Mariko woke up a few hours later, the sun already streaming through the car windows. Glancing at Keigo, she saw the blonde was still fast asleep. Despite the fact that he'd slept through half the trip, he was still exhausted. "How long has it been since he got a good night's sleep?" she wondered. She lifted her hand that'd been resting on his shoulder and tucked a strand of his hair back. She didn't move, for a few moments, giving herself the opportunity to admire her boyfriend's sleeping face. He looked so peaceful; it was almost hard to believe he could be so energetic.
After a while, he began to stir. He opened his eyes slowly, and Mariko couldn't help but smile a bit as she met his gorgeous golden eyes.
"G'morning," he greeted. His raspy, low morning voice combined with the lazy smile he flashed was enough to make her heart skip a beat.
"Morning. How'd you sleep?" she asked as he snuggled closer, burying his head in her chest. He sighed contentedly as her hands instinctively began combing through his hair.
"I feel like I should be asking you that Chickee. You were the one that was driving all day yesterday."
"I slept good, but I always do when I'm with you," she said sweetly.
"Me too Mari. I feel... at peace when I'm with you."
The brunette sighed contentedly, as much as she would love to spend the rest of eternity just like this, they had a mansion to secure. "Come on, we need to check out the house."
Keigo groaned in protest when he felt her hands stop, and squeezed her waist tightly. "I don't wanna," he muttered grabbing her hand and placing it back on his head, encouraging her to continue what she'd been doing.
"The sooner we get that done the sooner we can get food. If we get done fast enough we can continue in an actual bed," she told him.
He wanted to say no. He really did. All he wanted to do was continue holding her just like this and whispering sweet things to her while she pet his hair. He knew they had to get up though, so after groaning in protest a little while longer, he sat up and crawled out of the car before helping Mari out as well.
They still had some snacks leftover from the trip. So, breakfast that day was just a couple of granola bars and a bottle of water. Tossing the wrappers into the car, Mariko grabbed the keys and walked towards the mansion's front door, unlocking it while Keigo quickly searched the perimeter.
If it hadn't been obvious the place was abandoned, it was now. The foyer was dark when she walked in, only the light from the door and windows illuminated the space. She walked over to the light switch, flicking it on, she wasn't surprised when nothing happens. The crystal chandelier that hung overhead remained dark, cobwebs hanging around it like a veil.
As she walked through the house, her feet left footprints in the layer of dust that had accumulated on the floor. White tarps had been pulled over all the furniture; some had fallen off over the years, leaving a random chair or table exposed.
"Mari?" Keigo called out. His voice echoed in the otherwise silent home.
"Here," She called back softly, still taking in their surroundings. Her heart grew heavy the longer she looked around. This was where she was supposed to live with Mineko, after all. It was a physical reminder of the sister she'd lost, and the childhood dreams she'd abandoned.
Keigo placed a hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her attention to him. "Where should I put these?" he asked.
Mariko nodded and took his hand in hers, guiding him through the passageways. She was surprised she still remembered where to go. She'd only been there a couple of times after Mineko had bought it and that had been almost a decade ago. She led them to the kitchen, stopping in front of what seemed to the blonde as nothing but an empty wall.
"You hungry or something Chickee? I doubt there's any food here," he said lightheartedly.
She rolled her eyes at the comment and pushed the middle of the wall. A section gave way immediately, swinging open like a handle-less door. "This way," she said mysteriously.
His eyes widened, but he wasted no time in following her through the passage.
They walked up a narrow staircase, and Mariko cleared away the many spiderwebs that had been spun throughout the years. When they reached the top of the staircase, there was another door. The brunette opened it without any hesitation. It was a large bedroom, complete with a sitting area and even a fireplace.
Keigo set their bags down on the couch, a puff of dust rising from the sudden movement. "Damn Chickee, nice pad ya got here," he commented. "I gotta ask, why the secret passageway? Don't get me wrong it's totally cool, just seems a bit random."
"It's not a secret passageway, it's a service passageway. Maids would use it in the past to get around the house without being noticed. It was the only way I remembered how to get here."
Noting her quiet demeanor, the blonde stepped towards his girlfriend. He cupped her face in his hands and wrapped his wings around her. "You okay Chickee?" he asked softly.
"Yeah, it's just a bit sad," she admitted.
He nodded understandingly and just held her, trying to transfer some of his strength into her.
After a while, Mariko pulled away. "Let's get to work. We've got a bit of cleaning to do."
Keigo pecked her on the cheek before letting her go completely. "Did we bring any cleaning stuff?" he asked.
She shook her head, "No, but there's bound to be some lying around somewhere. People did work here at one point after all. The laundry room's downstairs, we'll probably find stuff there. Come on," she said opening the "secret passageway" again.
Mariko didn't really remember where the room was though, so they had to wander around the house for a while before they were able to find it. To their luck, however, the closest was stalked with brand new cleaning products. They quickly gathered everything they needed and made their way back to the room, this time, she made sure to memorize the path there since she would undoubtedly have to wash the sheets.
She and Keigo split the tasks up evenly. Contrary to popular belief, the male wasn't completely useless when it came to household chores. He was just lazy or too busy to get around to doing them. With both of them working, however, they were able to clean the bedroom and bathroom in just a couple of hours before moving to the kitchen.
Naturally, the kitchen took longer, they had to clean the refrigerator which was thankfully powered by a generator so they could store food.
"Are we gonna go shopping today?" he asked, wiping down a countertop. They were almost done but they'd skipped lunch and the sun was now starting to set.
Mariko nodded, "Yeah, we're out of granola bars. There's a town about forty minutes out. I say let's drive there and get groceries but just get some takeout food for tonight. I'm too tired to cook."
"I can take care of that. It'll be faster if I fly there," he offered.
The brunette looked at him hopefully. "Would you mind? I still have to put the sheets to dry and unpack everything."
Keigo nodded, "Sure thing sweetheart. I'll get it done at my trademark top speed! Faster than you can even say Hawks!" he joked, pressing a kiss to her temple.
She giggled slightly and returned the gesture with a kissing his jaw.
"One more for the road?" he asked, a devilish smile on his face.
She rolled her eyes, but pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and pecked his lips.
"That hardly counts," he complained.
She simply shrugged, "Maybe you'll get more when you come back."
He hummed thoughtfully, slinking an arm around her waist. "I like the sound of that," he hummed, kissing her neck softly.
"Shouldn't you be going then? If you take too long I might forget."
The blonde chuckled, kissing her lips sweetly one last time before flying out of the room.
Mariko shook her head hopelessly and drifted to the laundry room to move the sheets to the dryer.