shindeku//eyes of sage and rosemary

part four; lughnasadh

june 21st

When Izuku had finally closed shop for the day, and dropped off his cat at his apartment, he met Hitoshi in front of the store. The boys had packed their bags for a trip to the mountains--it wasn't an ideal place to stay for a few days, seeing as it snowed constantly up at the summit. Winter had just ended, so why would they want to head up to another place with snow? The bright side was the hotel; Izuku had found a high quality inn with free drinks and wifi, and a hot springs. 

"Do you have everything?" he asked Hitoshi, who was leading Izuku to his car on the end of the street. Hitoshi looked back at Izuku with a little grin and a raised eyebrow. 

"Of course I am, why would we be leaving if I hadn't had everything I needed?" He let out a chuckle before leading the smaller witch to the passenger side of his car. "You can put your bags in the back seat." Hitoshi did just that to his own bags, but Izuku was a little reluctant to do so. 

"I'll hold them. Thank you though." 

"Izuku...you have three bags with you. Are you sure?" 

He nodded and made himself comfortable in the seat, glancing out the window. Hitoshi hopped in behind the wheel and started driving. "So...where are we going again?" 

"Mount Chōkai," he replied, putting the directions into Hitoshi's GPS. The smaller boy gave him a little smile of excitement before leaning against the window and watching Hosu City roll away in what looked like a smeared oil painting. 

It was an eight hour drive from Hosu City to Mount Chōkai, but Izuku didn't seem to mind. Granted, he fell asleep for about an hour or two, but he still adored the drive none the less; Hitoshi had total control of the radio as well--which wasn't a problem with Izuku either. He had started singing along to his music as he drove, even inviting Izuku along to join his musical. 

Besides the times he'd sing along with Hitoshi, Izuku didn't say much--silent even, as he studied the ever changing scenery of the passing cities and forests. It had started to worry Hitoshi, having noticed over the past few months that Izuku was a talkative person who often voiced what he wanted, when he wanted--it was something Hitoshi admired about the shorter male. 

At last, the pair had reached the summit of the mountain, making their way to the dark wood hotel that stood out against the stark white of the snow. Izuku was already wearing a light sweater, one he had put on half way through the car ride--Hitoshi quickly scrambled for his own hoodie, slipping it on before heading out of the car. 

"Holy shit," Izuku hissed as he stepped out into the path of the wind. "Jesus fuck it's freezing." 

"That's a first," Hitoshi mused, a smug grin painting his features as he made his way around to Izuku's side of the vehicle. "I never thought I'd hear you curse at something so trivial." The shorter male rolled his eyes; he did a little dance to stay warm.

The two grabbed their things and proceeded into the hotel, heads ducked down to prevent the biting wind from nipping their faces. 

"I'll go check in." Izuku gave his friend a few dollars. "Can you get me tea?" He asked, giving a little smile. "Cha-" 

"-momile?" Hitoshi set his luggage beside Izuku and winked at him before heading to the cafe in the lobby. As he ordered the tea, he watched the smaller witch check in--he couldn't help but feel himself start to smile, eyes crinkling as he did so. 

He returned to the front desk with Izuku's tea in hand, and the two made their way to their room--a pristine seventh floor suite completed with two beds, a full bathroom, a TV, kitchenette, and two closets. There was enough space in the room to even fit a third bed comfortably. A large window rested in the center of the back wall, which looked out upon the snow-capped peaks of lush green mountains. The beds were relatively close together, with a night stand separating the two.  The hot springs were in the back of the hotel, which happened to be below their room--a steady dissipating pillar of steam rose up near their window.