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“Passengers, as we prepare for our landing in Tokyo, please be sure to have your seatbelts fastened, trays up, all large electronic devices—”
Izuku pressed his forehead against the window of the plane anxiously. The first glimpse of the familiar buildings and Mount Fuji standing ever vigilant in the distance had him tearing up.
It had been four years since he had set foot in his city. During the time away, he worked hard overseas on his degrees, lived without his mother’s cooking, and missed his friends every single day. Missed home every single day. It was both inspiring and heartbreaking to look back on it all. On one hand, he’d done it! He survived and this was his prize. But on the other hand? He felt as if he'd missed so, so much.
Even talking to his friends nearly every day and Uraraka keeping him up to date on everyone and their business, he still had a fear that things would not be the same between them all. Would they still be friends after so long? Could they? Were they even the same people that went through high school and college together?
After all, Uraraka and Tsuyu had gotten married! Iida had dropped out of medical school unexpectedly to take care of the family business. Todoroki was engaged to Momo and Shinsou had finally asked Kaminari out! And then there was Kirishima and Mina that had not only gotten married but were already working on baby number two! Even his own mother now had gray hair and was slimmer (though she claimed she hadn’t lost weight).
And he was scared — almost as much as he was excited — to see for himself what had changed in his absence.
Well... if he was being honest, there was only one particular thing he was worried about changing. A particular person. Someone with red eyes and a haughty smirk.
Abort! Abort!
Izuku quickly shook himself free of the image that was forming in his head.
Nope, no, it was fine , he was fine, if there was a change. That had been the whole point, hadn't it? Right? Right. Past is in the past. He needed to move on.
Or, at least, that's what he'd told himself over and over again for comfort. And yet, even four years later, those words still didn't ring with a single note of truth.
Deku.
God, even his voice was still so clear in his head. Izuku fiddled with his cellphone as he followed the line of passengers off the plane. Maybe he could, just, take a peek on social media. It wasn’t the same as face to face interactions, right? Would it technically be breaking his rules? And they were his rules to begin with anyway. He could break them if he wanted to! And it would only be for a second, to see how Kacchan was doing, that’s all! He’d deactivate his accounts again right after. It really wouldn’t break his promise... Just one second—
“WELCOME HOME, IZUKU!”
Izuku dropped his phone in surprise at the shout. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that he was already standing at the baggage claim. And before he knew it, he was tackled in a hug by his mother and very best friend, Uraraka Ochako.
“You didn’t have to come get me!” he said frantically but hugged them back tightly despite his words, phone thankfully forgotten.
“Oh, it isn’t just us!” Uraraka said cheerfully as she pulled away to gesture to the group of people behind them. “We all wanted to see you!”
Izuku was startled by the sheer number of people coming up to greet him. Tsuyu, Mina, Iida, Shinsou, Todoroki, Kirishima, Kaminari, even Sero was there! And though Izuku knew better, his eyes still searched for Kacchan anyway. He tried to shove away his disappointment (honestly, what did he expect?) and focus on the good things. After all, all the people he'd just been concerned about forgetting him now stood before him, arms wide and grins wider.
So, of course, Izuku burst into tears.
Used to his antics by now, the group merely laughed and took turns giving him their greetings before they left the airport in a giant horde. He was so happy that he couldn't stop crying and thanking everyone for coming even as they settled in at one of his favorite katsudon places.
“I know this isn’t my homemade katsudon but it’ll have to do for now,” his mother said sweetly, patting him on his hand, as the waitress sat his favorite meal in front of him.
“Thank you,” he sniffed, picking up his chopsticks. “This is perfect, everyone, thank you so much.”
Everyone waved off his thanks and dived into their own food. He laughed and chatted with everyone. That feeling of alienation he’d felt on the plane started to subside slowly but surely. Nothing had actually changed, huh? Well, a few things. They were all older but Todoroki still had his bland humor, Iida was still high strung. Kaminari and Kirishima were still straight clowns. It was refreshing to see.
The rest of the meal passed with a happy glow burning in his chest. If he cried a few more times, everyone was polite enough to not point it out. It was one of the best nights he had in a while.
And then it unexpectedly came crashing down.
“Hey, Midoriya… can I talk with you for a second?”
The night was over. Everyone was saying their goodbyes behind him but Kirishima had surprised him by pulling him to the side. Izuku could feel something was off. Kirishima avoided looking directly at him and was shifting nervously on his feet. What could it be? He could tell this wasn't about to be a happy conversation.
Kirishima thrust a bag into his chest with enough force to make him take a step back, burning his thoughts to the ground. He blinked down at the small parcel, confused beyond belief.
“Um, what is this? A gift? You didn’t have to—”
“It isn’t a gift. But it was meant for you,” Kirishima admitted, eyes focused on the bag as if it was cursed. “I don’t know… if it’ll fix anything, if it’ll matter, but I thought you should have it, regardless.”
“Fix what?” Izuku asked quietly and, finally, Kirishima's eyes flicked up to meet his. The sadness there was answer enough.
This was about Kacchan.
“Ah, Kirishima, I really shouldn’t—” Izuku said quickly, going to hand the bag back. Kirishima put his hands up and retreated from it.
“No, you really shouldn’t. This could probably be the worst decision of my life but... j-just look at it, okay? If you decide even now that you’re okay with the way things ended between you two, that’s fine. I just wanted you to know,” he said quickly, pleadingly. “What you do with it afterwards is entirely up to you. It was supposed to go into the trash but I couldn’t… I just couldn’t do it. Even for my best bro, you know?”
Oh, Izuku knew. Kirishima was loyal to Kacchan through and through. They'd been friends for years. There was a time where Izuku was actually jealous of their relationship. It wasn't until Kacchan asked him out that he realized what Kacchan and Kirishima had were vastly different from their own relationship. It had surprised Izuku to see the man there, to be honest. To see all the friends he shared with Kacchan, actually. He thought for sure they’d drop him out of their life after what he’d done.
“Does… Kacchan want me to have this?” Izuku asked softly, staring down at the bag again. He couldn’t see much inside. A card and some tissue paper. The bag itself was a simple white and entirely unassuming.
“He did before. I’m not too sure about now but, maybe, that’s a discussion you two can have, if you want to,” Kirishima said before he held out a piece of paper to Izuku. “His new address and phone number.”
Izuku swallowed thickly, eyes locked onto Kirishima’s sloppy scrawl. If he took it, he’d be breaking every promise he’d made to himself — and Kacchan — four years ago. A clean break. It would be worse than what he contemplated doing at the airport. Social media was one thing but a direct line of contact?
“Please, Midoriya…” Kirishima begged once more and Izuku caved, reaching for the paper.
N-Not because he wanted to or anything! It was definitely for Kirishima! Clearly, he’d been holding onto this for years. Izuku definitely had no intention of calling Kacchan or going to his house!
“Kirishima, are you sure? Kacchan will probably be really angry…”
“I’d rather my bro be angry for a little bit than miserable the rest of his life,” Kirishima said simply. “I don’t know your reasons for ending it the way you did but… I honestly don’t think you want it to be like this either. I saw you look for him at the airport.”
Izuku looked away, unable to deny it. Kirishima smiled gently.
“Just give it some thought, okay? That’s all I’m asking but I got to go, buddy,” Kirishima slapped a hand onto his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. “Babysitter is a real stickler when it comes to time. You’ll have to come visit us later on! Get our number from Uraraka!”
“Ah! Uh, I will, thanks!” Izuku said quickly, following Kirishima to say goodbye properly to Mina. He watched the two leave for a moment, feeling like the bag in his hands weighed a lot more than it did.
Kacchan had gotten this for him. Was it from before the breakup? After? He’s not sure which would be worse, to be honest.
“Izuku, what’s that?” Uraraka asked curiously and he felt his body hit panic stages. Uraraka would not be happy to find Kirishima had given him a present from Kacchan. How was he going to explain this to her without it turning into a thing? She’d had to give him enough intervention over the years!
“Oh, did Mina give you Valentine’s Day chocolates too?” Todoroki asked as he stepped up, holding up a similar bag to what Izuku had. Izuku blinked in confusion and looked around the group, noticing that a lot of the males had bags just like his.
“Oh…,” he stared down at the present in confusion. Had Kirishima lied? Was this actually from Mina? Or had the chocolates been a clever disguise to mask his? That seemed a little extreme... right? “Y-yeah, she gave me some too. I forgot it was Valentine’s Day, actually…”
“Well, it isn’t until tomorrow,” Todoroki mentioned with a shrug. "Do you want mine? I'm not very fond of chocolates and I don't want them to go to waste."
"Then give them to Yaomomo!" Uraraka exclaimed.
"But, males are supposed to be the ones to receive chocolates on Valentine's Day, aren't they?" the man asked, tilting his head in confusion. "Is that not the custom?"
"Screw custom and give your fiance some chocolate! Especially since she didn't get to come say hello to Izuku!" she said, fists planted on her hips.
"If you say so," Izuku's friend mumbled, shrugging lightly. "She has been craving chocolate lately, I guess. It's kind of strange."
"Yeah, strange," Uraraka said with a wink to Izuku. "What could possibly be making her have such cravings, I wonder?"
"I wonder as well," Todoroki said with a bit of a harassed sigh. "She shouldn't be eating so much chocolate if it makes her sick."
Izuku's eyes widened in surprise. "Sick?"
"Yes. She gets sick every morning. I think its the chocolate but she gets defensive," he said thoughtfully while Izuku and Uraraka shared a look.
An obvious question of 'Should I tell him?' passed between the two before they both decided it was probably best to leave that alone.
"We'll have to plan another get together once you settle in some more," Uraraka said, giving Izuku one last hug. "Let me know if you need to go apartment hunting! I am a realtor now, you know!"
"Aah, well, job first, apartment later," Izuku called as they went their separate ways, still waving goodbye.
"I'm going to make some tea," his mother said as soon as they stepped inside his childhood home.
"Oh, you don't have to do that, Mom!" Izuku said quickly.
"Nonsense. Nothing like a hot cup of tea before bed," his mother said simply, shooing him down the hall. "Go unpack your things and I'll have the cup waiting for you when you're done!"
Entering his room was like traveling through time. He hadn't packed his things up before he left. He'd grabbed all the essentials and his clothes but had left all his memories behind. All stuffed nice and neat into a box on his desk.
He knew what was inside. He'd looked at the contents enough before that he could probably recall the entire box on memory alone. It was mostly filled with pictures of Kacchan and him throughout the years. Their mothers had been close so they grew up with each other, barely knew a day without the other being in it.
When exactly Izuku started to love the man, he wasn't sure. They finally started dating in their second year of high school. And that relationship had survived the two of them going to different universities and working jobs. Then, Izuku got his acceptance to study abroad. And while Kacchan seemed supportive, he started to pull away. He'd cancel meetings, claim he was picking up extra hours, and Izuku would sometimes not hear from him for days at a time.
The time was quickly approaching for Izuku to leave but Kacchan continued to pull further and further away. And Izuku had made the choice to break it off the day he was set to leave. He had thought it would be the best way to end it for them. Kacchan wouldn't feel guilty for breaking it off and Izuku could use the time away to heal. A clean break, he thought, but Izuku had never moved on. Every other relationship came and went in the past four years. And the entire time all he could think about was Kacchan.
And now he was holding a bag from Kacchan. He thought about not looking at it. Throwing it away. But he promised Kirishima he'd at the very least look at it. So he started with the envelope, heart pounding and bags completely forgotten.
Deku,
I’m not good with words. I’m sure you already know that but I also know you need to hear this outright. The words keep getting stuck in my throat every damn time so now I have to resort to writing this stupid letter and hoping you'll hear me. I know I haven't been around much and you leave next week. And I can't let you go with a good conscience. Not without something to tell every one of those grabby Americans that you're taken, at least. I've been working for us, not to avoid you.
So, I just have one request for you.
Please open the box.
Izuku, tears blinding him, reached back into the bag. Ruffling through tissue paper, his hand closed around a small box at the bottom. And when he pulled it out, he found that it was black and velvet. With shaking hands, he opened the box to reveal a small piece of paper and a ring. The most gorgeous and expensive-looking ring he'd ever seen. WIth green and red stones placed in an intricate pattern on top. He removed it shakily from the box, slipping it onto his finger slowly. A perfect fit. And then he looked at the note, wiping his eyes quickly to clear his vision. And what he saw nearly stopped his heart.
Deku, will you marry me?
"Izuku? Dear, the tea is done, are you-" Inko yelped in surprise as Izuku came barreling down the hallway.
"I'm sorry, Mom, I have to go!" Izuku said, tears still streaming down his face.
"At this time of night? Izuku, wait," she called but there was no holding Izuku back.
He bolted outside with phone in one hand and Kirishima's note in the other. He ran, not even caring that the GPS stated it was a good hour walk to his destination. It didn't matter how far in that moment. All he cared about was closing that distance as fast as possible.
With zero regards to what time it was, he found himself knocking and banging on the door of what he hoped wasn't some random apartment across town. It wasn't until he heard the furious footballs of who could only be Kacchan (yes, he recognized the man's footsteps!) that he could feel himself relax... and also break apart.
He wasn't even inside yet and he already felt like he'd come home.
"Who the fuck-" Kacchan shouted as he jerked open the door. His familiar scowl twisted his face. Red eyes burned with anger. Blond hair was spiky than normal with familiar bedhead.
And all Izuku wanted to do was kiss him.
So he did.
Fingers latching onto the man's tank top, Izuku jerked him down to his level. Kacchan froze under the onslaught of the sudden kiss. Izuku felt hands land on his shoulders and he had a terrifying moment where he thought he was going to be pushed away.
Then the hands fisted into his shirt and tugged him closer, Kacchan's tongue licking his lips to deepen the kiss. And Izuku fell straight into it, not even noticing when he was dragged inside the apartment.
"Kacchan," he gasped as lips trailed from his lips down to his chin and then to his neck, sucking and biting the whole way. "Kacchan!" he whimpered as the blond bit down particularly hard.
Izuku could feel the bruise blooming under his skin already. And he wanted more. Wanted to make up for the four years apart as quickly as possible. Hands touched skin, clothes were tossed across the room, and soon Kacchan was bearing down on him, stretching him and filling him in the exact way he loved. It was perfect, so perfect; and all Izuku could hope for once it was over is that Kacchan would be able to forgive him.
-----------
Izuku groaned quietly, shifting in his bed to avoid the sunlight slipping in through the curtains.
"Five more minutes, sun," he muttered, burying his face into his pillow.
Sleep refused to return, however.
He decided it was best to get up when the smell of bacon made its way under his door. Was his mother up cooking already? She needed to relax. He could cook his own breakfast, after all.
However, the second he opened his eyes, he realized he did not recognize a single thing in it. This wasn't his room. This wasn't even his mother's house. He shot up out of bed, pain searing throughout his backside.
Oh no!
What kind of horrible mistakes had he made last night? Maybe he had drank too much. Wait, when had he even been drinking? He remembered being at his mother's house... and leaving after he read Kacchan's note and finding the ring and-
Oh no, he was at Kacchan's house.
The memories returned in a rush and he wanted to curl up and die. Had he really had sex with his ex last night? The ex he had broken up with right when he had been about to propose? Yes, apparently.
Fuck, fuck.
He found a pair of pants on the floor and slipped them on. Easing the door open, he followed the smell of bacon down the hall and into the kitchen,
"U-um," Izuku started as he found Kacchan at the stove.
Wary eyes meet his before he turned back to the pancakes (Izuku's favorite, blueberries).
"What are you doing here, Deku?" The tone was flat and completely devoid of emotion.
Izuku twiddled his thumbs nervously. "U-uh, I'm back, permanently."
"So your six-month trip lasted four years, huh?" Izuku flinched, looking down at the floor.
"Ka-"
"You broke up with me, refused to let me get a single word in, and then left for America the very same day. Do you realize how fucked up that is?"
"I do, I ju-just thought we were going separate directions. That you thought it was hard, impossible, for us to stay together. You were getting more and more distant and I panicked-"
"You should have told me, asked me about it. I was willing to make anything work. For you."
"I realize that now!" Izuku sobbed, scrubbing at his eyes.
"Little late for that, don't you think? I was finally getting over you." Tears trailed down his cheeks, smearing his vision. “And then you come back to my doorstep, without a single fucking apology, and I’m suddenly taking you to bed like I just didn’t have to deal with four fucking years of silence.”
“Kacchan…”
“No, shut up, you didn’t let me talk four years ago so it is my turn now,” Kacchan said firmly, stomping closer. Izuku fully expected to be ripped down one side and then the other and tossed out like the bag of trash he was.
Izuku is surprised by Kacchan grabbing his hand instead and holding it up.
There the ring from last night sat firmly on his left ring finger. Kacchan stared at it for a moment before he took a deep breath, lowering their suddenly intertwined fingers.
“I don’t know whether to thank Kirishima or kick his ass for not getting rid of this thing when I told him to,” he said stiffly, eyes unable to leave the ring on Izuku's finger. “But…” Kacchan dropped down to one knee and Izuku gasped, trying to step back but Kacchan held fast. “Will you marry me, Midoriya Izuku?”
“W-why? Why would you… give me another chance?”
“Because even on the days when I hated you with every fiber of my being, I still loved you. And I love you now. I feel like I’ve just been going through life the past four years waiting for you. And you’re wearing my ring so I’m hoping that means you’ve been waiting for me too. So, I’ll ask you again.”
“Will you marry me?”
And, of course, Izuku said yes.