barbarafett

I haven't written the beginning of this yet, nor have I quite decided where to go with it from here, but here's what I've written today.

This is a post-movie fic, and the Dream Team has gotten back together. (Arthur/Ariadne pairing, by the way, but G-rated so far.)

Crossposted to my journal and

august_writing so far. Will be posted to

inceptionfic when it's more finished and polished.

"I know you two are together," Cobb said.

"You do?" said Ariadne.

"It would be blindingly obvious even if we weren't in each other's minds all the time. And it’s a wonderful thing. I'm happy for you."

The projections, however, continued to close in menacingly, giving the couple looks of utter disgust.

"Awfully hard to lie about your feelings when it's your dream, isn't it?" observed Arthur.

Cobb's composure turned into a scowl. He took out his handgun and handed it to Arthur. "Both of you, out."

Arthur looked at him in surprise.

Cobb looked away. "Please... don't make me do it."

Arthur sighed and pointed the handgun at his own temple.

***

Ariadne stood over Cobb's sleeping body. "This isn’t like him."

“No, it isn’t," said Arthur, joining her. “He’s never thrown me out just because he wanted to be alone before.”

"That's what I'm really worried about. I still don’t think he trusts himself to be alone in the dream state."

Arthur checked the timer on the PASIV device. “He threw us out six and a half minutes early. He’s got an hour and twelve minutes down there.”

“So do we wait… or kick him?”

Neither of them could decide.

***

My best friend and my new protégé are in love with each other. Where does that leave me? I’m just a third wheel. Now I know how Nash felt.

And just like that, Nash is there.

“You’re not real,” Cobb says, mostly to remind himself of this. “You’re just a collection of my memories.”

“Which means you’re perfectly safe around me,” Nash answers sarcastically.

Cobb doesn’t need the reminder that he’s on dangerous ground, but experience has taught him that the only way out is to cut straight through to the truth. “We seem to be in similar situations,” he says. “There’s a partnership that really only has two people in it, not three, and I’m the third person. I guess now I finally understand what it was like for you, and why you did what you did.”

“It was your own fault,” says Nash coldly.

Cobb shakes his head resolutely. “I am not going down that road again.”

Nash looks impressed, just for a moment, then doubtful again. “Prove it.”