Work Text:
21 PEOPLE
CLASS 3A
2:19 am
Sorry for being such an asshole all the time.
I appreciate you guys.
I know I’m not the most agreeable person and I haven’t made it easy.
We’ve been through hell and back and I’ll always care about y’all.
Love you all.
Again I’m sorry.
Sent 2:19 am
Katsuki underestimated the fact his classmates were as sleep-deprived as he was because the influx of messages began five seconds after he hit send. Instant regret. He was already feeling his phone heating up he pressed the do not disturb button and tossed his phone on his bed.
He contemplated sending anything for thirty minutes. At first, it was a garbled paragraph that was more concerning than the texts he just dropped. Feelings were something Katsuki denied he had for years and getting them out in a coherent manner was a struggle. For the longest, he didn't believe that mental health was a big problem. He was strong and more than capable to deal with anything life threw at him.
Then he had a panic attack mid-dinner during the fifth fight his parents had on their vacation.
Maybe he was going soft. Maybe he was finally letting all his stress catch up to him. Being left alone for several hours was not doing his thoughts any good. Every little noise was either irritating or startling him but he rather a ghost bother him than his parents. The people that brought him into the world were his biggest issue at the moment. They fought, Katsuki assumed all parents went through the tired routine of yelling and screaming over insignificant things. They always made up in the end and that was their weird family dynamic.
Until the bickering topics drastically changed from mundane things to actual issues. His father suggested this trip to ease family tension. Katsuki sensed this plan would go to shit, but he agreed to it for the sake of his parents’ marriage. His father was always the peacemaker. Calm and collected, Masaru Bakugou was the voice of reason in the house. Unfortunately, his mother was the complete opposite. Katsuki knew his personality was not the best but his mother….was more than difficult. It was truly a miracle that Mitsuki Bakugou was married. His parents’ personalities clashed and they barely had anything in common.
Fashion seemed to be their biggest connection and that was going to shit currently. Something about Masaru wanted to partner with new brands, Mitsuki getting upset, lost money, secret trips, yadda yadda yadda. Truthfully, Katsuki didn’t like eavesdropping on his parents. Anyone else was fair game but there are some things children should be oblivious of. They were extremely loud though and sometimes his ears picked up things he wasn’t searching for. He tried to push his parents’ struggles to the back of his head. They were adults and they could figure out their marital issues. It would brush over and everything would be fine.
His mother suggested family therapy. Katsuki immediately refused but his father insisted and his mother forced it. Due to their busy lives therapy was twice a month and two hours of pure hell for the teen. They called it family therapy but half the time he was face to face with Dr. Sosaki, one of the three therapists covering his fucked up family.
Dr. Sosaki looked like she was in her late twenties, her burgundy hair shaped into a bob. Her eyes were hazel and narrow and it always felt like she was trying to stare into his soul. She was nice and Katsuki found that irritating. She was overly positive to him and there was no bright side to this situation. He never opened up to her. It felt unnecessary to him, his parents were the ones with the problem. Dr. Sosaki stressed that the effects of his parents had rubbed off on him but that didn’t make sense. He was barely home and he didn’t talk to them daily. How could their marriage affect him?
They opted to have dinner in their vacation home, (Katsuki was silently grateful, the previous night they got escorted out after his mother threatened to use her quirk on a waiter) It was somewhat civilized until his father asked his mother a compromising question.
"Do you love your work as much as me?"
Katsuki wasn't paying enough attention to their conversation to understand the context behind the question. He looked towards his visibly uncomfortable mother. His dad repeated himself and a glass was slammed on the table.
"Why would you ask me that shit? Christ, you are such a fuckin' dumbass!"
"What, is it illegal to ask if my wife loves me?"
"Masaru don't start this-"
"Either you love me or you don't. Can't you just say it out loud?!"
"You know how I am! I don't need to because you already know. I've never said it to you, I've never said it to Katsuki and he turned out fine!"
"Really? He's a goddamn splitting image of you! Personality and all Mitsuki! It's not healthy to never say I love you to your children!"
"He doesn't need that from me. He knows it. Right, Katsuki?"
"Don't drag our son into this! Katsuki you don't have to answer her."
"Oh wow. Real fuckin mature. He's my son too you know!"
It was a blur after that. He woke up in his room with his dad sat at the foot of his bed. His mom was long gone to their house. Masuru tried to convince his son to come home with him but instead, he got cursed out by the firey teen. Recalling the event was working him up. Without realizing his palms had turned to their familiar ombre of red and orange. Katsuki sighed before pulling his duvet up to his neck and shutting his eyes.
Katsuki woke up in a cold sweat. He was sat upright and breathing heavily, his hand clawed to his chest. He sighed and threw his covers to the side. He quickly put on the nearest hoodie and shoved his phone deep into its pocket. His head was feeling funny. The large room was becoming smaller by the second at the blonde felt trapped. He almost broke the glass sliding door that led to the balcony as he tried to leave. Using his explosions he propelled himself to the highest part of the roof.
Once on his feet he crouched and tucked his knees to his chest. He shut his eyes and focused on his breathing. (1. Thought the source of his attacks were lack of breath and 2. didn't want a repeat of his outburst from earlier)
After a few minutes, he was calm. He pulled out his phone to check his messages.
3:33 am
Saturday, December 27th
ClASS 3A
961 New Messages
Izuku
Missed Call (21)
Missed Facetime (3)
281 New Messages
Shitty Hair
Missed Call
16 New Messages
Racoon Eyes
8 New Messages
Dunce Face
5 New Messages
Glasses
2 New Messages
Spiderman
4 New Messages
Icy Hot
New Message
Aizawa-Sensei
2 New Messages
3 New Emails
Holy shit.
Groaning he raked his fingers through his blonde spikes. Having well over a thousand messages he decided to read and respond to them in order of importance and least messages. The class group chat was a no. The damn thing had almost a thousand messages and he did not have the time or patience. He only had two messages from his homeroom teacher but that was enough to make him cautious.
Aizawa-Sensei
2:40 am
Bakugou.
Call me immediately once you see this message.
read 3:34 am
Yeah, he was royally screwed. His teacher even had read receipts on so he couldn’t fake and pretend it wasn’t opened. His index finger lingered over the call button and about twenty seconds later the phone was ringing.
Well, more like rang because the call barely went through before the other side picked up.
“Bakugou. Are you safe ?”
“Why wouldn’t I be ?”
“Well for starters I haven’t seen you respond to the group chat in months and when you decide to do so it’s a very uncharacteristic apology at two in the morning .”
“...”
“You don’t have to explain yourself. Just wanted to check and make sure you were ok. You have very concerned classmates. Midoriya in particular called me. Ten times. Does your bestie know that you are alive and breathing ?”
“ Deku is not my bestie. And I got the concerned part. That dumbass left me 281 messages and more. ”
“Have you responded to any of them yet ?”
“...”
“ I’ll take your vow of silence as a no. ”
“...”
“Midoriya informed me that he called your mother. She said you aren’t home so where are you ?”
Of course, that damned nerd freaked the hell out and harrassed his hag of a mother.
“No shit I’m not home. She knows exactly where I am. I’m on the roof of my vacation Airbnb in Kamino cause both of my parents left hours ago. I chose to be here. Alone.”
“Why are you on the roof? And does that have any correlation to your messages?”
“Yes. Shit no. I don’t fuckin’ know. Does it matter? Can I not express myself without the whole damn world overreacting? ”
“Don’t avoid my question. Are you feeling alright ?”
“I wanted air. That’s all. I’m not going to throw myself off. Shouldn’t have told you .”
“Bakugou, if you want to say anything I’m here to listen. ”
“...I freaked out earlier… ”
“What happened?”
“...I was at dinner with my parents. They had been bitchin’ back and forth at each other the whole damn week and they got into another argument. I was eating and ignoring them. Well, I tried to but I couldn’t. Then I started actin’ fuckin’ weird. My chest felt like it was on fire. I couldn’t move or breathe and then… I blacked out. Woke up in my bed and when my dad wanted to leave I said I’d stay here until the break is over. Thought it over, slept, sent the texts, then came up here to respond to everyone. So far I’ve only gotten to you. ”
“Has this situation ever happened before? Your chest feels like it’s burning, lack of breath ?”
“A couple of times. Uh, when that sludge villain attacked me but my lungs were literally being filled with shit, and when I got kidnapped. I didn’t act like a bitch and pass out though, I only… ..”
“Panicked? You had a panic attack. ”
“No, I don’t do panic attacks. I’m just messed up in the head .”
“Bakugou you aren’t a bitch- ”
“Damn I didn't think you had it in you to curse. ”
“Don’t cut me off. Listen. Stress is normal. We all experience it, good and bad. During the bad, our bodies may not know how to process an influx of emotion and as a result, it forcibly removes it. It’s not the best feeling but it can happen from time to time. Allow yourself to feel things. Emotion is normal and you experience it the same as everyone else. Bottling things up is not healthy, it’s good to have someone to talk to or have a good support system. ”
“I don’t want that to happen again. I felt like my heart was trying to leap outta my chest. I’m not weak .”
“You are hotheaded. Anger is your go-to emotion when something doesn’t turn out well for you. Do you feel your anger makes you a weak person ?”
“What? No. Anger is a strong… ‘emotion’. It doesn’t make me feel horrible. ”
“Do other emotions make you feel so horribly that you would rather not feel anything at all?”
“ …. ”
“ We can talk about this another time if you want. I could also have you talk to someone who is more experienced than me in this subject .”
“...”
“You don’t have to answer right away. It’s your choice and we can discuss it whenever you are comfortable .”
“Mr. Aizawa ?”
“Hm?
“Thank you. Sorry for being a dick. ”
“I appreciate your apology but it’s not needed. I understand you are going through personal matters. Take care of yourself and respond to your friends. Got that problem child ?”
“Yes sir .”
Katsuki was the first to hang up and relief washed over him. He half expected to get yelled at but his teacher was fairly calm. He felt slightly bad that the insomnia-riddled man had been awakened from his sleep.
Scrolling through his texts he saw only a single message from none other than Shoto Todoroki.
Icy Hot
2:22 am
Midoriya is worried sick. Respond to him.
delivered 2:22 am
Katsuki only scoffed before looking for the next person’s messages to open. It wasn’t a big shock that half and half bastard only texted him about the green-haired annoyance who blew his phone up the most.
The next message was Iida and Katsuki rolled his eyes when he read it.
Glasses
2:25 am
Bakugou you are causing distress to your peers!
Do not ignore them!
delivered 2:25 am
Iida’s concern was palpable. So far no one else has asked if he was ok and that was fine by him. Next, he read the messages from Sero, Denki, and Mina.
Spiderman
2:31 am
hey
get back to us, it doesn’t have to be big
mina and midoriya are worried sick
love you too bro
delivered 2:31 am
shit
sorry
I’ll text them
delivered 3:45 am
Dunce Face
2:33 am
ARE YOU SICK?!?!
WAT HAPENED?!?!
BAKUGOU YOU LOVE US???
delivered 2:33 am
text us please, midoriya called your mom
mina has been crying nonstop
delivered 2:50 am
i’ll call her
delivered 3:46 am
Raccoon Eyes
2:30 am
BAKUGOU KATSUKI
you gave me a damn heart attack.
is everything alright?
delivered 2:32 am
we appreciate you too, just please tell us at a reasonable time
baku babe you gotta respond
delivered 2:35 am
i’m worried, everyone else is too
both of your besties are losing it
call me please.
delivered 2:47 am
Ring, Ring, Ring
Ring, Ring, Ring
Ring, Ring, Ring
Ring, Ring, Ring
Ring, Ring, Ring
I'm sorry but the person you called has a voicemail box that has not been set up yet...Goodbye
Ring, Ring, Ring
Ring, Ring, Ring
“ ...”
“...”
“ Mina- ”
“ I thought you… I don’t even… Bakugou… ”
Her voice was low and Katsuki could tell her crying hadn’t stopped.
“ What, did you think I was going to hurt myself ?”
“...”
“ Shit. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to cause you guys to freak out .”
“ Kind of hard not to when you say you love us at two in the morning. Also why the hell are you on the roof?! Mr. Aizawa texted us after he got off the phone with you.”
“Holy shit fine I’ll get off the damn roof.”
After placing his phone in his hoodie pocket he carefully slid to the edge of the roof. His right hand gripped the rafters and he used that to hoist himself onto the upper balcony. Once he landed he slid the glass door and stepped inside. He flopped on his bed and stretched out on his stomach.
“ I’m inside now. Does that please the Alien Queen ?”
“ I’m not in the mood for your snarky ass banter. Are you ok? What happened that made you type you love us ?”
“ I can’t tell my friends I care about them ?”
“ Bakugou. You didn’t even refer to us as your friends until this year. Then you start being friendly and now this text. It would be weird for none of us to NOT be concerned. ”
“ Ok. Fuck ok I get it was weird. I’m sorry. I- My head is fucked and- Shit I’m not good at this. I suck at this. But I care. I wanted to say it before… before I couldn’t. “
“ I’m sorry for yelling at you. You know we know you care right? You show your love through actions and we all appreciate that. You may not hug or give us presents but you’ll jump to save any of us without hesitation. You push us to become better people and heroes. Love you too. Also, what do you mean before you couldn’t?”
“I’m just overthinking like fuckin crazy. Thinkin’ bout all the what-ifs. What if we all get targeted and killed? What if I die in my sleep? What if I move away? What if we all lose our quirks and are forced to live as quirkless individuals?”
“Holy hell you sound like Midoriya! It’s kinda cute. Wait. Have you talked to him?!!?”
“Why would I talk to him?”
“BAKUGOU KATSUKI!”
“WHAT? Fucks sake. Everyone said you were crying up a storm so I made sure your tear ducts were still working. I heard the waterworks when you picked up so I’m guessin’ you’re fine. ”
“ Have you spoken to Kiri ?”
“ If I haven’t spoken to Deku what makes you think I’ve spoken to Shitty Hair ?”
“ I am hanging up. You will speak to your two admires or I swear to god I will ask Midoriya to pick me up to come and find you .”
“The hell are you talking about? ”
Call Ended
Katsuki rolled his eyes before going to Kirishima’s messages.
Shitty Hair
2:19 am
BAKUBRO YOU LOVE US
YOU LOVE ME?!
OH
MY
GOD
WHAT HAPPENED??
MY HEART IS BEATING SO FAST
THAT WAS SO MANLY BAKUGOU
delivered 2:20 am
CALL ME
BAKUGOU
BAKUBRO
delivered 2:35 am
sooooooooooooo
so you can prepare
midoriyaisonhiswastoyoucauseyoudidntanswer
also
love you too bro
never again will I do this
read 4:00 am
Katsuki stared blankly at his phone. No way in hell was that dumbass coming all that way to see him. Seeing the two hundred and eighty-one messages Izuku left caused Katsuki to direct his attention to the spam emails he saw. He opened the first one and then-
Incoming Call
Shitty Hair
Answer | Decline
“ BAKUBRO HOLY SHIT YOU’RE ALIVE I LOVE YOU TOO YOU MADE ME CRY MANLY TEARS BRO EVERYONE WENT WILD EVEN MINETA WAS WORRIED ALSO -”
Call Ended
Incoming Call
Spiky Hair
Answer | Decline
“Sorry …”
“Why is Deku on his way ?”
“Uh well, you know how he gets about you. You sent that and didn’t respond to any of us for a long time. He went to your house and yelled at your mom until she gave him your location. Mr. Aizawa called him and he said he was close but that was…. twenty minutes ago .”
“...”
“How are you ?”
“I’m fuckin peachy. ”
“Bakugou -”
“Later Kirishima .”
“Baku- WAIT YOU CALLED ME -”
Call Ended
All Might < [email protected] > Dec 27th, 2:50 am (2 hours ago)
to me
Young Bakugou,
Please respond to Young Midoriya.
From,
All Might
All Might < [email protected] > Dec 27th, 3:10 am (1 hour ago)
to me
Young Bakugou,
Are you alright? Aizawa informed me of your message to your classmates. It was very considerate of you to express your admiration to them. I know you do not favor my company but just remember I am always free to talk. Also, Young Midoriya wants me to tell you to call him. He is very worried.
From,
All Might
All Might < [email protected] > Dec 27th, 3:22 am (1 hour ago)
to me
KACCAHN PLEAS E ANSERFX MY TESXGS
Sent from my iPhone
“Jesus Christ,” Katsuki said, muttering under his breath.
Hesitantly he opened his messages with his rival.
Izuku
2:19 am
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
kacchan
delivered 2:20 am
KACCHAN
YOU
OMFG
KACCHAN
ANSWER ME
I KNOW YOU SEE THE TEXTS
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
KACCHAN
K
A
C
C
H
A
N
P
L
E
A
S
E
A
N
S
W
E
R
M
E
there’s no way it’s you
did you get hacked?
a virus?
I told you to stop watching dramas illegally
I gave you the link for a VPN
also i said you could my account
kacchan
kacchan
KACCHAN
you are mean
it's rude to not answer
asshole.
kacchan I'm sorry
you aren't an asshole
please respond
delivered 2:33 am
something has to be wrong
kacchan
please say something
anything
I just want to know that you are ok
curse me out
yell at me
SOMETHING
i hate it when you are quiet
well
actually
It’s nice when you aren’t yelling at me
YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO YELL AT ME
(yes I know you don’t need my permission, I just want you to respond)
kacchan
kacchan
why must you give me a heart attack at the ripe age of 17?
😭
🥺
delivered 2:37 am
so
because you are being difficult
you leave me no choice
I’ll call your mother
I’ll call her kacchan
don’t force my hand
I’ll give you five minutes
then i’ll call her
I mean it
kacchan
say something
i’m scared
delivered 2:50 am
kacchan
don’t be mad
I called her...
BUT BEFORE YOU GET MAD LET ME EXPLAIN
it’s for your wellbeing
(and my peace of mind)
she told me where you were
I told her to exclude the details
I’ll give you the chance to tell me
if you want to
you don’t have to
but just remember i’ll listen
delivered 2:59 am
hehehheh
want to know something crazy
aunt mitsuki gave me your location
want to know something even crazier
i’m omw
well
no
not yet
delivered 3:02 am
uhhh
um
see
don’t get mad
uh
so i want to come see you
but i don't have the uh
resources
as in money for an uber
cause i can’t drive
well i can
i have a permit
so i need a licensed driver with me that is over 21
my mom is sleep
and also she can’t drive
all might has been teaching me
oh
I called him and asked him to talk to you
also
I hacked into his email to send you a message
anyways
I’m a good driver
but no car
so i called a friend
our mutual friend
guess kacchan?!
this would work better if you replied
so
you know yaomomo?
yaoyorozu
uh i asked her to drive me
but
rich people also don’t have licenses
she has a permit too
but
guess what
wait
kacchan you can’t tell anyone
yaomomo and jirou are dating 🥰
ISN’T THAT ADORABLE?!
anyways
momo let jirou use her car
jirou has a license
oh yeah
all three of us are in the car
kamino is only two hours and thirty-seven minutes away
we’ve been in the car for about forty-five minutes
so yeah
you can yell at me in person
I’m going to ignore me like you ignored us if you call me
see you soon kacchan
read 4:43 am
Katsuki didn’t know if he was pissed or impressed. He honestly wasn’t surprised, of course, his messages would cause people to lose their marbles. It didn’t sound like his usual brash and harsh texting. He hadn’t said sorry since he started high school. He also had never told anyone he loved them before.
He was now on his feet. The house was eerily silent. When his bedroom door opened it didn’t even make a peep. He made his way down the long spiral staircase, skipping a step on his way down. His hand slid down the rail and he landed on the marble tile with a thud. He made his way to the kitchen before his phone went off.
4:47 am
Saturday, December 27th
Ring
Motion has been detected at Front Door
Ring
Motion has been detected at Back Door
Ring
Motion has been detected at Front Gate
“What the hell?”
Katsuki was already paranoid, not that he would admit that. Deku was on his way sure but how the hell was there someone or something multiple places around the house? Is it possible that Izuku has yet another quirk? Always something with that irritating, loud-mouthed, green-haired, son of a-
Knock Knock Knock
He reached for the nearest object, which happened to be a baseball bat encased in a glass case. It broke when his fingers brushed it and he ignored the glass that was pricking his skin. He gripped the wood tightly and moved slowly towards the front door. (His quirk would've worked just fine but rational thinking has been thrown out the window)
His phone went off again but he knew if he checked it his nerves would shoot up. He didn’t hear a car pull up. He didn’t hear voices. He didn’t hear anyone and he should have. His hand gripped the door handle as tightly as his other hand held the bat. He held his breath before he swung the door and the bat at the same time.
For once he was glad Izuku was faster because he dodged the blow completely.
“Kacchan!” Izuku shreiked.
The freckled boy examined the frantic teen. Katsuki looked rough. His whole right hand was a dark red and he looked like he just finished a marathon. Izuku reached for his hand and instinctively the blonde pulled back.
“What-what happened? Your hand is bleeding!”
He stared at Izuku before looking at his hand then back at Izuku. Izuku. Still puzzled him how the boy he treated the worst was the one that was the most concerned about his well-being. He shuffled out the doorway and shut the door after the concerned teen made it through the threshold.
Instead of speaking Katsuki motioned towards the floor. He dropped the baseball bat beside the mess.
“I heard a noise and broke the fucking glass cause I remembered the bat was there.”
Izuku moved towards the wall until he flipped a switch.
“Whoa, this house is huge!” Izuku was beaming, his eyes were darting around the corridor.
Katsuki rolled his eyes and made his way to the nearest bathroom. His head is fucked up, his thoughts are fucked up, and he ruined his hand in the midst of his paranoia. The crazy part is that he didn’t even register his hand was bleeding.
Izuku was following silently behind him. He thought he was going to get yelled at, cursed out even but he didn’t expect to get attacked with a bat. Katsuki looked petrified and Izuku had rarely seen that hopeless look in his eyes before. Whatever had transpired hours ago must have been really been getting to him.
Katsuki sat on the edge of the tub and Izuku lingered awkwardly in the door frame.
“So…” Izuku started.
“What?” Katsuki drawled.
“Uh, do you want help? With your hand?”
“Fine. Do your best Doctor Midoriya.”
As strange as it was for Katsuki to call him by his last name he smiled. He looked underneath cabinets and gathered supplies. He placed them on the counter and took a seat on the toilet. Katsuki stretched out his hand and Izuku rested it on his lap.
“Where are earphone jack and her girl toy?” Katsuki asked.
“Kacchan! Yaomomo is her girlfriend not her toy. They checked in at a hotel not too far from here.”
“They could’ve stayed here. There are plenty of fuckin’ rooms. Too many.”
“They didn’t want to bother you.” Izuku started cleaning up the wound by wiping up all the blood. He opened a care kit and pulled out tweezers. The small pieces were easy but currently, there was a large shard lodged in Katsuki’s palm.
He started to hesitate. He was in no way a professional and he could mess this up. What if the glass was deeper than it looked? What if moving it caused nerve damage? What if this needed serious medical attention? What if this permanently messed up his hand? What if-
“Jesus Christ Deku. I’ll rip the damn piece out myself if it’s too stressful for your heart.” Katsuki snarled.
“What no! I can do it just give me a second.”
He grabbed Katsuki’s hand with his left and in his right hand, he held the tweezers. Shakily he took ahold of the shard. Izuku directed his full attention to the glass and Katsuki studied his features. He looked like shit, his eye bags were large and a deep purple and gray. Exhaustion was visible on his face and his hair was disheveled.
“Aren’t you going to ask?”
“Huh?” Izuku looked up and their eyes met.
“Why I sent the texts. Isn’t your nerd brain itching for answers?” Katsuki stared and Izuku blinked rapidly.
“Well uh I-I did but you can tell me if you want. You don’t have to though.” Izuku quickly averted his eyes and went back to the task at hand.
“How about you?” Katsuki’s face started to redden and he scratched the back of his neck.
“Oh. I was scared. You aren’t the type to express yourself through words so it came as a shock. Also, you rarely text our group chat so it was a pleasant surprise. I was about to sleep and I was scrolling through my phone when I saw your texts. My heart dropped to my stomach. I didn’t doubt your genuinity but it really isn’t your everyday speech. I know you, you express concern in uh times of crisis so automatically I assumed something had happened.”
“I heard you yelled at my mom,” Katsuki smirked and now Izuku’s face was a violent shade of red.
“I swear it was an accident! I didn’t mean to but I was mad cause she wasn’t telling me where you were and I was worked up and I yelled but I apologized right after and I felt really really bad Kacchan and I apologized and she said it was fine but I-”
“Holy hell breath Deku.” Katsuki used his free hand to grab Izuku’s jaw so they were making eye contact.
“I’m glad you did. Seems you do have balls after all.”
Katsuki dropped his hand and cleared his throat. Izuku choked and Katsuki doubled over in laugher, falling onto the bathroom floor.
“I hate you.” Izuku teased.
“Nah you love me.”
“Yeah, I do. And apparently, you love everyone in our class as well.”
Katsuki stopped laughing and sat back on the edge of the tub. The two remained silent while Izuku finally finished cleaning and bandaging Katsuki’s hand. They both left the bathroom and Katsuki went in the direction of his room. Izuku said nothing as he followed up the stairs.
They both entered the dimly lit room, Katsuki heading straight for his bed.
"So uh are you about to sleep?"
"Yeah. I'm tired as fuck. Aren't you? Your eyebags are saggier than my uniform."
"Ok sure but which room do I take?"
"Huh?" Katsuki raised an eyebrow.
"You said you had plenty of rooms so-"
"This is a king-sized bed. Get your ass in it."
Izuku nodded and took the vacant side next to Katsuki. This totally wasn't weird. Yeah, it's fine. He's in a bed with his rival at five in the morning. He also had someone drive him almost three hours to console that same rival.
"Kacchan? What happened?", the duvet was covering half his face as he turned towards Katsuki.
"Pretty sure my parents will be splitting soon. For the best. Nowadays they can't fucking stand each other. My parents made me realize that I can't get how I feel out. I don't open up to people, I don't confide in anyone and no one knows how I truly feel. Well, you probably do. You have a hundred and one damn notes about me. Anyways I just wanted to prove that I could say it but I'm not sure if It counts. It was still over text and not aloud." Katsuki was facing Izuku but his face was buried into the pillow he was resting his head on.
Izuku stayed silent for a while. This was probably the deepest conversation they had without screaming and yelling. He was excited that they had gotten to the point in which Katsuki could tell him things. He also wanted to be the solution to this issue. Izuku was a hero through and through and there was nothing he wouldn't do to help those in need.
He closed the gap between them by moving closer. Katsuki remained quiet.
"Uh is your hand ok? Does it feel fine?" Izuku questioned.
"It's alright. A little uncomfortable but I'll manage."
"Can I uh.."
"What?"
"You know..."
"Deku."
"Um uh..."
"Fucks sake spit it out!"
"CAN I HOLD YOUR HAND?!"
Katsuki said nothing as he extended his hand towards Izuku. Izuku interlaced their fingers. Katsuki's hand was warm and soft. The sweet smell of nitroglycerin filled his nose. He looked forward to see Katsuki who had his eyes shut.
"I was thinking. Uh, you said you didn't think it was authentic because it was over text. Uh, I'm here a-and I won't judge you. You could say it to me..." Izuku's voice trailed off.
Katsuki was silent for so long that Izuku figured he had fallen asleep. Izuku tried to remove his hand but instead, Katsuki pulled him to his chest. He unlocked their fingers and snaked his hands around Izuku's back, his hand resting in green locks.
"I-I don't know if I'll be able to say it. Just- try and stay away and I'll try to." Katsuki's voice was almost a whisper.
Izuku didn't know whose heart was beating faster. His brain was running a mile a minute.
"I'll stay awake Kacchan."
The room was silent once again. Izuku tried his best to maintain his composure. Surprisingly this plan was going in his favor. All he needs to do was stay awake long enough to hear it. That's actually easier now that he was wide awake. He didn't think he'd be able to rest peacefully until he heard the three words he'd been longing to hear the most.
Izuku carried for Katsuki since they were children. He wanted to talk to Katsuki, to be his friend. It took over a decade but they finally had a somewhat stable relationship. They were proper rivals now as All Might worded it. Still, they lacked something and it was proper communication. They never spoke on past. It went without saying that Katsuki was sorry, Izuku knew that deep down. Apart of him wanted Katsuki to apologize but time and time again Katsuki showed his heart with words. Izuku understood and never pressed for more.
In his thinking his eyes became droopy and he shut them briefly. Minutes passed and it was getter harder and harder to fight sleep. He started counting sheep, counting in threes, recalling his favorite heroes and their quirks to keep him awake. About to succumb to sleep he felt Katsuki squeeze his hand.
"I love you."
Though it was quiet Izuku heard it and his heart grew warm. His breath hitched as he felt Katsuki's sigh of relief from underneath him. His throat was dry but he managed to get out what he needed to say.
"I love you too Kacchan."