Prompt Post No. 20
Welcome to Round 20 of the Inception Kink Meme.
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Prompting System
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“It’s thirty degrees here and you were going to spend the hols being damp in London?”
Arthur pulled on his sunglasses as they stepped into the sun of the arrivals pick-up area. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he tugged off his coat, “it’s barely seventy-five out here.”
As they double-checked their luggage, a minivan rolled up to the curb and a dark-haired man rolled down the window and waved. “At last my liege, King Arthur, has arriveth!”
Eames leaned in towards Arthur and whispered, “Does that make me Guinevere?”
Arthur quipped back, “More like my manservant,” before he strode forward to greet his brother with a tight hug. “Phil, I’m so sorry it’s taken me this long to come back and visit.”
“Don’t sweat it, I know that being an International Man of Mystery keeps you busy.” Phil kept an arm around his shoulders while reaching out to shake Eames’ hand. “And you must be his Lady Guinevere.”
Eames grinned vaingloriously at Arthur while eagerly shaking Phil’s hand, “That I am, but I must insist that you address me by my maiden name: Eames.”
Phil’s eyes and smile widened in delight, “I’ve always wanted to have a proper Englishman in the family.”
“Really?” Arthur shrugged away from his brother’s arm, “your first impression of Eames is ‘proper Englishman’?”
Before anyone could retort, there was a thump and a muffled "Uhhhh... Daaad?"
The three men turned towards the van's now open hatchback. A young boy with a curly head of hair was on the floor, wriggling under Arthur and Eames' suitcases.
Eames lifted the luggage off the child as Phil rushed forward.
"Luke, you okay?"
Luke stood, brushing himself off. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Luke?" Arthur gaped, "You've definitely grown."
"Yeah," Luke nodded, "definitely more than Manny."
Arthur nodded along and bent down to hug his nephew. "Manny. Right. He's your mom's step-brother?"
Eames hid a smirk at the lack of certainty in Arthur's tone, knowing full-well that the point man probably had a dossier on each member of his brother's extended family.
"We go to the same school, but he's a lot shorter than me." Luke looked curiously at Eames, "Who's this guy?"
Phil put his son on his shoulder, "This is Eames, your Uncle Arthur's boyfriend."
Eames straightened up from where he had been arranging their luggage in the back of the van and offered his hand in greeting. "Pleasure to meet you, Luke."
Luke gave his hand a firm shake before a nearby security guard tapped his watch and told them to get moving.
Once they were on the road the van filled with inane chatter about Luke's school and the state of the housing market, traffic report buzzing in the background.
Arthur set his head against the passenger-side window and drifted off to sleep.
&.&.&.
Eames stared, fascinated, at a photo of a mud splattered family that hung in the foyer. He recognized Arthur’s brother and nephew and supposed that he’d be acquainted with the remaining nine. He opened his mouth to comment and Arthur preemptively interrupted him in a low voice.
“If you could possibly restrain yourself from using everything you see as fodder for your propensity to psychoanalyze everyone, it’d be much appreciated.”
Eames arched an eyebrow, “I was only going to praise you for having a family full of such attractive people.”
Phil stopped halfway up the stairs and turned back to look gratefully at Eames, “We are an attractive bunch, aren’t we. Thank you, Eames.” He then leaned over the bannister and yelled, “CLAIR! GIRLS! COME AND MEET YOUR UNCLE’S BOYFRIEND.” As an afterthought he added, “Also, say hi to your uncle,” before proceeding to lug the suitcases up the stairs, Luke trailing after him.
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An apron-clad woman with blond hair appeared at the open arch leading into the living room with two dark-haired girls hovering behind her. “I’m glad you guys made it safely,” she said through a strained smile, “Gosh, it’s been so long Arthur.”
“Claire, it’s lovely to see you. As always.”
They greeted each other with a hug that was only semi-awkward before a brunette with glasses stepped forward with a large smile. “Uncle Arthur! I’m so glad you’re here, though I’m also really sorry for getting you dragged into the freakshow that is our family holidays.”
Arthur returned her smile, “No, apologies necessary. In fact, thank you, Alex. I’ve been long overdue for a visit. I’d probably never have gotten around to it for at least another decade otherwise.”
The final girl had a smile playing on her lips and one hand on her hips. “Honestly, I don’t even know why you bothered. You’re free now. If I were you I’d have stayed as far away as possible.”
“I promise you, Haley. One more year at college and you’ll be begging for your mother’s home-cooked meals.” Arthur paused and took in the two girls standing in front of him and exhaled slowly. “Alex is in high school and Haley’s in college,” he said mostly to himself (in a tone that Eames thought sounded suspiciously like regret).
The three came together in a hug, after which Arthur gestured behind himself. “This is Eames. Eames, this is my sister-in-law, Claire, and her daughters, Haley and Alex.”
Eames smiled and offered another round of handshakes. “It’s an honor. And I do apologize for the imposition.”
Haley bit her lip and pulled out her phone, fingers flying over the screen.
“Oh, no, not an imposition at all,” Claire responded politely, “we’re happy to have you. Now, girls, how about you show Eames and your Uncle Arthur up to their room and then come back and help me finish making dinner, okay?”
Haley slipped past them and quickly made her way up the stairs, phone at her ear, “I swear, he sounds just like Colin Farrell.”
Alex ran up after her, “Seriously, Haley? Colin Farrell is IRISH!”
“Ah, youth.” Eames sighed happily.
Claire shook her head in disbelief, hand fisted against her mouth. “The guest room is up the stairs and to the right.”
“Thanks.”
They made their way up the stairs and found their luggage in a cozily decorated bedroom. Phil and Luke’s voices were muffled behind a door across the hall and became nearly inaudible once Arthur closed the guestroom door behind him.
"Arthur,” Eames crooned, “Arthur you come from a family full of people who would dress up in nice white clothes only to have a mud fight."
Arthur pushed past him and sat at the edge of the queen-sized bed, tugging off his shoes. “I’m only related to half of the people that were in that photo. They’re Phil’s family.”
Eames flopped onto the bed behind him and patted the mattress in invitation, “Come, let’s nap away the jet lag.”
“That’s not how jet lag works,” Arthur stifled a yawn, pulling out his laptop, “and anyways, we need to start preparing for our next job. There’s a chance we’re going to need multiple forgeries.”
“Well then,” Eames tugged at Arthur’s arm, collapsing him backwards onto the bed until his head was resting on Eames’ firm belly, “walk me through it.”
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Alex ran up after her, “Seriously, Haley? Colin Farrell is IRISH!”
“Ah, youth.” Eames sighed happily.
That part made me laugh! Eames is a patient man :P
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