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Get a dog, they said.
It’ll be fun, they said.
Izuku didn’t regret getting a companion. If anything, he was ecstatic because it meant he had something to look forward to after long days of patrolling, and someone to cuddle with on lonely nights. Izuku would agree that people were right when they said petting dogs helps de-stress.
What he didn’t anticipate was how chaotic his home life would become when he adopted a two-year-old English Bulldog named Katsudon.
He knew as soon as he saw the name on the plaque on the enclosure that it was fate. His favorite food and his new favorite companion.
In the beginning, things were great. Katsu was a little timid and very quiet, but he loved a good cuddle. They spent the first few days huddled on the couch together in hopes that the dog would acclimate to the new environment.
His little pork cutlet bowl was hilarious when he started to break out of his shell. One moment he’d have so much energy, he’d peel out, running to get his toys. The next, he’d throw his entire body on Izuku and demand love and attention. At first, he’d pictured a dog that would sleep at the foot of the bed. This one slept on his arm, cutting off circulation, while loud snores were directed right into his ear.
He didn’t think about he was out of his depth in adopting a dog when he’d never had experience with animals. He’d always wanted a little best friend growing up, but his mom wouldn’t even allow him to have a pet goldfish. So now that he lived on his own and had the opportunity, he was realizing for the first time how hard it was.
Katsu was extremely needy. He didn’t like to be alone. Izuku was hoping he’d get used to it soon, but at the moment, he couldn’t leave the house or the dog would bark. Going to work was out of the question, otherwise, he might come home to noise complaints from the neighbors.
He was also scared of anything new. If Izuku had gotten a new piece of furniture, or something was out of its normal place, Katsu would know. He’d bark until the item in question was moved and everything was back to the way he was used to.
Walks were out of the question as well. Katsu loved running around the park–catching his ball and then not returning it–but if he went off the leash, Izuku would have to chase him down. Unfortunately, the trips to and from the park were a nightmare too. Katsudon was afraid of every little noise. Even if Izuku only walked him at times when his neighborhood was quiet, the dog kept trying to turn around and go home. At one point, Katsu had wiggled himself out of his harness while trying to walk into the street and ran. After that, Izuku guessed that staying home might be best.
–
He was starting to lose sleep over making sure the dog was comfortable. He had no idea what to do now that he had returned to work. He was just hoping that he wouldn’t come back to absolute chaos.
“You look like shit, nerd,” Katsuki observed as they were in the locker room getting ready for patrol.
“Thanks, Kacchan.” He wasn’t surprised that Katsuki noticed. He noticed everything. “I’m used to sleeping alone, so getting used to someone snoring is a bit of an adjustment.”
Izuku could feel that the atmosphere in the room had changed. The man next to him froze as he was putting on his gauntlets.
“You okay, Kacchan?”
The blonde didn’t look at him, glaring at his locker as he slammed the door closed. “Fucking peachy. Worry about yourself.”
Their patrol was easy. A few small-time villains, but they were taken in without any real issues. Izuku would say it was a good day if it weren’t for the cold shoulder he was receiving from his partner. Katsuki didn’t say a word to him unless it involved their current task. He had no idea what he’d done to piss the blonde off, but he didn’t like being on his hero partner’s bad side.
He was finishing up paperwork at the agency, thinking about Katsu. He’d hoped everything was okay. After the emotional rollercoaster that Kacchan forced him on, he just wanted to cuddle. He hoped that the dog would want that too. He was lost in thought thinking about what he needed to get Katsu when he was approached by Pinky.
“Hey, Mido!” Mina came up to his desk and sat on the corner. She must have finished up her shift already because she had changed into her civilian clothes. “How’s it going?”
Izuku sighed. “I’m doing okay, almost done with paperwork!” He was truly grateful that slow days meant less paperwork.
“Great! I’m actually here because a few of us were going out for drinks later. Denki wants to make Blasty do karaoke, so we’re getting a group together. Wanna come?”
That did sound fun, but he couldn’t leave Katsudon alone all day. He was afraid of what disaster he’d come back to.
“I’m sorry, but I’m a little busy tonight. Maybe next time!”
Mina’s happy demeanor fell a bit and she pouted, “Aww that’s a bummer, we were really hoping you’d come!”
Izuku started cleaning up his desk, working around Mina, “I really am sorry. I wish I could, but it’s important.”
“No worries honey! Anyway, I gotta go, Ei’s waiting for me downstairs. See ya later!”
Once she left, Izuku ran to change out of his costume, unaware of red eyes staring him down.
–
As soon as he put his key in the lock, he heard barking. When he pried the door open, he saw Katsudon from his perch on the arm of the couch and he fell in love again. The dog realized who he was and got down from the disheveled couch to greet him. He didn’t have much of a tail, more like a little nub, but it was so cute seeing his little butt wiggle in excitement.
After Katsu was fed and taken outside for some fresh air, he went to lie down on the couch. He heard the tap tap of nails hitting the wood floors as Katsu followed. Izuku made a space in between his arm and his body, inviting the dog to lie down with him and laughed as the dog just flopped into his arms, resting his head on his chest. After the day he had, he didn’t want to feel so alone.
“Katsu, what did I do to make Kacchan so angry with me?”
He looked down to see the dog’s squished face and Izuku thought he'd die from such a cute sight. His usual grumpy face turned into the most adorable pout, reminding him of another grumpy person in his life.
“I don’t know if you’d like Kacchan. You’re both very stubborn, but also big softies underneath,” he confessed, playing with the dog’s velvety soft ears.
He sighed, letting himself drift off on the couch, Katsudon joining him as well, snoring loudly in his arms.
–
Izuku woke to the sound of someone pounding on his door. As soon as the noise started, Katsudon went berserk. He wiggled out of Izuku’s hold to stand on his chest, barking at the person who dared disturb their slumber. He knew the dog would keep barking as long as the noise continued, but he didn’t know how Katsu would react to a new person in his space. He quickly put the dog in his room, turned on the lights, and shut the door, hoping that he would calm down. It probably wasn’t the best solution, but Izuku was too busy panicking to think.
He ran to the front door, opening it just a smidge.
“Hey–” He said, very out of breath.
He was glad he put Katsu in his room because Katsuki shoved the door open and walked in without invitation.
“Why the fuck did it take you forever to answer your fucking door?” He yelled, throwing his shoes off at the genkan and stomping inside like he owned the place.
“Sorry Kacchan, I just wasn’t expecting anyone to come by.” Izuku followed Katsuki, trying to keep him away from the hallway leading to his room. “Weren’t you going to karaoke with everyone else?”
“Like hell I’d go with them.” Katsuki grumbled, peeking into the kitchen.
“Okay, then why are you here?”
The blonde’s head snapped towards him, red eyes glaring, “What are you hiding from me, Deku?”
“Huh?” Izuku’s head tilted in confusion. Why was Kacchan so mad?
“Someone else is here… And why the fuck does your apartment look like a disaster zone?”
He looked around. He had to agree, his floors had spots from Katsu’s constant drooling and the dog made a mess of the blankets and cushions on the couch. To top it off, he also had boxes from all the things he had to buy Katsu strewn all over the place. He really needed to clean.
“What do you mean?”
Katsuki pushed past him and started investigating the apartment, looking for something, but he didn’t know what. When he got to the door to his bedroom, Izuku freaked out.
“NO! KACCHAN DON’T OPEN THAT!”
He tried to intervene, but he was too late. Katsuki slammed the door open and stood there, staring at the scene before him: There was a crate set up with a fluffy bed next to Izuku’s dresser and a set of pet stairs leading up to his bed. Katsudon had gotten onto Izuku’s bed, backing himself into the pillows, and was barking defensively at Katsuki.
Suddenly, Katsuki’s attitude changed. His defense fell and he looked… confused.
“Since when did you get a dog?”
“A couple of weeks ago. Remember when I took that week off? I needed to help him adjust. It’s why I’ve been working shorter shifts.”
“I thought you went to visit your mom.”
“Well I did, and then we went to the shelter. That’s where I got Katsu.”
“Katsu?”
While they were talking, the dog never ceased his barking. Katsuki started to get closer, but he was clearly bothered by the blonde being in his space, so he moved slowly.
“Yeah, his name was Katsudon. I thought it was fate.”
“Fucking nerd.” Katsuki huffed, but he could see a smile forming on the corner of the blonde’s mouth.
Katsuki had his hand out for Katsu to see. Izuku was hoping he wouldn’t bite Katsuki. He hadn’t bitten anyone before, but Katsuki wasn’t the most gentle person, and Katsudon’s skittish nature might cause him to lash out.
To his surprise, the dog calmed down rather quickly after smelling his hand, letting Katsuki pet him.
“Oh wow.” Izuku let out a sigh of relief, sitting down on the bed. “I didn’t think he’d like you.”
“Heh?!” Katsuki gave him an incredulous look but kept petting behind the dog’s ears.
“I–I didn’t mean that! I just meant that you’re loud and aggressive and he’s scared of everyone and everything and especially doesn’t like new things, and you were–”
Everything was fine. Katsuki sat down on the bed and Katsudon started wiggling his butt just like he did for Izuku, only he seemed to be more excited over the blonde than he’d ever been for him.
Izuku giggled, “I think he likes you.”
“Fuck you. I’m likable.” Katsuki growled, but there was no bite to it, making Izuku giggle even more as they both pet a very happy puppy.
–
Katsuki offered to make dinner. Something simple because Izuku hadn’t had a lot of time to buy groceries. He leaned on the counter next to Katsuki, watching as he chopped vegetables with more finesse than he ever could.
“Hey, Kacchan?”
“What?”
“Why were you mad at me today?”
“I wasn’t fucking mad.”
“But you were. You didn’t talk to me all day,” he argued. “Then you came into my apartment assuming I wasn’t alone. What was that about?”
“S’nothing.” He grumbled.
“It is, though. You were mean to me all day and I just had to sit and wonder what I did wrong. It hurt, Kacchan.” Izuku pushed the matter. He wasn’t going to drop it when they had been doing so well. They rarely fought about anything anymore, and when they did it was usually about trivial things. Izuku didn’t want to lose the progress they’d made.
Kacchan ignored him. So he was gonna have to piece everything together himself. Great.
He thought back to what was said before patrol because that’s when it all started. He remembered being told he looked like shit. And then telling Katsuki that he wasn’t used to the snoring.
Wait.
He didn’t know about Katsudon yet. So that means he thought it was someone else’s snoring. That Izuku was sleeping with someone.
Was Katsuki… jealous?
“Kacchan, did you think I was sleeping with someone?”
“...No.” Katsuki turned his head away from Izuku. He was lying.
“I wasn’t thinking when I brought up the snoring this morning.” He tried to explain, “Katsu snores in my ear every night, but I hadn’t told you about him yet. Why would you be angry about that?”
“I’m not–I mean, I wasn’t.” Katsuki said with a strained voice. He wasn’t telling the truth.
“What? Do you not want me to see anyone, Kacchan?”
There was a pause, and then a loud noise. Izuku jumped as Katsuki slammed his hands on the counter on both sides of him, caging him in.
“FINE! You want to know if I was jealous? I was fucking livid at the thought of you being with someone else!”
Izuku was taken aback by the statement.
“Kacchan… likes me?”
“Izuku, I’m fucking in love with you! I have been for a long time! You’ve always been fucking oblivious to every move I tried to make!”
His heart stopped. Was this real? Kacchan liked him back. Kacchan loved him.
He couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
“Fuck, don’t cry nerd.” He hugged Izuku, running his fingers through emerald curls. “It’s not a big deal.”
Izuku was shocked. He pulled away slightly, looking Katsuki in the eye. “Wha–What do you mean ‘It’s not a big deal?’ It is! Kacchan loves me!”
“You don’t have to–” Izuku knew what Katsuki was going to say, and he needed to stop that immediately.
“I love Kacchan too.”
Katsuki stared at him incredulously, but when Izuku didn’t back down, he saw the blonde relax.
Izuku brought his hands up, cupping his Kacchan’s face in his hands. They stared lovingly into each other’s eyes, drifting closer and closer until their lips were almost touching.
BARK BARK
They looked down to see Katsu staring at them, probably begging for food.
“Damn brat.”
–
Spring was in full bloom and the cherry blossom trees were shedding their flowers. It was a nice day to spend at the park. Izuku walked hand in hand with his boyfriend as the blonde walked Katsudon. Turns out that the dog wasn’t as scared with the both of them on walks. He was still skittish around cars and he was on alert in the noisier parts of the neighborhood, but he loved all of the attention he would get from people.
They found a large grassy area and set down a small blanket for them to sit on. Izuku sat down and opened his bag, taking out some water bottles and bentos, while Katsuki let Katsudon off the leash. Izuku grabbed a ball from the bottom of the bag and handed it to Katsuki, who threw the ball for the overexcited dog.
“He’s not gonna bring it back, you know. You’re gonna have to chase him.”
Katsuki shrugged, giving Izuku sly smirk. “S’okay. Not like he can outrun me.”
To Izuku’s surprise, Katsu came back with the ball. He didn’t immediately drop it, but when Katsuki told him to, Katsu didn’t fight it.
“He’s an angel around you.” He threw the ball, watching as Katsudon bolted after it. “He doesn’t listen to me, like at all. But he’ll listen to everything you tell him to do.”
“Maybe you’re too soft with him.” Katsuki gruffed, sitting on the blanket next to Izuku and opening one of the water bottles.
“Maybe you should spend more time at my place.” He just wanted to spend more time with his boyfriend, but a less chaotic Katsu was a bonus.
“Hmmm. Or maybe…” Katsuki started, wrapping an arm around Izuku’s waist, “you both should come live with me.”
Izuku looked up at Katsuki, eyes wide in awe. He wasn’t expecting that.
“You mean it?”
Katsuki kissed his forehead, looking at him with so much love in his eyes. “Of course, nerd.” He smirked, “I don’t do shit I don’t wanna do.”
“Okay.” He smiled. “I think we can make that happen.”