Work Text:
Midoriya-san shows up at three-thirty in the afternoon.
Izuku instantly starts a new section in his notebook to document his appearance, but only gets around to noting down his first observations after a freak-out that lasts longer than he’d like to admit.
He doesn’t recognize himself at first. Kacchan does.
While Izuku is still standing there slack-jawed and wide-eyed asking “who are you???” it’s Kacchan who gets up in the face of the intruder, within seconds, and demands, hand at his throat. “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE, HUH?! Some Deku knock-off wannabe?”
Normally, being greeted like this by Kacchan tends to throw people off. But the intruder shakes it off easily, doesn’t seem bothered at all. He takes Kacchan’s hand off of his own throat, doesn’t even react to the small sparks given off at the touch, and puts it to the side.
Kacchan, astonishingly, allows this. Though his glare doesn’t falter. Izuku, in the meantime, starts to see the pattern. Those are his freckles. Normally, in the mirror, he sees them in reverse, so this isn’t exactly the same. Those eyes are his too. Same scars on the hands. So either this is a very good illusion, or-
“Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I’m Midoriya Izuku from the future,” the intruder explains, then looks at Izuku. “I’m you from another time.”
“Huh? No. You can’t be, we haven’t encountered any quirks proving the existence of time travel, and even if you were me, like you say you are, anything we do right now by interacting could destroy the stability of your timeline, or our timeline, and even the fact that you exist. And-I mean-”
Is it inappropriate to find a version of yourself…good-looking, appearance-wise? Future him seems so warm and welcoming, not at all unsure of himself or crowd-shy. He’s taller. Broader. He’s a lot taller than Kacchan, which Izuku never has been. When does this growth spurt even happen? Is that five o'clock shadow—can future Izuku actually grow a beard? HOW DOES HE LOOK COOL?
Izuku has (tragically) never been cool.
Kacchan seems to be struggling as well. He’s still looking at future Midoriya with murderous intent, but he’s also kind of pink in the face. Is it because future Midoriya is patronizing him, smiling at him like that?
“We’ll fucking see about that. Oi nerd, we’ll need you too. I’m keeping my eye on you both until we get a blood test. In the meantime, how about you tell us something only the real Deku would know.”
“US?!” Izuku panics. “Wait, if it’s something only I would know, shouldn’t he just tell me?”
There are a lot of things that only Izuku knows, that he wouldn’t appreciate future Izuku spilling to Kacchan. Mostly about Kacchan. Primarily about Kacchan. A lot of...bottled-up things.
“You got something to hide from me now? You got more quirks or something?” Kacchan demands.
“No, no of course not!” Izuku sighs. “Okay, fine! You can tell both of us. Also, we should probably get off the street. You look a little-”
“Green,” Kacchan finishes. “Time machine make ya sick? Or ya can’t handle finishing out your dirty con job?”
“It’s not a con, Kacchan, he could be telling the truth!” Izuku yanks him back.
The longer he looks at this person the more he feels it. Almost like a familial connection. His Danger Sense isn't going off either. And the sparks around Midoriya-san when he first arrived, materializing in a haze of gold, those were One-for-All. For sure. Then he also seemed to use Black Whip to stabilize his landing. There’s nothing else quite like it.
“You wanna get off the street, right? We can head over that way,” Midoriya-san points towards the entrance of a nearby park.
Then he takes a hold of Kacchan’s shoulders and turns him around in that direction. How is he doing that? How is that allowed?
This whole time he’s been watching Izuku and Kacchan bicker. And subtly smiling. Like this is really funny to him, for some reason. Why would it be funny? More importantly, where is his Kacchan? Not in the possessive way, necessarily, but the one from his timeline? Do they work together? Are they friends?
Does Midoriya-san work as a hero? Probably, going from the costume. It looks nothing like his costume though. Everything’s gotten upgraded. The gloves, the boots, even the belt has new things hanging from it. Like Todoroki-kun’s costume does. When did these updates happen?
What year is Midoriya-san from? Is this a closed-loop timeline, where Izuku will eventually become Midoriya-san, and see this memory from his perspective? Or does this Midoriya-san exist in a completely separate alternate timeline?
“Stop muttering!” Kacchan says, and then he lowers his voice to whisper in Izuku’s ear, covering their conversation from Midoriya-san with his hand. “I don’t know if he’s fakin’ it or not. The way he used your quirk seemed pretty legit but don’t let your guard down.”
“I won’t,” he promises, while feeling a rush of emotion at how close Kacchan got to say that.
Right up in Izuku’s personal space. Oh wow.
“Something only we would know,” Midoriya-san strokes his chin. “Well, let’s see…”
Does Izuku really look like that when he’s thinking?
“Do allergies count?” Midoriya-san asks, when he’s finally sat down (Kacchan shoves him down, actually) on the park bench.
He really is kind of good-looking? Maybe Izuku is more of an egotist than he thought. For thinking that. He likes the undercut. Maybe he should get one, unless he can’t quite pull it off yet.
“NO!” Kacchan answers. “Any con-man could figure that out. He’s not allergic to anything but shellfish.”
“You knew that?” Izuku turns to him.
It’s kind of sweet, actually. He happens to know Kacchan’s allergies too. Though it’s more of a slight intolerance. Pollen in the summer. Hazelnuts.
“Of course I knew that,” Kacchan rolls his eyes. “Like I said. Easy stuff.”
“I guess, um. Well, okay, so. Here goes. We don’t ever really talk about our dad. There's a reason for that. It's because we brought him up to our mom once, when we were around four years old. And she got really upset and sad, maybe, like she wasn't enough."
"She is," Izuku says, the words falling out of his mouth automatically.
"Yeah. So...we decided that would never happen again. Because we don’t need him, we’re fine,” Midoriya-san glances back at Kacchan and then looks at him apologetically. “Sorry, I don't remember if we’ve told him that yet. Um, how old are you again?”
“Sixteen,” Izuku answers. “And a few months."
Thinking about that memory, remembering his mom cry, sets him on edge. He never wants to see her unhappy. Sheʼs already sacrificed so much for him, and it must have been a lot of stress, being all alone raising a quirkless kid.
He’s actually gotten so good at not thinking about his dad that he forgets he even has a reason sometimes.
It’s a habit. It’s so easy not to have him in his life. Other than trying to see if he had his dad’s fire quirk, Izuku doesn’t remember ever being that curious about him. Besides that one time.
There’s only been a few constants in his life. All Might, metaphorically, then physically. Mom. And-
Kacchan is staring at him. “He telling the truth?”
“Yeah, he is.”
Izuku can’t look at him right now. He’s also…confused. Midoriya-san seems to think this is something Izuku told Kacchan at some point. For some reason.
But there isn’t a practical reason to do that. Unless his dad, who is something of a minor villain, or was, turns up and causes trouble at some point? Even then, that doesn’t make sense.
This is the kind of secret that someone would have to work hard to get out of Izuku. Kacchan is nosy, and he is something of a busybody (he somehow got roped into all of Todoroki-kun’s family drama). But this?
“Why does it matter that I’m sixteen?” Izuku asks. “Does something happen?”
In the future, are he and Kacchan real friends?
“I mean, a lot of things happen, things are always happening,” Midoriya-san gives a frustrating non-answer, he keeps looking between Izuku and Kacchan (are they hero partners in the future? Neighbors in the same apartment building? It has to be something like that). “I asked so I know what I can tell you, and what I can’t. I should have asked you sooner. But I’m still trying to figure out how this works. I don’t have any memory of this conversation, from your perspective. Maybe I will when I’m sent back.”
“Don’t bore us with the time travel theory. We need a blood test,” Kacchan insists. “We can trust you enough to take you to U.A. But that's it.”
Izuku agrees. "The teachers will know what to do with you after that."
On their way back to the dorms Kacchan leans kind of close to talk to him again. “Hey nerd. Don’t worry about that stuff with your dad. I’m not gonna tell anyone. And- my mom said she met him once, total prick.”
Huh?
Kacchan keeps brushing up against him when they walk, it’s really distracting.
Midoriya-san’s walking in front of them, so they can keep an eye on him.
"Oh, um, thanks,” Izuku says.
Which is probably a weird response to give to someone who called your dad a prick. It feels comforting though? Like Kacchan is siding with him and they're on the same team.
Kacchan grunts in response. He’s still glaring at Midoriya-san. Offended by his existence. And also...very curious. He keeps looking Midoriya-san up and down, lingering at the belt-area. Is this how Kacchan usually stares at present-day Izuku?
Wow.
Despite years of analyzing Kacchan, his expressions, and how he moves, Izuku has no idea what to make of it.
Midoriya-san (future me) Notes for Analysis
Approximate height: 1.82 meters
Costume upgrades: [...]
- Should have taken a chance to ask questions earlier, as he won’t give me answers anymore about future developments like whether he can use OFA at 100%, what happens to All Might, quirk-singularity theory, or AFO
- Haven’t had a chance to ask more personal questions, as Kacchan won’t leave whenever I’m around him (Kacchan likely still seems him as a threat)
- There’s a tattoo on his arm I could see through some rips in his costume, I don’t know what it is but when he saw me looking at it, he covered it up, I did see that it was something kind of spiky? A cactus?
- He has a few extra scars that I don’t have, Kacchan did the legwork for me and asked about every one (no answers though)
- HE WEARS A WEDDING RING?
The blood test was a match, and Midoriya-san’s been cleared to eat in the common area with them. It’s six in the evening and not a regular lunch hour, so they’re the only ones there. Aizawa sensei doesn’t want to ‘add to the circus.’
“Who would even marry you?” Kacchan scoffs.
Clearly he's seen the ring too.
Izuku’s a little hurt at the question. Since, despite it not being a priority, he always did see himself getting married someday.
He looks up from his note-taking to see if Midoriya-san has a reaction to that. But he’s just smiling to himself. Clearly whoever they marry gives him this level of unshakeable self-confidence. Someone that makes him feel so secure in their love that an insult means nothing.
Izuku wonders who it could possibly be...
“Hey. Pay attention to me. You’re not gonna answer me?” Kacchan asks. “I asked who is it, damn it. Tell me.”
“I haven’t answered any of the questions you’ve been asking me, why would I suddenly choose to start now?” Midoriya-san points out, and then he happily continues digging into his katsudon.
Completely ignoring the fact that Kacchan looks like he’s about to have a fit.
Izuku goes back to his notes.
- Kacchan seems disturbed at the idea of me getting married, I know I’m not that great of a marriage prospect but I would have hoped for a better reaction
- Kacchan seems to be getting red and flushed no matter what Midoriya-san does, maybe he really doesn’t like him
“Don’t be rude, Kacchan. Someone could like me enough to marry me someday,” he admonishes, because that small bit of hurt in his chest keeps getting bigger, the more he thinks of Kacchan not thinking of him as lovable.
Especially when Izuku considers Kacchan to be lovable. And marriage material. He’s a great cook, and he can be funny. He’s protective, and he’s- he’s good-looking, isn't he? Not that Izuku has been looking, or, no- he has. He has been looking.
- Maybe Kacchan is upset because if I get married he thinks I won’t focus on hero work as much, and he wants to beat me on an even playing field?
“Yeah, and I wanna know who,” Kacchan says, and if Izuku didn’t know better, he would say it was jealousy.
He does know better though. Kacchan would never be jealous over him.
“Think about what would happen if I told you. Let’s say I gave you a name. Then you’d think you have to marry this person. As if it’s inevitable. I don’t know about you, well, I do- since you’re me. But I like making my own choices. Being with the person I married was the best choice I ever made. Trust me, anything I tell you now that narrows down your future would only take those choices away from you,” Midoriya-san explains.
Wow. He sounds- he sounds wise. Izuku is in awe of him right now.
Kacchan, however, is not. He’s looking down at his own food—a now cold stir-fry—all sullen. Brooding.
“That makes a lot of sense,” Izuku agrees with himself.
Choices, choosing his own future. That’s something core to his beliefs. He’s glad that’s something that never changed.
“That goes for you too, Kacchan,” Midoriya-san says. “You have choices.”
Kacchan’s eyes widen at first, but then he crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Shut up, shit nerd. Both of you.”
Midoriya-san (future me) Notes for Analysis Part Two
- Aizawa-sensei won’t let Midoriya-san stay in my room even though he is me, something about him not being a minor
- He’s staying with Aizawa-sensei for now, and he doesn’t seem to mind
- He doesn’t seem to mind a lot of things, really, which is interesting. Why is he so calm?
- Maybe the time travel quirk is known on his side of the timeline, and he knows to some approximate degree when he’s gonna be sent back
- He seems to have a soft spot for Kacchan
- Everyone else got the chance to meet him too, but he made sure to include Kacchan in the conversation even when he tried to slink off to the side
- Todoroki-kun seemed really impressed by Midoriya-san, I hope Midoriya-san is still close friends with his Todoroki-kun
- the girls seemed to be more, um, ‘interested’ in Midoriya-san, they were treating him like they would treat a handsome celebrity??
- Kacchan doesn’t treat him any different though, maybe he’s the only one that doesn’t find him attractive
- I wish that didn’t bother me, I know it’s a lot to expect for Kacchan and me to even be friends
“You don’t have to be so mean to him,” Izuku says, later, when he catches Kacchan alone. “He’s only- I mean, he probably thinks of you as a little brother.”
“Huh? You see me as a brother?!” Kacchan asks, and Izuku’s surprised that this is the part he would pick out.
And that he seems so bothered by it.
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Izuku says. “I’m just saying he would. Because he’s- I think he’s at least ten years older than both of us.”
“Yeah? How do you see me then?” Kacchan asks.
The second the words come out of his mouth, Izuku’s brain scrambles. What is Kacchan to him?
Friend. Rival. Bully (former). Childhood. Hunting bugs in the forest. Best friend (childhood). Favorite person. Smart. Talented. Hard-working. Rude. Brash. Best. Amazing. Special. Mean. Beautiful. Angry. Strong. Pretty. Symbol of victory.
Izuku’s throat feels dry.
“You’re just-you’re Kacchan, okay? That’s how I see you,” Izuku says.
It’s obvious that the answer isn’t good enough from the way Kacchan clenches his fist. “Whatever.”
Which just goes to show that Izuku just can't seem to do anything right when it comes to Kacchan.
It always ends up like this.
Midoriya-san (future me) Notes for Analysis Part Three
- Midoriya-san told us the quirk will wear off in the next six hours, according to the previous records of people affected in his timeline
- That means I have a limited amount of time to get him to tell me something before he disappears
- I know all the things he said about choices were true, but I don’t know if I can imagine a future where I get over ‘it’ and marry someone else
- This morning I saw Midoriya-san ruffle Kacchan’s hair as he was walking by. I’ve always wanted to do that, but I didn’t know if I was allowed to. Kacchan didn’t really do anything about it
- When Midoriya-san was in the shower I got the chance to take a better look at his costume
- I took some pictures and I’ll make more detailed observations later
- I also saw the ring he took off. It’s gold, I like gold- so I think that’s probably what I would have chosen
- I read an inscription on the inside, it says ‘win to save’ and I’m not sure what it could mean in the context of a romantic relationship? It has more to do with hero work than anything else
- Hypothesis: my future husband is also a hero
- I guess that narrows it down somewhat
After lunch the next day, Kacchan unexpectedly grabs his arm, squeezing it tightly before inspecting it.
“Wahh-what are you doing?” Izuku exclaims, though the contact isn’t unwelcome.
Kacchan touching him always feels very deliberate. He gets more up in Izuku’s personal space than anybody else does. Among the multiple hypotheses about this is that Kacchan feels entitled to, because they’ve known each other for so long. Izuku does feel some level of entitlement to him in return, and actually the lack of boundaries doesn’t bother him.
“I saw his tattoo. On his bicep,” Kacchan explains.
“I-I don’t have one yet,” Izuku says. “Don’t you think- how could I have gotten one without anybody else knowing about it. Right there on my arm.”
“I don’t know, okay. I had to check it,” Kacchan sighs. “I don’t get him. He’s always so happy to see me. Like I’m- cute or something. The fuck?”
“Don’t blame him for that!” Izuku defends himself (his other self). “I’m also—I like it when you’re around, he gets that from me.”
Some self-preservation instinct comes online at that moment, and he does not add that he also finds Kacchan cute, a lot of the time. He’d like to continue living.
Also, Kacchan seems confused enough by what Izuku did say. Which is weird.
Did he really not know that Izuku, at the very least, likes being around him?
“Um, can I ask what the tattoo was?” Izuku asks.
It seems fair. It is a secret tattoo, sort of. Since Midoriya-san seemed to try and hide it. But he is Midoriya-san, kind of, so he’s entitled to the secret.
“No. Fuck you. Ask him yourself,” Kacchan says, and then he hightails out of there all pink in the face.
What's that supposed to mean?
Izuku knows this is his last chance.
“I know you’re going to disappear soon, and I know what you said about choices. But I really need to know this one thing. You’re me, so you know how I feel,” Izuku looks down at his hands, the matching scars from the man across from him. “You know how I feel about him.”
They’re alone. They haven’t been alone for most of the past two days. Kacchan’s always around, for one thing. The rest of Class A have been constant company too. Treating him like a shiny new toy. Gawking at the advanced tech of his gadgets. Asking him questions he always brushes off, or gives the vaguest of answers.
Now it’s just them. Izuku and Izuku. It’s the longest time he’s probably ever spent with a man who has his own last name.
If someone didn't know better, they might think Midoriya-san was the older brother or weirdly young looking father that Izuku never had.
Midoriya-san doesn’t give any indication of agreement, so Izuku decides to continue, caving to the ache and curiosity. “In the future, does Kacchan ever love us back?”
Izuku keeps a lot of his own feelings bottled-up and compartmentalized. Even from himself. He hides and he runs from them when they get to be too much. So he can focus on solvable problems and attainable things.
It’s different with Kacchan though.
Izuku always wants a little bit more. Every conversation is too short. Every touch too fleeting. He wants to catch up to Kacchan like he always did, stay there and spend real time together.
“I can’t answer that,” Midoriya-san says, and Izuku’s heart sinks.
He’s desperate. “I promise I won’t change what I do because of it! I- you said it’s about choices, and I can tell you right now, there’ll always be a part of me that’s going to love him. No matter what. No matter what you tell me. It's always going to be him.”
Always, always, always.
He says it with every ounce of sincerity in his whole being. And because of that, maybe, the second he’s out with it at last, he can’t help but cry.
His older self stands up, and pulls Izuku against his chest. Like a father might do, if Izuku had ever really had one. Like All Might hugged Kacchan after they fought at Ground Beta.
Izuku notes down the feelings of his own scarred hands patting down his hair. It’s not a sensation he’ll ever feel again. His sobs are muffled against his own chest, and he wonders if the desperation he feels now, if it ever goes away.
“I forgot how bad it got,” Midoriya-san says quietly. “At this age.”
Izuku doesn’t understand how he could ever forget such a thing. His want for Kacchan, in every discernible way, is so overpowering sometimes. He can’t think of that going away. No. No.
He mumbles the same, shaking his head, and Midoriya-san sits him down again. “I can’t answer the question. But you can. It took me a long time to get it too, but I did. Look a little closer, okay? My husband always tells me my biggest blind spot is myself. That I don’t take myself into account. Maybe you can get a head start and prove him wrong.”
“I’ll try to,” Izuku promises. “I’ll try to figure out what that means.”
"I know, I know you can."
...
He fades away soon after that.
Izuku texts Kacchan a ‘he’s gone.’ And he hardly expects Kacchan to leave him on read, after all they’ve been through with Midoriya-san. But maybe it’s better that he has some time alone right now.
Then he hears a knock on his door. A loud, incessant knocking.
When Izuku opens the door he’s shocked to see Kacchan there, even more shocked when Kacchan comes in without being invited, and looks around, as if he’s double-checking that Midoriya-san is definitely gone.
He has- Kacchan has a bento box in his hand. And it’s quickly thrust into Izuku’s.
“Oh. What’s-” Izuku looks down at it.
It’s still warm. Did- did Kacchan cook for him?
“Figured you hadn’t eaten, probably so busy babysitting that old guy that you didn’t take yourself into account,” Kacchan shrugs.
Didn't take yourself into account.
That's exactly what Midoriya-san said his husband tells him.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck-
Kacchan. His Kacchan? His husband Kacchan?
Wait.
Several things click into place at once. Midoriya-san’s words. The words on the ring. Kacchan’s jealousy—and it was jealousy, wasn’t it—over Izuku marrying someone else.
Look a little closer, that’s what he said, and that means—that can only mean, Kacchan isn’t going to start loving Izuku in some distant, far-flung future.
He already does.
Holy shit.
“Oi. You forget how to talk?” Kacchan flicks him in the forehead.
It takes him a minute—images of that ring and its inscription keep flashing in his mind—but he finds some reserve brainpower to cobble the next few words together into a sentence. “Do you wanna, maybe, stay here while I eat this?”
Keep me company. A final test of his hypothesis. That Kacchan is his future. Like Kacchan has been his past. And such an important part of his present. Always him. In every timeline.
“Sure. Why not?” Kacchan shrugs. “I have to make sure you actually eat it.”
He’s still glaring, but that’s not a glare, is it? It’s not a glare at all. More of an intense stare, and when Izuku meets it for once, Kacchan looks away quickly. Then back at his feet. Then back at Izuku, who’s still looking, looking closer, and then Kacchan looks away again, focusing very hard on a spot on Izuku’s carpet.
It’s cuter than it has any right to be. And Izuku feels like someone who used to live in black and white all of his life, and is suddenly seeing everything technicolor. Things are crisp where they used to be blurry.
And Kacchan is here.
“You do, don’t you,” Izuku sits down cross-legged on the floor, then takes the lid of the box off.
Everything’s so neat in its proper compartments. Deliberate. Like everything Kacchan puts together.
Kacchan sits in front of him, a bit cautious about whether or not he belongs here, clearly. It’s not like they haven’t eaten together before. They do that a lot, nowadays. And they definitely did that enough as kids. When Izuku’s mom would send him to the playground with snacks, he always gave Kacchan the first pick.
Here he is now though, sitting across from Izuku and hugging his knees. Watching him intensely.
Maybe Izuku’s the one that never gave him a good enough indication that he liked him and didn’t only admire him. Maybe the liking him got lost in all of the other things that happened after middle school ended and the bullying stopped.
Things have always been so complicated. Fights, apologies, fights again. Maybe they needed to simplify things to really hit the mark.
Midoriya-san did better at that. He touched Kacchan much more easily. Readily. And that probably made him feel welcome. It’s something Izuku hasn’t done yet, and he’ll learn to.
Then he'll never stop.
“This is really good, Kacchan,” Izuku says, after he has a few bites of tonkatsu. “You’re really thoughtful to make this at my spice level.”
“You’re such a wimp about that,” Kacchan says, clearly pleased at the recognition. “I had to.”
Izuku keeps eating, and while he does Kacchan’s posture relaxes. Until he’s found a comfortable spot to lean his back against Izuku’s bed. He doesn’t stop looking though.
“So,” Kacchan says. “Did he tell you anything else before he poofed?”
Izuku doesn’t think it would be right, actually telling Kacchan what he’s almost completely sure of now—it’s kind of intense, going from the mix of things, and everything they are to knowing they’ll be headed towards a certain future. Izuku’s surprised at himself, that he’s not more shocked, but maybe it hasn’t quite sunk in yet.
Or maybe that’s not even the point?
“Yeah, but I was thinking, you know he’s right. It doesn’t really matter. I have a choice in what I do now,” Izuku explains. “I always did.”
“So? What’re you tryna say?” Kacchan asks. “You’re both so fucking cryptic.”
Cards on the table. Izuku puts the bento box down. And wipes his hands. Maybe what he needed from Midoriya-san was just this push in the right direction.
To know that his future is possible based on what Izuku does in the present. And equally not possible if he does nothing.
“I like you, Kacchan. You’re who I wanna be with,” Izuku says, and before he loses his nerve he leans forward and kisses Kacchan’s cheek.
There. Simple.
And so soft.
Kacchan doesn’t yell at him for this. He doesn’t grimace or flinch. By all indications, and Kacchan-isms, he likes the kiss.
He scoots closer to Izuku. Brushes up against him, and every so briefly pops a kiss on Izuku’s cheek right back.
(He does have a tendency for instant retaliation.)
Izuku can’t help but bring a hand up to touch his own cheek at the spot Kacchan kissed. KISSED?
He can’t believe this is happening. It’s one thing to consider being married to Kacchan in a future where he’s also somehow hot, but this?
A kiss? From Kacchan? IN HIS ROOM?
“Don’t know why those extras were fallin’ over that old guy version of you,” Kacchan says, glancing at him before looking at the ground. “You’re cute enough right now.”