Chapter Text
It’s nearly midnight on a Sunday, a night Katsuki normally spends finishing up any homework he has before Monday and going to bed early. Instead, he’s shivering in the late night chill and rolling his eyes for the nth time; giving a report to a police officer that won’t leave him alone. He tucked his winter costume away as soon as the day time temperatures had reached above freezing–for safety, god forbid he sweat through his gauntlets–which means he’s shivering in the late night chill.
“I’ve said the same thing over and over again, yes , I’m sure I avoided skin contact with the villain.” Katsuki repeats, rolling his eyes once more for good measure. He’s lost track of how long he’s been talking to the same officer at this point, and he’s getting more than a little frustrated. “I blasted him to hell before he could make any contact.” His teeth chatter once before he clenches his teeth, halting the action.
The officer nods, a middle-aged man that looks like he’s seen his fair share of late nights, but still won’t let him go. “Listen, it’s very important you report any strange effects immediately,” He repeats, again , as if Katsuki is some kind of toddler. “This quirk–”
“I fucking got it !” Katsuki snaps, frustration boiling over. “A string of deaths across the area, yadda yadda.” He glares at him, as if that will make him calm down and listen to him.
“We have no clue what’s causing–”
“I heard you the first time.” Katsuki turns on his heel and walks away, making his way toward Best Jeanist, whose hair is still immaculate despite the battle. He’s gotta be using superglue on that shit . He has to stifle the laugh that thought invokes, making an odd snorting noise which Jeanist raises an eyebrow at from across the street.
After the war, Jeanist was quick to send in more work study and internship offers, despite the issue he’d had with Katsuki’s overall demeanor last time. Katsuki accepted, but only because he was sick of getting invited over to the Todoroki household after patrol and sitting through the sob fest that it usually turned into.
Jeanist politely ends his own report when Katsuki gets closer, turning to him quickly. “I assume the officer warned you about this quirk?” He asks, standing over Katsuki with a stern expression. “We still don’t know the details, so–”
Katsuki interrupts someone for the second time that night. “I fucking got it!” He swats away the hand that Jeanist has aimed for his shoulder. “He didn’t lay a finger on me, I’m fine.”
The hero holds eye contact with him for a long while, looking him up and down for any sign of injury. Whatever he finds, he deems it satisfactory and nods, taking a step back. “UA has arranged transport for you. I will see you next weekend for patrol.” He gestures toward a sleek black car, which is just parking on the side of the road when Katsuki looks over.
He stumbles over to the car, legs feeling suddenly heavy. His whole body feels heavy, now that he’s thinking about it, and very very sore. He feels like one giant bruise. Though it’s not nearly as bad as getting his heart blown up, so he gets in the car casually and ignores the way his shoulders twinge with overuse. The soreness isn’t unusual, considering how long Katsuki has been out on patrol today. As soon as the door is closed, the driver clears his throat, and Katsuki whirls around, coming face to face with Aizawa.
Damn. He was in for it.
“Reckless,” Aizawa says, proving him right with a hard stare. “I saw the news clip, you should’ve waited for backup.”
Katsuki scoffs and crosses his arms, leaning back in the plush seat. “I had it handled! And now the bastard’s in jail, thanks to me.”
Aizawa’s stare sharpens and he looks Katsuki up and down, similarly to how Jeanist had just a few moments prior. He looks like he’s going to say something else but he just clenches his jaw instead and turns his attention to the road. “Buckle up.” He warns Katsuki, and only pulls forward after he rolls his eyes and clicks the seatbelt into place. Admittedly, he’s grateful for the silence. He’s tired.
Actually, now that he’s thinking about it, he’s surprisingly fatigued, more than he usually would be after a late night of patrol. His limbs feel like dead weight, trembling with exhaustion now that the adrenaline of the fight has finally worn off. Katsuki massages his forearms and hisses out a groan.
He’s been slacking on his post fight stretches, no doubt. He sighs and relaxes into the car seat once more, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. As soon as he has a moment of free time again, he’s taking a long, hot bath.
Of course, with the rate they’ve had assignments and exams thrown at them, that likely won’t be until summer break. Katsuki huffs out a sigh, kneading at sore muscles while the city passes by. Normally the drive would be long and boring, but he dozes off at some point and is only jolted awake by Aizawa nudging his shoulder.
“Wh?” Katsuki mumbles, blinking blearily.
“We’re here.” Aizawa says, as if Katsuki can’t see that when he turns to look out the window. They’re in an area to the back of campus, a parking lot he’s never been to, but he can still see the dorms in the distance. He’s blinded by the automatic lights for a moment when Aizawa opens his door, and has to blink rapidly for a moment to get adjusted before he can open his own door.
The chill hits him quick, now that he’s not running on adrenaline. Katsuki shivers and begins his trek towards the 3-A dorms, fully intending to collapse into his bed and sleep through his alarm tomorrow. Aizawa follows along beside him, despite his complaints.
Even with the breeze, it’s a nice night, and Katsuki takes the time to rub his shoulders again. With how busy classes and patrol have been, he hasn’t had the time to really relax, and he has no doubt that will come back to bite him in the ass eventually.
Only a few steps away from the Heights Alliance building, Aizawa pauses, looking over Katsuki with a thoughtful expression. “You’re staying at the dorms this weekend, right? I hadn’t seen a request to leave.”
“Yeah,” Is all he says, working at a particularly tough knot at the base of his neck. He doesn’t stop to chat like it seems Aizawa intends to, making his way up to the front doors and quickly heading in.
It’s dark and quiet, which is expected for how late it is. Though, Katsuki is surprised that there appears to be no one in the common room or the kitchen. Typically, at least one person would be up later, whether it be due to insomnia or, in Tokoyami’s case, a penchant for darkness. There’s an odd stillness, instead. Katsuki glances at the common room, thinking he sees a silhouette. There’s no one there, just a trick of the light. Or—shadows, he supposes.
He sighs through his nose and takes the elevator up to his room. The hallway is dark, which means even Eijirou has gone to bed, despite him typically spending some time awake in his room. Katsuki was, admittedly, hoping he’d be able to say goodnight to Eijirou—and undoubtedly be bombarded with millions of questions about his patrol—but it’ll have to wait.
He doesn’t even change into his usual pyjamas when he finally makes it into his room. Just strips out of his hero costume, mourns the lost sleep because of one damn villain, and collapses onto his bed. He’s out the second his head hits the pillow.
—
He has a nightmare, because of course he fucking does. He doesn’t remember much of
it when he finally wakes up, just vague shapes and uncertain faces. Things that moved in the dark, indistinguishable from the shadows they lurked in. He sits up in bed, ignoring the wet patch of his own fucking sweat—gross—and rubs at the goosebumps on his arms.
Shit, he’s fucking tired. Katsuki yawns, jaw clicking with how wide his mouth opens. When he glances at the clock, he just blinks, struggling to comprehend how early it is.
Yet, when he throws himself back onto his mattress and rolls over, he finds himself wide awake. No matter how many times he readjusts or clenches his eyes shut, he just can’t get back to sleep. Eventually, he gives up completely.
Muttering curses under his breath, Katsuki throws his blanket to the side and slides to his feet, stumbling with fatigue.
Fuck this goddamn villain, and fuck his shitty timing. Katsuki rubs at his face, getting dressed with lazy limbs, blinking blearily all the while. It is way too early to even think about getting ready for classes, but at this point, Katsuki has nothing better to do. Besides, a morning run might wake him up. Though with that thought, he’s starting to realize he’s exhausted . His fingers fumble with the strings of his sweats, limbs refusing to work with the same dexterity he’s used to, even after days of training. He feels like he’s pulled a week of all-nighters, rather than his usual study and patrol routine. It pisses him off, and by the time he makes his way out into the hallway, he’s cursing under his breath, more than a little angry with the villain he fought the night before.
Somehow, the weather outside is worse than it was the night before, and Katsuki quickly finds himself shivering. Nonetheless, he pushes himself forward, settling on a brisk pace as he jogs along the pathway. He’s been using the same one since the middle of second year, originally since it led to an isolated patch of trees where he could practice some of his physical therapy without being bothered. Now that his hand is relatively healed–relatively, he’s careful to use, because it’s nowhere near the same level as his other arm and still practically useless–it works as a perfect jogging path.
The reminder of physical therapy has his attention turning to said arm, which is more sore than he’d been willing to admit. Katsuki stops at the halfway point of the path and takes a moment to rub at the muscles there, following carefully along with the massage his physical therapist had taught him to use. Slowly stretching out his wrist, panting lightly from his run, he’s glad he chose a lighter top despite the chill. He’s worked up a sweat at this point, and the front of his shirt has plastered itself to his torso. Katsuki wrinkles his nose at the feeling and, having finished his massage, peels the shirt away from his torso.
Satisfied with how his right arm feels, he takes a step back towards the dorms, intending on heading right back and getting ready for classes.
A branch breaking somewhere behind him makes him freeze, shoulders tensing. He’s quick to turn around, eyes narrowing with suspicion when he doesn’t see anyone–or anything. Katsuki scans the area for a long while, ready to fight despite a little voice in his head reminding him that he’s safe in UA, especially since their post-war upgrade in security. Eventually, he forces his shoulders to relax and turns around, sighing.
Then, something moves in his periphery. His hands come up before he even realizes, sparks forming instinctively in response to his shock. He’s met with nothing once more.
This time, it’s only when he hears the sound of a squirrel chittering nearby that he’s able to convince himself to walk away. He mutters curses under his breath all the way back to the dorms, cursing the local wildlife, knowing full well he sounds insane as he stomps down the worn path. It keeps his mind focused, away from the chill that’s quick to settle in his bones despite his reasoning.
By the time he makes it back to the dorms, it’s a normal fucking time to be awake and some of the early risers are getting ready. Katsuki can see Yaoyoruzu making her usual morning in the kitchen, chatting with Iida while she prepares her mug. Unsurprisingly, other than those two and Shouji eating breakfast nearby, there’s no one else up and about.
Iida is quick to greet Katsuki when he finally notices him, waving in his usual stiff way with a wide smile. “Bakugou, good morning!”
Katsuki grunts, but nods in return. Iida was a surprising addition to Katsuki’s list of people he doesn’t mind all that much, after he quickly became a pillar of support for the class after the war. In all honesty, his strict adherence to rules and schedule as class prez had even kept Katsuki together at some points. Though he’d never tell anyone.
Four-eyes just smiles in response, like a fucking nerd, and offers Katsuki some sort of breakfast muffin Satou had made the night before.
“Nah,” He’s quick to refuse, plan already cemented in his mind. “Gonna make me and Eijirou breakfast.”
“Of course! Though be sure to take it easy today, I heard from Midoriya you had a long patrol last night.” Katsuki rolls his eyes, by now used to Izuku’s overwhelming worry for everyone’s wellbeing. Iida seems to understand, attempting unsuccessfully to mask his laugh as a cough.
Katsuki takes the stairs this time, still feeling energized from his run. To no one’s surprise, Eijirou is still asleep, no light visible under his door and no sound coming from his room. He shakes his head and huffs out a laugh, more than used to his boyfriend sleeping in late at this point. He’s told Eijirou over and over again that he needs to go to sleep earlier so he isn’t rushing to class in the morning, but he still stays up until eleven or twelve every night.
Katsuki spends only a moment wondering what time he’d slept last night, considering he wasn’t up to greet him when he returned from his patrol. Then, he slams his open palm against the door, taking advantage of the fact that Shouji is already awake to be as loud as he needs to.
“Eijirou! Get up!” He pounds on the door until he hears the distinct sound of a body hitting the floor. Katsuki snickers, listening through the door as Eijirou groans, grumbling what are no doubt curses under his breath.
Then, he hears a quiet, dramatic moan, “I’m up.” Katsuki hits the door one more time for good measure, taking that as his queue to return to the common room.
Iida and Yaoyorozu are gone from the kitchen by the time he finally makes his way downstairs, having gone up to do whatever it is they do to get ready for class. Katsuki moves leisurely as he cooks, knowing full well Eijirou is going to take his sweet time peeling himself off his floor to get dressed. That, and it’s nice to have the kitchen to himself; the lack of classmates is not unusual due to the early morning, but still appreciated.
By the time Eijirou finally stumbles downstairs, Katsuki has to shove him forward, urging him to eat quickly so they can make it to class on time.
“I’m the one with late patrol and you’re still up after me!” Katsuki teases, using his thumb to wipe away a grain of rice on Eijirou’s cheek. He pouts, ducking his head down with a pronounced whine.
“We’re not even late!” He bemoans, shoveling another bite into his mouth. “Thanks for breakfast.”
Katsuki sends a sharp glare his way. “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”
Eijirou just laughs. The corners of Katsuki’s lips quirk up without his permission, and he’s quick to force a scowl before grabbing the dirty plates off the table. He throws everything into the dishwasher and entwines their fingers–ignoring the way his cheeks burn when Kaminari and Sero coo loudly at them–before dragging Eijirou toward class.
“Oh, I saw you on the news last night!” Eijirou says excitedly the second they’re both outside.
That answers Katsuki’s earlier pondering of how late he’d stayed up. “You should’ve been sleeping.”
“C’mon, man! You looked so cool!” He skirts around Katsuki’s nagging, attempting to nudge him to reveal more. It’s not going to work.
Katsuki makes the mistake of glancing over and catches sight of Eijirou’s wide eyes.
It might work. Just a little bit. He sighs, rolls his eyes, and tilts his head toward Eijirou. His boyfriend is quick to perk up, slapping his hands against Katsuki’s shoulder like he’s going to shake the information out of him.
He’s lucky Katsuki likes him.