tfln >> overflow

[dekyou]

( cont from here )

[izuku didn't mind waiting, gently kneading his palm, pricks of anxiety causing his fingers to tingle. his gaze moving from katsuki's hands to his face, lingering on the way his brow would furrow in concentration. he was thankful for the low light of his phone, it was easy on his eyes.]

I've looked worse.

[when he had left. pushing himself beyond his limits, shirking some of the ideals he had worked so hard to emulate. saving people with a smile, being together with his friends and saving the world together. like real superheroes would. the weight that sat upon his shoulders were great, and even now they sagged with the responsibility. it... was so much. all the time.

it had been so hectic lately that he realized, while he may have thanked uraraka for her help... he never gave kacchan the same courtesy. never gave him forgiveness for his apology.

he couldn't remember the last time katsuki called him by his name.

maybe it's because he didn't think there was anything to forgive, he had made peace with how he felt for kacchan a year ago. sharing his secret and working together... it was more than anything he could have wanted.]

All I remember... were people pushing more drinks into my hands. A few faces I recognized.

[the ones who protested his return the most.

...that still hurt. he had given everything to protect the people residing in this building. he would have given more if he could spare it. the angry yelling, the accusations. he was a threat, being here... even now there was the consistent worry in his gut and it made him shudder.

so he was thankful when he palms the cup of tea.

it was a faint smile he offers the other teen, but all too easy it faded. it was getting harder to smile these days.]

...Thanks.

[he doesn't move to straighten himself, as katsuki was a source of comfort. not just the warmth he provided when he felt so cold, but... just being there. so he does as instructed, bringing the tea closer as he closed his weary eyes, taking in a deep breath of the steam.]

Comments

[dekyou]

[some nights were easier than others, the smiling faces of his hero being a comfort in the early hours of the morning before he would drift off into a tumultuous rest. other nights he could scarcely look at them, remembering how far he had fallen from what he had set as his goal. how a period of months could change someone. how the world could flip his view.

but he didn't want to think about it anymore, he had been thinking about it too much. he didn't want to go mad, he didn't want to wallow and fall into a darkness that even iida couldn't reach. he had just been laying here, an arm across his forehead as he focused on the sound of his own breathing. the voices inside were blissfully quiet, staying true to their word to give him peace when he wasn't training or fighting.

it still felt weird to be privy to them. the ghosts that haunted him. would he hear them forever? would they stop when they dealt with all for one? they were quiet now too, when his mind went to them. but kacchan's footsteps brought him out of it, his arm moving to rest across his abdomen, tired eyes taking in the sight of the other teen, trying not to linger anywhere inappropriate.

though he does move to shield himself from the onslaught of pillow and blanket, a faint smile on his lips as he set kacchan's stuff next to him.

he scoots over wordlessly, waiting for katsuki to get in and comfortable before he settled himself proper. there was something warm and safe in the arrangement, not like he couldn't take care of himself, but izuku was learning that maybe it was okay to have others care for him too.]

...Thanks.

[there was more he could say, more he wanted to say. but he didn't have the heart to, exhaustion settling heavy in his bones. an encompassing 'thanks' will do for now.]

[blastedass]

[he didn't have to smile at him, didn't have to lie and say he was "fine" while lying here in the night. it was okay to feel somber, to feel worried, okay to admit that no, he wasn't fine, that he was scared, sad, lonely, hurt, and all those other things izuku had shouldered for the sake of the people he loved and the world he cared for. but he was still just a boy. a young man who dreamed of becoming a hero even when he didn't have a quirk.

true, he'd fallen. his path wasn't wrong, but it'd led him down a route that he never should've taken. they went after izuku and the caught him before he could slip any further. not to tell him he was horrible or even that he was wrong, but to simply remind him that he didn't have to do this alone. that he should trust them. and he had. even though they fought, he'd eventually realized it and accepted their help. it's all they wanted. it's... it's what katsuki wanted too.

because he knows izuku better than anyone else in this school, in the world. and he knows what happens when you give and give and give. eventually you run out. as he lies down beside him, katsuki settles in the bed, drawing the covers up over their bodies to rest around their chests. slowly warming up the sheets. he's back... he's home. amid the darkness, a quiet whisper of gratitude floats out on a very tired voice. of course there are things that could be said, want to be said... but not tonight.

katsuki turns over on his side and drapes his arm across izuku's chest, hand tucking beneath his ribs to hold him close and secure. as kids, he promised he wouldn't let anything get his best friend in the night. promised he'd be safe and have good dreams and they'd see each other in the morning light. it's the same promise here, resting across izuku's body as katsuki settles beside him.]

Go to sleep, Deku. I'm here.

[that's all. nothing else needs to be said. he's given that promise once more. katsuki closes his eyes and rests, refusing to go to sleep just yet as he guards the other hero's sleep. the symbol of peace, one of the greatest heroes the world will ever know, his childhood best friend, that's who he's protecting right now. watching over him until he knows izuku's fallen asleep and resting before katsuki allows himself to finally drift off.]

[dekyou]

[izuku let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding in, it came out in a shaky spurt, eyes closing in relief as he felt the weight and warmth of katsuki's arm across him. there's a moment of nothing, before a trembling hand reaches to settle over the other's forearm. not to push him away, but to keep him there as he shifted himself to something more comfortable. not wanting the other to assume he was shaking him off, because that could not be further from the truth.

reminisce of days when they were younger, from naps to falling asleep early. a comforting arm wrapped around him tight, shooing away villains and nightmares with the utmost confidence.

it had such a calming effect on izuku, shown in the way his breath already started to even out, eyelids heavy. so he shifts to his side, facing the other boy as he scooted in closer. his touch lingers on katsuki's arm for a moment more than it should, before he lets go so he could return the gesture, an arm across kacchan's waist and his face close to his neck.

through sleep he'd probably cling closer, drawn to kacchan's warmth. but this was the most relaxed he had felt since coming back home. he couldn't even utter a 'good night' as sleep took him almost immediately, lines of worry smoothing out across his features. the stiff line of his shoulders all but melting away.

he was here.

and deku was home.]