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It’s in the little things he does.
The sticky notes he leaves for you in the bento box he “accidentally” made an extra of and gives to you because he “ain’t wasting perfectly good food,” telling you to drink your damn water and that he’s proud of you, or that you look cute today.
Your favorite snack and a juicebox on your desk in the morning before the bell rings, which you swear you’ve only mentioned liking once and it was when you first met.
Whenever he fusses over your jacket when it’s cold outside and insists you hold hands with him, saying it’s “more work for him if you get sick.” Yet the way he takes off his scarf to wrap you up in its warmth is devastatingly gentle, despite his coarse scoldings.
Homemade chocolates shoved into your hands the moment you arrive at school every single White Day without fail, ignoring the stares from envious onlookers as he tugs you by the hand to walk you to class. The bandaids, only the cute character ones because you’re a stubborn brat who won’t wear anything else no matter how bad you get hurt, and ointment he keeps in his school bag.
Because he knows how accident prone you can be and it drives him insane whenever he sees a new scratch or bruise come from out of nowhere when you were fine moments ago.
Katsuki’s always been meticulous about everything in his life, and that includes loving you.
So the confusion on his face is almost humorously palpable as he squints at the cactus you randomly place in front of him in class one day.
“What is this?” Your boyfriend grumbles, holding his notebooks and pencil case in his hands. “Taking up space on my desk.”
“Suki!” You pout. “That’s mean. I bought this cactus.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Because…?”
“‘Cause it reminds me of you!”
The fuck does that even mean, it reminds you of him ? This short, misshapen, stubby little thing that needed to be buried in dirt to even stand up on its own? Katsuki snorts, his amusement only growing at the sight of your deepening worried frown.
As if he would ever throw away anything from you. He’d rather take one of his own explosions to the face.
“Thanks, I guess.” Is all he says, his hand coming down to give a strong pat to your head. It was kind of ugly, but whatever. Hell, it was a gift from you that you specifically got for him, and honestly that’s all that mattered. “I’ll take care of it.”
You beam up at him from under his palm, and his heart clenches. “Really?”
“Yeah. Now go sit your ass down and take out that homework I know you forgot to do last night.”
“Yessir!” You mock salute and hurry over to your seat, opening up your shoulder bag.
Denki grimaces as he passes by, pointing at the new green addition to the blond boy’s desk. “Ew Bakugo, what is that?”
“Shut up, Dunce Face.” Katsuki scowls, protectively moving the pot closer to him. “Your eyes are getting shittier than Glasses’.”
Mina laughs as Denki sulks, now in his own seat, and glances over to where he was pointing at. “Ooh, it’s actually pretty cute!”
“Damn right it is.”
Katsuki’s lips curve slightly in pride, crimson eyes flickering over to your direction where you were hunched over scribbling on paper with scrunched up eyebrows, trying to do some problems on your own while you wait for him to come over. Fuck, you’re cute , he thinks.
“That’s ‘cause my girl picked it.”
After class, Katsuki finds himself googling “how to not kill a cactus” for the first time in his life and of course it’s because of you.
His brow raises as he scans the gardening article on his phone screen.
He’s no green thumb but he’s had some experience and it was pretty easy to keep a plant alive, but just to make sure. Half of it is information he already knows, put your cactus in a good spot to get sunlight, water it once a week, yada yada.
But what catches his eye is the section labeled “Flowering Cacti.”
So they could bloom depending on the species, and only under very nit-picky conditions, like cool to warm temperature fluctuations and specific pollinators. Interesting.
Hopefully he wouldn’t have to wrangle a bat to get some flowers to grow on it, though he could probably ask that animal-talking extra to help.
“Katsuki!” Something tackles him from behind and he barely budges, already knowing it’s you. It’s muscle memory at this point, the feeling of your soft body against his, etched into the molecules of his skin from all those times you’d sneak into his dorm past curfew to cuddle and how you always fell asleep on him during class field trips, not to mention plane rides.
You peer over his broad shoulder like a hamster peeking out of their hidey hole. “What are you looking at?”
“Nosy.” Katsuki snorts, holding up his phone to your face. Deliberately only showing the guide on how to care for cacti indoors, and not the flowering one. He doesn’t want you to see it, not yet.
─────────
You’re in your boyfriend’s dorm room several days later, finally finishing the last problem on the new sheet of homework you got from Ectoplasm’s class yesterday. Bakugo hovers over you to scan your equations, finally giving a satisfied nod.
A jolt of pride courses through him. You got all of them right, just like how he taught you.
“Good job.” Katsuki pats your head and your heart soars. You tilt your head up to give a little smooch to his palm and he blushes, jerking his hand back.
“The fuck?” He laughs, grabbing your wrist and pinning it to his mouth in retaliation, pressing a painstakingly soft kiss there, then to your palm too. Katsuki smirks at the way he makes you shakily exhale at his touch. “What was that for?”
“Nothing.” An almost drowsy, content smile spreads across your lips. “Just love you so much.”
"Stop trying to one up me,” Katsuki rasps in your ear. You yelp as his hands squeeze your hips hard, holding onto his toned arms to steady yourself.
“Not trying to! Just telling the truth.” You keep looking at him with a cute, dumb grin on your face, and his breath catches.
Your eyes widen as you sneak a glance at his desk.
“Woah! Katsuki Jr. got taller.”
He snorts, turning his head to also look at the cactus that’s been sitting under his lamp for the past week. “Katsuki Jr.?”
“Yeah because you guys have the same hair.” You exaggerate a dreamy sigh, reaching up to caress his cheek. “He really takes after you, Katsuki Sr.”
“Shut up, dumbass.” He nudges your cheek with his nose, drinking up the delicious sounds of your giggles.
“Can I sit in your lap now?” You ask shyly.
With an eye roll, Katsuki holds his arms out for you to claim the reward he proposed earlier for this study session. “Get over here already.”
His arms wrap comfortably around your waist as you settle in your usual spot between his firm thighs, and he drops his head down and brushes a soft kiss against the crook of your neck.
“I love you too.” The pink blossoming across his cheeks contradicts his gruff tone, but you’ve known him too long to not know better.
Katsuki Bakugo is meticulous in loving you, and that means he never says anything he doesn't mean.
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The vibrations in the pocket of his slacks are becoming so incessant that he can’t ignore them anymore and Katsuki sighs under his breath as he slips it out while Aizawa’s turned to the board to write something.
ass gremlin
sukiiiii
ass gremlin
katsudonnnnn
ass gremlin
kitkattttt
katsu curry
What
ass gremlin
send me pics of our baby pls i wanna see how tall he is now
katsu curry
?
That cactus you bought me two weeks ago
ass gremlin
duh!!!
katsu curry
Later
In my room before we go out
ass gremlin
YAYYAYAY
can u help me pick my outfit too
katsu curry
Duh
We’re matching dumbass
Katsuki’s behind you with a firm hand on your waist to hold you in place when you smirk at the window sill, and he looks up to see that you’re admiring Katsuki Jr.
The cactus was an even more vibrant shade of green than when you first gave it to him, and small, delicate pink flowers were starting to bloom on its fuzzy head.
It took a lot of effort to get those to start growing, but it was all worth it to see the delighted expression on your face right now.
“So you really have been taking care of him like he’s your kid, huh?”
“Our kid.” He corrects you with a grumble against your neck, easily zipping up the back of your dress in one smooth motion. “Told you I would, didn't I? Thing was a pain in the ass to find high potassium fertilizer for.
“Aw, really?” You turn around to face him and he brings you closer as your arms rest on his broad shoulders. “Well… you know how it’s better to have two cats than one, since just one kitty can make them feel lonely?”
He knows that look. Katsuki scowls, roughly poking a dent into your cheek to discourage the mischievous grin that's starting to spread across your face.
“You’ll never guess what I got you for our anniversary.”
“No.”
“But Katsuki Jr.!”
”I raised that little shit, he’ll tough it out.”
”I just thought maybe we could get him a sibling—“
”No.”