Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me.

Arthur bit his lip in frustration, but continued to cut and shred the lettuce. Hoping she'd come back. Sighing, he placed it in the colander, letting the cold water run over it, forming rivers amongst the green.

Ariadne sat in her bedroom, trying not to think of what was happening. Arthur. In her apartment, cooking a meal. She rubbed her face. This was not the scenario she'd thought of, not the scenario she wanted. It was so...domesticated.

She laid back on the bed. He'd seen her in her underwear. He'd been standing there, watching. His face had been flushed, and he'd looked embarrassed, but-

She shook her head. This was a nightmare. She began to hunt through her drawers. Her oldest, plainest clothes. These were the only ones that would do.

Arthur swallowed as he deftly tossed the vegetables in oil, then settled them back on the heat. He then tipped the contents of the colander into a glass bowl, letting the light catch the differing shades of green.

He needed to talk to her. He had been raised to treat women with courtesy - not to humiliate, or abuse them. And how could he possibly do either to Ariadne? He bit his lip. She was delicate, petite. He'd felt protective towards her during their first job together, and wincing, realised how shocked he was that she viewed him as capable of doing those-

He stopped. So why did you have that dream? His mind asked. Why did you think of doing those things to her yourself? Why do you think that restraining her, span-

"Arthur?"

He stopped, and turned. His eyebrows raised - she was wearing a pair of old, faded jeans, and a sweater so baggy and stretched it had lost any semblance of shape. He smiled. "Yes?"

"Do you-" she paused, hesitating. "Do you want any help?"

He swallowed. "Just about done," he said, his tone neutral. "But, if you could get some plates and cutlery-" he stopped, realising that he was giving her orders - in her kitchen. He felt himself blush, furiously.

She was already moving towards the cupboards. "Of course."Opening the doors, she pulled out plates, and paused by a drawer to collect crockery. Gathering them up, she walked into the main lounge area, and started setting them down on the table. He turned his attention back to the Spanish omelette, noting with satisfaction it was starting to brown at the edges. Carefully, he tipped it onto a larger plate, and picking it and the salad up, headed to the lounge area. Ariadne was re-arranging the plates.

"Here we are!" he said, trying to sound positive. He put the dish in the centre of the table. She settled herself in her seat. "Smells great," she said, looking appreciative.

He began to cut into it. "Here," he said, sliding it onto her plate. She looked at it. "Arthur, there's a lot-"

"You need it," he said, cutting her off. "You've lost weight - this job is demanding, but its not worth getting sick over."

She swallowed. "I didn't think-"

He looked up. "What?" He narrowed his eyes. "You didn't think what?"

"That you noticed," she murmured. Her hair was beginning to fall over her shoulders, obscuring her face. Arthur stuck his fork in the omelette.

"Of course I notice." He left the omlette cooling on the end of his fork. "I notice you." Its hard not to.

"Well, I-" she toyed with her food. He frowned. She needed to eat. "Ariadne. Please eat that."

She looked up, and he could have sworn her eyes had sparked. "What?"

"Eat it. Please," he added as an afterthought.

She swallowed, and carefully cut a piece of omelette, and brought it to her mouth. As she put it in, and chewed, he nodded. "Good." The two of them fell into silence, and another piece disappeared. After a few minutes, he was relieved to see she'd eaten nearly half her serving.

"Arthur..."

"Yes?"

"I don't think I can eat anymore." He looked at her. There was a look on her face that he recognised, and he met her eyes.

"Ari. Eat it. Finish it." The tone came out as an order. "Its for your own good."

She nodded. "Otherwise?"

Arthur paused. The blood was beginning to pulse through his ears. "Otherwise, I'll-" He looked at her, and suddenly felt completely helpless.

"I won't do what you want."

The words came out hoarsely. She nodded, and as their eyes met, Arthur felt that for the first time, he was looking at her.

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