readytosee | closed rp post

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."

Oh, he notices. Casper isn't going to get something by him that easily.

"What makes you think I'd share?"

He's teasing. Mostly. Either way, there's an amused (and good natured) sort of smile on his face, and he nudges their feet together under the table.

"Sharing's never been my strong suit."

"Oh? I'm not the best at sharing, either." He meets Alexander's gaze as he says it, his fingers sliding over his partner's wrist. Quiet, but possessive.

"But it sounds like a fun date, anyway. Honestly I just enjoy spending time with you. You're an interesting person. You certainly make coming into the office a lot more enjoyable."

That gets an amused snort around his bite of food.

"That's probably your bias showing."

No one has ever claimed he makes the office enjoyable. Most people who work for him have a slightly unhealthy dose of fear, and he likes to maintain that.

"Didn't I say I don't want to hear anything about work?"

Ah, well. He'll tread more carefully, then. "My apologies. I just meant that I very much enjoy your company. I don't get to do that a lot, actually. I uh," Casper ducks his head, rubbing at his ear shyly.

"I put people off, I guess. Talk too much, or too loud."

"Their loss."

Most people that talk loudly or talk a lot don't do well around him. But Casper is endearing, and his voice is soothing, and when he talks he has substance to his words. Casper doesn't just run his mouth.

Alexander tops up their glasses with more champagne, and takes a bite of something off of Casper's plate.

Dinner is lovely; trading bites of food, chatting about plans for the next day, or books they're reading. Anything and everything. Afterwards, Casper reaches over to take Alexander's hand again, brushing his thumb over his partner's knuckles, his smile soft and very very fond.

"I still can't believe you stole me away to Paris. This is incredible. Everything about this, with you, has been incredible."

Alexander raises up Casper's hand to kiss his knuckles in turn, deciding this is what it must be like to be smitten.

"I wanted you to know how much you mean to me."

He's not the sentimental sort, but the moment calls for it. You pretty much have to be a little bit sentimental when you're on the edge of being champagne-tipsy with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Oh, Casper is absolutely over the moon. He is a rather sentimental man, despite appearances, and everything that Alexander has been doing to woo him (because it is, truly, a wooing) has been playing into that beautifully.

It's the way that Alexander pays attention to little details that really gets Casper. It makes him feel seen, in the best way possible.

The kiss makes him sigh (a little dreamily, if he's honest) and he rests his chin on his hand. "Well this says it in spades. And you mean a lot to me, too."

There's a brief moment of silence, the two of them just looking at one another while Alexander debates something for a moment. He decides, yes, he and Casper are important to one another, so he may as well -

"My brother, the older one," aka not He Who Shall Not Be Named, "is here for some film press, and he's insisting we find time to go for dinner with him and his wife."

Never in a million years would he invite anyone to a dinner with any of his family. But he knows if he shows up with someone who genuinely enjoys his company, then Barbara will tell Alice and Alice will tell Alan, and Alexander is petty enough to enjoy that. He also has no intentions of letting Casper go, so he has to meet the good part of the family at some point.

"Don't feel obliged to say yes if you'd rather it just be the two of us."

Casper looks absolutely touched at the idea. "Really?" he asks, his voice soft but pleased. "I'd love that, actually. If that's something you'd enjoy, of course. But I think it could be fun."

It's not something he's ever done. Gone to meet someone's family like this. But it's such a nice idea, and it means that this is something serious. Something long term, even.

He doesn't really mind Tom. Tom's eccentric and weird but Alexander gets along with him more than Alan.

"I'll call him tomorrow."

Because Tom can wait. There's still some champagne left and a chocolate dessert to share, and then maybe a nice shower to wash off a day of being in a plane.

"After our spa day, which I'm very much looking forward to. I don't think I've ever had a proper spa day, though I do get the occasional manicure." He likes to keep his nails neat, it's the one thing he really splurges on for himself.

"I noticed."

He runs a thumb along Casper's knuckles and offers him up a spoonful of dessert, an amused smile playing on his lips. As if he hasn't already clocked so many things about Casper over the last few weeks. He decides not to mention he's booked manicures, not just because of Casper obviously getting them but because he likes to keep his nails neat, too. It's part of the whole image.

"The spa, a museum, dinner with my brother, drinks on top of the Eiffel Tower. That seems like a good itinerary for tomorrow, don't you think?"

"Did you?" The observation (and the spoonful of chocolate) make him smile, and he hums happily at the impeccable dessert choice. "Not a lot of people do." And it's clear how much it tickles him that Alexander has.

"I think that sounds like the most perfect sort of day. How fantastic."

Alexander quietly assumes that most people haven't had Casper's fingers in their mouth or digging into their back as frequently as he has over the short course of their courtship. He merely hums his response as he has a bite of the dessert himself.

"Maybe a quick stop somewhere to pick up something to wear to dinner."

Something to adequately show Casper off to his brother and Barbara.

Well no, certainly not. Alexander has been much more intimately acquainted with his nails than anyone else has been, recently.

The comment about clothes makes him laugh, and he nudges Alexander's foot with his under the table. "I did bring some suits. But I'll never turn down the opportunity to let you dress me."

"It's almost as enjoyable as undressing you," he says, having another bite and dragging the spoon out from between his lips.

"I'm glad you'll humour me."

Casper clears his throat a little, his elbow nearly slipping off the table with his distracted staring.

"If you keep looking at me like that, I'll humour anything you want."

"Mm, careful what you say."

He finishes the last of his champagne, then gets up to circle around the small table and lean over Casper from behind.

"I'm going to test out the shower," he says, lips pressed to Casper's ear. The invitation to join him goes unspoken as he squeezes Casper's shoulder and heads back inside the room.

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