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Heroes working on their day-offs was something that didn’t happen often. Not when heroes only got couple of paid holidays off annually, and especially not when you were meant to be spending your day off with friends, in your apartment, with cake and balloons and maybe some booze.
Unfortunately, Midoriya Izuku wouldn’t get that luxury, even if it was his birthday, simply because the Wonder Duo couldn’t catch a break, even if they desperately needed one. So, instead of being surrounded by and filled with love as he celebrated his 25th birthday, he was filled with adrenaline and fear, with copious amounts of smoke, dust, and debris in his lungs.
“Kacchan!” Izuku yelled, squinting through the thick fog of smoke. Heat stung at his left cheek. He jerked away from the flames licking at him. Katsuki yelled back in return, and that was the only way he could make sure that his partner was alright. “I’m going in, there’s one more person in there!” And without a second thought, he makes his way into the room closest to where the fire had begun.
The thick smoke stung at his eyes. He had to blink rapidly to let his tears wash it out. After his vision cleared, he spotted a mother cowering in the corner, holding her baby to her chest. She looked absolutely petrified until she spotted Izuku.
As soon as she did, her face flooded with relief. She stood up, knees wobbling as she moved towards the pro-hero. Izuku didn’t waste another minute, kicking the debris out of the way and carrying the woman with her baby. He uses OfA to get them out safely, with Katsuki on his tail.
He made his way outside,. There were firefighters and ambulances filling up the burning apartment’s parking lot. He let the mother be taken by some stand-by paramedics, watching as they put an oxygen mask over the baby. The baby began to writhe and scream in pain, probably from the smoke, and Izuku’s chest floods with guilt, wishing he had gotten there sooner. He hoped the baby would be alright. Glancing around, he noticed Katsuki consoling an old lady, who looked fine physically but was most likely emotionally shaken. The apartment continued to burn. Fire swallowed the building, yellow paint peeling off.
His heart ached for the people that could do nothing but watch. Their belongings were in there, perhaps everything they owned, but Izuku vowed to himself that he’d help them somehow. But right now all that mattered was that he and everyone that lived in there was oka--
“W-wait…” The woman he saved earlier choked out. She looked dazed, but she tried to reach out to Izuku. “My d-daughter, she’s in t-the other room! Please save her!”
Izuku’s heart jumped into his throat, ready to retrace his steps dart back in there, until he felt a heavy hand grip his arm to stop him. It was Katsuki. Izuku turned around, only to be met with a fiery gaze, but he watched it with his own. “Kaccha--”
“Deku, don’t fucking go in there. Don’t you fucking dare.” Katsuki’s voice was low, almost terrified. It was the first time Izuku ever heard him sound like that, but he was too focused on the task at hand.
“Kacchan, I can’t let her die. I’m sorry.” Then Izuku ripped his arm from Katsuki’s grip, and ran.
As Izuku darted away, Katsuki nearly chased after him, only to be held back by Kirishima and Kaminari. “Let go of me, you fuckers! Fuck! Izuku! ” And that was the last thing he heard before dashing back into the inferno.
Heat surrounded Izuku once more, but the smoke was much thicker now. He didn’t have much time left. He went back in the way he came, whipping his head around and trying to remember where he went, before entering the room next to the one he saved the woman from.
Frantically glancing around the room, he found nothing but burning toys and pink paint melting off the walls. It seemed like no one was in there. He was just about to turn around and try looking elsewhere until he heard a tiny whimper. His head darted towards the source of the sound. There was a small lump on the bed, covered by a thick bed sheet. A small head peeked out from the top, and Izuku nearly cried in relief.
The girl whimpered, obviously terrified beyond her wits. Her brown eyes were wide with terror, soft coughs escaping her lips.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m here to help you.” Izuku put on his signature smile, one he used to help anyone that was scared, though he could feel it wavering a bit. They didn’t have much time. He needed to get her out of here, fast.
“D-Deku? Is that really you?” She sat up, coughing more from the smoke. She gave him a wide, toothy, smile. “I heard my mommy yelling and I got scared, so I hid in here.”
“Yes, it’s me!” Izuku was frantic now. Though raising his voice was the last thing he should have done in the situation, he could hear some of the support beams breaking somewhere in the building. “We need to ge--” Before he could finish his sentence, he heard a giant creak above them, and he could do nothing but watch as the ceiling came crashing down on the girl, but not before he saw her clutch Deku and Ground Zero plushies to her chest.
--
Katsuki was livid, palms sparking up in anger. “Is he fucking serious? He’ll get killed! Should’ve fucking waited for Icyhot to get here, he should’ve-- I--”
“You know he would’ve fought off ten of us just to get in there.” Kaminari attempted to placate him. “He’ll be fine, he’s gone through worse than this.”
Gritting his teeth, Katsuki clenched his fists to stop the small explosions. “He’s so fucking stupid, I can’t fucking believe him....” The fear he felt while watching Izuku run headfirst into the fire again was new and foreign. They had been partners for two years, and so far had no deaths on their hands. Deku was capable of taking care of himself. Objectively, he was just as strong as Katsuki, after all. So why was he so nervous?
“Bakubro, Midoriya always gets out of this kind of stuff somehow. You know this better than anyone. He just has that kind of luck” Kirishima ruffles Katsuki’s hair in an attempt to comfort him, and Katsuki huffs out his annoyance, batting the other’s hands away.
Katsuki’s relationship with Izuku slowly but surely improved since their first year in U.A., and they now trusted each other more than anyone thought they would. In fact, when they had asked Aizawa how they could become an official hero duo before graduating, he initially thought it was a joke. Of course, he saw the improvements in their relationship, but he thought they’d sign up at the same hero agency at most, not willingly work together constantly on the field as a duo. Then, he noticed how serious they both were about it.
So came the grueling hours of filing paperwork and renewing documents, which they both ended up doing together. They slaved over studying for the Hero Duo test and their evaluations to make sure they would work perfectly together, even if all their classmates knew deep down that they were a perfect fit already.
There’s a distinct memory that lingers in Katsuki’s brain, one that seems to be laid over with a hazy film. He stores it for times he needs to calm himself down.
It’s two in the morning and they’re sitting at a coffee table in Izuku’s apartment, the top of it covered with various papers. Izuku is next to him, tiredly reading out another passage from the review book given to them, called Hero Duo Basics, Volume 7, which, thankfully, was the last book they needed to read.
Katsuki is sleepy, but not as sleepy as Izuku is, and he watches as Izuku’s eyes threaten to flutter shut, slurring out the words incomprehensibly. “Oi, nerd.” He nudges Izuku, but it barely has any effect. Izuku sets the book down, yawning.
“I’m sleepy.”
“Yeah, no shit.” Katsuki snorted. “But we gotta finish this book. There’s only forty pages left. Then we can crash, alright?”
Izuku whines petulantly. “Ka-”
“Finish it, Izuku.”
And he tries to. He really does, but soon after, he ended up passing out on Katsuki’s shoulder, already beginning to drool, and Katsuki begrudgingly tried to stand up to carry him onto the couch until Izuku wrapped his arm around Katsuki’s waist to snuggle further into the warmth.
It was, perhaps, the beginning of what Katsuki liked calling “an irrational cold,” though everyone knew what it really was. The shivers he’d get when Izuku would touch him, no matter how innocent and platonic. The pride that filled his chest whenever they’d be commended for their rescues. The ever so slight pinkening of his cheeks at the sight of Izuku’s smile. But of course, Katsuki vehemently denied these sprouting feelings, and wrote them off as nothing but platonic love, the way that Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki loved him as well.
It was much more than that, but perhaps a part of Katsuki enjoyed denying it, wanted to draw it out just a little longer. Or maybe he was afraid.
Whatever his reason was, all he knew was that he didn’t want to lose Izuku.
A loud crash brings Katsuki out of his reverie, and he watches, wide-mouthed, as the section where Izuku went into crumbled down. Miraculously, Izuku is standing in the middle of it, the ceiling above and wall behind him staying intact.
Something feral takes over Katsuki, and he finds himself using his explosions to propel himself into the wreckage. Kirishima and Kaminari followed right behind him.
“IZUKU!” Katsuki yelled, rushing over to his partner. “Thank fuck, you’re okay, Jesus fucking--” The lack of response from Izuku immediately tipped him off. He checked the other’s torso for any injuries, but nothing seemed to be out of place, except for the blank, haunted look in those green eyes. Izuku seemed to be out of it, staring at the pile of rubble in front of him. It didn’t take long for Katsuki to put the pieces together.
He grips Izuku’s arm. “Deku.”
Izuku doesn’t respond, he simply kneels down and quietly begins to dig at the pile.
Katsuki feels a sharp pain in his chest.
“She could still be alive,” The waver in Izuku’s voice made Katsuki’s chest hurt more. Izuku moves the ash and rubble, hiccuping breaths cutting through the silence. “She’s i-in there, I can’t, Kacchan, help me dig, help me--”
Not knowing what else to do, Katsuki knelt down next to him and moved some pieces of rubble.
A few moments passed, and Izuku began to become more frantic. He was pushing bits of ash, steel and concrete to the side, tears of distress streaking down his stained cheeks. Katsuki could see that some of the hot pieces were beginning to break down Izuku’s gloves.
“Deku.”
“Don’t Deku me! Keep digging!” Izuku screams, then pressing his lips together to stifle the whimpers that threatened to escape. Katsuki swallows the lump in his throat and complies.
As if whatever god Izuku was praying to was watching, they both hear a muffled whimper from beneath the rubble. Their hands stop simultaneously, looking at each other with wide eyes, before Izuku uses OfA to dig faster than he ever has.
Katsuki stands up and turns to the crowd. “We need help here!” He calls out, and just as he turns back to help, Izuku had already moved most of the rubble.
A small, brown head of hair emerges, and they both dig further until the little girl’s top half was free, then, Izuku pulls the girl out and cradles her to his chest with a sob.
“Oi. Nerd.” Katsuki pokes at Izuku’s shoulder. “Let’s get out of here, yeah? We both need a fucking shower, and this place smells disgusting.” It wasn’t disgusting-- they were in a hospital, but Katsuki couldn’t stand the smell of antiseptic after years of being hospitalized on the job.
Izuku barely flinches from where he’s sitting next to the girl’s hospital bed. He’s holding her hand, gaze fixated on her. “Yeah, just give me a minute.”
As soon as he was alone, he quietly tucked her slightly charred plushies under her arm.
Somehow, they both end up in Katsuki’s apartment, mainly because Katsuki didn’t trust Izuku to be alone after that, and because the nerd was stumbling over himself from exhaustion. He had to sling Izuku’s arm over his shoulder and wrap an arm around his waist, before lugging him into his home.
It wasn’t anything special, really. But it was clean, and it felt extremely homey to Izuku. It might’ve been because of the familiar, faint scent of nitroglycerin he grew accustomed to after years of being with Katsuki. Either way, the sense of security and safety he felt was enough to warm his heart.
“Go take a fuckin’ bath in the spare bathroom. You can get some of my clothes from my closet, and there should be an extra towel in the linen cabinet. Make sure you clean yourself up properly or else I’ll scrub your fucking skin with steel wool.” Katsuki sounded a lot like an aggressive, loving mother, much like Mitsuki.
“You just wanna see me naked,” Izuku teased with a dopey smile.
“ Hah- What the fuck did you just say? ”
Izuku could only laugh as Katsuki chased him into the bathroom.
An hour and a bath later, Izuku sat at Katsuki’s dinner table, wearing on of his black skull t-shirts, hair fluffed up after Katsuki blow dried it. Now the smell of fried pork was making him drool, and conveniently keeping him from passing out right then and there. Though, if he did, Katsuki would wake him back up again to eat.
Something about the situation feels oddly domestic to Izuku. Though this isn’t the first time he’s had dinner at Katsuki’s house (his mind briefly flashes back to the disastrous homemade pizza night they had, which ended up with him getting banned from being anywhere near Katsuki’s oven), it’s the first time he’s come here after a mission. Not to mention how emotionally tender he felt after everything.
Katsuki slides a steaming hot bowl of katsudon in front of Izuku, with a pair of chopsticks and a glass of water. “Eat.”
Katsudon was certainly powerful enough to make Izuku perk up. He breaks the chopsticks and immediately digs in, shoving in the pork and rice like he’d never tasted anything better. “Mmmf, this is so good, Kacchan,” Izuku tries to say, though it sounds more like ‘dis so goob’. Katuski scowls and tells him to not speak with his mouth full, to which Izuku teasingly calls him a mother hen.
Izuku finishes the meal with a satisfied hum. His stomach is full and his heart is calm. Could he really ask for more?
“Y’done?” Katsuki asks.
“Mhm.”
At that, Katsuki stands up and walks to his refrigerator. Izuku watches him quizzically. “Don’t fucking look, stupid Deku. Turn the fuck around.” Curiosity ebbed at him, but he listened anyway.
He opens his eyes once Katsuki tells him to, revealing a slice of ice cream cake, matcha flavored, with a birthday candle in it. “Happy birthday, nerd.” Katsuki uses his quirk to light the candle.
Tears form at the corners of Izuku’s eyes. “I-I forgot it was my birthday today.” He laughs wetly. He sniffles before he blows out the candle.
“Mm. Well. You were the one that insisted on working on your fucking birthday. Coulda gone better, really, but at least we’re both here, yeah?” Katsuki shoves a fork into Izuku’s hand. “Now try it. I spent four hours making it last night. Rest of it is in the freezer.” The growing emotions in Izuku’s chest almost overwhelm him, but he tries to shake them off. He gets a bit of it on his fork before bringing it to his mouth.
“It’s really good,” Izuku’s voice warbles, tears dribbling down his cheeks.
“Oi, hey, why are you cryin’, I just made you try a fucking cake!”
Setting the fork down, Izuku stood and slung his arms around Katsuki’s neck. The action was unexpected, and it sent them both tumbling down onto the floor. “What the fuck, Deku?” Katsuki hisses. His backside aches a bit from the impact, but what worries him more is the quiet sniffling near his ear. “Did you not like the damn cake? Jeez.” He tries to ignore the pounding in his chest, lifting a hand to rub at Izuku’s back.
Izuku shakes his head. “N-no, it was good, I liked it.” He nuzzles into Katsuki’s neck.
“You’re getting snot on me. Gross.”
“Thank you, Kacchan.” The hushed whisper almost went unheard, and Katsuki can feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. “I’m so glad you’re here, so glad you were there for me. I dunno what would’ve happened if that little girl died on my watch, b-but I’m glad you were there to help. She had plushies of us. Both of us. Can you believe that? It nearly b-broke me when the ceiling came down on her. If she died, I don’t know what I would’ve done, but I’m so glad she’s okay, she’s alive, you’re alive, I-I’m so glad you’re here, you’re always here, you always make things feel better, you’re my rock, Kacchan, I’m s-sorry,” Izuku’s babbling broke off into muffled sobs, tears soaking Katsuki’s skin.
That was enough to convince Katsuki to whatever was left of his pride and wrap his arms around Izuku. He holds the other man tightly, as if to hold him together, to prevent him from falling apart.
They probably wouldn’t have noticed if the world fell apart around them.
They wouldn’t have cared either way.
They both didn’t know what exactly this meant, where to go next, what to do after. It was all irrelevant now, anyway.
For now, all there was, was Katsuki and Izuku, finding solace in each other, a special kind of comfort built up from years of familiarity and some sort of fateful force that drew them both together.
And maybe, just maybe, Izuku subconsciously marked this off as his best birthday yet.