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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"You don't expect anything from me," she said bluntly. "I guess I figured by this point, you're having sex with any girl you were interested in."

It just surprised her. He held her close, even slept in the same bed with her - when she was scared, when she had the nightmares that sometimes came, because she could still dream. He returned her kisses, but had never asked for more.

"Ariadne, I never expect things from you. Not in anything outside of work. As for sex... It is something that is either very casual for more or beyond intimate. I wouldn't rush that just because I find you sexy and attractive," he said, a little stunned that she was upset he hadn't pushed for a sexual relationship.

She was hardly upset - just surprised. "I've -" She paused, trying to figure out what to say next. "I guess I'm used to feeling a little rushed. It's nice not to feel that pressure." She traced his features gently. "But what if I'm ready?"

His hand lightly covered hers. "I'm not sure I am. I'm so used to spending my life on the go, running, moving. I want to be certain that I'm not taking advantage of you."

"Arthur," she said quietly. "I know what I want. If you're not ready, that's fine, but don't say it out of another misguided attempt to protect me. It's just sex."

Arthur's jaw tightened slightly. "Just sex, for me, isn't about people I work with or care about. I don't rush into Russian mob houses for someone I'm just having sex with."

"I'm sorry," she said, running her thumb along his jaw. "I didn't mean it like that." Her mouth found the underside of his jaw, softly pressing there in a line of kisses. "How will you know that you're not taking advantage of me if you're not just going to take my word for it?"

His breath hitched at those kisses, eyes closing for a moment. "When I'm sure that my answer won't be to leave. When I'm not moving on like I always have."

"Why would you leave?" Ariadne pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes. "You haven't left yet. Would having sex with me change things so much?"

"My entire life has been on move to the next. I spent years freelancing in dream shares until I met Dom, and then I've had three years where I was on the run with him. I'm not sure I know how to stay in one place." It was honesty, the least he could give her.

Ariadne cupped his face in her hands, and then she smiled. "It's probably a good thing I'm not asking you to change." Her hands moved, down to his neck, down to his chest. "You've slept in my bed with me several times, now, and you're still here in the morning when I wake up. Would that change if we had sex? Would you not be there for me anymore? I know what you do - I know you travel all over the place. I can go with you."

Arthur's lip nearly twitched into a smile, watching her with concerned eyes. "There is a difference, not to mention a chance taken. For me, it matters. Without Dom as my extractor, I don't know the jobs I could be doing. I worry about dragging you into things."

Her hands went to his tie, pulling it off carefully. "What we do is illegal. That carries certain risks. You can't stop me from doing whatever the hell I want, so you might as well take me with you and stop arguing. I want to work with you." To prevent him from replying, she kissed him again, pressing close, practically in his lap.

Arthur arched a brow, definitely amused as it seemed Ariadne started undressing him.

"No, I can't stop you but I can do the best I can to avoid involving you in the worst of it. Truthfully, it isn't the law I worry about. Most they'll bust you for is use of a controlled subject." PASIVs were illegal afterall. "There's some work I don't want to involve you, or anyone else, in. Not if I can avoid it."

"You think far too much," Ariadne said, rolling her eyes and pulling him in for another kiss - getting him to stop talking was her goal, now.

He kissed her, fingers brushing her cheek. "I thought that was my greatest attraction. Certainly what I do best."

"Whoever said that's the most attractive part of you, lied," Ariadne joked, pulling him down on top of her, right there on the sofa. "I want you to stop talking. And stop thinking. Let me make you feel good."

"I don't know," he murmured, working to ensure he didn't land on her with his full weight. "I think you're brain is sexy," he admits, sighing softly. "Ariadne, you do make me feel good and that doesn't mean ..." He stopped, realizing how he sounded. "You know what I mean, right?"

"I know what you mean, Arthur," she said, touching her fingers to his lips. "Shut up."

Following her own advice, she scooted up a little, and pulled off her shirt. Then her bra.

Yet he frowned at that, a bit stunned as she began to strip. Arthur's hands caught her wrists, gently but firm. "No, I don't think you do know what I mean. Ariadne, I think a lot of you. You're brilliant and sexy and... and now topless," he said, expression not quite stony but a bit tight. "But I meant it. I'm not ready for things to go that far. It means something to me and I don't know where I stand right now."

Ariadne opened her mouth, then closed it again. An embarrassed blush spread down her face and neck, and she grabbed her shirt, covering herself. "I'm..." She pulled away from him, avoiding his gaze. "I'm sorry."

He sighed as she pulled away, blushing. "Ariadne, you have nothing to apologize for. Really. I just care about you too much to do this."

She shook her head, staring down at her feet, her shirt still clutched against her chest. "It's fine. You don't have to explain."

He probably thought she was easy. He probably thought she did this sort of thing with any guy who smiled at her. He probably liked her as a friend and didn't want to hurt her feelings.

She got up. "You don't have to stay anymore. If you don't want to. It's not important."

"I do if you're upset, and you obviously are." He sighed, pushing off the couch but not moving away. "I'm explaining because it's obvious you are insulted, or upset at least, and I never meant to upset you."

And yet he had.

Humiliated was mostly how she felt. She'd made certain assumptions about how this whole thing would play out, and she'd been dead wrong. And for all his words, she didn't understand why he didn't want her. Why didn't he want that intimacy with her? She wanted it to be special, too. She'd wanted tonight to be special.

She retreated into her room, closing the door because she couldn't look at him anymore just then. "I'd prefer it if you left," she said, leaning against the door with a sniffle.

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loadedparadox.livejournal.com - 2011-01-11 17:13 (UTC) - Expand

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chesstotem - 2011-01-11 17:31 (UTC) - Expand

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