“Don’t know,” he mumbled. “Like I said, haven’t been here much.”
He looked around, biting his lip. “Let’s see….”
He suddenly glanced back and forth, then gestured for Jay to follow as he stepped from the alley.
Lou lead the man down the beautifully lit streets, swerving through intersections and watching horse-drawn carriages parade down the roads. Lanterns hung from doorways and fewer people dotted the city.
Jay followed Lou, eyes wide as he took everything in. He swallowed hard as he walked, still in shock that he was here. In the past, with a cute French boy. Though he wasn't sure that Lou felt the same way that he himself did…but he didn't want to get distracted, so he kept on looking around.
“I’ve been here only once,” Lou said with a smile as they walked. “I normally go back to a later time. Before a lot of settlement. I don’t necessarily like the city much.”
He gazed around, in awe of the city himself.
Jay nodded a little, wishing he could reach out and take Lou's hand, but he knew that would be extremely frowned upon in this time period. "Yeah. It's beautiful, though." He said softly, staring around wide-eyed and curious.
Lou soon caught sight of an illuminated boutique just a little ways down the road. Lou nudged Jay with his elbow, kicking off happily into a jog before reaching the door.
He looked behind to see if Jay had followed, then stepped inside. It smelled like sweet tea and coffee, and extravagant clothing hung from ornate racks. Lou smiled, seeing a hat rack.
He popped one off the rack, setting the flat cap bunnet down on his head. His wavy hair poked out from underneath and his glasses were only slightly askew.
“So?” he asked, turning around after fixing it on. “Whatcha think?”
Jay grinned, and reached up to fix Lou's glasses. He smiled at Lou. "Hmm. Very handsome." He said with a soft laugh, running a hand through his own dark hair. He was still smiling.
He looked around, putting his hands in his slacks pockets. Sure enough, he found a few francs.
He walked up to the counter, putting down the flat cap and a couple golden coins.
The man at the counter took up the coins, telling the men to have a good night in fluent french.
“Merci, monsieur,” Lou replied. “Vous aussi.”
Louis picked up the hat again, this time setting it atop Jay’s head. He playfully tugged the end down, having Jay’s hair and the hat fall into his eyes. He smiled as he walked out of the boutique, glancing back at the man and snickering.
He leaned on the door frame, grinning.
“I always gotta keep a couple francs in my pocket, eh?” he said with a shrug. “Never know what time you’re going back to.”
Jay yelped as Lou tugged the hat down, eyes widening a little. He tugged it back up, looking at Lou and rolling his eyes. "Alright, alright." He replied, chuckling softly.
“Loosen up,” Lou laughed. “Haven’t you ever been to the 1900’s, handsome?”
He smiled, having Jay wall beside him as he guided the pair down the street once more. He turned around, walking backward so he could be facing Jay.
“It’s after 10:00 at least. Now, pretty much anyone will think we’re drunk,” he said with a chuckle. “Which means I can compliment you all I want— with only half the judgement.”
Jay smiled back, looking up at Lou and adjusting his hat. "Mm." He replied. "Still shouldn't do anything more than compliments." He said with a laugh, looking at Lou. "Sadly."
“Oh, yeah?” Lou said, looking up at the sky and giving a silent giggle of sorts. “What would you rather be doing?”
"I quite enjoy kisses, but that's not possible in this time period." Jay replied with a flirtatious smile.
Lou smiled, blushing and turning back around to hide it. “Is that so? If, then yes, you’re right. This time is quite… judgy.”
He glanced over, his eyes twinkling happily as he looked over the man’s hat. “But, frankly— I quite enjoy them, too.”
Jay chuckled softly. "Well. When we get back to our own time, we can share all the kisses we want." He winked, smirking slightly.
“And, luckily,” Lou said, pausing as they got to the railing of a canal. He rested his hands over it, looking at the moon glistening on the calm yet ominous water.
“Luckily, we have all the time in the world.”
"Well…I'll be going home in a month, actually, but…yeah." he smiled, leaning on the railing and looking at Lou.
“What’s a month when you travel through time?” Lou asked. “You know how this works, don’t you?”
He seemed confident, but he couldn’t help but think Jay wanted to go back. He couldn’t help but think Jay didn’t want a solution.
Jay laughed a little. "Yeah, but…that's only gonna work for you." He replied. "Once I leave, I'll only have memories." He shrugged his shoulders slightly.
“Alright, then,” Lou said. “Well, if that’s the case, we’ll just have to make it count, hmm?”
He bumped his shoulder gently into Jay’s.
“I don’t know about you, but I think we can make some pretty… amazing memories.”
Lou looked over, his eyes holding a slight romantic twinkle as he smiled sweetly.
Jay smiled, edging closer to Lou and hesitantly reaching for the other male's hand, their bodies keeping anyone from seeing. "Mm. I'm quite sure we can do that." he replied with a flirtatious little smile.
“As am I,” Lou said, taking the man’s hand. His was warm and rough, but gentle nonetheless.
“You think this is a good place to start?”
With a nod of his head, he gestured to the open canal, the moon glaring off of his glasses as well as the water.
Jay let out a soft hum, lacing their fingers together. "Depends on what you're planning to do." he replied with a soft chuckle, smiling up at Lou.
“Oh, what I’m planning to do?” he scoffed sarcastically. His smile lingered as he rolled his eyes. “Sorry, monsieur— last time, I kissed you first. Think it might be someone else’s turn, huh?”
Jay smirked. "You sure you want me doing that in public?" he replied, looking up at Lou with mischief and flirtatious merriment in his eyes.
“Who knows,” Lou said softly. “Maybe I’ll time jump us back, maybe I won’t.”
His smile faded to a smirk, but his eyes held that same certain luminosity to them