chesstotem | A challenge (for loadedparadox)

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A challenge (for loadedparadox)

Ariadne didn't have much time - Arthur had gone down the street to pick up bread for her, and she had only a few minutes to set everything up.

PASIV out, set up, and then she scribbled a note: Time for your challenge. Ready? Find me, and earn your reward.

By the time Arthur returned from his errand, she would be under, waiting for him to join her in the dream she'd built.

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They had talked of the challenge, and the prizes that would be rewarded, but it hadn't been on his thoughts when he'd gone for the bread. Until he came home.

For a moment, not hearing Ariadne, he'd worried. Until Arthur had seen the note. Grinning, he put away the bread and loosened his tie before taking up his own cuff to the PASIV. Settling into a chair, he hooked up the cuff and laid back, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

The space was just as she'd said it would be - an intricate garden maze, with both European and Asian influences. Calming, maybe, but also complicated.

From a nearby tree, dangled a scrap of red silk - a scarf. A good place to start, most likely.

It was beautiful, exquisitely done, and he took a moment to examine that starting point. The foliage on several of the plants, the scent in the air. She was so good at what she did.

Catching the bit of fabric, he smiled and chose a path, staring down the mixture of carefully sculpted trees and plants keeping his pace slow to examine it all.

Ariadne put more than enough time on the timer for Arthur to explore the maze - but it wasn't infinite.

She didn't exactly leave bread crumbs - he'd have to figure out the maze for himself - but if he was on the right track, he would occasionally run into another red silk scarf, dangling from a tree, caught on a bush, tied to a bench.

Meanwhile, Ariadne was waiting for him - in the center of the maze, wearing a floaty yellow dress, her feet dangling in a serene koi pond.

A scarf was found, a path went the wrong way, and then he backtracked until he found another. The more he found, the more excitement built. And even as he did he remembered they had never discussed the result, the prize since kisses had already been shared.

He paused, giving a sharp whistle and wondering if she could hear him.

((ooc: Your call if he makes it in time or not.))

At his whistle, there was a sound, like perhaps a quickly-stifled laugh - very nearby. A turn ahead yielded one last scrap of red silk, pointing the way to the koi pond.

He'd managed with time to spare.

That laugh made him smile, coming around the corner with the red silk pieces in his hand.

"This is magnification."

"This old thing? Nah, I just threw it on - oh, you mean the maze?" she teased gently. "You might be right."

Crossing to her side, he sank down carefully onto the grass at her side. "Might? All you are going to say is might? I nearly didn't make it."

She laughed a little, reaching out to touch his jaw. "I have to pretend to be modest, at least."

Arthur leaned into that touch, smiling slightly. "And why would you have to pretend that?"

"Well, did you expect me to say, 'yes, you're absolutely right, it's the most magnificent maze I've ever seen'?" She leaned against him a little. "It's one of the best I've done so far, though, I'll give you that."

"I agree. I would have gone with the best one you've ever made," he teased. "Though a far a mazes go, one of the best I've seen."

"Thank you," she murmured, wiggling her bare toes in the water, watching the pretty goldfish dart away. "That means a lot to me, coming from you."

"I expected to find an endless loop I couldn't beat," he admitted.

"Well," she murmured with a shrug. "Maybe... Maybe I sort of wanted you to find me. You're not a projection trying to kill me, after all."

"Good to know. I'd hate to see the sort of trap you might keep me in," he admitted. "Speaking of, how did you minimize those?" Leave it to Arthur to talk business.

Ariadne looked at him. "I don't know. I just... wanted privacy. I made it happen. It's my dream, and my subconscious."

She was a little curious at how he was acting.

After all, he'd won. He could claim his reward.

"And so you plotted against me. I could have panicked coming back and finding you gone," he noted, voice teasing as his fingers brushed the back of her hand.

"Gone? Asleep?" She smiled. "I left you the note. To make sure you would join me.

"Not that I don't enjoy being here by myself, too, though..." She hesitated, looking at his hand touching hers, then leaned over to brush their lips together, briefly.

He smiled at that. "Just saying." He didn't say why though, because he'd said he wouldn't keep bringing up Russia. He remembered that much of the night when he was drunk.

"You have to love your work," he said, leaning into the kiss.

"Yes," she murmured when the kiss broke. "I'm a little surprised, though. We're due to wake up in a few minutes, you won my challenge, and you haven't asked for your reward yet."

Arthur's hand cupped her cheek, thumb brushing over her bottom lip. "I found you, didn't I? That wasn't it?"

"Flattery," she said, unable to help the blush that colored her cheeks at his words. "Do you not want anything else?"

"I've been told it will get me anywhere," he pointed out with what might have been nearly a cheeky grin. "What else could I want?"

A challenge (for loadedparadox)

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