Roll away your stone, I'll roll away mine

[build]

Characters: Ariadne (build), Arthur (aloadeddie) & Costigan (lostundercover)
Date: backdated to before the event
Location: Ariadne's place (Earth Sector)
Situation: Ariadne is SICK of the men being dinks to each other and she figures they all should talk.
Warnings/Rating: Um…Ariadne rambling, Arthur being a dink as always and maybe Costigan cursing…other than that, I don't think there is much. (I shall update if need be though)


Ariadne knows - well, assumes to know – that this whole planned get together of hers, might actually be a big mistake on her part (she’s dealing with two grown ass stubborn men here). But she was sick of having to constantly explain things vaguely to Costigan, and she sure as hell was sick of knowing that there was this tension between the two men that she couldn't seem to fix no matter how much she asked them to try.

So she just tried to push away any of her underlying concerns and sighed, knowing that this was for the best as she stared down at her cup of tea that was now idly stirring. "He should be here soon." She casually spoke glancing up towards Arthur who was just earshot of her, doing god knows what (she didn't feel the need to question most of his actions lately). "I can start dinner then." Well attempt to start it, but that obviously was going to be left unsaid, so she just faintly shrugged and offered him a faint smile instead.

She was thankful he/they had agreed to this, knowing that Arthur was going to be putting a lot of trust in Costigan here, and she could only assume that wasn't easy for him. "Thank you for doing this by the way." She added with a sigh as she set her spoon down on the table and pushed herself away from the table, making her way towards the window to watch for the other man she assumed would be arriving soon.

Comments

[lostundercover]

"I'm fine," he replies automatically. Yet even when he takes a moment for his mind to catch up with his mouth, he feels no reason to correct his reply. Costigan's not here to eat, even knowing Ariadne insisted upon doing dinner, even though he hasn't eaten. He wants to know what the hell's going on.

The undercover steps inside and glances around, pleased not to see Arthur but still confident that he's there somewhere. It's not like Ariadne was making an excuse to get him alone. That much he knows for certain. "Where's Arthur?"

[build]

Ariadne couldn't help but furrow her brow as she found herself watching Costigan with interest, simply wanting to see if she could find any sign of concern from him (aside from his annoyance with Arthur) before she sighed, her nose crinkling as she shut and locked the door behind them.

"He's in the kitchen." she admitted with a small shrug of her shoulder. "I can't exactly cook much beyond a sandwich and soups." which she wasn't exactly proud of admitting, but she at least hoped that would explain what she thought Arthur would be doing when they found him.

"He is going to be fine though, I promise." she quietly added letting her expression soften as she stopped to look up at Costigan, hoping he could see the sincerity in her eyes. She wants this to work, she really does.

[aloadeddie]

"We'll go under first," Arthur said, choosing that moment to walk into the room, wiping his hands on a towel. "If you don't like what you see, you can leave. Or you can stay, have dinner with us, and talk about it."

His demeanor was crisp, professional, calm. A carefully neutral expression and tone of voice.

[lostundercover]

Costigan was concerned more with getting out of this situation alive than with anything else at the moment. He frowned when she mentioned Arthur's presence in the kitchen, but he gave a nod and willed his expression back to neutrality as she continued. The undercover was just moving forward toward the kitchen when Arthur emerged and he froze, looking immediately to the man, wondering how, exactly, this was supposed to go.

"That's it? No explanation, nobody guard? How do I know you aren't going to just fuckin'.. murder me and bury the body?" He knew death didn't last here, but that didn't mean it was a pleasant experience.

[build]

The moment Arthur enters the room; she is turning her attention to him briefly, offering him a faint smile, glad to see that he isn't trying to outright piss off the other man (hopefully). But the smile doesn't last long, as she can't help but frown at Costigan's words, turning her attention to him with a furrowed brow and a shake of her head.

"Do you honestly think I would be part of that?" she asks, letting her frown deepen, as she obviously is aware of the fact that Costigan only knows a small amount about her - most of which she has been very vague about - so she can see some reason for the statement.

"No one is getting hurt here, Billy." she quickly adds, trying to put him at ease as her expression softens. "It's how I learned about this world." she shrugs, reaching out for Costigan to hopefully guide him towards the kitchen. "It's a hard thing to explain, you might as well just see it for yourself."

And she leaves it at that (for now) hoping that Arthur is going to be able to explain some more of the details, as she had always known he was a great teacher when it came to this whole thing.

[aloadeddie]

Arthur is almost offended at the idea, but he snorts and shakes his head. "Right, because murdering you in cold blood is exactly how I intend to keep a low profile. Even assuming you would stay dead, it would only create a bigger mess for me to deal with."

Either this guy is even more paranoid than Arthur already knew, or he's a very bad judge of character - or both. Anyone who's known Arthur for more than five minutes knows he isn't the kind of person to just kill people. For practicality's sake, and the simple fact that he just doesn't like it.

"I designed the dream. Ariadne will be the subject. Her subconscious is... easier to deal with than mine. You'll just be along for the ride. A five-minute nap, then dinner. Or you can keep thinking I plan to kill you and walk out. Your call."

[lostundercover]

Costigan looks to Ariadne at her question, scowling slightly but not answering. It's a silent way of admitting that he's not sure, but wants to believe her. When she's finished speaking, his gaze returns to meet Arthur's indignation. The undercover recognizes that for what it is and is almost grateful to see it painted on the man's expression.

"Sure, yeah. Okay. What do I do?"

[build]

"Just sleep." she quickly said towards Costigan, letting her voice go a bit chipper as her eyes suddenly lit up at the idea of going under. She knows that this whole situation was a bit uncomfortable, but it was always going to be a thrill to her to go into a place where she could manipulate things to her liking, and she hoped that Costigan could pick up on her excitement as she offered him a small smile, nodding her head just ahead of her so he could follow them into the other room to set up.

"And I'm expecting you to play nice with my subconscious, Arthur." she easily added with a tease as she glance up at him. "it might be a bit moody with your design after all." complete and utter bullshit, sure. But it was only said in a way to try to lighten the mood for them and ease some of the tension.

[aloadeddie]

"Hey, you're better at designing mazes than I am, your subconscious will probably be bored silly," Arthur said lightly, waving Costigan over to the couch as he opened up the silver briefcase and double-checked the dosages were in place, priming the pump and setting the timer.

He handed Ariadne her line and Costigan's both - Arthur figured Costigan would have an easier time dealing with it if it was her hooking him up, rather than Arthur.

[lostundercover]

Costigan frowned. He knew that this was a bad idea, full of too many risks, but he also knew this wasn't the first time he'd gone all in with his life for the potential greater good and probably wouldn't be the last either, if he was being honest. Despite his clear anxiety and discomfort, he followed Ariadne and then took a seat on the couch when it seemed like the right thing to do, saying nothing and mostly ignoring their banter. He listened to it and filed it away for later, but it was completely irrelevant to his current predicaments and he had no intention to waste time on dwelling on their inside jokes.

Instead, he sat silently, watching them both, trying to memorize the appearance of the briefcase both inside and out, waiting for his turn.

[build]

Ariadne simply rolled her eyes, letting a spark amusement shine in her eyes at the idea of it all, before she was taking hers and Costigan's lines and moving towards him, letting a warm, hopefully reassuring smile spread across her face.

"That's…" she started nodding in the direction of the PASIV. "the PASIV - it's going to bring us all into the dream together." She quietly pointed out, toying with the lines in her hands as she searched Costigan's eyes for any hint of concern he might have. She knows this is all a bit sudden, and possibly a bit alarming to someone that doesn't know all the details. But hopefully he knew that she wouldn't have even suggested this route unless she thought it would help.

"And these…" she held up the lines in her hands, shrugging her shoulder as she took a seat next to him. "These, if you'll let me, I'll just insert into our veins and it will send a compound – the one you were looking to get replicated – into our bloodstream and that will bring put us under."

She knows it's not the best explanation, and she is truly sorry about it, and can’t help but look apologetic about that part as she goes to roll up her sleeve to start inserting the needle into her own skin. "Arthur will take care of the rest, and I'll be there when you wake up inside."

[aloadeddie]

Arthur just gave a glance to Ariadne as she talked - she was good at this, he noted absently. Well, he knew she was good at the dream sharing stuff, but she'd be really good at sweet-talking potential or reluctant clients, if she put some thought into it.

She already had the wide-eyed innocent thing down pat, of course, and Arthur knew most of it was genuine. But that didn't mean it couldn't be used to their advantage, if necessary.

Expertly, he set the timer, sitting back to insert his own needle. He's done it so many times before, it's second nature to him by now. "Let me know when you're ready," he says, the statement directed at one or both of them at the same time.

[lostundercover]

Ariadne would be able to see very little aside from concern in his eyes. His muscles tensed when he saw the lines with the needles on the ends, because it only seemed to reveal greater and greater risk. He gave a single nod as she began feeding the needle into her own skin, then shifted his attention to Arthur again, waiting for his own turn with the measure of stress inside of him only growing.

Watching the other man fiddle with the machine and then insert his own needle, Costigan felt only vaguely reassured. At least it seemed less likely that they had any intention to kill him than he believed when first arriving, but it was hardly familiar territory.

After a beat, he looked back to Ariadne. The Bostonian slowly slid off his jacket, laying it on the arm of the couch where he intended to lay back, able to protect it from prying hands. Then he offered his arm out toward Ariadne, studying her expression and searching for the reassurance that she kept offering.