cw: reader is a business major. read tags if concerned about canon deviation
kuroo’s schedule this semester is insane.
he’s working part time to cover housing because his roommate dropped out without telling him, he’s taking something like fifty labs all worth half a credit each (only a slight exaggeration), and, worst of all, there’s no time in his day to see you.
he misses you. you’re trying to buck up and not be needy, but he can see it in your eyes, in the way you always fall right into his arms every time you do see each other, like you need to sate your skin-hunger because you don’t know when you’ll see him next. he appreciates your understanding, but… he misses you, too.
he’d set up a fucking chart, made you fill in your weekly schedule, overlapping his, until he found a hole in both.
“it’ll have to be while i do homework,” he’d said, foot tapping anxiously, “is that okay?”
“of course,” you’d given him your easy, sunny smile, and he planted his face in your lap and moved your hand to muss his hair more.
now, he looks over at you fondly, lying on your back spread-eagle in his bed. it’s something you rarely get to do, since he’s usually crammed in it with you. you sleep holding hands, when you stay the night, locked together like sea otters drifting on the waves.
he’s exiled to the desk next to the bed, though, working through reactions of aromatics and sneaking longing glances at your prone form.
“do you wanna—”
“i’m not in chemistry for a reason,” your voice floats up from the bed, though your eyes stay peacefully closed. “do your molecule splitting or whatever yourself.”
“mean,” kuroo says, pushing his chair back and running his hands through his hair. “what if i was gonna say ‘do you wanna cuddle?’”
“mm, you weren’t,” you say. “i said that earlier and you were all, no, babe, i have to finish my lab workbook because the—”
“i know what i said,” he grumbles. “go back to sleep.”
“okay,” you say. “i believe in you. or whatever. good luck.”
“thanks.” he picks up his pencil again for a moment, then tilts his chair back, tipping his head backward, hands braced on the desk. his room is so small he’s almost touching the bed. you tilt your head to the side, eyes opening the slightest bit. “what am i even doing this for?”
“because it’s your passion, honey.” one of your hands rests on your stomach, just beneath the hem of your shirt. that’s where he likes to hold you.
“but you’re gonna be the one making all the money,” he whines. “and all you have to do is make a bunch of supply demand graphs all day.”
“yep,” you say brightly, “but i make those graphs so you can be my stay at home husband someday. so watch your mouth.”
“fine,” he grumbles, righting his chair. “that’s what i’m doing this for. to be your househusband.”
“that’s right,” you say encouragingly. “work hard, tetsurō.”
as he settles back into the flow of his work and your breath eases into the steady rhythm of the sleeping, he looks at you again, now facedown in his pillows, one arm curled around the space where he should be. the melody of a life taking shape rings in his ears; for a second, he can see it. a house with a yard, with a garden, with a kitchen where you kiss his cheek while he cooks dinner and where he spins you after a couple glasses of wine. light suffuses him; he gets back to work.
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