Work Text:
Yamaguchi was being tugged up the stairs that lead to the entrance of a museum by an eager twelve year old.
“Hurry up, Yama!” cried Yuri, her hand tightening around Yamaguchi’s so tightly, Yamaguchi was certain she was cutting off circulation.
He wasn’t sure why she was so eager. The museum doesn’t close until 9 PM, and it was only three in the afternoon.
“Slow down! Why are you in such a hurry? The dinosaurs are dead, they’re not going anywhere.” Yamaguchi asked as they finally reached the entrance. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out their tickets before heading inside.
“Because Tsukishima Kei is here and he’s super smart! He knows everything about dinosaurs! I need to ask him questions.” She replied as they made their way down a hallway that led to a dinosaur exhibit. Yamaguchi had no idea who that was.
There were children and adults everywhere. The room itself was spacious and darkly lit but still easy to see in. There were fossils upon fossils of many extinct predators and prey. There were some suspended from the ceiling, Yamaguchi recognized one as a pterodactyl, but that was it since he wasn’t very knowledgeable about dinosaurs, hence why they’re at a museum.
“Do you know what they look like?” Yamaguchi asked a question once again. He was unsure as to why his niece knew such a person. Were they a teacher? Author?
“Of course, my whole class does. He came to our school once to tell us all about fossils and he even brought some to show!” Yuri’s hand was still in his as they weaved around unfamiliar bodies.
Now that he thought about it, the name did somewhat ring a bell. His friend Sugawara was a teacher at his niece’s school and he remembers him mentioning Tsukishima, saying that he was sure Tsukishima was Yamaguchi’s type.
Suddenly, they stopped and Yamaguchi almost tripped since he didn’t want to bump into his little niece. He looked up from the floor and he was greeted by the sight of a tall man with blonde hair talking to a family, gesturing to the fossil next to him multiple times as he spoke.
Okay, maybe Sugawara was right, he was his type. Tsukishima Kei was downright breathtaking. His legs which seemed to go on for miles, were dressed in black slacks and his impossibly broad chest was unfortunately concealed by his dorky collared button up shirt with dinosaur print.
The family left and Tsukishima bid them goodbye with a gentle smile. His eyes which were behind circular glasses, looked to Yamaguchi. His heart stuttered. Then he looked down to Yuri.
Yamaguchi let go of Yuri’s hand to wipe his palm on his jeans.
“Hi,” Yamaguchi exhaled. “My niece, Yuri, wants to ask some questions for her project, if that’s alright with you.”
“Sure,” He nodded then looked down at Yuri. “What would you like to know?”
Yuri started to ask many questions and Tsukishima answered them without missing a beat. The little girl wrote the information on a piece of paper she pulled out from her bag. Yamaguchi couldn’t stop staring at the way his mouth moved and his shoulders. They were magnificent shoulders, who could blame him.
Internally, he thanked his sister for being busy for the day. If it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t have been in Tsukishima’s presence. He should text her later. Or should he text her now and show Tsukishima he had a phone so he could give him his number? Yamaguchi’s mind was racing.
“Yama, I’ll be right back! I need to share this with my friend, she’s over there.” Yamaguchi’s thoughts were interrupted. He looked over to where she was pointing and sure enough, her friend was waving.
“Oh, okay. Don’t go too far, I don’t want your mom killing me. I don’t want to end up here as a fossil among these dinosaurs.” Yamaguchi replied and that earned a chuckle from Tsukishima.
“Fossilization takes years to occur.” said the attractive man next to him. Yamaguchi’s ears burned.
“Yeah well, my sister will find a way to make it happen quickly.” Yamaguchi replied. “Oh, sorry, my name is Yamaguchi Tadashi.”
He extended his hand and Tsukishima politely took it and introduced himself as well.
“Hey, I have a question.” Yamaguchi spoke and Tsukishima hummed. “How did the T-Rex mate, I mean with those tiny arms I’m sure they couldn’t...hold on?”
Tsukishima smiled and Yamaguchi felt his heart explode like the meteor that ended the dinosaurs.
“Ahh yes, the great mystery that is dinosaur romance and sex,” Tsukishima joked, causing Yamaguchi to snort. “Well, the female could lay down and the male can mount her.”
Of course, Yamaguchi thought. Stupid question.
“Oh, right. Guess that would’ve made sense.” They were silent. “How do you feel about Jurassic Park? Accurate?”
“Well,” Tsukishima started. “To some degree yes, but ultimately, not really, design wise. The dinosaurs were meant to scare visitors so they weren’t made to be accurate. If the velociraptors were made accurately in Jurassic Park, would you be scared of a chicken? I don’t think so.”
Yamaguchi shook his head and smiled,“Guess not. I wouldn’t know, I’m not a big dinosaur guy.”
Tsukishima’s head cocked to the side, he almost looked offended. “Really? I was obsessed with them when I was younger which is why I’m a paleontologist now. What do you like then?”
“Astronomy, space and stuff.” Yamaguchi replied. “I know about the meteor from 65 million years ago, but not about the life it affected.”
They were looking at each other now instead of sneaking glances.
“Well then, how about you teach me all about the stars and we can have a Jurassic Park marathon and I can tell you all about the dinosaurs?” Tsukishima proposed and Yamaguchi has never felt happier.
”Sounds like a plan.”