Katsuki and Eijirou are still new to sex, still figuring each other out. Katsuki slides in deeper, focused on not sparking the sheets into tatters instead of on the words spilling from his tongue. It isn’t until he feels Eijirou go rigid beneath him that he pauses. +

His eyes are wet with unshed tears and he won’t look at Katsuki.

“Shit, Ei, what’s wrong?”

Eijirou shakes his head, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

“Eijirou, fuck, talk to me. Is the angle wrong? Do I need to pull out? Is it-“ +

“It’s not you!” Eijirou says suddenly, still not looking Katsuki in the eye as he grits his teeth, trying not to cry.

Katsuki’s lost and he really doesn’t /do/ lost. “Then what’s wrong?”

“...‘s nothing...”

“It’s obviously not, you idiot!” +

“It’s stupid!” Eijirou yells back, suddenly staring hard and Katsuki can’t stand that look. He doesn’t know why there are tears in his boyfriend’s eyes and he fucking hates it.

“Ei,” he says, ignoring his first instinct to start a shouting match, “If it made you cry, +

then it’s not stupid.”

Eijirou’s glare managed to soften and widen at the same time and Katsuki made a note to ask how he’d managed that later. “You...” he swallowed and sighed quickly before rushing into an explanation, “Youcalledmeagoodboy.”

“Slower, fucker.” +

“You called me a good boy.”

Katsuki frowned and sat back, nearly forgetting his dick was buried in Ei’s ass still until they both hissed at the movement. Katsuki mumbled an apology before asking, “Why the fuck would that make you cry?” +

The pained look was back and Katsuki ran his hand along Eijirou’s sweaty forearm. It wasn’t especially gentle, but it made his boyfriend relax nonetheless.

“You know about my dad, yeah?” Eijirou mumbled, closing his eyes again and leaning into Katsuki’s calloused touch. +

“I told you I was going to track him down and tear him a new asshole for what he’s done to you!” Katsuki growled.

Eijirou choked a mirthless laugh and dropped his head back on his pillow. “Yeah, you did.” He turned his hand palm up and wiggled it into Katsuki’s. +

“He, uh... whenever he was done, he’d apologize and tell me I was a good boy.”

Katsuki couldn’t contain the seething rage that iced through his veins, chilling him and filling him with the need to explode something all at the same time. “God, Ei, I’m-“ +

“Don’t apologize, please.” Eijirou said suddenly, squeezing Katsuki’s warming hand tightly in his own, “You didn’t know.”

Katsuki bit his tongue and growled his frustration. “We’re going to sit down and we’re going to talk and when you’re ready, you’re going to tell me +

about any triggers you‘re aware of.”

This time Eijirou’s laugh was genuine, and his smile more so. “You’re so manly, Katsuki.”

“Shut up, idiot. Let me love you.”

+

Eventually they did talk, and Eijirou cried, and Katsuki listened.

And even though the past terrors and traumas were still there, and even though they’d likely always be there, Eijirou knew without a doubt that Katsuki would not be a cause of them.

(Tonight brought back some rough memories of my own, and sometimes you just need to project onto your favorite rowdy boys.)