berlin | feel real

Harlan shot a glance to Senna with a subtle grin— the I didn't ask you was on the tip of his tongue but he very clearly bit it back. "Good to know," He landed on. Whatever brew was in the tea was already making him forget what he had been so worried about in the first place. Mundane problems like his fucking image felt more insignificant as time ticked on.

And how much time had ticked on?

He looked at his wristwatch— it was one that had been in his family for decades, a pang of sentimentality— but the hands whizzed in an unreadable way and he gave that up. Maybe it was better that the passing of time went by unnoticed, he thought.

"Alright, calm down then," Harlan warned good-naturedly, giving Senna's side a warning squeeze as she turned on her heels, holding the tea out as some sort of incentive. If he were feeling stubborn (as he usually was) he would have just as easily not moved a muscle. But his feet had other plans, and before he knew it he was nearing the makeshift studio space.

Harlan settled on the barstool. Being in front of the camera, unfortunately, came naturally to him after all that time. A flash went off and he reached for the tiny mug in Senna's hand, more genuinely asking than he had been before, as evidenced by that god damn look in his eye.

"What?" she asked with a curious look as she noticed that smirk on his face and not understanding what it was for. But she wasn't opposed to letting it slide and they shared more of the herbal tea before she noticed him looking at his watch. "Have somewhere to be?" she asked as she reached out with one hand to touch his wrist, pulling his arm toward her a little so she could see what kind of watch it was.

The hands whizzed by in dizzying circles and she blinked a few times before she realized that's just what it did and it wasn't actually an issue with her vision. "Hmm, very helpful," she sounded as she tapped on the face of it lightly and grinned as he squeezed her side even as she stepped back.

Senna almost wasn't sure if he would follow, learning at least one thing very quickly about him was his aversion to following what anyone said, but he did and she tried to hide her smile in the teacup. She watched as he settled onto the barstool, noting the confidence and ease he seemed to have even in front of a camera. It reminded her of how he had been in the pool.

At this request with his hands outstretched, she slowly brought the teacup to her lips, purposefully taking her time before she smiled at him and gave in, her fingers brushing against his as she passed the cup to him. She heard the snap and flash of the camera, but it felt like background noise the same way the crowd did when she was so focused on a song while on stage.

"First swimming in your party clothes and now this," she said aloud as she stepped around behind him, glancing at Lina in question who gave her a nod. Senna's hands went to the ties holding her semi sheet maxi top together and pulling on the strings until it gaped open. The garment hit the floor with a whisper, but she pressed herself against his back, her arms snaking around him lightly as she stood behind him topless, a faint smile on her lips as she turned her face towards Lina. "I wonder what other surprising things might be in the cards," she mused.

He'd settled entirely too comfortably on the seat— legs crossed at the ankle, a hand planted behind himself firmly, the other reaching for the mug and threatening to linger at Senna. He hadn't forgotten Lina was there (that was impossible), but the flash of a camera as she tested the light felt more and more distant as it flickered bright, only to return after a moment.

Harlan grinned to mirror hers as he took the tea, taking a sip.

"What, you're surprised?" He followed her as she moved beside him, distracted by it. Of course, she was surprised. He was surprised "I think you're the bad influence..." His voice floated between them as her top floated to the floor only visible in his peripherals.

Harlan followed suit to run his hand along Senna's forearm as it snaked down his chest, glancing back at her with a question in his eye. How in the fuck had they gotten themselves there? "Nothing at all," He grinned. He ran his fingers over the back of her hand, pressing it closer to him.

"Yeah, very," she said lightly, amusement threading through her tone, her whole body feeling airy thanks to the tea as if she could float away at any moment. It was easy to feel free around him, she supposed as she toed off her shoes, taking her down an inch of so as she kicked them away. It was like anything was possible and that sort of feeling was addicting.

Senna laughed, the sound soft but punctuated by a delighted snort. "Who? Me?" she said innocently as she tilted her head at him, but couldn't keep a straight face. She scrunched her nose at him and shrugged, the movement slight now that she had her arms around him from behind, his hands pressing hers against his chest that reminded her of that night in the pool. She laid her cheek against his back, feeling the soft linen of his shirt but wanting to feel skin instead, as she looked towards Lina and saw the flash of lights. "I don't think I mind being a bad influence on you.."

She could feel his heartbeat against her hand and the steady rise and fall, catching sight of his grin as she moved to rest her chin on his shoulder. "Nothing?" she repeated, brows perked. "I somehow doubt that."

She didn't mind and neither did Harlan, as it was. Maybe it was the tea or maybe it was her, but his heart had started to pick up the pace. He could feel it work to keep up with the newly hot blood in his veins but he fought to keep his breath steady.

"Nothing," He repeated, less certain than the first time he'd said it. That was was before her hands were moving down his chest, before she had pressed up against his back to tuck her chin on his shoulder, before—

Well, time had started to blur together.

Harlan's eyes fluttered closed as he sucked in a breath. "What the fuck is in that tea?" He wondered dreamily. He glanced over at Senna then up to the figure of Lina hidden behind the lights and then back to Senna again. A smile pulled at his mouth. He wasn't sure of the answer but at the moment he didn't want to actually know.

His hands moved over Senna's with ease, running over the outside of her palms before directing them to the buttons of his shirt.

"Still don't believe it," she said, almost in a sing-song kind of way, her voice light and breathy as if she could feel every part of the exhale, feeling the way the breath left her body and brought her a tiny bit closer. And yet, it still wasn't enough. She wanted more.

"I don't know, but it's transcendent, right?" she said as he turned his head towards her and she couldn't resist leaving a light peck on his cheek, feeling the scratch of his beard. 'Transcendent' was a bit much, even for Senna, but the tea, the camera, the nudity all made her feel a little woo woo. It felt right. And so did his hands on hers.

Her lips quirked as he moved her hands and for a moment she spread her fingers, thinking that he was giving her full permission to explore, but then she felt the little hard shells of his buttons. Oh? She leaned her weight against the expanse of his back as her finger made quick work of his buttons, moving down and down until they were all undone before she reached up and peeled the shirt from his shoulders. Senna wrapped it around her shoulders like a shawl, it hung down to her mid thigh, as she turned to lean her back against his and glanced toward the vague shape that was Lina behind the cameras.

She had almost forgotten her ex was there. And no wonder. She left Harlan's shirt fall from her shoulders as she turned back to him, unable to resist the temptation as her hands ran up his spine and then curled over his shoulders, her bare chest pressed to his bare back, sending tingles all over her body. "I definitely didn't read this on your palm," she whispered to him with a smile.

"Transcendent?" Fucking, really? Every part of Harlan's demeanor— an ease of tension in his shoulder, leaning into her, his hand at her side— betrayed the question because the situation was just that, fucking transcendent. It felt like a different world had opened up. It was as though they found themselves on a different plane of existence— one very far away from reality. In the back of his mind he remembered why he had enjoyed the dangerous art of potion when he was younger.

As with almost everything, it was easy to get lost in.

Senna's lips on his cheek felt like they lingered, but then his shirt was over his shoulder and he wasn't sure how much time had passed. All he knew was that the absence of her pressed as tight as she could to him was a tangible chasm. He glanced over his shoulder, thankful that she'd returned as quickly as she'd left.

A chill ran up his spine a fraction of a second after her fingers as they danced over his newly bare skin. "Color me shocked," Harlan had attempted something of a retort but he could feel his resolve softening with every breath. He reached instinctively to the side of her jaw, running his thumb over the edge. He'd forgotten Lina was there altogether.

She could hear the disbelief in his tone at her choice of words and it made her laugh, a bright sound that seemed to sparkle. The tea made auras that much more apparent, like he was shimmering in golden waves and it was rubbing off on her too. Senna opened herself up to that feeling, wanting to know what it was like to be so golden, even if it was just for now, just in this moment.

Somehow she had dissolved into more feel than thought, more into touch than spoken word. His hand on her jaw made her soften, pushing herself closer, letting her hands explore, unrepentant.

It was like they had entered into their own cocoon, his skin felt hot against hers, his aura warming her up like he was a star as bright as the sun. She couldn't keep her hands off him, glad to see that he seemingly felt the same. It was fun and felt daring being naked with a man she barely knew but felt like she knew well all at the same time. Interesting and only the tiniest bit amusingly awkward as they had gotten more comfortable with each other in a way that they hadn't when they had been this close or maybe closer in the pool at the Hawkinses. This felt like more and Senna loved the freeing openness of it all.

She barely heard as Lina clicked her camera, forgetting the reason they were doing this in the first place as she guided his hands to cover her chest, as if using him to maintain her modesty, an excuse to feel his touch. She had sat on his lap between his outstretched legs, delicately balanced on the stool and only managed not to fall off when a rainbow of fractal light caught her attention because he had caught her. After that, laughing, they had abandoned the stool and for all the better, because it gave her the chance to sit on his lap on the floor, facing him, her fingertips in his hair, their chests touching in ways that made her shiver.

It had felt like only a few minutes but also an eternity when Lina approached, Senna blinking up at her forgetting she was there, and said she had more than enough, a knowing look in her eyes. "The rooftop is nice tonight," she added before her footsteps faded in the background. Senna had tied her top back on, but it felt silly now. It didn't cover much of her really and he had seen everything already. Perhaps the tea was making her braver. She grabbed his hand and led him to the rooftop, her legs feeling as if they weren't tethered to the Earth at all, as if gravity couldn't hold her down. Soon they were both laid out on their backs on a giant day bed looking up at the night sky over Berlin, faded fairy lights hanging behind them.

She was quiet as her mind wandered with no particular direction, thinking about how they had gotten here, amused by how it all started with a palm reading. "Isn't it funny how things can change so quickly, in ways you could never expect," she mused, thinking about how the idea of doing a nude photoshoot wasn't even something she had imagined would happen tonight.

Harlan wasn't sure how it happened, but in a breath, they were on their feet and making their way up another set of stairs. He focused on each ascending step following the place she floated from in front of him— to the roof— as not-so-subtly hinted at by Lina. There was another part of him that was distracted by her hand in his, pulling him forward, and another part on the sheer fabric of her top as swelled with movement.

"Ha," The nightscape of Berlin opened up, then opened up again as they made their way to an area on the corner of the rooftop with various bits of furniture. There was nothing particularly funny about it, and the expression came out as more of an impressed exhale, half of a sigh.

The scene that had been on the horizon quickly shifted to overhead as he and Senna found themselves laid back, eyes up. That fucking tea, he thought. Things were happening— his own actions— that he had no control of. It left a strange sense of something like fear in his chest. Forget the imminent danger of a bludger to the head, being out of control like that was far more detrimental.

Harlan let out a breath.

Was it ragged? Or was that in his head, too?

He ran a hand over the fabric of his shirt, a few buttons more undone than what he had started with. "It's funny, I was just thinking the same thing.." Harlan replied, his tone earnest, eventually glancing over at Senna from where he'd propped his head over the inside of his elbow. Then, he laughed. "What the fuck was that?" The grin on his mouth was detectable in his words. The fresh air had given him an ounce of clarity.

"I mean, after all of that, are you surprised our brains are in alignment," Senna said with a smile, not surprised at all to hear he had been thinking the same thing. There were forces at work in the world and sometimes, like now, she could feel them so keenly like the way you could feel the earth moving beneath your feet if you were to spin yourself in dizzying circles. She turned on her side to face him, laughing as he did and giving him a shrug. "I dunno, but it was fun, wasn't it?"

Pillowing her head on her arm, she noticed how blue his eyes seemed. Impossibly blue, bluer than she had really noticed before. And the way three little lines showed around his eyes when he laughed and how soft his lips looked. She knew, in some small part of her brain, that the tea heightened her senses - even now the stars wheeled above her brighter, edged in cosmic purples and blue-white glows, the scratch of her sleeve against her cheek even more tactile, the humor she found in his words, in any words really even more amusing than usual.

"You know," she started before she paused as her gaze was drawn to the string of fairy lights over his shoulder, her focus off track for a moment before she blinked back at him and started again. "Lina doesn't usually offer sessions like that to just anyone. She must like you. Or maybe she picked up on your aura, seems more golden tonight, even though she told me she didn't see them when I was with her years ago," Senna told him, pouting a little at the memory of her ex not indulging her in her fascination with auras.

Still, whether Lina believed in auras or not, she had offered and Harlan had accepted and they had done it and Senna had loved it. It seemed simple and yet she was having a hard time putting it into words.

Harlan studied Senna from where his head laid atop the inside of his elbow. His tongue ran the course of his cheek, then his bottom lip to meet his braced teeth. Their brains were in alignment, she said. Of-fucking-course. He quirked an eyebrow to say as much and bit further into his lip if only to hold his tongue back from making a comment. "Maybe so," It would have been more fun if he could pull himself together enough to remember what it was fully. Damn laced tea.

He followed her gaze to the lights.

"I figured," Harlan added between Senna's words, before she mentioned that the witch must have liked him. "These fucking auras," Even high, Harlan couldn't fathom it. That a person emanated a color, visible to others? No chance. "What's yours, then?" He was too under the influence to even pretend to make it up at that point. "Has anyone ever read you?" He wondered, with no intention to be the first, obviously. His hand absently had drifted closer to her side.

She saw his eyebrow quirk and it made her grin, her cheeks starting to hurt from the effort but the sensation seemed to ground her too. Senna kept thinking she would float off into the stars at any moment, as if her limbs weren't hers to control and she would simply drift away to become one with the cosmic dust and space junk that hung overhead.

She reached out a hand to touch his arm as if that would keep her rooted.

These fucking auras. A dramatic, stunned gasp fell from her lips as she pushed herself into a seated position next to him, her legs folded under her and then wobbled at the sudden vertigo she felt, pushing her eyes closed before she returned her gaze to him. "I'm not making it up, you know," she pouted, a ever-familiar argument on her lips from any other time she told someone the vibes she got.

But she couldn't quite hold on to her anger just like she couldn't hold on to linear thoughts at the moment so she shook her head at him. "Seeing auras is a special and unique gift," she told him with a pointed look then smiled as she took his hand in both of hers. "Usually flashes of shimmery silver with ripples of  rose pink, but sometimes it looks different too. Maybe I'm just as bad as everyone else at understanding myself," she explained before she glanced at him again and smiled a bit. "Silver and gold." Senna snickered.

"Oh, of course you aren't," Harlan was either entirely convinced, or not at all, and there was no way to tell the difference. There was no tangible in between to speak of. He settled into the crook of his elbow so that he was sitting up a bit higher to face where Senna had sat up. She seemed surprised, outwardly, and it left a grin threatening either corner of his mouth. He bit into the place under his bottom lip to stop that act all together, playing it off as what he thought would be thoughtful.

"I believe you," Her gift was special. It was unique. His tone definitively said otherwise, as did the look on his face, a hint of amused.

Harlan watched with interest as she took his hand into both of hers from the horizontal vantage point he was hesitant to give up. For one, he was comfortable, and two, well, there was no two. "Does it change with mood?" He wondered after a bout a suppressed laughter following her comment on their respective colors. The question was earnest, and enough to surprise him as well. "I could see that," He paused mid-thought. "Your aura, I mean," He nodded and sat up to his elbows.

Something bright and shimmering, but with a surprising level of depth. That part, he kept to himself. His thumb canvassed the inside of her palm without thought.
 

"Stop that," Senna complained lightly with a smile as she reached over to poke him in the side. He was forever saying one thing and meaning another except she didn't quite always know how serious or joking he was and she certainly didn't have all her sense about her to tell now. It didn't feel as bad as when Charlie Baker had responded to his aura reading a while ago, but.. she just wasn't sure.

And with the tea, she wasn't quite sure how to make up her mind about it so instead of fighting it, she just sighed, shaking her head at him as she slumped over against him, resting her elbow on him, her chin in her palm. "I'm choosing to believe that you believe me," she told him airily followed shortly by a "don't laugh at me" and another poke to his side as she felt him shaking under her.

She wanted to be indignant or mad or demand he take it seriously, but it was like she couldn't hold on to the feeling. It slipped right through her fingertips the way a creek ran around water-worn rocks. So she let that go too, fighting a smile as she gazed at him. His question eased her prickled edges a bit as it seemed genuine so she changed her mind about telling him that his aura wasn't golden anymore, it was actually poop brown. "No, not with mood really. More like the season of life you're in? And don't even--" she gave him an amused look "--you know I don't mean 'spring' or 'fall'. It's more of where you are in life, how aligned you are, that sort of thing." She glanced down to where his hand was in hers, nodding as he agreed.

Senna leaned more into him, softening as his thumb drew arcs across her palm. "Mine wasn't always this dazzling," she joked as she batted her eyelashes playfully at him, but she felt the need rise up to explain, to be understood so she gave him an example. "It's more shimmery and silvery now because things are looking better with the band and my music and all of that, but it wasn't always like that." She shifted as memories came back. "After the war, it was a lot different. Grayer, less.." she trailed off struggling for the right word before she glanced at him and shrugged. "Just different," she summed up. "I think they change as people change, but there are always things that stay the same too. Know what I mean?"

Harlan adjusted as Senna leaned into him, sitting up more upright to support the both of them. "Hey," He shifted as she poked at his side for the second time, as if she knew exactly where his weakness was located as far as ticklishness was concerned. Then again it was probably just the drugs. Or his aura. "I'm not laughing at you, it's just, you're doing— that, Harlan swatted her hand away with a lingering grin from where he had been pained with laughter.

Senna explained how an aura changed, and quite frankly Harlan was left more confused than before. "Hmm," He a hummed a thought. Again, probably the drugs. He was half way to a smirk when she rightfully called him out for whatever smartass comment had come to mind. "Interesting," He mused as an attempt to hide the look on his face.

In truth, he did want to understand it.

She continued to delve into her own evolving aura and he found himself nodding along, wondering what shades he had been in his lifetime. Certainly not always golden. "I get that," He confirmed more wistfully than he could recall being around another person in the last few months. It was nice to feel that kind of weightlessness. Harlan paused the motion he'd created on her palm with his thumb. "It's very interesting," He confessed as though he was admitting to some kind of sin.

"I mean it," He added with a grin, before she had the chance to question him. There was something beautiful about learning about a person through their passions.