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John's POV
When the plane lands, he waits for the other passengers to get off before getting off himself. Not wishing to deal with the press of people anymore than he has to. As soon as he steps off, he glances around, trying to determine where to go. So he is surprised when a slender, black-haired alpha in a suit approaches him with a friendly smile.
Instinctively he steps back as the alpha gets closer, there are too many scents to clearly determine what the other man's purpose is.
If the slender man notices his hesitation, he doesn't mention it, instead he greets him, "John Watson? I'm your escort from the Hotel Elysée for the next two weeks, Jim Brook," the alpha offers his hand, smiling at him warmly though there is something off with that smile, even though he cannot tell what it is.
For a long minute he studies the slender alpha, before politely accepting the hand in a firm shake, "Nice to meet you," he murmurs politely, not feeling the urge to introduce himself since the other man already knows his name.
Still smiling at him, the alpha releases his hand after a long moment before turning partly towards the door, "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the hotel, it's nearly lunch time so if you would like I can make some suggestions as to where is worth eating at."
"Umm, yes thank you, that'd be great," he replies, "I need to get my bag first."
Nodding once, the dark-haired alpha motions towards the large sign that states luggage collection, and the two of them head in that direction.
Mostly he keeps a safe distance between himself and the tall man, studying him out of the corner of his eye. Every time they get somewhat close, he catches the alphas scent and there is something familiar about it, and yet he cannot place it. At the luggage collector, he grabs his backpack and quickly puts it on, not giving the taller man a chance to grab it.
A small smirk curves the alpha's lips before he nods once and motions silently to the door. Quietly and quickly the two of them move through the crowd. Once outside the slender man leads him to a side parking lot and a waiting sleek black car.
"Mr. Brook," he begins only to be cut off gently.
"Call me Jim please," the alpha remarks quietly.
Eyes narrowing, he nods once, "Jim, could we do the food first? I haven't had anything to eat in nine hours besides peanuts and fuzzy drink."
"Of course," the taller man replies, "Any preference on type of food? Or there is the option of the hotel's restaurant."
"Something American?" he answers, a bit unsure what all is available.
Chuckling softly, the taller man nods, "Front or back?" the alpha inquires politely, waiting for him to specify before opening a door.
It takes him a minute to understand the question before answering, "Front," with a small smile.
Bobbing his head, the slender alpha opens the passenger door for him to slide in, though it takes him a moment to realize it since he is used to it being the driver side.
Chuckling at himself, he gets in, shifting his backpack to his lap instead of his back, and fastening his seatbelt while the alpha shuts the door and quickly strides around to the other side.
"American food you said, any particular preference?" the older male inquires as he shuts his door and clips his seatbelt.
He shakes his head, "I dunno, I ummm, I want to try something new, I just don't know what," he eventually answers, embarrassed when he stumbles while speaking.
The alpha cocks his head to the side again for a moment, "New York Pizza then, it's considered a major American food group."
He bobs his head and sits quietly, though his nose keeps twitching as he tries to place the alphas scent. It's so very familiar and yet he is sure he has never seen or met this alpha before. While he tries to figure out why the older man's scent is familiar, he stares out the window at all the building, many which are unlike anything he is used to seeing. Of course he hasn't seen all of London but still.
The silence is broken by the alpha asking, "Roadside parking or parking lot?"
Blinking rapidly, he tilts his head for a moment, considering the traffic before answering, "Parking lot."
Nodding once, the alpha finds a parking lot, and pays the toll before finding a spot to put the car.
"I'll be locking the car if you want to leave your backpack in it," the dark-haired man offers.
Thinking about it for a minute, he nods once before opening his door, sliding out, and setting his pack down as he does so. Once the alpha has gotten out and locked his side, key sliding into his pocket, he locks his door and shuts it before stepping beside the alpha and waiting patiently.
Smiling at him, a bit more genuine than his previous smile, the alpha tips his head towards the street and sidewalk.
Quietly the two of them leave the parking lot and heads down the street to a small pizza shop. His eyes are sweeping over everything, amazed at the different styles of buildings and designs, at all of the scents he can smell, and all the vast variety of people with their different looks and styles. As they continue down the street, the scents are nearly overwhelming and he is happy when they duck into the pizza place where the primary thing he smells is the pizza.
He is actually surprised at how quiet the alpha is being, except for telling him about different buildings in a soft, lilting voice, he has not said hardly anything. Briefly he considers trying to start up a conversation on something else, but decides against. Right now he doesn't want to add to his things to think about. He really wants to figure out why the alpha with him smells so familiar. Plus he plans to call and leave a message for Greg to let him know the flight went well and he is here. He'll also tell him about the fact he has an alpha escort from the hotel, possibly even tell his friend that the alpha smells familiar and he cannot figure out why.
So he stays quiet, listening to the things around him and only talking a little bit when making his choice for an order. The meat lovers pizza with extra cheese sounds good, so that's what he gets with a Dr. Pepper.
It surprises him how quiet the alpha is and the fact he seems almost unnaturally still as the only part of him that moves is his dark eyes sweeping the room. From beneath his lashes he studies the dark-haired man, taking in the sharp features, light skin, dark brown, nearly black eyes, and the fact he seems to be well dressed. Of course from what he knows of the hotel that is not surprising, it makes sense that he would be well dressed, but he gets the impression that its normal for him, he doesn't have that uncomfortable feel he noticed that some people have in their clothes when they are not used to them.
Several minutes later their meal is delivered and he is surprised at how big the pizza and drink is. Since he is hungry, he simply shrugs and digs in, though it takes him a minute looking around to realize why he doesn't have a fork to cut it up with. Through the meal he continues to study the people around them, and the alpha in front of him in particular. When they are done, he fishes his wallet and the card that his bosses gave him for food and such to pay for it, only to discover that the alpha had already paid. He tries to argue the fact he does have money, but the alpha just waves it off, stating it comes with his room. Since he cannot remember the exact list of stuff offered by the hotel, he stops arguing.
After they leave the pizza shop the taller man inquires, "To the hotel or look around here for a bit?"
Grinning, he replies, "I need to walk, not used to being still for so long, so around if that's alright?" He knows he his voice is unsure and questioning, but he wants to explore this place. At least a bit. There are so many things here he never would have considered and he wants to explore them all.
Nodding, the alpha motions towards the door and they return to the street. He is surprised that the alpha stays a bit behind him, but continues to tell him about all of the places they pass and the shops that they slip in and out of. There are a wide variety of street vendors and performs of all types working on the sidewalks, even more than he has ever seen walking through London. He considers buying food off some of the vendors but is full from his pizza. When the scents start to get to be too much, he glances about, trying to remember exactly where they came from so he can head in that direction. Apparently his companion understands, because he motions off to the side and when he follows the taller man's direction, it takes them right back to the parking lot with their waiting car.
The alpha opens his door first, before heading around to the other side to open his own door and slide in.
A few minutes later they are back on the road and he continues to watch all the people as they drive to the hotel. He is surprised to find that it is actually only a few blocks from where they had ended up.
At the hotel, the taller man escorts him in, quickly fetching his room key from the hostess before showing him up to the room. When they reach the door, the older man opens it for him before handing over the keys.
"Would you like an escort to dinner or planning on staying in?" the alpha inquires quietly at his door.
Tilting his head, he glances at a clock before answering, "I think I am going to stay in tonight," he bites his lip, "I'll be up around eight am."
Smiling at him softly, the dark-haired man nods, "Then I will see you at breakfast. If you need something, this is my pager number." A sleek white card is handed to him, with two numbers on it, the first being a phone number, the second a pager number.
"Alright, ummm thank you Jim," he responds as he tucks it in to his wallet.
Doing a slight bow, the alpha withdraws after bidding him, "Sleep well."
Closing the door, he glances about and goes over to the clock where he sets the alarm. That way, he will be up when he said he would. Tugging his journal out of his coat, he sprawls on the bed and starts writing. Reviewing everything that had happened today from the time he left the flat until now. It was a rather long day, and despite being on a plane for nearly eight hours, he had only actually lost five hours of the day due to the time difference.
His exploring of New York City, at least such a small part of New York City, had been a blast. Initially he was concerned that having a strange alpha with him was going to cause problems, but he felt surprisingly comfortable around the taller man and was still working on figuring out why his scent was so familiar. He is quite sure he should know it, but he cannot figure out why.
After checking the clock and seeing that it is five pm here, which makes it ten pm at home, he retrieves his calling card, reads the instructions for the phone, and calls Greg. Happily, his flatmate picks up on the second ring.
"Lestrade."
"Hi Greg, thought I would call and tell you my flight went good, how's it going?" he replies happily to the older man, beginning to feel sleepy.
"John! Hey, everything is good, no fresh dead people today thankfully. At least none I was assigned to, so I am working on getting my paperwork caught up." his friend answers with a chuckle before asking, "How's the trip so far?"
He smiles for a long minute before remembering his friend cannot see it and responds, "Its been fun, I spent all day wandering around the city with my alpha escort assigned by the hotel. He met me at the airport and everything."
"You feel safe with this alpha?" his friend inquires, worry obvious in his tone, probably because he knows him and his issues with most alphas.
"Shockingly enough, I do," he pauses for a minute, tilting his head, "Actually he smells really familiar but I cannot figure out why."
"Have you considered asking? Maybe he is using one of those scent lessening bath care products." His dark-haired friend suggests, his tone a bit playful.
Chuckling, he shakes his head before remembering he cannot be seen and speaking aloud instead, "No, not yet, I want to see if I can figure it out first."
"Well good luck, hey I have to work in the morning, but call me back tomorrow night and we'll talk more," Greg remarks, "Take care of yourself John."
"Thanks Greg, sleep well and don't get injured while I am gone!" he replies before hanging up his phone.
Standing he decides on a shower before taking a nap, though he has a feeling it will really be going to bed for the night. After digging his shampoo and body wash out, he heads into the bathroom and takes a minute to figure out how to run the tub since it is slightly different than theirs at home. Once the hot water is pouring down, he climbs in after undressing and enjoys the feel of the water on his skin. Afterwards, he uses a towel to dry off absentmindedly while he thinks about why the dark-haired alphas scent is so familiar.
It is not long later that he is sprawled in the bed with only his pants and sleeping bottoms on so he can take a nap. Well that's what he tells himself its going to be, however a very active and full day causes him to pass out, and he does not wake up until the alarm is going off in the morning.