luck-12
TITLE: Luck Be A Lady
AUTHOR: firegatka007
WARNINGS: nothing here
PAIRINGS: William of course but no one else famous
STATUS: WIP, Chapter 12
After a calm descent from the arch, they continued their way down the Champs-Elysees. Here they saw many shops and boutiques, almost all of them chain stores available in England. There were more tourists, easily noticeable with their backpacks and camera gear. There were also more people in general, Parisians shopping, people meeting, just people everywhere. William felt eyes on him, and looked down at the ground. This allowed his bangs to sweep across more of his face, and hopefully hide him better. He continued a step behind Elizabeth and kept his eyes on her shoes, navy blue Converse sneakers. He was so focused on remaining hidden that he just plain did not notice when she stopped.
“Hey!” She turned around to look at him. “What was that for?”
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you stopped,” William glanced around uneasily. Her loud remarks were causing people to look at him. “What did you stop for?”
“I was trying to make sure we were turning on the right street.” She pointed up at the street sign and turned onto it. It was a small alleyway compared to the broad avenue they came from. The cobblestones were uneven here and caused them to walk wobbly.
“Where are we going now?” Will asked, his eyes on his feet for fear of tripping on a loose stone.
“There is a tiny shop here that I really love.” She answered quietly.
“What?” He stopped in his tracks. “We’re going shopping? Come on, I never made you do anything you didn’t want to do!”
She turned to face him. “Well I guess you are a nicer host than I,” she took his hand. “Come on slowpoke.” She led him to a tiny shop. The window was dark and the sign was so faded and chipped Will couldn’t tell what kind of store they were venturing into. “This shop is probably as old as these cobblestones. My family has been coming here for generations.” They pushed the door open and heard a tiny ding of a bell somewhere.
It was dark. William blinked several times, trying to let his eyes adjust to the dark from the bright street. He removed his sunglasses and tried again. Slowly the shop came into focus. The ceiling and floor were made of dark mahogany wood, which showed signs of wear but careful care at the same time. The walls were painstakingly painted argyle of dark maroon and park purple. Someone even took the time to pain tiny gold lines to complete the argyle look. Here and there hung old graying photographs of family, of celebrities and newspaper adverts. It was another moment before William even noticed what the shop was selling.
Hats. Hats in every color, shape and size imaginable. Top hats, short hats, wide hats, even cowboy hats. There was also a portion of wall dedicated to mirrors. Quirky shaped mirrors hung by gold gilded frames at all heights imaginable. Some close to the ceiling, others barely two feet off the floor. Obviously, these owners were serious about catering to every customer. William had a quick image of a family trying on hats, all with their every own mirrors. He chuckled to himself imagining the little kids fighting over little mirrors, and older members too preoccupied with themselves to even notice.
Slowly he came out of his trance and heard Elizabeth’s voice. She deep in conversation with the shopkeeper, apparently about a lavender hat which she held in her hands. They were both smiling and talking like old friends. He was a small old man, with more wrinkles than one could count. He looked very old, but his movements were so fluid William could imagine him to be the same age as his father. He said something and placed the hat on Elizabeth’s head. It was too large and slipped down over her eyes. Elizabeth laughed out loud, a deep laugh from somewhere inside of her. It was a laugh he had never heard before. It was a laugh of pure contentment and joy. It was the laugh he had been searching for, and trying to extract from her. And here it was. So plainly called out by an old man William had never met. Her laughter called out to him and he followed, he walked over to her and stood behind her, absorbing every note of her laughter. Each laugh was like a wave knocking him off his feet in the most glorious way.
Suddenly the laughter stopped. She had pulled of the hat and was looking right at him. The laughter was still in her eyes. She spoke in French to the shopkeeper, making gestures suggesting he was being introduced. He heard the words ‘cinema’ and ‘Narnia.’ The shopkeeper grew more and more excited. He hurried around the counter and came around to face William. There was such joy in his old blue eyes that William couldn’t help but smile. Then, without warning the old man enveloped Will in a hug strong enough to knock him over. He looked at Elizabeth awkwardly.
“He is a huge Narnia fan,” Elizabeth explained. “He even sold C.S. Lewis a hat once.”
All at once, William understood. He returned the man’s hug. The man pulled away and examined William with his eyes. He looked and looked. Then he pointed at William, shouted something in French and ran off.
“He says he has the perfect hat for you,” Elizabeth said. Sure enough, the man returned with a navy blue fedora. William could have sworn he had seen the same hat in a picture of Frank Sinatra. It was velvety with a simple satin ribbon. “Wow, its gorgeous,” Elizabeth sighed.
The shopkeeper had to stand on his tiptoes to place the hat on William’s head. It fit perfectly. William walked over to the little wall of mirrors and examined it. It looked amazing, and it was even better for hiding from fans than his baseball cap earlier. He turned back to the shopkeeper and smiled broadly.
“Merci!” He said with a terrible French accent. “Merci monsieur.” The shopkeeper was so taken with William’s attempts at French that he grabbed his face and gave him a sloppy kiss on each cheek. William looked at Elizabeth. “This is great but uh, perhaps we should get a move on.”
Elizabeth was glowing. And the old man, tears ran down his cheeks. He spoke rapidly in French to Elizabeth while walking them out of the store. He held her hand with one of his and the other moved rapidly in pace with his words. William kept his distance incase the old man got emotional again. Soon they were back on the cobblestone walk and back in the sunlight. The old man held up a hand to shade his eyes while he waved goodbye. Still tearing up, he went back inside his shop.
“What on earth did we do to make him so happy?” William asked. They stood in the sun and put their sunglasses back on.
“He is a simple man, from simpler times,” Elizabeth replied. “It doesn’t take a lot to make him happy.” She looked at William. “The hat looks amazing by the way.”
“I do like the hat. But I don’t see why he had to kiss me. What is with the French and kissing?” William wiped both of his cheeks with his hands rapidly. “Now I’m going to smell like him all day.”
“I didn’t know you had such an aversion to French kissing,” Elizabeth looked at him mischievously. “I’ll have to make a note to remember that. Will hates French kissing.”
He opened his mouth to protest but closed it quickly. There was no way out of this one. She looked at him expectantly. He tried again to speak but could think of nothing.
“It’s a pity, we are in the most romantic city in the world,” she spread her arms to gesture around her. “But everyone is entitled to like whatever they wish.” She smiled at him. “Come on, lots more to see.”
She turned on her heel and walked back to the busy avenue, towards a metro station.
William slapped himself on the forehead. “Smooth Will, real smooth.”
AUTHOR: firegatka007
WARNINGS: nothing here
PAIRINGS: William of course but no one else famous
STATUS: WIP, Chapter 12
After a calm descent from the arch, they continued their way down the Champs-Elysees. Here they saw many shops and boutiques, almost all of them chain stores available in England. There were more tourists, easily noticeable with their backpacks and camera gear. There were also more people in general, Parisians shopping, people meeting, just people everywhere. William felt eyes on him, and looked down at the ground. This allowed his bangs to sweep across more of his face, and hopefully hide him better. He continued a step behind Elizabeth and kept his eyes on her shoes, navy blue Converse sneakers. He was so focused on remaining hidden that he just plain did not notice when she stopped.
“Hey!” She turned around to look at him. “What was that for?”
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you stopped,” William glanced around uneasily. Her loud remarks were causing people to look at him. “What did you stop for?”
“I was trying to make sure we were turning on the right street.” She pointed up at the street sign and turned onto it. It was a small alleyway compared to the broad avenue they came from. The cobblestones were uneven here and caused them to walk wobbly.
“Where are we going now?” Will asked, his eyes on his feet for fear of tripping on a loose stone.
“There is a tiny shop here that I really love.” She answered quietly.
“What?” He stopped in his tracks. “We’re going shopping? Come on, I never made you do anything you didn’t want to do!”
She turned to face him. “Well I guess you are a nicer host than I,” she took his hand. “Come on slowpoke.” She led him to a tiny shop. The window was dark and the sign was so faded and chipped Will couldn’t tell what kind of store they were venturing into. “This shop is probably as old as these cobblestones. My family has been coming here for generations.” They pushed the door open and heard a tiny ding of a bell somewhere.
It was dark. William blinked several times, trying to let his eyes adjust to the dark from the bright street. He removed his sunglasses and tried again. Slowly the shop came into focus. The ceiling and floor were made of dark mahogany wood, which showed signs of wear but careful care at the same time. The walls were painstakingly painted argyle of dark maroon and park purple. Someone even took the time to pain tiny gold lines to complete the argyle look. Here and there hung old graying photographs of family, of celebrities and newspaper adverts. It was another moment before William even noticed what the shop was selling.
Hats. Hats in every color, shape and size imaginable. Top hats, short hats, wide hats, even cowboy hats. There was also a portion of wall dedicated to mirrors. Quirky shaped mirrors hung by gold gilded frames at all heights imaginable. Some close to the ceiling, others barely two feet off the floor. Obviously, these owners were serious about catering to every customer. William had a quick image of a family trying on hats, all with their every own mirrors. He chuckled to himself imagining the little kids fighting over little mirrors, and older members too preoccupied with themselves to even notice.
Slowly he came out of his trance and heard Elizabeth’s voice. She deep in conversation with the shopkeeper, apparently about a lavender hat which she held in her hands. They were both smiling and talking like old friends. He was a small old man, with more wrinkles than one could count. He looked very old, but his movements were so fluid William could imagine him to be the same age as his father. He said something and placed the hat on Elizabeth’s head. It was too large and slipped down over her eyes. Elizabeth laughed out loud, a deep laugh from somewhere inside of her. It was a laugh he had never heard before. It was a laugh of pure contentment and joy. It was the laugh he had been searching for, and trying to extract from her. And here it was. So plainly called out by an old man William had never met. Her laughter called out to him and he followed, he walked over to her and stood behind her, absorbing every note of her laughter. Each laugh was like a wave knocking him off his feet in the most glorious way.
Suddenly the laughter stopped. She had pulled of the hat and was looking right at him. The laughter was still in her eyes. She spoke in French to the shopkeeper, making gestures suggesting he was being introduced. He heard the words ‘cinema’ and ‘Narnia.’ The shopkeeper grew more and more excited. He hurried around the counter and came around to face William. There was such joy in his old blue eyes that William couldn’t help but smile. Then, without warning the old man enveloped Will in a hug strong enough to knock him over. He looked at Elizabeth awkwardly.
“He is a huge Narnia fan,” Elizabeth explained. “He even sold C.S. Lewis a hat once.”
All at once, William understood. He returned the man’s hug. The man pulled away and examined William with his eyes. He looked and looked. Then he pointed at William, shouted something in French and ran off.
“He says he has the perfect hat for you,” Elizabeth said. Sure enough, the man returned with a navy blue fedora. William could have sworn he had seen the same hat in a picture of Frank Sinatra. It was velvety with a simple satin ribbon. “Wow, its gorgeous,” Elizabeth sighed.
The shopkeeper had to stand on his tiptoes to place the hat on William’s head. It fit perfectly. William walked over to the little wall of mirrors and examined it. It looked amazing, and it was even better for hiding from fans than his baseball cap earlier. He turned back to the shopkeeper and smiled broadly.
“Merci!” He said with a terrible French accent. “Merci monsieur.” The shopkeeper was so taken with William’s attempts at French that he grabbed his face and gave him a sloppy kiss on each cheek. William looked at Elizabeth. “This is great but uh, perhaps we should get a move on.”
Elizabeth was glowing. And the old man, tears ran down his cheeks. He spoke rapidly in French to Elizabeth while walking them out of the store. He held her hand with one of his and the other moved rapidly in pace with his words. William kept his distance incase the old man got emotional again. Soon they were back on the cobblestone walk and back in the sunlight. The old man held up a hand to shade his eyes while he waved goodbye. Still tearing up, he went back inside his shop.
“What on earth did we do to make him so happy?” William asked. They stood in the sun and put their sunglasses back on.
“He is a simple man, from simpler times,” Elizabeth replied. “It doesn’t take a lot to make him happy.” She looked at William. “The hat looks amazing by the way.”
“I do like the hat. But I don’t see why he had to kiss me. What is with the French and kissing?” William wiped both of his cheeks with his hands rapidly. “Now I’m going to smell like him all day.”
“I didn’t know you had such an aversion to French kissing,” Elizabeth looked at him mischievously. “I’ll have to make a note to remember that. Will hates French kissing.”
He opened his mouth to protest but closed it quickly. There was no way out of this one. She looked at him expectantly. He tried again to speak but could think of nothing.
“It’s a pity, we are in the most romantic city in the world,” she spread her arms to gesture around her. “But everyone is entitled to like whatever they wish.” She smiled at him. “Come on, lots more to see.”
She turned on her heel and walked back to the busy avenue, towards a metro station.
William slapped himself on the forehead. “Smooth Will, real smooth.”