A.N. As much as I love the fluffy Arthur/Ariadne stories, I had an idea for something different.

Ariadne never thought she'd take a job that would bring up the memories she'd fought so hard to keep hidden. She'd long since put the Fisher job behind her, even if she did still feel a twinge of guilt whenever it tended to pop itself up in her mind. The inception had been successful and she'd rejoiced at first because a lot of good things had come from that job. Cobb had finally been able to go home to his family, she'd created a reputation for herself with only one job completed, and she'd thought she'd met an amazing man through it. Then, of course, things had begun to change like they usually did in life and reality had set in. Cobb had moved on with his life and although they swapped the occasional e-mail she hadn't spoken to him since the end of the Fisher job. He'd walked in and out of her life so casually she couldn't help but feel a little offended at the time, but she'd gotten over it when she'd gotten a Christmas card of him and his kids. He deserved to be happy after so much sadness in his life, what kind of person would she be to fault him that happiness?

After returning to Paris, she hadn't been able to get her mind off of the kiss she'd shared with Arthur. She'd gone over it again and again in her head, dissecting every moment before and after that occurred between them. It had haunted her dreams for months as she finished school. Once they stepped off the plane, they'd had to pretend they knew nothing of each other so she hadn't had a chance to speak to Arthur or say anything to any of the others. She'd gotten on the next flight back to Paris and had thrown herself into her work. Although the work she did in her classes now seemed so generic and pointless since she knew what was out there, but she wasn't going to waist three and a half years of her life because she'd discovered something better. She'd get her degree and then take the first job that came along and that's exactly what she'd done.

Shortly after her graduation, she'd been out celebrating with a few of her friends when she'd run into Arthur and any thoughts she'd previously had about the man were quickly wiped from her mind. Her heart had stilled at the sight of him so obviously engrossed in another woman. A woman who was tall and leggy and blonde with obviously fake boobs and far too much make-up. She'd stood up, fighting to hold back her anger and quickly finished her drink before making an excuse to her friends for her need to leave. She wrapped her scarf around her neck and quickly pulled her jacket on before rushing to the exit. She'd sworn to herself she wouldn't cry about it. If those were the type of women Arthur was interested in then it was his business. It had been months since that stupid kiss and she refused to let herself dwell on it any longer.

Not to long after that she'd packed up her apartment and put everything into storage, deciding that having a permanent residence at the time wasn't in the cards for her. She'd received a call from Eames about a job and had decided to throw herself into the business of extraction to distract herself from the pain she was feeling at the utter rejection she'd felt at Arthur's hands. It wasn't long after she finished her first extraction that she read in the paper that Robert Fisher had sold off his company and she realized that the inception had been successful. At first she was elated but it wasn't long before guilt set in as she read more and more articles about Fisher's downward spiral after he dissolved the company. It seemed that he fell into a pit of despair, lost quite a bit of his fortune gambling, and was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Ariadne tried not to think about it too much but it was difficult to do all the time. She was happy when she stopped dreaming because her dreams had turned into nightmares surrounding Fisher. Slowly Ariadne hardened herself against such feelings and as the jobs continued to come in she traveled, never staying in the same place longer than it took to complete a job. She only worked with Eames twice after that first job, preferring to move from team to team to avoid attachments. Her reputation proceeded her so much so that she never had any trouble finding work. The next two years seemed to fly by until that fateful day when she accepted a job that would bring up every memory and thought she had forced from her mind. Peter Browning had hired her along with a team to extract something from Robert Fishers mind. The man was concerned for his godson and wanted to know what had led him down this path. She told herself she didn't know why she agreed to it but she knew it was purely out of guilt. She also knew that if anyone from the original team found out about her involvement she would be in a lot of trouble.

Ariadne stepped off the plane and glanced around the airport before making her way through customs and heading to pick up her luggage. She was aware of her surroundings at all times, it was one of the things she learned was necessary after she'd become too distracted after a job and nearly gotten herself killed. It didn't take long to locate her luggage. Once she did she exited the airport and stepped out onto the sidewalk of sunny Los Angeles.

After hailing a cab and telling him the hotel she'd gotten a reservation at she leaned back against the seat and sighed. Pulling her totem from her pocket she placed it on her knee and pushed it slightly, smiling when it toppled to the ground. Swooping down she picked it up and stuck it back in her pocket. She'd been doing that nearly every half hour for the last week, since she'd accepted this job.

She barely paid attention as they drove through the city until at last the taxi stopped in front of her hotel. Paying the cabbie, she stepped out pulling her luggage out with her. She walked into the building and up to the receptionist, "I have a reservation."

The man behind the desk glanced up at her, smiling as he took in her appearance. Although her style hadn't changed too much over the years it had grown with her. Today she was sporting a pair of black slacks and a red silk short sleeved top with a black scarf decorated with red flowers adorning her neck. Her hair fell in waves around her face and she wore black heels giving a few more inches to her height.

"Name?" He asked politely after his perusal of her appearance was complete.

"Arianna Maddox." She didn't offer him a smile, but then again her smiles became rarer and rarer over the years. It was as if once she lost her innocence and curiosity she'd lost the will to show any emotion at all other then a cold exterior. Once upon a time she'd wondered how Arthur could be so cold and withdrawn, but she found it was far easier to fall into an icy facade then to bother showing people any other sort of warm emotion.

"Ah, yes, Ms. Maddox. Here we are, room 528," He said as he handed her the key to her room. She blinked at him for a moment, trying to process what he'd just said. There was no way, she was staying in a room with that blasted number on it's door. He looked at her expectantly when she didn't take the key from his hand, "Miss?"

"I'd like a different room."

"I'm sorry?" He looked confused at her request.

Her features turned even colder and she set her purse on the counter, "I..want..a...different...room."

He frowned a bit at the tone of her voice, "We're fully booked. I'm sorry, ma'am."

Ariadne sighed and took the key, but not before sending one more glare in the mans direction. Taking a hold of her luggage and purse she walked towards the elevator and pressed the button to call the elevator to the ground floor. Once inside she pressed the button for the fifth floor and tapped her foot impatiently. Her hand itched to reach into her pocket and retrieve her totem but she knew she needed to wait until she was alone in her room. It felt like an eternity before the elevator opened it's doors again and she stepped out walking swiftly to her suite.

Once inside she dropped her purse and left her luggage by the door before pulling her totem out and setting it on the first available surface. When she pushed it and it tumbled to the floor she frowned. She didn't believe in coincidences and this was just too big of one. Pushing the thought away she walked to the door where she'd left her luggage and dragged it through the sitting room to the bedroom. Opening it, she pulled out a black cocktail dress and laid it out on the bed. Normally she didn't dress in such fancy clothes but she had a meeting tonight with Peter Browning where he would introduce her to the rest of the team and they were having dinner in one of the nicer restaurants in town.

Normally she would meet her team wherever they set up to work, but Browning had insisted on dinner. Walking to the bathroom, she toed off her shoes and undressed quickly before getting into the shower. Stepping under the hot water she sighed in bliss, a hot shower was a wonderful thing after a long plane ride. After a while she shut the water off and grabbed a towel. Quickly drying her body, she walked into the bedroom and grabbed the lotion from her bag before spreading it all over her body. Wringing her hair out she slipped into a pair of black silk panties and a black bra before going back to the bathroom. One of the things she hated about reality the most was that her hair was a struggle to do something nice with. It'd gotten better over the years but it still took at least a half hour.

After blow drying it, she curled he ends and wrapped it in a french twist, letting a few curls fall down to frame her face. Once that was finished she walked back out to the bedroom and pulled the dress on, zipping it up the side. Slipping into a pair of black heels before she sprayed herself with perfume and checked her watch. She still had a bit of time to kill so she decided to grab a drink at the bar in the hotel before getting a cab to the restaurant.

Grabbing her purse she put her room key in it and walked out of the bedroom into the sitting room. Without breaking stride she reached in her purse and grabbed the gun residing inside it and pulled it out pointing it at the chair in the far corner of the sitting room. She'd felt the presence before she'd seen him, but when her eyes landed on him she had to force herself not to shake, not to show any reaction at all.

He hadn't changed at all, still wearing three piece suits with slicked back hair and a posture that a king would envy. His hands were folded neatly in his lap and his legs were crossed as he stared at her. A slight smirk graced his lips and she could almost see a tinge of amusement in his eyes before it gave way to a condescending gaze. "We both know you aren't going to pull the trigger, Ariadne. Why don't you put the gun away?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him and sent him a smirk of her own as she clicked off the safety, "I'd prefer if you just left my room."

Slowly he unfolded himself from the chair and stood, causing her to cock the gun. "Hmm...little Ariadne's grown up?"

"Take one more step and you'll find out just how much."

He chuckled but she could hear the steely edge to it. "Put it away, Ariadne. I could have killed you or taken it by now if I wanted to."

"You still think so highly of yourself, Arthur. It's a wonder you fit through the door with a head as large as yours." She tilted her head to the side before pushing the hammer back into place on the gun and slipping the safety back on.

"You've been spending too much times with Eames I think." He took a few more steps forward, most likely expecting her to retreat but she didn't. She stood her ground and stared up at him defiantly. She wasn't the meek little girl who thought herself in love with the point man anymore. She knew better then to believe in love anymore and she wasn't going to let him bully her.

Ariadne slipped the gun back into her purse and closed it before turning her back on Arthur which she hoped would convey the message that she wasn't the least bit afraid of him. "I don't know what you're talking about. I have dinner plans so as much as I'd love to catch up with you, I have to go and you will not come back here. If you do I will put a bullet through your head."

She hadn't heard him move but she suddenly felt him behind her and it took all her will power not to melt back against him. Ariadne frowned and forced herself to straighten up, tossing a mocking look over her shoulder, "What do you want?"

Before she had a chance to react he'd pulled her against him and trapped her arms at her side by wrapping his own around her. "Well I don't want to have to kill you, Ariadne. If you don't leave this job alone, I will though."

He twisted her around and she stared up at him with a blank face, "I've no idea what job you're talking about."

The angry tint that lit up his eyes sent a little thrill through her body, it wasn't often she could evoke emotion from him. Of course it only lasted a moment before his face turned cold and his grip tightened on her arms. "You know better then to lie to me, little one."

Once again she just stared at him blankly and then a small smile crossed her lips, "Why are you really here, Arthur?"

"You know why, I don't know why you bother to continue to lie to me." He softened his hold on her and leaned down, brushing a light kiss along her jaw.

Her slight intake of breath was all he needed and he kissed her on the cheek before leaning close to her ear, "If you don't leave I'll be forced to do something I'd rather not."

Arthur released her and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving her feeling a mess. She had thought she was over him after all this time, but he swoops back into her life for five minutes and she already feels light headed. She had to grab a hold of the back of the sofa to hold herself up and she took a few deep breaths before regaining her composure. Brushing a piece of hair back from her face she shook her head slightly before standing tall and walking towards the door to go to dinner. The last person on this planet she was going to let intimidate her was Arthur.

A.N. So what do you think? Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I'm in desperate need of a beta if anyone is interested.