Work Text:
It is one of the bad days, where the simplest of requests is met with burning resistance. A splitting ache in his right arm, a tightness beneath his ribs. When it gets like this, Izuku learned not to push, though it took him too long to understand.
It is late afternoon when Izuku finds the will to stand again. He lurches his way to the kitchen, unsteady and drooping. Two people bicker inside.
“I don’t understand what you want from me.”
“I want you to have a little more competence.”
“Why should I? You’re already so much better at it. The best snap pea peeler in the world – ow.”
“Flattery ain’t gettin' you anywhere here. Now come back and help me, asshole.”
The sounds of incessant bickering and the heady scent of something just beginning to grow warm on the stove eases the thicket of hurt in Izuku’s chest until he can breathe in again.
Shoto grumbles while he takes over Izuku’s job of prepping the vegetables, and Katsuki cuts his complaints off with a jab. When Izuku can haul himself fully into view, he hears the snap of a pea and this place feels an awful lot like love.