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Maybe it was the incessant cough that was keeping him awake. Or, maybe it could've been the way his breathing was uneven because one side of his nose was blocked and the other was dripping like a leaky faucet. Or, maybe, it was the way his throat burned as he swallowed, feeling as though glass shards were slicing through his neck.
Regardless of what it was, Katsuki knew he felt like shit.
He had suspected something was up when his seasonal allergies seemed to show up a couple more times than necessary that month. Then again, Katsuki was almost positive that fucking Deku had sneezed on the nape of his neck last week.
For fucks sake.
He hadn't slept on Friday night.
(Not that he had slept through the night on any other day this week, but, fuckin' whatever, he supposed.)
Saturday morning began at seven a.m. with a knock on the door and Katsuki's head pounding with demands. He made a sound that was probably supposed to be a groan, but it came out more like a mix of a vicious croak and a vocal fry.
'Fuck my fucking life and every fucking thing in it.'
"What."
Something akin to a growl escaped his lips before he sat up against his headboard, rubbing his temples in search for tolerance, patience and fucks to give.
(He found none of those.)
Katsuki dragged himself out of bed, each of his limbs like lead as he trudged towards the door, stumbling over old hoodies and discarded socks. The door opened with an ear-splitting shriek, making Katsuki wince before opening his eyes to glare at whoever had decided to fuck up his day.
Behind the door stood Shouto, a blanket cape over his shoulders, Yumi tucked into the crook of his elbow and wide glossy eyes that looked at him like he'd hung the moon.
Oh.
Oh... shit.
'Fuck my fuckin' stupid fuckin' sick stupid-'
"Ki?"
'Yep. Life's just fuckin' great right now, isn't it?'
"Um..." Shouto teetered on his feet, swaying in the doorway. "Up?"
Katsuki made the greatest attempt of his life to push the scowl off of his face, replacing it with a warm smile. Glancing at the scene in front of him and the outstretched arms with flexing fingertips attached, Katsuki widened the crack in his door with a cough, letting the boy in.
"Shou-" Katsuki cut himself off with a coughing fit. "Shou-Shou. I'm gonna call Momo, okay? She's gonna help you out today."
Tears welled up in the younger's eyes, arms still waiting to be picked up.
Katsuki registered it properly this time, placing fatigued arms underneath the boy and lifting him onto his hip. Shouto leaned into him, arms cradling Katsuki's neck as they both sat down on the floor.
"Okay... I'm not... feeling..." Katsuki kept trailing off, pausing to fill his sentences in.
'Ugh. Feelings.'
"I'm sick. And you, are not sick. I really don't want you sick, so I'm gonna drop you off with Momo and she's gonna look after you today. Yeah?"
Shouto glanced at him through bleary eyes, suddenly crashing against Katsuki, knocking the air out of his lungs and leaving the blonde gasping for breath.
"Nooo..." Shouto whined, clinging closer to Katsuki. "Wan' Ki..."
"Ugh... okay then. You can stay. But, shh..." Katsuki whispered from his haze, placing a finger on Shouto's lips. "Sleep again. Bedtime."
Shouto glanced at the light blue sky outside, then back to Katsuki in suspicion, eventually settling on clambering back into bed with Katsuki.
Katsuki slept like the dead for the next four hours, unmoving and without a single sound. Shouto, however, only managed to lie down next to him for about ten minutes before wriggling out of Katsuki's vice grip and settling himself on the floor.
The young boy slowly searched for one of the juice boxes Katsuki kept under his desk especially for him, settling on apple juice before finding Katsuki's phone and staring at the little characters from Doc McStuffins.
He giggled at the songs and at Chilly the Snowman, fascinated by toys coming to life and Doc fixing them all up. She checked them over and gave them water and warm things to rest with.
Hm.
He could do that.
Shouto glanced around the room for things to help Ki feel better.
Ki liked his blankets a lot. Shouto could go and find more.
Ki liked drinking lots of water. He could go and help with that.
Shouto could do a lot of things, really.
He should do a lot of things.
He grabbed Yumi by her ears, then apologised with a kiss to her forehead, before clutching her to his chest and heading out of Katsuki's dorm.
He went over to his room first. He had his big, fluffy duvet covers and his blanket, as well as his two pillows.
'Ki needs soft.'
The boy slowly made his way back through the hallway with a large duvet trailing behind him, being dragged across the floor and picking up dust as it went, not that the boy noticed, of course.
Eventually, he made it back to Katsuki's room with his duvet, then making a u-turn back to his dorm to grab the rest. It took less than a minute for someone to start asking questions.
Surprise, surprise.
"Hi, Shouto." Momo spoke gently, "Are you alright, honey? You need some help?"
"Mm. Ki icky. Helpin'."
"Oh, I see..." Momo glanced around and then at the ceiling, pondering on what to do with the information, "I'm sure Ki would want to make sure that you're okay though. Have you eaten?"
Shouto stared at her blankly, with an almost guilty look in his eye as he curled in on himself. Momo took his lack of response as a 'no', slowly guiding him towards the kitchen area.
He wanted to resist it, honestly, but the growl of his stomach said otherwise.
"C'mon, I'll get you something small. Yoghurt?"
Shouto nodded, blindly being scooped up onto the counter before being spoonfed.
"You want some more? I think there's another raspberry one, if you want it."
"Mm mn." the boy shook his head, fiddling with his fingers.
"Do you want anything to drink? I think there's some orange juice, maybe. Water, if you want that." Momo wiped his face with a wet cloth.
" 'ippy."
"Yeah, in your sippy cup. Orange juice or water?"
'Orange juice is so gross. Apple is so much better.'
Shouto wrinkled his nose at the first option and glanced over at the sink. Momo took the hint, filling the sippy cup with water and handing it to him, ensuring he held it with both hands.
He sipped the water down gently, before remembering that Ki probably wanted water too. He handed it back to Momo once it was all gone, eyes wide with expectation.
"More?"
The boy smiled, rocking on the counter before pushing himself off. Momo glanced back at him, taking note of the thumb sitting idly in his mouth, offering him a pacifier that she had found. It was red with a white handle that looked very cute whilst bobbing in his mouth.
'Fitting.' she thought.
Taking the sippy cup from Momo, he gave her a brief hug before toddling back to his room to grab more pillows.
With Yumi still cuddled up to his chest and his sippy cup hanging off his pinky, he piled his own two pillows into his arms, blocking most of his vision. Not that he really needed it; the way to Katsuki's dorm was muscle memory. Two lefts and straight down. Third door to the right.
He pushed the door open with his whole body as he tumbled to the floor, crashing onto the mountain of duvets, pillows and blankets he'd created. By now, Katsuki had begun to stir, as he sleepily brushed hair away from his sweat-slicked forehead and sat up slowly, feeling the absence of warmth beside him.
Katsuki opened his eyes, only to see a blur of red and white and a sudden weight on his chest.
"Mmm..." Shouto mumbled, cold hands being placed upon Katsuki's face, rubbing circles into his cheeks.
With a sneeze, Katsuki rubbed Shouto's back, bringing him closer and wrapping his arms around the boy. Despite the warmth between them, Shouto pushed off of the blonde, bringing himself to the floor. He promptly brought the duvets and blankets and pillows onto the bed, dumping them on top of Katsuki.
"Huh?" Katsuki's vision cleared as he woke up properly, suddenly overwhelmed by the weight of extra bedding and pillows surrounding him.
"S'cold. 'lanket." Shouto slurred around his pacifier.
"Oh." Katsuki paused, thinking.
He sounded so fucking congested.
"Thanks. It's okay, though. You wanna do something?"
"Up."
"Okay, c'mon." Katsuki said, lifting the boy into his lap with a pained grunt.
Shouto's brows knitted together, worry lacing his face. He stared as Katsuki coughed into his elbow, turning away from him. A pout found its way onto his face.
"What's wrong, Shou-Shou?"
" 'ick."
"Yeah, I'm sick, baby."
Shouto buried his face in the crook of Katsuki's neck with a hmph.
"S'okay, I'm alright. But, I need fuckin' painkillers or something..." Katsuki rubbed his temples, trying to angle himself away from the boy. He did not need to be looking after a sick toddler right now. "C'mon, we're going to the bathroom. Then, the kitchen."
He lifted both of them off of the bed, heading towards the bathrooms.
He hadn't brushed his teeth yet and it was already eleven. Gross.
Shouto picked up his sippy cup on the way, holding it with his pinky finger, having left Yumi on the bed. Once they arrived at the bathrooms, Katsuki brushed his teeth and washed his face, looking slightly less zombie-like than before. Shouto lingered behind him, pacifier still in his mouth.
They headed into the kitchen after that, speed walking past the groups of people in the common room. Katsuki noticed a few of them playing uno, while the rest sat by watching. He locked eyes with Momo, who stood up and followed them to the kitchen.
"Bakugou, there's soup in the fridge. I made some earlier after Shouto said you were sick." Momo explained with a light smile, "And there's some painkillers in the cabinet if you need them."
Katsuki raised an eyebrow at Shouto, who was waving at Momo and playing with her hair.
"When did that happen?"
"Maybe around nine or ten? He was dragging pillows to your dorm and said you weren't well. I gave him breakfast though, don't worry."
"Oh." Katsuki felt paler than before, realisation dawning on him. Or maybe it was the sickness. Anyone's guess, really.
"Mmm!" Shouto urged, reaching for Momo.
Katsuki passed him over without complaint, watching as Momo bounced him in her arms.
'Hm.'
Katsuki grabbed some painkillers from the cabinet, and began heading over to the sink to pour himself some water. He was interrupted when a sippy cup flew in front of his face.
Well, maybe not flew, but it sure felt like it. Katsuki felt like everything was running at two times speed around him while he was lagging behind. He hated being sick.
He jerked back, only to spot Shouto's hand with his sippy cup attached being outstretched to him; the boy waiting expectantly.
"Shouto, honey, I don't think he needs a sippy cup." Momo giggled, brushing the child's cheeks with something so maternal that Katsuki couldn't fathom.
Shouto stared between them, confused, before Katsuki spoke up with a croak.
"Thanks, baby, but I'll use this one, I think." Katsuki claimed, tilting the glass in his hand.
He swallowed the pills with a gulp, dumping the glass in the sink and quickly reheating his soup, sipping it from a thermos.
Shouto pushed off of the girl, opting to sit on the kitchen floor instead. He, too, was given some soup, and was spoonfed by Momo.
"I can take him if you want, Bakugou. You really look like you need to rest."
Katsuki sensed the judgement in her voice, choosing to stay quiet in favour of the dull thrum behind his eyes begging for darkness.
"I was gonna send him to you, actually. He didn't want to so he ended up staying. And.. finding you anyways, I guess." Katsuki said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's up to him really."
The caregivers both looked at Shouto, still on the floor and now playing with the strings of his hoodie. The boy glanced up, flexing his fingers at Katsuki with a smile.
"Hah, I guess he's picked." Momo chuckled.
Katsuki lifted the boy up, prompting him to wave and say thanks to Momo before taking them back to his room. He tried not to look at Shouto, keeping his face in the opposite direction. Shouto simply readjusted, finding comfort in Katsuki’s neck.
"Ki?" Shouto questioned, after being placed onto the bed.
"Yes, baby?"
" 'ick?"
"Yeah, I'm still sick."
"Oh."
Katsuki could've sworn he saw the gears turning in Shouto's head.
"Sad?" Shouto tilted his head in question.
"A little, I guess. But, I'm fine. It's fine."
Shouto plucked the pacifier from his mouth, motioning for Katsuki to take it as he pushed it against his lips.
"Oh, baby..." Katsuki chuckled, "No, that's for you, okay? But, thank you."
The boy retracted his hand with a small grunt, popping it back through his lips. He started digging around under the pile of covers in search of something, to Katsuki's amusement. After a minute or two, he emerged with Yumi, pushing her into Katsuki's chest.
" 'uddle." Shouto slurred, clipping consonants.
"Hmm..." Katsuki scratched his chin for dramatic effect, sniffling slightly. "How about... you take Yumi and I take you."
Shouto seemed pleased at that, curling into Katsuki and moving them both under the covers. Katsuki really should’ve moved away, but the fatigue of just existing had caught up to him again. The boy suckled contently on his pacifier, eyes wide as he gazed at his caregiver. He placed a finger on Katsuki's mouth, using the rest of his hand to forcibly close Katsuki's eyes.
"You tired?" Katsuki muttered behind Shouto's fingers.
"Mmm..." groaned Shouto, letting his eyes slip closed.
Katsuki did hate being sick. It was an overall horrible experience that he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. Then again, having Shouto along for the ride didn't make it all that bad. Maybe.