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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"Sounds like a man after my own heart," he says, heading to the corner bar and getting into a small fridge. He came back with two cold bottles of American domestic beer, handing one to Ex.

He isn't sure what question he was expecting, but that makes him light up. He gives Ex a long, curious look before he starts a slow, curious look around the room. There were several pieces by big name artists who were hung in museums.

"Well that one you're looking at most certainly can't be,' he says with a wicked smile. "It's currently on loan to the Met, after all. The one over there is in the Louvre still, I think."

He's not denying they're originals, he's just testing to try and find just how much Ex knows.

Ex takes the cold bottle from him and suppresses a shiver. He brings the bottle to his mouth and takes a drink from it.

He notices the way Eames' face lights up and gives that slow look around the room. His mouth quirks up. "You think," he chuckles low.

"What's impressive is none of them are aware," he muses and walks over to one in particular that was a Matisse and hums. Whether he was talking about the galleries or their bosses...bosses, who were to say. "I assume the skills passed from this to your other work?"

Despite himself, Eames laughs. "I make it a point never to visit the ones out in the wild. I never want my face linked with them," he admits, coming to stand beside Ex, studying him rather than the painting.

"Do you know the number one key to forging, no matter how you do it or what medium? People want to believe. No one wants to accept that somehow a dozen years ago some troubled kid from a landed family in England somehow not only recreate a master's strokes but replaced it with him own.

[ His voice is soft, lost in what he is most passionate about and it shows. ]

No one wants to believe that what they see in their dreams is cultivated not by their mind but by the mind of an Extractor and his team.

Even on a level now. They don't want to think that a Raven team has found them. They can't make their brain comprehend that the nice bloke they've had a drink with is the distraction for the man sent to kill them. They want to believe the story they're shown.

I like being the one capable of suspending their disbelief.

"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?"

"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?"

"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."

"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.

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.

"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."

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?

"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."

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."

"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."

"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?"

Eames isn't wrong. They do things that no one else can or would do. Their training allows them to function in that capacity. To have met another pair who are the same way is comforting, honestly and Ex is glad that Mere reached out to them. That they were in the same city to even have this chance.

He watches Eames' reaction and can't help the grin that tugs on his mouth. "I understand more than I ever thought I would." Mere was it for him. No matter where they went or what happened, it would always be Mere.

Ex cocks his head as he stares at Eames for a long minute. "Both," he says. "Nearly dying would do it but being away from my partner for seven weeks... is another kind of death / break."

It's interesting having someone to share this with. They've never had this. Not ever before. He hopes they can keep this and see how it goes and how well it all grows for them. They could use friends who they don't have to hide everything from.

"Seven weeks."

He repeats it softly, shaking his head.

"We had that once. A long time ago. Right before we completed the only thing left to do in dreamshare. We had been apart for months. I spent every day gambling and drinking and fighting until he came for me."

He considers something. "Is it better now that you're with him?"

To have someone, or someones who could relate and understand where they were coming from... who they were, was completely and utterly new. Something that he hopes they can keep. He likes Arthur and Eames.

Ex frowns, shaking his head. "I can't imagine," he confesses. It had been hard enough being away from Mere for seven weeks but to be away from him for months?

"I'm glad that he did finally come or you. It was hard enough being away from him for seven weeks but to be separated for months?"

He considers the question. "Much better," he says. "I worry when we have to report back and go into the field," he admits, taking a long pull from the now warm beer bottle in his hand.

"We hadn't gained the connection of the program, but it was still there. I think there has to be something before it starts, but it ramped things up. Those months though..."

He sighs, but then he's considering Ex for a long time.

"But like there is a notable difference with it when you're together? Or do you think you don't think about it much because you are together? Is it possible it's healing with you both together? Or that it might be something else?"

"I imagine there was a different kind of connection forged over the years. After all, you were in each others minds and I assume that takes a metric fuck ton of trust."

He nods, not sure how he'd react if he was separated from Mere for months.

Not well.

Hell, Mere would probably be worse!

He cocks his head as he considers the questions. "Not sure," he admits finally. "Because of it, I'm freezing all of the fucking time. But, it is better when I'm with him, I don't notice or think about it as much."

Eames nods at that. "There's some who would bounce from one team to another, and with the right focus on and all, doing shallow things, it wouldn't have been too bad but to really get into the layers of it, it takes a lot of trust."

And why their last job ever in it nearly tanked. They had lost that trust in Dom. At least Eames had.

He knows he's asking a lot of question, maybe too personal, and it comes from years of having to know things before you go into someone's head. Maybe that's why he's asking. In case he does the same with Ex and Meridian as well.

He nods, considering what it is that might mean. For both of them.

"There might be something. You know, up here," he says, tapping the side of his head with one finger. "Not pushing for it, but if you ever wanted to explore..."

Ex nods in understanding. "That only makes sense," he agrees and takes another drink from his bottle.

He looks at Eames when he offers what he thinks he's offering. "I'll speak to Meridian about it later." There's no offense to Eames, it was simply how they operated as a team and he's sure that Eames and Arthur work in much the same way.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there is something there though...," he agrees and steps away from the painting. "Something that monumental leaves a mark whether we want it to or not."

"Of course."

There's no hesitation there, and he'd known it would be the answer. It is the same he would give about nearly anything; he needs to talk to Arthur. That is always the answer.

"Oh definitely. It will create things. The mind and the trauma. It could also be the added trauma that you were then separated from him. You may have been under for part of it, but your mind knows and it could be acting on that as well."

Arthur and Eames

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

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

That makes sense!!

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