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Despite his distaste toward hot weather or the summer in general, Katsuki always enjoyed summer nights. It was refreshing to sit outside under the protection of the night sky, away from the sun. He could listen to all the noises of the night without being interrupted by the business of his daily life. It was especially beautiful when the skies were clear, and he could see all of the constellations above him.
He would never admit that he appreciated small things like this to anyone. It felt like it would be insignificant to share such useless pieces of information about himself, so he never did. Sure, some people tried to share moments like this with him but he never engaged in moments like this with someone else on his own. There was only one person who knew how much he enjoyed it and there was only one person who would ever know. The one and only Katsuki Bakugou.
At least that’s what he always told himself. He would never imagine that there would be a time when someone else would join him in his usual spot. The roof of this abandoned barn just outside the city was a place hardly anyone but him knew about. As far as he knew anyway. He knew others must have known about it at one point or another, but he chose to believe he was the only one to have ever discovered it. It made it feel more special that way. But now, in the spot beside him that usually remained empty, sat the presence of another. Someone who managed to gain a place in his heart that was important enough to get to see it with him.
He hadn’t seen Izuku in years, yet it felt like he had just left yesterday. Katsuki still didn’t understand exactly why Izuku had left before going into high school to live with his dad. His move was so sudden that the two hardly got to say goodbye to each other. They never exchanged phone numbers either because there was never any need to. They were always together and at the time Katsuki didn’t think it was necessary. It seemed like whatever the reason Izuku had for leaving was a sensitive topic, and seeing that Izuku’s mom suddenly wasn’t around, Katsuki figured he should leave it alone.
But there was something different about Izuku now. A lot about him changed and some things still were the same. He got lost in thought just as often as he used to, but his eyes looked different. A gaze that used to be filled with the anxiousness to acquire new knowledge was replaced with something more experienced. Like he had finally gotten the knowledge he was searching for and was now an old scholar. Whatever that knowledge might be was still unknown to Bakugou.
It made him seem more mature, which he was. Knowledge-wise, personality-wise and even feature-wise. He wasn’t the same annoying scrawny little kid who used to follow Katsuki around anymore. He was grown up, reaching nearly 6 foot something now. For some reason, the features of his face seemed more striking now that he didn’t look as young anymore. Those green eyes and freckles were all that remained that reminded Katsuki of his long-gone babyface. His build had filled out too and he had an actual presence in the way he carried himself now.
He had become his own person while he was away. Someone who didn’t need to follow others anymore and someone who could depend on himself. He now looked like he was fully capable of being on his own and making his own decisions. Yet here he was, with Katsuki once again for some reason, on top of an old roof in the middle of nowhere that he aimlessly followed him to.
“I guess no matter how much someone grows up, some things never change,” Katsuki said, his voice cutting through the silence of the night.
“What do you mean?” Izuku asked as he turned his gaze away from the sky toward the blond who sat next to him.
“It’s been years and you still followed me, even into the middle of nowhere.”
Katsuki heard a warm chuckle coming from somewhere deep inside Izuku’s chest. Even his laugh had matured. He couldn’t help but stare at Izuku’s features as he tried to take in just how much he had changed. He tried to make a list of everything, but he couldn’t complete it. He thought he’d finished figuring it all out. But it seemed that each day since he came back, Izuku would say something, make an expression or even just look at him in a way that was different than he used to.
He’d always been aware of the crush Izuku had on him while they were growing up. It wasn’t something that ever bothered him or even that he noticed very often. Sure, it was irritating from time to time, but it wasn’t the reason he disliked Izuku so much. His reasons for that were quite pointless and immature now that he thought about it. It wasn’t until their later years of middle school, just before Izuku left, that Katsuki even acknowledged the crush Izuku had on him fully. But even with that knowledge, Katsuki knew there was something more in the way Izuku looked at him now.
There was never anyone that Izuku ever seemed to share an interest in. He wasn’t exactly the most popular kid in school but a lot of girls did show interest in him because of his “cuteness,” they found it appealing.
Wonder what they would think of you now. Katsuki thought to himself. When it came to platonic relationships, Izuku never seemed all that interested in making more friends either. He was always content with just being around Katsuki as often as he could even when the blond expressed his distaste for it. As much as Katsuki hated to admit it back then, he actually did enjoy the attention he got from the other boy. It was nice knowing that someone wanted to be around him despite their knowledge of his flaws.
He didn’t realize how much he had missed that presence until Izuku suddenly returned home. After Izuku moved, it always felt like there just wasn’t something quite right as Katsuki continued with his school years. He had made a lot of good friends, but no one ever managed to fill the spot left by the boy from his childhood. He didn’t understand why because he had friends whom he was closer to than he had ever been to Izuku. But it didn’t take him long to realize in that moment of seeing Izuku again, that maybe at some point he did develop romantic feelings for him.
Feelings that he was never able to let go of. He had dated a few people since he started high school, but those relationships never worked out. They always complained about not feeling close enough to him or that Katsuki just didn’t seem that into them. Which he never was. He didn’t have any desire to let anyone in or to share any deep feelings with another person. He only dated those people to try to fill in that space. A space that only grew larger with time and made him more anxious to fill up as he realized just how big it was.
“You look cold Kacchan,” Izuku pointed out, noticing the goosebumps on Katsuki’s skin that were being highlighted by the moonlight. “I gave you my hoodie for a reason. Put it on.”
“Right, sorry.” Katsuki had gotten lost in thought and forgot all about the hoodie that Izuku gave to him moments ago. It was the smell of Izuku’s hoodie, a mixture of this evening’s bonfire and fresh mint, that made him get so lost in thought.
“Hopefully it’ll keep you warm. It’s my favourite so I know it’ll do the job,” Izuku said once Katsuki finally put the hoodie on. “I didn’t think it would be that big on you though.”
“Shut up,” Katsuki mumbled into the sleeve of the hoodie. He was glad it was dark out so that Izuku couldn’t see how embarrassed he felt about how small he looked in the piece of clothing.
“It’s cute. Suits you, maybe I’ll let you borrow it.”
“Do you not understand what shut up means?” Katsuki quickly punched Izuku in the side of the thigh which resulted in him flinching in response.
Izuku shook his head, his smile could be seen in the light that illuminated his face as he sat up and slid behind Katsuki. He wrapped his arms around the blond’s waist and pulled him against his chest, both pairs of legs now dangling side by side over the edge of the roof. Katsuki felt himself fill up with warmth, but not an uncomfortable one. He had never felt so comfortable in the warmth of something, or someone else.
“This should help too.” Despite the face that Katsuki had out the hood up to hide his face, he could still feel Izuku’s warm breath against his neck.
“You’re doing it on purpose now.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
The two sat that way for what felt like hours, enjoying the moment together and making up for the time spent away from each other. Unfortunately, Izuku’s big appetite decided to pay a visit as well. Which meant their moment on the roof was over as they made their way down the empty streets to the local convenience store.
It was well past midnight so there wasn’t anyone occupying the sidewalk, or even the streets. This area was closed off to the people living here anyway so the traffic was never super busy. They didn’t have to worry about cars or other people as they made their way down the road. Even if there were other people around, the only one that was there to either of them was the boy they walked beside.
“Do you still like those gross sour candies?” Izuku asked as he reached over, touching his fingertips against Katsuki’s hand.
“Yes, I do. But they don’t sell them here anymore.” Katsuki explained, feeling a bit nostalgic as a memory of the two sharing the candies for the first time flooded his mind. “I usually choose gummy bears now.”
“My favourite.” Katsuki could practically hear the smile in Izuku’s voice and couldn’t help but feel the small grin that tugged at his own mouth. He could still feel Izuku’s fingers against his hand, understanding what the gesture was asking he turned his palm, interlocking fingers with him.
“By the way, why did you take that ugly thing back with you?” Katsuki asked, remembering that Izuku had taken with him the terrible example craft Katsuki had made earlier that day.
The two of them had spent most of their summer together as councillors at a day camp. Katsuki wasn’t too thrilled about having to do it because he hated children. Volunteer work was mandatory for his summer breaks so he couldn’t even get out of it. Usually, he didn’t mind summer volunteering because he didn’t have anything else to do. But the need to do volunteer work only became less appealing once he found out Izuku had come back home.
Thankfully, like the angel he was, Izuku decided to volunteer there too. He made it seem as though he was already planning to but part of Katsuki hoped that it was because of him. Whether it was or wasn’t didn’t matter too much to him in the end. Because the time they spent there together was more important to him than the reason it happened.
The two of them were camp favourites when it came to who the kids liked out of the councillors. Katsuki was terrible with kids and didn’t know the first thing about how to socialize with them. But Izuku was surprisingly great with them and even managed to get Katsuki to warm up to a few too. No matter how the kid was, shy or misbehaved, they all loved Izuku and listened to him without hesitation. Since the two were always in a pair, it was only natural that the kids also began to warm up to Katsuki.
One of the activities that the two boys oversaw was organizing was the daily craft. Being teenage boys almost in their senior year of high school, it was hard to come up with ideas that might be fun. Katsuki had to laugh out loud when he found out about it because he wasn’t an artist by a long shot. Izuku wasn’t the most artistically gifted either. But over time they noticed all the snickers coming from the other councillors and realized they’d been set up as a joke,
But instead of giving it up like everyone expected them to, the boys decided to stick to it just to spite everyone. It ended up being a fun experience for them both as they tried to maneuver their way through crafts that they had no idea how to make. Their examples often looked worse than what the kids ended up making but that made it more fun for everyone. The kids felt more confident coming and going from camp knowing they had something to brag about that day to their parents and friends.
Today had been the last day of camp and Katsuki realized that he did enjoy the time he was spending with them. He was sad that the camp was coming to an end because he had worried him and Izuku would stop hanging out as often. But Izuku didn’t seem like he would be going anywhere anytime soon so that worry quickly left his mind.
The craft of today was cup phones. It was a cheesy little idea that Izuku had come up with and begged Katsuki to let them make with the kids. Katsuki hadn’t seen a cup phone since elementary school and was convinced that the kids wouldn’t like them because they were too old for them. Most of the kids they were looking after were middle schoolers. But out of all the crafts the two boys had thought of all summer, that one was probably the favourite. Katsuki didn’t understand what the hype over two cups tied together by a piece of string was. But he would soon realize just how special such a simple craft could become.
“Well, you seemed to have fun making them despite how dumb you said it was. I wanted to take it with us as a little souvenir of the past few weeks we spent together.” Izuku explained as the two of them separated to make their way down their designated candy isles.
“Compared to yours, mine was hardly worth keeping. I don’t know why you didn’t keep the one you made.”
“You made this one. It wouldn’t be as special if I kept my own, would it?” Izuku asked as he smiled across the top of the shelves that separated them.
“You’re so affectionate now. It’s kind of freaking me out, you used to be so shy about it.” Katsuki deflected, processing how unnecessarily happy that made him feel.
“You like it though. Always have.”
Once the two had their choices of candy in hand, sour gummy bears for Katsuki and regular for Izuku, they made their way toward the train station. There weren’t any trains running at this time of night, but Izuku had left his car parked there just in case they were late coming back. He always thought of little things like that.
“You still bite the heads off first.” Izuku pointed out as he held their shared bag of candy towards Katsuki. The two had somehow begun holding hands again. So, they silently formed a strategy of alternating their bags back and forth so they could each take candy without needing to let go of each other's hands.
“Why do you always notice such small things?” Katsuki asked through his teeth as he attempted to rip off the head of the yellow bear he had fished out of the bag.
“Because I… well I don’t know.” This was the first time all night that Izuku seemed to be the one flustered. Katsuki didn’t understand why, all he did was make an observation that was no different than the ones Izuku had been making all night.
“Because you what?”
Izuku didn’t answer him. Instead, he cleared his throat and let go of Katsuki’s hand. The blond watched as he lifted himself onto the top of the wall that stood just outside the station's parking lot. Then Izuku reached his hand out to help Katsuki over the top and once the two were together on the same side again, they both made their way to the car.
“Actually, come with me. You can leave your stuff here,” Izuku instructed, shutting his car door, and taking Katsuki’s hand in his again. The cup phone remained in his other. Katsuki tried to argue but Izuku just shook his head. “I wanna show you something. It’ll only take a minute.”
“It’s getting late, we should really go back,” Katsuki said quietly, his tiredness hitting him now that they were close to the car. “I’m gonna have to crash at your place. My parents won’t let me in this late.”
“That’s okay. You’ve always been welcome there,” Izuku reassured and Katsuki felt a small bit of energy return to him. So, he let himself be led towards the station’s platform that was currently being lit up by the few streetlamps above them. Then he was given one of the cups in his hand before Izuku began to walk away from him, stopping once the string was taught. It took him a minute to register that this is what Izuku wanted to show him.
“I know how this works you know. We didn’t have to come over here to use them.” He sighed; his tiredness was slowly turning into irritation now. Not irritation toward Izuku, just a “he usually goes to bed early and is getting overtired” irritation. It was something Izuku always teased him for and was fully aware of.
All Izuku did was gesture for Katsuki to put the cup up to his ear and made a motion that suggested he was going to talk. Katsuki rolled his eyes and grudgingly held it up to his ear, eyeing Izuku from where he stood a few feet away.
“Hello?” Izuku’s voice came muffled through the cup. “I know you’re tired, so you don’t have to say anything. Just wave to let me know you can hear me.” Katsuki waved just as he was instructed to do. “Okay, well…” Katsuki could see Izuku taking in a deep breath before continuing, “I know I left suddenly a few years ago and I wish I could tell you why. I feel like I owe you a little bit of an explanation for some reason even though I’m not even sure that you care to know. I can’t bring myself to do it yet. It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just hard to talk about. But you understand that and I’m thankful for it.”
There was a pause and Katsuki looked up, thinking that was the end of what Izuku had to say. He didn’t know why Izuku didn’t just tell him this at the car. It was such a simple statement, yet it made his heartbeat increase. The way he had decided to do it seemed thought out and that only made Katsuki’s reaction to it even greater. He squinted across the dimly lit platform to see that Izuku’s eyes were shut and that he was talking again.
“-issed you. I really did miss you a lot and should’ve done it earlier tonight on the roof, but I got nervous. But then you let me hold your hand so I figured I should grow a pair. The roof would’ve been a much better setting though, more… romantic I guess.” The first part was mumbled and Katsuki couldn’t comprehend what he had said. He was so focused on trying to figure out what he had missed that what came next caught him off guard and left him speechless. “I love you. I loved you since we were kids, after I left, and even more now that I’m back. You’ve grown up well Kacchan and I’m proud of you.”
Katsuki lowered the cup away from his ear and lifted his gaze to see that Izuku was now slowly winding the string around his own cup as he began walking back. Each step closed the gap between the two and each step made Katsuki’s heart feel like it was about to explode. He didn’t know what to do or how to deal with this feeling. He’d never felt this way in Izuku’s presence before. For once he felt like the helpless one, standing there not know what to do next.
He was dumbstruck. A few of the people he dated in the past had told him that they loved him, they never actually did, and he knew that it ever made him feel this way. But there was something genuine in the tone of Izuku’s face and even in the way Izuku had behaved all night. This genuineness made what he said feel more believable to him and he couldn’t figure out how to respond.
Then Izuku was in front of him, stopping mere inches away and gently took the other cup from Katsuki’s hand. He waited patiently for a response, his smile was warm and understanding as he realized he might not get one. So, he gently tapped the back of Katsuki’s hand, signalling for the two to return to his car and turned away from the other boy.
But Katsuki didn’t move. All he could do was grab Izuku by the wrist, signalling for him to wait as he gathered his thoughts. Katsuki did already know how he felt, he’d known since earlier that week while watching Izuku. The way his features softened while speaking to the kids. How warm his smile became when they greeted each other every morning. How willing Izuku was to give up his sweater to Katsuki, even if he found it cold himself. All those typical cliché things that Katsuki used to cringe at, were the things that made him realize how he felt about Izuku.
Maybe his feelings for Izuku hadn’t been as deep as Izuku’s was for him when they were younger, but at this moment, he was overwhelmed by how much felt for this boy. He had a lot that he wished he could say but he still couldn’t find the ability to swallow his pride, to be honest. He wanted to say that he missed him too. That part of him has always hoped Izuku would come back to fill up the space in his life that he left open. That in the past few weeks since Izuku returned, he had never felt so whole.
Then his eyes met Izuku’s, and he knew he didn’t have to say anything. The look in those green eyes told him that he already knew how Katsuki felt. He didn’t need to hear a verbal confirmation or have Katsuki spill his heart out to him in return. He understood Katsuki enough to know that him still standing here meant he didn’t completely dislike what he just heard. Plus having him silently share his spot under those beautiful constellations on top of that abandoned roof was all the confirmation he needed.
“I love you…” Katsuki finally spoke up, his voice sounded much louder as it was carried across the platform by the night breeze, “and I missed you too”
Izuku smiled and stepped back towards Katsuki. He cupped his face in his hands, appreciating how soft and cold his skin felt against his palms. Katsuki’s eyes shifted back and forth, his inability to hold eye contact was a giveaway at just how nervous he was. But he didn’t pull away.
“The stars are reflecting in your eyes, and they look beautiful.” Izuku smiled and he leaned down to softly the other boy on the lips.
Katsuki had never been kissed like this by someone before. He could feel how much Izuku cared for him in that small moment, and he accepted the gesture. He felt relieved to know that he was finally experiencing something that he thought he never would. After having so many failed relationships he had convinced himself that maybe he had just closed himself off too much. That he’d reached the point of never being able to open himself up to let the warmth of something else fill him up. But here he was, feeling all these foreign feelings.
He could still taste the faint traces of gummy bears that still lingered on his lips as Izuku pulled away. He was unable to look him in the eyes at all now, his shyness was out of character, but Izuku felt that it suited him well. He knew Izuku could see the smile that was forming on the corners of his mouth as he turned away and began to walk towards the car.
“You don’t think the cup phone was a dumb idea anymore, do you?” Izuku teased and to that he was given the middle finger, a much more predictable response from the stubborn Katsuki he knew so well.