Chapter Text
Izuku huffed out a heavy sigh as he collapsed onto the couch of his dorm living room – it was their final year of UA and Finals were approaching fast, and the teachers were being unforgiving in preparing them.
“It’s the biggest mark you’ll make before stepping out into the world as real heroes!” Headmaster Nezu had proudly announced before the exam training started.
“You would think that, after everything we’ve been through since our first year, they’d think we were more than ready.” Denki had huffed after the 3rd year meeting, the class walking together back to the dorms. “Well, like I said before in your first year: you’ve built up your experience, not your strength.” Aizawa’s ever-condescending voice followed behind him, giving most of 3A a fright. Which, really at this point, they should have been used to. “It must be the trauma..” Mina had joked after Aizawa had left the group to their own devices.
Right now, of course, Izuku was lying face-first on the couch, grumbling as every muscle in his body ached, even breathing was hard!
… but maybe that’s because his face was buried in a cushion…
“Wow, Midoriya. You look like utter shit.” A chipper voice teased from beside him, who he recognised as Kirishima, Izuku spared the redhead a tired look “Thanks, Kiri.” He said to the taller student…though it was mainly sarcasm.
But then a buzzing came from his school bag, which was only a few inches away, just in reach if he tried hard enough. Izuku sighed deeply before reaching for his bag, only for a specific hot head to grab it first. Izuku groaned, letting his arm fall to the floor as he strained his neck to look at the personified pomeranian with anger issues “Ugh… Kacchan, give me back my bag.” Izuku groaned as he sat up on the couch, watching as Katsuki reached into his bag to grab the phone “Kacchan, seriously!” Izuku stated again, standing up, but not without groaning because it felt like his muscles were fighting him, before reaching for the device currently in his friend's hand.
Katsuki, however, moved out of Izuku’s way fairly quickly, keeping his attention on the buzzing phone. Izuku was getting a face-time call and the caller's name was in bold letters for anyone looking at the device to see. It took a second for Katsuki to acknowledge the name of the caller but once it clicked, a smug expression spread across the spikey blonde's face as he looked at the confused, but annoyed, Deku “Who’s Soul Mate.” He stated.
And when Izuku’s face started to become redder than Kirishima’s hair dye, a smug smirk was quick to spread across Katsuki’s face. Mina, the pink menace, perked up from her spot on the sofa chair at the loud statement, her yellow irises focusing between Katzuki and Izuku “Soul Mate?? Oh my god, that’s so cute!!” She exclaimed, getting up from her comfy spot to bounce her way to the two “Who are they? Where did you meet them? Are you dating them??” She excitedly began asking with a grin, waiting for whatever tea was about to spill, bouncing on her feet in excitement. “No one, nowhere, none of your business.” He stated quickly, giving Mina a passing glance, before focusing his glare back on the nuisance in front of him “Kacchan, give me it back.” Izuku stated before making a quick grabbing motion for his phone once more.
A few years ago, not long after their time in Europe, some people in the class had gotten a growth spurt, Midoriya and Bakugou were two of those people, but more Midoriya than Bakugou. Bakugou had thrown a giant tantrum when he found out three people had outgrown him. Kirishima and Iida he could understand, they were already pretty tall to start with, but Midoriya was apparently his breaking point. The reason why this should be important now is that it should be easier to get his stuff back from Katsuki whenever the dumbass steals his stuff, but apparently, it doesn’t mean much.
“Not unless you tell us who your soul mate is Deku!” Katsuki cackled as he ran away from Izuku, who growled and started chasing Katsuki around the dorm while his classmates either cheered Katsuki on (Mina, who was cackling out a “they can’t be no one if your this annoyed!”), tried to aid in catching the blonde menace (Ochaco and Iida, both with concerned shouts of “This isn’t how you treat friends Katsuki!” and “This isn’t how 3rd years are meant to behave Bakugou!”), or simply watched with popcorn (Denki and Sero, sharing a pretty big bowl between them… where they got it is anyone's guess.)
But even with the stress of chasing down his long-time rival and having a few of his classmates egg the bombshell on, Izuku couldn’t help but think about all the previous face time calls he had with the caller; ever since he came home from the mission in Europe, Izuku and Rody had made it a mission of their own to call at least once a week and for the past three years, it's been a tradition for them and every time Rody calls, even before they started dating, Izuku’s heart starts pounding from the sheer thought of hearing Rody’s voice again. And the things they would talk about were limitless, whether the topic was about school, work, or updates on family or friends, no topic was off-topic for them. It had been nearly a month since their last face time call, and Izuku was starting to feel like a lost puppy.
Although, with that being said, a sense of excitement made his heart jump when the person who was calling him was Rody, but then embarrassment slapped him across the face as Katsuki, and Mina, started teasing him about the nickname he gave his precious partner. Although the memory of the previous phone call still persisted as he chased the phone thief down.
—
“ Oh ! That reminds me!” Rody suddenly perked up before turning to their younger siblings “Roro! Lala!” They called to their brother and sister in their native language “Look who’s on the phone!” The siblings promptly looked up and massive grins spread across their faces as Rody showed the two their phone “Deku!!!” The siblings squealed in joy while rushing over. Rody raised their phone high above their head, laughing as they watched their siblings jumping for the device “Hey! Be careful! You're gonna break my phone!” Izuku couldn’t help his laughter as he watched the phone be tugged back and forth as the younger kids grabbed at the device.
Once they were calm enough, Rody lowered the phone back to face their siblings “I’ll give you the phone once you show Deku what you’ve been teaching yourselves.” The siblings nodded in determination before backing away from the camera. Izuku tilted his head in confusion, but the smile didn’t leave his face. The younger siblings nodded to each other in confirmation, before Roro’s left hand met with Lala’s right hand, the siblings making a heart shape “We love and miss you Deku!” The younger kids shouted in Japanese. The pronunciations were off, absolutely, but the wording was clear enough to understand what they were trying to say and that made Izuku’s heart melt at the cute display “Aawww! I love and miss you guys too!” He replied while making a heart of his own, saying it in their language. Rody turned the phone back to themself “You’re such a dork.” They said into the camera with a grin, Izuku rolled his eyes “Hey, I’m starting to think that you taught them that.” He accused, in which Rody gained a look for mock shock “How dare you sir!” Rody stated, with as much dramatic effect as they could muster, and it was through this small mock argument that the younger siblings jumped at the opportunity to grab Rody’s phone to steal all of Izuku’s attention. “Huh- HEY YOU LITTLE GREMLINS!”
—
Izuku smiled at the memory as he finally tackled Katsuki to the ground, successfully getting his phone from the blonde menace. But, by the time Izuku had managed to get his phone back, he had missed their call. Izuku sighed “Thanks Kacchan!” Izuku said with a lace of sarcasm, Katsuki shrugged as he stood up “Not my problem, should’ve just told us who they were.”
Izuku and Katsuki then engaged in a glaring contest, the class being a mix of silently watching what happened next, or slowly backing out of the room “Since when was my business yours?” Izuku asked, his eyes narrowing solely on the angry blonde who was mirroring him, Katsuki scoffed and crossed his arms “Since you started butting into everyone else's. Maybe don’t be such a hypocrite, Deku.”
Izuku’s eyes widened slightly, not out of shock, but purely because of the audacity of that statement “I’m sorry… did you, Katsuki Bakugou, just call me a hypocrite?” He asked, his voice laced with a tone of disbelief
And Katsuki, who either didn’t recognise or acknowledge the tone, simply shrugged “Good to see all those fights you get yourself into didn’t damage your head too much.” Izuku gritted his teeth at that sarcastic statement, light green sparks flickered as he clenched his hands into fists.
Denki swallowed a hard lump as he inched closer to Sero “Hey…do you think we’re gonna need to renovate the dorm… again?” He whispered, hoping not to catch the attention of their, arguably, strongest classmates. Sero simply nodded his head, both too afraid to speak and too mesmerised by the staredown.
“Need I remind you of what happened the last time you two fought in the dorms…?” Iida spoke up, doing his duty as class president, while also holding down his own nervousness. No one wants a repeat of last time, after all.
Holding the glare for a few more seconds, Izuku was the one to eventually break the eye contact, leaving the room with a mutter of something being “not worth the headache.” Izuku walked to his room, leaving the angry voice of Katsuki shouting back “WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU DAMN NERD?!?!” which, evidently, left Mina and Kirshima to hold him back.
Izuku spent the next hour or so staring at his phone, hoping Rody would phone back, but it was clear they weren’t going to.
‘Maybe they’re just busy.’
‘Maybe I should phone them instead.’
‘Maybe Roro and Lala stole their phone again.’
‘Maybe it’ll be another month before they have time to phone again…’
Izuku groaned as he buried his face into his pillow, the idea of needing to wait another month to hear their partner again twisting their stomach in such an ungodly manner, he felt like throwing up.
After what was most likely another hour of self-pity grovelling, he heard a knock at his door “Deku? Can we come in?” Izuku turned his head at the voice, sighing out a “sure” as he sat up on his bed. Ochaco and Mina walked in, the pink-hued classmate having an apologetic look. Izuku looked at the girls confused, and when Ochaco nudged Mina’s shoulder lightly, Mina sighed before she started talking
“Listen Deku, I know it isn’t much but-”
“It’s okay Mina, no one needs to say sorry for anything. I shouldn’t-”
“Will you shut up!” Mina interrupted “Stop taking the blame and let me apologize for once damn it!” She huffed, her cheeks puffing up in annoyance at being interrupted. Izuku was thrown off guard, but couldn’t help the light laugh that came from it “Okay, sorry.” Mina huffed and nodded “Anyway.” She sighed, crossing her arms “I shouldn’t have teamed up with Kat to tease you about your partner… even though the nickname is super cute-”
“Mina,” Ochaco said in a warning tone
“What! Soul Mate is adorable!” Mina looked at the shorter brunette as she argued that point, “ANYWAY!” but then she returned her attention back to her task at hand, looking back at her classmate “We decided that it would be a good idea to go to the fair that’s currently in town! And you're coming too since we ruined your night.” Mina finished with a matter-of-fact tone.
Izuku thought the statement over for a few moments, before shaking his head “Thanks for the offer, but I’m fine-”
“It wasn’t a suggestion Deku,” Ochaco responded flatly as the two girls proceeded to drag him off of his bed and over to his closet for a change of clothes.
—
Izuku huffed as he stuffed his hands in his jeans, Mina and Ochaco practically bullied him into wearing something “ smart but casual enough for a fair ”
As if a pair of jeans and one of his school shirts with a few buttons undone qualified as suitable for a fair! Izuku shook his head as he followed behind his classmates, who all seemed pretty excited. Izuku looked over his classmates, each of them in their own little world. Mina slithered up beside him as they walked towards the bright lights of the fair “So, are you excited?” She chimed in a sing-songy voice.
Izuku had to hold back a playful eye-roll since he would much prefer staying in his room to talk to his partner “I’m over the moon.” He replied, trying to hide his sarcasm, Mina punched his arm playfully before running to catch up to her main squad.
It wasn’t long before they reached the fair, and Izuku watched as his friends split up in different directions. Izuku decided just to watch his friends have fun instead of joining in. Tsuyu eventually noticed this and walked over to her friend, Ochaco following close by “How come you’re not joining in on the fun Izuku?” The frog-like classmate asked, Izuku just smiled at her, shrugging lightly “I guess I just don’t feel like it.” He answered lazily
“Wow, who knew Izuku Midorya was such a party pooper.”
Izuku perked up at the voice and turned around, seeing Rody standing behind him, Iida walked right past them to give the two some space. Rody’s face may have held a carefree smile but Pino was grinning and chirping in pure joy before flying towards Izuku and nuzzling into his cheek. Izuku laughed as he returned the affection “It's so good to see you too.” He cooed as he walked closer to his partner, “I can’t believe you’re here!” Izuku stated with a big smile directed at them, Rody simply shrugged “No need to act like it's such a big deal, it’s just lil ol’ me-eeee!” Rody trailed off into a surprised shout as Izuku picked them up in a fluid motion, spinning in a quick circle before smiling up at them. Rody’s cheeks became a deep red at the PDA, Izuku’s arms securely around their thighs to hold them up, while their hands rested on their boyfriends' shoulders “Your such a dork…” Rody grumbled with an eye roll “Yeah, but I'm your dork.” He stated in such a loving tone it made Rody’s heart melt.
Well, almost… if it wasn’t for the fact that Midoriya's classmates were currently looking in their direction. Rody looked back down at their partner to see the stupidly cute love-sick look on his face “Izuku.”
“Yes, Rody.”
“Is everyone in your class nosey?”
Izuku raised a brow in confusion before looking to the side, to see the same sight Rody did, only this time, his classmates attempted to hide; some walking away in different directions, others simply turning their backs and whistling as if they weren’t just staring... Izuku huffed “Most of them, yeah.” He answered, looking back up at his partner “Sorry.” Rody shook his head “No, you're fine. But…”
“But?”
“Can you put me down now?”
Again, Izuku raised a brow in confusion, before his face, once again, mirrored the colour of Kirishima’s hair “Oh! Sorry.” He apologized before putting them back on the ground. Rody straightened out their jacket as they attempted to hide their blush “It's okay… sometimes I forget how easily you can pick me up…” They trailed off, acting very nonchalant about it, but Pino swooning over the idea made Izuku chuckle as he curled his arm around their waist “Well, maybe I can-” Izuku started until Mina interrupted by shouting from her hiding spot behind one of the game stalls “YOUR SOUL MATE??” Mina rushed over, the stars in her eyes from earlier that afternoon now back as she clung onto Rody’s free arm, completely ignoring the staring from the people passing by. Rody’s face was covered in confusion as he stared at the overly energetic pink person “Soul mate?” they asked, their tone matching their confused look, Mina opened her mouth to answer but a gruff annoyed voice interrupted
“Deku’s stupid nickname for you on his phone,” Bakugou called from just behind Mina, looking towards the now trio with passive boredom. While Pino was fawning over the cuteness and embarrassed by strangers giving passing looks, Rody stared at their partner with a smug smile “Is that right?” They asked, their tone teasing. Izuku turned his head to the side in an attempt to hide his own embarrassment “Well, yeah, because you are.” Izuku answered lamely
Mina was fangirling in her own little world, before being carried away by Katsuki “Ah! Kat! What’re you doing?!” She complained as she attempted to wriggle out of the pomeranian’s grip “We’re leaving Deku and his dumb partner alone.” The blonde answered, completely ignoring Mina’s cries for releasing her. Ochaco gave a quick thumbs-up before leaving with the rest of the squad.
“Your class sure is…” Rody began, but struggled to find the word, Izuku smiled “Unique? Weird? Annoying?” Izuku listed off potential adjectives for his class “I was going towards interesting, but sure, those work too.” Rody stated with a light shrug, Pino nodding her little head in agreement. Izuku chuckled lightly “Well, since you’re here,” he started, offering his arm to his partner “Shall I win you some prizes, My dear Mx?” He asked with a mocking upper-class tone “Why I would be so delighted, sir!” Rody replied, mocking the tone themselves as they took their boyfriend's arm. The pair shared a light laugh as they started walking through the stalls, trying to pick the best one to do first.
—
“Before I forget,” Izuku suddenly voiced up as Rody looked at a stand with a lot of food, “how did you get here?” Rody looked at their boyfriend “Oh, um I asked your friend, Tenya?, to pick me up.” They answered simply, pointing out their order. Izuku raised a brow, confused “Okay, but-” Izuku began again “The girl with pink cheeks is very persuasive.” Rody interrupted, paying for their food, a small portion of Karrage “No, how did you get to Japan?” Izuku asked with a deep sigh “On a plane, keep up Midoriya.” Rody answered with their mouth full of the still-hot chicken before they walked off. Izuku sighed again, shaking his head with a smile before catching up, deciding just to enjoy his time with his soul mate.