At some point during the night, they both turn around, silently seeking comfort and warmth.
One hand brushes against another and the contact stills the restlessness that they both faced, falling into deep, dreamless slumber. The kind that makes you feel like you rolled around on clouds when you wake up. Impossibly comfortable.
…
The way the sun warms him under the blanket is what makes Kand-Lei stir awake that morning. Throwing off the blanket and curling around the warm object in his hands.
When he groggily opens his eyes, he stares at his hands. There are more fingers than usual. And a different skin tone than he was used to, warmer than his own stark, jade-like appearance. He wrinkled his brow in confusion.
Then he glanced up. Saw the peaceful face of the sleeping Darcy. He hiccuped. Once. Twice.
On the third one he tried to yank his hands away, panicking slightly. His left hand comes free but his right is gripped tighter by the drowsy Darcy. He mutters something incoherent as he pulls it closer to his chest.
Kand-Lei hiccuped again, trying to gently pry away the other's fingers. They were both omegas, so why was Darcy so much stronger?!
Eventually he gave up on that route, staring helplessly at the man in front of him.
It wasn't that he disliked his hand being held, quite the contrary. He liked the warmth, the comforting feeling, more comforting than anything he had experienced before. He was instead worried that Darcy would get the wrong idea, wake up and make judgments before he could explain himself. Even if it was no fault of his own, it could still become twisted until it was.
He pinched his cheek lightly, chasing away memories and the thoughts darkening his mind.
Kand-Lei reached out a tentative hand, lightly shaking Darcy's shoulder. He bit his lip, nervous.
Darcy sighed softly and curled tighter under the covers, his hand tightening instinctively around Kand-Lei's. He mumbled, "Mmm. I'm up. I'll be down in… a minute." He was decidedly not up.
Kand-Lei paused at this response, feeling the merriment bubble and pop inside his chest until it burst out as a delighted chuckle, half stifled by his hand over his mouth.
Darcy was obviously very skilled at not waking up, an expert at brushing off alarms and even denying that he was asleep while asleep.
Kand-Lei took a more bold approach, calling his name in a stern sounding tone, right near his ear.
Darcy opened his eyes suddenly, not awoken by his name, but by the ticklish sensation of breath on his ear.
He stared at Kand-Lei with piercing midnight eyes. The young man looked radiant in the morning sun, a galaxy of colours revealed in his opalescent eyes, traces of laughter clinging to his expression.
"Good morning Kelpie." He mumbled drowsily.
"Good morning Darcy."
A small pause between them.
"You-"
"Can-"
They stopped, giggled slightly.
Darcy nodded, a slight smile dancing on his lips. "You go first."
Kand-Lei, glanced to the side a little nervously, then he propped himself up on an elbow. "Can you… release my hand?" He quickly added, "Please."
Darcy blinked in confusion. Then again. Then he looked down, saw the way he was gripping firmly onto the other's hand. His eyes widened a little in surprise.
He slowly untangled his fingers, almost reluctantly.
Kand-Lei watched, not daring to breathe too loudly, as if afraid to disturb the still, morning air. He had expected Darcy to suddenly pull away, startled, maybe even disgusted. Not this. Not slow, deliberate, and reluctant.
A faint scent of vanilla filled the room as Kand-Lei blushed, not daring to look Darcy in the eyes as he bolted towards the bathroom.
Darcy rubbed his fingers together, feeling the lingering warmth, reliving the memory of having Kand-Lei's hand in his own. He paused. Glanced at the bathroom door, then took a light sniff of the air, smelling the vanilla bread pheromones that lingered.
"Oh. Whoops." He rubbed a hand over his face before staring at the ceiling blankly. "I fell for him." He murmured to no one. "Should really stop doing that."
…
After both were dressed in yesterday's clothes and appropriately hungry they finally made their way out of the hotel. Back into the streets in search of breakfast.
Kand-Lei took a quick moment to inform Darcy that he was a vegetarian. While delivering the news his eyes were fixed on his feet like it was a defect of his character not a lifestyle choice.
Darcy smiled. "I'm vegetarian five days a week." He tapped under the other's chin, guiding his head higher, into a more proud position. "There's nothing wrong with it. And in this day and age there is no shortage of vegetarian options at restaurants." He gestured elegantly towards a cafe, "If Sir approves."
Kand-Lei giggled a little at the over-exaggerated politeness and grandeur. It was a thousand times warmer and more sincere than the distant, frigid respect he was shown in his ex-husband's mansion by the staff.
His eyes clouded over with remembrance, smile faltering slightly as the lightness seeped out of his person. An invisible weight settled on the back of his head, habit forcing him to make eye contact with the ground as he walked forward slowly.
Darcy noticed this, he stepped towards him instantly, sensing that something wasn't right. He could practically see the way vibrancy leaked out of Kand-Lei like a cracked mug.
His hand tightened into a fist behind his back, frustrated at himself for saying something that made him become like this, intentionally or not.
"Kelpie." He called softly.
Kand-Lei immediately looked up upon hearing that.
"You can pick another place if you want. I really don't mind." He smiled softly, reassuringly.
Kand-Lei shook his hand. "No it's fine."
"Then why do you look so sad?" Darcy whispered, hand ghosting over the other's cheek, not touching, but definitely sensing.
"I look…sad?" His eyelashes fluttered a little, startled by Darcy's gesture but not uncomfortable.
"As if the world is against you."
"…isn't it?"
"It doesn't have to be."
This quiet exchange took place half in a little dead-end alleyway, the bitter chill emanating from the depths of the alley was somehow even colder than the winter air around them.
They both shivered.
"…maybe we should continue this somewhere warm?" Darcy suggested, already making plans to go shopping for a few essentials after their meal.
They huddled into the cafe Darcy had pointed out earlier, inhaling the scent of freshly ground beans and warm bread. It was heady, almost overwhelming.
They ate in relative silence, filling their stomachs with warm food and their senses with the warm atmosphere. Some idle chatter did pass between them, but neither was willing to rekindle the gloomy topic them had discussed outside. That could be left for another time.
After breakfast they braved the cold again, vaguely making their way towards a clothing store. Kand-Lei noticed the way the snow piled up, lingering where the shadows had shielded it from the sun's warmth.
Because he was distracted he didn't see the way Darcy tensed beside him. He did, however, realise that something was wrong when he smelt the strange pheromones Darcy was emitting unconsciously. They were not his normal sun ripened tomato scent, this was more like rotting fruit, sharp, unpleasant, a fear smell.