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Izuku sighed, frown on his face as he laid in bed. His chest felt hollow, no matter how much he filled it with training and hero work, nothing seemed to help.
They were in his second year, nearing the end of it, he mused as he picked at his bedsheets idly, and still the feeling that grew in his chest didn’t waver.
He had friends, yes, but the teen knew that he wasn’t a first choice, not for anyone. Especially not Bakugou Katsuki.
It was dumb, to be so upset over he and Kirishima’s friendship.
But god, why not him?
Izuku did everything, not even just talking about Bakugou anymore, he did so much, so so much, and it was never enough. Do better, stop complaining, do, do, do.
But he was already doing so much.
The warm feeling that bubbles in his heart and chest whenever he sees a certain male doesn’t make him feel any less shameful, but it’s nice to indulge himself sometimes, gazing at him a couple seconds too long.
Maybe the straw that breaks the camel’s back is when they’re training, and he slips on the mat, but he's back on his feet in less than a second.
Nonetheless, he hears Aizawa mutter an ‘ of course’ under his breath, and it’s all he can do to stop himself from screaming.
That night, he writes a very detailed letter to his best friend, even if the other party didn’t consider them that, about One For All, and leaves with a deeply pricked thumb.
Slipping into Bakugo’s dorm room is easier than expected, and the fact that the blond sleeps with his mouth open makes this a lot easier.
A good couple of drops, for good measure, have him closing his mouth and instinctively swallowing, face scrunched, but still asleep.
He leaves the note on his bedside table, and slips out just as easily.
He travels to the roof silently, softly reserved, content with the letter he left them on his bed, as he opens the roof door.
He doesn’t waste any time, slipping his shoes off, as he walks to the edge of the building.
Just as he’s nearing it, the door opens, and through it walks the object of his affections.
“Woah, sorry dude,” Sero smiles goofily, “Was just gonna, yknow.” he waves the pack of cigarettes for emphasis.
“That’s bad for your lungs,” he points out, “and you’re gonna be a frequently mobile hero.”
“Meh, figured I could indulge myself.” he says, and though the way he runs his tongue over his teeth tells Izuku he’s hiding something, the green haired teen leaves it be.
“Yeah, I understand that.” he says, now instead sitting at the edge, legs on the correct side.
“Mind if I..” he trails off, nodding at the space beside him, and he shakes his head, chuckling.
“No, go for it.”
They sit together in silence, Izuku watches as he packs the cigs, before pulling one out and methodically ‘snaps’ the end of it.
He swallows as Sero holds it between his lips, growing frustrated as his lighter wont seem to light.
“Here,” he says, gently reaching out, “let me try?”
With littoe hesitation, he hands him the lighter, leaning his head forward. He flicks it a couple of times, grinning as it lights. Copying what he’d seen the other do, he cupped his hand around the end, before lighting it.
Glancing up, he locked eyes with the other, face flushing red as he realized how close they were.
“Sorry.” he chuckled, leaning back, and the tape user shook his head, smiling softly.
“No need.”
They go back to a comfortable silence, Sero trying to do a smoke trick when he asks, “Does it taste good?”
At the words, he snorts, shrugging, “Yeah, kinda; its minty, wanna try?”
“No thanks, I uh, I don’t wanna mess up my lungs.”
Sero thinks for a moment, ears growing slightly red, “What about uh.. second hand smoke? Wanna try?”
“Like shotgunning?” his face, which was just losing it’s bright tint, flares up again, and the greenette is thankful or the darkness.
“Y-yeah, like that.”
With a harsher swallow then he’d meant, he nods, “Yeah.. yeah, I’d like that.”
Carefully, male shifts to sitting on his knees, shuffling to be in front of him. He’s taller than usual like this, Izuku has to angle his head up to look at him.
He softly grabs the side of his face, and the shorter of the two thinks for a moment that this is a little too intimate, but then Sero takes a drag and he’s exhaling smoke into his mouth, so close he could count his eyelashes.
He thinks it’s the other who closes the gap, but it could be him. Nonetheless, his lips are on his own, smoke in his mouth.
He pulls back just as quickly, pushing his jaw closed quickly, “You gotta hold it, and try to blow it out from your nose… now.”
It stings a little, but Sero was right, it does have a rather minty taste.
“You got it, bro.”
Sputtering, Izuku glares at him, ears the color of Kirishima’s hair, “I- we- we did not just ki-kiss for you to call me bro!”
That nearly sends Sero into hysterics, having to balance himself on his knee.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Just ah, thought it was.. a bro thing.”
“Oh.” he says, and the word feels bitter in his mouth, a slightly disappointed grin on his face, “Yeah, s-sorry I-“
“If you want it to be.” Sero cuts him off, scanning his face, “If you wanted it to be a bro thing.”
“I.. I don’t.”
“Oh. That’s good, because I really like you.”
The greenette doesn’t have a moment to stumble over his response before they’re kissing again, both grinning like absolute fools.
“So, are we dating now?” the taller asks, putting out his cigarette on the concrete beside them and then chucks the butt over the ledge.
“That’s littering.” he mutters, distracted, before nodding with a smile, “Yeah, we’re dating.”
“Okay, boyfriend,” he chuckles, before nodding at his shoes by the door, “Might wanna go get that not from Bakugo’s room, pretty sure he’ll be really confused if he sees it and then sees you in the kitchen.”
“Yo-you saw that?”
“Yeah, I was already coming up here but well,” he smiles softly, though it's pained, “I saw goodbye in your eyes today, I knew it was a bad day for you, I was gonna wait up here all night if I had to. You.. you don’t always have to be so strong, yknow?”
Maybe it’s the stress of the day, maybe it’s knowing how much someone cares about him, but his bottom lip trembles and he ends up crying into his new boyfriend's hoodie-covered shoulder, fingers clutched in the soft fabric of it.
“Shh, I know, I know.” he murmurs into his hair, pressing a soft kiss to it, “You’re so good, and I’m so proud of you.”
When they go down they’re caught by Aizawa, who pretends not to notice the tear tracks and smoke on their breath, but he stuffs a mandatory refferal to Hound Dog into his hand with a small ‘I’m sorry’ before he shoos them back to their dorms.
When the rest of class 1-A wakes up the next morning, they notice him and Sero a little closer together and brushing hands, but otherwise blissfully unaware.