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Finding his soulmate was the last thing on Katsuki Bakugou’s list of things he wanted to accomplish in life. First priority? Become the number one hero, obviously. Second priority? To one day star in his own epic film, performing his own stunts and all. Third priority? Probably to walk away from a cool explosion in slow-motion like a badass would at the end of an action film.
But finding his soulmate? That could wait.
For most people, finding their soulmate was their number one goal in life. Everyone knows that when you turn 18 you become linked to your soulmate in some way. Katsuki had always thought it was weird how inconsistent the links could be though. Some people are able to hear what songs their soulmates had stuck in their head, while others were able to feel their emotions. Some were even fortunate enough to have whatever their soulmate wrote on their skin appear on their own body, like Katsuki’s own parents. He always thought that was the best link to have, unlike the ones where soulmates shared injuries and pain. It made finding one’s soulmate monumentally easier and hassle free… IF you were someone who even cared about finding their soulmate, which Katsuki was NOT.
So when Katsuki woke up on his 18th birthday tasting bubblegum toothpaste instead of the usual morning breath, he was at first confused, and then rightfully pissed off. Out of all the soulmate links in the world, out of all the possibilities, he had to get taste? Arguably the lamest and grossest thing ever? This could not have been a worse matchup, considering how picky Katsuki was about what he put in his mouth. His body is a temple, sacred and holy, and all that other crap his friends liked to tease him about.
So what if he had high food standards? Sue him. You too would be a little bit shaken if you were to taste phantom food all of a sudden with zero warning.
Which makes getting ready that morning sort of… a trip.
Apparently, Katsuki’s soulmate is a morning person. The kind of morning person that is up and at ‘em before the sun even rises. The taste of the sweetest coffee imaginable invades Katsuki’s taste buds while he takes a shower, the suddenness of it making him gag slightly. He hates coffee!
It’s soon followed by (black?) tea as he begins to dress himself for the day.
Katsuki has many questions, the most pressing being: Why is his soulmate eating so much? It’s not even 8 am and Katsuki has tasted (in no particular order): Coffee, tea, egg, rice, cereal, miso soup, more egg and rice but with a bunch of soy sauce (??), grilled fish and natto (gross). Katsuki can’t help but indulge a little and wonder who his soulmate might be. But only for a moment. It’s not that important that he try and figure out who it is.
It’s not like he’ll find them any time soon.
~~~~~
Eventually, Katsuki stops tasting the ghost food and he can finally start focusing on his day. More specifically… How he’s going to survive with minimal embarrassment and school property damage.
Walking through the school halls is like trying to navigate through a minefield. Every classmate that gave him a knowing smile is just another explosive that he needed to be wary of. Don’t get too close, or that might give them permission to come over and talk to him. Gross.
Even though Katsuki is (for once) excited about his birthday (18 is a pretty large milestone, damnit!), that didn’t mean he had to be excited with some dumb extras. It was his birthday, god damn it! The only people who had any right to it were himself, his parents, and maybe Kirishima. And Kaminari.
And Sero and Mina and Jirou.
And Deku. But just a little.
And that didn’t excuse any of his other shitty classmates to come over and slap him on the back in congratulations, like Iida did as soon as Katsuki stepped into the classroom. Nor did it excuse Momo from excitedly grabbing Katsuki by the arm to personally wish him a “truly wonderful 18th birthday!”.
But Tokoyami gave him a single nod and a fist bump, so that was cool.
Katsuki sighs once he sits in his seat, deciding to ignore the knowing (conspiring) looks from his friends and the unexpected constant reminder that Katsuki now has a soulmate and can taste what they taste. Which was… something to get used to.
...
Is that rubber he’s tasting??
~~~~~
It’s at lunch when his friends pounce on him. Kaminari latched onto his arm, nearly causing Katsuki to capsize his food.
“What the fuck Dunce Face! Get off me!” he exclaimed, trying (and failing) to wriggle his parasitic classmate off of him.
“Kacchan! Happy Birthday!” He sings, a big smile being beamed directly into Katsukis face. He growled as he finally pushed the other away.
“At least wait until I’ve sat down, idiot.”
Kaminari pats him on the shoulder before they both take their seats, ignoring all the stares from his friends. Or he tries to, except Kirishima is leaning into his space and Mina is shaking the table with barely contained excitement.
Katsuki feels a headache coming on.
“God! What the fuck do you want?” he yells, pushing Kirishima’s face away and giving Mina a death glare. Everyone just grins and waits for Katsuki to spill the beans. He just angrily stuffs his rice into his mouth, giving his group of idiots a scrutinizing look.
It’s Sero who breaks first.
“Dude! You’re 18 now!” he exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. Katsuki blinks at him.
“So?”
“So!!” Mina interrupts, standing up and slamming her hands on the table, making Katsuki nearly choke on his food.
“You’re 18! You have a soulmate link!”
She’s shaking the table again, bouncing on her feet, a giant smile on her face.
“What is it? What’s the link??” Sero demands, hands still in the air.
Katsuki clicks his tongue and looks away.
“It’s a stupid taste link.” He grumbles, stuffing more food into his mouth. His friends are quiet for about 3 seconds before Kirishima starts yelling.
“Dude! That’s so cool!”
Katsuki makes a face.
“It is not cool, it’s fucking gross. I’ve spent all day tasting the weirdest things! It's disgusting!”
Katsuki stuffs more food in his mouth, not looking at any of his friends.
“You’d think maybe they would be a little bit more considerate about what they put in their fucking mouth, but no! They had to distract me all day in class by eating wood and rubber and even fucking blood! What the fuck are they doing that they would have blood in their mouth at 10 in the morning?”
He finally looks back at his friends, expecting the same kind of outrageous disgust he currently feels. Instead he’s met with… curious looks. Katsuki feels his face get hot at their attention.
“What? What are you looking at?” he growls out, looking away again.
“Wood?” Kirishima asks, dazed.
“Blood?” Sero echoes, putting his chin in his hand.
“What the fuck are you doing” Katsuki looks around at his friends, who are all acting weird as fuck.
“Oh, dude, I’m just trying to figure out who your soulmate could be!” Kirishima reassures, clapping Katsuki on the back.
“Yeah man! Like… Maybe your soulmate is a construction worker that breathes in sawdust all day! That would explain the wood!” Sero says, nodding his head like he just solved the world's greatest mystery.
“Yeah! Or maybe they’re another hero student that is getting their ass handed to them! That’s possible right?” Kaminari helpfully adds.
Mina is now jumping up and down, shaking the table even more .
“OR MAYBE they’re a pro hero in the middle of a grueling battle!” She yells, throwing her fist in the air. That riles up the rest of the table, all of them spitting out their own theories of why Katsuki’s soulmate could be ingesting such weird items.
Shaking his head, Katsuki resumes eating his lunch.
“Bakugou, who do you think your soulmate is?” Kirishima asks, smiling. Katsuki shakes his head again.
“I don’t care about that,” he answered.
As expected, the table erupts in whines and indignation.
“What? Why not?!” Kaminari yells, grabbing Katsuki’s arm and shaking it. Katsuki pushes him off of his chair.
“I just don’t! I have bigger things to worry about!” he grumbled.
Sensing the tension, Kirishima pats Katsuki on the back before saying, “Hey if he doesn’t want to, then that’s his business!”
He jumps into a heated discussion with Sero about what their first exam will consist of and will it be as difficult as the last two years, effectively leaving Katsuki to eat his food in peace.
He’s about to take another bite of his rice, when he’s interrupted by the taste of soy sauce and yakisoba.
He’s no longer hungry.
~~~~~
After class, Kirishima drags Katsuki on a “special mission” to the nearest convenience store in a very paper thin attempt to keep him away from the dorms for a few hours.
It was a little endearing, seeing one of his best friends try so hard to distract Katsuki with capsule toy machines and dares to eat gross flavored snacks.
“It’ll be like a prank on your soulmate! To get back at them for making you taste all that gross stuff!” Kirishima says, holding up a box of green tea pocky. Katsuki just rolls his eyes.
“First of all, you’re the only person on earth that thinks green tea pocky is ‘gross’, so put that away,” he says, watching Kirishima pout a little as he sets the box back on the shelf.
“And secondly, I’m not about to eat gross shit just to be petty. It sucks already to be subjected to this shit unwillingly, you think I want to eat something disgusting on purpose?”
Kirishima shrugs good naturedly.
“I guess you have a point.”
His pocket buzzes. When he checks his phone, an impossibly big grin splits Kirishima’s face.
“Hey man! Look at the time, we should get back to the dorms! Don’t want to miss curfew!” he smacks Katsuki on the back before heading out of the store. Katsuki rolls his eyes again, but smirks at his friend regardless.
What a sap.
~~~~~
The dorms are dark and quiet when Katsuki and Kirishima return, the only real sounds being their own footsteps, a straggling giggle, and someone shushing said giggle. Katsuki feels like he’s rolled his eyes 100 times today.
So it’s no real surprise when the lights get flipped on and twenty-something voices scream “Surprise!!” at Katsuki’s mock shocked face. He looks around the decked out common room, mildly impressed with the effort that was put into the decorations. There’s snacks laid out on tables, some games set up near the windows, and Mario Kart queued up on the tv. There’s even balloons shaped like explosions in every corner of the room!
Katsuki feels a little warm inside. He secretly loves the sentiment and work put into this not-so-surprise party. His dumb friends decide to pounce on him again , and in usual Katsuki fashion, he grumbles and pushes them off, face burning all the while.
Damn these people for being such good friends!
He’s dragged over to couches by Kaminari, who declares that he’s going to kick Katsuki’s ass at rainbow road. Katsuki can only chuckle.
“In your dreams, Sparky.”
When he collapses onto a cushion, he notices a certain nerd sitting on the far side of the couch.
“You gonna watch us play, Deku?” Katsuki smirks, raising an eyebrow in the other’s direction. Deku smiles, and raises his own eyebrow.
“Nope, I’m playing!” he laughs, picking up a controller Katsuki didn’t notice before. He scoffs, turning his attention back to Kaminari, who was passing out extra controllers.
“Yeah? Well, just don’t cry when you eat my dust.” He goads, glancing at the nerd. Deku’s smile sharpened and his eyes glimmered with challenge.
“We’ll see!”
~~~~~
After several rounds of absolutely pummeling Kaminari in Mario Kart and getting his own ass handed to himself by Jirou and Deku, the cake is finally served.
Katsuki of course declines, even when his friends bemoan.
“You have to eat the cake! It’s your birthday!” Mina whines, shaking Katsuki’s shoulder like that’s going to convince him of anything.
Katsuki shakes Mina off and then shakes his head.
“I hate sweet shit, you know this!” He exclaims, brushing imaginary dirt from his arm.
His friends groan but pass out slices anyways.
He slouches against the wall, watching his friends and classmates enjoy their cake. Some people immediately dig in, like Kirishima, while others decide to be civil humans and sit down at a real table to eat their treat.
Katsuki laughs at Kaminari when he drops his slice, and then laughs even harder when Mina drops her own while trying to help him clean it up.
Dumbasses.
He loves them.
He’s almost done recovering from that much needed laugh when Katsuki tastes icing on his tongue. He nearly falls over, surprised at the reminder that once again, Katsuki has a soulmate. It’s been a few hours, he’s nearly forgotten how weird the sensation is.
Wait…
Icing?
His soulmate is eating cake right now?
Holy shit…
He looks around the room at the groups of people enjoying their cake.
Is his soulmate… here? In his class? It would be quite the coincident if his soulmate ISN’T one of his classmates and just so HAPPENS to be eating fucking cake right now!
Katsuki didn’t think he’d be meeting his soulmate so soon! He’s not ready to! He hasn’t starred in his own movie yet!!
...However…
He is kind of intrigued… Maybe a little part of him was scared to meet his soulmate because he had convinced himself that they would be a total stranger. But if his soulmate is one of his classmates, someone he knew and trusted…
Maybe he didn’t have to put off finding them.
Though, now that he thinks about it, it’s hard to pinpoint who his soulmate is exactly out of the 23 other bodies in the room, since it was only himself and Tokoyami who turned down the cake.
He’ll have to narrow down the possibilities to be able to find his soulmate.
Katsuki glances around the room and smiles.
… Maybe the cake isn’t so bad after all.
~~~~~
After cake is, of course, presents. His friends usher him back to the couches and plop what looks like 100 gifts and cards into his lap.
“Open mine first!” Kaminari demands, pushing a bag into Katsuki’s arms. He rolls his eyes but obliges. Inside the bag is a brand new skull t-shirt with some cool as hell drumsticks. Katsuki thanks Kaminari by roughly ruffling his hair.
He gets some weights from Kirishima (“To keep your gains up, man!”), some soft as hell socks from Mina (“Gotta keep warm!”), some extra spicy chili oil from Jirou (“I know what’s up”), and a bunch of other small gifts from the rest of his classmates. The act warms Katsuki’s heart. But only a little bit.
Deku sits down next to Katsuki and shyly slides over his own gift, cheeks red in anticipation. It’s an All Might hoodie, very well made in Katsuki’s opinion. And very soft and warm on the inside. Katsuki’s own cheeks heat up at being exposed for being the fanboy he is.
“Thanks… Uh, thank you, Deku.” he quickly mutters, looking at Deku from the side. Deku lights up immediately.
“You’re welcome, Kacchan!”
~~~~~
The party was winding down, with people beginning to just chill out and talk with friends. Katsuki didn’t mind, as he had parked himself over by the snack table. He was going to try out his new chili oil and no one could stop him!
It was pretty good on the pita chips Koda had brought. He’ll have to ask where he got them.
“Heyyy Bakugou!” a voice appears out of nowhere, effectively spooking Katsuki, making him jump AND drop his chip. The voice began to laugh as Katsuki whirls around to glare at its owner. Of course it was Mina.
“Leave me alone, I’m trying to eat here.” he growls out, turning back to the table to get more chips. Mina pouts, and tries to put her head on his shoulder.
“Aw c’mon, Bakugou! Don’t you wanna hang out with us? We’re about to play twister!”
Katsuki shrugs her off. What’s with everyone and touching him today?
“Not right now, Pinky.” he said, popping another chip in his mouth. Mina eyes the jar in his hand.
“Is it pretty spicy?” she asks, putting her hands behind her back innocently and nodding at the jar. Katsuki gives her a sideways glance.
“If you want to try it, you could just ask. None of this coy bullshit.” he says, holding out the jar. Mina squeals, attracting the attention of the people closest to them, which happened to be Sero, Todoroki, Iida and Deku.
“What’s going on here?” Sero asks as he saunters over, the others in tow. “Is Bakugou threatening your life again?”
Mina laughs and shakes her head.
“Nope! He’s letting me try out his new sauce!” She holds up her own pita chip as proof. Sero’s eyes became as wide as his grin.
“Ooh! Can we try? Can we try?” He begs, clasping his hands and giving Katsuki puppy eyes. Katsuki just rolls his eyes and holds out his jar of chili oil.
“You extras can have ONE dip. No more than that, got it?”
Mina cheers as she dips her chip into the sauce, with Sero, Iida, Todoroki and Deku following close behind.
Katsuki watches as they all devoured their chips with mixed responses. Mina and Todoroki think it was pretty good, while Sero and Iida scrunch their nose.
But it’s Deku who has a REAL reaction to the sauce.
“Ah! Ah! Too hot! Too hot!” he exclaims, fanning his mouth. Katsuki grins, about to berate and laugh at the nerd for having a weak tongue, when he tastes the chili oil.
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
23 now became 5.
It couldn’t be Deku… right? His soulmate couldn’t be the nerd, right?? It was probably Iida, or Todoroki, right???
Poor Deku is still panting, now whining at whoever was closest.
“It’s too hot how can anyone eat this Kacchan PLEASE help me!”
Katsuki is shaken from his thoughts.
Deku did look a little pathetic, with his face red and eyes teary.
It’s kind of a funny sight.
He allows himself to chuckle.
“What, was that too spicy for you?” he asks, poking Deku’s forehead mockingly.
“Kacchan how do I make the spice stop PLEASE!” Deku whines.
Katsuki rolls his eyes, but decides to take mercy on the other.
He ruffles Dekus hair.
“Okay you big baby, if I get you milk will you stop whining?”
“YES yes oh my god PLEASE” Deku begs, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Katsuki shakes his head, chuckling to himself how weak Deku’s tastebuds were.
“Fine, fine. Don’t die while I’m gone!” he yells over his shoulder as he started to walk to the kitchen.
Katsuki can’t help but… wonder.
Could Deku really be his soulmate?
No no, Deku can’t be his soulmate. It’s... impossible. Even though they had long since become friendly with each other, their past was too... messy. There were too many things Katsuki has yet to say to Deku, to apologize for.
But... what if it was Deku? Someone who he’s known practically his whole life, someone who he has been vulnerable with many times before. Someone who trusted Katsuki with probably the biggest secret in his life.
Besides, Katsuki could only muster up friendly affection for the nerd. There’s no way that he felt love for him! Not the way he loves his friends, nor in a familiar way.
But… It's not impossible. It’s not impossible to learn to love Izuku. If Katsuki REALLY tried… he could envision a life with the nerd. He could envision growing old with Deku, and kicking ass with Deku.
Maybe...
He shakes himself out of his thoughts. No, it’s not Deku.
When Katsuki returns with a glass of cold milk, it’s immediately snatched out of his hands. Izuku smiles wide at Katsuki through his panting.
“Thank you, Kacchan!” he beams.
Katsuki’s heart skips a beat.
A quick flash of I can learn to love him invades Katsuki’s thoughts. He stomps it down. No, Deku is not my soulmate.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” he mutters back, rubbing the back of his neck. Deku smiles one more time before he begins to chug the milk.
Katsuki watches, a little impressed, as Deku gulps down the entire glass.
“Geeze, don’t drown yoursel-” Katsuki began to chastise, before he tastes it.
Milk.
He’s tasting MILK.
IT’S DEKU IT’S DEKU WHY IS IT DEKU THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE DEKU IS MY SOULMATE.
No one is aware of Katsuki’s silent moment of panic, all too busy screaming at Deku for chugging a giant glass of milk.
Katsuki wasn’t prepared for this. He wasn’t prepared to meet his soulmate in the next 10 years, let alone on the same day he got his soulmate link!
And his soulmate is DEKU??
I can learn to love him.
Katsuki takes a deep breath. It’s not the end of the world. Deku is your soulmate, and you’re okay.
Fuck, he needs to talk to the nerd.
~~~~~
It’s when everyone starts cleaning that Katsuki spots Deku walking towards the kitchen, carrying a trash bag. He catches up to him and gently grabs his arm.
“Deku… Izuku… Can we talk? After the party?” he asks quietly, trying not to attract too much attention. Izuku looks shocked, but he nods anyways, a small apprehensive smile on his face.
“Yeah, Kacchan… of course.”
He lets Izuku walk away, feeling nervous about what was to co-
SPLAT!
Katsuki stands in the hallway, shocked, as cake slides down his face. Kaminari is snickering to his left, with more cake in his hand.
“You’re a dead motherfucker!” Katsuki roars, beginning to chase Kaminari, who squeals in fear and obvious ellation.
Izuku finds them on the floor, with Katsuki sitting on a defeated and cake-coated Kaminari. He giggles and hands Katsuki a warm washcloth.
“Looks like you two got yourselves in a sticky situation,” Izuku winka. Katsuki grumbles, hoisting himself off of a dazed and messy Kaminari.
“Yeah, some idiot thought it’d be funny to start a food fight.”
Izuku giggles again as Katsuki cleans himself up.
Izuku’s laughter was such a nice sound…
“Hey… Let’s go talk now.” Katsuki avoids Izuku’s eyes, cringing a little when his laughter dries up.
“O-okay…” Izuku mumbles, shoes scuffing the ground.
Katsuki leads the way to the sliding doors, silently thanking the heavens that no one else was outside right then.
He opens the door, waiting for Izuku to shuffle through.
Shit… this was really happening….
“What... what did you want to talk about?” Izuku aska as Katsuki closed the sliding door behind them. Katsuki finally looks up and meets the others eyes. He looks nervous, which is a little hurtful but understandable, given their past.
It’s difficult to say what he wants to say.
What do you even say in these kinds of situations?
“Hey, I know we have a rough past and I’m glad we’re on good terms now. Also I’m your soulmate.”
Katsuki was kind of frozen. At a loss for words. He could see Deku shift around nervously.
“Kacchan? Are you oka-“
“I think we’re soulmates.” Katsuki chokes out.
Deku looks shocked. Then confused. Then shocked again.
“You think we’re... soulmates?”
Katsuki swallows, then nods.
“Ever since this morning I’ve tasted things. Which is super lame, why did that have to be my soulmate link? And all day I’ve tasted the weirdest things, like rubber and wood, by the way, why the fuck are you eating rubber and wood? Anyways it wasn’t until you drank the milk that I figured it out and-“
A hand clamps over his mouth, stopping Katsuki’s rant. He looks at Izuku indignantly, pouting under the hand. Izuku is hiding a smile in his shoulder, silently laughing.
“Kacchan, you’re rambling!” he giggles out. Katsuki huffs through his nose, and then licks Izuku’s hand, making him squeal.
“Eww Kacchan!” he moans, holding his hand away from his body like it was contaminated.
“That’s what you get for making me taste your shitty food all day!” Katsuki grumbles out, folding his arms like a petulant child. Izuku scrunches up his nose in distaste as he wipes his hand on his pants leg.
“You didn’t have to lick me…”
He was whining, but the disgusted look on his face soon melted into something akin to wonder.
“So… we’re soulmates?” Izuku asks, his voice softened considerably. Katsuki felt his face heat up as he looked away.
“Yeah. Got a problem with that?”
Katsuki wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the answer to that.
He hunches his shoulders up around his face, ready for rejection. But all he heard was a quiet laugh as a gentle hand rested on his tense shoulders.
“Not at all. Believe it or not, I’m actually… really happy.”
Katsuki chances a glance at Deku, and saw that the other's face might have been even redder than Katsuki’s, WHICH in turn makes Katsuki’s cheeks heat up even more.
“Is that so…” he mumbles, trying to hide his tomato face. Another giggle, and then a soft hand is turning Katsuki’s head to face Deku’s.
“I’ve… I’ve had the biggest crush on you since first year.” Izuku quietly admits, a shy smile gracing his features.
“I was ready to accept that once I turn 18 I’ll have to give up on my feelings for you, but now…”
The smile grew bigger. Katsuki feels a little breathless with how beautiful it is.
“Now I don’t have to give you up, Kacchan!”
“I… don’t have any… romantic feelings for you…” Katsuki stays, eyes downcast. He glances up, seeing Izuku’s face fall slightly.
“But-!” he exclaims, panicked, “that doesn’t mean I couldn’t learn… to love you…”
To his relief, Izuku smiles again.
“I understand that, Kacchan. Thank you.”
Katsuki smiled back, but it probably came off as more of a grimace.
He’ll get the hang of it one day.
Letting out a sigh, Katsuki leans against the side of the building, leveling Izuku with a playful glare.
“By the way, can you explain the wood and blood I’ve been tasting? Because I cannot fathom why the fuck you’d be bleeding in the middle of class.”
Deku ducks his head, sheepish. He ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit he’s had for ages.
“Ah... I was concentrating too hard in class and accidentally bit my lip...”
Heh. Dumbass.
...He’s biting his lip right now…
Fuck, Katsuki’s face is heating up again! He tries to act nonchalant, turning his face to hide the blush.
“A-And the wood? The rubber?”
Now, Deku looks just downright embarrassed.
“I... tend to chew on my pencils when I get anxious...”
Huh. That was not something Katsuki knew. That’s… kind of cute.
Only kind of.
It was quiet for a minute, just the two of them looking at each other, one with fondness and one with wonder.
“Do you think I’ll taste what you eat when I turn 18?” Izuku blurts out suddenly. Katsuki barked out a startled laugh.
“I have no idea,” he replies
Deku giggled, shrugging his shoulders good naturedly.
“I don’t think it really matters. While this isn’t quite how I imagined finding out who my soulmate is would go, I’m happy that it’s you. And...”
He shyly reaches out and grabs Katsuki’s hand.
“I’m happy that you’re willing to try and love me back.”
He stands on his tip toes and presses a quick kiss to Katsuki’s cheek. Katsuki’s mouth falls open in a gasp.
“A birthday kiss for the birthday boy!” Izuku smiles.
Katsuki is frozen for three seconds before his entire face floods red. He smacks the cheek that was kissed.
“You can’t just kiss me like that!” he exclaims, a giddy feeling rising in his chest. Izuku's smile turns mischievous as he quickly kisses the other cheek, before turning and running away.
“Try and stop me Kacchan!” he yells over his shoulder.
“What the fu-! Get back here!” Katsuki yells back before chasing Izuku across the courtyard, both of their laughter echoing through the night.
Katsuki can definitely learn to love his nerd.