Chapter Text
After, they talk a lot—words previously held back (or swatted away) could now exist between them with relative ease. Izuku likened the experience to the first time he tried prescription glasses and noticed that the world was a bit more clear. He could examine everything as it was and categorize everything a little better.
Izuku’s fall into love was sudden, like a sustained minor note finally slipping into the major key in a single moment, an orchestra dramatically swelling to harmonize with his revelation. It was like beholding the darkness flicker into sunrise within seconds and not knowing how someone could mistake the difference between day and night.
Katsuki’s fall into love was drawn out and scarring. It took practice, patience. It had taken him months of agonizing pain at the very thought of losing him to someone braver, someone more deserving. It had taken years of scrambling for every cent to pull him skywards. It had taken him a long time to fall into love. He thinks it's a damn good thing he started so early.
A few weeks after their mutual confession, Izuku and Katsuki had the opportunity to see their old friends during a quick Class A reunion dinner. Scheduled by Iida, it was meant to help everyone catch up, including the few former students that worked further away in different areas.
Izuku had wanted to arrive together, but got caught up with tutoring and entered the restaurant long after Katsuki had. Even then, he managed to find his way to the reserved room in the back with all his classmates and found his seat saved between Katsuki and Ochako, who were already having a loudly whispered conversation across his unoccupied chair.
“I could just sit on either side of you if you guys want to talk,” Izuku said as he took his bag off his shoulder and pulled the chair out.
“Nah, we’re talking about you.” Ochako stated.
“Good things?”
The two looked at each other before Ochako smiled slyly.
“Interesting things.”
A shiver ran up Izuku’s spine as he took his seat and turned towards Katsuki.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Gay,” Ochako coughed into her drink.
“What was that?”
“I said ‘hi’ too.”
“Aw, hi Ochako, how’re you?”
“I’m good! How’s the return to hero-ing going?”
“Well, I already had to carry a suitcase around for class. Now I'm juggling two suitcases, which is not something I excel at doing.
“Do you mean briefcase? Deku, that is solidly a briefcase.”
“No, it’s a suitcase because my suit is in here. It’s funny! Anyway, how’s the quirk counseling program?”
Ochako transformed her sly smile into a genuine one. Izuku had called her a few times since her one hemophage case, but he hadn’t gotten an update for a few weeks. Normally, she called him pretty often for quirk questions or questions on legal quirk history, but she had been strangely radio silent.
“It’s been really, really good. I’ve been doing some reports on newly discovered quirks and how we can help the individuals with them. I’ve also started looking at our organization’s quirk community education programs.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, it’s been on my mind a lot! I want to help kids with their quirks, but I also want to help society to be more accepting of ‘unusual’ quirks and personality differences.”
“Ochako, that’s amazing.” Tsu chimed in from the other side of Ochako where she was listening in. “I’m sure that will do a lot of good!”
“Will the program include heteromorphs too?” Koda asked from across the table.
“I hope so!” Ochako enthused. “I think it could do a lot of good to educate communities with little exposure to the quirk counseling we get in the city.”
“I think so too!” Izuku smiled.
The conversations drifted off after Ochako’s announcement, and the former students began chatting with their neighbors. Todoroki started a conversation with Katsuki, immediately doing his best to make him angry through any means necessary.
After Todoroki had discovered that those deemed ‘youngest children’ were supposed to “stir the pot” in conversations with those older than them, he had made it his new mission to piss Katsuki off at every turn with the smallest things. His current bit was a fake obsession with astrology, which made Katsuki more mad than quite literally anything else so far.
"Bakugou, I’m not sure I can sit next to you while my moon is in retrograde. Your aura is very off right now."
"WE HAVE THE SAME FUCKING MOON!"
"You are such an Aries."
Izuku tuned the increasingly loud conversation out of mind, a skill he had perfected through many years by existing at the side of a man who created explosions for a living. He turned instead to Tsu and Iida, who were discussing recent legislation on construction quirks. He didn’t know much about the subject, but he was able to provide some context for certain quirk legislation that leaned more towards his speciality.
As Izuku ended his conversation with Tsu and Iida and finished his first glass of water, he felt a tapping on his hand and turned towards Katsuki.
“Kacchan, are you—”
“I have to go to the bathroom!” Katsuki loudly declared, then looked down at Izuku and winked.
Is that code? Izuku thought hard. Do we have an ‘I’m going to the bathroom’ code? Maybe he’s actually just going to the bathroom and he was just winking to say ‘I love you?’ Aw, that’s cute. I love him too.
Izuku felt his pocket vibrate and subtly checked for a text.
Kacchan: that wink meant meet me in the bathroom nerd
Okay, well, he really could’ve just said that.
Izuku excused himself to follow Katsuki and overheard Mina and Kaminari making a comment as he walked away.
"What are they doing?"
"Killing each other? I don't know, I'm hungry."
Izuku rolled his eyes and stepped around the corner where Katsuki was waiting in front of the bathroom door.
“Hey, what’s up?”
Katsuki scowled (just a little bit, and it was practically a smile to Izuku at this point).
“When’re we gonna tell them?”
“Oh! I did not know we were going to do that tonight,” Izuku said with barely restrained panic in his voice.
“What, tell them? Duh, they’re our friends. Of course we gotta tell ‘em.”
“Alright, okay! Um, do you? I mean—do you want to tell them?”
“Yes, nerd. That’s what I just said. Are you having an aneurysm?”
“What? No. Just—okay, aren’t you worried they’re gonna tell us it’s a horrible idea?”
Katsuki looked a bit taken aback before forcing his face to stay neutral.
“Okay. Like, you think they’ll judge us? Or… that they won’t approve of me?”
“What?! No! No, like they might say, ‘You’re friends! Aren’t you worried about ruining your friendship?’ Those comments, not you. They’ll probably just say we need to take it slow.”
Katsuki’s face fell into relief. Izuku’s face, on the other hand, tensed a bit at the revelation that Katsuki was still worried about Izuku’s (completely fictional) potential rejection of their relationship. He had hoped to assuage his fears by now, but it seemed like they still had further to go before Katsuki learned to step forward completely without a fear of rejection—Izuku thought this was odd, since he was so confident in so many other elements of his life. Love was one thing that Katsuki could not handle riskily.
“Well,” Katsuki started as Izuku jolted back to the matter at hand. “I’m not worried about that. I’m gonna tell them that—one—I love you,” and Izuku’s face softened at this, like every time he heard it, “And—two—that they can shove it right up their stupid asses if they have any unhelpful advice about how slow they think we should be going.”
“Yeah?”
“We could’ve waited to tell anyone and we could’ve decided to see each other casually before jumping into anything, but I don't think casual is really in my blood at this point when it comes to you. I've made my choice, nerd, and it's always gonna be you. I told myself if I ever got lucky enough to get the chance, I was gonna run into it at full speed, just like I do with everything.”
Izuku smiled and felt his eyes grow a little moist. Maybe he wasn’t as hesitant as Izuku had feared.
“I’m yours. That’s it.”
“Good.” Izuku leaned forward to peck the side of Katsuki’s mouth. “Maybe we should—”
“Maybe, yeah,” Katsuki said, a stunned look still stamped on his face just like every time he received a kiss from Izuku. “They might be looking for us.”
Izuku smiled, then paused, holding up a hand to signal Katsuki to wait.
“Wait, sorry. Hold on. I know this is picking at something we could probably talk about later, but I just want to clear this up before we go off and tell everyone. Are you worried they won’t approve of you because of… things from our past?”
Katsuki turned back towards the hallway, towards Izuku, hesitantly. He hadn’t been really hesitant like this since before he had confessed.
“I—No, it’s not just them. I think I'm… scared of hurting you. Even unintentionally.”
“Is it just because of back then? We've been friends for years now, real friends. We've gotten better. We talk now. I can tell you if you hurt me.”
“No, it's just... I can't always be soft, like you want. We've fought in the past about that kind of thing, how I can get too loud and too aggressive, and I guess I’m terrified that now we're in this new thing, I’m gonna say something that's really gonna break your heart and you won't do shit to stop me.”
Izuku touched Katsuki’s cheek to turn his face up.
“Do you really think that? I'm not that kid anymore. I can take a little argument, and I’m not really that worried about your ‘temperament’ or whatever. I can handle it. And yeah, you might hurt me. I might hurt you. We've hurt each other before, but what we’ve grown together is something I'm really proud of. Who we've become and what that means when it comes to each other is something that has required effort and work and give and take, but we did it and I want to keep doing it, with you. Just in a bit of a different way now. A way where we're a lot closer and more exposed, but also a lot stronger. And—I hope—happier. A way where we get to make out on the side.”
Katsuki laughed, a gruff sound.
“Damn, nerd, my sageliness wore off on you.”
“Yeah, it did,” Izuku whispered before meeting Katsuki’s lips halfway, a feeling he would never grow entirely accustomed to quietly growing in his chest. That feeling wasn’t because Izuku couldn’t find comfort in the press of Katsuki against him (because he certainly could), but more because Izuku could never quite fathom that what they had was truly real until he was in the middle of it.
It was as he found himself getting lost in the feeling of safety and home that he heard a throat clearing.
“What are you guys doing?”
“Todoroki! We’re—”
“I'm not going to dignify your dumbass question with a dumbass answer, Icy-Hot. What the hell does it look like we’re doing?”
“It looks like you’re eating Midoriya. Is this a new development?”
“Well…” Izuku trailed off. “Sort of. It’s been a long time coming.”
“Hmm. Does anyone else know?”
“No, you’re the first. And we’re not keeping it a secret! You can tell whoever you want,” Izuku explained, keeping one hand on Katsuki’s shoulder.
“Done,” Todoroki said bluntly before he turned around and walked back to the table. Katsuki and Izuku locked eyes.
“Okay, I guess Mr. Capricorn or whatever-the-fuck is gonna tell everyone for us.”
“You’re not mad about that?”
“Eh, takes it outta my hands. My therapist tells me I’ve gotta let stuff happen out of my control.”
“Is your therapist the one making you more sagely? Good on her.”
Katsuki grasped his hand and pulled slightly, silently asking if they could return to the table.
“You’re really ready?”
Katsuki sharpened his gaze, like he had spotted an objective to complete and intended to do so with vigor. “Absolutely.”
The two made their way back to the table and sat back in their respective places.
“Any questions, idiots?”
Izuku squeezed Katsuki’s hand.
“Any questions, acquaintances?”
Izuku cleared his throat and furrowed his brows.
“Fine! Questions?”
Mina raised her hand.
“Pink. Go.”
“Yeah, so, what are you talking about?”
Izuku and Katsuki wore matching confused looks as they peered around at their friends, who wore similar confused expressions, all except for Todoroki and Ochako.
“We’re dating,” Izuku said, like it was a question.
“What?! What do you mean? Neither of you thought to tell any of us?” Kirishima yelled across the table.
“We just told Todoroki and then told him to go tell everyone else!” Izuku protested.
Katsuki grumbled, “More like he walked into a private conversation, but whatever.”
“I don’t think making out in a public hallway counts as a private conversation,” Todoroki remarked.
“We just thought he was doing that lying bit again!”
“Well, you all lie to me all the time.”
“No, you just don't understand sarcasm and most modern slang, bro,” Sero remarked, patting him on the back as he nodded.
“Well, I apologize that I was isolated from my siblings and peers by my father and raised to be a child soldier.”
“Nope, you can't use that again today,” Jirou said. “You already used it to get out of doing that interview earlier today. I had to get slimed five times by school children on live television because I kept answering trivia questions wrong.”
“Hmm. Even so, I did just tell you all.”
“I mean, it was fairly obvious in retrospect. You both spend a lot of time together, and you are both very protective of each other.” Iida chimed in.
“You people didn't suspect shit!”
“You had said that you would probably marry your future hero partner and then immediately asked Izuku if he wanted to fill the position after you procured his hero suit,” Momo stated.
“That's pretty damning evidence.”
“Hold on. Kacchan, are we engaged? Was that an engagement this whole time? You proposed to me before you confessed?”
“Firstly, I was great at keeping this under wraps—don’t try to twist my words from a million years ago. Secondly, nerd, I promise, you’ll know when I propose to you.”
Izuku smiled fondly, then turned to his second question.
“Ochako, why don’t you look surprised?”
“Oh, I found out immediately. I managed to needle it out of Katsuki.”
“What?! That didn’t happen! Fuck you! I am excellent at keeping secrets!”
“Yeah, I’m kidding. I walked in on you guys last Thursday. I had to re-walk down the hallway three times before you guys finally noticed that I was coming.”
“What? Why didn’t you say anything?” Izuku said, distraught.
“Well, I was gonna let you tell me in your own time. I’m considerate like that.”
“Not considerate, floaty! Mind your business next time! And you!” Katsuki pointed at Todoroki, who immediately pointed at himself in confusion. “Mind your business too!”
“I'm not sure why me and her are being reprimanded just because you two forgot about doors and your own magical ability to lock them.”
Katsuki squinted at him in annoyance but was cut off from his squinting by Izuku, who held onto his arm and started speaking.
“Okay, okay. Doesn’t matter who found out what and when. I’m just glad you all know. Thank you for your support. I think.”
Izuku turned to his side and caught Katsuki’s eye. He supposed that all they had left was to live the rest of their lives.
Things aren’t always smooth-sailing, and there’s no exception for Izuku or Katsuki. They continue to fight and bicker, they still worry unnecessarily and throw caution to the wind for each other. They still act stupid, though they’re at least a bit more self-aware now. They love each other and try to show it at every opportune moment (and a few inopportune moments, too).
They couldn’t ask for anything better.