Oh hello, short chapter. Yes, it's quite short, but here's chapter 10 :)
Ariadne (6)
...4...3... She hadn't finished her silent countdown before -
"Jeez shit!" The Forger's eyes opened suddenly, panicked. He leant forward, feeling the back of his head with his hand, before looking at it. Ariadne knew he was checking for blood.
"You're early, Eames. " Yusuf looked at his wristwatch, before his eyes flickered up at him, under heavy eyebrows. "What happened there?"
Ariadne felt Cobb shift in his chair behind her. "What did you do this time, Eames."
Gasping in anger, Eames snapped "He's bloody fucked up! The projection snuck up on me and shot me in the head!" he glared at Cobb in disgust.
Ariadne winced. "But-"
No one heard her, as the screech of the wheels on a spinney chair scraped against the floor. Cobb had stood up, eyes blazing.
"Why did it see you in the first place? You were supposed to check out the surroundings and stay undercover. You were meant to make sure no one saw you: you're meant to be professional, Eames! What the fuck did you do!" On impulse, Ariadne released Arthur's cold hands and stood up, pressing her fingers firmly against Cobb's shoulder, pushing him back. She still heard him muttering as she sat back down to stare at Arthur, and the muffled bang of Cobb's fist against the wall.
Ariadne sighed quietly, before addressing her boss, "Cobb. Let him speak."
Eames sighed, and relaxed into his chair. Slightly excited (staring at a sleeping man does have its limits), she glanced at him in anticipation. Jokily, he began with "It's not that interesting, chaps."
The Architect felt as if the temperature dropped into the negatives, as Cobb muttered coldly, "Get on with it, Eames."
Stuttering slightly, Eames began his story, with him on a beach. Ariadne arched her brows.
How odd, she thought, before the Forger mentioned Hawaiian shirts. Her jaw dropped, but she closed it quickly as the man explained in his oh-so-derogatory tone. Dear this. Darling that. Add a hand flap. The man did irk her. Why oh why did that infuriating Eames get to see her Point Man? She missed the way Arthur softly mumbled, the corners of his eyes creasing as he smiled oh-so cutely.
The story continued with Arthur playing chess, before ending with a dramatic scene that Ariadne could picture in her mind.
Her hero stands there with a smoking gun, one arm around her shoulders, suit tails flapping in the wind. Eames falls to the ground and disappears...Arthur flips his loose hair sexily, before bending down to kiss her...
A gunshot.
Ariadne jumped from her stupor, looking around. It was only Cobb, who had clapped his hands and walked over to Arthur's feet.
She shook her head to clear away the thoughts, smiling to herself.
"Breakfast. Come on." Surprised, Ariadne found herself bustled to her feet and out of the door.
#
09:20am
"Breakfast, Cobb?" Ariadne shoved her hands deep into her pockets, talking more to the frozen ground as she shuffled around small snowdrifts.
"Yes well, my diligent team need a break sometimes." Her boss squinted up at a cosy looking café. He held open the door, bell tinkling, as she passed under his arm. She dropped down into a creaky chair, thinking about Arthur.
Breakfast. She thought. Reaching down to her right hip where her shoulder bag usually sat, she patted right through to her hip. Panicking slightly, she looked down, to see just that – her hip, nothing more. Gasping, she jumped up.
"I've left my purse at the hospital!" Panicked thoughts of Arthur and her purse ran through her head. Pulling her scarf around her tighter as the bell rang behind her, she headed into the snow.
#
09.32
Hurrying towards the automatic doors which slid open lazily as she approached, the Architect quickly washed her hands in the sink provided before nodding to the receptionist, signalling that she was visiting a patient. Attentively, she pushed open the grey door, feeling intrusive. On the counter was her brown shoulder bag – she sighed in relief and trotted over to pick it up. Next to the bag was a silver briefcase.
Cobb's words echoed in her head, I don't think Arthur's subconscious will take kindly to being messed with...
Acting on impulse, she unclipped the lid and pulled it open, the machine with its wires roughly rolled up glinted at her, as if luring her into Arthur's dream world.
Ten seconds. Ten seconds is all I need.
But look what happened to Eames in ten seconds.
Arthur hates Eames. He likes you.
How do you know that?
He kissed you!
Her mind was made up. Sinking into the deck chair beside the Point Man, Ariadne glanced over at him, lying down peacefully. A lock of hair was caught between his delicate dark lashes; she gently brushed it away with her finger, each strand whispering against his alabaster skin as she pushed them away.
The machine read, 0 hrs 0 mins 10 sec. Hesitating slightly, the girl hit the backspace twice, and changed 10 sec to 7 sec. That should be perfect.
Her eyes darted to the heavy silver door. Nervously, she removed the scarf from around her neck, and tightened the strap around her wrist. A familiar mist descended over her mind, and she relaxed into Arthur's subconscious.
Thank you for reading, anyone who still reads and waits for the updates :P I really do love you all!