Ariadne ran down the hall. She had questions, and she was going to get some answers. She reached the elevator and slammed herself inside, pressing the button for the lowest floor furiously. The elevator began its slow decent, unlike Ariadne's nerves, which skyrocketed at an increasingly rapid pace. Suddenly she reached the bottom floor with a thud. Through the gate door she saw a destroyed hotel room. The only person to be seen was a tall woman with short dark hair. Ariadne stepped nervously out of the elevator. With a crunch, an already broken glass was crushed beneath her shoe. She gasped silently as the woman turned around. Ariadne couldn't help but notice how breathtaking she was.
"What are you doing here?" sounded the woman's elegant accent. Ariadne found herself lost for words. She tried to explain that she was a friend of Cobb's, but only managed to stumble through her explanation.
"I'm-my name is-"
"I know who you are," the woman said, and Ariadne could say the same about the shade of Cobb's deceased wife. He had spoken about her often and Ariadne knew her name as well. Mal. "What are you doing here?" Mal repeated. She had gotten up and was approaching Ariadne with a look on her face that she couldn't decipher.
"I came to-" she started to say, but Mal did not seem that interested in her answer. She had reached out with a long fingered hand a lightly stroked Ariadne's cheek. Ariadne fell silent at her touch.
"I know why you came," Mal almost whispered, "but I also know why you'll stay." She slowly ran her hands down the length of Ariadne's body. Ariadne gasped in surprise. The only thought in her mind as Mal grabbed her around the waist was what have I gotten myself into?
"You're very pretty, Ariadne," Mal whispered in her ear, her breath hot against her lobe. Ariadne didn't quite know what to say. She felt Mal's full bottom lip drawing across her jaw until it reached her own lips. Mal kissed her tenderly. She could feel as Mal's lips parted beneath hers. Cautiously, Ariadne felt the opening with her tongue. Their tongues met, intertwining. Ariadne moaned as Mal deepened the kiss. Ariadne felt her hands tangle in Mal's soft locks as she lightly nipped Mal's bottom lip with her teeth. Again she delved her tongue into Mal's mouth, more forcefully this time. Mal's hands were firmly placed upon Ariadne's waist. Ariadne felt as the hands crept upward, taking her shirt with them. As they pulled away from the kiss, Ariadne took the opportunity to unzip Mal's dress. Free of its bindings, the dress dropped gracefully to the floor. Ariadne looked at it for a moment, then slowly moved her eyes up. She feasted her eyes upon Mal's body. Not taking her eyes off of Mal, she wormed out of her pants, and was quickly engaged in another passionate kiss. Mal's soft lips pressed against her own. She heard Mal's name escape her as they briefly parted.
"I like the way you say my name," Mal murmured before crouching to rip Ariadne's underwear off with her teeth. Ariadne gasped as Mal's lips came in contact with her inner thigh, but Mal was not able to get any further before Ariadne flung herself on to the bed.
"Come and get me," she said playfully. Mal, making sounds reminiscent of a panther, crawled across the floor. Upon reaching the bed, Mal gave the duvet a small tug. Ariadne squealed as she felt the comforter being pulled out from underneath her naked body. Mal wrapped herself in the duvet, like a queen in a long, luxurious robe. She turned slowly, letting the comforter slide down as she faced Ariadne again. Spreading her arms out, she pulled it away completely, letting it drop to the floor. With her arms still outstretched, she fell forward gracefully on to the bed. She wiggled up the mattress to lay her head next to Ariadne's on the pillow. Murmuring her name softly, she gave Ariadne a light kiss. Ariadne wrapped her leg around Mal's waist. Mal pulled Ariadne closer still, leaving a trail of kisses up her neck. Ariadne let out a soft moan as their lips locked together once again.
Ariadne lay breathlessly upon the bed, she and Mal a tangle of limbs underneat the duvet which had been transferred from the floor at some point – Ariadne wasn't sure when. She pressed a kiss into Mal's neck, and Mal whispered in her ear,
"We're going to grow old together, Ariadne." At once, Ariadne froze. Some time earlier, it seemed like hours ago, Ariadne had had the feeling that she had bitten off more than she could chew. That had all melted away once she had felt Mal's sweet kiss. But now reality came flooding back. And the reality was, this wasn't reality. She leapt from the bed, grabbing her clothes as she ran naked into the elevator. Remembering her underwear had been destroyed, but without time to do anything about it, she pulled her clothing on with haste. She made a quick attempt to fix her must hair before the elevator stopped. Without looking back, she hustled down the and Cobb's face immediately came into view.
"Where the hell have you been?" Cobb questioned. Instead of answering, Ariadne turned and strode back down the hall she had come from, intending to walk right out of this dream. However, Cobb followed her with his questions. "You didn't happen to run into Mal, did you?"
"Yeah, real charmer you've got there, Cobb," Ariadne answered.