Fish Tank
by nordBleu
film: Inception (2010)
pairings/warnings: mild Cobb/Arthur / swearing
word count: 345
summary: Cobb is yelling again.
notes: some sick Arthur
disclaimer: I do not own Inception or any of its characters.
Cobb is yelling again.
Arthur is listening, he really is, but some of it comes in fuzzy and blurred together. He's only getting bits and pieces.
"Damn it Arthur! Do you realize what the fuck you've done?" Dom's voice falls into a loud buzz in Arthur's ears and he can't even focus his eyes properly anymore.
He sees Dom shoving things off one desk (Arthur faintly registers a "Oh, those are the files I spent all week compiling" in the back of his head) before everything reduces to a blur of white fluttering towards the floor and blocks of yellow from the folders on the ground. A picture of the mark's wife flutters into focus before the colors smudge again.
Arthur remembers when his father was mad. He'd scream and shout and, on the bad days, he'd throw things or push things over while his mother watched, silently hating her son.
His father once pushed over Arthur's fish tank and the fish tumbled out with the water and the pebbles that had covered the bottom. Arthur had named his fish. He remembers how Jonathan fell out first and how Nicholas followed him. Nora flopped under the couch and his father was yelling at him about the fish as if the mess was his fault.
Arthur watched Eleanor die under the coffee table.
"Are you even fucking listening to me?"
Arthur blinked. "Yes, Father."
Cobb stopped. "What?"
Arthur blinked again. He was back in the warehouse and the fish were gone.
"Arthur?"
"Yes?" He looked up to see Cobb in front of him, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Are you okay?"
Arthur stared.
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm sorry f-for-" Arthur can't even finish his sentence, he's starting to shiver and his teeth are chattering and it just so cold. He closes his eyes and shivers because it's just so damn cold.
Arthur flinches when he feels a hand against his forehead.
"Fuck, Arthur. You're burning up."
"I-I'm s-sorry. I'm s-sorry."
"It's okay. It's okay, Arthur."
Cobb kisses him on the forehead and takes him to the hospital.
Sorry, I just wanted sick Arthur.
