I don't own any of the characters of Inception other than my own and am purely doing this for fun! Just to putting that out there, Now on with the story! :)

Chapter 7

Morning had finally come as Alexandra and Arthur both woke from their long night. Alexandra was the first to wake and felt a strong arm wrapped around her so tightly, she slowly tried to move his arm but he only tightened it to secure her where she's at.

"Trying to leave again?" Arthur said in a groggy tone, with his eyes closed and a small smirk on his lips.

Alex laughed and managed to turn her body around to face him. "Actually I was just going to take a shower." She countered, causing Arthur to chuckle and slowly open his eyes. "I think I like having you right here." Alex smiled as she tucked her head under his chin. "I think I like being right here as well." Arthur smiled; closing his eyes again and gently kissed her forehead. "Well then I guess we can spend the whole day like this then." Alexandra arched her brow and gently moved her head to look up at him.

"Aren't you going to come to the meeting? I need to debrief with the rest of the team."

Arthur slowly opened his eyes and stared straight into her blue ones. "I thought I made it clear that I'm not coming back." Alexandra frowned and gently rose up, resting her weight on her elbow as she looked down at him. "Arthur we need you. You are the best point man out there! And Dom would be devastated if you weren't there. I've been watching him Arthur he's becoming more and more unstable and it's scaring me and you know it takes a lot for me to be worried." Arthur sighed, pulling her back down next to him.

"Why did they want you?"

He asked so innocently, Alexandra frowned she knew he was derailing her plea to move it towards his own questions and in all honesty she couldn't blame him for having all sorts of questions however who was she to deny his questions he had for her. "According to Harold I had huge potential to be an extreme expert extractor and they felt that I was very easy to mold into their ultimate agent." Arthur stared down at her seriously and gently moved a piece of her hair away from her face. "But why not allow you to tell anyone? Why not try to include Dom or myself into this agency? They practically ripped you away from everything." Alexandra gave him a closed mouth smile and gently nodded her head.

"They felt that if I told anyone then you or Dom would convince me not to go… and they didn't want you two at first because they wanted to train me specifically as their own and then slowly include the both of you when they felt I was ready to take care of myself. That was Satio's agreement with I.D.A he was to free Dom's charges and have you, Dom, Eames, Yusuf and possibly even Ariadne employed by I.D.A. and I'll be honest Arthur they're not as dangerous as Cobol Engineering, if we fail to receive information right away they just resend us out until we do. They don't kill you for your mistakes and really it isn't such a bad place to work for."

Arthur scoffed, subconsciously pulling her closer to him, protectively. "They threatened to kill us if you didn't accept their demand and yet they're such a wonderful place to work." Alex smiled knowing he was going to counter that and immediately responded. "And yet they brought me back to you." Arthur snickered and gently kissed her forehead. "Well I will give them that." Alexandra burst out into laughter and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "So will you come back with me to go over the initial plans?" Arthur smirked at her and shrugged.

"Maybe."

Alexandra groaned out of frustration and started to find his ticklish spot. "ARTHUR!" Arthur started to laugh and wiggle away from her. "Alright, Alright! I'll come!" Alexandra triumphantly grinned at him, as she rose up from the bed. "Good! Now if you excuse me I'm going to go ahead and take a shower." She winked and threw the covers off of her and started to saunter towards the bathroom. Arthur smirked as he watched her and called out. "Would you need any assistance in there?" Alexandra grinned and gently bit her lip as she slowly turned around to face him. "Are you offering?" Arthur mischievously grinned at her as he rose up from the bed as well. "Maybe." He said coyly,

Alexandra seductively grinned at him as she leaned her body against the doorframe and lifted her arm above her head. "Well if you're going to be that way then I guess… I will have to Take. Care. Of. Myself all by my onsies… Shame really but whatever will be will be." She shrugged nonchalantly and walked into the bathroom.

Arthur grinned at her and immediately rushed into the bathroom, grabbing her from behind as she shriek. "Arthur!" Arthur laughed, as he started to kiss her neck. "I changed my mind." He whispered with such a growl in his voice as he turned her around causing her to allow out a loud, happy laugh as the mist of the shower started consuming the entire bathroom.

Flashback:

"Ok Alex… Talk. You say that you two are not! And I repeat not a couple and yet I find you two in bed together. I'm sorry girl but your defense is starting to become very weak lately." Marley accused while she and Alex were walking towards their next class. Alex smiled as she thought over the night before and slowly looked over at Marley. "He actually saved me last night from Jake." Marley arched her brow at Alex, even more interested as to what had happened after the party.

"What happened? What did Jake do?"

Alexandra blushed, this was the first situation she has ever encountered when someone did this to her and in all honesty she wasn't really sure how to respond to it after all the whole scene was still so fresh. "He tried to force himself on me." Marley immediately stopped in her tracks and stared at Alex astonished. "You're not serious!" Alex slowly nodded giving her friend a sad smile.

"Actually I am… And he was really close too until Arthur just showed up out of nowhere. And what blows my mind Marley is that I have been training for years to prevent these situations and when it happened I just… froze! And to be honest I don't know what Arthur and I are. He um… He told me he loved me last night Marley. We haven't even been on a date yet and I'm terrified that he's going to see something wrong with me and lose interest."

Marley shrugged looking over at Alexandra curiously. "Do you love him?" Alexandra slowly looked over at Marley and smiled. "You know what? I honestly do." Marley looked impressed and smiled. "Wow you didn't even hesitate!" Alexandra laughed and nodded. "I know! Isn't that insane? And apparently he and Clare are no longer together so I don't know what we're doing… I was afraid to ask." Marley shrugged as they were now approaching their class. "Well before this get's any further I'd ask him." Alex slowly nodded, taking in her friends words. "Yeah… I was thinking the same thing myself."

Just then, the topic of their discussion came walking their way with a happy grin on his lips once he saw Alexandra. "Hey!" He said in such a delightful tone and came right up to her and placed a soft kiss on the cheek.

"How are you two ladies doing today?"

Marley smirked at Arthur as she readjusted her backpack. "We're well Arthur how about yourself? Did you sleep well?" Arthur grinned at Marley as he bounced on the balls of his feet. She honestly had to admit that this was the first time she has ever seen Arthur this happy and when he went to stand right next to Alex, he wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a soft kiss on her temple.

"Best I've slept in a long, long time." He said in a low tone with a small smirk on his lips.

Alexandra then looked up and over towards him. "How was your History of Architecture exam? Did it go well?" Arthur smiled down at her and shrugged his shoulders. "It was fine… extremely boring and trite but fine." Alexandra laughed as she looked up into his brown eyes and smiled. "Well then I guess that's a good thing." Arthur softly chuckled as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Yes… I suppose but this is much better."

Marley immediately took that as her cue to leave so she cleared her throat to get the two love birds attention, which caused the both of them to immediately look over at her. "As adorable as it is to see you two finally acting like a couple I really need to head out and get to my art class so I'll see you two later alright?"

Alex smiled as Arthur wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close to him. "Alright Marley I'll see you tonight." Marley gave her a two thumbs up and then nodded at Arthur. "You take care of her you hear! She's too precious and I don't want to have to get her totally wasted to forget about you." Arthur laughed and nodded at Marley. "Trust me she's in good hands." Marley gave him a satisfied nod and started to turn away from them. "Good! Now bye my darlings you two have a nice day!" Arthur and Alex waved as she walked off.

Once Marley was gone, Arthur looked back down at Alex and smiled. "Why don't we try some more dream sharing today." Alex thought it over and then gave it a large smile. "I think that would be great!"

Arthur grinned, ever since that morning he felt like he was on cloud nine for the very first time in his life. Here he was with the girl of his dreams and sharing with her one of the most amazing things he has ever encountered. He had never expected this point of his life to happen and when it did he had to use his totem a couple of times to prove to himself that he wasn't dreaming. He then gently took Alexandra's hand and led her towards his and Dom's apartment since they both didn't have to be at class for another three hours in which he figured that it would give Alex enough time to get her feet wet in the dream world and try out a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Once they have gotten back to his apartment Alexandra sat down on the couch while Arthur grabbed the machine.

As she watched him walk into the other room, her mind began to race. She kept replaying the three words he had said to her the other night and couldn't help but wonder if he was just saying them to say them or did he really truly mean it. It was a hard thing to talk to him about but by the way he has been acting with her since last night it would seem that he really did mean what he said. However, she was still afraid and didn't want to move to fast because in all honesty she really did love him back.

Arthur then finally appeared with the machine and smiled at her. "Alright Alex just get comfortable and think of a place you would like to be." Alex laid down on the couch, as Arthur pulled the lead and attached it to her arm. She slowly looked up at him as he was prepping the machine, he noticed her staring at him so he smiled at her leaning down to kiss her forehead and smooth her hair. "Don't worry I'll be there in a minute." Alex nodded and closed her eyes as he pressed the button, leaving her in a deep sleep.

Arthur then placed the machine on the table and attached the lead onto his wrist and leaned over to press the button to have him fall asleep as well

Dream World:

As soon as Arthur opened his eyes, he saw that he and Alexandra were on a beach with a beautiful sunset. He smiled once he caught sight of the atmosphere and noticed that he was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a thin linen white button down shirt. He looked over at Alex and saw her wearing a purple linen cover-up dress that hid the little black bikini underneath. They both were sitting on a large towel with a basket and cooler not too far from them. The beach was completely vacant and it felt like they were the only two in the world.

It was absolutely beautiful and it must've been the most serene and calming place he has ever been to. He then looked over at Alex and smiled at her as she laughed at him, he truly was amazed by her imagination and the feeling she had built within this dream.

In all honesty if he didn't know better he would've figured her to be an amazing Architect as well. He heard the waves crashing and the seagulls calling as the flew over the crystal blue water and as the sun was setting created an orange, yellow and pink sky that literally looked like a painting.

Arthur couldn't help himself; he was so ecstatic to share this with her and immediately rose up to his feet and pulled her along with him. He hugged her very close to him and gave her a soft but loving kiss on the lips. Alexandra automatically responded and wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss between them.

After a few moments of them exchanging their embrace, they finally broke apart and took each other's hands and started to walk down the shore line in complete tranquility. "So tell me why the beach?" Arthur asked as Alexandra shrugged giving him a warm smile. "I thought something a little bit more personal would be more fitting to be honest." Arthur softly laughed and gently bowed his head.

"Well thank you for joining me and keeping me company."

Alex laughed and tilted her head to the side. "Arthur you act like this is a chore! This has to be the most amazing thing to ever encounter. Who would honestly hate this?" Arthur sighed as he slowly looked up straight ahead, giving her a completely honest answer. "Clare." Alexandra frowned and looked away, knowing that this was still a real touchy subject for him. "Arthur… I'm sorry for what happened between you and…" Arthur then immediately cuts her off and turns her to face him.

"Why? I'm happy. For the first time in my whole life I'm truly happy and that soul stealing succubus is not going to take that from me."

He then gently cupped her cheek, her blue eyes piercing his brown ones. "I meant every word of Alexandra; believe me I meant ever bit of it." He whispered and kissed her with such passion that Alex's heart was starting to speed uncontrollably.

Alex finally broke the kiss, completely out of breath. "I just don't want us to rush into this…" Arthur smiled at her and gave her a gentle peck on the lips and started to lead her down the shore line once again. "Trust me we're going to be alright." He smiled as they continued walking, talking about the protocols of dream sharing and how he and Dom had so many adventures and experiences within dream sharing. They walked for a good 20 more minutes until they both decided to head back to their little spot.

Once they had made it back, Arthur managed to start a small fire in a little pit he had made since it was starting to get darker out. As soon as he was finally successful he then came back and sat down next to Alex wrapping his arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder watching the fire burn and crackle.

"Tell me everything about you." He whispered, Alexandra smiled and gently tiled her up to look at him.

"I think you pretty much know everything about me Arthur."

Arthur laughed and shook his head. "Not everything… I want to know more about your family and what keeps that fire in your heart to continue burning."

Alexandra laughed, in all honesty she really has never been asked for that much detail before and to be honest she was very flattered to be asked this for once in her life.

"Well… you know Dom is my older brother and we both grew up in New York. Our father was a structural engineer while our mother played for the New York Philharmonic."

Arthur grinned at this, as he moved to lie down on his back. He supported his head with his hands behind his neck and looked over at her. "What did she play?" Alexandra smiled and gently laid down beside him, her laying on her side, resting her head on his chest.

"The violin. I remember when I was a little girl she used to play it for me whenever I was sad, it was so beautiful and it was the only memory I truly had of her."

Arthur nodded, feeling her wrap her arm around him, her head lying right on top of his heart. "Do you still see her? Dom never mentions you or your family very much. He's very secretive with it comes to those topics" Alexandra sighed, as she watched the fire dance and listened to the rhythm of his heartbeat.

"Our mother died of ovarian cancer when Dom was 13 and I was 11… After she died our father completely lost it. It became very hard for him to pick up the pieces and take care of Dom and myself so he called in our aunt to take care of us while he hid in his office replaying old home videos of he and our mother. It was like that for about two years until he finally broke out of it, he started talking better, spent more time with Dom and myself, he was also becoming more loving towards the two of us that it just seemed like our perfect little world was finally going to come back… That is until one day Dom and myself were playing outside and we both heard this huge bang! It scared me and Dom made me wait outside while he went to go investigate. And as he did, it felt like seconds were minutes and minutes were hours… I couldn't wait any longer, so I walked into the house hearing my brother shout out in horror and in anger. My aunt had just gotten home from the market hearing my brother screaming and immediately rushed into the house. I was walking as slowly as I could, scared out of my mind because if my brother was that horrified I knew that I would be as well. I heard my aunt scream and that's when I knew that I needed to see what happened. So I quietly walked towards my father's office hearing my Aunt crying, and my brother is now completely silent as I finally came into view I saw that my father shot himself in the head. The gun was nestled in his hand as he was completely faced-down on the desk, with my mother's picture in his other hand."

Arthur protectively pulled her closer to him as she continued.

"I couldn't help but stand in complete fear from the horrific scene. I gasped once I saw and it caused my Aunt and Dom to immediately turn around. My Aunt came rushing to me and hid my face from the terrible act of violence my father had placed upon himself and grabbed my brother pulling the two of us into a huge hug, crying. We finally managed to call the police and they investigated the scene, finding a note that apparently my father had left for Dom and Me… it just said that he loved us and this was not our fault he just couldn't live like this any longer and it wasn't fair for us to have to go through with a live but vacant father."

Alexandra's eyes then started to water, it was so hard to tell him this but in a way it was so uplifting to finally have this huge massive amount of weight off her shoulders as well.

"So many people asked why. Why would he leave his children? Why was he so selfish? Why did he do it? But to be honest I really truly believe that ever since our mother died he was just completely and utterly heartbroken and he did it because he was dying from a broken heart. You can only live with that pain until it consumes you and to be honest I never hated him for doing what he did, in a way I understood and in all honesty I think Dom did as well."

Arthur turned his head to kiss the top of hers and started to rub his hand up and down her body. "I understand now why Dom never wanted to talk about this… Thank you for trusting me and I'm truly sorry for your loss and what you've been through." Alexandra shrugged, she was so entranced by the dancing flames that she really didn't know how to respond.

"In a way it made Dom and myself stronger and closer… Dom was able to come here clearly on loans but I managed to get my scholarship and we both decided we needed to get away. Get away from our old lives as far as we could… So that is why we're here. And now Dom is happily engaged to a wonderful person and I…"

She then looked up at him and smiled.

"Have met someone who I truly care for, someone I can honestly love."

Arthur smiled back down at her and shifted his body so he was laying on his side as well, facing her with his arm wrapped securely around her waist. "I love you…" He whispered and kissed her gently on the lips,

Alexandra sighed, placing her hand against his cheek as their tongues started to dance with one another. Arthur pulled her closer to him, as they both closed their eyes getting completely lost in their embrace. The atmosphere was so peaceful, so alluring and this was a moment where both of their souls can finally connect with one another. They stayed like that for a few more minutes until they gently broke apart and stared into each other's eyes.

"Do you really mean it?"

She asked in barely a whisper, Arthur quietly laughed, smoothing her cheek with his hand. "Every bit of it. I will and always will love every bit about you. You're al

I think about, you're all I want." Alexandra laughed and pecked him on the lips. "Don't you think we're moving way to fast?" Arthur then shook his head, giving her a serious look.

"No… it felt like eternity to finally be able to say those three words to you. And now that I said them I never want to stop saying them."

Alex's eyes then started to water up and gave him a passionate kiss. Once she broke apart from him tears were starting to roll down her cheeks as Arthur gently kissed them away, holding held her close to him. "How could Clare allow herself to let go someone as amazing as you?" She whispered, Arthur shrugged, a small smirk appearing on his lips. "Don't know but I'm glad she did." Alexandra laughed and pecked him on the lips again.

"You know what? I'm glad she did too…"

Arthur chuckled and kissed her fully on the lips, never in his life had he felt so complete as he did now and having her like he was it just practically fulfilled everything he ever wanted as of right now and he knew that down the road everything he ever wanted was going to be with this woman and this woman alone.

Once they broke apart, Arthur rested his forehead against Alex's as she shallowly breathed. "I love you Arthur…" She said in no more than a whisper, Arthur looked down at her in somewhat surprise, sure she said it last night but she was also half asleep so he considered what she said was not fully creditable but hearing her say them now just made everything seem so perfect.

"I will always love you…"

She whispered, reassuring him what she said was true. Arthur grinned at this, his heart feeling like it was about to burst. "You don't know how happy you just made me." Alex giggled and glided her fingertips against his cheek down to his neck.

"No Arthur… you are the one who had made my life make sense. You kept fighting and fighting and all I ever did was push you away. Thank you for not giving up on me."

Arthur smiled and kissed her nose. "I never will my Butterfly. My beautiful, picturesque butterfly." Alexandra laughed, as she closed her eyes and rested her head under his chin. Arthur stared out into nowhere and just smiled and started to sing in a laughing manner. "SoOoOo Spread your wings and fly butterfly… Flutter through the sky my Butterfly…" Alexandra then burst out into laughter along with him as they both started to hum to the song together.

Once they were finished they laid their quietly for a few long minutes until Alex finally asked. "Tell me about your family…" She whispered, Arthur sighed and slowly started to tell her.

"My mom for majority of my life has been a single mother. My father walked out on us when I was 11 years old and left my mother to take care of four kids by herself. So it was me and my three sisters.

Alexandra then immediately spoke up. "You have three sisters?" She grinned, Arthur slowly nodded. "Yeah…" Alex then started to laugh. "So you were pretty much the only boy in the family then." She concluded, Arthur arched his brow at her and slowly nodded. "Yeeeaaah why?" Alex then shrugged, grinning at him. "It just makes complete sense as to why you're so in touch with how to piece an outfit together. You have really good style for a 27 year old." Arthur chuckled and slowly shook his head. "Thanks I… Think." Alex laughed and kissed his chest. "No problem, now how old are your sisters?" Arthur sighed and continued on with his story.

"Well Catherine is the second oldest and she's 25 like you, Lizzy is a 20 and Clara is 16 years old."

Alex smiled at him, kissing his neck. "So you're the oldest." Arthur then nodded.

"Yup and I practically had to a father to all of them when our father had left so you could only imagine how that went." Alex rose her head up and looked into his eyes. "So he left right around when Clara was born?" Arthur nodded.

"He said he couldn't handle being a father and a husband and wanted his own life and didn't want to deal with us so he just left. Since then I have had nothing to do or say to him, it's honestly better that way."

Alexandra nodded and kissed him on the lips. "I'd like to meet them one day." She whispered, Arthur smiled against her lips and nodded. "You will and trust me they would love you…" Alexandra giggled as she buried her face into his chest. "I hope so." She whispered as she and Arthur had finally now woken from the amazing dream world they have both shared

End of Dream & Flashback.

Arthur and Alex were now both walking out of the shower, both wearing towels around themselves as they both were looking for something to wear. "Arthur…?" Alexandra asked hesitantly as she found her jeans and found a clean white button down shirt of Arthur's and pulled it on. "Yes?" He asked as he pulled on a dress shirt and started to prep his tie, while she walked up to the mirror that sat on the dresser.

Alexandra looked in the mirror as she buttoned up the buttons, seeing him in the background. "I love you…" She whispered, noticing Arthur flinching from the sudden words. "Thanks." He said shortly as he sat down on the bed and placed his shoes on. He then looked up at her and saw the sadness in her eyes through the mirrors reflection.

Arthur sighed as he pulled on a blue sweater and gently walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking at her through the mirror.

"Look… it's going to be awhile before I can fully let you back in again. I just… can't say it right now. I cannot bring myself to say it because I'm worried that after this mission you're just going to go again."

Alexandra tried to protest but Arthur stopped her.

"Alex… when you left I felt like a part of me died. And now you're here and it's like trying to dig that part of me back out again and trying to revive it. I can't trust you, not after what happened and I know it's harsh to say but… before I can even dare say those three words to you I need you to prove to me why I should. What we did last night was purely out of longing for one another… I missed you so badly and seeing you, feeling you, touching you it just brought back everything like it was how it was but to be honest I don't think we'll ever be at that point again."

Alexandra's eyes watered and tears started to roll down her cheeks. Arthur caught notice of this so he turned her around to face him and gently wiped away her tears. "Hey… I understand that this wasn't really your fault. And I understand you had no true say so but things could've happened differently if you just opened up about it. You say you couldn't but there is always a way." Alexandra then finally spoke up not letting him continue.

"If I told you then you and Dom would've been killed!"

Arthur sighed and slowly shook his head. "Alex… it doesn't matter because when you want something bad enough you always fight for it and you leaving the way you did, not telling me was a sure indication that you really didn't want this. Because if you did, if you really did want to be with me and didn't want to work for them then you would've found a way to at least let them trust us enough to be told! But you didn't… You allowed them to walk all over you and take you away without a damn fight." Alexandra started to cry even harder and shook her head.

"That's not true!"

Arthur then glared at her. "It is… There is always an option, always a paradox we can take. But it just wasn't in it for you. I'm not saying I don't want us to give each other a shot but I want to believe that I can trust you again before I let myself all out there, before I give my heart out like that again. It's been a year Alex you've changed and so have I. Things are not the same anymore and…" His breathing became shallow as he ran his hand through his hair. "I cannot allow myself to fall anymore deeper than I had when you left. Do you understand that?" Alexandra slowly nodded, not daring to look at him. Arthur knew he was very hard on the subject but he just couldn't handle suffering the way he did. So he pulled her into a tight hug as she cried into his chest. Arthur soothingly shushed her, as he rocked her side to side and rubbed her back up and down.

"Shhh… please don't cry you know I hate it when you cry."

Alex then only started to cry even harder. "I missed you so much!" She said brokenly into his shirt, Arthur's eyes started to water as he turned his head and kissed her temple. "I know baby I missed you too." He then gently pushed her back and looked down at her watery blue eyes.

"Now come sweetheart let's go debrief our mission."

Alex slowly nodded and pulled away from him and grabbed her top she wore yesterday and her purse while Arthur smiled as he watched her. "Hey…" Alexandra immediately looked up at him as she pulled on her boots, seeing him smile at her. "You always did look good in my shirts." He grinned, that caused Alex to slowly smile at him and bowed her head. "Always liked wearing your shirts better than my own." Arthur smiled as he walked up to her while she finished zipping the other boot and pulled her up from the bed and into a warm hug.

"You want to know a secret?"

He said in a low tone, Alex looked up at him and nodded as he continued. "I always did too." He said laughingly and then kissed her on the lips. "Let's go ok?" Alexandra slowly nodded and walked away from him opening the door. "Alex?" Alexandra looked back at him and saw him fidget with his hands. "Trust me." He said with complete assurance, Alexandra sighed and slowly shook her head. "I always had…" And with that she walked out of the room.

Arthur ran his hands through his hair again, his nerves completely shot after just telling her what he did but in all honesty it needed to be out there so when all was said and done he followed the girl that he secretly still loves out of the hotel building to learn more on their tactics against Mr. Fischer.

So what do you guys think so far? That was a pretty intense chapter! I wanted to show how in-depth Arthur and Alex's relationship was with one another but I also wanted to prove that in reality even though Arthur and Alex did spend a passionate night together it still didn't completely fix things... It'll take a while for Arthur to fully trust her and Alex will have to do what it takes to prove to him that she is really here for him and not because of some mission... At least that's what we think so far ;). However, as a side note I want to take a moment to thank you guys sooo much for the wonderful story adds and reviews! You all have been so amazing! I hope that you all liked the seventh chapter and promise that more will be on it's way. So stay tuned my darlings for Chapter 8 it will be out soon! :)