"Are you kidding me?" Arthur snapped.
Eames shrugged, his gaze on a hotel bed. "Terribly sorry, love. Doesn't seem so."
Arthur turned around to look at the rest of the hotel room. Two full beds and a sofa, adjoined to another room with two other beds. The two beds in the other room were for Saito and Ariadne. Fair enough, Ariadne was a girl and Saito was paying for the hotel rooms.
The way this room turned out was because there was not a pleasurable man-to-bed ratio and Arthur was horrible at Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Yusuf had won the sofa by using Paper when everyone else had used Rock. Cobb had won the bed when he had used Scissors against Eames and Arthur's paper.
That left the last bed for Arthur and Eames to share.
Arthur looked at Cobb. "Please."
"No."
"I can't do this," Arthur said stubbornly.
Cobb exhaled. "Come on, we have bigger problems than this. Get over it."
Arthur looked at the hotel bed. "I can't believe this."
"I'm very sorry this disappoints you," Eames retorted. "It's not like I'm exactly pleased with this situation either."
Arthur glared at him.
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
.
Arthur was on his back, staring at the ceiling when Eames came out of the bathroom.
"Hello love," he said cheerily.
Arthur ignored him, turning on his side. A rather intriguing scent entered his nose.
Was that Eames?
"I see, that you sleep without gel in your hair. Might want to try that every now and then when you're awake."
Yusuf laughed from the couch, which did not help Arthur's mood.
"So, I'm setting the alarm for six. That alright with everybody?" Cobb asked.
Arthur nodded.
"That's good for me," Yusuf chimed.
"Me as well," Eames added.
Eames snuck into the bed, allowing Arthur to get another sniff of that lovely fragrance. Eames turned his back to Arthur's, a good distance away from the other man and Arthur lost the smell.
Eames cleared his throat. "Goodnight."
The lights went out.
11:17 P.M. glowed in green from a clock.
Eames turned around in his sleep, ending up on his back.
Arthur was the only one awake.
And to top it off, Yusuf was snoring.
Lovely.
That smell was haunting Arthur.
Trying to be as nonchalant as possible, Arthur rolled over so that his head was resting on Eames's shoulder.
My, what was that smell?
Eames' head turned over, his chin resting on Arthur's forehead.
Alright, this was getting a little too snuggly for Arthur's taste.
He slipped away, looking at the clock.
11:31 P.M.
This was going to be a long night.
Eames turned about in his sleep and ended with his chin against Arthur's neck. Arthur could feel the stubble.
Hmm.
That felt kinda nice.
Arthur turned his head so that his cheek was on Eames' forehead. He was greeted by that lovely smell again. Curious, he sniffed Eames' hair. So, it was the shampoo…
In his sleep, Eames suppressed what seemed to be a cough or a sneeze. The noise he made was wheezy and reminded Arthur of a puppy or small animal. Arthur caught himself smiling.
He closed his eyes. This was Eames! A man. And, well, Arthur was a man, which, when he thought about it, made this night pretty awkward.
Regardless, it still felt nice.
Soon, claustrophobia proved too much for Arthur to handle. He moved so that he could breathe freely.
1:34 A.M.
Eames was still on his side, facing the same way Arthur was facing. Arthur turned around and put his head under Eames' chin. He opened his eyes and saw Eames' shoulder.
Muscular.
What was he thinking?
Eames turned on his side, leaving only his back visible from where Arthur was laying.
Arthur got closer to Eames, and then turned around so their backs were touching.
Eames managed to turn around without squishing Arthur and his hand fell over Arthur's side.
Now, that was lovely. And, as an added bonus, Arthur could now smell Eames' shampoo. He snuggled closer.
Which was weird, because Eames was still a man.
3:49 A.M.
Arthur closed his eyes.
He could never be sure, but Arthur was almost positive that he could feel Eames smooch the top of his head.
.
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
The alarm rang.
6:04 A.M.
To Arthur's surprise, the sound of a normal alarm clock did not assault his ears. The sound of an 80s pop station did.
When I wake up yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you
When I go out yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you
Really? That song?
Now, Arthur was in no way condemning 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)', but the fact that The Proclaimers just happened to be on (with those damn lyrics!) seemed a little too convenient.
But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walked 1000 miles
To fall down at your door
Arthur opened his eyes to realize that he and Eames were in the same position.
Snuggling.
Horrified, Arthur grabbed Eames's arm and pushed it away. He rolled around and looked at Eames's face.
The man was wide awake.
"Morning, Arthur darling."
"So, you were awake and didn't move?" Arthur asked.
Eames smiled. "And miss the chance to see the look on your face? Never."
"But what if Cobb or Yusuf saw?" he demanded.
The forger pointed at Cobb's empty bed.
Dare Arthur look at the couch?
Empty.
Damn.
When I come home yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who comes back home to you
And if I grow old well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's growing old with you
That song was really getting on Arthur's nerves. He stumbled out of bed and away from Eames to turn the alarm clock off.
But I would walk 500 miles-
Silence.
"Hey!" Eames grumbled. "I like that song"
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Please tell me something-"
"Ah, here we go," interrupted Eames.
"Anything," Arthur continued. "That would possess you to do that."
"Sleeping?" he retorted.
Arthur sighed. "That's not what I mean."
"Well, you seemed to be alright with it last night," Eames defended quietly.
What the hell?
Arthur averted his eyes, surprised to feel butterflies in his stomach. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Of course you don't," Eames said cheerily, patting Arthur on the shoulder. "We'll always have Sydney, love."
Arthur blushed. "Eames-"
"And," the other man interrupted. "That song can be our song."
"What are you trying to say?"
His smile widened. "If you're going to smell somebody, maybe do it a bit quieter."
And with that, the Forger left to get breakfast, leaving the Point standing with his mouth open.