Aichi's not really sure how he got here. All he knows is that he came to Paris, searching for the Europe Champion. When he finally found him in front of a rather fancy looking private school and approached him, the next thing that happens is him getting pushed through the crowded alleys of Paris.
"Uhm, where are we going, Gaillard-kun?"
He says something in French, then stops to rubs his neck. Aichi doesn't complain about the break. After days with little to none sleep and all the time they spent rushing trough the city, he's pretty exhausted.
"Olivier should be fine," is what the Europe Champion mutters after a while, looking at the ground. "But only if you're okay with it, erm, Aichi-san."
It's pretty surprising to see him like this. He'd expect the person who won such a big tournament in front of so many people to be a little more… confident. The weird thing about this is that just some seconds ago, in front of his school, his confidence seemed to rival Kai's, but now it's as if all of it crumbled apart.
"Where are we going?" Aichi finally asks again, still following Gaillard, who also isn't sure what happens. After school, the Japanese boy practically appeared in front of him without anything else and told Gaillard he had something important to tell him. He should have told him to get lost, shouldn't have paid him any attention at all, but instead asked for his name and even suggested to take him to a more private place. In front of the school really isn't the right place to discuss such important things.
Weird, right?
Right now, he's glad for choosing to learn Japanese back then. Some years ago, when Vanguard cards were only sold in Japan, he pretty much begged his parents to import some cards for him, but since he couldn't read the card texts, they hired a Japanese teacher for him. It's not even a bad investment, considering that, when the cards got released in France, he could already play Vanguard. It wasn't even hard to win the Nationals or to qualify for the Europe Circuit. He might have lost that final match last year, but he won this year, so he can call himself the Europe Champion.
If learning that language helped him to such a huge success, why does it feel like he learned Japanese just meet this guy?
"… so?"
Sendou Aichi stares at him.
"A place to discuss whatever you wanted to tell me. You said it's something private, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I thought we could talk about that at my place." He starts walking again, this time a bit slower. Next to him, Aichi follows him in silence, each step more cautious than necessary.
"Do you still remember Link Joker?" is what Aichi asks him after a few minutes. They're still walking and passed the book store (Gaillard inwardly curses, because he hasn't bought Hamlet for English class), that expensive jewellery shop his older sister loves (he hates jewellery, but he still needs a present for her birthday) and a small and shabby diner (the realization that he hasn't eaten anything for lunch yet suddenly hits him), when they find themselves in front of Gaillard's school again.
But with the things Aichi tells him, things he thought would be all right for now, – he didn't fight so hard for nothing after all – he stops paying attention to where they're walking.
After Aichi's done explaining, they walk silently for a few moments. Then Gaillard smiles.
"So, Aichi-san, you're looking for someone to help you." Aichi nods. "Why don't you do it yourself. I've seen your fights and I know that your pretty strong yourself."
He shakes his head. "I need you to help me, Gaillard-kun."
Gaillard wants to curse.
"Olivier's fine."
"Sorry, two of my friends only go by their last names. You kind of remind me of one of them." He plays with the hem of his shirt and laughs. Gaillard wants to ask who this friends is, but stops himself in the last moment.
"If you want me, I'll be there for you." Which probably sounds really sappy and he totally blames it on the fact that he's not speaking his native language. Aichi doesn't notice that or at least ignores it as a smile flashes on his face. Gaillard quickly looks at the floor.
He only looks at Aichi again when the boy pulls a small box out of his pocket. He asks Gaillard if he really is okay with this and the consequences of this. (How could he waste a single worry on these consequences when this is his only chance to be with the fascinating boy in front of him?)
Two silver rings with blue stones lie in the box. Gaillard's sure they're prettier than anything else he has seen in his life. (Though not prettier than Aichi.) He definitely doesn't blush when Aichi puts them on his fingers.
"Although they won't remember, I think you should see your family again before we leave."
"Then you should come with me."
Another smile. "Well, if you want me to. Isn't that where we wanted to go anyway?"
"Huh?"
It's absolutely not an easy thing for Gaillard to concentrate on what Aichi said and basically his whole presence in general, while trying to keep track of where they're going at the same time.
But this is still embarrassing.
Gaillard laughs nervously and Aichi raises an eyebrow at that. He opens his moth, but Gaillard is faster than him and quickly interrupts him.
"You think we're lost, but that's not true. There's no way I'd get lost here. I know where we are."
He wraps his fingers around Aichi's wrist and pulls him into an alley they haven't been today, or at least he hopes that.
"If we take this shortcut, we'll be at home in time to eat lunch with my family."
(It's already dark when they reach Gaillard's house, but even after hours of running through Paris, they did have lots of fun together. He's not sure why, but he found himself getting lost in Aichi's smile many times today.)