A.N- A month or so ago, I sat down and watched Seasons 5 and 6 of Doctor Who. The episode, 'The Doctor's Wife' really stuck with me. If the essence of the TARDIS could be forced into the body of a woman and meet the Doctor, why can't some form of consciousness of the PASIV meet and interact with the Inception team? Thusly, this idea was born! It's not perfect, but my Spring semester is starting on Monday and I just want to make sure I'm not distracted by fun fan fiction ideas! And, as always, I apologize for any and all spelling errors I have missed in my editing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inception, Doctor Who, or Twilight. I love the first, wanted to create a story similar to and play with some quotes from the second, and just make fun of the third! Its all in the name of fun!
The Point Man's PASIV
Strange projections weren't uncommon in shared dreaming- Eames understood this very well. The entire team did, too. But, it was strange to find that this particular well dressed projection seemed to have a bit more…life to it.
Eames had first noticed it appeared in dreams with Arthur. And then, as he grew more familiar with its presence, he found that it showed up in all of their shared dreams no matter who happened to be the dreamer. This projection was helpful, well dressed, and devoted to Arthur.
And if Eames were to be honest with himself he would say that he was jealous. He was supposed to be the one devoted to their Point Man! Until he had noticed this odd projection he had been certain that he was also the only one who was in love with Arthur.
This is the story of the relationship between Arthur and the PASIV.
Eames never believed that he would become a part of a love triangle this bizarre…
"We have two minutes left on the timer, Arthur." The projection reminded the busy Point Man. Crouching behind a blue mailbox Arthur left his spot only to attempt to return fire. The action ironically proved to be 'hit or miss'. The Point Man swore as another round of bullets struck his improvised shield.
"I know!" Arthur said, doing the math in his head. "That's over twenty minutes left down here to complete the job. Any bright ideas?"
This projection was special. Very special. It was in the shape of a young man with a lovely mouth that was perfect for smiles and kisses, grey eyes, and fair hair and skin. The male projection's suit was gunmetal grey and fit him like a glove.
Before this projection could say anything there was a loud BOOM followed by the enemy projections dying screams. And then, there was laughter.
"That will stop the little buggers from ruining the postal service!" A laughing voice said, coming closer until Eames was nonchalantly leaning against the mail box, looking down at the still crouching Arthur. With his grenade launcher resting against his shoulder, the Forger smiled at Arthur for a moment before noticing the well dressed projection.
"Who in the bloody hell are you?" Eames asked, eyes narrowing as this projection helped Arthur to his feet and kept one hand on the Point Man's shoulder, like he was claiming him.
The projection smiled. "In the beginning, it took him forever to ask me what my name was."
Arthur frowned. "I didn't know that you had a name other than 'the PASIV.'"
This- this thing, shook his head and sighed. "Yes, but 'Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous' device lacks something special. I wanted an identity and to see the world! I did steal you for a reason, Arthur!"
Eames looked to the Point Man and found that he was still frowning. Eames had a feeling that this conversation wasn't an old one and that it was the subject of frequent debate between them.
"No, I stole you. I had big dreams about what could be done with the technology if it was out of the military's hands. Granted, I hadn't immediately foreseen that I would go into the exciting, dangerous, and lucrative business of dream thievery with you!"
The Forger's head felt like it was spinning- could it even be possible that this projection was the essence of the PASIV device? And judging from the looks this entity kept shooting him, the PASIV had a silent message for him where Arthur was concerned. The PASIV projection's eyes seemed to say, 'Mine.'
Eames knew a challenge when he saw one and wasn't going to let something that spent most of its time in a sliver briefcase stake claims on his darling!
"Okay, you don't like to be called 'the PASIV'," Eames said, interrupting the familiar banter between the Point Man and the projection. "What do call it- or, um- him?" Eames asked Arthur. He was quite surprised when Arthur blushed and quickly looked away. The Point Man coughed and muttered something that Eames couldn't catch.
"What was that, darling?"
It was the PASIV that answered. "He calls me Sexy."
Eames would have had to have been blind to miss the pleased and possessive look that the PASIV shot in Arthur's direction.
Honestly, Eames wasn't sure what to say to that. He just blinked at Arthur and let the silence do its work.
"Only when we're alone!" Arthur replied, still looking very embarrassed. If this were any other situation, Eames would have loved to see his normally cool and controlled Arthur so flustered!
But, no- not now.
Not when the damned PASIV said that Arthur regularly called it Sexy. And then he had the jealous little thought, 'Why couldn't Arthur call me, Sexy when we're alone together?' There was a slight chance that it would have been possible if Eames had gotten over the first tall hurdle of getting Arthur to agree to have a relationship with him that was based on positive 'Yes, I'm attracted to you' emotions rather than negative 'God, I don't want your bad romance or fashion sense' ones. It was common knowledge that positive emotions trumped negative emotions every time!
"We are alone, Arthur." The PASIV said, smiling sweetly in Eames's direction before making a gun appear in his hand like magic. "There is less than a minute left on the timer, Mr. Eames. I believe that you might need to wake up right now."
It was sad that Eames was confused for a second. He was still running over all of the little things he had learned and the mountain of facts he would have to hunt for. The PASIV shot him in the head, waking Eames suddenly from the dream, causing him to try and sit up with both hands reaching to touch his head. Taking deep breaths, the Forger searched for the wound or pain with the tips of his fingers, and found no evidence of the shot to the head that had taken him out of the dream. After double checking with his totem, he looked at the needle attached to his wrist and the length of tubing that reached from the still working PASIV that was sitting on the table in the middle of the room. With shaking fingers, Eames removed the needle and looked around the room. Dom and Ariadne were still pleasantly sleeping and the mark was still out like a light as well. This had been an easy job- so easy that it had given him enough time to find Arthur, come to his rescue, and learn this disturbing truth.
Arthur was in some sort of relationship with the PASIV.
It would have been funny if it weren't so disturbing. It brought loving your work to a whole new level. And, yes. Eames was still very very jealous.
He looked at the PASIV and its timer counting down to zero. He glared at it. He glared at it hard. Eames stood up and walked to Arthur's side. It was only now that he noticed how close the Point Man chose to be to the PASIV. This close, Eames couldn't lie to himself about what expression he saw on the man's sleeping face.
Arthur was smiling.
The Forger swore and looked at the PASIV again. Feeling ridiculous, he said what he felt necessary anyways.
"I hope you know that this means war."
Saito wasn't a part of the team. Ever since the Inception, the man would keep contact and offer jobs. The chances for him to enter dreams with the team were very rare.
This time, the business man had asked politely to join them, saying "I would like to stretch my legs and walk in dreams with you all. I would also like to see this fool go through an Extraction."
Saito had smiled grimly; the job focused on a former colleague of his that had managed to steal information. The mark would be Extracted from and all would be well- the job was fairly simple when the team's work history was taken into account. After the job was completed it was guaranteed that they would all go out to dinner and part ways with excellent pay.
After hooking up to the PASIV with the others, the business man had found himself on the deck of a cruise ship that sailed the calm waters of the Mediterranean under clear sunny skies. He smiled to himself, pleased as he looked at the environment. After his time spent in Limbo, he hadn't liked to think of his empire on the shores of the subconscious. But, this was rather pleasant and made him think of taking a short vacation on a ship like this one.
He added a few more zeros to the check he would write for such a trip, thinking about stopping a passing projection of a waiter and ordering a drink. This experience put him in the type of mood that called for a small umbrella to decorate whichever beverage he chose.
"The umbrella must be blue," Saito said politely, frowning as he noticed the Point Man walking past several wooden deck chairs shaded by large umbrellas. As always, the young man was dressed with style and care. But, he wasn't alone. Chatting companionably at his side was another man dressed in a similar fashion as the Point Man- the only difference was that his suit was grey and Arthur's black.
As they came closer to where Saito stood, he caught a bit of their conversation.
"-bunk beds? I don't think that Ariadne had anything like bunk beds in any of the models." Arthur said.
"But, bunk beds are cool!" the young and fair haired man said in reply. He looked very serious.
The Point Man was about to give an answer when he noticed Saito watching. Instead, Arthur stopped talking and cleared his throat.
"Oh," he said, smiling very thinly. "Are you enjoying the trip this time?"
Saito nodded and accepted his drink from the returning waiter. It had the little blue umbrella that he had asked for. Satisfied, Saito returned his attention to the young man accompanying the Point Man.
"I didn't realize that another tourist was on board with us today."
The fair haired man smiled at Saito. "Very nice to see you again, sir!"
Puzzled. Saito didn't like to feel that way. He avoided it when he could, but, as he was sharing a dream with the best team of dream workers, he could leave a little room for confusion. He also didn't have to mention it to any of them.
"I don't believe that I've had the pleasure…" Saito trailed off, waiting for this person to volunteer their name. In the past there had been others that had jumped to offer him much more. The young man's smile widened.
"Oh, I'm so rude! My name is Se-"
The Point Man slapped his hand across the other man's mouth, stopping him from finishing his sentence.
"Never mind, Mr. Saito. We will be on our way- lots of work to be done!"
And then the Point Man dragged his companion away.
Thankfully, when he awoke with the rest of the team Saito recalled his experience, or enough of it, to look curiously in the Point Man's direction. Removing the needle and putting it in the red box for sharps disposal, he managed to have a word with the curiously quiet Point Man as he came to retrieve the tubing.
"Not a tourist?" He asked quietly while the Point Man was still close.
"Just a projection, Saito."
"A projection that claimed to know me."
Saito waited expectantly for a better explanation.
Arthur gave him eye contact, but didn't do anything like shrug. He began to coil up the tubing as if he needed something to do with his hands.
"That was possibly just a reaction with the Somnacin and our collective subconscious interacting together. You haven't spent time in dreams with us for quite some time."
"But, if I understand you correctly, this would mean that you have a projection that is aware of me. I have learned that these projections are parts of the dreamer's subconscious that can tell Extractors about personal information belonging to dreamer." Saito paused in thought, and then nodded to himself. "It isn't so strange then to believe that you have missed me."
Arthur stopped trying to gather the tubing. An expression passed over his face that Saito wasn't sure how to label- it reminded him of his last personal assistant and the look she would wear on her face when trying to lie about 'forgetting' to make that appointment for him. But, the Point Man was much smoother than Saito's last personal assistant. The man's face betrayed nothing as he smiled very briefly.
"It was a very big adventure Mr. Saito."
Then, Arthur gathered up everything as quickly as possible and packed up the PASIV. Before he could calmly walk out of the warehouse, Mr. Eames was up like a shot and at his side.
"I was wondering if you'd like to go and grab lunch with me, darling? There's this lovely little place around the corner that serve the best-," before Eames could continue, Arthur shook his head and apologized.
"I don't have the time for lunch, Mr. Eames. I've got some more work to do…"
And then the Point Man fled, leaving Eames still standing at the door looking dejected. After a moment, the Forger wandered back to his lawn chair and sat down. As it was close to Saito's own, he noticed that the Forger was upset and kept staring at the empty doorway, like he was waiting for the Point Man to appear there.
"Are you well, Mr. Eames?"
The Forger jerked and looked his way as if he had been thinking very hard about something. Mr. Cobb and Ariadne were busy getting ready to leave, idly chatting about aspects of the job they had just completed. If they had cared about their Point Man's obvious rejection of Mr. Eames offer, they didn't show it.
After a moment, Saito reached out and patted Eames on the shoulder. As he did this, Eames looked at him with frustration and lovesickness in his eyes.
"I'm fighting a dream machine for the affection of our Point Man- I don't know whether to laugh or just slap myself."
To be honest, this wasn't anything that Saito dealt with. He took down companies and purchased entire airlines for the sake of it being 'neater'. He didn't have to deal with the troubles of love and heartache, but he did happen to like Mr. Eames. Something about their time together stuck on the third level of the Fischer job, struggling for Inception and to stay alive, gave them a better understanding of one another.
"I've been looking for a word. It's a big and complicated word, Mr. Eames. But it's also very sad."
Eames rubbed one hand across his face as if he could wipe away that dastardly frustration and ease his heart sick jealousy. "And what would that be, Mr. Saito?"
Saito cleared his throat and patted Eames's shoulder again.
"Love. It's very sad when it isn't returned. Problems have a way of looking smaller at the bottom of a bottle. The first round is on me, Mr. Eames."
After hearing Eames's bellyaching and complaints, Yusuf had thought that there might be something wrong with the compound. He was a dedicated Chemist and needed to know if this supposed rival for Arthur's affections was the product of a chemically based mishap. The only way to learn would be to go into a dream using the PASIV.
The dreamscape he found himself in upon opening his eyes was a small pharmacy.
He wandered the aisles that were full of everyday items like aspirin or cough syrup and others that contained items that were related to dream work.
Yusuf already knew that if he went to speak to the pharmacist he would be granted access to all of his special formulas for the many different kinds of Somnacin he had developed over the years. As expected, there was a projection waiting for him, sitting on a tall stool behind the counter.
Though he didn't go down into dreams very often, he enjoyed this environment because of the visual presentation of his product and the ease that he could access information. He kept both paper and electronic files with detailed information about the composition of chemicals, but this seemed to be a much more fun way of 'killing two birds with one stone' as the saying went.
The Chemist reached the desk and smiled at his projection of an old fashioned pharmacist. He was a bit on the young side, Yusuf noticed with a slight frown. Wearing a white lab coat and glasses with thin frames, this fair haired projection appeared to be waiting for Yusuf to say something.
"Ah," Yusuf began, trying to shake of the odd feeling he experienced when he looked into the projection's eyes. "I would like to see the files for our latest compound of Somnacin."
The projection shook its head.
"No. There isn't anything wrong with your work, Yusuf. Mr. Eames can't take a hint."
Yusuf's eyes widened. This was definitely strange behavior for a projection.
"What do you mean?" He asked a little concerned. Because, if it wasn't an issue with the Somnacin, Eames's crazy story could be right. And then, that would make working together very difficult…
The projection, this image of the PASIV, sighed.
"I've known Arthur so much longer- do you know the first thing he said to me?" The PASIV closed his eyes happily. "Years ago, before he stole me from the military, he laid his hand on top of my silver case and said that I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen!"
"He stole you?" Yusuf asked, having been aware of the story about how Arthur had obtained a coveted PASIV in the beginning, but not this special new twist!
The PASIV's eyes opened and he laughed, winking at the Chemist.
"Don't worry, I stole him too! Arthur was just so cute in the beginning. He thought that he would just borrow me. But, borrowing implies that you mean to give what you have borrowed back and I knew that he wouldn't do it."
"And you weren't going to give Arthur back, either?"
The PASIV nodded quickly and looked so pleased that Yusuf was following along and understood everything. "My goodness, you're a smart one! If I had a gold star, I'd pin it to your chest!"
And, because they were dreaming, the PASIV discovered a small sheet of gold star stickers close to his hand on the countertop. He peeled one off and pressed it to the material of Yusuf's shirt, nodding in a satisfied way. The Chemist frowned when he began to hear a familiar song played on the loudspeaker of this little pharmacy- where it could have been pop music in reality, in the dream it was "Non, je ne regrette rien" by Edith Piaf. It appeared that the Chemist was out of time.
"Don't worry about Mr. Eames," the PASIV said. "He might not have known that I could hear him, but he did stand over my open briefcase and say that we were at war. I'm not going to make this easy for him!"
When Yusuf woke up in his office, hooked to the PASIV, listening to the music that had been playing through a set of head phones that Eames had placed on him, the Forger was sitting in a chair close by watching over him. Or, really, he was biting his nails and waiting for Yusuf to tell him the problem was all gone.
Eames looked over to the Chemist with undisguised hope. "Is it the compound?"
Yusuf was detaching himself from the machine and pressed a cotton ball against the small spot of blood that welled on the skin of his wrist when he removed the needle. He focused on these actions to give himself more time to think. What was he going to say to Eames? How was he even going to start?
The Chemist sighed and looked from Eames to the PASIV he had borrowed from Arthur. He was about to speak when he recalled what the PASIV had said 'He might not have known that I could hear him, but he did stand over my open briefcase and say that we were at war.'
"Well?" Eames said impatiently as Yusuf got to his feet and began to walk out of the office. "You're just going to leave without telling me?"
Yusuf shook his head and called out, "Lets discus this in the other room. I don't want to be overheard by you-know-who."
The Forger's shoulders slumped and he glared at the PASIV. Finally, he stomped out of the room.
If another person looked at it in the right way, maybe by squinting or looking of the corner of their eye, they could tell that the PASIV looked smug as hell.
"Eames, I've had enough!" Dom shouted at the Forger who was lying on the warehouse's old couch with his feet up. He was reading a book.
Dom was only answered by the sound of another page being flipped.
"You'll have to be a little more specific, Cobb. I'm busy doing research."
The Extractor leaned over the reclining Forger and looked at the title of the book he was reading. Dom rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his blonde hair.
"Stephanie Meyer and her sparkly vampires can't possibly provide any good information for this job, Eames!"
The Forger snorted. "Yes, of course. Thankfully, we aren't trying to break into the mind of the average fourteen year old girl."
Ariadne had made it a point to stand at Dom's side in a show of support, nodded in agreement. "I can already imagine what the enemy projections would be if the girls happened to be militarized. The projections would be copies of Edward that would sparkle in the sun and make 'woosh-woosh-woosh!' noises as they chase us down!"
Eames flipped another page and continued to read. "That would be funny if I didn't suspect it to be true, Ariadne. For the last week I've read nothing but books that feature love triangles to try and solve my problem."
Despite having already stated that he'd had enough, Dom went in for seconds of the dish he'd like to call 'what in the hell are you doing during work hours, Eames?'
"So, it's 'that really boring bland girl' must choose between 'the vampire that wants to kill her' and 'the best friend who is a werewolf that can't keep his shirt on?'"
Another page was turned and Eames answered him in a flat uninterested tone of voice. "Actually, Edward isn't a vampire. He's a Cold One, which happens to not be a bloodsucking beer. And Jacob isn't a werewolf. He's a shapeshifter."
"Oh my god, Eames you have to stop reading before you turn into a fourteen year old girl with questionable taste in men!" Ariadne cried in horror.
Dom paused to do his deep breathing exercises, found his center, and then ripped the book out of Eames's hands. The Forger blinked hard and shook his head as if to clear it, forcing himself to sit up on the couch. His fingers twitched in a way that suggested he really wanted to pry the book out of Dom's hands. But, Eames controlled himself and sat in the upright position with his hands folded in his lap, leaning back against the slightly musty couch cushions, and closing his eyes.
Ariadne sat down next to him and began to try something soothing- she petted the Forger's hair and made comforting noises at him when he fussed.
"But I don't want you to pet my hair, Ariadne. I want Arthur to do that! Quite frankly, I'd like Arthur to do a lot of things. And I'm not even going to start talking about the things I would do-," Eames stopped talking when Ariadne suddenly stopped trying to comfort him and scooted herself further away from where he sat on the couch.
"There are some things we don't talk about, Eames. And, if you continue to be crazy and read crummy young adult novels in order to figure out how to beat the Sexy PASIV, you will never win Arthur!" The young Architect advised.
Dom coughed and looked uncomfortable. "Look, we all agreed to not call the PASIV by the other name. Sure, he looks great in that suit and is very attractive, but that doesn't mean that we must identify him like that. That would be a hell of a way to do things in our everyday life…"
Eames raised his hand and Dom gestured for him to speak. "While I agree with you Dom, I reserve the right to call you Squinty."
Dom then squinted and ordered the Forger to be silent.
"Yeah," Ariadne crowed, "keep those awesome lips zipped!"
Eames did shut up, but it wasn't because the young Architect told him to with a backhanded compliment.
Eames shut up because he was looking at Arthur again. Eames needed a little sign that could appear over his head to warn others that he was having a 'must stare longingly at the Point Man' moment. But, he didn't have one, making it so he interrupted himself and others with his moments of staring at the often distracted or busy Point Man. At the moment, Arthur was sleeping and hooked up to the PASIV- to be honest, Eames wasn't sure if it could be labeled as appropriate considering the type of relationship the PASIV wanted from Arthur.
The Forger was still very jealous but had lost a lot of hope. Saito and Yusuf had both reported the strange behavior and the history shared by Arthur and the PASIV. That was hard to compete with. Eames was tired of reading books, making plans that didn't work, and just feeling like he really was fighting a losing battle.
It should be said that everyone needs an Ariadne in their life. Some people need to have at least one person in their social group, family unit, workplace, or neighborhood that will stop dithering around and find the answers- whether the answers are good, bad, or have to do with your charming boss's projection of his dead wife. Eames didn't notice the young Architect's purpose driven footsteps at first. Then she passed him by and walked right over to the sleeping Point Man and the PASIV that sat on the table nearby.
She cleared her throat and said in a loud tone of voice, "Alright! We are ending this right now! Arthur and PASIV, I'm giving you fair warning, so if you are doing anything that I can use for blackmail if I catch you in the act, cut it out and make yourselves ready for company!"
Ariadne looked over her shoulder and caught the wide eyes expressions of shock the Forger and Extractor wore.
"Sometimes you can't beat around the bush, gentlemen. Drag those chairs closer to the PASIV so we can end this, once and for all. I can't let my OTP down!"
Both men nodded and set to work. After a few moments spent getting comfortable, the three dream workers hooked up to the PASIV to try and turn the tide on Eames's losing battle.
When the Architect, Forger, and Extractor made it down into the dreamscape, nothing inappropriate was happening. The setting was a perfectly normal room that contained a large table, several comfortable chairs, and another smaller table that held snacks.
"But, do fish have fingers?" The PASIV was asking Arthur, looking at the plate in front of him with great curiosity.
"No," the Point Man answered, looking away from the PASIV long enough to acknowledge the arrival of the rest of the team. He waved and they all chose their seats so they could sit together while facing Arthur and the PASIV.
"Good," he began, "It's great to get this out in the open."
Ariadne nodded, watching the pair the Point Man and the PASIV made from over her steepled fingers. "Let's just get a few things straight."
She pointed at the PASIV, who was helpfully wearing a name tag that read 'Hello, my name is Sexy the PASIV!'
"You are the PASIV."
The PASIV rolled his eyes before nodding. He pointed to his own nametag. "I made it so everyone would understand."
Ariadne instead pointed to Arthur. "Anything else you would like to add, Arthur?"
The Point Man shrugged. "He's a man. He's a man and the PASIV. It doesn't get much simpler than that!"
Only Arthur could explain this situation as 'simple'.
The young Architect traded glances with Dom and Eames who sat on either side, flanking her like good bodyguards.
"This may be an inappropriate question, Arthur. But, when you stole the PASIV did you wish really hard?"
Arthur blushed. "Not like that! I didn't consciously or subconsciously create a projection the represents the PASIV. He's actually what you could call an independent projection of the PASIV. Or for a lack of a better word, it's essence."
Eames swallowed hard and interrupted.
"Can you please explain why the essence of the PASIV wants to get into your nicely tailored trousers, then?"
Ariadne offered Eames her raised palm and they shared a victorious high five. Dom tried not to show his hurt feelings over not getting to join in on the fun.
The PASIV shook his head and leaned back in his chair.
"You still don't get it, Mr. Eames?"
He wouldn't lie. It was still strange to be addressed by the PASIV, to have conversations with the PASIV, and to even admit out loud that in the battle for Arthur's heart, the PASIV was his only opponent and happened to be kicking his ass.
"You made it abundantly clear that I'm not wanted." Eames said. He sighed and nodded in Arthur's direction as well. "You did too, darling. I've been trying for a long time to get your attention and start what I believe could be a great relationship. The PASIV appears to take issue with that."
There was a moment of whispering between the PASIV and Arthur. Eames watched this exchange carefully but didn't learn much aside from the fact that the PASIV liked to find excuses to touch Arthur.
"…Alright," Arthur said, brushing the PASIV's hands away from his own so he could get up from his chair. "New idea," he said to the others. "Dom and Ariadne, could you please leave the dream? The PASIV, Eames, and I need a little privacy."
Ariadne was about to complain but the way that Dom was slowly shaking his head stopped her from saying anything else. A quick manifestation of their weapons and two gunshots made the grisly task quick work that ended with twin thumps of deadweight striking the carpeted floor and left behind a long drawn out silence.
Eames moved away from where his fellow dream team members had fallen and instead followed the PASIV and Arthur out of this meeting room, through a door, and into a much bigger area. It was a park- it had a large and open sky, tall trees, and green grasses as far as Eames could see. In the distance he could see a large swing set that was in the sandy area of the playground and shared space with the slide, monkey bars, and a large merry-go-round.
"One of the things I learned working with Arthur in these dreams is that it's so much bigger on the inside- dreamers using a PASIV can build entire worlds in a snap. Yes, I get to call a neat suitcase home, but as soon as one of you guys get set up and press the button, I'm free to travel all sorts of neat places with you."
Arthur laughed. "Didn't you mention that the reason why you 'stole' me was because you wanted to see the world?"
The PASIV nodded but didn't add anything else.
The trio continued to walk until they were off the grass on leaving foot prints in the sandy area of the playground.
"Is there a reason we are heading for the swing set?" Eames asked as they came closer to the large silver swing set. "There's only two swings, so if you two would like to play victorious couple, I can go and find a punching bag to ease my hurt feelings. And after that, I could try to get myself an ice cream cone."
Arthur sat down on one of the free swings, digging his feet into the ground to make sure that he didn't intentionally start to sway backwards and forwards. Rather than steal the second swing, the PASIV shoved Eames and watched as the Forger lurched forwards and had to catch the chains that the seat of the swing was suspended with so he didn't fall down.
"Mr. Eames, please just have a seat. This is going to be a clean break of sorts. Nice and simple."
The Forger rolled his eyes before falling onto the seat of the swing, trying to glare but not finding the gumption to do so. "Really? That would be wonderful because absolutely nothing has been 'simple' in this whole situation."
The PASIV nodded sharply and crossed his arms over his chest, cutting a fine figure in that grey suit he tended to favor. "Trust me. I understand what you're feeling right now. All I want to do is make things right."
"Bite me," the Forger couldn't help but scoff.
The PASIV smirked. "Biting is excellent. It's like kissing. Only there's a winner." When the PASIV noticed Eames's confused expression, he tried to rephrase himself.
"There is a winner, Mr. Eames. When you mentioned this idea of a war for Arthur's affections, I couldn't help but run with the idea. The only problem was that I'm not the one that Arthur really wants."
The Forger glanced at Arthur. "I really have wanted you to want me, darling. But this whole situation has made things a bit of a mess."
"When I stole the PASIV I had no idea that I would get to this point. I had different plans, ideas, and dreams. At first, I had thought that the PASIV was being a little unreliable…"
The PASIV laughed and reached for Arthur, grasping his shoulder and squeezing.
"Me, unreliable? That's a laugh! See, you're getting it now. I might not have taken you where you wanted, Arthur. But I've always taken you where you needed to go! "
The Forger was hardly following this- this conversation was touching upon topics that Eames was pretty certain hadn't been covered in any of his embarrassing love triangle readings.
"You are my Point Man," the PASIV said proudly.
"And you are my PASIV," Arthur answered.
"You definitely bring a whole new meaning to loving your work, Arthur." Eames couldn't help but say.
The PASIV leaned up against the swing set's metal frame so that he was standing close to Eames's side.
"That's true, Mr. Eames. I'm not saying it to hurt you, but its true. Arthur loves his work. He loves being a Point Man. After he 'borrowed' me, he wasn't going to give me back for anything because we had a good working relationship that was built upon mutual admiration. I would always be his PASIV like he would always be my Point Man." The PASIV took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "But, you're very different. You're a Forger. You happen to be Arthur's Forger. You, my good man, are his Eames. This fact makes you irreplaceable to Arthur because you mean more to him than work, money, and dreams combined."
The PASIV leaned away from the frame and stood before the two dream workers once again. "Arthur needs a real man to love- someone who has all the perfections and imperfections, the complexity of a real living person."
When neither dream worker spoke or moved, the PASIV frowned hard enough to do Arthur proud.
"I honestly didn't think I would have to go to the lengths of getting you two to kiss by smashing your faces together." The PASIV said as he dusted off his hands and moved closer to the pair seated on the swings. "I'm willing to go the extra mile for you guys, though."
Eames and Arthur stood up at the same time- Eames made warding gestures with his raised hands and Arthur just stared at the PASIV with his eyebrows raised. The PASIV smiled as if pleased.
"We are both consenting adults and know how kissing works!" Eames said with widened eyes.
"And though we appreciate your offer, it's most likely best for us to do that on our own time in reality," Arthur added, not looking half as frightened as Eames.
The PASIV winked at Arthur and stepped closer to the Point Man, reaching out to him in the universal sign for 'I want a cuddle'. Arthur didn't deny him that, hugging the projection back just as hard.
"It wasn't fair of you to make Eames think that we were in a physical relationship."
"What was he supposed to believe when you call me Sexy?"
The Point Man heaved a long suffering sigh and closed his eyes.
"You're right. We'll still work together of course- I know it, it's just that this feels too much like goodbye. I hate goodbyes."
Eames shifted his weight from foot to foot, feeling like he was watching something that was personal and wasn't sure what he should do. Turn his back? Wait, he thought to himself, just wait…
The PASIV nodded, a little sad despite everything he had said and done.
"Then let's change that. The happiest day of my life was the day I got to say hello. I'll say it again." The PASIV leaned away from Arthur just a bit, holding him close but not wrapping his arms around the Point Man. "Hello, Arthur! And this isn't so bad. You can stop pretending that you don't like Mr. Eames and stop using work as an excuse. I will always care for you."
Arthur laughed out loud and it was surprising to hear.
"It sounds like you're breaking up with me."
"Well," the PASIV said as if he were considering his options. "I've had my eye on the pretty one…"
It was Eames's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Really? Getting over Arthur that quickly, are you? Smooth."
The PASIV waved away Eames's comment. "You should know better than anyone that there will be no getting over Arthur!" The PASIV let go of Arthur completely and gave him a helpful nudge in Eames's direction.
Though Arthur was agile and surefooted in reality and dreams, the sand proved to be a little bit difficult to navigate. Eames caught the Point Man by the elbow and steadied him. As he did this he noticed the PASIV giving him a thumbs-up.
"Do you want to bet who the pretty one is supposed to be?" Eames asked in an undertone.
Arthur snorted. "I already know who it is. Betting wouldn't be fair."
Eames grinned. "Would you be willing to share the information when we wake up?"
The Point Man made his gun appear in his hand, ready to wake himself up and end the dream. "I can be persuaded- but we can't talk in front of Ariadne and Dom."
"Dinner? Drinks?" Eames said, throwing out suggestions that didn't touch what he really wanted to do. He was a gentleman- or he had several different identities and Forgeries that were better gentlemen than he was. Eames had been waiting for so long for a chance, any sort of chance, and now that his supposed rival had taken himself out of the running, he was fighting not to-
Arthur smirked at him and a certain look in his eyes told him that it was fine.
"It will take us ten minutes to leave the warehouse and another fifteen to reach our hotel. I'm going to kiss you silly in the supply closet to hold myself off in the meantime."
Eames swallowed and looked over Arthur's shoulder to find that the PASIV had disappeared to give them some privacy. Eames had never been more grateful.
"Good," Eames said, still a little dazed thinking about what was going to occur in the next ten minutes. "More than good- it's got to be great! And we'll leave the chat about the PASIV's pretty one till later?"
Arthur laughed aloud and pressed his lips against Eames's, savoring it, before moving to instead whisper in the Forger's ear. "I'll tell you who I'm going to lie and say it is…I'd love to see the look on Dom's face when I mention that the PASIV has a thing for blondes!"
Eames couldn't agree more.
The End.
A.N: I had fun writing this! I don't think it's perfect and the pacing is kind of odd at the end. Well, the end was the hardest part for me. Since it's the product of two days of writing and scrambling of Doctor Who quotes from "The Doctor's Wife" episode, I'm kind of happy with it. This will officially be my last story posted before starting my spring semester on Monday. I had such high hopes to think I could get all seven stories up…but five is still a great number!
Read, review, and tell me what you think!
slash mania