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Katsuki could still hear Izuku's voice, broken in pitch, even after he had left through the same door Katsuki was currently staring at. The last words Izuku said to him played in his mind like a broken record and the words he'd said in return were like the loud screeching stop to it all.
What he and Izuku had was something that couldn't be put into words. They were just them, and they were doing fine(he thought they were at least-). But the argument from almost a week ago proved otherwise, he supposed.
Katsuki wasn't the best with words, he never had been. Words were more like tools to him, the right ones were able to get him what he wanted when needed, but the less there were, the better for him. He was a firm believer in actions and he thought Izuku knew that; he thought he knew what he was signing himself up for when he entered a relationship with Katsuki Bakugo: The Emotionally Constipated Gremlin(as Mina liked to call him), but he was apparently wrong in assuming so.
He was wrong more than he'd like to admit.
****
Katsuki had been sitting at home watching old horror movies on his and Izuku's TV in their shared apartment when he'd received a phone call. It wasn't unusual for him to get a call late at eleven o'clock at night, he had expected it at that point.
He lifted his arm up off the arm of the couch where it had been resting, and stretched to reach for the TV remote. He paused the movie and stuck his hand into his sweatpants pocket to get his phone.
As he expected, the caller was none other than his boyfriend. He softly smiled in the darkness of their living room at Izuku's caller picture. The moment captured was of Izuku laughing as he faced the camera, his dimples showing, and his smile infectious. In the darkness of their living room Katsuki knew that no one else was there to call him out on it, so he didn't bother to hide it. Then he pressed the familiar green accept button next to the red decline one.
"Hey, nerd," he spoke in a tone that was just for Izuku. "What's up, are you done with patrol for the night?"
He heard soft panting letting him know that Izuku was walking home in the chilly fall weather. He was relaxed just hearing him breathe, just coexisting with him.
"Yeah, I'm done for the day," Izuku responded between his panting breaths.
His tone was different, however. He seemed upset for some reason, and that set Katsuki off.
He started to shift on the couch into a proper upright position causing his blond hair to brush the couch cushions as he did. He had decided to sit properly as he realized their talk was going to be a serious one.
"What's wrong, Deku? Did something bad happen at work?" He asked, concerned.
"Nope, nothing happened at work. No worries there," Izuku said.
He took a bit longer than usual to respond which made Katsuki even more suspicious that something was in fact wrong.
"Okay," he said in a tone that didn't hide his suspicion. "If you said nothing happened at work, I'll believe you. I still think there's something wrong, though. I can hear it in your voice."
Apparently him pointing it out was all Izuku needed to break, because the next thing Katsuki heard was sniffles that could only mean Izuku had started crying.
"You're right. There is something wrong." Izuku affirmed, his voice wet.
"I thought so. So are you gonna tell me what it is?" Katsuki questioned him carefully. He didn't like hearing Izuku cry, so he tried to make a little joke to lighten the mood a bit, "If someone bothered you or something, you know I won't hesitate to kick their ass, right?"
He got a small chuckle for his effort, but the silent sobs still continued as Izuku spoke. "Thank you, Kacchan. Really."
Katsuki could hear the traffic on Izuku's end of the line as they spoke and he found it a bit annoying because it was making the call slightly muffled.
Before he could start to ask Izuku what was wrong again, Izuku continued to speak. "I wanted to talk to you, actually. I- um…I think we need to have a talk."
Well shit. That's definitely not what Katsuki was expecting to hear.
Katsuki was still very prideful, so he wouldn't admit to anyone that he was nervous about what Izuku needed to "talk" to him about. Nonetheless, his nervousness showed through in his voice because he couldn't mask it. "Talk? Talk about what, exactly?"
Izuku took a deep breath on his side of the line before he said rather clearly for someone who was crying, "Us. We need to have a talk about us. I'm not going to say anything further about it right now because this is not a conversation fit for a phone call."
Katsuki took in a sharp breath in his panic. "Dek-"
"No, Kacchan," Izuku interrupted him. "We'll continue this conversation when I get home, which shouldn't be too long now, maybe eight minutes at most. Goodbye."
And then Izuku abruptly hung up, ending their conversation all together.
What the fuck? Izuku can't just drop something like that on him and then hang up! What is wrong with him?!
The next eight minutes were spent with Katsuki unmoving on his spot of the couch, the horror movie still paused, and his phone still opened on the end call screen. He continued to blankly stare at the screen as if it were going to suddenly reveal that he hadn't been hung up on and that Izuku wasn't going to come home to have a talk with him about their relationship.
He was in denial about what was to come.
But tragedy waits for no one. Not even Katsuki Bakugo could avoid its clutches.
So hearing the jingling of keys opening their apartment door was inevitable, just like their conversation.
Katsuki turned his head at the sound and stared as the door opened revealing a distraught Izuku. He didn't move from where he was, he just stared at Izuku as he removed his coat and shoes in the entryway.
Once his coat was hung up and his shoes were neatly set in place, Izuku turned his head to look at Katsuki. They made eye contact as they tried to read one another, no words spoken at the moment.
Katsuki saw the sadness in his boyfriend's eyes, but he also saw disappointment, anger, and acceptance. He hated that look. He hated whatever that look meant and whatever had caused it.
Izuku was the one to break the spell that was between them. He made his way over to Katsuki on the couch and sat on the opposite end of where he was. It felt off, the space between them made Katsuki feel as if it were an implication of the distance between them emotionally, something he didn't know if he could fix.
Turning his face towards Katsuki, Izuku looked at the paused movie on the TV, then back to Katsuki again. "Scream, huh?" He asked him, conversationally.
"Yeah."
The silence that followed was awkward. They rarely ever had silence between them; there was usually something to fill it whether it be Izuku's rambles or Katsuki's low humming. When there was silence it was comfortable. Katsuki did not feel comfortable.
"So," Katsuki broke the silence. "What exactly about us needs to be talked about?"
He stared into emerald eyes, trying to read them, to see past the emotions to deeper thoughts he couldn't see. He found he couldn't.
Izuku stared back at him with the beginnings of tears in his beautiful, expressive eyes. "I think we need to break up. Or at least a take a break from one another."
"A break?" Katsuki barked a laugh. "You can't be serious, Deku."
Izuku wasn't laughing. Tears fell down his cheeks while he made no comment to agree with Katsuki.
"You're joking…" Katsuki trailed off as he realized Izuku, in fact, wasn't.
"I'm serious, Kacchan. We- we can't continue like we are now."
"'Like we are now'? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Katsuki's voice broke as he raised it, the desperation starting to set in at the realization that he was losing Izuku.
"It means that I can't handle this anymore! I can't stand not knowing if you really love me! I can't stand the sickening feeling of not knowing! It's killing me, okay? I can't," Izuku drifted off as he sobbed. "I can't…"
"So that's it? You're breaking up with me? You know how I am, you know that I'm not good with emotions. You said you were okay with that! What happened to that, huh? Are you sick of me? Is that what this is?!" Katsuki stood up as he stared down at Izuku.
Izuku stared up at him. "I know emotions are difficult for you, but you know that I need reassurance! I'm not asking you to change, I'm asking for a bit more effort from you. We've been together for half a year and you still have yet to tell me you love me! I was okay with it at first, I tried to understand, but after that long I expected you to say it at least once. You haven't, not once."
"So you're attacking me now? Way to make me the bad guy! Is that how you really see me?" Katsuki had gotten worked up now, too. He felt tears of frustration and hurt in his own eyes, but he refused to let them fall.
Izuku stood up to be level with Katsuki as their argument continued. "I'm not attacking you! I'm just saying that after what happened in our past and the way you treated me that a little reassurance would be nice!"
After realizing what he'd said, Izuku's eyes widened. "I didn't mean-"
No matter how hard Katsuki tried to keep his tears at bay, they started to fall at Izuku's accusation.
"Oh. I get it now," he laughed brokenly. "You're not over middle school, are you? So much for 'I forgave you'. I get it, what I did was fucked up. I was an asshole, I still am. Is that what you wanted to hear? I already told you I'm sorry for that. I've been trying to make up for it!" Tears were streaming down his face now, mirroring Izuku's.
"No! I did forgive you for that. I was just saying that I didn't want us to be like that again because of miscommunication." Izuku was pleading with him at that point, regretting what he had said, but still wanting to prove his point.
"'Be like that again'? You really think I'd go back to that?" Katsuki made sure he didn't hide the hurt and anger in his voice.
"That's not what I meant! Why are you only listening to what you want to hear?" Izuku questioned. He was also hurt. Arguments like these are why he felt they needed a break from one another.
They stared one another down in front of the TV, both of them hurt and angry at the other, and tears streaming down their faces.
"You're the one who's only listening to what he wants to hear. I show you how I feel through actions, does that mean nothing to you?" Katsuki was speaking whatever came to his mind first at that point, defending himself, but not truly thinking. "'You don't want to change me', like hell you don't! You're trying to make me something I'm not. Have you ever considered that it's hard for me to say mushy shit like that? Or are you only thinking about yourself?"
Izuku stared at him in shock. "I'm not thinking only of myself, I'm thinking about us! Clearly you can only think of yourself, Mr. I-don't-do-mushy-bullshit!" His chest was heaving as he got more and more worked up. "Do you even want this relationship? Is that why you don't tell me you love me, because you actually don't?"
Katsuki saw as Izuku's eyes became dull, whatever small amount of light in them was there at the start of their conversation was gone. It was like he had given up, and Katsuki knew then what the acceptance was there for when he saw it before he sat beside him on the couch.
"Of course I care about you!" Katsuki yelled, outraged.
"'Care'."
"What?" Red eyes stared at Izuku in confusion.
"You said care, not love." Izuku pointed out.
"What does that have to do with anything? I said I care about you, isn't that enough?"
"If you really want this relationship not to end, tell me you love me. It's three words, Kacchan, it's not that hard." Izuku stared at him expectantly. He was giving Katsuki an out, a way to fix what was breaking slowly.
Katsuki gazed at Izuku who was waiting for him to say those three words, but he still couldn't bring himself to voice them. "I…I can't."
Izuku's tears stopped falling and he wiped them with the sleeve of his black shirt. He had none left to shed. "Alright, then. We're done here. I'm going to go to Shoto's for the night."
He started walking away from the couch, but before he could, Katsuki grabbed his wrist.
"You're leaving?" He asked him. He didn't want to believe that they were over or that they were "taking a break".
Izuku ripped his wrist out of Katsuki's hold as he walked towards the door to put his shoes and coat back on.
"Yes, I'm leaving," He told Katsuki, his voice showed there was nothing to argue on that fact.
Katsuki watched him as he got dressed for leaving, still in denial.
With one last effort to make him stay with him instead of going to their friend's, he asked him, "What happened to 'I'll stay with you forever, Kacchan?'"
Izuku turned around to face him one last time as he addressed him. "Well, I realized I just couldn't keep going on like this. Something needs to happen. It's unfair. For both of us."
When Katsuki didn't respond, he pulled the keys out of his pocket and opened the door. "Goodbye, Kacchan. At least for now." As an afterthought, he added, "Don't call."
And then he left.
Katsuki looked at the door for several unblinking minutes. He was in a daze, disbelieving that what had happened wasn't a nightmare. Because that's what this was, right? A nightmare. Izuku had left him. He had left him saying that they were taking a break from one another. He had said that it was Katsuki's fault.
It couldn't be true. Izuku had told him he loved him several times. Katsuki loved Izuku.
So why did he leave?
Oh, that's right, because Katsuki didn't say those three specific words.
Katsuki hadn't told Izuku that he loved him before, but he had thought his loving gestures had said it for him.
They were happy together, weren't they? They had fights here and there, sure, but they loved one another. Katsuki had never loved anyone else, couldn't if he wanted to. Izuku was it for him. He refused to believe that they were done, for however long Izuku felt.
Izuku. Izuku Izuku Izuku.
Why was it that Izuku was the one who decided to take a break? Why did he assume he could make that decision by himself? They were partners in every sense of the word, so why did he choose to end it, just like that?
Fuck him, honestly. How dare he! How dare he fuck with Katsuki's emotions like that and leave him with his heart in pieces.
Katsuki doesn't care or love him? Bullshit! If Izuku loved him like he claimed so many times before, then how could he leave him? Izuku promised him forever, did that mean nothing to him?
He was heartbroken; he was furious. He was pissed.
Katsuki walked into the kitchen over to the sink where their recently cleaned dishes lay. He had washed them an hour before he started watching Scream, so they were dry by then.
He looked at them and all he could think about were the times they shared together in the kitchen, eating, talking, and overall being happy together.
He remembered the day they had thrown bubbles at one another as Izuku was washing the dishes and he was drying them. The perfect unit, they were. It had been an accident at first, Izuku had dropped a dish into the water because it had slipped from his grasp, and the result was the water splashing up onto Katsuki. He had apologized to him profusely, but Katsuki found it rather amusing. He reached into the sink where there were bubbles covering the dishes, a smirk creeping into his face, and then he splashed back at Izuku in retaliation. "Ha! Payback!" He had told him. Izuku just laughed at the situation, but he wasn't one to back down. He splashed Katsuki again, on purpose that time, and it had verged into an all out splashing competition to see who could get the other the most wet. They had laughed and smiled and held one another as they fell to the floor in a fit.
The moments they shared together were the best memories Katsuki had.
But Katsuki was angry right then. He stared at the dishes, and the memories they brought fueled his rage.
He picked up a plate, inspected it, then threw it to the floor, shattering it. It lay on the floor in several pieces, and Katsuki felt that it quite represented his heart at the moment: fractured by the force of someone's hand.
He knew that breaking the plate was uncalled for, but he needed an outlet; he couldn't contain himself.
He picked up another plate, and smashed that one too. Then another, and another, and another.
Several smashed plates later, he looked at his hands and noticed that he had gotten cut from the broken glass. The cut wasn't too deep, nothing compared to the way Izuku had hurt him, but he knew that he had to disinfect it and take care of it, lest it get infected.
He made his way into their bathroom to the cupboard for the first aid kit. As he wrapped his hand, he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like a mess. His eyes were red-rimmed, tear tracks still on his face, and a single tear fell from his eye. He wiped it away harshly with his good hand.
Katsuki never thought his day off would end like it did. Well, he guessed his day off was technically over now, as it was one o'clock in the morning.
After he had thoroughly patched up his hand, he made his way back into the bedroom. Their bedroom.
He stared at their bed and it only made him feel more upset. He was alone. It was king-sized with so much space, and yet that space wouldn't be fully occupied if he were to sleep there by himself.
The longer he stared at it, the more he felt he couldn't sleep there. Not without Izuku. He just couldn't.
So he changed into his sleep clothes, a black tank top and striped pajama pants, then made his way back to the couch.
It felt wrong being on the couch, too, but it was better than laying in their bed by himself knowing the reason the left side was empty.
He shifted his position on the couch several times before he gave up falling asleep naturally. His thoughts were running wild, and he knew that no matter how upset he was, he still had patrol in the morning that he couldn't miss.
With that thought, he resumed the movie from where he had paused it. It felt like forever ago now. He went through the rest of the first Scream and part of the second one before he was able to fall asleep.
****
After almost a week, there was still no word from his boyfriend. Could he still call him that? He didn't know if they were over or on a break, or whatever else, but not calling Izuku his boyfriend felt wrong either way. Even if it was just in his head.
He stared blankly at their apartment door yet again, something he had been doing a lot since Izuku had left. He didn't know why he was doing it, probably because he was waiting for Izuku to walk through it saying all was well and that they were still together. But that didn't happen.
He had called Shoto three days after he and Izuku fought, and to his relief Shoto said Izuku was indeed staying at his place, and that all things considered, he was doing fine.
That was good, Izuku hadn't hurt himself by throwing himself into work to distract himself like he was known to do. It eased his mind a bit, knowing that he was okay. He didn't know what he'd do if he would have hurt himself in his distraught state of mind. Especially knowing that Katsuki would be the one to blame for it.
However, Shoto hadn't told him much else about Izuku's state. He told him that as a friend to both of them, they needed to get their shit together. To say the least, he wasn't happy by the end of that phone call.
As he stared, looking at their apartment door, hoping Izuku would come home, he was reminded of how no matter where he looked in their apartment, every room, every object, every corner was haunted by the memories of Izuku.
The most recent memory being their living room where they had fought and this whole predicament had arose.
Katsuki had tried to go about his days normally, but with each passing one, the more he was off his game. Eijiro, Mina, and even Ochako had noticed that he was slacking. He had told himself that he wouldn't let it interfere with work, but who was he kidding, Izuku was his life. Without his constant chatter and affection, Katsuki was just a shell of himself.
It was his own fault they were where they were, though. All because Katsuki couldn't sort out his emotions to save his life. There was no denying that he loved Izuku, but he just wasn't able to voice it when the need arose.
For the longest time he didn't even know what love was, let alone how to embrace it. But he knew he loved Izuku more than anything, so he showed it in his actions. He was hesitant to use the L-word because he felt that that, above all else, was a serious matter. Saying it out loud would mean commitment, yet he was committed to Izuku. Honestly, he didn't know why he hadn't outright said it to him.
So here he was, a broken relationship and a shattered heart later, realizing that he should have voiced his thoughts more. He could have, but it was hard for him.
He's aware that he told Izuku he wouldn't change himself or his personality for him, but their argument had made him realize he could change his actions without changing himself as a person. If doing so would bring Izuku back to him, he would do it. It wouldn't be a burden to him to do so.
-
When their time apart had reached the one week mark, Katsuki had just about lost it.
Katsuki loved silence most of the time, don't get him wrong, but silence in their otherwise usually lively apartment just felt wrong. He found himself wishing Izuku was there. He wished for his touch. He wished for his voice. Hell, he even wished for his scent. The apartment was theirs, not just Katsuki's, for fucks sake!
The whole week he avoided their bedroom like the plague unless he needed clothes or to go through it to enter the bathroom. The whole apartment reminded him of what was gone, but the bedroom did even more so. But at that point, it wasn't just their apartment that reminded him Izuku had left, everywhere he looked, everywhere he went, everything he did, he was reminded of his absence. It was unsettling.
Like right then, he was grocery shopping. He was going down the bathroom necessities aisle when he caught a glimpse of the shampoo Izuku used.
Going down the food aisle wasn't much better, either. He saw the ramen branded as extra spicy, and was reminded of the time he had convinced Izuku to eat it with him and Izuku's eyes had watered so bad that he couldn't see where he was going.
When Izuku had stood up to run to the sink and get a glass of water, he had tripped on his own feet and fell. Katsuki had laughed his ass off, of course, but he had also helped his boyfriend back up and fetched him a glass of water. Izuku had pouted at him, refusing to acknowledge Katsuki when he asked him if he was alright with a smirk. When he realized Izuku was being petty about it, he reached his hand over to his face and pinched his freckled cheeks, then puckered them like a fish as he held them. Izuku had still refused to look at him and had humphed at him(the absolute child), until Katsuki kissed him. He had stayed frozen for a bit longer, trying to keep up his angry facade, before he relented and kissed Katsuki back. When they broke apart Katsuki laid pecks all over his face until Izuku started laughing, telling him to stop.
He couldn't even go to the grocery store without being reminded of him! Damn, he was a sentimental idiot, wasn't he?
As he was reminiscing about the spicy ramen incident™, his phone started vibrating in his pants pocket.
His ruby eyes widened when he saw the caller ID. Izuku had told him not to call him, so he didn't expect a call from him either.
He swiftly answered the call, hope filling his being.
"Deku?" He questioned.
He had to make sure that it wasn't a prank, he didn't know what he'd do if it wasn't really Izuku.
"Yeah," Izuku said softly. "It's me…"
Just because Katsuki told himself he would act better didn't mean he wouldn't still be petty at times.
"I thought you didn't want to talk to me? You said not to call." His tone was bitter.
"I know," Izuku sighed sadly. "I missed you."
Katsuki almost hadn't caught that last bit, it was muttered so low, but he did.
He didn't have it in him to make a snarky comment to that, however.
"I missed you, too," he told him. His voice was low, almost as if he believed that speaking any louder would break the moment. "I thought you hated me after you left like that."
He could hear Izuku shifting around from wherever he currently was. "I could never hate you, Kacchan. I love you. I still do. I never stopped, not even once."
Katsuki started walking towards the last item in his list, bread, when he halted at Izuku's words.
"You don't hate me? Are you being serious?"
He continued walking, determined to finish what he needed to do, even if he wanted to give all his attention to the call.
He heard Izuku shuffle around some more."I wouldn't lie about that. I promise."
"Okay," Katsuki said, processing what he had heard. "Okay…"
There was a brief silence between them as they breathed.
"I'm sorry for bringing up what happened in middle school. That was cruel of me, I know how much it effected you." Izuku apologized.
"No!" Katsuki shouted abruptly. At the dirty looks he got from the other shoppers, he lowered his voice. "I'm the one who's sorry. I did do all that shit to you, so you weren't wrong to say that. I know we've been over it before, but I really am sorry, Deku."
Izuku's reply was immediate. "I know, Kacchan. I forgave you for it. That hasn't changed."
Katsuki hummed noncommittally as he picked up the bread he had been looking for(whole wheat because that white breaded crap was dyed and unhealthy as fuck).
"I-" Izuku started, then paused. "The reason I'm calling is because I wanted to talk to you about our argument. I'm at home right now."
Hearing that Izuku was finally back at their apartment, Katsuki dropped the bread in surprise.
"You are?" He asked as he bent down to retrieve the bread.
"Yeah," Izuku confirmed.
"That's good…uh…I'm at the grocery store right now…" Katsuki trailed off as he realized he had chosen the worst time to go grocery shopping. "Will you still be there when I get back? I'm almost done here."
Izuku let out a small chuckle at that. "I'm not going anywhere, Kacchan. I'll still be here when you're done. Promise."
Katsuki could tell that Izuku seemed amused at the situation(that jerk).
"Good. Well, I'm headed to check out right now, so I'mma let you go." He was hesitant to end the call because he didn't fully believe Izuku wouldn't flee, but he still had shit to do, regardless.
"Alrighty. Bye."
"Bye."
Katsuki hung up on him feeling a bit better. He hoped that the opportunity Izuku was giving him would let him say the things he needed to.
Thirty minutes later, Katsuki was standing at their apartment door. He stared at it for about a minute, preparing himself mentally for facing Izuku. After he had psyched himself up, he got out his keys from his coat pocket and opened the door.
The sight that he saw once it was opened made his heart rate pick up speed.
Izuku was reclined on the couch with Scream three on the TV. He looked relaxed and at home, like he should be. It was almost as if their argument hadn't happened, but Katsuki knew better than that.
"Hi," Izuku sat up as he reached for the remote, pausing the movie. "I hope you don't mind, I got a little bored." He smiled at Katsuki, his hands resting on his knees.
"'S' fine." Katsuki grumbled.
He made his way over to Izuku, and he sat on the opposite side of the couch compared to a week earlier.
Izuku stared at him fondly, which confused the hell out of Katsuki. Wasn't he just mad at him awhile ago?
"You seem to be in a better mood." He pointed out.
"Yeah," Izuku's face dropped his smile, but he wasn't acting guarded, so that was a good sign. "I had a lot of time to think about our argument this past week."
Katsuki only hoped that meant good things.
"Me, too." He revealed. He stared into emerald eyes, and he finally felt at home.
They stared at one another, waiting for the other to say something.
Funnily enough, both of them ended up speaking at the same time.
"I'm sorry for-"
"Fuck, I'm sorry."
"Oh," Izuku laughed at the silliness of it. "You can go first." He urged him.
"Alright," Katsuki took his chance. "I'm sorry that I made you feel unloved, that wasn't my intention, and I never wanted that. I hate myself for not realizing that myself."
"Kacchan-"
"No," Katsuki cut him off. "Don't apologize for my actions. I knew that you need reassurance, but I was unintentionally putting my needs before your own by not communicating my thoughts with you. So I'm sorry that you felt unloved. I do love you, trust me. I love you more than anything, and being away from you was unbearable. I felt like I couldn't breathe properly."
Izuku let Katsuki catch his breath before he started to speak. "Thank you, Kacchan, honestly. I'm beyond happy to hear those words, but I'm also sorry I pushed you into doing so. I realize now that I was being selfish. I knew that you have trouble with emotions, and even though I do admit that I was dying to hear those words from you, I feel terrible for forcing you to do so."
"You didn't force anythi-" Katsuki started to argue.
"Yes, I did," Izuku stopped him, midsentence. "I did, and it was wrong of me. You aren't the only one who's selfish, okay?"
Katsuki sighed in defeat. He knew Izuku was a determined motherfucker, so arguing was pointless.
"I know I already said it earlier, on the phone, but I really did miss you, Izuku." Hearing the hitch in Izuku's breath, he continued. "Every little thing reminded me of you. You consumed all of my thoughts, and I'm not even mad about it. That argument needed to happen, I know that now. It hurt like a bitch hearing all that, but it was necessary."
Izuku stared at him bashfully. "I feel awful for hurting you. Leaving you that night was one of the hardest things I've done in my life. I was afraid I'd make it worse by leaving, but staying felt like it would bring nothing but more arguments, so I left. I also had you on my mind constantly. Everything brought me back to you, to us and our memories. The happy ones, the sad ones, they all make up who we are, and they mean everything to me. I don't want to go on if you aren't there making memories with me."
"That's fine," Katsuki smiled genuinely at him. "You're allowed to be selfish. It needed to happen. I think that it will just make us even stronger now."
"Yeah?" Izuku smiled back at him. "I agree."
Katsuki broke out into chuckles as he stared fondly at Izuku knowing how far they'd come.
"This means we're still together, right?" He stopped his laughter to ask seriously.
"Yes. We're still boyfriends." Izuku confirmed.
"Thank fuck." Katsuki let out a sigh of relief.
It was Izuku's turn then to chuckle at his boyfriend's antics.
"Are you laughing at me?" Katsuki inquired.
"Nope," Izuku said as he struggled to contain himself.
"Oh, really?" Katsuki teased. "I'll give you something to laugh about."
Izuku's eyes widened in realization. "Kacchan…you wouldn't…"
"Hell yeah I would, and I'm gonna. Prepare yourself, nerd." He said seriously.
"Kacchan, no!" Izuku shouted as Katsuki started to tickle him.
"Kacchan, yes." Katsuki said as he laughed at Izuku(the nerd's laughter was infectious).
After awhile, Katsuki stopped tickling Izuku so he could breathe.
"I love you," he told him as he gazed into his eyes.
"I love you, too," Izuku replied.
Unable to resist, Katsuki leant down and kissed the lips he knew were soft.
****
Any time he would see the Scream movies recommended on Netflix, he would flinch remembering the night he had fought with Izuku and had almost lost him in the process. Izuku, however, would just smile at the movies. Katsuki would then be reminded of how they cuddled while watching the horror movies after they had made up.
He was glad Izuku had pointed out what needed to be said when he did. Their argument had only strengthened their relationship and showed that they could withstand a few bumps in their relationship here and then, and they were better for it. They got better at communicating their feelings to one another as a result.
He was beyond happy with Izuku at his side.