Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Hi there! I'm sorry I didn't get to update last week, had a requirement that blew everyone's minds. I had fun writing this chapter so I hope you all like it! Thank you to new followers [little dhampire 13, winnie2, Soujiku] and new favoriters [little dhampire 13, kieli13, yasybelle, anonymousninja007, carameltootsieroll], you don't know how happy you make me. Thank you also to readers and reviewers! :]
NightWhisper184: Thank you! Making a backstory for Arthur can be hard so I'm really happy you liked it. This has a lot of AriArthur, hope you enjoy!
Neverlandspirit: You really made my day when I saw your review! I cannot thank you enough for it! I'm so happy you like both the story and my writing! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
JuseaPeterson: This chapter is too fluffy, like I really don't know how it happened, haha! I'm glad you enjoyed Arthur's background, I really wanted Arthur to learn from a family member and not a stranger (or Cobb). I'll miss the serious steps but the silly ones are going to be worth it, promise! I hope you enjoy this!
Carameltootsieroll: How do I even thank you!? But that made me think…what is kilig in English? Giddy? Haha! I'm so happy you like my writing style! It can get confusing but it's how I work and it won't feel right anymore. My goal is to get you in the Inception fandom, but I've done my ultimate goal: make you ship *ahem, you know*. I'm glad I got the right amount, sadly, I think this one is too fluffy :"] You're welcome! Love you too!
Warning: Mild swearing. Super fluffiness.
Thank you to carameltoostieroll for the beta! Other mistakes are mine.
Step Four: Hobbies — Charlottetown, PE
2 months after Dublin (August)
Ariadne is still amazed with Arthur's abilities to ride first class every single time. She knows the extracting business pays well—too well—but just how many jobs does he take a year to be able to spend so much without worry? From her seat next to the window she sneaks a glance at him. He's quietly reading a book he brought with him, a hardcover with the flap taken out.
Arthur turns to her. "Yes?"
"No, nothing." She shakes her head and looks back out, enjoying the clear view of the sky and clouds. She knows Arthur hates it when she looks as if she's about to ask a question but never continues. They've talked about it but sometimes, she just can't help but stare—and it has nothing to do with her crush on him. Maybe.
"We're landing in a while, would you like to head out for dinner after unpacking?"
"That would be nice," she says, nodding and suppressing a yawn.
"Eames and I usually go to the pub, but," he grimaces, "I'd rather you not go there. And I know you don't like seafood. Are you in the mood for steak, perhaps?"
Ariadne's eyes widen. "Shit, yes, Arthur! The last time I had steak was when my family visited Paris!"
He chuckles. "Steak it is, then. I'll make reservations once we get settled in."
"Fuck, Arthur, I can't afford this!" Ariadne exclaims as she takes in the unit. "This isn't a hotel! It's romantic getaway!"
"I made reservations for two," Arthur murmurs. "They must have thought that they heard wrong on the phone when they saw us. It's a suite, usually used by couples, they must've assumed we're together."
Ariadne pauses. She's not sure whether she should be more worried about the payment or that she's sharing a suite with Arthur.
"I'm paying for the suite, you don't have to worry about it," he assures her. "And I can sleep on the couch, you have the bed." She's about to disagree but he's already walking in. "Come along, sweetheart. I'll make dinner reservations."
Ariadne stays rooted in her spot for five more minutes.
When she steps inside, Ariadne is in awe.
The Great George will not disappoint you. The suite is a two-storey, homey "romantic getaway". Downstairs is the kitchen, a living room with a love seat couch and fireplace and a small powder room. Upstairs is where the bedroom is, with a king sized bed and a Jacuzzi at the far corner—really?—and the bathroom (with another Jacuzzi and so much glass). There's a balcony that gives a beautiful view of the garden. A kitchenette and a lounge room are also on the second floor, it's the little space that connects the stairs and the bedroom.
"I can't let you to stay on the couch, it can only fit two people when they're sitting side by side," Ariadne tells him.
Arthur shrugs. "I can manage. You know I'm used to being in compromising positions."
"We can both sleep on the bed," she says without thinking. She blushes and covers her mouth. "I mean, it's a king sized bed, we can fit." Looking away, she continues, "O-only if you w-w-want. We don't h-have to-to, really. Just a s-s-suggestion." She never stutters. 'There goes the first for everything.'
They don't speak for a minute. When Ariadne looks back up, she sees him smiling at her. "If you really don't mind, I'd like that." Arthur drops his bags beside the right side of the bed, the one nearest to the door. "You take the other side, it's much safer."
Ariadne nods, still blushing red, and moves her bags to the left side of the bed. "Do you mind if I take a shower first?"
"Not at all," he shakes his head, "I'll go downstairs and make reservations. You don't have to wear anything too formal."
"Thanks." She nods and heads to the bathroom.
When she comes out wearing only a bathrobe and a pair of fuzzy slippers (care of the hotel, of course) and her hair dripping wet, she doesn't expect Arthur to be on the bed staring angrily at the floor. "Oh," she gasps and instantly crosses her arms in front of her, "Arthur, I—"
He looks up and she swears she can see some pink in his cheeks. "Uh...sorry, I didn't know you didn't bring your clothes inside. I just," he clears his throat, "I just wanted to tell you that we won't be having steak tonight, I'm sorry."
She shrugs. "It's all right. You didn't get to reserve?"
"They're booked," he answers. "The only place that's around here that I could get a reservation in is The Brickhouse Kitchen and Bar, and I'll be honest and say I don't like the food there but I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not," she says, "you know I wouldn't even mind if we go to the pub."
He frowns. "I'm not bringing you there."
She chuckles. "I know, but I just wanted you to know."
Arthur smiles and gets up from the bed. "You can change in here while I go and take a shower."
Ariadne walks over to her bag and hears Arthur shut the door. She takes out a black, cotton, long-sleeved shirt that reaches her mid-thigh, black tights and a grey and black striped scarf. She brought with her a pair of white flats but she decides against it and wears her black lace boots instead. Tying her hair in a ponytail, she puts on a little make-up and packs her brown bag.
Arthur walks out already wearing a light blue dress shirt tucked inside grey slacks held up by black belt. He's holding his neatly folded used clothes and puts them inside the closet. "Ready to go?" he asks.
'They don't call it "The Brickhouse Kitchen & Bar" for nothing,' she thinks as she looks around the room. "I love the vibes this place gives, why didn't you suggest this before?"
"I don't like the food here, Ari," he repeats. He sips from his glass of red wine and looks up to see if they're food is coming. "I'm sorry I didn't let you order."
That still doesn't sit well with the Architect but she lets it go, she trusts Arthur's decision. "It's fine, I'd rather not order food that isn't good anyways."
When a server approaches their table, Arthur says, "These two are the only ones I can stand." Ariadne's eyes widen in delight as the two, mouth-watering desserts are right in front of her. "S'Mores Our Way and Cranberry Sticky Toffee Pudding. I guarantee this is worth not ordering dinner."
"Shit, Arthur, let's dig in!"
The food is too good for Ariadne to remember to socialize with Arthur. She cuts the pudding using her fork and munches on it, next is the s'mores. She sighs in content when the melted filling hits her taste buds.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Arthur asks suddenly.
Ariadne looks up and sees the grin on his face. "Very, very," she replies. She notices he hasn't lifted his fork. "Aren't you gonna eat?" She shoves the plates in front of him. "I can't enjoy this all by myself."
He smiles and gets a forkful of both. "Too sweet," he comments, "but worth it."
As they continue to eat, Ariadne asks, "When are we meeting the team?"
Arthur looks up. "The team?"
"Don't we have a job?"
He furrows his eyebrows. "I don't think we're on the same page."
She stops eating and leans forward. "We don't have a job?"
He shakes his head. "No. I'm not always travelling because of jobs."
Ariadne chews her bottom lip. "Then why did you bring me here?"
"I want to bring you somewhere tomorrow," he answers, looking down at his food, red creeping up from his neck to his cute ears. "I saw an article and I thought of you, you might enjoy it."
The brunette stares at him, her fork inside her mouth. "Oh, Arthur..."
"I know I should have told you before I got you from Paris but you didn't even let me finish before you said yes and went back inside to grab your stuff." He sips from his wine and has a difficult time swallowing. "Um...I was just so happy you agreed I forgot to tell you why we're here. You don't mind, do you?"
"No, not at all!" she replies quickly—too quickly. "I mean, I love adventures."
Arthur begins to pick at the pudding. "I know you'll like this one."
There's an awkward silence. Ariadne decides to break it. She takes a piece of the s'mores and, before putting it inside her mouth, she asks, "So where are you taking me?"
"It's a surprise," he replies, a smirk forming on his lips.
She pouts. "Please?"
He shakes his head. "Just make sure you wear something you'd wear for when you go roller skating."
And she did. With her pink scarf and matching pink cotton shorts, a plain, white long sleeve shirt and red and white striped knee socks, her hair up in high pigtails, Ariadne looks like she's ready to shoot a dance video.
She looks at the bed she and Arthur shared last night and a grin immediately forms on her face. Sure, nothing had happened, she didn't wake up with his arms draped over her like how it works in movies, but feeling the weight of Arthur on the bed she's sleeping on makes her wonder how life would if she woke up next to him every morning. At some point, early in the morning, she woke up and she noticed she was facing her bedmate. She had watched him for a few minutes, trying to see how he sleeps without a PASIV connected to him.
There's movement coming from behind her. "Arthur, I didn't bring my—" She turns around and freezes.
Arthur. Hair not gelled but combed to perfection. In a white t-shirt. Sneakers. And shorts. Jean shorts.
"Are you okay?" is the first thing she asks.
He nods slowly. "Are you?"
"I'm not so sure," she answers as she continues to stare. "I'm not used to," she raises her arms and gestures towards him, "this. That."
He holds up a duffel bag. "I'm bringing a change of clothes for later."
She sighs in relief. "Okay, good."
Arthur's lips quirk. "What were you trying to tell me earlier?"
"I didn't bring my roller-skates," she says.
"Don't worry, that's why I brought you here."
They reach a park a few minutes later. Confederation Landing Park is majestic. With the beautiful ocean in front of them, lovely flowers and a creaky boardwalk and even an oval skating ground. There aren't much people, just some walking around and skating, some senior citizens and couples sitting on benches.
Ariadne likes this park.
Arthur leads her towards a hut and asks her to get her wallet and cellphone. "I don't think you'd like to go around with something hanging around you, do you?" He brings up her bag and then his, taking the number from the man inside and placing it in his back pocket. Ariadne's still trying to grasp the fact that Arthur isn't in an immaculate suit.
Walking again to another nearby hut, Arthur talks to the lady manning it. "I called earlier this morning for two roller-skates."
"Name, please?" she asks as she looks down her clipboard.
"Campbell."
Ariadne smiles a little at the made-up name.
The lady nods. "Right, it's here. If you'll just wait a moment." She disappears behind a door.
"You're skating, too, Mr. Campbell?" Ariadne wonders.
"That's why I'm wearing this." He points to his shorts and frowns. "I think it'll be worth it."
The lady reappears with two skates, a dark blue one with white laces and a white one with pink laces, there are two net bags on her shoulders filled with protective gear. "Did I get the right sizes?"
Arthur inspects it and nods. "Yes, thank you." He gives a few bills and hands the white skates and one bag to Ariadne. "Put it on."
Ariadne sits on the nearest bench, hurriedly toes off her shoes and puts the skates on. The protective gears are too loose so she adjusts them tighter. Arthur approaches her and grabs her shoes, she doesn't even bother to look up as she slides her feet back and forth. "It's been so long," she murmurs.
When she looks up, Arthur is gliding back to her. The sight of him in roller-skates and protective gear makes her want to giggle. 'At least he's not in a suit.' This, she can handle. "Shall we go for a stroll?"
Ariadne nods and begins to skate away. When she looks back over her shoulder, she sees Arthur grinning at her. She slows her pace, gesturing for him to come over. He quickly catches up to her and they begin to circle the pavement.
The weather is great. There's a gentle breeze that comes every now and then and the sunshine is perfect, not too hot. They hear birds chirping happily and families bonding and enjoying themselves, Ariadne sees Arthur look at them longingly and she wonders if he's remembering his family or wanting one just like the ones they're seeing.
"Roller-skating is my hobby," she says, breaking the silence. "Roller-blading is fun, too, but I grew up roller-skating, so it's still different."
"It's hard not to know after seeing trophies and certificates in your apartment...and records," he says the last part like he's been caught.
She decides to tease him. "You're still doubting whether you trust me or not?"
"No!" he defends himself. "I like to check-up on you, to see how you're doing." After a few strides, he says, "I've always liked this park, so when I saw the article about rentals, I immediately thought of you."
Ariadne can't help but smile. "When my friends found out that I'm a good skater, they made me join some competitions."
"And you won a lot."
"I did," she nods, "but I wasn't happy. Roller-skating is a hobby, something I like to do for fun, to relax. Not as something I have to train and compete with other people for. Sure, the prizes at the end were promising but I didn't feel it, you know? So I stopped, didn't roller-skate for a long time. Mom and Dad shipped me my awards and recognition when they bought me my apartment. It was the last thing I unpacked, I didn't want you to see it."
During Ariadne's first few days in her new apartment, Arthur had been helping her unpack. At first it was an apology for breaking his promise of helping her unpack when he found out that she's been losing sleep. Then he offered her a ride home when she walked to the warehouse, wanting to stretch her legs in the morning but didn't know she would be staying later than usual, and he stayed in her apartment again, helping her with the kitchen appliances. When Cobb noticed the progress and hard work the team had done, he allowed them a day off and Arthur and Ariadne spent their day cleaning up. Arthur never saw the medals, cups and framed certificates on the shelf in the living room and the wheeled shoes by her shoe-rack until he visited her a few months before their job in Ireland.
"I have two because they were on sale in my favorite store back in Brooklyn," she says, wondering if he's thinking about the different pairs by the rack. The black one has black laces and dark pink wheels. On the side, there are thick green, pink and blue stripes. The white one is similar, with light pink laces and light pink wheels. Instead of having colorful stripes on the side, it has three different shades of pink. "My roller-blades are from the same store. They were also on sale and I guess I really wanted to try them out." The blades are white with the wheels being gray and pink flowers on the side. "And yes, I have protective gear."
"You never brought it up so I didn't," he says. "Thought you might want to keep it a secret."
Her smile softens. "It's not that. I guess, I never thought that you'd be interested in something so shallow as my hobby."
His head whips towards her. "I'm very interested in you."
She stops and turns.
Arthur stops in front of her and clears his throat. He continues, "I mean. You're a very interesting person, Ari. Knowing more about you...fascinates me."
She blushes. 'Keep calm, keep calm. Turn the attention to him.' She breathes and they begin to skate again. "And what's your hobby?"
"I don't really have a hobby. Didn't you hear Eames? Nothing I do is fun."
"For him. I want to know what you do for fun."
He thinks for a little while. "I like to ride the bike. Edward and I would always have a race."
She smiles at that. "Really? I've always thought you'd be a collector of some sort."
Arthur lets a small smile appear. "Eames was so determined to find my coin and stamp collection."
"Do you have any of those?"
He shakes his head. "He was surprised to learn that I like go-karting."
"You do!?" Ariadne gasps, tilting herself to stop. Arthur doesn't wait for her. Once she takes it in, she quickly follows him.
"Everyone always is," he answers. "Whenever I line up or talk to the man in the front desk, people give me these doubting looks."
"I'm not surprised they do."
"They're shocked I'm good at it."
"You must be, you're good at everything." She sees him turning pink. "You have to let me watch you one day."
"I plan to," he says. She's not sure if he's being honest. "Maybe even let you race me. Loser buys dinner?"
She laughs. "You're on."
They go around in silence again, people watching. At some point, Ariadne hooks her arm around Arthur's and they drag themselves towards the pavement overlooking the ocean. She likes the smell of his aftershave and cologne. When she looks at him, he's staring up at the clouds. "Thank you, Arthur."
He looks back down. "You're welcome. I wanted you to have a good start for your last school year. I'm glad you're enjoying."
"I challenge you to a race, loser by dinner." She says, a wicked grin forming on her face.
"I have plans for tonight," he admits. "A picnic by a hill while we do my two other favorite hobbies."
"And what're they?" she asks.
"Cloud-watching and stargazing," he replies. "I hope you don't mind."
"Sounds wonderful," she says, nodding enthusiastically.
They agree that the noontime sun is getting too hot so they decide to go back to the round pavement. Ariadne scans the crowd, an idea forming inside her head. She lets go of Arthur's arms and skates away. "Five rounds! Loser buys dinner tomorrow!"
I had fun writing about them in the park. Eames was supposed to be here but I'm saving it for chapter 6. What do you think of Arthur and Ariadne's hobbies? And yes, I got them from Whip It and Premium Rush, except for Arthur's "real hobbies". I wanted something exciting for him, but I still hope that it fits. I apologize if there are errors in the settings; as usual, I just researched and I'm not very sure about how I understood them properly.
I promise I won't be writing a lot of dinner scenes anymore because I'm honestly tired of it (I'll be mentioning them, though). Also, I decided to start putting the months since there might be some confusion (except for the first two chapters).
If anyone is interested, I put a link in a profile about how some stuff looks like. I'll be updating it when new things come out. Right now, we have Ariadne's dress from chapter 2 and her roller-skates and roller-blades.
Step Five: Colors – Selfoss, Iceland
The next chapter is the second "step" I thought of (after surnames) so I'm very excited for it. It'll also explain why Ariadne's skates and blades are that color. It's nothing exciting but she doesn't seem like the type to favor the color pink and I don't want you guys to think that I'm not considering them as characters. There'll be mentions of Mal in future chapters, and I look forward to that because she's awesome when she's not a shade. And really, I have no idea how my notes become so long.
One last thing, I don't know if I'll be able to update until September 3, so much school work going on. I'm really sorry. And, if you guys have noticed, I like updating Wednesday nights (here) because it helps me cope with the last day of the school week (Thursdays). So expect new chapters on Wednesdays! Hihi.