go figure, go fish - 1/5 [inception]
Title: go figure, go fish - part 1/5
Fandom: Inception
Summary: She was a person. And by definition, it was her job to mess things up for him.
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur
Rating: R, for language
Notes: For noblealice, who asked for one big damn high school cliche over at arthur_ariadne. I really hope I got it.
Part 1
Arthur didn't back down from a challenge. He thrived on the impossibility of something. Its limited attainability, its potential nonexistence. The fact that something could be so far out of reach in one second, then be in his grasp in another - it was mind blowing. It drove him. He made him high and it made him happy.
Things, though, were different than people. Arthur didn't want much to do with people and, in his senior year, he thought that attempting to forge any real human connection was just a collossal waste of time. There was Eames (but there had always been Eames), and of course there was once Mal, but she was a failed experiment. The second she found someone who wasn't as heartless as Arthur, she jumped on him. Dominic Cobb happened to be nearby and ever since March, Arthur had to endure their constant PDA's and hallways make-out sessions.
He was certain that at least half of them were designed to infuriate him.
But things were so easy to get. There was weed for the cheerleading squad and scotch for the Chess Team. There were matches for the pyro down the street and there was paint for the art department when the budget got tight. Arthur had connections running from his fingertips to the rest of the world and he wasn't about to waste his smooth talk on making friends when he could have been using it to make money.
And that's how he saw this. This project he'd agreed to because he couldn't bare to see his reputation ruined. Because it was a lot of money. And because it was the greatest challenge he'd ever been given.
It wasn't that he though it was impossible. On the contrary, it was the opposite. It was the easiest thing he'd ever thought about doing. In his head. The thoughts he had made perfect sense, and he knew, he knew that he could get whatever he needed to get it done right.
He just didn't want to talk to her. To Ariadne. She was a person. And by definition, it was her job to mess things up for him.
*
Eames didn't understand how Arthur could live. And that was just one of the many issues they'd had since they became friends almost ten years before.
"You're not having enough sex. And that's a problem. Actually, I think it's the root of all your problems."
"I thought the root of all my problems was too much money and no parental guidance."
"That's just a small part of it. The rest can be explained by your inability to get laid."
"I can get laid any time I want. I just don't want to."
"You're just sore that Mal dumped you before you could fuck her and now you're going to pout about it until she notices and jumps you in the hall." Arthur didn't say anything and Eames took that as agreement. "She's done with you, mate. Move on. Get over it. There are better prospects out there. Concentrate on the task at hand." Eames pushed the yearbook under Arthur's nose and he finally took it, peering at the miniscule pictures for the one he'd been searching for.
"She looks twelve."
"Part of the challenge, yes?" Arthur shrugged and tossed the book onto the floor. "How much is Fischer paying you?"
"I'm not at liberty to tell." Eames raised an eyebrow and Arthur sighed. "It's not set in stone. Fischer doesn't think I can do it and that's part of the problem. He wants results before payment which will in turn be effected by said results."
"That's bullshit."
"Well, he's got a lot of money and he was hinting at something in the three grand range, so I'm taking my chances with this one." Eames whistled and they were silent for a while. Arthur finally sat up and cracked the window, pulling a box of cigarettes from the shelf by his bed and tossing one to Eames before lighting up his own. "She's going to pose a lot of problems."
"Why?"
"She's an artist, for one. I've seen her stuff. All kinds of rejections of social norms and such. She's a walking contradiction. Not going to be easy to get her to actually want to go through with it. Plus, when I tried to talk to her yesterday, she nearly bit my head off. Which means she's either a bitch all the time, or she's jusst PMSing right now, which is really inconvenient for me. I don't have time for hormones." Eames rolled his eyes. "I don't. And anyway, if she's that adverse to me being within ten feet of her, we're going to have even more consistent problems."
"Arthur, have you ever had to make a friend without paying them? Other than me?" Arthur shook his head. "Well, this should be interesting, to say the least."
For once, Arthur had to agree.
Fandom: Inception
Summary: She was a person. And by definition, it was her job to mess things up for him.
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur
Rating: R, for language
Notes: For noblealice, who asked for one big damn high school cliche over at arthur_ariadne. I really hope I got it.
Part 1
Arthur didn't back down from a challenge. He thrived on the impossibility of something. Its limited attainability, its potential nonexistence. The fact that something could be so far out of reach in one second, then be in his grasp in another - it was mind blowing. It drove him. He made him high and it made him happy.
Things, though, were different than people. Arthur didn't want much to do with people and, in his senior year, he thought that attempting to forge any real human connection was just a collossal waste of time. There was Eames (but there had always been Eames), and of course there was once Mal, but she was a failed experiment. The second she found someone who wasn't as heartless as Arthur, she jumped on him. Dominic Cobb happened to be nearby and ever since March, Arthur had to endure their constant PDA's and hallways make-out sessions.
He was certain that at least half of them were designed to infuriate him.
But things were so easy to get. There was weed for the cheerleading squad and scotch for the Chess Team. There were matches for the pyro down the street and there was paint for the art department when the budget got tight. Arthur had connections running from his fingertips to the rest of the world and he wasn't about to waste his smooth talk on making friends when he could have been using it to make money.
And that's how he saw this. This project he'd agreed to because he couldn't bare to see his reputation ruined. Because it was a lot of money. And because it was the greatest challenge he'd ever been given.
It wasn't that he though it was impossible. On the contrary, it was the opposite. It was the easiest thing he'd ever thought about doing. In his head. The thoughts he had made perfect sense, and he knew, he knew that he could get whatever he needed to get it done right.
He just didn't want to talk to her. To Ariadne. She was a person. And by definition, it was her job to mess things up for him.
*
Eames didn't understand how Arthur could live. And that was just one of the many issues they'd had since they became friends almost ten years before.
"You're not having enough sex. And that's a problem. Actually, I think it's the root of all your problems."
"I thought the root of all my problems was too much money and no parental guidance."
"That's just a small part of it. The rest can be explained by your inability to get laid."
"I can get laid any time I want. I just don't want to."
"You're just sore that Mal dumped you before you could fuck her and now you're going to pout about it until she notices and jumps you in the hall." Arthur didn't say anything and Eames took that as agreement. "She's done with you, mate. Move on. Get over it. There are better prospects out there. Concentrate on the task at hand." Eames pushed the yearbook under Arthur's nose and he finally took it, peering at the miniscule pictures for the one he'd been searching for.
"She looks twelve."
"Part of the challenge, yes?" Arthur shrugged and tossed the book onto the floor. "How much is Fischer paying you?"
"I'm not at liberty to tell." Eames raised an eyebrow and Arthur sighed. "It's not set in stone. Fischer doesn't think I can do it and that's part of the problem. He wants results before payment which will in turn be effected by said results."
"That's bullshit."
"Well, he's got a lot of money and he was hinting at something in the three grand range, so I'm taking my chances with this one." Eames whistled and they were silent for a while. Arthur finally sat up and cracked the window, pulling a box of cigarettes from the shelf by his bed and tossing one to Eames before lighting up his own. "She's going to pose a lot of problems."
"Why?"
"She's an artist, for one. I've seen her stuff. All kinds of rejections of social norms and such. She's a walking contradiction. Not going to be easy to get her to actually want to go through with it. Plus, when I tried to talk to her yesterday, she nearly bit my head off. Which means she's either a bitch all the time, or she's jusst PMSing right now, which is really inconvenient for me. I don't have time for hormones." Eames rolled his eyes. "I don't. And anyway, if she's that adverse to me being within ten feet of her, we're going to have even more consistent problems."
"Arthur, have you ever had to make a friend without paying them? Other than me?" Arthur shook his head. "Well, this should be interesting, to say the least."
For once, Arthur had to agree.