Title: a nightingale serenading the infinite

Disclaimer: not my characters

Warnings: post-movie; implied child abuse

Pairings: Arthur/Eames

Rating: PG

Wordcount: 175

Point of view: third

Prompt: Inception, Arthur/Eames, that isn't his real name


Back when he had a brother, Arthur had a different name. His mother told them once that his brother had been named for her father, and he'd been named for the love of her life.

(Dad wasn't home, that afternoon. It wasn't his name.)

No one in his current life knows about that name. He changed it for the army, and he's only thought about it once since he left his hometown.

He's thought about thinking about it recently. Since Eames. He wants someone to know. He shouldn't be the only one to remember his brother anymore.

The night he decides, he pulls out the sketch. Him and his brother, back when they were kids. Two dark haired little boys with a bright future—his twin had scribbled it out in ten minutes, one night at the dinner table. Dad broke his hand right after, angry about some bullshit, so later, in their room, he'd filled in their names: Aidan&Noah, future rulers of the world

He smiles down at his brother's face and says, "Eames'll meet you soon."