batmanschmatman | 018 [audio]

[They just cleared the train and Ariadne could hear the roar of it in her ears, just behind her as she kept her eyes shut while it passed, not even quite aware he was talking to her or even that he'd saved her. Her hand almost immediately found its way to his elbow, anchoring her as she worked on breathing.

Between her gasping breaths:] I can't do... this.

[She'd said something similar after being stabbed by Mal, of seeing what Cobb's subconscious could do to her.]

[He squeezed her shoulders, his voice calm and controlled. The important thing in this sort of situation was to stay calm yourself, give the other person something to anchor themselves with, and between his training and practical use between things like fear toxin and detox, he was pretty used to doing just this.] It's okay, just take deep - Just keep breathing. It's okay. You're safe. Just keep focused on me, okay? You can do this, I know you can. Just take it easy.

[She thought about telling him that she'd meant the Barge, that she couldn't do the Barge anymore. It seemed to be clearly having an effect on her ability to distinguish between dreams and reality. But, she forced herself to listen to Dick and her other hand struggled away from her pocket to his on her shoulder. Breathe in, breathe out. ]

[Dick smiled slightly, squeezing her shoulders reassuringly.] See, you're okay. Everything's going to be fine.

[Of course, he wasn't thinking of the more long term stuff, but even if he had, he'd be saying the same thing.]

[Ariadne finally pried her eyelids open, feeling a little better for the shoulder squeeze. Her breath still continued to come quickly and she thought she saw some spots out of the corners of her eyes. And the rapid nodding that followed didn't help much. Things were going to be fine.

Stop thinking about trains, because if she didn't have a phobia of them before, one was rapidly developing.]

[His smile got wider as she opened her eyes, giving her another couple beats to try and get things under control, gently putting a hand against her cheek to try and get her to stop nodding. That was a great way to just feel more dizzy when you were already hyperventilating.] Take it easy. How do you feel?

[The touch on her cheek kept her from nodding as she focused on his touch. Her mind told her it was time to start taking things into account. 1) The train didn't hit her and they weren't on the couch anymore. She certainly didn't do anything so that mean that Dick had gotten her out of the way. 2) She'd mentioned wanting to be woken up and she'd been working on not mentioning dream sharing to him. 3) ...his hands were a little cold, but that was pretty okay. 4) She needed to breathe properly, as the lightheadedness was starting.]

I'm... I'm okay.

Good. Just keep breathing. [He was going to sit here with her until he was sure she was okay, since hyperventilating and passing out was definitely not fun - something he knew from experience - and when you were this freaked out, it was helpful to have another person sitting there with you helping you through it. He did, however, move his hand back down to her shoulder.]

[Ariadne was about to nod again before she realized that that's why his hand had been on her cheek. She closes her eyes again to work on slowing her breaths. And they did gradually. After a minute, the architect opened her eyes again and offered a quiet smile.]

...thanks.

[He returned the smile with one of his own and leaned over to retrieve the notebook and pen, which were both dumped on the ground from the dive for safety, returning to the architect's side with a sheepish smile.]

Sorry. Just in Ba- ... you know.

[He looked at her in concern, brow furrowed slightly.] Seriously, what's wrong?

[The "Ba-" caught her attention and wanted to comment on it but his question caught her a little off-guard.]

Trains. I'm seeing trains. I was... once I was in a car that was hit by a train. I don't... I don't like trains.

[She really hadn't minded them before, but after being introduced to Cobb and his slight obsession with trains, not to mention this flood now, she didn't like them so much.

That and she feels like she's going absolutely mental.]

I'd say that's totally fair.

[His tone was sympathetic, and his next question was written down, since it involved a noun directly. The question itself was sort of just curiosity, since it seemed like a bit of a jump between the two.]

Why did you say it was a Batelephant?

[Ariadne shifted her weight a little.]

Because it means I don't have to think about trains.

[And she'd been a little out of sorts for most of the day.]

[He nodded, opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again, smiling sheepishly.]

This is really annoying.

[Ariadne quietly reached for one of his hands.]

I won't be offended. Don't worry about it.

[He chuckled a little awkwardly. He still wasn't planning on actually letting his guard down, but this was starting to wander into the "Gee Grayson, probably should have thought this through a little better" territory.]

It's just embarrassing.

[Ariadne tilted her head a little to the side. She really didn't want him to feel awkward or embarrassed, especially when she'd just thrown herself and him to dodge an invisible train. She tucked some hair behind her ear and asked:] More embarrassing then freaking out over something no one else can see?

[He shrugged, grinning at that. He would have preferred elaborating and saying that no, it wasn't embarrassing for her to act that way if the Barge was screwing around with her, but unfortunately his own new trick made it hard to elaborate.]

Maybe not. But you were freaked out. That's normal.

[Clipping his sentences was starting to get really annoying.]

[Ariadne stared at Dick quietly, trying to figure out what was going on. She could sense some of the frustration and annoyance, but felt like there was some kind of wall up between them. A guard that she hadn't seen before. Sure, she knew that she hadn't been overwhelmingly open and honest with him, but it was strange seeing it from him; the architect thought that he'd been pretty open with her up until this point.

She thought back to Eames's conversation. He had a trust system built in place to prevent his trust from being broken. The architect not so much. After all, she'd trusted Cobb, Arthur, and all of them within a moment's notice. Well, okay, Cobb had taken some time, considering the fact that his subconscious had stabbed her in the gut.

Maybe she could tell Dick. Maybe she could really, truly trust him. The rational side of her mind, though, reminded her that Eames had a 3-month system and she'd known Dick for a little over one.]

You can use... [she gestured to the notebook quietly.]

[Dick was used to lying to people on a regular basis, or at least not telling them the whole truth. And already on the Barge, there were almost too many people who knew already. Besides the people who'd known about Tim or Steph because they'd been here longer, apparently he was a better known figure in some universes, and people were putting it together too quickly. Not to mention he'd told Costigan, and that was... weird. He still didn't know if the inmate believed him, and it was still hard to shake the idea that knowing his identity could endanger the people he told, or prove to be something they could use against him, so for now, he was staying quiet. It was hard, and he felt kind of like a jerk, but in his mind it was necessary and something he was actually used to.

He squeezed her hand gently before picking up the notebook again.]

Thanks.

[He scribbled down his next questions before holding it up to show her.]

You're sure you're okay? Do you need me to get you Batanything?

[Ariadne waited for his decision quietly, wondering if he would pick up the notebook or if he would speak with her plainly. She kept her gaze fixed on him and when he squeezed her hand, the architect smiled and nodded. It was okay. When he held up the notebook, she reached out for the pen with a yet brighter smile.]

[He raised an eyebrow wondering what she was up to, but handed the pen and notebook over without complaint, laughing quietly. He was willing to play along so long as she was.]

[Ariadne accepted the pen and wrote neatly, in her usual all caps, considering she was an architecture students. Her handwriting was almost completely without ornament and feminine flourishes.]

I'm okay. Really. I might have some trouble sleeping tonight is all.

[And held out the notebook for him.]

[He shrugged, nodding, taking back the pen and notebook back to write his own response.]

Holy insomnia, I think that's fair. Do you need me to do Batanything?

[He wasn't really sure there would be anything he could do, but he wanted to offer. Having something productive to do and help someone else out was what gave him focus, and he was sort of lacking in that at the moment, outside of dropping off some ibuprofen to his echolocating inmate.]

[Ariadne looked at the notebook and considered his question. She knew she had bags sitting in the kitchen and those doubts still remained. She reached for the notebook and pen, a question in her expression.]

Re: Spaaaam (Wheeee!)

Spaaaam

Re: Spaaaam - TAKE DEEP BATBREATHS. :|

Spaaaam - HE'S GETTING BETTER ABOUT NOT SAYING STUFF :|

Re: Spaaaam - YOU MEAN. BATSTUFF.

Spaaaam - ... Yes. I did. :|

Re: Spaaaam - <3

Spaaaam - <3!

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