Chapter Three

Love Palace Hotel

The hotel room had to be checked. Sousuke had shoved Tachibana into the room, almost man-handling him as he'd just become stubborn which was exactly not what Sousuke needed. As they had to lay low for at least the night until he risked finding a safe house.

So once Tachibana was stubbornly sat on the bed, demanding a few answers and wanting to know why Sousuke had picked this particular place, Sousuke pulled over a set of drawers to cover the doorway and then proceeded to secure the entrances and exits to the room. Including walking out to the balcony. It was going to be a long day and night, Sousuke thought, as he walked back into the room once he'd locked the glass sliding doors. At least he could stand out there if necessary.

Tachibana was still sat on the bed, his arms folded across his chest and Sousuke rolled his eyes.

"What's the problem?"

"This… place…"

Sousuke chuckled as he looked around the room – at the mirrored ceiling and the leopard print furry bedding, at the "supplies" attached to the walls, at the bottles of cheap booze ready to be drunk. It was all designed to help the "mood" and it seemed that Tachibana didn't want to be in the Love Palace Hotel.

"We needed to find somewhere no one would look for us," Sousuke explained as he walked to the television, turning it on and then hearing the pants and moans that indicated the type of entertainment available in the room. He didn't need to look at the screen before he turned it off, unsurprised it was porn. "This is by the hour, in a bad neighbourhood and is designed for discretion. Perfect place."

There was a small nod of acknowledgement and Sousuke couldn't figure out why it bothered Tachibana – they'd run from armed men, driven recklessly through the city streets but it was this - being alone with him in the Love Palace that made him uncomfortable. Some guys.

Sousuke decided to lose his jacket and tie and he saw Tachibana's eyes watch his careful movements, his eyes bright behind those black rimmed glasses. He thought about pouring the cheap alcohol, guessing that the version of champagne would be nothing like the real thing but instead he grabbed the glasses and went to the adjoining bathroom, turning on the tap and getting water for both of them, handing one over to Tachibana.

"My name's Sousuke," he offered as he then took a seat at the table rather than with Tachibana on the bed.

"Makoto," he murmured in response, taking a sip of his water.

"I realise today's been…" Sousuke didn't know how to sum it up. As today for Tachibana – okay, Makoto – had started off normally. Getting up, travelling to work, sitting in his cubicle and then Sousuke had turned up and all hell had broken loose. "Difficult."

Makoto snorted in response. "Difficult?" he asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. "Strange?"

The word was no better and Makoto downed the water, standing up then and walking towards the large glass doors. Sousuke watched him, his eyes narrowed as maybe he should advise him to stay clear of the glass but then… Who the hell knew where they were?

He'd not risked contacting his superiors, only driven to the bad side of the city until he could dump the car in a place where it would end up in pieces in a chop shop, and then paid in hastily handed over cash for this cheap hotel.

"What did I see that was so damn important?" Makoto asked as he stood against the glass, a hand against the cold surface. "That people are trying to kill me. I'm nobody."

Sousuke didn't exactly know – it was never his job to know that. All he knew was that Makoto had accessed some files that showed some of the dealings between Iwatobi Corp. and Samezuka Inc. that made the other company jumpy. And made them hire kidnappers. Which in turn meant he was hired. He didn't know anything else – he was just as much a nobody in this whole situation as Makoto – just following the orders of the men who paid him.

Getting to his feet, Sousuke walked towards the glass. He wasn't used to having a "normal" guy be the one he was protecting. He was far more used to spoilt children of rich men and stars of TV or some pop star that sang songs he hated and so he felt some sympathy towards the guy. Sousuke's career was all based on this whereas Makoto's life had been so damn average prior to this.

He didn't know how to comfort Makoto and doubted whether it was a good idea to touch the other guy but despite some doubts, he walked to by his side, looking out at the dull building opposite and the rain that had finally started to fall. The outside world looked depressing and Sousuke glanced at the side profile of Makoto – his strong jawline, the soft fall of his hair and he turned back towards the rain. He reached gently to press a reassuring arm on his shoulder, feeling the jump of muscles underneath fabric and the turn of head, clearly the touch being a shock.

"I don't know… They don't tell me but this will all be over soon enough," Sousuke assured letting his eyes flick back to the rain rather than Makoto's face.

"Really?"

Sousuke knew he couldn't promise anything as he knew so little and had to just go on gut instinct but he nodded, a smile on his face that he hoped was warm and encouraging, reassuring to someone who's life had just turned upside down in a matter of hours.

"This is all routine for me. No problem."

Makoto inclined his head, a smile on his face that was only the slightest quirk of lips but was so open, honest, sexy, that Sousuke dropped his hand and shoved it in his pocket.

"I think I might lie down… this is a lot to process."

"Yeah…" Sousuke replied, nonchalant as he stayed by the doors, trying to ignore Makoto as he stripped off his jacket, his tie and shirt, leaving him in just the white tank top that had been underneath, the dips and lines of his back muscles making Sousuke swallow. "I'll be here when you wake up."

He didn't dare watch anymore as Makoto took off the suit pants and Sousuke decided he'd step out onto the balcony, ignoring the light rain in the pretence of getting some air, as he was not supposed to be checking out his job. Nope, not at all.