just the girl (1/2)
Title: just the girl
Fandom: Inception
Characters: Ariadne, Arthur, Eames, Yusuf, Cobb, Saito
Rating: PG
Word Count: 5,928
Summary: It's because she's a girl. That's why they all possess this ridiculous need to step in and save her, and they each do it in their own special way (part 2 is here)
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). Also, I know nothing about architecture grad school.
It was because she was the girl. That’s why they all possessed this need to rescue, because she was small and inexperienced and had breasts. So that meant they, in all their testosterone driven need, felt that it was only right that they watch out for her. It was sweet, really, if sometimes a bit annoying. They were like the older brothers she never had, and if sometimes their interference was obnoxious, it was also…nice. They’d all helped her in their own way numerous times. Sometimes she’d been exceedingly grateful, other time she’d been incredibly embarrassed, but that was what came with working with a bunch of men, she supposed.
They didn’t intend for it to happen, the whole working together thing. It was supposed to be a one-off, a “thanks for the good times, see you when I see you” kind of deal. Cobb would go back to his kids, Ariadne would go back to school, Yusuf would go back to Mombossa, Saito would go back to trying to take over the world, and Arthur and Eames would go back to…doing whatever it was they did.
And she guessed that’s what happened, at least for a little while. She was leaving her apartment and on her way to class one day three months after the Fischer job when Arthur showed up at her door. Apparently Cobb had moved to Paris with the children, and Yusuf had relocated his business to the same area, and Eames was floating around here somewhere, looking for employment. They hadn’t officially sat down and said, “We’re a team, we work together now,” but it was understood. And even if they were obtuse enough to not understand it, it’s how events played out.
They worked out of the warehouse they’d planned the Fischer job in, making it look like a legitimate place of business, even if none of their neighbors knew what they actually did. Ariadne had a schedule…class, lunch with the boys, class, then back to the warehouse for work.
It was laughable really that anything in their lives were routine, but here it was and there they were and like it or not they were a makeshift family. And of course, family protected one another. Since she was the youngest and the smallest and the most female, often times they felt like they needed to take care of her, each in their own…special way.
Eames
The first time the issue had come up, she was sitting on her desk/workstation, eating one of the sandwiches she’d brought in for lunch, complaining about the bane of her existence.
“I hate her,” Ariadne declared, taking a vicious bite of her sandwich afterwards to make her point.
Arthur, who’d walked over from his work station to grab his own lunch looked at her in bemusement. “I have a hard time imagining you hating anyone.”
Eames scoffed, the wrapper from his sandwich strewn on his desk haphazardly as he leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes at Arthur. “That would be because imagining requires imagination, Arthur.”
The Point Man glared. “How about you imagine my foot up your-“
“Who are you talking about, Ariadne?” Yusuf asked between mouthfuls of bread, cheese and ham, trying to diffuse the situation before Arthur and Eames’ bickering got out of hand. He enjoyed lunches with Ariadne and wasn’t about to let Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber ruin this one.
“I could have sworn I’ve mentioned her before. She’s just a girl from school. Nerys.”
“Gesundheit,” Eames said nonchalantly.
Ariadne stuck her tongue out at him. “That’s her name, idiot. And she’s absolutely awful.”
“What makes her so terrible?” Arthur asked as he sat down in Ariadne’s chair. While Yusuf, Ariadne and Eames’ workstations were clumped together, both Arthur and Cobb had actual spaces for offices. It had become a habit that whenever they had lunch at the workshop, Ariadne would sit on her desk or Yusuf’s and Arthur would sit in her chair so that he could join in on the conversation.
“She’s just awful. Ever since we met she has just had it out for me and I don’t even know why!”
“Maybe she’s jealous?” Arthur suggested.
“Please, she’s got no reason to be jealous of me. She’s gorgeous and blonde and tall,” she grumbled, taking another savage bite of her lunch.
“I like her already,” Eames joked, earning him a dual glare from Arthur and Ariadne. “Dear God, you two are spending far too much time together. Right. Where were we? Gorgeous, blonde, tall. I bet it’s that last part that bothers you most.” He dodged as Ariadne balled up her sandwich wrapper and threw it at him. “I was only joking.”
“So why is she so terrible?” Yusuf prompted.
“Other than generally making my life hell and humiliating me at every possible moment?”
Eames chuckled. It wasn’t like Ariadne to be so melodramatic, and it amused him far more than it should have. “It can’t be that bad.”
“She accidentally destroyed a model I made for class today. It was worth 25% of my grade. Luckily it was for MIles’ class, and he saw what happened so he’s giving me extra time to redo it. Then Nerys announces loudly that it wasn’t like my project was that great anyway.”
Yusuf shook his head sadly. “What a bitch.”
“Damn right! My project was flawless. Then she goes on and on about how I like imagination and creativity-” Ariadne’s audience laughed at that. Clearly this girl had no idea who she was dealing with. “I have plenty of imagination and creativity. I have designed things-I have built things that she couldn’t even dream of.”
“Both literally and figuratively,” Arthur agreed. He had a scowl on his face at the thought of this girl. They all did.
“And then she says, ‘This is why she never gets laid!’ For everyone to hear! First of all, my sex life is nobody’s business-”
“You shouldn’t have a sex life anyway, Ariadne!” Cobb called from his office. “You’re too young!”
“Thank you, Grandpa Cobb!” She rolled her eyes and looked back at Arthur, Eames and Yusuf. “And secondly, where does she get off trying to humiliate me like that? This isn’t the first time she’s done something like this either, and I can’t just avoid her because we have EVERY. SINGLE. CLASS together. She’s just…ugh!”
“Why don’t you put her in her place?” Eames suggested.
“I’m not really good at putting people in their place.”
“I beg to differ,” Cobb chimed in again.
“Fine! I’m just not great at dealing with bitchy girls, then. And if you’re going to do that, will you just come out here already?”
“Can’t! I’m working.”
Ariadne glared at his office space then turned back to the others. “Anyway, it’s just not really worth it. In a year and a half, I’ll never have to see her again and then we can all go on with our lives.”
Eames smiled smugly. “Never you fear, Ariadne, darling. Just leave her to me.”
“Eames, I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”
“Trust me.”
The problem was she wasn’t quite sure that she did. She trusted him with her life, of course, but with this…she had no idea what he had up his sleeve. She found out a few days later when Nerys showed up to class in a particularly foul mood, but she did not talk to anyone and ,most surprisingly, ignored Ariadne completely. She didn’t even shoot the brunette her customary morning smirk of evil. Later, she found out from one of her classmates that Nerys had been on a date the night before with this handsome English tourist and it had not gone well. They’d gone to the student cafe where he managed to highlight every single flaw Nerys had very loudly before hitting on one of her friends and leaving the cafe with the girl. It was certainly quite humiliating and it knocked the blonde’s ego down a few pegs. Everywhere she went, there were people talking about Nerys, and Ariadne almost felt bad for the girl. Almost.
That didn’t stop her from throwing her arms around Eames and giving him a giant hug the moment she stepped into the warehouse for lunch. She didn’t ask him how he knew who the girl was-Arthur probably told him because Arthur knew everything-and even if she was a little horrified at Eames’ tactics, she thought it was very nice of him to do that for her.
“Thank you,” she said and meaning it.
“So did I leave her absolutely devastated?” Eames grinned and waggled his eyebrows rakishly.
Ariadne laughed and pulled away. “Humiliated is more like it, and I have no doubt she’ll get over it in a few days. But at least I’ll have that to hold over her head for a while.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“It was a little mean, though.”
“If you think this was mean, you should have heard Cobb’s plan.” Eames grinned and cocked his head in the direction of Cobb’s office.
“What was Cobb’s plan?”
“It had to do with kidnapping and dream torture. Arthur said no.”
“Thank goodness for small blessings,” Ariadne said with a laugh.
Yusuf
Ariadne rarely entered dreams on jobs anymore, something that Cobb insisted on while she was still in school. Instead she designed mazes and worked with Yusuf on compounds, learning bits and pieces of his trade. She found his work fascinating and challenging and definitely not something that she was cut out for, but she liked knowing how things worked. When the team had jobs, she would sit with Yusuf and monitor the rest, and on the rare occasions when Yusuf wanted to or had to go into the field, they had confidence in Ariadne to do what needed to be done on her side.
Of course, this gave Ariadne and Yusuf ample time to converse. While Cobb was like her father, Eames a verbal sparring partner, and Arthur her mentor, Yusuf was her best friend. They talked about anything, everything, from work to school to life in general. He was the only one Ariadne had told about her teeny tiny insignificant crush on Arthur (although she did suspect that Eames had an inkling) and he in turn told her about a street artist he’d met one day in Montmartre who made him blush like a schoolgirl whenever he talked about her.
While the others were dreaming, they were bonding. Ariadne taught him French and about art and he taught Ariadne his work. On one of their days off, they’d gone to Montmartre together so that he could introduce Ariadne to Nathalie, the object of his affections. He was gratified to know that Ariadne approved (although he didn’t know that she’d had Arthur look into Nathalie’s background, just in case…she was fairly certain Arthur didn’t know why she’d been asking, but even if he did she trusted him to keep the secret). It was strange seeing their Chemist so smitten, but it was very sweet.
Yusuf, in turn, listened to Ariadne pour her heart out. When she was scared or sad or uncertain, he was always there to sweep up the broken pieces and glue them back together. He liked to tell her that he taught her the tricks of his trade because she was a worthy mind. She was convinced that it was because he liked having someone interested in his work, and Yusuf was very good at what he did. Ariadne didn’t always follow the science of it, but she enjoyed learning and the enthusiasm on Yusuf’s face as he explained things to her was gratifying all on its own.
Always on a job, after the three fell asleep Yusuf would explain what different modifications he’d made to the compounds and why, how they’d effect the dreamers and how he came up with it. This time they were in London on a Saturday evening sitting in the mark’s hotel room while Eames, Arthur and Cobb went in for the extraction. Yusuf was just about to launch into his Somnacin explanation when Ariadne threw herself back on the bed and groaned.
“I’m sorry, I can’t process anymore information today.”
“Would you like to talk about it?” Yusuf asked, concerned, sitting down on the bed next to her. The other four men were on chairs around the room, ready for a kick if necessary.
“It’s not a big deal,” she sighed. “Well, it is. I just can’t think anymore tonight. My brain has turned to mush.”
“And why is that?” Yusuf asked with a laugh.
“It just…has. Too much information. Too much studying, and not enough time to learn any of it. I just want to sleep.” She closed her eyes briefly, but it didn’t help with her mind racing.
“Unfortunately, Cobb has prohibited you from going under.”
Ariadne snorted. “I don’t mean this kind of sleep. I mean actual sleep. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in days.”
“What’s troubling you?” he asked gently.
“Nothing,” Ariadne sighed, turning onto her side to face him as he looked down at her. He was, of course, skeptical so he just sat there and stared at her until she told him. “I have a Planning Law test on Monday and I am completely unprepared. I haven’t learned anything.”
He looked at her incredulously. “You have a test on Monday? What are you doing here, then? You should be back in Paris, studying.”
“You know how much I hate it when you guys have to go out of town for jobs and I can’t come with you! I had to be here, just in case something went wrong.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“But if something went wrong on either end. I don’t like not knowing.”
“But your school work is important,” Yusuf insisted. “Perhaps you can study now. Where are your books?”
Ariadne looked away, biting her lip. “I left them in my hotel room. I figured if we have to run, a bag full of awful books on land use and public policy will only slow us down.”
Yusuf couldn’t help but laugh. “You really hate this class, don’t you?”
“That obvious?”
“Yes.”
Ariadne scowled, sitting up “It’s just…it’s required for my degree but it’s awful and boring and has nothing to do with my future. But I have to pass this stupid class if I want to graduate and this test is a huge chunk of my grade and I’m going to fail horribly which would be terrible because I’m already flirting with failure in that class, then I’ll never graduate and Cobb will never let me go back into the field and this is just ridiculous.”
He patted her on the head soothingly, trying to get her to stop panicking. It was a good thing that this was a fairly simple job otherwise this little sidebar might have been too much of a distraction. “You’ll be fine. Just run back to the hotel and study and I’ll call you if there are any problems.”
The look she gave him told him that she was having none of that. “Yusuf…”
“Or-“ he interrupted, “you can nap now, then later on I’ll help you study.”
“I-“
“It’s one or the other, Ariadne. You don’t get a choice in this.”
“Fine. Just…don’t tell Cobb, okay? He’ll be pissed.”
He smiled triumphantly, then turned his attention back to the job at hand. “Fine. Get some rest. I’ll wake you before I play the music.”
“You’re the best.”
“Just be prepared to study tonight.” The job went off without a hitch and they were back in their hotel in an hour. Ariadne sat on her bed, her books and notes spread out around her in a jumble of pages and confusion. She really should have paid more attention in this class, but she hated it so much. Why bother learning planning law when in her line of work she didn’t even have to worry about the laws of physics? It was necessary for graduation, she reminded herself. She picked up her first notebook, trying to read her notes while waiting for the knock that would tell her that Yusuf was there to help her get her ass into gear.
Ariadne had read the first line on the page maybe twelve times before the knock came. She practically bounced off the bed and flung the door open.
“Thank God-“ Next to Yusuf stood Arthur, still in his suit and grinning. “Arthur, what are you doing here?”
Yusuf shrugged. “I thought that perhaps Arthur might know more about the subject than I. While I can help you memorize and ask you questions, Arthur might actually know what’s going on.”
“Does Cobb know about this?” Both men shook their heads and she invited them in. “So Arthur, do you know anything about planning and zoning laws? Wait, you probably do because you somehow manage to know everything. How do you know everything?”
Arthur chuckled and sat down at the small table near the bed. “I do know a little bit. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
The sun was peeking through the windows by the time Ariadne slumped back against her pillows and admitted defeat. “I’m going to fail this test. I am doomed.”
“You’re not doomed,” Yusuf said sleepily. He was leaning back in the chair next to the bed, trying not to doze off.
Arthur still sat at the table, flipping through one of her text books. He’d been doing that all evening, tossing out questions to test her knowledge while jotting things down in one of her notebooks. “You mostly know what you’re doing. There are just a couple of things you should look over.”
Ariadne shook her head, looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t have time to.”
“We’ll help you study,” Yusuf insisted. But she didn’t study on the flight back to Paris, since both men insisted she sleep. They went with her back to her apartment and drank coffee and looked at books and notes and finally at one in the morning, Yusuf forced her to close her book. “You’ll never be able to take this test if you sleep through it. No more studying tonight.”
“I just…I need more time,” Ariadne groaned as she walked them both to the door.
“That is one thing we can’t help you with,” Arthur said with a small smile. “Good luck.”
“Things will work out,” Yusuf told her gently. “It’ll be fine.” She closed the door behind them and tried to get some sleep because she knew that if she even tried opening another book, they’d know. The next morning, she trudged to the university. It was time to face the music. Maybe Arthur was right. Maybe she knew more than she thought she did. But she doubted it and she’d have to take this class again…ugh.
Except when she got to the university there was a crowd of students milling around the edge of campus and university officers pushing them back. It was like a scene out of a movie and any moment she half expected some sort of explosion to send them flying back. Eventually she found one of her Planning Law classmates in the crowd. “What’s going on?” she asked, watching the crowd.
“I’m not sure,” her classmate answered. “I heard rumors that there was some sort of gas leak or something but no one really seems to know for sure.” Their test was forgotten as the two girls waited for some sort of official announcement. Finally, thirty minutes after she’d arrived at campus, the officers made an announcement that the campus would be closed for the next few days because and that the university would contact them when the school reopened.
“Well,” her classmate said, grinning happily. “Now we don’t have to take that damn test today.”
With her classes cancelled, Ariadne decided to head to the workshop. She brought her books with her, intending to study for her test because she knew she definitely had to take advantage of this extra time. Eames was genuinely surprised to see her when she showed up.
“Classes were cancelled,” she explained. “Apparently there was some sort of gas leak or chemical thing and they had to close the school for a couple of days.”
“That is such a shame,” Yusuf said, turning his head away.
Ariadne walked over to him, suspicious. She nudged his arm with hers as he studiously looked anywhere but at her. “Yusuf, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you?”
“Know anything about what?” he asked, looking down at the calculations on the paper in front of him, pretending to go over them.
“Oh, I don’t know. The strange gas that necessitated campus closure and the cancellation of classes..”
“Why would I know anything about your school?” Usually he had a pretty good poker face, but this time Ariadne saw that he couldn’t keep the small, triumphant smile from his lips, and she was filled with a surge of warmth.
“Thank you.”
He winked and draped an arm across her shoulders, hugging her to him. “I’m not sure what you’re thanking me for, but…you’re welcome.”
Ariadne turned and hugged him tightly. “You’re the best.”
“You need to study,” he said, pulling away. “We’ll help. Hold on.” Ariadne smiled as he hurried to Cobb’s workspace and heard him say that something urgent had come up. When he came back, he was with Arthur and the three of them headed back to her apartment, leaving a very confused Eames behind.
Saito
Over the course of the Fischer job, Ariadne hadn’t really gotten to know Saito all that well. He was just this intimidating figure who sat in on planning sessions and bought airlines. He did stay in touch, mostly with Cobb and Arthur, and Ariadne knew that they got a great many of their jobs through him.
He still popped in from time to time when he was in Paris on business. He never went in with them anymore. He’d already dreamed enough for a lifetime, she’d heard him telling Cobb one day and they both nodded sagely because they knew that the other was the only person on Earth who’d understand. She rarely thought of him, though, until he came to visit or until Cobb or Eames or Arthur brought him up.
She never imagined she’d need his help until she started slowly bringing bits and pieces of her apartment with her and storing them around the warehouse. It started out with a standing lamp that she’d said she needed for extra light, even though her desk was in the sunniest spot in the warehouse. Then there came the sofa. It had been her grandmother’s, she’d told them, and it was nice to have around the office, especially if they wanted to read or do work somewhere a little more comfortable. There was small closet between Arthur’s office and the utility closet that no one ever went to where she began storing a bunch of things like boxes of trinkets from back home and the meager kitchen supplies that she owned. Nobody said a word about the large throw pillows she’d brought in and tossed on her grandmother’s sofa or the rather large blanket draped across the back of said chair. And no one seemed to think twice if they came in early and found her asleep on the sofa, curled up under the blanket, head resting on one of the throw pillows. She spun them some story about working late on a maze. Or if she’d used that excuse too many times in a row, she’d say that her neighbors had been throwing a party the night before and she’d needed some place to study.
She wasn’t sure why she didn’t want to tell them that she’d been evicted from her apartment. She just didn’t. It was easier that way, neater, especially knowing that they would all try to come up with some plot to get her her place back. Especially since her landlord had kicked her out for an absolutely ridiculous reason: he didn’t like her, and he’d used the one month when she’d been so busy with work and school that she’d forgotten to hand in the rent check as an excuse to kick her out. Even when she’d promised to pay double the rent as a late fee, the man had refused. She had a sneaking suspicion that it was because she’d rebuffed his amorous advances when she’d first moved in, as he’d had no problems displaying his dislike of her for all to see since then. It was a stupid reason to kick her out, and she supposed she didn’t want to be living in a building with that man anyway. Anyway, it was nothing for the others to fret over.
Sleeping at the warehouse wasn’t a big deal. No, this was just temporary until she could find a new apartment. The problem was, there were none quite so lovely as her old place. It was just the right mix of classic and modern, the perfect distance from the school and the warehouse, and it was in a fairly safe neighborhood. And despite all the money she had from the Fischer job, the apartment search was not going well. There were no apartment listings in that area, and the ones closest to the school and warehouse were either too small and rundown or in too rough a neighborhood. The ones that were most definitely spacious and safe enough were too far from the university to walk or even bike, and she didn’t want to have to deal with the hassle of buying a car (much less owning one).
So she slept in the warehouse, showered at the gym near the university, and ate so much takeout it was making her sick. She was pretty sure that Arthur and Yusuf knew, or at least suspected that she’d been kicked out of her apartment, because on more than one occasion Arthur brought in a Tupperware full of food because he’d “made too much for breakfast” or Yusuf would insist that she head out to dinner with him. They never said a word about her situation, for which she was grateful.
Saito, however, was not so graceful. Five weeks after her eviction, she woke to find him sitting on the end of her couch, thumbing through her copy of “Brave New World.” They were the only two in the warehouse and she wondered dumbly how he’d gotten in before remembering that he had a key.
“Good morning, Ariadne,” he said with a smile.
“Saito?” She rubbed her eyes and sat up, pushing her hair out of her face. “What are you doing here?”
“Business trip. I thought I would drop in to see how you all were doing.”
“Just that?”
“And perhaps a job offer. Not so complicated as inception, but I only work with the best.”
She grinned. “And that’s us. So what’s the job?”
“Why don’t we hold that discussion off for when the others get here? For now let us catch up. It’s been a long time since we’ve spoken last.”
Ariadne nodded. “Three months. I’ll be right back, though. I need to change clothes. I fell asleep studying.” Truthfully, she’d spent the last five weeks sleeping in the clothes she’d worn for the day so that her excuse of accidentally falling asleep on the couch would ring truer. Saito nodded and turned back to the book still on his lap, and Ariadne hurried to the storage room where she changed clothes. He put the book down when he heard her coming and asked her about university life. The conversation continued, running through the typical topics of school and work and family before Saito leaned back and turned to look at her, lifting an eyebrow as he leveled her with an interested stare.
“So how long have you been living here?”
“In Paris? About two and a half years-“
“No. The warehouse. How long have you been sleeping here?”
Ariadne sighed. “Is it as obvious as all that?”
“I would say so. I could tell the moment I walked in.”
“Arthur and Yusuf seem to be the only ones who’ve noticed.”
“And now me. So why are you living out of the warehouse?”
“My landlord kicked me out. He hates me and I was late on the rent once, so he used that as an excuse to toss me out. I just haven’t found a place yet. I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention it to everybody else. Well, at least not Cobb or Eames. I don’t think they know.”
Saito opened his mouth to speak but the opening of the warehouse door cut him off. Arthur and Cobb came strolling in and stopped short when they saw the pair on the couch.
“Saito!” Cobb said in surprise. “I didn’t know you’d be in town.” Saito stood and clapped Cobb affectionately on the back.
“Business trip,” Saito said simply, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
“And a job opportunity,” Ariadne added. Cobb started, as if suddenly registering Ariadne’s presence.
“Did you stay late again, Ariadne?” he demanded. “You’re working too hard. Miles will have my head if this job is affecting your school work-“
“It’s not. I just-there was another party in my building and I couldn’t sleep through the noise, so I came here.”
“Alone?”
“No,” Arthur chimed in. “She called me and I walked her over.” Yep. Arthur definitely knew.
Cobb frowned. “Maybe I should go over and talk to your landlord.”
“No!” Ariadne shouted. “I mean, why bother? I’m thinking of looking for a new place anyway, so. There’s no point.” Arthur smirked, lifting a brow and she quirked her lips in return.
“So are you available for work at the moment?” Saito asked, drawing Cobb’s attention away from the Architect.
Cobb grinned. “You’re in luck. We’re just finishing up a job. It should be done within a week and we can start after that. Would that be satisfactory?”
“Quite,” Saito said with a satisfied smile. The men chatted while Ariadne folded her blanket, gathered her things for class, and slipped on her shoes. She checked her watch and swore softly under her breath before muttering a quick goodbye to the others and running to class. When she came back for lunch, Saito sat the team down and gave them the details of the job. It was nothing complicated, just a simple extraction, nothing Ariadne needed to be too involved in, but she listened avidly anyway because she liked knowing. Afterwards, when the others had gone back to work, Saito pulled Ariadne aside.
“The problem we spoke about earlier has been resolved,” he said quietly. “You can move back into your building whenever you’d like.”
Ariadne looked up at him in surprise. The only thing she could think to say was, “What? How?”
Saito shrugged nonchalantly. “I bought the building.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course you did.”
“It seemed…”
“Neater, yes,” she finished for him. “But the building wasn’t for sale.”
Saito smiled magnanimously and patted her on the shoulder. “One thing you’ll learn, Ariadne, is that anything is for sale if you’ve got enough money.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”
“Now shall we discuss the matter of your moving back in?”
“Can I move back into my old place? I mean, if the landlord hadn’t rented it out yet.”
“It is still available. But are you sure you wouldn’t like one of the bigger apartments? The one formerly occupied your landlord is quite large, and quite vacant.”
Ariadne’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Are you serious? How much would that raise my rent?”
Saito smiled enigmatically. “It wouldn’t.”
She couldn’t help but shake her head, trying to process the enormity of it all. Not only would she get to leave the warehouse, she was going someplace bigger. Impulsively, she hugged him tightly. “I’ll take it! Thank you! So much.”
He stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and patted her gently on the back. “It is no problem.” There wasn’t much time to discuss the details of their arrangement since she had to run back to class, but she promised she’d see him after.
Ariadne went back to class with a spring in her step. She’d worry about moving back in later. For now, it was enough that she had a place to go back to. The rest of the day was a blur until she got back to the warehouse, bursting in the door happily, drawing the attention of Eames and Yusuf.
“What are you so cheerful about?” Eames asked suspiciously.
Ariadne just beamed. “It’s a really wonderful day, don’t you think? Do you know where Saito is?”
“He had to leave,” Yusuf answered, turning back to his lab station. “Some urgent business came up that he had to attend to.”
Ariadne’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Oh.”
“He left something for you, though. He gave it to Arthur-” Yusuf had barely finished speaking before Ariadne bolted towards Arthur’s office.
“Saito left something for me?” Ariadne asked breathlessly, standing in the entrance to Arthur’s space.
He looked up from the file he’d been studying and smirked. “Why, hello, Ariadne. It’s nice to see you, too. My day was fine, how was yours?”
“Arthur! Did Saito leave something for me?”
“He did. Here.” He handed her an envelope with her name written on it in a strong, bold hand. It was heavy. She opened it and a key spilled out into her hand and she held tightly to it as she read the letter enclosed. In it, Saito wished her luck in her new home and told her that if she had any problems, the new building manager that Saito had hired would be happy to sort things out for her (and if he didn’t, he’d have Saito to answer to). Ariadne smiled.
“Good news, I take it?” Arthur asked, lips quirked up at the corners.
“Oh stop it, I’m sure you know already. Now I just need to figure out a way to get my stuff out of the storage locker without Cobb noticing…”
“Already done. Saito sent Cobb, Eames and me on a reconnaissance mission. To gather intelligence for our upcoming job. He and Yusuf took care of the rest. You don’t have a lot of stuff.”
“But…what…my couch is still here.”
“Yeah, we thought we’d keep that.”
“But now I don’t have a couch.”
“I would check out your new apartment before saying that. Shall we take a look at your new place?”
It was, of course, perfect. It was so much bigger than her other apartment and most of the furniture was new and exactly her style. “Yusuf picked most of it out,” Arthur told her as she’d stood in the doorway and gaped. “Saito footed the bill.” She wished that Saito was still around for her to thank once again. Instead, she had Arthur, Eames and Yusuf over for a small dinner party (Cobb had gone home to be with his children) and they offered up a toast in his honor.
Bless him, he’d even supplied the wine.
--
Part 2
Fandom: Inception
Characters: Ariadne, Arthur, Eames, Yusuf, Cobb, Saito
Rating: PG
Word Count: 5,928
Summary: It's because she's a girl. That's why they all possess this ridiculous need to step in and save her, and they each do it in their own special way (part 2 is here)
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). Also, I know nothing about architecture grad school.
It was because she was the girl. That’s why they all possessed this need to rescue, because she was small and inexperienced and had breasts. So that meant they, in all their testosterone driven need, felt that it was only right that they watch out for her. It was sweet, really, if sometimes a bit annoying. They were like the older brothers she never had, and if sometimes their interference was obnoxious, it was also…nice. They’d all helped her in their own way numerous times. Sometimes she’d been exceedingly grateful, other time she’d been incredibly embarrassed, but that was what came with working with a bunch of men, she supposed.
They didn’t intend for it to happen, the whole working together thing. It was supposed to be a one-off, a “thanks for the good times, see you when I see you” kind of deal. Cobb would go back to his kids, Ariadne would go back to school, Yusuf would go back to Mombossa, Saito would go back to trying to take over the world, and Arthur and Eames would go back to…doing whatever it was they did.
And she guessed that’s what happened, at least for a little while. She was leaving her apartment and on her way to class one day three months after the Fischer job when Arthur showed up at her door. Apparently Cobb had moved to Paris with the children, and Yusuf had relocated his business to the same area, and Eames was floating around here somewhere, looking for employment. They hadn’t officially sat down and said, “We’re a team, we work together now,” but it was understood. And even if they were obtuse enough to not understand it, it’s how events played out.
They worked out of the warehouse they’d planned the Fischer job in, making it look like a legitimate place of business, even if none of their neighbors knew what they actually did. Ariadne had a schedule…class, lunch with the boys, class, then back to the warehouse for work.
It was laughable really that anything in their lives were routine, but here it was and there they were and like it or not they were a makeshift family. And of course, family protected one another. Since she was the youngest and the smallest and the most female, often times they felt like they needed to take care of her, each in their own…special way.
Eames
The first time the issue had come up, she was sitting on her desk/workstation, eating one of the sandwiches she’d brought in for lunch, complaining about the bane of her existence.
“I hate her,” Ariadne declared, taking a vicious bite of her sandwich afterwards to make her point.
Arthur, who’d walked over from his work station to grab his own lunch looked at her in bemusement. “I have a hard time imagining you hating anyone.”
Eames scoffed, the wrapper from his sandwich strewn on his desk haphazardly as he leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes at Arthur. “That would be because imagining requires imagination, Arthur.”
The Point Man glared. “How about you imagine my foot up your-“
“Who are you talking about, Ariadne?” Yusuf asked between mouthfuls of bread, cheese and ham, trying to diffuse the situation before Arthur and Eames’ bickering got out of hand. He enjoyed lunches with Ariadne and wasn’t about to let Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber ruin this one.
“I could have sworn I’ve mentioned her before. She’s just a girl from school. Nerys.”
“Gesundheit,” Eames said nonchalantly.
Ariadne stuck her tongue out at him. “That’s her name, idiot. And she’s absolutely awful.”
“What makes her so terrible?” Arthur asked as he sat down in Ariadne’s chair. While Yusuf, Ariadne and Eames’ workstations were clumped together, both Arthur and Cobb had actual spaces for offices. It had become a habit that whenever they had lunch at the workshop, Ariadne would sit on her desk or Yusuf’s and Arthur would sit in her chair so that he could join in on the conversation.
“She’s just awful. Ever since we met she has just had it out for me and I don’t even know why!”
“Maybe she’s jealous?” Arthur suggested.
“Please, she’s got no reason to be jealous of me. She’s gorgeous and blonde and tall,” she grumbled, taking another savage bite of her lunch.
“I like her already,” Eames joked, earning him a dual glare from Arthur and Ariadne. “Dear God, you two are spending far too much time together. Right. Where were we? Gorgeous, blonde, tall. I bet it’s that last part that bothers you most.” He dodged as Ariadne balled up her sandwich wrapper and threw it at him. “I was only joking.”
“So why is she so terrible?” Yusuf prompted.
“Other than generally making my life hell and humiliating me at every possible moment?”
Eames chuckled. It wasn’t like Ariadne to be so melodramatic, and it amused him far more than it should have. “It can’t be that bad.”
“She accidentally destroyed a model I made for class today. It was worth 25% of my grade. Luckily it was for MIles’ class, and he saw what happened so he’s giving me extra time to redo it. Then Nerys announces loudly that it wasn’t like my project was that great anyway.”
Yusuf shook his head sadly. “What a bitch.”
“Damn right! My project was flawless. Then she goes on and on about how I like imagination and creativity-” Ariadne’s audience laughed at that. Clearly this girl had no idea who she was dealing with. “I have plenty of imagination and creativity. I have designed things-I have built things that she couldn’t even dream of.”
“Both literally and figuratively,” Arthur agreed. He had a scowl on his face at the thought of this girl. They all did.
“And then she says, ‘This is why she never gets laid!’ For everyone to hear! First of all, my sex life is nobody’s business-”
“You shouldn’t have a sex life anyway, Ariadne!” Cobb called from his office. “You’re too young!”
“Thank you, Grandpa Cobb!” She rolled her eyes and looked back at Arthur, Eames and Yusuf. “And secondly, where does she get off trying to humiliate me like that? This isn’t the first time she’s done something like this either, and I can’t just avoid her because we have EVERY. SINGLE. CLASS together. She’s just…ugh!”
“Why don’t you put her in her place?” Eames suggested.
“I’m not really good at putting people in their place.”
“I beg to differ,” Cobb chimed in again.
“Fine! I’m just not great at dealing with bitchy girls, then. And if you’re going to do that, will you just come out here already?”
“Can’t! I’m working.”
Ariadne glared at his office space then turned back to the others. “Anyway, it’s just not really worth it. In a year and a half, I’ll never have to see her again and then we can all go on with our lives.”
Eames smiled smugly. “Never you fear, Ariadne, darling. Just leave her to me.”
“Eames, I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”
“Trust me.”
The problem was she wasn’t quite sure that she did. She trusted him with her life, of course, but with this…she had no idea what he had up his sleeve. She found out a few days later when Nerys showed up to class in a particularly foul mood, but she did not talk to anyone and ,most surprisingly, ignored Ariadne completely. She didn’t even shoot the brunette her customary morning smirk of evil. Later, she found out from one of her classmates that Nerys had been on a date the night before with this handsome English tourist and it had not gone well. They’d gone to the student cafe where he managed to highlight every single flaw Nerys had very loudly before hitting on one of her friends and leaving the cafe with the girl. It was certainly quite humiliating and it knocked the blonde’s ego down a few pegs. Everywhere she went, there were people talking about Nerys, and Ariadne almost felt bad for the girl. Almost.
That didn’t stop her from throwing her arms around Eames and giving him a giant hug the moment she stepped into the warehouse for lunch. She didn’t ask him how he knew who the girl was-Arthur probably told him because Arthur knew everything-and even if she was a little horrified at Eames’ tactics, she thought it was very nice of him to do that for her.
“Thank you,” she said and meaning it.
“So did I leave her absolutely devastated?” Eames grinned and waggled his eyebrows rakishly.
Ariadne laughed and pulled away. “Humiliated is more like it, and I have no doubt she’ll get over it in a few days. But at least I’ll have that to hold over her head for a while.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“It was a little mean, though.”
“If you think this was mean, you should have heard Cobb’s plan.” Eames grinned and cocked his head in the direction of Cobb’s office.
“What was Cobb’s plan?”
“It had to do with kidnapping and dream torture. Arthur said no.”
“Thank goodness for small blessings,” Ariadne said with a laugh.
Yusuf
Ariadne rarely entered dreams on jobs anymore, something that Cobb insisted on while she was still in school. Instead she designed mazes and worked with Yusuf on compounds, learning bits and pieces of his trade. She found his work fascinating and challenging and definitely not something that she was cut out for, but she liked knowing how things worked. When the team had jobs, she would sit with Yusuf and monitor the rest, and on the rare occasions when Yusuf wanted to or had to go into the field, they had confidence in Ariadne to do what needed to be done on her side.
Of course, this gave Ariadne and Yusuf ample time to converse. While Cobb was like her father, Eames a verbal sparring partner, and Arthur her mentor, Yusuf was her best friend. They talked about anything, everything, from work to school to life in general. He was the only one Ariadne had told about her teeny tiny insignificant crush on Arthur (although she did suspect that Eames had an inkling) and he in turn told her about a street artist he’d met one day in Montmartre who made him blush like a schoolgirl whenever he talked about her.
While the others were dreaming, they were bonding. Ariadne taught him French and about art and he taught Ariadne his work. On one of their days off, they’d gone to Montmartre together so that he could introduce Ariadne to Nathalie, the object of his affections. He was gratified to know that Ariadne approved (although he didn’t know that she’d had Arthur look into Nathalie’s background, just in case…she was fairly certain Arthur didn’t know why she’d been asking, but even if he did she trusted him to keep the secret). It was strange seeing their Chemist so smitten, but it was very sweet.
Yusuf, in turn, listened to Ariadne pour her heart out. When she was scared or sad or uncertain, he was always there to sweep up the broken pieces and glue them back together. He liked to tell her that he taught her the tricks of his trade because she was a worthy mind. She was convinced that it was because he liked having someone interested in his work, and Yusuf was very good at what he did. Ariadne didn’t always follow the science of it, but she enjoyed learning and the enthusiasm on Yusuf’s face as he explained things to her was gratifying all on its own.
Always on a job, after the three fell asleep Yusuf would explain what different modifications he’d made to the compounds and why, how they’d effect the dreamers and how he came up with it. This time they were in London on a Saturday evening sitting in the mark’s hotel room while Eames, Arthur and Cobb went in for the extraction. Yusuf was just about to launch into his Somnacin explanation when Ariadne threw herself back on the bed and groaned.
“I’m sorry, I can’t process anymore information today.”
“Would you like to talk about it?” Yusuf asked, concerned, sitting down on the bed next to her. The other four men were on chairs around the room, ready for a kick if necessary.
“It’s not a big deal,” she sighed. “Well, it is. I just can’t think anymore tonight. My brain has turned to mush.”
“And why is that?” Yusuf asked with a laugh.
“It just…has. Too much information. Too much studying, and not enough time to learn any of it. I just want to sleep.” She closed her eyes briefly, but it didn’t help with her mind racing.
“Unfortunately, Cobb has prohibited you from going under.”
Ariadne snorted. “I don’t mean this kind of sleep. I mean actual sleep. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in days.”
“What’s troubling you?” he asked gently.
“Nothing,” Ariadne sighed, turning onto her side to face him as he looked down at her. He was, of course, skeptical so he just sat there and stared at her until she told him. “I have a Planning Law test on Monday and I am completely unprepared. I haven’t learned anything.”
He looked at her incredulously. “You have a test on Monday? What are you doing here, then? You should be back in Paris, studying.”
“You know how much I hate it when you guys have to go out of town for jobs and I can’t come with you! I had to be here, just in case something went wrong.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“But if something went wrong on either end. I don’t like not knowing.”
“But your school work is important,” Yusuf insisted. “Perhaps you can study now. Where are your books?”
Ariadne looked away, biting her lip. “I left them in my hotel room. I figured if we have to run, a bag full of awful books on land use and public policy will only slow us down.”
Yusuf couldn’t help but laugh. “You really hate this class, don’t you?”
“That obvious?”
“Yes.”
Ariadne scowled, sitting up “It’s just…it’s required for my degree but it’s awful and boring and has nothing to do with my future. But I have to pass this stupid class if I want to graduate and this test is a huge chunk of my grade and I’m going to fail horribly which would be terrible because I’m already flirting with failure in that class, then I’ll never graduate and Cobb will never let me go back into the field and this is just ridiculous.”
He patted her on the head soothingly, trying to get her to stop panicking. It was a good thing that this was a fairly simple job otherwise this little sidebar might have been too much of a distraction. “You’ll be fine. Just run back to the hotel and study and I’ll call you if there are any problems.”
The look she gave him told him that she was having none of that. “Yusuf…”
“Or-“ he interrupted, “you can nap now, then later on I’ll help you study.”
“I-“
“It’s one or the other, Ariadne. You don’t get a choice in this.”
“Fine. Just…don’t tell Cobb, okay? He’ll be pissed.”
He smiled triumphantly, then turned his attention back to the job at hand. “Fine. Get some rest. I’ll wake you before I play the music.”
“You’re the best.”
“Just be prepared to study tonight.” The job went off without a hitch and they were back in their hotel in an hour. Ariadne sat on her bed, her books and notes spread out around her in a jumble of pages and confusion. She really should have paid more attention in this class, but she hated it so much. Why bother learning planning law when in her line of work she didn’t even have to worry about the laws of physics? It was necessary for graduation, she reminded herself. She picked up her first notebook, trying to read her notes while waiting for the knock that would tell her that Yusuf was there to help her get her ass into gear.
Ariadne had read the first line on the page maybe twelve times before the knock came. She practically bounced off the bed and flung the door open.
“Thank God-“ Next to Yusuf stood Arthur, still in his suit and grinning. “Arthur, what are you doing here?”
Yusuf shrugged. “I thought that perhaps Arthur might know more about the subject than I. While I can help you memorize and ask you questions, Arthur might actually know what’s going on.”
“Does Cobb know about this?” Both men shook their heads and she invited them in. “So Arthur, do you know anything about planning and zoning laws? Wait, you probably do because you somehow manage to know everything. How do you know everything?”
Arthur chuckled and sat down at the small table near the bed. “I do know a little bit. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
The sun was peeking through the windows by the time Ariadne slumped back against her pillows and admitted defeat. “I’m going to fail this test. I am doomed.”
“You’re not doomed,” Yusuf said sleepily. He was leaning back in the chair next to the bed, trying not to doze off.
Arthur still sat at the table, flipping through one of her text books. He’d been doing that all evening, tossing out questions to test her knowledge while jotting things down in one of her notebooks. “You mostly know what you’re doing. There are just a couple of things you should look over.”
Ariadne shook her head, looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t have time to.”
“We’ll help you study,” Yusuf insisted. But she didn’t study on the flight back to Paris, since both men insisted she sleep. They went with her back to her apartment and drank coffee and looked at books and notes and finally at one in the morning, Yusuf forced her to close her book. “You’ll never be able to take this test if you sleep through it. No more studying tonight.”
“I just…I need more time,” Ariadne groaned as she walked them both to the door.
“That is one thing we can’t help you with,” Arthur said with a small smile. “Good luck.”
“Things will work out,” Yusuf told her gently. “It’ll be fine.” She closed the door behind them and tried to get some sleep because she knew that if she even tried opening another book, they’d know. The next morning, she trudged to the university. It was time to face the music. Maybe Arthur was right. Maybe she knew more than she thought she did. But she doubted it and she’d have to take this class again…ugh.
Except when she got to the university there was a crowd of students milling around the edge of campus and university officers pushing them back. It was like a scene out of a movie and any moment she half expected some sort of explosion to send them flying back. Eventually she found one of her Planning Law classmates in the crowd. “What’s going on?” she asked, watching the crowd.
“I’m not sure,” her classmate answered. “I heard rumors that there was some sort of gas leak or something but no one really seems to know for sure.” Their test was forgotten as the two girls waited for some sort of official announcement. Finally, thirty minutes after she’d arrived at campus, the officers made an announcement that the campus would be closed for the next few days because and that the university would contact them when the school reopened.
“Well,” her classmate said, grinning happily. “Now we don’t have to take that damn test today.”
With her classes cancelled, Ariadne decided to head to the workshop. She brought her books with her, intending to study for her test because she knew she definitely had to take advantage of this extra time. Eames was genuinely surprised to see her when she showed up.
“Classes were cancelled,” she explained. “Apparently there was some sort of gas leak or chemical thing and they had to close the school for a couple of days.”
“That is such a shame,” Yusuf said, turning his head away.
Ariadne walked over to him, suspicious. She nudged his arm with hers as he studiously looked anywhere but at her. “Yusuf, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you?”
“Know anything about what?” he asked, looking down at the calculations on the paper in front of him, pretending to go over them.
“Oh, I don’t know. The strange gas that necessitated campus closure and the cancellation of classes..”
“Why would I know anything about your school?” Usually he had a pretty good poker face, but this time Ariadne saw that he couldn’t keep the small, triumphant smile from his lips, and she was filled with a surge of warmth.
“Thank you.”
He winked and draped an arm across her shoulders, hugging her to him. “I’m not sure what you’re thanking me for, but…you’re welcome.”
Ariadne turned and hugged him tightly. “You’re the best.”
“You need to study,” he said, pulling away. “We’ll help. Hold on.” Ariadne smiled as he hurried to Cobb’s workspace and heard him say that something urgent had come up. When he came back, he was with Arthur and the three of them headed back to her apartment, leaving a very confused Eames behind.
Saito
Over the course of the Fischer job, Ariadne hadn’t really gotten to know Saito all that well. He was just this intimidating figure who sat in on planning sessions and bought airlines. He did stay in touch, mostly with Cobb and Arthur, and Ariadne knew that they got a great many of their jobs through him.
He still popped in from time to time when he was in Paris on business. He never went in with them anymore. He’d already dreamed enough for a lifetime, she’d heard him telling Cobb one day and they both nodded sagely because they knew that the other was the only person on Earth who’d understand. She rarely thought of him, though, until he came to visit or until Cobb or Eames or Arthur brought him up.
She never imagined she’d need his help until she started slowly bringing bits and pieces of her apartment with her and storing them around the warehouse. It started out with a standing lamp that she’d said she needed for extra light, even though her desk was in the sunniest spot in the warehouse. Then there came the sofa. It had been her grandmother’s, she’d told them, and it was nice to have around the office, especially if they wanted to read or do work somewhere a little more comfortable. There was small closet between Arthur’s office and the utility closet that no one ever went to where she began storing a bunch of things like boxes of trinkets from back home and the meager kitchen supplies that she owned. Nobody said a word about the large throw pillows she’d brought in and tossed on her grandmother’s sofa or the rather large blanket draped across the back of said chair. And no one seemed to think twice if they came in early and found her asleep on the sofa, curled up under the blanket, head resting on one of the throw pillows. She spun them some story about working late on a maze. Or if she’d used that excuse too many times in a row, she’d say that her neighbors had been throwing a party the night before and she’d needed some place to study.
She wasn’t sure why she didn’t want to tell them that she’d been evicted from her apartment. She just didn’t. It was easier that way, neater, especially knowing that they would all try to come up with some plot to get her her place back. Especially since her landlord had kicked her out for an absolutely ridiculous reason: he didn’t like her, and he’d used the one month when she’d been so busy with work and school that she’d forgotten to hand in the rent check as an excuse to kick her out. Even when she’d promised to pay double the rent as a late fee, the man had refused. She had a sneaking suspicion that it was because she’d rebuffed his amorous advances when she’d first moved in, as he’d had no problems displaying his dislike of her for all to see since then. It was a stupid reason to kick her out, and she supposed she didn’t want to be living in a building with that man anyway. Anyway, it was nothing for the others to fret over.
Sleeping at the warehouse wasn’t a big deal. No, this was just temporary until she could find a new apartment. The problem was, there were none quite so lovely as her old place. It was just the right mix of classic and modern, the perfect distance from the school and the warehouse, and it was in a fairly safe neighborhood. And despite all the money she had from the Fischer job, the apartment search was not going well. There were no apartment listings in that area, and the ones closest to the school and warehouse were either too small and rundown or in too rough a neighborhood. The ones that were most definitely spacious and safe enough were too far from the university to walk or even bike, and she didn’t want to have to deal with the hassle of buying a car (much less owning one).
So she slept in the warehouse, showered at the gym near the university, and ate so much takeout it was making her sick. She was pretty sure that Arthur and Yusuf knew, or at least suspected that she’d been kicked out of her apartment, because on more than one occasion Arthur brought in a Tupperware full of food because he’d “made too much for breakfast” or Yusuf would insist that she head out to dinner with him. They never said a word about her situation, for which she was grateful.
Saito, however, was not so graceful. Five weeks after her eviction, she woke to find him sitting on the end of her couch, thumbing through her copy of “Brave New World.” They were the only two in the warehouse and she wondered dumbly how he’d gotten in before remembering that he had a key.
“Good morning, Ariadne,” he said with a smile.
“Saito?” She rubbed her eyes and sat up, pushing her hair out of her face. “What are you doing here?”
“Business trip. I thought I would drop in to see how you all were doing.”
“Just that?”
“And perhaps a job offer. Not so complicated as inception, but I only work with the best.”
She grinned. “And that’s us. So what’s the job?”
“Why don’t we hold that discussion off for when the others get here? For now let us catch up. It’s been a long time since we’ve spoken last.”
Ariadne nodded. “Three months. I’ll be right back, though. I need to change clothes. I fell asleep studying.” Truthfully, she’d spent the last five weeks sleeping in the clothes she’d worn for the day so that her excuse of accidentally falling asleep on the couch would ring truer. Saito nodded and turned back to the book still on his lap, and Ariadne hurried to the storage room where she changed clothes. He put the book down when he heard her coming and asked her about university life. The conversation continued, running through the typical topics of school and work and family before Saito leaned back and turned to look at her, lifting an eyebrow as he leveled her with an interested stare.
“So how long have you been living here?”
“In Paris? About two and a half years-“
“No. The warehouse. How long have you been sleeping here?”
Ariadne sighed. “Is it as obvious as all that?”
“I would say so. I could tell the moment I walked in.”
“Arthur and Yusuf seem to be the only ones who’ve noticed.”
“And now me. So why are you living out of the warehouse?”
“My landlord kicked me out. He hates me and I was late on the rent once, so he used that as an excuse to toss me out. I just haven’t found a place yet. I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention it to everybody else. Well, at least not Cobb or Eames. I don’t think they know.”
Saito opened his mouth to speak but the opening of the warehouse door cut him off. Arthur and Cobb came strolling in and stopped short when they saw the pair on the couch.
“Saito!” Cobb said in surprise. “I didn’t know you’d be in town.” Saito stood and clapped Cobb affectionately on the back.
“Business trip,” Saito said simply, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
“And a job opportunity,” Ariadne added. Cobb started, as if suddenly registering Ariadne’s presence.
“Did you stay late again, Ariadne?” he demanded. “You’re working too hard. Miles will have my head if this job is affecting your school work-“
“It’s not. I just-there was another party in my building and I couldn’t sleep through the noise, so I came here.”
“Alone?”
“No,” Arthur chimed in. “She called me and I walked her over.” Yep. Arthur definitely knew.
Cobb frowned. “Maybe I should go over and talk to your landlord.”
“No!” Ariadne shouted. “I mean, why bother? I’m thinking of looking for a new place anyway, so. There’s no point.” Arthur smirked, lifting a brow and she quirked her lips in return.
“So are you available for work at the moment?” Saito asked, drawing Cobb’s attention away from the Architect.
Cobb grinned. “You’re in luck. We’re just finishing up a job. It should be done within a week and we can start after that. Would that be satisfactory?”
“Quite,” Saito said with a satisfied smile. The men chatted while Ariadne folded her blanket, gathered her things for class, and slipped on her shoes. She checked her watch and swore softly under her breath before muttering a quick goodbye to the others and running to class. When she came back for lunch, Saito sat the team down and gave them the details of the job. It was nothing complicated, just a simple extraction, nothing Ariadne needed to be too involved in, but she listened avidly anyway because she liked knowing. Afterwards, when the others had gone back to work, Saito pulled Ariadne aside.
“The problem we spoke about earlier has been resolved,” he said quietly. “You can move back into your building whenever you’d like.”
Ariadne looked up at him in surprise. The only thing she could think to say was, “What? How?”
Saito shrugged nonchalantly. “I bought the building.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course you did.”
“It seemed…”
“Neater, yes,” she finished for him. “But the building wasn’t for sale.”
Saito smiled magnanimously and patted her on the shoulder. “One thing you’ll learn, Ariadne, is that anything is for sale if you’ve got enough money.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”
“Now shall we discuss the matter of your moving back in?”
“Can I move back into my old place? I mean, if the landlord hadn’t rented it out yet.”
“It is still available. But are you sure you wouldn’t like one of the bigger apartments? The one formerly occupied your landlord is quite large, and quite vacant.”
Ariadne’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Are you serious? How much would that raise my rent?”
Saito smiled enigmatically. “It wouldn’t.”
She couldn’t help but shake her head, trying to process the enormity of it all. Not only would she get to leave the warehouse, she was going someplace bigger. Impulsively, she hugged him tightly. “I’ll take it! Thank you! So much.”
He stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and patted her gently on the back. “It is no problem.” There wasn’t much time to discuss the details of their arrangement since she had to run back to class, but she promised she’d see him after.
Ariadne went back to class with a spring in her step. She’d worry about moving back in later. For now, it was enough that she had a place to go back to. The rest of the day was a blur until she got back to the warehouse, bursting in the door happily, drawing the attention of Eames and Yusuf.
“What are you so cheerful about?” Eames asked suspiciously.
Ariadne just beamed. “It’s a really wonderful day, don’t you think? Do you know where Saito is?”
“He had to leave,” Yusuf answered, turning back to his lab station. “Some urgent business came up that he had to attend to.”
Ariadne’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Oh.”
“He left something for you, though. He gave it to Arthur-” Yusuf had barely finished speaking before Ariadne bolted towards Arthur’s office.
“Saito left something for me?” Ariadne asked breathlessly, standing in the entrance to Arthur’s space.
He looked up from the file he’d been studying and smirked. “Why, hello, Ariadne. It’s nice to see you, too. My day was fine, how was yours?”
“Arthur! Did Saito leave something for me?”
“He did. Here.” He handed her an envelope with her name written on it in a strong, bold hand. It was heavy. She opened it and a key spilled out into her hand and she held tightly to it as she read the letter enclosed. In it, Saito wished her luck in her new home and told her that if she had any problems, the new building manager that Saito had hired would be happy to sort things out for her (and if he didn’t, he’d have Saito to answer to). Ariadne smiled.
“Good news, I take it?” Arthur asked, lips quirked up at the corners.
“Oh stop it, I’m sure you know already. Now I just need to figure out a way to get my stuff out of the storage locker without Cobb noticing…”
“Already done. Saito sent Cobb, Eames and me on a reconnaissance mission. To gather intelligence for our upcoming job. He and Yusuf took care of the rest. You don’t have a lot of stuff.”
“But…what…my couch is still here.”
“Yeah, we thought we’d keep that.”
“But now I don’t have a couch.”
“I would check out your new apartment before saying that. Shall we take a look at your new place?”
It was, of course, perfect. It was so much bigger than her other apartment and most of the furniture was new and exactly her style. “Yusuf picked most of it out,” Arthur told her as she’d stood in the doorway and gaped. “Saito footed the bill.” She wished that Saito was still around for her to thank once again. Instead, she had Arthur, Eames and Yusuf over for a small dinner party (Cobb had gone home to be with his children) and they offered up a toast in his honor.
Bless him, he’d even supplied the wine.
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Part 2