The Story Of Forever (Todobaku)

Rise Above

Katsuki woke up with a full bladder and a myriad of questions.

First question: What the hell happened last night?

Second question: Why were he and Shouto holding hands?

He suppressed a squeak so he wouldn't wake Shouto up. The boy slept soundly, his cheek pressed into Katsuki's mattress, his right hand intertwined with Katsuki's left. Shouto's eyes were shielded by his disheveled bedhead, but Katsuki detected a slight smile tugging at that adorable pout.

The table lamp on his nightstand was still on, allowing him to check the time on his digital alarm clock. It was a little after midnight, far too early to experience serious heart palpitations. But with the closest thing to heaven holding his hand as he slumbered, Katsuki lost all self control. He wondered what Shouto dreamed about, if he even dreamed of anything. Selfishly, Katsuki wondered if he ever appeared in Shouto's dreams. Shouto certainly appeared in his.

Lying on his side, he crossed one leg over the other as the pressure on his bladder intensified. He couldn't hold out much longer, but he didn't want to get up. Katsuki was unsure how he and Shouto ended up like this, but the electricity shooting through his veins was too exhilarating to question.

God, Katsuki thought, he's too damn beautiful.

Unable to resist, he pushed Shouto's hair out of his face with his free hand. Shouto's sleepy smile deepened and Katsuki had to clench his jaw shut before he blurted out something he'd regret.

He traced his thumb from Shouto's hair to his cheek. Upon touching his porcelain skin, Katsuki frowned. Shouto was cold, brutally so. It made sense considering he fell asleep with no blanket. And, well, it's Shouto. Katsuki couldn't recall a time when his friend wasn't cold.

Maybe the desperation to not piss his pants wouldn't motivate him to get out of bed, but wanting to take care of Shouto would do the trick.

Reluctantly, Katsuki slipped his hand out of Shouto's grasp. Shouto stirred at the loss of contact, mumbling into Katsuki's comforter. It was so cute that Katsuki's chest ached. Still, he crawled backwards out of bed and swung around to help Shouto up.

The boy was dead weight, which would've been fine if he woke up the first five times Katsuki shook his shoulder. But when it became clear that Shouto wasn't budging, Katsuki rolled his eyes and stored as much energy in his legs as his still drunken state would allow. He bent down, scooped Shouto in his arms, and gently placed him in the bed Katsuki just slept in. Shouto didn't wake as Katsuki pulled the comforter up to his chin. Katsuki then grabbed a throw blanket from his closet and draped it over Shouto for added warmth.

As Katsuki tucked him in, Shouto's eyes fluttered open.

"Katsuki?" he mumbled.

Katsuki gave Shouto a soft smile and caressed his head. "Go back to sleep."

He straightened his posture and headed out of the room, but Shouto called after him.

"Where are you going?"

"Bathroom," Katsuki replied. "I'll be back."

Katsuki stayed true to his word. He returned to his bedroom with a new sense of relief, both from unloading his bladder and from having a brief moment away from Shouto. His sanity reached its limit the moment he woke up and noticed their linked hands.

Shouto opened his eyes again when Katsuki approached the futon beside his bed, the one Shouto was meant to sleep in. Katsuki shut off the bedside lamp before climbing in.

"Are you feeling better?" Shouto said.

Snippets of last night rushed to Katsuki's memory. That's right, he drank too much, cried until his head hurt, and puked his guts out. And throughout all the chaos, Shouto was at the center of it.