Katsuki cuddles, because it is late and I could go for some cuddles rn
Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou/ gn! reader
Warnings: soft! Baku, total self-indulgence, mentions of the reader having a bad mental health day, spicy noodles.
"Hey, can I come in?"
You hear harsh knocking on your door with a few seconds' pause to listen for a response.
Whatever you might try to say ends up sounding like a mixture of a sad whine and grumble, to which you hear a faint "tch" and the sound of your doorknob twisting.
Light streams into your dim room, a tall shadow with spikey hair appearing on the wall before the door is closed, and you are both submerged in the darkness. The pink light from the salt lamp at your bedside slightly illuminates the objects around it.
The room is quiet, minus the muffled volume of music coming from the headphones that you've taken off. Neither of you talks as you shift slightly under the covers. You feel the opposite side of your bed dip as Katsuki sits down with a small huff of breath.
"You didn't come to class today."
It was just a statement, but you could tell there was an underlying question of "are you okay?".
You knew the answer to that question.
You hear a sigh as Katsuki sits on your bed, the mattress sinking around where he sat.
Katsuki kicks off his slippers and pulls the hoodie he was wearing over his head before tossing it gently to your side like an offering.
You turn your head to look at the black hoodie resting on the blankets draped over your hip. You reach for it. Your hand and arm feel like they are ten pounds heavier. Your fingers were swollen from dehydration.
Katusuki watches your slow movements, examining your face, seeing how the salt lamp illuminates the streaky tear stains of your cheeks. The bags under your eyes look darker without more light to show your features.
Slowly you pull the hoodie over your head, popping your head out and adjusting the torso. You are enveloped in his scent, and it warms you like a fireplace from the inside out.
"Have you been here all day?"
You nod slightly, not quite looking at his eyes but examining every feature of his face.
He sighs and shifts his position, holding his arms out for you. You lean, flopping into his arms. You rest your head on his shoulder as you put your weight onto him.
"all just got to be too much for ya, huh?"
You hum a response, nuzzling into his neck.
The past few days have been overwhelming. Aizawa didn't let up on the workload one bit, and training had been difficult and frustrating. You felt like you were hitting a wall with the progression of your quirk. Your workload was bearing down on your mental health. Waking up and seising the day just wasn't on the table.
You felt devoid of emotion and full of it at the same time. You felt gross in your skin. Like you wanted to take it off like a piece of clothing to reveal this determined and confident person you strived to be.
"Did you take your meds today?"
You scrunched up.
"...Did you eat?"
You hesitantly shake your head no. It made you feel sick. Nauseous and Uneasy, expecting him to scold you and yell at you. You felt selfish for taking this time for yourself and letting yourself drown in depression and anxiety.
He pushes you away from his shoulder. For a second, you fear he is upset at you. Until you look up and see that he has a soft expression on his face.
"Let's make you something to eat, then we can figure out what else is going to make you feel better, 'kay teddy?"
You feel like melting. It's not often that you see Katsu in such a soothing and soft state. He, more often than not, will dote on you gruffly, grumbling to himself as he helps you with homework or caring for yourself.
You nod, rubbing the drowsiness from your eyes as you stare at his hand, outstretched for you to take. Slowly, you take it, and he leads you out of bed, out of your room, and down the hall. You take the stairs, slippers scuffing against each step, he doesn't let go of your hand, he holds it like something delicate, sturdy but not hard.
Katsu lets you take your time, he waits more patiently than ever, not complaining, not calling you names, not grumbling to himself. It's almost offputting how sweet he is being. He settles you down on the living space couch, dim side table lights illuminating the area.
"Ramen alright with you?"
"Hm?"
You look up at him. It's the first he's spoken since you got downstairs. He clears his throat and repeats himself.
"Is ramen okay? I have a stash of spicy packs in the cabinets, I'll make us some."
You nod your head, showing him your first small smile of the day. He responds with a gruff nod and hum of approval, before kissing you on the forehead. Katsu walked past you towards the small kitchen.
It's quiet, and you sit comfortably on the couch, laying your head against a throw pillow, a knit blanket tossed over your body. You listen to the sounds of Katsuki cooking. The occasional clatter of metal against the grates of the stovetop. the sink tap. the pour of water and shake of seasoning packets.
Time passes slowly and with it, the intrusive thoughts slowly subside. Katsuki finishes cooking and walks over to you with two bowls in his hands, two pairs of chopsticks clutched between his hand and the side of one of the bowls. He sits down carefully, offering the bowl to you to take.
You lift your head from the pillow, looking at the bowl being offered to you. Your nose had cleared from all the snot left over after the tears stopped, it felt like all of your senses were heightened. You saw the steam rising from the bowl of noodles, the smell of tangy spice tingling your nostrils.
You take the bowl gingerly from Katsuki, taking the chopsticks he offers next. as he starts picking away at his bowl, you carefully clutch a few noodles in your chopsticks, lifting them, watching them unwind from the tangle in your bowl.
You both sat there in silence, minus the sound of the slurping of noodles. Katsuki finishes first, placing his bowl on the coffee table. He sighs and proceeds to lean back on the couch, resting his arms around the back cushion of the couch, his left arm comfortably wrapping around your shoulders as you finish your bowl.
"Thank you,"
"Huh?"
"Thank you,"
"For what?"
"For caring,"
He huffs, "That's my job, idiot,"
You let out a soft chuckle and he smiles at his comment, you lean into him.
"Finished?"
You hum a yes, he takes the bowl from you and places it next to his. You draw yourself closer to him, resting your head on his shoulder.
"Let's do something tomorrow, ok? Just you and me."
"Like what?"
"Whatever you want, teddy," He mutters into your ear as he plants a few soft kisses on your head. You reply with a soft 'ok' and let out a sigh as he peppers your head with kisses.
You two stayed there for a while, a small conversation being exchanged between both of you. Not much needed to be said. Katsuki understood how your mind worked, how much you struggled some days. Most of all, Katsuki was willing to listen to you when you needed to talk or needed him to give you space. After all the shit you've dealt with, you finally felt like you were able to heal your inner child with Katsuki, no matter how long or short amount of time it will take.
