Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Come on, kiddo, I'll call the school-"

"Can you not tell Mom?" Katsuki asked, quieter than he wanted to. "She'll just yell or make fun of me. I don't wanna deal with that right now, just- let me hide in my room."

"Katsuki," his father said sadly, the tone he had whenever Katsuki said something against his mother. "She doesn't mean any harm-"

"Well, she harms! She really fucking harms! She'll call me weak and ask why she's letting me go to this school when I just skip it and I don't-"

"Katsuki," his father repeated, but this time his tone was firm. "Listen to me when I say this. Your mother? She's almost exactly like you. All her life she was an overachiever and had people both praising her and putting her down, worse because she was a woman, and her parents were god-awful. You've never met them, and trust me, there's a reason for that."

"Stop making excuses for her," Katsuki choked out, not wanting to hear any of it. "If she's like me, then she should know not to treat me like she fucking does!"

"She loves you. She shows it in asking how your day was, getting you the best clothes and kissing you good night when you're asleep but she thinks you hate her, Katsuki. It's difficult showing clear love to a kid who hates you. It hurts her and like you, she shows pain in anger. She's never known what it means to be a good parent Katsuki, she never had any good references. But if you need advice on anything? Ask her. She's overcome all kinds of struggles that you're gonna start facing, and she'll tell you the perfect way to get over it. You're the definition of like mother like son, after all, and sometimes it's easy helping someone who's similar to yourself."

For a minute, Katsuki wanted to believe him, but it was honestly hard. And then he thought back to what he knew about how his mother pursued his father and he quickly shook his head. "I can't ask her about this."

His father shrugged. "For some reason I feel like I won't be of much help so I just wanted to suggest it."

That was true, his dad wouldn't know the first thing to do with this. But, then again, Katsuki was simply tired. Rather than advice, he wouldn't mind just sleeping this off.

"'m going upstairs."

“Okay. Hope you feel better soon, son."

Katsuki nodded, letting his father ruffle his hair before he trudged off and up the stairs, making a beeline to his room only to freeze.

His mother was right there. She had her back to him,  resting a basket of laundry on her hip while lifting a hamper with her left arm. She was grumbling something, kicking a door closed while using her teeth to hold her phone, and Katsuki almost smiled watching her.

They really were similar.

He might've got a lot of his things from his mother, but the good things were what made Katsuki believe in himself so much. The determination, confidence, drive.

So he called for her, for the first time in a very long time.

“Mom."

She turned around, phone falling from her mouth into the basket as her eyebrows furrowed. "Katsuki? What the- what time is it?"

“If I ask for a hug, will you make fun of me?"

Katsuki was wincing waiting for the answer, but it seemed hopeless by the way his mother was  completely speechless, her eye twitching for a moment. Then Katsuki flinched a tiny bit when his mother dropped everything she was holding with a loud crash and held her arms out. "Come the hell over here."

Katsuki didn't run, he didn’t like her that much,  but he walked faster than usual. And a lump might  have formed in his throat when his mother hugged him fiercely, hand behind his head and warm arms encircling him, and Katsuki hugged her just as strong, like it was a competition.

Ten years. Katsuki was pretty sure it had been ten years since he'd hugged her.

It was all he needed. Fuck advice, fuck heart-to-hearts, a mother's hug was something he'd needed for years and now, he had it just at the right time because his heart didn't hurt anymore. Maybe he wouldn't blow up his school.

"What's wrong, brat?" she whispered.

Katsuki shook his head. "Nothing, hag." 

-

Katsuki might really hate missing school but this had definitely been a good idea. He was resting in his bed listening to calming music while his mother stroked his hair and did the taxes with Katsuki chipping in every now and then, and it was awesome.

His father peeked in at one point and gasped in delight, and they both screamed at him to get the fuck out.

“Hey,” Katsuki finally said, half out of curiosity, half out of helplessness. “What did you do when you first had a crush?”

“I freaked the fuck out and it somehow ended up with me hacking off my hair and getting detention.”

“Holy shit,” Katsuki said with wide eyes. “You’re worse than me.”

“Excuse you, I got better! I courted your father like it was no man’s business.”

“Yeah but how? How’d you get better?”

“Practice,” she said with a smirk. “I had tons of suitors.”

“Nah, don’t believe you, you’re as angry and vile as me and I get like zero interest.”

“Yeah, but when you’re a pretty girl, men like to think they can control you enough to change you,” his mother shrugged, fingers still carding through Katsuki’s hair. “That was how it was, anyway.”

“Thank fuck no man can control me.”

“No hon you’ll be the controller.”

“NO I FUCKING WON’T-”

“Look at me, though.”

Katsuki did look up, seeing his mother’s creased face.

“You’re falling for someone, I know. And you’re scared. I felt the same way everytime I got a crush around your age, which wasn’t a lot but enough to let me know what it felt like. I know how bloody weak you think it makes you, I know how much it gets to your head. ‘Cause people like me and you, Katsuki, we feel strongly. We feel every little thing like it’s an explosion. It’s time to learn to reel it in sometimes, in the way you sweat but don’t always explode, right?”

“D’you know how to do that?”

“Most of the time. I’m way more civil now than I used to be. Though I think you bring out so much anger in me ‘cause you remind me of younger me,” she sighed. “I don’t want you to be like I was. Why'd you turn out like me and not your father...”

“Oi,” Katsuki snarled, sitting up. “You’re fucking strong. You don’t take shit from anybody and you do so much at work and in the house. I don’t care if I take after you. You’re ok.”

She punched him fondly. “Gotta be the first sign of recognition I’ve ever got from you, brat.”

Warm from long overdue motherly love and his forever doting father who’d made pancakes for breakfast, he arrived at school the next day to a swarm of add-ons who might actually have ended up kind of being his friend group by now and Katsuki had no idea how it happened. Probably because Eijirou had roped him into it somehow.

Speaking of. Eijirou wasn’t one of the swarmers. Was he even in the classroom?

No, Katsuki didn’t want to think about that fucker, he was done with that shit. At least as much as he had been for the past few weeks, because if his mother could get out of a crush alive, he could too.

“Mr Aizawa said you got sick, man, did some food not settle well or something?” Soy Sauce asked worriedly and Katsuki shrugged, settling his feet up onto his desk.

“Dunno.”

“We were gonna come to your house to tell you to get well soon because we didn’t know how sick you were!” Pinky (so it was her hero name but it hella suited her) wailed, resting her elbows on his desk. “But we don’t know where you live!”

“Was gonna get the address from Mr Aizawa but Kirishima’s been in a weird mood, man,” Pikachu sighed, resting an arm on Katsuki’s head that had the latter blinking confusedly, but he was more focused on the words. “Even his smile looked off. We didn’t wanna go without him so…”

“‘m sure he’s fucking fine,” Katsuki grunted, trying not to feel guilty as the others hummed in agreement. It wasn’t his fault anyway. Eijirou could sulk forever for all he cared because all Katsuki had wanted was to be impossibly close to him one more time.

Now it was done and dusted.

It was when Aizawa had come in and the class was settled that Katsuki’s eyes caught him. He was a little hunched over, seeming to be scribbling aimlessly on a piece of paper, but it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary.

Pikachu was probably just exaggerating like fucking always. Everyone in this class were the most dramatic people in the universe. Not Katsuki, though. No way.

“-people like me and you, Katsuki, we feel strongly. We feel every little thing like it’s an explosion.”

Fuck.

Every little thing like it was an explosion.

He’d always been sensitive to things. One small thing would set him off, because it just upset him so much that everything couldn’t be in place. It couldn’t be perfect. It couldn’t always be how he wanted, no matter how hard he tried.

He’d been a star child before people started factoring in his personality. He started to realise that he’d need to work harder than everyone to be recognised as a hero, because all he could have was power and smarts to win people over. He didn’t have charm like All Might. That was why he didn’t want things standing in the way of that. He was working towards one goal, and so any external forces he didn’t want? It made him so angry that his blood would boil.

He’d told himself many times, whether in all seriousness or in casual passing, that he could figure out his sexuality, he could be gay, but he’d never actually fall in love.

And look what he’d fucking done.

Time to settle this once and for all.

“Kirishima,” Katsuki called out when they were in the changing rooms, his shirt only half-on as he walked towards the redhead sitting on the bench tying his shoes. But the guy didn’t even look up…fuck, was he ignoring him?! Oh, the nerve. “Oi. Kirishima. Shitty Hair.”

Still nothing, just Eijirou smiling to himself for some reason? What the fuck was he even thinking about?!

Katsuki growled loudly as he stamped over to stand right in front of him, hands on his hips. “Kiri-fucking-shima, look at me right the fuck now.”

Eijirou’s head snapped up and for a moment, he just stared at Katsuki before quickly hopping to his feet, eyes wide. “O-Oh! Hi!”

“What the fuck is wrong with you, I called you like three times.”

Eijirou turned pink, making Katsuki raise an eyebrow. “I didn’t…I thought I imagined that…”

“That’s weird. You saying you hear me in your dreams, Shitty Hair?”

Oh.

Wait.

Now they were both turning red.

“I think I’d see you in my dreams even if I didn’t do well.”

Fuck, no, brain, don’t you dare bring that up-

“So, what’s up?” Eijirou asked, shaky at first but his smile was bright like always once he was finished speaking. It didn’t seem like anything was wrong with him, really. So Katsuki reached out and punched Eijirou’s chest, leaving his fist there for a moment.

“You’re my sparring partner today.”

Eijirou’s eyes grew so big and Katsuki was about to smirk until he saw the massive grin that broke out over the guy’s face, the one that was blinding, the one that Katsuki hated that he adored a little too much. “Okay!”

“Why the fuck do you look so happy?”

Eijirou blinked. “Because you still want to spar with me?”

“Huh?! Want to- no what the FUCK, I’m challenging you! This is a challenge! A DUEL!” Katsuki yelled in frustration, throwing his arms up in the air and he had no clue why Eijirou was turning even pinker until Katsuki realised that he still hadn’t put his shirt on completely, and now he was flashing his entire chest.

Fuck, with the opportunity on such a silver platter, it was mind-numbing how much he wanted to flirt, how much he wanted to ask Eijirou, “Like the view?” and see the same pretty pink face he saw back when they kissed, the one Katsuki still had memorised.

Why was Katsuki so fucked?

Katsuki whirled around with a loud growl, stamping his feet with each step and he almost exploded a locker when Eijirou eventually called back, “I-I - I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE, DUDE!” 

“OF COURSE YOU FUCKING DO, DON’T GOTTA TELL ME!”

“ALRIGHTY!”

Katsuki could practically hear the happiness bubbling in Eijirou’s throat, and it was confusing him so much because this was supposed to be a declaration of war, to put things to bed once and for all, not for Eijirou to act like this was them getting along again.

Not that they ever got along, not while they were in UA. They weren’t bloody friends, they weren’t.

Katsuki tried not to think about it too much as he finished getting changed and trudged outside to where all the others were, so Aizawa could give them the instructions that they were always minimalistic because ‘you lot should be figuring this stuff out for yourselves’.

What was the fucking point of teachers then?

But it wasn’t long before time. Before Eijirou and Katsuki stood twenty metres apart, Katsuki glaring as hard as he could while Eijirou grinned, eyes furrowed in determination and arms out in front of him.

“GOOD LUCK, BRO!”

Katsuki strained to hear. “WHAT?”

“SAID GOOD LUCK!”

“CAN’T FUCKING HEAR YOU, SPEAK UP.”

“I SAID-”

“WHAT?!?”

“I HAVEN’T FINISHED SPEAKING!”

“WHAT?!”

A sharp whistle tore through the air, and Katsuki growled and decided to leave it be as he ran forward, watching Eijirou immediately brace himself, face set and his arms hardened in front of him like swords. Then Katsuki said it.

“WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU PRETENDING LIKE WE NEVER HAPPENED?!”

Eijirou’s eyes widened in alarm, his defence falling for a second that Katsuki immediately took for granted as he threw his hand forward, blasting off an explosion while moving his hand so it followed a circumference around Eijirou, and Katsuki could hear groans.

Katsuki ran forward into the smoke, teeth bared. “TELL ME YOU SHITTY BASTAR-”

“I THOUGHT IT WAS WHAT YOU WANTED!” Eijirou yelled once Katsuki found him, and Katsuki was stilling for a moment as his raised hand was barred by Eijirou’s arms, hardened and crossed over each other.

Eijirou bit his lip, and Katsuki could see a sense of helplessness in his eyes that made his heart burn. “What in the living fuck are you talking about?”

“Do you not remember the first words you said to me when we met here?” Eijirou breathed out, getting Katsuki away with a push before looking up and meeting his eyes with ones that held so much hurt in them. Fuck. No, backspace, Katsuki wasn’t ready, he needed him to look happy again- “ Or rather yelled at me. ‘Get outta my way, Shitty Hair.’”

Katsuki immediately winced, though his mouth had to blurt out, “Did Mr-I-Barely-Ever-Hear-People-Swear just say ‘shitty’?”

Eijirou flushed a little. “I was only quoting. Besides, I think swearing’s manly…like…I read online that people who swear a lot are the type of people who are the most honest! That’s super cool- WOAH-”

“You really tryna fuckin’ turn your charms on me in the middle of a duel?” Katsuki seethed right after his fist connected with Eijirou’s stomach, an explosion sparking off immediately at the point of contact. “Don’t need your futile compliments.”

Eijirou staggered, looking up in dazed astonishment. “Oh my God, I didn’t even realise I was- I wasn’t talking about you in particular.”

“OH, SO NOW YOU’RE FUCKING TAKING IT BACK?!”

“WHA- WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT, DUDE-”

“I wasn’t trying to pretend I didn’t know you! I fucking wasn’t!” Katsuki yelled out as he launched himself into the air, making Eijirou look up in surprise. “I just saw you and freaked the fuck out, because what was I supposed to do?! Kiss you or some shit?!”

“Would’ve been nice,” Eijirou mumbled, before he was yelping when he saw Katsuki soaring down at him, foot stretched out ready to stamp in Eijirou’s face. Katsuki knew Eijirou was going to dodge rather than strike back, so he changed his trajectory at the last minute, leaning back and pushing forward with his arm instead to fulminate right in Eijirou’s face. Yet just like always, Eijirou rebounded right back, rock hard fist punching out of the smoke almost immediately yet Katsuki easily caught it and used it to throw Eijirou onto his back.

“Fine. If I happen to believe your shitty excuse,” Katsuki sneered, driving his foot into Eijirou’s chest and the latter gulped, “then why the fuck couldn’t you have left me alone? Why’d you have to do this friend bullshit?”

“Because bloody think about it, Bakugou, when I heard I got into UA you were one of the first things I thought about!” Eijirou yelled, voice hoarse and eyes flaring with anger. But while he was the angry one for once, Katsuki felt his heart stutter as his stance softened. “I was freaking overwhelmed by the idea of seeing you again, I’d never been more excited in my life and for me, counting the days down to starting the school of my dreams also meant reuniting with the boy of my dreams so SCREW YOU if you think I’d be able to just leave you alone!”

Boy of his dreams.

Eijirou had just called Katsuki, Katsuki, the boy of his dreams, and Katsuki had to swallow because his throat felt so dry. Then he was gasping as Eijirou shoved his foot off with pretty neat strength and struck Katsuki’s knees hard with a hardened arm, making him buckle for a moment which was enough for Eijirou to be back on his feet and throwing a flurry of punches at him, driving forward like a bulldozer. Katsuki grimaced as he was forced to defend himself, but he could feel himself unwillingly weaken as Eijirou began to talk again.

“If you didn’t want to be my friend then you could’ve just told me but when I thought you wanted to pretend we didn’t know each other, it was the only thing I could think of to stay close to you ‘cause that’s all I want! How am I supposed to be in a class with you, how am I supposed to see you every day without being by your side?!”

“YOU’RE SUCH A FUCKING LIAR!” Katsuki screamed, forcing out an explosion so strong that Eijirou immediately recoiled a few feet back. “YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T COME! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T GET IN, YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T BE HERE!”

“Well, I’m sorry for getting into the school I wanted to go to most?!” Eijirou replied in confused disbelief, and Katsuki groaned as he sent an explosion in the direction of Eijirou’s legs for the sole purpose of knocking him down and it worked.

Eijirou was fast at getting up, but Katsuki was faster at keeping him down, leaning over him completely now instead of just with his foot as he drew Eijirou’s face menacingly close to his.

Then he spat, “Be sarcastic one more time and I’m knocking those shark teeth out your pretty little mouth.”

At the words, Eijirou no longer seemed to be preparing for a beat in. Instead his jaw went slack, a series of awe and relief playing over his face as he murmured softly, “You still think I’m pretty.”

“What- NO- that wasn’t the fucking POINT, YOU LOSER!” Katsuki roared, hands crackling as he tried not to tear his hair out because now, how couldn’t Eijirou know just how much Katsuki was still head over heels for him by now?

THIS WASN’T THE FUCKING PLAN.

“Just shut up - I fucking told you I was going to get into UA so you shouldn’t have.”

Eijirou’s happiness fell away as he furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you saying I should’ve failed the exam for you?”

Oh shit. That actually kinda sort of was what Katsuki was saying. But no, he didn’t mean that, of course he didn’t mean that because then he’d be the shittiest person on the planet. “DON’T FUCKING TWIST MY WORDS-”

“I’M NOT!” Eijirou yelled, fists clenched and lord, he looked really angry now. It was such a strange look on him, one that Katsuki hated so much because Eijirou was supposed to be sunshine and laughter and beautiful smiles. But Katsuki hated that too. He just hated all of this.

“THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID-”

“STOP YELLING AT ME!” Katsuki screamed, trying so hard to ignore the pricking he could feel in the corner of his eyes and it didn’t help when Eijirou scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s rich.”

“Shut up. Please, just…sh-shit…”

Eijirou looked up then, probably more out of curiosity than anything, and Katsuki was beyond saving his pride once he knew the guy had noticed the tears in his eyes. He didn’t care anymore, he didn’t care who saw. He just wanted to get out of this mess.

“Wait,” Eijirou breathed out sharply, sounding desperate but Katsuki was already getting off of him. “No- Kat, I didn’t-”

“You’re not allowed,” Katsuki said, sniffing as he looked down at Eijirou with the last shred of dignity he had left, “to call me cute nicknames.”

Then he was walking off, head lowered as he told Aizawa “I fucking won I’m getting water” which just got him a tired “Language” back.

He did go to the water fountain, practically drowning his face before he trudged off to the changing rooms and fished his phone out of his bag. He tried to remember if his mother had work at this time, but her schedule was always changing really weirdly these days.  So he just took the chance and keyed in her number.

He was a ticking time bomb as he waited, tapping his foot repeatedly but on the third ring of the call, the annoying tone ended. “KATSUKI, WHY ARE YOU ON YOUR PHONE IN-”

“Mom I’m gonna hack off my hair and get detention.”

“Oh God,” she groaned. “Please don’t. And is that seriously your code for ‘I’ve got a crush’ now?”

“No. I’m really gonna do it. I have a knife in my bag.”

“YOU HAVE WHAT-”

“IT’S LIKE TWO INCHES STOP SCREAMING.”

“Why wouldn’t you use your scissors?”

“What- that’s not nearly as- are you really Bakugou Mitsuki?”

“Holy shit, Katsuki, you are not doing this. And I’m taking that knife once I get home.”

“Why don’t you just take my freedom while you’re at it?!” Katsuki screamed and he heard a slam on the other side.

“STOP BEING A FUCKING DRAMATIC BRAT AND TELL ME WHY YOU’RE CALLING.”

“WHY DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU ANYTHING, HAG?!”

“OH MY FUCKING GOD YOU ARE LITERALLY THE ONE WHO CALLED-”

“I JUST NEED YOU TO TELL ME IT’LL BE OKAY.”

It wasn’t surprising that his mother fell silent then. Katsuki sniffed quietly, resting a fist against a locker as he leant over the bench. “My emotions keep exploding and I feel like I’m going to die so just- just tell me I won’t.”

“I haven’t yet,” his mother said, tone softer than it had ever been. “So I can confidently tell you you won’t, Katsuki.”

“See? That was literally all I fucking wanted.”

“You’re such a spoiled brat.”

“’S your fault.”

“Well, I’m proud of you so I don’t particularly mind,” his mother snorted dismissively, though the words made Katsuki’s secretly-yearning-for-validation heart rise. Had she really just said that? For real? “Katsuki, listen.”

“Listenin’…”

“Whoever this poor guy is, ‘m sure you’ve put him through hella hell too. But seems like he’s doing the same to you. You guys have got to talk civilly, that’s just it, don’t you dare be a weirdo who brings it up while you’re fighting or something.”

Katsuki was silent, and his mother deadpanned, “You’re actually fucking mental.”

“Shut up, Satan, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. I mean it felt fucking good…until it didn’t…but I won the fight so.”

“Of course you did…but did you win his heart?”

“EW FUCK OFF-”

“H-Hey, Bakugou?”

“Ooh, is that him-”

“No shut up- what do you want?” Katsuki snarled to Pikachu who was peeking in and looking at him with wide eyes.

“Well, you seem to be having a lovely conversation but Mr Aizawa’ll expel you if you’re not back in like…two seconds.”

“Oh. Fuck. Mom I’m leaving.”

“Okay, don’t fuck up anymore.”

“Fuck you. But I won’t. I think.”

"You talk to your mother like that?" Pikachu asked in amazement while they were walking back, and Katsuki shrugged.

"She's the one who talked to me like that first.”

"Wow, I don't even know why I'm surprised but...dude you're such a character."

"The best one."

Pikachu laughed, giving Katsuki a thumbs up which made him smile for a second before he saw a few other extras staring at them and he rolled his eyes. "Hurry the fuck up, shortstop."

"Okay okay just - I've got a question."

Katsuki turned to him slowly, and Pikachu raised his hands in surrender. "J-Just curious, you don't gotta answer! But you and Kirishima were yelling pretty hard during your fight...you know what, you don't need to tell me anything. Just worried is all. You two get along so well-"

"You think we get along well?" Katsuki sneered, making Pikachu blink.

"Well, totally, you only-"

"You couldn't have got it more wrong, yellow, now hurry the fuck up."

Katsuki started walking faster without waiting for him, not looking at Aizawa who was blatantly giving him a death stare - in fact, he didn't look at anyone, because you know, he'd really just rather never look at anyone again.

Looking was what got him into this mess in the first place, didn't it?

Imagine if Katsuki had just stayed asleep that day. Just told Eijirou to fuck off, walked away without humouring him one bit.

But that day had been one of the best days of his life.

Clearly, he still had some fucking thinking to do.

-

When the weekend came, he hadn’t even realised. He was tiredly but mechanically shoving his legs into his trousers when his mother came in with bleary eyes. “Can you stop being so fucking loud at seven am on a Saturday morning...”

Katsuki blinked. “It’s what?”

“I know you’re bloody deaf but-”

“Shut up, what day is it today?”

His mother narrowed his eyes at him, waiting, before she rolled her eyes and shuffled off muttering something about, ‘I ain’t fuckin having my shit son play a prank on me, not today’, and Katsuki was still dumbfounded. So he sat down.

When he checked his digital clock, that confirmed it. It really was the weekend. So he was hella ready to shove off everything and just crawl back into bed, until his mother was hurrying back in with a slightly panicked look on her face. Katsuki gave her his best death glare, but his mother actually seemed too distracted to notice.

“A-And, uh, happy birthday.”

“What?” Katsuki asked with a frown, seriously not processing the words and his mother rolled her eyes, panic wearing away through distaste.

“It’s your birthday so get up moron, your dad’s made you french toast.”

Katsuki blinked, just sitting there for a moment.

His birthday.

Since when? April 20th. That meant...when did they start school, the second week of April? So not even two weeks had he been at school, yet this was the size of the mess he was caught up in. It was all his own fault. All his fault he couldn’t even enjoy his fucking birthday.

“Katsuki,” his mother called out, her voice impatient but softer. “It’s your sweet sixteen, kid, get up.

How Katsuki fucking wished it was sweet.

He trekked downstairs after his mother before slinking off to the bathroom, grunting when his father called out a happy, “THERE’S OUR GROWN BOY” and once he was done freshening up, the warm smell of sugar was way stronger than it had been. Not even one step into the kitchen and his dad was holding out a plate of french toast to him, a soft smile on his face. “Happy birthday, son.”

“I said it first,” his mother chipped in through an already full mouth and his father snorted.

“Says the one who forgot in the first place...”

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY-”

“Nothing, dear!”

Katsuki rolled his eyes at them but grabbed his plate, begrudgingly allowing his father to pet his head before he was shuffling to hop up onto the counter. This was the one day of the year that his parents wouldn’t tell him to get off so he always abused it.

“You wanna go anywhere today, Katsuki?” his father asked once he joined them at the counter. “Theme park, hiking, anything.”

“If you make me go hiking I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Mitsuki!”

“I’m just gonna stay here,” Katsuki mumbled, stabbing at his toast and his parents looked at each other before his mother groaned.

“Ugh, forgot you were being all emo about your crush.”

“Wha- another one?” his father asked in amazement and his mother almost choked.

“ANOTHER ONE?!”

“No, it’s the same one,” Katsuki muttered irritatedly as he blatantly ignored his short-circuiting mother. “He fucking goes to my school, Dad.”

“Oh dearie me,” his father said in concern, eyebrows drawing together. “Didn’t you say-”

“I know what I bloody said but I can’t fuckin help seeing him again now, can I?!”

“What the HECK do you losers talk about without me?!” his mother exploded, smashing her plate straight onto the floor and the other two had to bolt to escape her wrath - but not before his father gave him a sad look, and all Katsuki could bear to do was look away.

His mother screamed for a good ten minutes before yawning and trudging straight back to bed, and his father wished her a good sleep which got him a slap from Katsuki because ‘she shouldn’t be fucking sleeping on my fucking DAY’, and when his father said, “To be fair, she did forget and she was up working late last night”, he ended up having to run from Katsuki’s explosions. Katsuki never fucking asked him to always be so honest, did he?!

Ugh. Honesty.

To be honest (funnily enough), honesty was probably all Katsuki valued in life. He had an extraordinarily truthful father and a blatantly blunt mother, and it was no surprise he’d been able to sniff out dishonesty since he was in preschool. Was probably how his first fight had broken out, because he deplored the atmosphere dishonesty and lies gave off. Whatever the form, sugarcoating, cheating, conspiracy, leaving out details and letting others assume something- oh Katsuki hated that last one the MOST, but he hated them all.

He never properly understood why people felt the need to be dishonest in the first place. Didn’t it hurt? Didn’t it feel wrong? Lying made Katsuki feel dirty and suffocated, and it was incredible how no-one else felt that way – if Katsuki would fear anyone (which he wouldn’t), it would be the people who could lie off their faces so fluently and completely guilt-free.

But as he and his father watched a movie recently added to their DVD collection, he couldn’t help but think he was a liar. He was completely and utterly what he hated. Because if he wasn’t, he’d be out there holding Eijirou’s hand like he wanted to, kissing him like he wanted to. Or rather just being with him, like he wanted to.

He stuffed his red face into a cushion, and shook his head when his father worriedly tried to ask him what was wrong. “You don’t like the movie?”

“Shut up, movie’s fucking fine...”

“You always start a sentence with ‘shut up’ when you’re not okay.”

“I ALWAYS SAY SHUT UP STOP PRETENDING LIKE YOU KNOW ME!”

“Ouch,” his father laughed in the annoying way that Katsuki didn’t know whether he was actually hurt or not. “But we don’t need to watch this if you don’t want to, son.”

“Already started it, might as well finish.”

“Alrighty. But it’s only nine am. We can still go out. Or you can go somewhere by yourself if you’d like.”

Katsuki looked up slightly. “You trust me?”

His father smiled at him. “We never haven’t trusted you. It’s just us being protective, you know how it is. As long as you promise to stay safe, I think we can turn a blind eye.”

Katsuki was silent for a second. He hadn’t gone outside for anything except school and entrance exams since the slime monster attack, because he just hadn’t been able to. But he still missed it. He used to pop out for a walk whenever he fucking liked, just to feel the breeze, and maybe this was one of the reasons he felt like dying half the time because his physical activity had been cut way more than he’d realised.

“I’m gonna go for a fucking walk,” Katsuki said with wide eyes, and his father looked proud of him for some reason as he reached out to pat Katsuki’s shoulder.

“Want to finish this film first?”

“Oh shit, yeah. Kathy better find her man.”

“Don’t you think he deserves a bit better by this point?”

“Fuck that, she needs him to grow and evolve!”

“Ooh, very true.”

It was only twenty minutes later that Katsuki was shoving his feet into walking shoes, quietly happy because yes, Kathy did indeed find and even get her man because protagonists were always fucking lucky like that. But even if real life wasn’t like that, it felt nice to be able to see something so good on a screen. Made him feel like there was a way things could turn out not so jacked up.

It wasn’t long after he closed the front door behind him that he realised he had nowhere to go, so he just kicked about in the garden for a second, squatting down to check on the plants, yelling at a hole in the fence because who the FUCK had allowed it to take residence there, and angrily blowing at a hundred dandelions per minute. But perhaps the way the leaves twirled around him calmed him down a little when he looked at them, and after a while, he sighed.

“Might as well accept defeat.”

He sat down on the soft grass, bunching some up in his hands as he closed his eyes and felt dandelion fluff settle in his clothes, on his nose, probably everywhere. Apparently before his parents had chosen his name, they called him Baby Dandelion. 

He looked up, around at the different houses that all looked the same, at the watery sky that was filled with sharp breeze that stung a little, at Pikachu and Eijirou laughing together in the frontyard of one of the houses on the opposite road, at the old man walking his dog on the...hold on.

Pikachu and Eijirou.

Pikachu and...

‘I think we live really close.’

“Shit,” Katsuki breathed out, eyes wide, and like his voice had travelled along that sharp breeze and crossed that relatively short distance, Eijirou happened to look up, eyes still closed from laughter until he opened them, and his expression froze. Katsuki froze even worse, and no matter how much he wanted to stare him down and be fucking strong, his eyes averted of their own accord. Fuck.

When, tell him fucking WHEN wouldn’t he be weak for Eijirou’s goddamn smile?

“IS THAT BAKUGOU?!” a loud voice hollered across the street and Katsuki winced, genuinely wanting to box his ears as he miserably looked up to see a mess of yellow sprinting at him, a hazardous wave and a grin to go with it. “DUDE! You live here?!”

“None of your fucking business, prick,” Katsuki growled, slowly getting up onto his feet as he silently willed ‘please, please go away’. But no, Pikachu was already making himself fucking comfortable by leaning on his fence trying to look cool even when the lame grin on his face sure seemed uncontrollable.

“Dude, you’ve gotta come over!”

“What?”

“We’re all at Kirishima’s! Sero and Ashido are inside the house, and we really wanted to invite you but we don’t have your number.”

“You’re not gonna fucking get it,” Katsuki said, a little confused and also just the tiniest bit abashed at them all hanging out without him. Fuck friends, he hated these new feelings. Pikachu just snorted, shaking his head. “That’s fine, just come over, dude! ‘M sure your bestie won’t mind.”

Katsuki wrinkled his nose. “‘Bestie’?”

“Our very lovely resident host Kirishima Eijirou, that is!”

Fuck, it really was Eijirou’s house. Katsuki grimaced a little, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he kicked at the ground and thought, even if he wanted to go, he wouldn’t be wanted. He hadn’t- couldn’t even talk to Eijirou ever since they had sparred. And it seemed like the other guy felt the same from when he’d scurried past Katsuki after class in the changing rooms, head down.

Well, at least he had another excuse to stay away.

“Can’t, it’s my fucking birthday and shit.”

“Wait, what?” Pikachu said with wide eyes, and Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him.

“The fuck are your ears?” Says him.

“It’s your birthday?”

“Don’t know why you fucking sound like-”

Katsuki seized up when Pikachu suddenly started sprinting off, screeching something at Eijirou who confusedly yelled something back before Pikachu started dragging him back into the house, and Eijirou and Katsuki shared eye contact again. But this time it was just Eijirou looking distressed with the question ‘what the hell happened?!’ clear on his face and Katsuki wanted to smile and shrug. He just shrugged, then turned away.

Well. He got what he wanted. He was fucking alone.

But he didn’t think he could really stay outside anymore if he knew that just across the street, all his...friends, his fucking FRIENDS okay, were there without him. And Eijirou. Eijirou, who probably had known where he lived.

“Fuck you,” Katsuki hissed to no-one in particular, hating the way his eyes were already stinging as he kicked a stone particularly hard so it repelled off the fence so hard that it started coming straight back to him, and Katsuki dodged it by ducking and running straight back into his house, slamming the door shut before sinking down it, clutching his head.

The instant he heard footsteps, he looked up frantically and legged it upstairs, because there was no way he wanted to talk to someone. Not his overly empathetic father, not his aggressive mother, no-one.

“KATSU-”

“GO AWAY!”

He waited and waited, hands over his ears and eyes shut, but there was nothing. It was so silent that it was almost unnerving, but Katsuki just breathed out in relief and curled into himself a little, sure this was the end and he could relax now.

Until a loud knock on the door made him inhale a breath so sharp it almost knocked him over. FUCK.

He had no clue who it was and at this point it wasn’t like he cared, so his plan was to just grab a book, descend into his covers, and ignore whoever dumb visiting Samaritan thought it a good idea to wish him a happy birthday. Though he wondered if it was his mother’s friend from the café. Katsuki kind of liked her. She was a foreigner who thought so differently compared to everyone he knew, and it was a plus that she always smelt of coffee and caramel.

So he would’ve stayed exactly where he was for the rest of the day, except even from where he was, he had to hear the loud, unsynchronised, kiddish yells of, “WE’RE HERE FOR BAKUGOU’S BIRTHDAY!”

What...the fuck.

He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating this, but he needed to be sure, so he was out of the door in his seconds. And he might have God-awful hearing but he could definitely hear a familiar voice saying so charmingly, “Is it alright if we take your son for the day?”

“Don’t make it sound like you’re kidnapping him!” Soy Sauce hissed while Pikachu burst into laughter, and Eijirou was quickly tumbling out apologies as Pinky took over.

“We’re his friends from school-”

“Not my fucking friends.”

Everyone, even his parents looked up to see Katsuki at the top of the stairs, his face slightly red and fists clenched. He flinched a little when Pinky gasped, and Soy Sauce yelled out, “BRO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

“Pikachu why the fuck did you-”

“KATSUKI SAY THANK YOU!” his mother snapped and Katsuki kicked his slipper at her.

“Shut up! I’m not hanging out with these losers!”

“You call them losers but...have you really made friends at UA, Katsuki?” his father asked him, that annoying sparkle in his eyes as he looked up at Katsuki in anticipating pride. Katsuki grimaced, fists clenching so hard his knuckles were probably turning white. But before he could say anything, Eijirou chipped in, “He might not call us friends but he’s definitely our friend. We wanna treat him today! If all of you are okay with it...?”

Treat him? Treat him to what? Why? Why did these idiots see him as something he’d never even allowed them to elude to, something he’d never tried to encourage? Thirteen days he’d known these fuckers, and they were really trying to pull this kind of bullshit.

“Get away from my house. Forget the number. Forget this ever fucking happened, and go on with your bloody day.”

He hated the way the others’ faces fell, hated how it felt so genuine. Even Eijirou - God, Eijirou looked like the front runner in all of this, as if nothing had happened between them, fuck, why did he always have to go do that? Pretend like nothing had happened, look at him like they were still okay, talk to him like they weren’t a second way from breaking? It made Katsuki feel fucking worthless. As if none of this pain and drama even mattered.

And honestly, it probably didn’t, and that was the worst part of it all because Katsuki knew that. He’d just never been able to help it.

“Katsuki, stop being so fucking rude,” his mother snarled, and Katsuki was about to cut her off with a growl until he heard the next words she said. “And let these kids who clearly like you make you feel better. I’m not having a mopey sixteen year old stuck in his house on his birthday when I’m not even making him.”

“Aw, bro, are you sad about something? We’ll totally try our hardest to make you feel better!” Pikachu agreed, and the others cheered in unison as Eijirou gave Katsuki a smile that warmed his bones.

Okay. Maybe this was a little better than having Eijirou acting sad around him, but he could still hate it.

“Fine.”

“What was that?”

“Fucking fine, alright. I’ll leave with the wads,” Katsuki snapped, and the others all looked at each other in bubbling excitement as a chorus of cheers and fist pumps swept over them all, and by the way his parents looked so charmed by them, Katsuki knew he wasn’t about to hear the end of this anytime soon. So he rolled his eyes. And maybe smiled, whether it was just on the inside or also on the out, but he wouldn’t know.

“Don’t wanna go anywhere though. We’re staying in Shitty Hair’s house.”

“That’s fine!” Soy Sauce said, while Eijirou looked stunned making Katsuki elbow him when he got to the end of the stairs.

“It’s his choice, not yours, Soy Sauce.”

“Yeah, sure,” Eijirou said, sounding distracted, and Katsuki shrugged.

“Get the fuck out then you lot, what are you waiting for?!”

The group didn’t need to be told twice, with Pinky dancing out while yelling, “SQUAD HANGOUT TURNED BAKUBRO CELEBRATION” and the others danced after her with hollers leaving their mouths like they were a fucking carnival. Katsuki shoved his shoes on, and shook off the hand that went on his shoulder. “I’ll see you narks later.”

“He’s really got friends,” his father was blubbering, and Katsuki turned around in alarm to see his dad was genuinely fucking crying.

“Dad- what the actual fu-”

“HE DOES!” his mother sobbed, crying even harder and Katsuki felt like this was hell.

“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?!”

“Just- just go,” his father wept as his parents cradled each other through their wails, and Katsuki gave them his most confused middle finger ever before leaving, slamming the door shut behind him and hoping to death he could get that image out of his head.

The others were already across the street, but they seemed to be panicking because ‘WE’VE FUCKING LOST BAKUGOU IT HASN’T EVEN BEEN TWO MINUTES’, and Katsuki rolled his eyes as he jogged across the street to them, slowing to a lazy stroll at the last second before anyone saw him.

“Morons.”

“BAKUGOUUUU DON’T DO THAT!” Pikachu wailed as the others slumped in relief, and Katsuki smirked, digging his hands into his pockets.

“Just get in the house already.”

“Alright! Kiri’s parents aren’t in so it’s a completely teenage-controlled environment today,” Pinky explained with a cheeky grin as she nudged Eijirou who laughed, shaking his head, and it sure didn’t take long for these losers to switch between emotions.

They seemed to be Katsuki’s losers, though, because he might be feeling some kind of responsibility for them.

It was when he was following them to the house that his awful (or maybe the complete opposite) luck managed to have him falling into step next to Eijirou, and he hadn’t fully processed that yet, not until he just about heard the small, “Happy birthday, bro.”

“At least say it like you fucking mean it,” Katsuki said with a raised eyebrow, not planning to let any emotions surface today. But Eijirou’s pause unsettled him, and he knew he should’ve just answered with something simple, or rather just nothing at all, but he was a fucking smartass who never could.

“I mean it. I swear I mean it. I’ve just...been missing you.”

Katsuki bit his lip. Eijirou was not allowed to say that. He wasn’t, how fucking dare he?

“Since when?”

“Huh?”

“Since fucking when have you missed me, dipshit?”

Katsuki really only just caught the tiny mumbled, “Always,” and shit, that wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

“You were the one who avoided me after we sparred.”

“It’s not like you would have talked to me if I didn’t.”

“It’s not like I ever talk to you.”

“You do! You can’t say you don’t!”

“‘Cause you get all up in my space, don’t fucking need that.”

“How else was I supposed to become your friend?”

Katsuki wanted to keep yelling but those words, the anaphoric mentions of ‘friend’, it made him have to close his eyes for a second as he hoped a headache wouldn’t come in. “Why?”

“What?”

“Why did you have to do that? Why did you have to try so fucking hard to become a stupid friend?”

“Because I- I already told you,” Eijirou muttered, crossing his arms. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I was selfish. I’m...I’m sorry.”

Katsuki finally looked at him, and it struck him to see the way Eijirou’s lips curved down, how he just looked so small hugging himself like that. In his imagination, it all played out so perfectly, the way he’d step forwards and take hold of Eijirou’s arms, pushing them apart and replacing them with his own before kissing away his frown. But for now, he just stood awkwardly to the side, trying to ignore how the others were watching them through the blinds in Eijirou’s house.

“Don’t fucking apologise for getting something you wanted.” ‘Cause it’s better than what I’ve done.

Eijirou blinked, furrowing his eyebrows before he stared at Katsuki, eyes peculiarly alight. “Does-does that mean we’re actually fr-”

“Oh fuck no.”

“Bro!” Eijirou wailed, and Katsuki snorted. He’d been missing this, too. He might want to kiss or kill Eijirou half the time (more like both simultaneously), but these past weeks had been filled with hearing the guy’s jokes, his dramaticisms, his spirit. If Katsuki hadn’t been so busy trying to make himself hate him, maybe he’d have enjoyed it more.

“Get in your fucking house already.”

Eijirou wilted like a kicked puppy, slowly trailing into his house while Katsuki followed, snickering. Crazy. Katsuki hated him, but they got along so fucking well that it wasn’t mattering as much as it felt like it should. Some sorcery shit. 

‘Or soulmate shit’, his mother’s voice sang in is mind, and Katsuki kicked the doorway which had Eijirou jumping. 

And though it both didn’t feel fair after everything, it also made Katsuki feel like perhaps he could have a good birthday even in the presence of someone he both liked to death and had been turmoiling over for so long. And that was...the dream? In a twisted way?

“Have the besties finished their private chat?” Pikachu asked suggestively once they entered the living room, wiggling his eyebrows, and  Katsuki kicked him into the sofa. It felt like his leg would be getting a whole lot of action today, and he’d take it anytime.

And when Soy Sauce and Pinky pulled out more snacks than he’d ever seen in his life from behind their backs, Katsuki thought that maybe this wouldn’t be as crappy a day as he thought, but that was between him and God.

-

“Bro, you’ve got a seriously early birthday,” Pikachu pointed out when they were all settled on Eijirou’s sofa. Yeah, this house was nice, cosy, small, but the little things - Gucci perfume on the mantelpiece, a few paintings on the walls that Katsuki knew cost thousands, leather in way more places than there should be - it made Katsuki remember that Eijirou had gone to a private school. Really, Eijirou was incredible at hiding that he was a rich kid.

“Yeah, I actually think you might be the oldest in the class!” Pinky chirped, and Katsuki rolled his eyes, flicking open a can of coke before swigging it. Huh. Tasted a bit strange. He drank some more.

“Don’t care.”

“Nah, dude, being oldest is the coolest! Remember when you were younger and everyone’d always ask when your birthday was to see who was oldest?!”

Oh, Katsuki sure remembered that. He had thought it another thing that made him awesome, but it melted into meaninglessness just like everything else soon enough. Who cared about being a few days and months older than idiots who were already lesser than him in every other way?

“Pfft just watch Bakugou say something like ‘I'm already better than them at like everything, why'd a fuckin birthday matter’,” Sero imitated in a low gruff voice, making Katsuki freeze for a moment as everyone else burst into laughter.

How the fuck had someone else figured that out so casually?

“I don’t fucking SOUND like that, DICK,” Katsuki growled soon enough, blasting a cushion at Soy Sauce who wheezed as he failed at batting it away, making him drop over the arm of the sofa, and Katsuki was ready for blood until a hand encircled his wrist, a laughing voice saying, “He’s only joking, bro.”

Katsuki quickly pulled his wrist away, holding it to his chest as he stared at Eijirou with wide eyes, before wincing. Fuck, he was getting a headache after all, but there was nothing he could do about that now. “Why’d you touch me?”

Eijirou blinked worriedly, all signs of laughter easing off his face as he opened his mouth probably to apologise, until Pinky said in the most judging voice in the world, “Oh so we can’t TOUCH you, can’t we, entitled mister?!”

And Katsuki had no idea what she meant, but he sure got it when the next minute, he was screaming at the millions of fingers poking at him, laughs that were way too happy right in his ear as he tried so hard not to join them as his VERY well-kept-secret ticklishness came into view.

“OH MY FUCKING GOD, BAKUGOU’S TICKLISH!” Pikachu screeched enough for all of them to hear which just might be Katsuki’s worst nightmare coming true, and he growled angrily as he tried to spark his hands, but he was gasping when someone was suddenly tickling his stomach and the underside of his jaw at the same time, and he fell to the ground.

“…oh no.”

“I-I think Eijirou b-broke the birthday boy,” Soy Sauce whispered very loudly between snickers as they all stood in front of the said birthday boy, Pikachu and Pinky fucking howling in laughter as they yelled, "HE'S LIKE A DAMN CAT?!”

And Katsuki must really be out of it because he was ready to admit that he sure felt like one, his senses dissociated as he tried to figure out what the fuck had just happened. Was that...a murder technique? Had they just tried to kill him?

“N-No- I just- I do that to dogs sometimes and they seem to like it!” Eijirou yelled, incessantly trying to prove his innocence as the others jeered at his dirty trick.

Well, it wasn’t that Katsuki hadn’t liked it. It was fucking weird, sure, but…

Katsuki sat up, blinking groggily when Eijirou’s face was all he could see because the guy was crouching down in front of him, eyes creased in worry but fuck, he was so pretty. Katsuki felt calm just looking at him. Fuck the fact that he had almost just died.

“Bro! Bakugou! I’m so sorry! Are you alright?!”

“Shhhh,” Katsuki said, reaching out to press a finger to Eijirou’s lips which gartered a choked screech from Pikachu and a gasp from Pinky as Eijirou flushed as red as the sun.

“W-Wha-”

“You’re beautiful.”

Eijirou flared even redder, a strangled squeak leaving his mouth that half sounded like a plea for help and Katsuki was about to reach out for him until Soy Sauce said a slightly scared, “Um, guys…who gave Bakugou alcohol?”

Everyone else’s faces turned to look at the guy, and Katsuki frowned when he saw how Eijirou’s attention wasn’t on him anymore.

“What?! I gave him cola, you idiot!” Eijirou yelled defensively, but the way his voice was rising sure seemed telling. “It says it on the- oh my GOD, BAKUGOU-”

“I’m filming it, I’m filming!” Pikachu yelled as he fumbled with his phone and Eijirou yelped out as Katsuki’s arms hugged his waist tight, leaning in close. Ah, this was nice, so nice, Eijirou was so warm. Why hadn’t Katsuki been doing this earlier? He’d been robbing himself!

“KAMI-FUCKING-NARI DON’T YOU DARE-”

“Have I told you you’re hot when you swear?” Katsuki said, everything he’d been wanting to say and do for so long tumbling out of him and it felt so good, God, he’d never let go of Eijirou again, not now he had him again.

Again…but why had he left him in the first place? Katsuki couldn’t remember but he was trying…

“Yeah, cola with SMIRNOFF, you moron! It’s a mixer!” Soy Sauce yelled in panic, and there was utter silence for a span of two seconds, a real rare occurrence, until Eijirou was saying quietly, “Holy hell…my mum…she must’ve left some with the other drinks again…”

“HOLY SHIT, KIRISHIMA FED BAKUGOU ALCOHOL,” Pinky foghorned, running around the room as Kaminari shoved his phone in Eijirou’s face, saying in a journalist voice, “How do you feel about this predicament, you nasty delinquent?”

Eijirou groaned though it sounded more like a petty whine as he pushed the phone away and pulled Katsuki closer to him, making Katsuki start in surprise but it was definitely fucking welcome, a dumb grin forming on his face as he said, “Second base already?”

Eijirou cringed, clearly trying not to make eye contact as he announced to the others, “Guys, his parents are gonna kill me.”

“If I had a hot tipsy guy hanging on me I wouldn’t be complaining, just saying,” Pikachu said pointedly, holding his arms up in surrender. Katsuki wrinkled his nose.

“I’m not tipsy, when the fuck did I have alcohol? I'm sixteen, not crazy.”

“Have you not heard a word we’ve been saying?” Eijirou said in concern, finally turning to meet Katsuki’s eyes and Katsuki’s mind immediately went blank again, his arms locking around Eijirou's waist tighter.

“No but I know you’re fucking adorable.”

“Oh my God, I feel like we should give them space?”

“IF YOU LEAVE I’LL NEVER TALK TO YOU AGAIN!” Eijirou yelled desperately to the others, and Katsuki frowned, letting Eijirou go out of annoyance.

“Why don’t you wanna be alone with me?”

“Your boyfriend asked you a questiooon,” Pinky sang, and Eijirou blinked at Katsuki a mile a minute, stuttering out absolute nonsense before finally managing, “‘C-Cause you…hate me?”

“Huh? I hate you?”

I hate him? Why...

Then Katsuki’s eyes widened.

“Fuck.”

He pushed Eijirou away as hard as he could, making the guy almost fly across the room as Pikachu yelled out a “HEY” and Soy Sauce quickly threw out some tape to catch the guy. But Eijirou didn’t even look surprised. He just sat there, sad and weary as he said quietly, “He’s back.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!” Katsuki yelled, breathing heavily as he clutched his head, staring down at the ground. They hadn’t tried to stop him. None of these losers had fucking tried to stop him humiliate the shit out of himself and almost ruin his life.

He hated them. He hated them so much. Some fucking FRIENDS THEY WERE.

“Woah, WOAH, Bakugou’s on the run!” Soy Sauce yelled the instant Katsuki hopped onto his feet and started making a break for it and fuck was he sure that he could get out of here before any of these lowlifes could get to him; but one trip on a stray shirt found him a second late meaning tape could find purchase around him, a fast athletic acid girl could catch up to him, and a small electric shock could go through the tape to jolt him just enough for him to fall flat on his face.

And Katsuki wasn’t sure why, but the instant he made contact with the floor, he burst into tears.

“Shit, shit, we went too far!” Pinky yelled, running forward to clasp Katsuki’s shoulders and pull him up into a sitting position, rubbing his back as Katsuki was crying so hard that he choked a little, one weak arm lifting to wipe roughly at his face.

“Shoot, did we hurt him a lot?!” Soy Sauce yelled next, swooping in beside Katsuki to quickly unwrap the tape around him and Katsuki gasped out when it was all off, clutching his stomach which was suddenly being pierced.

“I…I f-feel sick…”

“Oh my God, you don't think it’s alcohol poisoning, do you?” Pikachu asked in a cautious panic, taking residence on the other side of Katsuki to pat his knee in concern.

And finally, the last one kneeled down in front of him, reaching out to take hold of Katsuki’s face and wipe it clean with a soft towel, even though Katsuki was regenerating more tears by the minute but Eijirou didn’t stop.

“We’re so sorry, Bakugou,” Pinky mumbled into his shoulder, back-hugging him warmly as Soy Sauce mumbled dejectedly, “I can’t believe we’ve managed to ruin someone’s birthday this badly,” and Pikachu just sadly flopped his head onto Katsuki’s arm.  And fuck it, Katsuki wanted to tell them so bad that it wasn’t their fault. They hadn’t done any of this to him, they had seriously never fucking done anything but try and be his friend which was sure stupid of them but still the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him. 

But he couldn’t open his mouth, and it was true. The day had been ruined. So much for a not-crappy day, because now Katsuki knew the only option left for now was going home and crying himself into his bed until he’d fall asleep out of exhaustion.

Then his angel that he hated finally lowered the towel, clasping Katsuki’s face so gently. Katsuki looked at him through teary eyes, and even a blurry Eijirou was art.

“Bakugou,” Eijirou started softly, and fuck him because Katsuki just wanted him to say his first name again, just once. “We’re gonna make today better. I promise. What we’re going to do is we’re going to push this aside, forget this happened even just for the rest of the day, and then we can do anything you want. We promised that we’d make this a good day for you, please don't make us liars.”

“I want you to stop being so fucking nice,” Katsuki croaked out, because it wasn’t fucking fair, and Eijirou frowned sadly.

“That might be one thing I won’t do. But anything else and it's done.”

“Hey, we can have a water gun fight in the garden, Kirishima’s got some!” Pikachu suggested, seeming to be trying hard to raise the atmosphere and... Katsuki almost felt grateful.

“Ooh, ooh, I’ll do make-up on you!"

“Ash, Bakugou’s literally got better eyeliner than you.”

“HEY! I mean, true but…”

“We can watch a movie?”

“Movie marathon!”

“Bet Bakugou would honestly love just fighting us for fun."

“NOOO my muscles are still sore from training yesterday! Oh ahem I mean- if Bakugou wants to then TOTALLY!”

“Hell yeah guys this day’s gonna be bloody awesome-”

“Water gun.”

Everyone turned to look at Katsuki who was staring at the floor. Soy Sauce tilted his head at him. “What was that, bud?” 

“I wanna do a water gun fight,” Katsuki gruffed out, and Pikachu whooped with way too much ecstasy.

“WATER GUN FIGHT IT IIIIIIIIIIIS-”

And water gun fight it was as they all got up, the others chattering away like it was nothing as they headed to the garden, and Katsuki tried his best to get up himself, ignoring Eijirou’s helping hand. But when he tried to take a step, he instantly stumbled and Eijirou caught him.

“Fucking alcohol, I feel weeeeiiiird,” Katsuki moaned perhaps a little melodramatically and Eijirou giggled, rubbing his arm.

“Sorry, man. Should’ve checked.”

“Yeah ya fucking should have, dumbass.”

“I know, but…I mean, you called me adorable…so maybe it wasn’t that bad…”

Katsuki looked at him, watching the way Eijirou’s face and ears were pinkening as his sharp teeth slightly played with his lips.

“People don’t just stop being fucking cuties.”

Eijirou squeaked sharply before slapping a hand over his mouth, eyes wide, and Katsuki raised an eyebrow. “How the fuck d’you even make that noise?”

“Y-You flirted!”

“Doesn’t answer my question, does it?”

“Well maybe I don’t know how to answer your question! Huh?! Ever thought of that?!” Eijirou yelled in a nervous spurt of anger, and Katsuki raised a hand in faux surrender.

“Holy shit, calm your tits. Not very manly of you.”

Eijirou bristled at the mention of his favourite word before drooping, nodding desolately and Katsuki smiled at him. He really did. Had to be the alcohol weakening his smile muscles. Obviously.

“Let go of me,” Katsuki said, before hastily adding as an afterthought, “I still hate you."

Katsuki was very confused by Eijirou's smile. “Mhm. Sure you do.”

“I fucking do, clotpole!”

“I believe you!”   

Katsuki growled, tearing his body away himself as he trudged off to the gardens that he didn't actually know the whereabouts of. And his stomach was still churning. His eyes were still burning. His face still felt wet. His sleeves were damp. Yet ironic-fucking-ly he felt better than he had for a long time.

He’d been hating feelings recently, but he decided maybe he’d let them stay alive today as he absolutely obliterated Soy Sauce, watering him into the fucking ground as he slammed Pikachu in the face with the butt of his gun, which was probably against the rules but whatever. Maybe he had Eijirou pinned down at one point, water gun poised right in his face. Maybe he was having so much fun that he was laughing breathlessly above him, grinning as the others chanted, “SQUIRT HIM, SQUIRT HIM, SQUIRT HIM” and Eijirou stared up at him in awe.

“Hey…Bakugou, I-”

But Katsuki did fucking squirt him, making Eijirou splutter as Katsuki roared in victory, running over to Pinky who was on his team to high five her a little too hard as she went flying but it was precedented.

“I LOVE HAVING FUCKING FRIENDS!” Katsuki yelled out of absolute nowhere but it felt fucking right as he jumped up and down, kicking his legs out like a crazy squirrel as the others looked at each other in amazement. Katsuki whirled on them, pointing at them with his water gun. “YOU DIDN’T FUCKING HEAR THAT BUT I LOVE YOU!”

“Is this still the alcohol talking?” Soy Sauce asked in astonishment, but Pikachu was already blubbering as he ran at Katsuki who neatly dodged him because he wasn’t about to go that far, leaving the guy falling on the floor but he still cried, “WE LOVE YOU TOO!”

“BAKUBRO CELEBRATION TAKE TWO MIGHT BE A SUCCESS, GUYS!"

Katsuki grinned because yeah, maybe it would be, because he had loser friends, Eijirou still responded to his flirting, and his pain was now only physical. Maybe it was...a little too physical.

Fuck. Man down.

“SHIT, BAKUGOU!”

Katsuki coughed as he dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach but still trying to wave away the others who flocked around him. “‘m fine, just…get me paracetamol and on a couch…”

“Sure you don't wanna go to the hospital, bud?”

“No fucking way, I’ll be fine…”

“Alright, couch it is! Let’s get a movie on, what genre do you like?”

Katsuki decided not to say romcom, because only his dad was allowed to know that was his favourite.

“Put on any old shit.”

“MY LITTLE PONY MOVIE IT IS-”

“NO YOU FUCKER-” 

The were watching a My Little Pony movie, and Katsuki hated everyone again.

-

“NO, TWILIGHT SPARKLE, DON’T DO IT!”

“Oh my God, revelation…human Pinkie Pie is literally Ashi-” Pikachu choked when Pinky was slamming his head with a pillow, though Katsuki kind of agreed with him.

“Isn’t Twilight Sparkle gonna go back to the pony world? And isn’t she literally still a pony just in a human’s body? So if she falls for that human guy, isn’t it bestiality?” Soy Sauce asked with narrowed eyes, rubbing his chin while Pikachu gasped out a, “WOAH, bro.”

“But it’s not really about that! It’s more about the magic of friendship, dude!” Eijirou sniffed, clenching a fist, and everyone was silent until Pikachu said, “Who do you think is who out of us and people we know?” 

“HEY, DON'T IGNORE ME!”

“Say what you want but Yaoyorozu and Rarity are one and the same.” 

“Bakugou’s totally Rainbow Dash! Always wanting to be the best and that ego, man- oh wait oh my God, Bakugou please don’t kill me-”

Katsuki couldn’t have because he wasn’t really registering things anyway, since he felt like he was having the weirdest fever dream. And Rainbow Dash was both a mix of cringe and badass, so, maybe Katsuki could maybe just a tiny bit agree- no, what the fuck, why was he comparing himself to ponies?!

“SUNSET SHIMMER YOU BITCH!” Pikachu roared out of nowhere, sending an empty popcorn bowl flying at the TV, and Katsuki was also very much in disapproval and amazement at how someone called Sunset fucking Shimmer could be such a bitch.

“Fuck, man, don’t yell so loud, my head’s still ringing from last night,” Soy Sauce winced with an apologetic smile, and almost on cue all the others winced too which had Katsuki looking at all of them in confusion. Was this a pack thing? Katsuki could have sworn he’d seen wolves do the same thing on tv.

Pinky caught his look and waved a hand at him, smiling reassuringly. “We were idiots who had a group video chat last night until like two am - it was great and I’m pretty sure Kaminari cried over cheese at one point.”

“It had such a short life!”

“We know, Kaminari.”

“It made me sad!"

“We know, Kaminari.”

“But,” Eijirou said quickly, giving the others warning looks. “If we knew it was your birthday we would’ve never!”

But that wasn't really what Katsuki would’ve got offended by, anyway. It was something else. That ache that was starting to become a little familiar was back again. That ache of missing out.

“You losers do so much shit without me.”

Pinky's eyes grew wide as Pikachu and Soy Sauce stayed each other with eyes even wider, each clutching cushions, and Eijirou’s voice was stuttering like crazy as he said a way too loud, “B-Bro, we- we never thought you wanted to do that kinda stuff with us.”

“Well think about it, did you ever fuckin ask?” Katsuki snarled, surprising even himself at this point and he knew it was a little unfair, especially when the others exchanged sad looks and Pinky mumbled, "That's true.”

“Sorry, man. We just never thought you’d be that interested in stuff like that. I mean…I don’t think any of us even have your number?”

“If we did, I think I would’ve added you,” Pikachu said as an afterthought. “Probably to be annoying, though. But hey, that's right, you love us, don't you?!”

Katsuki grimaced at the earlier memory, though it was nice that it got the others grinning again and though it was probably something he’d never live down, it seemed to have made them happy. Made sense, since it was his first ever proper sign of affection towards them, probably.

“No, dipshits,” Katsuki muttered, settling more into his corner of the sofa as he decided it was time to deny things again. “I’d be asleep anyway.”

“Yeah, fair,” Soy Sauce laughed, while Pinky asked casually, “When’d you go to sleep, Bakugou?”

“Nine, latest.”

Everyone was silent again. Katsuki belatedly noticed that Eijirou had paused the movie and he frowned. “Hey, I wanna fucking see Twilight’s dress for the Fall Formal-”

“YOU GO TO SLEEP AT NINE?!"

“Yeah like you idiots fucking should!”

“Oh my God. This is why he has such good skin,” Pinky said with wide eyes, rocking on the floor as she clasped her head, and Katsuki jolted when Pikachu grabbed his arm, looking up at him with the most deploring look.

“PLEASE TEACH ME YOUR WAYS. I MISS THE PREMISE OF FIVE HOURS OF SLEEP WHICH IS NOW BUT ONLY A FAR AWAY DREAM.”

“Five hour- kids our age should be getting at least nine, you bloody wads! Shit shit okay wait- how much sleep did you guys get last night?”

“Two hours!” Pikachu wailed, while Soy Sauce said a sheepish, “About three,”, Pinky, “Maybe three or four?”, and Katsuki was already horrified but he was about to kill someone when Eijirou mumbled a quiet, “Maybe one hour…give or take…”

“WHY DID YOU IDIOTS DECIDE TO MEET UP SO EARLY INSTEAD OF FUCKIN SLEEPIN' IN?!”

“We’d already arranged this, since Kiri knew his parents weren’t in today. We were kinda planning on having a big old slumber though-”

“And you still fucking will.”

“Huh?”

“Right here. On this massive couch. You're all gonna sleep or so fucking help me, insomnia won't be what kills you first.”

Everyone stayed quiet, faces filled with frozen looks and hanging jaws while Katsuki glared at them all with crossed arms and he hoped he looked menacing as fuck even with Eijirou’s shark blanket draped over him. And then there was the explosion of noise. 

“BRO, NO WAY!” 

“IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY, WE CAN'T DO THAT!” 

“WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE CELEBRATING MAN, DON'T WORRY ABOUT US!” 

“I’m not fucking WORRYING!” Katsuki growled, grabbing the nearest person which happened to be Pikachu before driving his face into the sofa. “You lot are gonna be heroes. You need to get your fucking shit together. You can’t afford not having a good lifestyle for no fucking reason, 'cause hero work’s already gonna fuck you up enough. So if you don't bloody fix yourselves soon, I’m gonna find a way to get all of you expelled.” 

“Oh my gosh,” Pinky said, voice soft. “You really are worried about us.”  

And this time before Katsuki could screech a denial, Pikachu was scrabbling out of his hold and yelling, “I’LL GET MORE BLANKETS!” and Soy Sauce was asking, “Hey Kirishima, can we get some pillows?” 

“Sure, bro, I’ll show you where they are.” 

“WAIT!” Katsuki yelled, a little overthrown about how quickly they were agreeing, and then everyone was looking at him and he was back to panicking a little. “U-Uh…just fucking sit down and get them after, I wanna see their Formal dresses!” 

“Bakugou the fashionista, huh?” Soy Sauce asked with a grin, though this time he was settling on the floor and resting the side of his head against Katsuki’s leg. Katsuki grunted and removed his blanket to lay it over the guy, and Pinky rushed over to share it with him. Pikachu jumped into their laps, dramatically draping over them before squealing when they immediately started tickling him even while immersing him in the blanket too, and Katsuki watched them silently. He kind of felt like a dad. It was a warm sort of feeling. 

Then he felt something nudging him, and he turned his head to see Eijirou sitting next to him, holding up a new blanket, a Crimson Riot one. It was really really red. Just like Eijirou. He was red, he was warm, bright, and he’d stayed with Katsuki even when he’d been such a fucking prick.

“Wanna share?” Eijirou asked, his voice soft with a shaky sort of confidence, like he already knew he’d get a negative answer. But Katsuki shrugged, already missing the warmth of the previous blanket, and he didn't miss the way Eijirou lit up. “O-Oh, uh- cool!”

He was throwing the blanket over them in the next few seconds, and Katsuki grabbed the remote from him to finally un-pause the movie, grumbling though his eyes widened when he finally got to see the dresses. He absently slapped Eijirou's arm, and he heard a laugh. 

“D’you like them?” 

“I…kinda do? Woah. Pinkie’s suits her loads. And Rarity and Applejack are wearing blue? Who even thought of that?! They look good.”  

“I love Applejack’s hair.” 

“Same. Wait, dude. Her cowboy hat’s got a rose.”

“It’s beautiful.” 

“Okay don't go that far it’s still a bloody cowboy hat.” Katsuki was a little pleased by the snort he got out of Eijirou. “But, yeah, it’s nice.”

“And you didn’t want to watch this,” Eijirou teased, his face’s nearing Katsuki’s a little too much but he didn't notice yet as he rolled his eyes, jabbing Eijirou in the side. 

“It’s still fucking lame.” 

“Dude, I didn’t expect you to even learn their names but look at you!”

“Yeah, well…shut up.” 

Eijirou giggled, hand accidentally hitting Katsuki’s leg under the blanket, and Katsuki’s lips twisted as he looked down at his lap for a second. Then he realised with a start that the kids beneath were basically already knocked out.

He guessed that was a good thing. The atmosphere and blanket must’ve got them into the sleepy mood which, yeah, was definitely good. And slightly, Katsuki felt his heartbeat calm down a little because…he still wasn’t used to this, after all. Whether it was the love, or just people, being around so many of them (because yeah, four was kind of a lot for him) when they were so smiley and hyper and well-meaning. 

He was glad he could take a break now, but Katsuki could tell the future might be filled with more of this. He wondered how that made him feel, and the way his heartbeat picked up a little again might have been telling.

If the others were already in dreamland, Katsuki shouldn’t have been surprised or anything when he felt something tickle his shoulder a while later, and turning his head didn’t let him see anything but spiky red hair. But he let his eyes drop, and saw Eijirou’s own closed eyes as well as his cheek squished against Katsuki’s shoulder and the slight openness of his mouth. 

“Could have stayed up long enough to see them say goodbye,” Katsuki mumbled, though his face was a little hot as he watched Twilight go back through the mirror, back to being a pony which made Katsuki once again remember how absurd this was. But he was smiling a little by the time the end-credits rolled. 

“Stupid ass movie,” he muttered, but made a note of the title, then he carefully pushed Eijirou so that he was no longer resting on him but the sofa, then carefully peeled the blanket off himself in the most minimal movement possible, but Eijirou still furrowed his eyebrows, humming in his sleep. Thankfully he didn't wake up as Katsuki very quietly manoeuvred himself over the edge of the couch so he didn’t step on the others, and then he walked round so he could sneak cushions under some of their heads and necks so they wouldn’t be as sore waking up.

Katsuki wrinkled his nose at the way they were literally all drooling, but he carefully climbed over them to settle down quietly next to Eijirou again, pulling the blanket back to cover him too. 

And like magic, Eijirou’s head was falling back into the crook of his shoulder, like he’d sensed he was back. 

Katsuki realised that they were now closer than they had been. Katsuki could feel Eijirou’s warmth more, and their sides were pressed up against each other’s. He bit his lip, wanting to ease into it more because God, he was still starved of touch no matter how much his mother might hug him now (which had actually only been that once, though Katsuki still felt affected by it, maybe). And the fact that it was Eijirou’s touch… 

“Would you still want me even after all the shit I’ve done?” Katsuki asked, as quiet as he could be, hand just slightly finding one of Eijirou’s. The other just slept on, his face so unassumingly innocent and Katsuki wasn’t about to kid himself that the answer would ever be yes. 

But it was fine. He didn’t want to date. He didn’t have the time. All he wanted and needed to do was become a hero. He knew he’d become so lost in his goal that he’d get over Eijirou eventually. 

But maybe he didn’t have to right right now.

So he watched Eijirou for a little bit, tapping the guy’s jaw that made him scrunch up his nose a little, mouth closing as he huffed through his nose. Fuck. He was adorable. Katsuki poked his cheek, and Eijirou furrowed his eyebrows. Katsuki nudged his stomach, and Eijirou whined.

“Are you really asleep?” Katsuki asked with a raised eyebrow, but Eijirou didn’t react to that, and Katsuki sighed to himself as he finally decided to push Eijirou away and stretch himself out, shoving the blanket off while he was at it. 

He didn’t realise how much less carefully he must have done it than last time, didn't notice a redhead wincing and rubbing his eyes, hands groggily clutching at the blanket hem. No, Katsuki was already standing up and shaking his limbs about before he heard the shaky, “Baku-gou?”

Katsuki froze, thoughts running a mile a minute but he knew better than to show his panic outwardly. “Go back to sleep, Shitty Hair.”

“You too,” Eijirou mumbled, sleepily patting the seat next to him and he was so sweet that Katsuki sure wanted to cave, but of course he didn’t.

“I had sufficient sleep unlike you idiots. I’m going for a walk.” 

“Walk…? Ah! No!” 

Katsuki furrowed his eyebrows at the guy who seemed to be frantically trying to wake himself down, even by slapping his own fucking face. “Cool your shit oh my God, what’s wrong with-” 

“Not alone!” Eijirou yelled out, arm reaching for Katsuki before the guy promptly fell face-first into the space Katsuki had been, making him snicker and put a hand over his mouth to keep quiet for the others. Eijirou groaned weakly, seemingly not awake enough to get up himself, so Katsuki held onto his arm and helped him. He raised an eyebrow at Eijirou who looked up at him tiredly, hair skewered all over the place and his clothes more rumpled than anything. 

“What d’you mean ‘not alone’? You really gonna go out like this?” And…you really wanna be alone with me?

“It’s just dangerous,” Eijirou said, voice raspy but determined as he tried to clasp Katsuki’s wrist but he wasn’t doing very well. His fingers did end up finding Katsuki’s hand, though, and that was something Katsuki didn't want. “Remember the mugger-” 

“Stop fucking talking about that! I literally beat him with my bare hands! The police even have him now, do you fucking keep with the news?!”

“But…but still…the neighbourhood isn’t the best…” 

“Oh yeah, ‘course you’d think that, fucking rich boy. I’ve lived here since I was born, I know it inside out, it ain’t ever gonna be a match for me. I’m probably the scariest thing here.”  

“Okay,” Eijirou agreed, and Katsuki would laugh under different circumstances. “Then…I wanna…just make sure you’ll come back after.”

“Huh?” Katsuki asked, surprised by that and Eijirou blinked his eyes open properly now, smiling at Katsuki in a subdued sort of way now. Katsuki frowned, wondering if this was to make fun of him. “I don’t fucking run away from things, Kirishima.” 

“I know. But I still want you to come back. The day isn’t over…we can buy a cake, we haven't even sang you happy birthday yet! We can drink more alcohol if you want-” 

“I don’t wanna drink bloody alcohol, I still feel weird!” 

“Oh my gosh, good, my mum’s already gonna kill me from that one can,” Eijirou sniffed, clutching his heart and Katsuki smirked a little. 

“You can use me as witness.” 

“No way, you’ll tell her I drank it!” 

“Yeah I would and I’ll fucking laugh.” 

“The worst part is she won’t believe you, and she’ll probably laugh too. I drank alcohol once and it was so gross I washed my tongue with soap which was even worse,” Eijirou wailed, making Katsuki snicker. “But then she’ll kill me for giving it to a friend! Oh my- I shouldn’t have drained it! She might’ve believed me if I said it was an accident if I showed her only a little was drank!”

Katsuki was full on cackling now as Eijirou shoved his head into his blanket, explicitly refusing to come out even when Katsuki was sure he was suffocating. 

“I HATE MY LIFE!” 

“Shut up, these losers are still sleeping! Fucking come on already, a walk will make you feel better!” 

“No it won’t! Nothing can! I’m DUMB, Bakugou, dumb-” 

“Y’ain’t dumb. You got into UA, didn’t you?” 

Then Eijirou was stilling, and slowly he reached out a hand to slowly draw the blanket off of him, and his expression was a pool of sorrowful dejection as he looked up at Katsuki. God, it’d be fucking heartbreaking if he didn’t look so much like a puppy. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“For what, dipshit?” 

“For getting into UA.” 

“Oi,” Katsuki said, though his voice caught and it couldn't be a worse time. He cleared his throat before continuing, looking away. “Don't fucking talk like that. I ain’t ever blaming you on that.” 

“Really?” 

“‘Course not. Should be congratulating you or some shit, though that’s not my scene. But, seems like your self-confidence must’ve gone up since…” Well. He wasn’t about to say it. But Eijirou understood, and he was grinning as he got up.  

“Let’s go on that walk.” 

“Fucking finally. Get a move on.” 

“Aren’t you the one who didn’t want me to come in the first place?” 

“Well you're fucking sad now! Gotta go on a walk when you’re sad!” 

“Do you always go on a walk when you're sad?” 

"Used to more. But yeah.”

Eijirou’s laughter was like bubbles. “Like a dog.”

Katsuki bristled, about to snap back though he almost jumped out of his skin when Eijirou ruffled his hair. But Eijirou immediately pulled his hand away, saying quickly, “A-Ah, I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t touch you! After what happened with the…tickling…”

“Fucker,” Katsuki hissed lowly, making Eijirou blink before he was yelping when Katsuki grabbed his hand, pulling it up so it was in his hair again and Katsuki glared at him the whole while. “This is fucking nothing. Your touch doesn’t make me weak.”

Eijirou turned so red that it was a miracle he wasn’t having a stroke. “R-Right…! Ah- that- yeah, ‘course it doesn’t! Sorry!” 

“Fucking hope you are, dimwit.”

Then Katsuki belatedly realised that this, maybe, was just a bit weird, and he quickly threw Eijirou’s hand away and snarled, “Grab a coat.”  

Eijirou straightened up and nodded, rushing over to his coat rack to grab a random one that was so ugly that Katsuki immediately sent him back, making Eijirou look at him quizzically but he obeyed. He settled on the slightly better one he brought back next, navy blue with a red stripe down the left side.

“You have such weird clothes,” Katsuki realised, and Eijirou huffed as he shrugged his coat on, “Not everyone’s a fashionista like you.” 

“I’m not a bloody fashionista.” 

“Your ears are pierced." 

“‘Cause they fuckin’ suit me, you have a problem?” 

“Really don’t,” Eijirou mumbled, which might have had Katsuki flushing a little. 

“Let’s get out already, you’ve got so much stuff in the house it makes it feel fucking stuffy.”

“I did  tell my parents to throw some stuff out,” Eijirou agreed as he opened the door and they left, and Katsuki sucked in a breath of fresh air. Sweet. “We’re hoarders, though, sadly.” 

“Eh? What do you hoard?” 

“Got a ton of manga.” 

“Didn’t know you could read.” 

Eijirou bashed an annoyed fist against his shoulder so cutely that Katsuki laughed out loud. It was then that his eyes instinctively wandered to his own house, and he seized up when he saw his mother weeding the frontyard. He grimaced, hoping they could walk by unnoticed but he wasn’t lucky enough as his mother called out, “HEY! KATSUKI!” 

“Hey, is that your mother?” Eijirou whispered in wonder and Katsuki ‘tch’ed, just walking on which had his mother fucking exploding, yelling, “DON’T IGNORE YOUR MOTHER, YOU LITTLE BRAT-” 

“STOP DISTURBING ME, HAG!” 

“EX-FUCKING-CUSE ME-” 

“H-Hi, Mrs Bakugou!” Eijirou called out, sounding like he was trying to be a peacemaker more than anything, and Katsuki could sense his mother pausing probably out of confusion before she said, “Hey, kid. So, you really Katsuki’s friend?”

“Oh, uh, well-” 

“Don't talk to her!” Katsuki yelled, tugging Eijirou’s sleeve to drag him away so they could both walk away from his mother’s perturbed screeches. “Fucking nuisance…” 

“You don’t seem to like her, huh?” Eijirou laughed, probably joking though he stopped when Katsuki said a stark, “Yeah, you’re right.”  

“H-Huh?”

“Don’t like her. But I love her. I don’t like her, though.”

“Oh,” Eijirou said, frowning in thought. “Is that possible?” 

“‘Course it is, if you don't think of them as feelings that build on each other but separate emotions. We’ve got that conditional love, the type mothers and kids almost inevitably have. But not the unconditional love. We don't get along at all. Hurt each other. That shit.”

“Oh…” 

“I thought I hated her but  nah. Guess our bond runs deeper than that, it’s annoying.”

“What’s annoying? Being attached to someone?” 

“Yeah. I don’t need that. But I guess it’s alright if it’s my parents, but that’s where I draw the line.”

“And you mean…long-term attachment, right?” 

Fuck. Katsuki knew what the guy was getting at, and he really didn’t know how to answer, so he simply didn’t. He kicked a rock, walked on, and Eijirou’s anticipating aura slowly wore away as he most probably realised he wouldn’t be getting a reply.

“I saw you on the news. A month ago.” 

Katsuki froze, but Eijirou just kept talking, the words tumbling out of his mouth like a waterfall. “It was the first time I’d seen even a glimpse of you since the exam, and it was when you were on the news, because of a villain attack and I- I cried! I really cried, because I hadn’t seen the whole report and I thought you were dead and all I could think of was just hoping to God that you weren’t and that you were safe and okay and I was- bloody hell dude I was about to leg it all the way here, just to see you!” 

Eijirou sniffed, wiping at his face. “Not that I knew if you were in a hospital, or which hospital, or your house, and which house. But I don’t care, I probably would’ve found out…but I decided to sit down and properly read the report.”

Eijirou smiled then, something that seemed so out of place. 

“It said you were so strong, during and after. I was like ‘yeah, that’s my Katsuki’.”

Katsuki blinked in alarm, blush rising up his neck but Eijirou was nowhere near done. “And you weren’t dead, you were barely even injured because you're just awesome. But I wanted to know how you were, truly. I wanted to know so badly if you were okay, psychologically, mentally, all that, ‘cause it seemed so rough. And I asked my mum if I could go see you, but she didn’t know who you were, and I knew it was weird, so in the end I just…I thought it was just as well. ‘Cause we said we’d never see each other again. But I thought, just on the off chance I might get into UA, I’d ask you.”

Then Eijirou was clenching his hands into fists, so tightly his knuckles were turning white. “But I never got to, ‘cause I knew you weren’t happy to see me, and all I’d become was a worried kid doting on a past crush who didn’t care about me anymore.”

Fucking hell. 

So that was how Katsuki had made Eijirou feel. 

“B-But then you said that I- I’d been the one pretending nothing ever happened?” Eijirou said in disbelief, voice rising at the end and Katsuki was so speechless, unaware how to stop Eijirou’s spiral now, and not sure if he was even entitled to. “When you were the one who wouldn’t look at me, who yelled at me the first time we spoke again, the one who genuinely made me feel like nothing ever happened?!”

“Kirishima-” 

“No!” Eijirou yelled, throwing out an arm that didn't quite hit Katsuki, but he still took a step back in surprise. “I’m allowed to yell and get angry too! Okay?!” 

“Okay,” Katsuki said, because yeah, he agreed with that. “But…maybe not on my birthday.”

And fuck, Katsuki had kind of been joking (yes at the worst time ever but he was really awkward at these things when it came down to it), but the way Eijirou's face fell and his eyes widened so quickly was borderline cartoon-like.

“Shit,” he said softly, hands covering his face. “It’s your birthday, I- I’m such an idiot, I can’t- not now, not today-” 

“No,” Katsuki said firmly, reaching for one of his wrists to pull a hand down, and he was met with a wide teary eye. “My birthday doesn’t mean shit. Have at me.” 

“B-But I’ve- I've lost momentum now,” Eijirou sniffed, trying to cover his face again but Katsuki held on tight. 

“Bullshit. Just keep yelling. Keep telling me how much of a loser I am. It’ll make you feel better, trust me, it always does for me.” 

“But I don't want to,” Eijirou said, voice cracking. “I don’t want either of us to be angry. I don’t want it anymore. It hurts. All I can think about is how I…I changed a little to help my confidence and suddenly you don’t like me anymore.” 

“No, what? Kirishima, that’s not fucking it,” Katsuki said with a gentle disbelieving edge to his voice, hands taking hold of both his wrists now so he could free Eijirou's red puffed out face. “I mean, your hair’s shit now but I ain’t shallow like that.”

Eijirou pouted without really meaning to, and Katsuki’s heart was, indeed, palpitations. “I like my hair.” 

“Now I know you’ve got no sense of fashion so I fucking get it.” 

Eijirou smiled, and that was all Katsuki wanted. 

“You’re still bloody gorgeous. I swear it.” 

Eijirou blushed hard, but he still said sadly, “Then what is it? You…you were so into me then but now, you just…you don’t-” 

“I’m gonna be a hero, Kirishima.” Words Katsuki had been saying his whole life now felt so heavy. “What freedom do I have to date?”

“No,” Eijirou said immediately, the word making Katsuki raise an eyebrow. “What about me? Am I not gonna be a hero too?” 

“…you are-” 

“So I’ll understand.”

Eijirou tore his arms out of Katsuki’s hold faster than lightning, and then he was surging forward and taking hold of Katsuki’s face, making him stumble back a little. But Eijirou’s hold was firm, his hands were warm, and his face was closer than it had been for a while. Katsuki was slightly mesmerised as he stared back, taken by the determination in Eijirou’s eyes.

“I’ll understand you. I’ll give you space. I’ll be there when you want me, when you need me, but when you don’t, I‘ll keep my distance, I’ll know my boundaries. And I’ll lift you up. I’ll be your cheerleader, so you’ll do your best. But I’ll never get in your way, just like I know you won’t get in mine. That’s what respect’s all about in love, and I’ve fucking respected you since the second we met!” 

“My God, don’t swear, you baby,” Katsuki said, feeling tears pricking his eyes and it got worse when Eijirou clutched him tighter, barking a loud, childish, "FUCK NO,” that finally had some tears squeezing out. Then Eijirou was blinking, eyes wide as he thumbed the corners of Katsuki’s. “No, dude, why are you crying?!” 

“‘Cause I’m fucking HAPPY, you idiot!” Katsuki laughed, hands encircling Eijirou’s wrists yet again. “And I’m seeing how much of a fucking idiot I am!” 

“What?” Eijirou asked, eyes blown wide, and Katsuki shook his head. 

“The way I’ve been fucking turmoiling over you for Satan knows how long and you could’ve...could’ve just told me that.” 

Eijirou still looked too shocked to be in his right mind but he was smiling then, too, because neither of them could help their slowly surfacing joy now. “Yeah. I could have, if I knew you needed to hear it.”

“I fucking hate you, Kirishima Eijirou.” 

Eijirou smiled even bigger. “I thought you didn’t call people by their names.” 

Katsuki snorted. “Babe, you’re a fucking exception to all my rules by now, miss me with that shit.” 

“Babe?!” 

“I could call you every pet name under the sun until I finally register you’re mine again.” 

“What the hell, bro,” Eijirou snickered slightly bashfully, cheeks pink, but he took one of Katsuki’s hands, intertwining their fingers. “I never stopped being yours.” 

“Sure seemed like it.” 

“That was your fault. You stopped being mine.” 

“Mm…yeah.” 

“Oi!” 

“But we’re back. It’s fine. It’s fucking fine! I haven’t been fucking crying and screaming over this or shit…"

“Kat,” Eijirou gasped and Katsuki was about to praise the lord from being able to hear that again. “Have you been crying and screaming over me?” 

“I ain’t ever answering that.”  

“I’ve been doing worse. And then my mum doesn't really know that I've even grown feelings of attraction or whatever so I had to pretend you were some cat I found on the street who doesn't like me anymore.” 

“Eijirou, you are fucking wack.”  

“But now you like me!” Eijirou yelled brightly, throwing his arms around Katsuki's shoulders which had the elder grunting. “You’ll drink the milk I’ll leave out for you!” 

“I’m actually feeling milk right now.” 

“Hm. Maybe you're a cat instead of a dog?” Eijirou pondered, before yelping at the way Katsuki thwacked his side. 

“I’M NOT A BLOODY ANIMAL!” 

“…yes, that totally proves your point.”

Eijirou had to run for his fucking life.

“Time out! Time out!” Eijirou yelled eventually, sinking down to the floor as Katsuki glared down at him, eyes piercing holes until Eijirou waved a tired hand at him. “Sit…next to me…” 

Katsuki grimaced. “Ground’s nasty.” 

“Just do it!” 

“Fucking…” Katsuki complained incessantly, but eventually he was sat on the pavement, and both of them just sat cross-legged next to each other, the only proper sounds being the wind, distant traffic, and Eijirou’s heavy breathing. That last one ruined things, it might have been nice otherwise.

Eijirou sidled up to him soon, which Katsuki tried not to think about. “Hey. Did you get into that school in the end?” 

“Yeah, got an honours and everything.” Turned out the headmistress was an absolute romantic and gushed about his poem over the phone so much that his mother hung up on her. “You?” 

“Nope,” Eijirou said brightly, making Katsuki fully turn to look at him. 

“You got into fucking UA and not that shitty school?” 

“Guess I studied more for what I wanted more? You know I got second on the leaderboard in the ENTIRE school for the UA practical exam?!” 

“Really? I got first.” 

They both stared at each other, before looking away quickly, and Katsuki scratched the back of his head. They really were good at this fated lovers thing. 

“U-Uh, well done.” 

“Ye-Yeah, you too bro! You’re awesome!” 

Katsuki was imagining how their names would’ve looked like next to- or on top? - of each other’s, until Eijirou was leaning into him slightly, voice sounding wistful as he said, “I still can’t believe it. That I’m here, that I did so well, that I’m living this way. And now I’ve got you too. Gosh, things are so perfect…” 

“You’ve still got that insecurity shit in your head, don’t you? You deserve all this. You learned how to bring your confidence up, I ain’t watching it come back down.” 

“You helped,” Eijirou said, a smile even in his voice. “You really did.” 

“Yeah, yeah. I knew my boy would listen.” 

“Man...I’m still your boy, I am...really don’t know if I’ve ever been this happy.”

Katsuki looked at him, at the way Eijirou’s dreamy eyes and dreamy smile were facing the sky as his head rested at Katsuki’s shoulder, and he didn’t have to think much before he leant down and closed the distance.

Eijirou tasted like salty snacks and soft underlying sweetness. Something perfect.

“I’ve been waiting so long,” Eijirou breathed out once Katsuki pulled away, “for you to do that again.”

Katsuki let their foreheads meet, eyes closing. “Don’t worry. I’ll never be this late again.”

Eijirou laughed, taking hold of Katsuki’s face again in his warm rough fingers and Katsuki took hold of one hand, kissing the back of it. The way Eijirou literally melted against him was incredible. God, now they couldn’t stop touching each other but Katsuki wasn’t about to say he minded.

“I’m still tired...”

“Oi, don’t sleep here, fucker!”

“I won’t!” Eijirou yelled, quickly slapping his own cheek before groaning loudly which had Katsuki snickering.

“You fucking idiot.”

“Mean...” Eijirou whinged, leaning into him more, and Katsuki snorted as he elbowed Eijirou, and he got an elbow back, and he would’ve retaliated if Eijirou’s arms hadn’t wound around his middle next, holding him tight. Katsuki was rendered emotionally defenceless.

“I’m sixteen now,” Katsuki muttered, squeezing Eijirou’s hand. “But I think we’ve been two pretty fucking dramatic fifteen year olds these last few weeks.”

“Now that sure feels like truth.”

“Can’t believe we fucking said we’d never see each other again. Why the fuck didn’t I make a plan for if you got into UA?!”

“It’s ok bro you just really thought I was dumb and that’s not really wrong so-”

“The only reason I let myself fall that hard for you was because I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Oh,” Eijirou said after a moment, his voice quiet, and Katsuki winced.

“But I still fell because of you. Cause you’re cute and honest and strong and shit, I don’t know.”

“Oh,” Eijirou said again, though this time it was shakier, and his face was one hundred percent pinker. Katsuki didn’t really realise.

“Yeah, God I liked you so much, I told my dad I was head over heels...I’m telling you now, I really think I fell in love-”

“Katsuki!”

Katsuki blinked, finally noticing Eijirou’s red face. “What?”

“I know you’re really honest and everything but you’ve gotta stop at a point, I can’t take hearing that!”

Katsuki frowned. “But I don’t wanna hide shit anymore...it’s so much easier saying everything. I mean I’m not expecting you to be in love with me back or anything. It’s just enough that you’re here.”

“Oh God, I made it worse,” Eijirou groaned, hands clutching Katsuki’s shirt so tight and it was a little amusing. “You...you really think you fell in love with me?”

“Yeah,” Katsuki shrugged. “In the moment. But that was just five fucking hours. Now we’ve got...lemme check...all the damn time in the world?”

“To take it a bit slower this time, maybe,” Eijirou hummed in agreement, the smile on his face so sweet that Katsuki almost mirrored it as he kissed him again.

Now, they could fall in love for real. No connotations, nothing holding them back, no dramaticisms that would have Katsuki breaking down in his bedroom.

“Say you like me,” Katsuki muttered between kisses and Eijirou snickered, arms going around Katsuki’s shoulders.

“I like you so so so much.”

“How much?”

“More than the stars in the sky!”

“Weak. I like you more than the stars in the whole universe.”

“I like you more than black holes like to consume and destroy.”

“Holy shit I Love you.”

Eijirou burst into laughter, jeering, “I knew you’d like that!” as Katsuki pressed closer to him, just revelling for a while.

“Thanks...”

“Hm?”

“I ain’t repeating that. But just, guess it’s cool, you not giving up on me and shit...trying to be my...friend and stuff...’cause then we probably wouldn’t be here. And I probably wouldn’t be with the others like that, either.”

“You like them, don’t you? Be honest,” Eijirou scolded, tapping Katsuki’s nose and the latter hunched slightly, grumbling nonsense that had Eijirou rolling his eyes but smiling. Then he was the one reaching up to kiss Katsuki, then his cheeks, then his forehead. Katsuki was a confused blushing mess by the end of it until Eijirou squeezed him, beaming as he said, “Happy birthday, Kat.”

“You’re not allowed to call me-”

“You’re not finishing that sentence for God’s sake. The second time you said it I’m pretty sure my heart broke.”

“When...?”

”You’re not allowed,” Katsuki said, sniffing as he looked down at Eijirou with the last shred of dignity he had left, “to call me cute nicknames.”

“Ah. When we sparred.”

“You’re dramatic but god, you play it so well,” Eijirou sighed, hugging himself a little. “Sometimes I just see your face and want to cry. What’s made you so emotional, man?”

“Wha- I don’t fucking know. I’ve always been like this, I just-”

“Woah, hey, you don’t need to get defensive. It’s not a bad thing to be honest, really. It’s probably good that things always show on your face, it means people can trust you!”

“Yeah. Good,” Katsuki said lamely. “Lying is...dumb. What’s the point of doing something if you’re not gonna say what you actually did?”

“People might think you’re an angry asshole but you’ve got morals, huh?” Eijirou teased, sniggering at the low growl emitting from Katsuki’s throat.

“Don’t fucking push it.”

“If you’re gonna be honest then I need to be too! Right?”

“Oh okay, fuck yeah. You better never fucking lie to me or you’re dropped, don’t give a shit how cute you are.”

“Alright, alright, honesty first then cuteness second.”

“Fuck no. Always be cute for me.”

“Wow, how controlling.”

“Wait what- no! I’m not- don’t you fucking dare prove my mum right, I’m not a controller.”

“You what?”

“Nothing, just...ugh, do you want! You’re free as a butterfly, fuck!”

Eijirou grinned in utter bemused amusement, chin perching on Katsuki’s shoulder and he laughed when Katsuki miserably pressed his face into the other’s messy hair.

They were walking back soon. Katsuki didn’t know who took hold of whose hand first but he only realised they were holding hands at all a good while into the walk, as Eijirou was ranting about how pretty the sky was today and how they’d really gone quite far and how his legs felt numb from sitting and a million other things at once. Katsuki just listened, mostly, before interjecting a, “What the fuck” when Eijirou cheerily said, “I don’t actually know where we’re going!”

“O-Oh!” Eijirou spouted sheepishly as Katsuki glared at him, waiting. “I...didn’t think you were listening.”

Katsuki growled, tugging Eijirou hard as he took the lead. “Fucking follow me then, dipshit. Some morosexual I am. And go back to fucking sleep when we get back.”

“Only if you’re under the blanket with me again!”

“You’re getting cocky, bastard.”

“What’s a morosexual?”

“I’m killing you when we get back.”

Katsuki didn’t quite make good on that promise, because the others had woken up by the time they’d returned, with Pikachu wailing, “THE BESTIES REALLY HUNG OUT WITHOUT US!”, Pinky sniffing, “If you only wanna be with Kirishima then you could’ve said so,” and Soy Sauce babbling tired nonsense from the living room.

“Idiots I said sleep, SLEEP,” Katsuki growled, kicking Pikachu and Pinky back into the room before grabbing Eijirou and throwing him at the sofa. He pointed at Soy Sauce who was still under the blanket on the floor. “You’re the only bitch I respect.”

Soy Sauce beamed sleepily as the others whined, but Katsuki circled a glare that had them all blanching. Pikachu played dead almost immediately. Pinky didn’t take long to follow suit.  Then finally when Katsuki heard breaths slowing, he nodded in satisfaction and got into his corner, slipping under the bedsheet so he could have tired Eijirou instantly seek out his closeness.

“Wake us up soon...” Eijirou mumbled, eyes closed but lips meeting Katsuki’s cheek softly. Katsuki flared a little.  “Still gotta...cake...and make this...best day ever...”

“You don’t already fucking think you’ve made this one of the best days ever?” Katsuki whispered incredulously, nosing Eijirou’s neck and the latter opened his eyes to beam at him fully, then cuddle up close.

“Night, Kat.”

“It’s two in the afternoon but sure.”

Eijirou was gone then, breaths low and soft, and when Katsuki looked down to see Soy Sauce looking up at them with a grin on his face, Katsuki raised a finger to his lips. Soy Sauce grinned wider and did the same, winking.

 

 

 

Bonus: 

School was interesting from then on.

He didn’t really ache as much anymore, and if he still felt the aftereffects from hurting for so long, the way Eijirou would reach down and drop a kiss into his hair at his desk when there was nobody in the room made sure no traces were left.

And if Soy Sauce knew, he was pretty darn certain Pinky and Pikachu did too. They’d make fun of the way Katsuki seemed to give Eijirou special treatment, but if they caught them holding hands under a table, talking at their lockers or walking home together then they didn’t say anything.

Sometimes they’d talk, about anything, and though Katsuki more liked to listen to all the weird things Eijirou had in his head, Eijirou always wanted to hear about him too, never judging or unenthusiastic (Eijirou’s entire being was enthusiasm, honestly).

At one point after a long warm morning, Katsuki told him about the dreams after the slime monster.

“You think I projected hard enough that you heard me?” Eijirou asked in awe, and Katsuki shrugged.

“Don’t know.”

But he hoped he could maybe have Eijirou again to look after him if something like that happened in the future, for real this time. Even if he wouldn’t admit he needed looking after he just slightly, slightly hoped Eijirou might be the person to see through him. And he still needed to return the favour. Next time Eijirou even got a fucking graze, Katsuki was going to baby him. 

He didn’t know if anyone else noticed, but he didn’t really care. It wasn’t a problem, and Eijirou made good on his promise, from being an incredible sparring partner, always heard cheering Katsuki on even if it was just when doing a sum on the blackboard in front of the class, or giving him touch, warmth, even just smiles that made Katsuki feel like he could do anything. Not that he’d ever not felt like that or anything. But it helped.

And he might be bad at it, but somehow, he knew what to say when Eijirou was falling into one of his insecure episodes. He knew what to do when Eijirou needed just a small push to get to where he needed. And Eijirou’d tell him every day that he ‘helped’, no matter how small or big but it made Katsuki feel warm, in an unfamiliar way. He really was helping someone. Even when once, he’d told himself he had no time for that.

“You keep forgetting you’re gonna be helping millions of people when you become a hero, dude!”

“Yeah, yeah I fuckin know.”

But, maybe now, he could learn how to do it in more ways than one.

-

Their first date was in the café of his mother’s friend. Katsuki insisted, though he didn’t have to try very hard since Eijirou was already short-circuiting at the word ‘date’.

“Hey, honey,” the woman said brightly, and Katsuki nodded at her as he grabbed the drinks. Katsuki thought her old, but she was only twenty something at best. Katsuki knew she was still in university following a fashion course, her and his mother had met when she went to talk there. “Hey, who’s that? You never come with anyone if it’s not your family.”

“He’s my boyfriend.”

Her eyes went wide with astonishment, and Katsuki looked at her blankly, sipping his drink. “Really?”

“Mhm.”

“Well the more you know...I thought I’d never met another person who likes the same sex ever since I moved to Japan.”

“Mm, it’s a fucking rarity. How’s your girl?”

The woman grinned. “She’s lovely, she misses me though. How’s your boy?”

“He’s really dumb but he’s surviving.”

She barked a laugh and Katsuki smiled into his drink, and with a note that said, “Don’t forget to call me if you need any help!” along with her phone number even though Katsuki already had that (not that he’d used it yet but...he might think about it), Katsuki left the counter, sweeping Eijirou’s americano over to him. Eijirou’s sweet smile then really didn’t match that drink.

“How can you fucking drink that stuff?”

“Huh? Why, what’d you get?”

“White chocolate mocha with cream and caramel.”

“WHAT?!” Eijirou yelled, so loud that Katsuki was deafened some more. “AND YOUR MUSCLES LOOK LIKE THAT?!”

“What fifteen year old drinks a fucking Americano?”

Eijirou paused for a moment. “I’m special.”

“Pour that out. I’m getting you a hot chocolate.”

“WHAT- NO! I LIKE AMERICANOS, SERIOUSLY!”

“Oh my God. You’re gonna be the type to get a fucking salad every time we go out to eat.”

“NO I LIKE MEAT-”

“A fucking chicken salad.”

“Katsuki!”

Katsuki snickered at the way Eijirou’s head sank onto the table miserably, and he poked the guy’s leg with his foot under it. “Go on. Drink it.”

Eijirou looked up to glare at Katsuki. “I’m gonna.” 

“Alright, do it.”

“Now you sound like you’ve poisoned it.”

“Eijirou it’s literally already fucking poison by itself, I can’t make that shit worse.”

Eijirou whined in disagreement and Katsuki laughed some more, contentedly drinking his beverage of warm sugary sweetness. But the subject was changed (though not really) soon as another waitress brought their food, and Katsuki gave Eijirou some of his Croque Madame, commenting, “Your plate is literally fucking salad,” and Eijirou yelled, “IT’S A PANZANELLA” and imagine getting heated over panzanella, couldn’t be Katsuki.

“Your thing’s called a Croque Madame, that sounds fancier than panzanella, what language even is tha-”

“Français, mon garçon complètement stupide. Maintenant mange ta panzanella, j'espère tu sais que c'est l'italien, inculte.”

Katsuki was finding it hard to stop his smile when he heard the small breathless, “Holy hell,” as he stabbed at his food. Though his French was a little rusty. Fucking school that didn’t have modern foreign languages choices other than dumb English.

“Katsuki you’re the hottest person in the world.”

“Shitty Hair, I literally just called you dumb and uncultured.”

“Yeah but in Italian.”

“THAT WAS FUCKING FRENCH!”

Eijirou frowned. “Are they that different?”

“Oh my fucking God...” Katsuki’s head was the one descending onto the table now. “I hate you so fucking much. You embarrass me to death. I don’t even want to be seen with you. Once you’re done, please leave.”

“NOO!” Eijirou yelled, reaching out for Katsuki through his wails. “I’ll be better! I’ll read, just for you, I’ll become cultured I promise!”

“You’ll never be, you’re too fucking dumb, and here I was thinking you were some rich boy!”

“Having money doesn’t make you smart!”

“IT’S SUPPOSED TO GIVE YOU SOME DIGNITY THOUGH AND I FUCKING SAW YOU ROLL IN MUD YESTERDAY.”

“I WAS TRYING TO MAKE THE PIGS FEEL AT HOME!”

“WHAT BLOODY PIGS?!”

“THE ONES MR AIZAWA SAID WERE THERE!”

“OH MY FUCKING GOD, THAT WAS A JOKE! HE WAS CALING US PIGS!”

Eijirou looked both enlightened, shocked, and like he was about to cry, and Katsuki shook his head as he wondered what the fuck he had got into with this guy. But then he heard it, lifted his eyes to see Eijirou laughing so heartily, throwing his head back, face glowing, and Katsuki thought, shit.He aggravated Katsuki so much, but he was in so deep that it didn’t really matter.

“Come here,” Katsuki muttered, and Eijirou blinked confusedly but obeyed after he swallowed, leaning forward and Katsuki took hold of his collar and kissed him. Eijirou made a noise of surprise, but then his hands were on Katsuki’s face, and Katsuki didn’t- couldn’t really care about the way the table was digging into his stomach. They pulled away with slightly heavy breaths a few moments later, and Eijirou’s eyes were glazed over when Katsuki looked into them.

“What was that for...?”

“Nothing. Just like kissing you.”

“Yeah, I sure know that,” Eijirou snickered, dodging a poke. “It always takes me by surprise, though.”

“Guess I just like to know that I have you.”

Eijirou grinned, squishing Katsuki’s face. ”Yeah. It’s nice.”

Katsuki closed his eyes for just a second, humming, and Eijirou took the opportunity to make their noses touch. When Katsuki opened his eyes again, Eijirou was so close that Katsuki fell for him a million times again and it was fucking terrifying.

“Get the fuck away from me, you look like a monster.”

“Well you look beautiful so nope,” Eijirou teased and Katsuki groaned, shaking his head away and throwing a knife which Eijirou didn’t actually dodge, but he hardened at the last second. “OI, stop trying to kill me!”

Katsuki stabbed his fork into the table, satisfied. “Never.”

They didn’t always walk back holding hands, but sometimes they might end up that way without Katsuki realising. But Katsuki really, really liked enforcing a cliché goodbye once they’d get to the nearest of their houses, which was usually Eijirou’s since they barely ever left from the other side of the street. Katsuki could take him by the waist and say a deep, “Until next time,” which would have Eijirou both burning up and doubling over in his arms in howling laughter, then Katsuki would kiss his temple and shove him away. Though once Katsuki shoved him so hard that he broke the door. That might have not been a good way to make a first impression on the in-laws, so Katsuki had bolted.

(He’d bought Eijirou chocolate the next day as an apology, but still didn’t quite admit it was from him even when he knew Eijirou knew. Hell, the whole class probably knew, but he’d take it to his grave.)

-

“Hey. Where the fuck d’you think you’re going?” Katsuki heard one day as he was trying to sneak out, hood over his head. He grumbled to himself, turning around to see his mother with a blanket over her shoulders with his father next to her, one arm around her waist and the other rubbing his face. The two flakes had fallen asleep on the couch last night watching old tv reruns.

“None of your business.”

“Excuse me?”

“Please tell us, Katsuki, we just-” His father cut himself off with a yawn, which just made his mother yawn too and Katsuki rolled his eyes. “-don’t want to worry too much about you.”

“‘M literally going to the park like a street away. Nothing special or far away or shit.”

“Yeah but why, you weirdo?”

“‘Cause I’ve got a fucking boyfriend now and I wanna do romantic shit.”

His mother dropped the blanket as his father’s mouth fell open, and they both looked at each other. Katsuki growled quietly, shoving the door open but before he could get out, two pairs of hands were on his shoulders. “Katsuki!”

“Fucking what?!”

His mother and father looked at each other again, and Katsuki found it hard to stay angry when he heard, “You’re okay?”

“...yeah.” Fuck, he really might be, and he was honestly usually never okay. Even if it didn’t last...right now, he felt fine. “So you don’t gotta fucking worry.”

“Alright, kid,” his mother said a little less liberally, but he could hear the begrudging pride in her voice. “Come back fucking soon.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

His father kissed the top of his head and his mother squeezed his shoulders before they were letting him go, and Katsuki could swear he could hear, “We really gotta meet this boy soon, he’s got to be a one in a lifetime.”

One in a lifetime. Yeah. That might be right.

“Imagine if our class knew how much of a damn romantic you were,” Eijirou laughed when they were finally sitting in the park together, Eijirou settled in front of Katsuki between his legs as Katsuki rested his chin on Eijirou’s head. “They’d probably die.”

“Shut up.”

“You literally invited me to watch the sunrise. It’s four am! And we’re watching the sunrise!”

“And? I don’t see your fucking point.”

“You’re lucky I got sleep last night. Even though that was also because of you,” Eijirou laughed, though he was still yawning as he nuzzled into Katsuki’s chest ever so slightly. “Might be worth it either way though. It’s gorgeous.”

“Told you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Warm pastel tones touched up by gold were highlighting everything around them, and probably them themselves, proved by the way it caught Eijirou’s red hair and mellow skin and made him look like some angel.

Wow. Katsuki really fucking was a romantic.

Katsuki stuffed his face into Eijirou’s hair, which was luckily down right now, and mumbled, “Thanks for coming,” in a way that Eijirou wouldn’t hear him. Eijirou just patted his arm, distracted from watching the shifting colours in the sky. Katsuki could bet no-one else would watch the sunrise with him at four am. Eijirou was perfect that way.

Imagine if he really hadn’t seen him again until they locked eyes during the announcements of the hero charts. Imagine not being able to have Eijirou all those years in between.

Because when they had been texting last night to arrange this, he’d never forget one of the things Eijirou had written.

- m gonna support u forever n ever! even if u giv me up to keep following being a hero. i kno i come second, m fine w that!

Katsuki had been speechless (and textless) for who knows how long, because he had just no idea how to react. This conversation had started off with them just talking about how pretty the sky could get. And then Katsuki suggested the sunrise. And then he’d said he used to always watch it and wish on it instead of stars, wishing he’d become the number one hero, because he knew he’d never want anything else. And then...

Katsuki’d grimaced slightly, fisting his hair. Fuck.

what the fuck you on about -

- nth much bro! jus general stuff, jus want u to kno that

can you stop fucking calling me bro we’ve been dating for weeks -

 

- ok dude!!!

fucking hell I hate you -
and look -
I don’t know what the future’s gonna be like. I don’t know how hard it’s gonna be for us. but I fucking like you, I know that much. I know I don’t wanna give that up, least not now so who’s to say ever? -
let’s just be with each other as long as we want to -
ain’t gotta worry about other shit just yet -

- katsUkI I ame CRYingjisn my manly BOYF

get a fucking hold of yourself babe -

Now wasn’t that backwards thinking to what he once thought he was so sure of for so long.

“Katsuki?”

“Mm.”

“I’m so happy.”

Katsuki blinked, not having expected that, but then Eijirou was moving his head and capturing Katsuki’s lips in a kiss. Katsuki’d never melted faster.

“My boy,” Eijirou was the one saying this time, voice light, soft, and laughing all at once as his fingers touched Katsuki’s cheek. Katsuki could only nod. 

If Eijirou was his, it had to go both ways with how fucking in love Katsuki was.

“Yeah. Your boy.”