How We Began

“Oh, wow,” Tsuki said, his voice echoing the awe in his eyes. “Are you sure we’re at the right hotel?”
Kuroo nodded. He was no less awed. “I am definitely going to have a little chat with my auntie,” he said as they finally started moving.
“You still think she did this on purpose, don’t you,” Tsuki asked as they passed through the entryway that closely resembled the Fushimi Inari torii gates.

“I’m convinced of it.”
Tsuki whistled. “Why, though?”
“That’s what I’m still trying to figure out, though I’m beginning to suspect at least one reason.”
“Oh?”
Kuroo was quiet for a few moments.
“She thinks I shouldn’t be alone. That I’m happier when I’m with someone.”
“Ah,” was all Tsuki said to that.

They went into the hotel, trying not to stare at the opulent settings. Tried not to look like they were tourists, even though that’s exactly what they were. Since Tsuki had their red envelope, he checked them in, signed the paperwork, and took the keys from the smiling receptionist.

They were offered a cart for their bags by an overly hopeful bellboy, but they politely declined, seeing as how they just had a backpack and carry on each. It didn’t take them long to find their room, which was the last one down the hall on the first floor.

Tsuki had almost reached the door before he realized Kuroo wasn’t nearby. He looked back and saw him tapping madly away on his phone, his backpack on the floor where it had dropped. His face was flushed red, and he looked like he was … well, not happy. Kuroo’s eyes were bright, but his expression clearly showed he was ready to do damage, and yet still kept it all in check. The next thing he knew, Kuroo’s phone rang, and the man quickly answered it.

“Aunt Yui, I need you to tell me everything…. Oh, don’t even try to play innocent now…. We are at the hotel…. The bridal suite? Really??”

Tsuki, knowing that he really shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but also now extremely curious about the conversation, opened the door and went into their room. He turned on the lights, dropped off his bags without looking around, and went back out to get Kuroo’s bags. The man in question was now listening intently to whatever his aunt was saying, his head tilted to his shoulder to hold the phone there, and his arms crossed over his chest.

He bent to pick up Kuroo’s backpack, and reached for the carry on, but Kuroo’s hand reached out to lightly grip his wrist.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
“Why?” He straightened up and shouldered Kuroo’s backpack.
Kuroo blinked. Tsuki grinned.
“I don’t mind. Really. We can talk about it later. You talk to your auntie. I’ll get us settled in.”
“Okay.”

Tsuki had almost gone into the room again, when Kuroo called his name. He turned around and found Kuroo holding out his phone to him.

“You don’t have to talk to her.”
“Why not? She seemed sweet enough when she came by the shop.”

He put the backpack down, making sure the door wasn’t going to shut and lock on them, and gently took Kuroo’s phone.

“Hello?”
“Hello, Tsukishima-san! My nephew told me I have to apologize, so I’m sorry.”
“You don’t sound even remotely sorry.”
“And you don’t sound like you’re disappointed, or mad.”
“I’m not. I’m actually amused, to be honest.” He said that while he looked straight at Kuroo. “I’m looking forward to hearing your side of this story.”
“I look forward to telling you! That is, if my nephew will let me.”
“Why wouldn’t he let you?” He watched Kuroo roll his eyes and bury his face in his hand. “Wait. Don’t answer that. I’ve a feeling I’m going to find out.”
“Yes, well, Tsukishima-san, before you hang up, I’d like you to do something for me.”
“What’s that?” This time she sounded perfectly serious, which meant he was all ears. Something told him this was important.
“Don’t let him clam up on you. If you let him do that, you might not get the answers you need out of him. Ever.”
“But…”
“No dear, please. I know it’s rude to pry into someone’s life, especially after you just met them. But he needs someone to listen to him, and I’m not that person. I love him and want him to be happy, and… I have a hunch that you are the one who can make that happen.”

Tsuki wanted so much to talk about this further. He wasn’t going to lie, not even to himself: he was interested in Kuroo. He practically admitted it at the train station a few hours ago. He also knew he was taking a little too long talking to Kuroo’s aunt, just by the narrow-eyed suspicious look he was getting from Kuroo.

So, he smiled. “I’ll do what I can, Auntie,” he said, earning a pleased little squeak from her and rolled eyes and a snort from Kuroo. “Talk to you later!” He hung up and gave Kuroo’s phone back to him.

“I assume she apologized,” Kuroo said, following Tsuki into the room, picking up his bags as they crossed the threshold.
“Yes,” Tsuki replied. “And no.”
“Basically her version of ‘sorry, not sorry’?”
“That’s what it sounded like.”
Kuroo sighed. “I know she wants the best for me, but…”
“She can be a little overwhelming?”

Kuroo smiled gently. Tsuki’s heart flipped. To distract himself, he took a look around. Kuroo did the same from where he stood, next to the king size bed. The only bed in the room, for that matter. There was a desk next to the massive picture window, half hidden by sheers and a blackout curtain. A huge flat screen TV was mounted on the opposite wall from the bed, underneath it was a dresser, and in between that and the bed, there was a low-legged table and cushions for dining in. A small kitchenette was just inside the room, and behind another door was the restroom. A door in the far corner of the room led to the hot tub included with the bridal suite, presumably, but he’d go look at it later.

“She’s overwhelming, fun, meddlesome, stubborn… etcetera, etcetera,” Kuroo continued after a few minutes. Tsuki ambled back to start unpacking.
“You love her, though.”
“I do. Best auntie in the world.”
“Maybe you can tell me more about her sometime.”
“Sure you want to know?”
“I do,” Tsuki replied simply.

Tsuki watched Kuroo as he stopped unpacking and stared at him. His expression was unreadable, and he was speechless. Maybe he might have been a little too straightforward, but Tsuki wouldn’t take it back. Not now that he caught a glimpse of another facet that was Kuroo. This time, through his aunt, who Tsuki had to admit he liked a lot more now than when he first met her.

Without a word, Kuroo turned to his carry on and brought out a roll that closely resembled the multi-colored quilt he’d brought to the shop that first night. It was part of the prize they’d won. Tsuki had wanted to keep it then, liking the brilliant colors, and even the embroidered kanji characters woven in gold and silver thread all around it. He’d wanted to find out what they were, but Kuroo had swapped it for the red envelope.

“Here,” he said as he held it out to Tsuki. “Your turn.”
Tsuki smirked. “I feel like you’re handing me a trophy of sorts.”
“Compared to the rest of our prize, maybe it is.”
“So, do we drape it over the bed?”
“If you want to.”

Tsuki took the quilt from him, lightly brushing his fingertips over Kuroo’s. He noticed when Kuroo gasped briefly, trying to hide it. Which was unusual, considering his past behavior. The Kuroo he knew, even if it was just for two weeks, would have smiled at the very least. He might have also cracked a joke, or flirted back harder. Or just reach out to touch him back. Was this Kuroo trying to clam up on him? It couldn’t be that he was nervous. Could it?

It didn’t quite sit well with him, and Tsuki didn’t want this… this… whatever this was, to ruin their trip. They’d only just arrived!

“Kuroo, are you okay?”
Kuroo blinked as if coming out of some deep thought. “Yeah. Why?”
‘Don’t let him clam up on you… ever.’
Taking a big chance, which he seldom did, he looked directly at Kuroo.
“You’re not acting like the Kuroo I’ve come to know.”
“Pardon?”
“Since we’ve met, you’ve been… how to put this… the more dominant one. The stronger one. Now, it’s like a switch flipped,” Tsuki grinned a bit, remembering Kuroo had used the same description about him. “And it started when we got here. Why?”
“I-I don’t know what you mean.”

Defensive tactic, evasive maneuver. Tsuki knew it all too well. He knew it because he was most often the one to deploy it, not be the one to try to fight it. Or maybe fight wasn’t the correct word.

“That right there!” Tsuki probably spoke a little too loudly, maybe just a touch more harshly than intended. Still… “You’re avoiding my question.”
“I am not…”
“I know because I’ve done it, too,” Tsuki interrupted him quietly. “And I know enough about you that this isn’t normal.” He sighed. “Your aunt told me something during that call. You want to know what she said?”
“That’s between you and…”
“She told me not to let you clam up on me. That if I did, I would never be able to get the answers I’d need from you.” He scrubbed his hand nervously through his hair, letting his hand stop at the nape of his neck. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s rude to pry, and she told me that, too, by the way,” he said gently. “We barely know each other, but… there’s something between us. I feel it, and I know you do, too. I mean, why else would you stick around the shop like you did? Why else would you even bother to help me during a panic attack? Why else would you say the things I needed to hear most to let you in?”

That was the most he’d ever said at any time ever, even in past relationships. Even with his own family. But, he knew what he said had some sort of impact with Kuroo, just not in the way he’d thought it would. Kuroo’s face was unreadable again, and his eyes looked clouded, as if he were actively trying to shut himself off.

Well, maybe he should try something else…

“I think we should go…”
“No! No, wait,” Kuroo interrupted him, looking slightly worried. Maybe a little scared, too. “Please don’t say you want to go home.”
Tsuki blinked. “I wasn’t going to.”
“Good.” Kuroo let out a huge breath, as if he’d been holding it in. He looked relieved, too. Tsuki smiled.
“I was going to say I think we should go out for a late lunch, or something.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, ‘oh,’”

It looked like Kuroo was trying to shake off whatever mood he’d been wrapped up in.

“Any suggestions?” Kuroo asked.
“Well, there’s a few places right around here. One of them would be okay.”
“Sounds good. We could just go across the street…” his voice drifted off as a thought occurred. “Wait a sec.”

Tsuki watched him as he picked up the envelope. He pulled out all the paperwork in there that remained: their tickets for the trip home, coupons, hotel receipts, and itineraries. Curious, he kept quiet as Kuroo picked up the coupons and the itineraries.

“All of these are for the biggest touristy spots in the city. We’re not exactly visiting during the off-season, either, but it’s somewhat less crowded…”
“I’ll be fine,” Tsuki assured him, touched that Kuroo was worried about him. “I’ll bring my headphones, and I’ll stick close to you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Part of that attack was my fault. I’d forgotten how crowded it could be at the station, even at that hour during the week.”
“Still…”
“I’ll be fine,” he repeated. “If anything happens, you’ll be there, right?”
“Right.”

And for the first time since they’d arrived, Kuroo smiled. A genuine, happy smile. Tsuki had seen that smile so many times before in the last couple weeks, but this time, he helped put it on Kuroo’s face. Kuroo’s handsome as sin face, with body to match. Tsuki knew now, without a doubt, that he had it bad for this tall, dark-haired, gray-eyed sexy man.

One of their coupons was for a nearby restaurant that they could walk to. It was late afternoon, and the crowds had thinned even more, so Tsuki didn’t bother to put his headphones on. They had to pass the Fushimi Inari shrine to get there, so they decided to stop and take a few pictures to send back to Aunt Yui. Kuroo even took a few shots of nearby torii gates, which he’d told her he would do.

At the little ramen restaurant they’d decided on, they sat at a table for two and ordered two bowls of Korean spicy beef ramyun, a plate of pork gyoza dumplings and egg rolls.

“So what did..”
“I want to expla…”

They both said at the same time, stopping and looking at each other awkwardly. Tsuki felt himself blush, and was captivated seeing a light pink hue appear across Kuroo’s cheeks. Kuroo coughed and they both reached for their drinks in unison, too. Both of them started laughing.

“You first,” Kuroo said as soon as he caught his breath.
“I was going to ask what your Aunt Yui told you before she talked to me. I mean, that is, if you want to talk about it.”
“Confirmed setup,” Kuroo replied with a smirk. He put his elbows on the table and crossed his arms. “She told me that it wasn’t just her that put it all together, but also the other ladies in her club.”
“Her club?”
“They make quilts,” Kuroo answered with a tender smile. “I’ve known them my whole life, so I could consider them all my aunts.”
“Sounds nice.”
“I can introduce you to them when we get back.”
“I’d like that,” Tsuki said with a little smile. “What else did she say?”
“They came up with the plan… oh, thank you,” he smiled at the waitress who brought their food. He waited until she left to continue. “They came up with the plan not too long after you opened your shop, actually.”
“Why me?” There were so many other questions he had, but that one would do for now.
Kuroo could only shrug. “I don’t know. Aunt Yui doesn’t either, just that she’d gone to her club one evening, and they already had that much planned.”

Over the course of their meal, Kuroo explained that the ladies, and his aunt Yui, had saved up as much money as they could to use for this year’s prizes. Which was why it was a much bigger deal than any other year before. The first two prize drawings were completely random, as they were supposed to be. But the last drawing, for the trip to Kyoto, was rigged so that both he and Tsuki would win. No one was the wiser.

“Now I see why you were so exasperated with her earlier,” Tsuki muttered after eating the last dumpling.
Kuroo shrugged. “I know she means well, but…”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
Tsuki took a deep breath, and hoped. “Do you think we would have met if she and the ladies hadn’t thrown us together?”
“I’d like to think so,” Kuroo replied softly, reaching over to take his hand. “I already knew about your shop, but I hadn’t had the chance to swing by. Work had me out of town and traveling quite a bit before and during winter break.”
“So we should probably thank them for their efforts.”
“Yeah.”

On the way back to their room, they found a little ice cream shop and ordered an ice cream cone to go. They hadn’t once let go of each other’s hand.

In the room, they spread the quilt over their bed, and then sat on it, in the middle of the bed, going over their itinerary for the next day. Most of the shrines on the list were open 24 hours, so that wasn’t an issue. There were a few other places, which had clear open and close times, that would be trickier to visit.

Kuroo argued that if they got there just before opening, they’d practically have the place to themselves once they were allowed in. Tsuki challenged that they could go just before closing, and the same thing could happen.

“You just don’t want to get up early,” Kuroo groused with a smile.
“Can you blame me? We’re on vacation. We have to sleep late. Those are the rules.”
“Vacations have rules?”
“Well, no written rules. More like, unspoken rules. The kind no one breaks for fear of bringing the wrath of the gods down on their heads.”
“Oooohh… fanciful. You made that up.”
“Maybe.”
Kuroo laughed. “Auntie’s going to love you.”
“Point in my favor, I guess.”
“Have you even seen a sunrise?”
“Usually just before going to sleep.”
“One wonders how you made it through high school and university.”
“One still hasn’t figured that out yet, either.”
“Smartass.”
Tsuki winked, and nearly laughed at Kuroo’s startled face.

The mood was much better, and settled, between them again. Though Tsuki knew they still had a few things to iron out. But that would be for another time, and hopefully it wouldn’t cause too much turbulence between the two of them again.

For another few hours, before they settled down for sleep, they discussed what they wanted to do tomorrow. As a compromise, Tsuki agreed that 9am wasn’t too early to wake up, but made no guarantees about actually being coherent, or sweet-tempered, so that they could start their self-guided tour before noon.

Since they were there near the end of cherry blossom season, they would go to a few temples and wander around Higashiyama district, especially the Imperial Palace Park. Most of the places they chose were off the beaten track, so way less people to deal with. There were several places to eat, so they’d make a day of it there, and return before dinner.