Disclaimer: All but OCs are property of Christopher Nolan

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews. Sorry this took a little time, I got a bit distracted by the Inception_Kink meme and then was away for the weekend, so not a whole lot of time to write in. I'm sort of in the mood for more fluff and less... well, you know so this is still T-Rated but if you'd like the M-Rated version, tell me in a review and I'll see what I can do

By the time Arthur had gotten back to the small apartment he was renting and changed from his suit into an old sweater and black jeans, the tremors that spasmodically rattled through his body had stopped but he still felt a phantom pain between his eyes and his mouth was still very dry.

It was the first time he had died within the dream world, he realized. He'd never been caught by the dreamer's subconscious before or been forced to shoot himself to escape a dream that was breaking apart. It was always the kick that woke him up, every time. Cobb had warned him almost every time he'd gone under that he could die but somehow it had just never happened before this night.

Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, Arthur tried to work out if the shaking and constant twitchy nervousness he was feeling was really because it was the first time he'd died, with a shot to the head no less or because he was worried about Nick and what had happened to her in the time between his 'death' and her kick.

A fine misty rain had started up as he quickly jogged to the bar down the street from his building. The place was a relic from the 70s, neon lights, vinyl and all but the service was good and the booze was cheap and Arthur knew that was all he needed that night. When he ducked inside though, his sweater clinging to him in the damp, he noticed an extra patron amongst the older business men who came on a nightly basis.

Nick was sitting at the corner of the bar, her back to the wall and three empty stools beside her. Like him, she'd changed her outfit but if possible, she'd added on even more layers of raggedy black, an oversized cardigan and a scarf thrown over the black tunic and leggings she'd been wearing earlier in the day. Her hands were wrapped around a cut glass tumbler full of amber liquid and she was staring into the drink like it held some sort of secret she needed the answer to.

Arthur gestured to the bartender and then slid onto the stool next to Nick, who barely seemed to notice the world around her, much less his presence.

"What secrets is it telling you?"

She looked up suddenly, worry and then confusion flickering over her features. "Arthur-"

"I thought you had homework to do."

Nick unwrapped one delicate hand from the tumbler and held it up, so he could see it was trembling slightly. "I was but then this kept happening and screwing up my work. So I figured I would go out and drink until my hands stopped shaking or they started shaking for a completely different reason. I didn't think you'd be the kind of person to frequent places like this though?"

Arthur shrugged, pausing to take a sip of the whiskey he'd ordered. It burned his throat but sent a calming warmth through the nervous feelings in his stomach, so he knew it would be worth the hangover the next day. "Same reason almost. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, so why not go drink, until I can pass out and not dream?"

Nick stared into her drink again, looking like she was on the verge of tears. "I'm really sorry, Arthur. I didn't mean for that to happen, especially the shooting part. I-if I'd just kept better control over the dream –"

Later Arthur could never explain why he decided to do what he did, particularly with him never being a very physical person, but for some unexplained reason, he found himself sliding an arm around Nick so she was leaning against him, their heads close together.

"Nick, I don't blame you. You were trying to protect me... and besides, even if you'd kept control of the dream, he still probably would have known. Cobb told me before that some people have had training against extractors like us so if anyone screwed up, it was me because I should have found that out, okay?"

Nick nodded and let out a shaky breath, then smiled slightly, running her fingers over the edge of her glass. "I think a situation like this calls for drinking until we don't know what day it is anymore."

Arthur tipped his glass against hers and smiled back. "Agreed."

Arthur wasn't sure how they'd gotten from the bar to Nick's apartment but he did vaguely recall offering at some point in the evening to walk her home, because her neighbourhood wasn't the best place to be, intoxicated and late at night.

He dropped his head against his arm, which was currently resting against the doorframe as Nick dug around through the large ring of keys she carried, drunkenly trying to locate the one that would open her front door. Finally with a small cry of triumph, she produced a brass skeleton key that slid easily into the lock.

"Well seeing as how you got your door unlocked, guess I should be heading home too."

Nick turned so her back was against the door, her body bracketed on either side by his arms. "Arthur?'

"Mmm?"

A hand curled around the collar of his sweater and then he felt the faintest brush of lips against his neck.

"Thank you."

At that moment, Arthur made the second decision of the night that he would never be able to explain to anyone later. Even though he'd known Nick for a year and yes, she was pretty, he'd never really found himself thinking of her in a sexually attractive way. But for some reason, he had her pressed against the door, one hand tangled in her hair, the other resting above her head, their lips locked tightly together.

Nick tilted her head back, pulling him closer and then hesitantly opened her mouth, tongue flicking over his bottom lip. Arthur kissed back before shifting to lick over her pulse point.

"Arth-Arthur, we shouldn't..."

Arthur pulled back, instantly feeling like a complete tool for taking advantage of Nick's decidedly inebriated state. "Shit, I'm sorry Nick-"

Before he could finish his apologies and bolt, Nick pressed a hand over his mouth and pulled him close again. "I meant we shouldn't be doing this in the hallway... my neighbour is an incredibly Catholic grandmother and I don't want to be the one to give her a heart attack. Bu-but I still want to... that is, if you want to-"

Arthur quickly ran through his list of mental arguments about why doing this, with Nick, while drunk was a bad idea before he leaned down and kissed her deeply. "Absolutely."

The bright light lancing through the curtains and past his closed eyes was what woke Arthur the following morning. For a minute, he thought he had made it back to his own apartment, until he realized he was lying on a King-sized bed, not a Queen and it was covered with a thick wool blanket, not his clean, cotton duvet.

As he slowly looked around the room, he saw a familiar hourglass hanging from a corner poster of the bed. Suddenly everything from the night before came back to him and his headache throbbed as he recalled his split-second decision to sleep with Nick.

Oh that was bad, he thought Very bad Arthur. How are you going to explain this to the rest of the team? Or Nick? What if she regrets it?

Rolling onto his side, he saw a glass of water and a bottle of Aspirin had been left on the table beside the bed for him. Underneath the glass was a note, quickly scratched out on a piece of notebook paper.

Arthur, the note read. Sorry to leave you asleep and all... this undiscussed but Cobb called and wanted to debrief on what happened yesterday. I told him you'd be in later. I really hope we can talk about this and things aren't really awkward for you now. Nick

Arthur crumpled the note up and fell back against the pillows. Bad Arthur, very, very, very bad Arthur.