Showering with Trick always left Harm with a face that ached from smiling and being tired only made him more susceptible to that pain. Pleasure infused him when he realised the generous bathroom they'd inherited had a double vanity and a mirror huge enough for them to
finally be able to style their hair at the same time - something that never happened in his cramped bathroom. He made a comment along the lines of not being sure how they'd ever go back, chuckling affably (even though it was true).
So far, this multi-storeyed apartment-that-was-really-a-house had blown his mind with its luxury and placement south-west of the city. It humbled him to think that he and Trick could've been stuck in a hostel, enduring a cramped share house with a crowd of near strangers or renting something tiny and watching their savings dwindle if it weren't for the generosity of two vampires he barely knew. He owed Ben and Kerr
big time.
From the
outside, the building was fairly non-descript, a lot of dark bricks and glass shielding the fact that it was divided into two five-storey homes on the inside. Theirs was the left half. The homes might once have been separate apartments on each floor but had been converted to town houses so that the owners had access to all five levels. The ground level of Kerr's home was devoted to entertaining, it held an expansive living room, games room (with a pool table), bathroom and small kitchen. The next two levels were more about comfort, boasting three bedrooms, more bathrooms and a theatre room. The fourth storey was the main living space, it held a study, a huge kitchen and butler's pantry, powder room and lounge room. The top floor held the master bedroom, ensuite and walk in robe as well as a conservatory and outdoor deck/entertaining area with spectacular views. It was encased in glass.
Harm knew he and Trick would spend most of their time on the top two floors. There was a maze of stairs to climb up through the levels to get to them but also a small elevator for convenience. Harm had been sorry he couldn't use it the day before when he'd had to endure a tour of the premises with the caretaker before the keys were handed over to them. All he remembered now was a blur of stylish furniture, surprisingly large rooms (he'd expected the place to be pokey, for some reason) and a whole lot of black, white and metal as the dominant colour schemes. He could've got that wrong, though; he'd been very tired and hadn't looked too hard.
Once he was dressed - a little more formally than Trick in black dress pants and a blue long sleeved button up shirt he hoped would impress his boss - Harm used his phone to figure out the best way to get from their place in Pimlico to St. Thomas' Hospital. As it turned out, they were only a few suburbs apart but he'd have to get across the Thames River to his place of future employment. Bus seemed the best (and cheapest) way to get there but he needed to research stops and route numbers to get him across Westminster Bridge. He and Trick had purchased and cashed up an Oyster card for public transport before they arrived so they were ready in that sense, he just wasn't sure of exactly where to go.
Trick's announcement that he was ready came before Harm was completely certain of what he was doing but he bounced to his feet with a grin that mirrored Trick's regardless. "I
think I know where I'm going but this could be our first adventure - or
misadventure," he warned jovially, shouldering his own backpack but keeping his phone in his hand. It was showing him where the nearest bus stop was so he couldn't afford to put it away. With a final check they had keys and had locked everything up properly, they loped down the numerous stairs and out onto the streets of London at last.
Harm inhaled deeply as they paused on the footpath, getting their bearings. "It definitely doesn't smell like home," he announced cheerfully. They lived in a pretty small-sized city compared to London but it was still a city so he'd had some expectation that England wouldn't feel too different. He'd been wrong. From the milky sky to the rain-scented air, everything looked and smelt alien. Harm preferred it that way. Why come so far only to have everything feel similar? That would suck.
Deciding which direction to go, Harm shifted his phone to the other hand so that he had one free to link his fingers with Trick's as they set off. Cars passed them and it took him a moment to realise why that was so strange. Remembering that they drove on the other side of the road came slower than it should've but he put that down to jet lag and lack of food.
"You know, according to my research, my hospital's just across the river from Big Ben and not too far south of the London Eye," he informed Trick smugly, believing the two landmarks would be must-sees for him to photograph. "I think we'll pass Big Ben on the bus. Do you want to look for somewhere to eat around here or wait til we get deeper into the city, near the hospital?" Even as he asked, Harm hoped Trick opted for food sooner rather than later. He had about two hours until he had to be at the hospital for his induction but he would
need food and a coffee to buoy him on this adventure long before then.
