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Blue specks and dark shades were cast over the black walls of the tunnel, a flicker of light flashed and disappeared again, the shadowy light from above was refracted into broken fragments, bubbles originated the depths between the corals and stones at the bottom of the huge tank.
A fin crossed the deep silence, one eye passed by, then another, nervous and curious. Suddenly, they were overshadowed by a huge giant, floating through the same space, gently, majestically, gliding through tons of water, as calm and as quiet as a tranquil summer eve.
All the animals to the left and right gave Tobio the feeling of being watched from all sides. But for some reason he didn't particularly mind. There were thick walls separating them, keeping them safe from each other.
"Look at this!"
"I am looking, dumbass."
"But have you seen this little guy here?"
Tobio squinted and knelt down to where Shouyou was crouching in front of a coral. Shouyou stared intently at one single spot, and only after Tobio too stared at it for a minute or so, he noticed a glint in the dark.
"Amazing, huh? Look at the sparks of their scales. So beautiful."
"Mhm," Tobio hummed.
"You're not fascinated."
"I am."
"You don't look like it."
Tobio shrugged. "I don't have to look fascinated to be fascinated."
"Right," Shouyou agreed, getting up and taking Tobio's hand again. "This was your idea after all."
He was right, but mostly because Shouyou mentioned the local aquarium for at least five times a day for the past two weeks – so much for being subtle – but Tobio kept silent; he didn't want to ruin the mood after all, not on this special day, and he did have fun too.
"Have you seen these little guys here?" Shouyou tugged at his hand and walked to the other side of the tunnel.
"Which ones?" Tobio asked and leaned closer.
"The pink ones, the tiny ones."
"There's a name plate."
"It's in Portuguese."
"Yeah?"
Shouyou frowned. "I may be able to talk Portuguese on a daily basis, but I fear my vocabulary for scientific fish names is a bit low."
"Mhm." Tobio hummed in agreement. "Do we have those at home?" he then asked and nodded to the tank.
Shouyou shrugged. "I never went into the sea at home."
"Me neither."
For a moment, they stand in front of the pink-coloured fish passing calmly around a coral. Tobio was glad it was a weekday, otherwise they wouldn't be able to enjoy the main attraction of the aquarium – a five meter tunnel on both sides – as they were now. On the other hand, they had already spent a lot of time here. Probably too long, at least for the regular customer. The longer they stayed, the more Shouyou discovered, and of course he always shared his finds with Tobio, who was happy to indulge him.
"Let's go," Tobio mumbled.
Shouyou nodded and squeezed Tobio's hand, and as they continued walking, he pressed into Tobio's side, gazing at the fish above them. Tobio's arm became warm; the urge to kiss bright red hair in the dark of the tunnel overcame him.
As they left the tunnel, they found themselves in a dark room with lots of small tanks that contained funny-looking fish and other creatures from the depth of the Atlantic ocean. There were so many fish Tobio had never seen before and he wondered whether there were different ones in Italian aquariums. Perhaps they could go to one the next time Shouyou visits him in Italy.
When Tobio saw the sign for the aquarium café, his stomach growled a little. He was just about to suggest to head over and get a snack, when Shouyou tugged once more at his hand.
"What do-"
Tobio turned his head to see Shouyou, dragging him back to where they had come from.
"Where are you going dumbass, the route is this way!"
"I wanna see those bubbly fish again! The one that were all puffy and round. Weren't they incredible?"
"Bubbly, puffy fish?" Tobio asked, already being pulled back, any resistance futile when it came to Hinata Shouyou.
"Yeah!"
They walked a few corridors back until they reached the tanks near the stairs.
"Oh look, they're swimming in circles now, it's adorable!"
Tobio only glanced at the tank before his eyes drifted back to Shouyou. He smiled, because sure, this was adorable.
"Tobio?"
"Hm?"
Shouyou looked at him. "What?" he asked.
"What what?" Tobio replied, confused.
"What are you grinning for, huh?"
Had he let it shown on his face? No, he was sure he hadn't – maybe he had just spent too much time with Shouyou. Well, not that that was a bad thing.
He shrugged. "Nothing."
Shouyou squinted with suspicious-looking eyes at him, then he let it go and shrugged too. "Oh look," he then said, distracted by whatever the bubbly, puffy fish were doing. "They're cleaning each other."
"Hm? Where?"
"There," Shouyou said and pointed with his free hand, careful not to touch the glass.
To see better, Tobio leaned his chin on Shouyou's shoulder and trained his eyes on the fish tank, watching them closely to understand what had sparked Shouyou's interest. Shouyou's ears were very warm, but in the depth of the ocean, the warmth was very much welcomed.