he was both everything you could ever want
and nothing you could ever have

Half an hour was, as far as the Englishman was concerned, quite a long while to set up any sort of 'surprise'. A part of the man was entirely remiss to be apart from the Monarch for even such an amount of time and yet, if such was what his lover desired of him, Sebastian certainly would not say no. Still, he could hardly help the way his thoughts so idly lingered upon the prospect of that 'next time', even though the vampire was promised but all of eternity beside his husband. What could possibly require so much forethought? So much preparation? Knowing Dorian's fondness for surprises, he doubted he would ever guess what was in store for him. His hand gingerly squeezed upon his lover's forearm in a subtle glimpse of affection as the vampire resigned himself to waiting in the downstairs cafe. After all, the coffee had smelled absolutely divine, much less those desserts claimed to have been made from their very own patisserie. It was the exact sort of place the Prince could lose half an hour, even if he was sure it would have been thirty minutes better spent dragging Dorian to the cafe with him. Alas. He could hardly help that sigh upon his lips, even if the vampire was willing to accept that present of sorts.

The vampire's bright blue eyes turned upwards towards his lover as Dorian shifted, pulling away from that embrace only to leave Sebastian alone in favor of getting dressed. Although he knew well that attending mass tonight was all but a necessity, the vampire was so often inclined to merely linger within the Monarch's arms, as if the King's very touch was capable of bewitching him. His fingers lightly moved across that piano in a soft arpeggio, more out of habit than truly playing any sort of song. It was his name upon Dorian's lips that drew his gaze, and eventually the vampire in turn, from that piano bench. That inquiry of the color of that tie prompted Sebastian to cross the room, his hand gingerly reaching for that material. He hardly hesitated to offer his husband that reassurance the man sought, that pigment, he was certain, was perfect for the Resurrection of Christ and the very spirit of that joyous day. Sebastian reached down his own fit figure, his fingers easily worked at the buttons of that shirt that had been left loose whilst the King so sought to fasten that tie.

It was only once Sebastian fetched his own purple hued tie from the wardrobe that he felt it fit to comment on that very party Dorian had so brought the tie for in the first place. After all, Barcelona was....radically different from the scene the King so often frequented. No, those parties were of the sorts that Sebastian had once excelled at, before love had so tightly gripped him. His own hands moved deftly as he fastened that tie around his neck, the Prince entirely aware of that glimpse of astonishment upon his lover's features. "We are, but it is not that sort of party, love. It is more of a festival of sorts..." He commented, pausing until he had finished that knot around his neck. "It's called the Daydream Festival. We also are on the list for Los Altos at the Club Otto Zutz...which is a nightclub." He was distinctly aware of how different the nightlife of Barcelona was compared to the higher class sort of dinner parties that Dorian often frequented. This, he knew, could certainly be overwhelming for the King and yet, it felt wrong to visit that Spanish city without partaking in what it was so famous for.

He grabbed his own dress jacket from the wardrobe, pulling it over his broad shoulders as the vampire turned his attention towards his own dress shoes. It took a moment longer to pull those shoe trees the hotel had provided from those black leather shoes and yet, soon enough the pair were ready to leave that suite, only once he had ensured several additional layers had been added to the Monarch's wardrobe. Sebastian himself hardly bothered with anything more than that usual woolen duster the vampire so often wore, those black leather gloves little more than a futile effort for that warmth his body desired rather than any attempt to stave off the cold. He trailed after his lover as they left their suite, the vampire content to simply follow the King down that hallway and into the elevator that led to the magnificent lobby downstairs. A small nod was given towards those footmen whom so hurried to hold open those glass doors for them, that blustery cold so quickly embracing the pair of men as they stepped out and into the darkened city of Stockholm.

His hand naturally reached out for Dorian's own, the vampire entirely content to simply enjoy that walk with the ever curious King at his side. He paused in front of each of those storefronts that captured his husband's attention, the vampire more than happy to indulge his lover in each of those storefronts that so caught his eye. It wasn't, however, until they stepped into the center of that square that Sebastian's own attention was piqued. That very clearing was somehow...quaint. It was the exact sort of place he might have lingered, were it not for that impending mass they were due to attend. He watched as Dorian paused to press his hand against the nose of an equine shaped statue. Sebastian's head shook ever so slightly at the mention of those Nobel Prizes, those sort of ceremonies were the kind he, admittedly, had paid distinctly little attention to over the years. It wasn't until the very mention of Oslo that his lips parted. "A few years ago. They opened a new Opera House and I went to see a show." Those sorts of buildings were the very kind that drew the vampire to those obscure places - and why shouldn't they? That musical world had always been something of a weakness for the man, leading him to visit a variety of countries if only for those new establishments and the various national ballets troupes.

He watched as his husband's fingers traced that stone bridle, that very action alone drew his thoughts to their own horses that surely awaited their return, much less with Maxwell in tow. That sheer notion of them all waiting for them prompted a soft simper upon his features as Dorian stepped away from that statue, only to lead them further across that Central Square. His head dipped politely to those foreign greetings provided to the pair, the vampire entirely polite in those responses of 'good morning' he offered those citizens of the city. It wasn't terribly long, however, before the pair ended up in front of those church doors, the little building was nestled between much larger row houses. It was almost diminutive in stature compared to those sprawling cathedrals in Italy and England and yet, it was almost charming in its own way all the same. That exclamation upon Dorian's lips prompted a soft chuckle upon his own, the man shaking his head ever so slightly. "I don't think all the people will be attending." He informed his lover, the man entirely unable to help that grin. Religion, he knew well, had declined immensely over the years. That faith certainly was kept alive within the borders of Dorian's own country simply by proximity to that epicenter of the Christian religion. "Come along, Ma Biche."

Sebastian hardly waited long before coaxing the King up those steps and towards the front doors. Even he, however, hardly expected the gusto with which the pair were greeted with and yet, that simper hardly faltered upon his features as he informed the priest that they were just as happy to attend that mass as the Church was to have them. That conversation was, thankfully, altogether brief before they were gestured inside. He followed the Monarch down that aisle, allowing the King to choose where they sat before the vampire settled within that pew beside him, equally as unprepared for that enthusiasm of the family who sat next to them. Even so, his own hand fit firmly into that one offered to him by the father of that family, the vampire more then content to offer those pleasantries to them as well before he was finally allowed to lean back against that pew and take in the sight of that church with its low lit stained glass windows.

That soft sound of Dorian's voice drew his attention back to his lover and yet, that sudden language change hardly perturbed the man in the slightest. Rather, his head bobbed in agreement, "Le persone qui non si preoccupano di queste cose. I paesi possono essere ... così diversi al riguardo, ci sono persino posti che non possiamo assolutamente ottenere a causa di ciò. È ancora proibito e punibile con la morte in alcune parti del mondo." (The people here do not care about such things. Countries can be...so different about it, there are even places we cannot go at all because of it. It is still forbidden and punishable by death in some parts of the world.) It was, quite frankly, quite a relief that Stockholm had so embraced the royal couple so openly and indeed Sebastian too looked forward to the same acceptance within Barcelona. Although he certainly knew well that such a relationship would hardly be looked on with such positive light throughout the entirety of the world, it was nice to have those few places they could escape to.

The sudden shift of that music drew the man's attention towards the front of that church, the vampire entirely content to reach for that book nestled in the back of that pew before them. He flipped through those pages, entirely oblivious of those thoughts that so afflicted his lover as he searched for that hymn. It was only once he found that designated page that the vampire positioned that book so that it was laying open upon their legs, perfectly placed for sharing. That soft squeeze upon his hand drew the vampire's gaze from that page, his bright blue eyes but briefly turned towards his husband in an almost inquisitive fashion only for his fingers to gingerly tighten but briefly upon Dorian's own in return. That warm grin upon Dorian's features was all but mesmerizing and yet, Sebastian kept his hands entirely to himself. Church, it seemed, was the only place holy enough to stay even his never ending desire to simply touch his lover, intertwined hands aside.

Sebastian Ellington-Aragona