Nine
"So, how do we break this idea down for it to work?" Arthur asked one evening in their selected warehouse. He'd comfortably settled back into the rhythm of being a Point Man and was working as hard as ever.
Eames mulled over this for a second and stood up, uncapping a whiteboard pen and staring at the nearly blank board, his mind ticking audibly. "Emotionally invest him in the dust devils of Mars?"
Arthur chuckled a humourless chuckle. "Very amusing, Mr Eames."
"I've missed being belittled by you, darling," Eames added with an eye roll.
"Seriously, guys, stop fooling around," Cobb reprimanded, scribbling on his note pad like crazy.
"Whatever you say, Dom," Arthur said dryly, standing and gesturing to Eames to throw him the pen. He caught it neatly and sauntered up to the board, waiting for Eames to sit down before he started brainstorming. "Perhaps it would be best to stick with the emotional side of things, seeing how that worked so well on the Fischer job."
"Maybe there's a scientist working alongside Dr Billings that he's desperate to impress?" Ariadne suggested, scratching her head idly.
"That could work," Eames replied, scribbling it down on his pad.
Arthur nodded and wrote on the board, smiling sweetly at Ariadne who returned his gesture. Dom visibly squirmed and Arthur had to hold back a snigger. "I think we should run with that. I've done a little research and Mr Medrar has no existing relationships."
"Not to mention the donation would be very charitable if it was to impress a woman!" Eames added with his shark's grin.
"Wouldn't you know?" Arthur quipped, earning a few laughs as he dodged the pencil Eames threw at his head.
The plan slowly started to form before their eyes and within a few days, the team was ready. Eames had been in Washington DC for a day or two, finding an endearing female scientist and studying her so he could impersonate her and win Medrar's affections. Nearly everything was in place. All that had to be done now was the teaching of the layouts to the dreamers, a task Ariadne had not really been looking forward to.
Mostly because it meant spending hours of the night in a small, otherwise deserted room with a man who created emotional turmoil for her every time he did so much as glance at her.
Naturally, she put it off for as long as possible, explaining to Dom that she'd start teaching the dreamers the levels after all the other work was done so that it was fresh in their minds for the job. They were using a similar pattern as before, Yusuf being the Level 1 dreamer and dreaming up a warm, hopefully rain free city, Arthur being Level 2 and dreaming up an office building and Eames being the Level 3 dreamer, this time dreaming up a slightly more practical country club with expansive golf greens, lined by a paradoxical mountain range.
When she got into the warehouse that morning, she was almost immediately confronted by Dom. "Hey, Ari," he said with a wide smile, brushing a few stray hairs from her pretty face.
"Hi, Dom," she greeted, smiling back.
"So, today you're teaching layouts, right?" he asked, an odd air of anxiety surrounding him. He seemed jittery and nervous, like he was going onstage to collect some award.
Ariadne nodded, glancing at the door which led to her office. It contained her drawing board and sketch pads with all her models and blueprints. The room in which she'd be teaching the dreamers.
"Is everything alright? In place?" he questioned, causing Ariadne's brow to furrow with confusion.
"Dom, what are you getting at?" she asked with a sigh. She knew he had confidence in her to be prepared in time and she wanted to know why he was so avidly asking questions.
"I just want to know you're ready. This is an important part of the job!" he pointed out, nodding softly.
She rolled her eyes, finally tagging on to his odd behaviour. "Is this about Arthur?" she snapped, causing him to go silent. The extractor scratched his forehead, sighing heavily.
"I'm just worried about him, he seems a little on edge," he began, his hands flapping around at his sides.
"I think we both know you have every confidence in his abilities, even if he is pretty shaken right now," Ariadne cut across him.
"I suppose you are the one spending a lot of time with him. You'd know better," he said, his eyebrows going up.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm just saying, you've spent a lot of time with him recently."
"Dominic Cobb, are you... jealous of Arthur?" she asked, her eyes going wide.
"I didn't say that," he snapped.
"You implied it!" Ariadne added, rolling her eyes. "You're both just overgrown preschoolers, you know that? He was right about you," she snapped and turned to go to her office.
"What did Arthur say about me?" Dom asked sharply, catching Ariadne by the wrist.
It was Ariadne's turn to go silent as she yanked her arm from Dom's grasp.
"What did he say?" Dom insisted, his eyes going dark.
She stayed silent.
Then, Dom's mouth crushed down on hers as he pulled her close. She struggled for a second, shoving against him, but he was too strong.
Ariadne was so overcome by confusion that she didn't hear the warehouse door rattling open and then closing. So, it wasn't until Dom pulled away and she peered around him did she understand.
Arthur stood there, jaw slack, eyes wide and angry. He was paler than ever, his eyes darting between the two like he was trying to work out who he hated more. Then, he swallowed hard and averted his gaze to his shoes before muttering an apology and walking to his office.
"Who do you think you are?" Ariadne demanded, glaring up at her sorry excuse of a boyfriend. "How dare you use me to make Arthur mad! The man was in relapse for Christ's sake!"
Then, she stormed off into her office, determined she'd calm down before Yusuf came in to start the working day.
"Would you quit that?" Ariadne snapped, brushing crumbs off of her cardigan as she turned on her heel to face the irritating Forger.
"What?" Eames asked through a mouthful of bread.
"Throwing food at me!" was her answer, gesturing grouchily at the semi circle of crumbs that lay on the floor.
"That wasn't me!" he said, despite them being the only two in the room.
Ariadne just groaned and turned back to her model, returning to explaining the dream layout.
Eames just grinned and sat on the table behind her, tearing another chunk of bread off of her discarded sandwich and throwing it at her hair.
Ariadne felt it pelt off her back and repressed the urge to stuff it down his throat. "It's a wonder someone hasn't killed you by now."
"Believe me, I've tried," came Arthur's voice as the door opened.
"Not hard enough, darling!" Eames said, getting down from his perch and kissing Ariadne on the cheek before winking at Arthur and sauntering out.
"So annoying," Ariadne muttered.
"Hey, I was the one that was left to rot with him in a hospital for a week. Thanks for that, by the way," he pointed out, grinning widely as he shut the door behind him and stepped forward to have a look at the layout.
"I feel for you, Arthur, I really do!" she said with a giggle. "Ready to start?"
"Yeah, this looks good!" he said, grazing his fingers over blueprints and drawings of a massive office building.
Although she was getting tired and the very sight of Arthur made her stomach flip, Ariadne launched into a lecture regarding her plans, trying to ignore just who she was talking to. She was certain he was trying to make her nervous, always brushing against her, complimenting her genius and making eye contact with her as often as possible.
In all honesty, Arthur was enjoying making her stutter and blush. When he got too close, she became tongue tied. When he said he liked something she'd giggle nervously and sway a little, as if to keep calm. When she looked at him, he'd make sure he was looking back, just to make her squirm. He wasn't sadistic or sick but he genuinely loved the effect he had on her. It was the effect she had on him, but he'd learned long ago to mask his emotions if need be.
"Any level beyond three and seven is nonexistent. Those buttons on the elevator don't work, the stairwells are composed of paradoxes after that. No windows... anywhere," she said, pointing to specific points of her drawings in turn.
"I think I've got it," he told her, allowing the back of his hand to brush against hers.
She jumped violently and, upon realising how odd she was acting, quickly apologised. "Sorry, I'm just... on edge."
"I understand. Today must have been tough," he said, holding back a smirk.
"You have no idea," she muttered, picking absently at her nails.
"Eames is a handful... not to mention Dom," he added slowly, inclining his head towards her.
Ariadne blinked, turning slightly to meet his gaze. "What do you mean?"
"I mean he was really... rough with you, this morning," he replied, his eyes glittering in the dimly lit room.
"Arthur-" she began and found she didn't know what to say.
"Ariadne, I would never touch you like that," he insisted, drawing closer and caressing her face with his fingertips so lightly it was almost ticklish.
The architect was silent as she drew comparisons in her head. Both men were so temperamental, so inconsistent. But, as Arthur's gentle touch compared with Dom's strong, demanding grasp, she found herself leaning towards the Point Man, almost desperate. "I... I just don't know."
And then, hoping he could help her decide, Arthur closed the small gap between them and gently pressed his lips to hers, his hands stroking her waist.
Ariadne gasped as his fingers left blazing trails on her skin. Even through her t-shirt and her cardigan, Arthur was burning her, very similar to the tingling sensation of sunburn. She met his lips with great urgency, feeling her heart battering against her rib cage as she fought to control herself.
What about Dom? she asked herself. What about your boyfriend? She broke away from Arthur, slightly breathless as she thought. He stayed close, his eyes closed, his forehead pressed to hers, his breathing quick and irregular. His sweet, minty breath intoxicated her, making it impossible for her to think clearly and rationally. "I can't do this..." she murmured, barely audible.
"He doesn't need to know until you want him to, Ari. I love you and I want you, but the decision is yours," he whispered.
His only answer was the feel of her lips on his once more. But, for Arthur, that was more than adequate.
A/N: So... please leave me a review telling me what you think! Who are you rooting for, Dom or Arthur? And if you have anything you think I could improve on, please don't hesitate to tell me! S xxxxx