Okay. Um, okay. So, I wasn't ready for that. This was supposed to be just an one-shot, but it seems like it would be too long. So, I decided to divide it into two (or maybe three) chapters. I've been working on this for a long time, because I can't really find the time to write it. Honestly, I wasn't planning to publish it now, I found the title just two minutes ago haha. But I was shocked when I saw how long I'm making this. This is my very first Inception fanfic ever, so please be gentle... I don't know if the characters are on point, I don't even know if my story makes sense. But I saw Inception a couple of months ago (I am super late, I know) and I kinda felt something, especially with Ariadne and Arthur. This idea just popped into my mind while I was watching Inception for the third time, and I knew I had to try it out, even though I was afraid it would end up suckish. So, before I let you read the story, I would like to say a major THANK YOU to someone that made me believe in myself and encouraged me to write this, to someone who made me fall even more in love with Ariadne and Arthur, to someone I owe my staying in this fandom, to RadCherishIsEve. You're a queen and I'm in love with your writing, so this is dedicated to you. :) So guys enjoy and please be gentle, it's my first Inception story :3
~Kelly~
"ARIADNE, NO!"
It wasn't supposed to be this way. This would be their last job and then they would quit. They would move to France and get a normal job. They would live together for a while, then get married and have children. Things that Arthur never considered he would do. But she made him see his own future differently. She made him realize that dream sharing wasn't his everything. She was his everything.
And she was gone.
Arthur felt his legs getting weak. He knelt down, his eyes laying on Ariadne's lifeless body, her hand still holding the gun she used to take her own life away. He kept staring at Ariadne's dead body. Her body was there, right in front of him. A puddle of blood had formed around her head, the spot where she shot herself was still bleeding. Eames took a step closer to his friend.
"Arthur..."
"Where's my totem?" Arthur demanded.
"Arthur, I-"
"WHERE'S MY FUCKING TOTEM?!" He cut him off.
Eames touched Arthur's shoulder. "This is not a dream, Arthur. She's dead. This is reality."
Arthur shut his eyes and covered his face with his palms. "No." He shook his head and looked again at his girlfriend's body. "How could I let this happen?"
"It's not your fault, Arthur." Matt muttered. "She thought she was still dreaming."
"And I wasn't there for her!" Arthur shouted at him.
"It's not your bloody fault!" Eames grabbed Arthur's face and hold his head into his palms. He stared into his eyes. "Stop accusing yourself." He mumbled.
"I just saw her shooting herself. Right in front of me. Two minutes ago. I told her I would always protect her. I promised we wouldn't be like Dom and Mal..." Arthur whispered.
"Arthur..."
"Look at her." He ordered. Eames froze. "Look at her!" Arthur shouted and with a sudden move he managed to stand up and immobilize Eames, his head facing Ariadne. Eames shut his eyes. "Open them! Look at her! Look at her blood! That's Ariadne's blood!" He yelled. "That's my love's blood..." Arthur whispered.
Eames lowered his head. "Matt?"
Matt, who was watching the whole scene frozen, ran to them. "Yes?"
"Please call an ambulance. And then Dominic Cobb."
"What am I gonna say?"
"Suicide." Eames muttered.
Arthur finally let go of Eames and glanced one more time at Ariadne. He took a step closer to her, but Eames grabbed a hold of his jacket and held him back. "No, Arthur."
"I want to touch her one last time."
"Arthur, I don't think it's a good idea..."
"Please. Five minutes ago I thought I would spend the rest of my life with her."
Eames let out a heavy sigh, but released his grip. "Go ahead."
The next second, Arthur was next to Ariadne. He sat beside her, not bothering by the fact that her blood was all over him. He softly placed his hands around her head and pulled her into his chest. He didn't realize when he started crying, he didn't know how much time he was standing there, with her lifeless body into his arms.
Eames kept his distance, not wanting to upset Arthur even more. Matt approached him. "The ambulance is coming. I told them we heard the gunfire and when we got into the room, she was dead. And I took care of the three unconsious dudes. I have my men watching over them. When they wake up, we'll see who they're working for."
"What about Cobb?" Eames asked, his gaze not leaving Arthur and Ariadne. "Did you call him?"
"No, I didn't know what to tell him."
"Give me your phone." Matt handed Eames his phone. Eames dialed Dom's number and waited for a response.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Dom. Eames here."
"Oh, hi Eames. New number again?"
"No. I'm calling you from Matt's phone."
"Matt? Matt Jacobs?"
"Yes. He's the extractor of our latest job."
"Good to hear it. He's good at his job."
"Yeah, I know. The reason why I called you is because we... um, we have a problem."
"What kind of problem? Is anyone stuck in limbo?"
"No, it's actually something worse."
"Worse? How much worse?"
Eames took a deep breath to calm down and not burst into tears. "She's dead, Dom. Just like Mal. She thought it was a dream." He whimpered.
"Who's dead? Who is in your team, Eames?"
"It would be their last job, Dom. They wanted to move to France together after that..." Eames whispered and brushed off a tear from his cheek.
"Eames. Who is in your team?"
"It was a difficult job. We needed the best. Since you quit, as an extractor I called Matt. I was the Forger, I called Joe to be the Chemist-"
"Please don't play with my patience. Tell me. I'm dying here."
"I also called the best Point Man and the best Architect I knew." He stated coldly.
"Arthur and... Ariadne?"
"Yes. Dom, I swear to God I thought we could make it, but-"
"Tell me everything."
Eames was the first to open his eyes. He took a glance around him. Arthur had just woken up. "Well, it was about time, darling" Eames told him. But Arthur didn't reply to his comment. In fact, his eyes locked somewhere in the backround.
"Stay with Matt and Ariadne. I think someone is here." He stated and walked away, to the spot he was staring at earlier.
Matt and Ariadne woke up and took the needle out of their arms. She glanced at Arthur's empty chair. "Where's Arthur?"
"He's just checking up the place, he thinks-" He was interrupted by a gunshot.
"Arthur?!" Ariadne screamed and stood up, but Eames grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her seat.
"You stay here with me, darling. Matt, go and check what happened." Matt nodded and ran away, taking his gun out of his pocket.
Ariadne started looking around the place. "Eames?"
"Yeah?"
"What is that?" She pointed at a large bag at the back of the room. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't there when we fell asleep."
"You're right, that thing wasn't there..." Eames muttered and stood up. He started walking slowly to it and when he reached it, he realized it was their unconsious Chemist in a bag. "Holy shit, this is Joe!" Eames exclaimed in surprise.
Ariadne came to him quickly. "Is he alive?"
Eames put his head above Joe's mouth. "He's breathing."
"Good, then wake him up!"
"Joe? Wake up, dude!" He gave him a forceful slap, making him jump up in terror.
"What the fuck, Eames?"
Eames smiled at him. "Shh, darling... Relax... And tell Daddy how you ended up in this filthy thing..."
Joe's eyes widened. "Oh right! Three guys broke into the warehouse. There wasn't much I could do, I was alone. They hit me with something really heavy and the next thing I remember is you slapping me. Are you all okay?"
That moment, three men walked into the room, two of them were holding Arthur and one was holding Matt. "Well, I wouldn't say that we're all okay..." Eames commented silently, earning a warning glare from Ariadne. She glanced worriedly at Arthur.
"Relax..." He mouthed to her.
One of the guys that were holding Arthur, aimed his gun to Eames. "So, you are...?"
"Someone." Eames answered.
The guy faked a chuckle. "Very funny. You're the smartass of the team, aren't you?"
"He definitely is." Arthur muttered.
"Hey! That hurt me, my dear Arthur..." Eames pouted.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "As if I could care less..."
"I'm sorry to interrupt your cute argument, but, in case you haven't noticed, we are the ones holding the guns, so you better do what we say!" The guy shouted.
"Well... Here is the part you're wrong, love." Eames said and cautiously took a step closer to them. "Because..." He revealed a gun from his jacket. "You're not the only ones holding a gun." He added and smirked.
"Leave that gun down."
"Oops, sorry I didn't hear you."
"I said," the guy aimed at Ariadne. "Put your gun down slowly, handsome boy." He stated coldly.
"Oh, so you think I'm handsome?" Eames smiled.
"Do you want me to kill her?!"
"Eames." Arthur warned him.
"Okay, okay..." Eames put his gun to the floor and kicked it away.
"Good. Now, is there any possibility that one of you will tell me your boss and the purpose of your mission without me having to kill or injure anyone?" No one replied.
Eames shrugged. "We're sorry. But I don't think you'll learn something from us."
The guy grunted and punched Arthur in the stomach. "TALK!" He yelled.
"Arthur!" Ariadne took a step closer, but Eames pulled her back. "Let me go, Eames!" She shouted at him.
Arthur gritted his teeth. "Ariadne, stay right there." He whispered, loud enough for her to hear and obey unwillingly.
The other guy who was holding Arthur cleared his throat. "Um, Boss?"
"What?"
"Why don't we separate them?"
"No, idiot. Now we are stronger than them. If we try to do something else, we're not sure how it will end."
Arthur took advantage of their conversation and with a sudden move he managed to escape from their grip and punch one of them right in the face, throwing him on the ground. Eames quickly ran to his gun and aimed the guy who was holding Matt.
"Let him go, darling." The guy did as he was ordered and tossed his gun away. Eames smiled victoriously. "Perfect." And shoot him at his leg.
Matt and Joe managed to leave two of them unconsious, while the third was fighting with Arthur to win his gun back. Ariadne watched in shock the whole scene. Sure, she had seen this kind of acts before right in front of her but only in dreams. This time was reality... Or wasn't it? Arthur finally grabbed the guy's wrists and made him kneel down, not being able to move.
"You just lost." He whispered to his ear.
"Arthur?" Ariadne called.
"Yeah, babe?" He smiled at her.
"I think I'm confused."
"No need to be. It's reality."
"But, but..."
"Ariadne." Arthur got serious. "It's reality." Matt, Eames and Joe were carrying the guys' bodies away.
"Well, it seems like I lost, but let's have some fun first." The guy whispered back to Arthur. Arthur heard in horror the guy to say, "Yes, my lady. I'm one of the dream guardians of this dream..."
Ariadne squinted at him. "What's a dream guardian?"
"There's not such thing as dream guardian!" Arthur said.
"Oh, really Arthur? Are you sure this isn't a dream?"
Arthur turned to Ariadne. "Ari, please listen to me. I would never lie to you. Why would I? This is reality."
"Or you're just a stranger forged like Arthur and you're trying to win her trust."
"What? Eames! Get over here!" Arthur shouted.
The guy looked deeply into Ariadne's eyes. "Are you completely sure that you woke up from all the levels?"
Ariadne nodded. "I think..."
"You think... But, are you completely sure...?"
"I-I..." She stuttered.
"Eames! Come here! Ariadne, this isn't a dream. He's messing with your head."
"Where's your totem, Arthur?"
"My totem? In my pocket." He put his hand in his pocket to check, but... "Wait."
"What? It's not there?" The guy looked at Ariadne. "Weird, isn't it? The real Arthur always has his totem with him, right?"
Ariadne glanced at Arthur. "Yes, he does."
"Then why not now?"
"I-I don't know..."
"Take the gun, dear. If you kill yourself in this dream, you'll wake up, next to your real Arthur."
Ariadne took a gun that was lying a few steps away from her. She held it in her hands. "Ariadne!" Arthur shouted. "Damn it, Eames! Come here! I need your fucking help!" He yelled.
"Do it, Ariadne. Wake up."
"Ariadne, babe, I'm begging you... Listen to me! This is not a dream! I repeat, this is NOT a freaking dream!" Arthur screamed.
"Then why don't you have your totem with you?!" Ariadne screamed back at him.
"It must've fallen from my pocket when I was fighting! Please, Ari, please, put the gun down."
"I'm sorry, but my mind is telling me that this is a dream."
"This is not a dream! He's messing with your mind! Please! I'll prove it! Check your totem!"
Ariadne stared at him blankly. "But... I forgot my totem at home, don't you remember that, Arthur?"
Arthur groaned. "Fuck, I forgot... But I told you to have it always with you..." He muttered.
"Arthur forgets such important things?" The guy said. "It doesn't sound like the real Arthur to me."
"Ari, this isn't a dream!"
"Yes, it is!" She put the gun to her forehead. "And it's time for me to wake up."
"Ariadne, stop!" Arthur yelled.
"Too late."
"Don't!"
Eames appeared into the room. "Asked for me, darling?"
Arthur threw the guy into Eames' arms and ran to Ariadne. "ARIADNE, NO!" But it was too late. She pulled the trigger just three steps away from Arthur.
Eames sighed. "And that's basically what happened."
"H-How is Arthur?" Dom asked.
"Not good, Dom. He's holding Ariadne into his arms and crying. Damn, I wanted him to prove that he wasn't an emotionless robot, but not that way." He whispered.
"Where are you now?"
"Germany."
"I'm coming."
"Okay, but-" Cobb cut him off by hanging up. Eames rolled his eyes, sighing. And then, they all heard a familiar sound.
Matt came into the warehouse. "The ambulance is here."
...
Three months after the Germany mission. Arthur was lying on a bed in Dom's guest room, his eyes locked at the ceiling. This is how he spent the days after Ariadne's funeral. Dom refused to let him live by himself in that condition, so he gave him the guest room his house in France and he decided to stay there with the kids for as long as Arthur needs help. Sometimes James and Phillipa sneaked into his room, just to tell Uncle Arthur a story, or ask him to tell them how he got that mark at his elbow, or even to lay next to him.
"Why is Uncle Arthur always in his room?" James asked his dad.
"Remember when Mommy left?" Cobb asked back. James nodded.
"You left with her." Phillipa pointed out.
"Yeah, but I left for a different reason. I left because I was just like Uncle Arthur. I had lost my love."
"Uncle Arthur is married?!" Phillipa asked in shock.
"No, but he was going to be."
"And what happened?"
"His girl left."
"Did she go with Mommy? In the sky?" James asked.
Dom nodded. "Yes, she did."
"But, it must be nice there! Papa said that Mommy was in a better place, with rainbows and happy people who never hurt or felt pain..."
"Yes, yes that's true. But the sad part is that they will never come back... And that makes us, who stay here, to miss them and be sad."
"But... Will he get better?" Phillipa asked.
Cobb nodded. "Of course he will. He just needs more time. He really loved her."
Dom knocked Arthur's door. No response. He knocked again. Nothing. "Arthur?" He tried to open the door, but it was locked. Panicked, he kicked the door open. Arthur was sleeping peacefully. "You scared me." Dom whispered and chuckled in relief, when he saw it. That silver case. "Fuck... No, Arthur..." He muttered and looked at the clock. Three more minutes. He let out a sigh and sat next his friend, waiting for him to wake up.
...
Arthur opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Cobb staring at him. He stood up. "Damn, you scared me." He muttered.
"Yeah, but not as much as you scared me..." Dom replied. "I thought you had killed yourself or something..."
"Sorry."
"It's okay, but..." He paused. "Don't do this."
Arthur looked at him. "Don't do what?"
"Don't dream of her."
"It's the only thing I have from her." He mumbled.
Dom patted on his shoulder. "I know. And I know how hard it is. Believe me. I know the struggle. I know how it feels like to know that you'll never see her again." He stared into his eyes. "I can feel your pain."
"It's not the same. You knew that, even without Mal, you had your children. They were your reason not to ruin yourself. I have nothing."
Cobb sighed. "Is there anything I can do or say to make you feel better?" Arthur shook his head negatively. "I get it. And I respect it. But, please, don't use this..." He tossed away the silver case. "It's unhealthy."
...
It was the first time that Arthur sat with them for dinner. He emerged into the room quietly. On the outside he was the same Arthur they all knew, but Cobb could understand that the man who sat on the table with them wasn't the same Arthur he was eight months ago.
"Uncle Arthur?"
"Yes, Phillipa?"
"Do you miss her?"
Arthur took a deep breath. "Yes, Phillipa." He answered. The girl approached him and gave him a big hug, letting a soft kiss to his cheek. Once she pulled apart, he smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you." He told her.
"Dad! James took my fries when I hugged Uncle Arthur!" Phillipa screamed two seconds later.
James started giggling as Phillipa ran to his side and tried to punch him. Cobb stood up. "Okay, okay, enough! James! Phillipa! That's enough guys!" He walked to them and tried to separate them. James stuck his tongue out at his sister, who bit his hand in response. "Arthur? A little help, maybe?"
Arthur chuckled and walked to his friend. "Okay, guys... Time to stop." He put his arms around Phillipa's waist and pulled her away from James. She tried to resist, but he lifted her and placed her to her chair.
Dom looked at Arthur. "Thanks." Arthur replied with a shrug. Dom turned to his son. "Apologize to your sister for stealing her fries. And for sticking out your tongue at her."
"No."
"James..."
"I'm sorry, Phillipa."
"Good. And, Phillipa... Apologize to your brother for biting him."
"Why?" She snapped at her father.
"Because you hurt him."
"Yeah, but-"
"Apologize, Phillipa."
"I'm sorry." The girl mumbled quickly.
"Great. Now we can start eating." Dom announced.
He and Arthur took their seats and got ready to eat, when Phillipa shouted, "But I still have no fries!"
...
After dinner, Arthur with James were sitting on the couch, staring at the TV without actually paying attention to it. Phillipa jumped into the couch and stared into Arthur's eyes. "You're freaking me out, kiddo." Arthur joked.
"I want to know about Ariadne." She stated.
Arthur gulped. "Ariadne?"
The girl nodded. "Dad told us that she went to the sky, just like Mommy. And that you really loved her."
"It's true. And I still love her."
"How did you meet?"
"We met... at work."
Phillipa pouted. "I expected something more romantic..."
"Well, you know Arthur, baby girl. You should have seen that coming." Dom said playfully as he entered the room.
Arthur saw Dom's car parking outside the warehouse. "Well, I hope the new guy is good at his job." He muttered to himself and focused again on his research. He heard footsteps. He turned around and saw his friend and teammate walking towards him. "Well? Where is he?"
Dom scrathed the back of his neck. "Um... About that..."
"You didn't find a good one, did you?"
"I did, but..."
"But..? He didn't want to come?"
"No... Actually, she is here."
"Wait. What? Our new Architect is a woman?"
"Well, I would call her a girl."
"You brought a twelve-year-old to build the levels to our hardest and most important job?!" Arthur raised his voice.
"No! Of course not. I'm saying 'girl' because she's young."
"How many jobs has she had before?"
"Ugh... None." He muttered.
"None?"
"None." Dom repeated.
Arthur took a deep breath. "Well, where is she now?"
"She's outside. I told her to wait. I didn't want you to be surprised."
"Yeah, whatever. Bring her in."
Dom nodded and walked away. "Oh!" He stopped and turned around. "Be careful. She's cute." He winked at him. Arthur gave him an eye-roll and kept researching for their target. Dom appeared into the warehouse again, followed by a young woman. "Ariadne, meet my best friend and teammate of five years now. Arthur, this is Ariadne. She's our new Architect."
Arthur and Ariadne shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Ariadne."
"Nice to meet you, too." He gave her a charming smile.
"So, what is your job?" She asked him.
"Well, I'll tell you later. I guess now you'll want to know what your job is, right?"
Ariadne nodded. "Actually, yes."
Arthur glanced at Dom. "Why don't you bring us some tea, Arthur? I'm sure Ariadne would love some."
"Oh, only if it's not a problem..."
"No big deal." Arthur replied quickly and glanced at his friend. Dom nodded and Arthur walked away.
"Hey! So you're saying that I'm not romantic?" Arthur asked.
Dom laughed. "You weren't when you met her. Or when you kissed her for the first time..."
Arthur widened his eyes. "What do you know about our first kiss?"
"I know that it was... dreamy..." He chuckled at Arthur's expression. He looked like he was about to murder him and then kill himself. "Eames saw you two lovebirds..." He muttered, grinning.
"Wh-What? When?"
"When you kissed her. Being a gentleman, as always. And, I gotta say, you were smooth my friend..." He supressed a laugh.
Arthur smiled sadly at the memory of their first kiss. He still remembered her soft lips touching kiss, her breath close to him, her confusion and the pleasure he felt for tricking her. Dom noticed Arthur's change of mood immediately.
"Okay, kids. Time for sleep. Say goodnight to Uncle Arthur and go to your beds. I'll come in ten minutes of goodnight kisses." Phillipa and James sadi their goodnights to Arthur and walked to their rooms. Dom glanced at him. "You okay?"
"I don't know... Do I look okay?" Arthur asked back.
"Arthur, I know it's hard. But you'll finally get over it. Do you see the progress you've already made? You're gonna need more time, but you'll be better. You can start over. You can find a legal job, find a place to settle, maybe..." He paused. "Maybe find a girl, too."
Arthur looked at his friend. "Just don't say that again, Cobb."
"Why not?"
"Because it's just wrong!"
"No, it's not! You're a young and attractive man. The fact that Ariadne died doesn't mean that you should ruin your life. You should move on. Not only with your job, but also with your love life."
Arthur scoffed. "Oh, please Cobb. You know me. I barely had a love life before Ariadne!"
"As I remember it, you had many women before her-"
"But those weren't even normal relationships! Some random hook-ups? That's a relationship for you?"
"Arthur, I'm not talking about those women. Do you remember Liz? Or Lacey? Or, that brunette with the blue eyes, Jessie! If I'm not so old to forget things, you had relationships with them..."
"Well, yeah, but..." He lowered his head. "It's not the same. None of my ex-girlfriends made me feel what Ariadne did. You know what I'm talking about?"
Dom nodded. "I'm sure I do, Arthur. That's love."
"Exactly. I mean, is it easy for you to find another woman now? After Mal?"
"Not really..."
"Then you get my point."
...
"Hello?"
"How is the craziest Englishman on Earth?"
"Oh, hey Dom! Well, I'm still extremely handsome and I drive women crazy... And some men. But what can I say? No one can resist!" Eames joked. "So..." He cleared his throat. "How is Arthur?"
"He's working on it. At least he comes out of his room. And yesterday we even shared some Ariadne memories with the kids."
"That's very pleasant to hear."
"Yeah... So, you know, the reason I called you is because... Well I was wondering... Are you working on anything right now?"
"Not really. I've taken a break since the job with Matt..."
"Oh, I see... Then, how about you come here? You know, just for a week or so. The kids have missed you and I bet that you've missed them, too. And also I think it would be better for Arthur. Like, you guys will start bickering each other and he'll forget about Ariadne for a while..."
"Sure! I was actually thinking about it. I'd love to see your lovely gangsters and that stick-in-the-mud... Maybe in a week? I'm gonna need some time to pack my things."
Dom chuckled. "I'm sure you don't need that much time for that, Eames..."
"I actually need. You know I love being well-dressed. It's part of me."
He sighed. "You know... I never understood your and Arthur's love for tuxedos and all that."
"Of course you wouldn't. See, that's why Arthur's the attractive one in your teams. Except for the times I'm with you."
Dom laughed. "Ouch, you're killing me, Eames."
"I'm sorry, dear. But it's the truth. So, see you in a week?"
"Sounds like a plan."
...
"I love her smile. I love her hair. I love the way she gets lost when she sketches. Damn, I love her drawings. I love they way she speaks, the way she flips her hair, they way she puts on her scarfs, the way she looks at me. I love the sound of her laugh, the color of her eyes, the smell of her hair. I love all of her."
"Holy shit, someone is in love!" Eames exclaimed in shock. "Looks like our dear stick-in-the-mud is not really a stick in the mud!" He laughed.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Just don't make it an issue, okay?"
"How can't I? This is big! Wait until I tell Dom about it, he-"
"No!" Arthur suddenly jumped in front of Eames and cut his way. "You. Can't. Tell. Anyone. About. This. Got it?" He told him coldly.
"Oh, come on, darling. Why not?"
"Just don't make me cut your balls off." He threatened him.
Eames gulped. "Well, there goes the lover boy. We're back on heartless killer mode." Arthur gave him an eye roll and walked back to his desk. "So, if you don't want anyone to find out, why did you tell me?"
"Because you two are close and I was wondering... You know..."
Eames gave him an evil smile. "What? What was our dear Arthur wondering?"
Arthur scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Just whether she's seeing anyone."
Eames raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"I was just wondering."
"So it's nothing related to the fact that you're in love with her."
"The phrase 'in love' is quite strong. I would prefer the term 'like her'... And no, it's just a simple question that crossed my mind randomly."
"I don't know."
"How can you NOT know?!" Arthur snapped, but quickly regained his cool. "I mean, she must have told you."
"She has."
"Then, you know."
"No."
Arthur gritted his teeth. "Okay, so let's both forget these last ten minutes, can we?"
"Oh, you wish darling. But now my mind is filled with your loving words about our dear Architect."
"Oh, just don't tell anyone about it."
...
"I wish you were here, Ari. I really miss you. There's not a second that I'm not thinking about you..." Arthur knelt down and placed a rose next to Ariadne's grave. He did that every day, the same hour. Even the first days after her funeral, when he didn't walk out of his room at Dom's house, he left just for half an hour to go to the cemetery and talk to her. "I love you, babe." He muttered and stood up, slowly walking away.
When he reached Dom's house, he saw a familiar car parked outside. "Arthur, darling!" Eames emerged from the inside of the house and opened his arms, welcoming Arthur to hug him.
Arthur smiled slightly and walked to him. "I'm not hugging you." He told him once he reached him. Eames pouted as an answer.
"You just hurt my sensitive heart and feelings, dear. I will never be able to heal this wound." He joked.
"Oh, you'll live." Arthur walked inside the house.
"You know, Arthur, I'm glad you haven't lost that hatred towards me. Life wouldn't be fun otherwise." Eames stated, following him.
"I'm doing this for you, Mr. Eames. I love keeping you entertained."
"How kind of you... Once a gentleman, always a gentleman."
"I'm blushing."
"You should be."
Their dialogue kept going on and on until they both entered the living room, where Dom with his kids were playing around.
"EAMES!" Phillipa squealed happily and ran towards the Forger, opening her arms for a big hug. Eames took her in his arms and lifted her.
"Hey there, little princess! I've missed you terribly! Look how tall you are!" He rubbed the top of her head, letting her down. "And here is the big boy of the family. More mature than his father." He joked and opened his arms, inviting James for a hug.
"I've missed you, Uncle Eames!" James exclaimed happily and hugged the Forger.
"Okay, kids. Why don't you go play at your bedrooms while the adults chat a little bit?" Dom suggested. James and Phillipa willingly obeyed and ran to their bedrooms.
"Eames, I'm so happy you made it."
"Of course I would. It's been a lot since I saw the kids. And a while since I saw both of you."
"How are you?" Cobb asked him.
"I'm fine. How are you?" Eames focused on the Point Man.
Arthur shrugged. "I've been better. But I've been worse, too."
"Look, Arthur-"
"You know, I'm tired. I'm going to get some sleep." Arthur cut him off and walked away.
"I'll stay here for a couple of days!" Eames shouted.
"That's great." Arthur replied on his way out of the room.
Eames turned to Dom. "I thought you said he was getting better."
"He was. And the way you two were bickering on each other a while ago, I thought he was much better."
"Maybe he was better for too long."
...
"Arthur!"
Arthur ran to Ariadne's side worriedly and grabbed her hand. "Hey, hey, relax. Relax." He told her, but she couldn't hear him. She was dreaming with Eames to get used to share dreaming. Eames opened his eyes. "What's happening?" Arthur asked him.
"Projections are attacking us. They killed me, but..."
Arthur raised an eyebrow at him. "But..?"
"But they're more violent with Ariadne. She's the dreamer. And they don't want to kill her."
"What are they doing to her?!" Arthur shouted angrily at the Forger.
"I-I don't know! They had us in different rooms!"
"Wake her up!"
"No! Arthur, she needs to get through this alone!"
"She's new at dreaming, she can't do this by herself!"
"Calm down and-"
"I'm not gonna calm down! I don't understand how this crazy idea sounds fucking good to all of you! Taking her with us? She was supposed just to built the dreams, not participate in the mission!"
"Arthur, I know you're worried about her, I mean after what you've told me-"
"Don't. Don't even dare to think about it again. This is over."
"Arthur!" Ariadne screamed.
He looked at her worriedly. "Why isn't she waking up? And why is she reacting like that?"
"She's new at dreaming. It's competely logical to react like that." Eames replied, and then a teasing smile formed into his lips. "But, the true question is, why is she calling your name?"
"I don't know, maybe because we've dreamt together many times before. I don't know, Eames."
"Is that a smile on your face?"
"No, it certainly isn't."
"Yes, it is."
"No, it's not."
"I know that smile."
"It's not a fucking smile."
"But it was a slight grin, wasn't it?"
"Wrong."
"I'm right."
Arthur glared at him. "You're wrong, Mr. Eames." He muttered and walked to his desk to continue his research.
"I'm right."
"EAMES!"
So, basically this is it. How did you find it? Was it too depressing? Too sad? Too cheesy? Please let me know! Ughh I'm crossing my fingers I didn't let you down! I don't know when I'll be able to update, school is being a bitch haha. But please make sure to give me some reviews, any kind of feedback is much appreciated :) Help me improve my writing! xoxo