#also let me criticize a bit more. yeah staying in a hotel is expensive as hell. but staying at an (most likely illegally-made) airbnb?

[kassandra-lorelei]

Can you write a NCC fic where they drive one of Max's cars and stay a few places along the way when they all move to CA and they realize there are actually a lot of things /stories/habits they don't know about each other yet and some are surprising or endearing while others are irksome /annoying? I just think it would be a cute newlywed bonding story. 😊

Here we are, my friend! I hope this is alright - I took the idea a little bit and ran with it @missbabcocks1) and I should have them ready soon. Enjoy!

@holomoriarty

It hadn’t been C.C.’s first choice for a honeymoon. Nileshad suggested staying somewhere away from the house (and the Sheffields andtheir new little ones) for a while, but when it had become clear that he wasn’tthinking they should jet off to Hawaii or somewhere exotic like that, shehadn’t been convinced it would be that much fun. The Babcock family rarely tookactual vacations in the state where they lived (trips upstate hardly counted inher mother’s eyes), but Niles had insisted that she might enjoy herself if shejust gave it a try. So, she’d agreed to go along with it, and when Maxwell hadeventually (reluctantly) agreed to let them take his rarely-used Range Rover,the whole plan had ended up evolving into a small road trip.

As it so happened, it hadn’t been a bad trip so far – itmight’ve only been the first day, but they’d had a fun time out in Los Angelesto start things off, and then drive along the coast had been gorgeous. The FourSeasons in Santa Barbara had been a wonderful choice of overnight stay, as well.Not that she was going to tell her newly lawfully wedded husband that – it’dall been his idea, and she was still trying to pretend that she’d seen betterplaces.

Though the smug look he was giving her across theirdinner table suggested he’d already figured out she was having more fun than she’dimagined she would.

��Is there something my dearest darling wife wishes to sharewith me?” he asked, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin in hispalm. “A word or two informing me of her enjoyment, perhaps?”

“No,” she replied, just as playful but also just asdetermined to win. “Though I would quite like to tell my most wonderful husbandto get his elbow off the table, because those of us brought up in politesociety were clearly taught manners that certain servants weren’t.”

She punctuated that last part with a sip of her water (herbody had been an alcohol-free zone since finding out they were going to have alittle one), and Niles matched her countenance as he lifted his arm away fromthe table.

“Forgive me, my love; I was so caught up in your presencethat I just couldn’t help but get closer,” he rested his hand over his heartand gave a romantic sigh practically dripping with sap.

Letting a small chuckle loose but also rolling her eyes,C.C. held her hand out across the table for him to take, “Alright, you’reforgiven. This time.”

Niles grinned, and tickled the palm of her hand with hisfingertips before taking her hand fully and lacing their fingers together, “I’llmake up for my behaviour later, I promise.”

“You’d better,” C.C. squeezed his hand, and then stroked hisindex finger with her own. “If this is our honeymoon, I want every overnightstop to be worth it, Hazel.”

He looked back at her in a way which said exactly how worthit each new hotel room was going to be. He then used the hand not holdinghers to pick up his own glass. In an act of solidarity, he’d also chosen tostick with water.

“Is this really the first trip you’ve ever done like this?”he asked, taking a sip.

C.C. blinked at him, “Yeah, why?”

Her husband shrugged a little in return, “It just seemssurprising to me – there’s so much to see in every state, I can’t imagine whyyour family never took you on a tour of your own when you were growing up.”

Frowning, theatre-turned-television producer let her eyeswander to the table. She knew exactly why she’d never had a trip like the onethey were currently on – it was, to some extent, the reason she hadn’t thoughtmuch of taking a vacation closer to home in the first place.

“Well, my parents were always trying to one-up each other. Andmy father always had the company to run, so expensive vacations were mymother’s way of scoring extra points,” she explained. “A trip to Buffalo to seeNiagara Falls will never compare to a trip to Paris, in her worldview.”

She glanced up when she felt Niles squeeze her handcomfortingly.

“I suppose I’d never thought of that,” he said. “I should’verealised that the Grand High Witch might want to take her daughter to visitforeign covens.”

C.C. bit down on the inside of her cheek to stop herselffrom laughing, but she couldn’t prevent the smile she knew was spreading acrossher face. If there was one thing she loved more than bantering with Niles, itwas watching him take down her mother and her snobbish attitude.

“It’s alright,” she said, finally trusting herself torelease her cheek. “What about your family? Where did you take vacations?”

Suddenly Niles looked slightly uncomfortable.

“We didn’t…actually really have any of our own,” he answered,eyes cast down to his lap like he was ashamed. “When we went on holiday, wewere going because the Sheffield family were going. It was hardly time off for myparents, and the older I got, the more I was roped in as well. On the rareoccasions we did get time for family trips, it would only be to somewhere local– a museum or a castle, or perhaps the beach if it was good weather and we leftin plenty of time.”

That struck C.C. more than realising why she’d never takenvacations closer to home. Of course Niles hadn’t had the opportunity to go anywherefar away that the Sheffields hadn’t, when he was growing up. His parentsprobably had to work most of the time, or if one didn’t the other might have hadto, and getting more than a little time off was probably nigh-on impossible!

At one time in her life, she wouldn’t have even cared.Servants were…well, her mother would’ve said “beneath her family”. But C.C. hadlong since come to realise that that wasn’t true, and now the whole road tripidea made a little more sense.

It was closer to what Niles was used to, in terms of familyvacations. And it was something he clearly wanted to share with her.

She had enjoyed their first day a lot – she could certainly tryto enjoy the others as well, and see where that took them.

“Oh…well, now I guess I understand why you wanted to make atrip like this,” she said.

The comforting tone made her husband look up, and he manageda small smile.

“A little family tradition,” he said. “Though even this isexpanded.”

“True,” C.C. replied. She could’ve said something sweetthen, but the opportunity for a zinger was just too good. “Seems like thetrip’s changed to match your waistline.”

Niles’ small smile became a feigned unimpressed look rightthen. He looked like he was about to say something back, but their food arrivedbefore he could, and conversation swiftly turned to what they were about toeat.

They had to let go of each other’s hands to do so, but theydidn’t mind; this was only their first night away.

They still had plenty of time for that and more.

………………………………………

Their next hotel stay in the next designated location waslonger. Staying a few days in San Francisco made more sense than making it anovernight stop. There was too much to do there to practically drive straightthrough it without seeing as much as possible.

And Niles had been more than enthusiastic about getting acouple of photos of C.C. with the Redwoods at one of the state parks on thedrive there. His face was all beaming smiles as he checked his camera aftershe’d posed for one by him.

“You’re a perfect Kim Novak, my sweet,” he crooned, comingover to hold her hands. “Every bit as glamorous and mysterious. And any regularJames Stewart couldn’t help but find you completely alluring.”

C.C. smiled a little awkwardly in return. She was sure whathe was saying would’ve been a wonderful compliment, if she’d had any idea whatthe hell he was talking about.

Her husband must’ve realised just that, too, because hetried again, “Kim Novak and James Stewart? From Alfred Hitchcock’s criticallyacclaimed film Vertigo?”

Oh…well, that made more sense in a way. There was still a tinylittle problem, however.

“I…haven’t actually seen Vertigo,” she admitted.

Niles looked at her like another head had just sprung out ofthe joint between her neck and her shoulder, “You haven’t seen one of thegreatest movies of the last century?!”

She shrugged, and released his hands to start walking backdown the path, “I haven’t seen a lot of Hitchcock movies – I’ve just never hadthe time to sit down and watch, it’s no big deal.”

C.C. heard her husband hurrying to catch up, his shoespounding against the soft forest floor. She smiled to herself – the sunlightcoming through the trees made the place look beautiful, and she could imaginetaking their little one (and probably more little ones) in the future…

“No, I know – I’m just really surprised that you haven’t!” Nilesat last fell in line beside her, bringing her thoughts back to theirconversation. “I mean, which ones have you seen? The whole way through, as well.”

The producer thought about it aloud, “Uh…Rebecca, and TheLady Vanishes?”

That only seemed to shock Niles more, and he dramaticallyput his hand over his heart, to which C.C. rolled her eyes.

“My God, Babs, you have a lot of catching up to do!” hedeclared, putting his arm around her back. “When we get home, we’re going tohave a movie marathon, and you’re going to get an education in some ofHitchcock’s finer works. Vertigo, Rear Window, North by Northwest…”

He slowed them to a halt, wrapping his arms completelyaround her and murmuring softly into her ear.

“If you can handle all of those, we can get stuck into TheBirds and Psycho.”

Again, C.C. could only roll her eyes, but she added a shakeof the head to accompany it, “How incredibly romantic…!”

“I’ll have you know, at least three of those films featureprominent romances. And the suspense is so palpable, sometimes you just have tograb hold of the person next to you,” Niles squeezed her gently, and wiggledhis eyebrows. “I’ll even give you my best Cary Grant impression.”

His reaction had sort of annoyed C.C. at first, but she had to soften up at his enthusiasm. It actually made her laugh softly - he wasn’t being a snob about it, he must have just truly been surprised that she hadn’t seen all the movies he’d seen! Granted, she didn’thave to see them if she didn’t want to, but it was like agreeing to the wholetrip in the first place – Niles clearly wanted to share them with her.

And she was more than curious as to what his Cary Grantimpression looked like!

She rested her forehead against his.

“Hm. Sounds like I don’t have much of a choice,” she saidquietly.

Her husband rubbed their noses together, “You’ll get achoice – if it turns out you don’t like one of them, then we won’t watch anymore of them.”

“Well, I’m glad I’m allowed that in the least!” the producerjoked in return, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Alright, I’ll go alongwith your movie plan, as long as I get to pick what we do tomorrow.”

“Keane Gallery and lunch down by the Bay?” Niles suggested.

She pulled away a little to look at him curiously, “How didyou know that’s what I wanna do?”

The butler gave her a knowing (and loving) smile in return.

“Let’s just say that I might not have known that you’ve neverseen Vertigo,” he said, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. “But there aresome things I certainly do know about you.”

Well, that was certainly true. They both knew each otherbetter than anyone else, inside and out, and that was exactly how they likedit.

Smiling, C.C. closed the gap between them so that their lipswould meet in a kiss, and neither one of them pulled away until they neededair. They then held each other there for a few minutes, just enjoying thesilence, before deciding to head back to the car.

When that finally happened, the producer had a questionprepared, “So, you can do impressions as well?”

Niles tilted his head from side to side, “A few. I only tendto bring them out at family Christmases, after one too many glasses of mulledwine…”

That made C.C. grin mischievously, and she pulled him alonga little more eagerly as they made their way back through the park to the entrance.She already knew that their next hotel room had a minibar, and even though shecouldn’t have anything to drink, the same rule didn’t have to apply to Niles.

There was no way on God’s Earth that she was gonna waituntil Christmas to see him do an impression!

……………………………

The last night of the trip came around far too soon. Thathad to be the reason C.C. was unable to fall asleep, no matter how much shetried. Her own body was working against her, trying to make the time last alittle longer because they were making the journey back to Beverly Hills from Sacramento in the morning.

The time she and Niles had been away had been one of – if notthe best – vacation of her life. They’d been sightseeing all over the place (completewith embarrassing touristy photos and videos), gone shopping for souvenirs (theidea of gifting her mother a Keane waif just to see her reaction had been sotempting, but they’d held off), and just…well, they’d had an amazing time ingeneral! They’d learned new things about each other, both good and bad, and it had brought them closer together as a couple.

She couldn’t believe the time had gone so quickly!

She was so busy thinking about it and staring up at theceiling that when Niles spoke, it startled her.

“You’re still awake, aren’t you?” he asked, voice stillthick with sleep. He waited for her grunt of confirmation before rolling ontohis side and reaching out to place one of his hands on her stomach. “What’s thematter?”

C.C. took her hand in his, and they cradled her belly together.She had a long way to go before she was huge, but even the feeling of Niles’ palmagainst the bump that was just starting to appear was comforting.

“Nothing,” she told him with a sigh. “I was just…thinking, Iguess.”

“What about?”

Even in the darkness of the room, her eyes went straight towardswhere she knew her husband’s face would be, “No zinger about how, for me,thinking’s a dangerous occupation?”

Niles feigned a noise of disappointment.

“Drat, I must still be half asleep – it didn’t occur to me,”he said jokingly, rubbing her stomach gently. “But, seeing as by saying it yourselfyou’ve done the job for me, you might as well tell me what you’ve been thinkingabout that’s kept you up.”

As much fun as it had been to keep him guessing at dinner onthe first night, C.C. didn’t quite feel in the mood that was needed to keep itup.

“I just…can’t believe we’re going back home tomorrow,” sheexplained.

Niles was soft with her in return, “You had a lot of fun onthis trip, didn’t you?”

He’d hit the nail right on the head, of course.

“I did,” she turned her eyes back towards the ceiling,wiping her eyes. They were starting to feel a little tired and itchy. “Evenwhen we went to Alcatraz and you told the tour guide to lock me in the cell on theend of the row, because it was the one I “did time in”.”

Even without seeing his face, Niles sounded like he wassmiling, “Well, Babs, you know what this means, don’t you?”

“That I’m still gonna have to get you back somehow,” shegrumbled, laying her entire free forearm over her eyes.

She only removed it when she felt her husband snuggle upcompletely against her, arms around her entire torso as he murmured into her ear.

“Hm, I was thinking something more along the lines of comingback, and doing it all again.”

C.C. lifted her arm off her eyes, and looked in his directionagain. She hadn’t said a word about how much she was enjoying herself, but shesupposed it had to have been obvious. At least, it would’ve been to Niles.

She began to think aloud, “I really did end up enjoying itall…I was even thinking about all the places we could bring kids, in the future…”

She knew that would delight him, even if she couldn’t quitesee his face in the dark. He caressed her sides, and only moved enough to letC.C. turn over in his direction once she’d decided to.

“As I said before, a family tradition,” he said. “Even if itis more than a little bit expanded.”

C.C. smiled, and rested her head against his shoulder withher arm across his middle, “We’re clearly planning on making this thing ourown, Butler Boy.”

“Maybe so,” Niles replied, managing to plant a kiss on herforehead. “And if you’re still upset about this time ending, we could alwaystake a few more days out?”

“Hm?” the producer blinked up towards his face.

“We didn’t get to go south of Los Angeles, down to SanDiego,” her husband explained. “That would add at least another day or two…”

The thought was tempting, but she knew they’d planned their trippractically to the hour – tomorrow had to be the day that they headed home.

“No, we can’t. We told Maxwell when we’d be back, remember?”she reminded him, rubbing his forearm.

“Oh,” that made Niles disappointed. But he didn’t stay thatway for long. “Well, I suppose it saves us something to do for next time, doesn’tit?”

C.C. smiled, “That it does, Dust Buster.”

Niles rubbed her back, and kissed her forehead again, “Loveyou.”

“Love you too,” the producer closed her eyes, feeling morerelaxed after their talk. “Now, get some sleep – we’ve got another long drivetomorrow.”

“As you wish, dear,” Niles chuckled. “Goodnight.”

“‘Night,” she replied, happy at last to be able to sleep.

It didn’t take long for her to go off either, dreaming aboutthe next road trip vacation that their little family would be taking.

[mrandmrsvex]

Chapter 2! Relationships: Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia Characters: Vex'ahlia (Critical Role), Perci, Vax'ildan (mentioned), Keyleth (mentioned) Additional Tags: Modern AU, hotel au, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Winter Special I guess :D

Summary:

Vex doesn't trust 'free' offers of any kind. But when she's stranded in a foreign city with no hostel bed and not enough money for a hotel, she can't deny the handsome stranger offering her a free stay at the swankiest hotel in town. And there's no use in a 'get everything free' card if she doesn't use it, Vex convinces herself. A drink at the bar, at least, could be added to her random gift-giver's bill. Or maybe a few, shared with said random gift-giver.

„Pick up, please, pick up...“

Vex laid on her bed, cellphone pressed against her ear, listening to the repeating beep. The room felt so big she almost got lost in it – staring at the ceiling made it feel like it was miles away. Even the bed, with its fluffy pillows and fresh white sheets, was much too large for a single person, making her feel like a child playing hide and seek under the covers.

She really needed Vax. The phone was still ringing.

„Yes, hi, this is, uh, Vax's phone, but it's not Vax, he forgot it, I'm-“

„Keyleth?“ Not the voice she'd wanted to hear it, but comfortingly familiar still.

„Yes! Hello! ….Who's this?“

„It's Vex, dear.“

„Oh Vex hi! Sorry, you sound so different over the phone! How's your trip?“

She could hear Keyleth almost stumble over her words from her constant excitement.

„It's... well, different than expected. So my brother isn't there? Do you know when he's gonna be home?“

„Probably tonight? He's got another long shift.“ A somewhat worried pause. „Is it urgent? Do you want me – I can drive to the hospital real quick and bring him the phone – he might be on break-“

„Don't worry, dear.“ She twirled her braid around her fingers. „I just... needed to talk something out, and he's good at grounding me.“

„Oh. Well.“ Another pause, before she sounded excited again. „I can try! I'm a good listener.“

Keyleth definitely was, but Vex wasn't sure if she wanted her of all people to be worried. Considering her spontaneity and eagerness, she wouldn't put it past the freckled girl to hop on a bus right then and there to meet up with Vex in order to help.

Then again, there was no one else she could think of to ask for advice.

It proved much simpler to sum up her current situation than she thought. It also sounded much more worrisome to her once it was said out loud, and Keyleth definitely seemed confused.

„So this guy just, randomly, gave you a free ticket for basically everything at this hotel? And he's some sort of royal?“

„That's pretty much it, yeah. A lord, I guess. And it's not a ticket, it's just, a note, a handwritten note, but people seem to honor it – well the guy at the frontdesk did.“

„And what exactly do you want to talk out now?“

„Uhm.“ It was hard to put into words. Vax usually figured out what her problem was before she could even say it. „I don't know. I guess I'm scared this is some sort of scam, and that I end up using stuff 'for free' and get flashed a giant bill at the end.“ She looked around the room, pristine and untouched except for her muddy shoes and backpack in one corner. „And everything here seems way out of my price range.“

„Hmm.“ Keyleth was quietly musing about this all. „Did you – do they have any information from you?“

Vex sat up and crossed her legs. „I gave them my old last name. You know. Our father's.“ She wasn't sure how much Keyleth knew about their past, but it was safe to assume that Vax had filled her in on the basics, at least, on why their 'official' signatures and IDs barely matched.

„Oh, that's good, that's good! Then, I mean, if they try to trace it back to get their money, they'll just end at your dad's, and, I mean.“ Keyleth suddenly sounded a lot meaner than she ever looked. „Who cares if he has to pay loads, right?“

„True.“

„And you're sneaky, like, in a good way. So if they do give you a giant bill at the end you can just, sneak out, and dash.“

Keyleth was learning a lot more from Vax than she would've thought.

„So you're saying I should risk it and not make a run for it yet?“

„I don't see too much of a risk. Like, obviously try not to drink champagne and eat the most expensive steak on the menu? But maybe this is actually all good and that lord guy just wanted to help out and you get to enjoy a few awesome days.“ There was the overly positive Keyleth she knew again. Vex snickered.

„Your advice is very very different from the one I expected from my brother.“

„Yeah, Vax would probably, like, tell you to set off the fire alarm and run out and never visit the town again. And swipe some of the expensive freebies beforehand.“ They shared a quick laugh. „But, Vex, I think you're smart. I mean, you are smart. And you can tell if something is off pretty well. So I think you can trust your instincts and just go with the flow, you know.“

„Go with the flow.“ She echoed while lying back down on the soft duvet and actually enjoying its fresh scent for the first time.

A short moment of silence on the phone.

„Keyleth, darling?“

„Yes?“

„Thank you.“ Vex heard the smile in her own voice. „I don't know if that's what I expected from this call, but you give very good advice.“

They ended the call after a bit more chatting, and Vex wondered if maybe it would have been better to actually stay with Keyleth and Vax for christmas.

Vex continued to stare at the ceiling. Keyleth's advice had done a surprisingly good job of calming her – if Vax had answered the phone, his paranoia would've probably only doubled hers. Still, there was the constant feeling of a quiet alarm in the back of her head, screaming Get out before this fucks you over again and again.

She reached for the card and envelope on the bedside table, tracing over the hotel name again, reading the two short sentences, trying to decipher that unreadable name.

Just what did this 'Lord Percival' expect to come out of giving a random girl a free ride in the most expensive hotel in town?

 You know very well what he's probably expecting.

It wasn't that hard to imagine, if she allowed her mind to go down the dark road she'd been trying to avoid for the past few minutes.

Then again, he hadn't even introduced himself, had given no indication that he was planning to meet her ever again – that short quip about a drink at the festival not withstanding. If he genuinely planned to coerce her or guilt-trip her into... anything with his gift, he'd definitely messed it up from the very beginning. She couldn't even be sure he was staying at the same hotel right now.

Her memory flashed back to his smile, his eyes, the faintest hint of scruff on his chin – not as white as his hair, she'd noted – his scent of coffee, smoke and metal, and she wondered for a split second: would it even be so bad if he tried to get something out of this gift?

„No use in letting your imagination run wild.“ Vex muttered to herself before sitting up again. She tried to figure out what Vax would do to still her nervosity and worry.

There was a mini bar, she remembered from her quick perusing of the hotel room before the phonecall. There might be just enough alcohol in it to get her mind out of hyper-focussing on everything possibly bad.

She opened the fridge to an array of chocolates, fruit, various snacks, water, and two bottles of wine. She only sighed when reading the label. Who would've thought her father's favourite winery could make it all across the country to smack her in the face in this distant town? She could already imagine the bad feeling of tasting it again and remembering all the wonderful moments where she forced glasses of it down her throat in order to get through the evening.

Besides, a simple glass of wine was not the comfort drink she was looking for right now.

Her eyes wandered back to the bedside table, the envelope, the card. Kynan had said it would get her special offers at the bar as well, hadn't he? The note certainly didn't specify where else she could get 'everything she wants'. She could give it a try, at least, see if the bartender was just as nice as the boy at the front desk, see just how much weight Lord Percival's signature carried.

-------------------

Vax had ridiculed her many times for always packing a smart dress when they travelled.

„Were going backpacking, Stubby. I don't imagine you doing that in heels and a skirt.“

But there was always a chance it might be useful, she thought, every time she put the dark blue silky dress at the bottom of her backpack. There was always the option of sneaking into some event to steal some hors d'oeuvres, or the need to put on airs to convince someone that there was more to them than just some stupid kids trying to get by. And unlike Vax, in his torn jeans and washed out tanktop, she would be convincing. She would be prepared.

To be fair to her brother, she'd never actually worn the dress before. There never had been a chance for it to be useful – until now.

Vex turned in front of the full-body mirror, the soft fabric swishing against her legs. She had no heels, obviously, but she had a pair of sensible yet stylish ankle boots, and black leggings – nobody had to know they were thermal hiking leggings – and a simple golden necklace. It looked more punk-chic than actual formal wear, but it would do. She could be the young, upcoming rebel in a bar full of old money if she needed to.

She undid just a few strands of hair from her braid to frame her face, grabbed her cellphone and purse – almost empty, but with her keycard and the note carefully back in its envelope tucked inside – and set out for the elevator.

She was certainly glad she'd decided on the dress when she entered the bar. Not only was it filled with people who all looked as if they had more money to spend this evening than she earned in a year, it was in itself beautifully grand. A mixture of an old cruiseship diner and a luxury speakeasy, everything seemed to be made from slightly blue-tinted glass, polished metal, dark velvets and gold. The actual bar was filled to the brim with hundreds of bottles, and small sitting areas were privately separated by large potted plants. The dim lights gave everything an additional golden hue.

Vex scanned the room, looking for a good place to sit and watch stealthily, when her eyes got stuck on something white poking out amidst all the deep and dark colours.

Even with his back turned to her, there was no doubt it was her mysterious helper Lord Percival sitting at the bar, his blue coat carelessly draped over the stool beside him.

He hasn't seen you yet,  it shot trough her mind, you can still run.

A deep breath in, shoulders back, head up. Or you can face it like a lady, and maybe get some answers.

She sauntered over as gracefully as she could.

„It's not mulled wine, I guess.“ She leaned on the bar into his field of vision. „But can I buy you a drink nonetheless?“

His startled reaction was more adorable than expected. It took him a few seconds to recognise her, but when he did, his eyes widened – more in surprise than shock.

„Oh! Good evening! I didn't expect to run into you again...“

„Yes, what a rare coincidence, to find me in the hotel you've given me a free pass for.“ She grinned and waved towards the bottle-filled wall. „Anyway. A drink?“

He lifted the glass already in his hand, filled with ice and an amber-coloured spirit.

„I'm afraid I've quite literally beaten you to the punch, but you are very welcome to join me.“

She hopped onto the free stool next to him and ordered a gin&tonic before giving him another smile.

„I'll still owe you a drink, then.“

„The night is young.“

„It is.“ She wondered, for a second, if her next sentence was a step too far, but it was out before she could stop herself. „And, after all, it seems I can get you everything I want in this hotel.“

The silence afterwards almost confirmed her worry before she noticed the slightly approving smirk on his lips.

„I remember mentioning that the envelope was supposed to stay sealed – and thus unread.“

„Oh, I didn't open it.“ She pretended innocently enough. „And it's not really my fault the receptionist gave it back to me.“

„You still could have not read it.“

„I could have.“ She stirred the drink that had just arrived. „But I didn't.“

This, this I can handle, Vex thought to herself. Idle flirting, witty banter, all things she had more than enough practice in. As long as it didn't delve any further, she could keep control of the conversation, watching the man next to her blink and blush just a tad. She wondered how flustered she could get him, and felt almost excited to toe that line with all she had. He seemed even more attractive with a faint pink glow to his cheeks.

„So you were going to offer me a drink that I was going to pay for anyway.“

If there wasn't still that smile to his lips, his voice could almost be considered sharp. Everything he said seemed to have a sarcastic undertone to it.

„It was more of a gesture. I don't think I could really afford anything here.“ She sipped on her G&T – delicious, of course, but what else would she expect from this bar.

„It was simply an opening line, then.“

He looked at her over the rim of his glasses while taking a sip himself, and Vex felt as if both flames and ice flowed up her back. The cold drink was only barely helping her stay in control. She had to think of something to break this wonderfully tense silence.

„Well, I did need some opener, didn't I? I could've just greeted you with your name, but you didn't really introduce yourself while handing over your generous gift.“

„You didn't read the full note, then? It was remarkably short.“

„I tried as best as I could, but I don't think your signature is actually meant to be read.“

His laughter was more of a short snorting, and Vex couldn't help but find it adorably quirky.

„I'm sorry for that.“ He put his glass down and offered her his hand. „Lord Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the third. But you can call me Percy.“

His hand was warm, even after holding is chilled drink, more calloused and work-worn than she would expect from someone aristocratic. A strong grip, but not too intimidating.

„Vex'ahlia. Vex to my friends.“ It sounded far less impressive than his introduction, half of which she'd already forgotten again. You can call me Percy, was all that was running through her mind.

„Vex. It's really very nice to make your aquaintance.“

--------------------------

Her drink was almost empty now, and she felt a bit more adventurous. Besides, she really wanted to see him blush again, after they'd returned to far tamer chat after their introductions. She traced the rim of her glass with her finger.

„So do you do this often? Give random young women carte blanche for a bill you'll have to pay?“

It worked, she noted as his cheeks and now even the tip of his ears began to colour.

„Oh, not really.“ He met her gaze straight on, still, not yet blushing enough for Vex's liking. „Only to the prettiest and most intriguing ones.“

„I must be the only one, then.“ She joked.

„You are.“

Her blush was at least matching his now, and she was sure he was playing the same game she was. Or maybe they'd both downed their drink too fast.

Vex tried to corral her thoughts. This wasn't a game, she scolded herself. This was exactly what she'd been worrying about upstairs in her room, exactly what she'd wanted to talk to Vax about, exactly what she'd expected to come out of someone giving her far too big of a gift. It could only lead to trouble.

But maybe some trouble could be fun.

„Listen, I understand if this is a bit too forward, and I apologise if I'm making you uncomfortable, but-“ Percy halted for a second, and Vex genuinely thought he was going to straight-out ask her up to his room after this bumbling beginning of a sentence.

„But would you mind joining me for dinner?“

She managed to keep her laughter inside, and only gave a wicked smile.

„Depends.“ She almost purred. „Are you paying?“ If you think I did a good job writing this, and you have some copper to spare, consider buying me a coffee?

[dreamoflovelevi-blog]

D.O.L.L

Chapter one Dreams Of Leal Love

“Hey, Eren are you going home after this?”

Eren’s two-toned eyes looked up to Armin with a smile,

“Yeah, planning on it after I hit the sales first. Aldi and Price Chopper got a few things I needed so I was planning on dropping by there first. You?”

Armin lifted his hands up and gave a shrug,

“Unfortunately I still have to help my grandfather so I can’t come home yet, he refuses to retire despite me running it.”

Eren’s small smile dampened as he gave Armin a worried look,

“Sorry, I- how is the old man? Do you need me to help with anything?”

Armin lips lifted up at the corner as he reached over to pinch Eren squishy soft cheeks.

“He’s fine, he’s just a little high maintenance right now. Like the other day when I told him he shouldn’t go to a meeting he fell down on a few flights of stairs and fractured his hip. He’s been yelping ever since, but like you should try to come over sometimes okay? He told me he wanted to see you and maybe if he saw your cute face he’ll calm down and be good for a change.”

Eren nodded his head,

“Sure thing.”

Armin tap him on his shoulder,

“Good, I’ll catch you later enjoy the holiday’s, Eren.”

“You too.”

Eren responded,

‘I’m such an idiot... I should know of all people, how much Armin cares for that old man.’

Eren sighs dejectedly as he put his book materials back into his backpack.

‘With school and my job, I don’t even have time to go visit that old man.’

Standing up with his bag shrugged over his shoulder, he left the campus in a bit of a hurry since he was living by himself. He had to take care of everything by himself like cooking, cleaning and going to his part-time job to studying fashion. He was pretty tied up especially with all of his deadlines. It sounded like a poor excuse to not see the man who took him in after his parents had died.

Tossing his bag into the back seat of his car he got in the driver side.

“Let’s just hope Allen still has a sweet tooth after all these years.”

The shopping trip itself was uneventful, besides the line is long, he got a few more things that weren’t even on the list. So in his mind he was at least covered for another week and with leftover money, that didn’t have to deal with the bills, he can put it toward some fabrics he’d been eyeing through the catalog magazine he had stashed in his work desk drawer.

Eren gathered all the grocery bags he had, along with his school bag, and made it up to his apartment setting everything on the countertop in the kitchen. When he glanced at the apartment that he and Armin shared, he looked a little lonely since Armin has been staying with his grandfather for a couple of weeks.

When he’s alone in this luxurious place it made him feel so out of place mainly because he’s living on top of a hotel building. This place was like a penthouse house in the form of an apartment that was specifically built for the Arlert heir, and since he was adopted into the Alert family and his best friend Armin pretty much run the company, they chose to live here. This place was Allen’s gift to them, not only does he pay for the rent, but he also paid their bills. Armin told him to not worry about it since grandfather had so much faith in him, but he himself could accept that so he made a deal. He would work to pay for any miscellaneous things he would need since Allen pretty much furnished their place, with Armin help of course. And when he becomes a super famous fashion designer, rolling in the money, he gets to pay for his own rent and bills. So if he thought about it, this was a pretty sweet deal. But, to him, he was probably being a complicated little soul.

Walking into the living room where he can still see the kitchen he turned the tv, right onto the news channel. Eren’s teal blue and golden eyes shifted to the groceries on the counter, with the tv on to make noise and dispel the silence in the apartment, he returned to the kitchen to put away the grocery he bought.

“Next up, the man who made fantasy into a living reality. The creator of D.O.L.L, will give us an insight into the new series that’s coming out next year.”

Eren’s hands searched out all the freezer items first and put them away, his eyes looking up every now and then to watch the news. The man was blond with a deep set of blue eyes. He was no doubt, the most handsome and stylish man that walked this Earth. He often sees him on the covers of various magazines.

“For someone who’s thirty-four, he sure does fill out that suit nicely. No wonder Armin has a thing for you.”

He not only built that company from the ground up, but he had the infamous Hanji twins to help him with the creation of the D.O.L.L series. Not only that Alexander Von Drehle and his sister Alexis Von Drehle, made all the paperwork necessary and they were excellent programmers, coming up with all sorts of personalities to test out.

The D.O.L.L.’s were like living beings. They looked, spoke and moved like humans. The D.O.L.L.’s themselves were so expensive, that one would have to give up their arms and legs to have one. The D.O.L.L.’s first functioned as the Lover series, their programming is to relieve the stress of their owner. It’s no surprise that one of their function is sex, but they had other functions and series like The Housekeeper, or The Live in Nursing Assistant series. The most popular one is The Therapy D.O.L.L.’s for the disabled. It’s really amazing how they planned all of this out and with the many investors that were putting their money into the business. They were no doubt a billionaire enterprise and they lived up to their title.

“I think Armin said there were a few people who worked at that company that stayed at the Arlert hotels and use their transport services for their clients and D.O.L.L.’s alike.”

It was too bad Eren never meet them, he would have loved to design some clothes for their models. With the groceries put up, he preheated some leftovers he made the other day and ate in the living room. With Armin staying with his grandfather he didn’t bother eating at the table since it was lonely.

“I’m proud to announce a new model line that will be coming out next year in the spring. This series will be known as The Nanny series. Surveys show that some parents can’t afford babysitters or put their child into daycare. With this series, we can loan one out for that day or have it scheduled for as long as you need it. Of course, there's always an option to buy it outright and have one as your own. More details will be announced at another date and updates will always be on the homepage of our website.”

Eren hummed absent mindlessly toward the TV.

“A nanny series, huh. How interesting.”

He thought, with his mind preoccupied with the news channel he checked the weather and caught up on the murder case that was still pending. A man who had been in a car accident was still very much in critical condition and they were still looking in on that case.

“Beside the D.O.L.L. series there’s nothing, but bad news on…”

Changing the channel he watched Criminal Minds for half an hour before he got up to clean up the dishes he used. With everything in order, he turned the tv off and made his way to his work studio. The bag he came in with was with him since he ditched it early on in the living room to put up the grocery.

Even though he was officially on vacation from this point onward he still had winter homework to complete, and a designer outfit to finish and present to the professor as soon as he gets back from winter break. For now, he worked on his math and English first before tackling a design he had no clue of drawing. Since it was winter he was going to keep his mind singled on something simple. Maybe a coat would be something he should design, but then he can never go wrong with making a long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans…. If he tried to make a sweater now he wouldn’t be able to complete it in time for the presentation unless he worked on it non stop.

By three in the morning, he had so many sketches littering the floor that the mess itself made him literally exhausted to look at.

“Creators block….is such a bitch.”

He thought aloud, of course, he knew he couldn’t come up with a design so easily if he had nothing to inspire him with. If he did, he probably wouldn’t be in school right now. It wasn’t even the first day of his vacation and he was already pushing his brain cell to work to focus on a centerpiece.

Pushing his chair back he pulled out one of the many drawers to his desk to pick up a magazine for fabric and looked at the ones he circled…

“Maybe I can use that fabric for grandpa...I’m sure he’ll love this shade of color…”

He said as he flipped through some pages, once it hit four thirty in the morning he left everything as it was and went to his bedroom. After grabbing some night clothes he took a fifteen-minute shower and turned himself in.

***

“Zoe you can’t be serious…”

Zander the fraternal twin of Zoe, although they looked identical, was standing beside his crazed sister who stood over to the completed model of the Levi series. The male laid in a supine position, his eyes closed and unmoveable. His jet black hair was darker than night itself, the silky strands of his hair were longer in the front, but cut short in the back with a military undercut. His lashes were long, but his brows were thin he looked like a thirty-four-year-old man who didn’t age since his mid twenty. His measurement of five foot three and weighed no more than a hundred and forty-three pounds.

“Quite serious. I have everything all planned out and I’ll be dropping it off. Levi would have wanted this.”

She said with a sad smile,

“Corporal no Levi would have wanted to be with that boy if he hadn’t died back then...he could have told Eren how he felt.”

Zander touched the top of his older sister head.

“Well once you make up your mind there’s no stopping you. So if there's anything I can do for you just let me know..”

Hanji shook her head no,

“Nah, I got this covered. No...wait on second thought you can help me. You can deliver this to the hotel and then I can handle the rest.”

She said with a grin, her hand caressed through Levi’s soft hair.

“You’ll get to be with him soon friend, just wait a little while longer.”

Zander watched his sister tenderly stroke the Special series head. She showered this model with more love than any of her other babies. And who can blame her? Levi was all of their friends. They had been looking forward to him retiring from the military to join them and pursue his one-sided love. He never even got the chance to introduce himself to the boy before he got deployed. Just when he would have returned from service, he had protected a fellow soldier and lost his life.

“So how are we going to transport him? Needless to say, he’s heavy as hell when he’s offline and even if you turn him on he’s twice as fucking heavy and even I won’t be able to make him budge.”

“Ahh silly Zander you think I didn’t solve that either? You’ll be transporting him with this little guy.”

She said as she left Levi to pick up a metal cube on her desk to show it to Zander.

“It’s a cart to carry him in all I need you to do is deliver this bad boy to that hotel, I’m going to disguise myself as a bellboy and deliver it personally.”

“Oh? And what about the security measures? Surely they’re picky about their staff.”

“I’ve got that all figured out too so don’t worry. Now help me get him into this box.”

With the special bubble wrap inside the box first, they had to pre-wrap Levi first which took some time considering they had to set him up and let the bubble wrapper do its job. Once he was completely covered they laid the Levi model into a fetal position so it could fit in a perfectly square box. It was a lot bigger than it looked to fit a human of Levi’s size, but it was perfect to add more wrappers at the top for added protection including the added packaging foam, they simply jump dumped it in to cover him up completely. Once it was done all they had to do was wrap it up and tie it off with a ribbon bow. Since the wrapping paper was already underneath the box due to plan preparation they were wrapping it up like a normal Christmas paper. Once it was covered and the bow-tied Hanji had to type Eren’s Christmas card label.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow to come...”

Zander looked at his sister exhausted from putting the doll into the box and wrapping it up.

“Hope all goes well, Zo. Just don’t get caught or be sent to jail for the stunt you’re about to pull.”

The look on his sister's face would have traumatized a normal human being, but since he knew that was her happy look despite the grin looking so damn intense to freak a saint. He let her reminisce for as long as she wanted.

***

Hanji was extremely ecstatic about the little job she was working on. It was so fun playing spy. She disguised her face with make-up props like they do on movies. She didn’t need to change her whole face just certain features that wouldn’t link back to either her or her twin. She had to work very hard to control her happiness or her plan would fail. She would have to go at this as if she were on a mission again. Well, she technically was on a mission but not like back then. At least this mission she didn’t have to worry about dying on.

Picking up the cube she had shown Zander the night before she pressed a small button and allowed the cart to assemble itself in the middle of her lab before she used the crane to lift the box and maneuver it into the cart. With that taken care of, she wheeled the cart out from her lab to the docking warehouse. She already had a white panel van waiting for her and she secured the cart in it before giving her twin a call to come to deliver the box and texted him the address of the hotel where he would be taking it.

Her plans were moving along nicely as she drove her car to the hotel, parking a block and a half away. She waited until she got closer to the hotel before donning the bellhop uniform she had acquired. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself and kept herself from grinning like a madman, as Levi had always put it.

She had already hacked the hotel’s surveillance so that she could observe their security. She wanted to know the angle of the cameras and their blind spots. She didn’t want anything to ruin this mission. It was the most important one after all.

Heading to the front of the hotel in her altered disguise, Zoe passed by nodding and greeting those who greeted her but kept moving, since she had to be the one to take the box from Zander. Just as she got there Zander pulled up to the curb and hailed her over. Grabbing a baggage cart she moved over to the van and waited for Zander to bring the cart down to the curb using the electric ramp built into the van.

Once the cart was set on the curb Zoe bowed as was customary for greeting people as a bellhop and whispered to Zander to move the left side of the cart next to the baggage cart and hit the purple button on the handle. Once he did that the cart he was using pushed the gift-wrapped box out onto the baggage cart. Then Zander made a show of telling her, though she was dressed as a man, who the package was for they took their leave of each other. Zander drove off and she headed inside with the baggage cart.

“Mr. Jaeger has a gift that needs to be delivered.”

She told the security guard who guarded Eren’s personal elevator. The only other way to get to his penthouse apartment was through the stairwells, which wouldn’t work with a baggage cart. A device was strapped to her throat that she had created back in her military days. It was hidden beneath the collar of her uniform and made her voice slightly deeper to give it a more masculine tone.

The security guard did the customary bomb scan and then let her pass on to the elevator and sent her up. Zoe knew how to conduct herself since she had made sure to watch the bellhops closely from the security cameras. She knew what was okay and what would get her caught as the elevator dinged announcing her arrival before the doors slid open.

Since she was dressed as a bellhop she could move a bit more freely than if she had gone with her first idea. At first, she had planned on going as a maintenance worker but she figured that would look a little suspicious. Unless the hotel needed a major repair done a maintenance worker wouldn’t need a large cart so Bellhop had been her second choice.

It was around seven in the evening when Zoe rang the doorbell and knocked on the door before standing back to wait for it to be answered. Since she was dressed as a bellhop it also afforded her the luxury of seeing him receive the box in person since as a maintenance worker she would have had to drop it off and run away leaving the box at the front door.

“A gift was dropped off for you at the front door Mr. Jaeger. Where would you like me to put it?”

She asked innocently as if she weren’t the real sender of the said gift. It was just too much fun playing spy to let an opportunity like this pass. The boy was a cutie and she could see why Levi had been so captivated by him. The color of his eyes was astounding. She wouldn’t mind making a D.O.L.L. with those kinds of eyes. Although she would have to use different colors so as not to give herself away.

*** Having had slept late Eren was just getting around when he heard the doorbell rang, clad in only a pair of jeans and a baggy sweater. He didn’t bother wearing socks around the house much less tie his hair back since he wasn’t working on anything. He had been lounging around the house since he got up to have breakfast.

He was just watching TV with the sofa pillow wrapped in his arms pressing into his belly he had been so into the soap opera that he instinctively jumped in time with the doorbell ringing from both within the movie and outside of the movie. Heart thumping he dropped back with a loud sigh as he relaxed his hold on the pillow.

“God, that scared me.”

He said as he tossed the pillow to the side so he can get up to answer the door, the moment he opens it he was greeted with a new face and a large looking gift package on the side. It took him a moment pause to understand what he was saying.

“A gift?”

The boy question as he shifted his gaze to the package on the carrying cart it was no doubt a gift it was all wrapped up with a large pretty bow. The Christmas wrapping was beautiful all silver blue with white and grey glittering snowflakes on it. Across on all four sides, there was a ribbon tied to the top it with a little card sticking to the side.

“It’s...so big.”

Eren responded as he looked the package over, turning his gaze back to the bellboy Eren eyes narrowed a little at the newcomer's face…

“You know I’ve….never seen you before…”

But, then again maybe they had let someone off or someone had quit and needed a replacement… And since Armin isn’t here he couldn’t tell him who was coming in and who was leaving.

“Probably because I'm on the graveyard shift, Sir.”

“Oh, is that so? Sorry. Just uh put it in the living room. It’s this way.”

He said with the gesture of his arm to tell him to come in Eren had led him to the main living room. Seeing the package rolled in the bellboy moved it off the cart with a loud thud once it hit the floor a second later he was holding out a device to him for him to sign.

“Can you sign here so that my boss knows that you have received this package.”

He asked the stylus pen was held out to him.

“Sure.”

Eren thought nothing of it as he took the stylus pen into his hand and did a quick signature of his name,

“Thank you, please have a nice evening, Mr. Jaeger.”

“Oh, yeah you too here let me show you the way out again and thanks for the delivery.”

Eren replied as he guided the new worker out once he was outside Eren nod his head in farewell before he shut the door. When Eren returned to the room he easily plucked the card out and read the message.

“It...certainly has my name on it, but there’s no return address and the only thing it says is I hope you enjoy it, L.”

Eren looked confused at the message,

“Who’s L?”

None of his friends had the letter L for their first or last name so he couldn’t figure out who sent this to him. Well, whoever it was obviously thought big of him as he laid his hand on the package with a soft caress.

***

It was near torture for Hanji to not grin as she watched him caress the package before she completely loses her composure she made a small bowed and took her to leave of the penthouse floor. But, first, she put the baggage cart on the elevator and sent it down. Keeping her face turned away from the cameras, she headed for the stairwell and went down a floor, From there she slipped out of the stairwell straight into a blind spot. From there she slipped into an unoccupied room removing the bellhop uniform and donning a mask. She folded the uniform then stuffed it into the bag she had on her hip. The clothes she wore underneath the bellhop uniform were black as she was wearing her old ops uniform for this mission.

On her belt were various pockets and pouches containing different tools and gadgets, most of her own creation. They were there for ‘Just in case’ scenarios but so far she was pulling this off without a hitch. Opening the balcony door she stepped out and shut it behind her as she walked towards the edge, nearest the wall. She was on the very side of the building away from the main locations down below.

Attaching a special device to the rail of the balcony Zoe looked over the rail to the ground before surveying everything going on below. There was one runner on the sidewalk who might notice her as she descended, so she waited until they passed before she leaped over the rail holding the wire end of the device. The device was also something of Hanji’s creation that had been patented and manufactured for military use. The device could withstand the weight of a fully loaded semi as long as whatever it was attached to could as well. With the push of a button, the user could lower or raise something or themselves safely and with great speed.

Once her feet hit the ground she released the device with another click of the remote user to raise, lower, attach and unattached the device. She lowered into the brush to remove her mask and pull her hair up into a ponytail before jogging back to her car that was parked a block and a half away.

It was a forty-five-minute drive back to D.O.L.L. Headquarters where her lab was located in the third sub-basement of the building. Only certain people had clearance to reach her lab and they were the people who were the top members of D.O.L.L. When she finally cleared all of her security Zander was already waiting for her in her lab. She had pulled off the prosthetic mask pieces on the car ride back so she was back to her old self.

“So, did everything go off as you planned?”

Zander asked his twin when she finally showed up over an hour and a half since he had last seen her, He had even brought her cart back down to the lab but from past experiences with her gadgets, he restrained himself from attempting to close it up again. Zoe, however, walked over and pressed a little blue button on the left end of the cart to make it fold itself back into a cube before she moved over to her wall of computer monitors.

“Hehehe….. You’ll see…”

She chuckled quite happily, although to anyone who didn’t know her might take it as the laugh of a madwoman. In front of it was a large island which the counter of was touch activated. With her fingers flying she pulled up a recorded video feed and set it back to when it started recording at seven pm. Finally, the grin she had been suppressing was spread across her face as Eren appeared on the monitors in front of her. They all formed one large picture of Eren approaching the front door to admit her entrance to deliver the package.

Zooming away from the island on a rolling stool she hit over to the microwave, after pausing it, she made a bag of popcorn and dumped it into a large bowl before rolling herself back over. Munching on some popcorn she offered the bowl to her twin as she started the show.

*** Eren undid the present bow with a simple tug here and a simple tug there and once the ribbon fell to the ground he got to work on tearing up the wrapping paper. Since it didn’t say it was for Christmas he figured he could just open it right away. Coming across the brown box that was sealed with the tape he took a step back to head toward the kitchen.

“The last time I fought with that kind of tape I tore a nail off…”

He grumbles as he was rumbling through the drawer for a box cutter he knew was in there. Once he retrieved it he went back to cut down the middle and then on both top corner and bottom. Once it was easier to pry open he set the box cutter down so he can work on getting to his gift. He had to move some of the packaging foam to the side, but some of it got on the floor anyway despite him trying to move it to the side. After that, he pulled out the first layer of wrapping bubbles he blinked at the weird shape. Never mind the fact that he made a mess on the floor.

Picking up the box cutter he was sawing away the plastic bubble wrapper and the tape that held it together. What he saw had him dropping the box cutter and scrambling back with a high pitch scream.

“Oh my god, it’s a dead body!!!”

He screeched as he slammed his back into the wall automatically he slid down to the floor hands shaking he covered his mouth. There was a damn body inside the box, heart pounding, he looked to the left toward the front door. Why would someone send him a dead body? What kind of prank was this? He only got a glimpse of the face before he panicked, but it didn’t look like it was plaster looking like the kind of skin that looked clammy after postmortem. God only knew how long he stayed like that.

“....I...it is a human….right?”

Placing his hand on the wall or whatever solid surface he slammed his body into he used it as leverage to get back on his feet. He was no doubt shaky when he went back to that box that was marked as his present. Since the plastic wrapper, he moved to the side to see the ‘present’ went back to its original place to covering the face up again.

In all actuality, he didn't want to go near it much less touch it, but if he wanted to confirm what was in there he had to do it. Getting back down on his knees once more to brush the plastic wrapping to the side. He had his eyes closed at that moment so he could gather his bearing, but god he was nervous as he opens his eyes.

“Please don’t be a dead body…Please don't be a dead body...”

He whined as got a closer look of the face with shaky fingers he poked the cheek to find it oddly soft. It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t exactly warm either….

Turning the head it felt a little heavy which was odd since most heads weren’t as heavy as this…

“The head...is a bit heavy…and if it were a dead body, I doubt I can turn his head so easily.”

Picking up the box cutter he cut at the wrapping until he was fully exposed with his head turned his way the body itself was still in fetal position. When he looked down near his waist there was a booklet resting on top of him. To his surprise it had D.O.L.L. typed on the cover that he fell on his ass in relief.

“Oh thank god, it’s not a body.”

He said out loud, although he recanted saying it is a body, but not like what he had thought previously.  Letting his hand becoming an anchor behind his back he tilted his head back

“I need a moment.”

When his chest not pounding and he didn’t feel like he was going to faint he got back on his knees to pick up the manual. It was made out of some fancy paper and it was also preserved so it wouldn’t get torn or wet.

“Why would someone send me a D.O.L.L….it’s hella expensive...I can’t imagine anyone giving this to me for free...Maybe if it were Armin...or Allen..I can see that happening. But, if it were them then why would they sign an L on the card and not their name?”

Opening to the first page he read through the content, what caught his attention was when he flipped to the next page. It read Special series.

“A special series...What does that mean? Is it custom-made…”

Eren looked back at the D.O.L.L. who looked like it was sleeping the D.O.L.L. itself was beautiful, but he never saw a D.O.L.L. look like this one before. It wasn’t on the news and he would have known if there was a different option for a model like this online… Glancing back to the book he got to the part on how to awaken him.

“How to activate your D.O.L.L. place your lip against the D.O.L.L. lips to start it up...The D.O.L.L. will imprint on the DNA of the user's mouth.  The D.O.L.L. itself will awaken scanning the first person it sees.”

Eren cheeks turned a little pink,

“Eh!? I have to kiss it? But, but, but it’s a guy!”

Were all D.O.L.L.’s like this? How can they kiss their own D.O.L.L.? Wasn’t that weird, when Eren looked back at the D.O.L.L. that was still unactivated. He couldn’t very well just leave it in there, could he? Groaning loudly he covered his face shaking his head no he didn’t have to worry about cramping the booklet when he did this. It shouldn’t be a big deal to kiss an object, but for some reason, it was with him since he didn’t look like an object.

Freaking himself out wasn't going to turn the D.O.L.L. on and he felt bad if he let it stayed cooped up in a box in a fetal position for too long. Even if the D.O.L.L. itself could not feel anything if it were offline. Leaning himself inside the box he placed his hand on the D.O.L.L. naked pale shoulder, again the D.O.L.L. felt soft to him it was neither cold nor warm just like a human being. Leaning close to the male face he gave a nervous sound. He couldn’t do it when he pulled back and wrecked his hand through his long hair.

“Oh my god, Eren stop being such a wuss!”

He said that to himself and yet, he was still fussing over the fact that he had to kiss the male D.O.L.L. for it to wake up. Freaking himself out wasn’t helping him much either when he eyed the thing. For some reason, he wouldn't be surprised if that D.O.L.L. became possessed by something and woke up on its own. Just thinking how ridiculous that was he slapped his own cheeks.

“Ugh, Nevermind! Just forget it. Don’t think just do it. S’not like anyone’s gonna knows...Right?”

Placing his hand back on the D.O.L.L. shoulder he quickly pressed his lips on the D.O.L.L. lips and stayed there until it started. He had expected it to purr to life like some computer does and maybe twitch or something like that, but now he felt a slight shift under him and two hands grasping both his cheeks to keep him still. Before he knew it a tongue forced it’s way inside his mouth passing his defenses. Once the shock wears off he gasped afterward the sound he made when he was struggling against the D.O.L.L. who rose up with him when he tried to lean back. He felt something weird on the D.O.L.L. tongue when it rubbed and licked against his own tongue and the root of his mouth. He panicked of course and the only saving grace he had was to shove the D.O.L.L. back and high tail it away from him. It was more like a crab walk backward until he hit something solid for the second time that evening.

“I-it...it stuck his tongue in!!”

The D.O.L.L. that was shoved back was moving inside the box so that he was in an upper position his eyes blinking slowly until his gaze focused on him. Eren watched the way his eyes took on a slight glow for a few seconds before it subsided. He watched as the humanoid doll looked him up and down. It must be scanning and recording him because his eyes glowed again for the second time. Shortly after that, the tongue that had been in his mouth stuck out to lick his lip slowly. The silver barb caught Eren’s attention before it slipped back into the threshold the blush Eren had on his cheeks was immense as well as the girly squeak that came out.

“Eep!”

The D.O.L.L. stood up some of the packing foam fell off him in pieces before he steps outside the box. He was wearing only a loose shoulder long sleeve t-shirt that covered his thighs. It was long enough to cover his ass. The male was...small in height, but intimidating as he stepped out of the box. Doing so his toes bumped into the manual booklet which he picked up with a graceful bow. Eren was a little nervous when it, he means he, came towards him waving that little booklet in his hand. This was the first time Eren actually interacted with a real live D.O.L.L. he was lowering himself down to his level the booklet still in his hand.

Eren noticed his nails were pretty despite them being painted black and that he had a tattoo showing out of the loose collar shirt he was wearing.

Eren watched him hold the booklet out to him. Eren took it with a shaky hand while the other one still covered his mouth as if to ward him off.

“My name is Levi, what is your name, Love?”

‘Love? Did he just call me love?’

Eren looked bewildered,

“Eren...Eren Jaeger.”

“Eren Jaeger is it, please register me.”

“Huh?”

“Eren my love, I need you to register me as yours.”

He repeated in that low silky tone.

‘Even his voice is amazing.’

Eren thought.

“Register….oh right, register um.”

Eren open the booklet scanning the context and once he saw what he was looking for he hastily got back on his feet.

“Um, Levi?”

“Yes, my love?”

“Err...just...just follow me okay?”

“Yes, Eren.”

Eren looked and felt even more embarrassed than before even as he leads him to the nearest desktop on the first floor, he had Levi sitting on the floor so he could be closer to the desk tower. In the book, it said there was a panel behind the back of the D.O.L.L. head all he had to do was press at the center for the panel to open.

“Um, Levi could you lean forward for a sec I need to access your cable USB port.”

The D.O.L.L. listened to what he had to say and leaned forward obediently, he had such beautiful pierced ears. Eren glanced away from his ears to the panel that was hidden he pressed at the panel he couldn’t see. But, in the manual, it said it was just underneath barcode that was just underneath the hairline at nape of his neck so it was simple to just pressed his fingers just underneath it for it to slide open. And then there was another tattoo mark of two wings over crossing the other. One was not shaded in while the other wing was shaded in black. It was big enough to be noticed between the shoulder blade.  For some reason that being there looked good on the D.O.L.L. especially since it’s so visible in the shirt, he was wearing. It was slanted exposing more of his flesh from the shoulder down to his shoulder blade.

‘Sexy…’

Grabbing the cable cord that was inside of the D.O.L.L. he manages to connect it to the desk tower. It took a few seconds for the computer to register a new device being plugged into the computer before a screen popped up. It was the registering app he was looking for and it showed just like it would appear in the manual. Since he was new at this he clicked on the new owner button and began to fill everything out.

D.O.L.L.

Model: Special Series D.O.L.L. Name: Levi Age: 34 Height: 5’3” Weight: 143 -> Next

“He’s...thirty four….”

He looked at the D.O.L.L. hell he was only 26….and yet, this doll got eight years on him.

“He sure doesn’t look like he’s thirty-four especially since he’s so small…”

He murmurs as he clicked next for the next page.

Please fill out everything on this page that has the red *...

The instruction itself was pretty simple so he filled it out.

Name of Owner: Eren Jaeger

The name of D.O.L.L. was automatically filled out as Levi so he could continue onward to the next question.

Owner’s Age: 26 Owner’s Birthday: March 30th 31** Owner’s Address: 2600 Ambassadors Drive at the Arlet Empire Hotel Penthouse Owner’s Phone Number: (809) 447-6843 Email Address: TaithianJaeger@gmail.com

When he clicked the next button to go to the next page he raised an eyebrow at the next question…

“My preference.” He repeated…

On the screen it said to please select which household function you wish to have and since there was an option to select everything he clicked on that. The list had been too long for him to read everything properly anyway. Once he clicked next to read the next question his face turned a few shades of red.

“M-My sex...preference...oh dear lord he’s a sex D.O.L.L. too.”

He automatically skips that part, since there was an option for it and when there was a question or a preference he couldn’t answer he skipped it. The process was easy enough he could only breathe a sigh of relief when a new screen popped up saying congratulations for completing the registration process and to enjoy his new D.O.L.L. AKA Dream of Leal Love.

Unhooking the USB from the computer desk tower he retracted it back into Levi’s holder and press the panel again to close it. The manual for the special model was placed to the side of the wireless keyboard. He stood up looking at Levi who was sitting there like he was just waking up, that dazed look he had going on really looked good on him too. Just as he thought that Levi shifted his gaze up to him looking fully alerted after his eyes did that glow thing.

Eren stepped back when he tried to reach for him and the moment he did Levi’s expression changed to something sad like he was crestfallen about him rejecting. Levi looked like he was close to tears despite being a D.O.L.L.

“W-wait, don’t cry I’m sorry.”

Levi got to his feet, his black nails reaching for him and considering his D.O.L.L. still looked like he was going to cry he stayed put even as his arms wrapped around him. Since Levi is shorter than himself he was on his tippy toe his chest pressing up into his.

“Do you not like me, Eren? Because I love you.”

Eren blushed as he tilted his head up a little higher out of the special model’s reach in lip ranged.  After he did that he heard a hiccuping noise that kind of remind him of a child who was about to cry.

“Don’t, please don’t cry.”

Eren replied to his hiccup he even brought his head down so he could look at him. Levi wasted no time he practically jumped up Levi’s lips smacking into his lips. It didn’t hurt and it didn’t feel like their teeth clashed against each other. Levi’s arms encircled around his neck tighter…. For someone so small he was undeniably strong because he couldn’t pull back.

He had to wait it out for the D.O.L.L. stand on his bare feet again while still looking at him smiling.

“I love you, Eren. Please say that you like me too?”

The look of uncertainty was in the D.O.L.L. eyes and Eren couldn’t bring it in himself to say he didn’t.

“I like you too, Levi.”

The smile he showed him was not only beautiful but angelic and at the moment Eren felt his heart skipped a beat.

“You’re so beautiful…”

He blurted out, that only made the D.O.L.L. close in on him to pepper a kiss to his lips he didn’t bother to move out of the way this time since Levi gave another one of those angelic looks.

“Eren, say what do you like, I notice that you didn’t fill out some of your preference so tell me. What is your favorite sex position? How do you like to be kissed? What is your favorite food?”

Eren felt like his ears were being burned from all the heat he was generating from his embarrassment.

“I….I-I can’t answer that! I don’t know, b-but I can tell you my favorite food. I like anything that’s a pasta dish with garlic bread.”

He told him as he tried to pry Levi off him he was sticking to him like glue even as he twisted his body so that Levi’s front was pressed firmly to his backside.

“Hoo….so you don’t know is that right? Then how about we find out together, Eren. Your favorite sex position and how you like to be kissed.”

Feeling the D.O.L.L. hands touched his chest and his abdomen he physically shook in the smaller man arms. “T-there’s no need, I’m perfectly fine without knowing!”

“Non non, that will not do my precious love, I must know everything about you. And finding out what you like is a must need to know basis, Darling.”

The D.O.L.L. slipped his hands under his shirt the other hand was going down into a place where he really wanted to go. The flick of his finger popped open the loose button from it’s worn out the hoop and with his thumb and middle finger he gripped the handle of the zipper and pulled it down quickly so his hand can shoot inside. Levi’s hand no doubtly cup the boy groin in a soft multiple squeezes.

“Haaah! Hold on hold on, b-bad touch, Levi bad touch.”

“It’s not bad at all, you see I can feel it. The heartbeat of this guy growing ah see it just twitched right now. Did you know your heartbeat from up here-”

He said touching his chest, his finger lightly brushing the nipple as he cupped the beating organ in one hand.

“Is in tune with this one-”

He replied by squeezing the soft organ in his other palm.

“They are beating as one and they are very honest with each other don’t you agree, Lover?”

“No.”

He squeaked as he brought two of his hands down to cup his groin area where he grasps Levi’s hands that were still on his dick.  He was trying to shake him off or keep him from moving up and down his shaft, but for some reason, the D.O.L.L. still manage to stroke him with little to no effort on his part.

“Non? But, it seems like this one is agreeing with me.”

Eren tilt his head back,

“Uhn, I-It’s a normal body reaction, of course, it’s going to react if anyone gave it some...some attention.”

He replied breathlessly.

“Hmm... So anyone can make this adorable cock throb beside me? I don’t think I like that thought very much. Who was it that touch you in this way?”

The possessive part of the D.O.L.L. personality engages as he gave Eren a pointed look from behind his back.

“N-No one! I just read about it and I saw it again when I watch SVU.”

He whimpered the second Levi squeezed him harder.

“SVU….if I recall correctly it’s the acronym for special victims unit, from a popular crime tv show.”

“Y-yes that’s right that’s right, Levi. It’s a TV show.”

“So, does that mean I am the only one who’s touching you like this?”

He asked he still had that look on his face as he gave a steady stroke to Eren’s cock he even slipped his hand skilfully inside the boy’s underwear to get an ample feel of the soft flesh that was getting harder.

‘Good, he’s getting aroused and the more he feels good the better chances for me to find something new about him. I can hear it better now his heartbeat is getting stronger and his breathing is getting more erratic than before. Blood pressure is rising too and he’s not putting up too much of a resistance, I can conclude that he doesn’t hate this too much.’

Eren turned his head to look back at the D.O.L.L. the way he looked at him was so different than the stares or look he sees on a living being. It was just something about the way he stared at him that made him feel so open. It was the most vulnerable feeling he had ever felt before beside the passing of his parents.

“Y-yes… Now pull your hands out. We can’t do it here.”

He said with a higher pitch tone his eyes were closing as he bent forward.

“Not here?”

The D.O.L.L. asked and when Eren nodded he pulled his hands out from beneath the band of Eren’s boxer as well as underneath the sweater.

“Alright.”

Levi easily lifted Eren up by wrapping his arm around him and lifting up smoothly as if he didn’t weigh a thing. The shirt Levi wore rose a little higher from picking the young boy up. He left the room in search for a place that was a lot more suitable for them to be in.

“Hold on, Levi where are you taking me?”

“To your room. I’ve never been there figured now's the best time, darling.”

“Uh… Um… W-why do you want to go to my room?”

Eren asked Levi was just making his way to the hall when the D.O.L.L. eyes were on a flight of stairs.

“Isn’t it obvious, Eren. We’ll be living together so it’s only natural that I wish to accommodate myself to the room we’ll  be sharing or...do you plan on me for sleeping inside my box?”

He asked him as he went up a flight of stairs the floor plan of this penthouse finally finished downloading into his system database as well as Eren’s record. His finance, medical record, job, credit score, and history were now all locked inside him and completed. Except for his lover preference and personality, he had everything on electronically inside him now he was just in the process of working out his lovers' kinks. Even now he was collecting data from the man in his arms. Body wiggling speech stuttering, fast beating heartbeat, his lover sure is lively and young and that was fantastic.

“Err...N-no uh...there’s a spare room...further from mine….you can sleep there….it’s usually the guest room, but you can have it…”

“Non! As a lover and a pillow series I must be with you otherwise I will not be as useful and proficient to you as your special series. I am confident that I can provide the best sleep you’ll ever have, Love.”

“Huh? Pillow series? What’s that?”

“Heh… I cannot say since that specific series has yet to be released to the public.”

He said with a bright smile as he carried Eren upstairs. Reaching the top of the stairs Levi looked around noticing Eren’s scent coming from several different rooms.

“Where is your room, Love?”

Levi asked innocently as he held Eren effortlessly in his arms and waited for him to give him directions. Even though he has the floor plan he still doesn’t know which room is his master bedroom.

“It’s….down the hall three doors down and on the...left...but, what do you mean it has yet to come out? Do you mean you have all the series within you that has yet to come out? Like the nanny series?”

He asked, he knew Levi was the special series so he was going to be a hell of special, but still he didn’t know the intel. Just what kind of D.O.L.L. is he?

Eren couldn’t help thinking about it, but at the same time, he never thought this D.O.L.L. could actually carry his fat ass up the stairs much less effortlessly get him to his room and set him down on his bed without breaking his back. But, then again, he wasn’t human...so maybe having super strength isn’t unusual for a D.O.L.L. like him.

“I’m programmed with every program created, even those that haven’t come out on the market yet… I am a completely unique series developed and created solely for you My Love.”

He said smiling as he entered Eren’s room and carried him over to the bed  Levi set him down on it just so he could crawl onto his lover's lap. Wrapping his arms around Eren’s neck he leaned in close an attempt to kiss him happily which got dodged by Eren’s finger. He took on a sulky expression at being dodged again.

“Eh?”

Eren shook his head he had way too many questions to get distracted by this man- D.O.L.L. amazing kisses.

“Why me? Why me of all people? How come you’re so special and not the others? And also who sent you to me? Tell me because I honestly don’t get it. I really don’t. Who would send me a  D.O.L.L.like seriously, why would they give me a special series like you to a guy like me. You can’t really expect me to believe that someone would give you to me scotch free. Even I know how super expensive D.O.L.L.’S are.”

Eren replied he didn’t move back even when Levi wrapped his arm around him and got closer, but he dodged his kiss successfully until he got the answer he wanted. Eren was serious and now that he wasn’t being touched like before he can concentrate a little better despite having a bulge in his pants.

Levi looked thoughtful for a moment since he was searching his databases as well as the company records for himself. After thoroughly searching what he could Levi met Eren’s gaze fully.

“I do not have access to that information right now. However, I do know that I was made for you specifically at the request of someone who isn’t here anymore.”

Levi said in an attempt to answer his Lover’s questions. All he knew was that this was where he was meant to be. This was the person he was supposed to love and that he only wanted to be with this person always, no matter what.

“Is that a sufficient answer Ma Cher?”

He purred leaning in to kiss him and if he pulled away again he could always just resort to tears since that seemed to get to his Love weakness. The way Eren looked at him the young boy only gave a downward cast as if he was pondering more question that he knew he couldn’t answer.

“....Not….really, but I understand if you don’t know anything. It can’t be helped since you don’t have access… I still don’t understand a lot of things I don’t know anyone who died and I still haven’t figure out the initial L that was on the card that was attached to your box.”

Hearing the honesty in the boy's voice he couldn’t help, but want to solve all the question his lover had and put him at ease, but at the same time. He had other pressing matters that needed his attention, with just a slight adjustment to his rear end to scoot closer to his Love. The boy slight bulge was still very noticeable under his rear end. Considering he wore nothing underneath the shirt he could feel the tight rasp material of his lovers jean on his ass.

Tightening his arm around Eren’s neck he made sure Eren couldn’t pull away from him this time when he swiftly pressed his lip into his. It was obvious the first round of kiss wasn’t enough for Levi and that was when he first woke up. The trembling lips that pressed into his steady one were soft and sweet. The DNA of Eren in front of him now matched with the DNA inside his database especially when his tongue collected the living sample from ‘Eren’.

“Ma Cher.”

Levi purred as he stroke his tongue against the tight lip of his lover. When he refused to part his lips he took drastic measure into his own hands. Rocking his hips and rubbing his ass against the taught material of Eren’s jeans. He kept it up and moaned, his tongue still sliding from the bottom of Eren lips to the upper one. One of his hands reached up to touch his cheek he had to angle Eren head a little bit to get where he wanted to go. The soft noises Eren made when he rocked his hip was a start, but not enough when he can’t dive his tongue into the sweet canvas of his beloved mouth. Pulling back he placed kisses on top of his chin and under it before moving down lower. Levi open mouthed kissed the side of his neck and went down lower in a slow trail to create a path of red petals on his skin.

‘Mine, Eren.’

He thought as he laid his claims on him. No one else could have him, because he’ll be the best he’ll ever have so he won’t go looking for someone else other than him.

“Uhn~”

Levi kissing trail led even lower when he pulled on Eren shirt to touch more of his skin. The strong line of Eren’s collarbone is beautiful and graceful. He lavishes kisses there before he moved up toward his Adam's apple on his beloved throat. He loved the way it bobbed just then before he went further up to Eren’s chin again to nibble on it before he reached up to capture his lower lip between his teeth. Eren’s erupt moan was like a sucker-punch to his groin because his dick kicked up hard and fast. He loved the feeling since it was new to him he might not like it so much if his sex was denied. Like humans, he can suffer some serious sexual pain if not taken care of and the last time he checked blue balls weren’t sexy it was torture. He even gave Eren’s lower lip a slight tug just to see his beloved teeth. They were just as impressive as the rest of him they were bright white and beautifully straight with pink gums to match his perfection.

Feeling the younger man shiver he took his hand off his cheek to move it down his neck and further down to his shoulder to caress the collarbone slowly. Having that said hand touching his collarbone he slipped underneath his shirt and moved it down to brush his finger over the flat circle of Eren’s nipple that was covered by an annoying sweater. Levi has no doubt that he stretching that tight material, but when Eren looked like he was enjoying it he didn’t stop.

Hearing Eren sweet moan only spur him to do more so he used his other hand to go underneath the shirt instead of above like his other hand to rub Eren’s belly before grazing his fingertips on the boy's hip. The move or more like the position was difficult with his lover shirt on that he gave up and took his other hand that was playing his nipple out of that end of the shirt to go somewhere else that wasn’t in his way. The other hand that was at his lover jeans still had the button was undone and the zipper down from his earlier advances so he could just slip right on in. The second he squeezed him down there his lover gasped which gave him plenty of opening to take claim of what belonged to him.

With their mouths fusing properly he kept up with the steady pumps with his one hand while his other arm went up and stayed tightly around Eren’s neck. Levi’s own body was fully prepared to accept his lover inside him or to take him instead as he moaned against Eren’s mouth sweetly.

Having the data program for the lover series he knew what to do, but he wanted this to be perfect. So calculating and using his beloved reaction was going to be his best course of action on how to please his lover body to the fullest and then some.

Levi pulled back only momentarily to remove Eren’s sweater as well as removing the only thing he was wearing which was the black t-shirt that covered him. Once Levi was free of his clothes it was clearly evident that he had a tattoo over his heart of an elaborate crown above a shield over crossed rapiers with twin dragons on either side of it. On the band of the crown was the word ‘Reverie’, it was one of the few clues as to who the D.O.L.L. was modeled after. There was also one more tattoo on the D.O.L.L.’s body which was a string of rosebuds encircling his arm inside a black band.

“Mmm? Didn’t you realize Ma Cher? The L stands for Levi… I know that much at least.”

He purred as he pressed his naked body against Eren’s while his hand returned to stroking Eren’s hard cock. Levi’s own cock was clearly pierced with a silver barbell just like his tongue. The only other piercings he had were in his ears, and there were multiple piercings in each.

The D.O.L.L. was very well built and was even made to appear to have very well defined muscles. Even the veins were structure to appear more realistic and model after that man.

“Levi? But, isn't that-”

Eren had lost his words when he shudders in this D.O.L.L. hand it was even harder for him to think with half a brain functioning. Did the D.O.L.L gift himself to him or was it requested by the sender to leave him a message to enjoy the Levi doll?

Eren bit his lower lip he shouldn't enjoy this side of the doll function. It was too perverted for his peace of mind. In fact, he didn't know why he was letting him do this to him now sure it feels good. Extremely good as he released another open mouth moan, he did try to stop him earlier by covering his hand to stop him to move. It was just that his effort was futile when Levi moved his hand faster.

“Levi wait, I ah- I've never had sex before!”

He confessed, was he embarrassed about it? Hell yeah, he was, but at the same time, he wasn't since he never truly had the time for such extracurricular. Being in a relationship was taxing in itself. More so when it cut into his time to doing something more productive for his future career.

“I've never done it, and you're a guy I can't-”

“Eren.”

One of Levi's free hand that wasn’t on his dick placed a finger to his lips to silence him.

“I want you to leave everything to me. Don't be so nervous. Everything we do will become natural. If at any time you want me to stop. I'll stop. I swear to you.”

Eren wavering gaze lowered a little, even now he can still feel Levi hand stroking him. He had been so embarrassed when Levi took his shirt off. But, he was more surprised by the fact that he wasn’t wearing any underpants? Levi had a baggy shirt to cover his rear end, but no boxer. Whoever sent him must be a pervert.

‘Did this person think that I was a pervert too?’

Feeling Levi’s finger brush underneath his chin his head was forced up to look into Levi’s eyes, it was strange to see how hypnotic they were in their complexity. In those eyes, they looked like they really did belong to an actual human as they stared into his own. Levi’s hand slipped up from Eren’s chin to cup his cheek as he continued to hold his gaze.

“I promise you can trust me Eren. I love you more than anything. I will never do anything to hurt or harm you ever… I swear.”

Levi said gently as he brought Eren’s face to his slowly for a slow unhurried kiss. He even slowed the stroking of his hand to match the slowness of the kiss. Slowly Levi kissed down his chin and down his throat. He was watching Eren’s face as he got down lower, slipping his tongue out Levi slid a slow trail to Eren’s nipple before taking it into his mouth to suckle slightly. He even gave it a light nibble. The flinch the boy made was positively refreshing so he took his time ravishing one nipple before attacking the other one to give it equal affection as the first. Slowly he slid the ball of his tongue ring around Eren’s nipple before flickering it the gasp he made is music to his ears. Even the high pitch whine sounded beautiful to his ears when he sucked the nipple in and gave it another nibble. It appears his left nipple was a lot more sensitive to his right, so to test that theory he bit his left nipple a little harder which caused the boy to bend backward in a harsh gasp.

“Does it feel good Ma Cher?”

Levi asked as he slowly moved his way down so he could slide his tongue down Eren’s stomach. The boy didn’t have the strength to keep sitting, but that was fine. This was the perfect position for him to heighten his beloved’s pleasure.

“L-Levi…”

Eren felt Levi’s tongue dipped into his navel and further still the D.O.L.L. was moving further downward. The feel of his cock poking out of his jeans and that Levi leveled a long lick from the base of his cock along the underside to the tip using his tongue piercing. Levi’s silver-blue gaze darkened to the likeness of storm clouds as he watched Eren’s reactions who wither on top of his mattress.

Eren couldn’t see it when he closed his eyes and moaned again much more sweetly, even though he was confused. And a bit scared there was no denying that his curiosity was getting the best of him.

Being touched like this is a first and new experience for him, but having someone who said all the things he said to him… Was a bit heart throbbing and in that sense was it weird for him to feel that way?

“Eren.”

Just by the sound of Levi’s voice made his heart sway and flutter like that of a baby bird batting its wings. Closing his eyes out of sheer embarrassment all he could do was hear and feel the things that were being done to him. It felt weird, but surprisingly enough it felt good. Really really good everything was building up toward a center point. It kept building and building to the point he had to cry out or go mad. His thigh muscle twitching from the amazing spams that was at the pit of his belly centering to his balls. On instinct, he raised his legs up to cross it at the ankle where Levi’s head is in between.

Levi’s mouth was making him want to cry out oh my god, his first experience of ever getting a blow job was amazing. Mind-blowing. Shattering even he couldn’t quite think of any other way to describe it, but having Levi’s pale hand on his darker skin somehow made him the experience even better.

“Oh my god! Ooh god! Soo good!”

He cried bending his body upward his hips thrust up in a powerful surge his hands holding on to the comforter like a lifeline while everything around him exploded and gone white.

“Levi!!”

The D.O.L.L. didn’t let up despite being what he is he swallowed everything down his throat in short muffled moans. The sensation of his hair being held tightly by a man underneath him felt good on his scalp.

Pulling back far enough to feel Eren's legs cupping the back of his neck. He stared at his lover who collapses back down to release the shallow breath. Shuttering in all that beautiful golden brown skin of his.

‘So beautiful.’

The D.O.L.L. thought he was no doubt beautiful when he revealed those beautiful odd eyes of his. One a beautiful gold with a singe of amber flames while the other held a strange teal like blueish green it was so vibrant even as it was hazed out in pleasure.

“Eren.”

Touching his legs he gently pulled them apart, like a cut string his legs fell apart on either side of him. He took that opportunity to climb on top and saddle him with ease. Reaching underneath him Levi slipped a finger inside. The lubricant that was built inside him was a trigger. The thought of taking his lover did come to mind, but he wanted to hear Eren say he can take him. Until then he was more than willing to let his lover take him instead. There will come a time when it will happen though.

Slipping a second finger inside his rectum he wiggled index and middle finger trying to pry it open for the beautiful specimen underneath him. He could tell the younger man was still out of it, his head turning this way and that. He was so cute when he tried to recover from his first orgasm. The cute little moans he makes were stored away inside Levi’s internal data so he can reminisce on it later.

This was the Eren no one knew and he was glad for that.

“Eren.”

Slipping his fingers free from their confinement of his ass he took Eren’s sex in his hand and guided it inside the heart of him. The groan Eren made as he was sheathed by his ass was no doubt intoxicatingly and highly addictive.

“L-Levi-”

Levi wore a satisfying smile on his handsome face when he leaned forward to prompt himself.

“I love you, Eren.”

Having said that he lifted his rear end up and impale himself on Eren’s dick. Up and down Eren’s long beautiful shaft he fucked him with his ass repeatedly. Both of them ended up crying out feeling Eren’s hand on his waist his fingers digging in Levi encouraged him to do what he wanted.

“That's it, Eren. So good.”

He moaned right beside the brunette head.

“Your body knows….exactly what it wants. Just keep thrusting, Baby.”

Having said that he has done a quick scan to Eren’s mental health everything was normal and as it should be. Not once did he hear the word no come out of his beloved's mouth.

“C-cumming…I’m cumming!”

Levi couldn't help the smile when he took Eren's wrist in his hands and pulled him up into a sitting position. It was easy pulling his fingers off his bruising hips shifting his legs he wrapped it around Eren and made himself close to him while he rides him.

“S’okay...let it all out inside me, Ma Cherie.”

And boy did he ever a few quick thrusts and Eren was coming undone a second time with a loud groan. It was adorable how he clutched on to him his odd eyes teary his mouth open and his long arms encircling his entire frame. The fine tremble of Eren’s orgasm made him hic a little bit it was such a cute cry that Levi kissed his eyelid.  It was amazing that Levi could feel the fine shiver from Eren's lean stomach. It went in and out tighten and release as he kept shuddering his arms. Wiping underneath Eren’s eye he wore a satisfying smile.

“You were wonderful.”

The out of response Eren made was twice as cute when he collapsed backward in a messy pile of heap. Of course that caused the D.O.L.L. to chuckle more when Eren cuddled up to a pillow panting.

Truth be told Levi could have gone a few more rounds on him, but considering this was his first time he should probably go easy on him. In the near future, he could work on Eren’s stamina later and he was going to enjoy that teaching very much.

Leaning down he placed a chaste kiss to Eren’s parted lips when he pulled back he had a glow about him when he raised his hip up and slip his lover sex free of him. He would have preferred to having him stay inside him a little while longer. But, his reading told him that Eren was falling asleep fast.

Chuckling again Levi moved to the side of him and circled his arm around him. Pulling him in close he held him there just long enough for Eren to be in a deep sleep.

Once Eren was under he got up and looked for a bathroom he had committed the place to memory while he grabbed two clean wash rag and a towel. One of the wash towel he made soapy while the other one he made it wet. He made sure it was warm and rung out a bit before he returned to Eren. Cleaning him up was the first priority and when he finished drying him. He picked Eren up bridal style to carry him to a different room where he placed him on a clean bed of the guestroom.

Shifting his hair out of his face he left him to do his chores which were to automatically clean himself up and then the entire house by starting off in Eren's room before making his rounds.

Mapping the house and committing it to memory was easy to use for future reference which he had stored in the front lobe of his mind.

He enjoyed cleaning, but he was a bit irk there was dust hiding in the crack and canvas behind pieces of furniture and window seals. The place may look beautiful and squeaky clean like a picture, but once he rubbed his gloved fingers across the surface. He had the look of disgust.

“There's no way in hell I’m letting Eren live in such a filthy place.”

It took him a little over six hours to clean, but once he was done- no once he was satisfied with the result and his compulsion was no longer trigger to clean did he slip back upstairs to carry his lover from the guest room to his rightful bedroom did he slip in between the cover sheet and pulled Eren to him. His eyelid slowly began to blink before he too shut down into rest mode he had Eren head on his chest and in response Eren whole body pressed up to him his leg thrown over one of his. The two slept a restful sleep neither one aware of the other presence lurking beside Eren it was sleeping just like the two who were sleeping on the king-sized bed.

[chiobrelis]

Cuba. Must know.

Before leaving to Cuba

Coming to Cuba can get a little bit on a nerve for people who like spontaneity. One not only needs a tourist card but also -  travel insurance. I should admit, I travel often, but never bother to get an insurance, unless I plan diving, snowboarding or some more dangerous activities. About obligatory to have a travel insurance I found out only a day before plane from a just bought guide. Oops, what can I say.. But well, it appeared not to be a big problem as a tourist card and insurance can be obtained at the arrival airport from the travel agency just before passport control (such a relieve for residence of the countries which don't have Cuba's consulate/embassy). Otherwise it can be ordered through internet (for example for  UK residents) or offered by some airlines.

Tourist card extension might be a hustle. It might be prolonged only max 5 days before the date of expire, so one should be prepared beforehand. If you plan overstay, just in case make copies of required documents before leaving to Cuba (passport, flight tickets, tourist card, insurance (which need to cover all your travelling days)), pay in a Cuban bank for “visa” extension and keep the “tickets” and receipts for it, have a booking copy for the last days/weeks of stay or at least business card of your home stay or a hotel. Check in advance the working hours (and days) of the immigration office (and actual department for the visa extension as it not necessary located within immigration office). Warning! In a office man can not wear sleeveless t-shirt, so be modest to avoid a kick-out. Don't ever consider the idea of the paying penalty for the overstay instead of the extending travel documents unless you are stupid and long hours in a officer's office, possibility to miss your flight and deportation sounds like a great adventure.  

Another thing to keep in mind before arriving to Cuba – money. Nobody likes to keep a big amount of cash on themselves, however, money melts very quickly in this country and many ATM don't give more than 200-300 dollars at once (or sometime doesn't give you any). Every withdrawn might cost fortune, so it's better to take cash at home country, exchange it on arrival and spread it all over your secret pockets and money belts (so if stolen – not all at once). Prepare to pay around 100$ a day (15-25$ the cheapest home stay, 4-5$ per person - breakfast, 15-30$ dinner for two, the rest of money are being spent on a water as I say: dollar for coffee, dollar for city transport, dollar for every single who asks you and suddenly Cuba is a very expensive country to travel).

One more idea to consider before check-in to your flight – registered luggage. I usually try to travel as light as possible, but here buying a sunscreen can cost same price as your extra 15kg, so better pay those and stuck in there everything you might need: shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, cream, snorkeling equipment, hiking shoes and clothes, which can be exchanged for the souvenirs. I should admit, I didn't expect to see a such shortage of the products in the shops. Even post-soviet deficit I remember in a brighter light than I see shelves of the stores in Cuba. (How funny it sounds but tampons (if founded) are being sold by one sometimes (“9 tampons, por favor!”). Another advantage of the registered luggage is that you can fill it with rum, cigars, coconut or/and coco oils, chocolate and coffee on the way back.

In Cuba

Money. There are two currencies in the country: CUC and CUP. CUC (convertibles) = US dollar, mostly used everywhere where tourists can be found, probably designed for touristy prices too (to avoid inflation, I speculate).

CUP (national currency – pesos) = CUC/25, money used by locals in a places where tourist is a rare find. For example if tourist want to go to the caves and it's ticket office has prices in CUCs and CUPs, expect to pay in CUCs as a foreigner. If it's a horse-carriage taxi or bici-taxi, locals would pay 1 peso for a ride, but as a tourist expect to pay 1CUC per person (or 25x more than local pay). If you decide to travel like a local by truck-buses (rather than “Viazul”), you will be charged by your knowledge. If you have CUP, you will be paying in between 5-20pesos per ride, but if you don't see difference between money it can be accepted in CUCs without change (still cheaper than air-con buses or even collective taxis from 50-ies). Sometime you can find ice-cream cafes with prices like 2,5$ per portion but still full of Cubans customers. No, that won't be a place for big spenders, that's a place for a cheap treat! Yes, that's a place where for a huge portion of ice-cream one is expected to pay 5CUP (or 20 dollar cents).

Sounds complicated? It is. Expect to find this country expensive and only sometime to treat yourself for cost of peanuts. Last, however, requires effort, knowledge, sharp eye and sometime inconvenience. Have two currencies and see a difference. Have an eye for the local places and transport so you can spent CUPs. You can save on every CUC if spending 20CUPs instead. Learn to count as a local: 1CUC=25CUP, 4CUC=100CUP, 125CUP=5CUC and so on.   Check all the change you get or you can find yourself cheated by 10 dollars (instead, let's say, 16CUC change you can receive 1CUC+5CUC+10CUP). Refuse changing money on a street. They can agree exchange CUC into CUP for 1=24 rate (not too bad deal), but when dealer will slowly recounts money (when you notice that 20CUP note is missing), he will return your missing 20CUP, but invisibly will keep few (from so carefully counted pile) notes for himself (Bugger!). You can change your money in all official changing points for the same fixed price, but if you have US dollars, exchange them to Euro or GBP back in your country, otherwise you will be charged 10%. CUC can be exchanged to CUP in the same changing places.

Internet. Well, I decided, we have to have a rest in our relationship. I brought a guide and a book to read instead. Would be perfect if I load more films on my laptop thought. But well, if one is more into the Wi-Fi, “Etecsa” card can be bought with a prepay for internet and can be used in city parks/squares with public Wi-Fi. So, yes - internet exists in this country, but no - don't expect to sit in your room logged into Facebook all day - you need to go out for it! And yeah, don't forget to turn of Wi-Fi when done with internet, otherwise your credit will finish sooner than expected.

Transport. Uh, my favorite. So, one can find horse-carts, bici-taxi and motorbike-taxi (in a bigger cities) for city interiors and price for a foreigner usually 1CUC/p.p. To travel in between towns I would suggest to use “camiones” (buses made out of tracks) or jeep-like “collectivos”. It doesn't have AC but it contains crowded bunch of friendly locals, some feeling of the  adventure and a great save for your wallet. For longer distances and AC comfort (sometimes seen as a freeze) take “Viazul”. “Collectivos” or shared taxis are slightly more expensive but  can save a great amount of time. I don't mention trains as I heard about their existence and even saw some, but non was ever moving.  

Safety. It is safe, but don't expect to make friends with locals (especially met on streets) if you don't sponsor them (sometime cup of coffee will do, but they see foreigners as a rich uncles. Deal with it). Despite of kindness, good nature and sincereness, people will try to make money off you. To deal with tourists for one day can be worth a month teacher's salary. It's a small loss for a tourist, but real misfortune for the country, as all brains shifts into the tourist business or flee the country for the better future abroad, leaving academic and professional platforms abandoned.

Culture. Cuba it's a cocktail of Caribbean mixed with Africa, colonialism - with slavery, communism - with tourism. All in a 19th, mid. 20th., start of 21st. centuries shake. All being cooked together in a broken oven. History moves slowly in here and only speed in highways (when old cars move with a speed of 80km/h, it feels like 180km/h!) reminds that time exists. It settled in the old generation and inpatient in young people's hearts. Time breaths in historical buildings so they fall and kill people, and it dies and resurrects again and again depending on the Wi-Fi signal strength, shared between fifty other curious young people in a park. Communism is present. It is scary for only western spoiled tourists. Otherwise it has some good lessons of equality, our actual needs, importance of collaboration (all works on “I help you, you help me” principle). It of course has a huge downside too. It unfit for the generation which didn't touch the Revolution. Their gazes oriented towards Wild West with non or almost non of criticism towards it, while criticism towards stagnated policy of Cuba cannot be exposed as it accepted as a betrayal. As one very intelligent girl said: “Education is for everyone, unless one opposes  the system”. Situation makes young people feel hopeless. 

Architecture. You can see it better from the middle of the road. Besides it safer. Don't expect to see renovated buildings everywhere. Think of Colonial architecture as of a Roman Empire's – only left overs of it.

Beaches. Varadero is The One. But better come just at the end of a busy season (May), so sun (not a hurricane) can be caught and tourist can be forgotten. Other beaches are sometimes too unspoiled (read: sea weed, not enough powdery sand, afterhuricanial mess or mosquitoes). Great country for the diving thought.

Places to see. All. No seriously, take your time and money and visit it all. Ok, very must see: Havana, Trinidad, Santiago de Cuba, Baracoa, Varadero, Vinales, natural parks and cities like Cardenas, so you know how life with no tourist going on.

Good luck!

[fadingfartconnoisseur]

On Influence, and Using It Wisely

This week, Forbes named me one of their Top 10 Travel Influencers of 2017. You can also read CNN Travel’s piece about it here.

I’m deeply honored. After working so hard for so long, it’s gratifying to receive this kind of recognition, and all the sweeter to receive it alongside several of my friends.

And it got me thinking about the strange and wonderful industry in which I’ve been ensconced for the past seven years: professional travel blogging.

For those of us who are long-timers, dating back to 2010 or previously, we didn’t get into travel blogging for the money. There was very little money back then; if you made any money in 2010, it was probably from text link sales or a teeny bit of Google AdSense. Hell, when I started, I thought the only way you could make money as a travel blogger was through a book or TV deal.

We got into travel blogging because we wanted to tell our stories. Some of us started writing for our friends and family; some of us dreamed of writing for a wide audience from the beginning. We wanted to share the world with people, and for North Americans, we wanted to introduce our fellow citizens to the almost-unheard-of concept of long-term travel.

Me? I wanted to help women travel the world safely.

Of course I wanted to entertain strangers with my writing (I started blogging as a college freshman in 2002!) and share all my favorite travel stories. And once the money started rolling in, I wanted to keep my travels going as long as possible.

But helping women travel the world safely? Showing them that yes, it’s okay if you want to travel the world, you can do it alone if you want, and you’re not selfish or a horrible person for wanting that in your life? That has always been what drives me. That’s the audience I’m writing to with every word, including this sentence.

We all wanted to help — all us long-timers. We wanted to show people how to travel on a budget. How to hack points and miles. How to travel as a family. How to visit countries that were perceived as being too dangerous. Basically, we all wanted to change commonly held misconceptions about travel.

As the years passed — 2010, 2011, 2012 — more and more money entered our fledging industry. Freelance writing opportunities cropped up. Groundbreaking blogger campaigns took place in Costa Brava, Spain, and Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Sponsored content became a thing. Affiliates were no longer just for people with sky-high traffic. Bloggers proudly announced they were giving up text links. And then the holy grail arrived — the paid press trip.

It’s around then that the industry changed. In the early years, there had been plenty of bloggers who hoped to subsidize their travels and get some cool stays at swanky resorts; by 2014 or so, people were starting travel blogs specifically for the money.

When money is your biggest motivator, it affects everything — your travels, your content, and the industry as a whole.

I worry about the impact of other influencers entering the travel space.

As far as the travel blogging niche goes, it’s not as big or flush with cash as fashion, beauty, or home blogging. There are lots of reasons for that, but one is that travel is not an impulse buy. You see a pretty dress, a cool lipstick, or a cute set of placemats and it’s easy to rationalize buying it.

But planning a trip, especially an international, expensive, or complicated trip, can take years. You don’t just hit a button and randomly book a safari in South Africa for next week.

Case in point? I learned about the Sydney Bridgeclimb on season 2 of The Amazing Race when I was 17 and yearned to do it someday. I finally did it when I was 29. Travel ROI takes time.

There is money in the travel blogging industry, but it’s nowhere near the level of money for fashion bloggers. Travel blogging’s perks, however, are unbeatable. And that’s why lots of lifestyle bloggers, primarily fashion bloggers, have started to rebrand and add travel as a specialty. This mostly takes the form of posing in luxury hotels and in front of natural wonders in various outfits.

Some are quite good. Gary Pepper in one of the pink lakes of Western Australia is one pictorial that has always stunned me.

But to consider these bloggers and Instagrammers as travel influencers could potentially be dangerous. Why? Picture this. A luxury hotel invites a fashion blogger to Cartagena, Colombia. She gets picked up at the airport by a chauffeur, does several photo shoots in and around the hotel, and has a great time exploring the old city but doesn’t set foot outside it.

Predictably, her followers start asking her, “Is it safe to go to Colombia?”

And she replies, “Sure, it’s totally fine!”

Well.

For starters, Cartagena is by far the most touristy part of Colombia and isn’t anything like the rest of the country; walking around the old city of Cartagena at night is very different from other neighborhoods like Getsemaní, where non-luxury travelers are more likely to stay; the language barrier in Colombia is significant and you’ll struggle without knowing Spanish; much of Colombia is at a high altitude, which can lead to illness in some people; certain parts of the country are unsafe for overland travel; and Colombia at its core is a destination better for experienced international travelers, not newbies.

Colombia can be traveled safely — but it’s a challenging destination, even for experienced travelers. And a fashion blogger who waltzes in for a few days and doesn’t leave the old city of Cartagena doesn’t have the knowledge to advise her followers how to travel in Colombia safely.

That person should not be a travel influencer. But with lots of Instagram followers and partnerships with several gorgeous resorts across the globe, this person could be considered a top travel influencer. Even though she posed in the street with a designer handbag that didn’t zip up and are you kidding, this is Latin America, your wallet is going to be gone in ten seconds if you use that purse.

I worry that this is where the industry is going.

It’s time to stop ignoring politics.

One phrase you see frequently amongst popular influencers is, “I’m not a political person.”

Frankly, that’s bullshit. Are you breathing air in your lungs? Do you earn money and exchange it for goods and services? Do you cross borders and enter other nations? If so, your very existence is political.

I urge you to strike I’m not a political person from your vocabulary and replace it with one of the following options:

I don’t care about people who aren’t as privileged as me.

I do care about other people, but I’m afraid I’ll lose followers if I write about politics.

Boom. Honesty.

I’ve started writing more political content in the last year and a half or so. The ethics of attending a travel blogging conference funded by Robert Mugabe’s government. How to travel the world as an American without being embarrassed about Trump. Being the only white person to call out a racist travel blogger. Ways to travel more sustainably. The overbearing whiteness of the wine tourism industry in Stellenbosch, South Africa. And in the aftermath of the 2016 election, why remote workers leaving the US can do more harm than good.

I started writing content like this because I wanted to go deeper. So much of the travel blogging industry had become increasingly shallow, the rise of Instagram no doubt being a factor, and I needed to plunge back in and bring something more meaningful to the table.

Did I lose followers? I sure did! Mostly people who called me unrepeatable names and told me I’d regret it when Trump’s army rose up. Which…yeah, I’ll let that speak for itself. But it wasn’t enough to derail my business. I also gained a lot of new followers at the same time.

Do you have to do the same thing? You don’t have to. But at the very least, you should take a look at your content with a critical eye and think about the greater political context in your travels.

One example is North Korea. I personally think there’s no way to travel to North Korea ethically at this point in time. And yet several top travel influencers have visited North Korea, often as a sponsored guest of a tour company.

Of the influencers who chose to visit, some of them did a ton of research beforehand, analyzed their options, and determined that visiting North Korea would do more good than harm (in the form of exposing North Koreans to outsiders, however briefly). While I disagree with their conclusions, I appreciate that they thought critically about this issue and did what they thought was ethical and right.

Others chose not to think critically at all. They ignore North Korea’s human rights violations and get hypnotized by the chance to visit North! Korea! And for free, too! and return with content about how awesome the trip was, and how North Koreans seemed happy, without examining any of the deeper issues.

But you know what’s worst of all? When people in the latter group come back and say they’re not going to discuss politics because they’re not a political person! Come on. You don’t get to have it both ways. All the videos of waving North Korean schoolchildren can’t make up for that.

People will always disagree on what is and isn’t ethical and on where people should and shouldn’t travel. Some will refuse to visit the U.A.E., Russia, or even the United States for ethical reasons. All I ask is that you do careful research, own your decision, and don’t let the allure of a comped trip or bragging rights cloud your judgement.

We can all do better as influencers — so let’s try to do better.

Nobody is going to be perfect. But all of us could stand to do a little bit better. Here are some ways:

Consider your purpose. Why are you blogging? What sets you on fire? Be honest with yourself.

If your reason is So I can continue my travels for as long as possible, I urge you to rethink your purpose. Even if it’s To inspire others to travel, I urge you to think a little deeper and see if you can come up with something that benefits others more than yourself.

Think beyond your personal experience. Did you manage a whole trip without getting robbed? Is that because you visited somewhere super safe like Japan or Iceland, or because you’ve had years of practicing travel safety to the point that you don’t even think about it anymore?

Not everyone is going to be as experienced a traveler as you, so share your knowledge. Put yourselves in the shoes of a less experienced traveler going through this for the first time. Your ultimate goal should be to do no harm.

Acknowledge that travel is not only for the most privileged. If you’re a straight, cis, white, able-bodied, English-speaking traveler with a first-world passport, you’ve won the global lottery. Travel is going to be much easier for you than literally anyone else in the world. Acknowledge that.

Talk to travelers of color, queer travelers, disabled travelers, Muslim travelers who wear hijabs. Read their blogs and share their narratives. The Philippines and India both have tons of excellent travel bloggers, along with eye-opening stories of jumping through legal and financial hoops in order to visit destinations you take for granted, like the EU.

Use your voice to amplify their voices as well.

Consider the impact that you have on the destinations you visit. Are you putting money into the local community or making a chain CEO richer? Are you causing harm to the environment or animals? Are you actually interacting with the people of your destination in a meaningful way or just using them for Instagram props?

Just doing a bit of research can make all the difference. Aim for sustainability — economically, environmentally, socially. When you’re an influencer, your actions are magnified by the travelers who follow in your footsteps.

Read as much as humanly possible. It always amazes me how many travel bloggers say they don’t read other travel blogs. How else are you supposed to stay up on the industry? But don’t limit your reading to just travel blogs. Read literature — fiction, nonfiction, travel-related and non-travel-related. Read the news from a wide variety of sources and stay up on issues of the world.

At the very least, reading will make you more knowledgeable and compassionate and turn you into a better writer.

Aim, always, to help people. And that is how you use influence wisely.

via Travel Blogs http://ift.tt/2rZY1CQ

[baw74fanfic]

Chapter 3 - Together Again

When Weizhou and Jingyu ended their call, Weizhou looked over at Li Hao. He had already started packing Weizhou's things. This wasn't surprising, as all immediate future plans are put on a back burner until this situation is resolved. But for the first time in a long while, Weizhou found himself at a loss on how to move forward. Up until now, he's had a pretty good idea on how he should move ahead in his career.

"Li Hao, what's the state of things now. I'm.......scared to go online."

"While you were on your call with Jingyu, Zheng Ge and I chatted about our next steps. Before I fill you in... are you ok?"

Weizhou smiled and took a deep breath. "Yeah, in spite of what's going on, I'm great. You know how we've always talked about there will be a time when I and or Jingyu will come to a point in our relationship that is do or die? Well, we're there."

Li Hao knew what this meant, and he wasn't surprised, given the circumstances. Up until now, he knew ZZ and Jingyu were taking the whole relationship they had with a come-as-you-are attitude. Which was the best path to take, frankly, the way each of their schedules and rising stardom's demanded. But such a course can't be maintained forever, not when two hearts are involved. Hearts that belong to two highly dynamic and compelling people. He and Weizhou had several conversations, mapping out the various what-if's, in order to be somewhat prepared. Truth be told, Li Hao was very impressed with Weizhou's maturity over it all. Not having had a serious relationship before, it's more than most could handle; juggling a burgeoning love for someone that came out of nowhere, along with a career that's blasting off like the fastest rocket. ZZ has often commented about feeling like he's been riding the crest of a huge wave, over a churning sea, and how great the pressure of trying to stay on top of the wave.

"He confessed how much he loves me, and doesn't care if it goes public."

"But..."

"I know, Li Hao, and he does, too. He's not running out in front of a bunch of press and screaming it. He's level-headed and being smart about it." Weizhou assured Li Hao...and himself.

After a moment of silence, Li Hao took two steps towards ZZ and embraced him. It was somewhat of a breach of tradition and professionalism, but Weizhou has been forging ahead in his life and career bucking those two institutions. And Li Hao appreciated that in him.

Weizhou hugged Li Hao back, and pulled apart smiling. He nodded curtly, acknowledging that he appreciated the gesture. "Now, what's the plan?"

Li Hao took a deep breath. "Ok, I'm now speaking to you as your manager. The next 72 hours are going to be critical. You may not like some of things Zheng and I want you two to do, but we have to move quickly. We think the best course of action is to work together closely, so he and Jingyu are flying to Beijing and setting up in a suite of rooms. We're to head there immediately."

Weizhou's eyes went wide. "We're going to move forward with seeing Jingyu in person? Is that the best thing to do? What if we're seen together?"

"Zhou Zhou, to be perfectly honest, we're dealing with a situation here that isn't exactly in the playbook. After talking to Zheng Ge about it, we both agreed that cutting out any communication gaps, time, and distance is priority. Beijing is the center of media. It's where the Digital Crime Unit is based." Li Hao paused, breathed in, and continued.

"And you two, well, you need each other. The sooner we can get you two back to a normal demeanor, the sooner we can start booking appearances. But until then, we have to formulate the plan of action."

Weizhou heard everything Li Hao was saying, but all he could think about was seeing Jingyu.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Jingyu hung up the phone and sat there in silence for a bit. Zheng Ge had disappeared, but Jingyu was OK with that. He knew what the immediate future was going to bring, so he focused on the calm silence as much as possible.

He briefly thought about going online to see the fracas. The ironic thing about the situation was that due to the Addicted ban from SAPPRFT, he guessed the mainstream news would have very little to say about the hacking. He concluded, though, that looking at Weibo or the various forums would only cloud his thinking. A general can't command every soldier individually, so he had to trust that his and ZZ's army of die-hard's would take up arms in their defense. He smirked and shook his head.... The fan service that he and ZZ would have to do as a thank you later was going to have to be good.

Zheng Ge returned and sat his luggage down. Jingyu looked at it, then at his manager, and raised his eyebrow.

"We're headed to Beijing. I've booked two adjoining suites at the Ritz-Carlton. Li Hao and I discussed it, and think it's best to handle this jointly. They're meeting us there."

"They???"

"Yes. Don't freaking ask me if it's the best action to take. We're off the reservation with this."

Jingyu smiled at Zheng Ge. He knew that his manager often referred to this job as riding a bull in a rodeo, but he also knew Zheng Ge had nothing but his best interests at heart.

Zheng Ge interrupted his thinking. "So, is this the turning point?" Zheng Ge had heard enough of their conversation to guess.

Jingyu knew what he meant. They had often discussed it. He stood up slowly, and nodded yes.

Zheng Ge smiled and faced Jingyu, and slightly bowed. "Ok, then. Let's get going." And with that, Zheng Ge and Jingyu hurriedly started to pack everything to leave.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Jingyu briefly wondered about the situation at the airport. Upon leaving the hotel, through the kitchens, he felt strange that there weren't the usual group of fans there to hand him gifts and take video and photos. But dodging the fans at the hotel was easy, it's getting through the airport that was going to be rough. As it was, with everything still unfolding, no one had expected them to pop up at the terminal for an unplanned flight. The airport had graciously allowed them to take an airport vehicle directly on the tarmac to the waiting plane. As soon as they boarded and the door shut, Jingyu let out a long breath. The flight wasn't held for them specifically, but it had been fortuitous that they were able to catch one so quickly.

Weizhou and Li Hao's experience was altogether different. Having been in Shanghai, there was just no way to avoid the havoc. Li Hao arranged additional manpower to escort them through the terminal, and the airport had decided to have them wait in a lounge that they cleared out, in order to keep the gates sane and under control. The usual cluster of fans were there, as well as some newer faces. Older individuals, with large expensive photo gear. The story had risen to the level where the price for good quality candid photos were worth the effort to the paparazzi. Weizhou dressed uncharacteristically subdued, and had chosen a gray hoodie, with the hood pulled up, and sunglasses on. Li Hao had used paperwork he was holding to block cameras from Weizhou's face a few times on the fast-walk through the terminal, surrounded by the extra bodyguards they had hired. Once they were in the lounge, Weizhou had to vent.

"I bet I look like a fucking criminal. I wish I hadn't chosen to hide my face and have my hood up."

"Here, have a water, and sit for a bit. It'll be fine. You look exactly how they wanted you to look -- like a scandal has happened. Otherwise, people would wonder why you weren't taking it seriously."

"Thank you. I know you're right, I just got caught up in the craziness." Weizhou unlocked his phone and was disappointed to not see a text. He knew Jingyu was still en route to Beijing, though. He sent a text anyway to give their current status.

Li Hao tapped Weizhou on the shoulder and held his phone down for him to look at. There was a text from Chen Wen to Li Hao. Please let Zhou Zhou know we're here for him. For THEM BOTH. Weizhou's heart melted.

He opened up his Contacts to reply, only to see one listing, Jingyu's. It made Weizhou abruptly stop. He used to have a full Contact list, and proudly maintained it for years. Countless friends and acquaintances. Li Hao saw this, "It's ok, I have them all backed up. I didn't have time to transfer them earlier, though." Weizhou let out a sigh of relief.

"Can I reach out to Chen Wen?"

Li Hao nodded yes, and sent Weizhou a text with the contact information.

Weizhou started to reply...

ZZ: Hey you. It's Zhou Zhou, my new number. Li Hao shared your text with me. I'm at the airport in Shanghai.

Not even 10 seconds pass...

CW: ZZ! I'M SENDING YOU HUGS! FENG IS HERE TOO AND HUGS YOU TOO!

Weizhou smiled.

ZZ: Thank you, two. It means very much to me. We need to get together and catch up, although it may be a while...

CW: We understand. Take your time. And please let us know if there's absolutely anything we can do for you. AND Jingyu!

Weizhou smiled again. The four of them had stayed in touch since the filming of Addicted. Chen Wen and Lin Fengsong had become closer friends, as well.

ZZ: I will. Thank you again. Talk with you soon. Hugs.

CW: HUGS BACK!

Weizhou cherished his friendship with those two. It was especially nice knowing they have his back now.

With that done, Weizhou took a moment to catch his breath. He had felt hot earlier, but now felt the chills. He asked Li Hao if he was cold as well.

"Not at all." Li Hao replied, looking at Zhou. He placed the back of his hand on Weizhou's brow. "Uhm, I don't think you avoided it, Zhou Zhou."

That was when the wave of exhaustion hit him like a brick wall.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Jingyu arrived at the hotel. The arrival at the airport was chaotic. Naturally word had spread, with the speed of the digital world. Fortunately, with his size, Jingyu stood up straight, held his head up high, and proceeded through the mass of people like a hot knife through butter. He wasn't taking the time to be his normal jovial self, and he knew the others shouldn't expect it. No, this time, he was all business on getting through and hopping into the waiting car.

The silence of the hotel was yet another contrast in this day of contrasts. He picked up his phone and looked at the status of ZZ's flight. On time, and due to arrive in an hour. Ok, time to get things setup. He picked up the phone and arranged with room service to have food delivered, extra towels on hand, and as much as he hated it, ordered a couple of packs of ZZ's favorite cigarettes. This wasn't a time to enforce his no smoking rule on ZZ. With that done, he unpacked his things and hopped in for a quick shower.

While drying off, Zheng Ge yelled from the other room, "They've landed. Li hao just called me - Zhou Zhou's got a fever."

Goddammit! Why can't we catch a break! Thought Jingyu.

He called downstairs to have a case of bottled water and juices delivered, as well as a basic medical necessities kit. He then called a restaurant that he frequented when he had lived in town.

"Yes, hi. I'd like to place an order to have delivered. Four quarts of your Hot & Sour soup, extra spicy, and four quarts of your fortified chicken broth. Also, two large orders of plain rice, and ten oranges. Yes, that's all. Thank you."

The rest of the world can wait, his priority now is getting his Zhou Zhou better.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Li Hao called from downstairs. They were in the loading dock, and asked Zheng to come help. Jingyu started to put his shoes on.

"It's probably better if you stay here, Jingyu."

"Shutup." Jingyu retorted.

With that, Zheng Ge sighed and they bother left together.

Turning the corner in the back hallway, Jingyu and Zheng Ge abruptly stopped and took in the sight. Li Hao was standing over a collapsed Weizhou, fanning him with a handful of paperwork, while having him take small sips of water. Jingyu lept into action.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

All Weizhou can remember is trying to muster all his strength to appear normal on the walk from the plane to the waiting car. It was torture. He was pretty sure he blacked out for most of the walk. Having two large guards on either side of him help steady him and keep him upright was helpful. The ride to the hotel was a blank. The next thing he remembers is sitting in an abandoned hallway, trying to sip water, and then feeling two large arms scoop under his legs and shoulders, and lift him up. As delirious as he was, he instinctively knew whose arms they were. He let his head fall into that spot on Jingyu's shoulder, his cheek on Jingyu's collarbone. With his last ounce of energy, he turned his head and kissed Jingyu's neck, then passed out again.

Jingyu's first thought when lifting Weizhou was that he had lost weight. He glanced over to Li Hao, and the expression on his face was similar to someone who had tried to do the right thing, but had been defeated. Jingyu knew all too well that Li Hao can't withstand the force of Xu Weizhou's character. He was going to have to try a different tact with Zhou Zhou about taking care of himself, and respecting his manager's entreaties.

He turned slowly to start back up to the room when he felt it. The brush of the eyelashes against his neck, and the soft kiss. Once again, his heart melted. The familiar scent of Zhou Zhou came to him. He turned his head slightly and kissed the top of ZZ's head.

"I've got you. You'll be alright, now."

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Weizhou awoke with a start. It was dark, but he could see with the faint city lights that shone through the windows. He turned his head slightly to look around the room, his eyes falling on the dark profile of a person sitting in a large, plush chair. Or rather, the person was upright, but he could see that their head was hanging off to the side, against the back of the chair. He knew it was Jingyu.

"Come to bed."

The shadow jerked and sat up. A hand reached out and grabbed his.

"You're awake. Are you hungry? I've ordered food."

"What time is it?"

"It's 2 AM. You've been out since landing at 8 PM."

Weizhou winced, and tried to sit up. "I don't remember getting here to the hotel after passing out on the flight." He grabbed Jingyu's hand and squeezed it. "But I distinctly remember you picking me up. I know it might sound weird, but when I smelled you, I immediately felt better."

Jingyu leaned in and kissed his forehead. "I missed you so much. And it feels like your fever may be gone. Let me get the thermometer and some food. I'll be right back."

Weizhou watched as the shadow got up and left the room. Even in the pitch dark, he could see Jingyu's characteristic walk. That confident, tall stride, and broad shoulders. He shook his head, again, at the situation. How did he get so lucky? Who would have ever thought that this would happen?

He got up slowly and walked to the restroom. After the effort, he felt it prudent to sit down, instead of standing, to pee. After finishing, he got up and washed his hands, and then his face. He did feel a great deal better. Hopefully he just had a 24-hour bug and it wasn't that serious.

Jingyu had arranged a tray in bed, and was waiting for him when he opened the door from the restroom. A light had been turned on low, and Weizhou saw that Jingyu was in his boxers and a t-shirt, with an arm extended to help Weizhou get steady. Happy that he was going to join him in bed, he went in for the proper hug hello.

Both of their heads fell into that familiar spot on each other's necks. They stood there for a while, feeling each other's warmth, breathing in their scent. To both, it was intoxicating. There are times that it could drive each of them into a passionate state, but other times it could also have an immediate calming and grounding effect. Imparting that sense of security that each of them longed for. It was this feeling that captured them in this moment. The world could be falling apart, but here, in each other's arms, it didn't matter.

Weizhou took this moment to correct something that had been bothering him since their first phone call together after the news broke.

"I love you Huang Jingyu. More than anything else in this world. I didn't say that on the call with you, and it bothered me that I didn't. I'm sorry."

Jingyu's hold on Weizhou tightened more. He hadn't realized it at the time, but it didn't matter. "Zhou Zhou, stop worrying yourself. You didn't need to say it - I knew it already."

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The fever had indeed broke. And after drinking some chicken broth, Hot & Sour soup, and eating some rice, Weizhou was really feeling like his old self again. Thankful that it wasn't something more serious like the flu, he felt he needed to clear the air with Jingyu on not being more diligent about it.

"Here, take this. It'll clear you up and also knock you out." Jingyu gave Weizhou some gel caps and a glass of water.

"So before you start in on me, I want you to know I really am trying to keep myself healthy. I'm on a regular workout schedule again, and Li Hao has arranged my meals to be cleaner and mostly vegetables. The schedule is still a bit hectic, but it's not as bad as it used to be."

"I wasn't going to scold you, Zhou." Jingyu replied. "But I am worried about your weight loss. It was evident to me when I picked you up. How much?"

Weizhou winced. This was not how he had wanted his newly toned body to be revealed. "Only 10 pounds. It's from working out, I'm not losing it from being sick. And my program has been mostly cardio, the strength training is starting soon."

He paused, and continued, "However, there's something else..."

Jingyu's face grew concerned, but saw a smile on Weizhou's face which made him feel a bit better. Just then, Weizhou went into a coughing fit.

*COUGH!* *COUGH!* *COUGH!*

Jingyu... *COUGH!* Go to and get my toi *COUGH!* toiletry kit. *COUGH!*

He drank some water and it subsided a little. Jingyu sprang up and was back with the bag quickly. Weizhou pulled out a prescription medicine bottle and took two of the pills. Jingyu took the bottle and looked at the label.

"Bupropion? What's that? Are you ok???"

"Babe, it's ok. It's actually what I was just about to tell you. I'm quitting smoking. They're prescription pills to help with that."

As elated Jingyu was to have Zhou Zhou here in the room with him, this news filled his heart even more with happiness. It must have shown on his face.

Weizhou smirked and said, "Do you remember what you promised when you asked me to stop? That I could ask anything from you?"

"I remember, and I mean it. I'm so happy right now. But, I wish I had known that all it would take for you to quit was for me to confess my love to you. I would have done it sooner!"

Weizhou pursed his lips. "You cheeky..."

Jingyu's smile could not be any larger.

[touristguidebuzz]

CEO Interview: Barry Sternlicht Is His Own Biggest Critic

Barry Sternlicht, the real estate investor who founded Starwood Hotels & Resorts, continues to expand his 1 Hotels eco-luxury hotel brand. 1 Hotels/Starwood Capital Group

Skift Take: Being a perfectionist isn't always a bad thing, especially if Sternlicht's hotel history is any proof of that.

— Deanna Ting

Barry Sternlicht has a lot to be happy about these days.

Just minutes after we spoke to the former founder and CEO of Starwood Hotels, who is now the founder, chairman, and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, Sternlicht officially opened his latest hotel, proclaiming it to be the “most exciting, greatest hotel I’ve ever done.”

And with panoramic views of Manhattan and an enviable location in the heart of New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge Park, it’s hard to disagree with him.

But as you’ll see in our following interview with Sternlicht, as happy as he is with his newest hotel, 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, he isn’t completely satisfied just yet.

For the billionaire real estate investor, everything is always a work in progress. There’s always room for improvement. There’s always room for more innovation.

Skift spoke to Sternlicht about what it’s like to build a new hotel brand from the ground up today, how the industry has changed, and what hospitality needs to do today to avoid becoming just a commodity.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Skift: Well, it’s been about two years since you opened the first 1 Hotels property in South Beach, Miami. In that time, do you think things have changed a little bit with the brand? I know you mentioned that, when you first opened it, that 1 Hotels was more of a cause than a brand.

Sternlicht: Oh, it’s still a cause. I think we’re getting better at it. We keep learning from our mistakes.

This hotel, I think, is the greenest of the hotels because we got to build it from scratch. We reclaim water, for example. We do a lot of things that you can do with a new building to start out. Wanting to build a green building, with all of this glass, and having these systems that are state-of-the-art … I feel that, from that perspective, I think this is our laboratory as a showroom.

It’s just lots of little things that we didn’t quite get right [before]. It’s really a challenge to keep your designers focused on sustainable, renewable materials, and resources and they drift, you know, because they just wanted [something like this], and I tell them, “No, no, no, don’t drift.”

And even here, I think there are some things that are a little too perfect. It’s a little too complicated, and nature is not perfect. I mean, in a way it’s perfect, but it’s also raw, and so I still want to do things that are … well, you’ll see the next hotel.

Skift: You mentioned mistakes, or things you wanted to do differently. Were those primarily just having to do with design or the overall guest experience?

Sternlicht: Both. Like in Florida, we used too much stainless steel, and I didn’t catch it. I didn’t see it before I saw it when it was installed, and that’s a material I don’t really want to see in our hotels.

On technology, we tried to actually leapfrog a lot of existing technology and develop our own customer relationship management software and we call it the “Field Guide.” And it was too complicated for the guests, and it was probably a bridge too far for a startup. I thought it was, but we were pregnant, so we tried it, and the guests liked the concept, but we got with frustrated with it. So, the single control, which looked like an iPhone, handled everything in the room, including the order menus, and it was supposed to be backed by a database, which would let us customize experiences to you. The database never showed up, and so we couldn’t personalize the guest experience the way I would have hoped.

So here [at the Brooklyn Bridge hotel] we’re using a different technology, and I tried it last night and it seems to be working well. But you know, you can do the design, you can do the attitude, but in today’s world, we really need to learn to anticipate our guests’ needs. Technology will let you do that, but you have to have a system.

Some of the systems in these arcane, heritage, legacy systems, some of them in the hotel industry — I ran Starwood Hotels, as you know — they’re not really flexible. You have to do what they say as opposed to what we’d want to know about you. And you would like me to know about you; it’s not supposed to be like Big Brother.

It’s supposed to be you love tomato juice, and you love it every time so when you come, you order it, and I want to get it in your room and I want to [know to] ask, “You want tomato juice in your room?” It’s the software that drives the hardware of the box and it helps our staff really make you feel like you’re our only guest and, at the end of the day, if we’re going to achieve the rates we want to achieve, and the occupancy is in the performance and the brand, we have to get both sides right.

I think we’re making up for our service flaws with tons of enthusiasm. And they’re super dedicated staff and it’s interesting because, if you read our reviews on TripAdvisor, people love our design but they love our people, and that’s really exciting for me.

Skift: 1 Hotels was really marketed as an eco-luxury brand, and I remember when hotels were really jumping on the eco bandwagon …

Sternlicht: I was one of them.

A living room suite at the new 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge. Source: 1 Hotels

Skift: But now it’s been at least almost a decade now since that’s happened. Do you think a lot of consumers just expect things to be eco-friendly or is it still a challenge for them to find those types of experiences?

Sternlicht: Unfortunately, I’d say that, in general, I don’t think it’s a [desire] for the mass travelers; it’s still not a selection criteria, and [that’s also] because I think a lot of hotels went “green” for cost. We decided we weren’t going to wash your towels, and we said we were, you know, “We’re doing it for eco.” We were saving money.

I was one of those companies. I ran Starwood, so, I think the customer got that. It was like what we call “painted green,” as opposed to “be green.”

So here we are [with 1 Hotels], from the ground up, and we’re going to start [being green from the start]. All of our hotels will be LEED certified. The first two were both massive renovations to existing assets, so a lot of compromises had to be made.

I was very surprised when Miami got a Silver rating from LEED because it was such a difficult box. It had an old system, and it was hideously expensive to replace some of it, so we spent a ton of money, but we didn’t replace everything, so I was really pleased.

Here, I think we’ll set a new standard, but a lot of this stuff, isn’t just the materials. A lot of this furniture was made locally, and the locavore [movement is reflected here]. The food will be grown locally, and the stones are sourced locally. Like this beautiful white stone [Sternlicht pointed to a large bar area on the second floor of the hotel, with ridged white marble], you might think is from Italy, but it’s from here. I think we’re getting better, and we’re doing a better job, and now I have to run it really well.

I also think our customer self-selects. Just like people wanted to be at W because they wanted to be cool, now I think as we grow, people say they stay at the 1, and it says something about you. Not everyone will care, but we’re just trying to make it incremental. Europeans care a lot more than we do, and we’re going to get there, we’re going to care. Despite the current administration, we’re going to care.

Skift: You have such a history of developing such iconic hotel properties. Do you think of 1 Hotels as almost like the W, but more grown up?

Sternlicht: Yes, exactly.

Skift: This hotel is fairly symbolic of the way that people’s expectations of hotels have changed, and also cements Brooklyn as a new center in New York City. Do you feel that way too?

Sternlicht: Yeah, I mean think USA Today said Brooklyn was the hottest neighborhood in the country, and that was probably nine or 10 months ago now.

Yes, I thought this was a really cool spot to launch your best product you’ve ever done. What I love about it is how original it is. You haven’t seen it before, so people will come here and their jaw should be on the ground.

The W is for me in my 30s, and this is for me later in my life, right? My children all were involved in environmental studies in school, and when I was coming up with what was I going to do, that influenced me.

That’s why I came up with the word ‘One,’ you know, “one world, we’re responsible for each other,” and said “the world didn’t need another brand, it just needed a better one.” I never get to use that line, which I made up.

It gives us a center of gravity, it gives us a cause, it gives us a rallying cry. Yes, so this is my upscale W. It’s still chic and cool, but it’s sophisticated, and it’s just more expensive. I don’t think we sacrificed much of anything here. So, this is like the Four Seasons of eco.

The lobby of the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge. Source: 1 Hotels

Skift: Is there anything in particular about this flagship property that you’re most excited about or most proud of?

Sternlicht: Well, I have to be excited about a location right on the water. You know, this is a ridiculous panoramic view. Somebody was telling me this morning, “How many places can you wake up and see the entire length of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty?” And in between is this magnificent skyline of Manhattan, and the river itself, and all along a six-mile park. So, you can come here and feel like you’re in the country, practically, and you’re five minutes from Manhattan.

And then I think the building itself — we have a beautiful ballroom and a great pre-meeting space. We’re going to have a gorgeous spa, a beautiful urban spa, which you don’t typically see. We have a gym, we’ll have the screening room, we’ll have this amazing restaurant, three-meal-a-day. And then the café, and an outdoor café, and we’ll have bikes lined up. I mean, this is going to be pretty much everything you could want in a hotel, will be here. There will be something for everybody.

I was giggling this morning — you might have seen the yoga class in the conference room. I can’t imagine that we can’t provide something that you’d want here. So, I think we’re blessed, advantaged, and it’s not an accident that we have all this meeting space, and I think we’re going to be really popular,

We did an event for J.P. Morgan, actually we did the Robin Hood Investors Conference here, and I was one of the four organizers of the conference. They already booked a million dollars of business here. They loved it. They booked it, [and they told me] this is getting away, without getting away. Right? It’s perfect.

Skift: Did your early days in the hotel industry help you to prepare to develop this type of brand or to develop a property like this? How did all of those elements come together here?

Sternlicht: You have cumulative experiences. But the core of comfort, which is what I think some people miss in hotels, I took that into Starwood Hotels, and I just carried it into here.

I think we’re not trying to, as I said when we started, people shouldn’t have to wear burlap and eat carrots, in a green hotel. They should be able to take some of what we do home with them. Our research shows that our guests are doing that. A majority of them say they’ve changed something that they do at home. That’s fantastic. So, that was like, a dream, I’m surprised it’s actually happened but, I think we just make people a little more conscious.

You know, there’s no plastic. I hated all the waste of a hotel, the little plastic bottles you throw away, all the glass we consume, and all the aluminum … And again, I think this is really pretty, but it’s a little complicated, so it’s okay because we’ve built a beautiful flagship for Brooklyn. But what we’re doing in Sunnyvale and Cabo and China will be totally different.

Skift: The hotel industry has changed quite a lot in the past 20 years. And it’s also become, in some ways, a lot more crowded. There are so many different brands out there, a brand for every lifestyle, which I know pioneered at Starwood. But would you agree with the statement that it’s more challenging to develop new brands or concepts in this current climate?

Sternlicht: I think commodity brands — you know, this idea that you need two brands that, I guess, are only differentiated on price — that is a very crowded market. And the brands have exploded. Some of the brands were here but in the old days there were things called radius restrictions. So, if you built your Hilton Garden Inn or your Courtyard by Marriott, you could prevent another one from being built within 10 miles of you. The brands gained the power back and eliminated those, so now, in Manhattan you’ll find 15 Courtyards and 22 Hilton Garden Inns. It’s almost a pure commodity, and it has loyalty through the programs but not to the hotels.

And so I think Airbnb is the real issue for those guys, because it’s not really saying anything about them. That’s why they say Millennials don’t buy things, they buy experiences. This brand is an experience. You can’t do the things you can do in this hotel in an Airbnb. You can’t go to the spa, you can’t go to the gym, you can’t have a big meeting, you can’t go to the movie theater, you can’t have a cocktail or hang out with fun, interesting, dynamic, creative people. We’re like the upscale Soho House, in the hotel space.

The business has gotten very competitive and very challenging, but what’s interesting is that our first three hotels, including the Baccarat, are all beating their competitive sets in revenue, even though there’s not a giant company behind them. We don’t have global sales offices. We have amazing word of mouth, great TripAdvisor reviews.

I think the first two [hotels], people really love. I mean, [the] New York [1 Hotels property] is so cute. People go over and over and people stay 10 times, and they just go back. The comments are incredible about the hotel, and we were handicapped because the rooms are small, and here our rooms are bigger. And there’s some really cool things in this hotel, the view, the windows, unbelievable. So, it was fun.

Skift: You mentioned Airbnb. I don’t know if you saw the news that broke this morning but Airbnb officially acquired Luxury Retreats, which is based out of Montreal and specializes in really high-end villa rentals, or private homes, so it definitely signals their move into the luxury space.

Sternlicht: They dominate the home rentals. And that’s not really our customer. So, I think for vacations and retreats, they are the go-to guy. And that’s going to be super valuable for them. I still think the business traveler doesn’t want to deal with that. And it’s all about length of stay.

The average hotel stay is 1.3 nights, which is a pain in the neck to go check into somebody’s home. But for longer stays, extended stays, I do think that they’ve reorganized an industry. Most people don’t understand that most of the inventory was already available for rent, it’s just been organized in a new distribution channel.

Skift: A few weeks ago I got to interview Ian Schrager, whom I know you know very well, and he told me that he felt like hospitality today was too much of a “me too” industry. I wanted to ask you if you agree with that statement, and if you do, what are the ways that you think the industry can be more innovative and not so much like a commodity?

Sternlicht: The industry, and this was true when I ran Starwood, it’s got a blessing and a curse. What they do at a hotel in Tokyo doesn’t impact you in your hotel in New York City. So that’s the curse. You’re not as forced to innovate. It’s not innovate or die. It’s not that way. In a way, it should be that way. The industry should always be challenging itself.

But Ian’s right, and I think that’s, again, about differentiating your product, making it not a commodity, making people think it’s a three-dimensional brand, it’s not just in and out, it’s not just my frequent night stay and I want to go home. It’s really an experience. And whether you like the way our candles smell or our shampoo smells, we really have focused on all the little details to de-commoditize the stay. And it’s interesting that people really support it. People really are interested.

And not everyone’s interested, not everybody’s interested in W, and not everyone’s interested in green, and then some people don’t want paper. Why do people spend $1,000 a night when they could stay at a hotel for $169 a night? Because they can, and they like it, and it’s comfortable, and they are rewarding themselves for whatever success they had in their lives, however they got it.

I think that Ian is right. But if that’s what everybody does, then that’s what the customer expects. So for us to step out of the that into something different, which is what we’re trying to do, and I think what Ian’s trying to do, is how we compete against bigger things, and bigger companies with bigger reach, more global customers.

We have to get companies like J.P. Morgan, which I’m sure has to deal with every hotel company on earth. So they’re leaving those frequent-stay programs to come here, because they just think it’s a better product for their employees, and it says something about J.P. Morgan. They like what we’re doing, and so they want to wow their employees and clients, and that’s what we’re here for.

Skift: Can you tell me a little bit more about your expansion plans for 1 Hotels, or what you have planned after this?

Sternlicht: Yeah, we have three [hotels] we’ve announced: Mexico, Cabo San Lucas in the harbor; Sunnyvale, which is in Northern California; and Sanya, China, which is on the beach, in what is the resort area of China. And then we have about a half a dozen that we’re working on behind that we haven’t announced. We’re trying to get a hotel in major gateway cities, and then also over in Europe. We need to be in London, Rome —that’s going to be super fun — Milan, [it’ll be] killer.