Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A new AriArthur story. This time, it'll be one, multi-chapter (20, to be exact) fic. I do hope that you enjoy this. The first few questions may seem a little boring but I swear, it'll get to a part where it becomes humorous. This is an exciting project for me so I'm hoping you enjoy it as well. :]

Just to make things clear, the steps are actually questions. :]

Thank you to carameltootsieroll and D.B. for the beta. Other mistakes are mine.

Step One: Surnames – Paris, France

Ariadne's only been on the team for a month and a half.

She doesn't communicate with Mr. Saito as much, but when they do, they talk a lot about architecture and he continues to praise her intelligence. Yusuf also finds her work fascinating, constantly comparing her complicated designs with his chemicals. Her closeness to Eames isn't a surprise, their liveliness just fits; they like to joke around and make the warehouse more energetic, sometimes, they'd find themselves talking about their personal lives (at least, as personal as Eames can get for now). Then there's Cobb, she'd somehow gotten him to open his shell a little but the man has a lot—his kids, the job, getting home, and who knows what else—on his mind. He has his moments, she admits, with his subtle smiles and occasional laughs, and she wishes to see more of them soon. The last, and definitely not the least member, of the team is Arthur. She won't like lie, she likes him. She enjoys his company, finds him attractive, and definitely wants to know more about him. He's too closed off and she can't stand it.

"Do you need anything?"

She looks up from her sketch pad, trying to perfect the hotel they would be using for the second level. Arthur's standing in front of her desk, looking at her expectantly. "What?"

"Do you need anything?" he repeats. "Any help with the designs. You've been looking at the same page for the past thirty minutes…I thought, maybe, you're having trouble with something."

She shakes her head then tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear. "No…I just…um…spaced out, I guess. I've been getting dozy."

"You didn't get much sleep last night?"

"Not really," she confesses. "I asked Cobb if I could head home early yesterday because I began moving out of the apartment I used to share with a friend. I couldn't stand the bareness of my room so I unpacked a little. I got a bit carried away."

Arthur shoves his hands in his pockets. "Do you still have belongings in the old apartment?"

"Some furniture that I'm attached to and some that Elise didn't want are being brought in by movers. I've still got to go back later and get some other personal belongings."

"How long would it take you?"

"Two car trips."

"Would you like me to help you? It'll be one less car trip if I accompany you, and I can even help you unpack, especially the heavier objects."

Ariadne wants to say 'yes' and spend some more time with Arthur alone but she doesn't want to burden the Point Man. "No, it's fine, Arthur. I can do it. Besides, the movers can help me with the heavy ones."

"Allowing strangers inside your new apartment, Miss Belaire?" He starts to smirk. "That's not very smart, is it?"

"Neither is working with illegal, dangerous men," she replies, giggling. "And besides, it isn't much anymore, most of them, the heavier ones and those I didn't think I'd use for a while were brought in a month ago."

Arthur lets out a small chuckle before insisting that he help her. "Wouldn't you like to get settled and sleep better? It'll help the job."

'Of course…' She sighs and finally gives in.

The person behind the door groans as she unlocks the door. "Thank God it's the last night for you to keep coming back and forth, Ariadne. Don't get me wrong, I—" She pauses as she stares at the man in front of her. "Oh, you're not alone."

Ariadne smiles a little. "Just came here for one last stop, wouldn't be bothering you after. We have two cars this time."

"Bummer," the girl says, pouting and looking at Arthur.

"Arthur, this is Elise. Elise, Arthur."

Elise flips her dark hair back and immediately holds up her hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Arthur simply nods and shakes her hand. "Don't worry, we'll be out of here as soon as possible."

"Oh, no," Elise drawls, "you can stay here as long as you want."

They waited for the movers to arrive so that Ariadne could tell them which to bring. Luckily, those that needed to be moved aren't a lot: shelves, books, a dresser, a full mirror, some more clothes, shoes, scarves, a radio, an art and study table and architectural materials.

"Would you like some more tea?" the former roommate asks for the eighth time. "You two seem tired, come and sit down first."

Ariadne rolls her eyes. She and Elise have been roommates for three years and they're not the best of friends but she definitely knows what the taller girl is up to. "We're fine. It's late and the movers would want some sleep, I don't want them to wait."

Elise puffs and gives her a look. "How about you, Arthur?"

He shakes his head, his attention never leaving the box he's packing. "I'm good."

The other boxes that they've packed that are filled with stuffed toys, pictures and photo albums, videos, CDs, ornaments, gadgets and more books have already been placed in their cars. Arthur could see why it would take the Architect two car trips, she wanted to be careful with her school projects.

The dark haired girl grumbles and moves closer to Ariadne. "Where'd you find him? He's too focused on helping you out." Elise doesn't look at the brunette though, she's staring at the Point Man's arms. Even Ariadne couldn't blame her, she loves seeing the sleeves of Arthur's dress shirt rolled up to his elbows.

"He doesn't like to talk about his life, I wouldn't know," she replies.

"Did you ask?"

"No. We've just met, it's…we haven't really had a heart-to-heart yet." Ariadne returns to her box, fixing the contents to be able to close the cardboard and tape it. "I'm nearly done," she tells Arthur.

"What's his surname? Surely he has a Facebook, I can look him up there."

'I doubt it…I'm not even sure if Arthur is his real name.' Ariadne smiles. "I don't know, Elise. Why don't you ask him?" She knows that his answer would deflate Elise's hopes. "You might get lucky."

Elise grins and turns back to Arthur. "Hey, Arthur, would you add me on Facebook?"

"I'm not part of any social networking sites," he answers as he tapes the box he has closed.

"I'll find you somehow. What's your surname?" she continues.

Arthur looks over at his co-worker, she simply shrugs. "I don't like to give it out to strangers."

"Ariadne's not a stranger to you and she doesn't know."

The man in the suit straightens up, rolls down his sleeves and adjusts his tie. "That's classified information. Are you ready to go, Ari?" He puts his jacket back on and starts to walk away.

Before Elise could whine again, Ariadne walks over to them, carrying her box and standing next to Arthur. "Ready." As they walk to the door, Ariadne turns back. "Thank you, Elise. I'll be sure to pay my share for the half of the month I was here. I'll see you around."

Arthur opens the door for her and lets her out first. "Thank you."

Even with boxes sprawled around, it's obvious that the apartment Ariadne is living in now is much bigger than what she used to share with Elise, and definitely fancier. Once you come in through the door, there's a short hallway that leads to the living room and a through a sliding door, a balcony with a great view of the city. She opens the door and let's the cold Paris breeze fill the room. To the left would be the dining area and kitchen. To the right of the living room is a short flight of stairs that leads to more rooms. There are two bedrooms, the main bedroom, with a queen sized bed and its own bathroom and walk-in closet, and a guest bedroom. There's another bathroom, and also a big study with shelves and a bench that faces a window. Most of the rooms already have the essentials in them, just a few missing pieces here and there.

Arthur could see that what the movers brought last month are kitchen wares, some tables, more books and clothes, pictures, posters and paintings, desks and more shelves. On the coffee table, there's a contract of the apartment, signatures of a man named Alphonse Belgard and Ariadne's on top of her full name, Ariadne Maeve Belaire.

"I don't mean to be rude," Arthur starts to say as he takes off his jacket, "but how could a college student afford this?"

"I didn't," she replies. "It's a birthday gift from my parents. And yes, my birthday's still months from now," she knows that he knows, "but they couldn't wait to give it to me. Give me my own space." She walks to kitchen and opens a cupboard. "I have water and a can of soda if you'd like anything to drink, they're not cold. I'll be living on take-out for a while so I can't make you anything fancy," she laughs. Arthur tells her he's fine. "And sorry I don't have any entertainment yet. I'll be carrying the radio around until I buy a stereo, a TV and a DVD player. Then I'll have to ask them to hook it on cable." Sighing, she returns to the living room with a notepad and a pen. "I'm glad they fixed the internet today."

"You'll also be needing a fridge," he says, remembering he didn't see the rectangular appliance when he passed by the kitchen.

"We decided not to buy the ones that needed electricity yet. They bought everything else so I told them that I'd pay for at least half of the appliances that aren't really for...educational purposes," she says with a little laugh.

"When do you think you can get those?"

"I'm not sure. When I have the money, I guess."

Arthur looks around again. "This is a really great place."

"Thanks." She smiles. "When we first arrived here in Paris, I was ten, it was because my grandmother became ill and my grandfather needed help. I fell in love with this place, we couldn't afford it yet, especially since Theo and I still had to go to school. Years later, Theo graduated and they decided to go back to New York. I stayed since Paris is already my home. Turns out, my parents have been saving and they got me this." She raises her arms and turns around. "This wonderful place"

Arthur nods in agreement.

They become quiet and Ariadne, not wanting to make things awkward, states, "You don't have a Facebook account."

"Of course not, too dangerous."

"If I continue with this kind of job, I'll have to shut it down."

"If you continue this kind of job," he stresses with gritted teeth. "It's safe…for now."

"So will you never tell me your surname?" she asks, teasing.

"I might." He smirks. He looks at his watch and says, "I better go."

She nods. "Right, of course. I'm sorry I troubled you."

"No, it's no trouble at all. If you need any help, don't hesitate, all right?" They walk towards the door, Arthur shrugging on his jacket. "Good night, Ariadne."

"Good night, Arthur. And thank you."

Just as she opens the door, he closes it again. He leans toward her, which puzzles the brunette, and whispers, "Brandon. Arthur Blake Brandon."

He opens the door once again, gives her a nod and leaves.

Ariadne's brain finally processes the information when she sees him ride the elevator down. "Arthur Blake Brandon…" she repeats after she closes the door, a huge smile creeping up to her lips. "Huh…that's unexpected and more than I bargained for."

I really wanted to give Arthur a sort of "fun" name and one of my original stories has a guy named Blake Brandon so I said, "Hey, why not?" I also got Ariadne's middle and surname from same original story, only she likes to be called by her first name.

So what do you think? Do you like their names? Not like their names? Or anything you like or don't like? I'd really like to know!

Step Two: Totems - Los Angeles, CA