Disclaimer – I wish I owned it. But I don't. This is purely for my entertainment and hopefully yours, the reader's.

A/N: Every break in this story takes place over a period of time. In the beginning it's a few hours, but near the middle its at least 3-5 months in between. Then it goes back to the same flow of time near the beginning. Just wanted to clarify the time line a little bit before you read :)

###

Reality wasn't enough for her anymore.

It never had been, necessarily. She just lived in it because she had to. She followed the mundane, precarious steps that life had laid out for her, because nothing else existed outside of her college reality. She built, she designed, she followed all the rules.

That was before Dom Cobb came in and broke her entire world.

Reality didn't suit her taste after the job.

###

The number of zeros that show up in Ariadne's bank account just hours after the plane landed made her dizzy.

It was more than enough to pay for the rest of graduate school. Schooling she didn't know if she even wanted anymore, but knew she needed. One didn't get by simply by designing and building in dreams, after all.

But she wouldn't think of that now. Right now, she was on vacation. L.A. had a lot to offer. Let's see what this money could buy.

###

L.A. was lonely without a companion. They had all disbanded and left one another after the plane landed. They weren't supposed to know each other. She played her part well.

She wished she could've said goodbye.

Her hotel room is strewn with the purchases of the day. She wasn't one to splurge on brand name shoes or perfumes. A lot of what she bought was on architecture. Designs with endless images, models, and lots of raw material. She would continue to build, because design was her passion. It filled her reality and her dreams completely.

But her dreams and reality were now both lonely too.

###

When she finally returns to Paris, reality feels like a dream. Or, it feels like the way her dreams used to feel. She can only rest when she takes the bishop out of her pocket and watches it fall. Regardless, reality doesn't feel like it used to.

In the real world, there are things she cannot control. In her dreams, she controls everything.

Reality is not as satisfying as her dreams. But reality trumps dreams in the end. So she tries to live in it the best she can.

###

She wishes she could tell her friends about the dream experience. But that would incriminate her in her crime. So she stays silent about the subject, and tries to immerse herself in Paris. In school. In life.

It's not very easy, but she manages, remembering what happened to Dom when he lost himself too far in a dream with Mal. Limbo was not something she wanted to return to.

She misses Dom.

She knows if she wanted to she could see him. Professor Miles would take her to him. Dom was no longer a wanted man. But she chooses not to, because she's afraid she might want to lose herself completely in the dreams. She was just barely beginning to accept reality again.

Besides, Dom no longer needed the dreams. He had his reality and he was never going to let it go again.

###

One day, a boy she's studying with suddenly kisses her and her mind sees Arthur.

She pulls away, surprised and scared. The boy takes it the wrong way and apologizes repeatedly. Ariadne just gets up and walks away.

Arthur wasn't her first kiss, and the job was almost 4 months behind her now. So where had her brain conjured up that image? The boy didn't look or act like Arthur at all.

More importantly, would it happen every time she kissed a boy?

###

The next time she kisses a boy, she's at a bar with some girls from her classes and a few of them have dates. They ask her why she isn't dating anyone. She has no answer to give.

Later that night, someone strikes up a conversation with her. She can't help but look into his eyes. They're a brilliant blue, a familiar blue. It's a color that she misses.

He buys her drinks. After a few, she leans in and kisses him. Her mind doesn't drift to Arthur this time, but Ariadne knows she's kissing him for all the wrong reasons, and alcohol was the least of those.

His eyes could never match Dom's, but they were good enough tonight.

###

Months later, she tries to date a boy in one of her design classes. He is fun and flirty and charming. He's also absolutely breathtaking to her.

He is impressed by her designs, and doesn't make fun of her like some of her friends do for her endless drawings. She always has a sketch book on hand. Ariadne's flat mate tells her daily that her room is like a labyrinth of buildings and mazes.

She tries to explain to him how she dreams without giving away her gift, her secret. He tells her she's brilliant for being able to lucidly dream.

Right. That's what everyone else called it. If only they knew just how lucidly she dreams.

The relationship doesn't last. Deep down she knew it couldn't. She couldn't share the most important part of her with him. But it breaks her heart all the same.

For once reality is too much for her. She needs an escape. So she locks herself in her dreams. She builds and builds and she makes sky scrapers so high it's impossible to see where they end. She builds walls and buildings and gardens and parks and theaters. She designs to escape and to ultimately gain relief.

When she's done, she tears down the entire city before her, and wakes.

###

Her friends are worried about her. They say all she does now is sleep. She can't explain it to them and they think she's depressed. She's not. She got over the break up a long time ago. Besides, she could never be with anyone who doesn't understand the world she builds inside her.

But reality isn't good enough for her anymore. She tried and it didn't live up to her expectations and now she just has her dreams.

Her friends worry more and make her see the school psychiatrist. He finds nothing wrong. Ariadne tries to build awake again, however, just so her friends don't worry. It's not as satisfying, but it relaxes her and reminds her of the reality she enjoyed before she knew she could control her dreams. For a few hours a day, she feels almost peaceful, like nothing in her life is missing.

###

In her dreams, there is a man who can kiss like Arthur, but has Dom's striking blue eyes and Eames's charm and laugh. And a little sprinkle of Yusuf's intelligence. He is her perfect match. He understands her dreams and her desires.

But he can never exist. Not in reality.

So Ariadne locks herself in her dreams with him.

###

"Come back to reality, Ariadne."

Her eyes widen in shock, and then realization hits her like a cold splash to the face. Of course Professor Miles would notice what she was doing to herself. He was Dom's father after all. He'd recommended her for the job in the first place.

The job. It was so long ago. She wondered what they were all doing now. It was almost a year ago now. She almost asks but then holds herself back.

Instead, she nods and apologizes for worrying him. He smiles back at her and nods, then hits her with another cold splash to the face.

"When you get your affairs back in order, come back and let me know. I may have another job offer for you."

###

A month later, she's outside of an abandoned church. She clutches the bishop tightly in her pocket and its weight assures her that she's not dreaming.

She'd only recently realized how much she missed the job. It was the reason Dom and Arthur and even Eames haunted her dreams and interrupted her realities, particularly her choice in companionship. The job was her dream lover, it represented what she needed in her life.

She needed a purpose to design and create. She needed more than just her endless dreamscape to bend and twist. She needed a challenge and Dom had given her that and satisfied all her needs with the inception.

That job was over now. She has a new one to take. She can't be a good architect if the past is holding her back.

Her dream lover is dead.

###

She enters the church, not knowing what, or who to expect. Professor Miles didn't tell her who exactly was hiring her, he'd only given her this address and told her she'd be highly recommended for the team.

The area is mostly dark, except for a back room that's dimly lit. She calls out uncertainly.

"Hello?"

There's movement from inside the room and an unfamiliar head peeks out. She's disappointed. She wishes it were someone from her old team.

"Oh! Are you Ariadne?" He's a young man, barely older than her, and she suddenly feels a little special because she by far the youngest and brightest when she worked with Cobb and his team. She nods mutely to his question.

"Awesome, our architect's here!" he's loud and carefree, so much the opposite of Dom. Surely he couldn't be the extractor? She hears more shuffling inside. The others know she's here.

"Ariadne?" her heart speeds up as a familiar man walks out of the room to greet her. She'd recognize that voice anywhere. She rushes to hug him and he almost topples over at the unexpected force.

"I missed you so much," is all she can say without bursting into tears and becoming unsightly in front of her new team.

"Missed Arthur? What? How could anyone miss that stick in the mud?" she looks up again in shock and freezes. Eames is here too. She looks around quickly but there's no one else. She's almost disappointed that Dom isn't here, but she knows he's much happier without the job.

She realizes she's still holding on to Arthur and suddenly her skin feels like it's on fire. She lets go quickly and tries to compose herself.

"Uhm sorry. It's just…good to see both of you. I haven't heard from anyone since the job."

"Lucky you. I can't get him to leave me alone." Arthur mutters. He's annoyed and Ariadne knows he's referring to Eames. She smiles. Some things never change.

"Oh pish posh, you know you love having me around darling," Eames counters then walks to Ariadne and holds out his hand to her, showing a Cheshire smile that until now she had only seen in her dreams. "It's good to see you again."

She smiles and grips his hand tightly with both of hers.

"Its good to be back. Now, what's the job?"

For the first time since the inception, reality is finally enough for her. The job is her new reality.