Hibiki drove his black BMW onto a long lane of white gravel, flanked by tall, leafless poplar trees on each side. Further down the hill laid the hotel where they would stay the night, before continuing on to Switzerland. It had the perfectly manicured appearance of a rustic, albeit large, inn. A gently rolling hillscape stretched out behind it, dotted with fruit trees, and grain fields even further beyond – but both were barren in the middle of winter.

The lane ended in a large circle of the same white gravel. As Hibiki parked his car there, and waited for the rest of the entourage to stop, he lifted his hands from the steering wheel and made a cheerful gesture, as if he had achieved a great victory. Beside him Tristan chuckled, and put the book he'd been reading away in the glove box of the car.

"It looks very pretty." Tristan peeked past him at the building and smiled, and he grinned back. Whilst Tristan was still leaning forward, he reached in and placed a hand on his cheek. His skin felt warm and soft – and so did his lips when he gave him a kiss. He'd only gotten sparse moments of closeness whilst they were on the road, and his mind was already coming up with ways to catch up once they were alone. For now though, he made do with a gentle, quick smooch to placate the craving.

As soon as he let go of Tristan, he turned to leave the car, excited by the prospect of being outside and stretching his legs. Once he'd thrown the door open he took in a deep breath of the heavy, damp air, laced with the scent of wet grass from the gardens. It was refreshing compared to the stuffy air inside the car. Behind him Tristan stepped out too, and he watched as he walked up to him.

"Should we grab the luggage?" He asked, glancing back at the trunk of the car where their suitcases were. Hibiki looked back as well, as he had never given that question much thought before: wherever he went there was personnel that would take care of everything, but it made sense that Tristan felt more comfortable doing it himself. So he nodded, and pressed a button on the fob that unlocked the latch.

He had packed a large suitcase and a sports bag, since he hadn't been able to fit all the clothes he wanted in one. First he handed Tristan's small suitcase over to him, and then dove back in to get his own. At that point their entourage had parked beside them. Kazuo stepped out, followed by the bodyguards. Hibiki grinned at them whilst hoisting the sports bag up higher, proud of doing it by himself.

"I will check in for you, so you can bring your luggage up to your room." Kazuo addressed the both of them with a polite nod of his head and a smile, before heading up the decoratively tiled steps that lead to the entrance. 

The interior of the hotel had the same well-kempt, rustic appearance, rife with brickwork, heavy oaken beams and wooden furniture. Potted flowers and quaint paintings brightened up the space some more and added colour. A set of narrow stairs led up past the lobby, whilst a set of open double doors gave a view on the dining room. There were several guests already seated at tables draped in frilly white cloth, and the set-up was completed with a small vase full of wildflowers.

Once Hibiki and Tristan were inside, two porters took over their luggage. Hibiki quickly gave a reassuring smile to Tristan, who was reluctant to hand over his suitcase at first, but caught on soon enough that this was routine. In the meantime, Kazuo had checked them in, and handed over their room key.

The key fit the door at the very end of the upstairs hallway, marked with a brass '1'. Hibiki opened the door, and was greeted by the sight of a sizeable lounge, complete with kitchenette and flatscreen television. Large windows and a balcony gave a view of the landscape, which began to hue blue now the sun had set.

In an attempt to prevent Tristan from overthinking the luxury, Hibiki grabbed his wrist and pulled him along further to check out the bedroom. It was decorated in white and greens, with the same wildflower aesthetic as the rest of the hotel had. Their luggage had been set neatly beside the large double bed. Although he knew that Tristan had his reservations, Hibiki was still excited to share his world with him. So he spread out his arms to show off.

"It's very nice." Tristan responded, as he looked through the room and took it in. A timid smile graced him, and Hibiki grinned back unabashedly.

"I suppose I just have to get used to getting my luggage dragged about."

Without so much as skipping a beat, Hibiki took a step closer and laid his arms around Tristan's shoulders. Glancing up, he smirked and raised his eyebrows suggestively to say that he wouldn't mind a good bit of luggage dragging himself. With glee he watched as a familiar blush spread on Tristan's cheeks, before he stood on the tips of his toes to give him a proper kiss.

Despite the usual timidness, Tristan didn't appear to mind in the slightest when he slowly pressed his lips against his. He slid his hands down to Tristan's waist, gently pushing him back until he hit the edge of the bed. Without hesitation he grabbed Tristan's jumper tighter, and laid him down. Their kiss broke, and he took the opportunity to firmly plant a knee between his legs and take in the sight.

There was something irresistibly powerful in just gazing at him; the way he looked up at him, blushing and winded even from a kiss was pleasing. It made him grin, knowing that all of it was for him – knowing that Tristan knew that too. A part of him was aware of the danger that came with these cravings; that they were crude and unrefined, but he had spent the entire day beside him barely able to communicate, let alone satisfy his need. And the way Tristan looked at him betrayed that he wasn't the only one.

He leant forward over Tristan, resting onto his knees and elbows, whilst both hands grasped his hair. Deep, greedy kisses finally alleviated the build-up of love. Suddenly he felt two hands move around his back, grabbing him. Emboldened he pushed in closer, his lips leaving no empty space, not even for air. Trembling, heavy breaths spilled over him, but he did not let on. Instead his thumbs caressed Tristan's cheeks, whilst keeping him still.

A bit more.

A bit longer…

Until Tristan pushed his hands against his chest to ask for space, and he reluctantly let him go. He sighed and ran his fingers through Tristan's hair, looking at him whilst inhaling deeply to recover some air. For a few moments Tristan was left winded, and it was difficult not to just kiss him again while he wasn't able to resist.

"After dinner…" Tristan had to take a deep breath to finish his thought. "We'll have more time after dinner…"

The words made him grin slyly, as the ideas of what they'd have more time for filled his head. It excited him enough that he nodded to allow the break. As he sat up, he ran his thumb along Tristan's cheek, silently saying that he'd make him keep that promise. It seemed that Tristan fully realised what he'd said too, averting his gaze whilst turning a bright shade of red.

"We still have to unpack and all that too…" He mumbled.

Hibiki glanced over at the suitcase and shrugged, figuring they didn't really have to, not when they would be leaving the next morning. Still he agreed to having food, as he was quite hungry himself. With a smile he moved off of Tristan and stood back on the floor, before pulling him up too with both hands.

He held Tristan close for a moment, while fixing up his hair and making sure he looked presentable again. Tristan smiled softly whilst he did so. With a small peck for good measures, he put everything back more or less the way he'd found it – and then took Tristan's hand to lead him along for dinner.