Archive of Our Own

Eames stared up at the flight monitor with a sigh. He hated flying over the holidays. The airports were always unbearably crowded and the threat of bad weather always loomed over everything, making it even more stressful than it would be otherwise. It was the worst time of the year to travel and Eames always avoided it as much as he possibly could. When Dom had sent the invitation out for New Years at his place like he had for the past several years, though, he’d mentioned that James and Philippa were really excited to see everyone, and Eames had never been good at turning them down. And it was nice to see everyone else; they ran into each other in jobs occasionally but not as often as Eames might have liked, and there were even fewer opportunities to spend time with anyone outside of work. So he’d ignored his better judgment telling him not to risk such a big trip at such a terrible time, and packed a bag instead.

Bad weather had stopped being a threat this year though, and turned into a reality. The east coast was dealing with a blizzard and a mix of snow and ice making its way across the western part of the states while frigid temperatures settled in everywhere inbetween- Eames had known the flights were going to be fucked as soon as he’d heard that. And he’d been right. He’d managed to get into Chicago before things had started to cancel en masse, but Chicago was still a long way from the Cobb household outside LA. Half a country away, which, given how many red canceled s he was seeing on the board in front of him, wasn’t going to be an easy thing to cross.

“Well, at least I have the consolation of knowing I’m not the only one who got caught up in this mess.”

Eames glanced over, grinning when he found Arthur standing next to him. The situation still wasn’t great, but it did suddenly feel far less annoying. He’d hoped Arthur would be coming out too, but he hadn’t been sure; Arthur had never been much of one for New Years’ celebrations. “Apparently we both have that consolation.” He turned back to the board, searching for the flight number for his plane out to LA. “What flight are you supposed to be on next?”

“The eleven-thirty to LA. Which,” Arthur sighed, “is apparently leaving at two in the morning now.”

Eames hummed, finally finding the flight on the list. They’d been booked for the same flight- that would have been a nice surprise if everything hadn’t turned into such a mess. “What do you think the odds are that it actually goes out?” Arthur snorted in response and Eames grinned again. “Yeah, me too.”

The noise of the airport surrounded them and Eames glanced around, taking the activity in. At least half the flights on the board were already canceled and most of the rest were delayed, and he could see the panicked rush seeping into the bustle around them. People hurrying between gates, staring down at their phones with frowns- it would have been an interesting crowd to watch if he weren’t also caught up in the cancellations. He turned back to Arthur with a quiet sigh. “What’s your plan?”

Arthur frowned slightly, still staring up at the board. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re just asking so that you can tag along with whatever I come up with?”

“Because you know me very well.”

Arthur’s sigh was long-suffering but without any actual annoyance. “I was considering renting a car.”

Eames raised his eyebrows. “Bit of a lengthy drive between here and California, love.”

Arthur shrugged. “Well, flights certainly aren’t a great option right now.”

“Fair point.” Eames paused. “You know, the drive probably would be easier if you had a second driver.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Yes, Eames, you can tag along.”

Eames chuckled. “I was trying to be subtle about it, but direct works too.” He picked up his bag. “Shall we, then?”

Arthur made a quiet noise in agreement and picked his own bag up, heading off towards baggage claim. Eames followed, keeping pace easily even as they wove through the crowd. Arthur was easy to follow, his suit standing out even in the busy crowd, and Eames couldn’t help but smile- leave it to Arthur to wear a three piece suit during what was always going to be a hectic travel weekend regardless of the weather.

It was good they’d run into each other. Arthur was right, driving really was the best option, but it would be well over a 30 hour drive. That would be doable with one person- especially since there were still two days until New Years Eve- but it wouldn’t be an easy drive. Having a second driver wouldn’t make the trip any shorter but it would at least make it a little more bearable. They might even be able to get in by tomorrow evening if they pushed it, which wouldn’t have been possible with just one of them. So sharing the drive was the best logistical option.

And if it also meant Eames got to spend a little extra time with Arthur? Well, that was just an added benefit.

The late hour meant that the lobby of the rental agency was mostly empty when they got there. Eames waited back with both their bags while Arthur got the reservation set at the counter. It had been a while since they’d run into each other on a job, but Arthur’s form already felt like a familiar part of Eames’ surroundings. He’d always been like that, fitting back into Eames’ life each time they saw each other like he’d never been gone, but Eames had especially noticed it more recently. And not just his presence- he’d noticed Arthur’s absence more too. He’d always enjoyed Arthur’s company, but he’d never felt his absence quite so strongly as he had over the last year. At first he’d told himself it was just because of how long they’d known each other- there were very few people in the field Eames had known longer than he’d known Arthur, and none that he trusted even half as much. So for a while he’d simply told himself that’s what this was, just missing a good friend. Nothing more.

Eames wasn’t a fool though. An idiot sometimes, but not a fool. 

He sighed, looking away. He’d been hoping Arthur would be at Dom’s for New Years Eve because he’d missed him and always looked forward to being able to spend a little time together, but part of him had also been hoping he wouldn’t be there. Working jobs together was one thing but spending a holiday together was something different- even with other people there- and Eames wasn’t entirely sure how he would handle that. 

“Alright, we’ve got a car. I’ll want to grab a little coffee before heading out, but other than that we should be set.”

Eames looked back up, grin spreading across his face at the thought of Arthur- notorious coffee snob Arthur- willingly drinking what was undoubtedly terrible coffee. “Are you really going to drink the free rental car dealership coffee? I didn’t realize it was even possible for you to stoop so far below your regular standards.”

“Don’t remind me,” Arthur groaned. “I’ll need something to get through the night though, and I don’t feel like dealing with the line at a regular coffee shop.”

Eames let out a hum that was half amusement half agreement, following Arthur over to where the free coffee sign was sitting on a small counter. The line at the Starbucks by baggage claim had wrapped all the way around the claim area and halfway back again, so he certainly didn’t blame Arthur not wanting to deal with that. 

He took a sip of his own coffee as they walked across the parking lot to the car. It was just as shitty as he’d figured it would be but it was hot, which was all he really cared about now that he was outside. “Was this expensive?”

Arthur shrugged, unlocking the car and opening the trunk. “Not unreasonably so. And the refund when our flight inevitably gets canceled should be more than enough to cover it.” He slid his bags into the back and walked around to the driver’s side door. “I can take the first leg.”

Eames slid his bags into the trunk as well and closed it. “You sure? I don’t mind driving.”

Arthur shot him a glare over the top of the car. “You’d better not mind, otherwise it’s fucking useless to share the drive with you.” He shrugged again. “I have a worse sleep schedule than you though, so I’ll probably have an easier time with the overnight leg.”

Eames chuckled as he climbed into the car, immediately glad to be back out of the wind. “You say that with such pride, but I don’t think it’s a good thing.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, but Eames could see him trying to hide a smile. “Shut up. It is when we’re making a 30 hour drive.”

Eames chuckled again, holding up his hands. "Whatever you say, darling."

He checked the weather as Arthur pulled out, comparing the radar to the route the GPS had given them. They might be able to get most of the way across Colorado before hitting the storm, maybe even into Utah, but they were going to hit bad weather eventually. It would be mostly ice by then which was, in Eames' opinion at least, worse than snow; it was no less dangerous, and had the wonderful effect of making everyone on the road drive like an absolute idiot. He'd hoped they might be able to make a straight shot through without stopping, but that was looking less and less likely. 

They'd gotten well into the highway by the time Eames shifted his attention to the radio. Arthur's phone was hooked up to the car's Bluetooth for the GPS, but they were on this stretch of highway for over a hundred miles and Eames had never done well with silent drives. Especially not with Arthur in the driver's seat. "You mind if I turn the radio on?"

Arthur shrugged. "Go ahead."

It shouldn't have been hard to find a good station. Eames admittedly wasn't entirely sure about Arthur's music taste but they were barely outside of Chicago, so there should have been more than enough options to find something amenable to them both. Flipping through the stations quickly revealed a limited number of options though. Static. News. Christian rock. Commercials. More commercials. Evangelical preacher station. Country- Eames was willing to compromise just to get a bit of background noise, but he wasn't willing to compromise that much. 

After a few minutes, Arthur sighed. "Just use my phone."

Eames looked over, surprised. "Sorry?"

"There's clearly nothing good on the stations, and it's just going to get worse the further out from the city we get. Just reconnect my phone to the Bluetooth and use that."

Eames paused. Phones tended to be little more than burner electronics in their line of work, but using going through someone else's was still very much an unspoken taboo among extractors. "You sure?"

Arthur shot him a quick glare before looking back out at the road. "It's certainly better than listening to you flip through the radio channels incessantly."

"Alright, alright, no need to be grumpy about it." Eames picked up Arthur's phone from the center console. He'd expected a generic lock screen but found a photo of a city street instead. Prague, he recognized after a moment. Not exactly surprising- Arthur had always loved the old city there. "Passcode?"

Arthur hesitated a moment before answering. "528491."

It took a second to click, but Eames couldn't help his grin as he looked back over. "Seriously, love?"

Arthur's smile was somewhere between sheepish and smug. "It's a nice little private joke to have."

"Cold bloody hearted is what it is. We irreversibly changed a man’s life with that number, and you’re using it to lock your phone." Eames shook his head. “Cold, darling. Very cold.” He paused. "Funny, though. I'll give you that."

Eames quickly pulled up Spotify on Arthur’s phone. He supposed it shouldn’t be surprising that Arthur had an account- he listened to music almost constantly while working, to the point that Eames had teased him about headphones being a suit accessory- but it felt like an…oddly mundane thing. 

Arthur shifted in the driver’s seat. “I feel like I’m being very nice with this, so you’d better not give me shit over my music taste after this.”

Eames grinned, pulling up Arthur’s library. “Darling, I give you shit about everything. I’m sure this will be no different.” He paused, grin growing as he scrolled through Arthur’s playlists. “At the very least, I’m going to give you shit about how you name your playlists.”

It was, to be fair, an undeniably Arthur way of organizing things. Each playlist title starting with genre, even breaking down by subgenre- indie rock was separate from indie folk, baroque music was different from classical music. Genre was then followed by an activity, because of course Arthur had certain music set aside for certain activities. It was a wholly unsurprising organization given whose phone he was holding, but that didn’t make it any less delightful. 

“Listen, it keeps track of everything and I can always find exactly what I’m looking for.”

“Oh, I have no doubt.” Eames looked over, still smiling. “It’s just a very…you way of organizing things, that’s all, love.”

He could see Arthur frowning as he stared out at the road in front of the car. “I don’t see why that’s a bad thing.”

“Oh, it’s not. Not at all.” Eames turned his attention back to the phone. “I’m still not letting you live it down though.”

It was, admittedly, far easier to find a good playlist than it would have been if Eames had been going through his own playlists. Indie folk - driving seemed like a good bet considering it was clearly a genre they shared a liking for and they were in fact driving, but Eames didn’t put down the phone once the music started playing. He continued to scroll through the various playlists, surprised by the wide range of genres represented. It was a surprising look into a side of Arthur that Eames had never given much thought to before.

Arthur shifted again after a few minutes. “Are you still going through my music?”

“You’ve got a lot in here.” Eames looked over, eyebrows raised. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a metal fan, love. Your music taste’s really all over the map.”

“I just…it makes for good background noise while I work.” Arthur groaned quietly and Eames could see red climbing in his cheeks. “I don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea to give you access to my phone.”

“I remember your reasoning being something about my incessantly flipping through the radio channels being annoying?”

“Well, you’ve managed to be even more annoying this way.”

Eames set Arthur’s phone back in the center console. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you, love.”

Arthur’s frown deepened. “I’m not embarrassed.”

“Really?” Eames tilted his head. “Because you’re a delightful shade of red right now.”

“Fuck off.”

Eames laughed, settling back into his seat. The car was finally starting to warm up and he could feel the heat slowly creeping back into his feet. It wasn't a particularly fancy car- it seemed as though they hadn't been the only people with the idea of driving instead of flying, and they'd had to settle for whatever the rental agency had left- but he didn't care about much besides a good heater at the moment. The weather wasn't actually that bad quite yet out here, mostly just overcast and windy, but the cold was absolutely frigid. Eames didn't even want to think about how much worse it would get once they hit the actual bad weather. Not until he was a little warmer, at least.

"Have you ever driven across the states?"

Eames shook his head, looking out the window. It was too dark to see much of anything, but every once in a while he caught sight of the lights from a cluster of houses. "I've driven around different places, but never a trip as long as this. You?"

"A couple times, yeah." Arthur laughed. "It was so odd to me when I first realized that Europeans considered a two hour car ride to be a long trip. That’s barely even a trip worth considering over here."

"Well, we don't have countries the size of half a continent. And we have a far better train system."

"Okay," Arthur relented. "Point for Europe for the trains."

Eames chuckled. "You always did have a thing for trains."

"They're the perfect form of transportation!" Arthur gestured widely with his right arm. "Similar or less time than traveling by car, better for the environment, you can do other things while riding it, and you still get to see the scenery. You can't beat a well designed train network."

“You won’t hear any arguments from me. A train would certainly make this trip a hell of a lot easier.” Arthur hummed in agreement and Eames went back to staring out the window, tracking the occasional distant, passing light. Being able to take a train rather than driving would make this less of a slog- and wouldn’t involve either of them having to stay up all night driving- but he supposed this wasn’t the worst way to make the trip either. The car was comfortable enough, especially now that it was warmer, and Arthur’s playlist was unsurprisingly well curated. Eames doubted he’d feel as comfortable in ten hours or so, but right now it wasn’t bad at all. 

They’d been driving for about two hours when Eames felt his head starting to nod. He sighed, stretching out slightly with a yawn. “You good to keep driving for a bit, love?” 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Go ahead and get some sleep.” 

Eames frowned. “Who said I was falling asleep? Maybe I was just being nice and making sure you didn’t need to switch out.”

Arthur’s laugh was soft. “I can see you nodding off from over here. Grab a couple of hours of sleep, I’ll be fine.” He grinned. “Like I said, I’ve always been better than you at pulling all nighters anyway,”

Eames rolled his eyes. “That’s still not nearly as good a thing as you make it sound.”

“Whatever. Just go to sleep, asshole.”

Eames grinned back and shifted in his seat, settling against the car door and window. He’d never been great at sleeping in cars, but he could feel the exhaustion of a long day spent traveling starting to grip him and he knew it wouldn’t be long until he was out regardless. Besides, he’d certainly slept in worse circumstances.

The car was pulled up to a gas pump when Eames opened his eyes again. The sky was the cold slate grey of early morning and a quick look around quickly confirmed that they were solidly in the middle of nowhere, with the highway the only thing Eames could see besides the gas station itself. Arthur was leaning against the car as the tank filled up, hat on and collar up against the wind. Eames could only see his face in profile, but that was enough to see the tiredness in his expression. He was huddled down in his coat too, scarf pulled up around his face and hands shoved in his pockets; Arthur had always gotten cold easily, but that level of trying to hide from the cold promised temperatures that would make anyone shrink back.

He pulled his own coat back on and opened the passenger door, inhaling sharply as the frigid air slammed into him. "Fuck."

"Lovely weather, right?" Arthur chuckled.

"Bloody wonderful." Eames stretched slightly before shoving his hands into his pockets. "Where are we?"

"Somewhere between Des Moines and Omaha."

Eames pulled his phone out of his pocket- just after six. "We're making pretty decent time."

"Whatever we gain now, I'm sure we'll lose it as soon as we hit the storm." 

Eames came around the side of the car, leaning against the door next to Arthur. "Still, I'll take it where we can get it." He paused. He could see Arthur more fully now, and he'd worked more than enough late nights with Arthur to recognize his expression. He wasn't just tired- he was exhausted. The sort of exhausted that tended to end with him falling asleep at his desk when they were working. Which was endearing on a job, but far less so when Arthur was driving. "Listen, why don't we switch out here, and I'll take the next leg?"

Arthur looked over. "You sure?"

Eames flashed a smile. "I got a decent bit of sleep, and you've been driving for what, seven hours? I can take over from here." He straightened up. "Just let me grab a bit of coffee, and I'll be good to go."

Arthur gave him a tired smile. "Thanks."

Eames clapped him on the shoulder before heading off towards the gas station building. "Of course, love."

By the time he got back to the car a few minutes later, Arthur was already nestled into the passenger seat, face still pink from the freezing wind. Eames briefly held up a handful of granola bars he'd grabbed along with his coffee before tossing all but two into the back seat. He handed one to Arthur and unwrapped the second one himself. "Grabbed us something for breakfast now and lunch later."

Arthur accepted the granola bar with a chuckle. "We're really eating like kings on this trip."

Eames grinned, taking a bite and starting the car. "Only the finest." He pulled out of the gas station and onto the ramp to get back on the highway. "Dom's get-together better be bloody worth it."

Arthur hummed in agreement. "It really better be."

Eames smiled, already recognizing the edge of sleep in Arthur's voice. "Are you going to be able to eat that before you pass out?"

"Fuck off."

Eames caught sight of Arthur flipping him off in his periphery, but there was no malice in his voice. "You know, you could have woken me up earlier if you were this tired."

"No, it was fine." Arthur stretched slightly, settling back into his seat. "I hadn't realized how tired I was until we actually stopped."

"Well, get some sleep now." Eames paused. "Will you be alright if I keep playing music, or would you prefer I turn it off?"

"No, you can keep it on." Arthur rested his head against the window. "It's fine."

Eames turned the volume down anyway. It would still work as background noise but without the risk of keeping Arthur awake, which Eames considered a win-win given everything. A glance across the car a few minutes later confirmed that Arthur had in fact already fallen asleep and Eames settled in, letting the quiet atmosphere of the car surround him as he drove.

He’d honestly never minded driving. The UK hadn’t exactly lent itself to the sorts of long road trips that traveling across the states usually demanded, but he’d done plenty of long haul trips over the years to be used to long drives. There was something almost meditative about it, the vibration and hum of the car mixing in with quiet music into something oddly pleasant. He knew he’d probably have a very different opinion by the end of the day, especially after the flat expanse of Nebraska, but right now it wasn’t bad at all. 

He glanced over at Arthur occasionally as he drove. He stayed in the same position, head resting against the car window even as it slipped down slightly as his posture relaxed. Eames didn’t bother trying to tamp down on the gentle warmth he could feel rising in both his face and his chest- Arthur wasn’t awake to see it, and it really was a sweet sight. Eames had lost count of the number of times he'd found Arthur asleep at his workstation on jobs, late nights and long hours catching up to him. He'd always loved the sight; there was a softness to Arthur then that he rarely got to see otherwise. Arthur played up his hardness and sharp edges just like everyone in extraction did, but Eames had known him long enough to have caught glimpses of the man underneath. Relaxed posture when he fell asleep working, a genuine laugh over a box of late night takeout, friendly teasing that turned into inside jokes as time passed- Eames knew it was a side of Arthur that few people saw, and he treasured even the brief flashes of it. He always had, and even more so of late. 

Eames sighed, refocusing on the road. It wasn’t worth dwelling on that line of thought. He knew well enough where it led to- daydreamed scenarios, half formed thoughts of what it would be like if Arthur returned his feelings. Wishful thinking. It wasn’t that bad usually. It was even nice sometimes, when it had been a while since they’d worked a job together and Eames found himself missing Arthur even more than he normally did. It was, at the very least, a nice bit of fantasy to escape into every once in a while. He didn’t usually have to interact with Arthur after those daydreams though and while he doubted Arthur would be awake again any time soon, it was better not to risk it.

It was nearly eleven by the time Arthur woke up. He’d managed to even sleep through getting gas, which Eames had found impressive. Eames glanced over as Arthur made a small, half-awake sound, grinning. “Morning, love. You really passed out, didn’t you?”

“Mm. Needed it.” Arthur stretched, letting out a quiet grunt as he straightened his neck. “Don’t think my neck’s going to thank me for it though.”

“You slept for almost five hours in a car seat. I don’t think any part of your body is going to thank you for that.”

Arthur chuckled, pulling off his hat. Eames was honestly surprised he hadn’t started overheating yet- he was still wearing his coat, hat, scarf, and gloves despite the car having been plenty warm for hours by this point. Even with his tendency to run cold, Eames would have thought even he would have started shedding layers by now. Tiredness was a powerful thing though, he supposed, and there was clearly very little that would wake Arthur once he was asleep. 

“Have you just been listening to this playlist on repeat for the past five hours?”

“It’s not like I was going to change it while driving.” Eames shot an offended expression Arthur’s way. “I’ll have you know I’m a very careful driver, darling. I’m absolutely horrified you’d ever think anything else.”

Arthur let out what sounded like halfway between a laugh and a snort. “Well, knowing you for over a decade will do that.” He grabbed his phone from the center console, looking at Eames with a raised eyebrow. “I’ve got more than enough scars that are entirely your fault to know just how careful you like to be.”

Eames couldn't help but grin. “Piss off.”

“We’re still only in Nebraska by the looks of things, so you’ll have to put up with me a while longer.”

“Mm, terrible isn’t it?” Eames glanced around at the flat expanses of dead crop fields that surrounded the highway. “I’ve never understood the appeal of the Midwest, honestly.”

“It’s not all this bad. The Great Lakes are nice, and Michigan and Minnesota have some good hiking. Nebraska’s just…sad.”

“And flat,” Eames added. “Unsettlingly flat.”

“Yeah, and unsettlingly flat,” Arthur agreed with a chuckle. “Did you have a preference for music?”

Eames shook his head. “No, whatever you wanted.” He paused, grinning again. “I’m still curious about your music taste.”

“You know, this is why I’m so stingy with personal details,” Arthur muttered. “Because you’re always insufferable about it.”

“And yet, you keep sharing things.”

“Yes, against my better judgment.”

Eames grinned as he stared out at the road. “You know, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you listen to metal.”

Arthur sighed. “I’m never hearing the end of any of this, am I?” 

Eames shrugged. “I’m just saying, you present a very specific picture of yourself, and metal doesn’t really fit with that picture.” He paused. “I guess I’ve just never really understood the allure of that sort of music in general. It just seems very…loud.”

“Not only am I stuck in a car with you in the middle of Nebraska of all places, but I also have to spend the trip defending my music taste. This is wonderful, really. The ideal experience.”

Eames held a hand up in mock surrender. “I’m just curious, that’s all.”

Arthur was quiet for a moment before sighing again. “It just has a good energy to it. I like to listen to it when I run or when I’m doing something that’s necessary but that I very much don’t want to be doing.”

Eames tilted his head, giving it a bit of thought. He supposed it made sense to a degree, but it still didn’t quite click for him. “Whatever you say, love.” 

“You know, I think I just decided what we’re going to listen to next.”

“Oh no.” Eames frowned. “I am not driving through this flat wasteland while you blast bloody metal over the radio.”

“Sorry, passenger gets to control the music, that’s the rule of long road trips. You can make me listen to whatever weird, awful music I’m sure you listen to when we switch places.” Arthur’s voice was almost unbearably smug. “I’ll be nice and pick a tame album.”

“How kind of you, thanks.” Eames’ tone was sarcastic, but he couldn't help but be a little curious. A Little bit of legitimate excitement seemed to have crept into Arthur’s voice, and that was more than enough for Eames to be willing to give it a shot. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to still be difficult about it though. “I’m going to make you listen to the world’s worst Eurotrash electronica when you’re driving, and you’d best believe that’s a fucking threat.”

Arthur’s laugh was loud and genuine, and Eames found himself smiling in response despite his efforts. “Well now you’ve piqued my interest. I’m going to hold you to that threat.” 

Eames raised an eyebrow as the song playing over the speakers switched. The shift from gentle vocals to loud guitar was jarring and more than a little amusing. “I thought you were starting with a tame album?”

Arthur’s grin was impossible to miss even with as quick a glance as Eames took to look at him. “I am.” He put his phone back on the console and settled back in his seat. “I think Atreyu is a very fair middle of the road.”

“Or you’re just being a prat.” Eames didn’t bother trying to hide his smile. “I wonder which one is more likely.”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

It certainly wasn’t the sort of music Eames would have chosen on his own, but he had to admit it also wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be. It had an energizing quality that made the flat, featureless scenery around them at least marginally more exciting to drive through, which Eames was willing to take as a win. And there was enough of a mix of less traditionally metal singing to give a bit of a break every once in a while. Eames wasn’t sure it was something he’d ever listen to for fun, but overall it certainly wasn’t the worst thing to have playing over the radio. 

Even still, he hesitated before answering when Arthur asked him what he’d thought as the album finished. He didn’t want to lie, but he also didn’t want to deal with Arthur being insufferably smug for the foreseeable car ride. “It…wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

He didn’t have to look over to be able to picture Arthur’s grin. “You sort of liked it, didn’t you?” 

Eames grimaced. “I…a little. It made Nebraska a little more bearable, which,” he pointed in Arthur’s direction, “is a very low bar, so don't you dare get all smug about it.”

“Ha!” Arthur was clearly planning on being very smug about it. “I told you it was good.” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Eames glanced over, not even trying to hide the amusement in his expression. “So what’s on next?”

It wasn’t bad like this. The scenery wasn’t anything to brag about and over 12 hours in the car made it far less comfortable than it had been previously, but the sort of punch-drunk amusement that only long hours in a small car seemed to be able to create was starting to fill the air. Arthur was slumped in his seat with the worst posture Eames had ever seen him with, legs bracing against the dashboard as he tried to find a comfortable position, laughing at whatever shitty joke or ridiculous story Eames brought up next. Eames loved seeing him like this, relaxed and casual and maybe even a little silly, and he knew he was probably one of the few people to have ever seen this side of Arthur. It wasn’t anything more than friendship and a little prolonged forced proximity, he knew that, but still. Eames let himself get drawn into the feeling all the same, relishing it. He followed his jokes and stories up with even more jokes and stories, anything to keep Arthur laughing. It would probably be a long time before he had the chance to see this side of Arthur again, which just made it that much more important to enjoy while he was in it. And if his face got a bit warm when Arthur laughed particularly hard at something he said or he caught Arthur watching him with a wide, genuine smile, then he could just blame it on a combination of laughter and the warmth of the car. 

He settled into the passenger seat as Arthur finished pumping gas at the small station they'd stopped at. They were solidly into Colorado by now, which at least meant there was more to look at while they drove. It also meant the clouds were starting to get darker and the wind a little more forceful, but they weren't quite close enough to the edge of the storm that they needed to start being careful just yet. If they kept their current speed and the storm stayed on its current course, they wouldn't run into it until they were in Utah. Still far enough into the future that Eames didn't feel like worrying about it right now. Not with an otherwise pleasant atmosphere in the car.

He picked up Arthur's phone from the console as they pulled out of the gas station, scrolling through music options. Arthur glanced over at him. "You know, I'm pretty sure you made a music threat earlier. Something about the world's worst Eurotrash electronica?"

"Oh believe me, I remember." Eames grinned. "I'm just looking for the right thing. I have to make sure it's suitably awful."

He admittedly wasn't a huge fan of electronica but even he wasn't immune to a good beat when he was particularly trashed, and he had a few ideas of where to start if he wanted to subject Arthur to Europe's trashiest electronic music. It didn't take long to confirm he'd made a good choice either. Arthur's amused snort barely thirty seconds into the first song was more than enough to justify having to sit through the music itself. 

"Okay, you weren't kidding. This is terrible." Even from the side, Eames could see Arthur's grin. "Where did you even find this?"

"Don't underestimate the power of alcohol in guiding terrible music choices, darling." Eames' grin grew as he queued up several more songs. "Drunk me has absolutely atrocious taste in music, and I am about to make that unavoidably your problem." 

"I'd say I'd never let you live this down, but I think you're too weirdly proud of it for that to work."

"That's the trick, honestly." Eames put the phone down and leaned back against the car door. Not driving meant he didn't have to pay attention to the road but while the scenery had certainly improved, he much preferred watching Arthur instead. "You just have to own it."

Eames let himself get drawn even farther back into the atmosphere in the car as Arthur drove. He let Arthur fill the air mostly now, usually by roasting whatever song Eames had queued up for next, content to simply sit back and listen now that he had the chance. Arthur was focused on the road which meant he was less likely to catch sight of fondness Eames knew was creeping into his expression, and Eames was perfectly fine with that. It wasn't often that he was able to watch Arthur so openly.

It also meant he was quick to notice the shift in Arthur's demeanor, tension and focus slowly starting to replace the relaxation in his posture. Eames frowned slightly. "Everything good, love?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm just starting to see some snowflakes." Arthur sighed. "I think we're finally about to hit some bad weather."

Eames straightened up, refocusing on their surroundings. Evening was starting to roll in, but he knew that the now ominously dark clouds were also responsible for how much darker out it was. A few snowflakes were visible in the car's headlights, and Eames had no doubt they'd hit much worse before long. He reached forward, turning down the music so that Arthur had fewer distractions. "We'll get as far as we can, I guess."

Things stayed okay for a while but once they crossed into the storm proper, the weather turned fast. It was mostly snow at first, thick flakes flashing bright white in the headlights and obscuring the road ahead of them. Arthur switched off the brights, which helped a bit. It at least made the snow a little less blinding, even if it didn't increase the actual visibility by much. 

Within an hour, though, the storm had switched to a mix of snow and ice. Arthur had maintained a decent speed even as the snow had gotten heavier, but he slowed significantly as the ice set in. The wind picked up too, heavy gusts slamming into the car on both sides. It wasn't long before Eames had turned the music off entirely to give Arthur enough silence to focus. Eames could feel the tension and hyper alertness settling into his own body, and he wasn’t even the one driving- it would be even worse for Arthur.

After a while, he glanced over- there was no relaxation left in Arthur's posture, just tension. The weather had only continued to get worse, and Eames knew it wasn’t going to get any better for hours at the very least. "Just tell me when, darling, and I'll look for a place for us to pull off."

Arthur gave a tight nod. Eames pulled out his phone and started looking up hotels in the area- they might get a bit farther, but he knew better than to think they'd be able to push through. The options weren't great; Eames had been right to think that they wouldn't hit bad weather until Utah which meant they were making good time, but also meant that they were hitting bad weather in a rural area with few amenities. There were some options though, and Eames could work with that.

It was twenty minutes later when a particularly strong gust of wind shoved the car into the other- thankfully empty- lane that Arthur finally gave another nod. "Alright, whatever you can find."

Eames checked the map. "Okay, there should be an exit in four miles. It won't be anything nice, but we should be able to find a hotel there."

Getting off the highway was more difficult than Eames had anticipated. The highway itself wasn't in great condition but the exit ramp was almost solid ice, with the town roads even worse. Arthur was barely doing ten miles per hour by the time Eames spotted the hotel sign up ahead. Even with the slow speed the car seems to slide with each gust of wind, and Eames could see Arthur gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. Eames certainly didn't blame him- he was gripping the side of his seat tightly himself, body tensing each each time a wind gust sent them sliding even just slightly. He'd driven in shit weather before but ice was something else entirely, and he couldn't wait to be safely off the road. 

Eames squinted at the sign as they got closer. "It doesn't say anything about whether they have vacancies."

"I don't care." Arthur's voice was tight. "I want off this fucking road."

Arthur pulled into a space away from other cars once they were in the parking lot, giving plenty of space on either side. Eames opened the door and stepped out carefully, recoiling against the wind. Ice pellets slammed into him with stinging pinpricks and the wind made his skin feel raw even after just a few seconds. Working his way back to the trunk of the car wasn't easy either, the layer of ice already coating the pavement making walking without falling difficult. By the time he made it through the doors of the lobby, Eames felt like he'd already been frozen half to death and if Arthur's trembling was anything to go by- bad enough that Eames could actually see him shaking- he was feeling the same.

The receptionist looked up with a smile as he approached, Arthur not far behind. "Hello, how can I help you?"

Eames flashed a smile. "I was hoping you might have a room available for the evening."

The woman nodded. "Let me check." She pulled something up on her computer and looked it over, frowning slightly before smiling again. "You're in luck. It looks like we've got one left."

Eames let out a sigh of relief. This certainly wasn't the sort of place he'd stay normally, but anything was better than having to keep driving in the current weather. "Wonderful, we'll take it."

"It is a single room though." The woman paused, looking between the two of them. "Just one queen bed, so I hope that's alright."

Eames froze as he reached for his wallet and he felt Arthur pause behind him. Eames had shared beds with plenty of people, often in far less ideal circumstances than this. This wasn't just any coworker though. It was Arthur. And that made things…complicated. "You don't…there aren't any others?"

The woman shook her head. "No, unfortunately we're all booked up other than that." She motioned outside. "What, with the weather and all."

"Right. Of course." Eames hesitated before looking back at Arthur; maybe it was best to just let him decide. "What do you think?"

Arthur glanced back at the doors briefly before sighing. "Just do it. I'm not driving any farther in that."

Eames nodded and finished pulling out his wallet, handing his card to the receptionist who gave him another polite smile. Eames returned the expression, more out of reflex than anything else. This would be fine. A queen size bed had plenty of space, there'd be more than enough room for both of them without it being awkward. And they were both tired- it wouldn't be long until they were both asleep anyway, and any potential awkwardness would be meaningless then. It would be fine. He repeated the sentiment to himself as he signed the papers and accepted the key card; if he said it enough times, maybe it would be true.

It didn't feel very true as he unlocked the door though. The elevator ride up had been silent, neither of them looking at the other as they'd ridden up to the third floor. Eames tried not to grimace as he flipped on the light and caught sight of the bed- he knew there would be plenty of room for both of them once they were in it, but a queen size bed suddenly looked far smaller than he remembered.

"Well, this is…homey."

Eames couldn't help but snort at Arthur's tone. "It's certainly not the Ritz, that's for sure."

Arthur sighed, walking over to the side of the bed and setting his bag down. "And to think this is how most people travel."

Joking helped make the uncertainty in the air a little more manageable and Eames chuckled. "Poor bastards."

"By this point, I'd be willing to take just about anything." Arthur stretched, letting out a quiet groan. "I'm fucking exhausted."

Eames hummed in agreement, setting his own bag down on the other side of the bed. "It'll certainly be nice to sleep in a bed as opposed to a car seat."

"Absolutely." Arthur paused, some of the uncertainty creeping back into the air. "I'm, um, going to take a shower before turning in, if that's alright."

"Oh. Right. I mean, yeah, go ahead. I shower in the mornings anyway."

Arthur nodded and crouched down to unzip his bag as Eames quickly busied himself with the first thing he could find. His coat. He was still wearing his coat, which was getting a bit warm now that he was inside and starting to get feeling in his limbs again. He should hang it up. He walked back over to the closet by the door, taking his time hanging his coat up until he heard the bathroom door close. 

Christ. Eames leaned against the door, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. It's going to be fine. It's just a single night, and there's plenty of room. The shower water started up behind the bathroom door and Eames looked over, feeling like a teenager looking for his crush and hating every goddamn second of it. They were sharing a room, of course he'd be here when Arthur took a shower. Just like Arthur would be here when Eames took a shower. It was fine. Completely normal. Just like there would be plenty of space for both of them in the bed. And even if there wasn't- which there would be- it would still be fine, because they were just two friends sharing a bed. That was all.

"Stop acting like a bloody teenager," he muttered to himself as he walked back over to his bag. He might not be showering until the morning but he'd still need to change and get ready before turning in, so he might as well get all of that ready for when Arthur was done showering. Awkwardness or no Eames was tired, and he wanted to get to bed as soon as possible. 

He had mostly rebuilt his composure by the time the bathroom door opened again, but it all disappeared as Eames looked over to see Arthur walking towards the bed in boxers and a t-shirt. Even in their more relaxed moments together, Arthur had still usually been wearing a suit, hair slicked back and pieces carefully put in place. Maybe a loosened tie here or an unbuttoned vest there, but still put together. He looked so different like this though. His hair was still damp from the shower, pushed back from his forehead somewhat haphazardly, and his t-shirt was just big enough to hang a bit loosely from his shoulders. It was a fascinating departure from the Arthur that Eames was used to seeing and he knew he could stare at him for minutes on end and still be drawn in by the sight.

He shouldn't do that though. Not under any circumstances, really, and certainly not with the heat Eames could feel rapidly climbing into his face.

Eames quickly looked back down, anything to keep from staring. He focused instead on gathering his own things- far safer an activity than looking in Arthur's direction. "I'm going to change and get ready, but feel free to turn the lights off if you want to just turn in." Please turn off the lights before I get back out, please.

Eames heard the sound of Arthur unzipping his bag again, but didn't dare look back over. "Right. Sounds good."

He leaned against the bathroom door for a moment after closing it, feeling even more like an idiotic teenager than earlier. The sight of his own reflection- face and ears embarrassingly red- wasn't helping either. And all because he’d seen Arthur less put together than he normally was. You're fucked. And not even in the good way. 

He walked over to the counter, pointedly ignoring the small bag of toiletries already sitting there. Because he didn't need to think about Arthur getting ready or showering or how the small, efficiently packed bag felt distinctly like Arthur. None of that was going to help right now. He just needed to get ready for bed and hopefully the lights would already be out by the time he opened the door again- having to face Arthur again in his current level of undress was more than Eames knew he'd be able to even semi-gracefully handle. 

Eames’ blush was at least mostly under control when he opened the door to find the lights still on. Arthur was sitting up in the bed, frowning down at his phone. "The storm should pass through by morning, but I don't know how passable the roads will be."

Eames shrugged, dropping his clothes down on top of his bag. He’d deal with them in the morning. “We might have to go a bit slowly, but hopefully it’ll be fine enough.” He pulled the covers back and climbed into bed, trying not to think too hard about any part of the situation. He made sure to settle as far on his side as he could, keeping as much space between them as possible and resolutely refusing to think about any of it. Arthur was already sitting under the covers, which made things a little easier, but Eames felt hyper aware of his own lack of regular clothes. Boxers and a t-shirt was actually more than what he usually wore to bed, but sleeping in just boxers right now seemed like several steps too far. 

He sighed, finally glancing over at Arthur. It struck him again just how different Arthur looked like this, and just how nice of a sight it was. Eames quickly looked back down before the twinge of heat in his cheeks could get any worse. “Well, I’m thoroughly exhausted, so I’m going to turn in.”

“Right, yeah. Sorry, I can turn the light out.” Arthur set his phone on the nightstand, reaching for the lamp. “I set an alarm for six, if that’s okay.”

Eames sighed. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He’d never been much of a morning person and getting up that early wouldn’t give either of them as much sleep as he would have liked but with how slow going tomorrow was probably going to be, an early start was probably for the best. He hesitated for a moment before laying down. “Night.”

“Night.”

The darkness as Arthur switched off the lamp wasn’t nearly as relieving as Eames had hoped it would be. Not being able to see Arthur anymore or having to worry about him seeing the red in Eames’ face was a plus, but not being able to see Arthur meant that Eames instead became overly aware of his movements in the bed. He could feel Arthur shifting as he settled under the covers, the space between them suddenly feeling laughably small. A queen sized bed had plenty of room, but they were both grown men; even with Eames trying to stay as far on his side as possible, there was still barely over a foot between them, if that. All Eames had to do was roll over and close frighteningly little space, and he’d be up against Arthur. Which he absolutely was not going to do, but he could. The possibility sat in his mind, equal parts wonderful and horrifying. 

Eames shut his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep. It shouldn’t have been that hard- it had been a long two days and he really was exhausted. Arthur kept shifting though, not by much but by enough that it was noticeable, and Eames couldn’t help but focus on it. He buried his face against the pillow- it would be fine. He’d fall asleep before long and it would be morning before he knew it, and then all of this would be nothing more than a particularly embarrassing memory. That was it. One that he would probably think about far more often than he wanted to admit, but that was fine. Just as long as he got through it and it was over. 

Sleep finally began to pull at him after a few minutes and Eames nearly sighed in relief. This was going to be fine. 

Eames was warm. 

He’d always hated waking up cold- mornings were shit enough as it was, there was no reason to make them any worse- but he was wonderfully warm now. Even his barely awake brain was able to appreciate how nice it was to wake up like this, surrounded by the warmth of hours spent under the covers. The covers were wonderfully heavy too, pressing down on him with a comforting weight. He was sure it was still far too early to actually be awake but if he was going to drift back to consciousness early, then this was far from the worst way to come to. 

Eames frowned slightly as his brain continued to come online. His eyes were still closed but the comforter…shouldn’t feel quite this heavy. And it wasn’t consistently heavy either. Mostly just on his chest, which was…odd. Pleasant, but odd. A blanket shouldn’t do that.

Then the weight shifted slightly, and Eames’ eyes shot open.

The room was still dark, but Eames could make out Arthur’s form in the bed easily enough. And even if he hadn’t been able to see, he would have been able to feel Arthur well enough. They’d both migrated towards the middle of the bed until they’d managed to close the little space that had been between them when they’d fallen asleep. Arthur’s head was resting on Eames’ chest, face buried against his shirt and arm wrapped tightly around his torso. Eames’ own arm was around Arthur’s back, his hand coming to rest on Arthur’s hip.

Eames stared up at the ceiling, trying desperately to remember to breathe. He suddenly felt uncomfortably warm and hyper aware of every sensation in his body. The line of warmth along his side where Arthur was pressed against him. The subtle rise and fall of Arthur’s chest as he breathed. The feeling of Arthur’s hair brushing up against his chin. Eames knew he should move. He had no idea what he’d do if Arthur woke up while they were still like this, and he didn’t want to have to figure it out. All he needed to do was carefully loosen Arthur’s arm from around his waist and move back until he was back on his side of the bed. It would take a little careful maneuvering to keep from waking Arthur up, but it was certainly doable.

He stayed where he was though, not willing to move just yet. Arthur fit against him so perfectly and Eames couldn’t quite bring himself to let that go. Not when he’d spent so long wanting it. He brought his head down enough that he could feel Arthur’s hair on his cheek, could smell the soft scent of his shampoo. He wanted to pull Arthur in closer, wrap his arms around him more fully because it felt so right, but that felt like a step too far and he didn’t want to risk the movement waking Arthur up. So he simply stayed like he was, telling himself he’d pull back after just a few more seconds and knowing full well he probably wasn’t going to. After a moment he brought his other hand up to rest gently on Arthur's arm; the chances that he ever got to hold Arthur like this again were low, so he might as well let himself enjoy it for a few moments. 

He couldn’t have laid there for more than a few minutes, if that, but he still absolutely wasn’t prepared for the sound of Arthur’s phone alarm shattering the silence of the hotel room.

Both of them jerked back slightly, Eames from surprise and Arthur from waking up, but not quite enough that they fully disentangled. His hand had slipped off Arthur's hip and onto the small of his back and both their movements had dragged his other hand down until it was resting almost on top of Arthur's hand, which…wasn’t better. It maybe wasn’t worse, but it definitely wasn’t better. Eames' eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough that he could see Arthur staring at him with a confused, half asleep expression that would have been endearing if it weren't for the jolt of dread currently running through Eames' chest. 

He blinked, trying desperately to think of something to say, some explanation to give, but nothing came. Instead he just returned Arthur's wide stare, the air between them unsure and strangely silent despite the alarm continuing to sound in the background.

Arthur was the first to fully pull back, sitting up and turning towards the nightstand in one quick movement. "Time to…to get up, I guess."

The words were quiet and mumbled, and Eames could feel his face burning as he sat up too. "Yeah, I, um, I guess it is." He paused, looking everywhere except Arthur's side of the bed. "I…I'm going to take a shower. Start getting ready."

"Yeah, good idea."

Brightness filled the room as Arthur switched the lamp on, but Eames kept his focus on anything but that side of the room. He pulled back the covers and got out of bed, rifling through his bag just long enough to grab a change of clothes before heading to the bathroom. He felt like he was on fire, skin burning with embarrassment as he tried his best to shove everything down. It almost worked too, the mindless movements of undressing and turning the shower on distracting him just enough to keep everything else mostly at bay.

The embarrassment and dread came crashing back in full force once he was standing under the water. He'd woken up cuddling Arthur and instead of moving back like he should have, he'd stayed right where he was. Until Arthur had woken up too. With Eames still cuddling with him like they were a goddamn couple.

Fuck. 

Eames groaned, covering his face with his hands. He was screwed. Absolutely fucking screwed. Why hadn't he just pulled back? He'd still have been stuck with the embarrassing memory of waking up with Arthur against him and how goddamn good it had felt, but it would have been something for just him to agonize over. Instead he'd been an absolute fucking idiot and now he had to deal with the consequences of that. With Arthur knowing exactly how they'd managed to end up during the night. If he was lucky, Eames might be able to pretend he'd still be asleep too; Arthur hadn't woken up until the alarm went off and there was no reason for him to suspect that Eames hadn't done the same. It wasn't much of a consolation, but it was at least better than the alternative. 

It didn't feel that much better as Eames dried off and got dressed though. Because no matter how he tried to spin it in his mind, Arthur has still woken up with Eames holding him. And Eames was going to have to spend an entire day in the car with him with both of them painfully aware of that fact. 

Arthur was mostly dressed by the time Eames opened the bathroom door again. There were enough pieces still missing though to make it a charming picture- the top few buttons of his shirt still undone, hair less of a mess but still loose and hanging across his forehead, socks but no shoes. Eames quickly looked away; Arthur was looking down at his bag as he packed, but the last thing Eames needed was for him to look back over and catch him staring. "The bathroom's all yours if you need it."

"Right. Thanks." Arthur gathered a few things, very pointedly not looking at Eames. "I just need a few minutes, then I'll be ready to go."

"Me too."

Eames kept his attention fixed solidly on his own bag until he heard the bathroom door close, risking a quick glance over once it was safe. The air in the room was already uncomfortable and awkward; spending the next however many hours trapped in a car together was going to be borderline unbearable. He supposed that's what he got for being an idiot though- an uncomfortable car ride and possibly a damaged friendship. He hoped not the latter, but the discomfort in the air made it very clear that was a possibility. 

The air was cold enough that Eames recoiled from it as he stepped out from the hotel lobby onto the sidewalk, but the wind had at least died down slightly. Checking out had been a quiet, awkward process- Arthur staying just far enough back that Eames was uncomfortably aware of the distance and the receptionist watching them with an odd look- and Eames was glad to be over with it, but having to head back outside was far from an ideal change of pace. The sidewalk was coated in a thick layer of ice and Eames moved slowly to try and mitigate the risk of slipping. The parking lot looked like it was in just as bad of a condition, but a quick glance out at the road was enough to reassure him that it had at least been salted. It still probably wouldn’t be great but it would be drivable, and all Eames wanted was to get going. The sooner they were on the road, the sooner they would be at Dom’s, and the sooner Eames could put a little more space between the two of them. 

Eames out his bag in the trunk carefully, holding out his hand for Arthur to hand him his bag. “I can take the first leg today, since you drove in the storm yesterday.”

“Okay.”

Eames tried not to grimace at Arthur’s tone. It wasn’t unfriendly or angry, just…short. Which was fine. Understandable, even. But that didn’t make it any easier to sit with.

The silence as they both settled into the car was heavy. Eames briefly considered asking if Arthur wanted to put music on again today but quickly decided against it. Music meant either flipping through the radio channels to try and find something- which wasn’t likely given where they were- or one of them giving their phone to the other, which felt…like something best avoided right now. Best to give whatever space they could. And besides, it was probably for the best that the car was silent. The roads were salted but it was still going to be slow going, and it would be easier to pay attention to driving without anything in the background to distract him. So it was better like this. Really.

Eames hated it though. It wasn't hard to remember how the car had felt yesterday. Music blaring over the speakers. Arthur slouched in the passenger seat, grinning at increasingly terrible jokes. Loud, genuine laughter. Eames had soaked all of it in and could pull it from his memory like it had just been a few minutes ago. 

It was silent now though. Silent and uncomfortable and Eames hated every second of it. 

Anxious restlessness seemed to settle around Arthur as they drove. He shifted in his seat, going between looking at his phone and staring out the window, neither activity seeming to do much to calm him down. It was an infectious restlessness and Eames felt it settling in around him as well before long, which was the last thing he needed right now. What he needed was to focus on the road. The highway was plowed and salted but still slick, and even at a relatively slow speed Eames knew he still needed to be careful. 

Restlessness settled in his chest though, mixing with the embarrassment and dread still pooled there. It made Eames feel twitchy and annoyed. All he wanted was for this trip to go smoothly for the first goddamn time since he’d boarded the plane in Geneva. He just wanted to be able to get to Dom’s and get some sleep in a bed where he didn’t have to worry about waking up in an awkward position, and to be able to give some fucking space between him and Arthur until he was able to figure out how the hell he was going to handle this. That was all he wanted. And instead he was stuck driving on shitty roads in the middle of fucking nowhere Utah without even decent conversation because he’d managed to fuck things up that badly. 

“It’ll already be the new year by the time we reach California.”

The muttered comment was the first thing to break the silence in well over two hours. Eames glanced over with a frown. They certainly weren’t making as good of time as they had yesterday- they should have been well into Nevada by now, but were still only just coming up on the border- but it wasn’t for lack of trying. “I’m going as fast as I can. It’s not my fault the roads are shit right now.”

“I didn’t say it was.”

“Well, it certainly sounded like you were.”

Arthur sighed, frustration obvious. “I’m just tired of being stuck in this fucking car.”

“I’ve been in here just as long as you have, Arthur. It’s not like I’m intentionally making it longer.”

“Fucking hell, Eames, I didn’t say you were.”

Eames gripped the steering wheel tightly. He was fully aware that he was getting worked up over nothing, but that didn’t do anything to tamp down on the annoyance building in his chest. It was building quickly, unnecessary but a welcome distraction from everything else. “I’m going as fast as I safely can. I want to be out of this bloody car as much as you do, but I’d also prefer to get to LA in one piece.”

He didn’t have to see Arthur’s face to know that he was rolling his eyes. “Didn’t realize you were in such a mood this morning.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It’s supposed to mean that you’re being pissy for no reason.”

“Oh, no reason? Really?” Annoyance started to turn into anger and Eames’ grip tightened further. He didn’t want to fucking deal with this right now. “I’m tired and driving in shit conditions, and you think my mood’s not great for no reason?” He shot a quick glare over at Arthur. “You’re not exactly a peach yourself right now either.”

Arthur gestured with an exasperated sigh. “Because I’m fucking stuck in here with you!”

"Well, I don't know what you fucking want me to do about- shit! "

Eames hadn't realized how much his speed had crept up until a gust of wind hit the car just strong enough to send it sliding. He tried to correct the course of the vehicle but his speed and the still slick road conditions turned his attempt at correction into a skid, with his breaks doing nothing to help. The curb launched the front wheels in the air slightly and the comedown as the car pitched into the ditch was enough to slam Eames into his seatbelt, which immediately locked into place.

The sudden silence as the car came to a halt was disorienting. Eames blinked, trying to reorient himself and process the past few seconds. They were off the road- not great. Still upright though. That was good. No significant pain either, so probably not injured. Just startled. And Arthur was- shit, Arthur. Eames looked over as panic flared in his chest. "Are you okay?"

Arthur was staring straight out the windshield with wide eyes. Eames was surprised to realize his arm was stretched out across Arthur's chest, holding him in place- he didn't remember doing that. Arthur blinked after a moment and looked over, giving a halting nod. "I…yeah, I-I'm fine." He took a breath. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just…just a little startled, that's all." Eames paused, pulling his arm back and taking a few steadying breaths. All the anger from just a few moments ago had drained out of him, replaced by adrenaline and relief that neither of them seemed to be hurt. Still, even without injuries, this wasn't good. He wouldn't know just how not good it was until he was able to take better stock of the situation though. A couple turns of the keys made it clear that the engine wasn't going to start back up, which only left a few other options. "Alright, I'm going to get out and check how bad the damage is. Just stay in here while I do that."

Arthur nodded and Eames undid his seatbelt, opening the car door carefully. He closed it as soon as he was out- they'd need to keep as much heat in the car in case it was a long wait for the tow truck they were going to inevitably have to call. He just needed to have a good enough sense of how bad the damage was so that he could let the tow company know what to expect.

It wasn’t great but it was far from as bad as it could have been, especially with how steep the embankment into the ditch was. The front of the car was mildly rumpled, but in a way that suggested more body work than mechanical damage. Clearly something had happened with the engine- otherwise it should have turned back on without issue- but there was no smoke and Eames couldn’t smell any gas so whatever it was, it wasn’t imminently dangerous. Overall, bad enough that they weren’t getting out without help but not bad enough that they’d likely need anything beyond a regular tow truck.

Eames climbed back in, glad to be out of the cold and back in the relative warmth of the car even if he could feel that warmth already starting to fade. “Well, we’re not getting out on our own, but it’s nothing too bad. I’ll give highway patrol a call, and hopefully they can get a tow truck sent out our way before too long.”

Arthur nodded, finally unbuckling his own seatbelt. There was a slight tremble in his hands, but it was hard to tell if it was from adrenaline or the encroaching cold. By the time Eames had gotten off the phone with highway patrol Arthur had pulled his legs up onto the seat, bracing slightly against the dashboard to compensate for the incline. Whether it was for warmth or comfort, Eames wasn’t sure- maybe both.

Eames sighed, leaning back in his seat. “Alright, they’ve got a truck heading our way, but it’s probably going to be at least an hour or so.”

“Right.”

Silence filled the space again, less tense than before but no less awkward. Eames wanted to say something, but what? The adrenaline was starting to drain from his system, leaving behind the post-rush emptiness and a renewed awareness of how uncomfortable all of this was. It hadn’t been great while they’d be on the road, but at least driving had given him something to focus on. Now he didn’t even have that. There was none of the anger and annoyance from a few minutes earlier, either. Just silence and discomfort as Eames stared at everything except Arthur.

A small sound drew Eames attention over after a few minutes though. It was quiet, little more than a slightly aggressive rustling of fabric, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what it was- a shiver. Eames paused, watching Arthur with renewed concern. “You sure you’re alright, love?”

“Yeah, just…getting a bit cold, that’s all.” Arthur sighed, sinking down into his coat a little more. “Hopefully the hour-long estimate was the upper end of things, not the minimum amount of time it’ll take.” 

Eames hesitated. He could see Arthur shivering more consistently now that he was looking at him, and he knew full well that the hour estimate had been on the low end of how long it was likely to take the truck to reach them. Without the heater running the car was cooling quickly and it probably wouldn’t be long before it was a similar temperature to outside, just with less wind. It wasn’t ideal, but they were both wearing enough layers that an hour or two wouldn't end with anything worse than needing the heater on full blast for a while once the tow truck showed up.

Except Arthur ran cold. He always had. And he was already shivering.

Eames bit his lip, trying to weigh his options. Even if Arthur ran a bit colder than the average person, he was still wearing plenty of layers. And Eames knew full well Arthur had gotten through colder conditions under even worse circumstances. He’d likely be fine, just a bit uncomfortable and probably a bit grumpy by the end. Eames would worry about him though. He was already worrying about him. And there was no knowing when the tow truck would actually arrive.

After a moment, Eames sighed. He shifted in his seat, eyeing the back seat briefly before starting to carefully climb over the center console. “Come on.” 

He briefly caught sight of Arthur’s confused frown. “What?”

“I can see you shivering from here, and we both know the tow truck isn’t going to be here in an hour.” Eames managed to clear the console and settled into the back seat, motioning for Arthur to join him and trying desperately not to think about what he was about to suggest. “You need to stay warm, and you’re not going to do a very good job of that by yourself right now.”

Arthur looked away. “I’ll be fine, I’m still plenty warm, I just-” 

“Arthur, I can still see you shivering.”

A few seconds passed and Eames briefly thought Arthur was going to fight him further on it, but finally Arthur sighed, turning in his seat. “Fine.”

Arthur was usually a graceful man but there was no way to gracefully clear the center console, at least not in the car’s current position. Arthur nearly tripped as he climbed over it, looking down as Eames reached out to steady him. It wasn’t until he was settled in the space between the front and back seats that he finally looked at Eames, or at least in Eames’ direction. “So how are we…doing this?”

Eames swallowed. Under any other circumstances he would have welcomed a little extra heat, but the warmth currently climbing into his cheeks was wholly unwelcome. “We’ll just share the back seat. It’s fine, there’ll be enough room for both of us.”

Eames knew full well that wasn’t the question Arthur was asking, but it was the only one he was willing to address right now. Arthur considered him uncertainly for another moment before climbing onto the seat. It was an odd angle with the car tilted on the embankment, but it wouldn’t be impossible to manage. That didn’t make it any less awkward as Arthur climbed into his space though, Eames looking everywhere but at him in what he knew was a vain attempt to hide his encroaching blush.

“Why did I ever agree to come out to Dom’s for this stupid party?”

Arthur’s voice was slightly muffled as he pressed against Eames’ coat and Eames couldn’t help a small smile. “Because, as much as I hate to admit it, he throws a damn good party. And it’s always nice to see the kids.”

Arthur sighed. “I know. Right now though I’m sitting in a car in a ditch, freezing my ass off, so I’m a bit pissed about it.”

Eames chuckled quietly. “Alright, fair enough.”

Arthur continued to shift, trying to get comfortable, and Eames shifted as well to give him space. The easiest way would be for Arthur to settle between Eames’ legs- he knew that was the easiest way- but Eames could feel his face burning enough as it was without making it worse. Having his arm resting loosely across Arthur’s back as he tried to settle in was more than enough to bring Eames’ mind back to waking up, to the feeling of Arthur settled comfortably against him. Eames shoved the memory aside; that was the last thing he needed to think about right now.

The angle was awkward though, and every time Arthur seemed to find a position that might work, he started to slide off the seat. Eames hesitated for another moment before sighed. “Wait, okay, give me a moment.” Arthur pulled back and Eames shifted, motioning for Arthur to come back in once he’d repositioned himself. He kept his expression as neutral as he could, hoping the redness in his face wasn’t as noticeable as it felt. “Alright, let’s try that again.”

Arthur settled against him much easier this time, resting between Eames’ legs and against his chest. The feeling set off a new round of burning in Eames’ face, and he focused instead on the slight tremble he could feel through Arthur’s coat. “You know, this would all be easier if you had a normal body temperature.”

“Shut up. It’s not like I can control it.”

Eames frowned as he felt Arthur shiver more strongly, bringing his arms up to wrap around his back and shoulders. The movement still felt intimate, like maybe a step too far, but Arthur was clearly cold and this was the best way Eames could think to warm him up. “Bloody hell, darling. Are you really that cold?”

“Shut up,” Arthur repeated. He leaned into the contact though, pressing against Eames’ chest. Eames could feel him shivering more now, increased contact and the lack of anything else to focus on making it impossible to ignore. He could feel the tension in Arthur’s posture too, a stiff uncertainty that didn’t do anything to help the discomfort filling the air around them.

Silence settled in around them again. Eames did his best to keep his thoughts occupied with something- anything- other than where they wanted to drift to, but he knew it wasn’t a battle he was going to win. Not with Arthur huddled against him like this. Eames wanted to enjoy this. Wanted to be allowed to enjoy this. Wanted to be able to take in how it felt to have Arthur against him like this without it being clouded by the fact that it was simple necessity and nothing more. He wanted to be able to pull Arthur closer. To hold him because he wanted to, not because it would keep Arthur warm. He wanted it to be real, even if he knew it was an impossible wish.

“It’s…this is sort of like this morning. When we woke up.”

Arthur’s voice was quiet, but it was loud enough to pull Eames from his thoughts. “Hm?”

“Sitting like this.” There was uncertainty in Arthur’s voice, a hesitancy that Eames wasn’t used to seeing in Arthur. “You were…holding me like this when we woke up.”

Eames looked off to the side, the same embarrassment from earlier rushing back in. Arthur’s bluntness was something Eames had always found equal parts amusing and endearing. Right now, though, it slammed into Eames like a punch. He’d hoped that they could get away with simply never talking about it, letting it sit as a brief embarrassment best left unspoken, but that was clearly not going to be the case. “Listen, Arthur, about that, I…”

“It was…nice.”

Eames blinked, his thoughts slamming to a halt. “What?”

“It was nice. Waking up like that.” Arthur’s voice was halting. ‘I know that you…that it was just an accident. But it was…still nice, you know?”

Eames looked down, trying to process what Arthur was saying. He knew he should respond, say something, anything, but no words would come. After a moment of silence Arthur continued, bringing a gloved hand up to the lapel of Eames’ coat. His voice was so quiet, even in the silence of the car, with a soft quality that Eames couldn’t quite put his finger on. “I didn’t…I don’t want to make it…weird between us. You’re a good friend, and I don’t want to lose that. But I just…it was nice waking up like that. With you.”

Vulnerability, Eames realized. That’s what he was hearing in Arthur’s voice. Eames hesitated a moment longer before bringing his hand up, letting it rest gently on the back of Arthur’s neck. “It was, wasn’t it? Nice, waking up like that.” A little bit of the tension faded from Arthur’s shoulders. Not a lot, but enough to make Eames hope he wasn’t making a mistake as he rested his cheek hesitantly against the top of Arthur’s head. “So is this, actually.”

Arthur relaxed against him a bit more with a quiet laugh. “Well, except for the part about the car accident and freezing my ass off.”

Eames chuckled, pulling Arthur in a little closer. Part of him still worried Arthur would pull away, but he just nestled closer. “Well, I’m at least trying to help with the freezing bit.”

“Mm.” Arthur pressed his face against Eames’ coat. “You are very warm.” He paused again, and Eames could feel him bracing to say something else. “Sorry about yelling at you earlier. I just…wasn’t sure how to handle things after this morning, and I maybe handled them…a little poorly.”

Eames chuckled again. “I think we both did, love.” He let his hand brush gently against Arthur’s cheek. “Are you warming up alright?”

Arthur was pressed against him enough that Eames could feel his hum more than hear it. “Slowly but surely.”

The silence was more companionable than awkward as it filled the car again. Coats and outerwear made the situation clunkier than when Eames had woken with Arthur in his arms, but Eames couldn’t bring himself to care. Not really. Not when he was allowed to enjoy this. 

Arthur’s shivering was better but still not completely gone by the time Eames heard someone pull up onto the shoulder well over an hour later. He straightened up with a sigh- he didn’t want to have to move, but he knew he had to. “I think that’s the tow truck. Try not to lose all your body heat before I get back.”

Eames missed the feeling of Arthur against him as soon as he climbed out of the car for a number of reasons but the lack of extra heat- as minimal as it might have been- was one of them as the wind hit him again. He made his way up to the road, grateful to see that he had indeed been right about who the new motor had belonged to.

The tow truck driver had already climbed out and was looking at the car sticking out of the ditch, expression somewhere between annoyed and determined. “Seems like you managed to get yourself into a bit of a situation.”

Eames smiled sheepishly. “I suppose we did.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “We?”

“There are two of us in the car.”

“Well, get your friend and your bags out. It shouldn’t be too hard to get the car out, but it’ll be easier with you all already in the truck.”

Eames nodded and made his way back to the car door, opening it and motioning for Arthur to come out. “Our ride’s here.”

“Fucking finally.”

Eames carefully grabbed the bags from the car trunk before climbing into the cab of the tow truck after Arthur. The driver thankfully already had the heater going full blast- an entire drive out making the cabin nice and warm- but even still, Arthur was back against Eames as soon as he’d sat down, pressing against his side as he trembled. There was none of the hesitant awkwardness this time. Just Arthur seeking him out, nudging his way under Eames’ arm with muttered curses about the cold weather. 

And he…stayed there. Even after the tow truck pulled their car out of the ditch and loaded it onto the back of the truck and they were well on their way towards Las Vegas, the small space warm enough that Arthur’s shivering had long since stopped. He stayed there as they sat in the lobby of the rental car agency, only pulling away to head up to the counter and hash out the details of the accident and the rental insurance. And he stayed like that even once they boarded the bus to LA, resting his head on Eames’ shoulder rather than against the window as the bus pulled out. It was strange. Surprising. Wonderful. Arthur wanted this, wanted Eames’ arm around him and his cheek resting on the top of Arthur’s head. Wanted Eames to hold him. And Eames was more than happy to oblige. He’d wanted to for so long and now that he could, he wasn’t about to waste the opportunity. 

It was nearly midnight by the time the bus pulled into the state in LA, and almost one in the morning by the time the cab pulled up in front of Dom's house. Arthur paid the driver as Eames climbed out to get their bags from the trunk. It was pleasantly warm out despite the time, warm enough that any ice or snow that had come down was long melted. Eames couldn’t help but smile; not a single trace of the storm that had fucked their travel plans up so much.

Arthur caught up to him as he started heading towards the front door, letting out a tired sigh. “It’s good to finally be in.”

Eames hummed in agreement. “It’s certainly been a journey.”

“A fucking nightmare is more like it.”

Eames paused, looking over at Arthur in the darkness as they reached the door. “Maybe. I think it was worth it though.”

Arthur’s smile as he rang the doorbell was soft. He looked like he might have been about to speak when the door flew open, warmth and lamplight spilling over the threshold. “Took you two long enough to get here!” 

Eames smiled, letting Dom pull him into a loose hug- he must have already been a few drinks into the evening. “Yeah, it’s been a bit of a mess. We got here eventually though.”

“Even managed to get in before New Years Eve. Consider me impressed.” Dom pulled Arthur into a hug as well before stepping aside to let them in. “Everyone else has already gotten in, so now I guess it’s time for the celebrations to really start.”

“Well, you all have fun with that.” Arthur hung his coat up with a tired laugh. “I’m fucking exhausted, so any festivities are going to have to wait until tomorrow for me. Actual New Years Eve isn’t until then anyway. Or, well,” he paused, glancing at the clock on the wall, “today technically, I guess. Just far later in the day.”

Eames headed towards the stairs with their bags. “I’m also turning in.” He gave Dom an apologetic smile. “I promise we’ll be more fun this evening. So much so that you’ll regret inviting us.”

Arthur snorted. “You’ll regret inviting him. I’m an absolute delight.”

Dom laughed loudly- definitely a few drinks in- and the sound seemed to draw Ariadne out into the hallway. She grinned. “Hey assholes. I was starting to think you were standing us up.”

Eames returned her grin. “Good to see you too.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Did I hear correctly that you’re both ducking out of celebrations already this evening?”

Eames shrugged, starting towards the stairs with Arthur only a few steps behind. “Like I said, it’s been a long couple of days. We’ll just have to…” He paused, the sudden widening of Ariadne’s grin making him halt out of suspicion.”What?”

“Oh, nothing.” Ariadne motioned up towards the ceiling, still grinning. “You just wandered under mistletoe, though.”

Eames looked up with a sigh. Of course Dom had mistletoe hung up. In the entry hallway no less, like he always did. Eames usually remembered to avoid it when he came over during the holidays, but he was tired enough that it had slipped his mind this time. “You know, all I want to do is head upstairs and go to-”

He’d looked at Arthur for support but the slight smile on Arthur’s face made it clear that wasn’t what he was going to get. Instead, Arthur closed the space between them and Eames found a pair of lips pressed against his own with little more than a smile for warning. Not that he minded in the least. Dom let out a surprised noise as Ariadne laughed in the background, but Eames didn’t pay either of them any mind. He leaned into the kiss, dropping one of the bags he’d been carrying and bringing his hand up to cup Arthur’s face. Arthur’s lips were warm and soft and Eames could feel him smiling; he’d thought plenty of time about what it would be like to kiss Arthur, but he’d never imagined it would be as nice as this.

Arthur was still smiling when he finally pulled away, watching Eames with a fond look. He picked up the bag Eames had dropped, slipping his other hand into Eames’. “It’s been a lovely hello, but I’m exhausted and am heading to bed.” 

Eames knew his face was red as he turned to grin at Dom and Ariadne, but he didn’t care in the slightest. He shrugged, Arthur pulling him along as he started up the stairs. “I think we’ll only be needing one room this year.”

Dom laughed, shaking his head, while Ariadne gave Eames an excited thumbs up from the doorway. “Yeah, yeah, okay. You two get some rest, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” Eames shifted his attention back to Arthur, following him up the stairs. Arthur was still holding his hand and Eames gave it a squeeze. It hadn’t been an easy trip but, as Arthur squeezed his hand back, it really had been worth it.