It's cooler behind the gym where the sun casts long shadows on the grass. The squeak of rubber on the gym sounds far away, almost like a world forgotten. Kuro leans on the wall, the water bottle lighter than it had been a moment ago. His fingers are still burning from when he accepts the towel from her, so he shakily wipes his face with it in the hopes of stopping his own face from heating up.
Yachi stands just to his side, and it's in that moment that he realizes that she barely reaches his shoulders. Ah, there's no saving him now.
"Thanks for the towel Yachi-san."
"A-ah... yeah it was no problem."
She shakes her hands, and looks at her feet. "I'm happy to help."
They stay silent and nervous for a minute longer. The buzzing current beneath Kuro's skin is at odds with the breeze edging in with the rustling of the field.
Cicadas sing into the empty sky, loud and crisp, and Kuro's fingers take this as a sign to inch their way to Yachi's.
"Is this alright?" He asks.
Her fingers slowly fill the empty spaces of his and don't leave.
They must have spent half the day walking, since the lamps were now gleaming like starlight on the river below. Kuro points this out to Yachi, who laughs and points out his poetry. She takes out her phone to try and snap a picture of the river - for reference. He's just hoping that she doesn't snap a picture of his spectacularly red ears for reference.
She stands on her tiptoes and leans lightly on the balustrade, his scarf feebly flapping around her neck. Yachi doesn't go out too far, her hands are tinged white on her phone.
Kuro watches his breath condense in front of him, while his hands crumple the insides of his pocket.
Yachi finishes and shows him the pictures. As she apologizes for the picture quality, Kuroo notices the slight tremor of her hands. So when she pockets her phone, he asks her if he can hold her hands. She flushes red, but lets him take her hands and smooth away the tension from her curled fingers.
Hitoka considers the coffee Kuro sets down in front of her. The mug is a stark white, with black cats bordering the bottom, its smoke lazily rising towards the blinding fluorescent on her apartment ceiling.
"Thanks Kuro-kun." He nods by way of reply and places a plate of ham and cheese sandwiches on the table.
The clock is ticking past eleven in the evening. She has a test tomorrow, he has a test tomorrow, they both have a test tomorrow. The table is filled with her highlighters and multi-color gel pens, and his chemistry books just peer in on the edge of her periphery.
"Tired?" He asks. When she doesn't reply immediately, he takes a bite out of a sandwich.
"I'm just taking a break."
Hitoka blows the smoke away and peeks at her readings, which, all in all, is a few centimeters high stack of chinese literature. She thanks her lucky stars that she starts her studying early.
"Is Genji giving you a hard time?"
She sighs. "It's not always Genji."
"Right, sorry." He says, as he stares at the ceiling. He seems to think for a moment, before he swallows the last of his snack and pulls his books closer to himself.
"How's your chemistry?"
He smiles his lopsided grin. "With you? It's just fine."
She laughs despite herself.
Kuro joins in, before adding "Honestly though, it is."
Warm light slants through the curved glass ceiling of the greenhouse and onto the rows of raised strawberry vines. Her rubber shoes dig into the soft brown soil as she plucks strawberries next to her boyfriend, who seems more intent on analyzing how healthy they are. Tetsu has already told her five times that strawberries are accessory fruits (she's also done writing this down five times on her journal, which is set on the ground in front of them), and now, after telling her she need not list them down, he's reciting all the vitamins and minerals present in a 100 gram serving of strawberries.
Their red bucket has slowly been filling up, and Hitoka can't wait for all the pastries they could make. She tells Tetsu that maybe they could make some strawberry shortcake (preparing extra in the event that Tsukishima does come when asked to). Then she wonders if mixing strawberries and apples would taste great (to thank Kenma for suggesting the strawberry picking). She does recall something like an apple and strawberry crumble.
He starts cackling at that. "Anything you make would be delicious." He says, bopping her on the nose.
"Ah, you're just biased Tetsu-kun."
Sometimes Kuro finds himself staring at the jar Hitoka gave him a couple of weeks ago, back when his car broke down on their way to a date he had worked so hard to prepare for (it worked out in the end, but that's a story for another time). A glass jar filled with foil poked with holes. It looks like nothing now, but if he turns off the light and lights the small flashlight inside (he has the choice of either blue, yellow, or red lights. Yacchan was simply genius), it makes stars of his walls.
Sometimes Hitoka likes to fiddle with her star clips. She holds them in her hands and mindlessly traces every edge over and over again.
There are a bunch of them she has safely placed in a pastel yellow box on her dresser (courtesy of Tetsu). Some of them have polka-dots, stripes, and many other designs. But most of them are colored in different shades and tints of red. And although Hitoka has long since stopped tying her hair in a side ponytail, she still brings around a clip in her pocket.
Kuro thinks he'll never tire looking into Hitoka's eyes. She laughs when he tells her, it's a small but clear sound that chases the tension from his shoulders.
The sunset filters through the sheer curtains and paints the sheets in a golden fire. He doesn't notice time pass, that half the day was slipping between their fingers. Memories etching themselves between the creases of their bed. Hitoka is ethereal in the glow. Her hair a halo on the pillows, her eyes a glowing amber.
"I like your eyes as well Tetsu-kun." She pushes the stray hairs from his face, her fingers lingering on his forehead. "They're so pretty."
He feels himself grow warm beneath her touch. He pulls her close and places a kiss on her forehead. She smiles and presses her lips to his chin.
The sky's sprinkled with stars when they rise.
The golden band around her finger is warm.
It's glinting in the light of the moon, as the cold breeze passes by like the hush of a lullaby. Her fingers are a bit chilly on the cold metal of the balcony railing, but she doesn't mind. She looks back at Tetsu and finds his head pinned between his pillows, the billowy black of his hair almost brown from the warmth of the lamp. The slow rise and fall of his form a steady rhythm that her heart has sung for the past years. Her heart no longer jumps at the sight of him, nor does her chest tighten in pain when he smiles his crooked smile. He's there, the weight of him steadies her when the world falls around her ears.
Hitoka breathes, pulls his jacket closer around her shoulders. No need to worry, he's here and that's all that matters.
The passing cars rush quietly below them. Jumbled piano keys of their upstairs neighbor warble into a song, somewhat familiar. She tries to hum along, and Tetsu turns in his sleep.
"Toka… 's cold outside."
She can hear the smile despite his sleep-heavy voice. She savors the night for a while longer, maybe she counts the stars with her left hand just so she can pretend there are stars on her fingers.
The glass door of their balcony slides close, and Hitoka pads towards the bed and the waiting arms of her husband. His breath tickles her ear as he murmurs something to her that she doesn't understand, but she doesn't need to.
"I love you too."
a crosspost from ao3