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Izuku steps into the apartment where the throuple are hiding because they’re sick, banned from work, and being monitored by Recovery Girl. He’s quiet even though he expects to find an empty living room because Recovery Girl has been taking over the living room as she checks on them. Instead, he finds Hitoshi curled up across Katsuki and Shouto’s laps as they all snuggle with wet cloths on their foreheads and the back of their necks.
“Why are you three out here when you’re supposed to be in your room?” asks Izuku before he can stop himself because he was told that they hadn’t left their room the entire time RG was there. He was expecting them to be in their room for his two hours there as he was called in by RG to make food while she handled a situation at UA. “You know what? Doesn’t matter. I’ll be in the kitchen, keep resting.”
Izuku slips off his shoes and heads into the kitchen with his bags of groceries. He’s making a simple chicken broth soup with some potatoes because he knows Hitoshi likes potatoes. The broth will be split between two pans so that Kacchan can have his spice and Hitoshi doesn’t get his taste buds burned. Then he’s making cold soba for Shouto as well because when Shouto is sick, that’s all he wants to eat. The only way to get him to have the soup is to let him eat soba first.
He settles his ingredients on the counters by the stove, then he unbuttons the wrists of his button down and rolls up his sleeves before setting to work. Izuku’s mentally thanking himself for taking off his suit jacket from his meeting with the HPSC earlier because working in his button down and tie is better than working in that tight jacket.
Izuku gets lost in his chopping, his measuring, setting the pots on the stove and getting everything working on the heat. He has to search through the spice cabinet for Katsuki’s heat bomb, but once he finds that, he’s rocking and rolling in a soft silence.
He wonders, vaguely, whether the throuple even realized he was there, but when he turns to grab the spice bomb container, he sees all three of them standing in the doorway staring at him with glazed eyes.
“Why are the three of you standing in here instead of resting on the couch like you were when I got here?” asks Izuku curiously as he tilts his head to the side and looks at them with the spice container pressed against his chest as they seem to be taking him in appraisingly.
“Because you aren’t supposed to be here, but you are here,” says Shouto softly as he steps forward, padding across the kitchen until he can slump forward and press his forehead against Izuku’s neck. “Why are you here, Zu?”
“Izu, what the fuck are you doing here?” asks Katsuki with a bewildered look on his face.
“Zu, did they tell you that we’re sick? That we’re quirk sick?” asks Hitoshi before coughing into his elbow.
“They told me you were sick, that it had to do with a quirk, and that my being here wouldn’t matter. Kacchan, Aizawa came into my classroom to tell me that I had to make you dinner while Recovery Girl handled a situation at the school,” replies Izuku stiffly as Shouto’s cold nose rubs against his “Why else would I be here with food when you texted me to stay the fuck away?”
“Shit, they didn’t tell you a goddamn thing!” groans Katsuki as he leans forward and slaps his hand harshly against his forehead.
“Of course, they didn’t. Why would Zawa tell him what is happening when he could force our damn hands?” huffs Hitoshi before he waddles forward and takes the other side of Izuku’s neck. “Shouto, you gotta be the one to say it. I can’t talk anymore. My throat is dying.”
“Okay,” says Shouto with a happy sigh before he reaches out a grabby hand towards Katsuki who groans even louder before trudging over and molding himself to Izuku’s back, arms wrapping around to hold all of them together. With a happy sigh, Shouto leans back to look Izuku in the eye. “The quirk is supposed to kill us unless we confess to our soulmate. We confessed to each other already, and constantly tell each other that we love each other. But we already knew who we needed to confess to. We just didn’t want to confess because of this ridiculous quirk. But that’s the deal… We’re in love with you and this quirk is kicking our asses because of it. Woah, I already feel cooler.”
“Wait– Hold on– You three– What?!” Izuku screeches in surprise, unable to form an actual sentence because the words coming out of Shouto’s mouth don’t make any sense.
He knows they’re truthful because Shouto doesn’t lie, and he doesn’t think the man even knows how to when his life doesn’t depend on it. But they don’t make sense.
“We’re in love with you, Izuku. We’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you for like three years, but considering we only just discussed it together six months ago, that makes sense. We, as partners, have discussed it thoroughly because we’ve loved for longer than we’ve been together,” explains Hitoshi gently as he pulls back as Shouto shoves his way back into his place against Izuku’s neck, arms wrapping snugly around his middle to hold him close. “Wait– It really works like that? My throat isn’t hurting as bad anymore.”
“This quirk is something else,” mutters Izuku to himself as his eyes fall closed, but then he looks at Hitoshi again and everything just sort of melts away. “Listen, guys, I have food on the stove, and I really think you should eat.”
“You’re fuckin’ ignoring what they’re saying, Nerd,” huffs Katsuki with annoyance dripping out of his congested voice. “We’re in love with you, dumbass, so stop ignoring what the fuck we’re saying and tell us how you feel instead.”
“How do you feel, KitKat?” asks Hitoshi amusedly as he settles back into place against Izuku, his question ghosting his neck.
“Better, but that’s not the goddamn point. He still doesn’t fuckin’ believe us,” grumbles Katsuki as he pulls away, carefully plucks the container out of Izuku’s hand and takes over the meal. “Stupid fuckin’ nerd can’t believe that we’ve been in love with him since fuckin’ UA. He can’t believe we’ve wanted to make him smile and fuckin’ blush since before we asked each other out like some dumbasses all because of his stupid dare. He clearly can’t believe that we wanna kiss him and hug him and fuckin’ cuddle his squishy cheek ass, fuckin’ idiot. Stupid fuckin’ quirk always forcing people’s hands because that dumbass villain thinks it’s funny to fuck with people.”
“Tell me how you really feel, Kacchan,” snorts Izuku disbelievingly as he shakes his head at his childhood best friend. “I can’t believe this is happening right now, but I’d still like to make the soup and soba that I came here to make. One of you needs to call Aizawa so he can update Recovery Girl on the situation too.”
“You don’t need to fuckin’ cook, dumbass, I’m feeling just fine, thank you very much. Now, will you fuckin’ tell us how you feel Izuku?” asks Katsuki seriously as he turns around and glares at Izuku for a moment, a glimpse of vulnerability swirling in those ruby eyes and making Izuku feel like he’s gasping for air.
He’s at a loss for words as Hitoshi and Shouto are wrapped around him, as Katsuki turns his attention back to the food on the stove, shoulders hunched forward in defeat.
Even his mumbling can’t help him explain how he’s feeling to these three men who have had his heart since long before the war took everything from him. He kept the feelings to himself, of course he did, but the moment he realized they were pining after each other, he made sure they ended up together. It was the most difficult thing he had to do, get them together and watch them be happy without him. He couldn’t confess, not when they loved each other, but seeing them be happy together and wondering what it would be like if he were there too, that almost killed him. That’s probably why he’d exercised more distance after his first year teaching, why he started answering messages less and showing up to dinners and class get togethers less.
But now he’s in between them, in their home, and they confessed to loving him after a quirk forced their hand. Though, it seems like they talked about confessing before they were quirked, at least he thinks that’s what they were getting at.
“I’ll go call, Zawa,” says Hitoshi quietly at the same time as Shouto pulls away and mutters, “I’ll go email our agencies.”
“Wait, just– just wait. Zawa can wait a bit, and my phone hasn’t gone off. Recover Girl isn’t coming this way just yet. I told her to message me so that I could make her a plate and have it warmed up for when she arrived. Just–” Izuku rambles without any sense of direction as he wraps his hands around Hitoshi and Shouto’s wrists, eyes glancing at Katsuki to see him looking back expectantly. “I’m in love with the three of you too. It’s honestly kind of ridiculous how much I love each of you, the kind of love that weighs me down on the bad days when I crave your support or reassurance but can’t have. The kind of love that leaves me glowing with every single one of your accomplishments, every gift and text you send my way leaves me smiling unstoppably for the rest of the day no matter how bad the day had been before. It’s the kind of love that I used to crave when I was little, before my world got turned upside down, righted, and shattered again. Of course, I’m in love with the three of you too. I’ve loved Kacchan since I was a kid, I’ve loved Shouto since after the first Sports Festival, I’ve loved Hitoshi since the Sports Festival, though it was more of a crush until we ran into each other in the library.”
It’s silent, but then Izuku’s being tackled to the floor, hands carefully hidden underneath him as they all pile on top of him in an attempt to hug him.
“I’m planning the date!”
“I’m picking out the clothes!”
“I’m paying!”
Izuku starts laughing with abandon as Katsuki lays on top of Hitoshi and Shouto, that wild grin making him want to kiss him, but all he cares about are the matching grins appearing on Hitoshi and Shouto’s lips too. He’s certain he looks insane as they stare at him, but his heart is filled with love and hope because of them.
He just might have to thank that villain, after punching them in the face for quirking the loves of his life.