Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The line in the hardware store is from The Apparition.
Okay, so I did make something for kamarooka before but I was inspired and well, for some reason I thought I didn't make one yet but it turns out I did but I don't think I made it clear that it is for her birthday so...here's a birthday present for you! I hope you enjoy it!
Unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine.
Who Said Anything About Sleeping
There comes a time when children become bored and laze around the house. The first few days of summer are the best, but once it reaches the middle point, the young boy starts to place his head on the table while playing with his cars and the girl begins to watch television without pause. And Dom doesn't like that.
"Do you two want to go for a swim in the pool?" he asks them.
"We did that yesterday, Daddy," Phillipa says.
"How about the mall?" he continues.
James shakes his head. "There's too much people there now."
Dom frowns and sits beside his daughter. "Is there anything you want to do at all? Something new? A roadtrip to the countryside?"
"What's a roadtrip?" the girl asks him with curious eyes.
Dom smiles. "It's when you go on a long trip from one place to another."
"Like where grand-père is when he's not here?" James asks, grinning widely.
The father laughs. "No, that's too far. You need an airplane, like what you two always ride when you visit him. I'm talking about going from Los Angeles to…"
"Camping!"
That took a different turn. Dom looks at his daughter. "Camping?"
"Yeah, Daddy. Let's go camping!"
Dom thinks for a moment, tapping his chin with his thumb. "Camping, huh? I suppose that could work. Sure. If that's what you two really want."
"I heard that Aurora and Heather are going camping with their family. We should go, too! I'm sure it'd be fun, Daddy," Phillipa encourages him. "And we can bring Uncle Eames!"
"Just Uncle Eames?" Dom chuckles. "Don't you want to bring Uncle Arthur and Aunt Ari, too?"
Phillipa squeals. "Aunt Ari and I will have so much fun, I'm sure! We'll stay up all night talking about boys and braiding each other's hair! Just like what me and Aurora and Heather do when we have sleepovers!"
"I don't think Aunt Ari will appreciate the boys in your school, Phil," Dom sighs. "And we'll bring Uncle Yusuf, I know he's in town. We need him in case we need a doctor." He gets up and says, "Okay. We'll go camping. I'll talk to Uncle Arthur and ask him if he knows any safe place we can go to."
"Camping?" Arthur asks, surprised. "You want to go camping?"
"Yeah," Dom replies, "Phillipa and James are sold on the idea and I'd really like them to have some fun. Do you know any places we can go camping in? Maybe one there in Brooklyn?"
"If this is their first time camping then I suggest we rent a cabin in the woods first."
"That defeats the purpose of camping, Arthur," Dom murmurs.
"No, it's for safety procedures. We have to make sure that they're both fit. I think that James is too young to go on a real camping trip. We'll promise them another legitimate camping trip another time. Wait, do they know that camping means tents?"
"I think I can talk to them about it," the other man says. "They want you and Ariadne to come, too."
Arthur frowns. "Thanks. I'll talk to Ari about it."
"Try something new." Dom chuckles. "And thanks, Arthur. Call you soon for an update."
"I'll start looking for a good place," Arthur tells him. They both disconnect the call just as Ariadne comes out of the bedroom wearing Arthur's button-up from last night. "Good morning." The Point Man smiles.
She smiles back. "Good morning. What did Dom want?"
"Phillipa and James want to go camping. He's asking if I know some places to go to." He walks over to her and kisses the top of her head. "He's inviting us, too. The kids want us there."
She grins. "Camping and the kids? Two birds with one stone. I'd love to go!"
He gives her a tight grin. "Really?"
She raises an eyebrow. "You don't want to go?"
"I'm not very fond of camping," he admits.
"Because you can't wear your everyday clothes?" She teases, fingering his pants button. "You know you'll still look good in a tee and windbreaker. Preferably black or white."
"Mm," Arthur groans and leans forward, kissing her, "if that's what you want me to wear."
She giggles, leaning back. "I'm not forcing you if you don't want to go."
"I suppose if you can convince me..." he says, wrapping his arms around her. He lifts her up and brings them back to the bedroom. "I can look for the sites later."
Arthur finally agrees to go camping with them after Ariadne convinces him that this time it'll be much different from what happened when he went camping with his batchmates during high school. "It'll be a completely different experience, I promise."
So he proceeds to look for campsites that he thinks would be good for all of them. He's already got one in mind, a new family venue in New York, NY. "It's expensive," he tells Dom, "but nothing we can't afford. You have your own trail to follow and the cabins are very far apart from each other. Judging by the map of the forest it's rare to find other people who are camping around unless it's a ranger."
"Sounds good," Dom says. "Thanks, Arthur."
And so, reservations are made.
Ariadne plops down beside him and looks at the site that Arthur still has on. "That's interesting."
"It's a pretty safe place."
Ariadne rolls her eyes. "With you and Dom? I think it's more than safe."
"Your confidence in me is flattering but we both know I have limits. If you don't remember, our job for COBOL to extract information from Saito? I've told you that it failed because of my capture."
"It was one of the factors but it wasn't the main factor." Arthur looks at her with raised eyebrows. She simply shakes her head. "I was thinking we could have a picnic today and then go to the mall and supermarket to buy some supplies."
"I think that's a really good idea," he says, smiling. "What time do you want to leave?"
"Let me just pack our stuff. Why don't you go ahead and make yourself look good?"
He kisses her before agreeing.
Their little picnic was swell. Ariadne had prepared homemade PB&Js and brought a thermos of apple juice with them. She had asked him to stop by a bakeshop for dessert.
"What else do we need?" Arthur asks. "I'm not very familiar with camping needs."
The two have just finished going through the supermarket for their food and drinks. Arthur was against buying ice cream until a day before the Cobbs would arrive from Los Angeles. After placing their stash in the car (they didn't buy anything that would be spoiled), they return to the building to look for camping gear.
"Since we're renting a cabin, I don't think there's anything heavy that we need. Flashlights, batteries, maybe we can get some books. Oh, and maybe a new set of kitchenware, so that we're sure the ones we'll be using during the trip are clean." She pauses and looks at him, a small frown on her face. "I'm becoming more and more like you."
He kisses her cheek. "Aside from the books, we'll only need to go to the department store."
They head to the third floor and begin to fill their cart with their list. Sometimes, they would find items that they haven't talked about yet think they'll use. On their way to the cash register, they pass by a display of tents that could easily fit a family of three or four.
"We should get a tent," Ariadne says. "I want that green one."
"We don't need a tent," Arthur argues, shaking his head, "we'll be sleeping in a cabin."
She smirks and shrugs. "Who said anything about sleeping?" she says as she slips ahead of him.
Arthur blinks, looks at the tent, then back at his girlfriend before grabbing a bag that contained the green tent and dumping it in the cart, smirking all the way to the register.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Arthur demands.
Eames chuckles. "Cobb didn't tell you that Yusuf and I would be coming along?"
"I'm fine with Yusuf coming along without warning."
"You wound me so deeply, darling," Eames says, shrugging. "You're lying to yourself that you don't miss me and my shenanigans."
"That's exactly why I don't miss you. You and your shenanigans."
"I was here upon request, just like you and Ari. Phillipa wanted me to come. And I love that dear girl and I would never break her heart."
"Touching, Mr. Eames," Arthur says before turning around and checking on the bags that they brought along with them. Ariadne smiles. "I didn't know he'd be here." Although the Cobbs and Arthur and Ariadne spent the night before in the same hotel in New York, Dom never once mentioned that Eames and Yusuf would be coming along.
"Lighten up," Ariadne says, "he'll help make this camp light-hearted."
"While I suffer," he mutters.
The whole hike around the forest and up the hill was great. Arthur tried to avoid Eames as much as he could and with Phillipa taking up his time it wasn't much of a problem. This was also Yusuf's first time to hike so he lagged behind most of the time. Ariadne was busy with James, while he and Dom talked about casual topics.
Their cabin is also much better than they had imagined. Arthur and Ariadne claimed the twin bed bedroom, Yusuf and Eames had gotten the two bed bedroom while the Cobbs had the king bed bedroom. "This really is your style, isn't it, Arthur?" Eames whistles.
By the time they've unpacked for their week-long trip, it's almost sundown and everyone's tired. Phillipa, however, suggests that they should start a campfire. "Tomorrow, Phil," Dom says, "remember our schedule?" She frowns but nods.
"Don't worry, Phil, Uncle Arthur and I brought a tent and we can read stories there since we also brought books."
Eames frowns and pokes the bag Arthur was carrying. "No wonder you were suffering. darling. But how very noble of you to carry it instead of your lady love."
Arthur ignores him and whispers to Ariadne, "What are you talking about? Reading to the kids in the tent?"
Ariadne raises an eyebrow. "That's the main reason I wanted to get it. Have the kids feel the tent-life for a few hours before sleeping."
Arthur gaps and Eames begins to joke about a fly. "We wouldn't want high school summer camping trip to happen all over again, do we?"
"Shut up, Mr. Eames," Arthur snaps.
"What?" Yusuf stands from his seat. "What happened?"
"Arthur got lost during his camping trip when he was in high school, to make matters worse, he accidentally swallowed a fly."
"I did not!" Arthur defends. "That is completely made up!"
"But you got lost?" Yusuf confirms.
"Yes," he answers softly.
Ariadne kisses his cheek. "This will be much better, I promise."
The night goes by slowly for Arthur. He's enjoying his time with Phillipa and James in the tent, thankful that Eames is being good by not disturbing them. With the four of them together, he can almost picture them as a family.
Phillipa yawns and Ariadne places a bookmark on the page that they're on. The younger girl protests. "Sorry, Phil, but you should get to bed. We're going to have an early start tomorrow. Look, James is already asleep." She runs her fingers through the boy's hair. "Come on, I'll bring the two of you back inside."
"No need, love," someone peeps inside the tent, "have fun here with your little darling for a while. I'll bring these two blondies inside."
Phillipa immediately gets up and walks to Eames. "Will you tuck me into bed, Uncle Eames?"
"If that's what you'd like, Phil," Eames replies. Ariadne leads James to him and the Brit takes the young blonde gently into his arms. "Say goodnight."
"Goodnight, Auntie Ari, goodnight, Uncle Arthur," Phillipa says. James is fast asleep.
"Goodnight." Both Ariadne and Arthur smile. As Eames disappears, Arthur sighs loudly. Ariadne turns to him and arches a brow. "What's wrong?"
"I guess I was expecting more with this tent," Arthur admits.
"Expecting more?"
"I read in between the lines," he continues, "I thought that this tent is just for us. I didn't know that you meant Phillipa and James."
"And what did you think I meant?"
He shrugs. "Sex."
"Who said anything about that not being in the back of my mind?"
Arthur turns to the woman beside him. She has a wicked grin on her face. "Really?"
She giggles as she brings him closer to her. "Oh, Arthur."
Psst, kamarooka, inappropriateness.
The ending is kind of disappointing for me but I think the rest were pretty okay. Happy birthday again, kamarooka! Hope you enjoyed this! Please tell me your thoughts! Reviews would make up for this week!
