[ Eames lets him have it, straightening up and now free hands curling at the top of the door where the molding sits, anchoring his fingers into the divots. Experimentally, he pulls himself up with it, peering at Yusuf all the while before he lets his feet touch the ground again, not wanting to, you know, break the doorframe or whatever. ]

I used to think I was so observant.

[ The faint circular burn mark on the kitchen floor seems substantially less incriminating in light of pictorial evidence. Yusuf tries to orient himself where the photographer would have been standing-- they were preoccupied at the time, but surely one of them would have noticed someone squatting by the island to blatantly take a picture of them-- before he realizes what an exercise in futility this is. Trying to figure out the City's methods implies the City has limitations, which it obviously doesn't.

The wisps of smoke and curling mistletoe almost look picturesque.

Not content to be corralled in the toilet for this conversation, Yusuf moves past Eames. ] And then you got old.

[ Old. Eames lets Yusuf shoulder past him, following along just as well after cutting out the light int he bathroom and shutting the door. He plops down onto one of the couches present in the basement, continuing with what he'd come down here in the first place - to clean the PASIV while teasing Yusuf to make the task far less tedious. He opens up the silver casing, setting it down on the small table in front of him as he quirks his brows up at the other man. ]

Does that mean you can look to me as a mirror into the future?

[ But back to the photo - ]

I'd heard of the kissing curse.

We are two very different people, my friend. [ Not so different that they don't get along like gum left in a pair of trousers after they've been once through the wash- but I digress. Sinking into most recent find, Yusuf sets the photo on his knee where they can both see it. If Yusuf were anyone else, he might be at risk of a double floating around, but when Eames brings up the kissing curse Yusuf has to grin. ]

Had you? [ Glancing idly at the image and then back to Eames. ] How did that come up?

[ Building the PASIV on their owns meant that some things had to be left out in favor of others - including the self-cleaning system. For safety's sake, Eames chooses to replace the lines and needles after each use; it means more work, certainly, but less of a chance of spreading disease between the lot of them. Eames pops the coils from their fastenings, humming lightly in thought as his eyes move from Yusuf's smile to what his fingers are doing. ]

A girl filled me in on what I'd missed, apparently, including something involving mistletoe that crops up during the winter.

[ The system they've derived is actually pretty clever. With her place as Head of Engineering, Ariadne supervises all work orders and inventory. How she managed to get a 400 meter spool of plastic tubing back to the flat apparently all by herself is still a mystery to all of them- but the important part is it's still a mystery to Stark Industries that it's even gone missing. The next day a bag of sharps was on Yusuf's work desk, Eames reclined in the only chair Yusuf had at the time, crunching away at an apple with his socked feet propped up on a footstool. And of course, Yusuf brings in the chemicals-- he has half of his work for Stark Industries set up here anyway, so when a little ether goes missing, no one asks any questions. ]

Strange place, this. [ Yusuf shrugs. ] Managed to make introductions both easier and more complicated.

Is that what you call it?

[ It's a bit of a ruthless tease, but there's the peek of teeth behind his smile as he unrolls the lines, needles safely tucked away inside their canullas. Easier and more complicated indeed - as well as relationships, if one only has to look at Ariadne and her old boy George. At any moment someone can be snogging someone else, or believing they're someone else, or living a life that doesn't involve who they might want. The City is trying only at the worst of times, Eames thinks, aside from being far from where he'd like to be at all, the consistent heat of Kenya with its seasonal humidity, the winding streets or the beaches. ]

Well, I'm not saying it got me this job, [ Teasing? Yes, Yusuf is well accustomed to that. ] but...

[ He doesn't have to mention that he hasn't been wanting for much lately-- much that the city can't provide him with, anyway. Upstairs there is the click of Pancake's claws against the tile, a pause at the door that leads down to the basement, and then the sound of something else drawing the little round dog's attention away. A fat cat slinks down the stairs, tail flicking in greeting.

At least she isn't carrying another sock... ]

[ There's a very specific eyebrow in Yusuf's direction, but the rumbling tap of paws distracts him as he turns his head to peer at Rhada and her curiously empty mouth. Eames isn't much sure about the nature of gravity with cats, other than Rhada as a kitten seemed to make much more noise when bounding around than she does now, overweight and oversatisfied with herself. He clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth at her, fully expecting to be ignored, cords held nimbly in his fingers as not to dangle and catch her attention. Kitties and biohazard waste products is a no go. ]

Did you lock lips with Tony Stark?

[ Making a face at the implication, Yusuf is caught by the very important realization that Tony Stark is, above all, his employer of employers. There's good money to be made by locking lips with the Stark Industries CEO-- or whatever he called himself.

But no. ] Not quite. You know me, I fancy myself the one with the best groomed facial hair in the relationship. Stark would awaken heretofore unknown beard image issues.

[ Rhada at least acknowledges the tongue clicks, in that she stares at Eames for a good twenty-five seconds without moving a hair or seemingly taking a breath. However, it fails to translate into something urgent (usually either RUN, RUN NOW or I have treats hidden somewhere on me, come see if you can nuzzle them out of me) so she slinks down the stairs, resolutely ignoring the man cleaning the PASIV. ]

Sometimes the best people for you are the ones that make you realise things about yourself, [ Eames quips sagely, though his mouth is twitching all the same, betraying his own teasing. Rhada ultimately ignoring him, on the other hand, is nothing new, so he returns to his duty all the same. ]

But yes, I do know you. And I would get very jealous were you to rub beards with Tony Stark, regardless.