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Bakugou Katsuki had routines.
It was something anyone who knew anything about him could say. He always woke up at the same time, went to bed at the same time, did his workout at the same time, made his breakfast the same way. Even his clean clothes were folded and put away in a very specific order.
It was rare that he did anything outside his usual daily routine. Especially since he was preparing for the UA entrance exam.
The old hag had told him to get out of the house for a while, which convinced him to go to a new café that had opened at the beginning of summer.
It wasn’t part of his usual routine, normally at this time of day during holidays and vacation he would be in his room studying for the written portion of the UA entrance exam. As it was, he found himself in a small western-style café.
He took a seat at a table, back facing the wall and the rest of him facing towards the café’s counter. A peppy extra with bubblegum pink hair took his order, uniform skirt flouncing around her as she headed to the counter to deliver the order to the barista that stood there.
The only part of the barista that was visible was his back, as the male seemed to be fiddling with one of the espresso machines to keep busy. His head drooped every once and a while, which told Katsuki that the barista with strangely familiar green curls was dead on his feet despite it being only one in the afternoon.
The pink-haired extra went behind the counter and handed over Katsuki’s order, the blond’s red eyes following her all the while. The barista nodded and began to work.
It wasn’t until some time later after Katsuki had his drink in front of him and was sipping away that he finally got a look at the barista’s face.
It was that stupid fucking Deku standing behind that counter in tight dark gray slacks and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show off muscle the blond didn’t know he had.
Katsuki couldn’t keep his eyes off Deku as the barista wiped his hands off on the apron that wound around his waist, then took a seat on a stool that sat behind the counter. The green-haired teen pillowed his chin on his folded arms, thick dark eyelashes fluttered closed.
The blond knew Deku was asleep. He’d always been quick to fall asleep when he was tired. Seemed that hadn’t changed over the years.
What was new was a warm feeling that filled Katsuki’s chest as he watched the other sleep. A fluttery feeling filled his gut and made him think of butterflies and sunshine and warm cloudless days.
It was a nice feeling, but also somewhat disturbing.
He shouldn’t be thinking that Deku of all people was pretty. That the way his full eyelashes fluttered in sleep was cute. Katsuki shouldn’t be musing on the constellations he could trace in the nerd’s freckles, or that his fluffy green curls weren’t as bothersome as they used to be and instead reminded him of an adorable green lamb.
The fact he was even using descriptors like cute, adorable, pretty and fluffy had him disgusted with himself. Who the fuck used words like that to describe someone?
But fuck, Deku was pretty. The school gakuran Katsuki saw him in really did nothing for him.
As the minutes ticked by Katsuki came to accept that his former friend had definitely had a, what was the word the old hag used? Glow-up. Deku’d had a glow-up of epic proportions and puberty wasn’t even done with him yet.
The blond resigned himself to spending high school pining for the nerd, even if they were going to go to different schools. There was no way Deku was getting into UA without a quirk, after all, and the old hag was still great friends with auntie Inko. They were bound to run into each other over the next few years. At least until Katsuki went pro and was too busy for the old hag and old man to drag over to auntie Inko’s apartment.
He’d managed to get out of it the last few years citing needing to study and train to get into UA, but he wasn’t sure how much longer that excuse would last.
Katsuki almost regretted skipping out on all those dinners, since he’d have been able to see Deku’s changes much sooner. When had the nerd begun to put on muscle? When had he begun to grow out of the tiny nerd Katsuki had known and into a pretty boy anyone would want on their arm, quirk or not?
Fuck, who was he kidding? Katsuki had been head over heels for Deku for years. He just hadn’t wanted to admit it before because of how the general public saw quirkless people. If Deku was a quirkless civilian and Katsuki a hero, Katsuki wouldn’t be able to be number one if they got together. Not with how the public looked down on the quirkless.
Maybe…maybe Katsuki could change that? Deku was really pretty after all. If Katsuki could get high enough in the Hero Rankings, he could show off Deku as his partner. Pretty, smart Deku who didn’t need a quirk to keep up with him. Maybe he could even put the nerd’s love of analyzing heroes to use. Suggest he apply to a school with a course for analysis and use it to help heroes. A way to indirectly be a hero.
That way Deku could be useful. Could be a hero like he wanted to be, but would also be safe.
Shit, he was really in deep, wasn’t he? He was already planning the next few years of both their lives as if it were a given Deku would want to date him.
The nerd had no reason to want to. Katsuki had been horrible to him the last few years. Which, honestly, he should probably apologize for. Deku hadn’t wanted to be quirkless, hadn’t asked for it. Katsuki should have supported him from the beginning. They had been best friends, after all.
Instead, he’d been stupid and listened to the old hag talk about how being quirkless meant someone was useless, worthless. It wasn’t like the old man ever corrected that view. He had an excuse as a kid, he hadn’t known better and he thought what his parents said was right.
But he’d seen Deku’s analysis. No one that was useless or worthless could write such in-depth and accurate information.
He just hadn’t wanted to admit he was wrong for all those years.
As he watched Deku’s sleeping face and mused on things he hadn’t dared muse on before, Katsuki decided he’d change. It might take a long time, potentially years even. Old habits were hard to break, after all. However, if he wanted a chance with Deku – with Izuku – he’d need to become a better person and someone the nerd would be proud to date.
Until then, he would dream of the day he was worthy enough.