promises.
arthur & ariadne

disclaimer: Not mine.

Written in second person.

You and Cobb have been best friends for over ten years. You've met his children and his wife. You've been a part of his inception project for roughly about three years now, and you don't see signs of the project ever ending.

Because it's fun. Its inception, but it's illegal.

You research and you study and you graph the data about your mark; and you do it because it's fun and interesting and the pay is descent—okay, much more than descent—and it's enough to support you and your life. Nothing more, nothing less.

You remember all the times Cobb questioned your relationship: past, present, and future. He's quite pushy about the topic, but can you really blame him? Cobb's been happily married for about fifteen years and you haven't even been in a relationship for fifteen months; so of course Cobb would be curious. But you just smile lightly and tell him love is bland and confusing and challenging and you're just fully content knowing that "the one" must have passed you randomly on the street and you lost your chance long ago.

Cobb just raises his eyebrows in apparent understanding; even though you know Cobb is sketchy and probably doesn't understand.

But it's true, you think to yourself over and over again. Love is bland and nothing real significant.

Well, that's because you never knew what it was like to be in love.

You try to get Cobb to decline, but Cobb is as stubborn as a rock and he accepts the job with Saito's final words—"and chose your team more wisely Mr. Cobb"—lingering in your mind.

You try to convince him that going three layers deep in a dream is impossible; unable to be achieved because three layers deep is unstable and it requires heavy sedation.

But Cobb is stubborn as a rock; and keeps repeating the phase: "It can be done" over and over again. You sigh and go back to your salad, taking note that you two are heading to Paris so Cobb can find a new architect to replace the old one.

The final team is six members—Cobb, yourself, Eames, Saito, Yusuf, and Ariadne. Mostly everyone is experienced with inception; except Ariadne.

You had spent the first weeks training her to get her ready for the job; but you find it mostly impossible to think about the next steps because Ariadne is intoxicating and she's beautiful and memorizing and just so so good at what she does. You're surprised you manage to get her trained about paradoxical architecture while Cobb was searching for Eames.

It's all because she looks at you like your the most interesting creature in the planet. Her chocolate eyes inflamed with something you can't pinpoint and a small smile is always spilling on her mouth when she looks at you.

Now you knows why it has never worked out with anyone else, because now you know that Ariadne is the one.

It's because she understands you and your troubles organizing dream from reality and she understands how important it is to keep a totem with you at all costs. You and Ariadne both work on inception; so it's only natural that you two are the most possible romantic couple; right?

Now you don't even know; and you don't like that. You're so use to knowing the outcome of everything happening and you don't understand how some girl with a obvious likeness in scarves and architecture could just enter your life and sweep you off your feet. You don't understand how she can almost blindfold you to make you walk around with your arms out, unsure if you might fall in a hole or someone is following you or what.

You don't like it, and you don't want anything happening to her.

You of all people know it's not right to be in relationship with someone in the same team of inception; because eventually both of you would lose your grip on reality and the ending could be blooding and unpleasant.

That day, as you're rolling your dice on a random table at the nearby coffee shop with a pair of sunglasses drawn over your eyes, you swear you wouldn't get attached to her.

You end up getting paid a lot more from the Fischer project than you originally thought; which shocks you even though you wouldn't say it.

Cobb must have been excited, you think dully to yourself, to see the children he hasn't seen for ten years that he must have dug out whatever cash he could get his hands on to toss it to whoever was expecting it.

For once, your glad you're not him.

When you ask her what it's like to be in love, it's nothing you've expected. Because you know you're in love with her, and the answer she gives you only increases the likeness.

She shrugs, a small blush crawling up her neck. "When I'm in love, I can't think whenever he's around."

You pause for a moment to realize the feeling is almost similar.

It's been one week already, and you're starting to get anxious.

You don't normally feel like this—that much you know—because you've never worked with someone who makes you lose your mind and makes all the oxygen in the room just magically disappear. You've never worked with someone named Ariadne.

You don't like breaking rules—it's just the way you were raised, you suppose. You weren't DNA-ed to break rules—but you're getting antsy and a little desperate to see the face of someone you've been missing a little too much.

You promised yourself you wouldn't get too attached to her; so what were you doing outside her apartment door?

More importantly; what were you doing outside her apartment door with a box—actually, it's only a necklace, but what she doesn't know won't kill her right?—that you've been wanting to give her for some time.

You're nervous when you knock; and you're even more nervous when she opens the door and nearly jumps at the sight.

And you're even more nervous when she gives you a timid smile and invites you in.

Digging the box deep inside your coat pocket, you start off with: "I know I'm not suppose to see you for another two months..."

She laughs and you almost stop breathing. "Yeah. What happened? I didn't think you were the type to break rules."

"I'm not," You defends lamely, although it's true. "But... I just wanted to see you."

Her face falls and you could see happiness flooding into those innocent soft eyes. "Oh. Yeah well, I missed you too."

"And I wanted to give you this too," You spit before you could stop yourself. You pull the box out and hold it out for her to observe.

You could tell she's thinking about the obvious and you almost laugh. "No I'm not proposing. It's just a little gift that I've wanted to give you for awhile."

You see a flash of disappointment on her face, but she looks up and smiles and she takes the box anyways. After responding with a small "thanks", she opened the box and almost laughs at the contents because she has never seen anything like it before.

Inside is a necklace with her name Ariadne in silver being held together by the chain and you're a little embarrassed that she didn't wait until you left to open it. But her shocked expression is just too cute, so you just take it and clasp it around her neck while she's staring at you in awe.

"What?"

"I—I've never seen a necklace with my name on it," she admits, sounding a little sheepish and you can't help but grin in return. "How did you get this?"

"I paid someone to have it done like that," You explain, your face falling slightly when she doesn't respond. "What, you don't like it?"

"Oh no!" She answers almost a little too quickly and blushes once more. "I'm really honored you would do that for me."

You smile and lean down to press your lips against her own because now, you know what it's like to be in love.

And you admit it's not as bland and boring as you thought it out to be.

fin