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Everyone who meets Eijirou says he’s an energetic, happy-go-lucky person. Most are shocked when they find out he’s married to Katsuki, who, while energetic, is a grump. However, if anyone saw Eijirou now they would be stunned at the sight of him glaring and scowling. They would probably assume he got hit by some personality changing quirk or maybe even a quirk that swapped him with his husband.
Eijirou wishes that was the case. Instead, he’s stuck in bed until his broken body heals. It was nice the first couple of days, relaxing for the first time in a while, being pampered by a worried Katsuki. But, by now, Eijirou is so over it. He’s tired of laying here, unable to do anything. He’s tried reading and playing video games, but they lost any appeal after a few hours. TV isn’t much better. There are only a few movies and shows that hold his interest, and they’ve watched them a hundred times already. He’s sure Katsuki is sick of them; he can probably recite all the lines by memory. Eijirou groans as he shifts his restless body. He wants to get back out on the field. He wants to move around and patrol with Katsuki again.
His growing frustration is interrupted by the door opening. Katsuki enters with lunch. Eijirou sits up partially, another groan leaving him as pain shoots down his spine. Pins and needles quickly follow. The brace supporting his back digs into his sides and shoulders.
Katsuki stuffs another pillow behind him and sets the tray down. It’s full of food Eijirou enjoys: shogayaki on a big bowl of rice, gyoza, and tonjiru. All the meals have been ones he absolutely loves, especially when Katsuki cooks them. His scowl softens into a pout.
Katsuki is the only reason why Eijirou hasn’t crawled out a window yet, the only reason this forced bedrest is barely tolerable despite the pent up energy crawling uncomfortably under his skin. He’s been taking such good care of him even when Eijirou constantly complains about this awful situation. Katsuki waits on him hand and foot. He cooks for him, brings him anything he asks for, and sits and talks with him as much as he likes.
To Eijirou’s surprise, he refused to go on a single patrol until Eijirou’s healed up. He expected Katsuki to go on some short patrols since he could leave whenever, but Katsuki insists on staying the whole time. Eijirou digs into the lovely meal while his stomach churns. He knows why Katsuki refuses, why he wants to keep an eye on him at all times. Eijirou doesn’t remember everything that happened when he got injured, but he remembers a few things clearly.
He remembers the building slowly collapsing while people were still inside, Uravity too far away and overextended to help. He can still feel the crushing weight and muscles burning as he held up the ceiling crumbling down as a few sidekicks guided or carried civilians out. The sharp crack still echoes in his dreams. The one thing that stood out the most was Katsuki’s brilliant eyes, filled with fear and devastation instead of his usual passion and determination. Everything is spotty and a mess of half-formed recollections after that.
According to the doctor, he suffered a burst spinal fracture as the two floors above him slammed down on the structure he was holding. It could have been worse if Eijirou wasn’t in his unbreakable form. He had a few other fractures in his arms and shoulders, but the doctor’s healing quirk took care of those. Her quirk speeds up the healing process considerably. Given the nature of his injury, however, Eijirou still needs two weeks of rest before he can start physical therapy.
The tray is lifted off his lap, and Eijirou looks up, startled. He didn’t realize he finished. Katsuki carries the dishes to the sink and returns shortly after. He sits down carefully on the bed and grabs Eijirou’s legs. Katsuki massages them to circulate blood flow. Eijirou moves and curls his arms to help out. As he exercises, he watches Katsuki touch him with a gentleness to his movements that would shock most of the people they know.
A small smile forms on his face at Katsuki’s kindness, reserved for only those closest to him. Eijirou may be a “stupid fucking idiot” for what he did, and he may be divorced the second he pulls something like that again, but Katsuki’s actions always speak louder than his words.
Katsuki notices his fond gaze as he picks his head up to stare back. His husband raises an eyebrow, wondering what’s on Eijirou’s mind. Eijirou smiles wider without answering. His expression must be extremely lovestruck as Katsuki grumbles and calls him an idiot.
Even as he’s insulting him, Katsuki hands him his pain pills and a glass of water to down them with. Afterwards, he slides into bed next to Eijirou, taking care to not jostle his back. Katsuki turns on the TV and picks the old Crimson Riot movie, the one Eijirou grew up watching, the one they’ve definitely seen a thousand times already. It’s his comfort movie for when he’s sick or hurt physically and emotionally.
They can’t cuddle like they normally do, but Eijirou still reaches for Katsuki’s hand. Katsuki meets him halfway, intertwining their fingers together. He leans a bit on him, enough to ground Eijirou with his warmth and presence. Eijirou relaxes back, content to watch his favorite film with his favorite person once more. He may be stuck for now, but at least, he has someone that will be there every step of the way as he recovers. Red Riot will make a comeback with Dynamight by his side.