So, here is the companion piece to Arthur's Smile. I wasn't planning to write one, but someone mentioned that I should so thought why not. This is written in Arthur's POV and shows the events of the other story just in a different way. So, I hope everyone enjoys it. Like before, I do not not own anything, except for the mistakes. Inception belongs to the genius that is Chris Nolan.
Eames' Grin
Arthur stood in the warehouse attempting to fix a broken PASIV device. If they ever found a broken one, Arthur was always the one who took it and tried to fix it. He wanted to learn the PASIV device inside and out. He was close, but there were still a few things that he didn't fully understand.
He glanced over and saw Ariadne staring intently at her latest model of the maze. She had matured a lot since the inception job. She had taken a small break but it wasn't long before she was calling him about jobs and wanting to be more involved.
He made sure to do simple jobs with her, like this one. It was just him, Ariadne and Eames.
Speaking of Eames. Arthur glanced over at him. He was looking down at his notebook and his pen was moving like crazy across the page.
Arthur knew he was sketching. He always did when he was thinking. Arthur has always wanted to see his sketches. They had worked together for almost ten years now and he has yet to see one. Eames didn't show anybody them.
Contrary to popular belief, Eames was a very private person. But Arthur wanted to know everything about him. He wanted Eames. End of story. He wanted to work with him and then go home and still be with him.
He wanted to tell Eames about his life and all of his secrets and he wanted Eames to do the same.
Eames was such a mystery. Arthur had observed him throughout their years of working together and he was different with each person he came into contact with.
For example, with Dom he was very professional and hardworking. With Mal he had been playful and fun. Yusuf he was friendly and carefree. Saito he was wary and careful. For Ariadne he acted like the most innocent person on the planet (Go figure). And with Arthur he was flirty and sometimes annoying.
Arthur had come to terms with his feelings for Eames a long time ago. He just never acted on them. Sure Eames flirted with him, but he flirted with a lot of people. Arthur didn't know Eames' true motives and that scared him. Was Arthur any different than the other people Eames flirted with?
So Arthur never made his move. He didn't think he could handle rejection. And he didn't want to ruin what relationship they had already.
He glanced over at Eames again and saw that he was grinning down at his notebook.
Arthur loved Eames' grin. It didn't really matter what he was grinning at. Just seeing it made Arthur's whole day.
It was like sunshine. Seeing his smile made Arthur feel like the happiest person on the planet.
Eames smiled at everyone but it was always fake. He was a forger. He knew exactly how to con people. He smiled to reassure people and to get them to do exactly what he wanted. It was how he did things.
So seeing him grin this way let Arthur know he was truly happy at that particular moment.
There were five distinct times that Arthur saw Eames grin and all Arthur could do was smile like the idiot he probably was.
One
Arthur was sitting at his desk looking over some phone bills of the mark. He loved his job but sometimes, it was boring as hell. Dom was across the room going over the dream level with Eames since it was Eames' dream they were going into.
Mal was standing off by herself going over some of the facts on the mark that Arthur had written on the chalk board. Mal wasn't really part of the team, officially, but she was still there to help out. She was about six months pregnant at the moment, so Dom would definitely not let her go under.
"Arthur." He looked up and saw Mal laughing and motioning for him to walk over to her. He stood up and slowly walked over to her. She most likely had a question about one of the facts or something along that line. But she was laughing, so maybe he made a mistake or something.
Before Arthur could even speak, Mal had grabbed his hand and pulled it over and placed it on her belly. She was smiling at him the whole time.
Arthur felt his face scrunch up in confusion. He had no idea why she was making him touch her pregnant belly.
"Did you feel it?" Mal asked. She pressed his hand closer. He then felt it. It was very faint but he felt the little kick. He had to fight the urge to pull his hand back.
A smile spread across his face as he felt another small kick. Mal just smiled back even bigger than before.
"She likes you." Mal said as he pulled his hand away. Arthur just nodded and turned and headed back to his desk. He glanced up and saw that Dom had left to go work on something else. Eames was looking down at his maze with his arms crossed.
But he was grinning. Arthur stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't help the small dorky look that was probably on his face now. He almost laughed but resisted. He didn't want to weird anybody out by laughing randomly.
He then realized that he was probably staring and he quickly looked away and sat down. What had made Eames grin like that? The maze could not have been that interesting.
Arthur looked over and saw Mal grinning at him like a Cheshire cat. He just sighed and went back to his work. And he most certainly didn't think about Eames and his smile.
Two
Arthur was standing at the chalkboard going over notes, making sure he didn't miss anything. Eames was behind him at his desk going over his notes and being quiet for once.
He hadn't said anything but the simple hello that morning. It felt like a miracle. Usually Eames had something to say or some ridiculous story to tell.
The job was in LA. Since Mal was at home with Phillipa, Dom wanted a job that would be close to home.
Arthur heard the warehouse door open. He glanced over and saw Dom walk in. He looked like a complete mess. His hair was all messed up, most likely from running his hands through it. His shirt was inside out. Arthur had no idea how he managed to button it up without noticing that it was in fact, inside out. And his jeans he had decided to wear had a big stain on them, most likely baby vomit.
Arthur just sighed and shook his head before getting back to his work. He would save Dom from his embarrassment and not mention anything. Eames didn't share this idea.
"Rough night?" He didn't have to look at Eames to know that he was most likely smirking.
"She won't stop crying." Dom added quietly. Arthur did feel sorry for him, but he knew what he was asking for when he decided to get Mal pregnant.
"Last I checked, that is what babies do." He heard Eames give a small chuckle at what was most likely Dom's death glare. Arthur looked over and saw that Eames was now grinning down at his notebook.
And this was no regular grin. It was a shit-eating grin. Arthur smiled and turned back around. He was writing something down on the chalkboard when Dom walked over. He glanced over and saw Dom smiling.
"Why are you so happy?" He asked looking away.
"I'm not." Dom said with a little chuckle. "You were just smiling at the chalkboard like an idiot." Arthur's eyes widened. But his smile was still there. He hadn't even realized that he was still smiling. But now he was smiling at the up close version of the mess that was Dom Cobb.
"Maybe I saw you and couldn't help but grin at your unprofessionalism." Dom laughed out loud at that and Arthur couldn't help but smile again.
He looked over at Eames, hoping to catch that grin again, but Eames was looking away, looking kind of upset. Arthur just sighed and focused on his work.
Three
Arthur didn't work with Eames much after that. Mal was pregnant with James later and they didn't do many jobs with them. Dom and Mal were too busy being parents to do jobs.
And then Mal died. Everything went to hell after that. Dom was blamed for her death and he fled the country. Arthur had to track him down and decided to stay with him, finding them illegal jobs when he could.
They did a few jobs with Eames, but not many. Dom liked to keep it simple, and if they needed a forger, he usually didn't want to take the job, saying there were too many risks.
But every so often he did take risks.
Which is how they got the Fischer job. Dom had agreed to incept someone from the person they were trying to extract. How messed up was that?
Arthur didn't think inception was possible. He knew a lot of people had tried it, but no one had ever been successful. No one that he really knew of, besides Dom. But that was somewhere he didn't want to go.
They were in Paris. Dom had found an architect and Arthur was left to train her while he went to go get Eames.
Dom came back with Eames and a chemist by the name of Yusuf. This Yusuf was supposed to be really good. Dom spoke highly of his sedative and his versions of the compounds.
Arthur wanted to test out this sedative.
"I want to test this sedative." He said as he walked over to where Eames and Yusuf were talking, rolling up his sleeves as he walked.
"You don't trust that I would pick a good chemist?" Eames smirked and leaned back and crossed his arms. "Arthur, I am hurt." Arthur glanced over at him.
"Dom was telling me about the sedative and I want to try it out." He looked over at Yusuf who was just looking at the two of them, clearly enjoying himself. He was the point man after all. He had to make sure everything would run smoothly.
"Ah, so you do trust me?" Eames said with another smirk. Arthur glanced up at him as he sat down.
"I never said that Mr. Eames." Arthur saw Eames' smirk fall. Arthur looked away. He meant it as a joke. He hoped Eames knew that. He trusted Eames with his life.
Yusuf handed Arthur the needle and Arthur put it in and Yusuf sent him under.
It wasn't long before Arthur felt the familiar feeling of falling. He scrambled about as he hit the pillows that had been placed on the floor.
He heard Eames give out a small chuckle as he stood up. Arthur demanded another trial. He saw Dom walk over to also observe.
Arthur fell to the floor again. He looked over and saw Eames grinning. He was looking from him, but he was grinning. Arthur smiled as he pulled himself up. He walked over to where Yusuf was now standing.
"Good dream?" Yusuf asked with a small smile.
"You have no idea." Yusuf laughed and Arthur grinned at him as he remembered the dream. He had dreamed about Eames. So, of course, it had been a good dream.
He heard Eames sigh as he walked away. He wondered what was up with him. Arthur just shrugged and made his way to Ariadne to check up on his level of the maze.
He glanced over again and saw that Eames had gone under.
Four
Arthur was standing by an old PASIV device explaining how it worked to Saito. Saito wanted to know everything there was about the dream-sharing business, including how the PASIV device worked. So, Arthur explained everything he knew about it.
He glanced over and surveyed the room and like always, his eyes found Eames. He was doodling again, Arthur could tell. He could always tell when Eames was doodling.
Eames then broke out into a big grin as he just stared at the notebook. Arthur smiled. He really wanted to know what Eames is drawing that makes him smile like that.
"Mr. Arthur." Arthur looked back and saw Saito smiling at him. "Something amusing?"
"No." Arthur said with another smile. He then heard Eames grunt out before getting up and storming outside. Arthur just watched him with a confused look.
"What's wrong with him?" Ariadne shouted across the warehouse. Arthur gave a small shrug.
"I have no idea." Arthur replied, still looking at the door.
Five
Arthur was working with Ariadne on her latest maze. She had some questions about his layer of the dream, so he was more than willing to help. He wanted to make sure everything was perfect.
Yet every so often, his eyes would wonder the room and find their way on Eames' form, like they always did. He was standing in front of a mirror, working on his forge. He was working on Browning's movements at the moment.
Arthur envied Eames' ability to forge. He wished that he was able to change form as well. But forging was a very difficult and not just anyone could do it. Arthur also loved watching Eames work. It was an amazing process but it was even more amazing when you saw the transition in its final form.
Arthur then saw Eames grin in the mirror. Arthur felt his cheeks redden and a smile come to his face. He quickly looked away…
Straight into Ariadne's smirk. He sighed and walked over to his desk and grabbed his moleskin before walking back over.
"You like Eames." She whispered out. He almost rolled his eyes. He needed to be sneaky about this. He leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"Get back to work." She laughed and smiled back at him before whispering back to him.
"I didn't hear a denial." Arthur just smiled.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when Eames slammed his hand down on the desk. He looked over and saw that Eames looked furious.
"I'm going out for a smoke." Eames mumbled out as he stormed out of the warehouse.
Arthur and Ariadne just looked at each other.
"What crawled up his ass and died?" Ariadne said before going back to her work. Arthur just shrugged before glancing at the door again.
What was going on with Eames?
Arthur glanced up when he saw Ariadne approaching Eames. He didn't really eavesdrop, but he did listen. And Arthur pulled himself into the conversation when Ariadne mentioned Eames' drawings.
"Eames is drawing?" He asked as he walked over to where they were standing. He already knew that, but it didn't want to sound weird that he knew that Eames was drawing by just looking at him. That would make things very weird and awkward.
"It's nothing. Just some doodles." Eames replied. He almost looked shy. Eames was never shy. Ever. He could probably go into vivid detail about every sexual encounter he had ever had. He was not a shy person.
"Come on. I want to see one." Ariadne pleaded.
"Me too. We have worked together for almost ten years and I have never seen your work." Arthur knew they were teaming up against him, but he really wanted to see a drawing.
"Look I…" Eames had started to say but Ariadne snatched his notebook away. Arthur glanced over at Eames and saw that he looked nervous.
"Oh." Ariadne finally said after skimming over the notebook. Arthur looked over at her. She looked sad. "Oh Eames."
"Now I'm really curious." Arthur walked over and grabbed the notebook from her.
He flipped through it slowly and all he could do is just stare. All of the doodles were of him. There was some of him standing by a PASIV device, some of him when he was under, him writing, but the majority of them were of him smiling.
Arthur had no idea what to think. What did all of this mean? Why was Eames drawing him?
Arthur finally found the strength to look. Eames was staring at him with regret in his eyes. This was why Eames never showed him his drawings.
"Arthur…" Eames started to say but Arthur interrupted him.
"What is this?" Arthur couldn't help the shout that escaped him. He didn't mean to sound mad, but that was just how it came out.
"It is nothing."
"Eames, don't lie to me. My face is all over these pages. For god's sake, you even have me sleeping in here."
"Fine!" Eames shouted. Arthur took a step back at the force of Eames' voice. "I will tell you the truth. I love you Arthur. I have for a while now." Arthur's eyes widened. Eames loved him? "And the one thing I wanted most was to see you bloody smile at me just once. To know that you actually care about me somewhat as a friend or to show me that you approve of something I did. But I guess I am not good enough for an Arthur smile even though we have known each other for ten fucking years!" Eames paused and took a deep breath. "Sometimes I wonder if we even are friends." Arthur just looked at him.
He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He was sure Ariadne was right there with him in those categories. Eames ran a hand over his face.
"I quit this job. I am sick of this shit." Eames stuttered out. Arthur saw a tear fall down his cheek and he wanted nothing more to just run to him and pull him into a hug, but before he could even get his brain working, Eames had stormed out of the warehouse.
Arthur tried to find Eames. He called everyone, looked everywhere, but when Eames wanted to be hidden, he would never be found unless he let himself be found.
He gave up for a bit. He would probably never see Eames again now. He was sure to avoid jobs with Arthur since he thought Arthur didn't care. That he hated him.
Arthur was screwed. He was bound to be unhappy forever and die a lonely old man.
That was, until Dom called and told him that Eames had been kidnapped and tortured in Prague.
Arthur was furious. Why hadn't he known about this? He should have been the first person Dom called. Arthur would have gone to Prague and killed all of those people to save Eames. It would have been easy.
"Where is he?" He hissed out.
"He is fine Arthur. Calm down. You know he has to lay low now and recover." Like that was supposed to make him feel better.
"I don't give a shit. Where the hell is he?" Arthur shouted. Dom sighed.
"Arthur…"
"Dom, you know I can figure it out myself but I would appreciate it if you just told me now."
"He should be landing at LAX in an hour." Arthur hung up, grabbed his keys and was out the door in record time.
Arthur ran into the airport, pushing through people as he went. He didn't even know where he had parked. It would be hell trying to find his car. And there was a slight possibility that he would have a ticket when he got back.
But he didn't care. He had to see Eames.
Arthur looked around and finally spotted him. His face was bruised and he was sure that Eames was limping a bit. Eames stopped walking when he spotted Arthur.
Arthur was so relieved that Eames was standing there that he broke out into a big grin. He smiled even bigger when Eames smiled back.
Arthur couldn't wait any longer. He made his way towards him as fast as he could without looking like he was in a hurry. He needed to be calm about this.
"Arthur. This is quite a surprise." Arthur just smiled at him.
"I had to see for myself that you were really okay. I didn't trust Cobb on something like this."
"And why is that?"
"Because I am in love with you." Arthur then leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to Eames' lips. Arthur then pulled away and smiled up at him as he reached over and grabbed his hand. "Shall we go home?" Eames smiled and walked with him out of the airport.
Arthur was positive that they were both grinning like idiots, but he didn't care. He was with the man he loved and that was all that mattered.