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The earliest memory Katsuki has of the color green was his first time meeting Izuku.
The playground had been mostly empty for the better part of the afternoon, quickly boring Katsuki. His parents had suggested bringing him there to make friends but there weren’t many kids his age in the neighborhood. The kids that were there were either older than him or really annoying.
The swings next to him swayed slightly with the breeze. Just as he was getting ready to tell his parents that he wanted to leave, curls invaded his peripheral vision. He turned to the previously empty swing next to him only to be met with a small boy with curly green hair.
“Hi, I’m Izuku Midoriya. I-I noticed you had an All Might shirt and was wondering if I could swing next to you.”
The boy’s emerald eyes were completely captivating. Katsuki would’ve sworn before God themself that there were stars in Izuku’s eyes. He surprisingly didn’t find this strange boy to be annoying like those other kids he had met before.
“Sure.”
The two became thick as thieves quickly after meeting. There were near constant sleepovers alternating between the Midoriya and Bakugo households. It helped that Inko and Mitsuki got along as well.
Their days were spent in endless laughter as the scrapes on their knees and hands healed. It wasn’t uncommon for there to be dirt on their faces as leaves stuck out of their hair.
The next memory Katsuki has of the color green was when he and Izuku were nine.
During their walk home, they’d often make a trip to the store in hopes of finding new All Might merch. It probably wasn’t healthy for them to indulge each other in their obsession. Unfortunately, there was nothing new that day so they settled on buying drinks.
The air was warm and heavy. Katsuki could hear the cicadas crying out as birds flew overhead. Fall couldn’t come soon enough.
Just as the sun begins to set, he turns to his best friend who is admiring his drink. It didn’t matter that they had bought ones exactly like these months ago, Izuku would always be content with whatever they got.
The sun was hitting Izuku in a way that made his flyaway strands look like a halo. His freckled face was slightly flushed from laughing at a comment Katsuki had made before. Izuku’s green eyes shone as he laughed. For some reason unknown to Katsuki, he looked closer and noticed specks of gold in the boy’s eyes.
Before he knew it, Izuku froze in place, laughter completely vanishing with the warm breeze. Katsuki didn’t know why until he felt something tickling his hand. It was soft and cool to the touch, a stark contrast with the hot day. Katsuki always welcomed cool things into his life since he was so used to running hot.
His hand remained in Izuku’s hair for a few more seconds before he began to pull away, not wanting to make Izuku uncomfortable. Instead of allowing him, Izuku leaned into Katsuki’s touch with a dopey grin on his face.
Katsuki’s heart beat faster that day than it had ever before.
A painful memory Katsuki has of the color green is the sight of inconsolable eyes spilling tears.
It was their first big fight in their decade-long friendship. They were used to fighting over minor things like All Might merch, trivia, or school work, but never quirklessness.
Truth be told, this instance was bound to happen. They had been tiptoeing around the conversation far too long and it exploded in their faces.
They were talking about heroes and how Katsuki was planning on attending UA.
“I’m thinking about applying, too! Wouldn’t it be fun going to UA together, Kacchan? Imagine the two of us in the hero course!”
Izuku’s smile shot sparks through Katsuki’s entire being.
“It would be. Too bad it won’t happen,” he kicked a pebble from the sidewalk absentmindedly.
Katsuki walked a few more steps before noticing that his best friend was no longer by his side.
“How come?”
Izuku’s voice was uncharacteristically tense. Katsuki typically only heard this voice when the bullies would talk shit to Izuku. Obviously he would nip it in the bud every chance he got, but those bullies were relentless sometimes.
“Well,” he walked back to Izuku. It felt weird having him remain behind him. “Because it’d be difficult for you to get in without a quirk.”
“Oh, so you need a quirk to be a hero?”
“Um, yeah? I’ve never heard of a quirkless hero before so…”
“Do you not believe in me, Kacchan?” Izuku’s breath hitched. Tears were already beginning to form, red spreading throughout his face as it was preparing to cry.
“It’s not that I don’t believe in you, I just don’t want to see you get hurt just to not make it. It’s bullshit. I don’t think it’s worth it.”
“Well why didn’t you say anything growing up? Have you always thought this about me? Have you just been pitying me and entertaining me when I talk about heroes and how much I want to be one?”
Pitying?
“Are you fucking kidding me? I’ve been defending your sorry ass from bullies because you can’t defend yourself! That ain’t fucking pity or entertaining. How can you be a hero if you can’t even fend off some lousy goddamn bullies, huh? Be grateful.”
Even Katsuki knew that was a low blow and definitely the final straw.
Izuku’s face remained flushed as his tears streamed down his face, cooling his hot skin. Katsuki moved forward to console him but Izuku only stepped back to avoid his touch.
“I can’t believe you’ve always thought this about me. Well, I won’t trouble you any longer Ka—”
“Come on, idiot, you’re not a burden. I worded it wrong so ple—”
“Goodbye. I’ll stay out of your way.”
Izuku shoved Katsuki off his shoulder as he walked past him to go home. Izuku ignored his texts, calls, and even his house visits for the rest of middle school. His chest grew used to the emptiness but his heart couldn’t grow used to the pain of Izuku no longer being by his side.
The next memory Katsuki has of the color green is when surprised emerald eyes look at him as he’s seated at his desk.
He’s glad that Izuku made it but he was still confused as to how. Sure, he had noticed the dumbass bulking up (and he looked pretty hot—wait, what?) but had his quirk just come in late? Or had he kept it a secret? That didn’t make any sense though because their falling out quite literally depended on Izuku’s quirklessness.
Katsuki also appreciates the fact that Auntie Inko had told his mom who told him that Izuku would be attending UA in the hero course. God knows how he would’ve reacted if he hadn’t known until the first day.
Before he could even say anything, Izuku turns around to a brunette with rosy cheeks and starts talking. Katsuki had wanted to congratulate him, but maybe now wasn’t the best time.
By some miracle (or curse) Izuku was seated behind Katsuki. This arrangement gave him the perfect excuse to talk to Izuku.
“Hey,” he whispered as he passed down the papers. “I just wanted to say congrats on your entrance. Wanna explain how you pulled this shit off later?”
“Oh, uh, I don’t know, Kacchan,” Izuku kept averting his eyes from Katsuki’s stare. “But congratulations to you, too! I knew you’d get in.”
To another person, that would be the end of the interaction. Hell, even Katsuki knew that the conversation was over but he’d be damned if he let this opportunity slip past him.
“Well, let’s at least catch up with one another, nerd. I have something to say to you. How does today sound?”
How on Earth was he managing to sound so smooth today?! His insides were churning and twisting as his heart beat faster and faster by the second in Izuku’s presence.
“Um, that sounds fine. See you after school!”
The day crawled by at an agonizingly snail-like pace. Not even All Might’s class was free from annoying Katsuki. All of these classes were obstacles that were preventing him from having a much needed conversation with his (ex?) best friend.
Katsuki thanked the heavens once the bells rang, signalling that it was time for their departure. In an effort to prevent Izuku from leaving him behind, Katsuki packed his stuff a few minutes before the bell and rushed to Izuku’s seat (obviously in a discreet way) like when they were kids.
“Hi, Kacchan, are you ready to leave?”
“Just waiting on you, dumbass.”
“Of course,” he chuckled. “Same as always, huh?”
They decided to stop at a tea place close to their neighborhood for their talk.
“I’ll have a cup of green tea if that’s okay. Oh, can you actually add a bit of honey to that? Thank you so much.”
Katsuki remembered how Auntie Inko would always give Izuku tea with honey to calm his nerves growing up. And of course this situation would make him nervous.
“I’ll have what he’s having. Thanks.”
After arguing with Izuku over him paying for both drinks, Katsuki followed Izuku to a table by the window. The hazy afternoon sky complemented the green in Izuku’s eyes. In fact, the color green has always stood out in his eyes.
Katsuki turns to put his wallet back in his backpack, moving small, green trinkets out of the way.
“Thank you for paying, Kacchan. It’s very kind of you, but would you… um… would you mind telling me what you wanted to say?”
He’s uncomfortable. Of fucking course he’d be uncomfortable. This whole ass situation is so goddamn weird.
“Please don’t feel rushed, though! I’m glad to catch up first and then you can tell me whatever you want. It’s been so long since we’ve just hung out that I don’t really know what to do.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Katsuki pushed his hair out of his face. He had decided to grow it out during the summer but was now beginning to regret it. It certainly didn’t do his forehead sweat any favors.
“That reminds me,” Izuku shuffled through his backpack and pulled out a white headband, rambling as he offered it to Katsuki. “Mom and Auntie Mitsuki were talking about how you were growing out your hair and I remembered the headbands we’d use growing up to keep our hair out of our way and then I also remembered that your quirk relies on your sweat and that you also sweat a lot, not that it’s anything to be ashamed of, so I bought a headband for you but I didn’t know when to give it to you so here you go, Kacchan!”
His best friend hadn’t changed at all.
“Thanks, I really appreciate it.”
Their drinks were ready after a few more minutes of talking about their parents and what they had been up to since they had stopped hanging out.
“I started working out a bit after I started avoiding you,” he remarked as he thanked the worker for his drink. “It was so hard at first but then it became somewhat therapeutic, you know? It calmed me down and gave me a lot of time to think and reflect on myself.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get something off my chest before you. Uh, I want to apologize for leaving you in the dark about everything after our fight, if you can even call it a fight. I was just so upset with the world and then I felt like you didn’t believe in me. But after being alone for the first time since I was four, I realized that I needed to stop relying on others and what they thought of me. I needed to put in the effort to achieve my dreams, even if I didn’t have a quirk to help me out. So, I’m really sorry, Kacchan. I never meant to abandon you. I didn’t know how to reach out to apologize.”
Tears trickled down as Izuku spoke, lips trembling occasionally. Despite this, his voice remained steady and eyes focused on Katsuki. Wow, he’s grown a lot over the past year and a half.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t fully believe in you. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a fucking quirk, you’re still more capable than a lot of the other hero wannabes that I’ve met. I should’ve been by your side instead of staying out of your way. Also, I want to make it clear that I’ve never pitied you or looked down on you. I know that it’s difficult for people without quirks to defend themselves against some quirks and I didn’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all. Even then, I’ve always been sure that you could outsmart a lot of those asshole villains and criminals if given the opportunity. And hey, you’re in the hero course without a quirk so I’m sure you’ll be getting that opportunity soon.”
Izuku took a long sip of his tea, maintaining eye contact with his best friend. His eyes held something that Katsuki couldn’t quite discern. A secret, perhaps?
“About that,” Izuku set his drink down.
“Hang on, there’s no way you’re about to tell me what I think you’re about to fucking tell me.”
“I do have a quirk now.”
Despite Izuku having grown a lot since they stopped talking, he continued to fiddle with his fingers when his nerves began acting up.
“You’ve gotta be shitting me. How? When? What the fuck?”
“It’s a secret that you can’t tell to anyone, okay?”
“You’re the only one I would ever tell, dumbass.”
It took less than half an hour to explain everything to Katsuki who periodically stopped Izuku to just stare off into the distance. There was no way their idol had this kind of secret and passed it down to Izuku after training him for an entire goddamn summer. No way in hell!
“We can talk to All Might together so that he’s aware that you’re officially in the loop now. I’ve been dying to tell you everything but I couldn’t until I apologized.”
“We haven’t spoken in forever and you continued to trust in me?”
“I’ll always trust you, Kacchan. I can’t imagine a world where you’re not by my side.”
Their evening ended with the pair walking back home, shoulders touching as Izuku spazzed about Katsuki and All Might finally meeting outside of school and how they could interact more. Izuku remained blissfully unaware of the butterflies threatening to escape from Katsuki’s stomach as his face burned in the comfort of the night sky.
The next memory Katsuki has of the color green is during the winter of his final year at UA.
The entire class was getting ready for their Christmas party and delegated Katsuki to purchase a tree for the dorm. He was really close to blasting Iida’s ass into the next dimension until Izuku’s smile consumed his entire vision.
“I’ll go with you, Kacchan! I need to buy some ornaments and it’s always better to do these things with friends.”
“Tch. Fine, idiot. Let’s go.”
Katsuki would never admit how happy their errands made him. It had started back during their first year a few months after the dorms were created. Katsuki had been tasked to buy a few things for Kirishima’s surprise birthday party and Izuku decided to tag along. The entire trip was spent on rambling about heroes, school, and things to buy for the party.
“Do you want to pick out what we need together? Or would you rather split to cut time?”
Katsuki, like a dumbass in love, wasn’t paying any attention to the words coming out of his best friend’s mouth. Instead, he was admiring the gleam in Izuku’s viridian eyes and wondering how many constellations he could make out of his freckles. His lips also looked really soft. Had he gotten a new chapstick? It smelled like strawberries instead of the usual vanilla.
“Kacchan? Earth to Kacchan?”
Fuck.
“What do you want?” Katsuki barked back. Despite the sharpness of his voice, Izuku knew he meant no harm and was just trying to cover up the fact he hadn’t been paying attention.
“Would you like to walk together and pick out ornaments and a tree together or would you rather split to cut time?”
Obviously he wanted to be together. Wasn’t that the point of running these errands together? But he shouldn’t be too obvious, right? Okay, the game plan is to make the nerd think it’s his idea to stick together instead of looking desperate.
“I don’t care either way, but wouldn’t it be smart to have someone else approve of your ornaments and my tree? Not saying that I’m gonna pick a shitty tree or something, of course I’m gonna pick the best one for the dorm, but maybe you should approve of it.”
Izuku began to shake his head while smiling. Maybe he was catching onto this crush of his. Oh God no.
“I’ll love whichever tree you pick,” Katsuki’s hopes of staying together were beginning to drop. “But I do need your help with the ornaments. Would you mind helping me?”
Fuck yeah! Katsuki totally nailed that reverse psychology shit.
It was obvious to Katsuki that Izuku didn’t really need his help, so why would he ask for it? Maybe he was trying to spare Katsuki’s pride? Nah.
“I’m getting merch ornaments for every single one of our friends to show our support! Do you think they’ll like it?”
He loved seeing this soft expression on Izuku. It amazed him how much his friend could love.
“They’ll love it, you dumb nerd.”
They bought the ornaments and made their way down the street to where they sold trees. Their time would’ve definitely been cut in half had they gone their separate ways and met up afterwards, but Katsuki loved these moments of being alone with one another. Hopefully Izuku felt the same way.
Too caught up in his thoughts, Katsuki missed the blushes that crossed Izuku’s face as their shoulders touched.
The duo looked through dozens of trees, none earning the approval of Katsuki.
“Good grief, Kacchan, no one is going to judge the tree you get. They’ll be content with any tree that’s here.”
“No, it needs to be perfect.”
Izuku’s patience was on the brink of running out as soon as a tree caught Katsuki’s eyes. It was perfect in every way.
“This one.”
Izuku held back for the majority of their way back to the dorms. He was confused why Katsuki took one look and bought it on the spot. No inspection, no judgement, no nothing.
“Why this one?”
“I like it. You need another reason to buy a goddamn tree?”
“No, it’s just that you’re very judgemental of everything you buy. They need to meet your unknown expectations that I’ll never be able to figure out. So why this one?”
Katsuki grappled with whether he should tell Izuku his reasoning. It would practically be a confession and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for the possibility of being rejected and then never spoken to again.
“Come on, Kacchan,” Izuku pleaded. “I won’t tell or judge. Scout’s honor!”
Fuck it.
“It’s your exact hair color and I wanted it.”
Katsuki knew as soon as he looked at the tree that he needed to buy it. Sure, green would always mean Izuku in Katsuki’s brain, but this tree’s color was exactly like Izuku and he was a sucker for him.
“Oh, um,” Izuku covered his face with the bags full of ornaments. “Th-that’s so kind of you. I didn’t notice.”
Izuku stopped Katsuki out of the dorms. Maybe he was finally understanding the implications of Katsuki’s words and actions and was about to reject him.
“I want to show you something I bought while you were busy with the ornaments I made you carry.”
Izuku pulled out a crimson red ornament from his jacket pocket. It looked like a jewel with the way it was reflecting the light from the light pole near the dorm.
“It reminded me of your eyes so I bought it for this tree and for our future trees.”
It was definitely his type of red. Wait, is it normal to buy things that remind you of intimate things of someone else? Who the fuck was Katsuki kidding, of course it wasn’t! He bought a fucking tree because it reminded him of Izuku. Wait, does that mean…? No way. Wait a fucking minute… whose trees?!
“Huh?” He managed to croak out after gaping at Izuku for a minute. “Whose trees?”
“Ours, Kacchan. I assumed… unless you don’t feel that way towards me, which would make this very awkward since I was pretty sure that whole tree thing was a confession and I just confessed back. Plus you’ve been giving me signals for years unless I misunderstood.”
“You like me back?”
“Have for a while,” Izuku smiled as he breathed a sigh of relief. “I was starting to wonder when you’d confess.”
Katsuki’s idiocy as a result of being in love paid off big time.
As they made their way into the building, their classmates scattered from the windows and acted way too casual.
“Spit it out, dickwads. I know something’s up.”
Tsu was the first brave soul to speak out.
“Some of them were exchanging money from their bets about you two. You made Ochako a lot of money by the way.”
“Hell yeah they did. Did I not tell you guys that they’d confess to each other by the end of the semester? Denki thought it’d take another year but I called bull.”
Katsuki missed the wink Ochako sent to Izuku, who became a blushing mess.
With absolutely no shame, Katsuki’s friends finished exchanging money.
The next memory Katsuki has of the color green is the happiest of his life.
Izuku and him had proposed the same day a year back. They had finished their patrol early to get ready for their anniversary date. It was nice being able to go out in public with each other without working.
It didn’t take long for the media to read into their relationship after debuting as a duo just a few years after high school. Questions about Deku were continuously asked to Katsuki during his interviews as Dynamight. He had tried his best to dodge them, but after Izuku had given his consent, Katsuki decided to have fun with the interviews and confirm their relationship. The support was overwhelming.
In fact, the Internet was in a frenzy once Katsuki had confirmed their suspicions. The headlines were full of “Pro Hero Dynamight confirms relationship with partner Pro Hero Deku” and variations of it. It was nice to have it out in the open.
It was even worse once news of their engagement circulated on the Internet. Fans flooded their mentions with support and congratulations. Just to mess with them and add fuel to the fire, Katsuki posted pictures of Izuku during their date and of their engagement rings.
It was now a year later, the day of their wedding.
They both decided to keep their rings for one another a secret until the ceremony. Katsuki didn’t mind because he knew he was going to make Izuku cry more than him. It was practically guaranteed.
He had chosen a silver ring with a red gemstone in the center. Katsuki also had a small golden gem added to the bottom in honor of their mutual love for All Might (sure, they were adults and about to get married, but that was how their friendship started all those years ago). There was even an inscription on the inside that would make Izuku bawl like a baby.
Katsuki’s mother finished her last touches on his appearance before it was time for him to stand at the pulpit. As she fixed his tie, she looked into Katsuki’s eyes with a smile on her face.
“Appreciate him, Katsuki. He loves you more than life itself, be sure to work for it everyday.”
“Of course, Ma.”
The jitters were beginning to go off in his stomach as he walked with Mitsuki down the aisle. He knew there was nothing to fear, but fucking hell today was the day. Would Izuku like his ring? Would he tell him if he didn’t?
All of his racing thoughts ended as soon as he caught sight of Izuku. His beautiful Izuku.
He was in an all white montsuki haori hakama, contrasting Katsuki’s all black one. Izuku’s family crests were outlined in gold and ruby red which made them pop out with the surrounding white cloth. Meanwhile, Katsuki’s were outlined in gold and dark green.
(They were originally against wearing traditional clothing but their mothers convinced them after a week of pestering. Mitsuki and Masaru even volunteered their services in making them their clothing.)
Izuku’s left ear had a small skull earring on it while his right one had a green lighting bolt, matching Katsuki’s (except his were reversed). They had gotten these fresh out of high school as a subtle sign of their relationship. It was blatantly obvious to everyone who knew them but they remained blissfully unaware in the comfort of their blinding love for one another.
As his love walked down the aisle, the world around Izuku seemed to become hazy with only Izuku remaining in focus. Once his eyes met Katsuki’s, he flashed him his most dazzling smile that never failed to make Katsuki’s heart skip a beat.
Their vows flew by as they stared longingly into each other’s eyes. There was definitely no one else in the world who Katsuki would rather spend the rest of his life with. Izuku was it for him.
“You may put the rings on each other now,” said the officiator.
“Hey, Kacchan,” whispered Izuku as he pulled out the ring. “Hold out your hand.”
His ring for Katsuki was a simple gold band with a yellow diamond in the middle and a green stone on the bottom of the ring.
“There’s an inscription, too, if you wanna read it.”
Katsuki took a few seconds to read the engraving.
I’ll be your wings to go higher. With love, Izuku
Tears began to form as he looked back up at Izuku, who was internally panicking at the sight of a tearful Katsuki. He hadn’t expected for him to cry at the ring.
“Are you crying?”
“Fuck yeah I am, dumbass,” Katsuki whispered back. “Now hold out your damn hand.”
Katsuki slipped a gold band onto Izuku’s ring finger. He had its center be a silver diamond with a small ruby on the bottom of the ring.
“I also had yours engraved.”
Izuku, just like his lover, took a few seconds to read the engraving. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone when tears began to spill down his blushing cheeks.
Thank you for letting me stay by your side. I love you, Katsuki
After they kissed, Katsuki pulled Izuku closer to him after turning around to smile at their families.
“I thank the universe every day for that day back in the park. I’m glad I said yes.”
He grabbed Izuku’s hand and brought it to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss.
“You can’t get rid of me now, nerd.”
“Like I said,” Izuku laughed softly. “I can’t imagine a world where you’re not by my side.”
Yeah, this was definitely his happiest memory.