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Izuku kind of figured what was going on when he woke up on the morning of his birthday only to find all his classmates awkwardly avoiding him at breakfast.
His head was still hazy enough that when he stumbled down to the dining area on the first floor for breakfast and saw most of his classmates trying not to make eye contact with him, only a few of them muttering greetings, he didn’t connect it to the date.
He felt a flash of hurt confusion for all of five seconds before it hit him that it was his birthday. There had to be at least one person in the class who knew that it was his birthday, so if no one had commented on it, it almost certainly meant they were planning something.
Uraraka looked more tired than usual, her eyes half-shut and her face almost planting straight into her bowl of cereal. Asui looked exhausted as well.
Izuku blinked. “Uraraka-san, your hair is in your cereal.”
“Huh?” She sat up straight, lifting the edges of her milk-stained bangs out of her cereal. “Oh, thanks. I guess I’m just tired.”
“What happened?”
Her eyes widened a little. “Uh, nothing! I was training until late last night.”
Asui yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. “So was I.”
Energetic as always, Iida interjected, brandishing a soup spoon. “You picked the miso soup, too, Midoriya-kun. That’s an excellent choice for breakfast. It has all the hearty nutrients we need to start the day.”
There was something slightly off with the explanations, though Iida’s miso soup rant could be attributed to his normal personality, but Izuku didn’t push further. He didn’t want to assume they were planning something, but the alternative was that not a single person in the class remembered his birthday, which was even worse.
Uraraka glanced up, her face brightening. “Oh, and happy birthday, Deku-kun!”
Izuku beamed, glad that she remembered. Maybe he had been overthinking this. “Thanks.”
“Happy birthday,” Iida spoke up, his hand raising in a semi-salute. “Have a great day, but don’t forget to focus on your schoolwork, too! That is always the priority.”
Everyone else joined in the chorus of wishing him a happy birthday, and Izuku couldn’t deny that along with the swell of happiness, he felt relieved that everyone had remembered.
If they had acknowledged his birthday, that meant they weren’t planning a surprise party. That was fine. He could still have a good day with his friends without it revolving around his birthday.
When Izuku arrived at their classroom, there was no one there. Not even Iida, who usually got there much earlier than everyone else. Taking his books out of his bag, Izuku took the opportunity to get some studying done. Thinking of Aizawa’s expression if Izuku asked him not to give him work today since it was his birthday sent a shudder down his spine.
A few minutes before the bell was about to ring, a barrage of footsteps came from outside, and the door burst open. The rest of the class streamed in, out-of-breath, their faces red.
Izuku looked up from his book, now well and truly confused. “What’s up with you guys today? Iida-kun, you’re always the first one here.”
“I’m ashamed of my tardiness,” Iida announced with a hand chop. “We were caught up in trying to exterminate a cockroach.”
He held back a smile. “Oh, you mean like what happened on your birthday?”
“Not exactly,” Uraraka blurted out, her arms flailing. “I mean, that was totally different! We actually saw one for real this time. And it was huge, it practically attacked us.”
Izuku shrugged. “Alright.”
There was also something slightly off in the way everyone looked relieved when he said that, heading to their seats just in time as Aizawa walked through the door, exhausted as ever.
Weirder than the class’s odd behavior was that Katsuki was ignoring him.
When the class had planned a surprise party for Iida’s birthday, Katsuki had been the only one who refused to be involved in it, even if he helped keep it a secret.
However, Izuku was certain that Katsuki would never care about doing something for Izuku’s birthday, so it was even stranger that he was ignoring him. When Izuku answered questions in class, Katsuki didn’t scoff as usual, and he didn’t make a single teasing comment on any of the five occasions Izuku burst out into a rant about All Might. He didn’t even start yelling when they got back the results of their pop quiz to find that the two of them had gotten the same grade, which meant something was seriously amiss.
Not to mention that Izuku knew for a fact that Katsuki knew his birthday.
Every year, without fail, Katsuki always made mention of it, whether it was a snide comment about no one wanting to attend his birthday party or a muttered happy birthday when his friends weren’t nearby. When Izuku was a child, Katsuki had attended all of his birthday parties, always showing up with a gift that was perfect, even if he insisted that he didn’t care about being there.
But Katsuki wouldn’t be involved in something like a surprise party, so either he had genuinely forgotten, or he was making a point out of not acknowledging it this year.
At least the class wasn’t avoiding him. He chatted with Uraraka and Iida as usual, who were as lively as ever when the subject of his birthday wasn’t brought up, and he spent a while talking to Kaminari in class, who couldn’t stop talking about a video game he played recently.
This was enough for him. Spending time with his friends was all he wanted to do for his birthday, anyway.
At lunch time, All Might stopped Izuku in the corridor as he was about to head to the canteen. “Young Midoriya, do you want to have lunch with me?”
Izuku nodded, excited; it never stopped being exciting to be able to hang out with his hero.
When they opened the door to All Might’s office, the room was pitch black, the lights switched off. All Might didn’t comment on it, nudging Izuku through the darkness towards the shape of the sofa that was vaguely visible. Well, this was weird.
Then the lights switched on, revealing the small cake on the table, topped with a candle.
All Might spread his arms. “Happy birthday, young Midoriya!”
Izuku instantly teared up, dissolving into happy sobs while All Might laughed, used to him by now. All Might held out his arms, and Izuku wiped his tears away with the back of his hand before stumbling towards him, accepting the hug. He was pretty sure that if he let himself keep crying, he would never stop, so he tried to hold back his tears while All Might patted his back.
“There’s no need to cry,” All Might assured him. “I remembered that it was your birthday today, so I wanted to do something, even if it’s small.”
“It’s not small,” Izuku blurted out. “It’s amazing. Thank you.”
He beamed, ruffling Izuku’s hair. “Come on. Eat your cake. I got you a gift, too.”
That just made Izuku start crying again, so while he took a moment to compose himself, All Might searched for a lighter, sparking a fire on the top of the candle. With a deep breath, Izuku blew out the candle, wishing that he would be able to spend the rest of his birthdays with his friends, mother, and All Might by his side.
All Might sliced off a generous slice of the cake, then set it on a plate and handed it to Izuku. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, but everyone likes chocolate, right?”
Izuku nodded, his mouth full of the delicious cake. As he took another bite of his cake, All Might crossed over to his desk and reached under it to pull out a gift-wrapped present.
“Here,” All Might said, holding out the present, which was shaped like a book. “I had a fair idea of what you liked, but if you don’t like it, I can get something else.”
Izuku was certain that he must have been dreaming, because there was no way his idol, the Symbol of Peace, All Might, was giving him a birthday present he had chosen and gift-wrapped himself, by the look of the uneven handmade wrapping. Izuku opened it carefully, not wanting to rip the paper.
It was the latest edition of the Ultra Hero Analysis book, so new that it wasn’t even shipped to bookstores yet. Thrilled, Izuku skimmed through the pages, looking at the spreads created for the most significant pro heroes and rising stars working in Japan, as well as sidekicks and underground heroes with fascinating quirks.
With a gasp, Izuku looked at Endeavor’s page to see a familiar signature. “Is this…”
“I got some of them signed for you,” All Might confirmed. “Obviously, I don’t know all those heroes, but I got autographs from the ones I do now. I don’t know if you’re interested in that, but—”
“I am, I am! Thank you!” He had to wipe his eyes again. “It’s a great present.”
He spent the rest of the lunch period in All Might’s office, poring over the book until All Might reminded him that he had to go to class.
His classmates continued to avoid any mention of his birthday, but Izuku didn’t mind. After all, they were all busy—it would be unfair of him to expect them to set aside the time to plan a party like they had for Iida’s birthday, even if it stung a little.
Once he returned to the dorms, after an amusing dinner in which a class-wide argument broke out about whether hot or cold soba was better, Izuku headed to his room and collapsed on his bed, opening his new book to the first page so he could read it properly. Uraraka and Iida hadn’t suggested they hang out together after dinner, so Izuku assumed they were too busy.
It was true that Iida had assumed the class didn’t like him anymore when they were planning a surprise party for him, but it would be presumptuous for Izuku to assume the same for this situation. Besides, it wasn’t the same. They had wished him a happy birthday, so it seemed that was all they were going to do for today. It wasn’t like he was as important to the class as Iida was.
Izuku put his book on the shelf, deciding to go downstairs and sit in the living room. There would probably be someone there that he could talk to so he didn’t have to spend the evening alone.
He stepped into the elevator, clicking the button for the first floor. The doors slid open, revealing Katsuki standing there.
“What are you doing, nerd?” Katsuki said with a glare. “Go to your room.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because I said so.” He pushed past Izuku into the elevator, holding out his arm to block Izuku from leaving as the doors slid shut. Once they were closed, Katsuki pressed the button for Izuku’s floor.
Izuku wasn’t sure what to make of this. For the whole day, Katsuki had been pretending that Izuku didn’t exist and he was tired of it. It felt like a strange power play, as if Katsuki was making a point of the fact that he didn’t care about Izuku at all, even if their relationship had been improving since they joined U.A.
Exasperated, Izuku turned to face him. “What’s up with you today?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know it’s my birthday.” His voice sounded small. “You’ve never ignored me like this before. Did I do something wrong?”
The elevator ground to a halt and the doors opened. After a moment, Katsuki stepped out of the elevator, taking Izuku’s wrist to drag him out along with him.
“Everyone remembered except you,” Izuku pointed out before Katsuki had a chance to speak. “I don’t care if you guys don’t get me presents or whatever. I had a great day anyway. I just didn’t think you would be the one to act like I don’t exist.”
Katsuki huffed, looking strangely frustrated. “I didn’t—I didn’t forget your birthday, okay?”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“I just don’t care about it.”
“You’ve never cared, but you always said something,” Izuku protested. “Are you angry at me? Or do you really hate me so much that you want to upset me on purpose?”
“Don’t assume shit, Deku!” He crossed his arms. “I’m not angry. Or I wasn’t, until you started spouting all this shit about me hating you.”
Izuku sighed, turning away to go back to the elevator. “I can’t be bothered with this. I’m going downstairs.”
“Wait.” Katsuki grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from leaving. “Don’t you dare go down there.”
“Why not?”
Katsuki took a deep breath, his expression darkening into a scowl. “Happy birthday.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Izuku shook off his hand and walked towards the elevator, pressing the button. He could always spend his birthday with his friends who weren’t as emotionally constipated as Katsuki. He never should have expected anything more from him.
Behind him, Katsuki clicked his tongue, annoyed. “I care about it.”
Izuku stopped, turning around again. “What?”
“I care about your stupid birthday.” He lowered his gaze to the floor. “I thought you’d be happier if I left you alone.”
His eyes widened, stunned. “That would never make me happy, Kacchan.”
“Yeah, I know. But I figured I’d say something that upset you, so it was better not to say anything at all.” He glanced up, his gaze uncertain. “Last year, on your birthday, I said you were a waste of space.”
“That—”
“The year before that, I said you would be lucky if anyone remembered your birthday, but that no one would ever care enough to do anything about it.” Katsuki let out a harsh exhale through his teeth. “I always fuck up your birthday. I didn’t want you to associate it with me anymore.”
“Kacchan.” Izuku couldn’t remember the last time he felt so surprised. “It’s true that you said some terrible things, but you haven’t said anything like that since the Sludge Villain incident.”
“Don’t mention it!”
“Sorry, sorry!” He sobered up. “I still want to spend my birthday with you.”
As Katsuki was about to reply, the lights went out. Izuku looked around, confused, squinting in the darkness. An idea formed in the back of his mind, and he turned to Katsuki. “This isn’t a blackout, is it?”
“Shut up, dumbass,” Katsuki said, herding Izuku over to the elevator, which was still functioning as normal.
The first floor was pitch black as well, silent except for the sounds of breathing. A smile broke out over Izuku’s face, but he tried to suppress it as Katsuki led him to the living room.
Once they were in the living room, the lights switched on. The room was decorated with balloons and banners strung up on the walls, confetti in All Might’s theme colors spiraling through the air. As they had done for Iida’s birthday, the students pulled the cords on their party poppers, filling the room with another explosion of glittering confetti. Once again, Todoroki pulled his slightly late, sparking a late burst.
“Happy birthday, Midoriya-kun!” they yelled in unison, except for Uraraka, who yelled, “Happy birthday, Deku-kun!” louder than anyone else.
Izuku’s smile widened into a beam. “You guys are the best.”
“Were you surprised?” Uraraka asked, beaming back at him, her hair filled with confetti that trickled down onto her pink party dress. “We were going to ignore you like we did for Iida-kun’s birthday, but we remembered how bad that made him feel and we didn’t want to ruin your day just for a party at the end! So we tried to act as normal as possible.”
“Yeah, I was surprised,” he assured her. “Since you guys said happy birthday in the morning, I figured that was it.”
Uraraka gave a short hop of excitement, looking over at Asui. “You were right, Tsuyu-chan! It really was better to say happy birthday at the start.”
“It was still nerve-racking,” Yaoyorozu said, who looked like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “We know how much you analyze everything, so we were worried you’d figure it out.”
Izuku decided not to mention that he had a feeling something was going on, even if he had denied it to himself. “I had no idea.”
“Now for the most important part,” Sato announced from the kitchen, walking up to the crowd with a large cake.
“Sato and Bakugou tried to bake it together but they ended up fighting the whole time,” Kirishima said with a grin.
The cake was covered in green frosting, embellished with a design that was clearly intended to look like One For All’s glowing lightning while bright red frosting spelled out Happy Birthday, complete with multiple exclamation marks. As Sato carried the cake over to him, they all started singing ‘Happy Birthday’ while Izuku tried to hold back tears for what must have been at least the third time today.
When the song was over, Sato set the cake down on the table and they all gathered around it as Katsuki unceremoniously shoved Izuku down onto the seat at the head of the table, sitting beside him.
“At least Bakugou is here for this party,” Kirishima said brightly.
“I was thinking the same thing, Kirishima-kun,” Iida declared, looking over at Katsuki. “Normally you’re asleep at this time. Do you feel more energetic today?”
“Mind your own business, shitty extras!” Katsuki yelled. He was sitting beside Izuku, picking at the cake on his plate with an expression that was distinctly less angry than usual.
Izuku smiled at him. “Yeah, shouldn’t you be sleeping, Kacchan?”
“Die,” he muttered without his usual gusto.
“Bakugou-kun was a total bridezilla,” Uraraka supplied cheerfully, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Or whatever the party equivalent of a bridezilla is. He kept telling us that the balloons weren’t good enough, the confetti wasn’t the right texture, the handwriting on the banner had to be neater—he made us redo it five times.”
“Shut up!” Katsuki yelled at her, his cheeks flushed bright red, scarlet creeping to the tips of his ears. “You guys are terrible at planning parties.”
Izuku hid his giggle in his hand, and if he wasn’t mistaken, he caught a glimpse of Katsuki’s face softening before he hardened it into a frown again. Izuku couldn’t stop smiling as the party went on, sharing cake with all his friends as they chatted about how long it took to create the decorations and put them all up.
After the cake was finished, they led him to a massive pile of presents, which he hadn’t been expecting at all. The class definitely knew him too well, because everything was tuned to his interests, from the Present Mic style sunglasses Iida got him to the All Might poster Uraraka gave him, complete with a signature from All Might at the bottom right that read I am here… to wish you a happy birthday!
The only person who didn’t get him anything was Katsuki. Izuku felt a brief twinge of disappointment, but he tried not to focus on it. According to what Uraraka had said, Katsuki had put effort into planning this party, which was more than Izuku could have expected from him. He was just happy Katsuki was here.
“Hey, Deku,” Katsuki said once the party had reached the point where people started talking to each other, settling into a more comfortable atmosphere. “I have something for you.”
Izuku brightened. “Really?”
He motioned for Izuku to follow him into the kitchen, which was quiet enough that they were just out of everyone’s sight but could still hear the festivities.
Katsuki looked oddly nervous, avoiding eye contact as he ran a hand through his hair. “Is there anything you would hate from me?”
“As long as you don’t punch me, anything is fine.” He let out a sheepish laugh. “I’d probably like anything from you, Kacchan.”
“Then close your eyes.”
Obligingly, Izuku closed his eyes. He could hear Katsuki take a deep breath, and his own heart started hammering in his chest. He could always hope, right? Katsuki took a step forward, and Izuku’s heart was really going wild now.
Then he felt a soft press on his lips, warm and light. It was gone as quickly as it came, then Katsuki stepped back. He opened his eyes, shocked, only to see that Katsuki was bright red again, looking down at the ground with a more nervous expression than Izuku had ever seen on him before.
“Kacchan,” Izuku said, still stunned. “Did you just kiss me?”
He scoffed. “What do you think?”
Izuku took a tentative step forward, putting himself firmly in Katsuki’s personal space again, then reached up to touch Katsuki’s jaw, tilting it up so their eyes met. It was almost terrifying to be looking at each other like this, their position so intimate, but Izuku swallowed his nerves and tilted his head to kiss Katsuki again.
Warmth blossomed in Izuku’s chest, sparking to life across his skin. He could feel the soft tickle of Katsuki’s breath mingling with his own as Katsuki’s hands came up to card through Izuku’s hair, gently pressing him closer. Katsuki fit against him perfectly, his lips soft, the warm, sweet scent that always surrounded him more addictive than ever when it was this close.
When they broke apart, they stared at each other for an endless moment, both unsure of what to make of this.
Katsuki was the first to break the silence. “I do have a real present for you, too.”
Izuku was finding it hard to speak. While he floundered for words, Katsuki reached for a wrapped present on the counter that Izuku hadn’t noticed before. It was wrapped much more neatly than All Might’s had been, which was only to be expected of Katsuki. He held it out, his hands a little shaky.
Carefully, Izuku unwrapped the present. It was a sweater in All Might’s colors, the connection to his hero subtle enough that he could wear it anywhere. He wasn’t an expert on fashion, or even particularly good at it, but from the soft touch of the fabric, he could tell that it must have been good quality. He set it down on the counter, making sure he didn’t ruin the tidy way it was folded.
“I love it,” Izuku said, smiling up at Katsuki, who relaxed, the tension in his shoulders dissipating. “Thank you.”
“You needed something to wear other than that damn blue hoodie,” he muttered.
Izuku gave a small smile. “So what was the… other thing for?”
“I just wanted to do it.” He glanced away. “Is that fine?”
He reached for Katsuki’s hand, who let him entwine their fingers without protest. “Yeah. Perfect.”
Katsuki tugged on his hand, jerking his head towards the living room. “Let’s go. You can’t ditch your own birthday party.”
With another smile, Izuku walked out into the living room, feeling strangely shy now that he was holding Katsuki’s hand in front of everyone. Iida’s jaw dropped in surprise, but both Uraraka and Kirishima looked thrilled, sharing a not-so-subtle high five. Izuku wanted to know what alliance was going on there.
“What are you looking at, extras?” Katsuki grumbled.
“Nothing,” Uraraka chirped. Her voice was dangerously sweet. “We’re going to play some games now. I’m happy for you, but if you drag Deku-kun away from his own birthday, I’ll kill you.”
Izuku let out a laugh, interjecting before Katsuki could start shouting at her. “We’ll play.”
It wasn’t until a few hours later and well past midnight that the students agreed that it was probably time to sleep, considering that they had school the next day. After playing various games for hours, Izuku was exhausted, his sides aching from laughing so much. As Izuku walked to the elevator alongside Uraraka and Iida, he thought that it had been the best birthday of his life.
Just as the elevator doors started closing, someone wrenched the doors apart. Katsuki was standing there, a blaze of determination in his eyes.
“Close your eyes, extras,” he demanded, just before he leaned in and pressed his lips to Izuku’s. Uraraka was giggling in the background and it was over far too soon, but it was perfect.
The doors closed, and Izuku turned to face Uraraka and Iida, his face heating up. “Um. Sorry.”
“It’s a special day, so I’ll allow it,” Iida said, though his voice was conflicted. “But kissing is inappropriate on school grounds, Midoriya-kun!”
“Good birthday, huh?” Uraraka said, grinning at him.
Izuku couldn’t hold back a smile. Yeah. Definitely the best birthday ever.