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Katsuki couldn’t sleep.
He flipped over in bed onto his back for the hundredth time with a huff, hoping to finally start feeling tired, but the only thing he felt was pissed. He never had problems falling asleep, passing out not long after he went to bed, but for some fucking reason his body decided to give him the middle finger and keep him up into the late hours of the night.
Probably to spite him for getting in a fight and being stuck inside all day with fucking Deku.
He flipped over onto his stomach, his head falling harshly to his pillow and eliciting a twinge of pain from his bandaged arms underneath it. That only made him more pissed.
It had only been a day since their fight in Ground Beta, a day since they had been assigned to house arrest and dorm cleaning duties, and he was already hating it. Missing classes for four days was bad enough—he’d have to work double-time to catch back up, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle; he’d be back ahead of those extras in no time—but for three of those days, he was gonna be forced to clean with shitty Deku.
Today was at least manageable, with Katsuki avoiding the nerd as much as he could and ignoring him when he couldn’t. He’d felt compelled to give the nerd feedback on his shoot style when he’d asked though, because now that they were rivals (apparently), he’d make sure that his rival wasn’t some lousy weakling. Not that he needed to worry about the weak part. The bruises on his face and arms were evidence of that.
Katsuki had scrubbed the dorms up and down, making every surface sparkle more than they ever had since Class 1-A moved in, and he made himself a quick dinner before heading off to bed at 8:30. Because yeah, even though he was the one who started the fight and it was technically his fault that he was dealing with this house arrest shit in the first place, that didn’t mean that he was going to spend the next four days being lazy and staying up late until ungodly hours of the night like the other extras did. The number one hero didn’t slack off, even if he was under punishment.
That had been hours ago though. His classmates had gone to bed long ago, even the night owls, the light that showed under his dorm room door from the hallway had gone out, and everything was quiet in the dorms.
Yet here he was, still awake, for some fucking reason.
He turned over to his side with another huff, glaring at his alarm clock that displayed the time 1:27 AM in bright red numbers. As much as he hated being under house arrest, he was glad for it tonight. He knew that he’d be exhausted tomorrow if he had to go to class in the morning. Not that he wouldn’t be exhausted anyway, but at least he didn’t have to worry about accidentally passing out during lessons.
Katsuki flipped back onto his back and swallowed, wincing at the dry prickles that assaulted his throat. A glass of water didn’t seem like a bad idea. It might help get rid of some of this restless energy too. He kicked off his blankets and got up, swiping his phone from the bedside table and shoving it in his pocket before silently padding barefoot down the stairs.
As he made it to the bottom, he noticed the blue light of the TV lighting up the hallway to the common room. He rolled his eyes as he headed that way. No doubt some of his classmates had stayed up for an impromptu movie night and passed out in the middle of it. He bet that it was his group of idiots.
He was surprised to find the space practically empty. The TV had been left on, but rather than playing some action movie it was on the news, the volume turned down low so that Katsuki could just barely catch bits and pieces of the stories the newscasters were discussing. There was only one person in the room, though they looked more like a small lump since a blanket was wrapped around their shoulders and over their head as they sat in the corner of one of the couches. As Katsuki got closer on silent feet, he could make out All Might’s grinning face on the blanket through the dim light, and he knew exactly who it was.
“What are you still doing up, nerd?” The question lacked its usual bite. Was Katsuki actually curious about what the damn nerd was up to?
The All Might lump jolted at his voice, and Deku’s head whipped around to face him, green eyes wide. His curly hair poked out from under the blanket at different angles as if he’d just rolled out of bed, and the light from his phone in his hand illuminated the dark circles forming under his eyes. He stared at Katsuki for a moment before he relaxed, a sheepish smile coming to his lips. “O-Oh, hey Kacchan. I didn’t think you’d be up this late…”
Katsuki didn’t reply, only regarding him with narrowed eyes before he continued to the kitchen with a “tch”. He grabbed a clean glass from the dish rack and filled it at the sink, downing the entire thing in one go and sighing at the relief his throat felt. He filled the glass again before walking back out, deciding to take it back up to his room.
Except he didn’t go back upstairs. He set the glass on the coffee table in the common room before flopping down with his legs sprawled out on the opposite end of the couch from Deku.
The nerd froze, his thumbs stilling over his phone as he not-so-discreetly glanced over at Katsuki. Katsuki didn’t give anything away, only pulling out his phone and opening a random app (Temple Run? Why was this still on his phone, he hasn’t played it in years), so it wasn’t long before Deku looked back at whatever was on his phone, thumbs moving again.
Once Deku was absorbed in whatever he was doing, Katsuki looked away from his own phone to glance at him out of the corner of his eye, barely moving his head.
(This is how you discreetly study somebody, shitty Deku. Take fucking notes.)
The All Might blanket was wrapped tightly around him, his left hand holding it closed while the right held his phone. An empty All Might mug was sitting in front of him on the coffee table, the tea bag inside long dried up.
Katsuki couldn’t tell what Deku was doing on his phone very well from this distance. Probably looking through a hero forum as usual, his thumb sluggishly scrolling up the screen as tired green eyes gazed down at the dimmed screen. The joints of his hand gave out occasional clicks as he tapped at the screen, but Deku didn’t even bat an eye at the noise. He was probably used to it after fucking up his hand at the Sports Festival with his power.
All Might’s power, Katsuki’s brain helpfully supplied.
Fuck, he can’t believe his theory had actually been right. Part of him had thought that Deku inheriting the previous number one hero’s quirk was absurd, if not impossible, but now that he knew the whole truth it made sense. The sudden appearance of the nerd’s quirk at fifteen had been suspicious enough, but then there was the fact that All Might gave him so much attention, both in and out of the classroom. Hell, he’d even invited Deku to eat lunch with him once before!
(Katsuki hadn’t felt jealous when he’d overheard the invitation on his way to the cafeteria. Nope. Not at all.)
There was also the fact that Deku pretty much copied all of All Might’s moves or adapted them in some way. All of his attacks were some kind of smash.
…it was honestly a wonder Katsuki hadn’t figured it out sooner, even before Deku had mentioned the borrowed power after their first training exercise in Ground Beta all those months ago. The nerd wasn’t exactly subtle.
“Are your arms okay?”
Katsuki snapped his attention back to Deku, who was looking at his arms with that stupid pitying frown he always wore.
Wait, not pitying, Deku had told him last night he wasn’t pitying him.
Didn’t mean he didn’t still hate that look.
“Fucking ‘course they are, shitty nerd. Your weak ass kicks couldn’t hurt me,” Katsuki spat despite the bandages currently on his forearms being a clear contradiction to that statement.
Deku hummed, lips drawn in a thin line, almost sounding unconvinced, but he nodded. “I was worried that I might’ve seriously hurt you when Full Cowling jumped up to 8%, but it’s good to know I didn’t."
Holy shit, that was only 8% of All Might’s power?!
Outwardly, Katsuki scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Whatever nerd.” He looked back at his phone, starting up another round of Temple Run, and they lapsed back into silence, the only noise between them being the TV. There was some story on about a villain attack Ryukyu had taken care of earlier that day.
As the silence continued, Katsuki felt Deku fidget on the other end of the couch. When he glanced over, the nerd was fiddling with a loose thread on his blanket and biting his lip, as if he were holding back on saying something.
Katsuki narrowed his eyes at him. “Fucking what? I can hear you thinking all the way over here.”
Deku jolted before scratching his cheek. “Um- well- I was just wondering- n-not that you’re obligated to say yes or anything, but-”
“Spit it out, Deku.” It was almost two in the morning. He didn’t have the patience for this.
“W-Would you want to play a game?”
What? “What?”
“Do you want to play a game?” Deku repeated, his voice not shaking this time. “Kaminari left his system down here earlier, and he said anybody could play it if they wanted, and since we’re both down here I thought it’d be a good way to pass the time.”
That…honestly wasn’t the worst idea. It was better than Katsuki staying up until ass o’clock in the morning with nothing but his thoughts and Temple Run, but like hell he was going to agree with Deku. He couldn’t on principle.
“Why the fuck would I want to do that?” Katsuki said instead.
“It could be fun!” The blanket slid off Deku’s head and shoulders, revealing his full bedhead as he stood from the couch and made his way over to the TV, crouching down so he could reach the game system underneath. Katsuki couldn’t remember what the system was called. Switch? Glitch? Whatever. He never stuck around the common room long enough to know for sure. Game cases, controllers, and accessories were scattered around the dock, and they were lucky the controllers were wireless or they’d probably be detangling the cables for the rest of the night.
“We used to play games all the time when we had sleepovers,” Deku continued as he sifted through the different games. He had a sappy reminiscing tone to his voice, as if he were recalling good memories. Katsuki didn’t see how there were any considering he’d given Deku hell for the last decade. “Mom and Auntie Mitsuki would scold us for staying up past our bedtime, especially if it was a school night.” Deku selected one of the cases and held it up for Katsuki to see. Mario Kart. “Technically it’s not a school night.”
“We still have to get up to scrub the damn dorms, remember?”
“Well, yeah, but we could only play for a little while!”
Katsuki glared at him. “Fuck no. I’m not playing some shitty racing game with you.” He reached for his phone, fully intending to go back up to his room, even if it meant staring up at the ceiling for who knows how long, when Deku shrugged, the calculating glint he got in his eyes when he was planning something appearing.
“Well that’s too bad, Kacchan. It’s a shame you don’t want to take back your winning title.”
Katsuki froze, laser gaze aimed at Deku. “What.”
Deku shrugged again nonchalantly. “I’m just saying, if I remember correctly—which I do—at our last sleepover when we were five, I won the last Mario Kart grand prix.”
“Fuck off, no you didn’t! I won that race and left you in the dust!”
“Are you sure? I’d hate if you left now and it turned out you were wrong.”
Katsuki glared down at Deku with a look that could burn from the inside out, the nerd’s face an image of feigned innocence. Katsuki knew what he was doing. The nerd thought he could bait him and goad him into playing? Like hell. Katsuki could leave right now, go back up to his room with the winning title he knew was his without even looking back.
“Toss me a damn controller.”
Katsuki hated the triumphant grin that spread across Deku’s face as he did just that.
~
“What the fuck?!”
“Kacchan, keep it down! Everybody’s still asleep!”
“I don’t give a shit about those extras! Two out of three, fucker.”
“Alright, alright…you don’t have to be a sore loser about it.”
“SHUT-”
“Wait, Kacchan don’t blow up the controller!”
~
“Ha! Eat shit, nerd!”
“Okay, but can you do it again?”
“Fuckin’ watch me, Deku.”
~
They played more than three games.
They ended up playing more than Mario Kart. Any game that had multiplayer, they played in an attempt to keep the winning title from the other. Katsuki hadn’t thought about their game competitions at all in the last ten years, but now he was wishing they had Deku’s old All Might whiteboard just so he could keep track of all the times he beat the nerd.
The awkward tension that had been between them since the fight had faded to quiet giggles and jabs at each other’s mistakes as they played, broken only by Katsuki’s shouts of victory and Deku subsequently shushing him around his laughter. Not that the nerd could talk. He was just as loud when he won.
Katsuki wasn’t sure how long they had been playing, but part of him didn’t even care. He was just having fun. The sudden thought shocked him, but he pushed it aside as he tuned back into the game.
“Yes! I win again!” Katsuki cheered as the screen displayed Bowser being the superstar, Yoshi in second place. They had switched to Mario Party at some point.
Their positions had shifted on the couch too. Their backs were leaned against either arm of the couch, Katsuki’s legs wedged between Deku’s and the back of the couch and the nerd’s socked feet brushing against his thighs through his sweatpants. One of them had also thrown the All Might blanket over their legs as well. Katsuki couldn’t bring himself to mind. Maybe he was just too tired to care.
The celebratory jingle looped for the third time without Deku clicking off the screen for Katsuki to look over at him. He’d been getting more subdued as time went on, and he was currently staring down at his controller, his eyebrows furrowed. Lost in thought.
“Oi, Deku.” Katsuki nudged his foot against Deku’s hip, making him snap his gaze up to him. “Start the next game up.”
“Oh. Right, sorry.” Deku toggled away from the result screen and navigated to the menu to start a new game, but he still had that faraway look in his eyes, and he was chewing on his bottom lip. Katsuki had figured the damn nerd was falling asleep on him, but as he scrutinized him with a narrowed gaze, he knew something else was going on.
He kicked Deku harder, making him jolt again. “What? I know you’re obsessing over something over there.”
Deku rubbed where he’d been kicked with a pout, and he opened his mouth to answer before closing it again. “...it’s nothing. It’s stupid.”
“Everything you say is stupid,” Katsuki replied with a roll of his eyes.
Deku huffed before he went back to chewing on his lip, fiddling with his controller in his lap as he contemplated something. He glanced over at the entryway to the common room before his gaze fell back on Katsuki. “It’s…One For All stuff.”
Katsuki blinked. That’s not what he’d been expecting. “Okay…All Might already told me everything about it though.”
“I know…I’ve just been thinking about All For One…I know he was just arrested, but I just have this feeling that won’t be the last time we have to deal with him…but like I said, it’s stupid! I’m probably just being paranoid! All Might already beat him and I don’t want to doubt his skills, he fought super well and his United States of Smash was cool too and-”
“Alright Deku, I get it,” Katsuki cut in before he could go any further. The nerd would’ve probably ended up ranting about All Might’s finishing move for the rest of the night if he let him.
(Katsuki wouldn’t admit that he thought the move had been cool too. Deku definitely would’ve talked about it for at least the entirety of the next day.)
“You may as well talk about it,” Katsuki continued, tossing his controller to the coffee table. “You’ve been distracted and shit for the last hour, and knowing you it’ll get worse, then I’ll have to kick your ass again if it makes you fall behind in class.”
Deku chuckled, as if what Katsuki had said hadn’t been a subtle threat, but it sounded strained. “You’re probably right…” He heaved a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his curly hair, his fingers catching on knots. “I…had a nightmare. About All For One.”
His shoulders slumped, making him look more tired than he had before. With the light of the game menu, Katsuki really looked at Deku, noticing the bloodshot eyes and just how dark the shadows under them were, the blotchiness of his cheeks. Even without Deku announcing he’d had a nightmare, Katsuki would’ve easily known. He’s seen the same look on his own face in the mirror several times in the last week.
Katsuki hummed. “So, what, did he come back or something?”
Deku nodded. “Yeah…like I said before, I’m not doubting All Might, but I just wonder what’ll happen if something happens and All For One does come back. He’d come after me, right? That’s what happened to the previous One For All users.” He looked down at his hands in his lap, flexing his fingers. His joints clicked again, and this time he grimaced.
“I just worry if I can stop him if he does…even you beat me last night. If I can’t stand between him and everybody else, there won’t be anything left to stop him from finishing off All Might, or hurting you or mom or the rest of our class…” Deku’s face suddenly flared bright red, and he frantically waved his hands in front of him. “I-I don’t mean to say that you’re weak or anything, you’re super strong, Kacchan, one of the strongest people I know-”
“I already know that, Deku,” Katsuki broke in, waving him off, and Deku fell silent, his hands falling back into his lap. Katsuki dropped his own hand, leaning into his corner of the couch. “I…get what you mean, though.”
Deku blinked, then raised an eyebrow at him. “You do?”
Katsuki glared. “Of course I do, shitty Deku. I’m not a fucking idiot. Not being able to do something that you should be able to do yourself, whether it be beating shitty villains or just getting away from them, makes you feel like crap.”
Deku’s eyes widened with that stupid sappy look he always got during heart-to-hearts (not that that’s what this was—Katsuki would say Endeavor was his favorite hero before admitting that that’s what this impromptu game session was turning into). “Kacchan…”
Katsuki gritted his teeth, dropping his gaze to his lap. “I get it. It fucking sucks that I couldn’t beat that bastard myself, that I couldn’t fucking do anything except listen to Handsy’s shitty recruitment speeches while being chained to a damn chair.” His hands tightened into fists as he talked, and his eyes stung. He huffed out a breath. “But there’s not much that I can do about it now except get stronger and make damn sure that it doesn’t happen again. Then when that asshole comes back I can deck him in his nutsack face-”
Deku spluttered. “Nutsack face-?!”
“-and you will too.” Katsuki leaned forward and jabbed Deku in the chest for emphasis, making him splutter again. “Don’t sell yourself short, nerd. Not many people can beat me in a fight, but you weren’t complete shit last night. All For One could fucking steamroll you right now, though, and like hell I’m gonna let that happen. You need to get stronger too.”
Deku gaped at him, his mouth opening and closing as he processed everything Katsuki had said, before he froze, eyes widening as tears welled up in them. “Kacchan…you’re going to help me get stronger…?”
Katsuki narrowed his eyes at him. “That a fucking problem?”
Deku quickly shook his head, smiling broadly. “No, no, that’s- that’s great! Really good!” He wiped away the tears before he reached forward and grabbed his phone from the coffee table, starting to type away on it. “All Might and I have One For All training sessions after school—that’s why I get back to the dorms late sometimes—so you could come train with us!”
“Wait, are you telling All Might this right now? It’s almost four in the fucking morning!”
“I know! This isn’t the first time I’ve texted him this late.”
Katsuki stared at him, baffled. “...All For One’s definitely gonna steamroll your ass if you don’t go to sleep until 4AM.”
Deku pouted, clicking off his phone now that the text was sent. “I don’t always go to sleep that late…and I’ve still been doing pretty well in class!”
Katsuki stared at him deadpan. “I literally heard you snoring behind me in class two weeks ago.”
Deku’s face turned bright red, and he ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “...so I’ve fallen asleep a few times…but I haven’t fallen behind!”
“You’re literally falling behind right now. You can’t go back to class for two more days,” Katsuki pointed out.
“Yeah, well, so are you. And you can’t go back for three more.”
Katsuki scowled, and he crossed his arms and looked away with a “tch”. “Whatever.”
Deku laughed, and when Katsuki glanced back at him he had that stupid smile on his face, the weight that had been on his shoulders before now gone. “We’ll be back in class soon.” He held his scarred fist out to Katsuki. “And then we’ll both get stronger.”
Katsuki peered at the proffered fist. He didn’t do fist bumps. He must have really been exhausted by this point though as he reached out his own fist, knocking it against Deku’s. “Yeah.”
(Art by des_exe, posted with permission)
Deku’s smile grew, if that was even possible, before he pulled his hand back to stifle a yawn. Then Katsuki yawned, which Deku giggled at until Katsuki kicked him hard in the leg, making him whine.
He pouted as he rubbed at the kicked spot. “We should probably head to bed. Aizawa-sensei won’t like us oversleeping, even if we don’t have class.”
Katsuki grunted in agreement, and he left Deku to put away the stuff for the game system as he grabbed his glass from the coffee table and headed to the kitchen. He refilled it at the sink, and by the time he came back Deku was already done, the TV off, the only light in the room being from the lampposts outside streaming through the windows.
Deku handed Katsuki his phone. “I added All Might’s number to your contacts, just in case.”
Katsuki didn’t even ask how the nerd knew his password, only taking it and nodding as they walked to the elevator. They rode up in a comfortable silence, and it stopped on the second floor first. Deku shuffled out, his All Might blanket back around his shoulders, and he glanced back at Katsuki with a tired smile. “Goodnight, Kacchan.”
Katsuki gave him a just-as-tired wave from where he was slouched against the back wall. “Night Deku.”
Deku turned away as the doors closed, and soon Katsuki was back in his own room, barely remembering to plug his phone back up before he collapsed onto his bed, passing out as soon as his head hit the pillow.
The second day of house arrest was the same as the first, with Katsuki’s idiots teasing him again (except Kirishima, because he’s a fucking saint) and Katsuki not really talking to Deku while they cleaned. There was one point when they were in the same room when Katsuki glanced over at the nerd, seeing the lighter shadows under his eyes and the small smile on his face as he scrubbed the dishes from breakfast, and Katsuki nodded to himself before turning back to wiping down the windows.