[ text ]: YOU’RE A MONSTER

[text] because I always keep a knife strapped to my thigh and I could slice you open in a second?

[text] thanks, sis. I’ll take that as a compliment

[ text ]: why don’t you go to him/her instead?? i mean im JUST your sister right?

[text] exactly, and I put up with you whining about that gross guy from wherever for a whole three weeks, so you can wait a little while

[ text ]: don’t pretend that you care because you made it very clear that you DONT

[text] cry me a river

[text] actually, no, don’t waste the tears. there’s already plenty of water in the house if I need some

[ text ]: i don’t care???

[text] are you expecting an award or something?

[ text ]: i see the way you look at him/her. DONT KID YOURSELF HEHE

[text] make sure to take all your things with you when you get your own place

❤ for a lusty/loving/affectionate message

[text] This probably sounds mushy, so you’re not allowed to make fun of me. But, as much as I’m happy with everything, do you maybe just want to come over for something?

[text] Or, you don’t like my kitchen and remind me I can’t cook. We could go out, instead.

[text] I just felt like maybe now that the job’s done, we’d have time to do something together again, and I want to.

This prompt is two questions (accidentally, I’m guessing) mushed together, so I’m altering it to simply read, “why the hell did you make me do that?”

It was wrong. She knew she shouldn’t have done it, but she hadn’t known what else to do. In confusing situations, she tended to just freak out and go with whatever came to mind. Ariadne was fully aware that this wasn’t a good tactic, but she hadn’t been able to school herself to do otherwise yet.

She understood that he was upset. Still, he appeared angrier than she might have predicted. Disappointment and a lack of understanding was easy to accept. His fury, on the other hand, was not.

At the very root of it, the issue was that Arthur was not spontaneous. He loved planning details and seeing things through in the most precise of manners. So when he suddenly surprised her, how was she expected to remain calm? Of course, he surprised her frequently. There was always something new to learn about the point man - a new skill, a new preference, a new secret. But shocking her with plans was much rarer.

The part that made it even stranger was he knew she had things going on that day.

The next level of the issue was that her mother arrived early. Her mother was coming to visit for three days. Her first stop was to be Paris, in order to see Ariadne, and after that she was meeting up with a friend and making her way through several more European nations. Because of the large distance between their residences, Ariadne and her parents didn’t see each other very often. Needless to say, there would be a lot of catching up to do, and a lot of questions, which the dream architect would have to answer carefully.

But, ultimately, the main focus of the issue was that Ariadne had panicked when the other aspects combined. It was her mother’s second night in Paris, and the two women were planning to go to the excellent restaurant at the hotel for dinner. While Ariadne’s family was not very wealthy, she had gotten her mom the room, explaining that she had saved in order to do something special. In reality, it was only a minor part of the money she earned from the Fischer jobs and those following.

When they were heading down to dinner, talking about something random, she suddenly heard her name in a very familiar voice. Turning to the side in shock, she let out an unintentional gasp.

There, unannounced and unexpected, was Arthur.

When she had greeted him with an effort at a smile and asked why he was there, the point man had explained that he simply wanted to meet her mother and thought he would surprise them. This information came with an unidentifiable gift for Ariadne’s mother. Always the gentleman.

Though when she had asked how the two knew each other, Ariadne quickly interjected and said he was one of her coworkers.

And he was.

But they had been dating for three months already, so that title wasn’t exactly what the young man expected to hear.

Nor was it what she expected to say. Yet she hadn’t informed her parents of the fact that she was in a relationship and, panicking as she was wont to do in such situations, she fell back upon the way she would have identified him before they were a couple.

It was still a fairly under the radar thing, though Eames and Cobb knew because, as the former pointed out, they weren’t always the most discrete with their feelings or anything else, even when they thought they were.

Explaining that her office was small and so they were all very close, Ariadne knew she was worsening things, but it was her mother who invited this coworker to eat dinner with them.

The entire thing went fine. It was full of stories and merriment, but it was also quite the charade on the part of Arthur and Ariadne, who were relegated to the task of appearing friendly but not too friendly. Maybe that wouldn’t have been a problem, but she could tell from the little signs, like the stiffness of his movements and the line of his shoulders, that Arthur was displeased. He managed to still act as the most gracious guest possible, nonetheless.

Once a few hours had passed, it was quite late, and the group left the restaurant. When Ariadne’s mother asked her daughter if the trip back to her apartment was safe at this hour or if she wanted money for a cab or something of that sort (the motherly instincts kicking in), Arthur offered to drive her back, and after a round of hugs and reassurances the mother and daughter would see each other again soon, everyone parted ways.

The drive back to her apartment was silent. She initially wanted to walk the whole way to avoid confrontation, but he insisted she allow him to drive her.

It wasn’t until they were safely within the private confines of her apartment that hell broke loose.

"I didn’t do it on purpose!" she ripped her jacket off of her arms, hanging it gruffly on its hook and storming into the living room. Ariadne was more miffed than actually angry, but she grew stubborn and defensive when people got accusatory.

He followed right behind her, looking more composed than most people would while feeling this off about something, but still showing the telltale signs of his annoyance. “I don’t care if you hadn’t told your mother yet for whatever sort of reason you would like to proffer, but the fact that it was so automatic for you to ignore a significant piece of information with her… That I am not okay with at the moment.”

She sighed. He had a point and she knew it and she hated him for it. Yet she couldn’t just excuse her way out of this.

"It’s not like I wanted to make you sit through a dinner and pretend we’re just work pals or whatever. Hell, I didn’t even know you were going to be there.”

"You’re the one who said it was too bad I was tied up during all of the times you were scheduled to spend time with your mother."

"Yes, but that didn’t mean show up completely out of the blue!"

He raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking down for a moment. While he was making a clear attempt to calm himself, she wasn’t entirely sure he was meeting much success.

Arthur straightened once more. “I apologize for surprising you. I realize that might have been inappropriate, especially since your mother was visiting.”

She shook her head, biting her lip in hesitation. “It’s fine. It’s my fault things became a disaster.”

Something about him looked defeated, and it appeared as though that part had been hiding under the surface of rage for many hours. “I wish I could have been forewarned about what you were planning to establish with your mother ahead of time. It would have made things much easier.”

"Well I’m sorry, but I didn’t know you were just going to show up like that! And I didn’t expect to have to tell her anything."

"Why is that? You were the one who broached the notion that you didn’t like hiding everything. You said something about how the secret was fun, it had gone on a bit too long for comfort."

"I know what I said."

"Did you mean it?"

"Yes. Which is why we told Eames and Cobb. I just didn’t expect you to ask me out. I thought you would decide you didn’t want it to be any other way. It was a… pleasant surprise, to put it very mildly." She sighed, not exactly sure what point he was trying to make, but suspecting a few things he might intend.

His hand ran over his slicked back hair. “Why not your mother?”

The problem was, Ariadne didn’t have an answer she could voice. A few distant thoughts about what the reasoning might be resonated in her mind, but she didn’t understand any of them well enough to state them in response.

And she was uncomfortable not knowing things, especially when they related to her own life.

"Because she worries about me."

Arthur’s look made it clear that it wasn’t enough of an answer. Seeing as she had little idea where her mouth might take this next, she wasn’t exactly much more informed.

The tension seemed to have decreased, but he remained on edge, and so she tried to work as carefully as possible. “I haven’t exactly had the best history when it comes to relationships. Some of which I suspect you already knew, some of which I told you, and some of which, well, some of which will come in time. I get that I cannot change any of that, no matter how it makes me feel to reflect on occasion. But while I keep to myself, I did lean on my mom at times, and I’d rather have her keep worrying about the fact that she’ll never have grandchildren because I’ll never get married at this rate than about how long I’ll get to be happy this time. She shouldn’t worry about me, but even beyond that, I’m scared.”

This broke a look of curiosity through his empathetic, concentrated expression.

"I know you showed up to surprise my mother and me, but what if you change your mind? You have every right to do so, but that doesn’t make it a pleasant thought."

With a sigh, Arthur walked over to her, stopping just a pace or two away from her. “And what if you change your mind? Do you think that’s any easier of a thought?”

Ariadne opened her mouth, wanting to say something but finding that she was effectively shocked into silence. They rarely got overly deep about their feelings, and Arthur, especially, tended to avoid his. Needless to say, this confession of sorts caught her off guard. “I’m sorry I called you my coworker.”

He shrugged. “I am your coworker. Just promise me she’ll know I’m more than that before we walk down the aisle or something to that extent.”

Once again, she gawped at him, unsure of where this side of him was originating. “I promise.”

Both of them seemed to relax thanks to some indeterminate force. Arthur extended his hand, his shoulders dropping and his gaze softening ever so slightly. “We have quite a lot ahead of us. Good and bad, I am sure. But we get to experience it together.”

She smiled and took his hand, lacing their fingers together. “I like the sound of that.” Stepping forward, she rocked onto her toes and kissed him briefly.

His arm wrapped around her and he rested his chin on top of her head as she let out a pleasant hum.

"If I’m just a coworker, maybe I should leave you alone. It’s awfully late for a nice work friend to be in your apartment."

RUSKINS

[text, unsent] my only comfort after this terrible night is knowing I won’t have to return home to mom and dad’s judgy looks

[text, unsent] do you mind if I wear your shoes today?

[text, unsent] since when do we keep cheetos in the house?

[text, unsent] if I have this weird urge to see a guy a second time, should I just off him to solve the issue?

[text, unsent] I know the answer’s no but I don’t like this

[text] get on your boots, we have a last minute assignment that I decided is worth taking. ice cream afterward.

ARIARTHUR

[text, unsent] Would you acknowledge me more if I wore nicer work clothes?

[text, unsent] you’re the fcuking paradox and I don’t lkie you

[text, unsent] Would it be forward of me to ask if you want to recreate the embarrassment of what happened in the villa in a more deliberate manner? Never mind, this is horrifying.

[text, unsent] You like wine, right? My mom sent me some and it looks very nice. You’re welcome to come over and try it.

[text, unsent] Okay, Mr. Pretentious. I’m ready to start siding with Eames. At least his occasional lack of professionalism doesn’t have to be a secret.

"Come on," urged Liesel as she grabbed Ayu and impatiently rushed her through the streets of New York. The two of them were great at proving how little size goes a long way when slamming into strangers who don't understand the importance of walking quickly on the sidewalk.

"Please don't take me to another museum," groaned Ayu, thoroughly done with any and all attempts on her friend's part to mention things related to history.

With a grin, the girl who lived closer to the big city shook her head and kept walking. "Don't worry, even I'm done with that for the day. We're going to see Phantom because I haven't seen it in eight years and you really need to experience proper Broadway theater."

This seemed to make Ayu happy, and so they rushed off and made it to their seats before the lights dimmed. Earlier in the day, they had visited both landmarks (the Empire State Building, Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Plaza, the MoMA, etc.) and random fun places (Top of the Rock, the Plaza Hotel, Times Square, a lot of restaurants, etc.).

When they exited the Majestic Theatre, Liesel declared that since she was the tour guide, she was in charge of making sure Ayu was properly fed, and so they were heading to Serendipity 3 for some of the best sandwiches ever and their famous frozen hot chocolate.

They’ve been chatting for three months.

When they think of each other, they automatically give each other the title of ‘friend,’ despite having never actually spoken or seen each other’s faces.

Neither of them had ever fancied themselves the type to meet someone online. Not simply because of the warnings that it could be dangerous, but also because it just didn’t seem like them.

She was in her final year of architecture school and had an internship at one of the top firms in the world. Her accomplishments were relatively unrivaled, though she always felt she could do better.

He was a very influential member at a security company, and no one was ever really certain what he did or how he did it. All they needed to know was that he completed everything with astounding efficiency and more thoroughly than they could fathom.

What drew them to discover any sort of means to talk to strangers online, they weren’t sure. Arthur looked into everything much too completely for her to truly be counted as someone he didn’t know. But knowing about someone and actually knowing them were not the same thing. And he was impressed by how cautious she was. He knew her name was Ariadne and that she was in France (which made it easy to identify her, as long as she was telling the truth, because it was not a common name). Aside from that, however, while she had been upfront about a lot of her opinions and experiences, she hadn’t revealed any other personal details.

Their real life friends and acquaintances didn’t exactly know that they had befriended anyone online. The two of them felt at ease talking to one another, and discussed a whole variety of things, from how their days were to what sort of events they looked forward to in the near future. There was nothing strange or creepy about their interactions.

It was Ariadne who suggested they meet. Well, technically it was her. Arthur had previously mentioned that he was traveling to Paris on business. She had asked if he wanted recommendations for places to go if he had any free time, and he had been happy to listen to her little list.

She brought it up casually a day before he was set to depart, and suddenly they were making plans. Maybe it was crazy, but they both seemed set on it at this point.

A public setting seemed the most prudent since the two were cautious people. She had no idea just how careful and meticulous he was, but that wasn’t really important.

While she’s normally more laid-back, Ariadne gets there first because she’s nervous and can’t seem to occupy herself enough throughout the course of the morning. They chose a cafe, and so she sits and orders a coffee, figuring there’s not really an issue with her having a beverage before he arrives. When he does show up, it doesn’t take him long to spot her. She’s seated by herself and wearing a bright yellow scarf, just as she mentioned she would be.

When he approaches, she doesn’t have to wonder whether it’s him, because the tips he gave her on his clothing choices so they could recognize each other makes him more identifiable than she ever might have predicted. She notes that he’s far more handsome than she ever might have imagined, but there’s also something dark about him, and that aligns with the faint air of mystery she always seemed to feel when he whisked their virtual conversations into directions that suited him.

"I’m sorry I ordered without you. I was early, and thought it would be rude to sit here without letting someone wait on me," her lips push up into an apologetic smile.

Arthur is more taken by her than he originally expected, but they are here as friends, and so he simply shakes his head with a hint of a smile. “Not a problem. I’m glad you didn’t wait. I wouldn’t have wanted to keep you waiting.” He had arrived exactly one minute ahead of time, and it seemed like a purposeful timing attempt on his part.

Their conversation slowly edges into more personal territory, and they discover a comfortable spot after a short while, in which they feel as though they can discuss things freely and without any sort of awkward separation between them. They get along far better than anticipated, and one minute they’re recounting serious tales, while the next, they’re laughing over ridiculous anecdotes. They’re not sure how they fit together so well, but they don’t question it.

When they’ve long overstayed their welcome at the cafe, it’s evident neither of them quite want to say goodbye. Arthur asks if she might like to meet him for dinner, and she accepts, with both fully aware that the pretenses feel a little different from an informal meeting between friends who met online.

She groaned. “Please tell me this isn’t some sort of roundabout way for you to educate me. Just give me the information and let us move on, if that’s the case.”

They were in her apartment. In many ways, it had become theirs, because it was where he now stayed whenever he was in Paris, and he was in the City of Light rather often as of late. It was a Saturday morning, and she was drinking coffee as she sketched, Arthur seated across from her, busy reading the paper. Or, so she had thought. Apparently he was occupied with making plans, instead.

A smile tugged at the edges of his lips, and she wasn’t sure whether it was because she was being ridiculous or because he found her tone of distress endearing somehow.

"Don’t worry, I’m not going to teach you anything. Though the game I have in mind is still mentally-based, so I cannot guarantee all of your brain cells will get to rest," he nodded apologetically.

With a sigh, she closed her sketchbook and placed it on the coffee table beside her mug. Straightening up, Ariadne eyed him curiously for a minute. “Alright. What do you have in mind?”

Letting out a noise that implied she wasn’t getting the answer just yet, he rose from his seat and started toward the kitchen. “You don’t get answers that easily. Go get dressed and then I’ll give you more information.”

Ariadne stuck out her bottom lip in an attempt to pout at him, but she was too lighthearted about it, and he held firm in his decision. Reluctantly, though still driven by curiosity, she let her shoulders drop and stood, heading off to her bedroom.

She called out from the other room, “do you know where we’re going?”

"Yes," he was humoring her, since she knew he didn’t care much for yelling through walls.

"Are corduroys acceptable?"

"Yep." Probably another way of saying, I know you want to wear them and you’ll be huffy about not being able to do so if I say otherwise, so I’m very glad I have no reason to do that.

Once she was dressed, Ariadne made her way through the little space, only to find that Arthur was busy putting their plates and mugs into the dishwasher. Organization had always been of great importance to him.

She leaned against the counter and looked over at him, crossing her arms. “So. What is this game you apparently got me to agree to?”

When their gazes met, she could tell he seemed quite pleased with himself, which simply piqued her interest even more. “A scavenger hunt.”

Ariadne’s eyebrows went up for a moment. The last time she had done a proper scavenger hunt, she was pretty sure she was in middle school. Surely he’d have them doing more than digging up the school playground, but it still seemed rather odd of a request. “What are we going to do? Go find the oldest building? Look for the giant landmark? Discover a park or fifteen?” She stopped after a moment, knowing better than to go on amusing herself when he probably had an actual idea.

"I was thinking of something a little more advanced than that." His lips continued to twitch into that knowing little smirk that left her guessing. Though, right now, it caused her to incline her head even more skeptically as he closed the dishwasher and went to grab his jacket form the coat rack. "Don’t look at me as if I’m speaking gibberish. I thought you were supposed to be the mistress of the labyrinth or something to that extent."

Her gaze turned rather murderous, but when she rounded on him, it was clear she wasn’t truly angry. Arthur had said it on purpose since he knew that, while she had no issues with her namesake, and held some similarities to the mythological woman, the architect felt that the comments about her name got old when she was about fifteen. “I’m going to get you for that.” Even as she said it, she went to grab her own jacket and stick her arms in properly.

Opening the door, she looked over her shoulder. “Come on, Dionysus. This may be your game, but the mazes don’t have all day.” She flashed him a cheeky grin, watching as understanding registered on his face.

Soon enough, they were out the door and had left her apartment complex. Upon arriving at the bottom, however, she realized that she couldn’t go anywhere since she didn’t know what to look for, and so he maintained the upper hand, despite her earlier impatience.

"What are we looking for?"

Arthur shook his head and pulled out a notecard, handing it to her.

"A riddle? Seriously? I’m not a sphinx."

"Just read it," he was smiling.

She sighed, nodding. In fact, Ariadne had already done so. But she hadn’t read it carefully, nor had she understood what it meant, so she glanced back down and read it once more.

A hint was better than nothing at all, but it was still just a hint, and so she didn’t know exactly what to look for or where to go. After a few moments, an idea struck her, and she thought of a place somewhat near the architecture school from which she had now graduated. It was a café where she sometimes went if she had a large break between classes, and she remembered Arthur popping up there on a few occasions to surprise her.

They made it there and she turned around to face him, looking at him hopefully. “Did I get it right?” He nodded and she grinned, raising her arms victoriously. “Do I get a reward?”

"Something like that," he smiled. "Look around."

She frowned, but still seemed pleased. “I have to work to figure out the place and to find the next hint?”

"Mhmmm," Arthur seemed thoroughly entertained with the whole concept. He was probably patting himself on the back in his head or something.

It took some snooping, but finally, she found another notecard, this one placed on her usual seat when she used to frequent the place. The next riddle was a little more involved, though after some frustrated thinking, she knew what it was and led the way to a restaurant. She figured if she was totally off, Arthur would redirect her before she traipsed through too many arrondissements without needing to do so.

When they arrived at the restaurant where they went on their first official date, she looked down at herself. It was a very formal restaurant, and she was clad in casual wear  Hers, unlike Arthur’s, was clearly not passable for anything dressy.

"Did I get the place right?" He nodded. "But I can’t go in like this."

For some reason, he didn’t seem to care much, instead just smiling at her confusion. Damn man. She never understood what went through his mind.

Suddenly there was a tap on her shoulder, and she whirled around with a faint gasp. The doorman was standing before her, and she eyed him curiously. “Ariadne?”

"That’s me."

"This is for you," he held out a card and she thanked him. When she turned around to ask Arthur what this was all about, she found that he was no longer there. What kind of games was he playing now?

With a frustrated huff, she accepted the fact that he had, in fact, left her, rather than just gone off to the bathroom or something of the sort. Did this mean she was supposed to roam the streets of Paris all on her own with notecards and incredibly well-written riddles as her only guide?

It seemed so.

The next riddle had her stuck for a moment, and she tried to think about where she’d gone so far. It wasn’t until later that she would realize he only had her stop at the café so she could get to the restaurant without seeing the bridge. Arthur knew she still hated that bridge, even if it had been years since Mal’s projection had stabbed her there. But for now, her mind was solely on the riddle.

Their first date was here. Could the riddle relate to their second? No, that didn’t seem to be the case. What about their third? The one where they had gotten it just right.

But nothing in the riddle seemed to relate to the museum… The bakery. Where they had stopped to pick up a little cake before heading to her apartment. Ariadne took off quickly, not wanting to waste time. Her thoughts resembled something similar to a mixture of curses and words of congratulations for the clever point man.

The woman in the bakery greeted Ariadne with a smile. She liked the place and had returned on several occasions, and so her face was familiar. “There’s someone in the restroom. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a minute.”

Ariadne looked up in confusion, about to tell the woman that she didn’t have to use the bathroom, before comprehension dawned on her and she smiled. “Thanks.” Quickly, she made her way over to the little bathroom door, where she found the nice picture frame that rested on it had a notecard peeking out. Of course Arthur would put it there. She remembered making a remark to him about the photograph, and, without fail, he had managed to keep note of that detail, as well.

The next riddle was in the form of a poem. Sine when did Arthur write poetry?

He didn’t. It wasn’t his, but a famous work. Not a well known one, which is what still made it a thought-provoking hint like the rest.

And she pieced it together. The afternoon he had asked her to be his girlfriend. Earlier in the day, they had gone to his preferred park and she had read aloud from the book of poems her mother had sent her, laughing at a few that she didn’t understand.

That park was in a different arrondissement, but she figured if she booked it, she would still have some time. Taking a cab seemed like a waste of the point of exploring right now, in Ariadne’s opinion.

Sure enough, placed under a rock on top of the bench where she had explained her lack of comprehension at the poetry, there was a notecard.

Picking it up, she read rapidly and tried to decipher the message. Something about the color red? That wasn’t helpful; Ariadne’s favorite color was red.

The red thread. This was the second time today he’d referenced her namesake.

But her name was Ariadne and her favorite color was red, and that wasn’t news. So what did the red thread have to do with anything?

Suddenly, she thought she had an idea, and she bit her lip, turning a little pink as she set off to figure out if she was right.

As it turned out, she was. The gift had been a spontaneous one, but it made for an important memory for two reasons. While there were plenty of reasons worth reminiscing, but those that appeared most significant were that she had donned this gift (which, to put things simply, was a very nice set of undergarments) on their four month anniversary, and that it was the next day they had revealed to the rest of the team that they were a couple.

It proved a relief when the note was stuck to the door like a ‘will return later’ sign, preventing her from having to enter the shop. Now didn’t exactly seem like the time to roam around the various shelves and racks of nice fabrics.

When the riddle there mentioned accidents, it didn’t take her long to know what he was inferring. The timing was switched, since this incident had come before the sporting of any gifts from the store which she had just visited, but she suspected it was last because of how important it was. Arthur was always very purposeful in his actions, so there was no way this could be unintentional.

They had gone to stay in a hotel for a night, despite its closeness to her residence, because the idea was fun and they were more spontaneous than anyone might guess. Yet even they couldn’t have predicted that their slight disagreement as they dressed for dinner would lead to Ariadne admitting to being in love with him. Or that he would tell her he felt the same.

Entering George V, she felt out of place, but she ignored the informal look of her scarf and jacket and made her way over to the concierge desk. She was attempting to hold back a chuckle when the lady behind the desk noticed her and held up a notecard. “De rien,” she smiled before turning away and moving to pause in the lobby to read the hint.

The next notecard was the most confusing. On it was an address. Her address.

Was this Arthur’s idea of a joke? He had just sent her all around Paris, fueled solely by riddles and nostalgia, and abandoned her partway, just to guide her back to her apartment? Sure, it had been fun, but this seemed odd.

When she made it to her door, she saw a notecard on the floor in front of the door. Had she really just come up here, only to be redirected? Picking it up, she saw that there was not a riddle, but instructions.

Ready to figure out what the heck he was up to, she unlocked the door and went inside, placing down the notecards she’d collected thus far on the little stand below her coat rack, and keeping the latest one in hand. Doing as it said, she wound her way through the apartment (small, but still a much nicer size than the tiny one she lived in while she was a student).

Taped to her bedroom door, which was suspiciously closed since she never left it that day, was another notecard, wishing her a happy early birthday. Her birthday wasn’t until next week, so she didn’t know what was happening.

Upon opening the door, she didn’t see Arthur, and she didn’t have time to look for another note. Instead, she was distracted by a sudden scurrying at her feet.

A puppy. He had gotten her a puppy.

Ariadne didn’t even attempt to contain her squeal, bending down and getting on her knees to scoop the little animal into her arms. He was adorable and tiny, and she was pretty sure she would never let go of him. The fact that he started to lick her face didn’t help redirect that decision in the least

Hearing laughter behind her, she looked up to see Arthur now leaning in her doorway, a smile on his face.

"You-" she wanted to say something but the puppy was squirming and nuzzling her and it was distracting and way too cute.

Lowering himself down onto the floor beside her, he looked over at the architect and her new pet. “Was it worth the brain power?”

"Absolutely." She was fairly convinced she would never stop smiling, especially knowing how their talk of moving in together and her large desire for a puppy didn’t normally mix together. Now she had a puppy, and Arthur was still here, as happy as ever. "Though I may have skipped memory lane if I had this little guy ahead of time."

He chuckled, “oh I know.” It was true, he knew her well, and she would have gotten too excited to go anywhere or do anything if she knew she was getting a puppy soon.

"Thank you," she smiled, leaning over and kissing him briefly, before once again having her attention stolen by the animal in her arms.

"You are very welcome."