Chapter Text
It was the 2nd Thursday evening of the month, which means it was time for Izuku, Shoto, and Katsuki’s monthly izakaya meetup. The three have held up this tradition for many months now, frequently switching the restaurant location to somewhere new each time, usually per Katsuki’s recommendation.
The only thing that made this month’s meetup different was the fact that Katsuki couldn't make it this time. Something about an accident happening at the Dynamight Hero Agency earlier, and Katsuki having to stay behind to supervise and clean things up.
Naturally, upon receiving that text, both Izuku and Shoto insisted on stopping by the agency to lend a helping hand, but Katsuki was able to convince the two to enjoy their dinner without him.
‘You think I can’t handle this on my own? I ain’t owing you morons shit, go enjoy your only day out and don’t worry about me, damn it’, was the convincing text in question.
It’s true that the three of them are too busy to spare much more than one evening out with each other these days, and Izuku especially has been combating burnout from his extensive teacher/pro-hero schedule.
So, Izuku and Shoto opted into visiting an izakaya that they were already familiar with. The evening is relaxing and the food is good, although Izuku is missing their usual back-and-forth banter that accompanies Katsuki’s presence.
But that’s not all that’s different this time– for some reason Shoto decided to bring along his Nintendo Switch to show off his progress on this new game that came out recently.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is the name of the game.
Of course, Izuku’s heard of it. It seems the game has taken the whole country by storm. It’s impossible to scroll far on social media without seeing little sprites resembling celebrities and fictional characters, acting out strange scenarios in random clips. He’s also confiscated quite a few devices this past month, since it seems his students can’t keep their hands off the game for two seconds.
Shoto seems to have fallen under the same spell, but Izuku happily takes this opportunity to learn what exactly makes this game so intriguing.
Izuku listens to Shoto’s ramblings. He learns that Shoto has made little characters of everyone from their high school class, along with some others outside of Class-A, the teachers, family, and other pro-heroes as well.
The resemblance of most of these sprites is uncanny, to say the least. Apparently the new “facepaint” feature allows the player to make extremely accurate customization, depending on the user’s skill level.
Shoto shows Izuku his island, his buildings, the terrain, and how he was able to create a pretty convincing replica of the UA building, and his hero agency as well. Impressed, Izuku asks Shoto how he managed to create all this so accurately in such little time since the game was released.
“I worked hard,” is all he says.
This is all so different and more advanced from what Izuku remembers from the Wii and 3DS days. Izuku does own a Nintendo Switch himself, although it’s been collecting dust in his closet for over 6 years. He got it as a birthday present long ago. He wonders if it still works.
It’s been so long since he’s had free time to indulge in games, he can’t help but feel a pang of envy listening to how enamored Shoto is by this game. He’s always admired how Shoto can steadily hold the position of #2 Hero while also engaging in fun hobbies on the side.
If Izuku really wanted to, could he make time for a silly game like this? Izuku loses himself in the sound of Shoto’s monotone ramblings.
On Izuku’s own island, he would definitely make a variation from each of All Might's eras: Young Age, Bronze Age, Silver Age, Golden Age… He could make his current true form version as well, since it would feel wrong not to. He would make all his favorite pro-heroes, which now includes many of his friends and coworkers.
He knows all the costumes and agency building designs like the back of his hand. He’s sure with a little practice, the learning curve shouldn’t be too bad.
“Oh yeah forgot to mention,” Shoto’s voice echoes in the back of Izuku’s mind, muffled by the daydream visions of his perfect little island. Izuku takes a sip of tea.
“You and Bakugou are dating on my island.”
Izuku chokes on his drink, slamming his cup a bit too loudly on the table. He clears his throat and stares at Shoto, as if trying to register what he just heard.
“Um… Wait, what?”
“Sorry. It kind of just happened. Is that okay?”
Is that okay.
The words repeat in his head with the same deadpan flourish Shoto delivered them in.
“Uhh, haha,” Izuku laughs, clearly taken aback. “What, uh… What do you mean? The miis can, like… date each other?”
“Yeah,” Shoto replies very matter-of-factly. “In this game the miis can get crushes on each other as long as their dating preferences align. They can also get married and have kids, regardless of gender. It’s pretty progressive,” he says fondly.
Married… Kids… Dating… Kacchan… Preferences align…
This is a lot for Izuku to process.
“Huh,” is all he can get out. “Yeah, that is pretty progressive… but, um, d-did you… Sorry, did you say that mine and Kacchan’s dating preferences… align? How?”
Izuku’s head is spinning.
Does Todoroki-kun think Kacchan and I are gay or something? He doesn’t seem the type to assume. And I don’t remember discussing anything of the sort with him. Wait, has he talked to Kacchan about this before? Did Kacchan tell him that? Is Kacchan…?
“Ah, well, I explained it in the group chat a few days ago. The chat with our classmates. You read the texts I sent, right?”
“What texts??”
Izuku whips out his phone, hoping to get some answers to this extremely strange topic of conversation.
He scrolls down his message log, passing multiple unread DMs. Some are spam, some are notifications from subscriptions that are being renewed, or alerts about packages arriving. Some are work related, some are personal that he’s just been too busy to reply to. He purposefully leaves them marked as unread so that he can get back to them eventually.
He finds the Class A group chat marked with a red bubble on the left indicating 20+ unread messages, as well as a red “mute” symbol on the right.
Ah, right. He forgot to unmute that chat a while ago.
“Sorry, Todoroki-kun, it looks like I missed it,” Izuku says, mind preoccupied as he opens the chat and scrolls upward to find the start of the conversation.
“It’s okay,” Shoto says earnestly. He’s gone back to tapping away at the buttons on his Switch. “I basically just asked for everyone’s birthdays and dating preferences. And for anyone who didn’t reply, I said I would just mark them down for all.”
Izuku finds the beginning of the chat logs.
Todoroki:
Hello everyone. I hope you are doing well. When you have the chance, could you please reply with the information below at your earliest convenience? Thanks.
-BIRTHDATE
-Dating Preference(mark all that apply):
-Male
-Female
-Non-Binary
(6 ❓ reactions, 2 😮 reactions)
Ashido:
???????
Kirishima:
Yooo is this a scam??
Sero:
Bros running a survey
Kaminari:
Nice try, fed!!!!!!
Yaoyorozu:
Hello Todoroki-kun, thank you for the message. I am doing well, how are you? Please see below for my responses, I hope they are useful to you. Thank you very much.
-BIRTHDATE: 9/23
-Dating Preference(mark all that apply):
-Male
-Female X
-Non-Binary X
(3 ❤️ reactions)
Ida:
Todoroki-kun, this is sensitive information being asked. May I ask what this data will be used for?
Yaoyorozu:
Oh my. Should I have not sent that text? Should I delete? Please advise…
Jirou:
I’m also gay af if that helps lol
(2 💀 reactions)
Mineta:
Don’t answer!!! A reporter probably hacked Todoroki’s phone and is trying to get a scoop on a new scandal!!! They’re always trying to ruin my reputation
Sero:
What reputation?
(2 😂 reactions, 1 👎 reaction)
Uraraka:
Wow!! Yaomomo and Kyoka went for it!! So bold!
Asui:
Todoroki-chan, is it possible that you bought the new tomodachi life game? lol
Todoroki (in response to Asui):
Yes. Sorry, I should have specified.
Todoroki (in response to Ida):
This information will be used in my personal Tomodachi Life save file and nowhere else. I just wanted your miis to be as accurate as possible– feel free to message back privately. I guess for anyone who doesnt respond I’ll just mark all the options. Thanks
Hagakure:
OMG wait are you making us in your game Todoroki??? Thats sooooo cute!!!!! My bday is june 16th and you can put male pref for me ty!!! Be sure to share pics!!! <3
Aoyama:
Male pref for moi as well~ ★ and birthday may 30th… be sure to get my good side !!
(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
Tokoyami:
A fool is the one who gives out such dark secrets so easily.
Shinsou:
july 1st. mark me for 1 and 3 idc
(3 👍 reactions)
Tokoyami:
wait really
Jirou:
fork found in kitchen
Kaminari (in response to Shinsou):
soooo you’re saying i have a chance
(4 👎 reactions)
Ojiro:
I’m just gonna message u privately todoroki 😅
(6+ 🙂↕️ reactions)
Izuku is hardly blinking as he scrolls through each text message, absorbing all this new information. There’s some more friendly banter, some casual back-and-forths, and a few others who freely state their dating preferences.
The thought never crossed Izuku’s mind to wonder about the sexual orientation of his classmates, and if it weren’t for Shoto’s nonchalant approach to boldly ask in the group chat, he might have never known or guessed any of these answers.
He reaches the end of the messages, noticing a few classmates didn’t leave messages at all, Katsuki being one of them.
“Ahh, I see now,” Izuku sighs, feeling like he finally has a grasp on the situation. He chuckles slightly at the silliness of it all. “So since I didn’t reply, you just marked me down for all preferences, right?”
“Yes. If it’s wrong I can change it, but…”
“Ah, so it’s not too late?”
“Well, no, but… ah.”
Shoto makes a complicated face that looks both apologetic and worried. His eyebrows are drawn together with concern as he stares down at his screen.
“What’s wrong, Todoroki-kun?”
“It’s just that… I’m pretty sure that once I change your dating preferences, then you two will break up, and– well… You guys look so happy… See?”
Shoto turns the Switch around and hands Izuku the console.
“I don’t think I have the heart to do that… Maybe you can give them a chance?” Shoto pleads, a bit too earnestly.
Izuku blinks down at the screen and is met with two little sprites called Midoriya and Bakugou.
The two miis are teetering up and down on a seesaw, yapping away at each other with smiles and blush on their faces. The characters are so absurdly cute, as well as uncanny to the real thing– even the scars are accurate. And even though the Bakugou mii is smiling, his brows and mouth are still drawn in a grumpy expression.
There’s white text at the top right that says Sweethearts for 3 days, as well as pink arrows facing each other that each say Falling in Love.
The miis do look very happy.
Izuku smiles, because how can he not? There’s a lot to smile about in this situation.
The silly circumstance that led to two little pretend sprites of him and Katsuki “dating”. The fact that it’s him and Katsuki specifically, who have never come close to doing anything as cartoonishly cute as having a date on a seesaw together. The fact that Shoto seems genuinely heartbroken over the chance of this relationship ending.
It’s just all so silly and adorable, he’s not sure why he got so worked up earlier. Wait, was he getting worked up?
“Todoroki-kun, it’s fine,” Izuku laughs. “You don’t have to change anything. It’s just a game, you can leave it however you want. I really don’t mind.”
Izuku wants to laugh again at the pure look of relief on Shoto’s face. Izuku is feeling a bit relieved himself, but more so of the fact that Katsuki isn’t here right now. He can’t help but feel like Katsuki would have caused a ruckus and forced Shoto to make the little miis breakup.
Out of everyone, you allowed HIM to date ME? Delete that shit, Icyhot!!!
Izuku can hear the screaming in his head loud and clear, and he lets out a fond sigh.
Shoto has directed his attention to the rest of the food on his plate. The game was keeping him so occupied, he hadn't even finished his meal.
With Shoto’s encouragement, Izuku absentmindedly moves the camera around and explores the game a bit. He hovers over his lookalike, and little words pop-up at the bottom of the screen.
They’re dreaming of what being a hero would be like together.
Izuku can’t hold back his cheesy grin. Even in a completely different universe, they’re talking about the same things, huh? Because even without the blush and the pink hearts and the whole sweethearts dealio, being a hero is what’s always brought them together. Ever since they were kids, ever since high school, even now as Izuku sits at #4 and Katsuki at #5 on the Hero Charts.
And the fact that someone with an outside perspective, someone like Shoto, can create an accurate universe of them like this just proves how strong that bond is.
Maybe he’s looking too much into it. Maybe it’s all coincidence. Either way, he can see why this game would be so time-consuming. It’s way too cute.
The miis are walking together now. Izuku presses A on his mii, and the mii reacts with a ! bubble. Suddenly it’s speaking to him.
I was hoping you’d stop by to chat, plus ultra!
Izuku laughs to himself. Does he really sound like that? He clicks on the … speech bubble next to his mii.
Do you think Kacchan and I look good together?
There’s no response option. The little Midoriya mii just stares at Izuku, with his hands politely folded in front of him. He backs out of the dialogue and moves the cursor to the Bakugou mii this time.
The Bakugou mii is startled with an “Um!” and then begins to speak.
Hmph, whaddya want.
Izuku laughs again. Shoto really nailed it here. The mii sounds exactly like Katsuki, and moves like him too, greeting in a nonchalant fashion. The voices, nicknames, and greetings are all customizable? This game really is something.
Izuku is amused and smiling, eager to press the speech bubble so that the Bakugou mii speaks again. It does.
Every moment with Izuku is…special to me. I wish we could spend even more time together, damn it.
His smile drops.
Huh. That’s weird.
Izuku knows that Katsuki has never said something like that to him before. So why does it feel so… familiar? Is his memory acting up or something?
The cold wave of deja vu leaves a small ache in his chest.
“It’s getting kinda late,” Shoto’s voice breaks Izuku’s train of thought. Izuku looks up to see Shoto has finished his meal and is staring at him patiently.
“Ah, right!” Izuku hands the console back to Shoto.
Izuku takes care of the check, despite Shoto’s offering to split it. It’s Izuku’s turn to pay anyway. Shoto saves his game progress and tucks his console away safely into his bag.
They make their way out the izakaya and walk through the crisp evening air to the nearest station.
“I hope I didn’t annoy you too much with all the Tomodachi Life talk tonight.”
“You could never annoy me, Todoroki-kun,” Izuku says kindly, and he means it. “Besides, it was oddly entertaining. And informative. I can see why you find the game so fun.”
“Yeah,” Todoroki smiles to himself. “I’ll keep you updated if your miis break up or something.”
“Ahha, but that would be sad, wouldn’t it?” Izuku laughs nervously. The happy little faces of his and Katsuki’s mini-miis have been lingering in his mind.
“It would be sad,” Todoroki echoes. “But sometimes sad things happen in this game, even if you wouldn’t expect it. And most of the time, it's out of your control.”
“Hmm. Just like real life, I suppose.”
The two stand in silence for a brief moment as they wait for the next train.
Izuku wonders what Katsuki would say about all the little things they talked about tonight. He would probably dismiss it all as pointless, that it’s just a video game and it doesn’t matter, how all that matters in games is winning. But, what exactly qualifies as a “win” in a game like this one?
He wonders if Katsuki read those chat logs or not. If he purposefully didn’t answer because he thought it was stupid, or if he didn’t answer because, like Izuku, he didn’t see the texts. He wonders if Katsuki did respond, what would he have said?
He wonders how Katsuki is doing. If the situation at his agency has been handled. If he was able to grab dinner on his own. Maybe he’ll text him tonight.
And that thought reminds him of all the other unread messages he has in his phone.
“Ahh, I really need to check my messages more often,” Izuku thinks out loud.
“Cause you missed my group text? It wasn’t an emergency or anything.”
“True, but,” Izuku ponders, “if Kacchan and I had responded to your texts, then your video game versions of us would have been more accurate like you wanted.”
“Hmm, I guess so but… Bakugou did respond to me.”
The train arrives with a whirring swoosh. The train station plays its jingle, and among the hustle of passengers getting off the train, perhaps he didn’t hear Shoto correctly.
That must be it.
“He what?”
Izuku follows Shoto onto the train, and Shoto speaks a little lower now that they’re inside.
“Bakugou sent me his info in a separate text,” Shoto explains quietly. “So… I guess yours would be the only inaccurate one.”
Izuku stares at Shoto like it’s the first time he’s ever seen him. Except he’s not really looking at Shoto anymore, but more so past him, his eyes drifting off, unfocused to the far side of the train carriage.
“Kacchan… actually told you… his dating preferences?”
The sentence feels weird coming out of his mouth. Dating? Preferences? Kacchan? Izuku doesn’t think he’s ever combined those thoughts before.
“Umm, yeah. I would tell you what he said, but I don’t really think I’m at liberty to say…”
Shoto’s voice trails off, drowned out by the sound of the gears grinding inside Izuku’s head.
Shoto doesn’t have to say anything more, because Izuku already has all the info he needs to draw the right conclusion.
It’s a simple equation, really. If A equals B, and B equals C, then A must equal C as well.
Izuku and Katsuki’s miis cannot date if their preferences don’t align. Izuku’s preferences include male. So Katsuki’s must too. And they must be true, because Katsuki relayed them himself.
Katsuki likes men.
Kacchan is gay. Or bi. Or… something not straight. Definitely not straight.
His best friend that he’s known since he was a toddler is definitely not straight.
And he’s barely finding this out now.
At the age of 25.
Through a fucking Nintendo game.
“Midoriya. Are you okay?” Shoto is starting to sound genuinely concerned.
“That can’t be right,” Izuku mutters, his eyes moving like he’s solving twenty calculations at once.
“What do you mean?”
“There must be a mistake or something– a miscommunication.”
Izuku’s voice is rising slightly and the other passengers look towards them curiously.
“Maybe Kacchan made a typo, or– maybe there was a glitch in the game, or something like that, I don’t know, it just… It just doesn’t make any sense. It can’t be right.”
Shoto gives Izuku a quiet look. Then he asks a very good question.
“Why not?”
To that, Izuku doesn’t answer.
Because he doesn’t know.
The rest of the walk to his apartment is a blur.
The time between Shoto and Izuku going their separate ways at the train stop and Izuku stumbling into his living room may as well be nonexistent.
It’s 10:42PM, and he has an early start at school tomorrow. But his mind feels heavy, and he needs something to clear his head so that he doesn’t have another restless night of sleep. A hot shower should do the trick.
His body is on autopilot as he starts to lazily remove pieces of clothing, and as he removes his phone from his pocket, he sees he has some new messages.
Oh, right. He remembers he wanted to text Katsuki tonight.
Do you think Kacchan and I look good together?
The game text from early flashes across his vision. Izuku shakes it off. It’s late, and his brain is all over the place since the train ride.
He almost ignores the new messages, but he knows it’s not a healthy habit to indulge in. He unlocks his phone and opens his inbox.
His stomach does a tiny flip when he sees one of the messages is from Katsuki. Why did it do that? He opens the message.
Was able to handle the issue just fine btw. Told ya i didnt need any help. Figured your nosy ass wanted to know
Izuku smirks out of habit. That’s just like his Kacchan to be considerate while also slinging around an insult or two. But it’s true that Izuku is nosy. Over the years, he’s come to accept that he is nosy about a lot of things. Especially when it comes to Katsuki.
Izuku types up a reply.
That’s good to hear :) Todoroki and i just went to the same place as last time. You didn’t miss much so dont worry ^^ i hope you were able to get something to eat too!
Sent. Not even thirty seconds later, Katsuki responds back.
Wasn’t worried, nerd. I have a better place in mind for next time so be ready. And ofc i got something to eat– i take care of myself, unlike a certain forgetful teacher
Izuku can’t even defend himself on this one. There have been countless times Izuku’s forgotten to eat dinner or bring lunch to school, which resulted in quite a few stern talkin’-tos from Katsuki, Aizawa, and occasionally even All Might. Izuku feels lucky to have people who look out for him.
By the way Kacchan, is it true that you’re attracted to men?
Izuku’s thumb twitches in midair as his imagination types out that sentence inside his brain.
Oh my god, Izuku, you can’t just ask him that out of the blue! Izuku scolds himself at the insane impulse.
He locks his phone and tosses it on the bed, rubbing his face in exhaustion. He starts to run the shower, letting the cold water heat up.
Izuku doesn’t understand why he’s so bothered. Just earlier today, he saw at least five of his former classmates announce they’re some kind of queer via a casual group text, and he barely even batted an eye.
“If it’s bothering you that much, maybe you should just ask Bakugou yourself?”
That was one of the last things Shoto told Izuku before they went their separate ways earlier. There was no malice behind the words, no sarcasm, just pure genuine advice.
And Izuku realizes he’s right. He’s known Katsuki for so long, Izuku thought he already knew everything about him. Something of this importance should be clarified with Katsuki directly.
Not that it’s any of Izuku’s business, of course. It’s not like Izuku is owed this information, but how come Shoto got to know this info before Izuku did? Simply because Shoto asked, and Izuku didn’t? Maybe it really is that simple. Maybe to Katsuki, it isn’t a big deal.
It feels like a big deal to Izuku.
But how can he ask Katsuki something so private and personal? Where would he even start?
Izuku pauses.
The sound of running shower water fills his apartment as he leaves the bathroom half-naked and starts to dig through the back of his bedroom closet.
He’s on his knees as he digs, dust-covered boxes full of miscellaneous goods toppling over as he sloppily searches– until he finds it.
His old Nintendo Switch console is tucked away neatly in its carrying case, along with its charger all coiled up in the inner pouch.
Izuku wastes no time bringing it over to the outlet near his bed, plugging it in, and praying that it still works. He can feel the steam emanating from the open bathroom door– the water’s been hot for a while.
The screen lights up almost instantly.
Press the same button three times, it says, as if he was just using it yesterday.
Izuku puffs out a slow sigh of relief, his heart-rate slowly rising as he configures the plan in his head.
He knows what he must do.