King of Dreams
Pairing: Eames and Arthur (Inception)
It was so cold, a ballroom full of projections dancing wistfully to the orchestra playing Tchaikovsky's Polonaise on stage. Heads rolled in laughter, ball gowns fluffed as the ladies spun, glasses of wine and champagne sparkled like diamonds under the chandeliers that decorated the high elaborate ceiling. A cold shudder ran down Arthur's spine, his breath was visible. This wasn't right.
A few steps out of the entrance and everything stopped, the dancing, the laughing, the talking, the music. All eyes were on Arthur.
"Bah dah dee deee- dum- du du dum dum bum bum bahhh-"The voice of an old withered man played through the still air. Little by little, the crowd faded away from the outside- in, leaving a single elderly man in a wheelchair dead center on the dance floor. The old man looked around in confusion. "Oh, oh my, where did everybody go?" He was British.
"Eames?" Arthur's steps were timid, he knew it had to be Eames, he knew being in limbo for what was only about a minute and a half in reality translated into several decades here. He had expected Eames to be aged, old... But to actually see his lover this way…
Arthur stood mere steps behind the elderly man, he could still see his breath in the air.
"Eames, is that you?"
The chair pivoted, unhurried and careful, their eyes met and in that instant, Arthur felt as if all of the air had been knocked out of him. Eames let out a bemused sigh and lifted his shaking finger to point at the familiar person.
"I… I know you." Arthur fought down a pained groan, stepping up to Eames and falling to his knees. He gazed up at him, took in every wrinkle, every age spot, every white hair. How long had he been alone? "Andy? No no, it's… it's Aaron, isn't it?" Eames caressed Arthur's cheek, his eyes suddenly enlarging when it finally came to him. His voice came out in a low whisper, sweet and fond, reminiscent. "Arthur. My darling Arthur."
"My dearest Eames."
"Ohh, you're as beautiful and handsome as I remember. I've been waiting so long, but I knew you'd come for me." Arthur wrapped his hand around Eames' and kissed it lovingly.
"I'm sorry it took so long. It's been less than two minutes in reality, I swear I tried to get to you as fast as I could." Sadness wretched deep in his voice, now he was shaking just as much as the elder.
"That's right, we are in limbo. My dear, it's been nearly sixty years since I've seen your face. Funny how time works here."
Arthur's heart dropped straight into his stomach and it was all he could do to bite his lip shut until it bled to ease the pain. It was then that Eames did something so incredibly amazing, Arthur had to suppress the urge to slap the man silly. He made a dirty joke.
"Fifty-seven years without a single shag, Arthur, I honestly thought I had died and gone to hell. Do you know what it's like to wait almost sixty years because you had this brilliant idea that when your lover came to rescue you, it would be the most amazing bloody sex that nothing else could ever compare to? Do you?" And then he laughed. He laughed. And Arthur laughed. They laughed until they couldn't breathe. They laughed until they hurt. They laughed, and they laughed and even as Arthur pulled out the gun and held the barrel to the old man's heart, they laughed.
Eames inhaled deeply, his eyes fluttering open, Arthur following with a slow sigh, his eyes mimicking Eames'. Ariadne gasped and clasped her hands over her lips to contain her huge smile. Yusuf shouted in victory, slapping his hand on Dom's shoulder and giving him a good shake. Dom knew better, though, he knew it was good that Eames was pulled out, but he knew that several decades had passed, and unlike his time in limbo where he was able to share it with a partner, Eames had been completely alone. He knew better. He knew.
Arthur watched as Eames slowly adjusted his eyes and awareness. The forger lay completely still, unaware that he was squeezing Arthur's hand for dear life, his memory taking it's time to fill his mind. Slowly, he pushed himself up just enough to look around, to see the others. His eyes connected with Dom's like magnets. In a long moment of gazing all too knowingly at Eames, Dom finally gave a small nod, assuring Eames that he was, in fact, awake. That he knew what he had been through. That it was all going to be fine. That he knew better than Mal and wouldn't fall down the same never-ending pit of insanity that she had fallen victim to.
Eames lifted his hand, viewing the smooth skin on the back and the calloused pads on the front. No wrinkles. No age spots. He still shook as if he was old and brittle, he sure felt like it, but that would fade with time.
Time. More time. He hated the thought of it now. There's so much time. There's too much time. Why was there so much time?
Arthur sat up, pressing his lips to the other man's neck, rubbing small circles on his chest soothingly with a flat hand.
"Welcome home Eames." Ariadne stepped up and pulled said name's head to her chest in a half-embrace. Cobb stood and looked at his watch.
"We have to go. They're on their way, if we leave now, we can get to the plane on time and they won't be able to touch us. Eames," Cobb took Ariadne's place and crouched down next to him, "I know, okay? I understand, you still feel like you're in that old rickety body and you're very, very tired, but we're still on the job and if we don't get out of here, they're going to kill us. Understand?" Eames nodded and ripped the tap off of his wrist, locking eyes with his lover for a split second before shutting up the case and getting out of that cramped hotel room.
Eames and Arthur walked behind the rest of the group, Ariadne had a bounce in her step, she enjoyed the thrill of it all way too much for someone who could get killed at any moment or trapped in limbo for as long as Eames, Dom or Saito had. They reached the elevator, the ride would be for thirty-two floors.
The most awkward elevator ride Dom, Yusuf or Ariadne had ever experienced, though Dom understood completely. Eames had decided it was a perfect chance to lose his composure for a bit and had slammed Arthur into the mirrored wall of the elevator. The next few moments were filled with extreme ravishing, hips grinding furiously, moans and gasps filling the box like air in a balloon, lips turning red and bruised, and Yusuf wiping at his cheek swearing that he felt some of their saliva landing on him from across the elevator.
When the doors opened, the two stood idly in wait to exit the elevator. You never would have guessed they had even touched each other as they walked out casually.
Eames grabbed Arthur's hand and held it possessively all the way to the airport, through the plane ride, and all the way home where Eames was finally completely reassured that he was, in fact, awake.
And boy was he right about the sex being better than anything he had ever imagined. It was definitely worth the wait.
Hope you guys enjoyed it, sorry I'm horrible at endings... :(