Even though both of them felt much more relaxed after everything that had happened, they kept their composure in the small living room until a wonderful idea crossed the Canadian's mind.
"I know... let's go to my hotel room to have dinner... After all, Halloween is in two nights; I'm sure the place will look great all decorated," the older youth mentioned, looking at him calmly, though he then let out a quiet sigh, waiting for Aibek to accept going with him.
"Well... we can be alone there without any trouble... What are we having for dinner?" The younger youth's curiosity was enough to make him pay more attention to his opponent, who felt more than happy knowing that Bek was in favor of the proposal.
"Then let's go!..." With that, Jake didn't hesitate to smile with immense happiness, though in the end, he sighed softly due to the excitement.
That was how the Canadian took his favorite Kazakh by the hand to guide him through the hotel. Upon heading down, both got into a car where the coach was already waiting for them with a rather serious expression.
"Are you two going to have dinner or what?" Taishi asked as he looked at them both seriously, though in reality, it was only because of the media frenzy he had been forced to deal with at that moment.
"Yes, I apologize for the mess I caused... I shouldn't have exposed Bek like that..." Jake apologized to his beloved's coach.
Taishi accepted the apology; in truth, he was just annoyed by so many idiotic questions from the press, but now that he saw his pupil looking more than happy, it didn't matter to him at all. Jake wanted to shout to the world how much he loved him, but in the end, he just ended up holding Bek's hand in a delicate, relaxed manner. His little bear shouldn't have suffered; he didn't deserve to go through the interrogation of those journalists or the invasive photographs they took. He knew it had all been his fault and was determined to make amends for his mistake. Because of that, he finally ended up holding him close and organizing that dinner invitation in the room, where in the end, no one would bother them. It would be just him and Aibek, the two of them together sharing a delicious dinner on the balcony, beneath the light of the moon and the stars on that chilly autumn night in Germany.
"Jake... What's wrong?" The Kazakh's sweet, gentle voice was enough to plunge the Canadian into a daydream. The latter confined himself to showing a smile as a sweet, soft response to that delicate voice calling him so tenderly.
"Nothing... Nothing, I was just thinking about how beautiful you look..." His response came out so naturally that it left a lovely blush on Bek's cheeks and a perfect illumination in his dark eyes; but most importantly, the embrace became even deeper and sweeter as Bek clung tighter to him.
They spent a few minutes embraced like that, until the sound of someone knocking on the door snapped them out of their pink bubble. Thus, both pulled apart with burning cheeks, one more nervous than the other, one shyer than the other. The first to move was Jake, who went to open the door and found his beloved Aibek's coach.
"I'm sorry to bother you... I just brought dinner for the both of you," Taishi mentioned as he left the room service cart inside the room and said goodbye to the two boys. Although he had noticed their nerves, he found it a cute gesture that brought a lot of tenderness to his heart.
"Thank you, Taishi-san..." Bek said goodbye to his coach. Despite the nerves, deep down he was grateful not to have to leave the room, not now when he had suffered because of the news and the incredibly intense way the Canadian had touched him minutes prior.
When the coach withdrew, both headed to the sofa to eat the food that had been brought to them. It was the taller youth who broke the silence.
"Bek... I don't want to pressure you... so instead of going to the general costume party, we can have our own party right here," he commented calmly, offering the Kazakh a beautiful smile.
The black-haired youth seemed to like the idea, since the official party would be celebrated right after the short program. However, new information had reached them: the mandatory costume party would be held at the winners' banquet, so everything would depend on whether they made the podium or not; even so, Jake only thought about what was best for the Kazakh's well-being.
"I like the idea... but Jake... the party will be at the grand banquet," Bek mentioned, taking his plate of food. It consisted of sausages with bread accompanied by baked potatoes, hot chocolate, and coffee. The younger youth began to eat calmly alongside taking sips of his hot chocolate, looking remarkably more relaxed than before.
"Well, it all depends on who wins, doesn't it?" Jake looked at him calmly, pointing out the obvious, and Bek simply nodded his head; he was entirely right.
"Well..." The Canadian had been left momentarily wordless before an expression from the younger youth that brought him far too much tenderness.
"I am very sure that you are going to win... so I'm going to accompany you, and I'm going to chase away everyone who wants to hurt you or make you uncomfortable..." he commented happily, embracing his beloved with sweetness, wanting to transmit all that security the press had stripped away from him.
"Jake... don't say that... you could win..." the black-haired youth denied softly while letting out a small laugh. After all, this was the first competition before diving fully into the Grand Prix, so it was all pure mutual praise.
"But come on! These are small competitions... Besides... with your skills, you are bound to win for sure!" With that, both laughed and continued enjoying their dinner.
That night they would sleep together, that much was more than clear, though there was still one more gift left to open in the suite.
"Silly... our qualification depends on this... Besides... we're mistaken, it's in the third competition; if we place as gold and silver, we can qualify together for the next phase," Bek commented, proving with his words that he wished to be by Jake's side throughout the entire tournament circuit. After all, they were back with each other, and he hoped with all his heart that nothing and no one would ever separate them again.
"Well, I will give my maximum effort just like you... By the way! You haven't opened your other gift! I brought you another one besides the bear keychain!" Jake exclaimed, standing up to search his backpack for a round brown box containing beautiful details, handing it over so he could open it.
Aibek was surprised, though at the same time he smiled; he loved that kind of thoughtful detail. With the older youth's encouragement and cheering, he opened the box, finding stationery items. Every single one was gorgeous: pens with bear figures, pencils, fountain pens, and details so cute that they moved him so much he began to laugh filled with happiness, contemplating everything from the small notebooks to the keychains with tender little bears.
"Thank you, Jake... everything is truly beautiful..." Bek was about to set the box aside, but the Canadian stopped him gently, taking him by the hands.
"There's still more... keep looking..." he requested effusively. The younger youth continued pulling items out until he stumbled upon a mysterious envelope at the bottom of the box.
"You're going to open this when the time is right..." Jake requested in a soft voice while holding the younger youth's hand firmly. It was his big surprise, the ticket to the teddy bear factory, and he had to open it when they were exactly in the place where their destiny would change for the better.