Blind Love
Fandom: Inception
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Summary: Arthur's hipster brother shows up out of the blue and tries to help Eames win over Arthur.
Author's Notes: Written for this prompt from inception_kink. Thanks to bjzblue for giving me a couple tips on it. Every other mistake is my own.
When Eames entered the warehouse that morning he was hardly surprised to see Arthur diligently working at his desk. Eames was taken aback by a guy, no older than twenty, lounging in the chair next to Arthur. The stranger looked beyond bored, almost catatonic, and had on the tightest pants Eames had ever seen.
“Did you gain a shadow, darling?”
“Just a brother,” Arthur muttered, seeming pained at the thought.
Upon a closer look Eames could see the resemblance between the two. It was obvious how hard they tried to be different from one another - Arthur clad in a pristine suit versus his brother dressed down in sneakers and a slightly wrinkled tee hidden underneath a sweater. Even then they weren't able to hide how alike their features were. While Arthur’s brother had light brown hair that fell into his eyes instead of the dark slicked back look Arthur sported every day they had the same slender body type and both had easily mastered that look of disapproval. With almost the same eyes and it wasn’t that difficult.
Turning away from his laptop, Arthur gestured halfheartedly, “This is Matt.”
“What brings you round our lovely dwelling?” Eames questioned, perching himself on the edge of Arthur’s desk, intrigued by the brother he knew nothing about.
“Our mother thought it would be good for me to get out of New York.” Matt answered, slouching in his chair.
“Oh, you’re from New York? Beautiful city.”
Matt snorted. “That city is so fin unless you’re a fucking midtown.”
Eames stared, trying to understand the nonsense coming from Matt’s mouth. He glanced towards Arthur for help but Arthur just shrugged, attention once again focused on his computer.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Right,” Eames started, slowly standing up, unsure of how to proceed. “Well, I’ll be over here. If you need anything.”
Matt just ignored him, pulling gigantic headphones over his ears and an ipod from his cardigan. The guy was extremely odd in Eames’ humble opinion.
~
“So, you a rooster or are you flavorless?” Matt asked, leaning against Eames’ desk, absentmindedly pushing paper clips around and acting as if he wasn’t truly interested in getting an answer.
“If you spoke proper English I might be able to answer you,” Eames replied, leaning back in his chair, welcoming a distraction from his research even if it came in the form of Matt.
“You gay for my brother?”
Eames almost tipped his chair onto the floor. “Pardon me?”
“You heard me. It’s deck if you do.”
Eames paused as he wondered how Matt could have caught on so quickly.
“You called him darling when you came in,” Matt offered as explanation.
“I’m British, if you haven’t noticed. It’s not uncommon for me to call people darling.”
Matt shrugged. “So you are. And here I thought you were a juicer.”
Now Eames was just offended. “I am not on steroids, these muscles are all natural.”
Matt gave Eames a look as if he was the idiotic one. Then, with a shake of his head, Matt wandered off to the section of the warehouse they had deemed the kitchen.
~
The work day was over with and Eames had invited the group over to his recently rented apartment for a few drinks. He’d seen how tense Arthur had been all day, obviously stressed out about his brother, and Eames decided to give Arthur that chance to loosen up.
“How old are you, anyway?” Cobb asked once the group had settled down.
“Eighteen.”
“Old enough for a drink then,” Eames stated, being the perfect host and pouring everyones' choice of medicine. “Any preference?”
“Eames,” warned Arthur. “He’s not old enough.”
“Remove that stick for a moment, won’t you love?”
Arthur glared but thankfully stayed quiet. Eames turned his attention back to Matt who had a strange look on his face. He looked almost intrigued.
“Got any PBR?”
Ariadne snorted into her beer.
~
Mostly everyone had fallen asleep, Arthur and Ariadne taking over Eames’ bed with Cobb on the floor and Yusuf in the bathtub.
Eames and Matt were sitting on the couch playing Xbox. Matt had made a face when he learned that was all Eames had (“Not even a gamecube?”) but eventually relented when Eames held up the original Halo in compromise.
“You’d be good for Arthur,” Matt casually began as the two easily took care of an Elite.
“Pardon?”
“He needs someone to take him down a peg every now and then.” Matt shot Eames a grin. “You do it well.”
Eames wasn’t sure if he should be flattered or weirded out that some eighteen year old was giving him relationship advice. He supposed it could be worse; it could have been Cobb.
“Yes, well, your brother is straighter than that pole up his arse.”
Matt snorted before saying, “Behind you, grunts.”
“Thanks.”
The two hit a check point and paused the game. Eames leaned back and took a sip of his watered down scotch, the ice melted from neglect.
“You really like him?”
Eames glanced at Matt with suspicious eyes. “Why are you really here?”
“My mother thought it would be-“
“Best for you, yes, yes, I’ve heard it all before.”
Matt narrowed his eyes. “She thought it would be best for Arthur.”
“And why would your mother think you would be the answer to all of his problems?”
“I answered yours, now answer mine. Do you really like him?”
Eames sighed, running a hand across his face. It was too late, too early, to be having such a serious conversation.
“It doesn’t bloody well matter whether I fancy him or not, now does it?”
Matt grinned again. “Well of course it does. Especially since he’s a rooster.”
“Again, with the English speaking.”
“Let me put it into proper English for you then-“ Matt cleared his throat and continued in a horrible English accent, ”He’s a poof, a fairy.”
Eame stared at Matt. Matt stared right back. Instinctively Eames reached for the poker chip in his pocket and smoothed a finger across the ridges. Reality.
“Now,” Matt was saying, ignoring Eames silence. “I’ll help you out with Arthur if you help me out with something.”
“And what would someone with your expertise need help with?”
~
Frowning, Eames stared at the inside of the fridge. He couldn’t really remember what he was looking for. Matt was leaning against the counter, staring at Eames with a half-amused half-smug look he could have only perfected with tips from Arthur.
“I want to be a writer but my mom keeps pushing law school onto me.”
Eames nodded and decided on the strawberry jelly half hidden behind the expired milk.
“Go to art school if you want to. Your mum will still love you.”
Matt moved aside so Eames could use the counter space.
“I would but after Arthur joined the military instead of becoming a doctor my mom was crushed. I couldn’t do that to her again.”
Eames paused in the middle of spreading the jelly on bread.
“Arthur was going to be a doctor?”
Matt glared.
“Right, sorry,” Eames continued spreading. “Go on.”
“I’m just not sure what to do, is all.”
Eames scraped the excess jelly off the knife back into the jar.
“I’m not the best at giving advice but you’re a good kid, Matt.”
Matt raised an eyebrow. Eames chuckled, recapping the jar of and moving to place it back in the fridge.
“Definitely odd, but good. I think if you do what makes you happy your mother will eventually understand.” He closed the door to the fridge and turned to Matt.
“Thanks.” Matt smiled, a genuine smile that was a little more lopsided than Arthur’s.
“You’re welcome.” Eames grabbed his sandwich. “Now, let’s go bother your brother.”
~
“What are you doing on my computer?”
Eames looked across the warehouse to find Matt sitting calmly in front of Arthur’s laptop and Arthur looking annoyed.
“Trying to occupy my time but it’s hard when your computer is built like Fort Knox. Also, your music is fin.”
Arthur clenched the mug in his hand.
“Who do you think you are? Zach Braff?”
Matt looked seriously appalled. “Zach Braff is way too mainstream.”
“I can’t believe you’re my brother,” Arthur muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose wearily.
“I can’t believe you have David Bowie on here.”
~
“So, Eames,” Matt was leaning over Eames’ back, crowding into his space, looking closer at the computer on the desk. “I hear you can read people’s body language.”
“What are you doing?” Eames hissed back, not comfortable at all with having some freshly turned eighteen year old draped all over him.
“Making my brother jealous,” Matt whispered, lips brushing lightly against Eames’ ear.
“I’m almost twice your age. I think this would make your brother angry, not jealous.”
However, Eames didn’t push Matt away. He didn’t do much of anything else either, just stared at the video of their mark on the screen.
“I know my brother and I know he’s jealous right this very second.” Matt grinned, reaching around to bump Eames’ hand away from the trackpad, navigating the computer easily. “Go on. Take a look.”
Eames gave in to temptation to grab a glance at Arthur, telling himself it was just so he could prove Matt wrong.
Sitting at his desk, Arthur’s eyes were focused intently on some paperwork spread out before him. Eames was about to point out to Matt how Arthur was obviously not paying attention, and maybe Eames felt a crushing force on his chest at the thought, but then he saw the way Arthur was sitting. Fists clutched tightly, jaw clenched, shoulders and back tense. His eyes were staring, not reading, just staring. And then Arthur glanced over before averting his gaze quickly, obviously wanting to look and failing at controlling himself.
“Do you see, now?” Matt said, startling Eames’ attention back to him. “He wishes he were me right now, pressed against you, whispering in your ear, touching you.”
Eames had enough and pushed away from the desk, sending Matt stumbling backwards. Without a word Eames strode away into the back room, slamming the door shut and maybe knocking a few boxes to the ground.
~
“Eames, may I talk to you?”
After the incident with Matt, Eames had been dreading the inevitable - Arthur was going to have a chat with him.
“What can I do for you?” Eames put on one of his most charming grins and hoped he could sweet talk his way out.
Arthur crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.
“Stay away from my brother.”
Straight to the point, the strategy Eames’ had hoped Arthur wouldn’t take. Just his luck.
“And why should I do that?” he asked innocently. He was one step away from batting his eyelashes and blowing kisses just to annoy Arthur into walking away.
“Look,” Arthur sighed, taking a seat next to Eames. “My brother is young and an idiot and he’s into you.”
Eames pretended to look shocked, although he was a bit surprised at the way Arthur was handling the situation. Confiding in Eames instead of just threatening with bodily harm? Something was amiss.
“I trust you wouldn’t do anything but I don’t put it past my brother to at least try.”
Eames patted Arthur on the arm. “Don’t worry, love, your brother is safe with me.”
Arthur looked hesitant to believe him but eventually nodded and retreated back to his desk.
~
Matt yelped in pain as Eames grabbed him by the arm and shoved him into the washroom. Locking the door, Eames rounded on Matt who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, rubbing his hurt arm.
“What’s your problem?”
“You,” replied Eames. “You are my problem.”
Frowning, Matt shook his head.
“I am not your problem. Unresolved sexual tension is your problem.”
Eames had the uncontrollable urge to shake Matt and scream in his face until Matt told him everything he wanted to know. What Eames wanted to know he wasn’t entirely sure except for the fact that it involved the details to Matt’s stupid little plan to make Arthur fall in love with him.
“You’re mad at me,” said Matt as he strolled casually around the unsanitary bathroom. “I understand. You’ve poured the foundation and now you’ve gotten ahead of yourself by trying to build the roof.”
Matt paused in front of Eames and patted his arm in what Eames assumed was supposed to be comforting.
“The plan is working. Arthur is beside himself with jealously.”
“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” interjected Eames, wanting to trust Matt, (he liked the kid, really) but he didn’t like where the plan was heading.
“Trust me,” Matt reassured him in a soothing tone. “Everything is going according to plan.”
~
“Does your brother need to be here?” Ariadne questioned, strolling down the gravel road she’d placed between two fields filled with lush green grass.
It smelt like the summers Eames had spent out in the country when he was a young boy. The sun was bright, the sky a clear blue, and even the mosquitoes were out in full force. Eames didn’t bother to swat them away, enjoying the place for what it was.
Arthur, however, stuck out like a sore thumb, the bottoms of his trousers caked in the dirt from the road. He was endlessly blowing bugs away from his face and smacking his arms in disgust.
“Yes,” Arthur merely stated before continuing, “You had to put the bugs in, didn’t you?”
Ariadne laughed in response, slightly mesmerized by the scenery she had put together.
In the distance there was an old farmhouse she’d built after watching old westerns. That’s where they were all heading, Ariadne leading the pack, excited at seeing her creation become real, or as real as it could ever be.
Cobb stayed quiet for the majority of the trek but Eames could feel his eyes watching the way Matt walked too close to Eames and the way Eames never tried to keep a distance.
Eames had eventually come to the conclusion that Matt’s plan may be terrible but that it may also work. So, the forger followed Matt’s lead and tried to act as if he were merely placating a young boy’s crush. Eames wasn’t entirely sure if his intentions came across that way or not, however.
“Perfect, Ariadne,” Cobb said as the group took a tour of the rickety farm house. “This will work perfectly.”
~
“Arthur is a huge romantic.”
Eames chuckled because of course Arthur would be a romantic.
“He used to watch all those old black and white movies and I swear he used to have a crush on Cary Grant.”
“Hence all the suits,” clued in Eames.
“Exactly,” Matt smiled before taking a sip of the PBR Eames had picked up from the local grocery store. “All the handsome leads wore suits and got all the girls. Then he discovered James Bond. Why do you think he’s in this line of work?”
Eames wasn’t an idiot. “You’re taking the piss out of me, aren’t you?”
Matt had the decency to look a little bit sheepish.
“Alright, it’s not the reason but he did watch those movies more than what is considered normal.”
“So he likes romantic movies,” muttered Eames, pondering what he could do with that information. “He’s not expecting me to woo him with roses and chocolates, is he?”
Matt raised a suggestive eyebrow.
“Oh, sod off.”
~
It wasn’t a bouquet of roses. Eames didn’t know a lot about your stereotypical romance but he knew that roses were so overdone and if he had to do this he was going to at least do it his own way. That’s why Arthur was suspiciously eyeing a bouquet of daisies. Each daisy was perfect. Eames had made sure of that and if it had cost him an arm and a leg so be it, it was for Arthur after all.
After a minute of carefully pushing daisies aside to check for anything harmful (Eames was sure he’d heard Arthur discussing an episode of Leverage with Ariadne the other day where there had been a bomb in a vase) Arthur seemed to deem the gift acceptable and placed the flowers out of the way of his work but not out of the way of his eyesight.
Eames felt immensely proud of himself, even if he hadn’t had the guts to leave a card tracing the flowers back to him. Arthur couldn’t know for sure who had sent them but not many people knew about their location so that lowered the number of candidates severely.
~
“So, what’s this problem you need help with?”
Matt fidgeted a bit, picking imaginary lint off of Eames’ couch, before he finally came out with, “There’s this tassel.”
“Having trouble with a particular item of clothing from the seventies?”
Matt glared at Eames but amended himself, “A girl. There’s a girl.”
Eames nodded for Matt to continue.
“She. She’s perfect. In every way and I try so hard to act like all the guys she’s dated but she doesn’t even know I exist and all I want to do is hold her hand.”
“So you’re asking me, the guy getting tips from a eighteen year old on how to woo his brother?”
Sighing, Matt took another swig of his beer.
“You’re a juicer - a ladies man,” Matt quickly added at Eames narrowed eyes. “You may not know how to get into my brother’s pants but you obviously know how to get into a woman’s.”
The kid may have had a point.
~
“What are you watching? Is that for research?”
Eames hadn’t even noticed Arthur standing behind him the entire time he had been watching the trailer for Casablanca.
“Oh, well you see, I was just deciding on what to watch for tonight’s movie night.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Movie night?”
“Is it so hard to believe I like watching movies and designate a specific night for said watching?” Truthfully, even Eames found it kind of hard to believe but Matt had reassured him that the plan was working wonders.
“I’m surprised you’re not watching some porn parody of Casablanca.”
Eames frowned. “I am offended by what you say. How am I supposed to be imaginative if I don’t watch the classics?”
Arthur crossed his arms and Eames swore he saw Arthur’s hip jut out a bit.
“You think Casablanca is a classic?”
“So I’ve heard, darling. The internet says it is so.” Eames flashed a grin up at Arthur. “You’re brother will be watching it with me, care to join us?”
“My brother has been spending a lot of time at your place.”
Eames could hear the accusatory tone and put on his most innocent face, allowing Arthur to gather what he wanted from that.
“Fine,” Arthur sighed. “I’ll come by and watch it with you two.”
Eames gave a genuine smile and if Arthur looked a little stunned, well, Eames just chalked it up to his imagination.
~
Eames couldn’t help it if it was more interesting to watch Arthur than the movie. The way Arthur was so enthralled with the story was completely fascinating to Eames who had never once been that interested in a film. He put on movies as background noise not to watch and enjoy.
There was a jab in his side and Eames glared at Matt who was pointing at the screen. The credits were rolling, the movie was finished, and Arthur was standing, brushing imaginary crumbs from his pants.
“Thank you for the lovely evening,” he was saying, nodding in the general direction of Eames. “We best be off.”
Wait, what? “That’s it?”
Arthur raised an eyebrow at Eames.
“What he means to say,” Matt jumped in, “Is that the movie night isn’t finished! We, uh, always end the night by… playing poker!”
Eames nodded dumbly. “Yes, yes, a round of poker. It’s tradition.”
Eames could not believe how big of a twat he was and how he had ever managed to become one of the greatest forgers in the business was a mystery. He couldn’t even lie smoothly to Arthur.
“A round of poker?” Arthur was dubious but he wasn’t shooting down the idea right away either.
“Just one,” Eames said, grinning in hopes Arthur would agree.
Arthur’s mouth made a crooked line.
~
Matt was sitting on the couch typing furiously on his phone, an annoying chime ringing out every thirty seconds. Eames and Arthur were sitting at the small wooden table in the kitchen, still playing poker an hour after the film had finished.
“We really should be going,” Arthur was saying, glancing at Matt.
Eames shook his head. “Leave the kid be, he’s fine.”
“It’s going to be a long day tomorrow, Eames. We’re doing the extraction if you haven’t forgotten.” Arthur was getting irritated and Eames wished he knew how to fix everything he’d done to make Arthur barely tolerate him.
“Look, he’s chatting up some girl he’s head over heels for, just let the kid be a hormonal teenager.”
Arthur stared at the back of Matt’s head for a moment longer before nodding.
“Is that why he’s been over here a lot lately?” Arthur questioned, adding his bet to the center of the table.
“What?”
“You’re helping him get lucky with some girl?”
Eames raised and waited for Arthur to (maybe, hopefully, please) fold.
“Something like that.”
Arthur was concentrating on his cards. He sighed, made as if to put his cards down and then doubled Eames’ bet. Of course.
“You’re not.” Arthur bit his lip, hesitating on his words and Eames almost lost control in that moment. “There’s nothing going on, right? Between you two?”
Eames was shocked but raised an eyebrow to try and play it off cool.
“I know I warned you off him,” Arthur continued, obviously wanting to say everything before he thought better of it. “But he is eighteen, he is somewhat of an adult and I know there are those who find younger men attractive. And I would have to torture you if anything was going on.”
Eames just laughed, not really believing his ears.
“There is nothing going on between your brother and I.” Eames had to wipe a tear from his eye at the hilarity of the situation. “We’re just helping each other out.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth Eames knew it had been the wrong thing to say. He was on the kitchen floor suddenly, the right side of his face throbbing from the force of a punch.
“Arthur!” cried out Matt, rushing over to pull his brother away from Eames. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Helping each other, huh? A quickie in the backroom? Charming him into your bed, Eames?”
Eames touched his lip gingerly then glanced at his fingers. He did the same with his nose.
“I think I’m bleeding. Am I bleeding?”
“You’re not bleeding,” Matt said. “What the hell did you tell him?”
Arthur was standing behind Matt, fists clenched with anger and face stonewalled.
“Nothing,” Eames muttered towards the floor. “I told him nothing.”
With a growl, that made Eames think inappropriate things, Arthur stormed out of the apartment. Eames flinched slightly at the door slamming shut.
“Good job, Eames,” Matt was saying, obviously disappointed and unimpressed with the way Eames had handled the situation, and it made Eames feel like he was sinking even lower into his own grave.
~
Eames sat on the couch and stared dejectedly at the glass of whiskey in his hand. Matt was pacing behind him, arms crossed and face drawn into a tight concentrated look. The exact same one Arthur always got when figuring out the best way to do an extraction. What the levels should contain, who should be impersonated, what angle they should go to get the maximum information in the least amount of time.
Sighing, Eames downed his drink and tried to forget about being addressed by Arthur in friendly tones ever again. It would be clipped words, little eye contact and even rarer proximity.
“Look, everything is going to be fine. We can work this out.”
Eames nodded, reaching for the bottle of alcohol to pour himself another glass. Matt maneuvered himself to sit next to Eames.
“Arthur really likes you, okay?”
Eames snorted in disbelief.
“Seriously. He’s not very good at showing his feelings on a grand scale, not like you, but he does have them.” Matt paused, noticing how his words weren’t having the effect he desired on Eames. “Do you know what he was telling me the other day?”
Eames shook his head. Matt placed an arm around Eames shoulders and squeezed gently.
“He was telling me to stay away from you by listing all of your flaws.”
“I don’t see how this is supposed to be helping me,” Eames muttered, glass pressed to his lips.
“Just listen. He tried to list everything wrong with you but he ended up telling me about how you brighten the office with your presence. The way you’ll listen to Ariadne go on about blueprints and scaling, not because you’re interested but because she loves it and it makes her happy to have somebody listen. How you helped Cobb pick out the perfect present for his daughter when he was at an absolute loss and kept coming back to stuffed teddy bears.”
“Every little girl deserves a Barbie dream house,” Eames said, feeling that at least he hadn’t been the only emotionally stunted party in the whole charade.
“You’re what Arthur wants he just hasn’t been able to show it properly.”
The doorbell rang as Eames nodded, wondering if Arthur would ever show his feelings for Eames. Matt gave one last squeeze before getting up to answer the door. Eames could hear whispering but he didn’t really care enough to look at who was there.
“Eames,” said Matt after a minute or so.
Eames turned and there was Arthur, standing a few feet behind Matt. There was nothing discernible on his face and that made Eames more nervous than ever.
“I’m going to leave you two alone,” Matt was continuing as Arthur and Eames just stared at one another. “Do not kill each other. Call me later, Eames.”
With that, Matt shut the door to the apartment behind him and it was just the two of them. Eames stood as Arthur made his way closer.
“Look, Arthur, I-“
For the second time that night Eames found himself lying on the ground, face in pain.
~
“Thanks,” Eames muttered as Arthur passed him a small bag of peas.
“Sorry,” replied Arthur and Eames waved the apology away.
“I more than likely deserved it.”
Arthur folded his hands neatly on his lap and avoided looking at Eames’ face.
“Matt reassured me nothing was going on between the two of you.”
Eames nodded in agreement and added, “We’re just friends. He’s a nice guy. Wants to be a writer.”
“Yes, I know.” Arthur paused and fidgeted slightly. “He also told me that you liked me.”
“Oh, did he?” Eames asked, trying not to sound like he was going to murder Matt the next time he saw him. While he was being very idiotic about his crush it was still his crush to blab about.
“I told him it was preposterous.” Arthur let out a strangled sort of laugh and Eames joined in with one of his own awkward chuckles.
“Yes, very.”
The two sat quietly, awkwardly, on the couch, staring at the blank television screen. They both knew what was going on and yet it was easier to just sit there in silence.
“You don’t have to,” Eames began, words muffled slightly by the cool bag pressed against his face.
Arthur just looked at him. There was no annoyance, no contempt, no exasperation. He was just looking and Eames felt frozen in place.
“I don’t have to…?” Arthur repeated back to him.
Eames cleared his throat. “Stay. You don’t have to stay.”
The look on Arthur’s face could have been categorized as crushed and that heavy feeling in Eames' chest had returned full force.
“Of course.” Arthur nodded, face going blank as a slate. “I’m sorry I came back.”
He was up and halfway to the door when he stopped. Eames turned in his seat to stare at the back of Arthur’s head, at the line of his shoulders and the way it looked as if he were slouching.
“Eames,” Arthur said, not turning an inch to look back. “Do you want to kiss me?”
Eames didn’t know what to say. Or rather, he knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted this evening to end but he didn’t know for sure if that was how things were supposed to be. If this thing between him and Arthur should be this hard.
After a moment of nothing Arthur nodded, back straight once again as he took the silence as his answer. Eames kneeled on the couch, leaning over the back to watch Arthur leave his apartment. In that moment he knew he would never see Arthur again after the extraction. They would never cross paths, the point man would make sure of it, and Eames wouldn’t push for once. It would be easy to continue on living the way he had, flirting and humouring his way through life.
“I think about kissing you all the time.”
Arthur paused, fingers clasped firmly around the door knob. He glanced somewhere to his left, not looking at anything, just listening.
“What?”
Eames threw the wet bag of peas onto the couch and climbed over the back, making his way towards Arthur.
“Every single day, the moment I wake up, I think about you and those bloody suits. Wondering how extravagant you’ll look that day. Entire three pieces or just a jumper instead of a jacket and vest.”
Arthur didn’t move. Eames thought for a moment that Arthur was a beautiful statue created just for him but protected by the four walls of a museum and a red velvet rope.
“I wonder how I can get your attention. If maybe one day you’ll play along or just snap and shoot me so you'll have peace and quiet.”
Arthur smiled and turned to face Eames who had covered enough ground to be arms length away.
“Most days all I want to do is stare at you and listen to you ramble on about paradoxes and every single adventure you’ve successfully used them in. I just want.”
Eames paused, reaching up to smooth out a stray piece of hair on Arthur’s head, allowing his fingers to brush against Arthur’s jaw and come to rest on his chest. Their torsos were almost touching and Eames couldn’t help placing his left hand on Arthur’s hip.
“You,” he finished, watching Arthur’s face carefully. “All I really want to do is wake up every morning to you, go to sleep every night with you and in-between those times I would just like to kiss you.”
“I,” started Arthur but quickly interrupted himself by closing the gap and finally kissing Eames.
Eames pushed Arthur into the door as their lips opened up hungrily and Eames couldn’t help but moan softly as he felt Arthur’s tongue against his own. He’d been dreaming of this happening for far too long.
Arthur pulled out of the kiss to trail his mouth across Eames jaw before softly pulling on his earlobe. At a later date Eames would deny the small keening noise that had escaped his mouth.
The two felt as if they couldn’t get close enough, hands running underneath clothing just to feel bare skin, lips and tongues pressing everywhere available. It was frantic and Eames wouldn’t have had it any other way, a thigh pressed between Arthur’s legs and Arthur moaning with every hip jerk he made.
“Eames,” Arthur gasped, fingers digging into Eames’ shoulder and back. Eames shuddered slightly at the drag of fingernails, dropping his face into the crook of Arthur’s neck and nipping.
Eames allowed a thumb to rub underneath Arthur’s waistband before unbuttoning them, not even teasing and immediately gripping onto Arthur’s cock. Arthur moaned loudly, head dropping backwards against the door.
“Please, Eames, I - fuck.”
Eames didn’t waste time, smearing precum and twisting his hand in an upward motion, thumb swirling around the head.
“Fuck, I’m, Danny-“ Arthur cut off with a strangled noise as his body tensed up, lips open obscenely and eyes shut tightly.
Eames worked Arthur through his orgasm until Arthur swatted his hand away, breathing heavily and shuddering with the after stimulation.
He was still rutting at Arthur’s leg when Arthur pushed him off and backed him up against the wall. Arthur gave a devilish grin before sinking to his knees and Eames couldn’t keep back the “fuck, yes.”
Within seconds Arthur had Eames’ cock in his mouth, one hand holding Eames’ against the wall and the other working it’s way up and down, occasionally sneaking down to his balls. Eames grabbed onto Arthur’s now messy hair and tugged lightly.
“Arthur, I’m going to-“ and with those words Arthur’s tongue flattened against the head of Eames’ dick and his fingers did some move Eames couldn’t keep track of as he was biting his lip and coming. His hips tried to jerk forward but Arthur kept them pushed down and all that was running through Eames’ mind was a string of curse words.
There was a moment where the only sound was the two breathing heavily, Eames slowly sliding down the wall to join Arthur on the floor. Eames looked through unfocused eyes at Arthur who looked completely disheveled and he once again had the urge to ravish the man. Instead Eames just pulled him forward into a soft kiss, fingers brushing circles into the back of his neck.
“I’m glad you came back,” Eames said as they broke apart.
Arthur smiled and nudged at Eames’ foot with his own.
“Speaking of,” Eames continued. “Why did you come back?”
Arthur moved to straddle Eames and waved his hand in uneven circles.
“It’s not that important, just some guy I happen to be in love with lives here.”
Eames grinned as Arthur pressed kisses along his neck, occasionally biting and soothing with his tongue.
“Shall we move this to the bed, darling?”
Arthur pulled back and that devilish grin was back.
“Absolutely.”
~
A day and a half later, Matt and Arthur were standing at the airport, waiting for Matt’s turn to check his luggage.
“Thanks for coming down,” said Arthur as the line shuffled up two steps.
Matt nodded, grinning. “You’re absolutely welcome. I love visiting my favourite brother.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Alright,” Matt conceded. “Tom is way more fun but he doesn’t have an Eames.”
“No,” laughed Arthur. “No, he has a Summer and an Autumn and who was that girl he brought home last Christmas?”
Matt thought for a moment before joining Arthur’s laughter. “I have no idea, Rachel is the one who has to deal with his crap, not me.”
“True,” Arthur agreed. “Poor girl.”
The lady behind the counter waved Matt forward and the two fell into a comfortable silence as Matt’s bags were weighed and tagged.
As they wandered towards security, Matt asked, “Did you really have to punch Eames?”
“He kind of deserved it.”
“Twice?”
Arthur sighed and shook his head.
“Maybe not twice but it was in the heat of the moment. I was getting frustrated at how long it was taking, and your idiotic charade wasn’t helping.”
Matt pretended to look insulted but after being assaulted with Arthur’s ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ look he just stuck out his tongue.
“It was your grand scheme to make Eames fall in love with you, although he didn’t need any help, just a shove in the less subtle department.”
They had arrived at the point where Arthur couldn’t go any farther.
“See you at Thanksgiving?” Matt questioned as he pulled Arthur into a hug.
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Arthur pulled back and smiled. “Have fun at NYU and thanks again for your help.”
Matt gave a quick salute before walking towards a free security guard. Arthur watched his brother get through with no troubles before heading back to his car. He couldn’t wait to get back to his apartment where Eames was waiting for him.
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Summary: Arthur's hipster brother shows up out of the blue and tries to help Eames win over Arthur.
Author's Notes: Written for this prompt from inception_kink. Thanks to bjzblue for giving me a couple tips on it. Every other mistake is my own.
When Eames entered the warehouse that morning he was hardly surprised to see Arthur diligently working at his desk. Eames was taken aback by a guy, no older than twenty, lounging in the chair next to Arthur. The stranger looked beyond bored, almost catatonic, and had on the tightest pants Eames had ever seen.
“Did you gain a shadow, darling?”
“Just a brother,” Arthur muttered, seeming pained at the thought.
Upon a closer look Eames could see the resemblance between the two. It was obvious how hard they tried to be different from one another - Arthur clad in a pristine suit versus his brother dressed down in sneakers and a slightly wrinkled tee hidden underneath a sweater. Even then they weren't able to hide how alike their features were. While Arthur’s brother had light brown hair that fell into his eyes instead of the dark slicked back look Arthur sported every day they had the same slender body type and both had easily mastered that look of disapproval. With almost the same eyes and it wasn’t that difficult.
Turning away from his laptop, Arthur gestured halfheartedly, “This is Matt.”
“What brings you round our lovely dwelling?” Eames questioned, perching himself on the edge of Arthur’s desk, intrigued by the brother he knew nothing about.
“Our mother thought it would be good for me to get out of New York.” Matt answered, slouching in his chair.
“Oh, you’re from New York? Beautiful city.”
Matt snorted. “That city is so fin unless you’re a fucking midtown.”
Eames stared, trying to understand the nonsense coming from Matt’s mouth. He glanced towards Arthur for help but Arthur just shrugged, attention once again focused on his computer.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Right,” Eames started, slowly standing up, unsure of how to proceed. “Well, I’ll be over here. If you need anything.”
Matt just ignored him, pulling gigantic headphones over his ears and an ipod from his cardigan. The guy was extremely odd in Eames’ humble opinion.
~
“So, you a rooster or are you flavorless?” Matt asked, leaning against Eames’ desk, absentmindedly pushing paper clips around and acting as if he wasn’t truly interested in getting an answer.
“If you spoke proper English I might be able to answer you,” Eames replied, leaning back in his chair, welcoming a distraction from his research even if it came in the form of Matt.
“You gay for my brother?”
Eames almost tipped his chair onto the floor. “Pardon me?”
“You heard me. It’s deck if you do.”
Eames paused as he wondered how Matt could have caught on so quickly.
“You called him darling when you came in,” Matt offered as explanation.
“I’m British, if you haven’t noticed. It’s not uncommon for me to call people darling.”
Matt shrugged. “So you are. And here I thought you were a juicer.”
Now Eames was just offended. “I am not on steroids, these muscles are all natural.”
Matt gave Eames a look as if he was the idiotic one. Then, with a shake of his head, Matt wandered off to the section of the warehouse they had deemed the kitchen.
~
The work day was over with and Eames had invited the group over to his recently rented apartment for a few drinks. He’d seen how tense Arthur had been all day, obviously stressed out about his brother, and Eames decided to give Arthur that chance to loosen up.
“How old are you, anyway?” Cobb asked once the group had settled down.
“Eighteen.”
“Old enough for a drink then,” Eames stated, being the perfect host and pouring everyones' choice of medicine. “Any preference?”
“Eames,” warned Arthur. “He’s not old enough.”
“Remove that stick for a moment, won’t you love?”
Arthur glared but thankfully stayed quiet. Eames turned his attention back to Matt who had a strange look on his face. He looked almost intrigued.
“Got any PBR?”
Ariadne snorted into her beer.
~
Mostly everyone had fallen asleep, Arthur and Ariadne taking over Eames’ bed with Cobb on the floor and Yusuf in the bathtub.
Eames and Matt were sitting on the couch playing Xbox. Matt had made a face when he learned that was all Eames had (“Not even a gamecube?”) but eventually relented when Eames held up the original Halo in compromise.
“You’d be good for Arthur,” Matt casually began as the two easily took care of an Elite.
“Pardon?”
“He needs someone to take him down a peg every now and then.” Matt shot Eames a grin. “You do it well.”
Eames wasn’t sure if he should be flattered or weirded out that some eighteen year old was giving him relationship advice. He supposed it could be worse; it could have been Cobb.
“Yes, well, your brother is straighter than that pole up his arse.”
Matt snorted before saying, “Behind you, grunts.”
“Thanks.”
The two hit a check point and paused the game. Eames leaned back and took a sip of his watered down scotch, the ice melted from neglect.
“You really like him?”
Eames glanced at Matt with suspicious eyes. “Why are you really here?”
“My mother thought it would be-“
“Best for you, yes, yes, I’ve heard it all before.”
Matt narrowed his eyes. “She thought it would be best for Arthur.”
“And why would your mother think you would be the answer to all of his problems?”
“I answered yours, now answer mine. Do you really like him?”
Eames sighed, running a hand across his face. It was too late, too early, to be having such a serious conversation.
“It doesn’t bloody well matter whether I fancy him or not, now does it?”
Matt grinned again. “Well of course it does. Especially since he’s a rooster.”
“Again, with the English speaking.”
“Let me put it into proper English for you then-“ Matt cleared his throat and continued in a horrible English accent, ”He’s a poof, a fairy.”
Eame stared at Matt. Matt stared right back. Instinctively Eames reached for the poker chip in his pocket and smoothed a finger across the ridges. Reality.
“Now,” Matt was saying, ignoring Eames silence. “I’ll help you out with Arthur if you help me out with something.”
“And what would someone with your expertise need help with?”
~
Frowning, Eames stared at the inside of the fridge. He couldn’t really remember what he was looking for. Matt was leaning against the counter, staring at Eames with a half-amused half-smug look he could have only perfected with tips from Arthur.
“I want to be a writer but my mom keeps pushing law school onto me.”
Eames nodded and decided on the strawberry jelly half hidden behind the expired milk.
“Go to art school if you want to. Your mum will still love you.”
Matt moved aside so Eames could use the counter space.
“I would but after Arthur joined the military instead of becoming a doctor my mom was crushed. I couldn’t do that to her again.”
Eames paused in the middle of spreading the jelly on bread.
“Arthur was going to be a doctor?”
Matt glared.
“Right, sorry,” Eames continued spreading. “Go on.”
“I’m just not sure what to do, is all.”
Eames scraped the excess jelly off the knife back into the jar.
“I’m not the best at giving advice but you’re a good kid, Matt.”
Matt raised an eyebrow. Eames chuckled, recapping the jar of and moving to place it back in the fridge.
“Definitely odd, but good. I think if you do what makes you happy your mother will eventually understand.” He closed the door to the fridge and turned to Matt.
“Thanks.” Matt smiled, a genuine smile that was a little more lopsided than Arthur’s.
“You’re welcome.” Eames grabbed his sandwich. “Now, let’s go bother your brother.”
~
“What are you doing on my computer?”
Eames looked across the warehouse to find Matt sitting calmly in front of Arthur’s laptop and Arthur looking annoyed.
“Trying to occupy my time but it’s hard when your computer is built like Fort Knox. Also, your music is fin.”
Arthur clenched the mug in his hand.
“Who do you think you are? Zach Braff?”
Matt looked seriously appalled. “Zach Braff is way too mainstream.”
“I can’t believe you’re my brother,” Arthur muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose wearily.
“I can’t believe you have David Bowie on here.”
~
“So, Eames,” Matt was leaning over Eames’ back, crowding into his space, looking closer at the computer on the desk. “I hear you can read people’s body language.”
“What are you doing?” Eames hissed back, not comfortable at all with having some freshly turned eighteen year old draped all over him.
“Making my brother jealous,” Matt whispered, lips brushing lightly against Eames’ ear.
“I’m almost twice your age. I think this would make your brother angry, not jealous.”
However, Eames didn’t push Matt away. He didn’t do much of anything else either, just stared at the video of their mark on the screen.
“I know my brother and I know he’s jealous right this very second.” Matt grinned, reaching around to bump Eames’ hand away from the trackpad, navigating the computer easily. “Go on. Take a look.”
Eames gave in to temptation to grab a glance at Arthur, telling himself it was just so he could prove Matt wrong.
Sitting at his desk, Arthur’s eyes were focused intently on some paperwork spread out before him. Eames was about to point out to Matt how Arthur was obviously not paying attention, and maybe Eames felt a crushing force on his chest at the thought, but then he saw the way Arthur was sitting. Fists clutched tightly, jaw clenched, shoulders and back tense. His eyes were staring, not reading, just staring. And then Arthur glanced over before averting his gaze quickly, obviously wanting to look and failing at controlling himself.
“Do you see, now?” Matt said, startling Eames’ attention back to him. “He wishes he were me right now, pressed against you, whispering in your ear, touching you.”
Eames had enough and pushed away from the desk, sending Matt stumbling backwards. Without a word Eames strode away into the back room, slamming the door shut and maybe knocking a few boxes to the ground.
~
“Eames, may I talk to you?”
After the incident with Matt, Eames had been dreading the inevitable - Arthur was going to have a chat with him.
“What can I do for you?” Eames put on one of his most charming grins and hoped he could sweet talk his way out.
Arthur crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.
“Stay away from my brother.”
Straight to the point, the strategy Eames’ had hoped Arthur wouldn’t take. Just his luck.
“And why should I do that?” he asked innocently. He was one step away from batting his eyelashes and blowing kisses just to annoy Arthur into walking away.
“Look,” Arthur sighed, taking a seat next to Eames. “My brother is young and an idiot and he’s into you.”
Eames pretended to look shocked, although he was a bit surprised at the way Arthur was handling the situation. Confiding in Eames instead of just threatening with bodily harm? Something was amiss.
“I trust you wouldn’t do anything but I don’t put it past my brother to at least try.”
Eames patted Arthur on the arm. “Don’t worry, love, your brother is safe with me.”
Arthur looked hesitant to believe him but eventually nodded and retreated back to his desk.
~
Matt yelped in pain as Eames grabbed him by the arm and shoved him into the washroom. Locking the door, Eames rounded on Matt who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, rubbing his hurt arm.
“What’s your problem?”
“You,” replied Eames. “You are my problem.”
Frowning, Matt shook his head.
“I am not your problem. Unresolved sexual tension is your problem.”
Eames had the uncontrollable urge to shake Matt and scream in his face until Matt told him everything he wanted to know. What Eames wanted to know he wasn’t entirely sure except for the fact that it involved the details to Matt’s stupid little plan to make Arthur fall in love with him.
“You’re mad at me,” said Matt as he strolled casually around the unsanitary bathroom. “I understand. You’ve poured the foundation and now you’ve gotten ahead of yourself by trying to build the roof.”
Matt paused in front of Eames and patted his arm in what Eames assumed was supposed to be comforting.
“The plan is working. Arthur is beside himself with jealously.”
“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” interjected Eames, wanting to trust Matt, (he liked the kid, really) but he didn’t like where the plan was heading.
“Trust me,” Matt reassured him in a soothing tone. “Everything is going according to plan.”
~
“Does your brother need to be here?” Ariadne questioned, strolling down the gravel road she’d placed between two fields filled with lush green grass.
It smelt like the summers Eames had spent out in the country when he was a young boy. The sun was bright, the sky a clear blue, and even the mosquitoes were out in full force. Eames didn’t bother to swat them away, enjoying the place for what it was.
Arthur, however, stuck out like a sore thumb, the bottoms of his trousers caked in the dirt from the road. He was endlessly blowing bugs away from his face and smacking his arms in disgust.
“Yes,” Arthur merely stated before continuing, “You had to put the bugs in, didn’t you?”
Ariadne laughed in response, slightly mesmerized by the scenery she had put together.
In the distance there was an old farmhouse she’d built after watching old westerns. That’s where they were all heading, Ariadne leading the pack, excited at seeing her creation become real, or as real as it could ever be.
Cobb stayed quiet for the majority of the trek but Eames could feel his eyes watching the way Matt walked too close to Eames and the way Eames never tried to keep a distance.
Eames had eventually come to the conclusion that Matt’s plan may be terrible but that it may also work. So, the forger followed Matt’s lead and tried to act as if he were merely placating a young boy’s crush. Eames wasn’t entirely sure if his intentions came across that way or not, however.
“Perfect, Ariadne,” Cobb said as the group took a tour of the rickety farm house. “This will work perfectly.”
~
“Arthur is a huge romantic.”
Eames chuckled because of course Arthur would be a romantic.
“He used to watch all those old black and white movies and I swear he used to have a crush on Cary Grant.”
“Hence all the suits,” clued in Eames.
“Exactly,” Matt smiled before taking a sip of the PBR Eames had picked up from the local grocery store. “All the handsome leads wore suits and got all the girls. Then he discovered James Bond. Why do you think he’s in this line of work?”
Eames wasn’t an idiot. “You’re taking the piss out of me, aren’t you?”
Matt had the decency to look a little bit sheepish.
“Alright, it’s not the reason but he did watch those movies more than what is considered normal.”
“So he likes romantic movies,” muttered Eames, pondering what he could do with that information. “He’s not expecting me to woo him with roses and chocolates, is he?”
Matt raised a suggestive eyebrow.
“Oh, sod off.”
~
It wasn’t a bouquet of roses. Eames didn’t know a lot about your stereotypical romance but he knew that roses were so overdone and if he had to do this he was going to at least do it his own way. That’s why Arthur was suspiciously eyeing a bouquet of daisies. Each daisy was perfect. Eames had made sure of that and if it had cost him an arm and a leg so be it, it was for Arthur after all.
After a minute of carefully pushing daisies aside to check for anything harmful (Eames was sure he’d heard Arthur discussing an episode of Leverage with Ariadne the other day where there had been a bomb in a vase) Arthur seemed to deem the gift acceptable and placed the flowers out of the way of his work but not out of the way of his eyesight.
Eames felt immensely proud of himself, even if he hadn’t had the guts to leave a card tracing the flowers back to him. Arthur couldn’t know for sure who had sent them but not many people knew about their location so that lowered the number of candidates severely.
~
“So, what’s this problem you need help with?”
Matt fidgeted a bit, picking imaginary lint off of Eames’ couch, before he finally came out with, “There’s this tassel.”
“Having trouble with a particular item of clothing from the seventies?”
Matt glared at Eames but amended himself, “A girl. There’s a girl.”
Eames nodded for Matt to continue.
“She. She’s perfect. In every way and I try so hard to act like all the guys she’s dated but she doesn’t even know I exist and all I want to do is hold her hand.”
“So you’re asking me, the guy getting tips from a eighteen year old on how to woo his brother?”
Sighing, Matt took another swig of his beer.
“You’re a juicer - a ladies man,” Matt quickly added at Eames narrowed eyes. “You may not know how to get into my brother’s pants but you obviously know how to get into a woman’s.”
The kid may have had a point.
~
“What are you watching? Is that for research?”
Eames hadn’t even noticed Arthur standing behind him the entire time he had been watching the trailer for Casablanca.
“Oh, well you see, I was just deciding on what to watch for tonight’s movie night.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Movie night?”
“Is it so hard to believe I like watching movies and designate a specific night for said watching?” Truthfully, even Eames found it kind of hard to believe but Matt had reassured him that the plan was working wonders.
“I’m surprised you’re not watching some porn parody of Casablanca.”
Eames frowned. “I am offended by what you say. How am I supposed to be imaginative if I don’t watch the classics?”
Arthur crossed his arms and Eames swore he saw Arthur’s hip jut out a bit.
“You think Casablanca is a classic?”
“So I’ve heard, darling. The internet says it is so.” Eames flashed a grin up at Arthur. “You’re brother will be watching it with me, care to join us?”
“My brother has been spending a lot of time at your place.”
Eames could hear the accusatory tone and put on his most innocent face, allowing Arthur to gather what he wanted from that.
“Fine,” Arthur sighed. “I’ll come by and watch it with you two.”
Eames gave a genuine smile and if Arthur looked a little stunned, well, Eames just chalked it up to his imagination.
~
Eames couldn’t help it if it was more interesting to watch Arthur than the movie. The way Arthur was so enthralled with the story was completely fascinating to Eames who had never once been that interested in a film. He put on movies as background noise not to watch and enjoy.
There was a jab in his side and Eames glared at Matt who was pointing at the screen. The credits were rolling, the movie was finished, and Arthur was standing, brushing imaginary crumbs from his pants.
“Thank you for the lovely evening,” he was saying, nodding in the general direction of Eames. “We best be off.”
Wait, what? “That’s it?”
Arthur raised an eyebrow at Eames.
“What he means to say,” Matt jumped in, “Is that the movie night isn’t finished! We, uh, always end the night by… playing poker!”
Eames nodded dumbly. “Yes, yes, a round of poker. It’s tradition.”
Eames could not believe how big of a twat he was and how he had ever managed to become one of the greatest forgers in the business was a mystery. He couldn’t even lie smoothly to Arthur.
“A round of poker?” Arthur was dubious but he wasn’t shooting down the idea right away either.
“Just one,” Eames said, grinning in hopes Arthur would agree.
Arthur’s mouth made a crooked line.
~
Matt was sitting on the couch typing furiously on his phone, an annoying chime ringing out every thirty seconds. Eames and Arthur were sitting at the small wooden table in the kitchen, still playing poker an hour after the film had finished.
“We really should be going,” Arthur was saying, glancing at Matt.
Eames shook his head. “Leave the kid be, he’s fine.”
“It’s going to be a long day tomorrow, Eames. We’re doing the extraction if you haven’t forgotten.” Arthur was getting irritated and Eames wished he knew how to fix everything he’d done to make Arthur barely tolerate him.
“Look, he’s chatting up some girl he’s head over heels for, just let the kid be a hormonal teenager.”
Arthur stared at the back of Matt’s head for a moment longer before nodding.
“Is that why he’s been over here a lot lately?” Arthur questioned, adding his bet to the center of the table.
“What?”
“You’re helping him get lucky with some girl?”
Eames raised and waited for Arthur to (maybe, hopefully, please) fold.
“Something like that.”
Arthur was concentrating on his cards. He sighed, made as if to put his cards down and then doubled Eames’ bet. Of course.
“You’re not.” Arthur bit his lip, hesitating on his words and Eames almost lost control in that moment. “There’s nothing going on, right? Between you two?”
Eames was shocked but raised an eyebrow to try and play it off cool.
“I know I warned you off him,” Arthur continued, obviously wanting to say everything before he thought better of it. “But he is eighteen, he is somewhat of an adult and I know there are those who find younger men attractive. And I would have to torture you if anything was going on.”
Eames just laughed, not really believing his ears.
“There is nothing going on between your brother and I.” Eames had to wipe a tear from his eye at the hilarity of the situation. “We’re just helping each other out.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth Eames knew it had been the wrong thing to say. He was on the kitchen floor suddenly, the right side of his face throbbing from the force of a punch.
“Arthur!” cried out Matt, rushing over to pull his brother away from Eames. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Helping each other, huh? A quickie in the backroom? Charming him into your bed, Eames?”
Eames touched his lip gingerly then glanced at his fingers. He did the same with his nose.
“I think I’m bleeding. Am I bleeding?”
“You’re not bleeding,” Matt said. “What the hell did you tell him?”
Arthur was standing behind Matt, fists clenched with anger and face stonewalled.
“Nothing,” Eames muttered towards the floor. “I told him nothing.”
With a growl, that made Eames think inappropriate things, Arthur stormed out of the apartment. Eames flinched slightly at the door slamming shut.
“Good job, Eames,” Matt was saying, obviously disappointed and unimpressed with the way Eames had handled the situation, and it made Eames feel like he was sinking even lower into his own grave.
~
Eames sat on the couch and stared dejectedly at the glass of whiskey in his hand. Matt was pacing behind him, arms crossed and face drawn into a tight concentrated look. The exact same one Arthur always got when figuring out the best way to do an extraction. What the levels should contain, who should be impersonated, what angle they should go to get the maximum information in the least amount of time.
Sighing, Eames downed his drink and tried to forget about being addressed by Arthur in friendly tones ever again. It would be clipped words, little eye contact and even rarer proximity.
“Look, everything is going to be fine. We can work this out.”
Eames nodded, reaching for the bottle of alcohol to pour himself another glass. Matt maneuvered himself to sit next to Eames.
“Arthur really likes you, okay?”
Eames snorted in disbelief.
“Seriously. He’s not very good at showing his feelings on a grand scale, not like you, but he does have them.” Matt paused, noticing how his words weren’t having the effect he desired on Eames. “Do you know what he was telling me the other day?”
Eames shook his head. Matt placed an arm around Eames shoulders and squeezed gently.
“He was telling me to stay away from you by listing all of your flaws.”
“I don’t see how this is supposed to be helping me,” Eames muttered, glass pressed to his lips.
“Just listen. He tried to list everything wrong with you but he ended up telling me about how you brighten the office with your presence. The way you’ll listen to Ariadne go on about blueprints and scaling, not because you’re interested but because she loves it and it makes her happy to have somebody listen. How you helped Cobb pick out the perfect present for his daughter when he was at an absolute loss and kept coming back to stuffed teddy bears.”
“Every little girl deserves a Barbie dream house,” Eames said, feeling that at least he hadn’t been the only emotionally stunted party in the whole charade.
“You’re what Arthur wants he just hasn’t been able to show it properly.”
The doorbell rang as Eames nodded, wondering if Arthur would ever show his feelings for Eames. Matt gave one last squeeze before getting up to answer the door. Eames could hear whispering but he didn’t really care enough to look at who was there.
“Eames,” said Matt after a minute or so.
Eames turned and there was Arthur, standing a few feet behind Matt. There was nothing discernible on his face and that made Eames more nervous than ever.
“I’m going to leave you two alone,” Matt was continuing as Arthur and Eames just stared at one another. “Do not kill each other. Call me later, Eames.”
With that, Matt shut the door to the apartment behind him and it was just the two of them. Eames stood as Arthur made his way closer.
“Look, Arthur, I-“
For the second time that night Eames found himself lying on the ground, face in pain.
~
“Thanks,” Eames muttered as Arthur passed him a small bag of peas.
“Sorry,” replied Arthur and Eames waved the apology away.
“I more than likely deserved it.”
Arthur folded his hands neatly on his lap and avoided looking at Eames’ face.
“Matt reassured me nothing was going on between the two of you.”
Eames nodded in agreement and added, “We’re just friends. He’s a nice guy. Wants to be a writer.”
“Yes, I know.” Arthur paused and fidgeted slightly. “He also told me that you liked me.”
“Oh, did he?” Eames asked, trying not to sound like he was going to murder Matt the next time he saw him. While he was being very idiotic about his crush it was still his crush to blab about.
“I told him it was preposterous.” Arthur let out a strangled sort of laugh and Eames joined in with one of his own awkward chuckles.
“Yes, very.”
The two sat quietly, awkwardly, on the couch, staring at the blank television screen. They both knew what was going on and yet it was easier to just sit there in silence.
“You don’t have to,” Eames began, words muffled slightly by the cool bag pressed against his face.
Arthur just looked at him. There was no annoyance, no contempt, no exasperation. He was just looking and Eames felt frozen in place.
“I don’t have to…?” Arthur repeated back to him.
Eames cleared his throat. “Stay. You don’t have to stay.”
The look on Arthur’s face could have been categorized as crushed and that heavy feeling in Eames' chest had returned full force.
“Of course.” Arthur nodded, face going blank as a slate. “I’m sorry I came back.”
He was up and halfway to the door when he stopped. Eames turned in his seat to stare at the back of Arthur’s head, at the line of his shoulders and the way it looked as if he were slouching.
“Eames,” Arthur said, not turning an inch to look back. “Do you want to kiss me?”
Eames didn’t know what to say. Or rather, he knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted this evening to end but he didn’t know for sure if that was how things were supposed to be. If this thing between him and Arthur should be this hard.
After a moment of nothing Arthur nodded, back straight once again as he took the silence as his answer. Eames kneeled on the couch, leaning over the back to watch Arthur leave his apartment. In that moment he knew he would never see Arthur again after the extraction. They would never cross paths, the point man would make sure of it, and Eames wouldn’t push for once. It would be easy to continue on living the way he had, flirting and humouring his way through life.
“I think about kissing you all the time.”
Arthur paused, fingers clasped firmly around the door knob. He glanced somewhere to his left, not looking at anything, just listening.
“What?”
Eames threw the wet bag of peas onto the couch and climbed over the back, making his way towards Arthur.
“Every single day, the moment I wake up, I think about you and those bloody suits. Wondering how extravagant you’ll look that day. Entire three pieces or just a jumper instead of a jacket and vest.”
Arthur didn’t move. Eames thought for a moment that Arthur was a beautiful statue created just for him but protected by the four walls of a museum and a red velvet rope.
“I wonder how I can get your attention. If maybe one day you’ll play along or just snap and shoot me so you'll have peace and quiet.”
Arthur smiled and turned to face Eames who had covered enough ground to be arms length away.
“Most days all I want to do is stare at you and listen to you ramble on about paradoxes and every single adventure you’ve successfully used them in. I just want.”
Eames paused, reaching up to smooth out a stray piece of hair on Arthur’s head, allowing his fingers to brush against Arthur’s jaw and come to rest on his chest. Their torsos were almost touching and Eames couldn’t help placing his left hand on Arthur’s hip.
“You,” he finished, watching Arthur’s face carefully. “All I really want to do is wake up every morning to you, go to sleep every night with you and in-between those times I would just like to kiss you.”
“I,” started Arthur but quickly interrupted himself by closing the gap and finally kissing Eames.
Eames pushed Arthur into the door as their lips opened up hungrily and Eames couldn’t help but moan softly as he felt Arthur’s tongue against his own. He’d been dreaming of this happening for far too long.
Arthur pulled out of the kiss to trail his mouth across Eames jaw before softly pulling on his earlobe. At a later date Eames would deny the small keening noise that had escaped his mouth.
The two felt as if they couldn’t get close enough, hands running underneath clothing just to feel bare skin, lips and tongues pressing everywhere available. It was frantic and Eames wouldn’t have had it any other way, a thigh pressed between Arthur’s legs and Arthur moaning with every hip jerk he made.
“Eames,” Arthur gasped, fingers digging into Eames’ shoulder and back. Eames shuddered slightly at the drag of fingernails, dropping his face into the crook of Arthur’s neck and nipping.
Eames allowed a thumb to rub underneath Arthur’s waistband before unbuttoning them, not even teasing and immediately gripping onto Arthur’s cock. Arthur moaned loudly, head dropping backwards against the door.
“Please, Eames, I - fuck.”
Eames didn’t waste time, smearing precum and twisting his hand in an upward motion, thumb swirling around the head.
“Fuck, I’m, Danny-“ Arthur cut off with a strangled noise as his body tensed up, lips open obscenely and eyes shut tightly.
Eames worked Arthur through his orgasm until Arthur swatted his hand away, breathing heavily and shuddering with the after stimulation.
He was still rutting at Arthur’s leg when Arthur pushed him off and backed him up against the wall. Arthur gave a devilish grin before sinking to his knees and Eames couldn’t keep back the “fuck, yes.”
Within seconds Arthur had Eames’ cock in his mouth, one hand holding Eames’ against the wall and the other working it’s way up and down, occasionally sneaking down to his balls. Eames grabbed onto Arthur’s now messy hair and tugged lightly.
“Arthur, I’m going to-“ and with those words Arthur’s tongue flattened against the head of Eames’ dick and his fingers did some move Eames couldn’t keep track of as he was biting his lip and coming. His hips tried to jerk forward but Arthur kept them pushed down and all that was running through Eames’ mind was a string of curse words.
There was a moment where the only sound was the two breathing heavily, Eames slowly sliding down the wall to join Arthur on the floor. Eames looked through unfocused eyes at Arthur who looked completely disheveled and he once again had the urge to ravish the man. Instead Eames just pulled him forward into a soft kiss, fingers brushing circles into the back of his neck.
“I’m glad you came back,” Eames said as they broke apart.
Arthur smiled and nudged at Eames’ foot with his own.
“Speaking of,” Eames continued. “Why did you come back?”
Arthur moved to straddle Eames and waved his hand in uneven circles.
“It’s not that important, just some guy I happen to be in love with lives here.”
Eames grinned as Arthur pressed kisses along his neck, occasionally biting and soothing with his tongue.
“Shall we move this to the bed, darling?”
Arthur pulled back and that devilish grin was back.
“Absolutely.”
~
A day and a half later, Matt and Arthur were standing at the airport, waiting for Matt’s turn to check his luggage.
“Thanks for coming down,” said Arthur as the line shuffled up two steps.
Matt nodded, grinning. “You’re absolutely welcome. I love visiting my favourite brother.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Alright,” Matt conceded. “Tom is way more fun but he doesn’t have an Eames.”
“No,” laughed Arthur. “No, he has a Summer and an Autumn and who was that girl he brought home last Christmas?”
Matt thought for a moment before joining Arthur’s laughter. “I have no idea, Rachel is the one who has to deal with his crap, not me.”
“True,” Arthur agreed. “Poor girl.”
The lady behind the counter waved Matt forward and the two fell into a comfortable silence as Matt’s bags were weighed and tagged.
As they wandered towards security, Matt asked, “Did you really have to punch Eames?”
“He kind of deserved it.”
“Twice?”
Arthur sighed and shook his head.
“Maybe not twice but it was in the heat of the moment. I was getting frustrated at how long it was taking, and your idiotic charade wasn’t helping.”
Matt pretended to look insulted but after being assaulted with Arthur’s ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ look he just stuck out his tongue.
“It was your grand scheme to make Eames fall in love with you, although he didn’t need any help, just a shove in the less subtle department.”
They had arrived at the point where Arthur couldn’t go any farther.
“See you at Thanksgiving?” Matt questioned as he pulled Arthur into a hug.
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Arthur pulled back and smiled. “Have fun at NYU and thanks again for your help.”
Matt gave a quick salute before walking towards a free security guard. Arthur watched his brother get through with no troubles before heading back to his car. He couldn’t wait to get back to his apartment where Eames was waiting for him.