Here's the next fic I've been working on :) I'll try to update as soon as I can. Hope you like it and leave plenty of reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even Inception on DVD :(

"Are we there yet?" Ariadne's voice was giddy but nervous. She wasn't too fond of surprises. She tilted her head back and took a deep breath. She knew Eames had taken her to somewhere near the water because she could hear the waves crashing against the shore. The air smelled of sea salt and she felt the warm sand beneath her feet. She could feel the wind hitting her cheeks lightly and her hair danced in the breeze. The bandanna wrapped around her eyes began coming loose and she felt Eames' large frame press up against her back.

"Are you ready?" he whispered huskily in her ear. Ariadne nodded and he removed the blindfold.

Ariadne opened her eyes slowly. She was breathless. They were standing on a beautiful beach that was secluded from everybody else. The sun was low in the sky and was close to setting, causing an orange glow to glisten across the water. Eames had set up a picturesque picnic complete with a large wicker basket, a bottle of wine, and a red checkered quilt. Eames remained behind Ariadne, wrapping his arms around her petite figure and nestling his head in her hair.

"What do you think, love?"

"It's perfect." Ariadne turned her head to the side to kiss his cheek. "Who knew you could be such a romantic?"

Eames chuckled and walked her forwards. He sat down on the blanket first and Ariadne remained standing, observing him. He absentmindedly began unpacking the food and Ariadne grazed her eyes over his tan muscular figure, his scruffy beard, the white shirt he had folded at the elbows to reveal chiseled forearms and open at least three buttons to reveal his prominent pecs. Ariadne realized how lucky she was. How did a small girl like herself land someone like Eames? Their relationship truly was a mystery to the both of them and practically everyone they knew.

Eames finally took notice of Ariadne's stance and looked up at her nervously, shielding the sun from his eyes with one hand.

"Did I miss something?" he asked.

Ariadne shook her head feeling silly and curled up on the blanket next to him. He handed her a turkey and cheese sandwich and Ariadne took a small bite out of it. He held her loose in his arms and they both looked out over the ocean. They could hear the sounds of seagulls in the distance.

"So what's all this for?" she wondered aloud.

"Well Ari, you're very special to me. And I know that the job we just worked got you really stressed and freaked out so I thought it would be nice to have a weekend to ourselves." Ariadne could hear the smile on his face.

"Where are we staying then?"

Ariadne felt him shift behind her and she turned to see him pointing a finger to a small gray beach house behind them, perfect for just the two of them. Ariadne giggled in delight and pulled his face to hers, planting a salty kiss on his lips.

"Wine, darling?" Eames gestured to the bottle that appeared in his hands.

"Yes please." Ariadne sat up and held out her glass.

"No work for a while, agreed?" Eames took a swig out of his glass and then leaned back on the sand.

Ariadne swallowed some of the sweet wine and lay in the arm Eames had outstretched.

"Unless Arthur needs our help with something."

"That stick in the mud will always be working a case. I'm surprised he didn't have us flying out to some seedy city in Mexico right after we were finished." Eames laughed.

"He'll find someone to loosen him up eventually." Ariadne said wistfully. She trickled her fingers up and down the exposed skin of Eames' chest and he sighed contentedly. Suddenly she sat upright, a teasing grin playing on the corners of her lips.

"Eames, you know better than to wear a white shirt while drinking red wine." One of her hands held her glass loosely and she traced the rim of it with her other hand. Eames watched her not quite catching on yet. "Wine stains are absolutely horrific to remove." Ariadne taunted and then casually tipped her glass over onto Eames' shirt. Eames bolted upright and finally caught on to Ariadne's mischievous grin.

"If you wanted to get me undressed dear, all you had to do was ask." Eames whispered in her ear. He grabbed his shirt from the back of his neck and hoisted it over his head, revealing his toned tattooed torso. Ariadne blushed and stood up quickly as he advanced on her. She gave him a wink and made a sprint for the ocean trying to get a head start. She knew Eames could easily catch up to her. Digging her bare feet into the sand she was almost there. Her feet nearly touched the shoreline when she felt herself being lifted into the air and spun around.

"Eames!" she shrieked and Eames laughed heartily. She could feel Eames' body heat radiating through her thin summer clothing. He finally set her lightly on her feet and she took his hands guiding him towards the water. Once they were a little further past waist deep Eames brought Ariadne close to him. She slipped off her soaked top over her head and Eames chucked it towards the shoreline.

"Let's see if you can get a tan while we're here, eh?" Eames teased and kissed her neck.

Ariadne punched him playfully in the chest and wriggled away from his grasp. She swam a ways underwater, removing her wraparound skirt. She resurfaced holding it out in one hand to Eames. She tossed it towards the shoreline and kept her distance from Eames who was watching her lustfully.

She grinned at him and allowed him to close the distance between the two. She wrapped her legs around his torso and floated in the waves with him as they kissed passionately. Ariadne ran her hands through his wet hair and held his face tight to hers. She was sure their lips would be bruised afterwards. Eames kissed tenderly along her collarbone and she ran her hands down to his muscular shoulders. She held on tight, her fingernails leaving marks. Eames swirled around in the water then causing it to splash up around them and Ariadne giggled.

"Skinny dipping while the sun's still out? Aren't we daring," Eames muttered as he leaned his forehead against Ariadne's.

Ariadne responded by kissing him again.

The couple woke up the next morning to the sun shining on their faces and the pounding of footsteps along the sand. They were wrapped up in the red checkered quilt they had used for the picnic; nothing was exposed except for their feet poking out the bottom of the quilt. Ariadne slept peacefully on top of a stirring Eames.

The muttering of voices as a group of runners ran by woke Eames. He blinked around dazedly and saw the runners heading off in the opposite direction. He chuckled to himself and brushed the hair away from Ariadne's sleeping face. Ariadne stirred and opened her eyes sleepily to look at Eames.

"Morning, darling. Sleep well?"

She smiled up at him and closed her eyes, resting her head back on his chest.

"What time is it?" she murmured.

"According to the sun, probably around six or seven?" Eames said knowingly.

Ariadne's eyes opened wide and she looked at him.

"You do not know that."

"What makes you think I wouldn't know how to read the sun? Native Americans or whoever did it all the time back then."

"Eames, you're British." Ariadne snapped.

He paused. "Doesn't mean I can't learn."

Ariadne laughed and reached up a hand to brush his cheek. "So what have we got planned for today?"

"Nothing yet. But I'm liking this." Eames smirked and his hands slid gently down her backside. Ariadne rolled her eyes and began to retreat from Eames' grip.

"I do too but I need to shower this salt out of my hair first." Ariadne pulled the quilt along with her as she started to stand, leaving a half exposed Eames lying on the sand.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Eames grabbed ahold of one end of the quilt and jerked it back down causing Ariadne to collapse onto the sand next to him.

"Eames!" she exclaimed exasperatedly but laughed as she saw Eames' worried expression. "Alright, come on." They stood up in sync and walked with the quilt wrapped around the two of them into the house.

The Fischer job had been over a year ago. Ariadne coincidentally ended up staying in the same hotel as Eames while in Los Angeles. He was always there for her when she would wake screaming and confused from the nightmares. She'd walk down to his room and eventually he'd help her fall back to sleep, nothing more than just comforting her for the first week. Then came the night where things went further than expected; the romance between them had been building up until then. Eames took a chance one night and kissed her. She reciprocated and it led to them sleeping together. Their relationship steadily continued to build over the next two months. They soon began to work jobs together, travelling all over the world. If Cobb or Arthur happened to call for Eames' help they would always expect Ariadne. If they called for Ariadne's help then they always expected Eames. They became a bit of a dynamic duo together.

None of the other members of the team that worked on the Fischer job ever saw Eames or Ariadne ending up together. Neither did the two themselves. But something clicked and it worked and they both seemed to like it.

Eames lounged on the dense beach sofa in the sitting room of the beach house. He drummed his fingers on his chest to the guitar riff of some rock song as he waited for Ariadne to get out of the shower. His phone buzzed pulling him out of his mental concert and he glanced at the caller ID. Reluctantly, he answered.

"What do you want, Arthur? It better not be another job." Eames moaned.

"That last job was for Cobb. I need your help with this one, Eames. It's risky."

"Alright, what do you got for us?" he sat up paying closer attention.

"No, Eames. Not Ariadne. Not on this one." Arthur stated plainly.

"What are you talking about? Don't you need an architect?" Eames questioned.

"Yes I do. But not Ariadne. This job is dangerous and its one I'd rather not expose her to."

"Okay, you've got my attention. What is it?"

"We're going into the mind of Bruce Parsons. He's a violent crime boss who specializes in drug trade and sex trafficking. He's in holding now and he'll be tried soon. But he sent out a shipment recently that's went off the grid. It's supposed to have at least fifty kidnapped women. We need to extract where it is."

Eames took in a sharp breath and let Arthur's words sink in. Arthur noticed.

"Now you know the gravity of this request."

"I understand." Eames nodded although Arthur couldn't see.

"Are you in?"

"I'm in."

"Catch a flight to Seattle 7pm tonight. I already booked you a flight."

"What if I hadn't agreed?"

"I knew you would. Can you make it here by tonight?"

Eames sighed and looked towards the bathroom where Ariadne was.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon mate."

Arthur ended the call without saying goodbye and Eames set his phone down on the table. How was he supposed to tell Ariadne? He heard the shower shut off and he held his head in his hands sighing deeply.

Ariadne walked out of the bathroom with a short white towel wrapped around her body. Her damp hair splayed out on her shoulders and had fat water droplets collecting at the ends. She smiled at Eames but it quickly dissipated as she noticed his stance.

"Eames, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

"Arthur called."

"A job already? I thought you said we were taking time off for ourselves." Ariadne's voice got defensive. She folded her arms across her chest.

"You still can. It's a dangerous job, Ari."

"I can handle myself."

"Arthur didn't ask for you. He specifically didn't want you on board with this one."

"That's ridiculous!" Ariadne sounded hurt.

"Love, we're trying to protect you. Remember when I told you I'd keep you safe? This is me keeping you safe."

Ariadne's face softened and her voice dropped to a whisper. "When do you leave?"

Eames exhaled. "Tonight."

Ariadne looked at the wooden floor trying to hide her hurt and then stalked off towards the bedroom slamming the door.

Eames watched her go deciding whether or not to follow her. Eventually he realized that he had to pack his things that were in the bedroom so he pushed himself up off the couch and timidly walked over to the door. He tried the handle but it was locked; he knocked lightly.

"Ari? Open the door, darling." Eames pleaded. He pressed his ear to the door to see if he could hear any movement. He heard the bed creak and soft footsteps pad towards the door. He heard a click and then tried the doorknob again which was now unlocked. He slowly pushed it open and Ariadne had already made her way back over to the dresser. Eames' heart sank when he saw Ariadne's reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red rimmed and her cheeks were tear-stained.

Eames moved across the room and tried to wrap his arms around her from behind. She shrugged them off and moved towards the bed without saying anything except for the sound of a small sniffle. She sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her knees up to her chest. Eames eased himself down next to her and this time she didn't pull away from his contact.

"Ari, will you look at me please?"

Ariadne stubbornly refused and continued to stare at her fingers fiddling on top of her knees. Eames gripped her hands and brought them to his mouth to kiss them gently. Silent tears fell down her face. Ariadne finally caved and curled up in Eames' lap, burying her face in his shoulder.

"How long?" Ariadne choked out.

"I'm not sure. Probably months. You know how it usually is." he sighed and rubbed her back.

"Why would you do this? Plan this beautiful weekend for the both of us and then just take off?"

Eames winced a little at her words. "People are in danger, love."

Ariadne punched his chest out of frustration—not at Eames—but at the fact that there were horrible people like Bruce Parsons out in the world.

"We'll come back here. I promise. And no matter what, next time I will say no to whatever jobs Arthur or Cobb has lined up for us."

Ariadne shrugged and let the subject rest for now.