Love is Not Extinct
Chapter Thirteen: The Aobajohsai Museum
A/N: Coucou mon petit choux!
I am still alive…sort of...haha! Sorry that it has been so long since I last posted and update, do not fear I have not forgotten about this story or you wonderful people who have been reading it and supporting me along the way! It's been super crazy around here for me as I am finishing a semester in school, back working and we are getting ready to move into a house my friend just purchased. So...long story short, my life is chaotic, I am sleep deprived and am not keeping my writing schedule like I would like. Hopefully there won't be such a big gap between this post and my next one but please be patient with me! I love you all and hope that you really enjoy this chapter!
Tsukishima watched his date from across the table, trying and failing to keep a passive expression. He couldn't help the smirk that was curling at the corner of his lips as he watched the handsome journalist holding onto his stomach as he tried in vain to hold back his laughter so that he could get through the story he was attempting to tell.
He would be reluctant to admit it out loud, but there was something so captivating and alive about Kuroo Tetsuro. He was wild and free in a way that Tsukishima knew that he would never be able to be, and he didn't want to be. Yet part of him envied it, longed to know what it might be like to break away from the structure that he built his life on. But outside of that structure wasn't really where Tsukishima wanted to be. As tempting and captivating as it was, he knew that he wouldn't be happy there. But maybe, just maybe, someone like Kuroo, someone so unrestrained, so unfettered, perhaps just being around someone like him could give him a taste of the world that he would never live in.
Was that something he wanted? He would never admit it, even if he did.
He was broken from his captivation as he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Looking down, he frowned as he fished it out of the fabric of his jeans. "Sorry..." He apologized for interrupting Kuroo's story and rudely pulling out his phone in the middle of a date. "I just need to make sure it doesn't have anything to do with Haru."
Kuroo's smile was relaxed as he leaned back in his chair casually and reached out, his long fingers wrapping around the cool glass of his beverage. He had no right to look as inviting as he did, his arm draped over the back of the seat next to him and the fabric of his shirt stretching to smoothly outline his well-defined muscles. And, as he brought the edge of his glass to his lips to take a sip of his drink, Tsukishima couldn't stop his eyes from flicking down to those lips and thinking about how they had felt that afternoon in the entryway to Kuroo's apartment, a strange sense of longing turning inside him.
But if asked, Tsukishima would deny all of that. He clearly had no interest in repeating such things with the man sitting across from him.
"No problem, I get it. Your kid's a priority." Kuroo responded calmly as he watched Tsukishima look down at his phone before frowning, pinching his eyebrows together in confusion. "What's wrong?" Kuroo sat up straighter, slightly concerned that something really had happened to Haruhisa.
"It's my work calling…" Tsukshima was puzzled and annoyed but still slightly concerned. He couldn't think of any reason why they would be calling him at this hour. "I'm sorry, I need to take this."
With reluctance, he tapped the screen to answer the call and pulled the phone up to his ear.
"This is Tsukishima."
"Ah, Tsukishima-san." A gruff voice came from the other end of the line. "I'm glad you answered. We had someone break into the museum about forty-five minutes ago."
Staring blankly, it took a minute before Tsukishima could answer or even know what to say. "This is Kyotani-san, right? The night security guard?"
"Obviously." Kyotani huffed, making Tsukshima's face flicker with annoyance. What right did he have to get upset? He was the one who had called Tsukshima, at night, about something that wasn't even part of his job.
Taking a second to compose himself, Tsukishima did his best to keep a professional voice as he replied, even if the other man was making no attempt to show the same respect to him. "I am confused as to why you would be calling me for a matter like this. I have nothing to do with security or management of the museum. You should have called both Iwaizumi-san and Oika-"
"Do you think I didn't try that?" Kyotani rudely interrupted. "Neither Iwaizumi-san or that dumb curator are answering and I've tried multipule times. I am required to call someone from the museum management staff to come in when an incident happens and your name is on that list."
Tsukishima sighed in frustration, rubbing his hand over his face before readjusting his glasses. He glanced up to see Kuroo looking at him, concerned. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, hang on just a second Kyotani-san." Tsuksihima pulled the phone away from his ear and muted himself so he would be able to talk freely. "I'm sorry. Apparently there was a break in at the museum and my idiot boss isn't answering his phone, and apparently the head security officer isn't answering either so, for some unknown reason, I was the next person he decided to call… I have to go to the museum to help supervise and take care of this. This is so not part of my job description."
Sighing heavily, Tsukishima unmuted the phone and brought it back up to his ear.
"I'm in town already but I'll have to wait for the train, so it will probably still be twenty minutes before I can get there."
Kyotani grumbled, annoyed, and started to say something but Tsukshima didn't hear as Kuroo started talking at the same time. "I can drive you, it will be much faster."
"Are you sure?"
Kuroo shrugged with a lazy smirk. "I don't mind at all."
Tsukishima hesitated, weighing his options for a few short moments, before he turned his attention to the phone. "Nevermind, I'll be there in about ten minutes."
"Thank you." Kyotani replied, though he truly didn't sound all that grateful as he hung up the phone. Tsukishima rolled his eyes.
With another sigh, Tuskishima pocketed his phone and looked back at the raven-haired man sitting across from him. As much as he hadn't wanted to admit it, he had been having a good time. Kuroo was funny, annoyingly charming, and didn't seem to mind that Tsukishima wasn't much of a talker as he naturally filled the silence with his own stories and a variety of topics of conversation. And when Tsukishima had spoken, the chatty journalist was a surprisingly attentive listener. "I'm sorry about this. Thank you for offering to drive me."
Kuroo shrugged with a smirk as he flagged down a waitress to inform her that they were finished and handed her his card to pay for the meal. "It's no problem, I understand work is unavoidable sometimes. Heaven knows I've had my fair share of emergencies happen when I have had to drop what I was doing to revise an article or scrap it and start fresh. Life happens."
Smiling with that same charming smirk that had the waitress flushing, Kuroo took back his card before standing up and gathering their coat. He handed his date the coat he had taken off upon entering the restaurant before slipping on his own jacket and fishing keys out of his pocket.
Tsukishima pulled his jacket closer around himself as the cold night air bit at his skin and seeped through the fabric of his clothes. "You know, if you have a car, why is it that you commute by train to work?" he asked, recalling how they had first met. It seemed illogical to him that Kuroo would choose to use public transit with the masses rather than his own vehicle.
"Ah, well that's because I don't have a car." Kuroo said with a grin as he twirled the keys around his finger. "My roommate let me borrow his for tonight."
Tsukishima hummed in understanding as he watched Kuroo click a button and heard the faint beep of said roommate's car nearby. "Trusting roommate…" If Tsukishima owned a car he wouldn't trust anyone but Yamaguchi to borrow it, not even his own brother. Looking forward again, his eyes fell on the car in front of them as Kuroo approached the passenger side door to open it. The car was low profile, but even so it was obvious how nice of a car it was. The paint job was sleek and black, without a smudge or scratch to be seen. The body was a modern design, meant to look stylish and it was clear that the car was expensive. "For the love of... Your roommate let you borrow a car like that? If he can afford a car like this why on earth is he living in that dingy apartment complex with your ass as a roommate?"
"Oi!" Kuroo complained, though he didn't really look all that hurt by Tsukishima's blunt comment. "My apartment isn't dingy, thank you very much. And you wound me, I am a very reliable person, you know." He placed his hand over his chest in a stance of humility that didn't match the grin that was plastered on his face. Tsukishima rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue, but allowed Kuroo to open the passenger side door for him before he climbed into the car.
As Kuroo walked around the car to get into the driver's seat, Tuskishima took a moment to analyze the inside of the vehicle. The inside was just as nice as you would imagine from looking at the outside. Black leather seats with red accents in the stitching and a touchscreen on the dashboard. The inside was spotless, not a speck of dust anywhere, and the only personal thing he could see was a small, red, glass figure of a cat that hung from a slim silver chain on the rearview mirror.
It was surreal being in such a luxury car. The only times he ever really rode in anyone's car these days were the rare occasions that he and Yamaguchi went somewhere where they couldn't take public transit. And that was… well that was very different than this. Yamacuchi's car was an old, beat up little thing that he had gotten from his father when he went away to college. The awful yellow paint job was so faded it sometimes looked almost white and it made a cacophony of clicking and rumbling noises anytime it was in operation. The seats inside were worn fabric, faded around the ends, with it's fair share of tears and stains from the years of use and the abuse of the pair's college days. These days it was always filled with scattered volleyball equipment and old papers, tossed aside to be forgotten about until the rare occasions that the car was cleaned out.
It was a strange comparison between the two, Tsukishima didn't know what he liked better. If he was being honest, as nice as this car was, he felt sort of out of place here. It was too nice, too fancy, and too clean. Yamaguchi's old rust bucket was comfortable and familiar, somewhere he felt relaxed in it. But he felt too stiff in this leather seat.
"Honestly, I think I drive this thing more than Kenma does half the time anyway," Kuroo said casually as he took his position in the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition. The car came to life with a soft purr that was too silent in Tsukishima's opinion. The dashboard lit up with soft, glowing red lettering and the touch screen turned on to a rear camera as Kuroo pulled the gear into reverse. "He is such a homebody, he hardly needs to go out for much. All of his work is mostly done at home too."
"What's the point of getting a car like this if you hardly use it?" Tsukishima asked, honestly trying not to sound judgmental, but he was never really good at adjusting his tone, and he was also aware of how painfully blunt he could be. Thankfully, Kuroo just chuckled.
"Kenma doesn't particularly like interacting with people he doesn't know, so public transit isn't really ideal for him."
Tsukishima simply nodded in response, looking out the window as the car smoothly pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, and Kuroo easily slipped into a conversation once again without requiring prompting from his companion.
It didn't take them long to get to the museum. Upon arriving, Tsukishima directed Kuroo to pull into the employee parking garage, using his I.D. card to get them in, which was something he had never done before tonight. When they got inside the lobby, Kyotani was standing there with two police officers and on the ground next to them, sitting with their backs up against the reception desk, were two teenages with handcuffs around their wrists.
Tsukishima rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Thanks for driving me here." He turned to Kuroo once more. "Sorry again that this interrupted our date."
Kuroo couldn't help himself from grinning wide at the word date coming out of Tsukishima's mouth. "Nah, no worries." Kuroo waved his hand to dismiss the blond's concerns.
"You don't have to stay, I can just take the train home. I really don't know how long this is going to take." Tsukishima sighed once more. "Tch. I shouldn't even be doing this… Damn Oikawa…"
An amused smirk played on the journalist's lips as he watched Tsuikshima adjust his glasses. He really was rather cute when he was annoyed. Though he knew better than to actually say that out loud. "Don't worry about it. I'll hang around and give you a ride home when you are done."
Tsukishima seemed a bit taken aback by this, his brows furrowed as if trying to understand why someone would be doing something so courteous for him. "Really, you don't have to…"
"Don't worry," Kuroo repeated, interrupting him. "I want to take you home, alright? I don't mind waiting. I'll just go sit on one of the benches over here and keep myself entertained on my phone. You go do what you need to do." He motioned over to where the museum night guard and two officers were waiting for him before he turned and started to walk to the other side of the lobby before Tsukishima could protest any more.
Tsukishima frowned, perplexed once again by the dark-haired man now walking away from him.
Shaking his head, he turned back towards the officers and walked over to take care of the matter in front of him. He could think about Kuroo and his actions at a later time, when he could take the time to properly analyze them. Or he could just not think about it at all. Yeah...that sounds like a much better plan. Avoidance is always a good plan. Tsuksihsima knew that was completely false but he happily lied to himself anyway. It was easier that way.
It took only thirty minutes to go over the incident report and for the officers to take the two teenagers away, but for Tsukishima it felt like an eternity. He had hoped that at some point during all this Oikawa or Iwaizumi would call and relieve him of this ridiculous responsibility but, of course, that didn't happen.
If Tsukishima didn't love his job so much he might actually seriously consider murdering his boss.
"Get everything sorted out?" Kuroo said, looking up from his phone as Tsukishima approached him.
"Yeah." Tsukishima sighed, still frowning in annoyance. "Thank you for waiting, we can head out." He turned to head back towards the employee parking entrance but was stopped as he felt long, warm fingers gently caressing his wrist before wrapping around the joint to stop him. He glanced back at Kuroo in confusion.
"Do we have to leave right this second?" Kuroo asked and the small mischievous smirk that played at the corner of the man's lips made Tsukishima feel on edge. "I mean, we are already here, and you've told me so much about your recent project. Will you give me a private tour of the newly updated mesozoic era exhibit?"
Tsukishima watched the man in front of him with a contemplating stare as he pondered the request. He was begrudgingly willing to admit - only to himself, mind you, and never out loud - that he was quite attracted to Kuroo and he found being around him was at least entertaining, albeit tiresome at times. But he also knew that Kuroo was smart and a schemer, and it made him cautious when the man made requests, wondering what the ulterior motive might be.
Unfortunately, Kuroo was smart and a schemer, and he knew just the right cards to play to draw Tsukishima in. Tsukishima loved his work in general, but his passion in paleontology was the mesozoic era, the age of the dinosaurs. He could talk about it for hours, listing countless facts about hundreds of species. It made him self-conscious sometimes when he would catch himself talking about it around others.
But Kuroo always listened intently when he got Tsukishima on the topic. Though the paleontologist would feel self-conscious once he realized how distracted he had become, rambling on about things he was sure Kuroo couldn't care less about, when he would look into Kuroo's eyes he didn't see anything that he normally would. Kuroo never looked bored or overwhelmed, he just would simply be staring with a small smile on his lips, as if every word that came out of Tsukishima's mouth was the most interesting thing he had ever heard. Tsukishima didn't like the way that look made his stomach feel light and fluttery, even though he truly liked it very much.
Rolling his eyes, Tsukishima looked away from Kuroo, doing his best to look uninterested, as if doing so was more of a bother than it really was. Even if he knew Kuroo didn't buy his act. "I guess if you want. Since you took the time to take me here."
Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the small smirk spread into a satisfied grin on Kuroo's lips and Tsukishima had to fight the urge not to blush as he felt his cheeks and the tips of his ears start to burn. Kuroo's fingers ghosted along his skin, moving from his wrist and tickling along his palm, until their long fingers intertwined gently. Kuroo's skin felt especially hot against Tsukishima's normally cold fingers. The sensation was confusing, comforting, and strange and he didn't know what to think about it, so he pushed it out of his mind as he moved forward, leading his date through the dimly lit halls of the museum towards the exhibit that had been his favorite since he was a young boy.
He was determined to ignore the racing of his heart at the presence of the other man so close beside him.
As they walked through the newly updated exhibit hand in hand,Tsukishima found it easy to fill the silence with facts and information that Kuroo seemed to soak up with enthusiasm, asking questions and pointing things out as they went along. It had been a long time since he had walked through the museum like this with someone, he hadn't really done so since the last time he and Yamaguchi had come here with his son, only a few months after Haruhisa had started living with him. It was comfortable and felt natural to be here with Kuroo, among the bones and replicas of the creatures he had dedicated his life to.
"Ooo hey! I know this one," Kuroo said with a wide smirk, his hand instinctively squeezing Tsukishima's hand a little tighter. "This is the head-butting dinosaur."
Tsukishima looked back at him with a raised brow and an unimpressed look on his face. "Seriously?..."
Kuroo couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on the blond's face, knowing he would get such a response; it had been the goal after all. "Okay, so I don't actually remember the scientific name of it, I'm better with remembering chemical compounds and sequences rather than scientific terms related to biology. But," he paused for effect, the corner of his lips twisted into a grin as if he was pleased with himself for what he was about to say next, "I do know that they lived during the cretaceous period and used their thick skulls to head-butt and protect themselves."
Tsukishima held back a snicker as he smirked and rolled his eyes, looking back up at the replica of the dinosaur that stood in front of them, looking over the pair. The shadows created a stark contrast against the dim lights that were left on for security purposes. "The pachycephalosaurus did live in the late cretaceous period. Adults grew to be an average of sixteen feet long and, though the roof of their domed skulls could be up to ten inches thick, it's actually very unlikely that they butted heads as a form of defense and protection. Because of its domed shape, the surface area that would connect with another animal or object would be relatively small, so the risk of harming themselves when ramming into something was high due to head slippage.
"It's more likely that they used the boney nubs around the side of their…" Tsukishima's voice trailed off as he felt Kuroo's hand slowly slipping from his, only to be replaced with delicate burning kisses against his neck. "...of their skulls...to flank…. What are you doing?"
Tsukishima could feel Kuroo's lips linger at the slope where his neck met his shoulder and he had to resist the urge to shiver at the warm and pleasant touch that went tingling through his body.
"What does it look like?" Kuroo's breath danced along the exposed skin of Tsukishima's neck and collar bone, so warm and tantalizing, yet it sent an exciting chill down his spine and he had to grip onto the metal bar of the railing that surrounded the exhibit in front of him to steady himself. "It's hard to resist you when I hear you talking like that, all passionate about what you love. Turn around and face me."
Tsukishima hesitated but the soft and sultry sound of Kuroo's breathy voice against his neck made him dizzy and he felt compelled to listen. The warmth of his body was intoxicating and, as Tsukishima turned around, he could feel his heart racing in his chest. Hazel eyes were fixed on him, the dim light burning in them like a glowing ember. The shadows across his face accented the sharp features, making him look charming and devilish, and Tsukishima felt his composure crumbling, his breath catching in his throat.
"I'm going to kiss you," Kuroo warned him, his voice barely a whisper, husky and hot against Tsukishima's lips as the journalist did just that, not waiting for Tsukishima's response as their lips brushed.
The touch was soft at first, warm and soothing, the pressure light and pleasant, and Tsukishima felt his body almost shudder in response. It was chaste and simple but laced with a heavy need, a burning desire for more and he realized that both of them were feeling that longing burning inside them.
When Tsukishima allowed his hand to slowly lift, hesitantly brushing against the smooth fabric of Kuroo's shirt, he felt the other man's breath shudder in response as Kuroo stepped closer, putting his hands on either side of Tsukishima's waist and gripping onto the bars behind him. He felt the bar dig into his back gently but Tsukishima didn't mind so much, as the pressure of Kuroo's warm body and firm muscles pressed flush against him, and, without conscious thought, he felt a sigh leave his lips like a pleading whisper for more.
As if in response to the sound, Kuroo's kiss became more insistent, his tongue ran greedily along Tsukishima's lips and Tsukishima could feel the way Kuroo's lips twitched into a smirk as the blond instinctively opened to allow Kuroo to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue into Tsukishima's mouth. Gripping onto the front of the journalist's shirt, Tsukishima could feel the rumble in the man's chest as he moaned into the kiss, Kuroo's hands sliding away from the bars to grip the paleontologist's waist tightly, pulling the two of them impossibly close to each other.
Time seemed to fade away and Tsukishima wasn't sure if it was minutes or hours, he wasn't even sure what those words meant any more. All he knew was the burning heat of a body pressing against his, the taste of mint on Kuroo's tongue from the candy he had had after dinner and the firm, steady hands that seemed to slide from one spot to the next on his body, gently, smoothly, but full of need and want. Tsukishima thought maybe, just maybe this dating thing might not be so bad after all.