I do not own Inception. Or any of the lovely reviews you're sending in!
How do I drop you without gravity?
Arthur had really had enough of this job. He had been shot at, had to deal with more projections than usual thanks to the Mr Charles gambit, and had to deal with anti gravity from Yusuf's insane driving.
Ariadne's maze of hallways had saved him, and he had never worked with an architect that could create such believable paradoxes.
But now he had to deal with something that was very near impossible, like Inception. Now they had missed the first kick, how was he going to give them a kick without gravity?
He practically swam through the air, stacking up the team like dominos. He hated 'death by explosion', with all the lights and the sickening jolt that was accompanied by waves of sound and speed catching up with you. The shivers stayed with the dreamers long after they woke up. But he would get them out of this nightmarish dream somehow.
He waited the time out as calmly as he could, before igniting the explosives, sending his team members to the floor. He waited to see if any of his colleagues eyes would show so much as a flicker. Cobb. Eames. Even Saito. He kept his eyes on Ariadne's face, waiting to see her eyes flash open before the lift hit the bottom.
He saw her eyes, before he jolted into Yusuf's dream with a face full of water.
He glanced across to the vans occupants.
Fischer was just kicking himself out of the van, with Eames/Browning in tow.
Saito was floating, unblinking…dead.
Yusuf was just starting to take oxygen through his air supply.
Ariadne was just waking up.
Arthur mentally breathed a sigh of relief. He offered her the mask first, knowing that her lungs were smaller, she had just woken from her first three level dream into a watery conditions and, underlying it all, he cared for her wellbeing far more than his own.
He watched her face regain its composure before taking the line she offered him. He turned to Cobb, knowing that once he woke up, he would need the oxygen more than all of them.
Cobb wasn't awake.
Cobb wasn't waking up.
Ariadne shook his shoulder, trying to pull him with her out of the van, but he couldn't, he couldn't, he just couldn't leave Dom.
But there was nothing he could do.
He swam to the surface, an adequate distance from Fischer and Eames, and clambered up the bank to Ariadne.
"What happened?"
Ariadne explained how Cobb had stayed in the third level to try and forgive Mal and find Saito. Arthur watched her pause over a few words. Limbo. Cobb. And third level. He knew something wasn't right.
"You went into Limbo with Cobb, didn't you?"
She looked at him, meeting his eyes for the first time since waking. He nodded, understanding just how fragile the situation was at the moment. He took her face between his large hands, his fierce eyes watching hers.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"In Yusuf's layer, the first layer of the dream heist. We're waiting for the kick up to the airplane, Saito's airplane."
"And who are you?"
"Ariadne Claire Mathews, 23-years-old. Living in Paris with one dog, Shire."
"And who am I?"
"Arthur Hale, 27-years-old. Living everywhere and nowhere."
Arthur heaved a sigh, letting his hands fall from his face. They sat still together in the rain for a while.
"You know I can't contact you for at least three weeks, Ri." Arthur stroked her hands with his, letting their fingers warm together.
"I know." She said quietly, closing her eyes. She was so tired.
Time somehow warped, just the way Yusuf had intended it to, and the remaining time drifted through Fischer's last words to Eames.
When Ariadne opened her eyes again, she was on the plane. Arthur was winding up all the cables to the PASIV. Yusuf was getting up to go to the restroom. All the others were still asleep…or in a coma.
It hit Ariadne that this would be the only time for a month that she could see Arthur, or talk to him…
It might even be the last time they would ever see each other. Cobol might get to him. The Fischer-Morrow Company might get to them both.
She unbuckled her seat belt swiftly, rose up and strode to him. As he turned to face her, she grabbed his lapels without hesitation and pressed his lips against his.
She hadn't fully comprehended just how much the senses were numbed in a dream, but she swore she would not ever forget again. His lips melded against hers, his scent enveloped her like she had hoped it would, and the taste. He was like sunshine in a green meadow.
He deepened the kiss, clutching her face in his hands. She slipped a hand under his jacket to rest above his heart, feeling it begin to speed up under her palm.
A dry cough sounded, and the pair broke apart, irritated, to find a very amused Eames sitting up to look at them.
"Didn't chase too far, did you, Arthur?"
Ariadne raised an elegant eyebrow, but said nothing.
"Go back to sleep, Mr Eames." Arthur muttered, placing a hand over Ariadne on his chest.
"Will you go back to Paris?" He asked, his warm eyes connecting with hers.
"Yes. Straight away, if I can."
He nodded, daring to kiss her lips once more before slipping back to his seat. She did the same.
When Ariadne was buckled up and settled, she made eye contact with Eames across the cabin. He winked, and she smiled in response.
"Et tu, Eames?" She asked quickly, before they would part as strangers again. "Where will you go?"
"Oh, here, there, and everywhere. Anywhere that'll have me. I'll be in touch with Arthur, though. You too, when the time is right. Seems like I'll only need to make a call to one of you."
He grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes, smiling a small smile.
The three heard a big intake of breath, usually made by people who are about to wake, and in a matter of seconds, Fischer stretched and opened his eyes.
Ariadne made a point of looking out her window for a while. Had the idea been implanted properly? How would they know, till they were weeks away?
She rolled in her seat, discretely checking on Cobb. He really looked like a young father when he slept. It was the odd eternal eyes that made his age questionable. Ariadne thought of him fondly. He would always be her friend and mentor. As long as he got back to his kids, she didn't really care what happened.
So she breathed a quiet sigh of relief as his eyes flickered open, looking to her and Arthur in astonishment. Ariadne saw Saito's head move in the seat in front of her, and heard him make a phone call.
Cobb was safe.
They had pulled off the heist.
She so very badly wanted to turn and see Arthur, but she knew that was a very stupid idea. She held her control.
They descended into the States smoothly, and began to disembark as strangers.
As Ariadne bent to retrieve her little black note bag, a well-known hand tapped her shoulder.
"You dropped this." Arthur said, his voice devoid of any emotion.
Ariadne turned without a smile, accepting the foreign piece of paper he offered to her.
"Thanks." She nodded, and went on her way, vowing to read whatever it said at the soonest opportunity.
As Ariadne approached customs, she watched, proud as anything, as Cobb was welcomed back into the states and whisked away by Professor Miles. Phillipa and James must have missed him. Would Ariadne ever see him again? No, that wasn't even the right question. She would see him again, with his children. She would make sure of it.
Ariadne very nearly missed Arthurs departure as she went off to book a flight to Paris. She felt silly, torn between remorse at seeing his retreating back, and the longing of merely seeing him. She was ridiculously attached to him. Once she had stopped denying her feelings, they had taken over her. Last time that had happened, it very nearly consumed her.
She couldn't let that happen again. They were just as much in a game as they had been when they first met. And she couldn't afford to lose that game.
Ariadne caught Arthur's eye for a second in the crowd…and then he was gone.
A short chapter to finish...
Will they end up getting together?
Well how should I know? :P mwahaha.
I'll be updating as soon as possible, though that might also depend on what everyone thinks of how this is going and where it is headed.
Thank you to everyone!
Light-and-Smoke
