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Kei just wanted to go home.
It had been a long day at practice, and Koganegawa and Kyoutani had gotten into an argument which made things tense. Kei just wanted to go home and curl up on the couch with a cup of tea, maybe facetime Kuroo when he was home from work. He could feel the headache starting to brew and he hated it. He wished head his headphones, even if they weren’t practical for exercise. He had an hour of practice left to go and he wanted it over with now.
He sat on the bench to drink some water, pressing his hands into his eyes to try and stop the pounding in his head. He doesn’t know why he’s so sensitive to things today. Maybe he didn’t sleep well, or something. All he knows is that he’s on the edge of his patience and he needs a break from the noise of the gym. He jumps when there’s a hand on his shoulder, and he sees his coach looking at him worriedly, asking if he’s ok.
“Just a headache.”
The coach hums, saying he can head out if he needs to, they’re mostly done here now, and it’s a nice day. Kei takes the opportunity to leave, thanking his coach quietly and heading to the locker room to grab his things. As soon as he’s out of the gym, he takes a breath, allowing himself to revel in the quietness of the corridor, the squeak of shoes and bounce of balls blocked by the heavy doors. He strips off once he’s in the locker room and steps into the shower, grateful to be alone as he stands under the spray. He loves his team, but they’re always so loud, and he needs a minute to himself.
Once he’s clean, he steps out of the shower and gets dressed in his street clothes, checking his phone to see if he missed anything important. There’s a photo from Kuroo that he’ll look at later, most likely some kind of cat that he saw on his lunch break. That is what most of the photos he gets from Kuroo are. He smiles fondly at the thought of the other man, and tells himself that he’ll get to see him later, even if it's only through a screen.
When he gets home, he immediately pauses. There were a pair of shoes that weren’t his in the hall. He can hear his shower going and he can smell Kuroo’s aftershave, and all of him relaxes at once. Kuroo’s here. Kuroo has come from Tokyo to spend the weekend with him as a surprise, and now Kei doesn’t have to deal with just seeing him through a screen. He’ll be able to touch him and be touched in return. If he’s lucky, he’ll get to feel Kuroo’s hand in his hair. He puts his bag down and kicks off his shoes, debating joining Kuroo in the shower. He’s not up for anything more than some kisses, but he’d like to be held, even if he’s already had a shower today.
Decision made, he makes his way to the bathroom, smiling when he hears Kuroo humming to himself over the rush of water. It feels domestic, coming home to his boyfriend in his bathroom, taking a shower and humming to himself. Tsukki undresses quietly before stepping into the tub. Kuroo lights up when he sees him, hands coming to rest on his hips as he tugs him closer.
“You’re home early.”
“Mmm, I have a headache, so I was allowed to leave.”
Kuroo makes a sympathetic noise, pressing a kiss to Kei’s head and holding him close as they were both pelted with water. Kei presses his face into Kuroo’s neck and breathes him in, and Kuroo holds him tight, rubbing his back gently. They stand there until the water runs cold and then climb out, wrapping themselves in towels and laughing at some terrible joke that Kuroo told. Kei feels like he’s at home in a way that he doesn’t normally unless Kuroo is there with him.
Kei feels warm as he steals one of the tshirts that Kuroo brought to change into, forcing Kuroo to go shirtless, not that Kei’s complaining. He slips a pair of boxers on and leads Kuroo out to the small couch he has in his apartment. He tugs him down into his arms and tangles his legs with Kuroo's’ just wanting to be as close as possible. Kuroo kisses his shoulder and shifts so he’s got Kei in his arms, holding him close enough that it’s almost like they’ve merged into one.
Kuroo brushes a hand through Kei’s hair, whispering that he loves him. Kei makes a happy noise and presses impossibly closer, saying he loves him too.
He may feel bad, and it’s not like Kuroo can magically make everything ok immediately, but he helps, because he’s Kei’s home, and he’s got him.