Canon: Remove if not applicable.Once the car finally slows to a stop and the music pouring from the radio falls silent, Mu rubs at his stiff neck and looks up at the sky. The sun is high, the car is very hot despite the air-conditioning having been on full blast for over an hour. Just as he is about to turn to Kouen to let him know they are there - he fell asleep about twenty minutes ago - he hears the door to the passenger seat open and sees Kouen get out of the car. “Summer was a bad idea,” he hears him mutter.
Mu gets out of the car, and sees Kouen lean against the car. He looks like he is about to melt. And pretty irritated, too. He is much less fond of heat than Mu is.
“They should have a shower in the room,” he says. He closes his door, wanders around to the back of the car and pops the trunk open to get out their bags. He shuts it again, and continues his path around the car to Kouen’s side. He presses a kiss to Kouen’s sweaty forehead and Kouen wrinkles his nose, the most he can do to show his displeasure in the heat that makes him tired. He isn’t the fondest of sweat either, and doesn’t really like displays of affection when he is covered in it. Mu puts a hand on Kouen’s back and shifts him from the car door so he can close it and lock the car. “Come on, let’s go check in, honey.”
Kouen follows him into the lobby, and it’s blessedly cooler inside the hotel. At least that’s what Kouen seems to think, because he wanders off to one of the couches and sits down in it. From the look of it, he instantly falls asleep, or at least dozes. Mu watches him, fond amusement warming his heart and making him care even less about the high temperature. Then he heads for the concierge desk, pulling his wallet from a pocket and his ID from his wallet.
It doesn’t take long before he realizes that apparently, the Kou Corporation owns the hotel, because the woman behind the marble desk seems to recognize Kouen, and seems even more eager to please than she had been just a few seconds again.
Kouen tends to forget to mention those sort of things. Sometimes he even forgets that his family owns a specific place or or building, though with the amount Mu has realized that they own, he can understand how one might forget about some of them.
“We can upgrade your room, sir, the royal suite is currently unoccupied.” The offer is surely not meant to fluster him, but it does so either way. “Ah, it’s fine, you don’t have to.” He must have sounded uncertain in some way, because she doesn’t seem entirely convinced, and proceeds to suggest other upgrades, as well as the same.
“He said it’s fine,” says a dark voice behind him, and Mu half-turns to find Kouen standing by his shoulder. Kouen seems to have regained some of his strength after that short rest out of the heat, but he is glowering with suppressed irritation. It must be that shower he was promised. “Just give us our room.” He has no patience for these things, particularly when he already is not feeling on top of things.
The woman is the one to fluster this time, seemingly frightened by the look on Kouen’s face, and she hurriedly does as told. Kouen takes the card keys, and heads for the elevator with a sharp turn. Mu, despite the disagreement between him and the concierge, thanks her for her help and hurries after him with their bags. “En,” he peers down at him when they stop in front of the furthest elevator. Kouen presses the call button, and glances up to meet his gaze. “It would have been fine.” Kouen turns his gaze back to the elevator door. “Yes, but it was taking a long time.” Mu hums, honestly not surprised that Kouen think so. The elevator dings to alert its presence, and they steps inside. Kouen presses the floor button, Mu puts down the bags in his hands. The door closes, Kouen leans against Mu, and he stares at the panel above the door, probably counting down the numbers until they will reach their floor.
“I hate when people try to suck up,” Kouen mutters. Mu moves a hand to his waist, and presses a kiss to his hair. “I know.” Kouen huffs. His gaze doesn’t move from the rising numbers. They stay in silence as the numbers climb toward their floor, until it finally stops nearly on the top floor and Kouen peels himself from Mu’s side. “By the way,” Mu carries their bags out into the empty corridor and trails after Kouen, who seems to know where they are going. “you didn’t mention that this was one of your hotels.”
“I forgot to mention it,” Kouen replies. Mu nods, even though Kouen can’t see it. “I did think there was a possibility of that. Isn’t it rare for any of your suites to not be rented out?” Kouen turns a corner. “Father had booked it, but he became unable to come,” he explains.
“Oh…” He knows that Kouen’s father was supposed to go to the meetings Kouen suddenly ended up becoming in charge of, when he originally had been supposed to only attend. But he had not known that he was supposed to stay at the same hotel as them. Maybe that was part of why Kouen had convinced him to come with him. “I’m not sad that your father couldn’t make it.”
Kouen stops, and for a moment Mu almost thinks he was going to turn to him and give him one of his Looks, even though he knows that Kouen won’t blame him for that opinion. But he just sticks the card key in a lock, and pulls open the door. “So am I. He would just spoil Vegas.” He steps aside, holding the door open to let Mu in before he follows him and closes the door. He double-checks to make sure that it is locked, before putting one of the keys in his wallet and taking Mu’s wallet to put the other card key in there. He hands it back to him once he is done. “I’m taking a shower.”
“Would you like me to join you?” Mu asks, and Kouen shakes his head. He pulls his bag up on the foot of the bed, opens it, and picks out a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts and underwear from it. “No,” he heads for the door that has to lead to the bathroom. “not now. But definitely later tonight.” Mu smiles brightly at his back. “That sounds promising,” he says, and Kouen simply grunts and waves his free hand at him half-dismissively.
While Kouen showers, Mu unpacks their bags, and looks around the room. He finds a big balcony outside the windows. It’s nice and clean, and though it’s an expensive room, it’s not gaudy like some hotels he’s stayed at since his marriage to Kouen. The carpet in the bedroom area is dark blue and white, and the back wall at the bed’s headboard and decorative pillows matches it.
He makes his way out onto the balcony, which overlooks the impressive fountain in front of the hotel. He can see Las Vegas stretch out below, and he leans against the rail. He has not been to this town since he and Kouen got married. He looks at the ring on his finger, rests his elbow against the rail and presses his lips to the gold band that he hates taking off and loves looking at when he can’t look at Kouen.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking ‘ah, it’s already been seventeen years~’ like a romantic sap.”
Looking over his shoulder, Mu grins and he turns, back toward the view. “I am a romantic sap, so of course I am.” He moves over to sit on a sun chair, able to ignore the heat of its fabric. Kouen pads after him on bare feet, hands on the towel he’s using to dry his hair. Mu reaches out and pulls Kouen into his lap, and he presses a kiss to his cheek. “Are you feeling better, En?”
Kouen sighs, and he nods. “I am. Do this for me.” Mu hums happily, and this time he kisses Kouen on the mouth. “Will do.” He frees Kouen from the task of drying his hair, which reaches halfway down his back these days. “I heard that the Bellagio’s gardens are supposed to be gorgeous. Would you like to have a look once it cools down?”
“I have been before.” Kouen turns around, so he can look at Mu without having to look over his shoulder, and he settles comfortably in Mu’s lap. “But,” Kouen closes his eyes, and he leans into the touch of towel and hands. “I’m sure it would be worth going again if I can see it with you.”
Mu lets the towel slip down against the back of Kouen’s neck, and pulls him in for another kiss. “Anything is a dozen times more worth doing when I do it with you.” Kouen says nothing, only buries a hand in Mu’s unruly hair, and returns the kiss. Once he pulls away, he turns in Mu’s lap, and leans against his chest. “I’m taking a nap, don’t wake me up if you move me, unless it’s cool enough to actually do things.” Mu chuckles, and murmurs an acknowledgment. He will carry him indoors soon, but first he wants to enjoy this position for just a little while.