A Higher Law Chapter 2 - I Run To You
Mar. 27th, 2011 10:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Fandom: Inception
Series: Three Is More Than Just Company
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur/Eames
Summary: Just because there's no way for the three of them to get married outside a dream doesn't mean they can't thwart the system.
Author's Note: A fill for this Round 7 prompt: They can't all three be legally married, so they decide to sneakily get married in twos in different countries (e.g. Arthur/Eames in Canada, Arthur/Ariadne in France, Ariadne/Eames in the U.S., you get the idea). Let's see their three marriages, and one in a dream for all three.
A/N 2: Oh my God, I am so sorry. This fic has been kicking my ass since I started writing it. It's very hard to write about weddings when you're the sort of girl who never imagined her own. Ah well. Hopefully things go better from here.
Here are the wedding party outfits; bride, groom, flower girl, and ring bearer
This world keeps spinning faster
Into a new disaster
So I run to you
I run to you baby
And when it all starts coming undone
Baby you're the only one I run to
I run to you – I Run To You, Lady Antebellum
Ariadne's liked New York since the day her family came up to see The Lion King on Broadway. At one time, she'd even thought that she would live here, working for an architectural firm and living in a SoHo loft or something like that. When she was still a student, she'd been looking at the firms out here, planning to apply to them. Since Arthur likes the city even more than she does, it makes sense for them to have their wedding here. It feels right, especially as they'd both wanted to live here one day, but dreaming had changed that for both of them.
She doesn't regret it. Cobb had, probably out of guilt, encouraged her to at least consider a normal life, but after inception she'd been hooked. At first she'd thought it was the thrill of it all, but now she knows it was always more. It had been the fact that the people who offered her a place in the dreaming business more permanently had been Arthur and Eames. They'd been strangers at the time, but even then there'd been a connection.
Dreaming brought them together, and she is happier than she would have ever thought possible. It feels strange to be getting married, maybe because it technically doesn't count. It's Ariadne Sharpe getting married and not Ariadne Regan. She hadn't been the kind of girl to daydream about her future wedding, but she certainly hadn't expect to marry under a fake name. It just takes a minute for her to wrap her head around that, especially looking in the mirror.
At least it's only a fake last name. They decided on that together, even though it's riskier that way. It means more, somehow, to do this with their actual first names.
She and Arthur decided ahead of time that they wanted things to be simple, and her dress reflects that. It's a sleek white gown, the skirt flared but without an actual train. At her waist there's a gold ribbon held together by a crystal-studded metal clip. Her hair is in a simple upsweep, with little sparkling pins in it that catch the light, and she's wearing a silver locket that belonged to her grandmother.
It's the first time in years that she's not carrying her grandfather's bishop, now her totem, but it's sitting on the vanity table in front of her, and she picks it up, its familiar smooth metal against her fingertips. She wishes her family could come for this wedding today and for the upcoming ceremony with Eames in Paris, but more than anything she wishes her grandfather could be here.
Shaking off that thought, Ariadne glances around the room. It's part of the large apartment above Saito's teahouse/restaurant, which he inherited from his mother, Sayuri. This apartment was her home, and after Saito insisted that she and Arthur have their ceremony here, he offered her the use of this room to get ready. Their plans to keep things entirely simple, just signing the required papers and then having a small celebration, have been completely derailed by Cobb and Saito, and she has a feeling this pattern will only continue. But that's all right.
“Aunt Ari, are you ready?” It's Philippa sticking her head in the door. Originally, the plans Ariadne, Arthur, and Eames made were basic. Just do the courthouse thing, sign papers, have a fancy dinner to celebrate, and save anything elaborate for the dream ceremony. But no one else is letting them do that, and it's impossible to start arguing now. Especially when it's clear that both Philippa and James are beyond thrilled to be in a real wedding; Arthur is James' godfather and has been Philippa's honorary uncle since she was born, so with their dad as a witness it was never in question that they'd get to be involved.
“Yeah, I think so,” Ariadne says, smiling at the girl.
“Good,” another voice pipes up behind Philippa. James peers around his sister, giving Ariadne a bright smile that shows off the fact that he's lost two teeth. (She knows it's this because apparently he's been doing that all week, according to an amused Cobb.) “I told my uncles, if they're not nice to you, when I grow up I can marry you instead.” He looks so serious, in his miniature tux, and Ariadne can't help but smile and bend down to kiss his cheek.
“That's sweet of you, James.”
Ariadne turns back to the mirror one last time, her eyes still bright with amusement. As she does so, she can't help thinking back, all the way back to the Fischer job, before she would ever have seen any of this coming.
Cobb is the one who tells her she needs to practice dying in dreams, and he's also the one who takes her under for that particular experience. She's not happy with him about that, not at all, but it's not like she has a choice. Or rather, she had a choice, but she's already made it. She's decided to stay, and there's obviously parts of that choice that she won't like but has to deal with.
After the seventh time, she wakes up pale and shaking, and feels like she might be sick if she has to do this one more time. Cobb opens his mouth, probably to tell Arthur to put them under again, but the other man shakes his head. He and Cobb argue – it's definitely arguing even though they're speaking in hushed voices – and then Cobb storms off, Yusuf raising his eyebrows as the passing blond nearly knocks over one of his test tubes.
Ariadne looks down at her hands, trying to calm down, and only looks back up when she feels a warm hand on her shoulder. She looks up into Arthur's concerned dark eyes. “Come on. Why don't we go out for a bit?”
She hates feeling like he might be patronizing her, but the chance to get out of there for a while is too alluring for her pride to win out over it. So she follows Arthur out of the warehouse and down two blocks to a coffeeshop. She doesn't order a latte even though this shop makes great ones; instead she gets tea to settle her stomach. “Is it always going to be this bad?” she asks when Arthur sits across from her, black coffee in hand. “And how can you drink it like that?”
Arthur sighs, running a hand through his hair and mussing the carefully-gelled style of it. “I wish I could say it does, but... I'm not sure being able to react to a violent death calmly is a good thing. But if that's what you meant, yeah, it gets easier.” His lips quirk in a slight smile. “If you want the truth, I hate black coffee, but it keeps me awake, so on the job it's all I drink.”
Ariadne shakes her head. “That's crazy. Why make yourself mainline something you don't like – and don't deny it, you may as well have an IV drip of coffee at the rate you go,” she said mock-sternly. In the sunlight, talking like this with a coworker she's starting to consider a friend (and if she's honest, his being so easy on the eyes isn't hurting either), the dreams are starting to feel like just that, intangible and far away.
Back in the moment, Ariadne smiles at her reflection before turning and leaving the room.
~ ~ ~
Arthur's alone, trying not to fidget or adjust his tie. He knows he's put together neatly, he's very good at that. But he is nervous. It's silly, really, there's no need for wedding jitters when this is more a formality than anything else. He's torn between wishing Eames were in the room and being glad he's not – the teasing would either be exactly what Arthur needs or too much right now.
The reason Eames isn't there is because even though it's Arthur and Ariadne getting married today, since the relationship is really the three of them, that whole idea about seeing the bride before the wedding being bad luck is in play. Cobb was the one who brought it up, teasingly, and it had stuck in all their heads, so no third member of the triad lingering around either half of the marrying duo for any of these. As Ariadne says, they don't need to tempt fate, even if superstition is ridiculous. Which it is, Arthur knows. But it doesn't hurt to pander to it. Or something like that.
Arthur shakes his head and only just stops himself from running a hand through his hair. He doesn't gel it back nearly as often as he used to, and so sometimes he forgets about it. Today it's slicked back, though, so he resists the temptation. Instead he gives in to the urge to adjust his dark gold waistcoat and smooth his black jacket, even though there's no wrinkles and the waistcoat already sits perfectly.
He happens to catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror as he looks up, and he can't help a wry smile at the sight of his reflection. He's getting married. Or rather, Arthur Carmichael is, but that's not really the point. The point is that he would never have predicted this as part of his future. When he was younger the reasons were more cynical, rooted in his trust issues. Once he joined DESI, and then dreamsharing, it had been more a matter of practicality. His life didn't work with romance.
The plans of mice and men... Ane he couldn't be happier to be wrong. Usually that's something Arthur hates, but not right now. Not when being wrong is a hell of a lot better than being right.
~ ~ ~
“Hey, Arthur, is everything all right?”
Miami is less than a month old, and Arthur's been working on trying to be more open. It's not easy for him, but with Ariadne looking at him and obviously worried, it feels just a little easier. “Yeah, I'm just... My mom's death, it's the anniversary. It started everything, and I guess it all just comes flooding back.”
Ariadne sits next to him on the couch, curling close like she does when they sleep at night. “You know, you don't have to keep it bottled up. We're both here for you, and I'm here right now, if you want to talk.”
Arthur's silent for a long moment, because while part of him would rather not talk about this, would rather keep his wounds under wraps, another part wants to talk. He lets his head fall against the back of the couch, looking at the ceiling but not really seeing it at all.
“Her name was Miranda. I... I look like her, I guess, which I prefer, really. I wouldn't want to look like him. Except for the eyes. I don't have her eyes. I'm glad, I don't know if I could look myself in the face if I did. She met my father at college, she was a theater major, but once she married him he wouldn't let her act, or do anything except stay home and take care of me. She didn't... She didn't hate him for it, which I still don't understand.”
“Is that why you liked theater when you were a teenager? Because she was an actress?”
“I don't know. Maybe. But she was... She was amazing, I can't even explain it. She could make me laugh and feel safe even when my dad was on one of his drunken spirals, when he could almost have scared me to death.” Arthur pauses, then looks down, right into Ariadne's eyes. “She'd have liked you, you know. And probably been furious with me over the way I kept pushing you guys away, all this time. She never believed in that, even when I was little I knew because she told me that she thought the most important thing was love. If you found people you cared about, you were supposed to stick by them.”
Ariadne takes his hand, lacing their fingers together. “I think I would have liked your mother too.”
~ ~ ~
Arthur smiles to himself, and then glances at the clock. All right, if he doesn't get a move on he's going to be late.
~ ~ ~
The vows are pretty basic, the generic ones that anyone can see on the wedding episodes of various television shows. Ariadne cares about them, but what's more important to her is looking into Arthur's eyes when she's saying them, and feeling Eames' warm gaze on the both of them. It's the first in a series of moments, and that's the important thing. As for what she's saying, she's almost unaware of it.
For Arthur, the words are more important because, common as they are, he means every one. He keeps his promises, it's the one rule he has held himself to even when he breaks other ones, and so to him the words are part of that. But he too is more aware of Ariadne's hand in his, of their lover standing only a few feet to the right of him, than he is of the precise words. The meaning is what matters.
This is about the two of them, though. It's about the fact that even though Dom introduced Ariadne to dreamshare, it's Arthur who really taught her what she could do, who started opening doors for her, and the bond forged from that. And about Ariadne showing Arthur how to laugh again, to relax and to trust.
~ ~ ~
There's guitar music in the apartment again, something which Ariadne's gotten used to, especially in the months following Arthur and Eames being kidnapped. Eames isn't back yet – his coat is still missing from the closet – but clearly Arthur is, so Ariadne hangs up her coat and walks back to the bedroom. Sure enough, Arthur's sitting on the bed, that intense focus of his all turned on his old guitar.
“That's a pretty song. A new one?” she asks him, leaning against the doorframe. Arthur looks up, startled, but then grins.
“Actually, yes. I'm surprised you could tell, though. I've been informed that without lyrics songs sound much the same.” He does a horrible imitation of a British accent and she laughs, but he's quick to add, “That was supposed to be Welsh.”
“Who do you know from Wales?”
“My friend Ianto. But he is ridiculously tonedeaf, so he doesn't count.”
Ariadne laughs, and then sits next to him on the bed. “Hey, do you think you could teach me? I always wanted to learn to play, but I never had the time. I played the flute and I was terrible, but maybe the guitar will be different?”
Arthur grins again. “Well, it's worth a shot.”
It's not different. Ariadne can tell when a song is right or wrong, but apparently her musical ability ends there. She already knows she can't sing, but apparently she can't play the guitar even when she's just trying to mimic someone who can. Finally she flops onto her back, lying across the bed, and shakes her head. “This is ridiculous,” she informs the ceiling, laughing a little. “I mean, wow. I'm just hopeless, aren't I?”
Arthur falls back next to her. “I wouldn't say that.”
“Stop lying, point man. You know I was horrible.”
“Well... Maybe a little.”
Ariadne whacks him with a pillow. “You're not supposed to agree!”
“I... What? Oh, you know what, forget it.” He smacks her with his own pillow, which sets off a pillow fight that nearly results in destroying the bedroom, and ends with them sprawled out on the floor laughing like a pair of idiots.
~ ~ ~
They keep the kiss quick and chaste, since both of them are aware of the fact that they're in public. Eames teases them, of course, an arm around each of their shoulders. “You two really shouldn't be so shy, you know.” Ariadne and Arthur exchange a look in which they are agreed that they will get their revenge for this later.
But Ariadne has a question to ask first, and she slips away to a pair of guests she hadn't expected to see. Cobb, Saito, the kids, she'd known they'd be there, but Percy and Maggie? “Oh my God, what are you two doing here?” she says, even as she flings herself at them and they all hug in a very awkward three-person puppy pile.
“Arthur called us,” Percy explains. “He thought you'd want us to be here.”
Maggie smirks. “All I can say is, looks like you catching that bouquet was really fitting.”
They don't bring up the fact that the last names mentioned in the ceremony are not what Ariadne has used her whole life or the one Arthur mentioned when he introduced himself months before. She knows that they have to suspect something, but the fact that they're here means that they don't mind. They think it's more important that she's happy, and having some of her family here...
Well, it's no surprise that she suddenly interrupts Arthur's conversation with Saito to pull him down into a very not-chaste kiss. Dom will probably complain about the sight burning into his kids' retinas or something, but she really couldn't care less, not when Arthur knew just what it was she had been missing today, and found a way to solve it.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-28 03:14 am (UTC)I also liked the visual aides for seeing how the wedding party is dressed. And it was nice of Arthur to think of including some of Ari's family in this ceremony.
Can't wait to read more from this fic.:) Thanks for posting.
-Ellie
no subject
Date: 2011-03-28 03:37 am (UTC)Glad you liked it. I did a huge pic search to help me visualize, so I thought it would be nice to share.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-28 03:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-28 03:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-28 03:38 am (UTC)Appropriate icon is for once appropriate on this journal. ;)
no subject
Date: 2011-06-02 12:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-02 01:00 am (UTC)I will try to do something for those puppy dog eyes.