Work Text:
"Can you just shut up!?" Izuku shouted, his hands going up to his hair in frustration.
Bakugo immediately stopped talking.
They had been talking about their favorite heroes while they were running their daily route along the trails just off of campus. They did this everyday and watched the sunset at the end of the trail. The trees were thin around them and soft with autumn colors under a fading sky. The ground was paved, accessible to bikes, a couple of which had passed them earlier.
Izuku slowed down now, grabbing his chest and breathing heavily.
He has tried so hard to keep up with his fitness, but the gap between him and his Pro-Hero friends had never been clearer. It was more than obvious who stood in a classroom all day and got skinny with stress and who was out strengthening their body and mind all day saving lives on the field.
Bakugo slowed down as Izuku came to a stop, doubled over in the middle of the trail.
"Woah, hey are you okay?" Bakugo asked, strangely calm. He'd been so strange the past few weeks. Calm, cool, collected. Nice. Affectionate even.
"What is wrong with you!?" Izuku asked defensively, standing up to glare at Bakugo.
"What do you-" Bakugo began, his face knitted in confusion.
"Why are you being so nice?" Izuku asked, still breathing heavily. He couldn't catch his breath.
Bakugo faltered.
"Don't waste your time feeling sorry for me. I don't want your pity." Izuku spat, some of the frustration with the ending of his story finally spilling out. He held it together for so long. For the sake of everyone else.
He didn't cry when he lost his quirk.
He didn't cry when all his friends got to be heroes.
He didn't cry when people slowly forgot about him and everything he had worked for.
He delt with it.
He hated the pity from the people who were with him through it all.
He hated all the people tip-toeing around him like he was a shattered window still standing, but ready to fall apart, when really he just needed someone to let him fall apart and take the time to put him back together again. He knew he wouldn't be able to put himself back together again, so for some reason he had been holding out.
Now he just felt ready to give up.
"What is wrong with you?" Izuku repeated, breaking the silence with the same harsh question.
"I just- I don't know." Bakugo said awkwardly, moving a hand to rub the back of his neck. It was unnatural for him. He was wearing a black tank top and black sweatpants with his running shoes. It was just them on the trail.
"Why do you invite me on these runs?" Izuku asked.
Bakugo took a deep breath before speaking, "I miss you."
Izuku blinked, surprised. His voice came out so much smaller than before.
"What?"
"I miss competing with you and stuff." Bakugo repeated, his ears a bit red, "I miss- I miss being around you."
Izuku didn't know why, but that was it. That was the moment he shattered. He locked eyes with his childhood best friend, and suddenly he was sobbing.
And it was so unexpected but Bakugo wrapped his arms around the boy, holding him close as he cried and cried, letting him fall apart and keeping all the little broken pieces in one place.
Katsuki didn't care that they were standing in the middle of a trail, or that it was getting dark, or that Izuku was getting snot and tears all over his shoulder.
He held the boy close and tight as he hiccuped and cried, rubbing his back through it all, whispering sweet nothings to him as his tears swelled and his sobs steadied out like the rising tide.
"Is this the first time you've cried since it all happened?" Bakugo asked a little while later. Izuku's sobbing had stopped, but his tears had not. It was almost dark now.
Izuku nodded in his arms.
"Take your time." Bakugo said, taking the weight as Izuku leaned further into him. It was so delightful to hold him close like this. To be depended on by someone he had pushed away his entire life. Everything felt wrong before, but finally, this felt right.
A couple minutes later Bakugo spoke up, "it's really dark. My place is close by, I can drive us."
Izuku just nodded in silence, pulling away from the hug that had lasted so long, feeling a weird pull back towards the embrace, sad that it was over.
Bakugo seemed to feel the same because he held Izuku's hand, beginning by touching his pinky to Izuku's, and moving on to interlacing their fingers after Izuku followed suite. They didn't say anything about it. They walked to the car, hand in hand, in silence.
Izuku climbed in the passenger seat and Bakugo got in the driver's, putting the key in the ignition, but pausing before shifting the car out of park.
"Izuku?" Katsuki asked, glancing over.
Izuku looked exhausted.
"Have you been okay?" Bakugo asked hesitantly. He looked concerned. He really was concerned. He was seeing it all now. There was no more mask protecting what was really going on in the boy's head.
He had deep eyebags. He was pale and his entire figure was so much thinner than Katsuki remembered. It was reminiscent of their middle school days, before Izuku had even gained any muscle.
Izuku responded with a look so empty and exhausted, Katsuki didn't need anything else to know that his answer was no.
"I'm fine, Kacchan."
"No you're not." Bakugo responded seriously, "and it's okay that you're not." The blonde reached out to tuck a green curl behind the new teacher's ear, "I'm here now. Okay, Izuku?"
Izuku's face heated up a bit, his cheeks going rosy and the sensual contact. This Kacchan was so different than the one he had always known. Sweet and caring. His heart was racing a bit.
He was sad again when the man's hand left and went back to the gear shift and the steering wheel.
"I'll make us some good dinner." Katsuki confirmed as he pulled out of the parking lot.
Izuku hummed tiredly and they rode the rest of the way in silence.
-----
Izuku felt out of it.
That was the only way to describe it. He felt outside of himself. In between feelings. Tired and lost and devoid of the energy to keep going. All of that, but then there was Katsuki, chopping vegetables and talking about something senseless, content as he cooked them dinner.
He couldn't help feeling like he was just skimming through the dialogue of a boring book as Katsuki continued on. Their roles of talker and listener were reversed in such a strange domestic way. Izuku wouldn't have known how to rationally react even if he wasn't (what he figured to be) completely dissociated.
The next thing he knew there was a plate of steaming hot food in front of him, but he couldn't smell it. He couldn't hear it sizzling. He couldn't access the world around him.
"Izuku?"
"Hm?"
"I've called your name like three times.."
Izuku blinked, realizing there was a hand on his shoulder now. His food wasn't as steamy anymore.
"Oh." Izuku responded, reaching over to grab Katsuki's hand, trying to ground himself.
"Are you okay?" Katsuki asked, moving his hand to hold Izuku's
Izuku didn't respond. He had his eyes closed, like he was very focused.
"Izuku?"
Izuku's eyes opened, but the world still felt hazy, "I don't know what's going on."
"It's been bad lately, hasn't it?" Katsuki asked solemnly, squeezing his friend's hand. Katsuki didn't know exactly what bad he was referring to, but he knew it was probably nightmares, or depression, or some aspect of PTSD kicking his ass again. Izuku struggled a lot after the war.
Izuku nodded, pursing his lips.
He didn't realize he was staring at the ground until Katsuki used his free hand to pull his chin up.
Their eyes locked, and the world regained a bit of color. The glint came back to Izuku's eye.
"There you are." Bakugo said with a soft smile.
Izuku's heart skipped a beat, and he realized then that while he had fallen apart, he also might have fallen for his best friend.
He couldn't help but steal a glance at the blonde's lips.
Suddenly both of the boy's were hyper aware of how close they were, of Katsuki's hand on Izuku's chin, and the other holding his hand.
Katsuki leaned forward slightly, Izuku did the same.
Ever so hesitantly their lips met.
Neither of them pulled away.
Katsuki moved his hand from the boy's chin to touch his waist instead, still holding the hand Izuku had crossed to meet at his shoulder.
Was this Izuku being put back together? This felt so right.
So so right.
They pulled away for air for just a moment. Katsuki went back for another kiss, but Izuku didn't reciprocate, and Katsuki pulled away, eyes blown wide in wonder.
Izuku smiled sheepishly, "the food will get cold. I can't let a good Katsuki Bakugo meal go to waste."
Katsuki grinned, slid his chair closer, and they ate quietly side by side, their shoulder's brushing every once in a while as they forked down the expertly prepared food.
After they finished, Izuku took their dishes to the sink and found Bakugo behind him, grabbing his waist. Izuku couldn't help but grin softly as excited shivers ran up his body.
Izuku scrubbed slowly at the dishes as Katsuki took to playing with his hair, "do you wanna watch a movie or something?"
Izuku smirked, "you're not slick."
"Is that a yes?"
Izuku turned off the faucet, and shifted to face Katsuki teasingly, their torsos touching, faces just inches apart, "I think so."
-----
Not even ten minutes into the movie Izuku initiated a kiss, which turned into a full on make out session.
Then Izuku was straddling Katsuki, and then both of them were getting hard, and they were both confused at what these feelings were. Slowly, the broke off the path they were heading down and Izuku climbed off Katsuki, his body still buzzing excitedly, wanting for more.
Katsuki felt the same as he sat up, lips red and a bit swollen as he sat up, grinning a little, his mouth tugging one side a little higher than the other.
"This is crazy." Izuku said.
"Yeah." Katsuki laughed.
"I didn't even know you liked guys." Izuku said, "I mean I had my suspicions but like- wow."
"I missed you." Bakugo admitted again softly, reaching out to rub between Izuku's shoulder blades.
"I didn't know you missed me like this." Izuku said woth a grin, leaning over to let his head rest on the blonde's shoulder.
"I didn't either." Katsuki whispered, turning his head and placing a soft kiss on the boy's forehead, running his hand over the scar that could still be felt through his returned curls.
Izuku flinched.
"Sorry, did it hurt?" Katsuki asked, his eyebrows folding in with concern.
"No its just sensitive still." Izuku said, messing with his hands nervously.
"Have you talked with anyone else since we graduated?" Bakugo asked, still threading his hands through Izuku's hair as the movie played on in front of them.
Izuku pulled his lips inside his mouth, keeping himself from spilling the truth. No one other than Katsuki had even reached out to him.
"No one?"
Izuku looked away.
"Not even round face!?" Bakugo asked incredulously.
"They're busy." Izuku mumbled.
"Okay, and? They should still have time for you! They were your best friends! How can they just abandon you like that?" Katsuki asked, finally putting into words everything Izuku had been thinking since everyone joined the workforce.
"You didn't abandon me." Izuku said, his eyes glossy with tears as he looked up and smiled, "you came back."
Katsuki looked so heartbroken at that, and filled the silence with a tight hug.
Izuku cried into his shoulder for the second time that night.
They slept in the same bed, getting no closer than intertwining their hands.
Bakugo woke up and Izuku was gone.
------
Naturally, Izuku had woken up and gone to his job teaching. He left a text to his new situationship and went to work.
He taught all day, but at lunch was pulled aside by Aizawa.
Aizawa was more of a friend than anything to Izuku now. In some ways he still saw him as a mentor. In most ways actually, but their interactions were more casual now. Izuku often made an extra cup of coffee for Aizawa in the mornings when he went to make his in the teachers lounge.
Today he had left late and had not done that.
Nor had he packed himself a lunch.
Aizawa approached him when he was sitting in the teacher's lounge on his phone with a stack of ungraded papers instead of eating his lunch with the rest of them as normal.
"Hey, Izuku" Aizawa said, taking a seat across from him at the small two person table.
"Good afternoon, Shouta." Izuku said, smiling casually at the use of their first names.
"Can I talk to you?" Aizawa said, his demeaner changing slightly. He was more serious now.
Izuku looked up from his phone and papers, "hm?"
"I got a message from Bakugo and wanted to check in with you." Aizawa said carefully, "how have you been?"
Izuku looked a little nervous, "I'm okay."
"His text suggested otherwise. What's been going on? Talk to me."
Izuku took a breath, "It's just been lonely I guess. I feel a bit left behind. The- the nightmares have gotten bad again." He said hesitantly.
Aizawa frowned.
After the war, Aizawa had to help many of his students through struggles with post traumatic stress disorder, hell, he had to deal with it himself. What they'd gone through was no bump in the road. It was catastrophic.
The person who had it the worst though, to no surprise, was Izuku.
(A/N: Don't argue w me on this ik Bakugo died or whatever but he OBVIOUSLY got therapy in this universe and Izuku did not).
He would wake up screaming almost nightly, sometimes he would throw up because the gore of it was so bad. Aizawa made sure none of his students were ever alone, but he had to be with Midoriya the most. He was always concerned how much the boy buried his feelings though.
Izuku never cried afterwards, he never spoke about the dreams, he just tried to assure his teacher that he was fine everytime. It was concerning, but after so long of him not breaking down over it all, Aizawa just accepted that that was how the boy functioned now. He'd toughened up.
He should have known he was wrong, because now it was all coming back, and his coworker looked like complete shit.
"How bad?" Aizawa asked.
Izuku couldn't make eye contact and his eyes were teary.
"Bud, it's okay. It's part of healing." Aizawa tried as Izuku wiped away sniffles in front of him, "you're allowed to cry."
"I can't sleep." Izuku said, ignoring the fact that he has slept peacefully for the first time in weeks last night with his best friend by his side.
"It's that bad again?" Aizawa asked.
"Nothing helps. And then it turned into just not being able to fall asleep at all, so I tried melatonin but it just made the nightmares worse- I'm exhausted." Izuku said, "I feel so scattered and just- distracted and out of it."
Aizawa got up from his chair, pulled Izuku out of his, and wrapped him in a tight hug.
Izuku didn't try to get away, he just let his tears silently seep into the scarf of his former teacher.
After a minute Izuku pulled away and wiped his puffy eyes with his sleeve.
"Are the nightmares the same?" Aizawa asked as they both sat back down at the small two person table.
"Yeah." He said weakly, "I just-" he swallowed thickly, "yeah."
Part of what helped Bakugo soften towards Izuku more rapidly after the war was how often Izuku needed reassurance that his best friend was still alive.
He couldn't fall asleep after having nightmares of his best friend's bloody dead body without making sure that his best friend was actually still alive.
It always came in the form of a call or a nervous knock at the door.
Every time Bakugo picked up or opened the door without complaint and let Izuku, always shaken and pale, see that he was actually okay.
When the nightmares started coming back after graduation, and Izuku couldn't just walk over to Bakugo's room to see that he was okay, he stopped being able to go back to sleep. Everything had been downhill from that point on.
One night, after a really horrid nightmare, he called Katsuki. That night he couldn't even keep himself from panicking without making sure everything was okay let alone go back to sleep.
That nightmare had him in vivid flashbacks that left his body shivering violently with unused adrenaline, drenched in a freezing sweat, and throwing up at the amount of blood in the images.
Bakugo, dead and cold on the ground, blood all over him, heart torn straight out of his chest.
His own arms, missing from in front of him with a huge puddle of blood underneath him instead.
All the limbs and fingers. The bodies of so many. The wreckage.
Friends, heroes, foes, and blood. So much blood and fear he couldn't escape it. The weight of literally the entire world on his shoulders.
How could anyone ask that of a fifteen year old?
Izuku suspected that call to Katsuki, the call where he tried not to seem completely distraught and outwardly panicked, was the reason Katsuki started inviting him on runs around a week later.
Even still he hadn't cried.
"Have you tried therapy yet?" Aizawa asked.
Izuku shook his head, "I don't want to do therapy."
"It really helped your classmates." Aizawa said, "you deserve to heal, Izuku."
Izuku took a breath, "I don't- I don't think I will ever be ready to talk about any of it."
"What about almost ready to talk about a small part of it?" Aizawa tried, "it's small steps, but if you break open a little bit, it might be easier to talk about it a little more."
Izuku swallowed harshly, a headache starting to set in. So much had happened in the last 24 hours it was dizzying. His head was spinning with the thought of it all. He didn't want to think about it. He felt himself spiraling, "I don't want to talk about it." His breath was quickening.
"Izuku-"
Izuku reached a hand up to grab his chest as he felt a sharp ache. He looked up to Aizawa with big, scared deer eyes.
"Hey, you're okay." Aizawa said, leaning forward over the table and grabbing Izuku's freehand to keep his attention in the physical and away from his thoughts, "just take a breath, nice and deep, focus on where you are."
The bell rang, indicating that lunch was over and class would begin again. He was late.
"I'm late-" Izuku tried, his eyes widening more.
"It's okay." Aizawa said, "just focus on breathing right now. Describe what's around you."
The words were routine. Aizawa had talked Izuku down from more panic attacks than either of them could count.
Aizawa managed to talk the boy into taking the rest of the day as a sick day and offering to cover his class. The second half of the day was training and Aizawa had been itching to push his first years harder than necessary for a while now. This was the perfect opportunity.
After his class had left the room and gone to change, he went back to the classroom to collect his things and go to his empty apartment.
However, he found someone sitting at his desk.
"Kacchan?"
"I brought you lunch, but I couldn't find you, so I just waited in your classroom." Bakugo explained, "and I lectured your nerds when they came back in."
"About what?"
"Just how to be the best hero ever, nothing to worry about." Bakugo said casually, standing up from the desk.
------
10 minutes earlier:
"MR. MIDORIYA IS THE BEST TEACHER YOU ARE EVER GOING TO GET IN YOUR PATHETIC LITTLE LIVES! SO DON'T GIVE HIM ANY OF YOUR WHINEY TEENAGE BULLSHIT. YOU HEAR ME?"
"YES SIR DYNAMIGHT!" The class responded (as they had learned they should respond)
"Let's review." Bakugo said, "WHATS THE FIRST THING YOU ARE GOING TO DO?"
"PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS, SIR!" The class responded (fearfully)
"THE SECOND?"
"TURN IN OUR WORK ON TIME!" They yelled back.
"THE THIRD?"
"WORK HARD AND MAKE MR. MIDORIYA PROUD!" They shouted, determined (because they had to be).
"AND THE FOURTH?"
"MAKE SURE HE KNOWS WE APPRECIATE HIM!!!" The class said, stiff in their seats, but enthusiastic.
"Good."
------
Present:
"Thank you for the lunch." Izuku said, taking the small bento box wrapped in a cloth.
He couldn't help but get sucked in to the memories when All Might had given him something eerily similar. When they had met in the dark alleyway. When all villain eyes were on Izuku and his bloody, muddy, tattered hero uniform. When he was so beyond exhausted he couldn't remember how he functioned.
"Izuku? You there?" Katsuki asked, placing a hand to Izuku's shoulder.
Izuku blinked and looked up from his bento box, "yeah." He breathed.
"Everything okay?" Katsuki asked carefully, looking between him and the bento box unknowingly.
Izuku just shrugged, "Aizawa convinced me to take the rest of the day off, so I was going to just... Go home and grade papers I guess."
"I don't think I've seen your new teacher dorm yet..." Bakugo suggested not so slyly.
Izuku smiled, "I'm tired of being alone. Why don't you come along?"
"I think I will." Bakugo said, smiling softly at the smaller man.
They walked out of the school and over to the dorms.
----
Izuku's room was embarrassingly small and undecorated, but it had a staple couch with a cozy throw blanket over the back, a few green throw pillows, a nice rug, and a decent TV. The walls were bare though, and there wasn't much personalization.
"How long have you been living here..?" Bakugo asked.
Izuku shrugged, "since the start of the school year pretty much." He slid his bag off and began to unpack a few things.
"Where's all your All Might stuff?" Bakugo asked.
A shiver trailed up Izuku's spine and he paused his routine. He didn't know how to explain that all the images of his hero did were remind him of how much everything had changed and why.
It was all packed away in a pile of boxes in the corner.
"I think I'm too old for that stuff now, Kacchan." Izuku said, trying to push off the real reason he couldn't see his icon up all over his walls anymore.
"The Izuku I know would never say that. What happened to it?" Katsuki refuted.
Izuku glanced over to the boxes, "I just- I don't know. It just reminds me of- of all that."
Katsuki frowned, "you can't just avoid it forever, Izuku."
Izuku shrank a little, palms on the table to steady himself, eyes shut tight and shoulders tense, still facing away from Katsuki.
A moment later there were rough hands on his waist and a chin on his shoulder. He felt himself relax automatically as Katsuki held him close from behind.
"You okay, dove?" Katsuki asked.
"Dove?" Izuku questioned, smiling like a fool at the pet name.
"Symbol of Peace?" Katsuki said, grinning, feeling the shift in demeanor.
Izuku laughed out loud at the relation, then turned around and sat on the table, allowing him to be eye level with Katsuki.
"I don't know if I am, but I'm glad you're here." Izuku said honestly, adoring the sweet smile that came after.
There was a comfortable silence filled with them staring lovingly at each other.
"May I kiss you, Kacchan?" Izuku asked politely.
Bakugo answered by pressing his lips into Izuku's immediately.
Things got heated quickly.
Things went farther than the night before. They were touchier. More daring.
They were on the couch with their shirts off when a knock came to the door. Neither of them heard it at first, but the next time the knock came it was louder.
Izuku heard and slowly disconnected from Katsuki, they both grinned and hurried to wipe their mouths, put their shirts back on, and look normal, feeling like skittish teenage lovers scared to get caught doing more than they knew they were supposed to.
Izuku tried to fix his face but his lips were red and his face was flushed. He had hickeys forming on his neck that a T-shirt alone couldn't hide, but he had to answer the door.
He opened it just a sliver and found Aizawa on the other side, "your kids heard you weren't feeling well and made you some soup. I said I would bring it to you."
Izuku, unfortunately, had to open the door a little bit more to take the soup.
"Are you okay? Your face is red." Aizawa pointed out.
Izuku had to stop himself from laughing, but he didn't hide a more than genuine smile, "yes, thank you Shouta I'm okay."
Aizawa raised an eyebrow knowingly, then smirked, walking away, "I'll bring you another bowl."
Izuku laughed sheepishly, then closed the door.
Katsuki and Izuku both erupted into hysterical laughter.
They felt like kids again, in a way they never really got to feel like during highschool.
Katsuki had to go out and do his job that night, but he came back over to Izuku's apartment with his toothbrush, toothpaste, and a change of clothes to stay the night.
Katsuki waited until Izuku was finished grading papers to go to bed. Izuku asked about how Katsuki's patrol was.
Izuku fell asleep with Bakugo's arms around him.
------
That night, the nightmares didn't stay away just because Katsuki was there with him.
He woke up screaming, weak sparks of green light erupting around him from the deepest little embers of his quirk there were left.
Katsuki jerked awake next to him, immediately alert and aware of the man next to him suddenly gagging and climbing over him with the objective of getting to the bathroom as fast as possible.
Izuku made it to the sink before losing his guts.
Katsuki was beside him immediately, rubbing his back and bringing him back to reality.
Izuku looked over after a minute, "Katsuki." He breathed, his entire body relaxing, still trembling like a leaf in the wind, "you're okay."
"I'm okay."
"You're h-here." Izuku stuttered, his entire body shaking, including his jaw. He was soaked in sweat.
"I'm here."
Izuku's eyes welled up with tears.
Katsuki pulled him into a hug, "let it out. Let yourself cry."
And Izuku did. Usually, he didn't cry after these episodes, he just buried it down with everything else. Crying was just one more thing he had to deal with.
Now, it was all boiling over. He couldn't stop it, and someone so strong was here to help contain it, to help him feel safe.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Katsuki asked after a few minutes.
Izuku shook his head.
"Are you sure?" Katsuki asked.
Izuku didn't answer for a minute, "I'm scared that if I start, I'll never stop."
"I'm here with you the whole way." Katsuki coaxed, "you can brush your teeth, and we can sit down on the couch. I'll make us tea."
Izuku pursed his lips before whispering the most silent "okay."
------
That night Izuku talked.
He talked a lot.
He was right. The second he finally spoke about the god-awful memories he relived everynight, it was like a weight left his shoulders.
There was someone to share it with.
He told Katsuki so many of the things he was dealing with. The common things that sent him into spirals like blood. Or the day before with the bento box. How every little thing reminded Izuku of all the moments he felt crushing responsibility and was driven to go into life threatening battles every hour of every day.
The burden didn't feel so heavy anymore. The pit in his stomach wasn't so deep. He felt insane for just not talking about it for so incredibly long, but he didn't know if he could have mustered a word about it before this moment.
He ended up asleep in Katsuki's arms, both of them draped over the couch, exhausted. They didn't hear either of their alarms going off in the morning. They didn't hear any of the phone calls they got because their phones were in the other room.
It wasn't until lunchtime when Aizawa burst into his dorm, more concerned than angry, and found the two snoring on the couch.
He sighed and shook them awake.
They snapped awake, elbowing eachother in the process.
"Ow!"
"Hey-"
"Sorry-"
Aizawa raised his eyebrows in surprise. Bakugo just apologized?
"You both have jobs." He said boredly, "get up. Midoriya, please be ready to do your lecture this afternoon. I switched training to the morning with my class again to cover for you."
"Thank you, Mr. Aizawa." Izuku said gratefully, bowing before rushing off to get dressed.
Bakugo hung there awkwardly.
"What happened last night?" Aizawa asked quietly, making sure Izuku couldn't hear, sensing some kind of change.
Katsuki took a deep breath, matching the volume, "he had a nightmare. A bad one. But he finally talked about it."
"He did?" Aizawa asked.
"Yeah. We've taken some steps in the right direction." Bakugo said, "I can't believe it took him this long to open up. The stuff he's been through- I mean shit. It's bad shit."
"I knew it was bad. I was there with him for a lot of it, but.."
"Aizawa. From his perspective? When you weren't there? He really needs more help than we can give him. Please help me convince him to get therapy." Bakugo asked. "It is so so fucked up everything he has seen and what he has been dealing with."
There was another silence between the former student and his teacher.
"Are you two together..?" Aizawa asked slowly.
Katsuki reached up to scratch the back of his head and shrugged awkwardly, "it's complicated." He grumbled.
"Treat him right, Katsuki." Aizawa said seriously, giving him the if you hurt my child you will be dead look.
Katsuki nodded, matching his intensity, "I will. I promise."
Then Izuku sprung back out of the bedroom, a more casual teaching outfit on today. He had dress pants and a button up shirt with a green vest over it.
"Okay! I've gotta go! Lunch is almost over! Text me!" Izuku said as he rushed out of the door, mostly to Bakugo as he abandoned the two others in his room.
"We should probably go." Katsuki said.
Aizawa nodded and they left.
--------
(Texting)
Katsuki: Hey. Wanna go on the run today?
(Sent 12:00pm)
(Read 3:55pm)
Izuku: sure, meet in the same spot?
Katsuki: Yeah. Bring nice clothes to change into though
Izuku: why???
Katsuki: for dinner afterwards
Izuku: dinner?
Katsuki: I am taking you to dinner. My treat.
Izuku: aw thanks :)
(Sent 3:57pm)
Izuku: is this a date?
(Sent 4:00pm)
(Read: 4:01pm)
Katsuki: Yes
Katsuki: As long as that is what you want.
Katsuki: Which I am assuming is yes?
Izuku: considering you took my shirt off of me and had your tongue in my mouth last night I think that's a safe assumption
Katsuki: Good ;)
(💚)
Izuku: see you soon
(🧡)
-----
At 5pm they met for their run and did things as usual. They watched the sunset from the view at the top of a small hill cleared of trees. They drank water. Chatted. Held hands as the sun dipped below the horizon.
"You wanna know something awesome?" Izuku asked, prompting their conversation to continue as they say on a bench and observed the skyline.
"What?" Katsuki asked, squeezing his hand optimistically.
"All my students turned in their essays on time today. I mean like- that's never happened before. We've gotten close but it was a super big win to celebrate. Now I can grade them all at once." Izuku said with a smile, "I'm so proud of them."
"That's amazing, Izuku. I'm glad they've made you proud." Katsuki said, smiling genuinely, knowing his drill sergeant style lecture worked.
Instead of running back down, they walked the trail back so they could cool off before getting into nicer clothes and going to dinner.
They changed in the car and went to a nice sit down restaurant. There was never a low moment. Conversation hadn't flowed this easily between them since they were kids.
It was nice.
It was really nice.
Despite Izuku putting up a fight, Katsuki payed the bill. Neither of them wanted the night to end, so they went into town and walked down the streets just talking some more.
A couple of people stopped to stare at pro hero Dynamight acting so bubbly and out of character. Neither of the boys noticed. They were entranced in each other.
Izuku dragged Katsuki into a florist shop so they could look at all the pretty flowers.
Katsuki bought a small bundle for Izuku when he wasn't looking and hid them in his coat.
Katsuki managed to lead Izuku to a desert shop and keep him distracted long enough to buy two cupcakes, get them boxed, and also (very carefully) hide in his coat.
After that, they walked back to Katsuki's car.
Once they were both in their seats and the engine was on, Katsuki flipped the overhead lights on and turned to Izuku, who paused before putting on his seatbelt.
"I have something for you." Katsuki said, a soft smile on his face.
Izuku smiled curiously, "what is it?"
Katsuki pulled out the flowers and the cupcakes.
Izuku took them, smelling the flowers and admiring the cupcakes, "Kacchan, this is so thoughtful. Thank you so much. When did you do this? I didn't get you anything in return."
"If you want, I know something you can do in return." Katsuki began.
Izuku cocked his head to the side, "hm?" His face was going a bit red as he realized what the question suggested.
"Izuku, will you be my boyfriend?" Katsuki asked.
"I would love to." Izuku said, grinning like a fool. His heart was racing. They locked eyes.
Suddenly Izuku was leaning in for a kiss and they shared their joy. They broke away after a second.
"I'm gonna eat this cupcake." Izuku said.
"I'm gonna eat you." Bakugo replied under his breath as he pulled the car out of the lot.
"Kacchan!!!" Izuku shouted, hitting him jokingly, unable to wipe the smile off his face, especially when his boyfriend (HIS BOYFRIEND!!!!) smiled back with just as much genuine enthusiasm, "Where are we going?" Izuku asked as he unwrapped the chocolate cupcake.
"My place?" Katsuki said, sending a suggestive look to Izuku.
Izuku smiled, "sounds great."
"Sounds great? Wow, Izuku." Katsuki joked.
"Well I meeeeeean-" Izuku said, not denying what he was suggesting.
They burst out into laughter. Izuku helped Bakugo eat a cupcake while he was driving, leading to even more giggles.
Before they got out of the car, Bakugo turned to speak again, "Izuku, I care about you a lot. You know that right?"
Izuku nodded, sensing the shift in mood to something more serious, "yeah of course."
"I really think you should try therapy." Bakugo dropped.
Izuku's face dulled.
"I know you don't like the idea of it, but I also know that you are going through a lot, and I cannot help you with all of it. I want this relationship to be healthy and stay that way, and in order to do that, I can't be your only safe space." Bakugo explained.
Izuku nodded slowly, waiting a minute before speaking.
"I'm- I am terrified." Izuku stuttered out, "yesterday was my first time talking about it. Like ever. And- and I think it was only easy because I know you understand."
Bakugo nodded, hearing his concerns, "It might take a few rotations to find the right therapist, but I know that talking about it and possibly getting some medication could really help you through what you're going through. I can help you look, okay? We'll get it all sorted out. I want you to feel better. You deserve that. More than anyone."
Izuku nodded, "Thank you, Kacchan."
"Always, Dove." Katsuki said, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on Izuku's forehead.
Then they went inside, hand in hand.