Work Text:
They try it for a little while.
Ariadne still has classes. All of the prep for the Fischer Job was done in Paris to accommodate her and the actual time away was minimal. Arthur and Eames follow her back to France and take up residence in her apartment. Neither of them has anything pressing waiting for them at their respective homes. The apartment is small, like all Parisian apartments, but the ceilings are high and the bathroom and kitchen have been modernized and the view is worth the money her parents paid for the place. Her mother is an art dealer, her father is a mathematician; Ariadne's architectural destiny was inevitable.
She has solid blocks of classes that last from 10 o'clock in the morning until 8 in the evening with only a few breaks in between. She spends the breaks on campus and she is violently possessive of her sleep and so the time she spends with them happens at night or on weekends. Arthur wakes up at 7 every morning and spends his days reestablishing contacts in the surrounding areas. Sometimes he comes home with something; a scarf for Ariadne, a print for the walls, random small articles of clothing for Eames that he will never wear. He doesn't plan any of it. Eames spends his days sleeping or watching television in his jeans and nothing else and at least three nights a week off somewhere else. When he comes home, he smells like cigarette smoke, his suit looks slept in, and he's usually drunk. He never stays out the whole night.
Arthur does the cooking, since Eames is a danger in the kitchen and Ariadne's version of food is ramen or toast with preserves. Ariadne does most of the cleaning because while Arthur is fastidious in his habits, he doesn't like to dust, and Eames tends to drop things--clothes, shoes, half-finished counterfeit poker chips--wherever they may lie and wander off when something shiny distracts him. Eames handles the groceries because he has the time and it means they often end up lacking in staples like bread but have an abundance of chocolate digestives and tea. Eames is the only one who regularly drinks tea.
There is only one bathroom and modernized or not, it is a tight fit. Arthur has the most product of any of them--something he has no problem with and so Eames' occasional jabs about him being a Disney Princess slide off his skin like water off a duck's back--but Eames takes the longest to get ready. Ariadne only uses handmade products that are vegan or fair trade and the whole apartment is saturated with spices and flowers when she's done with her shower. Eames has no product at all and uses whatever is within reach. Sometimes he smells like Ariadne's rosemary and juniper shampoo or her jasmine soap; sometimes Arthur finds his Acqua di Parma shaving cream empty and it starts a squabble that can last for days.
The closet situation is a warzone. Ariadne's closet is small enough that she has an armoire to handle overflow which means there's not enough room for Eames' mostly terrible clothing or Arthur's small selection of suits. Both of them live out of the same suitcases they were using during the Fischer Job. Eames has to be reminded to wash his clothing instead of just smelling it to see if it's okay to wear. There is no washer or dryer in the apartment, so Ariadne packs all her dirty clothing into a laundry bag on Sundays and drags it to the launderette down the street. Sometimes Eames tags along with her "so she won't get bored" and Ariadne washes his clothing with hers, mixing everything together. Arthur's dry cleaning bill is astronomical.
Ariadne likes to listen to a variety of music but she is partial to classical, which is fortunate, since that is pretty much the only kind of music Arthur and Eames can agree on. Ariadne's library tends toward art books, textbooks, young adult novels she can't bear to part with, and novels written by forward thinking women. Eames, when he reads, sticks to heavy hitters; Tolstoy, Descartes, Dostoevsky, Sartre. Arthur has trouble getting through one book at a time and will put slips of paper between pages before forgetting he was reading it and starting something new. He's partial to dramatic spy fiction and Eames makes jokes until Arthur throws a paperback at him one day and tags him in the head.
They have their own moments.
When it's Arthur and Eames, Eames likes to be in control. Arthur is, for the most part, okay with that, especially because Eames' mouth is magical and Arthur is somewhat easy. They often have dinner together while Ariadne's at school and sometimes they end up in the bedroom--more likely is the couch or the floor, as Eames takes perverse pleasure in making Arthur bitch about sore backs and bruised knees later. Eames likes to be on top, likes to press Arthur into the mattress until he's just shy of claustrophobia, likes to bite and leave marks on areas of his body that are safely covered up by clothing the next day. He likes Arthur on his back, facing him, and is a huge proponent of foreplay. The only thing they argue about is who penetrates who but it's a silent argument, filled up with too-tight grips and nips just the other side of too sharp. Often, after wrestling and licking and fingers doing distracting things, Arthur is too exhausted and pliant to decide what he wants and lets Eames decide for him.
When it's Eames and Ariadne, Eames likes Ariadne to be in control. This is something that she is willing to do but in which she has no actual experience. Eames proves an inspired teacher. Arthur has stumbled more than once onto them experimenting with different props or toys. A few times, he's simply walked back out of the room, momentarily unable to reconcile the memory of Eames holding him down while he thrusts into him with the image of those same hands restrained behind his back while Ariadne's are tangled in his hair, forcing his mouth onto her. Also more than once, Arthur has quietly snapped a picture of them with his cell phone. He doesn't keep it on the phone--of course not--but he keeps it nonetheless.
When it's Arthur and Ariadne, no one's in charge. It's a joint venture, a partnership, and generally grows organically out of an accidental touch or a momentary glance. Sometimes, she takes him by the hand and leads him into the bedroom, and divests him of every stitch of clothing while trying her best not to get distracted by the way his hands will wander under her shirt, brushing her bra out of the way to cup her chest, or wiggle into her pants, touching her through the cotton of her panties. Sometimes, he kisses her suddenly and they don't make it out of the living room. Arthur can't very well complain about the couch when it's his fault.
When it's all of them, they play off each other. Eames has trouble manhandling Arthur when Ariadne gets hold of him and Arthur uses this to his advantage for a little creative and highly enjoyable revenge. Sometimes, it falls apart into laughter--Ariadne loves to laugh during sex and both men find it refreshing--and other times they end up gelled together by sweat and other fluids, all of them suffering aching muscles the next day.
It's worth it.