.nov 24, closed to nancy and eames

[specifiercity]

[Arthur's nearly out of breath when he opens the door to his apartment, pushing it open for Nancy to walk through and then following her inside. He flicks on the light and locks the door behind him, taking off his jacket hastily. He's gruff when he speaks.]

Living room's just right through there. I'll put some coffee on.

[There's a pistol in a holster on his belt. He puts the pistol on the counter when he goes into the kitchen, setting up the coffee with practiced speed. When it's brewing, he finally takes a deep breath. This night has been an exercise in frustration but there's no sense losing it in front of Nancy. He's considerably more calm when he finally walks back out to the living room, letting out a sardonic, amused sigh.]

I almost forgot to ask if you're alright.

Comments

[falsify]

[What.] And...?

[stauncherhearted]

There's nothing wrong with Arthur being Arthur. [She takes a sip of her coffee, and moves to sit back down in her chair. This time, however, she takes off her jacket, in favor of a throw-blanket.]

I shouldn't have called him. I had no idea it was tonight.

[falsify]

[He actually laughs, waving a dismissive hand when she says she shouldn't have called him.]

We must know different Arthurs.

[Because there is a lot wrong with Arthur being Arthur in Eames' estimation.]

[stauncherhearted]

Obviously not. Given that we're both here.

[She looks at him pointedly.]

He's been nothing but a good- a good friend since I met him, alright? Leave him be tonight.

[falsify]

Leave him be?

[He looks so affronted, like he's a hair away from yelling "he started it!"]

Not that I don't appreciate his generosity, but I'm not about to sit here and accept his attitude as though he's suffered some great personal loss.

[stauncherhearted]

And just because you did doesn't mean that you can take it out on your contact, or you could lose two very quickly.

[She did not need this tonight, so she sniffs pointedly in Eames' direction, because she is also a mature, rational adult.]

He clearly wants to help you with your next territory claim. I think you should let it be till tomorrow, personally, but you're both behaving worse than my brothers, and that is quite literally one of the last things I need right now.

[specifiercity]

I can hear you from the kitchen, you know.

[That's when Arthur walks back in, looking slightly less tense than he did before with a beer in hand. His gun is back in his holster, and the reason for that becomes clear when he crosses the room to a cabinet and pulls out a small black hard-sided case that he sets on the floor in front of the free arm chair. His beer and the discharged magazine are set down on the coffee table (well away from Eames, though he's not sure if a small pack of silver bullets will affect him just by proximity) and he sits down in the chair and gets to work taking apart the pistol.]

[The inside of the case is just standard cleaning supplies - a small bottle of oil and some brushes to get at all the cavities, along with a well-worn, stained cloth. His spare ammunition is in there too - packs of silver and wooden bullets that he has specially made. He doesn't care if this is the appropriate time to be doing this. This is his routine and he's not going to relax until it's done.]

[falsify]

I stand by what I said.

[Which unfortunately includes his appreciation of Arthur's help, but whatever. He shrugs and watches Arthur clean his gun with a tired look on his face.]

[stauncherhearted]

[Nancy sighs so hard. SO. HARD. You would think a fae would be old enough to be mature, but apparently not.]

So do I.

[She looks apologetically at Arthur.]

I'm sorry. I can call Kenzi, if you'd prefer.

[specifiercity]

[Arthur shakes his head, not looking up from the meticulous cleaning he's doing.]

It's fine. I just need to cool off.

[falsify]

[He's watching Arthur work, a bit like getting a second-hand calm from watching the task unfold. It half occurs to him he should do the same, but he can think about that once he gets to his own place.]

I won't be here all night. [He says with a bit of a smile, imagining it to be a bit of a relief for everyone.] I just needed to... Decompress.

[stauncherhearted]

[Wow, you're not cute, Eames. Not cute at all. Her expressions says it.]

You, me, everyone we know.

Why tonight, for all of this? I'm bloody abducted under false pretenses, you're waging war on Fagin's doorstep against my best customers. There's no winning tonight, is there?

[It's rhetorical. But at least they're calming.]

[specifiercity]

[There's a beat as Arthur abruptly stops cleaning the gun parts and looks up at her, ready to get mad again.]

You were abducted? By who?

[falsify]

[Say goodbye to the calmness Eames was cultivating. Arthur asked the question first, so he doesn't have to, but he does look at Nancy expectantly.]

[stauncherhearted]

[well, that was stupid. why were people so oddly protective?]

well, I was paid. [like this is gonna make anything better.] I thought I was brought in to visit a client. made a right fool of myself. Norrell is his name. Had a manservant did all the work for him.

am I that noticeable? [she looks from one man to the other, wrapping herself tighter in the blankets.]

[specifiercity]

[Arthur presses his lips together and goes back to cleaning his gun with renewed aggression.]

Daybreak.

[He looks up, addressing Eames now.]

This is how they're doing recon on Midnight now? It's hardly subtle.

[falsify]

[He pretty much stopped listening to anything anyone had to say after "Norrell," jaw tight and for a moment his magic sparks and fits in illusions around him until he sucks in a breath. The man has been a pain in the ass ever since he swanned into London, and he doesn't even have the decency to play the game like Sylvia.]

That spineless, weasel of a man. [He stands - outwardly calm, collected. Enough is enough.] It's high time I solved this particular problem.

[stauncherhearted]

he doesn't know I'm Midnight. at least- that's not what it was about. the boys' been causing trouble.

[weasle. that was more appropriate than the bird she had equated him too.]

that's why I called you, Arthur.

[specifiercity]

The boys? What boys?

[He's still angry about Norrell, but it's tempered by confusion.]

[falsify]

Her brothers.

[Answered absently as he makes to leave the room. If no one's going to stop him he's just gonna go, because this is a man who fully intends to do a murder right now.]

[stauncherhearted]

thank you. [said to Arthur. then, she stands to go to Eames, placing a hand on his forearm.]

Eames, sit down.

[specifiercity]

[Arthur sits up straight, about to berate Eames for thinking it's a good idea to go out and try to get at Norrell, especially tonight, but Nancy gets to him first. He sighs and puts the last part of his gun down carefully in the case.]

You won't be able to get to him tonight anyway.

[falsify]

[Eames stops, but he doesn't sit down, not entirely convinced he couldn't get to Norrell if he put his mind to it. And he has had enough of that cowardly little man.]

It's a fair assumption he's the one who aligned with the vampires.

[Sylvia isn't that dumb and short-sighted in his experience.]

[stauncherhearted]

you're not wrong.

[eames was staying. good. she takes another drink of her cooling coffee]

but yeah- I'm not the only child Fagin has raised over the millennia. [just the first girl.]

[specifiercity]

Millennia?

[If Arthur's shocked, it doesn't show very much. He stiffens a little; he hates being the last to know something, when it's part of his job to know things, even when it's personal shit like this that he has no business knowing. He frowns, but it's different than the anger. It's more of a mask for the confusion, so people can't see the wheels turning so clearly.]

Your father's a fae. So, the boys, your brothers...

[It's like he's thinking out loud.]

It wasn't about Midnight, it was about Lewisham. But what are the chances...

[He looks up at Eames, then back at Nancy. He just can't believe that Norrell would have a Midnight witch in his house and not know it, not have it mean something.]