We'll be young forever
Disclaimer: I do not own Inception, or Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.
The Architect's POV
It's been two months since the inception job, and I had to stay off the radar for a couple months. Then I was aloud to contact anyone and go back to school. During that two months, I decided to stay with my family. We were having a spontaneous family reunion, and it was nice to see everyone. So, I rode a charter bus all the way from L.A. to Rhode Island to see my parents and my old and younger siblings, plus all the other members of my extended family. My sixteen year old sister asked if I met any cute boys while I was away, and I blushed as I thought of Arthur in his dream. Not even the cute French boy in my Chem. lab I spent countless class hours looking at and admiring. No, just Arthur. I told her quite a few and she told me to look out because she'd be in Paris before I knew it.
So, my isolation period was finally over and I was grabbing some last minute things for the plane as I prepared to go back to Paris to finish up my school year. I decided I'd come back and spend the summer with my family with my extra money after paying some school fees, and getting ahead on my payments for the apartment I share with a friend. I was in a rush to get out of the store so I could pack and say goodbye before going to the airport, and I was putting things into my tote bag, when I ran into something...Someone.
"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed after nearly knocking the man's coffee out of his hand.
"It's fine." The man answered, with another look, I should have realized! The tailored suit, the slicked back hair, it was Arthur.
"Arthur. What are you doing in Rhode Island?"
"Excuse me?- Ariadne? I...Well, I was visiting my brother. What are you doing in Rhode Island."
"My parents and siblings live here. We had a makeshift family reunion."
"How are you feeling, you know, since the inception and everything." Arthur asked, a little more quietly.
"At first I was a bit restless, but I'm fine now. It's just weird knowing that I'm dreaming, and yet, not being able to control anything. I thought about trying lucid dreaming, but I can't sit that still for that long." I answered with a chuckle.
"That's good." Arthur said, almost ignoring my lucid dreaming comment. "How long are you going to be in town?"
"I'm actually leaving soon for Paris. I have to get back to finish classes."
"Oh. Well, hopefully I'll see you again soon." He said to me uncomfortably. I thought I almost heard a trace of sadness from him, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it. I gave him my apartment phone number in case he needed me, and said goodbye.
It didn't happen as I dreamed up in my mind so many times after we kissed. I daydreamed that he would run into me somewhere random, and we would get to talking and he would take me to dinner and we'd end up together. Somehow, no matter how many times the scenario changed, we always ended up going back to one of our places. Not necessarily doing anything, we'd talk, and sit, and laugh.
And so, here I am, on a plane enraptured by our little meeting. What I could have said differently, what I could have done to milk a little more conversation out of the short time we saw each other. I wish I wasn't so damn awkward.
Back home in my apartment just doesn't feel right without having to go to a warehouse everyday and map out mazes and paradoxes. My roommate Cecil was happy that I was home. She got tired of having to answer our home phone. She said just before I arrived back a man called for me and said he'd call back later. I was secretly hoping it was Arthur, but I was to jet-lagged to care at the moment. I had to start classes again tomorrow and I just wanted to sleep all day.
I didn't want to go to classes earlier today, but I'd promised Professor Miles that I would be back as soon as the inception was finished. I have three papers to write and I was late so I'm bare faced looking like a zombie, it was a great first day back. As soon as classes were over, I was out. I just needed time to recover. Being thrown back into everything like that.
I was just getting home and about to open the door when it swung open and someone ran into me, knocking my books out of my arms.
"Geez, Charlie watch it!" I yelled throwing my hands into the air.
"Who's Charlie?" A voice, that voice, asked.
"Arthur? What are you doing here!"
"I came to see you." He said helping me pick up my books.
"Oh! Charlie is my roommate, Cecil's, boyfriend."
"Well, do you want to go get some lunch or something?"
"Sure let me drop my books off in the apartment." She said opening the door and running to Cecil as soon as the door closed. "Cecil, you have to help me."
"Is that the guy that called for you yesterday? He's hot!"
"I wouldn't know, you answered the phone. Listen, you're a year ahead of me in college and you took these classes that I have to write papers for, if you write at least one of these papers for me, I'll clean the apartment everyday for a week, if you write all three, I'll clean it for the rest of the semester, deal?"
"Fine. Go live your fairytale life while I slave over your work for you." She agreed. Ariadne laughed to herself...She knew that there were only two more weeks until the end of the semester. Cecil didn't.
"Okay, where to?" I asked, breathlessly from running around my apartment checking my hair and groaning at my gross face.
"It's your city, your choice." He said in his professional yet gentlemanly tone.
"Well, there is a new place I saw on my way to the university this morning." I said, awkwardly leading him down the stairs. "So tell me, why'd you come find me? Where did you find me in fact?"
"I told Miles that you left a few things in the warehouse and that you'd want them back, so he gave me your address." He told me, handing me my favorite scarf that I had looked frantically for when I woke up this morning, succeeding in making me even more late.
"I've been looking for this everywhere!"
"You also left this." He told me, bringing out my gold bishop totem in a plastic bag. "I didn't touch it. It was on top of a book so I could get it into this bag."
"I didn't think I'd need it. So I just left it on the plane."
"I know. You need to keep it with you. Since you've been involved in inception, you're 'on the radar' if someone found out. You never know who could swoop you up and torture you in a dream."
"Oh. I'm sorry. I feel like an idiot now."
"It's a simple mistake, if anyone wanted to kidnap any of us it'd probably be Cobb."
"I don't even wanna think about that.."
"Ariadne, there's some things I have to tell you." Arthur turned to me very seriously, I could only think that the worst thing possible happened. "It's not usually something I would tell someone, but, I noticed I don't really do things as I normally would around you."
"Arthur, just tell me." I said anxiously.
"I can't stop thinking about you." He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking at me through his eyelashes. I couldn't help but think of a puppy who got in trouble for something. I also couldn't help the blush that fell across my cheeks as I processed what he had just told me. "I can't help but think about all that time in the warehouse, and the dream, I wish I had been there with you when you went down into limbo. I don't know what to do if I had lost you. I think you're beautiful, even when you don't have your make up on. I love your ambition and your personality, Cobb told me about your determination when he was testing you to join the team. I was secretly please when you came back after being killed by Mal."
"Well, why didn't you tell me sooner?" I blurted without thinking about it. I covered my face with my hands with embarrassment. I felt a gentle pressure on my wrists as he lifted my hands away and intertwined his fingers in mine, and tenderly pressed his lips into mine.
"Well now I don't know what to do since that's what I came here to tell you." He told me
"How about we start with some lunch?" I suggested as we walked the rest of the way to that quaint little cafe.
Later that night, he told me that he was glad he finally told me, and that he'd pick me up after classes tomorrow. I went into my apartment and put my totem on the nightstand next to my bed and tipped it, I turned around straight away and didn't care enough to check now. I didn't see, that it had tipped over almost as quickly as I touched it.
Because I knew, this was my reality.
You think I'm pretty
Without any make-up on
You think I'm funny
When I tell the punch line wrong
I know you get me
So I'll let my walls come down
- Teenage Dream, Katy Perry
A/N: Whoo, this took me at least 2 weeks to write maybe even more. I don't even know why either, I guess I was worried it would be incredibly stupid and I'd regret uploading it. I don't know how I feel about it yet. And I might keep it a one shot or I might continue upon request. All I know is, next, I wanna try an Ariadne/Eames story . I don't know, I like A/A stories, but I like E/Ari kink . I also like the odd pairing of Fischer/Ari. Anyway!
Good? Bad? Lemme know!
