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There is a lot one can save on. Take less showers. Waste less food. Do not use public transport or a car to go to work, but go by bike instead. All things most ordinary people can do. These were things Izuku wouldn’t mind cutting back with. It was better for the planet as well, which was a big plus in his regard. How he lived now went beyond anything he had ever imagined.
When Katsuki proposed that they should live together right out of high school, Izuku was over the moon. Rooming with his childhood friend was a secret little dream of his. No one could have warned him about what that would entail.
“Kacchan, did you check the eggs before you took them home from the supermarket?”
His roommate rounded the corner to the kitchen, staring at the carton of eggs sitting on the counter. Izuku had taken it out to cook himself an egg and as soon as his eye fell on the one that was broken, his heart made a little jump inside his chest. It was the little things he could now enjoy. Things like these where he could throw it back into Katsuki’s face.
“The fuck you talking about?”
An amused twinkle had taken over Izuku’s eyes, but he kept his face neutral, knowing it would only piss off Katsuki more. “One’s broken. It means you have an egg less because you didn’t check.”
The narrow of his deep red eyes said Katsuki wanted to scold him, but Izuku knew he had no right to do so. Last time it had been Izuku’s egg that was broken and Katsuki had mocked him for days for that. This was simply a little payback.
“Fucking fine,” Katsuki spat. “Eat your dumb egg. But don’t you dare touch my fucking milk. Your loss you didn’t bring any when round face bought you coffee.”
If it was not eggs, it was something else Izuku had failed at. It’s not like Izuku wanted to live like this or found it necessary, but Katsuki had drilled it into him. Had made this all a challenge and Izuku wanted to win at this stupid game they were playing. Show that he could live on even less money than Katsuki did, even if that were something quite difficult to manage.
One thing Katsuki had already blamed him for, was when Ochako had invited him for a cup of coffee to catch up. Izuku had opted out of the coffee and had chosen only some warm water, which was free at this place, and stuck to that. Ochako had not paid for Izuku’s drink, because there was nothing to pay for.
But even if Izuku had not gotten anything of the menu that cost anything, he still should’ve grabbed a handful of those little milk and sugar packs, so they could use it at home. A line Izuku didn’t dare cross, especially not in front of one of his closest friends. They already thought Katsuki and Izuku were a strange pair, their living environment not very inviting to… anyone, but they didn’t even know half of it.
After baking his single egg in the leftover grease from last nights cooking, Izuku went on with his day.
With their planned schedules on when someone could use the bathroom, Izuku had to hurry up and catch his spot or he would have to wait till the next day before he had his opportunity to shower. Katsuki loved cutting off his water supply if he was late, telling him he was wasting water at certain times. Accuse him of wasting ten bucks or something alike.
Clothes still on Izuku stepped into the shower, closing the curtain behind him. Though it was just a piece of orange tarp Katsuki had once found in the dumpster had figured it would be good enough once he rinsed the dirt from the bottom.
They still had it after three years, so he was not entirely wrong.
Shifting the bucket on the floor, Izuku made room for himself and started the shower. Looking up he stared right at the back of a soda bottle. When they had moved in, the showerhead had been broken off. Katsuki had the ingenious plan to grab a soda bottle the last tenants had left behind and pierce little holes into them. The duct tape had worn off many times, but Katsuki had refused to buy a new showerhead. This worked better and was a lot cheaper.
The insides of the bottle looked a little grimy, but it was better to ignore that.
Grabbing the small soap bottle from the shelf, Izuku squirted a drop onto his hand. No more than the size of a pea. It is all he needed according to Katsuki. This was what he washed his body and hair with, and of course his clothes he was still wearing.
They saved so much money when they didn’t use the washing machine.
All their soaps and other bathroom necessities came from hotels. They never bought any toilet paper, toothbrushes, or even razors. If they were running out of things, one of them would take on a hero mission out of their region, forcing the agency to pay for a hotel. The suitcase they took with them would be mostly empty, but when it came back, it was filled with everything they needed for a few months.
That was one of the things Izuku found a little smart, even if it did feel like stealing a little bit. Katsuki simply said they were factored into the room price, so the agency was paying for these things.
A plus was when the agency chose a hotel with breakfast in the morning. The amounts of butter they could take. And those little packets of jelly.
Katsuki was a lot bolder in this prospect and even filled containers with cornflakes when he had the chance. Izuku was not allowed to eat it though, because he never brought home some. A bit of a loss, but enough to push Izuku over the line.
Suddenly the water stopped running, the last few drops landing on top of Izuku’s head. The remainders of soap were forgotten, Izuku knowing this was a fight he’d never win. He had gone over the three-minute mark and Katsuki had shut off the water supply from outside. The only battle Izuku had won, was when he had gotten three minutes instead of two. It was the little things that counted.
Stepping out of the shower, Izuku made sure not to look down into the toilet. Tomorrow was flushing day. The stench was already quite unbearable, but the build up of… things, was much worse. It was best to ignore that.
His wet clothes were taken off, Izuku forcing the fabric to slide over his body, which it reluctantly did. Those would be hung up outside on the clothing line and ready to be worn again tomorrow. This way one only needed a few outfits and could have them last for an awfully long time.
Izuku still did better than Katsuki, who would leave the tags on most of his clothes, because when he was done with them, he would go back to the store and return them. The idea of that was absurd, but every time he had done so, Katsuki had gotten his money back and could get a whole new wardrobe. Izuku assumed it was the yelling that helped him in that regard, the staff too afraid to even say no to him. Katsuki could be a very scary man.
Carding a hand through his hair Izuku tried to pull out some of the knots. A few months back he had broken his last brush and now there was nothing to aid him there. Getting a new one was not an option, because he would get another mocking treatment from Katsuki, which was too tiresome to deal with.
The door to the bathroom was flung open, Katsuki completely disregarding Izuku’s naked state. Even Izuku was not embarrassed anymore, Katsuki doing this on the regular. Boundaries had long evaporated, which was not too odd with the way they were living. Izuku knew enough about Katsuki’s bowel system that he was comfortable with everything.
“Get the bucket,” he ordered, pointing at the one sitting in the shower. “Gotta do the dishes.”
With a sigh Izuku handed it to Katsuki, the water at least still sort of warm now. Why throw away this water when it can be used for something else as well? All Izuku did was clean himself with it, so the water is not dirty at all.
A final look at his wet hair and Izuku left the bathroom. There were no towels to dry off with. Airdrying was what they did. Walk around the apartment a little and everything was great.
Izuku’s hair had never looked worse. His friends commented on it constantly, telling him he should use different products, get a better dryer, do something different. If only they knew that Izuku did none of those things in the first place. Those things cost too much money and Katsuki argued that his hair looked good and he didn’t use anything, not even a brush. Then why was Izuku left with the fussy mess that would obscure his eyes until Katsuki grabbed the scissors and snipped away some parts.
Walking into the kitchens Izuku watched Katsuki wash out several containers they used on a daily basis. They would all be stuffed with leftovers soon again.
“Got you three containers today,” Katsuki said matter-of-factly. “Go ask those pricks at work if they will finish their lunch. And you’re not getting food with you today. One of those fuckers is celebrating their birthday today and you’re gonna fill up on cake.”
Such an easy order it was. And it was not the first time that all Izuku had for lunch was cake. Everyone chuckled awkwardly when he took two, sometimes even three pieces of it. Especially when he didn’t even really know the person that was having a birthday. But they were all much too polite to comment on it.
There was a time where Izuku felt horrible for doing this, but if he didn’t take an extra piece of cake, he would not get in enough nutrition. It’s not like Katsuki would let him eat more dinner when he came home. Now there was no shame left, punched out by the few times he had gone to bed hungry.
Looking over at their calendar hanging from the wall, Izuku’s eyes fell on today. “You have a meeting today,” he stated, glancing at the word written down in black marker. The white board Katsuki had taken from his parent’s home when he moved out and it still came in handy now. Even if the inked was almost gone.
“What of it?”
Izuku trailed to a particular cabinet and grabbed a special container from it. “You take this one and take the cookies and whatnot they serve. We don’t want stale cake again like last time.”
Only one of their containers actually closed off completely. The rest had little tears in the lid or one of the snaps to close it off was broken. It meant that most of the things they preserved were not kept in an airtight space. Apparently, the thing they valued most were the cookies not going stale too quick. Everything else didn’t matter.
The way Katsuki scrunched up his nose at the memory of the cake was a clear indicator of that.
“Hope those assholes bring some macarons. That pretentious shit is good,” Katsuki commented, leaving the dishes to airdry as well.
“I just want some lemon cake. Get two pieces if they have them.”
“Then you better come back with some good shit for dinner tonight,” Katsuki grumbled, showing he did want things to be evenly distributed. Even if Izuku was the one begging for leftovers again.
An eyeroll was hidden behind Izuku’s too long bangs, turning his head away from his cheap roommate. “Yaoyorozu-kun is joining us today, so she’ll have some good lunch with her like always,” Izuku said, adding under his breath “she thinks we are broke, so she always makes extra.”
Thinking of the look of pity he would be receiving again, Izuku really did not look forward to starting his day at the agency.
Katsuki stuffed Izuku’s backpack with containers, adding two extras just because he was seeing Momo today. They really knew how to play their friends, which was horrible to think about.
“You should schedule another fan meeting,” Katsuki said, continuing this conversation while Izuku was still drying. His skin now just felt clammy. “They like seeing the fucking face of Deku and since they know you like Katsudon, they bring it to every meet.”
“My agent says I shouldn’t take it in case it contains poison,” Izuku commented, knowing this is a battle he already lost.
Katsuki clacked his tongue, looking over his shoulder as if Izuku had gone mad. “Why the hell would they poison your fucking face? Just take the damn food and drop that you like spicy curry. Get me something good too. I don’t need Katsudon.”
“Get your own fan meet-up,” Izuku interjected, not wanting to use his fans for Katsuki’s gain.
“As if those fuckers want to meet me. And they definitely don’t want to give me food,” Katsuki muttered. “All they want is punch me in the face or get punched by me in the face.”
Not a strange statement. Izuku agreed with the wanting to punch Katsuki in the face. He wanted to do that more and more each day.
“Now get fucking dressed and go to work. You know they will cut into your paycheck when you come in late.”
Izuku just turned around and walked to the single bedroom in the apartment. There was indeed only one bedroom in the whole apartment. Both slept there, sharing the bed. Another thing that surprised Izuku completely. There had never been hints that Katsuki wanted to be more than friends before they moved in together. After they moved in together Izuku realised Katsuki had no such wishes anyway. He just wanted to live cheaply and having a roommate did bite into his costs.
Not that they really had a bed, or any furniture for that matter. There was a mattress on the floor that they shared, each having a side. Two flimsy pillows that desperately needed to be thrown out, but Katsuki said they were perfectly fine to use still. They did not own a duvet. Only a throw Katsuki had bought at a flea market once.
Their clothes were hanging from racks Katsuki had gotten from a clothing shop that was going bankrupt. They had been left out on the curb and Katsuki had instantly rolled them towards their apartment. Sort of convenient, but also an eyesore.
The living room had two garden chairs, one for each of them, and three wooden planks nailed together to act as a small table. It also functioned as their dining table or their tv stand. Not that they owned a television. If they would watch anything, it would be done on Izuku’s laptop that he had gotten from the agency, and the battery had to be charged at the office. As soon as it ran out of juice, movie time was over.
“I’m off, Kacchan,” Izuku called back, glancing one final time through the home he had been sharing with Katsuki for years now.
The wallpaper had been peeling since they had moved in, the appliances had been worn out since the beginning, the stains in the carpet were of very questionable nature. The electricity was faulty. The water supply was bad. This place was a literal dump.
Izuku often wondered how the rent could be so high, considering both he and Katsuki paid quite a fair amount to even stay here. It was close to the city centre, which was a convenience. It is why Izuku had chosen to walk to the agency every day, rather than waste money on public transport. But the neighbourhood was not too great, nor did it offer anything nice, at all.
In the hallway he put on his old worn-out red sneakers he had been wearing since his UA days. There were holes in the bedding, but they still fitted his feet well, so he did not complain.
As he sat there, getting his shoes on, the mail came in for that day, falling through the gap in the door. Without much thought he eyed the stack, flipping through several envelopes when a particular one caught his eye.
It was an official letter from their landlord, so something he was interested in too, even if Katsuki handled all their finances. He tore it open, removing the letter form the envelope, and slowly started reading. The further he got, the more anger seemed to bubble up.
Izuku had learned when he moved in with Katsuki that his roommate was a very big and obnoxious cheapskate. The guy would do anything to save money, no matter the cost. He would make use of their friends, of their work, of their parents. Everyone that would be willing to help them, he would get to. Izuku was aware of that.
He thought he had learned all the tricks by now. Could measure up to Katsuki and had grasped the challenge in saving the most money.
But Katsuki had him beat, hadn’t he?
“You motherfucker!” Izuku cursed, jumping up from the floor. He ran back into the apartment, throwing open the kitchen door as he stared in startled red eyes.
Holding out the letter he had just read with a shaky hand, Izuku pointed at a small section. The part where it mentioned their rent was going up next month with a few bucks. Nothing too much. Nothing to worry about.
The one thing that Izuku aggravated though… The thing he could never ignore again…
“I pay more rent than we even need to pay for this shithole?!”