"How much longer 'til we land?" Demyx asked turning to Axel who sat in the seat beside him.
Axel looked at his watch. "Not long," he said. "Just relax Dem, we'll be there soon." With that he rested his head back and closed his eyes.
Demyx tried to do the same and rest, but he was too anxious to. It was summer vacation and he and Axel had decided to go to Paris – not in a romantic way – for a few months. They were both old enough to take care of themselves and had enough money for whatever they needed. Their only problem was that their French wasn't the best, but Axel said as long as they had the translation book they'll be fine. He also had told Demyx that he was sure there'd be enough people fluent in English for them to talk to.
Soon it was announced they were about to land, but Demyx didn't pay much attention to it since he had fallen asleep without realizing it.
In the morning Demyx woke and panicked slightly with the new surroundings. Remembering where he was, he calmed down. After the plane landed last night, Demyx and Axel left the airport with their things, rented a car, and went to the motel they were going to stay in. Demyx had fallen asleep in the car too, mush to his disappointment.
The motel was nice. It had two rooms, one for each of them. There was a small living room that connected to the small kitchen that had a breakfast bar. The furniture was in good condition and the service was nice. Demyx didn't give himself much time to look through their room, having gone to bed in his clothes when they got there. Now that he was fully awake and coming into the living room he was slightly amazed of how nice the place was.
Axel was already in the living room sitting on the couch. The TV was on, but was entirely in French so the volume was turned down to a quieter number. It was more of background noise than anything. As Demyx came into the room, Axel stood and headed for the door saying, "Come on."
"What?" Demyx asked. "But I haven't changed my clothes yet. Where are we going anyway?"
"Out to get something to eat," Axel answered as he opened the door. "Now come on. No one will care about your clothes but you."
Demyx silently followed the other out the door and down the hall. Once they left the motel they started down the road. Looking at any words on the building Demyx found himself confused for not knowing the French. Wondering if Axel even knew where he was going, Demyx asked, "You know where you're going right? Or are we gonna get lost?"
"Of course not," Axel said. "I know where we're going, no need to worry."
Turned out he did know where he was going and Demyx soon found them at a small café on a street corner. They each got something to eat and drink for breakfast and once they were finished they remained at their table talking. They talked about what they planned to do, food as one thing and activities as another. Axel offered that they can go through the city, eat when they needed, find some places to go to, and things to do. They'll stop somewhere to get what food they needed for their motel room.
Demyx agreed, saying that would be good for him.
They were out for a few hours and it was starting to get dark, the buildings they passed turning on their lights. Despite the hours passing, the two of them still went to shops and buildings. Eventually they had to stop walking as the weather took an unexpected change and started to rain. Stepping out of the rain the two stood under a building's awning.
"Shit," Axel muttered under his breath. "Stupid rain."
"It's not stupid, I like rain," Demyx said happily, trying to lift his friend's mood. He knew Axel didn't like rain. To show that he did like the rain, the blonde stepped out of under the awning and held his head back.
"Stop that, you'll get soaked," Axel said and pulled his friend back under the awning. "Let's just head back to the motel," he said and pulled out his phone for directions only to find his phone dead. "Damnit. Demyx, look for directions on your phone."
"Are we lost?"
"No," the redhead answered, lying entirely since he actually didn't know where they were or how to get back. "The directions are just to make sure we don't get lost on our way back."
Demyx went to argue, saying that they should be able to recognize their way back, but instead got out his own phone. "Uh oh, my phone's dead," he said and put it back in his pocket.
Sighing, Axel crossed his arms and closed his eyes before saying, "Okay, then we'll have to find somewhere to get directions. Come on."
He started walking and Demyx followed. All the buildings they passed were dark with 'closed' signs in their windows. "What if there isn't somewhere open?" Demyx asked.
"There's always a place open," Axel reasoned and kept walking, picking up his pace so he could get out of the rain faster. He ended up walking so fast he almost passed a shop with dim lights on inside. He stopped suddenly, causing Demyx to run into him. The redhead went to the door and walked into the shop.
It appeared to be a clothing store, mannequins scattered throughout the room and in the windows. Clothing hung to the mannequins' bodies, on racks and folded in neat piles. Bells rung into the air as the door opened and fell closed behind the two. The room was empty besides them but a man with pink hair soon came out from a room closed off by a curtain.
The man came to a stop and looked over the two teens in front of him. His eyes took in their nearly soaked clothes. "Eh bien, il semble que quelqu'un a été pris sous la pluie," he said. "Qu'est-ce que vous avez besoin? C'est presque la fermeture."
"Uh," Demyx started since Axel was hesitating on what to say. "English?" he asked.
"Oh, of course. My apologies," the man said, causing Demyx and Axel to release a sigh of relief since they didn't have to struggle with French. "What is it you need? It's almost closing," the man repeated now in English.
"Um, we're a bit lost," Demyx explained. "Can you give us directions?"
"Hm," the man thought it over before saying, "I can't." At his words the two teens become a bit disappointed, but quickly gained hope when he said, "But I know someone who might. Stay here." With that the man went back behind the curtain calling out in French. As they waited, Demyx took out his phone to check the time, forgetting the device was dead. He set the phone down and started looking at the clothes on the nearest rack. The man soon came back out, this time with a boy at his side. The boy was dressed in only sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He blushed slightly when seeing Axel and Demyx.
"Que devez-vous?" he asked, turning to the pink haired man. "Je veux aller au lit."
"Don't worry, you will," the man reassured. "All you have to do is give these two directions."
"Où aller?"
"Where do you need directions to?" the man asked, turning to face Axel and Demyx.
"The Lumières Motel," Axel answered. The boy nodded and went to the desk in the back of the room. Grabbing a pen and paper he silently wrote down directions. Demyx and Axel went to stand in front of the desk, waiting. The boy handed them the paper once writing down the final direction. "Thanks," Axel said and turned to leave.
"Attendre," the boy said, making the two stop. Holding out an umbrella he said, "Prenez cela. Vous n'avez pas à le retourner."
Demyx blinked, not knowing at all what he had said. He looked at the man as to ask for a translation. "He wants you to take the umbrella," the man explained with a sigh. "You don't have to return it." The blonde mumbled an 'oh' then a 'thanks' as he took the umbrella from the boy's hand, all the while blushing. He and Axel turned to leave again, only pausing when the man said, "And do practice your French. It'll come in handy."
Axel and Demyx were a little more than halfway back to the motel when Demyx realized he had left his phone at the shop. He decided to go back in the morning to get it. That way he could return the umbrella – even though he was told he didn't have to – and see the boy who gave them the directions. And maybe even get his name. He'd have to clean up his French though, as to not make a fool of himself.