Summary: Comedic One-shot. Just a quick look into the lives of our dearly beloved Inception characters when they are take a break from their work.
Disclaimer: Inception and its characters belong to the talented Mr. Chris Nolan.
Marco Polo
When Arthur walks into the warehouse in the morning, everyone is already there working diligently at their own stations. Cobb is flipping through documents about the current mark. Yusuf is swishing and mixing innocuous-looking yet dangerous potions. Ariadne is bended down on her desk carefully cutting out cardboard buildings with her exacto knife. Eames is studying his observation notes about the various characters who he will shapeshift into later. Looking pristine in his three-piece suit, the Pointman walks towards his workspace with the PASIV device and some blueprints he had made the previous night. Since Eames' desk is directly across from that of Arthur's, the Forger quickly notices his arrival and acknowledges his presence.
"Nice tie, Arthur." Eames flashes a small smile towards his colleague before looking back down his notes.
"Uh... Thanks?" replies Arthur as he places the silver suitcase and blueprints on the desk. He's up to something. Wanting to waste no time, Arthur quickly shoves his suspicions to the back of his mind, takes off his jacket and places it over the chair before he goes straight to work. The team – Cobb, Yusuf, Ariadne, Eames and Arthur, has a new job to complete. It is a typical extraction job but this one requires much more research and labor in a lot less time.
When it hits midday, Eames feels a need for the team to let loose some steam after realizing they have been working nonstop for more than a week. Yusuf offers a new concoction that would give everyone a couple hours of pleasant dreams and a boost of energy. However his partners in crime are suspicious. They believe that Yusuf just wants some guinea pigs for his experiments because the last time the Chemist reassured the team that nothing would happen to them, Ariadne and Cobb hallucinated about pink elephants for over a day. Instead of risking their lives, Eames quickly suggests a game of Marco Polo. Ariadne's face immediately fills with glee. Yusuf and Cobb couldn't care less about what they are doing as long as they get a nice break. Arthur looks like he is going kill himself.
"You're so childish." Arthur retorts.
"And what would you suggest, darling?" questions the Forger.
"Working." Groans of despair echo the room.
...
Eames quickly begins the game after making sure the blindfold is tightly snug on his face. Cobb is out in the first couple seconds. The Extractor forgets he could avoid being tagged by running away from the Forger's reach. Cobb's excuse? - "Sue me, I haven't played this game for over 30 years."
Yusuf forfeits fifteen minutes into the game and promotes himself as "The Bodyguard" when Eames almost walks into his lab equipment.
Ariadne keeps teasing Eames with her voice to one side of the warehouse before running across to the other side to do it again. And again. And again.
All the while this was happening, Arthur is happily working at his desk.
...
Thirty minutes later…
"Maarrrrrrcooooo," Eames' sweet voice echoes in the warehouse.
"Po-mmphh", Arthur covers Ariadne's mouth in a heartbeat.
"Shh! Don't lure him here." Ariadne nods her head behind his hand. After a few moments, Arthur warily puts down his hand from her mouth before going back to study the blueprints that are laid neatly on his desk.
"Arthur, why are you being a party-pooper and not playing with us?" Sitting on the corner of Arthur's desk, Ariadne swings her feet back and forth like a carefree child. Her cheeks are still slightly pink from running from Eames.
"I am not. My lack of participation doesn't affect your own." Ariadne rolls her eyes and glowers at him.
"Come on, Arthur! When was the last time you had fun? Sure it's a bit childish, but we all need a little break. I've been stuck staring at the same maze for the last six hours trying to find better escape routes. If I have to go back to my desk and stare at my cardboard models for another six hours, I'm going to just sit on it, give Cobb the excuse that Godzilla will make a destructive appearance in the dreamscape, and then go lie dead on the foldout chair."
"Wouldn't it hurt to sit on your creation? All that hard work just to be destroyed?" asks Arthur.
Ariadne shrugs her shoulders. "Physically, maybe. Emotionally, it'd probably be more liberating than painful at this point."
"Look Ariadne, there's work to be done and I don't like putting tasks to the side. As Pointman, I make sure that our team is ready for anything and everything. I can't concentrate when Eames is around. He talks too much. He steals my things. I get headaches when I hear his name. He's just so damn annoying." Arthur subconsciously starts to massage the sides of head.
"Arthur, he's a thief. What do you expect? Plus, he steals from you for practice because you're good at catching him red-handed. By the looks of it, he's definitely getting better." Ariadne points to something behind Arthur. The Pointman turns to see the Forger walking around in circles and stupidly waving his arms like a mad man gone blind.
"Why does that blindfold look familiar?" Arthur squints his eyes to get a better view. As if Arthur feels "the kick", the man quickly shifts his eyes back and forth from his chest and Eames. The dress shirt he wears now has two buttons undone and is tie-less. "How the hell did he get the tie off my neck?"
"Polo!"
"Ariadne!" The Architect quickly saunters off to her workspace with a smirk upon her face.
With outstretched arms, Eames cautiously walks to the sound of Ariadne's voice and bumps into a warm hard body. After realizing the body he feels is much too big to be Ariadne, the Forger pulls off the makeshift blindfold from his eyes to only see a brooding Arthur standing stiff with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Oh! There you are, darling. I surely thought you disappeared from the premises", Eames says with a toothy smile.
"Give me back my tie." Arthur quickly grabs his tie from Eames' hands and stomps his way into the bathroom to put the accessory back in place.
It's my first fanfic that I've ever done so reviews of any sort are much appreciated! Thanks for reading! xoxo