Archive of Our Own ^beta

And Kacchan never offered his.

Since they were young, Kacchan had this might to him. An unrivaled confidence, with a quirk that only bolstered it as if to reward him for his words. His confidence was a result of knowing his worth rather than mere cockiness, and as a child, Izuku respected that. Kacchan lacked humility, but in truth, he had no need for it other than to please those around him. And Kacchan could care less when it came to other’s comfort, long as he was undeniably number one.

He didn’t need to reach out, nor did he need anyone to reach out to him. He could stand on his own, because he despised being viewed as weak. He remained strong so no one had to worry. Most people understood that.

Izuku didn’t. He was always offering a hand, even for the most innocuous things like showing Kacchan a new hero card. Kacchan was powerful, someone he respected and he wanted to aid when he thought there was trouble. No part of him saw Kacchan as weak or unable to hold his own, contrary to Kacchan’s belief. Izuku just wanted to be a good friend.

It took a long time for Izuku to realize Kacchan would never take his hand. It took even longer to realize that no matter how long Izuku remained on the asphalt with skinned knees, Kacchan would never offer his.

Kacchan carved his way through life, creating a path for himself instead of falling into the mold society left for him.

That’s what drew Izuku to Kacchan. How he could travel through life by defying societal norms and what they believed he should be.

Izuku took his shot at it. Defying all odds to become a hero, but society wasn’t as kind to those born without power. He clung to his dreams but every word society threw at him urged him to let go. Impossible. Too dangerous. Become a police officer. Get a normal job. Just give up.

He didn’t. He got a stroke of good luck and was given the opportunity to prove himself. He saved people, was finally able to protect those he wanted to protect. He defied everyone who doubted him, school, doctors, his own mother, especially Kacchan.

Kacchan remained on the forefront of his mind a lot. Izuku observed him, because no matter how much Kacchan hated his guts, Izuku still wanted to learn everything he could from him. Izuku knew Kacchan’s style, how he’d react half the time, he just knew Kacchan. Better than arguably anyone. Not just the facts. His personality, ideals, the kind of person Kacchan is, was, and was becoming over time.

Whether they liked it or not, they had a connection. Some force always brought them together, in the same direction like they couldn’t spend one moment apart. Same schools, same classes, Izuku and Kacchan couldn’t wash their hands of each other no matter how hard they scrubbed.

Even on a whole island, they consistently found one another.

It sat in the distance, a shadow against the purple sunset. It was a mere speck now, a memory, like so many accumulated over the school year.

He gave his sore, wounded arm a gentle squeeze. He couldn’t push his arms any farther, he only had two or three hits until they were out of commission for good. Fresh scars decorated Izuku, some from laser burns, some from electrical shock, some from his own quirk. Each fight, Izuku had to strain against the confines of his quirk and surpass the limits his body could handle. Nine was an especially powerful foe, the one who undoubtedly proved the most troublesome. And if it wasn’t just All for One that could steal quirks, there was no knowing how many more were out there.

The silhouette of Nabu Island phased into the sea until all was left were the rolling waves. They had four hours until they made it to the mainland. Some students left to retire, while others took a free moment to catch up or sunbathe with what little light remained on the deck. Izuku perched on the upper level of the ship for most of the time. The island captured Izuku’s eyes, telling him to look at it and only it while the events replayed in his mind over and over.

Fighting. Blood. Power. Mahoro. Katsuma. Nine. Kacchan.

It wasn’t just visual. He heard. Screams, encouragement, the crackling flames and the thunderous crash of lightning. He felt. Searing pain, a surge of power, an iron grip on his body with ribs just barely holding up. He smelt. Burning, charred land and roasted skin. And tasted. The dirt and blood nestled in dry, cracked lips. The events repeated over and over again until the island disappeared and the experience was temporarily put to rest.

He hadn’t moved a muscle aside from squeezing the railing, leaving his palms red and aching. He couldn’t so much as twitch, a constant shadow hovering over him.

Izuku wanted to rid himself of this stagnate state, so he moved. From the salty taste of the sea on deck to inside, where the air was considerably clearer and Izuku could think in the privacy of his own room.

The fluorescent lights irritated Izuku’s eyes. Too bright, too warm... The heat they radiated seemed to burn Izuku’s skin. He was hot. So hot, and he wasn’t even clad in layers. But the lights were so blinding and descended upon them to melt him.

His body hunched in on itself, eyes falling. It’s like his body couldn’t differentiate between memory and reality. He was being zapped from the inside out, crushed...

He stumbled into some heavy object and gasped, finding his balance. His hazy vision cleared and behind the fog was Kacchan, hands deep in his pockets and sporting a nasty glare.

“Watch where you’re going!” he spat, then he realized it was Izuku. His anger was replaced by a freezing chill. It instantly fanned the flames upon Izuku’s skin.

“Sorry, Kacchan...” He shuffled his feet, chewing on his inner cheek. That cold look was so far apart from Kacchan’s usual fiery rage Izuku was still working on how to handle it. Why did he have to bump into Kacchan, of all people?

“It’s you...” Kacchan mumbled, taking a good look at Izuku. It wasn’t the norm less Kacchan were sizing him up for a fight and that definitely wasn’t on Izuku’s to-do list. He should probably formulate some kind of escape...

“Y-Yeah, sorry, I’ll uh... leave now.” Izuku skittered past Kacchan before he could make more of a mess of this situation. But Kacchan got a hold of his wrist before he got far and there was no escaping.

“You’re coming with me, got it?” Kacchan commanded, and without another word, began dragging Izuku behind him with disregards to Izuku’s panic. Izuku knew there was no use in arguing, but that didn’t stop the unbridled nausea welling up in him. Izuku didn’t want to fight, not now, at least.

“Hurry it up!” Kacchan growled, shoving Izuku into a room and watching him stumble. He scrambled to straighten himself up while Kacchan slammed the door behind him. A room. With a bed and a window and a messy red suitcase that had a few clothes poking through the zipper.

Kacchan’s room.

Every part of Izuku, from his toes to the muscles in his face tensed to painful levels. Kacchan didn’t talk to Izuku much, although ever since they fought together, they’ve managed very brief conversations that didn’t end in a screaming fest. It was still new to Izuku and he was trying to juggle how to just talk to Kacchan normally again after years of terrible communication.

“You still got that damn quirk of yours, don’t you? So? What’s up with it?” Kacchan asked plainly, taking a seat on his bed. His face was impassive and he watched Izuku keenly like there was a chance Izuku would lie. As if he could.

“Ah but...” If Izuku recalled, Kacchan had forgotten all about it. He woke up with mangled arms and acted as if he had no clue what caused it.

“I forgot for a little, alright? It took some time to come back after all that. But I remember now. So talk,” Kacchan interrupted. He could read Izuku like a book, couldn’t he? Of course. It was Kacchan, what couldn’t he do...?

“I don’t know,” Izuku responded honestly. He had a million theories and All Might even had some of his own but neither of them really knew. All Might never shared his quirk with anyone, to Izuku’s knowledge.

“I thought I gave it to you,” he continued, digging his nails into his palms, “I really thought I did. But... it didn’t stick. I think it had to do with One for All’s predecessors. Maybe one of them had a quirk where you could share quirks between people and offered it to me,” Izuku guessed. He thought it was merely One for All that was passed down, but Nine said something while Izuku was down. About being like him, about not being able to steal Izuku’s quirk because of possibly having multiple quirks. So maybe it combined all their strength, or even their previous quirks. But part of them lived in its power, and the parts of them that resided decided to offer its power to Kacchan while remaining in Izuku.

“So you’re saying you’ve got all the regular quirks those guys were born with too?” Kacchan raised a brow, pulling up a knee. Izuku hummed and opened his fists, just letting power surge through. Still there, embers burning brightly in its prime.

“Maybe. Or maybe it has to do with the parts of people that live on in this power. I don’t know. All I know is that we shared it.” That’s right. It’s a power they shared, something Kacchan willingly took up. They...

Izuku’s eyes flickered to Kacchan, just briefly. Kacchan caught the gaze and made no further comment than a small hum of acknowledgement. He watched Izuku. Just waiting.

“I was wrong,” Izuku choked out, mouth dry. He licked his lips but somehow that just made it worse. Kacchan tilted his head, a shadow falling over his eyes so only a glint of red peeked through.

“You’ve changed since we were kids, in a good way,” he hastened. It came to him so suddenly but he’d known forever. The changes were subtle and hard to spot because Kacchan had that same unwavering confidence to him but so much changed.

At one point, he and Izuku couldn’t so much as work with one another without breaking into a match of ‘who can yell louder’. Kacchan couldn’t be paid to work alongside Izuku, to let go of his humility and allow himself to receive assistance.

But he and Kacchan worked so well on the island. There wasn’t any prompting or forcing, Kacchan and Izuku fell into a natural rhythm that complimented one another. The beginning was a little rocky, but when it counted, he and Izuku knew how to maneuver as a team. They believed in one another’s strength and abilities. They believed in one another as people.

Kacchan had trusted Izuku. He risked everything, reached for Izuku. For the first real time, Kacchan reached of his own accord.

If this incident happened at the beginning of the school year, Kacchan never would’ve worked so well with Izuku, if at all. He never would’ve listened to Izuku’s idea or taken such a risk.

And maybe this change only had to do with Kacchan’s teamwork and trust rather than his personality, but Izuku noticed his feelings towards Kacchan changed too.

He was more relaxed. Sure, he still got tense and avoided negative interaction but they could stand together now. They could be around one another without bad blood and without Izuku fearing he’d get blasted into next tomorrow. Izuku didn’t flinch every time Kacchan called his name and didn’t jump every time Kacchan made a move. Izuku was warming up to Kacchan too, slowly but surely.

It didn’t change the past. It didn’t erase the number of times Kacchan beat Izuku senseless, nor the number of times Kacchan tormented Izuku for his own twisted amusement and due to stupid misconceptions.

It didn’t change the fact that Kacchan told him to kill himself.

At least, Izuku couldn’t imagine Kacchan saying that now. And maybe, with time, they could develop more of a healthy rivalry instead of the unhealthy dynamic they’ve danced to this entire time.

Kacchan fell backwards and sank into the mattress with a scoff. “Of course I have. You were just too dumb to realize it.”

“Yeah...” Izuku sighed. Lots of things have changed between them. Izuku didn’t know where he wanted to stand with Kacchan. He didn’t know what he sought from their relationship and he doubted Kacchan knew either.

“So One for All can be passed between people. Some quirk you’ve got,” Kacchan mumbled vacantly, eyes drifting to the ceiling. He went quiet, prompting Izuku to take a quick look. Kacchan most likely noticed, but didn’t return the gesture. That was probably the end of this conversation.

Izuku should leave. But something about being around Kacchan moderately relaxed him. Maybe because Kacchan was the one he fought with, the one who always reappeared over and over in his mind along with their battle against Nine.

Each step Izuku took echoed in his ears, while Kacchan ignored him, until Izuku was beside him, and Kacchan’s head snapped to. He snarled like a caged tiger with a gesture that communicated ‘get the hell out before I kick your ass,’ but Izuku remained.

His vision was fuzzy, light around the edges. He was out of it a lot recently. He could focus when it counted but in select moments some silly thing would make a noise and suddenly he couldn’t breathe and his power surged up on full throttle.

“Does it bother you?” Izuku looked, looked with fog shrouding the edges of his eyes, a buzz in his ears. Everything hurt. Burned. Ached. Pierced. He hurt so much even after being healed to perfection. It’s like their work did nothing at all.

“What, your quirk? Of course not. I don’t need some power that’s been ran through to become number one,” Kacchan growled, clearly taking insult.

“The fight,” Izuku clarified, squeezing his own wrist to keep his mind focused, to not melt into the white haze and let his senses return him to a mess of brittle rock, screaming, and broken arms. “It won’t leave my head. It keeps playing over and over, like I’m there.” That’s an oversimplification. At times he could barely sleep because he’d wake up with a powered up hand and burned covers.

“No, not really. That fight mess with your head or something?” Kacchan raised a brow, and Izuku just wanted to crawl under the bed and just hide. Maybe it was silly, everyone fought their hardest during that fight. Why was Izuku the only one getting so worked up over it? He had so many battles, like with Stain or Chisaki or Dave’s hire. He couldn’t let this one battle get to him. He’d have so many more in the future.

“I’m probably overreacting, huh? Sorry...” Izuku laughed, turning away. Kacchan may have fought alongside him, but he was the last person to reach out to. Izuku knew he wouldn’t get it, or even care, a part of him just... felt safe, weird as it was. Maybe a part of his brain associated Kacchan with power after that fight or was still attached like the schoolboy he was years ago. In any case, he should get going. He would sleep, and he wouldn’t stress.

“Wait, Deku,” Kacchan ordered when Izuku stood and made his departure. He kept walking.

“I said wait you damn nerd!” Kacchan leaped up and grabbed Izuku’s arm. Izuku couldn’t keep himself from shaking this time, from letting his head fall and his eyes waver.

“I’ll get out of your hair Kacchan, so—“

“Shut up. You talk too damn much. Sit.” Kacchan pulled Izuku right back to the bed and forcefully Izuku down with a look that emphasized to not move an inch. Kacchan scooted further onto the bed and rested his head against the pillow, crossing a leg over a bent knee.

“Um...” Izuku squeezed his knees, body rigid. He glanced to the side briefly at Kacchan, who still had an unpleasant aura to him, then looked back down. Izuku’s shoulders remained stiff.

“Talk. That’s what you wanted to do, right? So fucking do it and quit sitting there acting all clueless!” Kacchan kicked Izuku’s leg to prove a point. This was... the weirdest negative-positive encouragement Izuku’s ever received.

“Well... um... I think about it a lot. It’s more like my mind forces me to, I guess...” Izuku began. Kacchan surprisingly didn’t interrupt, he stared elsewhere while Izuku let his words melt into the air. It went on for at least ten minutes, Izuku recounting what they both clearly experienced and a few extra things on how he could hardly sleep, how he was even more jumpy because he feared something would trigger his mind and it’d spiral it into chaos.

“And what, it’s been that way ever since? You didn’t think to go to a counselor or something? You really are an idiot,” Kacchan responded ruthlessly. Izuku flinched, gritting his teeth. Okay, that was fair, but he was a hero. All Might’s been through hundreds of dangerous situations and he didn’t act like that. All those pro heroes on the top didn’t have recurring thoughts about their battles, at least, not on the surface...

It wasn’t like this with other battles so what was so different? Izuku risked his life all the same in those battles but they didn’t plague nearly every living day like Nine’s did.

He just needed to let it sit, was all.

Izuku’s body naturally gravitated towards Kacchan, who had no reaction aside from his usual scowl. When Izuku looked, his mind constantly made comparisons to Kacchan then, arm broken, hairs standing on their ends, and the near limitless power he had with his quirk combined with One for All. The jagged irises of his eyes that burned bright under the shadows of the storm and the pale electricity that visibly surged through and around him.

Him desperately stretching to grab Izuku’s hand, knowing the implications of  both of their fates.

“You reached out,” Izuku whispered. Kacchan probably thought nothing of it but it meant so much to Izuku it almost baffled him how much that memory revisited on its own accord.

“What, when I took your power? Don’t think it would’ve worked otherwise,” Kacchan grumbled. Yeah. Kacchan didn’t think much of it, had no clue just how much it meant. Izuku almost wanted to let the whole thing go.

That was the norm. Leaving each other in the dark and then acting surprised when they had no clue what the other was thinking. Was it even possible to properly communicate like normal people?

“It’s the first time you ever really did that. Trusting my plan, let alone something so reckless. I...” Izuku’s fingers itched. He gave in and let a hand rest on Kacchan’s knee. It slowly slid down to his shin. “It meant a lot. You never would’ve done that in the beginning, but you trusted me.”

“I did it because I knew that’s how we’d win. That’s all.” Kacchan’s face scrunched up. Izuku didn’t move his hand.

“That too! You used ‘we’. You thought of us fighting together as a team,” Izuku urged, leaning closer in his excitement. A visible vein popped out from Kacchan’s forehead and he growled, kicking Izuku’s hand away.

“Quit looking into everything I say!”

“Don’t you get it? If you say it unconsciously it means it’s true! So you really thought you were fighting with me. Us, together,” Izuku continued. Something between them was changing, morphing into something unlike anything they’ve had before.

“So what? What’s that gotta do with anything huh? I wouldn’t fight with you if I had a choice!” Kacchan sat up, back to his usual yelling. It was enough to make Izuku jump back, but Kacchan didn’t seem any more violent than usual, just irritated.

“You still did,” Izuku sighed, crossing his arms. Yeah, whether Kacchan wanted to or not, they fought together. So Kacchan would just have to live knowing he fought side-by-side with the guy he couldn’t stand most.

“Shut up,” Kacchan replied. Izuku was probably pushing it, taking advantage of this new ability to just sit and talk. After sixteen years, he was pretty sure he had the right.

So he stayed. He didn’t move and after five minutes of silence Kacchan got the idea that Izuku had no intention of leaving. Izuku was too lost in his own mind, drifting from thoughts of Kacchan to other things. He always let it go back to Kacchan because it kept his mind from wandering too far off the edge.

Izuku gazed at his arms. Scars, just more to add to the plethora he already attained this year. He glanced at Kacchan, whose breathing was steady and eyes were shut, like he were planning to sleep.

Izuku felt the intense urge to just touch. To feel every inch of fixed broken skin on Kacchan’s arm and he couldn’t stop himself.

“What the hell—“

“We match.” Izuku whispered, gazing at the similar scars upon both their fingers, the wounds they fused together. He held up Kacchan’s arm for them both to see, pointing at the pale, soft scar tissue.

“No shit, we both got beat up in the battle. Or did you forget everyone else fought too?”

“We’re connected in this way.” Izuku continued. Kacchan growled at being ignored but Izuku could only compare their arms, see what they shared.

“What are you—“ Kacchan began, but froze. The same way, Izuku felt his spine straighten. A soft hum, barely there, sizzled through Kacchan. A light vibration and pull, a feeling of familiarity that drew Izuku to him. It was so faint it was hardly there but it hummed insistently. Humming and humming and humming.

“We’re... connected...” As if due to some otherworldly pull, he was drawing his other hand to Kacchan’s. Kacchan prepared to yank it away, then he slowly looked up and something flashed in his eyes. He held up his hand and met halfway, watching Izuku, as always.

“Can I still use—“

“No, I don’t think so. But...” Izuku still felt it. That familiarity he felt when he fought alongside All Might. Now with Kacchan. Before Izuku knew it, his hands were sneaking up, past Bakugo’s scarred fingertips over the roughly healed skin of his wrists and forearms.

Kacchan didn’t stop him.

“Your power is so fucking weird,” he hissed, turning his head away. He was so weirdly calm and maybe it was because this experience was new to him too. This sort of shared power shooting through them.

Izuku ran his thumbs over skin, the feel changing from smooth to textured. The power was latent, not sparking or flashing like usual, but still odd. Izuku would definitely tell All Might later.

“Kacchan...” Izuku mumbled, then he peered at Kacchan, who wouldn’t spare him a glance. He wouldn’t look. But he stayed with that usual irritated look, and Izuku thought he could see Kacchan’s jaw tighten, just slightly.

Then it dawned on Izuku how he was touching Kacchan—What he was doing.

His face burned and he felt a miserable shame well up in him. What was he even thinking, just touching Kacchan like that?! He should give Kacchan space, apologize for doing this much. But his body didn’t want to move, and part of Izuku didn’t want to either.

His fingers moved, and it was like the power sizzled through them, following through Kacchan’s skin. It was a surreal experience and he repeated it over and over until he heared a grunt from Kacchan, trying to get Izuku’s attention.

Kacchan began to say something but Izuku’s thumbs were already pressing and he was letting a tiny bit of his power surge through his fingers, just one percent. Bakugo’s skin responded in turn and vibrated, not coming alive, but acknowledging Izuku’s strength.

It was... pleasant.

Kacchan’s eyes were jumping between Izuku’s hands and Izuku’s face.

“So what, it’s still just... there? What the hell is going on, Deku?” Kacchan cursed. Izuku wished he had a response. But all he could tell is that when he used power near Kacchan, Kacchan’s body responded in this weird way that sent tingles all throughout Izuku.

“It reacts...” Izuku mumbled, not particularly to Kacchan. He experimentally tried a little more power, five percent and damn—that was definitely too much. Both he and Kacchan flinched and Izuku couldn’t say if it felt good or bad. Overwhelming at most. But Kacchan’s skin did light up, just faintly, so Izuku was intrigued.

“From the way your skin reacts it looks like part of One for All still resides in you. But most if not all of the power’s still in me so are they residual flames like All Might? But if that’s the cas—“

“Shut it!” Kacchan hissed, wringing his arms from Izuku’s grasp. He rubbed them together and flexed his hand a little, then let a small explosion blast from his palm. Satisfied, he snorted and rubbed a wrist, thumbing a faded scar. “So it just reacts to you.”

“Ah...” Of course, that’s what Kacchan was testing. Is it a reaction to Izuku’s power or did Kacchan still hold some of his own? What if Kacchan could use a little of One for All while Izuku used it? That’d be huge!

“So—“

“Kacchan,” Izuku urged, grabbing hold of a wrist again. “Let me see...” Just how much power they could take, how much it’d take to test this theory. Izuku focused, focused hard on just using a small percent of his power, maybe three percent, and feeling the heavy buzzing and watching Kacchan’s arm faintly go alight. Izuku tried to ignore the tingle, a more pleasant version of pins and needles that overtook his arm. Kacchan’s wrist quivered ever so slightly in Izuku’s grasp. Seemed he felt it too.

“Dammit, Deku. You use power and it reacts to some in me, are we done?” Kacchan twisted his head away so Izuku couldn’t read his face and tugged on his arm. Izuku obediently let go, but leaned forward.

Something about testing this power was really intriguing. But it was Kacchan that made it so interesting. The way he avoided Izuku, but Izuku was sure he could see a faint red to Kacchan’s cheeks.

Anger. Kacchan didn’t always get red when he got mad but he had his moments. Still, usually Kacchan didn’t turn his face away for something like that. That usually happened when he was being prickly or, in extremely rare cases, embarrassed, but Izuku could count on one hand the number of times he’s seen that.

Kacchan sat there so close and while Izuku should leave and give him space, Izuku just...

There was this pull. There was always this pull to Kacchan but he thought it was stronger. Not due to some power but the way they’ve developed over the years, the people they were now...

This feeling was new. Definitely new and definitely something Izuku hasn’t explored before, not in depth, and definitely not with Kacchan.

It was so strange.

But Kacchan suddenly took hold of Izuku’s tie and tugged him closer until their lips collided, turning Izuku’s brain into a puddle of nothing.

Chaste, a harsh mesh of lips that could hardly be called a kiss before Kacchan shoved Izuku away with way more force than necessary. Izuku scrambled to keep himself from falling onto the floor, sputtering while Kacchan held up an obscene gesture.

“Fuck off.”

That was... not what Izuku would’ve deigned to say.

Not that Izuku could properly speak. He was still processing what just happened. Really. Kacchan just... huh? Izuku couldn’t begin to ask where it came from and his mind raced with a billion reasons, most of them awful, but Kacchan wasn’t the type to take dares or really just bring his lips near Izuku’s in general...

It was way too sudden, way way too sudden. Izuku wasn’t prepared in the least and his face was a bed of flames. Kacchan. Kacchan. He was the last person Izuku expected for sure.

But what he did know, if anything, was that... He didn’t hate it.

At all.

In fact, he sort of...

That was probably bad. Considering this was Kacchan of all people and they had the messiest relationship Izuku’s ever dealt with. They fought constantly, never saw eye to eye, and even with similar goals, took vastly different approaches and were different people in general. Really, the only thing they had in common was their admiration of All Might.

But Izuku didn’t hate that kiss. And regardless of Kacchan’s... confusing feelings, Izuku definitely didn’t hate him.

This was so weird. What was Izuku even supposed to do after that?

“Uh... Kacchan?”

“You heard what I said.”

“Does that mean you uh—“ Yeah, Izuku knew better than to finish that sentence. So he tried another. “I mean... Can we do that again?”

Kacchan looked at him. Izuku’s eyes trembled and he tried to keep his mouth still. This wasn’t too much, right? Kacchan kissed him first, so...

Kacchan appeared satisfied with what he gathered and beckoned with his forefinger.

Izuku stepped forward robotically, limbs stiff as brick. When he got close enough, Kacchan yanked him into another kiss.

This one was more of a kiss but still unconventional. Kacchan kissed Izuku like it was the last thing he’d ever do and wasted no time with his tongue, tugging Izuku by the hair and biting at his lips. Izuku’s voice was muffled by Kacchan and before he knew it he was snug in Kacchan’s lap, pulled tight to his chest and could feel the warmth seeping through Kacchan’s shirt.

“This is such a bad idea...” Izuku whispered aloud, while Kacchan licked at Izuku’s parted lips with a warm breath.

“Don’t act like you didn’t ask for it,” Kacchan breathed and took an iron grip of Izuku’s waist, sneaking his thumb towards Izuku’s inner thigh. He captured Izuku’s lips in a number of messy, uncoordinated but somehow sensual kisses that took what little breath Izuku had in him. He tried to pull Kacchan into softer, sweeter kissses, but Kacchan got impatient and it was back to Izuku gasping for air and holding his voice while Kacchan slid his thumb up and down the inner seam of Izuku’s pants.

There was a lot to unpack. How he felt. How Kacchan felt. Just what the hell led to them making out on his bed and what this meant for their relationship. But for now, Izuku would just bask in the experience of Kacchan’s lips on his, of Kacchan’s fingers gliding further and further to places that made him burn and quiver under his touch.

Kacchan felt nice too, Izuku learned. And even he could turn red sometimes.

Izuku was pretty sure he only felt more confused throughout. But he didn’t hate it. He liked it, even. And that was enough for the time being.

Things between he and Kacchan always flowed unconventionally. What was another confusing, relationship-altering factor to add in?