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It was a pretty typical day, to start with.
Izuku dragged himself out of bed with the morning alarm, sluggishly hopping in the shower and getting ready for the day. Then he happened to catch the morning news his mother had on in the living room and got out the door with lighting speed, notebook in his grip. He’d barely said goodbye before he was down the street.
Then, of course, was the whole thing with Katsuki.
She’d been acting a little strange, that was for sure. Well, not strange, exactly. Kacchan always insisted on being the center of attention, ever since they were little. It definitely wasn’t out of the norm that she wanted all eyes looking in awe at her. And since he was the only one to really spend a lot of time with her, it wasn’t even new for it to be focused on him. Audience of one that he was, she’d accept nothing less than his full attention
It was the possessiveness that kind of threw him for a loop
It was flattering, to say the least. Also pretty cute, and never, ever repeat that out loud, he wanted to continue living okay? It still baffled him, though. Did she really think he had a line of suitors knocking at his door? She couldn’t possibly, but she seemed to tune in on his every interaction with other people, and got a familiar dark aura if they so much as brushed his shoulder when walking by.
Possessiveness he could live with, but the more it happened the more it seemed… insecure.
Izuku hesitated even thinking the word, but he knew it wasn’t entirely wrong. Kacchan detested weakness, most of all in herself. When they were toddlers she’d practically radiated a shining confidence, one Izuku wished he possessed. That alluring quality never left, but somewhere along the way it shifted, turning into something more defensive. A stubborn self-importance to shove in the face of a world against her.
He didn’t know how to get it through her head that he didn’t care who hypothetically came knocking at his door. She was the only one he adored enough to let walk through.
Alas, he knew better than to think Kacchan would accept a conclusion she hadn’t reached of her own volition. So he simply took her moods as they came, listened to every word she spoke to him, and held his hand out for hers.
The walk to school after their small confrontation was a pleasant one.
Then class started and everything went straight to hell.
Today was the day their sensei spoke to the class about their high school aspirations. Predictably, two things happened in quick succession.
First, they announced Kacchan’s plan to attend the best hero school in the country. While no one was stupid enough to paint a target on their back by mocking her, the silence that followed spoke louder than words. There were a few snickers among the students, but they weren’t needed to know the general opinion in the room. And yet…
“Oi!” The girl in question yelled from the back of the classroom, arms crossed feet propped up on her desk. Her legs were crossed but the uniform skirt still gave a nice view of her legs. Izuku turned red in embarrassment. Kacchan really had no care for decency. “Don’t lump me in with these extras! They’ll be eating my dust pretty soon!”
That elicited a round of scoffs from a number of boys and girls.
“Yeah right!”
“Didn’t know UA was suddenly recruiting villains.”
“Maybe the heroes can teach her not to be such an angry bit-”
“That’s enough!” The teacher interrupted with narrowed eyes. Good thing, because it saved Izuku from speaking up with clenched fists. He never defended Kacchan. Not because he didn’t want to, not because he didn’t have a thousand praises to sing about her to anyone heartless enough to write her off, but because she hated it. She’d clench her teeth and say it was fine, but never thank him. She didn’t want to be defended. She wanted to show the world she could defend herself just fine.
And for Izuku to be there after she totally decimated them.
“Midoriya, weren’t you aiming for UA as well?”
Ah yes, the second thing.
You might be thinking that this is the point where Katsuki jumps in to shut everyone up. It would definitely make sense with that aforementioned possessiveness and whatnot.
You’d also be wrong.
Izuku’s quirkless nature and dreams of heroism were a point of serious contention between them, even now. Sure, they weren’t four years old anymore. She wasn’t demeaning him at every turn- the name Deku aside. At this point it wasn’t even an insult anymore, just a nickname she’d never managed to drop. Izuku couldn’t manage to make himself call her anything but Kacchan so he had no room to complain.Anyway, the name wasn’t the point. She’d punch him in the face before admitting such a thing, but he knew the thought of him going out there with no special power to protect himself made her really upset. In the beginning she’d taken it as a huge insult. As if he was mocking her by saying even some quirkless kid could become a hero before a girl liker her could.
She knew him well enough now to realize he’d never thought that in his entire life, but he could see the lingering doubt in her eyes sometimes. She seemed worried that somehow he’d reach a point where he decided he really was above her all along.
Nonsense, of course.
But besides that, she’d admitted once just how afraid she was that he’d go jumping into danger he wasn’t prepared for and - in her own words- she’d lose the only person besides her parents that gave a shit about her.
It broke his heart.
Maybe another, better boyfriend would have acquiesced. Given up on those dreams for the girl he loved. He felt immense guilt about it all the time, but he couldn’t give her the answer she wanted. He would jump into danger. He might get himself killed. A thousand, million, billion things could go wrong before he ever managed to make a name for himself.
But the same could happen to Kacchan, and he’d been quick to say so.
So she let it be. They didn’t talk about it, and she didn’t jump in when everyone jeered. Not because she didn’t want to, but because- also in her words- if he couldn’t even defend himself against the shitty kids in their middle school, he had no business trying to play Batman.
He’d developed a much thicker skin since then, which is why he simply ignored the mocking laughter and replied to their teacher smoothly.
“That’s right, Sensei.”
Class went by pretty quickly after that. The kids still laughed but didn’t take it any further. Whether they knew Kacchan wouldn’t flip out unless it got extremely out of hand he wasn’t sure, but as usual no one felt the need to chance it.
When class let out for the day he lingered a moment, staring at his current, worn out notebook a little too hard. Like it would answer some unspoken question.
Izuku shook himself out of his thoughts and looked up. He was the only one left in the classroom. It wasn’t exactly surprising. While they normally made the treck to Kacchan’s house or Izuku’s apartment together, there were times they both needed a little space. They almost always coincided with days like today when hero talk was involved. Both were too stubborn to give on the matter. Their arguments always went in circles and left them angry, upset, and avoiding each other until they could pretend everything was normal.
Maybe it wasn’t the healthiest way to deal with the problem. Pretty soon they’d be starting high school and however that turned out they couldn’t avoid the topic anymore. For now, he let Kacchan walk home alone so he wouldn’t be the target of her pent up anger and he wouldn’t say things he’d regret later. Kacchan may be loud and aggressive, but Izuku analyzed without even realizing it. He’d learned some time ago that he could cut to the core of what would hurt someone the most.
That was fine with bullies, but the last time they’d truly gotten into it he froze as soon as he saw tears.
She wasn’t Izuku, who could cry at the drop of a hat. Who even at the time had angry tears running down his face. She never let herself look remotely weak around anyone, not even him if she could help it. He noticed, and she noticed him noticing. She’d yelled some things he couldn’t remember and run home, never to speak of it again. Not even to let him apologize.
It was the most horrible he’d ever felt about himself. So they developed this kind of unspoken system. On days when they couldn’t avoid a hurtful conversation, they gave each other space.
If he’d known how his day was going to go after that…
He was still in disbelief from it all.
First the slime villain and meeting All Might. Having his dreams crushed into dust then revitalized like never before.
Then, in the middle of it all, Kacchan.
Kacchan, caught by that disgusting villain. Mouth and nose covered and unable to breathe. Eyes panicked as no hero came rushing in to save her. Izuku wasn’t an impulsive person by a long shot. Taking in every aspect of a situation came as naturally as breathing, and jumping into action was one of those categories filed into ‘will improve for heroics.’
His feet were hitting pavement before he even realized it, backpack slinging and clawing at the slime desperately. If All Might hadn’t been there he wasn’t sure either of them would’ve made it, but he couldn’t have sat back and not tried.
After, when the heroes were congratulating her bravery and chastising his carelessness, they still kept a small distance apart. He’d reached out for a hug, reassuring himself she was okay with tears in his eyes. She didn’t shove him away, but he could practically hear the emotions warring for dominance behind her gaze and reluctantly pulled away.
Izuku laid in bed, limbs sprawled in all directions, staring at his ceiling with his own mixed bag of feelings.
He was getting a quirk. He could be a hero, he could achieve his dreams, enroll in the heroics departments at UA. He was getting a quirk, he woud have a quirk!
How could a person even begin to process that? After a whole life if getting his hopes eviscerated at every turn, of being the outcast based nothing but his own failed biology. To be told that all that could change. That All Might himself saw him worthy to inherit a power that anyone would kill to have in their hands.
It was all he could do to keep calm. He’d already screamed into his pillow more than once, and it hadn’t been as muffled as he hoped because his mother came to his door worried.
He needed…
He needed to talk to Kacchan.
She’d left the crime scene alone, despite his protests. It wasn’t exactly on bad terms, and she insisted she was fine, but… He knew her. Knew how messed up she felt about needing to be rescued, even though there was nothing she could have done. Knew that Izuku being the one to jump in brought up some old worries. It was nothing they couldn’t get through, he was confident about that. Still, he hated when she wouldn’t talk to him.
Which was maybe not entirely fair, considering he had no idea what he was going to say to her about all this. All Might was clear that One for All was a secret that couldn’t be let out to the wrong people under any circumstance. Kacchan wasn’t the wrong people, though, surely? He trusted her more than anyone barring his mom. She was his girlfriend. How could he even try to keep such a huge secret from someone who’d known him his whole life? Who knew all the details of his medical history and the reason he wasn’t born with a quirk?
There was just so much to consider. Too much, he knew, to make any conclusions before he’d gotten some actual sleep for the night.
With a sigh, Izuku reached for his phone sitting on the bedside table. He clicked the home button and smiled at the screen, a picture of Kacchan and him at an amusement park. Their parents took them on a joint trip last year, and he’d gotten her to smile for a selfie of them in front of a roller coaster. She didn’t do that much. Smile so genuinely in public. But she did more than people would ever think when they were alone, and it always gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling.
Swiping his thumb to unlock the screen, he quickly typed out a text and hit send.
Love you
…
Idiot. Go to sleep.
He smiled. They’d be fine.