CHAPTER NINETEEN - EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

The doorman to the Komorebi Resort & Spa was extremely chipper for it being almost three in the morning. He gladly accepted the two bags Dabi had packed for the trip, transferring them to a bellboy who was standing by, and then gestured for the boys to follow him into the hotel's lobby.

Shigaraki hesitated, tugging the hood of his sweatshirt over his head to hide himself away, only to have Dabi snag his wrist and drag him into the empty foyer along with him - effectively making them the center of attention for all the employees working the night shift. He huffed, half listening as the doorman explained the procedure for their valet, and to Shigaraki's distress, Dabi handed over the keys to the car without a second thought - officially stranding them at the hotel. There was no turning back now. Though he was sure he was the only one who had any qualms about that.

"Thank you, Mr. Todoroki. Hina will assist you with checking in to your suite. She has been expecting you." He swept his arm towards the reception desk and bowed his head to Dabi, offering only a curt nod to Shigaraki as he passed by on his way back to his post at the front entrance.

"Mr. Todoroki." Shigaraki teased, mimicking the doormans formal tone. Dabi snorted in response, glancing briefly at Shigaraki as he retrieved his cellphone and wallet from the back pocket of his pants.

"Yeah, I don't really like the sound of it either."

Shigaraki scoffed.

"Good morning! Welcome to the Komorebi Resort & Spa. I'll need your booking ID and credit card." The lady known as Hina said in greeting.

Shigaraki scowled and turned away, crossing his arms over his chest while Dabi took care of checking them in. It was a good opportunity for him to freely assess his current situation, which admittedly, he was not at all comfortable with.

Firstly, he was involuntarily persuaded to go on a vacation - robbing him of a few days pay, money he desperately needed - and secondly, the hotel they were checking in to, in his crude opinion, was absolutely outrageous - fancy with a capital fucking F.

Shigaraki wondered why in hell Dabi would want to bring him to a place like this? He was clearly an oddity - sticking out like a sore thumb. He appreciated the thought that Dabi just wanted to spend some time with him on their limited summer vacation, but the gesture didn't need to be so… grand. Shigaraki wasn't that complicated. A closed door and a bag of Doritos would have made him equally happy. Actually, more so.

He sighed and unconsciously lifted his hand to scratch wildly at his neck.

Light music was playing in the foyer - classical, orchestral, heavy on the piano. It was supposed to give off a cool, calm, and relaxing type of vibe but it only agitated Shigaraki. Though, he thought maybe his irrational irritation over the instrumental had more to do with his unpreparedness and the two hours sitting in a car - after working for twelve hours - than the music itself. He was exhausted and, probably, unjustifiably cranky.

He shifted his head back over his shoulder to check in on the progress of acquiring their room. Thankfully, it looked like things were wrapping up. An envelope with two key cards tucked inside were placed on the counter before Dabi as well as a map of the resort - showing some key points of interest. Shigaraki caught the tail end of their conversation, something about a concierge and in-room service.

"Is there anything else I can assist you with at this time?" The lady smiled, and tucked a stray piece of her once perfectly styled pony-tail behind her ear. Her cheeks flushed a faint pink and Shigaraki rolled his eyes.

"Got everything I need. Thanks." Dabi nodded, and as usual, beguiled the lady with one of his charming grins. Though, he did so while simultaneously reaching out for his boyfriend. Shigaraki stumbled as an arm fell down around his shoulders and then hooked around his neck - a not so subtle display of attachment.

"E-Enjoy your stay!"

"We will!"

Shigaraki scrunched up his nose, reeling away as Dabi leaned over and smacked a kiss against the side of his head, over the hood of his sweater. The kiss was followed by some solicitous nuzzling until the fabric slipped back off Shigaraki's head revealing a messy mop of blue-grey hair.

"Cut it out!" He grumbled, pushing at his boyfriend.

Dabi chuckled at Shigaraki's objections before pulling away and then gently guiding him forward. "Let's go." Shigaraki once again drew his hood up but allowed Dabi to shepherd him in the right direction.

"Interesting vacation choice by the way." Shigaraki mumbled, glancing left and right.

"Not up your alley, huh?"

"Obviously not." Shigaraki felt like a weed amongst fucking roses.

"Yeah and that's exactly why we are here. I didn't want to give you your normal, Mop Head. Otherwise we'd be locked up in your dorm room playing video games all day and night."

"I don't see anything wrong with that." Shigaraki sniffled in derision.

"There is plenty wrong with it."

They walked down a long hallway, to the very end it seemed, passing several closed doors until they stopped outside what Shigaraki assumed was their room. The key card opened the door with a light click and the scent of lavender and cedarwood immediately greeted them.

"Honey, we're home." Dabi announced, giving Shigaraki a soft push to encourage him inside.

"Tch." Shigaraki sniveled, scratching at his neck again.

Inside the room, all Shigaraki noticed at first was the ginormous bed, covered in luxurious white linens that was occupying most of the floor space. Furthermore, it functioned as an immediate and obvious indicator of where their night was headed.

Heat immediately flooded Shigaraki's face.

Now, this wouldn't be the first time he and Dabi had spent the night together or slept in the same bed, yet, somehow doing those things in a hotel felt exceedingly different from those other times. Almost discerning. And it made him wonder if Dabi had certain… expectations about the time they were going to be spending together.

Fancy hotel, fancy room, fancy bed… What did Shigaraki owe him? He cleared his throat, glancing quickly at Dabi before moving further into the room.

"You know, this bed is big enough for like four people. At least." He quipped, plopping down onto the edge of the thick, soft mattress, and testing the spring before falling onto his back. "We could've shared the room, saved some money." It was a joke. A vain attempt to hide his acute anxiety. Though, the sudden and frantic scratching at his neck was enough to betray that farce.

Dabi wasn't oblivious either.

"Oh yeah?" Dabi replied, amusement riding his voice. He joined Shigaraki on the bed and placed a hand on his thigh, rubbing slowly back and forth. "It's not too late, I could invite some people to join us if you like."

Shigaraki scoffed, and then his eyes slipped closed. "Maybe next time."

"Nex time." Dabi grinned and shifted to lay down onto his side. He planted his elbow into the bed and rested his cheek in his palm, watching Shigaraki with a considerable amount of affection. Shigaraki had reluctantly agreed to this vacation and Dabi only hoped he could live up to the expectation he had set up to get him there. So far, his boyfriend did not look entirely thrilled.

"Mm." Shigaraki mumbled in return, the sound morphing slowly into a yawn. The suite had been expertly prepared for sleeping, which made sense given the time. The covers on the bed had been turned down, and the curtains were drawn closed. The only light source came from some candles that were scattered around the room, bathing the suite in a warm flickering glow. Probably the source of the lavender and cedarwood too.

Shigaraki would admit that they had done a good job of the whole relaxing ambience in the room - unlike the stuffiness of the foyer. He didn't feel quite so uncomfortable now. A little uneasy still, yes, but somewhat content.

Abstractedly, he continued to scratch his skin, neck tingling.

"Hey." Dabi whispered in the quietness. He slipped his free arm over Shigaraki's waist and his boyfriend's eyes popped open, face rolling towards him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Shigaraki put on, turning listlessly to his side as Dabi drew him closer with a tender sweep of his hand up the length of Shigaraki's back. "Just… a bit tired."

"Just a bit tired." Dabi repeated, skeptical. He breathed a soft sigh and then lowered his head to kiss Shigaraki, his mouth moving leisurely against his boyfriends. Shigaraki murmured, fully complacent with the unhurried and heedful caress of Dabi's lips - it was exactly the kind of kiss he needed in that moment. Calming, soothing.

Dabi broke away a moment later, his lip twitching with a small grin. "I really missed you."

"It was just a week." Shigaraki grumbled. "We talked on the phone."

"Mm. Not the same." Dabi contended, his breath coming out as a husky whisper. His vibrant blue eyes sparkled in the dimly lit room, catching the tiniest amount of light. "I thought about you every night."

Shigaraki jerked his chin away, face warming further at the innuendo and Dabi chuckled, brushing another kiss against his turned cheek.

"Didn't you think about me?" He asked and descended on Shigaraki once again, burying his face into the crook of his boyfriend's neck. His lips flattened out against the skin, and his teeth gently nipped between the hot press of his lips.

"Not in the way you are implying."

Another chuckle, the sound tickled Shigaraki's neck. He wanted to scratch the itch so bad.

"Uhh, Dabi?"

"Yeah?" More kisses travelled across Shigaraki's skin, climbing higher towards that sensitive spot just below his ear.

"It's… ah, pretty late. I'd really like to take a shower." He stuttered, trying to dislodge his boyfriend's developing desire.

"Would you?"

"Well, considering my day was hijacked by a certain someone, I didn't get a chance to earlier."

"Terrible."

"Very."

"How about a bath?"

"Not really my thing."

Dabi lifted his head, looking down at Shigaraki with an impish grin. "You will like this one."

Shigaraki arched a brow, and Dabi offered him another quick kiss before drawing away. The bed dipped and then sprang back as he got up to his feet.

"I did put some thought into this hotel, you know."

"Could've fooled me."

Dabi chuckled and Shigaraki followed his movements from his stationary position on the bed, watching with rapt attention as his boyfriend began to strip out of his clothes. He discarded his shirt first and then began working on his belt buckle. Shigaraki swallowed hard. Dabi's naked torso did all kinds of truly sordid things to him.

Sensing Shigaraki's eyes on him, Dabi looked over and grinned. "Get up. Get undressed."

Shigaraki blinked, like he hadn't heard his boyfriend's requests before he shook his head, snapping out of his little daze. His cheeks flushed hotter. "Huh?"

Dabi laughed softly. "Just, trust me."

Shigaraki tore his gaze away but continued to peruse his boyfriend from the corner of his eye. Dabi dug around in his bag for his cigarettes and then strolled to the other side of the room, away from the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" Shigaraki asked. He lifted his head, absolutely astounded when Dabi pulled the curtains back revealing his naked body to the world beyond their room and any eyes that may have also been awake at that time.

"Outside." He said matter-of-factly, turning to look back over his shoulder at Shigaraki - like this was all perfectly normal.

"What?!" Shigaraki abruptly sat up and to his utter confoundment, Dabi unlocked the sliding door and promptly exited the room. "Dabi?" The curtains billowed with the light breeze filtering into their suite.

"Come out here."

Dubiously, Shigaraki scooted the edge of the bed and then followed Dabi outside - though, unlike his boyfriend, he decided he was more comfortable keeping his clothes on - being an exhibitonist was not in his nature, and he honestly wasn't all that happy knowing that it was for his boyfriend. Or that other people were getting treated to a really good show. Jealous. You betcha. What was he missing?

"Why are you still dressed?"

Shigaraki was speechless. He should know to always expect the unexpected where Dabi was concerned. And he was surprised, and relieved, when he stepped outside and onto a private patio complete with a large foaming open- air spa - steam was rising off the surface of the water.

Much better than the general public.

Shigaraki exhaled a hard breath and folded his arms, eyeing his boyfriend intently. Dabi was already in the water, smirking, a lit cigarette between his lips - looking extremely pleased with himself. Shigaraki would admit that wet Dabi was a nice image - if not for the sudden realization that he was probably going to have to join him for an outdoor bath.

"What are you waiting for? An invitation. Get in." Dabi taunted, crawling to the edge of the hot tub and resting his forearms on the rim. He grinned and a swirling stream of smoke slowly drifted upwards before disappearing into thin air. "Don't make me beg." Dabi added, flicking the ash of his cigarette. "I will if I have to."

Again, Shigaraki was struck with sudden onset inertia it seemed. He stared at his boyfriend and he could literally feel the saliva building up in his mouth. It almost managed to escape too but he wouldn't give Dabi the satisfaction of seeing him drool and quickly composed himself.

"Shigaraki."

"Maybe try with the begging."

"Oh, come on." Dabi raised himself up out of the water and reached out for his boyfriend. Small droplets of water dribbled over his chest and ran downwards in little rivers that accentuated his muscular tone - which didn't help Shigaraki get moving at all. Dabi didn't mind so much, he took it upon himself to get the ball rolling, so to speak, and grabbed the end of Shigaraki's sweatshirt, tugging on it - a silent command to take it off.

"Okay." Shigaraki complied, taking over the process and lifting his arms to pull the hoodie over his head. The shirt below went along with it, clinging to the inside of the material. He tossed them both aside.

"Mm." Dabi sank back down into the tub, waiting patiently.

Shigaraki dropped his chin, trying to hide the humiliation of undressing in front of Dabi. He wasn't particularly self-conscious about how he looked in his birthday suit but having Dabi's intense blue gaze fixed on him while he was uncovering himself did make him feel defenseless and very exposed.

"Stop staring." Shigaraki mumbled, his cheeks almost as red as his crimson eyes.

Dabi's returning smile was subtle, but mischievous. He turned his chin and took another drag of his cigarette, though continued to peek sideways, admiring the new au naturel view of his boyfriend. He realized this was the first time he had witnessed Shigaraki completely in the buff. Sure, they had shared a shower some months back, but his bare back and ass was very different from the full-frontal. And the times they had been intimate well, it had always been dark and beneath the covers. Dabi wanted to get a better, more personal review of this naked Shigaraki but he respected his boyfriend's anxiousness. They had time to get more comfortable with each other.

The water splashed about as Shigaraki stepped into the tub and lowered himself down. Dabi was just a little bit disappointed about how far he chose to sit away from him, so he butted his smoke out and threw it away before changing that, moving closer.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Tch." Shigaraki sneered, though it was done with a hint of a smile. "You have no idea."

Dabi laughed softly and then with a playful grin, gently spun in the water, backing up until he was sitting between Shigaraki's parted thighs. Shigaraki instinctually accepted his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around Dabi's waist and dropping his lips against his temple as Dabi settled comfortably against him.

"I have an idea."

Dabi smoothed the palms of his hands slowly down Shigaraki's arms and then over his hands, linking their fingers together while Shigaraki pressed his face into Dabi's hair, nuzzling the dark strands and breathing him in - the scent of smoke and cologne still clung to him.

"So, tell me about this place. What are we doing here?" Shigaraki said with a soft sigh, deflating into the water. The jets and raging bubbles combined with the temperature of the water was actually pretty nice, making any tired and stiff muscles more pliable in seconds.

"Well," Dabi started, tugging Shigaraki's arms tighter around him, "the resort is pretty renowned for their natural hot springs. But they also have these unique indoor bathhouses." He lifted one of their connected hands and peppered slow kisses over Shigaraki's knuckles - the skin already softened by the water.

"What makes them so different?"

"They each have this, like, theme. Or some shit. I read that one of the baths is filled with red wine."

"What?" Shigaraki replied, low and droll. He could barely afford to feed himself every week, yet people were throwing their money into pools of red wine that they could bathe in. He didn't think he would ever understand humanity, especially those that were well-off.

Dabi chuckled. "Yeah. But that's only part of the reason why I picked this hotel."

"The red wine baths are not entertaining enough?"

"Actually, the coffee bath sounds better to me. We'll go tomorrow morning. It'll be a good wake-up."

"Right." Shigaraki scoffed.

"Anyways, as I was saying, the other reason why I picked this hotel is because of the location. What is outside of it."

"The hot tub?"

"No, smartass." Dabi shook his head, laughing softly.

Shigaraki grinned, highly amused. "So what's the other reason?"

"I'll show you tomorrow."

"That's very ambiguous. Do I give off the impression that I like surprises?"

Dabi laughed again and then shifted in Shigaraki's arms, turning easily in the water to face him. He grinned and stole a quick kiss before Shigaraki could recoil away. "Don't worry. It'll be fun."

Shigaraki seemed to deliberate on that point and then shook his head with a faint smile. "I'm not worried."

"But you are worried about something?" Dabi asked, a brow raised.

There was a short moment of silence, like Shigraraki was uncertain about his own words before he mumbled a quick. "No."

Dabi was cynical, of course. He didn't believe his boyfriend was completely worry free, Shigaraki was generally a very cautious person so it was normal for him to be apprehensive about the unknown. Dabi's job was to guide him through his anxiety, hopefully show him a good time, and bring him out on the other end feeling less antsy.

He slid his arm over Shigaraki's shoulder and waded closer. Shigaraki tensed up but softened a few seconds later when Dabi settled his hand at the back of his neck, fingers teasing the damp ends of his hair.

"I want to make you happy." Dabi smiled, eyes warm. The expression drew Shigaraki's attention to the discolouration at the edge of his boyfriend's cheek, a bruise - the new injury that Shigaraki had noticed when they were in the car earlier and had been meaning to question.

"What happened here?" Shigaraki asked, brushing the pad of his thumb just below the cut.

"It's nothing." Dabi reassured in a low voice and gently squeezed Shigaraki's neck to draw him into a light kiss. He was veering off topic like he usually did when the subject of his injuries came up.

"If it was nothing, you'd tell me." Shigaraki said, his words muffled by Dabi's lips.

Dabi didn't miss a beat and recaptured Shigaraki's mouth to shut him up. Shigaraki breathed in sharply, but relented, yielding to Dabi's soft lips, but meaning to keep the question on the tip of his tongue for later. He would find out somehow.

A moment later, a hand slid downward between their bodies, and when Dabi's fingers wrapped around him, Shigaraki jerked forward and dug his teeth down onto Dabi's lower lip, trapping a frustrated moan.

Dabi pulled away, a smug grin curling the edge of his mouth.

Shigaraki scowled. "You're deflecting."

"Maybe." Dabi whispered, stroking Shigaraki slowly, almost reverently. "Is it working?"

"Tch." It took all of Shigaraki's willpower to smack Dabi's hand away from his body, but he did - with a small whimper, and Dabi chuckled darkly, coming back in for another kiss. Only this time Shigaraki was prepared for it and denied him the gratification.

"I got hit training. No big deal." Dabi finally confessed, drawing teasing circles at the back of Shigaraki's neck.

'By who?"

"I'll tell you later." Dabi kissed Shigaraki's lips, and then his chin - more slow kisses swept his jawline before Dabi's mouth migrated down into his neck. "Shigaraki?"

"Mmm?"

"Can I call you Tomura?"

Shigaraki lifted his hand and pushed his fingers into Dabi's hair, dragging them lazily through the strands as he silently pondered the request. Nobody called him Tomura, and he wasn't sure how he felt about someone starting now. But if he was going to be comfortable with anyone calling him by his given name, it would be Dabi. They were dating after all and it seemed more… profound.

"You can call me whatever you want." Shigaraki answered, breathing a sharp sound of pleasure as Dabi's teeth caught his skin.

"Tomura, I want to go back to the room."

"Okay…"