AH collections

the sugar baby escapades (11)

OT6
Word count: 17704
Chapters: 18

It's midterm season and reading week all rolled into one, where the promise of a week off and potentially sleeping in is overridden by the stress of the last few weeks before the end of term.

Jeremy spends it mostly laying around the penthouse because 1) no one will judge him if he doesn't change out of his sweats, 2) he gets free food here, and 3) the people here will placate him when he groans about final papers.

He's got his Renaissance text laid out in front of him and his laptop open to a few well known Renaissance painters. He's contemplating in writing on Artemisia Gentileschi and focusing on her use and depiction of blood in her violent works. The images he has of her artwork aren't the greatest quality, but he'll make it work. It's only a 1500 word essay. He's sure he'll get something out of it.

Geoff flops down onto the couch and peers over the edge where Jeremy has himself laid out on the floor. "What are you researching this time?" He drags over the textbook. "Ooo. The Renaissance. How romantic!"

"Have a look at this then." He shows him one of the paintings, and Geoff's eyebrows nearly disappear into his hair.

"Brutal. Who's that by?"

"Artemisia Gentileschi. Yeah, she didn't fuck around."

Geoff pulls out his phone. "How do you spell that?"

Jeremy spells out the name, and Geoff researches Gentileschi on his own. "Italian, eh?"

"Yeah."

Geoff slides off the couch and looks at the images Jeremy is looking at on his laptop. "Not as good as the real thing, eh?"

"Nah, but this is only, like, five pages so I'm not too worried."

"Mmhm. Well, excuse me. I have some phone calls to make." Geoff departs to leave Jeremy on the floor, and Jeremy goes back to looking at the paintings and noting any common themes between a few of the paintings and how Gentileschi applies them.

"Jeremy. Jeremy. Jer-immy."

"Geoff?" He blinks and stretches. "What the fuck?" He sees the clock. "It's not even four in the morning. What the hell!"

Before he can pull the blankets up over his head, Geoff pulls him to sit. "Come on. Our flight is going to leave soon."

"Flight? What flight?"

"To Italy! Come on!"

He moves automatically because he's too tired to try and rationalize what's happening. So he pulls one some loose jeans and a hoodie–Michael's he thinks, because he's not swimming in it if it were Ryan's–and heads out the door. Geoff has two suitcases at the door. He's texting rapidly and ushers Jeremy out the door with an arm slung around his shoulders.

"What's happening right now?" The lights in the elevator are a quick way to wake him up.

"We're going to Italy," he says and he has that familiar Geoff patented smirk that means 'I just thought of the best thing ever and now I want to share it with you.' Everyone knows that smirk, and you either dread it or love it, and right now, Jeremy hated it because his brain is still fuzzy from sleep.

"This better not be work related."

"Oh, just you wait, baby."

So they go to Italy. First class all the way, allowing Jeremy to catch up on his sleep and not have to worry about all his final projects for once. The trip is slated to last for four days. Just the two of them, because Geoff believes Jeremy needs a bit of a break before he heads back to classes next week. He even went forward and packed everything for Jeremy ahead of time.

They go to Italy, settle into their hotel suite, go out for dinner at a quality restaurant, and walk along the beach that leads to the Mediterranean. It's nice, it's fun, and Jeremy forgot how nice it was just to spend some quality time with Geoff.

And the gifts don't stop there.

First it's the new Canon camera that Jeremy has been drooling over ever since he saw Paula's.

"We're in fucking Naples," Geoff says. "You should take some pictures to remember it."

And so he does. On the second day, they continue to walk around the city, looking at what history it has to offer. And then Geoff takes him to the "Museo di Capolodimonte. Come on. The fun's just about to begin."

They go to the Museo, and Geoff immediately seeks out an art director. And then out of nowhere, he pulls out the most charming and eloquent Italian of all time. After their brief conversation when the director tells them to wait, Jeremy looks at him astonished. "I didn't know you could speak Italian."

"One of the romance languages," Geoff says with a wink.

"Oh, I forgot. You're a fucking literature nerd."

"Translations don't do the originals justice."

In a matter of hours, Geoff had arranged for him a private viewing of one of the Gentileschi paintings the Museo holds. And he arranged for an expert on Gentileschi to answer any questions Jeremy might have.

And as soon as Jeremy heard that, he takes Geoff's face in his hands and kisses him. "You have no idea how much I love you."

Geoff laughs. "I think I have some idea. Now, come on. Gentileschi waits for no one."

Tess is looking at him. She hasn't taken off her aviators since she arrived and took a seat across from Jeremy at the coffee shop.

"You lucky bastard," she says.

"Yeah? Well, I got a lot more where that came from," he says with a cheshire grin. "I think I'm going to call it Romance in Naples."

"I fucking hate you."