Chapter Text
When Izuku wakes up, his eyes are heavy, and his body feels drained. Instead of sleeping, Izuku simply tossed and turned in bed. For once, he's actually happy to hear his alarm because it means he can finally do something other than be left alone with his thoughts.
He rolls out of bed and walks to the bathroom. He brushes his teeth, then takes a quick, cold shower to wake himself up. Then, Izuku picks out an outfit, settling on brown trousers with a matching blazer and dark grey dress shirt. He rummages through his dresser for a matching tie and sock set, but realizes he hasn’t done laundry in two weeks.
“I guess this will have to do,” he sighs, pulling out a dark grey tie.
He walks over to Mighty, then sprinkles some food pellets into his cage. Finally, he grabs his keys and wallet to head out the door. Before leaving, he considers making breakfast since he actually has the time, but the nauseous feeling sitting in his stomach makes him lose his appetite.
While Izuku is teaching can hardly stay focused. He thanks the universe that class training ended yesterday; he would have surely lost his mind. Izuku loves class training, but it’s also stressful and requires him to be fully engaged. And with his current mood, he doubts he’d be able to manage.
“Deku Sensei?” A student calls, hand raised. Izuku isn’t sure of how long that hand’s been up; he zoned out maybe ten minutes ago after he finished his lecture.
“Yes Aiko?” He asks.
“Can you help me with this problem?”
Izuku sighs, then reluctantly walks over to the student's desk to look at the question.
He usually doesn’t mind helping out his students with work problems. If anything, he enjoys it. Today, however, his body feels like it’s being dragged everywhere he goes. Plus, he specifically gave this worksheet because it was easy, so the fact that someone is asking for help is a little concerning.
Not for the student, but more so for himself. Izuku’s motto with teaching is that he’s only as good a teacher as his students' lowest grade. Right now, none of his students has a score below a 77, so he counts that as a general win. Still, he takes his students' education very seriously, not just in his classes, but in all of their studies.
The bell finally rings for lunch, and his students are dismissed. Izuku lies his head down, trying to relax for once in the day, but he remains restless. He looks at the protein bar he packed with a grimace. He’s still not hungry, so he really brought it for nothing. Izuku hasn’t packed a regular lunch in weeks, not since Katsuki started visiting. There hasn’t really been a need to since Katsuki always brings him enough to keep for leftovers. Izuku usually keeps them in the teacher's breakroom, but he ran out yesterday.
Izuku opens his phone, looking for a distraction, and his heart sinks. He sees a notification for a news article and clicks on it immediately.
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Hero Deku Rises to Rank #12 after Defeating Sound Snapper
In a grueling fight against Sound Snapper, a villain with a horrific sound quirk, Hero Deku walked away a Champion. This show of bravery and Heroism has earned him the #12 spot, right above Pro Hero Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight.
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Izuku drops his phone and feels a surge of guilt rush over him. He surpassed Katsuki in the rankings, but at what cost? If Katsuki hadn’t taken the hit for him, who knows what would have happened? He jumped four spots for something he didn’t even deserve.
Dozens of people were injured because he couldn’t act fast enough. Izuku, on the other hand, walks away nearly unscathed and is awarded the #12 ranking.
Izuku groans into his hand, head spinning from a mix of sorrow, guilt, and frustration. He feels as if he’s been hit by a meteor. Before he’s able to spiral, however, there’s a knock at the door.
“Um… Deku Senei?” A familiar student calls from the doorway. Izuku quickly straightens his posture, trying to seem less pathetic.
“Hi Eri! Can I help you with anything?” Izuku asks, putting on as big a smile as he can. He wants to set a good example for all his students, but especially Eri and Kota. They’re more like little siblings than students to him, really. It’s easy to let his guard down around them, but it’s not right to trauma dump on literal children.
“No, I was actually just stopping by,” Eri says, skipping in and setting her bag down. She sits down on one of the desks in the front row.
Izuku scrunches his eyebrows, “What for?”
“I was actually coming to check on you.”
Izuku’s smile fades immediately. “On me? I’m- I’m fine, Eri! No need to worry, I’m just a little tired today, sorry if it showed up in my lessons,” he sputters.
“Only a little bit, but that’s not really why I’m checking in…” she trails off, “I saw what happened to Kac- um, Dynamight.” She smiles kindly, and Izuku feels his heart stop. It’s already embarrassing enough to have a student check in on him. But over Katsuki? He’s reached a new low… there’s no way he’s that obvious.
“Did I- Did I say something? Or…” Izuku mumbles, trying to find the right words.
“No! No, I just know how close you two are. When I saw what happened, I was pretty worried myself, so I knew you had to have been aswell” Eri says sincerely, and Izuku feels his body relax. She’s not coming to him as a student; she’s coming to him as Eri talking with Big Bro Midoriya. He smiles, and for once allows himself to be honest.
“Well, if I’m being honest, Eri, I’m not doing too well. I mean– I’ll be fine, of course. It’s not like I have a choice, but today has been especially weird for me. He…” He trails off, looking away. “He jumped in front of an attack for me. That’s why he got injured.“ He finishes, still looking away.
“I see…” Eri begins, thinking. “Have you checked in on him today?”
“What?” Izuku blurts, a little taken aback. He considered messaging Katsuki, but he didn’t want to overstep. Besides, what would he say?
Hey! Just checking in! I know you’re a grown man and are probably doing perfectly fine now, but I can’t really sleep unless I know that you're okay and breathing, so…
Eri sighs, “Well, knowing you, you probably feel like this is your fault somehow… and I could go back and forth with you over how that isn’t true, but I doubt it would go anywhere.” Eri chuckles to herself slightly. “But if you really want to make things right, then stop living in shame and actually do something. You obviously care about him, so show that to him.”’
Izuku’s eyes pop open. Since when did these kids get so wise? He highly doubts he was dropping advice like this at his age. And if he was, he definitely wasn’t taking his own advice. Not to mention that he’s deathly afraid of having her elaborate on “You obviously care about him,” and decides to not worry about interpreting it further. He’d love to care for Katsuki. That’s all he wants to do, really. All things aside, however, some things are easier said than done.
“But how?” Izuku asks, simultaneously to himself, Eri, and the universe.
“That’s for you to figure out, Deku-kun.” She smiles.
After school ends, Izuku clocks out and makes a stop at a nearby convenience store. He picks up noodles, salt, broth, and other ingredients to make Udon. He’s not a particularly amazing cook, or a cook at all, for that matter. He generally likes to avoid the kitchen, and microwavable dinners have become his best friend. However, one recipe he actually remembers is udon noodles. His mom would make it all the time when he got sick as a kid; the recipe is so simple that it actually stuck with him. Well, he hasn't actually made it himself yet, but there’s a first time for everything.
Eventually, he finds himself on Katsuki’s front doorstep holding bags of groceries in both his hands. He takes a deep breath and knocks on the door.
At first, there’s no response, and Izuku stands there feeling a little silly. He hadn’t messaged Katsuki before deciding he would stop by. For all he knows, Katsuki is still at the hospital. He considers leaving and begins to step back.
“Nope, no backing out now, Izuku. You have to do this.” He scolds himself, pivoting back to the door. He knocks again, no answer.
He knocks one more time and finally hears Katsuki on the other side of the door.
“Jesus fucking Christ! I’m co…” The door clicks open, and Katsuki stands there, looking slightly dumbfounded. “...ming. Izuku? What are you doing here?” Katsuki questions, eyeing Izuku suspiciously. Izuku shifts back and forth on his heels, feeling extremely fidgety and a little bit of regret as realization hits him.
“Hey, Kacchan! I- Um… I wanted to stop by and see if you needed help with anything…” He trails off, looking anywhere but at Katsuki. He lifts his hands and motions to the bags of groceries he’s holding. “I also brought Udon and some other stuff because you're kind of out of commission right now.” Izuku rubs his neck, feeling slightly embarrassed. He fears he might have come on too strong.
Worse, he fears he might have offended Katsuki. The strongest person he knows, and he shows up on his doorstep, offering to make him soup. It’s kind of ridiculous when you think about it. He braces for impact, expecting Katsuki to yell or make some snarky remark.
Instead, he’s met with a look of shock. Katsuki’s face goes slightly red, and he responds quietly.
“Oh…” He looks at his feet, then at the bags of groceries in Izuku's hand. “You don’t need to do that.” He responds.
“Okay…” Izuku responds, then thinks. For some reason, Katsuki’s response only makes him more adamant about staying. “Well, can I?” He asks, finally making eye contact with Katsuki. He feels as if he’s pushing through some kind of barrier, and it’s terrifying.
“I guess so?” Katsuki answers, but it sounds like more of a question, as if he himself wasn’t sure of the answer.
He steps back, letting Izuku into his apartment. Izuku walks in and subconsciously begins to examine the living room. Katsuki’s apartment is a similar size to his, a little bland, but much neater than his. It’s as if he actually has his life together, unlike Izuku.
Katsuki stands awkwardly as Izuku sets his stuff on the kitchen counter.
Izuku breaks the silence, “I knew you didn’t have any snacks in your apartment, so I bought some.” He says, taking food out of the bags.
“You mean cancer food?” Katsuki snickers, walking to stand next to Izuku.
“Would you call this cancer food?” Izuku asks, pulling out a bag of All Might themed chips. They used to eat them all the time when they were little; it was kind of an impulsive decision to buy them. He’s not even sure if Katsuki likes them anymore.
“Yes, I would,” Katsuki responds by nodding his head.
Izuku frowns, somewhat overdramatically, to hide his genuine disappointment. “Well then, I guess I can return-”
Izuku is cut off by Katsuki snatching the bag out of his hand.
“Wait a damn minute. I didn’t say I didn’t want them.” Katsuki barks out a laugh, “Maybe I want my fair share of cancer food from time to time.”
Izuku cackles, “Just wait until the press finds out the Great Lord Explosion Murder God Dynamight guilty pleasure snack is All Might Chips.”
“The press won’t be finding out, because that stays here. Got it?” Katsuki raises his eyebrow, but his smile betrays his tone.
Izuku finally looks away from Katsuki’s face and notices his outfit. He’s wearing workout gear, which means he either walks around his house in a compression long-sleeve shirt or he was working out today. Knowing Katsuki, Izuku guesses the latter.
“Were you working out?” Izuku asks, motioning to Katsuki's outfit with his hand.
“Only a little…” Katsuki huffs.
“Kacchan! You’re supposed to be resting!” Izuku crosses his arms, disappointedly.
“It’s fine, Nerd, I’m not going to die.” Katsuki rolls his eyes.
“First of all, not funny considering you almost did. Second of all, I don’t care. Go change into something else.”
“Excuse me?” Katsuki scoffs.
“You heard me, Kacchan. I don’t want to catch you working out for the rest of the week and trust me…” He glares at Katsuki, pointing a finger at him. “I’ll know.
“Whatever you say, Sensei…” Katsuki grunts, walking off.
When Katsuki walks back out from his room, he’s wearing an oversized hoodie and pajama pants. He looks adorable. Not that Izuku would ever tell him that, though. Katsuki would kill him. Izuku stares at him, maybe a little too long, and wishes he could see this side of Katsuki more often. The relaxed version, the one that’s not on edge about work or media. He notices Katsuki's face is red, and gets worried. Izuku walks up and presses the back of his hand to his forehead and cheek.
“Kacchan, do you have a fever?” Izuku asks, feeling heat radiate from Katsuki’s face.
“Uh- Yeah, probably from that damn IV sucking out all my blood,” Katsuki responds in a horse voice.
“Go sit down, the udon is almost ready,” Izuku says, stirring the pot on the stove.
“You’re making it from scratch?” Katsuki laughs.
“If from-scratch is a nice way of saying not just microwaving it, then yes.” Izuku smiles.
Katsuki eyes him with a serious expression. “Izuku, please don’t burn down my apartment.”
Izuku rolls his eyes, “Rude, Kacchan. I’ll have you know I can cook from time to time.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?” He challenges, raising an eyebrow
“Udon.” Izuku averts his gaze.
“...What else?” Katsuki deadpans.
“It’s, um, a secret.”
“Right, secret.”Katsuki snickers.
“Just sit down while I finish cooking,” Izuku rolls his eyes, shooing Katsuki away with his hands.
“Aye-aye, Sensei,” Katsuki smirks.
Izuku huffs. That’s the second offense so far. He’s not sure if he can handle a third.
He finishes the udon and then walks over with two bowls. Suddenly, it dawns on him that Katsuki hasn’t brought up the Hero rankings yet.
“So…” Izuku begins, “Have you seen the Hero Rankings lately?”
“No, why?” Katsuki asks, face full of food. Izuku bites back a laugh. For all the criticism Katsuki gives him about his cooking, he seems to really enjoy this meal.
“I- you went up a point,” Izuku smiles.
“Really? Hell yeah.” Katsuki responds nonchalantly, as if he had been told he got a 10% discount on his purchase of paper towels at a grocery store.
Izuku continues, “I also,” he tenses up, “kind of surpassed you?” Izuku admits, then holds his breath.
Katsuki drops his fork.
“What?”
“I know! I feel terrible-” Izuku begins to ramble, but is cut off.
“Terrible? Izuku, this is fucking amazing! You’re top 15!” Katsuki gleams, and Izuku feels incredibly confused.
“You’re not mad?” He questions.
“Why would I be mad?” Katsuki simmers, raising his eyebrow.
“Well, I mean- I only surpassed you because you got hurt protecting me,” Izuku admits, guilt rushing over him once more.
Katsuki scrunches his eyebrow and frowns.
“Is that what this is about?”
“Huh?”
“Is that why you're here? Because you feel bad?” Katsuki asks, almost looking hurt.
Izuku freezes. He’s not sure how to respond to that without screwing himself over.
He sputters, “No! Well, sorta… but it’s not like that!”
“Izuku, I already told you I took that hit because I wanted to. I don’t need your pity, so stop it.” Katsuki bites, looking away.
Izuku goes quiet. He doesn’t pity Katsuki, but it’s a little hard to respect Katsuki’s wishes when Izuku can’t stop himself from feeling guilty. It’s hard to explain, really, what it is that he feels. He does know, however, that even if he didn’t feel responsible for what happened to Katsuki, he would still want to be here, making him semi-edible udon.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. But I’m serious, by the way, I’m not here because I feel bad for you… I just wanted to help you out. I don’t know if that makes any sense- but yeah.” Izuku mumbles, trying to rectify the situation.
Katsuki stays silent, tugging slightly at his lip.
Izuku checks the time; it’s been an hour, and they’re both done eating. “It’s getting kind of late, I should probably head out.” He says, beginning to stand up.
Finally, Katsuki opens his mouth, and Izuku lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Wait, nerd-” Katsuki grabs his arm, then immediately lets go.
“Do you… want to watch a movie or something?” He asks, looking away.
Izuku grins, then pretends to think. Really, he was won over from the second Katsuki grabbed his arms. “Sure, why not?” He smiles.
He sits back on the couch next to Katsuki, and they put on an old hero movie. Over time, they move closer together on the couch. Eventually, they’re shoulder to shoulder with Izuku leaning into Katsuki, and Katsuki hangs his arm over his neck. For the most part, Izuku doesn’t even realize how close they are, but he occasionally feels Katsuki's chest rise and fall and becomes keenly aware of their position. He stiffens up, trying to not move too much to not risk Katsuki pushing him away.
“This movie is fucking stupid! If that were me, I would have caught that guy 10 minutes in.” Katsuki complains, pointing at the TV dramatically.
Izuku giggles, “I’m sure you would have, Kacchan.”
“Hell yeah, I would have. They need to bring Scarlet back in; the character is the only one with a brain.” He rolls his eyes.
“True, actually, she kind of reminds me of you.” Izuku notes
“For real? Maybe I should start acting like her more often. I bet the press would love it.” Katsuki barks out a laugh.
“Nah, I like my Kacchan just the way he is,” Izuku says absentmindedly. Katsuki freezes under him slightly, then relaxes when Izuku nuzzles further into his side.
Eventually, Katsuki falls asleep right before the end of the movie. It makes sense considering he's still recovering from a brain injury. Izuku smiles, then lifts Katsuki, his body entirely limp. He chuckles at how surprisingly light Katsuki is and carries him to his room.
Izuku lays Katsuki down and tucks the cover over him. He looks at Katsuki's nightstand and notices Katsuki’s keychain with an All Might card attached. It’s the one they won when they were little, and it’s protected in a small case. Izuku looks closer and notices drops of blood sitting on the card and feels his heart squeeze. He didn’t know Katsuki still kept this with him to this day. Izuku knows he can get pretty sentimental himself. He holds on to all kinds of trinkets from his childhood, so much so that it might be a problem.
Katsuki, on the other hand, never portrayed this same kind of sentiment.
He turns to Katsuki, who’s still asleep, and brushes a hand through his hair one last time before leaving the room. He turns off the light and shuts the door behind him with a small click.
As he walks back home, Izuku's rank #12 in the hero charts finally sets in. Ever since he re-debuted, Izuku had brushed off his work as a hero, treating it like a side gig. In some ways, that’s really how it felt. After Katsuki got injured, however, everything felt all too real. He had been so caught up in what happened to Katsuki that he hadn’t realized what this meant for himself. He’s a pro hero. Really, this time. Not a teenager fighting in a war too big for him, not a little kid with big dreams, but a real pro hero.
He’s ranked top #15, and he doesn’t even have a quirk.
And what makes this all even crazier is how this happened. Or who made this happen, to be specific.
He may be at #12 now, but Katsuki is trailing right behind. Their competition is more real now than ever, and that alone is exhilarating. A little too exhilarating.