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All Katsuki and Izuku had wanted was a peaceful, quiet day on the beach. The former wanted to escape from the extras, naturally. Izuku hoped to soothe the burn of both their discoveries during their fight at Ground Beta by showing Kacchan the place he trained with All Might.
But, as things often went, life wasn’t that easy.
“At long last, Kaminari, our dreams are coming true!”
“Scantily clad babes far as the eye can see!”
“No school swimsuit cop-outs this time!”
“Let’s run into the light and bask in our banquet, brother!!”
Mineta and Denki sprinted out of the changing room with sparks and drool flying. The door burst open and ushered them head-first into--
Denki flew into a wall of muscle accompanied by a bright grin. “Whoa, hey bro! Sorry ‘bout that!” Kirishima tilted his head down, blinking at the sight of his friend’s head squished between his pecs. “Er, you okay there man?”
Denki’s cheeks seared and he couldn’t seem to stop mumbling, “B...buhbuhbuh...bigger than Momo’s buhbuhbuh…”
As for Mineta, he flew straight into Katsuki’s palm. He had no time to process anything before finding himself soaring across the beach with fireworks crackling and searing his sticky hair.
“KEEP IT THE FUCK DOWN, PEOPLE ARE TRYNA RELAX! GEEZ!”
Izuku sweatdropped. As usual, Kacchan was the loudest one here. Of course he wouldn’t say that. Perhaps it’d been selfish and unreasonable to want some alone time with his friend, considering it was a school field trip. “Ah, I’ll leave you to cool down then, Kacchan.”
“Hah?! I’m perfectly fuckin’ calm!” Huffing, Katsuki wiped his soiled hand on his swim trunks and grimaced. “Nasty ass little...so what’d you wanna show me anyway, nerd?”
“Show you--oh, yes! I, ah…” Izuku poked his fingers together, trying to not have a Kaminari-like moment himself. He’d seen Kacchan shirtless before, of course. But after bearing their feelings out to each other that fateful night, after admitting certain feelings to himself that he could hold back no longer, containing his marvel for every single bit of Kacchan proved even harder than before. Seriously, how could someone be so perfect?
Furthermore, why was he so nervous to reveal such a simple detail now that they were finally here? He’d already spilled the secret of his quirk, so showing him how hard he worked to get it would be wonderful, right?
But...what if he thought it was lame? What if it wasn’t enough? Would Kacchan get mad at him again, their progress destroyed?
“OI! Earth to Deku!!”
Izuku jolted at the explosive flick to his forehead, straightening and laughing awkwardly. “Oh, sorry Kacchan! I was just thinking--”
“You’re always thinkin’ and I don’t need to hear every word that goes through that big head, not that I can understand a damn bit of it.” Katsuki growled and looked away, and Izuku nearly toppled over.
Oh. He’d been mumbling again. Fantastic. He seriously needed to get that under control before it became the death of him, as it very well could have just now. “Um! It’s just, while we’re here, I wanted you to see--”
“WHO ON EARTH THOUGHT IT ACCEPTABLE TO LODGE MINETA INTO A PALM TREE?!”
Iida’s voice and Grape Boy’s screeching rang out across the beach, and everyone stopped and stared. Katsuki snickered and rolled his eyes, rubbing at one eye with his middle finger. Most of the class exploded into laughter, save for a few. Tokoyami grunt and swooped out from his hiding spot amongst the trees. “So much for reading my book,” he muttered and skulked away to find a more quiet place.
“HEY!! IT’S NOT FUNNY!! MY BALLS ARE STUCK TO THESE GIANT HAIRY--”
“THEY ARE CALLED COCONUTS, MINETA! CONTEXT PLEASE!”
“CONTEXT?? WHY DON’T YOU TRY HAVING A PALM LEAF HALFWAY LODGED UP YOUR--”
“AMEN!!”
Katsuki attempted to leave the scene but Iida flailed about and scolded him, and of course that prompted a volley of curses and (mostly) empty threats. Meanwhile, Izuku just sat there amidst the chaos, twitching.
Seriously, why had he fallen in love with this guy? But he knew exactly why. Things like this were part of the reason. Guess that made him crazy too.
“Kacchan, try to calm down please? We’re here to have a good ti--ACK!”
He barely dodged a small explosion, shrinking back at the manic look on the other’s face. “YOU’RE ALL PISSING ME OFF ON MY VACATION, DAMNIT! IF YOU WANNA FIGHT SO BAD THEN COME AT ME!!”
Izuku shuffled away as a chorus of “YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS TO FIGHT!” and “IT’S OUR VACATION TOO!!” rang out over the beach. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. They hadn’t even set up their umbrellas yet. At least he could find a nice spot with all the chaos distracting everyone.
Naturally thanks to his training, he knew this beach like the palm of his hand. Knew all the secret, hidden away spots and less-traveled paths. For now, he placed his things on the main beach, as he didn’t want everyone knowing of his hiding places. Sometimes, he would wander those paths to remind himself of where he came from when things got rough. Izuku was a generous person, but the only one he wanted to share those intimate memories with was Kacchan.
If he ever had a moment alone with him, that is. Pouting, he finished setting out his things and looked over the expanse of the beach. It stretched out far as the eye could see. Seagulls flew plentifully and loudly overhead, crabs scuttled this way and that, and a large hole in the sand with pieces of eggshells suggested that a clutch of turtles had just hatched. When he’d seen this place a year ago, he hadn’t believed it could be saved. That in itself had been one of the first and most important lessons as a hero: even that which seemed impossible could be redeemed if you believe and work hard enough.
“Hey, Deku!” Uraraka’s bright voice roused him from his thoughts, and he jumped a bit, waving her over. “Why so glum? Bakugou’s screaming getting to you?”
“Oh, haha, I’m fine, really! I just wanted to--”
“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING A GREMLIN?!”
Izuku sweat and flopped over onto the blanket. “Yeah.”
Uraraka chuckled, scooting to sit next to him. “Forgive me for saying so, but I’d think you would be super used to it by now.”
Lifting his head, Izuku rolled over to lay on his back, staring into the sky. “I am. It’s just...I thought maybe today could be different. That everyone could get along and make new discoveries in such a beautiful place…”
Brunette eyebrows quirked with interest. Uraraka tilted her head at him, taking note of the faint blush on his face. Oblivious, Deku kicked his feet back and forth on the blanket, and Ura’s cheeks puffed out as she held back a laugh. It looked like he was having a silent temper tantrum. “Different how, exactly? Did you think he might finally relax or something?”
Izuku nodded and sighed. “Something like that.”
Her smile had shone with pure sympathy and support before, but when Izuku turned to look at her again, he wheezed and tumbled backwards again, paling at the intense grin on her face.
“Well, we’ll just have to fix that! C’mon Deku!”
He practically shrieked, shaking his head vehemently as his treacherous friend grabbed his wrist. “N-no really it’s fine I don’t wanna bother him or you I’m sure he’ll wear himself out by the end of the day, maybe midday if he keeps going full steam--ack!!”
The poor boy’s rambling fell on deaf ears. Uraraka dashed across the sand with Izuku in tow, beady eyes honing in on an explosive blonde poof. “Heyyy, Bakugou!” she chirped, despite Izuku’s chorus of “Nononononono” behind her.
Katsuki’s twitch was palpable. Mineta had just been retrieved from the palm tree by Shoji and promptly hid behind a large flap of skin on the huge man’s body. He could still be heard blubbering about how embarrassed he was, how his image had been tarnished and now the chicks would never give him a gorgeous bikini harem. Tsuyu approached and bowed briefly to Shoji. “Pardon the intrusion.”
Shoji nodded in acknowledgement. “Not at all.” A loud ‘THWACK’ followed by a shriek rang across the beach. The last anyone saw of Grape Boy was Tsuyu dragging him away with her tongue tugging at his ear, berating him on troubling his classmates, while Mineta blubbered that he wasn’t AT ALL into ear play.
Aaaand Iida was just wrapping up reprimanding the love of Izuku’s life, who looked about ready to rip someone’s head off. “--and THAT is why any aggressions against any classmate, no matter how deplorable the character of said person, cannot be overlooked by the class president! Do you have any idea the weight I carry on my shoulders, that extends to you and every single student of U.A., to uphold the honor and dignity of not only our establishment, but the very backbone of hero society! I will let you off with a warning only because we are on holiday, but should another incident occur, my hands will be tied and I will have no choice but to report post-haste to a teacher!”
Katsuki took a deep breath and counted backwards from five mentally. “...take a look around, Sonic the fuckin’ Hedgehog. I’d think the heat woulda shown up by now with all this ruckus if they gave a shit.”
Iida flinched, rapidly looking this way and that. “Surely they had full faith in my abilities to moderate the excursion and as a result have not intervened yet, but I can assure you that they always have...their...eyes on…” His eyes went wide, mouth dropping, body trembling a bit. Waaay out across the beach, a few tiny, barely visible dots could be made out, the only identifiable mark a flash of spiky blonde hair.
Yup. The teachers had ditched them.
Blanching, Iida shot a pleading gaze to Todoroki and Momo, who leisurely sat nearby. The latter slid closer to Half and Half, smiling awkwardly. “We have utmost faith in you, Class President!”
Todoroki sipped on his drink and gave a thumbs up, dead panning. “We’ll remember you fondly.”
A demon would’ve run screaming from the leer on Katsuki’s face. His hands sparked dangerously as he shrieked, “YOU BETTER PRAY TO GO FAST, MOTHERF--”
“BAKUGOU HEY, HI BAKUGOU, HEYA!” Uraraka cut in once more, trying to support Izuku who had all but fainted from being so flustered at the situation. Katsuki turned to her, eyes flashing like a deer in headlights, and she gulped. “Phhew it’s hot out here, let’s get some drinks! Whaddya say?”
Beside her, Izuku mumbled dazedly, “Yesh, Kacchan, hot…”
By all means, Katsuki should’ve turned heel and left them eating sand. But Ura’s face was too damn bubbly, too eager and insistent, and Deku looked pathetic, like he hadn’t had a damn drop of water since they’d gotten here--why the fuck did he care?! Dumbass chubby flustered freckled cheeks…
“If it’ll shut you the fuck up then fine!! Get me the hell away from these extras!”
Katsuki got whiplash from how quickly he regretted that statement. A creepy, wiggly grin spread across Ura’s face, and the squeak Izuku made had to have alerted any dolphins and whales nearby. “Wha? Does that mean we’re not extras anymore, huh Bakugou--”
“I WILL END YOU, ROUND FACE!!”
But of course, he didn’t. And the three ended up awkwardly huddled around a small table, with Uraraka in the middle, at a cute little tiki bar nearby.
This was it! His chance for Kacchan’s attention! The blonde was right there, glaring at him every time their eyes briefly met, but if he just came out with it, maybe he’d be less hostile! Maybe, he’d even appreciate what he had to say! All he had to do was take a deep breath, open his mouth, aaaand…
Sluuuuuuuurp.
Both Katsuki and Uraraka stared as Izuku inhaled his beverage without so much as a moment to breath. His cheeks were sucked in, eyes wide, pupils tiny, body doing that weird little quaking thing he did when he was nervous.
“Uhh, Deku? You okay there?” Uraraka asked, twirling the cute little umbrella in her own drink.
Izuku gasped dramatically, lips popping off the straw, and he offered a shaky thumbs-up. “Y-yeah! Peachy keen!”
Katsuki grunt, tapping his fingers against the wood table. “Well? I didn’t come here just to watch you suck on your drink. It’s too damn quiet now.”
Uraraka and Izuku sweat in unison at that. Hadn’t he just said before that it was too loud?
“Oh, sorry Kacchan, ahaha! All the heat made me really thirsty, and these are seriously good, you should have one, um! The beach is so nice today! With all the...nice clean sand and whatnot!” He had to stop himself from slamming his head into the table. What was wrong with him?!
...it had been so easy, back at Ground Beta. To let out their feelings through swinging fists, crashing legs, and screaming til their throats went raw. And yet, even then, some things remained left unsaid. Deku had still found it “gross” after all this time to confess just how close Kacchan was to him, that his faults were never a dealbreaker and never would be, especially as the hero continued to grow evermore dazzling by the day. Slowly, his childhood friend’s walls were lowering, thinning ever so slightly. It was too easy for Izuku to pick up every subtle change. Soon enough, he would feel safe to come out and say it; if Kacchan could open up to him, no matter how brash the delivery, surely he could do the same!
But now that it came down to more than just their future as heroes and rivals who would surpass each other, now that he finally realized he wanted nothing more than to grow alongside him in all aspects of their life...he was terrified. The chance of Kacchan actually reciprocating and not reverting back to absolute repulsion of his entire existence was next to none. But if he never told him, he’d be miserable never knowing the outcome. Damned if he did, damned if he didn’t.
For once, the flood of words swirling in his head didn’t come out as mumbles. They manifested in a rather cute display of him blowing bubbles into his second drink.
Katsuki growled, and Uraraka tried to fill in the silence. “Ahh so Bakugou, have you tried that new dietary supplement All Might released? I heard it’s really good for building muscle and as a meal replacement--”
Blblblblblblbllblblblblblb.
Izuku nearly choked on his drink when Katsuki slammed his fist onto the table and stormed out of his seat. “Forget it! Fucking Deku can’t do anything without pissing me off.”
Oh. Well. He should have known that anyway, right? That was the whole problem. How could he think it would ever be any different, that Kacchan’s words after their fight meant anything past acknowledging him just to surpass him?
Against his wishes, tears plinked into his drink, and all he could do was go back to inhaling it like it was his life’s blood. “Sorry to drag you into this, Ura. You should go have fun with the others...I’m just gonna drink until I can’t feel anything anymore…”
Uraraka stared at him, a few things suddenly more obvious in her mind than they had ever been. One of them being that Deku was an absolute dingus for someone so smart on the battlefield. “Uhh, you do realize that this mango pineapple juice doesn’t have booze in, right? We’re not old enough for that yet…”
Seems Izuku was too desperate for so much as a placebo effect, as he was already downing a third juice while blubbering sad bubbles into it. Shaking her head, Uraraka briefly patted his back before slipping out of her chair. “If you’re sure...come find me if you need me, okay?”
She stepped back out onto the beach, pondering what an oxymoron this was. Two of the smartest, strongest students in class, yet the most oblivious when it came to personal matters. That had kind of been obvious from the start, but this was the icing on the dumbass cake!
Meanwhile, Izuku faced yet another predicament for which he could only blame his bad impulses.
He had to pee. Badly. Kinda to be expected when you downed four drinks in under half an hour.
The small bar didn’t have a restroom, so he’d have to venture all the way out to the stalls back near the entrance to the beach. Really would’ve been nice if they’d considered implementing more frequent rest stops, but what was one more hiccup in his day? He all but waddled away, trying to not think about the nagging weight in his bladder. His nerves and shaking from before surely weren’t helping his situation!
Several painstaking minutes of praying no one noticed him doing the potty walk later, Izuku arrived to an absolutely jam-packed restroom with a line stretching all around the building. Whatever supernatural entity that was testing him right now must be having fun! He inhaled, shuffling to the back of the line and steeling his eyes to focus on nothing but the sand in front of him. Not the rushing of the ocean waves, or the flushing of the toilets, or the tinkle of water from the small spigot where people were rinsing sand off of themselves...gah!
Finally, finally it was almost his turn, the flickering dull light from the stalls shining like a beacon of hope to his screaming urinary tract. Three more people away, two more, just one more--!
“NO ONE GO IN THAT STALL HOLY MARY JANE WHY!” Sero dashed out of the bathroom pale as a ghost, flailing and spinning around like mad.
“Did my cake go through you that quickly?” asked Sato awkwardly, having waited for Sero nearby.
“Nonono, just, spider! Huge spider, didn’t see anything til it dropped down on my head and my arms got all up in its web when I tried to smack it off!!”
“To be fair, don’t you deal with sticky webby stuff all the time?” said Ojiro, who was also waiting. “Think you’d be used to it by now…”
“WRONG CONTEXT IN SO MANY WAYS, MAN!” Aw, was Sero blushing?
Alas, poor Izuku had been so startled by the outburst that the flood gates nearly burst right then. Rather than risking an encounter with a monster spider that might break the last bit of sanity he had left, he scuttled away towards a patch of palm trees surrounded by thick bushes. Just had to make it there undetected and he’d be golden--
“Yo Midoribro, there you are!!”
That would be too much to ask on a day like this, wouldn’t it?
Kirishima bounded up to him, clapping his shoulder and grinning. He wheezed, squeezing his legs together and giving a lopsided smile back. Any attempt to stutter out of the interaction was drowned out by the man’s innocent but boisterous voice that clearly wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Found you just in time! Bakubro’s itching to let off some steam, so I suggested a chicken fight! And what better opponent than you!”
Izuku saw his life flash before his eyes. For the second time that day, he yelped as he was dragged across the sand with no warning by a crazy person with a gleam in their eye, straight towards the one thing he wanted most and was most terrified of! “K-Kirishima, I’m sorry but I really don’t think this is a good time!!”
The larger man turned to face him, a toothy smirk on his face. “C’mon bro, don’t you wanna beat him this time?”
His heart stalled before hammering in his chest, cheeks red as Kirishima’s hair. “W-wha?! What do you mean, how did you--”
“Sorry, can’t hear you over the sound of us kicking Bakubro’s ass!” He cackled, and Izuku swore all his friends were out to kill him.
By the time they reached the others, Izuku was so nervous that he’d forgotten about his bladder emergency. He and Kacchan were gonna fight again, in front of a bunch of their classmates? Even if it was just a harmless game, they always seemed to spout pent up feelings when they tussled. He might actually die from embarrassment if anyone else witnessed that! But he was overthinking it, right? He had to calm down. It would be fine, just fine. Maybe it would be fun!
“There you morons are! Let’s get this dumb shit over with. We all know it’s gonna be a short fight anyway.” Katsuki smirked, eyeing the two and dragging a finger across his throat.
Uraraka lay on her belly next to Jirou and Mina, waving an imaginary flag as she kicked her legs in the sand. “Baku, Baku, he’s our man, if he can’t do it, GREAT!! Go get ‘em, Deku!”
“I’M GONNA MAKE YOU EAT THOSE WORDS, PINK CHEEKS!!”
Denki had agreed a bit too eagerly to be Katsuki’s bottom when he found out he’d be going against Kirishima. Now, he was buckling against pressure in the air that you’d need a steak knife to cut. “Suddenly I’m having second thoughts about this…”
Mina tutted, leaning over to whisper something in his ear. His eyes popped open, now his turn to flush red as the hair of the man he was ogling. Denki’s head might’ve flown off if he nodded any faster, and he dashed into the water where Katsuki waited impatiently.
Jirou sweatdropped. “Hey, isn’t it a bad idea for him to be fighting in the water--”
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome one and all to this dazzling summertime battle royale! I’m your breathtaking host and impartial judge, Aoyama!”
An awkward silence fell over the group. “Oi, who the fuck invited Frenchie to moderate?!”
Denki and Kirishima deadpanned in unison. “No one.”
“Competitors, start your engines!!” Aoyama preened, completely ignoring the others and staring oddly into the distance, as if he was talking to some invisible person.
“DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!” Katsuki shouted as he clambered onto Denki’s shoulders.
Tohru squirmed and whispered to Mina, “He’s staring intently at someone I can’t see, and it’s not me! Creepy!!”
“GET UP HERE SO I CAN CREAM YOU, DEKU!”
Wrong wording wrong wording wrong!!! Izuku was so close to passing out now, and Kirishima had to boost him up onto his broad shoulders. “Hey, you good bro?” The larger man finally took notice of his predicament a little too late.
“F-f-fine! I’m totally fine! Let’s just get this over with…” Izuku wobbled a bit and offered a hardly convincing smile.
“If you’re sure dude!” Kirishima turned to Denki and grinned, beating his fists together. “Hope you know I’m not gonna hold back!”
“Please don’t, heh…”
“Man, you use your quirk or something? You already look fried, geez!”
Mina shouted, “He’s fine, he’s just got a quirk in his pa--”
“You better not hold out on me, Dunce Face!!” Katsuki bonked Denki’s head impatiently, roaring from his human throne, “Let’s fucking go already!!”
“Oui oui, but first, a note on safety and good sportsmanship! Children, don’t try this at home!” Aoyama winked and gave a flourish of his hand; everyone sweatdropped in unison. Seriously, who was he talking to?? “The rules are simple! One, no dying or dismemberment! Two--”
“THREE, NO RULES AND I WIN! GO!!”
Izuku yelped in dismay, Katsuki’s hands sparked, and Kirishima charged like a train. This was all too much! He just wanted to finish this so he could relieve his tortured bladder, give up on Kacchan ever regarding him fondly, and hide himself in his room for the duration of summer break!
Katsuki surged towards him, Kirishima and Denki colliding moments before Izuku just barely blocked the attack--
With his hands.
Grappling, straining and struggling for dominance, they were holding hands. The context was irrelevant. Something so simple, and he'd always wanted it, felt so gross for it. Kacchan had always refused that embrace under all circumstances until now. He was so close, so sweaty, so intense and reeking of caramel. Energy surged through Izuku's body, the emotions he'd kept bottled up all day piercing the surface in a brilliant flash of emerald.
“C'est magnifique! Midoriya's headbutt sends not only his opponents flying, but himself and his chariot as well! Such emblazoned passion! Is it already over?!”
Kirishima went flying into Denki, the two crashing into the water in a tangled mess of limbs and a delighted squeal from the electric blonde. Thankfully, his quirk didn’t go off! Probably too distracted by the fact that the sudden impact had forced their lips together!
“Ooh la la! Katsuki’s chariot is out cold, and his body collided with the water first! Therefore, I declare the winners to be Midoriya and Kirishima! What a riveting match in all but half a minute!!”
Through the haze of Mina screeching with delight, Kacchan beneath him yelling and swearing, pinned by his now dead weight, Izuku chuckled. And...well. Just like a dog pees when it gets too excited…
Katsuki froze for a good few moments when he realized it. “You...seriously did not just fucking…” He twitched, opened his mouth, closed it again, fell completely still…
“Oh la vache!! It seems Deku vs. Kacchan 4 has begun in earnest!!”
“WHERE ARE YOU EVEN GETTING THESE TERMS FROM?!”
Aoyama ignored the dismayed confusion of his classmates, everyone gathering around them as they started beating the shit out of each other. “A left hook, an explosive punch to the buttocks, mon dieu!! Midoriya seems refreshed and raring to go, desperately fighting out of self defense and perhaps some repressed frustration! Evenly matched, no winner is clear at the moment! Who will be the victor?! Find out on the next exciting episo--”
“Oi, morons! I’ll give you one chance to knock it off, or else you’re all going home hungry.”
Even the fighting duo stopped in their tracks, Aizawa’s deadpan voice and threat bringing all the students to attention.
“Apologies for the delay, young ones! We were merely getting all the preparations together for our big feast!” Toshinori broke the tension in the air, grinning as he lifted a basket of fresh fruit for all to see.
A cheer broke out amongst the class, Kirishima squeezing the arm he had around Denki a little too hard. The other wasn’t complaining. “FINALLY, I’M SO DAMN HUNGRY, MAN!! I HOPE YOU BROUGHT A LOT OF MEAT!!”
“HECK YEAHHHH, SOUP’S ON, KIDS!! PLENTY FOR EVERYONE LET’S GOOOO!!” Present Mic and the other teachers led everyone to a gazebo that had been decorated festively, rows of tables stacked to the brim with trays of food.
“A-ah! I’m so very appreciative that you’ve included such an array of vegetarian delights! You have my ecstatic gratitude!” Kouda piped up, helping himself to a plate of fruits and veggies.
“Hahaha, think nothing of it! We wanted to go all out to celebrate the accomplishments you as students have made! Such strides of greatness remind us that it is never too early, or too late, to go PLUS ULTRA! Now, eat and be merry!” Toshinori clapped his hands, and the entire class followed suit.
“Thank you for the meal!!”
Despite having gone at each other’s throats minutes ago, Izuku and Katsuki sat next to each other at the table, a request for salt turning into a snarky quip, teasing remarks and even a few laughs.
“Somehow they always end up like that, don’t they?” Uraraka mumbled wistfully through a mouthful of food.
Kirishima agreed, nodding and tearing up as he tore into a hunk of meat. “Such good sportsmanship, it’s so manly!”
Merriment ensued for hours until the sun began to set. When the time came to leave, the class reluctantly began to pack up their things. Izuku made sure his area was nice and tidy, folding up tablecloths and helping the teachers take down the decor. He glanced behind him, as some people were already leaving, and frowned.
“Hey, guys!” he called out, a little too loudly. “Please make sure you clean up after yourselves and don’t leave anything on the ground especially!”
Sero and Mina looked embarrassed to have been called out, turning around and giving an awkward thumbs up. “Sorry, man, we’re just really beat is all! We know everything’ll be nice and clean with you all working so hard!”
“Yeah, we entrust it to you!”
Mina’s grin quickly fell when Izuku slammed his fist onto the table faster than Aizawa could open his mouth. “So you want to just leave it to someone else to clean up the mess you made, is that it?!”
Toshinori winced. Uh-oh.
Sero held up his hands in surrender, awkwardly shuffling back over. “Easy man, it’s fine, we’ll finish up then! It’s really not that deep--”
“Not that deep?! It’s easy enough when just one person says that, but then everyone does and believes the person after them will take responsibility, but no one does and it all builds up until there’s no end in sight to all the trash and bullshit they created!”
Izuku swore. This was serious. Katsuki quirked an eyebrow, unable to keep his eyes off of him.
“It’s easy to see only what affects you, to say that something’s so small and someone else will handle it! But by the time someone finally comes along who cares enough to fix it, the problem has grown so large, and that small person had to grow so much just to overcome it! And that person can’t help but wonder, why do I have to keep pushing so hard, so fast, just to pick up for things that others found unimportant?! Why didn’t they care?! How come they don’t realize it would be so much easier if they just…” Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, hiding the fire that had flashed in them moments ago and extinguishing it with the tears that trickled down his cheeks. His teeth clenched, fists tightened.
A gentle but grounding hand laid on the small of his back. “That’s enough, young Midoriya.” Toshinori regarded him softly. “You’ve done more than enough to assist. Thank you. Let’s get you somewhere to cool off.”
Toshinori led Izuku away, most of the class staring after them uncomfortably, not understanding the outburst.
Out of all of them, Katsuki’s face was the calmest.
The trek to the school buses began once everything was squared away. Toshinori caught up to the others and gave a thoroughly spent Aizawa a thumbs up. “I’ve spoken with young Midoriya and left him to gather up his things, so everyone should be accounted for!”
“Not really. Bakugou disappeared a minute ago. No qualms leaving the brat behind, he can fly his happy ass back to campus.”
“Hm, I see.” Toshinori covered his mouth with one hand, looking deep in thought when really, he was just hiding a grin.
“Oi, De--Izuku.”
The voice- specifically how calm it was and speaking his given name!- prompted a little squeak and jump from Izuku. “O-oh, Kacchan! Sorry I’m taking too long! I’ll be right there, just gotta--”
“This place means a lot to you, huh?”
Heat leapt to Izuku’s cheeks. He found himself looking down at the ground, twiddling his thumbs. “Yeah…”
Katsuki huffed, sitting next to him and looking out over the horizon as the sunset shone a finale of dazzling colors across the water. “Remember you mentioned some project you did with All Might to get your quirk.” His voice lowered considerably at the last part, to the point where Izuku could barely tell it was Kacchan’s voice. “Seemed stupid to me back then, like it was nothing.”
Izuku swallowed and nodded, sighing. Now or never. “A-actually, there’s something I’ve been wanting to show you for a while.”
“Then learn to speak up next time, nerd.” A soft glare, no malice hidden in it. “I did say things would be different, didn’t I?” A pause. “The way you ranted back there...guess it really was a big deal. And. It’s…” Did he just stutter? “...you should go off like that more often.” A smirk, a little chuckle. “Didn’t think I’d ever hear you swear like that.”
Izuku quickly dared a look at him, his eyes going wide. Katsuki grunt and averted his gaze at the same time. He fumbled with his phone, considerably more flushed now. Those pictures were in a special folder, saved for such a moment as this. His hand shook as he nudged the device closer to Kacchan, edging into his personal space.
Deep breaths.
“These are the before pictures I took, when All Might first showed me this place.”
Now Katsuki’s eyes went wide.
“I really didn’t think we’d be able to save it, haha…”
Debris and pollution spread out across multiple photos as far as the eye could see, the water being the only indication that this was indeed a beach. It. He cringed at the thought of such filth and disarray, looking up as a seagull called overhead and swooped to join its flock. Crystal clear water lapped at the sand just feet away from them, people all around laughing, collecting sea shells, splashing about and reveling. Loving. He suddenly remembered the article released back then, on how this place had become a hotspot for lovers.
“How long did it take you to clean this shit up…?”
“Ten months, along with all the training All Might and I did...long time, I know, but--ah!”
Katsuki suddenly leaned in close. So close that his hot breath fell against Izuku’s cute freckled, flushed cheeks. “...hmph. You did real good.”
Tears threatened at the corner of Izuku’s eyes, heart racing like mad. A compliment, Kacchan was complimenting him, with no sass or quips! It was the end of the world and a big bang to restart his entire being! Face to face, eye to eye, on level ground with each other, he couldn’t tear himself away, even as his eyes watered and lips quivered. “I...t-thank you, Kacchan…”
That smirk crept back onto Katsuki’s features as he captured Izuku’s chin in one hand. “Yeah yeah...though I still don’t appreciate you fuckin’ pissing on me earlier, then not settling the score with a clear winner. Gonna have to knock you out for that.”
Izuku winced on instinct, closing his eyes…
A warm, surprisingly sweet, soft pair of lips met his.
Finally, finally, after a long overstimulating day of just barely keeping it together, Izuku was out cold.
A soft grin lit up Katsuki’s flushed face. “Hah. I win. Score’s even again, Izuku.”
The world passed by in a blur as Izuku came to seconds later. One of Katsuki’s strong arms wrapped around his shoulders, supporting him and carrying his things. His free hand flashed a peace sign that quickly turned into a middle finger at their whooping and hollering classmates.
Disbelief, bliss, delight. So many emotions wrapped into one warm bundle in his stomach, flowing through his heart and all across his body like the last waning rays of sunlight. The sweetest, most bashful of smiles spread across his lips, and he leaned into Kacchan’s embrace. It felt just like cleaning up this beach. So impossible at first, so odd and unreal once their goal finally came to fruition. And now that the biggest hurdle was crossed, what would one even do with themselves?
But this was perfect. This was everything they had ever wanted. And everything else, they would face together; hesitant, prideful hands intertwined at last, forever.