bakerstreet | (no subject)

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the i n s o m n i a meme

It happens to everyone - sometimes, you have nights where you just can't fall asleep, no matter what you do. It could be for a number of reasons, or no reason at all. And this is what's happened now: you've been laying in bed for what feels like hours, just tossing and turning, and nothing seems to help. So what's left to do? Get out of bed and go wake someone else up, of course. If you're not getting any sleep, then why should they?

i n s t r u c t i o n s

• Post with your character (note the name and fandom in the subject).
• Other people reply to you by generating a number from 1 to 10.
• Have fun!

o p t i o n s

01 • FEAR. Maybe you're hearing strange, indeterminable noises; maybe there's a severe storm happening outside; maybe you watched a scary movie before bed? Whatever the reason, you're terrified and it's keeping you awake. You just want to wake someone else up so they can protect you from the monster in your closet.
02 • HUNGER. Your stomach is growling and it just won't stop. Or perhaps your throat is so dry you could cough up a tumbleweed? Well, you've gone to the kitchen to remedy this and hey, that was a pan that just dropped on the floor. It was loud enough to wake the dead! Oops.
03 • PAIN. Your body is completely worn out, be it from exercise, battle, sickness, or what have you. Either way you're in enough pain to keep you from sleeping, so maybe someone else has a home remedy or something, or can at least help you take your mind off of it.
04 • SOLITUDE. For some reason, your bed just feels so empty at the moment. You're feeling terribly lonely and really just want someone to keep you company for a while. Maybe it'd be easier to fall asleep if you're with them...
05 • DISCOMFORT. Your room is an oven. Either that or a freezer. Or maybe this bed is just really uncomfortable? Who knows why you can't get to sleep, it feels like it could be anything. Why even bother trying? Maybe someone else can preoccupy you until you feel tired enough to ignore your discomfort.
06 • PENSIVE. Something's on your mind, and no matter how hard you try to focus elsewhere, it's just not going to work. Your body may be tired, but your mind is incredibly busy and it's virtually impossible to get to sleep. Surely, talking it out with someone else will help?
07 • SADNESS. Something terrible has happened that day, perhaps; or you could just be severely depressed. Either way you're trying your hardest not to cry yourself to sleep, and it's not working at all. Better find a way to get it out of your system somehow; you need a shoulder to cry on.
08 • ANGER. You are just... fuming. Who knows why - that annoying dog is barking again, or maybe the people next door are getting busy and keeping you awake. Whatever the reason for your ire is, you'd better put an end to it so you can get some damn rest already! Go wake up a friend so you can complain to them.
09 • RESTLESS. You're far too energetic to sleep right now. Maybe you're just trying to do so out of necessity - you have to be up early tomorrow! But you just don't think you'll be able to fall asleep for a while now, so why waste the time trying to sleep when you could be doing something else? Namely bothering someone else - you're totally jealous because they're getting more sleep than you.
10 • WILDCARD. Choose one of the options above, or make up your own scenario.

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"Little green number on the corner." He replied, "Ought to be able to get into it and get it running with the least amount of trouble." Mostly because he didn't think it was even locked, it was the sort of vehicle that people thought no one would bother stealing.

"Now the real question is, do you want to come with, or should I come back for you?" There were risks either way, if he came along it would be a further walk on a bad leg, and even Eames would admit that there was no guarantee that he could even get the thing going. Waiting for Eames to double back would leave him more-or-less in the open for longer and ran the chance of both of them being noticed more easily.

Arthur nodded then paused as he gave Eames' question a good amount of thought. Both had their pros and cons but for Arthur, one out weighed the other right now when time was of the essence.

"I'll come with you," he said. He didn't worry that Eames wouldn't come back (he had proved he would) but he was more concerned that they were in the open and had the higher chance of being found out. Arthur had been through worse and managed, he'd be fine for the duration of the walk.

He grabbed his bag and the PASIV before looking at him. "Let's get going."

He just nodded once, "We'll take the elevator, I know they haven't found the building you're in yet or they'd have posted spotters." He explained, offering a hand either for one of the bags or to keep Arthur steady if he needed it, "Due east once we're out the front door, heading towards the light as it were."

The sun wasn't yet up, but there was definitely a gradual lightening in the eastern sky, "Car's actually around the corner, adjoining street." It was habit for him, really, to explain things aloud, though usually only when it came to his designs, but that was mostly because it didn't often come up in a real world situation.

He nodded. "It's better than them knowing the building," he admitted, though that was obvious enough.

Going out together and getting away as quick as possible meant there was less time that one of the people on watch duty would notice something amiss. Arthur looked at the offered hand and handed his bag over to him. The PASIV was easily hidden away in a rolling case and wouldn't look out of place, it was much easier than carrying it at least.

"On the corner or further down the street part ways," he asked walking to the door. Either way, he was committed. Arthur would bear the pain for now, needing all of his senses on alert, but later, when it was safer, he'd take out one of those 'in case of emergency' pills and rest it while they wait to get to a destination. Then from there, hoping onto another train, going elsewhere wouldn't be too difficult to manage.

"You go north." He nodded that direction, just in case Arthur wasn't quite up to speed on the compass directions yet, "I'll catch up to you once I've got the car and then we'll be on our way." He was sending Arthur that direction deliberately, because it would keep a building between him and the direction that Eames had last seen any pursuit from.
He was doing everything he could to minimize their chances of getting caught.

He'd been right about the car being unlocked, and had in fact overestimated how long it would take him to get it going. It was less than three minutes after they'd parted ways at the corner that he pulled up ahead of Arthur, waiting at the curb, popping the door open from the inside to let him in.

Arthur understood just what Eames was doing and didn't bother trying to argue the point (or surprisingly enough, insist he knew just which way was north). He nodded and set forth in the direction that Eames had indicated.

The trick was to look like you know exactly where you're going and that you belong there and despite how much his leg was hurting, he was doing just that. That wasn't to say he didn't breath a little sigh of relief as soon as he saw the little green number pull ahead of him and stall by the side of the road.

He made his way toward the car and opened up the backdoor before lifting the PASIV inside. Then it was scant seconds later that he was settled in the passengers seat. "Onward and upward as they say."

"Better that than down and out." He agreed with a nod, pulling back out onto the road. The route he took to the train station was a circular one, though not so much as to be noticeable, just enough to throw off a tail instead of gain one.

One thing that Eames had always appreciated about train stations was that they operated nearly 24/7, and so even at this pre-dawn hour the lobby was open and there was someone manning the ticket kiosk. He steered Arthur towards a row of seats before continuing on to get tickets.

Dropping into the seat beside the other man a few minutes later he said: "We're in luck, the metro commuter arrives in about a half hour, it'll take us somewhere more central and we'll have our pick of destinations from there."

He nodded, having settled as comfortably as he could in the seat while Eames got their tickets. "Sounds like a plan," he said, looking at him. Arthur liked train stations for the mere fact that it wouldn't take them long at all to get to another city, another country without leaving much of a paper trail. Had they gone by car, they would have to hide the getaway car in case anyone looked for it.

"Did you have anything new lined up after this," he asked after a moment, resting his head back against the wall. Other than getting away that was.

He shook his head, "No, not this time. Was looking forward to having a bit of time to myself, actually." He shrugged one shoulder, "Or at least time that I didn't have to spend running for my life."

While he looked utterly at ease to anyone passing by, he was alert in a way only the truly paranoid could be, assessing every newcomer and keeping an eye on their potential exits, just in case something came up and they needed one.

"And yet, here you are, on the run with me," he said, with a wry quirk of his mouth. At least for now they were. Once they get to another country or the main city, Eames was free to go on himself. Arthur didn't expect for Eames to stay the entire time. They never did after all.

Arthur was all too aware of their surroundings. It was instinct for men like them to be constantly aware and paranoid of their environment, just in case.

When the announcement came that their train had arrived, Arthur waited a minute or two before he stood from the chair. "Lets get out of here."

"Best idea I've heard in the past few hours." He agreed, shouldering the bag he had been carrying again before Arthur could get it. That done he offered Arthur a hand up if he needed it, "Besides, there's people I'd have a much harder time being on the run with." He added, smile gone crooked.

"There's some people in this business I actually can't stand, believe it or not." Most people didn't believe it, mostly due to the fact that Eames seemed to get along with everyone he worked with, though that was mostly because if he didn't get along with someone he made a point not to work with them again.

After sitting for as long as he had, Arthur appreciated Eames' help and took his hand and stood before he grabbed the rolling case. He sent him a thankful look.

His eyebrows rose in mock shock. "You? Not like someone," he asked, allowing himself a little smile as they walked toward the doors leading them out toward the train. "Color me surprised." Though he figured that had been the case. He was much the same way.

Arthur was at a point in his career that he could pick and choose who he wanted to work with and who had the best reputation to get a job done. He no longer had to work with those he didn't get along with or work well with. Despite their slightly different work methods, he and Eames tended to get along for the most part. There was at least respect there and he appreciated that.

"I know, it's a shock. Do let me know if you're going to swoon, rather not have you rolling off the platform." It was the same conversational tone, not-quite deadpan, but dangerously close to it. Though at the same time it was a far cry from his actual conversational tone which was always just a little conspiratorial and usually completely engaged.

"I'm lucky, I suppose, being something of a specialist, never really had to scrape by working with people I don't like." And that was definitely the truth, his first few jobs -like anyone's- were a little rocky, especially considering his military background, until he'd sort of fallen into his own as a Forger instead of an Architect, and after that he'd mostly been able to pick and choose the jobs that caught his eye.

"I'll be sure to give you plenty of warning in case I can't help myself but swoon," Arthur said, his tone just as deadpan as Eames' was.

Arthur nodded. "That is a pro to your line of work." He knew all too well what it was like coming into this business with military background. Arthur had been former Special Ops himself before he was brought onto the dreamshare project. It was purely through Arthur's resilience and ability to get any and all information needed (and more) that he (relatively) quickly became one of the best point men out there. Which then afforded him the ability to say yes or no to certain jobs. "Took a little longer for me to get to that point."

"Ticket?"

He pulled the tickets out, handing one to Arthur and keeping his own accessible, "It's also a con at the same time." He replied, "Because most jobs don't need a specialist, so if the only ones that do are people I don't like to work with."

He gave an entirely eloquent shrug, "Lean times, that's all. But really it ends up being feast or famine, and comes down to whether I've saved enough during the windfall to coast through the drought."

Arthur took the ticket offered and left it accessible as they walked to the platform.

He nodded in agreement to Eames' words. "Always a smart choice to save for those times where there are dry spells," he agreed and stepped onto the waiting train. It's what he did, in any case. He prepared for the worst.

His leg hurt but soon they would be sitting for a period of time and he wouldn't have to move much if all went according to plan. At least until they arrived at the main station.

Something they had in common, Eames had discovered, the stocking up, squirreling funds away for later if they were needed. He let Arthur board first, ready to catch him if necessary, and guarding his back just in case they hadn't lost their tail as thoroughly as they both thought.

Luckily they had, and got seated without mishap, luggage stowed, but easy to grab again if necessary. Eames, for his part, dropped into his seat, practically sprawling like a house cat trying to take up a whole cushion on its own, "We've about 90 minutes before we get there, and we'll have our pick of exit points from there."

"Any direction you're thinking of or preferring over the other," he asked and settled into his seat with his legs stretched out in front of him. He did, to some degree, still expect Eames to be the first to split ways come the main station but he wouldn't say that. Wouldn't be the first to bring it up.

While he was starting to feel a little more at ease knowing they were getting away, he knew he wouldn't fully relax until they were out of the country. But this was a good start as any.

He shook his head, "Not besides more or less going back the way we've come from, only going further past it. Instinct is to say whatever station's furthest away from the hub we're headed to now. But common sense says perhaps not that far out."

He tilted his head, "How about you? Any hidey-holes socked away in this neck of the woods?" He knew they both had an assortment of safe houses dotted here and there all over the place, but he never kept track of Arthur's except as far as knowing approximately where the other man was at any given time, following his migratory patterns, as it were.

"I agree," he said with a nod and rest his head back against the seat. "Perhaps not going that far out would be best. That would be something they would suspect."

He hummed and thought about it and the area they were in. "I have a place outside of Berlin if we want to go in that direction." It wouldn't be too far outside of the realm of possibility in any case. They were in Europe and it took only a matter of minutes to hours to reach another country. Especially by train.

There was only a moment of mental calculation before he nodded, "Haven't been out that way in a while." Mostly due to outstanding gambling debts, though he was fairly certain he had since paid those off. Either way, it wasn't something he was going to let scare him off so easily.

He nodded, "Seems as good a plan as any, if you can put up with my company for that long." A shrug, "And if we have to move, I've a place near Trier, opposite side of the country." Because he suspected anyone really looking for them wouldn't think to look in the same time zone, let alone the same geographical borders.

"Probably safest bet," Arthur agreed with another nod. This way, if worse came to worse and they had to make a speedy getaway, he doubted no one would think of them staying within the same country.

His lips quirked up a little as he glanced at Eames. "I can. Think you could? Put up with my company for that long."

He managed to keep his smile in check, if barely, though the amusement was obvious in his eyes, "Suppose we'll find out." Was his reply, shifting his shoulders against his seat, settling in, "Though if it turns out I can't, I promise to go for a walk instead of shooting you, if it's any consolation."

That was definitely a joke, he'd often claimed, generally after pulling Arthur out of trouble, that he'd done it because he was the only one who got to kill the other man, but there was little chance of his doing so outside of kicking him out of a dream.

"I would appreciate that," Arthur responded if only a little dryly and a small quirk of his mouth. "Getting shot once in a week period is enough."

It was a joke that he had come to expect from the forger and one that he assured him was the same in return. There were times that he too made sure there wasn't anyone after the forger because if anyone had the pleasure of doing so, it would be Arthur. Not that he would but all the same.

He hummed softly, nodding once in agreement, "That does sound like a reasonable quota for that sort of thing." That same quiet amusement was still there. It was nice, really, to be able to joke about that sort of thing, a little morbid, perhaps, but still nice.

"Some might even say it was a high one, but I suspect those people have very boring lives." Soon enough the smile was going to break through again, especially if Arthur kept teasing back.