BECAUSE I LIKE THE AFTERNOON. A LOT.
WHO: Ludwig and Aziza.
WHEN: Friday afternoon (September 18th).
WHERE: Crystal Court, since there's not really much in the way of shopping centres... unless you go to a swap-meet. Cough.
WHAT: Buying something for that special someone.
The mall was stretched out all around him like some great labyrinth carved out of faux marble. Instead of carefully being crafted by Daedalus, it had been formed by a pretentious mix of Vera Wang and Gucci, not a Sears or bargain deal in sight. Just aimlessly peering into shops and catching a glimpse of the sky-high prices made him balk and want to turn heel and find somewhere that would better appeal to his practical senses.
But unfortunately, not even a poorly placed directory or two could point him in the right direction. As he stared at the overly complex and colour-coded map, for once in his life felt utterly stumped. All he wanted to do was just buy... a present.
When his Italian intern had gone missing from work and wasn't answering his phonecalls (most of which he had convinced himself were strictly for the sake of business; he had hidden the worry building up by throwing himself into even the most menial of tasks), he had assumed the worse. Dead in a ditch, on the streets, possibly in prison... All of them absurd and unlikely, he knew or at least hoped, although Feliciano claimed it was family matters and looked a little rough around the edges when he had found him in his flat.
Just remembering the bruises, the stitches on his lip, it made his heart unexpectedly ache, and he wanted to ki--
So, right, a present. That's what he was here for. Here being... the sales rack in the woman's department of a shop, but Ludwig had only seen the "sales" sign and was left murmuring quietly - as he picked up a translucent, frilled blouse - at how strange men's fashions had become this year.