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Katsuki was too old for nightmares.
That shit is for little snotty five year olds who watched their first ever horror movie.
Sure. Maybe the first couple weeks leading after the war he may have had a few nightmares that made his heartbeat increase. But he learned to manage it.
Take it easy on training. Don't stress himself out. Make sure he gets plenty of sleep. All that jazz.
But somehow, even though he wasn't really sure what triggered it. Not much has happened, he spent the majority of the week getting his (unnecessary) checkups at the hospital.
But he wouldn't exactly focus on it at the moment.
Not that he can exactly.
It was 12am when he jolted awake, sweating like crazy, and his heart rate was speeding up.
He can't breathe
It felt like someone was choking him. So like the idiot he was.
He went on panic mode
He grabbed his chest to hopefully catch his breath.
To no avail, he clutches his hair and pulls. He feels a hand.
"-tsuki?' a soft voice calls out to him. That voice instantly brought him back to reality, it was warm and comforting. One hand on top of the hand he was gripping his hair, the other just below his right eye. He looks up in the dark and squints, not sure why because he could so easily recognize who it was.
A small lamp on his desk switches on. He squints to get adjusted to the light as he leans forward to his best friend's neck. It takes a few moments of awkward silence until he finally sits back and looks at his surroundings.
He was sitting on his very messy bed, there were pillows that weren't his on the end of it with Mina on her knees looking over Eijirou's shoulder with an empathetic look on her face. He turns to his right where Denki seems to be the one to turn on the lamp looking half asleep, and Sero next to him wearing the same expression as Mina. He looks back to Eijirou and lets out a breath he doesn't remember holding.
Right.
The 'Bakusquad' slept over tonight.
"Ei-" He croaked out, his bottom lip wobbling, he cut himself off and lifted his hand to wipe his eyes.
Well fuck they've already seen him like this before
People would do anything to see him like this. Anything other than the explosive version he let the media see him as. After the war he wasn't as explosive, maybe it was the trauma that made him quieter. He preferred solitude and often spent his time alone. It wasn't like he was depressed, he just doesn't wanna be angry all the time anymore.
"It's okay. You're okay. It's all right." Eijirou hummed, pressing Katsuki's forehead to his, hands now on each side of his face.
Firm and grounding, yet soft and comforting.
"I-i...Uhm...I just....Shit!" Katsuki cursed that he couldn't find his words. He was too exhausted to try and speak again.
"Shh, you're alright. You don't need to talk about it. I'm here with you."
He didn't trust himself to speak, so he nodded.
"Can I tell you a story?"
He was taken aback by the question, but nodded anyway.
"Get in a little circle here guys." He turned to look at them as he shifted closer to the wall to give everyone space to sit.
As they all awkwardly got in a circle on Katsuki's bed, Eijirou began to speak.
"A couple of years ago I went to a fashion show in Tokyo, a very big show. I snuck my way in." A snicker was heard from someone, "Yeah I know, I wasn't the best behaved back then.." He turned to Katsuki.
They stared into each other's eyes, only breaking eye contact when he felt all of his blood rushing to his face
"I don't understand.' Katsuki whispered.
"Hm?" He tilted his head only slightly, a soft smile creeping on his face.
"Why are you telling us this?"
He smiled warmly at Katsuki, then leaned on his knees that hung off the bed facing away from them.
"It was June, I was twelve." He chuckled as he began.
"I still think of that day now and then,
a fashion show and a boy.
And a crowd of thousands"
Denki and Sero were at the foot of the bed leaning on each other, while Mina was laying with her head on Sero's lap already drifting to sleep. Katsuki moved to where he was sitting on the edge.
"He sat straight, like a hero," He dramatically sat up straight to mimic the boy he was talking about.
"only thirteen, but so proud and serene."
He shifted closer to Katsuki but still leaving a gap between them, leaning his head sideways.
"How they cheered, how I stared.
In that crowd of thousands,"
He stood up from the bed, moving his hands and he spoke
"Then, I started to run.
And to call out his name"
He stepped forward then spun on his heel to face them with an attentive expression.
"As the crowd on the road went wild."
He looked up and reached his hand out to the air as if he was trying to reach someone that was too far to reach.
"I reached out with my hand and looked up,"
He paused, the atmosphere of the room full of suspense.
Then, he spoke fondly, with an endearing little grin
"And then...He smiled."
Katsuki gazed at him with endearment, focused on his story. He forgot all about his nightmare for a moment. He was focused on the red haired boy he fell for, not the flashy smile everyone else saw. The boy who snored like a fucking engine, who can bench press All Might then ask Katsuki to open a protein bar. The boy who once cried while pouring his heart out for him, who once snuck in his dorm past curfew way too many times after the war when he was scared to sleep. The boy that confessed to him before the war when he thought he wouldn't make it out.
And the boy he loved
Eijirou looked towards the sleeping trio behind him, making him turn to look that direction. Sero was sleeping along with Mina, but Denki was definitely pretending to. Although he couldn't tell if Eijirou noticed, he decided to ignore it.
"The parade traveled on, with the sun in my eyes, he was gone. But if I were still twelve, in that crowd of thousands.
I'd find him again"
As he finished his story, Katsuki couldn't help but feel like he was there too. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he enjoyed his stories, and was a little sad it ended.
He didn't mean to, but his mouth moved before he could think
"Your making me feel I was there too."
Before he could even process what he just said, he ducked his face down towards his hands.
"Maybe you were."
He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, he looked to meet the red eyes that never failed to make his knees weak like he was in a dumb romcom. He watched Eijirou walk to lean on his desk with his hand, his eyes still soft even when looking at him. He couldn't believe someone as kind as him could ever fall for such a horrible person.
"Make it part of your story."
He sat in silence, shocked that he even suggested it. And as much as he thought it was stupid,
"A parade?"
He went along with it anyway. How could he say no to him?
Eijirou smiled and nodded, repeating what he said
"A parade."
Katsuki tilted his head in amusement, raising his chin higher to mimic how Eijirou said the boy was sat.
"Passing by,"
"Passing by."
He giggled at Eijirou, enjoying how he was being so animated.
"It was hot. Not a cloud in the sky."
It felt natural for him to tell the story in his words, easily putting himself in someone else's shoes. Which was usual for him to be able to do. It felt almost like a distant memory, like he really was there. But that was absurd, if he actually was there, he would have remembered.
Eijirou lifted his hand to urge him to continue.
"Then a.. boy, caught my eyes."
He walked to sit next to Katsuki, nudging his shoulder playfully in the process, not speaking to let him continue.
"In a crowd of thousands."
He paused, thinking of what to say next. He grinned like he just came up with the best insult of the century.
"He was thin, not to clean."
He smiled as he scooted closer, getting comfortable with leaning on his shoulder for a bit despite Eijirou playfully showing offence.
They both laughed together after a quick second. Which was something Katsuki adored. He always found humor in anything, he always made everything better.
"There were guards but he dodged in between,"
"Yes, he made himself seen."
As he went to look up at him, his heart immediately skipped multiple beats, and his breath stopped for a second.
"In that crowd of thousands."
And suddenly Katsuki's memories flooded into his brain.
He remembered, it was his first live fashion festival. His parents fashion company was hosting the festival that included a show of their newest clothing collection along with a couple of other companies. They begged him to be one of the models, for media experience. At first he obviously said no, but he caved after being bribed with a special edition of his favorite manga series. If he was being completely honest, he had fun. It was a good atmosphere with the other models, a lot of them were only a couple years older than him so they had a few things in common. And he was with the first couple of groups to go on stage so after he could just wander around. And he remembered seeing a boy with red eyes, paired with black hair and shark teeth, he was also a bit emo looking? He had a weird feeling about this guy, but it wasn't a bad feeling. Back then, Katsuki thought that boy was a bit odd so he brushed it off.
He rose from the bed, trying to chase after the memory
"Then, he called out my name
and he started to run"
He walked past Eijirou's stretched out hand, walking towards the other side of the room.
"Through the sun, and the heat, and crowd. And I tried not to smile, but I smiled."
He couldn't see Eijirou leaning forward with his elbows to his knees, interested to see where the story will end up.
"And then.."
He snapped his neck to look at him, not seeing a certain blond peeking his eyes open. He took a deep breath as the rest of his memories came flooding in again before he finally spoke,
"he bowed."
In a split second, Eijirou shot up from the bed. He stumbled a bit from how fast he got up, reaching out his arm once again but not to him.
"I.. I didn't tell you that."
Katsuki looked at him with the same look of shock and disbelief
"You didn't have to.. I remember."
He tried to walk to the red head but he had already beat him to it, his hands to his arms. Katsuki reached up to do the same with shaking hands.
"The parade traveled on,"
Eijirou started and let him say the next
"With the sun in my eyes, you were gone"
They went back and forth with finishing the 'story' and gripping on to each other like someone is gonna separate them
"But I knew even then"
They were both merely inches away from each other. He had the biggest smile ever while Eijirou was white in the face with shock.
"In a crowd of thousands,
I'd find you again"
He leaned up to reach Eijirou's mouth, closing the gap between them both. Grabbing both sides of his face with his hands as his best friend and lover wrapped his arms around his waist and lifted him up. They broke the kiss as he was about to say something
"Eww get a room already why don't ya?"
Katsuki glared towards the voice
"I fucking knew you were fake sleeping you little bitch."
Denki threw his hands up in a fake surrender and rolled his eyes,
"Well excuse me for not wanting you guys rubbing your relationship in my face!"
As soon as he was gonna make another snarky remark is when Eijirou finally decided to speak up
"Then go to Shinsou? I'm sure he's still up."
"Oh yeah."
He dropped his hands and got up to stretch, He then grabbed his phone from under where Mina and Sero were tangled up. He typed on his phone who Katsuki's assuming is Shinsou. He watched Denki practically skip to the door, and before he leaves he squints his eyes at the two and whispers
"You two are so, extremely gay by the way."
"Fuck off Dunce."
He just giggles and shuts the door.
The couple stands in silence for a moment before Ejirou bursts out laughing. He turns to glare at him when he stops to observe him. His smile is so cute. I want nothing more than this moment.
Eijirou seems to notice because he leans down to kiss his cheek. Then moves to his ear to whisper
"Nightmare gone yet?"
Right. He'd long forgotten about that.
He nods and goes to his bed to lay down, Eijirou following not long after. With him laying on his back, Katsuki lays on him with his chin nuzzled into his neck. He gives a quick peck to him before laying back down.
Katsuki slowly starts to drift off to sleep, with Eijirou stroking his hair slowly and his other hand protectively holding his lower back.
"We're all here for you."
Yeah. That's right. And if anything happens, they'll find their way back to each other.