[OOM] Dinner and the Seine

[honourbyname]

Dinner is amazing.

Flammekueche, it turns out, is actually really, really tasty. And kind of pretty too.

Plus? It smells delicious.

They order a large rectangle of it, and between the three of them, it doesn't take too long to disappear. After a full day's worth of tourist activities, it's easy to work up quite the appetite, so it comes to Albus as no surprise.

Once dinner has been consumed and paid for, Albus checks his watch to be sure that they're on schedule for their last tourist activity of the day: a cruise along the Seine.



The day has really led to a beautiful evening. The sky is clear and the sun is just setting, bursting with deep oranges, yellows and blues behind the silhouettes of ornate buildings and bridges.

Down below, along the river, there are a number of boats waiting to take passengers.

Albus is excited.

(He even goes a little snap-happy with his camera in anticipation, taking over Scorpius' previous job.)

Comments

[alsoagreengrass]

Stuffed with flammekueche, Scorpius is more ready for a nap than to see the sights.

Until, that is, he actually sees the sights. Then, he's enthralled. Energized again, even.

(This is what he imagines when he thinks of Paris. Home and Hogwarts has some pretty good views too, but with the newness of the experience and the night being so nice - )

He wanders over to the edge of the waterfront, leaving Albus to the picture taking, to watch the boats that pass.

He gives that his attention for five seconds or so, anyway.

"Right, so. Which one do we take?"

Because he's so ready.

[golden_lyre]

Orpheus falls behind a bit to let the boys enjoy some time together as they walk through the city.

At Scorpius' question, though, he catches up. "That one," he says, pointing out a boat that is just pulling in. "We'll have to wait for the last tour to disembark first, but then we can get on."

[honourbyname]

Albus has just rejoined the others, after getting a particularly good shot (well, he hopes) of the Eiffel Tower in the sunset.

He glances over towards the boat Orpheus points out, watching as it slowly docks and pauses to let the passengers off.

"Oh, this is going to be brilliant. I've never actually been on any sort of cruise before."

[alsoagreengrass]

"Lots of firsts today," Scorpius remarks idly, sliding his arm through Albus' and pulling his boyfriend close.

Hard to resist doing so, on a night like this.

(Never mind that he's been rather handsy the whole trip so far.)

"Should we, uhm - Head over, do you think?"

[golden_lyre]

Orpheus nods, smiling. "Why don't you two grab a place in line, and I'll get the tickets?"

He thinks they're rather adorable and would never begrudge the closeness on a night like this.

[honourbyname]

"All right," Albus says, nodding in Orpheus' direction before he's beaming at Scorpius, heading towards the water and the gathering line.

Of course, because their arms are linked, Scorpius gets pulled along too.

And possibly snapped at with his camera.

[alsoagreengrass]

"We could go with you - "

But as Albus has already set off toward the line and Scorpius is being pulled, rather willingly, behind?

"Never mind! Stay out of trouble and all that rot," he calls after.

Then he makes a grab for Albus' camera, laughing.

"Give me that."

[golden_lyre]

Orpheus grins as he heads off for the ticket booth, more than happy to leave them alone for a while. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

[honourbyname]

"Hey, I was just about to take a really good picture of you," Albus protests, but he's laughing too.







And then: "- what does he mean by that?" Albus asks, blinking at Orpheus' retreating silhouette.

[alsoagreengrass]

Scorpius shrugs, stuffing Albus' camera into his back pocket with a tiny, somewhat smug smile.

"Coming from Orpheus? Probably that we ought to do the exact opposite of what we'd normally do and shock the tourists or the like.

"He, uhm - He did say Paris was the best city for getting into trouble."

[golden_lyre]

Orpheus is going to take his time getting those tickets. Just to give them enough space to get into whatever trouble they'd like.

[honourbyname]

"Um.

"And do you plan to get us into trouble, Scorp?" he asks, curious and innocent.

[alsoagreengrass]

"Well, er - "

Scorp - (He does so love when Albus calls him Scorp.) - was quite serious about not getting Albus into any sort of trouble.

But, having a bit of flirty fun? Still very much an option.

(Well. As flirty as Albus and him can be, anyway.)

He shuffles close, then closer still, leaning in.

"I'm a bad influence, supposedly.

"My boyfriend said so."

[honourbyname]

Albus laughs softly, allowing himself to lean a little against Scorpius.

He might not be supportive to causing any actual, genuine trouble - but he definitely wouldn't be opposed to the flirty fun sort. Especially when they're in a city that lives and breathes - well, love.

It's hard not to let it affect you in some way.

(Though, for the record, he knows he wouldn't have to worry about Scorpius actually causing any sort of bad trouble.)

"So that's a 'yes', then?"

[alsoagreengrass]

"Actually, I've decided he's the bad influence," Scorpius says, poking Albus in the chest and forcing his boyfriend back a step or two.

"Always trying to tempt me into things, scaring off my chaperone..."

He grins.

[honourbyname]

Albus obliges those one-or-two steps.

"Oy, I did no such thing," he protests.

Really.

Albus is the picture of innocence here.

"None of those things, actually. But if we're keeping some sort of trouble-making score, you did steal my camera. And my guidebook."

That makes you the bad influence, doesn't it, Scorpius?

[alsoagreengrass]

Albus can protest all he likes. Scorpius knows the truth.

(Picture of innocence? Please!)

"Now you've got that all wrong. I'm only holding the camera for you. Same with the guidebook.

"I think, uhm - I think maybe all the bad has gone to your head and rotted your brain," he says, scrubbing a hand through his boyfriend's hair.

[honourbyname]

"Oh, so that's what you're calling it, then? 'Holding'?"

Albus scrunches his nose in further protest, catching Scorpius' hand with his own - and, you know, away from his already unkempt mop of dark hair.

"Your powers of manipulation are really terrible, Scorpius."

[alsoagreengrass]

Scorpius easily twists out of Albus' grasps and takes a quick step out of reach, laughing.

"That only proves I'm not the bad influence then. A person of bad influence would know how to manipulate someone and seeing as I'm so terrible at it..."

[honourbyname]

Albus shakes his head, solemn.

"And just like that, you've regained your powers of manipulation," he says. "Turning the situation around to catch me off guard so I'd think you weren't a bad influence - it's very sneaky."

[alsoagreengrass]

"Twisting my words," Scorpius tsks, keeping another laugh in check to do so.

"I'm going to stand in line now, Albus Potter. You can join me when you've thought up an appropriate apology."

He flounces off, with that.

[golden_lyre]

Orpheus has taken as long as he can manage on the tickets, and he comes back just in time to catch that spectacular flounce.

"You know," he says as he returns, "when I leave the two of you alone in Paris, I expect to come back to find you snogging, not snarking."

[honourbyname]

Albus finds his cheeks heating, slightly sheepish.





"So - um. You have the tickets?"

[golden_lyre]

"I do," Orpheus offers, holding them up for inspection just in case Albus didn't believe him.

"Shall we go find your boyfriend?"

[honourbyname]

"Sure," Albus says, glancing at the tickets with a fair amount of rejuvenated excitement.


But he's not apologizing to Scorpius.