I do not own Inception or "Piano Man."
"It's 9 o'clock on a Saturday, regular crowd shuffles in, there's an old man, sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and jin," the music of Billy Joel filled the air in small, Parisian café Ariadne was sitting at. The petite college student was perched on a white chair, her head buried in her laptop, typing up a paper from Professor Miles class. Usually this was the type of paper Ariadne loved to write, one for her favorite architecture class, but her heart wasn't in it as it used to be. It had been 6 months since she had been introduced to the world of dreams, and with her new knowledge, she didn't find herself satisfied with building things that were confined to the laws of physics.
The brunette looked up from her work momentarily. It was spring in Paris, the city of love. All around her there were couples holding hands, walking side by side, laughing, and her she was, doing homework all alone, with only a cold cup of coffee to keep her company. The girl had tried the dating scene after inception, but none of the men she dated could live up to a certain dark haired point man who always wore an impeccable 3-piece suit. Sighing, Ariadne checked her email, desperately hoping for an email from one of her old teammates. But as usual, her inbox was full of spam and ads, nothing from the others. She hadn't spoken to them at all; the only recognition from them at the airport was a wink from Eames and a nod from Yusuf. Cobb had been too busy reuniting with his family, something she fully understood, and Arthur didn't even bother to look her way, or so she thought.
Arthur was antsy. He had had one small job since the inception one, and he was itching for something more. The extractor for the job had been lazy, the chemist boring, the architect sub-par and definitely not as pretty as… wait never mind… And though he hated to admit it, Arthur even found himself comparing the forger to Eames. All in all, Arthur had missed the company of the rest of his 'dream team.' He had seen the retired Cobb often enough though, visiting him and his kids, who affectionately called him Uncle Arthur. Cobb was completely done, he had even thrown his totem in a lake, or so he told the point man. The man was happy, but also sad for losing his partner in crime.
Three days after her final exams, Ariadne got a letter in the mail from a cruise company for an "All-expense paid cruise around the Mediterranean Sea." In the bottom right hand corner of the flyer, there was a smiley face and a hand drawn British flag with the words, "curtsy of your favorite Brit." Also in the envelope was a plane ticket to Rome, a flight leaving in 3 hours. Ari hurriedly grabbed her gold bishop out of her pocket and knocked it over on the table a few times, hearing a rewarding "ping" every time. The girl laughed in relief and started packing quickly. There was no way she was going to miss seeing a member of the team, even if Eames would probably be hung over every morning and drunk senseless every night. She shoved a few scarfs, tank tops, and jeans into the bag and looked around her new apartment, the only thing she had bought with her money from Satio, for anything else she could have possibly forgotten. Nope, she thought to herself. With that, she grabbed her sketchbook, full of mazes and paradoxes, and hopped in a cab with directions to the airport.
Arthur was a little wearier when he saw the letter from Eames. His did not include a plane ticket, he was forced to pay for that himself, if he accepted. But there was a note attached. "Our favorite little architect will be making an appearance there, darling." Arthur furrowed his brow. Why should he care? It's not like he was in love, it's not like he liked her, she was just a very good architect who had gorgeous brown eyes and a huge imagination… No stop. That's no way to think about coworkers. But damn it, her hair and cute scarf fetish… Ugh. The point man shook his head and grabbed his ever ready suit case. Since the Fisher job, Arthur had been hotel hopping, not staying in any place too long. For as rich as he was, Arthur didn't really have a home. His family disowned him when he dropped out of the military and he had no other friends than Cobb and he couldn't stand to be around Eames too much. He dated, but most of those dates ended in a one night stand. He had been engaged… but that was a long time ago, and when Erin didn't accept his job, she broke it off, leaving him at the altar. Arthur shook off all these thoughts and caught a cab to the airport.