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“Kacchan, you’re going to go deaf,” Izuku said, poking his head into Katsuki’s room. He was wearing headphones, and the volume was so loud Izuku could hear it when he walked by the door.
Katsuki didn’t respond, so he either didn’t hear him, or was choosing to ignore him. Going with the former, Izuku stalked further into the room, tapping Katsuki’s shoulder lightly.
“Ah! What the fuck!” Katsuki yelled, chucking his headphones onto the bed and whipping his entire body around like he was preparing for a brawl.
“It’s just me!” Izuku said, holding up his arms defensively. Katsuki grabbed the pillow he was closest to and hurled it towards Izuku’s face. Izuku caught it before it could hit him, placing it down on the bed to signal a truce.
“You’re going to go deaf,” Izuku repeated, pointing to the headphones that were now discarded on the sheets. Katsuki just shrugged.
“That’s a problem for future me.”
“Going deaf?”
“Yeah.”
“But, Kacchan-”
“I’m not going to go deaf.”
“You don’t know that!” Izuku said, raising his voice slightly. Katsuki inhaled sharply, looking at him with newfound intrigue.
“I’m pretty damn confident.”
“If you go deaf, I can’t talk to you anymore.”
“We can learn sign language. It’s not ideal, but-”
“Kacchan!”
“Izuku, calm down,” Katsuki said, motioning for him to breathe. “I rarely listen to my music this loud.” Izuku didn’t say anything more, just resigned to sitting next to Katsuki on the bed. He didn’t know why he was hit with worry so suddenly. The thought of not being able to hold conversations like they always have, bicker, and spill his childhood trauma to him at three in the morning pained him, physically. It made him feel sick just thinking about it.
“What’s stressing you out so much?” Katsuki asked.
“Nothing, I mean, nothing I can think of.” They lapsed into a comfortable silence.
“You didn’t catch that guy on patrol today,” Katsuki mentioned.
“Thanks for reminding me.”
“That’s stressing you out.”
“I guess.”
“I know everything,” Katsuki said, looking way too proud of himself. But Izuku couldn’t disagree. As much as they try to get under each other’s skin, they know each other better than anyone else in the world. He rubbed his eyes, becoming aware of the tension he was holding in his jaw.
“Let’s play Mario Kart,” Katsuki demanded, seemingly not taking no for an answer. He just got up, dragging Izuku by the arm into the living room. He shoved him down onto the couch and went to grab the controllers off the TV stand. He flicked on the Nintendo Switch that was starting to collect dust from not being used all week. Returning to the couch, he sat so close to Izuku that their knees were touching.
“Rainbow Road,” Izuku said as soon as the maps popped up on screen.
“Fuck no, I hate that shit.”
“But Kacchan, I’m so sad,” Izuku said, giving him his best puppy dog eyes. Katsuki glared at him but clicked on it anyway, starting the race.
“Motherfucker!” Katsuki yelled. From the looks of it, he was about to chuck the controller at the TV, which wouldn’t be ideal. Katsuki doesn’t know his own strength, and that screen would shatter upon impact. Izuku didn’t want to pay for a new TV.
“Suck it, loser,” Izuku teased, putting up an L on his forehead to instigate him further. He saw Katsuki’s gaze flick downward, but he pushed his immediate thoughts out of his brain to focus on pissing him off.
“You will never beat me at Rainbow Road,” Izuku continued.
“I bet you get up in the middle of the night to practice without me knowing, you fucking nerd.”
“So what if I do?” Izuku said. He didn’t, but the thought of it made him laugh internally.
Katsuki started another round.
An hour passed, and it was approaching nine o’clock. It wasn’t close to Izuku’s bedtime, but he was unexpectedly tired.
“I think I’m dehydrated,” Izuku complained.
“Drink water.”
“Helpful, thanks!” Izuku licked lips, getting rid of the chappedness.
That could be another explanation for the stress and fatigue. Izuku couldn’t remember the last time he had a sip of water that day. He filled up a glass in the kitchen, drinking it all in one sitting. It was refreshing, and it reduced the oncoming headache he could feel building up. He laid back down on the couch next to Katsuki, who was still playing.
“Another round?” Katsuki asked.
“Sure.” They played another round, and Izuku completely forgot about everything he was worried about; till they were done playing, anyway. His mind had something else to focus on, and Mario Kart (Katsuki) seemed to do the trick.
“Hey.” Izuku was interrupted from his train of thought by Katsuki’s fingers snapping in front of his face.
“Did you ask me a question?” Izuku asked, his awareness coming back to him.
“No, you were just off in space,” Katsuki replied. He took Izuku’s controller and put both on the coffee table in front of them. He settled back against the cushions, so close their shoulders were touching. Even closer than before. Izuku could feel his face get hot, and he prayed he wasn’t visibly red. He put his hand on his cheek, a weak attempt at feeling his temperature and hiding his face.
Izuku was so nervous he was basically holding his breath. He’d been close to Katsuki before, even closer, but now he was hyper aware of it. Katsuki was warm, comforting, and Izuku just wanted to curl up against his side and forget about everything.
“Tea?” Katsuki asked. Don’t get up.
“Yeah.” Katsuki got up, plugging in the electric kettle and getting the mugs out. Fuck. Izuku sighed and mentally punched himself square in the nose. He was getting in his own way, but it was for the good of their friendship. Plus, he’d yet to unpack his feelings. He usually pushed them away before he could dwell on them too much.
“Lemon ginger?” Katsuki asked.
“Yeah.” Katsuki smiled at him softly, and Izuku melted into the couch a little more.