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It was two twelve in the morning when Katsuki knocked on Eijirou’s door nervously. His hands shook as he pressed his knuckles to the wood and he could feel his nerves crawl under his skin.
It was cold in the hallway, the breeze from the air conditioner wafting its way throughout the open corridor to make Katsuki shiver in his place, bringing his hands up to rub them on bare upper arms. It didn’t help that he was stood in the hallway in just his boxers, but he didn’t think before he got up and sprinted out of his dorm room.
Two sides of his brain were at war, one telling him to abandon ship and head back to his dorm, just to let him suffer because he didn’t do it.
The other side telling him to just shut the fuck up and do it, but it split into two outcomes. One, Eijirou would be okay with it and everything would be fine. They’d figure out what to do with that when they got there.
Or two, Eijirou wouldn’t reciprocate it, and then everything would be awkward. Katsuki knew that if Eijirou didn’t feel the same, he wouldn’t just stop their friendship and it would be awkward and painful, Katsuki could feel it in his bones.
But before he had the time to run back to his dorm room to escape the inevitable, his best friend had swung open the door, standing there in his favorite Crimson Riot hoodie and a pair of boxers.
Cherry red hair was tied half up half down and Katsuki wanted to shrivel up and die right then and there.
He watched as Eijirou leaned against the edge of the door frame, barely even bothered by the fact that Katsuki was knocking on his door in the middle of the night for a reason that he wasn’t even sure he would be able to get out of his mouth without it getting caught in the back of his throat and making him fucking choke.
“What’s up?” He flashed a sleepy grin at Katsuki, sharp teeth showing through tired lips as his eyes threatened to close on him. Katsuki could tell he was doing his best to stay awake.
Fuck. Katsuki’s toes tapped on the floor anxiously as he avoided eye contact with Eijirou. This was embarrassing.
How did he even think this would play out? He would tell his best friend he thought he liked him and then everything would be smooth sailing from there?
Katsuki didn’t want to open his mouth. He wanted to say never mind and walk away like this whole interaction never happened. But he was here now, and he wasn’t going to bail now.
He waited for Eijirou to raise an eyebrow at him, watching as Katsuki fiddled with his fingers before letting dreaded words escape his lips.
“I think I like you-“ he spit out quickly, not taking a single glance at what Eijirou might have done. His eyes stayed glued to the ground he was standing on, and if he could never bring them up again, he wouldn’t. But he thought his neck wouldn’t be able to handle that.
“You think you like me?” Eijirou questioned. He didn’t seem opposed to the idea, he didn’t sound disgusted like Katsuki’s worst nightmares entailed.
Okay. This was fine. He could do this.
“What makes you think you like me?” He asked. He didn’t sound condescending at all, just genuinely curious.
“How the fuck am I supposed to know? You’re the only person i’ve ever tolerated the way I do.”
“The way you do?“ Katsuki watched as feet opposite of him shifted on the floor, listening to Eijirou push himself off the door frame to stand directly in front of Katsuki. “What’s the difference between the way you do and the way other people do?”
Fuck, he was really gonna make Katsuki lay it all down on the table for him, wasn’t he?
Katsuki sighed, his eyes moving from his feet over back to his dorm room, to the end of the hallway. Anything to keep himself from having to deal with eye contact at that moment.
Katsuki began to speak, he began to give his reasoning, but he found his lips forming a thin line and a blush creeping up the back of his neck when he felt Eijirou press two fingers to the side of his jaw, pushing it gently so that Katsuki was looking at him, unavoidable eye contact at its peak when the words look at me fell from Eijirou’s lips like it was nothing.
Red met red and suddenly Katsuki forgot how to speak. His brain turned off and he felt as if he was sat in front of a television watching the static go on forever, never tearing his eyes from it.
He couldn’t form words, and suddenly he no longer thought this was a good idea.
Why the fuck did he think this was a good idea in the first place? Telling your best friend you think you have feelings for them, how stupid was he? Things like this never ended well, why did he think his situation would be different?
He watched Eijirou grow impatient, eyebrows raised as he waited for an answer.
And eventually after a whole lot of fucking mumbling, Katsuki spit it out.
“I don’t just tolerate you,” he said. “I actually kind of like hanging out with you.” He watch as Eijirou stifled a laugh and embarrassment creeped up in his cheeks.
“Katsuki, friends enjoy hanging out with each other, that’s how it works.”
Katsuki felt like he shattered into a million pieces right then and there. He knew what Eijirou meant, but it felt like more than friends to Katsuki. It felt like something heavier, something with much more weight than just hanging out and doing things that friends do.
“How the fuck am i supposed to know the difference between the two?” Katsuki was new to all of this. Eijirou was his first real friend, his first equal rather than follower below him. He was also the first person that gave Katsuki a lump in his throat and a fluttery feeling in his stomach.
The first person that dug deep under his skin to understand him rather than just judging by the surface.
The first person that Katsuki ever wanted to be around, the first one he didn’t hate. And he would hold Eijirou to that title, even when he learned to realize whether he liked him as a friend or something more.
“Well I mean,” Eijirou seemed nervous for what he was about to say. He bit his lip, Katsuki worrying whether or not he’d break skin with how sharp his teeth were. He took the tiniest step closer to Katsuki, which was already way to close for comfort. “I could kiss you?”
Katsuki’s heart fell straight from his chest right down to the first floor of the building. He was at a loss for words and he didn’t know if he would ever be able to get them back.
He stood there in the moment, wide eyed glaring at Eijirou as his mouth fell open out of pure shock. He could feel red creeping up the back of his neck but he tried his best to ignore it.
“How would that help, idiot?” Katsuki’s brain shut off. The only thing he could think about was Eijirou, the way he stepped closer to him and cupped his jaw, the way he smiled into the kiss as if he’d been waiting to do it for years.
He thought about his hands and the way they tangled so easily into cherry red hair like this wasn’t his first time kissing him. He thought about the way Eijirou’s lips felt against his, the way he was gentle and sweet, something Katsuki wasn’t familiar with.
Katsuki’s mind was thinking everything and nothing in that moment. The only thing he could focus on was Eijirou and how holy shit did he want to be able to do this again.
Katsuki couldn’t think straight when Eijirou pulled away. He could feel how red he was, and of course if he could feel it that meant Eijirou could see it.
So he didn’t move his body, he stayed just as close to Eijirou as he was before, he just turned his head to the side trying to avoid complete and utter embarrassment.
“You’re so pretty, Katsuki,” Eijirou whispered, watching Katsuki’s mind run a million miles per minute.
“Did that help at all?” The question didn’t need to be asked. They both knew the answer the second lips touched.
Katsuki did like him, there was no doubt about it.
But he was a thorough guy, what was the harm in doing more just to be sure? He couldn’t be too cautious about this, it was his emotions on the line, something he was never very good at dealing with.
“What else can we do to tell?” He asked quietly, just barely audible. But to his surprise, Eijirou heard him and took his hand in his own, wrapping long fingers around Katsuki’s and dragging him into the room and closing the door behind them.
“Would you like to be big spoon or little spoon, Katsuki?” Eijirou asked sweetly, redoing the blanket on his bed so it wasn’t all scrunched up in the corner.
Katsuki wanted to laugh. It was something so simple, it was just cuddling. But for some reason his heart was racing and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. He would let it go, though. Because what else could he do?
“Big spoon.” He was pretty defiant of his answer, but Eijirou still raised an eyebrow.
“You sure?”
“Of course i’m sure.” Katsuki retorted, rolling his eyes and moving himself onto the bed towards the wall, waiting for Eijirou to get under the covers with him.
He watched as he tore his sweatshirt off, throwing it to the ground by the dresser before crawling into bed next to Katsuki, pressing his back to his chest as Katsuki wrapped an arm around his middle.
No words were exchanged, but something felt off. Katsuki didn’t like this. He was supposed to, right? He liked kissing Eijirou more than anything, so why didn’t he like cuddling with him? That’s what people who like each other do, right? Why wasn’t he enjoying this.
“What’s got that brain of yours running over there?” Eijirou said after a few minutes, eyes still closed as if he was asleep.
Katsuki’s breath hitched, he didn’t want Eijirou to know that he wasn’t enjoying this. That was the last thing he wanted to do. But he was caught, and he wasn’t just going to spend the whole night uncomfortable with his arm wrapped around Eijirou.
He flopped onto his back and ran his hand through his hair, sighing. “Something’s not right.” He said. “This feels off.”
Eijirou didn’t respond before he moved. He carefully flipped himself over, hovering slightly above the other boy before pushing blonde hair back with his hand and pressing a kiss to his forehead, whispering a soft and gentle g’night, Katsuki. Against hot skin before pushing himself towards the other boy.
Katsuki rolled himself on his side on instinct as Eijirou wrapped an arm around his middle, tangling their legs together under the sheets.
They had just flipped positions, but it made all the difference. Katsuki was no longer uncomfortable, and Eijirou seemed like he had already passed out right then and there.
This was good. This felt right. And Katsuki wouldn’t be opposed if this happened again. Hell, maybe he’ll even look forward to their next late night together. But for now, he’d match his breathing with Eijirou’s and sleep peacefully through the night, waiting for morning to hit and a weekend day to spend with Eijirou.
—
After that night, they never really confirmed that they were dating. It just kind of happened. They didn’t really need to slap a label on it though, they were content with what they had.
Katsuki was the first to wake up, slipping himself out of Eijirou’s arms before he had fully came back to consciousness, and carefully walking around the dark room. He had managed to pick up Eijirou’s hoodie from the floor, slipping it over his shoulders and stepping out of the room quickly, closing the door quietly behind him.
He would be back soon, but it was early and he was hungry, and he wasn’t gonna sit there and wait. Eijirou slept like a rock, he knew that. And god knows he’s not waiting until one pm to get up and get breakfast.
So he’d make his way out to the kitchen and pull something out of the fridge for breakfast, but he would fail to notice Kaminari sitting on the stool at the island behind him, staring him up and down.
“That’s Kirishima’s hoodie, isn’t it?” He asked, swirling the spoon around in his hot chocolate.
Katsuki wasn’t that phased by it, and he continued to look through the fridge for something. “Yeah, what about it?”
“Oh nothing,” Katsuki could practically see Kaminari put his hands up in defense at his question even though he wasn’t looking.
“I just owe Sero a couple thousand yen is all.”
Needless to say, Katsuki was quick to throw Ashido’s left overs that sat on the top shelf of the fridge at him.