Chapter Text
He was in the middle of class when his hero alarm device rang, signaling that his help was needed. Without a moment's hesitation, he bolted out of his seat, grabbing his stuff in haste before immediately flying towards his agency. Bomb threat, again. The new heteromorph villains organization, again. Katsuki winced. He wasn't exactly a sympathiser to the cause, but he wished things were different, easier for both sides. Not ideal, but he could work with that.
Things didn't go as smoothly as planned.
Unlike in movies, it all happened in a split second. No slow-motion, no ominous silence followed by white noise. It was loud, messy, uncertain.
He was facing a villain; no older than seventeen, looking like any other teenage boy save for the elephant trunk in the middle of his face and the tears in his eyes. They weren't fighting, simply talking, arms raised to show they had no intention to harm each other. He had fought bigger guys before, put them on the ground until they were restrained, blasting them into the arms of another hero. This one seemed frail, young, almost harmless. Katsuki had practically convinced the boy to surrender when they felt the deflagration, more than heard it.
One moment, they were both on their knees, at the same eye level, almost touching; the next second, they were both flying off the ground, caught in the blast radius. It was ironic that an explosion could take him down so easily when they had become close to a second nature to him. As his head hit the ground, a loud cracking sound was heard, but he couldn't tell whether it came from his own head or the boy's, who was lying on his back in front of him.
The only thing he could hear was the regular drumming of his heart, feeling it in his stomach, his throat, his temples. It felt like vibrating out of his skin. He heard distant voices shouting, at him or someone else, he didn't know. Through his blurry vision, he could make out the face of a nurse he'd worked with plenty of times. Couldn't remember her name. Even her face seemed more like a distant memory, now. He drifted out of consciousness with cold hands framing his face and the reassuring knowledge that he was in good hands.
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Izuku was technically behind the wheel, but his mind was the one going miles an hour. No less than an hour ago, Katsuki had sent him a selfie in his hospital room with the caption "Boom boy has exploded. Feeling bored rn". The humorous nature of the text suggested everything was probably fine and there was no need to worry but he couldn't help it. It felt nostalgic, in a way, how his insides twisted, forming a knot of anxiety that only seeing Katsuki safe and sound could untangle.
He felt nervous, twitchy, eager to see Katsuki. He could already see the smirk forming on his face upon seeing his friend's state of worry. The hero would tease him but appease his anxiety nonetheless, he'd scoot over so they could sit side by side, and maybe Izuku could run a hand through his soft hair-
Stop that.
That was a recent obsession of his. Ever since they had talked things out, Izuku yearned. He felt hungry for something that wasn't his to take. It was starting to get overwhelming, how he couldn't keep his mind off Kacchan's slender fingers and how his calloused hands would feel in his, how gorgeous his hair looked under the sunlight but still wasn't as blinding as the timid smiles he occasionally let out.
The thing was, he had no right to feel like this. To want more. He'd been presented with that opportunity a long time ago but couldn't grasp it in time. Things had changed. Katsuki didn't want him like that anymore, did he?
His mind flashed recent memories of soft thumbs brushing his cheeks under the moonlight, late-night conversations and firm hands grabbing his waist to keep him from falling on the hard floor of the rink. Did that mean anything?
The trip to the hospital flew by and soon enough, he was knocking on the last door separating him from the blonde. He barely waited until the other man gave him an answer before barging in, antsy.
Katsuki sat over the white sheets, arms crossed over his chest. Gauze covered a good chunk of his face and stretched to the back of his head, where he had taken the hit. It wasn't that serious but the doctors wanted to keep an eye on him, given his medical history.
Izuku gasped. The sight felt eerily familiar, a blurry memory he'd tried to hide in the back of his mind, like hiding would somehow make it go away. His eyes burned, flashing images of that day after the war, when they woke up from the hospital. Suddenly, they were welling up, blurring even the visions his twisted mind was sending. It was unfair, really, the way he wasn't even able to appreciate the faint sun rays hitting the blonde's angelic face.
"Kacchan," he choked out, teardrops rolling down his cheeks.
Katsuki's eyebrows shot up in surprise, with a hint of panic.
"What-"
Izuku took two large steps before falling to his knees between the blonde's, giving in to his impulses and grabbing his slender hands.
"Are you okay?" he finally asked, voice heavy.
The older boy exhaled, hesitant, and brought the verdet's hands to the back of his head to feel the thin bandages.
"Doesn't hurt. It looks huge but I barely feel it."
Izuku's hands slid until they rested against the sides of Katsuki's face, stroking his cheeks with his thumbs.
"Stop crying, you big baby. Grown man weeping over a scratch," he teased.
The verdet chuckled, eyes still glossy, and buried his flushed face in the collar of the hero's hospital robes, palms sliding to the blonde's lap. Large hands found themselves tangled in his deep green hair, scratching his scalp and the back of his neck.
Katsuki wasn't stupid; he knew how to read signs. But he was impulsive and sometimes made foolish decisions. This one… maybe it wasn't so dumb.
He used the leverage he had on Izuku's hair to pull his head and crash their lips together. It wasn't the best position, honestly; it put a strain on Izuku's neck, and Katsuki's back was hunched up to the maximum. Their teeth clashed in a painful way, but it didn't matter in this instant. The only thing he could think of was Izuku. Izuku. Izuku. Izuku. His big eyes, his clumsy scarred hands, his cheap perfume. It sounded dumb, to be in love with little details like these. Because yes, it was love, even though he hadn't let himself think of that word in a long time.
The verdet broke away, lips as glossy as his eyes.
"Kacchan," he hiccuped. "I don't want to hurt you more than I already did."
They both knew he wasn't talking about the gauze covering the blonde's face.
What am I supposed to say, then? he thought. Didn't I hurt you too?.
He didn't say any of that, of course. They had already gone over this a thousand times.
"Then don't," he said instead, tucking a wild strand of hair behind his ear.
Izuku let out a breathless laugh and rose on his feet until he could sit next to Katsuki, one leg half-resting over his lap, before pulling him into another kiss — softer, this time. It wasn't anything like romance movies; no fireworks, no butterflies. It was more like two final puzzle pieces connecting, like taking a deep breath of fresh air, like beginning anew.
Izuku pressed tiny successive pecks over his lips before shifting to cover the rest of his face, from his flushed cheeks to his eyelids. Katsuki smiled despite himself. They really should've done this sooner. It felt freeing, like an invisible weight he didn't even know existed had finally left his shoulders. What he had been looking for all this time finally came true; the same unruly hair he had imagined, the same sea-green watery eyes and wobbly smile. Now that this weight was finally lifted, he couldn't remember a time when he'd felt like this.
Ever since Katsuki had apologized to him, back in high school, he was walking on eggshells. At first, he was simply overcautious not to fall back into his old idiosyncrasies and mistreat the verdet, then he'd been scared of drawing him away, and up until now he'd been overtaken by his internal voice. Don't fuck this up, again, it said. Or else, he'll be gone for good.
This voice was finally quiet now. With the certainty that the other man returned his feelings, his mind was pacified.
Katsuki wasn't a coward. There was no running away now.
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Katsuki tapped his fingers rhythmically against his wooden desk. His behavior earned him some annoyed stares from his classmates but he remained blind to them, eyes fixated on the teacher in front of him delivering a lecture. He hung from his rosy lips, inspecting the way he held himself, each of his animated movements, his tan skin and messy hair, his red and yellow tie that completely clashed with his navy blue suit, his blinding smile.
Deku and he had a date planned for the night. Well, was it really a date if they weren't going out? The verdet was supposed to join him in his medium-sized apartment for dinner — his signature dish and a finely chosen selection of movies on the menu. It was the first date they actually called "a date", since they had made things official. For the moment, they preferred to keep things low. No one was aware of their relationship save for their family — and therapists. They wanted to wait a little while, until Izuku got better, to announce it to their friends. Or at least, until Izuku wasn't his teacher anymore.
Said teacher dismissed the class and the hoard of students quickly departed, eager to go back home. Once the chatter went down and the last pair of friends passed the door on their way out, Katsuki came up to the desk. It was a habit of theirs, ever since they had met again; chatting after a long day, about everything and nothing at the same time. Things were roughly the same, now.
"Ready to get mind-blown by my five-star cooking?"
"You seem a bit too sure of yourself," Izuku teased.
"I'm simply well-aware of my skills, Sensei."
Izuku chuckled as Katsuki grabbed him by the tie, at ease, hidden behind the half-closed wooden door.
"This tie is ugly as hell," he laughed, before yanking on the red and yellow monstrosity, pulling the verdet into a kiss.
It felt like he would never get enough. Once he'd had a taste, on that fateful hospital day, he knew this was only the start of something addictive, something stronger than he was, invading his mind and filling his senses. He'd waited so long for Deku to be in his grasp. He wouldn't let go, now.
The door swung full open in a crash. Katsuki let go of Izuku's tie.
"...so stupid, I can't believe she would actually do something like that," a voice said.
The blonde hastily stepped back, cheeks flushed and lips glossy. He met curious eyes, two familiar pairs, the same ones they had seen while exiting the roller skating rink, Katsuki's classmates.
The shorter of the two looked away and quickly retrieved a water bottle he had forgotten under his desk before running towards the door, the other boy making a show of closing it. Before it finally shut, they both snorted upon hearing him mutter:
"Childhood friends, my ass."