Half an hour later, they were at the ticket booth at the airport.
"Hello, what can I do for you today?"
"Yeah, I'd like two tickets for Argentina please please. Separate."
Ariadne gave him her credit card and he gave it to the attendant. Ariadne put in her pin while Arthur took the card marked Arthur Lewis, which was his real one. Ariadne looked at the card curiously.
"Here you go."
The lady smiled.
"Thanks."
Arthur muttered while dragging Ariadne to security, they wouldn't actually board the plane but they had to get as far as possible. After they crossed security, they went back out the airport and Arthur called his contact from the car. He said that he could get the papers by the end of the following day which wasn't perfect but it was a start.
"Okay, now I'm gonna book us a flight for tomorrow night to New York, there's a cruise leaving from there in three days to Bermuda and back for ten days. I'll rent the penthouse."
"Will they even still have it?"
"I know some people."
Arthur smirked and looked back at the road, they would be staying in a small motel where they would never be suspected to stay.
"Thank god we're not staying here long."
Arthur said, examining the "stuck in the 70s" vibe decoration.
"I don't even care anymore, I just need to get rid of the stress right now."
Ariadne said.
"I might have an idea."
Arthur smirked. He put the privacy card on the door and the decorations were forgotten for a while. When she woke up, Ariadne sighed, content and took Arthur's hand in hers. He opened his eyes slowly and she kissed the nape of his neck.
"Please, don't ever leave me Arthur."
"Couldn't even if I wanted to."
He said, draping his arm across her bare body.
"Why is your last name Lewis? Aren't you Italian?"
"Half, my mom was Italian, she followed my dad to the US, he was American."
Ariadne nodded.
"You know, you're the only person I've ever spoken to this openly in my whole life, except my grandma."
"I had an idea. Why are you so closed off?"
"Because the more people you get attached to, the more they can just pick up and leave. But with you, I just can't seem to stay away."
"Well, I'm really happy about that."
Ariadne said. She sat up and grabbed Arthur's shirt from the ground. She slid it over her small body and made her way to the bathroom. Arthur thought she had never looked that attractive. When she came back out, they got dressed back in their clothes from the night before, Ariadne suddenly uncomfortable to wear the red and black dress that had a neckline that she would never in her right mind had picked out. They went back to the car and went to a cafe. They had late brunch and coffee and then went to see Arthur's contact who, by some miracle, had already finished Ariadne's papers. They fetched the passeports and credit card which were under the name of Sofia Davis.
"Alright, let's go to the airport."
Arthur declared. They drove there and got tickets for New York, which was where their cruise left from. Ariadne spent the entire flight sleeping on Arthur's shoulder. She was surprised she even slept at all because of her rather uncomfortable dress.
"Ari, we're landing, wake up."
Ariadne sat up straighter and Arthur took her hand in his.
"I have to go shopping for clothes again. And I would guess you do too."
Ariadne said.
"Yeah. We'll have time tomorrow."
She nodded and soon they landed. They went through customs without problem and got to their hotel. They picked up their keys, went up to their room and fell straight on the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
The next morning, they had breakfast in the hotel restaurant.
"How are you feeling?"
Arthur asked her and she realized they had barely spoken since they had arrived in their trashed hotel room.
"I don't really know. I feel like I'm in danger. All the time. And I don't know what to do about it."
"Ariadne, as long as you're with me, I'll protect you. I won't let anything happen to you."
"I know, but this goes deeper than that, it's not about you. I'm not scared to die..."
"You're scared to live."
Arthur finished her thought.
"Yeah..."
They were silent for a while, neither of them really knew what to say, Arthur understood, he had felt like that too. And that's exactly why he didn't speak, because he knew that when he was going through that, he wouldn't have wanted to hear any of the things he wanted to tell her at the moment.
"How are you feeling?"
She asked.
"I'm fine."
He lied.
"No you're not. Tell me the truth."
"I don't think I should."
He explained.
"When are you gonna get it through your thick skull that you matter too? That you don't have to keep shielding my feelings? I want to know how you're feeling, I want to be there for you just like you are for me, it's not because you've been in dream share longer that you have to be fine."
"Okay. I feel guilty. That you've been brought into this and that every moment you're with me, your life is in danger."
Ariadne gave him a look, he was still making this about her.
"I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see you die in a different way. It's not about our relationship, it's just how I feel. I still doubt reality, more than once a day. Every time I see you, I have to check my totem to make sure this isn't a dream, to make sure that it's real, that you're real."
The truth was that Arthur had never felt so strongly about anyone. He didn't care about himself, he never had because no one really mattered to him, if he died, no one had anything to loose. But now Ariadne did, so he had to protect the both of them so that they could stay together. He reached over the table and took her hand, rubbing small circles on it with his thumb.
"We're gonna need new totems."
Arthur said after a while.
"Let's go shopping, maybe we can find something."
Arthur nodded and smiled. They went down fifth avenue, where the nicest stores were. Arthur bought a couple of suits, among other things and Ariadne bought a few sundresses along with white sneakers, sandals, shorts, a skirt and a couple of shirts. By 3 in the afternoon, they were looking for suitcases, bags and new totems. Arthur got a serious black suitcase while Ariadne got a teal one, Arthur also bought a backpack and Ariadne bought a purse. They found their totems in an antique shop. Ariadne got a tiny heart locket and got a picture of Arthur put in that no one would know of, while Arthur got a small coin that he thought had a bizarre balance.
"We're all set then."
Ariadne declared.
"Wanna go out for dinner?"
Arthur asked.
"I don't really feel like it, how about room service?"
"Perfect."
They went back to the hotel with their multiple bags and put all their stuff in the suitcases.
"Where's the PASIV?"
Ariadne asked in the middle of dinner.
"I left it at my house."
"Shouldn't we have one?"
"It would be wise but there's no way to get one on such short notice."
"Oh."
"I have a gun though, and one for you too. I thought I could teach you to use it."
"I know how to shoot a gun."
"You do?"
"Yeah, my grandpa used to take me to the shooting range all the time."
"Well, one thing less we have to do then."
Arthur said.