Once upon a Carnival [Max] x

[div style="width:300px;"]Dear Max,
Have you ever been to Billycrux and Boomslang’s Wandering Extravaganza? I went once when I was a kid and have many fond memories. I'm sure you've already heard that they've set up and opened to the public for December?
Fancy coming along with me? I can meet you in London or Hogsmeade and we can Portkey together, or I can meet you there, whatever's easiest.
Let me know if you're interested,
Dieter
x[/div]

He'd been half expecting a polite decline, or even to be completely ignored. Cute outings weren't really their thing, or at least it hadn't been yet. They'd done drunken hookups and semi-drunken hookups... and to start with that was all that Dieter had wanted, but then he'd started to think about other possibilities - meals out or nice walks. Dates. He'd been thinking about asking Max out, properly, for a while, but each time had chickened out. But when he saw the advert to the Carnival-Circus, it was Max who he thought of. And then kept thinking of. And eventually he gave in and just sent the owl.

And just a day later, he was apparating from Edinburgh to Hogsmeade to meet Max there and portkey together to the Carnival. Dieter was trying hard to play it cool as he arrived, spotting Max waiting for him as he rounded a cobbled corner in the Scottish wizarding town and greeting the younger man with a wave. Inside, though, he felt like a kid. An excitement that he'd had when he visited the Carnival as a child had settled in his stomach. He was already longing for the nostalgia of it all, along with the fresh excitement of experiencing it anew with Max. Maybe that was sappy, but he honestly didn't care.

"Hey," he said, a little awkwardly as he neared the auror. Up till now in their dynamic, he'd been the confident one. The one calling the shots who knew exactly what they were doing. Right now he felt like a schoolboy on a first date. Did Max even see this as a date? Merlin, why did he have such butterflies? "You look nice," he added with a smile, "Ready?"

When Max got the owl from Dieter, the young auror didn't really know what to do. On one hand, he was thrilled that Dieter wanted to spend time with him outside of the bedroom or a bar, but at the time, it felt... too date-ish. Not that Max didn't mind, because he was quite a romantic at heart. He had pushed the letter aside to the corner of his desk, folded up neatly for a moment when he could take a response, and went back to work. It was later that evening that Dieter would get a slightly cigarette-smelling letter back from the auror.

Dieter,
I've never been, but I'll be happy to go. Let's meet in Hogsmeade
and then go together? Is that okay with you? Let me know when.
--Max

Did that mean, as Max stood in Hogsmeade the day of their planned meeting, that this was now a date? Did Dieter want to take it further? If he did, that would mean he'd have to end it with the people he was seeing. While the younger man was okay with that, another part told him he didn't want it. He enjoyed the one night stands, the casual flings and especially the work place shenanigans that he had started. It made him feel free, feel alive. He pondered about his relationship with Dieter; they had multiple stints together, generally drinking and ending up in a bed somewhere, but this? This was different.

He had wanted to pull out a cigarette and light it, take his time to savor the cheap but delicious flavor of tobacco but Dieter had arrived. He gave a smirk at the older man and looked down at his own clothes; jeans, boots and his infamous leather jacket. This time, though, the old piece of leather had pockets charmed to keep fingers warm in the snow. He wasn't sure how cold it was going to be at the carnival, but Max didn't care. He had a feeling there'd be alcohol and, obviously, Dieter could always take care of his, well, coolness.

"Thanks," he finally replied, his eyes turning upwards to meet Dieter. Man, this man was attractive. Max hated it. He held out his hand for the older man, lacing their fingers once Dieter took it and tugged him a bit towards the portkey, "Let's go. When we get there, I wanna smoke, though. I really need it."

Not that Dieter needed to know he went through a half pack in the last twelve hours.

Dieter let Max take his hand with a grin, letting the younger man tug him towards the portkey. "Oh so you smoke before sex too!" he teased, actually looking forward to spending some time getting to know the other man. Once they got to the portkey there were a few others already waiting. Dieter wrapped one arm around Max's waist, touching the object with his other hand and flashing the other man a smile. It hid his apprehension. He hated portkeys. Since his late teens, he'd become proficient in long-distance apparation. Portkeys surrendered control. There was no way to back out from them or alter the direction. They could send them anywhere - drop them in the middle of an ocean, or into a large cage with anti-apparation enchantments. It wasn't just paranoia, Dieter had used a similar trick himself once to corner a mark. He took a deep breath, telling himself that this was perfectly safe and nothing bad would happen, but the waiting was agonising. He had to physically stop himself from pulling his hand away at the last second.

Eventually the portkey sprang to life and the familiar and ghastly feeling of being hooked at the bellybutton and sucked through a spaghetti-strainer overwhelmed him. He held tightly onto Max, wincing as the experience quickly came to an end and they were deposited on the edge of the Carnival. He took a moment to steady himself, trying not to outwardly show the effect that the mode of transport had had on him, and then flashed Max a grin. "So, you mentioned a smoke?" His hand was already diving into the pocket of his double-brested Russian-military-style jacket, fingers curling around the pack of black Russian cigarettes that he found there. The temptation was also to suggest a drink, but he didn't want to fall into the same pattern as his previous times with Max - booze and fooling around. He wanted to actually enjoy the other man's company and enjoy the fair's attractions together. "The circus show will be later.. so maybe we can look around the fair first? Try a few games? Eat some sugary crap?" He grinned, that childlike enthusiasm returning to his features.

Max gave Dieter a little wink as they walked, chuckling, "You'll never know my secrets," the auror teased. He smoked any chance he could get; in honesty, he was probably a chain smoker. It wasn't really his fault that cigarettes were absolutely toxic deliciousness. He squeezed Dieter's hand and chuckled, "but let's get there and then you can ask me all sorts of pressing questions. I promise I'll try to answer them as truthfully as I possibly can," he grinned. They arrived at the portkey, and the slighter man allowed Dieter to pull him close at the waist, and let him take the lead. Max's observation skills were keen, and he saw the moment of hesitation written all over Dieter's face, but after another second, he felt the pull in his own stomach and the world spun. He and Dieter were pulled together through a vortex of swirls and colors and sounds and ended out just outside of the carnival. The world here was loud, dark and ready for the night. Max, despite meaning to, was quite excited.

"Yes, a smoke, please," Max laughed. He dug through his own pockets and tapped out his own cigarette. He let it rest between his lips as he used his wand to light the tip, then offered the same for Dieter. Once smokes were lit, the auror tucked his wand away and took a drag, glad that the flavor washed over his tongue and down his throat, filling his lungs. It was such an unhealthy habit, but Max absolutely loved it, "Mmm... yes, circus show later, before then... how about we wander around and see what there is?" he questioned back. His fingers brushed against the back of Dieter's before they laced together, a comfortable hand hold. One that was easy to pull away, should Dieter not wish to hold hands, "But games and some sugary foods sound delicious right now. Nothing like a romantic first date, huh?" he teased, giving Dieter a little wink. He had thought about this being a date, but at the same time, it was out of their territory. It was something that neither Max nor Dieter had ever discussed.

He figured it would become obvious as the night went on.

"I bet you're really good at games. Are you going to win me something, Mr. Dieter?" Max chided. Bratty as usual, that was sure. He grinned at him before taking another hit of his cigarette.

Dieter perched a cigarette between his lips, leaning in to let Max light it, habit making him fix the other man in the eyes and let smoke curl seductively from parted lips as he eased the cigarette away with two fingers. He spent his life trying to either intimidate or seduce, and found himself falling into those routines even without thinking about it. His lips pulled into a smile as Max, once again, laced his fingers between his. He hadn't been expecting Max to be so comfortable in public so quickly, but he was pleased. Being able to hold hands with someone who didn't care about the dirty looks and disgusted glances was nice. So often he had to hold back and regulate himself. No hand-holding, no public kissing, no pet names or other terms of affection that might identify them. His home town was beginning to get less stuffy about it, but when in Russia it was completely out of the question. In the UK it varied from being aggressively ignored to being shouted and spat at. Of course, Dieter didn't tend to stand for the latter. Anyone thinking they could get the upper hand over the 'fag' had a rather harsh lesson coming. But Dieter tried to put all of that out of mind, hoping that they wouldn't get any trouble here. It was a fair and there were plenty of people wandering around hand in hand. Not for the first time in his life, Dieter wished that he could be as relaxed in public with his male lovers as when out with a girl. Not plagued by the worries and doubts. Accepted.

He gave Max's hand a light squeeze and grinned at the other man's words. So Max did think it was a date. Good. They'd have to discuss the particulars at some point, of course. Being polyamorous meant that actually talking about the relationship was more important than ever. Assumptions were dangerous. But for now, he just wanted to enjoy Max's company. "Mmmhh yeah I am," he bragged with a smirk, turning his fiercely-turquoise eyes to survey the stands on offer. One which involved aiming spells at targets with a carnival wand caught his eye. He gave Max a nudge, "Probably wouldn't be too bad at that yourself, Mr Ministry Auror," he teased. He started to head that way, not in any particular rush as he took long drags of the cigarette. The nicotine and familiarity of both taste and action helped to smooth over the portkey panic. "I'll win you a prize, and you win me one. Deal?"

Max watched Dieter quietly and shook his head at the attempt to seduce him. He nudged the German with a shoulder and grinned, "You don't need to seduce me, Mr. Dieter. You already get me in your bed as is," he pointed out. He gave a wink as he rolled his own lit cigarette between his lips. It shifted idly from one corner to the other before he took a drag and let his fingers grasp it. Effortlessly, the auror pulled it out from between his lips and held it between his index finger and his thumb, tapping off some of the reside from the tip, "Mmm... I needed this smoke," he admitted. He was enjoying this little date, dismissing any comments about homosexuality and comments that were, well, downright derogatory. It wasn't as accepted as it should've been, this relationship with Dieter, but honestly? It was nobody's business but his and Dieter's, and anyone else he decided to talk about.

The Englishman couldn't help but grin as Dieter took his little jab seriously, bragging about how he really was good at winning prizes. For a stupid moment, Max thought Dieter would just win all the games just to get him stupid little prizes, and that thought made the Auror laugh. He looked around at all sorts of games, all different prizes and challenges for them to waste their money on. He grinned and shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe I might be terrible at the game," he pointed out, winking, "I guess we'll have to try it, hm? I bet you can't get a better score than me," he goaded. He tugged Dieter over to the game and stubbed out the last breaths of his cigarette before dumping it in a rubbish bin near the stall. He dug through his pockets after pulling his hand away from Dieter, flashing the other man a grin.

"Unless you wanna play a different game. You're not gunna chicken out on me, are you?"

Dieter grinned as they headed for the stall, digging some knuts out of his pocket to hand to the carnival-wizard waiting near by. He hadn't played games like these in years. Not since he was a child. He and his brother and had gone to a fair when they were teenagers, but Dieter had been in his 'I'm too cool for this' phase and mainly stood around sulking while Konrad tried and failed to get him to participate. He picked up the stand's 'wand', weighing it up in a manner that was habitual for the accomplished dueler. It was thicker and heavier than his own wands - than most wands really - designed to be holdable for children as well as adults. A standard length. The magic would be weak and erratic, but that was part of the fun. If they allowed people to use their own wands, everyone would win a prize. He had three shots. The first two would miss, but he'd get it on the third. At least, that was the plan.

He picked the smallest target, flashing a smirk at Max before flicking his wrist and sending a blast of rainbow light across the stall. It missed, bouncing off of the top corner of the stand with a ping. Far more out of line that Dieter had expected. "Hmm ok," he murmured, adjusting his aim, allowing for the pull and hoping that the wand at least had a tiny bit of reason to it. Otherwise it'd just be pure luck at that was no fun. With a frown of concentration that was probably entirely too serious for a carnival game, Dieter drew back his wand, flicked his wrist and sent another colourful burst of magic towards the target.

And to his surprise, it found the target. Not just the target, but the very center of the tiny circle, turning the whole thing bright blue and setting off some kind of pre-arranged musical fanfare. Dieter's face split into a huge grin, his chest puffing out and shoulders squaring. Now he just had to repeat. Aim, adjust, fire. Another perfect hit to the smallest target. The carnival guy looked pretty peeved, but Dieter gave a shrug, wrapped his arm around Max's waist and leaned in to plant a brief kiss on his cheek. Given his profession, it would have been deeply embarrassing had he not won a shot, but even Dieter was especially pleased with two out of three.

"Your turn," he said with a grin, holding the stall's wand out to Max and flashing him a playful wink, "Two to beat."

Max was, besides being completely sober despite his own wants and needs, was already enjoying himself. Dieter was a very, very attractive man, and he had willingly agreed to continuing to see Max despite the fact that almost every time they were together, alcohol and smokes were involved. He was even more amused when the German took it upon himself to try the game first, letting the auror watch besides him. Dieter's form alone was attractive, and watching him try to cast the spells on the toy wand used in the game made Max chuckle, "Oops," he chuckled as the first of the three shots ended up way out of line. And then the older man hit the next target, and the next. Show off. Max shook his head as Dieter pulled him close again and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Guess so," he laughed, "but just remember, it's a game, not a competition, Mr. Dueler."

He wiggled himself free from Dieter's warm embrace and paid for himself. He took the wand and gauged how it felt in his hand, switching from right to left then back to right. One of the things he was glad to have learned while shadowing an older auror was that one should never rely on using the dominant hand to throw spells. He had, quite efficiently, learned to cast with both. At the end of the decision, Max held the wand in his left hand, a loose but controlled grip on the wooden handle. He took a breath and stepped to the side, aiming before he finally cast. He was aiming for a rather medium sized target, and he was amazed that it just barely brushed the last ring, sending the entire target a neon, florescent green color. The carnival guy still looked peeved -- despite the fact that Max had two shots left, it might've been because between himself and Dieter, they had only missed one of the targets so far.

He stepped again, his head tilting to the side as he studied another target, a rather small one this time. He took aim and watched as the spell shot from the wand, but missed the target, hitting against the back of the booth and then back towards the carnival guy's feet. Max gave a cheeky grin and shrugged his shoulders; oh well. He glanced at Dieter to see his reaction to the carnival dude before he returned his focus. If he could hit just one more... Max took a breath and aimed, going for another medium one. As good of a spell shooter Max was, he was no renowned duelist, and most aurors tended to hit their mark... when they were running, and when spells were being thrown back at them. This game was a totally different matter. He aimed and shot the spell, missing again. Oh well. He shrugged at the carnival dude as he set the carnival game's wand down and looked at Dieter.

"You won, Mr. Competitive," he grinned, "so what prize are you getting me? Or do you want my crappy one?" he questioned, a little wink towards the older male.

Dieter found himself feeling irrationally proud when Max hit the target. The face of the man handling the stall was a picture. Dieter couldn't help but shoot him a smirk. Well, it wasn't as if they were cheating, although to be honest, if Dieter knew a way to cheat at the game, then he wouldn't be opposed to doing so. Rules were for the uncreative and easily led. They were for those perfectly content to do as they were told without questioning it. For the sheep that allowed themselves to be restricted while other men rose above them. Dieter only obeyed out of intense fear or intense loyalty. In the case of Erika Meer, it was both... and even then he still found himself pushing the boundaries of what was expected and accepted. He knew that disobeying her outright any more would probably lead to a pauper's funeral and a paper coffin... if that. He'd be lucky if there was any body left at all.

He wrapped his arm around Max as his third shot missed, feeling quite happy about the fact that he'd won, but also not wanting Max to get upset over it. "Whatever prize you want sweetheart," he replied, nodding up to the selection of floating toys around the frame of the stand. Mainly inflatable objects and large stuffed teddies. "What do you want? And of course I want your prize, that was the deal." He playfully nudged the younger man, then turned his attention to the prizes to pick out something for himself. "Hmm, I'll take that stuffed kelpie, thanks," he said, pointing over towards the smaller stuffed toy.

As the last shot missed, Max shook his head and placed the fake wand down. As soon as that happened, Dieter's arm was around him and he felt the familiar tug to get closer. He huffed, more playfully than anything, as Dieter nodded towards the selection of randomly assigned toys for each win. He was true to his word that Dieter would take Max's lame gift, and that Max could have the, obviously, better one. "But I don't mind taking my lame ass win," Max laughed, nudging Dieter slightly. He eyed all the stuffed animals offered to him and Dieter from Dieter's two shots, and then finally decided on his prize, "The Blue and Grey yeti, please," he told the man working the booth. The guy shuffled around and returned with the two prizes. Max took them both and held Dieter's out towards him, grinning brightly, "Thanks," he said, teasingly, "I'm definitely having a good time so far. Now that we've played games and I've seen you win the bigger prize --" this was also maybe a gentle jab at the other prize Dieter held, "-- we should find something else to do. More games? Food?"

He moved and reached out his hand after giving Dieter his prize and took the older man's hand. It was a gentle hand hold, not with laced fingers, but definitely with a firm grip. A little informal, but definitely showing the world that they were together, at least in this space, at this time. He looked around, his green eyes interested in everything and anything, although he found himself looking longingly at the Dragon Whiskey Tent. He could deal with a day that didn't involve alcohol, he told himself. To keep himself in check, he squeezed Dieter's hand and tugged him further into the gaping maws of the carnival, away from the tent that lured Max so well. "I think they have some pretty unique foods here," he added as an after thought, an attempt to get his mind off his cravings, "maybe we should just binge eat our way through every booth. What do you think?"

With that said, he gave Dieter a grin. It betrayed his silly nature of his words with an underlying seriousness. He'd be a-okay with just eating all the foods from every booth and hanging out with Dieter. Rides weren't even a necessity for him.

He watched with a smile as Max picked out a prize for himself. Something about this seemed so innocent and nostalgic. The nostalgia was misplaced - although this was a typical, even cliche, thing for people to do with their teenage crushes, this was something he'd never done. Things with his school-boyfriend had been decidedly less innocent. Demyan wouldn't have dreamed of playing silly carnival games and exchanging soft toys. It was only recently that he was allowing himself to see how much of his youth Demyan had robbed from him.

He took the kelpie toy happily, tucking it under one arm as his other held hands with the younger man. Max seemed to be relaxing into their location, and Dieter could almost see the stress being shrugged from his shoulders as Max's playful side took hold. Dieter didn't know what went on in the rest of Max's life, but he couldn't imagine the life of an auror was ever an easy one. Certainly not if men like Dieter had any say in the matter.

"Mmhh food... I do have something of a sweet tooth," he replied with a chuckle, letting Max lead him down one of the aisles of the carnival, threading between the striped canvas of the food tents and stalls. His eyes did settle on the Whiskey tent for a moment - Whiskey was one of Dieter's great loves in life - but Max was moving away from that direction, and Dieter wasn't about to pull him back for a drink if he didn't want one. They could always end up there later. For now it was nice getting to know the other man while sober. Up until this point, Max had always seemed to need at least a couple of drinks to let his inhibitions down.

"Cotton candy? Oh wow.. lots more flavours than I remember there being..." he said, eyes widening at the wide variety of bags of the cloud-like candy - bright neon shades and unnatural patterns... it really was a kid's dream here. "Hmm... what's your favourite flavour, sweetheart?"

Max hummed at the price and he nudged Dieter as he took his, "I'm glad you're having a fun time," the auror pointed out. He hadn't really gotten to know Dieter all that well besides in sexual situations, and even then, most of the time, Max was dressed to the teeth in a bottle of alcohol. It was good feeling a little away from the liquid substance that made all his life easier sometimes, although the thought of it settled deep in his mind. But as they walked and he avoided the Dragonwhiskey tent -- like a good person, and at least wanting to enjoy the company for right now. He enjoyed getting to know Dieter besides for the parts of him that tasted like whiskey and bourbon, expensive cigarettes and the musky taste that lingered beneath the belt. He chuckled a little at his thoughts and squeezed Dieter's hand lightly as they continued to walk.

"Let's sample some food, then," the younger man pointed out, a cheeky grin crossing his face, "if you have something of a sweet tooth, I'm sure there's plenty of sweet things to go around." He shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly as his eyes danced over all the food stalls. Before he even got to look at half of them, Dieter was tugging him oh so gently towards one with multiple flavors and colors of cotton candy. Max thought about it and gave a cheeky grin to the other man, "Cotton candy flavor? I don't know. Bubblegum is pretty good, but I'm really up to trying any sort of flavors. Maybe we should get the 'mystery' and then something we'd both eat, in case it's super weird?" Maybe the cotton candy was like Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans -- multiple colors, multiple styles, but each flavor had a flavor to it, from apple to wood and everything not included.

"How about you get whatever flavors you want, and I'll go find a bench to sit on?" Max offered. He leaned up and pressed a light kiss to the side of Dieter's face, along his jawline. "Then we can eat our cotton candy, talk a bit, people watch, maybe eat more sugary snacks.... I don't know. The night is just starting. We can do anything and everything your heart desires." Because it was a date. And Max would try to bury his need for alcohol and actually continue to enjoy this night. He was determined to.