Chapter 87: I Won't Do That

                                    

                                          

Kuroo wrapped his arm around Amalie's waist, and pulled her arm around his shoulders, holding her hand to keep it there as they prepared to mount the stairs.  He was pretty sure this was the way Nakano had helped him down to the man cave when he was totally sloshed, so he figured it ought to work well to get his equally jacked up date upstairs to her bedroom.  "Ready to give this a go, lovely?" he asked the girl with a grin.
"You and me, Sexy Tree, we got this," Amalie replied, looking into Kuroo's eyes.  They stared at one another for a long moment, and Kuroo marveled at the brilliant emerald green of the girl's eyes; even as blown as her pupils were, the green was still so prominent.  He chuckled and began helping her upstairs, the pair moving together far better than Kuroo thought they would.  Amalie seemed to have a pretty high tolerance for alcohol, which the tall captain was grateful for at the moment.  He knew the girl had to be at least as drunk as he'd been the night before his birthday, given how much she'd had to drink.  And yet, Amalie's voice, while decidedly thick and blurry with her intoxication, was reasonably clear, and her movements weren't anywhere near as uncoordinated as he'd feared they'd be.  All in all, poor Naka-chan had a much tougher time with me, I think, he realized with a chuckle.
Amalie continued to stare at Kuroo's face, even as he focused on keeping them moving.  "You're so tall," she gasped out as they reached the halfway point.
Kuroo turned to face her again, grinning at the look of wonder etched on her features.  "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"It's awesome.  Amazing.  The best thing ever," Amalie babbled as she just kept on staring at him, moving her feet in response to his gentle prodding with his hand or his hip.  "I don't usually get to look up at a guy, you know?  I'm actually even a little taller than Naka-chan, so most guys are shorter than me.  I was so jealous when she met such a tall guy like Kei.  And now I met you, and you're so freaking tall, I love it!"  Amalie had gotten progressively louder as she'd gone on, and Kuroo laughed at her.
"I'm right here, lovely, and I bet your folks are trying to sleep.  Better keep it down, okay?"
Amalie laughed.  "Oh please, they won't hear anything, they're probably going at it like rabbits right now.  They always get all riled up when they're both drunk like this and they can't keep their hands off each other."
Kuroo swallowed back his hyena laughter for what had to be the twentieth time that night.  Amalie was indeed just as forthright as Kei had said, and drinking seemed to even intensify that.  In fact, drinking seemed to intensify everything about the girl - Kuroo had been amazed at how she'd danced, laughed, and talked with such abandon.  He thought back over the evening, remembering the two of them sitting together and people watching for a bit, and Amalie making up silly voices and providing dialogue for the various couples they were observing as he just laughed his head off.  She had a sharp wit, and a gift for improvisation.  Her characterizations had been hilarious.  He couldn't help but chuckle at the memory as he led her to the door of her bedroom.
"How did you know this one is my room?" she asked, blinking at him incredulously.
"I stayed overnight here once, for Tsukki's birthday, and Bokuto and I used your room," he replied.  Amalie reached out and opened the door, since Kuroo's hands were both occupied with holding on to her.  "I hope you don't mind."
"So you've slept in my bed?"
"Nope, I was on a futon on the floor.  Bokuto slept in your bed, though."
The pair made their way into the room, Amalie disengaging from Kuroo as he turned to quietly close the door behind them.  The brown-haired girl made her unsteady way to the dresser, taking off accessories as she went.  After placing them gingerly down on top of the dresser, she twirled to face him, gesturing expansively with her arms.  The action made her stumble a bit, but Kuroo politely pretended not to notice.  "Well, welcome back to my humble boudoir, Kuroo.  I hope you don't mind sharing it with me this time, instead of Bokuto."