Work Text:
Physically, Izuku was okay.
Mentally though… that was another story.
Sitting in his assigned seat on the plane was something he’s done countless times before. Times where nothing had gone wrong and they had gotten the plane in the air and to their destination safely every time, without fail.
He knew this was safer than driving in a car. There were studies done, research and data collected. He’s read it all online, how it’s safe and the probability of something going awry has decreased more and more each year with the advancement of technology.
But there’s just something in his head that doesn’t let him believe all these facts.
So here he is, sitting in his assigned seat with the seatbelt pulled across his lap about as tight as it can go, his headphones in and music turned on. The person next to him hasn’t sat down in their seat yet, and Izuku hopes that they don’t show up. It’s always better if there isn’t someone next to him so he can silently freak out without judgment, but he isn’t as lucky as he hopes.
A tall, ash blonde man sits next to him after stowing their bag in the overhead compartment. The guy sits without even glancing his way, immediately getting on his phone from what Izuku can see from his periphery.
The man has pretty facial features, red eyes that scowl at his phone with his mouth pulled down in a pout. He seems to be around the same age as Izuku so maybe he’s going home for the summer too from university.
Izuku is too shy to ask the man though, and frankly too nervous to even talk to anyone for that matter. He just wants to get through this flight and get home to his mom in Japan as quickly and painlessly as he can.
It isn’t long after his seatmate sits down before they close the doors to the airplane and the stewardesses start the safety demonstration they have to do for every flight. Izuku never pays attention to this, instead opting to listen to music instead and message his mom that he’ll be making his way back home soon. As usual, she wishes for a safe flight for him before he turns his phone on airplane mode and starts to get as comfortable in his seat as he can as the plane starts to back out of the gate and to the runway.
There’s this moment before a plane takes off where it sits at the end of the runway, completely still, before the captain gets the okay to take off. Izuku thinks this is the worst part. His anxiety always heightens, his leg slightly bouncing while he tries his best not to look out the window.
Eventually the plane starts to move, accelerating as it traverses down the runway and eventually lifting off the ground. Izuku grips the armrests tightly, trying not to show his panic too much as the plane is hit by some turbulence as it rises.
The worst part by far is when the plane starts to turn, trying to get itself going in the correct direction of their destination. The turbulence doesn’t let up yet either, slightly swaying the plane as they’re mid turn. Izuku braves a glance out the window and tries to let the view of the city below ease his mind a little but all he can do is calculate the odds of surviving a fall from this height.
He knows it's a little ridiculous being afraid of planes at his age, and from the fact that he’s flown more time than most people his age ever have. He can’t help it though, and his daily anxiety medication obviously doesn’t do anything for him either.
He’s still deep in thought when he feels a tap on his shoulder, looking over to the blonde man that’s sitting beside him. He finds the other holding their phone out to him, their camera app pulled up. The blonde is pointing at the window and shaking his phone towards Izuku with an annoyed look on his face.
Izuku gets the hint that the guy wants him to take a picture of the scenery outside and tentatively takes the phone from the blonde. He snaps a few pictures of the city below, trying his best to make the pictures look decent for the stranger. When he hands the phone back to the other, the man simply nods and turns back to facing the screen on the seat in front of him.
That was weird, Izuku thinks to himself, but…
But, it actually did help Izuku forget about his anxieties for just a moment, so maybe it actually wasn’t that bad. And the turbulence has settled down by now, the plane still inclining towards its target altitude for the duration of most of the flight.
They announce that large electronics can be brought out and that’s all Izuku needs to pause his music and get his laptop out to pull up his downloaded movies. He scrolls through what movies he has downloaded to find something that can distract him for a little while and eventually he lands on a superhero movie, the newest Spiderman that was released a year or so ago. He’s seen it a few times but really enjoys the whole thing so he presses play and settles in, trying his best to ignore the bumps of the plane.
About halfway through the movie, the stewardesses come by for everyone, passing out the dinner provided by the airlines to everyone. Izuku eagerly accepts, having not eaten anything beforehand due to his anxiety. It’s a simple rice and curry with some vegetables on the side.
Izuku continues to watch his movie while he eats, trying to keep himself distracted as the plane hits small bouts of turbulence still. During one of those moments of turbulence, he looks around the plane and that’s when he notices his seatmate looking directly at Izuku’s laptop.
Izuku realizes pretty quickly that he must be watching the movie along with him, reading the subtitles at the bottom of the screen to follow the story along. He seems really invested in the movie too, prompting Izuku to ever-so-slightly turns his laptop so the other boy can see easier.
The stranger briefly glances up at Izuku with a questioning look to which Izuku just smiles politely. He isn’t snooping or causing any harm so he sees no harm in letting the other watch.
About ten minutes pass like this before Izuku takes it a step further.
Pausing the movie, he takes out one of his earphones and wordlessly holds it out to the other boy. A few seconds pass with the other not saying or doing anything, just staring at the earphone that Izuku is holding out. Eventually, he tears his gaze away to look at Izuku and opens his mouth.
“What are you doing?”
And his voice, his voice, is so raspy Izuku can feel himself falling in love with it even though the man is a complete stranger. A hot one though, Izuku’s mind unhelpfully supplies.
Izuku’s mouth opens and closes a couple times before he can find his voice, “W-well, I saw you were watching and justー just thought you would wanna listen too instead of only reading the subtitles.” He trails off with little confidence in himself.
“Hm,” The stranger thinks, probably thinking Izuku is some sort of crazy with his rambling. “I’ll accept but let me know your name first.”
“Midoriya Izuku.” He replies, easy as breathing. “What’s yours?”
“Bakugo Katsuki.”
“Okay, Bakugo. Would you like to finish this movie with me then?”
The other, Bakugo, takes another second to think, looking between Izuku and then his outstretched hand a couple times before muttering a low fuck it below his breath and grabs the earphone and shoves it in his ear.
Izuku does a little victory dance in his head, only showing his pleasure by smiling again at Bakugo. He turns the laptop a little more so they can both watch comfortably and hits the play button.
They watch the rest of the movie in comfortable silence, both completely focused on the action instead of anything else. Izuku doesn’t even notice when the plane hits turbulence anymore, too focused on watching and enjoying sharing one of his favorite movies with another person.
Eventually the movie ends though, the credits rolling while Bakugo takes his earphone out and hands it back to Izuku, who takes it back from the stranger gently.
“Thank you for letting me watch.” Bakugo rasps out. “The movie was pretty good.”
Izuku lights up at the other’s interest in the movie. “I-it’s no problem, really. It’s one of my favorites. I’m glad you liked it!”
“Tsk,” Bakugo blushes before turning straight ahead again, ”It was okay at best.”
“Sure, whatever you say.” Izuku smiles knowingly to himself. He knows the other liked it better than he says, otherwise why else would he be watching it from a complete stranger’s laptop.
They fall into a comfortable silence then, Bakugo returning to looking at something on the screen in front of him and Izuku scrolling through to see if he can find another show to watch.
He eventually settles on another one he knows, this time a cooking show he and his mom both watch together. It’s cozy and keeps his attention without requiring too much focus, which is how he probably finds himself nodding off. Izuku can’t help it really, the cabin lights are off, leaving the plane cabin dim and the gentle commentary from the cooking show host lulls him into falling asleep.
It’s a dreamless sleep really, nothing special going on. He naps for a couple hours, making the time go faster until they can land. Izuku loves falling asleep on planes for that reason alone.
When he started to wake, he thought to himself his pillow felt really comfortable. More comfortable than he remembered falling asleep on, but he didn’t think about it too much since he was too comfy to move yet.
He drifted through a few more moments of dreamless sleep when he felt his pillow begin to move a little. This caused Izuku to startle a little, immediately shooting up and back into his sleep and fully conscious now.
To his right, Bakugo was looking at him in disinterest. “Did you sleep well, nerd?”
“U-um,” Izuku blushed, his mouth opening and closing a few times while his brain caught up to what happened. He remembers falling asleep, remembers thinking his pillow was comfortable but he didn’t fall asleep with a pillow. Just the small blanket the airlines hand out when you fly with them so then he must’ve been laying on someone’s shoulder.
Someone meaning the only person sitting next to him on this airplane.
The person who he just met approximately three hours ago, Bakugo Katsuki.
Izuku’s blush deepens before he starts stuttering out apologies. “I’m s-so sorry, oh my god. This is so embarrassing. I’m sorry, really. I hope I didn’t bother you too much, andー Oh god, did I drool on you? That’s even worse! You could have woken me up, I’m really so soー”
“Please,” Bakugo cut him off, looking towards the roof in exasperation, “Shut up.”
Izuku’s mouth shuts with an audible clack of teeth. He takes a deep breath through his nose to try and calm himself.
Bakugo glances towards him, “It’s okay. If I had a problem with it, I would’ve woken you up but frankly, you looked like you needed the sleep.”
He stares at the blonde for a few moments, trying to comprehend what he could possibly be implying but decides to let it go. Instead he just wants to feel grateful that this almost complete stranger let him nap on his shoulder just because he looked like he needed the rest.
“Thank you for letting me sleep then.” Izuku replies after a minute passes.
Bakugo turns away at that, his ears red. “It’s whatever,” he slurs together.
“I did need it.” Izuku continues on, “If you couldn’t tell, I’m a little nervous.”
“Why? It doesn’t seem like your first time flying on an airplane.” Bakugo questions, looking at him curiously.
“It’s not,” Izuku sighs, “I just can’t help it. Realistically, I know it’s safe and the odds of anything happening are super, super low. But, like I said, I can’t help it anyway.”
“Well, why don’t you..,” Bakugo trails off, looking unsure of whatever he’s about to say next. His ears get redder than they were before he looks at Izuku with determination and a fire behind his eyes, reaching his hand out to the other, “Why don’t you just hold my hand if you get scared then, nerd.”
Izuku looks at the other for a beat, letting what he said sink in. Bakugo, a complete stranger until just a few short hours ago, is offering up comfort to him for no reason at all. It’s kind of the other, sweet really, despite the other’s insult that he threw in.
Frankly, Izuku didn’t know how to react other than reaching out his hand and grasping the other’s with it. Bakugo’s hand was warm, slightly sweating, and it made Izuku think that he was nervous offering this up to him. Maybe there was more to the gesture than Izuku could see at this time.
More silence passes before Izuku realizes he should probably say something instead of just holding the man’s hand so he clears his throat, “Thank you. You really don’t have to do this.”
“I told you already, I ain’t gonna do something I don’t want to already.” Bakugo retorts quickly.
“R-right.” Izuku feels his hands get sweaty in the other’s grip, eventually dropping his hand altogether. “I’m okay right now but I’ll let you know if I get freaked out again.”
Bakugo grunts in response, going back to looking at some game on his phone that he must’ve been playing before Izuku woke up.
Figuring that’s the best response he’ll get, Izuku takes out his laptop to watch another movie for the rest of the flight. As he presses play on another superhero movie, he briefly glances Bakugo’s way to see if the other is watching his screen again but finds him busy in whatever game he’s playing instead.
Halfway through the movie, the flight attendants pass out the final meal of their flight. This one is more simple, just some pork cutlet with rice and vegetables again before turning on the cabin lights for the rest of the duration of the flight.
There are a few moments where Izuku finds himself reaching for Bakugo’s hand during bouts of turbulence that shake the plane violently. The other never seems bothered by it, just accepts his hand and squeezes gently until Izuku pulls away.
Once they’re done eating, there’s only about half an hour left in the flight and they begin their descent into Japan. Izuku knows after this, the odds of ever seeing Bakugo again are pretty low, and for some reason that bothers him.
“So, um,” Izuku starts, catching Bakugo’s attention, “Are you from Japan or just visiting from the states?” He asks lamely, afraid the other wouldn’t want to talk too much about himself with Izuku after just knowing him for a few hours.
Bakugo thinks for a second before responding, “I’m from here. The old hag would be disappointed if I didn’t come home during my summer break from university.”
Oh, Izuku thinks, he must be around my age.
“M-me too.” He stammers out, “My mom would probably be devastated if I did.” He laughs to himself.
Bakugo hums before surprising Izuku with asking a question of his own, “What year are you in university?”
Izuku smiles to himself at the other’s interest in pursuing a conversation with him and quickly responds, “A junior! I’m majoring in ethics.”
“Me too, not the ethics thing though. I’m majoring in chemical engineering.” Bakugo replies easily.
“Woah that’s so cool,” Izuku gushes. “You must be so smart then.”
“You could say that.” Bakugo smirks at him, winking at the same time.
Izuku feels his cheeks heat up and tries to swallow despite how dry his throat has gotten. “S-so, what part of Japan do you live in?”
“Oh,” Bakugo leans in, leaving about a foot between their faces, “You trying to ask me out or something, nerd?”
“No,” Izuku replies quickly, probably too quickly based on the chuckle Bakugo lets out at his response. “Not anymore at least.” He adds under his breath.
Bakugo must’ve heard him anyway though, “I’m a fucking delight. I even held your hand when you were scared this whole time. And let you nap on my shoulder.”
“You do keep calling me a nerd though.” Izuku insists, “We hardly know each other and I feel like you’re insulting me.”
“Well, that can be fixed.”
“Yeah it can. I mean I told you my name when you asked. All you have to do is start calling my Midoriya.”
“Not your name, nerd. I meant we could get to know each other more.”
Izuku rambles on though, not hearing Bakugo. “I’ll even take Izuku, whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Bakugo speaks up though, grabbing Izuku’s attention before he could get any more words in. “I really should call you Deku based on how much of what I’m implying is going over your head.”
Izuku halts in his thoughts, ignoring all the questions his mind is throwing at him while he tries to digest what Bakugo just said. “What do you mean? What have you been implying?”
“Have you not heard anything I’ve said in the past minute?” Bakugo askes, exasperated. “Just fucking go out with me sometime this summer, Deku.”
And finally, Izuku finds himself speechless. His cheeks are the warmest they’ve ever been and it feels like his blush goes all the way down his chest. All he can think at the moment is how much he hopes Bakugo can’t hear how hard his heart is pounding at this moment in time.
“O-okay.” Izuku stutters out. “Sometime this summer yeah.”
“Here,” Bakugo pushes his phone into the other’s hand. “Give me your number.”
Izuku takes his phone, typing in his phone number and name into it before handing it back over. “Do you know when?” He asks.
Bakugo just shrugs, “No, that’s why I got your number. I don’t know your summer plans and shit.”
“Oh, that’s a good point.”
“Besides, we’ve already landed already so we’ll have to part ways soon.” Bakugo points out.
At that, Izuku pauses and lifts the cover on the window and just like Bakugo said, they’re taxing through the airport to their gate. Izuku didn’t even notice them landing, too caught up in the conversation with Bakugo and his own embarrassment.
“I didn’t even notice.” Izuku says in awe.
“I could tell, you didn’t even grab my hand.” Bakugo teases.
“S-shut up.”
“So, Deku.” Bakugo catches his eyes, “What do you say about that date?”
Izuku smiles.
And that smile follows him all the way home as his mom drives, texting Bakugo non-stop.