Inception-bang Round 3: A Little Less Sixteen Candles (14/14)

[osaki_nana_707]

Title: A Little Less Sixteen Candles
Author: osaki_nana_707
Artist: heavenly_rain
Type: slash, boarding school/secret agent AU
Word Count: ~57,500
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: ArthurxEames, appearances by pretty much all of the Inception characters except Saito (though he is mentioned)
Warnings violence, language, mild dub-con, simulated!underage, character death
Summary: Arthur, covert agent, has his cover blown during a job hunting down an underground criminal ring. With a price on his head, Arthur's boss has no choice but to hide Arthur away under a new identity... which just happens to be that of a teenage boy at a boarding school. Now he's forced to play the part of a sixteen year old and deal with classes, a roommate, and bullies-- not to mention the fact that he still doesn't know how his picture ended up in the hands of his enemies. It isn't all bad though. At least he has an extremely attractive teacher named Eames.

Link to fic master post: Here
Link to art master post: Here



Chapter 14

Arthur took a few deep breaths, eyes wide, hand shaking. He watched Fischer crumple to the floor and felt his men immediately back off of him. The whole room was silent and tense as they all tried to figure out what had happened and what to do next. Arthur turned his gaze towards the doorway and saw agents including Cobb filing in with their guns trained on Fischer's men. In the middle of it all was Eames with the gun Arthur had given him still pointed towards where Fischer had been.

Arthur realized immediately that Eames had been calling because he had found the agents in the tunnel under the gym. He must have gotten bored waiting around and gone snooping. He'd rescued them and then called to tell Arthur the good news… and then he'd run to save him when he realized Arthur was in trouble.

Arthur dropped his own gun, having forgotten about it until that moment, and limped towards Eames, jaw still slack in amazement.

"Eames, you… I… how…" Arthur stammered.

Eames lowered the gun, sliding it into his belt. "Lucky shot," was all he could manage as an explanation.

Arthur just shook his head in amazement, still in a daze even as Eames thumbed the blood off of Arthur's chin. "Look at you, darling. You're like a ghost," Eames said affectionately, carding his hand through Arthur's hair.

"How did you find them?" Arthur asked, resisting the urge to collapse into Eames's arms to the best of his ability.

"Well, while I was sitting there, I really thought about it," Eames said. "Fischer wasn't about to hole up his captives far away from him, and even though he surely knew about the tunnels, it wasn't exactly pertinent for him to slip away from the school grounds when the police were already suspicious. So, I thought that perhaps he had these friends of yours hidden here, and I realized that the tunnel was at its widest point underneath the gym. It's been used as a shelter during bad storms and is the only part of the tunnel still with lighting. I went to check and sure enough there they were."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"A lot of dumb luck has been working in my favor today, I guess," Eames said and pulled Arthur close to him. All Arthur could do after that was sag into his embrace, tension slowly releasing as he realized that yes, it was over, but once again he'd walked out on the other side of it alive.

The next few hours were a flurry of activity, and Arthur ended up trapped in the middle of most of it. Arrests were made, stories were told, and papers were filed. A medic was brought to the scene to patch Arthur up, and then he had to write a check for repairs for the car he and Eames had stolen. It took all of Cobb's power to try and keep it all hush-hush, since there were reporters trying to get inside and find out what had gone on. Arthur tried to help out as much as he could, but he got a bit swept up. So many of the captured agents were clapping him on his good shoulder, embracing him, thanking him for saving their lives. It was bizarre. Arthur had known these people for years, and they'd always respected his abilities, but they had never gone out of their way to really talk to him before. They had apparently been too intimidated and had thought he wouldn't have given them the time of day. They weren't exactly wrong in that aspect.

Arthur was happy to do what he could since it was what needed doing, even as he was constantly stopped by random students and teachers to ask him questions that he mostly couldn't answer since they were classified. Suddenly Arthur, former social pariah, was the most popular boy in school.

"Arthur," Mal said when she managed to catch him. "I had no idea. So, I wasn't talking with your father on the phone?"

"No, actually, that was my boss, Dominic Cobb," he had said, nodding in Cobb's direction.

Mal had looked the man up and down, impressed, and said, "Is he single?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and said, "He asked me the same thing about you, actually."

Arthur hoped they did get together. Cobb could use a little quelling of his insanity, or at least could use another outlet with which to dispense it.

He managed to be caught by Yusuf for a few seconds, but all he had to report was that he couldn't get back in touch with Robert. Arthur knew it didn't matter. Robert Fischer would know his father was dead soon. It was only a matter of time

The boys who had helped Arthur get into the hall weren't too terribly solemn about watching their fathers be carted away in police cars. A few even thanked Arthur when they got the chance, including Kevin who took Arthur aside and apologized for what he had done. Arthur couldn't bother to be angry with him anymore.

After the scuffle had ended though, Arthur had completely lost sight of Eames. He was sure he was being bombarded with questions just like Arthur was, but he still didn't like the fact that he couldn't see him. He hadn't gotten over the shock of the moment to really tell him anything, and after his brush with death Arthur was finding that he had quite a lot to say. As time wore on and nothing seemed to slow down, Arthur was afraid he might not get the chance.

"The worst of it is over," Cobb informed Arthur during the one tiny break in the chaos, "but there's still a lot of red tape to comb through."

Arthur knew what that meant. He couldn't stop now because the job wasn't done. He imagined Cobb would be booking the first flight out of Connecticut for the both of them. A new headquarters had to be found and set up, family members of deceased agents had to be informed, the living ones would need new identities crafted, and that was just the things they had to do for their agency. There were a whole slew of things to clean up behind Fischer, including making sure his illegal business deals were put to rest and making sure Saito was informed that Cobol Engineering would no longer be a problem to him. Even though Saito was a friend of Cobb's, Arthur knew they would still need to set up a routine of checks and balances to make sure Saito's deals didn't turn dirty either. Hush money would need to be sent out to witnesses.

In all honesty, the hard part was just beginning. Arthur had several months of grueling work ahead of him, and he knew he couldn't back out on Cobb now when he needed him the most.

Arthur finally managed to catch a glimpse of Eames in the crowd, but by then he realized that now wasn't the right time. They wouldn't be able to see each other, and Arthur didn't have a phone number he could give him since all his previous information had been compromised.

He turned towards Cobb, sighing, and said, "All right. Let's get to work. After it's done though, I need to talk to you."

It was summertime, and Arthur could feel the back of his t-shirt sticking to him even though the sun was going down. He slipped inside the bar he'd been requested to meet at in London, finishing off his cigarette and tossing it into the nearby ashtray. He hadn't really been able to kick the habit, he supposed.

Robert Fischer was sitting at a small table near the piano, leaning his cheek on his fist and scribbling in a Moleskine. When he looked up, his blue eyes brightened at the sight of Arthur. "I was starting to think you weren't going to show."

"Flight got delayed," Arthur replied, sliding into the seat across from him. "I would have thought you'd be in New York, trying to make it on the Broadway stage."

Robert smirked. "No, not yet. I bombed my first few auditions, so I'm taking a little bit of time to perform in smaller settings whilst taking some acting classes. I never really thought I'd get the opportunity, so I guess I choked when it was laid out before me. Plus, I didn't exactly have any experience. I'm doing some singing in bars right now."

"Well, I can't imagine you're hurting for money too badly," Arthur said, nodding at the waiter who came by and ordering a beer.

"No," Robert laughed lightly. "I suppose not. Dad didn't get the opportunity to change his will, so the money and company was left to me. I gave the company to Uncle Peter, but I kept a good portion of the cash for myself."

"If Browning's running the company now-legally, I should hope-who's running Fischer-Morrow?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Mal is, of course," Robert replied. "It's shifting its focus now that she's the head though. It's becoming an art school, and it's co-ed. From what I hear, she thought it was time to 'set aside the snooty traditional standards' or something like that. I think it'll do just fine. Yusuf's actually excited to go back there since he's so popular now. Everyone looks up to him for being your friend, you know? You're a hero."

Arthur shook his head, accepting his beer and taking a sip before speaking. "I'm not a hero at all. I'm just some stupid asshole who got lucky."

"Yeah, well, because of your lucky ass a lot of people are still alive, myself included. That sounds pretty heroic to me, even if it wasn't on purpose."

"It's not always a hero that does heroic things," Arthur responded, shrugging, "and, in any sense, if Eames hadn't rescued me, I'd just be one of the dead agents. Everything would have progressed without me."

"No one would have even known where to look if it weren't for you."

Arthur took a long swig of his beer. "Maybe."

"So. Eames. Have you talked to him?"

"I've barely had time to sleep," Arthur sighed. "I don't even know where he is now. He might have a handsome boyfriend by now. I mean, I didn't even get to say goodbye to him back at the school, so it isn't hard to see why he'd be done with me."

"Surely you could find him if you really wanted to. You have access to all that… agent stuff."

"Had access. I quit as soon as this whole mess was over. I've been regular, uninteresting Arthur for about two weeks now."

"You didn't bother to look him up before you left?"

Arthur looked down at the tabletop, sighing again. "It's like I said. There's not really a point. I'm sure he's moved on by now."

"But… you're in love with him."

"Yeah, I am, but that doesn't mean he was ever in love with me."

Robert's gaze drifted away from Arthur's for a moment and then slid back. "I've got to perform now. Stay. Watch."

"I haven't got anything else to do," Arthur said, offering a smile.

Robert grinned back and made his way to the piano, and Arthur watched as he fell into song. "Taking over this town, they should worry, but these problems aside I think I taught you well… that we won't run, and we won't run, and we won't run…"

Arthur sat back, letting the music wash over him for a moment, gazing distantly into the images conjured by the song. It seemed that everything reminded him of Eames these days.

"And in the winter night sky ships are sailing, looking down on these bright blue city lights… and they won't wait, and they won't wait, and they won't wait…"

"Pardon, is this seat taken?"

God, people were even starting to sound like Eames.

"We're here to stay, we're here to stay, we're here to stay."

Arthur turned to explain to the patron that the pianist was actually sitting here when he wasn't playing but all of the words fell quiet on his lips as his eyes captured…

…the absolute ugliest shirt he had ever seen.

"Howling ghosts they reappear, in mountains that are stacked with fear, but you're a king and I'm your lion heart… a lion heart."

"Eames?" Arthur breathed.

It was Eames because he sat down next to Arthur, smiling that familiar toothy smile and said, "I told you I live in London during the summers, didn't I? You really are much more attractive without your glasses, darling."

"How did you… know I was here?" Arthur asked, once again stunned by Eames's presence. It seemed to be becoming a habit of his.

"Who do you think set this up?" Eames chuckled. "I knew Robert could get into contact with you. He has the money and the resources. I asked him to help me get in touch with you. I thought it would be a nice surprise."

"His crown lit up as we moved slowly, passed the wondering eyes of the ones we left behind… though far away, though far away, though far away…"

"I would have thought you'd be mad at me for leaving you there."

"I knew you had to go."

"We're still the same, we're still the same, we're still the same…"

"But-" Arthur tried, but Eames took his hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Come on, love. We have a lot to make up for, don't you think?" Eames said, dragging him out of the bar and into the warm streets again. The sky had turned golden as the sun set in the distance, and Arthur was reminded of just how gorgeous Eames was in this light (and any light really). Even the ridiculous paisley shirt was forgivable in this light.

"Eames, what the hell is going on?" Arthur asked. "I expected you to-"

"Forget about you?" Eames asked, pausing to face Arthur. He traced a finger down the line of Arthur's jaw. "I fought hard enough to get you. I wasn't about to lose you, Arthur."

"I thought that… you wouldn't want someone like me. I'm distant emotionally, and I've gotten myself into danger for the hell of it on more than one occasion. I'm obsessive and I've never been in a relationship with anyone… Even though I'm not working for the agency anymore, there are still people out there who probably want me dead. I'm not a good choice of a mate, you know?"

"Well, that's a bloody shame, because I'm not interested in anyone else."

Arthur exhaled, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're unbelievable," he said fondly.

"You haven't even slept with me yet," Eames winked. "I wonder how you'd describe me if we had."

"We can always find out," Arthur offered.

Eames tugged him close by the belt loops, breathing in his scent at this nape. "God, Arthur… I was so worried you wouldn't come or that you would have seen the error of your ways and given up on me. I was so afraid to come here today."

Arthur's hand slid up Eames's back, resting just between his shoulder blades. "I could never give up on you… You saved my life, and not just in the physical sense… Without you, Eames, I might have never stopped. I would have kept pushing and pushing until eventually I got myself killed. I don't want to live that way, Eames. I don't want to keep running away from my loneliness. I would be… I would be so happy even if I was just waking up next to you and having cereal for breakfast and reading the paper. I would love to just go buy groceries with you and go see movies and sit in coffee shops and talk for hours on end. I want to fall into bed with you at night and take showers with you and learn way more about you than strictly necessary. I want to see you clip your toenails and burn eggs and bump your hip on the dresser. I want all of that mundane, normal stuff, Eames. All of it."

"You won't get bored of me?" Eames asked.

Arthur shook his head. "No, I won't… because all of the excitement, the danger, the trouncing around the globe… It doesn't mean anything if I don't have you by my side. With you, I just… I know it'll be good-it'll be great, even. Every day will be an adventure. It's just a feeling I have, and that feeling has never led me astray before."

It was the most honest Arthur had ever been, and it felt fantastic. If Eames's smile was any indication, he felt the same way.

"You are a bloody wonder," Eames said.

"You haven't even slept with me yet," Arthur teased and pulled Eames in for a lingering kiss. It felt just as thrilling and warm as it had the first time, but with it came a sweet tenderness that Arthur could only describe as like coming home. He'd never really had a home, even though he had apartments and houses all over the planet (and he still had a couple of them-his last paycheck had been, for lack of a better word, impressive), but here with Eames, Arthur knew that he'd finally found it.

"I want to do this properly and take things slow," Eames said against Arthur's mouth, sliding a hand through Arthur's hair. "What say I take you out to dinner?"

"Dinner would be lovely."

Arthur appreciated Eames's reluctance in order to do right by Arthur who had never been in a relationship, but it was painfully obvious by the time they were halfway through their second glasses of wine that slow wasn't necessarily their style. Before the main course had even arrived they had become one of those annoying couples sitting too close to one another and playing footsy under the table. While waiting on the dessert they ended up having a rather intense make-out session just outside the bathroom, and Arthur adored every second of it.

Honestly, the excitement Eames caused Arthur to feel was so much better than any thrill he'd ever experienced on the job or anywhere else. If that was a sign of how things were going to go from here on out Arthur had a feeling neither of them had anything to worry about.

Once dinner was over, they stumbled back down the London streets until they reached Eames's apartment a few blocks over. It was every bit as odd as the man himself, and Arthur had a feeling that more than a few of the pieces of furniture inside belonged to the same grandmother who had left him the strange couch in his office back at Fischer-Morrow. He didn't get too good a look at it since Eames was on him almost instantly, licking into his mouth until Arthur was breathless.

They toppled into bed together that night, and Eames sucked Arthur's cock until he came with a cry, and then he fucked Arthur with his fingers, slow and languid until he came a second time. Arthur rode Eames's cock until he experienced a glorious third orgasm, and then he was absolutely spent. He collapsed onto Eames's chest, sweaty and sticky and sated, over-stimulated and exhausted. Eames pet his hair and kissed his damp temple and pulled the covers up around them both.

"Eames, I love you," Arthur said quietly.

"I know, darling. I love you too," Eames said.

Arthur smiled sleepily and almost drifted off when he remembered he was still covered in his own come and sweat. "Shower," he demanded.

They bathed together, just like Arthur had said he wanted, Arthur leaning against Eames in the tub, and Arthur told Eames that he loved him again. He just couldn't get tired of saying it.

When he awoke the next morning, he could smell breakfast cooking, and he slipped into the first article of clothing he could find on the floor-Eames's terrible shirt. As he wandered into the kitchen, Eames smiled at him, placing an absolutely beautiful omelet onto a plate.

"I'm afraid there won't be egg burning from me," Eames said. "It turns out I'm a decent cook."

"You were reuniting with me for the first time in months, and you decided on this shirt?"

Eames's smile in response was warm and affectionate. "I know. It's awful, isn't it? I suppose I wanted to wear something you would desperately want to take off of me."

"So much for taking it slow," Arthur snorted, accepting the omelet and settling into a spot at Eames's table.

Eames shrugged, cracking a few more eggs into the pan to make his own breakfast. "Yes, well, bollocks on that. We're both adults here. We can take things at whatever pace we want. We've got the whole rest of our lives to take things slow. Seize the day and all that."

Arthur rolled his eyes, forking a bite of the omelet into his mouth. "Seize the day," he said softly. "Grab it with both hands and never let go."

"Yes, well," Eames said, smiling at Arthur over his shoulder, "as long as you've got something worth holding onto."

Arthur swallowed, a corner of his mouth quirking up as he started cutting his breakfast into smaller pieces. A few minutes later, Eames joined him at the table, and Arthur ate, conversed, and went back to bed for the day.

It was so ridiculously domestic, so completely normal that the Arthur he'd been a year ago would have vomited… and yet he wasn't bored at all. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd never felt so happy in his entire life. Considering he'd never allowed himself to have downtime in the past, he fell into it surprisingly easy, though he imagined having Eames helped when it came to breaking down those walls.

Slowing down was the best thing Arthur had ever done with his life, and he knew that the next days would be worth looking forward to. He'd still keep up his martial arts and his firearms training just in case anyone was to come after them.

He was out of the agency though, and he was never going back. His future with Eames was stretched out before him, and he wasn't about to miss a second of it.

It was about time he stopped to enjoy the scenery.

And as the world comes to an end

I'll be there to hold your hand.

special thanks to redxluna for betaing!