The Cat and the Crow

Off To Kyoto

"Did we really need to leave that early?" Tsuki groused from beside him, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. They had just disembarked from the bullet train, and waited on their friends.

Kuroo smiled. Grumpy Tsuki was too adorable. Yet, he had to stay alert. Bokuto and Akaashi had just joined them, and as usual, Bokuto was wide awake and ready for anything.

"Well, we did agree to an itinerary, of sorts, and in order to do everything that we wanted to do, we had to get here as early as possible."

Kei gave him the side-eye. "Still too early."

"Come on, guys! We gotta find something to eat for breakfast!" Bokuto called out, a little louder than he should have. Kuroo and Akaashi simultaneously snapped into action, both of them covering the mouths of their respective boyfriends.

"Keep it down, Bokuto. It's still too early to be that loud," Akaashi reminded him.

"Oh, yeah. Right," Bokuto said in a rather subdued voice. But then, "sorry!"

"Really? After I just told you to hush?" Akaashi scolded. He looked back at Kuroo, who waved them on.

"You've known him long enough to know he runs on all cylinders at all times," Kuroo said gently. "Yes, he even slept some. I witnessed the phenomenon." Tsuki's glare snapped to him. "Don't look at me with that tone of voice. You were nearly out cold before we even started the movie last night. I practically had to carry you to bed." He gently removed his hand. "Come on. We do need to eat something, and then head over to Nijo Castle."

"The Voice of Reason speaketh," Tsuki grumbled.

"Early Bird Edition," Kuroo corrected, earning a chuckle from Tsuki. "Someone has to keep you from taking too many casualties before 9am."

"Yeah, whatever."

Crisis averted, the four of them passed through the station, and out to find a cab. This early in the morning, it wasn't hard. They piled into the van, lucked out again with an especially cheerful driver, who knew exactly where to take them for good, inexpensive, breakfast fare. Seeing an opportunity, Kuroo waited until everyone had already gone ahead into the restaurant the driver stopped at.

"Are you available for hire?" he asked before getting out. "Would your company allow you to drive us around all day?"

The driver shrugged. "I'm an independent driver, so it doesn't really matter," she told him. "I like you guys, so I'll get you where you want to go." She named a price. It was a little steep, but Kuroo knew it was worth it to have their own transportation.

"Half now, half at the end of the day. Deal?" He reached out to shake hands.

"Deal." She smiled and shook his hand. Kuroo paid her the agreed upon half amount. "See you boys after breakfast."

"Thank you very much," he said as he caught up to his friends.

[Time Spent With You]

By unspoken agreement between Kuroo and Akaashi, they decided to split up for a while at each attraction they went to. It was while they were at Nijo Castle that Kuroo discovered yet another fascinating side to Tsuki; He was a history nut. And his interest seemed to focus on the Sengoku period, and late Tokugawa Shogunate era. Kuroo had to admit that, while he liked history well enough himself, Tsuki went way beyond, even going so far as to derail the mini tour they were on by discussing facts with the tour guide.

At one point, he'd had to step in and stop Tsuki, who'd become a little more animated once the Shinsengumi was mentioned. He snuck up behind his love, put his hands on Tsuki's waist, and leaned in to kiss the nape of his neck.