artfulforger | Ships Passing: The fallout of falling in to bed

He nodded - it made sense of course. Just meant that they'd have to be sneaky about it.

Arthur's eyebrows drew together at the question. He could tell that it was something that was worrying Eames and that wasn't what Arthur wanted. He didn't want Eames to worry about something like that. "Eames, we wouldn't be here, doing this right now if she was what I wanted," he said, his voice firm. "She's cute but she's not what I want."

That furrow on Arthur’s brow made Eames wince. He hadn’t meant to cause that.

“Look, I didn’t mean that to come off as sounding as much as a dick as I probably did. I just figure I have to accept that you might just be happy with things and…” And he knew he was fucking this up and he knew it.

“Just… making sure, I guess. And if you want to get ticked and hit me, I accept that,” he said, slumping a little bit he couldn’t have handled that worse if he’d even wanted to try.

"You didn't come off sounding like a dick, Eames," Arthur said, looking at him. "You sounded as though you were almost worried that I had wanted to run off with our architect after this was said and done." He shook his head and flicked Eames' chest with his middle finger.

"I'm just telling you now that if she's what I wanted, we wouldn't be here, right now, naked on my couch." Arthur looked at him and gave him a stern look that was equal parts playful and serious. "Do I need to make it any more clear?"

He opened his mouth, closed it, taking a deep breath. "I shouldn't be thinking that though, worrying about it. You're here. You were there for me when I got back. Besides, if that was what was going on here, I wouldn't be here now, he pointed out.

"No. You don't have to. I get it," he said with a nod. "You and me, we have this thing right here and us and it doesn't have shit to do with her. Or anyone else."

Arthur watched him and nodded his head silently. "Exactly," he said. "We wouldn't be here now, having done what we did if that's what was going to happen. I'm not that kind of man." Truth be told, the majority of Arthur's morals were in the shades of gray range but when it came to relationships, that was a different subject all together. He wasn't above one night stands or flings but this was different and they both knew it. Had known it since the other night...and most definitely this morning.

He slid his hand along Eames' neck and pulled his mouth in for a slow and soft kiss. After a minute, he pulled back and smiled. "It's just us," he agreed.

"And now I'm the dick that brought it up," he said, slumping slightly. Yet even as he slumped, his arms tightened around Arthur as if afraid, in that moment, Arthur might move away. "You know I trust you, right? I didn't mean to sound like an ass," he sighed, sighing as he leaned into that kiss.

Trust was something he was learning but if he was going to have it with anyone, it would be with Arthur. "Just us," he agreed barely breaking the kiss.

Arthur smacked Eames' shoulder but didn't make a move to leave Eames' lap at all. He was...in some way, glad that it wasn't only him who had thought too much about these sort of things. After all, just this morning, he thought Eames hadn't called yesterday because of him.

"Stop," he said. "I mean, I questioned you this morning. Obviously, this is new for the both of us," he said, his voice soft against Eames' mouth.

He nuzzled and kissed, nodding at that. He hadn't thought about how both sprung from the same uncertainty, that moment of not being sure about something that was so new. Not only new but by its very nature slightly unstable.

"So, what? Two days and we're exclusive," he asked. The way he asked didn't make it sound like that was a bad thing.

One side of Arthur's lips curled up. If neither of them had voiced it, Arthur still wouldn't have done anything with anyone else until he knew for certain what he and Eames were or what Eames wanted out of this. Besides, as he had said, unless they both knew it was a one night thing or a short term situation, he was fairly monogamous. "Yeah, I guess so -- unless you have anything to say on the matter," he said with a smile. Though from the tone of Eames' voice, it didn't seem like he had any qualms about it at all.

That curl of his lip made Eames tense. He needed a drink. That was his first thought. Something sharp and strong and make him not feel like a fucking idiot. It was the feeling going through him, leaving his blood cold in his veins.

"I... Arthur, I spent years trying to catch your eye. I got it now, so I'm not going to fuck that up now. No more than I already did." Which he had been sure he had.

Arthur felt the forger tense and sighed softly, pressing his forehead against Eames'. "Don't. You didn't fuck anything up," he said, his voice soft as he looked into the man's eyes. "Truth be told, I thought I fucked something up this morning when I admitted that I thought it was because of me. Frankly, it seems neither of us are very used to this sort of thing." All they could do though was learn and learn to trust the other. Which was something Arthur was going to really have to learn as well.

He leaned in against Arthur, eyes closing. "You know the last time I had a relationship that wasn't easy sex," he asked, being as blunt and honest as he could be. "Let's say I wasn't old enough to drink in your country."

It felt like forever ago but it was the truth. It seemed like a lifetime past.

"You didn't fuck up anything. Arthur, I disappeared. You had every reason to kick my ass when I came back." And the truth was, he had expected it.

Arthur's eyes closed and he exhaled softly. "It's been a long time since I've had a relationship too," he admitted, softly. He rubbed his nose against Eames and opened his eyes a little to look at him. "Think we both have a lot to learn."

"I wanted to yesterday," he said. "But when I saw you this morning and I noticed the look that was in your eyes...I just felt more upset than I did angry." He paused and slid a hand over Eames' chest. "Besides, I think you've already kicked your ass enough for the both of us."

"And we need to do it without fucking this up from the start. I mean, I can't assume you want this to be more, especially before we finish this damn job." And yet he found himself thinking about it. If only that Arthur was one of the few men he didn't have the desire to kick in the teeth half the time.

"I felt like shite abandoning you like that," he admitted in a low voice.

Arthur thought about it as well. Thought about Eames being one of the few men that he didn't want to shoot for their sheer incompetence and the amount of trust he had in the forger. "I agree," he said and looked at him. "So then what is it we should do until then?" He knew one thing for certain, he never allowed anything like what he did with Eames to happen with anyone else. Course, he hadn't even thought it would be something he would enjoy until now. Still, just thinking of calling someone else 'daddy' and them spanking him didn't settle right.

"You do it again, I will kick your ass."

He shifted, both hands cupping Arthur's face. "I won't. No matter what we decide, no matter what happens, I won't just disappear on you." Like he had. Like he had the day before. Like he had three years ago after Mallorie died.

"As for do I want to shelf this... No. Hell no," he growled softly. "I want you and I and this and fuck playing it safe."

Arthur looked at the forger and nodded. At any other time, any other place -- Arthur would deny ever needing to be assured that Eames wouldn't disappear, that no, he didn't care where the forger went that none of it mattered. But it did matter and he couldn't lie and say it didn't any longer.

"So we do this -- continue doing this and just be careful about it," he said, oh but loving the sound of that growling voice. Arthur was glad though. If anything, he felt more...balanced knowing he had this.

He was silent for a minute before he cupped Eames' face between his palms. "Will you take a bath with me," he asked, leaning in and pressing a slow kiss to his lips. "I still have come on me and my ass hurts," he said, his lips curling up but it didn't sound like he regretted it at all.

"Unless you say no, yeah that's what I want," he said plainly. "You say no, then it stops and we go on working. If you say not until later, we wait until later," he said, not wanting either of those though. "I respect you Arthur, and I respect any boundaries you set," he said with a nod. "But if you're good with this, willing to see where it goes, then we see," he said with a sigh. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but that hadn't ever stopped him in the past.

"I would love to be with you," he whispered softly. "In the bath sounds great. Especially if you're hurting," he added. "Can I get you a drink too?"

Normally, Arthur would insist that they wait until after the job and they knew they were safe. But normally, the job wasn't Inception and with a man like Cobb. The case being what it is, however, Arthur didn't want to and it didn't look like Eames wanted to either. Honestly, he didn't have a clue what he was doing here, what this meant, where this would go but -- he was willing to see."I want to see where it goes," he agreed and looked the forger in the eyes.

His lips curled up as he nodded silently. Arthur wanted to be held though and wanted to wash off. "Yeah, I could use some water," he said, softly.

Eames didn’t look away from that dark gaze. He knew that he would respect Arthur’s choices but that didn’t mean he had to be happy about them. Not when it could mean just watching him, thinking about the two night they’d had so far and then pretending it was nothing. He damn well had done enough of pretending in the years since they’d known one another.

“Do you know I wanted to ask you out after our first job,” he asked suddenly. In for a penny, in for a pound. “I didn’t because you went off with Cobb and Mallorie but I thought about it.”

And he’d thought about it for years, but then life had twisted up for them all and it never seemed right. He smiled, stealing a kiss. “I was thinking a stiffer drink than that but if we get the water started, I’ll get you a bottle of water and then we can retire to the tub.

Arthur's eyebrows rose at Eames' admission. "You did," he asked. He remembered that first job and he also remembered how they had acted around each other then. Arthur too was tired of pretending nothing was between them.

His lips curled up. "I wouldn't say no to a stiffer drink," he said and stole another kiss before he shifted and slowly stood from Eames' lap with a soft groan and stretched slowly. "Do you want drink duty or tub duty," he asked.

"I tried to get up the balls but then you were rushing off and there was a million things and I needed the work so I wasn't going to muck it up with you when you laughed me off," he admitted, shrugging as if it hadn't been that big of a deal to him though it had been.

He watched him moved, smiling as he ran a hand over Arthur's hip. 'Go get the water started and I'll find my way around," he offered.

Arthur's eyebrows drew together as he brought Eames' head to his and looking him square in the eye. "I wouldn't have laughed you off, Eames," he said seriously. "I thought about you after that first job -- dreamt of you when I still dreamt. I thought about your voice, thought about that way your arm slid around me and tugged me out of the line of fire from a nasty projection -- and I thought about the way you were so fucking capable and infuriating you were in your brilliance. It was only by the third...fourth job we took together that I really realized it for what it really was. I wasn't really infuriated...I was infatuated." He paused and took a breath, realizing everything had been tumbling out as though he had no definition of a filter. "Or as Mallorie liked to say, I had found my 'one' in you - the only man who can out stubborn me and worm his way past all my best defenses," he whispered. "And around that time was Monaco."

Arthur's lips quirked up. "Alright," he said, sliding a hand over Eames' cheek before turning and walking toward the bedroom, not even stopping to bother with their clothing. His ass was undoubtedly red as were his thighs and he could feel it with every movement he made. Fuck but it was a good feeling.

"I know that now," he said as if that should have been perfectly clear then as well. But then Arthur went on and his heart ached in his chest. To know that he hadn't been alone, had the same thoughts and imagined some of the same things and that they had both, since that moment, been waiting for this one.

He chuckled though. "I thought about kissing you then," he admitted. "There in the dream, when I grabbed you. Couldn't do it though. Damned if I had you thinking of it only as part of a dream and nothing more."

He worried now Arthur would see it all as nothing more than inception and the danger inherent in the act. It wasn't for him though. It was something he'd waited years for.

"She told me to ask you out," he admitted. "I told her she was a romantic and blinded by love," he admitted. "And there I was, just as infatuated as you were."

He sighed as Arthur moved away, smiling a bit. He watched him go, staring at the sway of his reddened ass before he rose and sought out a bottle. Screw glasses while they were in the bath.

Arthur chuckled and ducked his head a fraction. "Thought about what it would be like if you had kissed me when you grabbed me," he admitted. What he would have done, he wasn't sure. It wasn't just Inception though. Yes, knowing that they may never have a chance to do this again if the job went to hell was a factor but it wasn't the sole factor.

"She was a romantic, wasn't she," he said, it really not being a question at all despite being formulated like one. He paused and allowed a smile to curl on his lips. "I bet you she's as smug as can be right now," he said, his voice soft. He wasn't normally a spiritual man but he liked to think Mal was in a much better place right now.

Eames would find the liquor on the shelf in his cabinet - a good variety from tequila, vodka, whiskey, scotch, bourbon and a few bottles of wine. As he made his way around the kitchen, Arthur got the tub started. He didn't have anything like bath oils or bubble bath but a nice hot bath would work just as well.

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Arthur had feelings. Lots of them.

I adore his feelings! All the feelings. Always!

All the feelings forever!