Author's Note: I have no claim over Inception - that's all Chris Nolan. Inception just makes my brain turn in a thousand directions and, after seeing it three times, my mind still won't stop centering around it and I'm just dying to talk about the movie with anyone. Fics are the result of all this thought and passion. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, good/bad/happy/sad!
Ariadne hates that she has to return to real life after the inception, because she can't. It's almost impossible for her to sit down and sketch buildings and landscapes that follow the laws of physics. Now that she knows what else is out there, what else is possible, it's just not enough.
She also hates that she can't speak to a single member of the group. Ariadne doesn't even know where they went. Cobb, she knows, is home, but she hasn't an idea where his home actually is. Eames could be anywhere. Arthur had a wide range of connections. Yusuf seemed to disappear completely. She had no need or desire to contact Saito. And for all Robert Fischer knew, she was just a figment of his imagination.
There were times, usually when she sat down to sketch but found herself unable to concentrate, that she wondered if it was all a dream. Those thoughts always forced her to reach for her totem, and she always gasped when it tipped. She was never completely sure if her gasp was in relief or disappointment. Usually, she assumed it was both.
Somehow, she manages to move through her days. She just feels like there's something missing.
Her only connection to this experience is in Paris, she realizes. She's in Professor Miles' class, wondering if she can ask him questions, when he clears his throat.
"Ariadne?"
She looks at him, and her eyebrows shoot up when she realizes that all the rest of her classmates have disappeared. She glances at her watch and reaches for her totem simultaneously.
"Yes, class ended twelve minutes ago," Miles is saying, "and no, you're not in a dream."
She nods, but desperately wants to test her totem just to be sure. But she knows that she can't do that without raising concern, so she decides the best course of action is to retrace her steps. She'd woken that morning, gone to a café for a coffee, tried to sketch, day dreamed instead, and then crossed the bridge to the college.
No, she wasn't in a dream. She knew exactly how she ended up there. She wasn't quite sure what the lecture had centered on, but she wasn't in a dream, and that was comforting enough.
"Ariadne, please, come down," Miles says, and while he asks her kindly enough, she knows that she has no other option. She stands in front of his desk, her weight on one leg, full attention on the professor.
"Is there something wrong?" she prompts after several moments of silence.
Miles still doesn't have an immediate answer, just looks at her face intently.
"You tell me," he finally responds, and Ariadne feels defensive.
"Tell you what?"
Miles smiles at her and shuffles several papers on his desk. "These are your last several assignments," he tells her, and prompts her to look at them. "Go on. Have a look. Tell me what you see."
Ariadne cautiously reaches for them and studies each picture. She sees her drawings, skilled, precise, detailed, just like any other assignment she's completed. She checks the grades for each one, all high marks, as usual. She glances over his comments, a mix of "well done"s and "very nice"s.
She shakes her head. "I don't understand. These don't look any different from my other assignments."
"And you're sure about that? Nothing different in your style, or your… your flair?"
She looks at Miles before licking her lips and searching through her assignments. She flips through them, one by one, shaking her head at the end.
"Nothing," she declares, and while she knows that Miles could be saying that her work is much improved, his tone is proof that he feels something is for the worse. "I actually thought these were exactly what you were asking for in the assignments," she adds.
Miles nods. "And they are, Ariadne. These are fine pieces of work," he tells her, his face open and voice sincere. "They're exactly what I was looking for and the type of work I wish the majority of my students would create." He pauses to look her in the eye. "But they're not you."
Ariadne starts at the insinuation that she would cheat her way through school, but Miles cuts her off before she is able to object.
"This is clearly your work, Ariadne. Impeccable, precise. But you are one of my best and brightest because of your ability to dazzle," he says, and Ariadne isn't any happier with this explanation. "From you, I never expect the typical answer. I never know what to expect when I receive your assignments. That's part of the fun in my job. Seeing this ability to go beyond expectations."
"Are you saying you'd rather I defy the laws of physics? Change all the rules?"
"No, of course not."
She takes a breath, reminding herself to be patient and respectful. Miles is her elder and her mentor, and she can't afford to be short-tempered.
Miles shakes his head. "I worried about recommending you to Dom. He said-"
"You've spoken to Cobb?" Ariadne interrupts, and even she can tell that she lights up at the mention of his name. Miles looks at her for a long moment before nodding.
"He is my son-in-law. We do have regular contact."
Ariadne rolls her eyes at his answer. "Of course." She sobers a bit before forging ahead with her second question, pushing it out of her mouth before she can determine whether it's proper. "Did Dom tell you about the-"
Miles holds up a hand. "Don't. Stop. I don't want to know. I can't know. He's told me nothing specific, nothing other than a vague comment. He said that there were some unexpected circumstances and you were involved."
She stares at Miles. "That's really all he said?"
Her mind races when Miles nods. That leaves open ground in every direction. Miles could have an idea of what occurred, but it is more likely that he has no idea. Ariadne doesn't know if the world is off her shoulders or back on, twice as heavy.
"But please do remember, Ariadne, that although I may not know the details of your involvement, I still have eyes. And I can see that you're no longer that sparkling youth. Your grand schemes, Ariadne, that's what made you exciting." Miles sighs and clasps his hands. "Come back to reality. Your reality."
He smiles at her and Ariadne forces a smile. He looks back down at his papers and she understands that she's dismissed.
His words echo in her head as she walks back to her apartment. Come back to her reality.
She can barely sleep that night because her brain does not stop moving. By dawn, her eyes are red and her head hurts from thought and lack of sleep.
She realizes that she doesn't even know what her reality is.
