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Izuku thought one of the best things about himself was his observational intellect. He could go to school for it and pass with flying colors.
“Did you buy a new shampoo?” Izuku asked earlier that morning when Katsuki walked by him. Katsuki had just gotten out of the shower and towel dried his hair, wandering around the kitchen in sweatpants and a tank top. Katsuki narrowed his eyes at him, cocking his head to the side.
“Yeah, it’s tangerine,” he said. Izuku just nodded, pleased with himself for noticing.
The day rolled on, and Izuku watched as Katsuki typed furiously on his laptop, finishing up some work that he hadn’t done in the office.
“New glasses?” Izuku asked, leaning forward to get a better look. The frames looked rounder, accentuating the softer features of his face. Katsuki leaned back suddenly, seemingly shocked by Izuku’s sudden presence.
“You’re a creepy motherfucker, you know that?” Katsuki grumbled, before resuming his work. “But yeah, they’re new.” Katsuki only wears glasses to counteract the blue light from his computer. He says his eyes are sensitive, and that he’s preventing them from deteriorating, like “everyone else on this godforsaken planet”.
“When did you get them?”
“Yesterday afternoon. I fucking sat on my old ones by accident and I couldn’t fix them.”
“You chose a different frame.”
“Thanks, captain obvious.” Izuku took the seat next to him at the table where his own laptop was still sitting, screen open but shut off. He’d been filling out some last minute paperwork to officially hire another intern. He loved teaching people, he’d take on five interns at once if he could. Katsuki would never let him, probably tell him that that’s too much for one person to do all alone. He was right, of course.
They typed alongside each other in silence.
“Did you use my fucking shampoo?” Katsuki asked, titling closer and sniffing the air around him. “You did, you little shit!” Izuku shielded himself for impact, which came about two seconds later. Katsuki’s stray pencil was chucked towards his face, bouncing off the top of his head and onto the floor. It didn’t hurt, but Izuku still rubbed his head dramatically and feigned weakness.
“It smelled nice and I wanted to borrow it, leave me alone!” Izuku said.
“Buy your own goddamn shampoo!”
“I wouldn’t even know what to buy!”
“I can just fucking show you, dumbass.”
“Oh.” While not being able to use Katsuki’s shampoo would suck the fun out of it, Izuku was long overdue for getting better hair care products. His hair was constantly a rat's nest that refused to untangle. Without any more words being exchanged, Katsuki started pulling up a few tabs on his computer. He turned the screen towards Izuku in a business-like fashion.
“ This is what you need,” he said. He pointed to the green bottle that was on the computer.
“This is the same brand I use, LOMA, but I use the daily shampoo because my hair is perfect and doesn’t need any special help,” Katsuki started. “You’re in desperate need of help, so this is their nourishing shampoo. Get the conditioner, too, your dry ass hair needs it.”
“Wow, rude.”
“It’s called honesty.”
“Sometimes, honesty is not the best policy,” Izuku said. Katsuki reached over and grabbed a few strands of Izuku’s hair, rubbing them between his fingers. His face crinkled.
“I thought it looked dry, but this is worse.”
“Oh, go away!” Izuku said, slapping his hand lightly.
“I’m saving you from future humiliation,” Katsuki said, leaning back in his seat, rocking his head from side to side while he cracked his neck.
“The only person who bothers me about my hair is you.”
“Yeah. I’m saving you from me humiliating you in the future.”
“Is that some sort of fucked up way of saying you care?” Izuku asked, trying not to smile so wide it could potentially blind Katsuki.
“Absolutely not. Do you like cranberries and pears?”
“Cute subject change,” Izuku grinned.
“Answer the fucking question, dipshit.”
“Yes, why?”
“That’s what the products smell like.”
“Sounds delicious.” Before Izuku could object, Katsuki was adding both of the suggested products into his cart and purchasing them on the spot. Izuku just sat there in silence, mildly stunned, as Katsuki finished the checkout process.
“I’m a big boy with my own big boy money,” Izuku pointed out.
“I got a discount.”
“Well, thank you.”
“Go to hell.”
“I’m literally just existing.”
–
“Kacchan, the stuff got here!”
“You’re going to have to elaborate, I can’t read minds,” Katsuki hollered from where he was holed up in his room. He was currently sulking over the fact that Kazu chose to sit on Izuku’s lap and not his, if his “I don’t even care, don’t look at me like that” said anything at all.
“The hair stuff.”
“What do you need me for?”
“Uh, nothing.” To wash his hair, maybe? But that would be crazy.
Izuku made his way into his bathroom, closing the door behind him and starting the shower. He unscrewed the cap of the shampoo, inhaling. Katsuki was right, it smelt fucking amazing. As soon as the water heated up to the point that it would be burning his skin off, Izuku got in, his previous shivering ceasing as his body warmed up.
He lathered the shampoo in between his hands and then applied it to his hair, massaging it into his scalp like he’d seen Katsuki do before (when they were kids). It didn’t just smell amazing, it felt amazing. He never paid much attention to his hair, not really caring what it looked like or felt like. But this? This is fucking phenomenal.
He rinsed out the shampoo and applied the conditioner next. Reading the bottle, it said to let it sit for a few minutes, so he waited around until the minutes passed. He rinsed that out too, and the softness of his hair almost had him in tears.
“Kacchan,” Izuku yelled, wrapping a towel around his waist and making his way out of his room. “You gotta feel this.” Katsuki came into the living room, pausing for a second after seeing Izuku half naked, but made his way closer anyway. He reached over and ran his fingers through Izuku’s locks, which now smelled like cranberries and pears. Izuku definitely leaned into his touch a little more than necessary.
“Jesus, it did get really fucking smooth. I’m a fucking genius.”
“I think it’s the glasses.” The glasses did make Katsuki look both soft and sophisticated.
“Yeah, combined with my brilliance.”
“Sure, Kacchan.”