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It was a bit chilly that evening, inside Izuku’s room; the boy had to put his fuzzy socks on and wear an heavier hoody in order to sit at his desk and study while feeling comfortably warm. The sunlight that peeked into his room from the window was cold and weak; it was one of those gray, cloudy days that always made him feel a bit gloomy when he was alone. Izuku looked up from his textbook, having heard someone knocking at his door with a familiar rhythm. He got up from his chair and went to open up, eager to get some distraction from his schoolwork and possibly some company too, founding Katsuki greeting him with a cheeky grin: “Hey, loser.”
“Hi, Kacchan,” he said, looking at him interrogatively, “What brings you here?”
“Today in math class you really sucked. So I’m here to stick that shit in your head and I’m going do it, you can bet your sorry ass on that, whiny freckles”, he explained before making his way into the room.
“Whiny freckles...that’s new,” remarked Izuku with a shy smile. Lately Katsuki had started creating all sort of fancy nicknames for him; Izuku was particularly pleased by the surprising lack of curs words in them. They’d gone from aggressive insults to affectionate teasing and Midoriya found himself growing fond of them.
“It’s cos you’re a goddamn snotty crybaby who likes to ruin my clothes. I swear, sometimes I think that’s your real quirk and you fooled us all along.”
Izuku stifled a chuckle, looking at Katsuki in earnest enjoyment: “Anyway, thank you for coming, Kacchan! I’m really having some trouble with math classes”.
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s fucking get to work then,” he said, standing by Izuku’s desk, soon followed by the curly haired boy.
“You were totally clueless about how to deal with square-root equations, right?”
“Yeah...”admitted Midoriya, blushing a bit at the thought of having really looked that helpless.
“Alright then, get ready, Deku; I’m going to make you spit blood on your books, got it?”
“Yes! Bring it on, Kacchan!” exclaimed Izuku, clenching his fists with determination. He felt happy to have the boy helping him out, even if he feared it was going to be a rough evening. He was not wrong.
A few hours and a lot of hard practice later, complete with Bakugou aggressively making him have a snack break to ‘nurture his weak brain’, Izuku found himself completely exhausted but satisfied nonetheless. He had cleared out his doubts and was confident his next text was going to go great.
“You really helped me out, that was super great, Kacchan!”
“You know I just wouldn’t allow you to fall behind me. No matter if it’s math or training, I’ll make sure you don’t slack off.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Well, I’ll be going now, Deku,” he smirked before turning to walk towards the door.
Izuku, however, stood up and grabbed his sleeve to stop him: “Wait, Kacchan!”
Bakugou turned to give him a questioning look.
“There’s something I want to tell you first,” he said, suddenly sounding serious and a bit unsure; Katsuki took a breath and leaned against the door frame. “What is it?” he asked, feeling an odd, bothersome sense of restlessness expanding inside his chest.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about yesterday. About One for All.”
Bakugou looked at him more intently as he mentioned All Might’s heritage. Izuku continued: “Since we had our first confrontation at UA I’ve wanted to tell you the truth. It just made me feel bad to keep lying to you, because you’ve always been important to me, both as someone I admired and as someone I wanted to be friends with. What I’m trying to say is that I’m happy you’re the one who knows everything about it. It makes me feel comforted knowing I can relax and be sincere around you.”
The heaviness inside Katsuki’s chest eased a bit, replaced by a warm feeling of relief: “I already know all that. Same here. And I also know I should have quitted that immature asshole bullshit sooner. It was stupid and pointless.”
Izuku looked at him fondly before speaking again: “There’s another thing, Kacchan. It’s been a while since we started our journey side to side...and I’ve been thinking about the place where I’ve started my own training, at Dagobah’s municipal beach. All Might made me clean the whole zone from the trash that had accumulated there,” he said, smiling a bit at the memory, “and when I finally got to see the clear horizon before my eyes it felt so amazing. Like I was clearing the way to my dream. It may sound silly but I screamed at the top of my lungs towards that sight. And now whenever I think back about it I...”
“You?” encouraged him Katsuki, looking deep in the freckled boy’s eyes; they were sparkling with a vigorous, passionate flame.
“I want to go to that place and look at the clear horizon together with you, Kacchan,” he said, looking at him straight in the eyes. Bakugou didn’t really know how to cope with all that; the overwhelming way Izuku was looking at him and the fact that the other boy had just asked him to go to such an important place together were making him feel some kind of tingling in his chest; it made him feel defenseless, vulnerable and not in charge of his own feelings.
The blond boy took a breath, gulping one time to try speaking with a clear voice: “What’s with all this fussing? It’s almost embarrassing, damn. Are you trying to make me a sentimentalist fool like you?”
“I don’t need to do that, you’re already a softie deep inside, Kacchan,” bravely joked Midoriya.
“Wanna see how soft my punch will be on that silly smile of yours?”
Izuku paced closer: “If you get that mad I’m only going to assume I’m right, Kacchan,” he replied, amusedly. “And I know you’d not actually hit me.”
When did this fucking nerd become so damn cocky?
“Shut up. I’m not like that at all. You’re the one into lovey-dovey shit, not me. By the way, have you asked Aizawa-sensei for a leaving permit for this Saturday yet?”
Midoriya gave Katsuki a confused look.
“And be sure to prepare warm clothes, these days it will be cold. I bet there’s going to be a fucking freezing wind at the seaside,” added Bakugou, trying to give him a hint without having to actually voice his invite.
If smiles could actually melt ice, Izuku’s smile in that moment would be the perfect example of that.
Katsuki made a grimace, looking away from the other boy: “Stop with that self-complacent face already, it gives me the creeps.”
And that was how they found themselves sitting in a crowded bus the following Saturday morning. When they had gone to Aizawa and asked for a leaving permit he’d initially eyed them suspiciously; in the end however, also thanks to All Might’s intervention, he’d eventually decided to sign the document. Not without the needed warnings, of course. The homeroom teacher had made sure to make them understand what kind of detentions they were going to get if they didn’t attain to his instructions.
“This is our stop, Kacchan,” informed Izuku, getting out of the bus, soon followed by the blond boy.
Midoriya was literally beaming with happiness and Bakugou almost found it blinding. It had been a long time since he’d last saw him smiling like that when it was just the two of them. It hadn’t been like that from since they were little kids, before Katsuki had manifested his quirk. The awareness of how things had been between them for the past years still weighted on Bakugou’s shoulders. It made him feel guilty and angry and want to punch himself. But at the same time he knew complaining and hating himself was useless: he couldn’t erase the past; all he could do was giving his all to build a new and better future. Old emotional scars were still visible but he felt a bit of hope growing inside himself; the previous night he and Izuku had playfully wrestled together and the freckled boy hadn’t reacted with the usual tensed aura when Bakugou had pinned him down; Midoriya had simply looked at him, no fear or defensiveness in his eyes, and had joked about the two of them maybe being a bit too old for that. It was a small thing, something that should have been completely normal between two friends, but to Bakugou it had been important. Knowing Izuku didn’t feel intimidated by him and could truly relax around him was comforting, even if he wasn’t going to admit it out loud.
Midoriya’s voice diverted him from his thoughts as they walked side to side: “You’re being really quiet, Kacchan. Is everything alright? ”
“Just thinking you look too damn excited about this. ‘s just a trip to the beach.”
“It’s been a long time since we went out like this, just the two of us, Kacchan. I was kind of looking forward to this, to be honest!”
“Yeah, yeah, got it. Hey, it’s there, right?” suddenly said Bakugou, pointing at the beach that had appeared before them. “Yes!”, answered Deku, pacing a bit faster as they approached the sandy ground. The shore was practically deserted except for a couple with their dog and a jogging man; it wasn’t exactly the right season to go to the seaside so it was to be expected.
“It’s beautiful in here, right?”
“It’s not as lame as I thought.”
“Hey!” pouted Midoriya in response.
“Just joking. It’s a nice place.”
They walked towards the sea and when they reached the shore Izuku turned to look at Katsuki expectantly, soft breeze messing his curls around. The cold morning light enhanced his hair’s luster and made him look almost glorious for a brief moment. With his smile and cheerful eyes he looked bright and indubitably attractive. If Katsuki had to explain what had occurred to him in that moment with just one word it would have been ‘epiphany’. Because the things and feelings he’d been purposely ignoring for the past months were starting to have a name and it scared him. Even more since he had no way to run away from that.
What the hell is wrong with me?!
He just couldn’t cope with that, and he roughly pulled Deku’s jacket’s hood up, hiding the boy’s face from himself: “You’re gonna fucking freeze your ears like that, ‘s cold,” he said, trying to sound cool.
Izuku adjusted the hood to be able to look at Katsuki again, jokingly complaining: “Kacchan!”
The blond boy smirked at him cockily before turning his face to look at the sea: it truly was a beautiful sight, flat and calm, deep and soothing. He’d always been more a mountain person but sea fascinated him too, in a different way.
Izuku looked at the horizon as well, moving a bit closer just enough to press their shoulders together. They stood side to side like that, in silence, simply enjoying the view. After some time and internal struggle, Katsuki discreetly peeked at Izuku; the hood hid him except for some strands of hair, the tip of his nose and the outline of his round cheek; his skin was slightly flushed because of the cold air. Midoriya slowly turned to look at him, and Katsuki felt his heart jump to his throat.
Why the hell is he crying now?
“Oi, what’s the big deal, Deku? You were smiling like some retarded nerd and now you’re all whiny again.”
Izuku smiled at him, tears flowing down his cheeks: “I’m just so happy you’re here, Kacchan.”
Katsuki couldn’t bear looking at him in the eyes after that, it was making his chest feel just too light and he was earnestly scared, unable to indulge in that kind of feeling.
“Oh for fuck’s sake- just c'mere,” he said, roughly trapping Izuku in one of their uncomfortable tears-wet hugs; Izuku’s cheek felt cold against his own, probably from being exposed to the sea breeze. It was sticky and wet and Izuku’s curls were getting in the way, sticking to his face, tickling him annoyingly. Bakugou found himself thinking the freckled boy was looking terribly uncool in comparison to just a minute before and felt some kind of odd pride in that, knowing he was the one Midoriya was showing that part of himself to and felt comfortable with putting himself in his hands made him feel a sense of victory and visceral satisfaction.
They stood like that by the shore, hugging each other, Katsuki shifting his weight from one foot to another, almost as to cradle Deku. The jogging man run past them, giving them a brief, curious look, but none of them let the other go. They were in their own timeless bubble, everything else around them seeming to disappear.
“We’re going to make it, right Kacchan?” suddenly asked Izuku after the few minutes of silence that had seemed like hours.
“What are you talking about?”
“Becoming two heroes that both win and rescue, together,” said Izuku, lifting his head just enough to be able to look at Bakugou. There it was again, that passionate spark in his eyes, that warm determination. Katsuki had never said so but he liked that in Midoriya; the other’s force of will was like an ever-burning, eternal flame and he couldn’t help feeling drawn to that, now that he could acknowledge it. He felt a fool for not having seen that during the years they’ve been knowing each other before going to UA. Now Izuku looked so bright to him and having him close felt both overwhelming and soothing. He grinned at the freckled boy, heart racing a bit faster in his chest: “Just like All Might said that night, ah? Well screw this, I’m in. For the fucking raising each other thing and everything else. Just like we’ve been doing up till now.”
“Thank you, Kacchan. It’s a promise, right?”
“You can bet your sorry ass on that,” he replied, squeezing Izuku a bit tighter for a moment before untangling from their hug.
Midoriya addressed him a new, brighter smile, followed by a nod. He stayed silent for some time before starting his signature muttering: “What are we going to do now? Aizawa-sensei said we have to be back for lunch time but there’s still plenty of time left...there are a lot of places we could visit, if we plan this properly we could go to more than one and-”
“Oi, cut your anxious blabbering. How about Dagobah aquarium, nerd? Fuckers on the net say it’s cool or something like that.”
“I didn’t think you liked that kind of things, Kacchan!”
Katsuki shrugged, casually explaining: “It’s been a while since last time we went to an aquarium. Just figured you’d like to do things from childhood again, since you’re such a sentimental loser.”
“You’re the one who came up with this, so maybe you’re the sentimental one, Kacchan!” replied Izuku, a provocative grin to match his teasing appearing on his face. Katsuki’s cheeks went bright red and he abruptly turned on his heels to avoid eye contact, starting to walk: “S-shut up, idiot, let’s go already.”
Midoriya quickly caught up to him, hid overjoyed mood showing in each of his paces. “I wonder if there are going to be puffer fish! And starfish too!”
Bakugou listened to his enthusiastic speculations, jokingly making fun of him from time to time.
They spent a funny, carefree morning together, wandering around the aquarium: a young couple even recognized them as UA students and complimented their sport festival performances. The two boys were so lost in their little world that they ended up losing the bus ride, consequently arriving late at UA, where an angry Eraserhead was waiting for them. All Might seemed to be quite displeased too, probably because he was the one who had said ‘They’re both mature boys, Aizawa-kun, we have to give our students some trust from time to time!’ the day before.
Needless to say, the two boys earned a two days detention and their classmates’ laughters.
Katsuki grunted in annoyance, carefully moving Izuku’s body away from him to get up and take a piss.
He hated it when he woke up in the middle of the night for that kind of reason; having to get out of bed just turned him in a bad mood. When he came back from the bathroom he stopped in front of the bed to take a look at Midoriya; while he was gone the freckled boy had clung to the pillow with both his arms and his legs and was now wearing a dopey, satisfied smile. Bakugou shook his head, climbing onto bed and trying to untangle the pillow away from Izuku without waking him up. However, as he did so, Katsuki soon found a pair of confused, green eyes opening up to look at him: “Kacchan?” he called softly, his voice still a bit raspy from having just woken up.
The blond boy felt his cheeks burning with heat and froze in place for a second as his heart started racing fast inside his chest; unable to bear with the emotional overload, he roughly pushed the pillow on Izuku’s face.
Midoriya grunted in protest and chuckled softly as he pushed the pillow away from himself before scooting closer to the other boy, completely oblivious of Katsuki’s embarrassment: “You’re so mean!” , he mumbled softly.
For his part, the blond boy did his best to recollect himself as Izuku slipped his arms around his torso in a relaxed, loose hug. He let him nuzzle against his sternum, curls tingling his face, powerlessly letting the other’s pleasant warmth and scent envelope him. Katsuki felt himself silently panicking between the other’s arms.
I must be crazy. There’s totally something weird with me. What the living hell?!
But even so he hugged Izuku tighter to himself, earning a sleepy groan from him. Bakugou focused on the other’s evenly breathing and let himself be lulled by that, managing to placate his internal turmoil.
He resolved to think about the issue later, when alone and in possession of a more lucid mindset, and eventually fell deep asleep.
That night he dreamed about Izuku and the sea.