Ariadne laughed and clapped her hands when Robert had finished his story.
Cobb shook his head in disbelief. "Seriously, you two are impossible!"
"Well…", Yusuf said slowly, grinning from ear to ear, "now we know that you should never let Dom and Arthur do the babysitting, that Ariadne isn't as diligent a student as she would like us to believe, that Saito sings in the shower " –at this point, Saito interrupted him, stating: "Once again – I wasn't in the shower." – "… and that Robert apparently has bad taste in girlfriends."
"Not to mention that you are an insufferable prude," Eames added.
"Hey! I had been awake for about 48 hours and the only thing I wanted was to find a place to sleep. Instead, I had to put up with your antics. What happened when Arthur woke up, anyway?"
"I told Eames in no uncertain terms to get out of my bed and life." Arthur said with a wry smile. "Unfortunately, though, he never listens to me."
"Aw, I'm hurt, pet," Eames replied, but his grin ruined the effect. "Besides, I replaced the ties."
"Yes, but as it turns out, you appear to be color-blind, because you bought pink and turquoise instead of black."
"I thought your life needed a splash of color," Eames told him amiably.
Philippa laughed. "How come you don't like Yusuf's cat, though, Arthur? I think she's adorable!"
Arthur pulled a face. "She makes me sneeze. I'm allergic to cats."
"Did you really kill Robert's girlfriend?" James asked him wide-eyed.
"She wasn't my girlfriend," Robert protested. "Besides, it turned out that she was only unconscious and not even that badly injured. She is now keeping Browning company behind bars."
"That's where the bad guys belong," Philippa said.
"Exactly."
"Now, what really interests me is how many times Eames had to propose before Arthur finally made up his mind," Ariadne threw in, looking at both of them expectantly.
Eames chuckled. "Four. Monte Carlo was actually the second time. Nobody can accuse me of not being persistent enough."
"We wouldn't dream of it," Dom assured him. "I hope it was worth the effort, though."
"Hey!" Arthur protested.
Eames pretended to study his husband-to-be from head to toe before pulling him close and placing a kiss on his front. "It was. I think I'll keep him," he replied fondly.
"I'm glad to hear that," Saito said, "I'd hate having to keep those wedding gifts. I have no use for them."
"Oh?" Eames asked curiously.
"Well, what do you do with a pair of golden scissors, Mr. Eames?"
A moment of stunned silence followed that question, before Ariadne and Philippa erupted into gales of silvery laughter. James looked confused, but maybe he was simply a little too young to understand the joke, Yusuf doubled over at the outraged look on Arthur's face, Robert shook his head, but couldn't keep from grinning and even Dom chuckled.
"You wouldn't dare…!" Arthur breathed, "when did you…?"
"Right after Dom had finished Mal's story, I sent a text message to my favorite shopping assistant, telling her to get them for me. They should be delivered some time tonight," Saito replied calmly and with a benevolent smile that didn't fool anybody.
Arthur looked about ready to strangle him.
"Relax, Arthur. I also told her to place an order for a couple of new suits. "
Yusuf was almost choking from laughter by now, and neither Ariadne nor Philippa were very far behind.
"This is why I warned you beforehand," Arthur told Dom accusingly, "never, ever give a bored billionaire any ideas!"
"He means well," Dom replied mildly, "besides – I doubt that Eames would actually need the scissors."
"No, but I shall put them to good use," Eames said, smirking evilly. "Thanks, Saito. There's only one question remaining – Arthur, dear… how come Saito knows your measurements…?"
Arthur smacked him.
"We have the same tailor in London," Saito explained evenly. "Stop hitting him, Arthur. I'm not an expert on the subject, but I don't think that abusing your future husband is conductive to a harmonious marriage."
"Harmonious…?" Dom asked, raising his brows. "Saito, you're an optimist."
Despite Dom's dire prediction, the onset of the marriage was harmonious enough. The wedding day dawned clear, fresh and sunny. Birds were twittering as Eames was roused from his sleep by Ariadne entering the room carrying an enormous bouquet of tropical flowers. She proceeded to arrange them in two large vases, humming softly.
"What exactly are you doing?" Eames asked sleepily.
"Philippa and I are decorating the house a bit. Weddings need flowers, don't you think?"
"Maybe, but I need more sleep."
"No, you don't. You need to get up and shower and get dressed, because you are having breakfast with your future in-laws."
"What?" Eames was not happy about this. "Whose idea was that?"
"Arthur's. You are having breakfast with his family, and he is having breakfast with yours. It's so you all get to know each other a little better. I think it's a good idea."
"But Ariadne… Arthur's family hates me!"
"Don't be silly, of course they don't hate you! His Mom said a lot of nice things about you."
"Yeah? Well, his father barely talks to me and the last time I had dinner with them, his grandmother threatened to kill me if I wouldn't leave my hands off her only grandson and stop corrupting him."
"She's a little old fashioned," Ariadne conceded, "but otherwise, she's a lovely old lady. You probably just misunderstood her. She was speaking French, wasn't she? Now get up, or you'll be late."
"I hate Arthur," Eames fumed.
"No, you don't. You love him. Which is why you'll get up and play along."
She was right, of course.
Arthur's grandmother did not attempt to murder Eames, unless you could count nearly choking him whilst straightening his tie as such. She was prattling in French, happily spouting what could have been either good wishes or death threats. Eames decided that he was better off not knowing. Arthur's Mom, on the other hand, was really sweet, so he was inclined to forgive her mother.
He idly wondered how Arthur was faring with his mother, stepfather and sisters. Eames' twin half sisters were seventeen, a dangerous age. He was not too worried about Bonny, considering that she had recently proclaimed herself a lesbian and the only danger Arthur faced from her was being bored to death by a monologue on feminist theories. Lea, however, had a rather obvious crush on Arthur and was likely to cause a scene.
Maybe the deities of love took pity on him, though, because they managed to get through the breakfast – both breakfasts – without any major catastrophes. Next, Arthur had planned a session with the photographer – wedding pictures, apparently, you couldn't do without them. Eames rolled his eyes inwardly, but was rewarded for his patience when he got to see Arthur for the first time in ten hours – Ariadne had insisted on proper protocol, meaning that they had not spend the night before the wedding in the same bed or even bedroom.
Arthur looked divine. Whoever had tailored his white suit, Eames felt about ready to kiss the person's feet. It took him a full minute to regain control of his body, close his mouth and firmly put his reeling mind back into place. Jesus. Arthur was gorgeous in anything or nothing, but this…!
Arthur's mother, wonderful creature that she was, chuckled and patted his shoulder, whispering: "He is all yours."
Across the room, Eames saw his sister Bonnie rolling her pretty blue eyes at him and couldn't resist the urge to stick out his tongue at her. "What? I'm entitled to a little staring!"
Arthur walked over, smiling, and leaning in for a quick kiss… that turned into a more thorough kiss, because Eames felt that he absolutely had to demonstrate his appreciation for the suit. "I'm going to spirit you away, I swear," he murmured.
Arthur laughed. "By all means. Right after the ceremony."
"Spoilsport."
"Come on, let's get those pictures over with."
The pictures taken, everybody moved to the terrace that had undergone a major redecoration. It was overflowing with flowers. Ariadne and Philippa had apparently been busy.
They were obviously not going to hold the ceremony in a chapel, but considering that neither he nor Arthur were very religious, Eames didn't care. By this point, he actually wouldn't have cared if the ceremony had been performed by a voodoo priestess or the Major of New York City. Ten years, Eames thought, slightly awed. He had been waiting for ten years to get to this point. It hadn't felt that long, but they had certainly been through a lot together.
Not daring to look at Arthur yet, Eames let his gaze travel over the sea of smiling faces. Friends and family, they were all beaming at him. Happily. Thoughtfully. Smugly. Giggly. There was not an unfriendly sentiment visible on any of those faces, though.
The legal person – whatever her exact job or position was, Eames hadn't been listening – greeted them with a smile and asked everybody to take their places.
Here we go.
Ariadne moved to his side, and Dom to Arthur's. There was no actual necessity for witnesses, but they had decided early on that it would be a nice gesture.
The ceremony was simple enough, compared to the elaborate festivities surrounding it. They exchange their vows, and Eames briefly got lost in Arthur's deep brown eyes, and he felt stupid, but at the same time giddy with happiness when he blinked away a tear at the sound of Arthur's solemn, yet clearly audible "yes".
He found himself staring down at the ring on his finger in stunned disbelief, and then it was over and there was clapping from the crowd, shouts of congratulations and good wishes. Cool fingers brushed his skin and Arthur lifted his chin with his hand, amusement dancing in his eyes. "I would have thought it was obvious, but apparently I need to remind you – this is where we kiss."
He bent forward, their lips touched and suddenly, it was real.
"I'm not dreaming, am I?" Eames asked in a whisper, reflexively reaching for his totem.
"I sure hope not!" Arthur said, squeezing his hand. "Which pocket?"
They are married! A few comments on this last part of the story, before I thank you all for your comments and your encouragement… I sort of followed the German legislation, concerning the layout and formalities of the ceremony (for example the thing about the witnesses), even though, from the point of perspective of our current legal system, two men actually getting married would (sadly) be wishful thinking. We have "civil unions", not gay marriages, because, you know, the sun would go out and the Earth stop rotating and the universe would come to a horrible and sudden end if we'd allow two people who love each other to get married, regardless of their sex.
Also, Paramore7, I'm afraid you'll have to get Eames something else, since Saito beat you to the scissors ;)
Once again, thank you all for your lovely reviews. I am glad you enjoyed this as much as I did. I will do a little bonus chapter, even though it's officially finished now.