MM: Academic excellence.

[americas_son]

Homework: Cal has it.

Conducive to concentration: Milliways isn't.

But he's trying anyway. He's got a solid B+ so far in this class, and a really good paper could push that to an A. And Cal refuses finish his first semester of college with anything less than straight As, as much to spite his mother as out of academic pride. Good enough to get by hasn't been good enough for Cal for quite some time now. (And he's always wary of backsliding.)

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[defies-time.livejournal.com]

Sam drains the last of his coffee, then sets the cup down on the table, preparatory to leading the way to his door.

"Come on, then."

Outside the door is dazzling sunlight: Sam wasn't kidding when he said it was warm. They're on a busy street, packed with shops (mostly fairly high-end) and a road packed with cars (mostly not).

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal follows Sam outside, scarcely glancing back as the door falls shut behind him. His last visit to another world was, quite literally, a visit to America's house.

This is slightly different. (Even though, somewhere in the back of his head, Cal would not be surprised if Spain went walking past.

Visiting the Hetaliaverse has an interesting effect on a person.)

He pauses to get his bearings, looking around. Being a city is about where Madrid's resemblance to New York ends, and he's trying to take it in.

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

Sam shoves his hands in his pockets, grinning at the look on Cal's face but at the same time keeping an eye on their surroundings - the kid is a very obvious tourist, after all.

A thought strikes him, however, and the grin fades slightly.

"Hey, kiddo, just a thought - if I tell you suddenly to get back to Milliways, don't ask questions, all right? I can't imagine any of my family could possibly turn up, but they've been known to turn up when least possibly wanted before."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal looks over to Sam at the seriousness of his tone, and nods when he's finished talking.

"Okay," he says. "I won't." He knows all about doing what he's told and not asking questions in a dangerous situation. He's been drilled in it since he was young, and the drilling was doubled for a while a couple years ago during his father's campaign for the Presidency. He understands the importance of it on a level that most ordinary civilians never have to think about.

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

Sam doesn't really believe for a moment that they're likely to run into any of his extended family. But there's never any harm in being careful, and he's seen enough movies to know what happens when someone says or thinks 'what could possibly go wrong?'.

He grins. "All right, then. Any ideas about what you want to see?"

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Nothing touristy."

Cal is clear on that right away. He's a New Yorker, after all. There are important principles involved.

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

"Spoken like a true New Yorker," Sam says, amused. "Well. Have you had lunch yet?"

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Hours ago," Cal says. "I could eat it again."

He's done growing, so his appetite isn't what it was the last few years of his adolescence, but it really has been a long time since lunch. His class schedule has him eating that particular meal at odd times throughout the week.

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

Sam is shocked by this! Shocked!

He considers.

"The biggest park in the city, del Retiro, is about five minutes' walk thataway. It's about half-and-half tourists and Madridites, but it's good on a day like today and there's a stall there that does pretty good paella. Fancy that? Alternatively, Atocha railway station isn't too far away and that has cafes and a kind of massive indoor garden with tropical animals and plants."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal gives this a few seconds' thought.

"Del Retiro sounds good," he decides. The other place sounds a little too elaborate. Total tourist magnet.

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

"You've got it." Sam mentally re-checks their route.

"Across the road is probably best. Mind the bikers - they don't think rules apply to them, never mind red lights."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Okay."

They make it across without any major incidents and walk in silence for a moment or two, Cal still looking around, before it occurs to him to ask absently,

"By the way, what year is it?"

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

"Oh, good point. 2004. You'll probably see some people looking nervous on the trains if we use the Metro - the overground trains got bombed two months ago, and it was the worst bombing they've ever had. It's why I'm here, really - I wanted to see if anything had changed."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal's eyebrows go up as he turns his full attention back to Sam.

"Jesus," he says.

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

Sam nods.

"Yeah. I've seen worse, but not by all that much."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal considers the implications of a comment like this from someone Sam's age.

"How's it looking now?" he asks.

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

Sam shrugs slightly, thoughtfully.

"Surprisingly good, considering the mess. A lot of the European cities have got pretty good at picking up the pieces of this sort of thing by now - not that it's common, but most of the capital cities have had some kind of experience of it in the past, whether it's the IRA or ETA or al Qaeda."

He leaves the subject of September 11th alone for now. It's not like Cal can do anything about it, after all.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

It's a kindness Cal would be grateful for if he knew about it. That kind of helplessness in the face of impending devastation is good for no one.

"That sucks," he says with a frown. Terrorism is hardly unknown in his time, but it's easier not to see, especially as for someone as preoccupied (and insulated, and protected) as Cal has been.

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

Sam shrugs again. "That's life for you, in a way. It reminded me a lot of some of the bombings in the Civil War, actually, or during the Blitz, just on a smaller scale. It's terrible, but people get on with things."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"You have to, I guess," Cal says, glancing back out over the city as he thinks of Dad's death.

Speaking of smaller scale, of course, but. You do have to get on with things.

(He wonders not infrequently if Dad would have approved of the way Cal chose to do it.)

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

"Pretty much." He reaches out - and up - to ruffle Cal's hair.

"Come on. You're alive and so am I, and there's a city to discover."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal, distracted from his thoughts, makes a face at Sam and smooths his hair back down.

"You're also kind of a dork," he says, but he's smiling as he says it.

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

Sam pulls a face right back! So there.

Teasing, "What are you, new?"

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"It's been a while, I'd forgotten," Cal counters.

"Or I might have repressed it." Sam does inflict trauma wherever he goes, after all, what with the caring and support and the providing of pizza buried under pineapple. That bastard.

[defies-time.livejournal.com]

Truly, Sam has invented new and terrifying ways of living up to the title of Devil. How Cal copes, the narration has no idea.

"Yeah, because I am so cruel to you. Look at me, dragging you off to foreign cities and buying you lunch and everything."

Since he's guessing it didn't occur to Cal to get any money...