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mlmxreader · 9 months

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The Flirting Game | Eames x gn!reader

Anonymous asked: Eames: Hi!! Hope you're doing good 🖤! May I please request something using the following prompts for Eames X non-binary, male, or gn!Reader: "Just fucking leave it, alright?!" Thank you 🖤!! 🐍anon

summary: tensions are rising, and it's not fun for you or Eames.

tws: swearing

support your fanfic writers by reblogging what you read & enjoy

Eames hummed as he shuffled his playing cards at the table, only daring to look at you from the corner of his eye; you had been sour all day, and he couldn't pinpoint why. Your bad mood, he assumed, was just one of those days. It had to be. He couldn’t think of any reason why you would be in such an awful mood, after all.

But then, maybe it was something he had done; he thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. No, he hadn’t even spoken to you that day except a few texts here and there to check in with one another like usual. But Eames couldn’t wrap his head around it, and frowned as he looked over at you as you made yourself a cup of coffee; something was definitely wrong, as a heavy metal song he knew you loved was playing on the Bluetooth speaker connected to his phone, but you didn’t even mouth the lyrics like you usually did when you made coffee.

He furrowed his brows, you were definitely up shit’s creek and he was sure that he was holding the paddle; he used his phone to turn up the volume a little bit, but you didn’t notice. Something was absolutely wrong. He rose from his chair, letting his playing cards fall to the table before he made his way over to you, grabbing your sides like he usually did but doing his best not to hum in disappointment when you didn’t play along like usual.

“What is it?”

“Don’t fucking worry,” you huffed, brushing him off.

That wasn’t normal, either.

You never brushed Eames off, the same as he never brushed you off; you were the best of friends, always had been. You never brushed one another off - sure, you kept secrets and you had boundaries, but you never, never brushed each other off or pushed each other away. He was confused, and admittedly, a little hurt.

“Darling-”

“Just fucking leave it, alright?!” You snapped, pushing him away from you before storming off to the bedroom.

Eames frowned, wincing a little when the door slammed shut. He sighed, shaking his head as he didn’t know what the fuck he was meant to do. He didn’t know how to comfort you, he didn’t even know what was eating away at you so terribly. If he knew, maybe he could have comforted you; he knew though, that his own problems would have to wait.

Sure, Eames had been pining after you for years upon years and had wished that he had had the time to tell you how he had felt for so long - but either his work, personal shit, or your work always got in the way. Like the universe was against him and didn’t want you together as anything but friends. He sighed, resigning himself to the table and drinking your coffee. He hated it, it wasn’t made the way that he liked but he drank it anyway because he loved you enough to look past a different taste in coffee.

He sighed, going back to his cards and shuffling them as he waited and waited; it felt like years before he heard the door open again, and quiet, hesitant footsteps approached. Eames looked up when you reached the chair beside him, and he dared to smile as he cleared his throat.

“Good evening, darling.”

“I’m really sorry, dearest,” you said softly, shaking your head. “I just… a lot of shit right now.”

Eames nodded in understanding. “For all of us. It’s alright.”

You sighed, shaking your head again. “It’s not.”

“Darling,” he scoffed, shaking his head fondly as he started to lay his cards out for a game of solitaire. “I love you enough to forgive you for drinking shit coffee. I’ll forgive you for a little lashing out.”

“You’re not pissed?”

“No!” Eames almost laughed. “If you had broken my mum’s shire horse ornament, then yeah - but you didn’t. So I don’t care. A door can be replaced - you can’t.”

“Thanks…” you muttered, leaning your arms on the table. You rested your chin just below your hand as you sighed. “Can I let you in?”

He nodded, placing one card on another. “Always.”

“It’s Cobb,” you explained, “he keeps flirting with me and sending me all these really flattering and… weird, if I’m honest, messages. Like he wants to, I dunno, go on a date or something but I… shit, Eames, I can’t imagine doing something like that with anyone but…”

“But?”

“Anyone but you,” you muttered, shaking your head. “I know, I know I’m an idiot and I should probably jump at the chance to spend time with anyone else but… but you get me. You let me in, and I let you in. We’re…”

“We’re good together, darling,” Eames replied, doing very little to not sound smug. “Aren’t we?”

You nodded in agreement, daring to smile. “We are, yeah… quite honestly, I’d be fucking livid to spend my days with anyone but you.”

He grinned, nodding. “So it’s mutual… can I let you in?”

You nodded. “Always.”

“I’ve been meaning to tell you for ages,” he started, “but my work, your work, personal shit with both of us always gets in the way… but, my dearest darling, I’ve wanted to be something different to friends for so long. I told you - I said, you mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger. What if my dream’s being able to spend my years with you?”

“Then I’d tell you we need to do everything we can to make it real,” you said softly. “But, y’know, Eames, I have to admit something.”

“Go on.”

“You’re so much better at flirting than Cobb is,” you laughed, shaking your head. “Really. So, so much fucking better.”

Eames grinned as he licked his lips. “Someone like you? I always have to be on top form - can’t have someone else snatching you up, can I?”

You grinned back as you shrugged. “I guess not.”

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ecoamerica · 1 month

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youtube

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littleplasticrat · 5 months

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If someone told me in 2012 that I'd be back on this hellsite to howl about my blorbos in the year 2023 i would wonder what i'd done to deserve being trapped in limbo

#jk if you told 2012 me about this id ask if i was still obsessed with #arthur x eames #and i legit lowkey have to try not to think about them #and AND there are still thriving arthur x eames blogs ????#shine on you fucking legends #fan culture #hellsite #bg3

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thenwhatthefukcisthis · 1 month

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wait a minute.

the “darling” but was a slip/ad lib/ very well intended addition of mr. hardy, which they decided to keep in the movie so are you telling me that A) jgl didn’t even bat an eye when tom freaking hardy called him a darling ( I would’ve smiled and blushed so hard and ruined the entire scene) and B) decided, yes eames would call arthur darling two hundred percent and it would be a norm so im ?? just?? gonna ?? be?? in?? character?????

#this just dawned and im #they #them #I need a sequel #you started sth now finish it boys #inception #arthur x eames #dreamhusbands #joseph gordon levitt #tom hardy

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rivnedell · 21 days

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Fav (bro)mances

Gifs are not mine, credits fo the makers !

MCDANNO for the Universe's sake !!! Daniel 'Danno' Williams & Steve McGarrett ❤️

Obikin, Anakin & Obi Wan - Star Wars 🌌

Newtmas, Thomas & Newt - The Maze Runner 💛 come on, I mean, even the actors played it, just kiss !!

Bagginshield, Bilbo & Thorin - I mean.. 🤍 The Hobbit

Johnlock, SHERLOCK series (BBC) 🎻

Wednesday & Enid, WEDNESDAY 💜

Merthur, Merlin & Arthur - Merlin ❤️‍🔥 would you two just kiss, please

Eamthur, Arthur & Eames - Inception (C. Nolan) 🩶

Bonus

Just more McDanno bc they are simply adorable ❤️ (and so funny like an old 45 years married couple, i can't.. 🤣)

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the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf · 9 months

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You're waiting for a train...(10)

You knew?

Robert Fischer x reader

description - Y/n is left alone to be confronted with her greatest fear.

word count - 1.7k

warnings - attempted SA, attempted r*pe, offensive language, tears, major angst.

a/n - this is a very important and angsty chapter.

Previous Part Series Master list Master list

If you want to be added to the taglist - here

“You’re in a dream, honey.”

Once the words had been whispered there was no way I could take them back. Each syllable had put a target on our backs and as I saw the realisation alight in Robert’s eyes, we simultaneously felt constricting gazes begin to penetrate the three of us.

I took deep breaths, refusing the desire to turn around to meet their eyes. My hand had remained on the back of Roberts neck. It had started as a sign of comfort but as my nails gripped tighter it became a warning. ‘Don’t look at them. Look at me.’.

“Darling,” My dads voice broke through my façade and pierced a vein which released all new gushes of anxiety. “Go. Take some off our tail. Give us two minutes.” I understood my fathers request and it’s logic was sound but still I could not move. My feet were planted next to Robert’s and that’s where I needed to be. I feared for his safety more than mine. I had been under attack more times than years I’ve lived. But he had no experience of combat and his danger could mean a one way ticket down to limbo. I stroked my fingers through the hairs at the nape of his neck. This gesture was caught in my dads steely gaze and his demeanour became stern. “Now!” Upon daring to look up at him I found no room for argument.

I reluctantly left the warmth of his body to stand. I fixed my dress as if it would right everything else. I swiftly turned on my heel to leave the bar. The purposefulness of my walk was bound to attract others, as I had left my subtlety in favour for a bright red danger sign. My heels clicked down the hallway and I picked up on several presences beginning to manoeuvre in my general direction. None explicitly heading my way except one pair of footsteps which I could feel breathing on the back of my heels.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

*Arthur’s pov*

I walked beside Ariadne ready to assemble the team for the next layer. My eyes darted around on the watch for behaviour that would cause suspicion or warrant action. I also looked for Y/n.

We had reached the elevator and were waiting for it to arrive. But when I looked to my left I spotted Y/n. She was walking towards us in a manner of confidence. She didn’t blend in. She stood out. All eyes flocked to her unusual presence as she strutted down the hallway with an apparent presupposed destination.

The mark had been made aware of the dream; the projections were alert. This was not the time for anyone to be walking alone. Even Saito was with Eames. I had Ariadne. Cobb swore he’d stick with Y/n. So why did she leave? Unless she didn’t of her own volition.

I assessed her situation, analysing every eye that was solely fixed upon her. She was heading into the bathroom which seemed an unusual move. The soles of her feet picked up quicker and it seemed adrenaline spiked her blood to speed her forward in a speed out of the norm. Her body seemed desperate to remove itself from an unknown threat. I couldn’t discern the logic of any of her actions until she turned the corner to open the door.

My fist clenched but before I could move I was dragged into the now waiting elevator by a bustle of people wanting in. I loudly cursed.

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*your pov*

The heavy door pushed back against my bones, but I was forceful and nearly threw my whole body against it. I practically collapsed inside the room, stumbling in my heels which burned. My breathing quickened and I had to grip the edge of a sink to ground myself once again. There was no time. There was no time. But Dad needed time. Robert needed time. I could give them time.

My heart jumped through my bones as the familiar creak of the door sounded once again. I refused to meet his gaze in an admittance of surrender. His steps got louder until he’d gripped my arm to throw me around to face him. He slammed his pelvis into my own making my back crash into the sinks edge. I cried out feeling the burn through my muscles. My legs begged to give out but they only managed to slide around on the tiles as he gripped my other arm.

“Who do we have here, ey?” His words poured out of his mouth like slime. A build-up of saliva decorated his teeth like tinsel and formed fangs when he separated his gums. I winced in disgust as he leaned down closer to my body. He found purchase in my neck and inhaled deeply. My arms struggled fruitlessly knowing no amount of strength would ever be enough for me now. A tear dripped down my cheek over my expressionless face. It was the only way I knew.

“Not a talker.” He spat out both literally and figuratively. “Don’t matter.” He pulled me up using my elbows as handles. As limp as a ragdoll meant it was easy for him to throw me against one of the closed toilet doors. “I have a much better use for that mouth of yours.” His grin consumed his entire face.

At the throw my head thwacked back with the reverberated force and for a moment I prayed that I would not have to be awake for what was to come. But the darkness never came, and it never would. There was no way out.

I felt his grimy fingers grip my shoulders in a pushing motion. Staging my limp frame in a kneeling position. My eyes burned with tears through their tight close. He used his fingers to stretch out my cheeks, taunting me of what was about to happen. My skin ached at the movement. His thumb entered my mouth and danced across my rows of teeth. I gagged at the intrusion. “Now, now. No biting.” I resigned myself with one last influx of tears until my ducts had dried fully.

The sound of a ripping door startled the man and he barely had chance to look for the intruders before he was punched square in the eyes. He toppled down next to me and I flinched away before any of him could touch me anymore. My tears blurred my saviour but I pushed them away and I managed to catch a glimpse of Robert standing over me with a hand reached out. I fearfully took his hand and my shaking seemed to stop once we were linked. He helped me up and checked me over. He was careful with his hand placements fearing a reaction to any sudden movement. My body unconcsciously leaning towards his in search of comfort was all the confirmation he needed to wrap me up in his arms. My head relaxed onto his chest but my arms remained tightly held to my chest looking as if rigor mortis had set in. He tucked his chin on the top of my head and delivered a light kiss. No words were spoke about it. He stroked through my locks and the consistent feeling slowed my racing heart.

Through all of this, my dad was searching my attacker for weapons.

“Your daughter was just – what the fuck was that?” Robert shouted through his breathy confusion. But his arms never left my frail frame.

Without looking up from the body, my father answered. “Projections usually react to attack whatever subject is put in front of them,” He gestured up to myself and Robert looked at me and his gaze held pure anger. “Projections are actually one of the weakest parts of the dream and can only focus on one threat at a time…”

“You knew?” I whispered, raising my head from Roberts embrace. “You fucking knew.” Rage began to build up in my veins and I separated so I could stalk towards his uncaring stance.

He still would not look me in the eyes. “Did you know?” I shoved his shoulder. “Look at me. Did you fucking know?” I used both hands to childishly bang on his back in a tantrum. “LOOK AT ME!”

He spun around to meet me. He raised so he towered over me. I shrunk in this unfamiliar gaze. “Yes.” My lip shook when the tears fought to climb out once more. I’d never cried more in this short amount of time than in my whole life.

“All this time?”

His gaze seemed to soften before his next phrase. “Every single one.”

I tightened my eyes to will myself to fight on. Once they reopened, they had steeled. “And you still ordered me to go.” I scoffed at his unapologetic confidence in the face of this confession.

“You knew what projections do. And yet you still sent me away.” The lump in my throat meant the words didn’t come out easily but I fought on. “No actually.” I searched through his face which screamed of guilt. “You hoped it would happen. Well, projections can only focus on one thing at a time. Right?” He couldn’t give me a confirmation but worse, he couldn’t deny. He passed by my body which I could no longer will to move. My eyes held nothing, and the only sign of life were my quick shallow breaths and the final tear that fell.

“Mr Fischer,” Robert’s eyes remained fixed on my back even as Cobb spoke at him. He was confused by the conversation which had just transpired between father and daughter but he was sure of his deep desire to comfort the girl. I felt his eyes on me but I couldn’t let him see me like this. He didn’t deserve to be sucked into the crazy knots which were my life. I could hear my dad speak, asking Robert for a number. But nothing registered. As if they were merely acting out on a screen which I had a viewing for.

I sucked back and planted a faux smile over my dried tear tracks. I spun back around the armour of character concealing any open wounds.

“I guess we should start with room 528 and room 491.” My confidence seeped through and left my body.

Robert’s brows furrowed at my sudden demeanour change. But they more so held concern and disbelief at the appearance of contentment I was portraying.

We left the bathroom, led by my father. I felt a hand ghost against my lower back. I almost succumbed to the show of genuine comfort. But it only confirmed the worries in my heart. I stilled myself to force the decision I didn’t want to make.

After this, I will never see Robert Fischer again.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Omgggg Cobb always knew??? What did you guys think of the new chapter??

taglist: @jonsncws @h-l-vlovesvintage @theethy @fashionki11a @felicity1994 @bearchermer @idkyoutellmesmh @mimimarvelingmarvel @butterfly-lies-chase-them-away @neotanpopper @deliriouslybi @folklorde24 @thefandomdiaries07 @viarosemcmissile @noirrose21-blog @thepoeticfirefly @xoxo-gothic-girl @skeletonwrite @jellyzelek @kaylamarie306-blog

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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telling-tragedy · 1 year

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the inception + bfu crossover event not a single person asked for

#you know who you are and what you did #inception #buzzfeed unsolved #arthur inception #eames inception #arthur x eames #dream husbands #arthur/eames

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mostcheery · 2 months

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my traditional art is far less polished than my digital art, but i just finished a sketchbook for the first time in my life so i shall post it nonetheless!! have some vaguely wonky arthur and eames because they are constant brain worms for me

*note to self, learn to draw arthur...

#inception #arthur x eames #arthur and eames #traditional art #my art #most intimate thing an artist can do is show you their sketchbook

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dingdangit · 1 year

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don’t care how many times I see “go to sleep, Mr. Eames” it will get me EVERY TIME. every gifset and screencap makes me chew on the furniture again. what the fuck.

#arthur x eames #'it was ten seconds of the movie--'#to YOU #to me it's a vital scene in the secret Bonus Movie that lives in my head #linz originals

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dreamlandcreations · 2 years

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Eames masterlist

• Main Masterlist • Moodboards masterlist•

SERIES

ONE SHOTS

OTHER STUFF

Imagine being Robert’s sister and Eames falling for you on the job

Imagine catching Eames in your dreams…

weekend game: Nicknames (Prompt #727)

GIF game blurb

#eames #character masterlist #eames x reader #eames x you #inception #my stuff #my fics

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mister-eames · 3 months

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I had a dream last night that Eames dreams were like impressionist paintings. All of the strokes were very short, thick and very tightly packed together. His skies were always cloudy, a riot of various shades of white and grey, threatening a hint of a storm with splashes of purple and yellow.

Until Arthur entered his dreams one day - maybe for a practice run, maybe for fun. They were talking to each other in his dream and Eames felt something. Suddenly all of the paint strokes that made up the clouds started to seperate, moving further and further apart until you could see a sky between the strokes, a real sky. The sky was a sunset, yellow and orange and blue-purple and there were sporadic strikes of silent lightning - not violent like a storm, but gentle almost, like a pulse. It looked like a kaleidoscope. I think that is Eames' brain when he's in love. Arthur thought it was beautiful and so did I.

#i guess you could say I had a dream within a dream #it was a nice one #arthur x eames #inception

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justlikethatonecommunityepisode · 1 month

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This for arthur and eames? 🥺🥺

MY ASK BOX HAS BEEN PILING UP CUZ I HAVENT FOUND THE MOTIVATION TO DRAW RECENTLY BUT.

this one i feel like is similar to a thing i drew a while back

#hopefully you are satisfied #inception #arthur inception #eames inception #arthur x eames #my art

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thenwhatthefukcisthis · 4 months

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we can’t see the right side of eames face. we don’t know whether he’s winking with his left eye or closing both eyes with a smile.

and I love the possibility of BOTH.

the wink is mischief, unabashed flirtation, the ease of friendship, renewing love thru laughter and joy, the warmth of old memories sleeping through time and pain of years spent away.

the fond closing-both-your-eyes-with-your-smile-slowly-growing wide is holding each other in embrace. sweet promise of trying to be there for each other through boring meetings and raining bullets. silently reminder of loving someone even after all those years.

yes I love both the possibilities cause either way, eames is reminding arthur that reality is finally better for both of them than the dreams they chose to hide within.

#it’s the kick that jolts you awake #inception #arthur x eames #dreamhusbands

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mizunoir · 2 years

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Somewhere beneath the compulsive flirting, Arthur senses Eames’ warm affection. It hasn’t always been obvious. But he’s worked with Eames more often in the past eighteen months than he has before, and in that time he’s become more attuned to Eames’ frequency. [x]

It’s time for the @inceptionbigbang again! This time I had a great pleasure of drawing a cover for a fic written by @boundinshallows ❤

#dreamhusbands #inception #inception big bang #inception big bang 2022 #arthur #eames #arthur x eames #boundinshallows #mizunoir #*chants* younger dreamhusbands #YESS the tricky beginnings!! YES Arthur trying to avoid the eye contact thinking he;ll save himself from the heartbreak!!#it was so much fun;w; thank you muse!!

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the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf · 9 months

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You're waiting for a train...(9)

Mr Charles and Miss Nobody

Robert Fischer x reader

description - Ariadne pries deeper. The dreamers drop down another level. Mr Charles introduces himself.

warnings - allusions to abuse with a knife, drinking (character is of age according to the British drinking age of 18), fake kidnapping, Robert being a soft boi whilst flirting

word count - 3.5k

a/n - had a spurt of inspiration because I went to see Oppenheimer for the 2nd time today! Finally got to see it in Imax! What an experience! I took my mum and I had to persuade her to come and she was kind of just coming for me but by the end she LOVED it and we couldn't stop talking about it on the way home. It was just such a lovely memory that I got to make with my mum ❤

Previous Part Series Master list Master list

If you want to be added to the taglist - here

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*your pov*

I stood still in front of the workbench, trying to put as much space in between me and my dad as possible. Arthur hovered close to me but couldn’t bring himself to actually come over to converse with me. Ariadne approached me from behind. I jumped as she startled me. She lowered her voice and spoke her question, that she was afraid to ask.

“Do you remember your mom, after –”

“You mean after her and my dad woke up?” I nodded my head feeling the end of her question. Looking over to my father’s hunched frame where she had just come from.

“Yeah.” She softly uttered.

I braced my body against the table and threw my mind back.

“I was the first face she saw once she awoke. But the look in her eyes was so weird. There wasn’t love there. There was confusion.” I rolled into my answer with ease, as if the words had been on the tip of my tongue. “I distinctly remember I went to hug her, but she flinched. I was so hurt and I looked to my dad but he couldn’t even look me in the eye.” I punctuated the end with a repressed sob remembering that fateful day.

I was 15 years old. Dad had wanted me to watch over their bodies as they slept and as the count went down I had begun to wait so I could be there, too excited for them to wake up. Mum’s eyes blinked open first. She rolled over to gaze to the ceiling and I had crept over into her line of sight. I saw the breath hold as she met my eyes, almost afraid at the thought of my very existence. I clasped my hands to stop myself jumping onto her body in the tightest hug possible. Every time they went under without me, I felt tremendous loss. But they always came back. Always.

“As the days got longer, so did the arguments. Hours upon hours of screaming and yelling. Philippa and James would come into my bed, and I’d build forts, read stories. Anything to make them forget.”

“So, she didn’t believe in you either?” Ariadne broke through my speech.

I giggled in disbelief at my own memories. “No. She thought me to be a projection, and there’s only one thing you do with projections who you see to be a threat.” My eyes fell down to my forearm and the raised pink flesh which sliced down my arm. Ariadne followed my gaze. I bristled under her stare. My immediate response pulled down my rolled up sleeve for extra protection.

“So she thought she was still in limbo –” I ripped my jacket from the chair to my side.

“It’s not polite to pry.” I threw my jacket on with fearsome motion. “You know you don’t have to know every little detail about us. You just have to trust what we can do.” I flicked my hair out of the colour. “After this, we become nothing to you. Don’t dig the shallow grave any deeper.” I stormed off.

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“Alright bag ‘em.”

“You’re going for a ride.” Arthur and Cobb, masked, threw bags over Robert and ‘Browning’s’ heads. Before the sack could cover him Robert rushed out.

“What about the girl? From before? What will happen to her?”

“We’re leaving her, she’s no longer any use.” Fearing this meant what he thought it meant, Robert’s eyes stung.

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The two men were dragged out, the ratty sacks making them more alike to scarecrows than humans. They were thrown into the minibus but Robert continued to plead.

“We’re worth more to you alive! Do you hear me?” Cobb dribbled the sedative onto the sack, knocking him out cold.

Eames ripped off his own sack as he got out of the car, no longer disguised. Remembering, I also removed my own, no longer posing any risk to the mission.

“What’d you get?” Dad asked.

Eames struggled to catch his breath, his fearful acting becoming hard to shake off. “That boys relationship with his father is even worse than we imagined.” My shoulders slumped.

“This helps us how?” Arthur questioned whilst circling the van.

“The stronger the issues, the more powerful the catharsis.” Cobb answered on Eames’ behalf.

“How are we gonna reconcile them if they’re so estranged?” Arthur refused to let any concern be lost.

“Well, I’m working on that, aren’t I?” Eames fought back. He baffled at Arthur’s persistence.

“Work faster.” Arthur spat. I punched his shoulder from behind. He looked down towards me and mumbled out. “Sorry, Eames.”

“What was that?” Eames exaggeratedly offered his ear.

“Sorry. It’s great work.” Arthur forced out of his unwilling mouth. Eames winked at me before getting in his seat. I slowly passed Arthur by to squeeze his arm in a silent thank you. But I felt him leave my grip as quick as I had initiated it.

“The projections are closing in quick.” Arthur hurried to an open door, armed. “We gotta break out of here before we’re totally blocked in.” He threw open the door wider, offering a clear view. He raised a machine gun, aiming it high, but his shots at the projections kept falling short. And he was met with a response of bullets.

“We mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.” Eames approached brandishing an even bigger gun, belittling Arthur, and his choices. The projection was vanquished in one clean trigger pull. I rolled my eyes at their pettiness and gestured for them to hurry back to the van where I’d already taken my place. I’d deliberately sat by Robert to hold his hand. Whether this comfort was for him or me. My thumb still stroked up and down his palm.

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We pulled out of the warehouse, our survival in the hands of Yusuf. Speed was imperative to our survival. We didn’t need to kill the projections, just outrun them. Yet my pistol never left my hand.

“Now we need to shift his animosity from his father to his godfather.” Cobb stated.

“You’re gonna destroy his one positive relationship?” Ariadne rightly protested. I went to agree but the necessity was too severe.

“No, we repair his relationship with his father,” Eames jumped in. “Whilst exposing his godfather’s true nature. We should charge Fischer a lot more than Saito for this job.”

“Hoping that his godfather was actually a bad man or we just lost him someone dear to him.” I solemnly said. My thumb continuing to find solace in the hand in mine.

“Maybe we’ll just have to find him someone else.” Eames whispered for my ears only with a comforting wink my way.

“What about his security?” Arthur dragged me back to the obstacle at hand. “It’s gonna get worse as we get deeper?”

“I think we run with Mr Charles.” My dad’s tone held finality despite it’s questioning words.

“No.”

“Who’s Mr Charles?” Eames inquired, feeling out of the loop.

“Bad idea.”

“The second we get into that hotel and approach Fischer, his security is gonna be all over us.” Dad explained. “We run with Mr Charles just like we did with the Stein job.”

“And we all saw how that went.” I mumbled under my breath but I was caught by Dad who fixed me a glare which I took to mean questioning him will get me nowhere. I sunk back into my seat.

“So you’ve done it before?” Eames hopefully spoke up to assure himself.

“Yeah, and it didn’t work.” Arthur corrected. “The subject realised he was dreaming, and his subconscious tore us to pieces.” I briefly inhaled to prevent the shudder that ran down my spine.

“Excellent! But you learned a lot, right?” Eames continued to be hopeful. I could no longer sense where the sarcasm ended.

“I’m gonna need some kind of distraction.”

“No problem. How about a lovely lady I’ve used before.”

“Is it vain if I assumed you were talking about me?” I teased Eames. He laughed and I enjoyed relishing in the small moment.

“Listen to me.” Dad leant forward to warn Yusuf. “You drive carefully alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Everything down there is gonna be unstable as hell”

“Don’t jump too soon!” Arthur cautioned. “We only got one shot at the kick. We gotta make it.”

“I’ll play the music to let you know it’s coming. The rest is on you.”

The IV’s were pulled out and we each relaxed back. I inserted Robert’s making sure to take my time and to be careful. I’d hate to cause any more injury. The disjointed movement of the car made it hard but I calmed myself by the time the liquid began to enter. Each muscle untethered from it’s neighbour and each joint appeared to sink into a deeper pool, spreading at the advanced area. The feeling had nearly reached the brink of my mind so I squeezed his hand tight one last time before we both slipped under.

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LAYER TWO: THE HOTEL

My eyes blinked open with the sting of tiny needles. I braced myself on the couch I had been staged on. I felt down my body feeling the harsh material of the formal business dress. Not unlike the one I wore on top. I flexed my feet in their restrictive black heels. Shit. Me falling flat on my ass was definitely not going to draw attention.

The expansive space closed in on me as the drastic structure felt so familiar yet so unknown. The hotel taunted me. It’s wide-open lobby seemed intent on swallowing me whole. For the first time I could feel my subconscious in my brain. It throbbed from it’s discovered location.

The strings in my chest loosened upon seeing Arthur walking towards me with a cheerful disposition. I sighed at his presence with relief. I raised to join him halfway but he breezed past my frame. He joined Ariadne who had seemed to appear behind me. They conversed before striding off to the vast staircase, they walked purposefully without looking back. I struggled to decide how I felt and landed on awkwardly placing one foot one direction and then turning the other way to repeat. I startled as a hand roughly landed on my shoulder and I jumped away to meet the face of Eames.

“You saw that?” I stuttered out through an awkward smile. Self-consciously closing my arms in on myself.

“I’ve said it before, but it never stops being true.” Eames huffed out. “He’s an idiot.” With a soft smile he gently gripped my chin. I blushed at the gesture and responded by knocking into him without any true force.

“Come on, I’ve got something better.” Eames sang out, intriguing me even more. I followed him laughing at the faux spring in his step.

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I struggled to contain my laughter as Eames seduced Robert in his favourite disguise. A blonde curvy gal with two big…personalities. Eames always claimed he’d designed her based on this supermodel he once dated but his story was full of plot holes. I sipped on my martini which I stewed in in the corner of the bar, just a few feet from the two. Eames had offered me a front seat to ‘his greatest performance yet’ and it had truly lifted my spirits.

I bit my lip at Robert’s responses. They were dripping in adorable awkwardness. He couldn’t meet her eye and only managed out stutters. The sight tugged on my heart and I stopped myself from gathering him up in my arms so I could never let him go.

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“There goes Mr Charles.” Arthur jutted his head to the stride of my father who was entering the bar as well. Ariadne subtly followed his gesture, in a misled attempt to be inconspicuous.

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*your pov*

“I guess my story wasn’t to your liking.” She rose from the chair and strutted away. I could no longer contain my laugh at the shake of the hips, and a giggle burst through. Robert took notice of the noise and turned to face me as I tried to stifle my laughs. I didn’t feel the need to hide myself under his gaze so I left my smile where it was.

“I’m sorry was something amusing?” He questioned but a smile crept up his lips.

“Forgive me, I am often amused by men’s follies.” I picked up my glass to sit down at the stool next to him, which he had hurriedly pulled out at my movement.

He spun his body so he could fully face me interested in the discussion I had started. “Is it so unbelievable that a woman like that would be flirting with me?” He took my bait.

“I think it’s unbelievable that you think she was doing it for free.” I finished with a victorious sip to my martini once I heard a giggle. A genuine giggle. Free of biased or agenda.

“She’s not my type anyways.” I loudly laughed at this. A woman like that was any red blooded man’s type, and I told him so.

“I prefer women who enjoy martinis.” He nodded towards my drink and I blushed at the insinuation. But I couldn’t resist the tease.

“Who say’s I’m enjoying it.” I picked up the martini-soaked olives and slid them off the stick with my teeth. Our eyes never leaving the others.

“Well I don’t know.” He rung his hands feeling uncomfortable in this flirting territory.

“I’ll give you a hint. I’m enjoying this martini as much as I am enjoying talking to you.” I leaned in close as if we were about to exchange a secret. “And that’s a lot.” I whispered and relished in the red hue which spread across his cheeks. I didn’t want to pull back. Enjoying being able to study every inch of his face. Our mouths held the skeleton of a smile but our eyes delved deeper.

“I wondered when I was going to see you again.” The words left before his mind could keep up. I panicked upon hearing. In his eyes I saw a fight within his mind before he uttered out. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know where that came from.”

“It’s fine.” I chuckled as I was out of the woods. “The mind is a vast place. Something’s bound to slip through the gaps.” I eyed him from the side as he returned to his position.

“What’s your name?” He turned to face me once again.

“I’m…” I stripped my mind searching for an answer. “I’m nobody. Nobody anyone’s usually pleased to see anyway.” I smiled to soften my words.

“Well, Miss Nobody,” He happily played along. “I’m pleased to see you.” The full sincerity of his words floored my very being. He’d once again stolen my speech.

“Mr Fischer, pleased to see you again.” My dad hurriedly interrupted the sliver of space between us. “Rod Green from marketing.” He held out his hand and Robert refused it, angered at our conversations abrupt end. “I see you’ve met my daughter.” He gestured over to me. I shot him up a glare, in disbelief at what he’d just said. Robert suddenly sat up straighter. Leaning away from me as if to prove his innocence. I opened my mouth, but no words were formed. I simply decided to huff like a child at my Dad’s embarrassing actions.

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“Who or what is Mr Charles?” Ariadne interrogated Arthur due to his apparent dislike of the task.

“It’s a gambit designed to turn Fischer against his own subconscious.”

“And why don’t you approve?”

“Because it involves telling the mark that he’s dreaming, which involves attracting attention to us.” He explained.

“Thought Cobb said never to do that?” Ariadne became confused.

Arthur hummed in agreement. “So now you’ve realised how much time Cobb spends doing things he says never to do.” They both chuckle.

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*your pov*

I shudder as the water in Fischer’s glass tilts, ignoring it’s own gravity.

Robert silently apologised before turning to address the unusual man who had just claimed to know him and to be my dad. “I’m sorry who did you say you were?”

“Rod Green from marketing.” Cobb sat down, sandwiching Robert in between us. “But that’s not true at all, is it?”

Robert glanced at me seeking my reassurance. I was saddened it could only be an assured smile rather than a gentle touch.

“My name is Mr Charles. You remember me don’t you?” Cobb pressed as the sensitivity of time was apparent. “I’m the head of your security down here. We both are.”

Robert looked towards my young form incredulously. “Security huh? You work for the hotel?” I now felt uncomfortable in the line of questioning. I wasn’t meant to be in this position and dad had knowingly put me here.

“No, I specialise in a very specific type of security.” Dad lowered his voice. “Subconscious security.”

“you’re talking about dreams?” Robert scoffed. “Are you talking about…extraction?”

“I am here to protect you, you –” A waiter dropped his tray on the bar next to me, the liquid spilling onto my arm. I reacted to the cold liquid. Robert grabbed a napkin to dab me dry. I gave him a smile in gratefulness. I noticed my dads eyes numb and focus on a distant spot. I spun around near breaking my neck. I just managed to catch the frames of Thomas and Philippa exiting the vision. My breath quickened feeling my dads problems leak into my own. I spun back before Fischer could follow my eyes. I fixed myself onto my dads troubled expression as if willing him to pull it together. If he didn’t have time for my emotional immaturity then I certainly had no time for his. The conversations around us halted sensing my father’s unusual presence.

“Mr Fischer I’m here to protect you in the event that someone tries to access your minds through your dreams.” Cobbs continuation meant the projections relaxed themselves. “You’re not safe here.” He leaned in to pour his next words directly into his mind. “They’re coming for you.”

My unconscious body’s cheek was flushed with raindrops in the van and this meant a cascade of water shuttered on to the window in front of the three of us, startling both Robert and I.

“Strange weather isn’t it?” Dad pointed out. “You feel that?” As Robert took in his surroundings I could feel his anxiety rise so my hand found itself on his thigh to calm him.

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“What’s happening?” Ariadne panicked at the shift of the earth.

“Cobb is drawing Fischer’s attention to strangeness of the dream.” Arthur explained. “Which is making his subconscious look for the dreamer.” Arthur stilled his panic. “For me.”

“Quick, give me a kiss.” Arthur asked once many eyes were on them. Ariadne followed and they met in a soft kiss. Arthur closed his eyes and he thought of y/n. The kiss felt wrong. I mean, it felt nice, he’s a man, but it didn’t feel right.

“They’re still looking at us.” Ariadne continued to observe around her.

“Worth a shot.” Arthur teased. Ariadne sensed his intent and couldn’t help the smirk she adorned. A silence hung between the two.

“So are we gonna talk about it?”

“About what?”

“The elephant in the room. The elephant named y/n who you refuse to talk to.” Ariadne pushed Arthur’s cold shoulder. “You saw her there when we first woke but you brushed right past. And you can’t tell me it’s cause you were desperate to work with me. There’s only one reason a man treats a woman like that. I’ve seen how close you two are. So what happened?”

“Nothing happened.” Arthur tried to subdue but his lie seeped right through. Ariadne was unsatisfied and wouldn’t let it rest. Arthur relented to her persistence.

“From the first moment we met, I never agreed with her being in the field with us. Of course I couldn’t understand how Cobb, as her father, could allow her but I seemed to always be more upset with y/n. She willingly goes along with it, putting herself in danger.” Arthur hung his head and focused on his fidgeting hands. He whispered out as if afraid to believe it himself. “I sometimes worry that she does it to feel something. Feel the pain.”

“Or she’s just a girl trying to keep her family together.” Ariadne finished. She sensed the information he was leaving out. But she couldn’t let him continue with a vision of y/n clouded in red of his own making. “You know, you’re gonna need a bit more makeup to cover up your bruised ego.” She poked his cheek through her tease. Arthur relented himself to giggle at her mockery. Feeling the humour in his situation. They laughed together before rising to continue with their mission.

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*your pov*

“You feel that.” Robert’s mind woke up as world around him swirled. “You’ve actually been trained for this Mr Fischer.” The room shook and began to shake off it’s various decorations. “Pay attention to the strangeness of the weather, the shift in gravity.” I could feel Robert awaken to the reality we had created. The gravity changed around us and I wished to comfort Robert more but now anything I did remained under my dads watchful eye.

I leant into his side, placing my lips by his ear.

“You’re in a dream, honey.”

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