Sands of Time [Kuroo Tetsuro X FemOC]

Where There is Pain...

It was a week before Jade saw any of them again. And though they spoke over text Jade couldn't help feeling like maybe Kuroo was avoiding her. He just asked her out though so surly that couldn't be the case, could it? He had to feel something for her. Then again, she had away as soon as she'd kissed him so maybe she'd confused him.

She said it herself though that schedules changed, she had to keep reminding herself of that. But for all of the study group to up and stop showing up for a week, without notice at all, was not like them.

Jade did her best to keep her spirits up. From dancing alone, save for her cats, in her apartment to paying extra attention to the maintenance of the floral garden at the library and even her personal herb garden. She took walks when she wasn't working pm assignments. She briefly considered dropping out of college entirely. She didn't need it after all. She had plenty of work experience, in a multitude of fields, and if it came down to it Jade knew she could just return to her family and live a happy life with her people.

It was Saturday night now, a week before her date with Kuroo, and though that knowledge should have excited her beyond all means, she was sad. Angry. She was seated on the arm of her loveseat with Frejya affectionately curled up at her feet while she reread her father's letter. Why he still insisted on communicating with her this way was beyond her but it made her happy in a way to see the tight scrawl of his handwriting.

Her presence was required for the Solstice Festival. No questions asked. She scowled at the signature. Councilman Aeden. That just added insult to injury. Her request had fallen on deaf ears much as she had hoped it wouldn't. With a sign Jade fished her phone out of her pocket and dialed the already familiar number.

"Everything okay?" There was a hint of worry in Kuroo's voice when he answered after two short rings.

"Yeah...kinda...no, not really." Jade kept her voice low, fearful of bursting into tears if she didn't. "Uhm, listen, I got a message from my father today and I-" she swallowed hard around the lump in her throat. "I'm gonna need a rain check on that date, Kuroo."

Across town, Kuroo was stepping out of Akaashi and Bokuto's dorm room for some privacy. For what he wasn't even sure. They already knew; had seen it on his face that the call wasn't going to be a pleasant one. He didn't know what to say; didn't know how to feel. His chest ached, he kind of wanted to punch a pillow, his eyes stung with the threat of tears.

"Tetsuro?" His name, worried yet caring on her tongue, most likely would've sent his heart soaring under any other circumstances but now only added to the painful weight. "Tetsuro, are you there?"

"Yeah." His voice was gruff, unfamiliar to his own ears, when he spoke. "I'm here, Jade."

"Please don't be made," she murmured. "Or do. I know I am – well, more sad I suppose. But I'm needed at home for some important family stuff."

As much as it hurt, Kuroo nodded. He leaned heavily against the wall before sliding to the floor with his knees drawn up tight. "It's okay," he told her numbly. "You don't see your family very often."

"It's not okay," she protested. Her voice broke on the last word, taking his heart with it when a sob was heard over the phone.

"Please don't cry, Little Gem." Kuroo dropped his head into a hand, carding his fingers through his hair and squeezing in order to feel something, anything, other than the constricting pain in his chest. "You're too beautiful to be crying because of me."