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Inception does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form.

Have a great day!

Sunshine.

Chapter Four:Ariadne

"Curiosity killed the cat" was a saying that Ariadne could always relate to. She wasn't Harriet the Spy or any kind of Harry Potter who snooped everywhere, but she kind of asked questions out of genuine curiosity, sometimes just to say it. It got her in trouble with people as she grew up, people always yelling at her that it was none of her business or giving her weird looks since she had asked such private questions when she had only just learned their names. But Ariadne always felt that they set her up. They knew that they wanted to be asked something so that they could ramble on and on about—Ariadne only felt that she would give them the service and ask.

For some reason, she'd already done this a couple times with people in this new inception job, and whether or not they liked it, she wasn't sure. When she first asked Cobb about why he needed her to build the dreams, he had grabbed her arm in a vice grip. Yet, when she asked Arthur about his philosophy on privacy, he only seemed to be taken off guard, maybe even impressed. All Ariadne knew, was that the men she was working with weren't the tad least simple. The speculation of what the men on the team would be like only worried her, to say the least-Although, Ariadne had barely thought of Cobb or his recruitment of the other team members lately.

Instead, as she walked into her dorm room, and collapsed on top of her bed, she found herself in a slight daze. This, she credited to Arthur.

The lunch had gone smoothly, in Ariadne's opinion. She could feel tension rising when Arthur explained his philosophy on privacy when it came to the job. It was evident that whatever happened in his past is the reason why he is the man he is today, but it was increasingly evident that he'd rather not talk about it. The way that his chocolate brown eyes looked at her after he explained it all confirmed this theory.

But thankfully, Courtney, her neighbor in the dorms, was there to break the tension. Her arrival with drinks was like a pair of scissors cutting a tight piece of string and just like that, Arthur assumed his regular cool composure and began talking to her. After that, Ariadne figured it would be best if they no longer encroach on any "deep" topics for the rest of the lunch.

After she served the drinks, they remained quiet for awhile; the kind of comfortable silence that Ariadne could relax in as she looked out the window and saw various cars pass by.

"I love these kinds of cafes," Arthur said, breaking the silence. "They're small, and comfortable, but still has class."

Ariadne looked around at the small café. It had a comfy classy sort of feel to it-there were couches sitting around a small fireplace, a small stage next to them that, Ariadne guessed, would be where live entertainment would sit. All employees dressed in black, and all of them looked to be right on top of their game, creating the feel that everything was relaxed. It wasn't tight-there was just enough room so that all the tables had their own kind of personal space. The aroma of warm pastries wafted in the café with the scent of warm coffee being served even though it was lunchtime. It was like a warm home.

Their clientel, however, differed. People in business suits sat, sipping their cups, and digging into their meals. Many men wore suits with shoes so polished, they practically glowed, while many women wore pencil skirts and pant suits, all hair pull back away from their face. Some looked to be in a serious business deal, while others just wanted to enjoy a good lunch.

"Yeah, I can see that," Ariadne said, as she finished looking around the room. "Do they usually have a band, or is that for show?" She looked towards the empty stage.

"They usually have a band there," Arthur nodded. "But only at night."

"Are they any good?"

"I've heard they are."

"You've never heard them? I thought you liked this café."

Arthur shrugged. "I've never been here at night."

"Too many late nights?"

"I admit, it can't be too good for my health," Arthur laughed.

"Tell me about it." Ariadne sighed, reminiscing through the long nights she'd had because of her workload.

"College can't be that bad."

Ariadne shrugged. "I guess. Miles is a great professor, but one professor can only make up for the others for so long."

"I do hear that he's damn good."

"He is. But he's been lecturing me a lot, lately."

"You've been distracted." Arthur smiled, as if he'd already known this.

"Lucky guess."

"I was the same way. Professors got so frustrated with me," he chuckled.

"You weren't nearly as bad as I am."

"What makes you say that?"

"I started writing notes on the levels during a lecture instead of the ones on the board."

"I researched during my lectures."

"About the target?"

Arthur shook his head. "About using reverse psychology, that kind of stuff."

"You need to know about reverse psychology to be a point man?'

"I didn't start out as a point man," Arthur said simply.

An alarm went off in Ariadne's mind telling her that they were straying to another past-related topic. Her curiosity told her to press on and see where the conversation would go, her brain telling her to be smart and change the topic.

"Hm," Ariadne said, the only phrase that she could effectively muster to make a transition seem less awkward. "One question."

"Shoot."

"Is this really the only way you get money? It can't be substantial or reliable."

"It's not," Arthur said, as if this were obvious. He looked out the window at his new Porsche as it sat in the parking lot, new and shiny. "Hell no, its not."

"Then how do you pay for everything else?"

"What do you mean everything else?"

"Food, water-clothes. There's got to be some way you can afford all your expensive suits."

Arthur grinned. "They're not that expensive."

"Come on. You've been wearing three piece suits every day since I started working."

"I've worn a jacket a couple times."

"Jeans?"

Arthur shook his head as if him wearing jeans would be a monstrosity. "No."

"Your wardrobe must be expensive."

"I guess it can be."

"Then where do you get the money?"

"When you get the work done, this career has huge pay."

"Not big enough to pay for things on a day to day basis. Especially not while waiting for another job to roll along."

"True," Arthur nodded. "I take odd jobs every now and then. Business and marketing firms, mostly."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The pay sucks, but it takes care of the debts."

"You have debt?"

"I have a home, Ariadne," he chuckled. "I don't just travel from hotel to hotel. I do have a mortgage."

For some reason, this seemed impossible to Ariadne. Arthur? Having a stable home where he returned after his business? Somehow his exclusivity and elusiveness she'd heard of in other jobs didn't seem to fit the description of having one home.

"But you don't stay in it long?"

"Most of the time. When I don't get any job offers, I go back home. Every couple of years, I move to a different place; just so that it isn't that easy to find me."

"Who would go looking for you?"

"Anyone who thinks I might be linked to a job. Its difficult to have a stable life, jumping from job to job in different places, then having to jump to another location that was irrelevant to the job."

"Why would you have to jump to a place that was irrelevant to the job?"

"Just so that things might not look suspicious. That's a rule by the way-After a job has been performed, there can be no contact with anyone on the team or any place that we can be associated for two weeks."

"Two weeks?"

"Two weeks minimum. That way, no one can link us to anything."

"Smart rule."

"It's a standard. People remember the dream clearly, that's how they know and feel like they've been sort of… invaded. If they see us all together days after the dreams happen, they'll feel a connection, whether they can make sense of it or not."

"That makes sense."

"Everything has to make sense."

"Or else…"

"Things get out of control."

"Is that what happened with Cobb? He couldn't make sense of why Mol was always in his dream and now…"

"Now its our anyone's hands except Cobb? Who can't even begin to fix it because its his dead wife? Yeah, I'd say that's what happened." His face turned stony for a moment, a thin line of disapproval forming on his lips again.

"Here are your orders!" Courtney chimed again, with her impeccable timing.

"Thank you," Arthur said, the thin line fading as quickly as it had come, a charming smile taking its place.

They talked more, this time a more lighthearted conversation where she found themselves laughing more. She no longer encroached on any topics that might lead to any serious conversation-she didn't want her time with Arthur to always revolve around a lesson on inception. Grant it, it was hard to do with a man who was so serious about the job, and practically had a life revolving around the business. But Ariadne figured that stealing and planting weren't the only things in his life.

He dropped her at her dorm an hour later, insisting he not walk her to her door. The rain had picked up a bit, and she explained that she didn't want to be a bother on him or him expensive suit. At this he smiled, before closing the door. In truth, though, Ariadne didn't want him to come down because she wasn't ready to take on the weird looks she would receive from the girls in her dorm; no, she wasn't ready for any of the questioning and investigation that would surface around her if he were to step out of his car for even one second.

Ariadne turned onto her stomach and glanced out the window. The sky was still dark, the rain still pouring and showing no signs of letting up. The wind had calmed a bit, but the day still looked a bit dreary. Yet, Ariadne smiled to herself, feeling like it was springtime around her.

"Bonjour, Ariadne!" Courtney burst through the open dorm door, still in her work uniform. Her hair was down, ragged from a day's work. Her smile look misccheviously at Ariadne, who felt panic in why Courtney had just arrived.

Ariadne glanced at her roommate, Molly, who had just shuffled a deck of cards. In act of procrastination, she had been preparing a deck of cards for a game of speed. Normally, Ariadne would be neck deep in books, trying to get ahead, or in this case-catch up, but today, she found herself relaxed, and willing to procrastinate just a little.

"Hey…" Molly said, not knowing why Courtney was so enthusiastic. Ariadne hadn't told Molly about going to lunch with Arthur-why should she? She hadn't planned to tell anyone. But then again, Courtney happened to be working there now.

"Hi," Ariadne said, quietly.

"How was the rest of your lunch with Arthur?"

"Arthur?" Molly gasped, turning to Ariadne. "Who the hell is Arthur?"

"No one," Ariadne muttered, laying four cards in front of her. "You ready to start?"

"I'm not starting until you tell me who Arthur is!" Molly demanded.

"She had lunch with him," Courtney said. Ariadne flashed her a small glare.

"He's just a friend."

"Bullshit! You guys were there for like, two hours!"

"Is that so unusual?"

"Its not usual that you guys were still there an hour after I picked up your plates!"

"Wow, Courtney; you really kept tabs on me," Ariadne muttered. She looked up at Molly. "Ready yet?"

"Not until I hear about him," Molly shrugged.

"Its not everyday I see you out with a guy!" Courtney yelled, excitement still played across her face.

"You're getting a little loud, someone in the hallway might hear you." Molly said, nodding towards the door.

"What makes you think people would freak out?" Ariadne asked. "Just because Courtney freaked out doesn't mean that everyone else will."

"They will when they hear that he's an older guy," Courtney said, closing the door.

"An older guy! What!"

"Mhm," Courtney nodded.

Ariadne rolled her eyes. None of this was improving or going in the direction she wanted it to go. "Fine," she sighed. "But I swear, if anyone else hears about this…"

"No one will," Molly said. "Will they, Courtney."

Courtney nodded. "Of course!" She collapsed onto Molly's bed and played her head on her hands.

Ariadne sighed once more. She couldn't believe she was doing this. "His name his Arthur, and he's not completely old-Just older. It wasn't a date. We're friends."

"Sure…"

Ariadne glared.

"You were throwing your head back and laughing like there was no tomorrow," Courtney muttered.

"Anyway," Molly said, cutting in, giving a look to Courtney as well.

"It was just lunch time and he treated me to lunch. No big deal. We sat, we ate, and so what if we talked a little while."

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Looks like you guys were having a "jolly good time" to me."

"What did you guys talk about?"

Ariadne started to speak, then stopped. A lot of what they had talked about dealt, or was somewhat related to the job. She couldn't just spit it out to them that she had also been employed in a job that was just a tad bit illegal, and which had been kept under wraps for the longest amount of time.

"Just stuff," she muttered, beginning to toy with her scarf.

Molly lifted an eyebrow. "Okay… He a nice guy?"

"He seemed pretty charming when I was serving you guys," Courtney said.

Ariadne smiled to herself. Of course Arthur was charming, it was Arthur, after all.