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“Izuku?”
Izuku jumped and choked on the water he was trying to drink. The boy quickly set his glass down and whipped his head around to where Katsuki was standing, a little amused, by one of the little kitchen’s many cabinets.
“Kacchan!” Izuku whisper-shouted, “You’re awake?”
“I am now,” he grumbled, walking over to his friend with light footsteps. Waking up the others probably wouldn’t be a good idea, everyone needed rest after… everything. Which was probably why he felt so irked at the fact that not one, but two of them were awake right now, “You were standing outside my room like a creep.”
Izuku’s face paled, “You knew?”
Katsuki scoffed, snatching the glass that the younger boy had set down and turned the sink on, “Kinda hard not to with your loud footsteps.” Katsuki hovered the glass under the flowing tap for a few moments, letting the water coat every inch of it before he turned it upside down and placed it back onto the drying rack. He made sure to shut the tap off firmly, putting way too much strength into twisting the handle to the left. Whatever. His classmates could pry it open for all he cared.
Izuku shifted nervously in his spot, looking like he was about to make a run for it with the way his eyes kept darting back and forth. Katsuki subtly stepped in front of him to make sure that didn’t happen, “Do you think I woke anyone else?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes, “You couldn’t wake these guys with a load of TNT.”
Izuku’s frown turned into the ghost of a smile. It was some sort of progress, at least, “And you know that because…?”
“Sparky hangs around too much, he got what was coming to him.”
His friend shook his head, exasperated, “You can go back to sleep now, Kacchan. I’ll try not to wake you up again.”
And then Izuku was stepping away from him, towards the direction of the stairs with his head hung low. Katsuki quickly held onto his arm to stop him, “You aren’t backing out of this one, moron.”
Izuku stopped in his tracks with a sigh, “I’m sorry for waking you, Kacchan, but I promise I’m—“
“You’re a liar.”
The green-haired boy looked at him with a grimace, slightly annoyed. Katsuki snorted at the notion, “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Fess it up, Deku, c’mon.”
“I’m serious!”
“So am I,” Katsuki slumped back onto a counter, letting himself fall to the floor in a heap, “sit down.” He patted the space next to him after flinging an arm over one of his knees.
“Wh— but—“
“Just sit down, Izuku.”
His friend instantly stiffened at the name. Before Katsuki could have any second-thoughts, though, Izuku grumbled and plopped himself next to the blond. Silently, Katsuki grinned at all the power he now held, because, ultimately, Izuku was weak.
“I don’t see the point of this.”
“Don’t have to, just tell me why you were sneaking around the dorms.”
Izuku scrunched up his face guiltily, “I…” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, “…Just woke up a while ago and couldn’t fall asleep again.”
Katsuki frowned, “And your stalking me?”
“I wasn’t—!” He grumbled, wrapping his arms around his knees, “I wasn’t stalking you, Kacchan.”
“That’d be the first time.”
“Kacchan!”
Katsuki reached over to flick the teen’s head, earning him a quiet grunt, “Were you getting all stuck in your head again?”
He took the sudden silence as confirmation and let out a heavy breath.
“Look, Izuku,” he began, exasperated, “I’m not just gonna up and die randomly, okay?”
Izuku flinched, “You could be a bit less blunt..”
“There’s no other way to get anything through your stupid head!” He shifted closer so that his and Izuku’s shoulders were touching, something tense inside him calming down at the assurance that Izuku was right next to him, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
(And Katsuki would never, not in a million years, admit this to his face but… ever since his best friend had fled from UA to go and pursue Shigaraki, the explosive boy had been itching to just keep him close. And then 1-A had found the idiot, and Katsuki had the chance to hold him, just for a little while, before reluctantly handing him off to Shoji, not knowing if Izuku had even forgiven him or not. And then he’d kept a close eye on him at UA, exploding at anyone who was being too loud, lest his friend wake up from his frequent naps.
And then… Katsuki had died, and reached a useless hand out, a smile on his face, wishing that Izuku was there right next to him. Just as he used to be, and Katsuki had taken advantage of that…
Then, he was awake, fought with his friend. And then they were safe.
And now? Unlike before, Katsuki would never let him go again. He’d keep the idiot close, and, it seemed, Izuku was doing the same thing.)
Izuku sucked in a breath, but relaxed slightly, nudging Katsuki with his shoulder.
“You’ve always been so paranoid, you know that? We won, nerd, a perfect victory. Became the greatest heroes the world has ever seen,” when Izuku snorted, Katuski smiled, “I fought All For One and won, of course, nothin’ is gonna take me down now, ya hear me?”
Izuku hummed next to him, “I suppose…”
“Hey,” Katsuki lifted a hand and tapped his index finger against the boy’s head, gaining his attention. Izuku’s eyes turned to his and Katsuki made sure to keep his expression open and honest, something he never would’ve done in the past but well… literally dying kinda changes a man, “You’d be hard pressed to not see me for longer than a day. I ain’t going anywhere, not anymore.”
Then, because it was deep and meaningful and theirs and all that other sappy nonsense, Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s hand in his, a slight frown tugging at his lips because of the scarred tissue there, but, regardless, a feeling of pride bloomed in him, “Thought you learned to trust me by now, Deku.”
Immediately, Izuku relaxed, tears beginning to well up in his tired eyes.
Hold my hand. Give me ease.
“K-Kacchan…” The teen sniffed, quickly wiping away his tears with his free hand.
Letting go of the boy’s hand, Katsuki hesitantly raised his arms and gave Izuku a withering look all the while, “Cry it out, nerd, c’mon.”
After a particularly loud sob, Izuku fell forward into Katsuki’s arms and wrapped his own around the teen, holding on with a death grip. That was fine, though, Katsuki held on just as tightly
It was funny. Just a few months ago, he would’ve never been this openly affectionate, especially with his childhood friend. A lot had changed, though. Katsuki stuffs the scarred side of his face into Izuku’s shoulder.
“Sorry..”
“Don’t apologise, nerd.”
Izuku sniffed, “Alright.”
When Katsuki said he’d stay, he meant it. They were both finally right where they needed to be.