Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me. All readers and reviews appreciated, thank you!
Arthur coughed, and hung his head over the sink. As he looked up, he grimaced. His face was pale, and his eyes bloodshot. He turned on the faucet, and let cold water run into his hand, and splashed his face.
He'd barely slept. What he'd said to Ariadne had been gnawing at him all night, like a persistent puppy with a bone. He closed his eyes, remembering the look of shocked hurt on her face in response to what he'd said.
"No, Ariadne is not a model," he snapped at his reflection. "But Eloise is hardly a brain surgeon."
He rubbed his face, despairingly. Swallowing, he walked into the main warehouse. Eames was already sitting at his desk.
"Morning," he said, pleasantly.
"Morning," Arthur responded.
"You've got an interesting task this morning." The Forger's eyes glittered slightly as he spoke. "Dream sharing. With Ariadne."
Arthur paled, then righted himself. "I can't. Too much work."
Eames smiled, smugly. "Liar." He narrowed his eyes. "You're avoiding her."
"No, I'm not."
"Nice little comment you made to her yesterday." Eames' voice was gaining a dangerous edge. "I'm sure Cobb would love it if he found out."
"If Cobb finds out, this whole plan of your is ruined." Arthur was defiant.
"He won't." Eames raised his eyebrows. "What's wrong, Artie? You were so keen to make her suffer. Payback, remember? All the times you would sit there waiting by the phone, only to then find out she was f-"
"All right, all right," Arthur said, irritably. "I'm in."
"Or would you prefer to be in her?"
"What?"
Eames was looking at him, his eyes narrowed. "You're falling for her, aren't you?" is voice was soft.
Arthur flushed. "No, for God's sake-"
"Yes, you are." Eames shook his head. "Otherwise, why else would you be hiding in here? Christ, Arthur! She's a drab little thing! She's boring! And you're falling for her!"
"I'm not!" Arthur's fists were clenched; so were his teeth.
"Prove it."
"Really?"
"Yes, really." Eames's expression was smug. "Go into the dream with her. And make sure that you're nice."
Arthur looked at him. "Its a dream."
"Set her up." Eames grinned. "You know you want to, Artie."
Swallowing, Arthur left the men's room, and headed to the main room. As he opened the PASIV, he heard a soft voice.
"Hello, Arthur."