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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"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?"

Ariadne studied him curiously for a moment, then shrugged. "I suppose we can talk it out when -"

Her eyes opened, to the familiar sight of the ceiling in her apartment. She sat up, glancing around for Arthur.

A brow arched at that look, but then the dream was gone and he was laying there in a much more familiar place.

Without thinking he reached for the cuff, sitting up. "Ariadne?"

"Yes?" She was already taking out her own IV, carefully winding it back up into the PASIV so it could be put away safely.

He moved in behind her, touching her arm as he leaned in to kiss her temple. "You are a delight. Have I told you that recently?"

"I... I don't think in so many words, no," she murmured, then turned her head to meet his lips with hers - no longer coy, or chaste, but exploratory.

He returned the kiss, his fingers brushing the back of her neck. "What was bothering you? In the maze," he asked, voice soft and his lips still against hers.

"Nothing," she said, honestly. "You surprised me a little. Didn't bother me." She slid her arms around him, scooting closer to his warmth.

A brow arched. "Surprised you how," he asked, curious.

"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.

A challenge (for loadedparadox)

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