Hands In The Stars

11. A Palace For Tonight

Datui and Ai watched as Ethan walked away from them and towards the big apartment section of the city in the silent evening. Thin clouds ran over the sky above, traffic buzzed from the big roads all around them. Datui got off the scooter and removed his helmet, placing it onto the leather seat before he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. The worker that had checked Datui's paper before allowing them into the complex shifted his attention from the road, towards the two and some other company further away every now and again. The entire parking lot fell silent for a long few minutes, but it was a comfortable silence. The teens watched the sun slowly make its way towards the horizon on the other side of the city. The sun just fell down below the clouds, causing a strong red and yellow glow, tinting only the closest clouds pink, while the rest remained dark and thick. It was like a mere thread of colours, so far away, yet so comforting, and rare. After a while, Datui finally put the cigarette out and turned to look at Ai, who was still sitting silently on the back of the leather seat, just enjoying the setting and the mood.

"Right... Ai, I got to show you something!" He suddenly broke the silence, letting a wide smile grow onto his face. "These are fun news, I'm sure you'll love it."  He tried to make it seem like it was something he had just remembered, but in reality he had been thinking about it most of the day. To him, it seemed like something that he should just have been able to casually mention long ago, but something still held him back a bit. The weird relationship between the two of them, that seemed to have hung on loose threads just until the night before, had hindered him from trying to bring up any new kind of change. He suddenly seemed much more excited and grabbed his helmet, throwing it on once more before jumping back onto his scooter.
"Datui..." Ai sighed, disappointed in how he had managed to ruin her peaceful mood, but she wrapped her slim arms around his waist nonetheless, to let him have his way. "Fine, what is it?"
"You'll see." Datui answered simply.

He turned the vehicle back on and started driving away towards the apartment buildings in front of them, past the first section and eventually coming to a stop by one of the taller buildings deeper into the area. The couple looked up at the building for a second before Datui parked and got off. He grabbed onto Ai's hand, waiting for her to get off as well. Hand in hand they both started walking towards the entrance of the building. They stepped inside and Datui took a sharp turn towards the elevator, quickly getting into it with Ai and pressing the fifth button, watching as the doors closed in front of them. He squeezed Ai's hand excitedly and gave her a smile, but she only stared back at him with a slightly confused expression. As the elevator came to a stop and opened the doors for them once more he stepped out and finally let go of Ai's hand to fish up a keychain from his pocket. He walked over to the door to the left of them and pushed the key into the golden lock, hearing it click lightly. He swung the thick black wooden door open.

"Step inside, my lady." Datui smiled widely, holding the entrance open for Ai.
She only stared back at him, confusion like glued stuck to her face. She looked at Datui and slowly walked into the apartment, looking through the hallway then back at Datui, and then back to the apartment again. The hallway was long, with a wide open door a few meters away to the left, a much simpler closed door was placed the furthest away on the wall to the right, and at the same side there was a big, open, arched doorway much closer to Ai. Straight in front of them the hallway opened up into a fourth big room, which Ai easily guessed to be the living-room. She was just about to bend down to take her shoes off when she heard the light sound of small paws running towards them. She spotted three fluffy puppies coming running from the guessed to be living-room area in full speed, trying hard not to slip on the shiny wooden floor. Datui quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind himself to make sure they wouldn't run out, letting a wide grin grow onto his face as he kneeled down on the floor to accept the puppies exciting cuddles.