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Katsuki was really, really annoyed.
Granted, annoyed was more like a perpetual state of being than a flash of emotion for her, but who gave a fuck about semantics.
This particular annoyance was just as grating as it was familiar.
Deku. Of course it was Deku.
The boy in question was in a state as he furiously scribbled in a well worn notebook. His eyes moving just as rapidly across the page as he jotted his thoughts down. He bit his bottom lip in concentration. The mumbling was at an all time high.
This wasn’t the annoying part.
Well, it was. But if she lost her temper every time the nerd started ‘Beautiful Mind-ing’ about heroes it would be all she’d ever do. Besides, it was - and she’d sooner murder than say this out loud- kind of endearing. Like when a dog shakes water all over you after a bath. Sure, you smell like wet mut and you’ve gotta mop up the damn bathroom now, but it smiles like a dope and frantically tries to bite the air when you blow dry him so-
Katsuki was losing the plot. She glared down at King Explosion Murder, but the Akita just flopped his tongue out happily, ridiculously puffy fur and all. She huffed and turned back to her boyfriend.
Boyfriend. What a stupid word, she thought, fighting off a blush.
Everyone made such a big deal about it, their parents cooing over them like they were toddlers. Her dad and Auntie Inko, anyway. Her mom took every opportunity available to tease them mercilessly, the old hag.
But Deku was Deku. Someone had to watch over the absolute hazard he was to himself. She was practically doing him a favor. Who else would listen to his hero monologues, make sure the douchebags at school didn’t get any funny ideas, watch old All Might cartoons, cook him a real curry that made his eyes water, tie a fucking tie properly, hold his hand, kiss him whenever they felt like it?
Just the thought of some bitch extra’s mouth anywhere near him made her see red.
The plastic bottle in her left hand exploded in a mess of plastic melting and water splashing onto the sidewalk.
It was, evidently, enough to draw the attention of some of the onlookers on the street, including one Izuku Midoriya.
His head whipped up at the sound of a quirk he knew all too well, and green eyes met her own. He instantly grinned and ran over. “Kacchan!” Then spotting the big ball of excitement at her feet. “‘Splodo!”
“King Explosion Murder,” she corrected for the billionth time in their lives. As usual she was ignored, and Deku bent down to the excitable pup. The dog glomped him like usual, paws reaching his shoulders and licking his face as Deku laughed and gave him some good pets in return.
Stupid dog. Her parents got him for her when she was six years old. When they realized she was having trouble making friends and was more than a little isolated, they’d had the ingenious idea of getting a pet. Akitas were a stubborn breed. They needed someone determined who wouldn’t give up working with them. Stubborn and determined were practically her middle names, so it seemed like a great fit.
It was, but not for those reasons. They’d apparently found the one weirdo of the litter with the temperament of a Labrador. The fluffy asshole couldn’t get enough affection. He started out suspicious of strangers, but as soon as one scratched behind his ear he was a puddle of goo.
“Idiot. You’re getting fur all over your uniform.”
“It’s fine, Kacchan.” Deku gave another pat then stood, reaching for the lint roller in his backpack. Such a boy scout. Now not covered in light fur, he smiled up at Katsuki. She was ever so slightly taller than him, still. She’d also never admit she found it cute. She wondered if he’d ever hit a growth spurt.
“Whatever,” she muttered and turned to walk down the sidewalk, away from the spectacle behind them. He followed suit, as did King. “Who’s the newbie?” She asked with fake nonchalance.
He brightened visibly, like an actual ray of sunshine. “Mt. Lady! She was so cool, Kacchan. Her quirk is so interesting. It was her debut and everything, so I don’t know too much about it yet...”
Yeah, he’d probably need a whole day before he could nail down her life story and every application of her power possible. She didn’t say that, though.
“Uh huh.” She crossed her arms as they walked, clearly displeased.
“But she has so much potential! I can’t wait to see her career. I’ve only got a couple pages so far, but I think we’ll see a lot more of her!”
“Great.”
Deku frowned and scrunched his eyebrows, studying her face. “Kacchan?”
“What?”
“...why are you mad?”
She scoffed. “Mad? I’m not mad. Do I look fucking mad?”
“A little.”
“Well, I’m not.”
“Yes you are”
“No I’m not.”
“Yes you-“
“Oh my God, whatever! Go cry about it to Mt. Cleavage back there.” Shit. She turned away quickly, speeding up as they reached her house to take King home before school.
Deku’s eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks, spluttering. “Wh- I’m not- Kacchan!”
She made quick work of it, grabbing her backpack where it lay next to the front door, and came flying back out, bypassing Deku as his brain short-circuited.
“Kacchan, stop!” The nerd came running after her, grabbing her right arm. He was still wide eyed, but there was a glint to his eyes. His lips quirked up. “Are you-“
“Shut up!”
“-jealous?”
“I said shut up!”
Katsuki’s face was absolutely flaming and she felt mortified, refusing to meet his eyes. What in the absolute hell was wrong with her? Ever since they’d ‘officially’ started this whole dating thing, she found herself paying extra attention to the people Deku was so enamored with. It wasn’t just women, either. He was too shy to say anything about it, but you don’t spend your entire life with someone and not realize they got just as flustered around cute boys as girls. Which didn’t bother her in the slightest, but it just made even more so called competition.
Stupid! It was stupid!
She felt a hand on hers and finally turned her eyes back to him. His smile was gentle, and she was maybe a little relieved she wasn’t the only one blushing.
He didn’t say anything, just took her hand and started their walk to the school. She ducked her head and followed. He still said nothing, letting her collect her thoughts (and composure).
Deku was just so... good. Their classmates were assholes and even the teachers left something to be desired, but she wasn’t delusional enough to think the whole world would dismiss him. He was kinder than he had any reason to be and worked harder than everyone else - apart from Katsuki, of course.
It wouldn’t be that long until someone, or many someones, saw what she did in him. Someone who wasn’t so loud, so mean. So much.
She had... doubts, to say the least, about his heroic aspirations. And wasn’t that just a whole other world of arguments. The world wasn’t nearly as kind as he was to it, and once upon a time she’d had the notion to break his heart before it could. But he’d stubbornly stayed by her side when nobody else did, looked at her like she wasn’t the brash, anger filled ‘villain material’ everyone liked to call her. He’d believed in her. Still did. She couldn’t quite bring herself to not return the favor.
Maybe, possibly, and don’t fucking quote her on this, Katsuki should show a little more faith in this area, too.
She leaned closer to him, lacing their fingers together. As much an apology as she was prone to give. He accepted it like she knew he would, squeezing her hand.
“I’m not going anywhere, Kacchan.”
No, he wasn’t. Not if she had anything to say about it.