DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.

Is all that we see or seem, but a dream within a dream? - Edgar Allen Poe.

Ariadne stood awkwardly by the luggage claim, silently shifting from foot to foot.

Dominic Cobb had finally found a way to return to his children and made it through the border, as Saito had promised. Ariadne couldn't help but feel some sense of pride from helping a desperate man get back to reality. There were no soppy goodbyes at the airport, not that she expected any. All she recieved from the Extractor was a quick glance, absent from any emotion. Ever professional. Eames however, snuck her a quick wink and made his way back to connecting flights, no doubt to run off to the nearest exotic location to spend his earnings. Even Yusuf (who Ariadne found to be refreshingly intimidated) gave her a small smile.

She was surprised -and a little disappointed- not to recieve a look from the familiar Point Man. Not a wink, not a smile, not even a second of eye contact. Even when she walked over to collect her luggage, she turned to see him standing beside her. She suddenly could not shake his presence from beside her (she even found his sent familiar, the smell of expensive cologne and fine leather). She blinked then quickly turned again, feeling a slight redness creep up her cheeks as she remembered the dream.

Quick, give me a kiss.

His lips were soft, and the kiss was quick, but it was by far the most memorable of her previous kisses. Boys from school, adolesent boys who had no idea how to act around girls. Arthur...he was on a completely different level. He was a man. Mysterious, professional, suave...and far too attractive for his own good. Just standing in the same room as him made her feel funny.

She swallowed and reached towards her black case, something she'd bought as soon as she learnt she would be going under. There was no way in hell she was bringing her large blue one from when she was 18. Only a pair of quick hands stopped her. She watched as Arthur quickly pulled the case off for her and place it gently by her feet. She looked around to thank him, only he was already swiftly walking away. Even his walk was a reflection of Arthur. Well paced- long strides, only used by a person who knew where they were going.

She stood in silence for a few moments, expecting him to turn around and give her a quick glance. But nothing happened. She was only left watching as the black of his perfectly pressed suit disappeared into the crowd. She felt slightly dejected from not being able to see his face one last time.

She didn't feel upset. Why would she? Afterall, they were only co-workers. Co-workers that occasionally kissed. She quickly shook those thoughts from her brain, knowing that as much as she may want something to happen, that was only a distant want. A childish need. Something only a woman can feel when she's been stuck with a group of attractive men for weeks on end. But she could have sworn that she caught him looking at her a few times during work...and that kiss couldn't have been for nothing.

Stop it, her mind bit at her. She knew that if he even felt something for her, he wouldn't have just walked away.

And then, she was alone, gripping her totem tightly in her jean pocket, no doubt piercing her skin.

She didn't really know what to think then. Should she lay low in LA, or go straight back to Paris? When would she get her money? Even then, should she spend it, or would that raise suspicion? Questions buzzed around her head like parasites, and she suddenly felt angry. Why did they leave her like this? With no information or idea of what to do next? She would have liked just a quick word of advice. She wasn't expecting a babysitter, but some guidance would be nice. She could only guess that maybe that's the way it was in this buisness.

As she turned her head, she caught a look at the man she had been studying. Robert Fischer. She felt her legs to to jelly as she remembered where she'd just been. She leaned against the nearest barrier and was sure to take a minute to breath. They'd done it. They'd completed the impossible. She didn't really know how to feel about herself. After all, they'd just created an idea in a strangers mind that would completely alter his life.

Ariadne began to wonder whether she would see the others again.

She'd begun to feel some sense of comradeship with the men she'd spent the past month and a half working with, and was now left with a strange feeling of sadness. After all, it is almost impossible to spend weeks in a secluded warehouse with a group of people, and not develop anything.

After deciding that she looked possibly quite the biggest weirdo standing in the middle of baggage claim with a strange look on her face. Quickly brushing her hair behind her ear, she rolled her case toward the nearest coffee shop. She needed caffeine after that ordeal. Before leaving the area completely, she turned once more to look over her shoulder. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps to possibly catch a glance at one of her disappearing teammates? Or more likely, maybe she just wanted to look at the crowded mass of people behind her.

She found it odd (and admittedly, a little frightening) that this was one of the first places she'd been in a while that was not a design from her sketchpad. This was not a dreamscape. It was very much reality.

As she turned away, she couldn't bring herself to loosen her pry on the golden bishop in her pocket.