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“Kacchan, I really don’t think—”
“Shut up, shitty nerd. A stupid haunted house shouldn’t scare you! How do you expect to be the Number Two Hero if you can’t even handle some shitty extras in costumes?”
Izuku sighed, resigning himself to his fate. He didn’t know why Kacchan was insisting on going through the haunted house. It was UA’s annual fall festival, and there were so many fun booths to explore! He wanted to take Eri to the caramel apple booth class 3A was doing (thanks, Mirio!), but before he could even go look for her, Kacchan had grabbed his wrist and drug him over to the Business Course’s “Haunted Mansion Extravaganza!”
Kacchan had always loved scary movies and those freaky hay rides their parents had taken them on when they’d gone to visit the pumpkin patch as kids, so he got why he wanted to go. But Izuku had always hated them. He ended up scared out of his mind, so much so that, when they were little, he always ended up curled in Kacchan’s lap, shaking and crying. “Kacchan, save me!” falling from his lips like the little boy was a full-fledged hero at five years old.
It was embarrassing to think about, and Kacchan always pushed him off, chastising him to “save yourself, you damn Deku!”
Izuku hasn’t changed much over the years, and Kacchan knew this. That’s why he never came to movie nights when it was Kacchan’s turn to pick—he always knew it would be a scary movie he couldn’t watch. So, he didn’t get why he wouldn’t just let him avoid this thing. It wasn’t as if Kacchan liked spending time with him.
The same couldn’t be said of Izuku, of course. He basked in every moment he got to spend in the presence of his childhood best friend. And no! That has nothing to do with the fact that Ochako recently sat in his room screaming “Oh my god! You like Bakugo! Like, you like like him!” while Izuku did his best to slap his hand over her mouth before one of his classmates with abnormally strong hearing could hear her and spread the news.
Jiro and Shoji always acted like they were quiet and stalwart, but Izuku knew the truth. They were worse gossips than Mina and Denki combined.
But that didn’t matter. Yes, Izuku had a crush on Kacchan, but that didn’t mean anything! He knew Katsuki would never like him back that way, and he was fine with that, really. He was just happy that the blond didn’t try to explode him every chance he got now. They even studied together every Thursday night after training. It was good, great even, and Izuku would never do anything to jeopardize that.
Which was why he was currently freaking out. The Business Course had outdone themselves once again, and this wasn’t just a haunted house you walked through. They had made it a ride. Meaning Izuku would have to sit, next to Kacchan, while people tried (and likely succeeded) in scaring the crap out of him.
His life flashed before his eyes as Kacchan plopped them both down next to each other, right in the middle of the ride. Somehow, his brief flash managed to linger on all the times he’d jumped into Kacchan’s lap, and before he could think too much about it, he was fighting Katsuki, trying desperately to get up, get off of that ride. He couldn’t ruin this; he couldn’t ruin his newfound friendship because he was scared. He couldn’t.
He could.
He could because he didn’t have the heart to truly fight Kacchan hard enough to get out of his grip. So here he was, shaking like a leaf to the recorded announcement reminding everyone to keep their hands and feet inside of the ride at all times. Kacchan kept shooting him strange looks, but Izuku kept his head down and his fist clenched. Maybe, if he didn’t look up, he wouldn’t see the things trying to scare him, and then he wouldn’t jump into Kacchan’s lap! It was a full-proof plan when you think about it.
The first part of the ride was okay. The voice above them was explaining the backstory of the mansion, the family that used to live there, the way that they had all died tragically, and how some people say that their spirits now haunt the mansion. Izuku had to give the Business Course credit where credit was due. It was a really well thought out ride and it felt super immersive.
So immersive, that without realizing it, Izuku had looked up, taking in the incredibly well built scenery and story, eyes wide with awe at all the hard work the students must have put into their “booth.”
So, when the first “ghost” popped out from a side door yelling at the “heathens” to “get out of his house” before he “buries them in backyard with those stupid village kids,” Izuku nearly jumped out of his seat, letting out an embarrassing squeak of fright.
His jump almost landed him directly in Kacchan’s lap, just as he’d feared it would, but at the last second, he was able to gather his wits enough to twist his body back into his own seat. It was a close thing, and Izuku let out a soft sigh of relief. It was cut short by Kacchan’s own, frustrated sounding “tsk” next to him.
Figures. He’s already annoyed at Izuku for being a scaredy-cat and it was only the first fright. He was sure this was about to get a lot worse for him.
It did. It did get worse.
As the ride went on the scares got…well…scarier. They were about three-quarters through the ride and while Izuku had managed to keep himself out of Kacchan’s lap through great personal effort, he had not been as successful at keeping his tears at bay or stopping his body from shaking so badly that in the quiet moments of the ride, you could hear him rattling the vehicle they were in.
Some of the other students kept shooting strange looks his way before turning their gazes to Kacchan. If Izuku hadn’t been too focused on not using One for All to bolt his way out of the mansion, he would have noticed how they looked at the blond, almost like they were expecting him to do something and asking him why he hadn’t done it yet. He also might have noticed the red glare they received in response.
But Izuku did not notice. He was too focused on the fact that it had been exactly 342 seconds since the last scare. Way too long. Another one was coming.
And it did. A severed head popped down from the ceiling, right in front of Izuku. It started cackling and its eyes started glowing and that was it. Izuku couldn’t take it anymore. He let out a sob and literally jumped into Kacchan’s lap, burring his face in his chest, gripping his shirt so tight that if he had any sense about him, he would be worried about stretching or ripping the fabric.
But he didn’t have any sense about him, so instead he yelled through his tears “Kacchan, save me!”
He expected to be pushed off and sneered at, left to face the doom of the floating head all by himself. Instead, he heard Kacchan’s voice above him.
“Tch. Finally, nerd. Don’t worry, I’ll save you from that shitty head.”
And then he heard a crunching sound. He looked up from Kacchan’s chest just in time to see the head flying backwards, rolling off to the side of the tracks that the ride sat on, completely concaved in.
Had Kacchan…punched the head?
Before he could get up to get a closer look, Kacchan had pulled him back down into his lap, firmly wrapping his arms around Izuku so that he couldn’t move. It was…nice. Kacchan was like a space heater and his arms were so big. It was hard not to feel safe blanketed in warmth and strong muscles.
Izuku was confused at this turn of events, surely, but when the next scare jumped out and he didn’t flinch, he decided not to question it. Now that he felt secure in Kacchan’s grasp, the things that had felt terrifying before were suddenly funny. He was able to notice things like the strings attached to the moving scares, the whirl of machinery that told on every animatronic that was going to pop out, and the last leg of the ride ended up being a lot of fun.
He and Kacchan were in their own world, pointing and laughing at the obvious fakeness of everything on the ride, and by the time it ended they were both doubled over in laughter.
Eventually, Izuku had to climb off of Katsuki’s lap to exit the ride, and since he’d calmed down, he noticed the disgruntled look the blond sported at the loss of his weight. He thought it was strange, but as he shivered in the chilly autumn air, he figured Kacchan was just upset at the loss of warmth.
As they began walking away from the haunted house back to the bulk of the festival, Izuku’s brain to mouth filter decided it would be a great time to completely disappear.
“Kacchan…why did you do that?”
“Do what, nerd?” He looked at Izuku like he couldn’t fathom what he was talking about. Like he didn’t just punch a Halloween prop and not push Izuku off his lap when he jumped on it. Like he hadn’t held him…gently…like he was someone special to him.
As always, Kacchan knew Izuku better than himself, and he seemed to place the puzzle pieces together as he watched his internal battle through his facial expressions. After a moment, Katsuki sighed and pulled Izuku to a stop, ushering him in between two of the quieter booths at the festival.
“Deku…You know I’ll always save you, right?” he asked, looking at Izuku like this was a very important question that didn’t have an obvious answer.
“Of course, I do! Kacchan is the best. I know you’ll always have my back against villains.” Izuku pumped his fist to emphasize his point, grinning at his…friend?
Katsuki let out a huff of laughter, mumbling under his breath something that sounded suspiciously like “oblivious nerd,” before taking a deep breath and setting his deep red gaze firmly on Izuku.
“Izuku…what if I wanted to save you in other ways? Not just against villains?”
Now Izuku was confused…and blushing. Not only did he not understand the question, but Kacchan had said his name. His real name. Not nerd or Deku.
“What do you mean, Kacchan?” He had to know. Nothing about tonight was making sense.
“I mean…I wanna save you by keeping away shitty fake monsters. By making sure you stay healthy. Wanna make good food for your ass and make sure you sleep good and shit…with me…maybe…if that would help. And shit.”
Katsuki looked away, and even in the low light, Izuku could see the tips of his ears turning bright red. It took him a moment. Much longer than it should. Once it clicked, he had to reboot.
“Kacchan, are you asking me—?”
He groaned. “God yes! Date me Izuku! Be my shitty boyfriend or whatever. Or don’t! Just tell me so this can be over.” After his outburst, the blond made like he was going to stomp away, but this time it was Izuku pulling him back by his wrist, grinning up at him, green eyes once again brimmed with tears.
"Oi! Why are you—?”
“I thought you’d never ask, Kacchan.”
Izuku cut off his yell with a soft kiss to his lips, before swapping his grip from Katsuki’s wrist to his warm hand. Kacchan looked down at where they were connected, a soft, lost look on his face. Izuku couldn’t help himself. Giggling, he placed a sweet peck on his cheek before pulling him toward the caramel apple stall.
Afterall, he needed to introduce Eri to his boyfriend.