#tetsuskitten

“Mon coeur!~” Yuuga called from the bathroom, excitement and nervousness staring back at him in the mirror. He looked positively dashing. His eyes were painted in a leopard-print pattern, orange and light purple with shimmery gold dust. The colors chosen brought out the indigo blue in his eyes and, not so coincidentally, would match Mina’s outfit for the night.

He had been so distracted looking over himself that when Mina opened the door he startled slightly. His wife, with no finesse at all, jumped on the sink and whistled loudly. 

“You look so pretty! Are you gonna do me too?!” 

Yuuga smiled. “Yeah, I already decided on the colors.” He said, showing her a palette and pointing out the arctic blue and white. “I’ll use eyeliner too, and make a pattern like mine.”

“I love it! We’ll be the sparkliest, most beautiful couple at the party!”

“You don’t think it’s too much?” He asked, eyes unsure as they over-analysed each stroke of the brush, each color blend, each fleck of glitter.

Mina grabbed his face under the chin, careful not to mess up the make-up, and forced him to face her.

“Baby.” She was threatening even when she was saying things that were supposedly sweet. “You are a gorgeous man. I am crazy for you and believe me, the years have only made you glow brighter. Do you not feel beautiful?”

Yuuga nodded. 

“Then, that’s all that matters. It’s for you, right?”  Yuuga smiled bigger and nodded his head again, squeezing Mina’s thighs, placing a kiss on her lips as a thank you for the reassurance.

“Do my hair first, will you?”

Yuuga asked, releasing the long strands of blond hair from their makeshift bun, and Mina grabbed the brush to untie the knots before starting in on the braids. They were back to pre-party high spirits, chatting away about who was going to be at Kiri’s 26th birthday, recalling the latest gossip that was flying around about Denki’s new television show and his spot as the number 3 hero in the Hero Billboard Chart, his possible secret relationship with underground pro-hero MindBreak, Katsuki’s return from America, and any other recent information about their friends’ life.

Mina finished the look with iridescent star beads, cascading down in a swirl of colors. She had styled her own hair beforehand with big wavy curls, painted purple at the end with colored chalk. 

“Do I wear the purple or blue pumps?”

“Blue! So we match!~"

Mina laughed in boisterous good humour. “We must be sickening to watch. I fucking love us.” She remarked, looking them up and down in the wall-wide bedroom mirror. Yuuga cackled.

“Prepare for trouble!~"

“No more secrets, Shouto.” 

Katsuki’s face was contorted halfway between bitter rage and wallowing sadness. 

“No more fucking secrets.” He gnashed his teeth, hands fisting in the pristine white sheets of the hospital bed as he swallowed around the clawing pain that was threatening to rip him to shreds. 

“You’re going to wake up soon and I- I’ll be here, but you can’t keep stuff from me. If I can’t put myself in danger for your sake, you owe me the same goddamn courtesy.” The tears were spilling now, overwhelming relief at the fact Shouto was alive combined with the anger at the absolute idiocy and recklessness displayed by pulling a dangerous stunt, tricking his partner into not following him and taking the brunt of the attack alone. 

“And I know, okay, I fucking know there were children at risk, I understand this, I- fuck.” Katsuki let his hands fist into his hair and pull, sparking pain along his scalp, finding it did not relieve the constrictions of his heart, the heavy weight settling at the back of his head. 

“Can I be selfish? With you, can I be selfish for a moment and just say I’d trade your life for-” He shook his head. 

“No, of course I wouldn’t, I couldn’t. But fuck, sometimes Shouto.” Katsuki looked up then, at Shouto’s sleeping face - that wasn’t sleeping anymore - wide eyes filled to the brim with tears trickling over the side of his face. He paused, taken aback by the other’s wakefulness. 

He took a deep breath. “Sometimes I wish I could let the entire world unravel at the seams if that meant you were safe and sound.” 

He scoffed. “How’s that for a hero speech, uh?”

Shouto’s voice was barely above a whisper, weary and cracking with emotion. “Pretty shitty.” He sighed. “But for a love speech, number one.” He tried for a smile and almost had it. Katsuki appreciated the effort.

“Did you hear all that?”

“Enough.”

Katsuki nodded. And for a moment he thought to tell him, to scold him: Don’t ever do this to me again. You’re too reckless. You need to be more careful. But what was the point in it? More words of rebuke? No. Not this time. They were too far along in this, too many rash decisions from each side on the field, too many dumb shit to hold over each other’s head. It wasn’t worth it. At the end of the day, you had to let some things go. And hold on to the person still breathing next to you, still every ounce as alive and loving and beautiful.

“Welcome home.” Katsuki settled for normalcy, routine, returning.

“I’m home.” Shouto gave him that fond look then, the one spewing gratitude all over the room, bright as no one could be without trying.