Author's Note: And quite unfortunately...this is as far as I've gotten so far with this fiction. There are plenty of more chapters I've got planned and written out...but they just really need to be edited and some of them are only half-complete! Hopefully I'll be able to get back around to this soon...

IV

"Eames."

The forger blinked, a snap of fingers by his ear bringing his focus back to the current situation at hand. He turned his head from the window of Saito's car and smiled lazily at the point man who was sitting across from him; they were in dreamspace.

"Sorry about that, love."

"You weren't paying attention," Arthur said with slight exasperation. "Come on, Eames, we don't have time to mess around. The mission starts tomorrow—this is our last simulation run. We've got to make the most of it."

"I do so enjoy when you lecture me, darling," Eames said with a wink and a cheeky grin. "It's quite endearing."

"Cut the sarcasm, Eames," said Arthur.

"On the contrary," said Eames. "I was being quite serious."

"You really do enjoy aggravating me, don't you?" asked Arthur.

"Well that's a rhetorical question, if there ever was one," said Eames. "I've got my head back in the game now though, and it won't be leaving again until we're done this last run through, I promise."

Arthur let out a small sigh of defeat that turned into a soft chuckle while shaking his head.

"All right," he said. "Well then, to get you back up to speed, this is how it's going to start. Saito's car will be transporting us to our destination. By the time we arrive, Dom should have already put the mark under so that we can get started right away. Follow so far?"

"Yes, of course," said Eames. "We've only gone over this a thousand times, darling. I know this plan like the back of my hand—we go in, do our job in a timely fashion and then make our getaway before the poor bloke can even wonder what hit him. Easy and clean."

"Don't get too overconfident, Eames," Arthur said with slight warning in his voice. "Cockiness leads to mistakes."

"Oh come now, Arthur, you've worked with me enough by now to know that I would never let my ego get in the way of a mission," said Eames.

"And you've worked with me for long enough to know that I'd rather remind you again and again than take any chances," said Arthur.

"Hm...touche, darling," Eames said with a small smile. "Well then, how much longer until we get there."

"We've been running these last few stages to make it feel as if we're running this mission on real time," Arthur said while looking at his watch. "According to the time I have, we should be there in about fifteen minutes."

"Splendid," said Eames.

"You're ready for this, aren't you?" said Arthur.

"Darling, I was born ready," Eames said, waggling his eyebrows.

Arthur's face expressed conflicting emotions in response to this statement, and the two men soon burst out into shared laughter.

"I'm sorry, darling, I don't know what came over me," said Eames.

"Neither can I," said Arthur. "Though I don't think I can understand half of what goes through your mind."

"It's better to have an element of mystery though, isn't it?"

"Sure."

The laughter died down and a brief silence fell over them. Arthur was the first to break it, clearing his throat. Eames raised his eyebrows slightly at the point man.

"So what were you thinking so deeply about, anyway?" Arthur asked with his head resting slightly on his hand, elbow against the base of the car window.

"What, earlier?" asked Eames. "Oh, nothing really, just memories."

"Memories?"

"Yes," Eames said, chuckling softly. "Funny how we're in a dream already and somehow I drifted off into a bit of a daydream when I'm already in one."

"Almost a fairytale feeling, isn't it?" asked Arthur. "Like Alice in Wonderland or something."

"Yes," Eames agreed. "I suppose something like that."

The forger looked out the window again and found himself slipping back into deep thought again, as he began to recall what he had been thinking about earlier.