Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Hi, there! I forgot to mention that other characters will be seen regularly now. What's AriArthur without Philippa and Eames, right? And I don't think I'll be putting much drama or action because I've always intended this to be a light-hearted fic. It'll be a fluffy thing. I hope that's okay with you. It's supposed to be a one-shot with little drabbles for each question but the first chapter turned into a full blown story. Thank you to S.B.A. for beta-ing even if we're both supposed to be doing our papers! And, of course, carameltootsieroll! Other mistakes are mine. Thank you so much to new followers and favoriters!
NightWhisper184: Thank you! I'm so happy you still found them in character and the explanation of the totems.
JuseaPeterson: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed those parts, they were my favorite parts to write so it paid off, haha. It was a bit difficult for me to do their totems without worrying too much since they're an essential part in their lives. Yay! I hope you enjoy this one!
D.B: Hi, Early Bird, hehe. Thank you! I know, and I really wanted their cocktails, too, haha! I hope you enjoy this chapter and was worth the wait (instead of spoiling yourself), hihi ;]
Step Three: Joining the Dreamshare World – Dublin, Ireland
3 months after L.A.
"I don't like it," Arthur says sternly with his arms folded in front of him. "Ariadne, you are not to come under with us. Mr. Trent is a dangerous man, he's had extractors train his subconscious."
"You can't just leave me here in Cork while you ride a train to Dublin!"
He shakes his head. "We won't be leaving you here, I'll book a flight for you back to Paris. Once you're done, you're heading straight home."
"I lived through the inception, Arthur, I think I can handle an extraction."
Arthur sighs. "It's your first job since Fischer, and don't you have to finish your exams?"
Ariadne pauses. 'Damn, he's right.' She quickly tries to think of an excuse. "You need me to help you through the designs."
Arthur purses his lips. "Ari, we can handle it."
She shrugs. "I know you guys can, but I want to make sure you'll be able to save your butts once you're there."
"We've saved ourselves countless of times before." He unfolds his arms and places his hands in his pockets. "Ari, please, don't be stubborn. You can't come with us."
Someone clears their throat and appears behind Ariadne. "No, I think she'll be a great addition, Arthur darling. She has a point, she is the only one who's an expert in all settings."
"Thank you, Eames," Ariadne says, smiling at him. She turns back to Arthur. "Well?"
"She has final exams—"
"Professor Miles can handle that," she interrupts him. 'I hope.'
"Miles doesn't want you in this job—in this kind of job, I mean," Arthur argues.
Eames chuckles. "I doubt he'll let his brightest and best," he winks at Ariadne, "fail. I'm sure he remembers how it felt during his first time with dreams."
They watch Arthur narrow his eyes at them before nodding. "Okay, fine. You're going in with us but you stick with me or Eames, understand?"
Ariadne nods happily. When Arthur leaves, she turn to Eames. "Have I ever told you that I love you?"
"I think I've heard it once or twice," Eames says, laughing.
In reality time, they've been sitting down, dreaming, for nearly three hours. They left Mr. Trent sleeping in the first coach. Knowing that he would be suspicious, they had to leave right away, having to rely on their employer's news whether it was successful or not. Yusuf had moved to the farthest coach, Arthur didn't bother to look for Eames—knowing they'll see each other very soon—while their Extractor, Hewitt, ran once the job was done. Arthur made sure that he and Ariadne would be staying together, breaking the rule of separating. Mr. Trent had asked for a private coach but thanks to Hewitt's connections, they were able to ride on it as well.
"I told you I'm okay," Ariadne whispers as she steps out of the train. "And I followed your orders."
A small trace of a smile can be seen on Arthur's lips. "Let's just get out of here," he says. He has both his hands full, a travelling bag in his right and the PASIV in his left. Even with both cases, he still offered to bring her backpack which she refused. The travelling bag pushes her lightly, Arthur's way of telling her to move along. "I've booked us a hotel."
With Arthur leading her, Ariadne couldn't look at the sights as properly as she wanted to. During the past hour, she had been giving him nothing but glares. It's either he doesn't notice or doesn't care. When they reach the hotel, instead of following him inside right away, she hesitates. This is her first time in Dublin and a huge breath of air escapes her body as she sees the building in front of her. "Wow."
When Arthur notices that she isn't beside him, he looks back and sees her in the middle of the sidewalk. He walks to her and waits patiently, also admiring the view. "It's one of the reasons why I like Dylan Hotel," he says. "Old style apartment-looking from the outside…wait until you see what's inside. Come on." He nudges her gently.
Ariadne continues to stare at the beautiful building as they reach the front steps. They arrive at the desk and Arthur talks to the man behind it while Ariadne admires the wonderful hotel. Similar to the restaurant she and Arthur went to for their date—catch-up—the inside is elegant and glamorous. "Expensive," she mutters. "How's the service?"
"Worth it," Arthur replies as he gets the keys.
Ariadne had invited Arthur to go to the bar with her downstairs to have short conversation about the job. Unlike other bars, the place is quiet, it almost feels like a fancy restaurant. "Is Hewitt trustworthy?" she asks.
"I've worked with him a couple of times," he tells her as he takes a sip of his wine, "he's okay. Doesn't like to stay around much after a job but he always keeps his word. You'll be having your share in a week or two."
'If we're successful.' She nods and drinks. "I was surprised when he just left, he was always so open with us during the preparation of the job and then he suddenly leaves."
"That's Hewitt. When you work with him again, it's like you're friends who see each other every day." He shrugs.
"Takes the job seriously then," she says.
Arthur changes the subject, asking her about her finals…again. Ariadne rolls her eyes and leans forward, "It's going to be fine. I'll be back in Paris by the end of the week and I've talked to Professor Miles, I called him and asked him to cover for me."
"I bet he wasn't happy."
"Of course not, but," she leans back on her chair, "he promised to help me and he is a well-respected professor there. He just told me not to do it often."
"You're graduating soon."
"One more year and I'm out," she replies with a huge grin on her face. Then she frowns. "If you need an Architect, you'll still call me, right?"
He hesitates. Ariadne gives him a hard look. "I'll have to call Miles first if one comes up during exam months."
She pouts. "Fair enough." Ariadne chews her bottom lip before telling him, "I want to see the sights tomorrow. You didn't exactly let me enjoy the view a while ago. Will you be okay with me being out in the open?"
Arthur places his glass back on the table, tipping it in circles and watching the liquid slosh around. "I'll go with you."
"Will you give me a history lesson?" she teases.
"Only if you'd like—and if I believe it to be interesting," he replies, smirking.
She rolls her eyes. "Oh no, even benches will have their histories told."
"Hey," he feigns hurt, "I won't tell everything."
She chuckles and he does, too.
Ariadne had been awake since six in the morning, excited for her trip around Dublin. She's read about it but she never really found the time to visit. Her family's too busy to travel anywhere except Paris and Brooklyn and the occasional neighboring cities and states. She looks outside her window, prepared to see the city. 'If this job requires me to travel, I might just continue,' she thinks to herself.
She's happy she brought her camera along. She wasn't sure if she'd have the time to look around but she's glad she took the chance. Her trusty brown bag has been sitting on the small, round table, contents readily packed. She grabs her white scarf and wraps it around her neck, next is her red jacket and then her bag. She skips to the door and opens it just as Arthur is about to ring the bell.
Instead of greeting him, she drags him away. "Let's go!"
Arthur quickly shuts her door and lets her lead. "Do you even know where to go first?"
She stops. "No. Do you?"
"I hailed us a cab, he'll drop us off in...somewhere," he smiles when he sees her frown, "and we can walk from there and back here. We'll be back by nine or ten."
"What would I do without you?"
Ariadne tugs Arthur's arm as they walk along Bushy Park. Ariadne had been able to take pictures of buildings and places she found interesting while Arthur lectured her.
"Do you have something about this place?" she asks. 'It's beautiful,' she thinks to herself. She wonders how such a clean, beautiful park exists. She knows she's exaggerating but being in a new place makes her biased.
He shakes his head. "Nothing I know would interest you. The first owner of this place was named Arthur, though."
Ariadne chuckles. "Yeah, fun fact." She lets go of his arm and walks ahead, enjoying the scenery. Taking out her camera, she continues to take snap shots of anything that interests her: butterflies, birds, pets, flowers, the children in the playground, etc. She turns around and sees Arthur smiling, his cute dimples showing, at the children she had just taken a picture of. Raising her camera, she quickly pushes the button, taking her chance of getting a picture of the Point Man. She looks at the screen and grins. "Perfect."
"What is?"
She looks up at him, the grin still on her face. "This!" She holds up the camera and he looks at it, studying his own picture. "It's a candid moment."
He looks at her. "I don't normally let people take pictures of me, too dangerous."
Ariadne shrugs. "Not gonna happen, Arthur. I'm keeping it." She turns away from him and finds an empty bench. For the first time in five hours, she feels her legs weaken. Sighing, she sits and goes through her gallery. Arthur sits beside her, looking at the pictures, too. "This job doesn't allow you to do anything fun."
"It allows me to travel the world," he says.
"Yeah, on the run," she replies sarcastically. She looks at him and sees a small smile on his lips. "What?"
"You're re-considering this kind of job, aren't you?"
She scoffs. "Oh, please, Arthur. I'm in this pretty deep. Besides, I can't design paradoxical architecture in reality, and that's the best thing to do. Penrose Steps. A hospital that looks like a secret base in the middle of a deserted mountain top in the winter. A restaurant with a beach, Arthur. Not a beach with a restaurant. A restaurant with a beach."
Arthur silently agrees with her.
"Why'd you join?"
He looks at her, thinking of the question. "What?"
"You can't even take a picture of yourself. How'd you get in dream sharing?"
Arthur stares at her before leaning back and looking up. "I had a choice, just like you. My father was in the army and he knew about dream sharing but he didn't approve of it. Said it could get complicated. He visited Paris, bumped into Miles whom he knew as a family friend and they talked about their different views on it. As you know, when Miles starts to talk, you can't help but agree."
Ariadne chuckles and nods. "I can relate."
"So Dad decided to give it a try and he stayed for a couple of years. He met Mom and she became pregnant with me. Dad didn't want us in danger so he cleared himself, tied loose ends, rebuilt holes, and started a family. They got married a year before Edward was born. Dad was—in a way, still is—a Point Man and he continued to do research for different companies, freelance, always hiding behind a name. I guess he missed it. When I was old enough, he taught me his tricks, in case I decided to do that as a side job, it made money, after all," he chuckles. "One day, Cobb came to the house, asking for help for a dangerous job, it was on the same day I was visiting. He didn't want to so I volunteered since all he said was research and I told him that I'm as good as my dad." He pauses, "I recently finished college, criminal justice, studied some law and psychology. I was twenty-two."
"I'm sure he didn't want you to go with Cobb."
He shakes his head. "But Cobb needed help and Dad allowed me to make a choice. My first dream share was with him, in case anything happened. And I knew then that there's nothing quite like it."
"It's pure creation, isn't it?" She smiles at him. "How'd you do on your first job?"
"Cobb said I beat my dad, that must be good," he replies, smirking.
"I'm sure you did," she says, laughing. "I'm sure your family's worried." He doesn't answer and she immediately gets the message. "Well," she starts, trying to lighten the mood, "you know how I got here."
Arthur nods. "Yeah, I do."
They watch the people walk around for a few minutes before Arthur looks at his watch. "Shall we go? I still have some places I wanna lecture you about."
Ariadne smiles and stands. "Let's go."
There we go. I hope you enjoyed this! Tell me what you think of Arthur's background and this chapter in general, I'd love to hear your thoughts! I decided to use Arthur's dad since I realized that when he mentioned where he was supposed to go after Cobol went wrong, Dom seemed to know who was there and maybe they were close, too. I'm trying to make all these in Ariadne's POV but I have plans on showing you guys Arthur's thoughts in all of the questions, but that won't be anytime soon.
If you know my other story, Halo, I've changed the title because I remembered that my original AriArthur song is At the Beginning by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx. Oh, and I'll be taking requests for that one since I realized I'm too focused on this, haha.
If you're interested to see the future questions and countries our dear Point Man and Architect will be, I've posted a link in my profile.
And now, for the question I dread. I'm not good at art at all. Like, really. If you see my drawing of smiley faces, you'll think they're mangoes. Almost everyone said they were. My close friend who's good at art teases me about it sometimes but it's so understandable, haha! So, anyways, to my question...can someone please make some sort of cover or banner or whatever for this story and At the Beginning? Pretty, pretty please? I'll repay you with a request of your choice!
Step Four: Hobbies — Charlottetown, PE
So sorry for the long note, guys, won't happen again. We're getting to sillier ones, guys. I'm very excited to start. I think the super silliness starts in chapter...9, but the following questions aren't serious ones anymore and the answers are pretty funny, I think, so, I hope you're excited!