#thanks nonnie now im writing the fic slash ficlet for number five

[mister-eames]

3/? 5. Who made the first move and what were the circumstances?6. How did Eames and Arthur first meet? Are you of the 'Met in the military' boat? I love that scenario personally but I'm also quite fond of the idea that Eames was in the dreamshare business before arthur & met him when arthur was first introduced to dreamshare so maybe arthur was green when it came to the business & wide eyed & eager to learn & didn't have all his defences up yet... & maybe that becomes a point of contention later

5. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Eames is the socially conservative one. In my head at least, he's quite reserved until he's not, and not a born risk-taker - that being said, I imagine Eames makes the first move in a burst of anger/worry/concern. It's a risk he takes because his he's played it safe and now his hand is forced.

Maybe he and Arthur are in a getaway car, speeding away from a job gone south and when it comes to Arthur he's not suave, he's raw and craggy and he's so mad about something and there Arthur is, slouched in the passenger seat, casually typing away at his phone with one hand while the other is bleeding and broken and Eames just can't stop talking. Somehow, Arthur is the one injured but it's Eames who feels like he has an open wound that wont stop festering. They start bickering as soon as the car starts. It grows more heated and eventually Eames sees red, swerves the car and pulls over onto the side of the road. They get out of the car and get real close to each other and start yelling. Fingers are pointed and low-blow insults are hurled, they get physical and start to push and grapple with each other, until Eames takes Arthur by the hips and shoves him hard against the car, pinning him there. He still can't shut up, still in survival mode, and now he's saying things like you're the most irresponsible person I've ever met, look at you, and Arthurs like, that's rich coming from someone like you, and Eames is seething, says, I should have left you behind, and Arthur is like, yeah well why didn't you, asshole, and boom, before you know it their bodies are pressed together and harshly cupping each other by the back of the neck as if they might shake apart otherwise, foreheads pressed together, sharing breath and Eames whispers because I can't, I fucking can't and the Arthur replies, voice shredded, I know, I know because he does know that neither of them ever could, and suddenly they're dropping their gazes at each others lips, inching closer together without realising and ---

6. Okay okay okay as a reader I LOVE 'met in the military AUs', love that sense of history, that connection they share - but I also LOVE the idea they met in different circumstances too. What is so amazing about all these characters and fandom is the different castles we build on the canon breadcrumbs we are given.

It's always stuck out and been very telling to me that Arthur in the film refers to Eames as a thief first, instead of a forger. Like. They're about to attempt Inception, an 'impossible' dreamshare feat and Cobb mentions Eames' name to bring on board. Straight up, Arthur says try someone else, there are plenty of good thieves - not there are plenty of good forgers. To me, that says Eames', when it comes to Arthur in a professional capacity, has been one overwhelmingly who steals either from them or for them, and his capacity as a forger is only an afterthought.

One of my favourite fics ever that illustrates this is The Material Life of the Californian Suburb by eleveninches where Arthur is just a normal dude and returns to a perfectly normal life after the Fischer job and converts Eames into domesticity/legality. It's so fucking sweet and funny and perfectly believable to me. This pretty much aligns with one of my ultimate fave origins for them - I think Eames had dipped his toes into dreamshare before Arthur, but I think they met via Eames's other line of business first. I actually have a WIP about this where Eames stole a PASIV from the Cobbs with an intent to sell it, came across where Arthur is working in a coin laundry and stashed it there momentarily ---and the rest is history etc etc. One day I might finish it 😂