Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Stop looking at me like that,” Phoenix groaned as he reluctantly peeked up from his phone, immediately being met with Yoru’s piercing glare. “I’m trying to negotiate for us here but it’s clearly not working.”

“Maybe if you had even a bit of charm you would’ve gotten a trade,” Yoru remarked cockily, finally looking away from Phoenix, but not relenting. “But of course you just had to capslock spam everyone and be a nuisance.”

“Oi, don’t start insulting my negotiation skills when all you fuckin’ did for us was type a few dot-dot-dot’s in the chat for a failed intimidation tactic,” Phoenix retorted, glaring at an image of the roblox smirk face that Jett sent him in DMs. “Also, charm doesn’t work on anybody in the groupchat, you moron. All of them are either lesbians, not interested in any “charm” I could offer, or Gekko .”

“Is Gekko not in the 2nd category?”

“I’d like to think that he’s at least a tad swayed by my charisma.”

“…Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Yoru dismissed before standing up from the café seat near the window. From across the entire store, he threw his empty cup straight into the trash can from behind, not even bothering to look if it got in. “Let’s go to the hotel already.”

“Show-off,” the other man muttered before doing the exact same thing to dispose of his trash. He grabbed his bag off the table and then stumbled to catch up with Yoru, sending him a small glare. What’s new. “Are you really jus’ gonna accept our fate? What, you ready to sleep on the couch?”

“You’re going to be the one sleeping on the couch,” Yoru replied dismissively, bringing out his comb and combing his hair as if to add pizazz to the statement. 

“Like hell I am,” Phoenix huffed, not bothering to continue the argument for the time being as he pulled out his phone. He checked the maps and quickly found the hotel they had to get to before looking back up at Yoru. “Hotel’s only like 5 minutes away, let's just walk there.”

“I know that,” Yoru said, not bothering to make eye contact with Phoenix. He pocketed the comb and continued walking before coming to a crossing, waiting for the light to go green. “I was looking at the directions there while you were busy yapping in the groupchat.”

“I wasn’t yapping, I was trying to change our dastardly fate,” Phoenix crossed his arms childishly. Yoru didn’t even bother responding—what the fuck is a dastardly fate. He checked his notifications before realizing it was just Gekko spamming the group chat about… Chamber… 

Why.

He pocketed his phone again. No time for that, Tennis Ball Boy.

4 or 5 minutes passed until they finally arrived at the hotel, which had a really nice lobby. Yoru didn’t care much for that though, instead just passing by all the cool things to get straight to the front desk. 

“Oi, could you not even bother to look at this cool ass bird statue?” Phoenix grumbled, having to run across the lobby to get to Yoru’s side. “You have no appreciation for beauty.”

“You can gawk at the decor later,” Yoru shrugged, once again not bothering to look Phoenix in the eyes as he checked them in with the hotel and got their room cards. He shoved one of them into Phoenix’s hand before gesturing for him to follow him to the elevators. 

“Wow. Lame,” Phoenix muttered before following Yoru and joining him in the elevators. Wow. Nice elevators. Insert silence here.

To the 20th floor and down the hallways they go. Phoenix tried to make small talk about the weather on the way, but Yoru just answered with some unamused mumbles. Average interaction between the two.

“Here we are,” Yoru said as they got to their room, scanning the card against the sensor and opening the door. Very kindly, he still held the door open for Phoenix. Most kind Yoru moment to ever Yoru—

Just kidding. Yoru very subtly attempted to slam the fairly heavy door into Phoenix’s face, who would’ve been hit with it face-first if he hadn’t dodged. “Hey, fuck was that for?!” 

“Oh, my bad. Didn’t see you there,” Yoru apologized sarcastically, not even trying to hide the fact that it was done purposefully. “Forgive me.”

“You—“ Phoenix paused where he stood in front of the now closed door and let out a loud sigh. He ran a hand through his hair and brushed it off, knowing that getting frustrated would only feed into Yoru’s arrogance. “Whatever. Anyways, you go on the couch. I’m not arguing about this with you.”

“Absolutely not,” Yoru immediately said, shoving Phoenix aside which earned an offended noise. He put his belongings aside on a chair, also throwing his jacket on it. After that he went to the closet to grab his own slippers, absentmindedly throwing a pair to Phoenix who caught them with ease. 

“The couch is perfectly big enough for you to sleep on!” Phoenix reasoned just when Yoru took off his shoes, socks and hopped on to the king-sized bed in the middle of the room that most definitely could fit the both of them. “Hell, you’re smaller than me by a decent amount, you’re clearly the better candidate for the cou—

“I do not want to hear a single peep from you about my height, you British boy,” the other boy interrupted rudely, glaring at Phoenix, who very unfortunately was actually taller. “Sleep on the couch or sleep on the floor. Your pick.”

“Nuh uh.”

And with that, Phoenix took off his shoes and socks to throw himself next to Yoru on the bed. Yoru couldn’t help but let out a loud sigh. Now he had experienced the feeling of the hotel’s bed, Phoenix would never settle for the couch again. Suffering from success is real. The 5 star hotel’s bed is (very unfortunately) 5 stars.

“Whatever. Just don’t you dare touch me or I’m not hesitating to shank you,” Yoru grunted, turning over on his side to avoid having to look at Phoenix’s fulfilled expression. He decided to mutter out a final sentence of his own cockiness. “And don’t miss me too much.”

“Yeah yeah, you wish, Mr. Stick-up-his-ass,” Phoenix rolled his eyes as he laid back on the pillows, grabbing his phone and plugging his charger in. He shoved on his headphones and began blasting his music, doing god-knows-what on his phone while he did.

Few minutes later when Phoenix checked, Yoru was asleep—that’s what jetlag does to a bitch. 

“Napping with all that hair gel on?” Phoenix mumbled judgmentally, glancing at Yoru’s sleeping form before going back to minding his own business. Whatever. Yoru slept like a log anyways.

Phoenix lazed around for 2 hours until it was 8 PM. Jett texted him to go down to the hotel’s restaurant for dinner, adding that he should bring Yoru if the other man felt like it.

“Yo, you alive enough to go eat some dinner with Jett and the gang?” Phoenix asked, poking at Yoru who was still napping. 

“No, jetlag’s beating my ass,” Yoru grumbled back, before pulling the blanket over himself further to show that he was going back to sleep. 

Phoenix just shrugged, having expected that reaction, and got up to put his socks and shoes on. He grabbed his room card and his phone, exiting the room to make his way over to the elevators.

When the elevator doors opened, he saw someone he definitely recognized—Sage. Guess she was also going down to eat. “Oh, yo. Fancy seein’ you here, Sage.”

“Ah, if it isn’t Phoenix,” Sage smiled as Phoenix stepped in. “Are you also going to the restaurant?”

“You bet,” Phoenix answered as he leaned back against the wall of the elevator. “The food here’s good, yeah? It better taste fire, 5 stars and all.”

“It should be, but I haven’t tried it myself yet,” Sage said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s a buffet, too, so you can help yourself.”

“Sheeeesh,” Phoenix whistled as the elevator reached the floor and opened its doors. He exited the elevator after Sage and said a quick bye to her before going the other direction. 

“Over here!” A familiar voice called out to him on his left. He turned around and headed over to the 6-person table where Jett, Neon, Gekko and Iso were seated. Jett greeted him with a grin, her plate already full of food. “About time you got here.”

Phoenix scoffed, taking a seat next to Gekko who was in between him and Iso, across from Neon and Jett. “About time? You literally texted me a few minutes ago, mate. Do I look like Sonic the hedgehog?”

“Yoru certainly does,” Neon said with a shrug. 

“Nah, Yoru would be Shadow,” Gekko retorted, taking a bite from the abnormally large sausage he was eating. “He might have the spiky blue shtick from Sonic, but there’s no way he would ever be found alive actin’ all happy-go-lucky.”

“Open your eyes, you two,” Jett said confidently, crossing her arms and leaning back. “Yoru is clearly Shadow and Sonic’s lovechild.”

Phoenix paused, giving it actual thought. “…Shit, why do I actually see it?”

“See? I’m always right,” Jett grinned cockily, looking over at Phoenix. “When you get back to your room, tell Yoru I called him that.”

The brit chortled in response. “A hedgehog love child? Text him yourself, mate, I don’t wanna sleep with him tonight knowing he’s glaring me down for telling him.”

“Hell no, I’m not getting blocked again,” Jett huffed before raising an eyebrow. “You’re sleeping with him tonight?”

“Woah there bucko, no nuttin’ in November,” Gekko said childishly, causing Phoenix to let out a groan.

“It’s June, Gekko,” Iso said monotonously, having spoken up just to correct him.

Gekko grinned sheepishly before replying. “Even better then, it’s Jerkin’ June.”

Iso seemed disturbed. Greatly. “…Please don’t call it that.”

“It’s almost Jackin’ July.”

“Please stop ruining months for me.”

“Jorkin’ January.”

“Fucking February,” Jett added in a deadpan manner. Iso had his head in his hands.

Neon just chuckled, looking at the distraught Iso from across the table. “Rest in piss, China boy.”

“Please don’t tell me to rest in piss .”

Gekko put his hands together to pray for Iso. “Rest in piss, Iso. You were really pretty while you lasted.”

“What?” Iso looked up, glancing over at Gekko quickly. He looked away immediately after realizing that shit , he was blushing. 

Jett began to clap, noticing how obviously flustered Iso was. “Happy pride month!”

Phoenix rolled his eyes. “Children. All of you.”

“As if you’re any better?” Neon asked with a smirk. 

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Phoenix just grumbled in response, knowing that denying it would just get the others to pull out evidence against him. “I’m gonna go get my food, be right back.”

“Have fun, don’t die!” Jett called out as Phoenix got up and walked off to get his food. 

When he returned, he set his plate down and sat, before a question popped to his mind. “Oh, right, where’s Killjoy and Raze? Are they off on their own date or what?”

“Ding ding ding, they ate dinner earlier at some other restaurant before conking out in their room together,” Neon said with a sigh. “Man, when will I have something like they have?”

“I’m right here,” Jett replied casually, not even noticing her own flirting.

“Damn, real smooth,” Phoenix murmured to her, making Jett realize what she just said. She blushed, but decided to cover it up by taking a sip of her soda.

The group didn’t speak as they focused on actually eating.

“Shit, I got one!” 

…Until Gekko just had to open his mouth again.

“Masturbation May!”

Iso let out the loudest groan yet. “GEKKO.”

—

Phoenix was back to his hotel room after a pretty long discussion at dinner with the gang. He waved bye to Neon and Jett in the hallways before he entered the room, letting out a yawn. And then he saw Yoru who was just… scrolling through his phone on the couch.

Dripping wet. His hair down and all. With only a towel wrapped around his waist. 

A single. Fucking. Towel. 

So, needless to say, Phoenix is definitely winning Jerkin’ June. And Jackin’ July. And Arousal August. Triple combo! He stood there at the doorway and stared. Hard. Holding a plate of food, the door still open behind him. Speaking of hard, Phoenix is 99% sure that he has a bon—

“…Can you close the damn door?” 

Phoenix jumped a bit as Yoru finally acknowledged his less-than-subtle presence, immediately flustering. Shit , Yoru can see. He immediately closed the door behind him, hoping that no one passing by in the halls saw Yoru’s… uh… wet form? That sounds very wrong. “Right, right, sorry mate. Got a tad lost in thought.”

Yoru just scoffed, setting his phone down and leaning back on the couch. “You can say you’re entranced by me, Phoenix, I won’t judge.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Phoenix replied dryly despite knowing Yoru had a point with his arrogance. “I was just taken aback by the audacity to just waltz around with nothing but that towel.” 

“Pfft, whatever you say,” Yoru said dismissively before getting up from the couch, heading over to his bag and grabbing his clothing. “Gonna change. Give me a second.”

“Why didn’t you just put that on in the first pla…” Phoenix trailed off as Yoru closed the bathroom door in his face. “Wow. Ok. I see how it is.”

He walked over and put the plate he had been holding on to the table, which was in front of the couch. After a few dozen seconds, Yoru exited the bathroom dried off with his clothes on, going back to his spot on the couch. Seeing the food, he looked back up at Phoenix. “Why didn’t you just eat at the restaurant?”

“What? No, idiot, I brought this up for you,” Phoenix said as if Yoru should’ve known that.

Yoru seemed slightly surprised but simply narrowed his eyes. “…Why?”

“‘Cause I don’t want you to starve, duh,” Phoenix answered nonchalantly.

“I could’ve just ordered food myself.”

“Too late, then,” he shrugged and shoved a pair of chopsticks into Yoru’s hands, urging him to eat. “Stop being a prick and just eat up, yeah? I know damn well you like cold soba noodles.”

“…Whatever,” Yoru grunted, taking the utensils and slowly beginning to eat. A few moments passed in relative silence. “Are you just going to stand there and watch?”

“I’m waiting for a certain few words from you,” Phoenix smirked, crossing his arms expectantly.

The riftwalker knew exactly what Phoenix wanted. He ignored Phoenix after realizing.

Phoenix didn’t relent. He continued to stare into Yoru’s soul, leaning against the wall.

Yoru groaned before finally muttering out a singular word, not able to deny that he wasn’t a tad grateful that Phoenix even bothered. “…Thanks.”

“That’s more like it,” Phoenix sent Yoru an irritatingly smug grin before turning to head back to the bed. “I’m gonna hit the hay now, don’t do anything loud or I’ll burn your hair off.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Yoru replied before shooing Phoenix off to the bed. He couldn’t help but steal a curious glance as Phoenix threw his shirt off before hopping on to the bed.

“At least he had the decency to keep his shorts on,” Yoru muttered to himself under his breath before looking back down at his own phone and continuing to eat. After finishing his food, Yoru quickly cleaned up, got some water and then brushed his teeth and washed his face. Normal night routine or whatever.

He closed all of the lights that were still on in the suite, leaving only the nightlights that dimly shines from under the nightstands on both sides of the king-sized bed. With a hum, he got on to the bed, not really caring much for if Phoenix would wake up from the movement or not. Not that Phoenix would wake up that easily, considering how deep in sleep he seemed to Yoru.

Yoru looked over at Phoenix (who was thankfully facing away from him) with an unreadable expression before pulling the covers over himself. Opening his phone, he put in his earbuds and began to passively read some chapters of the manga he had to catch up with. 

Hours passed, and Yoru noticed that he had a shitton of notifications from a certain group chat. He has got to mute that shit soon… it’s not like there’s ever going to be useful information there. In a fit of boredom, he clicked the notification to read through some of the messages.

…

That was a waste of time.

He went back to scrolling through the manga which was at a somewhat boring filler point, passing more time. Insert more passage of time here.

Suddenly, he felt a bit of shuffling from Phoenix who was fast asleep on the bed. Nothing special, he thought, glancing over at Phoenix who had flipped around to face Yoru.

Nothing special.

Yoru felt Phoenix’s arms wrap around him.

Nothing special—

Wait.

What.