A short time latter, his order was brought to him, he quickly ate his breakfast before wondering about what he would do on his second day in Paris, looking at the Eiffel Tower, he slowly grins and said
"I have a great Idea"
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The day had started well for the Parisians. The sky was clear, there was a bright sun but no stifling heat, everything seemed perfectly idyllic.
People went back and forth between their homes and workplaces, some who had partied all night slowly returned home, children went to school, life was on its track.
When people started noticing the giant flag hanging from the top of the Eiffel Tower, most thought it was a publicity stunt or something like that.
Some people who were closer to the tower could read the giant "I WAS HERE" written in black on the white flag.
As the day passed and more and more people started noticing the flag, some people also noticed the appearance of similar flags emerging on top of almost every touristic monument in the city.
One went up on Notre Dame Cathedral, one on top of the Grand Palais, one on the Arc de Triomphe, one on the Pantheon, and more.
At the end of the day, more than fifty flags had appeared without explanation, leaving the French authorities restless in their search for the culprit.
And most French people were simply slightly amused.
__
- 75 hours since leaving New York -
He grinned and exclaimed to the Parisian night sky.
"Best day EVER"
He saw more historic monuments than he had ever seen before and maybe would ever see again, he went shopping, he pranked one of the biggest cities in the world.
The freedom to do whatever he wanted with little to no consequences for himself was intoxicating. It made him not want to ever deactivate his ability.
'Still, it would be a shame to never interact with Gwen again, her smile is worth it I think.'
By focusing on his coming date, he managed to slowly leave his intoxicated state. When the time came to explain his trip, he would state that he was in Paris the entire time, avoiding mentioning his quest in Wakanda seemed like a good idea.
Still, he wanted to gift something to her as an apology for having been missing for a week, and he found something that he thought Gwen would absolutely love.
While they had only seen each other once at the grocery store, they texted almost the entire following day, and during these chats, he managed to learn her music taste, so looking at the hoodie in his arms, he was certain she would like it.
He found it while looking through a high-end thrift shop, one of those kinds of shops that would like to be thrift shops but are simply way too expensive to really be one.
He loved looking into these stores, but before, he couldn't buy anything without breaking the bank.
Now that his economic situation was less precarious, he could buy anything he wanted. And what he couldn't buy, he could simply borrow indefinitely.
While looking through the hoodie section of one of these shops, he found a gem, an original The Strokes hoodie in M size. It was grey, looking slightly worn in but not damaged. On the front was the name of the band in white, and on the back was a list of concert dates for the French tour of their first album. On the back were also the signatures of the five artists.
'If Gwen doesn't like this, I can always wear it myself, even if it's only M size.'
Buying this beautiful piece cost him 2 thousand dollars, and it was the most well-spent money of his trip.
He also bought himself some jeans, a pair of sneakers, multiple T-shirts and hoodies that he liked, but they all paled in comparison.
'Can't I keep it to myself and buy her a snow globe or something?'
He thought before stopping his pity party. Not having gone to sleep the night before, he occupied a room in an empty apartment in the middle of the city and quickly fell asleep.
The morning after, he realised that the week was almost over. He had a date on Saturday, today was Friday and he was still in Paris.
Quickly showering in the borrowed apartment, he dressed in the clothes he had bought the day before, blue jeans, some white sneakers and a grey hoodie before going to eat breakfast in a different café than yesterday.
As he ate, he could hear some other tourists chatting about the weird "I WAS HERE" flag that had appeared the day before.
'They still didn't take down the one on the Eiffel Tower, it's hilarious.'
Putting up all of these flags was not an easy operation. He only managed to do it thanks to his improved strength and sense of balance.
He smiled, pleased by his own joke.
He looked up at the giant tower and smiled before saying,
"FADE"
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Sneaking into an aircraft for the 6th time was not fun anymore, it was too easy for him. His powers were simply unfair.
'Sneaking onto a plane may not be fun anymore,' he thought before settling into a first-class seat, 'but that's not a reason to neglect my own comfort.'
The flight he took left Paris at 10 in the morning. It would take 8 hours to reach New York.
- 96 hours after leaving New York -
'I feel like it's been years since I left.'
Arthur thought upon disembarking from the plane. He was tired, he managed to sleep quite a lot during his trip, so his superhuman body wasn't even slightly tired. Even if he hadn't slept at all for the 4 days, his body would have held up after its enhancement.
Still, his mind was tired. He longed to lie down on his bed and completely relax or to take a long shower.
The taxi ride back was tiring enough, the driver seemed to make it his personal mission to tell everything there was to know about New York to the tourist beside him, who obviously didn't understand a single word spoken.
An hour later, Arthur opened his front door and went into his apartment. He sighed contentedly and smiled.
"Home sweet home"
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