Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me. Apologies for hiatus, writers' block ,and all that jazz!

"Arthur."

He ignored her. His eyes met hers, but all she could see was the gun. Cold, metallic, and aiming for her abdomen.

"Arthur."

Silence.

Ariadne looked at him. His expression was unreadable. The gun did not waver, and neither did she. Finally, she spoke, breaking the thick, deadening silence.

"Put the gun down." She made no move towards him, but she swore she could see his hand waver slightly. "You don't want to do this, Arthur. Please. Put the gun down."

"Why are you at the safe?" he demanded, harshly. His eyes bored into hers.

"I'm just here," she said, quietly. "I can walk away from it. Here, look." Before he had a chance to respond, she took a few steps away, moving to the other side of the room. The gun followed her, but the conviction in his eyes was starting to fade.

"You're not interested in the safe?" He almost barked. She shook her head. "No."

He swallowed, seemingly appeased, and began to put the gun down. "OK," he said, mollified. "Shall we...?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Sit down," he finished.

Suddenly, she felt confused. There was a strangeness in his reactions that did not make sense. She nodded. "Yes, let's."

Smiling, he walked over to her, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Wonderful. Come on, then."


Eames swallowe, frowning. He'd watched Ariadne disappear into the coffee shop, and then shortly emerge with Arthur. This wasn't part of the agreement. We were supposed to stick together, he thought, irritably.

Feeling aggrieved, he began to walk, hoping to trace their steps to find them. He carefully dodged the projections, who were looking at him with their usual blend of boredom and hostility. He kept focused, aware that he was losing time.

Suddenly, he noticed a commotion in the street. A group of people, gathering on the pavement. A murmur of sound was emanating, sounds of confusion, and concern.

Eames swallowed, and began to hurry, moving to join them.


"I didn't double cross you," Cobb said, trying to keep his tone neutral. Trent looked at him, his expression inscrutable. "I-"

"Want to protect a man who isn't worth saving. How very noble. But you can't run forever, Dom. See you on the other side."

Cobb clicked off, and turned to Trent. "I-"

"Save it," the other man interrupted. "Its not Fischer; its Saito. He's the one we need. He holds the key." He looked at the three sleeping team members. "He asked you to do something that you knew, deep down, was never feasible to maintain. Now, he's using it to try and get what he wanted." The Point smiled, softly. "It would be so much easier if they'd just cut a deal."

Cobb rubbed his forehead. "How did we get into this situation?"

Trent shrugged. "Because he offered you something that you wanted, and its the same with Arthur. Simple as that."


Ariadne let Arthur wrap his arm around her. It felt warm, comforting, and familiar. She smiled, and leaned her head against his shoulder. "This feels so..."

"Good," he finished, breaking into her words and her thoughts. "It feels good, just the two of us. I can't wait until it is the two of us, forever." He shifted, and met her eyes. "We should leave the team, Ariadne. Things with them are broken, and I don't think Dom will ever fully trust me again." He looked at her. "We could just leave, set up ourselves, and-"

Ariadne shook her head, mindful of the fact she had a job to do. "Well, I suppose we could, but-"

"We could! I know we could! Ariadne, you have to trust me!" He grabbed her hands, his over-eagerness making her blink. There was something different about him. The sudden switch from cold anger to almost begging was not becoming - not as Arthur would act.

A suspicion began to niggle at the back of her mind. She swallowed, suddenly running through her thoughts. She began to get up, npoting how his hands were starting to paw at her. "I'm just going to get some water. Do you want a glass?"

"Water, oh, yes," he said, his gaze not wavering. "Thank you."

Nodding, she got up, and walked into the kitchen. She bit her lip. This is a dream, you have to construct it. Suddenly, she saw what she wanted sitting on the counter. Barely pausing, she reached over and picked them up. Sleeping tablets. She looked at the packet. Soluble.

"I need to do this," she muttered, casting a quick glance over her shoulder. Arthur was still sitting on the couch, not moving. Clearly, she reasoned, he trusted her enough to enter the kitchen.

Ariadne bit her lip. Her heart was starting to ache. Is this worth it? Is it, really? She'd justified her actions due to love - she was prepared to fight for him, to protect him. But, maybe Arthur didn't want to be protected.

Maybe he didn't want to be saved.

Swallowing, she poured water into the glass, and then procceded to drop in the tablet. As she watched it fizz and dissolve, she picked it up, steeling her resolve. Carrying it in her left hand, she took it into the lounge, and placed it in front of the Point Man.

"Here you are."

He looked at her, a smile lighting the corners of his mouth, and his eyes. "Thank you."

She looked at him. "No problem."


Eames approached the group, beginning to hear snatches of mumbled comments. He tapped a woman on the shoulder. "Excuse me, what's happened?"

She turned to him, her face filled with near-motherly concern. "Oh, the poor thing, he collapsed. He's so thin, just look at him!"

Eames, a coldly sick feeling gnawing in his stomach, began to move forward.

Lying on the pavement, seemingly in a dead faint, was Arthur.


Ariadne looked at Arthur. His head was falling forward, and his eyes were closed. His breathing, she noted, had become deeper.

Emboldened, she got up. Determinedly, she moved towards the safe, and bending over, began to twist the combination lock. She suspected that the combination would be the date they had got together.

The safe stayed stubbornly shut.

Trying to control her breathing, she twiddled the dial again, flicking the numbers to her birthday. To her surprise, and relief, a welcoming click was emitted, and the metal door swung open.

She looked, and her heart sank.

The safe was empty. Nothing was inside.

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