Vamos a la playa

When Konan and Eduardo received Delilah and Aaron's wedding invitation in the mail, the pair assume the paper must be a prank. A rather odd, bordering on cruel one, indeed-- but a prank nonetheless.

When a sobbing, tongue-tied Ruth calls them about half an hour later, they understand that despite their first impression having been wrong, the situation isn’t any less cruel.

It's going to be a long week.

[...]

Almost an entire day of travelling later, Konan and Eduardo eventually arrive at their hotel: a beautiful resort in the middle of the city with a gorgeous view of the sea.

Exploring their surroundings wasn't their highest priority at the moment though: the journey having stolen all their energy, leaving them with just enough strength not to collapse in the lobby.

Oh, how they couldn't wait to catch up on sleep, all snuggled up in their comfortable, with freshly changed sheets, beds...

... Or rather, their bed.

As they stepped into the room, they were met with the unexpected sight of a heart-shaped bed standing tall in the middle of a romantic themed room. Rose petals were scattered everywhere and the wax candles left a nice fragrance of vanilla in the room. It might’ve been an enjoyable surprise if it weren’t for the fact that they were just friends (who had booked a room together for convenience only, of course).

Eduardo stared at Konan in disbelief, mouth slightly agape and eyes wide. The latter who had been in this drowsy state for the past couple hours jolted awake.

"Did you..." Eduardo dared not continue. He smacked his lips, words losing themselves in his throat. His brows furrowed in confusion as he felt his cheeks heat up, both from the hot atmosphere radiating from the room and his growing embarrassment.

"What? No, I didn't..." Konan stammered. He pinched the bridge of his nose, concealing his flushed face behind his hand. "I-- They must've given us the wrong key at the reception, that's all..."

It was awkward enough explaining they were not, in fact, a couple to an oblivious hostess; it was even more awkward repeating themselves to an equally-as-oblivious manager. How come every stranger assumed they were together like that?

Konan attempted to alleviate the tension by criticising the stupidity of having customers pay an additional fee to ensure separate beds (which he did, mind you) if they were still getting unwanted room arrangements; which granted nothing but an elbow nudge from Eduardo and a pissy look from the hostess.

Unfortunately, no twin rooms were available at the moment. They were offered to wait until tomorrow around noon as a desired room might be vacated-- with no guarantee whatsoever that is. The pair considered the offer for a second, then eventually resigned, unwilling to stall any more. Moreover, they had business to attend: sharing a bed wouldn’t kill them… the intensified yearning, however, might.

A refund (thanks to Konan's bargaining skills, the manager wouldn’t bulge) and an apology for the mixup later, the realisation they'd spend a week in the couple suite slowly but surely began sinking in as they went up in the elevator. It felt as if they were stuck in one of those rom-com Eduardo always insisted on extending the loan for… but no, surely nothing romantic would come out of this trip: such an absurd idea wasn’t even crossing their minds.

As soon as the pair regained their quarters, drastic changes were made to ease up the romantic tension of the room. They were guys on vacations, weren’t they?

The dim lighting was traded for a harsher one and all the vanilla-scented candles were blown off. The chocolate aphrodisiacs were tossed in a drawer and never spoken of again. As for the rose petals-- well, the rose petals were everywhere, even on the… bed.

Ever since they had stepped in, neither dared to approach, much less look in the direction of the heart-shaped bed. They were avoiding it like the plague, as if it was about to become sentient and bite for getting a little too close.

Its silk ironed sheets and fluffed pillows were so inviting though, and they were oh so tired– but no, no! They refrained from any action, even if it meant spending the night staring at the wall.

Because acknowledging the bed meant quietly appropriating it; thus refuting the other its access, sending him off to sleep elsewhere. They both were too polite to even consider taking it all for themselves.

Eduardo broke the silence, addressing the elephant in the room. "You take the bed. I can work with the bubble bath, as long as you let me have a pillow or two."

He gave Konan that stupidly sweet, apologetic smile, which did not make his heart twitch.

"Are you kidding?" Konan interjected. "No, you take the bed. I'll set a comfy something on the floor."

"No, no, I insist! You should’ve seen the spots I slept in before I got enough money for a bed. I can handle it–"

"Yeah, exactly why you’re having it. I prefer a solid surface anyway, this one’s looking too soft."

"You’ll kill your back! Please…" he practically begged.

After a few minutes of going back and forth, they eventually settled on both taking the bed; splitting the mattress in two with the longest pillow they could find, thus ensuring quality sleep, personal space, and most importantly, no room for any ambiguity. Eduardo commented on how teenager-esque the setup was, although he was somewhat grateful for it.

Konan excused himself to the bathroom and Eduardo coyly sat on the edge (his edge) of the bed, as if made of china. The mattress shifted under his weight with a light creaking, and Eduardo consequently felt his body tense up.

Had he been afraid of damaging the bed itself? Had it ever been about the bed? Hadn’t it been about being terrified of damaging something so precious to him, yet remaining so curious as to what it could lead to if he took a chance?

All in all, wasn't it too ironic, to share this honeymoon-esque suite with not-so-platonic mate? If he believed in fate or anything of the sorts, Eduardo would claim the mixup was no mistake. Perhaps it wasn’t. Perhaps it was time to, indeed, take a chance.

Maybe. But maybe those thoughts could wait.

He was also far too exhausted for any introspection anyway. Eduardo’s head hit the pillow (his pillow), the earlier delicacy long forgotten, and focused on the distant sound of the faucet running to ease his mind.

[…]

"Good night." Konan said as he turned off the bedside lamp (his bedside lamp). He slipped under the covers and got as comfortable as one could, the whole 'sleeping-next-to-your-crush' situation taken.

"G’night." Eduardo replied, clutching onto his pillow a little too hard.

It didn't take long for fatigue to triumph over awkwardness. Their pupils began feeling heavy, and soon enough, they were drifting off to sleep.