Love is Not Extinct

Chapter 13: Tonight

"Dachi!" half the group exclaimed suddenly, causing Yamaguchi to fumble with his receive and send the ball flying straight into Hinata's face. It fell back to the floor, bouncing twice, before slowly rolling off.

"Good job Yamaguchi, perfect aim." Tsukishima smirked, as his friend cringed, holding out his hands in concern for their bright haired teammate.

"Are you okay Hinata?" Yamaguchi asked. But Hinata seemed completely unphased, the same bright smile that had been plastered on his face since the moment he had arrived that morning didn't even falter. Of course, Hinata was always full of energy, and he was used to getting hit in the face with the balls, but today the energy was different around him.

Hinata held up his hand, pressing his thumb and forefinger together to make the okay sign as he grinned from ear to ear. "No worries!" He turned his attention back to Sawamura who had now crossed the room to join them on the court. His arm was wrapped loosely in a sling to prevent the weight of his appendage from tearing his stitches, but other than that he was looking great and in good health. Though they all had gotten the updates from Sugawara it was nice for them to actually see Sawamura in person, to know he really was alright.

"I'm fine guys." Sawamura chuckled as the group gathered around him with mixed expressions that ranged from joy to relief to concern. "Really, it's nothing big. Nothing to fuss over."

"Sawamura-san?"

Sawamura glanced down to see Harushia looking up at him, those big brown eyes sparkling with concern, and it warmed his heart. Reaching up, the boy tugged on officer's shirt gently. "Hey, Haru-chan." He smiled warmly and reached over with his uninjured hand to ruffle the boy's already messy hair.

"Did it hurt a lot when you got shot?" He had such an innocent expression on his face as he continued to stare at the man intently.

"Not too bad, the bullet only grazed me," Sawamura assured the boy as he knelt down to be at his eye level. "Don't worry kid, okay? Yui and Tenshi-chan are taking very good care of me."

Haruhisa's mouth twisted into a confused pout. "Sawamura-san… Tenshi-chan is a baby… She can't take care of you…" The whole group erupted into laughter at the boy's comment and Haruhisa just looked from Sawamura to his dad, confused as to why everyone was laughing at him.

"You're right, Haru-chan." Sawamura chuckled again as he stood up, turning his attention to the rest of the group again. "Part of the reason I came today, other than just wanting to see you, was that Yui wanted to invite you all over for dinner tonight. She is really grateful for all the support from you guys this past week."

Both Nishinoya and Hinata immediately jumped into the air, pumping their fists and cheering in unison. "Yeah! Free food! Yui-chan's cooking! Whoo!"

"Oh yeah! Count me in." Kinoshita grinned and Narita nodded in agreement, which was quickly followed by a variation of nods and agreements from most of the team.

"I can't make it." Tsuksihima was the only one to turn down the offer as he was down on one knee to the side of the group, re-tying his shoe.

"Whaaa?" Hinata exclaimed overdramatically as the team turned towards the blond. "You are turning down Yui-chan's cooking!"

Tsukishima looked up at the orange-haired spiker with an uninterested expression before turning his attention back down to his shoe. "I didn't say I didn't want it, don't act so offended. I said I can't make it."

"Otousan has a date tonight," Haruhisa explained and his father froze. He could feel the eyes of the whole group now on him and he didn't have to look up to know the varying expressions of shock that would be plastered on each of their faces. Calmly, he looked over at his son with a raised eyebrow, wondering where he had gotten that idea from. Shyly, Haruhisa shrunk back, grabbing onto the side of Yamaguchi's shirt. "That's what Yamaguchi-sensei called it when you were talking last night… I heard you when I got up to get a drink. Kuroo-san asked you on a date tonight and you said yes."

"Ooooh!" Tanaka howled, way too loud for Tsukishima's liking, as the man put his hands on his hips with a large grin that irked Tsukishima. "Look at you man! Got the girl's asking you out. Nice!" He held up his hand for Tsukishima to fist-bump, which the blond ignored as he stood up.

"Kuroo-san isn't a girl," Harushia, oh so helpfully, added, and his father sighed as the looks of shock returned on the team's faces. Tanaka's hands dropped awkwardly.

"Hey, hitting for the other team, huh Tsukishima?" Nishinoya grinned and Tsukshima had the urge to punch the libero. "Nice!"

Sighing once again, Tsukishima put his hands on his hips, knowing that now there wasn't really a point in trying to keep this from his friends. His son, bless his innocent heart, had been far too open already and didn't understand what he had done wrong, so Tsukishima couldn't really be upset with him about it.

"Not exactly," he corrected Nishinoya. "I've never had a preference either way. Yes, technically, I am going on a date. But it's not a big deal. It's a first date and I don't really know him all that well yet."

"Kuroo-san is cool!" Harishia added, excited to talk about his new friend and not realizing his father's annoyance that he was giving away so much information. "He works for inSport! magazine! And he gets to go to all sorts of sports games and meet famous players. He even got to see the Wolfdogs play and meet the team!"

Trsukishima tried not to cringe at the stars in his son's eyes. He had just met Kuroo this week and he already idolized the guy. He couldn't blame his son though. For a child who loved sports, Kuroo had one of the coolest jobs they could imagine. Plus, Kuroo was charismatic and seemed especially good around children. He had easily drawn his son in and Tsukishima still didn't know how he felt about that. But he couldn't really say that Kuroo was all that bad… not entirely at least.

"He works for inSport!?" Hinata chirped, literally jumping back into the conversation. "That's so cool!"

"I know, right?" Haruhisa matched the man's enthusiasm and Tuskishima had a hard time believing that the short spiker was his age and not his son's.

"Have you met him, Yamaguchi?" Sugawara asked curiously. His tone was light, so no one picked up on the hidden question that lay behind his curiosity. But Yamaguchi knew. Yamaguchi knew exactly what Sugawara was worried about. He was the only one who knew about Yamaguchi's struggles with his unrequited love for his best friend, the one Yamaguchi confided in about it, and one of the few people he knew who really understood what it was like loving someone who would likely never love you back in the same way.

Yamaguchi grinned shyly, reaching up and scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, briefly. He seems pretty cool," he admitted

"Yeah, but…" Nishinoya leaned in with his hands on his hips, staring so intently at the freckled man that he almost stepped back with intimidation. "Is he hot?" Nishinoya grinned and Yamaguchi's cheeks flushed, embarrassed at the blunt question and that Nishinoya was asking him this because, out of the pair of friends, Yamaguchi was the openly gay one, and the fact that they all knew Tsukishima wouldn't give them an honest answer even if they asked.

"Well," Yamaguchi chuckled nervously. "Yeah… Yeah, he is really good looking." He knew that his cheeks were flushing more, having admitted that his rival, if you could even call him that, was extremely attractive. But he couldn't deny it even if he wanted to.

Haruhisa looked up at Yamaguchi and, thankfully for the high school teacher and the boy's father, changed the subject. "Yamaguchi-sensei? Can we go to Sawamura's dinner even though Otosan can't?"

"Of course." He smiled, looking down at the boy. "We were invited after all."

Haruhisa grinned, pleased, before running back over to the court, which encouraged the others to join him and begin their practice, switching their focus from their social lives onto volleyball, and Tsukishima was grateful.

"I don't see why this is necessary," Tsukishima grumbled. He had his back turned to Yamaguchi and Haruhisa, who sat on his bed, watching him look through his closet. Tsukishima was wearing a pair of clean, dark colored jeans and a faded brown leather belt, his chest bare, as he searched through his shirts. "I know how to dress myself. It's not like I need advice."

"It's part of the experience," Yamaguchi said with a shrug and Tsukishima looked back at him with a bored expression, raising a single eyebrow.

"What are we? High school girls?"

Yamaguchi snickered, bringing his hand up to his mouth. "Come on Tsukki, it's not like that."

With a roll of his eyes, Tsukishima turned back to his closet and pulled out a plain, steel blue tee shirt before pulling it over his head. He moved around a few more hangers before pulling out a dark grey knitted sweater and pulled that on as well. Fixing his glasses, he turned to face the pair on his bed, holding out his hands in the most sarcastic manner he could manage. "Does this live up to your standards of date appropriate attire?" Yamaguchi snicked again, his eyes sparkling, as Tsukishima's son grinned, giving his father two thumbs up.

With a sigh, he rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he turned back around, shutting his closet and looking in the mirror that covered the entirety of the closet door. He looked put together, he decided. The sweater made his outfit look a little nicer than what he would wear just going out of the house but the jeans kept the look casual enough that he didn't look too dressed up. The last thing he wanted was for it to look like he was trying to look nice for Kuroo. He would never hear the end of it from him if that was the case.

Reaching up, he flattened his hair a little before walking over, next to Yamaguchi, to grab his phone and wallet from the night stand, slipping them into his pocket before putting his watch on his left wrist. "Are you two going to come back here after Daichi's dinner party or go back to your place?" he asked, looking over at his friend who was watching him with a funny expression on his face that Tsukshima couldn't quite understand. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" Yamaguchi's eyes met his, full of innocence. "I'm not looking at you like anything. But, we will probably just come back here in case you don't get home till late. Plus, I want to hear all about it once you get back."

"Tch. Whatever," was his reluctant agreement. Though he knew that even if Yamaguchi didn't ask he would have ended up talking to him about it anyway. Tsuksihima wasn't one to have heart-to-heart conversations or get all mushy but Yamaguchi was his best friend, he was the person he opened up to and, though he would never admit it, the one whose opinion he valued more than most. What Yamaguchi thought and his view on things, especially when it came to feelings, was what Tsukishima relied on to sort out what he was feeling and what he wanted. He knew he was an unnecessarily stubborn person, he wasn't in denial about that.

The pair followed Tsukishima as he walked out of his room and down the hall. He slipped his shoes on before sliding into his jacket. Just as he reached for the door he felt tiny arms wrap around his waist as his son hugged him tightly.

"Bye Otosan." Harushia squeezed him, looking up at his dad with a smile. "Have fun!"

The corner of Tsukishima's lip twitched into a faint smile as he reached down, ruffling his son's hair, before putting his hands on the boy's back to return the hug the best he could with their height difference. "You have fun too. Be good for Yamaguchi, okay?"

"Yes sir." Haruhisa pulled back and smiled. Both he and Yamaguchi waved to him one last time before Tsukshima left the house and headed towards the train so that he could meet Kuroo downtown.

It only took him twenty minutes to get to the restaurant they had agreed to meet at. He was a few minutes early so he was surprised to see Kuroo was already there, waiting for him. Leaning against the wall just outside the door, with one knee bent and his foot tapping against the brick, Kuroo Tetsuro looked like something out of a magazine. He wore a stylish black jacket over a dark red button-up shirt with the top few buttons open revealing his black tee shirt underneath. His jeans were faded and looked designer, but his hair was still as wild as ever and somehow he made it look like it was all part of the style he was going for. Tsukshima still couldn't decide if his hair was just naturally a disaster or if he did it that way on purpose.

He was only a few steps away when Kuroo noticed him approaching. The man grinned, putting his phone in his pocket, and stood up straighter, away from the wall, taking a step towards him to bridge the gap between them.

"Hey." A lazy smirk painted his face. "Glad you could make it."

"I said I would," Tsukshima replied dryly. "How long have you been waiting out here."

"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes," he said with a shrug as they both turned and headed towards the door to go inside the restaurant.

"Why?" Tsukishima asked as they stepped through the doors, both shrugging off their coats. "It's freezing outside. You could have just waited in here you moron." Kuroo chuckled, holding out his hand in an offering to take the blond's coat for him as a hostess came up to them.

"Table for two?" The girl asked with a polite smile as Kuroo decided to take Tsukishima's jacket without waiting for him to hand it to him, causing Tsukishima to just roll his eyes.

"Yes. I have a reservation. The name is Kuroo." Kuroo grinned at the young woman and she flushed, a silly little smile appearing on her lips. Tsukishima had to wonder if he did this to people on purpose or if he was unaware of his affect in some situations. Though he had a hard time believing that this egotistical rooster wasn't aware of his natural charm. He had tried to use it on Tsukishima too many times for him to believe otherwise.

"Of course. Right this way." The hostess cheerfully began to lead them to their table.

"I didn't wait inside," Kuroo said, leaning in closer to Tsukishima as they followed the hostess, whispering low, and Tsukishima didn't want to admit how the sound sent a chill down his spine. "Because I was afraid that you might get here and then change your mind and leave." And that stupid grin spread across his lips.

"Tch." Tsukshima clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes as Kuroo chuckled and pulled back a little bit, though he was still walking rather close to him, their arms brushing as they moved forward.

"You smell really nice by the way."

Tsukishima glared at him, though only half-heartedly, as they reached their table that sat in the corner of the shop with windows on both sides. "You are way too comfortable getting into people's personal space, you know?"

To that Kuroo only chuckled as he thanked the hostess. She handed them their menus, assuring them that their waitress would be with them momentarily to take their order before she left. "You didn't seem to mind so much at my place the other day."

Tsukishima's jaw dropped momentarily before he fixed his hard gaze on his companion with annoyance. "You sure don't waste any time bringing something like that up. And that has nothing to do with this."

"What can I say?" The journalist smirked with a shrug as he picked up his menu and started glancing through the items. "I am an open person, and I say what's on my mind. At least you'll never have to wonder what it is I'm thinking. I would think that would be an attractive quality."

"Tch." Tsukishima rolled his eyes, picking up his own menu to look at his options. "That depends. There is a time and a place for that. And two minutes into a date, out in public, talking about an impromptu kiss with someone, is not really the time or the place."

Kuroo put down his menu, placing his elbows on the table as he leaned forward and rested his chin on the palms of both of his hands. The smirk on his lips was sly and predatory as he watched the blond examine the menu in front of him calmly. "Oh, so you are open enough to admit that this is a date." That got Tsukishima to glance up at him from the menu, trying to keep an indifferent expression on his face though he was annoyed and even a little embarrassed. "That's good to know. I also hope that you know, I am hoping that that little, impromptu incident will be happening again very soon."

The blond rolled his eyes, adjusting his glasses, as he looked back down at the menu again. "You are ridiculous… Why did I agree to this again?"

"Because you are interested in me." Kuroo didn't fail to notice how the tips of the paleontologist's ears seemed to be shaded a pretty color of pink, which only made his smirk grow into a wide grin. "And..." He dropped his voice to a low whisper as he leaned in closer, drawing his date's attention back onto him. "Because, whether you admit it or not, you're hoping that the impromptu kissing will happen again too."

Try as he might, Tsukishima couldn't keep control of his expression and he could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks. Damn this pretentious, self absorbed prick… He swallowed, having to look away from Kuroo to get himself under control again. ...Dammit, he is right…