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1. The Bouquet
It starts a day before his one month anniversary. Eijirou is excited , so excited . He’s been in long-distance flings, but never a real relationship with a real crush. He enlists some of the boys in the class to help him; it’s like a bachelor’s party! Not that me and Kats are getting married, of course. That’s– that’s a bit quick! Eijirou blushes at his train of thought and fixes his spikes in the mirror. He’s in casual clothes now, but later he’ll don a suit and tie for the candlelight dinner. Wow!
Eijirou, Sero, Todoroki, Midoriya, Shinsou, Kaminari, and Iida leave campus the minute class ends, taking the train to the nicest flower shop in Musutafu. It’s called Bud Sensations, and it’s nice and empty inside. “What do you think he’d like?” Eijirou grins, heart pumping excitedly. “I’ve been thinking… orange and black roses!”
“That sounds lovely, Kirishima,” says Iida.
Both Sero and Kaminari grin widely. “Great idea, bro! He’s gonna love it!”
Todoroki and Shinsou smile lightly. “I think that’s good. Maybe add some red ones too.”
Eijirou brightens. “That’s perfect! What do you think, Mido?”
He turns to see Midoriya scratching behind his ear awkwardly. “You, uh, do you want my opinion?” The green haired boy is blushing lightly.
Huh. “Sure, Mido-bro! I want it to be perfect!”
Midoriya clears his throat. “Well then, I, um, I think an herbal bouquet is best. Kacchan is allergic to most pollen, and doesn’t really like flowers anyway. He thinks they’re a bit feminine. The only flower he likes is dandelions, and they’re weeds!” Midoriya laughs lightly but still looks extremely nervous voicing his opinion on Eijirou’s boyfriend. And Eijirou can’t lie, it’s actually… super frustrating to be this wrong. “I bet you could sneak in some baby’s breath, though. If they’re in season…” he trails off. Everyone is looking at him curiously.
“...Thanks Midoriya! Er, why dandelions?” Eijirou almost regrets asking when he hears Midoriya’s answer.
“Oh! When we were little kids and would play pretend marriage– obviously we aren’t getting married, you guys are dating, not us– haha– I’d always be the bride, because, we, uh, we didn’t know being gay was an option, but, ah, Kacchan would always give me a bouquet of dandelions. He said they… Nevermind.”
Eijirou is so curious now that it makes him feel a bit sick. They were just kids playing. I’m the one dating Katsuki, not Midoriya. Chill out. “Nah, continue!”
Midoriya is so nervous he looks like he might puke. “...He said they matched my personality.”
Oh! Eijirou feels much better. He laughs brightly. “Ah, classic Katsuki! What a little snot, being so mean.”
Midoriya’s eyes widen and he slowly nods his head. “...Yes. He was so… mean.”
Eijirou’s heart falls again. “Was he… not? Did he not mean your personality is trash?” Okay, that seriously came outta nowhere. Midoriya just chuckles and looks away though, blushing hard.
“No, he, um. He just meant that I’m bright and happy and full of wishes for the future. It’s nothing special…”
“No, it sounds special.” Eijirou can barely smile. The rest of the guys are looking back and forth between the two, enraptured by the passive aggressive conversation. “Is that all?”
“... And he also had his mom look up the meaning of dandelions and he told me I was also a symbol of hope growth and healing–"
Eijirou doesn’t mean to interrupt, but actually he really does. “Did he say that outright?”
Midoriya bites his lip. “Yes.”
Eijirou buys an herbal bouquet. The flower clerk is completely quiet, obviously having eavesdropped on the conversation and is now feeling horribly awkward. The bouquet is beautiful; fresh but spiced, green but fragrant like it’s been dried and oiled. It smells like every season combined. It’s perfect.
Eijirou thinks it’s the worst thing he’s ever seen.
2. The Spar
It’s Bakugou and Kirishima’s one month. Bakugou wouldn’t know; this is his first relationship, but he still doesn't seem to keep track of these things. Somehow, Ochako does know. And when she says somehow, she means because of Kirishima’s surprise dinner that he’s been planning since the second date that everyone seems to know about except for Bakugou.
Ochako and Izuku are quirkless sparring, and he keeps goddamn winning. Like, seriously, is she this far behind him in terms of fight power? It’s more than a little frustrating. Izuku is tired, though; breathing heavily with his mouth open and dripping sweat. He took his shirt off a minute ago because it was soaked through anyway, and even though they’ve been dating for four months, Ochako is still distracted by his glimmering abs. They’re what causes her next pin; she was looking at his happy trail instead of his fists. At least, she hopes that her distraction is the only problem.
“Hey, Cheeks!” Ochako sighs and deflates at Bakugou seeing her defeat. She wonders how long he’s been watching, too. Izuku perks up and releases her without fanfare. Or a kiss, she might add.
“Kacchan!” He’s smiling brightly.
“Oi, Deku, you stay over there! Cheeks, c’mere.” Ochako rolls her eyes and stretches as she steps off the mat and walks towards the blonde.
“Hi, Bakugou.”
Bakugou grins and leans in. “You wanna beat him?”
Ochako narrows her eyes. “How long have you been in the gym?”
Bakugou yawns. “Doesn’t matter. You wanna beat him or not?” Ochako nods slowly. “Start teasing. He’s a sucker for it. Get him all wound up ‘til he drops his guard and then pin him. It’s easy. Works like a charm.”
“Kacchan, are you cheating? Ochako wants to beat me on her own!” Izuku is shouting frustratedly as he starts jogging to the other side of the gym, towards where Ochako and Bakugou are talking. He nears and slows to a stroll. “Right, beautiful girlfriend?” He’s still breathing heavily.
Ochako giggles. “Of course, handsome boyfriend. I’m just getting a few tips.” She watches Katsuki, who watches Izuku’s panting mouth.
Something runs through her. Some rush of… it’s not quite jealousy, but maybe some frustration? “Bakugou was just telling me–”
“Shush, Cheeks, don’t spoil it. He’ll be ready otherwise.” As Izuku pouts cutely, Ochako’s temper rises.
“Whatever, Bakugou. Izuku, wanna go again?”
“Of course!” Izuku smiles. “Bye, Kacchan, have fun tonight! I got to help!”
Bakugou narrows his eyes but obviously brightens when he hears Izuku is a part of it. “Why, what’s tonight?” Izuku just laughs and waves him off as he walks back towards the mat. “Deku, what’s tonight? Tell me, you idiot!”
Izuku does not tell him. After situating themselves in their individual fighting stances, Ochako swings immediately. Izuku dodges easily, easily, and it pisses Ochako off even more. Her brown hair is stuck to her forehead with sweat, and she peels her shirt off to reveal a dark sports bra. Izuku’s eyes flick down briefly, but he’s not distracted. Not like Ochako is. As Ochako swings again, she asks; “Izuku, how often do you and Bakugou spar?”
Izuku dodges with a curious look. “I dunno, every other day?”
Tease him. Wind him up. “What, d’you like it when he pins you down or something?”
Izuku stops mid block, furious blush rising in his cheeks, and Ochako punches him in the face. Hard. Instead of apologizing, though, she curls a leg around his knee, wraps her arms around his torso, and slams him to the ground cleanly.
Ochako won. She won, so why does it feel like she lost again?
She pinned him. She pinned him after using Bakugou’s technique and Bakugou’s name, and then she won.
The brunette leans her head down towards Izuku’s ear. “D’you like it when I pin you down?”
Izuku doesn’t answer.
Shit.
3. The Trick
Eijirou has told him at least five times that it’s fine. It’s fine, it happens to everyone, and Eijirou doesn’t care. He doesn’t care, so why is Katsuki being so distant?
He knows he shouldn’t. He really knows it won’t help him. It’ll make him feel worse. Much worse, and then he’ll be jealous and frustrated and pissed at Midoriya.
He does it anyway.
“Hey, Mido-bro! Can I ask you something in private?” Midoriya perks up and nods.
“Sure Kirishima! Let’s go to my room.” They do, leaving the rest of the class behind in the common area of the dorms.
Eijirou looks around Midoriya’s room, feeling a bit smug that his own room is so much more mature than Midoriya’s. Then he sobers for his question. “This is a bit awkward–” Midoriya nods, listening patiently. “– I know you know Katsuki well.” The thought sours his gut. It didn’t used to. But now, after that day in the flower shop, even the thought of it makes Eijirou upset. “I’ll just spit it out… He’s having some erectile dysfunction, and I wanted to know if you have any tricks.”
Midoriya’s jaw drops. “ What? Why would I know any– what? We were never– we were never like that. He would honestly rather die.” But you wouldn’t, Eijirou thinks. You wouldn’t rather die. You’re saying you’d like it. Midoriya frowns. “And should you be talking to me about this? It’s so private. It’s really not my business.”
Eijirou forces a laugh. “It’s fine! Honestly. Just tell me.”
“What the hell, Kirishima,” Izuku mutters. He looks away and blushes hard . “ Fine.” Eijirou feels his stomach drop. What the fuck is he about to hear? “Sometimes when we spar and I win, and I pin him, my fingers brush his lower hip, by his V-cut. Accidentally, of course . And Kacchan– w–well, he must like it, because his–” That’s enough.
“Okay! Thanks Mido.” Eijirou turns and leaves without another word, feeling exactly like he knew he would. Jealous. Angry. Insecure.
He tries it that night. He brushes his fingers seductively along Katsuki’s V-cut, kissing the blonde’s neck and whispering sweet nothings in his ear.
It doesn’t work. Katsuki doesn’t get it up.
Eijirou doesn’t know if that’s good or bad. On one hand, Midoriya was wrong. He doesn’t know exactly how to give Eijirou’s boyfriend an erection. But on the other hand, maybe it only works because it’s Midoriya. And wouldn’t that just suck.
Eijirou is irritable for the entirety of the next two days.
4. The Latte
Ochako is almost at the front of the line. She’s so damn close, and she’s nervous. She’s nervous so she runs through her order out loud. It’s that simple.
Bakugou overhears.
“Damn, Cheeks, two drinks?” He looks her up and down as she turns to face him. “You really need that much sugar?”
Ochako’s mood sours instantly. YOU STUPID ASSHOLE, she thinks. “No, one is for Izuku,” she says sweetly. Bakugou raises an eyebrow.
“Really? Which is for him?”
Ochako sniffs. “The one I get for him every time. His favorite, a peppermint hot chocolate.”
Bakugou laughs at her. Laughs at her. “Sorry to break it to you, Cheeks, but that’s not his favorite. He likes salted caramel lattes.” He snickers cruelly. “You don't even know your boyfriend’s coffee order?”
Okay, fine. I’ll bite. “Why do you know his coffee order, then?”
Bakugou leans in towards her and yawns. “When we were little kids, he drank his mom’s and said it tastes like me. Y’know, cuz of the nitroglycerin. Deku is just that obsessed with me.” He looks off to the side, where Izuku is sitting. “Wonder if it’s still his favorite, actually. You should check,” Bakugou finishes smugly, walking away out of line to sit next to Izuku. Kirishima is busy with his parents tonight, so Izuku invited Bakugou out to their date. For some reason.
Ochako picks up the order a few minutes later and goes to sit across from Izuku. Bakugou is sitting next to him and has his arm thrown around the back of her boyfriend’s chair. Bakugou watches her carefully before anything even happens, which just pisses her off more. “Here, Izuku, your drink,” she says brightly, passing it across the table.
“Thank you Ochako!” He takes a sip, perking up. “Oh wow, a different drink! I love this one!”
She can’t help herself from asking. She can’t. Her heart beats anxiously in her chest. Please, let him be wrong about Izuku. For once. “Do you love it or is it your favorite?”
Izuku smiles shyly. “It’s my favorite, actually. I really like peppermint hot chocolate, though!” He inhales his drink deeply, relaxing in his chair. “Seriously, what a nice smell.”
Ochako spills her matcha latte on her lap.
“Oh jeez, Ochako, let me help you clean up!” Izuku stands and reaches over the table for the dropped cup, snagging napkins. Bakugou doesn’t move an inch, just glances at Izuku’s ass. Ochako feels murderous.
“No. I can do it myself.” She stands as well, waddling awkwardly and furiously to the counter for a towel. Fuck this. Fuck Bakugou. Fuck their shared childhood.
Fuck.
5. The Swap
It’s not supposed to mean something, but it does. It means everything. Everyone knows it does, too. Eijirou doesn’t mean to be bothered by it, but it’s obvious Uraraka is too, so Eijirou lets it slide.
Midoriya is walking around in a hoodie. It’s not just any hoodie, of course, no. He can’t do that, for some fucking reason. It’s Katsuki’s hoodie. Eijirou knows this because it smells like caramel and 48-hour Sport Antiperspirant when Izuku walks past. What’s fucking worse is that Katsuki is wearing Midoriya’s, too. Eijirou goes to hug him and it smells like a different detergent, a different deodorant, a different person . Someone else’s damn boyfriend . The hoodies are inconspicuous, just two black hoodies. Both size large, both with white strings. They’re fucking matching. It pisses Eijirou the fuck off.
“Kats, are you wearing Midoriya’s hoodie? You smell different, and he smells like you. ” Katsuki, to Eijirou’s terrible disappointment, tenses underneath his grip.
“Yeah,” says Katsuki. He gives no more information.
Eijirou feels an angry flame in his gut. “Why?”
“Our laundry got mixed up.” That’s a lie.
“That’s not how that works,” snaps Eijirou. “You’ve both worn the other hoodie at least once before you traded. Why?”
“We wanted to mix it up.” Eijirou hugs Katsuki tighter, letting Midoriya’s smell fill him with fresh rage. Then he lets go.
“Why?”
Katsuki looks pissed. “Stop asking me why. We just did, okay?”
It’s then that Izuku comes up. Eijirou can smell him coming. Fuck everything.
“Er, Kirishima, I think I can explain.” Katsuki just watches Midoriya seriously. Eijirou turns around to face him too, unable to watch Katsuki look at someone other than himself. “I’m going to be a bit vulnerable here; I had a panic attack last night. From all the… trauma. There’s no other way to say it. Kacchan knows that– that hugging him helps, so he let me borrow his hoodie so it would be like he was hugging me. Then he took my hoodie so we could match, just for fun.”
Eijirou feels sick. He glares; it’s not something that happens often. “Next time ask your fucking girlfriend for a hug, Mido. Katsuki is taken.”
Midoriya looks shocked. “I know that, Kirishima. I just– it’s not the same.”
It’s then that Uraraka comes up. She looks angry too. “It’s not the same? What the hell does that mean, Izuku?”
He spins on her. “You know it’s not the same. How could it be the same? You’re not the same person. We don’t have the same history. It’s just not the same.”
She looks furious. “So he’s better? You’d rather hug him? You’d choose him over your girlfriend of six months.”
“Ask the real question, Cheeks. What are you saying? What the hell are you wondering about Deku right now?” Katsuki is snarling. Eijirou steps back so they’re standing in a circle, all angry and surprised and confused and hurt.
“I can answer that,” snaps Eijirou. “Did you fucking cheat on me? Did you cheat with Midoriya?”
“No, we didn’t cheat!” Midoriya throws his hands in the air in exasperation. “I literally just told you what happened!”
“Are you being for real right now, Eijirou?” Katsuki looks him up and down, glowering. “Deku just told you something personal, something secret, and you’re yelling and accusing him of cheating? Accusing me of cheating? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“No, what’s wrong with you? ” Uraraka is red in the face. “Both of you, for months. It’s been months of this, and we’re not supposed to get angry? Not supposed to yell? Fuck off, Bakugou.”
It’s lucky they’re alone in the common space, or Eijirou might feel embarrassed. He doesn’t feel anything except for rage and jealousy now, though. “Don’t talk to my boyfriend like that, Uraraka.”
“Is he really your boyfriend? Or is he Izuku’s?” She has a nasty sneer on her face– Eijirou doesn’t see that look on her ever.
Silence. Then, “I honestly can’t believe you right now. Either of you.” It’s obvious Midoriya doesn’t include Katsuki in that statement, and that makes Eijirou even angrier. Before he can say anything though, Midoriya walks away. He goes outside, slamming the door behind him. Katsuki leaves next, and thankfully , thankfully, thank God, stomps upstairs instead of following Midoriya.
Uraraka spares one last glance at Eijirou before leaving through the back without a word, and Eijirou just sits on the couch.
I hate this, thinks Eijirou. I hate it.
+1. The End
Bakugou and Izuku are fighting again. They’re always fucking fighting, and it’s always so loud.
Ochako approaches tiredly from upstairs; it’s 3 AM, and tomorrow is a goddamn Tuesday. She doesn’t care that Bakugou is right there; actually, it feels fucking awesome to do this in front of him. “Izuku, come to bed?” She speaks in a sultry voice, tugging on his thick bicep with her pink padded fingertips.
Bakugou snarls. “He doesn’t want to fuck you right now, Cheeks. We’re in the middle of something.” Ochako feels indignation rise into her chest and color into her cheeks. Before she can say anything to him, however, Izuku speaks.
“Maybe I do, Kacchan. Maybe I want to have sex with my girlfriend that I love.” Katsuki looks like he’s been struck, recoiling a few inches and glowering heavily.
“ Fine , see if I care, Deku,” he snaps.
“You’re not supposed to care,” says Izuku heatedly. “You’re not my boyfriend.”
“I know.”
“Fine!”
“ Fine!”
Ochako passes Kirishima sitting on the stairs as she pulls Izuku into her room after he’s done arguing. Kirishima goes downstairs a minute later to kiss his boyfriend all better.
Unbeknownst to them, both Eijirou and Ochako have the exact same thought at the exact same time.
I don’t care if you love him more.
I know you.
You’re mine, at least for today.