It had been two weeks since our first night together, and since then, Len and I had become experts at sneakily flirting in front of our friends, teasing each other in public, and finding excuses to spend all of our free time in our apartment, alone. And we still couldn't get enough of it.
Luka had suggested leaving a few days before our show, so we could travel around the foreign city on our free time. Plus, we were all tired of doing nothing. So, a few days before our show, we found ourselves loading our luggage into the cars in the parking garage.
And Len insisted on carrying all of my bags.
"I'm not helpless, you know," I told him as we walked down the stairs. The others were already down there, waiting for us.
"I know," he responded, shuffling my bag on his shoulder. "But this thing is heavy. It's no big deal."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine." I walked behind him, so he didn't see me grinning in his direction.
"Took you two long enough," Gumi said once we appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Kaito and Gaku were nowhere to be found. They must have left already.
"Mr. Muscle over here fought me for like, twenty minutes because he wanted to carry my bags," I pointed to Len.
He just shrugged.
Miku closed her trunk. "And he won?" She laughed. "Come on. I can't wait to get there. And it's another long drive."
I opened the trunk to Len's car, letting him set the bags down with a sigh.
Miku turned her attention to us, her expression suddenly darkening. "And if you two pull another drag race-"
"We won't," Len promised without looking at her.
"Good. I don't want anyone dying," she grunted with her hands on her hips. "Rin, you riding with us?"
I looked between her and Len. "My bags are already in Len's car. Might as well go with him."
She shrugged. "You're missing a party." All the girls crawled into the back of her car, giving us a final wave before Miku joined them. "Be good," she warned us before shutting her door.
If only she knew, I thought with a grin.
They drove off, and I lowered myself into the passenger seat. "How long is the drive?" I asked Len once he sat next to me.
"A few hours at least," he answered, pulling his seatbelt on.
I yawned. "I might take a nap, then."
He grinned. "Did I keep you up too late?"
"Shut up," I muttered, smacking him in the shoulder.
He laughed, then put the car in reverse, backing out of the lot.
I must have passed out right away, because, next thing I knew, the sun was much higher in the sky, and snow covered mountains surrounded us.
"Morning," Len joked from behind the wheel.
I rubbed my eyes with the sleeve of my jacket. "How long was I out?"
"Basically the whole drive." He wore another dumb, proud smile.
I glared at him. "Stop it," I said.
"I'm just saying, you were pretty tired."
"Shut up!" I chuckled, taking note of our surroundings. We were on a one-lane, winding road. Walls of rocks surrounded us on either side. It felt like the two walls could smash together at any time with us in between. I felt suddenly claustrophobic. There were no cars behind us, but a familiar one in front of us.
"We caught up with them like an hour ago. And I don't know what they're doing, but the bass in her car is giving me a headache," he informed me.
I could hear it, too. The shaking felt in throughout the entire road only amplified my fear of the cliffs. "Where are we?" I asked, leaning out to see the top of the rocky walls. I couldn't find it without rolling the window down.
"We're here."
Following his gaze out the windshield, I gawked as the cliffs fell away, revealing a huge city built in a bowl-shaped canyon surrounded by mountains. The road wound down to the buildings, almost as tall as those downtown. On the outskirts of the town were homes. Some of the neighborhoods were fence to fence, like the suburbs, some were miles apart. There were farms, horses, cows, and then, barely ten minutes away, billboards, highways, and skyscrapers.
"Holy shit," I gaped.
"Yeah. This place is pretty sick."
"Where's our hotel?"
He laughed. "No hotel this time."
"Huh?"
I swear, that mischievous look never left his face anymore. "Just you wait and see."
We followed the others down the road. Just before we reached the city, we turned left, exiting the highway, and traveling up another small road to the hills. The further we went, the less homes we saw, until we were surrounded by nothing but snowy trees. And still, the road climbed higher. I was almost worried about the amount of snow we had come across. Len's car was not meant to handle even a little bit, and if any of the road was left unpaved, I imagined it would be difficult for us to go any further.
With one last turn, we came upon a giant cabin, and my worries were suddenly the last thing in my mind. The entire building was built with wide wooden logs, but was easily the size of a resort. It couldn't have been more than three floors. To its left was a pool, or, rather, a hot springs, as hinted by the layer of steam covering it. The parking lot in front of it was huge. Most of the cars had parked towards the front. There were many other people who had reached this secret haven. It rested at the top of the hill, and beyond it were the lights of the city. I could only imagine the view at night. The sun was still high in the sky, unfortunately.
"Is this it?" I asked as he pulled into a parking spot at the front next to Miku. I noticed Gaku's car on the other side of Miku's.
"No," he answered, much to my surprise. "Wait here."
"What? Why-"
He didn't have time to answer before closing the door. Miku had been the only one to get out of her car as well. They walked up the sidewalk together, side-by-side, before entering through the large double doors.
I didn't have to wait any more than a minute for them to reappear with Kaito and Gaku. They talked with smiles on their faces, though I couldn't pick out what they were saying, and then filed to their respective cars.
Len was holding a ring of keys.
My eyes widened. "Keys? Not keycards?"
"Just wait," he said. The anticipation was killing me. We drove out of the parking lot, and continued on the road.
As we passed, various side roads branched off to the left and right. After passing a few, Miku turned onto one of them, leaving just us and the guys to keep going. Then, after a few more, the guys turned, too. It was just us.
"Are these, like, those little cottage houses?" I guessed.
"I'm not telling you."
"Why not?" I pouted.
"Because it's a surprise," he insisted. He smirked. "And no one else knows, either, so don't tell them."
"They don't know where our room is?"
"Not our room, Rin. But that."
After driving down the snaking road for almost a half an hour, we had reached the end. The woods were the thickest here, even more so than on the road. Len parked his car on the last stretch of pavement before it turned into a dirt path, leading to the small porch of a cabin. It wasn't like any cabin I had seen before, though. It was shaped like a wide triangle, the roof meeting at the top with a pointed edge. A stone fireplace jutted out of the side. There was a huge pile of firewood next to it.
I laughed. "It's so cute," I teased him.
"Wait until you see inside." He opened the door, heading for the luggage.
The fresh smell of pine trees and frost hit me as I stepped out of the car. I stretched my aching legs as I took the scene in. It was like we had been transported to a winter wonderland. There was no trace that another soul had ever made it this far except for us two, and it gave a sense of privacy that-
Oh, I realized with a laugh. That's why he wanted to come out this far.
"Careful, Len!" I called as I walked up to the cabin. "It's icy."
"I'll take two trips," he promised me, slugging his bag over his shoulder and carrying mine in his arm. He fumbled with his keys in his free hand before holding them out to me. "Can you open the door?"
"Are you sure it isn't a surprise?" I mimicked him.
"Just open it," he retorted.
He was right behind me. There was a single step leading up to the porch, and I carefully passed it, watching Len and preparing to help him as he did the same. When he showed no sign of falling, I slid the key into the lock, and pushed us inside.
The walls of the triangle-house were close together, and the room was thin, but it was beautiful. Just in front of the door was a huge bed adorned with white sheets. A dresser stood at the opposite wall with a small flat screen hanging on the wall above it. Along the same wall was a staircase, positioned a few feet away from the slanting wall, which led up to a small loft. At the other end of the first floor, a fireplace stood. It was outlined in dark rocks, which led down to to-
"Is that a hot tub?" I exclaimed, walking past both the bed and the staircase to see it. Sure enough, the rocks continued down into the floor where a steaming pool of water sat. Crossing the cabin, I saw possibly the best, and most obvious feature, for the first time. The back wall, opposite that we entered through, was completely made of glass. Beyond it was nothing but rolling mountains covered in trees. No signs of life adorned the untamed wilderness, and it was also facing west. The sunset would be glorious.
Len said nothing, just continued to smirk as he threw our bags on the bed.
"And there's only one bed," I stated, looking over my shoulder at him with a grin.
"Oh no," he mocked me. "What are we going to do?" He turned to exit, going back out to the porch for his second trip of bags.
Leaving the magical sight of the window, I made my way up the stairs. The top was a small kitchen, as well as a closed door that led to an even smaller bathroom. The kitchen was no more than a fridge, a counter, and a dining table, and the bathroom was no more than a toilet, but everything was completely neat and pristine and updated with the fanciest appliances and looks. It was small and still probably more expensive than anything I had ever hoped to live in.
The door downstairs opened again. I leaned over the wooden railing. "There's a kitchen up here!" I called down to him.
He laughed at my wonder. "Come on! We're going to town."
I frowned. "Already?"
"Yeah. Everyone is starving and Miku said we're all going to get lunch together."
"Ughhhh," I groaned in response as I made my way down the stairs. By 'lunch,' Miku meant that we'd be spending the rest of the day exploring the town and everything it had to offer. Which would have sounded nice if I had not just discovered the paradise I would be staying in for the next few days.
Nearing the bottom of the stairs, I noticed another feature I had not seen before. On top of the dresser was a black, plastic basket containing two bottles of, what I assumed, were champagne. Realization dawned on me.
"Len," I froze on the steps. "There is a hot tub and free bottles of alcohol in here."
"Yeah?" He looked over his shoulder at me.
"Is this-"
"The Honeymoon Suite?" He grinned. "Maybe." Without another word, he walked out to his car.
The keys were still in my hands. I followed him, all-the-more anxious to return to our room later that night.
I was right. We were in for so much more than just lunch.
It had been hours since we left our cabin, and I found myself strolling down the sidewalks with shopping bags hanging from each arm. Most of them were not mine, but spillover from what Gumi, Miku, and Luka had purchased. Shadows were beginning to appear in the streets as the sun lowered further down in the sky. I had come to the conclusion that I would not get to see the sun set from our cabin today. It was upsetting, but as long as I was with my friends, it was bearable.
"Is that a pet store?!"
"Gumi, no. We cannot fit a dog into the car on the way home," Miku scolded her.
"What about a cat?"
"No!"
"I want to go in just to see them," Luka debated.
"If we go in, we're buying something. So we just shouldn't go in."
"Please?" Gumi flashed her puppy dog eyes at Miku, who was apparently the group Mom for the night.
"No," she answered firmly. "Let's go there! They have hoodies hung up in the windows! I want another one."
The group followed after her.
Finally, everyone sat down for a break on the border of a fountain in the middle of the shopping square. It was freezing by now, but everyone was in high spirits. I, of course, sat down next to Len, who was unable to assist in warming me up in any way other than sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with me.
"Rinny! What'd you get?" Gumi called. Miku, Luka, Len, and I had sat on the edge, while everyone else got comfy on nearby chairs. We formed an awkward circle so we'd be able to keep a conversation with everyone included.
I dug into my bags, finding it difficult to tell what was mine and what wasn't. "I got some jeans, a new jacket, a pair of gloves, a scarf, and a matching hat. I greedily slipped on the last three things, cursing myself for forgetting I had them. They instantly made me feel better.
"I smell hot chocolate," Luka's head perked up. Sure enough, there was a small stand, one of those portable carts, with two people standing behind it, pouring the steaming liquid into cups.
Miku's eyes shot up to Kaito. "Be gentlemen," she joked. "Go get us some." She flickered her stare between the three boys in our group.
"We don't have enough hands to hold eight cups of hot chocolate," Kaito protested.
Miku narrowed her eyes. "You can make it work."
With a groan from Kaito, and a laugh from the girls, him and Gaku turned towards the stand.
"You want one?" Len asked me softly before standing up.
I responded sweetly. "Yes, please."
He nodded in acknowledgement, and jogged after the guys. I watched him with a smile on my face.
"Do you think the blue looks better, or the green?" Miku asked. She had two different colored gloves on her hands, and she held them out in front of her, inspecting them closely.
"I like green," Gumi pointed out.
"Psh." Luka chuckled. "Of course you do."
The boys had made their way to the short line that had formed at the stand. They stood, talking with each other. My eyes were glued to Len's grinning face as he joked with the other two. I felt my heart flutter.
"Rin? Which one do you like?"
"I-I like blue," I answered, only half in the conversation.
"I think so, too."
We were much more recognizable as a group, and, therefore, when we went out in public as a group, we had the tendency to attract more fans looking for autographs and pictures. Not too many had come today, but, now, a group of girls filed in line behind the boys. I frowned once the girls started talking to them. There were four of them, all around our age, all shorter than the guys, and all looking cute in their winter wear. I recognized the high-pitched giggles of fangirls, my mouth suddenly very dry.
They took some pictures, the girls crowding around them one after another, posing and smiling idiotically. One of them, to my unrelenting irritation, seemed especially keen to standing as close to Len as possible. Long, brown hair hung down almost to her waist under her knitted white beanie. She held her hot chocolate with a gloved hand, smiling at him with blindingly white teeth and occasionally brushing her hair behind her ear, over her shoulder, twirling it around her finger.
What are you doing? I asked myself, trying to find the nerve to tear my eyes from the scene. When did this arrangement between the two of you have any strings attached? If he wants to go with some fan, he has every right to. The hope of us going home together disappeared as her expression suddenly changed. Len had just grabbed two lidded cups of hot chocolate as she leaned forward, whispering in his ear.
It took everything in me not to scream. I had nearly forgotten about his... reputation he had formed with his fans. Specifically his female ones.
I pulled at the ends of my sleeves.
"You're staring," I jumped at Miku's voice.
"What?" I answered, panicked.
The other girls had trained their eyes on me. "You're staring," Miku repeated, a small smile tugging at her lips.
I feigned ignorance, dropping my gaze to my gloves. "At what?"
She chuckled. "All I'm going to say is that you're way prettier than that girl."
I smiled sadly. "Whatever," I muttered in response. I didn't look back up as the girls resumed their conversation. My eyes didn't even glance back over at Len. I don't want to see him smile at her, I thought, a combination of sadness and jealousy rising up in me. I don't want to see him walk off with her. I don't want to see him throw my hot chocolate in the trash, once he forgets about me and goes with-
"Here." His gentle voice caught me off guard. I rose my head to find him standing in front of me, with no sign of the girl or her friends. He held out a steaming cup in front of me, which I gingerly grabbed from his hand. "Careful. It's hot." He resumed his seat next to me. I rejoiced in the touch of his shoulder against mine.
"Len's fucking high," Gakupo called as he and Kaito returned, each holding multiple cups in their hands.
Len chuckled, shaking his head. "Whatever."
"No, really. She was so hot. What are you thinking?" Kaito questioned, handing out the drinks.
"What happened?" Luka asked.
"This fine-ass girl just came up to him," the blue-haired boy continued. "And was being all flirty, and he looks her dead in the eye and goes-" He motioned dramatically as he mimicked Len's voice. "'Nah.' How do you just say nah to something like that?"
I kept my eyes on the cup in my lap as Len responded. He shrugged. "Just not interested."
"Who are you?"
It wasn't long after that when we decided it was growing much too cold for our liking. There were traces of sun still in the sky, though it was no longer visible. We retraced our steps, finishing off our hot chocolate as we made our way through the busy city to our parking spots. Len and I were the first to pull out of the parking lot, driving up the road to our cabin.
"Why didn't you go with her?" I immediately regretting asking the question, and cursed myself for not thinking through it first.
He shrugged, just as he did when he was under interrogation from the guys. "I wasn't into it." With a smile, he added, "Bros before hoes."
I laughed. "So I'm a bro?"
"You're definitely not a hoe."
"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
He chuckled. Before too long, we had entered our cabin once more.
My eyes widened at the window. Sure, the sun was hidden behind the mountains in the city, but up here, I was surprised to find it still visible over the mountains. I bounded across the hallway, leaving Len in the dust as I pressed my hands against the cool glass, overlooking the scene. The white mountains were aflame with the bright oranges of the sunset. It was just reaching the jagged horizon. We had caught it, but just barely.
"If we hurry," Len's voice was suddenly right behind me, and he slipped his arms around my waist from behind. "We can watch it from the hot tub." He rested his chin on my shoulder, watching the scene with me.
I grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me," I answered with a low voice.
By the time I emerged from the bathroom, changed into my swimsuit for the tub, Len had already brought in the driest firewood from outside, and had lit the fireplace that stood only a foot away from the water.
"Don't you think it'll be a little too hot?" I asked as I reached the bottom of the stairs. He was in his shorts already.
He looked me up and down as I walked towards him, a habit of his that I had grown used to over the past few weeks. "I don't think so," he replied.
I dipped a toe in the water, recoiling a bit, then lowered my foot onto the first step.
"How is it?" He asked as I waded to one of the seats, sitting down. The water rippled around me.
"Hot," I replied, trying to let my skin adjust to the water. A thermostat, as well as a control panel for the jets, lights, and everything else, sat behind me. It read 104 degrees F.
He followed me in, sitting down next to me and pulling me into his laugh. I giggled as his arms wrapped around me, my back to his chest. The glass wall stood in front of us, the sun halfway obscured by the mountains.
"It's not that bad," he whispered, pulling me closer against him.
The fireplace crackled next to us, and I watched the sunset. I inhaled sharply as his lips lowered to my shoulder, planting kisses along my skin.
"The Honeymoon Suite? Really?" I asked, my voice soft.
He chuckled. With each laugh, his lowered voice vibrated against my back. "Am I a genius, or not?"
"Some married couple is probably super angry they couldn't get their favorite cabin."
He spoke directly in my ear. "Sucks to be them." His hands, which were firmly pressed against my stomach, slowly slid in opposite directions; one up towards my bikini top, the other towards my bottoms. My shoulders tensed once again, before his line of kisses reached my neck, where I was forced to relax them.
"Pretty sunset, huh?" He breathed against my skin.
I chuckled wordlessly as his hands reached their destinations. His right hand slid under my top, gently massaging my chest, while his other had made its way under my bikini bottoms. I couldn't help but flinch slightly once his fingers brushed against the skin between my legs. He pulled my tighter against him, probably to stop me from squirming so much.
I couldn't focus at all on the scene in front of me with Len's teasing. Like always, his movements were slow. Almost painfully slow. My eyes were clamped shut, and my arms grasped at his wrists, following his every movement.
A soft mewl escaped my lips once his left hand began to pull gently at my nipple. A proud grin stretched across my lips as he tensed up. Beneath me, his shorts twitched in response. I couldn't help but giggle at the effect I had on him.
But he quickly shut me up, his pecks on my shoulder turning into long, drawn out kisses. I already had enough hickies to hide from everyone, and, after tonight, I knew I was going to have a few more.
His other hand slowly pushed my thighs apart, before brushing against my entrance. Another audible breath escaped me as he slipped one finger, then two, inside, gently massaging them into me. My hips instinctively grinded into him. His breath hitched at my movements. My ass grinded into his hardening cock.
This only convinced him to speed up. The quicker his fingers moved, the faster and harder I arched my back against him. His breath was as rough as mine now.
With another moan, I felt myself growing closer by the second. I threw my head back against his shoulder. He took advantage of my exposed neck, planting those deep kisses on my stretched skin. His breath came out in uneven huffs against ever spot after his lips left it.
My grip on his wrists tightened. With another shaky breath, I clamped my eyes shut, feeling my release only seconds away.
And then, out of nowhere, all of his movements ceased. He froze underneath me. I groaned in annoyance, feeling the flame die down.
"Rin," he whispered. The sound of his voice would have easily been enough to push me over the edge, had he not completely halted his hands.
"What?" I groaned in response. I picked my head up off of his shoulder, looking out the window once more. Only a single trace of the sun was left. The sky was at its most colorful point of the day. If I wasn't so frustrated, I could have stared at it for hours.
"What did Ia say that had you all flustered?"
What?! "Y-You're still on that?" My voice was shaky. As was the rest of my body.
"Just tell me." As if to torture me more, his fingers resumed their actions, but back at the turtle pace he had began with. He stopped at random intervals, waiting for me to answer.
"Why... why does it matter?" I whimpered. I couldn't think of anything but his hands on me at the moment.
"I want to know." His voice was the low growl I had heard so often recently. It sent more shivers down my back.
"She... she just," I was muttering unable to tell him even if I wanted to. I tried desperately to think of the moment, but found only hazy memories.
"She just...?"
"She asked if it was just sex," I responded. My mind was too muddled to even be embarrassed at what I was about to tell him.
He was silent for a moment. "And what'd you tell her?"
"Th... ah... that it was."
"And?"
"And she wasn't convinced." At this response, his fingers halted once again.
"Why not?"
"She said something about the ball, and something about how our moment was like those in the movies," My words came out quickly, desperate for him to continue. "And then she started talking about the L word-"
"The L word?"
This time it was my turn to freeze. My eyes opened wide in realization of the line I had just crossed. But, thankfully, my answer seemed to please him. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as he pulled me against him once again, his fingers resuming their work in full force.
"What L word?" He whispered into my ear, though we both knew exactly what we were talking about. I didn't want to say it. He wasn't slowing his hands, either, so I didn't.
And then, like there had never been a pause, I threw my head back once more, digging my forehead into his neck as I felt myself release. Only when I had completely melted into his arms did he pull his hands out of my bikini.
And then, while I was still in my haze, he twirled ninety degrees in his lap. The water around us splashed at the sudden movement. It was much easier to rest my cheek against his shoulder now, my eyes closed as I tried to steady my breathing.
His forehead pressed against mine. I opened my eyes to find his low-lidded gaze on me.
"What L word?" He repeated, the growl in his voice gone and replaced by a gentle tone.
My stomach fluttered at his eyes. So close to me, his stare was comforting and intimidating, questioning and knowing, familiar and yet alien. My hands were piled into my lap. I lifted my shaky fingers to his chin, running them along his jawline.
"Love."
I kissed him.