Chapter Text
The Stanford Daily
Katsuki Bakugou: The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Katsuki Bakugou has always been a star. He’s played soccer since he was 3 years old, and, according to his mother, “the little brat was kicking around balls before he could even walk.” In middle school, Bakugou led his team to win the National Championships, and he was quickly scooped up by Japan’s U-17 team as soon as he turned 15, where he scored an average of 1.5 goals per game throughout his 3-year career with the team.
Obviously the striker had many universities begging for him to join their team, but he decided to study abroad here at Stanford so he could simultaneously pursue a pre-med degree. In spite of his dedication to soccer, Katsuki Bakugou somehow still makes time to be a good student. He graduated from his high school as valedictorian, and he is one of the top students in his program, with a perfect 4.0 GPA. His chemistry professor said, “That kid is really something. Athletes get accommodations when they have away games, but he’ll turn in his homework on time, and tune in to class via zoom while traveling. If he misses a lab, he schedules time beforehand to make up for it with the TAs.”
Katsuki Bakugou is also at the center of Stanford’s social scene. He belongs to one of Stanford’s most iconic fraternities, Alpha Kappa. Although he doesn’t show up to the frat’s parties that often, when he does go, he’s the center of attention. Some speculate this may be due to the elusivity of his appearances, referring to him as a unicorn. Alec Benjamin, a sophomore, said, “I won ‘Rare Things at Stanford Frat Parties Bingo’ because I saw a Bakugou appearance. We were using mattresses as sleds going down the stairs, and he showed up, yelled at the other frat members for spilling drinks all over the mattresses for 20 minutes, punched some drunk guy in the face, and then slid down the stairs on a mattress and flipped off through the front door. It was the most epic thing I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s really the peak alpha dude!”
Others would say that this spotlight is due to his popularity with the ladies (and gentlemen) of campus. Pamela Smith said, “I’m in Bakugou’s biology class. He scowls most of the time, but every once in a while his face relaxes when he’s really focused on the lecture, and then I can’t focus because he’s way too damn gorgeous.” The man even has a dedicated fan club at the school. However, despite his many admirers, Bakugou has a clean record in Stanford’s gossip circles. Denki Kaminari, fellow soccer player and Alpha Kappa member said, “Oh yeah, Kacchan?” (Kaminari’s nickname for Bakugou), “He doesn’t really do dating. Every time someone asks him out he shoots them down immediately, and when we ask him he just brushes us off. Honestly I’m pretty sure there’s only soccer and school in that angry little head of his. I would eat my cleats if it’s ever occurred to him to like someone at all!”
Given Bakugou’s refusal to answer any questions unrelated to his soccer career, we’re unsure whether Kaminari will have to eat his cleats or not, but we do know that after only 2 years at Stanford University, Katsuki Bakugou has already become a legend that will loom over the student body for years to come.
Katsuki scoffed, exiting out of the tab with the offending article and stuffing his phone back into his pocket. Why the fuck had they only dedicated a paragraph each to his soccer career and his academic achievements but spent 3 paragraphs talking about something as silly and inconsequential as his popularity at the school? You would think that his consistent refusal to answer questions related to his private life would make it pretty clear he didn’t want people speculating about it.
Deciding to make some honey lemon ginger tea to calm his frustration (as recommended by his therapist), Katsuki opened his door and stepped out into the living room of his shared apartment. As soon as he did, he was met with a loud squeak, drawing his attention to his cousin (and roommate) sitting on the couch.
“What is it, Chako?”
Ochako’s normally pink cheeks turned even pinker as she shoved a book further beneath the pillow she had grabbed to cover it. “It’s nothing, Kacchan!”
Katsuki scoffed and snatched at the book. His cousin was normally happy to yap at him about the most insane things, so if Ochako wanted to hide something from HIM of all people, then it was most DEFINITELY something worth snooping in. Ochako wasn’t gonna go down without a fight though, the little bastard, and hastily rolled off the couch, narrowly escaping his grasp. Katsuki growled and launched himself at her, doing his darndest to grab the book as they tussled on their living room carpet, rolling into the furniture in the midst of their scuffle. Katsuki shoved Ochako’s snapping chompers away with his left arm while grabbing at the book with his right one, until his elbow rammed into the tv stand. Ochako shrieked and reached out to steady the now wobbling stand so the tv didn’t get hurt, which gave Katsuki the perfect opportunity to seize the book.
He launched to his feet, holding the book high above his head where she couldn’t reach, and smirked as he gently set his hand on the tv.
Ochako’s eyes widened in horror. “You wouldn’t!”
Katsuki teasingly gave the tv a little push. “Oh, but I would, cupcake. Now. I’m going to look at the stupid book and you’re going to stay down or else I’ll knock your precious tv to the ground.”
Ochako rolled her eyes and muttered, “It’s your tv too, dumbass.” But even though she probably knew that he was bluffing, Kastuki knew she wouldn’t dare take the risk of testing her theory out. She loved gaming and anime way too much to risk it getting even a single scratch.
Satisfied that Ochako wasn’t going to pull something crazy like launching herself off the tv stand and onto his face, Katsuki finally got a good look at the book. The shiny cover was emblazoned with a green-haired shirtless man. Even though it was only a picture, somehow his body seemed to ripple with muscles and his wild hair seemed to rustle in the wind. Despite his hawaiian roll 9-pack abs and M16 arms, his face was ridiculously adorable. His eyes were fierce, yet so soft, and his cheeks looked so fucking squishy Katsuki thought he might vomit. And a smattering of the cutest freckles covered the whole of him, somehow blending the buff and the cute together into a seamless, smoking hot man. Katsuki sucked in a breath before he forced his attention to a title spelled out in twisting, curly letters.
“BWAHAHAHAHAHA,” Katsuki cackled, “The Alpha’s Mate??? Is this one of those shitty supernatural books catered towards cringey kinky bitches??”
Ochako scowled and jumped up, ready to snatch the book away, but Katsuki pointedly drummed his fingers on the tv. “Ah ah ah, Cheeks, I still have your baby hostage.” He flipped the book over to read the back cover out loud. “Izuku slowly pulls his shirt over his head with a smirk. I can’t tear my eyes away from the sight of his luscious buttery rock-hard hawaiian roll abs, and I can’t help but bite my lip in a whimper at the thought of what they would taste like. ‘Enjoying the view, Kitten Whiskers?’ He winks, and I gasp. I can feel my insides burst into flames at the sinful look he’s giving me. Oh gyatt. I’m down bad.”
Katsuki moved on from the excerpt to the synopsis, already planning how he was going to tease Ochako about this for the rest of their lives. “Hagakure is on the run. Her dumb pack wanted to sell her off to some random dumb alpha, so she decided to blow that popsicle stand and go party hard. But when she stops at a bar to have a good time screaming her lungs out at karaoke with strangers, she gets caught in the dark gaze of emerald green orbs, and, scared of the way they arouse her, she decides to leave. But after the mysterious greenette saves her from getting assaulted and invites her to come home with him, she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to live her carefree nomadic party life after all.”
He dropped the book on Ochako’s face and grinned his most evil smile. “And I thought you were a lesbian.”
Ochako pulled the book off her face and clutched it to her chest. “I’m not reading it for Mr. 9 Pack, I’m reading it because it just scratches that itch deep down inside of me that needs trashy romance.” Her defiant face turned dreamy. “Besides, in some of the later books there’s a really hot alpha lady who has the cutest smile and drinks blood from–”
“Ok enough!” Katsuki started towards the kitchen to make his tea, making sure to shove Ochako on his way by. “I’ve heard you ramble on about your vampire fetish way too many times before! I don’t need a recap.”
Ochako pouted and crossed her arms. “You’re so mean! A girl can’t even indulge in her favorite interests in her own home?!”
Katsuki brandished the tea kettle at her. “Hey, I put up with your shitty vampire otome games! You should be thanking me for even doing that!”
“Whatever.” Ochako flipped him off. “I’m going out with Mina in a few, do you wanna come with?”
“I already said I would hang out with the Alpha Kappa boys.”
Ochako rolled her eyes. “I still can’t believe that you, of all people, joined a frat.”
Kastuki huffed and started preparing the tea bags. “Everyone else seems to be able to believe it, I don’t know why you fucking can’t.”
“Well everyone else doesn’t know that you’re actually a huge nerd and prefer studying to drinking and partying.”
“Shut up, just because I have my priorities straight doesn’t mean I’m not Alpha Kappa material. I mean, just fucking look at me! I have the muscle of your typical frat boy!” Katsuki lifted his shirt to flex the absolutely ripped muscles on his lean torso.
Ochako eyed his beautiful body with distaste. “I guess it’s true that you are, unfortunately, a major gym bro.”
“Hey, don’t act like you aren’t my gym buddy, you little imp!”
“Yes, but it’s different because I’m not weird about it. I don’t make gains one of my main purposes in life because I actually have a life outside of school and the gym.”
Katsuki groaned. “I’m literally going to my frat house to hang out with my frat bros in a couple hours! I’m pretty sure I have a fucking life!”
Ochako waved her hand at him like what he had said was irrelevant, which it kind of was, given they both knew the real reason he was in the frat. “If you say so.” Kastuki huffed in annoyance but she just ignored him, grabbing her bag and heading to the door. “Well, I’m off! Later loser!”
“Hopefully I’ll see you never, dipshit.”
Ochako laughed and shut the door behind her, leaving Katsuki in blissful silence in their shared apartment. He finished up his tea, pouring it into his favorite All Might mug, and sat down at the table to drink it. His homework was already done for the next week at least, so he was reaching out to pick up the remote and turn on Attack on Titan when the book sitting next to it caught his eye. After all the fuss she had made to hide it from him, Ochako had left her book on the table in plain sight. Apparently there was no point in hiding The Alpha’s Mate anymore since he had already caught her with it. In a split second decision, his fingers switched their trajectory from the remote to the book. Reading it, or at least skimming through it, would give him more ammo to throw at Ochako when she got back.
He flipped the book open to the first page, and, absolutely inexplicably, was somehow sucked into the story. Not literally, of course, it was just that he could not for the life of him manage to stop reading. The Alpha’s Mate was objectively the worst collection of words that he had ever read. He called it a collection of words because it simply did not have the class to be called a book, much less literature. It was cringey, cliche, sexist, and clearly written for the sole purpose of giving people fantasies to jack off to. And yet, Katsuki read on, fully entranced by the trash in his hands. He absolutely loathed the main character, Hagakure, who did virtually nothing and had absolutely zero personality, but he found her story strangely compelling. Maybe it was just the sexual tension between her and the male lead. The book was also set in the 80s, which made it slightly more bearable, given the aesthetic of the 80s.
After suffering through about half the book, Katsuki glanced up at the clock and realized that he was supposed to be at Alpha Kappa an hour ago. What the fuck. Why had he just wasted TWO HOURS reading that STUPID book??!! What was he supposed to tell the boys??? That he was reading a ‘shitty romance novel written for cringey kinky bitches?’ Hell nah, after the shit he gave Ochako he would rather get picked apart by a million crazed squirrels than let anyone know he read that shit.
He scroaned (scream-groaned), threw the book across the room, and reached for his phone, finding his notification screen littered with hundreds of missed calls and texts that grew increasingly anxious. The last one was from Kaminari sent to the Alpha Kappa group chat lamenting Katsuki’s premature death. Katsuki rolled his eyes and sent a brief message stating that he was on the way only to be met with a new influx of texts as everyone rejoiced that he lived.
He grabbed his keys and had his handle on the doorknob, so close to freedom, when his will crumpled in the face of his horrible urge to turn around. The Alpha’s Mate was lying open and slightly crumpled on the floor. At that moment, he was absolutely sure it was some kind of creepy cursed object with the way it practically seemed to be oozing out a sickly beckon to his soul. “Read meeeeeeeeee, Take me wiiiiiith you so you can read more about sexy 9-pack alpha maaaaaaaaan.”
“FUCK!” Katsuki screamed, but apparently he was weaker than he would ever admit even in the deepest darkest throes of his soul because he snatched up the book and brought it with him.
He hopped into his beautiful orange and black badass monster truck, smacked the evil burning book into the passenger seat, and sped down the road–at the appropriate speed limit of course. Katsuki had never gotten a speeding ticket in his life, thank you very much. Since it was a Tuesday evening, there wasn’t much traffic as he made his way through the streets of the collegetown. Most of the students were likely sleeping or studying at this hour. He came across an intersection with a red light, and tapped out an anxious beat on the wheel while fighting the urge to grab the stupid book and read a little more while he waited for the light to turn green.
He breathed a sigh of relief when the light finally changed and stepped on the gas, his engine revving as he quickly picked up speed just in time for another car to slam right into his. He had just enough time to think “stupid motherfucker running a red light” before his head hit something and the world cracked into unconsciousness.
*
Kastuki woke up on the side of some middle of fucking nowhere road. His head hurt like a bitch, but other than that he was mostly fine aside from his raging annoyance at the situation.
To his right was a sketch-as-hell street light. The light shade was cracked and shone a dark yellow, flickering ominously. A little ways past the street light was a billboard with an annoyingly cheerful cartoon boy in a cowboy hat and boots advertising “The World’s Best Pancakes” at the next exit in 4 miles. The road next to it was dark but shimmered in the moonlight, and it seemed to stretch on forever, disappearing into the night sky in both directions. Surrounding the road were endless cornfields, the fluffy tufts of green and yellow swaying forebodingly in the wind.
His precious monster truck, however, was nowhere to be seen, which was hardly surprising considering the fact that he was apparently in a completely different fucking place than he was the last time he was conscious. Where were the student dorms and dining halls??!! Where were the endless coffee shops, the cheap cars, and the idiotic jaywalking students??!!
Katsuki’s mind was on a constant replay of wtf wtf wtf wtf wtf wtf wtf over and over again. Eventually, however, he came to a conclusion. Not a very logical conclusion, of course, but nevertheless the most logical one in this situation.
After the car crash, he must have passed out long enough for someone to kidnap his monster truck, grab him, and then drop him on the side of the road wherever the hell this was. Why? He didn’t know. Maybe the culprits were hoping he and everyone else would be so focused on getting him out of this situation that they either wouldn’t notice or wouldn’t care enough that the monster truck was missing and let the criminal get away with their crime. Well, the joke was on them, because that monster truck was his BABY and he was going to get it back. The whole being left on the side of the road thing had been only a minor delay in his mission to recover what had been taken from him, and those truck kidnappers would get what was coming for them.
But first he had to figure out more information. Unfortunately, he had left his phone on the passenger seat like usual while driving, and sure enough, when he checked his jeans’ pockets, it wasn’t there. Thankfully they hadn’t taken his wallet though, so he wasn’t completely bereft of anything useful. However, his wallet wouldn’t give him directions, so the most promising thing in this utterly useless landscape was the “World’s Best Pancakes” billboard. Katsuki would bet Ochako’s tv that these pancakes were far from worldwide dominance, but subpar pancakes were his best bet in this despicable situation, so he set off in a quick jog in that direction. He had a monster truck to save.
*
Kastuki’s expectations for the pancakes kept getting worse. First of all, their place of residence was actually a bar. A fucking BAR. Who serves pancakes, let alone the world’s best, at a bar??? Second of all, this bar was very dingy. The wooden walls were mottled with age, the pictures lining the walls had a layer of dust over them, and the dim lights reflected off smudged and chipped glasses. Nevertheless, the bar was full of people inexplicably dancing to a college aged girl belting her pitiful little heart out on the karaoke stage. Her voice had the energy of one of those twistable rusty metal picnic chairs screeching as it scraped against itself, and nobody could enjoy pancakes under those conditions.
Katsuki hated every inch of the place, but at this hour, all of the other tiny pathetic establishments in this tiny pathetic town were bound to be closed. He groaned at the thought of the headache that venturing into this bar was sure to be, but he was no pussy, so he pushed forth.
After only a few steps in, he felt that cold itchy feeling that meant someone’s eyes were on him. He glared around the bar, and locked eyes with a man with green hair and dark eyes. The man’s stare was so intense Katsuki almost wanted to blush at the feeling, which was just ridiculous because he was just some guy. ... although a totally sexy guy. Objectively speaking. Katsuki himself didn’t swing, so the man’s green hair curling just right above his vibrant green eyes and the white button up straining over his pecs and the way something in him seemed to sing at the man’s gaze meant absolutely NOTHING to him. Except for the fact that he looked kind of familiar. Actually, he lowkey looked just like that guy on the cover of The Alpha’s Mate. Oooooor Kastuki had just spent so much time reading the book earlier that afterimages were infiltrating his mind and altering his vision.
Anyway, the guy wasn’t important, and Katsuki was on a mission, so he sneered, flipped the man the bird, and did his best to ignore the way the guy’s face lit up at the gesture.
He stalked over to the bar and aggressively plopped into one of the spinny chairs, and, resisting the urge to spin around and around, called over the bartender. He looked exactly like what you would expect a bartender to look like, complete with a vest and a handlebar mustache. What a basic bitch.
“Welcome to the best bar in town, Lil’ Skippy’s Beer Tootin’ Barn!” The man did a little flourish with his hands and winked. “What can I get for ya’?”
Katsuki side eyed him. “I’m pretty sure this is the only bar in town, and even if it weren’t, the chances of it being better than this shitty dump and its lame-ass name are sky-high.” He paused, skimming over the menu, and decided he wanted nothing to do with anything on it. “And just water.” Then the glint of one of those sketchy glasses caught his eye, and he clarified, “a bottled one.” Kastuki wouldn’t normally drink one of those microplastic filled abominations, but he didn’t have access to his normal giant reusable water bottle, and he needed to stay hydrated (Katsuki lived by the motto hydrate or diedrate).
The bartender grinned a sleazy grin, ignoring the insult, and went to grab a bottled water before sliding it across the bar to Kastuki. “You know I haven’t seen you ‘round these parts before, and I know everyone ‘round here.”
So this was one of those yappy bartenders, which Katsuki normally hated, but in this situation the guy might be useful. “Yeah, well, I’m just passing through.” He twisted open his water bottle and took a sip before propping his arms on the bar and leveling the man with a stare. “Since you apparently know everyone ‘round here,’ would you happen to have seen or heard about a monster truck sighting?”
The man frowned. “A monster truck? Like those big uns’ on TV that splash around in the mud? Can those even fit on a normal road?”
Kastuki huffed. “Yes, like the ones on TV, but this one is built to be street legal, so it can fit on a normal road. But it’s still really tall, and it’s bright orange with black accents, so it’s pretty fucking hard to miss.”
“Huh, I didn’t know they built them like that. But sorry stranger, as far as I know we’re fresh out of monster trucks here.”
That was expected, the kidnappers wouldn’t be dumb enough to stay just a few miles away from where they dumped him on the side of the road, but it was still disappointing. “Well, have any other strangers passed through recently?”
The bartender tilted his head, thinking. After a moment, he replied, “No, I don’t think so. We don’t get much traffic ‘round here, so the last stranger was probably a few weeks ago.”
Kastuki sighed. Well, wasn’t that lovely.
“What’re these questions for? Are ya’ lookin’ for somethin’?”
Katsuki was unwilling to waste more time talking to the stupid bartender, so he decided it was time to call Ochako to let her know what was up and see if she had heard anything about the accident. “Yeah, a phone.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s in the back by the bathrooms.” The bartender pointed to a hallway in the back corner of the room.
“Great.” Katsuki pulled out his debit card and shoved it into the confused bartender’s hands. “I’m gonna go use the phone, so charge my card while I’m gone,” he called back as he headed for the hallway.
“Wow, I can’t believe these things still exist,” Katsuki grumbled under his breath when he came face to face with a pay phone. Thankfully Katsuki always kept spare change in his wallet to, ya’ know, be prepared and all that shit. The price was a shocking mere 10¢, which Katsuki thought was a crazy move in this economy. Nevertheless, he put a dime in the slot and dialed Ochako’s number.
The line beeped, and then an automated voice message said, “We're sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”
Katsuki pulled the phone away from his ear and glared at it. “What the hell?” He put the phone back on the receiver, dialed the number again, and was met with the same message. Had Ockako’s phone died or something? Normally she was pretty good at keeping it charged, but maybe she had run out of battery while on her outing with Mina.
“Having trouble?”
Katsuki almost imperceptibly jumped; he wasn’t normally easily startled, but something about that voice had him on edge. It was like biting into a green apple: sweet, refreshing, and crisp. However, its sudden appearance made his heart race in a way that was foreign to him. He turned only to be met with the face of the man from before, the one that had been watching him, inches from his. Now that they were standing next to each other, Katsuki could see that the man was several centimeters shorter than him; his eyes were about the same height as Katsuki's nose. His frame, however, was broader than Katsuki’s. But Kastuki couldn’t really properly assess his build at the moment, as the man’s eyes had captured his with a vice-like grip.
Up close, Katsuki could see that his huge pupils were ringed by vibrant green hazed over with a dark intensity. He stared like he was looking straight through Katsuki’s eyes and into his guts, as if Katsuki was a science project and this man was determining the best way to dissect him and come to understand every bit of his essence. His gaze was calculating, not in that cold and detached way that people normally talk about, but in a way that was fiery and passionate, like he was hungrily analyzing every breath that Katsuki took, every subtle shift of his body, and using that information to peel away at his soul, layer by intimate layer.
Katsuki was not a fan of scrutinization. He hated the feeling of vulnerability that came with it, the idea that someone else could read him so easily, like they saw a social media bio or dating profile listing out who he was in simple terms instead of a complex person. However, despite his conscious discomfort, something about that gaze ignited a matching fire in him, and he found a part of himself infinitely curious, burning with an endless need to know about this stranger who should be inconsequential.
... And then there was the weird physical feeling he was feeling. The guy smelled strongly of morning rain and green apples and it was driving Katsuki up the fucking wall. Completely against his will, heat was starting to pool in Katsuki’s gut. But that was probably just a side effect of drinking water in this crappy bar. Even though it was bottled. But maybe nobody here ordered bottled water, so it was old and stagnant and full of bacteria that was causing a chemical reaction in his gut. It was unlikely, but a more logical explanation than the one that most people would consider obvious and that Katsuki wasn’t going to consider at all.
Then the man raised an eyebrow at him and Kastuki’s stomach totally didn’t feel fluttery at the flirty gesture because he remembered that the man had asked him a question. Something about if the pay phone was giving him trouble or something?? Which it probably wasn’t, Ochako was probably the one causing him problems, and he totally didn’t need help using a damn phone, but unless this man was broke, he should have a phone that Katsuki could try just in case. “Yeah, I think this stupid phone is broken. Could I borrow yours?”
The man’s face split into a huge grin. “Yeah, follow me.”
“Ummm, ok?” Since he apparently didn’t have it on him, this man was probably someone who actually wasn’t codependent with his phone, a rare find these days. Not that he was trying to find anyone in any way. Damnit those stupidly big eyes and the bacteria-infested water were messing with his head. Kastuki did his best to ignore the weird direction his thoughts were flowing and followed the guy in the direction of his table.
“I’m Izuku Midoriya by the way.”
“Katsuki Bakugou.” Katsuki Bakugou grunted absentmindedly, pondering the familiar name. He hadn’t bothered to remember the name of the love interest from The Alpha’s Mate, as calling him ‘Dumb Alpha Guy’ was much easier, but hadn’t it been pretty similar to Izuku? This was getting really fucking weird. Especially when Izuku headed right past his table and towards the door. “Where are you going?”
Izuku looked back at him, green curls bouncing. “To my car, ya know’ where my phone is.”
Damn. This man did not care about his phone at all. How ... refreshing. “Well, if we’re going outside then I gotta grab my card from the bar first.” He turned and walked back to the bartender, who was doing the stupid classic washing a glass bartender move–seriously this guy was practically an npc– and held out his hand for the card. “Hey, I’m back for my card.”
The bartender turned his sleazy grin back to him. “Oh, so you’re finally back.” He pulled the card out of his pocket and held it between 2 fingers next to his face like it was a dart he was preparing to throw. “You left before I could tell you that we’re not one of those fancy establishments that takes cards. You must come from somewhere rich if you think a bar could ring you up on a card.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Even small homegrown businesses selling their fuckass candles at the farmer’s market take cards these days.”
“Well, and I say this with the utmost respect, sir, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but we only take cash here.” The bartender smiled and wiggled the card between his fingers, as if telling Katsuki to pay up or go ahead and fight him over this stupid argument.
Katsuki huffed and reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet. “Fine, how much is the damn water bottle?” This stupid bitch with his stupid fugly suspenders was simply not worth it.
“50 cents.” Damn that was cheap, which was good because if this had been one of those fuckass $10 bottles then Katuki probably would have thrown himself across the table and strangled the man. The bartender finally held the card out to Katsuki and winked. “I’ll trade ya’?”
Katsuki probably would have snatched his card right out of the man’s hand on pure instinct alone, but before he could even think about ungrasping his fingers from his wallet, a warm chest pressed against his back, a large rough hand pushed the hand with the wallet down, and that crisp voice floated on the air to his ears like the scent of apples on a summer day, which scent actually was wafting over to his nose. “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it.”
Katsuki slowly turned his head to the right to see Izuku staring the bartender down in a manner that seemed almost angry. His face was so close that Katsuki’s nose almost brushed Izuku’s cheek when he turned. Katsuki’s heart thumped, out of irritation, obviously. “It’s only 50¢; I don’t need you to fucking pity pay for me.”
Izuku turned his gaze on him, his expression much softer than it had been when he was looking at the bartender. “It’s not out of pity; I just want to pay for you.” Katsuki’s heart did a funny twisty thing at that. “Besides,” he stepped back, pulled 2 quarters out of his pocket, handed them to the bartender, and took Katsuki’s card back in one fell swoop before Katsuki had time to recover from his chest palpitations, “I’ve already done it.”
Katsuki spluttered, “Wh- hey!” He fumbled his wallet open, pulled out his OWN 2 quarters, and shoved them at the bartender. “Give his damn quarters back and take mine!”
The bartender put his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I already got the money I need; I’m not going to interfere with your little old married couple fight.”
Katsuki spluttered again (his cool reputation at this bar was not looking good).“Our WHAT??!!! We’re barely even acquaintances, you grungy little rat!”
The bartender’s mustache twitched when he smirked and jerked his head towards Izuku. “He clearly doesn’t think your relationship is that insignificant.”
Katsuki swiveled his head to see Izuku fucking pouting??! “Dude, we met literally 2 minutes ago; why are you acting like I kicked your kitten??!”
Izuku turned big watery eyes on him. “I can’t help it; we had an instant connection! Of course I feel like we’re more than acquaintances!”
Katsuki rolled his eyes, his stomach rolling along with them. “It doesn’t matter what you think because we are acquaintances, and you are going to take these quarters whether you like it or not!” He grabbed Izuku’s hand and pressed the quarters into his palm.
Izuku didn’t push them back, but he did hold Katsuki’s hand to his own with his other hand. “Fine. If that’s really what you want, then I’ll take them.” He squeezed Katsuki’s hand before letting go.
Katsuki pulled his hand back before trying to shake out the feeling of warm hands. “Whatever, let’s just go.” He turned to sneer at the bartender. “By the way, I think your elderly phone is broken. Later, asshole.” He turned and strutted to the door.
Izuku covered up a giggle with a hand over his mouth and then ran ahead to open the door for Katsuki. Katsuki scoffed at the gesture, this guy was clearly a goody two shoes to the point it was ridiculous, but said nothing and followed him outside to a surprisingly shiny old-fashioned Aston Martin. “So, you’re the type to leave your phone in your car, huh?”
The green-haired man gave him a bit of a strange look. “Well, yeah.”
Ok, rude. Katsuki glared and tapped his foot while Izuku opened the car’s passenger door and gestured for him to get in. Katsuki rolled his eyes. “I’m not gonna get in your damn car, just hand me the phone.”
Izuku peered into the car with a judging eye. “Uhh, I don’t think the chord will reach that far.”
Chord? Katsuki leaned closer to him to see inside, only to be met with the sight of a retro phone in the car. He couldn’t help but scoff out a laugh. “No fucking way? Is that one of those old-fashioned phones that lives in your car?”
Izuku laughed. “As far as I know, this is pretty recent technology. I got this baby brand-spanking new about only a year ago.” He smacked the car door affectionately and winked.
“Did you get this custom-made then? You must be filthy rich.” He walked around the car to look more closely at the Aston Martin logo. “Your car is nice, but can this really be considered a real Aston Martin if it’s a custom copy?”
“No, I got this from a dealership.” His face was slowly shifting from flirty to concerned, but Katsuki barely registered the change because his eyes had drifted down to Izuku’s license plate.
Katsuki realized he’d been so focused on finding out information about his monster truck and contacting Ochako that he hadn’t stopped to really think about where he was. He had just assumed he was still somewhere in Northern California and only a couple hours away from home, but ... He turned to look Izuku in his fiery eyes. “Do you happen to be traveling right now?”
Izuku shifted awkwardly. “Ummm no, I live about a 20 minute drive away.”
“So, since you have a Ohioan license plate that must mean that we’re in ... Ohio.”
“Uhh, yeah. We’re in Southern Ohio.” Izuku’s brows were quite furrowed, probably in confusion at the strange questions, and he took a step forward. ”Are you okay, Katsuki? You seem distressed.”
Katsuki’s head was spinning. Ohio. As in the state Ohio. As in the-complete-opposite-side-of-the-fucking-country Ohio. That had to be at least a 36 hour drive from Standord, and that was without stops! Just how long had he been out?! He strode over to Izuku and put his hands on Izuku’s shoulders, finding the stranger somehow grounding. His green apple and fresh rain scent was a calming balm in the whirlwind of chaos he felt swirling through him. “What day is it??”
Izuku put his hands over Katsuki’s and looked him in the eyes, searching Katsuki’s for answers. “It’s June 25th.” He pulled Katsuki’s hands from his shoulders and rubbed soothing circles into his wrists with his thumbs. “Seriously, what’s wrong? Why didn’t you know when and where we are??”
June 25th. That was about 2 and a half months later than he thought it was. 2 and a half months of his life just GONE. Oh fuck, classes, finals, all his soccer games and training, had he missed ALL of them??!! And FUCK, Ochako, his friends, his mom and dad must be worried out of their damn minds!!
A part of himself he had never encountered before begged him to nuzzle into Izuku’s arms and smell him and allow himself to be held and find comfort in Izuku’s warmth, to tell Izuku all his problems and let him take care of them for him. But the rest of Katsuki, the rational part, knew that was bullshit. If he wanted to figure things out and make things better than he needed to fucking MOVE.
He wrenched his hands away from Izuku’s and practically dived into the passenger seat, grabbing at the phone with frustrated hands to dial Ochako’s number. He punched the numbers in and held the phone to his ear, but nothing happened. He smacked the damn thing and growled, “why isn’t it working??”
The driver’s door opened and Izuku slid in. “Hold on, let me turn the car on.” Katsuki barely held himself back from snatching the keys from Izuku and just doing the damn job himself, and instead started dialing Ochako’s number again as soon as Izuku finished turning the key in the ignition lock cylinder.
To his dismay, he was once again met with “We're sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”
Katsuki slammed the phone back into the receiver. “Damnit!” He dialed again, this time his mom’s number, then his dad’s, and even Eijirou’s, but he was met with the same stupid fucking voice message everytime. Katsuki smacked the dashboard with an anguished viciousness. “Fuck!” He grabbed Izuku by the collar. “Why doesn’t your damn phone work??!!”
Izuku wrapped his hands around Katsuki’s wrists, letting him keep hold of his collar but also not letting Katsuki shake him around. “I don’t know why my phone isn’t working, but maybe we can figure it out. Why don’t you calm down and tell me what’s going on?”
Katsuki gritted his teeth and clenched his fists even harder in Izuku’s shirt. “How the fuck am I supposed to calm down in this situation?!!”
Izuku gently pried Katsuki’s hands from his shirt and guided them to his neck, where he rubbed Katsuki’s wrists on his neck. A feeling of calm washed over him, and he was once again nearly overwhelmed with the urge to climb onto Izuku’s lap and rub his face all over him like a cat.
Katsuki yanked his hands away, unsettled by the feeling. “What the hell are you doing??”
Izuku looked at him with his giant puppy eyes. “What do you mean? I’m just scenting you. Is it not helping?”
Katsuki’s brain died for a second, before it rebooted, all the gears in his head whirring and putting together pieces into a very unsightly puzzle. The karaoke bar, the pay phone and its failures, Izuku’s face and name, the ‘brand spanking new’ Aston Martin, Ohio, July, etc etc. He looked Izuku right in his big watery eyes and asked, “who am I to you?”
Izuku’s brows furrowed in confusion and Katsuki could practically see imaginary dog ears flattening against his head. “You’re my omega ...?”
“Oh hell nah!!” Katsuki opened the car door and stepped out into the parking lot before yelling as loud as he could, “Where are you, Ochako?? You can stop with this shit now, I get it! I won’t make fun of you for reading stupid trash anymore!” He glared around, waiting for a fake scenery background to fall down and reveal a camera crew, or even just for Ochako to jump out of the bushes.
Nothing happened.
Izuku got out of the car and came to stand by Katsuki. “Um, Katsuki?”
Katsuki ignored Izuku and started running around the parking lot, checking the cars and buildings for cameras and mics and muttering to himself, “where are they? Where are they?” Izuku followed him around and attempted to say something a few times, but the idiot could never spit out what he wanted to say. Probably he wasn’t sure what to do now that his cover had been blown.
After not finding anything in the cars or on the building, Katsuki started digging through the bushes that lined the lot. “I swear when I find you, Ochako, I will commit unspeakable crimes that make stepping on a lego seem pleasant!!”
He was basically buried in a bush when Izuku finally found his words and squeaked them out. “Um, Katsuki? Do you ... not want me as your alpha?”
Katsuki stuck his head out of the bush and growled before barking out, “I know this is a prank, you can stop with the ridiculous act!”
Izuku’s face slackened in hurt and surprise. “What do you mean ‘an act’?!”
Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Look, I don’t know how much Ochako is paying you, but seriously, I get it, this is a prank, so you can stop pretending that I’m your omega!”
Izuku’s face stiffened back up into mild offense. “What?! Nobody’s paying me! The moment you walked in, I knew you were mine! My wolf told me, and it’s still telling me that you’re my omega! Is yours not telling you that I’m your alpha?”
He looked like a sad puppy, and Katsuki couldn’t help but feel like his own inner puppy had been kicked by that expression. Damn, this guy was good. And also not ... because if he was a good actor, why would he ask Katsuki to look within at his own feelings? Wouldn’t that ruin the faux affect created from his insane visuals and emotional acting? Not that it really mattered because Katsuki was not going to waste time ‘listening to his inner wolf’ when he already knew this was all an act. He sighed and turned to address the talented idiot. “Ok, I get it, you’re not going to stop acting. But you’re not my fucking problem, so I’m going to find my way off this set so I can beat Ochako up and find my monster truck.” He finally climbed out of the bush and got all up in Izuku’s face with his craziest sneer. “Don’t follow me, or so help me, you’ll be my next punching bag after Ochako.”
Doing his best to avoid Izuku’s tractor beam eyes, Katsuki turned on his heel and stalked off down the road.