They are both stunned by this sudden and shocking discovery.
"I have no idea what we're supposed to do now." Kand-Lei whispered, half dazed.
Darcy went to reply but was interrupted by an abrupt yawn.
Kand-Lei snickered. "You're right. Sleep first, philosophical discussions later."
They moved their cozy blanket cuddle pile inside, snuggling up on the warm bed together.
Half asleep already, Darcy mumbled, "My butt went numb from the cold."
Kand-Lei laughed sleepily, "Mine too."
The dawn light filtered through the thin curtains, painting the peaceful scene with soft pinks and yellows, both drifted into a deep slumber. Their breaths even as they curled closer together. Darcy's arms coming to naturally wrap around Kand-Lei, drawing the slightly smaller man against his chest.
...
Soft breaths and gentle warmth remained, even when the two woke up sometime later in the afternoon.
An indistinct groan of reluctance to get up from Darcy as he hugged Kand-Lei tighter was the beginning of their 'morning'.
The afternoon sun had already melted last night's snow and the room was a hazy wash of reds and golds. The heater was working overtime to maintain the cozy ambiance and after the events of the past two days neither party was keen to get up and face the world.
But the world wouldn't wait. A sharp knock sounded on the door, followed by some kind of chatter.
Kand-Lei woke up. Darcy didn't.
Another knock and Kand-Lei rushed to open the door before the people outside got too impatient.
When he looked out he saw that it was the hotel manager and a timid looking staff member who had been knocking on their door.
"Yes?" His voice was slightly raspy from having just woken up, but it was still perfectly polite.
"Ah, hello sir, I'm afraid that your booking has come to an end, we will need you to vacate the room."
Kand-Lei took a moment to process his words. Then he flashed a small, professional smile and turned around. "Darcy! I thought you took care of the room?" He approached the unresponsive lump on the bed, shaking it lightly.
Darcy didn't get up, he just pointed drowsily to where his wallet sat on the bedside table.
Kand-Lei rolled his eyes as he grabbed it off the table, almost dropping it in shock when he saw one of those exclusive cards that the romantic interests in dramas always had. The ones that screamed money and class.
He trotted back to the door.
"Is it possible to continue the booking?" He asked, holding up the wallet.
The manager shook his head, "I'm afraid someone else has booked this room sir."
Kand-Lei bit his thumb, the nail making a clacking noise as he flicked it with his teeth.
Darcy finally got up, lazily meandering over to the door where he rested his head on Kand-Lei's shoulder like it would fall off if he didn't.
"Other rooms?" He drawled, the relaxed confidence of a young master used to things going his way. He had been listening to the entire conversation.
"I'm afraid the only free rooms are the suites sir, the holiday season is notoriously busy after all."
Darcy nodded sleepily, "The nicest suite you have then. Send someone to bring our stuff." He wrapped his arms around Kand-Lei's torso to access the wallet, casually brandishing that exclusive card with a lazy, two-fingered hold. "Put it on here." It would have been a dominating power move, if not for the fact that he yawned on the last word. And that they were still in their pyjamas. And that he was clinging to Kand-Lei like an overfed koala.
The manager, upon seeing the card, sunk into a deep bow, the timid staff member stood to the side, flustered by his actions, unsure whether she should bow as well. In the end she awkwardly reached past the manager to take the card from Darcy's drooping arm. She gave her manager a weird look as he backed away, still bowing, like some kind of ridiculous, broken clock.
She apologised for his behaviour and went back to the front desk to book the suite for them.
Darcy was fully ready to go back to bed the moment she left if not for Kand-Lei stopping him. He was guided and lightly coerced into the shower to get ready for the day.
Kand-Lei sat on the bed, listening to the sounds of the shower absently as he rubbed the mark on his chest. It felt a touch itchy now that he wasn't so close to Darcy anymore. He hoped that it would settle down after a while, because they were not even very far apart! If he had to remain glued to another person for the rest of his life to avoid itchiness, he would probably go mad.
As the shower water shut off, it suddenly hit him.
The rest of my life. Fated…
He glanced over when Darcy came out of the bathroom, wearing the new clothes that suited him perfectly.
A full sleeved, black, turtleneck top that accentuated his long neck and silver hair, black cargo pants concealed the edge of the ribbed top, creating the illusion that his waist was higher than it actually was. A middling grey, cropped tech-wear jacket served as the accent piece of the outfit.
Kand-Lei was in a slight daze as he observed the omega in front of him. Catching all the little details that he had missed before.
Like the way that the fabric flowed along the contours of his arms, showing off the light muscle tone that he had cultivated. And the way that the light reflected off of his hair, sometimes making it seem a bright silver, sometimes a brilliant white, infinitely soft appearing.
When his eyes moved naturally from the hair to the face, Kand-Lei realised that Darcy's features were originally quite soft and delicate, comparatively unlike his own sharp beauty. With peach blossom shaped amber eyes and petal pink lips that were soft and cute he almost wondered how he had thought this man was cool and handsome looking, when clearly the words used to describe him should be pretty, beautiful, and cute.
It was the confident, hard, and determined expressions that usually accompanied his face that made Darcy appear sharper. Kand-Lei marvelled a little at how an expression could change one's entire perception of a person.
Darcy, more awake now after the shower, smirked a little at Kand-Lei's absentminded scrutiny.
"Like what you see?" He asked playfully, each step closer easing the itch in his chest.
Kand-Lei smiled. "Yeah. You're stunning." The compliment rolled surprisingly easily off his tongue, startling even him.
He quickly grabbed his clothes and dashed into the bathroom, calling out, "We'll talk after I shower." In a steady tone that promised calm and lengthy discussion.
As he stepped under the hot torrent of water he thought slowly, maybe he wouldn't dislike fate making choices for him, maybe forever wouldn't be so bad, if he could spend it with a funny and interesting person like Darcy.
As this thought floated through his head he wondered, were those his instincts influencing his thoughts? Or was it all… for want of a better word, rational.
Was there even a difference anymore when it came to Darcy?
He supposed that he had a long time ahead of him to find out.