tampered | (no subject)

When; Monday afternoon
Rating; G, ongoing.
Characters; Heine [

streugott] and Lily [

remaneo]
Summary; The two meet before the Carousel.
Log;

Closer, closer and closer still.

The closer you one got to the Carousel, the louder the strange melody it played became. It was something akin to a carnival, something that you would associate with bright lights, smiling faces and cotton candy. But this? This one was different. The area was almost barren save for the people who reminded her of stray dogs that were desperately searching out their owners; they were on the trail, they were always on the trail, but it always seemed to fall short.

It was cruel.

But there was Lily seated upon the back of one of the porcelain horses, humming along with the merry tune that ripped free of the carousel's heart. It was on the last note of the song, however, that she fluttered her lids open and met a familiar face and did little more than stare. How long had it been since then?

Since she was killed.

As the music started up a second time; it was an endless melody, something like the song that never ended but much more haunting, Lily lowered herself off of the platform and stood her ground. To run to him now, she didn't know what she would do if he disappeared or if he stayed. To run to him now, she didn't know what she would do if the dog actually decided to bite.

A smile, though tentative, was all the man was given.

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“Lily...!” Heine breathed, catching sight of her familiar visage. The streets were not as crowded around the carousel. Seeing Lily sitting on the porcelain horses seemed to ease and excite Heine all at the same time. He continued walking towards her, her face beckoning him like a lighthouse.

But his steps were stopped when the loud thumping vibrated through his ears. He looked away from her for a while to breath, to rest on his knees, to pretend he was out of breath, but most importantly, to keep the dog out. This was his meeting, not the beasts. When he had regained his composure, he took one last deep breath, and hoped for the best.

He took one step, two step, red step, fool’s step.

“It’s...been a while,” said Heine, meeting her from where she had stepped off the carousel. The melancholic music of the carousel played in the background as his mouth trembled into a grim smile.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Really, the incessant ticking of the clock didn't bother her as much anymore, it was one of the many quirks she had become familiar with while living in the city. The music, the clock, the dreams and the nightmares; they were the basic foundation for this twisted little heaven. She would definitely have to fill him in on the yay and the nay of the place, but that would have to be later.

Reaching both hands up she touched either side of his face, eyes squinting as if they were searching, searching, searching. Whatever she had, in fact, been searching for she apparently found. Not two seconds later, her pallid face erupted into a smile and she reclaimed one hand while gingerly brushing the other against his cheek.

He wasn't disappearing this time, the dog was on his leash.

"You're really here.."

“Lily...” Heine trailed off, chewing his lower lip when he felt the quickened beating of his heart against his ribcage. The metallic taste of his own blood was enough soothe his nerves, but it wasn’t enough to stop the sudden outbreak of sweat. His neck tickled as the soft touch of Lily’s hands caressed his cheek. Shamefully, he looked away.

“I’m. Sorry,” he choked out mechanically. The words bounced off his tongue like something synthetic, something like metal. It was unlike Heine to say such words because most of the time, the words he spoke were nothing short of necessary.

But when he saw that smile, it made him look down at his feet. His lips curled before muttering a low, “I thought I should apologize.”

The ticking of the clock and the constant shuffling of people passing by mingled with the tune of the carousel before fading out into the distant. It had been a while. A while that should never have happen. He wanted to shut his eyes and cry, but such an act was unbecoming of him. And he was afraid the dog would bite.

"I thought that, you know?" Lily began after taking a couple of steps back, reclaiming the remaining hand to let it drop back to her side. "That it wouldn't be good for you to see me here now. I wasn't right, huh?" The only thing she had wanted, the only thing she had thought about; it was here, but now? He couldn't even look at her. No, she didn't forget, she could never forget but he was the last person in the world that she blamed.

"Heine.."

Opting to keep her distance for the time being she turned her attention elsewhere, showing him her back, to point off in the opposite direction. "It isn't the Buon Viaggio but there's a nice little café over there. Some coffee, it'd probably do you some good right about now." She nodded to herself, humming quietly, as she linked her hands back behind her back and proceeded to walk ahead of him to lead the way.

In short? She wasn't taking no for an answer.

Heine looked even more dejected when he saw Lily’s disappointment in him. The quilt trickled down from his heart and pooled down in his stomach. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but he thought it a fit punishment for his sins. However, that feeling of not being able to answer Lily’s words after such a long period of time made him feel sick.

All he could do was answer with a low, “Okay,” as she took him by the hand and when she did, he felt a great confusion of new feelings well up inside him. One was shame, the other was glee, and the rest...He didn’t feel like thinking about the rest. Heine followed Lily as she led him through the city, taking in the new scenery.

Lily gave his hand another squeeze, something like a second brush of reassurance. Disappoint? It was the very last thing she felt at that moment, if even at all. It was only after she had carefully laced their fingers together that she glanced over a shoulder at him and shot him up a smile. Calm and easy-going, but with a worried edge. "Do you like coffee? It's been so long," she began in a slightly apologetic tone. "So long that I can't really remember. I'm sorry."

When the quaint café came into view Lily paused her stride and released his hand, nodding towards it. "It's one of the only things in the city that look like that, it almost reminds me of home. The owner is really nice, he doesn't ask questions." Questions. They weren't ever a good thing to ask around here. People were not always eager to speak up about their homes, let alone about their pasts but even so, it didn't stop some people from attempting to pry.

Café Juliet. It was a safe haven in a sense, from the wicked.