While Ariadne was hosting a little party in her suite, Arthur was taking Joe out to dinner. He was nervous about what he had to do. It had to be done, but neither result would be pretty. And what made things worse… he was starting to think of Ariadne more.

Joe was dressed in one of her many expensive gowns for the first time. The pale-lilac embellished and draped gown turned heads in the grand restaurant. Diamond earrings and a diamond cross joined the piece.

"This is so nice." She told him looking out the window. "Dinner by the ocean is my favorite."

Arthur cleared his throat. "Technically, we're on a sea." He corrected politely.

"It's still salt water isn't it?" she pointed out.

Joe always had the luxury of scenic dinners and lovely clothes. Her father, Remy White, was the CEO of one of Europe's best interior design company. She basically lived like an heiress since she was born. Joe never wore clothes that weren't designer. She considered all cheap clothes to be ugly.

"So I hear when we dock on Venice, they're going to light all the flying lanterns." She seemed eager for that excursion. "Floating lanterns are so romantic." Arthur secretly sighed to himself. "So what did you do today while I wasn't around?"

Arthur ejected her chair and deposited it back under the table, then went to his seat.

"Well… to be honest, I had no idea this was a party cruise." He said.

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked. "It hasn't bothered me. Don't tell me you're not going to the toga party."

"It sort of does bother me." He said. "Yesterday on the main deck while I was reading, some guy ran around the place yelling out 'toga'. In a toga."

"Well there are places on the ship like right here where none of that stuff happens."

"Last time a waiter broke a plate, everyone yelled 'Opa'." He pointed out. "But it is a nice ship. It's hard to believe this one's the smallest."

"And we have celebrities on board. Musicians, like you." She said. "Maybe you can teach them something."

Arthur chuckled. "Teach them what? I play piano at a club. That other guy is trying to be Mic Jagger! And I would rather see you dance than hear his kid sing."

"Alright, your opinion. Besides, his kid is getting married to a prince. She's nineteen." Arthur could sense her making a hint as she pushed away his criticism. "So do you know if Eames and Jules are dating?" She randomly changed the subject.

"Yes, they are. It won't last. He'll cheat on her and only Ariadne knows what she'll do." Arthur explained negatively.

"Maybe he'll change."

"He would never." Arthur protested calmly. "He's an asshole."

Joe sighed. "You seem to be in a bad mood. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He said simply. "It's just one of those days that I'm not myself, dear. You look nice by the way."

You look nice by the way? He would always say she looked beautiful, or gorgeous, or like a princess!

"Are you sick?" she asked.

"No."

"Alright. Are you sure about having dinner tonight?"

"I'm very sure." He sat up. "I apologize if I'm upsetting you. I really don't know what's wrong."

The waiter came and they ordered their appetizers and champagne. When he left, Joe seemed to glare at him.

"I think I know what's wrong." She told him. "You have Ariadneitus. There, I said it."

"Johanna I thought we talked about this."

"Nothing against her, really!" Joe dictated. "But after you've spoken with her a couple of times, your whole mood turned around."

Arthur tranquilly glanced at her. "She's a little moody, that's all."

"So… are she and Frank…"

"No." Arthur shook his head. "I spoke to him today. He said they were classmates in high school and that she bullied him."

"She bullied him?" Joe almost laughed. "What did she do, stand on phonebooks to slap him?"

Arthur normally didn't have a short fuse with women but Joe was being really aggressive to his feelings.

"What happened to you?" he asked, sounding disappointed. "When I met you, you were so sweet to everyone and you always helped people out willingly. You didn't act like a diva and you never insulted people you didn't know. You didn't even insult atheists."

"Will you lighten up? I'm the same. And I was kidding. Can't you take a joke anymore?" A tear was coming out one of her icy eyes.

"Not when it's about a friend." He snapped. Joe shook her head.

"I'm really sorry then." Arthur could see her almost lose it. "I just don't want to lose you."

Arthur sighed. Tonight was not the night to do it. Maybe he wasn't picking the right plan in the first place. And now every time Joe or his mind mentioned Ariadne he desired her more. He wondered what she was doing at that second.

"It's fine." He assured. "But Joe, this is your last warning. You hear me? Don't speak about Ariadne like that to me ever again." Arthurs voice was disciplinary now, like her fathers. Joe nodded in agreement. "Great. So what are you going to eat?"

| B | E | Y | O | N | D | T | H | E | S | E | A |

"That's fucking disgusting!" Frank exclaimed at the image on the TV. "Why are we watching this?"

"We wanted to see how bad it was." Jules reminded him. "This isn't scary, it's just sick."

"If that ever happens to me, I better be the Japanese guy." Eames picked. "So I wouldn't have to eat shit."

"I know. I feel bad for the girl in the middle." Ariadne laughed. "I mean, she escaped and ran into a bedroom with a working phone. But instead, she waits for the mad man to come, runs in the pool, gets out and hides in that room again!"

"People in horror movies are stupid!" said Jules. "She had her lips-"

"Don't say it!" Ariadne giggled. "Please don't!"

"Two girls without the cup." Eames joked.

"This isn't a horror movie." Said Frank. "I work in movies, and this is not horror. It's just a really sick idea that didn't work at all."

There was a knock on the suite door. Ariadne turned off the movie and answered it. Arthur sat there looking like he was in trouble.

"Party's over people." She said. "Time to leave now. You too Jules!"

"I live here." Jules reminded her.

"Go play with your boyfriend."

The ginger shrugged and left with Eames. When Frank was out of their hallway, Arthur stepped in.

"How did it go?" she asked. "Wait, let's talk outside." Ariadne led him to the suite balcony. In front of them was the black sky sprinkled with stars, causing a romantic setting.

"I couldn't do it." He said. "She was making it so hard."

"So what exactly happened?"

"We got into a few arguments at dinner. She thinks you're the reason why I was a bit moody." He explained. "And then she made a comment about you being short, and I told her she's changed and I warned her."

Ariadne sighed. "You're not going to get her off you with a final warning." She told him.

"I just think it's best to wait until the cruise ends." He said. "It's safer that way."

"Didn't you have enough?" Ariadne asked. "Her back-talking me to you is equivalent to Jean giving me a nose job. She's abusing you and you barely even know because it's not with violence."

"If I don't end it soon, my identity could be exposed." He said. "She'd know that I'm not a musician."

"Don't worry." Ariadne stepped closer to him. "We'll think of something. But right now, let her know that you need space."

"I just feel like I don't know her." He sighed. "I liked her in reality when she was nice, so I dated her to deepen my identity."

"And if you don't end it, she'll pull it out of the ground." Ariadne felt the same way when she was nagging Cobb. "Am I annoying you?"

Arthur looked at the way the kind breeze played with her hair and scarf. He viewed eyes like things found in nature. Blue was ice, green was grass and brown was soil. He was starting to like soil much more than ice.

Ariadne tried to read his mind by looking into his eyes. How she just wanted to tell him that she was his match. She never assumed about guys she liked that they would love her deeply, but Ariadne was sure of this one.

"No." he wanted to run a finger through her hair, but he didn't want to hurt her either. If he showed any feelings, she would assume he'd act like Jean if they were together so quickly.

"You could try the reverse plan." She counseled. "You can act like Eames and she might let you go."

Arthur laughed at her thought and smiled. His smile could turn her to stone quicker than Medusas stare. "Now that's a challenge." He looked at her scarf to see it was the same as before. "Ever since I gave you that scarf, you've never taken it off."

Ariadne looked down and placed the material in her hand. "Well… my other scarves aren't from Casablanca." That wasn't the reason why it was so special. "This one's lucky. I feel safe wearing it." Her heart was spinning and zipping around in her ribcage. She almost couldn't control herself.

"I didn't think you'd like it so much, the elephants were-"

Ariadne grabbed his jacket and yanked him towards her. In a second, her lips were on his. This took both of them off guard. Arthur was shocked by this, but found his arms tying around her waist. They probably kissed for thirty seconds before Ariadne realized what she was really doing and abandoned ship.

Her eyes were wide as if she saw a ghost and her face was red from taking a deep chance.

"I'm sorry." She was humiliated. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Why are you sorry?" Arthur put a hand on her cheek and brushed his lips against hers. Ariadne could taste the champagne in his breath. Her hand reached the back of his head, feeling the gel in his hair. Arthur lay down on the beach chair with Ariadne falling onto him, continuing to lock lips with him. The cold air was rising in temperature

Right then with the stars, the sea and Arthur in a suit were the perfect elements for a fiery kiss. The only thing missing was the rain.