Chapter Text
The sun gently roused Tetsurou from his sleep, and for a long moment, he was confused. He had his head turned towards the round window, so the endless blue sky and sea of clouds were the first to greet him.
But the world was still and peaceful. Too still, too peaceful. His initial thought before his brain went online was that the plane had stopped mid-air. That, or he was still dreaming.
“We still have three more hours to go.”
Tetsurou let his head lol towards the other side, and Kenma’s face was the next to greet him.
Kenma wasn’t looking back. He never was. Right now, he was busy playing games on his Switch. But he spoke again. “You can go back to sleep.”
Maybe I am dreaming, Tetsurou thought drowsily. He let himself stare. Kenma was tucked in his business class seat with his knees pulled up, and he had his partition down, giving Tetsurou a clear view of his messy bun of black and blonde hair, his shapeless hoodie and sweatpants, his round cheek, an elegant eyebrow, the tip of his nose.
Tetsurou didn’t particularly enjoy flying, but with the plane running so smoothly that it felt like it had stopped still, he thought this wasn’t so bad.
The waking world wasn’t so bad.
“Go back to sleep, Kuro.”
But maybe he could use some more sleep.
Tetsurou didn’t bother turning his head back away. He just shut his eyes and let his exhaustion drag him back into slumber.
—
It was hot in Argentina. The pressing heat and blinding sunlight chased away the lingering grogginess as Tetsurou led the way outside the airport and towards a driver holding up the sign ‘Kuroo Tetsurou’ beside a black sedan.
By the time their luggage was in the trunk and they were settled in the backseat, air conditioner on full blast, Tetsurou was wide awake and excited. He didn’t like flying, but he loved traveling.
In contrast, Kenma seemed to have lost whatever energy that had been keeping him up for most of the 28-hour flight from Japan. He slumped against the opposite door and scrunched his nose. “Stop looking so happy. When we reach the hotel, we’re sleeping. We’re sleeping, Kuro, understand?”
“But Kenma,” Tetsurou sang, “we’re in a new city. We have to explore!” He had never been to Argentina before.
Kenma’s expression darkened. “You’re here for work.”
“My meeting with Oikawa isn’t until tomorrow, and that’s the only business I have here. The rest of the days are free.” Not that there were many to begin with. They were to be in San Juan for three days, that was it. Still, it was more than enough, considering he was burning up company resources for this trip. The hotel, the driver, the allowance — it was all covered.
The only thing that wasn’t covered was Kenma’s expenses.
It still confused Tetsurou that Kenma was even here. Oh, he definitely asked Kenma for help with Shouyou, but that wasn’t until Rio de Janeiro. Kenma didn’t have to come with Tetsurou to every stop leading there, but he insisted on it.
Well, he could afford it anyway, so Tetsurou just let him do what he wanted.
“So we’ll start going around tomorrow,” Kenma insisted. “It’s already past 1 p.m. here now. Let’s just rest this afternoon and go out for dinner later and then tour after your meeting with Oikawa.”
Tempting, but Tetsurou was feeling restless now. How could he stand being in a brand new city, wasting hours on rest? How could Kenma? “Why did you even come if you didn't want to go out?” It truly baffled Tetsurou. Kenma could have easily flown to Rio de Janeiro at a later date himself, first class if he wanted, but here he was, complaining about what Tetsurou wanted to do with his time. “You don’t have to come with me, you know. You can nap, I’ll just check things out a bit.”
Kenma fell silent. Tetsurou didn’t think much about that, until he glanced sideways checking for a response and found a tiny furrow between Kenma’s brows.
Oh, he didn’t like that.
What was up with him, seriously? Was he upset that Tetsurou was going off on his own and leaving him behind? Of course Tetsurou wanted to drag him out with him, but he wasn’t going to do that. They weren’t teenagers any longer. They were adults who could make their own decisions.
Crossing his arms, Kenma said, “Fine. Do what you want.”
Amidst the sudden tension in the air, Tetsurou sighed and resigned himself to gazing out the window, watching San Juan unfold in front of his eyes.
An hour after landing and things were beginning to get turbulent.
It was a 20-minute ride to their five-star hotel in the city center. The cool air that blasted past them as they stepped through the doors put them both in a better mood.
The process of checking in was a simple affair, the receptionist pleasant and efficient, and before Tetsurou knew it, he was in the elevator with Kenma.
Their room — they were sharing, because Kenma said it would be wasteful if he booked a separate one, as if he weren’t filthy rich — was on the 16th floor. From the elevator, they made a right turn, then left, then it was the door at the very end of the hallway.
After letting the staff wheel in their suitcases and the door swing shut with a click, Tetsurou tossed his backpack to a bed and stretched until his back cracked. “Finally.” There was a stiffness in his neck; he must have fallen asleep weird in the plane.
He gazed around the room critically, taking note of the thick cream curtains half-covering the wide windows, the large mahogany desk with a phone on it, the nightstand in between the two queen-sized beds. Trotting past the closet, he slid open a wooden door to find a bathroom with marble tiles, a shower with glass partitions, a toilet beside it, and a neat sink.
Pretty typical, as far as hotels went. But he’d also had to live in worse accommodations, so he said in satisfaction, “I love my job. Did I mention that I love my job?” To be specific, he loved his job now, because years of staying in the same company was paying off and he not only got to enjoy a higher salary, he was also in the position to be going on trips like this, enjoying benefits like this.
“I’m sure you’ll be saying the opposite before this trip ends.” Kenma sounded distracted so Tetsurou turned to see what he was busying himself with.
Kenma had his suitcase open on his bed — the other bed, the free bed — and was rummaging through the clothes there. He pulled out a white tee, and to Tetsurou’s alarm, started to wiggle out of his black hoodie.
Flushing at the strip of skin he’d accidentally spotted, Tetsurou quickly averted his gaze. Why, he didn’t know. He wouldn’t be able to count the times he’d seen Kenma naked in the span of their 19 — almost 20 — years of friendship. And Kenma removing clothes in the middle of their room meant he clearly didn’t care.
But Tetsurou looked away regardless, heart skipping every other beat. He cleared his throat. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Kenma’s voice was muffled. “I’m changing so I can go out. I can’t wear this in this heat.”
Tetsurou blinked at a wall. “Oh?”
“Isn’t it weird that it was winter when we left Tokyo yesterday, and now it’s summer here in San Juan?” As Tetsurou opened his mouth to obnoxiously explain that cities that were continents apart experience January differently, Kenma flatly said, “Shut up, don’t answer that.” After a few more moments, he sighed and announced. “Okay. I’m ready. Where are we going?”
Bemused, Tetsurou faced him. To his relief, Kenma was decent, wearing the shirt he’d just pulled out and the joggers he wore during the flight. “I… actually don’t know yet.”
Kenma could kill a man with his glare. Luckily, he seemed to be too lazy for murder because he simply crawled onto his bed and flopped onto the space not occupied by the suitcase. “You have half an hour to figure it out before I change my mind again.”
“Okay,” Tetsurou said quickly, mood soaring. His mind was already whirring, eagerly flipping through ideas now that he knew Kenma was going out with him. “It’s going to be fun, Kenma!”
The days ahead stretched in front of Tetsurou, bright and long and full of possibilities.
Two weeks of traveling to four countries with his best friend — what could go wrong?