Winter Hearts

The Body and The Heart

After that first night, the boys had spent the next morning sleeping in in their hotel rooms. Their hotel was just off one of several main roads leading to the Parliament house in Syntagma Square. They had been given their own rooms which was a pleasant surprise for Leo. His room had a view of the city gardens, but some of the others could see the Acropolis from their room.

Leo awoke, tangled in his bedsheets and thinking it was Siana in his arms. He rolled onto his back and stared despondently out the window, wondering if she was doing the same. The air was cold, the sheets smelling crisp and empty. He wanted her in his arms, stroking his hair, kissing his lips. He wanted to slumber with his face buried in her hair and his chest against her back. He wanted to hear her laugh turn into a sigh as he stroked her skin. To feel her heat as he sank in to her warm embrace, the moan in her throat as he made love to her.

His reverie was shattered by his phone ringing. He snatched it up off the side table and peered at it malevolently. It was Hakyeon. He lit it ring, silencing it and watching impatiently til it stopped. Then he got a message.

Breakfast ends in half hour. Stop dreaming. Come down.

He sighed and dropped the phone onto the bed, looking back out of the window. He could call Siana, ask her if she was okay. He wanted to hear her ask him if he was okay. But, much as he missed Siana, he didn't want to contact her just yet.

His chat with Hyuk had raised a demon of fear in his heart. For the first time, he doubted that he was offering her anything worthy of her affection. Her love. He felt like he had been foolishly promising her something good, when in fact, all he had done was bring trouble to her doorstep. He understood that, even though he didn't orchestrate the situation they were in, she was in it because of who he was.

It made him annoyed to think that this was the very issue he had warned her about, thinking that she might not know what she was getting into.

It turned out that he barely knew what he was getting into either, and couldn't even protect her for having been caught unawares.

His daydreamy feelings were soured. Not just by the phone interruption, but by his own feelings of helplessness and feeling wronged. He snapped upright and got out of bed, going to the bathroom to wash up.

He sauntered down for breakfast just before it ended, and managed to grab a few things to eat from the spread before they began packing up. Thankfully it was off-season and the only people in the restaurant were travelling business people and executives.

N, Kkomae and Hyuk were already finishing off their breakfast and watched Leo flop onto the banquette at the next table. They looked at each other as he rubbed his face with his hands.

"This afternoon we have a pre-recording for the interview on MAD FM, then we start the Vixx TV recording - that is just for dinner, then tomorrow after lunch we continue at the Acropolis."

"Did you sleep well?" N asked Leo, who looked at him with sullen, still-sleepy eyes.

Leo nodded. After a moment, he mustered up the energy to ask N, "Did you?"

N scrunched up his nose at him. "The room was lonely," he said. Hyuk reached out and patted his arm.

"It's time you slept alone on these trips, Hyung," he said, as if talking to a child. N swatted his hand away.

"Leo-ssi, eat up because we have to leave in a half hour," he said.

"Has everyone else eaten too?" Leo asked incredulously. He didn't believe he was the last one to come down.

"Ravi and Ken went shopping. Hongbin is taking a walk in the gardens."

Leo checked his watch.

"It's just after 11. How much shopping can they do in so little time?"