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“Fuck nightshift,” Katsuki snarled as he slammed their door open. Izuku grunted his agreement, iron soles stomping against the floorboards. Neither of them bothered going to the agency to remove their suits or gear. It had been a full moon and long ass night that left both heroes absolutely exhausted. Katsuki had holes in his suit from a woman with a cat quirk that had clawed him while Izuku was sporting a black eye from a child with a quirk similar to Kendo’s. How did said child manage to punch him? Well, Izuku had grabbed him to save him from a car and the kid swung. No harm no foul sort of thing. Either way, the damage to Izuku’s face was done.
"I'm going to bed," Izuku huffed, dropping his ventilator and cowl on the counter with a dull thud. He had no intention of doing anything else. He could wash the sheets after. His iron soles and red chucks were stripped off as one and nonchalantly tossed in a corner with no regard for the obnoxiously loud thunk of the metal.
"Like hell," Katsuki snapped. "You will march that fat ass to the shower or I will Howitzer your ass into next fucking week," Izuku growled in annoyance and spun to face the blonde. Katsuki's hands were on his hips, red eyes scowling up at Izuku. A reminder of how much he loved his One-For-All growth spurt. Katsuki looked adorable like this. Either way, it didn't negate the irritation.
"Oh really? You'd blast half the block and then we'd need to find another apartment willing to deal with the 'destructive duo'," His hands came up to emphasize the destructive duo. You accidently blow up one kitchen and suddenly you're labeled for life.
"Fuck you, get the fuck in the shower," Katsuki glowered. Izuku stood stiff for a moment, debating if it was really worth all-out war over taking a shower. Ultimately, he decided a shower wouldn't be too terrible all things considered and he'd deal with it. Even if it meant another twenty or so minutes on his feet. That did not mean he went without grumbling his protest for the world to hear. Katsuki didn't acknowledge them this time. More than likely he was just as exhausted but Katsuki's OCD demanded routine.
Izuku really didn't mind though. It was Katsuki's need for routine that helped Izuku's scars heal and stay healed. No more cracking, dryness, bleeding, etc. Katsuki had even gotten him specialized products to use. Katsuki was always helping Izuku take care of his skin and his hair. It was one of his ways of showing Izuku how much he cared for him and Izuku loved it. Especially when he got to pamper Katsuki in return.
"Together?" Izuku called down the hall. He got an affirming grunt from the bedroom so he quickly grabbed two fresh towels and draped one over the towel warmer. He'd discovered towel warming racks while on a mission in England and knew he had to get one for his constantly-chilly boyfriend. Katsuki said he didn't need it, but more than once Izuku had caught him warming his hero costume or sweatpants on it.
Shaking his head of the straying thoughts (a sign he was exhausted), Izuku flicked the shower on and set the temperature. Now, Katsuki preferred boiling showers that sacrificed Izuku to Satan while Izuku preferred lukewarm showers that sent Katsuki into the ice age. Thus, they had a solid middle ground even marked by a line of paint on the knob. Next, Izuku grabbed the little bag of shower steamers under the sink. Personally, he thought these were gimmicky and silly. A tablet that makes the shower smell nice? Wouldn't body wash do the same thing? Why does the shower need to smell? However, for whatever reason, they really helped Katsuki relax and sleep easier. So Izuku would happily deal with the stench of lavender if it helped his boyfriend calm down after such a stressful day.
Sure enough, once Katsuki stepped into the bathroom with their pajamas, Izuku got to watch the tension melt from the blonde's shoulders as he took a deep breath. Izuku grabbed the pajamas, folding them onto the counter neatly and setting the hair dryer on top. Katsuki had stripped in the bedroom, no doubt having already loaded his costume in the washer (they learned the hard way not to wash their costumes together). Izuku used Black Whip to unzip his jumpsuit, letting the shoulders fall away to bunch at his hips. He had a white tank top underneath that got stripped and chucked in the trash. It was heavily stained and Izuku knew if he left it within Katsuki's reach he'd be trying to stain treat it for months because: "No stain is gunna fucking defeat Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight!"
Katsuki took the pleasure of yanking the rest down Izuku's legs. Izuku didn't mind one bit. One; Now he didn't need to bend down. Two; He got a nice view of Katsuki's rear when he crouched in the mirror. Three… He didn't have a three. He couldn't think of one with the way Katsuki was nuzzling into his bare thigh out of exhaustion. It was so adorable to see Katsuki's rough edges recede to reveal the cute cuddly Kacchan underneath.
"Kacchan," Izuku hummed, threading his fingers through Katsuki's blonde spikes. "Com'on baby, showers ready," Katsuki just grunted and turned fully into Izuku's thigh. Izuku smiled, bending down slightly to hook his hands under Katsuki's arms and help the blonde up. Once fully standing, Katsuki nuzzled into Izuku's chest, head tucked under the greenette's chin. Izuku raised a brow, one hand continuing to run through Katsuki's hair as the other rubbed Katsuki's arm.
"Warm," Katsuki murmured. Izuku pressed a kiss to Katsuki's brow and chuckled.
"Yeah baby," He resisted letting out a coo when Katsuki seemed to melt further into him. "Let's go love, shower time,"
Getting to shower together was a privilege Izuku would honestly sacrifice half the city for. There was a certain kind of intimacy in their dual showers that they didn't really get elsewhere. Now, it wasn't a sexy shower. Don't get it twisted, Izuku was all for shower sex but that's not what these kinds of showers were. These showers were filled with soft words, gentle caresses, and soothing motions. Katsuki would help scrub his back and he'd sit on the bench so Katsuki could wash and condition his curls. In turn, he'd do the same. Washing Katsuki's hair was special.
Katsuki would lean against him, shoulder pressed to Izuku's chest, leaving his head unobstructed for Izuku to cleanse. Izuku always took his time doing this. It was a way he got to show Katsuki how much he loved him. He'd lather Katsuki's hair really well, always having one hand free to cover Katsuki's eyes in case there was drippage. He had installed a removable shower head some time ago that enabled him to rinse Katsuki's hair without making his boyfriend move. Katsuki never mentioned it, but Izuku knew that Katsuki knew why it was installed. Once Katsuki's hair was clean and conditioned, they took a moment to just stand under the water. Katsuki tucked his head under Izuku's chin again as they just breathed the lavender scent wafting around them.
"Let's go dry your mop," Katsuki murmured after a few more seconds, pressing a kiss to Izuku's collarbone. Izuku hummed in agreement and turned the water off. It took a second to get out of the shower due to a certain blonde’s clean freak tendencies. Water on the bathroom floor was a no-go unless Izuku wanted to be launched across Japan with a Howitzer. While that was one of their best combos, it didn't serve its purpose being used as a disciplinary action.
Another well-loved piece to the routine was the hair drying. Katsuki always took the time to brush, dry, and style Izuku's hair. At first it was done out of irritation, before they were even dating. Katsuki couldn't stand the way Izuku would go to bed with dripping wet hair then wake up with an absolute bird's nest on his head. The solution was Katsuki forcing Izuku to sit and drying his hair for him because Izuku was just absolutely incapable of using a hairdryer properly. According to Katsuki, it was not normal for someone to sit with a hair dryer for an hour just thinking as the warm air blows over them.
The sun was winking through the curtains when Izuku planted himself on the floor before the couch. Katsuki already had the hairdryer in hand and his own hair pulled back by a headband. Izuku squinted into the light for a moment before Black Whip shot out to adjust the curtains. He wanted nothing to do with that horrific brightness outside. All he needed to do was get his hair dried then he could go to sleep with his wonderful blonde boyfriend in his arms.
Katsuki was very methodical when doing Izuku’s hair. He had spent time researching how to dry Izuku’s curls properly and what products to use on it. Izuku knew that this was one of the ways Katsuki liked to show affection. It was their time, no phones, no friends, just them.
The first step in Izuku’s hair routine was the brush. It was a specialty brush that Izuku couldn’t remember the name of but did know that Katsuki had ordered it online. The brush glided through Izuku’s curls easily without the need to yank. Izuku’s scalp and neck were extremely grateful. After the brushing, if there was still a lot of excess water, Katsuki would take a towel to the curls and re-brush them. The second step was a spray product that smelled funky, but not a bad funky. Just a bit different. Katsuki sprayed it everywhere, holding the bottle away from Izuku’s head. Then there was more brushing to ensure that product was thoroughly incorporated. Once that was done, Katsuki grabbed the final product. Izuku didn’t know what it was called, only that he preferred the scent. It was jasmine scented and always wafted around the room since Katsuki would heat his palms to apply the product. This product was scrunched into Izuku’s hair. Katsuki took chunks and scrunched them up towards Izuku’s scalps. The curls would fall away a bit kinked and tight. The final step was drying.
Katsuki had bought a special dryer with special attachments for his hair. Izuku didn’t even realize there were special attachments for curly hair. It served as a nice reminder how lucky he was to have Katsuki in his life. The warm air blowing through his hair was soothing and Izuku couldn’t help the sudden droop of his eyes. Not to mention the way Katsuki was slowly dragging his fingers along Izuku’s scalp to loosen the curls. Everything was comfortable and warm. His body was reminding him that they had spent the last eighteen hours in tight hero costumes sweating in the sweltering heat dealing with the insanity typical of a full moon.
The loss of the sound of the hairdryer snapped Izuku out of it. Both of Katsuki’s hands were now on his shoulders, squeezing with the slightest bit of pressure. Izuku couldn’t resist turning his head to press a kiss to one of them. The hand came up and gently stroked Izuku’s cheek for a moment before they both pulled away.
“Com’on Deku,” Katsuki murmured, voice thick and hoarse with exhaustion. Izuku hummed in reply, slowly getting to his feet and stretching his back. He didn’t miss the way Katsuki winced at the obnoxious popping. “You need to stretch more,” Katsuki grumbled. Izuku chuckled and stepped away to let the blonde stand.
“Or I can just,” Izuku threw an elbow back to twist his back, prompting more cracking. Katsuki hissed at the sound and swatted Izuku’s shoulder.
“Stop it! I want to be able to sleep easy asshole,”
“Sure thing, Kacchan,” Izuku smiled. Katsuki led the way to the bedroom, flipping the blankets down while Izuku made sure the curtains were secured so there was no light bothering them. It was Katsuki’s job to plug their phones in while Izuku double checked there were drinks and snacks in their mini-fridge. Their guilty pleasure was lazy evenings in bed together after a long shift. That meant they needed to keep some things in the bedroom to make life a little easier. Izuku also made sure to plug their comms in so the devices were charged for the next day of work. He learned the hard way that Katsuki never remembered to plug them in.
They climbed into bed together simultaneously. Katsuki settled first, rolling onto his side and burrowing into his pillows. Izuku pressed up against his back and wrapped his arms around Katsuki, tucking the blonde snug against his body. Black Whip helped pull the blankets up and nudge the pillow the way he liked it. After one final kiss to Katsuki’s head, Izuku released a slow, deep breath and let his eyes flutter shut.