for isnt_the_same

[chesstotem]

The only good thing about being in Paris, and away from Arthur for a while, was the easy ability Ariadne had to report back to her bosses with what information she had so far.

It was also a bit of a relief to know that they didn't really have any intention of prosecuting Arthur, or anyone else from the Fischer job - at this point, her bosses were sniffing out something much bigger, and just wanted her to use them to get closer to whatever the bigger operation was, to figure out who was behind it.

She suspected it was something much worse than anything Arthur would be willing to do.

Still, aside from the regular calls to her bosses, it was exactly as boring and depressing as she'd known it would be, having to pretend to be a student again, attend classes without even the hope of Arthur on the phone in the evenings. She walked to the college most days, went to a couple of classes, walked back to her messy little apartment in the late afternoon or evening. Ate takeout for dinner, because she could barely cook for herself. At night, she would touch herself, remembering how Arthur felt on top of her, inside her.

The next day, she did it all again.

Comments

[isnt_the_same]

"Alright."

When they got to her building and up to her place, Arthur set the bags down on the counter in the kitchen.

[chesstotem]

Ariadne promptly began divvying up the food, handing Arthur a plastic fork and napkin as well. "What do you want to drink? I have water, apple juice, some cheap wine..."

[isnt_the_same]

"Water's fine," he replied and sat down at the table with his food.

[chesstotem]

She poured them each a glass of water, and sat down across from Arthur. "Probably the best idea. This curry is pretty damn spicy," she said with a laugh.

[isnt_the_same]

"Duly noted," he said before digging in. She was right, of course, and a minute or two later he was reaching for his water.

[chesstotem]

She giggled a little at his reaction.

[isnt_the_same]

"That's really spicy," he hissed.

[chesstotem]

"I told you. I may have some milk in the fridge - do you want some? Milk helps more than water."

[isnt_the_same]

"Yes, please," he strained.

[chesstotem]

Luckily, she did have some milk that wasn't spoiled - she poured him a glass. "There. Sorry; I did warn you, though."

[isnt_the_same]

"Yeah, I know." He took the glass from her and muttered a quick thanks before drinking.

[chesstotem]

She ducked her head, smiling again.

[isnt_the_same]

When the burning subsided, Arthur went back to eating.

[chesstotem]

She ate for a while in silence, but finally looked at him again. "Can we talk about potential jobs now?" she asked.

[isnt_the_same]

"Sure," he said before swallowing the food in his mouth. "There's one in LA. The client wants to know if his girlfriend's cheating on him as well as what she spends the money that he gives her on. The other job is in Madrid. A rival business wanting to know the business plan of another company."

[chesstotem]

She considered that for a moment. "Not the LA one. I'm not interested in people's personal dirty laundry. Madrid could be nice, though. I've never been to Madrid."

[isnt_the_same]

"Madrid it is then," Arthur said.

[chesstotem]

"And maybe if it goes well, we can have a date like we did in Hong Kong," she suggested.

[isnt_the_same]

"A date?" He questioned.

[chesstotem]

She nodded. "Like our day in Hong Kong."

[isnt_the_same]

"A day out," he corrected.

[chesstotem]

She shrugged, a little exasperated. "Whatever you want to call it, Arthur."

[isnt_the_same]

"You're the one that called it a date, Ariadne," he pointed out.

[chesstotem]

"Yes, I did." She looked at him evenly, then polished off her food. "Will you stay here again tonight?" she asked.

[isnt_the_same]

"Sure," he replied. "Unless you don't want me to."