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Izuku and Katsuki had always been close, but that didn't mean that their closeness was always a good kind. When they were little, they had sleepovers, hung out, explored, and played heros together. Back then, Izuku was invited to his friend's birthday parties.
That all changed the day Izuku was diagnosed as quirkless.
Somewhere during their time in UA, they had finally mended their relationship enough to spend time together as friends. Not as close as Katsuki was with Kirishima and Kaminari, or even Mina and Sero, but still friends.
One would think that with all the people Katsuki had hung out with in middle school that he would have had parties back then too, but the truth is he didn't have any real friends at the time. He had pushed his only true friend away, so he didn't have anyone worth inviting to even hold a birthday party. It was just him and his parents.
At UA, Katsuki had made some real friends, people who genuinely liked him for himself and not just his quirk. It made Izuku happy to know that others saw what he did in Katsuki and that they decided to give him a chance. But sometimes he couldn't help but be jealous of how easy the "Bakusquad's" relationship was.
-
Today it was April 20th yet again, otherwise known as Katsuki's birthday.
This year, Katsuki was turning eighteen. It was their last year at their hero academia, and they had been through so much as a class; as a society. After the war ended, it had been a long process of changing Japan back to its former self, a process of convincing the people to believe in heroes again. They had succeeded after a lot of work.
Back to the topic at hand. Throughout their time at UA, their class would all celebrate their classmates' birthdays and they made sure no one was ever left out on their special day(their resident hothead included).
Katsuki was a pretty closed off person, so he wasn't the type to like things such as surprise parties. The past two years the class had thrown him one whether he liked it or not (Everyone knew that it made him secretly happy anyways). Today wouldn't be an exception.
Celebrating Katsuki was something that came easy to Izuku, but finding a present for him was a whole other story. Most people in their class chose to get Katsuki things like spicy food, hiking gear, video games, black clothing or clothing with skulls; stuff that he showed clear interest in. Izuku, however, liked to get him things with a bit more of a deeper meaning.
He had given him records during their first year in UA (knowing that Katsuki had a soft spot for music and collecting them). Then, in their second year, he had a talk with Hatsume about how to adjust Katsuki's design of his gauntlets so that they could be smaller but still hold all the power that he had originally planned for them to. Both years Katsuki had grunted his thanks as he did with everyone, and Izuku could proudly say that he had liked his gifts.
This year, however, he was at a loss. What would Kacchan like that he didn't have already? He could ask Mitsuki and Masaru, but that would kind of feel like he was cheating somehow.
Katsuki had piercings now, so maybe some jewelry for those? Nah, Mina or Uraraka probably already had plans to do that. So what could he pick that his friend would like?
As Izuku was thinking in his room, he got a text from Uraraka.
Uraraka:
Hey, Deku! Mina and I are going to do some last minute shopping at the mall for a Bakupresent, wanna come with?
[9:36 AM]
That's it, maybe he could find something or at least some inspiration at the mall!
Deku:
Sure! I'll be right down.
[9:37AM]
On his way to the common room, he ran into Katsuki at the elevator.
"Good morning, Kacchan!" He smiled at him.
"Morning, nerd," Katsuki said with a grunt.
They rode the elevator in comfortable silence after that. Once they got to the common room, Katsuki went over to where Kirishima and Kaminari were playing Mario Kart.
"Are you losers ready to die?" Izuku distinctly heard him say as he walked over to where Mina and Uraraka were waiting for him.
"Hey guys! Are you ready to go?" He asked offhandedly.
"Yep, we were just waiting for you." Mina was the first to reply.
"What she said." Uraraka chimed in.
"Alright then. Let's go," He said as they walked out of the dorms and headed to the train station.
-
When they finally got to the mall, Izuku decided to ask them what kind of gift they were going to get Katsuki.
"Hm. I'll probably get him a band tee or shirts with color for his wardrobe. Something in his style of course." Mina commented mischievously.
"I'll Probably get him some cool earrings." Uraraka said. "I saw these red claw shaped ones in an ad and immediately thought of him. That's why we're here." Her voice was cheerful, showing that she, too, was excited.
Izuku smiled at that. He was glad his friends were so thoughtful.
"I'm sure he'll love both of those things, guys."
"I hope so," Uraraka said, unsure of herself.
"I know he will," Mina confidently stated. She was willing to bet he would wear whatever she would get him regardless.
And so they split off in the directions of their items. Uraraka headed towards a jewelry store, Mina towards a store known for its band merch, and Izuku just wandered around the mall to see if anything caught his eye.
During his search, he decided to indulge himself a bit and got some All Might merch he had been looking at because why not? He thought about getting the blond supernova something like that, but ultimately decided against it in the end. He probably already had some of the stuff anyways(he can pretend he's not an All Might fanboy all he wants, but Izuku knows the truth).
As he was walking past a store with a bunch of jackets and light coats out for the fall season, he saw a green bomber jacket.
He walked into the store to inspect it closer and noticed that the inside of it was orange.
"Huh, a bomber jacket. Ironically, it would suit him well," He mumbled to himself.
He decided to purchase it after finding one in Katsuki's size. His opinion had nothing to do with the fact that the jacket was their colors. Definitely not.
Looking at the jacket, it was nice, but he wanted it to have a bit more meaning. He pondered what he could do to it to make it less materialistic and more thoughtful. Then he had a sudden epiphany and headed to the craft store.
-
The three friends had decided to meet up with one another after and hour at the food court.
"Did you guys get the stuff you wanted?" Izuku asked.
"Yep! Blasty boy is gonna love the clothes I got for him." Mina said as she smirked.
"I hope that wasn't sarcasm. I don't want you to die, Mina" Uraraka joked.
"All jokes here. Seriously though, I got something he'd like." She said with with a small smile.
"Well, I got the earrings I told you guys about. They were almost sold out, so I'm glad we came when we did." Uraraka held out the red claw earrings she had mentioned.
"Those look cool, Uraraka. I'm sure Kacchan will like them."
He genuinely thought they suited Katsuki and he couldn't wait to see him wear them.
They got a bite to eat since they were at the food court and then they rode the train back to the dorms.
-
Once they returned to their rooms, Izuku spread out the things he had gotten on his bed.
Along with his merch and the bomber jacket, he had gotten a few patches from the craft store. There was an explosion(of course), a skull, a subtle All Might logo, and a patch that simply said "Hero"; all things he thought fit Katsuki's personality.
He took his time placing them where he thought looked best and then he visited Yaoyorozu to ask if he could borrow her iron to press them on.
With the patches now attached, all he had to do now was wait until Kirishima, Kaminari, and Katsuki came back from their day at the arcade.
Kirishima and Kaminari were tasked with the job to take Katsuki out to distract him while the class got his "surprise" party ready. Sato had made Katsuki a cake, Tsuyu was in charge of the other girls for decorating the common room with birthday gear, and Sero and Jiro had just gotten back with the take out they had ordered from Katsuki's favorite place.
All in all, it was looking great.
-
Once 4:56 PM arrived, class 3-A huddled around the common room in their hiding places with the lights off while they waited for the three boys to come back.
At 5:00 PM on the dot, the common room doors were thrown open by Katsuki, followed by his friends. As soon as he flipped the light switch on, everyone jumped out of their hiding places and shouted forms of "Happy Birthday" with their preferred name for Katsuki. Izuku was by far the loudest and most enthusiastic of the bunch.
Wearing his black skull shirt and baggy pants, Katsuki rolled his eyes at their display.
"You're a bunch of idiots." He said with a brief smile. It was so tiny that it was barely noticeable, but Izuku saw it.
Mina ran over to him and slapped a plastic crown on Katsuki's head, barely dodging his attempt to smack her away.
Running behind Kirishima to use him as a shield, she boasted, "A crown for our birthday boy: King Explosion Murder. Doesn't he look great, guys?"
Stifling his laughter behind his hand, Kirishima further blocked Mina from Katsuki.
"He looks manly, that's for sure."
"Really, Shitty Hair," Katsuki sighed dramatically. "You're really gonna gang up on me like this? And I thought we were friends."
Kirishima gasped audibly, "Really, bro?"
"No." Katsuki smirked.
The redhead deflated at the denial but he knew that his friend was just trying to get to him like Mina had to Katsuki.
"Mhm, sureee."
Iida raised his voice to get the class's attention. "Settle down now, everyone! It's time to eat right now. Afterwards, we'll each distribute our gifts to Bakugo."
The class settled down after the Class Rep scolded them. Then they headed to the kitchen to eat the takeout.
At the table, Izuku saw Katsuki smile again and he felt himself smile as a result.
He was so far gone for his childhood friend but he didn't mind it. It was just a part of him now as any. Izuku Midoriya would always love Katsuki Bakugo and that was a fact.
-
When it was time to hand out presents, Izuku started fidgeting nervously as he waited for his turn. There were presents ranging from a cookbook(Todoroki), a punching bag (Kirishima), a coupon to a restaurant known for its spicy dishes(Sero), to new drum sticks(Jiro).
The longer time went on, the more he started to spiral thinking about how Katsuki could possibly react to his present. He could dislike his gift and not say so. He could dislike his gift and outright say so. He could even dislike it so much that he would decide to explode it in front of him. The last one he knew wouldn't happen; Katsuki hadn't done something like that in a long while. But he couldn't help but be anxious, it was just how he was.
After Katsuki opened Uraraka's gift (the second to last one), it was Izuku's turn. Katsuki had reacted well to all the gifts he had received. He had even liked Uraraka's gift so much that he changed his earrings right then and there to the ones she had gotten him. Izuku hoped that his gift exchange would go well too.
"So, Deku," he said as he looked at the nervous boy. "Let's see what your nerdy ass got me."
Hesitantly, Izuku walked over to him and handed the present to him. Their fingertips brushed shortly as he handed it over and it only increased his already racing heart.
Blushing, he averted his eyes from the piercing ruby stare and murmured "Here, Kacchan. I hope you like it." Then he rushed back to his seat on the couch, next to Uraraka.
Everyone watched as Katsuki neatly opened the present in All Might wrapping paper. All of them were awaiting his reaction.
With the wrapping paper set into the pile that had accumulated during the present opening, he opened the box the gift was in. He stared at the bomber jacket for a while before he finally lifted it out of the box. He turned it side to side as he inspected it, his stare concentrated.
Seeing that Katsuki was examining his present a lot longer than he did the others, Izuku's state of anxiousness only increased.
"Does he not like it? I thought he would, but maybe I had gotten it all wrong," Izuku muttered to himself.
Before he could spiral even more, he realized Katsuki was attempting to speak to him.
"Deku," He said slowly, "Thank you. It's cool or whatever."
Relieved that Katsuki didn't hate his present, Izuku smiled brightly. "I'm glad. I'm really glad."
The party lasted for a while longer, but once it was 8 PM everyone dispersed back to their room so the explosive boy could get his beauty sleep.
-
Back in his room, Izuku laid in his bed thinking about the day.
Katsuki liked his gift! He was so happy that he had liked the thing he had gotten him. It was last minute, but he always had trouble thinking of what to get the other boy (he wasn't very vocal about his likes afterall). Maybe that's why he never admitted that the people in their class were his friends. He had basically admitted it to Kirishima earlier, though.
Kirishima. That's right, he and Kacchan were really close, closer than what Katsuki had allowed Izuku to be.
How were they different, really? Izuku was just as nice as Kirishima, had tried to be his friend even more than he had, and yet Katsuki let down his walls for him and not Izuku. He knew that Katsuki considered Kirishima to be his best friend, but that didn't mean he wasn't jealous that it wasn't him.
There was a difference though, he knew that. Kirishima only held platonic feelings for Katsuki. Izuku, however, loved Katsuki romantically. He had for a long time.
'Maybe he knows', Izuku thought. 'Maybe he knows and that's why he doesn't let me close.'
"Well," he said out loud, "I don't blame him. If I knew somebody liked me and I didn't like them back, I wouldn't do anything to seem as if I were leading them on. Maybe that's what he's doing?"
A firm but soft knock sounded at his door.
"Who's there?" Izuku shouted through the door.
"It's me," A voice replied. The voice belonged to none other than Katsuki.
Sitting up on his bed, he walked over to the door to open it.
He started the conversation, "Hey. What's up?" He can't say he expected Katsuki to be there, but he's not unhappy about the development.
"Wanted to see you. Got a problem with that?" Katsuki inquired.
Lightly laughing, Izuku opened the door and motioned for him to come in. "Not at all. Just wasn't expecting you to, that's all."
Izuku sat on his bed as Katsuki pulled his chair out from his desk.
"So," Izuku said. "How was your birthday? Eighteen is an important age milestone."
"It was alright. Got some good food and some good presents, but there's something else that could make it even better."
"Oh?" Izuku questioned. "And what would that be?"
It was weird of Katsuki to be so forward about something he wanted, so hearing him say there was something that he would want to make his day even better was out of character for him.
"Glad you asked. But first, come over here for a second, yeah?"
Curiosity peaked even more, Izuku walked over to him as requested.
Pulling Izuku onto his lap, he smirked. "I really liked your present, ya know. Loved the colors of the jacket, too. It's a nice combination, don't you think?"
Blushing at the sudden contact with his crush, Izuku stuttered out, "U-Um yeah. I thought so, too."
Aware of the blushing boy's reaction, Katsuki got even closer to him as he tried to see just how much he could make the other look like a strawberry.
"I specifically loved the green. Wanna know what shade of green is even better, nerd?"
Desperately avoiding eye contact with him at this point, Izuku stared at one of the figures he had bought earlier in the day.
"What's that, Kacchan?" he humored him.
"The color of your eyes," he heard Katsuki answer. "They're a forest green, and when you get determined it's almost as if I can see fire in them. A fire that sets the forest ablaze."
That was kinda poetic, Izuku thought. He had never heard him say something like that before, had never heard him compliment someone so openly before. The fact that it was him made it even more surprising.
Looking back at Katsuki, he pressed his hand against his forehead. "Kacchan," he asked, "Are you okay? Did something you ate make you sick or something? You're acting weird."
Rolling his eyes, Katsuki took Izuku's hand off his forehead. "No. I'm not sick, you moron. I'm just doing something I should've done a long time ago."
Now Izuku was even more confused. Something he should've done a long time ago? What did he mean? He only complimented him.
"Maybe he's just trying to be nicer to me," he mumbled to himself.
Katsuki chuckled at that, "Man, you're dense. And they say I'm emotionally oblivious."
An offended gasp.
"Emotionally oblivious? How does that apply to me?"
"Oh my God. Are you shitting me right now, Deku? Am I really gonna have to spell it out for you?"
"Yes, Kacchan. You're confusing me here!"
"Fine," he relented. "I like you, dumbass."
Izuku froze at that.
"Really?" He asked. "So it wasn't unrequited afterall."
"Nah, it wasn't unrequited. Just thought I'd shoot my shot tonight. Clearly you weren't going to." Katsuki teased.
"Hey! How would you know that? Maybe I was planning to confess." Izuku replied as coolly as he could manage.
"Mhm, sureee." The statement was dripping with sarcasm. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Deku. Now shut up and kiss me."
"Hmph. Maybe I will." He puffed out his freckled cheeks, then grabbed Katsuki's face and kissed him.
He wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste.