The Heart Exchange (bnha agere)

Chapter 10: Wordy Words

Cws: caregiver guilt
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   The pair return to Katsuki's room. Kirishima notices how much of a mess it is. Bakugo's hand drops from his as the boy stumbles over to his bed, rubbing his eyes. Kirishima observes them with a sense of guilt. He'd originally assumed Katsuki had been regressing as they were zoning out, and so he tried to be comforting. Except, it seems as though maybe he was the one to lead Bakugo to slip. That hurts. Kiri wants to be the best partner - the saviour, the hero, the home Katsuki can feel safe returning to. His boyfriend clearly has a ton going on in their head, and it kills Eijirou to know he is unaware of some of these highly specific issues. How is he going to help? To fix it? How is Kiri going to do anything?

   And now, his boyfriend is struggling, stuck in a headspace that doesn't allow him to talk normally, or think in a mature way, or even function properly apparently, as Katsuki can't figure out how to untie his shoelaces. "Hold on, dude." Kiri says, trying not to wince even as Bakugo grumbles and kicks his feet.
Kirishima bends down and undoes Bakugo's laces, and tugs off their shoes. They're wearing black socks dotted with stars. Katsuki peers up at him. His eyes don't say much, but Kirishima is overcome with guilt.
   "I'm sorry, kiddo." He says, hauling Bakugo onto his feet. "You just try to relax, okay? Kirishima's going to figure this out."
   Katsuki tilts his head, not entirely understanding the proposal. He sticks his finger in his mouth and looks around for his blanket. With a sigh, Eijirou starts to hastily clean up the disaster that is Katsuki's room. He swipes up shirts and knocked-over trinkets, and reunites pairs of socks. He does this all while hearing Bakugo's little noises get more alarming.

   The boy's originally incoherent mumbling becomes a strangled whine, when he finds that Kirishima is too busy zipping around the room to pay him the attention he needs. That and his blanket isn't where he left it. What's he supposed to do without it?
   Eijirou feels a pull on the back of his shirt. He spins around to see Katsuki standing behind him, head hanging, and lips trembling.
   "Mm." They try to communicate, but Kiri cannot understand such an unintelligible noise. It's not even baby talk at this point. It's… Untranslatable murmurings of a very young, and somewhat confused child.
   "I… Kiddo…" Kirishima pauses. "Love bug, I just… What?" Usually, he'd never get away alive if he called Bakugo "lovebug", but things were different right now, and Eijirou better take the opportunity whilst it's still available. The blonde frowns, eyes darting about. He gestures vaguely to the bed.
   "Uhm, mm, mm!" His brow furrows with irritation as Eijirou shrugs helplessly.
   "Baby, you know I can't-"
   "Mm!"

   Katsuki huffed, crossing their arms. Kirishima sat them on the bed so he could finally finish folding the shirt he was grasping. As he did so, he noticed a corner of Katsuki's most beloved blanket, poking out from behind a mass of revision guides and textbooks. He completely forgot about that silly thing. Eijirou put away the folded shirt, and retrieved the blanket. This would definitely calm them down; it had to. And the moment Bakugo's eyes found it, their bunched shoulders relaxed, and fell.
  Their hands grabbed for it, and Eijirou gladly passed it to them, watching with relief as they cuddled it to their chest, popped their thumb in their mouth, and fell backwards onto the bed.
   "How about you change into some pj's to have your nap? Kirishima murmured, rubbing Katsuki's leg. He didn't mind this childish behaviour so much when Bakugo was happy. Something about it was quite cute. Yet, when something upset them, it seemed to break Eijirou's heart. Because Katsuki was a child. Kirishima was watching a child in distress, not just his regular boyfriend.

   Katsuki rolled onto his side. "You want me to help you change?" Kirishima asked, slightly cautious. He'd never actually seen much of his boyfriend's skin. Not in that sort of way, but during summer when it's hot, it's often for the boys to be chilling around the dorms shirtless. Yet, even when Eijirou has quite literally watched sweat drip from Bakugo's neck, he's never once seen the boy without some sort of coverage on his chest. Bakugo wriggles away when Eijirou moves to grab his shirt. A fire of trepidation suddenly catches in the boy's eyes, his thumb slipping from his mouth as he shakes his head violently.
   "Mm, nu-uh." He protests, voice almost cracking. Eijirou's hand wavered. He nods slowly, and stands up.

   "Okay… Do you want me to leave you alone so you can change and have a nap?"
   Bakugo nods back. His blanket is pressed to his chest. Eijirou sighs, gives them a tiny, reassuring wave, and leaves the room. "You know where to find me if you need me." He adds on his way out. Bakugo looks down at his socks. That was close. What would Kiri have said? Bakugo didn't want Daddy to find out his secret that way. Or ever, really.
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