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Eijirou is positive he’s going to collapse and die in a heap when they get home. Well that is to say he does collapse, but thankfully it’s on him and his husband’s bed rather than the floor. And thankfully it’s after he’s changed out of his hero gear. The smell envelopes him, a lovely caramel and cinnamon mix that he’s positive isn’t his doing. He didn’t think he would ever find their scratchy, torn duvet so comfortable, but as Eijirou sinks into it he forgets what was so bad with it in the first place.
It’s only been 15 seconds since he’s landed in heaven, and he’s already drifting off to sleep. Well he is until he feels a stinging sensation in his ass cheek.
“Hey,” he grumbles, rolling over to squint at his husband. “Babe, why?”
“Stop dirtying up the sheets, I literally just washed them.” Katsuki is looking at Eijirou over his reading glasses. He’s not sure what Katsuki could possibly have that was so important he had to read it right after the type of mission they had today, but he doesn’t try to question it. Eijirou rolls his eyes and sits up, rubbing his neck before standing and stretching.
“You know, you look like an old little librarian with those,” Eijirou teases, coming around his husband and wrapping his arms around his waist. Katsuki drops the paper he has in his hands to his side.
“Shut up,” he says without any of the venom his younger self might have.
Eijirou can tell he’s blushing. He tucks his chin in the crook of his husband’s neck, squeezing his arms a little tighter. “I think it’s cute.”
“You think anything I do is cute.”
“And I’m right every time,” he beams. They might’ve been married for a few years now but they might as well have been in their young teens again. Eijirou remembers when they shared their first kiss, how much each of them was a blushy awkward mess of feelings, miscommunications, and confessions. The butterflies were gone, but Eijirou was still as in love with the man in his arms as he was back then.
“You’re so cheesy,” Katsuki says, leaning his own head onto Eijirou’s.
He hums and sways them a bit. It had been a hard day, after a particularly difficult villain had crossed both of their paths at the same time. He seemed to know both of their patrol routes and how to bring them together. It was one of Eijirou’s worst nightmares, being pitted up against someone he loved.
He’s not sure what exactly the villain's quirk was but it seems like an illusionary type quirk. It had been an accident and Eijirou knew that. He wasn’t mad, but in that moment it felt… painful. A type of illusion, causing Katsuki to see someone else, ended up in Eijirou getting the brunt force of an explosion. Thankfully he had mostly hardened but there was a particular soft spot it had gone through and caused him to cry out in pain.
He’s not sure if he retaliated, surrendered to his husband, or what happened. He just knows that by the end of everything the villain was arrested and they were taking a visit to dear old Recovery Girl. Katsuki had been extremely quiet the entire visit and on the drive on the way home.
“Love you,” Eijirou mumbles after a moment.
It takes a moment before the other responds, and for a second Eijirou thinks he’s fallen asleep standing up, but he finally breaks the heavy silence. “Love you too… Stinky. Take a shower.”
“Hey!” Eijirou whines and crinkles his nose. “You’re stinky too, babe. You take a shower.” He parts with Katsuki for only a second to face him and then wraps his arms back around his waist.
“Too bad we only have one shower.” Katsuki turns his head when Eijirou tries to come in with a kiss. His lips are met with a hand instead.
“That’s never been a problem before,” Eijirou frowns, backing away and loosening his grip on the other.
Katsuki raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms, page still clutched in his hand. Ejirou tries getting a look at what it says, but Katsuki’s hand is covering most of it. He’s not sure why, but the paper feels like a poison and he wants to get it as far away as possible. Obviously he can’t when the other is clutching it like that.
“Come on,” EIjirou whines again, planting a kiss on his husband's cheek. He tries to get another look at the paper to no avail.
Katsuki doesn’t budge, though. “Ei, we never actually shower when we do that and I know you feel like shit…”
Eijirou rolls his eyes. Katsuki probably could have been persuaded any other time, but something about tonight seemed off, so he plants a kiss square on his husband’s lips, this time without interference, and heads to their bathroom. “Fine, fine, but don’t have too much fun without me.” He raises a hand in parting.
The entire time during his supposed “relaxing” shower, he’s worried about the man right outside the door and the piece of paper with him.
***
When Eijirou gets back from his shower about 20 minutes later, Katsuki is on a hushed phone call. His gaze is searing holes into the piece of paper from before.
“I know , Deku. But it’s just for a little while, until I know for sure I can get another one set.”
Eijirou stops at their doorway. He’s not necessarily hiding, he’s in plain sight. He just doesn't want his presence to be known yet, so he doesn’t make any move. That’s all. Katsuki’s fault for not paying more attention and having his back turned to the door.
“Fucking– fine. Whatever. I guess I get it. I’ll call Pikachu instead. …Don’t apologize, nerd. I understand. Bye.”
Katsuki hangs up the phone and sighs, a hand running through his hair. Eijirou hates seeing him this stressed out, even though he’s not sure what it’s about. Sure they had been late on a couple of bills this month and the last two week’s worth of missions and patrols have largely not ended up well, but it’s not like they hadn’t been through that before. He supposes today was rough, but that doesn’t explain the phone call with Midoriya of all people. They team up sometimes– a lot of the time actually– but Eijirou isn’t sure why he would be calling about a team up at this time of night.
Finally, Ejirou moves from his place at the door and Katsuki’s head whips around at the sound.
“Oh. Hi, Ei.” He says, getting up to head to take his own shower.
“Hi, Kats,” he says. As he passes, Eijirou puts a hand on his husband’s shoulder. “You okay?”
Katsuki pauses at the touch and for a second Eijirou’s heart gets caught in his throat as it seems like he’s going to say something. But instead he brushes Eijirou off and says, “Yeah, ‘m fine.”
Eijirou stares for a second before taking a deep breath and pressing a kiss to the other’s temple. Maybe a shower would help him.
“Okay.”
And without another word, his husband goes to their bathroom and Eijirou snuggles under the covers of their bed.
He ends up slipping in and out of sleep, torn between his exhaustion and his concern. When he’s awake, he can hear the shower running, the whispers of his husband, and footsteps pacing the hallway, stopping at the doorway of their bedroom for a while before starting up again. Finally, he feels the bed dip behind him and hears the sheets ruffle around.
When he checks the time on his phone, he realizes it’s been almost two hours since Katsuki left for the shower. It’s weird. He takes longer showers, sure, but it doesn’t usually take him that long. And while he stays up later than he did in his teenage years, Katsuki still isn’t a night owl.
Eijirou turns around and wraps his arms around his husband’s waist and burying his nose in his hair. It tickles, but it’s familiar. It’s already dry, though, a real indicator of the time. The usually grounding feature causes his stomach to drop.
“Kats,” he mumbles, voice gravelly from sleep. “Why were you gone for so long?”
He tenses under Eijirou. “Don’t worry about it, Ei. Go back to sleep.”
Eijirou is quiet for a second, his mouth gathering into a frown. He tightens his grip. “Are you sure you’re okay? What was that paper from earlier?”
“I told you, I’m fine. It was just stupid insurance stuff.”
“You know I don’t believe that, babe.”
He sighs and mumbles. “Just some paperwork from the agency. Have to get a new patrol so this doesn’t happen again.”
“I see,” Eijirou says. It makes sense, Katsuki being stressed about such a thing. Their shared agency was good about its paperwork and getting things in on time— their staff, interns, and sidekicks made sure of that. But it was stressful as hell to get something at the last minute on time. Coming up with a new patrol route was impossible in one night. It explains all of the phone calls… but it doesn’t explain Katsuki’s other behavior.
“Is there something else bothering you, babe?”
Katsuki is reluctant to speak, Eijirou feeling him stiffen even further under his touch.
He places a gentle, coaxing kiss to the back of Katsuki’s ear. “You can tell me, I’m not going to judge. I want to help. ‘S why we had a big ceremony where you cried when we kissed.”
Katsuki’s breath shudders underneath him, but he still doesn’t respond.
“I love you, Katsuki. Please, tell me, sweetheart.” Another long kiss to the nape of his neck, where his hairline is. He tangles their hands and fingers together. “I love you more than anything.”
“Why?” Katsuki’s voice cracks into the silence of the room. “I– It’s my fault you almost…”
It gets lost in Katsuki’s mind. Eijirou knows what he’s trying to say anyway. He knows how his husband will rethink his mistakes until they ultimately become incoherent and too much to handle. He can remember the incident at Kamino, even before they were dating, Katsuki would sneak into Eijirou’s dorm at night to avoid being alone. He remembers the mumbles about being the cause of All Might’s end. Eventually, Eijirou got him to actually listen to himself, see how irrational it was that one small boy was the cause of the demise of an all powerful hero. There was more that he didn’t see.
He hopes he can convince him this time as well.
“Hey,” Eijirou says, propping himself up. “Turn around, babe. Look at me.”
Katsuki doesn’t move.
“Please.”
He sighs as he turns around in his grasp. Even in the dim light, Eijirou can see the glossiness of those piercing red eyes as they refuse to make eye contact. His heart aches at the sight.
“Katsuki…” Eijirou lightly places a hand on his husband’s cheek, thumb swiping at his cheek bone. “Look at me. It’s not your fault, okay? It was an accident.” Eijirou’s gaze doesn’t falter from trying to catch the other’s.
“But I…” He sighs and finally looks up. “I could have fucking killed you, Eiijrou. You could have fucking died.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t.”
“Yeah, but I fucking could have. What if you didn’t harden fast enough? I wouldn’t have been able to ever forgive myself. I can’t– I can’t lose you, let alone be the one who– who–” He pauses as the tears forming in his eyes begin to spill over.
Ejirou tries to wipe away the tears but they are instantly replaced with more. He instead begins to kiss them away. It hurts to see Katsuki like this.
“I would never have forgiven myself,” he hiccups softly. His voice cracks. “I’m a monster.”
“Katsuki Kirishima, you are not a monster, you hear me? You’re not. It’s not your fault. You didn’t know. I hardened and I’m okay. I’m right here and… and I can’t promise it will all be okay but I know you would never hurt me on purpose.”
Katsuki shakes his head. “No I am, I’m going to hurt you again and—“
“You’re not, love.” He places his head against the other’s. “You never will.”
They stay like this for a while— vulnerable and tangled together, Eijirou kissing the other man’s tears until there were none left. Katsuki’s hands sneak up to hold the other there against his forehead— as if Eijirou ever thought of moving. He’s glad though because, the more he processes it, the more he realizes that it’s both of them. They both got hurt, even though he had gotten the most of it. There was a moment, suddenly clear as day, that Eijirou remembers, when he didn’t know what was happening. Forced to see the last villain who dared cross both of them, he had hardened and attacked. Luckily he had missed but a sliver, a small gash on his husband’s arm that Recovery girl deemed too minor to give any of her time to.
It’s good to know they’re both here. Feeling the other’s steadying breaths tickle his lips, he remembers how both of them are alive and well and here in each other’s arms. Eijirou isn’t going to waste any second of it thinking of how it could have been.
Though there are no more tears, he kisses each cheek once more, before placing one on his husband’s lips. Eijirou tries to convey to him how wrong he was for thinking such shit about himself. How wrong he was for ever questioning how much he loved him.
“Feeling better?” he says, pulling back, lips sliding over lips.
“A little,” Katsuki hums before pushing back into another kiss, this one longer, tongues poking through and clashing with each other.
“You sure you wanna do that?” He’s teasing, of course. He’s had a long day, but the exhaustion that was set in his bones a few hours ago is gone now, replaced with something more exhilarating. All he wants now is to show Katsuki how fucking wrong he is. How amazing he is. He wanted to make them both forget about everything that had happened today.
“Do what? I’m simply innocently kissing my husband after he made me feel better,” Katsuki’s mouth curls into a smile. “Nothing more, nothing less.”
Eijirou kisses Katsuki again. “Sure you are,” he hums against his lips. Another kiss. Then another. And suddenly he’s drawing up even closer to Katsuki, rolling them over so that he’s straddling the other’s hips. Both their lips and tongues dance together as his hand trails to tangle in the other’s soft hair.
No matter how many times they’ve kissed, Eijirou still treasures each peck as if it’s their last. This time is not different. He savors the taste of his husband, something different every time but still it’s always something distinctly Katsuki. He memorizes the feeling of their lips fitting perfectly together, sharing every emotion they have for each other. He relishes in the tiny whines he can draw out of the other when he moves his tongue a certain way.
“I love you,” he gasps softly as they break apart. Eijirou trails wet kisses from the side of Katsuki’s mouth, down and on his jawline, all the way back up to his ear. “You’ll forget about today. I’m going to show you how much you mean to me, sweetheart,” he murmurs, making sure he can hear the way Katsuki’s breath catches.
Katsuki makes a sound in the back of his throat, something of a mangled agreement and moan. The hand that has slid up to tangle in Eijirou’s hair tightens pleasantly.
“What was that, baby?”
Katsuki gasps as Eijirou nibbles on his earlobe, a surprised sound erupting from his lips.
“Mmm, still not sure what you said.” He breaks away, coming to face a flushed Katsuki, mouths barely brushing against each other. “Use your words, princess.”
Katsuki is stunned for a moment, lips opening and closing against Eijirou’s for a moment. As time passes, he smirks teasingly. It’s one of Eijirou’s many talents, causing Katsuki to be speechless. It’s funny really: the angry blond, always ready for a snarky come back, shut up by the happy go lucky redhead. But that’s what they always were– not that Katsuki had his moments of shutting Eijirou up himself but that was different somehow. Finally, Katsuki can form words once more as they come out as a strangled whisper. “Yes, please.”
Eijirou presses their lips together quickly before backing away. “That’s what I thought.”
He slides his hands down Katsuki’s shoulders and arms, eventually pinning both of the other’s hands on either side of his head. He intertwines their fingers, bringing their knuckles up to his mouth and kissing on each one.
“Love you,” Eijirou mutters between each kiss. He makes sure he’s keeping Katsuki’s gaze, looking into his soul, attempting to make him know how much he loves him, before pinning the hands back down and ducking his head down.
Not wearing a shirt when coming to bed gave Eijirou instant access to the other’s neck and collarbone. He made sure to kiss and bite and trail his tongue anywhere he knew he would like. In other words, everywhere he could get the pretty sounds to escape out of Katsuki’s lips. He didn’t shy away from leaving any marks. Eijirou wanted it to be seen how much he loved this man in font of him no matter what, and if he got murdered in the morning, so be it.
“I love you, Katsuki,” he murmurs against his skin any time he gets the chance. “Such pretty sounds, you make for me.”
“Fuck, Ei,” a breathless moan errupted from Katsuki’s lips after hitting his favorite spot.
“Oh you like that, do you?” He chuckles.
“God, fuck off,” Katsuki tries to sound harsh but it gets caught up in another moan as Eijirou starts to suck on it again.
After he’s done abusing the spot, he makes his way back up to connect mouths with the other, drawing out as long as he can. Their tongues clash, battling for dominance– but of course Eijirou wins because this is his time to show Katsuki every emotion he feels for him. And he thinks he does get through because, with every kiss, Katsuki has begun to melt more and more under Eijirou’s touch.
When they finally break apart after what feels like forever and yet not enough time at all, Eijirou presses their foreheads together and he huffs a laugh. “I believe the correct terminology is ‘fuck me.’”
Katsuki’s in a state of confusion until he also breathes out a laugh, pressing somehow even closer to Eijirou. “You fucking prick.” His eyes dart from Eijirou’s face to the clock on their dresser. “As much as I would love to fuck you until dawn, we still have work in the morning.”
“And?”
“And we need to sleep, dumbass. Especially you, after today. And I’m tired.”
“Ugh, you’re no fun,” Eijirou complains, rolling off of his husband and back onto the bed. He opens his arms, collecting his precious Katsuki into his arms. He doesn’t complain either, just simply buries his head in Eijirou’s chest, intertwining their legs until they couldn’t possibly be closer. “I love you.”
“So you’ve said,” Katsuki snorts.
Somehow, Eijirou pulls him even closer to him. “Yeah, but do you believe me now?”
Katsuki’s quiet for a moment before quietly, “Yeah.” Then adding on after that, “I love you too.”
Eijirou doesn’t think he has or ever will get used to hearing that from his husband. His heart swells with so much love and joy, he fears it’ll burst and they’ll have an actual major problem on their hands. But it doesn’t, and Eijirou is grateful for that. He places a kiss on the top of Katsuki’s head. He feels something press against his leg.
“...I made you hard, didn’t I?” Eijirou laughs suddenly.
“Shut the fuck up, Eijirou!” Katsuki shouts and Eijirou can just imagine the flush building, if there wasn’t one beforehand.
They both break out into giggles and after settling down, finally, their eyelids close, and they drift off to sleep, feeling each other’s love.