it a lot." He glances at Ex, thinking about his talks with Arthur. "You ever thought about having someone go in? Just to see and help militarize it?"

It makes sense, and he hates he hasn't thought before about them trying to do that to them as well. Though Arthur's reasons why they wouldn't make sense, though he believes in the sleeper work that the government had done and he wouldn't be surprised if men from Arthur's former program weren't the ones that put things in place.

He's quiet, considering that. "It's asking a lot of trust," he points out, but haven't they put a lot of trust into one another already, just in being there?

"You only have the two of you, doesn't it usually take more to do this?"

"They get greedy," Ex says, nodding in agreement.

It seems to Ex that Eames had a good thing going and he was smart about it. That honestly, made all the difference.

Ex stares at the piece in front of him for a long minute as he considers Eames' question. To have someone who isn't Meridian in his mind? That takes a lot of trust. But, they're here... in their home, right? That equally takes trust from men like them.

"Not until we ran into you, no," he admits. "Having every protection imaginable would be better. I admit, I've always been a little curious."

Arthur watches him as he considers everything he's been told. "You're right, it is," Arthur says simply, cocking his hip against the island. He watches Meridian closely. But, they've already put a lot of trust into each other, right? He's standing in their house, after all. Surrounded by weapons of all sorts.

His mouth curls up on the sides. "Usually but we've managed before with just the two of us. We're an excellent team."

"It's the nature of man. Even dreamshare started not to help protect people as it can be used, but to get more and more from them to profit others." He turns to look at Ex. "Even the work we do now, in the end, is because of someone's greed. They just happen to align with our agenda."

Bad men died. People lived who deserve a chance. It was the best they could do. Curbing man's greed was beyond them. Besides, Eames' greed showed in that room, and in the art throughout the house.

"Think about it. No rush. Not like we're going anywhere," he laughs. "If it helps, given your bond and the strength you have from all they put us through? We're in more danger doing this than you and Meridian would be. I highly doubt there's anything we could find or see you didn't let us know."

Whereas they could end up in Limbo if they didn't make it out.

They're here. They're sharing their relationships with one another. Outside of Ex, this is the closest that he has gotten to someone else in... ever. Literally being here, being honest about himself and Ex, it is closer than he has never been with anyone else.

He's not sure what to think of that but he's taken the leap and trusted him. All he can do is keep going forward.

"If it helps, that's what everyone says. If they'll talk about you. Some refuse to take the chance of talking about you. That is quite some reputation."

Ex listens as Eames speaks and nods. Yeah, he can see it. That was, after all, the history of man kind. The pursuit of profit and how much more they can get out of their worker bees.

Even them.

But, as Eames said, it aligned to their agenda in taking out the scum of the earth so why not?

And it wasn't like Ex was any better than anyone else. He had his own vices.

His mouth twists up. "Not for a little while at least," he says, glancing at the other man. They still had a few weeks off active while he "continued to heal". He considers that before nodding. "I'll speak to Meridian about it later," he says.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued by trying it out. To see what it was like.

"What are the other dangers on your end of it going wrong?" He's heard things of course but he wasn't sure how much of it was true and how much of it was scare tactics.

He is glad to know that their reputation continues to precede them. It was something they worked hard for over the years and it has proved helpful more than not.

Arthur's mouth curls up. "It does. It's not very different than your own reputation which surely you know. There are some who worry that just by speaking your names, you'll emerge from the shadows."

"Good. I'm glad. It's a curious thing to think about, especially since we may well be able to teach you ways to weaponize further in case anyone else tries to get in."

As much as he sometimes misses the work he does in painting and switching out his works, he misses dreamshare as well. It isn't just something they do, it's something that's part of them as well.

"As for what could happen..." He is quiet a moment, considering how much to share and then deciding to go for broke. He's asking them to trust him and Arthur, so he might as well share. "If we die in there, we're likely lost for good. We don't come back. You're lost in what we call Limbo. Catatonic state and all. That's maybe the best bad outcome."

He pauses a moment before adding. "Someone I love dearly lost her connection to this world and the dream world. She died because of it."

Arthur receives then something only one other person has likely ever seen. A genuine and true smile from Meridian. It's small, barely there, but it's true and honestly authentic. It feels odd to him but right.

"When I started earning that reputation, I wasn't even trying. Now it feels like a challenge to built it bigger and worse," he admits, not that it's hard to do horrific things instead of doing them casually.

"Besides, they never know. I might."

Considering the few secrets he holds tightly that no one other than Meridian knows, having his mind weaponized would be handy. Ex nods in agreement, pulling his gaze from the painting, before taking a pull from the bottle in his hand.

He studies Eames for a moment as he talks about what would happen if they died in their dreams. "Even simple dreams? How do you wake otherwise?"

"I'm sorry about your friend. That sounds like a horrific way to go," he says after a moment.

"How do you go about militarizing a mind?"

Was it the same as they'd been treated at the beginning of the program?

The smile is a surprise, especially from a Meridian. His mouth curls up on the edges.

"It's always good to challenge yourself," Arthur agrees with a little smirk.

"We have a miniature shooting range/target practice area in the basement if you want to try any out," he motions to the different guns and weapons. "Otherwise, we can go see what the other two are up to?"

"You have to go deep enough, but there's always the chance. Say we went in just to look around, and your mind reacts badly to us being there, it likely would just kick us out if they had your deadly aim."

He's quiet a minute before being honest. "It was harder on her family than on her." Mal died believing. She didn't have time to realize how wrong she was." And Dom lived still with it.

"How you would do it, is to teach the mind to lay traps. Enough so that if anyone came in, it could kick them out by using the same methods we would use to bring ourselves up and out of dreams. It sounds simple, and to me it feels that way but it's about rewiring the brain. Just this time on your own terms."

Ex nods in understanding.

"Yeah, I believe that," he says. He falls silent for a minute, considering how close he'd come to his own death mere weeks ago. Who'd have been left? His brother... mother who thought he'd died years ago but most importantly, Mere. It would have been harder on him undoubtedly. They were so intrinsically tied together that he didn't want to think of what would have happened if Mere had found him too late.

He comes back to the conversation at hand and focuses on what Eames is saying. "That's really fascinating and interesting. It sounds complicated but rewiring my brain on my own terms? That in of itself is tempting."

"Given the life we live, we really do need to find ways to keep it interesting."

As if the work they do isn't at all challenging on its own but he may as well have fun with it.

He arches a brow at that. "There's something I hadn't thought about it. Interesting. I'd really like to see the range. If you're willing to share." He had offered but he could still understand if he wasn't certain about showing him the space, and his weaponry.

Eames considers that silence and the look on Ex's face and he steps in, taking the risk as he puts his hand on the other man's shoulder.

"If you two decide to do this, we'll protect you and won't let either of you slip too deep. Promise. We aren't just good at this, we're the best. We're not leaving either of you without the other."

He pauses a moment, his expression somber. "I couldn't live without Arthur either. For longer than I think he knows I've felt that way."

He smiles slightly at that though, nodding. "You're already overcoming some of their training. This would be putting more in your terms."

Ex tenses when Eames' hand rests on his shoulder but he forces himself to relax again. "I have heard the rumors that you two are legends," he admits.

He's glad to know or at least be reassured that Eames understood his codependent relationship with Mere. Though, if anyone understood, it would be Eames and Arthur. They were in the same program as them.

"How long have you two been together? In a relationship, that is." Did they ask that before? He can't remember.

His mouth quirks up a little at the mention of overcoming their training. "A near death experience would do that to you."

"It's the little things," Arthur says with a smirk.

Arthur nods and leads Meridian through the house and down to the basement where the shooting range was located. It wasn't as big as what they have, he's sure - it's definitely not as big as theirs in Mombasa. But it did the trick.

"I don't know about you but sometimes it's therapeutic to come down and target something in-between jobs."

"Is it wrong that I like hearing that?"

He doesn't think it's wrong. they are legends. In dreamshare they're what Ex and Meridian are to their world now.

He pauses for a moment, considering that as he lets his hand slip away from the other man's shoulder. "Together romantically? Counting it as a relationship? A decade now. Working together, longer than that."

His whole life. At least the parts of his life that mattered.

Eames is quiet, considering that for a moment. "It all changed after that?"

"No more than it is when Mere and I learn we're legends," Ex says with a little quirk of his mouth.

It's not wrong. It's something to be proud of. It shows that they made a name for themselves and were the best at what they did. They were also near the top of what they did on this side of things as well. Only he and Mere topped them.

"That's a long time," he says, impressed. "It's impressive. Both on a professional and romantic level."

Truthfully, it'd changed before then since he still kept in brief contact with his little brother back home. But, everything else - with Mere - changed because of it. "Yeah, at least between Mere and I directly."

When Arthur says that about it being therapeutic to shoot things, he can't help but give that almost a grimace that passes as a smile. It is certainly meant to be one.

"I can understand that. I've found sometimes it helps to find a place to experiment on. High powered weapons and the home of.... someone. Usually drug dealers. Bonus points if it manages to blow up," he says, speaking as casually as if talking about a game of golf.

"Having this though, that's such a good thing to have."

"We do jobs no one else could do. Not at the level we do. I think that says a lot."

And now they have those in their new business that have the skills they do, and that is truly impressive. He kind of like it, he admits. Just having them here, and this friendship he feels they're forging.

He grins at that, almost ducking his head like a school boy. "It is. Longest relationship I've ever had, and the only one I plan to ever have," he admits. "Which I think you understand too."

He's quiet for a moment, thinking about that.

"Do you think it was a psychological break, or something physical linked to the cold?"

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Arthur and Eames

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limbo happens when it's like...four levels down in the dream, right? I need a rewatch!

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I think so, yeah. They're obviously not going that deep but it's still a warning

That makes sense!!

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