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"I'm at the end of my fucking rope here." Katsuki sighed. He threw his phone onto the bed and sat down next to it, his head in his hands.
"Come on, son, it can't be that bad." His dad tried to ease his frustration.
"Four goddamn times, and every time something happened that completely ruined the moment."
Four unsuccessful proposals and Katsuki was ready to just kidnap his boyfriend and fucking elope. He'd love to do that, but he knew Izuku deserved to have all of the happiness that comes before the wedding too. He was the best after all, and he deserved the best experience of his fucking life.
It all started two weeks prior when he took all of the nerd's friends out to lunch and surprised them with a trip to the jewelry store. He'd already taken Inko to help get a ring custom made and he knew it was perfect. He just felt like he also needed the approval of some of the people closest to Izuku as well. He could tell by the single tear that fell from Half n' Half's emotionless face that he did well, and he couldn't wait to put the ring on Izuku's finger.
The first attempt was on Izuku's birthday. Now, Katsuki knew that his birthday probably wasn't the right time to propose. He was just so eager to do it, and what better gift to get on your birthday than a fiancé?
He ordered a cake that had a special method to hide the ring inside without the mess—and also guaranteed that he wouldn't accidentally eat the ring. He told no one of his plans to propose at Izuku's birthday dinner and already had a gift he'd planned to give to his boyfriend. The big surprise would happen after all the gifts had been opened, so the best could be saved for last.
Izuku cried as Katsuki brought out a small, round dark chocolate cake with coffee-flavored buttercream and coconut shavings decorating the sides. It said "Happy Birthday Izuku" in orange detail at the top, the writing surrounded by a ring of candles. Everybody was singing around them, but Izuku's eyes were only on him, just where they should always be.
Izuku closed his eyes, probably wishing for something stupid, and blew out the candles. When he looked up, there was so much love in his jade eyes, Katsuki was about to propose right then and there before he could even find the damn ring. It took everything in him to rein it in, merely kissing Izuku on the forehead before giving him the knife to cut the cake.
He didn't know where they put the ring inside the cake, so he was disappointed when Izuku cut into it and there was no sign that it was even there. It didn't matter though, it was a small cake and he'd make sure he found the ring.
Izuku took a first bite of the cake and let out a noise that usually only came out in the bedroom and Katsuki felt his cheeks heating up.
"Kacchan sugoi!" Izuku smiled brightly before taking another bite. But before he noticed Izuku's face turning red, his lips swelling slightly.
"You okay, nerd?"
Izuku looked at him, confused, but as Katsuki put his hand on his face it was burning hot. Hives were popping up everywhere on his face, and spreading down his neck. The greenette dropped his plate, and his voice sounded tight. "I think something's wrong."
One hospital trip later and they both found out that Izuku was allergic to coconut.
The whole ride home Katsuki was berating himself for not knowing about it, but Izuku didn't even know. He'd eaten things with coconut before and had no issues, but his body had apparently changed its mind.
Izuku went straight to bed, and Katsuki went back to the kitchen. Someone had put the cake away for them, along with everything else he'd set out for the party. Katsuki couldn't even bear to look at the damn thing, picking the cake up with his hands and crushing it over the trash can. Sure enough, the ring was in a little ball, just like the mini hero gachas that the nerd collected.
He cleaned everything up, putting the ring back in its little velvet box. He knew better than to try and propose on his birthday.
—
The second attempt came along when Izuku was doing a livestream Q&A with his fans. People submitted questions for him to answer while he was getting ready for a date with Katsuki. He had helped the nerd arrange the questions, placing one from an anonymous fan at the end asking when he and Dynamight were going to get married. He would then pop in and propose to Izuku before going to a nice restaurant where their friends and family were waiting. He'd told them all this time.
Izuku answered questions as he went about his routine, asking questions about styling his hair or his wardrobe choices. When he got to the end of the scheduled livestream, Katsuki's heart was beating quickly. He was standing next to Izuku as he answered the last few questions, and got down on one knee, waiting for his boyfriend to get to the last question.
"Oh, would you look at the time! We're gonna be late for our reservation. I'm so sorry, but I won't be able to get to the rest of your questions tonight. I promise that I'll have another one soon! Thank you, guys. We love you!"
Izuku leaned so the camera showed a kneeling Katsuki with a shocked expression on his face. Izuku quickly ended the live and looked around the floor, "Did you lose something, Kacchan? Is everything okay?"
Katsuki freaked out, not knowing what to do, so he reached underneath the bed next to him and pulled out the first thing he could grab.
A dusty ass All Might sock.
Fuck. How was he going to play it cool when he had a fucking sock in his hand?
"What did you do last time you cleaned the room, toss everything underneath the bed?" He grumbled, tossing the sock at his confused boyfriend. He then got up and left the room. He had to let everyone know he fucked up before they congratulated them.
—
His next attempt was foolproof. People did shit like this all the time and it always looked so sappy and beautiful.
He planned a trip for them to go to the happiest place on earth. A few friends would join them so they'd have a small entourage to document the moment, but mostly they just wanted a free theme park trip.
It was not the happiest place. The sweltering heat meant that they were packed into small spaces with other people's sweaty bodies and there were few places to enjoy shade or air conditioning without also hearing crying children. They were clearly tired and couldn't handle being out in the sun all day. Katsuki hated the sound, but he could relate. He didn't really want to be there either.
Izuku handled all the setbacks like a champ, finding the magic in every little thing. It was the only thing that made the day tolerable, so he let himself be dragged throughout the park, knowing that Izuku's day would only get better.
The sun was starting to set, and he had timed it out perfectly. Lights were starting to come on, but they'd still have the golden rays from the sun illuminating them as they stood in front of the castle taking pictures. It started out as the group of them—Mina and Eijirou had tagged along as a sort of double date because Mina said she was a good photographer.
"Now, how about we get a few with just you two lovebirds and then you can take a few of us?" Mina suggested. Eijirou moved to the side so he could avert Izuku's attention for a moment while Katsuki got down on one knee.
Katsuki took his cue to kneel when he saw the back of Izuku's emerald curls and waited.
But Izuku never turned around.
"OH MY GOD, KACCHAN LOOK!" Izuku called.
Katsuki looked up to see Izuku running to another couple standing in front of the castle. Someone else was getting engaged right when he was about to propose. He kneeled there for a moment, his mouth agape. He was beyond disappointed. It was supposed to be a fucking foolproof plan!
Mina pulled his arm, "Come on Blasty, moment's gone."
Mina and Eijiro couldn't keep the photos she took of Katsuki's desperation to themselves, showing all of their friends. They all said they felt bad for him, but then laughed their asses off the whole time Mina told the story.
—
After having shitty luck trying to do anything publicly, he just said fuck it. He was gonna propose to Izuku in the privacy of their own home. That way no one would laugh if something went wrong.
The only thing was that he had absolutely no idea how to do it.
He decided it was time to do some research. He tried outright searching it on the web, but nothing felt right.
Katsuki spent his entire day off fretting about the perfect informal proposal, but he couldn't decide on what to do. Eventually, he started scrolling on the app he swore he'd never download because the algorithm was addicting, but he caved, and now he was being bombarded with wedding hacks. Most of it was stupid, but there were a few things he might have to save for later.
A few hours later and he'd finally found it. There was a clip of a guy putting the ring on his girlfriend's finger as she slept and then showed the reaction of her waking up and realizing it was there.
Perfect.
Izuku came back from work exhausted. He was barely awake at dinner until Katsuki asked him how his day went, and then he proceeded to dump all the bad things that had happened onto him. Sounded like he needed a nice long shower to decompress, and then he would wake up to a new day, refreshed and engaged.
He took care of his boyfriend, pampering him as much as he could before he inevitably passed out in their bed. He then took out the ring he'd been carrying around for weeks and finally placed it on Izuku's finger.
An almost perfect fit.
It was slightly loose, but it should be fine for the moment. They could go get it resized after they celebrated. Or it might just fit better when Izuku's hand swells throughout the day. They'd have to test it out to see what they needed to do.
He cradled Izuku's hand, admiring how beautiful the ring looked on it. He couldn't wait to wake up and see his reaction.
Katsuki fell asleep with a smile on his face, looking forward to the next morning.
Izuku kept tossing and turning all night, the stress of the day never quite leaving his mind. When he woke up for the final time, he found Izuku splayed out on his stomach like a starfish, his head resting on Katsuki's chest.
Katsuki was happy that the nerd had finally settled down, even though he knew he'd have to clean up the puddle of drool settling between his pecs. He wasn't going to let a little saliva ruin the moment.
"Hey, baby," He said gently, weaving his fingers into Izuku's forest green strands and massaging his scalp, "want me to make breakfast?"
Izuku looked up at him with a dopey smile on his face. His eyes weren't completely open, but he started to get up, taking all the blankets with him. He didn't seem to notice the ring on his finger at all.
He watched as his boyfriend sat up in bed, pushing the sheets off his body and turning to place his feet on the floor. It was then that Katsuki noticed that the ring wasn't on his hand.
Izuku got up and Katsuki's heart stopped.
CLANK
Izuku looked around after he heard the noise, but thought nothing of it. Katsuki, on the other hand, was horrified. He knew exactly what had caused the noise.
Izuku shuffled his feet, and he could hear the symbol of his love falling down the air vent. His almost-fiancée went about his morning like usual, oblivious to Katsuki's panic-stricken face.
Izuku had no idea why Katsuki was on edge when he left to go hang out with his friends. He asked Katsuki if staying would help him calm down, but in the end, he practically pushed the greenette out the door.
Twenty agitated phone calls and a large bill from an air vent technician later, and Katsuki finally held the slightly dirty ring in his hand again. He had only spent the entire day panicking over whether or not he was going to have to buy a new ring.
Was he not meant to marry Izuku?
—
All of that led to this moment.
"Oh, I see," his father replied calmly. Katsuki knew that he could confide in his old man and not receive judgment. The hag on the other hand would cackle and ridicule at her poor son's predicament.
"All of this is making me doubt that we should even be together. Maybe it's a sign that the fucking universe is telling us we're not meant to be."
"I wouldn't go that far, Katsuki." Masaru had witnessed the love Katsuki and Izuku had for each other, and he was not going to let it end just because of a few setbacks. "Accidents happen all the time. I know it feels like the end of the world because it's something important to you, but it doesn't mean that you two aren't going to work. It just means that the right time is ahead of you."
Katsuki sighed, letting his dad's words sink in. All of his proposals went wrong because they didn't feel quite right. They may have worked for other people, but they needed a moment that was only their own.
So Katsuki carried around the ring in his pockets whenever he could, just waiting for the right moment to strike.
Then one quiet evening they sat down for a simple meal. Nothing about it was special, it was one of the meals that they made regularly because it was easy for both of them to prepare, but it was turning out to be a pleasant evening.
Afterwards, they did the dishes together. Izuku offered to wash them so Katsuki could dry them and put them away. They worked in silence for the most part, the motions all too familiar.
Izuku had his hands in the sink, scrubbing the food off the pan. He didn't look up when he asked, "Hey Kacchan, I forgot something on the table. Could you go get it?"
Katsuki let out a grunt but did as he asked. He grabbed the glass off the table, but instead of handing it to Izuku, his body moved on its own.
He saw Izuku's outstretched hand, and he just knew. He used his free hand to take the ring out of his pocket and placed it in Izuku's scarred hand.
The nerd wasn't even paying attention, trying to rinse the soap off the pan, but he realized the thing in his hand wasn't what he'd asked for.
Katsuki watched as he closed his hand around the ring and brought it into view. There was a moment of silence, and Katsuki hoped he didn't fuck up again.
Then he heard a sniffle.
"Kacchan?" Izuku asked, voice shaky. He still hadn't turned around yet.
He placed a hand on Izuku's hip, pulling him around. He wanted to see Izuku's face. He also didn't want to have to call a plumber in case the ring went on another adventure down the pipes.
He stepped closer, pushing Izuku into the counter, and gently guided his chin up so he could look him in the eye. And when he did, Katsuki's heart melted. There was so much love and happiness and hope in Izuku's eyes, and suddenly all of the previous attempts didn't matter.
He leaned down, his face so close to Izuku's that he could feel Izuku's breath. The tension in their closeness felt exhilarating, almost like the moment before their first kiss. Only this time Katsuki was more confident.
"Marry me, Izuku," He whispered against his lover's lips, waiting desperately for a response.
He could feel Izuku's lips turn into a smile. He could barely breathe out a "Yes," before he wrapped his arms around Katsuki's neck, pulling him into a kiss.
Katsuki wouldn't ask for anything more.