#museum date

tsukishima stands beside you, taller than the ticket stand, taller than the coat rack, taller than the quiet that fills the space.

he tucks both your hands into his coat pockets.

not just one hand. both.

yours are warm in the lining of his coat, held snug between his cold fingers and the heat of his body. you glance up at him.

“why both?” you ask, teasing lightly.

he adjusts his glasses, voice low. “you’re the one who’s always cold.”

“you’re warm.”

“i know,” he says simply.

you blink. heat crawls up your neck.

he clears his throat and nods toward the first gallery. “come on.”

you walk together through the wide double doors into a room washed in pale winter light. paintings line the walls — muted colors, soft landscapes, snow scenes from decades ago. the room is quiet except for the muffled footsteps of a couple on the far end.

tsukishima slows his pace so your arms don’t stretch uncomfortably in his pockets. he stays close, shoulder brushing yours with every step.

the first painting is of a forest in winter, all blues and silvers.

“pretty,” you whisper.

“hm.” his voice is soft. almost thoughtful. “cold.”

“winter’s usually cold, tsukki.”

“that’s why I like it.”

you look up at him. “really?”

“less people outside,” he says without hesitation. “less noise.”

you smile. “so why’d you come out with me?”

he pauses — just a blink — then nudges your temple with his jaw.

“you’re not noise.”

your breath catches. you pretend to focus on the painting again.

the next gallery is dimmer — small spotlights illuminating each piece. tsukishima maneuvers you so that you walk on the inside, away from the drafty wall, subtly guiding you with the pressure of his hand around yours.

at one point, he shifts your joined hands slightly, pulling you closer so your hip brushes his with each step.

“you’re clingy today,” you whisper.

“i’m not clingy.”

“tsukki.”

“…it’s warm,” he mutters under his breath.

you laugh softly, and his ears turn a predictable shade of pink.

you stop in front of a painting of two figures sitting together on a train — quiet, winter coats brushing, faces turned toward one another in a moment of private warmth.

tsukishima stares longer than he usually does at art. you watch him, the curve of his jaw, the gentle furrow in his brows.

“what are you thinking?” you ask.

he doesn’t look at you right away. his thumb strokes the back of your hand — one small, absent-minded motion.

“…that looks familiar,” he says finally.

“oh?” you tilt your head.

“we take the train like that. sometimes.”

“tsukki,” you say, smiling softly, “are you saying this reminds you of us?”

he exhales, a slow embarrassed sound, and glances down at you.

“you asked,” he mutters.

you lean into him, your shoulder fitting under his arm. he adjusts instantly — hand tightening around yours, body angling toward you in quiet acceptance.

the next gallery is warmer, filled with sculptures lit from below. shadows stretch across the floor — long, soft shapes that shift when you move.

tsukishima stops in front of a snow sculpture carved from stone — abstract, delicate, winding upward in spirals.

you whisper, “touching the sculptures will make the alarms go off.”

“i know,” he says. his hand tightens around yours again. “i’m not that stupid.”

he leans down slightly, voice brushing against the shell of your ear.

“though if the alarms did go off, you definitely set the tripwire.”

you gasp softly, nudging him with your elbow. “i’m an innocent museum visitor!”

“sure you are.”

“tsukki!”

he chuckles — a tiny, breathy sound, rare but warm. he only laughs like that when you catch him off guard.

you keep walking, and somewhere between the fourth and fifth gallery, his hand slips from the coat pocket just long enough to reach up and brush a bit of melting snow from your hair.

then, without a word, he puts your hands back in the pocket with his — tighter this time, thumb rubbing slow circles over your knuckles.

in the final gallery, all white walls and high ceilings and soft winter lighting, he stops you beside a bench.

“sit,” he says quietly.

you do.

he sits beside you, close enough that your legs touch. his shoulder presses gently into yours. the silence is deep, comfortable.

after a long moment, he murmurs:

“i like this.”

“the exhibit?”

“no.” a pause. “walking with you.”

your heart stutters.

he keeps staring forward, pretending he didn’t just say the most romantic thing of his life.

“…you make winter warmer,” he adds so softly you almost miss it.

you turn, pressing a slow kiss to his cheek.

he freezes — then exhales, soft and shaky, like the warmth hits him all at once.

when you finally stand to leave, he threads your fingers through his again.

he doesn’t let go until you’re back home.

──────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────

Your boyfriend was one of the richest people on the planet. But his birthday was coming up and you were at a loss. What do you get for a man who has everything? Or if he doesn’t have something, he’ll do anything in his power to get it? Is there anything you could surprise him with?

You were walking down a street in your town, looking for any gift idea when you suddenly stopped dead in your tracks. Maybe your boyfriend’s unimaginable privilege had some drawbacks too. Yeah he might have lived in a castle but he was held almost like a prisoner there. He would have never been able to see what you just saw; something more valuable than pure gold.

Finally the big day came. Although Ryusui was supposed to spend this day with his family, with the help of Francois, you stole him for the afternoon (and a Nanami Corp. car).

The wind was blowing through the rolled down windows, Ryusui’s favorite song was blasting on the radio as you both loudly sang along. As much as the boy dreaded his birthday (because of his family), he felt like he was in heaven. His gaze returned to you, a grin plastered on your lips, cheeks red from the excitement and it hit him. Nobody really cared for him like this. Nobody went out of their way to make this day special for him. Except you.

His silence didn’t go unnoticed by you.

“You okay? We can change the song if you want to!” you asked, brows furrowing slightly yet eyes still stuck to the road. Ryusui felt guilty for ruining your mood too.

“It’s nothing. I was just wondering where we’re going” his well-practised smirk hid his real thoughts.

“It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if I told you, would it? But don’t worry, we’ll be there soon.” you laughed.

He had to agree with that. He looked around curiously, as he had never visited this place before. It wasn’t the busy city or the luxurious countryside he was used to. The houses, the streets, the bus stops, everything was built for practicality. For the middle class person to get to work, then home. It was unfamiliar to him.

“Okay, we’re hereee!” your voice was unusually high with excitement and a pinch of nervousness. “Close your eyes!”

He obeyed. You parked the car and with some awkwardness you helped him out and led him a few metres.

“Okay you can open them! Well? What do you think?”

Ryusui opened his eyes, his gaze meeting with the sign “[town’s name] Maritime Museum (even 500 year old artifacts)”. His eyes stuck to the view, his mouth slightly opening but staying quiet and expressionless.

 “Oh shit! You don’t like it do you? It’s okay, we can go somewhere el-...” you were abruptly silenced by your boyfriend pushing in the door and going inside. The walls of the lobby were decorated with old sailing equipment, posters and pictures of the exhibition.

Ryusui could feel his heartbeat quicken as he was drawn to one of the posters on the wall. It was a detailed drawing of a 16th century caravel complemented by explanations of its parts. He was wrong back in the car. THIS was heaven.

“Babe! Are you good? What happened?” 

You finally caught up to him, worry evident in your tone. Although you expected him to be angry, disappointed or even confused, the minute you reached him he grabbed your waist and pulled you into his arms. Stunned, you opened your lips to say something but nothing came out.

The boy buried his face in the crook of your neck, trying to hide the small tears of gratitude dwelling in his eyes.

“Thank you! It’s perfect.” he muttered, voice strained by how moved he was.

A small relieved chuckle left your lips as your arms snaked around him, one resting on his back, an other on the back of his head. He held you tighter, breathing in your scent,wondering how he got so lucky.

But soon his feelings of appreciation were oppressed by ones of excitement. Boats and ships were his passion after all. Being surrounded by loads of models, artifacts, and knowledge was nothing to shrug at (is that a saying? I feel like that’s a saying). He pulled back slightly to flash his signature charming smile.

“Ha-ha! You have no idea how grateful I am, but I gotta go check it out!”

He pulled you in once more, his lips crashing into yours, before he stepped away and ran into the exhibition room. The receptionist was just about to yell after him, but you quickly bought the tickets for the both of you, with such a lovesick, dazed smile that it made him sick.

Inside Ryusui seemed to turn into a whole new person. His gaze was travelling from one model to an other, his ear-to-ear grin unerasable, constantly muttering and taking pictures.

“Look! Have you seen this? This is an 18th century galley. You can tell by the long, slender hull, shallow draft, and the low freeboard. Most types of galleys also had sails that could be used in favourable winds, but they relied primarily on oars to move independently of winds and currents or in battle…” he started rambling as he pulled you in, hand on your waist.

He was so cute like this. Excitement painting his cheeks red, sometimes stumbling over sentences because of how much faster his mind was moving, tucking his golden lock behind his ear to see better. He was basically vibrating with eagerness.

“Okay nerd.” you laughed. He tried to seem hurt but he was also smiling.

“Oh I’m sorry for trying to educate you!” he laughed but his voice turned softer. “You had better take a good look at it though, because one day I’m going to build my own and I’ll take you on a voyage. And don’t you dare say I can already do that. Modern yachts have nothing on this baby.” his face filled with adoration.

“Should I get jealous?” you laughed.

The museum was interesting but long. Really long. After a while you lost the energy to read and assess everything you saw, so you just walked around the exhibitions, sometimes taking photos of what you saw, or reading the description if something caught your eye.

Not Ryusui though. You praised yourself for deciding to come early in the afternoon, because this man was hypnotized for hours. Sometimes you caught him just silently staring at one of the displayed items or taking notes (with the paper and pen he got from the receptionist). 

But no matter how enchanted he was, he was still Nanami Ryusui so he tried to buy everything. After that didn’t work he tried to buy the whole museum. But the receptionist just laughed at him.

“When I was around your age I was just as obsessed with the sea as you, young man. I actually worked as a marine biologist for almost 20 years. This museum was a passion project for me and my wife, god rest her. She was an archaeologist specialising in piracy…” the fond memories and the thought of his beloved wife smoothed out the wrinkles on his face, enveloping it in peace.

“That’s why I could never sell it to you, young man. Everyone looks for the meaning of life and for me this was it. And I want every child to find their meaning like I did, so if I could I would make this exhibition free…” he sighed. 

The two men found each other to be kindred spirits. Soon the two of them were roaming the halls between the displayed items, taking turns sharing their knowledge, Ryusui taking notes more than ever.

Unfortunately soon the evening came and the museum had to close. After a teary-eyed goodbye from the owner you got into the car but neither of you really wanted the night to end yet.

Luckily on the way back, you were supposed to pass through a cliff overlooking the ocean, but with a silent mutual understanding you came to the conclusion that just 20 more minutes together wouldn’t hurt. 

After parking the car on the side of the road you climbed on to the roof of it. The warm summer night was starting to turn cool. Thankfully you found a blanket in the trunk, under which you snuggled together.

The Sun was lowering into the horizon with a beautiful mix of colors, which were all reflected by the sea. The view was truly breathtaking. You leaned into Ryusui's side, resting your head on his shoulder while he answered by wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you closer.

“Thank you for today. I had a lot of fun. Truly” he whispered into your hair before pressing a small kiss.

“I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I love seeing you like this…”

“Like what?” he furrowed his brows.

“Passionate. Excited. Engaged. You look so… pure.” you confessed.

Pure? Pure was not a word people often used to describe him. Spoiled? Sure. Greedy? Always. But never pure. His gaze was now stuck to your face. Did you really see him like that?

Both of you stared at the stunning view in comfortable silence just enjoying each other’s company. The smell of the salty air, the quiet sound of the waves, the other’s body heat. Everything was just so peaceful. Except Ryusui’s mind.

“I’ve been thinking…” he started. You looked up at him, curiosity and a hint of worry glinting in your eyes.

 “I don’t think anyone cared about my birthday like this before. Or just me in general. I don’t know what I did to deserve this.”

You looked up to try to read his face but you didn't have much luck. He didn’t sound insecure or anything (haha Ryusui insecure, good joke) , just genuinely curious.

“ And I realised that I care a lot about you too. No, that’s not true… I don’t just care about you. I’m in love with you.”

You were taken aback by his confession. This was a bit too out of the blue. Your eyes widened and your mouth dried up as you stared into his deep brown eyes. The light of the setting sun caused his golden hair to glow.

He took your silence as a bad omen. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to pour his heart out. But he was greedy. He wanted to hear it from you, he wanted you to know you are fully his and he is fully yours.

Meanwhile you were having a different kind of problem… Your stomach was doing acrobatics, your face was heating up and you wanted to scream but also kick your feet and giggle. So yeah it was kind of hard to get the words out.

You buried your face in his shoulder muttering “I… I care a lot about you too…and seeing you as happy as you were today, made me feel the happiest I’ve ever been…”

With a finger under your chin he gently lifted your flustered face. You were met with half-lidded eyes and a soft smile before he gently kissed you. It was different from your kisses before. It wasn’t a quick peck nor a hot make-out. It was feather light yet it carried a lot of meaning

You spent the remaining time until sunset in a content quietness. Ryusui pulled you into his lap so you leaned back into his chest while he rested his head on your shoulder, sometimes pressing a soft kiss on your neck. Both of you cursed the time for passing, wishing you could stay like this forever. You knew the sun would soon set, you knew Ryuusui would soon get a call from Francois begging him to drag his ass home, you knew your parents would soon get worried too… but, maybe until that you could enjoy this small piece of heaven together.