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Katsuki grits his teeth and speaks slowly as he enunciates the wrathful connotation in his words, “Are you saying you don’t think I- WE are capable of handling the situation on our own?” He stands, is the only one standing actually, in a meeting of assembled heroes and the representatives of the top hero agencies from across Japan.
“Not exactly Mr. Dynamite”, some idiot in a suit steps forward from a line of similar looking idiots in suits, “We all know that the League of Villains is getting out of hand, yes? We also need to improve our relations with the Americans whenever possible. This way we will be killing two birds with one stone essentially. We help out our heroes by offering them an extra hand while ‘uniting with the Americans against evil’. It has nothing to do with the capability of you or any other Pro Heroes in Japan.”
Katsuki scoffed, the logical side of his brain understood their intentions, but his emotional, nay, irrational side of his brain felt betrayed. Out of all the heroes on this miserable planet, why oh why did they have to choose him. “Well, that’s wonderful and all but we don’t need his help. Right guys?” He turned for confirmations from the other Pro Heroes in the room, many of which were his friends and former classmates, only to be met with several sets of big owlish eyes and one heterochromatic pair of eyes that looked bored of the entire conversation.
Traitors.
The man pushed his classes up with a snide smirk and Katsuki got lost in a brief fantasy of ripping them off his stupid face and crushing them beneath his boots. “That’s unfortunate considering he had flown in last night with plans to start early tomorrow morning… Besides this arrangement is only temporary until the League is under control once again.”
They were lucky that Katsuki had learned to count down from ten calmly since he graduated from the hero academy. Otherwise he might’ve done something like rip the door off its hinges and storm out. He was however, too outraged to sit back down in his seat so he had just stood with his arms folded menacingly for the duration of the meeting. The others in the room could probably see his pending rage shooting out of his ears like steam as if he was a large exploding kettle, so it wasn’t long before the meeting was wrapped up.
As always Todoroki was the first to leave without a single goodbye muttered to anyone, especially not his father who watched him leave with his ever present scowl. People slowly started to trickle out after him, but Katsuki stayed behind since his idiot friends were waving over to him excitedly. He sighed, putting on an air of annoyance as he walked over to where they were seated.
“Aww it’s okay Kacchan. Are you worried the new cool American hero is gonna steal the spotlight?” Of course Kaminari’s stupid voice is the first one he hears. Before he can raise his palm and explode his friend out of his chair Kirishima speaks up.
“Common Kami, you know why he doesn’t like this Deku guy.” Katsuki felt his eyelid twitch at the mere mention of his name. Pro Hero Deku, civilian name Izuku Midoriya, was the number one hero in America and as of last year voted number one hero in the world. Voted number one over Katsuki, who was currently number one in Japan. Just because Katsuki wasn’t visiting sick children on a weekly basis with a sweet dimpled smile and giving half of his salary to charity like Deku apparently did…. And really, who actually did those things? It had to be for publicity.
“Tch, that’s not the reason I don’t like him. I’m not that shallow.” Except he absolutely was and they all knew it. “I don’t like him because he seems like a dick. There is no way that fucker is as perfect as the media makes him out to be. It’s gotta be an act. I’m telling you nobody smiles that much. It just isn’t natural.”, Katsuki says in one long angry rant. Despite his denial that he was still mad over the world's number one hero thing, he was definitely still ‘salty’ as Mina would say.
“You pay attention to what they say about him in the media?”, Mina said with a laid back smirk.
“Tch, barely. I just needed to see why they thought he was better than me, which he obviously is not.”, he said with an annoyed grunt. A small fib but they didn’t need to know any more than that. He knows their miniscule brains might get the wrong idea if they knew how obsessively he researched the proclaimed ‘number one hero in the world’.
Sero fiddled with his costume, obviously just coming from a shift, in order to avoid Katsuki’s heated glare. “I think he seems really nice, and all Americans smile a lot, I've heard.” There were a few murmurs of agreement before Katsuki spun dramatically on his heel with a huff.
“Whatever losers. I still don’t think we need the help of some dumb American.” There were a few grumbles and the sound of chairs against the wood floors as his friends got up to follow him out.
He didn’t wait up for any of them, but his ears did perk at the sound of Mina’s shout. “You better be nice to him tomorrow Bakugou!” He rolled his eyes and continued on.
Deku’s smile was brighter than it appeared in the tabloids and he had a dusting of freckles too. Little green ones across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose to match his wild hair. Katsuki noted these small details with surreptitious glances here and there as he ostensibly focused on cleaning his gear before his shift. The number one hero in the world accosted everyone in the room with a jubilant greeting on his first morning, and unsurprisingly everyone loved him. Everyone except Katsuki of course.
He forced himself to relax his tense form as he saw the new hero approaching from the corner of his eye, intentionally ignoring the presence beside him and only looked up when there was a subtle cough. An ugly part of Katsuki’s ego was stroked at the sight of Deku’s hands fiddling nervously as the American greeted him. “Hello Katsuki Bakugo! It is an honor to meet you.” A few of the heroes watched anxiously as Deku bowed his head respectfully knowing full well the contempt Katsuki held for the man in front of him. He stood, disregarding the American hero and noted with entirely too much satisfaction that he was a few inches taller.
His forest green eyes reflected the luminescence of the lights as they looked up at Katsuki with barely contained excitement as Katsuki said, “Your accent is annoying.”
He stayed only to watch Deku’s excitement turn into confusion with a slow tilt of his head, as if he was trying to decide if he didn’t understand correctly or if Katsuki was just rude. The movement only defined the shape of his sharp jaw, and Katsuki walked away before he could dwell on that fact. He received a few disapproving glares for his gratuitous attitude, but he didn’t care. His point was made. He only wished he could see Deku’s reaction to Bakugo’s disrespectful behavior. There was a reaction behind him, and to his blatant irritation it wasn’t because of him, but because that stupid icy-hot bastard had just walked in.
He heard something akin to a giggle, and then Deku’s excited tenor was greeting Todoroki. The stoic man's dour expression shifted slightly in bewilderment as Deku gushed over him in a hybrid jumble of English and Japanese. Bakugo turned to regard the scene with an irritated twitch in his eyebrow. Why didn’t he get a reaction like that? He was number one around here damn it.
Deku’s hands, calloused and defined with scars, were waving excitedly to match the smile on his face as he talked. “WOW you’re Shoto! I have so many questions about your quirk! I can’t believe you’re here. I love you! I mean well… I don’t love you obviously-ehm- I just really admire..” Deku trailed off with a soft blush on his cheeks. He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture as Todoroki stared at him with a baffled expression. Katsuki would chuckle if he wasn’t so disgruntled by the whole situation. That poor Icy Hot bastard was socially awkward as it was, and now he was faced with an over excited bundle of sunshine practically ambushing him.
“Oh…. I suppose I could answer some of your question’s Midoriya.” A few eyebrows raised around the room as the usually indifferent man graced Deku with a small smile, which earned him a bigger one in return. Katsuki didn’t like any of it.
“Oh wow that would be so cool! I think I’ll shadow you today for my first patrol.” Todoroki’s rare smile remained as Deku continued to chatter excitedly across the room. Katsuki’s contemptuous sneer in their direction didn’t go unnoticed.
“Why do you always have to be so prickly Kacchan?”, Kaminari sighed. Katsuki was beginning to wonder how the guy felt free to say whatever came to that pea brain of his. As if Katsuki wouldn’t murder him. The room suddenly became quiet, as if Katsuki’s animosity was spreading like a heavy fog amongst everyone in the room, dousing them in his palpable rage. Denki shrank in on himself as Katsuki approached with homicidal intent, only to stop short at the sound of a sweet voice cutting through the tension in the air.
“Kacchan?”
Every set of eyes in the room snapped to where Deku was standing with a delighted grin on his face. Katsuki’s brain stuttered in its rapid attempt to formulate a reasonable response, only to shut down completely when Deku followed his nickname up with a softly spoken, “Cute.”
Cute? Katsuki’s wasn’t the only shocked expression in the room, but Deku didn’t seem to notice as he skipped out of the door after Todoroki with an excited, “See you all at training later.”
Katsuki wanted nothing more than to shrivel up and die as several giggles erupted from his so-called ‘friends’
“Awww Kachhan are you blushing?”
Kaminari really didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.
Katsuki was still unreasonably moody during training. Training that was enveloping on his fleeting free time, and it was all stupid Deku’s fault. He and the other heroes that Deku was to fight alongside had to train with him prior to any real missions so that the American could get used to their quirks and vice versa. Katsuki would admit, never out loud of course, that Deku was a lot smarter than he looked. He was currently sparring with Kirishima while simultaneously asking rapid fire questions between blows.
“Is there a time limit to how long you can harden?” A forearm block against a high kick.
“How does ice or flames affect you in your hardened state?” A low spin away from a precise combination of punches.
“How do you feel about being used as a projectile weapon?“ A high jump over a low swooping leg.
Deku would mumble in unintelligible English after every answer, eyes zoned out in thought as his body continued to fight as if on autopilot. Katsuki fumed, thinking it was wildly disrespectful the way Izuku was blowing off Kirishima’s skill, but Kirishima himself was smiling excitedly as Deku analyzed him. Finally they stopped, both beginning to breathe heavily as Izuku began to ramble. His Japanese worsened the more excited he became, and Katsuki refused to think it was anything but irritating.
“We’ve been sparring for a little more than twenty-three minutes already and your quirk hasn’t budged at all! Your quirk is so resourceful there are so many possibilities… and you’ve trained yourself so well Kirishima! But before we stop I want to test something… Do you mind if I test your durability against different percentages of my quirk?”
Apparently the Red headed hero thought that was a great idea if Kirishima’s pointed smile was anything to go by. If he were a puppy, which he practically is already, his tail would be going a mile a minute. “Yeah, that would be awesome Mido. Show me what you got.”
Mido? Katsuki thought disdainfully. He tried to keep the disgusted look down that was fighting its way onto his own face, settling for his usual scowl. Of course Mr. overlyfriendly would warm up to the stupid American right away.
Green sparks began to dance around Deku’s right arm, uniting with the lone spark in his green eyes as he announced. “Ready?” The room had collectively taken a breath as Kirishima nodded confidently, accepting Deku’s unspoken competition of strength. Deku wasted no time in slamming his fist into Kirishima’s solid shoulder, which resulted in an anticlimactic nothing. Neither man was deterred, in fact each of their smiles grew wider as the sparks in Deku’s arms connected into thin strands of electric waves.
“Ready?” The impact was surprisingly quiet despite Deku’s fist becoming a light green blur. When the results were the same Deku amped his quirk until it was thick shocks of lightning dancing up and down his arm.
Katsuki didn’t know if the hairs rising along his arms were due to the anticipation or the distinct feeling of the thick pulsating atmosphere resonating from Deku’s quirk. Deku reared his fist back, curly green hair standing on end just from the power in his arm alone, as Kirishima hardened even further into his hardest form. When the two exceptionally strong objects meet, both are immovable in their stubborn force. Like two asteroids colliding, there is nowhere for the force to go but out, so each hero is thrown back in a blur. Two bodies hit opposite walls with a resounding crumble from the concrete. Lucky for them this building was made for these kinds of antics.
Both men stare at each other from opposite walls, grinning before bursting out into giggles like a couple of stupid sunshine idiots. Katsuki has to roll his eyes as they get up, brush themselves off, and rush over to high five each other in their excitement. It was scary to think that these dumbasses were entrusted with the lives of civilians on a daily basis. “The force that I used on you was able to smash through the latest models of chobham tank armor, this means that you could withstand…..”
An elbow jabbing into his ribs caused him to turn with a threat on his tongue, only to be met with Mina and the smug look gracing her pink complexion. “See he’s not so bad Bakugo. I only sparred with him for a few minutes and he had already come up with a few new ways to use my quirk. You’d probably like him if you would just talk to him.” Her face grew more smug as she said with a waggle of her eyebrows, “Maybe you would like like him.”
“Tch. What are you fifteen again? Don’t be stupid.”
“He isn’t hard on the eyes either.”
Her smile grew more smug when Katsuki didn’t refute. “That’s it.”, Katsuki muttered, “Let’s go stupid Deku. I don’t have all day.” He said, pointedly ignoring Mina as he boosted himself onto the sparring mats. The dumb American must not have even realized that Katsuki insulted him judging by the excitement dancing in his green eyes as he approached.
“Alright!” Katsuki was ready to wipe that dimpled smile right off of his dumb handsome face. The two of them got into their ready stance as the heroes around settled to watch them spar. There was a heavy anticipation in the hair, tension like a drawn back rubber band that Katsuki snapped with a quick explosion towards Deku to start the fight. He threw a few testing jabs into the smoke screen he had made. His fists met with a satisfyingly solid wall of muscle that was Deku’s chest. Apparently the idiot wasn’t ready yet.
Tch. That’s what he gets for underestimating-. Suddenly a blur of green surrounded him, stirring up the smoke and dissipating Katsuki’s advantage. Deku was sprinting around him, so fast that Katsuki’s eyes couldn’t follow until there was a flash and a sudden fist colliding into his chest in the same place he had struck Deku. The running stopped and Deku was in front of him, head tilted with a smug smirk.
Okay…. if that was how he wanted it. Katsuki threw himself into the fight in earnest now and was faced with matching strength and stamina. Deku met Katsuki’s raw power with impressive acrobatics and lighting fast parries. There was no mumbling with Katsuki, no questions about his quirk, only sharp breaths and teasing smiles. And it was fun . Each strike and deflection was like a choreographed dance between them until it was if he didn’t even need to think about what his next move would be. Instead he began to focus on the sweat running down Deku’s neck, the exhilarating sting of his lungs fighting for air, the smile fighting its way onto his face…
The spell was broken by a yell from the forgotten crowd around them. “Okay guys that’s enough fun for today. It’s been almost forty minutes and we all have to work tomorrow.” His gaze flickered to where Deku stood across from catching his breath.
He looked just as surprised as Katsuki felt as he ran the back of his hand over his forehead to catch the sweat there. “Oh uh.. Okay.” Did he sound disappointed?
He started to walk, hands on his narrow hips when he turned to regard Katsuki again, who was unfazed at being caught staring. His smile was tired but no less bright. “See you tomorrow Kacchan. ”
Katsuki waved him off as he patted himself down with a nearby towel, too tired from their skirmish to reprimand him for the silly nickname. At least that’s what he told himself.
Katsuki was the poster child for punctuality. He always arrived where he needed to be exactly when he was needed, not a minute sooner nor a minute later. Which was why today he was on the receiving end of strange looks as he packed his duffle away into his locker exactly twenty minutes before he would on a normal day, not that this wasn’t a normal day, it was a day like any other. Well, accept for the fact that Deku was going to start official hero work in Japan today.
This had nothing to do with Katsuki’s early arrival of course. He simply had extra energy this morning and had gone through his usual morning routine earlier than he had anticipated. He had woken up feeling lighter with the dance of new adrenaline in his veins. The thrill of a new rival.
The flutter in his pulse was immediately quelled at the sight of Deku smiling at Todoroki over the cup of tea raised to his mouth. They were both wearing their hero suits and gear. Todoroki’s was a simple blue, like the man himself, while Deku’s was a deep green to match his features. Katsuki made a mental note of the heavy supporting gear around Deku’s fist and boots, but otherwise pretended not to notice them. Todoroki’s voice was like a steady drone as Katsuki donned his gear, more so than he had ever heard it before. He clenched his teeth at Deku’s soft chuckle.
He liked half and half better when he was an anti social bastard.
“C’mon Deku. You’re with me today dumbass.” Katsuki’s voice was still gruff as it was his first time using it this morning. He quite liked the way it made Deku sit up straight in his chair. “O-Okay. Coming.”
They began walking the streets in awkward silence. Deku’s eyes flickered everywhere but in Katsuki’s direction, and maybe that was because he was being vigilant, but the tension in the air like a palpable barrier between them said otherwise.
You’d probably like him if you would just talk to him.
Mina’s annoying voice bounced around in his brain as he stole glances in Deku’s direction. Unable to bear the silence any longer Katsuki coughed. “You never asked me any questions about my quirk.” It wasn’t a question but Izuku seemed to understand what he was asking. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Deku’s hand come up to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. His gaze slowly found the side of Katsuki’s face while his own red glare remained strictly in front of them.
“Actually..” Katsuki’s attention latched onto the hesitancy in his voice, intrigued. “I already know everything about it.” Katsuki stopped to regard Deku slowly to make the other man as uncomfortable as possible before leveling him with a glare.
“Oh really?” He couldn’t help the smile at Deku’s blush, green eyes avoiding him as he stuttered. His smile took a jesting edge to it. “That’s a little creepy Deku.”
“I-It’s not like that Kacchan!” Deku finally looked at him, and relaxed upon noticing his smile. He too smiled, sweet and bashful, at the realization that Katsuki was teasing. The blush on his cheeks was still faint as he playfully shoved Katsuki with a chuckle. “You know what I mean. I knew if I was ever going to be number one I would have to watch the best heroes for fighting techniques and strategy. With your ingenuity of your quirk and the way you fight with such intense passion… I knew you would be worth watching.”
Katsuki regarded the thoughtful look on Deku’s face with surprise; surprise at the admission and surprise at himself for how much it warmed him. Others had praised him before, his entire life in fact, but coming from Deku, the number one hero in the world, it felt different. Genuine. He thought about admitting that he himself had done the same but his pride quickly shut that notion down. The silence was comfortable now as the continued their patrol along the city.
Katsuki could almost cry when his ear piece bagan to crackle to life, disturbing the tranquil moment between them.
“Emergency in progress. Members of the League of Villains spotted near the central bank. Pro hero Deku and Pro Hero Dynamite, you are currently the closest to the scene. Do not wait for backup.”
“Fucking serious? It’s 6 AM do these bastards ever sleep?”, Katsuki grumbled. He turned to find Deku looking at him with an excited glow in his eyes, or perhaps that was his quirk making his eyes glow. Nomatter the cause, the luminescent dance of his green eyes along Katsuki’s face was enough to bring a quirk to his lips.
“Race you there?” Deku was gone before Katsuki could reply.
Katsuki and Izuku were dubbed the greatest hero duo of all time just two weeks after Deku’s arrival in Japan. Their moves were like water, flowing, interacting, but never clashing. One was constantly aware of the other.
Their first fight wasn’t perfect, far from it actually.
Despite Deku’s head start, Katsuki had flung himself ahead and directly into the fray, maniacally laughing at the villains and Deku’s matching bewildered looks. He landed with a massive explosion, showy, intimidating. A sharp curse rang out as he raised his palms, whether it be from Deku far behind him or from the stunned villains within range, he didn’t know.
He wasn’t showing off, not at all. But this was Japan, and in Japan Katsuki was number one. He just wanted to reinforce that fact, and in doing so he was reckless. He had jumped in without surveying the area for the number of villains, civilians, weapons around, like Deku had stopped to do, but he didn’t need to. These villains were weak, and it was obvious by the way he had made quick work of the ones in front of him.
There were several figures beginning to emerge around him on all sides, more villains than he had anticipated. Fuck. Even if they were weak, taking on this many at once wasn’t a good idea. Fuck it. He wasn’t the best in all of Japan for nothing.
Katsuki tensed his shoulders, palms heating when he felt a solid presence at his back. He didn’t need the reassuring touch of his back to Deku’s to know that it was the other hero behind him, but it was nice nonetheless. Not that he needed the stupid American’s help or anything, but it was nice to know he didn’t have to watch his back.
“You shouldn’t go charging into a fight without analyzing your surroundings first.”
“Tch. I know that.” Katsuki looked over his shoulder just in time to catch the look Deku had sent him, sharp and slightly annoyed. He couldn’t help but feel amused at Deku’s huffed out reply.
“ Do you?”
Katsuki didn’t have time to quip what would’ve been a very witty response before the villains were on them.
Despite their unfavorable position Katsuki wasn’t worried, the electric atmosphere created by Deku’s quirk was warm and reassuring against his back.Their enemies began to advance, each one adorning cocky sneers and smiles of malicious glee at the opportunity to fight Japan's number one hero with such favorable numbers. Not that it mattered, but these unsavory characters wouldn’t know any better. Katsuki fought the urge to scoff out loud.
Didn’t they understand who they were dealing with?
The fight was fast and unfair. A few rapid explosions to the villains at his right and an AP shot to his left would blind and incapacitate all of those around him. If an enemy were to approach his blind spot Deku would send them reeling with a powerful kick without either of them saying a word. They were like a well oiled machine; efficient, impenetrable, deadly. As the villains around them began to fall Katsuki began to focus on the movement out of the corner of his eye; a flash of green, gracefully powerful, fluid like water but fast and unforgiving. The product of years and years of constant training, just like Katsuki.
Deku was a thing to behold as he fought, effortlessly powerful, not a hint of worry or exertion on his face as he dropped villain after villain. Katsuki wanted to fight him. Wanted to break that graceful barrier with a solid punch, just to see the look on Deku’s face. He wondered how the American’s beautiful features would contort when faced with a real opponent, how he would react in the presence of a real threat. Would he smile his constant, insufferable smile? Would he snarl? Would he whimper?
Only one way to find out.
Katsuki saw his opportunity when a villain in front of him powered up their quirk, a manipulation of air into an intensely focused strike. Katsuki could have used the heat of his own quirk to disband the attack of air, but instead he chose to duck, allowing it to shoot past his head and hit Deku square in the back. It was a shame he couldn’t see the look on the other hero's face when the shot hit him from behind, but Katsuki supposed it was satisfying enough to watch him careen straight into the building behind him, body meeting brick as Deku broke straight through the wall.
It was almost funny, the silence that followed. It was as if everyone was collectively shocked that the attack actually landed. The billowing dust from the ruined brick gathered in the air and was pierced by the crackle of green energy from within the hole in the building. Deku emerged, casually dusting off his shoulders, blood dripping from his nose and running down his lips and chin. A smirk pulled at his bloodied lips as he slowly stepped forward, eye’s glowing an inhuman green as his quirk electrified the atmosphere around him.
He made a show of licking the blood from his lips, tongue darting out slowly as if he were savoring the metallic taste. His eyes never left Katsuki’s as he did so, as if he knew exactly what was running through Katsuki’s mind. Katsuki felt his throat among other things tighten as the blood dripped from the jut of Deku’s chin down the tantalizing curve of his neck. The urge to have a taste of his own shocked him almost as much as the realization that there were still others around, villains that needed to be dealt with.
It was as if Deku knew the picture he made just then, alluring and dangerous. His smirk increased along with the intensity of his quirk in the air to the point that his hair began to rise from his scalp. It was quick, a flash of light and he was gone. The villains that remained, which weren’t that many, were dealt with, either tied up or unconscious within minutes, without Katsuki needing to lift so much as a finger. It was becoming increasingly obvious why Deku was considered number one, even over Katsuki.
He was torn out of his stupor by a hand in his uniform dragging, and then slamming him up against the brick wall right beside the hole that Deku’s body had made. “You did that on purpose!”, Deku snarled, fist tightening in the front of his hero costume. Deku crowded into him, standing on the tips of his toes so that he could bring his face level with Katsuki’s. The realization shouldn’t bring him as much satisfaction as it did. They were so close, instead of feeling chastised, Katsuki felt the urge to rest his hands on the other's hips and draw him closer.
He let an insufferable smirk spread across his face, one he was told (by Mina) made him look like an asshole but in an attractive way. “Did what, stupid nerd?”, he tried to keep his voice casual.
“You know what you did!”, Deku brought their faces even closer, so close that their noses almost brushed. His eyes were still glowing with his quirk, blazing into Katsuki’s as if he were contemplating making another hole in the wall, but with Katsuki’s body this time. It stirred up a heat inside of him, as if Deku was poking at hot embers residing in his gut, enticing a flame.
“I dunno I do a lot of things.” Katsuki wants him to snap, whether that to be throwing a punch or leaning forward and pressing his lips to Katsuki’s in an angry clash of tongues and teeth and passion…. But what he gets instead is a frustrated sigh.
“What did I do to make you want to act like such a- such a-” he stares intensely at Katsuki, eyes flickering all over his face as if the word he’s looking for would be found there, “An ASS.” he finally yells in english, apparently too upset to continue in japanese. He stomps away, leaving Katsuki’s eyes and amused smile to follow his retreating form.
Watching Deku try to avoid him became the highlight of Katsuki’s days following the ‘incident’. Whenever he entered a room, Izuku would make an excuse to leave it. Whenever Katsuki spoke, Deku would stubbornly look away or at his fingernails. Whenever Katsuki would stand near him, Deku would subtly shuffle over so that they weren’t as close.
Grumpy Deku was kind of cute, to the extent that Katsuki would make it a point to stand near him in meetings or when getting ready in the morning, just to see his freckled nose crinkle in irritation before he would turn away or walk somewhere else. Sometimes (because Katsuki is exactly what Deku had said, an ass ), he would purposefully brush against Deku in passing or would rest his leg against Deku’s if they sat at the same table, just to see the way Deku’s jaw would clench while he momentarily froze in a response to Katsuki’s touch
The fleeting touches and the momentary glares became the best part of his day. He even began to seek Deku out, studying his daily patterns so that he knew where to be so that they would run into each other. It was fun, exciting in a way that he never knew human interaction could be; that is until one morning. He had walked into work only to find Deku smiling over at Todoroki while clutching a large grey hoodie to his chest. He made quick work of pulling it over his head and running his arms through the sleeves, which stretched a little too far over his hands but it didn’t seem to matter to him. “Thanks for letting me borrow your hoodie Shoto.”
There it was again. His smile, dimples and all aimed towards Todoroki, who returned it while walking over and ruffling Izuku’s viridian hair with his hand. “You’re welcome.”
Todoroki glared and Izuku refused to look at him as they walked past and out the door for their early morning patrol around the city perimeter. It was then that Katsuki realized that the glares and the fleeting touches isn’t the attention he wants anymore. He wants the smiles and his hand rough and playful in Deku’s hair. He wants friendship like that, but in order to get it he needs to stop being such a dick.
Katsuki still watched for Deku everyday, but now it was so that he could be near him to try to make conversations, maybe offer him some food. Izuku always maintained his aloofness, and did a damn good job of it too. He would either reply with a curt word or two or sometimes nothing at all and completely ignore him. Katsuki wasn’t the most patient person in the world, so it didn’t take long before he had had enough and just decided to be himself; outright, honest, and a little bit rude.
He muttered out a soft ‘good morning’ as he had passed Deku on his way out the door for his first patrol, but quickly spun around and walked back inside after the American when he had received only silence in return. He was done being ignored. It surprised him how nice it felt to have those green eyes finally meet his own, even if they were widened in shock as he spun the American hero around with a rough hand on his shoulder. He trapped Izuku with one hand on each side of his head, back against the wall as he leaned in so that the other hero had nowhere else to look but at him.
“I'm sorry okay? I just… I did a shitty thing and now I’m sorry. Alright? Can you stop ignoring me now?”
Despite their close proximity, Deku still manages to cross his arms with a cocked brow. “Why do you even care? It’s not like you want to be friends. You made it clear that you didn’t like me as soon as I got here.” Katsuki released a long sigh through his nose and silently mourned for the pride he was about to sacrifice.
“Look… even though you’re slightly annoying you aren’t that bad to have around. I actually wouldn’t hate it if you wanted to be..”, Katsuki takes a moment to clear his throat, “... friends .”
A small smile begins to grow on Deku’s face as he talks. The sudden heat of his blush makes him painfully aware of how close they are and he takes a large step back, covering his embarrassment with an awkward cough. Without waiting for a response he turns on his heel and stomps away. “Fuck it. Nevermind.”
Deku is there, without missing a beat, wherever Katsuki goes. Sitting around in meetings? Deku is right there beside him dozing off as Endeavor blabs away. Katsuki doesn’t say anything, even as Deku’s head of soft curls falls to his shoulder as the American droops in sleep.
Settling down to eat lunch? Deku is usually sliding out a chair beside him with a pathetic granola bar. Katsuki brings a little extra food with him everyday because Deku has the eating habits of a stupid American, and he can’t have him falling behind on missions because of his terrible diet.
Going out on a dangerous mission? Deku always runs to catch up with him and stubbornly refuses to turn around. Katsuki tells him he doesn’t need his help, but Deku always says he just wants to tag along for the company. Katsuki usually scoffs, silently pleased and allows the dumb American to come with. His Japanese was getting better anyway so it was less annoying when he talked.
The more time they spent together the more attuned their fighting became to one another. They were a tenacious team, relentless and efficient. The crime rate had steadily begun to dwindle, and the streets of Japan were beginning to breathe easy and flourish once again. It was like a new Spring had blossomed the way vendors and small shops began to open their doors. The sidewalks began to fill up with civilians and the city had come alive now with its pulse returned.
The change in atmosphere was gradual, but didn’t go unnoticed. Reporters and news tabloids began to show their appreciation through stories of the local heroes. It wasn’t long before social media was exploding with fan accounts, more than there were before, and appreciation posts (some wildly inappropriate) for Japan’s heroes and especially their American visitor. It was to the point where every time Deku went on patrol he would come back with flowers in his hair from the local vendors and the occasional lipstick on his cheek. (Katsuki liked the flowers a lot more than the lipstick.)
In the evenings while he was getting ready to sleep he would scroll through social media (he liked seeing what the public posted about him). There had been a confrontation in the middle of the city today between a few heroes and a portion of the league of villains today so it was all over the internet. He scrolled through a few that he was tagged in as he brushed his teeth, occasionally pausing to spit. He let out a soft chuckle around his toothbrush at a post of him aiming an explosion towards a villain captioned ‘look at those arms!’ with an obscene amount of emojis. There were a few comments below that started to get inappropriate and before he could blush he scrolled away.
He knew he was hot, but sometimes the extra’s took it a little too far.
He washed his face and headed to bed at exactly 9:00 and not one second later. He indulged himself for a few more minutes, tucking an arm beneath his head and scrolling through a few more posts. Deku usually texted him goodnight around this time because he knew Katsuki went to bed relatively early, not that he was waiting for it or anything, he just wasn’t tired yet.
The next post did in fact have him blushing, a picture of Deku fighting. His back was to the camera, shoulders cocked and muscles stiff and at the ready. The caption ‘he looks even better from behind...’ only encouraged the lude comments below over his formidable backside and ‘wonderful American thighs’ as someone so elegantly put. There were entire fan accounts focused around Deku’s thighs actually, not that he blamed them.
He studied the picture for a while (a while longer than he probably should have) before moving on to the next post. It was a picture of him and Deku hugging, the nerd had gotten a little over excited when they had successfully executed one of their dual moves they had been practicing, and mid-fight had flung himself to Katsuki, arms wide, and enveloped him in an overly strong hug. His smile was wide, dimples and teeth blinding in their radiance (bigger than the one he had given Todoroki, take that IcyHot), and he was standing on his toes in order to rest his chin on Katsuki’s shoulder. Luckily the villain they were facing was brought down by their attack so they weren’t in immediate danger, but it was a stupid thing to do.
It still brought a small smile to Katsuki’s face, much like the one he was wearing in the photo of them, soft and genuine. Then he saw the caption of the photo.
‘Boyfriends! <3’
He sat and stared at it for a few seconds, what could have been minutes really, rereading the caption and the comments underneath. He only stopped when Deku’s goodnight text vibrated his phone, bringing him out of his stupor.
He flicked the notification off of his screen and shut his phone off for the night. With palms digging into his eyes he contemplated on it until he began to see colors on the back of his eyelids.
Did they act like boyfriends? Sure he cooked for Deku once in a while but that was because the idiot was hopeless in the kitchen. And so what Deku had a few of his shirts? He never came prepared to missions when they would be staying out for days on end. It was true that they were always touching in some way and always stayed close, but didn’t all friends?
Katsuki groaned and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Most importantly, did he want Deku as a boyfriend? Did he even have those feelings for Deku? He honestly didn’t know. Perhaps tomorrow he could figure it out.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, it didn’t take long for him to figure out. Instead of getting ready near his locker like he usually was when Katsuki arrived for work, Deku was nowhere to be seen. The realization only made the anticipation expand and weigh heavier in his chest. His fretting was short lived. The door to one of the executive managers of the hero agency cracked open to reveal a familiar head of green curls. Deku had shut the door behind him with a glum look on his face, but eyes that were heavy with sadness visibly brightened when they landed on Katsuki from across the room.
His smile slowly expanded as he came walking over towards Katsuki, all traces of sadness gone from the soft features of his face. “Good morning Kacchan!” Something warm and familiar ballooned in Katsuki's stomach, pushing out the anxiety and nervousness he had been battling all night at the sight of Deku’s soft close lipped smile. The realization wasn’t sudden, nor was it very surprising to him. The soft smile pulling at the corner of his mouth at the wild curls still mussed from sleep heading towards him was familiar, just as the overwhelming fondness he felt looking at the chaotic disarray that was Deku in the morning.
“I’ve got to talk to you about something.” The sullen lilt began to edge back into his eyes when Deku had finally reached him. It only took one sentence to unravel Katsuki into a panicked mess. Did Deku see that post of them together? Was he about to confront Katsuki?
He had only just realized his feelings. He wasn’t ready to talk about them yet. His voice was gruff as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Not now, loser. I’ve got stuff to do.” He turned his back on Deku’s surprised face and walked away like the coward he was. He just needed a little time to come to terms with everything.
At least that’s what he told himself as Deku’s soft voice rang out behind him. “O-Okay. Come find me as soon as you’re done, it's really important.”
He never did talk to Deku. For the rest of the day he hid like an ant from a looking glass on a sunny day, as if he would catch fire if Deku ever managed to corner him. Guilt tore at him as he walked home. He was a coward, plain and simple, and furthermore he had missed Deku. He spent his day hypervigilant and bored, cold without the warmth of Deku’s accidental brushes off skin and warm banter. Cold without warm green eyes appraising and adoring.
He was such an idiot. How could he let his own feelings scare him. He was a pro hero. The best of the pro heroes. He should fear nothing, especially not his own burgeoning feelings. He never wanted the way he wanted Deku. Never longed for someone's company to the point of distracting himself. It was only natural to be afraid of the unknown, and this was something completely foriegn to him, much like Deku was ironically.
It was unmarked territory but also territory he longed to explore, to map out in such detail that no one could say they knew more than he. As much as the leap scared him, the thought of being warm and familiar with Deku, as lovers, was something he wanted with all of his being. It was settled. Tomorrow he would proclaim his feelings the only way he knew how. Loud and aggressively. He would find Deku and hold him in his arms until Katsuki was all he could focus on and then, in that moment he would tell him.
He would hold his sweet freckled face in his hands and say it over and over until it drilled into that thick American skull of his that Katsuki wanted him as a permanent fixture in his life, even if it meant living with his stupid accent.
He brushed his teeth and tucked himself into bed early with the same pointed determination that got him to claim the number one spot on the hero charts. As he waited for sleep to claim him he scrolled once more through social media, only this time the pictures of him and Deku calmed the fires of his nerves. If he has his way tomorrow then there will be many more pictures of them together, pictures he will cherish as he does with the ones he already has. The only thing missing from his night is a goodnight text.
Katsuki wakes up early the next morning, earlier than usual. He feels his excitement grow like a flower blooming in the intense heat of his anticipation, but he doesn’t let it get in the way of his morning routine. If anything it makes him more patient and particular as he readies himself. He combs carefully through his hair, each stroke careful like a painter's brush on a canvas, not allowing even a single spikey blonde hair to spring out of place. Whether it was his nerves or not he would not allow any detail to be out of place.
After checking himself in the mirror one final time he headed out to work early, giving himself enough time to meet Deku, who also usually arrived early for his own shift. He paced the floor in front of their usual lockers as the heroes on the night shift headed home with a wave goodbye that Katsuki was too lost in thought to return. Where was he? It was eight minutes before the start of his shift, at this rate he wouldn’t have time to confess! Dumb Deku, probably forgot to set his alarm again.
His head turned, so fast it caused a joint in his neck to pop, when the door finally swung open. “What took you- oh. It’s just you pinky.” He tsked in annoyance once more. “The nerve of that loser to keep me waiting.” He sat straight in his chair, arms crossed, and glared at the door, as if daring Deku to walk through it so Katsuki could give him hell.
“Who? Deku?”, Mina said over her shoulder as she pulled her hero costume on.
Katsuki didn’t bother to look away from the door, fixated like a dog with a bone. “Yeah. Who else would I bother waiting for? None of you losers.”
“Uhm…” Mina began but hesitated, as if suddenly the room became too hot. It gave Katsuki a bad feeling. She of all people never hesitated or stuttered, always diving head first into everything with blunt honesty.
Now she looked uncomfortable, and with a soft voice as if she was trying to sooth a scared child said, “Deku was called out to a hostage situation back in the United States yesterday, he left on the first flight they could book. Apparently the situation was urgent and all hands on deck.”
Katsuki felt his shoulders slouch in disappointment. There would be no seeing Deku today. “Those stupid Americans can’t do anything without him is that it? Heh go figure.”
Mina still was looking at him with sympathetic uneasiness. “So when is he getting back? I’ve got to talk to him.”
She pretended to busy herself with organizing her locker when she said in a somber voice, “He isn’t.”
Katsuki felt himself pause and slowly turn towards her. “What do you mean he isn’t ?” His voice took an indignant lilt to it.
“The higher ups had deemed the league under control for now as of yesterday and had already planned to send him home.”
Katsuki stood, eerily silent for what seemed like longer than necessary. “And he didn’t even bother to say goodbye? Typical, stupid American. I don’t know why I expected anything else.” He let his anger boil over his deepening disappointment, if he didn’t then his emotions would swallow him like quicksand.
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”, Mina said offhand, knowingly, without sparing him so much as a glance, “because he left something for you in your locker.” Katsuki paused to look at her as she walked by. She took advantage of the opportunity to give him a pointed look. “And by the way, he was looking everywhere for you. You just weren’t around.”, and with that she walked out of the door ready to patrol the southern sect of the city.
Without stopping to feel guilty, that would come later, Katsuki marched over to his locker and threw it open. He wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. A letter perhaps, one of his collectable All Might figurines maybe, but he was not prepared for a picture. The same picture that had thrown Katsuki into a cataclysmic spiral about his feelings was now staring at him from his locker, adorned with a simple silver frame. Their happy smiles, Deku’s arms crushing him into a hug, the soft look in Katsuki’s eye; the still pixels mocked him. All of it was berating him silently, screaming ‘how could you let this go?’
Despite the vanquished promises the picture had captured, he still held it up to his eyes so that he could examine it properly with a small saddened smile. The distant whisper of paper gracefully falling to the ground brought his eyes away from the frame for a moment to find a small note on the floor by his feet. Gingerly he picked it up, huffing fondly at Deku’s terrible handwriting. He read it, rested his forehead against the cool metal of the locker, and closed his eyes in regret.
It read : To the hero I admire most. - Deku
Katsuki mopes. He would never admit it, but that’s exactly what he’s doing. It had been a few weeks, maybe a month, since Deku had left Katsuki in Japan. Everything felt so silent, even when his rowdy friends were around. Katsuki felt like he was constantly in the eye of a hurricane. Life and chaos were around him but where he stood it always seemed calm and boring, as if he had a bubble of dullness around him.
It wasn’t hard to imagine what exactly was missing. If anything his entire focus remained on what was missing rather than what was right in front of him. He soothed the ache of failure, his ineptitude at handling his feelings like a normal adult, by watching American talk shows. Deku had been in the media’s eye the second he stepped foot on American soil again. Apparently the news of their beloved heroes action in Japan had been a highlight in the news for all of the months he was away in Japan, and every talk show host wanted their turn to share his spotlight and throw their own questions at him.
Katsuki liked to watch his interviews before he fell asleep most nights. It was nice to hear his voice, even if he was speaking in excited jittery English. Katsuki almost preferred his quirky accent to his English. Sometimes he turned on subtitles and sometimes he didn’t, preferring to just listen and watch Deku’s bright animated hand gestures and smile as he described one fight or another.
His friends, nosy but they mean well, do everything they can to constantly be around him instead of letting him mope in peace. When they aren’t annoying him with their usual antics they’re imploring him to give Deku a call, which is even worse. They are both heroes, not to mention there is a thirteen hour difference in time between them. He would ask, When exactly would he call? Or, What exactly would he say? Usually that would earn him either silence or Mina’s exasperated voice yelling ‘Tell him how you feel, idiot!’.
They mean well but sometimes Katsuki thinks that one of their efforts to help him is going to push him over the edge. He would make an exception for today however. It was his birthday and every year they planned some sort of ‘surprise’ party. Katsuki is convinced it is more for their own sakes than his but nevertheless, he will allow it. Even though Katsuki walks around like a dark cloud, threatening and full to burst, he still can’t find it in himself to rain on their parade. Their giggles and ‘discreet’ planning make it hard for him to say no to them so he acts oblivious.
He is almost nervous for whatever they’ve cooked up for him this year, because they seem to be giddier than usual. No matter how happy they are to plan things for him, if he finds another mechanical bull installed in his apartment someone is going to be set on fire. Probably Kaminari.
All day the sit on their phones texting and making plans, right in front of him he might add, completely ignoring him, the birthday boy, who they are planning the party for. Idiots he thinks, but secretly enjoys the serene peacefulness that comes with their diverted attention. Their excitement builds and builds all day until its time to go home and rest finally, except he never gets to rest on his birthday because Sero, the diversion, asks Katsuki to come have a drink with him. He agrees, only so that his loser friends can have time to set up their shitty decorations and balloons before he comes home.
After they successfully down two beers Sero’s phone buzzes ominously, signaling it was time to bring Katsuki home. Sero doesn’t give Katsuki a reason to why he is following him home, but Katsuki allows it with a roll of his eyes. This was going to be a long night he could tell.
Katsuki braces himself for the shouting as he opens the door, and is not disappointed as a chorus of “Happy birthday!” is shouted loud enough to disturb his neighbors on all sides. He doesn’t even pretend to be shocked, but his friends don’t seem to mind in their excitement. He takes stock of the damage done to his apartment, no mechanical bull in sight thankfully.
Shitty decorations….check.
Streamers and balloons all over his clean floor….check.
Deformed homemade cake….check.
Deku in a cheap party hat….check.
Katsuki does a double take and is met with Deku’s genuine dimpled smile, who was indeed wearing a plastic cone hat on top of his head. He was dressed up for once in a simple button down and a black pair of slacks, looking at Katsuki with warm eyes and smiling as if he had never left.
His friends busied themselves with cutting the cake and passing out food so that Katsuki could walk over to Deku, genuinely surprised on his birthday for once. They were not so casually watching them but he would forgive them this once.
Katsuki walked, hands in his pockets and attempting to be as nonchalant as possible as he wracked his brain for the right thing to say. Deku was walking too, although with more purposeful strides and didn’t stop until both of his arms were squeezing Katsuki as if he would turn into sand and fade away at any minute. If he couldn’t think of anything to say before he certainly couldn’t now with the way the length of Deku’s body was pressed tight and warm against his own.
Deku, on the tips of his toes once again, chuckled into his ear as his arms tightened around Katsuki. “It’s nice to see you, Kacchan.”
God he missed that annoying accent.
He finally found the words he had been looking for, spurred on by the fact that Deku was genuinely happy to see him. “I’m glad you came.”
Deku pulled away to Katsuki dismay, but the warmth of his hug stayed. He shot Katsuki one last brilliant smile before leading him to join the others in the cake, which tasted better than it usually did. They played board games, some made them into drinking games, but Katsuki will admit he had a good time. Deku’s quiet laughter beneath all the chaos soothed Katsuki, as if it were the missing piece to his happiness. He found his eyes were wandering over to Deku more often than he would like, but for once he was happy to let them. He had missed seeing him everyday, and it was as if his eyes were trying to make up for lost time.
Sometimes Deku glanced at him too, and their eyes would meet and Deku would smile a smile of soft secrets waiting to be told. Each one added a little more air to the expanding balloon in his chest until he was afraid he might burst, pop, deflate, or worse, yell all of his bottled up feelings at Deku and everyone in the room until the balloon returned to its normal size.
He saw his chance finally, as the games were winding down and a movie was being chosen to end the night. Deku excused himself to the balcony, presumably to get some fresh air. Katsuki’s eyes zeroed in on his retreating form like a hawk, wanting desperately to go after him but also unsure of what to say.
Kirishima, who was usually the lest invasive out of all of his friends, clapped him on the back and shoved him in the direction of the balcony after Deku. “Go get him bro!”
A few faint cheers followed him outside to where Deku was leaning against the guard rail with his face to the light of the moon. He walked over to him with a small smile on his face at his friends' antics. They were nosey but they meant well.
Deku turned his head at the sound of the sliding door opening and closing and greeted Katsuki with a sparkle in his eye. Even with half of his face casted in shadow and the other in moonlight, he looked like Katsuki’s savior. Beautiful, warm, and inviting. Everything Katsuki needed after the long month he’s had.
They sat in a compatible silence, just the two of them enjoying the slight breeze until Katsuki thought he might explode with everything he wanted to say. Deku, always surprising him in the best ways, beat him to it.
“So why were you avoiding me?” Sweet as he was, Deku was never one to beat around the bush. Katsuki looked to his hands before hesitating and looking up at Deku. He expected some degree of anger, or hurt, but what he received was earnest encouragement from the open look on Deku’s face. Before he knew it the air was traveling from his lungs and out his mouth, escaping the pent up balloon of feelings in his chest and finding the cool atmosphere of the night around them.
“I realized I was in love with you and that scared the shit out of me.”
It was out there before he had even made up his mind to say it, but fuck, it felt so good to say it. He almost wanted to repeat it over and over until he sounded like an insane man rambling. He would’ve too, if it weren’t for the soft abrupt chuckle that punched itself out of Deku’s chest.
“You idiot.”
Katsuki for the second time that night did a double take. “What did you just call me?” He was so taken by surprise that he had forgotten to add a threatening tone to his question. This made Deku chuckle again, and Katsuki couldn’t find it in himself to be mad because of the genuine humor sparkling in Deku’s expressive green eyes. He leaned closer and closer to Katsuki until their noses touched and Deku’s breath tickled his awaiting lips.
His voice was soft, Katsuki could almost feel it against his skin as he murmured, “I called you an idiot.”
Deku was still wearing a smile when he kissed Katsuki for the first time, not that Katsuki was complaining. His lips were soft and gentle, unlike the pounding of Katsuki’s heart in his chest. He felt the light touch of a hand against his cheek, firm but gentle as it angled his chin to deepen the kiss. Katsuki’s mind soared, unaware that he had reached out for Deku’s hips, grabbing and pulling him closer still, dissolving any space there ever was between them.
Deku let out a groaning exhale that threatened to completely destabilize Katsuki right then and there but he pushed away with every ounce of resolve in his body.
“We should probably go back to the party.” Despite his words Katsuki refused to move or relinquish his hold on Deku, completely content to keep him pressed against his chest on the balcony all night. Deku smiled up at him, lips swollen and delicious, and entangled their fingers together. By their joined hands he tugged Katsuki towards the door with a sly smile and whispers of promises for later.
Everyone looked up simultaneously from their spots around Katsuki's TV as they walked inside hand in hand. There were a few knowing smiles but none of them looked surprised.
Jerks.
They settled together at the open space on the end of the couch where Katsuki threw his arm over Deku’s shoulders and Deku snuggled into his side as if it were only natural for them to do so. Feeling bold, he pressed a soft kiss to Deku’s temple as the title screen of the movie showed bright on the screen. The rise of One for all, the first All Might movie. One of Deku’s favorites.
Katsuki found he didn’t mind the English subtitles as much as he thought he would.