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Vincent was absolutely exhausted. Today was a busy day at the studio because there was this big case of a bank robbery and he was forced to work overtime to cover it. He didn't actually care all that much, all he could think about was getting home to Alastor and decompressing.
When he walked through the door the sound of jazz on a record player was the first thing to hit his ears, followed quickly by the sound of Alastor humming along.
Vincent quickly undoes his tie and follows the sound to the kitchen to see Alastor cooking dinner. And what a sight that is, he doesn't know what Alastor is making but he knows it will be good because it was made by his favorite person in the whole world.
He carefully walks up behind where Alastor stands and Vincent hovers his hands over Alasor's hips, waiting for permission before he makes contact.
“May I?” he asks quietly.
With a small nod of approval from Alastor, Vincent wraps his arms around him and rests his chin on the other's shoulder. He takes everything in from the smell of the stew cooking to the more subtle scent of Alastors cologne.
“Long day?” Alastor asks as he leans back into Vincent's hold.
“Very. But I don't want to talk about it right now, I just want to leave it all behind me for tonight.” Vincent nuzzles his face deeper into the crook of Alastor's neck and finally allows himself to release some of that tension he had been carrying with him the whole day.
After a few more moments of this, Alastor turns off the stove and turns around to face Vincent, finally reciprocating his hug. He holds the other tight before releasing his grip just slightly to place a gentle kiss on his forehead and look into those beautiful bicolored eyes.
“I have a surprise for you…” Alasrot mutters as he breaks the hug in favor of grabbing bowls to serve the dinner he had been working on.
Vincent's curiosity is immediately piqued.
“You do? And what might that be?” He follows Alastor around the kitchen, trying to be helpful by grabbing spoons and placing them on the table.
“You’ll just have to wait and see, you have the day off tomorrow correct?” A smug smile is playing on Alastor's lips as he dances around this surprise he has planned for the next day.
Vincent's eyes narrow, Alastor can be such a tease when he wants to be. “That is correct, does that perhaps relate to this surprise you apparently have planned?”
They both take their respective seats on either side of the table, stew steaming in front of them.
“Perhaps.” stubborn bastard.
Vincent attempts to get more information out of the brown haired man sitting across from him, but decides to let it slide when he realises he is not getting any extra information out of Alastor and they enjoy their dinner together with only the sound of smooth jazz to fill the silence.
That night Vincent falls asleep thinking of what his lover could possibly have planned, and he comes up blank. Best to let sleep wash over him and allow it to be a mystery for now.
*
The next morning when he wakes up Vincent finds himself in the bed alone. Well, mostly alone.
His eyes immediately lock in on something small, blue, and maybe fuzzy that seems to have taken Alastor's place in bed. He blinks a few times, still a little too tired to comprehend what is happening right now.
He reaches behind him in an attempt to locate his glasses on the nightstand, knocking over an empty cup in the process.
When his glasses are finally fitted on his nose he takes a closer look at the blue blob, and upon closer inspection realizes it's a small stuffed shark.
Vincent is immediately woken up by this, he jolts upright and grabs the small plush, bringing it close to his face. It's so cute! Is this the surprise Alastor was teasing at last night?
His shock is interrupted by the sound of a laugh coming from the door and he looks away from the small shark to find Alastor leaning against the entrance already fully dressed.
Alastor walks over to Vincent and places a small kiss on his temple. “Sleep well dear?”
Vincent nods, blue and green eyes flicking between Alastor and the shark plush, still trying to figure out what on earth is happening.
“Is this my surprise?” Vincent asks, trying to contain the joy he is already feeling from this little gift.
“Hmmm, it's part of it.” Alastor relies with his typical smug grin.
“So there is more?” Vincent can hardly comprehend this, his day has already been made by this one small gesture. How can there still be more surprises to come?
And then his question is immediately answered when Alastor produces two slips of paper and passes them to him. “Come on darling get dressed, we don't want to be late.”
And just like that Alastor walks out of the room, and Vincent finally reads what's on mysterious these pieces of paper.
Aquarium.
Vinent re-reads that word at least a hundred times before shooting up out of bed, his leg getting caught in the sheet causing him to trip over in the process.
When he finally escapes from the sheet that confided him to the ground he tries to get dressed as quickly as possible, but his brain is running at a million miles a second and he can't focus on anything particular.
All he can truly think about is the fact he's going to see sharks, in real life. He recalls doing a news segment on how the local aquarium just added sharks to their roster and how he proceeded to talk to Alastor about how badly he wanted to go for the rest of that night. But he didn't think that Alastor would actually take this desire to heart.
When he finally manages to scrap together an outfit Vincent leaves the bedroom to discover breakfast is already made, but he doesn't care about that right now. He runs up to where Alastor is standing, tickets and shark plush both in hand. Vincent is practically vibrating.
“Can I hug you? I really need to hug you right now.” And with a nod of consent Alastor is wrapped in a spine shattering hug from his lover.
“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” Vincent pulls away and gives Alastor the most genuine smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts.
“Breath dear, we're not even there yet.” Alastor pats the back of Vincent's head, carting his fingers through the others messy hair to try and tame it.
“I know, but I'm still so excited and I don't think I can say thank you enough!” Alastor allows this hug to continue for a few more moments before tapping Vincent's arm to request release. When he is freed he walks over to the table and sits down.
“Eat darling, before it gets cold.”
Vincent gently places the tickets and stuffed shark on the counter before eating as fast as he can.
By the time they are both finished eating, Vincent is dragging Alastor out the door to catch the next bus. The whole ride there he is talking about all forms of marine life, saying anything and everything that comes to mind. And Alastor listens to every word with a smile.
*
When the pair finally arrives and is checked in the reaction is practically immediate.
Vincent runs to the nearest exhibit and proceeds to read every sign out loud to Alastor and even adds his own little tidbits along the way. Spending a little too much time at certain tanks he particularly enjoys.
After hours are spent going through what could have been completed in thirty minutes by any other person, (but this is Vincent we're talking about, and Alastor wouldn't have it any other way), they are nearing the end of the aquarium.
And there it is, the main event. Vincent completely forgets this is meant to be a date the moment he sees the new shark exhibit sign.
He darts down the hall and within seconds his face is pressed against the glass. He can count five- no six sandbar sharks. Two sand tiger sharks, and he squints his eyes to try and get a better look at the one hiding, nurse shark maybe.
Alastor eventually catches up to him, taking a bit more time to get to the destination. But he isn't really paying too much attention to the sharks. Alastor is more focused on the man in front of him with his face pushed so close to the glass his glasses are making contact with it.
“Alastor can you see this?! Oh they're just perfect!”
Alastor takes a seat on a bench a few feet from Vincent, chucking a bit at how cute he's being.
“Yes darling, quite marvelous. Would you like to join me over here and tell me more?” Alastor knows him, and he can tell Vincent is just dying to infodump. And he is more than willing to listen.
Vincent scrambles over to where Alastor is sitting and begins to talk. Talking about everything and anything that comes to his mind. Small pockets of silence to appreciate a shark swimming by, then more talking.
Alastor simply closes his eyes and leans his head against Vincent's shoulder, allowing his lover to rant about his favorite thing, taking in the sound of his voice. The passion and undeniable love for these creatures in front of them.
This day was absolutely perfect for both of them.