Arthur woke up with a start. He was at his desk with the needle still in his arm. Yanking the needle off (he was used to the pain and ache) he was oblivious to the form standing at the door. Grabbing his die from his pocket he tossed it. This was reality. He knew now. Relief spilled over him in a hot wave.
"Are you okay?" the voice he didn't want to hear said. It was very British. It was dripping with charisma. It was Eames.
"Yes I'm fine" Arthur lied. Eames made a noise and walked toward the desk. He was not accepting the answer he had got, not now, not ever.
"Arthur, darling" and Arthur winced at the phrase "you are a terrible liar. What happened?" he asked more softly. Arthur avoided eye contact with Eames who moved so that it could be made.
"A dream within a dream. Scared me a little" Arthur said, restricting the information. Eames, the typical humanist, didn't buy this as the whole answer.
"Right. Well tell me about it?" Eames asked he had a slight smile on his face. Arthur didn't know whether Eames got off on his distress, sometimes he believed that to be true.
"Cobb interrupted a dream of mine and we had this argument because I wouldn't admit to what he had seen and I threw my die at him. That's when I woke up… again," Arthur said. Eames' lips twitched and eyes flashed with something unreadable, and this was Eames.
"What had Cobb supposedly seen?" Eames asked and when Arthur picked up a pen, trying to ignore the question by working, Eames prised the pen away from him.
"That's not the point," he said, even though it clearly was. Eames huffed.
"Oh darling are you this annoying to the people you care about?" he asked and Arthur had to think about that statement before replying.
"No I'm not. I do it especially for you" he had intended a full sarcastic comment but that didn't happen, the truth slipped in – ever so slightly. Eames chuckled, returning to the charming schoolboy he once was.
"Glad to hear it pet" and he got up. Arthur frowned as Eames disappeared past his vision spectrum.
"What are you doing?" Arthur asked gripping the table. He was nervous when Eames was near him, but Arthur couldn't see him.
"I had an interesting conversation with Cobb the other day" Eames said lowly. Arthur didn't trust that tone, one bit. Especially when the air that was exhaled during it wafted across his ear and neck. That didn't bother him at all. Of course not…. oh shit. "You want to know what he said?" Eames asked lifting his voice as though it was an actual question. Arthur knew that Eames would tell him anyway so kept silent.
"He says, he thinks you're attracted to me. Now would you classify that as a yes, or a no?" Eames asked. Arthur tensed. Why was this reality, why couldn't he be dreaming this? He wasn't going to say anything, anything he would probably say would incriminate him.
"That wasn't what you and Cobb were having that conversation about in your dream was it? He didn't see something he shouldn't have, did he? Darling?" Arthur took a deep breath and finally said:
"No" which Eames read through instantly and spinning the chair around the grin on his face was feral.
"Oh really? So you're not attracted to me?" Eames breathed and Arthur bit his lip shaking his head firmly. Eames, rather than being his usual 'move on' self seemed put out.
"Well then…" he said leaning even closer to Arthur. " Prove it"