sixwordstories | (no subject)

[She's glad that he's willing to share this with her. She knows he doesn't exactly talk about himself much.] So he can't, or doesn't, respect you as much because of it. Why exactly did you leave? [He'd said once, Cobb, but that was a half-answer. Cobb might've helped him make the decision, but if he'd really liked what he did, no one would've been able to pull him away from it.]

I don't think it's intentional on his part, but... no. If only because he doesn't understand anything else. He's been in the Army since leaving high school.

I left because I loved the dream technology. Cobb showed me applications that the CIA would have never allowed.

He doesn't get that what he loves might not be what you love. [She smiles, though.] You know that's one of the things I like best about you. You don't exactly seem like the kind of guy who just enjoys playing around in dreams.

What does your dad think you've been doing all this time?

And yet the technology seduced me out of a good, respectable job. [He gives a quiet, dry laugh.] I like the applications.

He thinks an accident with somnacin left me with a nice government stipend. And that I supplement my income with private consulting jobs. Economics. That was my major at MIT.

Mm, the highly-illegal applications. [She grins, then.]

Ah, right. Consulting. That's, like, the go-to cover story for high-class criminals, isn't it. So you're like a freeloader, running around the world not doing much. Sleeping a lot. [It's a tease, because imagining Arthur being idle for any length of time is like imagining a polar bear in a rainforest.]

I like the applications. You can thank Cobb for twisting them. [And he grins back.]

I could consult. I just don't need the money and don't have the time. Economics still interests me.

I know you could. But... The dreaming is way better. [Idly, she pulls a pencil out of her bag and starts doodling on a paper napkin. Mazes.] Do you have any pictures of them? Your parents.

[There's a hesitation, and then Arthur shakes his head.] Not that I carry on me, anyway. [He watches the strokes of her pencil.] Too dangerous.

Makes sense. [She says it with a nod.] I'd like to see one sometime, though. [She won't suggest actually meeting his father - not yet, at least. That would probably sound too much like a committment, too much like she's assuming a long-term place in his life.

She'd like to, but it's only possible if Arthur decides to let it happen.

The maze takes shape, and she offers it to him wordlessly just as their food arrives.]

[Arthur isn't sure that he'd bring a long-term girl home to his father. His father... doesn't have a place in his real life.] All right.

[But he is there, and not to be ignored. Ariadne nods at the maze and pushes the pencil towards him invitingly.] I almost got married, once. [It's almost like a confession - well, he'd been generous enough to offer up a bunch of personal information, now it's her turn. He already knows the basics about her parents.]

[Arthur reaches for the maze, but is a bit side-swiped by Ariadne's bit of dropped information and so it, and the food, get ignored for the moment.] Oh?

[That does seem to surprise him a little. She actually almost smiles, because it's tough to take him off-guard.] Yeah. I dated this guy as an undergrad, for almost two years. He wanted to marry me. Gave me a ring, even.

Gave you a ring. Did you take it?

Yes, for about a week. But we spent the whole time arguing about whether to do it before or after my grad work. And I realized... he wanted to get married before, thinking I would decide not to go to Paris. Thinking I would decide to be his wife, and live in St Louis, and have his kids. Give up what I really wanted. [She makes a face at the thought of suburban bliss.]

[It shouldn't amuse Arthur, but it does. Her tone. The face.] You make it sound like it would have been a horrible thing. The picket fence, I mean.

Well, it's not what I want. [She shrugs a little, poking at her food.] Different people, different priorities. I'm not against marriage. I would've married him. I don't really think I want kids, though. It would never have worked.

I know. I just meant-- [Arthur shakes his head and looks at her maze. A single glance shows him how complicated it is, no clear way from point A to point B.] You made it sound repugnant.

But it's good you figured that out before you got married--that's a big difference in opinion, kids or no kids.

It would've been. [She laughs a little.] Can you imagine me, trying to play housewife? Pregnant and barefoot? Burning grilled cheese?

I had myself convinced I'd want kids eventually, but then he gave me the ring and... I realized that's stupid. I've never wanted that, I don't think that'll change.

[Arthur laughs and picks up his fork.] No, I can't picture it. Your children would all starve to death.

And not everyone wants kids; it's not the end of the world. Literally or figuratively.

Hey, I wouldn't be that bad. They'd just all get fat on Indian takeout.

I know it's not. It would've been for Taylor - he wanted to be a dad. He is, now, actually. Took him less than six months after we broke up for him to find a girl who actually wanted the same things as him. I'm lucky, though - my parents just want me to do what I want with my life, they don't badger me about wanting grandbabies or anything like that.

Do you keep in touch? [There's a hint of a smile before he takes a bite of the food.] Facebook?

It's nice that your parents see that. That they let you live your life.

Facebook? [She laughs, steals a bite off Arthur's plate.] I don't have one. I was invited to his wedding, but I couldn't go, because I was moving to Paris at the time. And I heard his wife was pregnant a few months later - that's it.

Yeah, I know how lucky I am - most people don't have the luxury of understanding parents.

[Arthur nods and steals some of hers in return.] I don't know if most is accurate. I just think there's a lot of good will that perhaps young people view as... steering. [He shrugs. He's young, still. And his father... well, no, he wouldn't call him understanding.]

[She pushes a plate towards him in offering.] I think most parents really do want their kids to be happy, they just don't understand that the happiness might not be on their terms. And most young people don't want to be their parents.

Still, even mine would probably try to talk me out of embarking on a criminal career.