A/N: I read over the first chapter and noticed that the beginning was a little confusing. The first paragraph or so was talking about how much time it took Ariadne to get on with her life, then the next paragraph jumps to two years later (before it was five months). Just thought I'd clear up any confusion.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inception.

Two.

She was ordering coffee when he saw her. She had looked around a few times, but didn't spot him. He was relieved. If she spotted him, then he would have to talk to her. If she didn't, he could be a coward and walk away.

He had planned to talk to her a week ago. Then he realized that in a city like Paris, he might never find her. He spent the last week or so practically stalking her, though he'd never admit it.

And there she was. Ariadne, one of the most captivating person he ever had the pleasure of meeting was standing at the counter buying coffee.

She turned around, spotted him, and dropped her coffee. He hoped that happened because of shock, and not because she thought he was so horrendous looking that the sight of him made her drop her coffee.

He bought her a new coffee before speaking.

"Hello," Arthur greeted. They started walking.

"Hi."

"It's been a while," Arthur said.

"Saito said you were in town," Ariadne stated. She seemed disconnected from the conversation.

"Just thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing," Arthur said.

"Why?" Ariadne asked. There was a slight hint of animosity in her tone.

"To see how you were doing," he replied.

"I'm perfectly fine," Ariadne said shortly. They turned a corner and crossed the street.

"Can you still dream?" Arthur asked curiously as they entered a store.

"Not good ones," Ariadne muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"I seem to only dream up nightmares," she said while browsing through some scarves. She examined one closely. It was red with white flowers placed at random.

"Let me buy it for you," Arthur offered. Ariadne ignored him and moved on to the next rack covered in ties. She held up a blue tie with lighter blue diagonal stripes against him. Ariadne tilted her head.

"It looks nice, don't you think?" Ariadne asked, "But it is a little expensive."

"It's fine," Arthur said. He was a little annoyed now at Ariadne's behavior. She was running away from him without actually running away.

"This green tie is nice to," she mused. She held the two ties up and tilted her head again.

"Which one do you like better?" Ariadne asked. Arthur stared at her. What was wrong with her? She turned back to looking at the ties before he could answer.

"I do like the blue one better," she mumbled to herself.

"Ariadne, we need to talk," Arthur told her.

"We are talking," she said absently. Arthur grabbed her wrist.

"No, we're not."

"Yes, we are."

She tried to snatch her wrist out of his grip, but he just held on tighter.

"Ariadne.."

"Let me go!" she yelled. People turned and stared at the commotion. A saleswoman came over and Arthur let go.

"Are you having some trouble?" she asked politely.

"No," Arthur answered tersely. Ariadne walked away to purchase the scarf and ties, and Arthur followed her. They stood in silence while the cashier tallied up the cost. Arthur moved to pay, but Ariadne was too fast and she handed over the cash before him. Arthur shot her a look, and Ariadne glared.

"Could I get these two wrapped up please?" Ariadne asked the cashier sweetly.

"I could have paid for that," Arthur told her.

"Shut up," Ariadne snapped.

They waited in a stony silence. The cashier returned with the two wrapped up ties, and they exited the store together. The walk back to Arthur's car was tense, and Ariadne wanted to do nothing but flee. She snuck a glance at Arthur. His face was passive, but Ariadne could sense he was annoyed. She focused on her shoes and began counting the steps.

One, two, three.

How many steps would it take for one of them to break the silence? She was betting on six.

Four, five, six.

Neither person said anything. Ariadne decided to bet on ten this time.

Seven, eight, nine, ten.

Arthur was speculating on if he should speak first. But why should he? After all, she was the one who was angry. They reached Arthur's car, and he opened the passenger door for her. She got in without any complains, and Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want another scene, especially not in a bustling public area. In Arthur's immaculately clean car, Ariadne was suddenly self-conscious. Her brown boots were scuffed and dusty. Her jeans suddenly seemed way too casual compared to Arthur's suit, and her shirt was a lot more wrinkly than it should have been. Ariadne began to fiddle with her scarf out of discomfort. Arthur got into the car and started driving. It took a few minutes of absolute quiet before he spoke.

"I'm sorry," Arthur said. Ariadne looked at him in surprise.

"What?" she asked. It was the kind of 'what' that didn't mean that you didn't hear, but that you wanted whatever the other person said repeated again for clarification. In this context, it is when the person, Ariadne in this case, doesn't believe what she has heard.

"I'm sorry," he repeated with his eyes looking straight forward at the road. Ariadne gaped at him before narrowing her eyes.

"Sorry for what?" she asked.

"Anything I did to make you so riled up," Arthur replied. If Ariadne was angry before, now she was positively furious. How dare he seek forgiveness without even knowing what he was apologizing for? Ariadne was ready to get out at the next stoplight.

"You don't even know what you did?" she hissed. Ariadne had a whole list full of his crimes against her. Granted, most of them, if not all, were from two years ago, but how could Arthur not know what he did?

"I'm sorry that I don't know every single thought that pops into your head," Arthur said.

"Well, I'm sorry that you're such a jerk!" Ariadne exploded. She moved to open the door, but it was locked. A good thing too, thought Arthur. The car was still moving, and if she had gotten out, she would have hurt herself. Ariadne let out a muffled scream. Arthur pulled over with a screech. They were out of Paris now. Before Ariadne could open the doors, Arthur locked it to prevent her escape.

"Tell me what's wrong," he said to her softly.

"You! You're the problem! You told me you would keep in touch after the Fischer job, but you never contacted me, not once in two years. No letters, no phone calls, no visits, nothing!" she cried. Arthur looked out of the car window and out into the rain. He didn't want to see everything that she felt for two years because of him. It would hurt him too much.

"You gave me a wrong cellphone number. It said it was disconnected," Ariadne ranted, "You promised to help me through the nights I couldn't sleep after inception. You didn't! You think you can just come back into my life after two years? No, you can't, and I don't want you to!"

Ariadne breathed heavily. She was afraid that she was going to cry.

"Are you done?" asked Arthur warily.

"You were supposed to follow me back to Paris," Ariadne whispered quietly. What she said was so soft that it was barely discernible, but Arthur heard it. His eyes revealed his shock, but it was quickly hidden again.

"Take me home now, please," Ariadne said quietly. Arthur complied, and they drove back to Paris in a lonely silence.

They were halfway back to Paris when Arthur realized she was crying.

Hope you guys like the chapter! Once again, constructive criticism is welcome.