“Hey,” Julian cut into Alexander's thoughts. “Don't zone out on me, stupid.” When Alexander jumped back to the present, the brunette waved a hand at him in a dramatically weak fashion. “Water for the parched bastard.”

The phrasing, said so seriously, caused Alexander to suddenly let out a soundless single-beat laugh. “Sure.” He leaned forward to hand the cup of water to him. As Julian took the cup, he sat up. Alexander watched him drinking it for a few seconds before asking, “Did you...agree to come because of the past...? Because... we were friends?”

“I came because you paid me a fucking stupid amount of money.” Julian replied flatly. He handed the cup back. Alexander took it, returned it to his knee and sadly looked back down at it. “You didn't answer. Not a vacation, and not business? What kind of trip is this?”

Weakly, Alexander's shoulders lifted up and dropped as he shrugged. His words came out as a mumble. “I'm looking for hope. That's...all.”

Julian thinned his eyes but didn't press him. He knew he'd have plenty of time to pester the blond about it sooner or later, one way or another. He turned back over, laid down into a little ball once more, and shut his eyes. “Just don't fuck every nearest person. It's gross. You'll get a disease that way.”