The most important match against U-20 was won with big success and now, here he was with the apartment key in his hand and uncharacteristic hesitation in his movements. Barou huffed, regaining his usual demeanour, unlocking the front door and entering the… surprisingly quiet apartment.

Barou stood frozen in the doorway and just stared. he didn’t know what he expected to see. maybe a mess, maybe someone else’s shoes next to yours, maybe an empty apartment even, maybe anything else but silence but it was how it is: a clean apartment just like he liked it, no unwanted guests, no emptiness, no twisted gut feeling he had almost the whole time he was in Blue Lock. it felt peaceful, welcoming in a way.

Barou cleared his throat and put his bag down, untied his shoes and closed the front door behind himself before walking deeper into the apartment and looked around. the living room is clean, the kitchen is clean and fresh food was resting on the stove like it was made and waiting for him, the refrigerator filled like everything just came out of the supermarket and pudding waiting to be eaten by him on the shelf, the quiet hum of the washing machine in the bathroom. Barou didn’t text you that he’s coming back for two weeks, you two never shared locations so you had no way to find out that he’s coming back today, yet everything was ready like you were waiting for this day since a while.

Barou clenched his fists and walked deeper into the apartment, trying to figure out where you are because everything was quiet and usually you would made at least a noise as a sign of your presence. he walked past your shared bedroom when he noticed that the door was a crack open. he frowned and stuck his head into the room. his eyes trailing the walls until they fell onto your sleeping silhouette in bed, wrapped in his hoodie with the hood over your head. Barou’s expression softened for a few seconds until it hardened again and he backed away from the door and walked to the living room.

He sat down onto the couch, arms resting on his knees and his gaze focused on the ground as thoughts and emotions swirled through his mind, he expected you to… cheat, to forget him, find someone new and erase him out of your life since he was gone for so long with no signs of coming back. he didn’t expect you to care, to stay, to… wait for him to come back, to wait every day and making sure that every day was prepared for his return.

You’re Barou’s first partner, the first person that managed to break down his walls and deal with his arrogance and ego better then anyone else ever could, keeping up with his cleaning habits and revealing a side of him he never showed to anyone. despite everything - he barely trusted you, your loyalty, your love. he actually thought you left but how it seems… it’s the complete opposite and that was doing something to him he couldn’t explain.

Barou leaned back with a heavy sigh and covered his eyes with his forearm. it will take a few more hours until you’ll wake up… perhaps he should nap as well. he couldn’t even decide because the sleep decided for him and he fell asleep immediately.