Remember: Alex and Aro (boyxboy)

Chapter 18

A/N: Giving you guys a double chapter of present time. We'll get back to the past in a lil' while.

September 2017, Present Time

By the time five o'clock rolls around, I'm actually looking forward to seeing Aro after being in Caius' brooding, bipolar and cold presence all day long. As soon as he opens the door, I dash out without a backwards glance. I'm sure Caius feels the same way.

Aro is waiting halfway down the corridor, no doubt spying on me to make sure I don't go "wandering" in different parts of the castle. I approach him cautiously, still having mixed feelings about this morning's antics in his room.

He better not try touching any private part of me unless I say so ever again. "Alex." His manic smile is there as usual, spread across his pale face. "Hi." I mumble as I hook my arm through his outstretched one. There's no point in refusing his "chivalrous gesture". He'll only cause a scene.

"I've decided that you are not allowed to touch any part of me below here." I gesture to my chin and he frowns. "That is hardly fair. It rules out all the places I long to touch." He mopes and it gives me a little sense of power. 'Why not just let him have you? It's not like you haven't been touched before.' Richard snarls, and I nod in agreement on the latter though I definately don't want Aro touching me.

'Yeess you doooo.' Sandee joins in giggling and I want to swat her away even though I know she's not real and I can't see her anyway. It's frustrating. They just won't go away.

"So, how was your day with Caius?" He enquires as we stroll down the corridor, arm in arm, him taking his time. I suppose when you're a thousand years old, there's no need to rush. I grimace. "Annoying. He gave me a horrific trip down memory lane by bringing my mam into the convo, but other than that, it was shit." I shrug.

"Like I imagined." I add and he gives me a confused smile. "Convo?" He sounds out, and I almost giggle but that seems childlike and stupid.

"Conversation." I translate and he nods. "I see." He says simply as we reach the kitchen door. "Are you hungry?" He asks though he's already removing himself from me and pulling out pots and pans. "Pasta, perhaps." He talks to himself casually and I feel a huge sense of 'I can relate to that'. It makes me...almost happy.

I sit at the table and rest my chin in my hands, watching him. He keeps talking to himself. "He might want pizza. Most young men do. And some beer, though I prefer wine." He murmurs, turning around so his back isn't to me anymore. "Do you like wine?" He checks and I shrug. "Never tried it." I admit and his eyes widen.

"Never? My dear man, you have been missing out." His smile grows and he reads into a cupboard, pulling out a bottle. "Port. It is good for drinking alongside meat." He states confidently while I just stare, completely lost.

"Wine. Beer. Lager. It's all the same thing to me." I shrug and he smiles again. "Sweet thing, beer is for drunks. You are not a drunk. You are to be a gentleman. An upper class figure." He points to the glasses stacked in a cabinet behind me and I reach, retrieving one.

I hold it out to him and he points again. "One for you, too." He insists and I sigh, grabbing one regardless. He turns back to the oven. "Set them on the table. I'll pour."

I put them down and sigh. "I don't really drink." I admit and I hear him chuckle. "I do. If you and I are ever at an event or party, I will make sure that we have the same wine. At least then, no one will know that you have completely no idea what region the wine comes from or what date it was made." He lets out another amused chuckle.

"Region?" I question and he looks over his shoulder to check whether or not I'm being serious. "Oh Alex, you really are clueless." He twists the lid off the bottle and comes to the table, pouring a generous amount in each glass.