[ Video ]

[elegantinmind]

[ Arthur is lucky that he knows people here, and he's currently sitting on Ariadne's sofa, the one she's been allowing him to stay on until he gets himself sorted, which he hopes is soon as he hates not being able to take care of his own needs. But he is grateful

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[lessproud]

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Arthur! [ Do you hear the excitement in that girl's voice? Do you, Arthur? ] You're back. Oh my god, where have you been? There's been so much happening and you just vanished.

[elegantinmind]

[ Arthur looks down to the side, amused and trying to hide it, because that sounds about right. Except for the Mafia thing. ] You think I'm in the Mafia and you still think it's wise to be friends with me? [ But he doesn't put her straight, no one needs to know what it is that they do unless it's necessary, and he doesn't want to blow anything for the others. ]

Of course the most disturbing thing here is that you've no idea what Dolce is. I did some research, there's a store in the city that carries the brand. You said I owed you shoes, right?

[lessproud]

Sure. If you two are in the Mafia, you haven't dumped anyone in the river yet, therefore you guys must be safe, right?

[ Nodding with a smile. ] I helped you work out some things, it was payment. [ But then she laughs. ] It's okay though, it was a joke.

[elegantinmind]

How do you know I've not killed someone and dumped them somewhere? I'm good at covering my tracks. [ He smirks, the latter true, but as much as he may be many things, murdering without a just cause really isn't his style. But he's got a dark past.

He looks deadly serious. ] If I promised you shoes, you're going to get shoes. When I've settled properly, I'll be needing a new wardrobe. I'll check to see if you're available when the time comes.

[lessproud]

[ She laughs at that, takes her drink again. ] So do you like Londonium? If you can't remember the Nexus, it must be very strange.

[elegantinmind]

[ Arthur opens his mouth, closes it again, because he catches himself about to say 'I'm still not convinced that this isn't all a dream', and nods, shrugs. ] It's close enough to what I remember of London not to feel weird, and it's not like I'm ever home much. The city itself isn't the problem, it's not being able to reach the rest of the world, to do the stuff I normally would. [ Like finding work and planning extractions, gaining access to several IDs and the money he's got stashed at every corner of the world. ] But it's growing on me.

[lessproud]

I think you'll get used to it, most people do after a while. My brother still can't work out half the gadgets we've got laying around here. But I'm glad you're back, and I'm sure Ariadne and Mr. Eames are too, it'll be nice for you, won't it?

[elegantinmind]

[ Arthur hates when people ask too many questions, but as they were already friends, and it's technically about the world in which they're now in, he thinks it's safe to pry a little. ] There's something in your accent. You and your brother, you're not from the same time as this city, are you?

[ He smiles at that, though, tries to hide it, but not as much as he might for anyone else. ] It's weird how things work out sometimes.

[lessproud]

Nope. [ A timid smile, because she doesn't want to freak him out. ] We're from the 1960s, Erik too.

[elegantinmind]

[ There's the slightest raise of his brow, but it quickly settles back down. ] And Erik's your brother's partner?

[lessproud]

Oh, um. [ p a u s e. ] We talked about them once before. They're not -- I don't know what they are to each other.

[elegantinmind]

Of course we did. [ He just wasn't there. ] And I'm sure it's none of my business.

[ Taking a gulp of coffee. ] If we were good friends, what sort of things did we do?

[lessproud]

Mostly we just talked. We had coffee a few times, and I became your marriage councilor. You weren't actually married, don't worry. When Mr. Eames came to stay with my brother and me, I talked to you then too.

[ Curiously. ] You know about you and Mr. Eames, don't you?

[elegantinmind]

[ It's strange to learn things about himself that he should already know through Raven, but he listens with interest, as if he's got an endless patience, allowing her to speak before he says anything. The fact that he clearly discussed his private life with her at all speaks volumes, makes him trust where he knows he probably shouldn't, not so soon anyway. ]

To a certain extent, yeah, but neither Ariadne or Eames were eager to fill me in on a lot of the details. [ And he didn't ask, knowing that there was pain there from things that he should remember. But he's frowning, worried about the marriage councillor comment. ] Did we have a lot of problems?

[lessproud]

Uhm. It's not that bad, you were fine before you left. I get the impression there was just a bit of a personality clash. Mr. Eames spent a lot of time with my brother being grumpy. It's because you're Mafia, right? You can't tell each other how you feel.

[ Smiling. ] You look happy together though.

[elegantinmind]

Mr Eames and I have always had our differences, and if we're not being cruel to one another then something's usually wrong. [ He pauses, hesitating, and then confesses with a sigh. ] But there's always been something there, even if I never did anything about it. It's hard to trust people in our line of work. [ Laughing. ] In the Mafia.

[ Smiling, looking down as he often does. ] I plan to do everything I can to make this work. It's not exactly what I thought things would turn out, but I'm not about to do something stupid to lose it before I've really got it.