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"Ready, Kenma?" Kuroo asked as he double-checked his bag one last time. He wasn't quite sure what had possessed him, but on a whim he had decided to take Kenma to the aquarium for their first date of the summer. He hadn't been there in years, but from what he remembered, he thought Kenma would like it.
"Ready," Kenma replied absently, not looking up from his game.
As they walked to the train station, Kuroo asked, "So what are you playing now?"
Kenma showed him the screen, and he couldn't help but laugh. "Finding Nemo?" he said. "I haven't seen you play that one in ages. Getting in the mood for today?"
Kenma nodded, continuing to play. Once they turned onto the busier roads in front of the station, he finally closed the game and slipped it into its usual pocket in Kuroo's bag. Then he slipped his hand into Kuroo's, giving him a little half-smile as they entered the train station.
It was a short ride to the aquarium, and it wasn't long before they were walking through its winding entrance and into the exhibits. Kenma froze and squeezed Kuroo's hand hard, looking wide-eyed at all of the fish swimming around them, and Kuroo knew he had chosen well.
"So, where should we go first?" he asked.
"The beginning," Kenma said matter-of-factly, dragging Kuroo over to the first tank. They made their way slowly through the exhibits as Kenma read all of the signs and shared the most interesting facts with Kuroo.
Eventually, the row of exhibits ended, and they found themselves looking out over a large pool full of rocks and penguins. "Look, Kuroo!" Kenma said, tugging on Kuroo's sleeve and pointing at a small macaroni penguin. "It's Karasuno's libero."
Kuroo followed Kenma's finger and laughed. "If that's Nishinoya, then that one must be Bokuto," he said, pointing at another penguin with long feathers sticking up on either side of its face.
"Then the bored-looking one next to him must be Akaashi."
"The tall one on the rock must be Lev," Kuroo added.
"And the one everyone's taking pictures of over there has to be Oikawa."
"Which one is Kenma then?"
Kenma snuggled closer to Kuroo's side. "None of them. Kenma's a cat, not a penguin."
Kuroo chuckled and ruffled a hand through Kenma's hair. "Is the Kenma-cat ready to keep going?" he asked, then followed Kenma to the next exhibit. They made slow but steady progress through the building until they entered a dimly lit room late in the morning. Kenma stopped dead.
"Kuroo," he whispered breathlessly as he walked up to the tank. "Kuroo, they're beautiful." He stared at the jellyfish as they drifted back and forth aimlessly. In the pale light of the exhibit, they seemed to glow. Kuroo kissed Kenma on the top of the head and settled on a nearby bench to wait. Given Kenma's love of repetitive patterns, he had a feeling they would be there for awhile.
An hour later, Kenma was still mesmerized, watching the jellyfish floating back and forth and looking calmer and more relaxed than Kuroo was used to, but his stomach was growling loudly, and Kuroo's was too. Kuroo groaned as he stood and stretched. "Kenma," he said softly as he tapped his boyfriend on the shoulder, "we should get food soon. We can always come back later."
Kenma blinked at him, as if coming out of a trance. "Promise?" he asked.
"I promise," Kuroo said, taking his hand and leading him towards the exit. Kenma kept looking back over his shoulder until the tank was out of sight.