And Try to Keep It All the Year, by and_backagain, PG

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

Fandom: INCEPTION
Title: And Try to Keep It All the Year
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Length: 21,000
Author on LJ: and_backagain
Author Website: fic tags on author's journal
Why this must be read: Yesterday I recced a fic wherein Eames converts to Judaism for Arthur. Since JGL is Jewish, Inception fandom often tends to make Arthur Jewish as well. This fic was written for a kink meme prompt that asked for a subversion of this trope, and a real one: fic wherein Arthur is the son of Santa Claus.

The brilliant and_backagain takes what could have been a silly crackfic and handles it seriously, and the results are amazing. Not only do Arthur and Eames have perfect chemistry here (with easy, elegant banter straight out of vintage comedy), but you believe in their love as much as you believe in the obstacles that stand in their way. Arthur's conflicted attitude towards the Christmas tradition is heartbreakingly real in a way that will hit home for a lot of people, and you feel so deeply for him that it makes this fic about much more than just Christmas. One of my favorite AUs ever, one of my favorite Arthur/Eames fics, and a superlative example of why I love Inception fandom.

On the walk back to his apartment Arthur is accosted by snow drifts, below freezing temperatures, and a remarkable (and distinctly unpleasant) number of Christmas lights. They top every lamppost, they hang from every awning, they line every window sill. He thinks vicious thoughts in their general direction about electric bills and dying polar bears, and bears into the wind with his head down.

This is probably why, within a block of his apartment, he runs into a solid warmth which turns out to be someone’s chest.

“Jesus, I’m so sorry,” Arthur says, scrambling to pick up his hard won purchases from the sidewalk.

“No need to apologize,” a voice assures him in the kind of British accent Arthur will absolutely never admit to fantasizing about. “There’s a drive to get home in this kind of weather. I’m feeling it myself at the moment.”

The man with the not-at-all-worthy-of-note accent is tall, broad-shouldered, and has a faint hint of stubble that Arthur’s eyes catch on for longer than he’s really willing to think about. He is also dressed head-to-toe in Victorian costume, and is carrying a folder of sheet music.

“Oh God,” Arthur says before he can stop himself, “you’re one of them.”

“Sorry?” The man asks, one corner of his mouth tilting up.

“You-- God, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to make it sound like you were, you know, a leper or something-- but you sing carols in parks or whatever, don’t you?”

“Guilty as charged,” the man agrees. “I had no idea it was such a terrible thing to know the lyrics to ‘Good King Wenceslas.’”

“Oh God,” Arthur says again, because it’s cold and he’s tired and it’s incredibly unfair that this gorgeous British man with the amused eyes is a Christmas person. “You love it, don’t you? You love the whole schtick, all of it. You love eggnog and chopping down your own tree and cheesy television specials and all of it.”

“I’m afraid so,” the man says, and now he’s definitely smiling, which is proving difficult for Arthur to cope with.

“Well,” he manages, “well that’s-- that’s great. You just enjoy your month of serenading passersby and I will try to get home without running into anyone else.”

“And deprive the rest of Chicago of your delightful and inexplicable anti-Christmas musings? Nonsense. I insist you run into as many people as you possibly can,” the man says. “My name is Eames, by the way. Come get a drink with me and tell me why you are shriveled and dead inside.”

“Arthur,” Arthur says and then, against the screeching of his better judgment, “and a drink would be nice.”

The bar is so thoroughly decorated that it’s actually difficult to spot the stools amidst all of the tinsel, but Arthur is almost, almost infatuated enough by the end of the night that he doesn’t notice.

And Try to Keep It All the Year

Comments

[and-backagain.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh, I just saw this and it is. So. So so so. NICE.

I just, "nice" gets a bad rap, okay, people think it is a bland word or whatever, but nice for me is just all warm fuzzies and unsolicited kindness to other humans and THAT IS WHAT THIS IS, it is so nice, I am all aflutter and probably not making any sense (woe!) that is how nice it is. Help, what do I saaaaaay? :/ :/ :/

Really though, really thank you so much for the rec. I still get wide-eyed at the thought of someone with such fabulous taste liking anything of mine, let alone to have my fic keeping company with the stuff I see that you recced for the month (also, EXCITEMENT, I have not read some of them—fandom nostalgia, ahoy, I should get on that!) and to have you say such lovely things about it. I still remember realizing halfway through writing the darn thing that it had taken some kind of turn for the serious and that the premise 'GUYS ARTHUR'S DAD IS SANTA CLAUS' was now carrying me to places I...was not expecting, and that people (including your wonderful self) were still reading and basically I just swooned out of shock. SHOCK AND LOVE.

So-o...this is just a really long comment to say thanks for the rec? Ahahaha. But thanks A LOT, in case that was not clear.

(Also: hi! :D)

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

haha, oh, man, you are so, so welcome! I can't state clearly enough that I love ALL of your inception fics--they are 100% charming and well-written and fun and I love rereading them. it's just that this one is so surprising and unconventional, and you took such care in finishing it to everyone's satisfaction, and I remember reading one of the updates on a plane just after Christmas and tearing up wildly all over the cabin, lol, and it was just such a pleasure from start to finish. :D So THANK YOU for writing it. ♥! I hope very much we're in a fandom together again one day. :)

(And hi! :D)