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Tenya smiled as he watched Katsuki cut oranges in half after rolling them out. Something about the precision and care that he put into making a simple treat for Tenya made him feel all gooey inside. There was no real word to describe it.
Katsuki had started to make Tenya orange juice during the end of their first year, when they had started getting closer. Katsuki had insisted that the brand of orange juice that Tenya bought regularly had too much sugar and additives in it, and has been making Tenya orange juice every week since then without fail.
Tenya wanted to also make Katsuki something to show him how much he loved him, but nothing was coming to mind. Katsuki wasn’t one to snack that often, and, when he did, it was usually just some vegetables or fruit. While Tenya admired the other boy’s healthy diet, he did have to admit that making Katsuki a treat was more difficult than it would’ve been for anyone else.
Tenya knew there had to be something that he could make that the other boy would like, so he decided to ask Midoriya about it. As much as their relationship had been antagonizing at the beginning of their first year, the two had calmed down and were both treasure troves of information on the other.
As soon as Tenya figured out his plan, he set it in motion, doing his best to casually drop the want to make Katsuki something in a conversation with Midoriya. It had been more difficult than Tenya had initially anticipated, with the other boy seemingly being dragged away by one of their other classmates whenever the opportunity arose to ask the question.
Luckily, the chance to ask finally came in the form of a movie night between Uraraka, Todoroki, Tsuyu, Midoriya, and him. They had been deemed the “Deku-squad” and the “Izu-crew” by the self-proclaimed “Baku-squad,” but it felt more like they had been drawn together by Uraraka in Tenya’s personal opinion.
The movie night was quite calm, which wasn’t necessarily unusual, but it was slightly unexpected considering their group of friends (mostly Uraraka and Midoriya, if Tenya was being completely honest). They were watching Ratatouille, and, other than the occasional likening of some of the characters to classmates, the group was just quietly enjoying the movie. Todoroki, particularly, seemed enthralled by the plot despite its simplicity.
The movie had gotten to the part where Ego took a bite out of the ratatouille and was transported back to his childhood. Tenya hadn’t even realized that he said, “I wish I could do that for Katsuki…” out loud, until Uraraka gasped and practically latched herself onto his arm.
“That would be so cute! You guys are already the class power couple, according to Mina, so it would be perfect for a date! Especially since you two are pretty against the whole PDA thing.” She rambled excitedly, getting Midoriya excited as well.
“Kacchan used to be so excited when he could help out in the kitchen at home or at my place, and I think I remember Auntie Mitsuki saying that their family wasn’t traditionally affectionate, so they would make food for each other to let the other person know how they felt!”
“That’s probably why Bakugou insists on making you orange juice every week, kero.” Tsuyu commented, staring at Tenya in that way of hers that made every single thought of his seem seen.
Tenya sighed, “I already figured that much out. The problem is that I don’t know what kind of comfort food he likes. The most snack-like foods I’ve seen him eat are fries he steals off of my plate when we go out for dinner.”
“That’s cute.” Todoroki said, still having the majority of his attention on the screen and petting the blanket on his lap like a pet.
“Indeed it is, Shouto-kun, but back to the issue.” Uraraka shifted over so that she was no longer latched onto Tenya’s arm, and was instead leaning forward and slightly rubbing her chin in a way that reminded Tenya of Midoriya. Those two had become even more inseparable during their second year, and it was almost as if they'd mind-melded. “I’ve sometimes seen him eat the really spicy chips that Tooru-kun claims aren’t actually that spicy, but other than that I haven’t really seen him eat snacks either.”
Tsuyu reached out to grab a handful of popcorn, adding on,“He isn’t really the snacking type, which is ironic considering how often he’s in the kitchen.”
Midoriya seemed to remember something, yelling out, “I’ve got just the thing!” as he tossed the blankets over Tsuyu and Uraraka’s heads without care, rushing over to his bookshelf. He pulled out a large, dark brown photo album that looked like it hadn’t been flipped through properly in years.
As Midoriya sat down on the couch, flipping open the album, he started to explain, “When we were younger, Kacchan hated sweets more than anything else. So when it came time to make a birthday cake for him, his parents had to get a bit creative, to say the least. The only experiment that I remember working out for them was a cheesecake recipe that had been suggested by his grandma, and I’m pretty sure that the recipe was shoved in here at some point. If not, you could probably just look one up online.”
“A cheesecake?” Tenya thought out loud, not really sure how else to react. When Midoriya said he had something, Tenya didn’t expect to learn that cheesecake was something that Katsuki enjoyed. Though, if he thought about it, it did make sense, in a way. As Kaminari would put it, Katsuki gives off those ‘vibes.’
“Ah, here it is!” Midoriya stopped flipping the crinkling pages, gently pulling out an old paper that looked like it had been through hell in a kitchen.
He handed it over to Tenya, who read it over and was slightly disappointed. This is what he had been looking for in order to show Katsuki how much Tenya cared for him, but it fell slightly short. Tenya couldn’t even read the handwriting well enough to make out the word ‘Cheesecake’ written across the top of the page.
“Midoriya, whoever wrote this needs calligraphy lessons. Preferably sooner rather than later.”
Uraraka and Midoriya laughed loudly, Tsuyu chuckled a little, and Todoroki looked up at them confused before turning back to the TV where the movie was finishing up.
“Don’t worry, I’ll rewrite it so you can read it.” Midoriya took back the paper, leaning over to place it on his desk next to his laptop.
“Thank you… I really appreciate the help.”
Midoriya beamed, “Of course! Kacchan always had trouble with figuring out affection, so if you do something for him that he already thinks of as affectionate, there’s a better chance of it being received well. Granted, I don’t think that would be an issue for you, since you two have gotten a lot closer since he started making you orange juice. Which is another thing I’ve been meaning to ask, are you two dating or just friends?”
The question was such a leap from what Midoriya had been going on about that it took Tenya a second to comprehend it properly, and even after that it took a minute for him to respond with, “Uh… I, um, I’m not quite sure?”
Midoriya seemed really confused at that, his face scrunching up as he asked, “Oh, really?”
“It’s a bit complicated… I’ll tell you all about it once we’ve gotten it figured out.” Tenya was quick to answer. He took a second to notice that the movie had finished, and Todoroki was just staring at the TV as the credits played. “What did you think of the movie, Todoroki-kun?”
Todoroki looked up at them, giving a small smile, and said, “It was very good.”
The girls were quick to start asking Todoroki about his favorite parts, and soon the conversation was on a completely different topic than Katsuki and his relationship, which made Tenya sigh in relief. Thankfully, the topic stayed away from that for the rest of the night. Eventually, they all left Midoriya’s room in order to head to their own.
It didn’t take long after that night for Midoriya to give Tenya a rewritten version of the cheesecake recipe, which meant that Tenya had to go through the dorm kitchen in order to figure out what all he needed to get from the store the next time he went. While he was doing this task, Satou came into the kitchen, and wondered, “What are you doing?”
Iida straightened up where he was kneeling to look up at the other boy, “I am checking what ingredients we already have so that I know what to get from the store.”
“Oh, okay, what are you making?”
“Cheesecake. The recipe should be over there on the counter if you would like to look at it.”
Tenya went back to his current task of mentally cataloguing the contents of the cupboard he was kneeled in front of as Satou picked up the paper and started to read it.
“It looks like all you’d need to buy is lemon juice, unless you want to squeeze your own.” Satou said after a few moments.
“Ah,” Iida quickly got up from off the floor, “Thank you. It was taking quite a while to figure out what all I’d need to buy.”
Satou grinned, roughly patting Tenya on the shoulder, “No problem! If you need help making it, just let me know, yeah?”
“Of course, thank you.”
The next day, while Katsuki was doing some extra sparring practice with Kirishima, Tenya put the recipe to good use, finally able to put his plan in motion. He had just gotten some fresh lemons from the store in order to squeeze out some juice. Tenya had watched Katsuki do it enough times to know to roll out the fruit beforehand in order to maximize the amount of juice he got out of it.
Following the recipe wasn’t difficult at all, so Tenya quickly got through it, and soon enough he was putting a pan full of water in the oven with the cheesecake in the middle. He didn’t quite understand the importance of the water pan, but he did it anyway. He wouldn’t risk ruining the cake for Katsuki.
While the cake was baking, Tenya cleaned up the kitchen. Once all the dishes and such were cleaned and drying on the rack next to the sink, Tenya took out some fresh fruit in order to cut it up for Katsuki.
Peeling and cutting the fruit was rhythmic and calming as Tenya’s mind started to worry about whether the cake would be done in time for Katsuki’s arrival or not. Luckily, the timer went off soon after he finished up plating the fruit, making Tenya sigh in relief. Taking the cake out of the oven was rewarding, to say the least.
Tenya could understand why Katsuki thought of food as more affectionate than other, more commonplace, things. It took time and care to get it right, and it took conscious effort from someone to find something they were sure the other person would enjoy.
Tenya gently took the cheesecake out of the pan, allowing it to cool more quickly than it would have inside of it. He didn’t really have anything to do while the cake was cooling except for waiting, so he did his best to remain calm. Katsuki would like the surprise; Tenya was sure of it. That knowledge didn’t help the anxiety creeping up his throat, though.
Tenya rearranges how the cake and fruit platter are set up at least 4 times before he hears Kirishima and Bakugou come back into the dorm building. Luckily, Tenya’s plan had already been known by the others in their class since Satou and the “Dekusquad” weren’t the best at keeping secrets. Thankfully, Katsuki hadn’t heard about it as far as Tenya was aware, at the very least.
The only reason Tenya was thankful for his friends’ inability to keep secrets is because Kirishima had left Katsuki alone pretty quickly after coming in, and the common room was completely empty. Would that raise Katsuki’s suspicion? Absolutely, but it did leave them alone for a more intimate moment. Though, thinking about it, Tenya is sure that at least a few of his classmates are spying on them.
Tenya made his way out of the kitchen, his hand coming up to push at his glasses nervously. Katsuki was quick to turn at the movement, catching sight of Tenya. His face seemed to melt into an affectionate grin. He must notice Tenya’s nervousness, because that grin turns subtly concerned in a matter of moments. Katsuki had always been too good at reading people for his own good sometimes.
Tenya approached Katsuki, telling him quietly, “I have something for you, if you want it.”
“Oh,” Katsuki said, tone indicating that he was caught rather off guard by the statement, “Yeah, sure, show me what you got, Four-Eyes.”
Tenya let out a small chuckle at the nickname that used to annoy him before gently tugging Katsuki’s shirt in order to lead him to the kitchen. Katsuki noticed the cheesecake and the cut up fruit almost immediately, and Tenya could hear the slight catch in his breath.
“I made you some cheesecake. I hope you like it.”
Katsuki seemed at a loss for words, but that was fine. Tenya could be patient. He had to be in order to let the other boy express himself at any given point in time. That was alright, though. He didn’t mind putting in some extra work for Katsuki.
“Fucking asshole…” he heard Katsuki mumble, causing him to finally look at the other boy’s face. There were tears falling down Katsuki’s soft cheeks, which were painted a delicate pink. Katsuki sniffled, and Tenya couldn’t help but reach out to brush away the tear on his left cheek.
“Too much?” Tenya was starting to worry that he had crossed some sort of boundary. He didn’t want to make the other boy uncomfortable, no need to mention making him cry. This was going all sorts of sideways from Tenya’s expectations, though it was slightly better than getting an explosion to the face.
Katsuki took a deep breath, and then did something completely unexpected. He pulled Tenya into a hug, burying his face into Tenya’s shoulder as if hiding from the fact that he initiated somewhat intimate contact with the other boy (which Tenya figured would be the worse case scenario).
“It’s not too much. I love it.” Katsuki’s voice was muffled by Tenya’s shirt, but Tenya could hear him loud and clear. He wrapped his own arms around the other, squeezing him gently.
“I’m glad.”