Authors Note:
Thank you to those who take the time to review!
I really appreciate it.
Enjoy!
Chapter 9
The faint sound of a shower running hit her ears. She groaned and opened her eyes slowly. And then she gasped. It was bright- extremely bright. There was sunlight outside. She lifted herself off her white queen sized bed and ran towards the window; opening it quickly. She smiled, the rays of the sun hitting her body. "Finally" she sighed happily. Her eyes slowly closing as she let the heat attach itself to her body.
She turned her head to look at the door. Cobb's early morning shower noises coming from the bathroom. It was the second time in a row and she guessed that this was how it was going to be every morning. She yawned briefly, sat down on her bed and decided that she needed new clothes. She bit down on her bottom lip, deciding not to ask Dom to create her new clothes this morning. She was going to teach herself. After all, she was stubborn.
"Of all the things he could have said" she murmured to herself and then closed her eyes to concentrate on a new outfit. Something casual and comfortable, like always. She closed her eyes and pictured a new set of undergarments. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to see a new set of undergarments beside her on the bed. The only problem was that they were about ten sizes to big. 'Okay, size must be taken into consideration too,' she thought and took a deep breath and tried again.
After about twenty tries, she managed to finally get a decent outfit together. She was proud and very happy at the fact that she had been so determined. After all, she was stubborn. She grumbled at the thought in her mind. He had ruined the perfect moment.
She let out a small hiss, pulling on her newly imagined white tank top. She pulled on her light blue jeans and looked at herself in the mirror that was hanging on her left. She needed something over it. She decided on a light blue cardigan and a white scarf. She took a deep breath in, realizing that the shower noise had finally stopped. He was finally done. Maybe she should go downstairs and make some breakfast.
xxx
There really was nothing like an early morning shower for Dom Cobb. He wrapped his waist in a long towel and looked at himself in the mirror for a moment, checking to see if he had any unwanted facial hair that needed removing. He decided that there was not and ascended out the door.
"Good morning." He heard Ariadne's voice call from his right, as she proceeded out of her bedroom and towards him.
He looked slightly down at himself and realized that he was in just a towel. He exhaled briefly and said "Good morning, Ariadne," without even turning his head to face her. He needed clothes now.
"I was going to make some pancakes. Should I save you some?" She asked, trying to hide her surprised expression. If she had to be honest, waking up and seeing Dom's half naked body was not the worst thing in the world.
Cobb walked towards his bedroom door and reached out for the handle while saying "It's alright. I think I can imagine my own breakfast." He opened the door quickly and went inside, not uttering any other syllable.
Ariadne's expression fell flat. Yes, he had been half naked. But, why was he acting so rude to her? She hadn't done anything to him. She walked up to his closed door and knocked. "Are you okay?"
Dom was sitting on his bed, running a hand through his hair when she had knocked. He just knew she was going to ask him that. It was Ariadne. He nodded once and shouted at the door "Yes, I'm fine."
"Cobb, tell me what's going on?" She spoke to the door. She felt ridiculous, couldn't they at least talk face to face. When he didn't answer, she sighed bitterly and spoke slowly "You know that I will stay here until you tell me." She waited exactly four more seconds before she continued "I'm stubborn, Cobb. You said so yourself."
He knew that he did. That was the problem. He had placed a new pair of black coloured pants on, along with a dark green dress shirt. He decided that he was clothed enough to open the door to her. And when he did, he found Ariadne holding her arms across her chest in a defensive position. He smiled at her and said lightly "You really are stubborn." He chuckled at her and she just watched him curiously. Yes, they had already determined that fact last night.
"Dom," she started to speak, letting her hands fall back down by her sides "Just tell me what's wrong."
He looked at her for a moment, taking his wounded hand out to show her. She gasped at the sight of it. His knuckles had become a horrible color. "Oh no." She muttered softly, taking his hand in hers. "How badly does it hurt?"
Her fingers massaged the area surronding the wound. He was fighitng hard not to move his hand away from hers. He didn't want her to touch him like that. It made it hard for him to- "Dom?" she asked, her eyes looking up into his.
He moved his hand away from hers and lied "It's somewhat displeasing." He licked his lips and decided that it was not her fault. He shouldn't act so cold to her. A small smile tugged at his lips as he said "But I'll be fine."
She sighed out in relief and spoke "I hope so." There was a silence for a moment but he broke it by asking "You said you were going to make pancakes, right?"
She nodded at him and he continued "Okay. I'll come and join you in a few minutes."
He closed the door behind him and sighed. Why had he lied? Lying was never a way to accomplish anything. Being a thief, he knew that extremely well. He had to trust his accomplices fully and they had to trust him back. Trust breed trust.
He bit down on his bottom lip and walked towards his bed. He had lied about his hand hurting. It felt fine, it just looked pierced. He just didn't want to tell her the truth about what was truly bothering him.
He closed his eyes and thought back to the night before. He had been seconds away from kissing her. The idea repulsed him. Not that Ariadne repulsed him in any way. It was just too soon to feel any romantic feelings for anyone other than his wife.
'His dead wife' a voice echoed in his mind. But it didn't matter. Ariadne was a friend to him. Nothing more. For god sakes, she was only a child. So young and so innocent. There was no way in hell that they could ever work out. Let alone, even have a chance of starting. It took two to tango and he just knew that she would laugh at him for even thinking about kissing her.
He let out a loud sigh and decided that today was a new day. He would go back to teaching her how to build and that he would go back to his old mentality. He was half convinced that it was the storm's fault and now that the sun was up, it was time to start using some logic.
xxx
(Real Time: Present: Aircraft)
Eames was staring at the window and at the sun and the clouds that the plane was flying past. He was trying to keep himself busy. He knew that it had been a long time since he last checked how long Cobb and Ariadne had been in Limbo.
Poor souls, they had probably lost their minds. But still, he had hope. Ariadne was a tough girl and Cobb, well, he was just lucky that he had Ariadne with him.
The Flight Attendant, they had hired, suddenly placed a glass of water in front of him. The glass of water was stuck to a napkin. "I'm sorry love, I don't drink anything that does not contain alcohol." He smirked at her and she stared at him in the eyes, her head tilting towards Arthur's. A message on the napkin perhaps?
He cleared his throat and murmured "Perhaps, I've had a sudden change of diet." He smiled as the flight attentendant walked away. He took the napkin into his hands and opened it, looking over at Fischer who seemed in deep thought.
' + 5 = 7' was written on the napkin. Eames looked over at Arthur for a moment, who was watching him intensely. And then he looked down at the napkin again.
Plus 5 meant that another five minutes had passed. Plus 5 equals 7 meant that, they were in Limbo for 7 years. His eyes widened and he turned to Arthur who had a displeased look on his face.
Eames quickly took out a pen form his pocket and wrote something on the piece of paper. He cleared his throat once again and pushed the Flight Attendant on call button from above him.
A few moments later, she walked towards him and asked "Anything I can help you with, sir?"
He took her hand in his and gave the napkin to her discreetly, as he said "I was just wondering how much longer until landing."
She smiled at him and caught on to the switch while replying in a sweet tone "About one hour and a half, sir." Eames graciously bowed his head to her in a thank you and watched her, 'accidentally' fall over and give the note to Arthur.
He opened the note quickly and read 'how many times do you think they've shagged?'
Arthur rolled his eyes at the question and when he looked over at Eames, he was trying to hold in his laughter.
xxx
(Limbo Time: Flash forward 7 years: Unknown)
"We have to keep going south." Cobb announced, looking at the sunset. They had a few more hours until dark and they had to keep moving. They had lost track of time too much already. He didn't even know how long they had been in Limbo for. All he knew was that he was starting to look older.
Ariadne looked older as well, more mature but just as beautiful as she had always been. "Baby?" He smiled and took her hand in his. She was extremely tired, breathing out hard. "Do you want to rest?"
She shook her head and they continued walking, hand in hand along the shore line. The water hitting their feet was a great way to refresh themselves every few seconds. It kept their spirits high and their hope still bright even though it had become extremely small.
They had left their beach house about a year and a half go and they still hadn't found Saito. They had run into another man, on his land, who had said that he had heard drumming coming from the South of the long beach. But that was month ago and they still hadn't heard any drumming. Maybe he had been just a projection of one of their minds, telling them to keep going and to keep trying.
He stopped walking, his feet feeling extremely heavy. They needed to rest. They needed sleep and to feed themselves. They had started walking at the break of dawn and they needed some time to rejuvenate themselves.
Cobb pulled his shirt over his head and spoke "Join me?" pointing to the ocean. She nodded, keeping her internal thought of how good he looked to herself. Even though he was older, all this walking had made his body look even more beautiful than it had originally was.
He pulled her in for a kiss that supposed to be soft but it quickly turned fierce. He wrapped his arms around her and pushed her blouse over her body. "Your scar is fading." He noticed, running his hand up and down her back while looking at her stomach.
"Yours already has." She smiled and took his left hand in hers, kissing his knuckles lightly. He smiled at her took her hands in his and pulled her into his arms, carrying her towards the ocean.
She giggled as he dropped her onto the shore, his body crawling on top of hers. He suddenly chuckled, an embarrassing thought hitting him.
The ocean waves crashed against them as she asked, a smirk on her lips "What's so funny?"
He stopped his chuckling and cupped her cheek with his hand. And then he kissed her again, her head falling back onto the sand. "It's just-" he stopped to peck her lips once again "I cannot believe that, at one point, I was so afraid to kiss you or even touch you."
She laughed at him. Oh yes, she remembered that. "And now-" he whispered the words against her chest, kissing her bra covered breasts before continuing "I just can't stop touching you."
She shivered from his words. He could be so unbelievably sexy when he wanted to be. He pushed himself against her and she whispered "Well, then don't stop." She smiled up at him, the waves crashing against them.
"As you wish." His mouth covered hers immediately, the feel of his hands roaming down to her jeans. He zipped her down and then looked over at the ocean while saying "I have a better idea." And he pulled her up into his arms and dragged her into the ocean, her jeans falling off her ankles.
xxx
(Limbo Time: Present: Cobb's Land)
"What are you doing?" Cobb asked, placing his bare feet in the water, next to where Ariadne was standing.
It had became late afternoon and she just couldn't help but stare at calm ocean. She smiled, turning her head to him while replying "I'm just happy that the storm is gone."
He watched her for a brief moment and then turned his head back to the ocean to say "Well, now you can swim like you wanted."
She nodded at him and sat down on the shore, the waves crashing against her clothed flesh. He mimicked her actions and sat down beside her. Why was she being so quiet? During the day she had been fine. They had talked, laughed and she had finally learned what 'exaggeration' was and how she could do it.
"You know, I'm a little stubborn myself." He muttered to her lowly and she laughed.
"Really? I hadn't noticed." Her voice sarcastic but light.
"I can tell that there is something wrong-" he started, feeling strange saying that. It was as if they had switched places or something. "Tell me." He continued in a small murmur.
"I was just thinking about going back." She sighed and he looked at her in a baffled manner.
She had told him that he wouldn't leave her. What? Was she going back on her word? "You want to go back now?"
She shook her head firmly and responded "No. I was thinking about when we get back. What I- what I would do with my school."
He turned his head to her and asked "You don't want to go back, do you?"
She glanced over to him and responded "No. I just can't picture myself in a classroom anymore."
Dom couldn't help but feel guilt. He mentally groaned at word. He always felt it. Guilt for his wife, guilt for his children and now guilt for Ariadne. "I'm sorry."
"No. Don't be." She picked up a small pebble in her hands and whispered "I am...thankful that you showed me this world."
"Thankful?" Cobb asked, his eyebrows shooting upwards.
"Yes. Very." She smiled at him for a brief moment and then focused her eyes on his.
"Well, your welcome." He spoke the words gently, as if he didn't believe what he was hearing. He had never been thanked by anyone for recruiting them. He had never thought that it was possible. And now he was proved wrong. But in Limbo of all places? Ariadne was full of surprises.
"I know that this isn't real but still, look how beautiful it all is." A grin appeared on her lips, as she looked back at the ocean. Dom couldn't agree more with her. It was truly amazing, his view was anyway.
"Being here just makes me realize that I am lucky." She continued softly. She couldn't help herself. She was an honest person. She spoke it like she thought it.
"Lucky that what?" Cobb asked, his shoulder accidentally brushing hers.
She blushed at the contact, realizing that he hadn't yet moved away and continued "Lucky to be alive." She took a deep breath, waiting for him to move away from her and walk straight back into the house. He was probably thinking about Mal and how she wasn't alive.
But what he did or didn't do, shocked her. He didn't move. He just smirked at her and whispered "Ariadne your-" he stopped speaking when she interrupted him.
"Stubborn. Yeah, I know." She placed the pebble back down on the beach.
"I was going to say genuine. I don't know how you can just say what you think." Dom shrugged his shoulders at her. He was envious at her from that stand point.
But it wasn't true. She couldn't just tell him what she was thinking. She wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them. She was tired of her dream haunting her. All she wanted was just one taste.
"It's easy." She lied with a small smile and continued "You just talk."
He laughed at her solution and leaned himself over her, his hand picking up the pebble she had placed back on the sand. "Is this from my subconscious or yours?"
She shrugged her shoulders and replied "I'm not sure. How can you tell?"
He inhaled and said "Let me show you." He took her hands in his slowly, afraid to touch them. When he did, thoughts of the night before rushed into his mind. But he pushed them away and placed the rock in the middle of her palm.
"Close your eyes," he whispered and she obeyed.
"Now think for a moment, about the pebble. It's shape." She nodded as he spoke. He looked down into her palm and noticed that the pebble changed form slightly.
"It's from my subconscious" he smiled at her, her eyes opening.
"How do you know?" she asked curiously, rubbing her thumb over the pebble in her hand.
"Because when you thought about its projection, it changed because you pictured it incorrectly." He picked up the rock in his hands and pointed to it. She was amazed by it. He could tell and it made him smile. In fact, he couldn't stop smiling as he watched her try with another rock.
He looked over at the sun above them, the sky darkening as the sun began to set. He suddenly got stood up, making Ariadne realize that he was going to leave her alone again. But this time he didn't, he held out his hand to her and said "I think its time we healed."
And she knew exactly what he meant by that. She grabbed his hand in return and he lifted her up onto her feet carefully, knowing how much her wound would hurt her if it stretched. "I'll meet you out here in 10 minutes." She said smiling and this time, she was the one to walk away without uttering a mere syllable.
Authors Note:
Like it? Hate it? Let me know.
Thank you once again for reading!
Please Review!