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It’s been long enough that Katsuki knows Denki must have run out of hot water by now. He switches off the beeping oven and takes the pizza out, carefully setting the pan on the stovetop. As he pokes at the crust, Katsuki listens again, waiting for the shower to turn off. It doesn’t.
Deciding to give his boyfriend a little more time alone—Denki isn’t one to ask for that very often anyway—Katsuki works on cutting the pizza into slices. He covers it up after with large strips of aluminum foil and then tranfers the whole thing to their kitchen island.
After all that, the shower still runs. Katsuki sighs, shucking off his mitt, untying his apron, and chucking them onto a stool. He walks over to the door and knocks.
“You get frozen in there or somethin’?” Katsuki calls out.
Something gets knocked to the floor and he hears Denki swear before he replies. “Almost, haha!” Katsuki instantly clocks the forced levity and nasal tone. “I’ll be—just a bit and then date night is a go, I promise!”
Katsuki clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes to himself. The last thing he wants is for Denki to pretend he didn’t just have a shit day—a shit week really, given everything he’s filled Katsuki on.
Denki has never been one to ignore how he feels about things, doesn’t care to stew in denial like Katsuki does sometimes. Ain’t afraid to cry or laugh or admit he’s fucking terrified, even as a Pro. It’s one of the reasons why Katsuki loves him so damn much. It’s inspiring. But Denki does have a habit of trying to brush it off too quickly, before he’s fully processed it.
His boyfriend likes cracking jokes and having a good time; doesn’t like letting things keep him down for long. He likes being the one to pull people back up. And Katsuki admires the shit outta him for it. But sometimes? Sometimes you gotta sit in it. Sometimes, it’s alright to be pissed off or sad or whatever the hell you want when life throws shit your way.
And Katsuki’ll be right there with him through it.
“Alright, I’m comin’ in,” Katsuki warns, though he’s already opened the door and is halfway in the bathroom. He doesn’t hear any protests so he quickly strips down before yanking the shower curtain aside.
Denki stands there blinking at him in surprise. His eyes are rimmed red, face a little blotchy. His blond hair is completely engulfed by an overwhelming amount of bubbles and suds, sitting in an awkward pile on his head. A dorky attempt to cheer himself up.
Katsuki snorts, shaking his head fondly as he steps into the tub.
“You hair’s gonna fucking fall off if you use that much shampoo, dumbass,” he chides while simultaneously cupping the the sides of Denki’s head, then raking his shampoo-y hair up into a giant spike. It instantly wilts into a question mark.
“Don’t worry, Kacchan, I didn’t use your fancy one,” Denki says with a pout, which Katsuki kisses. He shuffles them around until Denki’s out of the spray and he’s under it. Katsuki hisses; it’s fucking freezing. He turns it off.
“Sorry,” Denki adds with a grimace. “This isn’t what I wanted for our date night.” Katsuki just shakes his head. He grabs the soap and lazily lathers it around even though he already showered earlier. This ain’t about him.
Normally, Denki’s pupils would go dark by now, watching Katsuki with avid attention. Golden eyes trailing his hands, his fingers, asking to take over. The tiny spark turning into a whole wildwire. But now he just looks a little tired, not all there in the head.
Denki just stands there idly, arms crossed and hands tucked under his armpits so that he doesn’t accidentally shock Katsuki. It would probably sour his mood further if he inadvertently hurt Katsuki. But that ain’t gonna happen, Katsuki trusts him. More than Denki probably trusts himself right now.
Turning the shower back on, Katsuki washes off the soap. And then he shuffles them around again, helping Denki rinse out the shampoo. It looks like he wants to protest, worried about Katsuki touching him, but it doesn’t faze Katsuki. The lines of Denki’s shoulders finally relax and he closes his eyes, letting Katsuki wash away the last of the suds and some of the tension.
Shutting off the freezing water for the last time, Katsuki tugs Denki closer and wraps his arms around him. Denki’s face immediately fits up under his jaw as he returns the embrace.
“D’you think I’m a fuck up?” Denki asks quietly and Katsuki’s heart aches. It’s Denki’s worst fear and biggest insecurity, Katsuki knows. His boyfriend’s confidence has long since sky-rocketed from his days of failing math tests at UA. But at times like these, it rears its ugly head. Katsuki would be lying if he didn’t have his own moments like that on the worst of days.
“Nah, far from it,” Katsuki replies honestly. Denki has been on a roll lately and Katsuki’s proud of him. It’s normal to get hit with a few roadbumps—fuck knows Katsuki’s tumbled through plenty.
“This week sucked ass,” Denki whines against his throat and Katsuki chuckles sadly.
“Yeah?”
“Ugh, yeah. But I’ll get over it.”
“Sure,” Katsuki nods, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. “But you can still bitch about it. You feel like crying?”
Denki shakes his head. Freezes. Nods. Stops. Shakes his head again. “Not sure,” he finally decides. “Feels like I’m all cried out but I can spare a few tears for my guy.” The fucker leaves a wet kiss where his lips are smushed against Kasuki’s skin, stirring a dormant fire in his belly. “I know you like it.”
Katsuki lightly smacks the back of Denki’s head with a huff. “Oi, not like this, not the sad shit!” Denki laughs softly and it tickles his neck. Katsuki squeezes him tighter.
They stay that way for a long moment before Denki finally pulls back. He looks better but still tired. Katsuki snorts when his stomach grumbles.
“Pizza time?” Denki asks with a sheepish smile.
Katsuki grins. “Pizza time.”