readytosee | closed rp post

Casper dozes a little as well, since it is a rather long flight. He blinks awake when Alexander touches his arm, rubbing his eyes and setting his glasses back on his face.

"I have to say, I am very excited to be wherever we are. I do love a good adventure."

He takes careful note of that. Adventures he can do, that's easy.

He sits up and smooths his hair down where the pillow got it a bit out of place, then sits on the edge of the bed to put his shoes back on. In the main cabin of the plane, the windows are showing the skyline of Paris, lit up against the night sky. Next time, h thinks, they'll do an overnight flight, but there's something special about flying into Paris like this. It is the city of lights, after all.

"If you tell me now that you don't like Paris, I can get the pilot to fly us somewhere else. Venice, maybe?"

Casper can't help but gasp at the sight of Paris, all lit up like this. Like the city was just waiting for their arrival.

He reaches out to pull Alexander close, wrapping his arms around his partner's neck and kissing him sweetly, his expression both awed and delighted. "This is wonderful, Alexander. I can't believe you took me to Paris, my god. I haven't been in -- oh, over a decade, I think. And the last time was for a conference, so it was all work related.

This is lovely, thank you."

He likes this, this non-performative gratitude. Casper's happy and delighted, so Alexander is happy and delighted. He sets his hands at Casper's hips and returns the kiss.

"If I catch a whiff of work, someone's head back home will roll."

He doesn't sound like it's a joke, either. Everyone should be very mindful that he and Casper are out of the office.

"There are some dinner reservations, but we'll do whatever you couldn't do last time. How's that sound?"

"I promise not to even think of opening my work e-mail. I didn't even bring my work cell, just my personal one. I may check in with Carla at some point to send her pictures and make her terribly jealous, but that's the extent of it."

How fun, to be seeing someone who brings him to Paris just because. "I think it sounds fantastic. Just perfect, actually." Another kiss, still smiling excitedly. "We can go to Venice on our next trip, I've never been."

"It's a date."

He'll make sure they take longer during the trip to Venice, make it a proper trip instead of a few days.

Before long, they've landed, and a car's come to pick them up to drive them through the city to their hotel. Maybe it's a lot for a fourth date (the whole trip is a lot for a fourth date, probably), but he wanted a hotel with some pizazz to it. Something really special. The room's nice. The view is even nicer.

"What do you think, room service or go find something to eat somewhere?"

More surprises, more luxury. It is a lot, but it makes Casper feel special. A little spoiled, maybe, but definitely cared for. His last relationship had been so business like. Formal, functional, but this is something else. Alexander makes him feel noticed, and appreciated.

"Come look at this terrace!" he calls over his shoulder, laughing a little. "This is stunning. We should eat out here tonight, if we can."

"We can do whatever we want."

Alexander's generally used to getting whatever he wants, but he doubts there will be any fuss. It's their room, after all, and the hotel does 24-hour room service.

Seeing as Casper is enjoying himself, Alexander decides to just call down for something. After a few dinners together, he has a good idea about what Casper likes to eat. He makes sure to order a bottle of bubbles and a good dessert, too.

"Don't tell too many people how romantic I am. I like my reputation the way it is."

He comes up behind Casper, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck.

"Mm, hello, handsome. Your secret is safe with me, no worries." He slides his hand over Alexander's arm, leaning back into the embrace with a contented noise.

Honestly, he sort of likes Alexander's reputation, too. He likes being with someone who's a little untouchable. A little out of reach. It makes him feel all the more special for managing to have caught his eye.

"Will I be able to drag you to a museum, while we're here?"

"Mmhm."

His response is only a hum of agreement, only because his mouth is occupied. Alexander's decided he wants to keep kissing Casper's neck, teasing at the skin.

"You can drag me wherever you want to."

It's really only fair, considering he's going to drag Casper to some clothing stores.

Oh no, being dragged out to be spoiled with fancy clothes? How terrible. Almost as awful as the sweet kisses Alexander is covering his neck with.

"And if I dragged you to the top of the Eiffel Tower to have drinks with me? Would you let me do that?" It sounds like a horribly romantic thing to do. This whole trip is horribly romantic, really, and Casper loves it.

"Is that you want?"

It is romantic. All of this. Alexander would normally be disgusted by it, but he (and his brothers) never does anything by halves. Casper is His Person, he knows it. Casper deserves to be showered in romance. It'll make up for all the times in the future where Alexander loses his cool over something.

"What I want is to enjoy Paris with you. And if you'd enjoy champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower with me, then yes, that's what I'd want."

He's never had romance. Not like this. The thoughtful gifts, the flowers, everything has been overwhelming and wonderful. Casper turns in Alexander's arms to press a kiss to his chin, utterly content. He's never felt a connection quite like this. He feels like he and Alexander understand each other on such a meaningful level.

He'd drink champagne anywhere with Casper, if Casper wanted him to. He realizes, not for the first time, that he's going to end up wrapped around Casper's finger and really that's fine. The more Alexander thinks about it, the more he likes the sound of that. And it will be incredibly gratifying to show his brothers that he's found someone.

"I think we can find time for that. Oh - tomorrow we have an appointment at the spa. To relax a bit."

Casper doesn't have anything like that. Well, he has Carla, which is nice, but mostly he has colleagues. Still, it could be fun to brag to some of his peers who insist on showing family photos at every conference that he's managed to land a highly successful CEO.

"A spa day?" Casper raises his eyebrows in surprise, draping his arms over Alexander's shoulders. "Well that sounds absolutely luxurious. You really do think of everything, don't you?"

"I really do."

He has to. You don't run an organized crime syndicate without having everything planned out meticulously. It helps him adjust for his impulsive nature, too, when everything has a contingency plan in place. Of course, Casper doesn't know about all of that yet. Alexander doesn't plan on hiding it from him, either, he's just waiting for a natural time to bring it up.

The time isn't now. He said he wasn't going to think about work, after all.

He gives Casper a kiss and there's a knock on the door, which is only moderately annoying, because he doesn't want to be interrupted right now.

"I'll get it. You keep enjoying the view."

Luckily, quite a few of Alexander's extra curriculars line up well with Casper's. He doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, if the occasion calls for it.

There's a knock, and Darling sighs a little at having to pull away from the embrace. But he kisses Alexander's chin and pats his chest lightly. "I will be right here. Taking in the sights."

"I hope I'm part of the sights."

It's a bad joke, but he couldn't resist, and he gives a little smirk as he pats Casper's hips before going to answer the door and get their room service. Naturally he ordered a bottle of bubbles as well, which gets opened and poured into glasses first and foremost.

"So next trip is Venice. Where else in the world do you want to go?"

Naturally. Casper is more of a dark liquor in the evenings sort, himself, but he will absolutely not turn down a glass of champagne if it's being offered. Especially by a handsome man intent on spoiling him.

He touches his glass to Alexander's with a warm smile, letting their ankles brush under the table. "You know I'm not sure. There are so many fascinating places in the world, it's hard to narrow it down to a list. I do know I want to go somewhere to get a great view of the Northern Lights, some day. Some interesting architectural marvels that I'd like to be able to see.

Where do you want to travel? Or where have you gone that you've enjoyed?"

Northern Lights. He tucks that away, immediately thinking of Finland and its neighbouring nordic countries. He abhors the idea of visiting any of them during winter, but Casper might find the Christmas markets charming.

"Mm, I don't know."

Alexander doesn't really have a bucket list. Maybe it's because he can, for the most part, do and go wherever he wants.

"Sometimes Santorini sounds nice, but then I've never been a fan of sweating all day."

"I'm not certain I see you on the beach. You'd look amazing wet and in a swimsuit, of course, but it's not..." He hums thoughtfully, toying with the stem of his glass.

"It's not neat. A lot of sand, and once sand gets somewhere it's everywhere for the foreseeable future. That doesn't seem like your style. Which is fine, it's not mine, either."

Thank God. No need to plan any resort vacations any time soon. He's not sure he could suffer it, even for Casper.

"Where do you see me, then?"

Alexander smirks a little over another sip of champagne. Listening to people talk about him is one of his favourite things.

"Oh, all sorts of places," Casper teases, reaching over to touch Alexander's hand lightly before he starts in on his dinner.

"But in all honesty, whenever I imagine you -- which is often. I imagine you in very elegant places. At the opera, or some sort of grand ballroom. Amidst a lot of classical art and statues. Candlelight and chandeliers. Very fine suits and champagne."

Casper imagines him often. There's no denying how pleased that makes him.

"If I'm being honest, I'd rather be where there's fewer people."

Sure, he's charismatic. He loves attention. He loves using his wealth and notoriety (and maybe his brothers' fame) to leverage everything he can. But people are exhausting, they're annoying, they're mostly stupid. And Alexander can go from enjoying a party one minute to losing his cool over it in the next.

"And for what it's worth, I like a late night stop at Shake Shack as much as the next guy."

Though definitely not as much as he likes a good quality drink over a five-star meal, that's true.

"I'm the same way, honestly. I'm very animated and talkative around people, but I prefer time alone with someone I care about, rather than having to negotiate a room of a hundred people." Which might let slip a little more than he means to, but maybe Alexander won't notice.

The Shake Shack comment makes him smile, though. Shows him a side of Alexander he wasn't expecting. "Be still my heart," he says, delighted. "I have had my fair share of late night diner stops over the years. I would not say no to splitting a milkshake with you."

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