Disclaimer: I don't own. Blast and botheration.

Genre: Romance/Mystery (sort of)

Pairings: Arthur/Ariadne, Arthur/OC

Rated: T

"Beginnings are sometimes found somewhere in the middle."

Arthur stirred, and sat up, glancing at the body that shared his bed. She sucked in a shuddering breath that raised her body of the mattress for a moment, before she sank back into a deep sleep.

He was in a hotel suite in LA, three days after the Fischer Escapade. He'd decided to take a break for a while before taking another job. Partly because it would be hard to put together a working team without Cobb, and partly because he was mentally exhausted after all the tension and excitement of the Inception job.

Dom had called him the day before, telling him how wonderful it was to see his children and be home again. Arthur was happy for his friend, he really was, but after Cobb started repeating stories, Arthur kind of tuned him out.

His mind had drifted away to the ghosts of his own past; mistakes that he had made. The difference was, Arthur was a coward who had created a mess, and Cobb was a father who had come home to make amends.

Cobb had given up his guilt, but Arthur's still gnawed at his conscience.

He sighed, and glanced at the girl in his bed. She was lovely… creative, caring, intelligent, stubborn, and beautiful too. She was the first girl to catch his attention in years – and he'd met many incredible women, from all over the globe, in his life.

She'd come to see him after the job, to inquire shyly about the kiss they'd shared in the dream. Truthfully, Arthur wasn't sure why he had kissed her, but he found that he was grateful that he had. It appeared that she didn't mind either, as evidenced by their current state of undress, and her position in his bed.

He smiled and traced the outline of her face with the tips of his fingers. Ariadne sighed, a small smile blooming on her face at his soft touch.

She deserved more than him. She needed someone more creative, more open – he was too professional, too methodical, too cold… he had too many secrets.

Ariadne was the type of girl who needed color and spontaneity in her life, but for now, he was content to just stay by her side.

The dark-haired girl shifted, stretched and yawned; brown eyes blinking open to see Arthur leaning over her, smiling gently.

True, she hadn't taken much notice of the quiet Point Man before the job, but in the dream he had been such a calm and protective presence, and the kiss had surprised her so much… after the job, she had just sought him out. She hadn't been sure what might happen if she went to him, but she was glad that she had taken the risk.

"Morning," he whispered.

"Morning," Ariadne smiled shyly back at him.

Yes, they decided. They were lucky that the kiss in a dream had turned into more.

"Relationships are like a good crime novel – full of mystery and adventure."

"Do you dream Ariadne?"

It had been two months since Maurice Fischer had died, two months since Cobb had returned home, and two months since Arthur and Ariadne had begun their tentative relationship. They were in San Francisco now – Arthur had had some business in the seaside city, and Ariadne had decided to tag along.

The girl in question was sprawled on a couch nearby as Arthur made them both hot chocolates. She opened one eye to stare at him questioningly, before shrugging.

"I do," she answered, finally. "But I prefer the other type of dreaming. I have more control; more power; more freedom."

Control. Power. Freedom. Arthur remembered that he used to feel the same way, and he still did sometimes but…

"Do you still dream Arthur?" A finger, trailing a ticklish line over his nose lured Arthur back into the real world, where Ariadne was wearing an innocent, curious expression. She was standing beside him, leaning against the kitchen counter, and their hot chocolates were left forgotten on the bench.

He was silent for a moment, mulling over his thoughts, while his arms wrapped lazily around her waist.

"I do… sometimes," he admitted, finally. "But I agree – I prefer the other type of dreaming. I have more control."

"What do you dream about?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I don't remember much," he lied. "Places from the past, faces that I don't recognize."

"Hmmm," Ariadne grinned and kissed him. "Well, I suppose that's the most dreaming you'll get after a career like yours. You're lucky you still can dream, according to Cobb."

"I don't go in often enough," Arthur explained. "Once or twice a month at the most. Cobb went under almost five nights a week, just to be with Mal."

"Ohhh," Ariadne nodded, comprehension washing over her face. She had hardly ever had dreams before she learned about extraction/inception, and now, because she practiced Architecture once a fortnight, she would probably dream even less often.

But Arthur rarely went under unless for a mission. In fact, she hadn't seen him go into a dream outside of a job since he last had a lesson in dreamscapes with her. That was two months ago for the Fischer case.

He smiled at her. Clearly she was wrapped up in her thoughts.

"Go to sleep," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "I have some work to do, but I'll join you in a minute."

"What are you working on?" Ariadne asked, blinking up at him.

"I'm looking for a new Extractor, since Cobb's gone, and I can't do it alone," Arthur explained. "I'm an amateur, I'm the Point Man; I prefer to stay on the sidelines. I have to do some background work on a new kid, and then maybe get Kyle Exton as a forger. My friend Jenna Cohen will play chemist."

"Jenna?" Ariadne's eyebrows jumped to her hairline. "Who's she?"

Arthur smirked at her not-so-subtle wariness. "A fifty-two year old married woman with a kid who is about to graduate high school."

"Oh," Ariadne flushed red in embarrassment. Arthur laughed and kissed her temple, before pushing her towards the bedroom, hot chocolate in hand.

"Your holiday is almost over, and we're going back to Paris tomorrow," he whispered. "You should sleep."

Ariadne smiled tiredly, took the drink, and went to bed. Arthur sighed and covered his mouth with his hand. He hadn't been in a relationship in so long; he was afraid that he was going to screw it up… again.

Sleeping with random women and being in a relationship were two different things. One of them was harder than the other after all.

He grabbed his laptop, to read over information that he'd gathered on offered jobs – the Marks, the employers, and possible team members.

Offers had increased since the successful job with Eames in Kuala Lumpur last month, and the small piece of solo work that he'd done in Singapore; and his reputation as a Point Man had always been exceptional. Dom, in the times before Mal's death, and since the Fischer case, had often informed Arthur that he was a perfectionist. Or really, his exact words were "Arthur, you put the 'anal' in 'analytical''. Arthur had often replied to the taunt with a sharp elbow to Cobb's gut, but it was an old, friendly joke.

Meanwhile, whispers and rumors of a successful Inception were being spread, but Arthur was reluctant to step forward. The job was difficult, and dangerous, and only the best of the best could possibly engage, and only on a vulnerable Mark. Though he enjoyed the thrill of the job, he had his limits.

Sighing, Arthur closed the file on job offers. He was too tired to consider any of them properly. On autopilot, he dragged the mouse over a different icon, and opened it. He reread information that he had memorized by now, looked at pictures he'd seen a million times before, and moved down to the bottom of the page, the only part that kept changing.

Location: London, England.

He let go of a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding; a sigh of relief that escaped his lips. At least Paris was safe for him… for now.