Tales of Chaos #3: Dream of Me Part 1
I have a #4 but I'll publish it way later..
Title: Dream of Me 1
Rating: pg-13 (for this part)
Word count: 1 847
Warnings: disregard of life, oc death
Summary: Eames is a Blade Runner who meets Arthur along the way but he has secrets of his own as well.
He was wearing a transparent rain coat and a sleek suit under it. His hair was sharply slicked back but he looked relaxed. Eames couldn't stop moving his gaze back to the fine gentleman who was sitting not far from him by the Chinese restaurant. He adjusted his trench coat collar feeling slightly overwhelmed but he ordered a dish fluently speaking Chinese to the chef.
The rain beat against the roof of the restaurant but not many customers were there hiding from it.
Arthur glanced at the other man and his coat that so finely fitted him. He didn't know what it was but something about him made him drawn to him. Arthur had never been attracted to a guy before and it was only temporary. He'd never see him again.
Against reason he kept on looking and finally met the eyes of the stranger.
"You should really try the noodles." Arthur was about to drop his chopsticks and burst his food in his mouth all over the counter when he saw the other man look his way and speak to him but he was good at self control.
Eames paid for his meal and walked pass the man, feeling regret that he had to leave to work and leave the man by himself in the cold. He shook his head to disregard the thought and shake the cold from the rain that wet him before he got back to his car.
He had never been good with people and partially he blamed his job and partially his own mind for taking the job. Killing replicants wasn't easy but the fact that they looked like humans was. Every time he had pulled the trigger a shiver had gone through his spine and little by little he felt more inhuman. And it calmed him.
There was no such thing as quitting in his profession and so Eames pulled out photos of clues to where one replicant could be.
He went into a house that night, waiting for the owner to come back home. As Eames was sitting there, a thought of the young man in the restaurant crossed his mind. He was so intriguing but having done nothing but sitting there and eating. No conversation, that made Eames frown. He hadn't felt like that in a long time, he didn't know if he could be interested in a human being in such a way anymore.
Eames heard a sound of steps in the stairway. He stood up and aimed his gun towards the door. A replicant named Tyler opened the door and removed her fur coat, switching the dim living room light on, and she was startled by the stranger in her home. Eames raised his brow at the outfit of the slim, brunette woman: thigh high leather heels, white stockings and a sheer bodysuit that left nothing to the imagination.
"What do you want?" The replicant asked, cold. Eames removed the safety of his gun and shrugged, then shot her in the chest. As the woman fell back in the impact of it, Eames turned around and started to unravel the first drawer he came across. He found memories, photos of a young girl with her family and by herself playing a violin. Nothing stable.
Eames was back at a Japanese noodle-bar for a change, contemplating for the loss of findings. He hoped to see the stranger from before but he denied that from himself. He wasn't to get involved with anyone that he knew he would eventually hurt.
That day it wasn't raining, but the man still wore his transparent coat. Eames didn't think much of it. He looked good in it. He had to talk to him somehow to get the idea out of his head. He couldn't concentrate if he didn't know more.
Arthur sat down slowly, seeing the same man look at him again. He ordered some ramen and just waited for the scruffy man to open his mouth as he was looking like so.
"I haven't seen you before. Do you work here?"
Arthur looked down, blushing a bit. His low gravelly voice and the slow accent got under his skin fast. He swallowed and his courage to answer. "I moved here. To work for Corell Corporations."
"Corell? They make quite the bad boys in there. Mind if I join?" Smoothly Eames collected his dish and moved forward although waiting for the other's approval. Arthur nodded while feeding himself another mouthful of noodles.
"I know. They haven't got to me yet." Arthur grinned. The guy was truely handsome in close range.
Eames was in awe of his expression, the shy smile that was framed by dimples. It was a rare gift to anyone to smile in a place like that. He struggled finding his next words. "Why do you come here on such a," Eames laughed a little looking up and around at the fog and the dark, infinitely grey atmosphere that the fluorescent signs tried to desperately cover in their boldness "lovely day?"
"My reasons are none of your concern." Arthur replied blandly and completely with different taste. The question seemed to be fragile, Eames thought. "Perhaps we can discuss of different matters."
Arthur turned towards the stranger and although he felt uncomfortable, he was happy that someone had noticed him and even started talking with him. "Such as?"
Eames looked at the man trying to memorize his exquisite face, his jawline and the fair skin. "Your name."
"Arthur." The young man replied without pause and smiled again, leaving Eames baffled at the sight of such purity. "Call me Eames. You don't wanna know what I do for a living."
"You're a cop." Arthur stated while setting down his cup of tea. "I saw you in the news." He smiled at the way the other man laughed at that. His smile was compelling, and it had been a long time since he'd seen one.
"You're not a people person, Mr. Eames?"
"Uh, I prefer to be on my own."
"But now you're with me." Arthur tried not to look at him too much and he finished his meal in time before the bar started to get crowded. Eames' food was cold but he wasn't hungry. "I guess so."
Even though neither of them ate or drank anymore, they stayed under the roof, sitting beside each other and watching one another as if wondering about the odds of meeting a person with such charm in a city where joy was no longer present.
It had been three days when Arthur found the intriguing detective at his favorite spot in the other noodlebar. He looked at him for a while before joining him without questions asked.
Eames smiled widely for some reason for which he startled himself. He couldn't understand his respect for the other person let alone his responses. "I'm glad to see you."
"Really?"
"Really." Eames nodded faintly while smugly resting back against the counter and taking a gulp of tea.
Arthur glanced up at him and his kind eyes although he had heard things that didn't match the presence of the detective beside him.
"My sister was killed. By a replicant, I'm sure."
Eames sighed into his tea cup and frowned at the young man. "What does that have to do with me?" He cursed himself for not being sensible but luckily the other didn't seem to mind his stubborn nature. "You retire them. Right?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll find them soon enough - they won't do any further damage."
Arthur turned fully to face him and after taking in how very close they were to each other and how the cologne made him feel faint, he dropped his hand on Eames' knee. Emphasizing his worry with a firm grip on him Arthur spoke "I'm afraid.. to go home."
"Are you flirting with me now?" Eames laughed a little, nervous at the sudden intrusion in his space. His warm hand on his knee was anything but calming.
Arthur lifted his arm and grasped at the lapels of the older man's trench coat with both of his hands, forcing Eames to look straight into his eyes. "No. I'm serious." Eames saw the fear in his eyes and rested his own hands over Arthur's that were clutching tightly to his coat. "Okay. I'll make sure you get there safely."
Arthur looked down at their hands and moved back slowly, a little ashamed of his approach. He finished his drink and waited for Eames to do the same when a small blush reddened his face. "You'll know when I'm flirting with you." He replied by himself and noticed Eames getting ready to leave. "Really now? You're willing to do that?" The man had on his charming smile yet again and even though it made Arthur weak on the knees and even though they were nearly strangers to each other, he was ready to leave with him.
As they walked on the dark street, Eames taking over the side where steam pipes could hide an ambush, Arthur answered to his question. "You're a nice guy."
"I'm not really. You should hate me for it."
"No, you are." Arthur looked away and Eames walked closer by his side. Arthur started to chew on his thumbnail to figure out what he could do, what he allowed himself to do.
They walked further, just the two of them, in silence. Neither felt that it needed to be filled with a voice other than the traffic above them or the bikes that showed up on the street once in a while.
Eames guided Arthur behind a corner and watched him tenderly, Arthur's eyes fluttering shy.
"I should not be doing this with you, Mr. Eames."
Arthur didn't speak more but instead let out a gasp as Eames opened up his raincoat and let his hand in between the layers. Feeling the warmth of his hand Arthur settled his own against the dark dress shirt Eames was wearing, feeling the heat radiate, warming up his fingers that he lightly grasped at the soft fabric with.
He turned to look up into Eames' eyes that were looking back so gently, and Arthur couldn't look at the honesty, the need gleaming from them. He looked down shy, only seeing his shirt press against him and Arthur closed his eyes, their breath taken.
Eames looked at him caught in the moment before he pressed his lips against his. Under the masses of neon signs it was all too dark. They breathed out and pressed their lips against one another again.
Arthur groaned in the thrill of it and felt Eames press against him more but he seemed to only stay there, to wait for him to say yes. Arthur didn't let him in and for that, Eames pulled himself back to look into his eyes that had darkened. "I want you."
"I want you. But I have to go." Arthur shakily told him, pushed Eames away from him and started to head for the long, narrow alley away from the lights of neon.
tbc.