Partners in Crime
Vaguely based off Finneas' Partners in Crime. Mainly vibes though. There was only one bed trope through and through.
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When Felix pushes open the door to the small hotel lobby, he is dragging along a sizable suitcase and battling his wayward hair that’s been blown in every direction by the horrible wind outside. That is why he misses the giant red flag at first, and makes his way over to the reception desk all cluelessly.
“Excuse me,” he says, calling the receptionist’s attention. He sees the woman’s gaze fix on him as he desperately runs a hand through his hair to wrestle it back into something resembling normalcy. “I booked a room for the night,” he clarifies. “I’m a little bit late due to the bad weather, I apologise.”
The woman’s face does a strange sort of pinchy thing that he thinks must mean whatever the rain and wind did to his hair and face is absolutely horrendous, until she glances to his right uncomfortably, and all thoughts leave him for a good few seconds when he follows her gaze.
Like someone punched him right in the chest, he feels winded and disoriented, the suitcase handle slipping from his fingers and the entire thing smacking into the floor as it is taken hold of by gravity itself. The noise startles him from his temporary daze, and he quickly turns his gaze back to the receptionist.
“Um,” she says, hesitant, apologetic.
“I believe I just booked that room,” Hyunjin says from where he is apparently actually standing beside him, holding up a key that Felix is loathe to even so much as glance at, because it will bring Hyunjin’s face back into his peripheral view.
He keeps his gaze doggedly on the receptionist, who is looking more uncomfortable with the second.
“I booked this room three weeks ago,” he says in what he likes to think is a patient and calm tone of voice. “I am only an hour later than I mentioned I’d be and I’m still well within the arrival time.” He motions vaguely toward the shadow of a man next to him. “I’m sure this man will make do with a different room.”
The receptionist is still looking mightily uncomfortable, but she manages to wrestle herself into someone capable of speaking again, it seems, because she shakes her head lightly. “I’m afraid we’re fully booked for the night,” she says softly, like she’s expecting him to blow up in her face any second now.
With the day he’s been having, he honestly just might.
“We could share,” Hyunjin says from his side. “It’s a two-people room, isn’t it?”
He closes his eyes with a sigh, tries his very best to not pick up his entire suitcase and throw it at Hyunjin’s abhorrent face. “I have someone else coming in tomorrow,” he says instead, opening his eyes again and still looking at the receptionist, who looks like she’d rather be anywhere else than right there. He empathises with her on that, but isn't about to let up.
“That’s alright,” Hyunjin chimes with a smile from beside him - he can hear that damn smile in the other man’s words. “I’ll be leaving again right after getting breakfast in the morning. They won’t even know I was ever here.”
Felix lifts a hand, rubs his fingers over his forehead. He can already feel the headache starting at his temples, the pressure building behind his eyes. He just wants to collapse on his bed and block out the entirety of the world. He doesn’t want to be discussing whether or not he’ll even have a room at all to begin with.
“At least tell me the room has two separate beds,” he says eventually, sighing deeply as he lifts his gaze back up to face the receptionist once more. By the way she promptly looks four times as constipated as she did just before, he doesn’t think he gets to be that lucky.
“It’s a king size,” Hyunjin chimes at his side, jingling the room key like it’s a treasure he just wants to rub in Felix’s face as much as he can. He wonders why the man even thinks it’s fine for him to so much as breathe within his vicinity, let alone talk to him, really. “I’m sure we’ll survive for one night, no?”
He refuses to acknowledge the man’s presence at all, keeping his gaze on the receptionist, who is starting to resemble a scarecrow with how little she’s moving and how uncomfortable she looks, as if she, too, is but a heap of hay stuffed onto a wooden stick and wrapped in tattered fabric.
“I’d like a key to my room then, please,” he says, and goes for a smile. It’s not her fault. Or maybe it is, but it’s too late to fix it now. It’s not her fault that the man she just rented his room to is Hyunjin of all people. If it were a random stranger, he probably wouldn’t even have minded to begin with. “And please list me for breakfast in the morning as well.”
Relieved to have something to do, the woman instantly starts typing away at her computer keyboard, asking for his ID and quickly fixing everything to book him in as a guest. When she gives him his key, he tucks his ID into his pocket and bends down to pick up his suitcase again. Without giving the other man so much as a single look, he thanks the receptionist and walks over to the elevators.
~
"It's been a while," Hyunjin says amicably from where he seems to be unpacking his overnight from his trolley, using that conversational tone Felix knows all too well. He decides to opt for ignoring the attempt at normalcy and simply walks into the bathroom. He's too tired for a shower, and too uncomfortable as well, so he just washes his face, brushes his teeth and runs a comb through his hair. He changes into the pair of sweatpants and the oversized shirt that serve as his pyjamas and then braces himself a moment in front of the mirror, gathering all his things up again and walking back into the main part of the room.
He repacks everything into his suitcase, only hanging his wet clothes up to dry on what he's already dubbed his side of the room, after which he pulls the pillow all the way over to the side of the bed, fluffs up his part of the blanket and then slips between the sheets, pulling the sleeping mask over his eyes in what he assumes is an obvious sign.
Hyunjin is either oblivious or obnoxious as he speaks up again. "I'm making tea, would you like some?"
He's half tempted to yell. The other half wants to somehow wrestle Hyunjin into the hallway without his key and lock him out. Both options sound equally attractive, but both options will also not have him sleeping anytime soon, so he stays right where he is.
"Do you-"
"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep. If you're determined to be a night owl then at least turn your light off and make your tea in the bathroom, would you?"
There's no response, but after some rummaging and the distinct click of a light button, the bathroom door opens and closes, and most of the noise leaves the room. The tension in his neck leaves with it. The tension in his shoulders remains unchanged, however. The knowledge of Hyunjin being just a single badly insulated bathroom door away is terrible and utterly uncomfortable, to the point where he doesn't think he'll be able to sleep the entire night if it keeps up like this.
Every time he so much as dozes off, he startles back awake at the slightest sound, listening for any signs of Hyunjin's presence. When none are forthcoming, he dozes off again and the circle starts all over again.
Eventually he hears the shower turn on, so he temporarily slips off his sleeping mask to look around the room. It's dark, Hyunjin turned the light off and apparently took the water cooker to the bathroom with him. The only light comes in through the window from the outside lamp. The building itself must be much better insulated than the rooms, because all he hears is the gentle pattering of the rain on the windows, and nothing of the heavily blowing wind.
He sighs deeply, getting up to go unearth his earplugs from his toiletry bag, putting them into his ears and then slipping back into the bed. When he's lying down comfortably once more, he pulls his sleeping mask over his eyes, reducing his awareness to nothing.
Within the next ten minutes, he falls asleep.
~
"Hurry up, Hyunjin, we're going to be late!"
Felix is skipping along ahead of him, clearly not here for the slow walk he's doing, if the frustrated frown he keeps looking back with is anything to go by. It's so adorable he starts to smile automatically.
"We still have plenty of time," he says, lifting a hand and reaching it out towards his friend, beckoning him to return and come take it. It works like a charm, of course, Felix will never say no to holding hands, and so it's not long before he's got a hand wrapped around his and Felix tugging him along towards the theatre.
"But we still need to buy our tickets and I want to have good seats. Hurry up already!"
He allows himself to be pulled into a faster walk, and then a little jog, until Felix is pushing open the doors of the movie theatre and they head into the comfortable warmth of the building. He's dragged straight over to the ticketing counter, where Felix orders them two tickets for the movie he wants to see, arranging the best seats and then turning to look expectantly at him when it's done.
He laughs with great amusement, shaking his head as he pulls out his wallet to hand the woman the right amount of bills to pay for their impromptu outing. The exact same situation unfolds in the little store with snacks and drinks as well.
"Be honest, you only asked me along so you could make me pay for everything," he teases when they're walking over to the right movie hall, both carrying a box of caramelised popcorn and a bottled drink.
Felix sputters at him, moving closer to rub their elbows together briefly, as if trying to soothe his displeasure. “I asked you along because I wanted to go out on a date with you,” his friend pouts at him, giving him the best rendition of puppy eyes he’s seen to date.
“Oh, so this is a date?” He counters, and Felix promptly starts laughing.
“Of course! Why do you think you’re paying for everything?”
The cheeky grin is the most beautiful thing in existence, those chocolate eyes shining with mischief and delight are a treat to watch. He breathes out a huff of amusement, and shakes his head lightly.
“In that case…”
He leans in, stopping Felix from continuing to walk by sticking his arm out in front of his friend, and then leaning in to kiss his lips. The utter and complete surprise on the blond haired boy’s face is enough of a reward in itself, so he’s grinning widely as he continues walking. He’s already six steps ahead when Felix suddenly jogs to catch up, and then happily rests his head briefly against his shoulder.
“I got us seats in the back,” Felix says after a moment of quiet, when they’re nearly at the movie hall. “So we can hold hands if you want to.”
He laughs loudly, utterly amused and yet soft for this boy who is so unapologetically in love with him. He can’t say he feels very different, really. Which is why he tucks his soda under his other arm so he can reach out and already start holding Felix’s hand.
“I don’t need seats in the back for that,” he says smartly, which causes Felix’s cheeks and ears to flush an adorable pink, though his friend doesn’t even attempt to pull his hand away again either.
~
When he wakes up the next time, he doesn’t know exactly why. His earplugs are still in, his sleeping mask is still on, the darkness is absolute and the quietness around him total. Then the mattress moves as someone moves around atop it and instantly his adrenaline spikes. Nothing further happens, but he feels even worse now that he knows Hyunjin is behind him but he can’t even <i>hear</i> what the other man is up to.
So, as surreptitiously as he can, he takes out one earplug and then listens to the all-encompassing sound of Hyunjin’s breathing alongside his own.
He’s about to put the earplug back in his ear when there’s another furtive shift behind him.
“Felix?” Hyunjin asks in a whisper, voice only just audible despite their close proximity. He sets his teeth in his lower lip and tries to squeeze his eyes closed as tightly as he can to avoid having to face any of this reality. “I’m sorry,” Hyunjin adds to his whisper.
It’s a ridiculous thing to say. He feels his chest tightening with the urge to yell, or cry, or both. After another silent moment, he hears Hyunjin sigh and shift a little more, possibly settling in for sleep.
“For what?” He asks. He’s whispering as well, because in this darkness it feels more appropriate, but also because at least when he’s whispering his voice can’t crack.
Hyunjin seems to startle at his answer, or tense up, the mattress does a funny little thing. There’s another silence, stretching out endlessly between the both of them.
“Forcing you into this situation,” Hyunjin then gives his answer, followed by an excuse. “I really needed a place to sleep or I wouldn’t have done it.”
He can’t help the way he grits his teeth. “For someone who needed a place to sleep you’re sure not doing much sleeping,” he bites back, words clipped short in his annoyance, or anger, or whatever aggressive attempt at keeping his heart from spilling out of his chest he’s doing right then.
“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin instantly whispers back, but he’s too focused on keeping his breathing level and unaffected to say anything else to that useless apology. It’s silent again for a while, he thinks that might be it and Hyunjin is actually going to sleep, but then the mattress jostles as Hyunjin turns over. “Do you- Can we… talk? It’s too awkward to sleep like this.”
“Take your shit to the bathtub then.”
“Felix, please?”
It’s unfair. It’s absolutely, ridiculously unfair how easily Hyunjin still affects him, how quickly he feels himself giving in just because Hyunjin is no longer whispering and there’s an actual pleading tone to his soft voice. He sighs, deeply, and lifts his hand to take out his second earplug as well, then tugs down the sleeping mask until it hangs around his neck.
After a moment staring at the greyish outline of the blackout curtains in front of the window, he sighs deeply <i>again</i>, places his earplugs on the bedside table and then turns around as well himself, facing the vague and almost invisible outline of Hyunjin’s face.
“Talk then,” he says, dismissively, and flops his head back down on his pillow, staring straight at where he thinks Hyunjin’s eyes are, as if daring him to get uncomfortable now.