Work Text:
Okay, so this situation was less than ideal. The class had been split into groups so that they could learn what it was like to fight with other pros. Unfortunately, the pairings had been random and therefore Katsuki had no say in the matter. When his and Yaoyorozu’s names had been called, he hadn’t thought much of it. After all, she was the top of the class (and 100% deserved it, though Bakugou refuses to admit that), but she wasn’t insufferable about being better than him like that fucking popsicle was.
Katsuki didn’t quite hit himself when the other two names were called, but it was a close thing. His mind just had to go and ruin a perfectly good pairing, didn’t it? Because not only was that fucking half-and-half called – that he could have dealt with – but so was the one person who managed to make Yaomomo lose her fucking rich-girl mind.
Jirou Kyoka.
While it had probably taken Katsuki longer than most to realize that Todoroki wasn’t the way Yaoyorozu went, it still happened pretty quickly. At first, when the two had been paired for the exam, Katsuki was sure that they would end up similar to Round-Face and that fuckin’ nerd. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu were just really close friends. They confide in each other for everything, and apparently one of those things was crushes.
God, Katsuki hated that fucking word.
But, this had to have been the case because there was absolutely no way IcyHot would have picked up on those nuances when it had taken Katsuki himself so long to do so. Because IcyHot was a fucking moron. Okay, maybe not a moron and just incredibly oblivious to most things.
Whatever he was, the point still stood that he wouldn’t have figured it out on his own. But, the fact was that he definitely knew. Because when half-n-half heard his name with Jirou’s, his eyes met Yaoyorozu’s and this grin broke out on his face. It was strange to see the look on the boy’s face, considering he was an emotionally stunted asshole who doesn’t know much besides anger and general indifference. But, there was no better way to describe it. Todoroki was sporting a shit-eating grin, right there in front of Katsuki and the whole class and god himself. And it was pointed directly at Yaoyorozu, who was sending one back.
Which, Katsuki figured, was really really weird.
Katsuki loved being right, most of the time. There wasn’t much in Katsuki’s mind which could give him the same satisfaction as the feeling of someone else being wrong, and himself winning. Katsuki had never found himself wishing so much that he had just been wrong for once.
Except for right now, at this very moment.
Katsuki’s claim was mostly correct, he reluctantly found about twenty minutes into the exercise. Because, while the twin grins were really fucking weird, they were something worse, too.
They were really annoying.
Katsuki was used to Todoroki’s indifference, and he was absolutely not prepared for the sharp, "witty" remarks that the hero-in-training could come up with. When he and Jirou had first made their way over to Katsuki and Yaoyorozu, the latter girl had said, “Hope you’re ready for a fun time, Todoroki-san,” which was really fucking suggestive now that he thought about it, but whatever. It was the Icy-Fucker’s response that really got him, “I am, but are you ready to get into absolute treble, Momo? Just get absolutely amped up and wreck the other team’s bass?”
Todoroki’s comment was what got him because, holy shit, did Katsuki really just count three music puns in two sentences? Katsuki hadn’t even heard Todoroki utter one single pun ever, and here he was with a store of them to specifically tease Yaoyorozu? Was IcyHot holding out on him? Did he not deem him worthy of his shitty puns? He’ll show him – Actually, what the hell is he even complaining about, he really doesn’t want to hear more of them. He definitely didn’t want to see anymore of those smirks on half-and-half’s dumb face.
Anyway, the response had the desired effect: Jirou didn’t pick up on the underlying meaning to the statement, but the class vice-president definitely did, if the instant shade of red was anything to go by. “I guess we’ll go out with a bang, Todoroki-san,” she responded through gritted teeth.
Katsuki had the pleasure of watching as IcyHot’s smug expression melted away, instead becoming something almost shy.
Which Katsuki definitely did not find cute, what the hell, stop prying into his life.
Unfortunately for Katsuki’s ego, it took him a half second longer than it should have to realize that the inflection of Yaoyorozu’s voice meant that what she said had probably been a pun meant to tease Todoroki about his crush which – was that weird? That Katsuki thought that it would be wrong for Todoroki to like someone that way? That’s probably what Katsuki had thought, anyhow. The blond wasn’t particularly used to thoughts other than anger and absolutely enraged. But, this was a hollow feeling, the thought of Todoroki having a crush on someone. Was it someone in Class 1-A? Oh, it had to be. Todoroki would settle for no less than the best, of course. So, which girl was it, if not Yaoyorozu?
Those thoughts didn’t really matter, so Katsuki let them go because they were pissing him off. However, he quickly found that listening to Todoroki and Yaoyorozu was just as good at those thoughts at making him angry. For an entire 20 minutes, the two had done nothing but trade puns and “witty” remarks about each other’s crushes. Which Jirou had still not picked up on. What a lucky girl.
It wasn't until the group had settled into their makeshift “camp” (part of the exercise, unfortunately) that it got vomit-enducingly gross between headphones and Yaomomo. Because, that's what two people with crushes on each other were. Really fucking cut- gross. Really gross.
It got gross because Yaoyorozu asked Jirou if she could sing her a song, while they were waiting for the next instructions. Jirou had protested at first before Todoroki dug Katsuki’s grave as well as his own with saying, “I think that its really cute that you want her to serenade you, Momo.” His eyes were alight with mirth when he said it, which quickly died once he realized what he had done when Jirou started singing an actual fucking love song.
Katsuki never signed up for these dumbasses to be so dumb.
When it started, no one tried to stop it. Yaoyorozu didn’t because she was disgusting and had disgusting feelings. Todoroki didn’t because he started it, and he seemed to be happy? for his friend. And Katsuki didn’t because the music was a much needed distraction from the ice-fucker’s face, which Katsuki had absolutely not been staring at for the last 20 minutes, thank you very much.
Except that he had been, he realized with a start. Katsuki had 100% been staring at Todoroki’s face, because it was a very nice face, and it was painted with happiness, and Katsuki had become blinded. Blinded from what he was there to do, blinded from his goals, and blinded from the many reasons he had denied the thoughts that always seemed to follow Todoroki.
Oh, shit. Oh shit, shit, mother-fucking, goddamn, shit. He was disgusting too, with his stupid feelings and stupid Todoroki with his stupid wit and stupid sass and stupid pretty face.Katsuki loved figuring things out almost as much as he loved being right. He almost wished, though, that he had stayed ignorant to this little discovery.
They came first in the exercise, to the surprise of absolutely no one. They had definitely lucked out in the ‘pick-a-name’ lottery, with three of the best students in class, and Jirou was certainly nothing to frown at (minus her being a bit of a distraction). They had been quick to take down the bases of the other teams once they were given the order to do so.
The whole day was bitter sweet to Katsuki. He had beat everyone else, but he also lost. Lost his mind, probably. He found that his newfound knowledge about himself hadn’t stopped him and IcyHot from being a great team. It also didn’t stop him from insulting the strawberry-head at any chance that he got. That was a positive, at least.
Jirou and Yaoyorozu were talking about getting together sometime, just the two of them, and having a karaoke night. It was probably a date, Katsuki figured. Todoroki had come over just a bit ago to tell him that they made a good team. It was a quiet statement, and the fuckhead had been looking at his feet instead of Katsuki’s face, like anyone with decent fucking manners.
It was a bitter sweet day. Oh well. Katsuki always had preferred dark chocolate anyhow.