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Shouto was looking through his trinkets box, looking for a certain white envelope. His box contained various gifts he received from his boyfriend, Katsuki, throughout the 5 years of their relationship. He loved to skim through the box from time to time, especially when Katsuki was away on a mission that lasted more than two weeks, the absence of his boyfriend guiding Shouto to the bookcase under which his precious box found home, cardboard dented and falling apart from how many times the dual hero grabbed it and put things into it. The objects inside were slightly spilling over, but Shouto didn’t find in in himself to change to box, it held too much significance to him.
Katsuki always complained about the worn out state of the box whenever he stumbled upon it, in the first months of moving in together even threatening to throw it out under the pretext that ‘those are so fucking cringy I can’t believe you kept them’, referring to all the things he gifted Shouto. And every time his boyfriend wasn’t home, Bakugou would go to grab the box and take it to the garbage bin, and every time he would falter in his actions, peering down at the contents, and remembering how happy Shouto was when he received them, in their late high school years, how big his smile was back then at Katsuki’s gesture of affection.
Sighing, he would put the box down, sometimes going through the memories by himself, alone, when Shouto couldn’t tease him about the fact that he also cared about the box and what it held inside.
The most important thing to Shouto from that box was definitely the white envelope he finally found, with a triumphant ‘a-ha’ he opened it, glue already dried out, not holding the paper stuck together, but it held the contents from spilling around the box. Inside there were several love letters Bakugou wrote for him in the month before he confessed to Shouto, filled with as much love as Katsuki could muster in their 2nd year at UA.
As much as Katsuki complained about them, Todoroki could never throw them away, nor forget about them. So he made it a tradition, at least 3 times a year he would make his boyfriend read the letters out loud for him, while Shouto sat in his lap, listening to his deep voice go over the words they both knew by heart at this point.
Shouto stood up, not before tucking the box back under the shelves, envelope in his hands, stalking over to their living room. Katsuki was seated in his armchair, book in his hand and glasses propped on his nose. Snowball was at his feet, kneading the rug underneath her paws, half laying on Bakugou’s socked foot. He planted himself in front of his boyfriend, hands behind him, a wide grin on his face, waiting for the other to look up at him. Katsuki sighed amused, closing his book and gazing at his lover, smile dancing on his lips.
“Do you want something?” he asked, already knowing what Shouto was about to say. He sensed it when he saw him giddily prance to their bedroom.
Todoroki just brought his hands forward, presenting the envelope for Katsuki to take from him.
“You want me to read them to you again?” he didn’t know why he asked, the answer was always ‘yes’. Shouto happily nodded, taking the book and marking the page Katsuki was currently at, putting it on the coffee table and plopping into his lap, head resting on his shoulder, buzzing with excitement. Pressing a kiss on his forehead, Katsuki took the letters from the inside of the envelope and skimmed through them, opening the first one. He knew Shouto liked it when they would go through them from the beginning, so that’s what Bakugou was going to do.
“Oi, half ‘n half bastard, you better read this whole damn thing ‘cause I did not spent time racking my brain just for you to throw it away. I fucking can’t take my eyes off of you, and you make me feel weird. Sometimes I wanna beat the shit outta you but at the same time a fight it’s not what I’m looking for. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me but I’m tired of feeling like my chest is going to explode when I’m around you. This is probably one of your fucking schemes to try and outrun me, but it won’t work. You better keep those stupid pretty eyes peeled on me to see my victorious grin when I’ll obliterate you, halfie.”
“You have such a way with words, baby.” Shouto teased, looking fondly as Katsuki folded the worn out paper and got to open the second one.
“I know, you said that after you read it for the first time.” he laughed, and proceeded to read the rest of the letters.
They laid in the armchair until Katsuki finished reading everything, pausing at times to lean in and kiss Shouto on the lips, whisper the words written down in his ears, hand coming to pet their cat when she jumped in Shouto’s lap somewhere between letter number 3 and 4. They finished one hour later, the blond ending their reading session with the last letter in which he finally asked Shouto on a date and after which they got together. It was something Katsuki was looking forward to now, a routine he didn’t dare put an end to.
One time when he was overseas on a particular complicated mission, Shouto called him in the middle of the night, telling him how much he wanted Katsuki to read the letters to him. The younger offered to send photos of the pages, but his boyfriend refused, assuring him that he knew every word and it was no need for the photos. Shouto laid in their bed, head tucked onto Bakugou’s pillow, his hoodie enveloping his body, phone close to his ear listening to his lover’s voice recite the very words he also memorized due to the many times his eyes roamed over the very words.
Putting the envelope carefully next to his book, Katsuki gathered Shouto closer into his arms, Snowball having already left her spot in Shouto’s lap to sprawl herself in front of the fireplace. It was February indeed, but the weather outside was harsher than it was in previous years, both their cat and Bakugou seeking warmth into Todoroki’s left side, cuddling closer to him whenever they could. Shouto turned to kiss his boyfriend on the lips, hands coming to rest on his chest, moaning happily at the feeling of a tongue brushing against the roof of his mouth.
“You know” Katsuki started, between sweet kisses and soft caresses “you never wrote me a love letter.” Shouto knew this was just a joke, or a meaningless challenge, but he took note of it and made it a mission for himself.
“Why would I when yours were so outstanding?” the younger shot back, earning a bite to his lower lip which made him let out a whine, hands grasping at Katsuki’s shirt, looking for more, wanting more.
They continued to hold each other until they heard a loud thud coming from behind them. Shouto turned his head, startled by the noise, and saw their cat walk around the now fallen radio. It was the one they got from Katsuki’s father, an old radio station that Katsuki insisted they did not need but Shouto accepted it immediately, telling his boyfriend that they’ll make good use of it.
And they did, on Sunday evenings after they finished dinner, Shouto would usually turn on the radio to a random station and let it play old songs, sometimes swaying to the tune in the kitchen while Bakugou washed dishes. The blond sometimes engaged him in a slow dance, not without complaining about how ‘lame’ it was, but the way he would guide Shouto around the tiled floor and how he would hold him in his arms a little longer even after the song ended told him otherwise.
Shouto got up and inspected the radio, sighing in relief when he pressed the button and it was still working. He would’ve been really sad if it broke. He put it on the side table back to its place, smiling when he heard the familiar chords of one of his favorite songs. He turned to lock eyes with Katsuki, grin reaching his eyes and the other huffed a laugh at him, getting up as well and coming to put his hands around Shouto’s shoulders.
“You’re so embarrassing sometimes.” he murmured against his neck, tucking his head there and swaying around the room, Shouto’s hands around his waist.
“You like it though.” he shot back, smile widening and closing his eyes, leaning his head against Katsuki’s, feeling their cat brush against their legs. “You wanna dance with us, princess?” he looked to the floor where Snowball was watching the two of them with curious eyes. Bakugou raised his head from Shouto’s shoulder, watching the cat raise her paws at them and meowing softly.
“Come here, brat.” he said amused at the cat’s actions, grabbing it by the torso with one hand, the other tucking it under her and holding it in front of Shouto.
“Grab her by the paws.” Todoroki was confused for a few seconds before he let out a giggle, grabbing Snowball’s little paws in between his fingers, moving
carefully and dancing with her. Snowball meowed at him and started purring, the sound reverberating against Katsuki’s chest.
“She likes it.” the taller man stated surprised, shooting a smile at his boyfriend then turning his gaze back to their cat, heart swelling at the image of Katsuki holding Snowball like that just so Shouto could dance with her.
“Of course she does, I’m a great dancer.” Bakugou replied, smile bright on his face, eyes looking fondly at his lover. They danced for a few songs until Snowball wiggled her tail and scrambled to get off.
Katsuki walked closer to his boyfriend, taking his hands like he previously did with their cat and tugged him forward to kiss him, Shouto letting out a tiny yelp but returning the kiss eagerly, tilting his head to deepen it. The blond let go of his hands to cup his face, lips moving swiftly against Shouto’s until the younger broke the kiss with a yawn, making Katsuki laugh in his face.
“Someone’s sleepy.” he stated, hands caressing his face, sleepy heterochromatic eyes watching him.
“Mm, let’s go to bed.” Shouto mumbled, leaning his frame against his boyfriend’s chest, hands grabbing his waist to steady himself. Katsuki huffed another laugh and bent his knees to wrap one hand behind Shouto’s knees and the other securing it around his back, hoisting the other in his arms and carrying him to their bedroom.
~.~.~.~.~.~
A few days later, Shouto woke up way too early for a usual Sunday. Double checking the calendar on his phone, smiling at the 14th date highlighted on the screen, he put it back on the nightstand and went to his special box, but this time not grabbing one of Katsuki’s gifts for him, instead, he had a different white envelope, this one not as worn out as the other. He made sure to not make any noise because Katsuki was a light sleeper and he usually woke up before Shouto.
So Shouto put in extra effort just to get up from bed before 10. When Bakugou told him jokingly that Shouto never wrote him any love letters, he felt a bit guilty for making him read them all those times, but never writing any letters back. It wasn’t like Katsuki needed them, he knew he didn’t need to write them, but, he just felt like giving his boyfriend a bit more attention today.
He carefully stuck the notes he thoroughly wrote for Katsuki one afternoon when he was at work around the house, in places he knew his boyfriend was bound to go to today. After that, he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the two of them and feed Snowball, the cat curling around his legs as Shouto set on boiling the rice.
Katsuki stirred in a half awake state, hands searching for Shouto but the only thing he felt were the slightly warm sheets. Cracking one eye open he looked around for his boyfriend, confusion on his face because his boyfriend never woke up before him. He was about to plop his head back on the pillow when a yellow paper square on Shouto’s pillow caught his eyes. ‘Has he gone to the grocery shop? I don’t think we need anything’ was what Katsuki thought as he grabbed the note, thinking nothing of it until he read it.
“Dear Katsuki, today I made the effort to wake up early and leave this note for you, since you said that I never wrote you any love letters. I enjoy every morning I wake up in your arms and you let me sleep in sometimes. I hope I can wake up like this every morning for the rest of my life.”
Bakugou groaned and buried his face in Shouto’s pillow, note clutched in his hand, ears red in embarrassment. His boyfriend really had no shame, saying, in this case writing, those things so easily. Dragging a palm over his face to urge the sleep away, he got up and put the note in his nightstand and heading to their bathroom. Of course there was another note on the mirror. Shouto was too much.
“Dear Katsuki, I love it when you comb and dry my hair, even if that comes with you scolding me for not taking care of it, but it feels much better when you take care of me. I grew out my hair just because you said it looks good on me. Also you might want to buy more of that shampoo you use on my hair cause I have no idea what’s it called.”
Always the romantic, Katsuki snorted and pocketed the note before brushing his teeth. He felt unusually restless this morning, so he finished his morning routine and went straight to the kitchen, knowing his boyfriend was probably scavenging for leftover soba. Stopping in his tracks when he saw Shouto set the table with breakfast already cooked, Bakugou came to the conclusion that he did not deserve Shouto. He loved him so much it was hurting his chest.
“Good morning, Katsu.” Shouto greeted, taking a seat at the dining table and motioning for his boyfriend to join him. Katsuki wordlessly sat down and scanned over the simple breakfast laid out on the table and then turned to look at his boyfriend. He leaned in to peck his lips, whispering a ‘good morning, sweetheart’ and digging into his own plate.
He forgot to ask Shouto about the notes, too wrapped up into admiring his pretty face, until he stumbled upon another one in the mug cabinet.
“Dear Katsuki, I really appreciate that you kept the mug I gifted you in our last year of high school, as horrendous as you said that it is. It always warms my heart when I see you drinking tea out of it and I hope it means just as much as it means to me.”
Said mug was a white one, a bit wonky at the handle and it had a cat drawing on one of the sides with little flowers all over the rest of it. The first time Katsuki saw the mug he snorted, asking Shouto if he was serious about it, but when he saw his smile falling he swore up and down that he’ll use this mug until he dies. And Katsuki is a man of his words. Grabbing the mug he prepares tea for the both of them and settles on the couch next to his boyfriend. After finishing his drink, the explosive hero leaned in to rest his head in the crook of Shouto’s neck, hands coming to circle around his waist.
“Say, what’s with all those not-“
beep beep beep
“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” Bakugou exclaimed, getting up from the sofa and grabbing his phone.
It was the alarm from the hero agency, so he knew he couldn’t just ‘let the fucker ring’. As much as he hated having his quality time with his boyfriend interrupted he was a pro hero after all. Turns out the agency needed him urgently, one of the villains he dealt with not long ago has escaped and he has to go after him again.
Shouto tried to cheer him up by saying he’ll wait for him at home and they can cuddle later, Katsuki promising to hold him to that. Before he went out the door, his boyfriend handed him a small bento box, saying there were leftovers from their breakfast, making sure Katsuki did not starve at work. He wasn’t going to be gone for that long, but appreciated the gesture nonetheless, bringing Shouto into a breathtaking kiss before leaving.
It did not take long to catch that asshole, Bakugou made sure that he brought him to the police station incapacitated enough that he won’t be breaking out of jail for a long time. He had a few reports to go through now, so it was a good excuse to open the bento Shouto prepared for him. Opening the lid he was greeted with another note.
“Dear Katsuki, I’m happy whenever you cook for us, especially when you make me cold soba. I know I don’t help you as much as I’d want, due to my lack of coking skills, but I’ll try to learn how to cook for you. I want to keep making you bentos for as long as you let me.”
As Katsuki ate his lunch he thought that he would let Shouto cook for him for as long as he’s alive, even if it’s the same dish every time. He came home a few hours later, opening the front door, the image of his boyfriend asleep with Snowball on his chest greeting him. He toed off his shoes and put his hero costume in the wardrobe, another sticky note on his old gauntlets. He changed them a few years ago, making them smaller for better mobility, but he never had the heart to throw away his old ones.
“Dear Katsuki, I hope you remember this every time you come home, but you’re the only hero that I need. You’re the best one out there and the perfect one for me. You will be forever my number one hero.”
Shouto did not have to make him tear up like that. Rubbing his eyes and putting the note with the other ones, he set on preparing dinner for the two of them. He’ll make soba just to see his boyfriend’s beautiful smile again. The sound of pots and pans clanking in the kitchen woke up Snowball, the white ball of fluff coming to stare at Katsuki as he cooked, eyes watching him, silently asking for a taste of the meat he was frying. The man broke off a small piece of meat, blowing on it and going to put it in her food bowl, when he saw another note stuck to the wall above Snowball’s bowls.
“Dear Katsuki, I was really happy when you let me keep Snowball, even if I know you weren’t that happy that she ripped your jeans and fell asleep on your pillow the first day I brought her home. I feel like she completes our family and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Snowball was a stray cat Shouto found on one of his night patrols. She was thin and dirty, her fluffy white fur in worse state than it was now. They took her to the vet and fed her, Katsuki telling Shouto that they will make sure she’s healthy and then take her to the pet shelter. But when his boyfriend looked at him with his pretty pleading eyes, holding the cat in his arms who had the same heterochromatic eyes looking up at him, Katsuki couldn’t refuse. So here they were, 2 years later, Snowball still in their home. And Katsuki wouldn’t have it any other way.
Having finished cooking the food, he woke up Shouto and told him that dinner was ready, the younger thanking him before pulling him into a kiss, hands dragging Katsuki on top of him on the couch. “Stay 5 minutes with me like this.” he said lowly, eyes closing back and lips peppering kisses al over his boyfriend’s face. They eventually got up and ate dinner, Shouto beaming at the sight of soba, even letting Snowball sit in his lap while they were eating.
They washed dishes together and Shouto told him that he still had some reports to fill in. Going to their study room, Shouto grabbed Katsuki’s book and stuck a note on the page he marked a few days ago, knowing that Bakugou will want to continue reading it tonight. And just like that, when Shouto was going through the reports, he heard his boyfriend come in and grab his book, going back to his armchair to read.
Sitting down, Bakugou waited for Snowball to settle at his feet like she usually does when he reads, before opening his book, the yellow paper welcoming him.
“Dear Katsuki, I’m afraid I might be running out of ideas but know that I am very proud of who are you know, and as much as you say you’re not good enough, in my eyes you are perfect. I love you, Katsu.”
‘He’s gonna be the death of me’ groaned Katsuki, head falling back as a light flush adorned his cheeks. He rarely blushed around Shouto, now accustomed to his affectionate gestures, but today was something else. He felt like he was 17 all over again and falling for Shouto again and again. Shouto came out of the study room a few moments later, stating that he finished writing the reports and that was going to take a shower. Katsuki hummed in acknowledgement, eyes glancing up at his boyfriend’s back just before he disappeared into their bathroom.
Finishing the book, he let it on the coffee table next to him, hands coming to pet Snowball, feeling the cat curl into his touch, rolling over to present her fluffy belly to him.
“Spoiled little brat.” he said and proceeded to rub her belly, feeling her purr and tilt her little head until it bumped into his other hand. “I don’t know if Shouto acts like you or you got this habit from him. I spoil the two of you too much.” Snowball meowed at his, as if to confirm the hero’s accusation.
Seeing that Shouto was not coming back in the living room, Katsuki decided to get ready for bed himself, still hearing the shower as he entered the bedroom. He mulled over the idea of joining his boyfriend, but he took a shower when he got home, so he put on his sleeping clothes and as he was about to climb in their bed, he saw the same yellow paper on his pillow.
“Dear Katsuki, every night before going to sleep you kiss me good night and I always come home waiting for this moment, knowing I’ll fall asleep besides you. I cannot express how much I love you, Katsuki, and how much I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
This time Katsuki really teared up, staring at the note in his hand, wondering how he got so lucky. Turning to open his nightstand drawer to put in the note and grab the square black box he had been hiding there for 6 moths now, he saw Shouto’s frame behind him, his boyfriend standing with his hands behind him, a sheepish smile on his face, eyes avoiding his.
“Shouto?” Katsuki asked, note still in his hand, tears welling in his eyes. He wanted all day to ask Shouto about them, but he kept getting distracted, by the exact person who wrote those notes.
“Katsu” Shouto started, hands slowly coming forwards, something clutched in between his fingers. “I’ve been meaning to do this for some time now…” there’s no way. Katsuki had this planned out in his head, he wanted to ask Shouto himself, after a homemade dinner and probably a glass of wine, he might have asked Shouto to dance with him in the middle of their home like the idiots they are, but these notes made him realise that any moment was perfect for that. As long as he was with Shouto. His boyfriend locked eyes with him, the nervous feeling slipping out as Katsuki offered him a wobbly smile, urging Shouto to go on.
“I meant everything I said in those notes, and so much more. I can’t imagine how my life would have been without you, and I want to spend the rest of it by your side. You make me a better person, you always knew what to do to cheer me up, and when I’m with you I feel like I’m home. I love you so much, Katsuki.” Shouto unclasped his hand, revealing a simple silver band, kneeling in front of Katsuki and looking up at him with stars in his eyes “Will you spend the rest of your life with me?”
Katsuki didn’t even think twice before he went down on his knees alongside Shouto, tears finally spilling down his face, cupping his face in his hands and kissing him, whispering ‘yes’ between kisses, heart swelling up, mind fogging up, the only thing that he was aware of now was his fiancé.
“You idiot, I wanted to ask you. You just had to go ahead and do it. I love you so fucking much.” he murmured as his hands brought Shouto closer to him, hearing his choked out laugh, he was crying too. They were both crying, on their bedroom floor, with Snowball looking curiously at them and a cold hand slipping the band on his ring finger, Katsuki felt like he couldn’t be any happier.