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Eames lasted three days before he wanted to try going under with Arthur and Ariadne. He apparently only changed form on the full moon itself and only until sunrise. He didn't have the same urgency beneath his skin now, no agitation beyond the ordinary restlessness he normally had from staying in one place for far too long. Sex was a wonderful way to pass the time, especially with two other people, though even that wasn't enough to hold his interest at the moment. He couldn't shift on his own the way their former employer had been able to do, and Eames wondered if it was because he was too new at this or because it was a specific skill a werewolf had to learn. It couldn't be too difficult; he was a forger, dammit, and changing his shape was something he was used to doing. It was willpower and knowledge, a trick of the light and mirrors. He was sure he could figure it out as he went along.
He felt a rumble in his gut when he saw Arthur and Ariadne sitting together on the steps of the villa facing the expansive yard. Their heads were bent together, his hand along her spine. It could be perfectly innocent, and he couldn't smell any arousal on either of them. Still, it was driving him up the wall. It wasn't as bad as before the change, when he would have to bite his tongue or fuck Ariadne into oblivion to mark his territory. Arthur was as much his as Ariadne was at this point, truth be told, even if Arthur didn't seem to think so. They were both his, dammit, and he wasn't about to lose either of them, not even to each other.
His hearing was excellent, and he could make out more of their conversation as he approached. "...adjust the formula. If there was anything different in his metabolism or chemistry now, that is," Arthur was saying.
"How are we going to be able to get in touch with him, though? You said there wasn't a phone in his den. That's why Cobb had to go directly to Mombasa to get him."
Oh. Yusuf. They were talking about dreaming again. They were figuring out how he could stay in the business.
Eames made his step more easily heard and they turned to look at him. There was no guilt in their expressions, no hasty removal of hands or shifting of positions. It just added to the fact that they weren't fucking around without him, weren't more interested in each other than in him.
Yes, he was a selfish bastard. But he'd never pretended to be anything other than what he was, and they both knew him well by now.
"So you want to try it?" he said, pasting a smile on his face.
"It might not be safe..."
He brushed off Arthur's concern as the inconvenience it was. "You were worried about the ibuprofen while I was wolf and I was fine. This will be the same."
"Are you sure?" Ariadne warbled.
He thought of those lips wrapped around his cock, about her slender figure bent over the bed so he could take her from behind. Arthur could watch, or maybe join in. Maybe Eames would fuck him after. He was even more insatiable now than he used to be, so it was just as well he had the both of them. Eames wondered if he was wearing them out.
"I'll be fine," Eames replied with a wide grin. If he could contemplate sex while engaging in perfectly neutral conversation, he was more than fine. It was just an extension of who he used to be, after all. He was nothing if not appreciative of either gender and of sex in particular. Anything and everything was good, especially now. He sat beside Ariadne and threw an arm around her shoulders, his hand landing on Arthur's shoulders. "So what shall we dream of, my darlings? The Riviera? The Bahamas?" He grinned even wider, if that was possible, his teeth looking almost impossibly sharp in the sunlight. "You can't get sore in a dream, after all."
"Are you serious?" Arthur asked, irritated. "Are you still thinking about sex?"
Eames licked Ariadne's ear. "You say that as if I've ever stopped."
Arthur snorted and looked out across the field. "You're incorrigible."
"Thank you," he replied, not fazed in the slightest. If anything, it was making him more determined to turn Arthur into a wrecked, gibbering mass of sensitized nerve endings. "So? Any ideas of where you'd like to visit in dreams?"
Ariadne pressed a kiss to the underside of Eames' jaw. "I have a place in mind. I'll be the dreamer, you both can be the subjects."
Eames' eyes were intense. "Then let's start dreaming."
Ariadne's dream was a field beside an imposing white castle. The front gate was guarded by a gryphon, a wyvern, and a hippogriff that looked more like a winged horse. She couldn't help but laugh at the stunned faces that Arthur and Eames made at her. "So? Where do you want to go? I used to come here all the time when I was little. The library was the best part when I was a kid. I read all these books that didn't exist and never would, and it was fabulous. Or we can explore the fields. I know there's a lagoon somewhere close, and caves, and ravens... I remember seeing a white raven once."
"This place is amazing," Arthur said, taking it all in. "Is this what limbo looks like?"
She snorted at the inadequate comparison. "Maybe mine? I don't know. Certainly not Cobb's, and not what I would want to spend a lifetime in. But a perpetual afternoon? Why not?"
Eames looked around, taking in the details that she had created within the dream. "This... I'm seeing everything you built, and this is fantastic." He grinned at Arthur suddenly. "And it also means that there is nothing to stop me from continuing to work in dream share. Business is still good, and it's not over yet."
Ariadne took off at a run across the field, feeling the infectious happiness she always used to feel at coming there in her dreams as a child. "Race you!"
The men didn't even think about it. They took off at a run after her.
"Yer not gonna like this, Boss," Mervyn Pumpkinhead said, broom hoisted over his shoulder. His cigarette hung low from his pumpkin mouth, eyes as empty as ever. Dream looked up from the chessboard he was contemplating, eyes like stars in his head. Then the moment passed and he sat up, Daniel again. "You've got trespassers on the green."
"Trespassers, Merv? All dreamers may visit here."
"Well, you know." He rolled the cigarette to the other side of his mouth. "These are sort of awake. They didn't just fall asleep. They're machine dreamers, only they're here instead of in their own little parallel world like usual."
"All those worlds are still mine," Daniel replied mildly. He rose, white robes falling soundlessly into place. "I'll talk with these dreamers and see what it is they want."
Mervyn snorted but let him do what he wanted. He was Dream, after all. He was in control of all the Dreaming and everything in it, including rogue lucid dreamers. It wasn't as if he was in charge at the moment anyway.
Daniel found them in one of the open fields beyond the castle. He recognized them right away; the girl used to visit all the time when she was young, and his prior aspect had found her awe and fearlessness amusing. The two men had not visited the Dreaming in years because of the way somnacin blocked entry through the gates of dreaming. They could only visit parallel worlds with the somnacin, and the drug made it difficult to perceive the Dreaming in whole. That was why architects were so very necessary for that kind of dreaming. Otherwise it was a formless and pale shadow of the Dreaming, without enough of Dream's power to make it real enough to sustain the dream.
This was the girl's dream, though it was created with somnacin. As the architect, she was able to recreate enough of the detail of her prior natural dreams that there was no barrier between aspects of the Dreaming. She had transported them directly into Dream's realm, and there they were sitting in the field. They were so pleased to be dreaming together, and for a moment Dream felt his Daniel self so keenly; he was an outsider here, not part of their group. He ruled the Dreaming, but these were not subjects under his control.
The broader of the two men had the feel of wolf about him, though it was weak and new. In time he would grow to that aspect of his heritage, Daniel was sure. For right now, he was still more human than wolf. He darted forward to pull the girl into his lap. "Eames!" she squeaked. He kissed her as the other man rolled his eyes at her. "Ariadne, you're just encouraging him right now."
Eames merely grinned at the slender man. "Jealous, Arthur. I've plenty of kisses for you, too."
"Insatiable," Arthur groused, though he did shift his position closer to Eames. He ignored the other man's knowing grin, and Ariadne laid down across both of their laps. She wiggled around playfully, smiling happily up at them. "What are you grinning about?" he said, though the sour tone was belied by the light in his eyes.
Daniel stayed where he was, frozen on the spot as she reached up and traced the curve of his cheek, her thumb rubbing against his lips. "I liked being here as a kid. I'm glad I'm able to share this with the both of you."
There was kissing, and Eames knelt behind Ariadne to press kisses along the back of her neck. He was pulling at her clothes and tickling her, her laughter goading him on. Before long even Arthur had started doing that as well, and each man bent a head down to suckle on a breast. "Hey," Ariadne gasped. "We can do this at the same time, here. It's a dream, right? No need to play along with real world physics. You wouldn't even need to prep me."
Eames raised his head, a wolfish grin on his face. "Oh, I am a corrupting influence on you," he said in a pleased tone of voice. He reached out and slid his hand along the back of Arthur's neck. "There's hope for you yet, then. I'll fuck you senseless and show you how good it can be," he purred.
Arthur's eyes were blown wide with desire, lips parted and moist. Ariadne kissed those lips and shifted so that she was between the two men. Rooted to the spot, the most Daniel could do was make his image shimmer a bit. The floral aspect of his robes would almost blend in with the field, and they might simply think he was glare from the overhead sun. He couldn't stop watching them, couldn't stop wanting to be with them or part of what they had.
Ariadne climbed on top of Arthur and leaned forward enough for Eames to push his way inside her rear entrance. It was a tangle of limbs and teeth and tongues, laughter and awkward touches until they fell into a rhythm that seemed to work. Arthur's head was thrown back at the sensation and Eames had his mouth on the side of Ariadne's neck, sucking a bruise into it. She was mewling and gasping, one hand clutching behind her at Eames and the other holding onto Arthur. With the dream changing the dynamics of sex, they didn't stop rocking or grinding into each other with the first orgasm. If anything, it seemed to start a cascade of pleasure within the three of them, leading Arthur to spit out curses in five languages. Ariadne laughed breathlessly, pulling him close to her. "You did wonder what it would be like to have multiples," she gasped.
"Fuck," Eames said with feeling. "Holy motherfucking fuck, Ariadne," he growled, biting at the sinew of her neck and scraping his fingernails down Arthur's back. "I had no idea it could feel like this. Bless you and your dirty, filthy mind."
Daniel watched as they eventually slowed. Ariadne was whimpering and sore in spots, and ultimately curled on her side to watch Eames push Arthur onto his back. Arthur was slick and wet with Ariadne's juices, and Eames simply pushed into him, his hands on Arthur's slim hips. He arched and howled in response to the entry, writhing in pleasure when Eames unerringly hit his prostate. "God, I can't," Arthur gasped, reaching up to grasp Eames' shoulders. "Too much, I can't hold on..."
"So come, darling," Eames said, his voice a rumbling sound that resembled a growl. "I'm not done with you yet."
Arthur spurted over his abdomen, low whining noises in his throat. Ariadne reached forward and smeared his come into his skin, then grasped his cock and gave gentle tugs on it as she licked and nibbled at his earlobe. "It's a dream," she whispered, voice thick with desire. For a moment, Daniel thought he could see his androgynous sibling shimmering in his realm without invitation. But Desire wasn't truly there, and Arthur was arching and twisting between the two of them, until he came again over Ariadne's hand.
Eames slowed when he was finally spent, and the three of them lay in the grass looking up at the clear blue sky. "So I can still dream," he said softly, wonder in his voice.
"So you can," Arthur said, not looking at him. He was conflicted about how much he had enjoyed Eames' attentions, just as he had been since it had all started on the night of the full moon. Ariadne simply pushed aside her reservations, telling herself it didn't matter as long as the three of them were all okay.
"When it's safe, we'll get back into dream share," Ariadne said, propping herself up on one elbow to look at the two of them. "Until then, we still have this."
Daniel left the field when Ariadne and Eames kissed, their hands stroking Arthur's chest. He had been an intrusion enough as it was. They would leave, and they might or might not return. He wouldn't bar their way if they did, especially not if all they wanted was time together.
Mervyn removed his cigarette and leaned on his push broom as Daniel came back into the parlor, a slight flush to his cheeks. "You okay, Boss? You tell them trespassers what for?"
"They aren't trespassers," Daniel corrected mildly, sitting down in front of his chessboard. The pieces were brass and onyx, and one brass bishop was missing. He looked up at Mervyn's disbelieving expression. "They are welcome here anytime."
Muttering under his breath, Mervyn went off to do his duties. He left Daniel to contemplate the chessboard and its missing piece.