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The ringing of the alarm ripped Izuku out of his dreams and he reached out a hand to silence it, his eyes still closed. The arm around his waist tightened and pulled him back into the warm body behind him. Izuku let out a content hum and laced his fingers with the ones caressing his stomach.
“Good morning,” he whispered, his voice still rough with sleep. He got a grunt back in response and couldn’t stop the small smile playing over his lips. He indulged the cuddling for a few more minutes but when he felt his eyes fall closed again he knew he had to get up or risk being late. He carefully tried to scoot closer to the edge of the bed, but the arm around his waist wouldn’t budge.
“Kacchan,” he whispered and the hand still holding his gave a gentle squeeze. He tried to leave the bed again and was thwarted for a second time.
“Kacchan,” he repeated, this time a little more firm. “I need to get dressed or I’m going to be late for work.”
“Fuck work,” Katsuki replied and pressed his lips against Izuku’s neck, which prompted a pleasant shiver to run down his back. “Let’s just stay in today.”
Izuku giggled.
“What’s this? Mr. Overtime wants to skip out on work?”
“I called out of the extra shift.”
Now that was surprising. Izuku turned around in his boyfriend’s arms to really look at him. Katsuki’s eyes were wide open and he watched Izuku with no trace of sleepiness left in them.
“Why?” Izuku asked and cradled Katsuki’s face in his scarred-over hands. Instead of an answer, Katsuki turned his face to kiss Izuku’s palms reverently and Izuku felt his insides melt at the gesture.
“I want to spend more time with you,” Katsuki explained after a minute and Izuku felt tears gathering in his eyes.
“Oh,” he said, to choked up for more.
“I know it’s been hard to find more time with everyone, or even just the two of us. I decided it was time to cut back on all the overtime.”
“Kacchan,” Izuku whispered before leaning close for a soft kiss. “I’d like that.”
Their tender moment was interrupted by Izuku’s second alarm and Katsuki let out a groan before releasing Izuku from his embrace.
“Fine, go and babysit those brats or whatever.”
Izuku laughed as he rolled out of bed and swatted at Katsuki’s blanket-covered legs.
When he emerged from their bedroom, dressed in his suit except for the tie, Kacchan was already putting out breakfast on the table.
“Thank you for the food,” Izuku said and pressed a quick kiss against Katsuki’s cheek. He didn’t mention the fact that Katsuki still had an hour left to sleep before he had to get up. “Did you see my tie?”
Katsuki pointed to the table where the tie was neatly folded next to the breakfast. Izuku reached for it but was gently swatted away.
“Eat first,” Katsuki said and took his place at the table. Izuku shook his head with a fond smile and sat down as well. They ate in silence, their feet intertwined underneath the table. When it was time for him to leave, Katsuki grabbed the tie and threw it around Izuku’s neck.
“Kacchan,” Izuku started but was cut off by a quick kiss.
“We both know what your tie looks like when I let you do this on your own, Izuku,” Kacchan said with a crooked grin and Izuku rolled his eyes. They both knew it was a lie. Izuku finally learned how to tie a tie after he graduated from college with his teaching degree. Nevertheless, he didn’t say anything, because the other thing they both knew was that Izuku really, really liked it when Kacchan did this for him.
“There,” Katsuki said and smoothed the piece of fabric over Izuku’s shirt.
“Thank you, Kacchan,” Izuku said, grabbing his backpack from the floor. “I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah, I’ll meet you and the old man for dinner later.”
“I’m excited,” Izuku said with a grin before he sobered up once more. “Stay out of trouble today, alright?”
“Hah?!” Katsuki said, his tone offended. “Who do you think you’re talking to? No shitty villain is going to be able to even touch me!”
“I know, Kacchan,” Izuku said and gave him a stern look. “I meant to be nice to the press today. You know what happens if you lose your temper!”
“Those idiots should keep their nose out of my business!”
Izuku let out a sigh and gripped the door handle.
“If you’re not careful Todoroki-kun is going to pull ahead of you in the rankings.”
“Haah?! What the hell are you saying, shitty Izuku?!”
He quickly pulled the door open and stepped out.
“See you later! I love you!”
He was halfway down the corridor of their apartment complex when the door to their apartment was ripped open again and Katsuki leaned out of it.
“I love you too! Shithead!”
The whole way to UA Izuku felt like he had an extra spring to his step.
The day had been a whirlwind. Izuku had still been thinking about his encounter with Dai and the throwback to his own middle school days when All Might had surprised him with the second biggest news in his entire life.
Now here he was, standing in front of UA and his idol, holding a suit in his hands that would open a whole new world for him and his dream that he still hadn’t quite let go yet.
“Come, young Midoriya!” All Might said in his booming voice, which was still strong even though his body was growing more and more frail every year. “Let’s take your new suit for a test drive, shall we? I got special permission from Aizawa.”
Still a bit in a daze, Izuku followed after All Might. The older man led him over the campus until they reached a familiar landscape.
“Ground Beta,” Izuku breathed out and All Might gave him a grin and thumbs up.
“I thought it appropriate for this.”
Izuku couldn’t help but agree. Memories of his first combat training and later on fight with Kacchan flashed through his head. It was only right that it was here where Izuku would test out his new power. He ducked into a building to change and his hands shook when he opened the suitcase. He couldn’t help but analyze the different parts of his suits while he put them on.
Adhesive rope shooters in the gloves, kinetic energy storage all over the suit to enhance Izuku’s movements, jet packs along his boots and legs to give him boosts and the ability to travel farther and faster in the air, smoke bombs in the belt to imitate smoke screen, motion sensors all over the suit to help with danger sense. It wasn’t a perfect copy and Izuku had expected nothing different. But he could see the potential, the work that had been put into it. He knew there was way more than met the eye to this new suit and he couldn’t wait to find out what it was and make it his own.
Just like he had done with One For All, he would master this one as well.
When he stepped out of the building and back into All Might’s line of sight, Izuku was shocked to find tears running down the old man’s cheeks.
“All Might?!” he exclaimed, worry for his teacher overtaking anything else. “Are you alright?!”
“More than alright, my boy,” All Might said and wiped away the tears. “I’m just so proud of you and I feel so blessed to be allowed to see you like this once more.”
“All Might!” Izuku cries out and he can feel his own eyes fill with tears once more.
“Are the two of you going to cry the whole night or are we going to do this?” A new voice cut through their heartfelt moment and Izuku’s entire body sprang to attention. He knew that voice, would always know that voice, no matter the time or place. He turned around until he came face to face with Kacchan in all his glory. He was wearing his hero suit and on his face was a devilish grin.
“Looking good there, Izuku,” he said, and all at once Izuku remembered who exactly had funded his suit.
“Kacchan…!” Izuku said, his heart feeling like it would explode with all the emotions he was feeling in that moment.
“Save that emotional crap for later,” Kacchan said and dropped his body into a fighting stance. “I’m not here to yap, I’m here to see if you still have what it takes. Come at me, Deku!”
Deku . The name of a hero.
Izuku’s entire body lit up with heat and the old, familiar itch of wanting to win, of wanting to beat Kacchan, his rival, his partner, his image of victory.
Izuku wasn’t yet sure how exactly this suit worked, how he could activate every clever gadget that Hatsume had installed in it, but it didn’t matter. Kacchan was calling out to him and Izuku was going to answer.
They clashed on the battlefield, Kacchan a blinding orange, Izuku lighting up the field with red and green. He felt nostalgic, energized, alive. More alive than he had felt in years and he got to share that feeling with his Kacchan.
Izuku didn’t know how long they traded blows for. He fumbled a lot of his moves, still unfamiliar with the new weight and power of his suit, but Kacchan never took advantage of him in those moments. It almost felt like a dance the two of them were having, right here in the middle of Ground Beta.
The light had vanished completely by the time they came back to the ruined ground, and All Might stood there, laughing and clapping.
“What a magnificent showing, my boys,” he said and the pure pride radiating off him was almost too much for Izuku’s heart. He whirled around, overcome with the collective emotions of the day, ready to throw himself into Katsuki’s arms but was stopped in his tracks by the intense look in his partner’s eyes. The way he looked at him lit a flame in Izuku and made him feel like he was on top of the world.
“Kacchan,” he said breathlessly, his hand clutching at his new suit. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, Izuku,” Katsuki answered fiercely. He stepped closer until he was standing right in front of him. “Use this suit and be by my side, where you belong. Be the hero I know you are. Be my partner.”
Before Izuku could answer, Katsuki dropped down to one knee and pulled out a small box from one of his pockets. Izuku gasped, his eyes widening.
“Be my partner in everything. In hero work and life. Marry me, Izuku.”
It felt as if the emotions in his heart burst outward, making his knees buckle. He dropped to the floor, threw his arms around his Kacchan, and started to cry harder than he had in a long time.
“After all this time you’re still such a crybaby,” Katsuki whispered in his ear and tightened his arms around Izuku’s waist. “You could at least give me an answer before you smear your snot all over me.”
“Kacchan!” Izuku wailed out and clutched him tighter to his body. It took a while for him to calm down enough to speak again, but Katsuki was patient and simply kept on holding him.
“Kacchan,” Izuku said, his voice still hiccupping with sobs. “Of course, I want to marry you. I always want to be by your side!”
“Good,” Katsuki answered before pressing a kiss to Izuku’s tear-stained cheek. “’Cause that’s where you belong.”