A/N: My first fanfiction for Inception. Feel free to leave any comments in a review. Constructive criticism appreciated!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inception.
One.
Five months is one hundred and fifty days. In one hundred and fifty days, there is three thousand and six hundred hours. That's two hundred and sixteen thousand minutes, which makes for twelve million, ninety-six hundred thousand seconds. Time never seems like much until you start to break it down. And twelve million ninety-six hundred thousand seconds? Just imagine how much time that would be in dream time.
It took Ariadne that much time to give up hopes of ever having an experience like the Fischer job again. She resigned herself to finishing her degree and resuming a normal life.
It's been two years now. She's thought a lot about everyone since they attempted inception.
She reads about Saito sometimes in the newspapers. Business seems to be going really well. She hoped that Cobb was finally reunited with his kids. He better not leave them again, or she swore she would kill him. Yusuf and Eames were probably enjoying life down in Mombasa, with Yusuf giving others the dream-sharing experience. She could see Eames at a bar, trying to charm his way into a woman's pants. And Arthur.. She couldn't even imagine what he was doing. Whatever he was doing, his appearance would be immaculate. His hair would be slicked back and he would have one of his three-piece suits on. His tie would be a solid maroon against a crisp white dress shirt.
"Ariadne?" called her boyfriend. Fiancé, she corrected herself.
"Yes?" she said.
"You need to get ready for the party," Jared said.
"Some party," Ariadne muttered as she stepped inside and off the balcony. She already knew what she was going to wear. She was going to wear a gorgeous red dress that cut off at about mid-thigh. There were two straps and this other part of the dress that wraps around, and it was one of the most expensive dresses she's ever owned. Along the dress, she put on some black stilettos and pearl earrings that her grandma gave her. Ariadne wasn't too fond of makeup. Most days she didn't even wear any, but today was an important business party full of rich business people. She dabbed on her concealer and added some mascara. She applied a pale pink lipstick, and she was done.
"Ready, darling?" Jared asked. He held out his arm for her to grab. It annoyed her slightly when she heard the term "darling". It reminded her of Eames, that suave British forger. She pasted a smile on her face and took his arm. Her engagement ring glimmered in the light. She was instantly reminded that once they were married, she would have to go to boring business events with Jared all the time.
She was starting to wonder if she wanted to do this for the rest of her life. She was starting to question whether she truly loved Jared, or if she said yes because she had felt a sense of obligation. She was starting to have doubts about her life.
Was she truly happy?
Ariadne listened to the hum of polite conversations. She excused herself from the current discussion about oil prices, or whatever they were talking about. She found the women at the party dull and lifeless. They were mostly, if not all, trophy wives. Didn't they have hopes and dreams of their own? Ariadne supposed they did, but wherever they were, they were squashed down into a pretty little package and put away in a deep crevice somewhere in their brains.
There was a tap on her shoulder.
"Hello, Ariadne," said a familiar voice. Her mood brightened a little at the prospect of having an interesting conversation.
"Saito!" she exclaimed. A few curious looks were shot their way because of the sudden loudness.
In a lot lower voice, Ariadne asked, "How's the business going?"
"More than fine since Fischer dissolved the company," Saito replied. Ariadne frowned slightly.
"He's doing fine," Saito assured her, "I've heard that he's starting his own chain of hotels in the States."
"That's good," Ariadne said with relief. She had always been worried that they might have ruined Fischer's life. It seemed that the others had no qualms about what they were doing, but Ariadne had always felt differently.
"Have you had any contact at all with the others?" asked Saito.
"None," she said with bitterness. Her sour tone was barely noticeable, and had escaped Saito's attention.
"I've heard that Arthur's in Paris."
"Really?"
She could still remember his last words to her before she boarded her plane back to Paris.
"I'll be in touch," he said seriously, "There's always a need for an architect."
"You promise you won't forget about me?" Ariadne had said desperately. After an experience like that, how could she possibly go back to a normal life?
"I promise," he said with a slight smile.
Some promise. He never called, emailed, or mailed anything. He didn't have anyone pass along a message or anything. She realized how naive she had been, believing that Arthur would keep in contact with her. She had been foolish in believing his promise. He had probably just said that to reassure her.
"Ariadne, darling," Jared called, "It's time to leave now."
"It's been a pleasure meeting you again, Ariadne," Saito said quietly, so as not to be overheard by Jared or others.
"Remember, Arthur's in town and Eames is only in England," he reminded me, "If you need help, they'll help you."
Saito handed me a note with everyone's phone numbers.
"Thank you," she whispered, even though she probably would never use it. Saito had always been kind to her. He was a ruthless businessman, but he was always courteous. Jared came, and he took me home. As Ariadne got out of the car, her totem fell. It landed with a clang, and she flinched.
"What's that?" Jared asked curiously.
"Just something," she mumbled while wiping it clean of any dirt that might have gotten onto it.
"Is it a lucky charm or something?" he reached out to touch it. The moment he reached out, she instantly remembered what someone had told her long ago.
" Nah, I can't let you touch it, that would defeat the purpose. See only I know the balance and weight of this particular loaded die. That way when you look at your totem, you know beyond a doubt you're not in someone else's dream."
"Don't!" Ariadne blurted and jerked backwards.
"It won't be lucky anymore if someone else touches it," she explained lamely when he stared at her. Jared nodded as if he understood. When he moved to give her a goodnight kiss, she turned her head to the side. Jared gave her a confused look.
"Goodnight," she said curtly.
Ariadne nearly ran into her apartment and shut the door. She didn't bother inviting Jared in. Not today.
Two years without the PASIV, but Ariadne still carried her totem everywhere. She checked it mostly out of habit now, not because of the worry that her reality wasn't real. It landed with a reassuring thunk, and she grasped it tightly. Sleep was almost impossible for her without the metal bishop. With the bishop still in her hand, she closed her eyes and drifted into an unsatisfying sleep.
Arthur clutched the phone. What on earth did Saito mean?
"You should visit her. See how she's doing."
Of course, he had answered. Arthur had planned on seeing her anyway. What Saito said next puzzled him.
"Don't ruin things for her."
Arthur had no clue what that was supposed to mean, and the Japanese businessman had hung up right after. Arthur checked his reflection in the mirror. His hair was gelled back like always, and he was wearing one of his signature three-piece suits. His face held no trace of any of the nervousness he was feeling. It's been two years since he last talked to Ariadne, and he was going to talk to her again today. He wondered if she changed.
He wondered if she still dreamed.
If you guys want to see Ariadne's dress, search up bridget dress rent the runway on Google. It should be the first picture.
Feedback would be appreciated!