Christmas Mornings
Dec. 25th, 2010 02:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fae_boleynFandom: Inception
Series: Three Is More Than Just Company
Pairings: Cobb/Saito, Ariadne/Arthur/Eames
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Christmas mornings in two households.
Author's Note: Merry Christmas, everyone!
A warm weight suddenly landing on top of him is Dom's first warning, but he's still not fully awake when he hears James saying in his ear, “Daddy, Daddy, wake up! It's Christmas morning!” He half-opens his eyes to see James looking at him, eyes bright and excited. Philippa is being a bit nicer about waking up Saito next to him, Dom notes with fond amusement. The kids took to having an extra part-time resident fairly well, to Dom's relief. They don't really understand what's going on between their father and Saito, but they can tell it's a good thing and their daddy's happy, so it's fine by them. Kids are wonderful that way sometimes.
With the adults of the house awake, James and Philippa waste no time dragging them downstairs to where the presents are wrapped under the tree. Eagerly, the two kids start tearing into gifts, exclaiming excitedly over them. Presents from “Santa” are mixed in with the ones from Daddy, Saito, Uncles Arthur and Eames and Aunt Ari, and even one or two from Mr. Yusuf.
“Look!” James says, holding up a stuffed dog that seems to be barking. “I told Aunt Ari I wanted a puppy, and she got me the next-best thing!”
“Remind me to thank her later,” Dom mutters to Saito, amused sarcasm in his voice. Saito smiles.
“It won't be that annoying, Dominic,” he says fondly.
“We'll see.”
But he's not really annoyed, and seeing the kids so excited makes up for any mild annoyance he might feel. After the presents are open, they head into the kitchen for chocolate-chip pancakes and hot chocolate. It's their usual Christmas tradition – Mal's idea, and continuing with it was never up for debate. Dom's surprised when, instead of using the instant pouches, Saito reaches into the back of the cupboard for honest-to-God real chocolate shavings that he's clearly stashed there, and mixes it with milk, heating the concoction up in a saucepan.
“A friend of mine, years ago, taught me to make the real thing,” Saito explains, a faint pink tinge on his cheeks – and that is a surprise on its own, because who knew Saito could blush – as he stirs. “I find that the instant simply does not compare.”
Even Dom drinks hot chocolate over coffee on Christmas morning – he's not the coffee addict that his former point man is, but close enough – and he has to agree, the instant has nothing on this. It's a good way to start what should be an even better day – Miles flew in from Paris last night and should be over soon, along with Ariadne, Arthur, and Eames – and he's looking forward to having his entire family around, blood or not.
This is the second Christmas since he's been home, but last year it was still a bit awkward, he and the kids still getting used to having each other back. Saito wasn't here either, because Dom hadn't come to terms with his growing feelings yet. This year everything's easier, it feels comfortable and happy. It feels like something he can see himself doing for years to come, and he likes that.
He kisses Saito softly when the kids run back into the living room to play with their new toys, both of them tasting like chocolate. “Thank you for being here,” he whispers against the Japanese man's lips. He knows Saito has relatives, after all – no children, and he and his wife are all but divorced, but there's a brother with three children he knows his lover adores. Saito could easily have gone there, but he's here instead.
“I would not want to be anywhere else.”
~ ~ ~
Arthur technically isn't supposed to celebrate Christmas, being Jewish and all, but most of the families he lived with celebrated it, and Dom and Mal always used to invite him over for the holidays. So he's gotten into the habit, for lack of a better way to say it. He's the first one up on Christmas morning, as usual, but he knows not to try making anything but coffee.
It's the second December that they've been together, but the electric menorah in the window still makes him smile. He's not sure which of his lovers slipped it into the holiday decorations, but he still appreciates the gesture. Its blue lights glow next to the twinkling rainbow lights of the tree, covered in a mix of bought ornaments and handmade ones. Most of the handmade ones are Ariadne's – she went through a phase when she was ten, apparently, and her mother boxed them up and shipped them from New Hampshire to California last November. They're a bit clumsy, as expected of a child's handiwork, but pretty good for all that.
Quickly, because he can hear sounds from the bedroom that tell him that at least one of the other two is up and about, he slips two small boxes deep under the tree. They contain the same thing, the only difference being the size, and there's a third in his own pocket. He keeps playing with it as if it were his red die, nerves keeping him on edge.
Eames decides to make French toast for breakfast, and Ariadne does something with warm milk and honey, pouring the resulting mixture into three mugs. “Family tradition,” she says with a shrug. Arthur sips the hot liquid cautiously, and finds that it's actually pretty good, whatever it is.
“So what time do we have to get out of here to make it to the Cobbs?” Eames asks, drizzling syrup over his French toast.
“Eleven, I'd say,” Arthur says with a shrug.
“Well, it's nine now, so we should finish up and open our gifts,” Ariadne decides. Neither man can find any reason to disagree, so that's exactly what they do. Ariadne's delighted by the collection of Hermes scarves from Arthur - “Hey, if you're going to wear them, you may as well be at the height of fashion with them,” he tells her – and raises an eyebrow when she opens a particular box from Eames.
“Who is this a gift for, exactly?”
“I thought it would be a bit of a present for all of us,” the Brit explains with a wicked smirk.
Arthur leans over to take a look. “Hmm,” is all he says.
They make short work of the gifts, and it's hardly a surprise when Eames is the one to spot the two small boxes half-hidden in the shadows under the tree. “What's this?” he says, pulling them out and handing the one with Ariadne's name to her. Arthur doesn't even realize he's holding his breath as they tug off the silvery paper to reveal a pair of velvet boxes underneath. Ariadne opens hers first, Eames a beat behind, and they both stare at the matching silver bands inside. The design's of three bands braided together. Arthur'd had a sentimental moment and thought it symbolic.
“Arthur, are you...?” Ariadne's the one who asks, looking at him. He swallows hard, pulling his own matching ring from his pocket.
“I just thought – I mean, if you two don't... We can't do anything official, but it seemed like a good idea at the time, you know?” He's made a mistake, he miscalculated...
“It's a brilliant idea,” Eames says, slipping the ring onto his left hand and leaning across to kiss Arthur softly. Ariadne follows suit, and Arthur grins, putting his own ring on.
“We should probably get ready,” he says, but the warm glow in his chest doesn't go away for the rest of the day.
Link to the next main installment: fae-boleyn.livejournal.com/12485.html
Link to the Cobb/Saito backstory: fae-boleyn.livejournal.com/13561.html
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-12-26 03:24 am (UTC)Thanks for posting. Hope your holiday is just wonderful!
-Ellie
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Date: 2010-12-26 03:31 am (UTC)My holiday was great - two of my cousins brought their little boys, so we had munchkins running around, always a good thing, in addition to general crazy family fun. I hope yours was good as well if you celebrate it. :D
no subject
Date: 2010-12-26 03:44 am (UTC)I agree, Arthur has come a long way and it makes me want to cheer that he was brave enough to do that. Yay for him!LOL
no subject
Date: 2010-12-26 03:46 am (UTC)I'm very proud of Arthur, and having him come round so much is part of why I always knew it would be him who made this particular gesture.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-26 05:33 am (UTC)Coming from a blended family: adding menorahs to Christmas decorations is awesome.
I love Saito being good with the kids, and I love the braided rings.
I hope you had a very merry Christmas! <3
no subject
Date: 2010-12-28 02:58 am (UTC)The menorah bit made sense to me, though my family's Catholic. I'd do it if I was with someone Jewish, so why wouldn't Ari and Eames?
Cobb wouldn't be with anyone who didn't like his kids, and the rings... I'm fond of them myself. ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-12-28 02:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-27 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-28 03:01 am (UTC)My triad does manage cute pretty well, yes? They're such pretty people, you see, that's what does it. ;)
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Date: 2010-12-28 03:06 am (UTC)obsessionperversionlove. <3Pretty, pretty people. <3
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Date: 2010-12-28 03:23 am (UTC)Very pretty - Ari's a lucky girl.