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“Your suit is shit,” Katsuki informs Hanta bluntly. “I told you to go with bright yellow, not the colour of dehydrated piss.”
“It’s burnt yellow, and I’ll thank you to leave the suit I helped my boyfriend to choose alone, Blasty,” Mina states primly as she adjusts her earrings in the hallway mirror of Katsuki’s apartment. Her own outfit for the gala consists of formal shorts in a tasteful silver paired with a matching silver blazer, a midnight blue bustier beneath it. In short, Katsuki thinks she looks far too good to be walking the red carpet of the hero gala next to something that reminds him of what comes out of his dick the morning after he’s been drinking heavily.
“Ah, come on,” Eijirou says as he reappears from Katsuki’s bathroom. “Kat’s just having a tough time going to his first Hero Gala since Midoriya broke up with him.” Katsuki levels his closest supposed friend with a venomous glare while Mina nods as if this makes sense to her, and he decides he takes it back — she deserves to walk down the carpet with Hanta and his piss-yellow suit.
“But Midoriya broke up with Katsuki right after the last gala,” Denki points out. “Like, the next day. It’s been a whole year, shouldn’t he be over it?”
Eijirou swats the back of his boyfriend’s head while Katsuki glowers at the pair of them. They’re wearing suits in each other’s hero colours and it’s sickeningly coupley. “Denks, babe, they’d been together for three years. Ever since graduation day. Kat’s allowed to take more than a year to get over it,” he says in the kind of voice someone would use to explain difficult emotions to a toddler. Denki furrows his brow in confusion.
“Does it matter how long they were together if Katsuki deserved it, though?”
Eijirou’s smile stretches tensely, while Katsuki’s stomach does a weird up-and-down thing. He wasn’t the best boyfriend to Deku, and plenty of their class have used words like toxic and cruel and shameful to describe the way he treated him, but they’d never tried being Deku’s boyfriend.
He was fucking needy.
“Why would you flirt with him knowing I was standing right there, Kacchan? Why would you flirt with another man at all, even?!”
“I told you I didn’t want you to be so clingy in public, and now you won’t, will you? You’ll want to be far away from me, so the problem’s solved.”
He didn't understand the concept of loyalty to his boyfriend.
“Kacchan, please don’t handle that so roughly, it—”
CRASH
“—was given to me by Shouto as a graduation gift.”
“You’re telling me I’ve had something from Icyhot looking at me every time I’ve been in your fucking bed and I didn’t know it? What the hell, Deku? Why would you hide something like that from me? Have you got feelings for him still?”
“I never had feelings for him, Kacchan! He’s my best friend!”
“Well, it doesn’t fucking matter now, does it. You’re mine and that ugly statue’s broken. Get a fucking vacuum, Deku, or one of us’ll cut our feet walking around over here.”
And he had no concept of personal fucking space.
“Why are you in my apartment, Deku?”
“It’s our anniversary, Kacchan. We agreed I’d make dinner for us. You gave me your key so I could get in while you were still on patrol so I could cook a week ago, remember?”
"Right. Sorry I'm late, nerd."
"Only by a couple of hours! I can reheat the food, hero work doesn't always follow a schedule, after all."
"I was getting dinner with Ei, but sure."
"...Oh."
"Put it in the fridge and I'll eat it later, it won't go to waste. Don't fucking cry, alright?"
"You'll eat it later?"
"You can too, if you're here when I'm hungry, obviously."
It isn't like those are the only memories Katsuki has of his time as a couple with Deku. They're just the majority of them — but Deku never fucking complained, Katsuki didn't fucking 'deserve' to get dumped.
Really, his only fuck up was what happened at last year's gala. Not enough to get dumped over, but he can admit that it was something.
In fact, it's been nine months since he admitted it, because that's when Katsuki was forced to admit not only was Deku gone, but he wasn't coming back.
They see each other in a professional capacity sometimes, if their patrols just happen to line up or they respond to the same team-up request. Deku is perfectly polite and civil, though even Katsuki can admit 'polite and civil' translates to 'frosty and contemptuous' from him.
Outside their jobs, he still sees Deku. He sees him on magazine covers and billboards. In articles and interviews. Talk shows and news clips. He sees him in the nerd squad's social media posts plenty, Icyhot always close by like the blank-faced snake he is.
Even at optional hero events, they don't cross paths, with Deku somehow never attending the ones he does and vice versa. The gala is the first time they'll cross paths where they'll be wearing something other than hero suits, and Katsuki hopes it'll be a fresh start for them — a restart, specifically.
Just because they're a bit dysfunctional together doesn't mean they don't belong together. They do, and they both know it, so Katsuki's getting his damn nerd back — tonight.
Deku always loved Katsuki in a suit, after all.
"—mean, unfair, and it made me uncomfortable, Eiji! I don't have to pretend otherwise just because you like to," Denki hisses as Katsuki's awareness of the room around him returns to him. He shoulders Mina out of his mirror and takes the space himself, adjusting his collar.
"What are we talking about?"
"You and Midoriya's relationship," Hanta says. Katsuki rolls his eyes at his reflection.
"Deku's not mean. Unfair, sure, but not mean," he scoffs. His friends are ridiculous. "Besides, I don't need you fuckers to protect me. Me," he stresses.
Denki snickers meanly. He's been doing a lot of it lately, though Katsuki doesn't understand when or why those boisterous laughs became so derisive. Denki's always liked insulting him as far back as the damn USJ bus ride, but for the last year, it's been growing in sincerity, losing the friendly element it's always had.
"Kats," he says. "I was talking about the way you treated him."
"Are you sure you want to do this tonight, Zuku? We don't have to, we can—"
Izuku silences his boyfriend with a peck. As much as he's not one for drama, revealing their relationship on the press-laden red carpet of the annual hero gala is the fastest way to make it known as a fact, a benefit since otherwise, with their public profiles, rumour mills will roar to life to debate the truth of it.
That, and Keigo has already willingly hidden it from everyone but Izuku's closest friends for months. He says he doesn't care about the public, that the other people Izuku loves knowing are all that matters, which Izuku knows he means — but he also sees the sad frown he tries to hide when he twitches to hold Izuku's hands and can't because they're in public.
Oh, everyone knows that the current number one and the retired number two are friends, but they don't know that they became more. That after the nastiness at last year's gala, it wasn't just his friends who helped Izuku to heal but Keigo, too.
Ochako made him laugh.
Tenya gave him surprisingly empathetic comfort.
Tsu gave him blunt advice that helped him realise he mourned the loss of someone so permanent in his life, but a man whose behaviour violently shoved Izuku out of love with him well before the catalyst to their breakup, all the same.
And then Shouto, in that way he has, saw something he thought of as obvious, not realising that only he saw it.
"How do you think Bakugou will take the news that you two are in love?"
Awkwardness descended for a very long ten seconds before Keigo said, "He can take it however he wants. I'm a little more worried about the fact you've managed to point it out before Midoriya worked it out for himself."
Ah, he'd thought at the time. So that's what it felt like when someone he loved, loved him back and cared how he felt. Warm, bubbly. Joyous. Relieving, which said a lot about his previous relationship.
No, he isn't going to make Keigo hide them any longer. At first, Izuku struggled with self-esteem and whether he was good enough for Keigo — for anyone, really. He doesn't think he's undeserving anymore, and though he'll never be one for baseless self-confidence, he does at least believe he has value.
Then, Kirishima made a throwaway comment about how Bakugou would never let Izuku go — probably intended to be reassuring — and he feared the consequences if he found out about Keigo. He wasn't a hero anymore, the Commission would back Bakugou if there was an incident — or worse — due to his ex-boyfriend's pride. Oh, Keigo can still kick an ass and fly like the wind, even with his prosthetic wings, but he doesn't have the upper hand in a fight against Bakugou. Not really.
Of course, Izuku's fear regarding that is now assuaged by the fact it's been five months since that comforting comment and Bakugou's attempts to communicate with him never resumed. While he's sure Kirishima only had good intentions at the time, he knows better than to think Bakugou is pacifist and calm when his ego is wounded.
With this in mind, Izuku told Keigo a couple of months earlier that he was ready to announce them, and of course, Keigo decided he wanted to have some fun, make a little spectacle of it since he's 'taking the nation's most coveted bachelor off the market — permanently'.
Izuku is nothing if not indulgent when it comes to the man he loves, so of course, he's dressed in a red suit since Keigo still has scarlet wings even if they aren't his own feathers — "I look like a Christmas decoration, Keigo!" "A really pretty one, though. And we match, see, ‘coz my wings are red and my suit is green!" — looking a great deal better than he thought he would.
"Keigo, I know it's been a long time coming, and I know you probably wonder if I don't care about you enough because of it,"
"Not even a little bit," he says, while Izuku simply keeps going.
"But I–I love you, and when Kirishima said what he said,"
"Threatened you with your abusive ex's presence, yes, that was nice of him."
"I was scared. It's just so hard to think of Bakugou as anything but—"
"A monster?"
"Keigo!" Izuku yells, fond and exasperated. "As much as your commentary is entertaining, I'm trying to tell you how happy I am to finally be telling people that we're together."
"And apologising for things you don't need to apologise for, which we've agreed you'd learn to stop doing," Keigo counters, cupping Izuku's face in his palms. "As much as I appreciate the explanation, I appreciated it the first time you gave me it. I've never had a problem hiding our relationship."
Izuku makes a disbelieving noise and Keigo chuckles in response, nodding in admittance. "Alright, I didn't like that I couldn't do things like hold your hand or kiss you, but I understood. I knew why I couldn't and I know that you love me, so no, I've never thought there was some nefarious reason we didn't go public sooner. I'm just happy that after tonight, everyone's going to know that I won," he grins playfully.
Narrowing his eyes, Izuku tries not to let his boyfriend's smile distract him, and fails miserably. "What did you win, hm?"
Keigo's still grinning, but his eyes are serious as they flick over Izuku's features, stroking his thumb over a freckled cheek.
"Everything."
"Can you turn to the left a little, please, Dynamite?"
Katsuki bares his teeth at the photographers, hoping whichever one owns the nasal voice is quaking, before Eijirou tugs sharply on his arm and turns him on his behalf.
"Kats, you know the deal — you play nice with the press at official events, we keep them off your back out in the field," he hisses through a sharp-toothed smile. Katsuki rolls his eyes but nods; the idiots all swore they'd handle media presence on the job if they started an agency together, and they've kept their end of things up. He can keep his, too.
"Why the fuck have they got the posing area facing the damn carpet? Watching these losers walk down it is a fucking nightmare," he grits out. "Seriously, fucking TinTin is in a gold suit and— his shirt is short-sleeved, Ei! He looks like that guy from that pre-quirk show Denki watches, with the glasses!"
"Wearing a short-sleeved shirt doesn't mean he's Dwight Schrute, Kats, now stop growling and smile. Or at least try to?"
"If you two don't stop arguing, I'm actually leaving the agency," Denki sings as he pinches Katsuki too sharply. Eijirou frowns, but he gets in line like he always does for his boyfriend, spineless and stupid with love. He's advised him, time and time again, to look at Katsuki's behaviour with Deku as an example.
Excluding last year's gala, he's a prime example of being a good boyfriend without losing his backbone to the relationship. It's a wonder why Ei lets himself be such a doormat when he could do better, but since it doesn't actually affect the success of their agency, he doesn't push it.
As their photo session is wrapping up, TinTin and his hentai boyfriend ready to step up for their own, the press goes wild and Katsuki knows who just arrived. Deku, the number one, the biggest deal in heroics despite his weakness. Even the photographers not assigned to the carpet turn, cameras ready, ignoring his agency — ignoring him, the number two hero.
Fine, he's dropped down to eleven since the drama last year, but it's temporary.
"Woah, Midoriya looks good in red," Denki says as Deku steps out, looking styled and well-dressed without overdone, and Katsuki has to agree. The suit fits perfectly, although he's not a fan of Deku in Eijirou's colour. He smiles, waving broadly at the press.
"Should I be jealous?" Eijirou gasps, and even though it's clearly a joke, Katsuki growls under his breath.
"Wait, oh my God, he brought a date!" Denki shrieks, pointing wildly at Deku, who instead of walking up the carpet alone, extends a hand into his limousine, the cameras all flashing brightly in anticipation.
"Probably some extra, or Cheeks." Katsuki says it with far more confidence than he actually feels, certain it must be Shouto. The organisers always stagger things so that the number one hero arrives last, but he doesn't remember seeing Icyhot's stupid head of hair yet, so it could be—
"Hawks!" Mina yelps. "He's holding hands with Hawks!"
"He's just Takami, now," Katsuki snarls. She scoffs at him.
"Please. Just like All Might will always be All Might, his hot ass will always be Hawks." She hums, watching as fucking Takami slips an arm around Deku's waist and Deku ignores the cameras, kissing his cheek.
Katsuki never let him get away with that kind of unprofessionalism.
Takami just beams and leans into it.
"I'm honestly not sure which one of them looks more attractive," Mina continues. Hanta nods.
"Fucking same."
"They look so good in each other's colours, too," she adds.
"They look like they're dressed for Christmas," Katsuki mutters. Why is he so quiet? Bakugou Katsuki isn't quiet, he doesn't mutter when he wants to scream and yell. No one hears him but he didn't hear himself very well, either.
"Do you think they're interested in polyamoury?" Denki wonders, smirking as he gives the couple a very drawn-out look up and down. Eijirou groans but doesn't seem bothered by the comment, even laughing at it lightly just as Denki says, "We're all thinking it, I just had the guts to say it!"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Katsuki roars when none of them disagrees, making his so-called friends jump in place. Mina and Hanta have the good grace to look sheepish, not meeting his eyes, while Eijirou looks apologetic, but Denki?
The fucker looks satisfied.
Reminding himself that blowing his colleague up at an event where the press flock in the hundreds isn't a smart move for his career, he turns to Eijirou. Loyal Eijirou, who he knows he can count on to do as he asks.
"Go and find out what the fuck their deal is, Ei. They're probably just friends and Deku didn't want to come alone—"
Even he doesn't believe that.
"—but I want to be sure." He grabs Denki's bicep and drags, calling over his shoulder, "I'll keep him occupied until you get back!"
Denki yelps before discharging a minor shock, just enough for Katsuki to startle and drop his hold on him. He narrows his golden eyes.
"Katsuki, has anyone ever told you that for such a strong man, you feel an awfully large need to prove it to everyone by force?" He asks acidically before striding away, head held high, and just…
What the fuck was that?
"That actually wasn't bad," Izuku admits as they step off the entrance carpet and head towards the staged photograph area, Keigo's arm still snug around him. "I mean they were a little more, ah, enthusiastic than usual, but they were nice, too!"
"They love you," Keigo says as if that explains everything. "Even the vast majority of the press, rabid as they usually are, treats you with respect. They're just excited to see you've moved on after last year. They get a scoop, and you're happy — a win-win for them."
Izuku scoffs but smiles, placing his hand on his boyfriend's hip and squeezing lightly. While he's not convinced that the press are specifically pleased he's in a new relationship, he will admit that their positive response and kind questions made their relationship announcement a lot easier. It was even a little fun, posing for photographs with Keigo kissing him and laughing happily beside him!
"I'm just glad it went so smoothly," he states as they step forward to take their posed pictures, only to be blocked by Kirishima, who's smiling grimly as he holds his hands up placatingly.
"Red Riot," Keigo drawls in his least friendly yet still polite tone. "Can we help you? We don't want to keep the good people of the media waiting, after all."
Izuku from last year would be appalled by the tone, the glare his boyfriend is levelling his classmate with even as he smiles placidly, but Izuku from last year isn't here. This year's Izuku, the new and improved version, simply stands straight and waits for an answer.
Kirishima seems taken aback for a second and Izuku realises he's surprised by Izuku's lack of apologising and panicking, by the fact he doesn't jump in to ask Keigo to be kinder to him. Little does he know that Izuku has never felt the need to moderate Keigo's behaviour the way he did with Bakugou because Keigo isn't a rabid dog in need of leashing. Keigo's anger is rarely unwarranted and never needlessly cruel.
"Right," he says, recovering from his surprise. "I was just wondering what you two are doing here… Together, I mean. Obviously, Deku, you're meant to be here, but, uh, why are you…?"
Izuku's gaze hardens. "Why did I bring my boyfriend as my date to an event, you mean?"
"B-boyfriend?"
"Boyfriend," Keigo confirms. "Are we done here?"
"Woah, dude," Kirishima says. "Have you got a problem with me?"
Scoffing, Keigo shakes his head. "I do. I'm not gonna get into it here, since I have more class than to cause a scene at an important event, but yeah, I've got a problem with you, Riot."
"Hey man, Kat had too much to drink that night, and it wasn't that bad—"
"I'm going to stop you there, Riot," Keigo interrupts, tone icy. "Dynamite made such a scene, attempting to humiliate Deku because he has the number one spot that asshole covets, that the only reason he didn't lose his fucking license is that Deku fought for him to keep it! The Commission wanted him neutralised as a liability, and it took a fucking lot for them to back down, so if you dare to defend his sorry ass, don't do it in front of me."
By the time he finishes speaking, Izuku can feel his boyfriend tremble with rage, struggling to keep his press-friendly smile in place, eyes vicious and acidic. He grips his chin between his thumb and forefinger, turning Keigo so their eyes meet, chips of solid gold melting until they're soft and molten. Izuku nods, wordlessly telling Keigo that it's okay — he's not upset that he lost his temper, in fact, he's honoured that such an easygoing man can summon anger that significant on his behalf.
Keigo breathes deeply before returning the nod and turning back to a waiting Kirishima, laying his head on Izuku's shoulder, silent as he continues to level his emotions back out internally. Izuku cocks his head at Kirishima.
"I never told him because I didn't want him to think I did it for him. I did it because he's good at his job and he shouldn't be taken off the streets just because he handles his personal life like shit."
"For real?" he asks hoarsely. "Do they still want him gone?"
Keigo mutters something about how not-shocking it is that that's his first question, which Izuku ignores, not wanting to rile him back up. "Yes," he answers honestly. "And I can't stop them, not if he messes up that badly again. Keep him in line or learn to run your agency with only four people, Red Riot. Now, if you'll excuse us?"
Silently, mouth slightly agape, Kirishima nods and sidesteps, freeing Izuku and Keigo to progress to the posing area without another word. Izuku briefly wonders if he'll tell Bakugou what he did before deciding he doesn't care — he knows he didn't do it for Bakugou personally, so Bakugou can take it however he wants as long as he doesn't see it as a door that should remain nailed shut reopening.
“I hope that’s the only time we have to talk about that tonight,” Izuku mutters as they step into the designated posing area, Keigo standing behind him and wrapping his arms around his waist, chin resting on Izuku’s shoulders as his prosthetic wings provide a soft red backdrop for their pictures.
“Ahh, my sweet naive love,” Keigo sings quietly as he smiles and twines his fingers with Izuku’s. “Trust me, it’ll come up again, but we handled it just now, and we can handle it again — you can handle it again. Alright?”
Despite himself, Izuku can’t help but smile, and the flash of camera bulbs all going off at once startles him. He blinks the brightness away, but the smile stays in place.
“One shot of you smiling like that is enough to have these photographers’ editors giving them preferential treatment for a month, gorgeous.”
“Oh, it’s not all that great, you romantic fool,” Izuku replies, smiling wider reflexively.
“No, he’s right, although it’s more like two months since we’ve got Hawks looking so happy in the same shot!” a photographer calls out. “Now, can you try changing the pose up so you lovebirds are side by side, maybe, Deku?”
Izuku releases Keigo’s hands, shuffling around until they’re in a tight side-hug, trying to process just how much value a photograph of him smiling actually has, but struggling with it. People tell him he smiles all the time, so surely the photographs are a dime a dozen, right?
“You’re muttering,” Keigo informs him fondly. “And your smiles aren’t all the same, so the photographs of them carry different values.”
“Sorry,” he replies sheepishly, still somewhat embarrassed by his inability to keep his own thoughts in his head, despite the fact Keigo claims to find it endearing. “What smile am I wearing right now, then?”
“The same one as me,” Keigo answers. “You’re secure and happy, Zuku.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am, huh?”
"What the fuck do you mean, you don't know anything else? You were gone for fifteen fucking minutes and all you got is that they're a couple?"
Eijirou sighs wearily. "I was distracted by the comment about your license, which you need to take seriously, Kat!"
"Agreed, man. Midoriya did you a serious favour, don't throw it away," Hanta comments, Mina and Kaminari murmuring their agreement along with him. Katsuki hisses, actually hisses his irritation out like an animal.
Yes, he's surprised to hear the HPSC takes supposed slights against Deku so seriously, but he is the number one somehow, so it makes a certain amount of sense; they have to protect their investment in the pillar that upholds peace on a national scale.
No, he's not going to thank Deku for 'helping him', because he doesn't need that nerd's help. Never has and never will, so he can take his expectation of thanks and shove it up his tight ass.
"They'd never actually get rid of me, idiot," he snarls. "I'm too good, and they know it!" The Commission's plan is likely a temporary suspension or something to appease the weaklings that can't handle Katsuki before they reinstate him, so he's really not worried.
"I heard from Uraraka that it's not a recent development," Mina chimes in. "We were in the ladies' room and she couldn't stop gushing about how cute they are together and how good Hawks has 'always' been to him."
"Always?" repeats Katsuki, latching onto the word. "So I was right about Deku cheating on me, just not who it was with. I fucking knew it! I'll kill him, I'll rip those prosthetics right off his back, I'll rip off his c—"
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the heroics community, please find your assigned seats and have a sit, because dinner is about to be served," a voice announces over the tannoy, repeating the message twice more for clarity. Everyone begins moving towards the dining area, checking their entry cards against place settings until they find their assigned place to eat.
Their agency is supposed to be sitting on the other side of the room from Deku, but Katsuki's not letting that happen now. He storms over, grabbing the place card of some extra and tossing it aside as he drops into their seat and grins at Takami and Deku.
"Hello, cheaters," he drawls. Deku startles in place while Takami's eyes narrow dangerously. Just like that, the game is on, and Katsuki intends to win. Holding this over Deku's head? There's no way the nerd won't come crawling back to save face with his precious fans.
Green eyes going wide, Deku gapes at him. "What did you just say?" he asks as Takami places a proprietary hand over Deku's on the table, next to the small plate for bread rolls.
"Mina was just telling me how Cheeks said Takami here has always been good to you, so I guess I owe you and Icyhot an apology, don't I?" Katsuki points out casually. "Since it's this washed-up ass you were cheating with, not the halfie bastard."
"Are you serious?"
Katsuki scoffs. "Why wouldn't I be, hah?"
"Because," Takami interjects before Deku can answer, "I might have loved him while you two were together, but he had no idea. We were never anything more than friends until after you broke up."
"Even if that is the case," Katsuki allows, though he doubts it, "rumours about this getting out could ruin you, Deku. Your squeaky clean image all dirtied up? Not the way you keep the number one spot, is it, hm?"
"What do you want, Bakugou?" Deku asks through gritted teeth, always quick on the uptake. Katsuki grins sharply.
"Simple. I want you to stop playing around, trying to make me jealous by bringing the has-been bird as your date, and come back to me where you belong. Be mine again, and no one will ever know that he's been pining over you pathetically. No cheating rumours, no ranking taking a dive because of them."
To Katsuki's surprise and irritation, Takami bursts out laughing. "What's fucking funny, loser?"
"It's just," Keigo wheezes out, "the President of the HPSC was so nervous about Deku coming here tonight and being confronted by you, they asked me to secretly wear a recording device," he sputters, coughing around a laugh before continuing. "So everything you just said has already been heard by Commission staff and stored for later reference if need be. You've got no leg to stand on, Bakugou."
Glancing at Deku, Katsuki knows it's true. The nerd had no idea his boyfriend was wearing a wire. "Keigo?" He asks softly. Takami turns to him with a rueful smile.
"I'm happy to do it, Zuku. I wanted you to be safe from him, and now you are. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I knew you'd be more on edge if you knew in advance," he says apologetically. Deku takes a steadying breath before speaking.
"I'm not angry, and I'm grateful that you want to help my situation improve so badly, but we will need to talk about this later, once the device is removed."
Takami nods slowly, one up and down movement. "That's fair. I get it." He pauses. "I'm glad you aren't mad that I hid it."
Deku flips his hand over, threading his fingers through Takami's and squeezing while Katsuki's lip curls unpleasantly at the gesture, a feeling matched by the swooping ick his stomach is experiencing.
"I'm never going to be mad at you for taking care of me, Kei," he promises in that soft, loving tone that used to be reserved for Katsuki.
"I love you, Kacchan!"
"Kacchan can do anything he puts his mind to."
"Don't feel bad, Kacchan. You didn't win this time, so you'll win extra hard next time, right?"
Hearing it be used on Takami, on this failure of a hero with a victim's backstory and no fucking quirk, makes something inside Katsuki snap. Whatever it is was already held taut, being stretched a little each day Deku didn't come back to him, but this undeniable proof is too much for Katsuki to bear without losing his shit.
Deku might be smart enough to realise he could make Katsuki jealous by dating someone else, but he's not deceptive or a liar. He wouldn't be speaking to the loser like he loved him if he didn't actually love him.
All this time, Katsuki's been holding himself back because he was convinced Deku would come back to him and he was too proud to keep trying to convince him after no replies came to his messages for three straight months. He thought Deku just needed time to realise he was nothing without Katsuki, that seeing how damn good he looks tonight would be the final straw and he'd leave the gala with Deku on his arm.
He can see now that he won't, which is a dangerous realisation since it tells Katsuki he has nothing to lose by really letting Deku have it.
Just like last year, Deku's been confirmed to be ranked as number one in the upcoming hero ranking awards, and just like last year, Katsuki has a lot to say about it.
"I don't fucking get it! Endeavour was number one and he wasn't a fucking people person, so why do I have to be?! My popularity ranking is so low that my agency’s analyst says I can literally never be number one with it, can you believe that shit, Deku? I mean just because you smile like a brainless happy robot, you're considered better than me as a hero!"
"Kacchan, I know you're not happy, but if you don't keep your voice down, people will hear you."
"God, Deku," he says, shaking his head. "You still have no backbone and yet you're still number fucking one. How does someone so spineless keep beating me?"
"Spineless?" Deku repeats, brow furrowed and head cocked in confusion. Katsuki jerks his chin at the clasped hands on the table.
"Public displays of affection make you look weak and unprofessional, but you two are practically sobbing with emotion out here for anyone to see," he informs them. "Then there's the fact that your failure boyfriend here went behind your back and got wired by the Commission and you're just letting it go as if it's not something that needs to be punished so he learns not to repeat it."
"Dynamite, please do not insult Keigo. You can surely come after me without dragging him into it," Deku says. Katsuki snorts derisively.
"Hah. He's so weak you're protecting him from some harmless words? Shameful enough that the number one's dating a has-been, but now he's a weak one that can't handle even a few words? Pathetic."
"Oh, you can call me whatever you like, Dynamite," Takami says breezily, "it's simply that Deku cares about me and a good partner tends to do that. Care, I mean — I'm not trying to be condescending, it's just obvious you've never known what a good boyfriend behaves like, so I'm making sure you grasp it."
"What'd you say, extra?!" He demands as he lurches from his seat, palms sparking, only to be halted in his tracks by a strand of Blackwhip around his midsection.
"Stick to the words, Dynamite," Deku growls. Beside him, the loser sends him an adoring look, eyes all soft and mushy and proud, though Katsuki doesn't understand why. Deku holding Katsuki back proves he doesn't think the bird can handle Katsuki in a one-on-one fight, he's admitting the useless fuck is weak and, well, useless. That's not something to feel pride over, in Katsuki's opinion.
"You want words, Deku?" He asks darkly. "Alright, I've got some words for you. I can give you what you want, what you need," he purrs, smirking when Takami's nose scrunches up, his eyes flashing with irritation at Katsuki's suggestive tone. Katsuki feels nothing but satisfaction.
"Weak. That's a word. Useless. Worthless. Pathetic. Those are all some Goddamn great words to describe you, number one." His voice has raised in volume and people are staring, but he doesn't care.
"They should hear me, Deku! Shit, your hero name literally means useless, and somehow no one else can see it the way I can! The weaknesses that'll always be a part of you no matter what!"
"Please, Kacchan. Just please do this somewhere else, somewhere quieter."
Just like last year, Katsuki thinks to himself as the other attendants of the event start to gravitate towards the drama like hungry sharks. Scavenger predators, all of them.
"Dynamite—"
"I'm not Dynamite to you! I'm fucking Kacchan, so call me it!"
"Dynamite, you're causing a scene."
"I don't give a flying fuck! They all know you're a loser after last year, this isn't Goddamn news to them, Deku! They all know you're pathetic and don't deserve your spot. You only have it because you're riding the fame of the war, still. No one sees you as their top hero for real, Deku!"
Before Deku can reply, before tears can gather in his eyes — he looks so pretty when he cries, Katsuki loves those tears — TinTin pipes up.
"Deku's my number one," he calls out. "He's a hero worth looking up to. It's not his fault you can't see it, Dynamite."
"M-me too," his weak-ass boyfriend stammers. Fatgum nods, calling out his own affirmative, and Katsuki scoffs.
"Fine, you've managed to fool some of the extras," he allows. "You've pulled the wool over their eyes, but no one who matters sees you as strong."
"You cry at the drop of a hat, Deku! I'm not even exaggerating, you've probably dropped inanimate objects and cried because of it. It's insane how people can think you're strong. Why don't they see it?! Why are they all so blind to what you truly are!"
"Crying easily just means I have strong surface emotions, it's– it's not a weakness, Kacchan."
"Stop fucking talking back! Just fucking listen to me, you worthless little shitnerd!"
"Keigo matters to me," Deku says firmly. "Keigo matters to me even if not to you, and he doesn't care that I cry."
"It's strength, Dynamite," Takami drawls. "I used to think hiding behind a smile and seeming like I didn't have a care in the world was being strong. That hiding my emotions was hiding my weakness. I was wrong, and so are you."
"And–and everyone matters," Deku adds as he smiles lovingly at Takami. "Everyone matters, Dynamite. As a hero, you should believe that."
Katsuki scoffs. "No, Deku. You're wrong, because you don't matter, and you know it, but you keep pretending like you do, anyway. Everything you have is because I made you stronger! Without me, you'd still be a twig of a guy with no backbone who couldn't take a punch. I made you."
"Deku matters, you asshole," Cheeks sneers from Katsuki's left. Damn vultures, all of the assholes circled around them. Vultures and leeches. "If he didn't matter, you wouldn't be desperate to get him back."
"I don't want his pathetic, clingy ass back!" Katsuki lies. "He's needy and whiny and can't survive without attention or affection for five fucking minutes!"
"Poor me, my gorgeous boyfriend likes to cuddle," Takami says dryly, earning a quiet laugh from the tense crowd. "You're entitled to not share his desire for regular affection, Dynamite, but you don't have the right to tear Deku down for it. You're not even a couple anymore, so you don't have to worry about it, right?"
"He's obviously trying to win Deku back," Icyhot pipes up in his monotone. "It's quite clear, I think."
"Kacchan, you're being mean. You're b-being really mean and there's no need to—"
"Listen up, fuckers! Your number one hero's begging for his boyfriend to be nicer like a whiny little bitch! Mister Number One can't even ask for kinder words without stuttering!"
"Oh fuck you, you bitchy, emotionless fuck!" Katsuki roars. "You're as bad as Deku, all meek and pathetic even though you're supposed to be a hero, supposed to be a tough guy!"
"You're wrong," he replies easily. "But I also don't care what someone like you thinks of me. I would simply like to inform you that last year, Deku asked us all to pretend your outburst never happened, and we agreed for his sake. We will not be forgetting this year."
"Yeah!"
"You're getting exposed, asshole!"
"Dynamite is going down!"
"Prepare to become the most hated hero in history, you dick!"
Katsuki turns slowly, finding every hero in the room crowding their table, phones trained on him, thunderous expressions on their faces. He looks for his friends immediately, for the people he runs his agency with, and finds them after a long moment.
Only Eijirou doesn't have his phone out.
The rest are filming him like everyone else, wearing looks of disappointment, as if they're not the traitors in this situation.
Whatever, he'll deal with them later.
"Dynamite, it's time to let it go," Deku says quietly. "It's over, so don't make it any worse for yourself. Please?"
Katsuki sneers, eyes blazing. He might be cornered, but he’s not going down alone; he’s taking Deku with him.
"You should have jumped when I told you to, Deku. Without you here, this would never have happened. You've changed the face of heroics into a representation of your shortcomings, acting like having compassion and handing out second chances like free candy isn't just another way to show you're weak. If you just jumped, I'd be number one, like I'm fucking supposed to be! You ruined everything, you ruined my fucking life, and you didn't even stay by my side to make it up to me!"
Deku looks at him in disappointment, but with surprisingly dry and clear eyes. "I'm sorry you chose this route, Dynamite," he says hoarsely. "I'm sorry that you never learned to let go of your issues, and I'm sorry that you still can't, even to save your career." He takes a breath, standing up and pulling Takami with him, walking away without another word.
"We're live streaming, by the way," Denki pipes up cheerily.
"I shouldn't have to ask my boyfriend to be nice to me in the first place, Kacchan."
Keigo watches as Bakugou’s expression morphs into realisation. The knowledge that the nation is watching him try to tear down their sweetheart, their beloved number one, slowly fills him. There’s no coming back from this, not with his public image as low as it already is.
Dynamite is known for three things — winning at all costs, putting his opponents in the hospital, and making trauma victims feel worse than whatever he rescued them from.
Adding tried to break Pro Hero Deku to that list has killed his career in less than a minute, and from his face, he knows it.
Turning from the star of the show, Keigo finds himself looking at the other members of Quintet Victory, Bakugou’s agency. He’s got no real personal problem with them, even counting their association with Bakugou, though that does sour them a little in Keigo’s mind. Ashido and Sero are good friends to Bakugou, but there’s more than one clip out there of them grimacing at his temper and trying to distance themselves instead of getting pulled into the cycle of trying and failing to calm him down.
Kaminari is Keigo’s favourite. Izuku’s as well. It’s not just because he’s kind and cheerful, but because after last year’s gala, he approached Izuku and told him he wanted to leave Quintet Victory. That he’d steadily grown more and more disgusted with the way Bakugou treated Izuku over the course of their relationship and his outburst was the final straw for him.
Izuku, of course, told him not to do it on his behalf. He could see the rift it would cause between Kaminari and his boyfriend, who stands at Bakugou’s side no matter what he does or how he behaves and didn’t want to be the indirect cause of their breakup.
He stayed, but he made it clear that Bakugou wouldn’t get a second chance with him if he started taking his shit out on Izuku again, so the fact that he’s grinning a little ferally as he exposes what’s happening to his loyal Chargebolt followers doesn’t surprise Keigo in the least.
Kirishima is a whole other issue. He seems determined to ignore Bakugou’s problematic behaviour, even though it’s clear he doesn’t approve of it. Keigo doesn’t understand why that is, and he doesn’t care, either — other than worrying a little about what it means for the future of his relationship with Kaminari. It’s not Keigo’s business why Kirishima is the way he is, and it’s not his problem to fix.
He returns his gaze to Bakugou, who’s breathing heavily, glancing around wildly like he’s hoping to find support amongst the sea of Pro Heroes who are practically celebrating his downfall. Todoroki told the truth when he said Izuku used his considerable pull to minimise last year's events, both for his own sake and because he wanted Bakugou to have a chance to be better, but that’s not going to be the case this time around.
Resignedly, his boyfriend sighs beside him. “You can be such a great hero when you manage to put your temper and ego to the side,” he says sadly. “I did damage control last year because I didn’t want a good hero to be taken off the streets, but in the last year, I’ve learned to value my own well-being. I’m not putting myself on the line to save you this time, Bakugou. Whatever happens as a result of your behaviour happens, and it will be on you for not taking the chances you’ve been given to improve.”
“Proud of you, Zuku,” Keigo murmurs quietly, a hushed breath that even the heroes closest to them don’t pick up, but Izuku does, squeezing Keigo’s hand gratefully.
“Nothing’s going to happen,” Bakugou rasps hoarsely, though it doesn’t look like even he believes his delusions now. “Drama blows over in no time, this’ll be forgotten in a week at most.”
Todoroki approaches Bakugou from behind, two beefy security guards in tow. While the collection of heroes gathered could take Bakugou down, he’s not a villain or a criminal, so it isn’t their job. He’s simply being ejected from the premises for bad behaviour and whatever happens to him once he leaves?
It’s not their problem.
It’s the Commissions.
Next to him, Izuku sniffs. “I really thought — he hadn’t contacted me, he hadn’t tried to win me back, I thought he was finally finished obsessing with how I did and focusing on his own success, you know?”
“I know,” Keigo soothes, pulling his boyfriend in for a tight side hug. “I know, Zuku. You wanted him to be better, for the sake of three-year-old Izuku and Kacchan.”
“Yeah,” Izuku says. “But I don’t think Kacchan exists anymore. Only Dynamite.”
“And Dynamite isn’t your problem,” Keigo reminds him. “You can mourn Kacchan, but Dynamite is going to be handled by the Commission. He’s not your responsibility.”
Izuku sags against him, nonverbally accepting Keigo’s point with a tired nod. “Do you think people will mind if we skip out early? I feel like I’d rather be in sweats, on the couch, with you.”
“I’d rather be on your couch, too,” Keigo agrees before grinning down at Izuku. “Permanently.”
“Huh?”
“I want your couch to be my couch.”
“Oh, I got it at—”
“Zuku, I want us to live together and I’m trying to ask cutely, okay?”
“Ah! Oh, shit, okay, sorry, um — it’s a very nice couch and you’d look very nice on it permanently?”
Keigo snickers. “Much better,” he says, squeezing Izuku affectionately. “How’s a movie marathon with matcha ice cream sound?” he tempts, tone wheedling as he needlessly bribes his boyfriend with his favourite flavour of ice cream. As expected, Izuku’s saddened eyes brighten, almost back to their customary sparkling, and it loosens a tightness in Keigo’s chest. He knows it’ll take time for Izuku to process what’s happened, but Keigo’s going to be there every step of the way to help him do it.
“All Might movies?” he asks hopefully. Keigo pretends to think it over, even though he already knows he’ll give his Zuku anything he wants, especially right now, before nodding and dropping a chaste peck on his cute button nose.
“As many as you can stay awake for,” he agrees. Izuku lights up a little further and Keigo gladly takes the win of managing to cheer him up, even just a little — even at the sacrifice of rewatching movies that he, who is not an All Might superfan, can quote word-for-word with zero effort.
Izuku is worth all of that and more as far as Keigo’s concerned.
One Year Later
“So last week, we started to delve into the origin of your inability to accept anything your family perceived as a weakness being part of yourself. Do you feel up to continuing that topic today?”
Katsuki grimaces. Takahashi is a good therapist for him because he doesn’t mince words or pussyfoot around sensitive topics, but it’s a double-edged sword since it makes it hard for Katsuki to avoid the hard issues with him when he wants to.
Since the night that he crashed and burned his lifelong dream, Katsuki’s been steadily working through his problems with his mandated therapist. Deku, once again, stuck his neck out for Katsuki, though not in the way he expected.
If Takahashi signs off on it, Katsuki is allowed to have his license reinstated with the Commission in a limited capacity — as a rescue hero sidekick only. He’ll never be an independent hero or focus on the violent side of heroics again, but it’s still more than he deserved when Deku made the agreement with the President.
Now, after one year and twice-weekly therapy sessions — totalling precisely two-hundred and eight hours of it — he thinks he deserves it. The current version of himself, not who he was back then.
“My old hag—”
Takashi clears his throat pointedly.
“My mother always said that being gay meant a man wasn’t a man, and it stuck with me,” he starts, lip curling at the reminder of all the slurs she liked to use to describe anyone who wasn’t straight. “Her voice became my inner voice, my fucking conscience or whatever. I let it, I leaned into it so I’d feel strong and masculine, because I thought if I did, I was countering my own sexuality, y’know?”
“Mm,” Takashi hums. “So you internalised her homophobia as a way to shield yourself from feeling the hurt of it. I’m glad you’re able to realise that, Katsuki. Would you like to delve into how she reacted once you came out in high school, or explore the other things you perceived as weakness?”
“The other things,” Katsuki says hurriedly. “I’m not ready to go into the other thing. Not yet.”
“And that’s okay. We will have to discuss it before I can clear you to take the official rescue hero assessment, but for now, it’s okay to wait until you feel ready.”
Katsuki nods. “Thanks, Taka.”
“You don’t need to thank me for doing my job, Katsuki. Just because you’re learning to rectify your aversion to using manners doesn’t mean you have to overuse them as compensation, you know.”
“I know,” Katsuki defends. “But I’m grateful, so I’m fuckin’ expressing it, alright?”
Takashi chuckles, shaking his head. “Well if you insist,” he quips. “Now, perceived weaknesses. Choose one you’re comfortable exploring today, and we’ll work through it together.”
“Yeah, yeah, alright.” Katsuki dry-swallows, anxious as he rifles through the plethora of things he’s spent his life mocking to seem stronger. There are far too many, but that’s why he sees Takashi twice a week — being a rescue sidekick might not have been his dream once upon a time, but the Katsuki of the present day who’s steadily improving is excited at the prospect.
Saving people is just as heroic as stopping them from needing saving in the first place, and he’s going to metaphorically kick ass once he can get back in the field.
“Fuck it. Let’s talk about how emotions feel like weakness but that dumb fuck—”
“Ahem.”
“—but Deku’s boyfriend said they’re a strength. Let’s dive right into the big shit, yeah?”
Takahashi smiles. “Big shit indeed,” he agrees. “I’m proud of you for suggesting it.”
“Whatever,” Katsuki scoffs, though a small, proud smile graces his lips. “Get on with it before I change my mind, Taka.”
He’s not better — yet. He’s half-baked, still collecting pieces of the person he wants to be and slotting them together as he goes, searching for the right ones and hoping that none of them are new negatives masquerading as positives.
No, Katsuki’s not better yet, but he will be.
Izuku sighs in contentment as he tucks himself into Keigo’s side, legs curled up underneath him as he burrows into his boyfriend’s warmth on their couch. Keigo makes a happy noise that, regardless of his protests on the subject, definitely sounds like a bird chirping. It’s adorable and Izuku doesn’t think he’s ever going to be tired of hearing it.
“I love that sound.”
“What sound?” Keigo asks in faux ignorance. Izuku retaliates by kissing his neck, and Keigo chirps again.
“That one,” he says, pressing another kiss a little further up his neck, just below his ear. His skin feels warm and soft under Izuku’s lips, and he keeps kissing to enjoy the sensation, trailing them over Keigo’s jaw and across his cheek until their lips meet and Keigo swivels around so they’re face to face, pulling Izuku in closer until he’s basically sitting on Keigo’s lap.
“I love you,” Keigo murmurs in between kisses. “Love you so much, Zuku.”
Izuku breathes out shakily, heart humming happily in his chest. “I love you, too.” It doesn’t feel like an adequate way to express his feelings — yes, he loves Keigo, but he just… He loves him so much more than the word love manages to convey. He adores him, cherishes, treasures, values, all of the damn above and more.
Keigo’s tongue slides into his mouth and Izuku tugs gently on his soft blond hair, stroking his own over Keigo’s slowly, swallowing the quiet almost-moan that earns him, already ready for—
“Why the hell did you insist on such a loud doorbell?” he groans, the familiar ding-dong of it screaming through the apartment.
“I wanted to make sure I could hear it anywhere in the apartment,” Keigo defends for the umpteenth time. They’ve had this conversation more times than they can count since Keigo moved in, and while Izuku won’t say he regrets using the phrase ‘do whatever you want to the place, it’s ours now, not just the new place you live that belongs to me’ when they decided they’d live in Izuku’s place instead of Keigo’s or finding a new one, the damn bell makes him contemplate the concept of regretting it at least once a week.
Sadly, it was so hard to install that they’re both too stubborn to change it out for a new one, so the damn emergency warning alarm that serves as a doorbell stays where it is, deafening them regularly. At least they do always know when they have a visitor.
“I’ll get it,” Izuku says. He has an idea of who it’s going to be, but he doesn’t want to make assumptions. He journeys from the living room to their bright red front door — another of Keigo’s amendments to the place, albeit one he actually likes, unlike the bell — and pulls it open without looking through the peephole to see if his guess is correct.
“Katsuki!” he greets happily, smiling widely at his friend. “How was therapy today?”
For the last six months, ever since his therapist cleared them for interaction, Izuku and Katsuki have been repairing their friendship with the intention of finding three-year-old Deku and Kacchan inside themselves somehow. It’s been going well, and Izuku is pleased to see him since Katsuki tends to come over after his most successful therapy sessions, always excited to share with Izuku how he’s making progress.
At first, he worried Katsuki felt he owed it to Izuku to give him updates since Izuku fought for him to receive treatment and a second chance, but it soon became clear that Katsuki simply wanted his friend back. Izuku wanted his friend back, too, so they started from scratch, disregarding everything that happened from the day Katsuki’s quirk came in and getting to know each other all over again.
“I talked about my perception of emotions as a weakness or strength,” Katsuki says as he toes his shoes off and pads through to the living room, grunting a greeting in Keigo’s direction. Keigo grins, more than accepting of Katsuki’s presence in their lives since he delivered a heartfelt apology to Keigo for the way he talked to him at the fateful gala, though Izuku suspects his acceptance is mostly so that he can heal from everything that happened than anything else.
“Oh yeah?” Izuku folds himself back into Keigo’s side, their makeout session forgotten as Katsuki flops into the opposite couch tiredly. “And how did that go?”
“Fucking tiring, but I’m starting to see what you were talking about that night, Birdie,” he replies. Katsuki still likes nicknames, but they’re much friendlier than they used to be, so Keigo accepts his with grace and responds to it readily.
“Ah, so someone other than Zuku can see my genius,” he sings, nodding sagely. “About damn time, if I do say so myself.”
Katsuki tosses a throw pillow at Izuku’s boyfriend with a grin, managing to hit him in the face and ruffle his already unruly blond hair. “Fuck off,” he says. “But yeah, you could say that, if you wanted to be an arrogant bastard about it.”
“Katsuki!” Izuku reprimands with false disappointment. “He’s an arrogant bastard about everything, don’t single this one thing out!”
Snickering, Katsuki gives Keigo a smug glance. Keigo throws his hands in the air exasperatedly.
“You two being friends is dangerous,” he laments. “I don’t think I’m going to survive your team-ups, not if you’re combining Bakugou’s stellar mocking skills with Izuku’s in-depth knowledge of all my flaws.”
“Oh, poor Birdie,” Katsuki deadpans. “Need your boyfriend to kiss your owie better?”
Izuku perks up. “Is it on your abs? I’ll definitely kiss it better if it’s on your abs.”
“Ew,” Katsuki says, scrunching his nose up. Previously, Izuku would have worried about hurting Katsuki by being overt about his feelings for his boyfriend in front of his ex, but Katsuki has never been anything less than happy for them, good-natured teasing aside, so it doesn’t concern him.
“You suggested it,” Keigo laughs before sobering up. “Now come on, you were talking about how I’m right all the time. Get back to that.”
“Asshole, I was not talking about that and you know it!”
As they devolve into friendly bickering and banter, Izuku smiles. His journey to where he is was painful and filled with trials he’d never wanted to face, but he made it through, and the other side of his pain is a damn good place to be. He’s got his best friend back, a boyfriend that he wouldn’t trade for the world, and one day he’s going to get to work with Katsuki as heroes.
The future looks different than either of them imagined; they both know that, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t look bright.
Pro Hero Deku and Pro Hero Kacchan are going to take the world by storm, one day soon.