Chapter Text
[The Last Time]
Bakugo gets no sleep that night.
He’s roams around the city until sunrise. Eventually, he sends off a single text.
Like hell he’s going back to their apartment. Not now. Maybe not fucking ever.
As soon as he gets a text back, he turns on his heel and heads to one specific coffee shop. The only one that serves coffee strong enough to wake him up.
Before he knows it, his old man’s sliding into the opposite side of the booth. “Hey…,” the man opens with, looking spooked. Bakugo nods in response. Pressing his lips together in hesitation, Masaru tries, “What’s going on, Katsuki? You never send texts like that.”
It’s true. Never in his life has he involved his parents in his bullshit.
Bakugo takes a deep breath. “How do you get over feelings?” There. He asked.
“Feelings?” His dad pushes up his glasses.
“Yeah,” he admits, annoyed already. “If you’re in love with someone, you old geezer! How the fuck do you get over it?!”
The man is confused out of his mind. Eventually, he snaps out of it and tries, “I-I have no idea. I guess with enough time you—“
Time?! Bakugo snaps his head up. “It’s been years, Dad!” It must be obvious just by how close he is to actually breaking down over this. “At this rate, I’m never gonna get over it.”
Masaru blinks. “Kats, what’s going on?”
Seeing as he literally has nothing to lose anymore, Bakugo explains everything, up to last night, when he finally told Izuku what he felt after years of stupidly pining… only to be laughed at.
To his credit, the blonde doesn’t flinch once while telling it.
When he’s done, his dad nods slowly. “It’s always been Izuku…” is the first thing he says.
Those four words alone make Bakugo’s eyes sting. He frowns and looks away, “Don’t fucking say it like that.”
Great. Now his dad’s realized he’s two seconds away from crying like a stupid little dork. Fucking amazing. “Laughing at you doesn’t sound like something Izuku would do.”
Bakugo huffs. “Well, he did. You calling me a liar?”
“I’m saying there must be something more to—“ the man tries, to no avail.
He holds up a hand, “I don’t care anymore.” He slumps his shoulders. “I’m done doing nothing. I need to get over it and move on.”
Masaru thinks for a second, twiddling his thumbs. “There’s something you could try… but I don’t know if that’s what you want.” Bakugo looks up, desperate. “Distance,” his dad states. “No chatting, no texting. Time can heal your hand if you accidentally stick it in a blender once, but not if you keep it inside the blender indefinitely.”
Shit. This isn’t what he wanted to hear. “We wouldn’t even be friends…” he realizes, turning his eyes back to his cup.
“We won’t know until we know,” his dad says. It’s his reassuring way of saying, ‘you’re fucked.’
Finally, after a sleepless night and a revelation that suddenly changed everything about his fucking life… Bakugo feels the weight of it. His lip trembles. “Why did I have to feel like this?”
The old man sighs, moving to sit beside him, pulling him in immediately.
“Get off of me, asshole,” he protests, but he doesn’t move. His breathing is getting out of control. It’s honestly embarrassing that he’s so affected by something so stupidly meaningless.
“You’re strong, Katsuki.” For once, his dad is talking a bunch of bullshit on that one. “You can work through this and come out on the other side stronger. As always.”
He’s only ever felt strong beside…
Bakugo sighs as he takes the stairs up to the third floor.
He needs his clothes, his suit, his stuff… if he has to share one more thing with that old hag, he’s gonna lose it. That’s the only reason he’s even here.
There should be no one home, at least.
It’s been two nights since the stupid drunken incident. He’d genuinely expected to find nothing out of place.
Instead, the moment his key slot into the door, the thing swings open before he gets a chance to unlock it. “Kacchan?!” A mix of relief and anger rolls off Izuku in waves.
The embarrassment that washes over Bakugo has him gritting his teeth. He just needs to focus and get the hell out. “Hey,” he deadpans, shoving past Deku.
“Hey?!” Izuku demands. “After three days and not answering your phone, you’re just gonna say hey?! You had me worried sick! I thought you died! I called every hospital in town!” The impending tears are audible.
Bakugo doesn’t flinch. He moves to take mental notes of what’s his for the movers.
“Hey!” The nerd comes between him and the shelf. “Look at me! What’s going on? Where were you!?”
He stares at Izuku, motionless. The guy looks like he hasn’t slept the last couple nights. He’s pale, hair sticking out, heavy bags under his eyes that are very clearly red-rimmed. The sight does tug at his chest, but he squashes the feeling down like a fucking cockroach.
With a genuine snarl, he replies, “It’s none of your damned business.”
Widening his eyes in disbelief, Deku scoffs. “Are you kidding?! It IS my business! I’m your best friend! Where were you?!”
What a bunch of fucking bullshit. Bakugo shoves past him again, heading to his room. He’s done with this little reunion. “What does it matter if I was out with friends, or my parents, or some fucking chick I picked up?! I was out, now I’m back, that’s all that matters!”
Coming close behind him, Izuku reels when he hears that. “What?” Apparently, something about what he said had the fucking asshole upset. Aw, did his feelings get hurt now? “You… went out to pick up chicks?”
Really? This is what has him pissed? “You’re shocked now? You’re the one always nagging me about dating, aren’t you? If you get to date around, why don’t I?” The nerd looks honestly lost. “What—did you think I was gonna wait for you forever?! Fuck you!”
Izuku blinks, “W-wait for me?! What are you talking about?!”
This stupid conversation is going nowhere. And from where he is, pulling out clothes to pack, he catches the way Deku’s holding himself up against the doorframe, like he’s two seconds away from collapsing.
What do they have to lose, right? “The stupid conversation we had when you came home drunk three nights ago. Remember that?!”
Eyes searching the air, Deku frowns. “I don’t remember talking to you.”
Bakugo freezes, shirt still in his hand. “What?”
“I…” Izuku swallows loudly, like he does when he’s terrified. “I can’t remember anything after I left the bar.” His voice is panicked now. “What did I say? What did I do to you?!”
Izuku doesn’t know about the confession. He doesn’t know anything. Bakugo could play it cool right now and things could go back to how they were…
But he’s tired of this, dammit. He can’t take another billion years of begging for nothing just to be laughed at again at the end. “We argued,” he explains. “You pressed me about why I refused to date people. You wouldn’t shut up so I told you why.”
Bakugo can feel it all over again. The warmth spreading over his face, the way his hands are producing little sparks…
On his part, the nerd just stares.
With one last breath, Bakugo exhales slowly before explaining. “It’s because I’m in love with you, Izuku.” Immediately, green eyes go wide. “Have been for years.” There. He said it. Again. “You laughed in my face and said ‘yeah right’ before slamming your door in my face.”
The effect is immediate. Izuku’s eyes get watery quick, and the bastard walks in the room. “Kacchan, it’s not what you think—“
“It’s exactly what I think.” Bakugo deflates. He doesn’t need to be let down easy, dammit. “I don’t give two shits, I’m not trying to force you. But I can’t live here like this.” As he says this, he drops the shirts in his hand on top of the bag.
That’s when Izuku understands what this is all really about. “Nonono, you don’t understand—“ Bakugo just rolls his eyes, turning to his closet to focus. “Kacchan!” The nerd grabs onto his shirt with a death grip. “I thought it was a dream!”
”…What?”
Deku does his best to explain. “That’s why I didn’t remember—You—When you said it—I just—I thought, yeah right, never in a million years—I just thought I was dreaming and it wasn’t real!”
That… sounds plausible. The nerd sleepwalks a lot.
Still. It doesn’t change anything. “Great. Whatever. The point is—“
“The point is—!” Izuku interrupts louder. As soon as Bakugo turns to look at him though, he balks. As he tries to get something out, his other hand reaches out to grab his shirt, too. His throat clicks before admitting, “I’m in love with you, too.” And then, the dam breaks. “I swear… nobody I ever date compares to you, I keep trying—! I thought if I just kept trying we could keep being friends forever and things would be fine!”
Wait… what? What?!
The tears of desperation rolling down Izuku’s cheeks are the tipping point.
Bakugo’s heart starts kicking at his chest erratically. “You never said…” he whispers.
“I just assumed…” he admits, apologetically. “I still remember that time I asked if you would ever date me if you were a girl and you said never in a million years.”
That… that’s what he’s going off of?! A stupid mistake Bakugo made nearly a decade ago?! That’s not what he’d meant to say!
Izuku looks down, leaning his head softly against Bakugo’s chest. “I’m so sorry…” he pleads. “Please don’t leave.”
It feels like he’s finally coming out to breathe after three days underwater. He moves instinctively, hugging Izuku close. “Fuck…” is all he can say.
That was too fucking close…
It takes a good while before they can move. They stay there, swaying, until their heartbeats have slowed down.
They went from shock to holy-shit territory pretty fucking quick.
They’re both sitting at the edge of his bed now. Just staring at the floor like zoning out is gonna magically clarify everything.
“You scared me,” Izuku says, voice raspy.
Well, “You scared me.” Bakugo wasn’t scared at all though, he was pissed as all fuck.
Deku turns to look at him, “Where were you?”
Sulking in his childhood room and wondering when he got the stupid fucking idea to fall in love with a nerd. “With my parents,” he actually says. “I needed time to not kill you.”
After a heavy sigh, Izu presses his lips together. “I’m so sorry, Kacchan.” The dork sounds genuinely upset still.
“You were drunk…” Bakugo reminds him. “I shouldn’t have taken it so seriously.” He was just butthurt, and that’s why he ran out like a moron.
Deku huffs, “If the roles were reversed, I would’ve never shown my face near you ever again.” Well… that was the initial plan. How was he supposed to know this nerd was gonna be camped out in their apartment instead of going to work?!
Bakugo swallows. “We’re both idiots… I don’t know why I didn’t just tell you before. Just to get it over with.”
“Yeah…” Izu nods, pensive. “I should’ve just said something… I wasn’t ever planning to do anything about it if you didn’t want it. It would’ve changed nothing between us. I don’t know why…”
Pondering this, the blonde agrees. “You’re right. It’s more your fault than mine,” he says with a smirk.
“Hey!” Izuku scoffs, slapping his arm in protest.
Their eyes meet after that, and they just stare their fill.
Shit…
Every goddamned time this happened before, when their eyes met like they were in some intense telenovela, Bakugo swore that if he ever got the chance… then…
“Go out with me,” he demands, hands gripping the mattress for dear life. Izuku’s smile slowly grows. “Right now.”
Turning to face Bakugo, wide green eyes stare back in awe. “You’re serious?!”
“Dead fucking serious.” He’d meant to sarcastically say ‘obviously’ but this nerd had this weird effect on him.
Nodding frantically, Deku confirms, “Yes!”
Yes. The shiver that runs down Bakugo’s spine is unlike anything he’s ever felt before. And he’s already died once.
In his hazy stupid brain, he decides he can reach a hand out, just a couple inches. Enough to put it on Izuku’s and see what would happen. Bakugo gulps, feeling his face get warmer already. His hand twitches and starts moving slowly when—
Deku jumps up, “I need to shower!” The worst fucking timing.
He’s not gonna argue about the shower, though. “I leave for two days and suddenly you’re a mess.” A mess that barely slept thinking something had happened to his best friend.
Idiot.
Sitting down again, a lot closer, Izuku bumps their shoulders together. “Never do that again,” he pleads, hand falling over his.
Well, shit. “Promise.”
Grinning widely, the nerd takes that as enough to let go of the panic of a few minutes ago. “Meet back here in half an hour, yeah? Gotta dress up if this is our first official date!”
Dress up, huh? Bakugo grins, looking down at the floor. “Dork.”
Izuku nudges their feet together, prompting Bakugo to look up. “Why are you nervous?” he asks softly, smiling. “It’s just me, Kacchan. I’m not gonna judge you.”
Judge?! “I’m not afraid that you’re gonna judge me, you idiot!” The blonde wipes his hands on his pants for the millionth time tonight. “If anything, I have way more to judge than you do!” Izuku rolls his eyes, taking a sip of wine. “You’re so pretentious for drinking wine.”
“Like you aren’t, Mr. I-want-my-whiskey-neat?” Deku’s smirk is enough to relax Bakugo a little. At least enough that his scowl seemed less murderous than usual. “Why are you nervous?” he asks again.
Bakugo scoffs, “I’m not—“
But he can’t argue with this nerd. Not on shit like this. “Don’t even try.” Resting his head on one hand, he smirks. “It’s me, remember? I have your facial expressions memorized and classified in a notebook somewhere.”
The stalker-admission was equal parts flattering and annoying as fuck. “Creep,” he huffs. It’s definitely NOT cute to do shit like that. Back to the point, though, he sighs. “I’ve never done this before, remember?”
Green eyes widen. “Oh…” Izu blinks. “I forgot.”
And just like that, the conversation dies down. They both stare at each other awkwardly. Suddenly, the fucking tablecloth seems really interesting.
Gulping, Bakugo asks a defensive, “So what the hell do you do in these? What am I supposed to be doing?”
For some reason, Izuku finds the question hilarious. Bakugo was two seconds away from blasting his face off when he clarifies. “It’s just a date, Kacchan.” He shrugs. “We’re supposed to talk, have a good time, get to know each other a little better.”
Get to know each other?! “I could list each and every pair of underwear you own ‘cause I fold it weekly. I think I know you well enough.”
Izuku smirks. “Creep.”
This bastard.
Bakugo’s smiling now. “Shut up.” He takes a sip of his whiskey, using the slight burn in his throat to stop freaking out like a chump. “So?! What were you doing with those chicks and dudes before that was so boring you had to run back home every time?”
Finally, Deku leans forward to answer properly. “Well… In those dates I didn’t really know them so they asked typical questions, you know? Where I grew up, what I do for a living, where I graduated from… and when I started talking about UA, they had a bunch of other questions about why I was only a part-time hero…”
Well, that sounds boring as fuck. No wonder this nerd ran back home like his ass was on fire. “What did you tell them?”
Looking down, Izu looks a little ashamed as he admits, “That I absolutely loved teaching. Nobody found that as interesting, though.” The awkward chuckle bothers the shit out of Bakugo. If anything, Izuku wanting to teach brats is the interesting part. “They were just interested in how many famous heroes I knew.”
Famous heroes, huh? Like the current No. 5? “You told them about us?”
All of a sudden, Izuku’s tugging at his collar. “W—Well-- I tried not to talk too much—you know, I just—“
That’s when the waiter, a tall bastard with a smirk, cuts in. “That’s a lie,” he snorts.
Bakugo blinks up, infuriated at the intrusion. “Who the hell are you?!”
Busying himself with the menus, the guy shakes his head. “I’m the one who had to overhear rant after rant about this Dynamight guy. Freckles barely stops to breathe once he gets going.” In a lower voice, he murmurs at Bakugo, “Run while you can.”
“Waiter-san!” Izuku yelps, sinking in his seat.
“Come on, kid!” The waiter sighs, put-upon. “Why do you do this to yourself?! We talked about it!”
But Bakugo’s still stuck on, “…Rants about Dynamight?”
Deku changes colors. “N—No! I—“
The waiter turns to him to say something and then stops. His eyes go wide, “Ohhhhh…” His smirk turns to a wide grin. “You’re Dynamight!” He turns to Izuku. “Dude! Congrats!”
“ENOUGH! THANKS!” Izu smiles too widely, essentially shooing the chatty waiter away.
The silence that follows is tense as fuck. “What the…?!”
The half question is enough to have the nerd crumble. “Okay… fine…” he slumps his shoulders. “I maybe… ruined dates sometimes because I started talking too much…” A little lower, in a barely audible mumble, he adds, “…about you.”
Bakugo’s brain short-circuits. “You… what?!” So every time Deku’s dates flopped…
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Izu tries to defend. “I just started talking and next thing I knew I had my date telling me I should just tell you how I felt! And… and the waiter overheard… a few times…”
The blonde grins widely, “A few?!”
His loud jab has people looking their way. Deku covers his face with both hands. “Gods, this is so embarrassing…”
Embarrassing?! This is exactly what Bakugo needed to get rid of those stupid nerves! He probably looks like an idiot, cheeks red and a smug smile, but he doesn’t give a single shit right now.
“I swear I wasn’t trying to be creepy,” Izuku says, peering from under his hands. “I never said anything weird, I just talk a lot when I get nervous and it was kind of—“
Bumping their feet together, Bakugo leans forward. “Oi.” He cuts in, “Shut up and listen.” Deku’s hands slide down his face. “We both know I’m great, it’s not your fault.”
His remark has Izu chuckling. “Shut up…”
There. Problem solved. “Now stop pouting. Everyone’s gonna think I’m being an asshole or something.” They catch people whispering and looking their way.
“You think they know who we are?” Yeah. People are stalker freaks. Like his date.
But also, “I think that waiter has a big fat mouth.” Not that it matters. If they’re really doing this, the world’s gonna know sooner rather than later.
Izuku laughs nervously, foot now firmly pressing against Bakugo’s. The blonde smirks. “So, did you blush like a moron on every other date, or am I just special?”
“Stop!” Izuku complains, pouting.
The blonde rolls his eyes, grabbing their waiter by the collar as he walks by. “Shut up and listen—“ he points to the empty private room a few feet from them. “How much to let us use that room?”
Apparently, not that much. The sheer joy of gossip was enough to have the waiter pull some strings.
The room is small, completely shielded from the outside. Their chairs are arranged beside each other instead of across, which gives Bakugo an idea. A stupid embarrassing idea.
“I really thought these were reserved for rich people or something,” Deku muses, sitting down. “I never—“
As soon as Izuku is within reach, Bakugo pulls him in. Their lips end up brushing together, fucking finally. But that wasn’t enough. He presses more insistently, until he feels Izu go for it, too.
His technique is clumsy and awkward, but Bakugo can feel his heart kick at his chest with over-the-top excitement. Once Izuku catches on, he starts melting into it, nearly climbing over his own chair and the table to get on Bakugo’s lap.
When they part, Deku refuses to move from where he is, clinging to the blonde’s shirt. “W-Why’d you do that?” the nerd asks, barely above a whisper.
“Dunno…”
A small smile, and then Izuku replies, “You gonna do it again? I wasn’t ready.”
That’s all he really needed. Bakugo leans in again for a much more steady kiss. His heart starts pounding again when he feels the dork really get into it. Hands in his hair, cupping his cheek… Bakugo wasn’t all that prepared for how good that fucking felt.
The haze after that kiss is something else. It has Bakugo completely stupid. Which is why he blurts out, “That was better than all those chumps you dated, right?”
Deku being Deku, refuses to be an asshole to other people. So he tries, “They weren’t bad, they just…” He seems at a loss for words when their eyes meet.
“They weren’t me?” Bakugo guesses. He may be egotistical, but in this case, he’s guessing from experience.
When they finally part long enough to get a few inches between them, Izuku sighs. “If this is a dream I’m gonna be so mad…”
Bakugo scoffs, leaning back. He feels idiotically smug that Izu could think this is a dream, though. “So, nerd…” he smirks. “What were you telling people about this Dynamight guy?”
Izuku rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his wine and finally getting comfortable. “This is how you wanna spend our first date?”
Oh, come on! What’s wrong with an ego boost?! “I’ll tell you about that Deku moron later,” he offers.
Smirking over his glass, Izu relents. “Fine,” he replies, leaning back and relaxing fully. “Well, first of all, I told them you’re not as mean as you look. Well—you are, but you’re actually pretty calm and collected under pressure, and you’ve gotten a lot more mellow with citizens!”
Bakugo can feel his face heat up again, but instead of fighting it, he relaxes, too. “Uh-huh…” he encourages, reaching for his whiskey.
All his life, Bakugo thought dating was stupid. It sounded awkward, weird as fuck, and lame. It made no sense to him, to fall in love and all that crap. And even when it happened to him, he knew dating was bullshit. He hated the idea with a passion.
…Until now.
Who gives a shit what time they get home tonight?