A Comfortable Existence - #7 [The Quiet] - FINAL

[Part 6]

Katsuki sighed contentedly as he fell onto his couch. There were few things better than coming home to your own apartment after a long day, where you could strip off your costume in the doorway and just collapse under the aircon to finally cool yourself down a little. He sank into his cushions, letting the air blast his bare skin, and let his eyes fall closed, just for a moment. Other than the faint hum coming from the aircon, the apartment was dead silent. No shitty roommates blasting music or movies, no guests laughing and drinking too much, no one running late for a shift who was sprinting around barging into things and knocking shit over.

It was a good life. A peaceful life.

He groaned as he sat back up, running a hand through his damp hair. He’d showered at the agency, after he’d wrapped up a fight much more quickly than expected, so he didn’t need to go clean himself off for once, but he was starving and he knew he needed to start cooking before he reached the point where he felt like he was gonna vomit if he didn’t get something in his stomach.

The kitchen was empty, perfectly clean, and when he opened his fridge, his neat little stack of containers was perfectly in place, right where he'd left it. No more, no less, no nothing.

He grabbed a container at random, shoving it in the microwave, but when the smell of curry begun to fill the kitchen, he froze. His stomach was growling, determined to move it from smell to taste, but Katsuki could only stare dumbly at the microwave door, watching his container slowly whirl around. It had been months since he’d last made curry, the only time he’d eaten it recently had been...

He must have been hungrier than he’d thought, because his stomach was suddenly churning, and his entire body felt like it was just a tiny bit numbed, like he couldn’t quite feel anything as strongly as he usually did. He reached for the freezer while he waited, but when he saw the inside, he once again fell still. It had been a couple of days since he’d gone for an ice cream, so he hadn’t yet seen the freshly replenished stacks of different types and flavours that awaited him. There were far more of them than Katsuki ever bought at once – he got too self-conscious about taking them to the check-out, about some random fan snapping a photo of him with a basket jammed with ice cream and turning him into some kind of weird meme.

He slammed the freezer door shut again, turning back to the microwave and watching the numbers tick down. He tapped his foot impatiently on the ground, then switched to pacing across the kitchen, until finally it got below thirty seconds and he decided it was close enough. He snatched it from the microwave and leaned against the counter, eating it straight from the container, leaning over the sink to keep from making a mess. His stomach quickly stopped growling, but he still couldn’t shake that weird, slightly numb feeling.

Maybe he just needed to rest.

As soon as his container was empty, he shoved it in the sink and headed for the bathroom, dirty costume under his arm to throw in the machine. He found the drum empty when he arrived, and for a moment he just stared at it, silent. He didn’t see it empty very often; usually he threw it on to wash before he went to work, and by the time he got home, it was ready to put his stuff away. Then, he stuck his gear from work in it, to wait for the next load. The in-between time was short, barely noticeable, so to open the lid and find it already empty, was... unusual. He wasn’t sure why he was so surprised by it, so fixated on it. Sure, it was different, but why did his brain suddenly care so much?

He threw his costume in to remedy it, but he didn’t bother turning it on; he still had a clean one ready for the next day – as evidenced by the empty washing machine – so it came with no great urgency. He shoved the machine with his foot lightly before he turned again; he had a weird urge to kick it, for some reason, but destroying his laundry machine seemed like a poor idea just for the sake of a whim, so he settled for the gentle nudge.

Finally, he moved into the toilet. He sat down on the seat, letting his head fall back and his eyes fall closed, just for a minute. Maybe he needed an early night. Everything just felt... off. Out of sorts. Not himself. Considering there was no obvious reason for it, he hadn’t had some massive fight or been hit by any random quirks, and he felt otherwise fine so he clearly wasn’t coming down sick, he suspected fatigue was the cause. He hadn’t slept great the night prior, had woken up feeling a lot groggier than usual, so the math seemed to check out.

When he opened his eyes, they fell on the closed toilet door, and for a moment, he just stared. Why did he even bother closing it, when he lived alone? It wasn’t like anyone was gonna walk in on him, and he wasn’t planning on a particularly unruly dump that would stink out his house. Usually he left the door open so he could feel the effects of the aircon cooling the whole apartment down, but instead, he’d closed it. Without even thinking about it, without stopping to remind himself, he’d closed the door.

Fuck.

His hands were weirdly shaky as he finished up and went to wash them; he had to turn the tap up a little hotter than usual to calm them down. It didn’t completely solve the problem though, he still felt weak and out of sorts, and now...

Fuuuuck.

He picked up his phone from the table, falling onto his couch in the hopes of getting some kind of comfort from his favourite spot, and tapped on the name right at the top of his recent messages list.

“Made it safely!” the last text read. “Thanks again for having me for so long!”

Had it been that long? He supposed so, in the end. Maybe six weeks? He couldn’t even remember when Izuku had moved in, to be honest. He remembered the moment: the announcement, the messages, the drive over to pick him up; somehow, though, he didn’t remember when. Maybe he really was getting sick, and he just hadn’t noticed the symptoms.

His thumb hit the call button, but he didn’t realise he’d done it until the phone was against his ear, ringing quietly.

“Hey Kacchan!”

That voice was so bright, always so cheerful, even over a stupid phone call.

“You settling in okay?”

Izuku chuckled, though it was a little weaker than his initial happiness.

“I’m getting there. It’s only been one day! It was a weird night though, I kept waking up to random noises I’m not used to, and I saw a massive cockroach on my way up the stairs, so I was probably a little paranoid about bugs, which didn’t help.”

“Yuck. No thanks.”

“It was super nice of the school to prepare me a place, though!” Izuku defended himself – he never liked to say anything negative about anyone, even indirectly. Damn nerd. “They don’t have many staff living on campus these days, so it’s just been a little neglected. With a little love and care, I’m sure it’ll be great!”

“But?” Katsuki asked knowingly.

“No buts!”

“Liar.”

Izuku laughed nervously, even weaker than the first one. Katsuki could practically see his stupid face, with that awkward smile that didn’t reach his eyes, his hand probably rubbing at his neck, and messing with his already unruly hair.

“It just feels kinda empty, I guess. I haven’t gotten used to it yet.”

“Don’t.”

Katsuki blurted out it before he could even think twice, and he felt his face turn hot.

“Don’t what, Kacchan?”

“Don’t get used to it.” He couldn’t seem to stop his stupid mouth from running. “Come home.”

Come home.

The weird feeling in his stomach disappeared instantly. Even the numbness had started to fade. Had that really been all it took? Just figuring out why everything felt so different all of a sudden?

“What are you saying, Kacchan?” His voice was barely a whisper. Katsuki wished he was there, so he could look into those stupid eyes, make sure Izuku knew he meant it.

“I hated having housemates. They always fucked things up. Made a mess, got in the way, made too much noise. You didn’t do any of that shit. I know you were on your best behaviour or whatever, even though you didn’t need to be, but—”

“What are you talking about?”

“You never made a mess in the kitchen, you wiped the bathroom shelves, you did my laundry...”

“Kacchan, those are just common courtesy,” Izuku huffed. “You wipe shelves too, and did my laundry. And I made a ton of mess in the kitchen! I just cleaned it up after! Like you do!”

Katsuki fell silent. He really didn’t have a good response for that.

“I’m glad I wasn’t too much of an imposition, but really, all of that stuff is just... normal. I wasn’t ‘on my best behaviour’ or anything like that, you don’t need to worry about me.”

“You bought me ice cream.”

“I ate your ice cream.”

“You didn’t eat that much of my ice cream.”

“I ate a lot of your other groceries!” Izuku was starting to sound oddly exasperated by the whole discussion. “Kacchan, what’s going on? Why are you suddenly worrying about this stuff? Are you feeling anxious again?”

Anxious.

“Fuck.”

“Kacchan, I’m coming over.”

“No, I’m— I mean, yeah, fucking come over, but— Fuck! Just move back in already!”

“Wh— Are you trying to tell me you miss me?”

“Yes! Fuck! That’s the word!”

Izuku laughed. It was no weak chuckle or awkwardly forced thing, this time. It was bright, and cheerful, and...

“Just come home,” Katsuki said, his voice so weak that he wanted to punch himself for it.

Izuku paused, and then:

“Come pick me up?” he whispered.

“I’ll be there in like ten minutes.”

———

Izuku bobbed his head with the music, mouthing along with the words. His comfy headphones were on as always, drowning out the world around him, letting him just get absorbed in the music as he waited for the pot in front of him to boil. His friends had teased him for always dancing around the kitchen when he cooked, while they’d lived together, and he knew he looked silly as hell for it, but it just felt so good.

He threw his arms in the air when the chorus hit, and then a hand was on his head, and he whirled around to find Katsuki standing behind him, with the softest, fondest smile in the world pointed in his direction. He grinned back, pulling his headphones down around his neck, and in a moment of weakness, Katsuki leaned in, planting a tiny little kiss on Izuku’s head.

“I’m home,” he said softly.

“Welcome home, Kacchan!”

He threw his arms around Katsuki’s neck, pulling him into a hug, his smile still so wide that his cheeks were starting to hurt. Katsuki wasn’t usually a touchy person, usually pulled away and snapped at people when they touched him unpermitted, but lately he’d been doing more of those little things – initiating it, even if it was only with the smallest of gestures. And when Izuku touched him back, he didn’t pull away. Sometimes, like he did in that moment, he even hugged Izuku back, wrapping him up in strong arms and just gently holding him there for a few sweet moments.

He took a step back, never willing to push it for too long, but Katsuki still wore that same soft expression, looking at him like he was the most precious thing in the world. Izuku loved that look.

His hand reached out, and Izuku stayed dead still, waiting to see what Katsuki wanted this time. It was rare for him to initiate something twice, let alone when Izuku had already hugged him in between, and Izuku didn’t want to risk scaring him, putting him off.

Instead, the hand grabbed his headphones, carefully removing them from Izuku’s neck and pulling them onto his own ears. He listened for a moment, then cracked a much more familiar smile, something a lot less... vulnerable.

“Good boy,” he teased. “I’ve trained you well.”

It was true; Katsuki had been the one to introduce him to the band, all those years ago. He’d actually kind of forgotten about that. When they’d started hanging out again in high school, it had been one of their calm, quiet hang outs that they did regularly: they just sat in one of their dorms, phones or laptops in hand, taking turns playing each other their latest favourite songs while they read the news or scrolled through social media.

“They’re doing a tour soon!” Izuku said gleefully. “I already entered the ticket lottery!”

“For both of us?” Katsuki clarified.

“Of course, dummy!”

Katsuki attempted to glare at him for the dumb insult, and Izuku let him think he’d succeeded.

“I’ll put mine in too, make sure we’ve got a good shot.”

“Don’t be silly, I already entered you as well!”

Katsuki snorted, and it was all Izuku could do to not just fling his arms out and hug him again. Two was probably too many, right? That close together? Katsuki would definitely complain.

“I can see you overthinking it,” Katsuki informed him, rolling his eyes. “C’mere, nerd. I already promised you a thousand times that I’ll tell you if it’s too much.”

Izuku grinned again, throwing his arms around Katsuki’s waist this time and dragging them together again.

It wasn’t until that moment, as he tilted his head to rest on Katsuki’s chest, that he finally noticed. He shifted a little, looking down, and laughed when he saw Katsuki’s bare legs.

“I see you’ve got your priorities straight,” he teased.

“Damn right,” Katsuki grinned right back. “Alright, do the sappy shit. How was your day?”

“It was good! I got to hang out with Uraraka and Todoroki for lunch, we don’t often get time these days so that was really nice! Well, you know, except for the usual nagging. What are you guys and all that.”

Katsuki leaned back a little bit to get a good look at Izuku’s face, and whatever he found there, he seemed satisfied with it. Not that Izuku would ever expect him to not be. Everything about their lives together had become so... comfortable. They just fit together, like they were made to exist in each other’s space. He didn’t want to share his Kacchan with anyone else, and even though he didn’t say it out loud, he knew Katsuki felt the same.

“We’re us.”

Izuku froze. He had expected Katsuki to just roll his eyes, or hum understandingly – one of the usual responses – but that was... so much better.

“Yeah,” he agreed, his eyes a little watery as he ducked his head again, pressing his face into Katsuki’s shirt. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”