captaincatblock | Get into the van, kiddo.

[Peace is a funny thing. It's been teased and denied for so long that now that it's happening, it's almost weird. He'd missed most of the drama with the princess and her traitorous Terran Knight -- not that he's fully convinced of it, but if it gains them this peace, then he won't question it -- but he had been returned to his kin as Earth's first peace offering.]

[Kuroo hadn't been too happy about that, hadn't even had the time to say good bye to Tsukki after being whisked away by a couple of generals and then thrown into political chaos. But he had endured it, because he knew that eventually, the princess would get to the small issue of Kuroo's kataphrakt and how he intends to spend his time on Earth. He could be a diplomat, he'd offered, or teach his fellow Versians about Terrans, since he's learned a lot. Anything, he had added meaningfully, if he allowed him to keep his landing castle close to Earth if not entirely on its soil.]

[He'd gotten some leeway in the end, after weeks of endless talks, so here he is now striding into the hanger where they kept his mech, in full Count regalia. Oddly enough, he only has Terran escorts with him, and they back away well enough when he reaches his destination.

Tsukki? Oiii, I'm looking for your mechanic, Tsukishima Kei. [first he calls out, and then just outright asks someone to find Tsukki for him]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

captaincatblock

[He nods agreeably, and gets up and begins making his excuses to Tsukki's mother and brother. He's still a little formal, but he's glad to see that the two are no longer so wary and alarmed by him.]

Till tomorrow, Kei. [Kisses him on the cheek and goes, before he gets tempted to be even more touchy with his boyfriend. His retinue is still outside, in the vehicle at the end of the street, although they've somehow produced their own meals during the night. They're an efficient bunch.]

From:

hellacene

[they help him pack as soon as kuroo goes. it's all very emotional and a lot of tears were shed, but at least by the end of the night he's got a bag full of his clothes and a box full of everything else his mother and akiteru thought fit for him to bring, including four cookbooks for kuroo's kitchen, two in japanese cooking and a big one in a more western-style kind of cuisine. unsurprisingly the last one is a big book of desserts.

he wakes up bright and early to help make breakfast in the morning, walking around the house in a shirt that was definitely kuroo's that had made it through his wardrobe and his boxers as he checked the laundry and the to make sure he hasn't left anything. it's a bit saddenning to know he's leaving the house, but at the same time, he's kind of excited.]

From:

captaincatblock

[Kuroo does arrive early the next day, bringing with him a box of small cakes as a peace offering. His men wait at the end of the street, same as last night. He knocks, feeling nervous all over again. What if they said no after all? Or worse still, what if Tsukki got into a really awful fight with his family because of him?]

[Still, he smiles politely at whoever opens the door. He does have another peace offering, though, tucked under his arm. Maybe that would allow them to forgive him for stealing Tsukki away.]

Good morning.

From:

hellacene

Morning.

[at least tsukki had the sense to put on pants as soon as kuroo had gotten there. he takes the box of cakes from him, and tells him in exasperation,] They helped me pack. I have two full suitcases and a giant box.

From:

captaincatblock

Only? [Kisses him on the cheek, and peers over Tsukki's shoulder.] We can carry more up if you need anything else. We don't have to hurry home, though.

From:

hellacene

I can't bring everything in my room, that's ridiculous.

[especially if kuroo already has bought a lot of things for him before he even gets there.

still, the family receives kuroo a lot warmer than yesterday, and his mom in particular was really pleased with the cakes. akiteru was going to start a speech on how he should take good care of his brother!!! which is interrupted by tsukki saying that he really should stop because he doesn't sound as threatening or cool as he'd like him to sound; besides, it's not like kuroo doesn't know.]

From:

captaincatblock

[Kuroo laughs at that, and reassures Akiteru anyway that Kuroo would rather die first than let anything happen to Tsukki. It sounds dead serious despite the joking tone.]

And I sent for this last night. [hands over the Versian version of a tablet to Tsukki's mom and brother. It's actually more like Mars' version of the walkie talkie, though.] It's rigged to work on your um, Web. Internet? So you can talk to Tsukki even when he's up in space.

From:

hellacene

[tsukki just gives him a look at his words and says nothing, but he does roll his eyes at the statement. considering kuroo went back for him just to show him the stars and to make him live with him, however, he's not discounting the fact that he's dead serious about what he said too.

akiteru and his mom are grateful and they go over the instructions for how this thing works. tsukki busies himself in the kitchen, setting the table for everyone and making coffee.]

From:

captaincatblock

[Kuroo demonstrates how it works -- they end up making a call to, thankfully, Kai, who's polite and looks very reliable as always.]

[He sniffs the air in the middle of the last instructions -- ah!] It's that traitorous drink, isn't it? [And then he succeeds in making the other two laugh at his story of his first ever palpitation through caffeine.]

From:

hellacene

I'll fill your cup with more milk than sugar instead of coffee.

[a bastardized version of a latte. it's not exactly something he approves of, but at least it'll get kuroo through the day.

the rest of the morning passes in relative calm, up to the point where tsukki has to leave and his mom starts crying again and akiteru tries not to cry and tsukki feels overwhelmed with all of them. there are more hugs. his mom goes to kuroo and gives him a nice hug too, and akiteru thumps him on the back with some reminders to tsukki about calling every now and then.]

From:

captaincatblock

[Kuroo takes it all in stride, although he's a little energetic from the latte. He hugs Tsukki's mom nicely and thanks her for the books, and sincerely tells Akiteru that they should talk more, and then he bows to the both of them with a slight flourish, promising to call when they get back to the castle. All in all, it's something of an affair, leaving the Tsukishima household.]

I like your family. [smiles at Tsukki once they're in the car.]

From:

hellacene

[tsukki just nods. he's a bit sad about leaving them, but he has to make a decision as to where he'll go - and he already has. leaving was always the hardest part of anything anyway.

he doesn't want to admit it yet, but he's had a lot of fun with kuroo in space despite the short time he was up there than the time he had been working in the military during the war. for someone who was never invested with a whole lot beyond wanting to be as close to the stars as possible and not wanting to be left behind anymore .... the whole thing is too much for him.]

From:

captaincatblock

[Kuroo glances at him, then pulls him under an arm so that Tsukki is leaning on his chest.] You're quiet. Are you all right?

[Tsukki must be sad about leaving his home, after all, even with all the ways that he can still visit. Kuroo's never been really homesick in his life until after they took him away from Earth, so he can barely understand it. It's exciting, though, having Tsukki with him becoming a reality.]

From:

hellacene

[tsukki nods.] It's just odd to leave them .... I've been with my family for so long.

But, well, it was a matter of time before I left I guess. So maybe I shouldn't be so surprised at how things ended.

I'm just glad things went well, in the end.

From:

captaincatblock

[rubs his arm] I'm glad you wanted to stay with me enough to fight them for it. But they seemed like they were going to let you go for your happiness from the start, so there is that. They're good people.

We're going to have a lot of fun in space, I promise. [cheeky grin]

From:

hellacene

[at least he'll have a decent wardrobe now. and if the acoustics in the castle are good, they'd have one hell of a video game night.]

After all you've promised them, we'd better.

[but he doesn't doubt that, not at all.]

From:

captaincatblock

I only make promises I intend to keep. [but...] Is there anywhere else you'd like to go? Other people to call on?

From:

hellacene

Maybe Yamaguchi, but .... out of all the people I know, he's probably the one who'll be the least surprised about everything else.

[a sigh.] He knows me too well.

From:

captaincatblock

I'm kind of interested in meeting him. He sounds like a good kid, if he's taken care of you so well. [Kuroo's not as nervous about the prospect of meeting him at least. Surely Tsukki's friend would know better about their relationship? Any friend of Tsukki's must be very understanding.]

From:

hellacene

He's put up with me since we were kids. [he tries to text yamaguchi to ask him where he is at the moment so they can drop by.] The general consensus is that he's too good for me.

From:

captaincatblock

[laughs] I'm sure he has his wicked ways as well, if he's your friend. Besides, you're not that bad. A little prickly, maybe...

From:

hellacene

[yamaguchi replies to him in a series of texts that he's more or less out to lunch and can meet with them for an hour in downtown. he shows kuroo the address of the restaurant he was eating at.]

We can stop for that, before we head off somewhere else.

From:

captaincatblock

[Oh. Terrans are very spontaneous with their schedules, aren't they? Kuroo shows the direction to their driver, who inputs it into their version of a GPS device.]

Is there anything I need to know for this one?

From:

hellacene

No. If you're with me and my brother thinks you're okay, then he's fine with it.

[annoyed - ] He's probably going to be happy.

[that he stopped complaining about kuroo leaving him without notice, or that he stopped taking out his anger on people about it.]