A/N: I don't own Inception or "Misery" by Maroon 5
Sometimes these cuts are so much
Deeper then they seem
You'd rather cover up
I'd rather let them bleed
So let me be
And I'll set you free...
Eames felt the cold rain soaking through his light linen shirt. The white shirt suddenly became transparent, allowing his curving tattoos to become visible. But all he could do was watch Arthur lose himself in the rain. The shorter man had his eyes closed, his face turned upwards towards the sky, and he seemed totally relaxed. This was the Arthur he knew and loved. Too bad they had work to do, or Eames could have stood there just watching, all day.
"Arthur, as much as I'd love to stand around here and drown in the rain with you, we have work to do" And there it was, Arthur's face closed like he was locking himself away. Eames felt a stab of pain at this, unable to avoid feeling as if Arthur was locking him out. Patience, Eames. Arthur blinked his eyes, rapidly trying to clear the raindrops from them. Eames watched as Arthur's gaze caught on his dark tattoo's, and laughed, "I'll explain them another time Love, but now, we have to talk to Cobb"
Arthur took a final glance at Eames, before steeling himself, and walking towards the steps to the deck. Eames fell into step behind him, not quite sure of what to expect from Cobb, because the blond could clearly tell that something was going on between Arthur and Eames. Usually something like this wouldn't bother Eames in the slightest. He was proud of who he was, but he didn't want to force Arthur into anything, and he especially didn't want to place any memories into Arthur's mind, on purpose or by accident. If Arthur remembered on his own, that would be wonderful, and if he didn't, Eames would learn to live with this new Arthur. Somehow...
"Is this the location you were planning on using for the job?", Cobb asked, throwing Arthur a confused look. Arthur just looked slightly offended.
"Of course not! It's not emotionally important to the subject, and while it does pose a good vantage point from up here, this is the only vantage point around. It's not sound in its layout for any kind of discreet operation at all!" Arthur had worked himself into a frenzy, trying, unconsciously, to impress both Cobb and Eames. Cobb nodded vaguely, before inquiring,
"So why are we here?" He raised an eyebrow. Arthur was at a loss for an answer. He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again. Eames let this go on for a moment before speaking.
"If I may interject, I think I may be able to shed some light onto the subject at hand." At the twin nods he received, Eames looked at Arthur as he continued, "As you mentioned earlier, Arthur, we both know this beach. But do you recognize this beach from memory?" Arthur gave a noncommittal shrug. Eames barreled on, "Yes, well, that's because this beach is from the last time we were together in a dream, three years ago. I believe that since this is the first time we've shared a dream since then, it popped up on its own, as it were" Eames looked between the two men for a response. Cobb seemed to be very deep in thought. He couldn't make out whatever it was Arthur was thinking, because the man's face seemed to be void of all emotion. But Eames knew that this meant the other man was supremely shocked. He thought it best if he just waited out the moment.
"Both of you've worked in dreams separately since then, right?" They both nodded. "Then, this place must hold some emotional significance to you, Eames... well, both of you really doesn't it?" Eames nodded at Cobb, but didn't take his eyes off of Arthur who slowly nodded again.
Just as Arthur opened his mouth to speak, everything went black for a moment, and then Eames found himself staring up at the dingy ceiling of the warehouse. Time's running out. Looking over at Arthur, he found the smaller man staring pensively into space. He reached over, and placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder, before standing to wander over to Cobb, who was watching the two of them closely.
Cobb snapped out of his stupor, and beckoned Eames over silently. Speaking softly, and in an urgent tone, he said, "I think you either need to tell him everything, or show him. Because no matter your thoughts and opinions on his memories returning on their own, it's much more likely that they will only manifest themselves when the two of you are together like this. And if he stands any chance of surviving himself, he needs to know" With that said, Cobb stood, and made a show of stretching, before he walked over to Arthur, and told him he'd be happy to work on the Job. After the pair had spoken for a few minutes, discussing the details of the job, Cobb gave one last pointed look at Eames, before he wished them both luck, and left with an ambiguous, "Later."
Arthur and Eames stood on opposing sides of the room, each carefully examining the other, before Arthur spoke, "I guess we need to talk..."
"Yes, I would have to agree that we do, but can we get out of here first? This place is bringing back some strange memories that are best left packed away in my mind forever." It was only when Arthur gave him a strange look that Eames realized how much he'd given away about himself with that one careless statement. With a halfhearted shrug, he pulled on his hat, and walked past Arthur to the front door. Holding it open for the other man, he gave a grand swing of his arm, "Shall we?"
It's not what I didn't feel,
It's what I didn't show
So let me be
And I'll set you free...
A/N: Another chapter done! I hope I didn't make Cobb too sage in his advice and reasoning. But from the movie, I got that he knew a lot more about what was going down in the dream world then he let on.
