undergrounds | (no subject)

[a catchall for june; prompts will be added to the top post as I write them!]

1/EARLY TO MID JUNE/HILLINGDON

Arthur spends most of his time with the door closed now, but quite often one can find him in the kitchen staring down the coffee maker as he waits for it to finish brewing. He's drinking more and more of it these days, which is fucking up his sleep, which just necessitates more coffee so he can sit and worry endlessly about all the shit that's going on right now. He's almost wearing a groove in the floor where the shortest distance from his makeshift office to the kitchen is, and while he'll answer the door if knocked, one may have better luck stopping him in the hallway or the aforementioned kitchen while he has a fresh mug in his hands.

2/JUNE 15/FOR EAMES/

Arthur's even groggier than usual when he wakes up the night after the rave. He didn't go, of course, but it feels like he hasn't had enough sleep. The reason why becomes clear when he turns his head, sees another person in his bed, and remembers the scene several hours ago when "Kathryn" showed up at his door and managed to find her way into Arthur's bed without much input from Arthur himself. It's not that he minds, but the additional fogginess of the morning is not welcome, and it takes a few extra minutes of laying in bed frowning before he finally concedes and gets out of bed in search of coffee. It's late for him but he has nothing he absolutely has to get done today so he takes his time, grabbing some coffee and getting his laptop out to read the news while he waits for Eames to rise out of bed.

3/EARLY JUNE/FOR JEAN-CLAUDE

It only took a little bit of back-and-forth to get this meeting set up. Once it became clear that Hillingdon was going to try to hold Richmond going forward he wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page, and that meant talking to Islington to make sure they'll show up if Hillingdon needs help maintaining control.

Their meeting place is a rented office space just outside of Islington territory. Arthur has a few of these that he rents by the week or by the month when he needs to meet with clients for his day job or for things like this, when Hillingdon House wouldn't be appropriate.

The days are getting longer, so Arthur suggests something well into the evening. He knows Jean-Claude probably has his fair share of Daylight jewellery, but he figures it's only polite, and the street he looks out on is bustling with activity as people head out to the bars or come back from dinner. It's a nice background noise as he sits there half an hour ahead of time reviewing some notes he's made.

Threaded | Flat

Eames doesn't wake up for another few hours, and he's not feeling so hot about that decision when he does. Usually Eames is a morning person, someone who's awake when he wakes up, but right now he feels awful and he groans and presses his face into the pillow in protest of this whole being awake situation. It doesn't smell like his pillow though, and Eames lifts his head and squints at the room until he realises where he is. (And how he appears to be using the entirety of the covers.)

The least surprising thing so far is when he gets out of bed and realises he's naked, though the fact that his clothes from last night seem to be everywhere would be amusing if Eames' head wasn't throbbing and his tongue didn't feel like fat sandpaper, and he gathers them all onto a chair with a tired sigh and a sweep of his hand. Helping himself to one of Arthur's baggier t-shirts in the meantime while he tries to get his head on right.

What feels like about 20 years later, Eames finally comes out of the bedroom, footsteps slow and lazy and he calls (well, croaks) Arthur's name tiredly with a follow-up, "you still home?"

Jean-Claude does have quite a lot of Daylight jewelry at this point in his life, but at the same time he appreciates the sentiment, and he's never one to turn down a good atmosphere for dramatics.

The insisting on meeting at the office space had been something of a surprise, but Jean-Claude had taken it in stride. He understands why the other man had insisted on doing so, after all, and it's smart. It puts the pair of them on somewhat level ground. At least as far as a vampire and a hunter can be.

Jean-Claude is exactly on time to their meeting, as promised, stepping into the appointed space with a smile and an inquisitively raised eyebrow. "I hope I have not kept you waiting," he asks, nevertheless.