It had to be a few minutes, and frankly if it had been any longer he could've fallen asleep like that, before Hibiki gently poked him to get his attention. He opened his eyes and sat up, as they were one car removed from the toll booth. Since they had a British vehicle, the window was on his side. On their journey through France, he'd gotten pretty skilled in handling the payments.
As the car before them finished their payment, he took the ticket and a twenty euro note out of the glove box. Whilst he did so, Hibiki drove the car up and lowered the electronic window for him. With a bit of fiddling and reaching over, he put the ticket in and then managed to wiggle the note into the machine. The change clattered into the little basket below, and he rapidly fished it out.
"We should have enough for a spot of dinner." Tristan said as he tossed the change into the cup with everything else they'd gathered.
"Want me to count it out?"
Hibiki nodded and smiled, curiously glancing down at the cup as well.
"When my dad used to take me on holidays, well, me and my mom, we always used the change from the toll for something. My dad made me count it out in the backseat, and then I'd tell him how much we got so we could have snacks, or sometimes dinner if it was a long journey." He reminisced as he took the cup, and carefully turned it out in his lap. Hibiki slowly ran a hand through his hair and grinned at him. He smiled back, happy to do something dear to him with Hibiki – especially because he was a little worried it made him seem overly frugal.
Whilst he counted the coins, Hibiki tapped the built-in display of the car to make a video call. From his peripheral, he saw Kazuo appear, who was driving the car behind them.
"Good evening." Kazuo said with a polite nod of his head, as much as driving allowed him to do safely. "We have made it through the toll booth too, and caught up to you."
Curiously, Tristan glanced back, and saw the familiar black car behind them in the tunnel.
"We were actually thinking about having dinner soon." He responded, so Hibiki could focus on driving. "Something quick, like a drive through."
He saw Hibiki perk up at the mention of drive through, as if it somehow excited him.
"If you like, we can find you a restaurant on the way to rest at." Kazuo said, clearly somewhat confused as to why they would have dinner like that, but never outwardly saying it. Before he could even ask, Hibiki shook his head adamantly.
"I think this should be alright, we don't have the money to afford anything fancy." He glanced up at Hibiki, who had to stifle a chuckle at seeing Kazuo get even more confused about that.
"Did you not bring enough cash,- but your card should still work? Do I have to call the bank for you? You can use mine for now." Kazuo's string of questions got increasingly more bewildered, causing his polite demeanour to break since not having money clearly wasn't an issue he ever encountered.
Hibiki shook his head, unable to keep a straight face during. Meanwhile Tristan held up the cup of spare coins and rattled it.
"We want to use the change we got from the toll. It's not enough for a restaurant, but we can get some burgers and fries."
Kazuo's expression settled into a slight smile, which he couldn't tell was genuine or masking some frustration at getting pranked like that. Either way it caused Hibiki to grin devilishly and nod, before waving goodbye.
"Alright, very well." Kazuo conceded. He smiled back and waved too, before Hibiki hung up.
Instantly he was rewarded with a firm tussle of his hair, and he smiled proudly in response.
"I think I broke him." Tristan said, causing Hibiki to nod wildly in agreement. They shared a glance again, before both burst out into giggles.
"We actually do have quite a bit though." Tristan continued once the laughter had settled and he counted a bit more. "We have thirty five euros and forty cents. Enough for a decent amount of burgers."
Hibiki glanced at the cup, and nodded enthusiastically.
"Have you ever been through a drive-through?" Tristan asked, as he remembered he had never been in a fast food chain before his birthday. Hibiki shook his head and confirmed what he already suspected, but then thought a little longer and made a wavering gesture.
Tristan shook his head slightly confused, as he wasn't sure what that implied. He watched as Hibiki made a walking gesture, and then pointed towards himself.
"Someone brought it to you? But you never actually went yourself?"
Hibiki nodded again.
"Well, you want burgers right?"
Once more Hibiki nodded.
"Then I'll order a lot of burgers for you." Tristan said with a smile, as Hibiki grinned and excitedly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as if celebrating.
A little while later, Tristan held a big paper bag full of food on his lap, whilst Hibiki navigated them back onto the main route. Behind them the bodyguards followed, and they didn't seem nearly half as intimidating when he could see one of them sip on a soft drink.
Putting the car back into cruise, Hibiki gestured with one hand for a burger. Tristan happily obliged, digging into the bag. Although their funds had seemed quite a bit at first, having to use euros in Switzerland meant they didn't have the massive amount of unhealthy loot he'd expected. He grabbed one of the burgers and handed it over.
Hibiki happily took big bites, as if it was one of the best things he'd ever had. Tristan grinned and took a burger for himself as well, leaning back and enjoying everything about it – especially the good memories being made.
"Do you like it?" He asked with a glance towards Hibiki, before taking a bite. The latter immediately nodded whilst stuffing the last of the burger into his mouth. The enthusiasm of it all made him smile, and when Hibiki smiled back with his cheeks full of food and barely able to close his mouth he nearly choked on his own bite. He averted his eyes and shook his head, unwilling to look at Hibiki until he'd swallowed.
Hibiki did the same, and then promptly poked his side to tease him. He jolted and tried to pull away, but the seatbelt prevented him from doing so. Instead Hibiki went in for a tickle, and he simultaneously tried not to drop the bag of food and stop him.
"No,- I'll drop,-" he stammered between laughs, but Hibiki didn't let on. "Stop it." His demands weren't heard, even as he tried to grab Hibiki's wrist. "Please…" he managed to get out between laughter and gasping.
Hibiki's hand pulled away slightly and hovered above his side. He glanced up, and Hibiki gave a rather stern look at him, as much as driving allowed for it.
"Please?" He asked softer, realising what was expected of him. Hibiki grinned and pulled away, and he felt a slight blush rise up to his cheeks. Whilst he recovered, Hibiki went ahead and fished another burger from the bag on his lap.
The town of Saint Moritz sparkled in the distance. Moon-hued snow covered the roofs and mountainscape surrounding it, with tiny golden lights from the windows hinting at warmth and joy inside. An icy blue lake stretched below, calm and serene, with at the furthest end a series of colourful fairy lights and tents that marked a large ice skating rink.
As they drove into the town, shimmering store fronts and inviting hotel entrances belied immense opulence. Designer clothes and winter sport gear were displayed behind large department store windows, whilst further along the side streets there were glimpses of brilliant jewellers, quaint chocolatiers and picturesque restaurants. It was undeniably beautiful, even if only because it was paid to be.
Tristan laid his head on Hibiki's shoulder, and watched the streets pass them by. On some overarching, sociological level the town disturbed him, yet he knew that wasn't the right way to approach it. Rather he figured that money had to go somewhere – and that it wasn't Hibiki's intent to show off or taunt him with it, but to include him. So he pushed aside all his reservations, and committed to indulging in everything they'd share together.
Comments (42)
See all