InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Gonna take a mean ride"

Eames (legerdemainist) wrote in makebelievelog,
@ 2012-09-23 19:45:00

Entry tags:

ariadne, eames

Who: Eames and Ariadne
What: Ariadne is packing. Eames is a moody bugger
When: Saturday Sept 22nd, 2012
Where: Their rooms
Rating/Warnings: Eames is a moody bugger. Here be swears.
Status: Closed / Incomplete

Eames was in a shit mood. He'd been in a shit mood since his birthday, to be honest, because the notion of being 35 was really kind of annoying. He was unusually sharp with the customers at work, he grumbled when Jack did his usual thing and wandered off on their walks, he bitched at Danny and he was quiet around everyone else. Danny ignored him as only a teenager could do, Jack brought him stones and odd little things he found on his wanderings and he didn't really give a fuck about the customers.

He'd somehow got lucky and landed a Saturday off, and so far, he'd spent most of the morning slumped on the couch, drinking tea and heckling cookery shows yet again. Arthur was at the shooting range, Danny was God-alone-knew-where and Ariadne...

Ariadne was packing. Packing more boxes.

Shit.

Eames unpeeled himself from the couch and went over to Ariadne's door, knocking on it a couple of times before sticking his head in. "Do you want a drink, sweetheart? Or, uh, do you want a hand?"

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

legerdemainist
2012-09-25 11:13 pm UTC (link)

Nodding, he walked over to the box for art stuff and lifted it. "You can take whatever you want, actually. I can always get more in work, it's not a problem," he told her, poking about in the few things that were already in the box to see what she had, "or order you in some new supplies if you'd rather?"

He stood where he was, still busying himself with sorting out the contents of the box instead of making himself useful, and then looked over at her. "Is there much left to move out?" he asked, more than a bit oblivious to what his surroundings were like. "Any heavy stuff you'll need moving? Do you have enough boxes? Again, I can get some from work."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

redscarves
2012-09-25 11:54 pm UTC (link)

"I'll let you know what I need with new supplies, once I figure it out? I don't intend to vanish with all of your supplies." Ariadne answered with a smile, shrugging. "Though I honestly do figure that you and Daniel will end up using or bringing things over."

She paused amidst folding up a swimsuit cover, leaving it sitting on her dresser to turn around and look at Eames. The string of questions about her moving left Ariadne wanting to observe her friend, not quite sure where his mind was at. It was a far cry from his quiet state. "I've been taking a box at a time to the rented studio, things I don't need right now first. I'm buying part of the furniture already in the apartment, because - combining two households of furniture leaves leftovers and it's easier on me than shopping for all new. If I get anything new and heavy that needs delivered with furniture, the delivery guys should get it. I think I have enough boxes but, if I need more, I'll let you know. It probably wouldn't hurt to get what you can from work anyhow, so you, Danny, and Arthur can start packing once you find a place you want for you three." She paused, then tried joking, "I've tried to pack boxes to be balanced, but I can pack a really heavy one for you, if you'd like?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

legerdemainist
2012-09-26 09:19 pm UTC (link)

He nodded in response to her question without really listening, then put the box back down before going to shove his hands in his pockets. Only, he was wearing tracksuit bottoms that didn't have pockets, so he just ended up fidgeting with his hands until he crossed his arms. Even then, he didn't stay still, bringing one hand up to scratch behind an ear until he paused and raised an eyebrow at Ariadne, finally taking in what she'd said. "...wait, a really heavy one? How heavy are we talking, here?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

redscarves
2012-09-26 09:26 pm UTC (link)

Just short of Eames tugging his ear or scratching under his nose, he was all but sending up a red flag of some sort. Ariadne just wasn't sure what it was. Eyes narrowing slightly, head tilting, she stared at him with blatant confusion. "I said I've tried to pack boxes to be balanced, since I am transporting most of them on the trolley and then on foot... I offered to pack a heavy one as a joke, Eames."

"Why do you want a really heavy box?" It was likely obvious from Ariadne's look that she knew something was going on and, per usual, couldn't help but ask and poke at it. Curiosity wasn't her friend, often enough. It was how she had truly gotten wrapped up in dreamshare; Intellectual curiosity trumping mental moral objections.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

legerdemainist
2012-09-26 10:16 pm UTC (link)

"Joke. Right, yes. And, uh. I don't," he muttered, and then rubbed at his upper lip as he looked around her room. Shit. She really was leaving. He already knew that, and he didn't need reminded that it was actually happening, but all the same, it still hit him every time he thought on it. He moved his hand away from his face and then smiled at her. "I'm... I'm just going to make a cup of tea, and then I'll be back and I'll help you pack whatever you want me to." Because nobody needed to deal with Eames when he was being particularly stupid over things. He'd sort things out while the kettle boiled, and then he'd be fine. Yes.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

redscarves
2012-09-26 10:29 pm UTC (link)

There was the lip tell. Fidgety and doing the concerning tell of his. Thrilling. Ariadne didn't know what it was about, exactly, but she sat down on the edge of her bed when Eames went out to get himself tea. She sat there while he was gone, fiddling with a random horsehair paintbrush. She chipped at a touch of paint on the handle, trying to clean it off, then just ran the dry bristles back and forth on the palm of her hand. A bit of time for quiet reflection was welcome, despite the fact she had done far too much of that lately as a whole.

When Eames returned, she glanced up at him. "Eames, can I ask you a question?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	legerdemainist 2012-09-27 07:43 pm UTC (link)
	Eames spent the short amount of time waiting for the kettle to boil swearing at himself for being such a fucking idiot. Ariadne was a big girl who'd lived on her own before and was perfectly capable of doing so again. Ugh. He walked into her room and paused as she asked him a question. "Of course you can," he replied, then sat down beside her on the bed. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	redscarves 2012-09-27 09:10 pm UTC (link)
	There were a number of ways to phrase it, to ask, but somehow she went for the phrasing that went straight to the point. "What's wrong?" "And don't try to say nothing, because - I know something is wrong." She didn't want to be asked the same question in return, because she really didn't know how to answer it, but she was going to ask Eames. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	legerdemainist 2012-09-27 10:49 pm UTC (link)
	He stayed quiet for a short while, and drank some of his tea. Of course she had noticed, he hadn't been particularly subtle or good at acting normally, and Ariadne was far more perceptive than most. "I'm just being stupid, sweetheart," he told her, then watched a clump of bubbles drift across his tea as he chewed on a fingernail. "Advancing age, and all that." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

redscarves
2012-09-27 11:26 pm UTC (link)

Ariadne opened her mouth to say something, then stopped and closed it again. After a few moments, she nodded slightly and shoved the instinct to argue down. She had asked him not to deny it and he hadn't, he just hadn't elaborated.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's your decision." It might've been a passive-aggressive statement had there not been an utter lack of tone in it. Rather, it was simply stated, if anything paired with a general physical demeanor of giving up, before Ariadne stopped fidgeting with the paintbrush and put it in the nearby box. She stood and moved to resume packing the box of summer clothing.

"So - how is work?" It was a weak question, but an open opportunity for Eames to go on about something else.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

legerdemainist
2012-09-30 11:22 am UTC (link)

Looking round at her as she spoke, Eames frowned slightly at Ariadne's reaction and body language. If she didn't want to listen, why had she even bothered to ask...

He ignored her question about work as he got back to his feet. "I never said I didn't want to talk about it. I just... Like I said, I'm being stupid and I don't much enjoy feeling like that, so I'm not exactly falling over myself to discuss it. But I never said I wasn't going to."

Grabbing the box for art supplies with his free hand, he set off for the dumping ground where he kept all the supplies. "Sorry for interrupting. I'll go sort this stuff out and let you get on with packing," he said over his shoulder.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

redscarves
2012-09-30 11:51 am UTC (link)

Ariadne was momentarily stunned, but the feeling didn't last long before the heart-pumping adrenaline kicked in at his twist take on things. The summer clothing, packing things, was forgotten as she followed to the main living quarters. She didn't follow him to the dumping grounds, though, nor did she follow him closely. The momentary stunning kept a gap. "Are you kidding me? I'm not playing some game with you, Eames."

"You don't get to be dismissive, then turn it around where I'm the one putting you out." Ariadne's voice was raised, her tone heated. She was rather emotionally stunned, both at what Eames had said and at the sound of herself as she responded. "Keep the supplies, I'll buy new."

And with that, she turned and grabbed a sweater from by the front door and walked out, the door shutting behind her as she went.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -