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Izuku wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing in the same spot. In front of another classroom, on his way out to throw the trash away. Today he was on duty to clean the classroom, together with Mineta. But on his way out, mumbling about some techniques he was currently working out, he had heard a name he would never be able to overhear.
“Bakugou? Really?”, an unfamiliar voice had said, causing Izuku to stop immediately.
“Yes, why not?”, another voice had answered, a girl, “I already made him some chocolate and I want to give it to him tomorrow. I think he will accept it.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“I don’t know, sometimes our eyes meet in the cafeteria. Something’s there!”, she had stressed.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow was the 14th of February. Valentine’s Day.
Izuku swallowed hard, thinking about the exchange he had just witnessed. They had moved on to another topic now, something about a test coming up.
He couldn’t move.
His breath was shallow, making it hard for him to concentrate, though he could already feel the stares from other people. He was standing in the middle of the hallway, blocking the way for others after all.
So he exhaled and started moving, one foot after another, step by step. But his heart was racing and his stomach was trembling.
Oh no, Izuku thought, No, no, no.
A girl was going to confess to Katsuki tomorrow. She was in high hopes, expecting him to accept.
Izuku had to fight the urge to turn around and ask her a million question. Who was she? What was she studying at UA? How did she meet Katsuki? Had they interacted otherwise or had it been only eye contact? What signs did Katsuki send? Why-
“Easy there”, someone said as he turned around the corner just as someone else did too, bumping into them.
“Oh, I’m sorry”, Izuku apologized, lost in his thoughts.
“If that isn’t Midoriya!”
Izuku looked up, his mind still feeling foggy. Slowly he registered who was standing in front of him. “Togata-senpai!”, he exclaimed, “You’re at the school!”
The older student put his hands on his hips and wore his typical, optimistic smile. “Yes, I’m on my way to visit Tamaki and Hado”, he explained, looking down on the bag in Izuku’s hand, “On classroom duty today, huh?”
Izuku nodded. “Oh, um… Yes- Yes, good reminder, I have to throw that out. I need to help Mineta-kun back at the classroom.”
“Then have a good day, Midoriya, and a happy Valentine’s Day in advance! Or does that bring bad luck”, he frowned and shrugged it off a second later, “Anyways, take care!”
“Yeah, you too, senpai”, Izuku answered and was left alone with this aching feeling.
~~~
Izuku felt like an absolute idiot. He’d already felt like one when he had bought that stuffed animal, which was hiding underneath his bed. But now he felt even more like an idiot.
Why did he even buy it in the first place? He knew he’d never have the courage to give it to Katsuki in the first place. Especially not on Valentine’s Day. It would be too obvious. On any other day it would pass as a gift between two friends – they had finally reached that base line again – and between two All Might-Fans since the stuffed animal was wearing the typical All Might colors. But he wouldn’t be able to give it to him the way he intended when he had been buying it. He wouldn’t be but that girl he overheard today would be.
~~~
Izuku was in a bad mood. Katsuki felt it the moment he opened the door. Katsuki had knocked on Izuku’s door after finishing his homework so they could spar as usual. As soon as he had knocked the first time, the door flew open and Izuku greeted him just as he always did. Even though there was nothing unusual in the whole situation, Katsuki could feel that something was off.
“What’s up?”, he asked Izuku but the nerd didn’t even look at him, just walked besides him, fumbling at his gloves.
“Not much”, he answered casually, “Just finished my homework. English took me longer than I expected.”
Katsuki couldn’t help but grin. “I thought it was a piece of cake. Maybe next time I can teach you”, he teased.
Izuku didn’t seem to notice or just didn’t care because he nodded and said: “That would be great, thanks, Kacchan.”
“Yeah, whatever”, Katsuki answered, eyeing the other. He looked calm, a small smile on his lips. Katsuki couldn’t quite lay his finger on it, but something wasn’t right, Katsuki just knew it.
~~~
Okay, something was definitely up.
Izuku wasn’t holding back at their training - not that Katsuki was complaining. He always demanded Izuku’s best but usually Izuku’s best was reckless at times but always calculated, serene. But Izuku’s best right now was just destructive. He threw punch after punch, kicked, almost stomped Katsuki into the ground. He used his multiple quirks simultaneously, giving Katsuki not a single moment to catch his breath.
“Oi!”, Katsuki shouted when he heard a loud crack from Izuku’s shoulder, “Stop being careless!”
But Izuku, obviously not minding his arms, just released black whip, stopping Katsuki from releasing his explosions to create some distance.
Katsuki was winded but he managed to fight the black strings back. Even so Izuku was already next to him, throwing a punch at him. Katsuki met his fist with his own explosion, totally pissed off and not caring that the explosion would be hot enough to actually sting Izuku.
When their punches collided both of them were blown away, landing flat on their backs.
Katsuki was coughing, annoyed by all the smoke and dust around them. He looked over to where Izuku had landed and growled at the sight of Izuku just laying there, one arm draped over his eyes. If the dweeb thought the fight was over, he was fatally wrong!
“Stand up!”, he shouted and got up but Izuku wasn’t moving, “Tch”, Katsuki walked to Izuku, ready to drag him back on his feet but while he was approaching him, Izuku stood up on his own, not looking at Katsuki.
“Damn it”, Katsuki said, standing in front of Izuku who looked at the ground, his green locks covering his eyes, “What’s wrong, spit it out!”
But Izuku didn’t react to that either.
“Are you dreaming again?”, Katsuki barked. At that Izuku just turned around and started to walk away. Katsuki gritted his teeth. Did he just ignore him?!
“Hey!”
~~~
Izuku was shaking. From Katsuki’s explosion but also because he had started crying mid fight. This whole thing had been a bad idea, really. Izuku had forgotten himself there for a moment. Or a few. But now that he was back to reality, he fell right back into his circling thoughts.
A part of his brain that still seemed to be able to form clear thoughts, registered that he couldn’t be crying in front of Katsuki. In the worst case his childhood friend would see right through him.
So he had to get out of here, asap, no matter how strange Katsuki might find his behavior. He turned around on his heel and headed for the door, longing for a hot shower and his soft pillow where he could cry all he wanted and-
“Hey!”, Katsuki shouted behind him. Izuku didn’t even stir, he just kept moving.
“Walking away without any explanation like you’re better than me, huh?!”
Izuku stopped immediately, letting out a loud, annoyed growl.
He had never thought himself to be better than Katsuki and Katsuki knew that by now! He got frustrated because Katsuki kept pulling this move to irritate Izuku, to tease him and even if Izuku knew that Katsuki wasn’t serious – he could never leave it at that. Never would Izuku risk that Katsuki would assume something like that ever again. Never would Izuku risk the relationship they had rebuild together.
He hadn’t even noticed that Katsuki had walked up to him, now standing beside him. Izuku still avoided eye contact, holding back his shaking breath.
He heard the other sighing silently.
“Hey”, he said, now without any sharpness in it. When Izuku still wasn’t reacting, Katsuki reached into Izuku’s hair to pull it up his forehead, exposing his face.
Izuku shut his eyes but just as he did, he felt silent tears running down his cheeks, betraying his efforts not to cry too obviously.
Katsuki stayed silent, not making a single sound. As if he was waiting.
Izuku exhaled a long deep breath and then opened his eyes. Katsuki’s hand was still laying on his head. When they met eyes Izuku almost lost all his self-control because Katsuki was looking calmly at him, almost patiently. A rare expression for him.
That meant he knew. Katsuki knew!
He knew that something was wrong, not something trivial but instead something very important, something very close to Izuku’s heart.
“What is it?”, he asked just as if to confirm Izuku’s thoughts and at that a sob escaped from Izuku’s lips, rearing up his entire body.
He couldn’t tell Katsuki. He could not, under no circumstances tell him that he was heartbroken over the fact that Katsuki would receive a confession, something Izuku would never bring himself to do since he wasn’t even able to give him a small gift on Valentine’s Day. He couldn’t tell Katsuki because it would ruin everything and Izuku couldn’t bear losing Katsuki once again, he would rather look at Katsuki and a newfound lover all day long.
“Okay, nerd, breathe.”
Izuku hadn’t realized that he was sobbing uncontrollably, bawling his eyes out like a three-year-old. “I’m sorry”, he choked, “I’m sorry, I’m fine, I promise, I-“
“If you keep talking like that, I’m going to break your nose.”
Izuku had to laugh at that. Yeah, right. He promised to stop insisting on being fine if he wasn’t. And he sure wasn’t feeling fine right now. Or anything near that.
“I”, he started again, “I’m sorry to have you worry, Kacchan. I’m just…”, he couldn’t tell him the truth but he also has always seemed to be physically incapable to lie to him, “I’m just dealing with something I’m not comfortable sharing.”
Katsuki made a small grimace at that. “S’okay”, he muttered, obviously not satisfied with that answer, “Make sure to… you know”, he rolled his eyes, “tell me when you’re ready.”
Izuku was quite stunned. Katsuki had always been bad with words but was working on that and witnessing that at first hand made Izuku so proud. And happy.
“Thank you!”, he beamed at Katsuki.
The other scoffed and ruffled through Izuku’s hair, draping one arm over his shoulders and dragging him towards the exit. “Let’s get cleaned up and ask ponytail for one of her crybaby-teas, maybe that will calm you down.”
Izuku chuckled, leaning into Katsuki, just for one second, for one short heartbeat before Katsuki pulled his arm back and the both of them started arguing about whether or not the end of their training session had been a tie or not.
~~~
Katsuki had a headache. Not that he would ever admit that it started after hitting the ground from Izuku’s punch just yesterday but still – he couldn’t deny that the throbbing in his head nearly made him go insane. Izuku’s mumbling behind him didn’t help at all.
At their short break between some lessons, he turned around to tell Izuku to shut the heck up. Izuku looked up from his notes and studied Katsuki’s face.
“Does your head hurt?”
“No”, he lied, “You’re mumbling is annoying anyways so shut it!”
“I have some pills if you-“, but he stopped midsentence and seeing the sheer panic on his face made Katsuki tense up, ready to fight whoever or whatever was behind him. He swirled around to follow Izuku’s gaze but all he could see was Kirishima waving at him.
“Hey, Bakugou, come here for a sec”, he said, “Here is someone for you.”
Katsuki raised a brow. Behind Kirishima he could see a small figure, none that he knew. He looked back at Izuku to ask him what ghost he just had seen but the other was already talking to Sero, who was sitting next to him. He smiled brightly as always but Katsuki could see the uneasy shift in his body.
What the hell was wrong with him? His tears yesterday had been like a punch to the gut, leaving Katsuki feeling completely helpless. And he hated nothing more than that feeling.
“Bakugou!”, Kirishima called out for him again.
“Yeah, yeah, shitty hair, I’m coming.”
He walked into the hallways, Kirishima slightly grinning at him before disappearing back into the classroom. Katsuki found himself in front a girl staring at him.
“Yeah?”, he asked, not very impressed, “Do I know you?”
He could see that that caught her off guard.
“Well”, she said after refocusing, “I’m from the General Department, my name is…”
Katsuki started to zone out. It was only Tuesday, the week had only begun. Since their second year had started, he found himself craving for the weekends more than ever. Not that he couldn’t keep up but classes, the internship, rebuilding society’s fate in heroes, the training, sparing with Izuku, homework, his strict sleeping schedule, meeting his nuisance of parents – he was quite busy these days.
“So that’s why”, the girl in front of him took in a deep breath, looking him straight in the eyes.
Shit. He didn’t hear a single word she said.
Well, he had to improvise then.
“So that’s why I wanted to take Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to ask you out!”, she said hastily and held out a pink box, filled with chocolate. It looked like she had made it herself.
But. Wait.
What?!
Today was Valentine’s Day? That’s why everyone was in high moods and why he saw balloons all over the place? That’s why-
He looked over his shoulder to where Izuku was sitting. He was chewing nervously on his pencil, staring into the void.
Katsuki’s stomach dropped.
“Eeh”, the girl looked insecure, “Bakugou-san?”
Shit, the thought, ignoring the aching in his chest, Be nice. You have practiced some of this shit.
“I appreciate your gesture”, he said, the words felt so uncharacteristic to him, mostly because they were. “But I can’t accept it.”
The girl’s eye went big. Was she about to cry? He had no time for this! His thoughts were filled with a crying and sobbing Izuku, with a Izuku who looked like he just witnessed a puppy being shot when he realized someone was at their classroom to give Katsuki Valentine’s chocolate! Or was Katsuki misreading this whole thing? Was he-
“Why?”, the girl asked. What was her name again? Did she even introduce herself?
“Because…”, Katsuki realized that he had no answer to that. At least not one he wanted to share. That’s when Izuku’s words echoed in his mind: I’m just dealing with something I’m not comfortable sharing.
He started to feel restless.
“Because”, he started his sentence again, “I don’t need to explain myself, that’s why.”
She was clearly shocked.
“At least take the chocolate”, she pressed it against his chest, “I made it for you after all.”
He looked at her angry face and spotted a glassy shine in her eyes. He sighed.
“No, I’m good. You take it. See you around”, he turned around and met eyes with Kirishima who facepalmed himself as if Katsuki just made a fool of himself. Maybe he did. But he didn’t care.
He needed to talk to that damn nerd!
“Alright, everyone back at their seats!”
Of course. Today of all days Eraserhad had to start his class on time.
As Katsuki walked back to his seat, Izuku didn’t even look at him.
“You better not ignore me after class, geek!”, he whispered at him. When Izuku’s ridiculous green eyes finally looked at him, Katsuki almost laughed at how terrified Izuku looked. Well, he better be.
“Bakugou, I’m standing right here if you haven’t noticed”, Aizawa said.
Katsuki’s gaze lingered on Izuku for a few seconds, making sure he knew that Katsuki was dead serious.
~~~
Izuku had a hard time focusing on Aizawa-senseis class. All he could think of was Katsuki. How he didn’t accept the chocolate, how he had looked over to Izuku while talking to the girl – Izuku had noticed it in the corner of his eyes. How Katsuki wanted to talk to him after class.
Did the girl say something to him? Did she know that he had been listening to her conversation about her giving chocolate to Katsuki? Did she tell Katsuki that he was spying on her?
He had been in a way, right? He did listen to her on purpose after all.
Gosh, he felt like a creep.
But even if the girl had said something like that to Katsuki why did he seem so angry?
Izuku swallowed.
He didn’t want to face Katsuki. He was way too confused. On the one hand he felt a sparkling joy in his chest, because Katsuki didn’t accept the Valentine’s gift but on the other hand that feeling was drowned out by the sheer panic he felt. What did Katsuki want to talk about? And as if that wasn’t enough – above all he was simply sad. He could never tell Katsuki about his own true feelings. At least, not about all of them.
He wanted to be by Katsuki’s side forever. That’s what they decided as kids and even if they had grown apart over the years, they were now finally on good terms. If Izuku had to keep his feelings a secret for the rest of his life not to ruin that, so be it!
Strengthened by his own thoughts he forced a long breath out of his lungs and, with a lot of effort, refocused on Aizawa-sensei.
He would be able to handle whatever Katsuki would throw at him later.
~~~
That being said, Izuku wasn’t too mad that before Aizawa-sensei ended his class, he said: “Midoriya, Kirishima, Asui, Uraraka – all of you are asked to come to the main entry as soon as possible. Fan gifts have been left there and are taking up too much space. So hurry.”
“Yes!”, Izuku grabbed that opportunity to avoid Katsuki for a bit longer and practically ran out of the door, not waiting for the others. Just after leaving the building, was he able to relax a little, now that he brought enough distance between him and the blonde.
“I warned you to not ignore me, you fucker!”
Izuku jumped at the growl behind him.
“K-Kacchan?”, Izuku lifted his hands before him, starting to explain that he didn’t want the staff to have too much of a trouble with all the gifts. Katsuki was just standing there, staring at him from narrowed eyes.
Katsuki opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a few girls who were suddenly crowding Izuku. They were all talking at the same time, so he couldn’t make out who was saying what but suddenly, they were running away, giggling to themselves and Izuku was left with a lot of chocolate boxes, cards and wrapped presents.
“What just happened?”
Izuku looked quite puzzled with all the stuff in his arms, eyes wandering between Katsuki and his gifts. The other was looking away from him, still clearly upset.
“You’re fucking popular, that’s what happened”, he hissed and passed Izuku, “Are we going to get all your annoying gifts or what?”
Izuku watched as Katsuki started walking again, studying his back and his – finally – upright walk.
“Yes”, he mumbled, taking after Katsuki.
~~~
Katsuki threw all the shit he was carrying on Izuku’s bed, pissed off because one of the overly cute teddy bears smelled like a perfume his grandmother would have used and he just knew that the smell would stick to him for the rest of the day!
But anyways.
He was finally alone with the nerd. Izuku also lowered the gifts he was carrying on the bed and started to thank Katsuki for helping him.
Katsuki didn’t even listen. He only had been helping so Izuku wouldn’t run off again.
Katsuki had already been angry. But the started to grow furious at Izuku’s avoidance.
That’s why he went to shut the door, so no one would disturb them. As soon as the door was closed Izuku fell silent.
Suddenly unsure of himself, Katsuki looked at his hand, still holding on to the doorknob.
He was nervous. He hated to be nervous. It made him feel weak.
But he just needed to know, he couldn’t help himself.
Slowly he turned around, leaning against the door and looking at a very distressed Izuku.
“Why were you crying yesterday?”
Izuku shifted uneasy. “I told you I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Yeah”, Katsuki whispered, “Since when do you keep secrets?” He sighed. ”I mean, don’t get me wrong, you can do whatever you want with those but since you couldn’t even stand to hide OFA from me”, he pushed away from the door, taking a step closer, “I’m wondering what’s so touchy that you can’t share with me all of a sudden.”
Izuku wasn’t looking at him – again! –, fumbling with the hem of his shirt. He always did this, just like when they were kids.
Katsuki had to close his eyes for a second.
When they had been kids Katsuki had been a total brat, pushing his best friend as far away as he could. Needless to say, he didn’t succeed.
Thank God, the thought now. He wanted Izuku to stay close to him. As close as Izuku would let him. And he had accepted the fact that their rivalry and friendship was as close as he would get. But Izuku’s reaction had sparked a hope in him that he had already buried.
“Why were you so upset to see the girl today?”, Katsuki pressed, standing just a few steps away. He could see that Izuku was fighting back tears.
“Tell me!”, he demanded, couldn’t stand the silence any longer.
Izuku flinched at his loud voice and Katsuki cursed at himself. “I’m sorry. I just…”, the clicked his tongue, “I just need to know.”
Izuku’s eye met his own and Katsuki was about to cover Izuku’s mouth with his hand, suddenly not so sure anymore if he really wanted to hear the answer. If he could take it. There would be no coming back from this.
“I”, Izuku started, his lips wobbling, “I was… curious how you would react.”
Katsuki furrowed his brows, “Curious, huh?”, he said, “Didn’t look curious to me. Rather… what was it?”, he put on a puzzled face, “Scared shitless”, he concluded and pierced into Izuku’s eyes.
Izuku seemed to have enough of his mocking because he turned around, crossing his arms. “What is this all about? Why are you making fun of me?!”, he was almost shouting.
Katsuki grabbed his arm and wanted to turn Izuku around but the other was relentlessly holding against.
“Just fucking tell me the truth!”, Katsuki yelled back.
“You just told me one minute ago that I can do whatever I want with my secrets!”, Izuku broke free.
“Yeah, guess what, I changed my mind! When it concerns me, I want to know!”, Katsuki was starting to feel a strange twist in his stomach. It hurt. “Are you shutting me out again?”, he barked, “Are you trying to do everything on your own again?!”
Katsuki knew he was being unfair. That this was nothing like the time when Izuku ran off, bearing the responsibility of society’s safety on his shoulder but still! He couldn’t help but feel rejected at Izuku’s silence.
“Are you-“
“I was jealous, okay?!”, Izuku burst out, “I was jealous, Kacchan, are you happy now?”, he turned around to face Katsuki, tears streaming down his face, “I was jealous because yesterday I heard her say that she was sure you would accept her gift! That there was ‘something between you’!”, he gasped for air, “I was jealous because she was able to give you her chocolate when I on the other hand”, he crunched down besides his bed, fetching a stuffed animal from beneath his bed, “When I’m too afraid to give you my present!”
Katsuki clicked his tongue when Izuku threw the stuffed animal at him, hitting him on the head.
He looked down on it, laying in front of his feet. It was dressed like All Might. He knew from which limited collection this was. He had looked it up himself, but it had already been sold out.
He sighed, bending over to pick it up.
Izuku was standing a few steps aways, silently crying.
“What should I say then?”, Katsuki said while playing with the stuffed animal. His voice seemed overly loud in this silence. “At least I rejected the gift, while you…”, he gestured towards all the pink and fluffy trash on Izuku’s bed.
A few seconds went by, no one moved.
“Huh?”, Izuku looked at him with big, round eyes. Filled with confusion. And fear.
Katsuki held the stuffed animal up. “I was going to get one like that for you. But looks like you beat me to that, I didn’t get one”, he closed the distance between them, “But just like you I probably would have been too much of a damn coward to give it to you. At least on shitty Valentine’s Day.”
It was a miracle to Katsuki that his voice sounded so calm, when his insides were burning like hell. He was used to heat, to the stinging feeling of fire and explosion, thanks to his quirk. But that feeling right now didn’t even compete.
“What are you saying?”, Izuku’s eyes got teary again, “Do you… do you… like me?”
“Pff”, Katsuki snorted a laugh, couldn’t hold it in, “Like!”, he exclaimed.
What a lame ass word to describe his feelings!
“Like”, he repeated, shaking off his laughter. When he looked at Izuku again it hit him. Izuku was looking at him with the most hurt expression he had ever seen on him.
He wanted to take Izuku’s arm once again. “Shit! Listen, I didn’t mean to make fun of you, I-“
“Stop torturing me!”, he dodged Katsuki’s touch fiercely, tripping over in the process and landing on his butt. But he didn’t seem to care, he just sat there.
Katsuki looked at Izuku for a while, his stomach making some flips now and then.
“God damnit, Izuku, I swear, you are the dumbest nerd I know!”
But Izuku wasn’t having it. “I don’t know what that means, Kacchan! I don’t understand you!”
Katsuki closed his eyes. Izuku was right.
They had promised each other that they were done with all their misunderstandings. Izuku had even made him do a stupid pinky promise.
That’s why Katsuki didn’t hesitate to squat down, leveling with Izuku. He was looking at him.
“It means”, he said, “that I don’t like you. I means that I love your crying, too pure for your own sake, nerdy, reckless ass.”
Izuku stared at him like he was waiting on Katsuki to take his words back.
“You…”, he whispered, “You love me?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes, taking Izuku’s hands to drag him back to his feet. When they were standing, Katsuki didn’t move away but stayed close to Izuku, holding his wrists.
“Yeah, that’s what I said. And it happens to be the truth too if you were wondering.”
Izuku let out a shaky laugh.
“Now wipe your face, I want to kiss you already.”
Although Izuku was blushing he bluntly said: “Shouldn’t you be kissing my tears away if you love me?”
“Cheeky now, are we?”, Katsuki grinned at this new side of Izuku but still following his words, kissing Izuku’s eyes and his cheeks.
This shitty nerd would never change, always on the brink of tears.
“Blow your nose, kiddo”, Katsuki pressed a tissue to Izuku’s face what made him laugh. He took it and while wiping his nose, Katsuki pointed at Izuku’s Valentine’s gifts, “And you better get rid of all of this or I’m going to make a hell of a bonfire out of it!”
“But Kacchan!”, Izuku complained, “That chocolate looks delicious!”
“Tch, I’m gonna get you as much chocolate as you want, I just don’t want you eating stuff from people crushing on you!”
Izuku threw the tissue in his trash bin, eyes still puffy, nose red. “Most of them were just simple fans.”
“Sure”, Katsuki said sarcastically, approaching the bed, “Let’s get all of this downstairs. The extras will fight over this shit.”
“What will I tell them?”, Izuku picked up half of the stuff.
“What do you mean?”, Katsuki looked at all the stuff. How come none of this was green? Had those so-called fans no sense of style?
“The others will probably ask me why I won’t keep it.”
Katsuki frowned. “Because your boyfriend will blow up your room if you do.”
Izuku was staring. It took Katsuki a few moments to realize what he had just claimed. He felt his face run hot immediately.
Before he could say something Izuku stepped closer, his gaze piercing right through him. “Do you really want to date me? Do you really want others to know?”
Katsuki was taken a back.
He looked in Izuku’s green, shining eyes.
“For starters”, Katsuki cleared his throat, “I learned my lesson. After all those years of stubbornly pushing you away, I won’t waste any opportunity to hold you close. And”, he added, feeling flustered, “if anyone comes near you again, I’m gonna bite their head off, so for the safety of others, stop.”, he grabbed Izuku’s cheeks, “Being. So. Fucking. Cute.”
“I think”, Izuku said between squeezed cheeks, “you just need better manners, Kacchan.”
Katsuki scoffed. “Yeah”, he lowered his face, “I’m working on it”, and he finally closed the distance between their lips.
~~~
The kiss was innocent, really, nothing too passionate. But Izuku’s head was spinning. He had never thought this day to go the way it did.
“Let’s go”, Katsuki placed one last small peck on Izuku’s lips.
When they reached the door it dawned Izuku – he hadn’t confessed! At least not really.
“Kacchan!”, he shouted.
Katsuki looked over his shoulder, startled. “What?!”
“I”, Izuku stared right into Katsuki’s crimson eyes, “I love you.”
Katsuki’s grumpy face softened at that. He looked calmly at Izuku, almost sad in a way.
“Well, mark my words, I will become someone who deserves you. And”, he said loudly as soon as Izuku started to protest, “I’m not there yet. I know you think otherwise but it’s not your standards I’m going by but my own. You’re too forgiving anyway.”
Izuku shrugged. “Isn’t that the point? Forgiving the ones we love.”
Izuku noticed that Katsuki blinked a few times before turning back to the door, opening it with his elbow. “That doesn’t mean the ones at fault can just go on with their shitty behavior.”
Izuku walked up to Katsuki, kissing his cheek while they were heading down to the common room. “Don’t be too harsh on yourself, Kacchan.”
Katsuki shook his head, but flashed a smile.
A big bright smile stretched over Izuku’s face.
Kacchan loves me back, he realized.
As much as he had grown to dread Valentine’s Day, he knew that from now on he would love the 14th of February.