Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya was kind of stupid. At least that’s what his friends would say. His family would try to take a kinder approach to the word and say he was reckless. He, however, would just say he was adventurous. His friends had a hard time keeping up with him. He was always urging them to go cliff jumping with him into the quarry, or go on all the black diamond ski trails, or go skydiving with him for his 18th birthday. Just that past winter he’d convinced Iida, who had a pick-up truck, to hook up his sled to the back of his car when the roads were iced over to drag him around. He never went above 5 miles per hour, however (much to Izuku’s disappointment).
So, when Izuku texted them saying they wouldn’t see him for a few months after high school ended, no one was really all that surprised.
Sure- his mom started furiously calling and texting him, asking him what he was doing and where he was going (she almost even preemptively called an ambulance, being very aware of her son’s tendency to hurt himself), but she knew it wasn’t like he was just going to back out of whatever he was up to and come back home. Luckily it wasn’t anything dangerous (this time), which set his mom’s mind at ease a little. In fact, it was the least dangerous thing he’d done in a long while.
He’d made up his mind to go on a road trip across the country, visiting any place he found interesting, so that’s exactly what he was going to do.
Izuku grinned to himself, feeling the wind whip through his wild hair and listening as best he could to the half-broken radio. The sun beat down relentlessly, somehow managing to create a reflection off of Izuku’s excessively dusty car. It was so hot that the asphalt looked reflective in the distance.
The past few months hadn’t been the best for Izuku if he had to be honest with himself. He found out his partner, Shindo, had been cheating on him for the entire 6 months they had been together. Izuku was, obviously, very upset about that and after voicing his frustration, Shindo got even more defensive. He told Izuku he never actually cared about him and was only in it for the sex.
What a lovely thing to say to someone.
And- sure- that really fucking hurt, but Izuku didn’t like to dwell on things. He had planned on throwing himself into the next crazy thing to take his mind off it, but life had other plans.
Turns out an amateur dirt biker shouldn’t go on a black diamond trail.
He ended up snapping his leg in half and his leg was forced into a cast. This meant he had to take time to rest and recover (doctors orders), which was the exact opposite of what he wanted- no, needed- to do.
Now that his leg was all healed, he was finally able to drive and get away from everything for a while.
He had always wanted to go on a long road trip, but he had never had the time. Now that he had finally graduated high school, the summer was a perfect time.
It had been going well, and he was enjoying watching the scenery change as he left his small city. Though, he found himself getting a bit bored.
Izuku sighed, running a hand through his windswept curls, and frowning a little.
If he had to be honest with himself, he wasn’t very good at being by himself and he was beginning to rethink his summer plans. He wished he brought a friend or two with him. He hadn’t even thought about that as he had pulled out of his driveway earlier that day.
Fuck- he should really start thinking things through.
Maybe that’s why when an hour into his trip he saw someone he knew walking on the side of the road in his rearview mirror, he practically slammed on the brakes.
Well, know might’ve been a strong word. Izuku had seen that guy in the halls of school, day after day, year after year. They’d had an English class together Junior year, but the guy had kept to himself, so Izuku never approached him. Honestly, Izuku was a little scared of him just based on the rumors he’d heard floating around. It wasn’t anything too bad- just that he hated people and had a quick fuse.
They were dragging their feet, clearly exhausted as Izuku pulled to the side of the road. They immediately stopped, and Izuku cursed to himself, coming back to reality a bit. Had he really just stopped on the side of the road for someone he had never even talked to? Did he even know his name?!
“...Keitaro?...Kazumi?...Katsuro?” Izuku muttered to himself, hoping that he might recognize the name if he said it out loud, “...might be Katsuro.”
Izuku peered hesitantly into his rearview mirror. “Katsuro” was standing completely still behind the car; his face was weirdly expressionless. He could just drive off now and save himself from having to explain why he had stopped and also who he even fucking was. Izuku sighed, looking at the slump of Katsuro’s shoulders, and his tired blinks. The heavy-looking backpack he was carrying didn’t seem like it was helping either.
He hadn’t picked his first destination for his trip yet anyway...
Izuku hopped out of the car before he could think any more about it. Thinking had never been his strong suit anyway.
“Hey!” Izuku greeted with a wave, wincing as Katsuro startled a little, “Oh, sorry- uhm… I’m Izuku.”
He tried giving his friendliest smile to hopefully ease the now-very-tense guy standing a few feet away from him.
“You probably don’t know me, but we had an English class together last year? And when I saw you walking along the road, I kinda got worried so I-”
“Worried?” Katsuro spat defensively, his red eyes narrowing.
Ok… so this might be harder than Izuku thought.
“Yeah, I mean… you’re far from home. Or- I guess I don’t know where you live, but it’d be weird if you live super far away from school, so I kind of assumed that maybe you’d like a ride to wherever you’re trying to go?”
“Oh, so you’re one of those people.” Katsuro muttered, kicking a rock away with his foot.
“”Those” people?” Izuku repeated, tilting his head a little.
“Yeah, the ones who can’t just mind their fucking business.”
Katsuro stalked up to Izuku, who instinctively backed away. Was Katsuro going to punch him or something? Izuku tensed, hands coming up. He wasn't sure what to do if Katsuro actually did try to beat him up.
However, Katsuro didn’t do anything, just glared as he went by, going to continue walking down the road.
“Wait a minute! Hold on.” Izuku said after shaking his head to clear it, “C’mon! You’re clearly tired, and I don’t have anywhere to be. I was taking the summer to go on a fun road trip anyway, so seriously, if you need a ride somewhere, I’ll take you.”
Katsuro didn’t even glance back, so Izuku did the first thing that came to mind.
He jogged after him and grabbed the back of his backpack, which had a skateboard strapped to the back of it, pulling a little.
“What the-” Katsuro began, stumbling back a little as Izuku tugged him towards the car, “Are you trying to fucking kidnap me?!”
“Nope, I’m trying to help. You’re obviously exhausted if you can’t withstand me pulling you back.”
Yeah, so maybe doing the first thing that came to mind all the time wasn’t the best idea, but Izuku wasn’t turning back now.
“I’m not getting in your car.” Katsuro snapped, glaring at him.
“Katsuro, come on.” Izuku let himself let out a huff of exasperation.
“My name isn’t Katsuro.”
“...Okay? So what is it?”
“Katsuki.”
“Eh- same thing.” Izuku shrugged.
“No, it’s not.” Katsuki clenched his teeth together, grabbing Izuku’s hand and ripping it away from his bag.
“Please get in the car?” Izuku pleaded a little instead of arguing that Katsuro and Katsuki were pretty much the same names.
When Katsuki set his jaw, still not moving, he added, “I have food.”
And that’s how Izuku found himself driving down the road with a very pissed-off-looking Katsuki (who had yet to stop eating the jerky Izuku had offered) in the passenger seat. His bag was crammed upfront at his feet, despite Izuku’s insistence that he could just put it in the backseat.
“Where were you trying to go?” Izuku questioned after a minute of silence.
“Massachusetts.”
“Wh-what?” Izuku sputtered out, “Were you going to walk there? You do realize we live in Virginia, right?”
“Yeah, I do.” Katsuki snapped as if Izuku questioning his choice to walk hundreds of miles was absurd.
Why the hell didn’t he just go to the bus stop or something?
He stole a quick peek over at Katsuki, seeing the same annoyed expression he’d had since he got in the car. Well- no, scratch that. He’d looked annoyed since Izuku had opened his mouth.
It was deafeningly quiet again, and a bit awkward as Izuku directed them onto Highway 95 towards Massachusetts.
Izuku sneaked a few glances at Katsuki from the corner of his eye as best he could while driving. He looked only a little different than he did Junior year. His hair was platinum blonde, spikey, and in need of a good haircut.
His look was pretty simple- all dark save for the chipped pink nail polish on his fingers. The splash of bright color seemed a bit out of place, but Izuku wasn’t one to judge. He was wearing a black, wrinkled t-shirt and some joggers. His clothes seemed a bit too big on him despite how tall he was. The only things that were noticeably different from when Izuku had seen him last in English were his black nose ring, he had hearing aids now, and that- you know- he looked a little older.
He was actually kind of attractive, Izuku realized. Y’know- if you’re into angry, emotionally constipated people who look like they wouldn’t care if you stepped into oncoming traffic.
...Or maybe Izuku just had bad taste in guys.
He was also clearly still on edge, hands clasped tightly around a water bottle he now had, and shoulders hunched.
“Are you actually driving me there?” Katsuki suddenly questioned, as if realizing they were going north rather than west now. Whether he was actually surprised by this or not was up in the air, considering his tone was flat.
“Uh… yeah? If I say I’m doing something, I’m gonna do it.”
“I was going to hop on a bus or something.” He grumbled a bit.
I doubt that. Izuku thought.
“Well, now you don’t have to.”
“Are you serious?”
Izuku let out a little sigh.
“Listen, if you really don’t want me to take you there, I won’t, but I think this is better than you paying for a bus. It’ll be faster and, as a bonus, there are fewer people.”
Katsuki furrowed his eyebrows at that.
“What? You clearly don’t like people. I’ve never seen you talk to anyone.”
Katsuki didn’t respond, simply turning his head to look out the window instead.
Izuku was now left to think.
So, after being gone for an hour, he’d already picked up some random guy (whose name he’d just learned) off the side of the road and was now driving him to Massachusetts… Huh.
He almost wanted to laugh at his own stupidity. What if this guy was some kind of serial killer or something? He was anti-social, irritated easily, and looked like he didn’t care about anything. Izuku’s eyebrows furrowed; thinking. Those things didn’t for sure make him an evil person, but it didn’t make him trustworthy either.
Why was he going to Massachusetts anyway? And why was he going on foot? Why didn’t he get a ride with his parents or a family member? Were they really not concerned with him being on the side of the road?
Izuku suddenly had too many questions he wanted to ask, though he kept his mouth shut. This guy was different from his friends, so he couldn’t just blurt out whatever questions he wanted to ask and expect Katsuki to answer.
The corner of Izuku’s mouth quirked up into a small smile.
Maybe the road trip to Massachusetts wouldn’t be too bad after all. He had time to crack the code that was ‘Katsuki -...’
Oh- he didn’t even know his last name.
“Hey, what’s your last name?” Izuku started, figuring that was a safe question to start with.
“You don’t need to know.” Katsuki retorted, not taking his eyes off the view from the window.
Okay… so not a safe question.
“...but I’d like to know.” Izuku countered quickly.
“Why?”
“I’m just curious… Here I’ll tell you some things about me! I’m Izuku Midoriya, and I-”
“Can you be quiet?” He tried interrupting, but Izuku continued.
“- really like rollercoasters and swings and dogs- well I guess just all animals in general, and I get hurt a lot because my friends say I don’t think about things before I do them, but I think things are better that way. Oh! And-”
“Do you ever stop talking?”
“- I broke my leg a few months ago because I tried dirt biking, and it went pretty poorly, but I’m all good now, but that’s why my right leg is a lot paler and more anemic looking right now than my left. I’m also an only child, but I hang out with my friends a lot because they only live a few minutes away. Ochako Uraraka is my best friend- she’s pretty cool- and she helps me look for frogs in the creek in her backyard and-
“If I tell you my last name will you shut up?” Katsuki finally broke, exasperated, and with an eye practically twitching with annoyance.
Izuku grinned, nodding, happy his plan had worked. It was actually kind of funny seeing Katsuki irritated.
As long as he kept not punching him.
“Bakugou.”
“Katsuki Bakugou… huh.” Izuku’s smile widened.
“What? What’s with that look?” Katsuki was glaring at him still.
“Nothing. Just happy you told me.” He shrugged, chuckling a little as his passenger grumbled under his breath.
“Wow, good for you,” Katsuki deadpanned, “Now will you be quiet? I have a headache.”
Izuku took pity on him and nodded, returning his attention fully back to the road. He turned the radio back on, too, keeping it very low, just in case Katsuki actually did have a headache and didn’t just say that to shut Izuku's mouth.
He didn’t mind the quiet as much this time. Sure, it still felt a bit weird as it usually does sitting in silence with a stranger, but the soft music flowing through the speakers (or just one speaker, since the one on Katsuki’s side, was broken) helped.
His phone was now displaying directions to Massachusetts. Izuku had realized that, upon entering the directions, Katsuki saying he was going to Massachusetts was incredibly vague.
He’d need to get more specific instructions on where to go later on, but that wasn’t for another nine hours and 54 minutes according to his phone.
Katsuki was currently struggling to stay awake beside him. His eyes kept falling shut, before being forcefully opened again. A few times, he’d fall still, head lolling to the side uncomfortably before jolting upright again.
Izuku was confused at his extreme fatigue for a moment, though the more he thought about it, the less surprising it was.
Izuku had been driving for about an hour before finding Katsuki, so he had to have been walking for…
(Izuku didn’t know how long off the top of his head, so he had to google it)
A whole day?! (Apparently 25 hours to be exact)
No wonder he was exhausted.
Why the fuck was he so hellbent on getting to Massachusetts of all places?!
Izuku gave him a worried glance, seeing that Katsuki had seemingly finally fallen asleep against his will.
A few hours passed as Katsuki continued to sleep and Izuku continued to drive. He still somehow didn’t look comfortable, even while asleep. His legs were bunched up and he was smashed against the door, almost as if he was ready to bolt at any moment.
The sun was slowly beginning to set, and Izuku was starting to regret not leaving earlier to cover more ground. If he had been with his dad, Izuku was sure they would’ve left even before the sun had risen.
Just as Izuku was contemplating finding somewhere to sleep, Katsuki startled awake, making Izuku almost jump out of his skin in response. His eyes darted around for a frantic moment as if he forgot where he was. Izuku thought he was actually going to try and jump out of the car for a second.
“Relax, you’re alright,” Izuku said calmly, sending him a gentle smile in hopes Katsuki would stop panicking.
Katsuki’s eyes snapped to him, still wild for a brief moment before he glared.
“Of course I’m alright.” He defended, clearly still not okay as his hands were trembling. Katsuki seemed to notice this at the same time as Izuku- swiftly shoving his hands in his pockets.
“So…” Izuku drawled, sensing Katsuki would rather not talk about whatever was going on, “I was planning on just sleeping in my car when I first thought of this trip to save money, but if you don’t want to I think there should be a motel or someth-”
“I’m fine with sleeping in the car.” He interrupted, decidedly not looking at Izuku as he continued, “or I could just drive while you’re asleep.”
“Yeah, no,” Izuku shut that idea down quickly. He didn’t like it when other people drove, especially people that he didn’t know well. “I’ll probably drive for a while longer until I actually get tired. Then we’ll find a parking lot or something.”
Katsuki gave a noncommittal noise in response.
Izuku ended up driving until almost midnight, finding he wasn’t as tired as he expected himself to be, and pulled into the back of a nearly empty parking lot. Just as he was about to cut off the engine, Katsuki spoke up.
“You sure I can’t drive?”
Izuku froze, surprised he had spoken first without any prompting, though he supposed it was just because Katsuki was eager to get to his destination. He turned off the car with a small smile.
“Yep,” He popped the ‘p’, “I don’t trust you to drive my car.”
“I’m a great driver.” He countered as if he was defending his honor. Izuku thought it was kind of ridiculous.
“Sure you are.” Izuku nodded along.
“Are you being sarcastic right now?”
“I would never.”
Katsuki frowned, clearly not amused, making Izuku laugh.
“Listen, man, don’t take it personally. I don’t let anyone but my parents drive me places.” Izuku explained, watching as Katsuki gave him a look from the corner of his eye. It was like he wanted Izuku to explain further, without it seeming like he cared.
Izuku grinned.
“I just don’t trust people I guess. I mean- I do stupid stuff all the time, and most of it’s dangerous, but that’s my choice. Having someone driving would be like putting my life in their hands kind of. Riding in a car is definitely not the most dangerous thing I’ve done though…” Izuku huffed out a laugh, “I know it’s pretty stupid, but that’s just how my brain works.”
“It’s a control thing,” Katsuki said bluntly.
“Huh?”
Katsuki sighed. “From what you just told me, you’re obviously not scared of taking risks, but it’s only when it’s of your own accord. Once your choice- or control- is taken away, that’s when you have an issue with it.”
“...Oh… Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Izuku murmured, eyebrows pinched together as he thought about it.
Weird. Izuku never thought he was the controlling type.
The more he thought it through, the more it made sense. He had always been the “idea guy”. Planning and doing things, just dragging his friends along for the ride. Was it a bad thing? Were his friends annoyed that they didn’t pick what to do? Had they ever told him this before, and… if they did, had Izuku just ignored them? Was that why Shindo cheated on him? Was that why they didn’t love h-
“Don’t think about it so hard.” Katsuki waved his hand dismissively, interrupting Izuku’s spiraling brain “Just go to sleep.”
He blinked a few times, watching as Katsuki reclined the seat so it was almost flat, rolling so his back was to him.
“Are you, like…” Izuku stuttered a bit, brain still reeling as he brought himself back, “secretly a therapist or something? How the hell did you know that shit from just listening to me for the past couple hours?”
He heard Katsuki snort.
“I’m just good at figuring people out.” He responded shortly, making Izuku hum.
“Alright, then…” Izuku considered his next words, “I- um… Do you want to sleep with me?”
Katsuki’s head turned so quickly towards him he thought he heard his neck pop.
“What?”
Okay, so maybe he should’ve elaborated first.
“Ah, shit. Not-” Izuku chuckled a bit, “Sorry, I’m not the best with words. I brought a sleeping mat and a sleeping bag with me. I was planning on folding the back seats down so it’s all flat back there so sleep. It’ll probably be more comfortable and you can have either the mat or sleeping bag.”
He listened for Katsuki’s reply as he stepped out of the car to set up the backseat.
“I’m good here.” Came the reply once he opened the backseat door. Katsuki leaned his seat back as far as it could go, and Izuku shrugged.
“Suit yourself.”
Once everything was set up, he settled in his sleeping bag, mumbling a quiet “goodnight” to Katsuki.