Back To The Start Part 2
Title: Back To The Start Part 2
Fandom: Inception
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Rating: T
Genre: Angst, romance
Summary: Eames comes back from the future to save Arthur from an untimely death.
Eames tugged him down the last few flights of stairs and through the chaotic lobby, which was crowded with screaming people. As they tumbled out onto the sidewalk Arthur glanced back up at the hotel. Where his room had been five minutes ago was now a huge smoking hole in the side of the building, flames barely visible licking at the charred edges of the blown-out windows. He gaped at it as Eames hailed them a cab. As they sat together on the back seat, driving away with the sounds of approaching fire engines and police cars in the distance, Eames turned to look at him.
"This is probably a bad time, darling, but what would you think if I told you I was from the future?"
-
Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in a tiny back-alley cafe, Eames cradling a tiny espresso cup in his too-large hands. It looked ridiculous, like a grown up playing with a little girl's tea set, but Arthur was too fixated on staring at him incredulously to notice.
"This is insane."
"I know, five euros for a spoonful of coffee does seem overpriced, but it really is very good."
"Sorry, let me rephrase that." Arthur pointed at Eames. "YOU are insane."
"It's nothing I haven't heard before, darling."
The point man buried his head in his hands. "I need a moment."
"Take your time. We're relatively safe now." Eames took a sip from the small cup. "Are you sure you don't want a drink?"
"Not unless it's vodka."
Eames shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Also, as a recovering alcoholic, I must suggest that you stop drinking so much. It's not good for your liver."
"Recovering?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "That's a joke."
Eames tapped the side of his nose. "From the future, remember? Present-Me is in a bar right now, actually, hitting on a twink named Jared who will later attempt to steal my wallet. Future-Me-" he spread his arms wide, "Drinks coffee."
Arthur took a deep breath. "Explain this again. I think I'm still in shock from the ride over."
Eames ran a finger over his scar absent-mindedly. "In my time line, you were still in the hotel when that bomb went off. Thankfully for you, at the time you were in the hallway, and instead of being killed you were only injured. However, the next day you go to the warehouse where you're working with your current team to perform an extraction on the son of a mob boss named-"
"... Antonio Gorlami. We're going to put him under tomorrow to try to find out where his father is exporting illegal weapons from."
"Exactly. Anyway, midway through the job your team gets ambushed by a group of men working for Gorlami. You find out that your architect was a mole and that your position is compromised. Your team tries to escape, but in the ensuing shoot-out you end up killing Gorlami's son."
Arthur shook his head. "No way. I'd never kill someone I was performing an extraction from."
"It's purely an accident. He gets caught in the crossfire. At least, that's what you tell me when you show up at my apartment at 3 AM with your suit covered in blood." Eames narrows his eyes. "I don't know why you come to my place. I never will. All I know is that you ask for my help, and I give it to you.
"I help you get out of the country. I go with you, to protect you, because I know Cobb would kill me if I left you alone. Gorlami puts a hit out on you, and the next thing I know we're running all over the world, trying to stay ahead of the guys trying to kill you for the price on your head. And somewhere along the way, don't ask me how," he took a deep breath, "We fall in love."
"Me and you? How does that even happen?" Arthur stared down at his hands, feeling his face flush.
"Don't ask me." Eames shrugged. "All I know is, in the future, somewhere between Mumbai and Kiev, you fall in love with me."
There was an awkward silence. Eames gulped down the last of his espresso and hunched his shoulders. Finally, Arthur looked up.
"So..." he dragged out the word. "I'm afraid to ask. What happens next? We have six adopted Asian babies and live happily ever after?"
Eames ducked his head and closed his eyes, and Arthur felt his stomach sink. "Not exactly." He kept speaking, head down, pain evident in his voice.
"We lived in hiding for five years. I thought we had finally found somewhere where we could rest, somewhere where we didn't have to worry about being found." he laughed bitterly, and a shiver ran down Arthur's spine. "I was wrong.
"They caught up with us on September 13th. It was a beautiful day, warm, especially for early fall. I went out to get the groceries and I left you alone at the house. When I got back-" he paused. Arthur realized he was holding his breath. "When I got back, they were gone. But they left. Uhm." Eames cleared his throat, pressing his fist to his eyes. "You. They left you on the bed."
Fandom: Inception
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Rating: T
Genre: Angst, romance
Summary: Eames comes back from the future to save Arthur from an untimely death.
Eames tugged him down the last few flights of stairs and through the chaotic lobby, which was crowded with screaming people. As they tumbled out onto the sidewalk Arthur glanced back up at the hotel. Where his room had been five minutes ago was now a huge smoking hole in the side of the building, flames barely visible licking at the charred edges of the blown-out windows. He gaped at it as Eames hailed them a cab. As they sat together on the back seat, driving away with the sounds of approaching fire engines and police cars in the distance, Eames turned to look at him.
"This is probably a bad time, darling, but what would you think if I told you I was from the future?"
-
Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in a tiny back-alley cafe, Eames cradling a tiny espresso cup in his too-large hands. It looked ridiculous, like a grown up playing with a little girl's tea set, but Arthur was too fixated on staring at him incredulously to notice.
"This is insane."
"I know, five euros for a spoonful of coffee does seem overpriced, but it really is very good."
"Sorry, let me rephrase that." Arthur pointed at Eames. "YOU are insane."
"It's nothing I haven't heard before, darling."
The point man buried his head in his hands. "I need a moment."
"Take your time. We're relatively safe now." Eames took a sip from the small cup. "Are you sure you don't want a drink?"
"Not unless it's vodka."
Eames shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Also, as a recovering alcoholic, I must suggest that you stop drinking so much. It's not good for your liver."
"Recovering?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "That's a joke."
Eames tapped the side of his nose. "From the future, remember? Present-Me is in a bar right now, actually, hitting on a twink named Jared who will later attempt to steal my wallet. Future-Me-" he spread his arms wide, "Drinks coffee."
Arthur took a deep breath. "Explain this again. I think I'm still in shock from the ride over."
Eames ran a finger over his scar absent-mindedly. "In my time line, you were still in the hotel when that bomb went off. Thankfully for you, at the time you were in the hallway, and instead of being killed you were only injured. However, the next day you go to the warehouse where you're working with your current team to perform an extraction on the son of a mob boss named-"
"... Antonio Gorlami. We're going to put him under tomorrow to try to find out where his father is exporting illegal weapons from."
"Exactly. Anyway, midway through the job your team gets ambushed by a group of men working for Gorlami. You find out that your architect was a mole and that your position is compromised. Your team tries to escape, but in the ensuing shoot-out you end up killing Gorlami's son."
Arthur shook his head. "No way. I'd never kill someone I was performing an extraction from."
"It's purely an accident. He gets caught in the crossfire. At least, that's what you tell me when you show up at my apartment at 3 AM with your suit covered in blood." Eames narrows his eyes. "I don't know why you come to my place. I never will. All I know is that you ask for my help, and I give it to you.
"I help you get out of the country. I go with you, to protect you, because I know Cobb would kill me if I left you alone. Gorlami puts a hit out on you, and the next thing I know we're running all over the world, trying to stay ahead of the guys trying to kill you for the price on your head. And somewhere along the way, don't ask me how," he took a deep breath, "We fall in love."
"Me and you? How does that even happen?" Arthur stared down at his hands, feeling his face flush.
"Don't ask me." Eames shrugged. "All I know is, in the future, somewhere between Mumbai and Kiev, you fall in love with me."
There was an awkward silence. Eames gulped down the last of his espresso and hunched his shoulders. Finally, Arthur looked up.
"So..." he dragged out the word. "I'm afraid to ask. What happens next? We have six adopted Asian babies and live happily ever after?"
Eames ducked his head and closed his eyes, and Arthur felt his stomach sink. "Not exactly." He kept speaking, head down, pain evident in his voice.
"We lived in hiding for five years. I thought we had finally found somewhere where we could rest, somewhere where we didn't have to worry about being found." he laughed bitterly, and a shiver ran down Arthur's spine. "I was wrong.
"They caught up with us on September 13th. It was a beautiful day, warm, especially for early fall. I went out to get the groceries and I left you alone at the house. When I got back-" he paused. Arthur realized he was holding his breath. "When I got back, they were gone. But they left. Uhm." Eames cleared his throat, pressing his fist to his eyes. "You. They left you on the bed."