He got his coffee, and went outside again. Maybe fresh air will help. He leaned against the wall of the coffee shop, opening the cup and blowing on the coffee to get it to cool down. He took a sip, letting out a breath and hoping that it would help his jet lag. He didn't have high hopes, but he didn't want to spend his first full afternoon in France asleep.
Lou kept his eye on the new man until his attention was turned elsewhere— to the small dog padding at his ankle.
“Hey, Bean,” Lou smiled, picking up his small terrier puppy. “Want to sit up here with me?”
The grey fur slid through his fingers as he ruffled the top of its head, the collar jingling. Bean, now happily sitting on his owner’s lap, made his best attempt at consuming the coffee held tightly in the man’s other hand. Lou chuckled in response, holding his cup higher.
(i gtg soon)
Jay looked up when he heard the jingle of a dog collar. His eyes landed on a Frenchman who looked about his own age, with a small dog in his lap. He smiled a little, and took a sip of coffee. He yawned again almost immediately afterwards.
(Alright, no problem)
Bean started jumping up and licking Lou’s face. Lou shrunk up his shoulders, wrinkling his nose and grinning. His coffee began spilling slightly on the pavement.
“Bean! C’mon,” he laughed, pushing the puppy back down gently. The puppy just looked up happily, its tail wagging furiously.
“You made me spill my coffee, buddy,” Lou whimpered, his accent slightly more audible. His voice was oddly melodic and raspy for his lanky frame.
Jay came over, biting his lip nervously. "Can I…pet your dog?" he asked, embarrassed and laughing at himself. He took a sip of his coffee. "I uhm…sorry, this is weird, but he's adorable and I'm a sucker for dogs." he blushed a little, ducking his head in embarrassment.
“Oh, of course,” Lou said with a charming smile. “His name is Bean, and he’s really sweet. He won’t bite.”
Lou proceeded to set down his coffee cup and hold up the pup. Bean made an excited yip and began wagging his tail yet again. The jingling of his collar was much more audible as the pup wiggled in excitement.
Jay reached down to pet Bean, his attention switching to Lou for a moment. "Alright." he kept petting the puppy, smiling happily. He looked at Bean, and made little kissy noises, praising him. "Who's a good little puppy, who's a good boy? Who's a good, cute little puppy?" he asked, smiling.
“Aw,” Lou said with a smirk. “He seems to really like you.”
The puppy replied in excited yips, licking the man’s hands— his tail still going crazy.
“I’m Louis, by the way,” the man said, holding out his own hand as he set the puppy back on his lap. “Nice to meet you.”
Jay smiled a little bit at that, and nodded. "I'm Jay. Nice to meet you too." he had bags under his eyes, and he looked exhausted but excited as he took another sip of coffee, bouncing a little bit on his heels.
“Jay? I like that name,” he replied. “You seem a bit tired. I’ve seen it before— let me guess… jet-lag?”
He stroked the puppy in his lap, the terrier’s curly fur bouncing back up every time Lou patted it down. Bean had calmed down a bit and turned his attention back to the coffee. As Louis conversed with the new man, Bean took a few laps of the latte. Lou was clearly aware of this and didn’t bother to stop him.
Jay smiled lightly. "Thanks. And yes, jet lag. Who knew that plane trips were so exhausting?" He laughed a little, taking a sip of his coffee again. He watched Bean for a moment, one eyebrow lifting a little as the puppy lapped at the coffee.
“Huh, cool,” Lou replied. “So, where are you from? Why are you here?”
The man laughed slightly, slowing himself down.
“I’m sorry,” he said, stopping himself. “I’m an inquisitive person.”
He stroked Bean, cocking his head at Jay with a pleasant sheepish smile.
"America. I'm here with my class." He replied with an easy smile. "And don't worry about the questions, it's fine." He sat down in a chair to be more comfortable, taking another swallow of his drink.
“Well, welcome to France,” Lou nodded. “If you need a tour guide, I’d be glad to oblige. Bean and I grew up in this city— I can sure take you on an adventure.”
Lou resisted the urge to wink but held a smile anyway.
Jay wondered if Lou was aware of the double meaning in his words. "That would be…great, actually." He said with a grin. "Otherwise I'll probably get lost." He laughed a little, shaking his head slightly.
“Alrighty, then,” Lou snickered in response. “Sounds good.”
He picked up Bean’s leash, setting the terrier pup down and grabbing his coffee.
“Well,” he began, rising from his chair. “Shall we?”
Jay got up, holding his coffee in one hand. "Yeah. Thank you." He said with a light smile. He took another drink of the coffee.
Lou slid out onto the sidewalk, motioning for Jay to follow. As their footsteps echoed on the quieter streets, faint traffic was audible from the distant roads. Bean trotted happily beside the two as Louis slipped the bright red leash through an adjacent belt loop. It was surprising the pup even needed a leash— he was by the man’s side every second.
Lou held out his hands, gesturing to the unique architecture of nearby buildings. He explained to Jay how he had grown up in a small house just outside Paris on the countryside, and how beautiful it was. He went off happily about how elegant the building structures were in the city. Anyone listening would clearly be able to tell how passionate Lou was about different cultures and their architectural style.
After a while, Lou stopped himself.
“So sorry,” he said with a conscious laugh. “I’m geeking out.”
His hand slid up to the back of his neck and he sighed, fixing his glasses with the other.
Jay smiled. "No, it's fine. It's…it's cool, actually. It's fun to learn about other places. Especially from the point of view of someone actually from here." He grinned over at Lou and Bean.
“Well, then consider us personal guides,” he said, returning the smile. “Say, I’m the one answering all the questions. What about you?”
Lou turned down another street, the morning sun shining down on them both. He briefly read a couple signs, then continued to walk.
“Where in America are you from? What brings your class to France?”
"We're from the West Coast. Oregon, actually. I'm here because one of my classes is French. The language, I mean. And I've been taking it for years. Our class had a contest, and the 30 students with the highest scores got to go on this trip. We'll be here for like…a month or so." He explained with a smile.
“That’s amazing,” Lou exclaimed delightfully. “You must know it well, then?”
Lou lead Jay down a set of stairs, continuing on until they reached a large canal. Lou stepped onto the bridge, moving toward the side as to let cars pass. He leaned up against the railing, crossing his legs and holding Bean in his arms. Ships passed beneath them, and a great deal of the city could be seen. It was a nice, crisp morning, and Louis breathed in the cold air.
“French is my first language, though I spent a good deal of my life speaking English,” he explained. “I’ll spare you the complication of dialect, so as long as you can understand me through my accent— you’re golden.”
Jay grinned, leaning on the railing. "Yeah. I mean, I'm not perfectly fluent, but I'd like to think that I speak it pretty well." He chuckled softly, looking over at Lou. "And alright. I can understand you, so don't worry about that."
“Good, good,” the man said with a nod. “You’d be the only one.”
The meaning in his words were meant to go either way. Truth was, Lou liked this guy. He seemed… different. Within about the first couple minutes of their meeting, Lou decided that he was a good person. Maybe… just maybe Lou could travel with him.
The man pushed the thought out of his mind.
Not right now, he thought. But, perhaps, later.
Lou glanced up at Jay, the smile on his face seeming almost permanent. Before Jay could notice the look, Louis adverted his gaze, again looking out at the water.
(This is my first mention of the time-travel situation, btw. You mentioned you would want it to be caused by the Frenchman, so I can take it upon myself to initiate it. Your choice, though :)
"I mean, so long as you meant your accent when speaking English. I can make no guarantees about French. Like I said, I'm not perfectly fluent yet, and I totally might fuck up and make the mistake of saying I have a boner instead of that I'm excited. So." He chuckled, running a hand through his hair with a smile.
(Yeah yeah, that's fine! I honestly didn't have a preference of how you did it, so that's perfect! :) )