A Night In (Guy, Casual)

[GUY "PSYCHE" ANANKE]

Guy forced himself to not clean at obsessively as he normally would. Without company, Guy would be cleaning the kitchen for nearly an hour after cooking but since that seemed rude, Guy limited himself to washing the dishes quickly in hot, hot, hot water and putting them into the dishwasher to be washed after Peter left.

But once he was done with it he was left with more awkward fidgeting and not being sure what to do.

“Well, how about we watch one of those movies I brought? It’ll be fun.”

Guy agreed before he fully processed the suggestion. He wasn't going to be picky so he just accepted the first thing Peter thought of. Besides, movies aren't horrible.

“I brought a French film, a comedy, and some horror film. I wasn’t sure what you would be in the mood to watch.”

Guy blinked at the choices. He was inclined first off to say yes to the first one. His grandmother was French and didn't speak a lick of English so he taught himself so he could communicate with her, and then she rounded his education by jibbering away at him. She had died when he was 14 but Guy always kept up on it. It made him more eligible for photoshoots because he was bilingual.

"Um....Any work. I don't like horror films too much but the other two sound fine."

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

Peter was glad Guy seemed open to a movie. That made their night simpler, and simpler was better. It was also in their norm. That made Peter feel better, at least. He was a curious mix of excitement, nervousness, and earnestness, hoping he could be the one to make it a good experience for Guy. He just hoped none of it was showing on his face.

"Um....Any work. I don't like horror films too much but the other two sound fine."

Peter nodded, scrapping the horror movie for when he was on his own. He wasn’t a huge fan of them, but he was always captivated by the idea that people were. Then he needed to go through it and take apart the plot before he could sleep. As for the other two, well, he had kind of counted on the comedy, and was hopeful about the foreign film. It didn’t have subtitles, so he could only watch it with someone who knew French. Guy was bilingual, so it would be a good opportunity.

“You know, I haven’t seen anything in French for a long time.” He smiled, making his way over to where the movies had migrated to the coffee table.

He pulled the movies from the bag, finding the French film De Vrais Mensonges. It was some romantic comedy from a few years ago and he was hoping Guy wouldn’t find it too cheesy. It was about love letters from a secret admirer that humorously made the lives of the people in the plot crazy. It was a bit quirky for his liking, but he was a bit of an Audrey Tautou fan, which was why he’d picked it up, so he was hoping it was better than it looked. If not, maybe he and Guy would get a laugh out of it.

“I hope you haven’t seen this one. The rental place by my house is slow about getting in anything that doesn’t have Bruce Willis blowing up buildings.”

Though, he had to hand it to Bruce Willis – he was one of the few men alive who actually looked better as he got balder.

[GUY "PSYCHE" ANANKE]

“You know, I haven’t seen anything in French for a long time.”

Guy nodded and mechanically made his way to the couch. He sat down in the left corner, pressing into the arm of the couch, his back ramrod straight and his eyes trained on the television, unwavering. He didn't usually view movies with somebody else so he wasn't sure where he should sit. Or how he should sit. Should he be sitting at all? He didn't what the alternative was. Standing, perhaps. Or was it sort of laying down? Wait no, that was only after a comfortable threshold had been formed.

“I hope you haven’t seen this one. The rental place by my house is slow about getting in anything that doesn’t have Bruce Willis blowing up buildings.”

While Peter talked, Guy sat and contemplated what he should do. He crossed and uncrossed his legs, folded his hands and twisted his fingers before lacing them and holding his hands clasped tightly in his lap.

The only thing to think of to say in response was "I probably haven't seen it" and to press harder into the arm of the couch.

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

Guy sat on furniture like he was waiting to be executed. That was the best way he could explain it. Ram-rod straight, facing the TV, everything about him perfectly placed so that he would be just that – perfect. Then he started to fidget, like being perfect could be more perfect if he found the right pose, but it only showed the nerves the other man must have been feeling. Peter wasn’t put off by it. This was what Guy did. He looked weird doing it sometimes, but it was endearing that he always tried so hard when he really didn’t have to. He could have stripped down and started gnawing on his own toenails and Peter wouldn’t have cared, but Guy obviously did.

Peter wasn’t much for fidgeting. He always felt comfortable where he decided to drape himself, which was usually across the furniture and whoever was on it. If he had been with anyone else, he would have flopped down so he was curled up with them to enjoy the movie. But Guy wasn’t everyone else. He had space issues, germ issues, and people issues. Peter was always conscious of that, and it didn’t bother him. Sure, he would have liked to have used Guy as his pillow for the film, but he didn’t want to watch Guy dart off to the washroom to fling away his clothing and scrub down any skin Peter may have touched. Maybe one day Guy would be comfortable enough so Peter could lounge on him like he did his other friends, but until then, he was happy enough to do things Guy’s way and enjoy his company.

He just hoped a movie would relax Guy enough so he would enjoy Peter’s as well. Oh, he was sure Guy liked spending time with him, in fact he didn’t doubt that. He just noticed it took Guy a very long time to settle in around him when they got together, and now that it was being called a date, that made it harder for him to relax. Peter was pretty relaxed, but he wondered if he would be the same if he had been on a date with someone who knew what they were doing? Being the amateur at things made Peter nervous and sucked away his confidence and the smooth way he approached things. But being in this with another amateur didn’t make him feel like he was inferior or weird at all. He actually kind of liked calling this a date.

"I probably haven't seen it,” Guy told him, pressing harder into the side of the couch.

“I haven’t either, so I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

Peter spent only a moment putting the movie in the machine before coming back to the couch and flopping down in the remaining space. He was careful to leave Guy some room, even if it seemed like Guy was bound and determined to take up as little space as was humanly possible for someone who had his shoulder span.

“It’ll be nice to watch a movie with someone else. It always seems to be me and Baze. I think the dog enjoys it more than I do. Probably gets the plot better, too.”

He grinned over at Guy, careful to stay out of the space he’d designated for the other man, hoping he was coming off as funny and not lame. It was a fine line between the two, especially when you were Peter Aramis and generally bad at being funny.

“So, you never did say – how did you learn French?”

It was always interesting to know where people picked up skills. He knew Guy was bilingual, but he’d never asked him how he came to be that way. And it seemed like one of their usual conversation points, so it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary. He liked talking with Guy usually – he had interesting things to say about things Peter never thought about.

[GUY "PSYCHE" ANANKE]

“I haven’t either, so I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

Guy nodded a little, just to show that he heard him. That was nice. Right? It was unexplored territory for both of them so that wasn't good. It wasn't good that neither of them knew what was coming, even if it was just a movie. There was always supposed to be a game plan. There was no game plan.

“It’ll be nice to watch a movie with someone else. It always seems to be me and Baze. I think the dog enjoys it more than I do. Probably gets the plot better, too.”

"Dogs don't understand plot at all, they don't have the mental faculties for that." Guy didn't even get the joke, like always. "And how does a dog enjoy a movie? That doesn't even make sense. Dogs can't enjoy movies. Dogs can barely enjoy eating." He just gave Peter an incredulous look and dropped it after that. He couldn't wrap his mind around that statement at all.

“So, you never did say – how did you learn French?”

"Oh." Guy smiled a little. He could answer that, he knew that. "My grandma on my mom's side lived in France. She'd fly out to visit and there was always this huge language barrier so I taught myself how to speak French so I could talk to her on the phone and stuff." He shrugged and picked at his cuticles. He loved his grandmother and a big part of him always wished she hadn't died when he was so young. If she had still been alive, when the accident happened, he could have gone to her.

And maybe he wouldn't have ended up so screwed up.

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

"Dogs don't understand plot at all, they don't have the mental faculties for that. And how does a dog enjoy a movie? That doesn't even make sense. Dogs can't enjoy movies. Dogs can barely enjoy eating."

Peter tried not to laugh. Guy just did not get it, and instead had picked the comment apart. That was alright with him. Peter knew it was just Guy being Guy. There was no intention to hurt his feelings or make him feel stupid. It was just his attempt to reason it out logically. However, had he met Baze, he would have reconsidered the fact dogs understood plot. Baze seemed to follow some programs better than he did. And eating was definitely something dogs enjoyed. Anyone who'd ever fed one knew that - they were worse than teens.

However badly Guy had misinterpreted his first comment, Guy had no trouble reading his next comment. Peter could see his eyes light up and knew he’d picked the right thread for conversation.

"Oh. My grandma on my mom's side lived in France. She'd fly out to visit and there was always this huge language barrier so I taught myself how to speak French so I could talk to her on the phone and stuff."

Guy shrugged and started picking at his fingers. Peter had seen him do that a few times. He was trying to keep it light, but there was more to it than just that. Lord knew what else it was, but it was there.

“She sounds like she was an interesting woman. I’ll be you enjoyed having her visit if you learned how to speak with her.”

Peter’s Grandmere insisted that he and Angelique learn how to speak French. It wasn’t a request, and they’d even get quizzed from time to time. His mother could speak some French, but not enough to follow a conversation, so Grandmere was much stricter about how she went about teaching her grandchildren. He thought it would have meant more to him had he chosen to communicate with her, rather than being forced. Still, if it meant he could sit and watch a French film with Guy, then he didn’t regret learning.

“Have you ever been to France then? I've always wanted to go there.”

With a name like Aramis, Peter had become interested in France and French culture when he was younger. He’d growing out of it, but he still wanted to see France. His fear of flying had kept him from actually doing it, even if he could get the money together. If Guy had been, he wanted to hear about it, to get an honest impression of the place.

[GUY "PSYCHE" ANANKE]

“She sounds like she was an interesting woman. I’ll bet you enjoyed having her visit if you learned how to speak with her.”

"Yeah, she was great. She died not too long after I became fluent so I never really got to use it." Guy shrugged. He had never gotten the chance to use it much, outside of work, either. He enjoyed French, it was fun and interesting to him because it was so definite. There were no halfways with a foreign language, especially when you were learning it.

Guy liked that.

Halfways were so annoying.

“Have you ever been to France then? I've always wanted to go there.”

Guy nodded and reached for the cupboard under his end table, pulling out a binder. "I've gone several times." He opened the binder to a page and held it out to Peter. It was pictures from photoshoots and runways he did. "I've had lots of photoshoots and fashion events there. I just did a Gucci shoot a while ago, that's what they used in the magazine."

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

"Yeah, she was great. She died not too long after I became fluent so I never really got to use it."

Peter tried not to frown at that. It was one of those moments where he felt for Guy, but he didn’t feel sorry for him, nor did he want Guy to think that he did. It was just sad that he had put the effort in and she had died before he’d really had the chance to connect with her over it.

But he wasn’t wrapped up in that thought for long. Guy was nodding and reaching for something when he mentioned Paris, pulling out a binder.

"I've gone several times."

He flipped through it and held it out, instantly drawing Peter’s attention. He was very visual.

"I've had lots of photoshoots and fashion events there. I just did a Gucci shoot a while ago, that's what they used in the magazine."

Peter nodded, staring at the pictures. Guy was, in a word, gorgeous. He had these amazing shoulders, eyes, and a jaw that you could crack walnuts on. He looked stunning in Gucci suits, each pose accenting his assets. And the suit’s assets, too, of course..

Knowing Guy personally gave the photos more meaning to him. Guy was a vulnerable guy who looked like a tough guy in every picture Peter had ever seen him pose in. These were no exception.

“Guy, these are great photos,” he said, flipping the page carefully. “Paris looks amazing, but you definitely stole the show.”

It was true. And since they were on an officially named date, he felt like he could tell Guy he looked great. He probably heard that a lot, but he really did. He looked good in everything, even his current mismatched outfit.

“I don’t think there’s anything you can’t make look good,” he commented, flipping through the pages slowly. “No wonder you get so many modelling jobs.”

It was true. Now that he paid attention, he saw Guy’s picture in magazines and ads more often than he saw others. He was popular.