Dream a Little Dream (Inception: Arthur/Dom) For Me

Extended Arthur Epilogue

So I found this floating around in an old file, and I just had to post it. I guess I thought that Arthur and Alexia's relationship needed a little bit more :) Enjoy the surprise!

“Did you wake up Zoey?”

            Arthur stared at me blankly, and I threw a pillow at him from my spot on the bed. “Arthur! She’s going to kill us!”

            “I forgot! How much time does she need anyways? It’s only school,” Arthur protested, holding up his hands defensively. I thought about letting him off the hook, but then I saw the tell-tale smirk start to appear, and I growled, leaping off the bed at him. He caught me around the waist as I smacked at him. “Okay! Okay! I’ll go wake her up!”

            He wandered out of the room, still in his pajama pants with his hair all ruffled up. I grinned at the back of his head and sat back down. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have this man loving me day in and day out, despite all my flaws. We’d been married, yes, but the spark had not gone away. Our love was something that I never doubted, and I never had to wonder if I made the right choice, because I knew that Arthur would never stop loving me.

            “Alex,” Arthur called. “Where’s my old Harvard sweater? No bullshit, truth. Did you throw it out?”

            I rolled onto my stomach, trying not to laugh. The sweater was hidden under the bed – it was a terrible, ratty old thing that Arthur refused to replace or get rid of – but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Truth, I’m not telling.”

            He poked his head back in, scowling at me. “You can’t do that.”

            “You’re the truth master now, huh?”

            “Truth master,” Zoey repeated, running into our room. She leaped onto our bed, giggling. Arthur joined us, play tickling our daughter. She laughed and I gazed down at her with love and wonder. She was the picture of Arthur, and she was beautiful. Long, curly dark hair that was almost black like Arthur’s, and warm brown eyes like his as well. She had my nose and lips, but the rest of her was all Arthur. “I’m going to be late for school again.”

            “I told you,” I said to Arthur. I smoothed down our daughters hair. “Come on, no lazying about then. Let’s get you dressed.”

            “I’ll get my own clothes,” Zoey declared and raced out before mom could possibly embarrass her with a terrible clothing choice. I made a face at the door.

            “I’m fashionable!”

            “Of course, honey,” Arthur said, but he was trying not to laugh. “Now, about that sweater…”

            I shrugged, starting to smile again. Arthur’s attempt not to laugh turned into a full smirk, and he leapt at me. He crawled over me and began slowly kissing my neck and jaw, teasing me. I tried to kiss him, but he wouldn’t let me. “Arthur, come on.”

            “Sweater.”

            “Mm…no,” I whispered in his ear. I dug my fingers into his shoulders and felt his muscles tense up. He pulled away and I groaned. I reached for him, but he shook his head. I switched back to my straight face, and he did the same, both of us staring each other down. Just when I thought I had won, my lip twitched and he clapped.

            “Under the bed!”

            He dove down and retrieved the sweater. He grinned at me triumphantly. “You can’t keep me from it, Alexia. Nice try.”

            I crawled over to him, fingering the bottom of his shirt. “I’ll hide it better next time. Or maybe I’ll just wear it, and then you’ll never get it back.”

            “Flirt,” he murmured. He kissed me gently but quickly, knowing that our daughter needed to be taken to school and would probably be back in the room in a matter of a minute or so. “I’ll take Zoey to school, then I’m going to go to a consulting appointment. Alright?”

            “Lunch?” I asked.

            “Yes. Definitely. I’ll see you at the usual place,” he kissed me again, then ran out. I fell back on the pillows and sighed. I had gotten so lucky.

            A few hours later I was outside of the Met with a bag full of food from a café that we loved. I sat on the steps, enjoying the warm, fall climate. My sundress moved around my knees, but I stilled the movement with my hand. I pulled the sandwiches out and placed them on a blanket carefully, making sure that everything looked nice.

            “Alexia?”

            I looked up and caught sight of Richard. He gazed down at me with those brilliant blue eyes, and for a moment I remembered how I use to love them and thought that when we were married, our children would have blue eyes and black hair like him. It hadn’t been a realistic dream. I hadn’t loved him. But even still, seeing my ex-fiancee was odd. I should’ve known I’d run into him eventually. He was usually in New York, after all.

            I got to my feet and hugged him. He returned it stiffly, which wasn’t surprising. “Richard, it’s so good to see you. How are you?”

            “I am fine, thank you. And you…are married now? To Arthur, I presume?”

            “Yes,” I said, withdrawing my hand. My ring had been digging into his neck. “I’m married to Arthur. He’ll be here any time, I’m sure he’ll want to say hello.”

            “No, I really can’t stay. But…I am glad to see that you’re happy. Really. Even after everything.”

            “Richard,” I responded, touched. He didn’t express sentiments like that usually, and I hadn’t expected this. I had expected scorned lover, but this was caring friend. It suited him. “Well. Thank you. Maybe I’ll run into you another time.”

            “Bye, slut,” he said, tossing Chandler’s nickname for me over his shoulder. I would’ve been offended if I hadn’t known that he was attempting a joke. I waved at his back and watched until he disappeared into the crowd. I hadn’t even had the chance to sit down when Arthur appeared. He wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my temple.

            “Hey, you. You alright?”

            “Better than alright. I’m perfect.”

            And I really meant it.