Chapter Text
It’s six in the morning and Ryuu wakes with a start, coming out of a dream of black skies and murky waters, with that disturbing niggling in his gut that something isn’t quite right. It takes him approximately twenty seconds to glance across the room and zero in on what it is, he blames his slow response on the clinging remnants of his bad dream and the fact that they had been on the road for nearly the entire day before and only getting to the hotel long after the sun had set.
“Mizuki?” He’s up and out of the bed in an instant when he registers the empty bed beside his own, covers ruffled and shoved to the side. The mattress is cool to the touch when he checks it and he looks around the small room, refusing to let himself panic even when he opens the bathroom door and finds it empty. His blood rushes through his veins clogging his ears with a white fuzz of noise as he forces himself to take deep breaths and close his eyes to center himself. It’s not the first time she’s wandered off and he knows how to handle it: don’t panic being top of the list.
His eyes flutter open when he hears a voice he doesn’t recognize coming from the other side of the door near his bed. They were staying in a rooms that had been booked for the wedding guests and some of them had been conjoining rooms and his heart tries to jump to his throat as he hurries over and presses his hand against the smooth wood. Had he been truly focused he would have realized the door had been cracked open to begin with and would have noticed the soft light coming from the other side. Again, he blames the dream and the drive and the fact that sometimes even he has trouble keeping up with the five-year-old whirlwind that is his daughter.
“No that’s not even the right era at all. Where did you even learn that?”
“In my book. See?” Mizuki’s voice floats over to him and Ryuu feels his breath come back as he braces himself against the doorway at the sight of her blue and green dinosaur print pajamas and blonde hair. She has her dinosaur encyclopedia spread open on her lap and is sitting cross legged on one of the beds of the conjoining room. A man about his age with black rimmed glasses, sleep mussed blond hair a shade lighter than Mizuki’s but somehow with the same adorable curls at the ends, and a set of workout clothes is seated on the other bed with a scowl on his face as he leans over to look at where she is pointing. “It says it right there.”
“Your book is either very outdated or had some very poor research done before it was published. Either way it’s not a very good book.” He doesn’t recognize the voice but the tone is serious yet hushed and calm in a way that most people aren’t when dealing with his daughter.
Mizuki gasps and smacks her palm on her book. “My Papa got me this. It’s the best book.”
Mizuki had her mother’s blonde hair and brown eyes and curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Unfortunately she had her father’s expressive face, fiery spirit, fearlessness of strangers, and love of meeting new people. It made for a combination that was difficult to handle, even for him some days, and he can’t help but watch this stranger huff a little and shake his head almost fondly as Mizuki flips through the pages and points out something else.
“This is my favorite. Kentrosaurus. They’re so neat looking, aren’t they?”
“That’s not even what they ate,” the man mutters with a frown. “How old is this book?” Mizuki shuts the book hard, the thwump of the hardcover making her smile before she hands it over to the man.
“Papa bought for me last year when I turned four, see.” The man flips the cover open and sees the note and date Ryuu had written in it when he got it for her and Ryuu’s heart stumbles a little when the man gets a small smile on his face for just a moment before he shakes his head once again, that adorable frown back on his lips.
“I suppose it isn’t always easy to find decent books about dinosaurs.”
“It’s a good book!” Mizuki defends again and snatches it out of the man’s hands. “Papa said he tried really really hard to find one that didn’t dumb stuff down ‘cause I’m not a dumb kid.”
“I can see that you definitely are not dumb. It’s just too bad that he couldn’t have found an even better book. Then you would know even more things about dinosaurs.”
Ryuu shifts in the doorway as Mizuki gets her contemplative face on and the other man suddenly looks up at the movement and blushes when their eyes meet. Ryuu has enough time to think that it’s actually kind of an adorable look before Mizuki spins and gasps happily.
“Papa!” She’s off the bed in a flash, leaving the other man scrambling to catch her book before it hits the floor Ryuu notes, and launching herself into his arms with a giggle. “You’re awake finally!”
“Finally?” Ryuu asks as he settles her familiar weight in his arms and buries his nose in her hair just to hear her giggle again.
“Finally yeah. I tried to wake you up a bunch and then the light came on under the door and Tsukishima was awake and we’ve talked about dinosaurs for hours.”
“Tsukishima, huh?” He glances up at the man who nods at him, face still flushed, as he carefully sets Mizuki’s book on the bed and stands, fingers pressing together in front of his stomach almost nervously. “What have I told you about talking to strangers, Mizuki?”
She blinks up at him and frowns as she thinks.
“Um. Not to yell at them?”
A snicker from the stranger - Tsukishima, his brain supplies happily - makes him sigh because, well, she wasn’t wrong. They had needed to have that conversation.
“I meant the not talking to strangers without my permission and without me around.”
Understanding dawns on her face and her eyes go wide. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.”
“But his name is Tsukishima and he likes dinosaurs and he’s here for Uncle Suga’s wedding!” She wraps her fingers in his shirt and tugs insistently, stretching the collar as she wriggles and pouts. “He’s not strange at all.”
Ryuu laughs quietly and rolls his eyes when she looks over her shoulder at Tsukishima.
“Ah I’m sorry for my daughter’s intrusion this morning.” Ryuu grins when their eyes meet again and he’s happy to see that Tsukishima doesn’t shy away from the contact even though he looks more uncomfortable talking to Ryuu than he did talking to a five year old.
“It’s alright,” Tsukishima’s eyes drop down to Mizuki and he scoops up the book to hand it to her. “I don’t sleep well in hotels so I was up anyway. The only thing she did was give me an excuse to delay my morning jog with Daichi a little longer than usual.”
“Let’s talk about dinosaurs some more later,” Mizuki says when she grabs her book and settles herself against Ryuu’s chest.
“That’s alright with me but you need to ask your father before you run off and talk to people.”
Mizuki tilts her head against his chest and Ryuu can picture the slight squint and narrowed eyes she’s giving Tsukishima as she contemplates his words - he’s seen the look enough directed at himself after having a serious talk with her - and Tsukishima calmly stares back at her, face serious. Finally Mizuki nods.
“Deal.” She leans back and Ryuu looks down at her smile. “Papa I’m hungry. Is it time for breakfast now?”
“Sure let me put on actual pants and we can find some breakfast and leave our weekend neighbor to his jogging. Good luck by the way,” he adds as he turns to re-enter their room. “I hear Daichi can be a real demon with jogging partners.”
“I know, but thanks.” The tiniest blush hits Tsukishima’s cheeks again as he steps towards them. “I’ll get the door. Have a good day.”
The jog goes about as well as expected seeing as how Daichi is about fifteen hours from being married to his high school sweetheart lifelong soulmate other better half and Kei spends the entire time nodding in the right places and letting his mind muddle over his already long morning while Daichi vents his nervousness. It had started when he finished changing and brushing his teeth and finally turned on the overhead light and had barely had time to grab his sneakers from his suitcase when a light knock sounded from the doorway that led to the room next door and the door was swinging open to reveal a tiny blonde child in dinosaur pajamas with an oversized book in her hands staring up at him.
“You’re tall,” she had said without preamble and then continued on before he could even respond. “Do you like dinosaurs?”
They had spent over an hour settled on the twin beds in his hotel room talking about dinosaurs and Daichi’s wedding and a half dozen other topics - that all came back to dinosaurs eventually - before movement had caught his eye and looked up to spot a stranger in a pair of boxers and a loose t-shirt propped against the doorway between their rooms smiling at them. The man’s laugh and Mizuki’s giggle both made his stomach flip when they looked at each other as he shut the door and Kei had to practically manually restart his brain because when Mizuki had tugged on her father’s shirt collar a splash of ink had shown up on his collarbone and, well, Kei had been thoroughly distracted.
“...rooms?”
Daichi’s voice finally breaks through to him again and Kei slows as the hotel comes into sight again.
“What was that?” Daichi raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything other than repeating his question.
“I said I hope you don’t mind being put in one of the conjoining rooms. There’s some sort of reunion going on this weekend too so we were kind of limited on room options and I know that the last time you got stuck rooming with Kuroo you nearly smothered him in his sleep.”
“That was like five years ago.”
“Are you saying you wouldn’t smother Kuroo in his sleep if you roomed with him again?”
“No. Just that it was five years ago so I would at least attempt to cover it up this time.”
Daichi laughs and slaps his shoulder as they slow to a walk and stretch out their arms a bit.
“I am really glad you could make it, Tsukishima.” Daichi smiles at him and Kei feels his stomach flip flop twist like it always does when someone his age is being sincere with him. “Seriously. It means a lot to Suga and me that we have the people we do here, especially since, well you know.”
Kei does know. He knows the kind of shit those two had gone through with their families and hometown and schools and jobs and friends who turned out to be not so great or supportive. The fact that those two had come out of all of that as happy as they did was nothing short of a miracle in his eyes. Not that he’d ever say so in actual words. But Daichi had never needed that from him.
“You’re marrying him. Are you ever going to use his given name?”
“Oh he does use it.” Kuroo’s voice floats down to them from the open window above the side entrance to the hotel. “Believe me. But it’s usually when they’re-”
“Kuroo!”
“Oh shit.” Kei snickers when he hears a door shut. “Good morning, Suga. You’re looking lively this morning. Ready to get married? Hey don’t hit me I can’t be a best man with a bruised face!”
“Some things really never change do they?” Kei watches the window shut before letting his eyes drift a few windows down to his own room, pausing only briefly on the window before his.
“I think it would be kind of lonely somehow if they did.” Daichi answers before he bumps shoulders with Kei and heads inside. “You ready for this?”
“You’re the one getting married. I should be asking you that.”
“I am not photographing you in your underwear for Daichi and Suga’s wedding photos, Kuroo. Put your pants on already.” Kei pinches the bridge of his nose and wonders for the fifth time this morning why he agreed to this. He had known from the start that Kuroo would be zero help. The only thing he has going for him right now is the fact that Asahi is here for Suga so at least there is one halfway decent person to get along with right now. Or at least one person he could count on not being in just their boxers or pajamas while he’s trying to take some pictures for the happy couple. “Seriously Kuroo if you don’t put your pants on right now I am leaving.”
“You’re such a spoilsport sometimes, Tsukki.”
“Don’t call me that.” Kuroo’s grin drops and he turns serious, slipping his arm around Kei’s shoulders and giving him a squeeze.
“Sorry. It just slips out sometimes. You know I don’t mean anything by it.”
Kei takes a deep breath and rolls the arm off his shoulder before heading to the door. Maybe he should just stick with hanging out with Asahi until the ceremony gets closer.
“I know. Now put on some damn pants.”
When Ryuu steps out of the shower and peeks his head out of the bathroom he’s not surprised to see the room empty. This time he doesn’t panic at all though. He simply pulls on a pair of sweatpants, hooks his towel around his neck, and heads over to the open doorway.
“Mizuki,” he calls out when he steps up to the doorway, “what did I say about telling me before going anywhere?”
“Tsukishima’s here.”
“That’s not the point.” Ryuu peeks his head around the door and gives his daughter a look.
Tsukishima glances up at Ryuu and then back down at Mizuki quickly, face doing that tiny adorable flush even as he gets a slightly stern look on his face. “You didn’t ask your father first?” He doesn’t sound angry, just the right mixture of upset with a touch of disappointment and Ryuu can’t help but wonder if Tsukishima has younger siblings or cousins, or hell maybe even kids of his own, to have that tone down so easily.
“He was in the shower and I wanted to come talk to you about dinosaurs.”
“That’s an excuse, Mizuki. We’ve talked about excuses like that before.”
“Sorry, Papa.”
“I accept your apology.” Ryuu gives Tsukishima a smile, trying to apologize on his daughter’s behalf without actually saying the words, and Tsukishima gives him a quick smile back; apology acknowledged and accepted. “Now I’m sure that Tsukishima here has plenty to do himself to get ready for Uncle Suga’s wedding to Daichi. And someone needs to get into their dress for the wedding.”
Mizuki’s eyes light up and she hops off the bed with a shout of glee before practically flying past him into their room.
“Flower girl.” Ryuu explains when he sees Tsukishima blinking in surprise after her. “Takes her role very seriously. Sorry again for all the trouble. If she bothers you I can have a more serious talk with her or see about swapping rooms since this door doesn’t lock properly.” The last thing he wants to do is upset someone who is also here for Suga’s wedding. Suga has enough to deal with in regards to everything else in his life right now and Ryuu refuses to be a problem for him now.
“Oh it’s not a bother. She’s good company for a five year old. Better than some of the adults I’ve been around lately.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Tsukishima’s phone goes off and he frowns down at it and pinches the bridge of his nose in a move that pushes his glasses up towards his forehead and makes him look even younger and more adorable than before. Ryuu mentally shakes himself away from those thoughts when Tsukishima glances up at him and tosses his phone back onto the table.
“Obviously you’ve never met Kuroo then.”
Ryuu has a vague memory of messy sweaty hair and cold bathroom tiles and apple flavored liqueur and he laughs almost nervously. He never did remember all the details of that night and Suga, the jerk, refused to share what he knew.
“Once. A long time ago. Practically a lifetime ago it feels like now.” Mizuki calls out from behind him and Ryuu gives Tsukishima an exaggerated bow that makes the other man huff out a quiet laugh. “My princess calls for her loyal servant. I’ll see you later at the wedding.” He shuts the door and heads to the bathroom to help Mizuki into her dress.
Maybe he can ask Kuroo at the reception if he remembers anything more about that night.
“Papa,” Mizuki frowns up at him and Ryuu drops his attention from his reflection - and the tie that’s been giving him hell for the last five minutes - to his daughter.
“What’s up?”
“It won’t stay on.”
The silver circlet that Suga had helped pick out for Mizuki’s outfit keeps sliding out of position and Ryuu feels a frown that matches his daughter’s cross his face. He hums and digs out the bag of accessories in his toiletries bag.
“Well let’s see if we have a solution in here. If not,” he raises an eyebrow at her and she cheers.
“We go to Asahi!”
“We go to Asahi,” he agrees with a grin.
Somehow there is not a single bobby pin to be found in either of their bags and Mizuki refuses to perform her duties with “super ugly hair clippies” holding her circlet in place.
So they go to Asahi. Who is currently holed up in Suga’s room helping him with his suit and tie and telling him for the fourth time that hour that he looks fine, Daichi will look fine, everything will be fine.
“Man, Asahi, who would have ever thought that you’d be the one to be calming me down?” Suga laughs nervously as Asahi pulls out a handful of bobby pins and drops them into Ryuu’s hand to hold as he fixes Mizuki’s hair. She’s settled on Suga’s lap and Suga has his face pressed into her tiny shoulder as she pats his arm gently and Asahi quickly pins her circlet into place with a few well placed bobby pins.
“You’re gonna be awesome today Uncle Suga. Lotsa people who love you are here and you get to say you’ll be with Uncle Daichi forever in front of all of us. It’s pretty cool. And if something goes wrong Papa and Uncle Asahi will fix it for you. Because they’re pretty awesome too.”
Suga raises his head and meets their eyes in the mirror. Then he starts laughing as he squeezes Mizuki with a strong hug that has her giggling and squirming and chiding him for trying to mess up her dress before hopping off his lap to check out the view from his window.
“How the hell did you get such a smart kid, Ryuu?” Suga asks with a grin as Asahi sighs and finishes buttoning up Ryuu’s shirt.
“To be honest I have no idea. Must be her mother’s genes. Cause I know I wasn’t nearly that smart when I was five.”
“You weren’t nearly that smart when you were fifteen,” Asahi mumbles as he knots Ryuu’s tie for him and makes sure it hangs straight before stepping away.
“Hey that’s rude.”
“Doesn’t make it any less true.”
“I never knew you were so mean, Asahi.”
“Only to you because I love you so much, Tanaka.”
Suga sighs and smacks them both on the shoulders after checking that Mizuki is still staring out the window. “Don’t let Noya hear you say that, please. I would rather not have that scene at my wedding.”
One reason Kei really didn’t have much of a problem agreeing to be the photographer for Daichi and Suga was because it got him out of most of the typically expected socialization for the event. It also got him out of things like setting up the reception and making sure the happy couple had food and drinks and dancing with people. It wasn’t that he necessarily minded any of that but he liked being out of the spotlight, liked watching the event unfold on his camera screen and through the viewfinder, liked taking pictures that Daichi and Suga would be able to look back on and be able to have memories of even if they didn’t see it happen.
Like the shots of Noya and Asahi in the kitchen area with frosting on their noses and laughter in their eyes. The pictures of Kuroo shamelessly attempting to flirt with everyone and then stumbling into a blushing mess when someone seriously flirted back at him. The wedding party all dressed up and flushed with laughter as they peeked around the doorway into the back room where Daichi and Suga were talking quietly, foreheads pressed together as they discussed something. Tanaka and his daughter dancing together next to Daichi and Suga. Mizuki insisting Asahi dance with her as well, followed by pictures of Noya and Mizuki “arguing” over who got to dance with the blushing giant and then one of Ennoshita stepping in to sweep Noya away with a smirk and a bow leaving the little princess grinning.
He’s taken a lot of pictures that he’s going to be proud of when he goes through them later, he knows, but he keeps his camera at the ready throughout the night just in case; mostly just in case someone he doesn’t want to talk to approaches him.
Another reason he didn’t mind being the photographer had only really popped into his mind in the hours since the ceremony started. Because now he could watch Tanaka and his daughter without being noticed. He wasn’t being creepy or stalkery just curious. Curious about the guy whose daughter loved dinosaurs and had no problem plopping down on a stranger’s bed and debating them with him for over an hour and the guy himself who hadn’t seemed too worried about his five year old wandering away and getting herself into said situation. Sure Kei had seen the way Tanaka had watched them interacting once he realized the other man was standing there but there hadn’t been any tenseness or worry in Tanaka’s stance or gaze. Just pure confidence and love.
Then there had been the pride on his face when he watched his daughter standing next to Suga and Asahi, blonde hair curling around the silver circlet in her hair as she watched the ceremony unfold.
There had also been the way the water from his shower had given his chest a nice sheen when he came looking for Mizuki that afternoon and the way that damn tattoo on his collarbone had drawn Kei’s attention straight to it and he had to squash the decidedly domestic feelings that had bubbled up in his veins at the sight of Tanaka smiling at Mizuki and himself.
He shakes the thoughts of Tanaka out of his head when he spots Daichi heading over with a glass of punch in each hand and a knowing smile on his face.
“Tsukishima.”
“Daichi?”
“Kuroo says you’re being antisocial.”
“Kuroo needs to keep his nose out of my business. I’m taking your wedding photos, remember?” Kei jiggles the camera strap around his neck a little while Daichi just laughs.
“Oh I know. But Kuroo wouldn’t drop it and the choices were let him come torture you for a bit or come do it myself.” He hands over the glass of punch with a grin. “So naturally I chose myself.”
“Isn’t your husband going to miss you?”
Daichi’s eyes go a little glazed over as he turns and stares at Suga for a moment with a happy sigh while Kei sips his punch.
“My husband. I like the sound of that.”
Small warm arms attach themselves to his leg and he glances down to see Mizuki grinning up at him. He gives her a small smile in return before meeting Daichi’s now unglazed eyes and shaking his head. “I hope so. You just married him. Otherwise I just took all these pictures for no good reason.”
Daichi glances down and then back up to Kei and then down to Mizuki again. Kei can see the wheels turning in his head and he is just thankful that it’s Daichi he’s talking to right now and not Kuroo because he isn’t drunk enough to handle the comments Kuroo would most likely be tossing out right now.
“I, uh, didn’t know you had a kid, Tsukishima.”
“I don’t.”
Daichi chuckles and shakes his head. “Well I hate to tell you this but you got a little something attached to your leg. And it’s very much kid shaped.”
“She’s not-” Kei cuts off when Suga joins them and wraps an arm around Daichi’s waist, smiling at his husband before giving Kei a strange look.
“Why is Mizuki with you? Ryuu’s been looking for her for like ten minutes. He hasn’t reached panicked dad mode yet but he’s getting close.”
Suga turns away, probably to wave Tanaka over to their little group, and Kei takes the moment to look down at Mizuki with a frown. She stares back up at him with sparkly eyes that make Kei feel a little awestruck but he doesn’t look away.
“I thought we already talked about telling your father before you go wandering away?”
“But I’m with you and all of Papa’s friends.”
“You still need to tell him, Mizuki.”
She looks up at him for a moment, frown on her face matching his own, and then sighs deeply, like the world is against her and she’s seen all the terrors of adulthood looming ahead of her.
“Fine. I’m sorry. I want punch.”
Kei isn’t entirely sure how it happens but just as he hears Tanaka join their group he’s suddenly being drug away by a five year old to go get more punch. He hears everyone behind him laughing and he knows they’re laughing at him but when Mizuki’s fingers curl in his palm somehow he can’t really be bothered by their laughter at all.
Ryuu knows he should be more upset that Mizuki keeps trying to disappear on him, and probably would be more worried if this wasn’t an event that had so many of his friends and people he could trust everywhere. But each time he just starts to reach worried status someone waves at him or points his attention in a different direction and there she is. His little blonde haired angel smiling up at someone or pulling someone to dance or deep in discussion about whatever news is big in the five year old’s world.
He should be upset that the moment he reaches the little group with Suga and Daichi his daughter is dragging Tsukishima away by the hand but the slightly confused look on the photographer’s - wandering thoughts about what kinds of things Tsukishima sees through that viewfinder have been popping up ever since Ryuu noticed him at the ceremony - face more or less erases any bad feelings that might have tried to surface.
“He doesn’t quite look like he knows what hit him,” Suga says around a soft laugh as he leans his head on Daichi’s shoulder.
“Mizuki has that effect on people.”
“Do you know Tsukishima? He seemed more comfortable with her than I would have expected. He’s not usually one for kids.” Daichi’s watching Tsukishima get a glass of punch for Mizuki before leading her to a table so she has less chance to spill the punch everywhere. Ryuu watches them while he explains the room situation and the fact that the door apparently doesn’t lock properly and how he walked in that morning to find them seriously discussing dinosaurs.
“It was nice, you know. To hear someone talking to her about her favorite thing without talking down to her about it. Most of her babysitters don’t quite manage that.”
Daichi just shakes his head. “Yeah, Tsukishima is kind of a dinosaur fan too. He probably forgot he was even talking to a five year old when they got into it.”
Ryuu thinks back to the two of them bent over Mizuki’s book, so intent on their discussion they never even noticed the door opening, and laughs. “It was kind of adorable to see a grown man debating dinosaur facts with a five year old, to be honest.” He looks over to the table and spots Mizuki with her chin on her hands looking at the screen on Tsukishima’s camera as he shows her something and watches as she blinks slowly and tilts her head to the side, more focused on the adult beside her than the camera in front of her. Not that he can blame her any. There’s something captivating about the quiet man beside her.
She yawns once and blinks hard and Ryuu excuses himself. His daughter is about to crash and he knows that if he’s not there to catch her before then she will happily crawl into the nearest person’s lap - Tsukishima in this case - and fall asleep there and while Tsukishima might be comfortable enough talking to her Ryuu’s sure he’s not quite ready for the experience that is Mizuki refusing to give up her sleeping space and insisting they stay beside her all night.
Ryuu settles down next to them and pulls Mizuki into his lap with ease despite her pouts and insisting she wants to talk to Tsukishima more. She’s asleep within a couple minutes and Tsukishima excuses himself to the restroom “Now that she’s back with her father and not about to run off again.”
Ryuu waves him off and drops his elbow to the table, leaning back as Mizuki slumps a little to the side and curls up in his lap. Kuroo stops by for a moment and gives him a long look, eyes bright as he contemplates Mizuki’s blonde hair, and the grins at Ryuu.
“Good thing your kid obviously got her mother’s looks.”
“I know, right?” Ryuu shoots back. “You have any kids unfortunate enough to look like you?”
“Nope.” Kuroo straightens up, Ryuu would almost say he preens a little, and sighs happily. “Never found a lady I liked enough to have a kid with and now, well, I don’t look anymore.”
Ryuu glances at whatever Kuroo’s looking at and sees a small group of people near Suga and Daichi chatting with each other. He sees the starry in love look on Kuroo’s face he’s used to seeing on Suga’s face when he talks about Daichi.
“Ah. Another happy couple with wedded bliss on the horizon?”
“Happy yes. Couple not so much.”
“Oh. Nice. Congrats?”
“Thank you.” Kuroo points at Mizuki. “I don’t remember you having that the last time we met.”
“I didn’t have her. You know, to be honest I don’t remember much about the last time we met. Do you?”
Kuroo hums and rubs the back of his head. “Uh not really. I remember something appley and Daichi’s bathroom floor and you daring me to shave your head even though you had no hair anyway.”
“So not much more than I do.”
“I’m pretty sure that as the designated sober one of the evening Suga is the only one who knows it all.”
“Which means we’ll never know.”
“Pretty much.” Kuroo’s eyes light up and Ryuu glances over his shoulder to see Tsukishima peering down at his camera. “Gotta go.”
Ryuu waves him away and smiles down at Mizuki as she nuzzles even closer. He rubs his thumb against her cheek softly and gathers her in his arms as he stands. After his goodbyes to Suga and Daichi he heads back up to their room and puts his princess to bed.
Kei rolls his eyes when Kuroo drops his arm around his shoulders with a chuckle. That chuckle has never boded well for Kei or his sanity or the condition of his heart or his wallet. Kuroo reaches around him and scrolls through the pictures on his camera, stopping on one he had taken just a few minutes ago of Tanaka and his daughter while Kuroo was talking to them. Kuroo zooms in on them, crops himself out, and nudges Kei’s side.
"You sure she's not yours? Blonde. Loves dinosaurs. Talks with this all knowing tone of superiority over us lesser mortals."
"Shut up Kuroo." Kei exits out of the pictures and shuts off his camera. He heads over to where he remembers leaving his camera bag with Kuroo still attached to his shoulder.
"Just asking."
“Don’t you have some boyfriends to hang off of?”
Kuroo peeks past him towards the middle of the room where Daichi and Suga are dancing along with some other couples again and shakes his head.
“Nah Tooru and Keiji are busy making all of us look like ugly lumps. Okay. Except maybe the newlyweds because they have that special glow about them. But definitely the rest of us.” Kuroo’s gaze focuses back on him and Kei wonders if it’s too late to just turn tail and run because that is not a look that ever means anything good for him. Sometimes he wonders why he’s even friends with Kuroo. “So. Tanaka and his adorable daughter?”
“What about them?”
“I didn’t know you knew them?”
Kei rolls his eyes and gives in. “I didn’t know you knew them?”
“Eh I know Tanaka in passing from a few years ago, before the child. There was a party and no one but Suga really remembers the night.”
“Ah one of those.” Kuroo nods and gives Kei a look and he sighs; sometimes it’s easier to just give in to Kuroo without a fight and honestly he’s too tired to fight right now so he gives up and finally answers Kuroo’s question. “I don’t really know them. They’re in the conjoining room and the door doesn’t lock and Mizuki is a curious child.”
Kei puts up with Kuroo’s chit-chat and attempts to draw him into conversation with nearby people for a little longer. Really he has nothing against Kuroo he just doesn’t like talking to people much, making polite conversation and pretending to care about people he’ll likely never see again. But he eventually excuses himself, tells Kuroo goodnight as he shoves him towards his boyfriends, and then give his final congratulations of the night to the happy couple before dragging himself up to bed.