The sun beat down hard on the hood of the cramped convertible, and the man trapped inside felt a sudden urge to open the panel on the top of the car just to let it all in.

"Hey Safu...can you feel that? Something out here is...different." Shion murmured thoughtfully, fingers drumming impatiently against the steering wheel. Without pausing for a proper response he reached up and flicked the switches to open up the stuffy vehicle-nearly braining himself as he rolled the windows down so he could embrace the fresh air.

The couple was driving on a scenic path through the mountains; the landscape just outside their car rolling deceivingly lazily in comparison to the speed they were steadily gaining.

"Ah! Shion! Hey, Shion!" Safu's cry attempted to break through the new found barrier of wind, swatting her boyfriend's arm chastely. "Shion, roll all the windows back up! What do you think you're doing? The AC is on!"

"Hm?" There was no panic on the boy's face, though a hint of amusement seemed to tug at his lips. "Oh. We don't need that, not when we've been blessed with the chance to take in some of the freshest air offered in years."

"The car already filters the air for us!" She snapped, arms folding defiantly across her chest as the wild gushes played with her dark brown locks. "We don't need windows for that!"

"Don't say that...you're practically robbing yourself of the experience."

"And what experience is that, pray tell?"

"Well..." The albino rubbed the back of his head a bit awkwardly with a free hand. "...We are approximately 7,000 feet up into the mountainside hundreds of miles away from the busy street we live on...come on babe, just take a look at these sights!"

Shion's attention was pulled away from his girlfriend, and nearly the entire road itself as hazel eyes zoned out into the tall pines surrounding them. Oh, here it was! The soft twitting of birds perched on branches, the steady trickling of the streams, and even the distant cry of a falcon! These are just some of the things the young man loved so much about nature, about just being far enough away from the city that made even the biggest stars shine brighter, clearer... Being submersed in the forest would give him time to clear his cluttered mind that was boggled down with heavy thoughts, and provide enlightenment to the ones that had been tucked away for later.

"...it's absolutely gorgeous up here...don't you think so?" With a soft sigh of content he let his attentiveness return to the girl on the passenger side, and the path they were venturing together.

"I can just Google the sights later." Safu huffed, picking up her cell phone and tapping at a bright touch screen with manicured nails. "Honestly Shion...shoot! I don't even have any service out here!"

In response to her distress, Shion attempted to offer a comforting hand. "Baby...I'm all the 'service' you need. Don't you remember; we're going on this road trip for our 'Post-Graduation Celebratory Romantic Weekend Alone'?"

"...I remember." He still received a cross glare as the woman's cellular fell to her lap.

"Good. Then we should start acting like the happy couple that we've been since high school..." The man's hand sought his lovers, but to no avail. "...Safu, you know that I love you, that's why we've come so far..."

"Not that far." The brunette's voice dripped with dissatisfaction, not even bothering to look at him this time. "Seven years Shion...no more than sparse kisses between the days."

The heavy silence that followed her words bore down like lead against Shion's heart, and with a defeated sigh his hand retreated, and he attempted to busy it with the radio stations' loose dial. All he could seem to find was static; all he needed was a song to fill in the empty space between them where 'normal conversation' had all failed. "Shoot..."

"...I warned you that the reception here was awful." Safu attempted after a little while, her voice soft and apologetic for taking the scuffle too far. "...here, I'll look for something decent, you just pay attention to your driving." She nudged his hand away gently, relaxing when her boyfriend offered a small smile.

"...maybe you're right." Shion caved a bit; something about her personality always made him do so."...I don't think there's anything out here that has a strong enough signal to really give us-hey!" In that instant the man seemed to brighten up completely, and he was back battling his lover to turn the dial back a few stations. "That way...you have to go back! Can't you hear it?"

"Hear what?" An eyebrow cocked in confusion.

The volume was turned up high, the uncomfortable screech of mixed signals nearly drowning out the song that the white haired boy was starting to sway back and forth to. " 'I fell so fast, I can't hold myself back! High heels, red dress-all by yourself, I gotta catch my breath~!' " He sang loudly as his girlfriend shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Shion, what on God's earth are you doing?" She demanded, a bit perplexed at his actions. It wasn't as if he wasn't tone deaf...but even if he could sing well Safu would be just as lost.

" 'I'm slippin' into the lava~ just tryin' to keep from goin' under~' " he started to bang his hands on the steering wheel to the beat, snow white locks cascading over his features as he whipped his head from side to side.

"Shion! What are you doing?!" She tried desperately to shout to him above the noise.

"Huh? I'm singing our song, that's all! 'Baby, who turned the temperature hotter? Because I'm burning up, BURNING UP for you baby~' " Shion sang-more than just a bit off key as he pointed to his right with an almost infectious smile.

"Our song?"

"Sophomore year..." He reached over, finally turning down the static enough so a normal conversation could be held. "...when we first got together in High School at the winter formal, after I asked you out this was the first song that we danced to." If it was possible that his grin could get any brighter, it did just then. "To be honest I wasn't really into that boy band you listened to so much all those years ago...but I liked the way you held me when you would sing those lyrics."

"...oh Shion..." for the moment the only thing that registered on the woman's face was shock. "...baby...?"

"Yeah Safu?" Pride swelled the young man's chest as he glanced over at his girlfriend.

"...you're such a dork!" The station was flicked away, what was left of the faded music completely gone. "Honestly...storing that for over seven years...who does that?" She took back her control, searching for music that she could fawn over just as much as Shion just had.

"Well...someone who loves their girlfriend very much? I remembered it because it was a special moment, the start of our relationship!" He scoffed, laughing awkwardly after the rejected display.

"...I'll hand you half a point for that but come on now Shion...it's so trivial. Ah! Now here's music that we can really jam to!" Finally a clear station was found, and the woman started to dance in her seat to the beat.

"...what is this then?"

" 'Dirty Laundry' by Bittersweet." She smirked, "Now, this is music."

Recognizing the semi-familiar tune, the younger turned a shade of light pink. "N-No! Turn it off, Safu this is far too vulgar!" The young man squeaked, flushing with embarrassment.

"Vulgar? But why?" Safu's face feigned innocence. "You can't deem something as vulgar just because it makes reference to sex-you haven't even lost your virginity yet!"

"N-Neither have you! We've been together seven years, and we haven't even touched each other like that!" In his humiliation, Shion was quick to shoot back, hardly taking any notice in the brunette's paused reply.

"...Oh. Right, you're right. I have no room to talk either."

"...Safu, are you alright?"

"...Huh? Oh! Yes, yes, I'm fine...Hey, where are we going, anyway?" Avoiding his gaze she decided to make an attempt to stare out the window. "...I hope your plan for romance doesn't involves us pitching a tent and sleeping somewhere out there for the next week and a half."

"We're almost there..." He assured lightly, "...and no, it isn't anywhere where you'll be sleeping in the dust." Though there was an unspoken unsettlement wedged between them, Shion couldn't help but smile as their destination started to roll into their view. "Where we are going is..."

"Shion, you don't mean?!" Anticipation broke out of her amber gaze. "We're actually going-!"

"Yes dear, we're headed to-"

Elurias' Cove was the sixth and final resort funded by the Numbers Corporation. The hotel chain began as a small business venture that sought to model its chain to mimic the Seven Wonders of the World. This new hotel, nicknamed 'Number Six', decidedly became the last installment to the set.

"Wow Shion…how did you manage to afford this?" Shock was in her voice, something that came as music to the white hair's ears after the awful small talk they both had awkwardly mustered.

"Well…you can just thank Mom for this; she's the one who helped us get here. I told her that it was a special occasion and she made a few phone calls…in the end, she got us booked for a reasonable amount." The young man smiled gently, happy that he had at least managed one small feat for the day. "Several years ago when the chain started she was on the drafting team, someone who works at this particular hotel remembered that, so we got the discount on her good word. Who would have known that something like a job she had over a decade ago would ever actually come in handy again?"

"Beats me…" She sighed lightly with an incredulous look on her face. "Wow Shion, this is just…I'll definitely be thanking Karan for this later."

The hotel stood tall and proud above the couple as they entered the building, and it didn't take long for the duo to get checked in. The interior design was inspired by hexagon patterns, and vaguely reminded Shion of a hive. Well…all the workers here seemed to certainly be as busy as bees. A bellboy helped them move their luggage up the floors that separated their room from the lobby, and showed them to their suite when they made it up the past the fifth floor.

Despite what Karan had led her son to believe, the room they had received really was luxurious. The higher up you were in the building the better the suites got, and Shion had stopped counting the floors they had passed in the elevator somewhere after five.

There was a spacious living area in the front room with a couch and loveseat; conjoined in the far corner was a small fully-stocked kitchen and enough meal passes to last them their stay. Next to the coat rack against the wall was a door that led to a moderately sized bedroom, decorated with a seascape scene to contrast the fantastic view of the forest just below them out the window.

'Just one bed…' Shion grimaced to himself as he set his duffel inside the closet, starting to shift nervously on the balls of his feet.

"Aw, look at the set up in here~" Safu sang, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's torso as she buried her face into his back. "To think that we're really here for romance…last week the thought seemed impossible, and yet here we are now. I think this will be our first time spending the night with each other where we'll actually get to stay in the same room, how does that make you feel?"

The older froze up as fingers traced light patterns into his sides, swallowing hard when the thought occurred to him that he couldn't simply just go to bed on the couch… "W-Well…I think it will be nice."

"As do I." She purred gently in his ear, head resting against his shoulder.

The young man felt an uncomfortable shiver travel up his spine at the feel of warm breath against his ear, and he really wasn't sure how to respond. A few moments of awkward silence later, and Shion cleared his throat in order to make his reply as Safu started to sway them gently from side to side. "Maybe…we could go look around for a bit? See what there is to do around here so we can make a plan for the rest of our vacation?" His voice was nervous, a bit strained for approval.

A heavy sigh cut through his hopes to keep the peace, and the brunette pulled frigidly away from him with folded arms. "…Fine, whatever. You lead the way."

Even with their hands intertwined Shion could read the tension between them. It really seemed to show whenever he tried to strike up a conversation, ask her opinion…or really get any verbal response from his girlfriend. All she seemed intent on doing was staring out the window, and if the circumstances were different, he would have been happy to join. With a soft sigh and heavy shoulders he turned in the direction she was currently facing, attempting to trace her gaze to whatever she was locked on. There was no definite object he could determine, she just seemed generally spaced out. Outside, past the barrier of glass, was a small patio where other guests were sitting and laughing merrily at some pleasant conversation, and beyond them was a public pool with a protective gate surrounding it.

"…would you like to go for a swim?" He offered softly, resting a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"…you can't stay out there long in the sunlight, you'll burn." Though her tone was passive aggressive, there was still concern for her partner evident in her voice.

"I'll stay just fine." Shion promised, "I'll just cover up a bit more, and put on a pair of contacts to hide the color of my eyes..." One less thing to get stared at for, though until he dyed his hair brown there really was nothing that could help. "I'll just watch you tan or relax in the water from one of the tables under the shade. There are a few pamphlets here, I can even bring those down and read about local attractions while you have some fun…really, I won't mind."

Safu seemed to relax a bit at the albino's attempt to smooth things over, and held his hand with a bit more reassurance. "...fine."

There was a good amount of people down by the water, but it wasn't necessarily crowded per se. The area was large enough to accommodate space for each of the parties, varying anywhere from people tanning by themselves to small families playing with their young children in the shallow ends.

"Wow…there are a lot of people here for a Friday." Shion smiled gently, tucking their belongings under a chair. "I guess it must be a popular time to start vacationing. Then again, the summer here is just around the corner." He thought to himself, getting ready to settle down comfortably with his reading materials.

"Shion~" Safu called out, getting his attention from the edge of the pool where the woman was currently sitting with her legs gently kicking the cool water. "Why don't you at least touch the water before you huddle up in the shade? Maybe if this thing stays warm tonight we can come back so you can swim." She leaned backwards, tilting her head in his direction.

"Well…maybe, I suppose we could try." The albino stepped out from underneath the umbrella, crossing over without looking to see if anyone else was in the way.

There was a low grumbling as the back gate creaked open from the far corner of the pool.

Workers weren't supposed to cut through guest flagged areas when moving from Point A to Point B, but if he really was going to be harassed so much about his timing between his various jobs around the resort then Nezumi decided he could afford to cut a few corners every now and again.

His arms were full of tools as he walked forward, view practically obscured by the load he was carrying. It didn't matter much anyway, with this route all he had to do was walk in a straight line from the employees exit over to the guest entrance; in the parking lot just a walkway off to the side his beaten truck was awaiting with the space he needed to just abandon all this junk.

Not able to see clearly in front of him wasn't an issue that had been currently passing through his mind, so when a young guest popped up from his blindside the man did not have enough reaction time to swerve away.

Nezumi felt his weight shift forward and stumbled into the guest with enough force to push Shion over, the duo tumbling over with a cascade of tools scattering around them and clanging against the wet tile. Before his face hit the ground the dark haired reached out to catch himself, but his hand ended up pressing against skin and the body closer to the water easily gave way. In that moment pained groans, the clang of metal, and the sound of water splashing all combined at once; Nezumi and Shion slammed onto the hard surface, Safu into the pool.

"Ugh…what's the big idea-" The raven haired groaned as he sat up, looking over to get an idea of the collateral damage. Immediately the snow white hair caught his attention, and he was interested in the unusual looks of this guest. "…are you alright?"

"I-I am." A hand covered the left half of his face, making Nezumi grimace at the possible liability and pay cut on his hands. "…are you…?" The white haired boy seemed to be taken back by the sharp look in the quicksilver gaze, something about it making him shift uncomfortably.

"Don't worry about me." It was almost a snap rather a reply. "…and your head?" He mused, making a hand motion as if to ask, 'What are you doing?'

"Fine, I just…I just lost my contact, that's all!" The younger looked down and started to look for the missing piece, all while trying to hide the exposed amethyst colored eye. "Oh, Safu!" The young man gasped as the woman resurfaced from the water, coughing and arms flailing until she managed to reach the edge again.

The employee looked over the albino when he turned his attention away, noticing the heterochromic gaze as it focused in on the water. One amber and the other a soft violet…almost like a soft lilac. What had he said about losing a contact? Surely it wasn't for sight then…realizing that he had been staring, Nezumi shook his head and put his attention on the woman in the water.

"Here." The man reached out, offering his assistance.

"I don't need assistance from the likes of you!" the brunette spat rudely, "What's the big idea, anyway?!"

There was a heavy sigh as Nezumi reached down anyway and pulled the woman up by her forearms. So this was another one of those guests. How typical, a spoiled brat just like every other guest here. Even still…he knew what he had to do.

"My deepest apologies young mistress, I was simply on my way out when this happened and had no intentions of ruining your lovely afternoon." There was a hint of mocking in his tone, and all Shion could focus on was the amount of grace he had as the tall man bowed to his girlfriend.

"Are you even allowed in here? The sign outside says guests only. Who authorized your presence in here?!" Safu snapped, intent on taking out all her pent up frustrations on this poor stranger.

"Hey now…" Shion reached out to touch her arm. "No need to get fussy, there was no harm done…"

"You know, she's right." Nezumi gave a careless shrug at the accusations. "I'm not allowed to be in here, but here I stand before you now. I broke a rule and can be reprimanded for it harshly, but there is no need to do something so drastic. How about if I make it up to you both? A round of drinks down by the lounge tonight, my treat?" His eyes seemed to be focused on the younger man, rather than the woman he was supposed to be convincing.

"We will do no such thing!" She snapped. "How dare you try and buy your way out the situation!"

"Come on now, I assure you that there's nothing you can fall into inside the bar." Nezumi prodded her with false sympathy and a coy smile, almost eager to harass the spoiled child again.

At the comment Safu stiffened, giving the raven haired a hard stare before storming past Shion with a towel. "I'm not going to go anywhere with the likes of you! Shion, I'm going back to our room." The woman fled the scene quickly, leaving the two men standing awkwardly together.

"…I'm really sorry about that…" Shion smiled apologetically, "She really isn't like this all of the time, the traveling stress must have finally gotten to her. I uh…I-I better go after her, she seems rather steamed." The mixed eyes quickly looked away when he realized that the warm grey had focused directly on him.

"And what about you?"

The youngest glanced back as the worker called upon his attention again. "…me?"

"Are you willing to accept my apology and make amends?" The worker unfolded his crossed arms, bending over to recollect all that he had tried to carry before the fall. "I promise not to go 'attack' your pretty girlfriend again."

"Ah….I don't think that's wise." The white haired ran a few fingers through his feathery locks, shifting a bit uncomfortably, "It really isn't necessary, an accident is an accident. I'll just go back and comfort Safu and we can all forget that this ever happened."

"Nonsense. Come now, with a woman like that attached to your hip you're telling me that you don't need a drink or two?"

"I'm really not comfortable with the offer, and she really isn't that bad-"

"If you refuse, my manager may dock my pay." Nezumi lied smoothly, "You see, the manager here, , encourages that we keep up with customer service…if he sees you go off without taking my offer to make amends, he won't be very happy with me."

Baited with the guilt of another man's pay on his shoulders Shion gave this stranger a reluctant, "Alright."

"Excellent. Does ten o'clock work for you?"

"Ten…?" Wasn't that rather late? Well, Shion wasn't exactly experienced with drinking…even though he was well over the age-limit. By that time he should be able to coax Safu into calming down and they would have had a nice dinner to smooth the evening over. "I um…sure, I guess that works for me. I'll see you then, alright?"

"Ten o'clock then, your majesty." Nezumi confirmed with a small smirk, causing butterflies to flutter in Shion's stomach.

The younger hurried away before the feeling intensified, his mind racing and heart pounding a bit faster as he moved fluidly through the lobby and decidedly up the flights of stairs. Things were flashing by, and all he could see as he moved towards his suite was the reflection in his mind of that coy smirk and sharp quicksilver eyes.

'Looking into his gaze was like looking into a storm…' he decided softly, '…like staring into a typhoon face first, and you don't know whether to run or embrace its presence…' And that odd almost pet name he called after him as he left…what about that made his blood pressure rise?

"Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into?" He whispered softly to himself, swallowing nervously as he went inside his room.

A/N: Hey guys~ this is my first real attempt to write a FF on my own, I'm a bit of a n00b when it comes to writing stories with chapters so please be gentle x'D

I'd like to thank my betas YourFlawedDesign and Vivacia18 for going through this and making all the preparations/edits so this chapter could be put here tonight! I don't think this would have ever been posted without your guys' help!

The next chapter is currently being written, but please show your support of this fanfic by leaving a review if you'd like to see it continue! Nice comments help my muse, and will help boost my writing confidence level as to making more fanfictions~

Thank you guys for reading this, and have a goodnight!

-PaintedxDreams