Work Text:
Inhaling a deep breath of country air, Katsuki wondered if he’d made the right decision.
Hands deep in the pockets of his baggy jeans, he idly worked his way along the creaking, wrap-around porch. Once-white, now-gray, paint peeled from every surface like birch bark. The second floor was near unlivable with cracked floorboards, sagging stairs, and a wobbly banister to boot. The entire house needed new plumbing, there was no wifi for miles, and he had to drive into town to get his mail.
This was as far from city life as humanly possible. Far from villains, from blood, from endless hospitals and burning buildings.
Trailing a scarred palm along the length of the equally scarred porch rail, Katsuki’s lips curved slowly.
Yeah, he’d made the right fucking decision.
“OOF.”
Thump.
Katsuki’s shoulders stiffened, gaze aflame as his body revved into automatic. Lofting over the high porch railing with ease, his steel-toed work boots met soft ground, moving quickly as Katsuki rounded the side of his house with hands fisted at his sides.
“Three seconds to tell me what the fuck you’re doing on my property, asshole,” Kacchan said, stomping up to the stranger sprawled out in the unkempt grass, surrounded by a dozen bright red apples.
The man sat up on command, his face caught in Katsuki’s looming shadow as he peered up with soft lips rounded in an ‘o’ of surprise.
Katsuki blinked, inwardly startled, a shiver trailing along his arms.
The stranger was unequivocally gorgeous. Cute? No, hot. No –
Wide, guileless eyes the color of the deep, shadowed trees that surrounded his home looked up in unfettered awe. A short, pixie nose and apple cheeks sprinkled in amber freckles. Strong jaw, sharp, stubborn chin, ears too big, eyebrows dark, straight and serious. And that hair was a journey in itself. Wild, thick curls glimmering in shades of green, like a forest canopy dappled through with sunlight.
And then the stranger smiled and Katsuki’s heart stopped.
“Hi,” he said, his wide, generous smile winking with a single dimple in his right cheek. He held out a hand for help. “I’m Midoriya Izuku. I didn’t know someone had moved in. I fell out of your tree.”
Katsuki stared at the offered hand. Midoriya’s hand. Tiger stripes of scars slashed at his skin, trailing up his arm to where his t-shirt sleeve began.
“Battle scars,” Midoriya said, smile faltering, his cheeks flushing pink. He retracted his hand and hefted himself up, dusting off the ass of his jeans as he did so.
Katsuki’s brow furrowed.
“Hero work?”
“Me?” Midoriya said, propping his hands on his hips with a delighted grin. His head just skimmed Katsuki’s chin, but his arms were well-muscled, his chest wide and straining his t-shirt, his entire body compact, stocky, and fit. “Nah. We don’t have heroes posted for miles out. I’m just the Sergeant of Police around here.”
Katsuki’s eyebrows shot up, his grin quick and cocky as he eyed Midoriya’s harmless countenance.
“You?” he snorted a laugh. “You’re, like, twelve.”
“I’m twenty-seven and the youngest ever promoted Sergeant in the District,” Midoriya said as he cocked his head, his smile growing tighter, his honest eyes sparking with something Katsuki immediately liked. There was lighting there. “What’re you?”
Katsuki’s smile was quick as whiplash.
“Ground Zero.”
Midoriya frowned a little, scratching his jaw, his mouth a pout that Katsuki wanted to bite hard. He could tell when the realization hit. Midoriya’s eyes slowly bulged, his chin dropping.
“Oh my god. Oh my – what? What? I – I’m – how did I not recognize y-“
“I’ve been out of the spotlight for a while,” Katsuki said with a shrug, his mouth quirked with pleasure at Midoriya’s reaction.
“So, um, you’re name,” Midoriya said, his fingers twisting with blatant nerves that made Katsuki want to tease him, just a little (a lot). “It’s – you’re, uh, Bakugou, right?”
“What’re you, a stalker?” Katsuki said, flicking a brow. People didn’t often hear his real name associated with his moniker. “You pretended not to know who I was so you could sneak onto my property? I’ll kill –“
“What?” Midoriya said, his eyes impossibly large and distressed as he jumped and waved his hands in front of him in innocence. “M-me? No – no! I’m just, I’m just a big fan of heroes. A-always have been. And we’re the same age, so I was always keeping up with you guys in magazines and online. I even attended a Sports Festival you placed first in.”
Katsuki kept his gaze narrowed, suspicious.
Midoriya looked up at him, flustered.
There wasn’t a dishonest bone in this little shit’s body.
“Are you seriously the police?” Katsuki said, voice low and disbelieving as he leaned in to eye Midoriya up close. “What’s your Quirk?”
Midoriya’s gaze seemed attached to his now that they’d infringed on each other’s space. Katsuki felt something long ignored stir low in his belly.
“Nothing,” Midoriya said, then, turning around and crouching to collect the array of apples stranded on the ground. “I don’t have one. Hence, hero obsession. Over-achieving cop. That old hat.”
Frowning, Katsuki tilted his head so far to the side in the process of checking out Midoriya’s tight ass that he nearly tipped. Righting himself quickly and clearing his throat as Midoriya stood, Katsuki properly took in Midoriya’s words.
“Don’t dwell on that shit,” Katsuki said gruffly. “Quirks can be overrated. Sooner or later you think you’re invincible, and then it all blows up in your face. You can be a hero just being you.”
Midoriya turned, his arms cradling a dozen bright red apples, his cheeks pink, the sun streaming across his profile, highlighting the happiness in his eyes. When he smiled, Katsuki forgot about the sun.
“No one’s ever said that to me before.”
Katsuki felt his face go up in flame as he glanced to the side, his hand dragging through his hair to rest at his nape.
“Yeah, well, everyone’s a fuckin’ asshole these days.”
“You too?” Midoriya said.
Katsuki whipped his attention back, taking in the mischief in Midoriya’s eyes. He couldn’t help but grin in return.
“I’m probably the biggest asshole you’ll ever meet.”
“Yeah,” Midoriya said in easy agreement, sidling up next to him in an unspoken cue to walk. They fell into step. “Now that you mention it, I remember that one report of a guy you saved from a fire filing a complaint that you’d accidentally broken his finger. So you came to his house and asked if he’d like you to set it on fire again so he could get out himself the second time.”
“Fuckin’ pansy deserved it.”
“You have a way with words about you, Ground Zero.”
“Don’t call me that,” Katsuki said, voice low as they reached the stairs up to the porch. He turned and met Midoriya’s curious gaze. He didn’t look threatened or scared. That was a new one. “I’m retired, y’know.”
“Pretty early for that,” Midoriya said.
Katsuki bristled and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Sure isn’t,” Midoriya said with a short nod, looking past Katsuki’s shoulder to survey the house. “You’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“No, I plan on living here like a fuckin’ squatter in a derelict house. Obviously I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“Want help?”
Katsuki snorted.
“Hell no.”
“Hmm.” Midoriya considered Katsuki. “Rephrase. Do you need help? There’s a lot of work to be done here, and I’m not bad with wood.”
Katsuki felt his entire face burn. Midoriya blinked at him, his face fucking radiating innocence.
Shit, maybe this hadn’t been the right place to move.
“I don’t need anyone’s help,” Katsuki said, hooded gaze eyeing Midoriya with suspicion. “I don’t even know you. Cop or not, you could be crooked. I’ve seen plenty.”
Midoriya’s laugh was short and incredulous as he shook his head a little.
“This isn’t the city, Bakugou. I’m just here to help.”
“Uh huh,” Katsuki said, shifting his attention down. “The fuck’re you doin’ with those things, anyway?”
“Oh.” Midoriya went a little pink. Katsuki wondered if the blush spread down to his chest. “I was going to make a pie.”
Midoriya swallowed, peered up with eyes that should be illegal. There was definitely a Quirk to them, no matter what this guy claimed.
“Wanna – I mean, do you wanna come over for dinner tonight? I bet your kitchen is in shambles, and I always cook too much. And, um, pie?”
“I swear to god, if this is some stalker shit I’m gonna –“
“Just –“ Midoriya swallowed a laugh, his shoulders vibrating as he bit down on a smile and bumped Katuski’s arm with his elbow. “Just be there at seven. Walk through the wooded path. You’ll come out in my back yard. I’m your only neighbor, so you can’t miss me.”
Or avoid you.
“If you gotta be clingy about it, fine,” Katsuki said, already turning and heading up his flimsy porch steps.
“Fine,” Midoriya said, humor warm in his tone. “Bakugou.”
Katsuki looked over his shoulder, brow furrowed with what the fuck he’d just walked into.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Midoriya said, smiling. “I’ll see you later.”
“You’re a weird fuckin’ guy, you know that?”
Midoriya turned around and laughed, his voice echoing across the distant golden fields.
“Says you!”