How We Began

Part Four

If you were to ask them, years later, what that first full day in Kyoto was like, they'd have told you it was almost like any first date. And they'd stress the 'almost' because how many first dates start out sharing the same hotel room, and the same bed? Sure, they could still be a little nervous around each other, but that first full day was the first time they were constantly in each other's presence. Somehow, when all was said and done, they found that just being together was so much better than whatever shrine, park, or restaurant they were visiting.

Tsuki's first alarm went off at 8am. He grumbled, hit the snooze, and immediately went back to sleep. He didn't hear the soft chuckle from beside him, nor did he notice when Kuroo left the bed.

The second alarm went off at 8:30am. Tsuki hit the snooze again, but tried to stay awake. He rolled over and flung one arm to the side, the other over his eyes.

First thing he noticed was that Kuroo wasn't beside him. His side of the bed was ice cold. Tsuki groggily thought he must've risen after that first alarm.

Second thing he noticed; the scent of coffee. And was that... bacon?

"I had room service bring us breakfast. If you're up for it," he heard Kuroo say softly.

"Not even 9am, yet," Tsuki grumbled.

"Well, no," Kuroo agreed. "But there's bacon, and a strawberry danish. Plus, coffee with plenty of cream and sugar for you to mix in."

Muttering to himself something about early birds and mornings being the bane of his existence, Tsuki dismissed the rest of his alarms and struggled to sit up. Bracing his arms behind him, he squinted against the sunlight coming in from the window. Once his eyes acclimated, he looked around the room, and found Kuroo sitting at the chabudai. His laptop was open, and he was reading, and occasionally typing. He was still dressed in what he slept in: a black tank top and a pair of red shorts. His dark hair was a glorious riot of a mess, too, tempting Tsuki to run his fingers through to tame it.

Also, as he had said, breakfast was waiting. So was the coffee.

"Morning, sunshine," Kuroo said. He had a coffee mug halfway to his mouth, and he was smiling wickedly.

"Too early," Tsuki grumbled, maneuvering so that his legs were over the side of the bed and his feet hit the floor. "What are you doing?"

"Just checking out some of the places we want to go," Kuroo explained. "Weather, maps, that sort of thing."

"Drinking all the coffee and eating all the food..." Tsuki groused as he pushed off the bed. He smirked at Kuroo as he came over to join him. He sat down and grabbed a plate, loading it up with bacon and his first strawberry danish.

"You snooze, you lose," Kuroo quipped back, pouring coffee into a mug and pushing it toward Tsuki. "I don't know the correct sugar and cream to coffee ratio."

"Easy," Tsuki replied, through a bite of bacon. "Watch closely." He snatched five sugar packets and four little cup things of creamer, dumped it all in and stirred vigorously. He brought the mug to his lips, and took a healthy sip. "Perfection," he sighed happily.

"If you say so," Kuroo grimaced. "If the caffeine doesn't help wake you up, then the sugar rush will. I just hope the crash isn't for a long while."

"Years of practice."

"If you say so," Kuroo repeated. "Here. This is what I was doing before you woke up." He turned his laptop so Tsuki could see while he ate. "Depending on how long it takes us to visit each of these, we could end up at the Imperial Palace and there's a little place not too far from there where we could eat lunch."