Inception Big Bang: Arthur/Cobb; Part 3

[missy7280]

in a phrase to cut these lips
part three

The very next day he did hear from Arthur, but it wasn’t over the phone. Instead Dom heard the doorbell ring, and when he ran to answer the door he was pleasantly surprised to see Arthur standing on the other side of it.

At first his mouth was clamped shut and any words he thought to say died in his throat. Eventually he spoke.

“Arthur?” He meant it more as a statement, but the lilt at the end of the word came off like a question. Arthur wore slacks and a casual dress shirt with sleeves rolled up, his satchel hanging off his shoulder before he placed it at his feet. This was definitely Arthur, all right.

“Dom,” he nodded. “It’s been a long time.” Then he mutely smiled, and proceeded to sway from one foot to the other. “You going to invite me in?”

“Yes, of course.” Dom opened the door wider then, realizing that he’d been standing in the doorway, taking up the space and just staring at Arthur while they went over the required pleasantries.

“Arthur!” he heard a girl’s voice cry out behind him, and although at first he expected it to be Ariadne, it was actually Phillipa. Then Dom remembered that Ariadne had gone off on her job search over an hour ago, and how stupid was it that he’d actually forgotten or that he could confuse Ariadne with his own daughter.

In the span of a moment that it took him to think of this, Phillipa had already rushed past him and into Arthur’s arms. He gave her a hug, smiling even more awkwardly as he held her. James followed closely in her wake, but he stayed behind Dom and grabbed onto his father’s pant leg, suddenly shy.

Arthur chuckled as he placed Phillipa back on the ground. “You remember me, don’t you James?” he asked.

“Yeaaaah,” the little boy answered, drawing out the word and nodding. He peaked out from behind Dom’s leg. “You’re my Uncle Arthur. You’ve been gone a very long time.”

“You’re right, it has been a while. But hopefully I can stay this time, if that’s okay with your dad of course,” he said with an indication towards Dom. Dom found himself nodding without even thinking about it.

“Yeah, stay!” the kids shouted in turn. “You can share the guest room with Auntie Ari,” Phillipa went on to say, giggling as she did so.

“Aunt Ari?” Arthur asked, lifting an eyebrow seemingly in Dom’s direction.

“I’ll explain later,” Dom answered awkwardly. “Why don’t you go clean up the play room while I have a talk with Uncle Arthur,” he said to James and Phillipa. They nodded reluctantly and ran away to go pick up their toys.

“Let me get you a drink,” Dom started. “Water? Soda? Something harder?”

Arthur shook his head. “Just water for me, thanks. Little early for the hard stuff.”

Dom nodded, “Understandable.” While Arthur sat down on the couch he went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, trying to ignore the path his mind took at the unintended innuendo of Arthur’s last words. Once again, how could he be thinking of a thing as frivolous as sex at a time like
this?

He did whatever he could to hide any excess feelings when he passed the glass to Arthur. The younger man sipped at his drink while Dom watched. An awkward silence followed, which did not sit right with Dom at all. This wasn’t like them, at least not how they used to be. They used to talk for hours on end, excited about the prospect of jobs and dreams and adventures.

Before getting stuck in limbo, it had always been Mal and Dom and Arthur. They were a trio. But Mal had been wrong about one thing (more than one thing); there could be more than just two halves to one whole.

“How are y-”

“Where have you been?”

Arthur chuckled, “You first.”

“Well, I’ve been looking for you. I heard you were just in Mombasa. Doing a job with Eames, I suppose? And I’m doing good, by the way,” Dom said, although something in his voice admitted that this might not exactly be the truth.

“Yes in fact, and I’m glad to hear it.”

Dom had to backtrack before putting together that Arthur had admitted to working with Eames, without a hint of animosity in his voice. “That’s strange.”

“What?” Arthur asked, slightly flustered.

“I didn’t expect you to get back into the business so soon, especially with Eames.”

“I can’t stay in one place for too long, you know that. And Eames offered me a job opportunity that would help clear the price on my head with Cobol Engineering. It worked. You’re clear as well, by the way.”

“How did you manage that?” Dom asked, barely able to believe it.

“That happens to be confidential information,” he replied with a smirk.

Dom smacked him on the arm playfully. Now this was more like them. “There are no secrets between friends.”

That seemed to bring Arthur back into reality. His previous smile quickly turned into a more serious frown. “It’s probably better if you didn’t know the details of this, Dom,” Arthur said.

Dom made a huffing noise and turned his face away. So it was okay for him and Eames to know about a job involving Cobol, but not him? He was the one who got them into the whole mess to begin with; he should have been the one to save them from it. Not Eames of all people.

Dom looked away, looked at the ceiling, looked anywhere but at Arthur. “How is Eames doing, then?” he finally asked, desperately wanting to change the subject but apparently not able to.

“Just fine, as always. You know how he is; nothing fazes him.”

“Yeah, right.” Dom agreed, not sure if he did. He had introduced Arthur to Eames in the first place; therefore he should know him better than Arthur did. In theory, anyway. Though the more he thought about it the more he realized it probably wasn’t true. Dom didn’t usually spend much time trying to get to know his business associates, while it was practically Arthur’s job to know everything about them.

He hesitated before speaking again. “So, where are you going to go next? I know you told the kids you were going to stay here a while, but…” Dom didn’t put much faith in the probability of that happening.

“I’m not sure,” Arthur said slowly, contemplating. “I could go many places. Try to sniff out a job here or there. With references from Saito I can practically go wherever or do whatever I want now. It’s kind of nice.”

“Must be.”

A beat passed, but then Arthur continued. “I know you need to stay here, Dom. With your kids and your family. Shit, god knows you need a break from everything. But I can’t stay out of the extraction business forever. I’ve just never been able to really settle down anywhere.”

“Except for when you lived near me and Mal, at the college,” Dom pointed out. That had been after Arthur followed him off the military base, back to Paris and back to Dom’s life as a poor student.

Arthur shook his head. “I left sometimes. You just didn’t notice.” His voice sounded sad and distant, filling Dom with a sense of regret that he didn’t quite understand. It’s not like he had been at fault, since it was Arthur’s choice to follow him. He knew that Dom had an architecture degree to earn and a fiancée to marry, not to mention dreams to explore.

“So Aunt Ari, huh?” Arthur asked suddenly, interrupting Dom’s train of thought. “That wouldn’t happen to be in reference to Ariadne, would it?”

“Yes, it would,” he said with a raise of his chin, for some reason feeling defensive. He didn’t like one bit the leer in Arthur’s expression or the implications in his tone. Arthur didn’t appear to be as jealous as Dom had expected him to be. This pissed Dom off, though he couldn’t articulate why.

“How did that come about?”

“I went to her graduation, and then Saito called us in for a job. Then she just sort of followed me here. She’s currently looking for a place of her own,” he hastily added at the end, making sure it didn’t sound like a permanent thing.

“Seems like you have a habit of getting people to follow you,” Arthur stated nonchalantly, leaving Dom to try to decipher what exactly he meant. “And I’m surprised you left to do another job.”

Dom swallowed, and then let out a breath. He remembered now exactly what that job had entailed, and how it reminded him of Arthur’s past. Probably, for Arthur’s benefit, it would be better to keep the particulars of the encounter with Lee to himself. Arthur was so far removed from the anxious person he had once been, and Dom didn’t want to be the one responsible for sending him back into madness.

“I like surprising you,” Dom admitted, impressed by his own boldness. “I don’t often get the chance to do so.”

Arthur gave him a quizzical look at that, the lines in his brow furrowing deeply.

“Dom, you’re always surprising me.”

That made Dom smile, and a warmth began to settle in his chest that slowly made its way down to his stomach. Suddenly his clothes felt too tight and his heart beat too fast. He had to get up and move around before he embarrassed himself.

“You okay?” Arthur asked as Dom got up and began to pace back and forth a few times.

“Yeah I’m fine,” he mumbled. “Let me get you settled in your room. Not the one Ariadne is staying in,” he made sure to clarify. “You’re going to stay here at least for a few nights, I presume.” He didn’t make it a question, this time it was a statement.

Arthur nodded and then stood up.

*

When she got home, Ariadne was filled with excitement from getting a possible employment offer and proceeded to talk their ears off.

After giving Arthur an all too familiar hug (Dom had been watching far too closely) they sat down at the kitchen table while Dom attempted to cook. Phillipa offered her “help,” which consisted of throwing ingredients together in a bowl and confusing the hell out of Dom. Ariadne and Arthur both laughed at him, while Dom frowned. Cooking was serious business in the Cobb household.

A domestic scene unfolded before him. As Arthur and Ariadne got caught up with each other, chatting practically non-stop, Dom felt horribly left out. Is this how Arthur had felt every time he went out with Dom and Mal? At the time he never really considered Arthur’s feelings, but now that he looks back on it, being the third wheel must have been really depressing.

Then again, Dom still hadn’t been doing it on purpose. Arthur could have gone out and found his own girlfriend, easy. He just never did. There were girls here or there, he recalled, but none of them stayed.

Dom squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to block out his own thoughts but failing spectacularly. For once he felt fortunate that he couldn’t dream normally anymore, as he wasn’t thrilled at the idea of getting in touch with his subconscious right now.

Ariadne continued to laugh. Did she ever stop? Dom didn’t remember her being anywhere near this carefree while they worked on performing inception. Understandable of course, but still. Why had she been so giggly lately? “Cobb, don’t burn the house down,” she said with way too much amusement for someone whose kitchen might be catching on fire.

Dom looked behind him and almost yelped at the food starting to burn in the oven. He reached for it and pulled it out in time to prevent a fire, but the dinner was officially burnt to a crisp and completely inedible. Dom looked completely distraught. Phillipa frowned, matching his expression.

She always did take after her father. “What do we do now, daddy?”

Arthur answered for him, “I figured the cooking thing might not work out. Don’t worry, I already found a good place for Chinese take-out.” It couldn’t be true. Dom had his eyes on Arthur the whole time, and he had done nothing of the sort.

“Very funny,” Dom retorted.

Arthur and Ariadne grinned. James, who had been sitting at the table playing with his collection of monster trucks, burst into his own set of giggles. It was like the rest of them were in on a big joke that didn’t include Dom. He threw his mitts down on the counter and sighed loudly in frustration. That seemed to give Arthur pause.

“So where is this great Chinese place?” Dom asked.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll call in the order. Just sit down and relax,” Arthur said soothingly. Dom got the distinct feeling that he was being coddled, but he couldn’t really argue. If he kept stressing out about this then his head might possibly explode.

For once Dom did as told, sitting down and asking James to share his toys with him. He did so happily, and Arthur left the room supposedly to order dinner and make everything right. Dom could feel Ariadne’s eyes on him, once again trying to get to the very depth of his soul through staring. He glared up at her and asked, “Is there something I could help you with?” in a biting tone.

She threw her hands up and pushed her chair away from the table, then left the room in a huff. Dom let out a groan.

“Dad, why did you have to upset Ari?” Phillipa asked as she re-joined them at the table. He looked at his daughter in wonder, at her ability to discern the situation.

He put on a fake smile. “I didn’t mean to, honey.” When she didn’t seem to be very impressed he said, “Don’t worry, she’ll be okay once she cools off.”

“You sound like Arthur,” Phillipa pointed out, before leaving the room. Dom didn’t have anything to say to that.

*

The five of them fell into a daily routine. Arthur and Dom helped the kids get ready for their final week of school in the morning, Arthur making breakfast for them (usually cereal but occasionally pancakes), Dom getting them dressed and making sure they were packed. Ariadne picks them up from school when she can, tires them out with play and then puts them down for their afternoon nap.

A couple weeks into her job search, Ariadne received a call-back for an interview with a contracting company. When she got news that they were offering her the position, she demanded that the three of them go out to celebrate. Not being able to refuse her cheeriness and wicked smile, Dom reluctantly hired a babysitter for the evening. Ariadne assured him that they could check up on James and Phillipa with frequent phone calls.

After dinner at some suave restaurant that Arthur had been dying to try for quite a while, they end up at a less than classy bar (Cobb’s choice). He bought them a bottle of champagne and said a toast in Ariadne’s honor. They clinked glasses and shared smiles. Dom was just starting to relax when Arthur pulled on Ariadne’s hand and asked her for a dance.

His heart thudded in his chest as he watched them, then increased tenfold as they each in turn got hit on by several different bar patrons. Unable to watch much longer, Dom turned his back and faced the bartender, ordering a glass of whiskey.

He drowned shot after shot, only briefly turning around to see Ariadne’s hips moving everywhere as she danced by herself, and Arthur standing there while another man got too close into his personal space. He didn’t like the way the man seemed to be undressing Arthur with his eyes, but knew that if he intervened then Arthur would just be pissed off. So he kept on nursing the drink in front of him, pointedly ignoring everyone else.

By the time Ariadne and Arthur returned to the bar, Dom was five drinks in and beginning to slur his own words. Arthur offered to drive them home, and Dom had to put a steadying hand on Ariadne’s shoulder to help him walk straight.

When they got home, Arthur took care of paying the babysitter for the night while Ariadne checked on the kids sleeping in their beds, making sure they were okay. Dom was barely functional. They sat him down on the couch before they started to settle in for the night. As Ariadne yawned, Arthur told her that he could take care of Dom and that she should go to sleep.

Ariadne nodded in agreement. “Good night, Arthur. Cobb.” She left for the upstairs guest room, Dom watching her go every step of the way.

Arthur reached out towards him, wrapping his arms around Dom’s back as he gently lifted him up.

“All right, let’s get you into bed.”

“Oh really now, is that what you want to do with me?” Dom asked, the alcohol in his system allowing the words to slip out.

Arthur didn’t seem to notice, or else it didn’t really affect him. He simply half-dragged Dom along, straight-faced as ever, as if this was simply another one of his jobs he had to perform. And Dom supposed that made sense, since in a way Arthur had made taking care of Dom part of his mission.

When they reached his bedroom, Arthur placed him on the bed and began the task of undressing him. He started by removing his shoes and socks, and Dom shivered when Arthur’s fingers brushed his ankles. Realizing this would become an even bigger problem once he made it to his pants and shirt, Dom panicked.

So he put out a hand and pushed Arthur back. “I can do it myself,” he insisted. “You should go now.” He tried to make himself sound emphatic and serious, but discovered that doing so while buzzed was a bit difficult. Arthur easily ignored his orders, beginning to unbutton his shirt from the top down instead.

When he reached the third to last button, Dom grabbed his wrists and held them tightly. “Why are you doing this?” he asked, his voice sounding screechy and desperate to his own ears.

“So I can make sure you get to sleep without injuring yourself or doing something equally stupid,” Arthur answered without hesitation.

“Not just that,” Dom clarifies. “I mean this. Everything. Staying here, cooking meals, picking up my dry cleaning. Why do you do it?” Dom had wanted to know for quite a while, but never had the opportunity to ask. He may have been drunk, but if anything that just made him more curious to know.

“There’s not much else for me to do, is there?”

“You could leave.”

Finally that got Arthur to stop touching him. He left Dom’s shirt partially opened as he drew back.

“Is that what you want?” His tone sounded straightforward, but Arthur’s eyes betrayed an underlying sense of vulnerability that made Dom’s heart ache.

“No,” Dom answered immediately, taken aback by his own insistence. “That’s not what I meant.”

Arthur sighed. “I’ll stay here for a while. As long as you want me to. I make no promises that I can stay permanently, but I’ll be around if you need me.”

Dom stood up, whether to push Arthur away again or pull him closer he wasn’t sure, but then the choice was made for him as he stumbled and fell back on to the bed. Arthur looked on in amusement with a crooked smile, and then turned around to leave. “I think you’ll be okay once you sleep it off,” he said.

As Dom’s head hit the pillow he was too sleepy to voice a protest, but for the first time in a while he wished he could have someone else sleeping next to him.

*

As he was experiencing a quite significant hangover the next day, Dom made the decision that he needed to start getting out of the house. Ariadne had found a roommate and a potential apartment to rent, Arthur was going out to find employment in legal dream-sharing, and the children were starting at their first summer camp. That left Dom at home alone with nothing to do, slowly going crazy.

On a whim he called the university and enquired if there were any open positions. With extreme fortune, he was informed of a summer class that could use a new professor as the former one had become pregnant and wanted a few months off. They set up an interview for the very next day.

“I think I found a summer job,” he informed Arthur and Ariadne that night. She clapped her hands excitedly and congratulated him, while Arthur went on to ask him questions about the work. “They have a position for a Creative Design teacher,” he explained.

“What kind of design?” Ariadne asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Then how do you know that you qualify?” Arthur asked suspiciously.

“I don’t. But I guess that’s what I’ll find out at the interview tomorrow.”

They chit-chatted more as they finished their pepperoni and black olive pizza (Arthur’s choices), curled up on the couch to watch a movie together and then went their separate ways to their own bedrooms. If Dom didn’t know any better, he would have said that they were just like a normal, happy family.

He lay awake on his bed for a while thinking about things, but once he did fall asleep he slept very comfortably.

The next day he felt refreshed and ready to face the world. Arthur picked out what suit he should wear and helped him tie his tie. “Good luck today,” he said, but there wasn’t much enthusiasm behind his words. Dom nodded his thanks anyway, and tried to ignore how shallow his breathing had become when Arthur finished doing the knot. He swallowed harder than necessary and looked away from Arthur, then said his goodbyes as he picked up his briefcase.

Dom left for the college in haste, anxious and excited all in one for his interview. In a brief amount of time, it became more like he was asking all of the questions instead of the interviewer. The older woman seemed ready to hire him practically from the moment he walked in the door.

“We are very lucky that you were available for this position on such short notice,” this Mrs. Henderson gushed. “Admittedly, we were getting a bit frantic trying to find someone who is capable of doing it.”

“Well I’m not sure what the subject matter of the course entails. Of course, if you want me to teach architectural design than I’d be more than willing. Here, I can show you my list of references-”

Mrs. Henderson held out the palm of her hand to stop him. “Mr. Cobb, we are well aware of your prior experience,” she said, and he detected a knowing glint in her eye. “That’s why the school would like you to design your own class structure, based on your knowledge of real-life architecture and being an architect for dreamscapes.”

It made him nervous that she seemed to know so much about him already. Though it was true that his work in dream-sharing wasn’t exactly confidential, that didn’t mean it was a good idea for him to be out in the open when there were high-profile ex-clients or potentially shady employers around.

Then Dom had an idea. Maybe there was a way he could extend his knowledge to his students in a way that didn’t border on illegal. He thought about the Lee job, and Arthur, and training Ariadne, and a multitude of other experiments in dream-sharing that were not widely publicized yet. These psychological aspects of dreams could be combined into a curriculum on dream-sharing that should keep him from getting in any kind of trouble with the law.

It just might work.

Mrs. Henderson listened as he explained his idea, her smile growing wider by the moment. She asked him a few more mandatory questions before telling him he was free to go. He shook her hand and headed to the door, but before he could leave he heard her speak.

“I can’t say this officially, Mr. Cobb, but expect to begin teaching your class two weeks from Monday.”

He was actually really looking forward to it.

*

Arthur was waiting for him in the kitchen when he got home, dinner already being prepared and the kids watching a movie up in Phillipa’s room. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for them to come together like this on most days, but for the first time Dom felt like he should greet Arthur with an embrace. He wanted to, god did he want to, but unsure of how Arthur would react he decided to hold back.

“How did it go?” Arthur asked, genuinely curious.

“It sounds like I got the job,” Dom said with a grin. “Wait till I tell you what I’m going to be teaching.”

“That’s great,” Arthur said, but the nicety of his words did not match the sound of his voice. In fact, he sounded downright snarky. “You’ll have to tell me about it over dinner.” He turned his back on Dom, facing the kitchen appliances instead.

It was dismissive, and for the first time Dom realized Arthur did not seem so excited for him to get a teaching job. In fact, he seemed pissy about it. Dom couldn’t fathom why this would make Arthur upset, or why he even cared, and he couldn’t figure out how to ask. Without any control over it, Dom felt his face begin to get hot and his irritation level rising just a bit too high.

Sometimes his own anger management issues scared him, but other times he was convinced that Arthur did something to deserve his wrath.

And sometimes he wanted to reach out and hold Arthur, but it seemed he didn’t know how to.

Instead, without warning, he slammed a fist down on the table out of his own frustration. More angry at himself for not being able to express his emotions properly than at Arthur. It hurt, but he wasn’t going to let it show. Arthur turned around with a jerk, his eyes burning holes into the scene before him.

“What the fuck, Dom?” he exploded somewhat quietly (he always had been an expert on contradictions), the first time Dom had seen him come undone since he got arrived on his doorstep.

“I should be asking you the same thing. What the fuck is wrong with you? You’ve been acting distant ever since the other night.”

Dom hadn’t realized the truth of it until the words were out of his mouth, catching him a bit off-guard. But it was true, he knew that now. Ever since getting drunk enough so that he could barely speak, Arthur’s demeanor had completely changed. Sure he still talked to him, and helped out around the house, but he’d been acting like it was more of a chore than anything else. Now Dom just needed to know why.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Arthur said, but the hunch of his shoulders and the change in his facial expression said otherwise. And Dom hated being lied to.

“Fine. You want to act like a child? Then I’ll treat you like a child.”

Arthur didn’t respond. Instead he continued on in the kitchen, banging cabinets and dishware around in a petulant way. Cobb stormed out of the room. How had things turned sour so quickly?

He didn’t need this shit. Not now. Not when he was just starting to put his life back together again into some form of normalcy. Maybe having Arthur around all the time wasn’t as good for him as he’d initially thought.

He made his way to his bedroom and flopped down on the mattress. Lying on his bed with the door closed, Dom started to remember.

*

Dom remembered the first time he and Arthur performed an extraction together.

It was right before Mal died, when Dom was strung out, at his wit’s end, and couldn’t think of anything else to do. He hadn’t spoken to Arthur in weeks, and he felt apprehensive at the idea that this phone call may lead to rejection, but he called him anyway.

“How have you been?” he started, not even bothering to announce who it was. Arthur would know.

“Not great, but better.”

“Good. Listen, I’m going to need your help with something.”

“What is it?”

“Extraction. It’s time.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“You’re the only one I know who’s trained well enough in dream-sharing to pull it off. You won’t even have to be the dreamer, I’ll take care of that part. You’ll just be along for the ride.”

“Why don’t you just take Mal down with you? Surely she’s capable enough.”

“I.. I can’t. She’s not lucid enough anymore. Arthur, it’s getting worse. She can’t tell dreams from this reality any longer.”

There was a lengthy pause that stretched long enough to make Cobb uncomfortable, causing him to shift in place. Finally Arthur spoke again, and Cobb went still. “Why don’t you find legal work?”

“It’s not that simple. There aren’t really very many paid avenues for using dream-sharing, and that’s the only usable skill I have right now. Besides, I need the money. Maybe then I could afford to get Mal some professional help.” Then Cobb held his breath, hoping that that would be enough to convince Arthur to enter dreams with him again.

“You absolutely need me to go on this job with you?” Arthur asked.

There wasn’t any hesitation in his answer. “Yes.”

“Then I’ll be there. Where do I meet you?”

He felt immense relief at Arthur’s compliance, like the heavy weight he’d been carrying on his shoulders since returning from limbo had lightened a bit. In his mind he let out a silent “thank god,” and barely restrained himself from saying it out loud.

Their first job had been a complete failure, but they used it as a learning experience. They were only able to get half of the information out before the subject discovered he was dreaming and the dream started to collapse. Cobb and Arthur had barely gotten out in time with the little bit of information they salvaged.

Their employer was none too pleased, but still paid them half of the original sum for delivering half of the goods. For a while, it was enough. In the meantime, Cobb spent many hours with Arthur just working, trying to figure out the best way to create the dream world so that their marks would spill out all of their deepest secrets. Cobb would stay out for longer periods of time than he would have liked, half of him knowing he had to work but the other half terrified that he wouldn’t be there for Mal when she needed him.

Then their anniversary came, and his entire world that he’d built came crashing to the ground. Literally. Afterwards, Arthur gently worked on putting the pieces back together again. He was the glue, but Cobb was barely hanging on by a thread.

After Mal’s passing, leading all the way up to inception, they worked together on their dream-sharing skills. In the span of a few short months, they had improved their craft and quickly gained a reputation as the best extraction team out there. Other criminals had done it before, but Cobb’s inclusion of a point man on his missions, especially one of Arthur’s caliber, helped him to become the most sought after extractor in many parts of the world.

Arthur voiced his concerns over how well-known they were getting, but Cobb kept dismissing him. He had other important things on his mind, like getting home.

“Now you’re a wanted man for more than one reason,” Arthur said one day after a particularly close highway chase in which they had very nearly been killed.

“I’ll deal with it,” Cobb replied.

“There’s only so much running you can do before it all catches up with you.”

Cobb felt his frustration getting stronger. “I don’t have many options left, do I? And what about you? You didn’t have to come running with me.”

Arthur scoffed at that. “Are you kidding? You practically dragged me into the extraction business with you.” Arthur seemed to muse over this for a moment. “Granted, there was only a little bit of kicking and screaming on my part, but that’s beside the point.”

“So what is your point?” Cobb asked, about ready to give up on this conversation.

“My point is you need me. Not just for jobs, but for everything,” he said, his voice starting to rise. “I’m the one who’s been holding you together for all of this time. And my point is, there’s only so much I can take before I break.”

“Then leave,” Cobb said in a dangerously low tone, turning around to depart their dingy hideout motel room and slamming the door in his wake.

He didn’t stay to hear Arthur say, “You know I’d never do that.” Cobb didn’t hear Arthur say that maybe he didn’t leave because he needed Cobb too.

*

The next two weeks passed by in somewhat of a blur. Dom almost felt like a zombie, performing his day to day duties but with no real emotion behind any of them. Ariadne had moved out, but she still visited frequently. She seemed to sense the tension between him and Arthur, even going so far as to mention how odd they were behaving. Arthur ignored her, while Dom simply said that she was imagining things. Eventually, after much stubbornness on their part, she got the hint and let the subject drop.

Arthur wasn’t around as much. Some nights he’d be gone the whole time, staying who knows where and doing who knows what. Dom didn’t ask him about it, and Arthur wasn’t talking.

It annoyed him, but there wasn’t much he could say about it. Arthur still came by to watch the kids when he needed it, but that was about the extent of his helpfulness. By the time Dom needed to go to the college to start his new job, he barely even saw Arthur anymore.

It didn’t take Dom long at all to admit that he missed him.

*

One day when Dom returned home from work early, Arthur was actually there. Unsure of his purpose or how long he’d be staying this time, Dom decided it was in his best interest to clear the air between them.

“You could at least pretend to be happy for me.” Cobb stood in the part of the hallway that served as an entrance to the living room, not quite entering the space but not quite out of it either. He kept his voice in the most calm, level tone he could muster. The last thing he wanted was to have this lead to another spat. His head hurt already and he was just so tired after the long day he had. Fighting wasn’t on his agenda.

“About what?” Arthur asked ignorantly, sitting on the couch and barely glancing up from the mug of tea or coffee or whatever the hell he was drinking this time.

“You know what,” he answered sarcastically, biting his tongue afterwards as he caught himself. “The teaching job,” Dom clarified for him anyway. Don’t snap. Arthur doesn’t like that.

“I’m happy if you’re happy, really I am.”

“Well that settles it then. I am happy.”

“Really, are you?”

Screw this. There was too much distance between himself and Arthur, literally and figuratively. So he joined him on the couch, leaning back on the arm rest opposite from Arthur. No sense in getting too close. Yet. They didn’t usually need to talk things through like this, but it appeared that now they did. Cobb’s seduction would have to wait.

“Why don’t you think so?” When Arthur didn’t answer, just sat there silently shaking his head, Dom pressed. “Come on, you can tell me. I need to know.” He was about to add in a desperate please, but then Arthur finally answered.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, I just wouldn’t expect it.”

Confused, he asked, “Why?” Dom blinked a few times.

“I always thought you would want more. Need more than a nine-to-five job and a domestic lifestyle to keep you happy. I’ve been picking up odd jobs here and there for weeks, hoping you’d want to join me, but you never said a word.”

“Neither did you,” Dom pointed out. “I didn’t realize you wanted to dream-share with me that badly.” Things are starting to make a little more sense to him.

Arthur shrugged. “I never had to say anything before. You used to jump at the chance to use your dream-sharing abilities.” He paused for a breath. “Used to want to spend time with me.” He said the last part so quietly that Dom almost wanted to ask him to repeat it. To clarify he heard him correctly, of course.

Dom’s not sure what surprised him more. That Arthur admittedly was longing to spend more time with him, or that Arthur apparently didn’t think he and Dom had been spending a lot of time together in the first place.

“We have been seeing a lot of each other,” Dom started to say very slowly. “Or at least we were before you decided not to show up half the time.”

It’s not like Dom had forced Arthur away, or told him to spend his nights anywhere else other than the Cobb home. And if Arthur had wanted to be with Dom, all he would have had to do was ask. Dom wanted to tell him this, but when he opened his mouth to speak he realized he was too scared to make the admission. His mouth closed instead as he bit on the inside of his lip.

“Because I need more than this,” Arthur said, with a vague gesture, indicating Dom’s home and his life and Dom himself with one wave of his hand. Cobb knit his eyebrows and tried his best to hide the hurt he felt at Arthur’s words. “It might be enough for you, but I can’t keep going on like this.”

“Like what?” Dom asked softly, because apparently he could be more of a masochistic than he thought.

Arthur began to recede more into the couch cushion, Dom noticed. He gripped the mug tighter in his hands until the knuckles started to turn white, then slowly placed the cup down on the table in front of him. He refused to look at Dom while he spoke. “Doing everything for you but getting nothing in return. Running errands and watching the kids and basically putting my own life on hold because I’m in love with you. But you barely even notice when I do any of that, except for when you’re drunk, apparently.”

Dom wanted to argue that last point, because he always noticed (didn’t he?), but his brain was stuck on that one phrase he’d never heard from Arthur before.

I’m in love with you.

The final piece clicked into place, but the overall puzzle was still blurry. The tension that filled the air was palpable and suffocating, at least on his end. The way Arthur spoke, he seemed to be resigned to the fact that his love was just a thing, a piece of knowledge that he’d been living with for some time, though who knows how long. Dom wished it had been made clear sooner, but then things were never that simple. Especially for them.

“How long?” Dom asked, his voice rising a few notches in intensity.

“What?”

The words felt caught in his throat. “How long have you been in love with me?” he managed.

Arthur appeared to fold in on himself as he answered, “Forever.”

“Come on, that’s not an answer,” he replied gently.

“It feels like forever.”

It is enough.

Dom closed the remaining distance between them, scooting down the couch and feeling like a teenager on a first date all over again. His mind cleared itself of all thoughts, including his work and his past and the future, in favor of taking in the man before him who suddenly looked years younger and more vulnerable than he ever realized. And all he saw in that moment was Arthur.

He reached forward to wrap a hand underneath Arthur’s chin, grazing a thumb across his bottom lip. Arthur unwittingly leaned into the touch, closing his eyes, and Dom could feel Arthur’s breath on his skin.

He ached to kiss him. It was physically painful to sit there so close, his lips only inches away from Arthur’s, and force himself to speak instead of closing that gap. But there was one more thing he needed to say first.

“You never let me explain, you know.”

Arthur’s eyes shot open. “Explain what?” he asked wearily.

“About my teaching job. It involves psychological experiments in dream-sharing, and I was going to ask for your help. It’d be something for us to do together. Like old times,” he added with the hint of a grin. “You think you’re up for it?”

Arthur nodded and his face brightened just enough for Dom to notice. “Definitely.”

He’s not sure which one of them moved first, but it never really mattered to begin with. What mattered was finally having Arthur’s lips against his own, slowly tasting and testing the boundaries of their kiss. Arthur moved teasingly slow, but Dom couldn’t hold back anymore.

He grabbed Arthur by the shirt collar and virtually dragged the other man on top of him, so that he basically had a lap full of Arthur. Dom felt hands gripping his waist as he reached forward to cup each side of Arthur’s face. As they kissed, their pace alternated between devastatingly deliberate and hungry and passionate, depending on which one of them took control.

In the end Dom had to give in, lay back and take it, as Arthur broke away from his lips and began to leave a trail of kisses down his jaw line and neck. When Arthur reached a pulse point in his throat, paying extra attention to it, Dom let out a low growl. Damn that sly bastard; somehow he knew exactly where to press in order to drive Dom crazy.

He was a few seconds away from laying Arthur out on the couch, ripping off his clothes, and having his way with him right then and there, when the doorbell rang.

Dom broke away with a low rumble, clearly a sound of frustration. Arthur just sat there nonchalantly on his lap, looking at him with flushed cheeks and grown-out bangs hanging in front of his eyes. His lower lip looked absolutely mesmerizing. He just had to lean a few more inches forward and Dom could suck it into his mouth….

The doorbell rang again.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Dom said with a huff.

Arthur sighed, but there was no grievance behind it. Instead it was a sound of amusement and playfulness. “Just go answer the door, Dom.”

“That would require you getting off my lap first.”

“Oh, right.” Now there was definitely a devilish smile on Arthur’s face. It was adorable. But then he was getting up and the warmth on top of Dom vanished.

Yes. The door.

He hadn’t invested in a peephole yet (Mal had always insisted they get one, Dom always told her he’d get around to it but he never did). Nevertheless, he couldn’t say he was surprised to see Ariadne standing there when he opened the door.

After all, it’s not like he exactly had a lot of other friends who liked to drop by for random visits. Still, not being surprised to see her and actually wanting her to be there at this exact moment were two totally different things.

“Hey,” she started out tentatively when Dom refused to say anything. “Uh, what’s up?”

“Little busy right now,” he replied hastily.

“What, is this a bad time or something? I thought Phillipa and James were at camp.”

“They are.” He hoped that short, clipped answers would give her the hint that he really didn’t want to talk right now.

No such luck.

“Well, I’ve been struggling with the thesis for this paper that’s due soon, so I was hoping you’d be able to talk it over with me.”

“Ever hear of picking up the phone?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re one to talk. You’re all about the grand gestures, popping up out of nowhere and shit. Is that you, Arthur?” she asked, suddenly changing the subject.

Sure enough, Arthur had gotten up from the couch and appeared behind Dom. He could tell by the warm hand that was now placed on the small of his back. He wasn’t sure if Ariadne could see exactly what was going on, as Dom’s presence took up most of the doorway, but with her astute observation skills he knew it wouldn’t be long before she was putting the clues together.

Especially since Dom’s shirt was un-tucked and half unbuttoned, and his hair was all askew. Arthur was also in a similar state.

“Hey, I didn’t realize you were over here too… oh.” Her face seemed to light up in realization. Dom would be amused if he wasn’t so annoyed at being interrupted.

“You know what,” she started, “The paper can wait. How about if I come back later tonight?”

Arthur was smirking behind him. “That’s probably a good idea,” he said. Thank god for his point man’s ability to form a quick response.

“I have an idea,” she said, snapping her fingers excitedly. “What time do the kids finish with camp?”

“Uh… 4:00,” Dom answered slowly. He was curious where this was going, and more than a little puzzled.

“I could pick them up for you and entertain them for a while. We could all go get ice cream or something.”

Arthur laughed, which made Dom’s stomach flip and turn in all sorts of funny directions. “Ice cream before dinner?” he asked. It wouldn’t have bothered Dom; he was used to over-indulging his kids. Uncle Arthur, however, was usually a different story.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and perked up her nose. “Do you want some alone time or not? I was just trying to help.”

Dom cut in this time before he could respond. “That’s very thoughtful of you, Ariadne. We’ll see you back here around 5:00? I’m sure Arthur would love to make us all dinner.”

She grinned. “Sounds good.”

“Good.”

And just like that, she turned around and was gone before ever really coming in. Dom pulled the door closed and barely heard it click shut before Arthur was turning him around and pinning him against the hard surface. Dom would have protested, maybe, but then Arthur’s tongue was in his mouth and any sort of objection died in his throat.

After some unknowable amount of time, Arthur pulled away and Dom was left leaning forward through the empty space, attempting to seek out his lips again. But Arthur had him good and trapped against the door, so that Dom could barely move. Damn, he was stronger than he looked, the scrawny little thing.

“Volunteering me to make dinner, huh?” Arthur asked, and it took Dom’s brain a few moments to catch up with what he just heard.

“It seemed like the logical choice,” Dom said once his head cleared up enough for him to form speech. Somehow kissing Arthur had let to him being out of breath. It was a beautiful kind of chaos. “Out of the three of us you are the best cook.”

“That’s not saying much,” Arthur pointed out.

True. But still.

“Look, is that really what you want to talk about right now? Because I could think of more than a few better things you could be doing with that mouth of yours.”

Arthur took a step closer to him. “Oh is that so?”

“Mmm,” was Dom’s only response, but he felt himself nodding. When it became clear that Arthur must be looking for a bit more direction from him, Dom continued. “Most of it would require a more comfortable surface, though.”

That did it. Arthur’s mouth was now right up against Dom’s ear and his cheek was grazing his own. He felt the rough stubble of a few days’ growth on his face and heard Arthur whisper to him. “Like a bed?”

“Ah, the brilliant Arthur finally catches on.”

“You’re the one who needs an endless amount of hints,” Arthur said, always wanting to get the last word in. He then turned and began walking in the direction of the bedroom, Dom’s bedroom, his hips sashaying subtly as he walked. An unconscious beckon for Dom to follow along.

This time, it was the only hint Dom needed.

*

Mal always said that the only thing she needed to be happy was for Dom to keep surprising her. Basically, to never ever be boring.

Needless to say, when he showed up after his return from the military stint with a younger military brat in tow, she seemed to actually be quite pleased.

Arthur and Mal took to each other right away. Cobb was sure it had something to do with the fact that Arthur spoke French to her on their first meeting, dropping “enchantée’s” and all those familiar flattering words, plus a few others that Cobb didn’t recognize.

He wanted to be jealous, but the pure look of delight on Mal’s face (Arthur’s as well) allowed him to resist those urges.

Mal worked with her father on dream-sharing experiments most of the time, while Cobb filled his days with college classes. He was going for his Master’s and unfortunately it took up most of his time. Whenever Cobb was too busy to meet up with Mal on campus, Arthur offered to spend some time with her. Knowing that his fiancée often became bored and lonely without him, Cobb agreed that it was a good idea.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long before Mal started bringing Arthur into the dream world with her. Knowing that he had some previous experience with it seemed to delight her, and Arthur didn’t seem to mind.

Once when the three of them experimented together, with Arthur being the dreamer, he saved their asses by creating a paradoxical trap that kept some rather nasty projections away. When they woke up, Mal could barely contain her excitement. Cobb wanted to ask her what the big deal was, but he bit his tongue instead.

“He’s a natural at this,” Mal told him later after Arthur had left and they were alone in their apartment.

Cobb shook his head. “You should have seen him back on the base. The layered dreams nearly made him go crazy.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Well he seems to be fine with it now.”

“Yeah, after a lot of convincing on my part. Maybe this dream-sharing technique isn’t as stable as we once thought.”

“Are you questioning our abilities?” she asked, clearly meaning herself and Miles. And it was also clear that she was starting to get annoyed.

He let out a breath. “No, that’s not what I mean at all.” He grasped her shoulders and then began to stroke down her arms in a calming gesture. “I’m just saying we should be careful with Arthur. I don’t want him losing it again.”

She paused for a moment, closing her eyes. Then she nodded to herself and opened them again. “I’ll think of something. There’s always a solution. But I’m telling you, that boy was made for creating dreams.”

There was no denying that. Despite his reservations, Arthur was nearly flawless when it came to building stable dreams. They weren’t the most creative or extraordinary, but they were most certainly real-like. In Arthur’s own version of reality, anyway, with crisp lines and all post-modern decor.

As they continued to explore their capabilities in dreaming together, it became clear that Arthur was now a permanent fixture in their lives. He was added to the wedding guest list of course, which Cobb was very grateful for on the day of the actual wedding. Arthur helped him into his tux and calmed him down when the nerves started to overtake him.

It was a small affair, mostly just their close family members attending, but it felt natural and right for Arthur to be there too. Plus he looked dashing in his own tuxedo, tailored, pressed, and complete with bow-tie.

Then Mal walked down the aisle, arm-in-arm with Miles, looking more radiant than ever. Cobb couldn't take his eyes off of her.

His world became his devotion to her, but Arthur was always there too, in the distance. He stuck around through Phillipa’s birth, surprising Cobb. But then, he wasn’t going to complain. The extra set of hands was always useful around (their first) house. It helped having Arthur around for babysitting duties as well, whenever Cobb and Mal had time and decided to go on a date by themselves.

At some point along the way, Cobb stopped wondering why Arthur did not seem to be interested in dating, or why he stuck by Cobb’s side. He had his own separate life from the Cobbs, but he didn’t talk about it much, and Dom didn’t want to pry.

He believed they were happy, the three of them (four after Phillipa came along). That’s all that mattered to him in the end.

It wasn’t until after James was born, soon after he began to talk and was just starting to become comfortable around his uncle Arthur, that Arthur finally left.

Cobb never knew why he left or what it meant, and after several shortened phone conversations with Arthur it became clear that the other man did not want to be figured out.

[ Part Four]