drear | i will sail to the far shore

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i will sail to the far shore

[ Los Angeles is a city of easy prey, and that's nice, when he's not feeling up to a chase or trying to find new ways of getting close to Naoto. Not only that, it's where Heine lives.

At first he really thought the guy was fucking his beloved "sister". Continued denials and his own sniffing around have put that thought to rest, and then brought to light a new fact: Heine's pretty easy, too. It probably helps that he knows Magato has no interest in fame or fortune for himself. All Magato really wants is the fucking around—in all meanings of the phrase.

Speaking of fucking around, there's that one guy walking into the bar... Eames, if he remembers correctly. Sorta famous, sorta not, whatever. He definitely has a thing for Snowflake.

So of course Magato turns from where he's sitting at the bar and raises one hand in a lazy wave, fingers curling toward his palm. ]

Fancy seeing you tonight. You come here often?

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That girl knows everyone. It's hard to say.

[That being said, he wasn't too interested in discussing Heine's other business at the moment. He flagged down the server to get his bill, grinning.]

Sure. Try not to be too blown away by it.

[Time to delete most of those corny break up songs he'd been working on.]

Yeah, I'll keep my expectations low.

[ Heine pays off his own bill before they leave. This is more normal, though their usual pattern would include sex. Tonight Heine doesn't know if that's going to happen, but he's okay if it doesn't. They have more than physical desire in common. ]

So what kind of things have you been working on?

Don't make it sound like that's the norm.

[He tucked his hands into his pockets as he ambled forward, turning to glance at Heine.]

I've been experimenting with more retro 80's type of music.

[Or Toto lbr.]

Did you drive here?

[ I BLESS THE RAINS DOWN IN AFRICA ]

No, took a car. Did you?

[ With maybe half a drink in each of them, Heine isn't worried about getting in Eames' car if he did get himself here; calling a ride isn't hard either.

Though if Eames were driving Heine might have a slight excuse to not talk to him. ]

Same here.

[Because he figured he would either storm out right away or that he would wind up getting plastered and be unable to drive himself home.

He stepped out onto the sidewalk to flag down a cab, glancing over at Heine.]

Are you staying close to here?

[ Seems like their caution is resulting in a fairly uneventful trip back to Eames'. Heine nods and stands with his hands in his pockets, staring somewhere around knee-level at the street until he's asked another question. ]

Yeah, in the Marriott. Are you still living in the same place?

[ The hotel and where he remembers Eames living aren't too far apart; he could call a cab to get back easily. He doesn't want Eames thinking he's trying to overstay his welcome. ]

Yeah.

[He fell silent as a cab pulled out in front of them, and he opened the door to let Heine slide in first, settling down after him.]

It's a bit of a mess. I wasn't expecting anything out of this meeting, truthfully.

[Heine had probably seen it in worse states, but it made Eames a touch embarrassed that he'd let it fall so far because he'd been too much of a mess to take care of his place.]

Guess I'm glad I surprised you.

[ While getting into the cab, Heine is quiet for a while, looking out the window at the nightscape. ]

[Eames was glad too, but there was no use in putting it into words. He was fine with letting silence blanket them both, quiet until he had to lean forward to pay the driver as he slowed to a stop in front of his place.

As he headed towards the elevator of his apartment complex, idly he wondered if he should be looking into new places soon. His career had been taking off ever since he had participated in the Voice, and eventually the anonymity he had here wouldn't last.

But for now, he was happy to unlock the door to his apartment, gesturing for Heine to go in first before locking the door behind them. Clothes and take out boxes were strewn everywhere, and his furniture in the living room had been pushed to one side to make space for a huge canvas that was only halfway finished. There were vague shapes outlined by huge explosions of color, and the tarp keeping his floor neat crunched underneath his shoes as he moved towards his recording room.

Unlike the chaos of his living room, it was relatively neat in it, the only thing out of place was a lone mug that had once housed tea.]

You want anything to eat or drink?

[ The quiet is better than awkward conversation. When they make it upstairs, Heine is thinking about what to say. Anything other than production or musical possibilities seems too personal, but talking only about technical parts of the work seems too distant.

Luckily Eames' apartment provides some easy conversation topics. ]

From your kitchen right now? [ Because... it was a little scary. ] No thanks.

[ He jerks his head at the computer. ]

Show me what you have.

It's not like I can't wash up.

[Eames tried to look offended, but considering the state of his apartment, he didn't blame Heine.

He sat down at his computer to bring up the latest tracks he was working on, glad that his highly self indulgent and self pitying ones were in a completely different folder. He got back up, handing Heine the headphones and settling down across from him on a chair.]

Have at it.

[He could go clean, he supposed, but he also wanted to see Heine's honest reactions and hear his critiques.]

I'll play it safe.

[ Which is ironic, given what he's been up to for the past few months, but whatever. Heine has other things to do. Taking the headphones, he sits in the other chair and starts to play the tracks in the editing software.

As demos, they still need more work. But like he thought before, Eames has the creative spark and artistic voice that shines through. He listens to one of the tracks about halfway through before stopping and saying anything.

Talking about the music is easy. This kind of conversation is work, and work has never been emotional for him. ]

This sound is new. What's the sequence you're using in the bridge, a two-four-five?

[ It's good. Heine starts to continue playing it, holding the headphones to one ear. ]

[It's on the tip of his tongue to make a smart ass remark about how anything in Eames' kitchen would be infinitely safer than anything of Magato's, but their agreement to patch things up and try again was still tenuous. He didn't want to ruin it by being catty so early, so instead he was just content to watch Heine as he started listening to his work, admiring his profile and resisting the urge to lean forward and tuck his face into the back of his neck where wisps of his hair were tickling his neck.

When Heine spoke, he forced his gaze back up to his, distracted.]

Yeah. You caught onto it quickly. Like it?

[ Heine doesn't notice the intensive stare Eames is giving his neck, even when he turns around to talk to him. The room is dim except for the glow of the screen on them. ]

Yeah. I'm going to start the next one.

[ As he continues to listen, Heine relaxes by fractions into the chair, head tilted to the side to follow the rhythm of the song. ]

[As it seemed like Heine was settling in, Eames left him to it, going to start trying to clean up his flat, starting with the kitchen. He washed dishes then gave everything a good scrub down, before poking into his fridge to see what was edible. Unfortunately, he hadn't been grocery shopping in a while, but on the upside, he had stocked up on beer.

He took out two bottles, heading back towards his makeshift studio, holding one out to Heine.]

So what would you change?

[ Heine takes the bottle, barely looking over before he pops the top open, already engrossed in the music. ]

The lines coming into the second bridge could use something more. Tension or energy before the resolution.

[ Finally turning back towards Eames Heine takes a swig of the drink. ]

What do you think?

I'm a big fan of air horns for energy.

[Eames joked, settling back down in his seat as he started nursing his drink, watching Heine's face with a small smile.]

But I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised you don't hate it all. Before you used to be so critical.

[ While Eames smiles, Heine doesn't quite return the expression. He looks back at Eames, holding his gaze while he drinks. ]

What, would you prefer if I said everything I didn't like first?

[ Despite the retort, Heine follows it up with a quieter statement. ]

I never thought you were bad.

I was always a bad news first sort.

[The quiet admission though, did draw him up short. He took a small drink to buy him time, nodding his slightly as he mulled over that information. He knew Heine hadn't thought he was atrocious, but in the beginning, it had been mostly barbs and no positive feedback. It hadn't bothered him back then, because how could you be an artist nowadays with a thin skin, but to hear that was... nice.]

Thanks.

[Then, clearing his throat loudly so they could get back to work, he leaned forward slightly.]

Let's go over your suggestions then. And don't hold back.

[ Bad news first sort. Heine agrees, himself, but something about the way Eames accept the praise with obviously genuine feeling takes Heine aback.

He takes another long swig of his drink. ]

Yeah, okay.

[ Turning back to the screen, Heine starts to step through the suggestions. He has specifics and a few more open-ended tips. After wrapping up Heine leans back in his seat, resting the bottom of his bottle on his hip. ]

So what are you planning?

[As always, Heine's advice was rather pointed and blunt, but at least he offered good solutions for the weaknesses he found instead of just biting barbs. After having worked with a few other producers in the business, Eames had realized that the better ones would be able to not just find out what was wrong with a song, but how to fix it. Heine had spoiled him into thinking it was an industry standard when it was, in fact, not.

He made mental notes for his suggestions to work on later when Heine stopped him short with the question. He took a drink to drain the rest of his beer, shrugging as he got up.]

For the music? Or for tonight?

[The last was asked with a pointed expression, one eyebrow raised.]

[ Heine doesn't have much time to drink, between the suggestions, so he takes his time drinking during and after Eames' question. ]

...for the music.

[ Tonight is much riskier than music. ]

[The answer was expected but nevertheless a bit disappointing, and Eames had to laugh, settling back in his seat.]

My agent says I should do a full album and go on tour promoting it and everything. I have maybe five songs at the moment I feel could be put on an album after some serious work, but the rest...

[He waved a hand, as if to say 'it'll happen as it happens'.]

If you can get something out in the next couple of months, you'll ride the publicity of the show airing.

[ The last few episodes had broadcasted a while back, but Eames would still have time. That fame had never seemed to be his goal, though. Heine eyes him more directly before speaking again. ]

You're not in a rush.

I'd rather put out something I'm proud of than something that will sell well.

[Which was his agent's biggest reason to drink, but it wasn't as if Eames wasn't still making relatively decent money. He shrugged, toying with the bottle in his hands.]

My channel is doing well so I can always promote through that.

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