Work Text:
“Are you listening to me?”
Your head snapped up from the textbook you had been glazing over for the better part of twenty minutes, while failing to retain even one single piece of information. You weren’t confident you could even recite the name of the chapter you were – supposedly – focusing on, because sitting across from you was the biggest distraction you’d ever had to face in your life.
You hadn’t expected the TA in your Advanced Molecular Physics class to be built like a Greek god.
Said TA was also astonishingly patient – that was the one thing you had managed to learn today, through first-hand experience. Valko didn’t mind explaining concepts to you, even when it was the second or third time that he had to repeat them.
And it wasn’t that he was a bad tutor. Far from it; he was able to come up with example after fresh example to try and get you to understand what he was talking about. He had even managed to make you laugh a couple of times. Which was miraculous when it came to a subject as technical and, frankly, dry as physics. You felt certain that even the worst student in your class would be able to grasp electromagnetic spectroscopy if Valko was the one explaining it... If only he wasn’t so hot.
“I asked if you wanted to take a break,” Valko repeated, the brief hint of amusement passing over his face. “It’s important to. Studying all afternoon isn’t good for you.”
“Oh! Uh…”
Studying was an extremely generous term for what you’d been doing since you stepped foot in Valko’s office. At least in the way that he meant. You had certainly been studying how his shirt clung against his (frustratingly broad) chest. But the only thing that had managed to teach you about molecular physics was that light somehow seemed to refract into your eyes at a much faster rate when it was bouncing off of Valko’s pecs.
“Come on.” Valko stood up. “It’s nice out. Why don’t we go for a walk?”
Your first thought was to stay in your chair. But your instinct to follow behind Valko like a lost puppy won out. You grabbed your bag and trailed after him, out of the stuffy TA office down in the basement of IFU’s physics building, and out into the sunshine and open air. Valko took a deep breath in, smiling to himself.
The air carried the faint scent of flower petals, scattered wildly across the campus grounds as the trees came into bloom. It was pleasantly warm, and you found yourself lost in the moment as one foot stepped automatically in front of the other.
“So. I haven’t seen you during office hours before,” Valko started, making casual conversation. “Was there any particular reason you came today?”
You shrugged. “I guess I’ve just been struggling to follow along with the lectures in class.” You dared a brief glance at him, to find Valko listening with rapt attention. “I figured trying to get ahead of the assigned reading might help.”
Valko nodded, his hands in his pockets. Your eyes started to trace over his shoulders again, and you forced yourself to look back at your feet.
“Do you usually have a lot of students show up to your office hours?” you asked. Today, you had been the only one there when you arrived, and you’d had Valko all to yourself for the last hour.
“Not as many as you might think,” Valko replied. “It’s a tough class, but I’m not sure how many of your classmates even know I’m around. You have to read through the syllabus closely to find the office hours, and it doesn’t help that they keep me locked up in the basement,” he joked.
You were almost halfway through with your loop of the physics building, and you couldn’t help but chuckle at the way Valko bashfully rubbed the back of his neck. The physics department was well known for being a maze of disorganized offices and labs. It was, truly, a small miracle that you had managed to locate the room where Valko’s office hours were held in the first place.
“You should come to the lectures sometime,” you suggested. “I bet if people saw you, they’d come to your office hours.”
You held back, somehow, from voicing your more intimate opinions on exactly why people would come if they saw Valko.
“Maybe, yeah,” he agreed. “Either way, it’s a good idea. I should come to the lectures more often.”
You walked side by side with Valko in silence, until you reached the entrance to the physics department. Its steep marble steps were always imposing, and suddenly you didn’t want to climb them. Going back insde felt like it might make this small private moment – whatever it was – end.
“Ready to hit the books again?” Valko asked. “Or would you rather be done for the day?”
You laughed, cradling your head in your hands. “I think if I hear the word ‘spectroscopy’ again, my brain might implode.”
“Hm. We wouldn’t want that,” Valko hummed. “Next time, then.”
He gave you a soft smile, before turning and making his way up the stairs. After just a few steps, he turned back, and your eyes snapped to his instantly.
“Thanks for visiting me today,” Valko said, slipping into that calm, level voice that entranced and distracted you. You tried hard to stay focused as Valko continued. “It’s nice feeling needed. Even if you weren’t totally paying attention. At least, not to what I was saying about the spectroscopy chapter.”
His smile turned wolfish, and you felt the ground shift slightly under you. He couldn’t have noticed, could he? Before you could spiral, you pulled yourself out, and found the unbelievable courage to tease him back.
“Oh boy. There goes my brain.” Your laugh sounded a little too awkward and high pitched, and you hoped Valko wouldn’t notice. “I warned you it would melt if you said that word again.”
Valko took a step closer. “Are you sure that it’s really spectroscopy making your brain melt?”
No, not melt. Short-circuit was really a more accurate term for what your synapses were doing as Valko stood next to you, eyes intent. Gentle, but not backing down. He knew. Definitely.
All at once, his cute smile returned, and your heart skipped a beat.
“Let me buy you a coffee.”
His offer hung in the air between you as you felt your face heat up. Valko waited patiently, just like he had been all afternoon.
“Yeah. Coffee sounds nice.”
Valko instantly perked up. It was adorable, how quickly the warmth that was hidden behind his eyes spilled out and over you. Infectious, too – you had no hope of containing the smile that broke out across your own face.
Was it too bold to take his hand? Valko walked down the last few marble steps to meet you, and before your conscious mind could catch up and answer your own question, your hand was already reaching for his.
You swore Valko was blushing. His neck was flushed pink, but he didn’t say anything more. Just wrapped his fingers a bit tighter around yours, as you walked hand in hand through the flurry of petals.