Working it Out, Inception, PG-15, Eames/Cobb/Arthur
Title: Working it Out
Fandom: Inception
Word Count: 2972
Author: Freekydisaster
Pairing: Cobb/Eames/Arthur, Pre-Cobb/Arthur
Rating: PG-15
Warnings: M/M underlay
Spoilers: Just for the film in general
Summary: Eames finds out that Cobb and Arthur experimented together at University and the jealousy is eating away at him so he
decides to have it out with them.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters
Beta: No one
Authors Note: This was from a fic off between my friend and I using the base prompt of “Jealous!Eames finds out Arthur and Cobb experimented at University and has it out with Cobb” and this was my end result.
Working it Out
Together.
Arthur and Cobb had experimented together.
It wasn't that surprising really seeing as Eames knew the two men had experimented during their time at college - because seriously, who hadn't? - but he'd just assumed that they would have experimented with strangers. Thinking about it now, he knew that was a silly idea and that it made more sense for them to do it together. Cobb didn't trust easily and to be able to experiment, you need to let your walls down but however, Arthur was too trusting. What they had was a perfect combination of trust, respect and yet more importantly, they had that strong friendship that they'd always be able to rely on.
He'd been sitting at this bar now for several hours, repeating his mantra of “together” in between taking sips of his whisky. Anyone that should happen to walk past would think that he was going insane, if he already wasn't, and he couldn't help but mentally agree with them. He was taking this harder than he thought he would and he had no idea why. No that's a lie. He did know why. Realising why, he downed the rest of the amber liquid in his glass, winced at the burn before slamming his glass back down on the table.
His glass had never been empty too long to forget that he was there to get drunk - an agreement between the barmaid and himself when he'd first entered the bar that evening - so as soon as he slammed the glass down, the pretty Irish barmaid was standing there with the bottle in her hand. He could tell from the look in her eyes, captivating summer green eyes that matched her ivory skin and ginger curls, that she was about to start lecturing him about maybe it was time to slow down but one look at his face and she silently poured him another shot, a mumble of adding it to the tab before moving back down the bar to where an old man was sitting with a pint of Guinness.
He'd found out by accident of course - another fact that was adding to his anger because he thought he was there friend. After their last mission, they'd found about Eame's cross shaped birthmark at the small of his back and obviously this had started a conversation about the distinguishing marks the rest of the group had. Ariadne admitted that she had a strawberry birth mark on the back of her thigh but it didn't bother her and Eames had been the usual charmer by promising her that she could be covered in mould and she'd still look gorgeous in a bathing suit, she'd blushed before turning the conversation to Arthur. He'd laughed and said that he was birth mark free but he knew that Cobb had a curve of 'beauty spots' that curved along the line of his love handles and disappeared underneath the waistline of his boxers. Both Eames and Ariadne had stared at Arthur wide eyed, his smile one that alerted them both to know he knew as did the look of horror on his face when he realised what he said and then add the fumbling excuse of how Cobb had needed medical assistance definitely left him with a guilty verdict. They'd obviously pressured him for
more. Something Eames now regretted.
He'd fled the warehouse as soon as he'd had the chance because he didn't want to make it look too obvious that he'd left from hearing that bombshell. Eames was many things but homophobic wasn't one of them. Actually, he applauded civilians for dreaming a little bigger and seeing that there was a wider world around them. He sensed that Arthur too would have made his excuses to leave because he had to run and tell Cobb what he'd done. Eames chuckled into his glass as he imagined the horror on Cobb's face as he listened to Arthur break the news that they were out and proud. Well maybe not so proud but definitely out.
How had they not told him?
He was exceptionally close to Cobb and felt more wounded that the man hadn't trusted him enough with such a tiny little secret. Cobb knew about Eames' adventures. Hell, Cobb knew how much Eames enjoyed the adventures and how Eames had a small thing for... The pair of them, he thought shaking his head as he ran his hand through his hair. He knew that was the real reason this situation was bothering him. Eames was jealous that Cobb had been able to experiment with Arthur and then vice versa. He could feel the anger and jealousy coursing through his body as he thought of the two of them touching each other, the desperate moans sounding out between them as they whispered sweet nothings to each other that would obviously be forgotten in the morning. How many times had Eames' dreamed that he'd be their first? He snorted. Well as egotistical as it was, it was never going to happen now because they'd found their first in each other whereas Eames had found his in the arms of a drunken brute.
Despite the jealousy and the anger, there was another emotion coursing through his body after finding out about this little ordeal. Hurt. He was still hurting that neither had told him. He kept returning to his point in his mind and the more he thought about it, the more riled up he got. He needed to talk to Cobb. He needed to know why the man, a man he called his best friend as in this world you have so few, hadn't trusted him. Downing the rest of his shot and turning the glass upside down so she knew it was dead, he left a pile of notes beside it and waved to her as he left the bar. The cold air didn't effect him as he left the building due to the amount of alcohol he'd downed in the last few hours and he embraced the silence as he made his way towards Cobb's house, the walk far but he decided it would do him some good to sober up.
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Standing at the front door, he stared blankly at the doorbell and decided on whether this was a bad idea or not. Cobb was the one that signed his pay checks whenever they got jobs. Could he really afford to piss him off? Tapping his foot on the decking, he took a deep breath as he nodded his head. He needed to talk this out and being slightly drunk - the air had definitely sobered him up - was probably going to be the only excuse he got. Reaching forward, he was just about to ring the doorbell when the door opened. “We've been waiting for you,” Cobb spoke quietly as if sensing that Eames had had one too many.
“Really,” Eames said nodding his head before clicking his fingers, “well darling, you both, I'm sensing the we means Arthur is here, must really be good at mind reading because I've only just made up my mind to come.”He joked lightly before moving awkwardly one foot to the other, his gaze on Cobb's face as he tried to size the man up before sighing. “Can I come in?”
“Look Eames, maybe we should just...”
“What? Forget about it? Act like I never heard about it?” He snarled angrily unsure of why the anger flare had suddenly reappeared because he believed he'd managed to calm it down slightly on his walk over here. “Sure. Why not. I can do that. Piece of cake.” Cobb, sensing from the short sentences that Eames most definitely couldn't do that, motioned for the man to move into the house. Looking at the other man for a moment, Eames clicked his tongue against his teeth before moving into the house and taking off his jacket to hang up on the peg.
“Eames,” Cobb said quietly motioning for him to follow him through to the kitchen where he could see Arthur sitting at the table. Following him through, Eames wasn't surprised that Arthur jumped out of his seat the minute he saw the man and started moving towards him. Eames stopped him by raising his hand, his head shaking and Arthur stopped dead in his tracks, his face giving away the hurt. Good, Eames thought, he can feel a tiny slice of how I'm feeling right now. “Can I get you a coffee?” The host asked watching the interaction.
“No. I won't be staying long,”
“Eames, you'll catch your death out there...” Arthur started but one glare from Eames caused him to stop with his maternal rant and sit back down on the table, Eames following suit. It wasn't long before a coffee rested in front of him.
“I said...” It was his turn to receive a cold glare as Cobb took his seat at the head of the table and looked at Eames, his hand wrapping around the warm mug showing that he was finally feeling signs of the cold.
“We need to talk about this,” Cobb said calmly sensing that he was going to be the voice of reason here between, what he qualified them as, the two children of the group as they always found a reason to bicker, “because I will not have it disturbing the team, okay?”
“There's nothing to talk about. I shouldn't have come,” Eames said pushing away the mug and attempting to stand up but Cobb had hold of his wrist before he could even stand straight. The gesture was silent but clearly understood. Eames sat back down and grabbed hold of the mug again, grateful for the heat. Keeping his gaze on the mug, he started the debate. “Why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't realise we had to tell you everything,”Cobb stated calmly and Eames looked up from the mug, his jaw clenched at the patronising tone because he'd never heard that from Cobb before and if he had, it was most definitely not to him.
Nodding his head, he laughed. “Oh silly me, I forgot how a friendship works in your head, dear. It's just one way, right? I tell you all my secrets and you just get to live your little life as if it's perfect.” He should have known that was the way Cobb operated after the Fisher job and he hadn't warned them of the dangers despite having been there himself. “I understand now. I'll leave you two to it.”He said standing up, his wrist moving first so that Cobb couldn't grab it as he started towards the front door.
“I don't understand how it's your concern, Eames.” The cold words coming out of Cobb's mouth caused him to stop and turn back round before he'd even thought about it and was shouting at the man before him, his inhibitions loosened as he simply let the words flow. His hands clenched at his side but he knew that he'd never use them on Cobb. He cared about the man too much to punch him.
“You know god damned well why this is my concern, Cobb. I told you things that I'd have never told you if I had known that...” he stopped shouting and took a deep breath. “I wouldn't have trusted you with it and you just let me tell you, You sat there and listened to me, analysed my dreams and told me what they meant when you could have just told me the damned truth. What would you have done if I'd have told Arthur that I was having the exact same thoughts about you.” he finished off with a whisper before standing straight, his hand running through his hair as he smiled at them both. “Now if you'll excuse me...”
“No.” Cobb said standing in front of the door, blocking his exit with his frame and staring down at Eames. “Tell young Arthur what it is you're talking about.”He demanded causing Eames to look into the man's face properly for the first time that night and he realised this wasn't a joke. He meant it. Cobb wanted Eames to tell Arthur about the dirty dreams, the desire he felt every time he looked at either of the males before him and more importantly about the feelings he had.
“You know...” He stopped talking as Cobb's gaze turned stern and he realised that he couldn't hide away from it any more so he turned to look at Arthur, his hands rubbing together as he felt a lump form in his throat. Sure, Eames came off as a charmer and made everyone believe that he could work his way into anyone's pants but it was all a façade. He had his English charm, his smile and more importantly, he just knew how to dress well so it was more a case of the women flocked to him rather than he went out to look for them. He'd never complained before because he found it easier that way. He'd never found someone important enough to stand in front of and express how he felt about them until he met these two.
Cobb, the gruff but yet sometimes gentle man that really cared about his friends and family despite the fact that he doesn't trust easily. His friendship had started accidentally so many years before and Eames couldn't imagine a moment without the man in his life. Hell, Eames had been Cobb's first stop after that dreadful night with Mal. They'd stayed up all night, Eames allowing the man to cry out every last emotion before they parted that next morning with a brief hug and Cobb knew that Eames would never bring it up again. It was, like he'd mentioned earlier, just the way their friendship went.
Arthur, sweet little Arthur, had obviously been a friend through a friend. Obviously Eames was going to be fascinated by the man that Cobb had trusted with such an important part of their work. Eames had thought Cobb was just going to be stubborn until the day he realised how desperately they needed someone like Arthur to help them. He'd been shy at first, his quiet ways intriguing Eames more causing the deliberate teasing and the teasing names that caused Arthur to sigh in exasperation each time. They were friends, the three of them, and Eames didn't want it to end over something as trivial as his emotions so he looked up at Cobb and shook his head. “I can't.” He said once more before looking towards Arthur. “Arthur, pleasure seeing you as always.” He turned back to the host and flashed his dazzling white smile, “Cobb, wonderful host as always. You definitely made me feel comfortable,” each word said sarcastically but with that massive Eames grin causing Cobb to sigh.
“I didn't think you were the type of person to run, Eames.”Cobb said carefully sensing that a punch might be the answer to his statement knowing how much Eames hated his character being picked up on.
“I'm not running, darling,” Eames pointed out before pointing over the man's shoulder, “I'm simply going to walk and then maybe go back to the bar where a beautiful little Irish barmaid has a bottle of whisky with my name on it.”
“Please don't drink any more,” Arthur spoke up for the first time since Eames had silenced him earlier. He'd simply been standing and watching the interaction between the old men, reading their body language and their tone before figuring out most definitely what was going on between the pair of them. “It's not the answer.”
“No. It's not.” Eames agreed before nodding his head. “Right-o. Cobb, you're blocking my exit.” He started up again.
“Sleep here,” Cobb pretty much demanded. “You're not walking back to yours this late at night and I still think we have things to talk over,” he tried to point out but he didn't think Eames would be there in the morning. He'd wait until everyone was asleep and slip out. It wouldn't be the first time. He decided a different tactic would work better here. “What if we feel the same?”
“Then I'd state that it was simply out of pity and I don't need your damned pity, okay?” Eames pretty much growled with a glare at the older man but that weakened as a pair of hands came onto his shoulders from behind, squeezing slightly as if attempting to massage out all the knots that were forming there. Cobb took a step forward to, his hands reaching out to press over those of Arthur's and he shook his head.
“Eames, no one would pity you.”He pointed out quietly before looking down at him. “We could work this out,” Cobb whispered gently as his hand moved to curl around his neck and Eames looked up at him, suddenly feeling very small encased between the two men, before shaking his head, his lips starting to open to deny that there was anything to work out. “Don't,” Cobb said in a short tone, “deny this. You've wanted it so long and we want to work it out also.”
“We do,” a pair of lips said against Eames' neck causing him to shiver as he reached up and pressed his hand against the two that were still resting against his shoulder. They stood there in the kitchen just simply touching each other making them aware, even as the comfortable silence washed over them, that this could be something.