Authors Note:

This story popped into my mind a few weeks ago and now, I finally had the time to write it.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas.

Please Review.

Mistletoe

Cobb had always enjoyed this time of year. The snow falling swiftly from the sky, the eggnog and the bright lights created the most beautiful atmosphere that existed both in the real world and in the dream world. He was very happy that he had agreed to fly to Paris with James and Phillipa to visit their Grandparents and the rest of the Dream Crew.

Saito had been extremely kind to him. He had become one of his greatest friends and dearest work colleagues. He had agreed to work as an architect for one of his American firms. It had been one of the best decisions he had ever made; he felt safe working for Saito because there was no longer any competition that would allow his company to go bankrupt. It was the perfect match.

Arthur had flown back the very next day after the Inception. He had been dating a French woman named Marie who had beautiful long and black curly hair. They had been dating ever since and for Arthur, six months was a true record.

Eames traveled the world as a lone ranger, his heart being only in his pants. He had used the money he had received from the job to finally visit Mount Everest, the one place he had always wanted to witness with his very own eyes.

Yusef had returned back to Mombassa and had spent valuable time with his wife, Augustine, and his precious cat Muffin.

Ariadne had flown back to Paris to continue her studies. Though Domenic Cobb had felt her presence never far from his own, since she had called almost every other day to ask how he was doing and how his children were. And every time she had inquired, he had responded to her honestly by saying: I'm happy, Ariadne. I'm just happy. And he was; he truly was.

He knocked onto the penthouse suite door, holding a bottle of Champaign firmly in his hands. He waited patiently for a few seconds before fixing his black tie that complimented his black suit that was paired with a white dress shirt and black slacks.

The door opened moments later; a beautiful middle-aged woman had opened it wearing a long red gown with ceremonial chopsticks in her hair. She smiled widely but he was the first one to greet her "Rina." He chirped, passing Saito's wife the bottle while continuing "Merry Christmas."

She nodded her head to him, her thick accent becoming truly apparent as she toasted him as well "Happy Holidays, Mr. Cobb." She laughed and kissed him once upon his cheek while whispering "Welcome to Paris." He thanked her with another nod of his head, his hands searching for his pants pocket as she closed the door behind them.

He looked around the large penthouse suite, his eyes bulging at how beautiful the suite was decorated and dressed. It was filled with red and green banners, silver ribbons, poinsettia flowers and a few mistletoe plants. "This is beautiful." He commented, his hands motioning to the large room crowded with people. Apparently, he was one of the last to arrive.

Rina smirked cheerfully in response and then pointed towards the back bar of the room while saying "My husband is speaking with a few of your work colleagues near the bar." He took that as a sign to join them and nodded his head in appreciation before walking towards the area that he was asked to join.

xxx

"Arthur, darling." Eames' thin lips beckoned as he placed a slight hand over his shoulder, his eyes popping as he watched Cobb walk towards them "Am I dreaming?" The entire group consisting of Arthur, his girlfriend Marie, Eames, Satio and Ariadne turned their heads towards the man dressed in black that was walking towards them. None of them had expected Domenic Cobb to show. In fact, they had a betting pool going for and against it. Ariadne had been the only one to think that he would make it.

"Merry Christmas." He spoke it to them calmly and politely.

Ariadne could not help but smile as she watched the man in front of her shake hands with all her colleagues. She leaned herself against the bar table, happy at not only the fact that she had won the bet but also at the fact he was their to celebrate this blessed day with her- them.

He stopped in front of Ariadne who had a look of shrill gleefulness struck on her features. She tilted her head to the side and asked "How are you, Cobb?"

He chuckled shortly and replied, just as he always had "I'm happy, Ariadne. I'm just happy." She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him quickly, a small and quick hug formed as their greeting to each other.

Once they stepped away from one another, Saito asked in a soothing tenor "A glass of Champaign, Mr. Cobb?"

Dom shook his head and replied, "No, I'm alright."

"Oh come on, Cobb." Eames started, signaling the bartender before muttering, "It's a party." He pointed to Ariadne who was holding a glass of champagne in her hands before saying "If the girl can tough it out-"

"Tough it out?" Ariadne exclaimed in a faux angry tone. "I could drink you under the table."

Eames chuckled, his arm wrapping around Ariadne's small shoulders "Now that, darling, I would not mind."

Ariadne rolled her eyes and her shoulders backward so that his hands could fall anywhere but on her flesh. She tried to turn her attention back to Cobb, whose features were pre-dominantly calm. "You didn't bring James and Phillipa?"

He shook his head, Arthur cutting in "Yeah, Cobb. I bet they miss their Uncle Arthur."

"Or their Uncle Saito." Saito cut in, a new glass of Champaign being passed to Dom.

He took the glass firmly in his hands before chuckling out "How about you, Eames?"

"What about me?" He asked, his eyes averting to Marie, Arthur's beautiful girlfriend who was showing way too much cleavage. His eyes snapped back to Cobb as he muttered, "You know how I am with kids-"

"Never had them, never want them, never was one." Cobb quoted, his eyes rolling at the infamous saying.

Ariadne looked towards her right suddenly as the music changed in the background. She marveled at the beautiful balcony; she concluded that the scenic views must be wonderful and that she must see them now. "If you would excuse me-" she muttered, her eyes immediately being drawn towards Cobb. Before she left towards the balcony of the suite, she placed a soft hand on his arm and whispered "I'm glad your happy, Cobb."

He watched her leave for moments as Marie was divulging information on herself to Eames and to Saito. He was happy and he honestly had thanked the God that he did not believe existed, every night for introducing him to Ariadne. She had helped him through the ultimate maze to gather up the most brilliant prize; his children.

"A little distracted are we, Domenic?" Eames asked as he elbowed Cobb in the ribs. Dom turned his attention back to the group as the man in the pink dress shirt continued, "I don't blame you though. She looks quite wonderful tonight, doesn't she?"

Cobb's eyebrows arched on the top of his head, the group suddenly staring at him. He had not even noticed if Ariadne looked beautiful or not tonight. He had no idea what Eames was babbling about. Arthur caught his breath and asked, "So, what is going on between the two of you?"

"Between who and who?" Saito asked, his expression baffled.

"Cobb and Ariadne." Marie explained, her petite French accent terrifying Cobb to the very core. Her voice was small but thick, like Mal's-

Dom shook his head at the theory in discussion. Nothing was going on between them. He had explained this to Arthur and to Miles thousands of times. "Nothing."

"How can that be when Miles said that you spend half your salary on phone cards to talk to her?" Arthur asked suspiciously.

Domenic Cobb chuckled at the question and answered, "I like speaking to her. That's all." He replied rather honestly. It was true. After a long day of work and of taking care of his children, calling Ariadne would work as his stress relief, even though sometimes it was hard to talk to her with the time difference and everything.

"Not every man and woman must be romantic with each other, Arthur." Marie commented. Cobb thanked the French woman with his eyes, her dark features and voice no longer resembling anything close to his ex-wife.

"I personally believe that we should leave the man alone." Saito smiled at Domenic who smirked in return. "If he says that he feels nothing for her, then he feels nothing for her."

Dom exhaled briefly and whispered "Thank you, Saito." He raised his glass of Champagne and drank to the comment.

"Obviously Mr. Cobb is too afraid to admit his feelings-" He quickly added, Arthur and Eames chuckled at the slight amusement. Cobb did not.

He took another sip of his glass and whispered, his eyebrows knitted "Okay. I think I need some air." He left in a hurry towards the balcony and towards Ariadne. She was the only one that seemed to make sense now days, anyway.

Eames turned to Arthur slowly and questioned in a low murmur "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Eames, the only thing you think about is sex."

"Well, now I am." He sighed out bitterly before continuing in a more calm tone "No, I'm thinking about-" he stopped and pointed to a few of the mistletoe plants that were hanging above them.

Arthur nodded slowly, in complete comprehension while he replied, "I'm right behind you." Thank god this suite had two floors.

xxx

"Is this typical for you?" Cobb inquired, walking out onto the edge of the balcony beside Ariadne, while asking "Standing outside, in the middle of the evening, doing nothing?" He smiled at her, as his arms found the balcony rest.

She smirked at him, her brown eyes twinkling as she responded, "I'm doing something."

"Oh really?" He asked, placing the glass of Champaign on the brim of the balcony. "And what's that?"

"I'm enjoying the view." She relaxed her hands gently upon the balcony. Her eyes narrowing as the snow gently fell around the beautiful city of Paris. "I love this city." She commented rather loosely, her fingers pointing to the Eiffel tower. "Now tell me, in what other world could there be something like that?"

Dom's lips pulled themselves into a smirk and leaned himself over the balcony just like Ariadne was doing. "In no other world."

"Exactly." She smiled at him, her eyes turning towards him. "So, tell me-" she started, her form slightly shivering from the cold winds "How is that woman that you've been telling me about?"

Cobb scoffed in a laughing manner, his mind noticing that she was trembling in her black cocktail dress. As he removed the jacket off his shoulders, he mentally noted that Eames had been correct. She did look really wonderful tonight. "She's fine, I think."

"You think?" She asked, her eyes narrowing. "Way to keep tabs on your women, Cobb."

He laughed at her comment, placing his jacket over his small shoulders. His hands grazing the back of her throat as he muttered, "She's great."

"I'm glad." Ariadne replied, even though she really wasn't. If she had to be honest, it hurt her deeply every time Dom had spoken to her about the new woman he was apparently interested in. She liked him, more than a friend. It was obvious; obvious to anyone but him at least.

Dom nodded his head once and asked, "On the 27th, Miles is holding a Christmas get together. I thought that maybe you might finally want to meet James and Phillipa then."

Ariadne thought about it for a moment. The 27th was five days away. It was enough time to buy them a few presents. "I would love that." She laughed moments later, throwing her head back as she inquired, "Do you remember when we were on the phone together a few months ago and we were talking about pasta sauce-" she stopped the sentence to continue laughing.

Cobb soon joined in on the loud chuckling as he remembered the detail. "He grabbed the sauce from the kitchen cupboard and threw it me." He laughed at the story, remembering his face being covered with tomato sauce "My little tomato artist." He commented, his eyes filling with images of James painting the walls and his face with the sauce.

"Oh god, I wish I would have been there to see that." Ariadne exhaled, her laughter coming to an immediate halt.

Dom smiled at her, picking up his Champaign glass and toasting "To the next time when you will be."

Her face beamed with happiness as she clinked her glass with his "I'll drink to that."

xxx

"Arthur, hurry up!" Eames exclaimed as he watched Arthur tie a long string around the mistletoe plant.

Arthur grunted, "I'm sorry. I'm not that great with knots." He finally finished the 'plan' moments later and Eames opened the slightly ajar window and slowly threw the mistletoe down towards the lower balcony level where Cobb and Ariadne where standing.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Inquired Arthur moments later. "I mean, what if they don't notice it?"

"Their both bloody architects, Arthur. They'll notice a wooden splinter, on the back of a wooden door, from a mile away." Eames replied back, whispering.

Arthur sighed and turned towards Eames while asking "Now what?"

"We wait."

"Okay." Arthur inhaled, his eyes on Eames' dress shirt "Eames?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Why the hell do you wear so much pink?"

xxx

"That is my favorite building." Ariadne uttered, her voice crisp in bewilderment. She was pointing to a building near the middle of the city that had a historical gray stone look.

Cobb could not help but smile as he asked "Any particular reason?" It was his favorite building too.

"Other than the fact then its right on the Champ Elysees-" she paused, her bottom teeth biting down onto her lips as she tried to explain, "I like it because it doesn't fit into Paris."

"You like its difference?" Cobb asked her, nodding in comprehension.

Ariadne cleared her throat and nodded while replying "Yes, exactly. It just kind of-"

"Completes it."

"Yes." Her brown eyes stared into his blue ones, while nodding in agreement. She turned her head back towards the scenery, staring at the beautiful view, her shoulders no longer cold from the heavy winds.

Cobb peered upward at the snow falling sky, a dull noise appearing from above him. His eyes widened at the sight of a mistletoe plant that was hanging, apparently, from the above floor window. That was an odd place to place a plant like that, he noted. He chuckled lightly and pointed upward "That's an odd place, isn't it?"

Her brown eyes locked on the plant and its supposed Christmas magic. They were, by tradition, supposed to kiss. "Yes, it is." She agreed with him, her heart filling with a sudden hope that maybe, for traditions case, he would kiss her.

"Ari-" he started in a slight whisper; he had grown accustomed to calling her that when he had talked about her to his children. They had always had a difficult time pronouncing her name.

Her brown eyes searched his face for a glimmer of hope as she asked "Yes, Cobb?"

He smiled at her and asked "Are you happy?" Her eyebrows knitted at the question. She was one hundred and fifty percent lost as to why he had asked her that. He repeated it once again to her "Are you happy?"

"Yes, I'm happy Cobb." She replied, holding in a soft sigh because she truly was not.

"I'm glad." He smirked his lips, repeating the same conversation that they had had before, only vice-versa. He leaned towards her, his lips finding her cheek before muttering "Merry Christmas, Ariadne."

He turned on his heel and walked towards the sliding door of the balcony, leaving Ariadne confused. She felt extremely jealous of the woman he was seeing suddenly. Those lips had been rather soft on her skin and she only wished to have him kiss her own pair in return.

Seconds later, he staggered back onto the balcony and grabbed his empty glass of Champaign while explaining, "I forgot something." He let out a two second smile at her and then turned back around again to say "You know what? I forgot something else." He leaned over to kiss her lips softly and briefly; just for a few seconds but Ariadne had already begun melting.

When he pulled away, he whispered "Tradition" to her as if it was the most normal conclusion in the world.

Ariadne could not help but wonder what his little girlfriend back in LA would think of such a kiss. So, she filled her veins with bravery and asked in a teasing manner, "So, who's a better kisser, Cobb? That girl you like or me? " Come to think of it, she didn't know her name.

His eyebrows perked upward as he replied "I'm not sure exactly. This was the first time I've kissed her." And he walked away from her, leaving her completely speechless. It had been her all along.

xxx

"Then there's ruby, magenta, puce, rose and fuchsia-" Eames explained to Arthur all the different shades of pink and why he wore them.

"Okay, I fucking get it. You like the color pink." Arthur grunted almost after three full minutes on the topic.

Eames smiled and nodded "That's all I wanted you to realize." He sighed deeply and looked up above him to see a mistletoe plant. "Ugh, Arthur-" he began, ticking Arthur on the shoulder.

Arthur looked upward, his eyes widening as he stepped away from Eames and his puckering lips "Hell no!"

"But darling, its tradition."

Authors Note:

I hope you enjoyed reading this.

I had a wonderful time writing it.

Please Review, it will be a little Christmas gift from you all LOL

Take Care and Happy Holidays!