A Flower's Affection (KiriBaku Flower Shop AU)

Katsuki Bakugo - Wake Me Softly

Who's posting at an ungodly hour again? mE. See y'all in the morning, but my 0012 ass is going to BED.

        There's something... different, about sleeping in another person's bed.

        Katsuki didn't understand it. He'd slept in Eijiro's dorm half a dozen times by now, but for some reason his apartment was different. Maybe it was the different space, how the loft felt nothing like the cookie-cutter layout of the dorms, unique in a way that was purely Eijiro. Or maybe it was the way Eijiro's bright magnolia scent lingered in the air, permeating through every surface and the plushness of Katsuki's stolen pillow. Or maybe it was just knowing that Eijiro had spent years of his life here, in this building, and he was sharing it.

        Whatever it was, it pulled Katsuki slowly into consciousness, a gentle, comfortable rising. His internal clock told him that it was later in the morning than usual, his limbs lazy and limp from a heavy sleep. Warmth surrounded him, against his back, around his middle, pressed into the shell of his ear. Eijiro.

        The arm beneath his head tensed, Eijiro's fingers skimming lightly through his hair. It seemed the lug was awake, and maybe he had been for a while. Katsuki stayed where he was, enjoying himself. It was toasty under the blankets, their combined body heat seeping into him in a way he never managed on his own.

        Eijiro started slow kisses along the shell of his ear with a grumbling, tired noise. His arms tightened around Katsuki, pulling him impossibly closer. He tucked his nose behind Katsuki's jaw, smiling contently against Katsuki's neck. He sighed, "I love you," as though no other words could be near as perfect.

        Hm, that was nice...

        Wait--

        Katsuki shot out of Eijiro's embrace, twisting to glare daggers into Eijiro's suddenly panicked face. Hold the fucking phone-- "You little shit!"

        Eijiro downright shrieked, scrambling, tangling them both in the sheets. "I'm sorry, I thought you were asleep!"

        Katsuki caught the front of his shirt and somehow ended up on top of the man, not sure whether he wanted to kiss him or wring his neck. "And that makes it better?!"

        Eijiro held his hands out in a weak attempt to defend himself, half-heartedly trying to pull Katsuki off him. "You said it first!"

        Katsuki stumbled. "You heard me?!"

        "Uh--Y-yeah?"

        The fight drained out of him. He didn't know what he was so mad at, but it was probably the fact that Eijiro had obviously been banking on Katsuki not being able to hear him. Because why would the deaf guy hear him? It was laughable, really.

        "Katsuki?"

        Hands pulled at him, but he didn't budge. Instead, he reached up with a free hand to touch his ear, feeling the shiny high-tech plastic that marked his disability. He was being a hypocrite, again, because hadn't he relied on the same thing?

        It's different. His head argued. I didn't know if he felt the same. I didn't want to overwhelm him, or push him, or--

        I was protecting myself.

        And now that protection was gone, stripped away to leave him bare and vulnerable. Why did love always have to feel so scary? Why did falling have to hurt so bad?

        "Katsuki, I'm sorry. I'm right here."

        Katsuki hadn't let go of Eijiro's shirt, had in fact only tightened his grip until the fabric strained, and Eijiro pried him off gently as he sat up, massaging his fingers with his thumb. He pulled Katsuki silently into his lap, let the blonde tuck against his shoulder and sink into his arms.