Well, I'm going to try and get this fiction finished before I go back to school, seeing as it's my last year I really want to focus. Thank you for all the wonderful comments, faves and watches. They're always encouraging me to keep writing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inception or any of its characters; I own my idea and writing.

Day 3

Arthur P.O.V

Arthur's nimble fingers played with a fray on the arm of his chair. He looked over to the sliver of window near the floor that the curtains didn't quite cover. It was still dark outside. He looked at the clock on his bedside table.

3:45am.

Arthur made a noise that was somewhere between a sigh and a groan. His hand moved from the fray to re-adjust his tie, only to grasp at bare skin. He remembered that he was only in his pajama pants. Arthur's hand moved back to the chair arm and he began to lightly drum his fingers.

He couldn't sleep. He was too frustrated. While he had spent a lot of time with Ariadne at the warehouse at least there had been breaks. But now Arthur felt surrounded by her.

Her smell, her laugh, her smile and everything Ariadne.

He couldn't even escape her in sleep, tormented by the fact that she was one wall away from him. Arthur hadn't felt like this in a very long time. There was a girl once many years ago that bought out the same feelings from him, but that never worked out and from then on he had only been a part of small fleeting relationships. Mostly a few mutual one nighters, both parties got what they wanted and that was that.

But Arthur didn't want that with Ariadne, he wanted more and it frustrated him that she didn't seem to have the same feelings. Sure, he would understand if she didn't want to get into a romantic relationship, but the fact that she didn't seem to even want to deepen their friendship annoyed him greatly.

Arthur got up, sick of musing over things that he didn't understand. He was Arthur, the Point Man, he was supposed to know everything about everyone.

Slowly, he walked over to Ariadne's door. He wanted some answers and was determined to get them. It was as his hand hovered over the door handle that Arthur realized he was still bare chested. The poor woman was going to have enough of a fright waking up to him in her room without him having no shirt on. Swiftly he grabbed one of the rare t-shirts that was hiding in his suitcase and pulled it over himself.

Satisfied with his appearance, Arthur twisted the handle and, quietly as he could, opened the door. He was glad that he had been sitting up in the dark for so long, his eyes were well adjusted to the lack of light and he easily made it over to the large chair in the corner of the room. Arthur sat down looked about him, waiting patiently for Ariadne to wake up.

While he was desperate for answers, he was still too much of a gentleman to wake the sleeping form that was Ariadne.

For a while, she was faced away from him, but as soon as she rolled over Arthur took to studying her features to pass the time. This would have been quite a creepy situation to anyone else but Arthur was too concentrated on other things to think about that. Namely his questions, but the sleeping Ariadne helped to distract him somewhat as well.

Arthur looked at her face first, following the line of one perfectly curved eyebrow down to the flicking mound under her eyelid and he wondered what she was dreaming about. He then looked her nose for a time and wished that it was light enough for him to count her freckles. Then to her lips, the lips that Arthur had longed to kiss ever since that brief encounter in the dream.

He quickly moved his eyes away from them; they brought up too many feelings in him that he didn't have the time or real energy to deal with at that moment.

Soon he was following the curve of her pale neck down to the hollow of her throat and he quickly realized that although the top she was wearing would have been quite modest normally, the tossing and turning of sleep had pulled it down somewhat.

Arthur took it upon himself to flick his eyes back up to her face. While he had already intruded on her privacy; he refused to perve on Ariadne. Her top didn't actually go down that far but Arthur was a good man and had turned his mind to other things, well mostly.

It was 6:30 by Arthur's watch when he first noticed the sun peeking under the blinds. Almost immediately Ariadne made a yawning sound and gave a stretch. Arthur watched as she knocked over her totem, still oblivious to his presence in the room. It was when Ariadne slid a leg out from under the covers (intending to get up) and Arthur noticed that she wasn't wearing her pajama pants, that he cleared his throat.

The leg retracted speedily and Ariadne's head whipped around to where the noise had come from. The eyes of both persons met. For a moment neither said anything until Ariadne blurted out, "What are you doing here?"

"Good morning to you too," he said raising an eyebrow.

Ariadne shook her head, "No, not 'good morning'. Why are you in my room?"

"Well I couldn't sleep, and I had some questions for you, but you weren't awake so I sat here patiently till you woke up."

"Couldn't you have waited outside? I mean it's a bit freaky waking up to some man in the corner of your room." She was getting quite angry.

Wanting to avoid too much conflict Arthur apologized to her, "Sorry that I scared you, but I just wanted to talk as soon as you woke up."

Ariadne still looked as if she didn't believe him, "What questions?"

"What are you afraid of, Ari?" He began.

She looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Arthur sat back and laced his fingers together, "Well, I've noticed that you seem reluctant to let our relationship move forward."

Ariadne didn't say anything and by the strange face she was making Arthur realized what he had implied.

"Not in a romantic way (Oh how he wished), but even deepening our friendship," he amended.

She sat up properly in her bed for the first time and answered him, "Well it's easy for you," she pointed with a finger, "You've done this sort of thing before."

Now it was Arthur's turn to be confused, "I'm sorry?"

"You know what you can and can't do after a job. I was never really included in the discussions of where everyone was going to 'hide out' after inception. I always assumed that I was to stay in Paris and continue my life normally. But no, I forced Cobb to take me along and now I have no idea what I'm doing." With this she flung her arms in the air.

"I understand, Ari, and I can help with that. But if you don't mind me asking, how does this affect us?" Arthur tried to push as gently as he could.

Ariadne rolled her eyes, "Oh, Arthur, don't you see? I have no idea if me getting involved with you is going to get me killed or something."

Arthur smiled when she mentioned 'getting involved'. So she does have an interest, he thought.

"Ari, and please don't take offence, but you are very knew to this-" he gestured vaguely in the air, "-industry and you would be very hard for anyone to track because you're so unknown."

"But wouldn't I be easier to track if I'm with you?" Her voice sounded smaller.

"Possibly," he admitted, "But understand that I've been doing these jobs for a long time and I know many tricks and many people. I can keep you safe, Ariadne." He said the last part quite firmly.

Ariadne nodded and Arthur saw that she was beginning to crumble, "Have you ever been caught though?" she asked.

Arthur looked past her for a moment and succumbed to some memories that he would rather keep buried, "Yes. Once." He replied in a voice that was almost as small and quiet as Ariadne's had been not a moment before.

"But that was back when I was new, it was only after my second job. I would have been about a year or so younger than you I think."

Arthur felt Ari's eyes searching him, "What happened?" she asked.

He felt himself stiffen and he looked down at his interlaced hands, "I would rather talk about it some other time, I don't want to taint the morning with foul memories."

Ariadne's voice hardened slightly but not in an unkind way, "Arthur. If you want to further this relationship then you're going to have to open up."

"I know, and I will. But just not that way and not right now. Is that ok?" He asked, looking back at her and drinking in the concern that filled her eyes.

Ariadne smiled softly, "Yes."

Arthur got up and walked over to the bed, sitting down close to Ariadne, "Thank you." He said honestly, "And I'm really sorry about scaring you."

Ariadne looked up at him and did something curious, she said "Sometimes it's good to be scared." And with that she grasped his shirt and pulled his lips down to hers.

Arthur instantly felt a tingle up his spine and he snaked his right arm around her waist, smiling into Ari's lips as he realized again that she was only wearing her top and undies. She let out a moan as he bit at her lip and deepened the kiss, eventually granting Arthur's tongue entrance. This went on until Ariadne broke away for air, being the one with smaller lungs.

Arthur breathed heavily as he leaned his forehead against hers, "I guess I must ask. Ariadne would you like to go out some time?"

She smiled and replied with a definite, "Yes."

I bet you're all thinking 'about damn time' :)

Can someone please tell me if 'chested' as in 'bare chested', is a word? I could swear it was, but my spell checker doesn't seem to like it. Anywho, please R&R and have a great day :3