[COMPLETE] This carousel takes us round and round

[shibrogane]

And Oliver sees what's deadening the sound: sheets of paper folded into quarters, a watch, and a fist-side opalescent stone.  

[Melancholies]

"Jesus Christ—" Oliver felt stupid, but was quick to dig the contents out. "Is this what you were talking about? The stone and the music and—"

He was handing everything off to Elliot as he yanked it out, but stopped when he got to the watch—

shibrogane

saedusk

 

[shibrogane]

5:36

and counting down...

5:21  

[saedusk]

"This is it." Elliot was careful as he balanced the papers and the stone, keeping them close despite his wariness about their properties. It was only when Oliver paused that he leaned over to see what was up. Thirty minutes had become almost five.

"Should we... should we run?"

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Something weird twisted up in Oliver's face at the sight of the time, of the ticking seconds and the hopelessness of the situation.

"Um," His tongue felt like lead snd his body was locked from adrenaline, "Probably. We... do we destroy it?" Was the stone the bomb? Pause.

"I--" He caught himself He'd loved the other Eli too, and the Ollie from this world had probably loved Elliot, and he knew the next one would too. He saw it in the vision--all of them happy--and he envied it, the way the three of them looked...

But if he said it now and they failed, it'd only hurt more in the long run. He could live with the regret, but he didn't want to tarnish Elliot with even more guilt.

"No, ********, sorry--" He wheezed, "Let's go--" <******** ******** ******** ********>

saedusk
 

[saedusk]

"If we can eliminate it entirely, then it won't be able to do whatever it's supposed to do, right...?" They had something for that, he thought, if they managed to get back quick enough. Eyes narrowed and weary, he looked away from the watch and back up to Oliver. The look lingered like a touch he hesitated to give.

"You-?" Was it too much to push. His hands were full, but he shuffled things around to afford him a moment, a real, physical touch to Oliver's arm.

"When we're out of here, when we go on our date-" Eli stopped again. It was enough. "C'mon, let's go..."

As a final thought, he unfolded the papers to see if they had anything important to say as they moved on.

Melancholies

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

The papers bore the most complicated musical arrangement either of them had ever seen. Well, not quite ever. But this was definitely reading like more of a conceptual exercise than anything that could be played by a living human being.