[The Okinawan experience] Aki x Angel

Chapter 2 - Check-in

Aki's cigarette was lit in record time, despite the suitcases he carried in each hand.

They walked down the narrow street, past beach bars and small restaurants.

"What's the hotel anyway?" Angel yawned, dragging his feet as he walked behind Aki.

"S'called Samsara. The office got the reservations for us, but Makima said it's a nice place." Aki dragged on his cigarette, puffing out smoke.

"Did she?" Angel hummed. "Can't really imagine her ever coming to the beach, to be honest."

Aki tried to imagine it. Makima in a swimsuit, sitting by the beach. The harder he tried to concentrate on the image, the hazier it became.
It just didn't quite fit his perception of her.

"You're right. Anyway, that's the place." He pointed at a fairly nice-looking hotel.
It had a pastel blue facade with rounded balconies, well-tended bushes, and even a damn fountain around the entrance.

Aki was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected a dump, but surely the public safety office had better things to use their budget on than nice hotels?

He didn't exactly know what to think of the gesture.

Angel blinked as they walked inside, his wings fluffing as they were blasted by AC air.

Aki immediately walked up to the receptionist, who offered him a sweet smile."Welcome to Hotel Samsara. How can I help you?"

"We have a reservation for two rooms under Hayakawa." Aki adjusted his grip on the suitcases as he looked around. Even on the inside, the place was high-quality. Nothing luxurious, but definitely respectable.

"Of course, let me just handle that for you." She immediately started typing at her computer, before furrowing her brows. "Uh... I do have a reservation under the name Hayakawa, but it's for just one room."

Aki groaned, rubbing his temple. Of course. Something always had to go wrong.

"Is there a second room we could book?", Angel chimed in. He didn't seem... bothered, by the prospect of sharing a room.

"I'm afraid not. The hotel's completely booked out... it's our only room left. And, I'm afraid you'd have to share a bed." She winced.

Aki almost dropped his still-lit cigarette on the tiled floor. "What?" He was so baffled he couldn't even muster up the energy to get mad.

"I'm sorry, but the person who made the reservations specifically asked for a single room with a double bed." Aki felt his blood pressure rise. This sounded like a stunt Kurose or Tendo would pull. He was going to have to chew them out later.

The receptionist was frantically clicking around on her computer. "But, in two days, a different room will be vacant. If you want, I can book you into that one once it's free?"

Angel looked at Aki. "That okay with you?"

Aki swallowed. There wasn't any real danger to sharing a bed with Angel, at least not right now. But why- why did the idea of it make him so damn nervous?

He sighed in defeat. "That's okay. For now."

The receptionist exhaled in relief, handing him two keys. "I hope you still manage to enjoy your stay- and I'll make sure to get you a perk or two as an apology."

Aki just nodded, before grabbing their suitcases and motioning at Angel to follow him.

They made their way down a tiled hallway, their shoes making an echoing sound on the floor.
Angel was humming as they walked to the elevator at the end of the hallway.

Aki still felt... strange, about the prospect of sharing a room (and bed!) with someone he barely knew.

What little interactions he had had with Angel were brief, and heavy with apprehension from Angel's side. Aki couldn't blame him. He wasn't exactly careful about the body contact thing, at least not as much as he should- and it had made Angel nervous. More than once.

But as they stood in that small elevator, watching the numbers on the screen slowly go up, Aki felt the need to say- something.

"What's that song?" And so he did.

Angel stopped humming, thinking for a moment. "I'm not sure. I heard it on the radio... a while ago."

The melody was familiar. Like something he heard a long time ago- but it was slipping his mind.

The elevator made a small ding sound as they reached the third floor. Angel took the lead, looking at the number of one of the keys that Aki had bequeathed upon him earlier.

"Room 333?" Angel hummed. "Looks like it's pretty much at the end of the hallway."

Aki just nodded, following the small man through the building to the door.

Room 333. Behind this unsuspecting door was the promise of having to share a room with the Angel Devil. He didn't know why this was making him so- weird? He had shared rooms at multiple points in his life, with his brother, with Himeno, and even with Denji, on a night when the alcohol had caught up to him.

But he hasn't been this nervous about it in- god, ever. Was it because he was still scared Angel's touch would kill him? Not really. He had firsthand seen that Negation's powers were active. Angel couldn't kill him.

So, why?

Angel unlocked the door, revealing a pretty spacious living room, with a connected bedroom.

"Oooh... pretty." Angel immediately waltzed inside, toeing off his shoes and dropping Aki's backpack on the floor before opening the door to the balcony.

Aki hesitantly followed inside. It was a pretty room, clean, with modern furniture.

But still, his eyes inevitably fell on the most dreaded (?) aspect of the package.

The king-size bed that he could see through the open bedroom door.