Stargazing
Aug. 24th, 2018 09:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiveofnone((takes place following the events in this thread))
Rising 150 feet off the ground, Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel is impossible to miss. Doubly so at night, when its entire frame is lit up, its name emblazoned bright red smack dab in the center. Sitting in one of the cabs (a stable, outer cab, not one of the strange inner cabs that slid back and forth because of course humans can’t simply enjoy a ferris wheel as-is), Caspar kept an arm around his girl and his gaze on the view outside.
They were almost to the top, a steady ascent that offered its riders a remarkable view. Caspar peered above; the light pollution drowned out most of the stars, but those that he could see confirmed this world as Earth, the northern hemisphere in the summer to be specific. They were in the same configurations that the humans on Atlantis had already given names. Ursa Major and Minor. Cygnus. Sagittarius.
No moon, but only because it had already set several hours earlier. The moon was quirky like that, appearing pale and dusty in the daytime sky. Funny how that’s conveniently never mentioned in the myths.
Thinking of the moon automatically drew his gaze to Adia. She was taking in the entire night, from the fairgrounds below to the city’s skyline in the distance. “What a beautiful view,” she said with a soft sigh.
“Agreed,” Caspar murmured, but he grinned and kept his eyes on her to make it clear whose beauty he was agreeing to. As if on cue, she blushed and hid her smile against his shoulder. He squeezed her once with the arm he had wrapped around her, drawing her even closer.
The night air had a cool breeze that brought out goosebumps along her bare arms, and he wished that he had thought to bring a jacket to offer her, but having her snuggled against him was a welcome consolation prize. His gaze drifted to the stuffed white bear sitting on the bench opposite them, a signed roller derby helmet preventing it from flopping over. All and all, it had been a perfect day. No crazy Nexus shenanigans, no baleful looks from ignorant humans. Just Harley and her colorful friends showing the two of them a good time.
And now it was only the two of them, up here on top of the world. Adia looked out the window again when the cab reached its peak, but he didn’t turn his gaze from her, not for a moment.
She was brighter and more beautiful than any star.
Sound drifted from the park below, but it was distant and muted. The fairground lights twinkled like faraway stars. She turned to smile at him, and he suddenly felt overwhelmed with the impulse to propose. A promise to be with her for the rest of their lives, to pledge that vow in front of her friends and his family and the gods themselves, if they even gave a damn about that sort of thing.
It was the perfect ending to the perfect day in the perfect place.
“Cas?” Her smile turned curious. Playful. “What’s on your mind?”
He must have looked like an idiot, staring at her as if in a trance, but when he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out.
He couldn’t ask her.
This wasn’t the perfect place after all. It was Earth, but it was Harley’s Earth. Not theirs. Besides, he didn’t have a ring yet. Just his word, and was his word good enough? Had he earned the right yet, to ask? Had he proven himself to her?
To himself?
The wheel started moving again, their cab descending gently back to earth. Caspar swallowed hard and forced himself to smile. “Just thinking about the perfect day we’ve had,” he replied smoothly, leaning in for a kiss.
The wheel jerked with a sudden burst of acceleration. Caspar careened to the side, his head hitting the bench with a loud thwack, but he kept his grip on Adia and cushioned her from the cab’s dangerous momentum. An instant later, the giant ride ground to a halt as the breaking mechanism kicked in. All the lights went out and the cab stopped moving.
“Me and my big stupid mouth,” he muttered to himself.
Adia fussed over him as he sat back up, gently brushing her fingertips over where he had banged his head and peering into his eyes as best she could in the dim light. “Caspar, honey, that sounded awful. Are you okay?”
Her eyes were wide and worried and full of love. The impulse to propose returned so forcefully that he had to bite the inside of his cheek to stifle it.
“I’m all right.” He checked himself for damage; there was no concussion, only a dull pain above his temple that might turn into a headache later. He ran his hand over the bench and smirked at the noticeable dent from where his his head had made impact. “I hurt the Wonder Wheel more than it hurt me.”
“I think it was already hurting,” Adia said worriedly. Down below, an emergency crew of repair workers was already on the scene, fussing over the controls and speaking heatedly with the operator. She grabbed her stuffed bear, which had fallen to the floor, and gave it an anxious squeeze. “It looks like we’re stuck.”
Caspar snorted in amusement. “Not for very long.” He pulled out his PINpoint, but Adia shook her head.
“We can’t just disappear. The operator knows that all the cabs are filled, he’s going to freak out if one comes down that’s empty.”
“I’m sure he’s seen far weirder shit. This is Harley’s Earth, remember?” Adia pursed her lips, clearly unconvinced. He sighed and pulled her into another embrace, stuffed bear and all. “I’ll text Harley to tell the operator that we found an alternate way off the ride. Is that better?”
She hugged him back, bear squished between them, and rewarded him with a kiss. “Yes, that’s much better.” She leaned over to retrieve the signed helmet, then curled back up in his arms. “It really was a perfect day, wasn’t it? We should come back here sometime.”
Yes, they should. All in all, he liked Coney Island. But it wasn’t the right place to propose.
Next time, he’d be better prepared.
Rising 150 feet off the ground, Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel is impossible to miss. Doubly so at night, when its entire frame is lit up, its name emblazoned bright red smack dab in the center. Sitting in one of the cabs (a stable, outer cab, not one of the strange inner cabs that slid back and forth because of course humans can’t simply enjoy a ferris wheel as-is), Caspar kept an arm around his girl and his gaze on the view outside.
They were almost to the top, a steady ascent that offered its riders a remarkable view. Caspar peered above; the light pollution drowned out most of the stars, but those that he could see confirmed this world as Earth, the northern hemisphere in the summer to be specific. They were in the same configurations that the humans on Atlantis had already given names. Ursa Major and Minor. Cygnus. Sagittarius.
No moon, but only because it had already set several hours earlier. The moon was quirky like that, appearing pale and dusty in the daytime sky. Funny how that’s conveniently never mentioned in the myths.
Thinking of the moon automatically drew his gaze to Adia. She was taking in the entire night, from the fairgrounds below to the city’s skyline in the distance. “What a beautiful view,” she said with a soft sigh.
“Agreed,” Caspar murmured, but he grinned and kept his eyes on her to make it clear whose beauty he was agreeing to. As if on cue, she blushed and hid her smile against his shoulder. He squeezed her once with the arm he had wrapped around her, drawing her even closer.
The night air had a cool breeze that brought out goosebumps along her bare arms, and he wished that he had thought to bring a jacket to offer her, but having her snuggled against him was a welcome consolation prize. His gaze drifted to the stuffed white bear sitting on the bench opposite them, a signed roller derby helmet preventing it from flopping over. All and all, it had been a perfect day. No crazy Nexus shenanigans, no baleful looks from ignorant humans. Just Harley and her colorful friends showing the two of them a good time.
And now it was only the two of them, up here on top of the world. Adia looked out the window again when the cab reached its peak, but he didn’t turn his gaze from her, not for a moment.
She was brighter and more beautiful than any star.
Sound drifted from the park below, but it was distant and muted. The fairground lights twinkled like faraway stars. She turned to smile at him, and he suddenly felt overwhelmed with the impulse to propose. A promise to be with her for the rest of their lives, to pledge that vow in front of her friends and his family and the gods themselves, if they even gave a damn about that sort of thing.
It was the perfect ending to the perfect day in the perfect place.
“Cas?” Her smile turned curious. Playful. “What’s on your mind?”
He must have looked like an idiot, staring at her as if in a trance, but when he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out.
He couldn’t ask her.
This wasn’t the perfect place after all. It was Earth, but it was Harley’s Earth. Not theirs. Besides, he didn’t have a ring yet. Just his word, and was his word good enough? Had he earned the right yet, to ask? Had he proven himself to her?
To himself?
The wheel started moving again, their cab descending gently back to earth. Caspar swallowed hard and forced himself to smile. “Just thinking about the perfect day we’ve had,” he replied smoothly, leaning in for a kiss.
The wheel jerked with a sudden burst of acceleration. Caspar careened to the side, his head hitting the bench with a loud thwack, but he kept his grip on Adia and cushioned her from the cab’s dangerous momentum. An instant later, the giant ride ground to a halt as the breaking mechanism kicked in. All the lights went out and the cab stopped moving.
“Me and my big stupid mouth,” he muttered to himself.
Adia fussed over him as he sat back up, gently brushing her fingertips over where he had banged his head and peering into his eyes as best she could in the dim light. “Caspar, honey, that sounded awful. Are you okay?”
Her eyes were wide and worried and full of love. The impulse to propose returned so forcefully that he had to bite the inside of his cheek to stifle it.
“I’m all right.” He checked himself for damage; there was no concussion, only a dull pain above his temple that might turn into a headache later. He ran his hand over the bench and smirked at the noticeable dent from where his his head had made impact. “I hurt the Wonder Wheel more than it hurt me.”
“I think it was already hurting,” Adia said worriedly. Down below, an emergency crew of repair workers was already on the scene, fussing over the controls and speaking heatedly with the operator. She grabbed her stuffed bear, which had fallen to the floor, and gave it an anxious squeeze. “It looks like we’re stuck.”
Caspar snorted in amusement. “Not for very long.” He pulled out his PINpoint, but Adia shook her head.
“We can’t just disappear. The operator knows that all the cabs are filled, he’s going to freak out if one comes down that’s empty.”
“I’m sure he’s seen far weirder shit. This is Harley’s Earth, remember?” Adia pursed her lips, clearly unconvinced. He sighed and pulled her into another embrace, stuffed bear and all. “I’ll text Harley to tell the operator that we found an alternate way off the ride. Is that better?”
She hugged him back, bear squished between them, and rewarded him with a kiss. “Yes, that’s much better.” She leaned over to retrieve the signed helmet, then curled back up in his arms. “It really was a perfect day, wasn’t it? We should come back here sometime.”
Yes, they should. All in all, he liked Coney Island. But it wasn’t the right place to propose.
Next time, he’d be better prepared.
