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His boots crunched against the gravel and debris. He had on his gauntlets. All he needed to do was find the motherfucker and blast him. And then he would be home free. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure Red Riot was there.
But his partner was nowhere to be found. He spun around, squinting his eyes through the darkness. Had it gotten darker since he started walking? Or was that only a trick of his mind? He strained his ears, seeking anything that would allow him to find Red Riot.
“Shitty Hair!” he shouted. “Where the fuck are you? This shit isn't funny.”
But no one came. He spun around again, feeling goosebumps breaking out on his body. Somewhere in the distance, there was a scream. A high pitched scream, the kind that he associated with trouble, and a voice that he knew to be yours. He was running then, towards the screams. But then, in the opposite direction, he heard the shout that could only be coming from Red Riot.
He was torn. Who did he go to? The darkness was swallowing in on him, and he couldn't see. The screams continued, increasing their intensity. He couldn't see, could only hear the painful sounds echoing in his chest. He ended up on his knees, hands clasped to his ears.
Something was shaking him. He smacked it away. It had to be some kind of enemy, something wanting to pull him into the same dark fate that his lovers had known. The shaking returned, and he found himself sitting up with a shout.
He was holding your wrist in his hand, his grip crushing. For your credit, you didn't even look upset. You kept your face neutral, your voice low. His eyes roved around the room, trying to orient himself. He was clammy, his chest heaving.
“Katsuki,” you said softly. “It's okay, honey. It was just a nightmare. You're home, in our bed. Kirishima is getting you a glass of water. Everything is fine. You're fine.” he released your hand. Dammit, how many times had he said that you shouldn't be the one to wake him up. He knew that if he got too rough, woke up too harshly with Eijiro, he could harden up. He wouldn't hurt him, not really. But you were too fragile for that.
“I'm gonna end up breaking your wrist one of these days, idiot.” he hissed. You just shook your head. Your hair was tousled around your head, sleep still pulling at your eyes. You smelled like your lavender bubble bath, and you were wearing one of his shirts to sleep in. He really should try and rearrange the sleeping, Katsuki thought. Eijiro should sleep next to him. But then he'd miss out on your snuggles. The fairest way was for you to snuggle between them so you could cuddle both of them or they could cuddle you, or even each other with their longer arms.
Eijiro came in then with a glass of water. He handed it quietly to his blond haired lover, who sipped it, feeling his heartbeat returning to normal. Ejiro sat on the edge of the bed and left his hand on Katsuki's thigh.
“You good?”
“Fine,” he said sharply. “Go back to sleep, we have an early day in the morning.”
“You were shouting.” you murmured. “What kind of dream was it?”
“Pretty fucking obvious that it was a nightmare.” he rolled his eyes. “Switch places with Shitty Hair.”
“Oh, you need my cuddles tonight?” sharp teeth glistened in the dark. “I am more than happy to give my pomeranian some snuggles.”
“I will kill you!” he snarled. “But that's not why.” everyone was quiet for a moment.
“You know that I flail when I have nightmares. I don't wanna hurt you,” he turned to you.
“I'm not scared of you hurting me.” you told him gently. Your hand went out to caress his face. He let himself have the luxury of leaning into you, just for a moment.
“I am,” he admitted quietly. “And I as much as I want to say I just don't want to deal with you whining, I really, really don't want to hurt you. Not if I can help it.”
“All right, Kat. You sleep with Eijiro.” you agreed.
Bodies shuffled around, and Shitty Hair stretched out. He knew Katsuki didn't usually want to cuddle when he was trying to sleep. He figured he'd just make himself available, and if Katsuki didn't take him up on it, well, there was always you on the other side. And you almost never said no to a snuggle.
To his shock though, the explosive blond came and curled on him. His head rested on his chest, the same way yours would. Ejiro let his fingers card through his hair, rubbing away the tension that was obvious in his scalp. Katsuki gave a shuddery kind of breath and relaxed. There likely wouldn't be a whole lot of sleep for him in this night, but it was better than nothing.
Katsuki must really be upset if he was letting himself be snuggled.
When they woke early in the morning, you were asleep, looking like a flamingo with one of your legs folded up. Eijiro snickered at you a little bit before pulling the blankets higher up on you and carefully placing one of his pillows close for you to latch onto. He did it nearly every morning when he had to be up before you ready to rise.
Katsuki watched you for a few moments. His eyes followed the rise and fall of your chest. He took in the way that you clutched the pillow, the way your hair was falling into your face. He brushed it back, bent and kissed you on the forehead. You made a murmuring sound in your sleep, a sound that sounded nearly like you were telling him you loved him.
The ride to work was quiet between the two of them until Shitty Hair had to open his mouth.
“What was the nightmare about?”
“What is it always about?” he snorted. “This is all par for the course, you know that. We've all been to therapy for it.”
“Never seen you get this shook up over one. This one was different.” that damn dumb ass, Katsuki thought. He always figured things out quicker than he should have. He huffed and leaned against the door for a moment.
“I could hear her scream.” he said softly. Neither one of them needed to elaborate on exactly who 'she' was. “I looked for her, I couldn't find her. I could hear you scream. I couldn't find either of you. It swallowed me. All I could hear was the both of you screaming.”
“That's heavy.” Kirishima gave him a sad look, then turned back to the road. “It was a nightmare, though. It wasn't real.”
“I know that!” he snapped. He grumbled and rubbed his eyes. Katsuki was never at his best when he was tired. “It just felt real and it made me think.”
“About what?”
“About painting a target on the back of someone who isn't a superhero.”
“Listen,” Eijiro's voice took a very serious tone. “I think this is a conversation you're going to need to have with her. I just want to leave you with one thought; have you ever known her to do something she didn't want to do? No, of course not. And I think making that kind of assumption for her is gonna blow up in your face.”
Katsuki didn't reply, simply got out of the car and followed his partner into their agency.
***
Coming home, you were in the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher. You rocked your body in time to the music playing. You barely heard them come in. It wasn't until you saw Katsuki out of the corner of your eye that you turned to him.
He stood staring at you. His ruby eyes were locked on you. His gaze wasn't hungry, nor was it teasing or angry. He was simply drinking you in. You froze, saying nothing. You had come home from work and changed into fuzzy sleep shorts and an old tank top. You were wearing a fuzzy pair of slippers to.
“Are you okay?” you asked over the music. He nodded and slowly began to walk towards you. It didn't take long before he had you backed into the counter. He boxed you in with his arms, still staring at you without words.
“You're kinda freaking me out.”
His hands wrapped around your hips, lifting you up. His hands captured your face, catching you in a kiss. It felt like his heart was on his lips. You opened your mouth to him, taking him in. Your legs wrapped around his waist, and he was carrying you to the bedroom while still kissing you. You released his mouth and looked up at him as he carefully laid you down.
“I had a nightmare you were killed last night.”
“That's awful, baby.” you frowned.
“Comes with the territory.” he mumbled. “But the thing is, I was thinking, what we're doing here, the three of us, it paints a target on your back. You are precious to Shitty Hair and I. And that means that anyone could take you to hurt us.”
“I guess,” you looked confused.
“It was different when it was just him and me.” he was kneeling on the bed, straddling you. “He knew what he was getting into being a hero. I knew what I was getting into. But you? No, no, princess. You didn't know, even if you thought you did.” he caught your hands. The wrist that he had nearly crushed the night before was brought to his lips, kissed tenderly, before he held both hands in one of his.
“I'm not scared.” you whispered. “You wouldn't let anything happen to me.”
“Not if I could help it.” he agreed. “I supposed the chivalrous thing to do would be to break up with you. The best thing to do to keep you safe.”
“I don't--.” you began, sounding upset.
“You know better than to interrupt.” he glared. “Let me finish. There is no way that I am ever going to be able to let you go like that. Maybe I'm too selfish. I probably am. But you knew that about me before, didn't you?”
“Yes,” you said softly.
“So that just means that me and Shitty Hair are going to have to work that much harder to keep you safe. Aren't we?”
“Yes,” you agreed.
“I'm glad that we're seeing things the same way.” he kissed you then, hard and demanding. You were only too willing to submit to him.