Title:Manabu Tasukete Kudasai (Help Me Learn)
Rating: PG-13
Pairings:Saito/Cobb (established, eventually), mentions of Arthur/Eames and Cobb/Mal
Summary: After the team meets four months after inception, Ariadne asks Saito to teach her Japanese.
Word Count: Around 2300 words
A/N:English translations are at the bottom of the page or in square brackets. Not beta'd.
It's been four months since Ariadne last saw the team, during the Fischer job. She still keeps in contact with Cobb through Miles, of course, but it isn't the same as actually talking to him. She's heard that Arthur has found a new employer somewhere near Paris, that Eames and the point man have become more than friends, and Saito's offered Fischer a partnership with his business - Hell, Yusuf's even adopted a new stray cat. Ariadne can't quite shake the feeling of loneliness, and although she enjoys her studies, they aren't enough to keep her occupied. She misses the thrill of creating something from nothing; seeing buildings that can't exist in the real word, meeting people who were never born. Then, out of the blue, Cobb calls her, and an excitement that she hasn't felt in months washes over her like a wave. He says he's arranged a meet up in the hired warehouse they used for their last job together, 'for old time's sake' (although Ariadne can't quite understand Cobb's reasons for wanting to see them - Saito mumbles something about their former boss being lonely when they talk afterward). Arthur's busy with his new job and Yusuf's still in Mombasa, so only Eames, Cobb and Saito can make it.
She arrives by cab, trying to prevent her hair from getting wet in the pouring rain by pulling the back of her shirt over her head, and jogs inside the cold, grey building. Eames and Cobb are already there, sitting in the chairs they used to use with the PASIV devices. Ariadne starts to wonder if the chairs were left there the whole time or if Cobb's kept them as mementos, but she's shaken from the thought when Cobb's laugh resonates through the warehouse. She approaches them quietly and clears her throat, as Eames turns around and his already large smile breaks into a grin. "Ari! God, it's been a while!" he says, and pulls her into an tight hug. "We weren't sure if you'd show, darling." Eames turns to Cobb, who mimics his grin, and gestures for Ariadne to sit down and join them. She walks towards the old chair she used to use, and exhales as she leans back into it, remembering its musky smell from months ago. "I was just telling Cobb here about Arthur teaching me French.." Eames chuckles. Ariadne does, too, because she can imagine him failing horribly and offering Arthur sexual favours to give him another chance at trying to pronounce chéri.
The three are interrupted by a crisp tapping sound on the floor of boots on the warehouse's floor. Saito stands at the door, dressed in one of his nicest suits, grinning at the group. "Finally," Cobb whispers, "someone who can actually speak another language." Eames mocks offence at this, and mouths 'I can speak Italian fine, thank you'. Ariadne feels slightly left out here - Cobb's French isn't half bad, as expected from his time with Mal, and even Eames can muster some Italian phrases. As Saito strides towards Ariadne and the two men with outstretched arms, Cobb is the first to rush up to him and hug the older man. Eames shoots Ariadne a confused glance from the chairs and raises his eyebrows, while Ariadne simply smiles at the two men.
She's not certain of what happened to them together in Limbo, and she's not sure if she wants to know, either, but she's sure it changed Cobb and Saito - for better or worse, she doesn't know. The two have definitely developed a bond, that's for sure; Cobb trusted Saito enough to take care of his children after the inception for a full week while he was away visiting one of Mal's old friends, something he was even wary about asking Arthur to do, which was saying something. Cobb and Saito grin at each other as Cobb wraps his arm around Saito's waist, and the architect and the forger decide it's time to break up the romantic moment. Ariadne strolls over and taps Cobb on the shoulder, reminding him where he is, and her former employer turns a deep shade of red and mumbles something about 'I have work to do' before striding away. Saito smiles affectionately at the man and chuckles before switching his attention to Ariadne, who is now standing in Cobb's place. He hugs her, asks her how she's been, and looks slightly concerned when she asks if she can talk to him about something later.
"Is something wrong?" he asks, furrowing his brow. Ariadne smiles and shakes her head, fiddling with the totem she didn't remember taking out of her pocket.
"It's nothing, Saito. It'd just be nice if we could have a chat later, I suppose." she looks back up at him, sees that he relaxes at this, and replies with an 'of course'.
Saito simply nods at Eames when he approaches; the two hardly talked to each other during their only job together, but they exchange friendly smiles as they approach each other nonetheless. "Still working as a forger, Mister Eames?"
After Eames leaves, Cobb, Saito and Ariadne sit down on the chairs they used while practicing for the Fischer job and Ariadne watches Saito and Cobb exchange glances in the silence. She clears her throat to break it, but Saito does it for her. "Ariadne, what were you wanting to talk to me about earlier? If it isn't too private, that is." he says, nodding towards Cobb.
"No, Saito, it's not that – I, uh, have a bit of a weird question to ask you." she says. Saito leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees, indicating his interest. "Well, everyone else seems to be able to speak at least some of another language.. I was wondering if you could teach me some Japanese.. maybe?" she hesitates slightly before asking, not sure if he'll accept or not. "Mochiron." he replies, to which Ariadne responds with a puzzled look. "He said sure." Cobb explains. Ariadne stares at him like he's some oddity, and he shifts in his chair uncomfortably. "You're wondering how long I've known Japanese for?" Cobb smirks, and Ariadne nods, wide-eyed.
"Watashi ga kare o oshiete irai. [since I taught him]" Saito says, and Cobb grins at him. Saito returns the smile, even though they both know he's fiddling with Mal's spinning top in his pocket.
Day 1, Week 1, Year 1
Saito decides to meet Ariadne in one of the empty lecture theatres near her college so she can get there quickly. Almost jogging towards the door and down the steps into the theatre, she runs into Saito's chest with an 'oof' and steps backward, blushing. Saito simply chuckles and looks down at her. "Take a seat, please," Saito says, "and we'll begin." Ariadne does as she is told, and Saito slumps back into the chair behind the desk in front of her. "So," he says, "what is it that you want to learn? I have to have some idea before we start." Ariadne curses herself inwardly for not thinking of this earlier, and starts to think.
"Well, I'd like to be able to.." she cuts herself off. "Teach me like you taught Cobb, Saito." Saito shifts in his seat slightly, and sighs with a shake of his head. "I do not think you would appreciate the kind of.." he looks for the right word, "..hospitality I provided Cobb." Ariadne coughs awkwardly, and nods.
"Teach me some useful phrases, I guess?" she says.
Day 15, Week 3, Year 1
By now, Ariadne can join nouns to verbs - something she was extremely excited about learning at the time, but she's now realised it's not much of a feat - and say a few sentences. She's learnt how to order food by adding 'please' to the end of the order, and how to say hello and goodbye to people. Saito is becoming more and more impressed with her progress, as he's made apparent. She isn't even surprised when he walks in to the theatre this time carrying a bonsaitree in a small, dark green rectangular pot, and smiles fondly at her. "Kore wa anata no tame no okurimono da [This is a gift for you.]" he says, and she gets the message even though she isn't entirely sure of what the older man just said.
"Arigatou gozaimasu. [Thank you very much.]" she grins, and takes the fragile plant with her to her desk (she's not sure when it became her desk, but she's been sitting in the same spot for three weeks and she isn't planning to move anytime soon), not wanting to damage the small tree's leaves or branches.
"Jaa, kyou.. [So, today..]" Saito begins, "Kyou, romanchikku na nani ka to itte o oshiesuru. [Today, I will teach you to say something romantic.]" he says. He repeats the sentence in English, seeing that his student doesn't quite understand what he just said, and she smiles widely. At this, Saito turns his back to Ariadne and starts to write something on the chalkboard. "This - ai shiteru - means 'I love you'" he explains. Ariadne doesn't think it's a good idea to ask, but she does anyway - "..Is that what you taught Cobb?" she whispers. Ariadne swears she sees Saito blush a little.
Week 7, Year 2
Saito's started teaching their class almost entirely in Japanese. Ariadne wonders if they'd have developed a bond without the classes - she supposes they wouldn't have. Saito and her have become close; sometimes embarrassingly so, as Cobb has found them cuddling on the couch while watching Japanese movies more than once. They've started to hold the lessons at one of Saito's apartments (Ariadne wonders how many he owns), with Ariadne sitting on the cream leather couch, and Saito sitting on the carpet in front of her. He's added other elements to the classes - tea ceremonies, origami lessons and even ikebana. Ariadne sometimes finds herself unable to wait for her last class of the day, eager to see her close friend. She sits on the leather couch, which has become so familiar to her by now, and wonders what Saito's prepared for today. Saito steps out of the kitchen, holding a small white plate, and puts it on the coffee table between them. He gestures for her to come closer so they're both sitting on the floor, and Ariadne sees there's some kind of cake on the plate. It's covered with a brown sauce and what appears to be mayonaise. "Kore no nihongo no namae wa okonomiyaki da. Pankēki no ichi-shudearu. [The Japanese name for this is okonomiyaki. It's a kind of savoury pancake.]" Saito cuts her a slice and holds it out so she can take a bite. Ariadne does, and she manages a muffled 'mm!' through the mouthful. She looks up at Saito after she swallows the piece, and he's staring at her with such affection that Ariadne isn't sure whether to smile back or cry.
It's been two years since Ariadne and Saito had their last lesson together - they finished after four years. The two still remain good friends - thank God, Ariadne thinks - and she's going to visit him in Osaka. He says he's there for business, but she has a feeling he's taken Dom's children there on holiday, as she swears she could hear Philippa giggling on the other end of the line when he invited her over. She decides to spend one day there before visiting Saito (and, presumably, Dom as well) to look around and see the sights. She gets of a bullet train at the Osaka train station, and has no idea where to go from there. Luckily, there's a tourist information centre next to the police station below her train stop, so she buys a map and sets off. She isn't quite sure how she ended up in Dōtonbori, known as the 'red light district' of Osaka, but she isn't complaining. Vendors sell giant crab and large men sell turkish ice cream as she marvels at the neon lights above her, not noticing the many strip clubs on the side of the large street. When she does, though, she thinks 'hey, I might as well' - although later she thinks this is probably because she was extremely overtired from the flight and was going into sensory overload - and walks into the brightly lit building.
Ariadne wakes up the next day at one in the afternoon in the hotel she booked, and vaguely remembers through the headache that she's supposed to be at Saito's apartment. She's still wearing the clothes she wore yesterday, apparently, so she rushes to the hotel lobby and catches a cab to the address she wrote on the napkin in her pocket the day before. When she arrives at Saito's place, the four - James, Philippa, Dom and he - are eating lunch in the western-style apartment, and Dom rises from the dining table to greet her at the door. They haven't seen each other for two months, so Ariadne is feeling a slight nervousness in her chest, but it dissipates as soon as Dom hugs her and guides her inside. "I was just telling Cobb about when you asked if we were in love" Saito smiles. Philippa and James make disgusted faces and James mimes kissing, which only makes Saito's grin wider. Ariadne is about to interject and say that wasn't what she asked, but she can tell Saito knows that's what shemeant. Cobb walks over to Saito, and, instead of being embarrassed like he was years ago, he places his hand on Saito's shoulder and whispers, "Mochiron, koibito o ai shiteru yo."
終わり
*Mochiron, koibito o ai shiteru yo = Of course I love you, sweetheart