Snippet 4d

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Paris was truly breathtaking.

The sight of the city of lights was completely different from any sight that could ever be seen in America. The culture and history of the city spoke of an entirely different world from even a place like New York, and navigating along the streets was enough to take a person straight out of their heads and into something completely ethereal.

It had been that way for centuries. And it still held true on the brink of the 21st century - just as glorious and indescribable as it had begun.

Jake could feel Chris's excitement almost pierce the air when he turned the key to their flat on Rue Abel street, the younger man all but bounding into the room when they arrived at it. The apartment was astounding - clearly worth every scent that it had cost to move in. Light wood floors, light streaming in the broad windows, and plenty of room on all sides. Yes...much better from what they had had in New York.

Chris was all over the room in an instant, switching on lights, drawing the curtains, and rushing to explore the appliances they had in the kitchen. Jake hadn't seen him so excited since the day he'd first suggested they move to Paris. Within seconds he'd returned to the doorway where Jake was, and given his brother a big, glomping hug.

"It's awesome!" he exclaimed, grinning into his brother's face before bounding back across the room to look out the window. "We can see the Eiffel Tower from here! Look! Can you see it?"

"It's kind hard to miss there Chris," Jake chuckled, putting his bag down beside the doorway and glancing around himself. It was pretty decent if he did say so himself. "You see your room yet?"

"No!" Chris said, turning to look around quickly. "Where is it? It's the one on the left, right?" He darted across the room to the small hallway just off the kitchen, and ran into the first room on the left. "Yeah! This is it! I can still see the Eiffel Tower from in here!"

"It's hard to miss!" Jake repeated, smiling toward the door as he shook his head and headed into the kitchen. "You hungry, Chris?"

"Yeah! What've we got to eat?" Chris asked as he came out of the room to join his brother, clearly coaxed by the thought of food. He walked over to one of his bags by the door, starting to rummage through it. "Do we have any of that leftover pasta left?"

"Yeah," Jake said, running a hand over his mouth before pointing to the bag. "It's at the bottom of the bag."

"Got it," Chris said, pulling out the small cartons and setting them aside before he reached further into the bag - this time to pull out a small orange pill bottle. He glanced at it, shook it, and then shook his head. "...almost out of pills, Jake. D'you s'pose there a pharmacy guru around on Rue Abel?"

"I have you in for a refill at the drugstore on the corner." Jake said, walking over and taking the container from the floor. "I'll heat this up for ya."

"Thanks," Chris said, getting up and walking over to the small table kitchen, sitting down expectantly. "By the way - did you see that sign outside the auto shop when we came in? The one asking for hired help? D'you think maybe we could look for a shift there next week?"

"I can check it out tomorrow." Jake said, removing the lid and popping it in the microwave. "What do you want to drink?"

"Soda's good. Do we still have that Barq's stuff?" Chris said, already moving to sift through one of the kitchen bags Jake had brought in. "That's good stuff. Do you want one?"

"I'm good, thanks." Jake said, wrapping his hands on the microwave before preceding the beep and taking out the container. He hissed as the steam hit his hand and he waved it quickly before taking it over to the table. "There ya go."

"Thanks," Chris said with a smile, taking the food and quickly stabbing his fork into it. "So what's the schedule for the week, then? I know we're unpacking and stuff today, but what'll we do tomorrow?"

"Well what do you think about getting a tour of the place?" Jake asked, smiling at him as he sat down and pulled in his chair. "Get a lay of the land a little?"

"Wow, can we?" Chris said, his eyes widening in delight at the idea. "Like the full Paris tour?"

Jake laughed, nudging him with his elbow. "That would take more than a day, little brother. Eat up."

"Well, yeah, but," Chris paused briefly to chew his food before continuing. "We will get to see the whole city, right? I mean - if we're going to the clinic tomorrow we'll have to be done by four, but still..."

"We'll see a whole load of it for sure." Jake assured him, chuckling at his brother's enthusiasm. "It'll take us a few days though. You just take it easy."

"'Kay, but we have to see it all by the end of the week," Chris said devoutly, taking another bite of his food. "And when is your motorcycle getting here? By the weekend, right?"

Jake nodded. "Sooner than that even, if my guy has his figures right."

"Good," Chris said, taking the last bite of his food before pushing the carton aside and picking up his soda. "I wanna cruise around Paris in style - and with none of that MoPed crap. It pays to have you as a brother sometimes," he said, winking at Jake before taking another gulp from his soda. "Maybe we should buy some French hats to wear while we ride it."

"Already taken care of." Jake said, grinning at him as he went over to one of the bags. He leaned over and pulled out two matching hats, a cheeky smile on his face. "You like?"

"Yes!" Chris grinned from ear-to-ear, lurching forward out of his seat to seize the hat that he deemed his. "They totally look French! Look!" he put the hat on his head and spun around, arms outstretched. "Don't I totally look French?"

Jake tried to hide his smile as he surveyed the new look. "More like a german trying to infiltrate France." he said, slapping him on the butt as he passed. "You finished with this?"

"With the food? Yes. With the hat, no," Chris said, already walking into the bathroom in search of a mirror. "I think maybe I'll grow a little French mustache to go with this. What do you think? Too tacky?"