Anniversary
Oneshot
Disclaimer: I do not own Inception. Nolan is a genius and I envy his talent.
A/N: I've felt lazy to write lately but I wanted to try and write this oneshot for Inception. I'm making this up as I go along. I just have the general idea. Please review if you like it and have the time, thanks!
As the clock struck the eleventh hour Arthur knew that it was time to call it quits for the evening. He had been the only one to stay behind to work late. All he had been doing was using up time before his real work for the day begun. The day was almost over and the entire time he had been waiting for this moment. As Arthur locked up the warehouse and got into his car to drive over to the hotel they were all currently residing in, he found himself lost in a memory.
"She's gone, Arthur," Cobb forced out on the other end of the phone.
Arthur had been in a different time zone at the time. They had a break between jobs and he had been vacationing back home in New York. "What?" It was extremely late there and he was trying to snap himself out of his sleepy state.
"Mal," Cobb repeated. "She jumped out of a fucking window at our suite and I'm in a whole lot of trouble."
The man on the other side of the line took a few moments to figure out what to say to that. "What do you need me to do, Dom?" It wasn't typical for him to call Cobb by his first name but it was one of those times to do so.
"There's nothing you can do. They think I murdered her. You…you know how she was talking. You know it isn't my fault."
At the sound of sniffling Arthur knew exactly what he'd had to do. "I'll be there in seven hours."
Arthur had packed a bag, booked the next flight out and ended up at the beach state where Cobb lived. The children were so young they didn't exactly what was going on yet. He knew that much from what he had gathered from Cobb. After parking the rental car in the driveway, he found the front door was unlocked. That was strange. Cobb always made sure to keep his children safe. He wandered inside until he found Cobb drinking in his bedroom. One empty bottle was on the floor while he was nursing another one.
Wordlessly, he sat down beside both his co-worker and friend. Arthur took the bottle from Cobb's hand and set it to the side. "I think you've had enough." The only response he got was a pained expression from Cobb and a spin of the top totem. If only for once it wouldn't fall over and this could all be a dream.
Arthur had stayed for as long as he could to help him. In the end, it had failed and he'd had to flee. Cobb was the one man he never thought he'd see broken but apparently everyone had his or her human side. Arthur hated the way it had changed Cobb. Once a loving family man, he now resembled the form of a shell with demons wallowing within. Demons not even Arthur could completely help him face and he had never felt more pathetic in his life.
The sound of a honk behind him jarred Arthur from his partially finished memory and he drove the last two miles back to the hotel. He parked in a spot and took the elevator to the seventh floor. His coat and other belongings were tossed into his room and he made sure he was ready to face this. Every time it was Cobb and Mal's anniversary of something he was worse. This time however, it was their wedding anniversary and Arthur didn't know what to expect. He just knew he had to be there for his friend. Arthur hung up his coat before going to the room next door.
Arthur knocked and no one responded. When he knocked harder, the door finally swung open to reveal a disheveled looking Cobb. Arthur pushed his way inside and took in a view of the room. The bed was torn up and empty beer cans littered the ground. He kicked away a few from a framed picture that had been on the ground. Cobb must've been literally lying down in his grief. It was of their wedding day and Mal had never looked more beautiful. Even this caused a lump to form in Arthur's throat. Well, at least until Cobb had flung himself face down onto the mattress. Now it was time to go back to business as usual.
He really needed to earn an award for all of the shit Cobb put him through. Whether it was in real life or in someone's dream, he always had to deal with something. No one was brave enough to deal with Cobb when he was upset over Mal but Arthur. The point man even had a scar to prove it from when Cobb had slammed him into a metal, unsmoothed desk the first time. Arthur began picking up all of the beer cans and threw them into the trashcan. Next, he righted some of the knocked over furniture and sat the framed picture down on the desk. He wouldn't even bother with the bed.
Arthur went and sat down beside Cobb, cautiously placing a hand on the man's back. It was very slight but he could feel the back shaking from what he assumed were tears. "I'm sorry, Dom," he whispered. He wished he could help him to move on. To just talk away his troubles or physically remove them from his mind. There was a thought. He wasn't sure it was possible but now he was going to look into it.
"I loved her, Arthur. I loved her so much," Cobb groaned out.
And I love you, Dom.
Instead of voicing the truth however, he just nodded. "I know you do. I know." He was reminded of it every day and why he would never be able to be more for Cobb than he already was. Like the best friend and point man he was, he would just idly sit by until the extractor needed anything. Whether it was personal or for a job offer, he'd wait. As Cobb's heart broke from the anniversary of his marriage, Arthur's broke a little more at the thought of how every anniversary would be one of his own. Every time Cobb unknowingly cut him down. In the morning, he knew things would be back to normal and he could go back to pretending that everything was going to be okay.
After Cobb eventually fell asleep, Arthur settled the blankets over the both of them since Cobb couldn't be left alone in this situation. He was too delicate right now. Positive that he wouldn't wake, Arthur leaned down and pressed a kiss to Cobb's cheek. "Happy Anniversary, Dom," he whispered.
If only Cobb could feel the same.