Chapter Text
Izuku lept back, or tried to, but Katsuki’s arms were wrapped around him and held him in place. He was hit with a wave of guilt, crashing into him and knocking his heart into his stomach. He’s harassed Kacchan - and Kacchan had been really disoriented today, this was so bad . Kacchan may as well have been drunk when he’d kissed Izuku, but the same couldn’t be said for him right now . Guilty tears began to pour down his face as he tried again to get away from Katsuki, whose smile was fading as it replaced with a frown. That couldn’t be good. He needed to apologize and do whatever the hell it took to make Kacchan feel more comfortable, maybe move away from him, change companies, go to work in America like he’d been recommended to.
“Aaaah! Sorry Kacchan- I shouldn’t have done that.”
This time he was released as Katsuki began to press his hands on the floor, pushing himself back up as the greener part of the Wonder Duo started spiraling into a hurricane of anxiety.
Katsuki couldn’t believe it. In what was supposed to be the worst day of his life, he suddenly got what he thought was confirmation of what he’s wanted for years, only to have this asshole shove it all back in his face. Form trembling in a torrent of feelings, his eye twitched as he embraced the oncoming emotion.
Furious. He was furious.
“ What’s your fuckin’ problem? ” He shouted, face burning red as his partner’s as he stood up to meet him, glaring down at the shaking man in front of him.
Deku was looking greener than normal, his hand over his mouth as he heaved and started to hyperventilate. He looked like he was about to throw up but then-
“I, I don’t know, Kacchan!” Eyes squeezed shut, fists clenched at his sides, Izuku was facing the floor in shame as he tried to explain himself to his partner equal best friend love of his life.
Tears spilling onto the hardwood, Izuku felt himself shaking as he forced the next words out.
“I - I didn’t mean to hurt Kacchan.”
Two sets of shoulders slumped, tension releasing as sparking palms cooled and quieted, and teary eyes met one another.
Katsuki was… Crying? As if to prove the fact, the taller man sniffed, wiping his nose across his arm with a pained expression.
“So… You don’t, then?” Prompted Katsuki, blazing red eyes now a far duller hue.
Izuku blinked, hot tears trailing down his face, forming tributaries to connect his freckles. What?
“Huh?”
“Don’t make me say it, please.” Katsuki was looking more defeated than Izuku had ever seen him in all their years of knowing one another. He hadn’t looked this upset since their Yuuei graduation party, when he’d pulled Izuku aside after all the speeches ended - interrupting a conversation with Iida and Todoroki, no less - and finally apologized for being such a dick.
Safe to say it had been an incredibly emotional night, but oddly enough that moment had calmed Izuku down. Something about getting that peace made him brave enough to ask Kacchan to be his partner in crime - well, heroism, really. Partner in crime-fighting. And since then they’d communicated so well, hadn’t they?
Sure, Izuku never really shared everything with Katsuki, but was whatever this was about to tear them apart? They had become such a great team together, rocketing up the charts (quite literally given Katsuki’s grenades and Izuku’s ability to chuck them) and getting to a point they could practically read each other’s minds in combat - and outside the workplace. Izuku knew what Katsuki ordered at restaurants (curry with three times the recommended spice), what type of animals made him melt (bunnies and cats, although he’d never admit it) and what kind of a future he wanted. Was all of their growth about to halt?
“Of course, Kacchan.” Sniffling, Izuku continues.
“I, I would never wanna make you feel bad.”
Katsuki’s glower only grew, scathing tone cut back as he snapped, “That’s not what I meant.”
He raised his arms in frustration, clutching at some invisible force before letting his hands drop and fall onto his head, smushing some of the spikes before sliding fingers back through them. The simple motion helped him remember his father calming him down, and he really needed that level of patience his dad had.
Izuku blinked before asking, “Well, what did you mean, then?” now his tears were ceasing, but the frown expanded and his feet began to point more and more towards the door. His casual clothes were looking more disheveled, and it looked like he was about to bolt. Katsuki needed a different plan.
Sighing deeply, and far more dramatically than he should have, Katsuki tried to think about how to handle this. Now he was too embarrassed to specify what he was asking, and decided to groan his way out of a real answer before sitting down again. As he plopped down on the floor, head in his hands, he wondered out loud, “When did shit get like this?”
Green eyes shifted their focus to the floor where an incredibly muscular, handsome man sat - okay horny brain, let’s stop that train of thought - and for once in his life realized he needed to be quiet. Kacchan was hardly open about these kinds of emotions with him, and should let him keep venting. Perhaps he’d be more honest if he forgot Izuku was there. Stepping away silently, so he was almost out of the room, Izuku waited until he heard a mutter.
“How the fuck are we such a great team if I don’t even understand you?” He mused forlornly, and Izuku reached a hand out automatically before retracting it sadly as he listened to his partner ruminate.
Kicking the floor in his fuzzy All Might socks, Izuku replied without thinking, “No, Kacchan, I don’t think I understand myself,” abandoning his original plan. Hands retracted, revealing surprised red eyes as Katsuki looked up at him.
Normally, Izuku would have paid more attention. But now he was the one lost in his thoughts, tearing up again as he reflected on everything. Kacchan was right, they really were a great team - and still are! But Izuku was ruining it, making assumptions and invading Kacchan’s personal space.
Thinking back to the drive over, he couldn’t help but have a montage play through his head, bittersweet piano music included.
Katsuki had always been brilliant to him, even during the worst times they’d shared together. Something about him had consistently been astounding, and the panging he’d recently acknowledged as longing had plagued him since their youth. But something was holding him back. What was it?
They worked so well together, and given how smoothly they’d gotten along lately there was no real reason to assume things would go awry between them - they’d both matured significantly with each passing year! But there was some hesitation clinging to his desire to confess.
Middle school had really sucked. Despite all of the fun they’d had together before and afterwards, Izuku vividly recalled the heartbreak he’d suffered when they hadn’t been close, and a part of him said, “If things went wrong, we’d be back there again.” and that would destroy everything.
All the effort he’d put in to get back by Kacchan’s side would be undone, and they would lose their duoship.
When they were four, Izuku constantly drew pictures of them together as heroes - admittedly their uniforms were suspiciously like All Might’s (they WERE four) - and they always dreamed of creating their own agency as they rose to the top. In middle school he’d write about Katsuki and how cool he was, even when he was being a dick - and in high school you’d have to have been a vegetable not to notice the obsession he’d had over his childhood best friend. Had Izuku been in love with him for this long?
Gasping slightly, he knew his answer: yes.
Every battle they’d fought together, every win and loss they’d experienced, every ramen night when they’d talk about anything and (almost) everything - it had all felt so right . And now he knew why.
If they’d been feeling better, perhaps the moment would have felt more poetic in a brighter way. But no, it was all drama here, at least until…
Izuku’s stomach growled.
Oops.
Welp, there went the awkward silence. The loud rumble blasted through the quiet space and seemed to break the tension a little.
Blushing as he looked down in embarrassment, Izuku almost missed the sounds of Katsuki snorting and standing up.
The taller of the two slid past him, bumping into him slightly as he?
“Where are you going?”
“Kitchen, duh. Your nerdass is hungry and SOMEbody needs to fix that.”
Giggling, Izuku smiled as Katsuki made his way to the kitchen he really needed to learn to use better.
The room had state-of-the-art appliances and a giant fridge (Izuku may or may not have a problem with wanting a farmers’ market in his home at all times) stuffed with Tupperware containers of chopped vegetables and fruit that Izuku wasn’t exactly the best at preparing.
Naturally, Katsuki knew this and looked about ready to lose it before he found the spice cabinet and a container of chicken. Digging out curry and other various spices, he asked Izuku to pass him a bottle of coconut milk and to get some rice going.
“Do you have a pressure cooker?” He asked, sorting through the vegetable containers. Izuku shook his head in confusion.
“A what now?”
“A- just forget it, nerd. It’s not like you’d know how to use it, anyways.” Katsuki smirked, looking deeper into the fridge for any last minute additions to the curry he was about to make.
“Just get the water boiling on the stove, even a Deku like you can do that.”
Izuku hauled ass over to the counter, pulling out a large pot for the rice and started the heat up. As he waited for the bubbles to start coming up, he watched Katsuki organize all the vegetables he wanted to use and chop up the chicken he’d found. His knife movements were incredibly precise, a trait Izuku probably could have feared if he didn’t know Kacchan so well.
Smiling, he started humming and didn’t realize Kacchan was paying attention until the chicken was sizzling on a pan and he got a tap on the shoulder (clean hands, though, Kacchan wouldn’t have been unsanitary) and a chuckle as he was teased.
“Beauty and the Beast? Really?” Katsuki’s face was stretched into a wry grin, eyes rolling up as Izuku realized he’d been humming “Evermore”. Oops.
Crossing his arms and pouting, Izuku exclaimed, “Kacchan! It’s a perfectly lovely musical.”
And it was. It wasn’t his fault he liked stories with flowers and elaborate buildings and powerful people. Or romance. Hmph, what did Kacchan know.
As the chuckle got louder, Izuku realized he must have said that out loud. Slapping a hand over his mouth, he flushed and heard Katsuki wheezing. Oh dear god, why was his filter so bad? Had it always been this bad?
“Yes.” Katsuki was doubled over, leaning away from the cooking meat as he cackled. As he inhaled loudly his face screwed up, turning away from Izuku and apologizing.
“What’s wrong Kacchan?”
“I smell fucking gross, why didn’t you tell me to shower?”
“Kacchan doesn’t smell gross! Kacchan smells like candy!” Izuku pouted before realizing that probably wasn’t the most friendly way of responding to his partner’s concerns. Hm. Yeah, he probably could have made that sound a little less charged.
Eyes widening, Katsuki took a step back, trying not to reveal how excited that comment made him. In an effort to get away quickly before he did anything stupid, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“I’mma steal some of your clothes.”
“Kacchan!” Izuku balked, confused as hell.
“Haah? I need them so I can shower, idiot!” Katsuki spluttered, trying desperately not to blush.
“Oh!”
“Yeah.”
“Of course, Kacchan. Just, go take whatever you think will fit you.”
“If anything will, short fuckin’ nerd.”
“If you don’t want my clothes Kacchan, feel free to be ungrateful and walk around naked-”
“Oh my fuck Izuku what the-"
The two froze. Deku's eyes were wide and sparkling, and his mouth parted in wonder. He looked like a child seeing the Milky Way for the first time, completely taken aback by what was in front of him.
Feeling a familiar impulse creep up in his gut, Katsuki forced himself to take a step back and told his partner to "keep an eye on the food" and "don't you dare burn any of this shit, I won't be responsible for the fire alarm going off" as he headed off to the bathroom.
Izuku stood alone in the kitchen, jaw dropped and zoning out at the fact that not only had Katsuki called him Izuku for the first time in years, but he was also about to be naked in his apartment? Okay, so nothing was going to happen, but that didn't change the fact he'd be alone in the same general space with those arms. And abs. And terrible personality.
Sighing without thinking, Izuku almost knocked the chicken off the stove when he bent over, leaning on the handle. Stumbling as he caught himself, he tried to remember his instructions.
Remove the chicken, warm up the vegetables and then add the spices? He could do that, couldn't he? Kacchan would probably appreciate the help!
Pushing up his sleeves, Izuku got to work.
Meanwhile, Katsuki could barely focus as the near scalding water pelted his back. Mindlessly he grabbed the shampoo bottle and dumped entirely too much into his hand before slapping it directly into his hair like a heathen.
His mother would be furious if she knew. He'd learned from plenty of bathtimes that in order to look nice, he should lather the soap in his hands first or his spikes would retain product and then he'd look like "a Draco Malfoy reject," a harsh standard to avoid.
As he ignored the rapidly growing mountain of bubbles on his scalp, he felt himself get pissed trying to avoid the thought of the fact he could be in there with Deku if he'd done some things differently. Like, actually talked. Or listened.
Grimacing as the last of the excess shampoo finally left his "wet dandelion" locks, Katsuki grabbed the body wash and started sudsing up. Then he froze.
Why the fuck did Izuku's body wash smell like him?
Eyes widening as shaking palms threatened to break the bottle, Katsuki trembled with rage in the shower for a solid thirty seconds before hauling ass to get clean. This little fucker had some explaining to do.
The curry was not doing okay. Like, at all.
Biting his nails, Izuku started playing some music in the desperate hope that Katsuki wouldn't notice how… Different ... The food looked.
Stirring considerably harder than he needed to, Izuku was at risk of damaging his utensils. Sparks of One for All began to light up around his figure and he continued swirling the wooden spoon around, again and again until…
"Where the fuck's your closet?"
Standing less than thirty feet from him was a soaking Bakugou Katsuki, wrapped in a hideous green towel, hair a complete disaster - with all the confidence he'd always carried himself with.
Izuku couldn't blink. Hell, he could hardly breathe. There was something so dreadfully intimate, so domestic about seeing his partner like this. His heart hurt.
As he stared at Katsuki, he noticed his mouth moving faster, throat clenching and relaxing as his vocal chords tensed with his voice. His eyes were a familiar blaze, and that frown, dear God that frown, it made him weak in the knees. Whoever said fine lines weren't a good look clearly never had the blessing of seeing Katsuki frustrated. A look that was growing ever stronger, now that Izuku thought about it.
"Huh! What, Kacchan?"
"Oh for the love of- forget it, I'll find it myself!" Katsuki stomped off, busting open every door he came in contact with.
He was going to find this closet. Irony be damned.
Finally changed, Katsuki sat down and ate some of the curry. He liked it just fine, but knew Izuku's palette wouldn't be pleased at the spice content.
"You forgot to add the fucking milk, didn't you?"
He was met with silence. But it didn’t matter, the unspoken ‘oops’ resounded through the quiet apartment.
Grabbing the bottle and unscrewing the lid, Katsuki sloshed a considerable amount in, stirring carefully. Tsking, he looked at Izuku and sloshed in coconut milk into the pot still on the stove. Thankfully there was enough left so if he incorporated this shit right, Izuku would actually be able to eat.
Feeling particularly salty about his basic instructions being ignored (and maybe the fact it took him way longer to find the closet, and sorting through Deku’s clothes was really awkward), Katsuki did something he probably wouldn’t have had the guts to do, if he wasn’t so pissed.
“Y’know,” Izuku’s head snapped up from his (now) significantly milder bowl, spoon clenched tightly in his scarred hand. Katsuki held no sympathy.
“I wouldn’t have fuckin’ showered if I’d have known I’d smell the fuckin’ same to you.”
“W-What?”
Izuku stuffed the spoonful of curry into his mouth, trying to think of an answer before the acceptable amount of chewing time passed, and he’d have to swallow. Could he buy some more time by drinking afterwards? No! He needed to focus on this.
“I said,” Katsuki glowered at his own plate, practically glowing orange and red from the surplus of spices.
“I smell like your goddamn body wash, the fuck’s up with that? You tryna mock me or some shit?”
“Oh, um - about that-” Izuku stammered, trying to regain composure he couldn’t seem to hold onto. Taking a deep breath in, he paused for a second before saying:
“I like it because it smells like Kacchan.” Crimson blooming across his face, he shoved another spoonful of curry and rice into his mouth, looking anywhere but at the dumbstruck expression on Katsuki’s face.
The awkward silence stretched on for a few more seconds, the only noise coming from plates and utensils moving about.
Until Katsuki dropped his spoon and threw up his hands in exasperation.
“Fuck it. That’s it. We’re really doing this.”
Green eyes widened comically as Izuku looked at Katsuki, whose typically aggressive or otherwise cranky face now was looking bashful and irritated.
It was a surprisingly cute look.
Groaning as he stood up, Katsuki met Izuku’s bambi eyes and asked, “What the fuck are we doing, Deku?”
“We’re eating dinner, Kacchan.”
“No, dipshit. I mean, what are we doing? We’ve…” stammering, Katsuki grimaced as he forced the next few words out.
“We’ve… Kissed twice, and I don’t know what it means.”
“I’m sorry, Kacchan…” Izuku was sniffling, wiping his nose with the back of his hand as he leaned away from his plate. Unable to meet Katsuki’s eyes, he started mumbling.
“Kacchan didn’t ask me to, and he was delirious when he…” Sniff, “Did that, so” eyes clenched shut, “It’s unforgivable of me to have done that to him! Kacchan deserves to have his boundaries respected, and I didn’t do that! I was selfish and a bad friend and if Kacchan doesn’t want to be partners anymore I understand!” Head bowed down, he pushed his plate away and plopped his head on the table.
“What. The. FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?” Izuku’s neck snapped up as he saw Katsuki glowering, clutching a kitchen towel in one hand - he must have started to clean the dishes - and standing tensely, gripping the kitchen counter in his other hand. His eyes were familiar semicircles now, the corners turned up so dramatically Izuku could have sworn they extended past his face. Before he could respond, Katsuki stepped forward and continued, voice booming.
“Did you seriously just fuckin’ tell me YOU disrespected MY boundaries? Who’s the one who planted one on you in the first place? You’re upset with YOURSELF and that’s why you’re quitting? How fuckin’ dare you!”
Izuku watched, frozen in awe as Katsuki kept moving forward, grip releasing the countertop (there must have been dents in it), eyes watering slightly in the subtle way only Izuku ever seemed to see.
“K-Kacchan?”
Katsuki was directly in front of him right now, chest heaving as he leaned forward, grabbing Izuku’s shirt and pulling him across the table as he said, “I’m so fuckin’ tired of this back-and-forth bullshit ,” before yanking him into a brutal kiss.
If Izuku’s world hadn’t been swirling in bright colors and an overwhelming sensation of joy, if he hadn’t been so caught up on everything being right, perhaps he would have noticed his hand falling into the bowl of curry, knocking it on his side and staining his fingers orange as he reached up and grabbed Katsuki’s shoulders trying to steady himself, staining his own All Might shirt.
Leaning into Katsuki a little harder, Izuku whined as the taller male pulled away for a second, leaving the two gasping. Without hesitation he swung himself in front of the table, bonking into Katsuki slightly before meeting blacked-out carmine eyes and smashing their mouths together once more.
Katsuki’s hands slid down to Izuku’s waist, clenching around his hips before one slid back up again, cradling the back of Izuku’s head as their lips desperately collided. Calloused fingertips dragged through green curls while scarred hands carded through damp locks, pulling each other ever closer.
After a while, the two finally separated and pressed their foreheads into each other’s shoulders. Panting, Izuku lifted his head and nuzzled the side of Katsuki’s hair with his cheek. Katsuki didn’t move, face remaining buried in the soft fabric of Izuku’s T-shirt.
Several minutes passed like this, with every few moments of longing resulting in a tighter hug, a gentler kiss to the forehead, some encouraging sweet nothings whispered in the other’s ear before Katsuki spoke again.
“I -” he started, voice scratchier with emotion as he tried to fight the oncoming tears. “I didn’t do anything because you never wanted to.” Volume dropping further, he quietly muttered, “I got mad because I felt frustrated when you said you were selfish, and that you shouldn’t have done that. Shouldn’t have kissed me.” He grunted before pushing his eyes back into the strong shoulder beneath him.
Izuku smiled, gently stroking his partner’s back as he replied.
“It sounds like we’re just dumb, Kacchan.”
Spikes bristled as Katsuki tensed - but the lack of a grip signalled to Izuku that Kacchan was just joking. “Speak for yourself, stupid nerd.”
Chuckling, Izuku patted Katsuki’s hair as he leaned back to try and get Katsuki to meet his eyes.
When he didn’t get the response he was hoping for, Izuku sighed and let Kacchan have his rest. But that didn’t mean he’d let him off so easily. Kacchan needed to hear what he had to say, needed to listen.
“I’ve liked Kacchan for a very long time now, probably since forever.” Izuku started, smiling softly as the figure in his arms started to look up, revealing the obnoxious height difference between the two again.
“But,” he went on, a hint of sadness creeping into his tone, “I messed up. I was afraid Kacchan wouldn’t want me, that Kacchan would go back to -”
Katsuki finished his sentence for him. “To the shitty way I was before.”
Finally meeting one another’s gaze for the first time since their impromptu makeout session, the two sighed and relaxed a bit more in their embrace.
Leaning closer, Katsuki rested his forehead against Izuku’s and said something that would be repeated for years to come between the two.
“I have no excuse.”
Nearly bonking their heads together like when they fell off the couch, Izuku caught himself as he let Kacchan speak.
“I have no excuse for being such a dick to you. Pigtail pulling may be something people go to, but that doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have let my confusion become my character and morph into rage, and I never should have taken it out on you.” Blinking rapidly, Katsuki lowered his voice.
“And…”
“And I never tried anything because I wanted to respect you. I wanted to listen to you and be a better person because I should be better, and when shit started hurting I wanted to bear with it because I put you through hell. I wanted to see you be happy with the future you built, the power you made yourself.”
Holding Izuku closer, Katsuki felt their noses brush as he changed angles.
“I wanted to see you learn you’ve always been a better hero than I am, that you’ve never needed One for All to be somebody who mattered. Not to me, not to anyone and especially not to yourself.”
“Your quirk doesn’t mean shit, Deku. You do. You’re…” Katsuki choked up, Izuku was likely doing the same, gauging the wet cheeks in front of him.
“You’re more than the title you carry. You’re Deku, you’re Izuku.”
“Kacchan,” Izuku started. But in the flurry of emotion, he couldn’t find words. So he opted for what he knew would work for such a man of action.
Leaning forward, Izuku pressed the gentlest kiss onto Katsuki’s mouth. And in doing so, promised the past would be learned from, the present would be worked on, and the future earned. Earned through growth and trust, the kind they had sought in one another for so long.