Inception fic: Secrets and Dreams
Title: Secrets and Dreams
Author: drabblewriter
Fandom: Inception
Wordcount: 1,410
Rating: PG
Characters: Ariadne, Cobb
Prompt(s): For a prompt at comment_fic : "Inception, Ariadne/any, Ariadne has a secret she's never told anyone" by noveltea
Notes: I only saw the movie once when it came out, and I don't really read fic in this fandom, so please forgive me if there are any errors. Concrit is appreciated. :)
Summary: Ariadne has a secret she's never told anyone, and it sneaks into the first dream she creates.
Excitement and nervousness, pride and fear, war in her chest. She’s just finished creating her first dream, a small maze within a single building. Now she’s waiting for Cobb to show up so they can do a walkthrough and critique.
Ariadne thinks she’s done well for a first try, but she knows she doesn’t have nearly as much experience and knowledge as Cobb, and she’s bound to have done something wrong. She wants more than anything to impress him, to show him that she’s not just some little girl, that she can do this job.
She’s confident in her choice of a hospital for the site of the maze; it was the most naturally confusing place she could think of. However, the thought of actually going inside still makes her uneasy. Ariadne has never met anyone who actually likes hospitals, but they hold more negative memories for her than for most.
“Hey.”
Cobb’s voice breaks into her thoughts, and she looks up with a quick smile, hoping he won’t notice that it’s half fake. “Hey.”
“You ready?”
“Yeah.”
“All right, let’s do it.”
They seat themselves around the PASIV Device, and Cobb sets up the various wires. Ariadne takes a deep, steadying breath as the sedative starts to take affect.
She blinks and finds herself standing in the hospital’s lobby, Cobb beside her. The room is filled with people sitting in chairs, standing behind reception desks, and waiting in line. It’s fascinating to see her creation come to life like this, to know she’s the god who created it.
Cobb starts in immediately. “Is this a real place? Have you been here before?”
“No.” Does he think she’s stupid? That was one of the most important things he taught her in their first lesson.
“Good.” He turns and gives the doors and the street beyond a speculative look. “And how did you handle the exits?”
“After crossing the street and entering any other building, one finds themselves back in this room,” she answers promptly. “The street surrounds the hospital and has no other outlets.”
“Excellent, although your use of a hospital is somewhat predictable.”
He turns and heads deeper into the building, Ariadne following red-faced. She’s not exactly surprised by the comment, but it still stings.
“How many floors?” Cobb asks as they walk.
“Three.”
“Hmm. Small, but that was your assignment. The playing field for our operation will have to be much larger.”
“I understand.”
“Ariadne waits in tense silence as Cobb observes her creation. A thrill of accomplishment flashes through her when they reach an intersection of corridors that seems to confuse him momentarily, and she revels in his approving look. Eventually, they reach an elevator and move to the second floor.
“Looking good so far,” Cobb says, and Ariadne can feel herself nearly glowing with his praise.
A few minutes later, they turn a corner, and she stops short at the familiar corridor.
Cobb is instantly on alert. “What is it?”
“I didn’t-” Her answer is cut off by a chillingly familiar sound - the shrill cry of an infant, coming from behind a door across the hall. “I didn’t build this.”
“But you know it.”
“Yes.” Her voice shakes, an accompaniment to the tears of shame in her eyes. She knows that she’s failed. There shouldn’t be anything here she didn’t add herself, but somehow this is.
“Ariadne.” His voice is firm, and she cringes, waiting for the admonishment. Instead, he says, “This is your dream; you control the contents. Concentrate. Make it go away.”
She tries. She focuses on the door, wills it to disappear, but it doesn’t even waver. The cry comes again, louder this time, and she shudders. The sound is exactly the same as she heard it that day; she’ll never forget it.
Things suddenly falls into place with breathtaking clarity and she realizes that he’s here. She can see him again, even if it’s not completely real. Almost before she makes a conscious choice, she’s moving forward.
“Ariadne!” Cobb calls after her, but she doesn’t listen.
She reaches the door and yanks it open, frantically casting her eyes around the room. At first she thinks it’s empty, and her heart sinks, but then she spots him. Not an infant, but a little boy. The resemblance is so clear to see - his reddish hair, the dark eyes.
A sob catches in her throat as those eyes turn to meet her. “You came back,” the little boy says. “You came back, mommy. Why did you take so long? Why did you leave me?”
“I-” There are so many things she wants to say, so many reasons and arguments and excuses, but they all get clogged up in her throat.
“Why did you leave me, mommy?” the child - her son - demands again, shouting now. “Why did you leave me with those strangers? Don’t you love me, mommy?”
“Of course I love you!” The words burst out of her, uncontrolled. “That’s why I had to give you up! They could take better care of you than I could!” Tears are streaming down her face now, the same words repeating over and over in the back of her mind - I shouldn’t have come in, I shouldn’t have come in, I shouldn’t have come in…
“Liar!” the boy accuses mercilessly. “If you really loved me, you would have made it work!”
Before she can answer, a firm hand on her shoulder spins her around, and she finds herself face to face with Cobb. “Focus, Ariadne,” he commands. “He’s not real.”
But it’s hopeless. She’s totally off-center now, listening to the child spout the accusations and guilts and fears she’s felt since his birth all those years ago. She ducks her head, letting her hair hide her tears and tremors. All she wants to do is sink into the floor and disappear, because she knows she’s failed now, failed at so many things…
Then, abruptly, she’s opening her eyes back in the lab. There’s wetness on her face, and she jerks a hand up to wipe it away, only to find herself held short by the wire linking her with the PASIV Device.
“Easy.” Cobb has already disconnected himself and moves forward to help her.
As soon as she’s free, Ariadne sits up and presses her hands to her face, trying to force herself to calm down. After several quiet, agonizing minutes, she manages to dry her tears and get her heart rate and breathing back under control. Finally, she forces herself to meet Cobb’s eyes - and is shocked to see, instead of anger or disappointment, a look of sympathy on his face.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks gently.
“There’s not much to talk about,” she finds herself saying. “I was sixteen. My boyfriend and I, we were stupid. Careless. I got pregnant. He ran off. I decided to have the baby and give it up for adoption. So he could have a better life than I could give him.”
“But you still feel guilty about it.”
“Yeah. I mean, on the one hand I know I did what was best for him, but I still wish there had been something else.” She takes a deep breath and murmurs, “o…does this mean I’m finished?”
“Finished?”
“With the project. I really messed up, and you obviously don’t want someone like that on your team.” I was stupid to ever think I could do this.
“Listen, Ariadne. Mistakes happen. As your training progresses, you’ll get better, stronger, and hopefully this won’t happen again. So, no, you’re not done, unless you want to quit.”
“No! I mean, of course I want to stay.” Ariadne grins. She can hardly believe her ears.
“All right then, it’s settled. Now, about your dream,” Cobb says, switching back to business mode. “Overall, you did very well. Just try to remember the critiques I gave you while we were inside, keep practicing, and you’ll be ready for the big leagues in no time. Any questions?”
“No, not now.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon.”
“See you.”
He heads for the door, but after a moment turns back. “Ariadne.”
“Yes?”
He has that gentle, sympathetic look on his face again as he says “For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing.”
“Thank you,” she manages to respond in a whisper. Watching him go, she wonders if anyone else would have been so forgiving.