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The morning was quiet in the Midoriya household, with the omission of the soft hum of the kettle on the stove and the muffle of the wind hitting the chimes by the front door.
Basking in the pleasure of both of their, much needed, shared day off, Izuku Midoriya shuffled about the kitchen, preparing a fresh pot of chamomile tea to warm his newly awoken boyfriend up.
He glanced at the couch where Kacchan was curled up under a warm fleece blanket, his head resting on a plush pillow that he had stolen from Izuku’s bedroom.
With little to no convincing, Katsuki had been staying with him for a few days, and now taking a much needed break from the strenuous intensity of hero work.
When Kacchan had first come to Izuku about the overwhelming stress of the big case that Hawks had put him on, in addition to the piles upon piles of paperwork that never ended, it was easy for Izuku to give in and make space for the other’s stay.
Usually for the pair, this wasn’t just any particular kind of rest.
A few months ago, Izuku had found Katsuki in the darkness of his apartment, after hours of not answering any phone calls or messages. He figured that on his way home from work, it wouldn’t hurt to check up on the other.
As he made his way in using the spare key that he was given, he found a curled up Kacchan, taking a midday nap in an All Might onesie, sucking on what looked to be an adult size version of a children's pacifier.
When Izuku sat Katsuki down to talk about this, he was very supportive and understanding.
He asked Kacchan to explain to him what was going on, how he feels during his regression, how Izuku could help, and the list goes on (quite possibly a literal list).
Basically every question the other could think of in order to acknowledge and sympathize with his boyfriend to the best of his ability.
Katsuki had confided in Izuku about his headspace along with his need to regress when things got to be too much, or even when he just desired relaxation.
To leave behind the pressures of adulthood and have the ability to be more carefree. To make up for the rest of the time when he found himself to be so uptight and irritated.
— — — —
“Here you go, Kacchan,” Izuku said softly, placing a warm mug of tea on the coffee table in front of him. “With a little honey too, just how you like it.”
Katsuki peeked his face out from the blanket, his messy blonde hair sticking up , not to mention even more disheveled than usual. His crimson eyes were softer than the sharp, confident ones that he glances towards on the battlefield.
“Thanks, Zuku,” he mumbled, his voice quiet enough that it was almost inaudible. He reached out to take the mug off the surface, both hands reaching out from where they hid in his large sweater to cup the glass mug.
Izuku watched him take small sips of the tea, his mouth tugging into a smile.
“Feeling okay this morning?” He asked, his tone delicate and soothing.
Kacchan nodded coyly, setting the mug down after a few sips. “Mhm… just a little tired still.” He tugged the blanket around his feet, tucking it under to cover more of the exposed skin and clutching a stuffed bunny that he had practically given puppy dog eyes for. Which, to no one's surprise, Izuku had given in and bought him just a few weeks ago.
Very quickly, the object had become one of his favourite regression items, carrying it around the apartment with him everywhere when he was feeling uneasy or overwhelmed
“Wanna go back to bed and nap for a little, Kacchan?” Izuku peered over from the next space on the couch. “Or maybe we can put on some cartoons and have a comfy day?”
Katsuki gave a tiny, almost bashful smile. “Cartoons, maybe” — “And we can play with my new blocks later?”
“Of course,” Izuku replied warmly. “Anything you want, Kacchan.”
As the dialogue of the show began, Katsuki reached forward for his, still warm, tea before settling back in Izuku’s personal space, each second shifting slightly closer to the other.
“Two hands please, baby,” Izuku reminded the little.
Watching as he quickly followed, wrapping the entirety of both palms around the body of glass and taking a large swig.
— — — —
After a few episodes of Kacchan’s favourite hero themed cartoon, the blond, who was fairly deep in his headspace by now, lifted himself from the spot he belatedly took into Izuku’s lap.
The two ducked down to the floor of their living room. The sunlight filtered softly through the sheer curtains, casting a warm, afternoon shine on the space.
Katsuki, who was dressed in his favourite hoodie (which he had stolen directly from Izuku’s closet) and the comfiest Hero Deku pyjama pants that he owned, sat cross legged in the middle of the room.
His usual explosive demeanor had melted away, leaving behind a much softer, more vulnerable version of himself that he trusted only Izuku with handling with the care that he desired. He clutched the stuffed bunny tightly as Izuku brought over an unopened box of brightly coloured blocks from the dedicated play room in the apartment.
“Okay, Kacchan,” Izuku said with a grin. “How about we see how tall of a tower we can build?”
Katsuki’s eyes glistened with excitement, and he nodded eagerly. “Yeah! But it has to be super duper tall!” — “like…like All Might, super tall!” Speaking as he stood and gestured with his hands, holding them as high as he could above his head and standing on the tips of his toes.
Izuku chuckled, settling onto the carpet beside the blond who was already making grabby hands at the box before Izuku dumped them out in front of him.
“All Might tall?! I don’t know,, that will be tough,” he let out a huff of a laugh, “but if anyone can do it, definitely it would be Kacchan.” He watched as Katsuki began stacking the blocks carefully, trying his best to perfectly align each block with the last, though with excitement running through his body, the happy stims preventing absolute perfection.
“You’re really good at this, Kacchan. It’s getting so tall.” He encouraged, partaking by adding a neon green block atop the previous red.
Looking up, the blond’s expression brightened even more at both the height of his build, as well as the praise. He reached for a bright yellow block, his slim fingers trembling slightly with excitement of how far he had gotten and giggling. He placed it atop the growing tower, beaming with pride when it didn’t topple over. “Look, Zuku! ‘t’s giant!”
“It is!” Izuku praised, clapping softly at his little’s success. “You’re amazing, Kacchan. I’m so proud of you.”
Katsuki’s cheeks flushed a faint pink, picking the discarded plushie off the ground as he buried his face into it. “T-tank you,” he let out a muffled mumble.
The two continued building their tower, Kacchan’s giggles and stims filling the room every time a new block was successfully added.
Izuku’s heart swelled at the mere sight of his adorable boyfriend.
When he placed the final block of the set on the top of the growing tower, Katsuki raised an arm, almost like his idol’s victory pose. “‘t’s All Might tall now! All done, Zuku!”
“Wow, very impressive, Kacchan,” Izuku said, grinning.
Katsuki let out a series of giggles, feet playfully stomping against the hardwood floor in celebration.
A celebration that was short-lived as the tower wobbled back and forth before it collapsed rapidly in a tumble of blocks, scattered across the space.
Within seconds, Kacchan’s eyes went wide as saucers before they glossed over with tears, lip quivering. “Our tower…it broke.” He whined at the sight.
“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” Izuku said quickly, pulling Katsuki into a gentle hug, rubbing soothing circles over the center of his back. “We can always build it again. And maybe next time, we’ll make it even stronger. What about that, hm?”
Katsuki sniffled, leaning into Izuku’s comforting embrace and hiding his face into the crook of his caregiver’s neck.
“Mhm…be the stwrongest tower ever.” Emotions mixed with a pout slurred over his speech, rubbing the wet tears that leaked down his cheeks.
“That’s my Kacchan,” Izuku said, ruffling his hair playfully. “I don’t doubt that the strongest little boy I know could make an unbreakable tower!”
The words seemed to uplift Katsuki, giving a small but determined nod as he sniffled away the last of his sadness. “Again!”
Izuku smiled widely as he gathered together the mess of blocks and handed one to the blond to initiate the build.
As they began rebuilding the new and improved masterpiece, Kacchan was back to all giggles and excitement.
Though this time, when the tower had used up all of his blocks, Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s attention before tearing it down himself. Showing the latter how powerful he was to be able to deconstruct the strongest tower ever made.
— — — —
By late afternoon, the room was scattered with building blocks and new toys that had been pulled out of his room when he would become bored or agitated with the last.
Katsuki sprawled out on the floor, arms and legs flailing out like a starfish as his plushie rested on the dip of his stomach. Moving his arms from above his head to his face, he rubbed at the exhaustion in his eyes, letting out a quiet yawn.
Noticing the actions, Izuku scoots close to the blond, leaning slightly forward to carefully rub his thumb over the other’s cheek.
“Tired, Kacchan?” Izuku asked softly, confirming what he was already aware of.
After a long day, particularly when he got fussy or overexerted himself, Kacchan always managed to become heavy-lidded before Izuku could even be able to get a meal into his belly.
Katsuki let out another big yawn, nodding softly, accompanied by a small ‘yeah’.
“How about we have a little nap time?” Izuku suggested as he was already moving to fluff a couple of pillows and add a few extra blankets, making a cozy nest on the large corner of the couch for them to cuddle up in.
“C’mon, baby.” Holding his arms out as he already flopped down into the heavily padded seat.
Katsuki hesitated for a moment before crawling onto the couch. He made his way onto Izuku’s lap, intertwining their limbs as the green haired man reached around to tuck one of their many blankets over the other. Fitting the plushie snug into Katsuki’s arms, making sure that he was also tucked in extra tight, making the blond let out a little giggle at the behavior which he referred to as ‘silly’.
Laying there for a minute and getting situated as Kacchan squirmed and wiggled into a comfy position, Izuku began stroking the tufts of blond hair on his head. Slowly making his way to brush back the hair planted by his hairline and leave a soft kiss at the root.
“Love you, Zuku” Kacchan murmured lowly, his voice so faint that Izuku wouldn’t have heard if it wasn’t for the fact that their faces were impeccably close.
“I love you too, Kacchan.”
His eyes fluttered shut as he brought his thumb to his lips.
Chest falling into a pattern as his breathing evened out.
Izuku could watch his adorable boyfriend for hours.
Without moving too many muscles, he reached to the small table that stood at the arm of the couch. Grabbing one of the many discarded pacifiers that were constantly found lying around his apartment and replacing the finger that was gently being sucked.
His hands returning to pet at the other’s locks, occasionally shifting slightly down his face to brush the soft pale skin with the pad of his thumb.
“My sweet, perfect boy.”