Chapter Text
“I have been dying, absolutely dying, to watch this movie since it had been out months ago,” Denki says, clutching the Hero Bash 6’s DVD tightly to his chest as though he’s afraid if he let it go it will disappear from his sight.
Affected by Denki’s enthusiasm Eijirou couldn’t help but smiles, knowing exactly how that felt. After finding out that Denki and he both share the same terrible taste in ultra-explosive hero’s action films, that tend to overdramatized everything from the bloody city-wide battles to the emotional drawn out character arcs, they had watched all previous films of the Hero Bash series together. So when they heard of the new Hero Bash that was about to come out, they were extremely excited to see it and the anticipation was ripe.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to catch the latest iteration of the series in the theater when it was first released due to their intern’s obligation and even more extensive training session for their last year at U.A., but Eijirou manages to procure the DVD as soon as it was released. They just have to make time for it and now finally, it is here.
“Let’s go to the living room,” Eijirou suggests, getting up from his seat on the bed. “Nobody should be there at this hour, so we’ll get the entire space to ourselves and we can be loud as we want.”
Denki grins, flicking a thumb up. “Smart, man.”
They quickly make their way down to the ground level where the common area is located and the media player would be theirs to use however they like. Most of their classmates had either went home for the weekend or had decided to stay back and are currently preoccupied in their own room, doing their own thing, so the living room area should have been free for them to grab but:
“—from all the reviews I read so far, I heard one of the Valkyries might die,” Denki says, crushing their initial excitement before it could even bear fruit.
“It better not be Yellow Valkyrie or Hero Bash is cancel forever,” Eijirou says vehemently, steering them through the hallway of the ground floor and toward the common area. Yellow Valkyrie has been his favorite Valkyrie ever since she held back a swarm of invading roaches from outer space in Hero Bash 3 so her teammates can go save the world. It was such a heroic and noble thing to do that he became an enthusiastic fan of her and that love only continues to grow with each film that subsequently came out of the series. “I didn’t wait four months to watch her die and—” He abruptly pulls to a dead stop, the rest of his words are swallowed up in his shock as the picture in front of him unfolds right before his eyes.
“What?! Why are we stopping?” Denki demands to know besides him, but when he catches sight of what Eijirou is seeing, his eyes widen in the same mirror shock. Eijirou and Denki had just walked into an unfathomable scene.
Katsuki is sitting on the couch with his legs kick up on the coffee table and a book in hand, which isn’t really that uncommon nor strange to see but what truly stopped them dead in their track is: Midoriya curls up on his side, head resting on Katsuki’s lap as he quietly slumbers on, while Katsuki flips the page of his book with the most disgruntled look on his face as though whatever on the text is purposely written to offend him. Katsuki neither seems perturbed by Midoriya’s using his lap as a makeshift pillow or the fact that in the background is an old documentary, that Eijirou vaguely recalls watching as a child, about the rise of All Might in the Golden Era of Heroes plays at a barely audible volume—which can only mean one thing, that Midoriya and Katsuki were watching it right before Midoriya fell asleep on him and he lets him continue to do so.
That simple notion nearly sent Eijirou’s head spinning. It’s bizarre, too weird to even comprehend properly when he and Denki had just seen the two of them sparring several hours ago, which a nice euphemism for outright attempted homicide on each other. Though Midoriya and Katsuki had reached some sort of reprieved now in their final year here at U.A. through many hard-won fights and lost, most of their interaction with each other was among their group of friends where they’d largely been cordial, but to think that Katsuki and Midoriya would be caught alone with no one to play intermediary between them as they watch a film together. That’s—something. Truly.
Eijirou opens his mouth to say something but he’s floundering on what exactly should he say considering what he found himself in. Luckily, or unluckily, it is Katsuki that takes the first initiative when he finally took notice of the intruders treading into his territory.
Katsuki drops his book to the empty seat beside him and Midoriya’s head. “What do you fucks want?” he demands, leveling them a glare enough to flatten an entire city block, which quickly has the sobering effect of pulling Eijirou and Denki out of their shock.
“Wow, you’re a ray of sunshine as ever,” Denki comments, dragging a reluctant Eijirou deeper into the living room. “We actually don’t want anything from you in particular.”
“You see, we just need the TV and DVD player so we can watch our movie,” Eijirou explains, trying not to stare too hard at Midoriya’s head burying his face into Katsuki’s stomach as he continues to sleep unaffected by the commotion around him or what kind of havoc he’s making just by sleeping on Katsuki’s lap. “We promise not to get in your way.”
“No,” Katsuki says with an air of finality that suggests no further argument may be broker. “I’m using it right now.”
“But you’re not even watching it and Midoriya is sleeping!” Denki argues, voice pitched loud and increasingly growing in vehement. “We’ll even let you watch the new Hero Bash with us!”
“I don’t want to watch your stupid nerdfest,” Katsuki snaps, eyes narrowing in contempt.
Denki’s lips flatten as his chin juts out, rearing up for a fight. “It’s not stupid!” he protests vociferously, his voice rising with each word. “It’s a great series that deal with multidimensional characters, each with their own driven storylines and complex motivation beyond the image of a Pro Hero and just violent altercation—“
“You mean how five minutes in the first film, one of the main characters punch a hole through his house and then spent the majority of the film angsting over his guilt of accidentally killing his family after using his power for the first time?” Katsuki says skeptically, brows furrowing in disgust. “Such utter bullshit. Don’t pretend to be fake deep over something so stupid and dramatized as a collapsing a house on your family just to give the audience something we can all latch on.”
Denki’s nostril flairs and his eyes narrow at Katsuki. “That’s not it!” he yells.
A helpless whine rises from Katsuki’s lap that stops all further argument and momentarily calls upon their attention as Midoriya’s face scrunches up in displeasure at the racket around him. He makes a disgruntled sound as he burrows his head closer into Katsuki’s chest as though he can hide from the world there.
Katsuki looks down at Midoriya’s sleeping form and something undecipherable flickers across his face, which was too quick for Eijirou to pick it up before Katsuki quickly turns his head away. “Wake him up and I’ll break your face,” he says slowly and quietly. His tone barely rose up a decibel but there’s an underlining of edge to his words that runs a shiver up Eijirou’s spine but it is the way that Katsuki’s fingers absently brush a stray hair that had fallen across Midoriya’s forehead that stupefied him the most.
The dichotomy of Katsuki’s thinly veiled threat directed toward them and the considerate gesture he’d committed toward Midoriya is discerning and eyes opening in a way that leaves Eijirou’s head racing with theories and confusion.
“But—“ Denki continues to push, always braver than most but Eijirou knows better to try Katsuki’s nonexistence patience.
“It’s okay, we’ll just take our movie and watch it somewhere else then,” Eijirou says, trying to ignore the look of betrayal Denki shoots at him.
“I suggest you hurry up then,” Katsuki says, and wow, is the threat loud and clear to Eijirou’s ears.
Eijirou raises both of his palms up in the universal sign of retreat. “We’re going, we’re going,” he says, clasping a hand over Denki’s wrist as he quickly removes them from the room and Katsuki’s ominous presence.
“What was that?” Denki hisses behind him, pulling to a stop in the hallway.
“There’s just no point in arguing with Bakugou with he’s not going to budge,” says Eijirou, because part of being a hero is knowing your limits and Eijirou
“Yea, I know that,” Denki roll his eyes, “but what I meant was: what is up with him and Midoriya now?” he asks, clearly he wasn’t completely oblivious to the undercurrent of something between the two of them. “I thought he was still ‘status, complicated’ with Midoriya.”
“I don’t know,” Eijirou admits, scratching his cheek in thought.
Since the three years they have known Katsuki, he has been their classmate, comrade in arms, and when Katsuki is feeling generous he may even admit that he’s their friends sometimes but despite the fact that Katsuki lets Eijirou and the rest of their group shoved themselves into his personal circle, hanging onto him despite his protest about not needing friends, Katsuki is always careful to keep an emotional distance from everyone. Even though he has a better relationship with their group compare to anyone else in their class, especially say Midoriya previously, what are few years between them and Katsuki is but a blip in the larger fabric that made of Katsuki and Midoriya’s thorny and intense history with each other.
They can lay claim to know Katsuki best however they like and Katsuki himself may even grudgingly say he cares for them enough to drop his walls of indifference around them, but Katsuki has been Midoriya’s long before he was theirs and that is something even Eijirou can’t hope bridge. He understands it well enough though because to love Katsuki is to know that Midoriya’s existence made up the majority of Katsuki’s life and to cut that part of Katsuki away is to deny his past and future—the anger and insecurity that had stymied him previously and the hard-earned growth that came afterward. Midoriya and Katsuki are destiny bound, tied together by some invisible hands that thrust these two to greater heights of glory so that one day they can standing back to back on that podium in front of the world.
“They’re probably just working something out, so it best if we leave—” Eijirou starts but his next words never make it past his lips.
“Kacchan? Was that Kirishima-kun and Kaminari-kun?” Midoriya asks, voice soft and addled with sleep.
Maybe its curiosity or the way Midoriya said Katsuki’s nickname, all easy and syrupy like a lingering childhood memory but Eijirou’s curiosity peaked as soon as his ears had picked up Midoriya’s voice drifting pass them and Denki seizes that moment to rush back toward the living room area.
“Denki,” he calls out after him, trying to keep his voice low as possible lest Katsuki catches on.
“Wait, I want to hear this,” Denki tells him with a mischievous grin and Eijirou stares at his back helplessly before he too drags his feet back down the hall once more.
They find themselves crouch down on the floor, ducking behind a wall that separates the living room area and the hallway as they shamelessly eavesdrop on their friends.
“No,” is Katsuki’s familiar grumbling response that they hear, “just some annoying pests who clearly don’t know when they’re unwanted.”
“Savage,” Denki mouths to him with a raised brow as Eijirou rolls his eyes.
“Are you out of your mind?” Eijirou hisses in Denki’s ears. “If Bakugou discovers us we’re deader than dead.”
Denki waves him off with a cheeky grin. “It’s fine as long as they don’t know we’re here.”
“Yea, that’s not going help,” Eijirou gripes, but he remains quiet and listens on anyway. Curiosity trumps flaring danger sign in the end it seems. Not his wisest decision, admittedly.
“That’s mean, Kacchan,” Midoriya says next, and Eijirou can hear the audible pout in his voice. “Please don’t call our friends that.”
“Tch, don’t tell me what to do, you shit,” Katsuki dismisses, but surprisingly no further retort was tack on. “So are you going the fuck back to sleep or what?”
“Oh sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you,” says Midoriya all apologetic and demure sweetness. It’s the kind of thing that makes Midoriya entirely too likable and wholesome like a crate full of tiny adorable puppies. “I hope I wasn’t bothering you too much.”
“Whatever,” Katsuki says, stone cold as always in the face of the personification of sunshine and rainbow. “Your entire existence is a bother anyway but I’ll survive.”
“I’ll watch it with you again, Kacchan,” Midoriya insists. “I promise I won’t fall asleep this time!”
“Yea, because if you do I’m going to throw you on the floor to get you to wake up,” Katsuki says determinedly.
“Okay, Kacchan, you can even definitely kick me too if you want,” Midoriya says, clearly humoring him now.
A grunt of acknowledgment passes Katsuki’s lips and it isn’t long before the volume of the TV starts to pick up again.
“That’s it?” Denki asks with a raised brow and Eijirou can only shrug, even he had expected at least several smartass responses and perhaps some yelling or two but Katsuki had let it go easily enough. Too easy.
A couple more minutes of nothing but the narrator’s voice droning on about the All Might’s numerous great qualities and Eijirou considers maybe that was it. They can now finally sneak out of here with their head intact but of course, Midoriya would not let up.
“Can we go back and watch the part that I’d missed?” Midoriya asks a moment later, disrupting their short-lived peace.
A lengthy and troubling silent stretches between the two of them as Eijirou press his hands together and sends a prayer to the sky for Midoriya’s sake.
“You whined endlessly about wanting to watch this documentary but then as soon as we’re ten minutes into it you knocked yourself out and commandeer my lap as your pillow,” Katsuki says dryly that he might as well be his own desert and Eijirou can easily imagine the glower on his face as he said it. “And now you want us to go back and rewatch it again after having the audacity to fall on asleep on me? You certainly got some nerve on you, asshole!”
“So is that a no?” Midoriya presses, like a dog with a chew toy. He doesn’t seem to want to let this one go.
“The fuck did I say?!” Katsuki snaps.
“I didn’t hear a no in there,” Midoriya points out brazenly enough.
Oh hell, Eijirou takes it back, Midoriya is no crate of puppies or a pair of sunshine and rainbow, he’s a goddamn suicide watch and a lit matchstick thrown into a forest.
There’s another tense silence that settles in the air as he and Eijirou hold their breath in suspense, and then, quietly and almost fondly, Katsuki says, “Fucking fine, we’ll rewatch your lame ass documentary, you damn nerd.”
“That would be much more effective insult Kacchan if you weren’t the owner of the respective DVD, so wouldn’t that make you the bigger nerd here?” Midoriya says cheekily, fearless as always in the face of the gaping jaw of death—which he had just launched himself right into with that single statement because why.
“Oh my god, Midoriya got some balls on him,” Denki whispers, eyes wide in shock and awe.
“Balls of steel,” Eiriou murmurs in agreement but even he said it, he isn’t all that surprising given the full knowledge of the hundred ways Midoriya had broken the bones in his body consequently in use of his quirk and on purpose to use his quirk. It’s the kind of thing that makes people think twice about him because this is also the same person that willingly chose to spar with Katsuki on regular basis, has no problem throwing his body around in a fight like it’s a training dummy, and doesn’t seem to understand the concept of pain. Midoriya is a goddamn walking hazard and he hopes people know it soon.
Eijirou isn’t even a bit surprised to hear the distinct the painful shriek that came after.
“No, wait, don’t—” Midoriya yelps. “Stop it, Kacchan! Ow, please consider my head at least. A concussion is the number one injury among Pro Heroes you know. I don’t want to retire early because you—”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be long dead by then,” Katsuki assures him with a menacingly calm threat.
Eijirou winces with each loud successive thump coming from the living room and another that quickly follows afterward as Midoriya’s scream exponentially increase in volume, that he thinks it’ll be a miracle if no one actually come roaring down from the upper levels of the dorm and demand to know what the fuck is up with all that racket.
Denki and Eijirou look at each other, lips and brows moving wordlessly in a silent exchange as they debate whether it was worth risking their lives to attempt a rescue of Midoriya. There was no follow-up explosion that suggests they should interfere, but they’re heroes and it doesn’t speak much if they cowardly hide while their friend is getting kill by their other friend right in front of them.
Eijirou gets up, ready to move in and save Midoriya from Katsuki’s wrath but Midoriya’s laughter abruptly erupts in the air, startling them in their spot.
Denki sneaks around him to peak past the wall and Eijirou doesn’t even try to stop him in the end because what the fuck was that even?! How Midoriya’s horror-filled screams turn into distinct laughter. But the answer they find is even weirder than anyone of them could imagine because Katsuki is currently straddling Midoriya’s waist on the floor, pinning Midoriya’s wrists over his head with one hand and a vicious smirk is painted over his face.
Midoriya may be short and compact but it’s all muscle and power underneath that shy and sweet persona that he has going for him. Eijirou has no doubt he can break Katsuki’s hold if he wants to, with or without the use of his quirk, because let’s be honest here Midoriya is cute enough to knock you on your ass with a smile or a punch, but that obviously doesn’t mean much in front of Katsuki.
“No, please, Kacchan,” Midoriya pleads, hysteria rising in his voice as Katsuki’s free hand pinpoint all his sweet spots. “Have some mercy on me!”
“Mercy is for the weak,” Katsuki says victoriously, going after Midoriya’s side ruthlessly with his fingers. “You’re going to die like a man today, Deku.”
“Is he tickling Midoriya?” Denki hisses to Eijirou and Eijirou could only nod numbly in response.
Midoriya is crying with laughter now as Katsuki won’t let up, grinning something fierce and mean as his fingers dig into Midoriya’s side but he’s playing and having fun with Midoriya like they were kids again.
“Surrender yet, Deku?” Katsuki demands like a king coming to conquer.
Midoriya’s eyes flash righteously. “Not on your life,” he declares and Katsuki chases after Midoriya’s laughter with relentless fingers.
Eijirou’s jaw drops at seeing this softer side of Katsuki, which has always been something rare and precious. He was lucky enough to have played witness to a few of them so far in the past years but this is something else entirely—something far more private and not for their eyes.
He can almost see it: Katsuki at four and Midoriya constantly at his side, they’re both achingly young and innocent still, full of hopes and wishes in themselves and each other, before their difference tore them apart and Katsuki saw the faults in Midoriya’s dream and punished him for it.
The two of them now may be older and wiser but the soft edge of childhood sweetness remains in the form of Midoriya’s infectious laughter and Katsuki’s fierce grin as they roll around the floor play-fighting. The air around them is easy, comfortable, and familiar like they are own little world and nobody else is allowed to enter.
Eijirou takes Denki by the arm and pulls him out of there quickly because it’s about time that they leave already and he can’t stand to look at it too long. It’s too much, too sweet even for Eijirou.
Even as Eijirou’s feet carry him out into the hallway, he can’t help the thought racing through his head. Since when did they start hanging out together like this and how did nobody notice it until now? Because somewhere between Katsuki’s resentment and anger at Midoriya for daring to chase after the same dream by standing on equal ground with him at U.A. to the way he gently swept away the stray strand of hair on Midoriya’s forehead and how he protectively guard Midoriya’s quiet slumber.
Something had changed and it’s not just them.
Certainly, in the past years, Midoriya has proven again and again that nothing and no one can topple his dream to become the number one hero like All Might, not the world and certainly not Katsuki. Katsuki, in turn, found himself lacking after seeing the fast progress that Midoriya had made, so to match Midoriya step by step he’ll have to adjust and so he did.
Midoriya may not have been the source of all Katsuki’s growth so far because that’s all on Katsuki, he alone was the one who’d willed himself to change for the better, but Midoriya was the spark that lit the fire in him. To see the childhood friend he had hurt and spurned rise above the limitation placed on him that must have been a jarring wakeup call indeed for someone so proud and headstrong like Katsuki.
Katsuki, without a doubt, has sharp edges and hard exterior, the kind that you can break yourself on. He wears his pride like armor, his arrogance is plated in steel, and his anger is his fuel but behind all that is someone who is so driven that he’s afraid to fail and disappoint himself and everyone around him. He won’t lose because he can’t afford to. He’s so strong and smart in the way that seems effortless but Eijirou have personally seen Katsuki sweat and bleed in his relentless drive to succeed, so to dismiss Katsuki’s character as the brash and loud kid who only cares about himself is an error in judgment.
Because Bakugou Katsuki is a forest; it’s easy to see to take one look at it and sees one dense overgrowth while completely missing the diverse vegetation that makes it up.
For three years, Eijirou had been an observer to the evolution of Katsuki from that obstinate boy who thought he can fight his way to the top with nothing but his skill and talent alone to the person he is now who sees the value in his teammates, the cost in sacrifices, and how the heart of a hero beats in the chest of the people they have helped and saved. He no longer saw his worth in the honor and glory of the battle to the top but in the people that built him up and got him there.
Midoriya had changed and consequently so does Katsuki. To affect one is to affect the other, but Eijirou hadn’t considered what that would mean for these two and their relationship with each other.
“The hell was that? Like seriously tell me I wasn’t imagining it,” Denki demands besides him as they slip into the elevator, heading back up to Eijirou’s floor.
“They’re just being… friendly?” Eijirou suggests. When Denki gives him an incredulous look, he carefully adds on, “Really friendly?”
Denki shakes his head. “You don’t think they are, you know,” he tilts his head in the direction where they had left Katsuki and Midoriya play-flirt like elementary school kids who don’t know better before dropping his voice to a whisper as though it was a curse he was afraid to give a voice to, “dating?”
“It can’t be,” Eijirou murmurs. “Bakugou didn’t say anything about it.” But then again, when it comes to Midoriya though Bakugou’s lips had always been tightly shut.
Katsuki has always horde his past with Midoriya like the most obstinate dragon in the world, except for the few times he’d admitted to the shared childhood he had with Midoriya and a complicated past that was riddled with hurt, anger, and disappointment. His relationship with Midoriya is often complex and confusing with the half form affections of childhood friends and the fierce rivalry between them that propel to the top of their class.
Even when they were barely speaking to each other in polite conversation in the past, they were tightly linked through each battle they had won and each hurdle they had to overcome together. No matter how largely different in personality and extreme they both fall on, the two inspired and motivated each other and everyone around them to improve. Their strength and weakness can be found in each other but they balance each other out. It was a slow and painful rebuilding of their relationship to get where they are now but whatever had divided them in the past is now the anchor that bound them together, like a paired of binary stars locked in a doom orbit.
It was like the entire universe was telling them: it could only be you two.
So what, they’re friends and maybe there’s also something more to it now? Eijirou may have been blind to it before but after being privy to that intimate scene, he can’t unsee all the time Midoriya had slipped into the space next to Katsuki with a familiar ease as though he was always meant to be there, the way Katsuki would sometimes stare at Midoriya with wonder and fierce joy when no one is looking, and how they are at their strongest when they are with each other and at their weakest they turn to each other. These are small gestures and barely noticeable acts but significant enough to carry weight, enormous weight now that the nature of their relationship is coming to light before Eijirou’s eyes.
Honestly, nothing is ever simple when it comes to these two.
“But even if it’s true,” Eijirou starts, thinking of Katsuki and Midoriya beyond their partnership in battle, “would that be so bad? The two of them together like that?”
Denki pauses. “No,” he concedes with a thoughtful look on his face. “Despite their polarizing personality and the volatile nature of their relationship, I think there’s something good that can come out of it.”
Separately, they’re noble people with defining characters but together they can be great. It is not his insecurity speaking for Eijirou to admit that Midoriya and Katsuki are the best, the best of the best that Class A has to offer. The twin stars of Class A, irreversibly bound and about to give the world a punch and kiss with their love, and Eijirou can’t help but be ecstatic over it. There’s so much potential there and he can’t wait to see what these two bring out in each other beside their usual competitive drive because there’s certainly a love so tender and soft developing between them, you just need to open your eyes to see beyond their steadfast rivalry.
“There’s definitely something going, I’m sure but I don’t think they’re ready to tell us yet. So let’s keep their secret, yea?” Eijirou suggests.
Denki grins, folding his arms behind his head. “Well, I don’t mind keeping my mouth shut for a little while more,” he says. “It’s always good to have an upper hand on Bakugou every now and then.”