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There was something magical, almost otherworldly, about stargazing on a rooftop. The sky seemed so vast, so far away, but so close at the same time, as if the stars lay just beyond the reach of a fingertip. When he was a child, Katsuki thought that If he could just jump high enough, maybe he could catch a star. Then he could wish Izuku well and nothing would stop the two from being heroes together. As the boy grew from child to young man, he realized the truth. Nothing would come of catching falling stars. He couldn’t afford to let himself get caught in the hope of a childish fantasy; stars were just balls of gas and wishes never came true. Izuku was sick again and there was nothing he could do.
One night, a week or so before school let out for the winter break, Katsuki and Izuku made their way up to the rooftop of Heights Alliance. They took the elevator up as far as it could go, then walked up the stairs the rest of the way. Two hands pushed in tandem, the heavy door of the roof access swinging open with a dull groan. Light from the stairway pooled out into the darkness, cutting a ring through the night. Katsuki stepped forward as Izuku caught his breath. Izuku watched as small, twinkling lights flared up close to the ground, blinking in time to some unheard tune. His eyes followed the path of the lights as his breathing evened out.
Katsuki stood in the center of a clearing on the roof. His breath puffed out in front of his face, tiny wisps of condensation floating in the air. The lights trailed up the side of the rooftop trellis and nestled in between the hibernating plants. Katsuki stood in front of a long spread blanket with his hand shoved into his pockets. The twinkling of the low lights glanced off of piled pillows and blankets. There was a faint scent that smelled unexplainably and inexplicably of warmth. One of Katsuki’s hands came up and rubbed against his chin. Izuku stepped forward. They made eye contact.
“Kacchan?” Izuku asked. He pulled his arms closer to his body, hands folding into the fabric of one of Katsuki’s sweatshirts. The blonde looked to the side. In the low light of the roof, Izuku could just barely see a flush spreading over the other’s cheeks.
“Supposed to be a meteor shower or some shit tonight.” Katsuki rubbed one hand against the back of his neck before looking up at Izuku. He stepped closer. One hand reached out, palm turned towards the sky. Katsuki didn’t quite reach his gaze. His eyes kept flicking away from him. Izuku felt a smile grow on his face, the skin around his eyes crinkling. He placed his hand on top of Katsuki’s, stepping forward so that they were chest to chest. Their hands fell between them, fingers tangling together.
“Are you asking me on a date, Kacchan?” Izuku’s voice held the trace of a laugh. Katsuki shut his eyes, looking to the side. He nodded. His shoulders rose up near his ears, the tips of which were dusky and pink. “I’d love to,” Izuku said. His voice dropped to a low whisper. It felt intimate in a way that simply being there alone couldn’t bring. Katsuki slowly turned his head back to Izuku. Their noses bumped against each other. Izuku could see the flickering of the lights glancing off Katsuki’s eyes. The crimson of his irises melted into the dark. Katsuki kissed the tip of his nose. Izuku felt his cheeks heat up.
Before he could respond, Katsuki dragged him forward with their joined hands. He pushed the other boy down onto a miraculously warm blanket before draping another one across his shoulders. Slinging one over his own back, Katsuki sat down next to Izuku. He almost immediately leaned into the blonde’s side, head pillowed against his bicep. He could feel the weft of Katsuki’s blanket against his cheek, sliding against smooth skin. Katsuki shuffled under his head, quickly settling in. He pulled one side of the blanket up and out from under Izuku’s cheek. The boy grumbled as he did so, but quieted down as his head met the other’s shoulder once more.. Katsuki tossed the now freed blanket over Izuku’s shoulders, tucking the end around him. Izuku immediately latched onto him, arms curling around Katsuki’s waist as he wiggled in his blanket confines. Katsuki laughed softly.
“You hungry?” Katsuki murmured. His face tucked close to Izuku’s ear. The green haired boy shivered at the sensation before shrugging.
“Not really, but you should have something,” he replied. Katsuki grumbled to himself as he leaned back. Izuku sank deeper into the warmth of his Katsuki-heated blanket as he heard rustling sounds from where Katsuki had leaned towards. A moment later, the blonde straightened up and shuffled their bodies so that Izuku leaned back against his chest. Izuku wiggled his shoulders, burrowing further into the warmth his boyfriend provided. .
Izuku felt something cylindrical and plasticine meet his palm. Heat leaked from its surface, warm enough to spread through his chilled, aching joints but not scalding. A moment later, something landed on his knee, flat and plastic.
“ ‘S tea, nerd.” Katsuki’s voice reverberated through Izuku’s bones, settling deep into the marrow and ringing as it settled. Izuku’s free hand came up and gripped what he realized was his favorite travel mug. He fiddled with the sliding part of the lid for a moment.
“Thank you, Kacchan. You really thought of everything, didn’t you?” Izuku felt movement as Katsuki shrugged. He heard the other take a bite of something a moment later. Katsuki chewed quietly. For some reason, this surprised Izuku. Katsuki was, in most respects, loud as a general rule. He wasn’t sure if it was the peace of the atmosphere that the other created or simply his normal way of eating, but Izuku appreciated it.
He flipped the lid to its open position and took a slow sip. Earthy mintiness dripped across his tongue and down his throat, droplets of heat spreading through his body. It was muted in a way, not sharp as mint as a candy or toothpaste would be. He felt the swish of the warm liquid in his mouth, aroma coating his teeth and warming his gums.
“Kacchan makes the best tea,” Izuku said, mumbling into his cup. Katsuki was silent for a moment.
“Course I do, ya damn nerd. I’m the fuckin’ best at everything. Tea included.” He paused for a moment. When he spoke again, Izuku could hear the smirk sliding onto his face. “Course, Ponytail thinks her tea is the best. But we know different, don’t we?” Izuku laughed.
“Absolutely, Kacchan. Number one hero, number one tea master. Have you thought about opening a cat cafe instead?” Katsuki barked a laugh, playfully batting at Izuku like a cat with a particularly colorful yarn ball. Izuku snorted as he batted back. Their hands came together in a play fight. Neither lasted long in the end; they were too busy being happy and young and, for once, carefree. Eventually they settled down. Katsuki leaned the both of them back, pulling Izuku more to the side so that they could talk and still be close to each other.
The air seemed to be charged, anticipation rising little by little. The night went quiet. Katuski reached over. With a small click, the fairy lights strewn on the ground blinked off. Darkness rose, cut in swathes by moonbeams pushing through forest and across the land. The stars shone, seeming so close yet so far away.
Then, a flash.
A beam of light cut through the tranquil night. Then another, and another, until the whole sky danced with the afterimage of falling stars. The meteor shower had begun.
Izuku gasped, awed at the sight. There was something so haunting about watching the starfall. Nothingness to nothingness, burning bright for just a moment before dying out. Never knowing anything except the coldness of space and the heat of burning up in Earth’s atmosphere. Would it be painful? Would it feel like being burned alive? Is all that pain, all that suffering, worth it simply for a moment of light? Izuku felt tears beading in the corner of his eyes.
A broad hand, calloused and familiar, closed around his own. Its thumb rubbed up and down the scarred expanse of his knuckles.
“It’s, it’s so beautiful,” Izuku choked out, feeling his words grow wet as his tears began to fall. “So beautiful, but so…” Izuku trailed off, not knowing what word could express the feeling.
“It’s tragic,” Katsuki said. His voice sounded gravelly against the shell of Izuku’s ear. “We get to watch a star’s death for nothing other than its beauty. Kinda fucked up.” Izuku let out a wet laugh. He let his head drop further onto Katsuki’s chest. One of the blonde’s hands came up and wiped clumsily at his teary face.
The two watched the lights of the starfall, time stretching around them into infinity. Their world was so vast and yet had room enough just for two. As the night stretched on, the starfall trickled down and then vanished. They laid in the darkness, bathed in a pool of reflected light. The moon hung low in the sky, heavy and vast and so lonely.
Izuku’s eyelids drooped lower and lower until he was snoring softly, head pillowed on Katsuki’s chest. The blonde looked up, one hand stroking Izuku’s forehead. The other reached up. He watched as the starlight danced through his fingers, blinking out then blazing once again. His hand flopped down. Just then, a stray meteor fell. It felt like a sign. Of what, Katsuki couldn’t tell. Something in his chest ached in a way that he couldn’t name. He grazed the back of his hand down Izuku’s cheek, feeling the soft swell of skin under his fingers, before resuming his earlier ministrations.
“Sleep tight, sweetheart. Kacchan’ll protect you,” Katsuki murmured. It was a promise, an oath, one that Katsuki intended to keep until his last breath. His eyes felt heavy. He would just close them for a minute, then take them back inside.
They awoke the next morning to an irate Aizawa and a frantic Iida looming over them, blocking out the dawn rays of sunlight.
“MOTHERF-”