Arthur Ariadne love story

It was 5:45 in the morning, when Ariadne arrived their work-place. It was an old, neglected bakery which was divided to 3 rooms. There was the front room, the back room, which used to be the bakery's kitchen, and a small room that probably belonged to the owner of the place. Now it was Cobb's office.

Ariadne never arrived that early, but today there was something she wanted to try. She went to a locker at the side of the main room, and opened it with a key. She took out a big silver suitcase and put it on the table in the corner. She sat on a chair next to the table and opened the suitcase. In the suitcase there were syringes, chemicals, and a machine that controls the length of the dream. Ariadne programed the machine and injected herself the sleeping drug. She only needed 5 minutes, before he will come.

Arthur was proud of himself. He manged to arrive 5 minutes earlier then usual. He always comes at 6 am, an hour before everybody. He likes to work in peace, before Eames comes and starts to bug him. He is such an irritating man! How he always flirts with Ariadne...well, this is more her problem the his.

Arthur entered the bakery. It only took him a few seconds to realize he's not alone. Ariadne was at the corner of the room, asleep and attached to the machine in the suitcase. She was dreaming, for sure. But why? Is she training? Whatever it is she was doing, Arthur felt that he have to find out. So he sat beside the table and attached himself to the machine. He knew that it was wrong to break into her dream, but he couldn't help himself not to.

He showed up in the middle of a street. It seemed regular at first but soon he noticed that there was only one building in the street, while all the others were small houses. She is probably in this building, he thought. He entered the building. A projection of a doorman gave him a strange look. He must find Ariadne before her projections will kill him. He entered an elevator and pressed all the buttons. In every floor the elevator opened, there was only an empty corridor with no doors. At the 12th floor the elevator opened, and right in front of him was a wooden door. She must be there, he thought. Arthur opened the door quietly and stepped inside. He was now standing in a small apartment, beautifully designed. He walked to the living room and there she was. Ariadne was sitting on a big sofa, kissing someone. No, not someone. Ariadne was kissing him.

He stared for few seconds, while Ariadne kept kissing a projection of him. Arthur was shocked and confused. He didn't know what to do. He walked to the door and accidentally dropped a vase that was on a chest beside him. "What was that?" he heard Ariadne say. He needs to get the hell out of this dream! Arthur opened a window and jumped out of it.

Ariadne was nervous. There was a strange sound in the apartment, and now there is a broken vase on the floor and the window is open. Someone was in her dream! What if it was...no! She must wake up. She walked to the window, looked down and jumped.

When Arthur woke up, he immediately detached himself from the machine and started walking to the exit. "Wait" he heard Ariadne behind him. He stopped and turned. Ariadne stood in front of him and said "I know you were in my dream and... you saw me..." "How long have you been doing that?" he asked "This was the first time, I swear!" she said nervously. "And... if I wouldn't have caught you... would you do it again?" Ariadne looked at the floor and didn't answer. However, he could understand what she couldn't express with words. They both remained silent until she said "Arthur, listen. I know that maybe it's embarrassing to you to see what you saw but...I can't lie to you. I have feelings for you. I think you're smart and handsome, and I've been waiting to say that for a long time, but you're always so distanced...I just..."

Arthur put his hand on her cheek and gave her a gentle kiss. "I'm sorry that I broke into your dream, but I'm happy I did. Actually, I liked you from the first day we met. I just thought that you're into Cobb." Ariadne was surprised "Why would you think that?" "I don't know... it seemed you're always around him, that you care about him..." he answered. Ariadne took his hand "I worried about Cobb, because he has this complex with Mal. It's nothing more then that." She kissed him again and said "This is way better then a dream".