It Happened in Venice

[Heidrich Alderman]

Heidrich's nose wrinkled a little as he stepped out of the uncomfortable taxi onto Venice's unpleasant streets. He had visited so many different corners of Europe, and the world, and in all that time he had never visited a place that he so passionately disliked as Venice.

He couldn't put his finger on it, precisely. Perhaps it was the abundant water, something he was not particularly fond of. Perhaps it was the overbearing presence of sky, the squat buildings not offering the same kind of cradling reassurance that the world's larger cities could provide. Or perhaps it was simply that Venice was old, tired, and decrepit: everything he was desperate to never become.

Still, he had his reasons for being here; reasons that he would not refuse even if he wanted to.

He drew in a breath to bolster himself, stopped in front of a small window to peek at his reflection and adjust his tie. That he was wearing one at all was telling: like most of his fellow international entrepreneurs, businessmen, and jet-setters, he ordinarily considered himself too wealthy to need to bother with such trivialities as ties. For today, though? For her? She deserved the effort.

He ducked into the restaurant, which most people might have described as quaint. He on the other hand described it as woefully out of date; archaic stylings, antiques everywhere, too trapped in a couple of centuries ago to even bother with security cameras. He loathed places like this. Loathed the people that so desperately wanted to preserve the past for the sake of posterity. Heidrich didn't look back unless he absolutely had to. There was very little there that he wanted to see.

[Autumn Alderman]

Venice had been her idea; not that Autumn found it quaint, or charming, or even remotely significant, though she did have to admit there was a strange beauty in the idea of a city constantly defying its own inevitable end. There had been reasons of course - A want to see something different, a silly vision of sunlit gondola rides, of enjoying the last few days of blissful Summertime before she would retreat once more to the concrete jungle that was home. If only the reality had been half of what brochures and pretty images in film and fantasy could conjure. In truth, Venice bored her as much as it's people had. The over-glorified tourist trap hadn't held up its end of the bargain that her mind had come up with. All in all, the holiday had been a complete wash... until now.

Autumn had been overcome with a serenity that always accompanied anticipation as she had dressed for the occasion - choosing something she knew he would appreciate. Something black, elegant, modern, and modest enough to set her entirely apart from every other woman who deemed it necessary to prop themselves up on display as an object for affection. She was above such things, better than that, than them. Not that he had ever made her feel anything less, but it was worth the effort all the same.

But for every good quality that she had, some might suggest she possessed two to counter it - today's spotlight was on her patience, or sometimes lack thereof. It wasn't that he was running late - He was never late - It was simply that she was always early and that left enough time to order a glass of wine that mostly went untouched. Autumn had been casually running her fingertip against the glass' rim, causing the crystal to sing its complaint when Heidrich had entered the restaurant. The sight of him still had the same effect it always had on her; an impish smile formed as she bit her lower lip in the bittersweet moment of suspense before his eyes finally met hers from across the room. There was no need for an overstated gesture between them, but she still couldn't help but pull her hand away from it's previous activities and let her fingers signal the same playful greeting they had done the first day the two had met.

[Heidrich Alderman]

There it was: the smile and the wave that never failed to make his insides squirm. No matter how hard he tried to seem sullen or disgruntled at his surroundings, he couldn't stop a grin from blossoming across his face whenever he saw it. She knew it, too: knew the path she'd carved into the very depths of his heart, and exploited it at every occasion.

As he reached the table, he leant down to plant a kiss on her forehead, hand hovering at the small of her back. It wasn't a kiss of passion or lust like the ones he shared with the women who so graciously donated their lives to prolong his youth and vigour: it was one of pure, unadulterated love, for a woman who had him so thoroughly wrapped around her dainty fingers.

"You do have a habit," he observed, as he settled himself into his seat, casually dropping the napkin from his place setting into his lap, "Of picking the most obscure locations possible for these lunches of ours."

Mirth twinkled in his eyes as he leaned forward, fingers laced and elbows propped on the table. "Were I a cynical man, I might start to wonder if you were ashamed to be seen in public with me."

[Autumn Alderman]

"Ashamed?" She looked positively aghast at the thought, letting it linger before the edge of her lips pulled up in a rather devilish simper. "You should know very well that the only opinion that matters to me happens to belong to the man whose company I am presently sharing."

Autumn never had been able to help herself when it came to Heidrich, he brought out both the best and worst in her and she would always thank him for it. He alone could claim possession of her heart and mind, he was the only individual who could genuinely say she was devoted to, so it was only fair that she would often exploit his own feelings for her in a way neither of them truly disapproved of.

"Besides", she continued, raising her glass of wine, watching the liquid within swirl with a small gesture. "I needed you after everything this gottverlassen country has to offer."

The glass was finally brought to her mouth, its contents sipped at more for effect than actually taking any delight in the drink. A single drop of the crimson liquid escaped, perhaps not accidentally, and Autumn let it run just a tad at the edge of her lips before she brought a finger up to catch it.

She slowly looked up once more, a small pout forming. "And you've been so busy lately."