options
Title: options
Fandom: Inception
Characters: Ariadne, Arthur
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,367
Summary: Written for this prompt at inception_kink. While waiting for the others before the Fischer job, Arthur presents Ariadne with a few options for the future.
Disclaimer: Inception and all associated characters do not belong to me (because if it did, there would probably be much more Arthur and Ariadne in the movie...let's be real).
--
They were sitting together in the lobby of Arthur’s hotel. They’d spent most of the last hour going over final details, both knowing that her part was almost over and wanting to get the exact details right before it was too late to fix anything. Now they were just waiting for Cobb and the others to join them. They sat side by side, chatting about paradoxes when Arthur abruptly changed the subject.
“You’ve done really well.” Ariadne looked up to find Arthur studying her. There was a mixture of pride and awe in his eyes that filled her with a sense of accomplishment. Arthur wasn’t easy to impress, she knew, but apparently she’d gone and done it. “I don’t know if Cobb has told you that, but you’ve done exceptional work. Maybe even better than he used to do.”
She blushed and shook her head, unable to stop the smile that came to her lips. “You’re just saying that.”
“I’m never just saying that,” he said, his face completely serious, and Ariadne believed him. One of the things she liked most about Arthur was that he was straightforward. He didn’t obscure things like Cobb did and wasn’t quiet like Yusuf. He wasn’t like Eames, where you weren’t sure whether to believe half of what came out of his mouth or not. With Arthur, what you saw was what you got and what he said was what he meant. So instead of demurring with false modesty, she mumbled a thank you.
“That means a lot, Arthur. Especially coming from you.” They exchanged little half smiles and Ariadne looked away bashfully.
He leaned back on the seat and looked around the lobby. She followed his gaze, her eyes settling on the little details, remembering what doors led where and how to get there, knowing that it was pretty damn good and as close to perfect as it could get. “Your part’s almost done. What did you think of it?”
She looked back at him. “Of your line of work? It’s a heady, heady job. It’s…amazing.”
“Have you given thought to what you’ll do after this? Once your part is over?” he asked.
Truthfully she hadn’t. At all. It had all been so intoxicating, so consuming, that she hadn’t spared a thought for what would happen after, and the reality that it was almost over came crashing over her in one big, sobering wave. Once again she shook her head and shrugged.
“Go back to school, I guess. To normal life,” she said, furrowing her brow at the thought of it. She appreciated what she’d had before, she really did, but now it all seemed so…limiting. “Graduate, get a job, start building in the real world.
Arthur smiled softly, wistfully. “Where you’ll be bound by the laws of physics and can’t bend cities in half.” She frowned. When he put it that way, it didn’t sound quite so appealing. “Do you think you’ll have a hard time going back to it?”
No, she wanted to say, but they both knew it would be a lie.
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “Probably. I mean, I guess it will be nice. But I’ve designed worlds here. Going back to the normal is bound to be…difficult.”
“What if I said you didn’t have to?”
The question gave her pause and she looked up, startled. “What?”
“What if I told you you could make a living building up dreams?”
“I-I don’t know,” she stammered, her mind racing with the possibility. It seemed wonderful and insane and terrible all at once. To do this, to create without limits, it had to be too good to be true. She studied his face to make sure he was serious. “It’s crazy. I don’t have that much experience. Who’d want to work with me?”
Arthur shrugged, a corner of his lips quirking up. “Me, for starters.”
“Really?” she asked, staring at him incredulously.
“Yes. I’d very much like to work with you again. Dom and I…we’re the best in the business, even better than when he used to build. But I have a feeling that if we pull this off-when we pull this off-I’ll be in need of a new partner.”
She lifted a brow in surprise. “And you think that I’d be a good fit for the job?”
“Absolutely. You’re brilliant, you pick up on things quickly, you’re creative.”
“I don’t know anything about what Cobb actually does in dreams.”
“I’ll teach you. And even if you’re not comfortable with the extraction side of things, we’ll work together as Architect and Point Man, finding an extractor when we need one.”
Her head was spinning as she thought of the possibilities. She wanted to jump at the opportunity, to say yes, but the rational part of her mind cautioned her, telling her to think of Cobb and Mal. There were no guarantees that she wouldn’t end up like either of them and that alone was enough to make her hesitate. “That sounds…really great, actually. But can I have some time to think about it?”
“Of course,” Arthur said. “Take all the time you need. It’s just an option. If you’re interested.”
“I am,” she said enthusiastically. “It’s just…a lot to think about.”
Arthur hesitated before he spoke again, looking down at his hands before meeting her eyes again. “Even if you’re not interested in our line of work in the future, I’d very much like to see you again.”
This was almost as surprising as his job offer and Ariadne couldn’t help blinking at him in confusion. “Really? Why?”
“I think you know why.” His expression startled her. Arthur, usually so cool and guarded, was letting his guard down here. His jaw was set and his lips thinned, but his eyes…there was such an intensity of emotion there, so many things that she couldn’t quite identify but it made her breath catch and her pulse race and brought the blood rushing to her cheeks.
“I don’t…“ She wasn’t sure what she was going to say. She wasn’t sure if there was anything to say. Then he leaned into her and she was leaning into him and the sound of her heartbeat was so loud she could have sworn that he’d be able to hear it. Her eyelids fluttered closed. Just a little closer, just an inch, then a centimeter, and their lips would touch-
“Arthur? Ariadne?” That sent them springing apart and they heard footsteps and Eames’ laugh and they realized that the others were just around the corner.
“Cobb. We should go.” When she looked in Arthur’s eyes now, they were back to normal, closing her off from whatever emotion it was that he’d been pouring into her moments before and she couldn’t help but be disappointed.
She tried not to show it as she stood and brushed off her jacket for invisible dirt, looking anywhere but at him. “Right.”
“You’ll think about my offer, won’t you?” he asked softly.
Ariadne nodded, giving him a small smile, taking deep breaths to get her heart rate back to normal. She tried to match his outward cool, but she had a feeling she wasn’t quite as succesful. “Yes. If you’re serious.”
“You’re brilliant,” he said firmly and she felt another swell of pride (and another emotion she could not identify-one she’d tuck away and examine later, if when they came back). “Cobb should tell you that more often. And you’re one of the best architects I’ve ever seen. Of course I’m serious.”
They walked over to to where the others were gathered on the stairs. The others were looking at them but they weren’t quite in earshot yet. Abruptly Arthur stopped and Ariadne turned to him, puzzled.
“What-“ She cut off when her eyes met his. Once again, for just a moment, they were unguarded. He studied her for a moment before he said,
“I want you to know that I was serious about the rest of it, too.”
She nodded, her heart set to racing once again, and he nodded back and as one, they turned and walked back towards the others.
--
Oh my goodness, I seriously can't stop writing these two.
As always, I'd love some constructive criticism and comments are <3
Fandom: Inception
Characters: Ariadne, Arthur
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,367
Summary: Written for this prompt at inception_kink. While waiting for the others before the Fischer job, Arthur presents Ariadne with a few options for the future.
Disclaimer: Inception and all associated characters do not belong to me (because if it did, there would probably be much more Arthur and Ariadne in the movie...let's be real).
--
They were sitting together in the lobby of Arthur’s hotel. They’d spent most of the last hour going over final details, both knowing that her part was almost over and wanting to get the exact details right before it was too late to fix anything. Now they were just waiting for Cobb and the others to join them. They sat side by side, chatting about paradoxes when Arthur abruptly changed the subject.
“You’ve done really well.” Ariadne looked up to find Arthur studying her. There was a mixture of pride and awe in his eyes that filled her with a sense of accomplishment. Arthur wasn’t easy to impress, she knew, but apparently she’d gone and done it. “I don’t know if Cobb has told you that, but you’ve done exceptional work. Maybe even better than he used to do.”
She blushed and shook her head, unable to stop the smile that came to her lips. “You’re just saying that.”
“I’m never just saying that,” he said, his face completely serious, and Ariadne believed him. One of the things she liked most about Arthur was that he was straightforward. He didn’t obscure things like Cobb did and wasn’t quiet like Yusuf. He wasn’t like Eames, where you weren’t sure whether to believe half of what came out of his mouth or not. With Arthur, what you saw was what you got and what he said was what he meant. So instead of demurring with false modesty, she mumbled a thank you.
“That means a lot, Arthur. Especially coming from you.” They exchanged little half smiles and Ariadne looked away bashfully.
He leaned back on the seat and looked around the lobby. She followed his gaze, her eyes settling on the little details, remembering what doors led where and how to get there, knowing that it was pretty damn good and as close to perfect as it could get. “Your part’s almost done. What did you think of it?”
She looked back at him. “Of your line of work? It’s a heady, heady job. It’s…amazing.”
“Have you given thought to what you’ll do after this? Once your part is over?” he asked.
Truthfully she hadn’t. At all. It had all been so intoxicating, so consuming, that she hadn’t spared a thought for what would happen after, and the reality that it was almost over came crashing over her in one big, sobering wave. Once again she shook her head and shrugged.
“Go back to school, I guess. To normal life,” she said, furrowing her brow at the thought of it. She appreciated what she’d had before, she really did, but now it all seemed so…limiting. “Graduate, get a job, start building in the real world.
Arthur smiled softly, wistfully. “Where you’ll be bound by the laws of physics and can’t bend cities in half.” She frowned. When he put it that way, it didn’t sound quite so appealing. “Do you think you’ll have a hard time going back to it?”
No, she wanted to say, but they both knew it would be a lie.
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “Probably. I mean, I guess it will be nice. But I’ve designed worlds here. Going back to the normal is bound to be…difficult.”
“What if I said you didn’t have to?”
The question gave her pause and she looked up, startled. “What?”
“What if I told you you could make a living building up dreams?”
“I-I don’t know,” she stammered, her mind racing with the possibility. It seemed wonderful and insane and terrible all at once. To do this, to create without limits, it had to be too good to be true. She studied his face to make sure he was serious. “It’s crazy. I don’t have that much experience. Who’d want to work with me?”
Arthur shrugged, a corner of his lips quirking up. “Me, for starters.”
“Really?” she asked, staring at him incredulously.
“Yes. I’d very much like to work with you again. Dom and I…we’re the best in the business, even better than when he used to build. But I have a feeling that if we pull this off-when we pull this off-I’ll be in need of a new partner.”
She lifted a brow in surprise. “And you think that I’d be a good fit for the job?”
“Absolutely. You’re brilliant, you pick up on things quickly, you’re creative.”
“I don’t know anything about what Cobb actually does in dreams.”
“I’ll teach you. And even if you’re not comfortable with the extraction side of things, we’ll work together as Architect and Point Man, finding an extractor when we need one.”
Her head was spinning as she thought of the possibilities. She wanted to jump at the opportunity, to say yes, but the rational part of her mind cautioned her, telling her to think of Cobb and Mal. There were no guarantees that she wouldn’t end up like either of them and that alone was enough to make her hesitate. “That sounds…really great, actually. But can I have some time to think about it?”
“Of course,” Arthur said. “Take all the time you need. It’s just an option. If you’re interested.”
“I am,” she said enthusiastically. “It’s just…a lot to think about.”
Arthur hesitated before he spoke again, looking down at his hands before meeting her eyes again. “Even if you’re not interested in our line of work in the future, I’d very much like to see you again.”
This was almost as surprising as his job offer and Ariadne couldn’t help blinking at him in confusion. “Really? Why?”
“I think you know why.” His expression startled her. Arthur, usually so cool and guarded, was letting his guard down here. His jaw was set and his lips thinned, but his eyes…there was such an intensity of emotion there, so many things that she couldn’t quite identify but it made her breath catch and her pulse race and brought the blood rushing to her cheeks.
“I don’t…“ She wasn’t sure what she was going to say. She wasn’t sure if there was anything to say. Then he leaned into her and she was leaning into him and the sound of her heartbeat was so loud she could have sworn that he’d be able to hear it. Her eyelids fluttered closed. Just a little closer, just an inch, then a centimeter, and their lips would touch-
“Arthur? Ariadne?” That sent them springing apart and they heard footsteps and Eames’ laugh and they realized that the others were just around the corner.
“Cobb. We should go.” When she looked in Arthur’s eyes now, they were back to normal, closing her off from whatever emotion it was that he’d been pouring into her moments before and she couldn’t help but be disappointed.
She tried not to show it as she stood and brushed off her jacket for invisible dirt, looking anywhere but at him. “Right.”
“You’ll think about my offer, won’t you?” he asked softly.
Ariadne nodded, giving him a small smile, taking deep breaths to get her heart rate back to normal. She tried to match his outward cool, but she had a feeling she wasn’t quite as succesful. “Yes. If you’re serious.”
“You’re brilliant,” he said firmly and she felt another swell of pride (and another emotion she could not identify-one she’d tuck away and examine later, if when they came back). “Cobb should tell you that more often. And you’re one of the best architects I’ve ever seen. Of course I’m serious.”
They walked over to to where the others were gathered on the stairs. The others were looking at them but they weren’t quite in earshot yet. Abruptly Arthur stopped and Ariadne turned to him, puzzled.
“What-“ She cut off when her eyes met his. Once again, for just a moment, they were unguarded. He studied her for a moment before he said,
“I want you to know that I was serious about the rest of it, too.”
She nodded, her heart set to racing once again, and he nodded back and as one, they turned and walked back towards the others.
--
Oh my goodness, I seriously can't stop writing these two.
As always, I'd love some constructive criticism and comments are <3