please bear with me as i try my hand at third person omniscient. i used to be pretty good at it but i'm kind of out of practice, so it might feel more like random perspective changes. sorry >.<

---

It feels like an entire fucking century has passed when Katsuki regains consciousness, and the second he does, he's surprised. Surprised to actually be waking the fuck up. Surprised at how damn loud the thudding behind his ears is, at how hot he feels.

He lacks strength, though. His eyelids themselves feel about a thousand pounds each, and it takes an exhausting amount of effort to just barely crack them open.

Shit... he thinks. I'm fucking alive.

His next thought is Ei... where's Eijirou?

The room around him is unfamiliar, but it only takes a couple seconds to realize he's surrounded by the white walls of a shitty hospital room, on a too-hard hospital bed with something taped down to his left forearm. An IV. Of course.

With sandpaper eyes, he surveys the room—a door to the left, another that probably leads to a bathroom, a counter spanning the wall beside it, a bench built into the wall in front of him with a TV mounted above it. The window, overlooking something he can't see, is to his right, beneath it a small leather couch. And to the right of that is a matching chair, though it's what's in the chair that renders it important, seeing as it's directly to his right and he's forced to turn his head to see.

Eijirou's asleep in that chair, halfway curled up on his right side with a pillow in his arms. As usual, his dumb mouth hangs open and his breathing is light but audible. His hair's down, too, and splayed about behind him, tangled in a few places. Even asleep he looks exhausted, and it's only then that Katsuki remembers what happened, remembers how much he fucked up. Remembers why he's even here.

As much as he wants to wake Ei and demand to know what happened for sure, to know that all the people they were trying to save are safe, and to know that Eijirou himself is okay (or, okay enough—he's clearly been crying; the red-rimmed eyes give that away), he doesn't. It's something of a miracle that Ei is sleeping now, after everything. He's always been a bit of an insomniac, and stress is what keeps him up until Katsuki wakes to find him pacing around restlessly—too damn nice to wake Katsuki up in the first place—only to be pulled back into bed and soothed to sleep.

It's... probably only been a day, but Katsuki misses the silky feeling of Eijirou's stupid hair between his fingers. Misses his dumb warmth pressed against his back. Misses the color of his stupid fucking eyes.

Fucking gross...

As much as Katsuki might want to, he can't go back to sleep. He's too hot—but it's not a kind of hot that makes him sweat, that makes his quirk so much stronger. It's a heat radiating from the inside out; feels as if something is burning through his veins, eating away at his nerves. It's not unbearable. He's felt worse. Hell, the shitty puncture wounds and that damn gaping hole in his side were a hundred times worse, but he can't feel those now. Must be painkillers—the same damn things causing him to have those sappy-ass thoughts about his loser boyfriend.

So instead of sleeping, he watches the idiot in the corner who's very nearly snoring. Unusual, but not something that's never happened before. Eijirou only snores when he's really asleep, when something's exhausted him so much—like several long days of endless hero work when they barely had any time for themselves... or each other, outside of saving people, interviews, and other publicity bullshit that they can't even do together most of the time after having decided to keep their relationship private from the world.

Katsuki admittedly just wishes that Eijirou was asleep beside him, in his arms, instead of across the room.

Resigning himself to the fact that as long as he's in this shitty, too-hard bed with all sorts of shit hooked to him, he probably won't get to lay next to his Dumb Haired loser at all, Katsuki closes his eyes and chooses to listen to the soft, slow sound of Eijirou's breathing.

As he does so, his mind inevitably wanders back to what got him where he is in the first place. Back to the mysterious villain who popped up out of nowhere and managed to cause the entire city to go on lockdown because of her quirk—one that Katsuki still doesn't understand, but one he regrets underestimating. Blood loss may have left his memory fuzzy, but he'll never forget those hideous tentacle-looking things coming out of her wrists—the things that'd put four puncture wounds in his chest and stomach and had ripped his fucking side apart as he dodged a piece of concrete being hurled at him.

She hadn't been that impressive, and it'd only taken two giant blasts to take her down in the end. Yeah, she'd been fast and somehow those fucking tentacles were strong enough to rip up the sidewalk, but she had no strategy and relied entirely on offense, leaving her open for the blasts that took her down. (Blasts he'd been forced to use directly from his palms after his grenade gauntlets were destroyed, but the strain on his arms was a small price to pay for taking her out.)

Yet even with her lack of defense and strategy, she managed to put him in a damn hospital bed...

It isn't long before the redhead stirs, though, and when he does Katsuki opens his eyes to see Eijirou's open to two different sizes as he's sitting up, his hair a mess and pillow wrinkles on his cheek. That sight alone tugs at the blonde's heart, which sort of makes him want to puke at how sappy being with Dumb Hair has made him.

"Hey, loser," he manages in a scratchy voice, bringing to his attention how thirsty he is.

Ei's eyes land on his immediately and widen. "Katsuki, hey," he says in a sleepy, scratchy voice that tugs a slight half smile from the one he addresses. "How long have you been awake?"

"Few minutes."

Eijirou is at his side in the next second, looking him over with those red-rimmed, sleepy eyes. "Yeah? You feelin' any better?"

"What d'you mean 'better'?"

"You woke up a couple times and said you were in some pain," Ei explains. "I had the nurse give you some more pain meds. Guess you don't remember it."

"Nope."

"'S okay. You were pretty out of it, anyway, and you were only awake for a minute or so. So you're not in pain anymore?"

"No, but 'm hot as fuck."

Wordlessly, Ei gently presses a gentle hand against Katsuki's forehead and frowns. "Really? You don't feel warm."

"'S like on the inside," Katsuki explains. "'M also fuckin' thirsty."

"'Kay. Think you're okay to sit up?"

"Yeah."

Eijirou reaches for a remote that's connected to the bed and presses a button, causing it to move beneath Katsuki and sit him up as Eijirou shuffles to the sink, tugs a paper cup from a dispenser beside it, and fills it before taking it back. Katsuki mutters his thanks as he accepts it and lifts it to his lips.

"So how long's it been, anyway?" Katsuki asks in a less scratchy voice than before.

"Almost two days," Eijirou tells him. "They said you might sleep for quite a while as your body works on healing."

"...hmm."

"Are you sure you feel okay?" Ei asks again.

"I feel about as okay as I'm gonna get right now," Katsuki tells him. "Since that fucker tore a hole through me."

After Ei has pulled the chair he'd slept in forward and sat in it, he mumbles, "So you remember it?" He doesn't meet Katsuki's eyes when he says this.

"Yeah. What, you expect me to have some kind of bullshit amnesia?"

"Nah, I was just kinda hoping maybe you'd be spared from dealing with that, ya know?"

"Hmph. At least this way I get to remember blowing her to a fucking crisp," Katsuki practically growls. "But everyone got out of the apartment building she was holding hostage okay, right? And the city isn't on lockdown anymore, is it?"

"Nope. Everything's pretty much back to normal, and everyone made it out safe."

"Good. So they know her motives yet or what?"

Eijirou shakes his head slightly. "Uh uh. They don't know who she was or where she came from or anything. I heard some of the other pros say it's like she just popped into existence and started wreaking havoc for no reason. None of the witnesses know anything, either."

"Great," Katsuki drawls sarcastically. "It's bad enough that she fucked me over, and now she's just some shitty Jane Doe. Wasn't even someone of note who managed to put me here... fucking figures."

All Eijirou can seem to do is give Katsuki a mildly sympathetic look, but the blonde hates it, so he brushes it off. "Whatever. At least everyone's got out okay."

"Yeah," Ei agrees quietly. "I mean, except for you..." Ei's eyes point downward as he trails off.

"What?" Katsuki mumbles.

"What what?" Ei asks, meeting his eyes again.

"Why the fuck do you look all guilty 'nd shit?"

"'Cause," Eijirou begins slowly, "I kinda can't help but think if I'd been there, you'd be okay right now. If I hadn't left you—"

Katsuki reaches out and snatches the other by the jaw, his fingers squishing Eijirou's cheeks forward a bit and cutting him off mid-sentence. As expected, the redhead's eyes widen and lock with Katsuki's.

"If you'd been there, you might have gotten hurt, and I couldn't fuckin' live with myself if I let that happen. You did what you were supposed to do, and that was save the damn apartment building full of innocent people, and you prevented any of them from getting hurt, too. Don't go actin' like this shit is your fault, Eijirou, or I'll blow your dumb hair off."

In his hand, Katsuki feels Eijirou's jaw clench just before he relents, reaching up to remove the hand from his face. Katsuki allows it, and he fully accepts the soft fingers threading gently between his.

"I just feel like shit 'cause I wasn't there to protect you, Katsuki," Eijirou murmurs. "And I know your Quirk was a lot more effective against her than mine, but maybe I could've protected you since my Quirk's really good at defense."

"Yeah, or maybe you'd have gotten hurt and be where I am now. Or maybe both of us would be, and then you'd really feel like shit. So stop fucking blaming yourself 'cause there isn't shit you can do about it now."

Ei's eyes narrow, but he says nothing further. To change the subject, Katsuki holds out his cup. "Can I have some more water or what?"

"Yeah, of course." Just as Eijirou's standing up to do as asked, he begins to remove his hand from the other's but is suddenly yanked back; he turns, blinking down in confusion at his suddenly very frowning boyfriend. "Katsuki?"

"What the fuck is up with your arm?" Katsuki asks, jerking his chin towards the redhead's right arm. Eijirou turns back, holding it out for Katsuki to see—to take in the medical tape holding down a cotton ball on his inner elbow.

"Oh, this? 'S nothing."

"Nothing my ass," Katsuki hisses. "Explain."

"...it's just that you lost a lotta blood, Katsuki, and you've got a rare blood type. And since my type is compatible with anyone and you needed some, I volunteered."

For the first time, Katsuki looks—really looks—down at the IV needle taped to his arm. His eyes follow the tube up and up where several bags hang. One is half empty of an unmistakable thick, dark red liquid.

"How much did you give?" Katsuki grits out through his teeth.

"Just a couple pints. Nothin' extreme."

Though he's still tense, Katsuki's fingers gently squeeze around Eijirou's. "...thanks," he mumbles, relenting.

For the first time since waking up, Ei grins. It's tired, and it doesn't quite light his eyes up the way Katsuki's so used to, but nonetheless it's fucking beautiful. "Anything  you need, Katsuki."

Katsuki's still in the middle of rolling his eyes when Ei gently tugs his hand away to refill the cup. When he turns back it's to find Katsuki staring down the front of the hospital gown he'd been changed into.

His entire torso, Katsuki sees, is covered in bandages from his hips all the way up to under his arms. They'd wrapped what looks like gauze all around him over and over, as well as taped a square of it over the right side of his chest. There are a few bloodstains here and there beneath them, though where he knows it's the worst—on his left side, at the bottom of his ribcage—they're clean.

Somehow, just seeing the shitty, slightly blood stained bandages makes him feel even hotter.

"...she got you pretty good," Eijirou says quietly from in front of the sink.

"Yeah," Katsuki replies, just as soft. "Did they tell you how bad the damage is?" He releases the hem of the gown and looks back up at the other; any and all traces of that one small smile have vanished.

"Pretty bad. You got three puncture wounds in your stomach and one in your chest, I guess from her tentacles, but they're not super deep so your organs are alright. But... your side was really torn up." Eijirou can't mask the crack in his voice despite the attempt to by clearing his throat. "I mean, really, Katsuki. Down to the bone. Your muscles and skin were just... shot. Like somebody took a bite out of you or something."

Ei's stupid voice is shaking now, and the water ripples in his hand. And fuck does Katsuki want to be able to just stand up, wrap the little fucker in his arms until he's okay again because it hurts like fucking hell to see Eijirou in so much pain, to see those brilliant goddamn eyes of his glossy with tears.

But because he's currently a damn cripple, he has to settle for words—which fucking sucks, because Bakugou Katsuki is shit with words.

"Hey. Don't go fuckin' crying on me, idiot," he says. "C'mere."

"'M not crying," Eijirou mumbles, quickly swiping at his eyes. He moves towards Katsuki anyway, discarding the water on the counter as he does so.

"Yeah you are, idiot," Katsuki says. "And those ain't even manly tears. I'm not fuckin' dying, okay? I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." He takes Eijirou's hand—his big, dumb, soft hand and pulls the redhead close, turning his wrist to press the other's palm against his chest, right over his heartbeat. By then he's got Eijirou's full attention; the dummy's eyes are locked right on Katsuki's, their faces mere inches apart. And tears have made wet trails down those soft cheeks. "This is part of what being a hero is all about, Ei. We all get hurt sometimes. So we just get better so we can get back to business. 'S not a big deal. Got it?"

Eijirou's nod is there, but it's hesitant. The only thing Katsuki can think of to do at this point is wrap a hand around the back of the redhead's neck and pull him forward to fervently press his lips against the other's. Ei's never been one to reject kisses, so it's no surprise when he leans in further, his fingers curling around the fabric between his palm and Katsuki's chest. Evidently he's gentle, though, and completely aware of Katsuki's injuries.

Injuries that, after only having been up for ten minutes or so, have already caught up to Katsuki and have drained what little energy all that damn sleep had given him. He allows Eijirou to be the one to end the kiss, but he doesn't pull away when their lips have parted.

"Just... try not to scare me like that again, okay?" the redhead murmurs, forehead resting against Katsuki's without opening his eyes. "'Cause I was seriously scared for a while there that you were gonna die, and I really didn't know how to handle it."

"...yeah, alright. I'll do my best."

Eijirou's smile—that stupid crooked, half grin thing that makes Katsuki weak at the fucking knees—returns, and he presses another soft kiss to the blonde's lips before pulling away and offering the cup of water back out, which Katsuki accepts and sips at, trying to savor it more than the last.

⚜️

Later that evening, after being checked up on by doctors (that Katsuki doesn't bother to remember the names of) and being allowed to eat once they see how strong he is—even with the wounds he's got—Ei makes sure it's okay with the hospital staff that they have a few more visitors.

"Who the fuck is coming?" Katsuki grumbles, glaring at the redhead, annoyed he wasn't even asked if it's okay.

"Not sure yet. Midoriya, Kaminari, and Ashido for sure, but Uraraka and Sero might come, too."

"And I don't get a say in this shit?"

Ei blinks up at him from his phone. "Of course you do, Katsuki. Sorry. It's just that they've been really worried about you and they wanna see for themselves that you're okay."

Katsuki's eyes cut back over to the TV he'd been staring at as he grumbles a "whatever."

Eijirou knows Katsuki is trying to pretend his face isn't warming and that the tips of his ears aren't turning red, and it makes him smile to see the slight embarrassment.

After shooting Midoriya a quick 'okay' text, Ei sets his phone aside and takes Katsuki's hand again. "Even though you're kind of a pain in the ass sometimes, your friends still care about you, man," he tells the blonde. "We all do."

"Hmph. If I'm such a pain in the ass, why the fuck are you still with me? Especially after eight fucking years?"

"'Cause you're my pain in the ass, and I love you," the redhead says smoothly.

"You're..." Katsuki's forehead is furrowed in a deep scowl, but even his cheeks have taken on a beautiful rosy hue now that Eijirou can't tear his eyes from—doesn't want to look away from. "You're a loser," he finishes in a mumble.

Eijirou chuckles as he presses a kiss to Katsuki's knuckles. He loves that after so much time he can still make Katsuki blush like this, he can still embarrass him to the point of stumbling over his words. It's not often, and Eijirou suspects that this time it has something to do with the painkillers running through his system, but it makes his day nevertheless.

"What the fuck are you laughing about?!" Katsuki half-yells.

"Shh!" Eijirou is quick to hush. "C'mon, man, we're in a hospital. You shouldn't yell."

Unsurprisingly, Katsuki ignores him. "Answer the damn question, Eijirou."

"I'm laughing 'cause you're cute," Ei tells him. "And you make me happy."

Katsuki feels like he's about to fucking explode with the damn heat that's flooded his face, but Eijirou's big, stupid eyes are shining; it's such a contrast from the pain they held just hours before that Katsuki physically can't be irritated with him.

"So then why the fuck are you way over there instead of over here kissing me?" he mutters.

"I didn't know you wanted a kiss," Ei tells him, his grin spreading so wide it scrunches his eyes and causes Katsuki's stomach to flop. The redhead wastes no time leaning across the bed to capture Katsuki's lips in a soft, quick kiss.

When he's leaning back, the blonde catches the front of his shirt. "Who said you were done, Dumb Hair?"

"Wha— mmph!" Eijirou's question is cut off and muffled by Katsuki's mouth again as he's yanked forward hard enough to cause him to lose his balance, forcing him to steady himself by scrambling to latch onto Katsuki's knees.

Clearly, by the way his hand slides around Eijirou's neck and his lips are fervent—almost urgent and demanding—Katsuki has more in mind than just a kiss. Elated, Eijirou follows his lead; though with the way Katsuki is practically dragging him onto the bed in front of him, he can't really help but comply.

But Eijirou has always loved kissing Katsuki—from the first time their mouths had mashed awkwardly together all those years ago when they'd been sitting on the floor of Katsuki's room, it'd become one of the top things on his list of favorite things ever, right up there with the blonde's fingers tugging affectionately through his hair—the way they are now—and listening to the steady beating of his heart before falling asleep, even if it meant waking up with a stiff neck. Most of Eijirou's favorite things anymore have to do with Katsuki, but really, after eight of the happiest years of his life, he wouldn't have it any other way.

They both nearly lose track of time and their surroundings in those few moments of warm intimacy (but Eijirou doesn't mind after having gone a couple of days without being able to be with Katsuki like this, while watching him sleep with skin shiny with sweat and constantly worrying about him) to the point where neither of them hear the knock at the door or the click as the knob is turned. It isn't until a familiar voice rings out that Eijirou practically jerks back, embarrassed.

"Oh shit, my virgin eyes!" Kaminari's shouting, dramatically pressing his hands to his face and peeking between his fingers.

"Whoa, we interrupting something?" Sero pipes up from behind him, grinning mischievously.

"Go away, losers, we're busy," Katsuki grumbles, not even bothering to glance in their direction.

"Well shoot, guess you are doing pretty good," says Sero. "Should we... ya know, come back?" he jokes.

"Nope, you're good," Eijirou tells them. "Sorry 'bout that, guys."

"Were you guys, like, about to do it on a freaking hospital bed?!" Ashido practically shrieks as she wedges her way between the two in front of her.

"No! Of course not!" Ei defends quickly. "That's gross! Plus, Katsuki's still hurt."

"Sure about that?" Kaminari asks, incredulous. "'Cause it looks to me like you guys were gettin' pretty comfy."

"Shut the fuck up, Light Socket," Katsuki grumbles. "'S none of your business what we were doing."

"Aw c'mon, Blasty, you know we're only joking," Sero says with his usual grin.

"Hey, so where's Midoriya?" Eijirou asks, averting the subject matter.

"He had to piss," Kaminari says casually. "But he'll be happy to know Bakugou's feelin' good enough to be getting it on," he continues, waggling his eyebrows.

"How many times do I have to tell you to shut that hole in your fucking face?" Katsuki shoots back at him.

"We were just kissing, anyway," Kirishima tells them as he reluctantly slides off of the bed. Katsuki keeps hold of his hand, though, and he settles back in his chair.

"Please, you two were practically making out like teenagers," Sero teases.

"I think it's cute, guys," Ashido says with sparkling eyes. "It makes me really happy that you guys are still together after so long. Like high school sweethearts! I kinda thought that was only something that happened in movies and stuff."

"So what, did you shitheads come to fuckin' tease us or what? 'Cause I'm seriously not in the mood," Katsuki grumbles.

"You're never in the mood," Kaminari says. "And nah, we really did come to make sure you're okay, man. I think the news made your injuries seem a lot worse than they are, though, 'cause you look pretty much fine to me."

Glaring, Katsuki yanks up the front of the shitty hospital gown he's apparently not allowed to change out of, revealing the thick, slightly blood stained bandages concealing most of his torso. "This look 'pretty much fine' to you?" he hisses.

The mood in the room takes a hard left, and each of the smiling faces instantly fall. Eijirou doesn't even look. It's only been a few seconds before the door starts to ease open again and a greenish head of hair pokes in.

"Can I come in?" Midoriya asks.

"Yeah man, c'mon," Eijirou says, happy for a change of focus.

By the time Midoriya has stepped in and shut the door in his wake, Katsuki has already dropped the fabric and hidden the bandages again.

The others don't stay very long, and Eijirou can't blame them—Katsuki's grumpier than usual, but no one can really blame him, not after what he's been through. Eijirou's the one to recount the events to them and can identify easily with their looks of shock and horror when he tells them the extent of the damage to Katsuki's body.

It's only an hour or so later and long after the conversation about Katsuki's injuries when they decide to go, saying they have things they need to get back to at home and such. Eijirou sees them out by walking them to the elevators.

"Man, sometimes I forget how strong Bakugou really is," Kaminari's saying as they walk. "Like, I don't know if I could take damage that bad and still have so much energy like he does."

"Me either," Ashido murmurs. "D'you think maybe he was downplaying it just a little? I mean, he didn't seem like he was in any pain at all, but knowing what's under those bandages..." She trails off, shaking her head as though unable to fully fathom it.

"That's what I'm worried about," Eijirou tells them.

"He doesn't like to worry you," Midoriya chimes in, his big eyes trained right on the redhead.

"I know." Eijirou finds some semblance of a grin as one of the elevators lights up and the door slides open. "I'll see you guys later, alright? I'll keep in touch and let you know if anything happens, but I think I heard the doctors saying they'll probably let him go home within a day or two."

"Take care, Kiri," Kaminari says, holding out his hand for a fist bump. With a couple more from Midoriya and Sero and a light hug from Ashido, the others shuffle into the elevator. Eijirou doesn't wait for the door to close before he heads back to Katsuki.

When he gets back, Katsuki has reclined his bed a bit, lying in one of his usual positions with a knee propped up and a hand behind his head, the other slung almost carelessly across his torso. He doesn't seem to hear Eijirou return, though, because he jumps a little when the door clicks shut and his head snaps back in the redhead's direction.

"You doin' okay?" Eijirou asks.

"Yeah."

"You sure?" Ei asks as he saunters into the room. "You'd tell me if you're in pain, right?"

"Yes, idiot," the blonde grumbles. "Right now I'm just pissed 'cause I'm tired and I wanna go the fuck home."

"Well I can't help you with the second one, but if you're tired you should sleep, especially 'cause it'll help you get better quicker."

"Hmph. That's the weird part, 'cause I feel fine. 'Cept for this fucking heat."

"Whattaya mean?"

"I already told you I feel hot."

"That hasn't gone away?"

"Nope."

"Have you told the nurses?"

"Yeah. They said it's a slight fever and it'll go away soon or whatever..." he mumbles, but his eyes retreat back toward the window, his jaw stiff, like he doesn't believe them.

"Well I mean, you've been movin' around a lot since you woke up. Your body's probably just trying to keep up with you. I think sleep will probably help," Ei presses. By then he's sunk back down into the cushion of the chair, and he's trying to keep the worry he knows Katsuki hates out of his gaze, but it's hard. His stomach has been tight since the minute he saw Katsuki, facedown on the sidewalk in a growing puddle of his own blood.

"...yeah," Katsuki says quietly, "you're probably right."

Eijirou's instinct is to smile in relief that Katuski's finally agreed, but the blonde sounds so unlike himself in that one simple sentence that the knot in his stomach tightens with worry.

Neither of them say much more as Katsuki reclines himself a bit until he's comfortable. Eijirou asks if he wants the blankets, and he declines, saying he feels too hot.

"I'll be right here, alright?" the redhead says, gesturing over his shoulder at his chair.

"'M not a fuckin' baby, Ei," Katsuki grumbles. His eyes are already closed, his breathing light.

"Nah, of course you're not, 'cause you saved a bunch of people the other day. You're a hero."

Katsuki grunts as Eijirou leans down, gently pushing the hair over the blonde's forehead back to press a kiss to it. Katsuki's eyes crack open again when he feels it and then he's reaching up, wrapping a fist around Eijirou's collar and pulling his mouth down to his lips instead, kissing him long and deep until he's forced to come up for air.

"Man, you're super affectionate today," Eijirou murmurs, grinning and still close enough to be speaking lightly against Katsuki's lips.

"Got a problem with it?" Katsuki asks. Eijirou knows he meant for it to come out as one of his usual grumbles, but it doesn't.

"Not at all." Ei kisses him again, gentler and shorter, before standing up again and tugging his hand lightly through Katsuki's hair. When the blonde relaxes under the touch, his eyes falling slowly closed again, Eijirou says, "Want me to stay here till you fall asleep?"

Katsuki's responding hum is one of affirmation, so Eijirou stays, gently pulling his fingers through the fluff of blonde that is Katsuki's hair for a while until he knows the other has fallen asleep. And he thinks as he does so, leaving his gaze resting on the other's relaxed features, that Katsuki doesn't feel warm. He doesn't really feel warm at all. He feels cold. Too cold. And it isn't easy for Eijirou to swallow past the growing lump in his throat.

---

...yes, this can absolutely be considered the calm before the storm. whoops?