Summary: "This time however, he leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn't the same kind of kiss that they had shared in the lobby, this time it was deeper and more meaningful," Arthur calls Ariadne for a possible job. After meeting at a club for drinks, they do something that will change their lives forever. Rated T for a sexual situation to come, and language throughout.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inception!

A/N- Here's chapter one of what will end up being a 5 chapter story. The idea is a little cliché, but there's a twist coming. Also, I really hope I kept them all in character. I tried my hardest! Hope you all enjoy!

Ariadne sat in her small apartment by herself, stroking her cat gently. The TV was on quietly, and she was watching an old time romance movie, the kind that she loved to indulge in when she was alone. She was also eating a bowl of cereal, a nice midnight snack that wasn't too unhealthy. Her cat shifted on her lap, and finally hopped down. She brushed some of the cat hair off her pajama pants, and turned the volume up on her TV.

"You'll never find anyone as good for you as I am, to believe in you as much as I do or to love you as much." The TV cried.

"I know that."

"Well then why?"

"Do you think if I come back it's going to be okay by magic? What's going to change? What's going to be different? We'll both be wrong, we'll both lose."

"Couldn't we both win?" Ariadne listened as the characters repeated her favorite dialog. She spoke some of the lines quietly under her breath. When it was over, she allowed herself to think about something that she had been trying to forget.

Inception. It had been a month since Inception, and still, every night she sat on the couch, watching this movie. She knew almost all the words now, but still she couldn't allow herself to fall asleep. Sometimes she dozed off during the boring parts, but mostly she couldn't sleep.

On the nights when she finally fell asleep, she had nightmares. They varied, but usually ended up being similar to the events of Inception, and she always died in them. Which woke her up, just as it would have normally.

On other nights, she couldn't fall asleep anyway. Her mind would spin with ideas, with thoughts. She tried to figure out how it worked; the whole idea of Incepting minds. Sometimes she would replay the whole plan in her head, so much so that if she had to do the whole thing again, she knew exactly what would happen, and exactly what she was supposed to be doing.

So there she was, sitting in the dark on her couch, watching her favorite movie, in her pajamas at 8 o'clock. This was what she was doing when the phone rang. She answered it, pausing the movie.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Ariadne." The voice on the other end spoke her name. She immediately recognized the voice as Arthur's, the team's point-man from a lifetime ago. Or so it felt.

"Arthur. Hi, is something wrong?" she asked. She could only think of a handful of reasons that Arthur would call her at 8 in the evening. Most of the scenarios she imagined were bad.

"No, nothing's wrong. We need to talk though. Would you mind meeting me for drinks tomorrow, around 9?" he asked her. She hesitated for a moment.

"Can you tell me why?" she asked. She wanted to know what was happening. There was a brief silence on the other end, and she heard him sigh.

"Cobb has another job for us. We've reassembled the old team. He wanted me to ask you if you'd be interested in being our architect again," he spoke. She thought about it, and argued with herself.

"What's the job about?" she asked him.

"I'd appreciate it if we talked about it tomorrow. I can never be completely sure who else can hear us," he said, giving Ariadne the impression that the conversation was possible being listened to right now. She straightened up; feeling watched even though she knew it was silly.

"Yes, yes I'll come tomorrow," she agreed. He told her where to meet, and they hung up.

Once again, Ariadne knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep. Regardless the job, she had to do some thinking before she decided whether or not she wanted to be involved in another job anyway, whether she could put herself through that again. She decided she would wait and hear what Arthur had to say tomorrow.

After a boring day of waiting around her apartment, Ariadne got into a taxi, and arrived at the club that Arthur had told her about. When she entered, she saw that the place was very Arthur, classy and elegant, nothing like some of the other clubs that she had been in before. Music played softly, and there were various tables set around the room. The bar was at the back, and a dance floor stood at the front. She smiled at the sight of it, and began to scan the room for Arthur.

He was seated at the bar, in his usual suit, and sipping a glass of wine. She walked over to him, and sat down.

"Hey," she said. He nodded at her.

"It's nice to see you again," he responded, and turned to face her.

"So…this job." She stated, hoping he would explain. He did.

"It's a simple extraction. We need to go in, steal an idea, and come out. This company apparently had an idea for a business expansion that will destroy the city's water supply. A rival company needs to know what it is so they can stop it. Very basic. But it still requires precision. It shouldn't take more than a month." He stated. She sighed.

"I thought Cobb wanted out," she replied. He nodded.

"So did I. He called me and told me about the job. He wouldn't tell me why, he just asked me to get the team back together. It's completely reasonable of you to say no." he told her. Ariadne closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She opened them again, and ordered a drink from the bartender. She turned back to Arthur.

"Before I decide, will you tell me what made you agree to this?" she asked him. If she had to make this decision, she wanted to know at least what appealed about the job to Arthur. He drank the rest of the wine before he began.

"I…didn't have much of a choice. After Inception I didn't have much left, and I thought that Cobb would be done, which meant me being done. So I tried to find other things, but nothing really came up. When Cobb called and said he needed me, I took the opportunity. There's not much else I'm good at besides dreams." He stated, and just then the bartender appeared with Ariadne's drink.

"And you promise this is just an easy, risk-free job?" she asked. He chuckled.

"With dreams, nothing is ever risk free. But I can promise you that this will be significantly easier than Inception," he responded. She nodded.

"Alright then. I guess I'm in." she agreed finally. She missed the old team, and it wasn't like she had much she was doing anyway. Her life was boring now.

"Good. I'll let Cobb know what you've decided" he told her.

The night progressed, and as the alcohol loosened them both up, they were able to talk like old friends, and they laughed with each other. Finally, Ariadne got up her strength to ask the question that had been circling her head since Inception had finished.

"So…the kiss in the lobby," she said simply. He remained silent. She pushed further. "Why'd you ask? Did you really think it would work?" she asked. He smiled and laughed.

"No. I didn't think it would work, I can't believe you thought it would work." He teased her. She shoved him playfully and laughed.

"So then why?" she asked him. He smiled again; she guessed it was more to himself than to her.

"I don't know. I wanted to," he answered. She propped her head up with her hand, supporting her head with her elbow that rested on the table.

"You wanted to kiss me?" she asked, wanting clarification. He nodded slowly. She smiled. "Why?" she continued to press the subject further.

"Because…you're beautiful. And because I wanted to see what it would feel like." He answered. Ariadne smiled even bigger at him. This man was certainly different from the Arthur she knew. This man was fumbling for words, and telling her more than the other Arthur probably ever would have.

"I'm glad that you did," she confessed. He brushed a piece of hair out of her face.

"I am too" he responded. She laughed. The subject was dropped afterward, and they moved apart again (Ariadne still wasn't sure when they had moved so close). They talked some more, and drank some more, and time passed freely. It felt good to be able to talk with Arthur the way that they did.

The kiss wasn't brought up anymore, and it wasn't until Ariadne was drunk enough to start talking about past relationships (how had they gotten on the subject? She couldn't remember) that they were that close again. This time however, he leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn't the same kind of kiss that they had shared in the lobby, this time it was deeper and more meaningful. When they pulled apart, Ariadne felt Arthur's hand wrap around hers, and he led her out of the club where they hailed a cab.

A/N- AAAND end chapter 1! Bet you all can't guess what they're going to do haha. So I have all of this story written, I'm just waiting to post the next chapter. I hate to be one of those desperate people, but how about 5 reviews for the next update? Remember, they're all written, I just need to upload them! PLEASE review and let me know what you thought because this is the first non-one shot Inception fan fiction I've done!

PS-I'll give a metaphorical cookie and dedication to anyone who can tell what movie the lines at the beginning were from (this is void once chapter 2 is up since it is mentioned it chapter 2)