crack_van | The warp and the weft that hold life together by anamuan (NC-17)

Fandom: INCEPTION
Pairing: Arthur/Eames, Ariadne/Yusuf (non-explicit), Dom/Mal (past)
Length: ~ 21,400 words
Author on LJ:

anamuan;

hizashikage (fic journal)
Author Website: Fic Indices
Why this must be read: A fairly common scenario in the fandom is to have Arthur move in with Dom and the kids after Mal has died. In this particular story, Arthur is also the person who tends to deal with anything Dom can't, which is quite a bit. So it makes sense that Arthur takes an interest in Mr. Eames, Phillipa's kindergarten teacher.

Okay, all joking aside, I love Eames as a kindergarten teacher. It would be like Kindergarten Cop, massive muscles and tiny children, without the Austrian accent and the tumor jokes. Can't you just see Eames, with his riotous love of color, those broad (tattooed!) shoulders, that quirky sense of humor, that smile? Well, that's part of what attracts Arthur, although it takes him some time to admit his interest in Mr. Eames is not only because Arthur's fixated on making sure Phillipa can get into a good college someday.

But, of course, by the time Arthur's decided to go for it, Mr. Eames has put on the brakes, having discovered that Arthur is living with Cobb and his two children. Misunderstandings abound, sexual tension is rampant, and the banter definitely counts as foreplay. Plus, the kids are pretty awesome in this.

The story has so many lovely bits: Arthur managing to be charmingly insulting; Arthur's planned hostile take-over of the PTA; Eames sending notes home while showing off his knack for forgery; Phillipa being a biter (you go, girl!); Arthur making apology pancakes. And yes, there's a happy ending ... you wouldn't expect anything else, would you?

"Hello, there," says Mr. Eames when Arthur shows up outside the classroom door. "Which classroom are you looking for?" Mr. Eames sounds very cheerful and energetic--the perfect kindergarten teacher--and Arthur knows immediately that it is all a lie.

"This one," he says very firmly. "You're Mr. Eames?"

"That'd be me," Eames replies, "But I'm afraid you've got me at a loss. I thought I knew all of my students' parents, at least by sight."

Arthur gives Eames one of his shark's grins, the ones he keeps for hostile take-overs and picking up douche bags in bars. "Not a parent, exactly," he says. Eames's face closes off at the non-answer, settles into something confident and ballsy, something challenging. At this, Arthur is very pleased to note to himself that Mr. Eames is, exactly as he thought, wholly unsuited to being a teacher. He likes being right about these things. He knows because Eames is exactly his type, and his type is not appropriate for young children in the slightest. Something in Arthur has always enjoyed being able to win, liked the competition--even if the competition in question was about who could be the bigger asshole. Arthur, consequently, tends to pick guys he wouldn't feel bad about leaving in the morning.

"I'm afraid school policy doesn't allow non-family members in for these conferences," Eames says, pulling the power card already.

"Dominic Cobb's daughter, Phillipa," Arthur concedes, because he has to be in the parent-teacher meeting in order to properly assess all the ways Phillipa will need extra lessons after school to make up for the curriculum she's not learning from her so-called teacher. Arthur digs out his driver's license, passing it over. "I'm her other care-taker. The school has the paperwork." Something else shutters in Eames's face then, even as he breaks back into a broad smile. It's like watching one of those mobile billboards shift faces, pulling up a second advertisement, only it moved too fast for Arthur to figure out what Eames was selling before it was gone.

"Oh, right, of course. Why don't I show you Phillipa's desk?"

On LJ: The warp and the weft that hold life together

There's also a short time-stamp story: 1/2 Cup Sugar

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