A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Man's POV

I just landed

My heart jumped at seeing the text from Ben. Even though we already communicated since early morning and I had known his estimated time of arrival at Narita Airport, my heart still did several flips at the thought that we would be together again.

I'm here at the arrival area waiting for you

I texted back

My heart did several more flips as I watched passengers start to trickle in, one or two at a time.

I craned my neck when someone taller than me blocked my view of the arrivals.

Ben!

I yelled excitedly upon seeing him pulling his luggage towards the welcoming crowd.

Ben waved at me, smiling widely.

I rushed towards him and when I reached him he hugged me tightly.

That was when I noticed his perfume. It was not his usual scent.

When we broke apart, I asked him casually, "What's the name of this new perfume you're wearing?"

"What?" he asked in surprise. "I didn't spray on any perfume."

"Are you sure?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "The scent is all over you."

"Your nose is on overdrive," he said, bending to take the handle of his luggage.

I was so sure that he was wearing a different perfume from his usual but I decided not to push the issue.

"Come, let me take your luggage," I said, taking the handle of his luggage from him.

I led him to where my car was parked.

Our trip back to my hotel took an hour and a half.

We chatted along the way, switching from one topic to another.

I told him that after he had rested I was going to give him a tour of the hotel and would start giving him his orientation on his tasks and responsibilities the following morning.

He nodded. He looked excited at the prospect of his new job.

"So how did your boss react to your immediate resignation?" I asked.

Actually I didn't really want to ask that question knowing that it was going to be a bit of a touchy subject but I decided to ask anyway.

He was silent for just a few seconds.

"It took him by surprise of course," Ben replied, looking straight ahead, his face expressionless.

"Did he give you a hard time?" I asked.

"Surprisingly enough, no." Ben replied. "The one who gave me a hard time was..."

"Bright," I finished his sentence for him.

He looked away, out of the window on his side and watched the traffic going past on the other lane of the highway.

There was a tense silence after that.

I regretted saying out Bright's name aloud. I wanted to bite my tongue.

"We're here," I announced as I eased my car into the parking lot of the hotel and parked my car at the spot designated for me.

"Yay," he said.

For some reason, his 'yay' sounded weak to me. I started to feel anxious. Was there something he was keeping from me?

I shook my head. No, I shouldn't entertain thoughts of doubt. Lack of trust was one of the causes of the breakdown of many relationships.

I decided to trust Ben. I decided to put my faith in his love for me.

I walked over to the back of the car and took out his luggage from the trunk.

"Come," I said to Ben. "Let me take your luggage to my room."

"Do I have a hotel room reserved for me?" he asked.

I looked at him in surprise.

"You're sharing my room," I announced.

"Will the hotel allow that?" he asked.

"Ben," I said to him patiently. "I make the rules in this hotel."

He did not respond to that. He just followed me obediently towards the entrance steps and into the lobby.

The evening receptionist bowed to acknowledge my arrival. She looked at Ben curiously but did not say a word.

We took an elevator to the top floor where my room was.

As soon as we got inside my room, I let go of the handle of Ben's luggage and pulled Ben close to me.

I hugged him tight and nuzzled my face into his neck.

He hugged me back.

"I love you," I whispered into his ear.

"Same here," he whispered back.

"No," I said. "Say 'I love you' back to me."

"I love you," he said obediently just as I requested.

I started to unbutton the front of his shirt.

He placed his hand on mine to stop me.

"I'm tired from the trip," he said.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Come, lie down and rest your tired body."

I led him to my bed.

He had just sat down when his phone started to ring. It wasn't a generic ringtone.