Thank you cinematherapy!

Chapter 17- The Existence

The next morning, Ariadne made herself call Eames as soon as Arthur had left the house. Eames, although used to her calling at all hours at random, was peeved that it was so damn early. She couldn't have waited until the sun came up?

"Eames, he knows…"

"That doesn't surprise me. No offense, darling, but you're not that inconspicuous and he is a Point Man."

She said frantically, "He thinks we're having a full blown affair. He thinks I'd rather be with you."

"Well, you do come off that way." He chortled through his sleep.

"You're not helping!" Her raspy voice cracked, getting used to talking after sleeping for so long. "One of his old partners called like ten minutes ago to check up on him. He said he came by yesterday afternoon to drop off the last check and he found Arthur in a sputtering, drunken stupor. He said he had to dunk him in the bathtub and take care of him until like 9:30 last night. And when I came home, he was a wreck."

"You were a wreck when you showed up at my house…look at what you're doing to each other."

Ariadne huffed, "Eames, what are we going to do? "

"We? Oh no, no. You, my Dear, are going to stop all of this calling and visiting me and you're going to get help from a shrink!"

"It has to do with dream sharing! I can't divulge all of that information to a random shrink! You know my issues; you know why I need you to help me with them!"

Eames shook his head as if she could see him, "You are becoming too dependent on me. I can't stay in Paris forever, Ariadne. Once I get the all clear from my men in Britain, I'm going back. In the meantime, your romance with Arthur is suffering and—we may not be cuddle buddies but Arthur is one of my best friends and I don't want him thinking I would hurt him like this."

"I don't know why he has such a problem with it, though."

"Ariadne," Eames tone became condescending, "You put yourself in his shoes. What if all of a sudden he didn't want to marry you anymore and you found out he'd been sneaking behind your back to call and see Clarisse."

The other end of the phone was silenced. Eames could almost feel her blood boil as she imagined that situation. She defended, "That's not the same."

"Look. Enough is enough. We've crossed over into dangerous territory and I'm drawing the line. I don't know what is going on in Arthur's mind but…He's acted shockingly cavalier through all of this. You know there are issues bursting at his seams. You can't expect him to still be the secure, collected, perfect Point Man he was when you first met him. It's the calm before the storm; I fear there is only one more thread left to snap…and I don't want a bullet in my head."

He heard her gulp, "I'll be more careful."

"I'm not doing this anymore!"

"Eames, I'll try, ok? I'll work my hardest to wean myself off of your help and I'll shower Arthur with affection. I promise, I'll handle it on my own as much as I can if you'll just please be there when I absolutely can't do it myself." The static pause sat between them as Eames contemplated her request, "I'm already better than I was. I'm getting over it; I just need a little more time."

"Fine."

Ariadne breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"But no more coming to see me without Arthur. If you must have help, you call me. Yes?"

"Yes."

"However, no more calling me at night and absolutely no more calling me if Arthur is within 50 feet. If so, you're on you're on your own, yes?"

"Yes."

"And every time you leave that house, you tell Arthur where you're going. You ask him to come too whether he does or not and if not, you tell him he can call you anytime or call who you're with anytime. Nothing can even hint at secrecy. Yes?"

"Yes."

"I'm going back to sleep now."

xxxxxx

Upon Arthur's arrival home, Ariadne greeted him at the door, Rex jumping around their feet. Still in her pajama pants but wearing the button-up he'd worn the day before. He distinctly remembered putting it in the hamper last night and realized that she must have dug it out purposefully…it must've smelt like her. After he shed his trench coat, hung his keys on the rack and placed his suitcase in its spot she pulled him down to kiss her with a smile. It surprised him. First: that she had kissed him upon arrival like old times. Second: that even with all the suspicion and tension that had crowded them lately, her kiss still made him warm and fuzzy inside. He still breathed in her smell like it was the stuff oxygen was made of. His mood had turned around, "What smells so good?"

She pretended to straighten the knot on his tie, "I cooked us dinner…"

His mood lifted even more; she hadn't cooked them dinner in what seemed like forever. "Oh really? What do we have?"

Ariadne pulled him by his tie into the kitchen, "Chicken Cordon Bleu, buttered asparagus and my sweet potato casserole that you're obsessed with."

"And what is this?" After sucking in the aroma of the meal he pointed to a dish covered with a glass cake top.

"Oh yeah! We have cheesecake for dessert," She looked at him guiltily, "I cheated on it, though, I didn't make it. Annie bought like five for Ethan's fifth birthday and the kids all thought it was disgusting. So she bought them a buttload of cookies and dropped these off." The Architect sauntered to the fridge and opened for proof, "We have four more waiting on us." Then she walked back over to the cheesecake and picked at the top of the covering, "I did get a jar of cherries to pour on top though," Arthur slowly made his way in front of her and her voice gradually grew more demure, "Cause I know it's your favori-"

She froze and eyed him questioningly while he grazed her neck with his fingers and anchored her head. The apprehension fled her body when his mouth upturned (only slightly but it was a smile), "I love you."

Inside she was screaming with ease, she'd hoped for this reaction all day as she cooked for him. And for some unknown reason she found herself blurting out, "I'm sorry."

I'm sorry? What had she done that she cooked this big dinner to atone for? Arthur's stomach fluttered, "For what?"

She fiddled with the buttons on his shirt-a habit of hers when they stood close and whispered like this. "For not telling you enough how much I love you too. I wanted to do something to show you that I do think about you when we're apart. I do miss you when you go to work." She nimbly slipped her hands into his, "I wanted to show you that I miss doing special things for you." Ariadne rested her forehead on his chest and basked in the smell of peppermint and leather, "That I miss how things used to be before the incident."

Ariadne felt the comforting sensation of his voice resonating through his chest and vibrating, "Thank you. It looks lovely."

"It's probably cold now," She lifted her head off of him and looked at it, suddenly disappointed with it all. The Architect offered, "You don't have eat it…I kinda figured you had stayed and ate with the boys at the warehouse when you didn't come home at 6." Accepting the scenario, she shrugged.

She felt her chin being lifted up and the Point Man's soft eyes looking contentedly at her. In them, she saw the immaculate man Cobb had introduced her to almost two years ago and the phenomenal lover that proposed not but a year later than that. Those eyes enveloped her in silky comfort and made her glow every time she gazed into them, to this day. It gave her hope that she could do this. She could get over these issues with Arthur by her side. The old feelings for him rushing back and becoming overwhelming gave her the optimism she needed, made her believe that those feelings would remain more prevalent than the ones that Fischer tried to instill. His soothing, glossy voice broke her reverie, "I'm starving. Let's eat."

Ecstatic that the meal she'd slaved over would be enjoyed, she beamed at him. She rewarded him with a kiss on his cheek and passed him a plate to fill.

xxxxxx

Arthur went to bed satisfied. His stomach full and wanting for nothing and his chest overflowing. The dinner was magnificent and they had sat up and pecked at each other sweetly like two people who'd just realized their feelings for each other. It was bliss. Arthur hadn't wanted to ruin the streak of sweetness, though. So when they decided to get some sleep, he kept his distance and stayed on his side of the bed just in case she had another flashback and needed space.

He woke to her heavy breathing again. Her jerks and spasms in her sleep. Arthur knew the drill, knew she was having another nightmare and knew she'd most likely wake and leave him for the couch. She was muttering and tossing and turning, "Arthur, please don't. No, get away from me. You're scaring me. Leave them alone." The Point Man squeezed his eyelids shut in attempt to block out the sentences he wished she didn't mean but the subconscious was an honest thing. Like a bomb going off, she darted awake. Arthur pretended to be sound asleep so as not to startle her. It's not like she'd let him help anyway. He heard her start to cry and try to muffle it so she wouldn't wake him. He felt her side of the bed return to its normal shape without her weight on it and waited to hear her close the bathroom door and whisper with Eames. He never heard it though, in fact she rolled back into bed. He squinted his eyes open and saw the light blue pin stripe of the shirt he'd worn earlier, her back was to him and she was still whimpering. Arthur watched her back and strained his ears when he heard her start to whisper to herself, "He would never hurt you. Arthur would never hurt you. He wouldn't willfully kill a good person." Her hands went to her ears and she started rocking. He heard her chant to herself, "Think about Inception. Right after Mal first stabbed you…Penrose Staircases…Kiss in the hotel…A week at that level…"

She rolled over and he feigned asleep again. Arthur had to restrain himself when her hand caressed his face, "That's your Arthur. That's your Arthur and he would never hurt anyone." A moment of silence, a few more soft strokes against his cheek. Her body pressed into him, her back to his chest and her head under his chin. Arthur felt her gently take his hand and move his arm to curve around her. She resumed her whispering to herself, her hiccups dissipating. "February 21st, our first kiss in reality."

Arthur felt her waist contract with a few laughs and dared to open his eyes since her back was to him anyways. Ariadne must've thought he was still asleep because she started addressing him too but while talking to herself. "Do you remember that?" She started tracing his forearm. "I kissed you in the warehouse at the end of the day, after we finished going over your level in the dream. I told you it wasn't fair that you could steal as many kisses as you wanted every time we went under but I couldn't steal any in reality. I think it was the first time I felt those tingles for you, like I was numb from all the electricity you shot through me." Ariadne adjusted his hand placement and resumed running her fingers all over his forearm and palm. "You were so upset that I made you feel something for a change and that I'd done it in front of Yusuf…you gave me the silent treatment until I left. I remember being so nervous to see you the next day. I knew it would be awkward and embarrassing…I got there at like 8:30, I think?" Her tears had subsided and her breathing at a normal rate. Ariadne's nightmare long forgotten for a memory. "We were the only two there and I was so ready to tell you off." She laughed to herself and Arthur smiled. "And then you kissed me and you kept kissing me over and over until we heard Eames jiggle the door open and we pulled away like wildfire. You even blushed a little that time."

The Architect turned to face him and his eyes flew closed, "We didn't go another day without kissing each other in reality until you went to Australia." He heard her sigh, felt her lips on his chin and felt her snuggle closer and wrap her arms around his waist. Felt her start to succumb to a peaceful rest again.

The first nightmare that she needed thoughts of him to get through. The first nightmare that she pulled him closer instead of pushing him away. Arthur's heart and pride swelled as his hold on her tightened.