Can I please please please have a fic where Mal tries to go on with her life in the real world, as an architect/extractor/whatever, without Dom, who's still asleep?
Can be before/after the inception. Any ships welcome. Kids optional.
fill: i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) [1/6]bookshopAugust 14 2010, 04:15:00 UTC
[i hope this is okay! :)] --
i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) mal. (mal/dom, mal&arthur, ariadne, eames.) it's all right-- no one's got it all.
--
It isn't the fall that's terrifying so much as the sound of it, the wind wrenching past her skin, whipping her hair into her face and her mouth. Just before she hits the ground, she thinks, what if. She thinks about Philippa and James; she thinks about Dom. She thinks, what if I never see you again. But the concrete is rushing up to meet her, and she breathes in, forcing herself to know this world is not real and:
She opens her eyes. His eyelashes are the first thing she sees, steady and dark and firm; the rest of his face slowly blurs into focus, lines familiar and beloved. She lies still for a moment, listening to the sound of herself breathing, and then she says his name. Dom, she murmurs, and her mouth is dry so it comes out warped and she tries again, desperate. Dom.He isn't moving, muscles slack with sleep. The stubble on his chin has grown longer than he likes
( ... )
fill: i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) [2/6]bookshopAugust 14 2010, 04:21:13 UTC
(For the first time in her life, she is glad she does not dream.
She took down all the pictures of him in the house in a targeted hurricane rage. Her father looked at her, worried; Philippa tugged at the bottom of her shirt and asked Where's Daddy gone? and Mal choked, barely breathing, managed to grit out, He's sleeping.
Miles takes the kids to see their father, and is the one to lie, he'll wake up soon; she can't do it. She can't look at Dom without thinking that he's betrayed her, that they've betrayed each other.
She can't look at him without wanting to grab the IV and slide it into her veins.)
--
Philippa refuses to sleep by herself, the third night Dom is in hospital. She says, I don't want to be alone and burrows into Mal's blankets, tucking her small face against Mal's shoulder, tiny hands fisting themselves in Mal's shirt, which is one of Dom's and so soft. She says, please don't go, and Mal bites her lip to keep from crying, can only wrap her arms around her daughter and whisper, Nothing in the universe could keep me
( ... )
fill: i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) [3/6]bookshopAugust 14 2010, 04:23:19 UTC
Later the kids relinquish him and they sit at the dining table and drink a nice red Dom brought home last week (last week, or fifty years ago plus change). He keeps shooting looks she can't read at her over the rim of his glass.
"All right," she says, "what do you want."
His eyes widen. "I--" he says. "Mal--"
"We were experimenting," she says. "we went deep, three layers. I woke up, he didn't. It won't happen to anyone who isn't stupid."
"Mal," he says. "Are you all right?"
She stares into her glass, tosses it back. The wine hits the back of her throat hard. "Of course not," she says. "He wouldn't come back with me." She thinks, I let a train run over me for him, and he wouldn't jump off a goddamn building.
They sit, in silence for a long time. Then Arthur says, "I'll make dinner."
"What," she says.
"It's getting late," he says. "You've been drinking."
He is a good cook. She knows this about him, knows this because they used to stay up late and plan jobs and occasionally Dom would say, needling, we should get some pizza and
( ... )
fill: i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) [4/6]bookshopAugust 14 2010, 04:30:40 UTC
"You really don't even want to try to get him out?" Arthur asks. He is wearing an peach ascot. She has no idea where he got it from, since he arrived in a tie with nothing else, but this has always been one of Arthur's talents.
"Of course I do," she says, sharp edge showing through her voice. "Arthur." She has stopped wearing the ring because it makes her think about the train; there is a paler patch of skin where it was. She traces the tip of her index finger across it. "I love him more than--" she swallows. "I don't love him more than I love our children."
"They deserve to have their dad," he says. There is old hurt, decades-old pain settled in those words. She remembers when he was young and angry and brilliantly theirs; remembers how long it took them to piece him together, to make him function. She remembers how he looked at Dom, holding Philippa right after she was born, nothing but naked longing in his eyes. She remembers how it took him forever to realize that they wanted him, that they weren't going to let him go
( ... )
fill: i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) [5/6]bookshopAugust 14 2010, 04:32:34 UTC
The next day she gets home from the grocery store and there is a dark-haired girl on the couch next to Arthur, wearing a dark red plaid scarf. Both of them rise at the sound of her entering, turn to look at her; Arthur has his hand on the girl's elbow. She is very young, Mal notes; this is not usually Arthur's type. He likes people with old eyes.
"Hello," she says, putting her brown bags on the counter. "Arthur, who's this? Not that you shouldn't feel free to bring people home, but--" she thinks, home? But that is what it is, this is where he belongs
( ... )
fill: i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) [6/6]bookshopAugust 14 2010, 04:36:16 UTC
She goes to see Dom. His hospital room is white and sterile and the taste of it sticks in the back of her throat. He has a window but the light that streams through it is weak and pale, like his skin
( ... )
Re: fill: i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) [6/6]bookshopAugust 14 2010, 04:56:42 UTC
oh my actual god my HEART IS POUNDING. i'm not even done with part 1 of this and i had to break away to tell you how completely amazing this is. HOW ARE THERE SIX PARTS OF SOMETHING THIS MINDBLOWING. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE, HOLY CHRIST.
(i'm just going to edit this comment if that's okay because. sdkfja;fd. oh my god there's too much to say and i don't want to use up precious precious comments.)
this is so fantastic. i have tears in my eyes? um. god. she wants to slide the IV in her arm whenever she looks at dom. jesus. ARTHUR. oh, Arthur, Arthur, beautiful lost Arthur. Everything is so subtle and thick with tension in this, the way you latch onto so many details and weave together the fabric of Mal's passion and love and anger and rage and hope and intensity. It's so stunning. I'm beside myself. :((((((
She remembers when he was young and angry and brilliantly theirs; remembers how long it took them to piece him together, to make him function. She remembers how he looked at Dom, holding Philippa right after she was born,
( ... )
Re: fill: i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) [6/6]electrumqueenAugust 14 2010, 06:58:03 UTC
*de-anons*
holy crap, i am SO GLAD you liked the story! especially THIS MUCH! :D :D :D i was terrified it would be a hot mess, no lie. especially when it kept going and would not stop! right now i am GRINNING LIKE AN IDIOT, seriously.
THANK YOU FOR THE PROMPT! mal is such a fantastic, interesting character to write; i loved hanging out in her head, and i am super pleased she came across like that. (i mean, after cobb does his whole, "IN ALL YOUR COMPLEXITIES" speech there's a lot of pressure right.)
BREATHE DEEPLY I HOPE YOU ARE OKAY NOW! AND NOT DEAD! *supplies lots and lots of tissues and cpr, if required*
i am also glad arthur worked! because like, i was flailing around FOREVER trying to get him right. he is such an adorable obsessive crazy manipulative human being, god. (aeternitasbeach was totally awesome, she held my hand through my massive awkward OH GOD WHAT I AM I DOINGs and made him work
( ... )
Re: fill: i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) [6/6]neomeruruAugust 14 2010, 07:32:54 UTC
I can even form coherent sentences. Anon's Mal is fantastic and amazing and so strong, stronger than I expected, and she really is a hero if you think she had it right all along.
The other ones made me want to be in my bunk. This one makes me want a hug. D:
Re: fill: i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved) [6/6]remulaAugust 14 2010, 06:28:43 UTC
OMG THIS FIC WAS AMAZING! It broke my heart in the best way. I loved Mal and her emotions, how she loves Dom, but she loves her kids more. And Arthur, oh Arthur, he totally broke me how he was there and how he found Ariadne, got Eames, how he convinced Mal to get back into everything. ILU. ♥
Can I please please please have a fic where Mal tries to go on with her life in the real world, as an architect/extractor/whatever, without Dom, who's still asleep?
Can be before/after the inception. Any ships welcome. Kids optional.
<3 to anyone who does this, omg. <333333
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--
i am the hero of this story (don't need to be saved)
mal. (mal/dom, mal&arthur, ariadne, eames.)
it's all right-- no one's got it all.
--
It isn't the fall that's terrifying so much as the sound of it, the wind wrenching past her skin, whipping her hair into her face and her mouth. Just before she hits the ground, she thinks, what if. She thinks about Philippa and James; she thinks about Dom. She thinks, what if I never see you again. But the concrete is rushing up to meet her, and she breathes in, forcing herself to know this world is not real and:
She opens her eyes. His eyelashes are the first thing she sees, steady and dark and firm; the rest of his face slowly blurs into focus, lines familiar and beloved. She lies still for a moment, listening to the sound of herself breathing, and then she says his name. Dom, she murmurs, and her mouth is dry so it comes out warped and she tries again, desperate. Dom.He isn't moving, muscles slack with sleep. The stubble on his chin has grown longer than he likes ( ... )
Reply
She took down all the pictures of him in the house in a targeted hurricane rage. Her father looked at her, worried; Philippa tugged at the bottom of her shirt and asked Where's Daddy gone? and Mal choked, barely breathing, managed to grit out, He's sleeping.
Miles takes the kids to see their father, and is the one to lie, he'll wake up soon; she can't do it. She can't look at Dom without thinking that he's betrayed her, that they've betrayed each other.
She can't look at him without wanting to grab the IV and slide it into her veins.)
--
Philippa refuses to sleep by herself, the third night Dom is in hospital. She says, I don't want to be alone and burrows into Mal's blankets, tucking her small face against Mal's shoulder, tiny hands fisting themselves in Mal's shirt, which is one of Dom's and so soft. She says, please don't go, and Mal bites her lip to keep from crying, can only wrap her arms around her daughter and whisper, Nothing in the universe could keep me ( ... )
Reply
"All right," she says, "what do you want."
His eyes widen. "I--" he says. "Mal--"
"We were experimenting," she says. "we went deep, three layers. I woke up, he didn't. It won't happen to anyone who isn't stupid."
"Mal," he says. "Are you all right?"
She stares into her glass, tosses it back. The wine hits the back of her throat hard. "Of course not," she says. "He wouldn't come back with me." She thinks, I let a train run over me for him, and he wouldn't jump off a goddamn building.
They sit, in silence for a long time. Then Arthur says, "I'll make dinner."
"What," she says.
"It's getting late," he says. "You've been drinking."
He is a good cook. She knows this about him, knows this because they used to stay up late and plan jobs and occasionally Dom would say, needling, we should get some pizza and ( ... )
Reply
"Of course I do," she says, sharp edge showing through her voice. "Arthur." She has stopped wearing the ring because it makes her think about the train; there is a paler patch of skin where it was. She traces the tip of her index finger across it. "I love him more than--" she swallows. "I don't love him more than I love our children."
"They deserve to have their dad," he says. There is old hurt, decades-old pain settled in those words. She remembers when he was young and angry and brilliantly theirs; remembers how long it took them to piece him together, to make him function. She remembers how he looked at Dom, holding Philippa right after she was born, nothing but naked longing in his eyes. She remembers how it took him forever to realize that they wanted him, that they weren't going to let him go ( ... )
Reply
"Hello," she says, putting her brown bags on the counter. "Arthur, who's this? Not that you shouldn't feel free to bring people home, but--" she thinks, home? But that is what it is, this is where he belongs ( ... )
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My heart.
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Reply
oh my actual god my HEART IS POUNDING. i'm not even done with part 1 of this and i had to break away to tell you how completely amazing this is. HOW ARE THERE SIX PARTS OF SOMETHING THIS MINDBLOWING. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE, HOLY CHRIST.
(i'm just going to edit this comment if that's okay because. sdkfja;fd. oh my god there's too much to say and i don't want to use up precious precious comments.)
this is so fantastic. i have tears in my eyes? um. god. she wants to slide the IV in her arm whenever she looks at dom. jesus. ARTHUR. oh, Arthur, Arthur, beautiful lost Arthur. Everything is so subtle and thick with tension in this, the way you latch onto so many details and weave together the fabric of Mal's passion and love and anger and rage and hope and intensity. It's so stunning. I'm beside myself. :((((((
She remembers when he was young and angry and brilliantly theirs; remembers how long it took them to piece him together, to make him function. She remembers how he looked at Dom, holding Philippa right after she was born, ( ... )
Reply
holy crap, i am SO GLAD you liked the story! especially THIS MUCH! :D :D :D i was terrified it would be a hot mess, no lie. especially when it kept going and would not stop! right now i am GRINNING LIKE AN IDIOT, seriously.
THANK YOU FOR THE PROMPT! mal is such a fantastic, interesting character to write; i loved hanging out in her head, and i am super pleased she came across like that. (i mean, after cobb does his whole, "IN ALL YOUR COMPLEXITIES" speech there's a lot of pressure right.)
BREATHE DEEPLY I HOPE YOU ARE OKAY NOW! AND NOT DEAD! *supplies lots and lots of tissues and cpr, if required*
i am also glad arthur worked! because like, i was flailing around FOREVER trying to get him right. he is such an adorable obsessive crazy manipulative human being, god. (aeternitasbeach was totally awesome, she held my hand through my massive awkward OH GOD WHAT I AM I DOINGs and made him work ( ... )
Reply
i just wrote out this long comment AND THEN I SAW YOU PERM-LINKED THE FIC ON YOUR OWN LJ SO I AM GOING TO LEAVE IT THERE INSTEAD.
I LOVE YOU. THANK YOU. :(((((
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The other ones made me want to be in my bunk. This one makes me want a hug. D:
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