Work Text:
Bang Bang Bang
Izuku had shot up out of bed, heart pounding in his chest and his arm reached out to air force whoever it was into submission.
Izuku was barely able to keep his eyes open as he stumbled toward his apartment door, wiping the sleep–or lack thereof–from his eyes. He had gotten off a three-day shift, where his agency had tracked down a smuggling ring and finally captured the ring leader after two years of searching for his whereabouts. He was so tired he wasn’t even sure what day of the week it was, never mind why his high school rival and a childhood friend had shown up at his door at six in the morning.
“Kacchan?” It was like seeing a ghost. Izuku had not seen Katsuki Bakugo in almost three years and was unsure if he ever would again. Of course, he kept up to date with all his heroic endeavours, but it was never the same hearing about them on the news as opposed to Kacchan gloating about them to his face. He missed that face.
After graduating from UA, he had taken up residency in a nearby ward to help keep the peace. Katsuki had been assigned to another ward up north so the last time he had seen him was on Graduation day when they had shaken hands before Katsuki had pulled Izuku into a firm hug, words left unspoken between them as he walked away.
“Ugh, get dressed already. We need to go.” Katsuki huffed. He had grown taller since Izuku had last seen him. The scar on the right side of his face was fading to a duller pink and his hair was closely cropped underneath the Dynamight baseball cap he wore. Katsuki had dropped the Great Explosion Murder God tag when he was 18 after an argument at his work placement in 3rd year where Best Jeanist told him to drop it because Dynamight would fit better on merch. Katsuki told him to shut up and not tell him what to do and the merch had been distributed shortly before his 20th birthday. Izuku had bought three sets.
“What are you doing here?” Izuku ran a hand through his own hair, eternally messy as it was and tried to figure out if he was dreaming.
“Don’t make me throw your ass in the car. Let’s go.”
For once, Izuku was too tired to argue so just rolled his eyes, grumling “'Oh wow, Deku. Long time no see, thought I'd stop by'. 'Gee thanks, it's good to see you too, Kacchan',” and stalked back to his room. Five minutes later, he was dressed, grabbing his keys and testing Katsuki Bakugo’s patience.
“Hurry up, nerd.” Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s arm and literally dragged him to a waiting car outside. He unceremoniously yanked open the door and threw Izuku into the passenger seat. If it was anyone else, Izuku would have Delaware smashed them to the other end of the ward, but because it was Kacchan and he was about 90% sure he was dreaming, Izuku just sat silently as Katsuki slid into the driver's seat.
“Here,” He said, throwing Izuku a protein bar and starting the engine. “Eat that and pipe down. We’re already running late because of your lazy ass.”
“Late for what? And how did you know where I live?”
“Your mom told me,” Katsuki shrugged, like that explained everything, and took off onto the road at the speed of sound.
They sat in mostly silence on a nearly three-hour drive, Katsuki not bothering to put on the radio and Izuku starting the panic as he realised that even though this was Kacchan, he was technically being kidnapped.
“Kacchan, where are you taking me?” Izuku fidgeted with the car door handle, which was child-locked, and stared out the window as trees blurred and swam in his vision as they sped past. Katsuki sat in the driver's seat, eyes firmly on the road ahead, and scoffed.
“I told you already, we’re almost there,” Katsuki had not, in fact, told him that, but was grinding his teeth so hard that Izuku was sure they were worried down to pins. “And stop thinking so loud, it’s pissing me off.”
Eventually, the car slowed down to a stop and the door clicked open. Izuku sat, frozen, and stared out the window, jaw hitting the floor and words failing.
Katsuki turned off the engine, left the car and opened Izuku’s door, unbuckling his seatbelt and dragging him out by the ear.
“C’mon already,” He hissed, yanking at Izuku’s arm and freeing him from the car. Katsuki was still strong, but Izuku was pure muscle and adrenaline at this point, so beads of sweat rolled down Katsuki’s neck as he tried to drag Izuku to the entrance.
“Kacchan, we’re at Mighty Land!” Izuku squeaked. Izuku stared up in wonder at the entryway, shaped like All Might’s signature smile while the speakers blared out “YOU are here! SMASH!” Mascots dressed like All Might in all his signature eras, Bronze, Gold and Izuku’s personal favourite the Silver Age, jumped around at the bustling crowds made their way to the California Smash Rolls stalls, the Delaware Dunker, The Massachusets Mayhem and, the one Izuku had longed to see, the Mighty Express. It was all here, it was all real. He was here with Kacchan.
The tension ebbed from his body and happiness bubbled in his chest as he began to giggle uncontrollably. Katsuki squeezed his arm and smirked as they made their way to the ticket booth.
“Sure are, nerd. And we’ve got the deluxe two-day package so we get the best seats for every ride. Now haul ass, I wanna go on the California Smash Spinner.”
“Why are we here?” Izuku laughed. The grin was splitting his face in two and he was almost certain it would be impossible to wipe it from his face. Until Katsuki dropped his arm and Izuku’s smile fell with it.
“Wait, do you not fucking remember?” Katsuki hissed, crossing his arms and staring Izuku down as they finally got to the ticket booth. The person behind the counter was wide-eyed as she realised who the tickets were for but kept her composure, passing them their Deluxe Package all might passes. Katsuki flicked Izuku sharply on the forehead with a scowl.
“Wah-cchan!” Izuku whined.
“Izuku!” Katsuki mimicked. It still caught him off guard to hear his given name and his heart thumped just a little harder in his chest. Izuku rubbed his forehead and tried to hide his face while Katsuki, unaware, pouted.
“Dumbass. Do you even know what day it is?” Katsuki huffed, throwing his bright yellow lanyard around his own neck.
Izuku rubbed his forehead and scowled. “No. I don’t even know what time it is or why you dragged me out of bed this morning. I haven’t seen you in three years. I thought I was dreaming.”
“You dream about me often?” Katsuki smirked and Izuku felt his ears go red.
“Shut up,” He mumbled. Katsuki laughed and Izuku could feel his stance soften in front of him. He looked up and saw the genuine smile on his face.
“Let me refresh your memory.” Katsuki leaned in and Izuku’s breath hitched. The lanyard fell over his shoulders and Katsuki patted him on the head.
“Happy 20th birthday, nerd.”
Oh.
Oh.
“I promised I’d bring you here for Hatachi–”
“That got lowered to 18 like 10 years ago,” Izuku interrupted and Katsuki hissed.
“I know that, dumbass. Damn, you haven’t changed at all have you.” Katsuki rolled his eyes, then his shoulders and spun around, stalking off toward the nearest food stall. Izuku trailed after him.
“Anyway, you made me promise we would go for your 20th birthday. So here we are. And I don’t break my damn promises!”
“Kacchan,” Izuku breathed, reaching forward and grabbing him by the shoulder, turning him so they were face to face. Katsuki was still a little taller than Izuku but he was also a little softer than he used to be. Not with muscle, he was still ripped, but in demeanour. The sharp edges had been shaved down to dull points. He allowed Izuku to get between the edges and see him at his core. “We made that promise when I was 4. You remembered this whole time?”
Katsuki’s face softened. “I never forget when it comes to you.”
Izuku’s heart exploded in his chest and he jumped into Katsuki’s arms, wrapping him in the tightest hug he could manage as tears sprang to his eyes. “I missed you so much, Kacchan.”
Katsuki nuzzled the crown of Izuku’s head, breathing him in. “Missed you too, nerd.”
They spent the day touring the park, riding all the rollercoasters and Katsuki yelled at three different mascots for costume inaccuracies and messing up All Might’s quotes. They even stopped by the gift shop and Katsuki bought Izuku the theme park exclusive figurine and whispered in his ear “We can even get All Might to sign it.” Izuku shivered. Izuku ran and bought matching All Might trading cards for him and Katsuki, which they each shoved in their wallets before running to the Izakaya and staying there until close.
Stumbling back to the park’s hotel after grabbing Katsuki’s bag from the car and purchasing a change of clothes for Izuku, Katsuki grabbed the key from reception and guided Izuku upstairs to their room.
The door opened to a view of the rollercoasters and the Tokyo skyline. Katsuki threw his stuff on the ground and fell back on the bed, hand thrown over his eyes.
“Kacchan?” Izuku couldn’t stop the smile in his voice. Katsuki looked up at him and scowled.
“What?”
“There’s only one bed.”