A game of hearts {Kuroo}

23.

The days following Y/N's conversation with Kuroo were tense. The excitement and joy they once shared felt dampened by the looming uncertainty about their future. Every interaction seemed weighed down by the unspoken reality of their diverging paths.

Y/N sat at her desk, her laptop open, the acceptance email for the research program staring back at her. The deadline to accept was fast approaching, and the knot of anxiety in her stomach only grew tighter. She couldn't avoid this decision any longer, but the pressure of what it would mean for her and Kuroo felt suffocating.

She glanced at her phone, the conversation with Kuroo from the previous night replaying in her mind. He had been understanding—too understanding, really. He hadn't tried to convince her to stay, but his reassurance that they could make it work only made her feel more conflicted. It felt like no matter what choice she made, something important would be lost.

That night, Kuroo invited her to dinner at his apartment. They hadn't spent time together properly in days, and despite the heaviness between them, Y/N was eager to see him. She arrived at his place, hoping the time together would provide some clarity, but when she stepped through the door, she could already feel the tension in the air.

Kuroo was preparing food in the kitchen, his expression distant. When he turned to greet her, his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hey, Y/N," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "Dinner's almost ready."

Y/N smiled back, but the unease in her chest hadn't gone away. As they sat down to eat, the conversation was polite but stilted. They talked about trivial things—their classes, Kuroo's practice schedule—but the real topic hovered just beneath the surface, waiting to be addressed.

Halfway through the meal, Y/N couldn't take it anymore. She set down her fork, taking a deep breath before speaking. "Kuroo, we need to talk about this."

Kuroo paused, glancing up from his plate. He knew exactly what she meant. "Yeah, I figured this was coming."

Y/N's heart raced. She didn't want to hurt him, but the weight of everything was too much to bear. "I don't know how we're supposed to make this work. You're going to be traveling with the volleyball team, and I'll be abroad for a year. It just feels... impossible."

Kuroo leaned back in his chair, his jaw tightening. "I told you, we can figure it out. People make long-distance work all the time, Y/N. Why can't we?"

Y/N shook her head, her voice filled with frustration. "It's not just the distance, Kuroo. It's everything. You're going to be focused on your volleyball career, and I'll be consumed with my research. We barely have time for each other now, and we're on the same campus. How are we supposed to manage when we're living in different countries?"

Kuroo's hands clenched into fists on the table, his calm demeanor beginning to crack. "So what? You're saying we should just give up? After everything we've been through?"

"I'm saying that maybe we need to be realistic," Y/N replied, her voice trembling. "Maybe this isn't going to work, and we're just too scared to admit it."

Kuroo stood up abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. He ran a hand through his hair, pacing around the small apartment. "So, that's it? You want to break up because things are getting hard?"

Y/N stood as well, her emotions boiling over. "It's not just that things are hard, Kuroo! It's that everything is changing, and we're pretending like we can just go back to how things were. But we can't!"

Kuroo turned to face her, his eyes filled with a mix of anger and hurt. "Do you think this is easy for me? Do you think I haven't thought about how much this is going to suck? But I'm willing to try, Y/N. I'm willing to fight for this, for us. Why aren't you?"

Y/N felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. "Because I'm scared! I'm scared that if I go, we'll lose everything. That we'll drift apart and become strangers. And maybe that's already happening."

Kuroo stared at her, his chest rising and falling with deep breaths. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The room was filled with the sound of their heavy breathing, the weight of their words hanging in the air.

Finally, Kuroo broke the silence. His voice was quiet, filled with resignation. "So, what do you want to do?"

Y/N wiped away a tear that had fallen down her cheek. "Maybe we need some space. Maybe we both need to figure out what we really want before we make any decisions."

Kuroo's expression hardened, but the hurt in his eyes was unmistakable. "Space? Is that really what you think is going to fix this?"

"I don't know," Y/N whispered, her voice barely audible. "But I don't want us to end up resenting each other. I love you, Kuroo, but I can't keep pretending like this isn't tearing me apart."

Kuroo looked down, his hands gripping the back of his chair. He was silent for what felt like an eternity before he finally nodded. "If that's what you need, then fine. We'll take a break."

Y/N's heart shattered at his words, but she knew it was the only way. "I'm sorry."

Kuroo didn't look at her as he spoke. "Yeah, me too."

---

That night, Y/N returned to her dorm feeling hollow. She hadn't expected the conversation to go the way it did, but deep down, she knew it was inevitable. The pressure of their separate futures had become too much to bear, and now they were both left trying to pick up the pieces.

Across campus, Kuroo sat alone in his apartment, staring at the now-empty dinner table. He replayed the argument in his head, wondering if there was something he could've said or done differently. But no matter how much he wanted to fight for them, he couldn't force Y/N to stay.

Both of them were left to face the harsh reality that sometimes, love wasn't enough to keep two people together. Not when their dreams were pulling them in opposite directions.