~Sorry, this is a little bit longer. Once again, it's a little slow on the go but it will definitely pick up next chapter when Lacey comes. Then the dreaming will commence! Hope you have time to read all this…enjoy! –MsArtemis~
Part 7-Bullets and Navy Blue Bows
He was walking in the park. He used to drive past this everyday on his way to pick up Mal from errands-he'd never had time to truly appreciate it. He had no idea why he was in it now, or why he was alone, but he didn't really care. The sun was warm, the smell of grass was good, and the birds were singing. A vast clearing opened up in front of him-the grass was shorn, as if it had just been freshly mowed-he walked out of the shelter of the trees and right into it. As if walking past some invisible border line he crossed his way into silence-and now he was truly alone-in an empty space of mowed grass. A little nervous he began walking toward the trees at the head of the clearing-surely there would be noise there-but he was interrupted. Bent over in the grass, far ahead of him, was a woman. Her back was too him but he could tell she had long brown hair-she was looking at something in the grass, surely. "Hello!" He called out. She didn't turn, just stayed bent over. Concerned now, he ran towards her. Instantly, he was right at her back, practically breathing down her neck-and still, all he could hear were whispers. His curiosity overpowering he grabbed her shoulder roughly, turning her to face him. Dewy, brown eyes stared up at him, tears trailing down her face. Her mouth was dripping blood-it fell down her neck in ribbons as she stared up at him, making awful gurgling noises. Stepping away from her in shock he whispered: "Ariadne?" She kept choking on tears and blood, the mix of sobs and violent gore making horrible, treacherous noises. Rapidly he began stepping away-something was wrong. This was wrong. And then, as if he had been too close to her before, he found that it was Mal staring at him-her eyes practically violet in the sunlight as she wept. He tried to say something-but found he couldn't-she was just staring at him, sobbing and sobbing, the tears turning the blood pink…
"Dom!" She whispered-and that's when he woke up.
Granted, it was unusual for him to be this irritable-but Ariadne wasn't present to distract him, he'd had yet another nightmare, and Eames and Arthur's constant bickering was wearing on him.
"How about I go and pick up some pizzas? I know a lovely little thing that wouldn't mind giving me a discount-"
"Sadly Eames, no one eats pizza for breakfast but you."
"I find that hard to believe, Arthur. Why, just the other day-"
Cobb, at the end of his rope, finally looked up. The two men reclined in decrepit lawn chairs, each chair positioned at opposite sides of the little circle they were in. At the moment Arthur was staring at Eames with an open expression of disgust-Eames was returning the stare with something similar, if not more playful than Arthur's glare. Arthur was opening his mouth, ready to retort, when Cobb reached his feet, stepping in.
"I suggest we wait for Ariadne to arrive before we discuss breakfast plans." His voice snatched the argument up and crumpled it-the commanding air and seriousness of it left Eames and Arthur swimming. Cobb met Eames eyes, almost as if challenging the Forger, but Eames merely nodded, muttering an 'I agree' before looking away. Arthur snapped his mouth shut, studying Cobb as if he had suddenly noticed something strange, his face tightening. Suddenly, a voice chimed in from behind shelves of multi-colored beakers and glass, ending Arthur's examination.
"You two are quite a pair-but I won't let your senseless arguments ruin my happiness."
Cobb shot a smile at Yusuf, the Indian accent instantly recognizable despite the shelves that blocked him from view. The world renowned Chemist had arrived very early at the ware-house where they now stood; when Cobb questioned it Yusuf reassured him that he didn't need sleep. Secretly Cobb already had assumed that Yusuf slept hardly at all, as the Indian's profession implied.
"So because a man's married he can't enjoy a good, intellectual spar or two?" Eames joked, tipping back as far as his grey slacks and evergreen button up would allow. Cobb was about to respond when he saw the direction of Arthur's gaze.
"Yusuf, you're married?" And there was Ariadne, standing in the warehouse doorway. The door slammed shut behind her-and the warehouse was dead silent. Everyone was looking at her-for today, Ariadne had decided to play dress-up. She wore a navy blue pencil dress that tied around her tiny waist with a silky bow of the same color. The dress curved softly around her bust with a square neckline-it was also sleeveless-he half wondered how cold she must be, it was windy out today…The outfit was completed with a signature off-white sheer scarf, her delicate collarbone prominent beneath the fabric. Her hair was even different-it was pulled up in a swirling bun, only a few wavy strands allowed to escape and trace her face.
With an air of calamity she balanced a matching white purse and a carton of coffees-her wide eyes were a shade of shy gold, so light the brown was. Shifting in her white heels she looked around, her gaze landing on no one as the silence continued. She was absolutely adorable-and for reasons unknown he wanted to hold her because of it. For a prolonged moment, she said nothing-and then she met Cobb's gaze, her eyes full of unpredicted meekness. Cobb's reaction was unexpected, even to himself-he grinned, nodding at her in a very polite fashion. "Hello, Ariadne."
"Hey." She whispered, almost afraid to talk-but as his smile continued, she spoke up.
Smiling back at Cobb, her courage now revived, she looked past him, seeking the Chemist.
"Yusuf? You got married since we last saw you?"
Cobb turned to catch Yusuf's nod. "Yes. We are very much in love." He added, smiling warmly at Ariadne. Ariadne returned the smile while finding the nearest table, which happened to be to the right of his experiment area. After depositing the coffee and her purse on the table-top she turned to Yusef, arms wide open. "Congrats." She chirped, not budging from her awkward position. Yusuf seemed to be having a crisis-he looked at the other men, as if expecting that Ariadne's invitation was some practical joke. Cobb earnestly met the man's gaze, raising his eyebrows as if to say: "I don't know either." At any rate, Yusef didn't keep her waiting long- for he was nothing if polite. Walking forward with cautious steps he embraced her-her small arms folded around him easily as they hugged. Eames watched the exchange with mild attention, leaning forward so that he could place his chin on his fist. Checking out Ariadne out about three more times he smiled slyly-it was so strange how Cobb felt his stomach burn at this-as if he didn't know that Eames was just joking, just messing around like he usually did…
With a little pat Ariadne pulled away from Yusef, whose face bragged all forms of baffled-and with a quick spin she trotted over and picked up the coffee carton. "Who wants coffee?" she called, her eyes downcast as she recounted the Styrofoam cups. The whole warehouse carried the air of an empty tomb-it wasn't until she raised her eyes a few seconds later that she realized that she remained the center of attention.
"What?"
Cobb shook his head as if he had just awoken-Arthur bowed his head, avoiding anyone's eyes-and Yusef watched on as Eames sat up, as if enormously energized. "Well, I guess we can start off with some coffee today…"
The black coffee was only half-way gone, the cup lacking warmth as it sat in between Cobb's palms. The rest of the team had long ago abandoned their drinks, the Styrofoam cups sitting proudly next to each individual's lawn chair. It was almost evening-and they were reviewing the facts, yet again. The 9mm bullet had come from an automatic pistol which had been shot a close distance according to the depth of the wound-it was absolutely amazing she was with them at all. The bullet had somehow managed to pass through-it had been stuck somewhere near her spine, which is where Arthur had pulled it out.
"So you're saying that someone, possibly from Cobol, snuck into Ariadne's apartment through her sliding glass door, went to her bedroom, and shot her?"
Arthur nodded curtly at Cobb. "Yes, that is exactly what I suspect happened."
"Arthur, I hate to contradict-"Eames began.
"I bet you do-"
"But her apartment's too high. If anything the attacker would've had to come from a helicopter, and I'm afraid that her neighbors would notice something as loud and as huge as that."
Arthur, standing behind his chair, gripped the edges with tight fingers as he turned towards Ariadne, whom hours ago had been the picture of a new day, was currently falling asleep where she sat. Regarding her poor appearance Cobb felt his heart go out-her face was wan, her eyelids heavy as she shallowly breathed in and out. For a moment, Cobb swore he could see something flicker behind Arthur's eyes as he looked at her. "You said you didn't see him?" The Point-Man's voice seemed to have snapped on the way out-it was soft, gentle even. Ariadne sighed-Eames took this as his chance to jump in.
"Give it a rest, Arthur. She's obviously in shock or something equally horrible. "
Arthur sighed loudly, repeating the question: "Ariadne, did you see him at all? Any facial features you can tell us would be helpful towards identifying the shooter."
The question seemed to jar her-her eyes fluttered open, her nose scrunching up slightly as she remembered. She was more awake now; staring at something off in the distance. Cobb leaned forward.
"Think about it, Ariadne." He whispered, now catching the spark in her eyes. Stunned at the interruption Eames shut up very quickly.
"Did you see the face behind the gun?" Cobb's voice was low, reverberating through his chest like the purr of a lion. Desperately, as if she felt pressured, she began to blab. "I don't know-I think I did. He had on a ski mask, I think. "Her eyes began to dash around, as if she was seeing something that wasn't Cobb, who was maybe a yard straight in front of her. "He demanded something…I answered back." She shivered slightly, as she was suffering overload.
He could see how close she was to pure panic-she was trying so hard to keep the fear locked up in her eyes, to keep impassive. Arthur's fingers gripped the top of his chair so tight his knuckles were turning various shades of red but he remained still, not making any move to help Ariadne whatsoever-it was Cobb who was there for her.
"It's alright, take your time. There's no rush-we just want to know who hurt you."
His sapphire eyes were satiny, his voice just as soft-and without a thought he reached over and put his hand on her knee. It was an automatic attempt at comforting her- something he didn't have to think about to know that it was right. At his touch her leg turned to ice under his palm-her wild, golden eyes dashed to his, so many questions crowding around her pupils that it was absolutely exhilarating. For in this moment, they could answer any of them, side by side, dreaming together…
Eames raised his eyebrows high, leaning back in his chair watching how this scene would unfold. Arthur's eyes penetrated Cobb's hand with a brief look of ferocity that only Yusef and Eames saw. The fire in the Point man's eyes cooled almost as fast as it had come; the only change was that his grip on the back of the chair was even more so crippling than before, the furniture piece literally groaned beneath his knuckles. Slowly, reluctantly, her panic diminished-not once did Cobb and her break eye contact; as her breathing turned down several notches. Cobb, for all the world, had forgotten anyone else existed but them. It was when he finally felt some sense of peace, that she broke their gaze, her eyes slipping shut. And then, she whispered something, a delicate, velvety thing of a name that he wasn't sure he heard right at all.
"Mal." His hand tensed-and the most painful wave of guilt he had ever experienced in his entire life washed over him. It was if he was drowning in agony, as if some wall had been holding this all back until now…and without another word, he pushed himself away from his chair, strode out of the circle, and exited the ware-house. Immediately the chilly Paris night air hit him-but he was immune to it at the moment; he was far too busy thinking. It went without saying that what he did was absolutely unprofessional-so far from the collected extractor he was used to being he wanted to scream. Stalking toward his sedan, his footsteps full of self-hatred, he unlocked the door, about to get in when a voice sounded off behind him.
"Cobb-where are you going?"
Cobb whipped around only to find Ariadne, navy blue dress and all, standing before him. She had one arm wrapped tightly around her middle, right where the bullet hole lay. He was staring at her midsection, wishing to God that he had somehow been there so that she had never gotten hurt…
"My eyes are up here, Cobb." Cobb obeyed, his eyes snapping up and into hers with a startling swiftness. For a moment, they stared again-the few strands that brushed her face waved in the wind, her small, pink mouth open…
"Why did you say her name?" The whisper was broken, a piece of his shattered soul she couldn't help but feel sorry for. "Cobb-I'm so sorry I don't know why…I-we need to talk sometime. About what happened after Inception." Staring down at her he nodded dreamily, as if he was hearing her through thick glass. Her caramel eyes softened-and then she did something outrageously bold and unexpected- she reached out, and with the tips of her fingers touched his cheek. "I'm so sorry." She murmured, shivering in her sleeve-less dress. For a moment, he relished in this-the feel of her fingers, the way she was staring up at him, feeling for him. And the little pain he could see in her eyes wounded him more than he could bear-he brought his hand to hers, bringing it down. "We will talk sometime." He reassured-why they were both speaking under their breath, he did not know. Neither of them realized that they were still holding the others hand in a loose grip while they talked, but then again he didn't notice the light pink in her cheeks and she didn't notice his jumping pulse-neither of them knew. "Lacey's coming tomorrow though." Her face twisted at the name-he moved on, being as gentle as possible. "Be prepared. She's quite the character." He grinned at her and she smiled up at him, both of them standing there for a bit.
"Come back inside, luve, you'll freeze your beautiful legs off!" Eames was standing in the warehouse doorway, waiting. Ariadne turned back to Cobb one last time, smiling one of her all knowing grins that he recalled from the Inception days. "Goodbye." She whispered-and then she was walking away from him, returning to Eames. It wasn't until he was well on the way to his hotel that he realized they'd been holding hands, even for the briefest of moments…and certainly neither of them noticed Arthur, who had been watching them from the ware-house doorway the entire time. As soon as he'd seen them touch, he'd left without another word-neither Yusuf nor Eames questioned his absence.