Ten Drabbles / Ten Songs Meme:

1.) Pick a character/pairing/fandom.

2.) Put your music on shuffle.

3.) Write drabble related to the song.

4.) Do ten and post!

Yeah, I know. I gave into the temptation and did one of these things. Shush, I was bored. And also curious. Arthur/Ariadne

~vOvOvOvOvOv~

The Black Keys – Lies

He sat up in bed, looking at her, gazing at her sleeping form. She was so beautiful. And she was all his. Maybe.

At first it was wonderful, they were in love. But then times got dark. Her smiles turned crooked, and she started telling him lies.

All he wanted was her, but now there was pain. Pain worse than any bullet piercing his skin, worse than any angry mob of projections mauling him. It felt as if his heart was too heavy for him to carry. Now all he wants is too escape it.

But he knows he can't – she's ensnared him. "To hell with today."

He said it was just pressure – Extraction isn't an easy game to play. It's just a phase. She's not feeling well. She'll come around.

They had sat on a bench overlooking the Seine. She was pointing out the architecture of the buildings surrounding them. Gothic, mostly. Renaissance, here and there. He wasn't really paying attention. She was curling a finger around her dark hair, then she would bring the hand to her mouth, her scarf, down to straighten her shirt.

"Arthur," she whispered, pointing to the sky. She had apparently stopped talking some time ago, but he had been too preoccupied watching her movements to notice.

"Arthur, the moon is ours."

He looked into her eyes - looking at him, looking back at her – and he smiled.

He smiled because he loved her. He smiled because she loved him. He smiled because she was lying.

He smiled because he loved her.

Keane – Somewhere Only We Know

Arthur wandered across the field, feeling just so peaceful. The place was so empty. It was beautiful.

He bent down, took his wingtips off, followed by his socks. He stuffed the socks into his shoes, tied the laces together and let them swing loosely in his grip. He walked across the emptiness, knowing exactly where to go. He'd been here a thousand times.

Eventually Arthur reached a river, as he knew he would. He sat, took off his beige vest, laid it gently – folded – by his side, and he rolled up his ironed shirtsleeves - smiling all the while.

"Even in sleep, I match. Suppose that's a good thing. Consistency, all that."

He sat crossed-legged, eyes closed and face turned up towards the dreamt-up sun, drinking in its warmth.

His mind then began to drift, as it usually did, to her.

"Ariadne."

Her name fell out of his mouth unintentionally, like a sigh let out when one is very tired but must still endure the trial.

Her hair was the softest of browns, her frame tiny and intricate. Always a scarf, a bandana, some small embellishment to draw his eye.

Thinking about her made him feel both complete and without.

He sat up, rolled his pleated pants up to the knee, grabbed his shoes, and stood up, throwing his vest over his arm like a towel over a waiter's.

He walked into the river, feeling the mud squish between his toes and trying to pull him in. It wasn't very deep – just over the knee in the middle. The current ebbed and flowed, seeming to follow his heartbeat, which seemed to follow his thoughts.

Coming up the shore on the other side, Arthur continued on, knowing where everything was. Every bug, every blade of grass as familiar to him as the back of his hand.

The grasses got taller, coming to his waist. He ran his hands along the tops of the blades, reveling in the slight tickle they produced.

He came across a fallen tree. Arthur walked over to it, threw his vest across one of the outstretched limbs and dropped his shoes under the branch.

He looked out at the emptiness, the beautiful nothingness that was his paradise.

Arthur fell back against the tree, his back resting on the decimated trunk of the giant thing, sinking until he sat on the ground.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the peace until his time was spent – the lovely sedative gone - and he was to wake to mixed emotions and wanting again. Arthur's peace was interrupted by a feeling of eyes on him. His eyes snapped open, only to find Ariadne standing a few feet in front of him.

She was wearing a white shirt, grey jeans, and a red sweater – the look complete with a grey, checkered scarf resting on her chest. She just stared at him, seeming a bit embarrassed, seeming a little entranced.

Arthur waited a moment before speaking.

"How long have you been here?"

"Well, I," she stumbled over her words, obviously worried she had upset him. "I was about to leave the warehouse when I passed your desk and you were still there, um -asleep, plugged in, and I - and I got curious, I guess." Her cheeks were flooded with a lovely shade of red.

"It's okay," Arthur said, smiling that small smile. "I understand." He wished he could talk to her more. But, she was just so - just so… Just so Ari.

She stood there awkwardly, him staring up at her, her glancing around, still feeling uncomfortable.

"C'mere," he said, patting the earth beside him, signaling her to sit down beside him.

She did. Arthur could tell she felt more at ease when she sat down next to him. He couldn't tell however, if that was a good or bad sign.

"This place is beautiful, Arthur. Do you always come here?"

"Mostly. Sometimes I make new places, sometimes I visit old ones."

"It really is amazing." She let her head fall on his waiting shoulder. "Has anyone else ever been here?"

Arthur placed him arm around her shoulders, letting her snuggle closer to him.

"No, this is somewhere only we know."

The 88 – At Least It Was Here

Arthur knew he really shouldn't like this girl. I mean – it was dangerous, right? Just look at Cobb and Mal! He couldn't count the reasons he should stay away.

So he just watched. He watched her chew on her bottom lip when she was focusing on a sketch. He watched as she designed skyscrapers, cathedrals, concert halls, 5-star hotels. Arthur watched as she walked out every day, throwing her bag over her shoulder – one arm swinging free, the other clasped at the handle – wanting only to run over and grab her free hand, walk her home, make her happy.

Make her his.

"Alright, darling, c'mon. You've got to stop this staring business," Eames said one day after Ariadne had said her goodbyes – earning a snide comment from Eames and a half-hearted smile from Arthur – and gone home.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're going on about," Arthur denied, pulling the notebook he was writing on closer to his face.

"Oh, please. You fancy her - Ariadne. Why else would be staring at her all day?"

"No idea what you're talking about." Arthur's voice was steel, warning Eames to back off.

Eames never was very good at warnings. "Arthur and Ariadne, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-"

"Alright, alright! Fine, I 'fancy' her," Arthur said in a mock accent.

"I know. Well, come one then, mate. When are you going to seal the deal?"

"We'll wait and see," Arthur sighed.

"You've got to be tired of that business, darling."

Arthur said nothing, silently loathing Eames. Because he knew he was right.

"Arthur. Arty-Boy-"

"Don't call me that," Arthur snapped, tossing his notebook on the table.

"Fine. Darling, you've got to make your move. This is a dangerous business we're in. You could be dead and cold at any moment."

Arthur said nothing, absorbing the information he already knew.

"You could be tied up, beaten. Killed , even."

"I know, I know, Eames. But it's not safe for me to be with her. It's just not a possibility."

"It could be at any time, Arthur. You could miss your chance. And just like-"

Eames was cut off by the sound of the warehouse door opening.

Ariadne came into view. "Hey, guys. Forgot my sketch book."

She pondered off to her work area. Eames looked down at Arthur, placed both hands on his desk. "It could be here, Arthur."

Arthur looked over at this girl, this girl he loved. And he made up his mind.

She adjusted her bag, her free hand swinging. "I'd go for the bold approach, mate."

Arthur jumped up, threw his coat over his shoulder, grabbed his bag in the same hand and ran over to Ariadne, catching her before she got to the door.

He snatched up her had in his. And he looked down at her. She looked at him, looked at their intertwined fingers, and smiled.

Arthur couldn't count the reasons to stay.

~vOvOvOvOvOv~

Other seven coming later…