A/N: Hello again. Okay, just going to say this now. I do have a life. (Gasp!) I'm actually on a road trip, and I'm addicted to this couple. So. Ha.
This is a very fluffy fic. You were warned.
Disclaimer! I do not own own Inception or it's lovely characters. (:
Some nights, Ariadne didn't go home. She'd stay in the warehouse working feverishly on the tasks presented to her. No one would ever mention her tousled hair or red eyes the next day, and Ariadne liked it that way.
But then there where the sunrises. Light would slip into her studio, catching her off guard. With this natural lighting came the exasperation.
"I stayed here all night again?" Ariadne would sigh and toss her tools to the side. She would then pad across the empty warehouse in hopes of seeing the last glimpse of the Paris night.
Before Cobb gave up his job for Phillipa and James, he'd be in their "headquarters" as well, but he and Ariadne seldom talked.
I need a life, She concluded. This'll be the death of me.
But that was before he came early one day.
At 5:30 in the morning, Ariadne was bent over a scale model. It, like Fishcher's first dream, was a city. This world was a bit more downplayed than her first project, but it would work perfectly for their mark, who happened to be a business woman.
Just as Ariadne grabbed her ruler, she heard an loud noise from across the warehouse. She instinctively snatched up her sculpting knife and stepped in front of her table.
"W-Who's there?" She called out. "I have an exacto-knife!"
Another loud noise echoed through the empty studio.
"I'll call the police!" Ariadne threatened, feeling weak for doing so.
Footsteps. They were coming in her direction. Fearing for her life, Ariadne scrambled under her desk. She still held the exacto-knife in her shaking hand, but she knew it wouldn't be of much use. In order to prepare herself for the worse, she twisted her eyes shut.
"Ariadne? What're you doing under your desk?"
She knew that voice. It was voice that had comforted Ariadne when Mal stabbed her during Cobb's dream. The voice that taught her about totems. The voice that belonged to the man with the lips she had kissed during Fischer's dream.
"A-Arthur?" Ariadne opened her eyes and got up all too quickly. The top of head smashed into the bottom of her desk with a loud bang.
Nice going Ariadne. You stupid klutz. Now he'll never talk to you again.
She was wrong, for he bent down from his spot in front of desk and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yeah. Just fine," Ariadne muttered, rubbing the quickly forming bump at the top of her head. "I was just looking for my knife." She added, waving the tool at him.
"I thought you had it already." He smirked, and she could barely keep from melting.
Keep it together, Ariadne! You're stronger than this!
"You heard that?"
"I was the one you were threatening, after all."
"Oh... About that... I can explain..." She smiled at him sheepishly before crawling out from under the desk.
"I sure hope you can explain it," He chuckled. "You're the one with the knife after all."
She dropped the knife as if it were on fire. He laughed softly. Ariadne was the most amusing woman he had met.
Really, there was nothing not to like about Ariadne. She was beautiful with deep eyes that Arthur couldn't help but get lost in. More importantly, she was whip smart and a quick to learn.
"What are you doing here?" Ariadne asked, snapping Arthur back into reality. She noticed his staring and tried her best not to blush.
"The electricity's gone temporarily in my apartment, and I have extra research I need to finish."
In truth, that was lie. He knew that Ariadne would be here. He couldn't sleep, and she was enjoyable to talk to. So he hauled himself to the warehouse in hopes she'd be one for conversation.
"What are you doing here?" He echoes and she ducks her head in embarrassment.
"Sometimes I get so engrossed in my work that I lose track of the time. It's stupid..."
"No it's not," He reassures her. "You put your heart in to everything you do, Ariadne. It's one of your best traits."
Her eyes widened. "You really think so?"To this day, Ariadne still wonders what she was doing. She never acted so insecure around anyone.
"Of course." Arthur nodded and she beamed.
Just then, light started to peek through a nearby window. Arthur smiled, but Ariadne frowned.
"Shit." Ariadne cursed. Another sleepless night.
"What?" He questioned softly. He hated to see her upset.
"I... It's nothing."
"Want to watch the sunrise with me, Ariadne?"
Her eyes shot upwards. She searched through his pale brown eyes and only found sincerity. Ariadne wondered when the last time anyone was sincere with her.
"You... Want to watch it... With me?" Ariadne marveled.
Arthur smirked and said, "Thats what I'm implying, yes."
"Oh! S-sure!"
He delicatley wrapped his fingers around her wrist and guided her to across the warehouse. Near where Ariadne experienced her first dream, there was the largest window in the whole place. It covered nearly half of the cement wall, and was lit by the rising sun.
"Huh," Ariadne mumbled as they sat down in front of the window; his legs crossed, hers drawn up to her chest. "It never looks this pretty."
"Strange. Maybe it's because I'm here."
Ariadne laughed nervously while he chuckled wholeheartedly. She knew that was the exact reason the sunrise looked amazing, but she didn't say anything.
Without anything logical to talk about, Ariadne rambled, "So... you knew that the Sun is one big star, right? I just think it's weird that we all revolve around one star, just because it's the biggest. Don't the other stars get any credit?"
"I guess not..." Arthur sighed.
"They must feel like crap, those little star-"
"Ariadne?" Arthur cut in with the slightest bit of guilt. He had always liked the way Ariadne thought. But her ideas would have to wait.
"Y-Yeah?" She squeaked.
Before she could continue her ramble, his lips collided with hers. Her heart sped up so fast she was afraid she'd stop breathing. Kissing him back, Ariadne's hands found their way into Arthur's gelled hair. He kissed her hungrily, releasing the burning desire he'd kept in for months. Soon enough, Arthur's hands were on her waist, pulling Ariadne gently closer to him.
When they came up for air a few moments later, both realized that the sun had reached it's peak in the sky.
"Damn," Arthur grinned at the dazed Ariadne. "We missed it."
But she couldn't speak. For once in her life, Ariadne had lost the ability to speak.
"I.. Uh... I better go." She finally managed. She stood quickly and ran towards the desk. She gathered all her supplies clumsily into her shaking arms while Arthur watched her with amusement. Ariadne would never bore him.
She ran for the door, stumbling slightly. He had left her in pure delirium.
Once she was safely outside, Ariadne touched a finger to her swelling lips and smiled. Who knew?
Meanwhile, Arthur watched the city come to life.
She'd come back later, and he knew it.
