The scene in front of her was a normal scene at an upscale hotel bar. There were business men, drinking and trying to persuade each other. There were men and women of all ages on dates. There were single people looking longingly at one another, but staying quiet and downing more and more alcohol. But for a bar, it was quiet...it was classy, and neat, and proper. Just like him.
What caught her eye was the man at the bar, sitting alone, and not seeming to mind. He had several empty glasses sitting in front of him. Although she couldn't see his face, she could see that in one hand he held a half drunk glass of Scotch and in the other he held a red die.
She took a deep breath and walked over, sitting down next to him. " Ariadne, you came." he stated.
"Of course, I came." she said simply. There was silence.
"I just- I can't believe we..." he started but she cut him off.
"Yeah, me neither." she said calmly, but then grabbed his glass and downed the rest. He chuckled without humor and looked at her, his eyes made her want to melt.
"Arthur..." she whispered, not wanting to say more. To admit she was afraid and how bad she felt.
"We shouldn't be guilty. He's happy now." Arthur said, trying to convince both himself and Ariadne.
"It's a lie though. It's a dream." She protested. He didn't say anything.
"If we brought him back to reality...he'd be stuck going insane, trying to find a way back home. Saito's gone."
She looked down at her hands which had somehow found their way and were now resting in his. She looked back up and he smiled sadly at her.
"So let him live his life the way he wants it."
"So what are we supposed to do? Keep him hooked up in a hospital room, sneaking in and filling his IV with the sedative to make it look like he's in a coma?" She asked, getting louder and louder.
He shushed her and then she glanced away. He placed his hand on her cheek and turned her to look at him.
"Wouldn't you rather live in a perfect fantasy, then a not so perfect reality?" he asked quietly.
She thought about it for a minute. "The truth?"
He nodded.
"If you were going to be there...fantasy, I guess."
He had been hanging his head but as soon as those words left her mouth, he looked up. She was blushing bright and fidgeting, watching for his reaction.
He was quiet for a minute, sure he'd been with women before, he was twenty three, but Ariadne was different though. With her, even though he'd only known her a short time, he didn't want to mess things up. He wanted to keep her with him forever.
"You don't have be in a dream for that." he said, squeezing her hand. She smiled at him and flushed before answering,
"We had to be in a dream for you to kiss me."
He smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, then leaned in slowly. As he was leaning he saw her, out of the corner of his eye, take out her totem and set it on the bar before his lips met hers. It wasn't like the kiss they'd shared in the dream. It was slow and lazy. The sweetness was still there though. He heard a clinking noise and they both looked to see that the totem had fallen over. She smiled and shrugged at him.
"Would it be...unprofessional of me to say that I think I love you?" She blurted, without thinking. She knew it would be unprofessional, and she knew she hadn't known him for long. But they'd spent so much time together. They were the first ones to show up for work and usually the last ones to leave, with the exception of Cobb. She felt like she'd known him for years.
"Yes, it would." he replied simply. She felt stupid for saying it.
He put his hand over hers that was clasping the totem. "But, my new motto is screw professionalism." She looked up at him and laughed, then cleared her throat nervously.
"I know, it's stupid. And we haven't exactly known each other for that long,"
He tried to cut her off. "Ariadne..." but she just kept going.
"You've probably been with beautiful women all over the world and I'm just...me and-"
"I love you too."
"I'm not super pretty or...what?" she asked, freezing and looking at him wide eyed.
"I love you too." he said, softly. A slow smile spread across her face.
He chuckled and then leaned in and kissed her again.
To anyone else in the bar it looked like a normal couple, having a drink together. Two kids in love. But if you looked closely, it was so much more than that.
