Some Hearts
Series: Three Is More Than Just Company, AMTBR (peripherally)
Fandom: Inception
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur/Eames
Title: Some Hearts
Summary: Three outside perspectives on their relationship
Disclaimer: No, it's not mine.
Rating: PG-13 to R, again for mild swearing
But I guess
Some hearts, they just get on the right race
Some hearts have the stars on their side
Some hearts, they just have it so easy
Some hearts just get lucky sometimes - Some Hearts, Carrie Underwood
It's been almost a year since Yusuf has seen any of the other members of the inception team, though he's spoken to all of them on the phone. He knew they were together, but when he meets them at the casino Eames loved frequenting when he lived here in Mombasa, he is rather shocked. Because they're so very different. Ariadne is relaxed between the two men, looking perfectly at her ease, confident in a way she wasn't when he last saw her. Arthur's severity has lessened, almost enough to make him approachable. And as for Eames... Yusuf has known Eames for a long time, long enough to be absolutely sure he's never seen the man this happy. Not genuinely, anyway.
“Well, you three look fantastic,” he tells them, and means it.
“We've been trying to make sure Eames doesn't gamble half his money away,” Ariadne says jokingly. Eames rolls his eyes.
“Yusuf, mate, tell them that I would not gamble my money away, that in fact I would double it at least.”
“Should I be getting involved with this?” is all he says, which earns him a grin from Ariadne and a half-smile from Arthur.
“No, probably not,” the point man tells him. Eames scowls at all of them, and Ariadne pokes him in the side.
“Oh, relax. You're as grumpy as Arthur.”
“Hey!” Arthur says.
“Heaven forbid,” Eames declares at the same time.
As entertaining as they are, Yusuf is starting to feel like a... Well, third wheel does not exactly fit here, but something of the same kind. So he clears his throat, and they turn from the playful argument that's brewing, and look at him a bit shamefacedly. “So, what brings you to Mombasa?” he asks, letting the awkward moment slide.
“We can't just come to visit an old friend?” Eames shoots back.
“You'd have invited me out to the States for that.”
“We heard you were trying a new compound with some woman who thinks she's figured out a way to tame projections. How's it going?” It would be Arthur who brings them back to business, and Yusuf has to admit it's nice knowing that not everything has changed.
“Not very well, but then again Natalie isn't as good as you three are. Why do you ask?”
“We want to join the experiment,” Ariadne tells him.
“We think we do.” That was Eames and Arthur speaking, startling each other as much as they did Yusuf and Ariadne, from their expressions. Yusuf blinks, and then excuses himself to go to the bar. He needs a drink to deal with this. Coming back, though, he sees the three of them laughing, Ariadne probably still teasing the men about speaking in unison, and he smiles.
The fact is, in their line of work you don't see very many people who actually manage to be happy. It's why Yusuf generally avoids fieldwork, why he stays in an apartment he loves with multiple cats. Because he knows that the full world of dreamscape, the one he supplies but so rarely ventures into, has a way of destroying simple comforts like that.
He mentions it to Eames when Arthur and Ariadne have said that they can't take it in here anymore, and go for a walk. “You work very well together, the three of you.”
“Well, I'd hope so, at this point,” Eames tells him.
“Yes, but... It's odd, to see a relationship work so well in this business. It's refreshing, I suppose.”
“Are you trying to tell me it's going to go wrong?”
“No, actually I'm impressed by how much I think you lot can keep it from going wrong.”
“That's what I'm trying to do, mate, believe me.”
And Yusuf does. He believes they're all trying, and if they're lucky, it will pay off. It's more than some people have.
~ ~ ~
Mal used to worry about Arthur. It was the way she was, the real Mal and not the shade Dom had invented. She was everyone's big sister, and she fretted over the far-too-serious young Fed who was assigned to handle them in the Dreamscape program. Dom still didn't know what agency they'd been working for, and he'd never asked.
But he remembers how she used to talk about “Agent Levine”, and how she had to set him up on a date, because apparently that pretty little British girl he spends all of his free time with is a friend who has a boyfriend of her own. Dom had just shaken his head in amusement, because he was pretty friendly with Arthur by that time and knew that the man didn't want to be set up with anyone.
Mal would like seeing this, Dom decides. He'd invited Arthur, Eames, and Ariadne over for a barbecue - San Francisco wasn't next door to L.A., but close enough that he felt he could. Of course, he hadn't planned on being kicked off his own grill, but one charcoal incident has Ariadne and Eames laughing about toast and Arthur - well, he's not quite blushing, but close.
“Don't want you burning your yard down, mate, so why don't I take over here.” And Dom's confused enough that he lets Eames do that, and instead winds up making the cold salads. Arthur's helping him after a shouted comment to the other two that yes, he can manage to keep food edible when there is not actually any heating involved. Ariadne's taken it upon herself to distract James and Philippa, with the practice she says is born of being the older sister and babysitting in high school.
“You three are insane,” he tells Arthur firmly. The point man looks like he might bristle at that, but then sees that Dom is mostly teasing, and laughs instead.
“Yeah, I guess we are. But... It works, you know?”
“I can see that. I mean, I was a little surprised - it's not exactly a typical situation, but you guys do work together.”
“Well, you and Saito aren't typical either, but I'd say you could manage to make it work.”
“I... What? Saito's working on expanding into the legal uses of dreamshare, I'm just a consultant. It's...”
“It could easily be more than that and you know it,” Arthur says flatly. “Look, Dom, I'm the last person to interfere in someone else's love life, but... I almost fucked up really badly with Eames and Ari. I was sure... Well. Point is, I was wrong, and if I'd actually managed to outrun them, I'd have regretted it the rest of my life.”
“They never would have let you.” Dom is sure of that, he's seen the way they track each other, like they all need to know where the other two are at all times.
“No, but... Dom, you should think about it at least. You don't want to look back and...”
“And be an old man filled with regrets,” Dom murmurs to himself. “Hmm. Tell me something, Arthur, when did you get to be such an expert on this love shit?”
“Maybe when I fell in love myself,” Arthur says, glancing outside with a smile on his face that Dom's never seen before.
He's not sure Arthur's right about Saito, but he'll try to work the situation out. For now, though, he's content to be with his friends, watching the way they are with each other. It's good to know that some people can make it work, it reminds him of how things were when Mal was still Mal, and that she wouldn't want him to be unhappy. She'd be thrilled to see these three together, and would probably be telling him he should be looking to be just as happy.
Dom's not sure he'll ever have what he had with Mal again, not with anyone. He thinks that, if Arthur's right, there could be something good with Saito, but he's not sure what form that will take yet. But looking at the trio sitting at his picnic table, he's not worrying about it. And to his surprise, he's not jealous either. He's just happy for them, because he knows what it's like to find what they've found in each other, and he just hopes that it never ends for them.
~ ~ ~
Perseus Regan (and yes, he does blame that name for why he's become a broody young filmmaker) hadn't exactly planned to intrude on his sister and her housemates. After all, he had a perfectly good dorm at the Academy of Art University, but that was before one of his idiot floormates proved that you really can explode a damn microwave. The floor's not livable for another month yet, and while Percy knows the school's putting kids up, he also knows that anyone who can manage alternate housing is helping people out. His roommate Chris is one of those who doesn't know anyone out here, and neither do a lot of the students who don't have anywhere to stay, so Percy calls his sister. If he can take himself out of this mess it'll be good for everyone.
She's surprised, but after a conversation with her housemates - he assumes - she comes back on the line to tell him that of course he can stay, and does he need to be picked up. He could probably find his way on his own, but he doesn't relish the thought of getting lost in San Fran with three suitcases, so he says yeah, he needs a ride.
The guy who pulls up doesn't really seem like the type his sister would get on with, slicked-back hair, waistcoat, and a serious expression. He cracks a slight smile when he sees Percy though. “It's easy to tell you and Ari are siblings,” he says. “Percy, right? I'm Arthur, you need a hand with those?” Percy nods, thinking, Ari? He's never known Ariadne to use a nickname, ever.
He's not sure what to make of the guy - nice enough but kind of quiet - and he only gets more confused when they get back to the apartment and he meets Ariadne's other housemate. Eames is British and loud and apparently colorblind, at least if his clothes are anything to go by. He's the one who cooks, apparently; probably a good thing since he knows Ariadne's not too well-versed in it (neither are their parents) and apparently neither is Arthur, since it's just Eames who does it.
Percy can't figure them out. There's in-jokes flying over his head and even though they try to include him, he can only get so much of the conversation. There's also the work they do, which is kept deliberately vague; Percy's starting to wonder if what his sister does is actually legal, but he doesn't ask. He's probably better off not knowing. But it's not even that which is particularly important to him. He just wants to know what's up with Ariadne and her “boys,” as she likes to call them.
They're not friends. He's not sure how he knows, but... It's just the feel of them, if there was only one guy he'd say they act just a little like how his parents do, with glances and smiles that no one else can read. So “friends” isn't an adequate term. But he doesn't know what would be. It's all very confusing.
Until the day he comes back from class to find them... dancing in the kitchen. It's a strange sort of dance, Ariadne being spun from one man to the other and then sometimes she's standing to the side and the two men are dancing together. He's not sure what that's all about, but they're laughing and grinning at each other, so he decides not to interrupt.
Back in the guest room they've given over to him, he flops down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Holy shit. They're in love with each other. All three of them. It's... He should probably be disgusted, or at least a little unsettled. But he can't be, not thinking about the way they were looking at each other. What he saw just seems too... right to be wrong.
When he leaves, Ariadne walks him out - Chris has a car and is coming by to pick him up. “So, what do you think of them?” she asks, her hands in her pockets.
“Eames and Arthur? They're nice; Mom and Dad'll love 'em. Assuming you're going to bring them by. You will, won't you?”
Ariadne shrugs. “Maybe. I hadn't really thought about it yet. So you're not weirded out or anything?”
“You guys seem happy, so I figure that's the point. And you know Mom and Dad; they'll just say you've found an 'interesting' way of life, and get on with it.”
Ariadne laughs, and hugs him tightly. “Thanks, little bro.” Chris pulls up and she goes back inside, and he gets into the front passenger seat after dumping his bags in the trunk. He glances back at the building as they drive away, and he can't help but smile to himself. It's nice to see his sister in love, good to know that the guys love her back. He knows a lot of people would find it screwed up, but he just thinks, if they're happy then it's all right.
Next installment is here: fae-boleyn.livejournal.com/7533.html
Fandom: Inception
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur/Eames
Title: Some Hearts
Summary: Three outside perspectives on their relationship
Disclaimer: No, it's not mine.
Rating: PG-13 to R, again for mild swearing
But I guess
Some hearts, they just get on the right race
Some hearts have the stars on their side
Some hearts, they just have it so easy
Some hearts just get lucky sometimes - Some Hearts, Carrie Underwood
It's been almost a year since Yusuf has seen any of the other members of the inception team, though he's spoken to all of them on the phone. He knew they were together, but when he meets them at the casino Eames loved frequenting when he lived here in Mombasa, he is rather shocked. Because they're so very different. Ariadne is relaxed between the two men, looking perfectly at her ease, confident in a way she wasn't when he last saw her. Arthur's severity has lessened, almost enough to make him approachable. And as for Eames... Yusuf has known Eames for a long time, long enough to be absolutely sure he's never seen the man this happy. Not genuinely, anyway.
“Well, you three look fantastic,” he tells them, and means it.
“We've been trying to make sure Eames doesn't gamble half his money away,” Ariadne says jokingly. Eames rolls his eyes.
“Yusuf, mate, tell them that I would not gamble my money away, that in fact I would double it at least.”
“Should I be getting involved with this?” is all he says, which earns him a grin from Ariadne and a half-smile from Arthur.
“No, probably not,” the point man tells him. Eames scowls at all of them, and Ariadne pokes him in the side.
“Oh, relax. You're as grumpy as Arthur.”
“Hey!” Arthur says.
“Heaven forbid,” Eames declares at the same time.
As entertaining as they are, Yusuf is starting to feel like a... Well, third wheel does not exactly fit here, but something of the same kind. So he clears his throat, and they turn from the playful argument that's brewing, and look at him a bit shamefacedly. “So, what brings you to Mombasa?” he asks, letting the awkward moment slide.
“We can't just come to visit an old friend?” Eames shoots back.
“You'd have invited me out to the States for that.”
“We heard you were trying a new compound with some woman who thinks she's figured out a way to tame projections. How's it going?” It would be Arthur who brings them back to business, and Yusuf has to admit it's nice knowing that not everything has changed.
“Not very well, but then again Natalie isn't as good as you three are. Why do you ask?”
“We want to join the experiment,” Ariadne tells him.
“We think we do.” That was Eames and Arthur speaking, startling each other as much as they did Yusuf and Ariadne, from their expressions. Yusuf blinks, and then excuses himself to go to the bar. He needs a drink to deal with this. Coming back, though, he sees the three of them laughing, Ariadne probably still teasing the men about speaking in unison, and he smiles.
The fact is, in their line of work you don't see very many people who actually manage to be happy. It's why Yusuf generally avoids fieldwork, why he stays in an apartment he loves with multiple cats. Because he knows that the full world of dreamscape, the one he supplies but so rarely ventures into, has a way of destroying simple comforts like that.
He mentions it to Eames when Arthur and Ariadne have said that they can't take it in here anymore, and go for a walk. “You work very well together, the three of you.”
“Well, I'd hope so, at this point,” Eames tells him.
“Yes, but... It's odd, to see a relationship work so well in this business. It's refreshing, I suppose.”
“Are you trying to tell me it's going to go wrong?”
“No, actually I'm impressed by how much I think you lot can keep it from going wrong.”
“That's what I'm trying to do, mate, believe me.”
And Yusuf does. He believes they're all trying, and if they're lucky, it will pay off. It's more than some people have.
~ ~ ~
Mal used to worry about Arthur. It was the way she was, the real Mal and not the shade Dom had invented. She was everyone's big sister, and she fretted over the far-too-serious young Fed who was assigned to handle them in the Dreamscape program. Dom still didn't know what agency they'd been working for, and he'd never asked.
But he remembers how she used to talk about “Agent Levine”, and how she had to set him up on a date, because apparently that pretty little British girl he spends all of his free time with is a friend who has a boyfriend of her own. Dom had just shaken his head in amusement, because he was pretty friendly with Arthur by that time and knew that the man didn't want to be set up with anyone.
Mal would like seeing this, Dom decides. He'd invited Arthur, Eames, and Ariadne over for a barbecue - San Francisco wasn't next door to L.A., but close enough that he felt he could. Of course, he hadn't planned on being kicked off his own grill, but one charcoal incident has Ariadne and Eames laughing about toast and Arthur - well, he's not quite blushing, but close.
“Don't want you burning your yard down, mate, so why don't I take over here.” And Dom's confused enough that he lets Eames do that, and instead winds up making the cold salads. Arthur's helping him after a shouted comment to the other two that yes, he can manage to keep food edible when there is not actually any heating involved. Ariadne's taken it upon herself to distract James and Philippa, with the practice she says is born of being the older sister and babysitting in high school.
“You three are insane,” he tells Arthur firmly. The point man looks like he might bristle at that, but then sees that Dom is mostly teasing, and laughs instead.
“Yeah, I guess we are. But... It works, you know?”
“I can see that. I mean, I was a little surprised - it's not exactly a typical situation, but you guys do work together.”
“Well, you and Saito aren't typical either, but I'd say you could manage to make it work.”
“I... What? Saito's working on expanding into the legal uses of dreamshare, I'm just a consultant. It's...”
“It could easily be more than that and you know it,” Arthur says flatly. “Look, Dom, I'm the last person to interfere in someone else's love life, but... I almost fucked up really badly with Eames and Ari. I was sure... Well. Point is, I was wrong, and if I'd actually managed to outrun them, I'd have regretted it the rest of my life.”
“They never would have let you.” Dom is sure of that, he's seen the way they track each other, like they all need to know where the other two are at all times.
“No, but... Dom, you should think about it at least. You don't want to look back and...”
“And be an old man filled with regrets,” Dom murmurs to himself. “Hmm. Tell me something, Arthur, when did you get to be such an expert on this love shit?”
“Maybe when I fell in love myself,” Arthur says, glancing outside with a smile on his face that Dom's never seen before.
He's not sure Arthur's right about Saito, but he'll try to work the situation out. For now, though, he's content to be with his friends, watching the way they are with each other. It's good to know that some people can make it work, it reminds him of how things were when Mal was still Mal, and that she wouldn't want him to be unhappy. She'd be thrilled to see these three together, and would probably be telling him he should be looking to be just as happy.
Dom's not sure he'll ever have what he had with Mal again, not with anyone. He thinks that, if Arthur's right, there could be something good with Saito, but he's not sure what form that will take yet. But looking at the trio sitting at his picnic table, he's not worrying about it. And to his surprise, he's not jealous either. He's just happy for them, because he knows what it's like to find what they've found in each other, and he just hopes that it never ends for them.
~ ~ ~
Perseus Regan (and yes, he does blame that name for why he's become a broody young filmmaker) hadn't exactly planned to intrude on his sister and her housemates. After all, he had a perfectly good dorm at the Academy of Art University, but that was before one of his idiot floormates proved that you really can explode a damn microwave. The floor's not livable for another month yet, and while Percy knows the school's putting kids up, he also knows that anyone who can manage alternate housing is helping people out. His roommate Chris is one of those who doesn't know anyone out here, and neither do a lot of the students who don't have anywhere to stay, so Percy calls his sister. If he can take himself out of this mess it'll be good for everyone.
She's surprised, but after a conversation with her housemates - he assumes - she comes back on the line to tell him that of course he can stay, and does he need to be picked up. He could probably find his way on his own, but he doesn't relish the thought of getting lost in San Fran with three suitcases, so he says yeah, he needs a ride.
The guy who pulls up doesn't really seem like the type his sister would get on with, slicked-back hair, waistcoat, and a serious expression. He cracks a slight smile when he sees Percy though. “It's easy to tell you and Ari are siblings,” he says. “Percy, right? I'm Arthur, you need a hand with those?” Percy nods, thinking, Ari? He's never known Ariadne to use a nickname, ever.
He's not sure what to make of the guy - nice enough but kind of quiet - and he only gets more confused when they get back to the apartment and he meets Ariadne's other housemate. Eames is British and loud and apparently colorblind, at least if his clothes are anything to go by. He's the one who cooks, apparently; probably a good thing since he knows Ariadne's not too well-versed in it (neither are their parents) and apparently neither is Arthur, since it's just Eames who does it.
Percy can't figure them out. There's in-jokes flying over his head and even though they try to include him, he can only get so much of the conversation. There's also the work they do, which is kept deliberately vague; Percy's starting to wonder if what his sister does is actually legal, but he doesn't ask. He's probably better off not knowing. But it's not even that which is particularly important to him. He just wants to know what's up with Ariadne and her “boys,” as she likes to call them.
They're not friends. He's not sure how he knows, but... It's just the feel of them, if there was only one guy he'd say they act just a little like how his parents do, with glances and smiles that no one else can read. So “friends” isn't an adequate term. But he doesn't know what would be. It's all very confusing.
Until the day he comes back from class to find them... dancing in the kitchen. It's a strange sort of dance, Ariadne being spun from one man to the other and then sometimes she's standing to the side and the two men are dancing together. He's not sure what that's all about, but they're laughing and grinning at each other, so he decides not to interrupt.
Back in the guest room they've given over to him, he flops down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Holy shit. They're in love with each other. All three of them. It's... He should probably be disgusted, or at least a little unsettled. But he can't be, not thinking about the way they were looking at each other. What he saw just seems too... right to be wrong.
When he leaves, Ariadne walks him out - Chris has a car and is coming by to pick him up. “So, what do you think of them?” she asks, her hands in her pockets.
“Eames and Arthur? They're nice; Mom and Dad'll love 'em. Assuming you're going to bring them by. You will, won't you?”
Ariadne shrugs. “Maybe. I hadn't really thought about it yet. So you're not weirded out or anything?”
“You guys seem happy, so I figure that's the point. And you know Mom and Dad; they'll just say you've found an 'interesting' way of life, and get on with it.”
Ariadne laughs, and hugs him tightly. “Thanks, little bro.” Chris pulls up and she goes back inside, and he gets into the front passenger seat after dumping his bags in the trunk. He glances back at the building as they drive away, and he can't help but smile to himself. It's nice to see his sister in love, good to know that the guys love her back. He knows a lot of people would find it screwed up, but he just thinks, if they're happy then it's all right.
Next installment is here: fae-boleyn.livejournal.com/7533.html