A/N: Yay! Second chapter! I'm used to writing simple oneshots, so forgive me if this turns out to be quite awful _


Today was the day. It was a day of excitement for Ariadne and a day of dread for Arthur. Ariadne could barely sleep last night. She was too eager to find out what Arthur's sister was like. Would she be serious and uptight like Arthur? Or was she completely different? Of course, Arthur knew what she was like. Which was why he was so terrified.

At a quarter past 12, there was a faint knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Ariadne chirped, heading for the front door.

"NO!" Arthur shouted, throwing his arms up in the air, blocking Ariadne.

"Uh. She's my sister, I'll get it…" he said, his arms retracting to his sides as he turned around and hurried to the door, embarrassed.

He stood in front of the door for a second, just staring at it. Finally, he decided to look through the peephole. It was definitely her. Taking a deep breath, he cautiously grabbed the doorknob and threw the door open.

Surely enough, in front of him was a short little girl with the same dark chocolate hair and hazel eyes as him. Of course, she had grown significantly since he had last seen her, but in Arthur's eyes, she was still the same ball of energy he once feared. He wondered if she had changed at all.

"Arthur!" she squealed as she jumped her brother, hugging him tight and not letting go.

"Uhm hello, Zoe…" Arthur muttered. Still the same… he groaned in his mind.

Ariadne peered from her bedroom out into the hallway and giggled.

"Who is that?" Zoe asked, letting go of Arthur as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Hello! I'm Ariadne!" Ariadne chirped, emerging from her room.

"She has a funny name!" Zoe giggled, grabbing Arthur's hand.

"Ariadne, this is Zoe. Zoe, this is Ariadne, the woman I'm living with," Arthur sighed. He knew what was to come now that Ariadne had been revealed.

"Are you and Arthur dating?" Zoe prodded with a devilish smile.

"Wha- no! Of course not!" Ariadne stuttered, blushing.

"But… You like him, don't you?" Zoe pondered, standing on her toes to meet Ariadne's eyes. Ariadne was short, but Zoe was even shorter. But even though the petite little girl's eyes were unable to meet Ariadne's, it still felt as though Zoe towered over Ariadne.

"N-no! We're co-workers. It'd be totally wrong," Ariadne insisted. Her face was a bright shade of red now.

"Well, why not? Most girls think Arthur is particularly cute," Zoe pouted.

"Zoe…" Arthur said sternly, rubbing his temples.

"Oh poo. You're no fun, you old stick in the mud," Zoe whined, grabbing her suitcase and trotting off into the living room.

"I thought Eames was the only one who called you that," Ariadne chuckled.

"He used to be. Until Zoe met Eames and now I've got two people running around calling me that…" Arthur sighed, crossing his arms.

"Well, she's certainly… peppy," Ariadne breathed, her face was still burning up.

"Which is why I'm so terrified of her sometimes," Arthur groaned.

"You're afraid of your own sister? She's only 13!" Ariadne laughed.

"Well, I mean, just look at the way she interrogated you! You looked like you were about to die!" Arthur chuckled.

"Oh… hush," Ariadne muttered pursing her lips as she blushed even more than she thought was humanly possible.

Almost immediately after they got Zoe settled down, Arthur and Ariadne received a call from Eames. They had another job.

"What are we going to do with Zoe?" Arthur panicked.

"She should be alright here on her own, shouldn't she? I mean, she's 13 after all," Ariadne said, placing a hand on Arthur's shoulder to calm him. She had never seen him so nervous and confused.

"No, no. I can't leave her here on her own. She will quite possibly destroy your whole apartment," Arthur explained, pacing around the living room.

"We could take her with us, I suppose…?" Ariadne suggested.

"Are you out of your mind? She's a child! She can't be exposed to… that!" Arthur snapped, startling Ariadne.

"I'm sorry. It's just that Zoe can be a handful sometimes, but I can't risk taking her with us. She's just a kid," Arthur sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Why can't I go with you, though?" Zoe asked her tone sharp and harsh. Arthur and Ariadne's heads snapped to the doorway where Zoe stood, for God knows how long, her arms crossed and a convincing frown plastered on her face.

"Oh… fuck…" Arthur muttered under his breath.


Half an hour later, they were on their way to the warehouse. Zoe was jumping up and down in the backseat.

"Zoe, calm down," Arthur scolded.

"Oh, let her play, Arthur. She's just excited," Ariadne smiled, beaming at Zoe.

"Fine…" he muttered with a sigh. He refused to believe that his life was being controlled by his kid sister and a woman he had only known for barely half a year.

"Is Eames gonna be there?" Zoe chirped eagerly.

"Sadly, yes…" Arthur sighed. Zoe cheered.

"She seems to like Eames, doesn't she?" Ariadne noticed.

"Because they tease me together. They're like the Batman and Robin of screwing with my life," Arthur groaned.

The rest of the car ride was silent, besides the occasional chirp or two from Zoe. When they finally arrived, Zoe raced towards Eames and clung to his legs.

"The hell is she doing here?" he asked, confused.

"You know her. Headstrong. Domineering," Arthur said. Ariadne crossed her arms and glared at him. There was something wrong with Arthur, she could tell."

"Arthur, darling. Please tell me your 10 year old sister is not bossing you around," Eames sighed, peeling Zoe from his legs.

"Excuse you, I'm 13," Zoe said, frowning.

"Oh no wonder! I was wondering how you got so big. Sorry, love," Eames apologized, setting Zoe off to the side. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Where's Yusuf?" Ariadne asked, changing the subject.

"Hello!" a voice called from the other side of the warehouse. It was definitely Yusuf, but his body was hidden by a series of makeshift walls he set up.

"He's working on a new chemical. Best not to disturb him," Eames explained.

"Can you please tell us why we're here?" Arthur asked impatiently.

"We have a job offer... And no extractor," Eames explained, fiddling with his thumbs.

"So I'm here to find us another one? Then what about the rest of you? And more importantly, where the hell is Zoe going to stay because I can't have her running around while I do my work," Arthur snapped in a frustrated tone.

"Arthur said hell!" Zoe giggled.

"Yeah, yeah. Arthur's a potty mouth, don't listen to him," Ariadne whispered, grabbing Zoe's hand and pulling her away, glaring back at Arthur as she made her way to her workspace.

"Arthur, what has gotten into you?" Eames scolded, folding his arms.

"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me," Arthur insisted as he turned and stormed off to work, leaving Eames standing in the middle of the warehouse. Ariadne rejoined him a moment later.

"So, why'm I here?" she asked.

"Right. So while Mr. Grumpy Face Stick in the Mud finds us an extractor, we'll be working on the job," Eames explained.

"Something's irking him…" Ariadne bit her lower lip as she turned to look at Arthur.

"Oooh, has the little architect become smitten with our point man?" Eames teased with a toothy smile.

"What? No! I'm just worried about him doing his work efficiently! Jesus, Eames," Ariadne stuttered as she turned away to hide her face from him.

"Ariadne, love. This is Arthur we're talking about. The only relationship he'll ever be in is the relationship he has with his work," Eames noted, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever," Ariadne muttered as she quickly ran off to her workspace, once again leaving Eames standing alone in the middle of the warehouse.

"What? Is it Neglect an Eames Day? Cripes…" Eames muttered as he too slunk off to work.