Work Text:
Katsuki has changed since Izuku left U.A.
He still yells at people and throws out insults, but it’s like he’s become a different person. Izuku doesn’t like it- he’s quieter now, and the look on his face is always filled with weariness and annoyance.
It had been a few days since Izuku returned to U.A and Class 1A has been making Izuku feel perfectly at home. He really appreciates all the things his class does for him. And thankfully, everything has been relatively normal.
He’s been going to classes, hanging out with his friends, and continuing to practice his new quirks with All Might and occasionally, Katsuki helped him out too.
And the only thing that changed was… Katsuki.
Katsuki’s face… it looked… almost sad. Like an unbearable weight that always tugged down onto him. He wished… that he could see a smile on Katsuki’s face once again.
“Midoriya, pay attention,” scolded Mr Aizawa, making eye contact with Izuku, the sudden name calling making Izuku’s head shoot upwards with wide eyes.
“Sorry…” Izuku mumbled amongst the silent classroom, dunking his head down as embarrassment engulfed him.
***
The lesson came to an end and Class 1A’s chatter and laughter echoed along the silent corridors of U.A. “Guys, we all haven’t hung out as a class in so long! Wanna head to the shopping mall after school?” Ashido pierced all conversations being said at that moment, her energy brung life and enthusiasm into the students of Class 1A.
“Good idea! It would be so nice to hang out together!” Uraraka exasperated, smiling wide.
“So, we're all in?” Ashido asked, as the class cheered in agreement.
“What about you, Bakugo? You didn’t say anything.” Uraraka cocked her head, furrowing her eyebrows as Katsuki, whose arms were crossed over his chest, leaned back onto his chair, feet propped onto a table.
“No,” he replied flatly. “I don’t wanna spend my time on you extras.”
The class groaned in disappointment, frowns plastered onto his classmates.
“Come on, dude! You have to come!” pushed Kirishima, he placed a hand onto Katsuki’s shoulder.
Katsuki got up, the chair scraping across the floor as the hand that was once onto Katsuki’s shoulder, drooped down by Kirishima’s side.
“You know… I’m not feeling very well, but you guys can head off without me, see you!” said Izuku, waving goodbye as he caught up to Katsuki.
“Wait, Midoriya-“ Ashido began, her hand reaching outwards, but Izuku was already gone.
After finally catching up to Katsuki, Izuku walked side by side with him, and not a single sound came out of the two.
They both arrived at Katsuki’s doorstep, and Katsuki slammed the door in Izuku’s face, the wind swiftly flew into Izuku’s eyes, forcing them to shut tightly as he felt his green curls whip behind him before setting back into its original position.
“W-wait, Kacchan! I’ve got your favorite! Mapu tofu! We can share!” his voice called out, pleading to let him in.
Suddenly, the door opened abruptly.
***
“What’s this, Kacchan?” Izuku sat down on the carpeted floor of Katsuki’s room, while Katsuki was on a swivel chair, sitting at his desk. Izuku noticed a large cardboard box underneath Katsuki’s bed. It was filled with all sorts of things, but there was one vivid item at the top of the pile.
He picked it up, and oddly enough, it felt familiar. But not in a good way. As he held it up, it seemed to be a letter, but before Izuku could read it, Katsuki tugged at Izuku’s rist.
“Don’t touch that, Izuku.” Katsuki pulled Izuku back, before kicking the box back underneath his bed.
Izuku breathed gently as he realised their faces were centimetres apart, he could almost feel Katsuki’s warm breath tingle onto Izuku’s sensitive skin.
Izuku coughed uneasily, and Katsuki let go of him.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t look through your stuff,” Izuku spoke softly.
Izuku glanced over to Katsuki, who had two game controllers in his hand. He was handing one of them to Izuku.
Izuku accepted it with a smile on his face, as Katsuki turned on the screen.
“I thought you were busy, Kacchan,” said Izuku condescendingly while Katsuki plugged the controller wires into the T.V.
“I have time to beat your ass whenever,” Katsuki mumbled, before taking a seat next to Izuku onto the floor.
Normally, Katsuki would have probably shouted and screamed at him to no avail, but Katsuki’s voice was soft and delicate. Not like him at all.
After playing for a few hours, Izuku turned to face Katsuki. He was fast asleep, he looked so tired and calm. Izuku couldn’t help but think he looked cute.
***
“Oi, Izuku, get up.” Izuku heard Katsuki’s comforting voice ring in his ears, making his eyes flutter open. Katsuki was hovering over Izuku, trapping him with his sense of warm comfort.
His eyes glistened red, and Izuku could see every aspect of his face. He looked perfect. His skin looked so soft. Izuku wanted to stroke his cheek and crawl his hands up to his hair and play with it till eternity. Izuku never noticed how handsome he had gotten. He couldn’t help but stare at his lips, it’s almost like he wanted to bring himself closer and connect their lips together-
What was he thinking?!
“W-what?“ Izuku sat straight, struggling to keep his eyes open.
“It’s 2:35AM,” Katsuki said flatly. “You should go. Or the extras will get the wrong idea,” Katsuki mumbled.
Katsuki immediately stood, freeing Izuku and opening the door for him.
Izuku got up, leaving the room.
“See you tomorrow, Kacchan,” whispered Izuku gently before heading down the corridor to his own room.
***
Izuku was in class, writing down some notes on some other pro heroes further down the rankings as Class 1A waited for Mr Aizawa’s arrival.
“Yesterday was so fun!” Ashido yawned, making eccentric hand gestures. “We really shouldn’t have gotten back that late though, I’m so tired now!”
“Yeah, that wasn’t manly on us at all.” Kirishima shook his head in disappointment.
“Oh, speaking of! I woke up, really thirsty, so I got some water. And I hear Midoriya leaving Bakugo’s room waving goodbye to him!” said Kaminari, a look of confusion on his face. “What was that about, Midoriya?”
Izuku felt an intense blush creeping up his throat, as he struggled to form words.
“I-It’s not what you think it is! After you guys left, I went to go see Kacchan because-“
“Settle down, class.” Mr Aizawa entered the classroom as he made his way to the front of the classroom.
His deep voice sent shivers amongst the students, everyone turned to face Aizawa.
“You’ll be assigned a project that’s due next week. When you’re done, hand it to me. Oh yeah, you also have to work in pairs,” said Aizawa, his hands flat onto the table, eyes scanning the room. Your pairs are: Aoyama and Asui, Bakugo and Midoriya, Ojiro and sero, Kaminari and Jiro…”
Izuku smiled to himself knowing that he could spend extra time with Katsuki. He glanced over at him, he seemed completely unfazed by the news, maybe… Katsuki doesn’t want to hang out with Izuku as much as Izuku wants to hang out with him.
***
Izuku was walking along the corridors, heading to Katsuki’s room to work on the project that Mr Aizawa had set.
Izuku hadn’t exactly told Katsuki he was coming over, but Katsuki would probably be fine with it. Right? He wouldn’t yell at him to get out… would he?
Katsuki’s door was slightly open, just enough to see what he had been doing. For some reason, he heard tearing on what sounded like paper, heavy breathing coming from him seconds after.
Izuku raised his hand to Katsuki’s door hesitantly.
Unexpectedly, Katsuki opened the door abruptly, head downwards, a flat expression played on his face. His eyelids were droopy, with the skin around his eyes red and puffy, the rims of his eyes shimmered with what seemed like tears.
There was a clear streak of tears under his eyes, dampening his pale skin.
As soon as Katsuki realized Izuku was standing at his door, with wide eyes, Katsuki wiped his eyes with his forearms, immediately facing away in embarrassment.
“Kacchan…?” Izuku mumbled, his voice came out softer than he had expected.
“What do you want?” Katsuki managed to speak, his voice sounded gruffy. What had he been doing…?
“I came to study for that project,” Izuku said, eyes fixated on Katsuki who was desperately trying to wipe his eyes.
“Then why are you just standing at the door like an idiot?” Katsuki motioned him inside. Izuku entered, a blow of warm air blew in Izuku’s face.
Katsuki threw some revision books onto the table, including some pens and pencils, before they both sat down opposite each other.
“You know, if you need someone… I’m gonna be here,” Izuku said. “I’ll always have time to talk to you, Kacchan.” He held one of Katsuki’s hands, and stared at him with such genuine sincerity that it could probably penetrate Katsuki’s soul.
“Whatever,” Katsuki grumbled, pulling his hand away, before staring down at the notebook. “It’s nothing.” Katsuki looked up to stare into Izuku’s eyes.
His eyes looked… so sad. It was clear something was bothering him, but no matter how much Izuku wanted him to tell him what the problem was, he couldn’t push. He could only wait until Katsuki was ready to tell him and try to cheer him up in the meantime.
“Let’s work on this section first,” said Katsuki, flipping the pages of his notebook.
“Truth or dare, Kacchan?” said Izuku, the heel of his hand propping up his head.
“What?”
“Truth or dare?” Izuku repeated, staring at Katsuki for a reply with a soft smile on his face.
“What the hell, I thought we were gonna work on this shit,” Katsuki scoffed, placing his pencil down and crossing his arms over his chest.
“We will, after a few games.”
“Truth,” said Katsuki.
“Hmm.” Izuku tapped his chin with his index finger, staring at the ceiling with wonder. “Who would you wanna date in Class 1A?”
There was a pause, and for some reason, Izuku’s heart raced. Izuku didn’t know why he asked that, but Katsuki never really seemed to show any love interest towards anyone amongst the class. And well… he supposes that intrigued him?
“Kirishima,” he hesitated. Izuku couldn’t help but frown, a feeling of melancholy surged through him. His heart suddenly felt like it stopped beating, even though just before it was beating so rapidly.
Izuku nodded affirmatively, forcing a smile on his face. He shifted his body so he sat more comfortably and sat straight. Disappointment tugged at his heart.
“Truth or dare, Izuku?” asked Katsuki. The way he said Izuku made his heart beat, and a smile rose on his face.
“Truth,” he replied softly, hoping Katsuki wouldn’t ask something similar to what he just asked.
“What about you? Would you wanna date one of those extras?”
Izuku winced, then paused. Would he want to date someone from Class 1A? The more he tried to think about it, for some reason, only Katsuki’s face came to mind.
“I think… so,” Izuku let out finally, before taking a deep breath.
“Who?” Katsuki asked, a tint of annoyance creeping up in his voice.
“I’ve answered the question, truth or dare?”
Katsuki grumbled in annoyance and let out what sounded like a “Truth.”
“Too scared to pick dare, I see,” Izuku teased, a stern look spread across Katsuki’s face.
“Hah?!” Katsuki raised a brow. “Me. Scared? Fucking dare then,” he said. There was the Katsuki he knew. Bold, dearing and extremely confident.
“Well… I dare you to do something embarrassing,” he said. “You can pick what embarrassing thing you do.”
“And why the hell would I do that?” he scoffed, a look of shock rising on his face.
“Well, typically in a game of truth or dare, if you don’t do the dare you were assigned to do, that would mean you would owe the person who assigned you the dare-“
“Alright, alright! Enough with mumbling!”
Could Izuku sense… shyness from him? He was seriously turning red.
Izuku chuckled to himself, as Katsuki tried to recompose himself.
***
After a few more games, Katsuki decided to ask Izuku a question that made him go silent.
“Truth,” Izuku said, his legs crossed, feeling the tension rise.
“Would you… ever leave U.A again?” he hesitated, almost like he was worried himself. Katsuki looked up at him, his eyes weren’t red and puffy anymore, but the rims of his eyes began to water again.
Oh.
“Kacchan… I-“ Izuku stuttered, how could he respond? He wouldn’t leave U.A again, he knew that for sure. Izuku realized he had Class 1A’s support and encouragement. And his teachers have helped him so much these past few years.
The brief silence already seemed to answer the question in hand.
“Something came up, you should go,” Katsuki whispered, a tear almost falling down his cheek.
As Izuku made his way out of Katsuki’s room, he noticed an old, crumpled piece of paper. It had been torn into pieces.
The letter Izuku gave to him before he left U.A.
***
Izuku walked along the corridor, head down. Katsuki’s probably been acting unusual because of Izuku. He’s worried that he might leave again.
What could Izuku do to ensure Katsuki that-
Izuku clenched his shoulder, staring back at the person who he bumped into.
“Sorry about that,” said Izuku, as he realized just who he bumped into.
Kirishima.
“Sorry, man. That was totally my fault,” he said apologetically. “Gotta go though, see you later, Midoriya!” He waved off goodbye before Izuku could even react to what had just been said.
Of course Katsuki would like Kirishima. He’s handsome, kind, a great person and will definitely become a great hero.
He’s the exact person Katsuki would want to date.
And Izuku couldn’t lie to himself, it bothered him. A lot.
***
“Everyone handed their projects in, and everyone did great. Bakugo and Midoriya are the remaining pair who haven't handed it in. Do you care for an explanation?“
...
“Midoriya?” Aizawa questioned, tapping the desk twice with his hand for a demand in answer.
“We’ve been busy. Sorry,” Izuku mumbled, head downwards in dissatisfaction.
“If you don’t get this done in three days, you won’t be able to participate in hero activities. Plus house arrest until it’s completed.”
***
It was the end of the lesson, and everyone had packed up and left, including Aizawa, but Todoroki and Izuku were still packing their things in their bags, so Izuku thought it would be a perfect opportunity to ask him something that had been on his mind.
“Hey, Todoroki!” Izuku called out. Todoroki’s bag strap was around his shoulders, and was about to leave the room until Izuku unexpectedly stopped him.
“Hm?” he replied, turning around in confusion.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something that’s been on my mind,” Izuku said, as he sat down, and placed his bag onto the floor.
“Of course, what did you want to talk about?” Todoroki said as he placed some of his books into his bag.
“I think… I think I’m falling for him. I think I fell for him even before the war.”
Izuku watched Todoroki’s eyes grow wide in astonishment.
“Are you talking about Bakugo?” he asked simply, seeming slightly intrigued.
“Is it really that obvious?” Izuku’s face reddened, as he covered his face with the palms of his hands.
“It’s okay, Midoriya. No need to be shy. But if I must ask, how is this bothering you?”
“I think… He’s been acting unusual because of me. And I don’t know how to fix it.”
“I’ve noticed he’s been acting odd. What’s been making him act this way?”
“I think he’s worried that I’ll leave again. But trust me, I’m not! I just… I don't know how to tell him that.” Izuku sighed as he ducked his head down.
“I think you should just be straightforward with him.”
Izuku raised his head and made a questionable look on his face. “What do you mean?”
“You should tell him face to face that you won't leave again. He’ll believe you. You’re one of his closest friends. Then, once he feels reassured, you can confess your feelings to him.”
Izuku nodded slowly, before smiling. “Thanks, Todoroki. You’re a great friend.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with Midoriya.” Aizawa poked his head into the room, the dark circles under his eyes being slightly darker than usual. He also had his yellow sleeping bag in his hand.
“I’m heading out then. See you, Midoriya.” Todoroki grabbed his bag and waved off goodbye to Izuku.
“See you, Todoroki! And thanks!” Izuku yelled out before he didn’t have a chance to express his thanks, then sat down, feeling as if Mr Aizawa was about to tell him off again.
“What is it, Mr Aizawa…?” Izuku cleared his throat and sat down on one of the nearby chairs, he ran a hand through his hair, sighing sadly.
Aizawa dropped his sleeping bag onto the ground, and kneeled down so he was the same height as Izuku.
“Midoriya, you’ve been through a lot. You’re becoming a great hero to many people out there, including your peers. You can finally leave the rest to us now, we’ll defeat Shigaraki together. But something else seems to bother you. You can tell me if you’re comfortable with me knowing.” Aizawa placed a hand on one of Izuku’s shoulders.
Izuku glanced over at the window, it was dark and rainy, the sound of rain was harsh against the windows.
Izuku turned back to face Aizawa. He shook his head slowly, and hugged Aizawa tightly. “It’s nothing. No need to worry about me,” he said, trying not to let the hot tears in his eyes fall down.
“You can talk to me whenever.” Aizawa patted Izuku’s back twice, and headed out of the classroom.
Izuku hummed in affirmation.
Footsteps could be heard creeping up to the room, and Izuku prepared to attack, just in case it was a villain.
It was just Katsuki. Izuku sighed a breath of relief, and sat back down immediately.
“I didn’t wanna come, alright? Mr Aizawa forced me,” Katsuki mumbled, shrugging his shoulders, hands in his pockets.
Katsuki pulled up a seat next to Izuku, doing small tricks with his pen in his hands, and Izuku couldn’t help but stare at Katsuki as he skimmed through the textbook pages.
“Kacchan… I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” said Izuku, and watched Katsuki place his pen down almost immediately. “You’ve been worried about something, haven’t you?”
…
“Why can’t you understand?” he whispered. It was barely loud enough for Izuku to hear, the gentleness and sadness behind it made Izuku’s heart break.
“What..?” he spoke softly, the confusion in his voice grew louder as he placed a hand onto Katsuki’s. But it soon got pushed away.
“Why can’t you understand?” This time, his voice sounded hoarse, and almost desperate.
Izuku couldn’t see his face properly, Katsuki’s head face downwards and his hair covered his eyes.
“Why do you think you have to go do everything by yourself?” Katsuki finally looked up, but immediately covered his eyes with his forearm, covering the tears that were about to spill.
Before Izuku could even realize what he was doing, he felt himself wrap his arms around Katsuki in a tight hug, the room went silent, his mouth pressed onto Katsuki’s shoulder and they stayed there. Just for a while.
“Say you won’t leave again. Promise me, you idiot.” His voice was muffled against the clothes that pressed tight onto his mouth, but to Izuku, it was as clear as day, he wanted to be with Katsuki every second of the day, hear his voice every second of the day.
“I won’t. Promise,” he whispered gently, their position remained still.
As they parted, Izuku smiled brightly at the thought of Katsuki finally returning to normal. Finally becoming the person he was once again, the person Izuku fell in love with.
Katsuki had been worried for so long; he was worried for Izuku. The relaxed expression that played on Katsuki’s face brought a sense of relief onto Izuku, like the weight on his shoulders suddenly vanished.
Izuku chuckled to himself, which soon became an eruption of laughter between the two, Izuku felt so incredibly happy.
“Let’s actually do this project now. I don’t want us to go into house arrest like last time,” Izuku chuckled.
***
It had been a few weeks since Izuku and Katsuki cleared up, and Izuku would like to call them friends now.
One time, Izuku was talking about how hungry he was one day, and randomly, Katsuki called him into the kitchen and greeted him with a freshly homemade katsudon. Who knew he could cook so well?
Whenever Izuku visited Katsuki in his room, Katsuki would normally shout at him, of course, but funnily enough, whenever Izuku pretended he was going to leave, Katsuki would always stop him and invite him in reluctantly.
If Izuku was being honest, the feelings he had for Katsuki were growing out of control. Every little thing he did made Izuku’s heart burst out of control. Katsuki’s burning and passion towards becoming the number one hero was so inspiring, it made Izuku want to work all the more harder. How could he not fall for someone who brought out the best version of Izuku?
”You should really confess soon,” said Todoroki. When had he gotten here?
“T-Todoroki! C-confess? T-to who?!” Izuku covered his face with the palms of his hands.
“You know, you only get that shy when you’re thinking of Bakugo. You’ve liked him for a while.” Todoroki cocked his head, his uniform tidy and neat as he held a few thick books in his hand. “If you suppress something you want, you’ll only desire it more. That’s what Iida tells me.”
Izuku watched Todoroki walk away, as Iida caught up to him and offered to hold some of the books for him. Kissing his cheek gently. Izuku wished… that he would have a relationship like that with Katsuki.
***
Izuku found himself at Katsuki’s door, knocking with anticipation, as he held his head high, trying not to back out before he even began.
Katsuki opened the door, he seemed tired, he probably just woke up from a nap.
“What the hell do you want?” he grumbled.
Izuku stepped foot into his room, slammed the door shut and leaned against the door. Katsuki and him are really close now.
“I have a confession to make,” he said, his throat felt blocked because of how nervous he was. Katsuki’s eyebrows furrowed and he hummed in answer.
Izuku had no idea if this would either go terrible, or amazing. Katsuki could reject him and… that would absolutely break Izuku. Or he could reciprocate his feelings and say he likes him back. But… It was likely that wouldn’t happen.
But Izuku had to try anyway. It doesn’t matter what happens in the end. After all, to become a hero, you need to be brave.
“And that confession is… is that I like you. You’re so brave, inspiring and just amazing. I want to be like you. You were even willing to sacrifice your life for me. I… love you, Kacchan.”
Katsuki leaned both his hands flat onto the door, trapping Izuku so he couldn’t escape his embrace. Katsuki’s head dipped, a wide grin plastered over his face as he spoke, “You’re such an idiot.”
His head rose and faced Izuku again, eye to eye, the grin on his face was still there.
“How am I an idiot for-“ Izuku began, before an unexpected sense of warmth tingled on his lips.
Katsuki had kissed him. Although it was their first time, it felt completely natural, as if it was just… right. Izuku’s heart pounded in his chest, trying to calm down, until he felt Katsuki’s finger graze across Izuku’s skin, making the butterflies in his stomach go crazy.
This was Katsuki’s way of saying he liked Izuku back. And Izuku couldn’t imagine a better way of Katsuki expressing his love.
“Consider that’s what I owe you.” Katsuki smirked.
Izuku thought back on that game of truth or dare. Do something embarrassing. Izuku’s face reddened.
***
Izuku and Katsuki were sitting on the couch, well, Katsuki laid on Izuku’s lap as he studied for the upcoming test since he wasn’t able to study much since he came back from U.A.
“Stop cuddling in the middle of the U.A dorms!” Iida yelled, his hand was in a chopping motion.
“We’re not even cuddling, dickhead.”
“It’s fine, Kacchan,” said Izuku softly, kissing his cheek as Katsuki was left stunned. “I love you, boyfriend,” he said teasingly.