Was absolutely fucking enthralled by this film. Loved it! So naturally had to write a story. My first fic for this film. Rated M for future lovin' and cursin'. Please read and review! ^_^ Part one of five.

Keep Checking the Totem.

Chapter 1: Inebriation and Official Business.

Ariadne had her passport stamped and walked through to collect her baggage. She looked over and saw Eames doing the same; he looked up and gave her a small wink which made her smile a little. The Brit sure was charming. She looked away when she remembered that she wasn't supposed to know him. She was still new to the whole secret illegal dream thing. She waited by the carousel for her bag and briefly glanced around, seeing Yousef and Saito a few feet from her also waiting. Cobb had already left and Fischer was whisked away by his driver. Arthur and Eames were nowhere to be seen. She was disappointed at this – after the kiss they had shared in the dream, she had been hoping that she would be able to at least look at Arthur before they all disappeared to different parts of the globe.

She saw her bag coming around the luggage carousel and prepared to pick it up. Once it was in front of her she made a grab for it and hauled it off the line. She stumbled a bit trying to get away from the throng of passengers who were yet to collect their luggage, and in doing so dropped her small case, which skidded a couple of metres away from her. Sighing, she grabbed her handbag and walked over to her case, but before she could pick it up a hand was thrust in front of her and pulled the case upright.

"Allow me, miss".

Ariadne looked up to the man's face and her breath caught in her throat a little when she saw who it was. Arthur had a small, knowing smile on his face that made her forget her train of thought. Good god, this hadn't happened to her since high school!

"Thanks", she managed to spit out. He pulled up the handle and offered it to her. She smiled at him and reluctantly walked away, but not before looking back at him one last time. She was thrilled to find that his eyes were still on her. She walked out of the airport doors and to the nearest taxi rank. She got in the line and waited behind a family of four, a tall business man who was talking on his phone, and an elderly couple. She waited about five minutes until she was at the front of the line.

"Would you mind if we shared a cab, miss?"

Ariadne spun around, not realising that anyone was behind her. She immediately recognised the voice, and yet again, in true high-school-crush style, she was rendered speechless.

"Uh, yeah, I guess that would be fine", she said, smiling a little at the game they were playing.

"Great. Which hotel are you going to?"

"The Hilton"

"Excellent, I am too. Very convenient"

He flashed a smile, and she felt herself smiling back almost as a reflex. A cab pulled up and the driver picked up their bags and put them in the trunk. Arthur held the door open for Ariadne, who climbed in. Arthur got inside and instructed the cab driver where to go. For a while they sat in silence, making small glances at one another. Arthur broke the silence.

"So…how long are you planning on staying in Los Angeles?"

"A couple of weeks, maybe…I do have to get back to Paris soon, I've missed so much of my schoolwork."

"Ah yes, I often forget that you're in university. It's been a very time consuming few weeks, hasn't it?"

Ariadne chuckled. "I think that that's the understatement of the century!"

Arthur chuckled in a way that made Ariadne weak at the knees. It was always the little things that got to her.

"What about you? What will you do?"

"I may stay here for a while, see family and tie up some loose ends from my last visit."

"Well, that sounds ominous!"

"Oh nothing too serious, a few debts that need paying, a couple of clients that were interested, that sort of thing"

"Ah, of course"

They sat in relative silence of the rest of the trip. Soon enough, the cab pulled up to the Hilton doors and Ariadne and Arthur climbed out and collected their bags. They walked up to the counter and Ariadne went first to collect her room key.

"Hello miss, how may I help you?"

"Hello, I'm checking in, the name's Ariadne Crouse?"

The woman typed a few things into the computer.

"Yes, Miss Crouse, here you are…you're in room 1445, that's on the fourteenth floor. Staying for two weeks, am I correct?"

"That's right."

Ariadne got her credit card out of her bag and handed it to the woman.

"Oh, no need Miss Crouse. A Mr. Saito called and said that he's paying for your stay here."

Ariadne was taken aback by Saito's gesture. Not only because he was going to pay through the nose for her two-week stay, but also because she was always wary about taking things from other people, especially their money.

"Oh, alright, thankyou."

Ariadne took her room key and, with a fleeting glance at Arthur, made her way up to her floor. She got out of the elevator on the fourteenth floor. She found her room, swiped her card and walked inside the ridiculously huge room. She dropped her case and immediately flopped down on the bed. She lay there for a while just enjoying not having to run around and pretend that she didn't know her friends and not having to create some massive, beautiful world. She didn't enjoy waking up completely mentally and physically drained. There was a knock on the door and she reluctantly got off of the bed. She could see a piece of white paper had been slid underneath. Picking it up, she wrenched the door open, only to find that there was no one standing there. She shut the door and opened the note.

Ariadne,

Meet me down in the bar at 8…please?

Arthur.

Ariadne squealed in excitement. That meant something – Ariadne was not a girl who squealed. She looked at the clock: 5:23pm. This would be the longest two and a half hours of her life.

~~~Keep Checking the Totem~~~

It was ten to eight. Ariadne had tried on all of the clothes that she had, and after nearly an hour's deliberation she had decided on wearing the only dress that she had brought – a black strapless dress – and teamed it with a light blue scarf tied around her neck. She had put on mascara and lipstick as well, and had straightened her hair using the blow-dryer. She hadn't gone to this much effort in a long time. She looked at herself one last time in the mirror, deciding to leave before she changed her outfit again. She grabbed a cardigan and her handbag and walked down to the bar.

She arrived in the extremely posh bar and immediately felt underdressed. This place was perfect for Arthur, though. She walked in and, not seeing Arthur there sat at the bar and ordered herself an apple martini. She was in the mood for something fruity and peppy, and a little bit girly. She got the money out to pay for the drink.

"Her drink's on me. I'll have a long island iced tea, thankyou."

Arthur looked amazing as always. He was wearing a fitted black suit and had his hair slicked back. He looked like he belonged in the sixties. He was fantastic and definitely Ariadne's type of man.

"You look lovely, Ariadne"

"Thanks, you do too."

The barman delivered their drinks and Arthur put it on his room tab.

"Is Saito paying for your room too?" Ariadne asked as she picked up her drink.

"Yes, he is which is why all drinks are on him."

Arthur raised his glass to toast hers.

"To a job well done"

Ariadne nodded and smiled and tapped her glass with his. They took a sip, without taking their eyes off of one another.

"So, how are you feeling since the Fischer job finished?"

"A little tired, after all of that dreaming. I mostly stayed in my room all afternoon. How about you?"

"I found it hard to sleep. Went for a run, called my mom -"

"Tied up some loose ends?"

Arthur chuckled. "Something like that, yeah".

Ariadne took a rather large gulp of her drink and tried to calm down.

"I keep checking for my totem. Everything that happened in the last few weeks, it's very…surreal."

"I know what you mean. My first assignment was like that, I can still remember it to this day."

"What happened, on your first assignment?"

"Well it was Cobb and I, and Mal, and another guy called Benjamin; we had to extract the secrets from a businessman in London, who was wanted by the local police for embezzlement. We set up the dream and everything went according to plan."

"Until…? Come on, that can't have been that smooth!"

"Well, eventually his subconscious did trample us to death…but not before we could get the information we needed."

"Well, lucky you then, huh?"

"Yeah, lucky me. Bartender, another round please? On my tab. Thankyou"

She hadn't even known her glass was empty, but was more than ready for another.

~~~Keep Checking the Totem~~~

About six martinis later, Ariadne was well and truly feeling the effects. She and Arthur had been talking for about three hours about their lives, their families, their likes and dislikes.

"No, can't you tell? I was an absolute geek in high school! But it's true that geeks do get paid better in the real world!"

"Well, Arthur, I'm a geek too! The way I see it, us geeks have to stick together, you know?"

"I couldn't agree more."

They had been flirting this whole time, of course. Or at least, Ariadne had been giving it her best shot. She wasn't a very good flirt. The bartender came up to them.

"Sorry Sir, Miss, but the bar is closing now."

They thanked the bar tender and walked – or rather, stumbled - to the elevators.

"What floor are you on?"

"Fourteen. You?"

"The same."

They rode up to their floor laughing as Ariadne pressed the buttons for the floors above theirs. After the drama and constant stress of the past few weeks, it was fun to be immature.

The doors opened to floor fourteen and stumbled out, laughing at their lack of coordination. They walked to Ariadne's door.

"Well, this is my stop."

She leaned her back against her door and smiled at Arthur.

"Thankyou for a wonderful evening"

"My pleasure"

Ariadne felt the alcohol working its magic in her mind and decided to go out on a limb.

"Hey Arthur?"

"Yeah?"

"Quick. Give me a kiss."

Arthur smiled at the memory of their kiss in the dream and stepped forward so that his face was inches from hers. Ariadne's breath was caught in her throat as she waited for his mouth to come into contact with hers. She closed her eyes and felt his soft lips come down onto hers in a light kiss. He pulled away but only by a few inches, waiting for her reaction. She couldn't stand it anymore – this waiting, the desire. She pulled his face to hers and kissed him passionately, fiercely. He responded and darted his tongue into her mouth, and she responded to that by deepening the kiss. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to him, her hands roaming in his hair and down his back. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his hips, eager for more. He began kissing her neck and collarbone, edging closer to her chest, and she grasped for her room key in her bag. Finding it – not without some difficulty – she swiped it and Arthur opened the door, his mouth not breaking contact with her skin. They stumbled into the room, completely wrapped up in each other, the passion and desire that had been slowly building over the last few weeks flowing out uncontrollably.

"Well, well, well. This is a shock".

Arthur and Ariadne immediately stopped and turned to the bed, where Eames was sitting with a smug grin on his face. Ariadne reluctantly removed herself from Arthur's embrace and straightened her clothing and hair, wiping the lipstick from her mouth.

"What the hell are you doing in my room, Eames? How dare you come in here without my permission!"

Arthur was fuming, his face was completely red and his fists were balled up, ready to hit Eames square in the face for angering Ariadne – and for ruining what was sure to be a fantastic night.

"Relax, darlings, relax. I come on official business. We have a problem".