A Walk in the Park
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Disclaimer: I do not own "Inception" or "Scenes of a Sexual Nature" or any of the characters
Warning: M/M pairing, crossover
Rating: All ages appropriate
Pairings: Arthur/Noel Eames ('Noel' isn't actually what I'd name Eames if I had the choice, but I think it works for the crossover rather well)
Notes: This is basically a "Scenes of a Sexual Nature" fanfic where I bring Arthur in from Inception to pair him with Tom Hardy's character, Noel. I'm also taking creative liberties and changing ages around, even though they don't match up to the actors' ages when this movie was shot. Noel Eames will be 25, Arthur 22, and Ariadne 19.
The beginning of the story with Noel and the dog is actually in the movie.
This story is written for the lovely HiM'e'iTSu, who gave me the wonderful prompt and also introduced me to the charming movie the story is based on. I hope you like it, darling!
Summary: After a rather awful day, a bullterrier and his owner, a rather mystifying man going by the name of Arthur, begin to make Noel Eames's day a little brighter. Arthur/Eames
Noel sat back on the park bench with a long, tired sigh. He spread his legs comfortably and rested his forearms on his thighs, just about ready to give up. It had been a truly awful day, and he could still barely comprehend why. He had gone to the park that morning looking for some company, hoping to find an attractive, funny individual to invite out for a drink. Honestly, he would have just been happy for a conversation, though he also would have been happy if things went further than one drink. But each person he approached had gotten angry at him for the most bizarre reasons, and Noel was now feeling quite unmotivated and unloved.
As he sat staring out at the view feeling a little lost, rough weathered wood against his back, he heard paws approaching in the grass. A moment later a bullterrier with an ill suited pink collar trotted up to him and sat between the wide stance of his feet. Noel stared down at the dog who stared back up at him expectantly. This dog had done nothing to improve his day thus far, but Noel realized that at least the dog had given him the time of day unlike the general human populace.
Noel made a little noise with his lips when the dog glanced away, suddenly not wanting this random bullterrier - the only creature he had met this day who showed him any interest – to leave him. The dog glanced back at him in a flash and they stared at one another again. "So it's just you and me..." Noel stated, as though testing the idea. He sounded a little disappointed to be talking to a dog, and yet at least he wasn't entirely alone.
He sighed again on an intake of breath and the dog stood up to nuzzle his hand. "I know," he muttered sadly, scratching one ear. The bullterrier pulled away and trotted around his leg to half climb onto the bench, nudging at his upper arm. "I know," Noel said again, his tone understanding this time as though the dog had given him some worldly advice. He gave a long suffering sigh as the dog sniffed him over and then climbed up fully onto the bench, clamouring onto his thigh.
Noel returned to staring at the scenery as the bullterrier licked his hands and continued to sniff him over. Then the dog leaned across his body to nuzzle his far shoulder, and the warm fur against him felt like a comforting hug. Noel kissed the dog's fur. "Thank you," he said, and then said it again when the dog nuzzled the other side of his neck, wet nose nudging his skin. Noel leaned his head against the dog, cuddling him, and then said something he hadn't even said to a human before: "I love you too."
The dog continued to move around him and the bench, energetic despite the fact that Noel knew the dog had been in the park most of the day. He appreciated the company and the comforting nuzzles after such a disheartening day, and he already felt a little better just sitting there with the bullterrier. Then suddenly he watched as the dog wiggled his way between the seat and back of the bench. Noel wasn't sure what the dog was doing, but then he felt paws on his back right before the dog nipped the back collar of his shirt, pulling him backwards slightly.
Noel smirked and reached behind the bench to pet the bullterrier, but the dog had already moved away, "You cheeky bugger." He watched the dog trot away for a moment, wondering if he should let the dog go. But then he pulled himself off the bench and trailed along behind the dog, not ready to give up the attention yet, "Come here."
He followed the dog across the grass, feeling a little spurned that the dog seemed to have forgotten about him so quickly. They rounded around a tall row of bushes, their pace quicker as the bullterrier dashed away, and then Noel stumbled right into another human. "Sorry, mate, sorry," he apologized profusely as he pulled himself away, putting a reasonable distance between them. He noticed the bullterrier returning and circling around the stranger's legs, clearly very familiar with the man.
"Why are you chasing my dog?" the young man in front of him glared at Noel as he brushed off invisible dirt from his outfit. Noel took a moment to study the other man, taking note of how out of place he looked. The man had short black hair and brown eyes, which were dark even in the afternoon sunlight. He was wearing a white collared shirt underneath a blue polo vest, and his dark gray slacks still had a crease from being ironed. The man looked like he belonged in a library, not a park; even his skin was pale enough to look translucent in the sun. Though Noel had to admit that the man looked rather attractive.
"He started it," he accused as he pointed at the bullterrier. "Earlier today, actually."
"Yes, I saw," the other man's thin lips quirked upward slightly in amusement.
Noel narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Are you a stalker?"
"Don't flatter yourself." Brown eyes rolled in exasperation. "You weren't exactly easy to miss, making an ass of yourself the way you were."
"Excuse me!" Noel glared, crossing his arms defensively. The bullterrier trotted over and wound around his legs.
The man raised an eyebrow, as though challenging him to argue. "The first time I saw you running away from Jake, my dog, with your pants halfway down yelling 'What do you want from me?' at the top of your lungs." Noel opened his mouth to interject but was cut off. "The next time you were running away from a woman who was yelling quite angrily at you in French. Though..." the man smirked, "At least your pants were up that time."
"You know what-!"
"And now I see you again, only now you're chasing my dog and staring at him like you're lovesick," the man finished, looking a weird mix between confused and amused.
"You know, I've been having a really bad day and your dog is the only one who's paid me the least bit of attention, let alone actually been nice to me," Noel grumbled, irritated beyond belief. "And you're an asshole."
"People tell me that a lot," the man shrugged, seemingly unfazed. "I tell them not to bother talking to me if they can't handle a sharp tongue."
"Is that a challenge, darling?" he leaned down to purposefully scratch behind Jake's ears.
The stranger narrowed his eyes at the pet name but otherwise ignored it. "Not if you don't think you can't handle it."
Noel grinned, always ready for a challenge. "Would you like to grab a bench with me then?" he offered, straightening up again to hold the stranger's gaze, retaliating with his own challenge.
But the man shrugged and turned away, beginning to walk along the available footpath. The bullterrier trotted faithfully behind him. "No thanks. I don't like to stay still for long."
"An action man," Noel suggested teasingly as he jogged a few steps to catch up.
The stranger glanced over at him as their walking paces matched. "No need to sound so excited."
"Yeah, you don't really seem the type with that outfit," Noel muttered the jibe under his breath, pretending to be disappointed. He saw those brown eyes narrow for a moment but received no other telling reactions about the jab towards the man's fashion sense. "So what's your name?" he tried instead, unsure of how to proceed.
At first he thought the man wouldn't speak, but then he received an answer, "Arthur."
"Hello, Arthur," Noel offered a hand even as they continued to walk, which the other man ignored. "I'm Noel. Noel Eames."
"Tell me then, Noel Eames..." Noel closed his eyes for a moment, liking the way his name rolled off the tongue of this young American man, judging by his accent anyway. "Why were all those women chasing you away today? Should I be taking their indirect advice before you do something outlandish?"
Arthur spoke with a serious tone, as though this was of grave importance, but the quirk at the corner of those lips was still visible. "I had a bad day," Noel said again, aware that Arthur was listening intently even though he was pretending to appear bored. "But I swear it wasn't my fault. The first bird I go up to was crying and I tried to make her laugh and keep her company. She tells me she wants to fuck me, and as soon as my pants are down she tells me to fuck off and your dog attacks me."
"Did you ever think that maybe she didn't want company if she was crying and that you were intruding?" Arthur suggested. Jake was still trotting along with them, weaving between their legs like they did this often.
"Yeah, of course," Noel admitted. "But you don't tell a bloke you want to fuck him, push him against a tree to kiss him, and then tell him to fuck off three seconds later," he muttered darkly. "And then-" he began again before Arthur could say anything. He wasn't sure why, but it felt very relieving telling his tale of woe to this beautiful stranger. "Then I go up to this woman and try to talk to her about her book and sit down. She starts yelling at me in French like I just insulted her!"
"Maybe you did-"
"And then I run into this couple and ask for a light," Noel charged on, "And I say that the woman looks very nice. And they tell me to fuck off!" He shook his head in disbelief, still feeling rather stung at the poor response to his compliment. He kicked a loose stone, watching it bounce away into the grass as they continued walking.
"Maybe the man was jealous," Arthur offered, proving he had actually been listening.
"Nah, the woman actually said 'How dare you talk to me like that!' like I had just insinuated something horrid," he grumbled. "I may not be the most innocent minded, but I mean my compliments," he finished somewhat sadly.
Arthur's pace still matched his, both of them taking up half of the footpath as they walked shoulder to shoulder. "People are strange," Arthur said as he shrugged.
"Yeah..." Noel nodded, watching the bullterrier between their feet for a moment before staring at Arthur, taking him in again. The man was clearly a reserved person, someone who only offered his deeper thoughts to those close to him. But Noel liked a challenge, and he seemed to be off to a good start. "Speaking of strange people..." Arthur glanced over at him, looking expectant. "What's with your male bullterrier having a pink collar?"
"Oh!" Arthur chuckled, apparently not expecting that question. "It was a gift from Ariadne. She didn't seem to understand the issue and I'd feel bad for chucking it out."
"Your girlfriend?" Noel asked curiously, not liking the way his heart pinched with pain at the thought.
"No, no," Arthur shook his head, black hair mussing itself up slightly. "Just a friend at school. She's on exchange doing the first year of her undergraduate degree here. I'm finishing up my PhD but I'm a teaching assistant for one of her classes."
"Which is?" Noel questioned, genuinely curious. A part of him was just glad for any sort of friendly company at all, but another part of him felt drawn to Arthur; each question answered just made a dozen more pop up.
"Paradoxical Architecture." Arthur's smile looked a little nervous, which just made Noel more interested.
"They have a whole class on that?"
"Surprisingly, yeah."
"Huh," Noel nodded, watching Arthur again. Then another thought occurred to him. "Aren't you a little young to be getting your PhD?"
"I suppose twenty two is pretty young," Arthur murmured quietly, which surprised Eames because Arthur didn't strike him as the modest type.
"You must be one of those brilliant types," Noel teased lightly.
"I suppose," Arthur said again, quieter this time as he stared at his own moving feet.
Noel cleared his throat nervously, worried this encounter would turn out like the rest of his day. "So uh..." he began and fell silent again, Arthur not picking up the conversation. "Finishing up the PhD and all...Does that mean you'll be headed back home soon?"
"Unless I find something to keep me here," Arthur confessed, glancing over at Noel before focusing on watching Jake who was now racing ahead of them to sniff some plants.
"Like what?" Noel asked, feeling suddenly flustered.
"Work?" Arthur suggested, though he didn't sound entirely sure.
"What would you do?"
Arthur bit his lip and purposefully looked away, watching the scenery. "Do you dream, Noel?"
"Of course," he agreed quickly, unsure of the connection between topics but listening anyway.
"Have you ever heard of dreamwork?" Noel shook his head. "Basically they've developed a technology to allow people to go into the subconscious of others – their dreams – and move around. Military use it for training and that sort of thing. Sometimes I design the dreams, and sometimes I collect information to use."
The whole concept seemed barking mad, and yet Noel was nodding like this was old news. Just the way Arthur talked about it... A spark of passion that glimmered in those dark eyes at the topic made Noel believe. "Sounds bloody fascinating," he said sincerely. "Wish I could join you."
"Maybe..." Arthur paused, a beat of silence between them. "Maybe you could."
"Darling, I dropped out of my drama degree two years in and now I'm twenty five without a clue. I doubt there's anything I could do," he sighed dejectedly. Normally he wasn't this hard on himself, figuring that someday he'd stumble across his true calling; he enjoyed acting but had always grown frustrated with the constraints of drama classes and theatre productions. He wanted freedom. And today's awful encounters were bringing back sour thoughts.
"I'm sure acting could be useful somehow..."
"Well if you ever think of a way, you let me know, Arthur," Noel chuckled lightly, trying to brush away his dark thoughts.
Arthur's eyebrows were furrowed, as though he was already attempting to piece together a plan in his mind. "I will..."
They fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes after that, Arthur clearly deep in thought and Noel feeling more at ease and relaxed than he had in years. Jake had returned to trotting along in the space between them, though he still occasionally dashed off to sniff a flower or chase a squirrel as they continued to walk through the park. Despite his horrible day and his earlier disheartened feelings, Noel realized that after only a fifteen minute walk with the bullterrier and his odd owner, Arthur, he felt like he could do just about anything.
He was saddened by the thought of bidding Arthur farewell, which would no doubt happen soon as the park exit was slowly approaching in front of them as they continued to walk. Even though Arthur's wit really did make his tongue sharp and his attitude a little prickly, Noel had enjoyed the challenge and the company. He didn't want Arthur disappearing quite yet... "Hey, Arthur?" he began hesitantly. Arthur didn't respond. "Arthur?" he tried again, voice a little louder.
Arthur seemed to jolt out of his thoughts at Noel's voice. The young man glanced over at him questioningly, giving him his full attention. "Hm?"
"Do you think...?" Noel trailed off, feeling foolish as his stomach fluttered with imaginary butterfly wings. "Do you think inviting you to get a drink with me would be something to keep you here a little longer?" he finally asked timidly.
Arthur blinked at him in surprise, coming to a standstill on the footpath. He looked away for a moment and Noel could see the man's cheeks flushing slightly in the afternoon sunlight. It was actually a rather stunning sight when he stopped to really take it in. "Well Jake likes you..." Arthur muttered quietly, almost to himself.
"He does appear to, yes," Noel nodded in agreement, both of them watching as the bullterrier returned to their sides and sat down by Noel's right foot.
"And it would be terribly cruel of me to take you away from him after such an enjoyable walk in the park..." Arthur continued, the tiniest smile hinted on his lips.
"He'd never let you live it down," Noel stated mournfully, playing along. His body was thrumming with adrenaline and nerves, but he couldn't stop the grin that was growing on his face.
Arthur nodded as well, accepting this heavy truth. "You're right. I'm afraid I'll just have to put up with you for another visit. For Jake's sake, of course."
"Of course," Noel chuckled, shuffling closer and brushing one finger tentatively down the length of Arthur's arm, feeling warm skin against his own.
Noel was met with a beautiful smile as Arthur took two steps down the footpath and glanced back at him over his shoulder, looking expectant. "Are you coming?"
"Always, darling," Noel promised, grinning widely enough that his cheeks hurt as he rushed to rejoin Arthur's side, their paces matching once again as they left the park side by side.