notfaking_it | (no subject)

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kaine

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It isn't so late that the streets are empty, everyone at home and tucked into bed, but it's late enough. The bars are still open, restaurant patios occasionally overflowing with people who, like Lily, aren't yet ready to go home. She's had a few drinks, danced for an hour or so at a club and now she isn't sure what she's looking for. No one in the club held her interest long enough to make her want to invite them home.

She's entertaining going to visit someone, maybe Eames, maybe one of the new friends she's made since her arrival here, but for the moment she stands on the sidewalk, indecisive.

The city's getting under her skin in a way the island never could. It's not New York, but she belongs here more than she ever did there. Even so she can't make herself forget the people left behind, she can't stop thinking about the way they made her feel, the things they did for her. She can't stop thinking about Sawyer and Faye and Jeff. She can't stop thinking about Nina and it's killing her.

"Hey," she says suddenly, turning to a passing stranger. "What time is it?"

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There's always the possibility that he's taking her somewhere she doesn't want to go, somewhere that might be dangerous, but Lily's always been good at reading people and she doubts that's the case. If he'd wanted to hurt her, there were plenty of opportunities before now. He wouldn't have had to sit with her through two drinks to do something like that.

Still, she smiles, looking at the skyline as well, as if she'll be able to figure out where he's taking her.

"Lead the way," she tells him. The streets are emptier now, fewer lights on in the buildings around them.

While I don't mind silence, I imagine that Lily will strike up some sort of conversation and I'd rather keep the topic focused on her more than me. I can come up with only so many lies before it's obvious that I'm lying.

"So, uh, what ballet are you training for now?"

"Giselle," Lily answers, knowing already she's not going to be the lead. Not this time. She's too new and there are other dancers who've put their time in -- whatever that means in a place like this -- but she suspects it won't be long. The dancers here are hardly on par with the girls in New York, which is cruel of her to think, but doesn't make it any less true.

"And then they'll do The Nutcracker around Christmas, as usual," she says, rolling her eyes a little. "And Romeo and Juliet will end the season."

"Giselle. Of course."

Of course I have no fucking idea what Giselle is. I'll have to look that up because I have a feeling I'll be completely lost trying to understand what's going on just by the dancing.

"Wait, there's a ballet season?" I ask, because that makes me wonder if there are ballet playoffs and a ballet championship.

"Mmhmm," Lily says with a nod. "Some are longer than others, but it's usually three or four different shows during one season. Each show has five or six performances." It's a lot of work to get there, a lot of time spent in the studio, practicing and rehearsal, learning choreography or attending physical therapy, but she loves every moment of it.

She pauses, thinking about it, then says, "I'm too new to be considered for the lead this time. But next time will be different." But dancing Bathilde not long after joining the company is impressive enough and she's happy with it.

"I'll come to Giselle," I say.

I was mostly kidding about not coming if she was a minor part, but even I know that's a shitty thing to do. Besides, I could do worse than watching women like Lilly dance around in skin tight clothing for a few hours.

"What happens when a season is over?"

"You don't have to, I know ballet isn't for everyone. But if you do, let me know, I'll make sure you get a comp ticket." That's something she always prefers to do, especially if someone is seeing the ballet for the first time. She's not about to ask someone to shell out the cash it costs for a decent ticket if they don't even know if they'll like it.

Then she smiles and shrugs. "When the season is over, we start all over again. There's usually general rehearsals for a few weeks while the artistic director picks the shows for the new season. Then there will be auditions and more rehearsals."

"I don't mind, it'll be another thing to add to my list of things to do at night."

It will give me something to read up on too, probably one of those normal people know about that I'm just clueless on. I seem to be racking up a lot of those types of subjects.

Getting near the building I'm heading to, I glance around to see just who or what is watching.

"We're just up there," I say, nodding to a building. "You, uh, you might want to turn up your jacket collar and wear your hair over the right side of the face while we walk by the security camera across the street there."

That causes Lily to lift both her eyebrows, but she takes her arm back long enough to do what he's said. The collar doesn't go very high, but she tugs her hair over her shoulder, obscuring the right side of her face. "If whatever we're doing gets me arrested, you better post bail," she tells him, slipping her arm back through his once she's rearranged her hair.

But doing something potentially illegal doesn't bother her much. It certainly won't be the first time.

"They'd never catch us."

I could get us away from any police or security guards that show up, but I don't think that's going to be a problem. The building is an office complex and while they don't want you coming in, it's not like we're going to steal anything while we're there.

I lead us over to one of the loading bays where some metal shutters have blocked off one of the entrances. Pressing my palms to it, I stick myself to it before pulling up. There's the sound of tearing metal before something pops and the shutter slides up, giving us access to the interior of the building.

"There. No cameras inside so we'll be fine."

Lily steps back to watch him a little, her eyebrows going up again as he pulls the metal door open, almost as if it wasn't locked at all. Yet she's sure it was and she glances at it as they go by, wondering how he's done that. He did make mention of superheroes earlier in the evening.

"So I don't have to keep my mask on?" she asks lightly, pushing her hair back over her shoulder again, tilting her head slightly to look at him.

"Nope. Better if you don't. We meet anyone along the way you can just charm them with your smile."

I chose this particular building because I know that the internal security is next to nothing. The security cameras are all on the lobby and in the individual offices, which we're not going to. Another nice feature is that the elevators don't require any key cards.

"We're going all the way up," I tell her as I press the call button for the elevator.

"Now that I know what my role is here, I'll fulfill it to the best of my abilities," she teases, pushing her hands into her pockets as they wait for the elevator. There's no one around, which is nice, and although she still isn't sure which building they're in -- she isn't particularly familiar with places that aren't bars or retail stores -- she's interested to see what's all the way up at the top.

"And now I know you think I can charm people with my smile," she adds, offering him one of her brighter grins.

"I didn't know it was ever in question."

It's definitely one of the better smiles I've ever seen and heaven help anyone she wants to charm into doing something for her. Maybe that's what is happening here with me and I don't even know it. Can't say I mind it too much if that's the case.

The elevator dings and I hold the door open for her before stepping in myself and hitting the button for the top floor.

"Seemed pretty obvious to me."

"Well, sometimes a girl just likes to hear that she's appreciated," she says, leaning back against the wall, watching as the numbers light up, one at a time. "So what's at the top of this building, exactly? Something top secret?" She's only partly teasing, given what she knows about the city itself, what she's learned in her time on the island. There could be practically anything up there, anything at all.

"I, uh, appreciate how much you smile then."

It was a lame compliment but I hope the sincerity of it earns me a few points at least. Not that I know why I want any points or what they can be exchanged for. Maybe I just hope it makes her smile again.

"It is a secret and it is at the top so sure, top secret."

"Okay, okay. I get it. I won't ask again," she says, lifting her hands as she laughs. The closer they get to the top of the building, the more curious she becomes. It's possible he's just taking her up to the roof to see the view, which is probably amazing and is more than enough of a surprise, but there's a chance it's something else.

"I'll just have to wait and see." Although, as she mentioned in the bar, she's not very patient and she begins to shift slightly, her hands clasped behind her back.

The elevator ride isn't particularly long, but I suppose that while you're waiting for a surprise, it might seem much longer, which would explain how antsy she's getting.

"Yeah, I see you've got that patient thing down just fine."

When the elevator stops and the door opens, I lead her down a hallway and to the stairs leading to the roof. The door is locked but a little extra pressure on the lever pops the lock and the door swings open easily.

"Almost there."

Lily watches this all carefully, the way he pops the door open, another one she's fairly sure is locked, but she doesn't comment on that either. There are plenty of things she's done that she knows are illegal and something like this barely even registers. Something like this is still plenty fun.

"Should I close my eyes?" she asks, though she's teasing.

"Uh, yeah, that will probably make it more exciting," I say, reaching out to offer her my hand.

I really hope she isn't expecting too much out of this, because it's not like it's all that spectacular, it was just a whim I had will drinking in a bar. With how impatient she's been I'm pretty sure this is going to be a let down. Well, live and learn.

Lily smiles for a moment before she takes Kaine's hand and closes her eyes at the same time. There are so many things that could go wrong here, so many dangerous possibilities and that, in part, is why she's here. She's always been a little destructive and although it hasn't always turned back on her, lately she feels it much more acutely in that way.

"Don't let me fall," she warns softly.

"I'm not going to let you fall," I say, rolling my eyes. Even if she did fall through some freak accident, I'm probably the most qualified person in the entire city to rescue her.

I lead her by the hand around the rooftop. The wind is annoyingly loud, but that's only a problem for a moment before I lead her into a small alcove.

"There, you can open your eyes," I tell her. "This is one of the few spots in the city where you can look out over the lights that's also sheltered from the wind."

When the wind first hits her, there's a moment where she has to steel herself against it, pressing into it slightly. The wind whips her hair around her face, but then Kaine is leading her across the roof and suddenly the wind is gone.

Opening her eyes, she reaches up to tug her hair out of the way, smoothing it back from her face as she looks out at the view. "Wow," she says, surprised by how it looks up here. It's not New York, but it's been a long time since she's seen a city like this.

This particular spot has a nice view of one of the longer streets, gold and yellow lights snaking through the city like some sort of mechanical serpent. I know it doesn't compare to some city sights, but in this place it's not too bad and the fact that we had to do a little breaking and entering to get here I feel adds to the atmosphere.

"Not too spectacular, but I didn't have time to get a tightrope up here to walk between the buildings or something more amazing."

Lily laughs, the sound a little breathless after the trip they've taken across the roof in the wind, after the drinks she's had. She feels faintly light headed, but in a good way. It's the combination of everything, she thinks. The drinks, the lights, the fact that she's up here with a near stranger who's had to break in to get her up here.

Turning slightly, she presses closer to Kaine and shakes her head. "No, it's amazing," she says.