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Chapter Text

Obviously, his life is perfect. He's Katsuki fucking Bakugou, the best thing to come into this world. It doesn't take a genius to see he is destined to do great things.
Thats why, when he found out Izuku Midoriya, his best friend at the time, was a quirkless loser, he did the only natural thing. He ditched the useless trash and moved on to greater things.

He doesn't think about it at all now... He doesn't think about how those big green eyes looked up at him with shock and hurt. He doesn't think about hearing that stupid nickname over and over again.

He doesn't think about how that useless kid used to smile at him, his eyes practically shining with nothing but praise and worship for him alone. He doesn't think about how far away those past moments all seem now.

And he definitely doesn't think about it when he feels his foot connect with the said useless garbage's gut.

He yells, green eyes widening and then shutting as he grits his teeth in pain. Still, try as he might, Katsuki can still hear his stupid fucking screams. It's sad really, how this sack of shit used to smile so warmly at him.

Now look where he is, tearing up and wincing beneath Katsuki's feet like the garbage he is. Why did he even look at this trash years ago? That will forever be a mystery to him.
One of the extras that always follow him around leers over his shoulder, bending down slightly to look at the mess on the ground. His expression is gleeful and mocking, as if he's just happy to have front row seats to this useless bastard's beating.

"What, are you gonna cry again Midoriya? Seriously, you need to grow up!"

Katsuki looks down at him, watching as he curls into himself, snot dribbling from his nose. At this point, he wouldn't even be surprised if the baby started sucking his fucking thumb.

Disgusting.

The second extra steps past Katsuki to lean over the trash's body, the same mocking expression on his face. The crunch of his shoes seems to alert the curled-up waste of space, because Katsuki sees him flinch.

"How are you feeling Midoriya? Hm?"

Katsuki watches closely, waiting for a response other than crying and whimpering. After a couple of seconds, Katsuki's patience leaves. This trash should know how to behave by now.

Katsuki steps forward, bringing his foot down into its stomach, feeling the flesh push against the material of his white shoe.
Another yell of pain and tears and snot.

Katsuki glares down at it, putting more pressure into its gut. Green eyes stare back at him, red rimmed and full of tears that seem like they won't be stopping anytime soon.
He remembers wiping those same tears away when they were children, when the trash just couldn't stop crying for the life of it.
He used to think those eyes were so b-

"Well, Deku. Fucking answer the question."

It's not like Katsuki will actually give it time to come up with a response. It should have answered when Katsuki was being patient.

It opens its mouth, but a small squeak of sound is the only thing it gets the chance to make before Katsuki kicks its gut again.

"How-"

Kick, a choked-out scream, more tears.

"Are-"

Kick, laughter and encouragement.

"You-"

The trash lurches back, gagging as vomit shoots itself out of its mouth. The trash is lucky that none of it landed on Katsuki, or his punishment would have been a lot worse.
It does land on the first extra though, but it's not like Katsuki gives a fuck about him. Really, the only thing he's thinking about is how to make this trash scream even more.

"Fucking-"

Katsuki admits, he adds this extra word just to be a little crueler. He can't have the trash getting any ideas.

"Feeling-?!"

The final kick has all of Katsuki's strength behind it, so he isn't surprised when the trash lurches back so far, he goes back a couple of inches.
He feels really satisfied. Normally, he would blow this waste of space up so bad it leaves his hands burned into its skin. But today, he decided his hands needed a break.
The trash is letting out pants of shallow breaths, his eyes hazy. There are still tears running out of them though.

"I..."

The word is whispered, and Katsuki can barely hear it. He lifts his foot up, glaring down at the trash in warning.

It sees this, and like the garbage it is, gets the message. It breathes harder, shutting its eyes as it yells louder.

"I feel good!"

The two extras burst out laughing so hard they hold their stomachs as slight tears prick at their eyes. Nothing like the mess under Katsuki's feet.
He ignores them, focusing solely on the mess in front of him. Katsuki knows what's under the black uniform the trash is wearing. His burns, his bruises, his marks.

All his.

The thought gets his blood pumping so much he feels like going for another round of beatings. He's done it thousands of times before, so the trash can take it.
That is what he thinks about.

He doesn't think about stupid shit like how sad the trash looks. He thinks about how many marks Katsuki has left on its body.

He doesn't think about how he might want to see that bright, warm smile again. He thinks about how nice it looks with tears and snot all over its face.

He doesn't think about how kind and sweet that voice sounded as it called for him. He thinks about how broken and weak it sounds following Katsuki's demands.

"Oh man, Midoriya, you really know how to crack us up!"

"You really have no shame! Are you stupid or something?!"

Katsuki gives it one last look of disgust and spits on it. The fluid lands right on the trash's face, making it flinch.

"Be grateful I didn't fucking kill you."

He doesn't think about how what he really wants is to go back and see that smile.

Instead, he looks down on the broken mess below him and turns away, leaving it there as the two extras follow his lead.
What he really wants is–
—--------
You can take one look at him and realize that Izuku Midoriya isn't the luckiest of people. Born with no quirk, he doesn't really have anything else to fall back on when you count the fact that he's weak, not really attractive, and not liked by most people his age.

Though, he tries not to let that bother him. I mean, of course it does, but he just shoves it down. If he focuses on it, who knows what might happen.

So, he likes to focus on the positive things, even if there aren't many. He focuses on the things that seem so far away now.

He misses the times when he was just a kid, a little boy who had the whole world waiting for him. When it was just him and his childhood best friend.

He tends to zone out in those moments, deep in his thoughts and memories. Memories of sparkling red eyes and a determined grin.

Memories of sunspots and sandcastles, superhero drawings and sleepovers.

He loves and hates these memories. He loves them because it's like going back in time, but hates it when he remembers that those moments, those memories, are only just in his head.

They aren't the present, and they aren't his life anymore. He might as well have been dreaming of someone else entirely.

But he misses it so much, misses him.

He can't help it.

He misses him so much that it hurts, he misses having sleepovers, talking about heroes, coming over to each other's houses, hanging out, just him.

And it hurts even more since Izuku just can't get him out of his head. Even with everything that's happened, Izuku still feels something for him, and it kills him.
He can never go back to those moments, no matter how much he wants to.

This fact is again drilled into his head when he feels his shoe slam into his gut. Izuku lets out a yell, his eyes widening and stinging with fresh tears.
His tear ducts should be used to the strain, but he feels the stinging and burning pain even in there.

He tries to muffle his sounds of pain by gritting his teeth, but as he gets a fleeting look of him, he knows it's pointless.

Those beautiful red eyes look down at him with such a cold, sadistic look Izuku feels shivers wrack his body.

All those years ago, they used to be so close. They used to be best friends. And now look where he is, on the cold ground as him and his friends laugh.

Katsuki Bakugou, Kacchan, his ex-childhood friend, turned full time bully. He's too busy trying to keep from crying harder to notice anything else around him.

He shuts his eyes, trying to get himself far, far away from all of this. He doesn't want to be here.

He'd rather go back to the sandcastles and playgrounds in his mind, then be on the cold, hard concrete getting the life beat out of him.

One of kacchans friend's leers over his shoulder, saying something. Izuku can't really make it out, but he knows his mouth is moving. He is already zoned out, his eyes slightly glazed over as he shuts his eyes again.

Izuku curls into himself even more, just wanting to escape. He distantly feels snot running down his face, and he feels so gross.

Maybe in a way, he deserves this.

Kacchans other friend walks past, getting closer. The crunch of his shoe's snap so clearly in Izuku's mind that he feels himself flinch, pulling himself into a tighter ball.

"How —----------- Midoriya? Hm?"

He doesn't know half of what this guy is saying. All of his words sound muffled, and Izuku panics. He knows this. He's supposed to answer.

If he doesn't answer, then it'll only get worse. But if he asks for him to repeat himself, he'd only get beat up for even longer. Thats counting on the chance that Izuku can even get anything out right now.

All these rapid thoughts are just making him panic even more, making him cry more. He feels red eyes staring at him, waiting.

He doesn't have time to think of anything to say. How is he supposed to reply to something he didn't even hear?

Damnit Izuku, think of something!-

Kacchan steps closer to him and slams his foot into Izuku's stomach again, making him clench up and let out a small scream.

Those red eyes glare down at him like he's nothing but an insect, putting even more pressure down. Izuku feels like his gut is about to burst, the pressure getting worse and worse.

Cold, red eyes glare down at him as he cries.

Izuku doesn't want to be here with this kacchan. He misses the little four-year-old kid who used to scold him but wipe away his tears anyway.

That kacchan will always be so beautiful to him.

"Well, Deku. Fucking answer the question."

As always, his words are crystal clear. Especially when he says that damn name. A constant reminder that Katsuki Bakugo isn't kacchan, he isn't Izuku's best friend and never will be.

Izuku opens him mouth to say something, anything. But he doesn't get a chance, because yet again, he's kicked so hard he feels himself move up the concrete.

"How-"

Izuku chokes out a scream, seeing that look with blurry vision.

"Are-"

At least he's looking at Izuku. Thats something positive right?

"You-"

He doesn't care what the reason is, if he's looking at Izuku, that's ok right?

His thoughts are interrupted by that specific taste of saliva, before vomit is shooting out of his mouth. He doesn't see where it lands, just focusing on trying to breath.

"Fucking-"

If he could, Izuku would laugh. Katsuki really does know how to make this whole beating thing last forever. The taste of vomit is still prominent in his mouth, making him feel even more sick.

"Feeling-?!"

All of Katsuki's strength is put into it. Izuku can tell from the amount of pain he's in and the fact that he lurches back even more.

Izuku can't even scream, practically shaking. He's trying to get air into his lungs, trying to keep his blurry and hazy vision focused.

"I..."

Izuku is surprised that he can even get a word out. Though it doesn't seem to be good enough, because Katsuki lifts his boot again threateningly.
Izuku gets the message and clenches his eyes shut, trying to get all of his strength. He yells, trying his best.

"I feel good!"

Instantly, he hears laughing and he feels his face grow warmer in shame.

Damnit.

It gets even worse when Katsuki just stares at him, eyes scanning over his body. Izuku knows what he's thinking. He can feel it.

At least he's looking at him... Right?

The other two say a couple of words, but he cant really focus with the amount of pain he's in right now. He feels something land on his cheek, making him flinch.
Spit.

"Be grateful i didn't fucking kill you."

Izuku shudders, just laying there. After a couple of minutes, he's sure they left already. He just lays there for a while, dreaming.
He thinks of the things he normally does.

Even though it hurts like hell, even though he just wants to disappear, even though he would give anything to have this pain stop,
He still wants to be the one to see his smile again.

—-------

The next day is as normal as it gets. He has breakfast, leaves the house, and goes to school. There isn't any lightning, no car accident, nothing out of the ordinary.
So, what in the hell is he looking at right now.

Katsuki stands at his locker, which is in the third row. The lockers are placed at the front of the school, right at the entrance.

If he was one second later, he would have missed them coming in together. Right at the end of the third row by the lockers stands fucking Deku.

But not alone like normal. No, there is some asshole standing with his back toward Katsuki, facing the trash.

What makes it worse is that they are talking. And not just normal fucking talking like, oh how is your day type of bullshit, talking.

Katsuki can fucking see the scums eyes light up in excitement as the extra says something that makes the trash visibly vibrate in happiness.

For some reason, Katsuki does not fucking like it.

At all.

In fact, he feels his hands warm up as he grips his locker, staring dead into the two. For some unknown fucking reason, a memory pops itself right into Katsuki's head.

It's the sound of mosquitoes, the feel of the sun burning his skin, and the sight of big emerald eyes shining with happiness and devotion.

He remembers feeling a small hand in his own, pulling it forward as the other boy follows, trusting him with everything in his entire being.

Katsuki doesn't know why but seeing that expression on that trashes face isnt what bugs him. Its who its looking at that's pissing him off so much.

Thats as far as he wants to think about the feeling before it consumes him. He slams his shoes into the locker and is about to stomp over there.

He's going to show that fucking trash that Katsuki isn't going to let whatever its doing slide.

Right when he's making his way over, the scum looks at him.

Katsuki watches as the moment their eyes meet, the excitement dies and is replaced with slight fear.

That just makes Katsuki even more pissed (Like hell he's going to waste time thinking about why) as he glares.

Then, the little shit has the balls to look back at the extra, moving its hand to pull on the extras uniform sleeve.

Katsuki's eyes pinpoint the exact moment of contact.

This extra needs to fucking go.

The trash talks so fast that as Katsuki approaches, he can only hear the end of its sentence.

"-Trust me."

Just as Katsuki is about to turn this fucker around to punch his stupid face, the trash pulls even harder on his sleeve and rushes him away.

They both are gone before Katsuki can fucking blink.

Now here he is, left so pissed off he can feel himself shaking.

Who the hell did this scum think it was?

Did Katsuki not teach it a lesson yesterday?

All the other days?

He feels someone put a hand on his shoulder and in that moment, all of his built-up anger screams to be let out.

So he lets it out.

"Hey Baku-"

He slams his hand next to the extras head and lets his quirk go wild, blowing up the locker his hand made contact with.

Luckily, the extra had enough brains to duck down right away. It didn't blow their brains out, if anything, the extra would just have mild hearing loss for a couple of minutes.

But that's more than enough for the extra to now be scared shitless of Katsuki, and for now, that cooled his anger somewhat.
=
Katsuki is starting to realize that if he hadn't seen the scum and that extra together in the morning, he would have seen it plenty of other times.

It's not like he's looking around for them or anything, he just sees them in the corner of his eye. But right when he turns to get a good look, they're gone.
That just makes it even worse.

It's like he's losing his goddamn mind.
He'll catch a glimpse of them in the most random moments. While he's finishing his work, they'll be walking together.
While he's watching the two extras beat some other one in an alley, they will be in a classroom window sitting by each other.
Every. Fucking. Minute.

Katsuki has blown up ten pens, scorched two backpacks, burned four uniforms, and blew up six pairs of shoes, (Not his own of course) and it's not even the end of the day.
He can't get it out of his fucking head, those stupid eyes shining with something Katsuki thought died a long fucking time ago.
When he's not thinking about that, he's remembering shit.

Holding hands in the rain, catching beetles in the forest, helping each other cross a small stream in the mountains, and all the while, those stupid eyes don't leave.
He figures if he could get his hands on the trash, he could get rid of this tension in his shoulders and stop thinking about this bullshit.
Maybe even beat a new lesson into its head.

Do not talk with anyone other than Katsuki.

Really, Katsuki didn't know this would ever be a fucking issue. Everyone with even a chunk of brain matter knew that if they were caught talking to that trash, they would be the next victim.

So why the hell is this extra fucking with Katsuki's perfectly built system?

It annoys him. It pisses him off. He catches himself tapping his foot on the floor as he sits, even his leg shaking absentmindedly.

He would have beat the shit out of the trash a long time ago if he could just fucking catch him. Even when they are in the same classroom, it manages to rush off as fast as humanly possible.
That slimy little fucker has been avoiding him. Thats fine with Katsuki though, that just means he can be even more brutal when he beats the shit out of it.
But for now, he's tortured with flashes of hands joined together.
—----
Izuku didn't think that being paired up with the new kid in his class would mean he would hang around him a lot. He isn't complaining or anything, it was just weird to him.
The first thing this new guy should have learned is that no one talks to Izuku. That was common knowledge, so maybe he just didn't care. That was a weird part too.
"Hey Mido!"
A new nickname.
Izuku tries not to get his hopes up about actually having someone to talk to. He puts his things into his locker, slipping his shoes on as he looks up at the new guy.
He just smiles awkwardly, but he doesn't seem to mind because he just continues to talk. He starts to walk and Izuku follows, passing rows of lockers.
"Should i come over for the project? I can bring that new superhero fighting game i was telling you about yesterday!"
The new guy, Ishida Fukui, only took two weeks to worm his way into Izuku's personal life. Including meeting his mom and hanging out with him under the guise of working on the project, even though they almost never get anything done.
But Izuku couldn't find it in himself to care, especially when Ishida would bring tons of cool things over, like comic books, new games, or even collectables.
He can feel himself buzzing with excitement and Ishida looks at him with fondness, something Izuku didn't realize how much he missed from another person.
it churns his stomach and makes him feel kind of sick.
Maybe he should stop hanging around Ishida.
That isn't what comes out of his mouth.
"Really?!"
Ishida grins, his spiky hair a lot like-
"And you know what i found out?"
Izuku smiles up at him, curious as Ishida pauses for suspense.
"You can unlock All Might as a playable character if you beat the game on hard mode! I could totally stay over tonight, and we can play it all."
that sick feeling comes into his stomach again, but his excitement rises all the same.
"Ok! I'll... ask my mom."
Ishida smiles down at him, his eyes shining. Why did they have to be so close to his eyes? This is really bad. He shouldn't be hanging around Ishida like this.
Izuku's brain is turning him into some kind of replacement of something he can no longer have, and he knows it.
He hates himself for it.
He hears stomping and looks behind Ishida, who is talking about something Izuku wasn't paying attention to. He sees Katsuki stomping over and he feels even more fear.
He's definitely going to crack their skulls open when he comes over here. The more Katsuki looks at him, he just seems to get even more pissed.
Izuku looks at Ishida and tugs on his uniform sleeve. He looks surprised, stopping mid-sentence.
"What's up M-"
"We really need to go somewhere else. Do you know anywhere private? We can go talk there, its way better then here. Trust me."
Izuku practically vomits all his words out, speaking quickly as Katsuki gets closer. He sees the blondes shoulder move back, getting ready to blow them both up. Before Ishida can ask anything, Izuku tugs harder on his sleeve and pulls him away.
He runs as fast as he can and only stops when they are as far away as possible. He is so gonna pay for that later.
He has his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Ishida looks at him, his brows furrowed in confusion as he catches his breath.
"What was that for?"
Izuku just gives him an apologetic look.
"Sorry, i just..."
Izuku doesn't know that to say and Ishida looks like he can tell. He wonders if he really is that obvious when it comes to what he's thinking. Ishido smiles at him and laughs.
"It's fine Mido."
Izuku's stomach churns and he looks away.
=
Izuku makes it his mission to avoid Katsuki. The last thing he wants is him to take his anger out on his...
Friend.
He's glad that Ishida doesn't notice the way Izuku pulls him away randomly or pushes him somewhere so they could hide after he sees Katsuki glance at them.
If he didn't know any better, he would have thought Ishido liked being pulled around by him, with the way he would laugh and grin at him like he just did something amusing.
The day ends and before Izuku can do anything, Ishida is grabbing his hand and walking out of the school grounds with him.
"We're gonna have so much fun Mido! We can go buy some snacks at the convenience store and watch movies if you want!"
Izuku nods and he feels Ishida's hand squeeze slightly tighter. Ishida's red eyes shine, and his spiky black hair brushes back slightly with the wind.
That churning in his stomach doesn't go away even when they get to his house. Inko isn't home since she's working, so its just the two of them. Ishida doesn't waste time, smoothly taking off his shoes and going up the stairs.
Izuku watches from below, untying his own shoes. The first time Ishida came to his house, he stared at the pictures above the stairs and asked Izuku a million questions.
"Why is Bakugou in here?"
"You guys look so little, have you known each other long?"
"Do you guys talk a lot?"
"Does he still visit?"
"So your mom and his mom are friends?"
Izuku didn't answer any of them. Ishida didn't mind that either, because he still stares at them. He doesn't like that Ishida sees all of this. That he looks at the pictures that Izuku cried at for years with such curiosity.
they go up to his room and he puts the disc into the game console. Ishida plops himself on Izuku's bed, watching him closely. He can feel his eyes digging into the back of his head.
He ignores it though, setting up the game and handing him a controller.
If he spends more time with him, maybe this feeling will go away.
—---------
Katsuki doesn't know what he's supposed to fucking do.
That fucking extra won't leave Deku alone no matter what he does. He sees the two of them in the hallways together and even in class, it's like those two are glued together.
it makes anger pool in his gut and explosions come out of his hands every time he just thinks about it. He wants to teach that fucking extra a lesson about hanging around shit that's his.
it turns out that's easier said than done, because that extra is always around teachers or staff. He found out pretty quick that this asshole was a new student, which is probably why he doesn't know when to fuck off.
He hates it.
He hates seeing them together.
He hates watching Deku light up.
He hates the way that extra looks at him.
He hates that they walk home together.
He hates everything about that piece of shit.
What makes it even worse is that Deku's beatings have been once in a blue moon now, with exams and everything coming up. Katsuki is forced to go right home after school, and he barely sees that shit alone.
After a week or two, more news makes Katsuki nearly have a heart attack.
He takes his shoes off at the front door, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he steps into the house even more. His mom is sitting on the couch, typing on her phone.
He's about to walk past the living room and up the stairs when she calls out for him.
"Katsuki! Come here for a second brat!"
He already feels annoyance building up as he makes a full turn and stomps into the living room.
"What old hag?!"
Mitsuki clicks her tongue, glaring at her son from the couch.
"Shut the hell up ungrateful child of mine! Do you know anything about that kid little Izuku is hanging around with these past months?"
Even more anger fills him, and he folds his arms. His face contorts as he lets his annoyance show on his face. Even the old hag is talking about that fucking extra?
"No, i don't know shit."
Mitsuki glares at him, waving her hand.
"What the hell do you mean you don't know shit?! Inko is going on and on about this boy! Ishi- something."
Katsuki huffs and glares back at her but goes over to her on the couch.
"Why the hell is auntie talking about some fucking extra."
Mitsuki nods, looking back at her phone. Her voice lowers in volume as if the two of them are keeping a secret.
"I was surprised too. You know poor Izuku doesn't have any luck making friends other than your satanic ass. Do you think somethings going on?"
Katsuki has neglected to tell his mother that Izuku Midoriya and him are no longer and will never be friends. She just wouldn't get it.
Katsuki looks at her phone, which is already open to the text conversation with inko.
"No shit something shady is going on. Why would auntie let some fucking creep into her house."
Mitsuki looks at him, her tone sped up. Katsuki can see the glimmer of excitement at telling someone in her eyes. He's a little happy about his mom always telling him shit, especially when it gets him free information on shit nerd and asshole extra.
"Apparently he's been going over a lot lately. Even sleeping over! When was the last time you and Izuku had a sleepover hah?! When you were both five?! Seriously Katsuki, you need to work on those things or poor Izuku is going to get bored of you and look for weirdos like these!"
Katsuki did not fucking know that.
Sleeping over. At Deku's house. Alone. In his room.
Do they sleep in the same bed like they did when they were little? No, Deku is way too much of a pussy to suggest something like that with another person. He better not have.
If Katsuki finds out they sleep in the same bed he's going to go over there and blow it the fuck up.
"How do you know he's a weirdo old hag? Did auntie say something?"
Mitsuki sighs, getting more into the couch cushions. Katsuki watches the phone closely.
"Inko wouldn't dare think anything bad about someone, especially since she says Izuku looks so happy now. But i don't know... I'm getting a feeling."
Mitsuki looks at him, her expression serious.
"Katsuki, take care of him, ok? You know how easily Izuku trusts people. I'm worried it will get him into serious trouble one day. Your very special to him so you have to protect him."
He stares at her for a moment, his gut churning. Before he can feel it more, he stands up and walks away.
"Don't tell me what to do old hag."
He goes up to his room and shuts the door, but not before hearing his father from the kitchen.
"What happened? What were you guys talking about?"
He says in the same hushed voice him, and his mother were talking in a moment ago. Mitsuki's tone is excited and hushed again.
"Honey, come here come here! There's a lot of shit going on, your gonna have to sit down."
Katsuki goes to his desk and sits down. There is a picture put up in a frame next to his lamp. Its of Katsuki and Deku when they were children, nets in their hands and smiling so big it looks like their cheeks are straining.
He doesn't know how many times he's thrown this picture away only to have it put back at his desk the next morning. He faces the frame down, looking away from the picture and going back to studying.
When he's done with all of this, he'll make sure that extra stays away from Deku. It's not like the nerd will care anyway. That extra is nothing but a pain in Katsuki's ass.
Once he gets rid of him for good, everything will go back to normal.
Then this stupid feeling will go away.
—-
Izuku finds himself getting used to being around Ishida. With how much he's been around, how could he not?
He sees him at school, at home, and even on the weekends. He's pretty sure even his mom is tired of seeing him walking around all the time.
And It's not like everything in his life is changed now that he has a new friend. It didn't magically change Izuku's entire life for the better.
But it does make everything slightly better.
He doesn't have to do group projects by himself anymore. He has somewhere to sit at lunch. He has plans after school. He has someone his own age to talk to.
He has someone who doesn't bully him. Doesn't hit him. Doesn't call him names. Doesn't leave burns into his skin the shape of hands.
Even when he is bullied, seeing and hanging out with Ishida has a calming effect on him. He's always so nice, giving Izuku snacks, collectables, drinks, anything.
Even when they hang out together or just study, Ishida pays for it all despite Izuku begging him to let him pay at least once.
It's nice.
It makes him feel like things aren't that bad.
The small changes seem to be enough to brighten his mood the more they happen and that sinking feeling in his gut is slowly sinking into nothing but a lingering aftertaste.
Izuku is slammed into the lockers on his way to his class right when he's thinking about all of this. it hurts really bad, especially because his head slammed twice.
His first thought was that he wished he didn't leave his backpack in the classroom, because then maybe it would have hurt less.
He winces and he doesn't need to open his eyes to know who's gripping his uniform collar like a lifeline.
Katsuki's red eyes glare into his soul, planning to rip it out of him and shove it back down by his throat.
He still hasn't gotten over Izuku running off that day, which means things have gotten a lot worse in this area of his life.
But what's worse is that when this happens, that sinking gut feeling goes away completely.
He doesn't know why.
It makes him feel disgusted with himself, but it seems like his body doesn't really care. It relishes when Katsuki yanks him up and pulls him forcefully.
And then he feels even more sick when his twisted brain has a fleeting thought. Something that would be seen as a positive is forced to mean something different in Izuku's mind.
Ishida wouldn't do this.
Ishida isn't kacchan.
He isn't Katsuki.
He forces the thought away like it physically hurt him.
Katsuki wordlessly slams Izuku against the brick wall, the place for most of Izuku's beatings. He can't see his face.
Izuku yelps when the harsh brick prickles through the fabric of his uniform and he looks up from the ground.
It's just Katsuki.
none of his goons to loom over his shoulders and laugh as Katsuki beats the shit out of him. This must be more personal than normal if it's just him.
Katsuki hasn't done anything that extreme yet, he's just standing there. Izuku doesn't know what to do, so he just looks up at him.
His heart is racing, and he feels nervousness pump through his body like blood.
what is going-
"Take it off."
Izuku jumps and his eyes must reflect his confusion because Katsuki speaks louder.
"I said fucking take off your jacket!"
Izuku stares at his eyes and quivers, wanting to protest. Before he can say anything though, Katsuki flexes his fingers, a clear sign that he's going to blow up Izuku's face if he refuses.
That sick feeling sets his senses on fire and Izuku feels even more disgusted with himself. He unbuttons his uniform jacket to reveal the white t shirt underneath.
He lets his uniform jacket fall to the ground around him as he looks back at Katsuki. He's still just standing there, but his eyes are coldly focused on Izuku.
He grits out between his teeth as if his anger is just begging to be let out, waiting for the perfect chance for Izuku to fuck up so he can take it out on him,
"Your shirt too."
Izuku flinches and he grips the hem of his shirt. He lifts it up slowly, the soft brush of the cold air making him shiver slightly.
Once it's over his head and onto the floor with his uniform jacket, he realizes what Katsuki wants to see.
All over his body are scars.
Scars in the shape of hands.
Katsuki steps closer and Izuku forces himself to stay still. Izuku watches with bated breath as he crouches down and reaches his hand out.
His eyes are trained on a scar right at Izuku's chest, spanned out to cover as much area as possible.
Katsuki's warm hands fit the scar over his heart perfectly, and Izuku sees glee dance in his eyes despite his cold expression.
Izuku feels his heart racing, the sound thundering in his ears. He knows Katsuki can feel it because he looks even more pleased.
"Listen Deku and fucking listen close."
Izuku looks at him, shaking under his hand as Katsuki glares back. Katsuki has never done this before. Not in all of the years he's been tormenting Izuku.
So why now?
why with that look in his eyes?
"Every time you look at yourself. Every fucking time you see your shitty self in the mirror, i want you to be reminded who fucking owns you. Never fucking forget who lets your useless ass stay alive."
Izuku feels Katsuki's hand warm up even more, and he grits his teeth. Katsuki watches his reaction closely before standing up. He spits down at him, and without another word, he leaves.
Izuku watches after him, his heart still racing.
For some reason, that felt insanely different.
A different that makes Izuku's stomach do weird shit that he does not like.
________________
Katsuki can't take it anymore.
He can't fucking stand it.
Seeing them together pisses him off more and more every single time he is forced to look at it. At lunch, in class, in the hallways, hell even fucking walking home and to school.
He even hears about it from his parents constantly.
One time, he was stepping out of his house, ready to walk to school. And who does he see, getting out of Deku's house with messy hair, clean uniform, and breakfast in his hands?
That fucking extra.
He had spent the night at Deku's house, and now they were walking to school together, just to walk back and do it all over again.
The scene reminds him of preschool, when him and the trash would walk hand in hand, from school back to one of their houses for a sleepover.
"Such a good kid for making sure little Izuku gets home safe!"
His stomach is constantly filled with red hot anger, boiling and begging to explode out of him. It goes away when he looks down at Deku, top half of his uniform off, shaking and pleading with him silently.
His eyes scan every single area of flesh. Evey single scar in the shape of his hand. It makes his heart clench with excitement. On his shoulders, his ribs, his stomach, his chest, every part screams Katsuki.
He's never done this before. It's not as bad as other things, but it feels insanely different. Thats why he didn't want those shitty extras around.
They didn't get to see this.
This was for his eyes only.
This is how it should always be. Deku should know that every single part of him belongs to him and him alone. He can't run away from it because it's burned into his skin, his whole body.
So it doesn't fucking matter how much time he spends with some other extra.
He doesn't know how to say all of this to him, these thoughts coming in so fast and so sudden that Katsuki can barely prosses them himself.
So he steps closer and reaches out, his hand fitting perfectly over the scar located at Izuku's heart. He wants to warm his hand up so much it scars again.
He can feel Deku's sporadic heartbeat, his heart practically slamming itself against his hand.
Jumping for him.
His green eyes look at him, fear and confusion so clear Katsuki gets the urge to pluck them out.
Where the hell is that excited look from before?
Come on you piece of shit, smile.
Or I'll make you.
"Listen Deku and fucking listen close."
he watches as Izuku flinches, staring up at him.
He can't say all of the things he's thinking about, so he says,
"Every time you look at yourself. Every fucking time you see your shitty self in the mirror, i want you to be reminded who fucking owns you. Never fucking forget who lets your useless ass stay alive."
Katsuki warms his hand up even more and watches the panic cross his face.
He wants to ruin Deku's face, so he'll be last person to ever get to see his pre-
He stands and walks, but not before spitting down at him like the trash he is.
The red boiling anger is back into the pit of his stomach right when the little shit is out of sight. That should teach him, and if it doesn't, Katsuki will have no complaints to beating the shit out of him again.
After school, only a couple minutes after beating the shit out of Deku, Katsuki is outside. His goons are nowhere to be found, so he's lounging around next to the vending machines by the convivence store.
He's sipping on a drink he bought just for something to do, sitting right behind them in the shade.
He figures he could just go home after he's done with his drink and study or something, so he is about to stand up and leave when he hears a familiar voice.
"I promise I'm fine Ishida Kun. You don't have to worry about me."
Deku.
He stops, waiting.
Then he hears that assholes voice.
"It's not fine mido! I can't believe he just gets to get away with something like this! He's a total monster!"
Katsuki's mood worsens at the sound of his fucking voice saying that dumbass nickname.
Mido?
Fucking stupid.
There is the sound of the vending machine beeping and a can falling out.
"Here."
"You don't have to buy every time we go out somewhere Ishida Kun..."
"Don't worry about it mido! I like doing it for you. Drink up."
Why the hell is he spoiling Deku. It's not like the fucking trash asked for it. Does he think Deku's some charity case or some shit?
Does it help his stupid ass ego to help someone who's quirkless and weak?
there is the sound of the can being opened and then silence. When that asshole finally speaks, what he says makes Katsuki want to kill him even more.
"You won't have to worry about him anymore Mido. I promise I'll take care of him for you. That way you won't get hurt anymore."
He says it so softly, so sincerely that Katsuki instantly knows its bullshit.
Another fake ass hero wannabe deciding that fixing the quirkless kid's problems is a good way to pass time.
How can Deku not see through this guy's shit?
Katsuki hears the sound of footsteps walking away from the vending machines and he turns the corner to yell out some shit.
Maybe beat that asshole extra up to show Deku just how weak this bitch really is. With no teachers around, who's going to fucking stop him now?
But when he turns the corner and looks ahead, he stops.
Deku smiles at the extra. Not just smiles, fucking beams at him.
And with that stupid fucking look in his eyes he says,
"You're already doing enough for me Ishida Kun. Your always so nice."
"Thats because we're best friends Mido!"
Katsuki feels that anger turn cold, and with sudden clarity, he realizes just how much it fucking stings.
________________
He's becoming a lot closer to Ishida then he first thought he would. Even after the project was over with, he continued to hang out with Izuku the same as always.
It feels so much different from how his life usually goes, and he's starting to feel a lot happier. Once that first wave of suspicion turning into acceptance, hanging out with Ishida has been a lot of fun.
Even when getting the shit beaten out of him, he still feels happy because he knows Ishida will be walking him home.
It was overbearing at first, with how friendly and straight forward he was, but once he got used to it, it hasn't been that bad.
But even if he's happier with hanging out with him, he always feels this sort of guilt.
Guilt because no matter how much he tries, he always has these messed up thoughts.
Ishida is too much. Not like kacchan at all.
Kacchan would never do this.
Don't you think he's being too much?
It makes him feel terrible and sick with himself. Ishida is a million times better then Katsuki would ever be.
His dumb brain thinking otherwise is just insane.
Ishida and Izuku are studying in his room like always, Izuku at his desk and Ishida on his bed. He's writing on his homework, the scratching of his pencil filling the room along with Ishida murmuring to himself, reading flashcards.
Izuku doesn't mind the quiet at all, if anything, it makes him feel slightly peaceful. They spend a lot of time in his room, which normally Izuku would be uncomfortable with, i mean, he was at first, but he's gotten used to it by now.
He can hear Ishida moving around on his bed but focuses on his homework.
"Do you see that Bakugo kid a lot outside of school?"
Despite Izuku showing clear discomfort in answering questions about Katsuki, Ishida either doesn't get the hint or just doesn't care.
Thats fine.
Izuku hopes that's something else he'll get used to over time.
"Um... Sometimes?"
"Like, when?"
Izuku would understand if it was just a couple questions one day, like why he bullies Izuku or something. But no.
Ishida makes it a habit to ask at least ten questions every single chance he gets.
"When we go over for dinner or theirs a family party or something..."
"Do you guys talk a lot? Has he been in here?"
"No, he usually avoids me when we meet in public with his family around... And he hasn't been in here since we were little."
"Would you talk to him if you could?"
Its these dumb questions that get Izuku stuck in his brain.
look at how nosy he is
why can't he just fucking take the hint?
Tell him to shut up
"Um... I mean..."
at his stalled answer, he hears Ishida sit up from his bed. He still hasn't turned to look at him or anything, staring down at his homework.
"What? You can't answer or something?"
The tone in his voice makes Izuku a little irritated, but he shrugs it off.
Ishida is just being a concerned friend.
"It's not that, it's just complicated."
"Complicated?"
"Thats what i said."
Ishida sighs.
"Mido, you don't have to get so mad."
"If you wanna know so bad then ask him yourself. I've told you a million times that i don't like taking about him and it's not any of your business."
Izuku grumbles.
He likes Ishida, really, he's a good friend, but its times like this that Izuku can get...
frustrated.
"Mido, come on. I'm your best friend, I'm pretty sure i have a right to know what's going on between you two."
Izuku sighs and finally looks at him. Ishida is sat comfortably in his bed, right at home. His red eyes stare back at Izuku, concerned but uncaring.
"There is nothing going on so don't keep asking."
Ishida looks back at him, and then he sighs.
As if Izuku is a difficult child that needs to be gently scolded.
Kacchan would never-
"Ok, ok ill stop asking for now. Since you're in a bad mood, you wanna go get some take out? My treat."
Ishida smiles at him and his tone is so carefree and relaxed that if Izuku wasn't really listening, he wouldn't have noticed the way he said for now.
Izuku will get used to it.
"Fine."
Ishida smiles brighter at him and stands up, the bed creaking from under him as he brushes himself off.
"Good! You need a break anyway. What are you feeling?"
Izuku feels sick, if that means anything.
"Um... Whatever you want."
Ishida seems pleased with that answer (like every night) and he takes his phone out orders the same old shit.
"Pizza it is!"
And like every night, Izuku gets up and goes downstairs to the living room so that they could start a show.
At least that's something that changes.
Izuku looks out the glass door that looks out towards the backyard to see Katsuki's room light still on.
He wonders if he's doing anything important right now.
He stares at it for a moment before he goes back to the living room and sits on the couch. Ishida looks at him as he walks in, that same smile on his face.
"What were you looking at?"
Izuku shrugs, turning on the T.V.
"Nothing."
Ishida smiles, but his eyes reflect something different. He clearly doesn't believe what he just said but decides to ignore it.
He plops down right next to Izuku as he chooses a show.
He likes hanging out with him, really, but he wishes they would switch it up sometimes.
Maybe he's just blowing it out of proportion.
It's not that bad, and if he's being honest, it's still nice having something to look forward to. So Izuku just ignores the deep pit in his stomach and clicks play.
No more thinking about Katsuki, and no more comparing Ishida to Katsuki
Izuku looks at the patio door and sees Katsuki's room light turn off.
—
That fucking line keeps running through his head.
"Thats because we're best friends Mido!"
When he sleeps, when he eats, even when he's at school. It's like a huge fucking blur of memories that just piss him off more and more.
What's worse is the way Deku looks at him now. It's not the straight-out fear in his eyes, the longing, or even the need that he used to see. Now it's just nothing, like what Katsuki is doing to him doesn't even matter.
Like Katsuki doesn't even fucking matter.
He doesn't bring the other extras to kick the shit out of the nerd anymore. Sure, that pissed them off, but it's not like Katsuki actually gives a shit.
Now, it's just him and the trash. He was hoping this would snap the nerd back, get him to realize Katsuki is the only thing he needs to fucking needs.
He doesn't know why, but he ends up just getting even more pissed.
-
Katsuki is walking home and sees Deku and that fucking extra with him. He has seen them together a number of times, and every single time, he feels like he's going to explode.
That asshole has the balls to brush his hand against Deku's. With that stupid fucking grin on his face. Katsuki has always been good at reading people, and this asshole was full of bullshit.
He listens in on their conversation, which wasn't that hard because it's like the both of them are living in their own damn bubble.
"Is your mom making katsudon again Mido?"
Izuku looks at him and gives him a small smile, his eyes glancing at the assholes hand touching his to go back to his face.
"Uh, yeah, she is."
If anyone else was watching, they would think that Deku is just a little uncomfortable, usual shyness.
But Katsuki isn't anyone else.
He's known Deku since they were in fucking diapers, knows all of his ticks, his mannerisms, hell even how many shitty freckles cover his face.
He knows especially well when Deku is feeling negative shit. When his eyes darken and his expression falters from that usual polite smile, he knows Deku is at least a little annoyed with this asshole.
That makes the hot pit of anger in his stomach cool slightly.
See?
Deku doesn't want to be around this asshole.
He must be doing something, blackmailing him into hanging out with him, something huge. Katsuki is going to find out what.
Then, when he beats the shit out of this useless extra, Deku will have no complaints and he'll get off with barely anything.
Everything will go back to normal.
He just needs to know more. He'll just follow them around for a couple of days, just on their walks and shit.
Nothing crazy.
-
Thats what he said, but that's not what he's doing at all.
Those little following sessions go from walking behind them to straight out watching Izuku's window at night.
At one point, he even found himself standing outside of the house, looking in from the street. From his small stakeouts, he was able to find out a lot as the days passed.
One, was that they do the same shit every single day.
Walk home from school, to Deku's room to study, get pizza, watch a show or a movie downstairs, go to sleep (That asshole has been rejected many many times when asking to sleep in Deku's bed, thank fucking god) and do it all over again.
There are some changes when inko is around, and even he can tell she's bored of the same old shit.
Second, is that the asshole is the one buying everything. Even shit Deku doesn't even ask for, just showering him with gifts and food. And every time, he waits.
He stands there and looks at Deku expectantly, until the nerd finally says it,
"You're the best Ishida, thank you."
Every.
Single.
Fucking.
Time.
He decides to change tactics. He follows that piece of shit for a couple of weeks. He realizes that this asshole isn't boring just with Deku. His whole fucking life is boring.
There is nothing special or out of the ordinary with this guy.
Except for one thing.
He always feeds this stupid cat that sleeps a couple minutes away from his house. Katsuki sees him leaving food, talking to it, and even playing with it any chance he gets.
If this was the one special thing in his life, then of course he had to force people to stay with him. Deku was the only thing in this guy's life that really fucking meant something, besides this stupid cat.
So Katsuki is going to take it away.
Starting with that fucking cat.
He walks to it in the middle of the night, watching it sleep. It looks up at him, and its eyes catch him off guard.
Big, green, and sparkling.
He stares at the cat for a moment, before it rubs its body against his leg. He has the urge to kick it.
To hurt it.
He stares at it, his red eyes piercing into it. But it just looks up at him and meows.
He crouches down and pets it, his warm hand staying on its middle. It purrs, and Katsuki grips it. Grips it so tight that he can feel its bones under his hands.
He heats up his hand just a little more.
Just one explosion and this thing is gone.
Its life is in Katsuki's hands.
And then it looks up at him with its stupid, green eyes.
And he lets it go, hands in his pockets.
-
"Hey Bakugou, are you free after school today?"
The two extras that always follow him around look at him, nervous. He glares down at them, about to tell them to fuck off.
These past few months have been nothing but following that dumbass Deku around, so he hasn't had time to hang out with these extras.
He's about to tell them to fuck off before the other extra speaks.
"We haven't hung out in a while man. You're always going off doing something else, and it's starting to worry us. Come on, it'll help you get your mind off of things."
He stares down at them, and for some reason, he doesn't say no.
He isn't giving up or anything. A day of fucking around isn't going to kill him. He's Katsuki fucking Bakugo, he doesn't need to waste his life with thinking about stupid Deku's.
It sort of makes him feel a little normal again.
Not saying that hanging out with those wastes of space made him feel better or some shit, because absolutely not.
He's walking with the two of them, and his eyes catch that stupid cat, laying down and soaking up the sun.
- A year later -
—--
It's been a year since Ishida and him have been friends.
He has started to notice more and more strange things about him that didn't... catch his attention as much as when they first met.
Like for instance, when Izuku had to cancel their hang out. He was worried about falling behind his school work since Ishida had always interrupted him halfway through his studying for the past month and he decided to get his shit together.
"Ishida, it's just for a couple of days. Besides, you see me at school all of the time, it's not like I'm telling you we can't be friends or anything-"
"Izu,"
A new nickname, seemingly better (worse) then the other one. Cementing that Ishida is supposedly close to Izuku. The green haired boy refuses to give Ishida a nickname, despite the other boy's clear insistence.
"You can call me Fu-Chan or something!"
Yeah, no.
Izuku doesn't want to be mean to his only friend, but he can't help it when Ishida is always so clingy and 'protective' of him.
"You don't have to talk to me like I'm a child, i get that! It's just that, i spent all that money the last time we hung out, and the least i ask of you is we hang out! You can still get your work done, it's not like I'm forcing you not to!"
Izuku sighs and walks downstairs, looking out the glass patio door for something to take his attention while he is on call with Ishida.
"And we can hang out after i get my stuff done. My mom-"
"Yeah, i talked to your mom!"
He had begged for Izuku to give him his moms number. The reason was just ridicules to Izuku, but he has never really had a friend besides Katsuki, so what does he know. Maybe it's a normal thing.
"I just want to be able to keep tabs on you Izu! What if something happens and i can't get a hold of you? I just want to be careful!"
"Just tell her that i could help you study or something! It's not that hard Izu, just this one time."
Izuku catches something. In Katsuki's window, he sees the blondes red eyes piercing through the patio door. The rest of his room his dark, bringing out his eyes more.
He is close to the window, standing as if he was just about to do something but stopped when he saw Izuku standing there.
It sends chills up his spine, and he stares back.
He can hear a white sound in his ear, but he doesn't really pay attention to it when he's too busy staring at the person in the window.
His relationship with Katsuki had changed somewhat in the year. He doesn't bother with him as much, except for the occasional beat up in the back of the school, insults, and shoving him out of the way.
And....
Izuku had begun to notice Katsuki around a lot more. Not actually talking to him or anything, but in the background. A quick glance, a fast blur, someone in the crowd.
And even when Katsuki shoves him, punches him, kicks him, he has this stupid thought more then he used to have.
At least he's touching me.
It interests him more then he'd like to admit, really. That voice is back in his thoughts, always thinking about Katsuki, and it makes him frustrated with himself.
I wish he looked at me more.
Did i do something wrong?
why isn't he doing what he normally does?
Did he find someone else to-
"Izu? Are you listening!?"
He snaps back to the present with the help of the sharp voice in his ear. He looks away from the eyes in the window, walking away from the glass door and into the living room.
"Uh..."
There is a sigh on the other side of the phone and an exhausted,
"Izu,"
Rings in his ears. It sends irritation spiking through his chest, and he rolls his eyes. At least on the phone, Izuku is free to wear his feelings on his sleeve and Ishida wouldn't be able to give him shit for it.
Ishida doesn't like when Izuku talks back, but when his attention isn't fully on him, it makes Ishida do that stupid voice.
Like Izuku is a little toddler and Ishida is the parent, guiding Izuku in the right direction.
Izuku glances back at the kitchen from the couch.
Is Katsuki still watching?
why was he looking at Izuku like that?
Does he always do that?
"Look, i gotta go."
Ishida sounds slightly more pissed as his tone rises.
"What for? You're not doing anything are you?"
Izuku suppresses a sigh. Then, as if the gods heard his prayer, his mom opens the door, stuck. The door is against her body and there is the sound of rustling grocery bags.
"Izuku baby! Come help me!"
Izuku is going to give her the biggest hug.
"My mom's here. Bye."
He hands up before Ishida can say anything, pockets his phone, and rushes to help his mom. He grabs the grocery bags from her clenched hands, and she opens the door fully as he steps back.
She gives him a thankful smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling, and her cheeks flushed.
"I had the busiest day today, Izu, you wouldn't believe!"
Izuku steps back from the doorway and lets inko take off her shoes as he puts the groceries on the table to start putting them away. Inko steps into the kitchen, looking around.
Izuku is a little confused but when inko leans to him and whispers,
"Is your annoying friend here today too?"
Izuku flushes and hurriedly looks at the groceries.
"Mom! You can't just say that!"
Inko looks surprised and then puts her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry! I know it's a little mean but i can't help it! That kid is over every single day! and i don't like how he talks to you Izu baby!"
Izuku hums and continues putting the groceries away.
"I much rather have Katsuki over! It's been so long, maybe Mitsuki and them can come over for dinner!"
He hates how he feels his heartbeat quicken in excitement.

Damnit.
—--
Katsuki watches from his window as Deku is talking on the phone. He knows exactly who he's talking to. He always gets that annoyed look on his face, but of course, shitty Deku is too fucking nice to say anything about how much the asshole extra annoys him.
It doesn't matter, because Katsuki is going to fucking take care of it. He's lied low this whole time, just for the perfect moment. He watches as Deku's eyes meet his.
They shine.
It pisses him off, but not as much as before.
This past year has been insanely different.
But after that asshole is gone, everything will go back to normal.
He stares back until the nerd walks away, still on the phone. He leaves his window, the singes on his hands bleeding and cracking. It pisses him off how the only thing he can do right now is wait.
With his quirk getting stronger and more out of control with how pissed he is, he can't help but let out heat that ends up just leaving singes on his hands.
He grabs the box of tissues on his desk and continues wiping off the blood, hissing through his teeth as he feels the material rub against his sensitive skin.
He throws the bloody tissues into the trash can and goes back to the window. From up here, he can see pretty much everything on his own side of the Midoriya's household.
Thats why it's not a moment later that he catches something.
Standing there, over to the fence that boards off the backyard, is that asshole. His hair stands out, and Katsuki watches him crouch there, watching the patio door.
He's hiding in one of the overgrown bushes. Katsuki has told inko a thousand fucking times to let him get rid of those pieces of shit, but ever the kind women, she gracefully declines every single time.
But seeing them used in this way, for some fucking pervert to hide behind, makes even more anger stir in his chest.
The asshole takes his phone out, and aims it right at the patio door, using his finger to zoom in. Katsuki pins the movement, unable to look away.
He grips the windowsill, smoke coming from his palms as he looks down at him. What he's doing is nothing compared to this asshole.
He's caught him doing all kinds of shit.

The shit he does makes everything Katsuki has done seem like nothing. He always catches him because the asshole lives in his own damn world, not knowing that Katsuki has been watching and following him more than he has Deku.
-
Its dark, the moonlight being the only thing letting Katsuki see out in the empty street. He is crouched against the wall of the sidewalk, the dumb cat meowing as it looks up at him.
He watches it for a moment before petting it, its fur soft and warm in his hand. Its green eyes are even more illuminated in the dark, and Katsuki stares into them.
Dumb cat.
there hasn't been any movement in the house for a while, and Katsuki decides that he doesn't have to wait any more.
That asshole is gone on another fucking sleepover with Deku like always, and his parents are out doing God knows what.

He stands up and starts to walk to the house. He hears the cat meowing after him, rubbing its body against his leg. He huffs and looks down at it, still wanting to kick it away.
But he refrains, reaching down to nudge it away with his hand as he begins to move towards the house again.

He walks as quietly as he can, going around to the back. There is a fence that blocks off the yard from everything else like normal, and Katsuki climbs it.

It's a little difficult with the fence being a smooth plastic, but he gets it done. He lands in the back yard with a small thud and doesn't even wait a second before he's making his way to the patio door.

He slides it open with ease, barely making a sound. His footsteps creak as he steps inside of the house and slides the door shut behind him.
You would think they would be careful enough to at least lock their doors when they leave or have cameras installed, but Katsuki is slightly glad that this family is full of dumbasses.

He doesn't look around the ground floor, going straight up the stairs to where he knows that assholes bedroom is. It even has his name on a small sign hanging on a hook on the door.

He opens it and steps inside and begins his search.

Chapter Text

It has all the normal shit like a computer, bed, desk, whatever. What interests him more is the curtain covering the wall in the far corner, and what is under his bed.

When Katsuki moves the curtain away, its silky texture is light in Katsuki's hand. He expected a window, but the thing he sees sends chills up his spine and a grin to his face.

There are all kind of pictures taped up, all of Deku. None of them are good or anything, Katsuki could take better ones with his eyes closed, but that's not what's important.

What's important is that most of these pictures are of Deku when he's asleep, or through a window. Katsuki happily snaps pictures of his own.

It's always good to have proof.

What he finds under the bed is even better.

A whole box of shit, Deku's boxers, Deku's hair, even Deku's god damn all might keychain.

Katsuki feels anger pooling in his gut, but his finger doesn't stop pressing the photo button.

After all of this, following him around, memorizing his routine, finding out every little thing about this piece of shit, he's finally had enough.

He's surprised that he held off for this long.

He knows just how fucking creepy this asshole is, and how it's only going to get worse the more him and shitty Deku spend time together.

To keep things from getting worse, he has to stop him no matter what.

Thats what a hero would do.

It's not like Katsuki is completely ecstatic as he snaps those pictures and saves them to his computer when he gets home.

Not at all.

____________

A couple days later, Izuku finally gets his homework in order. It felt nice, like he was in control again. Sure, Ishida was pissed off about it, but that wasn't a big deal.

Izuku didn't do anything wrong, and it's probably a good thing he gets some space away from him.

He has dinner with his mom, goes to bed, and puts his phone to charge next to his bed. He expects a nice deep sleep, waking up in the middle of the day, and just being lazy without anyone bothering him.

That is not what he gets.

His brain picks up his phone ringing in the middle of the night. It's still so dark, and his eyes are blurry. He blindly reaches for his ringing phone, praying to the gods that it's not an alarm he set himself the day before in hopes he get his shit together.

He wipes his eyes, trying to get used to the blinding light in the dark, and when he finally does, Ishida's contact is all he sees on his phone.

God damnit.

He sees the time and almost shits himself.

Three in the fucking morning.

Look, Izuku feels bad that he is always annoyed with Ishida, but his patience can only stretch so thin. Especially when he calls at three in the morning on the weekend.

He picks up, staring blankly at his ceiling. His voice even sounds exhausted when it echos in his room.

"Ishida. If you're calling me for some bullshit reason, I'm going to be very upset."

He isn't in the mood to mask his annoyance, besides he's way too sleepy right now. He waits for a minute before there is sniffling on the other side.

"I-Izuku..."

The tone of his voice is weak and sounds like he's about to cry. Izuku bolts up, his phone pressed against his ear.

"What happened? Why are you crying?"

Ishida sniffs again, followed by the sound of footsteps, and then the sound of him sitting down.

"I... I'm outside. Can you come out?"

Izuku wipes his grogginess away as best as he can.

"Ok, I'm coming out right now. Just give me a second."

He says, yawning as he forces himself to stand up and puts his shoes on. He makes sure he is being as quiet as possible when he steps out of his room, not wanting to wake up his mom and worry her at all.

He goes downstairs and slips out the front door, the cold air brushing against him. He didn't waste the time to shrug on a jacket or anything, just doing straight out.

He looks around for a moment before he catches Ishida. He's sitting on the sidewalk, his knees pulled close to him as he sniffs. Izuku rushes over, going to his side.

"Ishida, what-?"

He looks up at him and Izuku stops. One of Ishida's red eyes are puffed up, black and blue bruising already starting to show. His jaw is bruised as well, and even on other parts of his body.

And that's not even what catches his attention first.

Right on his forehead is the burn in the shape of a palm.

Its bleeding slightly, and tears come from his one good eye as he looks at him.

"Izuku..."

Izuku feels a sudden chill race through his body as he stares at Ishida's forehead. Of course he knows who did this.

Who else would have left a mark like this?

Why would he do that to Ishida of all people and not h-

"Tell me what happened Ishida."

He's surprised that he sounds so calm, but maybe he just can't hear the anger quivering in his voice. The other hugs him tightly, and Izuku puts his hand in his hair, trying to comfort him at least a little bit.

"I-I don't- He just came up to me! I was in the park, a-and he started yelling at me. I... I told him to leave me and you alone, b-but that just made him more pissed off and when i tried to get away, he caught me and beat me up... And...."

Izuku rubs circles on his back, that cold anger spreading through his body like electricity and making his muscles tense.

"And what?"

He presses, firm but gentle, nonetheless. Ishida's grip tightens around his clothes, and he lets out a small sob.

"H-He grabbed me and put his hand on my forehead and told me if i kept hanging out with you that he would... would blow my brains out with his b-bare hands and-"

He lets out a choked-up sob and cries harder, clinging to him. Izuku hugs him back and his cries echo in the dark sidewalk.

The sky is clear and the moon shines down at them. Izuku, out on the sidewalk, in his pajamas, is hugging his friend.

The friend that Katsuki Bakugou hurt.

The friend that Katsuki Bakugou burned just like he burned him.

The difference is that this mark will heal and be gone after a couple of weeks, and it will look like it was never there.

Izuku's marks will never disappear, covering every piece of his body and skin, forever.

"Don't worry Ishida, I'll take care of it ok?"

Ishida looks at him again, his one red eye irritated and puffy from the tears.

"You- You can't Izuku, he'll hurt you even more. Please don't do anything about it. I promise that I'm okay."

Ishida's grip tightens.

"Please."

Izuku stares at him, confused.

"Ishida, i can't do that. He hurt you, he burned you. I'm going to-"

"You can't do anything about it Izuku! Me and you both know that! So just... leave it. If your here with me, then I'll be ok..."

Izuku closes his mouth, and nods. Ishida seems satisfied because he goes back to hugging Izuku like a lifeline.

But he's not going to listen.

Like hell he's going to let Katsuki get away with this.

______________

- Hours Earlier -

It may look like Katsuki is watching from his window again as that little asshole is snooping around Deku's house, because that's what's happening.

He needed to keep him on a short fucking leash now that he knew all of his fucked-up secrets. He had to make sure that shit nerd and auntie inko were safe.

At least that's how his fucked-up brain was twisting it.

It was more like a territorial feeling. Like how a dog feels when some random stranger is fucking with its shit. Angry and possessive.

Yeah, more like that.

Though Katsuki isn't going to let this assholes bullshit slide any longer. It all comes to a breaking point when he watches the bastard jump over the fence and into the yard.

Not all that alarming, just the normal shit this guy does.

But then he has the balls to try and open the patio door to their house.

None of the members of the Midoriya household were currently home, both off together doing some shit right after inko got home.

It ticks him off even more, watching that sly asshole. It's like he thinks he'll be able to get away with anymore of this.

Like he's invincible.

Katsuki snaps some pictures of his own, except of the asshole trying so hard to open the patio door. Its locked, so he's never going to actually get in that way.

He seems to get this too, because he leaves the door alone, a frustrated expression twisting his features even more (Let's be honest, this fucker is ugly compared to Katsuki) and just settles for taking pictures through Izuku's window.

Katsuki glares down at him. Maybe if he gets enough dirt on this fucker, Deku will have to believe anything Katsuki says.

The extra doesn't finish his shit till twelve in the fucking morning, when Deku and auntie inko are already home and passed the hell out.

He's about to close the curtain to his window and call it a day but stops.

What he sees makes his blood turn cold and his eyes focus on the phone as he hears a distinct click.

That asshole is aiming his phone perfectly into Deku's window. He had climbed up a tree and is perched in one of the branches like a damn monkey, pressing the photo button over and over.

Deku is in there, sleeping.

Unaware of what this fucker is doing.

This piece of shit.

Katsuki doesn't know when he gets outside, or even when he looks forward and sees that he's tailing the son of a bitch.

He's walking ahead, hands in his pockets like he didn't just do what he did. Katsuki had seen the many photos of Deku sleeping already but seeing them actually being taken was another story entirely.

He watches as the asshole stops at a park, tapping on the buttons of a vending machine to get something. There is no one else around, the night calm and quiet.

Katsuki looks towards the playground, and he instantly recognizes it. Its colorful plastic and it looks unsettling in the darkness. Especially with the thoughts running through his head at the moment.

this was the playground him and Deku used to play in when they were kids. For some reason, that strikes a cord with him and he feels himself get angrier.

He doesn't even try to stop himself as he stomps over to the extra and punches him right in the face.

He feels his fist connect perfectly to the side of his jaw, and watches as the asshole is knocked to the ground, his drink spluttering all over the floor next to him.

He looks up at him, grabbing his face in horror as he scrambles up.

"What the hell?!"

Katsuki doesn't say anything, just seethes and readies his arm for another punch. It lands right at his ribs, and he dry heaves, lurching back.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! Hah?!"

He lands another, and another, and another.

He wants to make sure he doesn't get up.

That he stays here on the ground forever.

"W-Wait! Stop! Please! No more! W-What do you want?!"

Katsuki stops his punches for a moment, staring down at him. His eye is puffed up, his face swollen and bruised. It's not enough. Not nearly enough.

"I want you to fucking die."

He lets out a scream as Katsuki punches him again.

"Please, s-stop! Im- I'm Izuku Midoriya's frien-"

"You think i give a shit about that?! You're not his fucking friend! You're a crazy fucking stalker!"

Katsuki grins and puts his hand on his forehead as the extra shakes so bad he looks like a leaf in the wind.

"I know all about the shit you've been doing, and when I'm done here, that shitty nerd is going to know too! Your done for you piece of shit."

He heats his hand up and a satisfied feeling feels him when the asshole screams. He tries to wiggle away from Katsuki, but the blonde has his other hand gripping his hair tightly in his fist.

"I'm going to make sure you never stalk him again. If i see you doing any kinds of shit, ill blow your fucking skull up with my bare hands. You're lucky I'm even giving you a fucking warning. You should thank me."

Katsuki sees smoke rising from his palm and smells the burning flesh. Now this asshole gets to feel half of what Katsuki has been feeling this whole fucking time.

That burning, the smell, the pain, all of it.

When the asshole does nothing but scream, Katsuki grips his hair harder and slams his face into the concrete with a sickening crack.

"I said you should thank me bastard! Are you fucking deaf!?"

"T-Thank you! Thank you please let me go!!"

He lets go of his hair and kicks his ribs again just to watch the son of the bitch squirm and cry.

His job here is done.

He walks off, feeling better and lighter, hands in his pockets.

—---------------------

The next day couldn't have come any faster. Izuku couldn't even get much sleep after the whole incident. Ishida had begged him to walk him home, and Izuku would be a horrible friend if he left him all alone after what happened to him.

Then him and Ishida spent even more time talking to each other, and not even about the incident, just normal things like it was just another one of their hang outs and everything was just normal.

Izuku found it strange that Ishida was so nonchalant about the whole thing, begging Izuku to just forget about it. Maybe it was just shock. Everyone deals with traumatic events differently, and Ishida's response could just be pretending like it never happened.

It made Izuku feel even worse.

After getting home way late, he snuck back inside his bedroom to catch up on some sleep. Only to be woken up an hour later by his alarm waking him up for school. Now he's pissed and sleep deprived.

He gets out of bed grudgingly, wishing to stay in just a little longer. But when he looks at himself in the bathroom mirror to brush his teeth, that sparkling anger fills him up. He can see the marks on his shoulders, peeking out from behind his shirt.

Scars in the shape of hands make his skin crawl and he wants to scratch them. He wants to rip them off his body, because it isn't fair. For some sick reason, he feels betrayed. It's a mix of emotions that Izuku would have to take hours to understand.

On one hand, he feels angry. Angry for his friend who got hurt so badly, angry because his friend didn't deserve that. But he can tell that he's angry for some other reason.
And on the other, he feels betrayed. Like in some other part of his brain, those burns were something he was only supposed to see on himself.

After years at looking at himself and seeing them, it became something that was only a problem for him. Like, 'Yeah, these hurt but I'm the only one that has them. It's not that big a deal. It's not like anyone else would get it.'

But now, that's changed.

Because it isn't something Katsuki does easily. He doesn't like leaving any physical marks. A little temporary hearing loss is nothing, but evidence of his quirk being used on someone, the shape of his hand on someone's body, could be more then damaging.

So why?

He knows Izuku would never go to the teachers or someone else and show them all the scars, but Ishida would be a gamble. Not to mention the fact that Katsuki has to hold his hand there against the person, feel them.

It twists his stomach.

He finishes getting ready for school and begins to walk. What should he do? He can't let Katsuki get away with what he did, and Ishida or the teachers are no help. So Izuku will have to take matters into his own hands.

Normally the thought would never occur to him. He could supply fifty reasons not to confront Katsuki, most reasons include all of the new ways Katsuki would find to beat the shit out of him just for standing up to him.

But with these mixed-up emotions clouding his mind, he doesn't have time to think about all of that stuff. Even more so when he sees his face.

He's standing right in front of him, hands shoved in his pockets with his normal expression on his face.

Like he did nothing out of the ordinary only hours ago.

His body moves before his mind can catch up.

He runs toward him, his footsteps banging against the concrete as he grips the back of his uniform, much like all the times Katsuki drags him away, and pulls as hard as he can.

The blonde is clearly caught off guard and looks at Izuku, a piercing glare on his face as he tries to pull away the moment he's touched.

He doesn't get a chance to even say anything because Izuku glares down at him and drags him off to the place they go when Katsuki feels like he needs to beat something into Izuku's skull. Once they're there, Izuku pushes him back, making him stumble slightly.

Katsuki glares back at him, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Deku, what the hell do you think your fucking doing."

He seethes it out, like he's just about to explode. And like that, the anger that Izuku has been holding in feels like its seeping out of him, begging to be let out after years of growing and waiting.

"Ishida told me what you did to him. I'm pissed off, and I'm here to tell you to never lay your filthy hands on him again."

Katsuki looks slightly surprised, but he steps closer, looking like he wants to beat Izuku's skull in. But Izuku doesn't back down like usual.

"And what the hell are you going to do if i don't shit nerd?"

"I'm going to show all the teachers and the principle all of the pretty scars on my body. I'm sure you know the shape of them, since they're your hands."

Katsuki stops, his red eyes wide. Izuku knows that he would never do that, but Katsuki doesn't.

"You may be the golden boy, but even then, they can't ignore them. Even if they do, i could just post about it online. It's bound to leave something on your record, and you know how much U.A values something like that."

Katsuki takes a moment, before scoffing.

"Yeah? You think people will give a fuck about some quirkless kid? You're in no position to fucking threaten me, Deku! You think you got me wrapped around your finger or some shit?! You think you fucking matter?!"

the last part stings a bit, but Izuku doesn't let it show on his face.

"Yeah, i do! If i post about it, even if it doesn't get any recognition, it'll still be there. U.A is known for their thorough background checks on new students and bullying is a very serious allegation when it comes to the public eye. So, i think it's in your best interest to listen to what the hell I'm telling you to do."

Katsuki stares at him. Izuku looks back, watching for anything, waiting for what he's going to say next. Whatever it is, Izuku knows he has him cornered.

—-----------------

He felt a shit ton better after beating that asshole up. Now he wouldn't have to think about that extra sticking his head in his fucking business anymore.

He's at the front of the school, planning to have a peaceful day. Everything will be just fine now. That was what he was thinking about before he felt someone grip the back of his uniform.

He is about to kill the person who dares touch him but stops when he his glare lands on green eyes.

What the hell?

The nerd looks pissed, something Katsuki hasn't seen in... hell he can't even remember the last time he looked like that.

He doesn't get a chance to say anything because he is almost instantly dragged away after Deku gives him one last glare. It makes his heart speed up in some sort of panic, but he reasons with himself.

Its Deku, what the hell is he going to do. Katsuki is going to wipe that fucking look off his shitty face right when he gets the chance.

He's dragged to the spot where he beats the shit out of Deku every single day. He is shoved by the piece of shit, which does not almost make him stumble onto his ass like some little bitch.

He thought today, everything would go like normal, but Deku keeps fucking messing it up. But he decides that since he was in such a good mood, he would show the trash some mercy.

Even though his fists are shaking with the urge to find Deku's face and blow it the hell up, he instead asks as calmly as he can,

"Deku, what the hell do you think your fucking doing."

Good, Great, Katsuki is amazing at calmly talking. Instead of just backing the hell down, the piece of shit has the nerve to keep looking at Katsuki like he just shot all of his family members.

"Ishida told me what you did to him. I'm pissed off, and I'm here to tell you to never lay your filthy hands on him again."

His eyes widen slightly. God damnit. He should have known that asshole wouldn't keep his stupid mouth shut. He probably went to Deku crying and bitching, so now he feels like he needs to do something about it.

Well that's what Katsuki gets for being so nice. Next time that fucker won't have any chance to go snitch on him. He finds it slightly funny that Deku calls his hands filthy but has them all over his body. It's not like he had a choice, so he won't laugh this time.

He steps closer, expecting Deku to step back, but he doesn't. Thats fine, it just pisses him off even more. He's going to have a fun time beating his ass up after this.

"And what the hell are you going to do if i don't shit nerd?"

He knows he doesn't actually have the balls to do anything, s-

"I'm going to show all the teachers and the principle all of the pretty scars on my body. I'm sure you know the shape of them, since they're your hands."

Katsuki stops. He knows what he's getting at. He stares at Deku, and he doesn't stop fucking talking.

"You may be the golden boy, but even then, they can't ignore them. Even if they do, i could just post about it online. It's bound to leave something on your record, and you know how much U.A values something like that."

Wow.

He can't help but scoff at this idiot. Who the hell does he think he is? What kind of fucking shit is Deku on to think that he can threaten him? Deku needs to fucking remember who he is.

"Yeah? You think people will give a fuck about some quirkless kid? You're in no position to fucking threaten me, Deku! You think you got me wrapped around your finger or some shit?! You think you fucking matter?!"

"Yeah, i do! If i post about it, even if it doesn't get any recognition, it'll still be there. U.A is known for their thorough background checks on new students and bullying is a very serious allegation when it comes to the public eye. So, i think it's in your best interest to listen to what the hell I'm telling you to do."

Katsuki stares at him, and he can see Deku's eyes scanning over his face over and over, waiting.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You think your some fucking hero standing up for your shitty friend? You think just because you have some proof, shit is going to go your way? You need to wake the hell up."

Katsuki shoves his shoulder and watches with some satisfaction when Deku winces and falls back slightly.

"Thats why i fucking hate you. You're a waste of space who needs a serious reality check. Your useless, when we were kids, and even now."

Katsuki shoves his shoulder again, finally managing to force him against the wall. He doesn't look so cocky now, that piece of shit.

"So get the fuck over yourself and shut the fuck up, kay?"

Katsuki can't help but smile at him, but it doesn't seem to be very friendly with that looks he's getting.

"I... I'm not going to let you push me around anymore! I'm sick of your bullshit!"

Katsuki grits his teeth as the bastard stands back up, glaring back at him.

"Deku. I've been so fucking nice, but you're really pissing me off."

He doesn't listen to his warning, instead continuing.

"You're the one who needs to get over themselves. I can't believe that all this time, I've been wanting things to go back to the way they were before. That I've been hoping that one day you would just... grow up. But I'm done. You can go play in oncoming traffic for all i fucking care."

Katsuki doesn't know what to say, so he doesn't say anything. He just does what he normally does. He lets that pooling hot anger make his skin burn and he reaches out, ready to blow Deku's stupid head off.

—---------------

His response is half of what he expected. His lips pull back in a snarl, and he speaks,

"Who the hell do you think you are? You think your some fucking hero standing up for your shitty friend? You think just because you have some proof, shit is going to go your way? You need to wake the hell up."

He opens his mouth to say something in response, but Katsuki shoves his shoulder. The sharp pain makes him wince and force of it makes him go back.

"Thats why i fucking hate you. You're a waste of space who needs a serious reality check. Your useless, when we were kids, and even now."

Izuku stops and the urge to say something dies in his throat.

Thats why i fucking hate you.

Katsuki had shown more than enough times that he hated him, that was obvious. But hearing it was different. At least, it felt different. It hurt.

He gets shoved again and falls against the wall, still standing thanks to the support. He looks at Katsuki as he talks, eyes wide.

"So get the fuck over yourself and shut the fuck up, kay?"

He smiles.

A cold one that lacks any real happiness, but what he sees in his eyes makes his gut feel queasy and his spit taste sour.

Some sort of twisted satisfaction. He's sick of it. Of realizing over and over that the person he once idolized, the one that he once called his best friend, is not there anymore.

"I... I'm not going to let you push me around anymore! I'm sick of your bullshit!"

He watches as Katsuki's jaw sets and his eyes glare down at him. He stands up straight, properly back on his feet.

"Deku. I've been so fucking nice, but you're really pissing me off."

He doesn't feel that sinking in his gut or that pain that Katsuki's words give him anymore. He won't let himself feel it.

"You're the one who needs to get over themselves. I can't believe that all this time, I've been wanting things to go back to the way they were before. That I've been hoping that one day you would just... grow up. But I'm done. You can go play in oncoming traffic for all i fucking care."

He sees Katsikis hand reach out and he can almost feel the heat of his palm against his face right after he is done with his last sentence. It comes so close; all he has to do is lean in a little more and the heat will turn into a scorching pain.

"What the hell did you just say?!"

But he won't let it. He had meant what he said. It had felt so raw saying it to him that it took his mind a second to catch up. Before Katsuki's hand can connect with his face, ready to blow it off, he reaches his own hand towards him.

It connects much faster than he thought, and he feels his arm move heavily to the left with the weight of Katsuki's head. There is a loud clap that seems to echo in the isolated place and now he feels a slight sting in his palm.

He slapped him.

He slapped him.

"I said, I'm not going to let you push me around anymore Bakugou."

His voice comes out like normal, like he just did the most natural thing known to man. For some reason, he even feels oddly normal. His heart isn't racing, he isn't panicking, he's just...

Calm.

He doesn't wait for him to answer, turning and walking out. He sees the look on his face though, the red mark on his cheek and the way his mouth stays half open like a fish out of water.

He doesn't look back, his shoes crunching on the gravel and then turning into small thumps as he enters the school. His breathing feels normal, and he isn't rushing, just walking, taking his time.

He sees a bathroom up ahead and turns into it, noticing that no one is around since its still so early in the morning. He looks at himself in the mirror while leaning forward slightly. His face looks normal enough.

The problem is, the more he stares at himself, the worse he gets. His face is oddly white, like he had seen a ghost or something, and finally, he feels that queasy feeling come back to him like its looking for revenge.

He grips the cold porcelain of the sink in his hands for some sort of support. His spit gets sour again and he can almost feel something rising in his throat. He swallows it down, a nastier taste in his mouth.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, focusing on letting it in and out as he tries to relax. His shoulders don't relax by any means, still stiff and tense like any moment, Izuku's bones will just snap.

He takes one last look at himself before he lets go of the sink to plop down on the floor, his knees giving out. He's quick enough that they don't bang against the hard tile floor of the bathroom, instead ungracefully plopping onto his ass.

He buries his face in his knees.

Oh my god oh my god oh my god

Why did he do that?!

Is he dumb?!

How did he walk away so casually?!

Did he really say all of that?!

Oh my god

He groans, the sound muffled by his body as he feels his knees shake.

He's such an idiot.

He takes his face out from his knees and instead stares at the pipes of the bathroom sink in front of him, praying to some god out there that the floor will just swallow him up into a black hole.

What the hell is he going to do now...

In the middle of his racing thoughts, his phone rings and buzzes in his uniform pocket. Without looking away from the pipes that now seem to be the most interesting thing in the world right now, he takes his phone out.

He sees Ishida's caller I.D take up his screen.

He hangs up.

He just needs a minute.

—-----------------------

"What the hell did you just say?!"

He doesn't get close enough to actually blow him up though and even if he did, he was just going to burn him a little bit. It would hurt, but it wouldn't be permanent. But Deku doesn't know that.

Besides, he'd be dead if he left any marks on his face. He sees his arm first, his eyes following the movement. He can feel the small amount of heat by his hand almost touching Deku's face.

He is stopped from even doing that because he hears the loud slap, feels his head turn and he feels the stinging, all in some blur that he barely processes.

It sends sharp pain through his cheek and his brain feels like it stops for a long second.

He's snapped back to reality when Deku speaks.

"I said, I'm not going to let you push me around anymore Bakugou."

Bakugou?

His voice is calm when he says it, and when Katsuki looks at him, he feels like everything has just stopped. His eyes are almost blank, a pale green, and he stares right through him, like Katsuki is-

He leaves, the smell of his shampoo brushing against Katsuki's nose as he does. He stands there, staring at the wall in front of him, his vision hazy, long after the sound of his footsteps disappeared.

What the hell just happened?

He still feels the stinging and heat coming from his cheek and it keeps him somewhat grounded. Though that thought makes it feel even worse.

He hadn't expected Deku to get pissed off like that. He would have never expected it in a million fucking years, but here he is.

He stares at the brick wall for a while. He doesn't know for how long, but he's interrupted when he starts to hear footsteps.

His stupid brains first thought is that its Deku coming back to cry at his feet and beg for forgiveness, and his stupid body reacts, standing straighter and his vision snapping back at attention.

He's an idiot, because it's just the two extras.

"Hey Bakugo, we were looking for you!"

"Yeah! Someone said they saw Midoriya dragging you away and that he looked really pissed, did you beat him up?"

Katsuki feels that irritation rise up in him, but its shot down by some feeling of emptiness. He shoves his hands in his pockets and walks, the two of them following after.
"Yeah. Bastard cried like a little bitch."

Even the words feel empty when he says it because it isn't even true.

if anything, it was Katsuki who-

The extras give him big grins,

"Good job!"

"I bet he was begging you to go easy on him huh?"

He doesn't say anything and the two of them are more than glad to pick up his slack, talking both of his ears off as they all walk to class. Katsuki lets it slide.

It's a good distraction from the whirling pit in his gut.

Classes end in one big fat fucking blur. A blur that is mostly filled with replaying this morning over and over in his head and then feeling as that fucking pit grows so big it feels like it's going to swallow him up.

Its shitty, because right where his seat is, he is able to see everything. Right in the corner, right in the perfect spot to see that piece of shit. He looks like it's just another normal boring class, but it isn't.

He doesn't care why he feels like it isn't, but even to him, its different now. A kind of different that makes him want to go over there and make sure that fucker never looks at him like that again.

But that emptiness, again, kills any resentment or anger he may have.

Which is something he knows is extremely different.

And he fucking hates it.

-

He ends up hating it so much that he follows the piece of garbage more than usual. He wants to see just how miserable he is without Katsuki. It had to be affecting him somehow. Deku is a dumbass, but he knows he can't go on long without at least acknowledging Katsuki.

Right?

"You're the one who needs to get over themselves. I can't believe that all this time, I've been wanting things to go back to the way they were before. That I've been hoping that one day you would just... grow up. But I'm done. You can go play in oncoming traffic for all i fucking care."

Right.

Katsuki ends up following him from school to his house, staying outside to watch his window, wait till it's dark out, then going home.

For three weeks straight.

Balancing that out with school shit and actual sleep is nothing to Katsuki. He's skilled after all. He's done this thousands of times now that he can do it with his fucking eyes closed.

And every single day, he is forced to watch how unaffected Deku is about all of it, still doing all of his shit like hanging out with that asshole, studying, going out, all kinds of bullshit.

While Katsuki feels like his gut is being sucker punched like a damn idiot.

They don't even talk anymore or even look at each other. Just passing glimpses, and if they pass each other in the halls, Katsuki keeps his distance.

Even if he didn't, he knows Deku would probably jump away from him like he has some disease. It's like Katsuki doesn't even fucking matter, like it was not just months ago everything was fine.

Not fine fine but fine with him.

It's all that motherfucker's fault. If he hadn't stuck his nose in his business, if he had just stayed away, if he just left Deku fucking alone like he was supposed to, Katsuki wouldn't feel like such shit.

He's done.

He's done feeling this way.

He's done putting up with this bullshit.

That fucker is dead.

Katsuki is going to put him in the ground so deep he won't even be able to claw his damn way out.

_____________

It's been three weeks and overall, everything is ok.

He doesn't see much of Bakugou anymore, just like he wanted.

But it's also not like he's had much time to think about anything other than school and Ishida. The day everything went down, he had begged to know what had happened, and Izuku told him.

But, as always, when Izuku thinks he's going to be grateful, he is met with something like disappointment.

"Izu, I thought i told you not to do anything about it."

Was his response.

Izuku isn't bothered by it much anymore, it's just the way Ishida is. He is getting slightly worse, but it's nothing Izuku can't handle. His digs at him are getting less and less sugarcoated, turning to full blown insults with laughter after them.

Izuku had lost count of how many times he heard the phrase, 'It's just a joke' coming out of Ishida's mouth.

He had tried to hide all of this from his mom, since she never really liked Ishida anyway. It would just bother her and make a big deal out of something so small.

But he had a sinking feeling that she would hear what Ishida was saying, because when they would see her, she always gave Ishida a look when he tried to warmly greet her. He already got used to the treatment.

It's not like he's doing anything bad, he's probably just worried about Izuku like a good friend. It gets annoying sometimes (God forbid Ishida ever hearing annoying and his name in the same sentence, Izuku can only imagine) but he's fine with it.

-
Izuku is at the store with his mom after school, looking through the isles as inko pushes the cart, stopping every now and then to get something on the shopping list. The speakers play some song Izuku has never heard before, but the tune is joyful.

He had put his phone on silent the night before and had forgotten about it, and he hadn't picked it up since. It was nice, just walking around and talking to his mom about random things.

After they get all the things they need, the both of them were waiting in line. There are five people ahead of them, the cashier ringing them up with a blank look on his face.

Izuku takes out his phone to pass some of the time, only to see a flood of texts and calls in his notification bar.

All with the same caller I.D

'Where are you?'

'Why aren't you at your house?'

'Izuku, answer the phone.'

'Are you ignoring me?'

'I have your location, never mind.'

'The least you could do is answer.'

'Your just shopping right?'

'Answer please.'

'I know you have your phone on you dude, answer.'

These messages were followed with a number of calls in between all of them, and Izuku feels a heavy weight settle its way onto his shoulders.

Inko stops looking at the small selection of chocolate bars and candies to look at him. She peaks over his shoulder and her lips push down in a frown.

"Izuku, why is he texting you so much?"

He jolts, his shoulders tensing as he turns his phone off and slides it back into his pocket in one quick motion. He looks back at her, a small smile on his face.

"He's just worried."

He wants to cringe at how unrelaxed he sounds and inko seems like she wants to as well, because her eyebrows furrow slightly and she stares at him.

The buzzing of the store seems to fade slightly, but Izuku manages to avoid her piercing stare as he pushes the cart further up the line.

They finish up in silence, Izuku carrying all of the bags as they walk to the car in the parking lot. He puts the grocery bags in the car and gets in the front seat himself, putting his seatbelt on.

Inko sits in the driver's seat and does not move for a while. Izuku awkwardly glances at her then away.

"Are... Are you going-"

"Izuku."

The tone in her voice makes Izuku even more tense and he focuses on the dashboard in front of him.

"Yeah?"

He hates how meek and guilty he sounds. He looks at her, but she's not looking at him, her hands tightly on the wheel.

"That boy..."

She stays silent for a moment, and Izuku lets her get her thoughts together. She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

"When me and your father were... together, it was just me and my mother in this small house, since my father was always away on work. Then, when your father came along, i was..."

Izuku looks at her, his eyes wide. She never talked about his dad, since he had run out on them when Izuku was found out to be quirkless. Just like someone else he knows.

"I wasn't in a very good headspace. He was very caring and sweet at the start, and sometimes he would turn... mean. But i never thought anything of it because i loved him. Even when he would say disgusting things to me, i forgave him and..."

Inko finally looks at him, her big green eyes full of unshed tears.

"I just-"

Her voice breaks and she reaches out to hold Izuku's hand in her own.

"I just wish i had someone to tell me how wrong being with him was. My sweet Izuku... You are surrounded by people who want to hurt you because... Because life isn't fair. But i want you to know that i will always, always be here for you. And if something happens, anything at all, i will be in your corner to cheer you on. I-"

Izuku feels his eyes fill with tears and he holds her hand just as tightly as she is holding his.

"I love you so much Izuku."

Izuku sniffs and uses his other hand to cup her cheek, wiping some of her tears away.

"I love you too mom."

She smiles softly at him and lets go of his hand. She takes another deep breath and turns the engine.

"Now lets go home."

Chapter Text

He thinks about tons of things now, unable to do anything other than follow Deku around or study and sleep. He thinks about how he's going to kill that piece of shit, how he's going to make Deku regret ignoring him like this.

Anything to distract himself from the growing pit in his stomach.

-
He picks at his food, the smell of spice stinging his nose as he lifts up the food with his chopsticks, only to put it back on his plate and stab it a couple of times.

He feels eyes on him and looks up, meeting the concerned eyes of his parents.

"What?"

His mom stares at him in silence for a moment, her red eyes staring into his soul. Katsuki furrows his brows and frowns. His dad is the first one to speak, clearing his throat and putting his chopsticks down with a click.

"Youve been really off these past couple of days Katsuki, and... well, we're just worried that something might have happened..."

His dad looks at him, his brown eyes warm and a gentle smile on his face. His mom sits there, just staring at him.

"Do you... want to talk about it?"

The very thought of talking about anything with his parents makes his skin crawl. Even if he wanted to talk about it with his parents, they wouldn't understand anything about it.
They would probably just beat his ass and then apologize profusely to auntie, which would be the right thing to do, but still. Them apologizing for the shit he did wouldn't help Deku stop ignoring him.

Not that he wants Deku to stop ignoring him.

Like he gives a fuck about that shitty asshole.

He must have shown his thoughts on his face because his mom glares at him.

"Katsuki, don't make that face."

He glares back at her, still stabbing at his food with his chopsticks.

"I'm not making a fucking face. And,"

He looks at his dad.

"I don't have anything i want to talk about because nothing is fucking going on."

Mitsuki continues to stare at him, and he feels even more irritated, just wanting this conversation over with. But knowing his parents, they weren't going to let it go. It was a miracle they didn't say anything sooner.

A smile appears on Mitsuki's face, and Katsuki gets chills. She looks at her husband, holding his hand on the table.

"I know what this is about honey."

Masaru looks confused for a moment, holding her hand back. Mitsuki continues,

"He's clearly in the dumps because little Izuku doesn't want to be his friend anymore."

Masaru's mouth makes a small 'o' shape, and he nods slightly, a pensive look in his eyes. Katsuki physically wrinkles up and stabs his chopsticks so into his food they stay lodged inside.

Fuck old hag and her stupid motherly senses.

"It's just like i said! He got bored of Katsuki because they never hang out and now, he's finally cut ties."

Katsuki glares at her, leaving his chopsticks stuck into his food. Masaru looks at his plate of food in slight sadness. Like she knows anything about what's going on. Katsuki hadn't told her or his dad anything about him and Deku's current relationship, or lack thereof.

"It isn't fucking like that old hag! It's got nothing to do with shitty Deku!"

Mitsuki rolls her eyes and scoffs at him, deciding to ignore the D word that was banned in their home from the first moment Katsuki said it. But his father makes a face, a small frown that shows enough of his displeasure.

"Don't lie to me Katsuki. You used to do the same thing when you were a baby. Remember honey?"

Masaru nods and looks back at Katsuki.

"You would just stand around staring at the walls or laying on the floor doing nothing, all because we wouldn't let you and Izuku play together every single day. It was very sad."

Mitsuki pats his shoulder softly in comfort. Katsuki feels heat rising up his neck and he looks away from the both of them, focusing his glare on the floor.

Mitsuki brightens up, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"I know. Since you're moping around all depressed and shit, I'll just invite little Izuku and inko to dinner today! It's been so long, I'm sure inko will be just as excited."

Katsuki could not have thought of a worse idea himself. Deku, coming into his house, hearing about how he's been 'moping around' ever since what happened (yelling at each other and then Katsuki getting slapped in the face) is not Katsuki's idea of a good time.

He glares at her, but she still has that smile on her face.

"Don't you dare old hag. Auntie is fine but not Deku. I don't want that fucker in my house."

Masaru pushes up his glasses, his posture perfect as he looks down at his son.

"Katsuki. Thats no way to talk about your friend."

His voice is stern but calm and it pisses Katsuki off, but he doesn't say anything.

"Maybe talking to him will help. We don't know what happened, but what we do know is that your clearly upset about it, even if you don't think so. You two have been friends for a very long time, so i think, whatever happened can be fixed if you two just talk it out."

He stays quiet.

He doubts that would ever actually work, not with how much things are fucked up now.

"Whatever."

He doesn't even have to look to know that his dad is giving him that stupid smile. The one he uses to calm any of them down. Ever the voice of reason.

Mitsuki stands, her phone in her hand, ready to call inko. She gives him a smile.

"Finish your fucking food now you brat. Your father spent hours making it for you."

she leaves the room and Katsuki begins to eat the stabbed remains of his lunch. Masaru eats across from him, the two of them not saying anything.

He'll just lock himself in his room when they show up.

—-------------

Izuku hears talking coming from downstairs while he is in his room studying. His phone is continuously buzzing on his bed, which he ignores with practiced ease.

Seriously, you would think that Ishida would get it that Izuku wanted a little bit of space to just get his shit in order, but apparently not.

The talking downstairs seems one sided, so he assumes it is just his mom on the phone. He tunes it out to focus on the last couple of practice problems on his workbook before there is a knock on his bedroom door.

"Izuku! Guess what!"

She sounds very excited, and Izuku swirls his chair around to face the door.

"It's open mom!"

She bursts in not even a second later. The door would have hit the wall harshly if it wasn't for the door stopper bouncing it back. She has a big smile on her face, her eyes shining as she walks into his room.

"Mitsuki just called me and invited us over for dinner tonight!"

Izuku smiles back at her as she practically vibrates with excitement before it dawns on him. He's going to be going to Bakugo's house, eating dinner across from him, and having to be there with all of their parents.

He tries not to show his nervousness on his face as inko happily bounces in his room.

"Thats... great mom. Can't wait."

Inko lets out a small sound of excitement, clasping her hands.

"I know! It's been so long; it'll be great to catch up with everyone! And."

She looks into his eyes and leans closer to him.

"Katsuki will be there!"

She almost whispers, and he can feel his lips pull back as he tries to keep his smile from revealing anything.

"I know mom. He does live there."

She looks at him, her own bright smile faltering slightly as her eyes dampen slightly.

"What's wrong Izuku?"

He curses himself. Best thing he could do is try to play it off. There is no way that he's telling his mom anything about his and Bakugo's relationship. It would be too much of everything. Too embarrassing, too shameful and too pathetic.

He would never tell her about how he practically prayed every single day that everything would go back to how their childhood was and that Bakugos would one day look at him like he did before.

How he had thought that every single time Bakugou would beat him up with his goons laughing over his shoulders he would feel at least a little glad that he was at least taking up some form of the blonde's attention.

He could barely admit those things to himself but saying it out loud to his mom would be a completely new low that he never plans to stoop to. So instead, he says,

"Nothing mom, it's just a little weird seeing him..."

He should have just said nothing in the first place because his mom sits down on his bed, the mattress dipping down. Her brows are furrowed in concern, her hands folded on her lap.

Izuku's eyes pinpoint the movement of his phone sliding towards her leg.

"Why would it be weird Izuku? You two have been friends since childhood."

Izuku looks away from her for a second before looking back. He twists the fabric of his pants between his fingers, feeling the fabric bunch up in small areas.

"It's hard to explain mom, it would just be weird. We aren't... on good terms anymore."

Inko has a surprised look on her face and her mouth opens slightly as she leans forward. She sputters for a moment.

"B-but Izuku, when did this happen? Did you two have a fight?"

Izuku could go on for hours and hours about this, but not about them actually fighting, more like Izuku getting the shit beaten out of him.

But of course, he won't.

Because Bakugou i-

"No mom it's just complicated, ok? The point is that we aren't talking anymore."

Inko sighs, her shoulders falling slightly.

"Izuku. You two have been together since you could barely walk. Besides, talking is how you work through problems. Maybe that's what you need. Maybe talking to him is how you two get over this 'complicated' fight. Besides,"

She casts a dark look at his phone that has not stopped vibrating for even a moment this whole time. She turns away from it and looks back at him, giving him a grin as she swings her legs back and forth slightly.

"When you work this out with Katsuki, you can spend a little more time with him and a little less time with you know who."

Izuku flushes and covers his face, swirling his chair away from her.

"Mom! Thats so rude, don't say that!"

Inko puts her hands up, frantically looking at him, a smile on her lips.

"I know I know! But it's true! Don't tell anyone i just said that!"

Izuku turns back to her and smiles, a playful glint in his eyes.

"Fine i won't tell a soul."

"Good. What is said in this room stays in this room."

Inko stands up from the bed and walks over to him, cupping his cheek.

"Promise me that you'll talk to him when we go over ok?"

Izuku wants to say no. He just wants to pretend to be sick, so he doesn't have to go. Maybe make up a lie about needing to finish an important assignment for school. Something to get him out of this.

But when he looks up at her soft eyes that are just like his, feels her rough hand on his cheek, he can't find it in himself to say no.

"Ok mom. I promise I'll try and talk to him."

She smiles brighter at him and makes another excited noise, practically skipping out of his room, her phone in her hand.

"Ok! I'm going to talk to Mitsuki for a bit!"

Izuku watches her leave, his smile falling slightly.

He isn't the type of person to go back on a promise.

—---------

Katsuki had stayed in the living room the rest of the time after lunch was done for one reason and one reason only.

The living room window is the perfect place to see the front, so anyone coming to knock on the door and walking down the street would be right in Katsuki's field of view.

Which meant that he is able to see Deku and Auntie Inko walking down the sidewalk towards the front door. Deku is wearing those red shoes and pants, with some old shitty all might T shirt he got forever ago when it was Christmas.

The logo has long since faded and the words 'Plus Ultra' are only read as 'P--S U--RA' which just annoys Katsuki for some reason. The least shitty Deku can do is put a little effort in his appearance.

Watching them walk up to the door, he catches Deku's eye, and his spirit almost leaves his body. Green eyes look at him, his brows furrowed in confusion as he twists his mouth into a straight line.

He almost looks disappointed to see him watching, almost like he would rather jump into a river then be here. Auntie inko looks carefree and cheerful as always, turned to the side for a moment as she fiddles with her purse.

Deku doesn't do anything except stand there next to her. He doesn't even move to tell auntie inko that Katsuki was clearly watching them come up from the window. He just looks back at him.

"You're the one who needs to get over themselves. I can't believe that all this time, I've been wanting things to go back to the way they were before. That I've been hoping that one day you would just... grow up. But I'm done. You can go play in oncoming traffic for all i fucking care."

It makes Katsuki sick.

It's not like he wants to see him either!

Before he can do anything, Katsuki gets away from the window, the curtains covering his escape as he bolts towards the stairs. He almost trips over the coffee table but he makes a clean landing (just barely).

The doorbell rings as he retreats, and his foot lands on the first step.

Fuck Deku, fuck this dinner, and fuck these stupid confusing feelings.

He's just going to lock himself in his room and wait the whole thing out.

He goes to take another step, but his shirt is harshly pulled back, sending slight chills down his spine. He lands back onto the ground floor and off the stairs, catching his balance.

But it isn't green eyes or freckled cheeks he sees when he turns around. It's just his old hag, looking at him with that sadistic smile. She has a white shirt on with the purple thin jacket that she uses when she's out.

She looks nice, but she always does so Katsuki doesn't tell her that. If it wasn't for the angry spark in her eyes, he would think she was just getting ready to greet auntie inko and Deku.

"And where the hell do you think you're going."

Her tone is sickingly sweet, each word dripping with an unsaid threat. Katsuki glares back at her. That smile always means trouble and it pisses him off every single time.
"I'm going to go take a shit. Why, you wanna come?"

Mitsuki scoffs, her smile not dropping with his remark. Normally, she would have slapped him upside the head for saying something like that, but she doesn't seem in the mood right now.

Even more concerning.

"Thanks for the offer but no. Besides, there's a bathroom down here brat. Take your shit then come out."

Masaru goes to the front door and Katsuki turns his attention to him. His footsteps are soft and calculated, as if he's trying to hide from Katsuki.

"Old man."

Masaru jumps and glances at him then slowly reaches for the doorknob. He tries again through gritted teeth.

"Dad."

He stops and looks at Katsuki, his eyes shining and widened.

"Dad, don't open the door. Please."

Katsuki holds back his wince at the word, but it seems to work because Masaru seems even more surprised. Katsuki watches with slight glee as his hand retracts from the doorknob.

Mitsuki pushes Katsuki's shoulder, sending him even further away from the stairs, catching himself as he falls forward.
"Don't fall for it honey! Open the door!"

"Old man don't open the fucking door!"

Mitsuki nudges Katsuki with her foot right at his ribs and he holds himself, trying to keep from laughing as she tickles him. He yells, trying to keep her foot away.

Masaru opens the door and smiles at their guests.

"Hello! Come inside!"

In an instant, Mitsuki is around him and going to the door as inko and Deku walk in. Katsuki is standing up against the wall, trying to nonchalantly catch his breath as he folds his arms.

Auntie Inko walks in with a bright smile and hugs Mitsuki tightly as Deku and the old man greet each other with their own hugs. As he sees Deku standing there, he has the urge to run up the stairs again.

The urge dies when auntie inko looks at him and goes towards him with her arms outstretched.

"Katsuki! Youve gotten so big!"

He is wrapped into a big hug. Normally, he would instantly shove anyone who touched him away with a blast to the face, but this is auntie inko.

So he pats her back as she hugs him.

"Hey Auntie. You look good."

He says it flatly, but she seems delighted nonetheless because she hugs him tighter. It feels... weird but in a sort of good way. Auntie inko has always been a hugger, something his old hag is not.

He guesses he's just got used to it.

"Thank you! Izuku!"

Deku is hugging his old hag when auntie inko calls him. Katsuki gives him a look when Deku just stares back at him with that awkward smile on his face as he comes over.

"Come give Katsuki a hug!"

God damnit.

------

Izuku feels like his soul is going to race out of his throat. His palms are sweaty and no matter how many times he wipes them on his pants, they just won't stay dry. He glances at his mom walking next to him as they approach Bakugo's house.

Her eyes are focused on the road, but Izuku sees the excitement and joy in her eyes. He turns away. He can't ask her if it's too late to turn back. Shes so excited about seeing Mitsuki and Masaru again, so Izuku will just hold his tongue.

Izuku sees the house as they walk closer. It's the same as it always was, and as they step up to the porch, Izuku's eyes catch someone at the living room window. He can't help but furrow his brows, staring. Who is that?

He squints a little bit and then he makes out red eyes staring back, half of the face covered by the window curtains. He recognizes Bakugou, and he just stares silently. Was he watching them come to the door?

He's trying so hard to make sure Izuku can't do anything. Just look at him hiding at the window, waiting for the perfect time to get out of the house and avoid all of this. His mom turns to dig into her purse.

"-I fucking hate you."

Bakugou disappears from the window, probably making a getaway. Inko turns to him, a smile on her face. She gives him a thumbs up.

"You got this!"

She says loud enough for only him to hear, and he gives her a small smile back.

Yeah, right.

She knocks on the door and there are some sounds of struggling and muffled yelling before the door is opened by Masaru.

It's going to be okay, and it might not be that bad if Bakugo manages to actually get away. Besides, how bad can it be? Sure, it will be awkward as all hell, but since when aren't gatherings like this like that?

It's not like he has to talk to him all that long. All he said he would do is try. Knowing Bakugo, he would probably just shut any sort of conversation down, so he's in the clear.
At least that's what he thought before he walked into the door of the Bakugo household. He looks over at his mom after she called him and sees Bakugo standing next to her.

The blonde gives him a look, something like unease and annoyance. He gives him a small smile, hoping it's not as awkward as he feels right now.

But that hope is killed right when his mom, with a bright smile on her face says,

"Come give Katsuki a hug!"

He tenses up and stares at her, his green eyes wide. He knows she wants him and Bakugo to get along again but she's really pushing it. It's like she wants Katsuki to rip his face off. He puts his hands up, laughing stiffly.

"Ah, no its ok mom! Bakugou doesn't like hugs remember?"

From the corner of his eye, he sees Mitsuki and Masaru give each other shocked looks. Inko's eyes widen, and she gives him a stern look, her hands on her hips. He internally groans and makes even more eye contact with Bakugo, who has not looked away from him even once.

"Izu-"

Bakugou steps past her, going right to Izuku, a blank look on his face. His red eyes look into Izuku's green ones, and he slowly opens his arms. Izuku's eyes widen, and he practically gapes at him. The blonde certainly doesn't look comfortable at all. In fact, he looks like he's going to explode any moment and it's taking every ounce of his strength to hold back from blowing up.

"Give me a fucking hug fucke-"

He sees Bakugos eyes glance behind him, probably at his parents, before he stops what he's about to say.

"Yeah."

Despite having his arms open and looking at Izuku expectantly, he still manages to look threatening. Izuku hesitates when he loosely wraps his arms around him, squeezing slightly.

It's warm.

Well of course it is, Izuku chastises himself, Bakugos body is warmer than normal peoples because of his quirk. For some reason, it feels ok. It's not like he's going to die, and honestly, they haven't hugged since they were both little.

Not like Izuku cares about that anymore.

It's out of character for Bakugo Katsuki to let him hug him. He doesn't even let Mitsuki or Masaru hug him that much, and he hates physical touch more than anyone else in the world, so why is he letting Izuku do it?

The person he said that he hates so much. It doesn't make any sense to him. If he wanted to get a reaction out of Izuku, he's a little too late for that. That ship sailed a long-

Bakugou wraps his arms around him, tighter then Izuku was. He even puts his face in his hair, and Izuku can feel the heat of his breath on his skull. It makes him feel numb and his brain take a big pause.

It's a searing kind of heat, the kind of heat that he wants to stay in, and he feels like a fool. He feels his body relax slightly and he leans slightly closer. He expects Bakugo to say something about it, but he doesn't, instead he pulls him back.

Bakugos body relaxes against him and Izuku takes a quick breath. Never, not in a million years, has he done this. Not even once. It's not fair. He feels the blonde mutter something against his head, but he can't make it out.

But it seems to have put his brain back into focus because he feels shame pool at his gut and he pulls away, stepping at arm's length. Bakugos eyes widen and Izuku doesn't look into his eyes, clearing his throat.

He steps past him and to his mom. Mitsuki seems to take in the heavy atmosphere and claps her hands, a grin on her face, trying to release the tension.

"Let's get this party started!"

Izuku glances at Bakugo, who stands there, arms falling limply at his sides.

God damnit.

—--

"Come give Katsuki a hug!"

He's about to decline, looking at aunt inko and opening his mouth but then the shit nerd has the balls to beat him to it. He puts his hands up, looking like he just wants to get the hell out of there, an awkward smile on his face.

"Ah, no its ok mom! Bakugou,"

He catches his parents' eyes, who look beyond shocked and appalled at his last name on Deku's lips and not that dumb nickname.

"Doesn't like hugs remember?"

He's not fucking wrong but still, it pisses him the fuck off. Seeing Deku step back and decline like that made something in Katsuki act before thinking. One second, he's next to aunt inko and then the next, he's in front of Deku, staring down at him.

He slowly opens his arms, and he internally cringes, trying not to show it on his face. Green eyes look back at him, confusion and unease swirling in them.

"Give me a fucking hug fucke-"

He looks behind Deku's head at his parents. Mitsuki looks at him sternly, her red eyes focusing on him. She nods her head slightly, urging him to do something. Masaru looks at him worriedly, his hands clasped in front of him.

He groans but stops the sentence before it can get any worse than it already is. They gave him this chance, so he might as well use it.

"Yeah."

He finishes lamely, and even his dad face palms, turning away. He looks at Deku, waiting. He watches as Deku bites his bottom lip slightly before hesitantly reaching his arms out. Katsuki stiffens, and nearly lets out a scream when he wraps his arms around him.

And then the bastard squeezes and it does shit he does not want to think about. It's different from aunt inkos hugs, and his first thought is to shove him away and to never think about this ever again.

But he doesn't follow through on that. Not when he feels so small like this. It pisses him off. Why should Deku get to make him feel like... whatever the hell this is when he doesn't even want to be here.

He knows its irrational, he isn't fucking stupid, but irrational anger is something Katsuki knows best. It's a feeling he's most comfortable with, because then he feels other shit, he doesn't want to dive into.

He tightens his hold on him.

He puts his face in his hair and smells his damn shampoo like a creep. Of course, it doesn't look like it from his fangirling parents and aunt inko, but it's the fact he knows what he's doing. It makes him feel disgusting.

Actual disgust.

Standing there, Deku's face in his chest probably just trying not to run away while he's smelling his hair like a fucking pervert. It's the fact that Deku doesn't know what he's doing, that he just thinks this is a hug.

He's acting like that disgusting fucking asshole, and he feels grossed out with himself, and with everything else he's done, he should feel this way. It's not like Deku is going to come running over the first chance he gets; he made that very clear.

It's been weeks and not even one conversation before this, if this can even count as a conversation. All the while Katsuki has been feeling like complete shit, even if before this he didn't want to admit it.

Deku being here clearly has an effect on his feelings, and it confuses him more than pisses him off. He doesn't feel angry when he's holding him like this, just... calm.

It's a feeling he doesn't deserve to feel, not after all of this. But he stays there anyway, because Katsuki is nothing but shameless. In that moment, he feels a small shift, and it makes him mutter something that he has never once said to him.

"I'm... sorry."

Katsuki stiffens.

What the hell?

Deku doesn't seem to hear him, but he pulls away, stepping far from him as he avoids eye contact. Katsuki just stares at him, probably looking like an idiot. Deku clears his throat, looking at anywhere but him.

Katsuki couldn't care less in that moment because what the fuck was that? He admits some things one time and he's already apologizing like a little bitch. That doesn't even count as a apology, it was half assed but still, that's a lot for him.

Deku walks past him towards aunt inko and his old hag claps her hands, a grin on her face. She seems happy with herself.

"Let's get this party started!"

Katsuki puts his hands in his pockets and glances at Deku, who still doesn't look anywhere in his direction. Well, at least that's over with. They can just avoid each other the rest of this dinner-

"Katsuki! Take Izuku up to your room while we adults talk! Go on!"

Mitsuki is already pushing him toward the stairs, and he digs his feet into the floor.

"What?! Hell, no old hag, wh-!"

Mitsuki glares at him and mutters into his ear so only he can hear.

"Get your shit together and fix your problems like you should Katsuki! If Izuku leaves here and nothing has changed, your fucked."

She lets him go and he keeps eye contact with her for a moment before going up the stairs. he doesn't turn around, instead just calling him.

"Come on nerd!"

There is the sound of shuffling, hushed whispers and then finally the sound of Deku's footsteps following him up the stairs. He takes a deep breath and lets it out as he opens the door to his room.

He looks at Deku, who is looking at the ground like its the most interesting thing in the entire world. He glares down at him when he finally meets his eyes.

"You know the rules, Deku."

He nods slightly and Katsuki opens the door to his room, letting Deku in.

This is going to be a total shit show.

_________

Izuku hasn't been in Bakugo's room since they were children. Obviously, it had changed a lot since then, but it still screamed the blonde.

It was tidy, not one thing out of place. All except for the turned down picture frame that was on his desk, the back end sticking up. He noticed it when he went over to the bed to sit down.

One of the many rules of Katsuki Bakugos bedroom:

You can sit on the bed, just don't ruin any of his blankets or he will kill you.

Bakugou stands by the doorway, watching Izuku closely, as if waiting for him to fuck something up so he can kick him out. Izuku makes sure he does everything perfectly. He had promised his mom that he would at least do this one thing.

The atmosphere is heavy, and it takes all of his willpower to get the words out of his mouth without stuttering. He keeps his hands on his knees, sitting straight and on the edge of the bed.

"So...Um... About... The other day..."

Bakugou narrows his eyes, arms folded as he leans on the wall. The door is closed, and they would both be able to hear someone coming up the stairs, so it's just them.

"Three weeks."

Izuku looks at him, his brows furrowed.

What?

He had said it so clearly, overpowering Izuku's half assed words. When he looks at him, it's like he's fifty feet away rather than just across the room from him. He clarifies, because Izuku definitely needs it.

"It's been three fucking weeks."

He looks away and nods, his fingers pulling and picking at the fabric of his pants, the bed shifting under him as he rocks back slightly.

"Yeah. Look, i um... I wanted to say..."

He trails off yet again, and Katsuki grits his teeth.

"Just spit it out already Deku."

Bakugo's voice is harsh, almost sounding way too loud for the room they are in right now. For the air so heavy you can cut it with a knife. He takes a deep breath to calm his nerves and looks at him after slowly letting it out.

"I'm not sorry about slapping you. You deserved it. Honestly, i should have done a lot more than that."

He expects Bakugo to blow up at him, so he continues. The blonde just watches him silently, his arms still folded. His eyes never leave Izuku's, and it makes him feel slightly self-conscious. He can't remember the last time when Bakugo looked at him for this long without hitting him or something.

"But still. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that, so I'm sorry."

The room is silent, and they just stare at each other. Izuku is waiting for Bakugo to yell at him, to scream at him so loud that his eardrums start to bleed. So loud that their parents come rushing up the stairs only to find Izuku blown up into smithereens.

But, to his shock and horror, Bakugo closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and says,
"Yeah. Same."

He spits it out grudgingly, as if just muttering it was hard enough for him. And Izuku just stares at him. His stomach twists and his heart leaps into his throat. Did he really just hear that right?

Because that isn't the same Bakugo that he knows.

His brain goes through the moment in flashes, his eyes widening even more. He croaks out, his mouth feeling suddenly dry,

"What?"

Bakugou groans, moving his hands to his face and pushing his hair back. His red eyes look at Izuku.

"I..."

He takes another deep breath and Izuku watches, in a trance. Bakugou seems to think for a moment before opening his mouth again, hesitantly saying,

"I shouldn't have... done all of that."

He's careful with his words, as if walking on eggshells. He says everything quietly, a drastic contrast to his previous tone.

Is he dreaming?

Did he get killed when he walked through the doorway, and this was just his imagination moments after death?

His face must have said all that he was thinking because Bakugo glares at him, before looking away.

"What?! I said i was s-"

He stops himself before dropping onto the floor, leaning against the wall.

"Sorry. I mean that I'm sorry. I didn't mean... What i said before...."

What

The

Actual

Fuck?

"-Fucking hate you."

"Sorry. I didn't mean... what i said before...."

"Your bitch ass got one free slap. It's not going to fucking happen again. And if it does, count your fucking days, Deku."

Bakugou glares at him, his eyes fiery and bright.

"And if you tell anyone about this, I'm fucking skinning you alive you got it!?"

Izuku just stares at him. He feels his eyes prickling with tears begging to be shed, and he sniffs.

"Yeah, I got it..."

He wipes his eyes, still in shock at the blonde's actions. If you would have told him only an hour before all of this that the Katsuki Bakugo was going to say the word sorry to him of all people, he would have laughed in your face.

And now, here he is, right in that situation.

They sit in even more silence, and Izuku finally wipes his eyes enough that the small tears stop coming. Bakugo looks at him from his sitting position, head rested on his arms around his knees.

"Crybaby."

Izuku looks down at him, relaxing slightly.

"Asshole."

Bakugou rolls his eyes and stands up, grabbing two controllers and tossing one at Izuku, who catches it quickly. He turns on the T.V and silently sits down next to him.
For the next couple of minutes, him and Bakugou silently play Stardew valley.

"Deku, don't go fucking around in my chests."

A little pixelized version of Bakugou moves on his side of the screen, moving back and forth to try and block Izuku from getting to his chests.

"But Kacchan, i need to borrow your watering can since i left mine at the blacksmith!"

The blonde pauses for a moment, then silently moves away, letting Izuku take the watering can from his chest.

"Fine. But your ass is getting me copper ore in exchange."

Izuku smiles.

"Deal."

And it feels...

Nice.

_________

Katsuki watches Deku goes into his room. It's been a long fucking time since he was in here, so Katsuki watches him to make sure he doesn't fuck anything up.

It pisses him off when someone gets his room messy or dirty, so he stays at the doorway, ready to catch any mistake Deku makes.

But as expected, nerdacus dweebacus already knows what to do and doesn't ruin his bed when he sits on it.

Fine, this is happening then.

It's not like they can sit in silence with this heavy air between them the whole time, he knows that. His first plan was to just kick Deku out if he did anything, but after the whole fucking thing downstairs, he might as well finish what he started.

Maybe that was what he's been feeling this whole time.

Guilt.

Yeah, it surprised him too, but it's not like he's suddenly a changed man now. Just after hugging Deku, actually feeling him there after three weeks of no contact was like cold water being spilled onto his whole body.

It left him feeling clear and somewhat calm.

So now, he knows what he has got to do.

He watches as Deku shifts onto the edge of his bed, hands on his knees, still not looking at him.

"So... Um... About... The other day..."

He watches him closely and folds his arms as he leans on the wall. The other day, aka three fucking weeks ago. Annoyance is quick to take over as he corrects him.

"Three weeks."

Deku looks at him finally, clearly confused. It manages to piss him off even more. How dare this asshole say a day when they both know it's been three fucking weeks since Deku has said even a word to him.

Katsuki and Deku had never gone that long without talking to each other, or at least being in each other's presence. Now he knows why it pissed him off.

"It's been three fucking weeks."

Deku looks away and nods and its quiet again. Katsuki doesn't look away from him. How can he? It pisses him off that he seems too nonchalant about all of this bullshit when Katsuki was moping around like a little bitch.

Did he even think about Katsuki at all that whole time? Did it make him feel happy when he was by himself with that fucking asshole? Did they have a good time, laughing behind Katsuki's fucking back at how stupid he was?

"Yeah, look, i um... I wanted to say..."

Katsuki resists the urge to roll his eyes.

"Just spit it out already Deku."

Deku looks at him after taking a deep breath and Katsuki shifts slightly. Green eyes focus back on him, and he feels that anger ebb away some.

"I'm not sorry about slapping you. You deserved it. Honestly, i should have done a lot more than that."

he had expected that much at least. Why would he ask shitty Deku to say sorry about that when they both know it was Katsuki's own fault. That pit grows in his stomach.

"But still. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that, so I'm sorry."

Just like him to apologize for something that wasn't his fault. If he doesn't say something, shit will just go back to the way they were before, and that growing pit will eat him alive. He has to be a hero. He's not going to let this bullshit hold him back.

The only way to get rid of some of this guilt, is to just go for it.

He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes.

He's Katsuki fucking Bakugo. He can't let Deku be better than him, no matter what it is.

"Yeah. Same."

God damnit what was that?! Fuck, he has to do better than that! Deku might fucking get up and leave again, and then what would he fucking do? It's not like he can start a fight right here when their parents are just downstairs.

"What?"
Deku sounds so surprised, and it makes him feel like shit. He groans, moving his hands to cover his face.

Chill the hell out Bakugo, you can do it.

He pushes his hair back and looks at him,

"I...."

It feels like the words are trapped in his ribcage and refusing to come out but damnit, he's going to make them. He won't go another fucking week like before.

"I shouldn't have... done all of that."

He looks back at Deku's face and he looks like he just saw a ghost. Is that not what he's supposed to say or some shit?

"What?! I said i was s-"

Fuck, calm down.

Don't yell, just say it.

Don't lose your shit.

He drops to the floor, trying to relax. He doesn't look at Deku yet.

"Sorry. I mean that I'm sorry. I didn't mean... What i said before... Your bitch ass got one free slap. it's not going to fucking happen again. And if it does, count your fucking days, Deku."

He glares at him, that dumb look still on his face.

"And if you tell anyone about his, I'm fucking skinning you alive got it?!"

Katsuki watches as tears fill Deku's eyes and he sniffs.

Damnit.

"Yeah, i got it..."

Look at this asshole. Crying over such a half assed apology, from him of all people. He decides then and there that soon, he will apologize for real.

Not just for the bullshit he did now, but for all of it. And he'll make it the best damn apology he's ever given in his whole damn life, so good that Deku will cry tears of joy.

"Crybaby."

Deku looks at him, the tears gone.

"Asshole."

He rolls his eyes, feeling at ease now, better than he's felt these past few weeks. He stands up and tosses a control toward Deku, who stumbles to catch it.

He grabs his own and sits next to him, his mind focusing on their knees touching. They play Stardew valley together.

"But kacchan!--"

The rest of his sentence dies to Katsuki's ears.

In that moment, he would agree to anything the nerd fucking said because damnit, sitting here together, hearing that dumb nickname come out of his mouth is....

nice.

So, fucking nice.

Chapter Text

"Kacchan can you get the trout for the old man? I hate fishing."

It had been an hour or so since Katsuki and him sat down on his bed to play Stardew valley. Their farm has improved quite a lot, most of it thanks to both of them already knowing most of the gameplay.

Katsuki huffs, glaring at the T.V screen. Izuku's green haired character is moving around in the town, talking to the townspeople and going on foraging quests. The screen is split into two, one with Izuku's character as the focus and vice versa.

"It's because your shit at it Deku. But fine, whatever."

Izuku smiles as the blonde is already moving his pixeled character down a bridge towards the beach. He picks up seashells and coral on the way.

"Thanks, Kacchan."

The blonde doesn't answer and Izuku takes a moment to let it sink in.

He's in Katsuki's room, hanging out on his bed, playing a video game like... like friends.

He hadn't realized how much he missed this. Well, he did, but thinking about the past and actually being here were two completely different things.

He had never thought he would ever hear the word sorry come out the blonde's mouth, but he did, and that in itself was a miracle.

it almost feels surreal to him, like at any moment he's going to wake up in his bed and all of this wouldn't have actually happened.

He's just about to chop down a tree when his phone buzzes in his pocket. He ignores it, already knowing who's texting him. He's glad that Katsuki didn't seem to hear it, focusing on jamming a button on his controller over and over in order to fish.

"Damnit, come on you bastard-"

He grumbles out more curse words and Izuku's smile stays on his face. He hadn't heard any of their parents coming up the stairs, so he assumes they are all just catching up together. He bets they suspected something bad would have happened, and to be honest, Izuku had expected a lot more yelling, screaming and punching.

But he was happy that it didn't turn out that way.

Really, really happy.

"Oi nerd! Pay attention or we won't have enough wood for the barn and I'm not waiting another day for it!"

Izuku jumps back into the game, moving his character around the woods and already working on chopping down more trees.

"Yeah, sorry i spaced out for a second."

His phone buzzes again and he ignores it for a second time. It shouldn't get so bad he has to put his phone on silent again, right? Ishida would get the hint (Even though he had never gotten the hint the million other times) and just leave one message and call it a day when he realized Izuku was busy.

Right?

His phone buzzes four times in a row, all loud and clear. Each buzz only pausing for a second before another one followed it. He can feel his phone vibrating in his pocket against the fabric of his pants.

Wrong.

This time Katsuki glances at Izuku, red eyes glancing at his pocket then back to him. His brows furrow and he clearly is annoyed.

"Damn, the person texting you must be fucking dying."

Izuku flushes when Katsuki's sentence is followed by more buzzing.

"I-I'm sure it's not that important..."

His ring tone bounces off the walls and he dies inside. Katsuki just stares at him, controller useless in his hands as his attention is now completely off of the T.V screen. Izuku puts his controller down and takes his phone out of his pocket.

"Sorry, hold on."

He still feels Katsuki's eyes on him as he looks through his notification bar to see a number of texts and missed calls from Ishida.

'I'm outside, wanna hang out?'

Ever since that night where Katsuki beat him up, Ishida has been showing up at his door late at night, telling him to come out.

Izuku did every single time, but that was because it would be rude turn someone down and leave them out in the cold in the dark.

So he had made a habit of showing up randomly.

It fucked with both Izuku's sleep schedule and willingness to put up with late night visits.

'Why aren't you answering?'

'You're not home anymore?'

'Whos house are you at?'

'Are you at Bakugous house right now?'

'Are you serious?'

'Why are you over there this late?'

Followed by a missed call.

'Answer your phone, Izu.'

Izuku feels embarrassed for some reason. He feels it crawling up his neck and making his ears warm up. It gets even worse when Katsuki leans into him, looking at his phone.

"God damn, this guy is fucking nuts."

Izuku jumps and instantly tilts his phone away from the blonde, hiding it from view. He shuts his phone off.

He'll deal with Ishida later.

He puts his phone back into his pocket.

"W-What?"

Katsuki gives him a look and leans back from him, letting out a small huff of air.

"He's blowing your fucking phone up like crazy, and for what? Fuckin psycho behavior."

Katsuki grumbles and Izuku raises a brow at him, silent. The other notices his silence and looks at him, then glares.

"Hey, fuck you, i know what you're thinking shitty Deku."

Izuku puts his hands up.

"I wasn't thinking anything kacchan! It's just, you know, you're not exactly..."

Katsuki throws a pillow at him, and he laughs, blocking it with his arms as it falls onto the floor. So much for keeping his room all nice and perfect.

"Fuck off. Besides, if anyone's gonna know crazy it's me if that's your shitty logic."

Izuku picks up the pillow from the floor, plopping it back onto the bed.

"Ishida Kun is a good friend. He just... worries a lot."

Katsuki rolls his eyes, leaning back as his arms support him.

"If 'worries' means tracks you like a fucking dog, then yeah, he worries a shit ton."

—-

Katsuki is too busy catching these shitty fucking fishes to look at Deku's side of the screen. He's gotta be there to pick up the nerd's slack. So he's quick to remind him to get his head in the fucking game when he notices that the little pixel Deku hasn't moved in a while.

"Oi nerd! pay attention or we won't have enough wood for the barn and I'm not waiting another day for it!"

He feels Deku jump slightly next to him and his line of thought is brought back to the part where their thighs are touching.

"Yeah, sorry i spaced out for a second."

Everything is cool until he hears the nerds phone buzzing four times in a row. He looks back at Deku with a glare on his face. The green haired nerd looks nervous as all hell.
He already fucking knows who it is, but he wants Deku to tell him himself.

"Damn, the person texting you must be fucking dying."

There is even more buzzing and with each sound, Katsuki's annoyance seems to reach new heights. It gets more intense when Deku's face flushes, the freckles on his face standing out even more against the red.

"I-I'm sure it's not that important..."

More fucking buzzing and Katsuki can almost feel the heat radiating from Deku's face.

"Sorry, hold on."

Katsuki watches closely as Deku looks at his phone, emerald eyes darting to each message and notification. Katsuki decides to be nosy and leans close, shoulder touching Deku's as he takes a peek.

He only sees a second of it since Deku is quick to pull his phone away and hide it. But even that is enough for Katsuki to know just how fucking creepy this guy is, even with Deku around. It's like he's not trying to even fucking hide it, like he has no fucking shame.

He leans back as Deku looks at him.

"He's blowing your phone up like crazy, and for what? Fuckin psycho behavior."

He knows damn well he shouldn't be the one talking, and Deku knows that too if the look he gives him is anything to go by.

"Hey. fuck you, i know what you're thinking shitty Deku."

the nerd puts his hands up, acting all innocent.

"I wasn't thinking anything kacchan! It's just, you know, you're not exactly..."

He throws a pillow at him, and the conversation continues. It makes his stomach churn and his hands warm with the need to blow the bastards head open.

-

Deku shifts slightly, the bed creaking under him slightly as he does so. He is looking away from him again, for what feels like the millionth time today. The tips of his ears are still red.

It's all that bastard's fault. They were having a great fucking time until he started texting Deku like it was killing him.

Seriously, what does Deku even see in that asshole? It's like he does nothing but whine and bitch and make Deku deal with all of it. Its fucking annoying.

And seeing him defend the piece of shit is even worse.

"It's not like that Kacchan... He's a really good person. He's nice and he does a lot of nice things for me."

Katsuki is even more annoyed. Deku doesn't even know half of the shit that asshole has done. He wonders what would happen if he just showed him, showed him how fucking 'nice' that asshole is.

Then he wouldn't be so eager to defend him instead of listening to Katsuki like he should.

"You're not exactly a good judge of character nerd."

Deku furrows his brows, confused and slightly annoyed when he finally looks back at him.

"What's that supposed to-"

Katsuki points at himself, blankly looking at Deku. The nerd of course takes the hint, understanding coloring his face as he shuts his mouth. A couple beats of silence go between them before Katsuki speaks again.

"So, stay away from that asshole. He's shit."

Deku is silent for a couple more seconds before he looks at his legs, his fingers pulling at the fabric of his pants.

"I'll decide who i hang out with and who i stay away from kacchan."

The sentence hangs in the air and Katsuki doesn't say anything. He's too pissed off to say anything about it. The game on the T.V continues as if nothing is happening on the other side, the soft noises of the ocean coming from the screen do anything but match the now sour mood.

It's all that stupid bastard's fault.

Deku looks like he wants to say something else because he turns to Katsuki and leans towards him.

"Look kacchan I-"

There is a loud knock on the door and both of them practically jump out of their skin.

"Boys! Dinner is ready! Come down to eat!"

It's the old hag, and Deku is quick to stand up from his bed and call back,

"Coming!"

Her footsteps are already going back down the stairs when Deku grabs his controller to turn off the console after saving their game. He looks at Katsuki and gives him a small smile.

He feels slightly better.

But only slightly.

The air isn't so heavy, and he follows Deku out the door, down the stairs and to the dining room. The smell of food rushes to Katsuki's nose and his stomach grumbles as he realizes just how hungry he was.

Deku lets out a small laugh and Katsuki nudges him to shut the hell up. But of course, he doesn't, and that dumb smile is on his face as he sits down at the table. Katsuki sits in the chair next to him.

His old hag is sitting across from him, and she gives him a look. He looks back at her.

He guesses she was right about the whole making a move thing, as much as he hates to admit it. Without the help of his parents this opportunity wouldn't have fallen into his lap, and he wouldn't have gotten to hang out with Deku like he did just now.

So he gives her a discreet thumbs up when he knows Deku isn't looking.

—

He isn't the type of guy to leave his friends. He puts his all in being friends with them, so why shouldn't they do the same? friendship is all about giving and receiving after all.

Though to be honest, he doesn't have any friends to begin with. He's just saying, if he did have friends, he would be the best friend they could ever imagine.

Thats how it started with Izuku Midoriya, a kid in his class. They had gotten paired up with each other for a project, and from there, the rest was history.

He knew a little bit about Izu when they met, but only that he was considered a loser because of his lack of a quirk. In a way, he could understand what he was going through. He wasn't born with a special quirk that would help him fight villain's or anything like that.

In retrospect, it was pretty lame.

-

They were both in Izu's room finishing up their project when the topic of quirks came up.

"What's your quirk Ishida Kun?"

He looks at Izu, his green eyes focusing on him curiously. It makes him feel warm when Izu is looking at him.

"Um..."

He hesitates for a moment, but only for a second. If anyone is going to understand how Ishida feels about his quirk, it's going to be Izu.

"It's retention... I can choose some of my memories to give to another person if i wanted."

He flushes, embarrassed. It wasn't a quirk that would really help him with anything in life, so he considered it pretty useless. But when he looks back at Izu, his heart feels like it stopped.

He smiles at him, eyes bright.

"Thats pretty cool! How does it work?"

-

He guesses it started there. He began to realize that he didn't just want to be Izu's best friend.

He wanted to be more.

So much more.

In the two weeks they had known each other, Ishida had fallen in love. It was like a fairy tale, being with Izu made his heart race and his brain melt. It was like a drug rush he couldn't get enough of.

it was addicting.

It was a feeling he wanted to keep to himself for the rest of their lives. He didn't want anyone else to feel the way he felt with Izu, and he would do anything to keep it that way.
He would have already been there with Izu if it wasn't for one problem that kept getting in his way.

Katsuki Bakugou, a blonde kid with an explosion quirk. Izu's childhood friend and bully.

At first, Ishida thought that he wouldn't be much of a problem. If anything, he would have been helping Ishida get Izu's attention. He would have swooped in, played the hero, and Izu would have been all his.

Except that Izu still has a soft spot for the asshole.

Ishida notices it time and time again, with the way Izu looks at him like he wants to say something more, how he looks at the pictures of them together with some sort of fondness, how he talks about him, all of it.

It frustrates him. How could someone like Izu even still be thinking about that kid? It didn't make sense to him. How could Izu look at that guy with such care when he never looked at Ishida like that despite all of the things he does for him.

He tried his best to keep them away from each other, making sure he knew where Izu was all of the time and keeping tabs on him. It wasn't that hard really; he was glad Izu always had his guard down around him.

He had even gone through his phone at one of their sleepovers to make sure he wasn't in his contacts and even asked Izu to give him his location at all times.

He was doing this for him.

Because he loves him.

There were other difficult parts of his plan to make Izu all his, and those parts included his mother.

Inko Midoriya is as caring and attentive as her son, which means she is a big part of his life. The two of them are very close, unlike Ishida's relationship with his parents, the Midoriya's are open and loving.

It had caught him off guard the first time he saw the way they interacted, even if it was very small things. With small sticky notes saying things like 'have a good day mom, i love you' or 'be careful at school Izuku, mama loves you' to packed lunches.

The difficult part was having inko Midoriya like him.

Again, he had thought this would be easy, only to be mistaken.

He could tell that Inko Midoriya did not like him the first moment she saw him in her house. Sure, she was very polite and gave him a warm smile when he walked into the door, but he could see the mistrust in her eyes.

That mistrust turned into dislike in only a span of a week.

But just like her son, Inko Midoriya was polite despite that. He had already failed to win over the women. He really did try his best, being polite and helpful anytime he was over, but it didn't help.

He guessed that he had accidently made a mistake somewhere between hanging out with Izu and seeing his mom, because one time is permanently burned into his brain.

-

He leaves Izus room after only a couple of minutes. Izu was in another one of his fits, telling him that he had to go because he needed to study. Ishida admits, he had gotten a little upset, but who wouldn't?

He said some things, but nothing too bad. Izu would get over it soon enough.

He was going down the stairs and past the kitchen when he saw inko Midoriya standing there. For a split second, when their eyes met, he could have sworn she glared at him.

But then the polite smile was back, and she showed him to the door.

-

But it doesn't matter if inko Midoriya doesn't like him.

It doesn't matter if Katsuki Bakugo is still on Izu's mind.

Because he's going to keep trying to win him over, and when he does, everything will be like it's supposed to be.

—

Dinner is nice, full of conversation and booming laughter. Izuku realizes that he hasn't felt this way in so long, so calm and happy. When dinner ends and his stomach feels full, the happy feeling still doesn't go away.

Inko says goodbye to Masaru and Mitsuki, hugging and telling them that they should do this again. She is the first one out the door while Izuku is putting on his shoes. He feels someone standing over him and he looks up from his kneeling position.

Katsuki is there, hands in his pockets as he gives him a nonchalant look. He doesn't see Mitsuki or Masaru anywhere, so he assumes Katsuki is just going to say bye to him.

Again, something that he never knew he would get to experience since Katsuki normally just leaves after family gatherings. Izuku smiles and stands up after tying his shoes. He feels a little nervous, but it's a good kind of nervousness.

"Today was really fun. I'll see you later kacchan."

Izuku steps closer and gives him a hug. He expects Katsuki to push him away, but his smile grows when Katsuki doesn't, instead just patting his back. The smell of burnt caramel fills his senses for a moment.

"Whatever, like i care nerd."

He pulls away from the hug and goes to open the door to leave. His hand touches the cold metal of the door knob before Katsuki speaks,

"Hold it Deku."

He turns back around to look at him, and Katsuki glances away, hands back into his pockets.

"Lets... Do something later."

Izuku's eyes widen, and he just stares at him for a moment before grinning.

"Yeah, I'll text you when i get home."

Katsuki looks back at him and nods, that relaxed look still on his face.

"Sure."

Izuku goes out the door and only when he's sure it is shut behind him, he fist pumps the air and quickly goes down the sidewalk where inko watches him with a smile.

"It went that well?"

They both walk together down the sidewalk together. The night air is warm, and he catches a whiff of that caramel smell on his clothes.

"Yeah, it went a lot better than i thought it would go."

Izuku smiles at his mom, and she bumps her shoulder with his as they walk.

"I'm glad the two of you made up Izu. I could tell Katsuki was ecstatic about it too."

Izuku laughs and the two of them talk about the dinner and when they should go back again. Talking to his mom is always nice no matter where it is. They get home and inko goes upstairs to her room.

"I'm going to bed early Izuku, i got work in the morning! I love you."

Izuku is taking his shoes off by the door.

"Ok mom! I'll see you tomorrow, i love you too."

He hears the door shut and he goes to his own room, plopping onto his bed. He plugs his phone into his charger and turns it back on. His phone buzzes over and over again for a number of seconds, notification after notification coming in.

All of them are from Ishida, but Izuku doesn't bother to read them all, instead just responding,

'Yeah, i was with kacchan. We were having dinner so i was busy. Sorry, we can hang out later, I'm tired so I'm going to bed right now.'

He doesn't feel that bad about lying to Ishida as he goes to Katsuki's contact and messages him. Especially when his one answer is followed by a thousand more messages. Maybe in some way kacchan was right about him being kind of...

Creepy?

Izuku forces the thought since its immediately followed by a sting of guilt about thinking of his friend like that.

Maybe a little clingy would be the right word.

'I'm home now kacchan!'

He is expecting to wait a lot for a response, but right when he's about to get up to put on his sleeping clothes, his phone dings with kacchans notification.

'Ok.'

'When do you want to hang out nerd.'

Izuku is unsure on what to say. He wants to hang out tomorrow, but maybe that would be too much? Yeah, way too soon way too fast. They had just gotten on sort of good terms again; he doesn't want to screw it up the first chance he gets.

So he goes with a safe response.

'When are you free?'

Three bubbles pop up then disappear, then appear again before he gets a message.

'Tomorrow.'

'Let's go watch a movie.'

Izuku can't help the big smile on his face. Kacchan wants to hang out tomorrow after they just saw each other. That has to be a good sign, right?

'Ok! Which movie kacchan?'

'I'm not telling.'

'I already bought the tickets.'

Izuku isn't surprised by how quick kacchan is. Thats just who he is, always quick to get things done. Though now he's even more curious.

'Can i at least get a hint?'

He waits a moment for a response, getting off of his bed and changing into his pajamas and brushing his teeth. When he gets back, he turns off his light and goes back into bed.

'We watched it when we were little.'

Izuku thinks back, trying to remember what movie they would have watched that would be in movie theaters. He can't remember much besides a lot of All Might T.V shows and movies, so maybe one of those?

'Can i get a better hint?'

'That was a good hint nerd your just slow. Thats the only one you're getting.'

Izuku sends a sticker of a drawing of a green bunny crying.

'But how am i going to sleep if the suspense is killing me? I might be late to the movie kacchan!'

'The hell you'll be. If you are I'm leaving your ass. Movie starts at five.'

He laughs when kacchan sends a sticker, an angry looking dog.

'It looks like you kacchan.'

'Fuck you.'

they spend the rest of the night talking until Izuku passes out.

He hopes he isn't late to the movie or kacchan is going to be seriously pissed.

—----------

He's putting the dirty plates together so that he could take them to the sink and clean them up. He's about to pick up the stack of dirty dishes when his old hag grabs them from him.

"Hey what the fu-"

She looks at him and nods her head behind him. He glares at her but turns to look in the direction she nodded to. Aunt inko had already left and now Deku is putting on his shoes. His old hag nudges him towards the nerd, and he gets the hint.

He goes over and stands next to him. He can already feel his parent's eyes on him as they wait expectantly. Deku smiles up at him and stands, a nervous smile on his face. But it isn't like it was before, the kind of nervous smile that lets you know he definitely wants to leave.

This one is a thousand times better.

"Today was really fun. I'll see you later kacchan."

It's stupid, but it's nice to know that Deku wasn't the only one who had fun. Of course, he isn't going to outright say that to him. It's not like it really matters if he says anything because Deku steps closer to him and wraps his arms around him.

Now with him so close, Katsuki refrains from putting his face in his hair. Instead, he just pats his back. It's an ok hug, he doesn't want to ruin it by being a fucking pervert again. Especially with how this is the first hug Deku has given him willingly in years.

"Whatever, like i care nerd."

Happiness practically radiates around Deku when he pulls away, his green eyes bright and warm. Its then he realizes that he hasn't seen Deku look at him like that in so long. He wants to keep it for the rest of their lives, that warm feeling in his chest.

Deku reaches for the doorknob and Katsuki's heart quickens slightly.

"Hold it Deku."

Deku turns back to look at him, and he looks away.

Why the hell does he feel so embarrassed? It's not like he's asking for anything weird so why the hell is he freaking out? He prays that his face isn't letting anything slip.

"Lets... Do something later."

Oh, motherfucker why did he say it like that? Damnit, he sounded so fucking lame! Deku isn't saying anything and it's pissing him off because it's making him feel embarrassed. He shouldn't have said anything, he should have just let Deku go out the door.

He looks back at Deku and the little bastard is grinning at him. It makes him feel less pissed for some reason.

"Yeah, I'll text you when i get home."

He almost dies then and there.

Holy shit.

Texting? Thats a whole new fucking playing field. He was just expecting Deku to plan it all right now, but texting each other? Thats gotta be a good thing, right? Holy shit, right when he gets home too? Thats gotta mean he wants to talk to him, right?

Holy

Shit

He nods.

"Sure."

He watches as Deku leaves and the door shuts behind him. He stands there for a second, staring at the door, making sure Deku is definitely gone. Once he's sure, he turns around, walks to the kitchen, and puts his hands up.

His parents are looking at him excitedly. They both run up to him. Masaru high fives him and Mitsuki shakes him by the shoulders.

"Oh, my fucking god Katsuki! I'm so fucking proud right now you have no idea!"

Masaru joins in shaking him excitedly, a big grin on his face.

"Texting is a very good sign, Katsuki! Good job!"

"Did you see the look on his adorable little face!? Ahhh!!"

"We knew you could do it!"

His heart soars and for some reason he feels like he's floating or some shit. He grins as he's being shook.

"Yeah, yeah i know. I'm the fucking best."

Mitsuki cheers and both of his parents end up chanting his name excitedly.

"Katsuki! Katsuki! Katsuki!"

He rolls his eyes, but the grin is still on his face.

"What are you going to say to him?"

Masaru nods, pushing up his glasses, looking very serious.

"Text first. You're on a roll right now, he's bound to respond positively."

Mitsuki nods next to him, still holding Katsuki's shoulders.

"Yeah, say 'hey Izuku lets go on a d-'"

"Don't say that!"

Mitsuki glances at her husband and he shakes his head.

"Something like this needs to be taken slow. We've been waiting years for this honey, don't you think it would be much more rewarding if we watch it bloom from rekindled friendship to,"

He trails off, and Mitsuki gets it. She leans into her husband, a big smile on her face.

"Of course, hon! Your totally right!"

Katsuki's grin has fallen from his face, and he furrows his brows.

"What the hell am i going to say? I can't text now can i? No because then he's gonna think I'm fucking desperate or some shit..."

Mitsuki, Masaru and Katsuki stand there in the kitchen together, taking a moment to think about what to say.

until it's all interrupted by Katsuki's phone buzzing.

they all jump, and he takes it out of his pocket, only to see a text from Deku.

'I'm home now kacchan!'

Katsuki shows the phone to his parents, and they scream.

"Hell yeah!"

Katsuki's heart is pounding in excitement as he's handed the phone back.

'Ok.'

'When do you want to hang out nerd.'

Mitsuki nods,

"Nice nice. Tomorrow. But doing what...?"

Katsuki thinks for a second.

"There's this rerun of an all might movie me and d- Izuku used to watch when we were little, but it's supposed to be totally fucking packed, i doubt there's gonna be shit open so-"

"I already booked the tickets."

Katsuki looks at his dad in surprise, and his old man puts his phone away.

"It's the least i could do Katsuki."

He stares at him. He wouldn't have anyone else for a dad.

Mitsuki grins at her husband and hugs him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She looks at Katsuki.

"Scram kid. I gotta talk to your dad."

Masaru's face turns red and Mitsuki gives him a mischievous grin and Katsuki is already walking to his room to talk to Deku.

"Fucking gross."

"You'll understand when your older!!"

He could not have slammed his door any harder.

—-------------

Izuku doesn't remember the last time he woke up feeling so happy. It surprises even himself when he wakes up and his blood is instantly pumping in excitement. He checks his phone and there are messages from Ishida of course, but some from kacchan that make his heart beat a little quicker.

'Morning nerd.'

'Your ass better be up by now.'

'Wanna go to the arcade before the movie.'

'You down?'

Texting kacchan at night only to text him first thing in the morning is exciting to him. It's like he wants to talk to Izuku as much as he wants to talk to him, and it makes him happy. He's never going to say this to the blondes face since he can just picture what he would say.

"Don't go assuming shit nerd!"

He smiles and types back quickly, already getting out of bed to take a quick shower.

'Good morning kacchan! Did you sleep ok?'

He sends a sticker of a green bunny getting out of bed.

'I am! Should we meet earlier then?'

He puts his phone down and goes to the bathroom to shower. He spends a little while in there, brushing his teeth and washing his face. After he's done, he rushes to his room to change. He stares at the clothes in his closet before giving up, just taking them all out and setting them on his bed.

He steps back and looks at all of them, his brows furrowed. They all looked just fine yesterday, but for some reason, now that he's really looking at them, they seem a little plain...

He has no idea what he's going to wear. But if he takes too long, he's going to be late and then they won't have enough time to play at the arcade and then he'll be late to the movie and-

His phone dings.

'At three.'

'I slept fine nerd.'

Followed by an angry looking dog circling around a tree.

'How about you.'

He checks the time and sees that its already one, so he just quickly chooses something. He ends up with a light blue shirt with the words 'All M' in bold letters, with black pants. He deems it good enough and puts on his shoes. He responds back,

'Ok!'

He sends a green bunny jumping around excitedly.

'I slept good kacchan!'

He gets another text from Ishida, and it pops up on his screen. He clicks it. In this morning alone, Ishida has texted him over 30 times. His blue message bubbles take up all of their chat logs with only the occasional green bubble from Izuku.

'I'm coming over Izu!'

He grimaces slightly and responds,

'Sorry Ishida Kun, but you can't come over today, I'm not gonna be there.'

He gets a text back almost right away, and it's just what he expected.

'Why? What are you doing?'

He doesn't want to tell Ishida who he's going with, he knows the other will lose his shit if he finds out. But it still makes him feel guilty, hanging out with the person who hurt his friend.

'I'm just going somewhere so i won't be home.'

'But we didn't even get to hang out yesterday and now we aren't hanging out today? Do you see how unfair that is to me? Besides, what are you going to be doing? It's not like you have anyone else to hang out with besides me, I'm your only friend. Can't i tag along?'

'It'll be more fun if we do whatever you're doing together.'

Izuku sighs, feeling a little annoyed.

'Sorry, maybe we can hang out some other time.'

Three bubbles pop up only to disappear. He goes downstairs and sees a note posted on the fridge. He goes to the kitchen and reads it.

'Good morning Izuku! I hope you slept well, I'm off to work! Good luck on your-'

The next word is scribbled out so well Izuku can't make out what it says.

'Outing with Katsuki today! Mama loves you!'

He smiles and goes to the door, about to step out when Ishida texts him again.

'Fine. Don't even bother texting me since you can't even bother to hang out anymore.'

His smile falters slightly as he looks at the message. What, he can't last two days without seeing Izuku or something? Why is he always like this.

he puts his phone away and goes out the door, walking to the mall. It's only a couple minutes away, so he takes his time. the weather is nice, and the sky is clear, and he feels his mood go back up again.

Today is going to be a good day and Ishida's mood won't take that away from him. He gets to the mall, and there are a lot of people around. Kacchan had said the night before to meet up at the fountain, so he makes his way there.

He already feels so nervous. They hadn't hung out outside of school willingly since they were little. What if it was awkward? What if they are quiet most of the time, both of them not knowing what to say? What if kacchan gets bored of him and just leaves?

He gets even more nervous as he gets closer to the fountain and the feeling skyrockets when he sees Katsuki standing there. They both make eye contact and Izuku wants to turn around on his heel and run.

He looks great.

Kacchan always looks great, yeah, but it still makes his heart stop. it's so effortless that Izuku wishes he could be like kacchan in that way. The blonde goes over to him, hands in his pockets.

"You good nerd? There's a lot more fucking extras then i thought there would be but whatever. Let's go."

kacchan starts to walk and Izuku follows next to him, a small smile on his face. He glances around, his tongue tied. He wants to say something, but for some reason he feels so nervous.

"Ah... Y-You look good kacchan!"

—---------

He would never tell anyone that he woke up at seven in the morning, an hour before the alarm he put on for today went off. He would never tell anyone that he put all his clothes out on his bed, with his fashion designer dad next to him as they picked out his outfit.

That he went to the bathroom with his mom and used a little bit of her makeup to brighten up his face. That was information only for him and the people present.

"Katsuki, since your already so good looking thanks to me and your father, you don't need much."

She said that more to herself, but he heard it anyway. They had all silently decided that Katsuki would get ready like he was going to go walk on the red carpet like some A list celebrity because...

just because.

No main reason.

He texted Deku after all that was done, guessing that he was just waking up.

'Morning nerd.'

'Your ass better be up by now.'

'wanna go to the arcade before the movie.'

'You down?'

Going to the arcade meant that they had to see each other earlier, which worked in his favor. Katsuki had also came to another conclusion while his old hag curled his lashes (Which hurt like hell).

He was going to become Deku AKA Izuku Midoriya's best friend again.

He was going to make up for all the bullshit he did and put the nerd through, and to do that, the first thing he needed to do was to become close with him again.

it was going to be hard, but the things that someone really wants tend to be that way. And Katsuki really, really wanted this.

'Goodmorning kacchan! Did you sleep ok?'

Deku sends a sticker getting out of bed and he rolls his eyes despite laughing a little.

'I am! Should we meet earlier then?'

that response gets him a high five and another shoulder shake from his parents. Normally, he would be suspicious of their eagerness to help him with his goal of befriending Deku again, but since it's in his favor, he doesn't really care to ask. At least for now.

"Good work Katsuki! Everything is going according to plan!"

"Operation woo Izuku Midoriya!"

He glares at his old hag, the tips of his ears getting warm for some reason.

"That isn't what this operation is called old hag."

She rolls her eyes and winks at him.

"Not yet."

He turns away from her and looks at himself in the mirror, making sure he really does look good at its not just his imagination.

"Are you guys sure this is good? Isn't it a little too fucking plain?"

Masaru gives him another look, his brown eyes scanning every piece of Katsuki's clothing.

"No, it's more than okay for a casual setting. Nice enough it doesn't look lazy but not so nice that it looks like your overdressed."

He pats Katsuki's shoulder when he looks at him.

"It's ok to feel a little nervous Katsuki, but we all know that you have this in the bag!"

He gives him a smile and it tones down his nerves a bit.

The old man is right, he's got this.

He's going to knock Deku's fucking socks off.

-

Were his thoughts only a couple hours ago. Now he's not so fucking sure. Damnit, he came way too early. There are way too many fucking extras here, why did everyone just decide on this particular day to come to the mall?

His hands are getting fucking sweaty, and he keeps wiping them on his pants as he stands and waits. What if he accidently lets out an explosion while they're hanging out? That would be a whole fucking disaster for the both of them.

He looks around after checking his phone for the twentieth time in this one minute. He looks up and sees him and fuck he should just give up and go the fuck home.
He looks good.

Too good.

Fuck, he knew he should have dressed better.

Deku smiles at him and he walks over to him, his heart beating so fucking fast it feels like its slamming against his ribs.

"You good nerd? There's a lot more fucking extras then i thought i thought there would be but whatever. let's go."

Oh, fucking god, he's dying.

He's sweating way too fucking much, this is not a good fucking start. He starts to walk and the nerd follows him with a smile.

"Ah... Y-You look good kacchan!"

Fuck.

His heart beats faster and he can feel his chest getting warm. He's such a bastard, just saying that like nothing, damnit!

It was worth it getting his eyelashes almost torn off.

"I know i do Deku. You look good too i guess."

Damnit, he could have been nicer, but his heart feels like it's trying to escape his body right now. He keeps his sweaty hands in his pockets, trying to discretely wipe them on the fabric. He looks at Deku and sees pink flood his cheeks and his heart stops.

He needs to chill the fuck out or he's going to die before they can even get to the fucking movie.

"T-Thanks kacchan!"

He shrugs.

"Whatever."

They both get to the arcade, the sound of the games and excited chatter filling their senses. Deku is still really close to him, and Katsuki admits that he likes it that way. Before, Deku wouldn't go near him at all. This is a nice change.

Katsuki pays for all the tokens to be put on the card. It wasn't easy since Deku had insisted on paying or at least halfling the pay, but Katsuki refused. This was his idea after all, it would be rude as hell to have the nerd pay for shit.

Besides, it didn't hurt to show the nerd that he could and would have more than enough money to get him anything he wanted, even if it meant taking extra shifts somewhere or getting a second job.

This was going to be the best fucking day of Deku's life, and he was going to make sure of that.

—-----

He's having so much fun, and they haven't even gone to the movie yet. He's glad that kacchan let him pay for more tokens when they ran out and just hanging out in general. It's a big contrast to hanging out with Ishida, but that's probably because him and kacchan haven't hung out since they were kids.

"Do it again nerd! We need to keep going if we want more tickets!"

They had found a game that let them have a ton of tickets for just pressing a button. The game was very easy, you just had to press the button when the plane on the screen flies to the red line, but the plane flies so slow winning is guaranteed.

"Okay kacchan!"

They had spent most of their time on this game, racking up more and more tickets. Luckily for them, there are two machines like this next to each other, so they can both play and win and earn tickets at the same time. This made their cards stock full of more than enough tickets to spend after an hour there.

Izuku sees some kids waiting to play the game behind them, awkwardly standing around and glancing at them, coming back and forth again to check if one of them had left the game open for them. He wins one more round before looking at kacchan.

"We should let those kids play for a bit kacchan, we've been here for a while."

Katsuki looks at the kids then back at him, then grunts.

"Fine."

Izuku smiles as they step away from the game and walk off. The kids are instantly on it, pushing the button and getting tickets. Katsuki checks his phone for the time and putting it away.

"You hungry? Let's get our prizes then get popcorn and shit before the movie."

He nods, moving towards the prize counter. He catches some people glancing at Katsuki and then turning away to whisper at their friends or just staring.

He feels slightly proud being next to Katsuki, as dumb as that sounds. He's definitely attractive, so it's obvious that most people would stop and stare. It's amazing that kacchan is always so confident and headstrong.

His phone buzzes in his pocket but he ignores it for a second while him and Katsuki choose prizes. Katsuki ends up picking a squish ball twice the size of his hand, and Izuku gets a small all might keychain that's up to his pointer finger.

He spots a golden age all might keychain and gets that too. He hands it to Katsuki with a smile.

"So we can match!"

Katsuki grumbles about how he's such a nerd but takes it anyway, his other hand gripping and pinching at his new stress ball. It's while Katsuki is using up the rest of their tickets when Izuku finally checks his phone.

'Aren't you going to apologize?'

He frowns slightly and messages Ishida back. Why was he asking for an apology when Izuku said that he wasn't free today? It's not like it's going to kill him to spend a little time away from him. Ishida is bound to have another friend to hang out with other then him.

'I already said i was sorry about not hanging out today. We can hang out some other time Ishida Kun.'

"Oi Deku, pay attention."

Katsuki snaps his fingers and Izuku jumps, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He gives him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Kacchan."

Katsuki glances at his pocket then rolls his eyes, walking out of the arcade. Izuku rushes with him.

"Have you guessed what movie we're seeing shit nerd?"

Izuku looks at him, his red eyes staring expectantly. He flushes, turning away.

"No, I haven't. Are you sure i can't have another hint kacchan?"

The blonde huffs.

"Fine, since I'm so nice."

Izuku looks back at him and Katsuki points in front of them. He looks in the direction and his eyes widen.

He's pointing at a poster for an all might movie. An all might movie that had only shown on air years ago when they were children, never filmed or never adapted to a DVD. And now, they were showing it in theaters for today only.

And Katsuki Fucking Bakugou got tickets for the both of them.

"Chill the hell out nerd, you're going to get drool all over the floor."

He slowly tears his eyes away from the beautiful all might poster to look at Katsuki.

"Kacchan."

The blonde has a grin on his face.

"Yeah?"

Izuku feels like he's on cloud nine and he grabs Katsuki's arm, staring at him.

"Kacchan."

His grin gets wider.

"Say what you gotta say now Deku or you're going to blow up in the theater."

He can no longer contain his excitement and he shakes Katsuki's arm, his eyes wide and a big smile on his face.

"Kacchan! Oh my god! I can't believe you remembered! I'm so excited! I owe you my whole life oh my god!! This is seriously unbelievable kacchan! You're the best! The best! Amazing! Seriously my hero!"

Katsuki pushes him off, grinning ear to ear.

"Yeah, nerd i know, don't tell the fucking world."

Izuku smiles and falls into a rant about the movie and things he knows about it while kacchan is getting popcorn and drinks, adding things here and there that send Izuku into more mini rants.

All the while, his phone buzzes with even more messages from Ishida all the way until they sit in the movie theater. As they get to their seats, Izuku glances at his notifications to see 80 plus messages from Ishida.

He doesn't reply and puts his phone on silent as the movie begins. Katsuki eats popcorn next to him, already relaxed in his chair. They are the type of movie seats that recline so that the persons legs are up.

Katsuki glances at him, then gives him a thumbs up. Izuku smiles and gives one back as loud starting music begins to come from the speakers.

He watches the screen intently, excited and happy.

Chapter Text

Everything is going to plan. All he needs to do is get through the movie, which will be as easy as this dumb plane arcade game, get Deku home, then watch as the fruits of his labor begin to grow.

And that fucking asshole will watch it all happen, day by day.

Seriously, could this be any fucking better? He must be blessed or some shit, it takes everything he has not to burst out and laugh his ass off. He had noticed it the first moment Deku walked up to him at the fountain, the leech following behind.

How his red eyes watched, barely canceling the anger and overall wrath he's feeling. And all Katsuki has to do is gloat it in that bastard's face.

"Do it again nerd! We need to keep going if we want more tickets!"

"Okay kacchan!"

The nerd's eyes are bright as he focuses on the game and Katsuki can't get enough of the intensity he's being glared at right now. He's hiding behind one of the arcade games, far away enough that Deku won't notice, but close enough that he can at least see them.

And Deku is none the wiser, just having fun and getting a shit ton of tickets. Katsuki wouldn't have it any other way. This victory was for him alone, and he wanted to marvel at it. Deku turns to him, slightly nervous.

"We should let those kids play for a bit kacchan, we've been here for a while."

He looks back at the kids, who are shuffling on their feet nervously, looking back and forth. He guesses they have spent enough time here anyway. Now to make the bastard watch them go into a movie where he can't follow.

"Fine."

They get away from the game so that the brats can play, and he checks his phone for the time. They have just enough time to go get their prizes and then go get some popcorn and shit for the movie.

"You hungry? Let's get our prizes then get popcorn and shit before the movie."

They move towards the prize counter which happens to be a couple feet away from the exit. Which happens to be where that Ishida asshole is standing. He hears Deku's phone buzzing in his pocket and at the same time, watches as the asshole takes his own phone out.

He looks pretty pissed off with the way he's glaring at his phone and tapping it really hard. The asshole looks up from his phone to see if Deku will respond, and to his glee, he doesn't even take his phone out of his pocket.

He looks at him and gives him a cocky grin.

'See? He couldn't give a single fuck about you asshole. Just quit and go home.'

Deku and him choose prizes. He ends up on a big stress ball and continues to squish it as Deku gets his own shit. He holds out a golden age all might keychain to him, his cheeks slightly flushed.

"So we can match!"

He takes it, planning to put it on his backpack when he gets home. Mostly so he can gloat about that too, and half because it's nice to have something to remind him of this day. He wastes the rest of their tickets on other bullshit he'll probably forget about in a minute, more focused on watching the nerd replying to that asshole's texts.

Deku frowns as he texts back, and Katsuki takes that as another win. He can't believe he was getting so worked up over nothing, waking up early and doing all of that stuff. Today is going perfectly.

When the asshole looks particularly worked up and eager for a response, Katsuki rips Deku's attention away from him and back to himself.

"Oi Deku, pay attention."

Katsuki snaps his fingers and Deku's eyes are on him again and he puts his phone away. He gives him a sorry looking smile.

"Sorry Kacchan."

He begins to walk out of the arcade, the nerd following like usual.

"Have you guessed what movie we're seeing shit nerd?"

Katsuki watches him closely, vaguely aware of the asshole trailing them. Deku seems even more flustered, looking away.

"No, i haven't. Are you sure i can't have another hint kacchan?"

He huffs, though he isn't really surprised.

"Fine, since I'm so nice."

He sees the poster for the movie up ahead and he points at it. He watches as Deku turns to it and as the excitement fills his eyes and his mouth opens slightly. He stays silent for a moment, probably freaking out.

He's gotta thank his old man big time because seeing the nerd eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree is totally worth it.

"Chill the hell out nerd, you're going to get drool all over the floor."

He turns to Katsuki slowly, practically shaking in excitement. Katsuki grins.

"Kacchan."

"Yeah?"

He plays dumb and Deku seems even more built up, ready to burst. He grabs Katsuki's arm and he glances at the asshole, watching as his face gets even more screwed up and he looks like he wants to rip Katsuki's arm off himself.

"Kacchan."

He grins wider. This day could not get any better.

"Say what you gotta say Deku or your going to blow up in the theater."

he shakes his arm, smiling ear to ear.

"Kacchan! Oh my god! I can't believe you remembered! I'm so excited! I owe you my whole life oh my god!! This is seriously unbelievable kacchan! You're the best! The best! Amazing! Seriously my hero!"

His voice sounds so ecstatic and he's practically yelling. His excitement rubs off on Katsuki slightly, though the last words stick to him for some reason.

My hero

Hero

Deku's hero

He pushes him off lightly,

"Yeah, nerd i know, don't tell the fucking world."

That bastard must have heard since the nerd was yelling.

How does it fucking feel bastard?

Watch as i take Deku away from you

Watch as i show you that I'm in an entirely different league from you

And that there is nothing you can fucking do about it

—--------------

He was there from the very beginning, waiting. He watched as Izu woke up, instantly checking his phone. He waited for a message, but nothing ever came. That only raised his suspicions that something was going on.

He had texted all morning and all night, waiting for a reply and watching from outside, but of course Izu couldn't care less. He had expected Izu to say yes to hanging out when he told him he was coming over like he should have.

But of course, life needs to bite him in the ass. Izu had only given him half assed responses and had ignored him most of the time, and it was seriously starting to piss him off. How could Izu just leave his best friend like that?

Izu would never do all of this by himself. Someone must have been telling him, forcing him to avoid Ishida. There was only one person that could do something like that.
He had followed Izu all the way to the mall, walking behind him. He was beyond curious and pissed off, what or who was so important that Izu had to ditch him for two days straight? did he do not enough for Izu as his best friend? It didn't even make any sense; he's given Izu everything he could ever want.

And he had watched as he met up with Katsuki Bakugo of all people.

Then it all made sense. Izu would never willingly hang out with the asshole, so he must have been forced to, either by his parents or Bakugo himself. He's the type of person who would do that, just to torment his poor Izu.

What's worse, is that he knows that bastard knows he's watching them. They had made eye contact almost right after the fountain meeting, had watched the asshole grin at him like he won a lottery.

That bastard will pay for manipulating his friend and forcing him to hang around him. Ishida watches as they go into the theater, and right before the doors shut, Bakugo glances behind at him, puts his hand up, and flips him off.

Thats the last fucking straw.

He can't do anything but turn and go home.

Bakugou may have won this one, but the next time, Ishida will help Izu see reason.

He walks home, hands in his pockets and mind preoccupied. Without hanging out and being with Izu, there really isn't anything else he can do. So he goes home.

Its dark when he enters the house, silent. No one must be home, at least that is what he would believe if not for the pair of shoes at the door. He takes his own shoes off and goes further into the house.

He turns his head and looks into the kitchen, where his mom sits at the table, staring at the wood blankly. She has half a bottle of wine, her wine glass empty. Her hair is a mess, and her shirt is slightly unbuttoned, her mascara running down her cheeks and her bright red lipstick smudged.

She is mumbling to herself, her eyes blank. She slowly looks up and sees him standing there. She sits up straight and goes towards him, as quick as she can despite being drunk.
"F-Fu-"

She can't say his name, and he stares at her in slight disgust.

"Hello mom."

She gives him a wobbly smile, her eyes desperate as she reaches her arms out to hug him. She shifts on her feet, and he wonders how she's even standing.

"W-Where is your fa-father? Have you s-seen him?"

Her words are slurred, and she leans into him. His nose crinkles at the smell of alcohol in her breath.

When him and Izu get together, they won't have to worry about all of this. It will just be them, and no one else. Izus mother if that's what he really wants. But they will never visit Ishida's family.

Ever.

he will be more than happy to get rid of this part of his life.

"No mom. I haven't seen him. He's on a business trip remember?"

he wasn't.

His dad was probably off fucking some younger, prettier women. Not his mess of a mother. Sure, she worked hard and was very career driven, but once she got home, she drowned herself in booze and wine.

She looks down, her eyes dark and sad.

"Oh...."

He's about to leave and go up to his room. He plans to just stay in bed and see if Izu texts back that or just stare at the pictures, he has of him all over his walls. But his moms grip tightens around his arms, and she pleads,

"F-Fu- Wait-"

Her sentence is cut off by vomit landing all over his arm.

Fucking.

Great.

She sobs loudly, still not letting him go as he recoils in even more disgust, trying to get away from her as fast as possible.

"Don't leave me! Please don't leave me! I need you! Ill give you anything you want just don't leave me!"

She wails and Ishida takes a deep breath.

If he wants to be deserving of Izu, he needs to be a better person.

He has to at least try.

So, he takes his mom to the bathroom to throw up some more and brush her teeth. She rests against the cold bathtub, and Ishida stares down at her.

He can just turn her around.

Turn her around and let her rest.

It wouldn't hurt for that long.

She would want it.

he could end it all right now.

He could just run away with Izu.

He would help him; he knows he would.

Him and Izu could have their new lives right fucking now.

He just has to make sure she doesn't breathe anything but water for a couple of minutes.

Just for-

Before he had even realized it, his arms were moving towards her, ready to get it done. But she is none the wiser, and with a big, tearful smile, she opens her arms and pulls him in.

"My sweet boy. I know you'll never leave me..."

Maybe next time.

____________

Izuku and kacchan go to hiking, to the aquarium, the fair, the bookstore, even studying together for a while. It's been a couple of weeks since they have been hanging out a lot more, and Izuku couldn't be happier.

Though he still makes time for Ishida, because even with all the things with kacchan happening, Ishida is still his best friend. He is lost in thought as he stares at the recipe written on a piece of paper.

His mom had written it out for him before she left for work, with a little 'good luck Izuku! You got this!' written on the bottom corner. As he stares at the recipe, he's starting to believe that isn't true.

He's trying to make kacchans favorite spice cookies. At first, he thought it wouldn't be that bad since his mom made it look so easy, but that thought was clearly killed when it was finally time to start.

He had paid for all the ingredients, and he has failed at least five times. Each time, he's left with burnt, misshapen cookies that look nothing like the explosion cookie shapes that the cookie cutter made when he laid the dough out on the pan.

He sighs, defeated as he holds his head in his hands as he leans over the counter. There is a knock and the sound of the doorbell, and he sluggishly goes over to the front door. His apron is covered in dried cookie dough, and he thinks some of it got in his hair despite him putting it up as best he could.

He opens the door and meets Ishida's red eyes. He smiles, taking in Izuku's appearance.
"Hey Izu, what are you up to?"

He sniffs and peeks inside from the door and Izuku steps aside to let him in. He takes off his shoes and his brows furrow as he looks back at him.

"It smells like something is burning, everything ok Izu?"

Izuku gives him a nervous smile, laughing slightly as they both go to the kitchen.

"Yeah well, I'm trying to make cookies but..."

He looks at the mess that is the kitchen and grimaces.

"It's not going so well...."

He wanted to do something nice for kacchan, but he sucks in the kitchen. It's no surprise he can't do it right, but that doesn't mean he's going to just give up!

Ishida looks at the kitchen, hands on his hips. He whistles, then looks at Izuku.

"You know your useless in the kitchen Izu, why didn't you just call me for help?"

He decides to ignore the 'useless' comment.

"I didn't wanna bother anyone,"

The real reason he didn't call anyone to help is because he was supposed to do this by himself, and it's not like it's a real emergency that he can't bake for the life of him.

Also, because Ishida would probably lose his fucking shit if he told him he was making these cookies for kacchan.

"I can do it myself Ishida Kun, you don't have to-"

Ishida is already ignoring him, pushing up his sleeves and looking at the recipe.

"I'm already here, might as well help you out since you need it so much!"

Ishida smiles brightly and Izuku gives in. The two of them work together. Izuku is making the batter when Ishida speaks again.

"So, we haven't been hanging out together as much lately. You barely talk to me at school, so where are you at."

He doesn't look at him, focusing on the mixing bowl. Since him and kacchan had gotten closer, they have been hanging out together at school sometimes. They haven't told anyone else yet, but he doubts they ever will.

"Nowhere, just... studying."

"Every day?"

"Well, yeah. You know my mom she's... very passionate when it comes to my education?"

He hates that it comes out as more as a question then a statement and he wants to turn away. He can practically hear Ishida's disbelief even though he hasn't said anything yet. He puts the bowl down and looks at Ishida full on.

The black-haired boy has his arms folded on the counter, red eyes watching Izuku closely. He looks down, feeling sort of guilty.

"I'm... Sorry. You must have felt bad with me being gone for so long, i promise it's not a forever kind of thing, I've just been... busy."

Ishida takes the batter from him and starts to flatten it in order to use the cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. He's silent for a while, Izuku fidgeting slightly and watching him.

"Busy."

He puts the cookies into the oven and shuts it.

"Thats what i said."

Ishida turns to him and sits on the counter, his legs swinging slightly. He takes a deep breath and gives Izuku a smile.

"It's ok, i understand! But even ill start to get lonely if you leave me alone for so long Izu, so try to spend more time with your best friend hm? Let's not forget you kept you company when you were Bakugo's punching bag."

his eyes widen and he nods.

"Right."

Ishida smiles, laughing slightly.

"I mean, not even you're that dumb. Like you would ever abandon someone who was so good to you, who gave you anything and everything you could have asked for without any questions asked. You haven't even repaid me yet, but I'm still here."

It feels like he's just talking aloud to himself, but it still stings. He feels even more guilt and he looks away from him, biting his bottom lip slightly as his smile falls.

"You're a good friend, right Izu? So, i know you'll always come running back to me, no matter what happens! Don't worry about these couple of weeks, I'm willing to forgive and forget if you just continue to be as grateful and obedient as you've always been."

Ishida gets off of the counter and pats his shoulder, that smile still on his face.

"Let's watch something while the cookies are baking."

He doesn't do anything but nod.

Chapter Text

"Mom, I'm going."

She looks at him from her bed, the sun blocking curtains drawn all the way as to help her sleep. He's standing by the door, not wanting to go in. He sees some of the empty beer cans littering the floor but doesn't bother to pick them up.

He knows fresh ones would just replace them. She slowly sits up from her bed, her hand touching her head as she winces. She squints at him, the bright light from behind him seeming to blind her.

"W-What? Where...?"

Ishida looks at her blankly, and without a moment's hesitation says,

"My boyfriend's house. I told him i was sleeping over so you won't see me till tomorrow."

She nods slowly, slightly confused.

"Right... Your boyfriends house. Ryo?"

"No mom, Izuku Midoriya."

"Y-Yes... Izuku Midoriya...."

There are a couple beats of silence where she looks almost contemplative, until she gives him a strained smile.

"Ok honey. Be safe."

He nods as slowly closes the door, watching her go back to sleep and leaving it slightly open. He leaves his house, going to Izu's. He knocks on the door and rings the bell. He waits for a moment, staring straight ahead at the door.

The door opens and Izu stands there, wearing an apron that is covered in batter. There is some even in his stands of hair and Ishida thinks it's kind of gross but doesn't comment. He flashes a smile.

"Hey Izu, what are you up to?"

He peeks behind Izu to look inside of the house. Inko doesn't seem to be home, which is a good thing. It means he won't have to be on his guard. He doesn't stand outside for long, Izu moving to the side to let him in, as he should.

He politely takes off his shoes and he smells burning. He scrunches his nose and looks back at Izu, slightly concerned.

"It smells like something is burning, everything ok Izu?"

He gets a nervous smile, Izu's eyes slightly casting down. He laughs slightly and Ishida walks into the kitchen where the burning smell is coming from, Izu following behind him.
"Yeah, well I'm trying to make cookies but..."

He looks around the kitchen. It's an honest mess. It's no wonder Izu looks like that, covered in batter. He looks at the explosion shaped cookie cutters and pauses for a moment.
"It's not going so well..."

He looks at the dirty dishes in the sink and the ruined batches of cookies, burnt to a crisp. Izu shouldn't have even tried to do this. He knows that he sucks at anything kitchen related. When they move in together, he'll make sure he's the only one allowed in the kitchen. He wouldn't want Izu burning down their perfect house with his shitty cooking skills.

He rests his hands on his hips and whistles, continuing to look around, then turning to Izu.

"You know your useless in the kitchen Izu, why didn't you just call me for help?"

Ishida at least knows how to make simple cookies, but his poor Izu thinks its rocket science. It's not really surprising, just kind of disappointing. He thought Izu would be smarter since he blows off all of their hangout time wanting to study, always talking about it, but it doesn't seem to be helping him much.

Poor thing.

"I didn't wanna bother anyone,"

He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's sweet. Thats one of the many things Ishida loves about him.

He pushes his sleeves up. He wouldn't be a very good partner if he didn't help his Izu out, besides maybe they could talk about how Izu has been avoiding him lately.

"I can do it myself Ishida Kun, you don't have to-"

He's looking at the recipe, really not seeing what Izu is struggling with so much.

"I'm already here, might as well help you out since you need it so much!"

He says cheerfully. Another thing he loves about his Izu, is that he's obedient. He doesn't fight back or argue all that much, which is perfect. As they work, he decides to bring it up.

"So, we haven't been hanging out together as much lately. You barely talk to me at school, so where are you at."

Izu doesn't look at him, just mixing. He hates when Izu avoids answering his questions. There aren't supposed to be any secrets between partners, but Izu seems to not know that.

"Nowhere, just... studying."

A lie.

"Every day?"

"Well, yeah. You know my mom she's... very passionate when it comes to my education?"

He keeps lying to him, and it's making him very frustrated. He folds his arms and leans into the counter. Izu finally looks at him, and that guilty look in his eyes tells him all he needs to know.

"I'm... sorry. You must have felt bad with me being gone for so long, i promise it's not a forever kind of thing, I've just been... busy."

he takes the bowl of batter from Izu and begins to finish up the cookies.

"Busy."

Why won't he just tell the truth?

He puts the cookies in the oven and shuts it.

"Thats what i said."

he hates when Izu gets all mouthy like that. He'll have to make sure he works on that when they start to live together. He doesn't know how much more his patience will last. He takes a calming breath and smiles at him.

"It's ok, i understand! But even ill start to get lonely if you leave me alone for so long Izu, so try to spend more time with your best friend hm? Let's not forget you kept you company when you were Bakugo's punching bag."

He has to remind Izu who helped him all that time. When they start to live together, he'll make sure Katsuki Bakugo is completely out of the picture. That way, Izu won't get any ideas. They can just go back to the way things used to be.

_______________________

Hanging out with Deku has been totally fucking mind blowing. It's like his brain gets fucking trippy and he has nothing else to think about. They hang out a lot at school too, not just outside of it. And the nerd even gets him shit, like his favorite spicy cookies' aunt inko makes, and shit when they go hang out.

He's thinking about all this while in the library. One of his classes had a study hall, which was done in the library. Deku wasn't in this class today, so it was just him and his goons sitting at the table. The two are talking to each other in quiet voices.

"We're going to the party tonight right?"

"Duh, i studied my ass off, i deserve at least a little break."

A party was being hosted by a friend of a friend of these two goons, and as normal, they had begged Katsuki to come along with them this whole week. He decided to go, but under one condition. Katsuki shuts the book he's reading.

They both look over at him with confused expressions.

"What's up Bakugou?"

He looks at the both of them and takes a deep breath.

"Listen extras because I'm only going to say this once."

The both of them lean in, even more confused. Katsuki continues.

"Me and Deku have been... hanging out lately,"

They don't say anything, just listening.

"And we're kinda cool now so I'm taking him to the party. I don't wanna hear no bullshit about it later, so if you got something to say, say it right now so i can beat your asses and get it over with."

They are silent for a couple of seconds before they nod.

"Yeah, Bakugou, we kind of figured."

"We saw you two hanging out, so..."

They glance at each other hesitantly.

"Won't you think it'll be a little, i don't know, weird?"

"I doubt he wants to go to a party with a bunch of people who made him eat dirt since kindergarten."

"Yeah, i feel like it would be kinda shit for him. Not that we care, we're just saying."

"You're cool to invite him and shit, just, don't force him to hang with us if he doesn't want to."

Katsuki rolls his eyes.

"As if I'd let the nerd hang with you losers."

They both grin and the period soon ends. Once the bell rings, Katsuki gets his shit and is out the door in less than a second.

"See ya later Bakugo!"

He doesn't answer as he moves through the crowded hallways. He had memorized the nerds schedule, so he knows what class he's getting out of right now. He sees him up ahead, talking to that asshole. They probably don't see him because of all the people crowding around, so he turns a corner and waits.

They exchange a couple more words than split up, Deku going in the opposite direction. The nerds' eyes catch his and he smiles, but only slightly. He continues to walk, going past him. Katsuki waits until he sees Deku turn into the bathroom and follows.

Once he's inside, he checks to see if no one else in there. Deku sits on the sink, his legs swinging slightly. He smiles brighter this time and Katsuki's muscles relax slightly.

"The extras invited me to a party. It's supposed to be tonight, if your down to come."

He shoves his hands in his pockets and tilts on the balls of his feet. Deku's eyes widen, a shining green and his smile turns into a nervous one.

"You're inviting me to a party kacchan?"

He doesn't say anything and just nods. They had hung out tons of times already, but never with other people around. Even now, they keep whatever the hell is going on between them a secret as best as they can.

Though he wants to change that.

He just doesn't know why he wants it so bad.

Deku seems even more nervous, fiddling with his hands. His eyes are looking at the tiled ground of the bathroom, silent for a moment.

"If you don't wanna go, then we don't have to go nerd. We'll just do some shit at your place or something."

Deku looks at him and shakes his head, eyes wide.

"N-no, i wanna go! I'm just... all your friends are going to be there and it's a little..."

Katsuki leans against the wall, listening to the background noise of people going through the hall.

"If that's what your worried about, just stick to me. Ill beat their ass if they say shit."

Deku smiles at him.

"Ok. I'll go with you then kacchan."

He nods, hiding his sudden excitement. They leave the bathroom one at a time, between a minute or two so it doesn't look like they were together.

After the party and after everyone sees that him and Deku are kind of cool now, then they won't have to hide all the time. Then he can happily shove it in that assholes face. As he's walking towards his class, he sees the asshole approaching, though not going directly to him.

they glare at each other as they pass, and Katsuki gets the urge to blow his face up. He shoulder checks him and sends the assholes books to the ground. Katsuki Bakugou is nothing if not petty as hell.

He watches as he scrambles to pick them all up, people just stepping on his shit. He watches the whole scene play out and once he gets all his stuff, he turns and glares at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

He glares back at him and steps closer, looking down at him.

"I could ask you the same thing, you fucking stalker. Take a picture like you always do. It'll look perfect next to all the other ones on your wall."

The guy's eyes widen, and he stares at Katsuki.

"What...?"

He grins.

"You fucking heard me."

He turns on his heel and walks to his class, still feeling the assholes eyes on him.

_______________________

Izuku goes home, slightly a nervous wreck. He will be going to a party with kacchan. With kacchans friends. With a lot of kacchans friends. His mom is home, and he instantly goes over to her. She is sitting at the kitchen table, looking through a bunch of photos and organizing them when he goes to her.

She smiles at him and then it falters slightly when she sees his face.

"Izuku what's-"

"Kacchan invited me to a party, but all of his friends will be there and i don't know what to wear and I'm freaking out because what if i get there and i ruin kacchans fun in front of all his friends and what if I'm so bad at having a good time that kacchan tells me to just go and then we never talk again and-"

Inko stands up and goes to him, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Izuku, breathe. Its ok, I'm sure everything will be fine. If you don't want to go, then you don't have to baby, and i can always pick you up if you want to leave when you get there. Do you need help picking something to wear?"

Izuku nods, and inko gives him a smile that seems to reassure him and wash away his worries, at least for now.

"Then I'll help Izuku."

They both go upstairs and inko helps him, bringing out all of his clothes and stepping back to look at all of them. Inko gives him a thumbs up with a determined shine in her green eyes.

"Don't you worry! Mitsuki taught me a thing or two when we were in high school!"

He laughs and inko joins him. They both have fun choosing clothes, both giving their opinions on them. It takes an hour or two, but they had settled on something casual but still stylish. Inko even lets him use some of her makeup, doing it for him.

Inko is putting away all of the makeup stuff when there is a knock on the door. Izuku looks at himself in the mirror for a moment before going down the stairs.

"I'll get it mom!"

He opens the door and expects to see kacchan, but is met with Ishida's red eyes instead. The black-haired boy smiles at him and steps inside of the house, taking off his shoes. He looks at Izuku, silent for a moment.

"Oh."

Izuku suddenly feels self-conscious, and he turns away. The way he says it sounds almost like he's disappointed or saddened for some reason.

"Oh' what?"

Ishida twists his mouth slightly and then gestures to his face.

"You... got makeup on."

He shifts, looking at him.

"Yeah. My mom helped me with it. Why, does it look bad?"

"N-no, it's just..."

He trails off and scans Izuku's outfit.

"Where are you going?"

Izuku hesitates for a moment. He's told Ishida enough lies, he's his friend, the least he can do is be truthful.

"A party. Kacchan invited me."

He looks at him and watches his face turn stone cold.

"What?"

His clothes feel oddly tight now, and it feels way too hot in here.

"A... Kacchan-"

"No, i fucking heard you, but putting that aside for a second, you're going like that?"

He furrows his brows, holding his arms around himself.

"Like what?"

Ishida glares down at him, opening and closing his mouth like a fish before speaking, as if he's at a loss for words.

"Like a bitch. You look like a bitch right now. What, you're hoping he'll give you a kiss or some shit if you get all dressed up?"

Izuku is shocked and clenches his hands. He feels anger pool in his gut.

"I understand if your upset about me hanging out with him, and that's all you had to say. You didn't have to fucking-"

"Tell the truth? You need a fucking reality check Izu, wake the fuck up."

"I need a reality check? You need to get your head out of your ass and learn to mind your own damn business. Don't come into my house and start fucking calling me shit!"

"I wouldn't have to if you just fucking listen to me! Do you really think that since you two have been hanging out he's suddenly changed? You're a bigger fucking idiot then i thought."

"Fine, whatever. I'm still fucking going. You're not the boss of me asshole. I'm tired of your bullshit."

He goes to open the door to kick him the fuck out, but his wrist is grabbed tightly. He looks back at him and Ishida is looking at him coldly.

"You aren't fucking leaving."

"You have one second to let me go or I'm going to fuck your shit up i swear-"

Ishida suddenly slams him against the wall, making him hit the back of his head. He lets out a yell, and Ishida is looking at him like he's barely holding back his anger.

"Shut the fuck up and listen."

He is about to yell but he watches as inko comes running down the stairs. His eyes widen as she stares at the two of them.

"Mom,"

Inko moves before he can finish what he's saying. She grabs Ishida by his hair and yanks him back, making him yell.

"Get the fuck off my son! Who the fuck do you think you are coming into my house and disrespecting, touching my fucking son!?"

Izuku stays against the wall, watching with wide eyes as Ishida is being pulled towards the door by his hair. He tries to scratch at her hands, but it doesn't work. Some of the strands are being pulled out, and inko is looking down at him like he's the scum of the earth.

She slams the door open and shoves him out the door, making him tumble down the front stairs.

"If you come back here or if i hear your talking to my son, I'll do more then pull your fucking hair!"

She slams the door shut and takes a deep breath. Izuku stares at her.

"Mom. Have i told you how much i love you?"

inko gives him a small smile.

"I love you too Izuku."

They both stand there, taking a moment to calm down.

_______________

He's freaking the fuck out. What the hell was that asshole talking about? Well, he knows what he meant but how the hell did he know about all of that? He has been so fucking careful this whole time. After school, he instantly rushes over to Izuku's house.

What if he told Izu something?

What if that's why Izu has been avoiding him?

Does he know?

He goes to Izuku's house, nervous beyond all hell. What if he turned him away and told him he never wanted to see him again because of what he's been doing? Izuku is kind and he always listens to him, that would never, ever happen.

He takes a deep breath to calm himself down. He's got this, everything will be ok. When he knocks on the door, he hears some noise and then its opened. He isn't prepared for Izuku to... look like this.

He steps inside of the house and looks at him closer. He has make up on. It's not like it's really that noticeable, but Ishida can tell. His eyelashes are longer than normal, and his cheeks are a nice soft pink color, and his lips look soft.

"Oh."

Izu turns away from him and he can't help but stare.

"oh' what?"

He frowns slightly. He's never dressed up when they were hanging up normally, not like this. He feels disgust curl in his stomach. Why? He gestures at his face.

"You... got makeup on."

The more he stares at him, the more he wants to wipe that shit off of his face with a hot rag. Izu shifts. His green eyes are more defined when he looks at him and it makes his heart stop.

"Yeah. My mom helped me with it. Why, does it look bad?"

He doesn't want anyone else to see him like this. Ever.

"N-no, it's just..."

Then he looks at what he's wearing, and he feels like he's going to die. He can't be going out like that, to wherever he's going.

"Where are you going?"

He hesitates and Ishida waits with bated breath.

"A party. Kacchan invited me."

Thats why.

Izuku Midoriya is dressed up, looking like that for Katsuki fucking Bakugo of all people. He feels his face turn ridged and his jaw sets and he stares down at him.

"What?"

"A... Kacchan-"

"No, i fucking heard you, but putting that aside for a second, you're going like that?"

Izu furrows his brows and looks at him like he just said something bad. Why is he looking at him with that face? Its fucking true, Izuku should know not to go out like that.

"Like what?"

He doesn't know what to say, or really, how to word it right. So, he settles for the truth.

"Like a bitch. You look like a bitch right now. What, you're hoping he'll give you a kiss or some shit if you get all dressed up?"

"I understand if your upset about me hanging out with him, and that's all you had to say. You didn't have to fucking-"

"Tell the truth? You need a fucking reality check Izu, wake the fuck up."

"I need a reality check? You need to get your head out of your ass and learn to mind your own damn business. Don't come into my house and start fucking calling me shit!"

Why the hell does he keep talking back? Why can't he just accept that he's right about all of this. He's just a concerned partner, nothing more, nothing less.

"I wouldn't have to if you just fucking listen to me! Do you really think that since you two have been hanging out he's suddenly changed? You're a bigger fucking idiot then i thought."

"Fine, whatever. I'm still fucking going. You're not the boss of me asshole. I'm tired of your bullshit."

Izuku opens the door, or at least tries to. He really doesn't want to hurt him, but he's been pulling his arm this whole time. Ishida has been so patient for him, but this was the last straw. He grabs Izuku's wrist tightly, not planning to let go, even when Izuku threatens him.

He's doing this for his own fucking good.

He shoves him against the wall and watches as he hits his head. Maybe that would get him to understand. Then his eyes widen, and he stares at something behind Ishida's head.

"Mom,"

Thats the only warning he gets before he's grabbed by the hair. It hurts like hell, and he screams, clawing at the women's hands. Who the hell treats their son in law like this? The stinging in his head makes him feel like he's dying, and he's thrown out, tumbling onto the ground.

As he lays there, the stinging doesn't go away, and he stares up at the sky.

Crazy bitch.

He stands up and brushes himself off. He's going to wait out here all fucking day, all fucking night if he has to. Izuku will have to come out soon, and when he does Ishida will be there. He'll explain himself and Izuku will forgive him.

He knows he will.

He has to.

He hears someone come up from the sidewalk, their footsteps thudding on the concrete. He glances back and then turns fully around to look at the person.

Katsuki fucking Bakugo.

The blonde approaches him, a smug grin on his face.

"What? Deku finally got sick of your shitty ass?"

As he gets closer, Ishida balls up his fists and glares at him. Bakugou takes a look at his head and whistles, that grin still on his face.

"Woah, balding already? Fucking sad. Sorry, but i got a date with the nerd."

Bakugou grins wider and laughs.

"Sorry, I meant we're going to a party."

Ishida feels even more anger coil inside of him and he roughly grabs the front of Bakugos shirt.

"Who the hell-!?"

The blonde touches his shoulder and heats up his hand, burning his clothes and skin. He hisses in pain, jerking away from him and letting go of his shirt. Bakugou snickers,
walking past him.

"Seriously fucking pathetic."

Ishida rushes out of there.

__________

He watches from the corner of his eye as the asshole walks off, looking pissed as hell. He snickers a bit more before knocking on the door. He hears aunt inko let out a small squeak from the other side. A moment later, she opens the door, looking slightly frazzled.

"Oh! Katsuki, did that boy leave?"

She whispers slightly, looking at him with her big green eyes. Katsuki nods and gives her a smile.

"He did auntie. What did you to him? It looks like he's fuc- freaking, balding."

She gives him a small smile back, opening the door wider.

"I lost my temper for a second, don't tell your mother."

Katsuki's attention is caught by Deku, who is stepping right behind aunt inko. They make eye contact and Deku smiles at him.

"Damn."

Deku's eyes widen slightly, and his hands go to cover his face, his cheeks slightly red in embarrassment.

"What?"

Aunt Inko looks at the both of them and smiles wider. She pats Deku's back, slightly pushing him out of the door. Katsuki's eyes don't leave Deku's face, the nerds attention turning to his mom.

"You two have fun! Call me if you need anything!"

Deku hugs his mom bye and the two of them walk down towards the sidewalk. Deku fidgets with his hands slightly before looking at Katsuki, his cheeks still red. It brings out his freckles.

"Why are you staring at me like that kacchan?"

Katsuki looks away from him, looking ahead. Hopefully he didn't look like a fucking creep while he was staring.

"No reason. Just thinking. Anyway, what the fuck was that all about?"

Deku furrows his brows slightly,

"What was-"

His eyes widen and his face falls slightly.

"Oh."

He trails off for a second and Katsuki waits, shoving his hands in his pockets. The house where the party is being hosted isn't that far away, so they shouldn't have to walk that far. The sun is already more than halfway down the sky, painting it an orange hue.

He catches the smell of Deku's conditioner, but there is the smell of some floral shit that Katsuki decides he likes, probably cologne or something. He suddenly becomes aware of how close they are walking together, their arms brushing every now and again.

"Ishida Kun just showed up, and he was saying stuff about my face, and he grabbed my wrist then like pushed me against the wall? My mom heard and she pulled him by his hair and cursed at him."

Katsuki nods and Deku's arm brushes against his again.

"What an ass. What did he say about your face?"

"He said i look like a bitch."

Katsuki stays silent for a moment.

"For the record, i don't think..."

"I don't think you look like a bitch. You look good. With or without makeup on your face. So, um... don't listen to that dick. Yeah."

He glances at the nerd to see him already looking at him, his green eyes wide and his cheeks flushed. When their eyes meet, Deku looks away, a smile on his face.

"Thanks, kacchan."

Katsuki feels his face grow warm and he looks away too.

"No problem."

They walk in comfortable silence until the sound of booming music fills their ears. There are lights coming in through the windows and people in the yard, screaming and yelling and laughing.

They stay on the sidewalk for a second, and Katsuki stops. When Deku doesn't, he grabs his hand. The nerd turns around, his face red. He tries not to let his freak out over the contact show on his face.

"Listen up Deku. When we get in there and at any point you want to leave, we'll fucking go ok?"

Deku smiles at him and laughs.

"Got it. Come on!"

He doesn't expect him to hold his hand and pull him forward slightly, but he doesn't let go as they get to the door. They just walk in, and if the front yard was littered with people, inside was fucking packed. The music is louder, pumping through speakers that make the floor feel like its shaking.

People are jumping around and dancing, and Katsuki sees a big group with vapes in their hands, puffing out sweet smelling smoke. He's been to this house before, and he wants to make a joke to Deku about the kid who lives here. Everyone knows that this kid's parents don't love him, so they always leave him in the house alone for weeks on end.

Maybe that's why he needs the constant parties. He looks around and sees his goons in the corner of the living room next to a table of drinks. He squeezes Deku's hand and pulls him through the crowd, making sure not to let go.

they spot Katsuki and Deku before they actually get there and shift slightly. One of them smiles widely and yells over the music,

"Glad you guys could make it! I think someone's cousin brought some cheap beers! They're around here somewhere!"

Katsuki rolls his eyes. He'll keep Deku away from that shit. Seriously, these kids' parents need to give them all a good ass whooping. He looks at Deku, who is looking around with wide eyes, watching everything happening around them.

What a nerd.

It makes him want to k-

"There's pizza too, i think! It's in the kitchen if you guys are hungry!"

Katsuki gives them both a nod and pulls Deku with him, who follows, still watching everything with slight nervousness and excitement. He's probably never been to a party before. Katsuki's sort of proud of himself for being the person to take him to his first one.

They get to the kitchen, and there are people sitting on the counters and raiding the fridge. There are empty pizza boxes, but no actual pizza, the cardboard stained with leftover grease and discarded peperoni. Someone bumps into him, and he glares, though the person isn't looking at him at all.

Its Deku he's looking at.

______________

Izuku is still against the wall when his mom answers the door.

"Oh! Katsuki, did that boy leave?"

His first feeling is panic. Did Ishida say something to kacchan when he was leaving? Will he have the same reaction that Ishida had when he saw Izuku? He suddenly feels even more embarrassed.

"He did auntie. What did you to him? It looks like he's fuc- freaking, balding."

"I lost my temper for a second, don't tell your mother."

He goes to the door, and his feelings of embarrassment and self-consciousness' increase tenfold when kacchans eyes land on him and stop. He musters out a smile, despite all of this.

"Damn."

His face feels even warmer, and he covers his face with his hands. Great, even kacchan thinks he looks bad. He should have wiped it all off when he had the chance. Was it really that noticeable? Both him and his mom hadn't thought so when they were putting it on him, it was just a little bit. Or maybe it's his clothes? Did he not put enough effort into his outfit or something?

"What?"

He feels his mom pat him on the back while pushing him out the door softly. He looks at her once he's out of the doorway and she smiles at him.

"You two have fun! Call me if you need anything!"

He hugs her goodbye, hoping that he doesn't have to walk home or call his mom tonight. He's determined to have a good time. Both him and kacchan walk to the sidewalk and he fidgets slightly, still nervous. It only grows the more kacchan continues to stare at him.

"Why are you staring at me like that kacchan?"

He finally looks away and Izuku's cheeks grow slightly cooler.

"No reason. Just thinking. Anyway, what the fuck was that all about?"

He looks at him again, confused.

"What was-"

Once he realizes, his face falls.

"Oh."

Of course kacchan would ask that, Izuku could only imagine how it looked, walking up to their house just to see Ishida on the floor at the front. He's going to tell him since he asked, but not about that one thing Ishida said.

"What, you're hoping he'll give you a kiss or some shit if you get all dressed up?"

Yeah, definitely not.

"Ishida Kun just showed up, and he was saying stuff about my face, and he grabbed my wrist then like pushed me against the wall? My mom heard and she pulled him by his hair and cursed at him."

He sees kacchan nod from the corner of his eye.

"What an ass. What did he say about your face?"

"He said i look like a bitch."

Kacchan is silent for a while, and Izuku waits. He likes how nice the weather is, the sky is such a pretty orange.

"For the record, i don't think..."

"I don't think you look like a bitch. You look good. With or without makeup on your face. So, um... don't listen to that dick. Yeah."

He's caught off guard by kacchans words, and he can't help but kind of gape at him. Its...

Sweet.

It's like all of his worries about kacchan reacting like Ishida had been washed away by one sentence, and he felt like he could do anything. When kacchan looks at him he looks away, smiling to himself.

"Thanks, kacchan."

Kacchan looks away and nonchalantly says,

"No problem."

They walk in silence, but it isn't awkward. It's actually pretty nice and comforting. They get to a house that looks pretty big, with tons of people in the front yard. There is loud music playing from inside of the house and from some speakers out in the grass, so loud they can hear it perfectly a couple blocks away.

He's never been to a party like this before, or any party. He didn't expect so many people to be here, and he spots some people with their uniforms from different schools on. He feels kacchans hand grab his own and he turns around.

"Listen up Deku. When we get in there and at any point you want to leave, we'll fucking go ok?"

He looks so serious, and it makes Izuku feel happy for some reason. It feels like kacchan cares about if he's comfortable or not, and it sends slight butterflies into his stomach. He smiles at him and laughs,

"Got it. Come on!"

He holds kacchans hand tighter and goes towards the door of the house. He feels even happier when kacchan doesn't yell at him or push him away. The house is even more crowded and loud. There are tons of people, crowding on the stairs, in the hallways, and even the front entrance.

He smells something sweet and spots a group of kids vaping. There are different colored lights coming from different directions and it all feels so lively, he feels excited and nervous at the same time. He can feel the music thumping under his feet, and he can even see one of the speakers in the living room, about the size of himself.

Kacchan takes the lead and pushes them through the big crowd of people in the living room. At least he thinks it's the living room, it's kind of hard to tell with all the people dancing with drinks in their hands. But he's pretty sure it is when he sees the sofa flipped to the side.

They move to the wall, where there are tables filled with tons of drinks. He sees kacchans friends, and he can see their mouths moving, but he can't even hear them that well. Instead, he continues to look around.

Are all parties like this? He even sees some older kids, who are drinking out of red solo cups and crushing them under their shoes when they are done with them. Then he's being pulled through the crowd by kacchan again, into a kitchen.

He isn't really that hungry but if kacchan is, then he doesn't mind. Someone bumps into the blonde, which makes him pissed. He looks away, knowing where this is going. He instead watches some guy with a bong in his hand.

______________

He glares at the extra and steps closer to the counter, trying to keep the asshole from being able to look at Deku, trying to be nonchalant. That would have been that, but of course he just doesn't fucking give up.

The bastard has the balls to lean over the counter towards Deku. His fucking shoulder nudges against Katsuki's arm and he feels his irritation rising even more in sharp spikes. Then the piece of shit yells over the loud music, trying to get Deku's attention.

"Hey! What school do you go to cutie!?"

Deku doesn't turn around, looking at something else out of the doorway of the kitchen. The guy tries to reach his hand over to touch Deku, his hand dangerously low. Katsuki's heart speeds up and he moves before he knows it.

Before the sicko can make contact, he slaps his hand away. Katsuki glares at the extra, who finally looks at him. The extras face contorts into a glare and Katsuki takes notice of the different school uniform he is wearing.

"What the fuck?!"

"Don't fucking touch him or ill cut your hands off bastard!"

"I'd like to see you try asshole! Just mind your own damn business!"

"That shit is my business fucker!"

"What, he's your boyfriend or some shit?!"

"None of your fucking business! That doesn't change shit, I'm still gonna beat your ass if you touch him with your dirty ass hands!"

Katsuki glares down at him and squeezes Deku's hand, pulling him out of the kitchen by the second entrance. Deku is still looking around excitedly, though he continues to hold Katsuki's hand tight.

Maybe they should try and find somewhere quiet? Somewhere away from these fucking perverts everywhere. Deku looks great, fucking amazing even, but that doesn't give anyone the fucking right to touch him.

Especially when he's just being an adorable nerd, looking around everywhere like it's the craziest place he's ever been in.

Katsuki spots the stairs that lead to the upstairs bedrooms, and he figures that there is bound to be at least one open. And if they aren't, maybe they could just chill in the bathroom and talk for a bit, and if that isn't an option, they could just fucking ditch and go get ice cream.

They are still pretty far away from the staircase, a huge group of people in their way. He starts to push past all of them but when they are just halfway through the crowd, Katsuki is shoved, and his hand is ripped from Deku's.

"-an!"

Not only that, but the group that just shoved past are shoving and tackling each other, so he gets elbowed when he turns around.

"Deku?!"

Fuck, what the hell? How could he have been pushed so far away so fucking quick?! He tries to go back in the direction they were walking in, but then he feels someone leaning on him. They seem to stumble slightly, making Katsuki carry most of their body weight. He instinctively cringes, wrinkling his nose as he pushes the person off of him.

"Hey Bakugou! I didn't know you were coming to my party!"

Great. This dick.

Katsuki has to fight the urge to roll his eyes till they are falling out of his head. This guy literally does nothing but host parties at his house, and most of the time, he doesn't clean up after them. It's a fucking nightmare, and any person with a quarter of a brain would feel disgusted after seeing the aftermath of nights like this.

He really doesn't have fucking time for this. He has to find Deku before they get too separated.

"F-"

"Here, have a drink!"

A red plastic solo cup is shoved into his hand, and he catches the strong smell of beer on the guy's breath and in the cup. As if he couldn't get more disgusted. The guy stumbles slightly and then laughs loudly, clearly drunk off his ass.

As if he hasn't lost enough brain cells already.

Katsuki turns away from him, staring to push through people when someone's hand pushes on his arm and his drink falls onto his shirt.

A shirt that cost God knows how much.

And his favorite shirt.

The white skull is now stained with beer and Katsuki turns to look at this dead persons face one last time before he kills them. And the feeling intensifies when he sees that smug look on the bastards face.

That fucking extra.

"Oops, sorry. Hand slipped."

Deku would forgive him if he made him wait a minute, right? Just until he beats this motherfucker and steals his money to pay for his fucking shirt, and maybe some extra cash for Deku as compensation for being a fucking creep.

He swings his arm and his fist connects with the extras face with a crack. He glares at him and grins,

"Hand slipped."

The guy holds his cheek for a second before angerly going towards him, fists clenched. He feels him punch his gut as he connects another hit to his face. There are some distinct gasps and yells from the people around them, and before he knows it, there is a small part of the hallway cleared.

It turns into a slug fest, and he barely even feels it. He just keeps punching and punching until he's on the guy and slamming his face into the ground. He feels his hand gripping the back of the guy's head warming up and the smell of burning hair hits his nose.

If he just--

By that point, he's being pulled off of him by two other people.

"Dude stop he's done!!"

"Chill the fuck out psycho!"

He shoves the guys off and takes the extras wallet, going back into the crowd. The buzz of adrenaline is still pumping through him as he counts the money. A couple of twenty-dollar bills. Not bad for a pervert.

And then it hits him.

Deku is at his first party, all alone, full of a sea of drunk, perverted teenagers.

Fuck.

"Deku?!"

_____________

Where the fuck is Deku?!

How can one person get lost so fucking bad?!

He's looked everywhere, and he's starting to lose his shit.

What if someone kidnapped him? What if they drugged him, put him in a trunk, and drove him off somewhere and Katsuki couldn't do anything because he's fucking here at this stupid fucking party?!

He doesn't even realize that he's burning his pants, small puffs of smoke coming from his hands, until one of his extras gives him a concerned look. He has a drink in each of his hands, taking a sip of one.

"Hey Bakugou, you ok dude?"

He glares at him, letting go of his pants only to wipe his palms on them.

"I'm fucking fine. I can't find Deku and I'm pissed off."

The other one slings his arm over the other one's shoulders.

"Midoriya? I saw him with a guy with red and white hair. They went up to the bedroom-"

"What?!"

He looks at him wide eyed before practically launching himself off of the wall and rushing to the staircase. He ends up shoving and elbowing a shit ton of people roughly out of his way to get up the stairs.

"Deku?! Deku where the fuck are you?!"

That icy hot motherfucker, what the hell does he think he's doing taking Deku right when he isn't around and bringing him up here to a bedroom, all alone with each other. He opens one of the bedroom doors, hearing and feeling it slamming against the wall.

His eyes land on the pair on the bed, his eyes wide. Then they narrow, glaring at Icy hot, who sits against the wall. The both of them are sitting on the bed, a couple of condoms in between them as Deku paints his nails.

"What. The. Fuck."

When he comes bursting in through the door, Deku turns towards the sound, eyes wide and slightly surprised. Then, when he realizes that its Katsuki, he gives him a bright smile, standing up from the bed quickly to go towards him.

"Kacchan!"

When he does, Katsuki grabs the nerd's hand tightly while still glaring at Icy hot. The other doesn't seem to care that much, just looking back at him with an emotionless expression. He pulls Deku closer to him and away from Icy hot.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing icy hot?!"

The bastard looks uninterested, leaning over the bed and pulling his boots onto his feet. He is putting them back up, tightening and pulling the shoelaces. He doesn't even look at Katsuki when he speaks.

"Nothing. Midoriya was just doing my nails."

he says blankly, and Katsuki just gets more pissed. Who the hell does this bastard think he is, acting all high and mighty like Katsuki is fucking below him.

"Whatever. Come on Deku."

Katsuki pulls Deku out of the room but not before the nerd smiles and waves goodbye at icy hot. They shove past people, Katsuki making damn sure not to let go. They leave through the door and the warm night air brushes against them as they walk to the sidewalk.

There are a lot of people in the yard, passed out or still drinking, laughing and partying. Katsuki stops at the sidewalk in front of the house and takes out his phone. Deku leans against him, stifling a yawn.

Katsuki is looking around, just because, when he catches a pair of eyes hiding behind a tree. It sends shivers down his spine and the hair in the back of his neck standing up. He doesn't even have to guess to know who it is.

That motherfucker.

He dials aunt inkos number and puts the phone to his ear, Deku's body still against his side. It's warm, and Katsuki can't help but worm his other arm around Deku's waist to bring him closer. He doesn't break eye contact from the eyes watching them, bloodshot and irritated.

The nerd doesn't say anything about Katsuki's arm around him, just wiping at his eyes. The phone rings for a couple of seconds before there is a click and aunt inkos voice comes out a little muffled.

"Hello Katsuki! How's the party going?"

"It's going ok Auntie, Izuku needs a ride home since he's tired, can you come pick him up?"

There is the sound of keys jingling and a door shutting.

"Ok, I'm on my way! Do you need a ride too Katsuki?"

He pauses for only a moment before responding,

"No thank you Auntie, I'm going to stay out a little longer."

"Ok! See you guys soon then!"

Katsuki hangs up and puts his phone back into his pocket. He helps Deku sit down on the curb, sitting down next to him. Deku rests his head on his shoulder, his fluffy hair brushing against Katsuki's cheek.

"Thank you for today kacchan. I had so much fun."

Katsuki's heartbeat quickens slightly, and he hums.

"Good. Thats why i brought you Deku. We'll go somewhere else though, I'm fucking done with parties."

Deku lets out a soft grunt, and inkos car pulls up. She looks at them, a smile on her face. Katsuki gets up and Deku follows, yawning again. Katsuki opens the door and helps Deku inside, inko patting his shoulder gently.

"Thank you, Katsuki. Make sure you get home safe, ok? Let your mom know you stayed up longer."

Katsuki nods and shuts Deku's passenger door and stepping back. Deku looks at him and gives him a small smile.

"See you tomorrow kacchan!"

"See you nerd. Ill text you when i get home."

Katsuki steps away from the car and goes towards the house. Inko drives away with Deku, Katsuki watching from the porch. When he's a hundred percent sure that they are gone, he begins to leave.

He walks down the sidewalk for a couple of minutes, hearing the sound of footsteps that are not his own behind him the whole time.

"Are you going to keep following me like a fucking creep or am i going to have to beat the shit out of you asshole?"

Katsuki stops walking, the footsteps stopping. He turns around and Ishida looks back at him, his expression twisted into a glare.

________________

He was at the party the whole time, though it's no surprise no one noticed him. Thats what he wanted, but it still kind of hurt that Izuku didn't even realize it was him when they bumped into each other. He worried that he would have been noticed when he tore Izuku's and that bastards' hands away, but still nothing.

It was like he was invisible, like right after their little fight Izuku totally forgot about him. Izuku would never understand how bad he hurt him; how bad he continues to hurt him. It isn't fair. He gave his all into his relationship with Izuku only to be tossed aside like fucking trash.

He's going to make it all better tonight. He's done with waiting. He'll take Izuku with him, regardless of if he wants it or not. They could still have their happy life together right when they pass this one bump in the road.

And now, gripping the handle of the knife in his hoodie pocket and staring at the fucker who tried to ruin it all and take Izuku away from him, he feels...

At peace.

If this is how it ends, his knife killing this guy, then that's more than ok for him. He will no longer be a problem, and him and Izuku could finally run away together. The dreams are the only thing keeping him going, and he'll do anything to make them come true.

Katsuki's eyes glance at his pocket then narrow as he slowly brings out the knife. The blade reflects the dim light of the streetlamps, and his bones ache to strain and run to finish the job. Bakugou scoffs, his hands already twitching and waiting for him to make a move.

"Really? And what the hell do you plan to do with that asshole?"

Ishida tightens his grip around the handle and takes a step. Bakugou doesn't move, watching him closely. That laughter still shows in his eyes, like Ishida is some kind of entertainment for him. He can't wait anymore. If he waits too long, then there's a chance someone will come and interrupt them.

He sprints towards him, knife in hand and ready. He sees the look on his face, the twitch of his hands, the flex of his arm, the blood from his wound, before the knife is ripped away from him and he's shoved.

He lets out a small yell when the knife is then plunged into his shoulder. He shoves himself away from Bakugo, stepping into the road.

He needs to get out of here.

Bakugou clearly has some advantage physically, and there is still the problem of people seeing and calling the police. He books it, not needing to turn around to know that Bakugo is following him closely.

"Hey! Stop asshole!"

His heart is thundering in his chest and his lungs ache, and the stab wound lets warm blood drench his shoulder, but he doesn't stop running. Not until he's past the plastic playground, stomping through woodchips, into the trees.

Here, he has more of an advantage. The trees are big, and he can hide behind them and wait. Bakugou is a hot-headed idiot, so he'll just barge around everywhere trying to find Ishida. He goes further and further into the dark trees.

He hears an animal hooting and chittering, the rush of the wind. He makes sure not to step on too many of the twigs on the ground, trying to be as silent as possible. Finally, he stops at a big tree, sitting down at the base of it to catch his breath.

He holds his hand to the stab wound and applies pressure, trying to get the bleeding to stop. If he shows up to Izuku's house covered in blood, will it be easier to get him to run away with him? He would be worried and comfort him, then Ishida can tell him to run away with him, and they would.

He looks up at the sky, the stars not even visible. The moon shines though, casting its light down on him. He looks down when he registers the sound of rushing water. A river is probably down below this cliff. This would be the perfect place to get rid of Bakugo. Just push him into the water after having a little fun with him, then go get Izuku.

He relaxes for a moment, taking a deep breath, before he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Found you bitch."

He jumps and doesn't get away fast enough, a blast knocking him against the tree. His ears are ringing, and his vision is hazy from the explosion, but he manages to get a blurry glimpse of Bakugos legs. He kicks them, as hard and as fast as he can.

The blonde lets out a scream and his body thuds against the hard ground. He staggers up and begins to kick his ribs as hard as he can. His vision returns somewhat, and he can see the pained expression Bakugo is making.

He sees the knife next to his hand and kicks it away. He glares down at him, still kicking his ribs.

"How does it feel? Does it hurt? I'll make sure Izuku doesn't even think about you when we run away together. I mean, why wouldn't he. You'll be dead soon anyway."

Bakugou grabs his foot, and he tries to wiggle out of his grip, but the blonde pulls harshly, sending him down. He hits his head on the tree trunk, his scream cut off.

"You-"

Bakugou gets up on shaking legs, glaring down at him. His voice breaks as he tries to catch his breath.

"You're the one who's going to fucking die."

Bakugou gets on top of him, and Ishida tries his hardest to get him off of him, screaming and kicking.

"Get the fuck-!"

He's cut off by a punch to the face. Over and over and over, Katsuki's fist is brought down on him. It hurts, it hurts way too much. He thinks he blacks out, because the next thing he knows, he's being shoved and rolled, too messed up to move his body, even with the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"I'll make sure Deku never remembers you."

Those are the last words that are uttered into his ear and Katsuki Bakugo is the last thing he sees as he falls.

He's never had a very interesting life.

He's never had people who loved him like they did.

But, at least, he thought he had Izuku.

And he did, if only for a little while.

That time spent with him was the greatest, happiest time he's ever had.

And he thinks of all the things that's happened to get him to this point, and what he wanted.

Green meadows, a small home, just them.

He closes his eyes as he hits the water.

He loves Izuku Midoriya.

____________

He watches as the asshole, his eyes crazed and breathing heavy, takes out a knife from his hoodie pocket. Katsuki can only imagine what the fucking psycho was trying to do. Key word, trying, because like hell he's going to let any of that shit happen.

Even if he didn't intervene, he wouldn't have the balls to do what Katsuki is thinking right now. He scoffs, his hands out and ready to move towards his face if he tries anything.

"Really? And what the hell do you plan to do with that asshole?"

He takes a step towards him, and Katsuki doesn't back away, just waiting for him to come closer. Right when he gets the chance to, he's going to blind his motherfucker. That'll teach him a fucking lesson.

He doesn't have to wait very long, his muscles tense and ready for any move that he's going to make. He sprints forward, the knife in his grip. Katsuki is preoccupied trying to get to his face, and he gets close, until the knife is plunged into his arm.

He rips the knife from his hands, now that it's lodged into his arm, and shoves him away roughly. While he stumbles back from him, Katsuki stabs him in the shoulder. He was aiming for his neck, but whatever. His arm hurts like a bitch, and he's about to fix his mistake, but the asshole is already booking it away from him.

He feels even more pissed off and takes the knife out of his arm, taking his other hand and warming it up, burning his skin. The smell of flesh and smoke form and he scrunches up his nose. He begins to sprint towards the fucker, who's a couple feet away from him.

"Hey! Stop asshole!"

He shouldn't have given this asshole a warming. He should have fucking killed him the first time. He isn't going to make the same mistake this time, this time, this guy isn't making it out alive. He runs past the playground that Katsuki and Deku used to play in when they were little.

He promised himself that he would fix everything. That he would make everything better for Deku, that he was going to make him cry tears of joy. But if he cries for this asshole after he gets rid of him, he doesn't know what he'll do. He passes the playground and goes into the forest, watching the assholes back disappear in the dark.

He doesn't know why that dumbass chose this place to try and run to. It just makes Katsuki's job a whole lot easier. He stops running, changing his pace into a slow walk. He listens carefully, looking around.

The trees and bushes of the woods make it hard to see, and the dark makes it even harder. But he can hear just fine, the rushing of leaves and animals doing God knows what. After a couple of minutes of walking as quietly as he can, he begins to hear labored breathing and rushing water.

He knows exactly where that bastard is, and once he turns, he can see him perfectly. One half of his body is showing, unable to be hidden completely by the tree trunk he chose to hide behind. He goes over to him and touches his shoulder, his hands already readying a blast. He cant help but grin in excitement.

"Found you bitch."

He lets out the explosion and the bastard begins to bleed from his ear, screaming. He goes over to him, already planning to blow some of his limbs off. If this bastard is going to die anyway, might as well have some fun with it.

He's never gone this far before, and it's kind of...

Fun?

He's kicked in the legs, and he falls to the ground, hurting everywhere now. Fuck this guy, seriously. The feeling grows stronger when he kicks his body over and over. It feels like hes going to throw up his guts with how hard he's beating his ass right now.

"How does it feel? Does it hurt? I'll make sure Izuku doesn't even think about you when we run away together. I mean, why wouldn't he. You'll be dead soon anyway."

Enough of this bullshit.

He grabs his leg and pulls, making him fall to the ground and hit his head on the trunk of the tree.

"You-"

He takes a moment to stand up, his legs shaking and his breathing hard. He steps closer to him, shaking.

"You're the one who's going to fucking die."

He gets on top of him, and of course he struggles, but its all for nothing.

"Get the fuck-!"

He punches his face over and over, relishing in the feeling of his fist connecting with his face over and over. It's just like the fight at the party, but now, there is no one around to fucking stop him. He figures he's had enough fun when the asshole blacks out, his eyes barely open. Katsuki stands up and begins.

"I'll make sure Deku never remembers you."

Katsuki pushes and shoves as hard as he can, feeling the weight of his body, and then nothing, his hands pressing against the empty air. Then, as he looks at the moon above him, he hears the loud splash of his body hitting the water.

His tense muscles relax only slightly, and he staggers back, breathing heavily. The stab on his arm will be fine, he thinks if he just treats it at home, it's bound to heal up with a couple of stiches. He looks down at the knife covered in blood and dirt. He kicks it off the cliff, making sure it goes into the raging river.

He turns away, his feet barely leaving the ground. His body aches and feels heavy as he begins his long way home. He really doesn't know how to feel, though one thing is for sure. It rings in his head as he tumbles through the doorway of his house and up the stairs as quiet as he can be.

It rung in his head as he fought that asshole, even as he pushed him off the cliff. He had seen the look in his eyes, the sickening fear and desperation to live, a life cut short because of him. And that single thought, that line of thinking that felt like a dangerous weapon, that made him want to kill, to protect, and to live was,

I am in love with Izuku Midoriya. And anyone who tries to get in the way of that, will fucking die.

Chapter Text

Izuku gets out of the car and wipes his eyes, trying to get rid of the sleepy feeling at least a little bit. Inko is already going to the front and unlocking the door, her keys jingling and standing out compared to the quiet of the neighborhood. She glances behind her when Izuku starts to walk to the door, a small smile on her face. She opens the door and steps inside, Izuku following. He takes off his shoes after her and watches her tie up her hair into a bun. She gives him a concerned look,

"Izuku, make sure you go to bed soon, you look tired."

He leans into her slightly and gives her a side hug when she finishes tying up her hair. She hugs him back and they let go of each other.

"I will mom,"

He yawns halfway through his sentence and goes to the stairs leading up to his room slowly.

"Don't worry."

Inko smiles at him and begins to walk to the kitchen, stopping at a small side table to get some papers and a pen. She looks back at him, that smile still on her face. Her eyes are alight with motherly love and care. It makes Izuku smile back at her.

"Goodnight Izuku, i love you."

"Love you too mom."

Izuku texts Katsuki goodnight and then looks through Ishida's many texts for a while until he falls asleep. Izuku wakes up before his alarm comes on, way earlier than he's ever waken up before on a school morning. He blankly stares at his ceiling before sitting up, yawning. He checks his phone, the sun barely shining through his window curtains. There are some notifications on the small bar, so he looks through them to see a text from kacchan.

'Kacchan: Goodnight nerd. Talk tomorrow.'

There aren't any new texts from Ishida, not that he was looking for some. He deletes Ishida's contact but doesn't block it, getting up to get ready for school. He showers, changes, and does all of his bathroom stuff, taking his time since he's up so early. Despite him being up earlier than normal, his mom is already at work. There are small sticky notes posted on the fridge, all wishing him a good day. Right when he's putting his shoes on to walk to school, there is a knock on the door. His first thought is that its Ishida, planning to bother him first thing in the morning. But when he opens the door, he sees blond spiky hair and red eyes. Kacchan has his backpack over his shoulder, a relaxed look on his face. Izuku feels himself smile, finishing tying on his shoes quickly.

"Hi kacchan! Why are you here?"

Katsuki shrugs, watching him grab his yellow backpack and put it on, his red eyes seeming to track his every move like a target.

"What, i can't just walk you to school nerd."

Izuku's eyes widen, and he feels his cheeks warm up. Kacchan is walking him to school? Why? Did he get up early just to walk over here? H-

"Your- You're walking me to school?"

Kacchan, seeing that he's already ready to go, grabs his wrist and pulls him out the door firmly. He stumbles slightly and the door shuts behind him.

"Thats what i said nerd. Now come on, i have to get there early to study."

He feels himself grow warmer, even more so when kacchan doesn't let go of his wrist, gently holding it as they walk away from his porch. The walk to school is nice, both of them talking to each other so easily it feels like they never even stopped being friends. Kacchan doesn't even pull away when they get inside of the building, when its full of people passing by in the halls. They both walk to class and take their seats. Izuku notices that Ishida isn't in his seat and doesn't appear even after class is over, and it gives him a bad feeling. He doesn't get much time to think about or process the feeling when kacchan is waiting for him to finish packing up his stuff.

"What the hell's up with you nerd? Your stuck in your head today."

Izuku gives him a smile, holding the straps of his backpack as they walk.

"I'm fine kacchan! Do you want to do anything later?"

Kacchan kicks a rock across the sidewalk, his hands shoved into his pockets.

"We could go over to my place if you want. But your gonna have to leave early since my training starts."

Izuku nods, that sinking feeling disappearing from his gut as happiness and excitement replace it.

"You're going to start training for UA kacchan?!"

He hears the excitement even in his own ears. Kacchan has always been amazing, with his quirk and determination, he could be a hero with his eyes closed. Unlike Izuku, kacchan would rise through the hero life and succeed, praised by everyone around him like always. And now, Izuku will be there to watch him do it, as a friend. It was a little sad, but if Izuku tries his very best to be a hero and fails, he'll still be able to support kacchan in their dream.

"Yeah, i have to start to i get used to it later. I'm not taking any fucking chances."

As kacchan says that they get to his house. Right when they get inside, kacchan leads him to his room upstairs. Izuku only gets a glimpse of the house and that's the only thing he needs to know that Mitsuki and Masaru aren't here. Kacchan doesn't bother shutting the door, dropping his backpack on his desk chair. Izuku smoothly puts his own bag next to the closet and plops down on the bed. It creaks under him, and he bounces slightly when he lands. the blonde watches him for a moment before going over and plopping onto the bed next to him. Their legs touch and Izuku feels his cheeks grow warm and his heart speed up.

Why is he always getting like this around kacchan…

—------------------------------------

He doesn't want to hide him and Deku hanging out with each other anymore. He wants everyone to fucking know. Thats why he walked him to school today, and he plans to walk Deku to school for as long as the nerd wants him to. Even walking to his house is nice, like the world is brighter. Now that he knows how he feels about Deku, he doesn't feel bad about it anymore. It doesn't make him feel pissed off. And now, the two of them are sitting together in his room. Katsuki takes a moment to relish in the fact that he can't hear Deku's phone buzzing every ten fucking seconds now. It's only been a day and the bastard's death is already helping him out. Maybe he wasn't so useless after all. Still though, he can tell something is on Deku's mind, and he has a pretty good guess at what it is. He inches slightly closer to him so that their legs are touching, hoping that the green haired boy won't notice how close he's getting.

"Seriously Deku, what the hell is up with you?"

He can feel the heat coming from Deku's face as he turns, his cheeks still red.

He's so cute.

Katsuki watches closely as Deku fidgets with his hands for a moment, looking down at them. The red in his cheeks dies down somewhat and his expression falls as he twists his mouth into a slight frown.

"Well... Actually, there is something..."

He holds his tongue and the urge to say, yeah, no shit Deku, you can't hide anything from me, instead just staying quiet and waiting for him to get his thoughts together.

"It's just..."

He hesitates again and Katsuki inches even closer, nudging his shoulder with Deku's.

"Take your time nerd, i can fucking wait."

Deku gives him an appreciative smile and nudges his shoulder back, then looking back at his hands in his lap. He pulls his legs to his chest and Katsuki follows, the two of them leaning on each other.

"Ishida Kun didn't come to school today and he hasn't texted me either. I-It's not like I'm over what he said and everything but still... i just have a bad feeling."

Damn.

What if Deku actually does have a quirk and he just doesn't know it?

"I'm sure that asshole is fine Deku, he doesn't deserve your ass worrying about him."

He is always doing that, no matter who it is. Deku is just that kind of person, no matter what, he'll always worry about other than himself. That fact was shoved into his face over and over again since they were little kids. Deku hums, the sound standing out in the quiet house. Katsuki decides to continue. Maybe this would be the right time. It would take Deku's mind off of that asshole and maybe he could make him feel better.

"You're always worrying about people who don't deserve it. That asshole. Me."

The green haired boy turns to him, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Even when you don't have to you just... do."

Deku opens his mouth to say something, but Katsuki gives him a look.

"Just let me talk Deku."

He nods, closing his mouth and listening. Katsuki takes a deep breath and continues,

"I always looked down on you. Just because your quirkless. You were always far behind me but..."

"Even now i feel like your miles ahead of me. You can be heroic without even trying or ever meaning to, always with a smile that makes people feel at ease. It's just who you are. And that's something that i don't have, and i guess, in a way,"

He keeps the other reason to himself. When their relationship gets better, maybe Katsuki will tell him. That he didn't like the way he felt about him. Didn't like the way his heart would speed up or how his face would warm. How it made him feel so weak.

"I didn't want to feel that way. So instead of dealing with that, I took it out on you. In horrible, disgusting fucking ways that... I'm ashamed of. And I'm sorry, Izuku. I could never say it enough, and i know it won't fix all of the things that I've done, but i hope that it at least helps? I don't fucking know, does that ma-"

As he talks, his hands are in the air, his brows furrowed as he tries his best to explain what he's feeling, though everyone knows he's never been good at that kind of shit. Before he can finish the rest of his sentence, he's tackled into a hug. His head hits the pillow, and he lifts himself up from his elbows, his face turning red.

"W-what the hell are you doi-"

"Kacchan!"

Deku is hugging him tightly, his eyes filled with tears, and he sniffs loudly.

"Kacchan,"

His voice comes out wobbly and he puts his face into his shirt, probably dampening it with more snot and tears. Katsuki lets out a sigh, a smile pulling at his lips as he pats his head, his fingers threading into dark green curls.

"Such a big crybaby..."

Deku cries like that for a bit, Katsuki preoccupied with playing with the strands of his hair. That is until he doesn't hear Deku's sniffs, only his breathing, the steady rise of his body against his own.

"Hey."

He stops playing with his hair and tries to look at his face but fails. He shakes him slightly, but he still doesn't say anything.

"Hey Deku, are you seriously asleep?"

He still doesn't get an answer and he just leans back and sighs, now completely on his back. He guesses he could just lay here and enjoy this for a bit. He wraps his arms around Deku's body and moves him to lay next to him, burying his face in his hair. He feels himself relax and he takes a deep breath and lets it out, falling asleep soon after.
______________

"Seriously Deku, what the hell is up with you?"

He should have known that kacchan wouldn't just drop it when he noticed something was on his mind. It makes him feel happier, because it's nice that kacchan still notices little things about him without him having to say it. He has to turn away, feeling heat rise to his face under the intense gaze of the blonde. He fidgets with his hands, trying to think of how to say the things he wants to. The things Ishida had said to him hurt, but still, he expected at least one text. It didn't really matter if Ishida texted or not, it was just how he missed school. Ishida was never the type to miss a school day, no matter what was happening. The feeling in his stomach was only getting bigger and bigger and more consuming the longer he let it stay there. He feels himself frown and he focuses on his hands.

"Well... Actually, there is something..."

He knows that Kacchan doesn't like Ishida at all, so maybe he would get mad if he mentioned how he was feeling. But at the same time, if he was going to tell anyone about how he was feeling, it would be kacchan right?

"It's just..."

As he hesitates again, kacchan nudges his shoulder with his own lightly.

"Take your time nerd, i can fucking wait."

His heart skips a beat, and he looks back at him. He feels more at ease as he gives him an appreciative smile. He nudges kacchans shoulder back and then hugs his legs to his body, digging his socks into the comfortable blankets.

"Ishida Kun didn't come to school today and he hasn't texted me either. I-It's not like I'm over what he said and everything but still... i just have a bad feeling."

"I'm sure that asshole is fine Deku, he doesn't deserve your ass worrying about him."

He doesn't even have to look at kacchan to know that he just finished rolling his eyes. He just hums, still leaning against kacchan, who hasn't pulled away yet. Just leaning on the blonde has helped the feeling in his gut go away some, but not so much that its completely gone. What if something happened to Ishida? What if the fight and kicking him out got him so pissed off that he decided to do something stupid? What if he got beat up again by someone he pissed off? Knowing him, the possibilities were endless. He's so deep in his thoughts that it slightly surprises him when kacchan speaks again.

"You're always worrying about people who don't deserve it. That asshole. Me."

Izuku looks at kacchan, even more surprised. Kacchan deserves it, he deserves to have people worry about him even though he pretends not to care or want it. It's what everyone deserves, regardless of their actions or words, at least, that's what Izuku believes.

"Even when you don't have to you just... do."

He's about to say all of this to kacchan, but the blonde catches him before he has a chance to, a stern expression on his face.

"Just let me talk Deku."

He nods stiffly, closing his mouth. Kacchan never talks about his feelings. Thats just the kind of person he was, and now he's trying to say stuff that Izuku has never once thought he'd hear from him. He was always full of surprises. He takes a deep breath, looking down in front of him, and lets it out.

"I always looked down on you. Just because your quirkless. You were always far behind me but..."

Izuku's heart picks up and he stares at him before forcing himself to look away. He doesn't want to say or do anything to make kacchan feel pressured or cornered, or else he bets he would just stop talking and demand Izuku never to speak of the moment again.

"Even now i feel like your miles ahead of me. You can be heroic without even trying or ever meaning to, always with a smile that makes people feel at ease. It's just who you are. And that's something that i don't have, and i guess, in a way,"

Holy shit.

Holy shit holy shit holy shit.

Is kacchan, Katsuki Bakugo, actually saying all of this to him? His heart is hammering against his ribcage and his breathing feels shallow, but he stays quiet. He watches as kacchan struggles with what to say, his hands moving in front of him, clenching and unclenching. His brows are furrowed, and he looks frustrated, huffing out air between words.

"I didn't want to feel that way. So instead of dealing with that, I took it out on you. In horrible, disgusting fucking ways that... I'm ashamed of. And I'm sorry, Izuku."

Izuku.

I'm sorry Izuku.

He finally turns to him, tears prickling in his eyes.

"I could never say it enough, and i know it won't fix all of the things that I've done, but i hope that it at least helps? I don't fucking know, does that ma-"

His body moves before he has time to think about what he's doing. He hugs him, practically launching himself at kacchan, fat tears rolling down his face and out of his eyes.

"W-what the hell are you doi-"

"Kacchan!"

He hugs him tighter, his arms wrapped around his ribs. More tears fall and he sniffs. He feels so happy, like his heart is about to burst. He actually said he was sorry. He didn't mumble it or move around it, he said it, loud and clear.

"Kacchan,"

His face is shoved against kacchans shirt, and he sniffs loudly as more tears roll. Kacchan just sighs and pats his head gently, threading his fingers into his hair.

"Such a big crybaby..."

He doesn't think of much as he cries, until the tears eventually dry and he feels tired. It's so warm and nice, he can't help it. Maybe it was waking up early that screwed up with his sleep schedule, but he feels himself falling asleep. That pit in his stomach goes away.
___________

Weeks pass with no sign of Ishida. No texts, no calls and no showing up at school. Izuku has gotten used to it, and he feels bad but not that much. Not when Kacchan is around. The two of them are hanging out a lot more, walking to and from school together. Sometimes kacchan can't hang out since he has training, extra schoolwork stuff, and doing things to better his application for UA, so he has to walk home by himself most days. Like today. Izuku is packing up his stuff in the classroom. He quickly pops a pill into his mouth. His mom said that it would help with the headaches he's been having lately. He thinks they aren't just normal headaches, because they hurt and make everything fuzzy.

Kacchan goes over to him, his bag already slung over his shoulder. Izuku smiles at him, and he gets a nod in return. He finishes getting all of his stuff in his bag and the two of them walk out of the classroom.

"I'm going over to the teachers for a while. They want to look over what i need to make my UA application better, so I can't walk you home today, Deku."

Kacchan looks like he feels a little bad about it, but he manages to cover some of it up by putting a disinterested look on his face. Izuku is starting to notice more and more moments like that.

"It's ok kacchan, you don't have to worry, I'll be fine on my own."

Kacchan glares at him, slinging his arm over his shoulders, shaking him slightly.

"And who the hell said i was worried Deku!? I'm not! I'm just telling you so you don't cry about missing me so much!"

He laughs and rolls his eyes.

"I'm crying right now kacchan. I'm so sad. Can't you see the tears in my eyes?"

kacchan grins, shaking him by the shoulders again.

"You're crying on the inside nerd."

Their homeroom teacher walks out of the classroom and spots them.

"Katsuki! let's get going."

Kacchan takes his arm off of his shoulders and Izuku gives him an encouraging thumbs up. He grins at him and walks with their homeroom teacher. Izuku starts his walk home. With kacchan always so busy with UA stuff, it makes him wonder what he wants to do. Of course, he wants to be a hero, but maybe it would be good to have a backup plan? He had heard that UA is starting to take in quirkless applicants for the support course, so that wouldn't be so bad right? He would still be at UA, helping heroes, and he'd be able to help kacchan too. He gets closer to his house, just on the sidewalk. He wants to go study and then maybe, if his mom is home, bring up the support course. He turns onto the pathway leading up to the front door and slows down.

There is a woman standing by the door, her back to him. Who is this women? His mom has been buying a lot of packages lately so maybe its just a delivery? As he walks closer, the women seems to hear him coming and she turns around quickly. Mascara is running down her face in black tear tracks and she looks so distraught. Izuku is worried about her. This is probably one of his mom's friends who's in a middle of an emergency and needs her help. Her bloodshot eyes stare at him as he gets closer and closer to the front door. Her cheeks are red and irritated, and her clothes are wrinkled and stained. She looks like a mess and Izuku feels even more concerned.

"Um... Hello? Miss are you okay?"

The women grips her arms around herself, fresh tears filling her eyes. Her eyes are panicked as she approaches Izuku hurriedly, who is now standing with her at the door.

"I-I'm Ishida's mom! H-He was missing and-"

Izuku hones into that word for a moment, his eyes widening. Ishida is missing. How could he have not known about any of this? He didn't see anything about a missing kid on the news or heard about it anywhere. Did something happen after their fight? No, because before they went to the party ishida had been sending texts, so maybe it was after that? Izuku forces his shock to take a back seat for a moment, focusing on the women in front of him.

"-and i was hoping i-if you knew anything a-about-"

Her voice is already so shaky, like with every word she speaks, she has to contain the urge to just cry. So in the most soothing and comforting voice that he can manage, he says,

"I'm sorry about Ishida missing ma'am. I... I didn't know that happened..."

She sniffs loudly, wiping at her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry i came here unannounced... I-It's just, i thought, out of all people, h-his boyfriend would know something that his p-parents didn't..."

What?

Izuku furrows his brows, frowning slightly.

"His boyfriend?"

She looks at him, her hands pausing from wiping her eyes to stare at him in confusion.

"Y-Yes aren't you two... dating?"

Izuku shakes his head slowly, confusion and concern clear on his face. She stares back at him with the same expression.

"B-but the pictures, your stuff, the letters, it was all in his roo-"

She cuts herself off, silent for a moment. Her eyes widen and she puts a hand to her mouth.

"Oh. Oh god..."

Izuku steps closer, despite his confusion trying to comfort her as much as he can.

"It's going to be ok ma'am. I'm sure the police are searching far and wide for him. He's probably just hiding out somewhere-"

She steps away from him, her eyes hazy.

"I... I have to go."

Izuku doesn't think that's a good idea, letting Ishida's mom go like this, but she yanks his hand away when he goes to call out and stop her. He watches as she stumbles down the sidewalk, probably towards their house. Izuku feels the guilt wash over him the moment she leaves, and he goes back inside. Maybe it's his fault Ishida ran off and is worrying his parents. He knows that Ishida can be extreme when he wants to be. He's hoping it's just one of his tantrums and he'll come back home. He starts to feel warm, and his head feels dizzy. He walks up the stairs when suddenly, his vision tilts. He thought that taking the pill would help with his headaches, but he doesn't have time to think about what's happening, as he falls, hitting his head on the ground.
_______________

This is going way better than he thought it would go. That is just a given, he's Katsuki fucking Bakugo. What is starting to piss him off is having to leave Deku so much so early on. He was hoping they would be able to hang out as much as they want, but all this stuff started to come up. He knows he has to get it done though. UA applications are always pouring in, couple that with the harsh entrance exams, training, his current school work, and studying, he's got a shit ton of stuff to do. At the very least, he can walk Deku to school in the mornings and hang out for a little bit on the weekends, but that's nothing compared to how much they used to hang out.

He goes over to him after getting his shit together. He was told the day prior that he has to meet up with the teachers to talk about what would look good on his application. It's not enough to have a good quirk or grades, he knows that, so he wants his application to be fucking perfect, so good that he gets into UA no questions asked. Despite that, he
still notices Deku popping a pill into his mouth before he comes over to his desk. He glances at the pocket it's in, the zipper left slightly open. Headaches. Is Deku stressing out about something? The green haired nerd smiles at him, his eyes bright like always. It's probably nothing.

He glances at the homeroom teacher, who is talking to a couple of students about something. He has time before he has to go. They both walk out of the classroom when Deku is finished packing his stuff up.

"I'm going over to the teachers for a while. They want to look over what i need to make my UA application better, so I can't walk you home today, Deku."

He had tried calling Deku 'Izuku' for a couple of days, each time the nerd freaked out all red in the face, but he decided to only use it to embarrass him. Deku's green eyes look at him and he doesn't look disappointed. Deku gets it, but it still makes Katsuki annoyed with all of this stuff.

"It's ok kacchan, you don't have to worry, I'll be fine on my own."

Katsuki glares at him and slings his arm over the nerd's shoulders. He likes holding him close, and when he does it like this, it looks normal and not like he's being a creep. He shakes him slightly, watching his dark green curls bouncing when he does.

"And who the hell said i was worried Deku!? I'm not! I'm just telling you so you don't cry about missing me so much!"

Deku laughs, the sound ringing in Katsuki's ears and burying itself into his brain. The other rolls his eyes and leans into him. Deku probably doesn't know what he's doing, but Katsuki certainly does. Especially when he's so close the blonde can feel his warm body next to his.

"I'm crying right now kacchan. I'm so sad. Can't you see the tears in my eyes?"

Katsuki can't help but grin. He loves when they joke around like this. It's so different from how they used to be, so much better that Katsuki soaks it up every single time. Deku just looks so at ease with him now, so comfortable that he doesn't tense up or look like he's about to cry just by being next to him.

"You're crying on the inside nerd."

The homeroom teacher comes out from the classroom, done with talking to those other extras. Katsuki feels his mood taking a swan dive when he sees his face.

"Bakugou! let's get going."

He takes his arm off of Deku's shoulders (He makes sure that asshole knows he isn't happy about it) and goes over to him. Deku gives him a thumbs up when he passes, and he walks with the homeroom teacher.

He glances at Deku walking away and shoves his hands into his pockets, a displeased look on his face. The homeroom teacher glances at him.

"Youve been hanging out with Midoriya a lot lately. I thought you two didn't get along."

Katsuki glares at him. Most of the teachers didn't really bother with Deku since he was quirkless, often just singling him out from things like school events or counseling. That was one of the things he plans to change. He didn't really think about it before, but now that his and Deku's relationship is fixed somewhat, he wants to make sure that society changes. When he becomes the number one hero, he'll do whatever the hell he can to make it a safer place for Deku and other quirkless people to live in.

"We're friends."

He leaves it at that, and the homeroom teacher nods, not saying anything as he opens the door to the teacher's room. There are a shit ton of teachers around a long table, all talking to each other with papers in front of them.

=
He ends up getting home late, his phone dying right when he was done with the meeting. It took a while, with a whole fucking list of shit piled onto his lap with things he needed to get done in order for UA to at least take a look at his application. He walks down the street to his house and goes inside, shutting the door behind him and taking off his shoes.

"I'm home!"

it's when he's crouched over taking off the last one that Mitsuki goes to him, her brows furrowed slightly and her hands pinching the sleeve of her sweater.

"Hey Katsuki. Do you think tomorrow you could go over to little Izuku's house?"

Katsuki looks at his mom, shrugging.

"Sure, i go there every single day old hag, I'll make time."

"Good. He passed out so could you bring over-"

Katsuki stops walking to his room and turns to her.

"Why the fuck couldn't you start with that?! Is he ok!?"

She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"He's fine. Inko says that he's just really sick. So bring over some of the stuff i put out for him tomorrow."

Katsuki nods and Mitsuki gives him a tired smile, going to the kitchen to do whatever the hell she was doing before.

______________________

Honestly, this is just his luck. He stares at his ceiling (the only thing he can really look at right now without feeling like he's going to die) the warm rag on his forehead doing almost nothing to cool down his raging fever. Turns out, he's super sick and the fever has been getting worse and worse until it made him pass out. At least the headaches are gone now. His mom left a while ago for work, putting water next to his bed with tissues, and telling him to call her if he needs anything. She was freaking out for a couple of hours, having to carry Izuku to his bed after finding him on the floor at the foot of the stairs, unconscious. His phone feels like it's on the other side of the room despite just being on the dresser, charging.

Izuku isn't sure if he could even move if he wanted to, his body feeling way too heavy and sluggish at the moment. He hasn't gotten to tell kacchan about how sick he is, but he's pretty sure he heard his mom telling aunt Mitsuki about it in the hallway while he was half asleep. He hopes he doesn't worry about it too much, with everything that's going on the last thing kacchan needs on his mind is how Izuku is doing. He will have to miss a couple of days of school if this fever doesn't let up, and then he's going to have a shit ton of work to catch up on.

He lets out the most horrendous, throat aching, chest ripping, wet cough he's ever let out in his entire life. It feels so bad, Izuku has to sit up and just fucking let it out as his whole body shakes with just the force of it. After he's done with his life flashing through his eyes, he collapses down in bed again. Great. This is going to be the greatest time in his life. He sniffs, his eyes half closed as he tries to get air through his stuffed-up nose.

"That sound fucking painful. You good?"

His heart beats out of his chest, and he is put into another coughing fit, turning on his side as he coughs loud and hard.

"K-Ka-!"

The blonde-haired boy looks at him from the doorway for a second, a mask covering the bottom half of his face. He goes over to his bed side, the items inside of the bag he has clinking together as he moves. He feels his eyes tearing up slightly and the rag falls from his forehead, slapping wetly onto the ground. Kacchan sets the bag down carefully and grabs the rag, dipping it into the bowl of warm water and ringing it out.

"Chill out nerd, didn't mean to scare you. The old hag wanted me to bring you some shit."

Izuku finally stops his coughing, panting on his back again, his eyes slightly hazy. Kacchan puts the warm rag back on his forehead, his fingers lingering on his skin for a couple of seconds.

"I heard you passed the hell out. You ok? You must have hit your head pretty fucking hard."

Izuku gives him the best smile he can as kacchan pulls up his blankets all the way to his chin.

"I'm fine kacchan, it's just a fever."

He hates how rough and weak his voice sounds, and kacchan glares down at him.

"Fever or not nerd, I'm here to take care of your dumbass. God knows you won't be able to do shit the way you are right now."

Kacchan is already going through the bag of stuff when Izuku opens his mouth to protest. He doesn't have time to be worrying about Izuku. There are a million things that he should be doing right now, training, studying, anything else. He shakes his head slowly, but even that small movement makes it feel like his brain is rattling against his skull.

"K-Kacchan, you-"
His voice gets watery, and he clears his throat roughly, pain hammering through his chest.

"You don't have ti-"

"I don't have to Deku, i want to. Now just let me do this shit for you."

Kacchan grumbles out the words, but it doesn't make Izuku feel any less of the butterflies in his stomach. He even feels his face growing even warmer if that's even possible with his killer fever.

"Now sit up for a second."

Izuku really doesn't feel like it, but kacchan puts his hand on his shoulder and helps him, sitting him up against the headboard of the bed. He rests his head against it and breaths heavily. Kacchan takes out a long plastic bottle from the bag and opens it up, holding it up to Izuku's lips.

"Drink it but go slow. Ill reheat some of the soup that the old hag made for you."

He does as he's told and drinks it slowly, and kacchan puts it on top of the bedside table.

"Thank you kacchan."

Kacchan ruffles his hair gently.

"No problem nerd."

He goes over to the door and leaves to the kitchen, the bag in his hand again. Izuku waits in his bed for a while, coughing and breathing heavily so he doesn't feel like he's suffocating as much. It's so nice of kacchan to come here when he's so busy just to make sure Izuku is feeling better. It makes his heart race, and he can just picture how he must look right now. He prays that he doesn't look like a complete idiot laying here all sickly. He slowly reaches his hand out to the bedside table and grabs a tissue, blowing his nose.
Everything just hurts. He throws the tissue into the trash can on the far side of the room, almost missing. Kacchan comes back to the room, a bowl of hot soup in his hands. He goes over to Izuku and holds out a spoon full of the liquid.

"Open."

Izuku opens his mouth and kacchan helps feed him, Izuku struggling to swallow and chew with how sore his throat feels.
____________________

His luck could not be any better. He doesn't expect Deku to answer the door since he's sick, so he takes the spare key from his pocket and lets himself in. There is no one in the house but Deku and him since Auntie inko is at work, which is an added bonus. He gets to take care of Deku all by himself, so it's his responsibility to help him get back on his feet. He goes up the stairs, not really being quiet about his arrival. He bursts through the door and stands in the doorway, expecting Deku to jump out of his skin. He doesn't, too busy letting out the most back breaking cough Katsuki has ever fucking heard. There are tissues on the bed, all gross and snot covered, and the nerd doesn't look good either. His face is flushed red more than normal and his eyes are puffy, and he's struggling just to breath out of his nose. To summarize, he looks totally fucking out of it.

"That sound fucking painful. You good?"

This seems to get Deku's attention because the green haired nerd jerks up only to lay on his side, propped up by his elbow as he lets out more hurtful coughs.

"K-Ka-!"

Thank God he wore a mask over here, he doesn't want to catch whatever the hell Deku has. He walks over to his side of the bed and puts the bag that his old hag gave him on the floor. There are some containers full of the soup she made, green tea, and some cough drops and boxes of tissues. The rag that was on Deku's forehead falls to the floor with a wet slap and he grabs it, wringing it out into the bowl with the water.

"Chill out nerd, didn't mean to scare you. The old hag wanted me to bring you some shit."

Deku's coughing dies down somewhat, laying on his back and breathing like its killing him. He puts the warm rag back onto Deku's forehead, his fingers grazing over his skin for a bit. It's so warm, warmer than usual, and his freckles are standing out so much against his skin.

"I heard you passed the hell out. You ok? You must have hit your head pretty fucking hard."

Deku gives him a smile and it still looks pained. He's so cute like this, problem is it looks like he's dying, which is not a good thing. He pulls Deku's blankets all the way to his chin, so all he sees is his flushed face and crazy bed head.

"I'm fine kacchan, it's just a fever."

Yeah, a fever does not look like this. Deku even sounds like he's on the brink of death. Besides, it was so bad that Deku fucking passed out. Katsuki can only imagine how inko must have felt finding Deku like that, anyone would have freaked the fuck out.

"Fever or not nerd, I'm here to take care of your dumbass. God knows you won't be able to do shit the way you are right now."

Katsuki is already going through the bag and looking for the containers of soup. Deku is probably worrying about all the shit he has to do. He can tell by the way he opens his mouth, the way his muscles tense and the clear worry in his eyes. This could be what Katsuki needs. Just time to fucking relax and take care of him for a bit. Kinda like a stress reliver or some shit.

"K-Kacchan, you-"

Deku clears his throat harshly before speaking again,

"You don't have ti-"

"I don't have to Deku, i want to. Now just let me do this shit for you."

Katsuki says it quietly, but he still sees Deku's eyes widen and his face turn even more red. Ah damnit, he's just too fucking much. He feels his cheeks warm up and in order to make sure the speeding of his heart doesn't get to be too much, he decides to change the subject.

"Now sit up for a second."

Deku does so with his help, back leaning against the headboard of the bed. Katsuki takes the warm rag and makes sure it doesn't fall onto the nerd's blankets. He takes the green tea out of the bag and holds it to Deku's lips.

"Drink it but go slow. Ill reheat some of the soup that the old hag made for you."

His eyes focus on Deku's lips a lot longer than needed and he feels himself get warm again. this fucking mask has helped his ass a lot in the last twenty minutes. After Deku is done drinking some of it, he puts it on the bedside table. The nerd looks at him, his green eyes shining as he gives him another wobblily smile.

"Thank you kacchan."

His heart is just ready to fucking burst. He ruffles the nerd's hair, letting the feeling of his dark curls against his hand sink in for a bit.

"No problem nerd."

He goes downstairs and starts to reheat the soup. It all feels so domestic. So homey and normal its almost surreal. He's never imagined that he'd be doing this, wanting to take care of Deku even when he has so much shit going on. It's nice. It makes him want to have this every day, not just as friends but as something more. He goes back upstairs with the soup and helps Deku eat his soup. The nerd is trying his best to eat all of it, but Katsuki can tell when he's pushing himself too far, so he ends up finishing the rest.

"You,"

Deku's voice is weak and raspy, Katsuki helping him go back to laying down comfortably. His hands always linger when he touches Deku, on his shoulder or his arm. Hopefully the nerd doesn't notice.

"You don't have to help me so much kacchan, I'll be fine if you need to leave..."

Katsuki decides then and there, looking at Deku's sickly state and the dark night outside.

"I'm staying the night nerd. Move over."
______________________

"I'm staying the night nerd. Move over."

Izuku doesn't process the sentence for a second, but when he does, his face flames red and he feels like he's going to pass out. He instinctively bolts up, gripping his blankets closer to himself and letting out a choked-out sound. Kacchan wants to stay over?! Kacchan wants to spend the night in his bed even when he's sick?! He's been spending all of this time taking care of him without Izuku even having to ask and now he's going to stay over after years of not even a single normal conversation? After all of this time, after holding on to all of the memories of their childhood this is basically a chance to make some new ones handed to him on a silver platter. His heart is racing in his chest and the heat gets even worse as he stammers for something to say.

"W-W-"

His stammering gives way to an onslaught of violent coughing, his body shaking and the pain reverberating in his chest as he holds his arm up. Kacchan just watches him, hands on his hips. There is a slight worry in his eyes as he grabs the bottle of green tea and taps it against his shoulder. When his coughing stops and he's wiping his eyes, the blonde speaks again, still holding the bottle of tea for Izuku to take.

"Deku, you're really going to send my ass out there in the middle of the night."

It is only then that he hears the soft pitter patter of rain outside. Izuku looks at him and that previous guilt worms its way into his stomach. He takes the bottle of green tea and opens the cap, taking small sips. Kacchan is right. There could be someone out there, someone super dangerous. Maybe Ishida didn't run away or throw a tantrum, maybe something really bad happened to him. There is no way he's sending kacchan outside all by himself. Strong quirk or not. Still, he can't help but feel bad about possibly being the reason kacchan gets behind on all of his work that he needs to do. He's already taken up so much of the blonde's time, way more than he deserves. He doesn't notice that when he was reeling from embarrassment, he had scrambled to the other side of the bed against the wall. But he does when kacchan stretches and sits on his bed.

"Kacchan! W-Wait-!"

The blonde looks at him, his face relaxed like always, the slight furrow in his brow just normal. He pulls his legs up onto the bed and digs under Izuku, trying to get the side of the blanket. Even if he knows that, Izuku still feels himself growing warm and freaking the fuck out.

"Seriously Deku what's the problem? We used to sleep in the same bed all the time when we were brats."

Izuku kind of hates and admires how calm kacchan is about everything when he's not flying off of the handle. How is Izuku the only one who is nervous about sharing the same bed, the same blankets? He lifts himself up slightly and feels kacchans hand slide under him, letting out a small squeak.

"Kacchan..."

He's too busy trying to pull the blanket from under him without having him move too much, his brows furrowed deeper in concentration. He's so close, some strands of his hair brush against Izuku's cheek.

"What nerd, I'm trying to-"

"Your hand is right under my ass right now-!"

Right when he says the word 'ass' kacchans hand is zooming away and up into the air, his face flaming red and eyes wide. Izuku stares at him in silence and the blonde slowly looks back at him.

"Don't tell auntie inko. It was an accident."

Izuku just stares at him, and the blonde gets even more embarrassed. He just can't look away, the red flush in his cheeks and the tips of his ears is so unfamiliar that it makes Izuku feel like he's imagining it even though he knows he isn't.

"Deku, it was an accident! I would never touch your ass, well like, fuck, you know what i mean! Stop looking at me like that!"

Izuku turns away from him, his shoulders shaking as he tries to hold in his laugh. Kacchan is still scrambling for something to say, only getting more and more embaressed.

"Why are you turning away Deku?! What the fuck-!"

Izuku can't take it anymore and he bursts out laughing, even when it hurts his stomach and throat to do so. Kacchan narrows his eyes at him.

"Are you laughing at me right now you damn nerd?"

Izuku laughs harder and curls away from kacchan when the blonde presses into him warningly.

"N-No!-"

It doesn't make him very believable when he bursts out laughing again, tears beginning to prick his eyes.

"You so fucking are!"

"Its just your imagination!"

"Yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

Kacchan puts his hands up and beginnings to attack his ribs, making Izuku kick and squirm, laughter booming around the room.

"Kacchan no! Stop-"

He can barely get any words out with how much he's laughing as kacchan looks down at him with an evil glint in his eyes.

"What, not so funny now huh? This'll teach you!"

"Please- Mercy! I give!"

Katsuki grins and lets his ribs go, leaving izuku to catch his breath. In all of the chaos, the blonde had managed to swipe the end of the blanket, now plopping down next to Izuku and putting the blanket over them.

"Good."

Izuku's cheeks are flushed, and he turns his body to look at kacchan, who is turned in his direction too. The only light in the room is the lamp on Izuku's desk, illuminating the space in a soft glow. They look at each other as shadows move off of their faces and the rain gets heavier outside. Its staring at red eyes and blonde hair that Izuku realizes something that shatters and rebuilds his entire world in an instant. He's in love with katsuki bakugou.
_____________________

He watches as the nerd's face flames even more red and the way his body tenses up as he scrambles away from where Katsuki is standing. It's funny and cute as all hell when he gets so embarrassed, but moving around like that when he's sick could fuck him up. Deku pulls the blankets closer, twisting himself into them with his back against the wall. Katsuki noticed it a while ago, but the rain pattering outside doesn't look like it's about to let up anytime soon, so he's decided to take advantage of this opportunity that has to gracefully found its way into his hands. He hasn't slept or even walked into Deku's room since they were little kids, and now he gets to skip past all of the bullshit and sleep right next to him. Deku is stammering for something to say as he watches him calmly, waiting for him to get his thoughts together.

"W-W-"

Too bad he's cut off by another session of painful coughing, lurching forward slightly to shove his face into the elbow of his arm. He's a little worried about Deku getting worse because of the rain making the room colder. He can almost grin at his genius. If Deku is still insistent in not sharing a bed, then he can always say that another person's body heat is good for sweating out a fever. Still, he better save all of that for later until Deku stops practically coughing out his guts. He takes his hands off of his hips to get the bottle of green tea sitting on the bedside table. He holds it up and taps it against the nerd's shoulder, who has calmed down and is now wiping his puffy eyes, breathing heavily.

"Deku, you're really going to send my ass out there in the middle of the night."

Katsuki sees Deku's eyes glance at the window as he frowns slightly, still red. Deku takes the bottle of green tea and slowly opens up the cap, taking small sips. The green haired nerd thinks, and Katsuki starts to get annoyed, so he plops himself down.

"Kacchan! W-Wait-!"

Katsuki looks at him, taking in his flushed cheeks, wide eyes, and scattered freckles. He notices the other side of the blanket is under the nerd, so he starts to dig around for it. As his hand gets closer, his brain can't help but let the situation sink into him.

"Seriously Deku what's the problem? We used to sleep in the same bed all the time when we were brats."

He's going to sleep in Deku's room. He is going to be sharing a bed with Izuku Midoriya. Alone. Just the two of them. He prays to whatever god out there that his face isn't showing any of his racing thoughts. Deku lets out a small squeak, but Katsuki just keeps going for the blanket. The sooner he gets comfortable the sooner they both fall asleep, which means that he can accidently maybe probably hold Deku when he's asleep.

"Kacchan..."

Would that be pervy? He doesn't want to be a fucking pervert or anything, but isn't that what most people would do if their sleeping with the person they love? Would deku push him away if he woke up to them like that?

"What nerd, I'm trying to-"

"Your hand is right under my ass right now-!"

Katsuki couldn't have gotten his hand out of there any faster. Fuck, just his luck, right when he's worried about being a fucking pervert he goes and does this shit. Obviously, it was an accident it's not like he meant to do that! His face feels warm, and his hand is now in the air, held up. He slowly looks back at Deku, who is looking back at him with a surprised and embarrassed expression.

"Don't tell auntie inko. It was an accident."

The words hang in the air since Deku doesn't say shit, just staring at him. Damnit, damnit, why the hell is he looking at him like that?! His green eyes are looking at every part of his face and it only makes his heart pump faster.

"Deku, it was an accident! I would never touch your ass, well like, fuck, you know what i mean! Stop looking at me like that!"

When Deku turns away from him, he only freaks the fuck out even more. He's about to spew whatever comes to mind when he sees his shoulders shaking.

This adorable little shit.

"Are you laughing at me right now you damn nerd?"

Deku laughs harder, balling up away from him as he gets closer.

"N-No!-"

He laughs harder and Katsuki can see his face. His eyes are filled with unshed tears, but not the bad kind. They couldn't be with that big smile plastered on his face. A smile tugs on Katsuki's own lips as he looks down at him.

"You so fucking are!"

"It's just your imagination!"

"Yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

Katsuki tickles the shit out of him until he looks like he's about to die, and only then does he decide he's learned his lesson. Finally getting the blanket, he puts it over himself and fixes Deku's side. Green eyes look into his own and he takes in every detail of his face. He's never been this close for this long before. He looks at his freckles, then every part of his face. The light from the lamp casts soft shadows on the both of them. Deku looks so peaceful lying next to him. Katsuki's eyes catch something else. The nerd's shirt is pulled down, way too big for his body. Katsuki can see one of the scars shaped as his own hand staring back at him. What was once his only connection to the person he didn't know he had these feeling for is now a constant reminder of the person he used to be. It makes him feel shame, his gut churning. Deku must have caught him staring because his eyes widen slightly before his smile melts off of his face.

"Kacchan."

___________________

Izuku notices kacchan staring at his collarbone, only to realize that his shirt is pulled down. Something dark pools inside of the blonde's dazed eyes and Izuku feels his smile drop. His skin pricks slightly.

"Kacchan."

He says it quietly. It feels like if he says the wrong thing, in the wrong tone, he'll shatter the little bubble of peace that they put themselves in. The rain is still beating outside, tapping onto the window glass. The blonde still doesn't look at him, continuing to stare at the mark on his body. His heart feels oddly calm as he takes a deep breath and reaches out his hands. Kacchan finally looks at him when his hands are holding his, his eyes snapping back into focus. Izuku silently takes his hand and put it on his collarbone, right on top of the scar. He feels kacchans hand twitch against his skin, but he doesn't break eye contact. Kacchans eyes are wide, and his pupils are blown as he stares back.

"I know that you're sorry."

Its slightly above a whisper, and Izuku almost doesn't register that he said it. But kacchan seems to have heard him regardless, because his hand presses closer. It's warm, and Izuku can feel the others body heat under the blanket as they suddenly get closer. The room is silent all except for the sound of their breathing and the rain outside. Izuku hears distant thunder, counting the seconds before another one booms. Kacchan looks at his own hand over Izuku's skin.

"A sorry isn't going to fucking fix this, Izuku."

He says it in a soft tone, but Izuku can still hear the hate in his voice. He holds his hand tighter.

"Yeah, but it fixed everything else. We're hanging out again, having sleepovers, I have my best friend again kacchan. Isn't that enough?"

Kacchan doesn't say anything. Izuku thinks he did something wrong. What should he have said instead? He can't say that he loves him. Not when he's still feeling all of this guilt. If he told kacchan he loves him, he'll only hate himself more than he already does.

"It isn't enough. It will never be enough because you'll still be all fucked up. You'll still have these marks on your body, and you'll still remember that i-"

Kacchans voice breaks and he stops himself, his eyes glistening slightly.

"That I'm still the same person who did this to you."

"But kacchan, you aren't. Youve changed, i know you'd never do that stuff."

He still doesn't look convinced, looking at Izuku like he doesn't know what he's talking about. Izuku doesn't really think about what he does next, sitting up slowly. Kacchans hand drifts off of his collarbone and Izuku grips the hem of his shirt.

"What are you...?"

He trails off as Izuku lifts off his shirt and puts it to the side, his hair poofing up slightly. He looks down at him and the blonde is staring at all of the marks on his shoulders, chest, and his ribs. The light dances across his body, the storm rolling in.

"Just the fact that you feel bad about these is more than enough proof that you've changed Katsuki. Even when you did all of these, i never hated you for them. So, you shouldn't hate yourself for them either. They aren't really all that bad if you look at them long enough..."

He finishes, flashing him a smile. Kacchan sits up and looks at them, putting his hand up towards him. His eyes flicker to his face.

"Can I..."

Izuku nods and kacchan moves his hand, grazing over the scarred flesh and burns. They sit like that for a while, the other just examining every single mark. Izuku relaxes and lets him do what he wants.

"My point is that our relationship has changed and it's a good thing, and that i don't think of them like that. Ok?"

Kacchan looks back at him and nods. Izuku opens his arms and the blonde sniffs, his eyes filling up again as he hugs Izuku back. He buries his face against the part between his neck and shoulder.

"I just want to make sure you feel better about this Katsuki. I.."

I love you.

Izuku's throat closes, and he can't get the words out, so he just settles on trying his best to comfort him. Hugging him feels so much warmer than any of the other hugs he's ever gotten. Probably thanks to his quirk, but even then, the beating of his heart helps.

"Your way too fucking nice Deku. It pisses me off."

Kacchan grumbles it despite his voice coming out watery and wobblily. Izuku smiles and his arms hold him tighter.

"I'm not nice kacchan. I'm probably going to get you sick if we keep this up..."

Kacchan huffs, his warm breath brushing against his skin, lighting it up in small goosebumps.

"Then i guess we'll both have to stay in bed nerd."

"That wouldn't be so bad kacchan."

Kacchan is silent. Izuku feels sleep grogging up his senses as he holds back a yawn, relaxing against the blonde. He's half asleep when kacchan speaks again.

"I really am sorry, Izuku."

He says it against his skin, his lips grazing Izuku's shoulder. Izuku tilts his head, now against kacchans.

"I know you are Katsuki. I forgive you. For all of it."

Izuku sits there with him, quiet. The thunder is closer now, the rain banging harder against the window. The raindrops are moved against the glass because of the wind. The light is still flickering around them, the room untouchable from the rain. Izuku trails small circles onto the blondes back, ignoring the dampness on his shoulder, the occasional chocked off sound, and the hands clasping onto his back like a lifeline. He'll help kacchan forgive himself, because that's what he deserves. He wants to have moments like this and more every day. He wants Kacchan to feel comfortable enough open up to him.

Because he loves him.

- One year later -

_________________
He can barely hear Deku's voice, even when its slightly louder than the pounding rain outside and his own breathing. He sees his mouth moving in the corner of his eye but doesn't process the words. It's almost like its muffled, and all he can feel is the growing guilt. Why did he do something so disgusting and actually enjoy it? It's because he's sick, his brain supplies. It's because he's sick in the head. He may have apologized but these scars are something that Deku can't get rid of, will never be able to fully cover up.They are something that is going to affect his life forever, and it's all Katsuki's fault. The scarred skin stands out so much that he would have no hope of covering them. He felt happy about that before. He actually felt happiness because he knew Deku would never look at himself without not remembering Katsuki. He feels hands on his own, pulling him towards something. Katsuki's eyes snap back into focus, zoning in on the person in front of him. He looks so relaxed laying there, just looking at him like he knows what he's thinking. Deku's hands pull his closer, until its right up against the scar that had taken all of his attention. When he feels the rough shape perfectly over his hand, his fingers twitch. They feel so sweaty, only getting warmer.

He feels himself tensing up, watching Deku closely. He doesn't want to hurt him, not anymore. He's already done more than enough to him. Deku hasn't looked away from him the whole time, green eyes just watching him calmly.

"I know that you're sorry."

The look in his eyes just pulls him in. He loves when Deku isn't scared of him. He loves when they can just talk about random shit without having to be forced to. He loves that Deku isn't afraid to hug or touch him, that he's comfortable now. But he doesn't want to go back to before. He doesn't want to suddenly wake up and realize that all of this doesn't matter to him anymore, that he must have been fucking crazy to befriend Deku again.

"A sorry isn't going to fucking fix this, Izuku."

He says it a lot quieter than he intended, and he hates it. He doesn't want to suddenly think that this was all just some fucked up phase and go right back to square one, not even giving a shit if he hurt the person he loves again. The reality is, that he is still that person. That disgusting, sick kid that hurts the people he loves just because he's too fucking weak to do anything else about the way he feels.

"Yeah, but it fixed everything else. We're hanging out again, having sleepovers, I have my best friend again kacchan. Isn't that enough?"

He doesn't want to just be friends. This whole time, he's wanted to be more. But how could he have thought he deserved any of that? He was just going to do what he always did, go for it and take it. But he doesn't want to do it with this. He wants Deku to actually want to be with him in that way, he doesn't want him to feel like he has to say yes because its Katsuki. That would just prove how much of an asshole he is, to Deku and to himself.

"It isn't enough. It will never be enough because you'll still be all fucked up. You'll still have these marks on your body, and you'll still remember that i-"

His voice breaks. He feels the stringing in his eyes, something that he hadn't realized before. He's going to fucking cry. Right in Deku's bed, right in front of him like a fucking loser and he doesn't think he can stop it. He swallows and closes his eyes in a long blink, trying to get rid of the unshed tears. To will them away because what the fuck are you even doing here?

"That I'm still the same person who did this to you."

In all this time though, Deku hasn't looked at him like he deserves it. He looks at him like he hung the stars in the sky and like he raises the sun every fucking morning. Another thing he doesn't get to have.

"But kacchan, you aren't. Youve changed, i know you'd never do that stuff."

But he did once, and one time is all you really need. Deku must still be reading his fucking mind because he doesn't look like he's going to stop talking about this until Katsuki believes him. He sits up and starts to lift up his shirt, and his heart races.

"What are you...?"

He takes his shirt off, putting it to the side as he looks at him.

"Just the fact that you feel bad about these is more than enough proof that you've changed Katsuki. Even when you did all of these, i never hated you for them. So, you shouldn't hate yourself for them either. They aren't really all that bad if you look at them long enough..."

He flashes him a smile and Katsuki just stares. His eyes scan every single scar on his body. He remembers each and every one of them, the moments so clear in his head that they instantly come to mind.

"Can I..."

Deku nods silently and Katsuki moves, his hands grazing every single one he can get to. They don't take away from his beautiful freckled skin, but it's the fact that they are there in the first place. Deku should hate him. He should be waiting for a chance to strangle him in his sleep. Even then Katsuki wouldn't blame him. But he doesn't. He doesn't hate him, and that hurts so much more.

"My point is that our relationship has changed and it's a good thing, and that i don't think of them like that. Ok?"

He looks back at him only to see Deku's arms ready for him.

God, what is he going to do?

He hugs him tightly, and he finally lets himself cry.

Even if it takes his whole life, he's ready to become the kind of person that Izuku sees him as. He loves him so much, he just wants him to be happy, because Deku is doing the same for him.

- One year later -

Chapter Text

They are now in their last year of middle school and Izuku really didn't think this is what it would be like. He expected it to be like all of the other years, where he would just hang his head low and try not to get any unwanted attention. But this year was different. A lot different. He wakes up and gets ready for school. He gets all of the things he needs to get done and starts to head down the stairs. Once he gets downstairs, he reads the posted note put up on the fridge by his mom.

'Have a good day at school Izuku! I love you!'

He walks past the kitchen and goes to the door to put his shoes on. Right when he's done tying them up, there is a knock on the door. Kacchan always manages to be on time every single morning to walk him to school. He opens the door, the cold morning brushing against his face as he gives Kacchan a big smile. His light solid color scarf is wrapped around his neck and small puffs of air leave his nose as he breathes. His red eyes land on Izuku, looking a lot softer than before.

"Good morning kacchan!"

"Morning nerd."

He shuts the door and both of them begin to walk off of the porch. Kacchan walks next to him, his hands shoved inside of his pockets. Izuku wraps his coat tighter around himself as they walk. Despite being so busy because of all his extra school stuff, Kacchan has always managed to walk him to school.

"Are you still busy today kacchan?"

"Yeah, i have to up my training and get some of that shit done for my UA application."

Kacchan takes his hand out from his pocket and holds it out, silent. He doesn't look ahead, but when Izuku glances at him, he can see the tips of his ears turn red. Maybe it's just from the cold, but that thought doesn't stop his heart from racing. With a smile, Izuku takes his hand, feeling the warmth. Kacchan heats it up and it doesn't feel that cold anymore. Kacchan lets out a small huff and Izuku laughs. They talk while they go towards the school, as they do every morning. He loves just being able to talk to kacchan, even when he's so busy. They both get to the school and get to the front, hand in hand. He can feel his heartbeat pumping in his ears and through his veins, his face warming. Ever since the party, kacchan hasn't really cared about showing people that their friends again. Sure, that means holding his hand and walking him to his classes, even having him sit with his friends at lunch, but Izuku has no problems with that whatsoever.

Even with the awkward and forced conversations with kacchans friends, it's still a lot better than before. The hallways are crowded as people start to come in, ready to go to their homeroom. The bell for first period rings, echoing throughout the loud halls. Kacchan grips tighter, his thumb trailing small circles into the back of his hand. He leads him to the wall, continuing to walk so Izuku doesn't get shoved by the crowd. Kacchan is always doing things like this, it's hard to keep up. He doesn't want to get the wrong idea, because him and kacchan are friends.

Best friends.

Thats all they have to be, and Izuku is more than happy to follow. Even when the things he does make his heart race and his brain scramble in ways that aren't meant for people who are just friends, Izuku will keep it that way. Katsuki stops walking when they are in front of their homeroom classroom, people going back and forth by the door, laughing or yelling loudly. He looks back at him and Izuku smiles at him. Kacchan doesn't let go of his hand for a while.

"I'm going to the teacher's room again, so i won't be around first period. You go in though nerd, I'll see you soon."

Izuku nods and is already halfway through the door as he looks back at him.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon kacchan, good luck!"

He lets go of his hand and kacchan just nods, walking to the teacher's room. Izuku watches him for a second before quickly walking into the classroom and sitting down. There is chattering from other students sitting at their desks or standing around as Izuku just takes his stuff out. Right as he's about to just put his head down, he suddenly gets a huge headache. He's no stranger to headaches, no one is, but this one is different. It feels like it's moving his brain, slamming it against his skull harder and harder each time. It makes his vision feel blurry and like its tilting. He has to stop moving for a second, putting his hand to his head and trying to just ride it out. He closes his eyes, everything dark. The sounds of the students around him don't make it any better. Then, there is a flash.

A sudden image of a box, but he doesn't recognize where it's from or where it is. It feels like a memory, but he doesn't know where the hell he's even seen something like that before. He doesn't even get time to try and find out, because there is another quick flash. Pictures. Pictures of himself put on a wall, taped up and drawn on. He couldn't have posed for those pictures, because most of them are from far away, doing things that shouldn't even be turned into a photo. The headache gets worse, and his breathing is slightly heavy, until suddenly, the flashes stop as well as the headache. It's so quick that his first thought is that it never happened at all. But he had felt it all so vividly that there was no question that it happened.

What is going on?

____________________________

They are now in their last year of middle school. The last chance for him to get all of his shit together. The final year before his UA application has to go in and the first step to determining his future to becoming a hero. To say Katsuki is stressed the fuck out is an understatement. He knows that he's doing all that he can, but his brain just wants to do more. He's aced all of his classes all through grade school, not accepting anything but As. He's good at sports and extracurricular activities, he's done all of the community work that would look good on his application, and anything else he could have thought of. He even has all of his teacher recommendations in order.

He is going to continue to do more, push himself all the way past the end goal and fucking excel because that's the kind of person he is. He isn't the type to half ass shit, especially something like this. He's just glad that Deku understands that. The nerd has been nothing but supportive of Katsuki doing all of this shit, stopping by to drop off some food or baked goods, energy drinks or health supplements, anything Katsuki could need. But he can tell. He can tell that Deku is slightly more into his head. It's clear as fucking day, the way his eyes darken slightly and his expression falls. Being a hero has been his dream, their dream since they were kids. The both of them know that it would never happen.

That doesn't mean it doesn't suck ass any less. Though that darkness and doubt had stopped showing up on Deku's face a while ago. When Katsuki found out the reason, it filled him with an even greater sense of responsibility. Deku was going to try and get into the hero support course. And Katsuki would be there, right beside him. With everything going on, he hasn't had much time to hang out with Deku. Thats why he always walks him to school, waking up early like usual but going out earlier so that he could swing by his house to pick him up.

This was good for the both of them since they both got to see each other. If it wasn't good for Deku, it was sure as hell amazing for him. He walks to the front of the Midoriya household and knocks on the door. He doesn't have to wait long before Deku is opening the door, his yellow backpack over his shoulders and a big smile on his freckled face. Seeing that adorable shit every morning is a good pick me up.

"Good morning kacchan!"

"Morning nerd."

Deku shuts the door, and they begin walking down the sidewalk. What's even better is that Deku is more comfortable with him.

"Are you still busy today kacchan?"

"Yeah, i have to up my training and get some of that shit done for my UA application."

When he reaches for Deku's hand, holding it in his own, he has to pretend that this is normal friend shit.

That everyone does this with people their close to, and maybe some do, but Katsuki sure as hell doesn't. He can imagine holding hands with anyone else besides Deku, but he doesn't need to fucking know that. He isn't trying to hide it from anyone else though, because why the hell would he care what a couple of extras think? So he holds Deku's hand in the hallways and stands close to him, even when their sitting down with other extras. He walks Deku to their homeroom class and stops at the door. Deku looks at him, still holding his hand. There are people talking loudly and laughing, all going to their classes or hanging around in the hall. He looks back at Deku.

"I'm going to the teacher's room again, so i won't be around first period. You go in though nerd, I'll see you soon."

Deku nods, stepping halfway through the door and looks back at him. He sees someone look over at the door at the two of them. They grin at him and wiggle their eyebrows. Katsuki glares at him, and the extra quickly turns around, walking away from his line of sight.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon kacchan, good luck!"

He lets go of his hand reluctantly, walking away from the door and going down the hall. People are rushing to their classes before the first bell, running or walking as quickly as they possibly can. He goes past them all, right into the teacher's office. He opens the door and goes inside, his energy already draining just by going inside. There are teachers at their desks, covered in papers and pens, teachers hunched and writing furiously. He spots one of the teachers that have been talking to him a lot about all of the application stuff.
He's hunched over his desk and when he spots him, the teacher stands up quickly walks over to him, a big false smile on his face. He can tell because his lips are overly forced up, leaving wrinkles and lines around them.

"Bakugou, so happy to see you!"

He goes over to him and shakes his hand with both of his, Katsuki holding back his grimace. He knows this old man's game. He wants to have credit as one of the ones who 'helped' him to success. Then come back some odd years later to claim some fucked up due that he owns him or sell some half assed story to see his downfall. He takes his hand and moves it away from him, not even trying to be discreet as he wipes it on his pants.

"Whatever."

The teacher does not say anything, just having that fake smile on his face. He puts his hands down and goes back to his desk, Katsuki following. He would probably be the only one from this school to graduate and go to UA, except for Deku, but they don't give a shit about that. He follows him, just wanting to get this shit over with.
_________________________

Izuku is walking home after school, backpack heavy and slightly drained. He's been feeling slightly better, since that headache left and hadn't come back the rest of the school day. He hasn't seen kacchan that much today either. Sure, he came during the last couple periods and lunch, but he had to go right after to do more stuff. So now Izuku is walking home alone. But that's okay. He knows how hard kacchan is working. He just hopes he isn't pushing himself too hard. Maybe he should go over and drop off some food for him. He would also be able to at least talk to him for a second before leaving. He gets to the front door and puts his hand on the cold handle, going to open it. His head suddenly begins to pound, his vision dizzy.

He slams his shoulder into the wood of the door, his brain feeling like its slamming into his skull. He finally gets it open, and he staggers inside, feeling like he's going to throw up. He leans against the wall as the door slams behind him, sounding way too fucking loud right now. He groans, his eyes tightly closed as he breathes sharply. There is a quick flash, and he lets out another painful groan, trying to get the rid of this stupid fucking headache. He sees something, and it hurts so much that he goes to the living room and lays on the couch. There is another violent flash, and he sees an arm reaching out over a cliff, and he falls, his body crashing into the ice-cold water. It all feels so vivid and real, even though he knows that he's never done or seen anything like this before.

His stomach lurches and the pounding in his head feels like it will never stop.

"How does it feel? Does it hurt? I'll make sure Izuku doesn't even think about you when we run away together. I mean, why wouldn't he. You'll be dead soon anyway."

He nearly shits himself, hearing a voice in his head that definitely isn't his own. He recognizes it after the first initial fear ebbs somewhat.

"What's your quirk Ishida Kun?"

"Um..."

"It's retention... I can choose some of my memories to give to another person if i wanted."

"Thats pretty cool! How does it work?"

Ishida looks down at his hands, clearly embarrassed. Izuku waits patiently, hoping that he can show that he isn't going to judge him for anything. The other glances at him before taking a deep breath and letting it out.

"Well, when I'm in serious danger, i can choose someone to send some memories to, and they can feel them like the memories are theirs. But they have to be kind of recent, five years tops... and the memories that i send to someone get forgotten by me, so... It's not really useful, since i have to be scared for my life. Like when i fell into the lake as a kid. Stuff like that..."

"Woah! What happens to the person who gets your memories?"

He takes out one of his notebooks, excitedly starting on a page for Ishida. The blonde watches him curiously, a small smile playing on his lips.

"They get headaches and stuff. Sometimes they get really sick or something, quick flashes, stuff like that. But something my mom found out when she got my memories one time is that taking a bath or laying in water helps a lot."

Izuku tilts his head.

"How did she find that out?"

Ishida seems a little hesitant, before grabbing Izuku's hand tightly in his own, looking at him with a serious expression.

"If i tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone else."

Izuku nods firmly and Ishida takes another deep breath.

"When i found out my dad was having an affair with his secretary. i wanted to tell my mom. My dad found out that i knew and beat me so bad i thought i was going to die. She was taking a bath and it just kind of...."

Izuku's eyes widen and his smile falls, squeezing Ishida's hand, who is looking at anywhere but Izuku.

"That must have been hard... Thank you for telling me."

Izuku smiles at him, Ishida looking back.

"I think you have an amazing quirk Ishida Kun. I'm sure it will help you someday, just like it did when you were a kid."

"..."

"Thank you, Izuku."

Holy shit.

Izuku looks at the staircase and rolls off of the couch, falling to the floor. He groans and staggers to his feet, taking shallow breaths as he goes up one step at a time. He gets to the bathroom and hastily starts to fill the tub. He doesn't bother stripping off his clothes, impatiently waiting for the tub to fill up. He suddenly gets a sour taste in his mouth, and he lurches to the toilet, throwing up. He heaves on his knees as the sound of the tub filling rings in his ears. After he's done throwing his guts up, he tilts his head towards the bath to find it almost all the way to the top. He rushes to the faucet and turns off the water. He flushes the toilet, the taste of vomit staining his mouth and tongue.

He swallows and slips off his shoes, going into the tub with his clothes on. Everything is quiet, not even the sound of the house settling when he gets inside. The water moves around him, and he takes a deep breath, his headache finally subsiding. He closes his eyes and waits. He remembers memories that aren't his, now knowing that they are Ishida's. He sees the box and all of the pictures in his room, he sees him putting them up and taking them through his own window. It makes him feel disgusted and betrayed, but it just keeps getting worse. He sees Katsuki and Ishida's fight, the party from his eyes, and even the end. He feels and sees as Katsuki pushes Ishida off the cliff. He stays in the bath, staring at the tiled wall.
______________________

Katsuki walks out of the gym, just finished up with training. He has done a shit ton of things today, like every single day lately. His body is sore from pushing himself, but with the training regimen he's following, it shouldn't affect him that much. He leaves the machine that he was working at after cleaning it off and getting his stuff from a locker in the changing room. He puts his sweatshirt over his head, pulling it down over his shirt. He disconnects his earbuds and puts them in his pocket, hearing beeping and heavy breathing. He shoves his phone into his pocket and stops in front of the exit of the gym when he goes to leave. There is a small shop filled with random shit like snacks and other items connected to the gym.

His eyes stay on the bouquet of roses displayed at the front. He has plans to see Deku anyway after this, so maybe some flowers would help him feel better about him always being gone? He walks inside and comes back out with the flowers gripped in one hand. He starts to walk down the small trail leading to his neighborhood. The area is covered with trees and bushes, the trail rocky. Because it's so out of the way, it's a longer walk home. Even so, Katsuki feels like it calms him down after being pumped up with training all day. He breathes in the fresh air and the smell of the forest, relaxing. He walks by the lake, where the river branches off of, flowing and clear. His eyes glance over at the water, and his nose catches something... sweet?

He stops walking and looks closer at the water. There is a dark spot near the land. If someone was just passing by and glanced at it, they would think it was a school of fish or seaweed growing close to the surface. But Katsuki gets a bad feeling and approaches the spot, the lake water swaying up and down. When he gets right up to it, he realizes that this isn't seaweed or some other thing, it's a body. His breathing quickens and he feels like his brain is reeling, not knowing if he's just seeing things or if it's actually there. A body of someone he knows, because he fucking put him there. And now, he's come to bite him in the ass. The body of Ishida bobs up and down in the water, twisted neck nudging against the dirt over and over softly.

He's bloated as all hell, looking like he's about ready to burst. Katsuki doesn't know what to fucking do. How the hell does he get rid of this piece of shit that fucks with him even in death? It's not like he can fucking drag his ass out of here! Hopefully the knife is lodged somewhere random, carried by the water, probably at the bottom of this lake. He can't get him out of the water, or someone could see him dragging the corpse. Even if he leaves and comes back with things he can use, he can't risk someone else finding the body and calling the fucking cops. His hands are fucking tied, and he doesn't know what to do. He can't think of anything clearly because of his scattered and panic filled brain. He rarely panics. He doesn't fucking panic. But right fucking now his life is flashing past his eyes and he can't fucking take it. His phone rings loudly in his pocket and he flinches, quickly digging it out of his pocket. Someone walking past could have heard that shit, fuck! He answers the call, not bothering to look at the caller I.D.

"I'm fucking busy right-"

"Katsuki, we need to talk."

Katsuki's brain goes into even more panic when he hears the tone of Deku's voice and his actual name on his tongue. He breathes sharply, chest heaving up and down quickly as he paces back and forth quickly, biting at his fingernails and ripping.

"No, Deku, please not right now. I need your fucking help,"

He looks back at the corpse and feels his hand digging into his hair and taring slightly. fuck, he doesn't know what to do, he can't ask Deku. He fucking knows he can't tell Deku, especially not like this. But his brain isn't exactly working right now.

"I-"

"I found- Ishida."

The line is silent for a while, too silent. His heart beats faster and he stops pacing, kneeling down in front of the corpse.

"Please say something Izuku..."

He hears shuffling and a door opening.

"I'll be there in a minute. Send me your location."

He could have come up with a thousand other things he expected Izuku Midoriya to say.

"You what?! Is he ok?!"

"Kacchan, I'm calling for help!"

"Where are you?! Call the police!"

With shaky hands, he sends Deku his location and puts the phone back to his ear.

"Thank-"

He hears the dial tone, signaling that Deku hung up. He puts his phone down and stares down at it for a while, at the words 'call ended' right under Deku's caller I.D and the couple seconds that they talked. He sounded pissed off and Katsuki decides to focus on that a little bit more than the corpse right in front of him. If he doesn't get rid of this body, he is totally fucked. He'll probably end up in jail, rotting away for God knows how long. Then there goes Deku, and UA, and a chance to ever become a pro hero. But Deku will help him. He has to. As far as he's concerned, Katsuki found him like this already. He doesn't even notice that fat tears are rolling down his face, that one of his fingernails off and bleeding, and that strands of his hair are in his hand. He looks at the water, gets up, and walks a couple of feet from the corpse. He puts his hand in the water, washing the strands off of his hand, and throwing the nail into the lake.
______________

His backpack is heavy on his shoulders. He had spent a couple minutes raiding the garage. There was no way he could get footage of him going to a store to buy what he needed, so he would just have to work with what he had. He isn't an idiot. The sound of kacchans voice in a panic that Izuku has never heard before, how he found Ishida. That guy is dead as all hell, Izuku saw it. So, what kacchan found was Ishida's corpse. Probably somewhere a lot of people go by if he called Izuku and did not just deal with it himself. On one hand, he's angry. More than angry, but it's the only word he can come up with right now to put something on the feeling. He's angry because, what the actual fuck? Kacchan killed someone, and not just someone random, his used to be friend.

And on the other, he's probably just as scared as kacchan. What the fuck are they going to do? If they don't get rid of the body as quick as possible kacchan could go to jail, losing everything he's worked so hard for. If he knows that, then why the hell would he go and do something like that?! Izuku huffs and looks back at his phone at kacchans location. It's a couple minutes away from here, which is absolutely terrible. Izuku would have felt a hell of a lot better walked five hours instead of ten minutes. He can see from his location that he's near the lake, which he knows only has two rivers flowing out and into it. He adjusts his backpack, tightening the straps. This one used to be his moms, but she threw it into the garage after she got a better one.

He would never use his school backpack for something like this. What if someone saw him going into the woods like this, his big yellow bag shining for all the world to see? No fucking thank you. He figured he should come prepared, since kacchan clearly wasn't. Someone, one of her friends, had given his mom an electric handheld saw when they had a rotting tree in front of their house. She didn't really feel comfortable using it, so she dumped it into the garage. He brought a number of heavy-duty trash bags, yellow dish washing gloves, and protective glasses. Oh, and he's carrying a big ass shovel. Not suspicious at all. Just going into the woods for a little gardening or something.

There are other things he brought, but the handheld saw is pretty fucking heavy, he even ended up stabbing into the backpack when he struggled to put it in. He hopes his mom doesn't miss this bag. He finally gets five minutes away from kacchans location, and he only manages to get more scared and pissed. Not scared of kacchan, he knows he isn't. But it's hard not to be a little on guard. Kacchan would be more then capable of taking him in a fight, no witnesses or whatever the hell people say. He knows that kacchan would never kill him, but he also thought kacchan would never be a murderer, so. He sees the lake, and as he gets closer, he sees the figure of kacchan sitting next to the water. He doesn't say anything when he gets up to him, but the blonde looks up and staggers to his feet, his eyes bloodshot and puffy.

"Izuk-"

"Is that him?"

Izuku stares at the body of Ishida, greenish and disgusting. His neck is twisted, the bone nudging in and out of the mud as the water bobs his body up and down. It makes his stomach churn, and he feels like he's going to be sick.

"Yeah, i found him like this Izuku, I-"

The problem is, he can't, because there's shit to get done. Besides, he's already emptied his stomach because of him, he's not going to do it again. He looks at kacchan and holds out the shovel. The blonde stares at the shovel before looking back at him, a dark look in his eyes.

"What's this for?"

Izuku huffs,

"The body. We need somewhere to put the pieces so start digging. Go over there, away from the lake. Let's just hope that no one else goes missing or they might send out dogs and find him. But as things are right now, we have to take that chance."

Kacchan stares at him like he said something crazy, and he steps closer to him.

"Izuku, i found him like this, i don't know-"

Does he really think he's an idiot? Did he really thing that if he just played dumb Izuku wouldn't know what he did?

"Katsuki get your head out of your ass and help me with this! We both fucking know you didn't just find him like this, you pushed him off a fucking cliff and he flowed over here, so stop wasting time and do what i tell you!"

kacchan stares at him, his eyes wide and a pained look on his face.

"How?"

Izuku looks away from him and drops the shovel towards him, and the blonde catches the handle.

"After."

He drops his backpack on the ground and looks through it. Kacchan walks away and he can hear him digging some feet away from the tree line. He takes out the saw, the dish washing gloves, and the protective goggles. He puts the heavy-duty trash bags out, and rips through them, spreading them out. He puts everything on and ties his bangs out of his eyes. He can't mess this up. His hands won't stop shaking, and he takes a second to just try and get it together. He looks over at Ishida's corpse and walks to it. He grips his arm, which is also twisted in an odd angle. He starts to pull, trying to be careful enough so he doesn't actually fucking rip his arm off. This is going to be a long day.
__________

Fuck fuck fuck fuck

He's pissed. So, fucking pissed. Katsuki has never seen him that pissed off before in his life. How can he know about what he did? How long has he known? What if he's known this whole fucking time and still did all of that shit for him? What happens after this? After they get rid of the body, what will happen to them? All of the time spent on rebuilding their relationship is all slipping through Katsuki's fingers and all he can do is try to close the gaps. He takes out his growing frustration and fear on the dirt, stabbing the ground with the shovel to loosen it up before continuing to dig. He can hear Deku, struggling to lift the body out of the lake, if the mumbled curses and the sound of sporadic splashing is anything to go by.

He stabs the shovel into the ground and leaves it there, going over to help Deku. He emerges from the trees to see the green haired boy frustratingly gripping the corpses arm and pulling. He walks behind him and takes the arm.

"Let me help-"

Deku looks at him and glares. He looks so cold and pissed that it makes Katsuki take a double take. The smell of rotting surrounds them as Ishida's body gets more and more uncovered by the water.

"I don't need your help."

Katsuki glares back, guilt digging into his stomach. He gets why Deku is mad. He knows he gets to be mad, but it isn't fucking helping. It's just stressing him the fuck out even more then the body that's currently right next to them.

"Izuku, let me help or I'll-"

"Or you'll what? Push me off the edge of a cliff just because i pissed you off when trying to get rid of the body you put here?"

He can feel his hands clenching and his heart leaping into his throat at his words. He drops the arm, the limb hitting the water with a slap and a splash. He doesn't give a fuck about that right now. He rushes towards him, already way too close to him. His boots squelch against the mud and he sinks slightly with how heavy his steps are. He grips the green haired boy's shoulders, and he feels his fingers digging into his skin. Deku looks at him, his glare faltering.

"Izuku, you know i would never do that to you! I-I would never,"

His voice breaks, his expression twisted into desperation. Deku's face finally loses that glare, and he softens up. He takes a deep breath and Katsuki sees the sadness and fear deep in his eyes. It makes him want to throw himself into the raging river.

"I know you wouldn't kacchan. I just... I... I'm just panicking and scared-"

"Of me?"

He doesn't have time to care about how broken and desperate his voice sounds to his own ears. He can't even imagine how it must sound to Izuku, who still has that sad look in his eyes. It quickly turns to panic and surprise. Deku grips the front of his shirt, shaking his head quickly.

"No! No, not of you. For you, kacchan. If we don't do this fast, then you could lose everything just for..."

Deku glances at the body. He doesn't say anything else and just takes the chance to nudge past him and take the arm. He wordlessly pulls the body out of the water, dragging it to the dirt. He rummages through his backpack and pulls out a plastic black poncho, the material rustling as he puts it over himself. Katsuki watches as Deku fixes the protective glasses on his face and readies the handheld saw, something Katsuki didn't even see until now. He even has plastic garbage bags put out and yellow gloves. Gloves he recognizes from the kitchen of the Midoriya household. Deku looks back at him, a small smile on his face, trying to reassure him.

"Go finish the hole, I'll take care of this."

Katsuki looks at the corpse then back at him, wiping his eyes. He sniffs and clears his throat.

"Um... Do you... got that or?"

Deku gives him a thumbs up.

"Yep! I watched tons of videos before I came here. Though, most of it will be guesses..."

He kneels down in front of the body, adjusting the saw above the joint of the corpses shoulder and arm.

"I'll leave it to you then..."

Katsuki walks past him to finish up the hole, catching the sight of blood violently splattering as Deku begins to make the cut, the electric handheld saw whirring loudly. He gets back to the shovel and begins to dig again. He has to get this part done as soon as possible. The sound of the saw might attract people around, so they need to get this fucking body covered and out of here. He digs until he gets the hole deep enough that he has to stand in it to continue digging. The sun begins to go down and the distant sound of whirring, crunching, and liquid fills his ears as he digs and digs. Finally, when he looks up, Deku is standing over the grave. His poncho is off and his protective glasses are too, a couple of trash bags in his hands.

"We just have to dump the parts in here kacchan, then we can go home!"

Katsuki climbs out of the hole and rolls onto the ground out of the way.

"Got it."

Deku dumps the trash bags into the hole and Katsuki goes to get the rest. It's kind of crazy that the parts of a human body fits in only a couple trash bags. As he goes to the hole Deku walks past him to throw away the rest of the ripped-up ones to get rid of. Katsuki dumps the trash bags with heavy thuds and watches them down there for a minute. This is the final time he will ever have to see any remains of that piece of shit. Deku is beside him now, moving his hand to hold his.

"Let's go home now kacchan."
_______________

Izuku looks back at Ishida's body, thinking of how he's going to get his body out without having to break it apart in the water. It's not that he doesn't feel bad, Ishida had been his friend for months, and they hung out all the time. Thinking about it just makes his head spin. The situation he's in right now is too much for him, but not so much that he's bordering on hysterics. At least, he thinks he isn't. He hopes not. The last thing he needs right now is to be seeing isidas ghost as a manifestation of his guilt. He doesn't want kacchan to be put away. He doesn't want his dream to be ruined, all of his hard work to go to waste. He saw everything that happened. Ishida wasn't innocent, but that doesn't make what kacchan did any better.

Either he can just focus on getting rid of the guilt after what he does today that will surely haunt his dreams and move forward, watching kacchan become a hero. Or they can both rot in a prison cell, Katsuki for murder and Izuku for being an accomplice. He prefers the first choice. If he went to prison, his mom would have a heart attack. Who else would be with her in that house? She would spend all of her afternoons and mornings alone, no one to write sticky notes to or make food for other than herself.
Maybe he's just trying to justify what he's about to do. He's never dismembered a corpse before, something that he never thought he would ever have to do. Which part should he cut into first? It's not like he has the luxury to think it all through right now. He did watch some human anatomy videos before he got here, but of course he's not going to search up 'how to dismember a dead body.'

the first thing the police will do if they suspect murder (Izuku hopes that there is no sign of that) is keep tabs on Izuku's internet searches. So most of this little task is going to be a learning curve full of guess work and trial and error. Ok, first step, get the body out of the water. He tries to get him by his arm, muttering small sorrys and curse words as he does. It's a lot harder than he thought it would be, and it doesn't help that the mud makes him slide. The more he tries, the more he just slips and the more Ishida's corpse splashes in the water.

"You know your useless Izu, just call for help "

Izuku only gets rougher with the pulling. He isn't going to ask for help because he isn't useless. He can pull a fucking corpse out of the water.

" . You look like a bitch right now. What, you're hoping he'll give you a kiss or some shit ?"

Izuku glares down at the corpse in the water.

It isn't like that. He isn't helping kacchan because he wants some sort of gain from it, he's helping because he loves him. It's different, totally different.

"Tell the truth You need a fucking reality check Izu "

God damnit just shut-

Kacchan comes up from behind him and takes the arm.

"Let me help-"

Izuku glares at him. Does kacchan think he can't take care of a body either?

"I don't need your help."

Kacchan glares back at him, dirt on his cheek and hands.

"Izuku, let me help or I'll-"

"Or you'll what? Push me off the edge of a cliff just because i pissed you off when trying to get rid of the body you put here?"

He doesn't mean to say it. That was the last thing on his mind, though he sees the effect it has on the blonde next to him. His face is blank, his glare melting off of his face. He drops the arm, splashing it in the water. Izuku prays to something or someone out there that there are no people around. Then hands are on his shoulders, digging into his skin. Kacchans eyes are frantically searching Izuku's face, his own contorted into some type of desperation. It catches Izuku off guard, and he stares back as kacchan speaks.

"Izuku, you know i would never do that to you! I-I would never,"

He can hear it in his voice, when it breaks off and how it strains against his ears. The police aren't going to be as accepting of this as Izuku is being. The public definitely won't be either. Katsuki could get years, even life for this. and that scares him more.

"I know you wouldn't kacchan. I just... I... I'm just panicking and scared-"

"Of me?"

The fear makes his words sound so small, and Izuku hates it. He hates that kacchan is feeling like this, and he can't just take it all away. He shakes his head quickly, gripping the fabric of his shirt to ground himself.

"No! No, not of you. For you, kacchan. If we don't do this fast, then you could lose everything just for..."

He looks at the body still bobbing in the water. He's not going to let kacchans life fall apart just for Ishida.

-

Izuku hopes that this is the last time he will ever have to cut up a body with a handheld saw. Before they went home, Izuku dug his own hole as far as he could from the body, burying the saw and the other things they used, including the backpack. People rarely go missing here, so he guesses they have a couple of years, maybe their whole lives, free of anything but the guilt. He squeezes kacchans hand as they walk home, his body sore. His legs feel like they are made of bricks as he picks his feet up over and over. Kacchan squeezes his hand back and glances at him.

"Can I..."

the blonde trails off as they get to Izuku's house, Izuku realizing that his mom isn't home yet. Shes probably with Mitsuki, which is probably a good thing. Izuku would have felt bad if he knew he left her here alone.

"Can i sleep over?"

He nods, giving kacchan a tired smile.
________________

She stares at the wall of his room, sitting on the bed. Her husband hasn't been home in days. Even with their son missing, he still doesn't want to see her face. When did all of it go wrong? Was she not a good mother? Did she not do enough for him? The pictures of her son's boyfriend, or at least, she thought he was his boyfriend, are all still up on the wall. She looks through all of them, several of the green haired boy sleeping or inside of his room, unaware of the camera focusing on him. She didn't know what to feel, though it was hard to think of anything with the glasses of wine clouding her mind. She stands up, stumbling slightly as she walks to the wall. She stares at them for a moment before gently taking them off.

She doesn't rip them off or tare them, just removes the tape and the pins as carefully as her shaking fingers would allow, the stack in her other hand steadily growing. Her tears pool in her eyes and fall down her face, and she silently weeps. What is the point of having all of this when she's all alone now. She looks under the bed after collecting all of the photos and pulls out the shoebox full of things. She wants to apologize to her son, and Midoriya. She doesn't touch any of the items in the box and instead goes through his desk. There are a number of handwritten letters, all addressed to Midoriya. She spends some time reading them. They range from a number of feelings. Adoration, want, love, hate. It's a glimpse of her son that she had never gotten before.

She puts the letters and the photos into the box and carries them downstairs. The house is completely silence except for the sounds of her footsteps. She braces herself against the wall when she almost trips over a fallen bottle, her brain hammering against her skull. She gets to the patio door and slides it open, stepping out into the warm air. She takes a deep breath and makes her way to the fire pit. She sets the box down next to her when she sits down, watching the fire starting to form. Then, one by one, she puts the items inside, watching the fire grow brighter and bigger. She sits there, feeling its warmth. She doesn't know how long she does so, but when she finally gets out of that hazy fog, the moon is high in the sky.

There is the sound of the patio door sliding open, and someone coming down towards her. At first, she thinks its Ishida who has finally come home. But when she slowly turns her head, the face of her husband is what she sees. Shes not even sure she can really call him that anymore, or if there was even a time she would have. He looks down at her sitting in the chair, his eyes dark and face well shaven. He has a tailored suit on, his hair slicked back.

"What are you doing out here."

His voice is cold when he speaks to her, not at all warm and kind like the way he speaks to his secretary or any other women he meets. When had she become so ugly and undesirable to the man she loves? She turns back to the fire, noticing thankfully that the items had long since burned to ash. She looks up at the sky, only seeing darkness. Maybe she should move out to the country. The stars there are always so beautiful, just like when she was a little girl.

"I was just... thinking."

The man doesn't say anything for a moment, eyes on the fire. When she was young, she had lived in the country with her parents. One day, an heir to a wealthy company had stopped by on some sort of business with the townspeople. That's when, so in love with the daughter of a humble farmer, the heir whisked her away and married her. She had thought that God had given her a gift for all of her hard work. This was the thing of dreams, of fairytales. She was going to have children with a person that she loved, raise a family with them. She had been so naive back then.

"What could someone like you be thinking about."

She doesn't look at him, just focusing on the sky and the fire.

"Our son is missing. Aren't you scared?"

"No. He probably ran away because his mother was too incompetent. How can it be that a woman fails at the only job she is supposed to have."

She doesn't say anything, but that doesn't stop him at all.

"I work all day and night just to provide for the two of you, and you can't even pull your weight. I thought since you were a farmer's daughter you would have known something about hard work and effort, but i guess i was wrong."

She scoffs lightly, wanting a glass in between her fingers. Her skin itches with the thought of shutting this man up.

"By work, you mean sleeping with any women you see."

"I have standards. You act like ill fuck anything."

"Yeah. Anyone as long as it's not me."

"You're lucky i chose you. You were going to rot in that town. You should be thanking me every single day for saving you."

Her eyes land on the ground, where a discarded wine bottle sits. She doesn't remember drinking here before, but then again, when had she ever? She leans down and slowly picks it up, the cold glass in her hand.

"I'm a man with needs, needs that can't be met with a woman who's long since lost her youth. Your nothing but an overrated babysitter, yet you can't even do that right."

She slowly stands up, the weight of the bottle in her hand.

She's sorry that she was such a horrible mother.

What she doesn't feel sorry for is slamming the bottle into his head over and over until he finally shuts up.

_________________________

Obviously, he isn't perfect. He's done things he isn't proud of, things that should have stopped his life before it even started. Things that should keep him up at night, things that should weigh him down. But when he's with him, it doesn't matter to him as much. He makes him feel like it's ok to not be perfect. Izuku Midoriya is someone that he will keep to himself, someone that he will protect for the rest of his life. He will never hurt him again like he has before, because izuku has done so much for him, so much more than anyone else ever has. He makes everything better. The principal is on the stage, up on the podium. His voice booms throughout the gymnasium, everyone standing and staring forward. Katsuki sees the light reflecting off of his balding head and catches that some other peoples attention are also on the same thing.

"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of you who have graduated this year. I have to say that I am very proud of all of you for making it this far, and I cannot wait to see how each of you grow into respectable adults."

Deku is standing a couple of rows away from him, looking at the principal. He must have felt Katsuki staring at him, because the green haired boy glances behind him. Their eyes meet and Deku gives him a small smile before looking back. Katsuki wants to tell him how he feels, and wants to be able to earn it, no matter how long it takes. He wants to be able to hold Dekus hand without telling him that all friends do that. He wants to go on dates, fucking study together at his house and just end up making out like actual couples.
Like boyfriends. After the principal's speech and some other people talking, they are finally able to leave the building. He waits for Izuku to come over and they leave together, the green haired boy particularly bubbly today. He is talking right when they leave the loud noises of newly graduates.

“What are you doing today Kacchan? Are you busy? Do you want to hang out if you're not busy?”

He shoves his hands in his pockets as they walk, their shoulders bumping against each other slightly. There are other students around in smaller groups, walking home or to the stores nearby. Katsuki sees a convenience store up ahead and slows down slightly.

“Im not fucking busy nerd.”

Deku physically brightens up, speeding up slightly.

“Then do you wanna hang out today?”

Katsuki rolls his eyes playfully, turning away from him.

“I don't know, it depends on how I'm feeling.”

Deku pushes his shoulder with his own.

“Come on kacchan!”

Katsuki looks back at him, a grin on his face.

“Fine, since you want so badly.”

Katsuki nods at the convenience store up ahead, and Deku turns his attention to it. There is a big sign posted up on the front with a picture of ice cream and popsicles reading ‘Buy two for three dollars.’

“Let's go get some popsicles.”

Deku squeezes katsukis arm in excitement, practically pulling him towards the store. Some people glance at them, but Katsuki doesn't mind. When they get to the door, Deku loosens his hold and katsuki holds his hand, his heart pounding. The bell signals the cashier when they enter, the person giving them a small greeting as they walk past snacks and drinks to get to the back, where the ice cream and popsicles are. Deku is looking at the fridges and picking a popsicle. Katsuki looks back to the front, where there are various pictures and posters taped up to the inside of the window. His eyes land on the one in the middle, partly covered up by other pieces of paper. He knows what it says though.

Last he heard, Ishida's mom had skipped town after her husband was killed. All signs pointed to her, but Katsuki doubts that anyone would find her. No one has talked about Ishida ever since and the police hadn't done anything else having to deal with it.

“Kacchan, which one do you want?”

He looks back at Deku and away from the window. The green haired boy is holding a popsicle out to him, that smile still on his freckled face. He swipes it, the wrapper crinkling as he does so. Deku gets another popsicle for himself, and the two of them walk to the front counter. The two check out and go out the door again, the bell above the door ringing. Deku rips the wrapper off the popsicle and throws it away in the outside trash can, Katsuki following suit. They start to walk again, their hands intertwined as they do.
Deku breaks the silence as they get to the old playground they used to go to when they were kids. He looks at him, his face slightly flushed.

“Kacchan, I have something I want to tell you. And, you have to wait for me to finish before you say anything ok?”

Katsuki looks back at him, mind reeling. What could Deku possibly have to say? Why does he look so serious? Katsuki squeezes his hand and Deku smiles at him. Seeing him smile makes Katsuki feel slightly less alert, and Deku speaks.

“Im…”

He trails off, and katsukis heart speeds up, slamming against his ribcage.

Is he…?

“I'm in love with you katsuki.”

Those words were enough to shatter all of katsukis thoughts and nervous feelings, but of course the nerd has to rip his heart in a thousand little pieces and make the nerves swarming in his stomach even worse.

“I have been since we were kids, and I know that we’ve.. Been through things that we need to work through, but even then, you're the person I want by my side when we do. I want us to be able to do it together, every single little thing. And, you don't have to say anything right now, or even answer me at all, but i just-”

He seriously believes he’ll blow himself up right there, his face flaming red. He doesnt think about what he does and just goes for it, smashing their lips together. Deku doesn't do anything for a second, but then Katsuki feels arms wrapped around his waist and Deku’s pulling him closer. He pulls away to answer.

“I love you too, Izuku.”

And Katsuki knows that whatever comes, they will both deal with it together.

______________________________________

You can take one look at him and see that Izuku Midoriya isn't the luckiest of people. But even then, he wouldn't change his life in any way. After telling Kacchan how he felt, he feels like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. The two of them had split ways after, since Kacchan's mom ended up asking him to go over to help her with some stuff, and the blonde had insisted he didn't need to tag along. Izuku doesn't mind, his mind racing too much with thoughts of the future.

Will they be able to hold hands in public and not just call it being friends?

Will they get to go on dates together?

Most of the things they did together when they were friends are going to be changed drastically because it's only been a couple of minutes and Izuku is already freaking out at the thought of introducing Kacchan to his other family members as his boyfriend.

He's so lost in the daze of the previous events that he doesn't notice the big pile of sludge approaching him as he walks into the dark tunnel to get home. He doesn't realize that his whole life is about to change again in only a matter of minutes.

- END -