Author's Greeting: Well here we are. Happy Christmas Eve! I want to thank all of you who read and commented on this fic. You guys are great!

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimers: I do not own Inception, it's characters, or the song Christmas Wrapping.

Christmas Eve

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Dom asks as he helps Mal into her winter coat.

"Yes, come with us, Ariadne. Dom's family is very normal."

"Really? You think so?" Dom asks, brow furrowed.

Mal clucks her tongue before insisting, "His family is nice."

Sitting under a mound of covers on the couch and watching Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Ariadne looks up with a sniffle. It always gets to her when the Grinch's heart grows three sizes. "No, thanks. I'm good here."

Mal plops down on the couch and puts a comforting arm around her. "C'mon, Ariadne. You've run yourself ragged all month with all the shopping, decorating the apartment, baking Christmas cookies, making homemade presents, volunteering at the soup kitchen. It's Christmas Eve! Come with us."

"I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet evening. I don't have the energy for anything else." Ariadne looks into Mal's eyes, pleading for her friend to understand.

Mal gives her a hug before joining Dom. "Okay, but I'm leaving this here in case you change your mind." She writes down an address on a piece of paper. "You're welcome to join us at any time."

Knowing nothing short of some catastrophe could send her back outside in the nearly freezing cold, Ariadne smiles and wishes the pair a Merry Christmas.

But Mal was right; Ariadne had stretched herself thin this holiday season. And not just during her favorite holiday; the whole year felt like it passed by in a whirlwind blur. From school and her part-time job, and then on to graduating and starting a new internship—as well as the rest of life in-between—she rarely had any time for fun, let alone for herself.

Now, with the year almost at an end it seemed a good time to relax and unwind on her own terms. She meant what she said to Mal. She wanted a nice, quiet evening at home.

On the television, the Grinch carves the roast beast, reminding Ariadne she has her own roasting bird in the oven. Emerging from her warm cocoon, she makes her way to the oven to check on her turkey, clapping her hands eagerly when she finds it almost ready. With her appetite mounting, she putters around the little kitchen, listening to jazzy Christmas tunes and getting the rest of her dinner ready. Even though she planned on dining alone, she wasn't going to skip having a festive personal feast. In the next hour or so she dedicates herself to washing, peeling, chopping, and cooking. Her mini feast was not only going to taste delicious, but look like Christmas. Along with the turkey, she just finished whipping up creamy white mashed potatoes, her crunchy green bean casserole was just out of the oven, and her spicy red cranberry sauce would be ready in—

Ariadne opens her fridge to grab a nonexistent bag of cranberries.

"Oh, damn!"

Standing in the middle of her kitchen, Ariadne wrestles with the conundrum of whether it's worth it to brave the blistering cold temperature outside for a bag of cranberries.

After bundling up tight, Ariadne starts to question her decision as she trudges through five blocks of snow, pushes through a slightly menacing crowd at the only all-night grocery and grabs the next to last bag of cranberries. By the time she makes her way to the only check-out line she starts to feel a bit like the Grinch. Craning her head around, she counts the number of customers in line, gasping when she finally notices the guy in front of her.

"Arthur?" She tells herself not to be disappointed if the tall, dark-haired guy with the ears slightly sticking out in that adorable way isn't Arthur.

But it is.

"Ariadne!" Arthur gifts her with both of his dimples. "Hi. Merry Christmas."

She can feel her smile growing three sizes larger just seeing him there in his dark peacoat with plaid tie peeking out and his hair neatly combed. "Merry Christmas to you too—or not! I mean, happy Hanukkah! Or happy belated Hanukkah!" Ariadne shakes her head at her own awkwardness. "Hi. How are you?"

After exchanging the usual pleasantries and finding out his parents are vacationing in Hawaii, Ariadne notices the bottle he's holding.

"Oh, yeah." Arthur glances down at the cranberry juice as if he forgot he had it. "It goes well with vodka. Or so I'm told," he clarifies when Ariadne gives him a questioning look. "It's not for me, it's for Eames and Yusuf. They're having a pretty raucous Christmas party. They promise it's going to go on all night. You know, you should come."

His smile brightens and his eyes light up when he suggests this, making Ariadne believe he's not just asking to be nice. She hesitates however, torn between wanting to spend time with Arthur and wanting to spend a nice quiet evening at home. Why is she having such a hard time deciding between the two?

"I'd love to but...I've hit my quota of wild all-nighters for the year."

She gives Arthur a small smile to soften any sting, but he doesn't seem disappointed. "So have I. To be honest, I only volunteered to run this errand so I could leave the party for a little while."

They share an easy laugh before Ariadne further explains, "I kind of need a break; this year's been crazy. I'm not sure I can handle anything more than a quiet evening at home."

"I know what you mean. Work's kept me pretty busy this whole year. I've been out of the country so often it's nice just to be home and unwind. I'd probably be home now too if Eames and Yusuf hadn't insisted I come to their party."

Standing in line staring at each other, they both seem to reach a simultaneous and mutual understanding. Ariadne smiles, deciding to take a shot.

"I bet Eames and Yusuf haven't notice you've been gone this long."

Arthur nods slowly. "I'm sure they haven't. They were both drunk when I left so I don't think they've missed me."

Ariadne's smile widens. "You know, we never got the chance to get together and have lunch."

"Yeah, bad timing and all," Arthur agrees.

"The timing seems good now. Mal's with Dom's family tonight so it's just me and my mini Christmas feast of turkey, potatoes, and green beans." She holds up the bag of cranberries. "And now spicy cranberry sauce. Very low key. What do you say?"

They finally reach the front of the line and Arthur takes the bag of cranberries from her. He hands them to the cashier and tells him he's changed his mind about the juice.

"Well, it's not a lobster lunch on a yacht," his dimples peek out once again, "but it sounds perfect."

Christmas Day, sometime after midnight

"Ariadne's definition of a quiet evening and not having enough energy are different from mine," Dom comments as he waits for Mal to get into bed.

Mal smiles as she joins him. "I wonder who she's with."

Dom grins, listening to the muted voices in the next room, "From the sound of it, it's god—oof!"

Mal frowns after elbowing his side. "I am very curious! She hasn't been seeing anyone that I know—"

"Oh, Arthur! Yesyesyes—yes!"

The couple share a look after hearing Ariadne's impassioned exclamations.

"Of course, it's Arthur!" Mal grabs Dom's arm excitedly. "Good for them."

"Yeah, good for them." Dom grimaces when he hears muffled laughter from the other side of the shared bedroom wall. "But what about us? How can we sleep when that's going on next door?" Proving his point, they hear more indistinct moaning.

"We can't complain." Mal covers a yawn before snuggling closer to Dom. "This is what Ariadne puts up with us."

"Yeah, but we eventually go to sleep. They've been at it for a while and I'm not sure they're planning on stopping soon."

Mal rests her head on Dom's shoulder, soothing a hand over his chest. "Leave them alone. They have been chasing each other all year. Ever since they met when we went snowboarding last winter." A low masculine groan sounds through the wall. Mal smiles while Dom sighs. "They deserve to have some fun."

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed my little Christmas fic. And thank you again for all the kind comments, they really are appreciated. I also wanted to give guest commentor Mimi a special thank you for all the lovely comments you've recently left for this and my other fics. As for the suggestion of some smut in this last piece, what I've written will have to do. This is the last non-WIP I have for A/A. I'm still working on You Are The Risk I'll Always Take (the going is very slow because I'm stuck and low on inspiration) but if you and anyone else still reading/waiting, please continue to be patient, I can definitely promise you smut in the next chapter or two :)