Jul 6, 2020
@anartificialaspidistra + @isidore13 + @nolaespoir - You are missed. You are a part of this fandom's history. You will be remembered.
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@anartificialaspidistra + @isidore13 + @nolaespoir - You are missed. You are a part of this fandom's history. You will be remembered.
The One and Only Very Special Arthur's Hot Chocolate Recipe by Eames
For @isidore13
Arthur woke up feeling dizzy and confused. Ever since Yusuf had opened the doors to the personalization of Somnacin during the inception job, every single chemist with an ounce of pride in them apparently wanted to prove their worth by creating the newest possible combination of effects… sometimes with disastrous results.
“Anya!” he called from where he was perched on the cheap chaise longue next to the PASIV, trying to keep the headache at bay. “This compound needs work, there wasn’t nearly enough stability on the second level, and the colors are off…”
“She went out shopping.” a voice interrupted him from behind a mug of something with a delicious aroma. “Whatever it is that young, inexperienced chemists go shopping for these days. Really though, darling, why would you want to work with someone so clearly out of their depth?”
“The job is a piece of cake, and she needed to understand what this life is like… don’t look at me like that, we all started somewhere. The rest of the team is not that bad. What are you doing here, Eames?”
“Rescuing you, of course.” The point man gave him such a disbelieving eye roll that the forger had to chuckle. “She let me in, which means that either she knows a lot more about us than she should or she is definitely too trustful.”
“The whole world knows more about us than you imagine. You think you are this great master of subtlety, but you are really really not.” Arthur commented almost sotto voice, holding the bridge of his nose.
“You wound me, pet” answered Eames passing the mug to the other man. “I am incredibly subtle. It took you five years to realize I was flirting.”
“It took me five years to take you seriously…” muttered Arthur taking a sip. He let his tastebuds soak in the unmistakable deliciousness and smiled. “Holy shit this is good. What is it?”
“The One and Only Very Special Arthur’s Hot Chocolate Recipe by Eames. TOaOVSAHCbE for short.”
Arthur watched the other man really hard. He appeared to be very proud. He sighed, and, wondering how his life had come to this, he smiled. “I think it needs a tiny bit of work. The name, not the recipe, that’s perfection in a mug!” he was quick to add, seeing the other man’s face falling.
Eames smiled fondly. “I highly doubt it’s because of me that everyone knows about us.”
“I’ll let you know, Mr. Eames, that I am the pinnacle of professionalism. You, on the other hand, are the one with a Twitter account that can’t seem to stop babbling about dimples and suits.”
“Petal! You follow me on Twitter?!”
“… sometimes. When I have nothing better to do. It’s not like I like it or anything.”
Arthur had the annoying sense that he was blushing, but it was always like that with Eames: he never seemed to be able to hide his feelings, even in dreams, which was part of why he had such a difficult relationship with the man in the first place. The other man kissed his forehead and caressed his cheek lightly, then moved over to the table with the sketches of the maze.
“Is this the first layer?” he asked almost nonchalantly.
“Yes. And you are not Eames.”
The man didn’t even have the time to take the gun from his holster: Arthur had already planted the muzzle of his Walther to his head and pulled the trigger.
§§§
When he woke up the headache was splitting. He hated getting shot to the head, and to do it all on his own was quite asking for it, if he was honest… but needs must. He took the cannula out of his vein and got up, reading his gun while taking stock of what was happening around him. Worst case scenario, the chemist was a trap, but he wasn’t inclined to think that way… his research was damn good. It was a lot more probable that she had been forced or tricked into something by someone else. It’s not like he or Eames lacked enemies.
Taking full advantage of the few seconds he had on the intruder, he aimed the gun at his head while standing right behind him, taking a good look at his face in hope of connecting him to some previous job. Nothing. He was definitely too young to be someone they crossed personally, so maybe a hired gun? In his pocket, the die and his cell phone, so either some very sure of himself or plain stupid gun. Probably both.
“And what do we have here, hm?” he asked the second the other man woke up. “A wannabe forger? Someone who thought they did some digging good enough to take me out?”
The other man didn’t move a muscle, looking utterly terrified. “Oh my God, I am so sorry Mr Levine, I am not here to kill you, please don’t hurt me!” He took a quick breath and continued, “Mr. Eames sent me, he said I would be able to impress you, he told me what to do and what to put in that stupid recipe and what to say and oh my God take the gun away, I swore to my mother I would be home for dinner…!”
Arthur kept the gun where it was a few seconds more, just for the hell of it. “If Eames sent you, and I am not saying I believe you, but if he did, he told you what to do to avoid my wrath. So go on. I am waiting, and I assure you I am not a patient man.”
“That is a blatant lie, Mike, don’t believe him. He already knows you are innocuous, the only thing you can do is to beg for his forgiveness.”
“Eames.” greeted Arthur re-holstering the gun, not looking away from the poor boy in front of him who looked about to faint or piss himself. “So nice of you to join us.”
Eames kissed him behind the right ear and murmured, “Cinnamon, poppet.”
Arthur visibly relaxed, sheated a hidden knife back in his left shirt sleeve and finally moved his eyes to the more experienced forger. “Seriously, is this the right time to take an intern? I am working.”
“I know, darling, but the lad is kind of gifted… I thought it would be good for him to see if he could trick you.”
“He couldn’t.” responded Arthur flatly.
“Ah, I know. But you are the best.”
“Uh… can I go home now?” said Mike from where he was, still sitting on the chair next to the PASIV, not having turned even after hearing Arthur pulling the gun away.
“But yes, Mike, of course.” answered Arthur in a perfectly amiable way. “We’ll keep in touch.”
Mike looked vaguely horrified at the idea. “No need, really. I don’t think I am cut out for this life, after all.”
Arthur glanced his way, feeling the tiniest tug of guilt for the greenish complexion the young man was sporting. Then shrugged. “If you say so.”
Reading the dismissal for what it was, Mike evaporated from his spot right out of the abandoned warehouse.
“You scared my intern away!” pouted Eames. “Do you have any idea of how hard it is to find someone with even a sliver of talent for forging?”
“He will be back.” commented Arthur. “And you ambushed me! I thought someone had sent this careless cretin after us, I wasn’t sure if I felt more confused or insulted!”
“But I was here the whole time!” grinned the other man. “I wouldn’t let anything go wrong.”
“And you supposedly ‘prepared him’ by telling him the slightly wrong recipe for Perfection in a Mug and that you have a Twitter account? Because that was hardly challenging.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be challenging for you, love, it was just a bit of harmless fun.”
“For whom? Because he didn’t seem very amused by the whole thing…” snickered Arthur. “You should apologize.”
“Maybe.” smiled the forger. “How is your head?”
“Fine.” lied the point man, then seemed to remember whom he was talking to and amended, “I mean, to think right now it’s a rather atrocious business, but this job doesn’t really require that much of my mental faculty. Although we do need to work on this abysmal compound…”
“Well, I gave your team the day off.”
“You did what?”
“I told them while you were under that I was here to sweep you off your feet, and that you needed the whole day to be properly swept. Chivalry and whatnot.” he made a vague gesture with his hand, as if that explained everything. Maybe in some ways it did.
“And of course my team believed you because…” sighed Arthur.
“You are not as unreadable as you like to believe, darling.” Eames seemed almost lackadaisical about the whole matter of their relationship being exposed to perfect strangers. “They seemed to think you needed proper sweeping, anyway.”
“I do not…”
“I know, I know.” Eames interrupted him again, “You are a statue of indifference. The pinnacle of professionalism, right? Not a soul would believe The Mighty Arthur to have feelings.” the whole speech might have sounded scathing, or hurt, wasn’t it for the fond smile on the face of the man delivering it.
“You should know I was called The Ice Man before you came along.” Arthur mock pouted. “I was feared and respected. A force to be reckoned with.”
“But you still are, sweetheart. Just more in a ‘mother bear with cubs’ kind of way.”
“Ew. So I am basically sleeping with my supposed children? That’s disgusting.”
“About that… day off? How do you feel about it?” hopefully interjected Eames.
Arthur made a great show of thinking about it for all of five seconds. “Sweep away, Mr. Eames.”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Inception (2010) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Arthur/Eames (Inception) Characters: Arthur (Inception), Eames (Inception) Additional Tags: Fluff, Tattoo Summary:
Arthur singing under his breath, and blushing — Arthur, who people may think needs to be lured, and coaxed, and cajoled — this Arthur is another surprise.
an Eames’ Stupid Cupid gift for @isidore13.
Enjoy, dear friend!
@isidore13 + @anartificialaspidistra - you ladies are deeply missed and we'll never forget you and your contribution to our inception community. we love you. rest in peace, friends.
@isidore13 - Isidore13 is the bestest ever, always there with her quick wit and ready support, boundless creativity, amazing humor, and she's so very helpful! Also, awesome.
@isidore13 - Isi is just one of the sweetest, most helpful, most caring, and most supportive people that I've ever encountered. She's always available for a virtual hug or commiseration. She is patient and kind and understanding and I adore her for it!
@isidore13 - isi, how do i become as witty and funny as you? teach me your ways! you are so great to be around!
@isidore13 and @anartificialaspidistra - missing you beyond words this inceptiversary. there is a gaping hole in this fandom and on this earth. hope you're celebrating together <3