Time for the next chapter! After writing this I think I may lean more towards Arthur. I adore Robert but due to their obvious chemistry in the actual movie, writing for Ariadne and Arthur is much easier. PLEASE REVIEW!
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Ariadne didn't get back to the hotel until nearly midnight. Because of the time she figured everyone would be in bed, and by everyone she was really thinking about Arthur. The last thing she needed was to have everything further complicated. She had just spent her night with Robert, gazing up at a cloudless sky wrapped in his arms, and she didn't want to focus on anything else. Of course, life couldn't be that simple. He was sitting outside her door, his head leaning against the wall, his eyes closed. In his hand sat one lone yellow rose, its petals slightly wilted from lack of water. How long had he been there?
"Arthur?" She kept her voice soft, knowing how terrible it felt to be jolted from sleep.
"Hmm? Ariadne?" His voice was thick from sleep and he had to blink a few times before his eyes could focus on her face.
"What are you doing out here?"
"I was waiting… For you," he admitted. He slowly stood, obviously still tired.
Yawning he asked: "What time is it?"
"Almost midnight,"
"Really?" His eyes flickered to his watch, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"Why didn't you just go to bed?" She wondered.
"I wanted to apologize first, what I did and said yesterday, it was…. Inappropriate. I also got you this," he held out the yellow rose, looking ashamed by its sickly appearance. She took it, pinching it's stem delicately between her fingertips and pressing the petals to her nose. Inhaling deeply she breathed in its sweet scent.
"You don't need to apologize," she said finally.
"Yes I do,"
"Why?"
"Because I should never have… You deserve to be happy and if you want to be with Robert I guess I respect that. I shouldn't have kissed you, I should have been much more polite and kept my hands to myself,"
"Please, Arthur, stop," she pressed a finger to his lips, stopping him from speaking again. "You aren't making things any easier, it would be much better if you didn't apologize,"
Confused he asked, "What do you mean?"
"Can't you just allow me to come back from a date and go to sleep without needing the PASIV? You make things so much more difficult!"
"The PASIV?"
"It doesn't matter,"
"What do you want me to do?" He asked with a heavy sigh. She thought for a moment… What did she want him to do?
"I want you to never have kissed me," she said finally.
"I told you I was sorry about that,"
"No, not last night. In the dream you kissed me, I wish you never had done that,"
"Why?" He wondered, still not understanding.
"Because if you hadn't I wouldn't have fallen in love with you," she blurted. Love? Did I just say love? Her eyes widened with fear, what had she done? Why was she so scared? Because deep down she knew it was true. She cursed herself for having said anything. His own eyes were wide, staring at her. She couldn't read his expression which made everything so much worse.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," she shook her head, her voice cracking slightly.
"Ariadne I…"
"I've got to go bed," she pushed him aside and fumbled with her key card, trying to fit it in the slot but missing each time. A steady warm hand caught hers.
"Let me help," Arthur sighed, still holding her hand he used his other to take the key from her and open the door. Her foot rested by the door, propping it open. However, she did not enter. She was completely engrossed with the feeling of Arthur's hand gently cupping hers. Shivers threatened to ripple through her body but she quickly shook them away.
"You can let go now," she whispered, unable to withdraw her hand.
"I know I can, but I don't want to," he admitted in a low tone that made a blush crawl to her cheeks. "Did you mean it when you said you loved me?"
"Arthur please I,"
"I just want to know if you meant it," he cut her off. She sucked in a sharp breath, knowing that lying would be stupid and pointless.
"Yes," her eyes fell to the floor.
"I… I love you too,"
"What?"
"I know you heard me," he gave a crooked smile.
With a nervous laugh I said, "I know, but I want to hear you say it again,"
"I love you," and with those three words thoughts of her earlier date melted away. All that mattered was Arthur. She lifted herself on her toes to meet her lips with his. He stood there for a moment, shocked by the sudden contact, but soon her melted into the kiss. He kept it light, innocent, and tender even though inside he was burning. She too felt as though someone had set flame to her body. Unable to resist she pressed her body into his, allowing her shape to fit the contour of him. It was strange, though. Although she wanted to be impossibly closer to him, she did not want anything more than what they had at that moment. It didn't matter whether or not they had sex, she honestly didn't want to. Her body did, of course, but her mind didn't. Instead she just wanted to wrap her arms around him, pepper his face with kisses, and then fall asleep by his side.
"Come on," she pulled him inside her room and quietly shut the door. Her eyes met his and she could see that his intentions were as innocent as hers. He wasn't planning on sex, he too just wanted to be closer.
"You're gorgeous, I know I never tell you that, but it's true," Arthur smiled.
"Well, for the record," she stepped towards him, "You aren't so bad yourself," and with that they resumed their kiss.
Thank you for reading and thank you to those who have graciously review my chapters. I hope to hear more from you all in the review section and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
