The Ghost Network, 12/13. A/A. NC-17

Oct 27, 2010 20:07

Title: The Ghost Network
Author: Eustacia Vye
Author's e-mail: eustacia_vye28@hotmail.com
Rating: NC-17.
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur
Disclaimer: Everyone here belongs to Christopher Nolan and not to me. I like making his toys do naughty, naughty things.
Spoilers/Warnings: Post-movie. For the
inception_kink meme prompt: Serial killer or Assassin Arthur, victim or FBI agent Ariadne, and Stockholm Syndrome. It's an AU fic, folks, but I tried to keep them as IC as possible! Also written for the "wild card" box on my
hc_bingo card.
Summary: Someone has been killing people involved in sleep labs. As part of the Sleep Crimes Unit of the FBI, Ariadne has to help track down the Dream Killer. Things go very wrong very fast, and she's exactly in the last place she wants to be.

Prior chapters:
One - Entering The Dream
Two - Building The Maze
Three - Going Under
Four - A Different Point Of View
Five - A Hole In You And Me
Six - Catching The Princess
Seven - Inside The Maelstrom
Eight - Ephemera
Nine - Under The Edge of Abandon
Ten - Along The Back Road
Eleven - Everything You Think You Know

Oh hello, smut. We missed you. Welcome back! :)



"I left a message for Eames that you're all right," Arthur said, buttoning up the shirt he was wearing. She was brushing her teeth in the bathroom, and he smiled at her when she turned and lofted an eyebrow at him. "Really, I didn't try to antagonize him. I even told him to take care of himself so you won't worry."

Smiling, Ariadne rinsed and came over to give him a kiss. "Thank you."

Arthur put his arms around her and ran his hands down her back. "You look good enough to eat."

"Who's stopping you?"

"Good point."

He grinned and pulled her down to the bed as he kissed her. It was easy enough to kiss his way along her jaw and neck, to pull up the nightshirt she was wearing. He suckled her breast, fingers stroking her other one. Ariadne's breathing was harsh, her back arching up to his mouth. He continued on his way south, bypassing the juncture of her thighs completely. She made a soft sound of impatience, making Arthur chuckle. He kissed the top of her thigh and her knees, chuckling again when she whined as he went down the front of her leg. He kissed her ankle then licked his way up from her instep to her inner thigh. He licked a stripe across her clit, making Ariadne keen in desperation. "Someone's in a hurry."

"Arthur..." she gasped, legs moving restlessly. "I want you to lick me now."

Laughing, he blew across her moistening folds. "Yes, ma'am."

He pressed his lips against the inside of her quivering thigh and breathed in deeply, the scent of her filling his lungs. He loved the taste of her, loved the feel of her writhing beneath him. He couldn't give her up, couldn't let her leave him. She belonged to him, body and soul, and she loved him more than she realized. She had to, given the fact that she had ignored the countless opportunities he had tested her with to leave or harm him. She had done neither, but had stayed patiently by his side.

God, she was perfect.

He teased her relentlessly with lips and tongue, sucking her gently as he slid his fingers inside of her. Ariadne whimpered and twisted beneath his mouth, hips canting up to give him better access. She was moaning, talking incoherently at times, urging him on and groaning as she came. He kept going, pumping hard through her orgasm, her slippery walls grasping at his fingers to pull them deeper inside of her. He sucked harder on her clit, and Ariadne nearly sobbed in pleasure. She writhed, pulling at the sheets and gasping for air. "Harder," she moaned, legs trembling on either side of his face. "Oh, God, please, please, I need it..." She came hard, crying out.

Arthur moved, unzipping his khakis and pushing them down to his knees. He knelt between her thighs and slid inside her dripping entrance. She let out a soft contented sigh at the feel of him inside her, and brought her legs up around his waist. Arthur moved slowly at first, but gradually sped up. He thrust hard into her, and Ariadne grasped his hips to pull him in deeper. He grunted with the effort of it, with the feel of her tightening around him and came with a hoarse shout.

He collapsed on top of her with a sigh. "I'm all rumpled now."

Ariadne laughed. "You say that like it's a bad thing." She ruffled his hair just to be contrary, making him laugh.

"Where do you want to go next?"

She looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"There's nothing on the Network that I know about." He brushed his fingers across her face gently. "Nowhere we have to be. Well," he amended after a moment's thought, "I have one consultation case here. But otherwise, I can spend my time however I see fit. We can go anywhere in the world you like."

"I'd like to go to Paris," she said with a smile. "Visit museums, be an obnoxious tourist..."

Arthur laughed. "You could never be obnoxious."

"You haven't known me very long."

"A few lifetimes, at least," he murmured, kissing her. "But I could always use a few more."

"You're a hopeless romantic."

"Better than just hopeless."

Ariadne laughed, and Arthur grinned at her. She watched him move to clean himself up, and her expression softened. The worry she'd had the night before seemed so distant now.

"So, we'll go to Paris," Arthur called from the bathroom. "I'll head back to DC, clear out this consult job, and then we'll hop a plane."

"You have a job in DC?" she asked, rolling to a sitting position on the bed. She squelched a bit, and winced. Ariadne joined him in the bathroom to clean up.

"Well, it's a security consult thing. I can bow out, saying that it's out of my league."

"Is it?"

Arthur flashed her a confident grin. "Not at all."

"That's not fair to whoever you're working for, Arthur. Just finish the job like you usually would, and then we'll go to Paris."

He dropped a kiss onto her forehead. "So conscientious."

"You love me for it."

"Among other things," he said, giving her a playful leer. Laughing, she headed out into the room to get dressed. Arthur took a look at himself in the bathroom mirror and rearranged his hair. He smirked at his reflection, then set about to repacking his overnight bag.

***

AD Saito glowered at Eames, though it wasn't through any fault of the Inspector. The only forensic evidence found at the scene was a single strand of Ariadne's hair lying on Nathan Bruss' abdomen beneath the neatly carved MEA CULPA. It was clearly a taunt to the FBI teams that the Dream Killer had her and had no intention of stopping his killing spree. There was no obvious way to find him, other than trolling the Ghost Network, and their fake sleep lab idea was a bust. Cobb's setup was disbanded and Fischer had been returned to the VCU. Yusuf was back at Quantico working with Miles.

Eames couldn't help but feel as if he had been neatly boxed into a corner.

"Sorry I'm late," Arthur said, rushing into Saito's office. "I drove straight here from Kentucky. What did I miss?"

Well, that explained the rumpled and slept-in look about Arthur. Eames sighed. "The killer struck again, planted evidence we were meant to find."

"Is there any security footage?"

"Not of the killer. A couple came to speak with Bruss, and he left with them. That's not the Dream Killer's style."

"Any chance I could take a look at it?"

Saito made a dismissive waving gesture with his hand. "Go on, give him a copy. He's the security expert."

"It's in my office. Assistant Director?"

"There isn't more to be said here." Saito looked at Eames in disappointment. "There may not be enough going on to keep you here, Inspector. I need to discuss things with Mayhew."

"Of course," he said, feeling as though he had just been knocked upside the head. He brought Arthur to his office to view the security footage he had copied from Kate in Trenton.

"Standard CCTV feed," Arthur commented in bored tones, looking intently at the video. "I suppose there's no sound?"

"Not on this model, no," Eames said quietly. "I'm missing something, Arthur. I know I'm missing something important. The bastard wouldn't taunt me otherwise."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, looking from the monitor. He and Ariadne had hidden their faces, and he was confident that Eames couldn't recognize them on the footage.

"He left me a message that of course can't be traced. He kills Bruss right under my nose and drops him off while nobody's looking. He plants evidence to prove he's still got her..."

Arthur blinked. "Evidence?"

"He left one of her hairs behind on the body. I mean, what a fucking wanker! He's laughing at me, I know it." Eames ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I must have just overlooked something. Not security, or else you'd've found something by now."

"I'm trying, really. But as I texted Saito this morning, I have nothing new by any means I can think of."

Eames looked at Arthur with a pained expression. "All I know is that she's alive and he's keeping her. But for what? To torture the team? Most of the fuckers just wrote her off as dead after a week or two." He drummed his fingers on the desk, thinking. It had to be something about Ariadne in particular, something about her that was different from the others on the team that he just couldn't see.

"What if he honestly cares about her?" Arthur asked quietly.

He snorted in derision. "Psychopaths only care about one thing: themselves." Eames shook his head, unable to wrap his mind around that concept. "If it was a case of infatuation, why not just arrange a random meeting, chat her up like any other bloke? No, I think this was more than that. It's related to the case somehow, but I'm missing it."

"You're trying too hard," Arthur told him honestly, ejecting the DVD from the player. "Sometimes you see the bigger picture if you stop staring at it so much."

"Well, you heard Saito. They might kick me back across the pond, objective undone, Ariadne still lost."

"Maybe that will give you the perspective you need," Arthur said, handing him the DVD. "There's nothing on this that's helpful. He does his research, whoever this is."

Eames sighed. "What if she's hurt, Arthur?" he asked in a quiet voice "What if she's in trouble because of something I missed?"

"What did the message say?"

"That she's fine, shite like that." He blew out an impatient breath. "Of course he'd say that. He wants me to go away."

"But you won't, will you?"

He turned and looked at Arthur. "No, I won't. I have friends about that could help me with this, even if I got shipped back. I can't rest until I know she's all right."

"Do you love her?"

Eames was startled by the quiet question. "Have you been listening to gossip, too? Lord, no. It's not like that. She's a friend of mine, and I'm partly responsible for her disappearing like this. I'd do the same for Yusuf or any of my other friends."

"She's lucky to have you, then," Arthur replied slowly. "Not everyone can say that."

"No, I don't suppose they could. But you don't need to hear this crap. Sorry for wasting your time."

"It's all right. I'm glad to help, however I can." Arthur smiled at Eames. "Cheer up, Eames. It's got to get better, right?"

"I don't see how."

"Take a break. I'm sure you'll see what you're missing then."

Eames scrubbed the side of his jaw with his hand. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Arthur grinned. "Of course I am. Give me a call if you need anything. My secretary knows how to get in touch with me."

Eames sighed and watched Arthur leave his office. He still had the nagging feeling he was missing something, but Arthur had a point. He wasn't going to be reminded of it while staring at the files of all the victims and trying to find something in common with Ariadne. They had all abused innocent people, so she actually had more in common with the victims' victims. If anything, she probably had more in common with the damned Dream Killer.

He grabbed his jacket and locked up. He was headed for Quantico; Yusuf was always up for a pint or two after hours, and some downtime ought to do him some good.

***

Ariadne looked at the small carry on bag that held everything Arthur had bought for her. It seemed sad and pathetic somehow. This was all she had left in the world now. She couldn't contact anyone she had known or loved, as it would endanger Arthur. She couldn't risk letting anyone know she was all right, and she would have to go on the run. She couldn't be Ariadne any longer, but would have to become someone nameless and faceless.

It was enough to give her a panic attack.

She calmed herself down as best as she could and wound up pacing throughout the house. She could go outside now if she wanted to, but she didn't wander farther than the backyard. It was an ordinary house in an ordinary neighborhood, the quiet of suburbia all around her. None of them knew about the monster that was their neighbor.

Just thinking that made her feel sick, almost disloyal. That wasn't fair to Arthur and she could hardly get on a high horse about him now. She was just as bad as he was, just as twisted and dark in places people couldn't see.

She sat down on the back steps and let the sun beat down on her for a moment. There was no thought of running, no thought of using the phone in the house to call anyone. There was no one to call anymore. There was no reason to run.

Ariadne had become a ghost.

***

Arthur stepped into the house with a smile on his face. As unhappy as Saito had been, he had to admit that there was nothing Arthur could do to help with this particular situation. It was only a matter of time before Ariadne's disappearance would be officially closed, and Eames would have to be sent back overseas. Unless he had some kind of a political job to do for the embassy, but that didn't seem likely.

He had left Ariadne to pack up her things and some of his. He didn't have to worry about a passport for either of them, as he had his company plane to jet them around wherever he needed to go, and his secretary could send along whatever documents he needed. She did her work diligently, and when he mentioned needing a passport for Ariadne, she hadn't balked. She simply asked for the data she needed and a photo. She would send that on to Paris when they picked a hotel to stay in. Ariadne's new name would be Ariana on those documents; it was similar enough for her to respond to, yet different enough that it wouldn't show up on a flight manifest search.

It took Arthur a moment to realize something was wrong. It was quiet in the house. Too quiet. It shouldn't have been; the ideas had taken so flawlessly, and she believed in his vision with every fiber of her being. She loved him, as much as he loved her. It shouldn't have been this silent; she shouldn't have run away.

The basement was empty, and he raced through every room in the house. He didn't see her anywhere, and panic bloomed in his heart. What if she left? What if this was too soon? What if he had to track her down all over again?

He saw the suitcases in the living room and stopped short. He had raced right past them in his panic, and he could feel his heart start to slow. Ariadne was asleep on the couch, stretched out and hidden by the tall back. She had one of his books on dream theory lying on her chest, still open to where she had fallen asleep while reading.

Arthur sank down onto the couch near her feet and took them into his lap. She was in socks, and he pulled them off to massage her feet. Just touching her calmed him. She stirred after a moment, and woke up. "Hey, sleepyhead."

Ariadne smiled when she saw him. "Hey. How was work?"

"Boring," he replied. "I've signed off on this one." He chuckled at the expression on her face. "I didn't just screw it up. There honestly wasn't anything else for me to do there. I would just be taking their money for no reason if I stayed."

"Oh. Well, I guess it's not that bad in that case."

Arthur laughed and watched her stretch appreciatively. "When did you want to leave?"

Ariadne let out a sigh. "I wish..."

"What is it?"

"I wish I could say goodbye," Ariadne murmured. She pushed herself up to a sitting position. "It's... I'm leaving them behind, Arthur. I'm never going to see any of my friends ever again, I'm never going to see my mother..."

Arthur pulled her against him as she started to cry. "Sh... Ari..."

"I'm a ghost now. I'm like you. I don't belong anywhere. I can't... I need to do something, I need to see someone..."

He pressed his lips against her temple. "Why don't we visit your mother, then? Explain to her that you have to go into hiding and no one can know? She can keep a secret like that, right?" He moved to kiss her face when she didn't answer right away. "You don't have to stop existing, Ariadne. It's not like that..."

"Isn't it? I'm disappearing."

He kissed her, full on the mouth and with all of his pent up frustration. If he pushed too hard and too fast, she might run. Hell, she could run at any time. "I need you, Ari. I love you so much, I don't know what I'd do without you. Tell me how to make it better." His hands roamed everywhere, imprinting the feel of her beneath his hands. "I can't lose you," he murmured against the skin of her neck. "I can't."

Ariadne held him close, eyes sliding shut. "I don't know who I am anymore. I can't even... It's terrifying, Arthur. I can't even explain it. It makes no sense."

"Sweetheart, it makes perfect sense." Arthur pulled back to look her in the eye. "So much has changed in such a short time. I don't blame you for being lost." He took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "I wish you'd told me sooner."

"I tried."

"Then I'm sorry I didn't understand. God, I feel like an idiot."

"Don't say that," Ariadne sighed, shaking her head and taking his hands in hers. "It's not like that. You're brilliant at what you do."

"Yeah, but I didn't see how scared you were getting. This is moving too fast, isn't it?" He tucked her hair behind an ear and traced the curve of her cheek. "We can slow it down, put off this vacation. Just... Hang out here, I guess. Figure out normal things to do with our time."

"We've done that in dreams already, Arthur."

"But this will be real. That will make it different."

"God, you're such a smoosh sometimes," Ariadne said, laughing a little and wiping at her eyes. "I'm being stupid."

"Let's visit your mother," Arthur offered, fingers trailing along her neck. He leaned in to kiss it as his fingers followed the curve of her shoulder. "You can let her know you're really okay, and say goodbye the way you need to."

"What can I even say? I can't explain how we really met, what's really happening..."

"Just tell her what she needs to know. I'm keeping you safe. You have to go into hiding and you can't use your real name, you can't go back to the FBI. It's the truth."

Ariadne sighed and leaned into his embrace. "It's a lie of omission. I haven't lied to her about anything big."

"Ever tell her about the nightmares you used to have? The way it came back even with the dream therapy." He could tell her answer was no by the way she stiffened slightly in his arms. "It'll be like that. Some details she doesn't have to know. It might be kinder that way."

Sniffling, Ariadne pressed her face against his chest. "I hate this."

"I know, Ari. I know how this feels. This kind of emptiness, like a hole inside you that won't ever be filled... I know."

"What makes it go away?"

"For me, it was you."

She pulled back to look at him. "I'm not that special."

"To me you are."

He kissed her, and Ariadne melted against him. It was a tender, lazy kiss, his tongue stroking hers in a slow rhythm as he held her. It was a kiss to drown in, a kiss that said she was the most beautiful woman on earth and he couldn't believe she was with him. It was a kiss that could go on forever, and Ariadne missed it when it ended. "I love you," he said softly. "I will do whatever I can to make you happy. You have to believe that."

Ariadne tried to smile. "Most of the time, I do."

"Then I'm not trying hard enough." He kissed her again, making her fall back against the couch. He was positioned between her legs, and she let her hands roam across his back. "I want you to be happy," he murmured against her mouth. "I want you to want to be with me. I want you to stay, for the rest of our lives."

Ariadne gasped. "Are you...?"

"It means whatever you want it to mean," Arthur replied, moving to kiss her neck and tangle his hands in her hair. "I never want you to go, Ariadne. I want you with me forever. Say yes. Say you'll stay with me. I can make you happy, Ari. I can make you so happy..."

It was hard to think with the way he was touching her, his hand sliding beneath her shirt to fondle a breast. She sucked in a breath and let it out shakily. "Yes."

Arthur smiled against the skin of her neck. "Thank you." You won't regret this, I'll make sure of it.

It was easy enough to tug off their clothes, keeping their mouths on each other and hands sliding across the skin. Ariadne climbed on top of Arthur and guided him into her, sighing at the feel of him inside. It was almost a desperate feeling clawing at her chest, a need she couldn't explain. She rocked against him hard, hands tight on his shoulders for balance. He ran his hands along her back, then reached up to play with her breasts as they bobbed above him. Arthur tilted his hips to deepen the strokes until she cried out, back arching and head thrown back in ecstasy. Another few strokes and he too let go, spilling inside of her. Ariadne collapsed on top of him, nearly whimpering as she tried to catch her breath. He ran his hands over her back almost protectively.

"I'll take care of you," Arthur promised.

"I can take care of myself," Ariadne protested in between ragged breaths.

"I know, but I want to do this. I want to take care of you. I want to keep you safe. I want to make sure the nightmares go away, that they never come back. I'll take care of everything, and no one will ever hurt you ever again. I promise. I'll protect you, Ariadne. I'll always keep you safe."

"I believe you," Ariadne murmured, moving to kiss his cheek. "I know you'll try."

Arthur smiled at her, and for a moment Ariadne felt a frisson of fear at the sight of it. "I will do whatever is necessary for you, Ariadne. You're my only priority."

To be so cherished was as terrifying as it was wonderful. She had never been so necessary to someone before, had never been so precious. It was an awe-inspiring feeling to be put up on a pedestal, but she knew that usually there wasn't far to fall off of it.

But the moment passed when he kissed her hand and gave her that same adoring and endearing look he gave her. "C'mon. How about ice cream?" he asked. "You look like you need rocky road," Arthur observed, smiling as he tucked her hair behind her ears again. "I know that helps give me a moment to think sometimes."

Ariadne pushed away the misgiving she'd had. It was silly. Arthur had never hurt her. That was an old fear being translated, that was all. It didn't mean anything. She smiled at Arthur and disentangled herself. "All right. Let's get going."

***
***
To the finale!

pairing: ariadne/arthur, rating: nc-17, fanfic: inception

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